A Grand Tour, Part III and Unexpected Guests
A Grand Tour, Part III and Unexpected Guests
The Nineteenth Century: The Saga of Equestria
May 21, 1839
Somewhere near Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
“They’re gone. Those damn soldiers are gone!”
“Thank the spirits…”
“Don’t get too excited,” admonished Hasse Ola a tall, twenty two year old man. He had abandoned his American name after the Tragedy had begun. “I am sure that they are watching us. Take one step back to them, and the cannons will start to sing…”
A couple children and women in earshoot flinched as that statement.
“What now?” wondered an old woman in their troop.
“Now we rebuild,” said Tchikilli, the oldest member and de-facto leader of their Creek troop. He had done something similar.
“And then what? Wait for them to come back and take this from us too??” shot back Hasse Ola. “And look at this land. Do you think there are any good hunting grounds here? Or any good foraging? Or farming? This land is terrible.”
“I share your anger, young one. However, we must make the best of our situation.”
“No, I am not content to continue with this. We make agreement after agreement with the white men, and they do nothing to uphold their end of our treaties. We have no guarantee that they will not be back except their word. And we all know how much those words are worth.”
“Well, what do you suggest? Go to the Mexicans? I doubt that they will be much better…”
Hasse Ola looked behind him. Behind him was almost two thousand men, women and children. They had already lost several hundred people in the march here.
What I am about to suggest...will cost more, he thought. This is very risky...and we don’t even know if they would sympathise…
“I think we should make for Equestria,” he finally said, after a moment of hesitation.
“Equestria? They banned immigration of humans…” replied Tchikilli. “I doubt that they will allow us entry.”
“What do we have to lose now?” Hasse Ola shot back. “If they turn us back, we will be in the same situation we are now. And maybe we could find some good land out there. But if they agree...then we get protection, and the ability to retain our way of life. It will be a hard voyage, but maybe we can succeed.”
July 17,1839
Lāhainā, Kingdom of Hawai’i
Text of the Edict of Toleration
Whereas, past rules of the Kingdom of Hawai’i have engaged in deplorable acts against the peoples of the Roman Catholic faith, and
Whereas, these injustices are too much to allow to continue;
Be it therefore proclaimed by the Kingdom of Hawai’i:
That, Catholic worship be declared free, throughout all the dominions subject to the kingdom,
That, members of this religious faith shall enjoy in them the privileges granted to Protestants,
That, the Kingdom shall pay a sum equivalent to Ten Thousand United States Dollars, and
That, the Kingdom formally apologizes to all for the terrible injustices perpetrated by the Kingdom.
“Is this satisfactory to you, Captain?” asked Kamehameha.
The human scrutinized the document for a couple minutes, then slowly nodded. “Yes, I believe so. Insure that your government follows it, and there will be no further issues between our nations. If you issue it today, then I shall leave by the twentieth of July. Now, if you do not mind, I shall take my leave.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
The French captain gave a curt bow, then left.
Kamehameha let out a long breath. “Princess?”
“Yes, Ali’i Nui?”
“Thank you for your help. My government and I appreciate the support the Principality has extended to us. We shall never forget it.”
“Of course, Ali’i Nui. My government seeks the cooperation and harmony of all peoples, and we are happy to help achieve that goal.”
“Please send my regards and hope for closer relations to your Royal Council.”
“I shall. If you do not mind, then, I shall depart the day after Captain Lapance does.”
“Good luck in your trip to Japan, Your Serene Majesty.”
September 1, 1839
On the American-Equestrian Border, Salt Lick City, Equestria
As the Sun peeked over the horizon, Princess Luna and her royal retinue descended towards the Royal Province of Salt Lick City. What she saw, she did not quite believe.
“Am I crazy, or is there a large contingent of humans on this end of the border?” she wondered out loud.
“Your Serene Majesty is not crazy,” observed the leader of her retinue. “There is indeed a group of humans here, members of the group that are considered Native Americans. Maybe a thousand five hundred, maybe a little less. Shall I send for the army?”
“Nay. I see a lot of women and children. I do not believe this is an army...but do call for the regional garrison. And...order them to bring food and water. They look worse for wear...”
“Aye, Your Majesty!”
Here goes nothing…
As the Alicorn touched down, her twenty pegasi guards landed in front of her, rifles and spears ready.
"Calm down," she ordered. She stepped forward, spreading her wings in the way Celestia often did when she needed to present regal authority.
Actively resisting the Royal Canterlot Voice, she said "I am Luna, Princess of Equestria. What is going on here? "
The ponies, including the Royal Magistrates of the Township of Salt Lick City and Region of Valmansas, all bowed. Luna was very surprised to see that the humans also got down on one or both knees.
"Please, rise," Luna ordered. Addressing the humans, she asked, "Are you aware that Equestria has prohibited all human immigration? What are you doing here?"
"Yes, Great Darkness Mother," replied one of the Native Americans, reverting to a more Native style of speaking to authorities. "I understand that there is no love lost between you and and the white men. However, we have come to you, Great Darkness Mother, because we are desperate. We have been removed from our homes, and forced to march thousands of miles across the continent under the watchful eyes of the white soldiers. We are worried that if we stay in the place they picked out for us, they will return and move us again.
"O Great Darkness Mother, we have walked long and far. Mother, left our homes with over two thousand five hundred men, women, and children. Now, we number less than one thousand five hundred. Mother, we have come to beg you for land, and protection. We have learned that the white man will not honor the promises they give us.
"O Great Darkness Mother, we have little money or things of value to buy land with, and no material possessions to speak of. All we have is what we carry, everything else has been lost to the white man. However, we offer to you our hands, our minds, and our hearts. Grant us farmland, and we shall work it with all our ability to provide a vast abundance. We shall work beside you in the factories and universities. And if the horns of war sound and your people pick up arms, we will march beside you to victory.”
At this point, the human, along with the rest of his party, fell back to their knees. “O Great Mother of Darkness, please. We ask you to accept our service, and permit us to take up refugee within your nation.”
Princess Luna stood, dumbstruck, for several moments after the man had concluded his speech. After a pregnant pause, she asked, “Young man, what is your name?”
“I had a white name, but I have forsaken it. I am now called Hasse Ola by my people.”
“Mister Ola, I am sorry to say that I cannot answer your plea at this time. The Principality officially barred immigration from any human nation back in 1832.”
The natives lowered their heads, sorrowfully.
“However...while the act prohibited humans from settling in Equestria, there is no mention of Equestria providing protection to groups like you. While I would love to speak to the other Princesses about this flaw, they are not present in Equestria right now, so...okay. I have an idea.
“I shall provisionally extend you a temporary offer of protection for now. Such an action is a not-terribly-unreasonable interpretation of my power to administer the laws of the nation. Since there is a pressing risk of harm to you if I refuse, then I am permitted to take action to mitigate the harm.”
The humans looked up, surprised and hopeful.
“For this accommodation to work, however, I need to set a few conditions. Firstly, since the Human Immigration Act is still in effect, I will need to limit the area that you can live in, pending a final decision of the full Royal Council. You will be expected to contribute to the province that you settle in, including farming and working in the province. Any act of crime by your community, no matter how small, will put your status in this country into serious question, and could result in the lot of you being deported. Additionally, while I have granted you this waiver from the law, the full Royal Council may overturn my decision, in which case you will be expected to leave. Do you understand these terms as I have outlined?”
“Yes, O Great Mother. We accept your gracious offer, and we pray that the rest of your Council finds favorably for us.”
“Obey the law, be productive, and I am certain they will. Now, I will be settling you in the Province of Fort McIntosh. The Province has a very small pony population, less than a thousand. This will hopefully minimize any conflicts with ponies, as our history with humans has been...less than optimal. The regional garrison is coming with food and water, and then you will be sent to the Province and allocated some of the government-controlled land. You will be permitted to allocate the land however you wish, but we expect there to be no violence or disharmony. There is an extensive irrigation system in Fort McIntosh, and we have a number of fertilizers for you to use. You shall be sent supplies and equipment. In the next month or two, expect a representative of the national government to issue you identification papers. Since you are humans and we have never accepted so many humans into our lands, you will have to have identification papers with you after issuing. I apologize for that, but it is necessary in order to protect Equestria.”
“Thank you, O Great Mother. We shall await the arrival of the garrison.”
March 29, 1840
London, United Kingdom
After having entered the palace of Westminster, Celestia found herself ushered into a private room. This room was of medium size, and had a wooden table with two ornate chairs. One the table was a tea pitcher and two cups. Standing near the door was a younger woman. Celestia recognized her almost immediately.
"Your Majesty, Queen Victoria," she said, politely nodding. "It is an honor to see you again."
"No, the honor is mine, Your Serene Majesty," replied Victoria, giving a small bow. "I apologize for rushing you into this room. The Prime Minister is in the Palace right now, but I wanted to see you before he spoke to you."
"I see."
"Come, sit," said Victoria, beckoning her to a chair. After a second, she realized the problem. "Oh...I'm sorry. My mistake...I should have realized…"
Celestia gave a small smile. "It is fine, Your Majesty. I understand, it is an adjustment. I do not mind."
Victoria was visibly relieved, as a smile broke on her face. "I'll have someone bring a cushion for you to sit on. Just a moment, please."
With that, she strolled over to and opened the door, and spoke to an attendant outside: "Please fetch a cushion for Princess Celestia to sit on. Quickly, please!"
After about a minute and a half, a cushion was found and placed in front of the tea table, and the chair was removed.
"Again, I am sorry for the confusion."
"It is quite alright," replied Celestia. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the waiting tea.
"Of course, please do," replied the Queen.
She did, using her magic to reach out and grab the cup and saucer. As she took a small sip, she noticed that the Queen had not yet drank any of her tea. Instead, she was watching Celestia's tea very intently.
"Is this the first time that you have seen pony magic?"
"It is," the Queen replied. "Fascinating…"
"It makes life easier when you have hooves," chuckled Celestia.
"I suppose it would," said Victoria. "Can I ask you some questions?"
Celestia gave a rueful smile. "Go ahead."
After over a half hour of questions that Celestia patiently answered about Equestria and her ponies, Victoria finally let up.
"I am sorry for showing you with questions like that."
"Do not worry about that. We ponies are used to it by now," remarked Celestia, with a small grimace.
Victoria gave a small laugh and smiled. "Now, to why I wanted to speak to you in the first place. As I am sure you would have figured out by now, I think that Equestria is a fascinating place. I am interested in establishing some sort of English-Equestrian cultural exchange."
"That is interesting," mused Celestia. "What do you have in mind?"
"If you would indulge another question, do you have a prestigious college in your nation?"
"Back in 1832, we established the National College of Harmony in Ponyville. It's pretty well respected. In addition, the much older University of Canterlot is also a highly regarded school, as well as the new Universities of Stalliongrad and Cloudsdale."
"While I cannot give direct orders to the colleges, I do have some influence over the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. I will see if I can speak to the leadership and propose this idea to them."
"I will do the same in Equestria." Celestia shifted in her seat, then carefully weighed something in her mind. After a moment of some silence, the Princess asked "Your Majesty-"
"Please, enough of that. Call me Alexandria."
"Very well, please call me Celestia. I only have one name, so please use it."
"Only one?"
"It's a curious story, but that's for another time. Anyways, I have a request for you and your government. Two requests, in fact."
"I can make no promises for the government, I would need to consult with the Prime Minister. But please, make your requests."
"Firstly, I wish to speak favorably on behalf of the Kingdom of Griffonia. King Odynn can be difficult to work with, and the griffins can be hard to reason with, but they can be pragmatic and reasonable. While they are proud and sometimes arrogant, I have always found them to be fair in their dealings."
"I understand, and will pass your words onto the Prime Minister."
"Additionally, I have a concern about the British territory of Colombia. I would like to request permission for Equestria to station a military outpost in Colombia, somewhere in the north. We would be happy to pay for it and allow British officers to stay with us.."
Victoria was silent for a long moment. "Why do you want to have this outpost?"
"There is an old legend in Equestria about the north....I'm sorry, I can't go into too much detail."
"Well, I'm not sure if we can do anything without any more details. I will call in the Prime Minister, however, and I will see what he thinks. Ultimately, it will be his decision and the decision of his ministers."
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At last. We get to see the Native American tribes for the first time.
Good to see this updated again.
Well, it's not surprising the action of those Native Americans. High risk move, considering how could the US react to that... well, might depend if others don't start doing the same or do.
One last thing, it's Columbia, not Colombia. Though... hmhmhm, that some foreshadowing there? Will be interesting to see.
Oh nice this is still alive
.....it lives!
9913262
Maybe, but my soul is dead.
I love seeing when a chapter update.
I am pleased because this is a great story and one that I loved when it first appeared.
love what you did with ther native Americans tribes . I have to ask will you have some interactions with the bison there? maby have some sort of interaction with them? since the bison in the show are based in them ?
Glad to see this story alive. Now, I have to say that, after reading 3/4 of Páez's autobiography, I think that something that would help you a lot with writing this scenes would be to research on the biographies of the figures you want to use on your story.
That way, by having a certain understanding of the personality (at the time) as well as the political and geopolitical landscape of said nation and figureheads, you could write a more comfortable scene. Unless you feel dead from all the research done, at which I say, you have my condolences as well as my respect.
A big part of me hopes that the Native American tribes to get become Equestrian citizens. While I understand the need for the law, given how it has been exploited before in the past, it's not something they could or should keep forever. More over, given how the Bison are respected and allowed freedom to move as they please, the Natives would probably find it a good place to live. As well, given how close Equestria is with Mexico, and if the conflict happens between those two nations, Equestria could use the extra hands. Unless Texas remains independent and small/or the small bit just goes into the US without fuss. On top of that, considering how they could interact, it'd be interesting on how they'd get along with ponies. I can easily see them coming to revere Celestia and Luna as do the Equestrians.
On top of that, it's nice to see the two monarchs getting along. Britain surely would love a strong ally in the American continent to keep the Americans in check so I can see them keeping up this alliance. It would put them in a frosty position with the Americans but Britain was already in that stance with them. As well, with the notion of the Empire returning, I wonder if the territory will be added to Equestria or if the Crystal Empire will have a large enough empire of its own. Though the Crystal Empire always did feel like just an Equestrian territory in a way.
I can't wait to see how this goes along.
9913595
Are you still writing the story?
Are the future chapters going to deal with religion following the Manetown Incident?
11674207
No, not until 1839.