Documentation
A pair of archivists sift through old files of the Equestrian Secret Service.
Deep in the bowels of Canterlot's government archive building, a pair of diligent archivists find themselves neck deep in paperwork. Stacks upon stacks of legal documents, both important and mundane loomed over the two like towering monuments to bureaucracy, swaying haphazardly to and fro disconcertingly. It would only take a slight breeze to tip it over and make a mess of things.
The head archivist, Rubber Stamp, an elderly earth pony with reddish pink coat, faded yellow mane and a big round red stamp for a cutie mark, and his eager young apprentice, Dotted Line, a dusty gray unicorn with an oily looking black mane and ellipses as his cutie mark, toiled away in the dimly lit records rooms of the government archive building, sifting through file after file on all things related to the now defunct Equestrian Secret Service under direct orders of ambassador Twilight Sparkle.
It had been six years since the end of the Conversion Wars.
Recently, the lingering remnants of the Equestrian Freedom Fighters had been snuffed out a few months ago after Task Force Centaur's successful raid on their hideout in the Macintosh Mountains, ending their niggling threat to the free world once and for all. And before that, the trial of Princess Celestia and her subsequent execution took place, wherein the solar tyrant was met with justice from both humans and ponies, bringing about the ceremonious conclusion of the old era.
While there was still much that needed to be done, Equestria had managed to weather the worst of it and achieved peace with itself at long last.
With potential civil unrest quelled and the threat of terrorism neutralized Twilight had saw it fit to turn her gaze inward. While a majority of the remaining loyalists to the old regime had already been purged at this point, in some cases violently so, their taint still lingered in all corners of the country, the Equestrian Secret Service chief among them.
It was time to take a closer look through their private records to see if they had missed anything important the first time around. Granted a vast majority of the more damning files were destroyed beforehand when Sweetie Drops and her ilk enacted the 'Fallen Protocol' and fled to form the Equestrian Freedom Fighters, there was still plenty of documents laying around that survived that could potentially shine light upon muddier circumstances.
Rubber Stamp coughed as he rifled through a stack of documents, the dust they'd been collecting over the years were disturbed and filled the air with the irritant.
"Argh... Damn it all," Rubber Stamp grumbled, furrowing his brow in irritation. He ran his hoof along the various folders and binders before him, noting the blatant unprofessional and slapdash organization of the files as his lips curled into a deep frown. "Didn't those manure-sacks at the ESS have a decent bookkeeper on their payroll? Tsk, this is amateur work."
"Er, what exactly is it that we're looking for again, sir?" Dotted Line asked, sweeping away the blanket of dust that formed by his desk.
"Anything that could potentially lead us in the direction of the remainder of Celestia's loyalists. They're not completely gone, and in spite of everything they haven't given up their effort to undermine the work of the new Equestrian government," he replied. "Ambassador Twilight suspects there may be something here worth investigating. Whatever that is, I'm not sure. In any case, these papers still need to be looked into regardless so that they can be logged into the archives. Buckle up, boyo. It's gonna be a long day."
"Aye, sir," Dotted Line nodded respectfully and proceeded to sift through the papers.
The hours passed by like sand along the dunes as the pair combed through page after page of documents. As the day drew out it became increasingly difficult to contain their horror and disgust at all they had come learn about the organization and their abhorrent behavior.
It's not that the cruelty of the ESS wasn't well known to the general populace by now, but the truth about the sheer depths of what they were capable of, and more importantly, willing to sink to in order to achieve their goals was stomach churning.
Fluttershy's defection, and by extension the Resistance, was a mark of shame upon the old order, one that the former Princess Celestia could not abide by. Insulted beyond compare that her little ponies had strayed from the path, she sought to rectify the situation by reinforcing preexisting loyalties as a means to make up for such a terrible loss, branding those who fled as heretics and traitors to the Equestrian ideal.
The Equestrian Secret Service was formed as a way enforce that goal. The brainchild of Celestia, backed by her fellow royals, the ESS were the stoic moral arbiters that worked tirelessly to ensure that the loyalty of the ponies of Equestria through any means necessary.
The gamut of psychological evaluations and personnel reports that Rubber Stamp skimmed through had revealed much about their recruitment process and the mindset behind it.
It wasn't the kind of organization you could just join on a whim; they were the ones that came to you if they felt you were worthy of being added to their illustrious ranks. But there were certain parameters that needed to be met in order to even qualify for the chance of being inducted into the ESS. A potential recruit didn't need to check all the boxes, just the ones that mattered the most.
To wit, a common quality that most, if not all, agents of the ESS possessed was that they came from a strong religious background, preferably from areas with fiercely dogmatic communities; Cloudsdale, for instance. That mean they were disciplined and were keen on a regimented lifestyle. They were usually young adults, fresh faced and in the prime of their lives searching for some sort of higher purpose in life. And if on top of all the aforementioned qualities they were already enlisted with the Royal Guard, then all the better.
From what Rubber Stamp could understand, these parameters were set in place to ensure that those who joined the ESS were firmly on the side of the crown from the get-go. And if at any time they expressed reservations about their charge their psychological profile made them easy to manipulate, to be molded like wet clay into the perfect agent; subservient, cold and utterly ruthless in their endeavor to enforce the will of the princess. It was insidious, really.
It was too much to take in, he needed to set the papers down.
"Good grief," Rubber Stamp let out a heavy sigh and sunk down into his seat, bringing up his hooves to rub at his temple. "To think these animals used to run about the country with no restraint. Were we really that blind to have allowed that go on for so long? I'm glad they're all gone."
"Took the words right out of my mouth, sir," Dotted Line piped up. "At least you weren't reading their incarceration reports." He strained himself to hold up a large beige binder full to bursting with files on all the ponies that were apprehended over the years under suspicion of, well, just about anything deemed a threat to the nation, its people or core political ideology. "Take a look at this one," he cleared his throat and began reading aloud one of the reports.
"Name: Sort'n Stack.
Type: Male pegasus. Red coat with white mane.
Cutie mark: A series of cans stacked in the shape of a pyramid.
Place of residence: Las Pegasus.
Occupation: Employee at Green-Greens Mega Grocers.
Apprehended under suspicion of: Gross slander of the Equestrian government and the venerable alicorn princesses.
Sentenced to: Hard labor at Camp Hummingbird."
"Gross slander of the Equestrian government sounds like fancy jargon for back talk," Rubber Stamp deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "Tsk, utterly ridiculous."
"You think that's bad? Listen to this one," Dotted Line pulled out another file and read it aloud.
"Name: Mountain Song.
Type: Female Earth Pony. Light brown coat with green mane.
Cutie mark: A mountain peak with musical notes around it.
Place of residence: Ponyville.
Occupation: Professional Yodeler.
Apprehended under suspicion of: Deliberately obscene idleness in times of crisis. Inappropriate yodelling.
Sentenced to: Hard labor at Camp Blue Jay."
"Oh, for the love of-!" Rubber Stamp stopped himself short of a curse, a scowl forming on his face. He took a deep breath and centered himself, carefully maintaining his professional demeanor lest his apprentice think less of him. "I think we've heard enough of this manure for the time being. Why don't we take a break and get ourselves something to eat before we lose it," he suggested.
"I thought you'd never ask," Dotted Line let out a sigh of relief. "I'm thinking about trying that new fusion restaurant that just opened up- Oh, dang it!" he exclaimed, pulling out of his seat too quickly and accidentally pulling down one of the binders down with him, causing a few pages to scatter along the floor.
"Heh, it had to have happened sooner or later," Rubber Stamp guffawed. "Come on, clean that up so we can grab some grub."
"Yeah, give me a second... Huh, what the?" Dotted Line muttered to himself as something peculiar caught the corner of his eye.
It was another report, but from the binder reserved for their supporters and benefactors. Several were redacted to Hell and back, looking more like bar code than actual written documents as a way to keep the identity of the supporter under wraps. But this one in particular was incomplete, looking as it was done in a hurry but never finished. Dotted Line raised his brow and picked up the file, scanning it for a spell and drawing the attention of his mentor.
"Something wrong, boyo?" Rubber Stamp asked.
"This file... I think... I think it's Applejack," replied Dotted Line incredulously.
"What?" Rubber Stamp knitted his brow, nonplussed. "The former Element of Honesty? That can't be right. Why would she..."
"There's no name, and the photo attached had the eyes crossed out, but most of the information available is still there," Dotted Line pointed out. "Look, it says, occupation: proprietor of Sweet Apple Acres. Place of residence: Ponyville... Sweet peas in a pod, there's a list of the ponies she turned in," he blanched at all the names, the sheer number of unfortunate ponies Applejack had turned in to the ESS. "Davenport, Mountain Song, Ten Pins, Wishy Washy and several more." He swallowed thickly, unable to to suppressed the chill the ran up along his spine. "The ESS paid her handsomely for each and every one of them... Sir, we need to show this to the ambassador at once." He was about to take off to the castle, but was stopped by Rubber Stamp, who stared at him intently.
"Dotty, wait..." Rubber Stamp paused, looking as though he were at war with himself by the way his eyes seem to glimmer with uncertainty. Sighing heavily, he looked at his apprentice dead in the eye and finally spoke, "...Burn it."
"...Sir?" Dotted Line blinked, looking at his mentor like he had gone crazy. "But we have to-" He was cut off as Rubber Stamp narrowed his eyes. He had always known his mentor to be a harsh but fair stallion. If he wanted him to burn the document, there was usually a good reason for it, even if he himself didn't fully understand.
Wordlessly, Dotted Line complied and dumped out a metal wastebasket and dropped Applejack's file into it. He then reached for a book of matches from one of the nearby drawers, struck it alight and tossed it in. The old papers caught fire and blackened almost instantly.
The two watched with quiet solemnity as the files burned bright, making sure the flames stayed where they were as to avoid damaging the rest of the archives with their haphazard disposal method. Curls of smoky cinders wafted into the air as hot glowing embers ate at the papers' edges, consuming every last bit until it was finally reduced to soot stained pile of messy gray ash. Rubber Stamp then grabbed a pitcher of water from his desk and dumped it into the wastebasket for good measure, smoting any of the lingering embers that may remain.
As the smell of ozone dissipated from the cramped room and the ambient temperature turned cold, Rubber Stamp set down the pitcher and gestured for Dotted Line to follow him, treating the moment as just another day on the job.
"Let's get going, boyo. I'm starving here," he grunted as he began trotting to the door. "We can clean that up when we get back."
"Sir," Dotted Line gulped as he trailed behind. "Was there a reason we did that?"
"...It's presumptuous of me to decide for the ambassador, but it's probably for the best that she doesn't know about this," replied Rubber Stamp. "Let Twilight Sparkle remember her friend as who she was, not what she became. As for those who fell victim to Applejack's greed, well, that's where we come in. But, that's a talk for after we've had our fill. Come, let's try out that fusion restaurant you mentioned. It'll be my treat."
Dotted Line merely nodded and followed along beside his mentor. A part of him felt it distasteful that they had deliberately destroyed such a horrible revelation. He believed they should've shown it to Twilight, she deserved to know. However, he was still very young and equally as naive. Perhaps there was more to this than he was bellyaching about. Maybe his mentor was right to have that file destroyed. His hunger only made his feelings all the more unbearable.
But, he had followed through with the destruction of the file anyway.
What's done was done, and all he could think about now was what to have for lunch...
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Interesting reference. And hope you are doing ok yourself.
Twilight was probably already broken by this point… imagine learning that your best friends fall wasn’t as “sudden” as you wanted to believe? I would have still told her… but I can at least understand why he did it
There burns away some nasty printed info about the deeds of one nasty
JellybeanApple obsessed pony, for the sake of mental state of Twilight.I suppose this is for the best. I doubt Twilight's opinion of her friends could get worse since Rainbow and Applejack tried to assassinate her in the main story. Say, I know Spiike met with Rainbow before she died. Is it possible to get a chapter where he voices his displeasure about that?
11585066
Spike's meeting with Rainbow dash before the attack on the base is certainly in the cards
11585066
I disagree. The families of the victims also had a right to know who sold them to the ESS.
If Lyra could cope with her former best friend being second in command of Equestrian Gestapo, so can Twilight with AJ the fink.
(I understand Rubber Stamp's decision, I think, but I do not agree. Hiding from the truth and obscuring it was a central tenet of Celestia's reign, it was what allowed her to do so much harm for so long, and it shouldn't have a place for Twilight's. The families of those who suffered because of Applejack had a right to know. And Twilight? Twilight needed to. She did horrific harm when she embraced delusion and lies. Everything that helps open her eyes from that time, is a necessary suffering. Every truth, ugly or otherwise, a benefit to a leader in a time of crisis, who needs her wits about her.)
I think they should have told Twilight and everyone, the family and friends of Applejack's victims had the right to know who it was that reported them.
Ah yes, the pony desire to hide from the unpleasant truth. Sugar coat it all he wants but all Rubber was really doing is hiding from the fact that aside from Fluttershy every single one of Equestria's "heroes" was a craven coward.
This situation is why not one German was allowed to touch any of the records about Nazi atrocities without at least one non-German in the room and armed guards outside the door. And as usual Toollight screws up again by being a naive idiot with blind faith in ponies.
I hope Dotted gets an attack of common sense/ ethics and brings this up to the U.N. overseers. Someone needs a nice long session with a wet towel and a car battery to get him to spill the beans about hre rest of Sun Butts remaining sympathizers. The a date with a rope.
11585066
Look how many disagree
11548950
I will forgive (NOT FULLY) Twilight if she very much regrets what she did.
She was also manipulated by Celestia but I can't defend her on that, because she should've thinked before blindly doing.
And none of the the damage and suffering she caused will go away. Betraying her title as the so called 'Princess of Friendship'. Taking away lives and causing suffering to billions. I don't fully forgive her for her actions.
But if she truly regrets what she did, and tried to fix everything they've done no matter what. Then maybe she can be forgiven.
11585524
Yeah, I guess it’s a bit of a hot take.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, that sonuvabitch Rubber Stamp was probably involved with the ESS and/or EFF somehow. This is how it starts, first burn one document and soon you’re burning them all, under the justification “it’s better to let these painful secrets be buried” when in reality you’re tryna hide shady shit from people who’d demand Justice, retribution and righteous compensation. No different from Japan post-ww2 or Leopold II (May he roast in hell forever) after the atrocities in Belgium came to light.
Twilight, why would you send ponies to do this you freaking dumbass horse, shoulda had humans doing this, clearly didn’t learn from that incident in the chapter “Abolition” where that traitorous librarian slipped info about a spell to turn ponies into Alicorns to the EFF and it was luck that made sure the plot was foiled.
Dotted line, your mentor crossed a line. You speak up about this or it all goes to shit and those remaining docs are gonna vanish somehow.
11585529
But there’s gotta be a limit to how much can be forgiven no? All that Twilight did is too numerous to mention so I’ll just name the worst, like how she INVENTED the conversion potion to begin with, promoting its usage even by force despite FULLY KNOWING what was going on with the newfoals, she was not just an accomplice but an active participant in many of the worst war crimes committed by the ponies during the war up to and including the usage of the crystal cannon, the surprise attacks on the civilian populaces via teleportation and sooo much more.
Doesn’t matter how much she regrets what she and her nation did or how much she tries to atone for it, does that atonement make up for those millions who lost their lives and the many more crippled, injured and traumatized? Does making amends reverse all the destruction, all the damage, all the horrors?
The dude who responded to you was bang-on. She deserves to be despised and her penance should not only be to spend every second of the rest of her worthless miserable life trying, emphasis on trying, to fix the fuckups while being hated for said fuckups and accepting it without ever trying to defend herself. Like when she had cancer and refused treatment until she found the cure for the conversion potion, by which point it was too late, I found that quite satisfying and fitting.
I have a headcanon that when the cure for the conversion potion was finally synthesized, she tested it personally on a newfoal and the first thing the person did after turning back was to try to strangle her and nearly succeeded until he was stopped by others around. I’d find it quite just, all that time, work and effort gone into making that potion, to the detriment of her very health and life and the first thing the person does is to try to kill her, a reminder that SHE WAS ORIGINALLY RESPONSIBLE. Trying to right your wrongs doesn’t warrant appreciation or congratulations, that’s what you’re supposed to do assuming you’re not a fucking asshole.
Hoo boy, two ponies know of AJ's dirty little secret. Will it ever get out? Was preserving Twilight's state of mind atm the right thing to do? They say honesty is the best policy, but there are exceptions to the rule. I only hope there won't be tragic consequences down the line.
11585406
Five words: "Myth of the Clean Wehrmacht". After WW2, the Germans were confronted with the fact that their government and their armed forces were all very guilty and complicit of some heinous crimes. It became a heavy burden to many, unable to bear the fact that people they knew and loved, friends, neighbors, family, etc... were all either complicit in the crimes or active participants. For the sake of the mental health of the Germans and their ability to move on, Konrad Adenauer, one of Hitler's biggest critics pre-war, issued a blanket pardon to many German military personnel, and a narrative grew from then on that it wasn't the Wehrmacht that did the bad stuff, just Hitler's inner circle and the dastardly SchutzStaffel. It's considered one of the biggest failures of DeNazification, as it allowed many guilty individuals to escape proper justice for the sake of rebuilding Germany after the war.
One example is Erich von Manstein, who sent a letter to Otto Ohlendorf, an SS Einsatzgruppen commander, requesting the wristwatches of murdered Jews for his own men because "his men had done so much to help [the SS] in their work", something which contradicted von Manstein's defense at Nuremburg when he said he had no hand in the war crimes on the Eastern Front.
Another comparison is the question of the French collaborateurs and the Vichy regime. During the liberation of France, the freed populace went on a rampage, lynching known collaborators with the Nazi regime that lasted for a few weeks before the French government swept the whole affair under the rug. It's a complicated issue that left a large shadow on the French people, which is why it was covered up quickly.
One infamous case is Maurice Papon, a major figure in the Vichy regime internal security apparatus. He claimed a case of "malgre nous", that he had been forced to work alongside the Nazis and that he harbored Gaullist tendencies during the war. A confidential Nazi report, however, showed he was very much in favor of an alliance with the Nazis, being a vicious antisemite, and that he was very cooperative with the SS. For example, he and his men had not only sent Jews and Half-Jews to the camps (the SS had only asked for their names and addresses so they could pick them up, but he also sent quarter-Jews (whom the SS did not ask for but took anyways). Post-war, he was heavily involved in the Paris Massacre of 1961, where Algerian protestors were thrown overboard by French security officers into the freezing Seine waters, with many dying of drowning or exposure shortly afterwards - "Ici on noie les Algériens" (Here we drown the Algerians).
In 1998, Papon was sent to face trial for his crimes against humanity, both regarding the Paris Massacre of 1961 and newly discovered evidence of his role in the Holocaust, but was pardoned in 2002 for reasons of age and health. When he died, his Légion d'honneur (which had been revoked as a result of his crimes coming to light) was restored posthumously, a final insult to the injury that was the man's long, monstrous career.
A more recent case is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, which investigated apartheid crimes against humanity, but pardoned many of them, or gave out slap-on-the-wrist sentences, out of a desire to put the dark past behind them (and because many of the accused had important roles in politics and business and were needed to keep the country going).
My point is, if humans have done similar things (covering up crimes to ease the minds of others), perhaps we shouldn't judge Rubber Stamp too harshly. Is it wrong? Yes, it probably is. Does it fix anything by revealing the crimes? That is a more complex affair, and I suppose it's up to the reader's judgement. I personally don't like what he's done, but I can understand the reasoning behind it.
Either way, here's the most important part; Applejack's memory is already damned as a member of the EFF as a result of her many actions to help the cause, and her own death and despair is enough proof that all she did earned her nothing. She even recognizes that she needs the forgiveness of her friends and family, though she's still in denial about her role as an informant. But that, as they say, is between her and whatever afterlife exists, as she's been sent there already, in disgrace.
11585529
Twilight herself didn't expect to be fully forgiven, either. She realizes much of the war was out of her own ignorance and biased opinion, and things got exacerbated due to her active hoof in the potion, her "blank check" support of the ESS, and her own actions in the war. In "Oppression", she accepts any hatred and contempt her people may throw at her, even though she is quickly exhausted by the mistrust as she later admits to Fluttershy. In "Truth", she accepts that if there is indeed an afterlife, she's not going to Heaven, as she still has much to answer for.
11585652
I love the many examples you gave when arguing your point. Here’s the problem with that argument though, the very fact we have so many examples in our history of how horrible things were covered up and awful people allowed to escape karma should only reinforce us to ensure this does not happen again.
We can absolutely judge Rubber Stamp for this, every dirty rotten thing has to come to light, every war criminal prosecuted. I don’t like what he did either, even if I do understand it, I don’t respect it, condone it or accept it and no one should.
11585646
My guess on why the humans didn’t prosecute Twilight after the negotiations is that they needed someone who is decently familiar for equestria and po willing to do the reforms. If they needed Twilight just for the potion cure they would just place in prison and have her work on it there. There’s a few possible options for equestria if Twilight is prosecuted.
11585892
Oh I’m well-aware why Twilight wasn’t prosecuted, same reason the United States didn’t prosecute Hirohito and the rest of the Japanese royal family once WW2 was done; needed a figurehead for the populace during the occupation so that there’d be less resistance to the sweeping reforms that would be implemented and so that there’d be some pretense of local rule, preserving some dignity of the native populace, effectively making it outwardly look like they weren’t a conquered people under occupation. (Though in Japans case, MacArthur didn’t adhere to that second part, especially with that photo of him and Hirohito side-by-side. Everyone in and out of Japan knew Hirohito was basically powerless)
I understand why it was necessary there and why it’d be necessary here, better in the long run for everyone, but the part of me that despises people getting away with horrible crimes hates that it is necessary. I guess when a defeated enemy is guilty of so many crimes and atrocities, my first instinct isn’t just to exact Justice, but also vengeance, to grind them under heel, refuse them the capacity of denial by forcing them to see the reality and to just humiliate them as much as possible, despite that being exactly what you’re NOT supposed to do. 😕
11585652 Oh I'm well aware of that little bit of postwar proaganda. We have our own version in the USA. It's called "The Lost Cause". Southerners use it all the time to justify causing the bloodiest war in American history along with a slew of atrocities before and after. As if claiming to have been fighting for "states rights" could mask that it was really a war by a butthurt self-appointed aristocracy scared of losing power as immigration changed the balance of power. Especially when they were the ones demanding that northern states alter their laws to allow slavery. Along with mass murder etc.
And it does not help. Every bit of evidence points to that sort of thinking just encouraging relapses. In Germany it plays a big role in why there is still a white supremacist movement. Here it lead to roughly 100 years of Jim Crow, lynching, etc. And we still see it front and center in politics today.
Its one area the UK did it right. Tear off the bandage in one go and let the consequences happen as they may. Don't justify, don't deny. Just let people deal with it and they will either come to terms with things or off themselves. Either way it's over and the nation can move on.
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be depicted as the right or wrong thing to do. Either way, I suppose canonically it was never made public how far Applejack had already fallen by the time she joined the EFF.
I still think it's wrong. Applejack may have already been condemned, but this kind of thinking reminds me of the very first story in this universe, where Doyle points out how ponies conveniently cover up all the things about their history that they don't like. Just so they can feel a little bit better about themselves.
Rubber may have had Twilight's best interests at heart, but I think she's learned well enough by this point that ignorance is not bliss. Even if it might help you sleep at night.
11586294
The situation is supposed to be ambiguous and up to the reader's interpretation whether or not it's right or wrong given all they know up until this point.
Realistically, the chapter was written as a way to fill in the plot hole I accidentally created when writing the chapter that sparked all this, Contemplation. Applejack selling out ponies to the ESS was not something Twilight or anyone really knew about save for Rarity before she died, and maybe some EFF/Ex-ESS members (something else I hope to remedy in a later chapter), and was not a thing mentioned in the original Negotiation storyline.
It's also a way to show that the new Equestrian government isn't as ironclad as they want to be, that they're just as prone to making mistakes or suffering mistakes out of their control as well. I would compare this situation to when Celestia spilled the beans on the truth of why Equestria teleported to Earth, and both human and equestrian parties decided to heed Celestia's request to hide that reason from everyone else to maintain the peace.
11586222
Oh, it absolutely was about States' Rights. The Abolitionist States got sick and tired of bending over for the Slaver States and having to return freed or escaped slaves, sometimes with little to no evidence that said person was even a slave to begin with, whereas the Slaver states threw a tantrum when they couldn't get their way and just seceded.
Oh, and to make things even funnier, the CSA Constitution forbade any future amendments to emancipate slaves, and forbade the government (whether at the state or national level) from subsidizing or supporting any large-scale infrastructure development plans. The latter was done to prevent wide-scale industry from developing, something which accelerated the rise of abolitionism in the North to begin with.
So yeah, it was less "States' Rights" and more "Rich Plantation Owner Privileges" and then dragging everyone else over the cliff with them as things wore on.
Though if you don't mind me asking, what did the UK do right?
11586400
I just thought the ESS just decided to burn the paperwork, or that it was lost when Ponyville got bombed into oblivion. Still, I suppose with the sheer volume of "dissidents" AJ turned over to the ESS, something would still be found in leftover archives. Or that at least someone in the ESS would know it was AJ, or would have been her contact within the organization.
Actually, that reminds me of something from Death Note. (Spoilers for a twenty-year-old manga/anime):
When Kira protests that he's doing the right thing by eliminating criminals, Near counters that for all his grandstanding, he held on to the power to take people's lives. Any sane, normal human would have tested the power, been horrified by the results, and dropped them. Kira kept using them. It's not about doing the right thing anymore; it's about the power said abilities grant him over others. Kira's no hero, he just loves playing god. This is confirmed when at one point, Kira is wondering what would happen should the country or the world run out of criminals at some point, and decides that maybe the unemployed should have their ranks thinned out a bit "to stop being a drain on the country".
Same with AJ. While I might be wrong, I doubt it's about the tithes anymore; she's probably accumulated enough cash to keep her farm going through the lean times. Instead, it's all about amassing wealth and power the quick and easy way; on the backs of other ponies. She's just using said power to make herself and her own rich at the expense of others, sometimes even close friends like Rarity. Maybe it's out of revenge against ponies like Fluttershy and Lyra for turning against the "right side", maybe it's revenge for the death of Luna and Big Mac, but at some point you have to wonder if AJ is not just doing this to support her family and in fact has darker motivations. This being AJ, she's very good at deceiving herself into believing it's about the greater good.
11586684
Crap, I think this was a slightly older version of the draft I edited before posting it. The corrected one must have been saved on another computer and I overlooked it. I could've sworn I wrote in a line about most ess documents being destroyed beforehand to contextualize things.
Edit: the chapter was revised with new context. Friendly reminder to everyone not to edit stories while half asleep
11585637
Twilight's defining characteristic, here and in canon, is that she never actually learns or grows as a person from experience and mistakes.
Which is probably why Sun Butt took her as a student. Enough raw magic power and book intelligence to be useful but severely lacking in those pesky things like independence and self-confidence that made Sunset too hard to control. Starlight being much the same.
One must look the past squarely in the eyes. What Rubber Stamp and Dotted Line did was wrong. It is not like ponies believed that Applejack was a saint, given that she joined the resistance, anyway. Here is the obligatory quotation from George Santayana:
I also suspect that Rubber Stamp is an ESS-Sympathizer.