//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria // by mint20 //------------------------------// Strange Visitors The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria March 21, 1806         All was peaceful and normal in the nation of Equestria, as the sun rose over Canterlot. The light slowly brightened as the moon yielded its position in the sky to the sun, and the white marble of Canterlot gleamed as the sun asserted its position in the sky, gently chasing the moon back to rest. All and all, it was a rather remarkable sight. Standing beside the Royal Princess Celestia was her younger sister, returned after her terrible thousand-year banishment. Remembering that terrible time of war and hate, Celestia shivered. It is good that I no longer have to worry about that, she thought to herself, relaxing and focusing on enjoying the present moment, the heat that accompanied the heavenly body. Luna mirrored her actions, and the two Alicorns stood in silence and simply enjoyed the moment.         After what Celestia guessed was about ten minutes, Luna broke the silence. “I wonder how Twilight and her friends are faring,” she muttered, almost to herself. If anypony else had said that, Celestia would have responded with a comment about how strong Twilight was, and how she could watch out for herself. However, this was Luna, her little sister. Celestia did not have to be strong around her.         “Honestly? Sometimes I worry about that too,” admitted Celestia. “Everytime I send her on a mission, I worry that, maybe this time, I gave her too much. Then again, this mission is nothing like Tirek. And the King guaranteed me that she would be protected and kept out of harm’s way.”         “Indeed,” replied Luna. “But there are so many things between here and Griffonia. So much could happen to them in that distance.”         Deciding that the time to share her emotions had past, the Princess of the Sun stood up a little straighter and said, “Now, we need to stop worrying and trust Twilight. She knows what she is doing.”         As if on cue, the door to the internal chambers flew open and a guard charged out. “Princesses!” he said, in between pants. “News...from the...Kingdom...of Griffonia.”         Celestia jumped, ever so slightly. Re-composing herself, she asked, “Well, what news is this?”         “Princess, Twilight...has...returned. She wants...to speak with you...right away. She says its urgent.” (Two days earlier [March 19, 1806]…)         The door to the Griffon King’s chambers boomed shut behind Twilight, who sighed. Negotiations were never easy, and the Griffon King - King Odrynn - was the most stubborn creature Twilight had ever come across. With the possible exception of Applejack, of course.         “So, how did it go?” asked one of the ponies in front of her. Unsurprisingly, the young Princess’s five dear friends had waited for her right outside the door.         “Not too bad, but not very good, either,” answered Twilight. “King Odrynn has an annoying habit of knowing what he wants and pursuing it to the end of the world, though.”         Nopony commented on that as the group slowly left the King’s palace and walked into the courtyard. Despite a somewhat more primitive style than Equestria, the Griffonian buildings managed to communicate a rough splendor. Instead of white marble, like Canterlot, the capital of Griffonia was constructed out of wood taken from the massive sequoias that dotted the nearby landscape. Stone buildings were rare, with the only ones of note being the walls that surrounded the capital. On a normal day, the streets of the capital were mildly busy with various griffons attending to their affairs. Business would be open, and griffons would be out and enjoying the sun, with their families.         Apparently, though, this day was no ordinary day. The streets of the city were completely devoid of any trace of business or civilians at all, really. Rather, a large-looking army of griffons, some six thousand strong, was mobilizing, grabbing weapons, and the like. The six pony friends looked at each other uncertainly, then ran over to the mobilizing troops. In the front, there was a griffon with a helmet that had a red plume, who Twilight assumed was the general or some kind of officer.         Arriving next to the general, Twilight asked, “With all due respect, what is going on here, sir?”         The general turned to Twilight, saw that she was a pony, and snorted quietly. Then, he said, “Your Highness, it appears that someone has built a fortress on Griffonian territory. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”         Slightly shocked that the general would suggest that, Twilight said, “No, of course not.”         “Now, now, General Tailfeather,” said a deep, commanding voice to Twilight’s right, “let’s not start throwing accusations around. Princess Twilight and her friends are our guests. It will not do to start accusing them when even I barely know what is happening.” There was no doubt. The voice belonged to King Odrynn. “Besides, it’s highly unlikely that this is some military operation by the ponies. It’s rather close to the capital. No force of ponies could have possibly founded a fort so close and reminded undetected. No, this is most likely some small expeditionary force by an unknown power. Changelings, maybe?” He stared off in the distance for a moment. “The point, General, is do not instantly blame the ponies for this.”         “Of course, sir,” said the general, bowing his head slightly in shame. “My apologies, Your Highness.”         “No offense taken,” said Twilight, though she was slightly disappointed in the blatant racism and suspicion shown in the comment, while she was impressed with the King’s open-mindedness. “Now, shall we proceed?”         “Of course,” said the Griffon King smoothly, walking forward to the head of the army.         Before Twilight followed, though, she turned to her friends. “Stay here.”         “What?”         “NO!”         “Ain’t happening, sugercube.”         Cutting off other protests, Twilight raised her voice slightly and said, “Yes. You guys need to stay here.”         “Why?” demanded Rainbow Dash.         “Because,” Twilight said, “this could quickly become messy if it isn’t handled with a level head. Most of you all lack that. And Applejack, you have to make sure Rainbow here doesn't sneak off and follow me anyways.”         Rainbow Dash grinned sheepishly, no doubt because she planned to do just that.         “Forward; March!!” call the call, and the army slowly started to depart.         “No time to debate! Stay here!” said Twilight, then ran off to join the troops, leaving her friends behind, shell-shocked. Forty-five minutes later...         “There it is,” muttered the King, mulling over the scenario. Twilight followed his gaze and saw a small wooden complex standing in a semi-thick forest. It did not have any walls, but was compact. Based off of what little Twilight new about military history, it beared a slight amount of resemblance to temporary camps that the ancient earth pony tribe had constructed while on campaign. In the middle of the fort, there appeared to a large flagpole that had a rather unique flag on it. In the upper-left hoof corner, there was a blue field with fifteen white stars on it, Outside the field, starting with red, there was alternating red and white horizontal stripes, fifteen in total.         “Form up in a defensive formation.” General Tailfeather said.         “Do not attack," said the King. “Only strike if they do.” After a moment, he turned turned to Princess Twilight. “What do you make of that flag?”         “Changeling trickery?”         Again, Twilight shook her head slowly. “I...I doubt it. If this was a changeling maneuver, we’d be under attack by now.”         “True, I suppose,” muttered the King. “Shall we make our presence known?”         “I suppose,” said Twilight. “That would answer the question if they hostile or not.”         A griffon to her left raised a bugle and sounded a call. It was very simple, only two notes, the second higher than the first. It wasn’t an order to the troops, rather, it was more like a metaphorical “tap on the shoulder,” letting the occupants of the small fort know that there was an army at their gates.         Through the few small windows, Twilight saw the light flutter as there was an explosion of movement. She bounced up and down on her hooves, anxious to see who these new players were.         After a moment, King Odrynn turned to her. “Behind me,” he said, stepping in front of her. He motioned, and troops moved forward until they blocked the sight of of the pony princess.         “What? Why?” demanded Twilight.         “I promised Princess Celestia that no harm would come to you. A griffon never breaks his word. Now be silent! There’s movement!”         Twilight opened her mouth to protest farther, but an officer of Griffonia stepped forward and gently covered her mouth. She thought about fighting, but decided to bite her tongue for the moment.         Peeking around the griffons standing in front of her, Twilight had to stuff her own hoof in her mouth to stop from gasping.         Walking towards them, barely hiding a look of shock themselves, were two...odd...creatures. Most obviously, they were bipedal, walking on their back legs only. Their front legs split at their ends, forming digits that looked like claws, but were softer and much more flexible. Very little fur covered their bodies, excepting their heads, which had an odd surplus of the stuff. They wore rugged-looking clothes that smelled profusely of dirt and sweat, and looked as if they had been pulled through several miles of mud and dirt. They stood slightly taller than Twilight herself, while the griffon king was a bit taller than both of them. They carried pieces of wood and steel that looked rather like rods.         As they approached, the Griffon King pulled himself up to his full height and said, “Greetings. I am King Odrynn, sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Griffonia. I would ask you, why, in the name of all things under the sun, did you establish a fort on my territory??”         The being on the left, one that had a head full of black fur, said in a cautious voice, “My name is Meriwether Lewis, and this is William Clark.” The one on the right, Clark, bowed his head. “We are the leaders of an exploratory group named the Corps of Discovery, sponsored by the United States.”         “The United States...what is this?” asked the King. “I have never heard of it before...this that it’s flag?” he asked, gesturing to the flagpole.         “Yes, that is the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America,” supplied the one named Clark. He grinned, then said to Lewis, “And we thought staying at this fort would be all dull. Ha!”         “Excuse me, if I may,” said the King, sounding more than a little annoyed. “You still haven’t answered my question: Why did you establish a fort on my territory? I do not appreciate having this kingdom violated in this way.”         Both of the other creatures became more serious. Clark said.”My apologies, Your Highness. With all due respect, we had no idea that you were even here. To us, this looked like an empty plot of land.”         “You managed to settle down only forty-five minutes from my capital! You expect me to believe that you came here by accident?”         “It’s the truth.”         The King mulled for a few moments, then said, “Alright. Let’s say I believe you. What do you want? What is the mission of this so-called ‘Corps of Discovery?’”         “Well, our nation, the United States of America, has recently purchased a vast tract of land from another nation, France. We were sent by our leader, President Thomas Jefferson, to scout out and learn exactly what this territory consisted of. We have left the territory our government purchased, and were just charting the nearby area. I image that the President will want to speak to you soon after we return, to open more formal relations.”         “Of course, as one leader to another, I would be happy to receive him. I look forward to opening discussions with a new neighbor.”         “How about you stay at our fort for a little while?” asked Clark, earning a sideways glance from his companion. “A demonstration of our goodwill.”         The King blinked, then said, “Well, I don’t suppose it would hurt.”         Clark nodded, saying, “It pains me to suggest this, but I ask that if you bring some advisors or generals, you limit them to four. Space is not very abundant in the fort.         “I understand,” said Odrynn, scratching his chin. After a moment, he said, “General Tailfeather! Councilor Moonquill! And...Princess Twilight Sparkle, if you will join me, please?”         Twilight jerked slightly in surprise, then slowly walked forward. The rank of griffon soldiers parted before her, and she felt the surprised eyes of the two oddities on her. She suddenly became acutely aware that sweat was starting to gather at the base of her crown, but there was nothing to be done about it now.         “Well,” she heard Lewis mutter, “that’s the second huge shock today. Do we still have any beer left?”         Directing his words at King Odrynn, Clark asked, with a slight note of suspicion, “Is there a reason you were hiding her?”         “Yes,” returned the King. “I wanted to make sure you were not hostile, for I had promised her mentor that she would be kept out of harm’s way. And if you anger everybody on the coastline, make sure you do not anger her, for her anger can be...hot.”         With that, he led his small party into the wooden fortress, with Lewis and Clark following close behind. Twilight could make out a few yells as officers distributed orders, calling for the troops to pull back and reorganize into a more relaxed formation.         As they entered the fort, Twilight looked around. All in all, the fort was not all that impressive. It was poorly lit, the structures were not quite waterproof, and the parade ground in the middle of all of the buildings was rather small, not well taken care of. It was clear that the fort was thrown together rather hastily, with little regard for aesthetics or looks.         Rarity would throw a fit, she thought to herself, chuckling quietly, as she eyeballed the huge pools of mud that had formed from the ongoing rain.         “Now,” said Clark, drawing Twilight’s attention away from the fort, “Princess Twilight Sparkle, am I right?”         “Yes,” said Twilight, nodding.         “Well, Your Highness, welcome to Fort Clastop. May I ask, how are you related to your brethren?”         Twilight stood stock-still for a moment, feeling a furious blush build up on her cheeks. Related? Stammering slightly, she said, “Oh, n-no, I have no relation to King Odrynn. I-I am acting as an ambassador to the Kingdom of Griffonia. I come from and help lead the Principality of Equestria.”         Clark gave a low whistle, whispering “Just how many nations are there on this coast?” Pulling his thoughts together, he smiled and said to Twilight “Well, I am pleased to be made your acquaintance, Princess. Now, shall we begin?”         “Begin? With what?” asked King Odrynn.         “Well, my men have a demonstration for you and your ambassador. If I could just have one moment to get the lazy boys out here…” With that, both Lewis and Clark left what passed for a parade ground and started barking out orders to what must have been other members of their expedition,         There was a long pause, then King Odrynn sighed heavily, saying, “Well, what do you think?”         Councilor Moonquill was the first to speak. “I don’t like it,” he said, with confidence. “They seem to be hiding something. What, I don’t know. But they are definitely hiding it from us.”         General Tailfeather nodded his assent, adding, “Maybe they want something from us. Perhaps tribute, maybe some form of territorial concession, I don’t know, though.”         Twilight thought it over for several moments before saying, “I hate to suggest this, but the General and Councilor seem correct. They do seem to want something out of us. If this was just a simple misunderstanding, as they claim, why did they invite us into their fort?”         The King nodded. “I am inclined to agree,” he said, “which is why, Princess Twilight, I  recommend that you refrain from telling these creatures about the location, size, or anything else about Equestria. Such information would probably only be used against us. As for the rest of us, we should avoid giving away any more information if it can be at all helped.”         Twilight wasn’t exactly comfortable with the idea of keeping information away from the seemingly-friendly Lewis and Clark, but it was necessary. She nodded her assent, but stilled her tongue as she saw a large group of the creatures filing out of the various buildings in a precise, mechanical way.         As they marched out of what Twilight assumed to be a mess hall, or maybe a barracks/quarters, she noticed that they all carried the long pole-like objects that Lewis and Clark held. Something in the back of her mind, an idea from a book she had read, began to stir. Are those…?         Her question was answered for her when the creatures lowered their rods, pointed at a small stone wall, and triggered them. There was a loud explosion, and large bits of stone flew off of the wall, which bared several new holes in it.         Guns. Twilight had read about them in a few books on military theory. The proposition that explosions could fling bits of metal fast enough to destroy stone was not a new idea, for military researchers had been tossing around the idea for years. However, Equestrian attempts to divine the secret of these weapons was only followed half-heartedly, as the nation had little to no need for them. That isn’t to say the gunpowder initiative had completely failed, for the Royal Guard did have a few cannons, but the design of the smaller, hoof-held weapons had eluded Equestrian scientists. And again, with no real need for them, the nation had not aggressively pursued their development, preferring to invest more in education and administration.         Wary, the griffons and pony looked to each other, and nodded once.         King Odrynn stood up, saying, “Well, that is very enlightening,” he said, “What is the purpose of this demonstration?”         Lewis responded, “We wished to show you that we can be valuable allies. An alliance between us could be greatly...beneficial.” Was it Twilight’s imagination, or did she detect a hint of something more sinister in his voice?         The King must have heard it too, for he said “I see...May I have a moment with my council?”         Without waiting for a response, the King returned to his fellow, and, together with Twilight, trotted over to the far corner of the field, where they discussed in hush tones.         “It is clear,” said Moonquill. “They wish to intimate us into servitude!”         “General?”         “I agree,” said Tailfeather. “We must strike! No matter how strong their weapons are, we can just overwhelm them with the troops we brought. If we defeat them now, maybe others won’t be as foolhardy.”         “Wait!” interjected Twilight. “Maybe they are trying to intimate us. Maybe they aren’t. But if we strike now, even if we win, this ‘United States’ will simply send more missions. Let them go, but we should end these talks soon.”         King Odrynn nodded, saying, “That makes sense. Okay, let us finish this.”         The party slowly returned to the expedition’s leaders, where they stood expectantly. King Odrynn said smoothly, “A situation has arisen in my kingdom that requires my attention. If you will excuse me, I must return to my capital. I...look forward...to meeting from representatives from your ‘United States’ again.”         The two leaders looked at each other, then Lewis said, “You’re leaving? Before you go, accept this gifts as a token of America’s friendship.” He then yelled over his shoulder, “Get the gifts, maggots! Let’s go!”         The explorers scrambled over themselves to move to a building at the left. When they came out of the building, the explorers were laid down with many trinkets and items they carried.         “Now,” Lewis said, “we have three muskets and fifty bullets. Give them to whomever you wish, but use them sparingly, for bullets run out fast.”         Just how often do they use these guns?         “Also, we have medal for you, from the President of the United States, as a gesture of his desire for peace and friendship,” added Clark. “We also have one for you, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”         Somewhat reluctantly, the griffon King bowed his head and accepted the silver medal that Lewis placed around his neck. Twilight followed suit, and she was given a bronze medal. On one side, there was a bust of a similar creature to Lewis, but Twilight assumed that it was this President Jefferson that the explorers spoke so highly of. She turned it over, and saw that the back has a bust as well: this one with two clasped arms.         The explorer stepped back with a pleased expression, they had only one gift left. “Now, please also take this,” he said, extending a triangle of cloth.         King Odrynn took it carefully, as if it might explode. Slowly unfolding it, he asked, “...Wha...Why...Why did you give me the flag of your nation?”         The cordial atmosphere vanished instantly, replaced with one that made Twilight shiver apprehensively.         The two explores looked at each other warily, then back at the King, also conscious of sudden shift in the diplomatic atmosphere. “We…” began Lewis.         “This is an outrage!” exclaimed General Tailfeather.         “We are no one's property! We cannot be claimed!” added Councilor Moonquill.         “Be still, both of you!” King Odrynn said sharply. He turned to Lewis and Clark and said, “Against the advice of my council, I gave you a fair hearing. Despite the fact you violated Griffonia’s territory, I listened to your side of the story. I trusted you with both my life and that of Princess Twilight Sparkle. And now, you go and betray that trust by trying to impose yourself on me and my kingdom by forcing this on me.” With this, he threw the flag of the United States on the ground, earning a gasp from the creatures, Twilight would later learn that they were called humans. He threw the muskets, bullets, and finally, his medal on top of it all.         Clark quickly snapped up the flag as the King concluded his angry tirade. “I ask you, give me one good reason that I shouldn’t take the three thousand loyal troops stationed outside this fort right now and storm it. Quickly.”         To their credit, the humans recovered quickly. Clark turned to Twilight, with something of a pleading expression on his face. “Your Highness, we simp-”         Twilight, making a split-second decision to follow the model of Princess Celestia, held up a single hoof to silence him. Quietly, her mind is turmoil.         What now? Dang it, we were this close to making it out safe, and they have to go spring this on us. Well… Princess Twilight, doing her utmost to maintain an outward appearance of calm, turned to King Odrynn and said, “Your Highness, I do not approve of your threat.”         The King, having calmed down somewhat, nodded slightly sheepishly. “Yes, my apologies for my outburst.”         Twilight was not yet done, though. She turned and fixed a glare on Clark. “This doesn’t mean I approve of your actions. I actually think what you did was a direct attack on Griffonia’s sovereignty. However, I really do not want this day to end in violence.”         Clark bowed his head slightly, but neither Lewis nor Clark said anything.         “Let’s get out of here,” Twilight muttered, taking off her medal and dropping it on the ground. March 21, 1806         “...and that’s when I left,” said Twilight.         Princess Celestia sat back, mulling over the situation. “Are you sure? Nothing else transpired, no matter how minor?”         “...No, Princess, nothing.”         Celestia felt a flash of light-humored irritation at Twilight’s formality. “Now, now, Twilight, you don’t need to call me Princess anymore. After all, you’re one too.”         Twilight blushed, but said nothing.         “Back to the matter at hoof, though,” said Celestia, continuing to mull. “This is rather discontenting.”         “I’ll say,” Twilight said. “I talked with King Odrynn. He seemed to agree that some kind of answer to this threat needs to be prepared, but was reluctant to open talks with me, saying that he felt it best if either you or Luna helped me.”         “He’s wiser than I gave him credit for,” said Celestia. “Alright. I suppose I will go open diplomatic talks with Griffonia soon.”         “Princess?”         Celestia sighed, but gave up. Clearly, Twilight was not about to change her ways.         “Yes?”         “What are we going to do about those Americans?”         Princess Celestia was expecting the question, but she still didn’t like hearing it. Letting out another heavy sigh, she stood up and walked over to the newly-installed stained glass window, this one depicting Twilight and her friends triumphing over Lord Tirek in the Great Battle of the Everfree Forest. Gazing past it, she saw the sun shining brightly, and the entire city of Canterlot seemed to shine back.         So beautiful, she thought to herself. In the streets, the ponies of Canterlot were out and about, doing business as usual. They were totally unaware of the threat that hung over them, greater than any that had come before.         Suddenly, unbidden, her subconscious woke provided her with one of the most horrifying images she had ever seen.         She was in the castle. The normally bright skies that provided Canterlot with a beautiful view had been shrouded. Not by clouds, though. By something far more sinister: smoke.         The normally busy streets of Canterlot were still busy, but with something totally different: hairless apes that covered themselves in rags were storming the streets. In the distance, the normally bright and proud walls had been reduced to rubble, laid low by the humans and their gunpowder.         The city was ablaze, that much was clear. Where else would the smoke be coming from?         But looking around, Celestia could not see any fire. The she realized: the smoke was not coming from the city at all. Rather, it came from the human’s guns.         The human troops were advancing. Forming a bristling line of death, they shot anything that moved: cats, dogs, ...ponies….         “Princess! CELESTIA!”         Princess Celestia jerked in surprise as Twilight poked her, shaking the alicorn out of her out of her daydream/nightmare.         “Are you alright?” Twilight asked, concern in her voice and face.         Blinking dumbly for a few seconds, Princess Celestia managed to regain enough control of her brain to function semi-normally again. Immediately, her thoughts went to the vision she had seen.         An alicorn’s nightmares were never false. Over the course of over a thousand years, Princess Celestia had experienced precisely six nightmares. Each one turned out to be a fairly accurate measure of things to come. But if this one was true, too…         No, came the thought. I will not allow that to happen. Not in a million years. With the thought came a grim determination. As long as I’m Princess, no human will ever wield a gun in Canterlot. No, forget that. No human will even set hoof in Canterlot!         Princess Celestia turned to her former student, allowing a stern posture to be let through.         “If they come,” she said, attaching great weight to each of her words, “then may whatever God they believe in have mercy on their souls.”