As revealed a while ago, soapboxes will now happen once we get enough submissions for it. Send them whenever, but also expect them whenever!
If you'd like to submit one, hit this post up.
This time around, your headlines include:
- Can a Democratic System Work in Equestria?
- Neosapiens in Equestria
- Defending Queen Novo
- Why Rockhoof Was Made for The Zombie Apocalypse!
And get them below!
Can a Democratic System Work in Equestria?
By Alexrioponylover95
By Alexrioponylover95
Hello everycreature!
So before I get started, this has nothing to do with the current political atmosphere in America, so don’t take your comments on this to that level!
Moving on, in an earlier soapbox, I discussed my thoughts on why I think Equestria is a Constitutional Monarchy and to put that in a different definition, a Constitutional Monarchy basically takes traits of a democracy and a monarchy, putting the two together to create a government structure. And, in my opinion, Equestria does reflect that system very well, however that’s not the point of this soapbox.
The point is can Equestria transition to a complete democratic system, in which the power is given to the people, or well ponies in this case, through voting, for officials they choose, instead of a monarchical head who wasn’t picked by a majority vote. Yes, and I think it would be a very easy change, done peacefully if Twilight or heck even before with Celestia and Luna, did decide one day to step down and make that change.
And Equestria is already familiar with some democratic principles to choose elected officials to make decisions and I would like to point out two specific examples of this. (There might be more out there.)
First, from the show, from the episode Crusaders of the Lost Mark, Pipsqueak and Diamond Tiara went head to head for the position of class president, with terms like “campaign managers” used and even a voting booth being shown and well through the majority vote from the class, Pip got the position.
Second, in the main Friendship is Magic comic series from IDW, issue #46 and 47, Ponyville has a big mayoral election when the ponies doubted Mayor Mare’s job and Filthy Rich decides to run for mayor, along with a few others. And well through yet again, the majority vote, Filthy Rich ends up being the new mayor, of course if you read those issues, you know how well that goes… And well, just like in Crusaders of the Lost Mark, we see things normally associated with a democracy, like voting booths, debates between the running candidates, etc.
So yes, Equestria already does practice democracy on the local level and is familiar with the system that it would be easy to try it on the national level. And if the current monarchical head decides to retire and change the system, the transition of power would go seamlessly, at least in my opinion.
But what do you think? Could a democratic system work or not and do you think Twilight would one day be willing to give it a shot?
Neosapiens in Equestria
What if the My Little Pony universe borrowed the race of Neosapiens from the old cartoon TV series Exosquad. The Neosapiens were blue-skinned humanoids larger and stronger and more intelligent that ordinary humans and reproduced by cloning. They belonged to groups called broods. They were sometimes at war with ordinary humans.
What if there was a population of Neosapiens living in the Pony-dominated nation of Equestria? Equestrian Neosapiens reproduced by a cloning process that was a combination of science and magic. They were originally created by Grogar as his personal army, and they later served Discord, and King Sombra. Shortly after Princess Celestia banished her sister Luna to the moon, she allowed Neosapiens to serve in the Equestrian Royal Guard alongside Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. This reconciled many (but not all) blue-skinned humanoids with living under pony rule.
However, renegade Neosapiens rebelled against the Equestrian Royal government, force Celestia to use Royal Guards (including both pony and Neosapien guards) to put down rebellions by the renegades.
More recently, Neosapien renegades sided with the Changeling give under Queen Chrysalis and Neosapiens generally opposed Lord Tirek since his ability to steal magic could affect their cloning process.
Neosapiens opposed the Trio of Evil (Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow) in the final battle against them.
In the reign of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Neosapiens supported her.
Defending Queen Novo
By IronYoshi
By IronYoshi
Of all the characters introduced in the MLP movie, none are more underrated than Queen Novo. The sassy ruler of the Hippogriffs/SeaPonies has grown on me so much since the film's release, though she is sadly still obscure within the fandom. Even more surprising was some of the comments on old Novo images. Never have I seen such hate for a character since Celestia. The accusations fans made against poor Novo were ridiculous. Such claims include her being "cruel", "untrustworthy", and especially a "coward". So like I did with Potion Nova, it's time to crush these accusations and prove that this Queen isn't what these claims say she is.
Firstly, Novo certainly isn't a coward. Now one could point that she and her kind fled to Seaquestria when the Storm King invaded instead of fighting back. As I mentioned one of my first ever Soapbox entries regarding the Hippogriff King, there's a good chance she and the others fought back, and possibly after seeing her husband fall among others, Novo didn't want to risk anymore casualties on her side, so she and the rest of the hippogriffs retreated. When you are the ruler, you have to make the hard choices.
As for her being "cruel" and "untrustworthy", well think of it this way. If your kingdom was destroyed and you were forced into hiding so that your enemy wouldn't detect you, wouldn't you just be a bit weary of outsiders? Novo wanted to protect her kind and prevent the Storm King from find them and discovering the magic Pearl. Also, if she was cruel, wouldn't her subjects be aware of it? Seems that they all were perfectly fine with their lives in Seaquestria.
Also, need I remind you that Novo was actually starting to warm up to her visitors until Twilight tried to take the Pearl. If Twilight didn't try and steal the Pearl, I'm 100% certain that Novo would be willing to help the Mane 6 with their quest. And everyone tries pinning the blame on Novo for the whole thing! I'm sure that Twilight and Novo eventually made up off screen, but even so, Novo wasn't entirely at fault here. Again, she was trying to keep her people safe, and she was warming up to these outsiders until one mistake kicked her instincts in.
And as far as her grounding Skystar at the end of the movie, I'm pretty sure she was just joking, hence her chuckle after she said that. Another classic case of fandom jumping to conclusions.
Novo is very underrated, which is one of the many reasons why I love her so much, and seeing her being attacked in such a manner really upsets me. Granted, she's not as bashed as she was back when the movie was still out, but I do encounter a couple "Novo-neighsayers" sometimes. I think it's time some people give the Queen another chance.
Why Rockhoof Was Made for The Zombie Apocalypse!
By: A Shy Brony
By: A Shy Brony
With Halloween coming soon, (At least at the time this is being written.), why not write a Halloween soapbox? For context, this is an idea I’ve had for several months, since a discussion on Equestria Daily about what three ponies you’d pick to accompany you on a zombie apocalypse. In that discussion, I seen Applejack get chosen frequently, and that’s understandable. But I personally feel that in terms of Earth Ponies, Rockhoof should be the number one pick for anyone’s zombie apocalypse team. (Some minor spoilers for the Legends of Magic comic series ahead!)
Firstly, Rockhoof is most likely stronger than Applejack. He is the Pillar of Strength after all. While Applejack is certainly very strong, she does have her limitations. Rockhoof on the other hand, seems to have an endless amount of stamina, I highly doubt Applejack could keep pace with Rockhoof’s digging speeds, for example.
Secondly, Rockhoof knows how to survive in the wild. One of the reasons people chose Applejack is because Applejack can cook food for the team, and knows survivalist techniques, like starting fires and camping. But Rockhoof almost certainly knows this as well! My evidence comes from the Legends of Magic series; when Rockhoof and Stygian travel together, Rockhoof is the one who prepares their food. Stygian says it didn’t taste good, but it kept them alive. And in a zombie apocalypse, surviving is what’s most important. How food taste is less of a priority, if it keeps you going. Given Rockhoof’s training in the Mighty Helm, he almost certainly knows how to start fires and survive in the wilderness as well.
Finally, and most importantly, Rockhoof can fight! The Mighty Helm is a warrior’s lodge after all. Aside from strength though, Rockhoof has a huge advantage over literally any other Earth Pony, his shovel. Earth Ponies like Applejack or Maud Pie typically fight with their bare hooves. These hooves can do lots of damage, but it puts you at risk of being bitten by a zombie, you must get very close to even hit the zombies. Bucking is even worse, you must turn your back to the zombies, and can only face one direction. If Applejack got surrounded by zombies, she’d be in big trouble. Rockhoof has the huge advantage of having a weapon. He can be more mobile, swinging and moving, or rapidly turning around to face threats. And he can keep the zombies at a distance, better than bare hooves would at least! A sharp shovel, combined with Rockhoof’s strength, and he could cut through zombies with ease. He even knows how to maintain his shovel as well! In Legends of Magic, when his shovel gets melted in lava, he forges a new one.
Strong, survivalist, skilled with a weapon that he knows how to maintain, Rockhoof seems like the perfect fit for any MLP zombie apocalypse team. But what do you think? Did I miss something important? Have an idea for an even better Earth Pony than Rockhoof? Share your thoughts in the comments!
