The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria

by mint20


The Years Before the Storm: Part 1

The Years Before the Storm: Part I
The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria

September 23, 1806
St. Louis, Missouri

A cheer came from the thirty-odd explorers as the town of St. Louis came into view. The tired, hungry, and filthy explores suddenly felt an explosion of energy as they saw civilization again. Lewis and Clark were barely able to control the people under them as they re-entered what they thought of as civilization.

After another hour or so of walking, the explorers finally entered the town. Lewis quickly started looking around, looking for the postmaster general. After a few minutes of looking around, he found him in a new, but rather poorly built building.

Walking in, he looked at the older gentleman and asked, “Are you the postmaster?”

The other man looked up, took in Lewis and his clothing, then looked back at his work and said, “Yes. What of it?”

“Hold the mail for a few hours. I have an urgent message to write to President Jefferson.”


January 3, 1807

“Meriwether Lewis,” said the man across from him, gesturing to a piece of paper that sat on the desk that separated them. “Is this true?”

Lewis stiffened his spine a little. After all, it was probably a good idea for his future career to show respect to the President of the United States.

“Every word, so help me God, is written exactly as it happened.”

President Jefferson let out a long sigh. “So it is true, then, that the Corps of Discovery encountered a nation of ‘griffons,’ torn straight from ancient Greek mythology?”

“Yes, sir,”

“It is also true that you also encountered a talking, sentient horse, one that looked like a cross between a ‘pegasus’ and an ‘unicorn,’ who claimed to be from a neighboring land, Equestria?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So then it is also true,” said Jefferson, a harder note entering his voice, “that, in discussions with them, they reacted poorly to the show of guns, exploding when you tried to give them an American flag?”

Lewis, feeling a single drop of sweat roll down his forehead, nodded once, slowly. “...yes...sir.”

Jefferson, in an uncharacteristic display of anger, slapped the desk. “Dammit, Lewis! That was foolish!”

The President stood up violently, tipping his chair over. He walked over to the window, looking out of Washington, DC. After a long moment, he turned to Lewis and asked, “Do you know where this ‘Equestria’ is?”

“No, sir.”

“Very well. I suppose I’ll go to Congress, ask permission to outfit another two expeditions. You are to be thanked, you have performed a valuable service for your country. Dismissed.”

The explored started to leave, but the President called, “Lewis?”

He paused.

“Not a word to anybody about what you discovered. Not a single word.”


Back in the Kingdom of Griffonia, August 12, 1807

King Odrynn sat on his throne, as his aides gave him all kinds of reports.

“Any word from our scouts?” he asked.

“No, sir. No expedition to date has found any of these creatures.”

Odrynn sighed, holding his face in his claws. “And Equestria?”

“Princess Celestia is just outside, patiently awaiting entry.”

“Fine. Send her in.”

The aide rushed off, and the King heard the door boom shut behind her.

What is happening? Two years ago, I was planning to attack them! And here we are…

His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, and not one, but three alicorns walking in. Princess Luna and Twilight walked alongside the Princess of the Sun, and the King somehow managed to get both more angry and calmer at the same time.

Bringing Twilight was a wise maneuver, for King Odrynn almost thought of her as a friend. Plus, Twilight was the one who had managed to somewhat thaw the chilled relations between the two rival powers.

Rising, the King paid his respects to the rulers of Equestria, even as they did so to him, as well. Once that business was completed, he remarked, “I didn’t expect to see all of you.”

“My apologies,” Princess Celestia said smoothly. “But any treaty made by Equestria has to be ratified by all of us. It seemed only prudent that my sister and former student accompanied me.”

King Odrynn stared for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“What is so funny?” asked Princess Luna.

“Irony. Just two years, probably fewer, ago, I was gathering my troops, planning to strike while you were still weak from Tirek. And now, here we are. Civilly meeting, maybe even on the verge of a historic treaty.”


“Well, that was an interesting experience,” remarked Princess Celestia.

“You did not exaggerate, Twilight,” added Princess Luna. “King Odrynn really is as stubborn as your reports said.”

“Well, at least that is over with,” Celestia said, as she watched the sun go down. “Now, we can get back to Equestria, continue with...oh, no.”

Twilight blinked, following her gaze. Once she saw what Princess Celestia was looking at, she also felt the same sinking feeling as her former mentor.

For, walking through the city, there was a full dozen humans. Ten of them carried those guns, and they walked swiftly, and with a purpose.

“Well, crap,” muttered Luna. “I presume these are the creatures you spoke of, Princess Twilight?”

“Yes,” said Twilight, more shocked then she probably had a right to be. After all, the humans did say that they planned to open diplomatic ties.

As the humans approached the building, griffons of all kinds shied away from the strangers. Thus, their path was fairly unobstructed as they approached the capital’s doors.

The doors opened with a somewhat loud protest, as if they knew that nobody inside wanted the humans to enter. Regardless, enter they did, and they quickly found themselves snout-to-beak with two guards, who blocked their way.
“Pardon me,” said one of them, slightly sarcastically, “but you do not have an appointment with King Odrynn, do you?”

One of the unarmed humans on the left quickly said, “No, sir. However, we respectfully request audience with your King.”

The soldier grunted, then said, “And who shall I say has come?”

The other human replied, “I am President Jefferson, of the United States of America.”

The griffon guards blinked, then the one on the left said, “I shall inform the King of your petition. In the meantime, we ask that your troops remove themselves from this area, in the name of cooperation.”

Jefferson nodded, then gestured. Somewhat slowly, the armed humans retreated. As they did, the griffon on the left slowly backed away, going deeper into the palace. Soon, he returned, wearing a perfectly passive look, and said, “King Odrynn will see you now. He requests that you leave all weapons you may have at the door. Also,” the griffon turned, addressing Celestia, Luna and Twilight, “he requests that the delegation from Equestria joins him in these discussions.”

If Jefferson was irked or irritated at this, he hid it well. “Very well,” he said, walking forward and following the lead of the soldier. Princess Celestia followed, with her two equals right on her hooves.

When they entered the throne room, Celestia caught the eye of the King. He hid it well. A lesser diplomat would have never seen it, but Celestia’s eye had over one thousand years of diplomatic experience. She could clearly see the first traces of fear in the King.

“Greetings,” the King said smoothly. “How may I be of service?”

The two humans hesitated for a split second, then Jefferson seized the lead. “Good day. I am President Thomas Jefferson, and this is my Secretary of State, James Madison. We represent the United States of America.”

The Griffon King bowed his head slightly, saying, “And I am King Odrynn. Pleased to meet you.” After a moment, he said “Welcome to Griffonia. I would like to ask, What is the purpose of your coming here?”

“To establish a diplomatic presence in this...fine nation,” said James Madison. Twilight and Celestia both noticed a slight change in the human’s inflection.

King Odrynn noticed it as well, then gave Celestia a subtle look. Princess Celestia smiled very softly, then nodded almost invisibly. She then stepped forward, cleared her throat, and said, “You are from the United States?”

“Yes,” said the President. “And I would, right now, like to apologize on behalf of the United States for any...rash...actions performed by the Corps of Discovery. Know that they were a long way from home, in territory alien to them, confronted by a species that we have always thought to be myth.”

The griffon softened slightly, then said, “I understand. I suppose we can look past the incident. Hopefully, neither of us will have the misfortune of an incident like that ever happening again.”

President Jefferson nodded, with a somewhat relieved expression. Celestia, however, didn’t quite buy the look of relief, Something was wrong.

Putting her misgivings aside, she stepped forward, only to draw the attention of Secretary of State Madison. He turned to the Princess Celestia, saying, “And what of you Princesses? We also wish to open discussions with your ‘Equestria.’ Where is the nation?”

Celestia blinked, then responded, “All in due time. First and foremost, we would like to know what this ‘opening of relations’ entails.”

“I would like to know that as well,” added King Odrynn.

President Jefferson nodded, saying, “Traditionally, it means opening an embassy on your soil. This embassy would be considered part of the United State’s territory, and should be treated as such.”

The King appeared slightly offset by this, not that Celestia blamed him. Noticing the slight change in the griffon’s posture, President Jefferson quickly amended his statement, saying, “This would give diplomats of the United States the authority to act without fear of influence from any armed forces or governments. Please, do not take this as an insult on your independence. It is simply standard procedure.”

The King didn’t look very reassured, but he nodded anyways.

Trying to break the awkward silence, the President said, “Well, I suppose that we need to form plans to build the embassy.”

The King nodded somewhat absentmindedly, not doubt attempting to come up with a valid excuse to deny the request. After a few minutes, he appeared to have failed to divine it, as he blinked, then said, “Very well. I must, however, insist that you allow a detachment of troops to be posted at the site of the work at all times. As well, I wish to see the plan for the embassy before work begins. This should be agreeable to you, yes?”

The President hesitated for a brief second, then nodded. “It is agreed.”

“Very well. Now, if you will excuse me, President, I must hold council with the Equestrian delegation. Good day.”


The doors of the palace boomed shut, echoing forebodingly across the hall.

“So,” the King said, shifting in his throne. “What do you think?”

“I think it is strange that the head of their nation traveled, by my calculations, all the way across the continent just to open diplomatic ties,” mulled Luna. “Isn’t that a job for a much lower-ranked diplomat?”

“You come all the way from Equestria to meet me,” pointed out King Ordynn.

“True, but that’s different. It’s not a very long trip, especially as the Alicorn flies. At the rate these humans walk, though, it must take several weeks to arrive here.”

“Hmm,” replied Celestia, filing the thought away in her mind for future pondering. After a few moments, she said, “Well, now King Ordynn, now are you open to idea of a non-aggression pact? We do have bigger threats than each other.”

The King’s expression soured, his eyebrows coming together into a line. As this expression grew, Celestia held up a hoof, saying, with a flash of irritation, “Please, spare my fellow Princesses and myself the displeasure of listening to your upcoming essay-length rant and tell us, in as few words as possible and minimum shouting, why you cannot even consider a diplomatic understanding with us.”

The King hesitated for a moment, his mouth open, as the momentum of his tirade was brought to an abrupt and sudden halt by Celestia’s oddly blunt question. After blinking in a matter ill-suited for a king for a few moments, he quickly closed his mouth, trying to recover after having his mind somewhat blown by Celestia.

“Well,” he said, slowly, “to put it bluntly, my population neither trusts nor respects you or your realm. In addition, I am not certain that these ‘humans’ pose a threat to this realm. No, the Kingdom will, for now at least, weather this change on its own.”

“Fine,” said Luna, almost spitting the word out. Before she could say more, though, Celestia gently put a hoof on her shoulder, stopping her words. While this was unfolding, Princess Twilight watched it all, with something of a disappointed look.

Damn the griffons and pride! thought Celestia. So close. Holding these thoughts back, though, she said, “I believe our business here has concluded,” turning to the door. Her two fellow Princesses followed her.


In the Congress of the United States, May 22, 1808 (closed session)

“...and Senator Samuel L. Mitchill, of New York.” Having finished the roll call of senators, Vice President George Clinton looked around at the thirty-four representatives of the states, then said, “Before we began formally and open the Senate to public observation, we have news. The expedition that this Senate authorized over a year ago has returned home, finding nothing, and with over half dead. It appears that they encountered the Wichita savages, and had a...slight misunderstanding.”

The room seemed to let out a collective sigh.

“As such, our search of this reported ‘Equestria’ has, de facto, been cut short.”

“We cannot afford to continue this foolishness,” said Democratic-Republican Samuel Maclay. “Whether this land exists or not, we need to worry about Great Britain now. In addition, we can no longer afford to throw precious money at this fool’s errand!”

“I am inclined to agree,” said the Vice President. “As such, I propose the following: the Senate will table this issue until our disputes with Great Britain are addressed. All attempts to make contact with this ‘Equestria’ will cease. However, the United States will maintain a diplomatic presence in ‘Griffonia,’ and keep a proverbial ear to the ground. Let us address the threat of Great Britain first.”

There was much nodding from the Democratic-Republicans. There was less enthusiasm from the Federalists, but they also seemed to accept the fact that other needs had to come first.

“We will put the matter to a vote next session. Do remember, this is a closed session of the Senate, and all topics discussed are classified.”

“Now, if there is no other business to discuss behind closed doors, the Senate will now enter open session.”