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// The Protectorate of Ponyville 
// Story: Like a shadow 
// by vadram 
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The Protectorate of Ponyville






It has only been a few weeks since Princesses Twilight coronation, and things  and things seemed to be getting more complicated with each passing day.

First came  the parties, then the formal dinners, then the dinner parties. An endless string of official meetings with foreign dignitaries. From the Ambassador of the Griffin Kingdoms, to the Zebrica Representative, and even one of the leaders of a Diamond Dog clan came and congratulated her, shook her hoove, bowed, hugged, or sniffed her rear, depending on each of their customs.

Then came the paperwork. Dozens of forms had to be completed, family interviewed, blood drawn as well as other bodily secretion. Mental examination and many more tests was Twilight subjected to, all done just to appease the royal families. 

It was not everyday a pony reaches alicornhood, and is gifted her own kingdom, where she would rule as she seemed fit. 

The status quo had been violently shaken, and the powers that be needed every bit of information they could get their hooves on regarding the new piece on the chessboard that was Equestrian politics. 

All the poking and prodding, as well as the endless string of questions, with subjects ranging from how she felt about certain Equestrian laws or policies, to questions about her relation to her family, most of which having to do with either her father or her brother. And there were even ones about her love life, or lack there off.

This would have drove her mad if not for Celestia, who reassured her all the way, telling her that the exact same thing happened when Princess Luna returned, or when Cadence became a princess.

Then came the issue of her new Kingdom.

As everypony knows, Equestria is a diarchy, ruled by the Two Royal Pony Sisters, Celestia and Luna. But, the two alicorns only handled the major decisions taking, leaving the day to day jobs in the capable hooves of the royal families. Who were the descendants of the royal families from the times of the Three Tribes, and none of them were willing to hoof over part of their territory and power over to some new princess they knew very little about.

When Princess Luna came back there was nothing they could have done. She ruled before, and there was nothing they could do about it. It was her right, and did not offset the balance of power to much, it only meant that there were now two ponies that the nobles had to suck up to. When Princess Mi Amore Cadenza took over the Crystal Empire, no one family gain or lost power or influence, there the balance of power remain as it had been before. But Princess Twilight Sparkle had no claim, neither by birth, marriage, or inheritance, and there was no magical city that simply appeared out of thin air after a millennium. So her new kingdom would have to be cut out off existing land, and thus weakening one or more of the families. And none of them wished to give up anything.

For days, the representatives of all of the royal families, Twilight, Celestia and Luna, stood in a large room, looking at a giant map of Equestria, trying to decided where and how big the Twilight's new kingdom was going to be.

When Twilight made it clear that no matter how big her country will be, Ponyville will be part of it, the nobles split into two groups. 

The first was made out of the ponies that represented the families that ruled over the regions near Ponyville as well as their allies, and they wanted to make the new kingdom as small as possible. 

The other group wanted the exact opposite, to make the new kingdom as big as possible thus weakening their opposition.

The “talks,” went on for hours at end, but in the end no decision could be make. Not until Celestia rushed the process along when she asked Twilight how big she wanted her kingdom to be. Whatever Twilight said, this would be final.

Twilight looked at the map, picked up a magical marker and drew the shape of a circle, with Ponyville as its center. She then made correction to the outline, taking into account nearby landmarks, rivers, lakes, mountains ridges, and making sure to let the Everfree out of her new domain. The forest was a more trouble than it was worth, and she wanted to spare herself the headaches.

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked, surprised by the borders Twilight set for her new kingdom.

“Yes,” Twilight replied.

“It is just that it seems kind of...”

“Small,” Luna interrupted her sister.

The area Twilight circled out had Ponyville and only a couple of smaller town, barely a few thousand ponies in all, and most of them earth ponies at that, it was a rural area after all. There were no major cities, it had no actual industry, over three quarters of its land was farmland, and most of the rest was covered by forests. This was more than acceptable by the ponies that ruled the neighboring regions, since without any industry, all the new kingdom's trade would be either with them, or pass through their territory.

And thus, on that day, the newest kingdom in Equestria was born. Twilight herself chose its new name, The Protectorate of Ponyville. Population 4357. A 3:1 mare to stallion ratio. 80% earth ponies, 10% pegasus ponies, and 10% unicorn ponies. Capital Ponyville. The smallest country in recorded history.

The news of the birth of this new nation spread across Equestria, and soon there was nopony alive that did not knew about its existance.