Chapter 17 - Rights and Freedoms
It was in the aftermath of the Storm King incident that Twilight came up with a rather unusual idea. As I said before, in the wake of the attack, there was quite a lot of negative feeling towards non-ponies. After all, in the last few years, Equestria had been attacked by changelings, centaurs, the odd dragon or two, and now these storm creatures. That of course overlooked plenty of home grown threats, but who said scared ponies were rational ponies? In any case, xenophobia, particularly in Canterlot, flared up sharply, and there were a number of incidents where the guard had to be called in to settle things, with a few cases even being kicked up to Day Court.
The same thing had happened on Earth in the wake of attacks by Islamic extremists. No matter how long a griffon, or changeling, or zebra had lived in the city, and been friends with plenty of ponies, suddenly they weren’t to be trusted and would turn on you at any moment. It was ridiculous! In time of course, things would settle, but I wasn’t too happy about just letting things go on like this.
As it turned out, Twilight thought the same way. She decided to address the problem by spreading the magic of friendship across the borders, to all the other species. How you ask? Why simple, she was going to do what he old mentor Celestia had done; open a school. Based in Ponyville, and with her five friends as professors, she would take in not only pony students, but also representatives from the Changeling and Griffon Kingdoms, the Dragon Lands, Yakyakistan, as well as the newly restored Hippogriffs, who by all accounts had recovered quite well from their underwater, self-imposed exile.
The idea was to get ponies interacting with many different races to stop the cause of racism at its source; ignorance. I can’t tell you how many skinheads have changed their tune once they actually met a black man, or an Asian, or a Jew. And at the same time, we’d be building relations with our new friends overseas, as well as having a nice little PR show. There was even some hush-hush talk in the corridors of power of creating something akin to the United Nations, or at the very least, a common defence pact, so that in future, the other nations wouldn’t just sit on their hands while our capital got sacked.
Celestia leapt at the idea and gave it her wholehearted approval. There was just one problem. For the school to operate, it needed to receive accreditation from the Equestrian Education Association, or EEA. This private body acted as a sort of stamp of approval for all the school, colleges and universities across Equestria. And all teachers needed to be equally accredited to teach at a passed school. There was just one problem, and that in the form of the organisations current head; Chancellor Neighsay.
He was at the head of this new xenophobic mania, and Celestia knows in his case it wasn’t just xenophobia. He was an out and out racist if you ask me. He certainly didn’t take kindly to the notion of ponies mixing with other races. Worse still, he had power of veto on any accreditation. And it wasn’t as if Celestia could just override his decision either. As a private body, she had no jurisdiction over them as she did over the Department of Education. So we soon found ourselves on a collision course between Twilight’s new school, and an ignorant, racist bellend who wanted nothing less than to see the place shut down.
Both Celestia and I could see the storm brewing on the horizon, so she attempted to nip this problem in the bid, summoning Neighsay to her court for a private meeting. It was quite rare of her to do that; close the doors of the court, more so to have her invite somepony, rather than them coming forward as a petitioner.
Still, Celestia is a fine diplomat and negotiator. I was fairly sure that she would be able to talk Neighsay around, or at least get him to back off for a time. But she wanted to be extra prepared, just in case, and asked me to be on hand in the throne room to help if things descended into legal arguments.
I figured that there might be some heated debates, but I couldn’t foresee what actually happened.
The meeting was set for a little after lunch. Morning is the busiest time in court, and things tend to slowly taper off after lunch until the evening. This way, we’d be inconveniencing as few ponies as possible by temporarily closing the court. Celestia, as ever, sat on her throne, a picture of serenity and patience. And I was standing beside her. I considered once or twice borrowing Luna’s throne since it was there and she wasn’t using it, but I’m not the Princess of the Night, and I’ve seen how Celestia reacts to Discord stealing her chair. So I patiently stood beside her, a few files tucked under my arm.
The double doors opened and Neighsay was escorted in. He was quite tall and lanky by pony standards, with an equally long, almost gaunt face. As was somewhat common in Canterlot society, he was dressed. In his case, he wore a rather ornate looking maroon robe that somewhat reminded me of the Freemasons. And on his lapel, he wore a bright gold medallion with his organisation’s emblem on it. I knew from experience that this wasn’t just some trinket. It was a magical amplifier; the guy was no Twilight Sparkle, and he used this to summon his little portals that he used to travel across Equestria, amongst other things. Bones had been working on something similar himself the last I’d heard.
As he approached the foot of the dais, his eyes fixed on Celestia for a moment. Most ponies smile, some even show a hint of reverence, but not him. His face remained an impassive mask of neutrality. Celestia, not to be outdone, mirrored his lack of a reaction. He then turned to me.
It was clear from the off that he didn’t like me. As I said, we’ve had dealings before. When Celestia first appointed me as her legal advisor there were some objectors and detractors. A lot of it faded away once the preposterous rumours were shown to be false, but a stalwart few, like Blueblood, as well as Neighsay, continued to resent my position in the princess’ inner circle. He glared at me, doing little to hide his obvious disgust. But like Celestia, I gave him nothing. To do otherwise would just play into his nonsensical world view that everything that wasn’t a pony was out to get him.
Celestia started things off, doing her best to at least break the ice and try and start things from a friendly outlook. Sadly, she was unsuccessful.
“Good day, Chancellor Neighsay,” she said kindly. “It is always a pleasure to see you in my court.” Neighsay offered the bare minimum of a bow.
While he isn’t stupid enough to say it out loud, I know for a fact that he thinks that Celestia is too soft, too ‘weak kneed’ as he put it when it came to protecting Equestria from foreign threats. I might even go as far to say that he thinks, considering what happened, she shouldn’t be the ruler of Equestria, nor should Luna. I took a long, slow breath, and resisted the urge to remove his spine. Neighsay spoke as he stopped at the foot of the two thrones.
“While I am grateful for the invitation, your highness,” he said, in a voice that somewhat reminded me of Orson Wells. “I fear I must ask that we keep this meeting brief. I have a serious issue with a school being opened by Princess Twilight Sparkle that I need to deal with.” Celestia allowed herself the smallest of smiles.
“And it is for precisely that reason that I have asked you here,” she replied, before turning to me. “I trust you remember my legal advisor, Mr. Owen?”
“Good afternoon, Chancellor,” I said neutrally. He continued to glare at me in disgust. I just continued to pretend that it wasn’t driving me barmy.
“Ah, yes,” he said, with some disgust, before turning back to Celestia. “Princess, I think it would be best if you ask him to step outside while we discuss this issue. While I’m sure he has a fine knowledge of Equestrian law, this really is a pony matter.”
Okay, friendly tip, when Celestia overlooks your blatant racism and political snipping, invites you into her court, and gives you an opportunity to be vaguely civil, I always advise that you take it. Because very rarely is there a second chance with her. Neighsay was about to learn this the hard way. Celestia’s previous warm, maternal look now fell away, replaced by an icy stare that had made even minotaur knees buckle.
“Mr. Owen is my legal advisor, Chancellor. His presence is required.” she replied coolly. “And when you stand in his presence, you have the decency to speak to him directly, instead of referring to him as if he were a piece of furniture. Is that clear?” Neighsay snorted.
“Very well,” he grumbled, pouting like a child. Celestia resumed her friendly demeanour.
“Now, I understand that you have some concerns relating to the school of friendship that Twilight is proposing,” she went on, in a tone that said, ‘do watch your tone with me, mortal’. “Would you care to explain them to me?” Neighsay now started in earnest.
“Princess,” he began, in the tone of a university lecturer who knows he has tenure. “Twilight Sparkle’s proposed school for friendship represents a serious threat to Equestria’s security and the safety of your subjects. She intends to invite other dangerous and uncivilised races, including dragons and changelings, to send representatives to undertake her courses. This will place pony students in grave danger by having them in such close proximity with these beings. Furthermore, her teaching of her so-call Friendship Studies, runs the risk of potentially allowing our enemies to turn our greatest asset against us.” He continued on with his explanation, such as it was, but I tuned out at this point.
Now, there were several arguments you could make against Twilight’s new school. One, which Bones had pointed out in a rather heated argument with Applejack, was that Twilight and her friends had a lot of responsibilities as it was. Fluttershy had her animal sanctuary, Rainbow had her Wonderbolt career, Rarity her own little fashion empire, Pinkie her job at Sugarcube Corner, Applejack had her farm, and Twilight was a princess. It seemed foolhardy to expect these six mares to somehow live their lives and teach full time without going mad or being dead on their hooves.
Neighsay however, hadn’t gone down that route. He hadn’t presented a rational or logical argument as to why the school shouldn’t get accredited. Instead, I had to sit through the better part of a ten minute speech on the dangers of foreign species. You’d have thought that Tempest, a pony collaborator, had nothing to do with the attack on Canterlot. Celestia too showed strain, even behind her princess mask. One of us was bound to crack at some point. And I cracked first.
As Neighsay paused to give us a moment to respond to his latest moronic statement of blatant racism thinly clothed in a veneer of national security, I decided to make my opinions plain. I mean, let’s be honest, from what we’d just sat through, it was clear he wasn’t going to change his tune. I let myself enjoy the silence for a moment before offering up my rebuttal. I would like to add that he was asking for it.
“Chancellor Neighsay,” I began, using my patient father tone for a moment, before turning to a more lecturing lawyer one. “What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I’ve ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everypony in this castle is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may this mare have mercy on your soul.” I gestured to Celestia who sat beside me. Neighsay’s eyes were bulging out of their sockets.
I watched with no small amount of amusement as Neighsay became more and more furious at my reply. But it was the politest way I could think of to tell him he was the single most monumental dingleberry I’d ever had the misfortune of meeting in my entire time in Equestria. And in that list I include Blueblood. Celestia meanwhile, no doubt finding the situation amusing, simply remained calm and collected as she waited for her opponent’s response. He could do one of two things, offer a rational counter argument, or what he actually did.
“Do you see, Princess!” he bellowed furiously, jamming a hoof in my general direction. “This stupid ape will not even take my concerns seriously. How can you trust him to advise you on matters that affect the very course of our great nation’s history, when he is blind to what is right in front of him?” Celestia frowned for a moment.
“I would not say he is blind, Neighsay,” Celestia answered. “In fact I’d say that he sees perfectly well. Furthermore, if you use such a derogatory slur against him one more time, I will have you ejected from this court.” Neighsay was aghast.
“You would remove me from the discussion simply because my viewpoint is unpalatable to you? Because it doesn’t fit in your little world of reformation and everlasting harmony?” Celestia now stood. He was treading a very fine line.
“I would remove you,” she replied, flaring out her wings in a show of strength. “Because there is no place in this court for racism or intolerance. My advisors have the right to live and work in a place where they are not insulted and ridiculed merely because they are not a pony.” Neighsay smiled a cruel smile.
“And I have a right to express my opinion; it is my freedom of speech. You can drag me out of here, Princess. But it will not silence me. Nor will it stop me from ensuring that your former student’s insane idea never comes to pass.”
And with that he turned and stalked away from us, past several guards who all looked like they wanted to pile in and kick six bells out of him. They, and indeed I, were only held back by our training and respect for Celestia, who would not approve.
I was shocked. Stunned even. In all my years in this court, nopony, not even Luna, hell, not even Discord, had spoken to Celestia like that. Luckily, Celestia stopped me from doing anything too stupid.
“If you’ll excuse me, Tia,” I said, starting to make my way down the steps of the throne. “I have to go and throw a pony off the edge of the city and watch them fall to the valley below.”
Fortunately, before I could go and attempt to commit premeditated murder, Celestia held me fast in her golden magic.
“I think that might be a little excessive, Roger,” she chided. I resisted for a moment before giving in and letting her float me back to her side. I turned to her as she set me down.
“I don’t care who he is,” I replied. “Nopony gets to talk to you like that and gets away with it. I’ll haul him back in here for contempt of court at the very least. Celestia however, saw a bigger picture.
“Not just yet,” she said calmly. “It wouldn’t achieve anything anyway. “Besides, he is right. He may be a racist and a bigot, but he also has the right to be. And arresting him would only make him a martyr to his cause.”
I sighed as I recalled the relevant legislation. Like America, Equestria has freedom of speech. The same laws that allowed those cross burning, dunce cap wearing morons, to stand in front of the Capitol all day long moaning about a black president, also let Neighsay yammer on about how ponies were the superior race.
In contrast, back in the mother country, while you had freedom of speech and expression, there was a limit. In Britain it is an offence to ‘incite racial hatred’. So, I can say, for example, let’s be original, and say I dislike Moslems or Jews. I can say that. I can have that viewpoint and no one can tell me any different. I can sign up to racist newsletters and websites, give money to racist organisations, be a member of the BNP, and I wouldn’t break any law. But if I went out into the big wide world and started shouting on a street corner how we should deport all Moslems because they’re terrorists, or kill all the Jews because they’re instruments of the Lizard people Zionist conspiracy, then I would commit an offence. I would be in breech of public order laws by causing harassment, alarm or distress to the people I was being a racist jackass towards, and I would be inciting racial hatred.
In other words, you can be a racist as much as you like. But if you start encouraging others to become not only racist, but also put the discriminated group at risk by encouraging people to take illegal action, then you commit an offence. It was a fine line between free speech and protecting others. You had a right to an opinion, and you still had a right to express that opinion. But you don’t get to make someone else’s life hell because of it.
To my mind, it worked. While you had racists and skinheads in Britain, we no longer had to put up with the likes of Oswald Mosley's Union of Fascists, nor did we have groups of nutters camped out in the woods, armed to the teeth looking to start a race war. But to the Americans, that was oppression by big government, and therefore communism, or something like that.
Anyway, the same did not apply in Equestria. Neighsay could, quite legally, close down Twilight’s school due to his own prejudices, destroying all of her hard work and robbing us of a chance to make the world that little bit better.
I think it’s high time I wrote a bit of case law myself.
So, for a change of pace, I found myself actually as the one bringing a petition to Celestia’s Day Court. I proposed an amendment to existing Equestrian racial equality laws, firstly to include other non-pony species (the law was first written up when the country was founded to prevent discrimination between the three tribes) under the act, and also to make it a criminal offence to deliberately provoke hatred of a racial group, distribute racist material in public spaces, make inflammatory public speeches, publish racist literature, and to incite inflammatory rumours about a particular racial group for the purposes of spreading racial discontent.
Now, quite a few of the nobility dubbed this the beginning of the Thought Police. I countered with one simple argument. Don’t all creatures have a right to live in a world where they aren’t mocked, ridiculed, insulted, harassed or threatened, purely because of their race, colour, or creed? You can keep your freedom of speech, but exercising that freedom should not impact on the rights of others.
And of course, the threshold for committing these offences was quite high. You could quite happily complain to your neighbour over the fence about how the Yaks were coming over here, taking our job and our women until the cows came home. That was on private property, and no business of the crown. But if you went around to some unfortunate Yak’s house banged on his door, told him to go back where he came from and threw acid at him (all of which happened to a good friend of mine from Pakistan), then we would be hauling you in. As I said, my proposed amendment trod the fine line between protecting freedom of speech and avoiding seeing this legislation used to protect each and every little special snowflake, while at the same time, standing up to ponies like Neighsay.
Now, in Britain, it took a long time to get this sort of thing passed through Parliament, and it still isn’t always properly enforced in some parts of the country. In Equestria though, thanks to having an absolutist diarchy, it only took about a week or so. The new legislation was added into the existing Criminal Justice and Public Order Act and it became an offence to incite public hatred on the basis of race or species.
Of course, while we’d been busy putting a long overdue amendment into Equestrian law, Neighsay had been hard at work too, making life absolutely hell for Twilight and the others.
The school had opened with quite a sizeable student body, including several students from overseas, from Yakyakistan, the Changeling Kingdom, the Dragon Lands, the Griffon Kingdom, and even the newly restored Hippogriffs. And after a couple of weeks, absolutely nothing had happened. No deaths, injuries, fire, brimstone, or end of days. It was just like any other school. And that flew in the face of Neighsay’s concerns.
In fact, the school was, despite his objections, well on its way to getting signed off on by the EEA, as it met all their required criteria. However, by following that, the actual experience and quality of teaching had fallen off a bit, resulting in more than a few students bunking off.
The short version is that it all came to a head when Neighsay came to inspect the school. Through some minor misunderstanding involving some of the exchange students, Neighsay managed to get the school shut down, using it as a rallying cry for his xenophobic world view. Twilight was heartbroken, poor thing. While my wife, who was there to witness the whole incident, got in quite a shouting match with Neighsay, at one point, calling him a twat.
So, one step forward, two steps back.
There was an upside though. First of all the situation got resolved fairly quickly. Twilight, had she not become a princess, would have made a fine lawyer. In a brilliant move, she chose to open her school without EEA recognition; all perfectly legal and above board. The students promptly returned, and there wasn’t a damn thing Neighsay could do about it.
Even better, although I’m not sure that’s exactly the right word, Neighsay shot himself in the hoof by running his mouth in front of several foreign dignitaries. I’m no diplomat, but spouting xenophobic, racist nonsense, in front of those you’re discriminating against isn’t a good idea. Particularly when those individuals have armies to call upon.
Needless to say, his actions caused a pretty serious diplomatic incident. It took a lot of work on Celestia’s part to smooth things over. And Twilight and her friends were able to convince the other nations to send their exchange students back to the newly reopened school.
Now, the Equestrian Education Association may be a private body, and not typically subject to oversight from the Equestrian government, nor did we have any say in the way they operated, hence why Celestia couldn’t just make Neighsay pass Twilight’s school as fit and proper. However, yours truly had recently passed some new legislation that did cover public spaces, such as the grounds outside of a school, that made Neighsay’s actions a criminal offence. And that was discounting the political maelstrom he’d cooked up for us to deal with.
Celestia was quick to again request, or rather, require, his attendance in her court.
I wasn’t present for Neighsay’s second meeting with Celestia, nopony was but Neighsay and Celestia herself. The court was closed and nopony was let in or out for a little over forty minutes. When Neighsay finally emerged, I asked Buttercup to bring him to my office. He looked pretty shook up, but still had a glint of defiance in him. Still, it was clear that Celestia had told him, in no uncertain terms, precisely what she thought of him.
Buttercup let him into my office, closing the door behind him as he went. I gestured to the seat opposite, and Neighsay, after a moment’s pause, sat down and glared at me, as he had the last time we met.
“Well,” I said. “I believe the Princess has already made her feelings on recent events clear, so I shan’t waste time repeating myself.” If ponies could, I’m fairly certain Neighsay would have snarled at me.
“What do you want?” he asked coldly.
Now, just to be clear, yes I despise Neighsay. He was arrogant and closed minded. But at the same time, I did need to work with him. The EEA was a big part of that great machine we call the Realm of Equestria. I couldn’t just start some silly feud with him over this incident. I needed to take the high ground. After all, I’m a solicitor; my job is to make a deal.
“Simple,” I replied with my best attempt at sincerity. “I want to help resolve this whole unpleasant affair in a way that suits both of us. Regardless of what you may think about non-ponies, Chancellor, you are in great deal of trouble.” Neighsay snarled.
“I’ve done nothing wrong!” he snapped back irritably. “I closed down that mess of a school and sent those dangerous creatures packing, saving several ponies, including Princess Twilight.”
“You also caused a serious diplomatic incident,” I countered gravely. “In fact you almost pushed us into political isolation, and even a world war. Over a school I might add.”
“That school represents everything that is wrong with Equestria,” Neighsay argued. “We need to protect ourselves from threats beyond our borders.”
This was going nowhere, so I tried a different tack.
“True,” I replied, catching Neighsay off guard. “We do need to protect ourselves. From our enemies, not our allies. And Chancellor, I think you forget who was leading those creatures when they attacked Canterlot; one of our kind.
“Do you think I, or Celestia, are ignorant of your point of view? But what you propose; total isolation, is what got us in trouble in the first place. Do you think I would have sat idly by if I had known there were two nations south of our borders that we had heard nothing from for several years? That ignorance is what saw this city overrun.”
“Really, I thought it was those savage Storm creatures,” Neighsay replied.
“Is Princess Twilight teaching any Storm creatures?” I offered. “No. She is teaching Griffons, who have been our allies for generations. She is teaching Yaks and Changelings, both of whom we have concluded treaties of peace with. And she is teaching dragons, who thanks to the efforts of young Spike, are now slowly opening up to the idea of a mutual alliance and have not crossed our borders for several years. That is why I take exception to your viewpoint, Chancellor. It is not logical. Your actions would cause the very thing you wish to avoid.
“But you see, I don’t think you really give a damn about Equestria. I think your actions at Twilight’s school were because of something far simpler.”
“Oh? And what is that?” Neighsay asked.
“You are a racist,” I replied simply, with a hint of sadness. “Behind all your concern about protecting Equestria, there’s an undercurrent of pony superiority. You see other species as savage, uncivilised, lesser.”
Now, I was expecting many possible reactions. Most racists, when you point out their racism, will outright deny it. That’s what makes it so hard to tackle. Even the most horrid EDL type will say he’s protecting his family or other such nonsense. I know, because I did the exact same thing towards Catholics when I ran with the volunteers. I only hated them because they were violent, deceptive traitors and the lot of them deserved to die. That wasn’t racism, right? Neighsay however, made no such denials.
“Well, our princesses do move the sun and the moon, we control the weather across most of the planet, and our magic allows us to protect ourselves from any foe. I do not blame those other species for being the way they are. It’s not their fault that you are all lesser than us.”
Wow. That’s all I can say about that, I think. It certainly hammered home just how little Neighsay thought of me. Were it not racist in and of itself, I’d say that Neighsay fits the arrogant unicorn stereotype to a T.
It was painfully clear that he wasn’t going to change his tune. Celestia had told me as much before she summoned him back to the castle. She’d told me that she wasn’t going to try and get him to change, only give him the telling off of a lifetime and threaten him with dire consequences if he tried anything like that again.
I hated cases like this; ones where you couldn’t really bring the matter to a successful close. Sure, I could do what I was going to do now, but I couldn’t really stop Neighsay from being a jackass, nor could I have him removed from his position in the EEA. He had no business being an educator. He talked about how other species were poisoning the minds of impressionable young foals. I wonder how many kids had grown up with his repugnant rhetoric ringing in their ears. I mean, even if I threw him in jail, this problem of racist bellends existing would still persist. The only thing I could hope for was, as time passed and ponies moved on from the attack on Canterlot, the hysteria would subside.
Then again, look at the Americans; almost twenty years after the fact and flying to their country is still like visiting the old Soviet Union.
But still, it was time to deal with Neighsay as best I could. He needed at least a slap on the wrist for the trouble he’d caused, and I needed to send a strong message to others like him.
“I see,” I said with frown, doing my best to not show how that last remark got to me. Leaning back in my chair, I laid out my plan to him.
“Here is what’s going to happen to you, Chancellor,” I said with a very faint smile. “I am going to let you walk out of here in a moment. You will go back to your office and continue in your role as head of the EEA. You will not however, go anywhere near Twilight Sparkle’s school or any of its students or faculty. In exchange, I will not be prosecuting you for inciting racial hatred. Regardless of what you may think about other creatures and the notion of free speech, your actions there, which caused Their Majesties’ Government no small amount of embarrassment, were quite in contravention to the law.”
“Surely you can’t be serious!” Neighsay exclaimed in alarm.
“I’m deadly serious, Chancellor,” I replied. “And don’t call me Shirley.”
“But I have rights; freedom of speech. This is unlawful censorship!” I held up my hand, which actually got him to shut his gob.
“Your rights end when you infringe the rights of others,” I retorted sharply, getting to my feet and using that old trick of LBJ’s to intimidate him with my height. “Now, do we have a deal, or do I need to have the guards come in here and slap hoofcuffs on you?”
Neighsay thought for a moment, but we both knew I’d got him between a rock and a hard place. Sneering at me, he too got to his hooves.”
“Fine,” he spat angrily. “You have a deal. But mark my words, human; that school will cause nothing but trouble.”
And with that, he stalked out of my office, shoving his way past Buttercup on his way out. I heard the young guardspony let out an angry cry as the Chancellor pushed past him. A moment later, he trotted through the open door into my office.
“How’d it go?” he asked curiously.
“Eh, about as well as we could hope for,” I replied. “He’s going to be trouble down the line though. I’ve only driven him off for now. I just can’t believe that there are people like him here in Equestria. I’d hoped I’d left nonsense like that back on Earth.” Buttercup nodded.
“If it makes you feel any better,” he replied. “There’s plenty of ponies who agree that he’s a jackass. Hay, there’s two exchange officers from the Crystal Guard who wanted to kick his flank for what he said about Spike. You know how the Crystal Ponies see him.”
“Well, hopefully, with time, the whole fear of the big bad world will fade; particularly seeing as how there aren’t any other hostile powers to worry about. It pisses me off how some ponies just turn on old friends because of their race.”
“Well, you know what they say,” Buttercup offered. “A pony is smart. Ponies are dumb, panicky, dangerous creatures and you know it.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” I agreed. “Well, at least he’s a vocal minority. And he’s only being rude instead of taking any real action. I remember a mate of mine, he had to have the fire brigade come and fit a special fireproof bag on his letterbox after somebody poured petrol through it.” Buttercup let out a low whistle at that.
That night, my concerns about clashing with Neighsay and his ilk in the future were still playing on my mind. Like I said before, at best, I’d forced him into a stalemate, and that left me feeling unsatisfied. If nothing else, I still couldn’t get over how rude he’d been to Celestia. I mean, Tia and I might have had our disagreements, particularly over Starlight, but once she’s made her decision, I’ve respected it always. And let’s be honest, more often than not, she’s been right in the end.
My concerns were evidently clear to my wife, who asked me what was bothering me as we both climbed into bed for the night.
“You’ve been really pensive all evening,” she commented as she pulled the covers up. “Something on your mind?” I nodded.
“Oh, just trying to deal with that stubborn fool Neighsay,” I replied, rubbing my eyes to ward off sleep. “He’s going to be trouble down the line.”
“He’s trouble enough as it is,” Margaret replied. “I warned Twilight about him when she first came up with the idea. I had enough trouble from the EEA when I first started teaching. They sent three inspectors; two of them were alright, but one was just like Neighsay; wanted to boot me because I wasn’t a pony. It was only the majority verdict that got me through.”
“I mean, I get that the EEA runs education for the most part, but the way he talked to Twilight, to Celestia, even I wouldn’t have the guts to speak to her like that. And that’s ignoring the political mess he caused.”
“He actually threatened to get me fired too when I called him out on his behaviour.” That got my attention.
“He what?!” I exclaimed. Margaret waved off my concern.
“Don’t worry, Bones got him to calm down. Besides, it’s not like he can. Cheerilee and me both have tenure; the whole board of governors would have to agree to get rid of either of us. Neighsay’s mostly full of hot air if you ask me.”
“Still,” I said taking of my glasses and lying down in the bed. “I don’t like the idea of just letting him be. Celestia knows he’s planning something. Dammit, I hate politics.”
“He can plot all he wants,” Margaret replied. “He still can’t do anything. Twilight’s school is off his patch. He tries anything Celestia and will step in, and Twilight can stand up for herself when she has to. He’ll just skulk back to his little corner now he’s thrown his toys out of his pram. Give it a month and nopony will even remember that he did anything.”
I hoped she was right. Since the school had gone independent it had come on in leaps and bounds. The classes were back at full attendance and the kids were enjoying learning about the magic of friendship. Plus it was a huge propaganda coup for Equestria, and it was even helping Celestia’s idea for an Equestrian counterpart to the United Nations gain traction.
For now, Margaret was right; there was little to be done about Neighsay. I’d just have to keep my ear to the ground and watch for any tricks he might pull. I’d find myself running into him again in the not too distant future and at the same time uncovering the first hints of a conspiracy from a very unlikely source.
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Roger is having some real fun there, though he missed something as good as Shirley.
Who does this Neighsay think he is, the Big Cheese?
Neighsay, you is gonna get your comeuppance, and mister, you ain't gonna like it.
Now taking bets on how far Neighsay will fly once kicked. Fifty yards is leading at two to one odds. Ten bits per wager, no crowding, please...
.......
Jesus Christ, he sounds like that retarded little king of London, Sadiq Khan, and the whole chapter sounds like beating a straw man. I'm not even sure if this chapter is practically pandering to the Progressive Far Left to get favors from people here on the site or just wanted to verbally vomit so many tired talking points about "racism is bad mmkay". God damn I'm so tired of people blindly pushing a protection racket onto groups because of their skin color or national origin.
BTW, yes, your country is full of Communists. Here's your proof.
Also Tommy Robinson did nothing wrong.
Of course, Neigh Spade is going to sound like Orson Welles.
9847244
I'm kinda just tuning it out as being part of the character, cuz the story itself is very good.