First of Three

"K-Krasnaya... Zvezda?" Discord spluttered.

"Sounds like a norther name." Trixie pondered.

"Because it is a northern name." Twilight replied "Krasnaya Zvezda means "Red Star"."

"Hmmm..." the azure mare pondered again "Seems kinda... Morbid, if you ask me..."

"What is?" the others asked.

"Well... A red star, or a red giant, is a dying star which has used up all it's internal fuel, expanded into multiple times it's original size, has consumed anything in it's vicinity, and has two options: A) turn into a supernova, and go out with a big bang, or B) collapse into itself and turn into a black hole."

"Your point?" Twilight asked.

"Well, Celestia is a sun goddess, the one who brings about daytime, meaning that she controls the nearest star, the sun!"

The young alicorn's eyes widened.

"I see what you mean..."

"So, where did this filly come from - I know it's probably the Northern Region, but do tell me, how did you made acquaintance with her?" Discord asked "What's her story, since you're so willing to tell 'a' story..."

"...Very well then..." the Princess replied, taking a deep breath...

The others got into comfortable positions, as she began:

"Krasnaya Zvezda, or Red Star, as the royal court called her, was my very first personal student. I did taught ponies beforehoof, but those were the unicorn members of the Royal Guard, and I taught them in groups, about combat spells. The concept of an individual student did not occur to me, even when I've took Krasnya under my wing."

"Krasnya?"

"That's how she preferred to be called." Celestia explained. "It happened during the First Revolution..."

***

The beginning of the century prior to the last, the Norther Region rebelled.

Or rather, it rioted.

To be completely fair, it stood up for itself, after years of foreign oppression enforced by a puppet state/military junta, empowered by the Equestrian Monarchy.

No surprise there, though.

The region had a looooong history with bad rulers.

When the last ice age ended, and the solid ice wall that later shrunk into the northern icecaps retreated from the norther region of the Equine mainland, it left a vast, empty continent, barren of wildlife and vegetation, with mountain ranges edging it from the north and the east, fjords and peninsulas from the west, and it's center collapsed in lines where rivers dug trough it - the of the disappearing glaciers.

The snow and cold still inhabited the land, dominating it for five months each year. Spring was brief. Life blossomed and bloomed with haste. Summer was scorching, but Spring's efforts yielded fruit. Fall was brief as well, the dying drama of Summer, and the coming of the merciless Winter.

The first tribes arrived a few decades after the first ponies appeared within the lower part of the continent, and grew in size and number, adapting to the harsh weather of the north. Once grown large enough to maintain huge plots of land, the tribes began to fight - unlike in the south, which was ruled by egalitarian societies or matriarchies, most of the tribes of the north were strict patriarchies. Mares, however, were not treated badly, in fact, they enjoyed more freedom and more adoration in certain tribes than the mares in certain egalitarian societies or even matriarchies. This was mainly due to the protective and spiritual nature of the tribes - they didn't saw them as objects, as cattle, bearers of children, but rather, as the earthly representation of the motherly fertility goddesses, beings who without a stallion cannot be called a stallion, or even a pony.

Fillies and colts played together, until they were of age, form where on they had to chose between to positions: stallions usually became hunters, protectors and gatherers, while mares supplied the tribe with nourishment, medicine and healing spells, and a safe home. The choice was there, however: some colts became healing clerics alongside their female companions, and certain mares became renowned hunters. Nopony was outraged by this - they respected their choice, even if these stallions didn't form a family, and if these mares never gave birth to a new generation - it was their decision, and dedication to a task was just as respected as giving it up to take up your role within the tribe.

In northern culture, there was no good or evil. Only power.

Misdeed, of course, existed, and many tribes were quite strict when it came to punishment, especially during the warmongering years. However, the tribes began to mix and trade cultures and methods, due to their uneasy alliances during times when the ponies of the south made their presence known. Eventually, the tribes were forged into one large empire.

In it's early years, the empire suffered dreadfully at the claws of a new, invasive nation: the gryphons - they assaulted them in every way possible, before the ruler of the griffons, the "king", decided that preying on the hapless ponies of the tundras and taigas was not worthy and honorable for his kin. So, he offered a treaty: for the safety and prosperity of the Northern Empire, as he labelled it, they pay them fur, textile, tusks and horns, and ores which they find but not need. In time, the gryphons forgot about their initial position in the treaty, and began to exchange weapons, machines, new material and new methods in hunting, education and medicine, for all the fur and tusks the Northern Empire served to them.

Around the time where the three pony races of the south unified - during an usually modest winter -, the former clan leaders of the tribes made a decision, and elected their own ruler (the last ruler to ever be elected for a VERY long time), the first tsar: Tsar Северный Ветер, or "North Wind". Under his leadership, the Empire successfully became an agrarian superpower within a decade. This further improved it's connections with the Gryphon Empire of Eagleland and both product and cultural trade between the two young countries increased. The life and well being of the northern ponies continued to improve, even after the death of Tsar North Wind - others Tsars and Tsarinas followed his steps, introducing newer and newer systems and newer levels of comfort and progress.

This all changed with the enthronement of Tsar Мертвое Зима - Dead Winter...

He was ruthless megalomaniac and militant fanatic, coming the cold embrace of the season which's peak he was born on. Bent on modernization, his command-planned economic "reforms" nearly destroyed agriculture in the Northern Empire, while is industrialization thoroughly destroyed the life of thousands... Truth to be told, the Empire was behind many other countries when it came to industrialization, and the lack of mercantilism or any other forms of trade and exchange held it back greatly. Most other countries, including the Equestrian Monarchy, had already developed some primitive form of capitalism, but the "Bastion of the North" still remained firmly feudal.

It had to. Zima enforced it.

But Tsar Dead Winter was anything but stupid or foolish. Even with his megalomania, none could call him arrogant or delusional. As the ruler of a country lagging so far behind, he kept his gaze looking toward the future. He did it so much, in fact, that one may have called him a medium, or rather, a visionary.

Using the latest technology available at the time, he made sure to tell - or rather, to show, considering the illiteracy rate -, that he loved his people, his country, their culture and their freedom, and did everything for them.

And the people loved him.

He was the first to discover and popularize a Cult of Personality, something which marked the fate of his country for a very long time.

In his death, millions grieved him.

He starved, beaten, incarcerated, impaled, burned and destroyed twice as many...

The tsars and tsarinas after Dead Winter didn't proceeded to follow his every step. Literally all of them had some degree or form of personality cult following them in their wake.

Tsar Холодный Болото - "Cold Marsh" - made sure that even the last of the peasants will have the ability to bathe at least five times a week. In return, said peasants were to work on the Cathedrals of Music, Arts War, and Glory that he ordered to be built and finished under his reign - only the Cathedral of Glory was finished.

Tsar Меч Сталь - "Sword Steel" - led a campaign against organized crime that ended an era of syndicates... And started another one, now under the guidance of the tsarist court. He taxed vehemently until the goal was reached - afterwards, he abolished the taxes of the poorest of his people, the Крепостные, or "serfs".

Tsarina Черное Храм - "Black Shrine" - ensured that even the last, most weakest, youngest, and eldest of her people had three square meals a day to eat. For this, she indoctrinated, incarcerated or executed every large of smallholder of land, and organized, for the first time in equine history, state-owned collective farms. She also revolutionized the currency system, adjusting the value of money not to foreign gold or silver, but to the most valuable mineral of the country itself: Ruby. Thus, the currency known as Рубин, or "Rubin" was born, with a value that outlasted the lifespan of all other currencies, before switching to comparative valuing.

And so on...

Over time, however, it was noted that, barring a few, the tsars and tsarinas became increasingly corrupt, and even the exceptions barely reached the people's expectations... The one prior to the last, Tsar Ужасный Страх, or "Terrible Fear", as he later became known in world history, was a monster in a pony's skin. Driven by paranoia, fits of rage caused by plausible genetic defects - suspected to be the result of inbreeding -, this stallion ruled the country with an iron hoof, pressing down on everpony around him with the threat of crushing looming over them in every second of their lives. And he lived on to rule the longest.

His successor - Tsar Короткий Судьба, or (quite fittingly, considering the events that later occurred) "Short Fate" - came as a family man, and died as a family man: with his family.

It was never stated (at the time, at least) that it was the Equestrian Monarchy's intervention - especially since it had just recently turned into a monarchy, after the banishment of Nightmare Moon, or, as her defeater knew her: Princess Luna.

Her vision, clouded by grief, failed her, so the underhanded deeds of her ministers got unnoticed. She agreed blindly to let her soldiers intervene when the ponies of the North rose up against their leader, demanding a complete change in government. Foreign agitators boiled their tempers to the bursting point, and in one quick riot, they obliterated the tsar's personal guardsponies, and murdered their royal family, causing an international outrage.

This prompted Celestia to action, now making the fully focused (but still blinded and uninformed) decision to stop the North from further violence - and the result was the annexation of the Northern Region.

It was great setback to democracy in the equine world, as it reared up it's ugliest face: despite the openness and reformist views of Tsar Short Fate, not even his complete agreement to his dethronement and the declaration of a republic saved him and his family from the massacre, which served as proof for many other countries to avoid the rule of majority, as the uncouth, and ungrateful crowd will only bite the hand that gives it food - or removes the leash, in this case.

What followed was roughly 500 years of oppression, misery and agitation, another revolution followed, destroying the puppet state of weak leaders chained to Canterlot, and establishing a shaky, but still firmly supported government...

Meanwhile in Canterlot, retribution followed the revolution - Princess Celestia found out about the ministers and army officials that undermined her trust and goodwill, destroying the lives of many ponies in the Norther Region (by then, known as the Northern Republic, a no-party state which all members of the government were either selected by their predecessors or elected individually by the public). The show-trials (albeit based on hard evidence) shook the ponies of Equestria - never before had they seen their Princess become so indignant, so... Wrathful.

Around a hundred ponies were executed, their wealth and property confiscated and redistributed among the public.

Surprisingly, the new Northern government remained open towards this newfound enemy which it never had a good relationship to begin with - many would say that this is what led to the demise of the Republic and brought forth the Union, but let's not get so ahead in time. One could say that they had a verified reason to do so, what with the whole Great War going on (it lasted 40 years, it came in years and devastated every generation involved, forever changing the concept of war within the minds of... Well, basically everyone)...

During the next 300 or so years, the social, bureaucratic and military elite found newer ways gain extra profit or power within Equestria's newest and most awkward ally.

They were aided by the very same elite from inside the Norther Republic, and although cultural differences were apparent, one thing remained certain:

Both elites knew no morals when it came capitalism.

The unaligned economic system, which influenced the society living with it, turned from a healthy competition of merchants, entrepreneurs producers to a race of life and death between the common workers of factories, workshops, and the peasants of the fields, while their masters enjoyed dinner together in the club.

The masses starved while that selective few enjoyed multiple square meals a day. The workers died because of unreliable machines, and even if they didn't, the awkward positions of their jobs damaged their skeletal frame, and the repetition and monotony of their lives sapped them of any will to fight. Even if they did fight, the police brutally suppressed even the most peaceful of demonstrations. In return, whenever the police demonstrated for better wages, workers often attacked them, and got out of the ensuing mess unpunished.

The environment of the workplace and the homes deteriorated, while the fat cats enjoyed their comfort of solitary living outside the smog-choked, crime-infested cities.

By the end of the 300 year, the protests were organizes, the elite was sprawling mess of equinists and the hard-line top hats, public misery was at it's peak. The deployment of new machinery lead to rising unemployment in both urban and rural areas. Any agreement made between the labor unions and the ruling class was ultimately broken by the latter, causing an increasing frustration.

Long story short, tempers were nearing their boiling point.

The air was heavy with the smell of another revolution, and it wasn't just the Norther Region...

The losers of the Great War were embittered by their loss, and the treatment they had to endure from the victors only increased their bitterness.

It became more and more clear that the next war wouldn't be fought in the name of heroism.

It will be started in the name of heroism, sure.

But one peek behind the curtain told everything that needed to be known: fear, greed and loathing.

For a nation, the "Most Sacred War of All Wars" was to be fought on these three basic equine fallibilities.

But all of that is still in the future!

***

There was a knock on the door.

Then silence.

The rapping came again.

The two guards exchanged looks.

The latch opened.

"Who goes there?"

"Меня.."

The quiet voice sent shivers down their spine. They opened the door, and stared out into the murky darkness.

Nothing.

They lowered their gaze...

She sat before them.

Her voice was very impartial, though her accent shone trough:

"И vish to speak vith the Princess."

She was led to Celestia's bedroom. The Princess, having just gone to sleep, was easy to wake. What was hard for her was to comprehend the situation.

The filly that stood before her didn't even reach up to her knees, or even the top of her shins. Her fur was wheat brown, with beige socks and big tan spots, whilst her muzzle and snout. Her mane and tail, both medium-long for a filly of her guessed age, were both plain brown, but had a combination of stripes in them, reminding the Princess of regional flags (quite a few decades later, she would've said that they resembled the stripes on racing chariots). Their pattern was strange: one taupe, one bistre, surrounded by two much narrower, chestnut brown lines. Her eyes were auburn, staring up at the alicorn with what can only be described as sincere neutrality with a hint of curiosity. She had a linen bag on her back - not saddlebags. A bag, in a dirty white color, which the Princess recognized - it was color of the Northern Republic's military uniforms. It was small, but for the filly, it was just perfect.

Celestia looked over her with mixed feelings - the main ones being perplexity a confusion.

An earth pony filly.

Quite young.

Her colors composed of various shades of brown.

Her body carried the slightly stocky, slightly svelte stature of the ponies of the North, which was further emphasized by her backpack and large irises.

A very plain, simple filly.

Apart from her cutie mark...

It looked quite large on her small flank, and quite complex - two golden wreaths of wheat, forming a circle shape, with a large, gold-edged, five-pointed crimson star on the top. Golden rays extended from underneath it, across the sky blue plane in between the wreaths, with a crossed, straight ear of wheat and a hammer on top of it. The wreaths were covered at the bottom by a horizontally expanding, rippled black ribbon, with the words "Нет Трибуна!" written on it.

"Hello?" the Princess asked, cautiously.

"Добрый вечер!" the filly replied "Ar you Princess Celetia?"

"Yes?"

"И hav something for you."

And she tugged out a letter from her backpack, and hoofed it over.

After opening and reading it, the Princess stared down at the filly, wide eyed. Her thoughts were racing at the speed of light, as she contemplated. Finally, she smiled. The filly blinked.

"Very well then." she said "None of the guest bedrooms are furnished at the moment... Do you wish to sleep with me?"

She nodded.

"Come in then."

She took a quick look around.

The bedroom was a large, square room, with bookshelves covering two walls, the bed and a nightstand covering another, and a study covering the last, opposite to the door, with a railing-covered window. The bed was built to fit Celestia's size, but nothing too lavish or luxurious - a simple, plush bed, with a row of shelves above it, connecting the two bigger, full-wall shelves on either side of it and the nightstand. The floor was made of wooden tiles.

She ran up to the bed, stopping before it, and looking back up at the Princess.

Celestia smiled again, trotting over to her, and helping her climb into the bed, before slipping under the quilt herself.

With both of them resting their heads on the large pillow, the alicorn turned towards the filly.

"Well, good night..."

"Добрый вечер..." she replied, yawning once more before drifting off into sleep.

Still smiling, the Princess followed her example, when a thought struck her:

"What is your name, by the way?"

She sleepily turned her face towards her.

"Красная Звезда..." she muttered "Kall me... Krasnya..." and she fell asleep once more.

"Krasnaya Zvezda..." Celestia repeated "'I'll remember that..."