//------------------------------// // Realpolitik // Story: From the Shoulders of Giants // by Za Raapini //------------------------------// Chapter Six: Realpolitik By: Za Raapini Royal Quarter, Canterlot Minister Boulder was miffed. Two hundred clearly hostile creatures had invaded their land, and the official royal decree was to open diplomatic channels with them. This was not a time for talking; this was a time for action! Boulder had been waiting for almost two decades to become useful, and when the opportunity had finally presented itself, he had been shot down in favor of using words instead of weapons. Preposterous! The humans were up to something. Why had they come here in such a spectacular fashion? They seemed more than willing to fight a war to get what they wanted, and he suspected warfare was the norm back in their world. No one developed items like they had brought with them unless they were intent on using them. While walking back to his apartment in downtown Canterlot, he decided to stop by one of the bars on the way home. It was a favorite of the Royal Guard and the Palace Defense team, and he had yet to have had an opportunity to discuss the day’s events with them. Walking up to the door, he looked up and saw the name of the establishment, one that never failed to make him quietly proud to be the Minister of Defense: The Sword and the Shield. It was jam-packed this evening, and despite the heavy flow of foot-traffic, nobody appeared to be all that drunk. There was a dull rumble of conversation that emanated from the main floor, one that failed to cease upon realizing there was a new patron in the bar. Boulder went up to one of the bartenders and ordered a wheat beer. No sense getting something he couldn’t nurse while talking to people. Hopefully someone would come up to him and begin talking; he hated the idea of barging into a group of ponies while they were enjoying each other’s company. He didn’t have to wait long. In a matter of moments, Bow-Tie, captain of Palace Defense, had ambled up to him. He hadn’t even changed out of his royal armor. Wasn’t there some sort of ruling against that? “Evening Minister. Curious day, wasn’t it?” was the opening salvo in the conversation. Despite what a lot of people thought, Captain Bow-Tie was a good pony, sturdy, loyal, dependable. Most importantly to Boulder’s needs, he was malleable. “One could say that again. Tell me, what was your reaction upon hearing the news?” Boulder said back to him. He had to guide this conversation carefully, because if he acted with haste, there was a very real chance Bow-Tie would not be on board with Boulder’s plans. And Boulder needed everypony he could muster. “Shock, I guess. I mean, how does one react to startling new creatures suddenly appearing in our realm? In the town that houses the Elements of Harmony no less? And the guidance we received from our leadership wasn’t the most inspiring. Instead of responding with force, we responded with weak-hoofed plans to talk this out. Where is the Princess who responded to the return of Discord with aggression? Where is the Princess whose first inclination during the Changeling Affair was to fight?” “Yes, I understand what you mean fully. Words will not have an effect on these humans if things begin to get too severe. And I can’t help but wonder if there’s something deeper going on here. I was there, you see. Once we realized the full severity of the crisis, I was called in to help with the proceedings. I tell you, I’ve traveled the land much in my life, and never have I seen such blank, expressionless faces. As if they couldn’t comprehend the idea of excitement. Quite astonishing, really,” Boulder said, taking a swig of his drink. Glancing around the room, he realized something that he hadn’t noticed yet. Bow-Tie was not the only pony still clad in his armor. Everypony was still wearing theirs. As if they expected one of the helicopters to swoop overhead at any minute and disgorge the terrible soldiers that had been riding inside. Seeing the surprised expression on Boulder’s face, Bow-Tie began talking. “Weird, isn’t it? Seeing this many ponies in their armor. Kinda reminds you of the stories they tell fillies about the days of old, back when the words ‘war’ and ‘battle’ still meant something.” “What do you mean still?” Boulder asked. He too felt the same way, but was curious to hear Bow-Tie elaborate on the subject. “Oh come off it Minister. Surely you see it as well as I do. We as a kingdom have been at peace for so long it borders on the ridiculous. Incidents still pop up here and there, but nopony knows how to respond because they’ve never had to deal with anything beyond stubbing their hoof while walking to the damn ice cream parlor. It’s repugnant, and it is things like this that threaten our way of life more than anything else.” Boulder smiled inwardly, for at that point he realized that there would be no need for molding; Bow-Tie was already on the same page. He took another drink and indicated for him to continue. “When you hear stories, about the old days, back when Equestria was just getting off the ground, ponies had to fight for their right to survival! There was no talking, there was no quarter, and there was only war. Brutal and hate-filled, but necessary all at the same time. Point is, we’ve gotten soft over the past one thousand years. When bad things happen now, people just expect the Royal Sisters or the Elements to deal with it. With Discord, how many people sat huddled in fear just expecting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to just magic everything back to normal, or failing that let the Elements deal with it? “When the Changelings invaded, let me reiterate, invaded Canterlot, what did our kinsponies do when being attacked? Respond with equal measures of violence, trying to incapacitate the foe? No, of course not. Once again, they looked to a small group to solve all their problems. What’s our backup if they fail? What’s the plan ‘b’?” Bow-Tie said. It felt good to have this type of conversation with a pony who cared. He had tried discussing this matter at length with his friends in the Defense team, but when they realized he was being serious they less than politely told him to stop. Nopony wanted to admit that war was a fundamental part of existence. Just because it hadn’t happened in so long did not mean it wouldn’t ever. Meanwhile, Boulder was struck at how Bow-Tie was talking. Here was a pony who could be more than a potential foot soldier, this was a pony with ally potential. Boulder decided to test the waters, and play Discord’s advocate for a minute. “Why would there need to be a plan ‘b’? We have princesses who manipulate the sun and the moon. We have the Elements of Harmony. Why should anypony need to concern themselves with fighting, when it is so painfully obvious that those eight figures will be able to accomplish anything we need them to?” “You are more than a fool if you really believe that. Wars are not won by an especially small group of skilled warriors. Wars are won and lost by the will of the people to fight. They are won by setting course down an inexorable march towards victory. They are won by trampling the enemy to dust, either through superior numbers, technology, or both. What is the use of a group of fighters so small that they would not make up a single rank in one of the old Legions?” Bow-Tie said. “But they are the most powerful beings in the land. What chance do normal ponies have if they cannot stop the threat?” Boulder responded in kind. “Maybe normal ponies wouldn’t stand a chance. Not at first. Maybe not ever. But there is not even enough ponies willing to be guards for the palace, for our Royal Patronages themselves, to form a full battle company. Look around you. This is almost seventy five percent of the total number of ponies we have that have answered the call to serve something greater than themselves. There is no drive anymore, there is no passion for serving the greater good, of being part of something. “Nopony even wants to fight anymore. Not because fighting has gone away, but because they expect everyone else to deal with their problems. Not once during the fighting that day did anypony other than the Guard even attempt to do something. And why would they? Even retired Guardsponies stood by idly and let the invasion occur! We cannot continue as a country if this apathetic attitude keeps up!” Bow-Tie finished with a shout. “Let me let you in on something. There is an old quote floating around, one that never fails to embolden my spirit when I am down and see the sad state that Equestria has fallen into. This was a call and response from the days of the Legions, before the princesses had come about and ushered in the age of peace we know now. It goes like this: Without the Dark, there can be no Light, We have purpose Without the Lie, there can be no Truth, We have purpose Without the War, there can be no Victory, We have purpose Without the Death, there can be no sacrifice, We have purpose Without the Hope there can be no Future, We have purpose Without the Loyalty there can be no one Legion, We have purpose Without the King, there is nothing,... And we would have no purpose You see? The ponies of old knew how things were to be conducted. They knew the purpose of their existence. There were there to fight, and win.” Boulder was impressed. Bow-Tie always came off to other ponies as a hopeless moron at best, but there was certainly more than met the eye here. Boulder too knew of that quote. It was the most common call-and-response used by the Legions in the days of the King, before the Royal Sisters had even been born. It served to illustrate the importance of what they were doing, because they were doing more than winning battles. They were forging a nation. “It is well that we share a common love for studying the past, Bow-Tie. Because I feel we might have to use it to reshape the future. Meet me here next week. I will have something to give to you,” Boulder said. It would be dark days ahead indeed for Equestria, but in their wake would be a glorious future, with a nation that stood above all as the supreme rulers of the world. It would be a nation that would respond to distress and violence with discipline and force. Most importantly, it would be a nation that would be able to properly defend itself against all enemies- foreign, domestic, and inter-dimensional. “Very well Minister. I am off to enjoy the rest of my night. Take care my friend. The lamps are going out all over Equestria,” Bow-Tie said as he walked way. Boulder finished his beer and exited the bar. This had been a most enlightening night indeed. Royal Palace, Canterlot Celestia crawled into bed, exhausted from the day’s affairs. Luna seemed to have recovered well at least; she was definitely in a much brighter mood than she had been earlier. Sleep was a simply wonderful medicine. The Sun Princess hoped that soon she too would be receiving its powerful remedies. As she lay in bed, she reflected on the events of the day. She wondered whether or not opening lines of communication with the humans had been a good idea. At the time, seeing what their machines were capable of, she had decided to err on the side of not getting her subjects killed. That they had agreed to talk should be considered at least a minor victory. She was still mildly off-put by how disinterested Picante had seemed during the meeting. He had appeared to be forcing himself to pay attention, and while he had a sharp tongue, and what seemed to be a genuinely decent personality, she could tell that he had yearned to be someplace else. Truth be told, the meeting hadn’t really been all that well-thought out. She had just hoped to assuage her subjects’ fears by showing they could talk to these people. While they had acted aggressively, nopony had been killed, so there was that at least. Looking back on it that was nothing short of a miracle. So many things could have gone wrong. Somepony could have gotten the idea to try to fight them, which, given the Major’s words, would have resulted in them launching a full-scale assault. He had tried to explain to her the concept behind his maneuvers, why they had cleared the houses, why they had relied on what he referred to as ‘shock and awe’ tactics. He had tried to explain to her these things, and while she heard the words, all that came into her head was the knowledge that the man that sat in front of her had made a living out of killing other members of his species. The concept shouldn’t seem that foreign to her; it was not long after the Legions had finished their work that she had been born. It was not like Equestria had never had wars; however, they were so far removed from the lives of ponies today that their stories had passed into legend. They had lost all their impact and meaning on the lives of her subjects, and herself. With a heavy sigh, Celestia got up out of bed. She knew that sleep was now a fleeting memory that would not come back tonight. It was time to head down to the Royal Library. The stories of the Legions would need to be brushed upon if she would have any hope of properly communicating with such a warlike species. //Error: Location Unknown// “It is as you predicted. Trust is nowhere to be found, and suspicion runs rampant amongst the Equestrians.” “Just as planned.” A/N: Aaand that makes six. I’ll be honest, this chapter could have gone about nine different directions. Hell, the first three versions featured the party in Ponyville as the main setting. But then I got to thinking, ‘for a MLP fic, there hasn’t been a whole lot of pony.’ So, pony. Hope you guys don’t mind the dialogue; this chapter did not lend itself well to action, and I also hope you guys enjoy Minister Boulder and Captain Bow-Tie. Get used to those two, you’ll be seeing them a lot. Bonus points for anyone who knows where the quote comes from. It’s been slightly edited for context’s sake. As always, if you have any of the following: Comments, questions, concerns, saved rounds, inquiries, bitches, gripes, moans, groans, complaints, hate mail, fan mail, correspondence or a happy thought, you know what to do. This is Za Raapini saying, ‘Stay classy.’ Thought for the day: Knowledge is power; guard it well.