Inspired by the Pony Demand Mod for Victoria 2.
In a world where a nation of sapient, logical horses hold sway in the Nineteenth Century, the stage of world politics is...different.
On the West Coast of North America, in a land known as "California" to the humans, Equestria lies. It is a peaceful land, untouched by the ideals of liberalism, war, etc. That peaceful ignorance, however, will not last for long...
NOTE: Ignore the official map of Equestria. Instead, use these:
NA in 1836: clicky
Equestria: clicky
Griffonia: clicky
Rated Teen for occasional language, and epic battles between modernized ponies and humans.
Holy Shit! Featured: 2/21/16!!!! Thank you so much!
Chapters (28)
Interesting. I am glad to see someone writing a story along the lines of the Pony Demand Mod.
5428402
We have been expecting your return.
I am glad I got somepony to see the light once again. Welcome back to the vast world of strategy games!
A story about the Victoria II mod?
Oh boy, this is gonna be good...
I've only played that mod once... and quit after having Reactionaries rising in the hundred thousands and undoing decades of reforms. Didn't felt like wanting to continue after that, heh. Hopefully this Equestria will fare better... then again, with how first contact went, I kinda doubt it.
Just a minor note, but the number of stars and stripes at that year would be seventeen, not fifteen, if I remember correctly.
All in all, this is quite the interesting start. Looking forward to read more.
5429389
That's odd. According to this, the flag only has fifteen of each.
Anyways, thanks for checking this out. A note: I will be focusing a lot more on extrenal threats and diplomacy than internal rebellion, but this is Victoria 2. Some rebellion is required.
Let's do this!
After I write it...
5430032 Ah, I see. I always thought the flag was kept up to date when it came to the number of stars, but I see that wasn't the case back then. Oh well...
Haha, indeed. Dealing with Manifest Destiny will be the most interesting of the lot, I bet.
Ah, good to see an update. Yeah, I'm not seeing relations between Griffonia and the US to remain stable for long. If anything, the War of 1812 is gonna be a boon for the non-humans in that front, since they will not be dealing much with the US in the coming years.
1816 hmm... That meant to be a clue? Well, other than wildcard from ship in the Pacific heading eastward, the only choices that come to mind are the US, Spain, and México (well, not a proper nation yet, but I would still consider it since it'd be during the Independence War, although not much happened in the north to justify them being near Equestria, unless human history is already going off-track even without the Equestrians and Griffonians being directly involved).
As a matter of fact, when it comes to Equestria being discovered, that's probably where my money would be. California did had many missionaries settling the place by mid-late XVIII century, in both Alta and Baja. With Alta unavailable, it's likely Baja is more populous than OTL since they couldn't get through the mountain range and didn't stretch their numbers as much. At some point someone is bound to outfit an expedition to see what's beyond there, by following the coastline.
I like this. History has always been a favorite subject of mine, and Alternate History is such a fun topic to speculate and debate about...
EDIT: Oh yeah, I should add, I'm considering this due to the nature of the mod itself. For Equestria to remain undiscovered until the XIX century, assuming the coastline isn't blocked, would pretty much mean all the exploration the Spanish did on the North American west coast (they did reach Alaska after all) didn't happen, since missing out on a whole country of sapient equines would be... yeah...
Wow, a story that's written around Victoria II! And it's looking good so far as well - favorited! Let's hope your writing can give credit to the full complexity of the Victoria II experience...
Tobikage is correct, it's quite interesting how nobody's managed to discover Equestria until now - not the Spanish (already around in the 1600s), not the British (George Vancouver mapping out the area in the late 18thC), and not even the Russians (who are moving down the area and will establish Fort Ross in 1812). Hell, you'd have expected the Native Americans to have come into contact with the ponies at some point... anyway, your story, your rules.
Can't wait to read about the inevitable American-Equestrian War!
5605494
Yeah...in order to make this premise work, I have had to selectively ignore some parts of history. Still trying to come up with a justification for it, though...
Anyways, thanks! Hope you find the future chapters as good or better than these!
this is fascinating.
5430032 I expect humanity's racial discrimination to poison the ponies. Lots of rebellion. Wouldn't Equestria fight the Native Americans?
"We unicorns are superior! This book written by humans said so!"
I suppose a magic barrier is as good as any explanation. Come to think of it, maps even as far as the mid-late 1700's still had the Pacific northwest either missing or mostly blank, so it does work in a sense, just extending that blankness further south a bit for this world.
Interesting, so this early they find out about slavery. It's certainly not painting the humans (or at least the US) in a good light to them so far. Can't think on what could make it worse... at least around those years, unless they react negatively to the War of 1812 if they get word of it.
Hopefully they soon start getting contact with different humans before they start to generalize them...
*stares off into Equestria's south with hopeful eyes* What can I say? I'm bias...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?
pretty cool.
Oh, good to see this updated.
Ah, so it was the British in the end. Hmm, more Anglophones. Ah, no matter. Well, I'd guess they may get off with a better first contact than the US, I'll give them that. Well, if they manage to give off their version of the War of 1812 first.
Either way I can see them being questioned about it, regardless of reception.
5944762 I wonder which side would Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms support...
-in the War of 1812?
-Mexican-American Wars?
-American Civil War?
-World War I?
God forbid the Japanese find Equestria, it would be a bigger slaughter than the one they inflicted on Russia!
Equestria and Griffon would become protectorates and spheres of influences.
5944990
Tsk, tsk. You're still assuming Equestria will just allow themselves be roflstomped. Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadance may be many things, but stupid isn't one of them...they would know that the humans could crush them. Perhaps they would take steps prevent that.
That's all I'm saying for now.
5944990
* War of 1812 is already over. They didn't got involved.
* This one is kinda tricky. Relations with the US aren't as best they could be right now. They could get better, or worse, who knows. The Mexican-American conflict was seen by many as needless expanionism by the US, specially since it happened not long after Manifest Destiny proclamation. The US already had a Pacific coastline after the Treaty of Oregon, so grabbing Mexican land was not needed.
The thing is, with both Griffonia and Equestria blocking the Pacific, so to speak, the US will think on either going through them, or through Mexico. Considering the slavery issue, the US may not want to go for Mexican lands north of the Rio Bravo first like IRL since that would mean slave states territory, and the northern states would not want that. If the ponies and griffons manage to stop them, the US may reconsider, and go for Mexico next. I don't think Griffonia and Equestria would like that after having the same almost done to them, so they'd support Mexico, regardless of relations with them, if only because both sides need to stop the US. Same thing for Mexico, they'd accept the help, like it or not.
If we go back to the Texan revolt... it also depends on how relations with the Mexicans are, and if they'd be willing to get involved. One reason the Texans won, apart from... ahem, Santa Anna's character, let's just leave it like that... was Mexico's lack of prescence in the north. Relations with the Comancheria had soured when the 1st Empire was over, since they were in good terms with Iturbide, but not quite with the new republic. Well, like half the country and Central America weren't happy, but that's another story. Although honestly I doubt they'd get involved at this point unless they were like willing to. They might, but again, it'd depend on where this story is going.
*Civil War? The North, definitely. In fact, that could be a turning point for relations with the Americans to become (more) positive.
*WWI? Hm, that's a tough one. Perhaps we should see how this story develops to the 20th century and see how the state of the world is before guessing. Perhaps WWI may not be how it goes like IRL.
I doubt the Japanese will go after Equestria. Even after Commodore Perry's expedition and stuff, when they went on an expansionism craze they only focused on East Asia. I doubt it'd be different here.
5945008 Trade and Protection in exchange for allowing Christian missionaries in Equestria and Griffonia. That has to happen or sphere of influence which would destroy their economies.
Religion or Economy?
It's been awhile what took you so long to make another chapter by the way....are you actually playing this like a aar? I'd like to see you do one on the paradox website they have a aar section if you didn't know this almost like a aar almost I hope to see more perhaps on friendlier terms with the United Kingdom and the should get unloved in the civil war when it starts being on the side of the us that are against slavery perhaps getting Canada in equestrias sphere of influence would be wise with the uk and Mexico
Will we get to see Canada at some point?
5961437 sigh spellcheck I meant involved on the side of us that is against it
5961437
Hey, and welcome aboard! The chapter was significantly longer, and I encountered quite a few instances of writer's block in figuring out how to progress the story without breaking the setup. But I prevailed!
This story is loosely based off a set of games that I played as the Principality of Equestria. However, I do reserve the right to exercise creative license to make parts of the story more realistic, more logical, and the like. I have never written an AAR, though I have read several, including two with Equestria. This story will be similar in some ways to an AAR, but much more narrative and focused on more day-to-day political and social interactions. I should remind you, though, the game does not begin until 1836, and until then, I will setting up the game and guiding Equestria through modernization.
As for the UK, I have something special planned for relations between the Principality and the Empire...that's all for now...
5963348 I just hope whatever relationship it is its on friendly terms
I'd to see the links to those equestria aars if its ok with you (fluttershy face)
5964992
Well, here's this one: http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/victoria-2-heart-of-darkness-and-that-pony-mod.11358/
And this is the one I drew some of my inspiration from: Bucking the Trend: An Equestrian AAR
Saying nothing on the relationship with Britain...
My God, an actual Victoria 2 fic on Fimfic.........MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!
And on a small request you can/can't do at your will. Could you have Germany win WW1 and come after America and Equestria? You always need a little invasion from a country that let's you drink at 16. OKTOBERFEST!!!!!
Read the first chapter, and I'm liking it! I'd love to see what the fledgling US does to Equestria after (Or before, your choice) the War of 1812.
6041815
Hello, and welcome aboard!
Don't (or do) worry about the Americans, they will be the regional competitors against Equestria!
As for your request...we'll see. Haven't planned that far out yet.
6042424 hey just thought id let you know there has been a update to the mlp mod it the diplomatic relations with U.S. event where you can change the effects of the u s manifist destiny alowing you to be good friends with u s from the beggining of the game allowing you and griffonia to exsist through the whole game or you can your relationships increase with mexico texas confederates u s or canada giving you a ally so if you wanted to keep griffonia in this fic and or have a relationship with any of the neighboring contries you can
I just love how all the humans aren't up in arms about talking multi-color horses. No, really, I find it hilarious.
Well, the way I see it, the situation was bound to go a bit better with these British than with the Americans. However, I do have the feeling things may go about the same way down the road. Because really, what are the chances Equestria soon finding out about stuff like the British-Irish relations... well, more like the lack of, Wolfe Tone's rebellion isn't even 20 years old at this point, among other stuff?
But to a more positive point, the fact it's Christmas/Hearth'sWarming sure ain't a bad time to have stumbled into Equestria. Seeing the humans' reaction to the story behind it is sure to be quite gold, I'd guess.
6125875 Weed man. Drugs make you see all kinds of stuff. Besides, isn't HP Lovecraft in this century?
The story is going great so far cant wait till the next update take as much time as you need