//------------------------------// // (4) // Story: Soviet Equestria, The Rise of Communism // by CommunistTaco //------------------------------// The envoy trudged into the gates of Ruhm on the early morning of the fourth day since their departure. Flanked by two battalions of griffon soldiers, they walked through the ancient stone streets of the capital city turning heads as they went. Iron Curtain along with Steelhoof were in a small military vehicle near the back of the pack looking on with relative indifference. Ruhm was what you could say the exact opposite of Canterlot. Rather than brilliant white marble and pristine golden roofs, the griffon capital was a city made out of dark-grayish cobblestone with the castle itself made almost entirely out of basalt. Of course for such a dreary place like Ruhm, its citizens were much happier than that of bright and shiny Canterlot. As they approached the black basalt castle, hundreds of griffon civilians all came out of their homes and shops to see what all the commotion was about. Iron Curtain was a rather imposing figure so when his vehicle passed by, many griffon civilians looked away faltering under his fiery glare. The gates to the castle were opened and the envoy proceeded inwards towards the court of Emperor Razorbeak himself. Iron and Steel left their vehicle outside and began to walk at the head of their troops towards the large basalt throne room doors which were promptly opened for them. Upon entering a grand scene was displayed before them. A long hall with ornate basalt columns lay in front of them and a large throne rose from the ground at the end, a rather fierce looking griffon who adorned military uniform rather than a typical crown that was associated with royalty. Griffon guards lined the hall making a passage for Iron and Steel as well as their own guards to approach the throne. The two communist leaders slowly approached the Emperor four guards flanking either side of them as they went. They stopped about four feet away and gave slight nods of the head to acknowledge Razorbeak while their guards saluted. Iron decided to be the first to speak up clearing his throat. "Emperor Razorbeak. I'm glad we can finally meet face to face," he said a wary smile growing on his face. "Indeed Iron Curtain. I believe we have much to discuss. But before that I would like to welcome you to Ruhm. I will do everything in my power to make your stay as enjoyable as possible." "Thank you emperor. Is their somewhere more private we can discuss matters?" Iron asked lifting his brow slightly. "Of course I will take us there in due notice but first I have something for you," Razorbeak replied nodding to one of his servants who quickly rushed over to Iron and held out what appeared to be a letter. Iron looked up at Razorbeak in confusion as the letter was marked as being from Celestia herself. "Came for you last night. I took the courtesy of not opening it until your arrival," Razorbeak said coolly. Iron slowly ripped open the envelope and pulled a folded piece of paper. Upon unfolding it he discovered a short letter addressed to him, Commander Iron Curtain of the Equestrian Communist Party, The Equestrian Government has found you guilty of treason in the highest degree. At 16:45 three days prior, a pegasus scout spotted you and your envoy crossing the Equestrian border and we have come to the conclusion that you are defecting. Hereby, you are banished from ever returning to Equestria as long as you may live. If seen inside Eqestrian borders again, you will be incarcerated for life without bail. Yours truly, Princess Celestia "Well that's just great isn't it?" Iron spat tossing the letter to the ground and stomping on it with a hoof. "Yes, I'm afraid your attempt to bring Equestria down from the inside are going to be a touch harder now hmm?" Razorbeak chimed earning him a glare from both Iron and a few of his guards. "Indeed. Though I still believe it may be possible," Iron replied with a resurgence of confidence. "Well, I would love to hear all about how you shall accomplish such a feat so why don't take a stroll to my conference room shall we?" Razorbeak remarked standing up from his throne and walking towards the end of the throne room. "Yes, Let's." Iron muttered before following the Emperor with Steel a few paces behind. The castle was quite magnificent to say the least. The masonry depicted all sorts of images of battles, cities, and previous Emperors. The walk to the conference room was relatively short and an eerie silence reigned throughout the entire trip. Two of Razorbeak's guards hastily pulled two large iron doors aside to allow the envoy to enter the conference room. Grand would be an understatement for the room. Lavish paintings and tapestries as well as golden statues and a giant crystal chandelier made the room look like it was made for the gods. A giant circular conference table sat in the center off the room with chairs lining its perimeter. Several of the Red Guards looked around in awe at the magnificence of the decor but after a few moments return to their stoic expressions. Razorbeak moved to the far end of the room and sat in a large throne-like chair obviously built for solely the emperor to sit in. Iron took a chair on the opposite end of the table with Steel taking the seat to his right. The guards all took positions behind their respective leaders, standing at attention and awaiting orders. Iron had a neutral look on his face, not wanting to display any emotional weakness to the emperor. Steel simply gave the emperor a stare that showed he only held contempt for the griffon emperor. Razorbeak however, had a bemused look on his face that showed his lack of care for the two leaders, at least for now. He decided to break the icy silence and address the ponies in front of him. "So, I hear you have come to discuss a sort of, "business" transaction. Why don't we hear what you have to say hmm?" The emperor spoke in a sort of condescending way that seemed to infuriate Steelhoof. He opened his mouth to retort but was silenced by Iron's hoof. Iron didn't want to resort to arguing ten seconds into the meeting. "Yes, we were hoping to arrange a "deal" of sorts," Iron began. "You have been fighting the Equestrians for what, three years now? And whilst you been extremely successful at defeating the Equestrian army time after time, Celestia refuses to back down and most likely wont until Canterlot has been razed to the ground. Now I'm sure we both want to see the war end as soon as possible and you need as many soldiers as you can on the Prench front. Instead of wasting time, supplies, and griffons on a 20 year war against Equestria, why don't you let my comrades and I do the work for you. We will take to arms, rally the suffering civilians of Equestria, and overthrow the government. All we would require from you, is some funding to wire the arms, supplies, and soldiers to allow us the opportunity. We wait for the moment Equestria is at her weakest, and then strike her down. After all is said and done, we sign an armistice with Griffonia, and you can focus your forces on the Prench. And it shouldn't take longer than a year to do." After Iron finished his proposal, Razorbeak sat back in his chair deep in thought. After a few moments he raised his claw in indignation. "And what if, this "revolution" fails hmm? What will I do then? If I'm to put my money behind your movement then I want more of a guarantee." Iron gave the emperor a smug grin, obviously prepared for the question. "Even if me and my comrades were to fail, I see two possible outcomes. A, Celestia will be forced to surrender after her country has been torn apart by civil war or B, her army will be in ruins allowing you to move in and finish off Equestria easily. I highly doubt that Celestia will be able to offer up much resistance after a revolution." The emperor mulled on Iron's explanation before producing a small grin on his face. "You make a good point my friend, but I'm afraid you'll have to do better. I need a more enticing offer." Iron furrowed his brow but continued, "How about I promise war reparations once the country has stabilized following the revolution?" "Ah, ah, ah. You can promise reparations but you can't promise that you'll win the "revolution"," the emperor pointed out. "That's why we need to make a compromise," Iron replied coldly. "We both know that you can't fight a war on two fronts forever. Sooner or later the Prench are going to push back and when they do you won't want half your troops dealing with Celestia's shit." Razorbeak recoiled at Iron's tone and then put an indignant look on his face. "I think we'll need more time to discuss this. Please, spend the night. I'll have the maids prepare bedrooms for you and your friend and I'm sure the barracks will be willing to accommodate your guards. We'll discuss this more on the morrow." And with that Razorbeak left the room, his guards in tow. Iron was disappointed that the emperor wasn't as willing to take a chance on him as he had hoped. "That smug son of a bitch!" Steel fumed. "He deserves to lose the war with that attitude!" "We're not here to judge his character, we're for his treasury," Iron retorted. "And sooner or later he's bound to give in." "I'm counting on it..."