Because Shadow’s autobiography is an account of her own life and actions rather than a proper narrative of all the events of the Lunar Rebellion, there are some aspects of the conflict which she does not focus upon because they had little relevance to her. In order to correct that and provide a broader sense of scope to my readers, I’ve taken the liberty of including some additional material for added context.
While “The Assassination of Apple Tree by the Coward Danver Carrot” is technically a work of historical fiction, I found it to be well-researched enough to be accurate, and far more readable than a proper academic text. Given the rather contentious nature of the subject, there’s a lot of biased research on the matter, especially where folklore and popular legend take the place of proper history. Thus, with the author’s permission, I’ve opted to include a few excerpts from his book to provide the readers with more information on what’s going on with the earth ponies.
I would also like the apologize in advance for the rather unique flavor of this excerpt. Blame the original author of the book, who decided to have everypony talking in thick modern country accents. I’m not sure how accurate the accent is compared to how ponies actually spoke nine hundred years ago, but I suppose he would sound rustic, so using an equivalent modern accent works for conveying that impression to readers.
It all started with a real simple idea. Them that works the land oughta own the land too.
Things used to be that way, back in the old days. A farmer had as much land as them an' their family could work; no more, an’ no less. S’only proper. But the thing is, some farms ended up bein’ bigger an’ better than others. That let them farmers get a little richer than the others, an' eventually some of them started figurin’ they oughta have more on account of havin’ more money. So they bought up more land than they could farm, then went an' started hirin’ ponies to work the spare land.
Now, that ain’t such a terrible thing just by itself, but the whole situation kinda ended up like when you got a snowball rollin’ down a hill. Them big farmers get more land, which gets ‘em more money, which they use to buy up even more land, an' ... well, y’get the idea. Pretty soon, ain’t nopony except a couple folks owns any land, an' them’s livin’ up in fancy mansions puttin’ on airs while the rest of us are still in the dirt, doin’ a real earth pony’s work.
Pretty soon, things got to the point where them magnates—that’s what them rich ponyfolk took to callin’ themselves—well they pretty much controlled anythin’ an' everythin’ When a small group of ponies ends up havin’ all the land an’ all the money, it ain’t gonna be long before they’re pretty much runnin’ the whole thing. Sure, we got us a nice democracy here instead of things bein’ run by a buncha highfalutin’ nobles or some army types, but all that votin’ don’t count for much when all we got’s the choice of votin’ for one rich pony or another. Sure, they might differ on a couple a things, but they all agreed that it oughta be a government made up of magnates an' runnin’ things for the magnates.
Reckon that’s about where Ah come into the picture.
‘Twas a hot summer, ‘bout like most. The sorta day that makes me glad Ah had the good fortune to be born into the Apple Family. Y’see, the nice thing about runnin’ an apple orchard is you get to spend a lotta time workin’ in the shade. Poor Danver, workin’ the next plot over tendin’ to his carrots, well he didn’t have nothin’ but the hat on his head ‘tween him an’ Celestia’s sun.
After a couple hours of watching him bust his back an’ sweat so bad he was readier to keel over than a drought-worn tree, Ah decided to have a little mercy on ‘im. He’s a good ol’ boy, an’ it was just the neighborly thing to do. “Hey, Danver! C’mon over here an’ set down a spell!” Ah thought it over for a moment, an’ added. “Got me a bit of cider Ah mighta forgotten to mention to the overseer, if’n you want somethin’ to drink.”
Danver’s ears perked right up when Ah mentioned the cider. Ain’t nopony can say no to a good ol’ mug of cider after a hard day’s work. Sure enough, Danver ambled on over, an’ by the time Ah done run to the house an’ back to get a couple wooden mugs of the stuff, he’d gone an’ gotten real cozy.
Soon’s Ah was in hoof’s reach, he took that mug of cider an’ done swigged half of it down so fast it probably didn’t do more’n brush his tongue. Farmin’s thirsty work. “Thank ya kindly, Tree,” Danver done said. “Ah surely do wish Ah could set down for a spell, but Ah can’t spare more’n a couple minutes ‘fore Ah gotta get back out there.”
“Bumper Crop ridin’ ya hard?”
“Ayuh, he most surely is.” Danver grumbled an’ took him another swig of that cider. “Says Ah ain’t brung in enough last two harvest, an’ if’n Ah don’t do better this time ‘round mah family’s off the farm.”
“Ain’t right.” Ah bucked one of my trees, just on account of it all. “Ain’t proper that some fancy city stallion up in Manehatten can take ya offa yer land, just cause yer goin’ through a couple dry years.”
“That’s the rub though, ain’t it?” Danver rolled his shoulders in a helpless shrug. “It ain’t mah land, it’s his. Ah just work it.”
“Still ain’t proper,” Ah growled. “Y’got a wife an’ kids t’feed, an’ yer stuck workin’ a dried up piece of land ain’t no good for nothin’, an’ then ya gotta give half yer harvest to some magnate ain’t never done an honest day’s work in ‘is life, an’ then pay taxes on what’s left after. It ain’t right. An’ then ya hear tell ‘bout some of the other stuff they get up to.” Ah started feelin’ right ornery as a couple of the stories Ah done heard sprang to mind. “Didja hear ‘bout what happened over near Trottingham way? Ah done heard from mah cousin Adamac who heard from his sister-in-law Brown Barley, who done heard from one of her friends that the magnate up there’s a real piece of work. Makes folks leave their daughters an’ wives up at his mansion fer a week if’n they don’t make their quotas.”
“Ah dunno if’n there’s anythin’ to it.” Danver drank the last of mah cider. “Ain’t y’ever noticed that them kindsa stories always come from somepony who done heard it from somepony else who heard it from another somepony who lives halfway ‘cross Equestria?”
If’n Ah was ornery before, now Ah was downright riled. “You callin’ mah kin a liar?”
“Now hold yer horses, Ah ain’t sayin’ nothin’ like that.” Danver put up his hooves like he was tryin’ to calm down a Timberwolf or somethin’. “Ah’m just sayin’, there’s a lotta talk goes around, an’ Ah ain’t sure there’s anythin’ to all of it. If we’re hearin’ ‘bout it all the way out here, d’you really think it ain’t been nowhere else? Tell me a magnate’s puttin’ the squeeze on his sharecroppers, an’ Ah’d believe it. That kinda thing ... nah. S’just too much. Ain’t no way Chanc’ler Celestia’d let ponies get away with somethin’ like that.”
“You reckon she knows?” Ah took a drink of my own cider to get some of the dust out of mah throat. “She ain’t left Canterlot since mah grandpappy was younger’n me.”
Danver thought it over for a spell, then slowly nodded. “Reckon you ain’t wrong. Ah ain’t sayin’ it’s all as bad as ya think, but it surely could be better. Don’t see as there’s any point in flappin’ our jaws ‘bout it, though. End of the day, that’s just the way things are, an' ain’t nothin’ that you an’ me can do that’s gonna change it.” He stood up an' stretched, his joints lettin’ out a buncha pops. “Ain’t nothin’ we can do but keep on workin’ an’ hope we can provide for our own kin.”
“An’ hope yer magnate don’t steal the food outta their mouths,” Ah shot right back.
“If’n it gets under yer tail that much, y’could always just move out to the frontier,” Danver tossed out. “Ain’t no magnates out there.”
“Eeyup, reckon Ah could.” Ah snorted. “If’n Ah cared to be eaten by one of them manticores or dragons or whatever monsters they got livin’ out there. An’ soon’s the place get to the point where folk can live like real ponies, you know them magnates is gonna swoop right in an’ buy everythin’ up.” Ah just shook mah head at the whole idea of it. “No sir, Ah ain’t bustin’ mah back turning a buncha dirt an’ rocks into a proper farm, only fer some big city pony to buy it all up.”
“Then just pony up an’ deal.” Danver shrugged. “Ain’t nobody got time to spend on gettin’ mad over what can’t be changed.”
“Why can’t it be changed?” Ah askt. “Somepony oughta do somethin’ ‘bout it.”
Danver just went an' snorted at me. “Shoot, you sound like yer aimin’ to up an’ run fer office.”
An’ that’s when it hit me like the bolt of lightning that went an' split that tree over on Farmer Joe’s field. “Well shucks, Danver. That ain’t a half-bad idea.”
“You pullin’ mah leg?” Danver glared suspiciously at me. When Ah didn’t go an’ say Ah was just funnin’ him, he went an’ got downright antsy. “Now don’t go talkin’ crazy like that, Tree. If’n it get ‘round yer figurin’ on buckin’ the system, it’s gonna bring all kindsa trouble down on us. An’ y’aint gonna win, anyways. How’re you even gonna run for office an’ put food on the table for yer family at the same time? B’sides, y’aint gonna be takin’ on all the resources them magnates got an’ winning.”
Ah had mah mouth halfway open t’say somethin’ when Ah figured out that Ah didn’t have nothin’ t’say to that. Danver had a damn good point: ain’t no way Ah could win, ‘specially not if Ah needed to put in time on the farm to keep mah kin fed. It just weren’t practical.
“Hay,” Danver grumbled, waving a hoof. “If’n yer gonna go an’ do somethin’ like this, y’might as well go an’ challenge Chanc’ler Celestia herself. Ain’t nopony runnin’ ‘gainst her yet.”
“Dadgum, Danver, you really are sharper than a sickle sometimes!” Ah grinned an' clapped him on the back. “That’s exactly what Ah’m gonna do! That way ain’t no magnates gonna get in mah way, an’ Ah can get lot more ponies to up an’ listen to me if’n Ah’m goin’ all over Equestria! Ain’t there some kinda ... y’know, a campaign fund or somethin’? Ah know Ah done hear two elections back one of them magnates ran just t’get a tax break.”
“You serious?” Danver looked at me like Ah’d just sprouted a horn from my head an' started whining about there being mud on my hooves. “Like, fer real serious?”
“Ah surely am,” Ah told him.
“Well, shoot.” He slapped a hoof on his haunches. “Ah tell you what, if’n you actually manage to go an’ do somethin’ crazy like that, Ah’ll be yer campaign manager. But Ah’ll tell ya right now, if’n you manage to pull that off, you can shave mah tail an’ start callin’ me a mule.”
Nine months (and a good chunk of the novel) later...
“So how ya feelin’ today, mule?” Ah gave mah campaign manager a big ol’ slap on the back.
“Aw, shut yer mouth,” Danver grumbled. “Ah still don’t even know how Ah got roped into this.”
Ah tapped a hoof on mah chin. “Well, as Ah recall it all started with you an’ me out in the field—”
Danver interrupted ‘fore Ah got any further. “Ah know, Ah know. Still can’t rightly believe it, though.” The Carrot smacked a hoof against the side of the wagon pullin’ us along. “Ah mean look at us. Less’n a year ago all we had on our minds was how to survive the next harvest, an' now our families got food in their bellies an' we’re ridin’ on inta Manehatten itself so you can give a big ol’ speech to all the swells livin’ in the big city.”
“Sure is somethin’, ain’t it?” It was kinda startlin’ how easy it’d all been. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lotta trouble early on. Took a lotta just t’get folks to up an listen’ t’me for five minutes. Most farm folk figure it don’t matter none what goes on in the rest of Equestria, as long as their little patch of land is taken care of. The local magnate’s gonna be what matters t’them, not a buncha ponies dressed up in fancy suits an' ties up Manehatten way. Most ponies just figured Ah was just crazy or blowin’ a bunch of smoke when Ah started talkin’ ‘bout runnin’ fer Chanc’ler.
Guess that did kinda work out, though. Don’t reckon the magnates never woulda let me run if’n they cottoned to what Ah was really aimin’ to do. They just all figured Ah was off on some damnfool adventure, an’ once Ah done got beat by Chanc’ler Celestia Ah’d come on home with mah tail b’tween mah legs an’ get back to farmin’.
Probably why they actually let me get the campaign money that’s s’posta go to anypony’s runnin’ for office. There’s s’posta be election funds, so the rich don’t have no unfair advantage when elections start up. Funny thing, but anytime a farmer who runs for office without stoppin’ by the local magnate’s first, hat in his hooves while kindly asks permission to exercise his democratic rights, it just don’t work out. If he don’t get the magnate’s say so, it turns out there ain’t no bits left for ‘em. ‘Budget cuts,’ they call it. A big load of horseapples, Ah says.
But ain’t nopony worried about me yet. Ain’t none of the fancy types in big houses gettin’ waited on hoof an' mouth by servants ever bothered to stop on by when Ah’m talkin’ to ponies down in the mud an' dirt where real work gets done. They ain’t heard what Ah gots to say. They don’t get that it ain’t about Celestia at all. That’s just a way to get my message out, an' enough bits that Ah can actually spend some time talkin’ instead of bein’ tied to a plow all day to put food on the table.
The real target’s them. Ah aim to get folks thinkin’ it’s past time we pulled them fatcats outta their fancy houses an' made them share the wealth a bit with all the proper farmfolk doin’ the real work. The land rightly belongs to them that works it, not a buncha highfalutin’ fancy-pants ‘gentleponies’ ain’t never gotten dirt on their hooves since the day they was born.
There was just one little ol’ problem. Settin’ down with a couple dozen farmers in a village square an’ just havin’ a little straight talk was one thing, but now Ah had a whole ‘nother kettle of corn: Ah was headin’ into the big city to give a bona-fide speech.
Now, call me silly or a coward if’n y’want, but the idea of standin’ up in front of a whole crowd of ponyfolk an’ flappin’ mah jaws scared me worse than bucket of rattlers. It was a durn fool thing, but Ah think Ah was less scared that one time Ah ran into a wild timberwolf. Hay, all Ah had to worry then was dyin’. Not all them ponies sittin’ there, lookin’ at me. Judgin’.
“Aw, relax already.” Danver reached on over an' clapped me on the back. “It can’t be half as bad yer afraid of.”
Ah done forgot mah speech.
There Ah was, standin’ on a stage in front of all of Manehatten, an' Ah didn’t have nothin’ to say.
Well, truth be told it weren’t even fraction of Manehatten had as far as ponyfolk went. But in a city the size of Manehatten, if one pony outta a hundred decides to drop on by to have a listen just outta curiosity to hear what this crazy farmer runnin’ ‘gainst Celestia herself has to say for himself, yer still gonna end up with a pretty big crowd.
An’ right now, every single one of them must think Ah was a goldurned idjit.
Ah’d had a speech all nice an’ put together in mah head, but now it weren’t nowhere to be found. Maybe next time Ah oughta see about writin’ it down on some paper. T’be honest, mah letters ain’t all that great, but even a speech that takes a minute or two to puzzle out was better’n none at all.
Danver poked me in the ribs with one of his big clodhopper hooves. “Tree, you been standin’ up there with a simple look on yer face for near a minute now. G’wan an’ start talkin’ already!”
Well, applebuckin’.
Think it woulda been real easy to just call it quits right there. Hang up mah hat an’ head on back to the farm an’ grow another crop of apples, then give half of ‘em to Bumper Crop ‘cause Ah was workin’ land the law said was his.
Think Ah mighta done that if’n Ah weren’t born an Apple. See, if’n there’s one thing all us Apple ponies have in common, it’s that ain’t a one of us ever learned how to quit. Lotta ponies just give up when they know they’re beat, but us Apples? We git mad. Ain’t nothing gets an Apple riled quite like the idea that we was fixin’ to lose somethin’.
So, hay—maybe Ah was goin’ down, but Ah damn sure aimed to go down swingin’.
Ah cleared mah throat, an’ got down to it. “T’tell y’all the truth, Ah had mahself a real pretty speech all written up in mah head an' ready for y’all, but soon’s Ah stepped up here an’ got one look at all of ya, the whole durn thing just flew right outta mah head. So, reckon Ah’m gonna hafta make it up as Ah go along an’ hope that don’t make too much a mess of things. Hay, that dang speech probably weren’t no good anyway. Ah ain’t no pretty speaker, Ah’m a farmer. Don’t reckon Ah know much beyond how to take care of an apple tree or pull a plow.
“But Ah’ll tell ya one thing Ah do know: the way things are now ain’t right. Ah ain’t sayin it’s some kinda horrible mess can’t never be fixed, but it ain’t right. Now, Ah hope y’all don’t mind me askin’ a question, but how many of y’all are farmers?” More hooves’ than Ah expected went up. Guess it shoulda figured, though; plenty of simple farmfolk got business in the big city. “An’ outta those of you who ain’t farmers, how many got kin in farmin’?” Even more hooves reached for the sky.
Well, looks like Ah ain’t quite as lost as Ah was afraid of. “Shoot, now this whole thing just feels downright neighborly. Just got one question for you: how many of you farmfolk, or your kin, actually own the land they work?” Durn near all the hooves went down. “Reckon most of y’all end up handin’ out half of every harvest to some magnate on account of him ownin’ the land, don’tcha?” That drew a lot of grumbles an' nods outta everypony. “Even if ya luck out an’ get one of those good magnates who looks after the folk on his land, he’s still takin’ a chunk outta every harvest to pay fer all that lookin’ after, ain’t he? Same way as a real farmer takes care of his prize pig.” That got folks to talkin’ a bit more. “An’ even if yer one of those lucky fellas what owns his own land to work, Ah reckon you gotta deal with them magnates squeezin’ hard as they can to try an’ make it so’s you got no choice but to sell out to them, don’tcha?”
Well, the good news was that Ah had folks listenin’ now. Thing is, even with all the farmers in the crowd, there was still a lotta city folk too. T’be honest, Ah don’t rightly know much about city livin’. Did know a couple things though, just from the talk a pony hears from kin an’ around the village. Still, that was enough to spitball it. “An’ Ah reckon things ain’t no different for most of you folks what’s got roots right here in Manehatten. Sure, you might have banks an' bosses instead of magnates, but at the end of the day it’s the same ol’ story, ain’t it? Y’got the rich folks up top, an’ us on the bottom.
“Now Ah don’t know how all that sounds t’you, but t’me, that don’t seem very fair. Ah reckon it’s time we got a fairer deal. What do ya’ll think?”
From the looks of the crowd, Ah think Ah weren’t doin’ half bad gettin’ some of them to listen. Problem is, just ‘cause they was listenin’ didn’t mean everypony liked what they was hearin’. One fella decided to have himself a couple words about that. “That all sounds real nice, Mister Apple Tree, but what’s any of it got to do with you runnin’ ‘gainst Celestia?”
It was a darn good question, an’ one Ah didn’t have much of an answer to. Thinkin’ about Chanc’ler Celestia got me to ponderin’ on it, an’ that’s when the answer hit me like a bolt outta the blue. “Now folks, if’n Ah was to ask y’all to describe what it is a magnate is or what those kinda folk does, would y’all say it’s a pretty fair description to say that magnate’s somepony who spends all their time in a fancy house, livin’ fancy ways, an’ not gettin’ their hooves dirty with an honest day’s work?”
Weren’t nopony there could argue with that. The next part was what really got folks thinkin’, though. “Now, the way Ah see it, we got two sorts of ponyfolk. Ponies who spend sixteen hours a day bustin’ their backs just t’feed their families, an’ folks livin’ off all that hard work we do. So tell me this: when’s the last time you saw Chanc’ler Celestia pullin’ a plow, or spendin’ all day busting her hump down at the docks? Last Ah heard, she spends most of her time in a fancy palace. Sorta like them magnates do, except bigger. So, if’n there’s two types of ponyfolk out there, which kind d’you figure she is? Dunno ‘bout you, but Ah figure it’s past time we had somepony lookin’ out for the little pony.”
From there, Ah had to deal with answerin’ a whole bushel of questions. Don’t rightly know how many of the folks who listened to what Ah had say actually thought Ah had the right idea, but some of ‘em did. Hay, a couple even found me after an’ told me they were reckoning on actually votin’ for me over Chanc’ler Celestia. Didn’t plan things that way, but it was downright flatterin’.
What really mattered, though, was that once Ah was done Ah had a whole lotta ponies thinkin’ about things they used to take for granted. Reckon the first step to making change is getting ponies to realize that they can change things. Goin’ by that, Ah call this a pretty darn good speech.
Now the political intrigue really ramps up--and from the poor, neglected earth ponies' point of view, no less. Definitely love this interlude.
I also love how it's shown that the rebellion happened for a reason; and that both sides legitimately think they're in the right.
Like happens in most conflicts or rebellions, actually.
Well now, here's a nice slice of parallel history from a more modern era, and I'm rather looking forward to Shadow's take on the foreshadowing in that book's title.
bueno, mouy bueno
Delicious delicious update this one.
Apple Tree seems the reasonable sort, but then again so did Lenin.
I'd be interested to see if this pans out and if communism, trust-busting or reform is on the agenda.
Interesting how the supposedly uncouth earth ponies have the, in our eyes, most modern society.
While the human equivalent of unicorn and pegasus society can easily be found in medieval times or even the ancient world, the situation that resembles the one the earth ponies have the most would be located in the 19th century, I suppose.
The chapter got me thinking. I like it.
After he passed away, I saw a documentary about Dave Thomas, the founder of the Wendy's chain, with video of him in the restaurant, flipping burgers and joking with the staff of that particular restaurant "Hey, I bet you never expected the franchise owner to know how to do this." It was a very poignant example of "the big boss" getting down in the trenches with "the little people," if only symbolically. Thomas' point was to say "Hey, I came up through the trenches where you are, and look at me now. Maybe someday you can be me."
It's probably a lot more difficult for Chanc'ler Celestia to pull something like that off than it was for Dave Thomas...
Our political and corporate systems ponified.
Loved this switch in perspective. It also gives us a better look into why the Earth ponies would have any part of the Rebellion.
3299890
The problem really wasn't that Celestia never went out and worked along side the Earth ponies on a farm. The problem was that she was never there at all.
She never came to make sure her subjects were being treated fairly. The magnates would, more than likely, send her reports that everypony was happy and all was well and she didn't even think to come down once or twice every few years to make sure things really were as good as she was being told.
That's the thing with mortals vs. immortals. Mortals grow old and die and thus have very short memories compared to an immortal. I'm sure Celestia did all kinds of things for Earth ponies in the past but the current generation isn't going to remember that. You have to make your presence known with each new generation or else you stop being real to them and are just an idea of thing instead.
3299890
Not many people can own a chain resturaunt. Even if some people can rise from the bottom to the top, there can only ever be a small number above everyone else.
Ah, first we had ponies make war, now we have ponies making class war. Kiss me, I love it.
Definitely getting a Thomas E. Watson vibe from Apple Tree...from his earlier period anyway. I love how this kinda turns how we look at AJ on its head. Most stories have her as the traditional, conservative, somewhat redneck, Southern farmer. Now we see her as a descendent of an agrarian rebel and populist. That's a new one!
So Danver Carrot kills him? It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
I really wonder who the original author is. The forenote says that's who they got permission from, so it may be somepony we're familiar with.
Personally, I'm voting that it was Mac.
Well this was definitely a good idea.
You say you want a revolution~
Sounds like we got a Karl Marx in the works. Apple here is pretty clever, and good on his feet. I actually almost root for him, 'specially as I tend to agree with him here. I would back him if I didn't know what I do about Celestia. Doesn't help that Celestia has kinda borked things up over the last century.
This makes me slightly less (slightly) irked at the pegasi, though they aren't backing him due to agreeing with him.
I wonder how much that book title at the start gave away about how this ends though.
Hmm, this whole chapter got me thinking about the gameplay mechanics of Children of the Nile. The ruler (you) and the nobles taking half the harvest from the farmers is a vital gameplay mechanic. And it helps illustrate why that kind of system comes about to begin with.
I have to wonder if this business with Apple Tree is going to turn into a sort of "All the King's Men" scenario where even Apple Tree becomes corrupted by politics, even if he has good intentions. Judging by the title of the book, it sounds like Danver might be forced to do something drastic down the road, possibly in connection to retaining Celestia's power or good standing with the earth ponies (although I find it somewhat hard to believe she herself would ever sanction an assassination). Still, very interesting business with the earth ponies here. Very interesting indeed.
Apple Tree sounds a bit Marxist. As a socialist, he's instantly become my favorite. Haha. I REALLY liked this whole little aside chapter. I actually ended up quoting it on my Facebook page. I hope you don't mind; I did, of course, make sure to say where I got the quote.
I'd expect to see Earth Ponies from the time of the Lunar Rebellion to speak with what would be the equivalent of a Scots-Irish accent, seeing as how the modern American country/Southern accent evolved from the speech patters of the Scots-Irish that settled Appalachia during the 17th and 18th centuries.
3305490
That sounds likely. I'll admit, part of why we have our author doing a bit of accent translation is just that I have no idea what 15th century farmer accents would sound like, and even if I did most of the readers probably wouldn't get it..
3304134
Chapter Nine proper should be going up before too much longer. The interlude is a step away from the norm, but I think it's useful for giving us some idea of what the earth ponies are up to. Shadow is a bit too tied up in Pegasopolan and Unicornian affairs to really stay up to date of earth pony political movements.
The parallels between Apple Tree and other populist reformers are hard to miss. Then again, poor back-country farmers who are tired of being taken advantage of by the rich and powerful has been a common issue from ancient greece to modern times,
3305565
That's certainly understandable, I don't hold using that as a device for the storytelling against you at all. I just was putting in my two cents.
3300325 I'd honestly not mind that we live in a feudal system in modern America. Just so long as we stop kidding ourselves about it.
3305490 Well, this is specifically portrayed as excerpts from a work of historical fiction. It would make sense for the author (whoever it was) to use modern accents to make it more readable for the audience.
3310833 I agree with half of that. We should stop kidding ourselves about it, because that's the first step to changing it.
The fact Apple Tree was such a fleeting character in the main story disappointed me. Earth ponies get shoved on the back burner pretty often in stories where one isn't a main character. And I gotta say, I flipped when I realized Tree was the center of the story. When I read she was running against Celestia and was ALSO a member of the apple family back in chapter three I was confused as heck. Why would a farmer be doing that?
And now all my questions are answered, in an expert and entertaining fashion. What I really loved is Tree doesn't actually want or care about winning, she just wants to have her ideas heard. It makes the idea of fighting a battle she's probably going to loose make more sense.
The share cropper angle was really interesting. The parallel between this revolution Apple Tree is trying to start and sharecroppers gaining their rights in our own history kinda made me geek out.
And on a side note, the references to family names that are sprinkled throughout this story make me far happier than they probably should.
And now I can't stop thinking in a southern accent. So thanks for THAT I guess.
Damn dirty commies.
Don't go muddling the issue with your fancy logic.
You know what they say: the number one fear is public speaking.
Well, Apple Tree, you've certainly got the charisma to make your eyes heard. Do tell me how that turns out.
Preferably before you get assassinated. I don't like meddling in forbidden necromancy.
Strangely enough, I was just reading Fukuyama's The Origins of Political Order which mentions just this point -- in a pre-industrial economy (what he calls "Malthusian" because it is limited to extensive rather than intensive growth and hence can be close to a zero-sum game internally), a strict adherence to property rights can actually be socially destructive, rather than constructive as it is in more advanced economies. It's worse if slavery is legal, because then farmers in debt may become actual serfs or slaves -- as happened repeatedly in most ancient civilizations.
It is very high up to God, and very far to the Tsar ...
3303751 that's not exactly a good thing. the worst killings in history were from Communists and socialist. I balance has to be reached. between the investor and the worker. What's happening to Daver is right? No but tkaing land away from ponies doesn't work either. Apple Tree could have tried to bring it up to Celestia or her Vice Chancellor.
3299856
Doesn't really mean much to compare people to Lenin I don't think since he survived only 5 years after his revolution. The Soviet state was really a creation of Stalin I suspect.
3310833 So the fact that I've often thought of my work uniform bearing the corporate logo over my left chest as modern livery wouldn't be terribly anachronistic, then? :p
I BLAME THE ZEBRAS FOR THIS
I'm wondering if this is another remnant of Luna's absence. Depending on just when Celestia was a filly, it's entirely possible that part of pulling a plow was having a trusted friend or family member acting as lookout. ...Fields could be terrible and unpredictable places.
Another likely instance of regulatory capture. It's difficult enough when the only people competent to judge the effect of laws or the social impact of a bit of technology will be working in the industry benefiting from it. It must be awful trying to govern when the social contract effectively forbids investigation or auditing to see what's actually going on as well. And that's the point. Keeping the tribes from getting into each others' business does stay stable... as long as they don't start. And without very strict segregation, sooner or later they'll start.
Rereading this ten years later actually in the workforce instead of in college makes it ring even truer now than it did when it was published.