Part Sixty
Light Narrative shook his head in denial. “Absolutely not.”
“This is our rightful territory!” Golden Delicious answered. He thumped his hoof on the table for emphasis. His left hoof, specifically, probably to goad the maimed Thestral.
“Your militias never even made it that far into the jungle,” Light responded dryly. He scanned the map with one yellow eye, then traced the tip of one bat wing down an area just beyond Baltimare. “We’ll give you that.”
Golden laughed. “We’re sitting outside that boundary right now.”
“By my invitation.”
“By my permission,” Golden frowned. “Our artillery can reach this far.”
“Your artillery,” Flurry interrupted, “cannot break my shield.”
She sat between them on one end of the rectangular folding table. It was made of cheap wood and metal, dragged from Baltimare in an appropriated Grifftruck with a herd of militia. The Tzinacatl provided the stone stools. Flurry’s bubble shield surrounded the three ponies.
She kept the shield translucent so the soldiers on both sides of the clearing could see that no harm was coming to their leaders. It had been a long, tense week of intermediaries and negotiations to even get them at the table. Light Narrative agreed easier than Golden Delicious. Before she sat down, Flurry had a vain hope that the two could find some common ground about Baltimare.
But this wasn’t Duty Price and Elias Bronzetail. Light Narrative and Golden Delicious hated each other far beyond the enmity of professional rivals. They weren’t soldiers, and the animosity ran far too deep. After three hours, they hadn’t agreed on the most basic concessions.
Flurry stared blankly at the map, looking over the scribbled-out lines of proposed territories. Baltimare needed jungle land for their farms and communes, and Light Narrative was loathe to give anything to the city, not after it hanged his own kind. Flurry picked up a pencil and traced along a river beyond Baltimare and further into the jungle.
“Natural border,” she announced. “There’s the divide between you.”
“That’s not enough,” Golden sneered. “You’re cutting us off from the fertile ground.”
“It cuts right through several tribal territories,” Light agreed.
“I wasn’t making a suggestion,” Flurry groaned. She raised her left foreleg and laid it on the table, tilting the bloody bandage towards Light Narrative. “Compromise means nopony’s happy.”
“Animals,” Golden muttered, flicking his green eyes along the bandage. “Was meeting them worth it?”
“Says the stallion hanging innocents,” Light retorted.
“I did this to myself,” Flurry said, shutting down the argument.
Golden chuckled in a harsh baritone. “You truly belong with them, Princess.”
“If you meant that an insult, you failed,” Flurry quipped. “Next issue.”
Both of them opened their mouths to argue further, but Flurry raised her lips in a sneer with a twitching eye. The two stallions reconsidered. “You will release the Thestrals in Baltimare,” Light said to Golden.
“Oh, are they considered Thestrals now?” Golden asked with mock surprise. “They don’t want to abandon their home.”
“You’re keeping them hostage, segregated in ghettos,” Light accused.
“And most rather stay there than in the jungles with you,” Golden shrugged a hoof.
“They get to make that choice,” Flurry intervened. “Doctor Caballeron will speak with them and escort any that want to leave out of the city.”
“I am not letting an armed battalion into Baltimare,” Golden scoffed.
“You’re already going to let the Reich unload at the ports,” Flurry said with fluttering wings.
“I haven’t agreed to that either.”
The alicorn turned fully to Golden Delicious and stared the tall stallion down. “Those are the terms.” She floated a piece of paper over. “I will recognize Baltimare’s independence in exchange for military access and supply lines.”
“For you,” Golden pointed out, “not the birds.”
“I am allied with Grover.”
“You really do his bidding, don’t you?” Golden asked and rolled his eyes.
Flurry sighed slowly. “The only reason I haven’t killed you is because Baltimare will fall apart and I don’t have the time to crush the rebellion.” Her horn sparked. “I have far more important things to do.”
Golden pushed a piece of paper over to her with a smug look. “You still haven’t signed this.”
Flurry didn’t need to look at it to know what paper he meant. It was the vow that she would renounce her claim to Baltimare and its claimed territories in perpetuity. It would be an independent state, probably for the first time in known history. Flurry Heart would also promise to never set a hoof in Baltimare again.
At this point, an appealing prospect. No doubt that Golden would use her signature to solidify his hold over the city. Copies would probably be plastered over Baltimare like those posters of Celestia in Manehattan. “You haven’t agreed on Baltimare’s territory,” Flurry replied evenly.
Golden tapped a hoof on the table in thought. “Fine,” he agreed. “Along the river.”
Flurry waited until it was properly written out between the two of them. Light glanced at her bandage before signing with a quill between his teeth. Golden signed with a large, looping signature and spat out the quill. Flurry signed with neat hornwriting underneath him.
There were several more agreements between the Tlatoani and Comrade Delicious about the bat ponies in Baltimare. While they bickered at a much softer volume, Flurry looked to the surrounding jungle through the shield. She could see Murky, Echo, and Nightshade in the treetops with Amoxtli, taking aim at the opposing syndicalist militias. Thestrals lined the jungle floor with glimpses of golden and yellow eyes through the leaves in the slight morning light. It was a cloudy day.
On the opposite side of the clearing, the varied Baltimare militias braced their weapons against trunks with sweating hooves. The communist militia were nervous to be out in the jungle, even though Baltimare was less than a day away. The two sides stared at each other with far more hatred and fear than anypony in Manehattan.
This won't last. Flurry knew that this agreement was only delaying the issue until after the war, but it bought time Equestria desperately needed. The final paper only needed her signature; Golden Delicious laid it out before her like it was a holy text of Griffonkind. Flurry signed with a wild swirl.
Flurry Heart, the Princess of Ponies
She floated the declaration of independence over to Golden Delicious. “Enjoy utopia, comrade,” Flurry offered. “I hope you succeed, for the sake of Baltimare.”
“Your arrogance is noted,” Golden stated. He took the paper from her aura with his hooves and placed it atop his own stack of papers. The concession made him far happier than anything he got from Light Narrative. “You have three days to leave Baltimare,” he added as an afterthought.
Flurry nodded. She’d radio ahead with her secure codes and hitch a ride on a Reich convoy. The alicorn wasn’t looking forward to it, but the stallion’s presence oddly made her long for the subdued hostility of the Reich’s sailors. Golden Delicious stood up with a swagger, offering a wide smile to the hunkered-down militia behind him.
“Comrade Delicious,” Flurry requested. The stallion glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Flurry narrowed her own eyes. “No more reprisal hangings. The violence is over.”
Golden scowled. “You have no say in Baltimare, Princess.”
Flurry clicked her tongue. “I would still cut down the dead and burn them before the Reich arrives. They won’t be happy to see their sailors swinging from the docks. As you said, I have no say in protecting you.”
Golden lashed his tail and waited for Flurry to drop the shield. She slowly retracted half of the bubble and allowed the stallion to leave. She abruptly resumed it once he passed over the threshold. The edge sliced through the last of the hairs on his brown tail.
Golden Delicious obviously felt the catch from the way his ears twitched under the commissar’s cap. He marched back towards his side of the clearing with the folder clenched between his teeth. The Baltimare militia cheered in victory. The earth pony did not look back.
Light Narrative rubbed at his brown eyepatch with an elbow. “No Thestrals in his army,” he observed quietly. “I knew him before the war. He never hated us.”
“War changes you,” Flurry answered. She thought about Sunburst. “You sure the Tzinacatl can’t take Baltimare?”
“Not before they blow the port,” Light shook his head. “And it will be a pain in the fangs to hold onto. If you want the port intact, it has to be through him. The other leaders are gone.”
“How many bat ponies can you take in?”
“However many want to leave,” Light Narrative said readily. “I am worried that some will stay out of fear. We’ve always been good for night shifts with half-pay.”
“You think he’ll give them up?”
“Probably,” Light Narrative shrugged. “The harder issue will be encouraging the city bats to leave their homes. We have Mareida on the coast and Stableside, but those already have bat pony minorities.”
“I thought you were a city bat,” Flurry quipped.
“Once,” Light acknowledged with a hint of longing. The stallion flapped his painted wings. “Your arrival helped. Please, get on the radio as soon as you can and confirm you’ve reached an agreement with us. They’ll trust your voice sooner than they trust us.”
“You can’t talk to them?”
“Not after we kept attacking the militias and Golden hanged their relatives,” Light dismissed with folded ears.
“That’s not your fault.”
“Perhaps,” Light agreed, “but how many will see it that way?”
I wish I could kill that earth pony. Flurry floated over her paper. “As agreed, the southeast will be placed under a governor within Equestria, similar to Nova Griffonia. Bat ponies are acknowledged as the Fifth Tribe and equal to the others.”
“Does Nova Griffonia even exist anymore?” Light asked. He drummed a wing on his folder of documents, looking more like a reporter in his cowboy hat than a spiritual leader of the Tzinacatl.
“An approximate territory is controlled by Governor Fierté,” Flurry clarified vaguely.
“Good answer,” Light chuckled.
“Do you miss being a journalist?” Flurry asked back.
Light looked back to the foliage. “Every day,” he admitted. “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Flurry shrugged with a slight smile. “My crown melted. Still waiting on the replacement.”
Light Narrative looked up to her purple cap. The patches had mostly filled in, but her mane still appeared brittle and short. The purple and blue stubble no longer itched. “There’s a story there.”
“Yep,” Flurry confirmed. She did not explain further.
Light used his good hoof and a wing to shift through the papers. “Who will you appoint?”
“You,” Flurry replied, “unless the great Tlatoani has somepony better in mind.”
“The southeast is home to many Thestrals,” Light said after some consideration, “but many of the other pony tribes still live here, especially on the coast. It shouldn’t be me.”
“Think there will be rebellions?”
“There will be…” Light Narrative trailed off. “Problems,” he finished.
“Do you have a recommendation?”
“Doctor Caballeron,” Light stated with a decisive nod. “He commands enough respect amongst the Tzinacatl and he has contacts along the coast.”
“I’m not sure I can appoint a Daring Do villain as governor,” Flurry remarked with a slight laugh.
“Better than a bat,” Light Narrative retorted bluntly.
Flurry stopped laughing and stared at him.
The Threstral stared at the bandage on her hoof with his one eye. “We’ll always be different, but maybe our grandfoals won’t be shunned. If one of us is your governor, there will be attacks.”
“You have my permission to deal with them,” Flurry said.
“There’ll be enough violence already,” Light Narrative said vaguely. He looked over his shoulder again, then slid a report back over to Flurry. It was a copy of one of the earlier agreements, but a long line of names had been written on the side. Tzinacatl names.
Flurry counted them. Thirty-Two.
“You’re close with Thorax, right?” Light asked. “I spoke to him once, when I interviewed your mother.”
“Yes.” Flurry’s horn glowed and the shield rippled, cutting off the sound to the outside.
“He has changelings helping him, right?”
“Yes.”
“Anypony that knows poisons? Rare ones?”
Flurry licked her lips. “Are you in danger because of the vote?” she whispered. "Tell me now."
“Not yet,” Light replied.
Flurry looked down at the list. Targets.
“It’s not for all of them,” Light assured her, “but some will move against you. And me.”
“How many?”
“Three or four,” Light shrugged. “Certainly, Amoxtli’s Moonspeaker. Please, take her with you. She was disowned at the Conclave.”
Flurry looked to the treetops out of the corner of her eye. The young mare was focused on watching the Baltimare ponies leave. “What does that mean?”
“She’ll be dead within a week if she stays. I won’t be able to keep her safe.”
Flurry twisted her leg and stared at the bandage. It needed to be changed out again, and the figure-eight swirl was lightly imprinted with blood. She closed her eyes and exhaled.
“We use paint,” Light said softly. “Paint can wash off. Not all of us have your conviction.”
Flurry kept her eyes closed. “If her Moonspeaker dies, can Amoxtli be reinstated?”
Light Narrative hesitated. “Well, the new Moonspeaker could overturn the decision.”
“Is that likely to happen?”
“If I tell them to do it,” the Tlatoani admitted.
Flurry opened her eyes. “Whoever else you kill; she dies as well.”
Light Narrative nodded after a long pause. He blinked his eye. “As you say, Princess.”
“She’s probably already plotting against me.”
“Most likely, yes. Her death will send a message.”
Flurry tucked the paper discreetly into a pocket on her uniform and buttoned it with her horn. “Thorax is probably back in the Empire,” she explained. “Under the shield. I’ll have to send a flier from Manehattan, then they have to fly back here. It will take time.”
“There are things I can do in public,” Light answered, “but the quicker the serpent is struck, the less poison is pumped from its fangs.”
"You mean the quicker I get somepony down here, the less you'll have to kill to get the point across."
Light Narrative looked worriedly behind him.
"They can't hear," Flurry said. "I cut the sound."
"You can do that?" Light blinked. He pulled out a cigar.
Flurry lit the end with a golden flame. “Do whatever you need to do,” the alicorn confirmed.
Light puffed on the cigar and nodded. Flurry stood and stretched her wings, flapping them a few times and looking towards the morning sun over Baltimare. She rolled her sleeve down over the bandage and winced. Flurry hadn't cast any pain relief spells on herself, preferring to reserve her magic use.
“I admit that I’m surprised you agreed to Golden’s terms,” Light Narrative prompted.
“I don’t have a problem with communists.”
“They’re syndicalists.”
“Whatever.”
The Tlatoani huffed. “Still, Appleoosa and the south have always had an independent streak. Vanhoover has as well. Las Pegasus is a major port and gambling hub. News that you gave Baltimare independence will spread. It might embolden others to ask for the same.”
“Baltimare is alone,” Flurry answered. "There is no great communist nation, not in Griffonia, Equus, or Zebrica. They have nothing, cut off just like Nova Griffonia. Golden can have his independence, but Baltimare will never be self-sufficient."
"You expect it to collapse."
The alicorn smiled slyly. “Off the record?”
Light raised his good hoof in a swear. “Of course, Princess.”
“Comrade Delicious thinks I am Celestia.”
The Thestral worried his lower lip with a fang. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
“He thinks that my signature on a piece of paper is a shield." Flurry dropped her golden bubble shield, watching the last of the departing Baltimare militia. "He thinks he has a powerful weapon to use against me.” The last one, a young aqua mare with an assault rifle, glared hatefully at Flurry and trotted away with a flicking tail.
"I consider words an effective weapon," Light Narrative said slowly, still on his stool. "The pen is mightier than the sword."
Flurry smirked. “It’s just ink and parchment without action to back it. Paper is a poor shield."
"I see," Light Narrative replied after a moment of silence. "You aren't what I expected."
"What did you expect?" Flurry asked.
Light Narrative puffed on the cigar. "It seems that the best and the worst stories about you are true, Princess. I thought it would be one or the other."
"Do you regret voting for me?"
"No," Light shrugged a wing, "but I can't help but feel like I hitched our wagon to the Nightmare again."
"She was wearing armor designed to show off her ass and got her flank kicked by six civilians. I'm an improvement."
Light Narrative coughed and dropped the cigar, thumping his chest with his prosthetic hoof. The Thestral blinked one wide eye at Flurry, then began to laugh with a screeching warble. Flurry Heart snorted at the sound and laughed with him after a heartbeat.
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The return of the Princess of War Crimes! And whoo nelly, is she a LEGENDARY troll. Golden is fucked, since nobody's Communist, so he's either going to go as Flurry suggests, or he pulls a North Korea.
Lunarists BTFO by 6 civilians
Still coping to this day
I remain salty that there is no "like" button per chapter, so I can indicate interest without having to make a post.
As for the developments... This is, what, the third of the four trouble zones? Empire, east coast, jungle, southwest? So we will probably see a short segment of the impact on the Reich and then a short commando mission to retrieve the collaborator Applejack for perfunctory trial and execution for aiding the enemy during what has become a war of extinction.
11448276
Or it will fall. Remember that most communist states in history either collapsed, became a dictatorship, or both.
11448276
Likely
Yet if he wants to succeed he needs one of two things to ensure a long existence, Nukes or an Alicorn. Both would be perfect. Sadly this would require allies which he has none. So even if he can keep his people in line. He will be surrounded by enemies who would rather see him hang. He may make a North Korea, but at most, it will last as long as he lives, worse he dies a half decade from now when all resources can be focused on placing his head on a pike.
11448293
Difficult to show Griffonia proper when both POV characters are on another continent. There will be updates, but Manehattan's next.
You think Applejack's valuable enough to dedicate those resources towards catching her early? She's not important to the changelings beyond a propaganda poster, and that time has long since passed. Patience.
Even if there were still communist states left in the world, I have the distinct feeling Golden Delicious wouldn't be seen as a friend. All are welcome under the Red Flag, regardless of species. That and he's an arrogant asshat.
The matter of Golden Delicious will be a thorn in the side and a symbolic pain in the ass. Flurry Heart might not have a problem with communists for now, but sooner or later, they will demand elections (very ungrateful, why would her ponies want that? They need a practical history lesson...), her resigning or at least getting rid of her title and becoming some sort of "custodian" due to her abilitites (Grover won't allow for this humiliation, plus excite republicans and leftists back home)
Point being the communists will become a stomach ulcer of Equestria (Of course its obvious Equestria is just another name for Flurry Heart at this point) and then cancer if they will remain Marksists at heart. Dealing with Golden Delicious will spark protests (a good opportunity for Flurry to step into Grover's shoes)
Also it would be nice if Flurry Heart united the Crystal Empire and Equestria in a real union as a statement towards Luna and Celestia.
In the end, the most thrilling topic I am awaiting is the appearance of the National Socialist Pone Worker's Party and how Flurry will handle domestic fascism.
I literally made an account to comment and follow this story, it's that good. I have been reading stories for SO long and there are few that have captivated me like this one has. I have played several hundred hours of EAW and seeing someone make an dedicated fanfic from it puts a genuine smile on my face.
Do you think that Flurry would ever set up "Redemption Brigades" and penal laborers? I feel like that could be an alternative to hanging all the collaborators. The collaborators would be some of the healthiest and able-bodied ponies still around and could be worked pretty hard. I don't think Flurry would work them to the point of what the Changelings did.
11449653
Aw, thanks!
As for Penal Battalions and Labor Camps, Flurry dismissed the issue with Rarity. She's not interested in offering them an "out," not after everything that's happened so far. This isn't about ponies that sold a changeling a muffin once. These are high-profile ponies that had protection, enough to not be killed. As for the lower-ranking collaborators...
There's definitely vigilante executions happening in liberated territory, similar to the liberation of France and Italy. Duty Price admitted to going after some of them, hence why the others were locked away. Bronzetail didn't care about protecting them beyond keeping order in Manehattan.
There was way more than thirteen scientists and helpers in the Crystal City. Flurry judged who was left. Now, valid criticism that Flurry should crack down on the summary executions, but that takes time and resources that she doesn't have. Same with 'Redemptive' Labor and Penal Battalions. That takes infrastructure, planning, and oversight. Rope is cheap.
If Flurry's not getting the rope, she'll just leave them alone. It will get complicated as more of Equestria is recovered.
11449405
As if domestic fascists won't love the Princess of Rope.
Fascism and Monarchy go together better than some fascists pretend. And some of them don't pretend at all. They'll cheer for Flurry until she headbutts one of them to death, then make mental backflips to justify why the victim deserved it and cheer louder.
On the opposite end, Equestria and the Crystal Empire are so battered that "the Red Princess" is fine for most left-leaning ponies. That's going to cause a schism for the hardcore communists that don't want the Princess post-war. It's also not factoring in Flurry's developing reputation. Stalliongrad's rebellion would've gone a bit differently if Celestia was known for blowing things up.
11449749
As a hypothetical question, what do you think would happen if Twilight was still alive and liberated while the Changelings were still being pushed out of Equestria. More specifically, what she would do when she found out about Flurry’s methods? (Beyond cry)
11450006
Can't really answer that directly, sorry, but I will point out that Twilight is not confirmed dead. Nor is Starlight Glimmer.
Flurry (and Grover) assume Twilight is dead. It's a pretty reasonable assumption. Flurry might be "Hope," but she's not stupid. Twilight hasn't been seen for years, and the Changelings haven't said anything about her as well. They used to play fake speeches from her at the beginning of the occupation. They did similar things with Cadance.
Starlight went missing during the last stand of the Equestrian Liberation Front. It's been pointed out that the 'lings would've made a show of her corpse, but no one has confirmed her death. At the same time, she hasn't resurfaced.
11449760
Hard for them not to since she created Lebensraum basically; Ponies now live in hyperborea. (I have a feeling someone already pointed this out)
My main issue is the line beetwen being open with the anti-changeling rascism which she won't stand for. It'll be easy to create propaganda that the Heart reflected her own deep desires, supposed anihilation of the changelings, and the ones she keeps close is just for practical reasons, which is why the Heart allows for allied changelings to enter and exit: its only circumstantial mercy; exception to the rule.
Them creating their Myth around her. Luna and Celestia have their religious nuts, time for Flurry to get some too.
To see her take a step into that mentality of the fascist to find weak points of their narration. Her becoming afraid and disgusted of their concepts, the nature of the merit of changeling worth: the most and least useful thing they can take shape of. Even liking them at some point maybe. She wouldn't be a teenager if she didn't try and find some syncretic truth taking after all theathres of the political spectrum.
I'll leave it at that. Hope you understand what I mean.
Between grover and flurry which one is actually the worst ?
I think grover tried to do something at beginning of his monarch life but failed.i feel a little sorry for him, but not much.
And how is flurry gonna deal with hole queen, she basically stronger than sisters, flurry is by far weaker.
THIS IS TIME FOR POLISH WORLD WAR 2 FLASHBACKS
11452331
Isn't pax chrysalia just ww2 german occupation of Poland?
I lol'd.