//------------------------------// // The Years Before the Storm: Part 2 // Story: The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria // by mint20 //------------------------------// The Years Before the Storm: Part II The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria January 10, 1809 Canterlot, Equestria As the Sun once again finished rising over Equestria, the Princess of Harmony wandered throughout the streets of Canterlot, alone for once as she considered everything that was happening. She had just left an intense meeting with her former mentor and co-princess, and was lost deep in reflecting thought. The Kingdom of Griffonia has maintained a stony diplomatic silence ever since the incident, Twilight thought to herself. Like it or not, though, I am certain that the griffons will need us, and us; them, before this is all over. “Twilight!” came the yell over the wind. Turning around, she saw Princess Luna flying to meet up with her. She bared an air of exhaustion with her, and Twilight felt a slight feeling of foreboding in her gut. “We are calling for the Royal Council to re-convene,” said Luna. “Something has come up.” “Glad you’re here,” smiled Princess Celestia as Twilight entered the regal throne room. “I just left,” replied Twilight, trotting over to stand near her former mentor. “What is it now?” “We have just received word from one of the pegasi scouts assigned to Griffonia. Yesterday, a crew of humans arrived in the nation, and have started constructing the embassy the United States and Griffonia agreed upon.” Twilight nodded, saying, “Alright. What, if anything, should we do about it?” “I am not certain,” admitted Princess Celestia. “Technically, they are not doing anything wrong, and I do somewhat agree with King Odrynn: Are the humans really hostile? They haven't attacked or attempted to subjugate Griffonia or us. Maybe we should back off our fears, for now at least.” “Maybe,” said Princess Luna, “But I propose that we, temporarily at least, bar immigration to Griffonia, and deny all vistas to the nation. We should do our utmost to maintain calm throughout Equestria.” “Agreed. Also, I think I should attempt to fix the spell across Equestria.” At this, Twilight looked up. “What? What spell is this?” Celestia sighed, then said, “Of course, you wouldn’t know. This spell is one of the best-kept secrets in Equestria.” After a few moments of silence, she sighed again and said, “Over a thousand years ago, my dear sister, as you know, openly rebelled against Equestria.” Luna winced. Noticing it, Celestia nodded, saying, “It was a dark time for us both, sister...I hold nothing against you. Anyways, when the Nightmare was defeated at the Battle of Sun and Moon, and subsequently sealed in the moon, I took it upon myself to seal the borders of Equestria, in an attempt to keep the Nightmare - and any other threat to Equestria - out. Beings approaching the borders of Equestria would - and still will - get a near-irresistible urge to turn back. And even if someone managed to cross the borders, or look upon one of our towns, they would see not but empty territory. It is thanks to this spell that Equestria has enjoyed the past one thousand years of peace and posterity.” Shocked, the young Princess blinked twice, then said, “But- what about the missions to Griffonia? And Tirek? And the Nightmare’s return?” At this, Celestia grimaced, saying, “Well, clearly the spell has been...imperfect. It appears of have weakened in the recent past, allowing some powerful creatures across the borders. As for our diplomatic missions, the spell is structured to allow both ponies and griffons to freely cross the border with minimal interference from it.” “Then…” “Yes, Twilight. Much like the spell that bound the Nightmare and the one that petrified Discord, this spell is also weakening. Maybe it is due to the transfer of the Elements to you and your friends, but all spells cast by the Elements of Harmony have been going defunct lately.” “But, now the Elements are in the Tree of Harmony,” objected Twilight “Do we even possess the magic force necessary to repair this spell without them?” Celestia acknowledged Twilight’s doubts, saying, “I am not certain. If all three of us, and Cadance, pool our resources, then maybe, just maybe, we can pull it off. If not, then...we’ll have to improvise.” After reflecting on this revelation for a few moments, Twilight slowly spoke, “So...this spell was not applied to Griffonia?” “No. At the time, Griffonia and Equestria were on the verge of war. Since then, the griffons have not expressed interest in joining this spell, so I did not amend it.” “Hmm…” said Twilight. “So, what now?” “Now? For now, we wait, and we hope.” January 15, 1809 Kingdom of Griffonia King Odrynn woke to the tapping of hammers, for the fourth consecutive day. The humans were already up and working. Oh, great. I wonder how many complaints I’ll have to listen to today. Keeping his eyes determinedly closed for a few moments, the griffon King thought back to the meeting he had with the leader of the humans a few days ago. * * * The building crew was mostly made up of what the other humans called “negroes.” These people had darker skin than the others, and remained silent while working. Not that he met with any of them. No, rather, he met with a lighter skinned individual. Just a little taller than the King, the human had an ego that towered above him. “Greetings,” said the King. “Yes?” said the human, turning around. “Oh, hello...Your Majesty.” The King got the feeling that the human didn’t like him that much. Swallowing a slight resentment, he said, “With all due respect, you're working incredibly early hours and it’s disrupting the sleep of my subjects. Today alone I received fifteen complaints.” The human shrugged, then said in a somewhat bored tone, “Well...Your Majesty...I’m under orders to build this structure as quickly as possible. The fact that your subjects are lazy is not my problem.” The King bit his tongue to stop himself from biting the human’s head off. He gazed into the human’s eyes for a moment, then said, “As King of this realm, I am responsible for the well-being of my subjects, as I am also responsible to represent them. As such, I order you, as a temporarily resident of this nation, to cease your disruptive activities.” “With all due respect, Your Majesty, you do not command my allegiance now, nor will you ever,” replied the human, a hard note entering his voice. “I will not bend my knee to you now, and I highly doubt that I will ever.” The King bristled, saying “You are living in my realm. That puts you under my rule and binds you to my laws, whether you want to or not.” “Oh, but that is where you are wrong. I am acting as an envoy from the United States. As such, I claim diplomatic immunity.” * * * That had ended the conversation, for it came apparent to the King that the human would simply refuse to acknowledge his authority. Thus, the early morning hammering had continued over the griffon’s protests. Sighing, King Odrynn slowly got up to face the coming day. Already mentally bracing himself, he looked outside his window to the nearby site of work. And there, he saw something he could not condone. “What in the name of all things under the sun is going on out here?” the King demanded, flinging the palace door open. All the humans stopped what they were doing. The more pale-skinned of the group looked confused, while the darker of the group simply looked relieved. “...Your Majesty, what do you mean?” asked the human’s leader, slowly lowering the whip he had raised over one of the darker-skinned individuals. “I saw you whipping one of your own! Explain yourself!” commanded the King, his voice rich with outrage. The leader’s eyebrows came together in a look of confusion. For a few moments, he stood there, working through the King’s outrage. “King...I am installing discipline in my workers.” “By whipping them?!?” “Of course. How else should I show these slaves their place?” King Odrynn’s eyes widened. “Slaves?” he whispered. “You keep slaves in your country?” “Why, yes,” said the human, confused at the griffon’s outrage. “Not all of it, but about half the states in the Union allow their citizens to hold slaves.” For several moments, the King stood there, almost - but not quite - sputtering in rage. After he managed to re-assert control of his brain, he said, in a very soft voice, “Give me that whip. Now.” “But-” “NOW! Or I’ll have my armies take it from you!” Glaring, the human tossed the device over to the King. “Good. Now, do you have any others?” The human hesitated, but when the King raised an eyebrow, he walked over a pack, pulled out three of the vile instruments, and gave them to the King. “Good. Now, I have no control over what you do at your home country. But while you are in my domain, you shall never beat another living creature. Ever. For any reason. I will be in correspondence with your ‘slaves.’ If I get wind that you are treating them badly, you’ll have to deal with me. Do I make myself perfectly clear?” The human glared at him, then said, “You have no right.” “This is my territory. I have every right. And if your United States has a problem, then they can talk to me about it. But slavery is something neither I nor the rest of Griffonia will tolerate. Not now, not ever.” Looking away from the leader, the King addressed the darker-skinned humans, saying “I will return every morning and night that I can. If you have a problem with him, talk to me then. If it’s urgent, find one of my soldiers.” Turning away from the scene, he stalked off before giving any of the humans a chance to respond. As he stormed back into the palace, he turned to a courtier and said, “Prepare a mission to Equestria. There is something they should know.” “Yes, sir! Shall I send for Envoy Featherwind?” “No. Well, yes, he should come, but I will lead this one personally.” “Very well. I will also assemble your guard-” “No guard,” said King Odrynn, remembering how the Princesses always came alone. “In fact, forget Envoy Featherwind. I go alone.” “Sir?” “I go alone,” he repeated. “It’s high time the Princesses and I stop foaling around.” January 21, 1809 Canterlot, Equestria Trumpet blared in the streets of Canterlot as the lone griffon landed on the ground. Wincing slightly at the noise, the King touched down as elegantly as he could, Facing him was all four Princesses of Equestria: Celestia on the far right, then Cadance, Twilight, and finally Luna on the far left. As he walked up to them, he bowed slightly. After the four ponies returned the gesture, the griffon remarked, “It’s been a long time I’ve seen you, Princess Cadance.” The pink alicorn smiled and nodded, saying, “My apologies. I was on a mission that ended only two days ago.” A mission that lasted years? What kind of mission is that? wondered the King. Pushing the thought aside, though, the griffon said, “I have most urgent news for you. Is there a place we can talk in secret?” “Are you sure?” asked Celestia, while pacing about her throne room. “Yes,” replied the King. “So, you’re certain that these ‘humans’ keep slaves?” asked Luna, with a faint note of skepticism. “Yes! The human told me to my face! There’s a dozen witnesses.” “Sick,” muttered Cadance. Twilight nodded her agreement. “Slavery…” whispered Celestia. Slavery. Of all things, it had to be slavery. “What did you do?” asked Princess Luna. “The only thing I could do: I took the human’s whips and instruments of cruelty and brought them here.” At this, he opened the bag he brought on this voyage and threw the four instruments onto the ground in front of the Princesses. All four of the ponies recoiled in disgust at the sight of them. After a moment, Celestia reached out with her magic and grabbed the whips. Feeling sick, she nevertheless brought them up to be level with her eyes and gave them a quick once-over. Thanks to a remarkable amount of self-control, she managed not to gag when she saw the dried blood on them. Princess Twilight, however, was not so lucky. Upon seeing the whips, she quickly excused herself with a shaky voice, quickly sprinting out of the throne room. Thirty or so seconds later, Celestia dimly heard retching noises, followed by a wet splat. Cadance didn't really look that much better, for her normally bright pink coat had a tinge of sickly green about it. And while Luna did not look sick, her normally centered air was shaken to the core. As Twilight returned - still looking somewhat green around the edges - Celestia dropped the whips and said, “Alright. So, they hold slaves. What do we do about it?” There was silence for a long moment. Shifting uncomfortably, the King said, “These human’s embassy is still under construction. According to what the crew keeps saying, it should be fully constructed by the end of the year, probably sooner.” Celestia nodded, an idea forming in the back of her head. “So, King Odrynn,” she said, as casually as she could muster, “now do you recognize the need for a non-aggression pact?” The King again shifted uncomfortably. After a long moment, and heaving a heavy sigh, the griffon bowed his head. Sensing his resolve wavering, Celestia quickly pressed her advantage: “King Odrynn, you have always been more open-minded than your fathers. It’s a trait I have long appreciated. Now, I have to once again call upon it. Think! All Equestria is asking for is a simple treaty of nonaggression. No territory claims, no costly alliances, no trade favors, no obligations to your nation. With this new development, I need to know my northern border will be secure. And I am certain that you need to know that your southern border will be safe, as well. In addition-” “Fine,” muttered the King, cutting Celestia’s lecture off. In a louder voice, he said, “Ancients take me, I’ll do it! Curse you, but you’re right. While we griffons and you ponies have had our fair share of disputes, these humans-” Here, he broke off, only to start again: “These...animals...that keep slaves...such barbarism must never be allowed into Griffonia.” Celestia nodded, saying, “So, we have an arrangement?” “We do.” (Text of the Equs-Grifoni Pact of 1008 CYP) The Princesses of Equestria and the King of Griffonia, desirous of strengthening the harmony and peace between their respective nations, have came to the following agreement: Article I: Both the Princesses of Equestria and the King of Griffonia shall refrain from any act of violence or other aggression between their two powers. Article II: Should either of the signatory powers become the target of hostilities, the other power shall not in any way assist the aggressor. Article III: Both powers renounce any territorial claims they may have on territories that are possessed by the other power. Article IV: This Treaty shall not prevent either of the two signatory powers from defending themselves from aggression. Article V: This Treaty goes into effect as soon as it is signed in Canterlot, and will remain valid for one hundred years. Signed this day, the Twenty-Second Day of the First Month, One Thousand Eight Years after the start of the Celestial Years of Peace. King Odrynn Princess Celestia Princess Luna Princess Cadance Princess Twilight