Of course it would be house Vengeance.
Gina realized there was a little bias there. Vengeance was the clan that took in many of her former house. They had been the ones always at odds with Virtue. From the point of view of a civil servant like herself, who was privy to the machinations of the empress and her husband, it seemed as though the world might be peaceful and prosperous forever if only Vengeance would just submit to imperial authority and do what they were told.
Of course the assassin would’ve come from that house. Naturally Gabriel escaped any culpability for his attempted murder, and since the slave had been slain by Velar’s overzealous guards, they would never be able to perform the interrogation that might link him to the clan lord.
That was bad enough—though not terribly unexpected. Clan Vengeance was named for good reason, and everyone expected them to try something after the death of the last lord. Murdering the emperor’s son was exactly the way they behaved.
But that hadn’t been it. An angry missive from Equestria had arrived the day before, informing the Emperor that not all official presence of Accipian citizens in Equestria had ended.
Unbeknownst to all of them, house Vengeance had somehow managed to weave itself a contract with the exiles of house Endurance, and now had a presence in their land.
It was just Gina’s luck that she would be the bird to deal with it.
Emperor Gaius appointed her richly for the trip, with one of the fastest sloops and a half-dozen of his own personal guard. Gina had her own guards of course, and every one of her staff insisted on going. Even Isabel.
“You need an edge,” the unicorn argued, a few hours before they were due to leave. “The Vengeance birds will find a way to knife you over this… or maybe the emperor through you. But they won’t have a unicorn on their side.”
“Isabel…” It was painful to speak about such matters to one of the slaves that had become her friends. Any reminder of the gulf that separated them was unpleasant, and so she brought it up as little as possible. “Isabel, there are laws. Equestrians are… unhappy with the way we do things. We are certain to be searched by the ponies. What will they do when they find you aboard?” Do you think so little of my house that you would want to escape it?
But there was no guile in the unicorn, at least none that she could see. Gina trusted this pony with her life. “I don’t care about their laws! They demand I’m thrown out of your house because of words. Because I am paid less. More likely they’re jealous of my skills and want to force me to work for them!” She stomped one hoof, shaking her head dismissively. A thin silver chain clinked lightly as she did so. “I won’t let them take me away. If I have to lie and say that I work for you instead, it will only be a small lie. Ponies love to believe little lies.”
The truth was, Gina agreed with the need. Vengeance was a determinedly prideful house, perhaps the most prideful house that survived into present day. They would never rely on the talents of other races for anything they couldn’t do themselves. It would seem like a position of weakness to them. That would make them easy targets.
“I can’t wait,” she said. “Even if I would rather hire a pony wizard for the trip… they wouldn’t be as good as you are, and I couldn’t trust them. We’ll have to do it.”
“Your trust isn’t misplaced,” Isabel said. “You’ll see. When we get to that exile city, you’ll be glad you brought me.”
Gina had never commanded an entire ship before. Well—technically the ship’s captain was one of the emperor’s guards. But he answered to her in anything other than war. It was a diplomatic mission, in a way.
The ponies were furious about some esoterica in the treaty—Gina wasn’t much for that kind of politics. But simple instructions were easier. The ponies wanted Accipians out of Equestria until the griffons did something, and she was the one who had to make it happen.
She carried more than just her guards. Her writ of authority from the emperor was the most strongly-worded document she’d ever carried. The sanctions Vengeance would be subjected to if her instructions were not obeyed were incredibly severe.
Some part of her hoped she wasn’t obeyed. Even if that was likely to hurt her career, it would hurt Lord Santiago more. That bird more than deserved it.
They crossed the northern border just after dawn, sailing rather than using one of the chemical engines. Sails were at the mercy of the wind and weather, but they also didn’t fill the sky with noise and a trail of black smoke that was visible for hundreds of miles. Technically the ponies didn’t want any griffons in their territory, so it was best not to make a show of things. If they needed the speed, they could always switch them on, but sometimes it was good to ride a ship with both, just in case.
Emperor Gaius did not want this mission to become a contest of wills between the ponies as well as the great houses. Let them appear timid in at least that respect.
“It’s so green,” Isabel said from beside her, watching from the skydeck. “I thought the desert must continue forever. I guess their whole world doesn’t look like New Scythia.”
“It gets greener the further you go,” she said, watching the sky more than the ground. Another airship had joined them a few miles back, and was slowly gaining. It had no sails but made no smoke, so there was no doubt over whose ship it was. At least they hadn’t started blasting magic at the Lapwing. “Just wait until you see Griffonstone. It looks more like Scythia—mountains and hills and forests. Not like where they banished us.”
“They’re so spread out. All those little villages… how do you think they stay in contact with the empire?”
“I don’t think they do,” Gina muttered. She smiled slightly as she said it. “Accipio has something like these too. The nobility has lesser lords under them who have freeman or slaves who work the land. The only part of the empire that matters to them is the will of the noble they answer to, and maybe the commands of their clan lord. He’s the emperor to them, as much as they’ll ever know.”
Isabel shrugged. “Ponies don’t have that kind of nobility, do they? I can’t imagine why anyone would work the land out here if they weren’t forced to. What keeps their society from falling apart?”
“I have no idea,” Gina answered honestly. “I’ve only ever seen Manehattan up close. When I was a fledgeling, I… toured it. With my family.” She spoke quietly then, more respectfully. She spoke very seldom of those days, particularly in the presence of slaves. It was taboo to speak of the dead too much to someone of a lower class, lest your ancestors think they were being disrespected.
“What keeps ponies working in the cities, then? The princess’s ruthless magic?”
For the second time, Gina could only shrug. “If Manehattan was a griffon city, I would’ve expected riots. Some ponies had so much, and others had so little, yet they were all citizens. I know I would never tolerate what they suffered through.” She looked away, back towards the helm. “Captain Hookbeak, is that Equestrian ship still gaining on us?”
The wily old bird was graying in most of his feathers, and he only had one eye. But he was also one of the most skilled airmen in all of Accipio. Gina didn’t doubt he could outrun the sun itself if he had to.
Hookbeak took off, gliding down to the skydeck after only a single moment in the air. Flying while riding the deck of an airship was an exceptionally dangerous game—it was easy to forget the wind. The wind would not forget you, though. As many an unfortunate bird had discovered when they bashed their skull open against the mast, or if they were lucky, just got left behind to chase vainly after the retreating ship.
“That’s a destroyer. They’re the new additions to the Equestrian navy, only been in service since a year or so ago. They’re the Equestrian answer to our dreadnaughts, so they say. Some kinda magic weapon. Never seen one fire though.”
“Will they shoot us down? We’re flying the emperor’s flag, we’re headed straight for Griffonstone…”
“It’s not like ponies to shoot first,” Hookbeak answered, with an indifferent shrug of his wings. “I’ve never heard of them just shooting a ship down. Plus, a little sloop like the Lapwing, it’s got to be obvious at this distance we aren’t a warship.”
“Can you lose them?”
Hookbeak thought about it. He stuck out one wing, letting the wind glide over it. He glanced at the crew, then at the sail. “I could. But only because we’re headed north. The skymaps we bought are pretty clear in that fact. We’ll be going against the wind all the way back. It might be best just to let them board us and search whatever they plan on searching.”
Gina glanced to one side, at where Isabel was standing. The unicorn was not wearing her slave chain, not anymore. But they weren’t sure it would really fool anyone. “They haven’t signaled for us to stop, have they?”
Hookbeak glanced over his shoulder again, apparently searching for something. When he didn’t see it, he turned back. “Nope. No flags, no flares. I suspect they’re just trying to show us they know we’re here. Maybe they’ll follow us the whole way, making sure we’re above board.”
“We are,” she said, though it wasn’t true. “Captain, I want you to lose them. Obey them if they signal, but I bet they won’t. If they haven’t done it so far, they probably plan on showing off just how much faster they are. Let’s teach them a thing about what a bird can do with Unity’s help.”
Hookbeak saluted with one claw to his chest. “As the imperator commands.” He raised his voice. “Crew to the decks! Every bird at their posts! Raise the port sail! Prepare to—” And other sailor talk. Gina stopped listening to him.
“We should probably get below,” she said to the Unicorn. “If the Lapwing really gets going, it could knock us overboard. Not a big problem for me, but…”
“You don’t think I could learn to teleport on the way down?” Isabel asked, a sly grin on her face. She didn’t argue, though, and followed Gina below.
They watched from the windows in her quarters near the stern as the pony war ship with its magical engines fell further and further away on the horizon. It felt like the birds must be using some kind of magic themselves, though Gina couldn’t see it. It was the magic of experience, of competence. The blessing of their ancestors could overcome any obstacle, including ponies with magic.
“I knew it,” Isabel said, once the distant ship had fallen completely from view. “They couldn’t catch a crew this good. None of those ponies know what they’re doing like we do.”
“Maybe not,” Gina agreed. “But they’re going to talk to someone who does. I don’t think we’ll escape inspection both ways.”
“I can lie,” Isabel said again. “Don’t worry about it. You’re in Equestria, I’ll just say you hired me to tell you where to go. Won’t be anything to it.”
“That’s assuming that Vengeance doesn’t eat us alive,” she said. She trailed off. “Griffonstone. We’re about to see what would happen to Accipio if we let ponies have their way with us. Uh… no offence to you.”
“Don’t lump me in with them,” Isabel said, without offence. “I have a backbone, they don’t. Everything these birds lost, my ancestors gained. It is a trade I’d make again. Sometimes I wonder if the rest of Equestria might not be better off the same way. But I haven’t seen it yet, so… I’ll wait. Maybe one of these days I’ll get to see a pony city for myself, and I’ll know.”
“It’s possible,” Gina said, though she didn’t sound confident. “Things looked bad enough before Lord Santiago found a way to slip into Equestrian territory. If we can’t get his house to leave, it might be worse.”
“Imperator Gina!” called a young voice from the doorway. Captain’s Mate Gary, an adorable bird with all his limbs and all the color in his feathers. “We’re approaching Griffonstone. Captain says you should get on deck, there’s a delegation waiting for us. Looks like they’re armed.”
“Here we go.” She rose to her claws, and was unsurprised to see Isabel standing beside her. “Let’s see if we can prevent a war.”
“What keeps their society from falling apart? ... What keeps them working?”
Capitalism, my little pony. Capitalism.
Gina not paying attention to politics is kind of going to bite her in the ass when the ponies want to know why Isabel has disobeyed Celestia's order not to work with the griffons and they don't even understand the question.
I wonder if it's something that could get her arrested, if she was an Equestrian pony? In which case, Gina will have to allow her be arrested, or admit that she's a slave... at which point since she's on Equestrian territory she'll presumably be deemed free, and also not allowed back to New Accipio...
The shit continues to fly at the fan with painfully slow speed. FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF MAKING US HAVE A HEART ATTACK WITH TENSION!
8853727
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Oh, Gilda...you stupid, stupid bird. Look at what you've done.
Isabel, you may have a good owner but not all pony slaves have that. And you know what. If freed, you can sell your services to the House and with that contract Equestria can't say carp because you chose it if your own free will.
8853779
Well, it seems like Isabel is fine with being a slave because she knows no better. She even insinuated that Equestria just wants her free so they can steal her expertise and make her work for them instead. That's a baffling level of ignorance that most freedom-loving people can't even remotely understand.
So there's at least one slave more loyal to her house than equestria. Granted she doesnt know about life in equestria but I guess some of the more well treated slaves will have similar opinions. Makes me wonder if accipio might have some pony soldiers of their own if war breaks out. A unicorn with a gun. Thats a force to reckon with.
It doesn't even appear that she came from equestria in the first place. Imperium of Pony perhaps?
It's more likely we'll have a griffon civil war before a griffon pony war.
8853703
There's nothing saying a free pony can't return to accipio out of free will. She'll be technically free but she can go back and work for her house as a free pony. The treaty was about pony slaves, not the rare pony freemen in accipio.
8853786
still freed she could still go back because if all pony slaves free Equestria will drop the embargo. But yeah if she saw how ponies lived it might change some veiws. Again she is biased because she is owned by a good house (relativly Speaking.)
8853786
It doesn't appear she even came from equestria. And the fear may be real. I can't say for sure but there's no guarantee a new life in equestria would be any better than her current position now. She may be paid more but money does not replace whatever connections and maybe peace she has here. I have to admit she has the right to return as a free pony. Looks like Gina would welcome her back with open arms.
8853850
Yeah, and that's fine, but it's her preconceptions towards Equestria without any kind of actual knowledge of how Equestria works that's absurd. Then again, you can't entirely blame her, because the Accipian mentality is 'we're better than everyone else, all other places are trash, we're superior always'.
8853865
Maybe it's part brainwashing and part equestria is unknown but it's clear she considers accipio her home for now. Equestria might have people that look like you, but that's pretty much the only similarity.
The sad thing is, while I can understand Isabelle's perspective from HER point of view, her views show definite misunderstanding and shortsightedness. Yes, HER position as a "slave" is advantageous. Yes, HER position as a "slave" have her in a place with people she considers as good as family, and her loyalty is commendable. But she isn't at all considering all those who are in much less advantageous positions under the title of slave. She seems blind to the fact that she COULD be freed and still work for Gina, and that her skills would be worth the increased pay they might have to give her. And her belief that it is "very likely" that the ponies simply want her freed so THEY can use her not only shows her ignorance of the ponies, but also that she has been trained to believe no one could be goodhearted enough to do anything for someone else unless it was secretly or openly a machination to use them for their own purposes. That kind of distrust is generally taught.
Still, it is very interesting to see from the point of view of the other side. This chapter and overall story is a refreshing reminder that often times, differences in ethics aren't a matter of the other all the people being purposefully cruel, but that they have been taught to see the "cruel" things in a way that makes them SEEM less cruel. That isn't me agreeing with the philosophy of relative truth - I fully stand by there being a definite definition of right and wrong. But just because someone is in the wrong doesn't mean they are inherently bad people; sometimes, like in the case of Gina and Isabelle, they only have one side of the story and thus can only paint the other side of the argument by their own life philosophies. Isabelle was raised in a society that values a person's worth by their strength and ability, rather than their inherent worthiness as a person; it would be difficult for her to understand there are others out there who DO see that worth, or even for her to believe that ponies with less ability than her HAVE as much worth, simply because that is what she was raised to believe. Isabelle assumes that Equestrians have no backbone simply because they don't value strength at the same level of importance as the griffins who raised and own her. It's sad, but a good reminder to approach situations like this with compassion and caring for the other person rather than viewing them as an evil person who needs to be eliminated.
8853813
You've been having a gigantic discussion here, complaining about Celestia having the audacity to present demands to the griffons. How can you be ignoring the fact that Celestia's entire negotiating position is that she isn't allowing free ponies to travel to Accipio until they free their pony slaves?
8853971
You also have to keep in mind the kind of mentality living as a slave in Accipio gives you. The only thing you have to strive for in life is your freedom, you're robbed of the opportunity to explore existence outside of what your lord or owner or whoever wants from you. I can only imagine the tunnel vision that gives you, and with how 'tough' the Accipians purport themselves to be, living in a society like that would embrace some very selfish ways of thinking. If you can get a good position in life by working hard, why can't everyone else? Those other slaves would have it better if they weren't so weak and stepped up their game, obviously.
8854017
Yup yup, agreed.
8854014
She isn't allowing Equestrians into Accipio. Key difference. Unless the pony slaves freed are captured Equestrians or their children, ponies freed that way aren't Equestrians and so would be free to ignore Celestia's get out of Accipio order.
Which also presents a problem for those non-Equestrian ponies freed. No doubt Equestria would be more than willing to grant them asylum, but they'd have to know what that means first. And given that the average education even among non-slaves is pretty low (judging by Velar, who is pretty well educated yet still has trouble reading) the odds that slaves would know about such things are pretty low.
8854014
Can't remember every detail. I remember that celestia was removing all members of the diplomatic party (starlight, transportation, etc.). I don't remember an actual travel ban though. I'm not saying I'm right, I just don't remember.
It wouldn't be a moral thing to do either. Those that don't want to leave (even out of ignorance) shouldn't be forced to leave. And apparently not all of the ponies there even seem to come from equestria.
And I wasn't questioning celestia's audacity to make demands (I was but still...) I was more concerned on its wisdom considering war has a less than favorable outcome.
And with Isabel we now see something that I don't think Equestria believes exists: slaves that are happy with their lives.
Isabel is Accippian, regardless of race, and I don't think she would willingly abandon her House.
8854017
It'd be interesting to see a well-off pony slave that sees equestria as weak and deserving of conquest by the griffons.
Nurture vs nature indeed.
8854017
8853971
8853786
She absorbed Accipio's arrogance quite well. Isabel appears to believe she's the pinnacle of Unicorn power, not counting the princesses. That's a dangerous mistake. In fact, it sets her up for a meeting with Starlight Glimmer. To show her there's someone stronger than her by far. Isabel only sees weakness.
I'm worried. They're going to Griffonstone, and because of their arrogance and ignorance, they're going to blame Equestria for the state it's in. Even though Equestria didn't do it. It was their pride, greed, and uncaring nature that brought them low.
8854092
Maybe. She doesn't know anything about life in Equestria, however. Her views of it are as distorted as Velar's, probably more so.
8854077
Given real life examples, there probably will be outreach staff and education programs.
8854132
Weren't they going to griffonstone to place an ultimatum on house vengeance? I don't think they would care much about griffonstone either. If I remember they didn't have a high opinion on their tame cousins or the house they descended from.
Isabel does have ignorance of equestria but she and others that think like her probably wouldn't want to be forced out by the demands of a foreign power. Even if the nonequestrian ponies can go back in. Accipio might not be nice. But it is home. It is now plausible to have ponies fighting each other in the event of an equestrian-accipian war.
So much of this story ends up feeling like "Slavery Propaganda the Fanfic" and I don't completely know what to think about that.
They'll be lucky if they haven't started a war already running from an Equestrian airship like they just did in the current charged political situation.
8854195
Read this part again:
8854213
Because we see most of the story through the eyes of those who grew up in a slaving culture. You have to be careful and question what's presented, because it reveals the extent to which they ever thought about it—for most of them, the answer is "very little". They're ignorant. And I'm not even saying that because they are a slaving culture, but because none of them think deeply enough to argue the actual reasons for why they so desperately cling to it: Pride, a profound sense of manifest destiny, contempt of others, the fear that losing slave labour will cripple their economy...
The best Velar could come up with was arguing that individuals not attached to a House have and are nothing, so they have to sell themselves to one. Which begs the question of whether it's possible to be employed by a House if you're not a Griffon.
8854213
Just don't confuse character perspective for mine. I just think it's important that the characters have what they feel to be a convincing, consistent case. If they didn't, they would've changed their ways a long time ago. I just want back to the same arguments used throughout the parts of the ancient world Accipio was based on in the first place.
Isabel's perspective is... frustrating, I have to admit, but not very surprising. She's a well-treated and educated household slave, largely an equal to her owners (largely -- that comment about not speaking of the dead to lower class people really drives home how deeply classist Accipian society is) -- she's fairly naturally going to be in favor of the system she lives in.
The issue is that well-treated household slaves are not going to be the majority in this sort of society. We know for a fact that at least House Vengeance treats its slaves very badly, and there are no laws to put any sort of damper on this behavior. If I plucked a random slave toiling in one of Accipio's mines or fields, would they share the same views as Isabel? Would they be glad of their place laboring for someone else's benefit? How much would they appreciate the values and dignity given to them by a society that decreed from their birth they were going to toil to do other people's work and see no benefit except more work? For that matter, we know Accipians made slaves of free people -- how big a fan would such a slave be of the culture that forced them into bondage and the marketplace?
The fact that a few slaves are not mistreated as deeply as they might be does not excuse how fundamentally terrible the practice of slavery fundamentally is.
Given what we've seen of the magic available to both sides, if that's what she means, then I have to express skepticism that Accipian unicorn slaves have more than elementary magic by Equestrian standards. Zebra blood magic is probably potent stuff by anyone's reckoning, but I somehow doubt Isabel has training in that.
I do think this and some later comments say a lot about Accipio, given the evident trouble its citizens seem to have in conceiving of ways of keeping a society in order besides force and fear. Why would anyone do anything if their superiors aren't forcing them to?
On another note, I tend to agree with 8853703 -- Gina's disinterest in politics is going to be a very serious issue soon.
8854132
You have to also have in count the dissonance of values the characters have with each other's cultures, and the ones the readers have with the gryphons'.
Besides, Isabel seems happy with her life and loyal to her house.
Troubling, but I suppose there were bound to be "well treated" slaves who don't know any better. I wonder if she knows her family, or whether she understands that her children(if she ever had/has any) might not have the relatively comfortable lifestyle she has? Or if she ever had fellow slaves as friends who were decidedly lower ranked than herself, slaves who are worked harder, or sold off against their will to another owner.
Probably not, given her sheltered views of Equestria's motives. I honestly don't begrude her for this way of thinking though, it's most certainly all she knows, at least for now. Perhaps she'll learn in the coming days just what her life is, and why it's wrong. If that happens, and she is freed, yet still chooses to stay with Gina as a free and equal citizen of Equestria or Accipio, then I wish her luck and happiness. Until then though, I just have to shake my head in disgust at griffin culture. Excellent chapter.
8854501
You're right.
What was acceptable 1000 years ago is barbaric now. What is acceptable now will probably be barbaric 1000 years from now.
Accipio is pretty much the past right?
That's why equestria is more relatable. But it's hard to take a neutral viewpoint without our modern biases.
Though to equestria's credit, the source of all conflict in the story are the griffons.
Past and present are really incompatible with each other.
8854501
8854608
Yup. Like I said though, I'm not even begrudging so much the fact that they're slavers (abhorrent that may be to me) but that they're really bad at arguing their points, because doing so would reveal some very uncomfortable truths about themselves and the world.
Interesting views. That is all for now.
8854265
Gotcha.
8853779
Except it's already been established that a non-griffin non-slave in Accipio has basically zero rights. As bad as it is, Isabel actually is better off as a slave so long as she lives there (and Accipio's current societal structure remains).
8854919
then she can go to Equestria. that would force the Griffon's to change their ways. They don't have the power they use to.
8854014
Doppler, if all pony slaves were freed the Embargo ends.
I'm wondering if she might be in for a shock at how poor her knowledge of Unicorn magic is, compared to a Unicorn that holds an interest in magic in Equestria.
When your measuring stick is mostly non-unicorn beings and poorly educated unicorn slaves, even simple actions seem like they're momentous.
Even for a unicorn slave that's owned by the Emperor's family, her access to unicorn magical research, modern spellbooks, and knowledge must be severely limited.
8854972
Now I kinda want to see Isabel get in a fight with Grandpa Gruff and get her tail handed to her because he's had a lifetime dealing with Equestrian unicorns.
8854972
Not just unicorns either, a couple of chapters back the gryphons were actually doubtful about the earth pony ability to influence fertility and growth to the point where it was all but labelled Equestrian propaganda, and just last chapter Velar considered pegasi impressive for being able to fly messages through a storm but makes absolutely zero mention of weather management to prevent that storm.
All ponies in Accipio seem to suffer from not being allowed do what they do best, and those that are born and raised there are stunted by their inability to learn about their heritage as a result.
8854088
She removed not just the diplomatic ponies, but all the ponies who were in Accipio helping them grow more crops with earth magic or weather magic. It's pretty much her largest piece of leverage for stuff she can do without breaking the treaty, so it's kind of important to understanding what's happening in the story.
The ponies travelling to Accipio to help weren't covered by the treaty, so removing them doesn't go against anything in the treaty - it was answering the griffons' loophole in the treaty with one of their own, and suggesting that if they want that extra help (which the griffons have discovered they actually pretty much need) to continue that they have to free the slaves in return. To state the obvious, if she allowed ponies back into Accipio, it would completely undermine that negotiating position.
8854077
She also isn't allowing griffons to bring their slaves into Equestria and expect them to return with them afterwards. That would be totally open to abuse of what she's trying to do if the griffons could get around it simply by instructing their slaves to return afterwards. There's no way a loophole that simple could be allowed, when the whole problem was caused by another loophole, and they have to be on the lookout for them by now.
Come to that, Celestia isn't allowing griffons who own pony slaves into Equestria at all. Gina is certainly breaking the law just by being there and Isabel is evidence of it. At some point Isabel seems likely to be given the choice of telling the ponies on that ship that's following them that she's a free Equestrian and not being allowed to return, or admitting she's a slave and letting Gina be arrested... and probably still not allowed to return.
8854265
Be careful that doesn't wear thin, Starscribe. There's a genre of books that was popular in the South in the 19th Century known as 'Anti-Tom' literature. It's not generally held in high repute these days.
8855149
Yes, I'm aware of it. I think it's pretty easy to tell apologetics from genuine fiction, though. In my study of literature, it's a pretty easy distinction to make. Is a character sincerely professing their belief, with a diverse variety of viewpoints present around them to contrast what they're saying with the actual truth?
Or does the whole world and everyone around them serve to illustrate their point, with the only arguments against it shallow straw-men to be attacked and maybe even mocked?
If a world where the ponies are instantly willing to risk a war to free their brothers and sisters... where slaves are seen literally fighting to the death for the entertainment of their masters... where an entire group of people is systematically disenfranchized and kept from reaching the potential their powers would give them if trained...
I would venture to suggest a reader who came away with such an opinion wasn't paying much attention, and maybe they ought to start the book over.
8855157
I've legitimately enjoyed every one of your stories, Starscribe, including this one. You're one of my favorite writers on this site. Please don't take anything I am saying or have said as a personal attack. But, that said:
I wouldn't describe djthomp that way. He's a discerning reader. If he felt the need to use the words "Slavery Propaganda the Fanfic," there's probably something worth exploring.
Looking forward to future chapters.
8855184
Oh, I don't take it personally, and I'm well aware of the long-time commenters on my stories.
For clarity's sake, I was not describing djthomp as someone who hadn't been paying attention and needed to reread. I was describing a hypothetical person who came away after reading this, even so far, and genuinely believed that this story belonged in the same class of fiction as Birth of a Nation. That's the hypothetical person I think wasn't paying attention and ought to read the story with fewer distractions next time.
I also stand by the points I made on the absurdity of that position, however. But the story's a long way from over, and confusing author and character perspective is an easy mistake to make. If the position of the story isn't clear to all readers now, I expect the full picture should bring them greater clarity.
8855141
Should they be inspected, Isabel's obvious lack of knowledge on Equestria would be a dead giveaway she isn't just a friendly Equestrian who decided to lend a helping hoof.
8855149
I think it's mostly because up until recently we've been focussed on the gryphon point of view. And in their view yes, slavery makes perfect sense and they're totally confused why anyone would be that upset with it. We've yet to see the gryphons being confronted with a culture that is thriving without slavery and see how they react to it. Or being forced to answer some of the more awkward questions we've been asking here in the comments like "if slavery is just a payment of debt, how do you explain captured slaves?" or pony slaves being confronted with the reality that they know next to nothing about their own bodies and their abilities.
We've just recently arrived at the point where such comparisons will be made. We've started seeing it with Velar, who was utterly flabergasted that Equestrian medical science can heal wounds he would have had to kill someone to get healed from back in Accipio, but that's only the tip of the iceberg that we're only just now starting to climb down from. I expect we're going to see a lot more of that as we continue on with future chapters.
freemen
fledgling
"Learn to teleport on the way down", and you think the ponies would want to steal you and 'use your gifts'. No sense of scale, that's their problem. They can't imagine a society that got big enough that it needed to figure out how to have order, can't imagine magic doing something more impressive than picking up a heavy suitcase, can't possibly conceive of the notion that their way might not be the best way.
8855157
I admit It bothers me Celestia or Equestria in general doesn't seem to have any problems with gryphons owning slaves....as long as they aren't ponies.
Seriously?
static.fjcdn.com/pictures/The+west+when+putin+is+a+cheeky+chappy+no+putin_b6e12f_5062286.jpg
Interesting to get the perspective of a pony slave- albeit a relatively well-off one.