//------------------------------// // Westernization, Part IV // Story: The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria // by mint20 //------------------------------// Westernization, Part IV The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria June 10, 1818 Equestrian Embassy to the United States of America Washington, D.C, USA Ambassador Sapphire Flower looked out the window, past the newly-sewn flag that flew from the embassy’s flagpole, and out into Washington, DC. It had barely been three months, but she could already feel the pressures of diplomacy weighing heavily on her shoulders In that moment, she felt a pang of sympathy for Celestia, and, indeed, all of the Princesses of Equestria. Running her embassy was hard enough, she could barely comprehend running the entire Principality. Soon, something caught Sapphire’s eye and distracted her from her musings. A man was walking alone down the street, looking absolutely livid. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was none other than Charles Bagot, British ambassador to the United States. On a whim, Sapphire decided to leave her embassy and greet the ambassador. Who knows? she thought. Maybe something will come of it. Or it will just be a bit of idle discussion, which isn’t the worst thing in diplomacy. As she thought this, she was already out the embassy’s door, and trotting towards the human. “Lord Bagot!” she called, remembering his proper form of address. The man turned around and saw the pony. He smiled and said, “Ah, hello Ambassador...Sapphire Flower, correct?” “Correct,” replied the pony, smiling in return. “A fine day, is it not?” “A fine day indeed,” agreed the human. “How can I help you?” “Well, I just saw you walking past my window, and, quite frankly, you looked like you hated the world.” “Well, to be honest, I just completed a meeting with Secretary Adams about the mismanagement of a conflict down in Florida. One General ‘Andrew Jackson’ executed two British subjects, even though their trial had rejected executions as a form of punishment.” “What were they guilty of?” “Allegedly, of giving aid to the enemies of the United States. How that gives them jurisdiction in this case is lost to me.” “That’s horrible,” replied the pony ambassador. “Indeed...but I am of the opinion that that is nothing compared to the United States’s terrible response to what you call the ‘Manetown Incident.’ And I have heard that Monroe had the audacity to try to renegotiate their settlement?” “Word travels around here, it seems. Yes, that is correct.” “I think we can both agree, then, that the actions of the United States are over the line acceptable for a civilized country.” “Perhaps…” replied the pony, unwilling to make an ironclad commitment. Hoping to shift the discussion, she asked, “Can you tell me more of the conflict down in this ‘Florida?’” “Certainly. It’s being called the Seminole War…” June 14, 1818 Meeting of the Equestrian Royal Council Canterlot, Equestria “Welcome back,” said Celestia as the other three Princesses took their traditional places around a large table. The table in question was becoming a more and more common sight within the palace room, were all these meetings of the Royal Council were being held. In fact, last meeting, Twilight had brought up the idea of moving their place of conference to a different place in the capital. Nothing became of it, mostly because nopony had any great ideas of a more appropriate place. “Now that we all here, to business,” said Celestia. “First on the agenda: titles. Any thoughts?” “Well, I believe that we discarded the title ‘Imperial Majesty’ as a prospective title,” said Luna. “Unless, of course, we want to start referring to Equestria as an empire…” All the Princesses glanced at each other, then hurriedly started shaking their heads. “I also think we can discard ‘Highness.’ My research indicates that it is usually used for the non-ruling members of a dynasty. As we are all ruling, and none of us belong to a dynasty, it does not seem appropriate for our...unique situation,” said Twilight. “What about “Royal Majesty?” asked Cadance. “It conveys our royal status, while not being too unwieldy.” “But it seems so common…” said Luna. “Almost all human monarchs are headed by a Royal Majesty. We should be different, we need to do something to set ourselves apart. I mean, come on, we are lead by an entirely different species! Something needs to be different, and distinctions must be made.” “I have an idea,” put in Twilight. “I’ve been looking over these records, and it says that reigning princes of small states have been called ‘Serene Highness.’ Given the relative scope of Equestria, that is, the fact that we only claim political authority over a particular set of species, it seems appropriate for us. Adapting that title for our ideas, then, we could style ourselves the ‘Serene Majesties of the Principality of Equestria.’” Celestia nodded, liking the ring of it. Seeing similar responses for around the table, she asked, “All in favor of adopting the title of ‘Serene Majesty?’” In a move that shocked nopony, the decision was ratified through another unanimous vote. “Excellent. Now, onto a new subject: the Council itself. My fellow Princesses, it is apparent that westernizing is a massive undertaking, one that fundamentally changes the way Equestria operates. We are in need of establishing formal administration, as there are only so many hours to a day. Considering this, I am of the mind that two things must happen. One, we must appoint capable ponies to head various departments to oversee this massive overhaul. Secondly, as an extension of the first point, we must establish some kind of governing body to act in our absence. We don’t have to give them the power to do anything significant, but rather just enough control to oversee some of the ground work so we are capable of leading the country in important directions. After all, we don’t want the administration of the government grinding to a halt just because we are dealing with some crises that demands our attention. I propose the following for its structure: it shall be made up of two ‘houses,’ a lower house and an upper house. The seats of the lower house are appointed by us and subject to reappointment at our whim, and the upper house is either appointed by us or, in lieu of that, appointed by the lower house. That way, whoever we put in control of the houses will be able to execute our will. The lower house would execute most of the groundwork, while the upper house will be charged with overseeing potential ‘reforms’ to the government. Of course, their role would be little more than ceremonial.” “An interesting idea, Celestia,” replied Luna. “Undoubtedly, we will need to insure that nopony takes advantage of their newfound ‘power.’ As much as I wish it was not so, ponies are not completely pure, and some can be corrupted and let the idea of power get to their head.” “Even if they don’t really have any. I understand, and we will, of course, take measures to counter it.” Celestia hesitated, then said, “With that in mind...Princess Twilight, I would like to appoint you the head of the newly-founded Royal Ministry of the Sciences and Arts. Your job would involve overlooking all employed scientists within the Principality, as well as insuring our technological westernization goes smoothly. You may need to work with the military in some affairs, particularly in the area of weaponry and naval technology. In addition, you will be charged with overseeing pony philosophy, patronage of the arts, and everything that pertains to such things. It promises to be a massive job, but you have demonstrated that you are more than capable of handling it.” Twilight’s jaw almost hit the table at this position that Celestia had extended to her. Closing her mouth after a moment, she swallowed and said, “I would be honored to head such an important part of Equestria, if you think that I can handle it…” “I do. You have changed a lot from that antisocial pony who I had to stronghoof into making friends at Ponyville. You have also changed a lot when we just consider your time as Princesses. As I said back when I elevated you to Princesshood, it is time for you to fulfill your destiny.” “Then...I accept. If this is what is needed of me, I will gladly take the position. And I will do my best to fulfill what you and all of Equestria needs from me.” “I am sure you will,” replied Celestia in her serene voice. “There be no objections?” The other two Princesses hastily shook their heads. “Excellent. Now, onward to military reforms. Military enlistment has skyrocketed; almost ten thousand ponies have already volunteered to join the Equestrian Royal Guard, thanks in part to an effective newspaper campaign. Of course, training these ponies will take quite a while, and they will not enter into the Guard for some time. With this in mind, though, we must also expand the potential military beyond the scope of the Royal Guard. To put it bluntly, we cannot rely on the Guard alone. I propose the creation of the First Equestrian Corps to siphon some of our volunteers into.” “Who will head this ‘First Corps?’” asked Luna. “The officer pool in Equestria is not exactly large, after all. Talented officers are hard to come by.” “All in due time, sister. Talent will certainly present itself with time. For now, we need to establish the military infrastructure to handle the troops. With any luck at all, their presence will be enough to stop anypony-ahem, anybody, from attacking.” August 30, 1818 Canterlot, Equestria “American ship!!!” came the yell from the ramparts of Canterlot Castle. “Fetch the Princesses! Muster the Guard!” came the replying yell from the officer of the watch, a unicorn by the name Amethyst Spear. “Get Captain Shining Armor! Quicky!” Bells rang and horns sounded as the city was called to arms. Guards on the street moved ponies into their homes before reporting to their posts and preparing for the human’s arrival. As weapons were distributed to the Guard, the Princesses came out of their tower. “STAND DOWN, PONIES OF EQUESTRIA! STAND DOWN!” came the yell from Celestia. In a more moderate voice, she continued “We don’t want to appear too trigger happy.” “Damn, the ponies are jumpy…” said Luna. “If the humans have wound them this tight…” Celestia sighed, as she remembered what she had told Twilight a couple of years earlier: Ponies get mad and scared over the most illogical of things. While some ponies run in fear of what they do not understand, others feel compelled to lash out at the unknown. It’s one of the reasons I have feared the human approach so much. “Let’s make sure our ponies don’t land us in an embarrassing situation,” she said, and flapped her powerful wings, launching herself into the sky, to intercept the approaching vessel. The rest of the Council followed her into the air, and quickly approached the ship carrying the infamous Stars and Stripes that everypony in Equestria had come to know of, at least in passing. The humans on board the ship had seen them, and the Princesses could see more than a few weapons being held by the humans, pointed up in the sky and away from the Princesses. Not threatening, per se, but close enough to make the ponies weary. Twilight quietly wished that the Princesses had waited for a escort from the Guard. As they landed, the humans backed up a couple of steps and shifted uneasily with their guns, but otherwise did nothing. “I hope those weapons are just for show,” said Luna. Celestia subtly nudged her sister, as her combativeness was not something she wanted to condone. “Who are you?” asked one of the humans. who Celestia assumed to be the captain. “I am Princess Celestia. My fellows form the Equestrian Royal Council. And who are you? And what is your purpose here?” “I am Captain James Biddle, of the USS Ontario. My ship and I have just surveyed some land up north and we need to resupply here, as we don’t have enough supplies to make it back home.” “If you simply want to buy supplies, then I have no objection,” said Celestia. “But I must insist that you remain under escort from the Royal Guard, to ensure no...incidents...occur. I hope you understand.” The human captain hesitated, and glanced sideways at one of his crewmembers. “We were warned that you may have a...less than friendly stance towards us.” Despite herself, Celestia raised her eyebrows a fraction of an inch at that statement. “The last time we allowed humans within our borders, we ended up with a dead pony and a diplomatic crisis with the United States. Forgive us if we are now more cautious.” “And we had nothing to do with that.” “Perhaps not. Be that as it may however, we, the Royal Council, cannot take the chance. If you wish to land on our shores, you must accept a military escort, for both your safety and ours. Otherwise, you are welcome to leave our shores and wait until you arrive at New Spain. Or Mexico, depending on who you ask.” “Very well. I submit to your escort.” “Excellent. A regiment shall be prepared, and you may now prepare your landing. I will also notify the American embassy of your presence. If you wish, I can also prepare rooms for your crew, if you wish to spend the night here and rest on dry land. If not, that is fine.” The captain looked at his crew, then said, “That would not be unwelcome.” “Very well. I will make the arrangements.” A few hours later… “Wait, what?!?” Envoy Featherwind let out a sigh, directed at Princess Twilight. “I said, this crew of humans that you took in claimed parts of Griffonia, the land surrounding what they know as the ‘Columbia River.’” “They claimed this land for the United States? And you did nothing to try to stop them?” inserted Luna, skeptically. “They were carrying their weapons. King Odrynn did not want to enter into a confrontation with them.” Celestia sighed, then looked the griffon in the eye. “Let me get this straight: This American ship visited some river in your territory and planted their flag there, thus claiming it for the United States of America. They managed to miss the fact that you had already settled there, apparently were not warned of your existence before they left, and you did not confront them. Then, they left, sailed south, and arrived here.” “Correct.” “Very well. Have you filed a complaint with their embassy yet?” “As of my departure, no. But I am certain that King Odrynn has by now.” “And what do you want us to do?” “Turn the humans over to us, to be dealt with in Griffonia!” Princess Celestia looked sideways at Luna. “The United States would not like that at all…” said Luna. “No, they won’t. And I don’t think we can risk fulfilling your request. The last time we tried to deal with justice ourselves, we found ourselves on the verge of war with them.” “But...you cannot allow them to just do this! They claimed a piece of land that is ancestrally Griffon!” Celestia snorted angrily. “I have no choice! I would love to turn them over to you, believe me. But if I do, I will be effectively consigning the ponies of Equestria to death. And that is something I cannot do. So, I am sorry, but we, the Royal Council, cannot help you.” Envoy Featherwind stood up violently, and stalked out of the room. However, he paused at the door and said, in a biting tone, “I thought that there was strength in ponykind. I now see that my comrades were right; is no and can never be any strength in Equestria. Your attempts at ‘westernization’ is just a smokescreen to distract the world from your true weakness.” With that, he left, slamming the door behind him.