//------------------------------// // A Grand Tour, Part I // Story: The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria // by mint20 //------------------------------// A Grand Tour, Part I The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria April 15, 1839 Fifth Day of Discussions Canterlot, Equestria “No, Ambassador...May I remind you, Ambassador, that the Royal Council authorized no such operation? May I also remind you that we recalled the offending Lieutenant immediately after the incident?” “The French government believes that some tribute is required to offset the costs and damages inflicted by your Lieutenant.” “Why? Again, the Lieutenant acted without orders and without permission. He has been punished by the Equestrian Royal Council. Plus, for a country of your status and power, the losses inflicted by our misunderstanding were minimal.” “Actually, no. Your victory undermined talks with México and put us in a position where we could not demand everything we wanted. It is the desire of the French government that you cover the difference.” “How much?” “An amount equivalent to twenty thousand Mexican pesos.” Celestia hesitated, thinking We cannot afford to make enemies of the French. We have to buy peace. “Fifteen thousand.” The Ambassador hesitated, considering how badly France needed those five thousand pesos. Slowly, he dipped his head. “Very well.” May 3, 1839 Canterlot, Equestria “We need to reach out more,” said Celestia. “We have diplomatic relations with the Great Powers, but I do not believe that that is enough. I submit that we need to assemble a grand tour; a massive diplomatic expedition.” “How many diplomats do you think we need?” asked Cadance. “I think you missunderstood. Of course, we will need to send more diplomats overseas. However, I believe that we, the Royal Council, shall go to other nations ourselves. I think that three of us should tour the different regions of this planet. I would go to Europe, and somepony will go to Latin America and somepony else will go to Asia. Perhaps we could go to Africa, as well. I haven’t heard of major powers on that continent, but you never know…” Luna hesitated for a moment, thinking things over. “Seems like a great idea, sister,” she said. “I imagine that you believe one of us should stay in Equestria?” “Yep. And I think that you should stay,” said Celestia. “Not that I distrust your diplomatic powers - I do. But I think that you staying here will allow you to better hear the desires of the ponies of Equestria. It will help heal what remains of the rifts born a thousand years ago.” Luna noded. “That makes sense, I suppose. Very well.” “Good!” Celestia beamed. “Now, I think Twilight should go to the Latin American nations.” “Me? Why me?” “Twilight, you have grown significantly. Your work with the Royal Ministry of Sciences has been exemplary, and it is time for you to start taking a more active role in Equestria’s international presence. After all, diplomacy is one of your responsibilities.” “...” “Twilight, it’s high time you lead a diplomatic mission. Don’t worry, you will have professional diplomats in your retinue, as well. There is no need for concern.” Turning away from her, Celestia said, “And that leaves you, Cadance, to visit Asia.” “Any ideas which nations I should visit?” “Many of the Asian nations are very private. If you are turned away, then don’t press them. But if you can, try to secure treaties of friendship with Japan and China. It appears they are the more powerful states.” “Yes, Celestia.” “Alright. We should move out a week.” July 21, 1839 México City, México “Hello, President Bustamante,” said Twilight, bowing to the man. The President did likewise, and said, “Greetings, Princess Twilight. It is always good to hear from our friends up north. People - err, ponies, that you can trust seem to be getting harder to come by nowadays.” “That they are, that they are,” she replied. “We must always be wary of imperialists.” The President smiled. “The people of México cannot thank you enough for your actions...the blow you dealt to the French has raised many eyebrows in the Centralist Republic. Many look to the north with more trusting than they used to...there’s even talk of closer cooperation with the Principality of Equestria. Putting aside the obvious political and species differences, our nations share at least one common goal: Defending against the enormous, godless, Anglo nation. We lost Texas because we were too trusting of them...I hope that you have learned from our mistakes?” “We have, and so has Griffonia. Both of us have closed our borders to Americans. No settlers will manage to wrestle our provinces out of our hooves.” “Ah, yes, you had your Manetown Incident, I remember that…” The President frowned thoughtfully. “Terrible shame, that was.” “It was,” Twilight agreed. “And another reminder, as if we needed another, that the Americans are not to be trusted.” The President hesitated, apparently thinking something over. After a moment, he said, “If the Republic would offer a treaty to Equestria, would you be interested?” Excitement gripped Twilight. “It would have to be ratified by the rest of the Royal Council, but we would be ecstatic. The other Princesses have referred to México as ‘our natural ally.’” This was bending with the truth, just a bit. Twilight knew that the Princesses have never said that, but their overall stance towards México had led her to think that they believed just that. “Well, maybe we could come to an agreement, then…” July 25, 1839 Canterlot, Equestria “Why, King Odrynn,” said Princess Luna. “It is an honor, of course, but to what do I owe this unexpected visit?” “We need to talk,” replied Odrynn. “I...may not have been completely honest with you and your fellow royals in the past.” Luna stopped shuffling through a stack of paperwork, and looked up at Odrynn. “I’m listening…” The King hesitated for a moment, then said, “We have had contact...with the humans...before. Contact that you were not told about.” “Well...can you enlighten me about it now?” Odrynn sighed. “Well, were you aware that the Kingdom is a union between two distinct cultures?” “Yes, I have heard of this. The Kingdom was born from two groups of griffons, the Mountain Griffons and the Plains Griffons.” “Yep. Though, saying the Kingdom was ‘born’ is a bit of a euphemism. Rather, the two culture groups formed their own nations after the fall of Discord. The Mountain Griffons quickly decided that they didn’t like having a rival to contend with along with the newly-restablished Principality of Equestria, and quickly and brutally conquered the Plains Griffons. The Plains Griffons had and still have only a fraction of the population of the Mountains, and were still fighting over leadership. They fell easily.” “I suppose that these cultural differences still plague the Kingdom?” “Absolutely. The cultural rift within the Kingdom is very evident to this day. For the most part, you have only seen Mountain Griffons. They live in the Western Regions, controlling the vast majority of the government. For instance, there is only one Plains noble. The Eastern Territories are where most Plains Griffons live...with one major exception.” Luna raised an eyebrow. “The exception, the one Plains noble, is me. I was born in what is now the American territory of Bozeman. My father was the last King’s brother, and my mother was his second concubine, who stayed in Bozeman and raised me among her fellow griffons. The last King had no heirs, and both his brother and all his other sons were dead by the time my uncle past. My heritage was undeniable, and the nobles had to accept my ascension. But I’ve had to constantly look over my shoulder, as they still didn’t really like the fact that a filthy Plainser took over the reigns of government. That is one of the main reasons that they rebelled against my first attempts to reform and westernize. Honestly, they probably would have tried to dispose of me sooner or later anyways. To this day, the Plains and Mountain Griffons still don’t trust each other…some thought that my reign would be a symbol of unity and help bridge the gap between the cultures...well, they were wrong. “Anyways, the point: The Plainsers have encountered and fought some human tribes several times, throughout the history of Griffonia. They keep it secret from the Mountaineers, and eventually the human tribes learned to stay away from the ‘lion-eagles.’ “And that is how I knew of the humans before. The humans never attacked or raided in my lifetime, but the story has been passed down to me.” August 1, 1839 Canterlot, Equestria “Attention!” All four ponies in front of Princess Luna snapped to attention, saluting sharply. “Thank you, Guardpony. That will be all.” The Royal Guard bowed deeply, then retreated to outside the room. Luna sighed. After a moment, she looked the four ponies facing her in the eye and said, “Captain Spitfire, First Lieutenant Soarin, Captain Frost Bite, First Lieutenant Rainbow Dash. I have called you ponies here because I have decided to found a special force, and you four represent the finest fliers that Equestria has to offer. What I am proposing is a military organization, like Wonderbolts, but much more militarized. Your missions would include special operations behind a hypothetical enemy’s lines, storming enemy warships and capturing them, disrupting an enemy’s supply lines, other covert operations, and raids on enemy encampments and settlements, among whatever else the Council sees fit. “This special unit would exist under the direct command of the Royal Council, independent of any other military organization. Spitfire, you would be promoted to the rank of Colonel, and the lot of them would be placed under your command.” “Ma’am, wouldn’t that make me the highest ranked member of the Equestrian Military?” “Well...technically. Don’t worry, though. When the Royal Council reassembles, we will be reorganizing the entire command structure. Honestly, we didn’t expect the military to grow as fast as it has, and our outdated command structure reflects it. And either way, you and your unit will exist outside of the command structure, like I said, and will receive your orders from the Council directly. “Now, a sizable percentage of the Ponyville Air Cavalry will probably be taken into this special unit, along with the entire membership of the Wonderbolts and large amounts of pegasi from the southern, pegasi-dominated regions. Captain Frost Bite, Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, you two shall be responsible for overseeing the transfer of skilled ponies from your herd. I only want the best here. Don’t feel compelled to fill any slots with ponies that you do not have complete confidence in. Leave them in the Cavalry. You can add them later, if you feel that they have gotten better.” “Yes ma’am!” July 9, 1839 Lāhainā, Kingdom of Hawai’i Princess Cadance disembarked from the ERV Equestria, impressed by the beautiful scenery. After a moment of quietly admiring, she focused her attention on the man before her. “Ali’i Nui Kamehameha,” she said - a little less smoothly than Celestia had two years before - “it is an honor to visit your fine nation. The beauty of your capital is breathtaking.” “Thank you. We are quite proud of it,” replied the King. “We received word that you would be arriving, but I am afraid I do not recognize you…” “Of course. My name is Princess Cadance. I am a member of the Equestrian Royal Council, and am here as a representative of the Council.” “Thank you. You obviously know who I am, but as a formality: I am Kamehameha, High Chief of Hawai’i.” “I am most pleased to meet you,” replied Cadance. After a moment, she said, “If I may be so bold...I am struck by the similarities between our nations. Your Majesty rules over a nation of native people to these islands, from before the Europeans arrived. Your people, in the face of impossible odds, embraced the Europeans’ ways, and used their tools to forge your own nation.” “Your Serene Majesty appears to be correct. Much like us, the Principality of Equestria managed to adopt European tools and weapons and use them for their own use. I only wish that we managed to hold onto our old traditions as well as Equestria has…” he trailed off, almost whispering the last sentence. “It’s never too late,” replied Cadance. “I imagine that many of your own people are still following them.” “Perhaps,” replied the King, his thoughts already a mile away, scheming. He snapped back to present and said, “But that’s enough idle speculation for one day. Where are my manners? Please, join me for supper. We clearly have a lot to discuss.” Same time Several miles off the coast of Hawai’i, Pacific Ocean “Captain! I have a position update for you!” Excellent. “Very good. I’ll be with you in a moment,” replied Captain Laplace.