Chapter 19 - 18 months on
Twilight sat in her library, quietly reading. She sat beside a window, letting the warm summer breeze drift in. Outside the ponies of Ponyville trotted about their days, enjoying the beautiful summer afternoon. Most of the ponies were farmers and shop keepers, packing up their stalls and going home for the evening. But amongst them was the occasional pony with a rigid mane and self assured posture. A military camp had been set up nearby, and gave cadets leave to visit the town every once and a while.
In the year and a half since the founding of the Crystal Protectorate— although Celestia still refused to recognize the nation as legitimate— and in the time an unprecedented amount of growth was experienced in it. The farming output had more than quadrupled, and a year round growing zone had rapidly been grown around the capital city. Thousands of acres of crop land was held in a constant temperate zone, massive pillars of crystal jutting from the ground to focus the barrier through them. New farming techniques had been implemented, and were jealously guarded by both the Crystallians and Prussians.
The Protectorate had also begun many other projects, rapidly building factories with new and exciting technologies. For now they were just slowly moving forward, introducing the factories slowly and gradually ramping them up and not exporting the goods. New ports were under construction near the Equestrian border, with metalled roads winding out from them towards the capital. Prussian detachments aided in the construction, carrying bricks in their packs as they marched about the Protectorate on exercises and drills.
The Bavarian army had mostly withdrawn, leaving a small garrison force of thirty thousand in their new colony. A string of simple wooden forts was being constructed all along the valley that bordered Equestria. By contrast only a few small outposts had been built along the main roads that cross the Crystal Protectorate border, acting more as customs points than actual force projection. The population of the colony was growing rapidly has citizens arrived by the thousands from the Bavarian provinces in their home world.
Home world. What an odd thing to say. Even two years after the Prussians ripping a hole between their worlds it was odd to consider there being more than world in the universe, let alone one as different as the Prussian’s, which they called Earth. Celestia had immediately begun campaigns to teach her people of the evils of their new technology and what it brought. She preached to her ponies that the Prussians had begun to transform the Protectorate into a mechanical nightmare that must be stopped and reverted to its original state. Having seen firsthand what they could do Twilight was initially a fervent supporter of Celestia, giving a few short speeches at gatherings to galvanize the population into aiding in the military buildup.
Now thought, Twilight just wanted to read. The initial fury at the loss of her friends had subsided into heart aching grief. While she still believed in the cause, she wanted time to rest. She wanted nothing more than to move on from their deaths, to make new friends and put those nightmarish events behind her. She spent her days working in the library, reading books and occasionally going on an outing with the other townponies.
Today she was reading a book about how to make paint. It detailed the most important plants for pigments and how to mix them for better colors. Her reading was interrupted when a knock came at the door to the library. How strange, she had put up the sign saying it was closed. Trotting to the door, past a snoozing Spike, she quickly closed the book marking the page.
Behind the door stood three ponies, two in royal guard dress while the third wore a neat tie. She quietly presented a message to Twilight that bore the symbol Celestia and Luna. A summons to the castle for a special assignment.
Celestia sat in her throne room with her sister and a captain of the guard. The doors swung open, and Twilight entered, hidden in by the Equestrian Royal guard. She carried with her an already packed bag, prepared for the mission ahead.
“Twilight Sparkle,” began Luna, just as Twilight dropped to a bow, “We have summoned you here for a special assignment. You and Captain Kake will be leading the resistance movement in the Empire. The two of you will be sent with a small detachment of guards. Sixty to be exact. We want you to train Protectorate citizens and guards who fled, and lead an incursion to reinstate our nation.”
Twilight nodded, swallowing and looking around before asking, “And I must take this assignment?”
Celestia stood with a nod, trotting down beside Twilight. Once she was standing facing the opposite direction she leaned down and said, “No. But I implore you to take it. For Rainbow Dash. For Rarity. For Applejack. For all those under the oppression of the Prussians. Luna and I need you to be the face of the resistance. I need you to create plans for war. These invaders must be driven from our world, before they spread their violence and technology, infecting the entirety of our home. Do you understand, Twilight?”
Twilight felt tears well up in her eyes for a moment as she remembered what she had lost. With a chocked up throat, Twilight nodded, and Celestia straightened back up, a small, confident smile on her face. She trotted back up to her throne and sat, before adding one final sentence, “Captain Kake, Twilight, you understand that under no circumstance you can reveal that Equestria sent soldiers to overthrow the Prussian puppet government?”
“Yes, Princess Celestia,” Captain Kake said, while Twilight nodded vigorously, still fighting back her own tears. With that, the two were dismissed and sent to meet their guards.
The guard ponies that Twilight had been sent on the train with all had shaggy manes, grown out and unkempt for a military pony. They had replaced their normal heavy, ornate armor with light leather armor with small metal plates dotted about. It was less protective, but allowed better movement and speed, and could be easier to hide. They hauled hundreds of kilograms of armor and equipment from the station to the isolated training camp.
The camp itself was in the northeast, just a hundred miles from the border. The camp had hundreds of tents and was in a large mountain meadow surrounded by thick forests. The only access road was the one the trainers approached on, and it was narrow and poorly maintained.
One section of camp had neat, straight tents with well groomed stallions and mares trotting about, doing various tasks with efficiency. These eighty ponies were the only professional soldiers that had escaped the Protectorate, and it was clear. The other occupants of the camp were a ragtag horde. There was no other way to put it. Citizens of all shapes and sizes were in the camp, laying about or occupying themselves in some way. Few to none of them were doing the necessary tasks for living like collecting water without hounding from others, who in turn did nothing. The tents were all haphazard and stooping low. It was clear the Royal Guard would have difficulty snapping these sorry excuses for ponies into fighting shape.
Two weeks into the training Twilight was beginning to understand why her brother was wary of sweets. Captain Kake — whose full name was Jelly Filled Kake, Twilight later learned — had convinced her to join in the drills to get into shape. She fell in line and marched with the worst of the recruits, learning her faces and how to hold a halberd. She practiced her bucks and spells, quickly mastering the art of flinging deadly, boiling magical plasma at targets.
Twilight surpassed the skill of any other pony in the camp. so quickly eclipsed the skill of the any unicorns in camp that she took over instruction for the civilians, teaching them the basics of weapon manipulation and magic bolts. She instructed the soldiers how to send shards of sharp magic flying through the air, and even tried to teach them teleportation. Much to both her and Captain Kake’s disappointment, not a single other unicorn could grasp the concept.
The tents had been repitched and straightened, leading to a more professional looking camp. The duties of the camp were kept on a board and followed religiously. In the center of the camp was a slightly larger command tent, filled to the brim with maps of the Empire, scrawled with plans and new construction being marked all about it. Rolled up beside it were written plans with sections crossed out and edits made all over them. Every night Twilight and Captain Kake went over potential scenarios and plans, each taking turns being the Prussians.
After weeks of practice and drills the two agreed that the only possible victory came from achieving a few early victories and winning the support of the ponies in the Empire. They both also agreed that the only way to achieve early victories was with ambushes and hit and run tactics to exhaust the Prussian troops. Combine that with propaganda leaflets and capturing a stronghold to spread from and they could get the support they needed while whittling at the Prussian occupation forces.
Ludolf Krämer was waltzing through the corridors, his partner his cane. Humming and swaying to himself he approached the Regent’s office. Initially he had been forced to greet her in the throne room, but thanks to his ever increasingly powerful reforms he had instituted over the eighteen months she had moved her daily tasks to what had once been a parlor but was now an office. Most of the leisure rooms in the castle were converted into offices to support the growing bureaucracy of a modern nation state.
The guards opened the door as Krämer approached, having broken out into a jog. His dress shoes clicked and clacked on the crystal floor as he ran. Just before the door he shifted and slid on the toes of his feet into the office, cane acting as a counterbalance. He quickly swung it down and stopped himself in front of a chair, flipped off his top hat and plopped down.
“Regent Cadenza.”
“Sir Krämer.”
Cracking his back, Krämer straightened up before asking Cadence, “Do you read Equestrian newspapers, Regent?”
Cadence gave him a quizzical look, before nodding cautiously, “Yes, I read the Canterlot Harold evenings with my husband. Why?”
Krämer pulled a printed sheet from his back pocket, slapping it down on the table. In bold headlines it read “Royal Guards Shipping Out”. Krämer looked Cadence in the eyes and said, “A small town newspaper near the Bavarian border reported that a group of royal guard training twenty miles away were preparing to leave. They may have just been conducting exercises, but I’m afraid they are preparing a full invasion.”
“What are we going to do?”
“You will do nothing. Prussia will do nothing until Bavaria is assaulted. We have no actual proof, and we have no spies. I just figured you’d want to know about troop movements that may threaten our borders. I fear we may be at war with Equestria again sooner than we wished. Have a good night, Regent Cadenza,” Krämer stood as he said this, spinning on a heel and sauntering out, flipping his hat back on as the guards shut the door behind him.
As he excitedly walked down the hall, shifting his posture with every step, he pulled a pad and pencil from his suit jacket and began scribbling down notes for his future plans. They detailed the future of Crystallian ship manufacturing. If the troop movements actually troubled the man, it did not show in his walk or writings.
Once Ludolf reached his room he changed into his nightgown and slept soundly, preparing for the next day of work with peace of mind. His rest energized not only him but those around him, fueling them to follow along in a heightened state of efficiency.
In another section of the castle Cadence could not be said to feel the same. She nervously chewed on her hoof; her husband already asleep. He had all but retired, the wounds of the war leaving him lame and his magic weak. Shining Armor split his day in two. In the morning he preformed light administrative work for the guard, and in the afternoon, he learned how to enjoy his time off and not work. He was mildly content with the ever present fear all ponies of the capital held since the war and slept soundly.
After much tossing and turning Cadence eventually fell into a sleep that would not rest her or prepare her for the busy day tomorrow, but would drain her energy with worrying dreams.
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Well Equestria certainly got found out quick lol
Ah yes, nothing like enacting a gorilla campaign against a technologically advanced civilization in its own borders.
Yes, that will end swimmingly.
Wait, what happened to Applejack?
(Again. You struck first, and are now, once again, striking first in a more subtle manner. And also preparing for a much less subtle manner later on. Both times, you are beginning the war. It is the height of hypocrisy to call them out for their 'violence' when you are the one initiating said violence. Again... and even with a firm anti-technological stance that shows no hints of having learned from the Crystal Empire's fall. Celestia has learned nothing. And is all too willing to sacrifice people she should care about and manipulate them emotionally... my sympathies go to Twilight.)
(And Celestia's hypocrisy does not change the truth of the situation. Prussia is an empire, a real empire from the era of colonialism. Of COURSE it wants to expand. And an enemy in a foreign world that no one else currently has access to, especially one proven to be so weak? An enticing target. And with the moves Equestria is making, there is clear Casus Belli. No one will question it. It might be a little earlier, but DANG is Equestria making it easy for them to justify invasion. The only real moves Equestria could have made to try to prevent this would be to become a valuable trade partner, which they obviously weren't willing to do. Otherwise, Celestia should have been focusing on preparing her country for an eventual invasion rather than a reclamation crusade.
In the end, this story could easily have had the Prussians as pure villains, coming in to take over the ponies lives. But Celestia has given them excuse, after excuse, and initiated hostilities. Her orders have led to this, and thus far, I place the majority of the blame upon her.)
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Severely maimed and rendered unable to work.
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I apologize for any offense I may offer in this post. I mean to merely answer you, not to insult, and I'm sorry if this does.
Well, for one thing, the Prussians didn't exactly ask to set up their colony, on territory that was already long held by Equestria; they just built it. And the fact is that the conflict was started on a misunderstanding, all that needed to happen to restore the peace was for the soldiers to be unpetrified. But the arrogant Prussians overreacted, and launched a full-scale war, and are now ruling over ponies who don't want them to rule them. No doubt many Crystal ponies want to be free, and won't want traditional methods of doing things (such as cutie mark-based hiring, farming, and industry) set up on THEIR (not Prussian) soil by unwanted occupiers.
Additionally, there was a chapter in which the Prussian navy ATE the bodies of dead ponies. That's disgusting.
The arrogant smiles that are always on high-ranking Prussian faces need to be wiped off.
A good point. I don't know why Celestia didn't (however reluctantly) look into Prussian military tech in order for the reclamation crusade. Or why she seems to have learned nothing. Advanced military tech is necessary to fight back. This anti-technology stance, while understandable (the horrific damage the Prussian weapons inflicted upon the body are probably horrific beyond what I can imagine), is absolutely in the wrong.
As do mine. That's something I find blatantly cruel, even if the justification is that it's for Equestria/the greater good/freedom for the occupied ponies.
A reason for it to be fought against, not submitted to. Expansionist empires need to be stopped by force, not by becoming their vassals or part of an abusive relationship.
There's been no invasion/infiltration yet. And even if the infiltration takes place and a resistance grows, the Prussians wouldn't be able to know if Equestria is definitely funding it; they'd have plausible deniability in this case. And likely resistance would happen anyway; Crystal ponies would be angry with the changes, occupation, the stealing of their land by Prussian civilians settling it, etc., and would be motivated the fight back on their own. Equestria would have ultimately been just guiding a resistance that would have come into being on its own.
That might be a smarter course of action, but the wounds of Prussian aggression are still fresh, and the ponies want their land back (the latter being reasonably, if difficult to obtain at this time). And I doubt the Prussians would trade muskets to Equestria; they'd have to resort to espionage anyway to get their hooves on that tech.
Another smarter idea, though honestly many ponies are furious with the Prussians; they tried to explain the misunderstanding, then Prussia launched a war anyway instead of allowing the soldiers to be unfrozen (which would have solved the issue) and legally buying the land they'd taken. Now the Crystal Empire is occupied by unwanted invaders; it's natural they want to free them. It's not just or fair that ponies who had no involvement with the incident should suffer because the Prussians are greedy for money and land. They also murdered Rarity (an unarmed, fleeing civilian) and killed Rainbow Dash in battle; the deaths of national heroines is going to spark anger amongst the common ponies of Equestria (still don't know what happened to Applejack).
True, the peasants and common soldiers aren't, though the Prussian diplomat(s) and commanders are definitely villains (Eikhoff, Kramer, etc.) And it is true that the Prussians were attacked, but they should have been honest about negotiating before the war, instead of hiding their declaration of war behind "tradition." I'd have declared Eikhoff persona non grata after that stunt in chapter 11 (pretending to come in peace while actually declaring war).
I can only remember a few "excuses;"
The initial attack on the garrison and the village
The Luna's demand/threat that she would keep Eikhoff as prisoner until they reached a peaceful solution
Celestia's current plan to infiltrate the Empire (which the Prussians only know as; "
," i.e. a small troop movement that could mean anything, not necessarily an invasion).
Admittedly, there are probably more I don't remember.
By accident and misunderstanding. But the Prussian reaction was full-on aggression instead of a true effort to keep the peace. They are more in the wrong than Equestria by this point.
Her behavior in the past couple of chapters definitely disturbs me; it seems so manipulative, which is definitely wrong. I don't like it, and this turn of character feels out of place with her earlier actions. I don't know how this more manipulative behavior came from.
Yet the Prussians established a colony without asking anyone if it was okay first, they set up a military garrison in said land, and then got bent out of shape when the natives attacked it (again, by not realizing that the Prussian horses weren't sapient), and refused to wait for the natives to make restitution (which, given Celestia's willingness to negotiate after Twilight recognized the reality about the horses, would have been substantial, as I have little doubt that not only would the soldiers be unpetrified, but Equestria would have forked over tons of gold, silver, and gems), instead going to war (with the diplomat hiding behind tradition and honor instead of being honest about Prussian intentions). By their actions, instead of lasting peace, they have brought hate and anger amongst the defeated population (occupied or otherwise), and in time that will come back to bite them; it's happened throughout history over and over again.
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Oh. When did that happen again?
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During the seige. I mentioned it I the aftermath but didn't write about it directly, which I should have done. Mistake on my part.
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Alright, thanks.
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(There is no offense, merely differing opinions, which is fine. Especially since this entire scenario ISN'T clear-cut. I am not saying the Prussians are 'good'. I am saying that what Celestia is doing is wrong, hypocritical, and will ultimately see Equestria destroyed and claimed by the Prussians. Right now, I do not consider either side to be 'good', but Equestria has steadily been making first moves and giving Prussians excuses to claim their lands, allowing them complete justification to their own populace and other world powers. Now, section by section.
Yes, the Prussians set up a base and colonies on land owned by another, which was a move that could have justified aggression. And they got aggression. But if Equestria and the Crystal Empire had wished for peace, then sending soldiers to attack, especially without a formal declaration of war, was the WORST move they could have made. Misunderstanding or no, their FIRST move should have been to attempt to negotiate, or at the least demand the freeing of 'slaves' and the removal of Prussian forces from their sovereign territory. They did not. They just attacked without a word. They started the war, and initiated the first acts of violence. That the Prussians are an expansionist power with great interest in acquiring new territory, does NOT change the fact that Equestria struck the first blows, and killed the first people. So accusing the Prussians of being the ones to spread violence when they engaged in it so quickly, is immensely hypocritical.
And the matter of de-stoning the Prussians was never brought up. I believe that if Celestia thought such could be done, she would have. As it is, I think the Prussian soldiers are dead, instead of eternally petrified, because they do not have the same advantages as beings like Discord. Though that part is head canon. Regardless, Celestia did not mention the possibility at any point, neither in private nor in negotiations, meaning if it is possible she hasn't cared enough to think of it or offer it, which would have been a good way of offering a white flag and a counter-negotiation to the diplomat to bring back to his superiors. And the Prussians certainly couldn't be expected to know that possibility if it is or was present, so they wouldn't know to ask for it.
As for eating the bodies of dead ponies? ... Yeah, kind of. I give them some pass since it's not cannibalism, but they really should pencil in 'no eating sapient beings' now that there are sapient beings besides humans. It is kind of gross, and immensely disrespectful to the relatives of the deceased. As for arrogant smiles, that one is purely a personal standpoint. Both sides are showing plenty of arrogance, with only humbled Cadence really being brought low, and now practicing humility. She to has my sympathy, she made mistakes, but I view the greater portion of her troubles still stemming from Celestia's orders.
And I have no doubt that there will be Crystal Ponies ready to join the guerrilla movement, and who would be forming it without Equestrian aid. And also Crystal Ponies who oppose the guerillas, who desire peace and see the guerillas as ruining their chances to live and raise their families. These sorts of things are rarely cut and dry. We'll simply need to watch future chapters to see how much popular support the guerillas actually have.
Agreed fully on the harm of Celestia's anti-technology stance. I believe we do not have disagreement there, including understanding why she might dislike it, but knowing she needs to embrace it anyway to give her nation a chance.
And agreed on Twilight. I fear she shall become ever more scarred, in mind and soul... I wouldn't be surprised if all her friends die before the end.
Now with Prussia's expansion, yes actually, I agree. If Equestria wants to maintain independence and be the best it can be, it cannot be conquered by, and rendered subservient to, Prussia, it needs to be able to resist Prussian attempts at conquest and expansion. To accomplish this, there are numerous steps Equestria could take... and it is taking almost none of them. What they are doing instead is making moves that will see their population butchered needlessly, and their state fall to the Prussian Empire, likely without any diplomatic repercussions of severity, because they keep acting as the aggressors.
And plausible deniability is definitely Equestria's greatest weapon when funding resistance movements, and if they had it, it could be a boon. But they sent freaking Twilight Sparkle, the personal protege of Princess Celestia and Element of Magic, to help train resistance members, and be the face of their revolution and war effort. That's not plausible deniability. That's announcing the Equestrian Crown is directly funding and aiding a rebel group. As such, Equestria's involvement will be clear as day, unless Celestia pulls Twilight back, and give clear Casus Belli for another invasion. And the world at large? Will agree, because it's just so freaking obvious that Equestria is funding this, because Twilight is there.
I do agree that resistance would have come on it's own however. The question is how much, and how much Equestria's assistance will help the rebels.
And I agree that the Prussians would be unlikely to trade muskets, that such would need to be reverse-engineered or a magical equivalent created by the Ponies. And certainly the wounds are fresh, I can see why the ponies would not WANT to trade with them. However as it is, they have given the Prussians no reasons not to invade them, and every reason to do so. Personal feelings or no, this is not a good position to be in.
Now I disagree on the unfreezing simply because it has never been brought up, though if Celestia did so at any time, or anypony really, that might have gone a long way to preventing war or stabilizing relations. And I agree that it makes sense they would want to liberate ponies and pony land. I understand their desire. They are, however, consistently ignoring the tactical and strategic realities of the situation. They are REFUSING to develop, advance, and repurpose, their military in a way that CAN fight the Prussians. They are ignoring all the learned realities of a war, and THEN, making plans to attack into a fortified enemy location, instead of fortifying themselves, and making the Prussians spend their effort and manpower on invading Equestrian soil. Invasions are always harder than defensive actions. And the Equestrians have shown zero appropriate restructuring of their military and strategic understanding, to make an invasion possible.
Even worse? They're planning to invade into a land of ice and snow without a place like the Crystal Empire to rest and resupply their troops... this is like invading Russia in the Winter. A terrible, terrible idea.
Now I disagree on 'murdered Rarity'. She was not a civilian. She was in armor, and fighting in the conflict, albeit poorly. No she should not have even been there since they asked a freaking dress maker to fight in war, but she WAS fighting in the war. She was, at that moment, a soldier and a threat by all appearances. And yes she was fleeing, but attacking a routing enemy army is standard procedure, and for good reason. The entire purpose of war is to break an enemy's ability to fight, and that means destroying their armies. If the British had been able to do that in America, then the Revolutionary War would have ended in failure, and we would have been British colonies for a century further at least. But they failed to destroy the routing armies, so they failed to end the resistance, and so were eventually beaten. That's a simplification, but hunting down fleeing opponents is an entirely necessary and valued strategy at this era of warfare. No it isn't 'good' but no war is, and that's not the point of it.
And again, Equestria attacked first. Negotiation could have been had if Equestria had ATTEMPTED to negotiate. They did not. No the Prussians shouldn't have been there, but they were in a new world looking at horses, they did not understand the situation when they first arrived. I believe that if negotiation had occurred, then they WOULD have purchased the land, especially in those early days, as you suggest. But it didn't. Because Celestia told her soldiers to go kill people, without attempts at diplomacy. And I understand her reasoning at the time, but it is, nonetheless, a clear case of launching an assault without first declaring war. Initial failures of diplomacy all trace back to her.
Now notice, I do not disagree that Prussia is greedy for money and land. They are VERY greedy for both. There were, however, plenty of ways to force them to slow down, to have to justify themselves, or to make the attempt to gain such not worth it. And instead, they've just been spoon-fed reasons and excuses, and get shown that the Equestrian military is much, much weaker than their own. Celestia is making this REALLY easy to justify on an economic, strategic, internal, and international diplomatic level. They are being given NO reasons right now to not make a play for Equestria's land.
Now, with sending a diplomat to declare war... no actually I disagree entirely. That's not just tradition, that's a part of the honor-codes of society of Europe that help keep the constant wars in the area somewhat manageable, at least before Prussia conquered it but that would be recent. Anyways, you are SUPPOSED to do that, and they hold Equestria in contempt for NOT doing that. That wasn't deception, that was the bare minimum they are expected to do, and so they did so.
As for the excuse after excuse bit? Celestia has staunchly refused to recognize the Crystal Protectorate, she is not trading with them, and has been spreading anti-Prussian propaganda throughout her nation, while drumming up soldiers. All of this clear signs of leading up to a war. When she invades first, or is tied to the rebel movement, that will be the international excuse. But everything she's done up to this point will be pointed to as clear signs that she wanted a war and started the aggression. Prussia will have no internal disagreement on the necessity of war, will get to play defenders, and present as such to the international community. They will get to play the victims here, and Celestia is just handing them that on a silver platter.
And I disagree, because Equestria could have attempted negotiations at this point. The war is over, they started it, it ended, now they COULD try to negotiate for a peace of a better world, or to buy back the Crystal Empire, or ANYTHING. They aren't. They're preparing for more violence and aggression. Neither of these sides are 'good' or morally righteous right now. Equestria's just giving more justifications to their opposing state than Prussia's giving to them at the moment.
And on this, I think we agree entirely. Celestia's recent behavior is... concerning. She was definitely less manipulative and more personally contrite and thoughtful earlier on. I'm not ruling out the possibility she's been replaced by Chrysalis. Because her recent actions are almost all the wrong ones for the situation. It is also possible that trauma and loss are guiding her. Or fear. She is seeing perhaps the first legitimate threat to not only Equestria's existence, but it's way of life, in what I imagine is a very long time. She may be panicking. And people tend to make terrible decisions when panicking.
And while I disagree about the diplomat, I think perhaps if tradition or honor or the logic of Europe at the time was different, that negotiation could have gone differently. And better. But I do agree that win or lose the WAR, eventually Prussia will lose control of it's occupied territory, like every other European colonial power. We do see in history that it doesn't work out, and the mindset of Europe at this time was not sustaining for global empires.
My anger recently is mostly on Celestia because she has failed to LEARN. The Prussians have done exactly what I expect of them. Expand, invest into newly acquired lands, behave in the ultimate best interests of their empire with tried and true methods of capitulating captured lands that don't make it a hellhole and instead actually improve the local area. I imagine in a hundred years or so it will collapse, but it is very in line with the thinking at the time, and how empires gained power. It's Celestia's actions that don't make sense. The refusal to accept? Perhaps. Trying to 'free' the Crystal Empire? Alright, fine. But a complete failure to restructure her military in accordance with the new threat? Making her aggressive intentions obvious so that other nations know she was the one who wanted the war? Manipulating Twilight? Using HER as the face of the guerrillas?
I mean stop for a second and think of just ONE, just one potential advantage Equestria has over the Prussians from a military and strategic standpoint. Cloudsdale. And not just that, but the ability to essentially construct flying cities and bases. That. Is. HUGE!!! Think of it! Raining lightning down on the Prussians from on high, deploying supplies and soldiers from high-flying, mobile command centers that are essentially beyond Prussian weapons, that could be a game-changer, a WAR winner!
And Celestia won't do it. I fully bet that Celestia will not think of it, or attempt to use it, and will reject it if it comes up. Because it contrasts with her idea of what Equestria 'SHOULD' be... or, if Chrysalis has impersonated Celestia, it might work too well.
Oh... I appear to have rambled a bit. I'm going to try to summarize her.
My point is, we may disagree about things, but I don't think either of us think of Prussia as 'the good guy'. They're not, they're an empire doing what empires do, expanding for their own sake. But they're not 'villains' either. Right now, Celestia is throwing away the sympathetic high-ground, and all military advantages with it. Foreign support will be more difficult to get, her people will be rapidly pressed into a war they're not ready for, and people she knows and presumably cares about are on the front lines. And then her outright refusal to learn and change in the face of a new and dangerous enemy.
I think Equestria COULD win the coming war... if she weren't in charge. But as it stands, I don't think they will. I think Equestria will be conquered, and frankly with the directions she's going, might welcome the conquest. We haven't seen her go 'full conversion bureau' Celestia yet, but... now it's on the table I think... again, not ruling out the possibility she's been replaced by Queen Chrysalis.)
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Oh, I hadn't realized that Rarity was actually conscripted, or else I missed that part. I thought the Mane Six were there to bolster morale or to use the Elements of Harmony or something and the Prussians killed an unarmored civilian. I guess I was mistaken. But I don't like the idea of killing retreating enemies. I would rather they be captured. If we want to look at it from a purely materialistic standpoint (which I dislike) she'd have been a valuable bargaining tool if kept alive; "Give us more than we would have originally demanded in exchange for one of your team of heroines back."
As for Chrysalis replacing Celestia... that's certainly possible, given this all happened before Season 6 (certainly before the events of the Season 3 finale). I hadn't even thought about it, nor about using Cloudsdale or other cloud installations or air balloons, etc. And yes, sending Twilight herself to do the job would be a big red flag. I would not recognize the "Protectorate" either, though, just as many people (including me) have not and do not accept Crimea as part of Russia despite the de-facto occupation of it. I can understand and agree with that refusal to acknowledge the annexation.
As for the diplomats... I don't see why they would bother sending a diplomat to drink and dine at Equestria's expense only to make them choke on it by announcing they are declaring war. Given they executed a soldier for being drunk/bothering the Equestrians during the negotiations, it gave a sense of "we can work this out without conflict. But if war was their aim all along, then just have the diplomat arrive, declare war, and leave.
I don't know if magic is required for them to survive petrification. But not attempt to unfreeze them was made, even just in case. I'll admit that not sending a negotiating team is a failure on Equestria's part.
This fanfic is quite good at representing Prussia at the end of the 19th century in my native country, Chile, after the War of the Pacific in 1879 and 1884, my country, Chile, had to modernize its army after the war, replacing the old and outdated French war model, based on From this, Chile looked for a more efficient war model. After a while, it decided on the Prussian model. It was entrusted to Captain Emil Körner, who signed a five-year contract to transform the instruction of Chilean officers according to the Prussian model. This turned chile in a country with a military strong despite its size and population today in the parades of the national holidays in the military parade on september 19 the classic pruciano uniform of that time is used serenely, dated to the chilean diceño, one I can look it up in google or youtube I can look for the military parade in Chile on September 19, one sees the uniforms and automatically thinks of Nazis, further from reality the Nazis used the Prussian model for their campaigns, sails, uniforms, battle tactics, etc. In this story, I am not very surprised that Prussia conquered the Crystal Empire. It was a cestion of time. The resistance was brave but stupid. It was better to evacuate the ponies by teleportation magic to any resource that they asked to get gold, jewelry, works of art, put racks. and flammable materials to blow and burn the entire empire before the barrier falls so that when they went to the empire they would use it as a great trap the blow and the fire would destroy their army a scorched earth tactic in a better tactic than just waiting for the death or the conquest of the enemy the tactic would delay their attempts at conquest and expansion, in the series canonically softening the two times that equestria was officially in war they almost lost to the enemy, equestria is not prepared for a war against prussia such an unprofessional army who have equestria with more than my years of peace with the use of beautiful but ineffective gold armor against a professional army with the most well-stocked weapons of that time gunpowder weapons and explosives, firearms since they were invented up to now The use of plate armor from the Middle Ages has still been displaced, until what in the past was the most advanced in terms of defense, armor from head to toe covered in metal plates and mesh with time out of date against weapons. of fire, I want the armies to go from heavy metal armor to light and comfortable uniforms to be able to dodge the enemy's fences, despite the success of the magic that Equestria possesses, sooner or later it will fall to Prussia unless Celestia uses magic from the sun and cooked them like ants against a giant magnifying glass that burned from the sunlight
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Will she recover?
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It was pretty bad, but she will regain some functions, but not be able to buck like she used too.
I like the Krämer guy, I just don't know what, but I like what he does