State of Compromise: Socialist Union of Equestria

by Serov

Development

Woodsville, Central Ponies Republic, SUE, Year 0, October 14th.

“Mr. Canyon, what does “prefabricated” mean?”

Block lets out a quiet sigh. He tries to not be judgemental but frankly, he does not want to be here.

He tries to give a simple enough response.

“Prefabricated means much of the pieces of the building will be made in a factory then assembled on site. This is done as a cost saving measure.”

In what had been before the war a secondary school gym, a sort of town hall meeting is being held. On the stage is a long table seating four ponies. Facing them are a few hundred residents of Woodsville, concerned about the new housing being built in their ruined city.

Block’s co-head engineer, Nikolai Anosov, finds the need to chime in.

“Ah, to the comrade who said that, remember to use “comrade” in your speech instead of “Mr” - that’s old language!”

“Uh- sure comrade.”

“Thank you for your understanding!”

The three others on the table are slightly ticked at this exchange. Even the other Severyanan, military governor Katya Ironstead, is frustrated. That had been one of the many times Anosov interrupted over “revolutionary ideals”, always in that chipper tone as well…

Chairpony of the local council, Marebury Hoofer, awkwardly chooses to continue.

“...Thank you, comrade Anosov. Now, the H-5 apartments are not the only buildings under construction. Accompanying them, will be a community center, a kindergarten, a primary school, a clinic, and various other amenities. Could everypony here turn to page 4 of the provided pamphlet?”

The Woodsville citizens open their provided pamphlet for the first time in the meeting, with some ponies peeking over at their neighbor if they don’t have a copy.

“What you are seeing is the map of new developments on the west side of the city. As you can see, along with the new commercial area the residential areas will be organized into three residential districts. For families, everything they need will be a short 15-minute trot away. In addition-”

At that point, Block’s mind starts to drift. He’s lived for half a century and still despises interacting with the public. He is always a pony with much to do and not enough time to do it. Simply put, Block doesn’t need to be here, just Nikolai would have been fine. The younger stallion is… annoying sometimes, but a good engineer - he can answer any questions the public have. But alas, the local council had called for both lead engineers.

Somewhat curious, somewhat bored, Block looks at the crowd. Most are listening to Hoofer while others are flipping through the pamphlet, looking through floor plans and the list of provided appliances. They seem satisfied enough with the plans. The apartments would only provide the bare essentials for life, they would be small, especially the kitchen, but to ponies who mostly lived in makeshift barracks, they would be enough. However, Block notices that a few ponies grimace when they look at the last page- an illustration of the new apartments.

Block had seen completed versions of H-5’s back east, they had not been a pretty sight. All ponies liked ornamentation, even Severyanans, and the new apartments would not provide any. Simply, even in propaganda, they appeared to be concrete boxes with windows.

Block doesn’t mind this fact too much and he couldn’t imagine most ponies would either. The war had devastated Equestria after all, even an ugly house is better than nothing.

“-by that time. Comrades Anosov and Canyon, any comments?”

Having been asked by the Chairpony herself, Nikolai speaks first.

“Fellow ponies, this is the first step to create a true workers’ paradise in Equestria! Now, ponies will be bound together with a sense of community. The excesses of the old regime will be swept aside for pure functionalism, a testament to-”

He continues for quite a while.

Finally, Hoofer turns to Block.

“And comrade Canyon?”

Block looks at the assembled crowd.

“We expect both noise and heat insulation to be quite poor. Please bear with it as the nation is still recovering.”

“…”

“Thank you. General Ironstead, I believe you have an important announcement.”

The normally stern general is a little disorientated by the rapid change in subject but quickly recovers.

“Ah, thank you Chairwomen Hoofer. As you all know, martial law is expected to end by December. This means- ”

Just like that, the meeting continues.

…
…
…

This day is the worst. Or, at least, that's what Block will tell you if you asked him right now.

The meeting had ended, taking far longer than it needed to. Then, after fleeing to the construction site to get work done, Block had been hit with devastating news.

In a bizarre mess of bureaucracy, the Ministry of Construction, Block’s employer, shares vehicles with the military. So, 3 hours ago, a lieutenant had told Block that his vehicle had to be used for another purpose. Block and Nikolai had been told to take the next train to Tall Tale after work ended.

Unfortunately, with Tall Tale being the new capital of the biggest Union Republic, tickets to the city at reasonable times had been sold out.

Now, it’s after working hours and Block is stranded in Woodsville. The security hadn’t even let him stay in his onsite office.

Block and Nikolai had been able to buy tickets for the 9:00 PM train - coming 2 hours from now.

Block is still with Nikolai, walking through the ruined city together. Though Block had always driven back to Tall Tale right after security kicked him from the office, Nikolai had stayed in the city for longer more than once. As a result, the Severyanan knows the city better than Block. Crucially, this means Nikolai knows the few establishments that are still open. It is getting cold and a place to rest seemed divine to Block.

It isn’t ideal, and it is a waste of money to eat at a restaurant rather than a canteen, but Block would take anything at this point.

“Comrade Anosov!”

Block looks across the street to a group of foals waving in their direction.

Nikolai waves back.

“Everyone, it’s been too long!”

Ever chipper, Nikolai runs over to the children. Block only stands from a distance, watching as his colleague happily chats with the youngins. Block thinks this is strange, afterall, Equestrians are suspicious of Severyanans, even the friendly ones. Though, children are more open to newcomers. Afterall, judging by the children’s ages, they could not have been more than a few years old when Equestria fell.

Soon after, Nikolai bids the group of foals goodbye and ran up to Block.

“Let’s go, comrade!”

“Huh, ok.”

As the two continue to walk, Block, prompted by curiosity, does something he had never done before: ask a colleague a personal question.

“So, Anosov, how do you know those kids?”

“I taught them some of my old Hoofball tricks during my lunch breaks and days off.”

“Hmm, aren’t children annoying?”

Nikolai chuckles at the older stallion’s remark.

“That’s very you, comrade, but I quite like children. They’re so happy and open. Adults can be so closed off sometimes.”

“I suppose…”

Nikolai chuckles again. Then, as his laughter fades, a complicated expression comes across his face. He takes a moment before speaking.

“You know, teaching was my first passion.”

“Really? What changed?”

The Severyanan, instead of answering, trots faster and Block speeds up to follow him.

After a long while, Nikolai, still smiling, begins talking.

“The government was pushing engineering a lot when I was in secondary. Severyana needed engineers more than they needed teachers.”

Nikolai starts rubbing the back of his head.

“My math marks weren’t high, but I guess I was eager to serve the revolution and all.”

“Do yo-”

“Regret it?”

The white furred stallion, who had seemed to Block to have no doubts at all, merely shrugged.

“I think I would have been a better teacher than engineer, but I was able to be a lot more useful to the war effort. So overall…”

Nikolai looks to the sky. Again, he takes a long, good moment before speaking.

“I don’t regret it all”

Then, without a word, Nikolai starts walking again.

…

The bar had been closed on that particular day. As a sort of consolation prize, the two ponies are smoking outside the train station. Cigarettes are hard to come by - production had been slow to recover due to the government deeming it a luxury good. Block can’t disagree with that assessment, but it still annoys him.

Block had had a total of two cigarettes left and he’d felt bad leaving Nikolai with nothing. So, at last, the cigs he had paid an unreasonable amount for are gone.

Block takes far longer than Nikolai to finish his cigarette, enjoying every last hume. After it's gone, Block looks to the ground; he solemnly watches as the last few embers flicker and go out.

After a moment of silence, Block takes a heavy sigh.

Soon, he notices Nikolai is looking at him with a perplexed expression.

“That’s the most emotion I’ve seen out of you…”

Block scowls at the offensive remark.

“Smoking is one of the few joys I have.”

“You should stop.”

“Wh- you smoke too!”

Nikolai sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

“I only picked up the habit during the war, I’m going to stop. Besides, didn’t you read that article in the Daily Worker? About the health effects of prolonged smoking?”

Block scoffs, thoroughly unconvinced.

“I never read that rag and I wouldn’t stop even if it turned me into a bug.”

At that, Nikolai weakly sighs and mumbles something about not using the term “bug”. Block ignores what the younger pony has to say and drifts in his own thoughts, leading inevitably to the project:

It’s going well. The hardest part had been clearing the ruins and building new infrastructure but that’d been completed only a bit past schedule. The buildings themselves would be quick work now that the foundations were laid. The H-5 apartments could be assembled in just 3 weeks, with some additional time given for other buildings and to make the interiors livable.

Despite the workload being put on him, it’s one of the smoother projects he worked on. Materials had been delivered on time, people had been available, and arguments with the local government had been minimal. It’s quite useful to have the backing of a central government.

Not that there aren't any problems: Block isn't a planner, but even he can tell building three new residential districts is excessive for a medium sized city like Woodsville, especially when the city center is being renovated.

Perhaps it had to do with the furniture factories being built - a lot of ponies moving in would need housing. That would make the most sense: new housing all across the country needed furniture and light industry had been severely neglected during the war. Still, that means a lot of workers would be brought in, Woodsville will have to change significantly.

Many Equestrians grumble about this kind of thing. They say that the new regime is changing too much too fast. To Block, it just seemed business like usual:

His family had lived Rocksville before the Gemstone Rush; growing up, Block had heard countless complaints from his grandfather about how different Rocksville had become: too big, too many people and the like. Modernity seems to do that kind of thing - leaving people behind.

Block notices, finally, that Nikolai is tapping his shoulder. He turns to face his co-worker.

“Say… comrade Canyon, what do you think of the ah- the government?”

Block’s surprised by the sudden question, both with how sudden it came and with how straightforward it is. He eyes his co-worker with suspicion. Was Nikolai perhaps a very incompetent agent from Internal Affairs?

The Severyanan seems to realize how his question sounded:

“Ah, this is just personal, I won’t tell anyone what you say. I’m just curious.”

The words don’t clear any suspicion but to Block, Nikolai seems nothing if not genuine. The usually cynical Equestrian decides to take a chance.

“What if I said I was a terrorist plotting the return of Queen Celestia.”

Nikolai looks horrified.

“Please don’t joke about that…”

“And people tell me I don’t have a sense of humor…”

Block grumbles, racking the little part of his brain not focused on work.

“I don’t.”

“What?”

“I don’t think about the government much at all.” Block says, more confident this time.

Nikolai still seems confused.

“Look, Anosov, I’ll tell you this because the government already knows: I’m not a Communist.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised.” Hmm, Nikolai seems to take the news well.

“But I’m not planning on rebelling anytime soon. You know why?”

Nikolai doesn’t answer.

“I have enough to eat, I generally get to do what I want, and I think the reconstruction effort is going well. Most ponies are like that, I think.”

"Like what?"

Block shrugs. "It's hard to say, I'm not the political one here but just… you know, most ponies just want to live their lives, they aren't loyal to ideas."

"..."

Block looks at his co-worker after a moment of silence. Nikolai looks a little troubled. Eventually, however, his expression softens.

“That makes sense. But comrade…”

Nikolai hesitantly looks Block in the eye.

“... are you sure you don’t hate the new government?”

“What brought this on!?”

Nikolai takes a step back, he’s quite startled by Block’s outburst.

“D-don’t be mad, you just called the “Daily Worker” a rag and the-”

“All newspapers are rags no matter what, a bunch of nonsense every week. Besides, I’ve heard Severyanans complain about that paper as well.” Block is thoroughly confused at this point. At most, he acts like the typical Equestrian: slightly miffed but ultimately complacent. There isn’t a reason for Nikolai to suspect him of treason… unless.

“Yeah, yes… I suppose that’s true.” Nikolai says, almost defeated. He slumps, looking away from Block.

“It’s just… I feel like you have a good reason… you know.”

What!? Nikolai questioning the government? Wh-what’s going on?

“What do you mean by that?” asks Block, worrying that his coworker isn’t well today.

He was fine at the meeting and at the site though…

“You… you should be the sole Head Engineer.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

Nikolai turns away from Block, his expression dark.

“You pretty are one already: you manage everything anyway and I do the same work I did before my promotion...”

Block had never seen Nikolai like this. The older stallion is shocked, unsure how to handle the situation.

Nikolai’s words were true, Block had been the one managing and leading the project. Nikolai had effectively acted in a subordinate role, though he’d performed well in it. Most of the time, it’d been Block who made the final decision, with Nikolai there to sign some papers.

“... It’s not right. The government doesn’t fully trust Equestrians… they’re our partners, not counterrevolutionaries…”

Nikolai seems to be talking to himself at this point - perhaps this had been on his mind for a while.

Block pats Nikolai on the shoulder, awkwardly consoling his junior.

“Relax, give our government the benefit of the doubt. It’s probably just because I’m a defector.

Block doesn’t really believe the words he’s saying. On the local level, Severyanans rely on Equestrians out of practicality, some places run themselves without a Severyanan in sight. However, the higher up you went and the more important the job, it’s clear Severyanans didn’t fully trust the average Equestrian. Block had heard many complaints from other Equestrians about Severyanans viewing them with suspicion. At least some of them had to be real. Still, it was better to lie in this case.

Nikolai perks up at Block’s words.

“A what?”

Huh, does Nikolai not know?

“A defector. I fled to Puerto Caballo back during the inva- back in 1012. Came back in 1013 through the Dragon isles and some smugglers - hell of a trip.”

Nikolai’s expression doesn’t lighten; if anything, he seems angrier.

“Then that’s more reas-”

Block raises his hoof to stop the younger pony.

“Again, I’m not a communist. I came back for my home, nothing else. Moreover, some defectors turned out to be spies.”

Block chuckles to himself. This disturbs Nikolai.

“We’re a risk, plain and simple. It’s a miracle I got this job.”

Nikolai sighs, not used to Block’s sense of humor: he still looks troubled, uncharacteristically unsure.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Block tries one more time to cheer up Nikolai:

“Don’t worry, Equestrians are most of the population, so it’ll work out eventually.”

“So, it's true what they say about Rocksville residents…”

It didn’t work.

“... that was uncalled for.”

Nikolai finally smiles again, laughing at Block’s expression. Block rolls his eyes, but he’s relieved that the usual Nikolai’s back - easier to deal with that way.

“Do you really think things will get better, comrade?”

Nikolai asks Block with a cheerful, yet somber smile.

“Don’t you communists think every pony's going to be equal eventually? All living in peace and doing nothing all day? Maybe I’ll believe that too.”

“Not exactly… but that would be nice.” Nikolai laughs at his own words.

Block almost smiles.

“Don’t say that we will still have a job to do.”

“I suppose… are you sure you’re not bothered by it comrade?”

Block shrugs.

“I worked for the government long before this, politics in my career is nothing new. Don’t be bothered by it, just watch and learn how I do things.”

“... thank you, comrade.”

Block, mood improved, decides to humor him.

“You’re welcome comrade.”

---

The project will come to a close in the following months.

Woodsville will become a much larger city in the coming years. A city that had seen intense fighting during the Great War will recover to its prewar height and then greatly exceed it. A hub of the lumber industry prewar, Woodsville will soon see new factories open, supplying the rest of the Union with furniture and various wooden products.

From the old city center will radiate out dozens of residential districts, linked to the factories and the center by trolleybus. All around, a typical story, found all around Equus.

Ponies like Block will shrug at the bare buildings and layout and say it’s only practical. Ponies like Nikolai will tear up as they walk through the city, calling it a model of Socialist progress. Most importantly, for ponies like the foals Nikolai had played Hoofball with, it'll be where they grow up, mature, and long for in their later years.

Author's Note:

Sup, we're back to Equus and talking about housing.

I don't want the SUE to be exactly like the Soviet Union, later chapters will show how different circumstances lead to a far different country. However, the "H-5" apartments are heavily based on Khrushchevkas of the late 1950s and 1960s. I'm going off the assumption that Equestria is on average more developed than the 1950s USSR as it is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the EAW world, so these apartments are more spacious than an average Khrushchevka with more regional variations. Still, they're still made on the cheap to quickly rebuild the country.

Again, this was from the perspective of a character with their own biases that don't necessarily reflect my own views. Hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[Thermalsquid]

I really like the subtle world building you’re doing with us being able to recognize that while the Equestrian Union has a lot of similarities with the USSR and take heavy inspiration from it. Equestria has different material conditions that while we can recognize the policies similar to the USSR but are different or unique to fit Equestria’s situation.

I also very much like love that you’re humanizing the communists to be more than fanatical ideologues that shoot everyone who isn’t a socialists and act like regular people or ponies in this case.