Abolition
Princess Twilight Sparkle destroys the very spell that made her into an alicorn, preventing any further creation and potential abuse of power.
Hot Stepper was having a pretty shitty time.
Currently, the unfortunate red unicorn was on the run from armed officers, both pony and human. Sweat dripped down his brow and was soaked into his fur as he struggled to keep pace, the blasted Thalmann Generators set up around the premises of Castle Canterlot prevented him from simply blinking out of there with his ill gotten spoils. Stowed in his saddlebag was an ancient but incredibly powerful piece of parchment; the Scroll of Ascension. It was the miraculous spell that would allow an ordinary pony to transcend their lowly selves into a godlike alicorn.
Earlier that evening the EFF had sent him and a small team of some of the finest ponies within their ranks to fulfill a mission of great import. Covertly, he and his partners, Rhinestone, Minty Fresh, Big Top and Prickly Bramble, were to infiltrate the the Royal Library’s forbidden section deep within the heart of Castle Canterlot and make away with the Scroll of Ascension, the spell that would turn their little resistance operation into a full blown revolution.
With the power to create alicorns at the tip of their hooves, the EFF will find and free Princess Celestia from her unjust imprisonment. Their rightful Goddess returned to the throne both humanity and the traitor princess, Twilight Sparkle, will be broken under Old Equestria’s unstoppable might and a new Golden Age will rise from the ashes of human civilization.
Things started off well.
The group had cased the joint the day before and cross referenced it with some old building blueprints that were hidden at the EFF's secret mountain headquarters. They knew the best way to get in, the quickest way to get out and had an intimate knowledge of the guard's patrol route and shift rotations.
The informant that tipped them off about the scroll of ascension was also going to make sure things were as lax as can be at the castle without making it too obvious something was going on. That kind of help was greatly appreciated and was compensated accordingly with a hefty sum of money to buy their silence.
Training came next. Outside of memorizing the blueprints Hot Stepper and the crew were hard at work making sure their skills were razor sharp to cover every possible angle for the mission.
Hot stepper was the quick one, a flaming hoof as his cutie mark only served to confirm this claim. Born a unicorn and deft at birth his dexterity and quickness was further bolstered by passive magical augmentation. Once a lowly delivery boy he gained a new lease on life joining the Equestrian Freedom Fighters as their speedy scout out of devotion to the restoration of Old Equestria.
Rhinestone, a dark gray earth pony with a large cut gem for his cutie mark and outlandish mohawk for a mane, was the tough guy. An ex member of the Royal Guard spurned by Princess Twilight's betrayal, Rhinestone is said to chew glass and shit out works of art on the daily. He could smash open doors with but a single swing of his bare hoof and take enough punishment to make even the strongest weep for mercy.
Minty Fresh, a pearl white unicorn with a bottle of toothpaste for a cutie mark and a tri-colored red, white and blue mane, was the precise one. A humble dental practitioner by trade, Minty Fresh could quickly and painlessly extract a tooth and flush out the gums out before the patient was even administered nitrous. As it turns out her skills could be used to pick locks and delicately swipe valuables. Word is she joined the EFF out of vengeance for her deceased brother who was a soldier in the war.
Big Top, an orange pegasus with a bright red afro mane and a trio of bowling pins for his cutie mark, was the tricky one. He used to be a clown for the circus up until the humans bombed the tent he lived in during the raid on Fillydelphia, killing his co-workers and effectively ending his career as an entertainer after shrapnel from the blast crippled his juggling abilities. Now, this sad clown uses his lingering talents to confuse and distract the enemies of the EFF as a way to get back at those who ruined his life.
And lastly, Prickly Bramble, a dark green earth pony with a brown mane and bramble bush as her cutie mark, was the angry one. She was a botanist whose her whole world came crashing down after her greenhouse was set ablaze during the white phosphorous attack on Canterlot. Decades of backbreaking work had gone up in flames, driving her into the waiting arms of the EFF who utilized her knowledge of plants to great effect.
Together, they were the dream team. A hand picked squad of specialists who were going to shake up the existing power structure and bring about great change.
...Only they didn't.
As the old saying goes, 'no plan ever survives contact with the enemy,' and this one was no different.
The actual heist itself had gone off without a hitch.
Hot Stepper kept tabs on the guards while Minty Fresh made short work of any locks that barred their way. And if something couldn't be picked Rhinestone simply forced it open or was dissolved through one of Prickly Bramble's many strange plant concoctions. When a guard did start to nose around in their business, Big Top applied a bit of circus trickery to lure them away from their scent. In less than twenty minutes of stressful espionage the team had broken into the Royal Library's forbidden section and swiped the scroll of ascension without anyone the wiser.
The escape on the other hand couldn't have gone any worse than if the Devil himself had shown up in a stinking sulfuric plume of smoke to laugh at their misfortune.
The team didn't know how they were caught.
They'd been so careful, covering their tracks every step of the way and making sure their escape route was ready for use once they were ready to split. But the moment Hot Stepper shoved the scroll into his saddlebags every light in the building came on at once and they were immediately greeted by a fully armed firing squad more than eager to air them out if they tried anything funny. A familiar feeling of weightless heaviness within the air signified that Thalmann Generators had been deployed nearby, effectively boxing them in like rats in a maze.
Prickly Bramble was the first to die. Sensing no way out she reached into her satchel and tossed out one of her concoctions in the hopes that it would aid in her team's escape. She was shot dead before the vial even hit the hit the ground, filled with enough bullets to warrant lead poisoning as the cause of death just as the room became engulfed with an expanding cloud of noxious gas.
The remaining members of the team took advantage of the confusion and bolted out of the room, making a beeline straight to their escape route without looking back.
Rhinestone was the next to go. He was slow, lumbering and a big target. Even with his prodigious tolerance for pain a single bullet right through the back of the head would drop damn near everything.
Big Top was the third. A wayward glint from the rooftops on the opposite end of the hallway they were running through drew his attention to the bright red laser that was crawling up along the floors. It painted a dot on his sides.
Bang!
Took a single .308 round to the hip that sent him skidding to a bleeding halt. He lived through that but didn't take any chances given he was little more than dead weight now. Without a moment of hesitation he dislodged the cyanide pill capsule embedded in his back most molar and bit down. The poison took effect immediately, ending any prolonged suffering he would've received at the hands of his human captors.
As for Minty fresh, the panicking unicorn didn't take to the concept of death as well as the others did. While vengeful, self preservation won out in place of suicidal dedication to the EFF. When cornered by a group of guards she surrendered immediately, dropping down onto the floor with her hind legs splayed out and forelegs behind her head in a fearful display of submission as she was cuffed and dragged away unceremoniously by her aggressors.
Now, Hot Stepper was all that was left.
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, ignoring the burning sensation that seared across his muscles. He used to be a delivery boy, this kind of thing should be nothing to him. Then again, he generally used magic to aid himself in his work and there wasn't an entire police force Hell bent on apprehending him when delivering pizzas.
Hot Stepper made a right turn, scrambling across the polished floors of the castle as the clambering of guards behind him grew quieter and quieter with each step he took. Before long, his goal came into view: the doors that led to the castle courtyards. Once through he would slip across the courtyard's hedge maze like a ghost, escaping the range of the Thalmann Generators and blinking away into the night with scroll in tow. His team's death would not be in vain and the EFF would reward him greatly for his success.
However, Hot Stepper celebrated his victory far too soon as thoughts of being deified as an eternal saint by a grateful Princess Celestia blinded him to the shadows moving outside the windows nearby. With a loud crash, the doors leading to the courtyard were kicked opened. Illuminated by the pale moonlight men and ponies dressed in dark colored police uniforms emblazoned with the logo GSG-9 caused Hot Stepper to stop dead in his tracks as one of them raised his weapon towards him and fired it with an earsplitting bang.
A beanbag tagged him dead center on his chest, knocking his ass to the ground and the wind from out his lungs. He was immediately surrounded and restrained where he thrash on the ground helplessly as his captors forcefully reached into his mouth and swiftly yanked out the tooth that hid his cyanide capsule. If he did have some form of magical memory wiper the generators prevented them from going off. There was no way for him prevent interrogation now.
A few seconds later, the clattering of golden horseshoes on polished marbled turned Hot Steppers attention to Twilight Sparkle, traitor to Equestria and priority target of the EFF. She was flanked by a squad of senior GSG-9 officers and her own retinue of bodyguards. One of the officers restraining him stood up and exchanged salutes with his superiors before speaking in his native tongue.
"Willkommen, botschafterin Sparkle. Der verbrecher wurde festgenommen!"
"Sehr gut," replied Twilight. "Ich werde es von hier nehmen. Du bist erleichtert."
"Danke!" The man saluted and he left to regroup with his squad. The rest stayed behind to keep Hot Stepper down, making sure he didn't try anything funny as Twilight approached the terrorist. Her face was stony and unflinching in wild contrast to Hot Stepper's fierce expression of pure hatred. He scowled at Twilight, making his revulsion clear for all to see.
"You speak their brutish tongue, now?" Hot Stepper scoffed. "How far you have fallen you traitorous bitch! False idol!" He smirked in spite of his predicament, hoping to get a rise out of the ambassador, but frowned as her expression remained unchanged. "Well, aren't you going to say anything? Or do your human masters have to give you permission to speak like some subservient maid."
Sighing, Twilight ignored all the snide comments and used her magic to pull the Scroll of Ascension from out of Hot Stepper's saddlebag. Seeing his prize taken from him he attempted to fight off his captors and rush the traitor princess.
"Give that back!" he growled. "That belongs to the Freedom Fighters!"
"Wrong!" Twilight seethed through gritted teeth, "this wretched thing belongs to no one!" Narrowing her eyes, the thin piece of parchment floating in front of her burst into flames. As it burned in the darkness the fire was stoked with the scroll's linger arcane essence, morphing the color of the flame from a warm orange to cool ocean blue. The potent magic stored within its browned fibres shrieked and yawned as it was released into the aether from its fiery destruction before fading away into nothingness, never to be used again.
Hot Stepper's eyes shrank to pinpricks as everything he had worked so hard for went up in smoke right before his eyes along with his hope of a better tomorrow. Letting out a sorrowful howl he forced himself out from under his captors' hold and leapt towards the small pile of blackened ash, still warm and glowing with dim cinders. He sifted through the ashes with shaking hooves, smearing them in soot as he absently clapped them together in a foolish attempt to restore the scroll.
"No, no, no! No, please, Goddesses, no!" He choked out broken heartedly. "Do you realize what you've just done?!" he wailed, sobbing into his hooves. "You've destroyed our future!"
"No. I prevented another Celestia from being born! That kind of power was too dangerous to let exist any longer. You and your misguided ilk are playing with fire, this ignorance will not got unpunished!" Twilight spat disdainfully before turning around and leaving. "Mach was du willst mit ihm! Ich muss mich um Geschäfte kümmern," she said to a nearby officer.
Sitting on his haunches with his face frozen in despair, Hot Stepper was snapped from his stupor as a human officer dropped something next to him with a loud thump. The officer crouched down in front of him and began to assemble some sort of crude device that crackled with electricity as his fellows moved in to hold Hot Stepper in place.
"Hallo," the man spoke, his voice laced with calm cruelty. "Do you know what this is?" he pointed to his blocky device by his foot as Hot Stepper fearfully shook his head. "It's a car battery. Old tech, but very fun to play around with. Might not look like much but it's practically filled to the brim with electric juice." He demonstrated the claim by tapping his jumper cables together, causing a bright arc of electricity to form in between. Hot Stepper swallowed thickly, he didn't like where this conversation was going.
"Now, here's what's going to happen. You and I are going to play a little game. It's called, 'let's violate the Geneva Convention,'" the man continued, looking at Hot Stepper dead in the eye. "Here are the rules. I'm going to ask you some very personal questions, invasive even, and you're going to tell me everything that I want to know. Otherwise," he pointed one of the cable clamps down towards Hot stepper's groin, "I'm going to send couple thousand volts of electricity straight to your testicles. Sounds fun, right? Now, then. First question. Tell me where your scumbag friends are hiding."
Twilight left the room right as the screaming started.
The Royal Library was, and still is, one of Twilight's most favorite place in the whole wide world. There was just something wondrous about the rows upon rows of shelves stacked high with books and scrolls both from all over Equestria that tickled her fancy every time she went. Unfortunately, she had had very little time to indulge in personal pleasantries since the surrender, not when she was busy dealing with the EFF and their terror attacks.
She wasn't there to peruse the library's extensive archives, she was there to confront somepony.
In the middle of the archives, diligently organizing the various books and scrolls stacked atop a wobbly cart was an elderly looking mare. Her coat was a dull light purple that had lost a lot of its luster over the long years of service in the archives. The same could be said about her dusty mane, which was as gray as ash in a fireplace. She wore small spectacles that hung over the bridge of her nose, a ribbon tie around the shirt collar on her neck, and had a collection of scrolls for a cutie mark.
Her name was Dusty Pages and Twilight had known her for a better part of her life growing up.
"Dusty Pages," Twilight politely addressed, causing the elderly mare to snap from her focus. She turned to face Twilight, a warm smile on her face.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite patron. Twilight Sparkle," Dusty Pages. "What brings you to the archives so late at night?"
"There was a disturbance," Twilight responded with a false smile. "But there's nothing to worry about. I've taken care of it already." Dusty Pages's smile faltered for a moment. To most, it would be an imperceptible twitch of the face, but Twilight was practiced in the art of observation. Such subtleties hid ulterior motives.
"What exactly happened?" Dusty Pages asked, slowly setting down the book stack. "I heard a commotion but assumed it was the night watch acting rowdy again. You know how they are; stallion by day, colts by night," she jested with an airy chuckle.
"The Equestrian Freedom Fighters were here," Twilight announced, causing Dusty Pages to stop laughing and break out into a coughing fit.
"Oh, my," Dusty gasped. "What could those hooligans possibly want at the castle?"
"They tried to make off with the Scroll of Ascension. Luckily, we were able to stop them. I confronted the perpetrators myself and burned the scroll before the infernal thing could be used," Twilight paused, gauging Dusty's reaction. For a split second, Dusty's composure fell apart only to regain that same smile from earlier. This confirmed her suspicions.
"I-I see," Dusty stammered. "Probably for the best then. A-after all, we can't have just anypony using dangerous magical artifacts now, can we?"
"I agree. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something to discuss with GSG-9. Keep up the good work, Dusty." Twilight then turned around and began trotting away, fully aware of her assailant about to pounce her. Sighing, her horn flared up with glowing magic, stopping the attack mere inches from striking the back of her neck. With a lazy turn of the head, Twilight watched as Dusty strained under her telekinesis, letter opener in hoof and an expression of fury etched on her wrinkly face. "Et tu, Dusty?" Twilight lamented.
With a single thought, Twilight ripped the letter opening from Dusty's hooves and flung it back to the reception desk where she deposited it neatly in the cup that held office supplies. Another thought sent Dusty Pages flying back into the book cart with a loud crash, scattering pages everywhere. Metal squealed and screeched as Twilight forced the metal cart to bend and buckle to her will, wrapping the elderly mare in metal bindings as she lashed out in anger.
"Bah! Let me go! Let me go, you traitor!" Dusty shouted, eyes full of hate.
"You were the one who tipped off the EFF! You were the one that promised them the scroll! They didn't sneak past you. You let them in!" Twilight accused, approaching Dusty with an aura of pure menace cloaking her. "There were only two others that knew about what I had planned to do with the Scroll of Ascension, and since one them is Spike, the one person I know who would never in a million years associate himself with such a violent and misguided rabble, that leaves only you!" She seethed, tightening the metal bars like they were made of wet clay.
"Gah!" Dusty screamed as she was being squeezed.
"I trusted you with that information! I couldn't let others know what I wanted, no, what I needed to do to ensure our future prosperity! Why?! Why would you do something as stupid as giving up the scroll to the EFF!" Twilight snapped, halting her magic for a moment.
"Because you are driving Equestria to ruin!" Dusty admitted with a harsh glare. "For three years I've watched you kowtow to the demands of the humans. For three years I watched as you systematically destroy our culture! For three years I've watched as you did everything in your power to degrade our people into confused sheep! I realized then that the EFF were right all along. You are nothing more than a usurper in light of Princess Celestia! A puppet dangling on string before your human masters!"
"Is that's what this is all about. The good old days? Such a flimsy motive," Twilight seethed. "Do you have any idea, any idea at all, what kind of damage the EFF could've done if they had successfully stolen that damned scroll?!"
"They would've made everything right!" Dusty rebuked. "Equestria is a shadow of its former self. You were supposed to help restore it, not make us like the humans! And now they're running about on our soil, eating our food, taking our land and screwing our mares! We're no longer Equestria, we're New Humanland! Home of degenerates and ignorant foals! We're slowly becoming a minority in our own country! What will you give up next, princess?" she spat. "The Alicorn Amulet? The Cutie Map? Or how about what's left of the Elements of Harmony? Will you trade them all for a few more years of unstable peace!"
"You know nothing of the peace I've worked to preserve. All my blood, sweat and tears were devoted to you and everyone else," Twilight growled low. "Equestria has become far greater than it ever has been now that we've truly embraced friendship and harmony, like we should've years ago. Human and pony live together as one, brothers and sisters with a steely bond forged through hardship and understandin-"
"I don't need to hear your poison!" Dusty interjected. "I don't need to hear any of this! If only the EFF had made off with the scroll, but those foals couldn't even do that! All my planning and secrecy were for nothing!"
"I'd hardly call it planning and secrecy if I was able to put a stop to it in a single night," Twilight retorted. "It's over, Dusty. The only thing waiting for you is a trial for treason and an empty cell in Blue Reef Prison."
"You think I'm afraid of being ostracized by my peers? Of jail?" Dusty smirked mockingly, a throaty chuckle welling up in her throat. "At my age there's nothing left for me. Oblivion would be preferable compared to whatever future Equestria is heading towards."
"So you've already resigned yourself to your fate?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"I knew what I was getting myself into. Win or lose this is the final act of a mare faithful to Equestria and Princess Celestia."
"So be it," Twilight clapped her hooves on the floor and a squad of officers entered the room. "I pity you, Dusty Pages. That you would spend your last few years behind bars after so long as a dutiful librarian."
"Save me your speeches. I've heard enough," Dusty retorted as she was summarily dragged away by the GSG-9.
Dusty Pages was silent throughout her arrest. She didn't resist and was even downright courteous to the men and stallions carrying her to the armored van. This was a mare who had given it all and received nothing in the end as a result of a single choice.
Did she regret what she did?
Her peaceful departure in prison said it all.
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(I don't remember where I heard this. Maybe it was a line from a show, maybe a comment, but this it seems right to repeat it, or paraphrase it to the best of my ability.
"The worst thing about betrayal is... it never comes from your enemies.")
They call Twilight a traitor, and remaining Equestrians, who learn to live with humans in peace and Harmony and Friendship, sheep's, but all I could hear was "baah" (no offence to actual sheeps) with pieces of "hAiL cElLeStIa" sprinkled in. Poor zealous, supremacist fools, who most likely have a bad afterlife ahead of them.
Trixie tipped Twilight off didn't she?
10758369
From what I remember from the original authors stories, Discord said that there is no afterlife for the souls of those who weren't born in this dimension. They simply cease to exist.
GSG-9 operator with a car battery? Did he also deal drugs while undercover by chance?
10758452
Indeed. But they (EFF) don’t...
And as the saying goes: ”Nothing is scarier”
10758457
Maybe. They say he was so good he got promoted
10758452
That was more a potential plot thing that Rated ended up scrapping as it was just too bleak.
The choice of human rights vs safety of the many is a bitter choice. I don’t support this... but at the same time... the EFF won’t stop, they don’t care who they hurt. The world loves to criticize the US for doing stuff like this... while keeping their own hands clean(ish) in comparison during the fight for global stability. From what we have seen the organization seems to be made up of the most dangerous kind of of individuals... the kind who are so broken.. they have nothing left to lose. It wouldn’t surprise me if Celestia had a list made of ponies who would be easy to radicalize due to their circumstances.
I’m honestly more surprised Twilight didn’t destroy the scroll sooner considering it’s contents. I really hope her burning it was theater and the real thing was long gone. It might have been a sting operation to capture valuable intel. But then again Twilight is getting a crash course in “real” ruling so she might have been hoping to make a spectacle of it for political reasons. Still regardless, I’m glad Twilight is learning you can’t win everyone over, and that sometimes people you care about... don’t necessarily care about you. It also shows that traitors come in all forms, from young radicalized ponies, to bitter old nags.
What are your guys thoughts on Twilight ending the Alicorn branch of ponykind? On one hand it feels like genocide, on the other perhaps theirs truth that no one should ever be immortal, or have such power. Though I think the original author implied Celestia and likely by extension the other Alicorns were beginning to lose their magical edge in our universe. Regardless, I can’t imagine she made that decision lightly, she basically resigned herself to being the last of her kind...
10758496
How is it genocide? She prevented ponies from becoming alicorns, not killed anyone. It would be like saying banning plastic surgery was genocide.
10758502
It’s the end of an evolutionary branch, that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s kind of more like keeping any more unicorns/pegasi/earth ponies from being born. When people think genocide they think of gas chambers or mass graves... not mass sterilization.
10758457
I'm not exactly happy about the "good guys" resorting to torture, much less about Twilight approving that. Specially after her speech to Celestia of "never choosing the easy way over the righteous one, no matter the circunstances."
10758508
But it's not sterilizing anyone. It prevents already living ponies from being converted into alicorns.
10758513
Neither am I, but I can appreciate a good reference nonetheless.
10758513
She made a bitter choice and learned a lesson, the world she’s in isn’t black and white... maybe even her old world wasn’t either. If she doesn’t stop the EFF they could radicalize more humans against ponies. If they restart the war like they want... I doubt it’s going to end under the same terms given. As it is the societal scars run deep on earth. She making the best choices she can to save as many as she can.
A surprising entry to the series, but a welcome one nonetheless. Bravo.
10758452
10758459
I thought Rated Ponystar dropped that bit. My belief is that if an afterlife exists in this world, it exists for everyone. And that does mean the EFF are in for bad times in the afterlife.
10758491
Yeah, that was it. Basically, how Twilight suffers the betrayal and manipulations of Celestia and ends up with nothing to show for it.
10758457
10758462
Okay, I'm lost here. What's the joke?
10758436
I'd say so too.
10758520
Regardless, I’m glad you agree the methods they are using are wrong, but at the same time what choice do they have? They need intel on the EFF, if they can’t track down their base of operations these attacks will continue and could potentially lead to a much darker end for Equestria. They seem think that during the war that was humans at their worst... it wasn’t, we all know that... they don’t. The nuking of the Crystal Empire shows that, wiping one city off the map in response to two (maybe more) shows restraint. If we nuked Canterlot aswell the war would have been over just from the power vacuum, but it would have also devastated the continent considering its location.
Look throughout history, and compare the invasion of Equestria and how we handled our enemies, than compare it to now. Do you really think we just sent all those camp guards to trial in WW2? Sure a few went... usually the hire ups... but many found themselves facing American GIs and Russians who wanted revenge. If they weren’t shot, or denied medical treatment, the soldiers would sometimes throw them to the camp survivors... let’s just say they didn’t last long. Everyone’s a cruel badass until the shoes on the other foot. If the EFF restarts the war, it won’t be the grand final stand they envision. I think Twilight knows that, if a few reprehensible ponies have to suffer to stop that from happening... so be it.
10758534
A reference to Rainbow Six Siege. One of the playable GSG-9 operators there is Bandit, whose special gadget is a car battery he uses to electrify walls. The undercover drug dealings and promotions are referring to his introduction video and backstory.
let's violate the Geneva Convention,
I need to remember that one. Personally I thought Dusty would be dead by old age at this point but her betraying twilight in her final years is interesting too
Torture is a terrible method of getting accurate intel. All they have to do is lie, because it’s not like you can distinguish a lie from the truth since that’s why you’re going interrogating them in the first place. They’ll just tell you want you want to hear. To get them to tell you the truth they have to want to tell you the truth.
Now if you want to force a false confession on the other hand...
10758452
That idea was dropped when I was making the series because it was way to depressing. The readers and writers are free to make their own thoughts of what the afterlife is like.
Hahaha. Celestia sacrificed everything, including the lives of her own ponies, for the sake of 'Equestria'. What did she have to show for it compared to Twilight's methods?
Those ponies glorifying Celestia's reign seem to have forgotten one important detail: for all their talk of how Celestia gave her subjects dignity and pride, she also basically dragged them into a war they had no business fighting and eventually had no chance of winning. The "Golden Age" ended because Celestia was too damn stubborn to admit she made massive errors in judgement.
Of course, it never works that way in reality; you're more likely to blame the invading foreigner for destroying your land than the idiotic tyrant who got your country into this mess in the first place. As witness Saddam Hussein's sudden popularity in the Arab world following the American invasion in 2003; everyone knew he was a mass-murdering bastard, but the moment the Americans made a big show of "liberating" Iraq, they sided with Saddam over the Americans, even though it was clear Saddam was never going to get out of this alive. The botched occupation merely added fuel to the fire.
As for the use of torture, it's still an ongoing debate. So far, the academic response seems to be "it doesn't really work; people will just tell you anything you want to hear to make it stop", but sometimes, you get a little desperate for answers and just hope the perp will crack and give you something good. As time passes and Equestria is rebuilt, with humans and ponies learning to work together more, perhaps more intelligent (non-torture) interrogations will win out. American interrogators in Guantanamo Bay found you can get more from a detainee if you bring pistachios, tea and a friendly attitude than a car battery and clamps:
https://www.montereyherald.com/2007/07/24/a-different-way-to-interrogate/
As for the extinction of alicorns, in a way, it is genocide; sterilization still counts as a method of genocide, just one that doesn't get much press (concentration camps are more headline-worthy). Problem is, alicorns are walking nuclear bombs, what with their massive magical potential and physical abilities, as even a weakened Luna took considerable firepower to bring down. Allowing the EFF the chance to evolve one of their own to be a new monarch is just going to give them too much power, and would cause massive problems to everyone else. A continuation of the war is to be avoided at all costs, even if the EFF managed to "liberate" a shattered shell of Equestria. If that means losing a breed of ponies forever, that's a price Twilight is willing to pay; besides, the ponies managed to survive (somehow) before Celestia and Luna came along - although it's funny how that part of their history was basically forgotten and ignored by Celestia, isn't it?
10758613
I'm doubtful Sweetie Drops and co. would have managed to ascend one of their own. Twilight managed it through her connection to her friends, all of them exemplars of Harmony (at least back then).
Not only the EFF doesn't have the complete Element set, but even if they did....one wonders how Harmony would react if being summoned by such a lot.
10758635
it might have worked if they were able to get the members who relate to the elements the most to come forward. i mean after all the acts in the name of harmony all exepet fluttershy sided with celestia in the human equestia war so its likely that they could use them if they get lucky.
Is it weird that I want to see something a bit more lighthearted from this series of vignettes as well as all this intriguing heavy stuff? Maybe a nice scene where Twilight and Spike visit Fluttershy and her human family and they spend the day together to help reaffirm Twilight's belief of how Harmony should work?
Heh, also, I misread the description at the top of the chapter and thought that Twilight was going to give up her alicornhood altogether and turn herself back into a unicorn. At the end, I was like, "Uhhh, didn't you miss something?" and then I went back and re-read the description. Color me stupid.
Ah, yes. Mario's favorite game.
10758613
It's hardly genocide if they're an artificial race though. All Twilight is doing is in effect destroying the knowledge of genetic engineering needed to create them.
10758697
And yet, one can say that alicorns are still sapient creatures with their own personalities and will; all that's changed is that they used to be one breed, now they're another. More of a metamorphosis than an evolution.
10758688
Speaking of war crimes, fridge logic just kicked in for me. Admittedly, the ponies are incredibly guilty of them; using chemical weapons (the potion) indiscriminately, committing genocide through cultural erasure, sterilization (unintended but there), and targeting civilians mercilessly, but then the UN basically went "alright, the Geneva conventions are suspended, except for surrenders" for the Invasion of Equestria. They targeted farmlands, infrastructure, civilians, etc... and inflicted horrifying losses on the ponies.
Not that I'm exonerating the ponies; the humans only did that in response to the pony attempts to effectively genocide humanity, either by breaking its will, mass conversion via potion, or mass murder via barrier. I'm just wondering if the humans haven't shot themselves in the foot regarding putting Celestia and her inner circle on trial, or if they shouldn't put some of their own troops and commanders on trial.
10758731
'War Crimes' are an artificial construct decided by the victors. Take the bombing of Dresden - an experiment to see if it was possible to exterminate a city in a single day (this was pre-Nukes). History is written by the winners, remember.
Translation of the German, from google translate;
"Welcome ambassador Sparkle. The criminal was arrested!"
"Very good," replied Twilight. "I'll take it from here. You are relieved."
"Thank you!"
"Do what you want with him! I have business to take care of!"
Also, I have to wonder. How did Twilight and the guards know exactly when the scroll was taken? Were there CCTV cameras, was it a magic spell, or was something else involved?
10759004
While not explicitly stated, Twilight kept tabs on Dusty Pages. After all, talking about destroying a powerful artifact tied to your nation’s history isn’t something you’d tell just anyone. She had originally intended to destroy the scroll already beforehand but the heist moved things up, hence the interrogation and confrontation scenes. It was a chance to kill two birds with one stone.
Kinda disappointed my theory that the scroll had already been destroyed and that the EFF stole a fake with a tracking spell on it was wrong.
God damn, Bandit got one hell of a promotion...
How strong are alicorns in this setting
10759213
I wanna say alicorns, mainly Celestia, during their weakened state on Earth would be as strong as DC’s Constantine or Marvel’s Scarlet Witch. Not sure how well of a gauge that is but it’s the best I can come up with off the top of my head
10759224
Problem is, you're picking two wildly different standards.
John Constantine, or at least the original Alan Moore version, is little more than a fast-talking charlatan who knows a few magic tricks, as well as magical rules and secrets, and gets by barely, and often has pyrrhic victories against enemies who can crush him like an insect. The New 52/NuDC version is a more skilled mage, but still gets by more on cunning than power.
Scarlet Witch is a freaking reality warper, and one of the most powerful mages in the Marvel Universe. Whether the MCU or the comic book version, she's a very powerful spellcaster with some terrifying feats to her name.
I'd say the alicorns would be much closer to Scarlet Witch in that sense.
10758436
I disagree. Twilight specified that she planned to get rid of the scroll anyway and that only two people knew that she planned to do that. The humans there were probably there as part of both the occupation force and as a way to protect Twilight from... well, exactly the sort of ponies who would try to assassinate her for "Betraying Equestria."
And, as she says, of the two people who knew where the scroll was and that it was going to be destroyed soon, one of them was Spike, who wouldn't betray her. And she wouldn't betray herself, so of the three people who knew, two of them wouldn't spill to the EFF. That doesn't leave a whole lot of options as to who the leak could be.
Still, this could be a fascinating alternate universe- the EFF get away with the Alicorn Spell, and their resistance manages to make a few. That would... jeez, that could be bad.
Human elements already want to exterminate the ponies to the last, but the idea that they can make people of mass destruction like Celestia? It might bolster EFF numbers, with Ponies seeing them as true heirs to Celestia since Harmony is blessing their numbers. If you wanted, you could take this down an interesting plot line touching on such topics as a long-running better equipped EFF, long-lasting insurrection, holy wars, and nuclear proliferation (to a degree).
Though I have to say I feel kinda bad for the EFF- yes, they are horrible and I'm glad they got curbstomped in the end, but they never amounted to much other than "Terrorist Nuisance."
10759690
Some context, GSG-9 is a real life German police unit that specializes in counterterrorism. With the EFF causing trouble it would make sense Twilight would deploy people who specialize in stopping terrorism.
10759801
Also, Berlin was specifically targeted by Celestia and wartime Equestria for destruction because of the crimes of Nazi Germany.
So it would not surprise me if these GSG-9 men were particularly eager to get their hands on ponies who still support the regime that wrecked their capital.
10759703
Most likely it would just make things worse for the EFF. Just because they got the spell, doesn't mean it'll work for them. Also, a lot of what the ponies are capable of at this point is only because of human restraint. Negotiations makes it pretty clear humans could've just shot Equestria off the face of the world if they really wanted to.
Also, Alicorns are powerful symbols sure, but if you really think about, (apart from getting a pair of wings) becoming one didn't really change Twilight much at all in the short term.
10759703
Wasn't Twilight's ascension basically achieved after a lot of hard work and dedication to her element? I doubt Random EFF Pony could ascend on the first try. Still, better safe than sorry.
10758457
I imagine at this point humanity amended the laws of war to specifically exclude ponies from non-signatory nations. Thenn made sure that Equestrian wasn't allowed to sign for a long time. A sword of Damocles if you will to continously remind ponykind that if they try to go back to their old ways a third chance won't matter because they will all be dead.
Hence open season on getting Werewolves 2.0* to spill their guts.
Oh and one gripe with the story.
Cyanide is not a quick or painless way to die. At all. You literally suffocate because the poison blocks your bodies ability to absorb oxygen. Hence the characteristc symptom of blue lips. Its draw for "suicide" caps that how little you need for a fatal dose and that once administered death is a given.
*cookie for whoever gets why I called them that.
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Both major treaties laying out war crimes also spell out that if one side breaks them then the other is free from the restrictions. Hence why the planned invasion of Japan included poison gas dropped behind the beaches. Japan used plague on Shaghai so it was legal.
Its the only real way to enforce them - the knowledge that if one side breaks them they're going to get the same back twice as bad.
And Dresden was a valid target. It was a railroad yard that the Nazis used to transport war materials. They even used POWs as forced labor and some of them verified the contents of the crates as military. Plus the Germans had tried to do the same to Rotterdam and London, including using incindaries. They just lacked a heavy bomber so once the shock factor was gone it was more annoying, while with heavy bombers the Allies made it lethal.
10761529
Fair point about the cyanide. Still, in that situation, I think agonizing suffocation slightly edges out getting your testicles repeatedly jumpstarted like a beat up station wagon by an eager counterterrorist
10761529
The original Werwolf was an empty boogeyman that did more to scare the enemy than do any actual damage. The EFF are an actual threat, even if they had no real chance of final victory.
Oof. Pretty harsh way to go.
I am curious and tree of harmony, what is your point of view of everything that happened?
My favorite childhood game
I hate to destroy knowledge, but the destruction of the Scroll of Ascension is probably for the best.
Not only is torture against the Geneva Convention, it is ineffective against a prepared enemy:
When tortured, just tell your prepared lie. Torture can work in Life-Or-Death situations:
A psycho abducts children. A search-party catches the psycho. The psycho gloats that the children are alive and safe now, but will die from dehydration in a week or 2. The captures are free to gamble that the psycho does not have a prepared lie and get medieval on his arse.