Contemplation
Applejack has to deal with the growing number of dissenters that are cropping up around Ponyville after Luna’s death.
Applejack let out an unladylike grunt as she pulled her apple carts across Ponyville, trudging down the streets with all the might her stout frame could muster. She needed to get her share of provisions down to the train station for transport, lest the beancounters in Canterlot fine her again for tardiness in fulfilling a civic duty.
Normally Apple Bloom would be helping with the deliveries but with the ludicrous demands the crown have been placing upon her recently, and by extension all of Ponyville’s essential producers, they’ve had to split up their chores. Apple Bloom was back on the farm busy bucking apples from sunup to sundown, while Applejack handled pretty much everything else.
In between tight spending, higher taxes and weekly tithes there was too much work that needed to be done and not enough hooves to help.
Things have been terrible on the farm ever since Big Mac died in Osaka. His wife, Sugar Belle, passed away shortly after due to a broken heart leaving Applejack and Apple Bloom behind as the sole proprietors of Sweet Apple Acres to take care of the family business. Since then it's only been the two of them doing the job of ten ponies. They’ve tried hiring more employees but Ponyville as a whole had been lost in its own set of troubles that made the hiring process difficult, to say the least.
It began with Luna's death.
News of Luna’s shocking death at the hands of the terrible human forces during the battle of Jerusalem had shaken the nation to the its core. It wasn’t everyday your living deities was brutally murdered via full contact lead poisoning and ponies were left at a complete loss at what to make of it. Some were furious, others mournful, but the vast majority of the populace were absolutely devastated.
Ponyville in particular had been hit the hardest by those emotions seeing as the princess of the night held the sleepy little town close to her heart. Those memories of that one very special Nightmare Night were as vivid as they’ve been in years.
In the days since Luna’s funeral, a dark cloud has hung over Ponyville. The once cheerful atmosphere that seemingly radiated off every surface had been replaced by one of unease and apprehension.
Ponies have been talking about things that shouldn’t be talked about, saying things that shouldn't be said. They think Applejack can’t hear them whispering on the street corner when she’s not looking, that she’s too busy hauling apple carts down the street to pay attention to their moral dilemmas. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
Ever since Lyra and her merry band of treacherous scum (she included Fluttershy amongst their rabble) slipped out of Equestria under the cloak of darkness, Applejack had become unwaveringly vigilant in light of dissenters, ensuring that kind of mistake never happens again.
Half of the reason why nopony would willingly work for Sweet Apple Acres was that the criteria to become an employee there were slightly unreasonable. There were all kinds of checks that needed to be done during the hiring process; background checks, credit checks, gumption checks (whatever that was), Applejack wanted to be as thorough as possible. The other half was that ponies were too paranoid of the Equestrian Secret Service to stay near a mare for around twelve hours out of the day who would rat them out in a heartbeat when given the chance.
Now, in Applejack’s defense, she hasn’t actually reported anypony to the ESS yet and was willing to turn the other cheek in some cases. That being said, she’s made it very clear to the townsfolk that she will not tolerate dissent in any way, shape or form.
Whenever she gets the chance she does her best to sway others from walking down the crooked path, be it through intimate discussions, uplifting reassurance or, if need be, verbal threats and unabashed bribery. It’s made her somewhat unpopular amongst the various social circles around Ponyville, but she didn’t care as long as the loyalty of her home and neighbors were ensured and remained true to the Equestrian cause.
Eventually, after straining for so long, Applejack breathed a sigh of relief as the train station came into view. She stepped to and approached a large pavilion beside the station where a stuffy looking purple unicorn with a perfectly coifed mane was punching numbers into an adding machine. He was one of those fancy accountant type, dressed in an immaculate gentlepony’s blouse and matching velvet jacket who was so engrossed in own work that he failed to notice Applejack standing right in front of him. Rolling her eyes, Applejack greeted the stallion.
“Afternoon, Number Cruncher,” said Applejack. “I’m here to deliver my tithe.” The unicorn briefly looked up from his adding machine before resuming his task, it was unclear whether or not he actually registered Applejack’s presence. If he did he didn’t show it.
“Good afternoon, miss Applejack,” Number Cruncher replied in the slow and disinterested way all bureaucrats seem to possess. “Late again, I see.” His reply instantly cause Applejack to perform a double take.
“Bwuah? Bu- Hold on a gosh darn second there, bucko! What do you mean I’m late?!” Applejack exclaimed, frowning. “I’m early this time! It’s ten before high noon!”
“That was the old time,” Number Cruncher drawled. “Due to the tragedy of Princess Luna’s unfortunate passing the crown has decided to update the existing conditions when delivering your weekly tithe. From now all all tithes are expected to be delivered before ten o’clock a.m. every Sunday.”
“Bu-but I never got a memo! Why wasn’t I informed of this!” Applejack snapped.
“All eligible producers and suppliers of priority commodities were sent advisory memos the week prior. You should’ve received one through the mail last Monday. The memo was sealed in a gold trimmed envelope stamped with the Canterlot insignia signifying its importance.”
“I don’t remember getting no gold trimmed envelope in the mai-!” Applejack paused midway through her angry retort and audibly gulped when she suddenly remembered that she did in fact receive a gold trimmed envelope in the mail last Monday.
She also remembered that was the day they ran out of plant fertilizer and had to resort to making compost out of whatever biodegradable waste she could get her hooves on. Old slop scraps from the pig trough, tree clippings and apple cores from the apple fields, and, of course, junk mail. In her haste, she must have added it to the compost pile without so much as giving it a second thought.
If Applejack could buck herself in the face there was no better time for her to do it than now.
Sighing defeatedly, she resigned herself to her rotten luck and soldiered on regardless.
"Alright, what's the damage this time?" she mumbled.
"Seeing as the going rate for tardiness is two bits per minute over the cutoff point, your fine comes up to two hundred and twenty bits," replied Number Cruncher. Applejack bit the bottom of her lip in frustration. This was the steepest price she's had to pay so far for being late. The farm's financial situation was already in the red as it is, losing another two hundred for stupid mistakes was just rubbing salt in the wounds at this point. "You can pay your fines within the month. Failure to comply wil-"
"Yeah, yeah, I already know! You'll seize my assets," Applejack growled. "Just take the apples and let me deal with the money situation."
"Very good, miss Applejack," Number Cruncher nodded. "I'll have the guard unload them for you. They'll return your carts to your farm within the following business day. Thank you for your contribution to the war effort. With each tithe obtained Equestria gets closer and closer to vic-"
"Victory, yeah. I've heard this one before," Applejack grumbled before turning away sullenly and walking back into town with her head hung low.
Back at the farm, Applejack began crunching some numbers of her own after the fiasco at noon. Two hundred and twenty bits might not be a lot to the average business owner, but when you were failing to make enough profit with each sale in between the tithes and fines every bit lost was another gallon of water spilling into a sinking ship.
She frowned as she looked over her papers. She double checked and triple checked her math from all the monthly expenses and didn't like what she was seeing.
Sweet Apple Acres financial situation were the worst it has been in a long, long time. Unless she turned it around somehow Sweet Apple Acres would be bankrupt in a few months, and that's assuming the beancounters don't just up and take it from her for failing to comply with the tithes. Maybe she could convince Twilight to pull a few strings for her to prevent the latter but even then she'd still be stuck with a failing business trapped in the midst of an economic freefall.
Applejack fell back into her chair and covered her face with her stetson to cover the scowl on her face.
Five years.
The damned war had been going on for five years and victory was still out of reach for Equestria.
She always knew humans were stubborn as a mule, but dragging a war out this long? Pure insanity. Equestria should've won years ago. In and out in a year, that's what the royals promised. Human discourse left them weak and divided, pony harmony was clearly superior in every way. Surely they would see the folly of their ways and surrender themselves to the conversion process willingly by now, but evidently that wasn't the case as demonstrated by the deaths of Shining Armor and Princess Luna.
As if that weren't enough, all of Equestria was currently suffering through dire economic straits. It was like a punch line to a sick and twisted joke.
The fact is that Equestria just wasn't prepared to wage this kind of war. Small skirmishes perhaps, but not an all out offensive on a global front.
In the opening days of the war, business was better than good. It was booming. Sweet Apple Acres was selling out their products day in and day out, racking in the dough and still having enough left over to pay off the tithes and get themselves a little something extra to boot. The war economy was in full swing and everypony was a winner. But those good times were banked on the idea that the war would be over and done with within the year.
Then the year past. Then two, then three, then four and all of a sudden Equestria had spent half a decade in a bloody stalemate with no end in sight. As time went on, prices went up. The royals began demanding more and more with each tithe and before everypony knew it they were caught up in a serious economic downturn that showed no signs of getting better anytime soon.
When Equestria ultimately wins, which they will, they're the good guys after all, they can't lose, it'll take decades to balance everything out, maybe longer.
The sound of a door slamming from the ground floor snapped Applejack out of her funk.
"Applejack!" Apple Bloom called from below. "I'm finished with my chores. All the apples on the eastern orchard are prepped and ready for sale."
"That's great, Apple Bloom!" Applejack shouted back, trying to hide the worry in her voice. "Wish I had ten ponies with your kind of enthusiasm."
"That would certainly help around Sweet Apple Acres," said Apple Bloom before asking. "So how was the delivery?"
"O-oh, you know how it is. Ol' Number Cruncher was a stick in the mud, as usual. That stallion makes Mudbriar look like he's brimming with personality," Applejack coughed. She couldn't let Apple Bloom know about their financial troubles. Not yet at least. "Say, you've been working really hard lately. How about we head down to Sugarcube Corner and I treat you to that sundae you like so much?"
"Really?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed excitedly. "I'll head out right now! Meet ya there!" And so she stormed out of the farmhouse with childlike giddiness, all the while Applejack struggled to come up with a way to tell her sister they could lose the farm.
Half an hour later, Applejack found herself seated in a booth at Sugarcube Corner, a half eaten cupcake in front of her. Apple Bloom sat on the opposite end of the booth, scarfing away at her mega triple berry sundae with all the voracity of a swarm of parasprite. Applejack cracked a small smile. It was good seeing her little sister enjoying herself for once. The war had taken much from them, Applejack swore on her family's honor that her sister's happiness will not be one of them so long as she lives and breathes.
"Aren't you going to finish your cupcake?" Apple Bloom asked, her cheeks covered in sticky melted ice cream.
"Nah. I think it's just not doing it for me today," replied Applejack, pursing her lips. "Apple Bloom, there's, er... T-there's something I've got to tell you."
"Yeah? Whatcha wanna say, sis?"
"It's about... uh, um. Y-you see," Applejack flubbed her words. She knew what she wanted to say, she just couldn't bring herself to say them. Apple Bloom already had too much to worry about to be bothered by more bad news. Swallowing thickly, Applejack came up with a lame excuse. "I-I gotta use the little filly's room." She got up quicker than she would've like to and made a beeline for the bathroom as Apple Bloom stared at her sister in confusion before shrugging and returning to her dessert.
Once inside, Applejack turned on the sink and splashed some water on her face. She let out a groan, pressing her forehead against the bathroom mirror.
"Grr... Darn it, Applejack!" she berated herself, pointing to her own reflection. "Apple Bloom needs to know! She's not a filly anymore, she's a grown mare! You can't keep her in the dark about this forever! Good golly, I'm talking to myself." She frowned, falling back onto the toilet stall.
"I need money, otherwise the farm's good as gone. No. No, it's just some land," she attempted to reason. "We Apples have been through worse, losing the farm is just gonna be another chapter in our history books. We'll survive... Survive without the land that's been in my family for several generations... No, I-I can't just give up like this. But... where the heck am I get more money in this economy?"
"...I'm afraid, Caramel."
Applejack's ears perked up at the voice, she looked up at the small window on the bathroom, a look of bemusement on her face. It sounded like Davenport, the owner of Quills 'N' Sofas. What was he doing in a seedy back alley with Caramel?
"Shh!" Caramel shushed. "Not so loud! Somepony could hear us!"
"But I gotta get this off my chest!" Davenport uttered desperately. "I can't take it anymore. It's becoming too much!"
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get into with this!" Caramel muttered back. "I thought Applejack already talked to you about this already!"
Applejack leaned closer to hear better, her interest piqued now that her name had been brought up. Admittedly, it was rude to eavesdrop on a private conversation like this, but she couldn't help but be drawn to it like a moth to flame.
"I know, I know. But you don't understand, you're not the one being bled dry here!" Davenport whispered. "Canterlot's taken everything from me! I can't give anymore! They've taken my shop and all my assets! And soon, I'm gonna lose my house! I have nothing now! Not a single bit to my name! Nothing!"
"Davenport, I'm sorry to hear that," Caramel sounded genuinely sorry. "Look, you can bunk with me until this war blows over. You don't have to-"
"Don't try to change my mind, Caramel. I can't live like this any longer, and I refuse to burden you with my plight. I-I'm gonna run."
"Run? Run where?! In case you haven't noticed, the entire country is on lockdown!"
"I know a place. Up in the hills there's a small community of dissidents th-"
"Dissidents?! Your brilliant escape plan involves dissidents!"
Applejack's eyes narrowed at the mention of dissidents.
"Shaddup! Do you want all of Equestria to hear you, you dolt!"
"Davenport, listen to yourself. You're thinking of running off with dissenters!"
"Look around, Caramel! Look at what's happened to Ponyville, to Equestria! This war is folly. We've been losing every battle ever since the humans killed Prince Shining Armor and Princess Luna. There's also word that the barrier's been punctured. The Resistance was right about everything. I should've joined them years ago, but there's no point in thinking about it now."
"Well, what are you gonna do?"
"I'll tell you what I’m not gonna do, and that's wallow around in my own filth as a homeless bum. I'm gonna escape this damn system we're all trapped in. I'll be like a ghost, waiting out the war and reemerging to sift through the ashes when we lose."
"What do you mean 'when we lose?'"
"Oh, open your eyes, Caramel! Equestria's being pushed back, losing every territory it's worked hard to gain these past few years. The radio and the papers tell you everything is alright but that's just one big lie. Two of our greatest leaders, one of which is supposed to be an immortal Goddess, mind you, has been brutally murdered by the opposition. Does it sound like we're winning to you?!"
"Davenport, you can't say things like that!"
"Well, I just did... I thought you of all ponies would understand."
"I... I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around all this."
"You can dwell on it on your own time. As for me? I'm gonna pack my things. We've been out here too long."
With that, Davenport left, and presumably Caramel as well given the sound of separate horseshoes clattering across the cobblestone floor. As for Applejack, she was infuriated by what she had heard. She had had talks with Davenport before, each time she thought she got through to him, but it appears losing everything to his name was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. She can understand his frustrations, they were both in the same boat though his had already sunk.
But to immediately resort to dissent?
Unforgiveable.
He was going to get an earful from her tomorrow, and she was going to show him exactly why he was wrong about everything. But just as she was leaving, a thought popped into her head and she stopped dead in her tracks, her hoof mere inches away from the doorknob.
Davenport was a dissenter now.
He was a dissenter and they were worth money.
Lots of money.
A wicked smile curled up on Applejack's lips.
The very next day, Apple Bloom was walking down the street on her way to pick up some gardening supplies from the general store when a commotion nearby distracted her from her task. A crowd had formed in front of Davenport's house and there were lots of ponies looking on with concern etched on their faces and a fearful whisper on their lips.
"Whoa. What's going on here?" Apple Bloom asked aloud.
"It's Davenport, they're taking him," replied a nearby pony.
"Who is?" Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, everypony. Head on home, there's nothing to see here," a burly stallion wearing a suit proclaimed to the crowd. Apple Bloom recognized those suits, the stallion was a member of the Equestria Secret Service.
"W-wait, please!" Davenport screamed as he was being apprehended by a group of service members and dragged away to a nearby jail cart. "I-I'm innocent! I'm not a dissenter, I swear! You got the wrong guy!"
"Stow it, you traitor!" An ESS mare shouted at him as she locked him up. "Ponies like you make me sick."
"N-no! Please! I'm sorry!" Davenport yelled desperately, gripping at the bars. "I'll do anything, just don't take me away!? Please! Please!?"
"If you were a good citizen then we wouldn't even be here," replied the burly stallion before turning to his colleagues. "Come on, let's get a move on. We've got a few other to round up here."
With practiced motion, the ESS formed up and left the area, causing the rabble to gossip worriedly amongst themselves. Perturbed by the scene, Apple Bloom quickly left and completed her chores before sprinting back home and telling Applejack about everything she just witnessed.
"Applejack!" Apple Bloom shouted, bursting through the front door.
"What's up, Bloom?" Applejack's voice came from the second floor. She sounded surprisingly cheery.
"You'll never believe it! The ESS were here!" replied Apple Bloom as she set down the gardening supplies on the dining room table. "They just took Davenport and they're going after more ponies! Turns out they're all dissidents, it was crazy!"
"Really now? You think you know some ponies," Applejack replied casually.
"I guess all your talks didn't work after all, Applejack."
"No. No, I guess it didn't," said Applejack as she held a comically large sack of bits in her hooves. She gave it a shake and listened with glee as it jingled with wealth earned through lawfulness. The sound was like music to her ears and it put a smile on her lips. In one smooth motion she stowed the sack into her safe and slammed the door shut. She then turned around and gave a curt flick of the safe's handle with her hind legs, locking it with a satisfying click. Feeling particularly proud of herself, she sauntered on down to meet Applebloom, humming the whole way through.
"Damn shame," she quipped.
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It gives me a morbid sense of pleasure knowing that the farm ends up a smoking ruin at the end. All of Applejack's work for naught.
I have no sympathy for you AJ. You deserve everything bad and horrible that's coming your way.
Welp, any pity I had for this version of AJ just got drop-kicked out the window.
I'mma go read Useless now.
From the sounds of it they weren’t even causing any trouble, they were just holing up together since there was nowhere else to go. Considering the crown was taking everything from them, what else could they do? What did they expect? For him to surrender his body to AJs compost so he can keep serving a purpose? The worst part is... AJs dedication to family means this isn’t too crazy... it’s them or her own... she chose her own.
This might be another hint to her downfall as well, sure the first guy admitted to joining dissidents in the hills. But maybe as she gets more desperate she widens the definition of dissent if only to keep things afloat. By the time it’s all over, she’s likely burned every bridge she had left, leaving only Sweetie Drops as an option. In Useless she’s come to understand the meaning of “every sin takes a piece of you”. At that point was their any piece of her left?
Well, AJ sure has sold her genuine Honesty to blind zealotry (and mOnEy).... Big time... Bet her Element would reject her painfully now.
Just throwing this out there: POV chapter of Applejack reacting to the farm becoming a crater. Consider it.
10733186
All of their elements would/should reject them, except for Fluttershy.
10733195
Would like to see it happen. Like AJ and RD trying to use them, only to get burned by them like vampire by a holy water or holy symbol. (Not dying until Useless though)
10733204
Guess it depends just when on the timeline Negotiations takes place, since After season 4 they wouldn't have access to them.
I wonder what went through Applejack's head when she ended up losing HER home.
Eh, scratch that actually. Doesn't take too much imagination to figure out.
I don't know how long is the original story version of this timeline but it's going to and the being worser for Equestria. And plus to be honest I think the only creatures don't attack to ponies directly all the time because the rulers control the Sun and the Moon that's going to be a big problem. So you could you actually think about it Celestia and Luna has been keeping their planet and all the other habitants as hostages and Karma might be coming to get them for it.
Ya know, I think I've seen that somewhere before.
Sadly, many authoritarian governments love to use these kind of policies even in peace times (because there must be always an enemy, real or imagined). When you don't know who among your neighbours or family will be willing to report you to the State maybe is better to keep your head down....or become an informer yourself.
Divide and conquer... that's how tyrants keep their grip on their subjects.
10733204
What if in the far future, a bunch of humans and ponies rediscover and bind themselves to the Elements with the help of Spike and Discord? It would be a fitting irony.
"Shit sorry"-random weather pony
10733189
media.tenor.com/images/60f663614dab122dcc1aae2ece662d35/tenor.gif
10733580
Earth launches the great crusade when?
10733110
10733113
10733189
Pretty much my sentiments too. This chapter killed any pity I might have had for this world's AJ. The only thing I regret is the deaths of the Apple family, collateral damage in a war that shouldn't have happened. AJ can go to hell.
10733266
IIRC, the Tree of Harmony was under the Everfree, which had been left behind on Equus (somehow; it's in the middle of Equestria according to the official map). And Discord dies before the elements are rediscovered, or least there's no mention of them in either Rest or Future.
10733671
The worst part is the sheer glee with which AJ reports a fellow Ponyvillian to the
GestapoSecret Service in exchange of money, and to please the very Government who is squeezing her farm.I wonder if the other survivors found out about this, and threw it in her face when she came back to Ponyville after the war.
Hope you enjoy that sack of money, you got at the expense of your fellow pony, AJ. Cause soon you’re gonna lose a LOT more then just a “bit” of land.
Every time I think the characters hit a new low and it can't get any worse, the author outdoes themselves.
No, that's not an insult. You actually manage to give them believeable justification for their actions, abhorrent as they may be.
I might as well answer this question since I've seen it pop up not just in this fic but in my fics too. If all six of the Mane Cast were to use the Elements of Harmony they would be rejected. The Elements would not work for them based on all that they have done save for Fluttershy who is the only one who sticks to her Element as best as she can. In all honestly, if they had done it then it might have made them realize what they were doing was wrong.
10734092
Of course, you'd have to somehow drag Fluttershy back to the others, and somehow convince her to work with them, all while trying to make sure half the group (Twilight, AJ, RD) don't try to toss her into a prison cell for treason.
And I'm guessing had Celestia tried to "bend" Fluttershy to "Equestria's Will" as she declared in Obsession, she would have ended up with a broken and damaged Pegasus who can't use her element. Either way, the Elements were utterly unusable once the war began.
That does, of course, raise the question of why the Elements allowed their power to be abused by sending Equestria to Earth and bringing about the barrier's existence. I'm guessing their power still considered the Mane Six innocent at the time, and thus still worthy of its power.
10734114
Hmm, I supposed such a thing would have to be explored...In fact...
i.pinimg.com/originals/48/c7/40/48c740f5da1e7bc57d8c3bc855e1e850.gif
10734092
Not gonna lie, I'd love to see a "What if?" story centered around that.
All it took to destroy Honesty was Celestia squandering centuries of trust for a few years of believable lies.
AJ, for ending innocent lives for the sake of your farm and family, you are hereby sentenced to the Circle of Greed!
10735002
By the time of Useless, you'd also have to throw in Pride, Wrath, and maybe even Envy too.
Besides, we all know she loses both farm and family.
10733166
The problem isn’t that the dissident community are not causing trouble, it’s that they’re passively resisting crushing mandates during a time of turmoil for Equestria. It’s viewed as a dereliction of duty in the same way someone would dodge a draft and must be punished accordingly. In desperate times you can’t have people doing what they want if it doesn’t benefit the cause.
10735536
I understand that, but at the same time what else could they possibly give? It’s a bitter situation for the ponies caught in the crossfire. It’s either try and flee, or starve on the streets while you wait for Celestias fever dream of victory. I want to make it clear I’m not criticizing your story, you’ve done a great job showing the desperation and making us sympathetic to “some” ponies. You also showed AJ having a believable motivation for what she’s done, without making it sound like your excusing it. She’s just another monster Celestia created of patriotism, propaganda, and desperation.
I do hope we continue to see more chapters like this that help us understand ponies motivations in detail.
I would really like to see if there was some equivalent to the Nuremberg trials after Equestria's surrender, and the ESS and members of Celestia's inner circle being dragged over the coals.
10735536
Did Twilight or Equestria as a whole ever find out during the war that the pony who actually sealed their fate was Moondancer, rather than Lyra or Fluttershy?
10738832
Most of ESS either faked their deaths to assist Bon Bon in the EFF or committed suicide to keep it a secret. Most of the inner circle was killed off in the late stages of the war while those that remained were tried for their crimes.
10739675
Not during the war, it was after the war that they did.
10739699
I'd imagine they lumped the "traitors" together, though some of the Equestrians more familiar with the traitors would recognize the ones most likely to have come up with the Generators. I'd like to say Twilight could at least put two and two together, but given it took her fifteen years to realize what Celestia had done to the races of Equus kind of puts a dent in her image as the smart one.
10743086
The early twentieth century was where the ponies ended up at at that point during the war, before that they were firmly stagnant around the mid to late nineteenth century, arguably before the turn of the century at best, of technological progress when the industrial boom was starting to take off but never really did. In desperation they were forced to accelerate heir technological growth as far as they could in about six months of time, jumping from steam powered locomotives and zeppelins to combustion engine vehicles and cartridge based firearms.
I've read the different parts of the series from "Negotiations" to "Warfare," and it made me think of something. Spike and Discord are all that is left of the old crew, living in the aftermath of the war. But it made me wonder, what if the ponies did have an Elysian Fields, a sort of heaven for ponies (and maybe the other species)? How would that turn out for everypony? I imagine...
What do ya'll think?
10743047
WW1 is just the most (in)famous example. Charles XII, Napoleon and Adolf Hitler all thought Russia would fold pretty quickly, and Stalin thought Finland would be an easy foe to conquer. Suleiman II boasted during the 1529 Siege of Vienna (not the one with the Winged Hussars) that in three days he'd be eating breakfast in Vienna; three days later and the Viennese taunted him that his breakfast was getting cold (and as you might guess, he never cracked Vienna).
And let's not forget the famous scene from Gone with the Wind:
The deceit of a quick victory has been ever-present through recorded human history. The ponies are just learning that in war, the enemy always gets a vote. And humanity vote to fight hard and survive.
10743951
The Conversion potion has, in various TCB canon, worked only on humans, reasoning being it's a human-to-pony conversion potion, no other races. Meaning it won't work on dragons, meaning Spike would definitely need a dragon-to-pony potion.
10743166
Imagine the far future, when a coalition of gryphons, dragons, yaks, etc...arrives to Earth fully intending on exact revenge on ponykind. And now humanity find themselves in the ironic position of having to defend their now allies from Equestria's former victims.
There's a reason why Greed is one of the seven deadly sins!
Damn you and cursed your name Applejack Apple! You lie to others and sold your fellow townsponies out to those Equestrian Secret Service bastards for money!
May your damn rotten soul burned in hell. Preferably the fourth level reserved for those guilty of avarice, or greed. Where they are consumed in a pit of smelting gold, as they claw their way to escape, only to be swept back into the pit. For all eternity...
This is how one turns to tbe dark side.