Chapter 1: Diplomacy Degraded
“Nervous, Twilight?”
Twilight stood up straighter, her chest puffed up. “Not at all, Princess Celestia.”
Celestia smiled, nodding her head. Her eyes were trained on the room’s doors, still closed. “Good. This will be your first diplomatic relations… well, serious relations. The Duke and Duchess from Maretonia was more for formality's sake than anything else. Here, we’ll be dealing with true diplomacy.”
“Oooh, I’m so excited! Finally, I get to talk to representative of other countries!” Twilight’s eyes sparkled with an eager spirit. “Discussing trade routes, enacting treaties, sharing technologies and fostering alliances! It’s all I ever dreamed of the moment I became a princess.”
With a chuckle, Celestia patted Twilight’s back with a wing, pushing her down after she had stood up from her seat. “Now, now, Twilight, you can settle down now. This is more a meeting than discussing trade routes or treaties.” Noticing the vigor in Twilight’s eyes die down a bit, Celestia winked. “Oh, but it’s an important meeting, I assure you. The minotaur king himself shall be visiting.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “The king? King Deus Solis? That one? Not just an ambassador or diplomat?”
“Well, the Taurian Kingdom is our friendliest neighbor, so the king likes to make a show of goodwill by visiting himself whenever important discussions such as this are about to take place. Plus, he trusts his own word to make more sound judgements than any diplomat or ambassador out there.”
A few beads of sweat had started to pool around Twilight’s forehead, but she quickly wiped them with her wing so none would notice. Staring at the door, Twilight focused all her attention on it with a careful eye. “Okay. I can do this. First foreign diplomacy with another nation. I can do this.”
Celestia rested a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, there’s no need to be anxious. King Solis can be a bit… well, intimidating at first, but he’s a very kind individual once you warm up to him.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Also, he’s a bit no-nonsense when it comes to politics. When he has that crown atop his head he takes everything as serious as if it were a threat to his very kingdom. So… just try and act like yourself and you should be fine. I’m not entirely sure what this meeting shall go over, since he requested it on such short notice, but I am sure it is nothing you can’t handle.”
Twilight nodded, her neck loosening from its erect position. “I’m sure I can handle something like that. No biggy.”
“Good.”
Twilight turned to look up at Celestia. “Just one question, princess.”
Celestia arched a brow. “Yes, Twilight?”
“Why isn’t Luna with us?”
Celestia opened her mouth, but just as she did so the doors opened up. A single royal guard stepped forward, unrolling a scroll and clearing his voice. “Her Royal Highnesses, Princess Celestia of Equestria and Princess Twilight of Equestria, hereby welcomes His Royal Majesty, King Deus Solis of Taurian: Father of the Golden Accords, Venerable High Priest of the Sun, Honorable Warrior of the Everlasting Sunlight, and Commander of the Army of a Million Horns.”
Stepping to the side, the royal guard made way for the minotaur belonging to such a lengthy introduction. Twilight had only seen minotaurs in pictures and artwork, but almost nothing could prepare her for the real thing.
Solis fit his royal title as king down to the letter, towering over everyone else like a divine being in his own right. Even though ponies weren’t very tall compared to other races in the first place, even Princess Celestia was dwarfed next to this horned giant. He was like a pillar of strength contained in one body, his shoulders wider than the door so that he had to turn his body just to enter the room. His arms were like tree trunks, and the same color too, the plain brown coat of the king surprising to Twilight. His curved horns were a lighter shade of brown, almost like the color of dried mud. Even the king’s eyes were a hazel color. Solis was like the earth, body as large and strong as a boulder, and even his face was as hard and unforgiving as stone.
He wore the more casual attire of his race, that of a long white tunic that reached down to his waist, used in his country to fight back against the heat and suffocating climate. Instead of a robe he wore a leather skirt (used from pigskin if Twilight was correct) cut into individual long pieces, each studded with metal. Over his tunic, Solis had on a bright crimson poncho with gold colored sashes draped over his right shoulder, each depicting a symbol of authoritarian power in the Taurian kingdom: a labrys axe over a rising sun, representing a warrior's might, a crown circling the globe, representing a king's power, and finally the sun's rays shining down on a figure reaching with both hands to the sky, representing the status of high priesthood for minotaurs. The final touch to complete the kingly appearance was a simple gold circle of a crown, spiked along the ridges with no other costly add-on attached.
Approaching the duo, Solis bowed with both hands held up. “Pardon me, your majesties, for the unjust rudeness of keeping you waiting. My train arrived here at a longer interval than intended.”
Celestia waved a hoof over to the cushion placed on the opposite end of the table between her and Twilight. “Please, King Solis, there is no need for an apology. I welcome you to my castle and nation with open arms of friendship.”
“And I accept that welcome with open arms as well." Solis stood up straight, then took his seat on the cushion. Celestia must have had it specially tailored to suit the king’s gigantic size. Even seated, it appeared like he was the adult in the room about to have a tea party with the little ones.
He turned his head to Twilight, his eyes traveling up and down her body, sizing her up. “Ah. This must be the new princess I’ve been hearing so many stories about. It is a pleasure beyond imagination to meet your acquaintance, Princess Twilight.”
Twilight dipped her head and grinned. “It is indeed a pleasure to meet your acquaintance as well, King Solis.”
Resting his hands on his crossed knees, Solis leaned over the table, casting a shadow over the two. “Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, I believe it is time I tell you both the reason for my meeting at such an untimely occasion. That is, if neither of you have anything else to say.”
Celestia shook her head. “Not for me, you can continue.”
“Please, go ahead and tell us the reason behind your visit.”
His fingers began to drum on the table, a nervous twitch the king had never mastered to hide. “Well, it has come to my attention about some troubling news from within your borders. Now, I’m not one to pry on another nation’s troubles. God knows I have enough of my own without having to worry about another’s. Yet…” Solis’s fingers stopped. “There have been accounts where world-threatening dangers have appeared in Equestria, am I correct?”
Celestia and Twilight traded a look. Twilight bit her lip, her muzzle scrunching. Celestia nodded, then turned so that her gaze met with Solis’.
“While that is true that a number of threats had popped up within our borders, Equestrians have dealt with each one of these threats before they could become too dangerous. So the cause of worry is nonexistent in that regard.”
Solis smiled, yet there was no warmth behind that grin. He nodded, tapping a single index finger against the table. “Yes, yes, cause of worry is nonexistent. I can understand that. Truly, I can.”
Solis’ smile fell, replaced with a frown that could crack a boulder in two. “But as the leader of a nation with well over fifty-million inhabitants, I worry. As the ruler of a country right along the border of the place these threats keep on popping up, I worry. As a fretful leader who desperately wants answers as to why this land ruled by ponies can cause such cataclysmic dangers to appear, I worry.”
Solis crossed his arms, muscles bulging like they could tear his skin in two at the seams. “You see, I worry a lot. Not your fault, really, I’m just that type of person.”
Twilight gulped. Her tongue crawled in her mouth, but almost no moisture was available to quench her throat. The hindsight of bringing a water jug to the meeting just occurred to her.
Twilight raised her hoof. “Uh… excuse me. Your majesty.” Solis’ eyes turned to her and suddenly she felt like she was staring into the crosshairs of a crossbow trained on her. “All those dangers you mentioned. I can assure you, they’ve been taken care of. My friends and I handled them personally, I swear to you.”
Solis barked out a laugh, his booming voice echoing within the small confines of the room. He even slammed his hand on the table, causing the floor to shake from the strike. “Oh, yes, you and your friends. Right, I’ve heard reports about you. The new Elements of Harmony I take it?”
“Actually, just the bearers. Each of my friends and myself represents one Element each.” Twilight touched a hoof to her chest. “For instance, I’m the Element of Magic.”
“Well, Element of Magic, answer me this. Let’s say, for instance, one of the bearers died. Your friend gets into a nasty accident, dies of old age, or something worse. What then?” Solis’ brows furrowed. “What then, your highness?”
“I…”
“King Solis, please, there’s no need to bring the Elements into this,” Celestia said. “That isn’t what this meeting was originally intended for.”
King Solis held his hands up, turning towards Celestia and forgetting about Twilight momentarily. “Oh, a thousand apologies, Princess Celestia. I was just wondering how your ‘magical super weapon’ was supposed to keep the latest evil abomination at bay when all it would take is one of them dead to make it completely useless. Pardon me if that thought never occurred to you two.”
“The thought never occurred because we Equestrians have better things to do than think of depressing possibilities. The Elements are safe along with their bearers, and as long as they are there is no threat Equestria can’t face,” Celestia said.
Solis snapped his fingers. “Oh, right, just like how that changeling invasion was so easily wrapped up using the Elements. Am I correct in that assumption?”
Celestia frowned, her wings holding themselves closer at her sides.
“I must say, your capital being invaded by an entire outside army is quite the embarrassment. Some would even call it negligent for the ruler of such a nation to even allow it.” Solis leaned forward, his fingers crossed together and resting on the table. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Is there a point to all this that you’re not getting at?”
Solis leaned back, his fingers still crossed together. He appeared as the picture perfect representation of patience and virtue… composed in a giant’s body. “Oh, the point should have been clear at the beginning. You see, there’s a gap between Equestria and every other country in the world. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it before. And this gap mainly deals with the pesky problem of superiority. You ponies think you’re God’s gift to the earth, like you are worth more than every other nation in this world, like everything belongs to you and anyone else who disagrees is an outcast.” Solis sneered. “You’re a nation built around this perfect little bubble that keeps everything else from entering.”
“That’s not true! Equestria is always open to visitors from any land!” Twilight blurted out.
Solis rolled his eyes, a movement so fast Twilight barely caught a glimpse of it. “That isn’t what I meant, but it’s appreciated that a nation normally depicted as xenophobic has open borders to other races. What I meant is that you are independent to the international community. Something that could threaten the entire globe could happen in your country and no other nation would be none the wiser. Now, how do you think that makes me feel?”
Solis tapped a hand larger than Twilight’s head against his chest. “It took me months to learn that Discord had been freed from his statue. You know what it is like having no answer to your people when they ask why the sun and moon won’t stop setting and rising in the sky? Or what about Tirek, hmm? One of the most dangerous individuals in history that could suck the magic and life out of a nation dry. You know what I had to do to dig up that little incident that happened with him?”
Celestia held up a hoof. “But King Solis, like I’ve been trying to tell you before, Equestria has dealt with these problems in a timely matter and we’re no worse the wear.”
“And what if you didn’t?” Solis laid both his hands on the table, leaning forward like a tsunami about to fall. “What if the Elements had failed? You basically entrusted such a high power in the hands of six young, untrained mares with not an inch of military experience between all of them. There are so many possibilities of them failing. And what then? That danger continues to grow, and then gets out of hand before it’s put down properly. I and every other nation out there never gets clued in on this; we’re left in the path of the storm without even a warning!”
Twilight rose from her seat, a hoof held on the table. She didn’t even remember getting up. “I’ll have you know the Element bearers are much more than ‘six young, untrained mares.’ My friends and I have saved Equestria and the world countless times over, and all you can do is criticize us? I think a ‘thank you’ is in order, or at least appreciation of the troubles we went through to save the world!”
Solis remained seated, his eyes pacing over Twilight like she was a minor inconvenience. “Such high and mighty words from a mare who was willing to betray her own country and possibly the entire world just to save seven individuals.”
Twilight’s face grew red. “What did you say?”
“When Tirek had you on the ropes, did he not make you a deal? Your magic for your friends. I believe that was the pact he offered.” Solis pointed a finger at Twilight. “And you took it. You gave up one of your only chance to beat him just to save seven lives.”
“How do you know this?”
Solis smirked. “After the changeling incident, I decided being left in the dark was no longer wise. Let’s just say I have my ways. Now, did you or did you not sacrifice your nation just for seven lives?”
“It’s because I saved those seven lives that Tirek was defeated in the first place,” Twilight said through gritted teeth.
“But did you know that? When you accepted the deal, did you know for sure that Tirek would get defeated by saving your friends?” Solis smiled at Twilight’s unchanging expression. “You didn’t, did you? You were perfectly willing to give Tirek the power to rule over the world like a god just to save your friends. Noble indeed, but idiotic.”
“You call saving my friends idiotic?” Twilight sputtered. “You would’ve done the same thing in those circumstances.”
Solis sighed. “Even if Tirek had my wife and my only son as offerings, I wouldn’t have accepted his deal. I would have kept the magic. I would have done everything in my power to defeat him, even if it cost my family’s life.”
Twilight’s head slowly shook side to side. “How… how could you be so selfish?”
“How could you, Princess Twilight? You’d sacrifice your entire country and possibly the whole world just for a few lives? Those are qualities that do not make a good leader.” Solis tapped his fingers on the table, looking at Twilight like she wasn’t even there, that just a vessel with her name but no face stood in her place. “Think over that, will you?”
“I believe this discussion has gone on long enough, King Solis,” Celestia said, dragging down Twilight to a sitting position.
“Yes, I do believe it has. I’ll cut right to the chase then.” His fingers continued to drum against the table. “The Taurian kingdom shall no longer be doing business in the Equestrian markets. Our trade routes shall be put on hold and all diplomacy shall be cut off completely. Visitors from either nation are still free to travel for either of our countries, that is the highest limit I shall allow for interaction between our governments. Only when you are willing to compromise and actually come out of your isolationist mindset that I shall lift these bans.”
Celestia’s and Twilight’s jaws nearly dropped to the floor. A silence more imposing that Solis’ presence hung over the room, weighing down on everyone like gravity had been increased twofold.
“B-but… but you can’t do that! Equestria depends on Taurian coal for our railroads!” Celestia said. “Not to mention that your own nation depends on Equestria wheat and barley!”
“I have made a deal with the diamond dog President of the United Undertown Nations for all the wheat and barley my country needs. It’ll be more expensive, but I believe my nation can manage.”
“But what do you hope to accomplish by this?” Twilight asked. “This is obviously not benefiting neither of our countries. So why do it?”
“Because, Princess Twilight, this is my official ‘sword buried in the sand.’ Or, like it is said in your country, my final proposal. I want direct warnings of anything going on in Equestria that could be potentially threatening to my own country. Along with that is the ability to send in my soldiers to take down any threats that occur within your borders that could potentially harm my own nation.”
Celestia held a hoof against her cheek. “That’s madness! You can’t seriously think I’d accept an offer like that?”
“No, I do not. That’s why I made it.” Solis got up from his seat, brushing the lines out of his tunic. “Equestria has become weak, and I wish to cut off from this weakness before it consumes my nation as well.”
“Equestria is anything but weak,” Twilight said, rising back up from her seat.
Solis arched a brow at her. “You think magic makes you strong? You think because you alicorns move the sun and moon mean you control everything underneath them? I have hundreds of royal conjurers at my beck and call. I could summon the fighting force of half a million soldiers in only a few week’s time. Armies, magic, weapons, none of these make a nation strong. The integrity of its leaders do. And for Equestria…” Solis glanced to Celestia, frowning, “that integrity has been dead far longer than I’ve been around.”
With another bow to the princesses, Solis turned away from the two. “Get your country under control and realize the universe doesn’t revolve around just your nation and we may just be able to talk under more reasonable terms. Until then, you have my best wishes, your majesties.” He walked to the door and departed from the room, the stiff opposition of a monumental force suddenly gone.
Both princesses took a breather. Twilight stared down at her hooves, while Celestia constantly rubbed at her tired eyes with her hooves.
“Princess Celestia, I’m sorry about my behavior earlier. That was unprofessional of a princess, and unprofessional for myself.”
Celestia sighed, withdrawing her hooves. “I do not blame you, Twilight. King Deus Solis is one of the most troubling leaders I’ve ever had to work with. He’s more stubborn than the Grand Duke of Muleopolis. And right now, he seems adamant about turning Equestria’s isolation on top of its head, or else.”
“Then what do we do?”
Celestia stared silently at the door, biting the edge of her hoof, her own nervous habit coming to fruition. “Discuss this with the nobles in the court, I suppose. Without the Taurian coal supply, our domestic transportation system along with trade system using the railroads would crumble in a matter of weeks. That could be all the convincing they need to agree to Solis’ terms.”
“And you, princess?”
She shrugged, hoof returning to her side. “I really don’t know, Twilight. What Solis said made a lot of sense. Perhaps he can be too controlling, but in the long run he deeply cares about his country’s survival, and Equestria’s isolationism isn’t benefitting us in the long run. Perhaps agreeing to his terms would be better than what we have now, perhaps not.”
Twilight pressed a hoof against her chin. “Couldn’t we… just tell Solis he can’t do that?”
“How? Solis seems very unwaivable in his resolve.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “Pretty typical for him, actually. Like I said, he’s very serious about the rulings of his kingdom. He was practically born to rule.”
“No, no, I mean, what’s stopping us from forcing him to continue trades with us?” Twilight rolled her hoof in the air. “You and Luna control the sun and moon. Can’t you just turn off the sun for a day? That’d surely convince him that messing with Equestria is a bad idea.”
Celestia stared at Twilight with an unblinking gaze. Finally, after several seconds she shook her head and rubbed her temples. “I’d expect such a suggestion from a fool noblepony, but from you, Twilight? Do you even consider the consequences such an act would cause?”
“But Princess—”
“Because I have. A thousand times over. It’s just not that simple, Twilight. It never is.” Celestia arched her head back and sighed. “If I do such a thing to the minotaurs, not only would they be outraged, but every other race in the entire world. I’d be abusing my power. That’s all the excuse some nations need. Do you want Equestria to be attacked on all sides by every power-hungry country that has a sword and ship?”
“Can’t we just use our mag—”
“Magic doesn’t solve everything, Twilight,” Celestia said. “It can’t protect my little ponies from an invasion on all sides by every nation in the world. Not all of them. I won’t risk my country’s safety just to one-up Solis.”
Twilight winced, her ears drooping. “I’m sorry, princess. I never… I never meant to say that.”
“No, it’s not your fault, Twilight. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. Solis, well, he just knows how to push my buttons. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. You’re still so new to this.” Celestia got up from her seat. “I really must speak with Luna.”
Twilight got up from her seat as well, quick to lay a hoof on Celestia’s side. “Princess, before, when I asked why Luna wasn’t at the meeting, what were you going to tell me?”
Celestia regarded Twilight with a steady, unblinking eye. After a few seconds, she looked away, another sigh escaping her lungs. “The king isn’t just the leader of Taurian’s politics. He is also the head of their religion—if the High Priest in his title didn’t already make sense. They worship a Sun god, or rather, the God, as they put it. Their entire culture and way of life revolves around worshiping this one entity and acting under its tenants of righteousness. This makes the minotaur people very honorable and trustworthy for most… well, at least the deeply religious ones.”
“So what does that have to do with Luna?”
Even though her eyes were now closed, Celestia was swimming through a sea of images, some centuries old. “When she tried to send the entire world into eternal night, she did this on the Summer Sun Celebration. However, for the Taurians, that day is known as Solem Deus, the most holy day of their calendar. It is preceded by weeks of fasting and prayer, and once the sun rises on that fateful morning, the entire nation rejoices and becomes merry with joy.”
Twilight felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Oh no…”
“When the moon did not set and the sun did not rise at the right time, the people had thought the apocalypse was accurring. When the truth had been brought to life, too much damage had occurred for an apology to save face. Too much death, too.”
Twilight could now feel that sinking feeling in her legs, threatening to drag her through the floor. “But that’s the first time. Nightmare Moon came back, then the Elements first gathered together to defeat her.”
“Yes.” Celestia’s ears drooped to the floor, her eyes clouded in misery. “King Solis had already sprung to action the moment he sensed something was amiss. Reports indicate there was only minimal destruction because of his timely response dispersing troops to keep the crowds controlled. But ever since either incidents, Solis had requested never to be in the same room with Luna. So far I’ve convinced him she poses no threat and even lied about saying she hadn’t been granted any political power yet, but this incident indicates he’s becoming one for the wiser.”
“This is all so confusing and conflicting,” Twilight said, following Celestia to the door.
Celestia smiled. It was strained and troubled, but it was a smile nonetheless. “Welcome to foreign diplomacy, Twilight. It just gets worse from here on out, trust me.”
“Then how do you deal with it?”
“One day at a time, Twilight.” Celestia’s grin fell. “One day at a time…”
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Aleksandr Sherbet · 1.6k words · 9 2 · 502 views
- Matthew Penn · 1.8k words · 17 1 · 572 views
- RainbowBob · 4.3k words · 228 26 · 3.6k views
- Bad Horse · 1.5k words · 360 11 · 3.8k views
- Tramper · 11k words · 35 3 · 1.4k views
- overlord-flinx · 6k words · 87 5 · 2.4k views
- ocalhoun · 1.4k words · 503 39 · 8.4k views
- Majin Syeekoh · 5.8k words · 230 30 · 4.3k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.228 seconds
Total duration
962 users online
1,243,371 hits today, 2,314,256 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Looks about as good as it did when I first saw it, so, nice work.
Yes, that is supposed to be a compliment.
Also, it's occurred to me by now that I've never kept track of my favorite (or at least, "least disliked") stories, however few and far between those may be. I should probably start doing that...
~Blinkie
I quite like this, as Celestia can throw Equestria into danger all she wants to teach Twilight lessons, but she isn't allowed to throw the international community into danger to teach Twilight lessons.
Oh, lookie what we have here, a rookie trying to be princess of the year.
Yep, still rings all the right bells. Might be my bias towards... *ahem* certain episodes that makes me like this so much, though.
I thought that Solis came across as outright whiny. I mean, he had very good reasons for his demands, but he really overdid it on the sass, and I don't like him. That's not to say that he's badly written, though.
Now, the ending was downright impressive. Just enough worldbuilding to make it work, but not enough to distract from the core of the story.
Also, this story reminds a little bit of The Voice of Reason.
I liked Solis. He was actually Quite Reasonable. Much more than other leaders of other nations normally shown in fics.
5023161
Thanks for the tip, will try to cut down the whine factor for him if I ever decide to use him again.
I could not find anything wrong with what Solis said or the way he said it.
Twilight was completely in the wrong. When you are ruler, you have to put the people as a whole and the nation first. You won't like it and it'll haunt you at night, but that is the price of being a good ruler.
I think that you could really expand your writing potential by making this a full-fledged story. Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it as it is, but most of your stories are one-shots. This has the potential to be so much more, and it would be a shame to see it go to waste, especially in the hands of such a capable author.
10/10
Is that a jab towards the recent HiE fics?
Man, was this a good story, it made so much sense! Excellent as always Bob!
But what I'm wondering is, why didn't Celestia just except Solis's deal? It sounds reasonable enough. She just sends a letter anything a new threat to the world pops up and he sends in some troops. And if the Mane 6 are doing their job right, the threat should be beat by the time they even get the chance to get there, and if any of the Minotaur soldiers do something they aren't suppose to, Celestia cancels the deal. Its a pretty solid deal.
5023262
Idk.
But I would say: ok, let's see your nation have complete peace and save the world too while you're at it. Oh, what's that? You haven't saved the world once? Ok, now stop talking out your ass."
Odd that the minotaur king's name is "Sun God" (Deus Solis), and Celestia says "They worship a Sun god, or rather, the God, as they put it," and yet he feels safe yelling at her and her protege despite the fact that she controls the sun he worships. He even acknowledges this fact, so either he's far less religious than he lets on, or it's a bluff.
In the end this isn't about the Elements or the monster of the week; the King wants an excuse to mass troops on the Equestrian border which could enter Equestria any time he deems there to be a threat, and he's holding their coal supplies hostage to extort an agreement.
Celestia (or Twilight) should have responded in kind: "We accept your offer. We'll notify you of any large-scale threats that arise in Equestria and we'll allow your troops to assist in quelling whatever crisis arises." She grins and adds, "And if we hear of any threats originating in Taurian territory, we reserve the right to mobilize our armies and cross your borders to deal with the threat to our satisfaction."
As a wise ruler once said,
content6.flixster.com/question/45/06/08/4506088_std.jpg
"It would be unfortunate if I have to leave a garrison here."
5023409
You.
I like you.
Beautiful comment.
I'm always a fan of the apparent superior being knocked down a few notches, bi it physically or metaphorically.
Good job, bob.
An interesting read. I like all the little touches of world-building here. If you're considering writing a long series, this just might be a good starting point. However, this also reads like a response to stories about Equestria kicking ass all the time. In fact, it reads like a direct response to Warmongering.
Feathery appendage...oh, you mean a wing. Call it a wing then, mister smarty-pants.
This may just be me, but I don't think acting casually around someone who is very serious and uptight is a good way to foster good relations.
In terms of eye color, hazel is light brown with a greenish mixture to it. It's nowhere near black. This description makes no sense.
This is actually an excellent opportunity to add some color to the taurian culture. What counts as a symbol of authoritharian power to a minotaur? I'm guessing sun symbols, but I can only guess because nothing specific is mentioned.
This makes no sense. She welcomed him to her castle and nation. So does that mean he welcomes her back? But it isn't his castle/nation.
While I like the arguments that Solis brings to the table, his constant use of "downright" goes against his regal bearing, especially when he's described as a very serious person.
5023440
I made some corrections to the story, and thanks for the comment on how to do it! I also added a bit about minotaur symbols, which was a good tip for adding. And while I did read Warmongering and didn't particularly enjoy it, this was written about two to three days earlier, and more in response to A Letter to the Griffon Emperor on the Matter of War and How an Actual Human Vs Pony War Would Go. Both showcase either FUCK YEAH PONIES or FUCK YEAH HUMANS easily throwing down the opposite side without much thought put into the actual story itself. Basically, they're lazy, and don't really consider the real diplomacy or politics that go into wars or discussions between foreign nations. I tried to change that up with more insight to how pony and another race's relations would go down. But in any case, it was fun to write it!
Politics is always messy when it gets above pass the salt please.
As for the trains burning Minotaur sourced coal, maybe this would be one incentive for Twilight to look into turning up the light spell on a magically charged, orbetter still, energised gem, so instead of a chemical reaction throwing out thermal radiation, they get a small amount of locally sourced matter, throwing out a lot ofmagically triggered thermal radiation.
After all, nuclear power stations are just giant kettles, just like coal fired power stations.
If you have magic, trade magic items that end up necessities. then, anyone causing problems will be cutting their own line of supplies. Your problem then is keeping advanced enough throughconstant research and development. Like Japan.
The mlp trains are tiny and have no tenders, I always assumed they already ran on friendship or some other ridiculous fuel. But either way changing the threat item to anything else would still have the desired effect and is just me nitpicking a great story.
5023263
Because having foreign troops on your soil is usually not a favorable thing unless they are allies or some sort of mutual defense pact.
As for the King's other points, I'd say there are valid. I get the feeling the King just wants Equestria to think about the world outside and stop keeping world ending things secret.
5023649 Yes, but then everyone despises you.
Like Japan.
~ TOOWC
(I'm just kidding, btw)
If Celestia doesn't want to accept the deal, she could just trade with the United Undertown Nations. They'll have plenty of coal from their trade with the Taurian Kingdom, and they'd be happy to get food they can sell to the Taurian Kingdom.
I never quite understood how trade embargos are supposed to work.
I fucking love this king. This is how a proper ruler should act. Not some pissing, prancy, pink pony princess. No, he is the ruler of race, the chosen of his people. Every word he spoke was beautiful and deserves to go down in history. I would go fucking gay for this guy. He is awesome.
I'm curious how Celestia thinks other countries would be able to invade Equestria when she can just not raise the sun for them either. Are they supposed to have their own ways off controlling it?
Also seems odd that they didn't mention that Discord is on their side now.
5023906 Almost no country on Earth has, or even been, or ever truly will be truly self-sustainable. Almost every single country that's larger than a few miles has to have some kind of trade route set up in order to get raw goods, food, luxury items such as silk/cloth etc.
I'm probably not explaining it very well, but what I'm trying to say is that for a nation as large as Equestria would be, the sheer amount of logistics and manpower required in order to set up a proper self-sustaining economy would be monumental, or even impossible, thereby making trade a much more viable thing to do in order to get what they need.
5024004
Discord is on no side other than his own. Which is the best side, and most handsome. :V
5024027
And the season four finale established him as genuinely caring about his pony friends. Which would seem to preclude letting them be invaded, conquered and deposed.
5024014
I'm not saying Equestria should be self-sustaining. From what I understand, the Tauran Kingdom is planning on doing the trading they would have done with Equestria with the United Undertown Nations. If they're selling coal to the United Undertown Nations, they can't stop them from turning around and selling it to Equestria.
There is a market price for coal. It doesn't matter who sells to who. They'll all buy it and sell it at the same price.
I can clop to this
Now I know why I dislike this King. Cause we're similar.
I kind of want some comeuppance against him, solely for the more direct insults he made towards Equestria, Twilight and Celestia though despite his wanting to keep his kingdom safe.
I like this. It broached on subjects I myself wondered about. One like for you.
5024207 You perv
I read the king with a thick Scottish highland accent. It was glorious.
This Twilight is pretty dumb for a princess.
My only complaint about this story is that it's complete
Featured on 09/19/2014.
Solis was reasonable, sure. But I think this story tread dangerously close to having him win his argument by fiat rather than reasonableness. There actually were some reasonable rebuttals that Twilight could have brought up to his points, but Solis got to make his pronouncements and threats and then he dropped the mic and walked away without giving her opportunity to raise them. That's not diplomacy, that's grandstanding and bullying.
If Equestria truly needs to bolster its national military/industrial might it's to deal with Solis rather than to deal with the likes of Discord and Tirek (which as Twilight pointed out repeatedly are a sort of threat that they've got a good handle on). Does Solis really think that an army would have been the best way to deal with those guys? Armies are suited to dealing with other armies, not with gods. I guess next time a malevolent god shows up Equestria will need an army to keep the Minotaur invaders from screwing up their efforts to defeat it, so there's that.
I also question how it is that Twilight's never met a minotaur before when they have a truly vast population (50 million with an 18th century tech level is *huge*) and such close trade ties with Equestria that cutting them off will ruin the economy. We've seen way more griffons in the series than we have minotaurs, and Rarity commented "how rare!" when she found out that Rainbow Dash's friend was a griffon. But perhaps I'm getting too deep into the worldbuilding here.
5024004
Well if Unicorn magic can control it, there might be other kinds of magic in the setting, which would allow for others to control it as well. Which is my belief anyways because hearing "Well they'll just drop the sun on them" sounds stupid because that would end the planet.
King Solis is weak and his county is weak and brittle and his tactics and weak, brittle and short-sighted. How sad. This makes me smile. I make this comment not with contempt but with experience. Good job Rainbow Bob! King Solis feels like a real life political character in the vein of our "great" leaders in this world. Not all of them... but enough of them.
5024453
No goddamnit. Bad chono, baaaaaaaaad.
5024737
That occurred to me, yeah, but they probably wouldn't know they could control the sun until they'd tried it out. Which they can't really do as long as Celestia controls it. And "We're pretty sure this will work" isn't a lot of confidence for "making sure the sun keeps rising" level important things.
That said, really I don't think you should assume that Equestria's sun is a gigantic ball of super hot gases way off in space as opposed to a chiller version of the sun from Super Mario Bros 3. This is a fantastic setting, after all.
5024753
It's your fate now RainbowBob, thanks to the box reviews and your blog we are now all aware of your burning hatred for Featured on ///, I predict there be somebody writing that for every single story you write in the future that gets featured.
5024453
That's not enough. Try something like this.
There is more to this than His Majesty is saying.
If he were interested in this agreement, then he wouldn't be so antagonistic. He doesn't want one. He wants something else.
If the princesses bow, he can say that he flicked the noses of gods and got away with it. He can show that he is strong, and mighty. This will give him and his country standing. This is worth a lot. The fact that he can send in his army whenever he wants is a nice bonus and helps with a rapid strike. As for the excuse, if Celestia refuses, he may have a sufficient excuse to wage war on Equestria. If he truly can send in millions (which I doubt very much) at a moments notice then that suggests that he has been preparing for war for some time.
(PS if Equestria is denied coal then the only logical choice is for Equestria to go to war with Taurus for the coal they need. Either way, War is inevitable.)
5024768
Whelp.
Time to go drink myself into a stupor again.
5024755
Well we do know that the Sun wasn't created by Celestia at the least, she just moves it and gains a slight boost to her magic from it (Journal of the two pony sisters)
I wonder if she could even actually bring it closer to the earth... Or why the sun needs to be moved in the first place.
I always thought the political world of Equestria and surroundings intriguing, since all we know from the world is one culture that is indeed very isolated despite being in the center of a whole continent.
I like Solus as a character, though he brings up valid points his judgement of how to deal with the threats Equestria faced is painted by abscence of knowledge. Nobody could have predicted a changeling invasion, as they seemed pretty much under Celestia's radar, and she's been around for a while. Discord would have made short work of any army, and destroying Nightmare Moon might've caused the moon to go out of control and would've left them without a chance to get Celesta back. And Tirek? Really, I don't think that, in the end, a minotaur army would've done that much and even Twilight was only on par with. It was more of a gamble, because who knows what might've happened had they continued their fight.
He probably didn't think about it, seeing how boisterous he is. His way is the right way, the pony's are wrong because, you know, look at them. They're tiny horses.
The matter of religion is always intriguing, especially when you've got two actual people controlling the sun and the moon. It's a bit strange that Celestia isn't held with some sort of reverence, as she is essentially the woman who makes the sun get up in the morning, but maybe they just differentiate between the god and some puny horse. I don't know.
Also, sun not going up at the right time = instant anarchy. I love it.
This is a well-written one shot with quite a few layers to it. I'd say that it is well-paced and the characters act in accord. I liked how the politics were presented as based on emotions, seeing how easily Solus managed to upset Twilight and Celestia, while also getting more smug as the story went on. Yet, of course, valid questions were presented and it shows just how easily it is to upset whole nations just by saving the world and getting self-righteous about it.
10/10, would buy noodles again.
Also: Congratz on the feature box, your fic is now terribad.
researchismagic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Twilight_Sparkle_Hipster_Glasses-n13130614707551.png
5024824 So he's threatening to start a war with a country that utilizes high level weaponized magic, has air superiority, and well trained ground troops? Is he mad or just stupid? That, at least, is the diplomatic version.
The Wonderbolts, and hence, Equestrian air forces are pretty pathetic. The Wonderbolts, which have been alluded to as the best of the best, cannot outmaneuver a land-bound dragon. The Royal Guard was unable to repel a changeling attack with several minutes head-up. To be fair they got zerged, but a little bit of better training, decentralized shield casting, and even just slightly better weapons would have turned the tide on that one, hinting at incompetence among the higher command and truly horrible training. The Guard was stubborn and kept up the fight, I'll give them that, but they lost. They lost before the shield fell, and that's knowing the Changeling attack was a tactical nightmare.
If a quarter of Solis's boasts about the Taurian military are true, Equestria will lose the war within about three months. It will be embarrassing. A thousand years of peace has caused the Guard to be more for show than anything else.
Solis could have easily been punctured. First he complains that Celestia is too dependent upon the Elements, that they are at risk--- then he complains that Twilight doesn't sacrifice them all for a momentary battlefield advantage? And that's all it would have been; the instant after Tirek killed them, the battle would have continued... and Twilight WOULDN'T have been able to defeat him, because the only ones capable of releasing the power necessary to defeat him would have been dead. He also needs to be reminded that the magic of Equestria runs on harmony and friendship, and one of its key elements is LOYALTY. Tossing her friends under the bus would have made her lose control over the Element of Magic itself.
Someone needed to remind Solis the fate of one is shared by all. a King who sacrifices innocents for a transient gain is no king at all.
And it is very, VERY odd for a supposed priest of the Sun to be pissing off the one who lobs it through the sky like a baseball every day. I suppose that's probably the gripe point for him: It rankles him that his "deity" is, in reality, a mere bauble controlled by a frail little princess. Makes you wonder what fabulous lies he and the other priests tell the Minotaurs to keep them from flipping out and ending his theocracy-- or worse, running off to make Celestia their high priestess.
If this story were to continue, I suspect Celestia and Twilight would have to realize that Solis was deliberately pushing them, and he expects, no wants them to push back.
To start off with, Celestia should have had Luna there. Luna is a co-regent of Equestria; making her hide in her room like a naughty filly to protect Solis' hurt feelings was a blatant show of weakness. Having DISCORD there too would have put Solis even further back on his heels-- and reminded him that the Elements of Harmony were not the only forces at Equestria's beck and call.
Second, Celestia needs to line up alternatives-- and have them readily available to trot out to show Solis, or ANY diplomat, that Equestria is not totally dependent on any of them for anything. For example, how hard would it be, really, to heat the boilers in those trains with magic? Especially with a princess who has a direct tie to the Sun? It already fuels everything on the planet; it would just be a matter of skipping a few intermediary steps and transferring a microscopic smidgen of that power directly to the boilers on the trains. (Really, all of Equestria should be solar powered, for just that reason. And they wouldn't be doing anything more than tapping their own share of power--- which falls on them already--- directly from the source for greater efficiency.) In the end, Equestria's wheat, a food product, is a lot easier to trade to other races than coal, which is only useful to nations with a coal-burning infrastructure.... which would put Solis, rather than Celestia, over a barrel.
Third, Celestia needs to make it unequivocal: any attempt to put foreign troops on Equestrian soil would be regarded as an act of war, and Solis would regret it. Briefly.
Finally, after the stick, comes the carrot: concessions. Equestria DOES need better communication networking with other nations, a stronger military, more diverse and robust national defenses and weapons. If Twilight couldn't whip up a network of two-way magic mirrors, I'd eat my hat. And Solis wants a military presence in Equestria? Fine, so long as an equally sized and armed Equestrian force is allowed in his kingdom, within firing range of the Capital. That should serve as sufficient deterrent to him getting ambitious or excitable.
5023906 Badly. Setting a trade embargo--- and to a lesser degree, setting tariffs--- is basically laying siege to your own nation. You raise prices, strangle the economy, and even with tariffs are still gaining less than you lose to lost opportunities.
5024893
5024898
I like you. I've noticed a lot of people mistake "Diplomacy" for "Playing nice." Rather, diplomacy is the art of war continued by other means. Trying to get people to realize that Tia has been around for over a thousand years and she should be able to play pretty much any of the mortal rulers like a fiddle seems to be pretty hard.