//------------------------------// // 22: The End of the War // Story: Anon von Bismarck // by WojakWriter //------------------------------// The streets of Canterlot are awash in celebration. Cider flows like water, as it has for the past several days, but today the revelers are especially boisterous. Today was the day that Emperor Willem Gunnar finally came to Canterlot to sign the peace treaty with myself and Princess Cadence. It’s been a long war, and I feel as if a weight finally lifted from my chest. Five months of war was already too much, the several thousand ponies that had given their lives was orders of magnitude too many. But the sacrifice was not in vain, Equestria was finally safe. The feeling of the city has swept over Quill as well, she has a spring in her step as she wanders the streets beside me. It's something I haven't seen since well before the war began, and I couldn't be happier today. The victory, the mood, Quill's return to happiness, even the public appearance of the treaty signing and public speech couldn't drag me down from my high spirits. Eventually, I reached the train station. I’d had some difficulty making my way through the press of ponies, but had somehow made it with my clothes unstained and sober as the day I was born. Quill was a bit worse for wear, having been pulled into an impromptu song and dance, but was more than able to remain at my side And so we waited among a massive crowd waiting to welcome home the first victors Equestria had seen in centuries. At least they had allowed me to the front, as befit the ruler of a nation. Ruler of a nation. A Chancellor. I prayed this would last forever. I stood beside a few remaining ministers on the platform, making small talk while the distant trail of smoke grows larger. The disappearance of Flashy Image could be felt. Still, no one questioned why she was gone. The other ministers could infer why, but the public was clueless. It was of no matter. What they don’t know won’t hurt them. But we had a simple discussion of implementing ideas like pollution clearing spells and expansion of the rail lines, nothing I wouldn't have spoken of at a meeting. After all these were my former colleagues, and now my political puppets. To speak outside the realms of business was wasteful, and possibly dangerous to boot. But as the brakes of the train begin to squeal while it pulls into the station, the conversation stops as the cars do the same. Steam hisses from the engine as the machine settles, and after a moment the doors open to reveal Princess Luna and General Iron Greaves. But just behind them is the true guest of honour, and as they step out so to does the former griffon emperor, Willem Gunnar. Even in defeat, his clothes tattered and fur unkempt, he keeps a regal posture and exudes arrogance. A small, smug smirk touches my lips and I spread my arms wide. I had to shout to make myself heard over the raucous cheers. “Welcome home, our victorious heroes!” The cheering redoubles as Luna and Iron Greaves gave a short bow. I finally focused in on Luna, and noticed the state she was in. She looks totally exhausted, dark eye crescents clear even on her deep, blue coat, her normally flowing mane subdued and dirty, and her eyes a bloodshot red. My orders of a direct barrage could be seen on her eyes. Just how much she had been able to tolerate had almost been strained too far. Iron Greaves too looks tired, though less bedraggled than the night princess. But the state that Luna was in makes me realize that, if this was the effect on a princess, then the effect on the general soldiery must be shocking. Not much difference in how I and many others felt after leaving Vietnam. I could now understand just how deep the mistakes that the politicians of Earth had made ran. But I would not fall into the same traps, I silently vowed to establish a fund for their wellbeing as soon as I could. A fund I never got to use, a fund that could’ve made me happy. Perhaps even using some of the stores liberated from the griffons, it would be true poetry to use what was meant to fund a war to aid those who had taken it from them. But that would have to wait, for now I would be parading with Gunnar and his escort to the Grand Plaza of the city. He would be paraded around the city. Humiliated by the crowds. And I had planned on taking the long route. This was going to be fun. Princess Cadence was already waiting there for the official signing. As I walked towards the table, the escort was busy keeping the crowd back the whole while. I’m surprised at the obscenities and racial slurs I heard from them, even though they're almost cute in their language, I hadn't thought ponies to have so much bile in them. But proof of just how much hate they held was heaped on me for every step I took. Behind the escort, a procession of troops was welcomed with cheering and ecstatic shouts. The switch from one to the other was jarring, but the troops more than deserved such praise, but all managed to stay professional while enjoying it. All told, it takes a half hour for what should have been a ten minute walk. At the very least, the former emperor hadn't been struck by anything more than a rotten tomato. But he remained quiet and held his head high for the entire gauntlet. I could respect him for his will, even if I had hated the arrogance that it stemmed from. The two of us left the escort behind as we climb the steps to the stage that the table had been set on. Cadence sits with a stern expression on her face, taking up one end of the ornate table. I seated myself at the center and har Gunnar at the other end. A terse silence remains between the three of us as General Stalwart Shield, the former defense minister, and newly appointed Field Marshal, made a short speech to summarize the events of the day. Finally, he floats a scroll over to the table and rolls it out in front of the three of us. In turn, with the griffon signing first, all three of us signee the instruments of the Griffon Empire's surrender. Gunnar had held his pen over the document for a long while, but finally he had issued his signature. Cadence and I didn't take nearly so long, and within a few minutes Stalwart Shield was showing the document off to an ecstatic crowd and media cameras. I would have this document preserved, a standing testament to the success of my rule... After a moment of grand standing, he gestured to me, pulling me from my thoughts. It was time for me to make the grandest speech I ever had given. The cheers died down as I took to the center of the stage, and I took a deep breath before beginning. “Mares and gentlecolts, today marks a new cornerstone in the history of Equestria. In just four months, I have transformed our ill-equipped and meager defense force into the mightiest force the world has seen.” I saw Stalwart Shield swell with pride, along with the soldiers who line the crowd. “It is that force that has delivered us from the brink of disaster, that force who so bravely sallied into the first battles in eight hundred years. That so bravely went into the hell that is war. And what battles they fought! At Trottingham they defeated a force twice their size, and at the gates of Griffonstone a mere five thousand ponies took the capital itself!” A loud cheer goes up from the crowd, who could not be more elated at the news of such victories. Was the praise over the top? Certainly, but in such a victory like this dramatics were more than welcome to heighten the mood ever further. To be happy in victory was what could help heal the wounds of war. “The flag of Equestria flies over the battlements at Griffonstone, but let us not forget the cost of war. Not just to our own, but to our allies and enemies alike. To Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, you and your husband have my eternal gratitude for your invaluable aid in keeping the enemy at bay in the North. And even now, the Equestrian Corps of Engineers has been sent to Griffonstone to help rebuild the city.” I paused to take a breath, and the crowd holds their own in anticipation. “We must keep in mind that this war was not one of conquest, but of liberation. Our military does not stand to take the lands of others, but to protect our home and the homes of those we call friends. Even now, a delegation from Capras comes to discuss the independence of their nation and a team of experts seek griffons to serve on a new high council. Never again shall the griffons find themselves led by their beaks into a war they did not want. Never again shall they need to endure the atrocious conditions of war without necessity. We shall assist them in rebuilding their nation and ensure their peaceful return to the world stage.” Lies. All of it was lies. There was no delegation but a boy Prince, and there was no high council, just oligarchs appointed by me. The crowd doesn't cheer for this, sensible enough I supposed, but they applaud the feeling behind them. When they fell silent again, I continued. “So let us carry onward, on to a bright future of peace and prosperity. And let us leave not one of our allies behind, but carry them forth with us into a new golden age!” The applause builds slowly at first, but soon grows into a deafening raucous. I smiled warmly and waved to the crowd, and Princess Cadence comes and joins me. Gunnar was led away to be spoken with later, I still had to discuss what was to become of him and his nation. So far, Freidrich van den Tann, the griffon general, had been promised a position in this new council. I didn’t know much about him, but I trusted Luna’s judgment of him. Allistair had also surprisingly offered to join as a member of the “high council.” A surprise, but a welcome one. He feared me. He wouldn’t have the courage to defy me. The only person left to ensure legitimacy was Willem. And if he didn’t agree, we could always find another willing noble. The royal family of the griffons wasn’t exactly small. But that could all wait for later. For now, I still had some public relations to do with Princess Cadence. I looked over to her and held out a hand to shake. “So then princess, shall we go together?” For perhaps the first time I’ve ever seen, she gave me a genuine smile instead of a fake one, as she takes my hand and shakes it. “Yes, chancellor, let's.” And so we walked off the stage, and into a Equestria's new golden age.