The Super-Rich Are More Rich than They Need to Be

Society is degenerating, partly because people who could be accumulating wealth if given the opportunity do not have the opportunity. This is because money is being syphoned to the super-rich, instead of growing among the poor and middle-class. The very wealthy accumulate wealth without regard for the greater good of the economy, which is becoming more and more suitable for small businesspeople.

However, part of the problem is the attitude of the poor and middle-class. Throughout my life, I've observed the attitude of others with regards to changing the world. With rare exception, everyone I've come across simply has no wish to change the world. I don't know if this is because public school beats it out of them, or if it is because of a hereditary attitude that has been promulgating itself since the time when people would be hanged, crucified, or burned for trying to change the world, or perhaps if it is just a personal lack of conviction in their own ideas. Whatever it is, I think it is a problem. Part of the reason the rich can get away with accumulating wealth that should've been ours is because 99% of people are at a loss for what to do with extra wealth when they get it. Maybe a new home theater system. A Winnebago. A trip to the Bahamas. Start a business? Make a film? No, no. That is for people who want to change the world.

The super-rich are going to become more meaningless over time, because our cultural consciousness and economy are becoming decentralized, making centralized wealth less important. But what will replace our major corporations if nobody wants to change the world? They will be replaced with a bunch of mindless sheep begging to be invaded by people with the chutzpah to actually do things. I hear complaints about how Americans aren't accumulating wealth like they used to. I complain about that, because I tend to get stuck in the economic doldrums spending all the money I get on rent and utilities. But I complain about it because I actually have ambitions to change the world, which cannot be realized without extra wealth. Unfortunately, I'm a minority. Most people could care less about accumulating extra wealth, because they are more concerned with living comfortably and quietly smothering themselves with their own down pillows.

I don't care if you want to be a follower rather than a leader. We need followers just as much as we need leaders. All I ask is that if you are going to be a follower, at least try to follow people who are changing the world, rather than just paying a salary. Follow people who challenge you. Follow people who reward enterprise and good decisions. Follow people with a conscience, and with vision. To survive, society needs to constantly change. And it won't change unless we change it. People who refuse to change the world, even if they're not natural leaders, aren't doing anyone any favors.

The Super-Rich Aren't as Rich as They Used to Be

I realize that is a contentious claim, and many would argue it runs directly contrary to the facts. After all, according to The New York Times, the top tenth of one percent income bracket in the United States saw their wealth increase by 21.5 percent, while the bottom 99 percent saw their incomes rise by just $80. However, just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you're very rich.

Consider the phenomenon of people winning the lottery and ending up poorer than they were before they won. These people have a lot of money, but they don't have a lot of capital. Capital is defined as holdings which produce income. But when you win the lottery, you don't have any holdings which produce any income, despite a sudden spike in income. The income, then, becomes quite worthless. I would argue something similar is happening to the super-rich.

The economy has been growing at an average of about five percent since 1984. But the structure of the U.S. economy is vastly different than in the latter half of the 20th century. The United States between 1945 and 1991 was a country defined by its mass-mobilization against an easily defined external enemy: the Soviet Union. The consciousness of the people of the United States was unified by the threat of nuclear war, and there were ways to speak to that consciousness. People wanted to define themselves with the "us" rather than with the "them," so they did particularly American things. But people aren't doing these things anymore. That is what, I believe, is suggested by the fact of the decentralization of our economy, a fact which is supported by evidence.

It has been becoming increasingly easy to buy small, local products rather than large, mass-marketed products in our economy. And according to marketers, it is no longer relevant to try to mass-market products. What this points to is a decentralization of the economy, and we do not know whether it is reversible. It certainly doesn't feel reversible. Unfortunately for the super-rich, the most obvious effect of a decentralized economy is that massive centralization of wealth becomes less financially relevant, and suddenly, the super-rich feel more like the person who suddenly won the lottery rather than leaders of the economy.

Think about it. Our economy could grow at 20 percent a year, but if the super-rich can't find places to invest their money, it won't benefit them. And as markets become increasingly segmented rather than unified, it becomes harder and harder for a guy sitting in a penthouse in New York City to find the real money-makers in the economy. Granted, our economy is hardly so massively decentralized now that it is impossible to make money simply by having money. But in the future, it may be more and more difficult to do so. That, certainly, is the trend. And when you look at it this way, the tax cuts for the super-rich and economic policies favoring greater income inequality suddenly make a lot of sense. Certain members of the super-rich, I think, are probably sensing that they are becoming a dying breed, because their massive financial holdings are going to quickly lose relevance as the 21st century progresses and the economy further destabilizes.

The solution, I think, is for the super-rich to stop frantically grasping at more and more money, and rather, embrace their roles as leaders of the economy. They should restructure their holdings to favor local enterprises in localities they care about. This would help them maintain financial relevance in our economy. The fact of the matter is, the mere fact of being super-rich is becoming less and less a guarantee of income. This is because major corporations are becoming less and less relevant as economies become more and more localized. Americans no longer crave the unity they used to feel in the fifties knowing they were all watching the same television screen, so that feeling no longer is going to capitalize your assets.

The Value of Bitcoin

I've seen it said one or two places that the value of bitcoin is in its anonymity, or its lack of corruption due to the lack of centralized banking. I don't believe this to be the case. Dollar transactions can be anonymous, too, and gold has no central bank, but the value of bitcoin is different than the value of gold or dollars. I think the value of bitcoin has to do with the nature of the tangible thing which is coined.

Dollars are pieces of paper with art printed on it. The art is printed in such a way that it is difficult to forge. The value of the dollar is enforced by the United States government, and the open market. It can go up or down, depending on the quality of things bought with it. When a thing is put into circulation in the open market, the value of the dollar is affected by the amount people are willing to pay for the thing. If the thing contributes to the value of the economy, then the value of the dollar goes up.

The value of the dollar bill itself that you carry in your pocket depends on its availability for use in transactions. This depends on the armored vehicles, bank vaults, printing centers, and so forth which manage and create dollar bills. As a physical thing, it is very difficult to create and very difficult to transport when compared to bitcoins. Bitcoins are easy to create and to transport. But they are comparatively more difficult to transfer. It is more difficult to pull a bitcoin out of your wallet and hand it to someone else than it is to pull a dollar out of your pocket and hand it to someone else.

The overhead of transportation and creation of bitcoins is very low, while the overhead of transferrence is very high. This indicates a couple things for the value of bitcoins. For one, complex, long-distance infrastructure of transactions are easy to maintain, provided the "buy it now" attitude is not too highly stressed. I believe this means that bitcoins are good for small, independent businesses that deal primarily in quality of service and quality of product, while dollars are good for more simple, standardized businesses like franchises that deal in immediate products where the quality and service doesn't carry too high a premium. Dollars are good where things remain the same, as with MacDonalds. Bitcoins are good for where things are different, as with Main St. Pawn.

What is needed currently for the value of bitcoin to be optimized, I think, is a decentralized banking infrastructure. This banking infrastructure would provide backing for the businesses that choose to use the bitcoin, so that they are all benefitted by the growth of the bitcoin economy. What I'm talking about is a radically decentralized system of investment banking that anyone can use but that promotes wise investment. Something that connects investors in a way that does not require a "stock market" or any other kind of limiting institution which tries to rule out companies to invest in. This would have to simultaneously fulfill the needs of an investment community of small, diverse businesses, and also prevent "boom/bust" cycles in the bitcoin economy. If such a system were developed, bitcoin would be a great boon to the artisans and small business owners that make up the middle class.

Thoughts about Anonymous's Project V

This is a clarification of Anonymous's new project, "Project V." This came on the heels of their "Operation V," the goal of which was apparently to take over the United States government.

I've noticed, just looking around at society today, that there are thugs involved in my government and perhaps corporations and so forth, taking things over and not really doing positive actions or behaving in an awake manner. So I'm not at all surprised that there is a movement to try to take over the government, or to protest the government. I support a lot of what these people do.

The reason I support many of the people who fight government and corporations and so forth is because of the thuggishness I've seen. The thuggishness itself is the first part. The second part is the fact that thuggishness is not merely the natural, human sort — an understandable sort which you can expect to be some part of any society — but something which is slowly becoming law. We cannot have "thug law." Thug law, in this case, involves people in office, and running corporations, who don't care about listening to other people, especially the people they affect. Thug law involves things being created for their own purpose, to multiply like viruses, such as cash or even money, or such as government regulations, or psychiatric harm.

A commodity is produced in a factory not for its own sake, but in order to be sold to someone else. However, it seems an awful lot like many of the people running these corporations would be satisfied if the product is produced for its own sake. In other words, the attitude is that it's about the product itself, and promoting the product itself, rather than about listening to what the consumer wants.

This doesn't happen everywhere, but it does happen in the case of food, for instance. Food today is produced for the purpose of food being produced and sold, not for the purpose of feeding people. There is an important difference between the two, and we need to start rethinking the way we do things to promote feeding people instead of producing and selling food. Similarly, transportation seems to be about producing and selling gasoline, not about transporting people. Energy production seems to be about producing and selling raw materials, not making energy. Our corporations are sick.

Now that I've talked a bit about what I agree with about Anonymous, I'd like to share what I disagree with.

Consider the idea of a revolution. What is a revolution? The idea is that you're getting rid of a society, and replacing it with a new one. But if you examine it closely, the idea becomes less and less clear. What do you want to revolutionize? Just the executive government? We do that every eight or so years. What about the law? Are we trying to change the law? Well, perhaps we are, but we can change the law in a couple of ways: by changing the letter of the law, or changing how it's enforced. If we change the letter of the law, then we get into the problem of semantics, which means we may have changed nothing unless we change how it's enforced. If we change how it's enforced, though, we have a problem there, too. Who enforces? Who enforces law against the enforcers? In a sense, the people enforcing the law are embodiments of the law. But are we changing just the people themselves? How do we control against merely switching out one corrupt judge or peace officer for another? Either we have to use the law to control this, in which case we're going in circles again, or we have to change the underlying society which educates and produces the judges.

But how do we change society? Are we changing the actual minds of the people themselves? Are we giving them more education? Education of what? What do they already know? What don't they know? Is it really about what they think they know, or how they behave? How do we change the way people behave? And are we changing a group of people, or changing people one-on-one? And where do we stop? Should we just switch out everyone we don't like and throw the old people in jail? If so, what makes us any better than the oppressors? Or should we let everyone be as they are and work out their own problems? If it is this, how is our movement a revolution?

I don't think we need a revolution. I think we need loyal opposition parties, and we need perhaps a simplification of our culture. But you can't have a loyal opposition party and a revolution at the same time. And a simplification of something doesn't involve the introduction of new elements. That's what you do when you want to make things more complex. What we need is to go back to our roots, and instead of wildly thrashing about and making more new ideas and stuff, we need to be satisfied with a simple understanding of how things work. Instead of choosing more stuff, choose the right stuff. This sounds like an economic idea, but really it applies to government as well. We should be more conservative about how we run our government. We should be conservative about how we run our churches as well. The only thing we shouldn't be conservative about is helping other people. But remember: help doesn't come in the form of money. I am not a socialist. As soon as you start thinking that help comes in the form of money, you begin producing money for the sake of producing money, which is exactly the kind of problem which I see today that needs to change. We need to help people live. In every sector of our society. That's what we need to do. And a lot of what the resistance people in our society are doing is just that. But I don't think they see it that way, and they really should.

Why The Free Market is Not Made for Insurance Companies

Wealth is generated through innovation. And, it is impossible to create an innovative insurance company.

Think about it. Insurance companies make money by analyzing risk, and taking premiums that add up to more than the cost of acceptable risk. The problem is that there's no way to be innovative about analyzing risk. When you analyze risk, you hypothesize a certain event and count the number of times the event occurs over time. As an insurance company, you have no control over what the event is, or any aspect of it. What you get is reams of data about the event, and the knowledge that such an event is undesirable. Think a broken leg. Insurance companies all know exactly what a broken leg is, and they all have reams of data which count the number of times people tend to break their legs over a given time. Then they take everybody's money and pay money to the people with broken legs. That's all there is to it. Color me second-rater, but it doesn't take a John Galt to do that.

The only possible way for an insurance company to be innovative is to be innovative about analyzing risk. However, the innovation involved here is extremely insignificant. Everyone knows what a broken leg is. It's public knowledge. It's very obvious. And unless you're a Mafioso, it's really really difficult to be innovative about the way people tend to break their legs. The best you can do is count the number of times people break their legs, and factor that into your mind-blowingly simplistic equation for generating profit.

The idea that insurance companies can operate as businesses in the free market is insidious and stupid. Insurance companies calculate risk and take premiums that exceed the cost of acceptable risk. We've already discussed how it is impossible to be innovative about calculating risk. You calculate risk, and if you have enough money, you're correct. That leaves two ways to create profit. Either you 1) increase the cost of premiums, or 2) don't pay out the money you're supposed to. Surprise surprise; this is exactly what health insurance companies were doing before Obama passed the Affordable Care Act. Critics of the Affordable Care Act say that it will kill business. Hopefully, they're correct, because insurance companies shouldn't be businesses. The free market doesn't apply to them. They don't deserve to make profit, because they don't innovate.

A good way to think about it is the difference between reading a book and writing a book. You don't deserve to generate a profit by reading books. It's the writers who sold you the books who deserve to generate a profit. Studying the empirical world is like reading a book. Creating new products is like writing a book. And the moment you turn risk-taking into an innovative endeavor, and begin writing books, you're no longer in the business of insurance; you're in the business of investing.

a remix and / or edit of the words of "The Goddess"

I'm going to have another shouting session. I'll try real hard not to piss anybody off this time. So you'd better f-ing listen.

HEY. Last night, I was asking Mother Earth Herself to reach up with water, dirt, wind, fire, microbes, dioxyribonucleic acid, weird quantum shit, and so forth, and start yanking around who is hurting Her the WORST—setting up these fucking impossible rules and laws exactly 0x0002 feet high with only twenty minutes to read, IF you are lucky enough to KNOW about it... and it LOOKS LIKE the doors are open for business, BUT, guess you need a secret handshake for that. Anyway, I think it'd be funny when SHE starts reaching up and yanking those who have thought "G, let's put a pipeline over a natural well of water to pump oil across the exact fucking place where most of the foods are grown."

Since WHEN is that EVER a good idea? >__<

<end of line>

I'm going to have another shouting session. I'll try real hard not to piss anybody off this time. So you'd better f-ing listen.

HEY. Last night, I was asking Mother Earth Herself to reach up with water, dirt, wind, fire, microbes, dioxyribonucleic acid, weird quantum shit, and so forth, and start yanking around who is hurting Her the WORST—setting up these fucking impossible rules and laws exactly ten feet high with only twenty minutes to read, IF you are lucky enough to KNOW about it... and it LOOKS LIKE the doors are open for business, BUT, guess you need a secret handshake for that. Anyway, I think it'd be funny when SHE starts reaching up and yanking those who have thought "G, let's put a pipeline over a natural well of water to pump oil across the exact fucking place where most of the foods are grown."

Since WHEN is that EVER a good idea? >__<

<end of line>

I'm going to have another shouting session. I'll try real hard not to piss anybody off this time. So you'd better f-ing listen.

HEY. Last night, I was asking Mother Earth Herself to reach up with water, dirt, wind, fire, microbes, dioxyribonucleic acid, weird quantum shit, and so forth, and start yanking around who is hurting Her the WORST—setting up these fucking impossible rules and laws exactly 10^2 feet high with only twenty minutes to read, IF you are lucky enough to KNOW about it... and it LOOKS LIKE the doors are open for business, BUT, guess you need a secret handshake for that. Anyway, I think it'd be funny when SHE starts reaching up and yanking those who have thought "G, let's put a pipeline over a natural well of water to pump oil across the exact fucking place where most of the foods are grown."

Since WHEN is that EVER a good idea? >__<

<end of line>

Why Time Travel Exists (or not?)

Proposition: If you will it to exist, time travel exists. Otherwise, it doesn't.

Why? Because if it is possible for time travel to exist (and I'm pretty sure it is), then someone will eventually create the technology if there is a will to do so. If YOU IN PARTICULAR will it to exist, then you will eventually be one of the customers of the time travel service, there having been a will for it to exist, which means that it exists. If you honestly, truthfully, and sincerely wish time travel to exist, it will exist.

If you don't will it to exist, it doesn't exist. Or if your will is insincere, clouded by delusions or destructive thoughts, it doesn't exist. Why? Because there is no reason for it to exist. Why would anyone want a time machine to exist if all it would be used for is to destroy the universe? Time machines don't exist to destroy the universe, but to SAVE the universe. Otherwise the universe wouldn't exist, and the time machine wouldn't exist, which means time travel wouldn't exist.

Imagine: time travel is invented in 30 years. You want time travel to exist for YOU. So you will it to exist. You spend time researching how to get access to the time machine. The research eventually bears fruit, or it doesn't. But you have a TIME MACHINE. So you have infinite time to do research, which means it will eventually bear fruit. Even if the research takes longer than the length of your life, it will still bear fruit. Because you have a TIME MACHINE. So you do research for your entire life. The research travels back in time, back to the beginning. You continue the research from where you left off. And so on, infinitely.

How does the research find its way back to you? Because the research is instrumental in time travel existing, since there has to be a will for it to exist for it to exist. The purpose of a thing is to exist relationally to everyone. The time travelers have no choice but to send your research back in time, because if they didn't, there would be no one to access the time machine, and therefore the time machine wouldn't exist, and they wouldn't exist.

Therefore, if you want it to exist, it exists.

What if time travel is invented after your lifetime? No problem. You'll research how to gain access to the time machine. The actual time it takes for time travel to be invented doesn't matter, because you have a time machine. So it exists.

Cloud, Entrepreneur, Cloud

A couple of weeks ago, I started working at a place called Brick and Mortar, here in Moscow. Working not in the sense that I have a job, but in the actual sense of the word—I work here. Anything, including writing this post, which I consider "work," I tend to do here. Another kind of work I can do here, which I haven't yet done but which I intend to do, is contract through a service called oDesk.com. Both of these platforms—B&M and oDesk—are related in a deeply philosophical way, which I will examine below.

Let's start with Brick and Mortar. B&M is advertised as a community workspace, or a co-working space. But these concepts don't really get to the heart of the matter. "Community workspace" is especially far off. I might be able to see it as meaning that it is both a community and a workspace, but the lexico-grammatical meaning of the phrase seems to indicate that it is exactly what it says: a "community workspace," where "community" is an adjective and "workspace" is a noun. And "community" as an adjective indicating "this workspace is a community" is a very esoteric reading of the word indeed. More likely, it indicates that B&M is a workspace intended for use by the general community, which isn't quite right.

But even if the esoteric reading is correct, and B&M chooses to market themselves as a workspace which is a community, or workspace community, I still think this misses the mark. The library is a workspace community. The University of Idaho is a workspace community. Hell, every single business in America is a workspace community. It just doesn't seem to do the idea justice.

So I propose a new way of thinking about it.

B&M is not just a workspace community, but a specific kind of community. Now I'm going to draw my inspiration from one particular office here. It is a more or less typical office, of course, where a person named Jordan sits down and does his work. But it is not just an arm of B&M; it is an actual business, fully operational and (I assume) independent. A sign sits on the interior office window: "Palouse PC Computer Repair." A sign is a sure sign of independence.

The implication of this business within B&M is that B&M is the kind of place which independent businesses are intended to grow out of. In this way, it's much more like a business incubator than a workspace community. Yet it goes farther, because the full implications of the word "community" remain intact. It is the kind of place where "business incubator" and "workspace community" are fused inextricably together. This entirely new kind of concept, the likes of which I've never seen before, may represent a dramatic shift in the business dynamic of America.

There are three different phrases I've come up with to describe what B&M is. One is, "entrepreneurial bank." It's a bank, not of money, but of entrepreneurial spirit. Collected here at the workspace is a reserve of freelancing, independent, entrepreneurial spirit. See, Moscow is a young person's town, and a lot of college kids live here, many, if not most, of whom have an overabundance of entrepreneurial spirit. Some of that has found its way here, and so what we have is an excess of entrepreneurial spirit, which we then loan out to the world at large.

But the fact that it is gathered here in one place, in one specific building, is significant. It leads me to my next characterization: "non-academic university." In a university, each of the professors is pretty much independent, just like the workers here. Nevertheless, they organize themselves into co-working groups, which do research in teams for the purpose of furthering human knowledge. That is their goal. Strip out the "knowledge" part of that goal and replace it with the more general word "progress," and you basically have B&M—a non-academic university.

But my favorite phrase, because of its currency, involves the most groundbreaking human achievement of our age: the Internet. In this vein, B&M is an "entrepreneurial cloud." Just like Amazon's EC2 is a computing cloud, B&M is a cloud of entrepreneurs. But B&M hasn't yet realized what I believe is a serious groundbreaking prospect for this kind of place. An "entrepreneurial cloud," to be more like a "cloud computing platform," seems to indicate that the community at large here in Moscow, if they so choose, can upload specific limited-time requests to the cloud for the us to perform.

Say, for instance, that the Moscow Arts Commission, a wing of the Moscow City Government, decides they want to make Moscow, Idaho a national hub for the arts—just as, through the U of I's Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, the city is a national hub for jazz music. What they could do, if our workspace grew big enough, is contact B&M with a request for proposal. B&M then, as a community, could identify each individual entrepreneur or freelancer in the workspace who has any applicable skill, and if they agree to sign on, contract with them to fulfill the goals of the Arts Commission. Once the goals are fulfilled, just like Amazon's cloud computer, B&M will return to its natural state, ready for another project. All further gruntwork, if there is any, would be taken up by a dedicated entity—probably a wing of the Moscow City Government, or the local arts business community, or whatever.

Now this idea in itself is exciting enough. But there is yet another exciting prospect based on a simple fact: B&M is made up not of computers, but of people. And people can actually originate goals, rather than merely fulfill them. It's still like a cloud, but more like a storm cloud, which makes lightening of entrepreneurial inspiration. The end result may perhaps be that Moscow Idaho, or any other city which seriously entertains this approach, will become among the most interesting places on the planet.

As said earlier, this is an entirely new idea. And it has stunning and broad-reaching implications. Like the Internet, it may harken in a completely new era in business. See, on the Internet, there are websites like the afore-mentioned oDesk—cloud-compute inspired businesses. oDesk's innovation is called "homesourcing:" businesses, anywhere in the world, can "homesource" work to any individual anywhere in the world, practically instantly. Thus a budding fashion design shop can quickly assemble a team of customer service agents without setting up a physical call center, for example. One agent may be in India, another may be in Idaho; it doesn't matter because it's all done "on the cloud."

But oDesk is different from B&M. While B&M stresses entrepreneurial spirit, oDesk stresses contracted labor. When you work at oDesk, you are very much working for a boss at a (more or less) established firm. But when you work at B&M, the assumption is, generally, that you are the firm. This isn't a rule, of course; anyone here can work for whomever they choose. But the point is that B&M is a hub for entrepreneurial spirit, whereas oDesk is a platform for contracted labor.

And both companies say something profound about us in the United States. Taken together, oDesk and B&M represent a new way of thinking, a dual modality of American labor. The old way of thinking goes like this: Nathan Foster applies for a job at CostCo. The new way of thinking goes like this: America applies for a job at America. Places like B&M, across the country (and yes, there is more than one place like this), form entrepreneurial ideas, and contract out to places like oDesk. Thus we can all contribute to a vast cloud of "business happenings" everywhere around the world, simultaneously.

That's the vision, anyway. And I believe the new way of thinking, more accurately and concretely than any discourse I've yet seen, expresses the American concept of "honor." Honor, to me, is loyalty plus leadership. And while in the old way of thinking these two were completely separate (i.e. the job applicant has loyalty while the employer has leadership), in this new age each individual can have both qualities simultaneously. A person can simultaneously contract with oDesk and originate ideas in exactly the same space, among exactly the same people. I can come from the cloud, into entrepreneurship, and go back into the cloud, seamlessly. This is the fundamental innovation these two businesses represent, and needless to say, I'm excited about the prospects of both.

Open Everything: A Note or Two on the Implications of America

Constitutional democracy = open government. Community-driven software = open source. America = open everything.

I don't think the main point of the constitutional democratic movement was necessarily to open the functioning of government to everyone. But in America, to an extent, that was the end result. One of the big ideas here was that anyone could become President if they worked hard enough. Before, of course, not everyone could become kings or queens. You had to be of royal family. This seems obvious, but the radical and revolutionary nature of constitutional democracy, at the time, cannot be understated.

And the full implication, which has culminated in many ways in the Internet, is absolutely stunning: Anyone can be anything at all if they put their mind to it. To put it another way, everything is open.

This concept of "open" has an elegant geometry that has been refined through our culture acting out these ideals. It is really a beautiful idea, which I feel should be examined, so we can capitalize on the American dream and fulfill it in our own lives. Here are my thoughts on the matter.

What does it mean that something is open? In some ways, it's obvious. If I want to be a CEO of a corporation, I can be one. How? The easiest way, of course, is to form my own corporation. I have a feeling that a lot of people thinking about the philosophy of openness will stop there. But I don't think that's good enough.

Anyone can form a corporation. In America, it's ridiculously easy. But will the corporation make money? Now to my mind, the idea that "anyone can become a CEO" has absolutely no relationship to the concept of openness if anyone can be a broke CEO, but only a handful of people can actually make money at it. The concept of openness is much more complex than that.

I like Andy Warhol's statement: "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." This statement has been lauded as getting to the very heart of what America means. And through Warhol's life work, in a lot of ways, he made it happen. Not only was his life a rags-to-riches story, but after he became famous, he made everyone he ever contacted, including heroine addicts, working class drag queens, and so on, literally famous. He created a dialog between working class and superstar cultures. And everyone could be a star if they found their way to his little working space in New York City.

This concept of openness has a lot more meat than the superficial idea that anyone can be a CEO of a corporation. Whether you're a CEO of a corporation is determined by whether the Secretary of State in your state has a copy of a piece of paper in their filing cabinet. Whether you're famous, whether you're a star, on the other hand, has to do with whether scores of people think wonderful thoughts about you. This is far more meaningful.

It may not look it at first glance, but a similar thing is going on even in the example of the everyman CEO. If people are enticed by the idea that anyone can become a CEO of a corporation, it doesn't have to do with just your title, or with a piece of paper, but with whether scores of people think wonderful enough thoughts about you to give you money. This, I think, is what the idea of openness is all about.

So where does it come from? How do you get scores of people to think wonderful thoughts about you? The answer is really simple: you must think wonderful thoughts about everyone else. They then can't help but think wonderful thoughts about you, because that's how people's psychology works.

Unfortunately, there are systemic obstacles to thinking wonderfully about each other. This is what oppression is, and yes, oppression still exists. But the light at the end of the tunnel is the opposite of systemic oppression: systemic openness.

The constitutional democratic process is exactly that—systemic openness. It is a system characterized by openness. And the only way to fully realize the implications of the constitutional democratic process, and fulfill the promise it holds for the human race, is to open every system.

So not only should anyone be allowed to be President of the U.S. government, everyone should be allowed to be the President of Coca Cola. There should be a pathway towards being that President as well. For all genders. For all disabilities (within reason). And so forth.

Openness has a couple of logical implications. It means people are held accountable to those they affect in their decisions. It means everyone who has a stake in something has an ability to affect it in some way. It means that autonomous actors, in whatever form they take—corporations, individual people, collectives, and so on—have the power to do dialog and dialectics with one another to form a new idea within the context of the organizations which they feel involved with. There is nothing that "we just don't talk about." Someone, somewhere, has to talk about it, especially if it's a problem, or else it won't serve a purpose of any kind.

It means that the autonomous actors have communication channels open to them which connect them to all the other autonomous actors they deem necessary to talk to. This doesn't just mean that everyone can send mass emails and online petitions to the President of Coke—it means that the President of Coke will actually listen in some way. Coke has a delicious flavor, and serves as a cultural icon. It is also a cultural ambassador to many other nations. Coke thus has a responsibility to maintain their status in our culture, and if they do something which rubs Americans wrong, we have a right to talk about it, directly to the corporation. Otherwise, Coke is in a state of catatonic schizophrenia, and we're all in trouble.

I like Coke because of the Andy Warhol connection, and because of the fact that it unites Democrats and Republicans. It is our mainstay, much like the Queen of England. In a lot of ways, Coke is invisible. Which is as it should be. As long as it is affordable, we should be allowed to organize our culture around it.

This invisible quality should be the most important quality of leadership in organizations. Organizations should have a powerful main thrust, then keep cool and invisible, so that we can organize ourselves around them. In many ways, the U.S. government is invisible. Who is really in charge? The people who are in charge are invisible. Many of them are corporations, but many are also individuals, because we all hold a vote. The government, then, is what we say it is.

This is how openness works. I hope I live to see the day when every organization in America aggressively takes up a policy of openness. It is the way to innovation, as the Japanese economy proves. We're the premier open organization, but Japan seems to have an edge on us in the idea of openness in corporate decisionmaking. (See here.) But I think we can do better. I think we should prove to the world that we can open everything.

Peace with an Edge

A lot of time is spent in Buddhism talking about taking reality as it is. This is one of the most wise thoughts a person can think, but in the West, I think there may be a couple problems we should address.

See, we Westerners are used to a work-a-day lifestyle where everything is one thing after another. Everything is so hectic now with fast cars, cell phones, computers, iPads, iPods, and all this money going everywhere at once and seeming to get us nowhere.

And a lot of people complain about commercialism and television and how people spend their lives glued to the television and, now, addicted to Facebook and Twitter et al. One of the great things about American culture is that we hold being critical of our culture as a cultural value. However, I tend to think that people indoctrinated into this self-critical approach end up hating America by default for no reason.

Okay, let's talk about advertising. The word itself seems to evoke cynical manipulation by immoral puppet-masters. But if that's the case, then why is it that advertising is so increasingly consumer-oriented? Why does advertising bend over backwards to make the consumer feel good about him- or herself?

And not all of it is a lie, either. I actually do like to drink Coca Cola. I really do see the benefit in Apple computers. I really believe in the philosophy evoked by the three-word phrase: "Just do it." And what of the advertisers themselves? Immoral puppet masters?

Actually, from my experience, Advertisers are some of the most positive, wholesome, and genuinely decent people you'd want to meet. And I'm not alone in thinking this: Luke Sullivan, author of advertising bible Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! agrees with me: "One of the great things about this business is that you’ll be surrounded by vibrant, interesting, and genuinely nice people," he writes. "I don’t know why the industry attracts them, it just does."

A lot of people blame advertising in part for our hectic lifestyles today, because we're always pushed to want more and more. We see this as such a problem. But I have a radical idea:

How about we just take it as it is?

Unfortunately, when we're told to "take it as it is," I sense that what we really are thinking is "take it with some reservations." Take it like a strung-out, unhappy mother with a disobedient child who's too exhausted to correct him. Take it, but disagree with it, and simply not bother to fight it anymore.

But really, why is the American lifestyle such a problem? Okay, exploitation of the third world is a problem. Monsanto ripping off poor farmers with bad seeds is perhaps the biggest moral failing the world has ever seen. But I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about the lifestyle. Drinking Coke. Watching television. Listening to iTunes. Driving down the street in a BMW yelling at someone over the phone because you and your client(s) want it just perfect.

I actually like getting yelled at sometimes. I like yelling at people, too. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. I'm not a bully: I don't like making people feel bad about themselves, and I'll work 110% to make sure that doesn't happen. But the point is, if we just sit around being peaceful all the time, we'll never get anything done.

I hear all the critics now: "What's so important about getting things done? Why can't we just be happy with what we have?" Sometimes, that's okay. It's important to be happy with what you have, and never lose sight of that. But Bodhisattvas must always be trying to make our gurus and precious sentient beings happier. Just sitting around being blissful doesn't get the job done.

America is an immensely active culture. But I think this is one of its strengths, not necessarily a weakness. This is why, in my humble opinion, we don't just need peace: we need peace with an edge. We should be peaceful deep inside, but also edgy and challenging. We should be active and vibrant. We should make people feel happy about themselves and their choices, not by just sitting there, but by engaging them with shining and intense eyes. Like a good advertisement.

Art and Business

In my filing cabinet at home, I have a dollar bill.

It is a special dollar bill. I had it when I was in the mental hospital years ago. When I was in that place, I had only a couple of dollars to my name. And every couple of days the hospital would send around a cart and allow you to give them your money for whatever they had for sale. I decided early on that while I would buy perhaps a couple of items, I would save exactly one dollar and never spend it. The mental hospital took away everything important to me—it took away my freedom, my dreams, my artistic capabilities. I was spiritually broke. I was NOT going to let them make me financially broke as well. So I saved that one dollar bill, and still have it to this day.

A lot of people do things similar to what I did. Businesses everywhere take the first dollar they earn, have it framed, and hang it on their walls. I think we're doing something very interesting when we do this.

See, when I took that dollar and decided not to spend it, I grew the United States economy by exactly one dollar. And now, to me, that dollar bill is worth more than $1. I would not sell it for $1 (or something worth $1)—if I ever do sell it, it will be for more than a dollar.

For me, personally, that dollar has increased my wealth. I can put a measurement on it: Say I'm not willing to let go of the dollar and all it means to me for less than $50. If that's the case, I have increased my personal wealth by exactly $49. And I would have grown the economy. See, when I bought the dollar bill for $1, I grew the economy by $1. The number on my bank account is decreased by $1. When I put the dollar back into circulation, I diminish the economy by $1. But when the other person buys it for $50, it grows the economy by $50, causing a net growth of $49.

Of course, so far, I've talked only about my personal wealth. I, personally, am not willing to sell that dollar for less than $50 (we're assuming). However, the real question is of course whether or not someone else agrees with me. Otherwise, it's ridiculous to say I've grown the economy. I may have grown my own psychological economy, but I haven't grown the U.S. economy. Getting others to agree is a work of art.

By saving this particular dollar, I am making an artistic statement brimming with social commentary. That dollar is fine art. It tells a story involving one man and the mental health system. It gives a moral lesson of patience and frugality. It criticizes systemic exploitation in the psychiatric establishment. It has a happy ending: I left the hospital victorious because I didn't spend it. And it improves the value of the person who buys it: They can hang it on their wall now and share in my triumph against the system. (If they buy my story about it, that is.)

This is why I am somewhat confused that our economy isn't an art-based economy. In fact, people often claim, falsely, that we need to be less "artistic" about our economy and produce more physical things in factories. I can't think of anything more Marxist and further from the truth. When you produce physical things, you're stealing wealth from the Mother Earth and selling it for hardly any more value than it was worth in the first place. This is what China does: the Communist Party extracts wealth from their banks, who extract wealth from the workers, who extract wealth from the Earth. There's no growth, regardless of what the numbers say: it's just exploitation. When you make art, however, whatever you do is nothing but pure added value. If you're an artist, the materials you work with, whatever they are, are worth hardly anything compared to the worth of the final piece of art. China's Communist Party could never allow this, because it gives so much wealth and power to individual artists, when they want all the wealth and power for themselves. So why on Earth is our economy so eager to profit off of stuff other than art while almost completely ignoring this treasure trove of business opportunity?

For whatever reason, we have not developed the infrastructure necessary for an art-based economy. Certain art forms have taken some steps, of course—Western music is based on the accumulation of hundreds of years of deep meditation and hard work. The twelve-tone musical system and our system of musical notation have allowed for extremely complex and rich musical ideas unmatched by any other culture. In music from other cultures, it's rare to find even basic harmony, let alone key changes, because in their musical systems such concepts don't make any sense. They have spent less time developing their musical infrastructure.

Fashion has had a similar experience. (Well, women's fashion at least. Which is why I wear women's clothes so often. Shh.) Before Louis IV, people wore traditional dress which remained unchanged for years. But to increase the glory of the kingdom, I suppose, they began to think of ways to change the fashion of the time. Now, as a result of developments in the fashion art's artistic infrastructure, we have a kind of fashion grammar rich with all kinds of innovative concepts (collars, collar stands, a-line forms, shifts, hour-glass forms, etc.) This rich array of elements in the art's infrastructure is what allows our fashion to be so complex, exciting, and ever-changing.

So in a couple of art forms, some basic infrastructure has been developed. The business infrastructure may also be developed to some extent, but, I would argue, not enough.

Think of the things investors look at before they invest in a business. They look at the psychological characteristics of the CEO. Are they a leader? Do they have drive? Are they motivated? Excited? Do they work well with others? The answers to these questions determine whether or not the company will succeed. They look at the product. Is it something people want? Does it satisfy a need? If they put it on a shelf, will it move? They look at history. Has this person ran successful businesses in the past? Have products like this sold well in the past? They look at the research. Is there concrete, empirical evidence that the product will sell? They also look at the intent. Does the company have a solid plan moving forward? Does this plan take into account incomes and costs? When investors look into these things, in depth, they can gauge how much they and the economy will benefit.

See, when we think of artists, we have this notion that you just go out into the world and be yourself and somehow, unexplainably, end up being brilliant and make tons of money. I think this is nonsense. What is someone buying when they buy your art? If you can't answer that question, I'm sorry, but you shouldn't become an artist. Imagine if we treated businesses this way. "I'm going to be a businessman. I'm going to go out in the world, be myself, and make a business that's brilliant in some unexplainable way, and people will be inspired for some unexplainable reason, and I'll make tons of money." I wouldn't invest in this person, would you?

People don't buy art just because you're so awesome they can't stand not spending their money on you. But I think people tend to think this is how it works. So what we need to do, then, is think less about what art says about the artist, and more about what it says about the person who spends money on it. This means that instead of being subjective, we must be objective. I know... that sounds sacrilegious. But it's true. I make movies as well as music. But I invest more in my movies than my music. Why? Because the people who listen to music want to have a shared experience with their friends and their communities, which usually implies a live performance. And I can't perform my music live. So I know no matter how good the music is, it's never going to sell. The only way it would sell is if it were so popular that a shared experience would be implied regardless of whether or not it's live.

Movies, on the other hand, play a slightly different cultural role. If people wanted a shared experience of film and video, there would've never been such a thing as television, and people wouldn't sit alone in dark rooms at night trancing out in front of it. Yes, I know, there is also radio. But how do people listen to music on the radio? In their cars, with the windows rolled down, and as loud as possible! They obviously want to share their experience! But people who watch television, on the other hand, don't do it with the curtains self-consciously drawn. So I've made a business decision: I'm going to invest in film more than music.

And another thing: I'm not going to even think of distributing my films with a distributor without some kind of business sense about whether or not the stuff would sell. Otherwise, I'm wasting everybody's time.

This is how we artists need to think. We need to think of art as a business, objectively, with detailed numerical measurements of potential for making money. If we do this, we can grow ourselves and the economy. And, by the way, we won't in any way diminish our creativity or value as an artist. Creativity is not measured by how "true to ourselves" we are. It is measured by how inspired the work is. And how inspired the work is is measured by how inspired people are by looking at it. How inspired we are is merely a convenient way of gauging whether it will inspire others. And, by the way, if it inspires others, it'll sell. We need to think about this. If we don't, we're wasting everybody's time.

Revolution in Equestria

It was a ray of sunshine which woke Applejack that morning. She thought it strange, being used to waking at the sound of the rooster. But no matter, she thought, merely a small setback for a hard day's work. Undeterred, she hopped right out of bed. After a quick breakfast, she set out to begin the day's harvest, but was greeted by a surprise visitor.

"Well howdy do, Mr. Filthy. I wasn't expecting you today. What can we do ya for? Another couple a bushels for the department store?" Applejack said.

"Applejack," Filthy Rich said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that, Filthy. What seems to be the hangup?"

"I'm afraid we're going to have to terminate our relationship."

Applejack stumbled.

"T... t... terminate?"

"Yes. I have just turned over our supply chain, for quite a profit. In fact, me and the family are going for an extended vacation to Canterlot. It was quite a deal."

"But... Mr. Filthy... our apple farm... Why, your our biggest buyer..."

"Yes, I know. It was a tough decision, but I believe it was the best we could make."

This can't be right, thought Applejack, it just can't.

"Well, I have to tell you, you're making a mighty awful mistake... our apples are the best in Equestria."

"We don't buy from Equestria anymore."

"Why... don't buy from Equestria... where do you buy from?"

"Funny story that... someone from a distant land called Earth by the name of Mr. Zhang stopped by the other day and offered just about everything we sell for practically nothing. I could hardly believe it, but when the shipments started coming in... well, business has never been better. Anyway, I'm off to Canterlot. Good luck, Applejack."

Applejack stood stunned as Filthy left the farm for what appeared to be the last time.

---

Though in her heart she was unsettled, Celestia smiled as she read the latest report on friendship from Twilight. But her meditations were interrupted as Luna burst through the door of the castle.

"Sister. I have terrible news."

"What is it, Luna? What's wrong?"

"A man from Earth is buying the supply chain for all the shops in Equestria. Twenty percent of the vendors now buy exclusively from Earth, and more are signing on by the minute."

Celestia weighed her response.

"I know, Luna," she replied. "I've already met Mr. Zhang. He's quite a disagreeable man."

"We must do something," said Luna. "If we don't act, within a week Mr. Zhang will own half the economy of Equestria."

"I've already decided."

Good, thought Luna. She's thought of something already. I knew she would be quick on her hooves.

"Sister, I'm sure you've chosen best," Luna said, "And I'll offer my resources any way I can. I can summon an army, if you wish, or we can use the elements of harmony and other magic to produce desirable objects to compete with this... Earth."

"No, sister. Nothing like that."

"Then how? How will we counter this threat?"

Celestia considered how best to put it. "If Zhang had come to our attention sooner, or if we had more influence on the land of Earth, we could have done as you suggest. But now, too many ponies' livelihoods depend on Mr. Zhang. If Zhang wants to buy some of our economy, I believe we will have to let him. It may hurt for a while, but given time, I have faith that the ponies of Equestria will make the right choice."

Luna could hardly believe what she was hearing. Let him? When the very integrity of the nation and pride of its people depended on action?

"You do not understand the graveness of this threat, sister. We are royals. I say we act like it. Nationalize the magic industry. Unionize the Grand Galloping Gallop. That event alone employs half of Equestria, and generates more income than all the shops combined. We'll show everyone what happens to foreigners who try to overrun Equestria."

"Luna, I'm sorry, but I've decided."

Luna shook her head in disbelief, and her disbelief turned to anger.

"Celestia. You are wrong. We have to act. We have to issue a decree. If you don't do it, I will."

Celestia turned a hardened gaze to her sister. "Luna, this has gone on long enough. We are not issuing a decree. Remember, I imprisoned you once, I can do it again."

Luna reared her head.

"You spineless coward!"

And with that, she turned to leave.

Celestia sprang up on her hooves. "Luna, consider carefully. Whatever you intend to do, I've already thought of it."

But Luna would not be deterred. The ponies will make the right choice, the dark princess thought, echoing Celestia's words. Fine. If she wants them to choose, we'll let them choose. We'll just see the kind of choices magical ponies are capable of.

---

"Applejack, calm down. I'm sure it's not that bad," Twilight said.

"But Twilight! All of the apples... from Earth... what about my farm?"

"You grow the best apples in Equestria. I'm sure somepony will want to buy them."

"You don't understand... he was my biggest buyer! And the apples will go to harvest in two weeks! Who can I find to buy them so quickly?"

"We'll just have to put our heads together," Twilight said. "We'll find a solution."

Applejack sniffled.

"Applejack, it's okay. Together, as friends, we're unstoppable," Twilight said.

Just then, Rainbow Dash burst through the door.

"Twilight! Luna's in Ponyville, and you wouldn't believe the things she's saying! Come see for yourself!" And Rainbow flew straight off.

"This is great, just the distraction we needed. Applejack, why don't we go see the princess, and we'll worry about the farm later, okay?"

"Okay, Twilight. I just hope we come up with something..."

"We will, I promise."

Twilight and Applejack left the library and made their way to the town center. All the ponies were gathered, and the excitement was palpable.

"Hey, this is quite the gathering," Twilight said to one of the crowd, hoping to get Applejack into the spirit of things. "What's all this about?"

"Luna is talking about a new order, freedom of choice, I just... can't believe it! Shh, she's still speaking..."

Twilight was confused—freedom of choice? I make choices all the time... I feel free... what could she mean?

"And furthermore," Luna declared, "I decree that the night shall be a time of freedom and enjoyment. Anypony who wants to exercise his or her lifestyle choices, has the freedom to do so any time, but especially at night."

The ponies looked on in wonder.

"I also decree that the Everfree Forest, a place of freedom, as well as all national parks and buildings, shall be common property, to be available to anypony as he or she chooses."

What an amazing idea, Twilight thought. Common property? Why this surely means that instead of being served to whatever pony shows up first, it must be shared... and sharing means friendship, doesn't it?

"And for the sake of everypony and their unalienable rights, I have one final decree. This may be frightening at first, but it is very important. I decree,"

The crowd was hanging on the next word.

"...That my sister and I both renounce our role as rulers of Equestria."

The crowd gasped.

"That's right. From now on, you will choose your ruler. Of course, the ruler must be of royal family. But nevertheless, the choice remains with you."

A revolutionary idea! Twilight thought. It would make more sense if any pony could be chosen instead of just those of royal family, but this is a significant change.

"Look, it's Celestia!" someone shouted.

Celestia descended from the sky and landed next to Luna. She turned to her sister and hissed, "What you've done is rash beyond words."

"You think so? Well the next move is yours. Try to undo my decree, I dare you; you'll have a revolution," she hissed back.

Celestia addressed the crowd. "What you've heard is correct. Your destiny is in your own hooves; You may now choose your own ruler. Me and Luna humbly present ourselves as candidates. Elections will be held tomorrow."

Rainbow dashed up to Twilight and Applejack.

"Did you hear that?" She said. "Can you believe it? Choose our own ruler! Why I would make the most awesome ruler in all of Equestria!"

"Rainbow, didn't you hear? She said only royals can run," Twilight said.

"Well I'm pretty royal," Rainbow said, "I mean, come on! I'm just full of royal awesomeness, and I can think of some changes I'd make right now..."

"I just hope there's something I can do for my farm," Applejack said, still downtrodden.

"Don't worry," Twilight said. "I'm going to pay the Princess a visit. I have some ideas I want to discuss with her. We'll address the farm situation. I'm sure she'll be favorable."

---

The sun shone through the ornate stained glass windows of the royal palace, and Twilight was optimistic.

"So, your highness, about candidates. You said only royals can run, right?" Twilight began.

"That's right," Luna said.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but you and Celestia are the only royals in Equestria. Don't you think that narrows the possibilities a bit too much?"

"No," Luna said. "I'm sure in your studies you've come across royal heritage, right?"

"I tried to study that subject, but every time I make a request to Canterlot, the answer comes back that the knowledge is secret," Twilight said.

Luna glared at Celestia.

"That's right," Celestia said, "It's secret in order to protect ponies from descending into chaos. But I think what Luna is getting at is that there are ways for anypony to become royal."

"Really? How?" Twilight asked.

"It's a difficult subject and takes time to explain," Luna said. "We'll have all the time in the world to discuss it later, but I'm sure there are more pressing concerns?"

"Well yes. But just to make sure I got this right, anyone can become royal?" Twilight asked.

"That's right," Luna said.

"Well that's reassuring. So. Moving on... I was just wondering, your highness, what changes do each of you plan to implement?" Twilight said.

"Well, for one, I..." Celestia began.

"Let's skip the games," Luna snapped. "We both know you're not going to win, Celestia."

"I thought it was a free choice," Celestia retorted.

"Everypony associates me with freedom. Do you really think after I just gave them their freedom they would turn around and choose the old order? You're smarter than that."

Celestia flushed red. "That's a pretty arrogant assumption."

"Remember, you said ponies would make the right choice? Well, they will. Believe me."

The two sisters glared at each other.

"Okay, well... that's... edifying." Twilight said. "Shall we start with you, then, Luna?"

"What do you want to know? I have a lot of ideas, and unlike those of my opponent," Luna shot a look at Celestia, "They are all very innovative."

"I'm sure they are," Twilight said carefully. "And one area that needs... innovation, is the farm situation. Applejack says that Filthy Rich no longer does business with her. What can we do about that?"

"Twilight Sparkle, that is, and always has been, my first and biggest concern. Applejack isn't alone; half the small businessponies of Equestria have the same problem."

"Right," Twilight said, with sparkles in her eyes. "So my thinking is this: Applejack makes the best apples in all of Equestria. If she simply has a market to sell them in, she can't go wrong. But the value of the bit has not kept pace with the new goods on the marketplace. This is, in my opinion, because it runs under the old system. The palace determines the value of the bit, based on the needs of the most profitable businessponies, but the rest of Equestria must follow along even if it doesn't apply to them. So why not set up local currencies and allow the marketplace to determine the value of the bit? That will liberate the marketplace, and give Applejack new opportunities to sell her products."

"Twilight, your knowledge of economics is impressive, but I think you're wrong." Luna sighed. "It's hard to explain, but without the palace-controlled bit, nopony would be able to trade with one another. It just doesn't work that way."

"But I thought the whole idea of the new order was freedom of choice..." Twilight said, taken aback.

"Choices come with contexts, like unicorns come with magic. Like a unicorn without a horn, a choice without a context is meaningless. The palace-controlled bit is the context of trade. That's just how it works."

"But... what can we do to help Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"The solution is simple. Nopony really wants to buy Earth apples. They cause indigestion. They taste bad. They look ugly. Ponies only buy them because they're cheap," Luna said.

"But how do we get ponies the money to buy good apples?" Twilight wondered.

"The first step, as I've been saying all along," Luna said, "Is to unionize the Gallop."

Celestia snorted.

"If we allow ponies to band together to determine the rewards of labor," Luna continued, "More money flows, more ponies have money, and more business goes to your friend."

"If you unionize the Gallop," Celestia said, "It'll be everypony for himself. You'll have to deal with more worker demands than the palace has seen in the history of Equestria."

"It's the only solution which makes sense," Luna said.

"It's the worst solution I've heard," Celestia retorted.

"You've offered no solutions," Luna said. "You just want to wish the problem away."

"You just want to take control over all of Equestria," Celestia responded. "It's what you've wanted from the beginning."

"You're the one who won't give up control. My motivations are good."

"You have no royal instinct. You make no sense."

"You have no imagination."

"Guys," Twilight said, "Are you sure my solution doesn't make sense?"

"YES!" They both shouted.

"Oh," Twilight said, startled, "Okay then. Well, we'll just have to see who wins, right?"

"Right," Luna said, glaring at Celestia.

With that, Twilight left the palace. She couldn't help but think, I have a bad feeling about this.

---

Pinky Pie's party to celebrate the election was rapidly becoming one of the most successful she'd ever thrown. And even Applejack, still reeling from her loss, was getting into the excitement.

"Luna won!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I mean, can you believe it? This is so cool!"

"Yeah, if this isn't a topsy-turvy change, it'll do until the change gets here," Applejack said.

"I wish Celestia would've won," Rarity said. "Equestria was just fine before the election. It's all too sudden."

"I don't think so," Fluttershy said. "I mean, I think Luna has good ideas. She's right that we should be kinder to the workers at the gallop."

"I didn't really care who won," Pinkie said. "It means a great party! Democracy is fun!"

"Yeah, I just wish it were more... of a democracy democracy. Ya know?" Rainbow said. "I mean, only royals get to run. What's up with that?"

"Well, the princesses were a little nebulous on that point," Twilight said, "But apparently anyone can become royalty. I just don't know how it's done."

"Really?" Rainbow said, "I would make the best royalty ever! Man I'm going to be the next President of Equestria, and I'll make up the coolest rules..."

"You're not President yet, Rainbow," Twilight said, sarcastically.

"All this really means," Rarity said, "Is that we have one ruler now instead of two. I don't know what Luna has in mind, speaking of rules, but such a drastic change rings of chaos to me."

"Well I'm sure we'll find out tomorrow," Twilight said. "I don't think all her ideas are the best, but it'll be interesting to find out what she does. And I'm sure it'll all turn out okay."

"Yeah, don't worry about rules," Pinkie exclaimed, "Time for party!"

---

The next day everypony eagerly awaited the new decrees of their President. And Luna showed up right on time to satisfy them. Only Twilight had some idea of what the decrees were going to be, but even she couldn't help but show a little excitement.

Luna began, "I am happy to see all of you gathered here today. I know you have a hard day's work ahead of you, and as the small businesspony is my first concern, I'll be as brief as possible. First of all, I understand that everypony has thoughts and ideas and fantasies that are unique to them. And the soul of free choice is free exercise of ideas."

The ponies seemed confused.

Luna continued, "As you know, the old rules have been restrictive. But the rules have changed, and society should change with it. I am the last pony to stand in the way of freedom. Therefore, I decree... homosexuality is now legal."

The ponies gazed in amazement. But Twilight was skeptical. What does this have to do with anything? She thought. She's just trying to win political points.

"And furthermore," Luna continued, "If anypony wants to share photographs of their experiences with the Brony market, that, too, is acceptable."

The audience applauded, hesitantly.

"Also, I decree that the Grand Galloping Gallop is to be unionized. That's right: all ponies have the right to bargain for fair pay in their employment."

Twilight knew this, of course. But Luna delivered one unexpected decree, and she could deliver more.

"There is one more thing," Luna said. "Like everypony here, I value harmony and solidarity among all Equestrians. But there are circumstances where friendship, though indispensable, is not enough. There are times, in short, when defense, even armed defense, is necessary. The time has come for pony self-determination. Therefore, I decree... the palace will immediately form a national standing army."

Twilight's heart sunk in her chest. A standing army? She considered the idea. Of course, she's right: there are times when we need to defend ourselves. But Twilight couldn't help but feel something was wrong. She looked around; surprisingly, the idea seemed to go over well with the others. But how far would this go?

"Of course," Luna continued, "No pony is required to join the army unless they so choose. Recruiters will be taking names as soon as the infrastructure is in place."

Two unexpected decrees. Would there be more?

"That is all for now," Luna said. "I will deliver more decrees as they become necessary. Thank you for your support, and enjoy freedom to the fullest!"

Luna left the stage, and the audience cheered. Then, all the ponies discussed the new decrees. It was a strange turn of events. Twilight surveyed the audience, and made out Princess Celestia. Her gaze was hard as stone. Twilight knew she wouldn't confine herself to the shadows forever. She had something in mind.

---

"Celestia, Celestia. I had no idea it was in you. You, hiding behind your palace walls, nothing but meditation all day, ordering people around. So... boring," Discord crooned. "I would've thought maybe ordering some lowly underling to liberate me, but you doing it yourself? This is, interesting."

"I wouldn't have, believe me, but it was my only choice," Celestia said. "Luna forced my hand. The very idea of democracy invites nothing but chaos. Well, if it's chaos she wants, it's chaos she'll get."

"I like the way you think, Celestia. But my powers are weak. You could turn me into stone any minute. A day or two of being a rock, I can stand. But I know you'd imprison me for all eternity. And I don't want to be a rock forever. It's just not my style. But you obviously freed me for a reason."

"Get to the point," Celestia snapped.

"Ah yes. The point is, if I do whatever it is you want, what's to stop you from turning me back into stone the second I do it? If I do your bidding, what do I get in return?"

Celestia thought about it. "Clearly the rules have changed. In a democracy, you need a little chaos."

"Oh, I like where this is going," Discord said.

Celestia continued, repulsed at the idea she was about to suggest. "Owing to the new... situation, I'm willing to give you charter over some aspect of the palace government."

"What piece?"

"We'll work out the details. But I need to hear ideas."

"Well," Discord said, thoughtfully. "The thought of a charter, I say. That's just wonderful: my own piece of government. And that gives me a very good idea. Let me tell you what I propose."

---

"Spike, start writing," Rainbow ordered.

"I really think you're wasting your time," Spike said. "I've sent over two hundred of your letters to the Princess, and she hasn't responded to any of them."

"I don't care, Spike. She needs to listen to me. And I'm going to keep writing until she does."

"But..." Spike protested.

"Don't make me make you!"

"Oh right," Spike retorted, "What are you going to do?"

"I... Spike! Just start writing!"

"It's not your job to order me around," Spike grumbled. But he sighed and pulled out the pen and paper.

"Dear Princess Luna," Rainbow began. "This is bullhockey. You told Twilight Sparkle that anyone can be a royal. But I'm still waiting to claim my rightful title. And anyway, when is your term as President up? I've suggested two hundred thirty-two decrees, and you've followed up on none of them. So when do I get to decree them myself? Sincerely, your angry opponent, Rainbow Dash."

"Are you sure you want to call yourself an 'angry opponent?' I mean that seems a little... unstrategic," Spike said.

"Just send it, Spike," Rainbow said.

Spike sighed. "Okay, okay, I'm sending it."

"And if she doesn't respond to THIS one," Rainbow said, "Boy, there'll be trouble."

"You said that the last time," Spike grumbled as he sent the letter.

The door of the library opened, and Twilight came in.

"Twilight!" Spike said. "How was your visit with the Princess? Not too good I take it..."

"It was a disaster. I went to the palace three times."

"And?" Rainbow asked expectingly.

"All three times she didn't even open the doors!"

"That... that... tyrant!" Rainbow punched the air.

"And the last time, one of the palace guards even told me to leave, claiming I was 'trespassing' on palace property," Twilight continued.

"Why I'd show him..." Rainbow said.

Spike asked, "Didn't he know you were a student of the original ruler of Equestria?"

"He mentioned that. He was very respectful. But I knew he wasn't going to give an inch," Twilight said. "I have a feeling something bad is afoot."

"Oh I knew that from the beginning," Rainbow fumed. "This whole 'democracy' thing is a sham."

"Well, just because Luna doesn't implement all your plans doesn't mean democracy is a sham, Rainbow," Twilight mused. "Still, I don't like how this feels. Something is wrong. Why did Luna kick Celestia out in the first place? Why is she afraid of her? And when I visited them, they were both fighting. Fighting! Something terrible has come between them. And what about this Mr. Zhang? What does he want?"

"Oh don't get me started on Mr. Zhang," Rainbow said. "I think we should have kicked him out the moment he got here. In fact, I even suggested that in one of my letters."

"I don't know, Twilight," Spike said, "But I think Mr. Zhang is at the root of all this."

"I agree," Twilight said, "But one thing's for sure. We're never going to solve him unless Celestia and Luna learn to work together."

"Amen to that," Spike said.

"Look," Rainbow said, "It's Princess Celestia! She's leading a parade. And there's Rarity and Applejack... Maybe Celestia can solve all this..."

"Celestia! I knew she was planning something," Twilight said. "Let's go have a look."

Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow joined the procession. Twilight knew something big was about to happen, and she knew a change would be good. But every pony in the crowd seemed angry. She knew the answer would come when the procession stopped, which it did, at City Hall.

Celestia turned to face the crowd. But it was Applejack who spoke first.

"Everypony," She said, "I know Luna's democracy is a good idea. A great one. And I reckon a lot of thought went into it. But my poor farm is suffering, Big Macintosh is overworked, and I just can't abide the way Princess Luna's been treating the small businesspony."

The crowd nodded in approval.

"I mean, she's taxing us to death. She's cut farm subsidies and wants to cut them further. She wants to unionize everything, but I'm not getting a lick of income to pay for it. Ponies, we have to do something."

Rarity spoke next: "When I first began my own clothing business, I had full control over the production line, and everything worked like clockwork. But now Luna has changed the entire economy. Materials that used to be inexpensive are now expensive, and as a result I have much less creative control. But it's even worse than that.

"One of the most respected clothing outfits in Canterlot was suffering, and, I agree, it got to the point where something had to be done to save the company. But I cannot agree with what Luna did. She... socialized it! The owner of Haute Hooves is a personal friend of mine, and her work is absolutely brilliant. But that day she completely lost control over her company. HER company! When she visited me, she was in tears. I know some of the workers disagreed with her management style, but I think that everypony who has the courage to start their own business, the fortitude to keep it running, and the creative genius to satisfy the customer, should have control over their business."

An angry shout came from the crowd: "The Princess is a socialist!"

"I think something just has to change," Applejack said. "It just has to!"

"I couldn't agree more," Celestia began. "Ponies of Equestria: I've always had the interests of everypony at heart. And Luna's system, while innovative, is unfair. She controls everything, and doesn't listen to the common pony. We need checks and balances. That is why, by the authority of the people, I decree that we form a legislative branch. And I declare this assembly here today the first official political party. We shall be called, the Grand Old Pony Party of Equestria!"

A raucous cheer rose up from the crowd. Twilight could hardly contain herself; the absolute brilliance of the idea overwhelmed her.

"Wow!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Our own political party! I would've chosen a cooler name, but this is awesome! Maybe I can finally make the changes I've wanted!"

Your move, little sister, Celestia thought with pride.

---

As a way of thumbing her nose, Celestia invited Princess Luna to be the first to address the new legislative assembly. But Luna seemed completely cool and collected. What could she be thinking? Celestia thought. Doesn't she realize how much power she's lost? As Luna strode to the podium, Celestia was nervous.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts," Princess Luna began. "When Celestia and I ruled Equestria together, I learned many things. But most of all, I learned that of all things, ideas are the most powerful. And the idea of freedom is the most precious idea a pony could have. To reify freedom, to make it real, is a supreme gift. By forming this assembly, you ponies have done just that. I always thought that the Presidency had too much power, and from the beginning, I promised the end of royalty. Therefore, whatever decrees and ideas you come up with, I will faithfully execute. I am nothing but grateful for this opportunity to serve my country."

What is she hiding? Celestia thought.

"Thus, please hesitate no further. I decree this assembly in session," Luna said. And without another word, she left.

Celestia approached the podium. "Very well," she said. "What shall we do first?"

Discord made his way into the gallery, careful not to be spotted by anypony, especially not Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, or Twilight Sparkle, who were watching intently from the opposite side of the gallery. This was his moment to shine. He could barely keep still in his seat.

"First of all," one pony began, "the social depravity of Equestria is deeply disturbing. Therefore, I decree homosexuality illegal!"

"You can't do that!" Rainbow Dash said, who was also in the assembly.

"Now now," Celestia said, "We have to vote on it."

"Oh, sorry," The pony said. "I move that we decree homosexuality illegal!"

"NAY!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Celestia cleared her throat. "All in favor?"

"AYE!" the cry rose.

"All opposed?"

"NAY!" Rainbow repeated, joined by several ponies. But the Aye's had clearly won the vote.

"Very well," Celestia declared. "Homosexuality is now illegal! Next item..."

"I move that we decree pornography illegal!" Another pony said.

"Very well... that may have been good for business, but we'll vote on it," Celestia said. "All in favor?"

"AYE!" the ponies cried.

"All opposed?"

"NAY!" said Rainbow and a couple of ponies.

"This is ridiculous," Rainbow exclaimed.

"The ayes have it! Pornography is now illegal. And now on to..."

"And socialism! Socialism too!"

Rarity was a little confused, but she couldn't help but smile to herself.

"Okay, all in favor?"

"AYE!"

"All opposed..."

"...nay?"

"The ayes have it! Socialism is now..."

"I move we abolish the palace currency, dismantle the pony express system, and declare patriotic hoof-stomping the official form of applause!"

The din of hooves stomping resounded in the chamber.

"Wait I don't think that's..." Celestia began, but was interrupted.

"Oh, now the PRINCESS wants to tell us what to do? We should've never made her speaker. We should've never put all this power in one person!"

"This isn't right," Rarity said. "This is wrong. Princess Celestia should be allowed to speak..."

"Well we have to vote on it, but remember these ideas are to become laws..."

"I move we vote on it RIGHT NOW! You have a problem with that, Princess?" The pony sneered.

Celestia glared at him. "Very well. All in favor of this sudden expedient?"

"Aye!" Several ponies said.

"All opposed."

"NAY!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Your ideas are stupid!"

But the Ayes clearly had it. Celestia swallowed her pride. "Okay," she said. "Very well. The proposal is now law."

"I move we disband the army!" Said one pony. But an angry murmur grew in the assembly; the army was the main source of income for a large number of ponies.

"All in favor?" Celestia said.

"AYE!" Rainbow shouted.

"All opp..."

"NAY!" Shouted everyone else.

"What?? That was the best idea so far!" Rainbow said incredulously.

"Oh," Fluttershy said. "I remember that was Rainbow's first idea." Her heart went out to Rainbow.

"Come on," Applejack said to herself. "Do something for the small businesspony."

"I have in my very hooves a list of socialists in Equestria," said a certain pony. "Ponyville is a rat's nest of socialism, and I happen to know their ringleader is known socialist Twilight Sparkle."

"What? That's not true!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Therefore, I move that we abolish all taxes in Canterlot, but raise taxes in Ponyville! All in favor?"

"It's my job to say that, remember?" Celestia said, angrily.

"Who cares what your job is?" The pony yelled. "I'm a legislator, I say what your job is!"

"That's not how it works!" Celestia said.

"Oh, more orders from the PRINCESS! Who wants to kick out this wannabe queen?"

"AYE!" came the yell.

Celestia suppressed a tremor of fear. "You can't just... kick me out! We have to VOTE on it!"

"We don't need to vote! Everypony knows your tricks!"

"YOU are OUT OF ORDER!" Celestia shouted. "I decree..."

But the other pony's eyes grew wild with anger. "FUCK YOU, ESTABLISHMENT PONY!"

Celestia gasped.

"Why that..." Rarity exclaimed, but was too shocked to finish the sentence.

"Oh Celestia!" Fluttershy gasped.

"KICK HER OUT!" The ponies yelled.

Rainbow Dash could barely think of what to say. "Ponies! Don't you understand democracy at all? We have to work together!"

"You're a friend of Twilight Sparkle, the socialist! Kick her out too!"

"All in favor!" Someone shouted.

"AYE!!"

Celestia was astounded. Discord's eyes caught her glance, and his look said it all. She knew what he was thinking: You were once ruler of all Equestria, but now you're a nothing nopony. Get out of here: your time is over.

Tears welled up in Celestia's eyes. She left in a flurry. Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight looked on in astoundment.

"Hey! Let me go! You can't... I'm a LEGISLATOR!" Rainbow Dash struggled and fought, but the other ponies were too many and too strong. Discord smiled to himself: He hadn't said a word, yet he was the ruler of the assembly, and he knew it. Yes, he thought, this is by far the best trick I've ever pulled.

---

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had convened themselves at Twilight's place. Twilight, however, wasn't there.

"We just have to put our hooves together and come up with something," Applejack said.

"I wish Twilight was here," said Rainbow, crestfallen. "She's the pony with all the ideas."

"She's gone to find Celestia. And I don't blame her," Applejack said.

"That poor, poor pony," Fluttershy said. "I mean, kicking her out like that... that's just so impolite. The way they treated her..."

"Tell me about it," Rainbow said.

As the other ponies discussed, Rarity sat alone in the corner, barely holding back tears. Spike couldn't bear it.

"Rarity, I swear, if there is anything I can do..." he said.

Rarity looked at him, and the tears flowed in quiet streams. "Oh Spike," Rarity said. "I should've never joined that dreadful party!"

"Rarity, I know you ponies will come up with something. I've seen you in worse scrapes before, and a pony like you? You're the most radiant, beautiful, magical..." Spike was interrupted as Rarity embraced him and held him close. And together they shared a common tear: for each other, for Celestia, for the gang... for Equestria.

---

Twilight Sparkle finally found Celestia deep in the Everfree Forest. She had never seen Celestia like this before: her beautiful hair, which had once flowed so free, seem to droop like a willow. And Celestia could not hold back the sobs.

"Celestia," Twilight gasped, taken aback at her state.

"Oh Twilight," Celestia said. "Everything is all wrong. It's all messed up."

"I know, but surely we can do something. There's always a solution. We just have to have faith, and think this through."

"What's there to think about? Luna runs the show now."

"Well what are her motivations? Do you know what Luna wants in the first place?"

"Of course," Celestia said. "She wants to stop Mr. Zhang. And it's so terrible; I want exactly the same thing. But she had to come in and make all these changes; she wouldn't consult me. She doesn't trust me! My own sister! All I want is what's best for Equestria..."

"She's taken over, hasn't she?" Twilight said.

"She's gotten everything she's wanted. And I know in my heart she's a good pony, and a good ruler. But lately, I just... I feel I've lost... my trust."

"Celestia, I'm so sorry..." Twilight said.

"She's my friend, Twilight. My friend!" The word had so much meaning between them, and Celestia uttering it like this was a desperate plea. "I should've never trusted Discord."

"Wait, Discord is behind this?" Twilight could hardly believe it.

"Of course he is. Couldn't you see the signs? He controls the whole legislature."

"But the legislature was your idea! What happened?"

"No Twilight, it was his idea. And he kicked me out. And one of the ponies... swore at me!"

"Oh Celestia," Twilight said, "This is terrible! What can we do?"

"Twilight," Celestia said, composing herself, "I have no power anymore in Equestria. There is only one thing that can save us now: The magic of friendship."

---

Twilight Sparkle overlooked Ponyville from the library. A large crowd, organized by Rainbow Dash, had formed; they called themselves Occupy Ponyville. Rainbow had decreed that they vote by consensus, and that nopony was to be the leader. Throughout the night came impassioned speeches of how the system was broken. How Discord had organized a puppet legislature; how Mr. Zhang was behind all of this; how big businessponies were the only ones whose voices mattered.

It was all very touching, Twilight thought, but what exactly did Rainbow hope would happen? The legislature was legislating like crazy against Occupy, and the police were loyal to the businessponies. In all her years of studying friendship, Twilight had never seen less of it in Equestria than now. And lurking in the shadows, as always, was Princess Luna. That night she was visiting Ponyville, and Twilight could see her from the library. She was nonchalantly sharing a word or two with the local army chapter. Despite everything, Twilight thought, she hadn't a care in the world. And why not? After all, Luna firmly controlled the army. The army was her idea in the first place. For all the legislating that Discord's ponies had done, they hadn't weakened her position a bit.

Twilight had always admired Luna, but she couldn't help but find herself mistrusting her. Why did Luna want an army in the first place? What was she planning? Twilight wanted to find out. But after the incident at the palace, the thought of approaching Luna frightened her. She ruminated over the situation, but as much as she disliked the idea, she couldn't think of another solution. She had to talk to her. She thought she had an idea of what Luna was up to, but she needed to confirm it. And she had to trust that Luna would remember her for who she was: a faithful student, a steadfast admirer, and a loyal subject. She made up her mind: She was going to talk to her directly. She could only hope that Celestia was right, and that Luna had some spark of good in her still.

As Twilight made her way through the crowd, she noticed the signs clasped by the ponies' hooves. She saw Applejack; hers said, "GOPP AGAINST DISCORD." Fluttershy's said, "Make love, not Chaos." She saw one pony with a sign that said, "Lost a job: found an Occupation." And one that said, "Fillies for freedom forever!"

Finally Twilight reached the place where Luna was slowly pacing. Twilight was nervous, and the armyponies eyed her suspiciously. But she was resolved to talk to Luna. She approached the dark Princess, and cleared her throat.

"Princess Luna?" She said.

"Twilight Sparkle," Luna acknowledged, barely noticing her.

"Can we please talk?"

"What is there to talk about?"

"Well back there in the assembly... I was just thinking... this couldn't be what you had in mind by democracy."

"And why not?"

"Well Discord runs the whole show."

"Yes. You need a little bit of chaos in democracy. Surely someone with your intellect could've realized that."

"But aren't you afraid they'll take away your power? I mean, the way they treated Celestia..."

Luna shook her head. "Twilight. You may be an expert on friendship, but you know nothing of government. They're not going to do a thing to me."

Twilight was ennobled; she seemed to be opening up to her. "Are you sure? I mean, whatever they say becomes law."

"Yes, but I control the army. And you must remember the original rules: whatever I say becomes law, too."

"Perhaps... but I was just wondering... what's this about the army in the first place?"

"National defense," Luna said, shortly. Twilight considered this, but she just couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry, but I can't believe that. In the entire history of Equestria, no country has ever even come close to rivaling our power. Our economy, though perhaps a bit downtrodden, is still the most resilient I've studied. And now you say we need an army, too?"

"You don't like it?" Luna asked simply.

"No, frankly, I don't," Twilight said.

"Then why don't you join your friend Rainbow?" Luna said. "See what happens."

Twilight was still nervous, but she felt she had to be stern. "Luna, your ideas are brilliant. But I just have to question your style of leadership. Homosexuality, okay. I mean, it's not my thing... maybe Rainbow Dash... and I'm not too sure about Fluttershy sometimes... but they can make their own decisions, and I respect them. They're my friends," Twilight said. "And unionizing the Gallop—not the decision I would've made, but I can live with it. But going to war? That's just wrong. I know it. I feel it in the very fiber of my being."

"Who said I was going to war?" Luna glared at Twilight.

"Come on," Twilight said, her heart filling more and more with courage. "We both know that's the goal. Who do you plan to attack?"

"I don't like the way this conversation is going."

"Or do you plan to take back Equestria? Declare yourself absolute ruler?"

Luna looked away.

"I know what it is," Twilight said, suddenly realizing. And the realization frightened her; but more than that, it made her angry. "Earth! You can't stand Mr. Zhang. And in retaliation, you plan to attack the entire planet!"

Luna turned suddenly to Twilight. "What would you have me do?" She snarled. "In less than a year's time, Mr. Zhang's army could wipe out all of Equestria, and he has all the businessponies in his pocket. Inaction is not an option."

"Luna," Twilight said sincerely, "You can't fight all of Earth."

"Well unless you have another idea, Twilight, that's exactly what I intend to do."

Twilight was heartbroken. She wanted to say more, but she knew the discussion was over.

"Rainbow was right," Twilight said. "Democracy is broken."

Twilight strode determinedly through the Occupy crowd. She paused, looked at the ground, and shook her head. She found the podium, where Pinkie Pie was addressing the crowd.

"And that... meanie! She... swore! At Celestia!" Pinkie said.

"Uncalled for!" Somepony responded.

"So uncivilized!" Said another.

"The Grand Old Pony Party may have been a good idea," Pinkie continued, "But I've thrown a million parties, and if there's one thing I know about parties, it's that you have to be KIND!"

"That's right!" Fluttershy declared, stomping her hoof for emphasis.

Twilight sniffed. She knew her friends were all in this together. She had to speak.

"Pinkie, I have something to say," Twilight said.

"Go ahead Twilight!" Pinkie responded, stepping off the podium. Twilight stepped up and addressed the crowd.

"From the beginning of democracy, I have been nothing short of amazed at the philosophical brilliance of the whole experience," Twilight said. "And all you ponies, who made it real, I admire you from the depths of my heart."

Twilight knew she had the audience captivated.

"But I could never choose sides between Celestia and Luna. I never understood why at one point they ruled together, as friends, but now they suddenly began to fight," Twilight continued. "And now all of Equestria is fighting too. Friendship, in this midnight struggle, seems distant as a mere dream."

A stir of emotion ran through the crowd. Nopony, they all knew, knew more about friendship than Twilight.

"But now it is resoundingly clear. This standing army Luna formed—the worst idea in the history of Equestria!"

"That's RIGHT!" Rainbow shouted.

"This army was not formed for no reason at all. Luna has dark plans, and I believe she is working with Discord. She doesn't want to defend us. She doesn't want that at all. She wants war!"

The crowd murmured; shocked and angry.

"She plans to go to WAR with Earth! With an entire planet!"

"No!" somepony shouted.

"I'm afraid it's true: I heard it from her directly. But fillies and gentlecolts... and friends."

They were hanging on her words.

"WE have the power to stop her. This is a DEMOCRACY now, whether Luna likes it or not!"

The crowd shouted in assent.

"In a democracy, even if you voluntarily choose to join an army, the President cannot send everypony to war without their consent!"

"That's right! It's our CHOICE!" came the response.

"That is why, I say all of us, right now, join together as FRIENDS and march right up to Princess Luna and declare, with all our hearts, that she can NOT go to war with Earth!"

Several ponies stomped at the ground in approval.

"She may not listen. She may even have us imprisoned. But we have no other choice. And I for one, will not stand by quietly while runs roughshod over our rights. The destiny of Equestria is to be decided, by us, right now: this night. Who's with me?!"

The ponies all shouted with approval, and loudly stomped their hooves.

"I knew she could do it," Fluttershy said quietly to herself, a tear in her eye.

---

Discord and Luna had locked themselves away in Ponyville city hall, where they prepared for the culmination of weeks of planning.

"And you think Mr. Zhang will go along with it," Luna said with lingering disbelief.

"Of course he will! Nothing like a good, chaotic war to stir up Earth's economy," Discord said.

"And you know we're supposed to be undermining him," Luna said.

"Well, of course, but that's just a small detail. And with his support, the businessponies will be in the bag. All the power of Equestria is behind you! Earth doesn't stand a chance!"

"You know the legislature is not going to go along with this," Luna added.

"Well yes, of course. But they're the legislature! Not going along with stuff is what they do. You're the real power here. Now, let's go over what you're going to say again."

"Alright," Luna said.

"Ooh this is so fun!" Discord clapped. "Go on, go on."

Luna cleared her throat. "Ponies of Equestria," she began. "I know some of you may disagree with what I am about to say. I know we all cherish peace and friendship."

"They'll just eat this up," Discord giggled.

"But we all know Mr. Zhang is the biggest challenge that Equestria..."

"Threat! Say threat," Discord said.

"We all know Mr. Zhang is the biggest threat that Equestria has seen. And while the bonds of friendship usually demand love, we all know sometimes they demand force."

"Ooh, this is delicious..."

"I was elected leader of Equestria, and as leader, I see clearly the two paths before us. One leads to action, to defend our great nation, and the other leads to inaction. But I cannot let this threat go unchecked. That is why I decree..."

"Here it comes..."

"That Equestria is now at WAR with Earth, and all of its people." Luna stomped her hoof at the word.

"Brilliant. You truly are the ruler of Equestria. Celestia couldn't hold a candle to you."

Luna gulped. Celestia, she thought. My dear sister...

"What's wrong?" Discord asked nervously. "Oh, don't worry about Celestia. I'm sure she's found a new country to rule over. Now, let's address the crowd! I see they've gathered here already, ahead of schedule. This is perfect!"

Luna hardened her resolve. She had planned for this moment since the very beginning—since her first argument with Celestia in the palace. And now was the moment of truth. She left the city hall and took the stage.

Celestia had decided, against her better judgement, to join the crowd. She stood in the back, no longer the graceful ruler of old, but a defeated and disenfranchised pony like everyone else. But she wasn't resentful. She had done what she could—what she thought best. The rest was up to Princess Luna. And despite everything her mind had told her, her heart still clung to the distant hope that Luna was still her sister. So she stood, unnoticed, awaiting her latest decree.

"Show me what a police state looks like!" Rainbow shouted.

"THIS IS WHAT A POLICE STATE LOOKS LIKE!" The ponies responded.

"Show me what a police state looks like!" Rainbow repeated. The crowd responded again.

"War is Luna-cy!" Twilight began the chant. Everypony repeated: "WAR IS LUNA-CY! WAR IS LUNA-CY!"

"Let her speak!" Rarity shouted.

"Yeah!" Spike shouted. "Let her seal her political doom!"

Luna took the opportunity to begin. "Fillies and gentlecolts: I know some of you will disagree with what I am about to say."

"Say what you like! It's your actions we disagree with!" Rainbow shouted.

"We all know Mr. Zhang is the biggest challenge, and threat, that Equestria has seen. And while the bonds of friendship usually demand love, we all know sometimes they demand force."

"It's a lie," Fluttershy said, angrily.

"I was elected leader of Equestria, and as leader, I see clearly the two paths before us. One leads to action, to defend our great nation, and the other leads to inaction. But I cannot let this threat go unchecked."

"This threat YOU INVENTED!" Twilight shouted.

"And that is why, I decree..." Luna looked directly at Twilight Sparkle, and their gazes met, both as firm as stone.

"That you have a CHOICE."

The crowd was shocked to silence. A chill ran through Twilight's spine. Discord was too stunned to speak.

"We are all Equestrians," the dark Princess continued, "And we must stand together as brothers and sisters, and as friends. Fillies and gentlecolts, this is OUR country. Mr. Zhang's country may have been founded on money, but our nation was founded on magic. And no matter how grievous the threats, we must never allow that magic to be broken."

A lump grew in Twilight's throat. Friendship! Luna had understood all along!

"You all know what I would have us do. And you all know the loyal Equestrian army is ready to act at my command. But I cannot rightly order an entire country to war without the consent of the public."

The ponies stared in wonder. Luna looked over the crowd. Suddenly she saw her. Celestia! She'd come! Luna fought back tears.

"Ponies of Equestria!" Luna was filled with hope and confidence. "The time of chaos is over. This gathering before us has proven as much. As for Earth, it is the legislature that has the final decision. I have faith that they, and all of you, will make the right choice."

With that, Luna left. The crowd was too stunned to respond. After a long, silent moment, they began to murmur among themselves.

Rainbow Dash didn't believe a word of it. "The legislature? Discord rules there. How could they possibly make the right choice?"

Twilight considered. "Don't be so sure, Rainbow. Remember, Princess Luna invented democracy. She owns the very word, 'Choice.' It's the whole basis of her campaign."

"But this legislature wants to undo all of that!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Isn't Discord still the head honcho?"

"I'm not sure it's still in his hands," Twilight said, thoughtfully. "Once you unleash chaos you can't put it back or control it."

"How can that be good for us?" Rarity said. "Chaos is just what he wants!"

Twilight's eyes shone with clarity. "That's the brilliance of it! That's what Luna had in mind all along! Democracy isn't made up of just chaos, it's made up of flesh-and-blood ponies WITHIN chaos. And so the wish of everypony will prevail, as long as the ponies themselves allow the spirit of friendship to shine through. And if there's one thing I've learned about friendship, it always does."

"Really?" Rainbow said.

"Always."

And Twilight knew Rainbow understood.

"Well good. I'm still mad about them kicking me out, though," Rainbow said. "I mean are you sure they'll make the right choice? Cause I'm sure I could start my own army... I know I'd make an AWESOME commando..."

"Here we go," Spike rolled his eyes.

---

Discord was shaken by Luna's speech. But it couldn't be true, he thought. He still controlled the legislature didn't he? It was his original idea. The best idea he ever had. It came from HIM. There was no way the ponies would do something he didn't want... but there was only one way to find out. He was going to go to the legislature and see for himself. But when he got there he was met with a series of unwelcome surprises.

First, Mr. Zhang himself had shown up. And he was not happy. Filthy Rich was with him.

"Discord, I want to remind you of something," He said. "I'm the one in control. It's what I do. I'm a controller. And you should know, my little pony, that control always trumps chaos. It's a law of nature."

Discord was uncomfortable. He didn't like to be put in his place.

"Now you promised me you had control over this legislature. All I have to say is, you'd better be right, or your days are up."

"Oh, you're not worried about Luna are you? And that speech? Come on," Discord laughed. (Zhang didn't flinch.) "Luna was just politicking! She's a politician! You can't trust politicians. Believe me, I've known a lot of them."

"I know a lot of politicians too, pony. You say they can't be trusted? Believe me, next to artists, I trust them the least. I hope, for your sake, you're right."

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhang," Filthy said. "Whatever happens, I have the utmost confidence in the economic policies of Planet Earth, and you have my unwavering economic support."

Discord gulped. And was met with another surprise: a pony had taken the podium. They had elected another speaker!

"I call this session to... er..." Derpy-hooves fumbled. "I call this session to beginning...-ness. What should we discuss first?"

The legislature was silent. Discord did not like silence. Finally, a pony dared to speak.

"I move," the pony gulped, "That we apologize to Princess Celestia. We were unfair to her."

"I can't apologize to an establishment pony!" The pony who swore said angrily. "We were founded on anti-establishment principles, and that is my core belief!"

Discord grinned. This might turn out okay after all, he thought.

"You are out of order!" Derpy-hooves said, "Um... I think?"

"Well said, Derpy," said the first pony. "Will the senator from Fillydelphia please take a seat?" He looked sternly at him, and the pony had no choice but to obey.

"The way we've conducted ourselves," the pony continued, "Is nothing short of reprehensible. While I agree that we need to keep the establishment in check, Celestia would never have wanted the complete, utter, and disgusting chaos we brought forth upon this assembly."

Discord flinched.

"Therefore, I second the original motion, and move the previous question."

"Um... that means we vote, right?" Derpy said.

"Yes, Derpy," the pony sighed.

This wasn't going well at all, Discord thought. Not only was there no chaos, but they had invented new rules! He stole a nervous glance at Mr. Zhang, who was biding his time.

"Okay then!" Derpy proclaimed. "All in favor?"

"Aye," the ponies said quietly, faces red.

"All opposed?"

Only one pony didn't say "Aye," but he was too embarrassed to demur.

"Very well... the motion... er... is... moved. We will apologize to Celestia."

"And furthermore," the pony began again, "Owing to the grievousness of our behavior, I think we should suspend all further business of this assembly until we do so immediately."

"That's unfair!" The foul-mouthed pony shouted. "My constituents have more pressing concerns!"

"You don't have any constituents," the first pony declared.

"No kidding," somepony murmured.

"Um... do we have to vote on that?" Derpy was confused. "Um... Oh! We can suspend rules! I move we suspend rules!"

"And apologize immediately," the first pony added.

"I move we suspend rules and apologize immediately!"

"She can't make motions, can she?" One pony said, under his breath, to the pony next to him.

"Who cares? Let's just get this over with," the other pony whispered.

"All in favor?" Derpy asked.

"Aye," the ponies said.

"All opposed?"

Silence.

"Alright! Let's go!" Said Derpy. "Um... where is she?"

"I'm right here," Celestia said, from the gallery. "And you're doing great, Derpy. I couldn't have done better myself."

Perfect, Discord thought. Celestia had shown up, too.

"But there's no need to apologize," Celestia continued. "I wanted you to have chaos. It was my worst mistake. And anyway, there are more pressing matters. I know I have no formal authority, but I think we should decide the matter of the impending war with Earth."

"We don't want a war with Earth, though," Derpy said.

"We have to vote on it, Derpy," a pony legislator said.

"Oh, right. Let's vote on it. All in favor?"

Silence.

"All opposed?"

A resounding, collective "NAY!"

"You can't do that!" Discord sprung to his feet. "The president wants to go to war! You have to do what she says!"

"Sit down, Discord!" said a pony.

"Order in the... er... house!" Derpy shouted.

"You can't order me around! I made you! You're all here because of ME!"

"Kick him out!"

"Would an officer please escort Mr. Discord to the exit?" Derpy said.

"With pleasure," Rainbow Dash said.

Rainbow was here, too? Discord thought incredulously.

"You get that meanie, Rainbow!" Pinkie said.

And Pinkie?! Discord thought.

Discord was filled with rage. "No!! NO!! You ponies... you AURGHHH!! You got it all wrong!! You got... What's HAPPENING?? What's HAPPENING TO ME???"

Suddenly, Discord's body started flickering electrically. Then it started to bubble and change shape. All the ponies gasped.

"NOOOOOO!!!!" Discord screamed.

The hall was filled with a great boom, and a snap, like lightning. Discord went through a variety of weird shapes, then finally settled on a large cube, with each face a mirror, and his shouting changed to a soft hum. All the ponies gazed in wonder, including Rainbow, though she was a tinge disappointed at not having been able to escort Discord to the exit.

"What... is it?" Rainbow asked.

Mr. Zhang was sweating. Whatever Discord had transformed into, he couldn't recognize it. And if I can't recognize it, he thought, I can't put it on assembly lines, I can't put it in boxes, I can't control it...

Filthy Rich closed his gaping jaw. "Huh," he said, thinking, as the humming cube stood suspended in space. Then an idea occurred to him. He walked up to the cube and put his hooves up to touch it.

"Don't touch it!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"I think if I just..." The ponies gasped as Filthy touched it. He put his hooves completely into it. Nothing happened. Then Filthy pulled out a weird rectangle thingy with little cubes on it.

"Yes," Filthy said, "Yes!"

Filthy turned to the legislature. "I know what this is... I know exactly what this is! Look at the thingy I'm holding, everypony!"

"I'm looking... what is it?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh this is great. I could manufacture these, and distribute them using my distribution chain... EVERYpony is going to want to get their hooves on one of these! I'll have to make a couple other thingy-type thingies of course, and we'll have to hook them all together, and we'll have a great big thingy-thingy of thingy-thingies..."

"Yes, but what... IS it?" Rainbow asked impatiently.

"It's a such-thinger! It's a dream-producer! I don't know what to brand it yet," Filthy said. "But all your dreams, you just type them into this thingy here, like this," Filthy began poking at the cubes on the rectangle, "And all the dreams hook together, and go into the cube there," Filthy pointed at the cube, "And then it pops out... like this!" Filthy pulled out a balloon.

"Ooh, a balloon!" Pinkie said.

"But we already HAVE balloons," Rainbow said.

"You don't understand! It's not just balloons... it's ANYTHING! You see, before, whenever a pony wanted to come up with an idea, they had to travel all over Equestria, and they never knew if they'd ever find another pony who shared their dreams, and find investors... and investors are hard to find. Believe me, I know. But now, every pony, everywhere in Equestria, can get one of these," Filthy pointed to the rectangle he held, "And share their dreams instantly!"

"But the balloon disappeared," Pinkie pointed out.

"I think the balloon was an illusion," Celestia said, skeptical.

"Ah yes," Filthy said. "A, um, minor detail. But believe me. I can recognize a business opportunity when I see one. And Everypony is going to want one of these. In fact," Filthy turned to Mr. Zhang, "I think all the Earth people will want one too. I'd be more than happy to go in with you. What do you say?"

"I would never support such an insane idea," Mr. Zhang said. "It's preposterous."

"Very well," Filthy said, disappointed. "I won't get the profits I wanted, but, a minor setback. Everypony, I hereby declare... I am pulling out all my investments in the planet Earth. I invest only in places with imagination, and there is more than plenty of that right here. From now on, I invest only in Equestria!"

The ponies cheered with joy.

"You can do that," Mr. Zhang snarled, "But it'll be the worst mistake of your career. I still have half the ponies of Equestria in my pocket."

"You may have that," Filthy said, "But Equestria is a free market society, and with my money, I can do as I please."

"This isn't over," Mr. Zhang said, and he left the assembly. But the other ponies were too excited to care. Even Princess Celestia found herself caught up in the excitement.

"So I can have... any thing I want?" Rainbow asked.

"Ooh, even chocolate-covered bunny-balloons filled with cake and ice cream?" Pinkie exclaimed.

"It'll only be an illusion," Celestia reminded her.

"But still... that's... pretty cool!" Rainbow said. "Sign me up, Mr. Filthy!"

Celestia was happier than she had ever been. The legislature, which was sort of her idea, turned out to be a good one; and now even the profit-minded Filthy Rich had decided to pull all his investments out of Earth. Perhaps, she dared to think, Equestria might be okay after all! She only regretted that Princess Luna was not here to share this moment with her. But no matter, she would tell her all about it.

Pinkie typed into the rectangle. "I want... a balloon!" She said. And a balloon popped out, then disappeared.

"I want..." Pinkie said, typing again, "Another balloon!" And another balloon popped out, then disappeared.

"Aw, come on Pinkie, you have to think of something really cool. Move over," Rainbow took her space. "I want, a giant dragon with rainbow scales and lightning shooting out of his ears!"

The ponies gasped as what she wanted materialized in front of her, then disappeared. Ah, we can tell Luna later, Celestia thought. It was her turn to wish up something; and it was going to be really captivating. Now, what will it be?