Equestria and the Crystal Empire have fallen to the Changeling Hegemony, led by the brutal Queen Chrysalis at the head of a mechanized horde of guns and tanks. Princess Cadance stayed in the Crystal Empire; Princess Twilight stayed in Equestria. Chrysalis rules the continent, only defied by Nova Griffonia, the poor Griffon colony in the north.
Across the ocean, the Griffonian Reich pledges to reclaim its lost territory, sundered by revolution a generation ago. While the Alicorn Sisters retreat to New Mareland, Princess Flurry Heart and Shining Armor turn to Aquileia, the Republic born out of the ashes of the Griffonian Reich. The Kaiser of the Reich is only a child, subject to a regent bent on war and conquest.
Flurry knows the Reich and Chrysalis have worked together.
She knows that war is coming to Aquileia.
She knows that Celestia and Luna abandoned her mother and Twilight Sparkle.
She knows that the world is on fire, and she is the last true Princess of Ponies.
She knows she will go home.
Cover Art by Opal Radiance, commissioned by Sunstreaker.
https://www.deviantart.com/opalradiance
EAW and Flurry Heart?
It’s like you reached into my head and pulled out exactly what I’ve been searching for! Following this with great enthusiasm!
Now this is interesting. I'm wondering if Thranx will actually stick around.
Great chapter
Changeling Queendom to the West, Griffonian Empire to the East, both of which want to end the last bastion of liberty on that hemisphere of the world. Nova Griffonia, and thus by extension Flurry Heart, sure won't have an easy journey ahead.
“Damn, you all live like this!?” - Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire and all Crystal Ponies, upon seeing the state of the diaspora.
Lmao.
Also: yes Flurry, YOU are the authority!
Why isn't there an alternate universe tag?
A little entitled. Leadership has to be earned, Flurry Heart, and you literally just arrived.
I wonder if Celestia and Luna will show up in this fic? It seems that Flurry has no respect for them anymore, though considering everything she went through her anger is very much understandable. It's easy to blame the ones in charge for making the tough calls when such calls means the ones you love pay the price.
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I didn't want to clutter up the tags, and I'm not sure how broad 'alternate universe' is as a tag.
This is based on the very popular Hearts of Iron 4 mod, Equestria at War, which I recommend if you're a fan of World War II strategy games.
About half the stories in the Equestria at War group do not have the tag, so I decided to leave if off.
Are we going to see more of grover?
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Of course! You'll like part five.
Grover is currently on another continent, so 'see' probably isn't the right word.
This is beaudiful
So, the Empire is gunning for Ost-Griffonia fast? That probably means no Great Crusade and no Purple Plague, which is probably a good thing (assuming it's the Reformisten that was charge of Ost-Griffonia).
Even though Flurry is no republican, she seems to have some sympathies for them. I wonder if this means she plans to eventually estabilish a constitutional monarchy in Equestria. Constitutionalism is something that usually appeases all but the most hardline of republicans.
What is the state of Haukland? In the mod should the Griffonian Republic fall and Haukland still be around then the republican exiles will take over the island and become not!Taiwan, which is an interesting cenario.
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I am leaving out a lot of details from Equestria at War for the sake of the narrative and simplicity.
For example, I am ignoring the polar bears, penguins, and yaks that neighbor Nova Griffonia in-game; the story is complicated enough without throwing in three more species and I want to keep it focused.
Since you asked,
The Reformisten in Hellquill spent too much time kicking ponies to do anything useful or competent. They're getting invaded with Wingbardy. (They're not in the story, but consider this part of the cruelty Celestia speaks against on the radio.)
Haukland was invaded and conquered by the Skyfall Trade Federation years ago. (Not going to come up, but consider it why they fled to Nova Griffonia instead.)
PS: I actually wrote out an answer covering every nation, then looked at how absurdly long it was, which I think proved my point.
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Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the reply! Loving the story so far.
There is also the native nova griffonian majority in the country as well to consider. Most of Nova Griffonia's population are griffons who live near the coast, afterall, and as a whole they are a rather republican people. They might sympathize with Flurry, but if it truly came down to it most would side with the goverment. Of course, as Flurry says this is a moot point because civil war would mean the end of Nova Griffonia.
Also, it begins!
Great chapter
Very interested to see Flurry’s stance on the ELF, if that is what is happening right now.
Igniting revanchism in her remaining ponies and rushing out to open a second front?
Waiting and seeing what exactly will happen before making any moves, all the while preparing her ponies?
Big developments for little Flurry!
Random nitpick. Kemerskai Jr. is way more than a decade older than Flurry. His advisor description says he was 7 when the Revolution failed and Republic settled in Cloudbury in 981. That would make him 33 at the start of the game and almost 3 decades older than Flurry.
Really liking the story so far, otherwise. Keep up the good work.
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Yeah, I fully accept that nitpick. I decided to make Kemerskai Jr closer to Flurry's age. I believe he also has a son in-game as well that I'm leaving out.
I wanted Kemerskai to be a reflection of Flurry Heart for the Republicans, not that they'll ever admit it. (He'll come up more later.)
I think Grover and Flurry have several years difference in age in-game as well. I think Flurry is older, she can become Princess in 1018 compared to Grover in 1021. (I could be wrong about this.)
Now, they're near the same age. Grover's birthday is just after Flurry's. I wanted them to be closer in age. (It'll come up in a bit.)
For my fellow Equestria at War fans, I can only ask your forgiveness and permission. I gotta chop out a bunch of that delicious lore and mangle some details to keep the narrative moving.
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Makes sense i guess. I'm ok with it as long as it is consistent within the story.
Grover VI and Flurry has 1 year between them. Flurry is older. Flurry actually doesn't take the throne in 1018, but 1020. I think i said it as such a few times on Discord but later realised that was wrong when i checked the code. 1018 is when she becomes available as an advisor, at the age of 16, but it still takes till 18 to become the country leader, if she is gonna be. Grover takes the throne in 1021 at the age of 18 too.Strach that, Grover was born in 21st May 1003, Flurry in 1004 (no exact date, i got the year from the wiki). Grover is older, and Flurry does take the throne in 1020 at age of 16.
I hope later flurry and Grover falls in love
I wonder why Kemerskai Junior hates Flurry so much. I guess it's a mixture of the hatred and spite he feels for his father's killers being released on an 'acceptable target' as well as projecting his own insecurities on someone that he subconsciously recognizes is in a similiar situation as him.
Recent research has proved that Kaiser Wilhelm II played a decisive role in initiating the policies of naval and colonial expansion which caused a rapid deterioration in Germany's relations with Britain before 1914. However, scholars have devoted much less attention to the study of the role of the British monarchy in Anglo-German relations in the quarter of a century before the outbreak of the First World War. This article provides a corrective by analysing the attitudes of British monarchs towards the kaiser and Germany web entwicklung, and the impact of their attitudes and actions on Britain's relations with Germany. The first section shows that the actions of British monarchs did influence Anglo-German relations, if only to a limited extent. The article then examines the factors that constrained web development the influence of the British monarchy on British policy towards Germany. Like any craftsperson, as a web designer, to do your work, you need the right tools. Knowing your way around web design and graphic design industry standards will be helpful in every case and critical in many.
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That's an accurate assessment of his viewpoint. It is also public knowledge that Flurry and Grover trade vague, diplomatic letters, so the fears of 'monarchists' is kinda valid.
In-game, Kemerskai Junior can be elected president of the Griffonian Republic after his dad when they defeat the Empire. He's more hostile and dismissive of the Equestrians in his foreign policy, so I based his antagonism off of his in-game personality. He was never going to particularly like Equestria, but his father's death and their defeat have radicalized him further.
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I don't know if you know about it but in-game, should you play as republican Haukland, there is an event that goes into detail about Kemerskai Jr's life, his views on republicanism and his father as well as the headspace he is in after the Republic fell and they were forced to flee. It's actually one of my favorite events in the mod and I feel is very relevant to this fic.
This ‘Democracy’ stuff really isn’t helping the cause, huh?
Maybe Flurry should re-think her stance on such things when she gets the homeland back...
I hope flurry and grover fall in love and great story
awesome chapter mate
Great story keep up the great work
Another great chapter! I was thinking that Flurry saw how poor ponies and griffons live and hates Blackpeak right? Will we see a monarcho-communist Flurry in the future? Comrade-Princess Flurry Heart sounds badass
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I don’t know I mean hear it wuold be awesome I love to see commie monarchs in storys
It’s just you know Grover and flurry might fall in love
YES. Best dog in EAW.
Loving this story so far
I really hope this story will continue.
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Continue it shall! But I have to ask for patience.
I fired out chapters too zealously and need to restore my backlog.
Oooh. If only Celestia knew.. if only she knew.
Yes he as delevared another epic chapter
I wonder what happend to the Stalliongrad leaders like Vasily and Sinister, they probably died defending Stalliongrad but I think Gold Muffin is still alive and is in Thorax's mafia since no one else would give a job to a changeling. I wonder if we'll see him in the later chapters
Looks like Friendship might trump family, regarding Flurry’s stance on the rivalry between her aunties and the Grover bloodline.
I know it is far away right now, but a part of me wishes to see Crystal Empire troops helping conquer the Riverlands.
And before that he was just a puppet to the wicked aristocracy and their corrupt regency council that revoked the reforms of his predecessor. After the counterrevolution, the aristocracy just seized back it's power and maintained the Emperor as a toothless monarch who could only control Griffeinhein and the surrounding countryside while still giving themselves free reign. His entire life he never had any control over the nation he supposedly ruled.
Honestly, everything that is wrong with Griffonia can be traced back to the aristocracy in one way or another.
Great chapter
Superb chapter.
Nice chapter. Tho, i'm not really sold on Celestia's opinion of Grovers. Grover I and II, sure they were the warriors and conquerers that built the Empire. Grover III, while his reign was peaceful and stable, did stuff that would be fit for Celestia's views here to ensure that stability. VI on other hand was a Commoner's King and a reformer, probably the worst thing he did was dying early because of his sweet tooth, then Grover V's regency mostly reverted his pro-commoner reforms and Grover V was mostly a puppet of the nobility even after coming to age. In general from what i know of him, i don't think Grover IV and to an extent V deserves that opinion Celestia has on them.
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If you're curious, Stalliongrad fought and lost in the Great War. I had Gold Muffin drafted as a member of Thorax's mafia, but changed the name. Feel free to imagine they work at the dockyards. (I might slip the name in as an easter egg.)
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That's fair. Celestia isn't intended to be a reliable source of judgement. I mean, she called a child 'evil' based on the crimes of his ancestors.
Celestia is biased from living in the Riverlands and seeing the cruelty of the knightly orders, along with being a bastion of stability and harmony during her rule. The "cruelty in different forms" can apply to internal crackdowns, religious suppression, secret police, etc. We don't know too much about all the Grovers, so I imagine Celestia is privy to some details left off the history books, exaggerated by her own bias.
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Consider the fact she is the River Republic who sees itself as the last bastion of harmony and democracy. In context of the circumstances that led to the allience itself we can be sure that Celestia has no other way then to act in line with the interests of the ponies living there.
Secondly,
For Celestia as well as for Flurry, Ponies are most important to them. Both don't want to see them in pain. They have common values, yet different methods how to safeguard these values (in this case the good life of ponies).
Social scientists came up with the following formula: Values -> Emotions -> Actions.
And when there's a hierarchy of values, the same applies, with the difference that if the most important value isn't secured, nothing else matters.
The good life of ponies is in danger (value) -> Flurry is anxious/scared, she wants to defend this value, she feels threatened and attacked because her ponies are attacked [beside the fact Chrysalis wants her, the story for me doesn't put that much emphasis on that therefore I don't think Flurry cares that much for herself anyway; she did hurt herself to teleport around] -> She tries everything (in this chapter she visited Bronzetail)
She pressured Spike and Thorax etc. Where is friendship in that? There's none, because she had her ponies first in mind, not friendship. She could have used Twilight's doctrine as a path to get these two to agree, but it was more an option then correct thing to do for her, which is why she settled for intimidation (indirectly Bronzetail called her out by pointing out she didn't tell them)
On another note, since I allowed myself to vent, I think chapter 9 and 10 are foreshadowing the following: Flurry will maintain her order of values the way it is, and if she does marry Grover, she'll do it for the sole purpose of helping her ponies. She might love him, but the moment they'd be threatened, she'd sacrifice her marriage. As I said, if the highest value isn't guaranteed, nothing else matters, and every other value she has in her hierarchy (like family) can only have a fixed level of influence on her which is determined by the highest value.
Certainly if family was the most important value for her, she wouldn't demand Luna stood behind and fought. Its crystal clear that Ponykind>Family. In due time, she will realize that keeping Luna and Celestia around is essential for Ponykind to endure.
Edit 10:06 PM - I wrote my comment before 11290776
And so Flurry has her first true combat experience. Hopefully there will be no consequences- I’m just kidding this is going to go off the rails isn’t it?
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Good observations! It shouldn't be a surprise that Flurry puts family below duty. Her aunt, mother and father did the same. The nature of leadership is meant to be one of the central themes of the story.
I won't go into too much detail because it will be discussed later, but Flurry values the title 'Princess of Ponies' greater than 'Princess of the Sun.' Why even bother claiming to lead Ponies if you're always going to prioritize a giant ball of gas? (Yes, it's meant to be a twisted values system, but understandable for her to have.)
Eh, mild pushback on that. It's intended to be ambiguous if Celestia doesn't want to risk her life or her sister, or if she is prioritizing their jobs to raise the sun and moon. In either case, one of them could have stayed behind with Twilight or join the rebellion. In-game, Luna is a Field Marshal. Celestia had done her job before, so her capture or death wouldn't cripple the world. Flurry's biased against them, but she did have some good points. She didn't deny Spike's point that they're essential; she questioned why they call themselves Princesses.
I haven't prioritized Chrysalis attempting to kidnap Flurry beyond the earlier chapters, but I tried to leave hints that Thorax and her Ponies are constantly on the lookout and running security that Flurry sort-of ignores. Besides, the Changelings aren't in the best shape to run expansive counter-intelligence after conquering Equestria and the Crystal Empire.
Bronzetail's point wasn't meant as a dig at friendship, but a harsh acknowledgement about her situation. Flurry doesn't really have friends; she has people trying to keep her safe. The problem is she's an insanely powerful alicorn that can overpower all of them and go do what she wants, unlike Grover. She's definitely reckless, and her group tries to reign her in.
Great chapter
I wonder who was in that ELF fighter plane, I'm guessing either Trixie or Starlight because I don't want them to die