First published
Sequel to Victorian Equestria: The Corps of Discovery
AN: Hi there! Welcome to the third installment of Victorian Equestria! I really hope you guys like this next foray into the world of the Pony Demand Mod for Victoria 2, and please check out the game and the mod if you haven't already.
It is the human year of 1808. While war rages in Europe, Equestria is blissfully unaware of human contact with the Griffons up north. This changes when Princess Celestia learns of humanity and their advances in terms of technology and government. This prompts her to take a tour of Europe (and Washington DC) to learn of their governments, technology, and of European war.
In the magical land of Equestria,
there lived a beautiful princess
who ruled over all the lands,
But one day she learns
of a secret kept by Griffons,
and she soon finds
that a old pony may need new tricks.
- Ink Blotch; 1997; On the Divinity of the Princesses
A red wave washed over Canterlot, toppling the many architectural works of the city and washing away families. Celestia watched from one of the Royal Palace's towers as the wave reached the gates and eventually knocked them down. She ran to the top of the tower as the red waters moved up the tower carrying the graves of her friends of the past and the present. As the waters lapped at her haunches, she reached the room at the top and closed the door behind her before it exploded, flooding the room and leaving her unable to escape. She swam to the top and took her last breath before the last bubble of air disappeared...
Celestia awoke frightened and gasping for breath before realizing she was in her room. Safe and sound. "Yet another nightmare," she said to herself as one of her guards opened the door to her chambers and asked if she was alright. She lied, of course, they should never know when the Princess was genuinely frightened. "Lead by example" was one of her mottos after all.
When she later was eating breakfast, she began to think of the other nightmares that had plagued her in the past couple of years. Her ponies cutting each other down, Earth Ponies in chains or worse, Pegasi in constant, agonizing war with the Unicorns, even her beloved sister in some sinister device used for executions with a falling blade. The images never left her, and she was glad she had forbade her sister from entering her dreams.
Whilst sipping her tea, a guard came into the room and announced, "Your highness, your former student Princess Twilight Sparkle is currently in your solar, and she says she has urgent news for you."
Celestia made her way quickly to her solar. Twilight rarely came by all that often, with world ending crises becoming much less frequent in the past decade or so, and she relished every opportunity to see her former pupil. When she finally reached it, she paused at the door composing herself before entering.
"Hello Twilight," Celestia said as she entered the room. Her prized student looked so mature sitting in the chair opposite of her desk. Twilight was such a different pony compared to the little filly that had sat in that chair so many years ago.
"I'm so sorry for not visiting sooner Princess. I've just been so focused on helping Mayor Mare with Ponyville's finances and we've finally gotten around to discussing where my authority and her authority begins and ends," Twilight said quickly,
"Now now, Twilight. It is alright," Celestia said trying to stop the Twilight rant that she knew well, "You are a very busy pony and I know that you and the Mayor will work out where your lines are drawn."
"Thank you Princess," Twilight sighed.
"Now, what was this urgent news you wanted to tell me?" Celestia asked.
"Oh yes, um, Rainbow Dash was up north in Seaddle visiting her friend Gilda, since she hasn't visited her since King Griff was crowned, and she said that she had heard rumors about two-legged creatures, like minotaurs but less like bulls, more like the humans in the other world," Twilight began.
"I assume you came to me on more than just rumors, right Twilight?" Celestia suspected.
"Ah yes, she then investigated these rumors and she said she saw these humans on an island in the Seaddle harbor. Apparently they aren't colored like the humans in Canterlot High, but more muted whites and blacks, and she said she saw that she saw a building with columns and a dome, and a rectangular banner on the top," Twilight answered.
"Interesting, and do you think that the Griffons have set up some sort of... diplomatic relationship with these humans?" Celestia asked.
"I think so. Our last diplomatic mission to the Griffon realm was about four years ago and I don't believe we've had any eyes nor ears in Griff's court since he took the throne of Griffonstone so honestly a whole lot of things could have happened," Twilight responded.
"I knew I should have insisted on our ambassador being in Seaddle rather than Olympia," Celestia said vexed. She remembered when she came to Seaddle, then known as Griffonstone, after King Griff consolidated his control over the various city-states of the Griffon realm. Griff had said that he wanted the pony representative in Olympia so that the ponies would have a bigger plot of land for the embassy he wanted to build, but Celestia was just sure that he had wanted the ponies away from his base of power, but she didn't want to force too much upon this upstart Griffon King and so she acquiesced.
"Anyways, once Rainbow saw this, she told Gilda and came straight to me," Twilight finished.
"And where's Rainbow Dash now?" Celestia asked.
"At home," Twilight replied.
"Good," Celestia stated, "I need to ask her some questions.
It took only a couple of hours of questioning for Rainbow to tell her absolutely everything she saw in Seaddle that was suspicious, and it convinced her that she needed to make a special visit to Seaddle immediately. Thankfully, Twilight and Luna were up to the task of administering the realm while she was away and within a day she was in her sky carriage on her way to Seaddle.
The city had seemed far more cleaned up than she remembered it being in the beginning days of King Griff's reign, but to be fair, the city had just started recovering from years upon years of decline at the time and it was encouraging to see the Griffons so prosperous now. Irregardless, she was certain that King Griff would tell her everything she wanted to know about these humans.
"Princess, I assure you that no two-leggers have set foot upon this realm since the ancient past." King Griff said. He sounded miffed that Celestia would accuse him of such a heinous thing like lying to her.
"King Griff, you know that I take these accusations seriously, and I will not be trifled with. But, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and I wish to be given access to the island in question to conduct my own investigation," Celestia smirked.
"Now Princess, I give you my word that all you'd find on the islands in my harbor will be merchant's buildings. Homes to the various guilds that I allow to gather in my city," King Griff smiled.
"I didn't want to bring this up," Celestia sighed, "But you have forced my hoof." Celestia then had a scroll appear which she then unrolled and read, "Article 8, Section 1, Clause 1 of the Equestrian Recognition of King Griff's Ascension to the Throne of Griffonstone states: Should the Griffon Lord prove to be unfaithful or be found otherwise untrustworthy, to the Princess of the Equestrian Realm Celestia, or Luna, then the Princess may rescind this document of recognition and all other treatises therein."
"The 'No Liars Clause' if I'm not mistaken?" King Griff asked with trepidation.
"Indeed," Celestia smirked, "I always make sure to include this clause in every agreement and treaty I make with any Griffon leader, whether they be Kings, Mayors, Counts, or Dukes. Now, due to this clause, I have the unilateral right to rescind all Equestrian recognition of your claim to the Throne of Griffonstone, as well as all trade treaties and even the Sovereign Authority of the Throne of Griffonstone, effectively reducing your realm's status to whatever I wish, whether it be a collection of city-states under my protection, or even uniting the Throne of Griffonstone with that of the Crown of Equestria."
Gasps were heard around the room as the enormity of what Celestia had said became clearer with every passing second. Celestia knew that actually triggering the "No Liars Clause" would likely lead to war and suffering for both the Griffons and her ponies, but she had to hope that King Griff didn't call her bluff.
"Y-you would not dare try to invoke such pain upon our realms," King Gruff stuttered.
"I dare because I must, but if you were to tell me the truth of these goings on, then I can reconsider everything I just said, and we can get back to ruling our realms," Celestia said holding onto her hope that King Gruff would take the hit to his prestige over the specter of war.
King Griff took a while to come to his decision, between his own thoughts and speaking with his advisers, but eventually he did make a decision. He sighed and then said, "Alright, I know that any war I wage against Equestria would only end in slaughter and the loss of my throne."
Celestia smiled and said, "I am glad we have come to an agreement, Griffon Lord."
As Celestia and King Griff flew to the island in question, one of the largest in the harbor and directly west of the city's center, Celestia wondered if she had made the right decision. If Griff had called her bluff, would she have backed down? What if she carried out her threat? These questions ate at her mind as they reached the southern end of the island and she saw the building Rainbow Dash had described to her.
"Fort Mayor, named for our first ambassador from the two-leggers," King Griff said dejectedly.
"The architecture reminds me a bit of Canterlot's, albeit fewer bright colors," Celestia remarked.
"The two-leggers say that this style of architecture was chosen for their embassy to show us Griffons the architecture of the greatest two-legger empire, that of a city named Rome," King Griff said.
When they got close enough to see the humans, Celestia saw that there was still work going on in the fields surrounding the building. King Griff told her that they were building servant's quarters and walls. When she looked closer, Celestia saw that the darker skinned humans were working while a few of the fairer skinned humans watched over them. She thought nothing of it but there was a nagging feeling she had.
When they reached the front of the building, a human in clothing similar to that of the nobility of Canterlot exited the building. His expression fit that of a politician's until he saw Celestia, which caused his expression to change to one of surprise.
"Ambassador Richard Gillmore, I sense you have some questions regarding my guest here?" King Griff sighed.
"A winged Unicorn," Richard said awed, "It was crazy enough that Griffons actually existed, but winged Unicorns?"
"Alicorn is the proper term, good-sir," Celestia said. Luckily the innate magic of all the Equestrian races (including Griffons) allowed instant translations from other languages. Accents still existed but that was only due to the closeness of the various races, meanwhile this human's English sounded like Standard Canterlot Equestrian to Celestia while Celestia sounded like New Yorker English to the human.
"Ah yes Alicorn, I apologize," Richard replied thinking of the possibilities of other mythical creatures actually existing.
After King Griff moved the conversation to the Ambassador's office, Celestia and Richard continued to rattle on about governance, politics, and about each other's species.
"So you rule over a federation of Unicorns, Pegasi, and normal horses?" Richard asked at one point, which caused Celestia to tell him the story of Hearth's Warming Eve and then of Discord's and her reign. In turn, Richard told Celestia of the history of the United States and of the current world stage. It was when the talk came to American and European government that Celestia had the germ of an idea that would years later be quoted as "The Turn of Equestria's Destiny."
Once the discussion had ended, Celestia immediately asked for some maps of the world, including more detailed maps of the United States and Europe, and asked Richard if he could help her get some letters to the US and the other governments of Europe. It took only a moment to pen the letters which Richard said he would send back to Washington DC using the sky carriages to ensure the letters reach Washington within the week and Europe within the next couple of months.
Salutations to the Princess of the Equestrian Realm Celestia
I write to inform you that the plans for your tour are now set and are ready to be acted upon. However I must inform you that due to the ongoing war in Europe and the increasing tension with the British Empire, I would recommend either postponing or at the very least staying friendly with the Napoleonic Empire. Due to the United States' neutrality in the conflict, it is possible for you to visit Europe as a guest of the United States but I advice caution and that you have a way of protecting yourself.
- Sincerely, American Ambassador to the Griffon Realm Richard Gillmore
Celestia smiled when she read the letter. It was the latest in plenty of letters exchanged between the two, as Celestia grew quite fond of the human. Over the next week, she briefed Luna and Twilight on their responsibilities while she was gone (Twilight would take over Day Court and Luna would handle the raising of the Sun and Moon), the Royal Guards of who she picked to be her personal guard on the trip (she picked a stallion named Morning Light, rank of Sergeant), and the nobility of Canterlot of her immediate absence.
After enduring a barrage of questions from each session, Celestia finally packed up and boarded her sky carriage to Seaddle to say her thanks to Richard once more and then she was off east.
As the sky carriage neared Washington, Celestia looked across the cityscape. The city was small, about the size of Ponyville Proper and definitely not close to the size of Canterlot. Thankfully, she did have time to read on her trip about the American government and its capital so she wouldn't be going in blind.
Her first stop was to the residence of Princess-Ambassador Gilly, whose estate in the outskirts she would be staying in for the three weeks she'd spend in Washington. Gilly had been welcoming to Celestia and freely showed her excitement to seeing Celestia in her residence. Celestia had always liked her the most out of Griff's daughters and was glad that she'd be staying with someone she knew.
Later on, she got to meet Gilly's personal assistant, a human named John who apparently had been the namesake behind Fort Mayor and a part of the group of humans who had made first contact with the Griffons. John had the same reaction to Celestia as Richard had and Celestia answered the human's questions about herself and her nation.
Celestia's next order of business was to make her formal visit to the President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, who had the most muted reaction of any human with just a raised eyebrow. Celestia had an awkward state dinner with the President and the Secretary of State (who had been campaigning for the office of the President) as she fielded questions with the two. Celestia surprised the two with her limited knowledge of the American government and she felt that she made a good impression with them both.
It was on the fourth day that she met various members of the American congress, with the vast majority questioning her intelligence and comparing her to their horses. She wasn't a fan of the majority of them, but she figured she had to get used to humans not believing that an equine could be as intelligent as a human. This was the first instance where Celestia expressed doubts in her journal about peaceful coexistence between humans and ponies.
By the end of the first week, Celestia had met with the supreme court justices and visited the British, French, and Prussian ambassadors to the United States. She was able to ascertain the full extent of the war going on over in Europe and get a feel of the general mood and mannerisms of each nation's people from her conversations with the ambassadors.
In the second week, she met with the most learned scholars of the United States and spent more time learning in-depth enlightenment philosophies and the republican ideals of the American government. It was also during this time that she learned more of human history and quickly visited the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Savannah.
For the last five days of her visit, she visited the area of New England and visited President Jefferson yet again, this time asking questions about his experience during the revolution, and his own philosophies. When President Jefferson spoke of the agrarian ideal, Celestia directed conversation towards her hopes for the Appleloosian and Fort Night settlements. When Jefferson confessed his unorthodox theist views to her, Celestia compared his religion to that of the religion of her youth, that of the unorganized worship of Mother Faust, and shied away from mentioning the modern worship of herself that had grown in strength since even before Luna's banishment.
"I must say, I didn't expect a monarch such as yourself to be so... in tune with enlightenment ideals," Jefferson said after Celestia described the nature of the Equestrian governmental system with its focus on the freedom of each township to make their own laws and the heavy focus on individual liberties in what would be essentially a feudal system.
"I've seen many ideaologies pop up during my reign," Celestia responded, "Everything from Unicorn supremacy to Anti-Markism. From would-be tinpot dictators to hardcore decentralists. I've even seen Breezy supremacists rise up , and Breezies are literally the most frail and least rebellious race in Equestria. The majority of these movements had at least one good idea about how to reform the government and I'm not surprised that the sum of these movements is as harmonious as your enlightenment."
"I must ask, your highness, how do you protect your government from mob rule?" Jefferson asked as a servant brought the two some tea.
"I'm afraid I don't quite understand your question," Celestia replied after thanking the servant.
"I only mean that your townships seem to heavily lean on the votes of the common citizen. If a charismatic demagogue were to rise up, it seems like they'd have free reign to take over your townships and overthrow the established nobility," Jefferson clarified.
Celestia had never considered the possibility of a figure more popular than her rising against her. Her ponies had always been absolute darlings in her mind and even in the time following Luna's banishment she had never considered popular uprising to be too much of a threat. "I've never seen a pony become more popular than the monarchy," she said finally, "The thought has never crossed my mind."
"Then now is the perfect time to consider it. I'm sure you've thought about the ramifications of contact with humanity has on your society. Without proper planning, you might be caught unawares by enemy agents and may just see your nation revolt," Jefferson said.
"Those ramifications are the reasons for my current tour of the great nations of humanity," Celestia answered, "I see your buildings, your apparent control of the planet itself, and I hear of your weaponry and technologies. I see your advances towards Equestria and I worry for my little ponies. Despite harmony, we are vulnerable."
"Then, dear princess, I recommend finding a way to deter the mob rule in your system. Governance means nothing if the uninformed are allowed to exert influence on policy." Jefferson concluded.
At the conclusion of their dinner, Jefferson presented Celestia with a ivory chest, inside of which lay several pieces of parchment. Jefferson informed Celestia that written on the parchments were copies of the American Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. He reasoned that the best advice that he could give her was to simply educate herself on the governance of humanity so that she could see learn of the solutions found by government that had to face civil strife and to see the human view of governing.
Just a few scant days later, Celestia packed her sky carriage, had the ivory chest magicked back to Canterlot, and entered an American-made ship charted to ferry her across the Ocean of Legends. She would be the first pony to cross that great ocean in many millennia and she felt the weight of history upon herself. She needed to make allies and had only managed to secure the most basic of recognition treaties. She only hoped that the British King and Parliament were more amenable.