Chapter 1 - The Meetings
[Ponyville - Helping Hooves Shelter - Formerly The Castle of Friendship]
Twilight couldn’t help but marvel at the way Gregory’s fingers wrapped around her hoof. The appendages perfectly encapsulated her hoof as if it was a missing piece. “It’s like a spider!” Twilight exclaimed.
Gregory chuckled a bit in response. “Well, I would need three more fingers to have spider hands,” he replied with a smile, “But I guess for the uninitiated, they’d be like a spider.”
“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Twilight blushed while shrinking away.
“I mean, you’re not wrong,” Gregory said as he wiggled his fingers in the air. “Very handy for picking up things. Bad pun, I know.”
Twilight allowed herself a small giggle. “So, not to sound rude, but what brings you here?”
“Well, I’ve heard a lot about you back where I’m from,” Gregory replied with a grin. “I’ve heard about you and your friends, your Highness. It’s been a dream of mine to meet you all, so when I managed to find a way to come meet you all, I jumped at the chance.” He hoisted one of his bags up onto his shoulder. “Been planning this for months now. I’ve really wanted to meet you and the other Elements of Harmony.”
“O-Oh, so that’s all you heard?” she asked, feeling nervous.
“Well, I haven’t heard too much, I’ll admit,” he replied. “Just bits and pieces here and there. Nothing too invasive. I have to admit, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”
“O-Oh, that’s good.” Twilight chuckled weakly. “But, I don’t want you to have these preconceived notions about us. For all the good things you may have heard, there’s an equal opposite side.” Twilight felt a strong compulsion to keep talking despite the look of confusion on Gregory’s features. “Take me for example. I struggle with keeping things neat and organized as part of my severe OCD tendencies. Everything has to go according to whatever list I have at the moment. I - as a pony - tend to be skittish and prone to rash knee jerk decisions. This has led to me reading situations wrong and pursuing one avenue of an outcome that only suits myself or my goals. Then, there is my borderline worship of Princess Celestia and to a lesser extent Princess Luna. And, whenever I pursue a topic or study a new and strange occurrence, I become far too tunnel visioned to the point it becomes detrimental to myself and those around me.”
Twilight was speaking more casually now, oblivious to what she was saying. She opened her eyes wide in realization as she instantly covered her mouth with her hooves. The words came out without any of her own volition. Twilight barely even felt the Gjallarhorn’s influence, but it was there. She looked up at Gregory with bated breath.
Gregory looked at her silently. Twilight could see his mind working as he chewed on her words. Then there was a small but very unusual flash in those light blue eyes of his before he knelt to her level. “Your Highness, everyone has their faults,” he said in a soft tone that sounded like he was trying to be reassuring. “Nobody’s perfect, after all. I know I’m not. I mean, at one point I was such a pushover that I let my last girlfriend emotionally abuse me for years before I caught her cheating. And even then, I still blamed myself. Pathetic, huh? Thankfully, someone who was looking out for me helped get me the counseling I needed. So, don’t put yourself down so much, Princess. You’ve got a lot of good qualities. At least, from what I’ve heard.”
Twilight stared blankly at Gregory for a moment before shaking her head ruefully at Gregory’s words. “I wonder if the bad often outweighs the good…” Twilight mumbled to herself.
“What did you say?” the human asked.
“I’m just wondering if all the good I‘ve supposedly done has a positive outcome and effect on the world at large. Lately, I don't think so.” Twilight clamps her hooves against her muzzle again.
“Really? I mean, I don’t know if I’d say that,” Gregory replied with kindness in his voice. “I mean, from what I’ve heard about you and your friends’ exploits, you’ve saved the world over a dozen times. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, and more.”
Twilight had more reservations about all the villains they’ve faced. She began wondering how many of Equestria’s foes were indeed evil and not misunderstood. While she continued with this internal struggle, Gregory sat there waiting for her with an expectant and concerned look on his face. Twilight notices the growing awkward silence and begins to sweat. “Um, so, do you know any good icebreakers? How about the one of the chatty alicorn twiddling her hooves in a foyer with her guest?”
Gregory snorted, then threw his head back and fell into a hearty laugh. To Twilight, it sounded like one of those deep belly laughs that she’d heard sometimes from her older portly neighbor when she was a filly. “Did you hear something like that when you visited the human world?” He asked as he wiped tears from his eyes from laughing so hard.
“You…you know about that?” Twilight asked, and it felt like there was a vice around her heart.
“Oh yeah, I heard about it,” Gregory said as he stood. “I heard about when you went through the portal to take back your crown and how you made friends at Canterlot High. How are they doing, by the way? And how’s Sunset Shimmer? I’d really like to meet her sometime. I’ve heard great things about her.”
Twilight once again felt her body stiffen up. She hadn’t even thought of the humans at Canterlot High. Not that she would even consider them friends. Faust knows she didn’t even spend a day in the human world. That told Twilight that this human had seen a variation of her trip to get her crown back. One where she somehow became friends with the human variant of her friends and Sunset Shimmer herself. A wave of guilt washed over her at this new prospect.
‘If what he’s saying is true, then I failed once again as a Princess of Friendship by never getting to know the mirror humans or trying to reason with Sunset. How am I going to explain this?’ Twilight thought. “Um, they are fine,” she replied, “but, I, uh, haven’t had the time to check in on them. As you probably already noticed from all the ponies here in the castle.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, is there something going on?” he asked. “One of the other ponies asked me about how I passed by the guards, but I didn’t see any, not even when I parked my car underneath that awning outside. Is there some friendship seminar going on? Is that why there are so many ponies around?”
‘Think, Twilight, think!’ Twilight’s eyes shifted side to side before an idea formed. “Yes, the guards. Well, there’s been an increase in activity from the Everfree Forest and the princess thought it best to have extra security so that nopony–uh, nocreature gets hurt. As for the ponies here, well, some of them have fallen on hard times. I got this big castle with plenty of room. So, offering them a space to sleep at night was a no-brainer.”
“Hard times? Wow, I’m sorry to hear it,” he said with a sympathetic tone. “And the Everfree, huh? I’ve heard about that. It’s a lot like where I come from. Good thing I came prepared for it.”
That caught Twilight’s attention. “Prepared? How? Why do you have so many bags? And, what was that word you used? Car?”
“Oh, I brought some things with me to help defend myself,” Gregory said plainly, patting one of his bags. “And I have so many bags because fortune favors the prepared, as the saying goes. I have more bags in the car. And a car is…well, you visited the human world, right? They’re vehicles that I guess you would describe as a horseless carriage. I’ll have to show you later.”
Twilight’s interest instantly perked up. This chance encounter just opened up a new avenue of study. It filled her with excitement that she had not experienced in over a year. “Oh, that’s right. Those big fast-moving metal behemoths. Truth be told, I never had the chance to inspect them. They were a bit scary at first. Can I see yours?”
“Right now?” He shrugged. “I mean, I don’t see why not? But it’s getting a bit dark. We’ll need some light.” He pulled out a strange black rectangular device and touched it. A bright white light came out of one corner of the unusual black object. “I’ve got a bigger flashlight back in the car, and the battery’s still charged. Are you ready?”
“Great! That’s– Wait!” In her excitement, Twilight had forgotten about the curfew. “It’s almost curfew time! I’m sorry Gregory, but we can’t chance it. I have specific rules in place for the castle occupants. No one is allowed in or out after sundown. The doors must remain locked. We’ll look at your car in the morning. For now, we’ll see if I have a spare room for you,”
“Curfew, huh? Well, I guess that’s alright,” Gregory replied. “The car alarm is on anyway, so any animal dumb enough to try and vandalize it will get a loud horn and bright lights to surprise them.” He began grabbing his bags. “Lead on, Princess.”
Twilight took one last look around the lobby to make sure there weren’t any stragglers. Satisfied, she ushered Gregory down the corridors. The walk was not long as Twilight found an available room. Opening it, the two step inside. “You have all your basic utilities available. Breakfast is from seven AM to twelve PM. You’re allowed to freely roam the premises and leave the castle, but like I said, curfew’s at sundown.” Twilight paused her explanation as a thought occurred. “Actually, since you’re new here, you have to report to me if you want to walk around. I have to introduce you to everypo-everycreature here.”
Gregory’s eyes lit up with excitement at those words and he nodded in understanding as he put his bags down. “I can’t wait to meet the others. Oh! Before you go, just a few questions.”
“Go ahead,” Twilight said.
“Does this room have a bathtub or a shower? I’d like to wash up before bed. And if I need to use the toilet, where do I go?” Gregory asked. “Does this room have one? Or is there a more public restroom I need to use?”
Twilight pointed a hoof towards a side door in his room. “You have a private restroom right there, with a toilet, shower and bath,” she said. “You have hot and cold running water in there as well as soap and shampoo.”
Twilight saw a look of relief pass over Gregory’s face. “That’s good. I was prepared to rough it a bit, but now I know I don’t have to. Next question. You said you want me to report to you tomorrow morning? How should I do that? This castle is huge.”
Twilight nodded. She’d forgotten that the castle was hard to maneuver. She’d even gotten lost in it sometimes. “Well, what if I came and got you tomorrow at around seven? That way, you won’t get lost and we’ll have time to get breakfast.”
“That would be a lifesaver!” he said with a grin. “Okay, well, I can’t think of anything else to add, so I guess I’ll say goodnight-Oh! Wait! Before you go, I brought you a couple of small presents.” He grabbed one of his pieces of luggage and opened it, looking through it. “Come on…where is it…If I didn’t pack it, I’m gonna be so pissed.”
Twilight peered at Gregory with curiosity in her eyes as he rummaged through his bags. “What are you looking for exactly?”
“Hold on, I think I found…AHA! Yes! Here’s the first one!” He pulled out a small box and held it in the air with a triumphant movement. “Behold, one of my favorite book series of all time!” He held it out so that Twilight could see the title. On the front of the box, she read, in perfect Equish, The Chronicles Of Narnia. “I think you’ll find this book series really fun. It’s written for children, but adults like it in my world, too. But that’s not all!” He rummaged through his bag again and pulled out another small box. “One of the most popular fantasy book series from my world, the Harry Potter series!” He walked over to a nearby table and set them down. “I heard that you liked books, so I bought these for you. I hope you like them. They’re one of two copies in existence in this world, after all.”
Twilight looks at the books with wide eyes. ‘Human literature?!’ she thought as she ran her hoof over the cover. “Wow. I was so busy during my time in the human world that I never looked up any popular works of fiction! And, these are for me?” she asked as she turned to Gregory with a look of excitement. Gregory smiled and nodded. “Thank you. I-I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Same to you. Goodnight, Princess Twilight,” Gregory replied as he held up his hand in farewell.
Twilight did the same with her hoof before she took each book set under her wings, a sight that made Gregory arch a brow, and left the room. Once outside, Twilight leaned back on the wall next to the door while sitting on her haunches. Her breathing was heavy as she took in all that just transpired. “A new human - here in Equestria - and he wants to be my friend…” Twilight could feel the tears swelling up before wiping them away. “I don’t know why this is happening but I won’t make the same mistake again!” she said with determination as she trotted down the halls, both book series still underneath her wings.
Unbeknownst to Twilight and Gregory, a third party was watching them. A small colt earth pony with turquoise fur and a black mane had been watching the entire interaction. His blue pupils flashed green as he narrowed his eyes on the purple alicorn's retreating form. He quickly darted into his room and faced a mirror. On his forehead, a green shimmering glow in the shape of a horn tapped against the mirror. In an instant, the colt saw the image of none other than Queen Chrysalis in her bedchambers. Although, he’d never seen the queen like this.
She was standing on her two hindlegs. But, they were not in their usual shape. They closely resembled that of Jason’s legs. Her proportions were similar to Jason’s as well, but fit for a more feminine appearance. The colt blushed at the sight when Chrysalis finally noticed him through her mirror.
“You idiot! I told you to never call me when you’re inside the castle!” Chrysalis barked.
“I-I know my queen. But, something has come up!” The colt was doing his best not to look at his queen’s vulnerable state.
A flash of magic later and Chrysalis was in her normal form again. She stared daggers into her drone while flashing her fangs in a threatening manner. “If you breathe a word of what you just saw to anyone…!”
The colt nodded his head rapidly. “I am sworn to secrecy, my queen!”
“Good, now what is it?!”
“The former Princess of Friendship has a new occupant in the castle, my queen.”
“And? New ponies seem to crowd in there every month or so. It was funny at first, but now it’s just sad. Why tell me this?”
The colt took a breath as he sighed. “The occupant is another human, my queen.”
Chrysalis stares blankly at her disguised subject before her horn glows. The colt instantly found himself in her chambers through the hivemind link. He was no longer in disguise as Chrysalis took several intimidating steps toward him.
“Show. Me. Everything. Now!!!”
Gregory sat on the smaller camping chair he’d brought from his car about an hour or so later, eating some of the cheeseburger leftovers he had from the diner he’d been at earlier back on Earth. It was a bit cold, and things were a little bit soggy now, but he thoroughly enjoyed the taste of home. The table he was sitting at was made for someone the size of a pony, but he found he could still use it to place his meal. Beside said burger, he had a large bluetooth speaker playing The Ponyville Suite by OrchestralPony. He was currently listening to the Cutie Mark Crusaders movement. He bobbed his head to the fast paced orchestral piece, wondering just how the CMC would react to hearing not only this piece but other music based off of them, like Are We There Yet? by Black Gryph0n.
As he chewed on one of the last pieces of beef he’d get to enjoy in this world, he looked around the room once more. The room itself was massive even by pony standards. A large rectangular shaped room, it had plenty of amenities he could use for a little while. At least before he could find a job and find a more permanent place to live.
The biggest piece of furniture that stood out was the massive canopy style bed that was directly to the left of the door when he came in. The bedding was blue and purple with crystalline shapes sewn into the fabric. The sheets also had the same pattern as did the canopy itself. The bed frame was made of the same crystal as the rest of the castle. A large burgundy carpet with cream colored swirling patterns was spread out across most of the crystal floor.
On either side of his new bed were two end tables, each with two drawers and a lamp on either side. He’d tried them and found they worked a lot like older types of lamps back home. There were black cords going behind the end tables, but Gregory wasn’t about to pull the end tables back and see if there were any plugs here that might be compatible with his own electronics. He made another mental note to test that out later.
There was a large window overlooking the same lake and waterfall he’d seen plenty of times through the portal from Earth. The window didn’t open but he chalked that up to the magic curfew Twilight talked about. In front of the window was a pony sized desk with a chair in front of it. It was made of pure mahogany and every part of it was smooth to the touch. There were no sharp corners. Beside the desk was a tall and full bookshelf also made of mahogany.
To one side of the door was a large wardrobe and next to it was a large dresser that he’d explored already. If this room became a home for him for longer than anticipated, it would be the perfect place for his clothes and other belongings. There was also a tall walk-in closet for his clothes and other belongings as well as a dresser at one end of the closet for smaller clothes that didn’t need to be hung up.
To the right of his bed was a door that led to the private bathroom. The bathtub was made of the same material that most normal earth bathtubs were made from, and there was a showerhead above. The toilet itself was surprisingly like the types from Earth, albeit slightly smaller. The sink had fresh running water as well.
There was a fireplace opposite the bed with a nice warm blaze going in it. He had been camping plenty of times so he knew how to start a fire. The wood next to the fireplace looked like it wouldn’t need to be replaced anytime soon, so he decided that after he finished his evening meal he would replenish the fire, grab something to read from the bookshelf then head to bed.
He was wearing a pair of shorts and a blank gray t-shirt with his feet sticking out towards the fire to keep them warm. He still couldn’t believe that he was in Equestria of all places. Aside from his first flub with Twilight, he felt that things between them had gotten off to a pretty good start. There had also been that part where she said some self-deprecating things about herself, but he figured it was just some stress from the Everfree activity she mentioned.
Still, Twilight was cuter in person than he remembered from the show. It had taken a lot of willpower not to reach over and pet her and scratch behind her ears. However, he knew better. She wasn’t just some animal. She was a living sentient being. He took a final bite out of the burger, cleaned the table of any crumbs, washed his hands in the bathroom sink, built up the fire one last time, then turned off his music, grabbed one of the books from the bookshelf titled Equestrian Fairy Tales and got into bed.
When he felt his eyelids begin to droop, he put the book down and slid under the warm and smooth covers. By the comforting crackling of the fire, he dozed off into dreamland and dreamed of the adventures he would have with Twilight and her friends.
[City of Canterlot, Sundown, High Elm Estate]
High Elm was one of the oldest and one of the most expensive estates in the city of Canterlot. Located on the western side of the city, it overlooked the landscape below the mountain on which the city was built. Since it was late spring, the mansion had a first class view of the forests below where the trees were in bloom. It was the second oldest building in the city, built only a few years after the palace was built. It had many of the original structures remaining, although at one point it had suffered from a minor fire which destroyed most of the west wing. However, the nearly thousand year old structure had stood the test of time and its tall spires were reminiscent of Canterlot’s own spires.
Prince Blueblood, newly ascended Diarch of Equestria, sat in the tea room of High Elm’s mansion, an elegant teacup held in his magic. Looking around, he observed that the room had been adorned with only the best decor, befitting its status as a noblepony house.
The owner of said estate, a unicorn stallion named High Life, was a direct descendant of the original owner of the house, Handy Ford. He was also one of the richest and one of the most influential nobleponies in all of Canterlot. A proud stallion, he and his wife made sure that anypony who came into their house knew just how important they were as well as how many bits they had to spend. Many of the mansion walls had paintings hanging from them, with large stone sculptures scattered throughout. Many of the artworks in the mansion were the original works and not some copy made with magic. Aside from the walls with arched windows looking out over the forest below, the tea room was no exception. He recognized a couple of them as originals painted by one of Equestria’s best painters and sculptors, Luminous Sight. There was even an original statue by Mica Angle sitting in a corner, the Statue of Divide, a unicorn stallion standing tall and proud. It had once been a museum piece until parents began complaining that the prominence of a certain part of his body was unbecoming. High Life had bought it for a hefty sum and had set it in his house.
Turning away from the Statue of Divide, he looked down at the large swathe of land below them. Many of the trees below had already shed their blossoms but Blueblood did see a good number of trees with their blossoms still attached to the trees. One of the windows was open, and he could hear the sounds of birds singing and the wind blowing through the trees and other various plants of the nearby garden.
As he took another sip of his barley tea, the door to the tea room opened. Turning, Blueblood saw Jet Set and Upper Crust walking in. Jet Set still was missing his cutie mark from the events of the beginning of the trial, and Upper Crust was standing next to him to help support the weakened stallion. From what Blueblood could tell, Jet could still use a portion of his magic for lifting small things, but that was about it. Thanks to the events surrounding the loss of his cutie mark and the scar on his head, he’d begun to physically go through a decline. He’d slipped into a depression thanks to what had happened, and it showed in his health. His once curly mane had begun to fall out, forcing him to have to wear a wig. He had put on a bit of weight and had apparently not been getting much sleep if the bags under his eyes were any indication. The Prince of Equestria lifted his cup to them in greeting. “Lord Set, Lady Crust, you’re early.”
Jet Set looked at him with a small glare before he sighed. “Best to be here before you snag all the best tea cakes for yourself, your Highness,” he said, pointing at the tea cake stand where a few were already missing.
Blueblood smirked. “And what delectable tea cakes they have been. You should try one. I recommend the plum cake. It’s quite good and will definitely help keep you healthy.”
Jet’s glare increased, but he said nothing as he and his wife approached. As Jet sat and an earth pony maid began pouring him and Upper Crust a cup of the barley tea, the latter leaned close to Blueblood. “Your Highness, must you remind him about what happened a year ago?”
“My dear Upper Crust, what he did to Jason Wright besmirched the good name of all nobleponies everywhere,” Blueblood replied. “He struck the human unprovoked. We should be a better breed than that. Besides, he reminds us more than we remind him.”
Jet Set took a sip of his tea, then slammed it down on the table, his features morphing into anger. “That freak of nature…”
“That ‘freak of nature’, as you so generously put it, managed to start a series of events that have upset the balance of our great city and the best nation in the world,” a new voice said from the door.
Blueblood turned slowly. There, standing in the door, with his personal secretary Ink Blot behind him, stood High Life. He was a tall unicorn stallion, with cream white coat, a bright red and well styled mane and tail, and a wine glass as a cutie mark. He was wearing a well tailored black blazer with a black button down shirt and a red tie tucked neatly away. His bright green eyes scanned the room as he entered. He entered the room with the confidence that came from someone with the money and influence to back it up.
He was followed by his personal secretary, although from what Blueblood had seen of the way she was treated, she was more like his personal maid. Ink Blot, a pegasus mare, had a dark green coat, a gold mane with a silver streak through it tied back neatly in a bun, one gold and one silver eye behind a pair of black round glasses. She wore a black collar with a red bowtie. She had a dark red fountain pen with ink coming from it as a cutie mark. Her expression was neutral as she approached to stand somewhat behind and beside her employer.
Jet Set turned and glared at High Life. “He’ll pay for what he did to me.”
“Oh, be quiet you buffoon,” High Life said as he turned to Ink Blot and nodded at her. As she put down the satchel she’d been carrying on a nearby bench and began taking papers out of it, High Life turned back to the small group. “It’s not like you can do anything about it now. That Jason Wright is far beyond our reach to begin with. Besides, there’s a more pressing issue at hoof. This new group calling themselves the Creatures For Equestria movement.” He turned to Upper Crust and grinned. “As I recall, you said that they were, how did you so eloquently put it? Ah, right! They were just ‘...riff raff complaining about something unimportant or another. It will vanish soon enough.’ Well, Mrs. Crust? What about today?”
Upper Crust grit her teeth in anger. “Those utter fools,” she growled hatefully. “They’re ruining this kingdom!” The CFE had been growing in leaps and bounds ever since The Trial, as it had become known to be called by the media and the common pony alike. Many stories had been popping up about the mistreatment of non-Ponies throughout Equestria, including one that had made the headlines four months ago about a young griffon who had been badly beaten in Manehattan by a group of ponies some years ago. Many non-ponies in Equestria had either joined or donated to the cause while some others had decided to return to their home countries. It hadn’t helped their movement that Princess Luna, now the leading monarch of Equestria, had expressed her own support for what the movement stood for. This had put her at odds with many of the nobles save for a few, like Lord Fancy Pants and Lady Fleur De Lis who fully supported the movement in their own right, going so far as to sell non-pony merchandise in their businesses and donating the profits from said imports to the CFE movement.
“You don’t need to tell us twice,” another voice, this one female. Blueblood turned and saw Zesty Gourmand striding in with a scowl on her face. She was wearing a dark burgundy overcoat, white button down shirt and black leggings. She wasn’t just a food critic, Blueblood knew, but she was the leading member of the House of Pudding, a noble house well known for their contributions to fine dining all across Equestria. “Those ignorant peasants have begun ruining everything!”
Her husband, a pegasus named Tarte Tatin, nodded. “It is quite a travesty!” he said in a slight Prench accent. He was about half as old as his wife and was a tall pony with well groomed feathers on his wings. He was grayish blue with grayish brown mane and tail, yellow eyes and a cutie mark depicting a slice of some sort of red tart on a white plate. He wore a dark gray blazer with a white button down shirt and a light green tie striped with yellow. “These creatures clamoring for equal rights are upsetting the balance of this nation!”
“Don’t talk about balance like you know anything,” a new male voice said. Blueblood saw yet another one of Canterlot’s nobility enter. Perfect Pace, one of the youngest nobles in Equestrian high society, walked in. Perfect Pace was an earth pony stallion with blue fur, bright gold mane and tail, darker gold eyes, and possessing an hourglass for a cutie mark. He wore a simple white collar and a red bowtie around his neck. Blueblood knew him as head of the Timekeeper noble house which produced the best timepieces in Equestria. Beside him stood his wife, Fine Line. She had a light yellow coat, brown mane and taile both of which were done up neatly in buns, and light blue eyes. She was a unicorn pony ballerina with a cutie mark of four red ballerina shoes. Perfect Pace glared at Tarte and continued by saying, “Because of them, I’ve lost a good number of factory employees and sales of my company’s timepieces have plummeted!”
“Let me guess, they were all non-ponies and ones you paid under the table?” Blueblood asked with a small smirk. Perfect scowled at him but said nothing. Blueblood continued. “Hey, I know what the common pony will say. Or even the common non-pony. You treated them lower than dirt, and now you’re embarrassed because now the whole nation knows. That’s what they’ll say.”
Perfect grit his teeth, but before anypony else could say anything, High Life stepped forward. “Gentlecolts, please, let’s not turn this into a bloodbath. I don’t want my floors stained. It’s a real mess for the help to clean. Please, let’s all sit and discuss this like civilized ponies.” He turned to Ink Blot. “You have it?”
“Yes, sir-I mean, my lord,” she corrected herself as she pulled out a large stack of paper. She began passing out small folders to each chair at the large tea table.
“Please take a seat, everypony,” High Life said as he took the chair at the head of the table and sat comfortably in it. A maid pony poured him a cup of the steaming barley tea, which he immediately took in his gold magic and sipped before grabbing a sweet velvet tea cake and setting it on his small cake plate. “Now then, I’m well aware than everypony in this room and the others I’ve invited here have been having problems with not only the problems the CFE movement has been generating, but all of the laws that Princess Luna has been overturning and others she has been implementing have been problematic, to say the least.”
“Yes, about that,” Upper Crust said as she turned to face Blueblood, “what have you been doing?! You’re just letting the Princess do what she wants!”
“There’s this thing called, oh, what’s the phrase? Ah, biding my time,” Blueblood retorted immediately as he took a refined sip of his tea with a small smile. “If I make a move too quickly, she’ll know something is up. She might be a thousand years out of date, but she isn’t a fool. She has three hundred years of ruling experience, and that was during a time when the world was quite different. She is a quick learner and has been studying the modern political climate in earnest. She knows when anypony’s lying to her pretty well, too. But don’t worry. I’ll make my move when the time is right.”
“Then perhaps I can speed this along,” High Life said. He lifted the folder that Ink Blot had placed in front of him with his magic and opened it. “While we wait for the others to arrive, look over this report.”
Blueblood opened his copy and looked down at the papers. His eyebrows both shot up as he saw dossiers on a few of the more prominent members of the CFE along with photographs of each member. He read the names Cozy Glow, Spike, Cranky Doodle and Gabriella. There were a number of other prominent members, pony and otherwise, but these four were the most well known among the CFE. Blueblood read them over carefully, memorizing as much of the information as he could. He’d have to check and see how accurate these were. Especially the speculation about Spike and Gabriella becoming very close friends over the months.
“Just where did you get these documents?” Jet Set asked after a few minutes of silence.
“My sources are my own,” High Life said, “but trust me, everything in here is accurate. If you don’t believe me, that’s your issue. But I assure you, my information is never wrong.”
“Why are you showing us this?” Perfect Pace asked.
“Why?” High Life grinned a predatory grin as he set the folder down. “Because, fillies and gentlecolts, I’ve seized on an opportunity. An opportunity to use this movement to our advantage.”
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FIRST!
Tick. Tock. Your "highness".
Tick. Tock. Until Gregory eventually finds out about the truth of what happened in "reality" compared to what he, and fans in general, saw on our screens.
Oh so now you want to learn about anything we humans have?
*sigh...* He won't be prepared once he meets the girls... Especially... Rarity.
Can't wait to see whatever scheme they're trying to pull not going what they were expecting.
Cozy is the one to worry about considering what she did in the show. I wonder how long twilight can avoid telling the whole truth. As for the nobles I hope karma gets them good.
Part of me is still hoping Blueblood is gonna betray his “noble” friends. But it wouldn’t surprise me either if he follows through with them. From the sounds of it they are all rather comfortable with the quasi-Slave labor from non-ponies. Ironically. slave labor is an economic loser in the long term, the famous “King Cotton” was anything but. Slave Labor in the American south left it an economic backwater lagging behind the more industrialized and diversified north. They were also heading to a recession (and eventually depression) as the demand for cotton was declining due to over production, by the time of the Civil War, their main customer (Britain) was said to have warehouses bursting with the crop. Also agricultural economies aren’t that lucrative, so their other products weren’t going to save them. They had little in the way of infrastructure because of this as well.
Slavery is a great evil, but to make it worse, it’s a great evil that offers little benefit long term. There’s other examples of course, the Gulags, Nazi and Japanese Labor Camps, etc. The reason is simple, with little in the game, slaves will only work as hard as they have to in order to avoid punishment, on top of that the slave master sees every problem as something that can be solved with more slaves. Ironically, this led to the slave population outnumbering the ruling class (whites, both slave owners and non-slave owners) in the southern states in many areas, meaning that long term they would have been destroyed by rebellions and ensuing economic instability.
While what the nobles have created isn’t as obvious as the slave system the US had, the instability is definitely there. The cats been let out of the bag when it comes to their mistreatment of non-ponies, who are either leaving the country, or staying to protest. They are in a very precarious position internationally as-well, other nations are now watching them closely. If they attempt to “crack down” on this to make things go back to how they used to be it could very well mean the end of Equestria, and by extension them. While some might decry, “Well what about magic?!”, remember that magic has only been useful against singular enemies, not organized militaries (like in the MLP movie). Equestria isn’t equipped for traditional military conflict, though I’m sure the nobles would disagree…. Right up until Canterlot falls…
It wouldn’t surprise me if the nobility actually worked hard to suppress true industrialization, for fear it would challenge their magic. There’s certainly been some great stories about it, and in a society that’s as stratified as Equestria, they might not like the idea of their dominance in the economy being challenged. This isn’t sustainable either… but when people see their way of life threatened, especially if that way of life ensures they are at the top, they don’t tend to act reasonably…. Oh god… what if that was Jason’s ultimate goal in the end… to set up Equestria for a Civil War?… he exposed their hero’s and beloved leader as frauds, put immense pressure on them to reform, aggregating the traditionalist ponies, while also turning the world against them. While outside nations might aid the “reformists” they might demand things too, leaving the newly reformed Equestria in a weaker position.
It would be so funny if the nobles go though all this trouble to upset the CEF only for Cozy Glow, who's also been scheming behind the scenes, to completely pull the rug out from under them and overturn their plot
The dominoes are being set into place.
Also nice inclusion of the people going nuts over the "Divide" statue. While I can understand being offended, it is just my opinion that people are a good bit too sensitive these days. Still, to each their own.
Why is equal rights a foreign concept to Equestria?
Oh hey gale is famous now yey
11599807
No deaths, though.
11599807
Gale?
11599695
I'm not sure Jason had that much foresight about screwing over Equestria. He did what he needed and went on with his life, those nobles just believed their bubble of influence could never pop. All Jason had to do was breath on the house of cards that was Equestria and sit back as it all came tumbling down on its own weight. It's telling how quickly everything is beginning to unravel all because of the ugly truth.
The board is set, on a flimsy table... Pieces starting to move... Now we wait what follows, and who might try flipping the board? Or will the table just collapse?
Keep it up.
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At the time, factory workers in the UK (and in the North) were treated almost as bad, sometimes even worse than slaves in the South. The reason being that a slave costs money, so if one dies or is permanently injured you need to buy a new one. On the other hand, if your employee (who is a free man) dies or gets permanently disabled, well, just hire another one. Just look at the link-and-pin train couplings - it is extremely easy to get your hand crushed by the train with them, but railroads did not start using the safer alternatives until the government forced them.
Slavery, by itself, does not make it worse for the economy. A problem with the South was that they mostly exported cotton. If they had made the slaves work in factories, it would have been different.
Even today, some companies are using slave labor (or almost slaves in sweatshops) to produce a lot of things.
Slavery is horrible from humanitarian perspective, but it may be useful economically. It is probably similar in Equestria too - cheaper workers mean cheaper products and a lot of people choose according to price.
11599762
At this point of this story, different meanings can be attached to the same word as a means to an end, which is what those traitorous bigots are planning.
Hoping Spike doesn't fall for whatever crap the nobles are doing.
11600590
I asked due to the fact non ponies are treated as slave labor.
Now blue blood or any of these nobles are not idiots, they know directly targeting the members of the CFE is a stupid (at least I hope they do for their sake) they should know that harming them or making them "disappear would only make them martyrs making the movement even stronger. So most likely there gonna try and dig up some dirt on them.
Oh boy I'm excited to see what they do, I wonder what kinda dirt High life, has on cozy. Does she even have a past? Or did she just suddenly appear? Is she even a child or is she like that one batman villain
How have I been listening to that song for months and only now realizing it's about my little pony?!?!
You know I've been thinking alot about the chaotic magic that was released from discord. I thought about what would happen to it. Would it change the fabric of equestria by causing it to become more like earth? (i.e weather happens all on it's own from that point, animals begin to follow basic instincts and become less intelligent, maybe the sun and moon start moving on their own)
But then I thought what if all that chaos magic condenses and eventually forms an entirely new sentient being of chaos. Not exactly a draconiquess, but an entirely different spirit of chaos. One that doesnt try meddle in the lives of others to start chaos, but instead starts it by doing nothing at all. Only watching from the sidelines but occasionally popping up just to taunt, still holding no loyalty or malice to any-creature
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The problem is, the South knew it was dying and the North passed laws to prevent them from industrializing. The North also had no problem (for the most part) to keep the South dependent upon Slavery, so long as they didn't gain any political power to stop them from skimming from southern exports with taxes and tariffs. Look at the Corwin Amendment, Lincoln helped author it, because he simply wanted to keep the union intact. It also didn't help the fact Egypt was an alternative source for cotton. Slavery is ass, yes, but the North only wanted to keep the South subservient to DC.
Also, the Confederacy was the 4th largest economy at the time, much like the state of California is a giant economy that overshadows many countries in the world. The Union fought tooth and nail to keep them from seceding, so no, agricultural economies aren't a weak thing.
All these CFE shmucks would've been much more mabagable if someone was smart enough to implement strike busting. Of course, now that the genie is out of the bottle, there's no going back. Blueblood needs something more... subtle, to pacify the rabble.
Excited to see where this is going!
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He's out of line but he's correct