Warning; large segments of Dark Ages history, which could easily be classified as lectures.
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Luke awoke again to the sound of his phone's alarm. He shut it off, got dressed, and checked his schedule.
Work today, he thought. I hope my guests had a decent night.
He went downstairs and grabbed a pack of chocolate fudge Pop-Tarts and sat down, looking at the news on his phone as he did so.
Earth-Equestria News!
Space; the final frontier, or just the beginning?
We're pleased to inform you that the United States of America and Equestria have signed a treaty on space exploration. While the details are as yet unreleased, the general plan involves cooperative work on space flight in both nations. This proposal has been in the works for over a year and was debated in Congress for the past week before finally being accepted by a majority in both the Senate and House.
"I am so pleased that we were able to sign this treaty," Princess Twilight Sparkle said to our reporters this morning. "In addition to strengthening the bonds between our peoples, we can now aid one another in reaching the stars."
"We highly approve of this treaty," Princess Luna commented. "We would love the opportunity to explore the prize of the night sky. Although once imprisoned there, it cannot be said of Us that We have visited the very body in the sky that is Our namesake. We hope very much that this only the beginning in a wonderful relationship with Our friends in the United States, and that both our nations may benefit from this arrangement."
The Equestrian Space program, though less than a year old, is off to an enthusiastic start, with the backing of the three Equestrian Princesses, as well as that of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire.
"I can't wait until our first flight," said unicorn pilot trainee Shooting Star, 22. "We're so excited to explore beyond our own planet. I couldn't have come so far without my friends in both the Equestrian and US space programs."
President Jonathan Willard had this to say;
"I am very relieved to have had this bill soar through Congress, and to have put the old John Hancock on it. My earnest hope is for a man or woman from the United States to set foot on Mars by the end of the decade, and perhaps go beyond."
Not all, however, were so pleased.
"This was not a good decision," said Representative Richard Teller of Illinois. "We're giving away our technology to another nation, one that supposedly does not possess it. And what exactly are we getting in return? magic fireworks? It might be worth it if their end of the bargain was something like a fuel source that never runs out, but given the laws of thermodynamics, which work in both worlds, that seems unlikely."
Luke grunted, finished the second Pop-Tart, and scribbled a note;
At work; will be back by 7:00 P.M. Use house phone to contact me if in trouble. He followed this with his cell phone number.
That done, he walked over to the guest bedroom door. The only sound from there was snoring, although he thought he heard Shadow mumble something.
He checked to make sure he had his keys, wallet, and other accessories with him as he headed for the door.
Deodorant? He sniffed. Yep, that's all set.
He walked out and locked the door.
Lord, please grant that this day is a good one for Your purposes and for this job You've given me, he prayed silently after he'd gotten into his truck. It started as it ought to, and he carefully backed out of the driveway and headed to the museum.
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Shadow was dragged into a room by two Lunar Guards. They threw him further into the room.
"What-"
"Silence!"
Shadow looked up; a Lunar General stood before him, staring down into his eyes.
Despite the previous command, he couldn't help but snarl, "Foal-napping not enough for you, General?"
The General looked down at him fiercely. "I'm afraid that you know too much, Shadow. It's a pity... You were a good Guard, but you overheard my conversations, and I can't let that spread. Speaking of knowing too much..."
The General stomped his hoof, just inches from Shadow's face.
From out of the darkness in the room, Two other Lunar Guards emerged, dragging Aurora and Bright, who were both in chains and badly beaten, with them.
Shadow realized what was going on. "No... Please! I'll do ANYTHING!"
Taking no notice of Shadow's protest, the General went on, "I'm afraid that your entire family will have to die. In an accident, the official reports will say. It's necessary to ensure my secret doesn't get out."
"NO!"
"I would just have them shot," the General went on, "but that would be too loud. A pity, I like the new weapons. Nevertheless, this works just as well."
One of the Guards raised a battle axe over Aurora's head; on the other side, his companion raised his over Bright's.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The axes fell.
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Shadow let out a gasp and shot upright in the bed, sweating and panting.
It took him a few moments to realize that it had all been a dream. Bright and Aurora were still sleeping; the former hadn't even reacted to his outburst, and the latter had groaned in her sleep, but had remained sleeping.
They were in America, not Equestria, and this was some state far away from DC. They were in some normal-sized town. They were about as safe as possible.
And that Lunar General was an entire world away.
For now, at least.
He looked around the room, at Bright, then his wife, then at the windows. It was daylight outside, ordinarily the time for Thestrals to sleep.
I don't want to sleep if I'm going to have that nightmare again. It was one of those quick thoughts that flutter across the mind, but it nevertheless had an effect. And after all the times I've looked down on sunrisers for being awake during the day...
He felt terrified, even though it had just been a dream. He decided to get up and look for something in the cabinet. Maybe some sleeping pills and some cold milk could help him sleep easier.
He slowly and carefully got out of bed, walked quietly past his son, and opened the door. He walked into the kitchen and began looking for any sleeping pills.
Cold and cough... headaches... Here we go...
He took out the pills he was looking for, poured himself a cup full of milk, and downed the pills with the drink. Already, he was feeling a bit better.
But try as he might, that image of a swinging axe would not abandon the far recesses of his mind as he lay back down on his side of the bed.
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Luke, for the umpteenth time, studied the Japanese matchlock encased in the Sengoku Jidai-era Japan display. Although guns were not native to Japan, this, as did other specimens of its type, bore a distinctly Japanese appearance.
He shook himself, also for the umpteenth time, out of his brief reverie and walked over to the section of the museum on Medieval Europe, where he was to lead a tour group in a few minutes.
The group was already forming as he arrived. He was surprised to see two ponies in the group; other than the thestrals in his house, he hadn't seen ponies in Maine a whole lot. One was a tan unicorn stallion, who was levitating a pen and a writing board. The other was an earth pony mare whose coat reminded Luke of red grape or raspberry jam. Both seem quite eager for the tour to begin, and the stallion was already writing things down with a look of excitement upon his face. The mare looked content, but bore a look in her eyes that seemed to signal a similar excitement to the unicorn. The unicorn had a book with a quill writing in it for a cutie mark, while the other had a statue of a Royal Guard holding a spear.
Intriguing, but I'd better remember where I am. Work is no place for this kind of curiosity.
With an effort, he suppressed his inner brony and said, "Welcome to the Joshua Chamberlain Museum*. I am your host, Luke Martin, and it is my pleasure and privilege to lead you on this tour of the Early Medieval Period of European history."
Some of the group - mainly adults, and of course the two ponies - looked up from whatever they had been doing.
"We'll be starting with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and be continuing from there. Please follow me."
He lead them to a life-size figure of a Roman soldier, complete with helmet, shield, and gladius. "Now, the Medieval era, as all ages in history do, came out of the time before it. In this case, in European history, the preceding era was the Roman Imperial period. The Roman republic, after the Antony-Octavius civil war, became what most modern historians label the Roman Empire.
"Now, the question will be asked; why did Rome fall? There are numerous reasons. One is the Third Century crisis, a time of invasions and civil wars that brought the Empire to the brink. Generals in the military tried to become emperors by leading their armies against the current emperor, and border peoples saw opportunities to seize land for themselves, lands richer than their own. In this period, between 235-284, only 2 out of 20 emperors died naturally."
He lead them to a display case, one showing a late Roman-period latifundia. "Another problem was the rise of latifundia, which were essential plantations. These tended to grow cash crops instead of food, and as a result, food had to imported. Additionally, there was a reliance upon slave labor, both on these plantations and elsewhere. Why innovate and invest in new technology when you had unpaid laborers to do the work for you?
"Furthermore, there were economic issues." He pointed to a Roman-era coin in the display. "Inflation. Re-coinage. Coins were made with less precious metals underneath the covering of, say, silver. People lost their trust in currency. Additionally, market prices were frozen; you couldn't sell an item for more than the government said you could."
He lead them to a figure of a Germanic warrior of the late Roman period nearby. "Perhaps the Foederati system was the biggest problem. The Roman Empire at this stage had a massive border, and naturally, this meant that it wasn't too difficult for border peoples to raid and then get off scot-free. The Empire's response was to invite some of these tribes - for lack of a better term - to settle within Roman borders; in exchange, these tribes would take up the task of defending their sections of the border."
He took a moment to breathe. At the same time, one of the ponies - the unicorn - raised their hoof.
"Yes?"
"Why would they invite their enemies into their empire in order to defend it?" the unicorn asked. "It sounds foolish at best to let in other groups - armed groups - to protect you when others of their kind have been raiding you."
"Well, I'm getting there, but the Romans weren't stupid. Their border fortifications, while probably strong enough to withstand a 'barbarian' siege, couldn't be everywhere, and by offering these tribes protection under Roman authority, they were filling, or trying to fill, these holes in their borders. Again, this was just one problem the Romans were facing out of many.
"Now, naturally, some of these so-called 'barbarian' chieftains and kings did well enough to be given Roman military rank and authority. And they wanted more stuff; a lot of what they wanted were needs, such as food. But over time, the foederati system came to mean essentially a mercenary contract. These Germanic kings wanted money and rank, and they had armies at their backs to make those demands. We're not at the boiling point yet, but keep this in mind for the moment."
"One of the later Roman Emperors was a man named Diocletian. Having risen to power via the military, he saw the problems Rome was having and tried to fix them. He made reforms; these included price fixing, dividing the empire into new divisions to make governing them easier, and most significantly, he split the empire in two. He recognized that one emperor couldn't do it all; there had to be some delegation. He effectively split the empire into Eastern and Western halves; each would be ruled by an Augustus, or emperor, and these emperors would each appoint a Caesar under them, with these Caesars not related to the emperor. When one emperor stepped down, the other would have to as well. Their Caesars would then take up the title Augustus, and would appoint Caesars in their turn. It didn't work; when Diocletian stepped down, the other Augustus did so, grudgingly, but after that, this succession process broke down, and Augustuses would refuse to step down when the other Augustus died or retired or was overthrown or what-have-you.
"In addition, many things weren't fixed. As one of the "five good emperors," Diocletian persecuted the Christian faith, and indeed it was the worst period of persecution up to that time. Christianity, unlike Judaism, was not a legal faith, and Diocletian wanted the Roman state to return to its original values. One of these values was emperor-worship, which Christians, believing in one supreme God, refused to do, as well as refusing to worship Roman gods. Both these refusals were seen as subversive, and even treasonous, by the pagan authorities. Christianity would eventually be legalized in 313, but that was only after large numbers of people were murdered, by the state, those claiming to serve the state, and by other individuals. The people being persecuted did manage to save many, many manuscripts from being burned by the authorities, which allowed the New Testament to survive the terrible trial. Christianity would go on to become the state faith as of 395 AD."
"In addition to this, slavery was still a problem, the economy would go into a permanent spiral of devaluation, and the price freezing inspired many citizens to go into black market business. And, of course, the failure of the succession system led to more civil wars and more upheaval. Perhaps most devastating of all was that the city of Rome itself, which had maybe a million people living there, was reduced to a few tens of thousands. Plague, famines, and other causes, such as barbarian invasions, led to a decrease in population in the West."
Luke paused a moment before leading the group to a display showing Roman and barbarian arms. "This era in Roman history coincided with what has been called in modern German as 'Volkerwanderung,' or 'wandering of the peoples.' These tribes were wandering around, as the German name suggests. They were essentially nomadic, with tribal kings having tribal councils, with these councilors then having authority over the tribe. These tribes were large bands of warriors, with women and children of course. Naturally, many of them looked upon the wealth, or seeming wealth, of the Romans with jealously, given the paucity of resources within their own societies, and wanted a slice of it. Hence why so much of the Third Century Crisis was spent by Roman armies running from one trouble spot to another, trying to push back these invaders. That's where the foederati system comes into play; the idea was that some of these peoples would be allowed to settle in safety, and they in turn would fight other tribes encroaching upon that territory.
"One of these tribes, the Goths, would be given foederati status by the Eastern Roman Emperor at the time, Valens. However, Valens failed to provide them with food, and the Goths were so desperate that they actually sometimes sold their children into slavery. The situation could not be sustained and not surprisingly, the Goths rebelled. When Valens met their army at Adrianople in 378, he was defeated and killed. The Goths would lose the war, but this conflict weakened the empire.
"Many believe that this conflict, in particular Adrianople, effectively doomed the Western Empire. Barbarians would raid the Empire; Alaric the Visigoth and Attila the Hun are still names that, to this day, bring the idea of devastation, war, and looting to the mind. Foderati tribes and leaders would weaken it further, sometimes making plays for power. The final emperor in the Western half of the Empire, a child named Romulus Augustus, was dethroned by a Germanic general, Odoacer, in 476."
The mare raised her hoof.
"Yes?"
"Was that it for the Romans? What about the Eastern half?"
"Good question. A lot of people believe that Roman culture and customs died off immediately, but this can be easily disproved. The Eastern Roman Empire would continue to refer to itself as the Roman Empire, even though it was more Greek than Latin; it would last until 1453, even longer if we consider the Empire of Trebizond as a short-lived successor state. Furthermore, the Roman language and customs ironically were carried on by the very peoples who brought down the Empire, with Germanic leaders and their people converting to Christianity, speaking Latin for official ceremonies, and wearing Roman clothing at times. In fact, though we won't be covering it for some time, there would be efforts to revive the Empire. Charlemagne's Empire and the Holy Roman Empire were two such attempts, though as would be covered in a tour for the later Medieval Period, these would not last. The Latin language continued to be the language of law and government for centuries across Europe, and continues as the official language of the Catholic Church."
Luke looked at a painting of Rome being sacked in 410. "Rome itself, however, would only briefly be re-conquered by the East, and then abandoned again after Emperor Justinian died, because the cost of holding onto it was considered to be too much. Rome itself would not recover for centuries. Throughout the Dark and Medieval ages, structures such as the aqueduct would be sorely missed."
He looked around. Much of the group seemed to have some interest. Some - and here he couldn't help but sigh mentally - looked bored.
The two ponies, however, were still looking quite interested in the subject. The unicorn again raised his hoof - Luke saw that both his and the mare's hooves were shod with nailed-on horseshoes.
"Yes?"
"Is this the end of the tour?"
"Oh, not yet. There's plenty more to see."
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Shadow raised his M-16, modified to fit shod pony hooves, and peeked out from behind the tree.
Three dragons, a pair of diamond dogs, and an unreformed changeling were gathered together. Even without the fire they had going, he could have seen them easily. He made sure to note their exact positions.
This mission...
Queen Chrysalis had a dearth of drones left; less than fifty, though intelligence wasn't entirely clear. She needed allies if she was going to stand any hope of reconquering her hive, let alone inflict the damage needed to overthrow Equestria. Unfortunately, diamond dogs were always looking for ways to get more gems, and dragons - especially younger ones, like these - loved to destroy. Both species had members that disliked Equestria for stopping them from doing whatever they wanted.
While Dragon Lord Ember could issue general commands, she did not have total, hive-like control over her people, and these three dragons - a mint-green one, a purple one, and a bigger, older, reddish-orange one - looked like they were interested in what the changeling had to say. He could only hear snippets of their conversation, but the changeling seemed to be winning them over.
A high-pitched screech rang through the air. It was too high for the band around the fire to hear, but Shadow and his fellow thestrals, scattered around and ready to ambush the group, could hear it just fine.
Shadow sprang out from behind the tree, gun raised and pointed at the changeling's head. Other Lunar Guards also emerged, surrounding the group.
"Hooves up! Don't move!"
The changeling spat. Instead of obeying, he shot a green beam at the nearest thestral, who managed to dodge it.
Shadow fired. The changeling was struck by three rounds, one after the other, and fell as if in slow motion.
One of the dragons - the green one - let loose a burst of flame, setting the surrounding trees on fire as several thestrals scattered to avoid being barbecued.
A loud roaring noise came from Shadow's left. A rocket streaked toward the dragon, who was hit dead center of the chest. The projectile pierced the scales of the dragon. Shadow looked away as the rocket exploded.
The other two dragons, seeing what had happened to their comrade, tried to fly away; both were intercepted by Lunar Guards ready for just such an attempt. A net was thrown over the dragons, one made immune to dragon fire via magic. Both fell to the ground, crashing in a heap.
The diamond dogs simply cowered on the ground. They remained that way as they were cuffed by Lunar Guards.
"Shadow, we were supposed to capture that changeling," his commanding officer, Starry Sky, said, landing next to him. "We needed him for interrogation. He could have led us to the queen!"
"I didn't shoot to kill," Shadow replied, miffed. "You'll find he'll live, if he's given medical attention. And was I supposed to let him fry Starfire?"
"No, but... if he doesn't make it, it's on your head."
"And if he lives..."
"If he lives, you'll get the credit," Starry Sky said, sighing. "We did what we had to do. Night Stalker, that bazooka was for last resort, not first!"
"Sorry, sir," the recruit, maybe nineteen years old, said sheepishly.
"'Sorry' catches no prey**."
"Have a heart, sir," an older thestral by the name of Shade protested. "The kid kept us from becoming fried chicken."
"Hearts are for civies, not Lunar Guard Lieutenants; for that matter, they aren't for the Lunar Guard, period," Starry Sky replied. "I said I wanted it used for last resort, and I meant it."
He turned to the changeling, who was in fact still breathing, and was now coming to. Sky put a hoof gently but firmly upon his neck. "You're going to tell us everything you know when we get back to Canterlot, or Princess Luna is going to make your remaining nights a living nightmare."
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Shadow awoke again, this time without sitting up.
He yawned as he looked out the window. Still daylight.
He had almost forgotten that mission, just three years back, not long after the Princesses had opened the portals to Earth and military advisors had arrived. The intention had been to capture the changeling as well as the entire gang. Obviously, as he remembered it, it hadn't gone perfectly... but a dead dragon was better than a squad's worth of dead thestrals, though the military stallion within him still struggled between following orders and saving lives.
He thought about it as he tried to go back to sleep. The changeling, as far as he was aware, had never squealed. Even after Princess Luna herself had tried to tear the information from his mind, he had revealed nothing other than hatred for ponies. He was still locked up in the dungeons under the royal palace, if he was still alive, and that wouldn't change unless he gave in, which was probably not going to happen.
The diamond dogs hadn't needed much persuasion to get them to talk, but it turned out that they didn't know much. They were there to try and get the best conditions for their clan as possible, which had included the promise of pony slaves when the unreformed changelings came back into power. They had revealed their clan and its whereabouts under Equestria. That clan didn't reside within Equestrian borders any more. Celestia, Luna, and a couple of their Guards had gone in and revealed the whole scheme. Their leader was forced to admit his guilt. The Princesses hadn't come to arrest the entire clan, but the army camped above their hideout was persuasive. They were going to leave, and never return, Celestia had said... or else. The clan wisely agreed to leave... but they were forced to leave all of their current gems in Equestrian hooves, and to abandon all but the most necessary weapons and armor. Since then, they had been monitored by Equestrian secret agents, and so far there had been no further hostilities with that clan.
The dragons had been in massive trouble. They had at first refused to talk... a problem that was quickly fixed when Dragon Lord Ember herself came and used her scepter to force them to reveal what they knew. They had planned to usurp her by stealing the scepter, and to use it to force the dragons to go to war with Equestria; Chrysalis' agent had promised to give the dragons all the gems and gold in the Equestrian treasury, along with any other gems they found... and the southern half of the continent would be theirs to destroy or conquer or do whatever they saw fit to do.
Ember had been ruthless. She had ordered them to become servants to the Princesses for six months, and afterwards made them give up all their gems, which she had distributed among the other dragons along with a warning that any dragon who cooperated with Chrysalis would be handed over to Equestrian dungeons. Following their period of servitude, the two dragons who had survived the ambush were thrown into a separate dungeon from the changeling, in fireproof solitary confinement. They were still there, as far as Shadow knew; their jail terms weren't over yet.
Starry Sky had come out of the thing as a hero within the Lunar Guard; it had been the first op using modified human weapons, and it had come off without a single thestral casualty. Shadow had been reprimanded, but not harshly, and was soon given a letter of commendation, personally signed by Princess Luna. Night Stalker, the kid with the bazooka, had gotten off rather lightly. His bazooka was taken away for the time being, but there was no further punishment, and after several operations where he had performed well, he'd earned it back. The rest of the platoon were given a citation for excellence, and the Lunar Guard celebrated the success.
As his mind began to wander off as he approached sleep, he couldn't help but think of Starry Sky one more time, and his ominous words;
"Hearts are for civies, not Lunar Guard Lieutenants; for that matter, they aren't for the Lunar Guard, period..."
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Luke led the group to a bust of Charlemagne. "Now, after Pippin the Short passed away, his son, Charles, took the throne of the Frankish Kingdom. His was not to be a peaceful reign; indeed, throughout it he was almost constantly on the move, at war with the Saxons, the Muslim invaders of Spain, and the Lombards of Northern Italy, among others. His wars with the Saxons in particular lasted for decades; according to one Einhard, the Saxons would surrender and pretend to humble themselves, then rebel almost every year. He eventually crushed them, though not without very punitive measures, including the 'Bloody Verdict of Verden, where four thousand, five hundred captured rebels were executed.
"His reign was not entirely one of war, though warfare was nearly constant. Charles also supported the arts and the establishment of what was in essence a palatial school in Aachen, which many take to be the closest Charlemagne had to a capital city. The Carolingian Renaissance that followed featured Latin being reborn, and notation being made for music. There were two kinds of educational programs; the Trivium and the Quadrivium. The Trivium taught grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The Quadrivium featured math-based sciences, music, astronomy, and arithmetic. There were efforts to recreate Roman architecture, and art saw an increase; the art was mainly art of Biblical events. Illuminations were images designed to display Bible passages, which was considered useful by the Catholic Church because most people - including peasants and nobles alike - remained illiterate, so the easiest way to teach people the Bible was through a combination of preaching and visualizing the events described. Charles himself learned Latin and tried to learn what he could about the Romans, though apparently he wasn't a fan of their clothing.
"In the year 800 AD, on Christmas Day, Charles was crowned as Roman Emperor by the Pope. Historians are somewhat divided on whether or not it was a surprise for Charles. Einhard said that Charlemagne had no idea what the Pope was going to do, another source says Charles went to Rome in coronation garb. Sometimes, especially when the information is scanty, we have to make the best guess we can. In any case, there is an irony in that a Germanic king was named Roman Emperor, and that one of the peoples who invaded the Empire became it's momentary restorers."
The unicorn raised his hoof.
"Yes?"
"Wasn't this Pope in charge of Rome? Why was Charles called a 'Roman' Emperor when he didn't even rule the city?"
Luke chuckled. "That's indeed a great irony, as is the fact that the Holy Roman Emperors in the High Medieval Period almost never directly controlled Rome." He thought for a few seconds. "In my opinion, and it could be wrong, the Pope was the spiritual leader of the Catholic, meaning 'Universal,' Church, which was supposed to unite all of Christendom, and Charles was seen as it's physical protector. Charles had saved Pope Adrian from being tortured by the actual Roman nobility, and had protected Rome from the Lombards of northern Italy, whom the Pope was afraid of, so it's not hard to see why the Pope would honor Charles this way. I think, and again I could be wrong, that the idea was that although the Pope controlled Rome, the two lands were at least symbolically connected, a spiritual part - Papal - and a secular part - the lands directly ruled by Charles - with the latter protecting the former. It's... a bit of an idealistic rather than factual unity, but if the Pope was the leader of Christendom and Charles was the sword and shield expanding and protecting it, then a connection can be seen."
The unicorn nodded, put his hoof down, and wrote. the mare raised her hoof.
"Yes?"
"What about the Eastern Empire? What did they think of Charles being named Emperor when they already had an Emperor of their own?"
"They took it very poorly, as you might expect. The Eastern Empire and the Pope hadn't exactly gotten along, and Adrian had written a condemnation of the Eastern Church. The Eastern Romans were furious, but they didn't attempt to use military force to decide the matter; as far as I'm aware, the forces of Charles' empire and that of the Eastern never clashed. However, the split between the Catholic and Eastern Church certainly widened during this time, and ultimately the Eastern Church would break away from Catholic control entirely, becoming what we know today as the Orthodox Church."
A woman raised her hand. Luke nodded, and she said, "How much of an empire was Charles's empire?"
Luke hesitated. "It... It was certainly an empire in extent, ruling or making tributaries out of all of modern France and most of Germany and northern Italy, with a large slice of northern Spain. However, inwardly, it was a 'village' empire, with the majority - I would say the vast majority - of the settlements under Charlemagne's rule being little villages with subsistence agriculture, interspersed with a few small cities, such as Aachen. Charlemagne's empire was, essentially, iron mixed with clay; it mimicked Rome to an extent, and controlled a lot of territory, but it was at best a shadow of the Roman Empire. Charles certainly didn't rebuild anything like the Roman Senate, and there were no big cities, as Rome had had prior to its decline and collapse."
"What happened to it?" a man asked.
He hadn't raised his hand, but Luke didn't mind. "It would eventually break into three states. Louis the Pious, who took over after Charles died in 814, didn't have the resources to expand further, and fought to maintain the empire rather than expand it. He is largely overshadowed by his father; not surprising, given Charles' success. Louis took up the cause of ecclesiastical and monastic reform; he was most interested in matters of faith, hence his nickname of 'the Pious.' He was the only surviving son of Charles, which meant that he inherited the entire empire. However, his three sons, Louis the German, Charles the Fat, and Lothair were feuding and fighting even while Louis the Pious was still alive; at one point Louis Senior was captured by one of his sons during the fighting.
"Louis had divided the empire between his sons, per gavelkind succession. Charles got what was essentially modern day France. Louis the German got most of Germany, hence his nickname. Lothair was to receive the Imperial title and got the land between his brothers as well as northern Italy. He was supposed to have authority over his brothers, i.e., he was to basically control the entire empire with his siblings as his subordinates."
He led the group to a map of Europe in 843. "Suffice it to say, it didn't turn out that way. Even before their father died in 840, Charles the Fat and Louis the German pledged that they would never accept Lothair as their ruler. In 841, they crushed Lothair at the battle of Fontenay, and in 843, the Treaty of Verdun was signed, formally splitting the empire into three states. Charles became king of the West Franks, or West Francia. Lothair became king of Middle Francia. Louis became king of East Francia. Unfortunately for Lothair, his kingdom would also split into three states upon his death in 855; Lothairingia, (named after his son, also called Lothair), Burgundy, which was part of Switzerland and southeastern France, and Italy. Charles' portion, West Francia, would develop into the kingdom of France, while Louis' East Francia would eventually develop into the kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire."
Luke looked around, taking the time to look at everyone's faces. "We're coming to the end of our tour of the Early Medieval Period. Thank you all for choosing to come on this tour, and I hope you've enjoyed this session of history."
He watched as the group dispersed... all but the two ponies, who remained.
"Hello," the unicorn said to Luke, walking toward him a couple steps. "My wife and I would like to ask some more questions, if that's okay."
"I have about twenty minutes until the next tour group, so I have some time."
"Thank you," the earth pony said. "I'm Red Guard - but everypony calls me Red - and my fiancee is Quill."
"Nice to meet both of you," Luke said, smiling.
"Alright," the mare said, as her husband raised both his notes and quill. "First, why did gavelkind succession even exist? It seems like a bad idea in general to split up the territories you've just conquered between your children."
Luke thought about it. "I think the idea of splitting territories equally between your sons is meant to prevent fighting. It obviously didn't work all the time; aside from Lothair's troubles, there's the example of King Henry II of England a couple centuries later. He planned to split his land between his sons, with his son, Henry III, getting the Kingdom of England itself, Anjou and Normandy, Richard would get Aquitaine, Geoffrey would get Brittany and his youngest, John, would get the part of Ireland that England had conquered by this time. This didn't work; except for John, who was only eight at the time, Henry's sons all rebelled against him. Their father crushed them all, along with the King of France, who attempted to help them in order to destablize English power. I think that family ties were supposed to help stop any infighting, along with evened-out portions of territory, but... power is a corrupting thing, invading even the family unit."
"That's true," Quill said, nodding. "My father was one of those stallions who wanted everything, his children included, to do things his way, or the highway."
"What about daughters? You only mentioned sons," Red asked.
Luke sighed. "Unfortunately, women weren't exactly considered equal to men at the time. They were entitled to zip regarding succession unless there was no legal male heir. That would remain true until the 1900's, and even then a long way into the 1900's. Nevertheless, there were notable medieval women who inherited and maintained their rule, one of the more notable being Matilda of Tuscany, who defended the Pope against Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire."
"Okay, next question," Red Guard said, sounding excited. "Why are the Romans considered so important for today? Why are they seen as so influential when they fell about 1,500 years ago? Especially when they engaged in things like infanticide and slavery?"
"That is... a good question. For one thing, I could ask why any nation in our history is seen with any significance if we take that point of view; what we build today is been built upon what those before us have constructed. "
"Oof, he's got you there dear," Quill said, amused.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the mare replied, lightly and jovially cuffing his ear.
Luke went on, "To say that every society has flaws is perhaps one of the understatements of the year; for example, the Spartans, so revered today as the heroes of Thermopylae, would leave 'weak' children on a supposedly sacred mountain to die."
Luke sighed before continuing. "What the Romans are remembered for, aside from their flaws, are their architectural and government feats. They established one of the longest-lasting republics, certainly the longest lasting of the ancient era, and in combination with democracy as established by the Athenian Greeks, inspired modern-day republics and the idea of the common person having a say, however small, in their own government. Of course, the Roman Republic was more a rule of the elite over the masses; the system for electing consuls was deliberately designed so that nearly 51% of the votes would come from the richest citizens and aristocrats. But the concept of common people having a role in their own governance remains. The Roman military is also something they are admired for; along with being the most effective military of its age, their army was known for being able to construct bridges, fortifications, and roads faster than most societies would have believed possible. We also have famous figures from the Roman era who are relatively well known to us; Cicero, the elderly statesman who feared a return to monarchy as well as the bypassing of the Senate by a strongman; Julius Caesar, a great general who would become dictator over the state (as Cicero feared); and Pompey Magnus, originally one of Caesar's triumvirates and eventually leader of the anti-Caesar faction in the civil war that Caesar started."
Quill looked up once he was done writing. "I do have a question about Charlemagne. But it involves a more personal matter."
"Hmm?"
"Well... do you know much about the Christian teachings?"
"I'm afraid the museum doesn't allow me to talk about faith as is," Luke said, winking at the end of the sentence. "But if you want more information about them, my shift ends at 6. However, if it's a question related to history, I believe the museum will tolerate it."
Quill nodded. "Don't worry, I think your museum will tolerate it. I just wanted someone knowledgeable about Christianity so that the answer is more informative."
"Right then. What's your question?"
"Well... you said that Charlemagne was seen as the defender of Christendom, even though him killing four thousand plus rebel prisoners and waging aggressive wars go against, say the Golden Rule, or against the idea of "love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you, and pray for those who spitefully use you."
"Matthew 5:44. You've been studying."
"Knowing a culture's faith better helps to understand it. And I and my wife want to know everything that we can know."
"Not saying that we'll convert," Red Guard said. "But let's just say that we find the Scriptures both interesting and difficult to decipher."
"Trust me, both Christians and Jewish people have wrestled with Scripture for a long time." Luke remembered the museum's rules and shook his head. "But in any case, Charlemagne."
"Yes. It seems odd that someone who claims to follow his own Scriptures would break them in, what to us, seems so obvious a way."
Luke gave serious thought to his answer, and was completely silent for a few moments, before signing again. "I think that, over time, the original, true message of Christianity was... twisted. It went from being a prosecuted minority, to eventually, and after much suffering, to being a legalized minority, to becoming the state faith of Rome. After the Romans collapsed, there were orthodox - not to be confused with the Orthodox Church - and heterodox, i.e. mainly heretical, views. The Lombards, for example, who settled in Northern Italy, were Arian - they believed that Jesus was created by the Father and was of a lesser substance than the Father. These heretical views were backed with military might by the nascent states such as that of the Lombards, though the Lombards would eventually convert to Latin Christianity, which was, in essence, the proto-Catholic Church.
"In addition, the pagan nations surrounding the Christian lands were often very violent; the Germanic faiths of northern Germany, as well as of Scandinavia, allowed for human sacrifice, called a blōt, which would have been seen as monstrous - is monstrous, if you want my opinion. Combined with the Islamic invasion and conquest of the vast majority of the Iberian Peninsula, I think - and I could be wrong - that the orthodox (as opposed to heterodox) believers of Christianity felt a crisis of sorts was in the making, and only the Merovingians - later the Carolingians - were strong enough to counter these threats. Under these and other circumstances, I think that Biblical verses on judgment would have been used to justify Charles' actions, along with his duty as a king to protect his subjects. The faith would have been twisted to be more militarized during such times. There is also the fact that there was no Hague or Geneva Convention regarding what to do with prisoners during this time. To Charlemagne, and many people of the time, these rebels he killed at Verden were violent criminals who had recently defeated one of his armies and killed - he would have said murdered - a number of dukes and counts in that battle. To the Saxons, those men had been fighting for their freedom.
"Of course, one should look at the original teachings to see whether one is living up to them. Someone, even a large group of people, not obeying those teachings does not invalidate those teachings; it means that people are disobedient to those teachings. Charlemagne's actions must be judged by whether he lived up to Scripture; Scripture cannot be judged by Charlemagne's actions."
Red Guard bowed her head. "Thank you. That makes things a bit more clear, though perhaps not as clear as we were hoping for."
"History is like that," Luke sighed. "I think people like to categorize historical figures into good and bad, or what we consider good and bad, and flatly so, without any shades of gray. Some few fit clearly into one category or the other, but many do not. There are also more modern figures that historians argue over. Harry Truman's decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 is one area of contention; were the couple of hundred thousand dead and permanently mutilated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki excusable by the likelihood that millions would likely have died if the Americans had had to invade Japan? Was the President's claim that he was able to sleep like a baby after the bombings a show of strength on behalf of the United States or a display of apathy for those killed and maimed? Those kinds of questions permeate the historian's life, and we will probably argue, until the end of time, about such things. Given that a hundred people can have a hundred different opinions on a subject, that's hardly surprising."
"Our historians have the same problem," Quill nodded. "Were the Windigos of Hearth's Warming legend real, or simply written as an author's manifestation of the chaos that enmity causes? Were the changelings a product of some means of magical corruption, or were they created as they were before Chrysalis' dethronement? Just when did unicorns gain the ability to control the sun and moon, and how did they come to discover it? How did the sun and moon operate prior to their discovery? Those kinds of arguments continue in our historic community to this day, and have long been raging."
Red nodded. "Most of the time, when it comes to historical figures, many ponies tend to have a habit of believing them to be good or bad, black and white. It's not reality most of the time, of course, but it's a flaw all too common, here and back home."
"We're going to be spending the day here," Quill said. "Might we accompany you on your next tour?"
"Of course," Luke smiled. "Ten minutes until we start on the High Medieval Period."
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Shadow bit into an apple under the light of the moon. He, Bright, and Aurora were sitting on a red and white patchwork blanket; a basket full of food was on the blanket, and the moon shone brightly overhead as they ate.
It was a peaceful night. Crickets chirped and here and there actual bats flew about. One landed on a peace that Aurora was about to eat, and took a bite of it. Aurora, far from being offended, laughed and allowed the creature to continue eating until it suddenly flew away.
"Dad, when do you think the school's gonna let me play on their team?" Bright asked. "Mr. Pitch has been saying no to me for three days now; he says I'm not good enough."
"Son, remember what your granddad taught you about patience?"
"Yeah, and it stinks."
"Hey, don't be disrespecting your grandfather. Now, if you keep on playing in the field, and doing well in gym class, you'll get your chance. In the meantime, you need to practice."
"But I'm good enough now! I always hit the ball-"
"Straight through Star Chaser's window."
"That only happened once, and you won't let me forget."
"It did not happen only once; you've hit Dusk Trail in the face, you damaged a fence post, and you broke the spoke of a wheel in the market, and that's just a few of the things I could remind you of."
Bright sat down and pouted.
"Don't you dare give me that look! You know it's true." Shadow lightened his expression. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but you need to be able to hit a baseball somewhere that it won't hit anything, or anypony. You need to work on your aim, and to do that somewhere away from town, or our neighbors. There's plenty of places you can practice. And eventually, when you're able to swing and hit without busting something, you'll be on the team. Until then, you have to keep practicing."
"Okay, dad." Bright looked disappointed, but a piece of pie that was in the basket took his mind off baseball, and it wasn't long before he was content again.
"Honey, when do you think the Guard will send you out again?" Aurora asked, when Bright was no longer paying any attention.
"I think three nights from now. You know I can't tell you more than that."
"I do know. I just wish you didn't have to go out so often."
Shadow looked at the moon. "Do you know why I go out there, all those nights, to fight criminals and slavers and who knows what else?"
"For Princess Luna. For Equestria."
"Yes, I go out for those things... but mostly for you. I can't bear to think of anything happening to you and our son."
Aurora nuzzled him gently before kissing him. They looked up at the moon together, as Bright rolled around, chewing on a peach.
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In the real world, Shadow unknowingly smiled in his sleep.