Chapter 28: The Order of the Yellow Rose (Last Edited: 9/10/2022)
August 21, 2020
Friendship Express: On Route from Ponyville to Canterlot
Jack felt like a new man. The aches and pains which had been plaguing him for days were like a distant memory. As per Celestia’s request, he was on his way to Canterlot for further training. Shining Armor had returned to Ponyville the day before, so he could safely assume that someone else would be responsible for his training this go-round.
“We’ll be arriving at Canterlot Station in five minutes,” the train’s conductor informed.
“I wonder what kind of training they have in store for me?” Jack pondered. “Nothing too…”
“Hello, mister human!”
“Ahhh!” Jack gasped, hopping out of his seat.
Standing in the aisle staring at him was an aquamarine unicorn mare with a lyre cutie mark.
“Representative Lyra Heartstrings, right?” Jack asked as his heart rate went down to normal levels.
“Don’t be so formal, mister human,” Lyra requested. “Just call me Lyra.”
“Alright, Lyra, what can I do for you?”
“Princess Celestia asked me to bring you to the meeting room since we both live in Ponyville,” Lyra said excitedly. “Well, I mean technically, she asked me, Cherry Berry, and Time Turner to escort you, but I insisted they let me do it myself.”
“Why’s that?” Jack asked.
“Because I wanted to meet you,” Lyra answered. “You’ve been in Equestria for almost three months, and I’ve never gotten the chance to properly introduce myself.” Practically drooling, she added, “I have so many questions!”
“Like what?” Jack asked with a nervous chuckle.
Canterlot Slums
When Jack and Lyra departed from their train, Lyra led him to a more desolate area of Canterlot than what he’d seen before. The shops were rundown, and many of them boarded over. The residents seemed sickly and underfed. Lyra had been questioning him nonstop since they met with everything from how much he eats in a day to how well endowed he was. Needless to say, he was somewhat indignant toward the latter question. Now it was time for him to ask a question. “Lyra?”
“Yes?”
“What is this place?”
“Oh,” Lyra said somberly. “This is the Outer District, but I suppose it’s better known as the Canterlot Slums. Many of the poorest peasant class ponies come to Canterlot in hope of working for the Royal Family or one of the larger businesses.” She let out an audible sigh. “Most of those jobs require an extensive criminal background check that can take years to complete, and ponies are required to live in the capital during the check so they can be monitored. Officially, this district was set up to provide housing for those in waiting, but in reality, it's just used to corral the riffraff away from Canterlot high society. There's no work available for ponies who haven't been checked, so most ponies here have turned to smuggling, theft, and prostitution.”
“Why would anyone willingly go through that?” Jack asked.
“Not all peasants are on equal standing,” Lyra answered. “Sure, most of us leave comfortable lives, albeit with more restrictions than those in the other classes, but some who are less fortunate live in severe poverty. To them, there are only two options, employment in Canterlot or enlistment in the E.U.P and the E.U.P only accepts those whose special talents they deem useful in combat.” They stopped outside of a small wooden shack with a speakeasy on the front door. “We’re here.”
“Why would Celestia be here?” Jack asked incredulously as Lyra knocked nine times.
The speakeasy slid open, and a pair of eyes peered out at them. “Password?”
“Sugar Cube,” Lyra answered.
The speakeasy slid shut, and after a series of clicks, the door was pulled open to reveal Fancy Pants. “You weren’t followed, were you?” he asked.
“No,” Lyra answered, ushering Jack inside. “I cast a spell to disguise us from outsiders.”
“Disguise?” Jack asked. “What the Hell is goin’ on here!?”
“Those are questions best left for Princess Celestia,” Fancy Pants said.
“Well, where is she then?” Jack asked.
“Our sister is waiting for thee in the back,” Luna said, creeping out of the shadows. “Come.”
The room in the back was of modest size. Devoid of any decorations or furniture beyond a worn-down table in the center and a tapestry depicting two ponies linking hooves in front of a large yellow rose. Situated around the table were Time Turner, Apple Fritter, Cherry Berry, Spitfire, Three Arrows, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Princess Celestia.
“Welcome, Jack,” Celestia greeted.
“Seriously, what the fuck is goin’ on here!!?” Jack asked.
“Watch your tongue, private!” Three Arrows growled.
“KNOW THINE PLACE, HUMAN!!!” Luna roared.
Before anypony else could speak, Celestia interrupted. “Calm down, everypony!”
“Sister, thou can’t possibly let his insolence…” Luna argued.
“The ability to speak freely is one of the reasons we formed this society,” Celestia interrupted. “It defeats the purpose If we punish ponies simply for offending us.”
“Seriously, what in the name of God is going on here, Celestia!?” Jack asked. “I thought I was here for training.”
“This is a secret society for class equality,” Celestia explained. “For centuries, I’ve watched as the peasants were treated as third-class citizens and non-ponies were treated as lesser beings. It pained me, but I was unable to do anything about it.” With a heavy sigh, she continued, “The Royal Court, an institution I had set up to bring harmony back to Equestria after Luna's banishment, had long since turned into a tool by which Equestria’s elite could unfairly promote their interests over those of the common people. I watched helplessly as the nobles ganged up with the business class and military to keep everypony else down.” Celestia’s mouth curled into a smile. “However, in recent years, things have begun to change. Three Arrows and Fancy Pants began to advocate for peasant rights, and together we formed a secret society." Using her horn to shine a light on the tapestry, she said, "welcome to the Order of the Yellow Rose.”
“What does any of this have to do with me?” Jack asked.
“For several years now, Order membership has been more than enough to effectively oppose the others on the Court, but we’ve been hesitant to abolish the Court entirely,” Three Arrows said.
“And why is that?” Jack asked.
“For all our idealism, we have been unfortunately lacking in ideas for a sufficient replacement,” Fancy Pants admitted.
“That’s what makes you so valuable to us,” Three Arrows said bluntly. “You come from another world entirely, one with a system of government unlike anything on Equus.”
“Arrows!” Spitfire snapped. "We're asking for Jager's help. Don't treat him like a means to an end."
“It’s true, though,” Three Arrows shrugged.
“I thought you wanted me for my magic,” Jack said.
“The Equestrian Government wants you for your magic,” Time Turner corrected. “The Order of the Yellow Rose wants you for your knowledge.”
“That and we value you as an individual,” Cadenza said. With a sad sigh, she continued, “I truly believe you shouldn’t have been forced into service. Not being able to stop that is something I feel I should apologize for.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Princess Cadenza,” Jack said. “It means a lot to me that you tried to help.”
“Cadance,” Cadenza corrected.
“Huh?” Jack asked.
“I prefer to go by Cadance.”
"Oh, ok," Jack said. "You really don't need to apologize, Cadance. You did everything you could."
“Now that we’re done with introductions, Ah think it might be best to get tuh the point,” Apple Fritter interrupted.
“I agree,” said Cherry Berry. “We have a lot to discuss and not a lot of time to discuss it. Princess?” she asked, looking at Celestia.
“As important as the topic at hand is, we must remember that Jack came here for training,” Celestia nodded. “Keeping that in mind, I’ve asked Twilight Sparkle to send me the materials she’s collected on human government. We shall keep this meeting short and have him cover the basics.”
“The basics?” Jack enquired.
“You’re a practitioner of historical research, are you not?” asked Time Turner. “Explaining your homeland’s political system should be an easy task.”
“I was a history student,” Jack corrected.
“Then it should be easy for you,” Three Arrows insisted.
The Following is Basically a History Lecture: If you’d rather skip this part, you can.
“Where would I even begin?” Jack asked himself. “Oh, I know.” Clearing his throat, he began, “To understand the American Government, we need to go back about 2,500 years to a land called Greece. In those times, Greece was made of multiple independent city-states, most of which were ruled by kings. However, at least one of these city-states chose a different route, democracy.”
“Democracy?” Three Arrows mused.
“A democracy is a society where the common people vote on issues, or at least in the case of Athens, all free adult male citizens,” Jack explained.
“That can’t possibly have worked well for them,” Fancy Pants said. “I’m all for giving everypony equal rights, but not everypony has the knowledge to make informed decisions on every issue.”
“I don’t see how giving mares less rights than stallions would help either,” Spitfire added.
“That had more to do with the patriarchal nature of ancient human societies than democracy,” Jack said. “However, the point Fancy Pants made before is good. Having people vote directly on issues did pose problems—notably the trial and execution of the philosopher Socrates. Socrates was accused falsely of corrupting the youth and heretical religious practices. Or at least that’s how his disciples described it. As a result, he was tried and sentenced to death by jurors democratically chosen by lot.” With a sigh, Jack continued, “unfortunately, what we know about the incident comes from the writings of two of his students, Plato and Xenophon. Bit of a biased source of information, no?”
“That definitely sounds like a conflict of interest,” Lyra noted, having been furiously taking notes. “I assume there’s more to the story?”
“Yes,” Jack nodded. “The democracy practiced in Athens had the people vote directly on issues. A direct democracy, if you will. As flawed as this system likely was, it is not the same as the one used in America. Athenian democracy was wiped out when Athens along with the rest of Greece fell to the Macedonian Empire and their ruler Alexander the Great.”
“Then what’s the point of telling us?” Spitfire asked.
“Foundation,” Jack answered. “Although Athens fell, they were merely the first democracy. Not even a century after Athenian democracy was founded, another society called the Romans overthrew their monarchy. However, rather than have the citizens vote directly, representatives were elected to represent the people. A representative democracy or republic.”
“So, you have a selection of candidates that the common ponies are allowed to choose between?” Fancy Pants asked. “That could work.”
“What’s to stop these representatives from acting out of self-interest or taking power for themselves?” asked Three Arrows.
“An excellent question, corruption became a massive problem for the Roman Republic, especially in the later years,” Jack explained. “This was especially true of Rome's highest position of power, the consul. Consuls served a term of but one year. As a result, they were often desperate to make names of themselves through aggressive military campaigns such as the Punic wars against Carthage. However, the republic had a far worse problem that would be its downfall. In times of emergency, an unelected dictator would be appointed with absolute power. Normally such a dictator would give up his power when the emergency passed, but this was not the case for Julius Caesar. Caesar was a powerful general in the Roman Army, responsible for massive conquests and solidifying Rome as the most powerful nation of his time. He seized power by force and declared himself dictator for life. His rule ended with his assassination, leaving a power vacuum that plunged Rome into a period of civil war. When the wars were over, the republic had been replaced with an empire.”
“It sounds like this democracy idea is just one failure after another,” said Spitfire.
“It certainly might seem that way so far,” Jack admitted. “After Rome’s republic fell, the concept of democracy was largely abandoned for more than a thousand years apart from a few isolated examples such as the things in Scandinavia. The concept made a comeback in Northern Italy, with Republics being created in many states, such as Florence and Venice. Although these were largely aristocratic by nature, and the common people had little say. A far more significant event during those times would be the English Magna Carta. A document that didn’t create a democracy but did guarantee certain rights to the English people that could not be infringed upon by the king.”
“Art thou suggesting our sister and us give up power over a sheet of paper?” Luna asked incredulously. “We control the Moon and our sister the Sun. What document could hold more power than that?”
“Calm down, Luna,” Celestia said. “I think it’s a good idea. Like a contract between us and the citizens.” Looking back to Jack, she said, “please continue.”
“A couple hundred years after the Magna Carta was passed, a new land was discovered to the west of the known world,” Jack said. “Well, I guess discovered isn’t the right word. There was already a highly diverse native population, some of whom practiced democracy. However, most of these people hadn’t discovered writing, so their story is largely undocumented. Several powerful nations competed to colonize these new lands including, Spain, Portugal, France, and England. England’s colonies were given a great deal of autonomy, and many set up their own democratic governments. The crown jewel of these, I’d say, would be Virginia’s House of Burgesses, made up of, I think, twenty-two locally elected representatives.”
“They let their colonies govern themselves?” Fancy Pants asked.
“To a degree,” Jack answered. “A few decades after the colonies set up their democracies, the tyrannical actions of King Charles I back in England led to a Civil War between him and his elected parliament. The parliament won, and Charles I was executed. In the aftermath, a republic was briefly set up before a man named Oliver Cromwell took dictatorial-like control.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Spitfire’s earlier assessment,” Fancy Pants said. “These democracies seem prone to failure.”
“It would certainly seem that way at this point in the story,” Jack said. “The English monarchy would soon be restored, and King Charles II would sign the Habeas Corpus Act guaranteeing citizens the right not to be imprisoned without evidence. William III overthrew Charles II in the Glorious Revolution, and with his wife Mary II, he signed the English Bill of Rights into law guaranteeing free elections and free speech.”
“It sounds to me like there can be a democracy and a monarchy at the same time,” said Cadence.
“Huh?” Jack cocked his head.
“You said there was a monarch, but they also had free elections,” Cadence elaborated.
“Oh,” Jack said. “Well, while there were elected officials, the monarchy still held a great deal of power. Not quite a democracy. Although many modern states have formed democracies that keep monarchs as figureheads, but I am not very familiar with how this works. Anyway, back to the story. The freedom provided by the Bill of Rights allowed thinkers like John Locke to freely develop the last component needed for a successful democracy, liberalism. Locke held that all citizens had a right to life, liberty, and property, that government must act in accordance with the consent of the governed, and that citizens had the right to revolt against unjust government.”
“Revolt!?” Luna exclaimed. “ART THOU MAD!”
“Not in the slightest,” Jack said. “If a government is tyrannical, then the people have a right to replace it, and replace it they did. The United States of America, my homeland, was once a group of thirteen English colonies. As I stated, earlier English colonies were granted a great deal of autonomy. However, due to financial pressures, England was facing after a war with France, that autonomy was stripped. Taxes were levied by the English parliament in which the colonies had no representation. These taxes brought about violent protests, in which property was vandalized, and tax officials were assaulted. In response, the English sent troops which only enraged the colonists. Further protest turned to revolt and revolt to revolution. The Thirteen Colonies declared independence, and after years of war, with the help of England’s traditional enemies like France, independence was won, and a republic was formed. A republic which today, almost three hundred years later, is the undisputed most powerful country on Earth.”
“What’s different about American democracy from what came before?” Celestia asked.
“I’ll explain that now,” Jack said. “At America’s start, only white land-owning male citizens could vote, and we were governed loosely under a document called the Articles of Confederation. The different states had their own separate currencies on top of the federal currency. The individual states created their own laws and levied their own taxes, while the federal government didn’t have the power to do either without approval from at least 9 states. The only real power held by the federal government was the ability to maintain the post office and the military. There wasn’t really a standing military either, to be honest. Each state had a militia which could be called upon by the federal government in times of war.”
“That don’t sound like an improvement,” said Apple Fritter.
“It sounds like absolute chaos!” Fancy Pants agreed. “If the individual states were able to print their own currency, then efficient commerce between states would be nearly impossible. One state's currency could be worth far more than another’s. The exchange rate must have been a nightmare!”
“And the militia system sounds like a nightmare!” Spitfire added. “What happens when another country invades? Militia works great as a backup, but you can’t expect them to be able to take on a standing military and win by themselves.”
“Both excellent points,” Jack said. “The Articles of Confederation were a complete disaster, and most people knew it. That’s why not even a decade after they were implemented, a convention was called to replace them. The result was the United States Constitution. A document so successful that it has been used as a model for new democracies across Earth, even traditional monarchies have used it as a template for their transition to democracy.”
“Finally, we get to the point,” Three Arrows muttered.
“The Constitution created three branches of government,” Jack explained. “The legislative branch creates laws and is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each state gets two senators and a number of representatives based on population. The executive branch either passes or rejects laws from the legislative branch. This branch is led by the president, who is elected every four years in a nationwide vote. Finally, there is the Judicial Branch which settles disputes over the Constitution and is made up of a number of judges who are appointed by the president and serve for life.”
Rather than asking questions, the ponies were now either taking notes or expectantly waiting for him to continue.
“Along with the government's structure, the Constitution gave the Federal government the right to levy taxes and the sole right to print currency,” Jack continued. “But most importantly was the addition of ten amendments called the Bill of Rights. These rights included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to protest, the right to own weapons, the right to privacy, freedom from unreasonable investigation, the right to remain silent under questioning, the right to a fair and speedy trial, and numerous other rights. All powers not granted to the federal government through the Constitution were given to the states.”
The ponies continued taking notes as he went on.
“Within a few decades, the right to vote had been extended to all adult citizens who were white males. After a civil war, three amendments to the constitution were passed abolishing slavery, granting black people citizenship, and extending the right to vote to adult black males. However, the Southern states would largely ignore the latter. Many decades later, voting rights were extended to adult females. Later, several Civil Rights Acts would force the South to comply with the Constitution and outlaw refusal of service or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. As time went on, the voting age was lowered to 18, protections were granted for people with disabilities, and just a few years ago, same-sex marriage was legalized.”
History Lecture ends
“Wait, there were actually laws in place preventing ponies from marrying just because they were the same sex?” Lyra questioned. All fascination with humans seemed to have vanished as she gave an icy glare. “Why should we use your country as an example if you can’t even allow two ponies who love each other to be together.”
Jack sighed and gave a sad smile. “I won’t lie. Human society is traditionally bigoted. As a species, we spent thousands of years killing, raping, enslaving, and torturing each other over the most trivial differences, and some societies continue that tradition this very day. But it was democracy that allowed so many of us the chance to right those wrongs.” Slamming his fist on the table, he declared. “Democracy isn’t perfect! No system is! But it was democracy that allowed my country to realize that homosexuality causes no harm, that slavery is wrong, and that every man, woman, and child is of equal value regardless of biology, wealth, or beliefs!”
Three Arrows began stamping his front hooves on the ground.
“What’s he doing?” Jack wondered.
Celestia, Lyra, Cadence, and Fancy pants joined in, and soon every pony in the room was stamping their front hooves.
“Well said, Jack,” Celestia complimented. “I believe it is time to bring this meeting to a close. I’d like each of you to take one of the books stacked on the shelf home with you. Be sure not to be spotted on your way out.”
With a white glow from her horn, Celestia teleported herself and Jack out of the building.
Royal Canterlot Gardens
“What the fuck just happened!?” Jack asked in surprise.
“I teleported us to the gardens,” Celestia answered. “It’s time to continue your training.”
With an eager grin, Jack said, “Let’s do this!”
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Nope!
Ever since the Vietnam War ended, it has been VERY disputed.
Also, it seems rather unfair to neglect informing them of how the modern-day United Kingdom is a fully functioning democratic monarchy, where the Royal family is, essentially, a collective figurehead position that maintains a degree of unity and morale among the populace.
And that's without even getting into the greater Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, etc.
10752414
I said most powerful, not undefeatable. When you look at things from an economic and military standpoint, America is the top dog at the moment. The Roman Empire was once the most powerful state, but that didn't stop its fall at the hands of less powerful barbarians. A weak state can, in fact, defeat a strong state under the right circumstances. The Vietnam War brings into question America's power, about as much as the American Revolution brought into question the power of the British Empire, which remained the most powerful state on earth until WWII.
As for the British monarchy, I see your point. However, I'd say it'd be even more unfair for him to try to explain a system he's less familiar with. America's education system is very American-centric. At best, Jack would have taken an intro to world politics course at some point in college that he could have used as a basis for his explanation of the modern British Monarchy and Commonwealth, but that would be far from sufficient to explain it properly.
Might have also wanted to bring in Britain’s government since y’know it still has a figurehead royalty that they could see more parallels with than democracy.
10963022
I'll probably edit that in. Jack wouldn't be as familiar with the British system, being an American and all, but I agree I should at least mention it.