Translations:高堡奇驹时间线/28/en

Spring 1002

May 1002, the New Ponyville Declaration. Sunset Shimmer began crossing the portal and reached the Storm King's island. Free Equestria was then mired in the crisis caused by resistance to conscription; on learning of it, Sunset Shimmer decided to ease the tension on the island. Using her status as an outsider and her communication skills, she succeeded in inviting representatives of the various factions within Free Equestria, and cajoled and persuaded the state representatives to talks in New Ponyville. After a full day of tense discussion and strenuous mediation by Sunset Shimmer, the states agreed to continue under the Free Equestrian government while retaining a great deal of autonomy, and the representatives of Freeport and the island's factions could form parties to take part in the government. The parties then signed the New Ponyville Declaration, providing that Free Equestria is a federal republic of seven equal states with a parliamentary republic as its form of government and the vote for every adult citizen; it also served as a provisional constitution. From then on Free Equestria's democratic era began.
Trixie was rated a model governor; but Cozy Glow, who had lived through the Starlight uprising, began to have doubts: why had the fugitive Starlight Glimmer, reported dead, appeared in Ponyville? And she began to suspect an important matter that had been played down — the relationship between Starlight Glimmer and Trixie.
The Ponyville Election. Under Trixie's protection Ponyville escaped most of Cozy Glow's tyranny, becoming one of the few regions on the Equestrian central continent free of famine and riots and, remarkably, keeping positive economic growth. Trixie's popular support was therefore already good, and with a sham election following the ceremonial procedure fixed the previous year, she became the elected duke without suspense. Although Cozy Glow now began to guard against Trixie, she had no substantive evidence and could only acquiesce. Cozy Glow tried to consult old records — about what Trixie had done in the Final Battle, about Trixie's relationship with Starlight, about the true report of the “Ghost Train” incident, about how the trade agreement between Ponyville and Appleloosa had been signed... but the clever Trixie had plainly left no evidence — “Was the winter of 1001 harsh? No, that winter was excellent; we lost countless embarrassing documents in Ponyville's severe snowstorm.”
The Cloudsdale Election. In the early election plan Stratopolis had been included in these regions, but the interference of the “Free Stratopolis Movement” prevented the election from proceeding normally. The delegates from Stratopolis were almost all supporters of the Movement, including its leader Spitfire, who attended in person. Large numbers of Movement members voted firmly for Spitfire and opposed every other high-polling candidate. After forty-two deadlocked rounds, with the imperial government about to intervene by force and both sides at daggers drawn, an innocent postman, Derpy, happened to pass the polling station, and a Cloudsdale delegate petulantly proposed that Derpy be made lord instead. That petulant ballot, by a strange twist, won just enough votes to be elected. After the electoral commission checked the rules it confirmed that even though Derpy was a Ponyville resident she could become lord of Cloudsdale and the surrounding area because she was a pegasus — and Derpy, having been told that taking part meant muffins, naturally had no objection. The “Free Stratopolis Movement”, the Cloudsdale localities and the Equestrian imperial centre all treated the election as a kind of victory, each believing the other had not got what it wanted. In the end the Cloudsdale election inexplicably produced a postman from Ponyville, Derpy. As for Derpy, she did not quite understand what had happened; it seemed only that her postal work had gained a few more items: issuing a few decrees, or going to Canterlot for meetings — nothing more.
The Stratopolis Election. Stratopolis was a small region of little value, so its politicians concluded that Canterlot would not spend heavily on a permanent garrison to keep order there; whenever the Empire came to hold them to account they kept silent, and no sooner had it left than they picked up the banner of “freedom” again and shouted. After little Stratopolis had wrecked the Cloudsdale election too, and after Empress Cozy Glow had signed the absurd agreement making Derpy the elected lord of Cloudsdale, she finally grew tired of it and gave up control of Stratopolis. As part of the additional clauses, “Stratopolis” — mentioned twice, inconspicuously, in a footnote — finally obtained the autonomy it wanted. The former Wonderbolt Spitfire was unanimously chosen as leader of the Stratopolis Dominion as head of the “Free Stratopolis Movement”, but both Spitfire and the people of Stratopolis understood — nobody cared much either way.