Weekend Conflicts
Weekend Conflicts
Spike and Twilight sat in the library, both looking extremely somber and contemplative.
Twilight couldn't believe what she'd just heard, literally, she sat there for five minutes denying the possibility that any good could come out of the black market or from ponies who dealt business there in. Spike had little experience in the underworld, but his dealings with agorism and counter economics didn't really leave a bad taste in his mouth, his mother on the other hoof was of a different mind.
To her, the obedience and compliance to the law was how one judged morality and goodness. Those whom were lawful were good, but those whom were unlawful were bad. For her, trying to disassociate good and lawful was a cognitive dissonance that rivaled telling her that Celestia was wrong. As far as she was concerned, the unnamed informant who'd fed him the information was a liar and an immoral pony who should be thrown into the dungeon.
The drake briefly thought about telling her that Sin had association with her, but decided against it.
"Alright, let's say he is right." Twilight said, humoring Spike's anonymous tip about sex rings entering Ponyville. "Let's say these supposed 'Black Market Guardians' do step aside or are arrested. We have the normal guard who's job it is to stop that kind of thing."
"Yea, I get that, Twi, but the black market would be where these guys would sell... foals-" The drake cringed, still unable to comprehend what he was saying.
"Exactly!" Twilight pointed an accusatory hoof in triumph. "Which is exactly why the black market is bad and we should do everything we can to get rid of it."
Spike groaned, bemoaning the fact they fell into the logical loop again. "I know, but it's still there. If it could be done away with, I'd be right there with you, but it can't! And since it can't, and the guard aren't as informed about it as they'd need to be to effectively stop things like this from happening, wouldn't it be better to help the moral ponies there in, keep the immoral ones out?"
"Wait, moral? Didn't you just say that the black market is where they'd sell... I don't think that's how moral ponies operate, Spike."
The two had been arguing about this all morning and Spike was this close to giving up. No matter how he tried to explain it, Twilight was tartarus bent on ignoring the different degrees of morality when it came to ponies who worked outside the law. As far as she was concerned, if something wasn't bad, it didn't need to operate from the shadows of the black market.
It shouldn't have been surprising though, she'd lived her entire life under heavy lawful control, utopianly almost. Her life in Canterlot and Ponyville kept her shielded from the moral grey areas when it came to going outside the law. She hadn't ventured out into the world like Spike had, she hadn't seen the things that he had seen or done the things he had...
In one last ditch effort, he tried to appeal to Sin's morality in going against the law in protecting Macintosh from false imprisonment, thinking that would be a circumstance she couldn't deny.
Though, his hopes were immediately dashed when she pointed out that, while the ponies were law enforcement, what the stallion did to Mac was being punished by the law for his abuse of power. The drake countered that what Sin had done was also unlawful, but moral in helping their friend, but what came next was his ultimate undoing. "Yes, and instead of wasting his time with that silly vigilantism, he took up a lawful position under Celestia and made things better for everypony."
Feeling his irritation begining to bubble, Spike decided to give up the discussion before things got too heated. There'd been enough drama between the two, and he wasn't interested in making any more. He would, however, find Macintosh and discuss the matter with him. Not only as a means to affirm his own beliefs, but to warn the pony to keep an eye on his little sister. Spike liked Applebloom, and the thought of her being abducted enraged him.
"Good, glad that's settled." Twilight said in relief. "Oh, but the way, Uppity is coming down from Canterlot for the weekend. She'll be here around noon, so would you mind helping me umm..."
The mare blushed looking around. The library went a little neglected lately, small coats of dust covering the more unused areas, books pilling up in the return bin, undone dishes, yea... they were being really lazy in terms of home time upkeep.
"I'll help." Spike emphasized gently before crossing his arms. "But dishes are yours."
Macintosh, Scootaloo and Applebloom wondered through Ponyville. Scootaloo had given Macintosh's advice some deep consideration and had asked to visit with Rainbow Dash about the matter, though she didn't want to go alone and asked the two come with her.
Neither Applebloom nor Big Mac minded though. The stallion wasn't in a hurry for her to make a decision, but he did want her to be happy. If she'd find more happiness living with Rainbow Dash than himself, he was more than willing to escort her to the speedster's place of residence. Besides, it was the weekend, and no serious work needed to be done today, a break from all of the wedding and farm stuff was a welcome change.
Scootaloo was growing more and more restless the closer they came to Rainbow's home. Twice already, she tried to back out of the ordeal, and twice Mac had to encourage her to continue on. The pegasus was nervous over the silly idea that Rainbow would the she 'was a loser' because of her parents being gone. Annabelle and Macintosh tried to talk to her about how silly her fears were, and that it wasn't something to be ashamed of. Still, the filly was distraught.
"Scoots, yer bein' stupid." Applebloom chidded, pushing her friend along. "She ain't gonna look down on ya, alrigh'?"
"You don't know that!" Scootaloo protested, trying to out muscle the earth pony by digging her hooves into the grass. "What if... what if she tells me to get lost? What if she says I'm lame? What if I'm kicked out of the Rainbow Dash Fanclub?!"
Her breathing came in frantic burst, the pegasus' fear was starting to give her enough strength to over power Applebloom and slow the earth filly down.
His ammusement over her foalish behavior was long since expunged, and Macintosh gave her a gentle nudge. "Nao Scootaloo, y'all er just being foalish. Rainbow may be the fastest flier in Ponyville, but she's still a pony. Jus' cause she can fly don't mean she don't have feelin's, ya ought ta give her more credit th'n that."
He wasn't just blowing hot air either, he knew Rainbow Dash would stand by anypony who needed her and was her friend. It took a special sort to be willing to go against their own government as blatantly as they planned to.
Scootaloo's ears drooped and folded under Appleblooms pushing. Mac knew he'd hit a sore spot with her, but that was probably for the best. The filly had this weird idea that her idol was without a sense of empathy or compassion, and was just made of awesome sauce and rainbooms. He hoped this delusion would be done away with at some point, it wasn't healthy to have that kind of view of a pony.
The rest of the trip went by much more smoothly and quietly, right up until the floating home came into view. It wasn't too high up, but still high enough that Macintosh wouldn't be able to jump to reach the door. Both earth ponies looked at the filly and waited, encouraging her to call out to Rainbow.
Scootaloo didn't call out.
Matter of fact, she made no move at all. Ever since she saw the house, her body became statuesqu, Mac was pretty sure she hadn't even blinked since her eyes made contact with the floating home of evaporated water stuff.
"Scootaloo, say somethin'."
...
"Scootaloo?"
No movement, just a filly doing her best impersonation of a mannequin.
"Oh fer pete's sake. RAINBOW DASH!" Applebloom yelled.
Life returned to her, and Scootaloo gasped at the calling. The damage was done though, there was no way Rainbow wouldn't have heard that.
Sure enough, the door opened and the speedster exited her home, smiling down at the trio.
"Hey guys, what's up?" She asked gliding down to meet them. "Hey squirt. Haven't seen you around in a while."
Rainbow gently ruffled Scootaloo's mane playfully. The filly chuckled and relaxed under the affection.
"Scootaloo was wantin' ta talk to ya about somethin'." Macintosh answered, seeing the foal giving no explination of her own.
"Oh? What about?" Rainbow asked innocently.
The stallion gestured to her and told his sister to come with him.
Applebloom and Macintosh made way back to Ponyville to give the pegasi their privacy. The elder Apple genuinely hoped things would work out for Scootaloo, but even if Rainbow didn't have any interest in taking her in, she knew she was welcome to stay at the farm as long as she needed to.
Once back in town, Applebloom asked if they could go to Sugar Cube Corner for some more brownies, but Mac refused her. He could still feel the sugar from last time eating away at his teeth.
Instead, the apple ponies found themselves within a quaint little outside diner that was serving lunch. Both put in their respective orders and took a seat at one of the white, outdoor tables to eat.
"Ya think Rainbow will let her stay?" Applebloom asked after a while.
"Dunno." Mac replied. "Even if she does, Ah reckon there'll be a lot a paper work n' such with the government. Adoption ain't somethin' ta take lightly."
Applebloom looked a little worried, but Mac placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, telling her that everything would be fine. Scootaloo was a tough filly, one of the toughest he'd ever met. If she could handle living out in the woods for the winter, she could handle a little rejection.
Silence descended once more and his eyes began to wonder about, seeing if there was anything interesting to look at.
A conversation a few tables down got a little heated, not enough so to cause a disturbance, but still enough to grab Mac's attention. A couple were arguing about something or another, until the mare of the two said something that made the stallion's ears go flat and submissive. That was when the argument turned into a scolding, the unicorn mare chastising her lover for, what Mac could hear, his lack of wanting to go to see her parents.
She was obviously annoyed and continued on about how she was tired of him continually backing out of every opportunity to meet with them. The stallion, finding his second wind, retorted that her parents never liked him, and would always make snide comments behind her back, a notion his wife brushed off as him being overly sensitive, stating her parents were snarky to everypony.
A slight movement from the next table over caught his eye and he found a lavender earth pony mare he'd never seen before glaring at the couple and shaking her head.
The argument became more animated, garnering the attention of a few passers by and Applebloom.
The more he listened, the more Macintosh could empathize with the stallion. The unicorn's irritating behavior, mixed with the stallion's begrudged reservation reminded him of how he used to be with Applejack and Granny Smith. How he used to sit there and just take it. How helpless he felt, how sure he was that the mare of the conversation knew better simply by virtue of her gender.
It was the way of things in Equestria though. With the disproportionate ratio of mares to stallions, the female ponies took on most of the leadership and aggressive roles in society. The mayor was a mare, the city council were all mares, the princesses were all mares... It was a mare's world.
'Wow, when you put it that way, it sounds like it kinda sucks to be a stallion.'
Not really. While many mares could be quite condescending and sometimes cruel, they didn't do it out of a place of melevolence. It was just showing that they cared about the stallions and colts in their lives enough to want to spend time with them.
Macintosh had grown a small sense of misogyny through his experiences dealing with the females in his life, but that piqued when he'd finally left Ponyville and met Annabelle. She could be a little condescending at times, but he secretly liked that about her. Stallions were proud creatures who would often push themselves past what was healthy, and was a good thing to have mares to bring them back in line, as far as he was concerned.
'Bring them back in line? That's a little condescending, don't you think?'
Still though, now that he'd given the matter some thought, it was kind of unfair how little representation stallions had in their leadership. Colgate was his districts representative, and he tried to remember the other candidates for election.
There was Lemon Poppy, Star Gazer, Sprinkles, and Zipper, the one he actually voted for. All of them were mares, not a single stallion was a candidate for his district...
Mac furrowed his brow at the revelation. Why wasn't there any stallions for him to vote for? Granted there was a higher female population than male, but was that really an excuse to have absolutely no male say in how the city was run?
His thoughts were interrupted when the lavander mare from the next table over slammed her hooves down on the wooden surface and marched over to the arguing couple, her eyes alight with burning rage.
"How dare you speak to your husband that way!?" She sneered, her voice a contemptuous mass of venom and vigor. The unicorn mare scoffed in indignation and the earth pony stallion flinched, hiding his head in his hooves.
"Excuse me, who do you-"
"SHUT UP!" Barked the earth pony mare, silencing the unicorn. "Do you have any idea of how poorly you're treating him? Did the thought ever cross your mind that maybe you should respect his right to say no? No? I guess it wouldn't, would it. After all, he's just your husband, right? The stallion you love? Why would you respect his decision not to want to see the parents of such a controlling and manipulative unicorn mare such as yourself?!"
The unicorn looked as though she'd been smacked in the face, but that only served to fuel the earth pony mare's tangent.
"Unicorn mares, so blind to the privileges you're born with, feeling entitled to just talk down to stallions all the time, giving no semblance of a buck to respect their feelings. Do have any idea how your external misandry is hurting him? Or how you're perpetuating the matriarchy by treating him like a foal and pushing us away from a society of true equality?!"
"Hey, Mac, what's she talkin' about?" Applebloom asked curiously.
The stallion frowned mulling over her words. He'd never heard the terms "matriarchy" or "misandry" before, but it sounded a lot like female supremacy, which held a lot of truth to it, considering the positions of leadership being dominated by mares.
The bit about treating the stallion like a child was also a a throw back to a conversation Macintosh had with Sin in Canterlot, about how odd and disturbing the Federalist found the idea when Shining Armor went running to bed so Cadence wouldn't yell at him. Stallions were fully grown ponies who didn't need a mother or motherly figure in their lives, yet, wives, fiances and marefriends often treated them as such.
"Mac?"
"Hmmm?"
"Ah asked what they was talkin' about." Applebloom repeated, looking a little annoyed.
"Not too sure." Macintosh replied thoughtfully, but he was growing interested in finding out.
Uppity had arrived at the Library, and was currently sitting in the newly cleaned common area.
To call her a mess was a massive understatement. Her eyes were bloodshot something terrible, she continually nodded off with Twilight catching her tea cup in her magic when the orange mare's faded out.
Celestia had sent a letter an hour before the pony arrived. Contrary to what Twilight thought, Uppity wasn't just in town for a friendly visit, the District Attorny was working herself senseless in preparation to prosecute no less than sixty ponies. A few were communists, but the vast majority were Trotski.
According to the notice, Uppity was to enjoy a relaxing weekend at the Library. All stress was to be kept to a minimum, a visit to the local spa was mandatory, and at no point in time was anypony to mention Trials, Trotski, communists, or Canterlot.
Both Twilight and Spike had offered to let the mare take a quick nap, but she declined every offer, saying that she was too stressed out about the job to let herself sleep. This lead to the awkward delema of talking about problems making them easier to handle and following Celestia's orders to not talk about the problem.
Figuring he'd probably let it slip anyway, Spike readied himself for Twilight's ire. "Yea, Celestia said we shouldn't talk to you about the trials and your attorney work, but it's obviously bothering you. So, how's all that going?"
"SPIKE!" Twilight whined.
"Twi, look at her." Spike deadpanned pointing his thumb. "She's obviously thinking about it. I know Celestia's smart and all, but I really don't think it's good for her to have to bottle it all up like that."
Uppity offered a sleepy smile and placated the librarian's neurosis. "He's right. I know I was sent here to relax and get away from all of that for a while, but it's all I can think about..." Her face grew somber, the tiredness draining a little.
Twilight stood from her place and hugged her. "I know they took somepony special from you, and they threatened to kill your brother if you didn't do what they said. You can't keep blaming yourself for this..."
Spike agreed, he didn't want her hurting any more than she already was. Sin was his friend, but he was more than that to Uppity. The two loved eachother, even if the Federalist didn't show it. Still, he resented the ponies responsible. These 'Trotski' types in particular, since he'd come to understand them as the brains of the outfit. They deserved life in the dungeon for what they did, as far as he was concerned.
'That's not fair, most of the ponies there probably didn't have a part in Sin's death. Wishing them all to suffer like that isn't right.'
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. How would he know, though? Guess that's what the trial was for.
"I know, I just, I almost lost Downer and then... Sin... I" Uppity's grip tightened around Twilight, sniffling lightly squeezing her for all the comfort she was worth, leaving the drake feeling a mix of scathing anger and awkwardness.
He couldn't imagine what kind of pain she was going through. Downer wasn't in the hospital anymore, but recovering from a bout of dehydration. The doctor's said he'd be fine, but he'd need to rest for a while. Despite the fact that every attorny in the crown's disposal had dropped their own cases to help the DA with the Trotski and communists, she still didn't have her brother's help in law research for statutes.
The two pulled away from eachother and Uppity wipped her eyes with a hoof. "Besides." She sniffled and smiled. "I told Social Justice I'd be coming to the library for the weekend. I'll need to speak with her about how things are going with City Hall and I know she'll be asking questions about work anyway."
Spike frowned at that. He didn't much care for the new arbiter at all. She was condescending and approved more than a few ordinances he found both over bearing and down right authoritarian. Some of the rumors he'd heard around whispered that one of her lackies, Sock, had been snooping around the industrialized areas and used her authority to gain access to areas most others couldn't go without being employees.
Allegedly, the earth stallion was looking over the equipment and asking questions about safety and worker welfare, leading many of the working class ponies to assume his report would inevitably result in more safety regulations.
Safety was important in the work environment. It was like Jacker always said that the begging of every work day: "I want you all to go home in the same condition you came in." Safety applications and proper personal protective equipment were a must if one was to work on the mill. Goggles of some type to keep the dust out of their eyes and keep all hooves and claws away from the saw blades. Working at the lumber mill was dangerous, but common sense kept everypony safe...
Well, except for Ax and his "don't be no bitch" philosophy. Idiot almost got himself cut to ribbons because he didn't want to admit he'd injured his leg and almost wasn't able to pull himself off of his part of the convayer belt. Boy, did Jacker and Chopper have some colorful language for the stallion that day, Spike was honestly surprised he didn't get fired for the boneheaded stunt.
"So, how have things been around here since she became the new arbiter?" Uppity asked, forcing herself to perk up a bit. "I'd imagine things have changed quite a bit, since Sin was practically an anarchist in the position, and Justice always likes keeping things as fair and equal as possible."
"Yea, equal." Spike muttered under his breath.
Twilight answered that things were going... well enough. Changes had been made on account of Social Justice, though they weren't exactly what the town found agreeable. She hadn't spoken with the hot pink earth pony directly about it, but what she'd heard around town wasn't exactly a welcome reception. Though, it wasn't really her fault either, since all the arbiter did was hold a veto over the city council.
The position of Arbiter of City Council didn't have the authority to write up laws or anything like that, they only had the power to allow or disallow ordinances and laws to be passed that were made by the council. So, as much as irritated as the ponies were with her, it was a misdirected irritation.
The two continued to talk for a bit before a knock at the door interupted them. Spike opened it and forced himself to smile. Speak of the demon king...
"Well hello again!" Social Justice smiled in utter delight. "How have you been my little friend?"
'Little? Is she for real?'
Spike reluctantly spared the mare a face full of door and allowed her inside, she wasn't alone however. A stallion walked in behind her, a dark grey unicorn with a tanned trench coat walked in behind the arbiter; his face a grim mask of skepticism with piercing orange eyes that regarded the drake for just a moment.
Spike frowned up at the stallion, he'd never seen this pony around town before. Was he another one of Justice's lackies?
"UPPITY!" She cried, running over to her friend and embracing her in a hug. "Oh you poor thing. How's Downer doing?"
"He's recovering, thank you for asking." Uppity replied pulling back from the hug. The two chatted a little, catching up with one another before Twilight offered to make some tea.
In short order, the five of them found themselves around the dinning room table, four cups of tea for the three mares and single not-so baby dragon.
The new stallion, who'd been introduced as Detective Inquiry, refused the beverage. Justice explained that some of the legislation she'd allowed through the council had made her a few enemies around town, and had taken Inquiry's protection services when the town's police had responded to an attack on her place of residence.
The motel Social Justice was staying at had a brick thrown threw the window of her room last night. A note was attached, decrying her as a public menace who'd leave town if she knew what was good for her, but the hot pink pony wouldn't be scared off so easily. If nothing else, the threat only reaffirmed her position to stay in Ponyville and educate ponies about the law and how everypony should obey it, regardless of if they want to or not.
"I'm surprised." Twilight admitted. "You seem so calm about being threatened and tried to run out of town."
Justice shrugged. "It's not the first time I've had my life threatened."
Gee, wonder why that would be?
'Woah dude. Seriously? C'mon, she's only doing her job! Don't you remember that Sin had also had a bout with something similar when he'd cut the road maintenance budget and cost a lot of ponies their jobs, yet you offered him all the sympathy in the world. I think Justice approving a bill in candy restriction is a little less severe than that.'
Yea, and what did the Federalist do? He didn't accept any police protection, for one. Hay, he didn't even tell anypony about it, the only reason Spike found out was when the two were walking home from work, one of the construction workers had confronted the oaken pegasus to see if he was willing to "do the right thing for himself" and reinstate the road work budget. Which, of course, he didn't and offered instead to meet the pony outside of town and handle the conflict one on one.
Spike was against the conflict, of course, but Sin told him that sometimes, words wouldn't be enough. That sometimes, a stallion's steel and convictions in their beliefs had to be tested in physical fighting. He admitted it was stupid and violent, but there was a certain kind of honor and admiration to be gained in being willing to physically fight for your beliefs. The drake was sworn to secrecy after the fight was over. He'd luckily gotten out of the scrap with nothing more than a black eye and a busted lip, telling anypony who asked that he'd "slipped in the shower", but the altercation had the desired effect and the worker pony dropped the issue then and there.
'Yea, and that stallion could have killed him! Sin was stupid for letting that happen.'
Spike disagreed. When he watched the two fight, it was an honest fight. Sin got his plot handed to him, but no matter how badly he was thrown, kicked, or beaten, he'd continue to get up and go on fighting. Yea, he could have been killed and should have gone to the hospital, but what could have become a bigger problem was settled then and there. Out of town where nopony would interfere. The stallion took his licks and moved on with life, gaining a begrudged respect for his willingness to accept accountability for taking the job of another pony.
It was logically stupid, but the drake had come to accept that life didn't run on logic alone. Hay, he'd probably say that logic wasn't even what most of the world ran on. Sometimes, emotional contest needed to be indulged to maintain the peace, even if they were physically violent ones.
"Spike? Are you okay?" Twilight asked, breaking the dragon from his train of thought.
"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, I was just thinking." He replied.
Twilight quirked a brow. "Are you still thinking about what that Shady Oaks mare said to you?"
Detective Inquarie's head shifted and his orange eyes settled on Spike, the stallion's typically neutral eyes glimmering with interest now. Spike sat slack jawed, looking at Twilight.
Did she really just...
'Wow, good going dumbass.'
"Who's Shady Oaks?" Social Justice asked, her eyes going wide. "Did she talk down to you because you're a dragon?"
Spike shook his head and dismissed it, shooting his mother a less than subtle glare.
The conversations continued on, Uppity explaining how things were going with the trial preparations. Spike feigned obliviousness to the continued stares he was getting from Inquary. It made him nervous, being on the law's radar, but the damage was done and he'd just have to accept whatever came of it.
"-So yea, Cupid Protector's getting the brunt of the charges, since the only Trotski leader we had was assasinated in the hospital. We thought it was by other Trotski members to spare him prison time, but the damage done to him was... cruel, almost torture." Uppity said, looking a little queezy. "We think it was a retaliation attack by the communists for their manipulation."
Social Justice rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Oh Uppity don't be silly. Communits are a non-violent group dedicated to equality and fairness within the commune."
Spike quirked a brow, unable to believe what he'd just heard.
"But the protestors were-"
"Not real communists, dear." Justice informed lightly. "They may have had communist ideas, but they were not communists, I promise you. Though it's easy to see how you could be fooled into beliving they were. Having been sheltered in capitalist Canterlot for most of your life, still though, you shouldn't be making assumptions like that when you've got no idea what you're talking about."
'Is she for real right now?'
Spike expected Uppity to tell her off or something, but the district attorny, to the drakes bewilderment, slumped and conceeded herself. "You're right, I'm sorry."
Justice patted her on the shoulder and smiled in forgivness, Twilight and Spike shared a look. It wasn't really their place to say anything right now, but the behavior did cause both of them concern.
The conversation continued and Spike began to notice a trend between the two old "friends". Whenever Uppity would make an observation against anything Social Justice found favorable, the mare would use passive aggressive tones and gestures to chide the mare into submission. It was subtle and more than a little disturbing, Twilight had come to her aid on more than one ocassion with Justice using logic that added up in it's own weird way, but spat in the face of conventional wisdom.
Somehow, the topic of rape came up and Justice started saying things like rape could only be stopped through education, and that anypony who advocated individual responsibility was "victim blaming".
Yea, it was the rapists fault for forcing sex against somepony else, Spike could see that, but education dispelled ignorance. Twilight countered that anypony with half a brain knew when they were raping somepony else and they knew it was wrong, they just chose to do it anyway, trying to render the 'education' argument nul.
Justice countered this with things like drunken sex where either party was too intoxicated to give meaningful consent, and how the less drunk party was, in fact, committing the act of rape.
This gave Twilight pause, mainly because there was a certain amount of truth to it, but it wasn't the kind of rape she was talking about. There was a difference between intoxicated sex and forced sex against another's will... a difference that Justice didn't take well to being pointed out.
"Forgive me, Miss Sparkle, but have you ever been raped?" She asked pointedly.
"Okay, we're done talking about this." Spike declared, having had enough of the discussion.
Justice's irate glare immediately shifted to worry. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't trigger you, did I? I'm so sorry."
She was apologizing to him?! She just asked if Twilight was raped and had the gal to apologize to him!?!?!
"I think you'd better leave." He seethed, his claws clenched into fists.
The arbiter continued to apologize, begging for the drakes forgiveness, but all it did was fuel Spike's anger at her. Who did she think she was? Asking about such a traumatizing event that would leave anypony nearly broken and playing on it so self righteously!
"OUT!" He shouted, pointing to the door and huffing. The mare needed to leave, for his sake as well as her own. He could feel cold in his vains and a distinct urge to rip one of her eyes out. If she stayed much longer, he couldn't be held responsible for what cruel acts he'd inflict upon her.
Looking utterly defeated, Justice slumped and made way for the library door. He escort walked up to Spike and discretely slipped him a piece of paper before following her out.
As if the situation couldn't get any more unreal, Uppity began following after her.
"Uppity?" Spike asked, stopping the mare in her tracks.
"I need to go." She said quickly and quickly ran out the door.
Spike was flabbergasted, why did she leave? Justice had treated the mare like total crap! Why was she going along with-
"You know what? I don't even care." He sighed. Twilight looked on with a mix of pride and worry before standing up and giving Spike a hug.
"Thank you, Spike."
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Who's... Mask?
Oh no, this is 100% Social Justice. "Someone was a bad person who agreed superficially with me did something I don't agree with, therefore they don't actually agree with me."
... I can't tell if Spike made a mistake throwing her out or not. Social Justice is infamous for turning on people who are not in lockstep with their ideology... but not all the time, and not as often when it's the minority they want to focus on. Unless that "minority" is as large as "all females." Which isn't a minority anyway.
Amusingly, the "strawman" I meant when I mean Social Justice is... rarely it's perpetrated by people who say "we're gonna fight for you, even if you don't want it" anymore. Or... that's not really how it's said anyway. There's no opportunity to correct them anymore.
But usually it's "I'm affected by this oppression I am clearly not affected by." Like wealthy inheritees complaining about the oppression of their race, when that doesn't really apply to someone who's a multimillionare.
6815889 Mask and Sock (Masculism and Socialism) Both were mentioned during Social Justice's little confrontation with Fluttershy in Sugar Cube Corner.
No True Scotsman fallacies are fun to play with.
See if we can flip the genders with Feminism, since females rule Equestria already.
6815907
Aha. I was wondering...
Most incarnations of someone who uses the term "Masculism" in real life are parodies (Feminism + swapping the genders for satire sake).
Not that there aren't those who use the term matriarchy and seriously apply it to our society. They just don't use the term "masculism."
They do like the term "gynocentric" though.
Huh, does Twilight know about Fluttershy's situation.
6815918 MRA and MGTOW types.
6815954 No, that's being saved.
Since I have lived in a lawful society for the longest time since I was born, I am sharing the same skepticism that Twilight holds, though I am willing to be proven wrong if the facts are presented to me.
I'm gonna have to spend time understanding the concepts behind agorism and counter-economics. These are phylosophies that have never been mentioned in school.
This kind of logic is something that I have dealt with in my interactions with those who support statism. They sincerely believe that government is incapable of making such grand mistakes in our civil soceity. Implying that government are filled with angels. I have a hard time deciding whether to laugh or scream at this logic.
Probably the best idea for now.
What Spike says here makes sense. As much as the idealists wish for underground crime to be stopped and swept away, it is just not realistically feasible, especially in big cities.
Not true.
ooo. I was wondering how Twilight was going to react to this. Most likely in a negative way.
That argument is.....hard to counter.
*Sigh* Looks like help will not come from high places.
Lol. That was good.
I don't have a good feeling about this.
I've got a feeling that Scootaloo is gonna find that she and RD have something in common on that route.....unless my memory of RD's backstory is wrong.
Wow Applebloom, you have no tact.
Nevermind. Keep doing what you are doing AB.
He's got you there Scoots.
I remember. That was RD's best moment in this story.
I would give a high five to Applebloom.
I wonder why.
I'm preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.
I've been told that the process is a pain in the ass. Though it easily gets forgotten once the parents finally have their child.
I'm not sure about that.
Something that Mac can relate to, but on a much worse scale. His future in-laws are very despicable, especially with one of them committing a heavy crime. And the father condoned the action if I remembered correctly.
I remember. Those were horrible times.
I wonder if that is how the women felt during the old times. Especially in Greece, Rome, and middle age Europe.
Looking back, a lot has changed since this story began. Reading it from Big Mac's and Spike's perspective, I felt the resentment towards the females, my strongest being towards Twilight, Granny Smith, Rarity, Applejack, Luna and Fluttershy. Since then, reconciliations have occurred, wounds have been healed, relationships have been restored, and ideological differences have been respected and tolerated. Luna is still a bitch though. Anyway, it kind of feels like If I;m reading a different story. That's how much change has occurred.
I agree.
Have any of them actually tried or were they just prohibited from doing so? That is my next question.
oooooooo. Things are gonna get ugly~
A good question that requires a LOT to explain.
I remember. That conversation was funny and thought provoking. I was with Sin on that subject. I especially loved the part where Big Mac finished his piece by reaffirming his belief that there was nothing wrong with a mare treating their husbands like foals, with Sin looking at the red stallion with incredulously for a long time and then said "you suck Big Mac."
I laughed so hard from that.
I'm not happy to see her.
Oh....perhaps I will go easy on her for now.
Tough job.
LOL. Man I love you Spike.
I agree.
Yeah, your right.
Aw sheesh.....I am definitely not going to enjoy SJ's presence.
Good motto.
So am I.
Hmm. Quite an interesting way to describe VERY contrasting philosophies. Although, I imagine Uppity casted "anarchy" in a negative light.
Everyone in the ponyville government is to blame and I suspect that even though SJ does not have the lawful authority to write laws, she sure as hell can make the suggestions.
mmm. I've heard better insults.
aUGH, This is going to be nerve wrecking.
This....is not good. That means the equalizing bitch might have spies everywhere. Oh boy.
With a name like that, he might be the type to get into people's business with force.
Aggressive approaches against politicians always were counter-productive, as is the case here.
One of two things happened there. Either peace was made or Sin killed in self-defense. That's my speculation.
This gives me a lot to think about. It certainly makes sense and I might one day have to fight for my beliefs.
That is true.
Shit.
O.O.......Twilight.....you did not just do that.
Welllllllllllllllllllllllllll crap. Spike has officially caught the interest of the authoritarian regime.
Oh, so Platinum is dead. I was hoping that Big Mac and he would have a re-match. Oh well, at least the bastard got what he deserved. A slow and painful death.
What an ignorant bitch.
......I have no words except to say that Uppity has lost my respect.
........
.........
AUGH......Her honey filled words is pissing me off at every turn.
yup. It is VERY low of her to do.
She better take the hint.
Glad to know that Twilight knows when to give gratitude. I feel a little better now.
And congratulations Daxie. You have created a character that rubs me the wrong way every time I see her and I'm growing more and more to hate her. Everything she says and does boils me up because she is the type of personality I have personally encountered many times in my life, so you can imagine how much of this is surreal to me.
6817039 Couple of things.
You are reading a different story. As I've said before, I didn't plan to do 3/4ths of what this story became. It was originally going to just be a small critique of America's (well, most of the western worlds) indifference to the political/economic turmoil and it's ultimate conclusion, with one stallion reveling in the suffering after helping Macintosh escape jail.
Don't be too hard on Uppity. That'll be explained next chapter... I can personally attest to why she is the way she is.
And did you read the Luna part in one of the most recent previous chapters? Because that explains what happened to Prince Platinum.
6817255 I merely glossed over the Luna part, but I do remember the Griffon mentioning that a unicorn was killed. I didn't know that was plantinum though.....and if that's the case....jeez, the Triple M are fierce and bad news.
6817294 Conno don't take no shit, yo.
Oh! I actually clicked the links you had. It's Sargon of Akkad. Neat. Should have guessed you had seen the uh... anti-SJW uh... youtube takedown community?
There needs to be a term for these technically-politically-unaffiliated people. Would that cause an affiliation? I just want to have a way to name them... but... would that cause the opponents to start lumping them together and using that as an attacking point?
6820182 Sargon's a pretty cool guy, had a talk with him once... His comment section bitched me out something fierce.
6820265
For what?
6821516 My liking of Anarchism and Libertarianism.