Chapter 2

ACT I -- CHAPTER 2

FILLYDALALIAN FARMERS

The story begins before the banishment of Luna, even as far back as before Discord’s uprising. Before Discord’s chaos, there were many more settlements than there are now scattered across Equestria. There are towns now which were non existent. Ponyville, for instance.

The Alicorn sisters are another good example of the difference between now and then. They were alive at the time, but were young, and not yet capable of moving the sun and moon as we take advantage of today. Instead, the most talented of the unicorns in Canterlot were tasked with doing it, and they did it well. Even though they had the limitations of finite power compared to our princesses, they could overcome the challenge.

This was an age before many inventions that we can take for granted today. But it was an age of possibilities. An age of innovation. The brightest minds of Equestrian technology geared themselves in the direction of new ideas. Due to the expansion in the cities (such as the majestic Manehatten, or the then sprawling city of Pegasopolis) caused by this influx of new technology, in this case in the advancement of medical and agricultural endeavours, there was a boom in the pony population. There were many more ponies back then.

But the world had a problem -  it was not a world of harmony, peace, or equality. Not the one we see today.

Many historians assume that after the tribes formed the country of Equestria, they coexisted in peace and harmony, without dispute. They also assume that this age of technology and inventions had never happened, until the reigns of Celestia and Luna. This is not the real history of Equestria, which was locked away and known only by a select few, including myself. What really happened, was that the three main tribes split Equestria into their own separate kingdoms, each with their strengths and weaknesses, and their opinions of the other kingdoms.

The Unicorns, being the magic that allowed the coalition of the three tribes, and having the great castle of Canterlot as the capital, were the natural leaders of the three tribes. Their magical power helped them in almost every matter being that they were not restricted to using only their hooves, and in most cases this kept them on top of the other ponies. Any tool that any other pony used, a Unicorn could use better.

Therefore, they had carved themselves the most useful land in the middle of Equestria, and were well known for their arrogance and pompous nature towards the other breeds, due to their inherited superiority. They were not

The Pegasi had not only great warriors and conquerors in their history, but also the most talented architects, showing even now, in the grand structures of Cloudsdale. After the forming of Equestria, they quickly usurped the lands of the north, just beside the crystal mountains. Their wings allowed for unparalleled charges from the front and flank, rushing over any wall, giving them a strong advantage on the battlefield and that wasn’t all, sheer numbers were a strong contributor to their success, as well as their control and manipulation of weather patterns.

The Pegasi had always been the aggressors of the three tribes, taking over land at first from the indigenous species of animals, and then from the other tribe’s kingdoms. They had managed to take land from the Unicorns, in the past, giving their claims to parts of the everfree forest, and a large area north of the San Palomino desert, forming two of their largest cities at the time of this story.

Their foundations were tradition, and were usually the most hot-headed as they secretly felt that all other types of ponies were “weak” compared to them in military ability, a bold statement that was not based on opinion.

The Earth ponies were easily the most downtrodden of the three. Without the horn of a unicorn, or wings of a pegasi, they had no unique ability. Their military was renownedly weak compared to the others; giving the Pegasi the chance to take what they would in their past conflicts; as well as the griffon privateers from across the eastern sea, who had most notably managed to snatch the whole of Horseshoe Bay.

Their politicians and queens were often subjects to a higher power, in most cases to the Unicorns, for protection. This was essentially pointless - the Unicorns had more important things to deal with than the Earth ponies, in their opinion.

The only land they had as their own, was in the very north east of Equestria, where the most fertile fields would grow. Their task was to produce the food for the other tribes, on threat of invasion. Their stance in the world was of a secret, but burning and passionate hatred, in the same way as a slave would hate his master, shared by the common ponies against not only the other kingdoms, but also the Earth pony rulers, who did such a bad job.

The kingdoms were always competitors against each other, trying to better one another in any way possible. The new ideas and inventions rising up now were one way. Technology was given to Equestria in almost all aspects of life. Factories spruced up across cities everywhere, using machines such as pony kind had never seen before. The newest dresses were now made with sewing machines, helping the busy tailors through the massive demand for new clothes. Printing presses would pump out the latest newspapers and posters, as ponies wanted to learn more about their ever-changing world, and with them came advertisements promoting the first companies and businesses, who were as much rivals as each other as the kingdoms which they were based in.

Advancements were not only in social and business matters, however. An important discovery was the invention of black powder (found by the aptly named unicorn Quinn the Volatile). Used in modern day Equestria for fireworks, ponies at the time harnessed its power for the military.

They used it to revolutionise Equestria through such contraptions as the firearm, which was an invention made sometime before our story begins. Aside from the pegasi, and the buffalo tribes in the great plains, the races of Equestria equipped themselves with the complex hoof-held weapons, of which two-pony crews, one to fire and the other to keep the contraption stable, shot small balls of lead whizzing through the air to take down their targets in a haze of smoke and fire, leveling the playing field against even the Unicorns, as only the most adept magi could deflect the shots effectively.

Ranged combat beforehand was limited to the unicorns using telekinesis. With firearms, anypony, or other species such as the Zebras, could hit another from thirty or so yards, in as little as two week’s training.

Soon the evolution of these tools of war were the core of most Equestrian armies. Larger contraptions such as cannons were developed, but their expensive cost and ability to move around were issues that the armies could not deal with, yet. And some army divisions, such as the Pegasi flying lancers, and the elite magi of the Unicorns, seemed to be too powerful to be given up. Earlier practises were therefore not let go completely.

Despite the ponies having strong rivalries against one another, ‘Combat’ was for the most part gone for the last hundred or so years, aside from the Griffon pirates to the east and the occasional dragon raid from the south.

The borders had been set, and diplomatic relations had been achieved to a point where fighting pointless wars for territory was a rare and unjustifiable occasion. Instead, the rulers of Equestria would be enforcing their rules on the common folk, so as to keep their precarious positions safe, while at the same time showing off their wealth and superiority to the other kingdoms in a sort of ‘proxy’ war.

As the rich became richer through the companies that they owned that would be used for these rivalries, the poor became poorer, and were not given a friendly hoof up by the privileged elite.

War was a distant idea by then, but with the rivalries mounting up between kingdoms, the old instincts for conquest and reconquest, the urge to try out their new and much more advanced weaponry, all that was needed was a spark to relight war in Equestria. That spark was the Earth Pony Revolution.

* * *

This story starts in this very city. Fillydelphia, as it is called now, which was a humble village in those times. It was called a different name back then, ‘Fillydale’.

We begin at the first mention of the poor brown-coloured Earth colt by the name of Toutlemonde Rêves, as he worked the fields as nopony special, in fact, he could be seen as quite the opposite. He could easily be mistaken for any other pony in Fillydale at this time; penniless, downtrodden and hoping for some sort of positive change to him, and his family and friends, enduring hardships as the winter months came by.

In his early years he was an easily frightened colt, however, scared not only of his oppressors, but of the world and ponies around him. After all, if the queen of his land, supposedly one of the most well suited ponies for the job, neglects her subjects in that they can not even eat for a day each week, then how nice can any other pony be in anywhere else?

Toutlemonde was merely doing his job that day, to plow. He knew that if he did not, he would not be able to produce enough food for market. And in turn, the little money he would make would not pay the taxes, or be able to purchase food for his family.

There was one pony there that Toutlemonde feared more than any other. The taxpony. The very mention was enough to inspire fear into the hearts of the strong but weary ponies Fillydale had so many of. After seeing friends around him living on the streets, he knew that the attitude toward the taxpony was justified. His family had always tried to be quick to pay out whatever was necessary to make the taxpony satisfied, as they did when he had come the day before.

However, the very same stallion in question cantered towards him as Toutlemonde was working on the fields.

Toutlemonde looked up, and felt a small pang of terror at the sight of the taxpony, but then a reassurance, as he remembered that he had payed just a day ago. What could they do to him now?

“Turtle-mond-day, is it?” pronounced the taxpony incorrectly, as he read it from a checkbook he had placed in his front left hoof.

“Yes? What seems to be the matter?” replied Toutlemonde, ignoring the taxpony’s error.

“I have orders from Queen Melody to collect from your family today.”

“What?” said Toutlemonde, with a high tone, “But we paid it, only yesterday! Surely you are mistaken!”

“Queen Melody has ordered an increase in the tax from Fillydale residents. I have my orders that your family has not yet paid the 7 bits required of them as of the bill formulated today. Is that the case?” asked the white stallion, looking from his checkbook to Toutlemonde.

“Well, yes, but… We weren’t told before, and, well, we have no more bits to give!” They had spent the remainders from yesterday on their meal for that day.

“Sorry, kid. But rules are rules, and I intend to follow them. I will be back next tax day, and if you do not have both this week and next week’s pay, I will have to repossess your house to the crown, assuming you have one. Otherwise, you and your family will be sent to the workstable. I would suggest working harder. Farewell.”

The workstable was a building in Manehatten, where the poorest of the poor would spend up to 16-hour days working the machines, with abysmal pay, and only the worst food that Equestria could offer.

The ponies of Fillydale had certainly heard of the workstable in the slums of Manehatten being given as a threat before, and had heard of stories of small fillies and colts getting trapped in machinery and never being found, and seen ponies come back from it with a limb or an eye short.

The tax pony tipped his triangular hat as he spoke the last word, and fell back to the    road, exiting through an old creaky gate, and taking the way to Fillydale village. Toutlemonde let out a shiver, and went back to his farm.

* * *

“Ppttthh!” Spat out Toutlemonde’s mother Argentpêche, spraying hot soup all over the dinner table at the family home when she heard the news.

“Another raise? What are they thinking, this is outrageous!”

“Not just an outrage, mam,” spoke his brother, Baratteàbeurre, leaning on the far wall.

“This is ignorance. Our fair queen will not see the end of this quickly, I tell you.”

“What do you mean by that, Barrate?” asked Toutlemonde, not fully understanding the situation.

“I’ve heard what the other ponies think back at the barn. And they think we should reject the royalty, damned be her name,” said Barrate, with extra spite added to the words ‘her name’.

Argent stood up. “Baratte! Do not insult our queen in such a way. She is still our protector, and you will do well not to say such things in this house!”

Barrate raised his voice. “ And when has she protected us? We live in our own shit down here, while our ‘Queen’ makes us work and pay until we die! And what do you suggest we

do? Let her continue ‘till we starve? Neigh, I refuse to do her bidding!” shouted Barrate, also now standing himself up.

He flung himself out of the door-hole of the hovel-like house. Silence followed.

“Should I go after him, mam?” Suggested Toutlemonde.

“No, let him go off and vent himself. Don’t worry yourself mon petit leMonde, we shall pull through this. Even if by a single mane-hair, we always do,” Said Argentpêche in a comforting tone.

* * *

The next day felt worse than the last by a mile. Not only was his brother still gone, but the poor brown Earth pony now had to work harder than before to attempt in making his extra bits, even though the task set seemed impossible. He forced himself on through the fields all day, as the swaying of the cereal-grasses in the breeze made it’s sweet melodies, overshadowed by the repetitive digging of the plow onto powdery soil.

His work remained uninterrupted, until midday, when he heard distant shouts from the direction of the village. Trying not to get distracted and focusing on the task at hoof, Toutlemonde kept on in his plowing.

A few minutes later, though, and the shouts became louder, and turned into words:

“RE-SIST! RE-FUSE!

RE-SIST! RE-FUSE!” The voices repeated.

Toutlemonde looked up. There were figures which appeared in view on the road to Fillydale. It seemed to be some kind of angry mob, holding what appeared to be farming equipment.

As the mob grew closer, the random clattering of metal tools, and hitting of pots and pans together could be heard along with the booming voices of the disgruntled villagers.

The brown colt could see familiar faces among its ranks. The baker’s apprentice, The village herald, and in the front ranks, a furious stallion with a dirty yellow coat,his brother, Baratteàbeure.

Trailing behind with the mob, beaten up and bruised in several places along his chest and face, and with his front hooves tied by twisted rope, was the taxpony.

Toutlemonde felt sorry for the poor stallion at the time, as well as a small pocket of satisfaction. He knew that there was another reason for doing it, aside from revenge.

They were sending a message which the Queen would be forced to respond to.