Sigil of Souls, Stream of Memories

“Dear Chancellor,

“I thought I made myself quite clear last autumn, but it seems as if you need a further reminder as to the certainty of my prior declaration. I believe that if you are to consult your nation’s records you will discover the 1804 Timber Accords avow that your nation has declared our sovereignty implicitly, as evidenced by the fact that our nation was one of the first to recognize your sovereignty. From the point forward I believe you will find no less than 241 separate trade, border, military, and international law agreements between the two of our nations. If any of these were rendered null and void during the past nine years, it would behoove you to make us aware of such in a more formal way than simply waltzing over our national borders heavily armed.

“The Nation of Equestria may be at its weakest but we are still a nation, and we will not tolerate you or any other country treating us as vacated property that they can help themselves to like vagrants in an abandoned house. The next time you have a dispute with us, I expect it to be handled formally through diplomats.

“Otherwise, I will treat the next incursion you send over our borders as it deserves—an invasion on our soil. And I will not be so kind as to return it to you in one piece.

“Princess Luna of Equestria – Ruling Sovereign of Equestria.”

Grimacing a little uncomfortably, Cozy Glow lowered the message and gave the chancellor a look. At the moment, he was still drinking his morning coffee, so both she and the two heavily decorated officers and the suited woman in his main office were forced to look at him expectantly.

Yet when he finally pulled his mug away and practically dropped it on his breakfast tray, he practically sneered. “That self-proclaimed warlord is even more uppity than I thought after that ridiculous letter a few months ago. Thinking she could blast out some words of arrogance and the world would just bow and scrape to her and that gaggle of monsters that have rallied to her. She’s fortunate that we’re so preoccupied with actual nations that I can’t spare the effort to wipe her little band of vagabonds off the face of Greater Everfree.”

“So…how should we respond?”

Neighsay snorted. “Please. Like I’d waste the ink penning a response to such nonsense. For now, keep the detachments purging our world of whatever abominations or filth is close enough to our borders. We’ll worry about removing the rest from within Equestria later.” He folded his hands and turned to the officer. “What’s the latest on the war effort, General?”

“The Fillydelphian Sky Armors are a godsend, chancellor. We may not have been able to fully replicate the old Wonderbolt design, but what we got is damn effective. Trottingham’s new weapons haven’t held a candle to them. Even limited to six-minute sorties they’re keeping the line held at Griffonstone.”

“Yes, yes, very well and good,” Neighsay practically sighed. “But simply holding a line isn’t exactly what I wanted to hear. We need to take Appleloosa. Mount Aris as well, if necessary. How is the progress on that?”

The general’s face fell; looking a little uncomfortable. “I’m…afraid our timetable has slipped.”

The chancellor frowned while Cozy Glow winced, preparing for the backlash.

“It can’t be helped, chancellor,” the general quickly interjected. “Our airships simply don’t have the engine power to scale the Hyperboreans. And even if they did, we don’t have the firepower to overwhelm Mount Aris on its home territory. The mountains have hidden gun emplacements everywhere. We can’t launch an aerial assault. Not unless we…” He swallowed. “…go either via land or air over Equestria.”

Neighsay let out an annoyed sigh. “And are you absolutely sure we can’t strike through Griffonstone?”

“Absolutely not, sir. We already knew that Trottingham was shifting their own aerial navy to fortify it. They have to be supplying them with anti-aircraft guns as well. With the newest combat airship models at their disposal, we can’t risk getting into a battle without an overwhelming numbers advantage.”

“What about the Fillydelphian Sky Armors you were boasting so heavily about a moment ago?”

“Sir…as I said…they’re limited to six-minute sorties. Trottingham knows that. That’s why they’re keeping their airships away to try and lure them out.”

“Fine, fine… In that case, how long until we can overwhelm them with numbers?”

Both officers were silent at this, looking rather uncomfortable. After a moment, the second one turned slightly to the suited woman, who looked even more nervous. “Perhaps that’s a question best reserved for our department of commerce.”

At once she looked put on the spot, but Neighsay focused on her regardless. “Yes, about that… Merry May, I believe one month ago I asked you to fully bring our newly-acquired lands and industries up to a modest 25 percent production output. Did you succeed in doing as you were told?”

The woman gripped her ledger more tightly. Cozy Glow shrank back a little more as Neighsay’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ll take your silence as a ‘no’.”

“My apologies, sir, but…we’re truly doing all we can with what little we have to work with. Both the bulk of our revenue-generating sources are overseas along with our trading partners. We’re having a hard time bringing the capital back home with that phenomenon that’s rendering the ocean practically unnavigable. Any boats have to take a three week detour to get around with the affected area growing larger all the time. And you know as well as I do that there’s no one to trade with on Greater Everfree now. The suspension of the trade agreements with Manehattan certainly didn’t-”

“Thank you,” Neighsay curtly cut off, putting a hand to the bridge of his nose and grasping in frustration. “I can see that all you have to report to me is the same as yesterday—continuous failures and setbacks. I would hate to actually be losing the war at this moment if this is what we look like while we’re winning.”

“Sir, if I may be so bold,” the second officer spoke up. “I believe we have the firepower to break the siege of Grifftham. We just need to redeploy the aerial navy guarding the west border-”

“Out of the question,” Neighsay practically shouted. “And if the only other thing you all have to contribute is stupid advice, we’re done here. I’ll dismiss you all now so that hopefully you’ll have something good to report next time.”

Looking a little cowed, the three paused before giving their respective bows or salutes, and then turned to start filing their way out. Neighsay didn’t even look at them as they left; remaining in his slumped position.

It wasn’t until all of them were gone and the door shut behind them that Cozy Glow coughed. “Oh, um…one other thing. On the way back, the detachment did happen to get lucky enough to stumble on what looks like an old Equestria facility of some kind. A really nice one too. They said most of the lights were still on and it seemed to be working.”

“Burn it.”

“But…but sir, this is the nicest one we’ve found yet. All the others until now were all run down and-”

“I said burn it.”

She swished her mouth. “Are…you absolutely, positively, 100 percent sure about that, Mr. Chancellor? You never know…maybe there’s something in there that can help us win the-”

“The only things we need to win the war we already have: Fillydephian sweat, Fillydelphian blood, and Fillydelphian resolve. No one in the world needs any of the trash that Equestria was making. Smash it, grind it up, plow it, burn it, and then bury the ashes so deep no one will ever find them.”

“Um…sure. You got it,” she half-muttered as she quickly (albeit reluctantly) made a note. That done, she began to start heading for the way out as the others had, but she slowed as she walked and began to turn back.

“You always do that when you are about to offer your unsolicited advice, Ms. Glow,” Neighsay groaned without looking up.

“It’s…just a little thing, Mr. Chancellor Sir.”

A sigh. “Well, out with it so we can be done with it.”

“Maybe we should…um…you know…send a letter or two to…uh…um…er…the new Prime Minister of…Manehattan?”

He looked up at that, but only to glower at the girl. She gulped.

“I-I-I mean…uh…obviously we can’t say the summit was all just a big joke, but…uh…well…maybe having a common foe and all that? They’ll overlook it? We…we could…you know…maybe, kinda, sorta…consider giving them back those industrial cities we seized? As a…olive branch?”

“An olive branch. The land those cities were built on is stained red with countless lives of Fillydelphian soldiers who protected them from one Nighttouched incursion after another. We faced terror, pain, and death so that Manehattan’s elite could maintain their lavish lifestyles of gourmet dinners and imported cigars. I simply ordered it given to the people who had fought and died for it. And now you want me to turn around and give it right back to Manehattan with an ‘oops sorry’.”

“Well…when you put it that way-”

“Do not speak to me of Manehattan ever again, Ms. Glow. It was bad enough that they treated our country and people as a cow to be milked and a shield to be broken for almost a decade. It was worse yet when we found out they were harboring those ghastly monstrosities masquerading as humans and trying to use them as weapons of all things…as if one Lunar Fall wasn’t enough for this world. Now they’re cultivating the leeches known as the Gaitians after we had to collapse an entire nation from within to put down their last bout of fanaticism.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “What I would give to go back six years and help start an insurgent program in that country along with Cloudsdale…”

“I don’t know if it’s got to be that bad-”

His eyes opened again. “Ms. Glow, you have proven yourself reliable in all of the tasks I have given you. Do not mistake that for entitling you to being someone who has any advice worth listening to. You are not a stateswoman, you are not an advisor, you are not even a lobbyist. You are an administrative assistant and a child. You have your duties and you should learn to stick to them and only them. Understand?”

The girl looked nervous all over again on hearing that, and her head shrunk a bit into her shoulders. “Er…yes…yes sir.” Turning away, she made her way toward the same exit as the others had.

She was only halfway there when she was stopped by a knock on the door. Neighsay finally looked up. “Yes?”

“It’s Secretary Celestia, sir,” a voice spoke from the other side. “You requested to see me?”

“Come in.”

The doorknob turned, allowing a woman in a well-pressed office dress and tie walk inside. She was so tall she had to duck a little to avoid tapping her tight bun of iridescent hair against the frame, and as a result she adjusted her black glasses over her lavender eyes. Yet in spite of her size, she seemed just as dutiful and attentive as Cozy Glow, although on stepping inside she hesitated on seeing her there.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting anything?”

“Not at all. Ms. Glow was just leaving.”

Cozy Glow coughed, gave a nod to both of them, and then quickly made the rest of her way to the door and slid out through it. For a moment, both Neighsay and Celestia held, neither of them moving or changing position or demeanor as the door slowly shut.

It was only when it finally closed and latched that Neighsay let himself slump a little more in his chair; letting out a sigh. Celestia’s eyes filled with concern. “What’s troubling you, chancellor?”

“Oh, everything… I can tell the rest of the ministers and cabinet members think I’m trying to squeeze blood from turnips. And the truth is, as much as I don’t want to admit it, they’re right. I suppose you’ve already heard the latest agricultural report?”

“Yes I have.”

“Everywhere east of Fillydelphia is suffering that blight. Between that news and the plantations we now have in Southern Equestria, we should be making more than enough to supply the war effort. But now that we can’t lean on Manehattan’s manufacturing our workforce is spread as thin as our armed forces.” He let out a loud groan. “If things had just been a little different our economy would have surpassed Manehattan’s by now. Too many things happened at once… If there was just one trading partner we could get on Greater Everfree…just one…

He frowned and glared to one side.

“Maybe Ms. Glow had a point. She suggested I try to cool things off with them.”

“Oh, surely not,” Celestia immediately answered, shaking her head as she stepped forward. “Out of the question. You finally broke off their yoke after ten years of unbalanced deals. If you crawl back to them now, they’ll put a steel one in its place. And they’ll make sure it has a lock you’ll never find a way to pick.”

“Yes, I know that… But things aren’t exactly at their best right now. Fillydelphia has the upper hand but we’re standing on a house of straw. One good blow is all that it will need…”

“Don’t worry so much,” she reassured, sitting down in a chair across from his desk, only to immediately move it around the desk to be closer to him. “You know what they say about times that try men’s souls. And entirely too many weaker men have already died by giving in. You may feel that Fillydelphia is spread thin, but Trottingham is far more so and Griffonstone, for lack of a better phrase, is an oily wreck. Manehattan could be a month from complete political collapse with those religious zealots gaining more power. Not to mention they have something a lot worse than a food shortage to worry about, if those reports are to be believed. It’s just as I told you. They’ll be the ones who need to crawl to you in the end, so long as your resolve doesn’t waver.”

Neighsay wryly smiled and gave a snort. “But will they have anything to barter with by the time that happens?”

“If they don’t, what of it? It’ll only prove what you said all along—that they were always nothing without you. That they were always the tail to your head; not the other way around. You’ll be able to demand whatever you want of them and more. And then you’ll finally be able to give them what they deserve.”

The chancellor propped his chin up with one arm. “And you really think antagonizing Mount Aris is key to moving forward.”

“Beyond any doubt. You saw what was left of Fancy Pants with your own eyes. They had to have known something was wrong. Why else would they have been imprisoning their own eidolons? Harmonium knows how many lives you saved eliminating the ones on Manehattan’s soil. And that’s to say nothing about how they’ve snubbed you and the country these past few years. Always safely retreating to their mountains and banks, letting you fight all the wars and sign all the treaties, and then, with just a spot of ink on a piece of paper, claiming their share of benefits they never worked for. They may not be as bad as Manehattan, but that’s not saying much. They still profit off of our blood. They deserve to spill some of their own.”

Looking a bit more resolved, Neighsay nodded. “You’re right, of course. You always have been.” He let out a long sigh. “It’s just that… Sometimes I wish everyone else would see things are clearly as you do.”

“They’re sentimental and wary after the past decade. They’re ready for a time of peace. They don’t understand that we’re not to that point yet, and that they’ll yet curse any peace they can get for nothing.”

“Sometimes it gets hard to remind myself of that when it seems everyone is against me.”

Celestia paused, looking at Neighsay with concern. She ended up reaching out and placing her hand on top of his in a comforting gesture. It was enough to get him to look at her, and saw she was giving him a warm smile.

“You are a great man, Neighsay. You know what needs to be done and you’re not afraid to do it, even if it will be costly or unappreciated. The world needs leaders like you more than ever. The future belongs to people like you. People may rage or moan or worry right now, and they may fret one day about what lengths they had to go to for their prosperous nation. Yet you’ll make sure they do have a prosperous nation to doubt themselves over in the first place. One day everyone in this country will appreciate you as their greatest leader. Fillydelphia will be the greatest nation in the world all because of you.”

The older man hesitated for a moment before he finally managed a weak smile. He pulled his hand out from under Celestia’s, but only to pat her own. “If you were any other woman I’d say you were trying to win me over with flattery. You don’t know how precious of a thing it is to have someone you can completely trust.”

Celestia smiled back as she leaned into her chair. “When you’re working for someone like you, it’s easy. Did you need me for anything else?”

“There was one other item. It’s about those mysterious lights from down south again…”

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute my Office of Prime Minister of Manehattan, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Liberty Charter.”

The flash powder went off in a series of poofs as the three cameras clicked, and the reporters quickly jotted their notes down for the respective papers. The new prime minister paid little mind to it. The fact that this was happening in the interior of the Administrative Hall instead of at the balcony for the square was already enough to put everyone in the chamber on edge. As straightforward as she could, trying to look every bit the proper politician, she shook the right hands, smiled for the few more pictures that were necessary, and waved to the crowds assembled at a distance while trying to ignore the barely-audible murmur from the protests in the square outside.

Only once all was concluded and the administrators and magistrates began to escort Prime Minister Mare from the inauguration ceremony to the executive hall did she betray her true feelings. Far from looking the part of a bold and decisive leader, she appeared tired and stressed if not outright panicked. Like she was a rabbit wandering into a forest full of hawks. It was all that she could do to try and keep her head up lest some errant reporter catch her as she walked to her new office.

As soon as she was in, the aides accompanying her quickly closed the doors behind her. She managed to summon up enough strength and decorum to walk to the windows and give a smile and a wave to the few people gathered there to watch her take office. Only about half of them were enthused about it. And they were easily surpassed by the people behind them either picketing their grievances with the Manehattan government or dressed like fanatics preaching for people to repent for the coming of Harmonium.

Needless to say, her face slumped quickly once the aides closed the curtains. She took a moment to pull out her pocket handkerchief and wipe her forehead for several moments, before she turned about and practically used her own desk chair as a crutch. The view in the room was little better. Her advisors and the main officials, including the new commander-in-chief Kibitz, were all gathered there and watching her earnestly to see what she would do.

In the end, she walked around the chair before practically slumping in it. She hunched over the desk for a few moments, now not only looking tired but a bit intimidated by the fact she was sitting there at all, before she exhaled.

“Alright…we have a lot of work to do and we needed to get started two months ago. What’s the highest problem on our list?”

“The economy, no ifs, ands, or buts,” one advisor spoke up. “Ceding the plantations in Southern Equestria to Fillydelphia after they broke our commerce agreements has been a deathblow we’re still reeling from. Investor confidence is non-existent. Factories are shutting down every day and food and heating oil prices are exploding. We need an economic plan and we need one immediately.”

“We won’t have much need of an economy when we don’t have a nation to keep it in,” one of the higher military officers snorted. “Prime Minister, the war is what we need to focus on. Specifically getting into it as soon as possible. We’ve been far too lax with Fillydelphia and now they’re walking all over us. They outright took some of our biggest factories for themselves on a whim and some garbage about intercontinental justice. Now the last time a country got in such bad shape that it filled up with religious fanatics, we all ended up with good reason to believe Fillydelphia seized on that to bump them off. They’ll do the same to us if they think they’ll be getting rid of a thorn in their sides. We still have the military production facilities. Give the defense department the boost it needs and they’ll put a lot of those picketers out there back to work. And those fat cats will loosen their pursestrings once they know they can count on the government to protect their interests.”

“You’re both thinking of problems we’re not going to be able to resolve in this administration,” yet another advisor spoke up disdainfully. “There’s a problem that’s far more immediate that we need to get rid of right now. Prime Minister, whatever abomination assassinated Fancy Pants somehow managed to make itself walk, talk, and act just like his wife. We have no reason to believe that it can’t do the same trick again. We’re assuming it needs to be an eidolon to pull it off, but even if that’s true that’s nothing that some makeup or a pair of gloves can’t hide. We might be compromised right now and we don’t even know it. All of our resources need to be devoted to purging Manehattan of those things while we still have time. Everything else could be ruined if we don’t.”

“You want an immediate problem?” a fourth advisor spoke, quickly walking up to the desk so fast it actually made the prime minister recoil. A second later, a map was unfurled on top of it showing a close up of Manehattan proper, with numerous lines of demarcation, Xs, and shading around the border with Equestria. “Here’s one. Look here, Prime Minister. We’ve got a new crisis on our hands. It seems not only are the Nighttouched still around but that they’re changing their tactics yet again. Swarms of them have been reported to be coming across here, here, and here on three separate nights. And they’re targeting children.”

“What…children?” Kibitz spoke up, reacting at last to the storm of news.

“Yes, children. Vanishing in the night without leaving any blood or remains behind at all. Each night, a new town emptied of them. People are going into a total panic. The districts are ramping up as well. It won’t be long before they make their way here and demand our heads for lack of action, but they’ll break down into martial law long before that.”

The prime minister looked about ready to pass out as she pulled off her glasses and pressed her hand to her forehead.

“That one is simple enough,” one of the advisors spoke up in her place. “Move the people out of there.”

“After the fiasco with the eidolons? We’ll never get them to consent to a forced relocation. We’re still fending off extended family members demanding to know what they did with our relatives.”

“Use the military.”

“They’re all on the borders, trying to keep Fillydelphia from helping itself to any more of our factories.”

“Well if we aren’t going to war, we might as well let them have them! It’s best we do something constructive with our military now!”

“You want our limping economy to take another hit? We probably won’t be able to get up from that one!”

“Well maybe those factories should start being put to good use then. For that matter, so should their owners. We’ve given them friendly policy after friendly policy for years. We’ve made them rich and we’ve spent both taxes and manpower keeping them prosperous. Maybe it’s time they should fit the bill for their fair share for a change.”

“Did you not hear what I just said?! We ramp up the taxes now and we might as well give every industrialist in this country a ticket to Fillydelphia! The banks will collapse and that will be the death note for Manehattan! We need that stimulus!”

“We need the faith of the citizens!”

“We need to find out what the hell that thing was that killed the prime minister before it can do anything else!”

As the room began to go into an argument, the prime minister finally lowered her hands. “Alright, alright…alright!”

Her last shout was enough to get the advisors to quiet down and look back at her, but she still seemed tired and overwhelmed. Nevertheless, she held a hand up to them.

“Thank you all for bringing to mind the current state of the nation. Please get to work right away on drafting your proposals for resolution and have them submitted to me as soon as possible. In the meantime, I’ll be deciding on executive action for the highest priorities. You are all dismissed.”

Some of the advisors frowned, clearly thinking she wasn’t taking them seriously enough, but realized they wouldn’t get any further in this sort of situation. They soon turned and filed out with all of the others. That lowered the population of the executive office considerably, but didn’t quite render it barren. Kibitz was still there along with a few other high administrative officials, and they looked back to her expectantly.

Yet when the door shut once again, she let out a groan before nearly falling out of her chair all together. “My Harmonium…”

Kibitz grimaced. “We tried to warn you in advance about the slate of problems we were going to deal with.”

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that we might be the last administration to govern Manehattan as we know it,” another official ruefully muttered.

“Well don’t throw in the towel just yet,” another grumbled. “Anything’s better than going down without a fight.”

The prime minister took a deep breath and straightened up once again. “So now we have a good understanding of all of our ‘debts’, so to speak. What sort of assets do we have?”

“Not much, Ms. Mare,” the first official answered. “Our army is undermanned, our economy is in shambles, trust in our government has never been lower, and every day that passes it seems more people join those Harmonium fanatics. There’s only the occasional crazy muttering about toppling Manehattan and putting up a new anarcho-theocratic regime, but it’s not a good sign. We have no money and no manpower. Everyone who is still able to invest is holding onto their pocketbooks.”

“So we need to get them back. Can we issue any more government bonds?”

The official shook her head. “I’m afraid that won’t cut it. That attempt to appease Fillydelphia in the interim government by basically letting them keep our overseas holdings not only failed, but it also made all investors lose any faith in us. If we want them back, we need to resolve this issue with Fillydelphia immediately and reform the alliance.”

“That will never happen. Not with Chancellor Neighsay in power,” the second official snorted. “His demands are preposterous. He doesn’t just want us in on a raw deal—he want to penalize us. Complete elimination of tariffs on Fillydelphian imports but 100% increase on tariffs for Manehattan exports. Permanent ownership transfer of all seized assets to Fillydelphia. Forgiveness of all outstanding debts plus a 20 year moratorium on interest for all future debts. Manehattan to fit the bill for rebuilding all Fillydelphian cities lost over the past 10 years to the Light Eaters. The right to buy out all government bonds at Fillydelphian discretion. We’d be trading a swift execution for death by a thousand cuts!”

The prime minister sighed, and only reluctantly turned to Kibitz. “I hate to do this, but I guess we have no choice. What does it look like if we try to retake those factories by force?”

“We have the munitions and weaponry. Fillydelphia is stretched at the thinnest it has been in years. While they have excellent prowess on the battlefield compared to our own forces, in terms of a sheer numbers game and superior firepower we can overcome the small garrisons they’ve stationed around the factories.”

The old man took in a deep breath and exhaled.

“But…the odds of being able to retake those factories without damaging them severely or outright destroying them are non-existent. And the law states that any Manehattan industries damaged by the Manehattan military are to have their repairs fully covered by the Manehattan government. That’s an expenditure we can’t afford. We also would sustain losses and virtually guarantee a formal declaration of war from Fillydelphia. As scattered and ill equipped as they are, we could likely prevail. But not without sustaining losses of our own and making it that much easier for Trottingham to sweep us after Fillydelphia falls.”

Again, the prime minister sighed and almost slumped on top of the desk. “This is how so many other countries fell after the Lunar Fall… They ended up isolated and alone and then everyone else just divvied them up. Aren’t there any other countries we can call for aid? At least work out a better economic trade agreement with?”

The second official shook his head. “Not a one on Greater Everfree. There’s a smattering over on the east side, but even if they weren’t already too impoverished to do anything more than ask for loans they’re under the boot of Trottingham. And if we try reaching out to the Dragonlands they’ll halt us where we stand---not to mention show them how desperate we are. Our only hope is to go overseas and pray we can make an agreement with other nations before that ocean phenomenon ruins that route too…”

Kibitz gave pause after hearing that. “There is…one nation left on Greater Everfree we might not have considered.”

Everyone looked up at this. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of reaching out to Mount Aris, are you? Seaspray is even more unreasonable than Neighsay and he runs that country nowadays. They’re practically blaming us for what happened with that attack…”

“I was thinking a country further north than them.”

“There are no countries north of…”

He trailed off. Everyone in the room looked a bit more wide-eyed, including the new prime minister.

“You’re not suggesting that we actually take the letter from that self-proclaimed ruler seriously, are you?” the first official asked. “To make believe as if the nation of Equestria still exists?”

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I did a little more than laugh off the letter at face value,” Kibitz continued. “I had to dig into records a bit but there is, in fact, an indication that this ‘Princess Luna’ is in fact a blood relative of the older ruling family of Equestria.”

“What of it?” the second snorted. “They abandoned the ruling family a hundred years before the Lunar Fall wiped their nation off the map. Now she’s got as much claim to rule that land as I do. And even if that wasn’t the case, all of those freaks we called ‘eidolons’ migrated there. You want to bring them back here after what happened at the conference?”

“I believe we might have…overreacted at the conference.”

This dumbstruck everyone in the room.

“Overreacted? Overreacted?! You did see what they did to the prime minister, didn’t you?”

“Yes, counselman, I was there. I saw exactly what happened to the prime minister. And I’ll say again what I’ve been saying for weeks and everyone keeps conveniently forgetting. If they had anything to do with who or what was masquerading as Fleur de Lis, then why expose her? Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, and their compatriots have yet to give us reason to doubt them or their loyalty. They risked their lives without prompting to save Grifftham City and again to end the Lunar Fall. We’re the ones who turned on them at the summit; not the other way around. And we still might have a chance to turn this back around. We have common enemies, if nothing else. And with Trottingham being obsessed with artificially producing these powers of their own, it couldn’t hurt to have some on our side again.”

Neither of the officials looked convinced. And, unfortunately, the prime minister wasn’t better.

“I agree that we aren’t really in a position to be choosey when it comes to allies, but I also have to agree with the others, general. We kept a lot from them about eidolons under the old administration that I can’t imagine they’re happy about. And our government already officially signed off on the report that eidolons were the ones responsible for what happened at the Mount Aris summit. Even if there are ‘nice’ ones out there, you have to admit both the imposter and the attackers had to be eidolons themselves. No one else has that sort of power or weaponry. Doing that large of a flip-flop could be what breaks the public trust all together. It would be one thing if we could identify who those attackers were. Without that, everyone will see them as all the same group.”

Kibitz, seeing that the measure was defeated, could only sigh helplessly. “If that is your decision, prime minister, then I won’t question you further about it. Just know that we only have so many options left to us now and even less time before we start eliminating them.”

He paused, as if deciding whether or not to speak again, before throwing out a bit more.

“I don’t suppose you can grant me leave of some of my resources to devote to discovering who our attackers were at Mount Aris, would you? The better to exonerate the innocent parties as soon as possible?”

Ms. Mare kept frowning. “I wish I could, general, but right now if we have any military resources to spare, we need to deploy them here.” She reached over and tapped the map that had been left on her desk. “Who or whatever is responsible for this needs to be stopped immediately. We need to deploy today if we can.”

Kibitz shifted uneasily. “Begging your pardon, prime minister, but I’m afraid that won’t do.”

“Ex…excuse me?”

“Even at the height of our power with full deployment, support, and the latest of weapons, our record for being able to fend off Nighttouched swarms is 13 percent. Those were usually with the aid of a fast-approaching daylight. If this is one of those more organized attacks we’ve been experiencing, then if I deploy one or even two divisions, the only thing that will be accomplished is to add to the body count. The standard procedure under losses this heavy to movements this fast is to order a mass evacuation as quickly as possible.”

The second official banged his hand on his armrest. “Damn it all! We’re finally rid of the Lunar Fall, most of the Nighttouched have finally starved, and we even haven’t heard of any more swarms in three months and finally reach the point where we believe we’re through this nightmare…and it seems like every last remaining one of those bastards decides to attack us now?!”

“A mass evacuation would be a rather terrible idea at this point…” the first official ruefully muttered. “None of the other townships or forts can possibly feed and shelter that many people, let alone defend them. The nearest city is Stampford, and it’s already overpopulated and suffering from nationwide food shortages.” A pause. “But…”

The prime minister looked up ever-so-slightly hopefully. “But what?”

“The port at Bobton is not only still open and fully functional, but the best positioned geographically for a short trip across the ocean to the southern continent. The situation is far more stable there for the moment…”

“An evacuation?”

“Well…more like an emigration…er…whatever term sounds better in the papers.”

The second official snorted. “Forced to flee our own country, eh? And nowhere to go but right into the arms of Fillydelphia.”

“Well, not necessarily… Part of the agreement that permitted them to keep hold of our overseas assets was to provide for the autonomy and protection of Manehattan citizens. Even if we manage to go around that sea phenomenon, there’s still the risk of being attacked by Fillydelphian ships…but if they knew that we only had civilians on board and we technically aren’t at war yet…”

No one seemed too terribly happy about the situation, but so far it was the closest to a decent plan any of them had heard. As a result, the prime minister nodded. “While it might not be the best solution, it’s a solution and currently we need some more of those to start with. It sounds like good enough of a step forward right now. I’ll start sending the telegraph to Fillydelphia right away to work out the details. General, please send the word out to the border to give a call for evacuation and redirect any military forces we can to help escort people south. Even getting people to Bobton is going to drain local townships en route pretty quickly.”

Kibitz nodded. “Yes, prime minister.”

“The rest of you, issue the new bonds. If we’re going to do anything more than pray for a miracle, we’re going to need some more capital and right now the only place is in the piggy banks of those robber barons…”