The Years Before the Storm, Part 3
The Years Before the Storm: Part 3
The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria
January 31, 1809
The sun yet again slowly rose as the citizens of Equestria, as Celestia yet again watched from the palace in Canterlot. With a sigh, she slowly turned away from the beautiful sight to rejoin the other three Princesses at the council table.
“We seem to be spending a lot of time here, lately,” she remarked, half amused. Indeed, all four of the Princesses of Equestria had noticed that they had been getting considerably less sleep since the signing of the Equs-Grifoni Pact. Looking around, Princess Celestia noticed everypony had dark circles under their eyes. Poor Twilight even looked positively dead on her hooves, though she would deny it to everypony.
She’s still little more than a filly, Celestia remembered, deciding that the young Princess deserved a twenty-four hour block of sleep when their session concluded. After a piece of cake, of course.
Turning her thoughts away from the new Princess, Celestia sighed and turned to Princess Cadance. “What news?”
Princess Cadance cleared her throat and said, “As everypony here knows, I spent the last two or so years exploring this continent, looking for human activity.”
“And?”
Cadance hesitated for a long moment. Breathing a heavy sigh, she said, “As I headed east over the land, I did find several small villages with these humans.”
Both Celestia and Luna let out a heavy sigh.
“That’s not all,” Cadance warned. “The farther east one travels, the denser these humans are packed. As one gets farther and farther away from Equestria, cities become more and more numerous, and more and more dense. I saw at least two cities that could rival Manehattan in population.”
Princess Celestia looked down, running a few internal calculations. “So, you didn’t go south?” she asked.
“No,” replied Princess Cadance.
“Alright,” said Celestia. “Estimate on human population?”
Here, Princess Cadance shifted uncomfortably, then said, “In the regions I saw, at least three million. Probably a lot more, though.”
“Hmm.”
Princess Luna spoke up, saying, “And...and their military. What did you get on that?”
Cadance grimaced. “Strong. Exactly how strong, I can’t say, but I estimate at least twenty thousand troops. The country also possesses many thousands of cannons other artillery pieces. More are produced each day.”
Luna let out a low whistle. Celestia didn’t blame her. All of Equestria had only fifty-three cannons at the time, and half of them were falling into disrepair.
“Should we be alarmed?” asked Celestia.
The Princess of Love hesitated for a moment, considering everything she had seen. “...Most likely not,” she said, carefully weighing what the deployments had looked like. “Most of the troops were stationary, with a few moving north. I don’t believe I saw a single unit trekking west.”
Luna exhaled heavily in a sigh of relief, a sentiment that Celestia shared. “Well, that’s good,” Luna said. “Now, what are our next moves from here?”
“Fixing the ward around Equestria should be a priority,” said Cadance.
“It should,” agreed Princess Celestia.
“But. Princess, didn’t you say that fixing the spell could very well be impossible? We still don’t have the Elements,” said Twilight.
“Indeed,” said Celestia. “But it should be said that there is also a chance of the spell succeeding. However…”
“However?”
Here, Celestia allowed something of a sheepish grin to shine through her armor. “However, I put the spell in place so long ago that I barely remember its structure, or anything else of note about it. It...it might take some studying and analyses to replicate.”
“Just how much analyses?”
“Oh, not too much. One or two years should do it.”
October 10, 1809
Kingdom of Griffonia
The humans, sweating prolifically, shifted one of the wood planks on the top of the building they had been laboring on. When the group leader had decided that it was in the proper place, he barked out a quick order, and the humans grabbed a hammer and set of nails each. Then, they proceeded to position the nails over the board and drive them into the wood with the hammer.
As the Griffon King observed this, the thought occurred to him that the humans were almost done. As far as he could tell, the building had taken a definite shape, glass windows were in place, and a large flagpole had been constructed in front of the structure.
Standing and watching, he dimly heard one of the humans yell, “It’s done, boys!” and the subsequent cheer. Taking slow steps, he started to investigate the exterior of the building.
He quickly ran into the human leader, as the building crew got down from their position of work. Before the human could say anything, the Griffon King quickly asked, “It is done?”
“Indeed,” replied the human. “The Embassy of the United States is fully built. All that’s left is to raise the flag over it, and it’s official.”
“If only it was a little farther away from the palace,” the King muttered. He didn’t anticipate the building would be so large. Pushing the wish aside, the griffon opened his mouth and asked, “When can I expect the diplomatic mission to arrive?”
“I sent for them three and a half months ago, in anticipation of our completion. If they departed right away, they should arrive within a few weeks. More likely, though, that they will arrive a bit later.”
“So, what will happen with you now?”
“Us? We will return to the United States. We have done our task.”
“Good.” The King turned away without another word and returned to the palace.
About three and a half months earlier…
Robert R. Livingston, age 63, knocked on the door to the office.
“Come,” came the call from within.
The elderly man opened the door to reveal the newly elected President of the United States: James Madison. The fellow Democratic-Republican stood at the sight of Livingston, saying, “Mister Livingston! Welcome.”
Livingston walked in, saying, “You asked to see me, Mister President?”
“Yes. But before we began, I should tell you that everything we are about to discuss is absolutely and completely confidential. Any discussion about this with anyone else can and will be prosecuted as treason.”
Livingston blinked, then said, “I understand.”
“Good.” The President studied the other man for a moment, then asked, “What do you know about the Pacific Northwest?”
December 22, 1809
Kingdom of Griffonia
“Remind me, why are we doing this?” asked King Odrynn.
His counselor looked at him, taken slightly aback. “Sir, it is polite to receive diplomats in a formal ceremony.”
“Polite. Ha!” the King grumbled. After a moment, he turned to face the doors, saying, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this over with.”
With that, he walked out the palace doors into the streets of his into the blaring of trumpets. The human stood across the road, flanked by a Griffonian honor guard. It should be noted that the honor guard was armed with real, standard issue swords and spears of Griffonia, not with the ceremonial weapons usually issued to guards operating such situations.
The King still had his doubts.
Watching the proceeding was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria. The King had invited them to witness the ceremony, as friends of Griffonia.
As the ring of the trumpets slowly faded away, the human diplomat slowly moved forward, stepping in concert with the guards. The griffon studied him intently as he approached. He stood a little taller than the King, and carried himself proudly. To the griffon’s eye, he looked rather old.
When the human was about arm’s reach from the King, he stopped. Livingston then pulled a small bundle of papers - bound by a sheet of leather - out from one of the many folds in his clothing. Inclining his head, he offered them to King Odrynn, saying, “I present these, my letters of accreditation to you, Great King Odrynn, in hopes that my service here will lead to lasting peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Griffonia.”
Reaching out, the King grabbed the papers. He then made a show of examining them. In reality, the papers had already been carefully examined by him. But ceremonies were ceremonies, and the demands of courtesy had to be met.
After looking at them for the appropriate interval, the King lowered the papers, made eye contact with Livingston, and said, “I, King Odrynn of the Kingdom of Griffonia, accept your letters of accreditation and acknowledge you as the resident ambassador of the United States of America. On behalf of all of my subjects, I welcome you to Griffonia, and hope that your presence will lead to bright future for both the Kingdom of Griffonia and the United States of America.”
His bit said, the griffon bowed his head, as the human did the same. When they straightened, the griffon looked into the human’s eyes, trying to find some hint to the human’s attitude towards him.
Nothing. This human could give Celestia a run for her bits, King Odrynn thought grimly. The idea of dealing with two master diplomats, one from the south and one from the east, did not appeal to him.
The accreditation ceremony over, the trumpets sound one last piece of fanfare. When the last note had finally ended, the crowd slowly started to disperse. As they did, the man looked to the King, asking “Your Majesty, permission to withdraw?”
“Granted.”
The human turned and walked away, heading towards the embassy.
“Glad that’s over,” muttered the King, watching as the two Princesses of Equestria talked amongst themselves. Discarding them from his mind, he turned back to re-enter his palace.
If he had looked over his shoulder, he would have seen the two ponies following the human.
Celestia walked after the human, named Livingston apparently, fervently hoping that the King was not watching. Not that they were technically doing anything wrong, but she couldn’t help but think that the griffon would not approve.
The elderly human soon took notice, and turned around. He had, of course, seen the two Princesses at the beginning of the ceremony. Before, he had simply put them out of his head, as the ceremony was about begin. But now, the human’s curiosity was aroused.
The Princess of the Sun saw him stop, and also noticed the slight curiosity on the edges of the human’s eyes. For her part, the pony recognized a master diplomat when she saw one.
This will be interesting…
Whispering to Princess Luna, Celestia said “This one is skilled. This will be nothing like our discussions with Odrynn.”
“You take the lead,” camed the muttered reply. “You have more experience than me.”
Celestia gave a small smile, but did not answer, for the human was now within earshot.
“Good morning,” said the human. “I do not believe that we have been formally introduced.”
“I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna.”
“How do you do? I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“I am as well.”
“My name is Robert Livingston. I assume you know I am the ambassador to Griffonia.”
“Of course.”
The human paused for a moment, doing what the Princess assumed to be gathering his thoughts.
In reality, though, the human was considering exactly what he was seeing. It was apparent to the man that the horse on the right, the one that had identified herself as Celestia, was no stranger to the nuances of diplomacy. This one will bear watching, he thought to himself, as the two species continued to watch each other. Now, the one on the left, though, seemed to be less experienced. It was hard to gauge, however, because she hadn’t said anything.
Hoping to maneuver the conversation into a position where he could learn more, he asked, “Am I correct in assuming you have no position of leadership in this Kingdom?” The scant reports given by Lewis and Clark had suggested as much.
Celestia heard the question, phrased in an almost perfectly smooth tone. Deciding that answering the question would not cause any substantial harm, she said, “That would be correct. Neither Luna nor I possess any authority over this Kingdom.” After a moment of pause, she decided to amend her statement by saying, “No, my sister and I jointly rule the Principality of Equestria.”
Now that had an effect, she noticed. The human hid it well, but Celestia’s trained eye noticed the human’s eyebrows go up by a fraction of an inch. While he quickly recomposed himself, the motion was still noted by Celestia.
To be fair, the news did not terribly surprised him. After all, the reports did mention Equestria. However, the one Princess discovered by the Corps of Discovery was lathender, which means…
“If I am not mistaken, your country is ruled by at least three individuals.”
“Something like that,” said Celestia evasively, trying to avoid disclosing too much about the political landscape of the region.
Livingston noticed the evasive answer, but decided not to press the issue.
As Celestia looked at the human, she felt her mind racing a million miles a minute. As she was still considering her next move, the human spoke.
“May I enquire as to what your species calls itself? I cannot help but think that ‘horses’ is incorrect.”
Celestia nodded, saying, “Yes. My species is known as ‘ponies.’”
There was fleeting look on the human’s face that Celestia could not quite identify. Humor? No, not exactly. Confusion? Not really that either. Something in between?
Whatever it was, the human recovered remarkably fast. His diplomatic mask back firmly into place, Livingston decided that he had learned everything he was going to, and moved towards business. “Well, how may I help Your Highnesses?”
Celestia noticed the shift in attitude, and mirrored it in kind. “With all due respect, Ambassador, your nation, the United States of America, is something of an unknown to us. What can you tell us?”
The human, remembering the policies of secrecy invoked by the Equestrians before, replied, “Certainly...as long as you answer one question I ask for every that you ask.”
Here, it was Celestia’s turn to let something through her diplomatic armor, as she gave a small grimace.
This is the turning point, she thought. Either prolonged secrecy, or knowledge of this nation.
Princess Luna, noticing her sister’s indecision, said, “Will you allow a moment to discuss?”
“Certainly,” the human said. He then withdrew dozen or so steps away.
The two Princesses huddled together, and held a quick council.
“Sister, why are you even considering this?” hissed Luna. “We cannot allow Equestria to come in contact with these foreigners. ”
“Luna. Look. These humans...I don’t really like these humans. However, we must consider the very real scenario where we fail to repair the ward surrounding Equestria and the humans come for us. This is our best opportunity to learn something in case they do come. If we do fail, then we are ready. But if we succeed in repairing the ward, then nothing is lost.”
Leaving the her sister behind, Celestia walked back to the human. “We accept your deal. You are welcome to ask the first question.”
“Very well. First, then, what is the official name of your country?”
Celestia sighed. “We lead the Principality of Equestria.”
Livingston nodded.
“Ok. Now, what is a ‘President’ and who is the current one in your country?”
The human ambassador nodded, then said “The President is the head of the state of the United States. The current one is James Madison, a member of the Democratic-Republican political party.”
“But a man named Thomas Jefferson claimed to be the President when they established the embassy in Griffonia,” Luna objected.
The human nodded, then said, in a slightly confused tone, “Why, yes.”
“You mean to say that your country has experienced a change in leadership in the past few years?”
“...yes…” he said, still sounding confused.
“Was there a coup or…” Celestia’s question trailed off as she remembered the name of one of the Six Founders of Equestria...Chancellor Puddinghead…
“Is the United States of America a democracy? Or maybe a republic?” asked Luna, obviously on a similar train of thought.
“The United States is a democratically-elected republic, in which the people elect parts of their own to represent their interests,” replied the ambassador.
“Like the ancient Earth Pony Republic. Or the pre-Discord Equestrian Republic,” muttered Princess Luna.
“You are familiar with this system of government?” asked the human.
“We are aware of it,” replied Celestia. “It’s been thousands of years since an independent democracy or republic has existed in this territory, though.”
“Interesting,” replied the human, making note of that in his mind. Knowing that it was now his turn to ask a question, the human asked, “When was the Principality of Equestria founded?”
Celestia raised her eyebrows slightly, for she was certain the human was going to ask about the location of Equestria. Either way, she answered, “That is a difficult question answer. The Principality as it exists now, with four ruling Princesses, is less than a decade old. However, the Principality of Equestria was founded - oh, when was it, Luna? It must have been founded over thirteen hundred years ago, after the Harmonious Revolution and the overthrow of the tyrant, Discord.”
“You speak as though you were there at the end of this ‘Harmonious Revolution,’” said Livingston.
“But we were,” replied Celestia. “We organized the revolution, oversaw the mobilization of our nation, encited the rebellion ourselves, and administered the final coup de grâce against Discord himself. After, the ponies offered the crowns of Equestria to us, and we accepted.”
The diplomat struggled to contain his incredibly. “You...you mean to say that you and your sister are both other one thousand, three hundred years old?”
“Yes,” replied Celestia. She was actually finding the human’s surprise incredibly entertaining.
As for Livingston, the poor human was suffering of something akin to total mental shutdown. As well-versed in diplomacy he was, nothing had prepared him for anything quite like this.
“Princesses,” he said, after a moment, “are you immortal?”
The good-natured smile that had formed on Celestia’s face in reaction to the human’s shock vanished instantly. “That,” said Celestia, speaking carefully, “is a question that, when answered, may possibly rip the social and political fabric of Equestria apart. As a result, I will simply refrain from answering, and I urge you to never ask that question again. Or share it with any of your colleagues.”
The human blinked, then bowed his head, deciding to obey the Princess’s wish.
With that, both species determined that the discussions were effectively rendered defunct. When the human took his leave and entered the embassy, neither of the Princesses tried to stop him.
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Interesting. You have my interest piqued. So with that in mind, I will keep an eye on further developments of your story. I want to see how things play out from here.
~ Super-Brony12
I like it.
Hehehe, for a moment I was thinking, "Two years and no one spotted her?" Then realized the many ways she could have pulled that off.
Hmm, not much I see for analysis on this chapter, except perhaps on the revealed fact that outside the US, the rest of the continent is still completely unkown to them. Considering they're about to enter the decade where things got quite interesting for North America, so to speak, they're in for quite the ride if they venture out to explore again.
5773007 Wait 'till the Americans hear that the Griffons and Equestrians are Pagan Worshippers!
That may not be an issue with the Griffons but the Ponies worship Alicorns as GODS!!!
5773275
Well, in my opnion, it'd probably be not much different from what they thought of the native americans' religious practices. The only difference is that Equestria is much more different than the various native american groups, a "fellow country", for lack of a better term. I doubt hostilities would rise over religion, specially since far as I know, the US never got involved in such thing.
In fact, it was kinda the reverse. Religious issues were a more internal matter. The 19th century US did saw stuff like anti-Catholisism, the Mormon stuff, the native american groups that were within their territory, etc.
5773366
5773275
No offense, but your must be slightly mistaken. My interpretation of Celestialism (as the mod references the religion) is slightly different than what most bronies accept, and I will without a doubt catch some flak for it. However, that's a discussion for a later time :).
5772499
5771572
Thank you and welcome aboard!
5774068
5774065 In Victoria 2 terms, USA, Mexico and UK have a CB against both Equestria and Griffonia!
5774208
Mexico? Really? I don't think so...
Britain? Again, don't think so...
USA: Oh boy, Manifest Destiny will be fun...for me.
5774208
Heh, on the contrary, Equestria is the one who can gain the CB's. 'Course, if it comes down to that, it pretty much means it has already declared itself an enemy of mankind with the intent of pushing them out of the Americas. Something I really doubt will end up happening here.
But they enacting Manefest Destiny? That I see slightly more probable.5774065
Of really? Personally I never really saw that whole devotoun to religious levels as sensible. At least from what I've seen of the show it never really gave me that vibe. Still, that's how it is in the mod, so I suppose it will be interesting to see how you handle that down the road.
5774068
Your welcome!
5774310
You're right. As a rule, I tend to think of Equestria as a secular nation, and the universal love for Celestia is simply born of the fact her reign has been peaceful and happy, rather than devotion to a goddess figure.
But again, the mod requires that I address Celestianism, so...yeah. I'll just do my own interpretation. My interpretation is probably not what people expect.
5774955 You will be hard pressed explaining a battle in which the humans receive more casualties and lost, without someone calling it bullshit, including me.
Human troops are superior because: (Using Paradox Game Terms)
-Better Discipline, or the fact they have it rather than claiming to be a disciplined force unlike one particular 'Royal' guard.
-Better Tech and very few Unicorns can use combat magic.
-Overpowered Morale. We don't break easily.
-Better Tactics. A thousand years of peace makes a civilization weak, lazy and backward. If humans lived with any of the advantages ponies had, Rome would be a sci-fi empire which would exist to this day.
-Industrilization. Equestria is in Victoria 2 terms a primitive nation, lacking the population and resources of China and the advance mindset of Japan. They would take longer than the Asian countries to Westernize.
-Total War. I DARE the Princesses to conscript everbody down to 13 years old! Humans a century ago do it in a hearbeat!
-Better Generals. Shining Armor has the Old Guard Trait (Hearts of Iron) and has penalties in reliability, organization and experience. He costs Equestria Prestige points.
-Higher warscore to defeat. You only need a few small victories to force the ponies to concede anything short of compkete annexation.
Both Tunisia and Brunei could singlehandlely destroy both Equestria and Griffonia. Human Spearmen counter Mythical melee units due to range and superior craftmanship.
Human Musketeers with Bayonets counter Earth Ponies and Suicidal Pegasi.
Don't bring Discord in this. We wouldn't want him to suffer from Influenza, Polio, Typhoid Mary, Spanish Flu, etc.
5775799
Most of what your saying is true. Remember, though, we still have twenty years until the game actually begins. A lot can happen in twenty years...
Oh, and Equestria starts as a civilized nation. Griffonia is the primitive nation at the start.
Really? What if they had a very good reason? Like, say, an international incident? Involving the CMC? Maybe getting kidnapped?
5776585
International? Involving the CMC? I doubt it... highly doubt it...
Personally, I'd think facing the reality of humanity's warmonger nature to be a more fitting wake-up call. The 1810's were pretty much filled with that, and coming from their neighbors, no less.
5776585 when is your next update?
5829246
Well, I had hoped yesterday, but...that clearly didn't happen. Maybe next weekend?
5829263 fair enough......have you thought of doing a lets play of this at all? Or do you even have the game I'm curious about what requirements are needed for both the original game the equestria mod and the modern era mod
Ps is a ai only option for it?
5776585
Twenty Years?! Auuuuuuugh!!
And I definitely see similarities to when the Western nations made contact with China and Japan. Hopefully Equestria will put those twenty years into good use. Like, building a real army and navy (and maybe for good measure a Zeppelin corps)! One that is somewhat technologically in par with the humans at least.