From Father to Son

11 March 1007 ALB
Hjortland

Snow fell from the skies, blanketing the roofs of many of Hjortland’s old wooden houses. Though spring was approaching for the rest of Equus, up here in the north, winter maintained its grip late into the first quarter of the year. Despite the hearth of the king’s chambers crackling with a warming fire, a shiver ran down Johan’s spine. It wasn’t the cold bothering him.

Tomorrow would be the beginning of negotiations with many nobles, clerics and industrialists of Olenia who were dissatisfied with his rule. Ever since his useless father died, Johan had ruled over his kingdom in a state of emergency, ruling by decree instead of through the Riksdag. The assembly had been an unwieldy, intractable institution. How was a kingdom ever going to take decisive action towards the future when everytime the annual budget came up, each estate would try their damndest to pass the buck onto the others? To think his half-sister would have extended this institution to also give a voice to peasants who knew nothing of rulership had always sickened him to the core. Ironically, she precipitated the crisis that caused many of these petty fools to finally agree on something: Princess Velvet could not be allowed to inherit Olenia’s throne.

Behind closed doors they had spoken to him about a ‘change in government’ should his father the king die prematurely. They all believed he would have been content to let them carry on procrastinating as Olenia fell further behind the rest of the continent. Great was their surprise when soon after his coronation, Johan dissolved the Riksdag’s elections, leaving only those in power who happened to already have their cushy seat. Their gratitude may have been assured, but all who lost out on a rich government salary to do nothing more than bicker and argue had been incensed and outspoken.

Further, setting a precedent for rule by decree had one major flaw: for every deer he could placate with favourable grants and opportunities, several more were upset and jealous that the king did not award them the same benefits. And they were thus easily persuaded by the dissidents who had been insistent on following the ‘proper’ line of succession and crowning his half-sister as ruler.

Even from all the way in Canterlot, living in exile, the pretender queen Velvet was a threat to his rule. As long as the possibility of her ‘restoration’ existed, the common deer of Olenia could go on hoping their defiance would lead to her returning to challenge him.

Of course, some of these working class deer didn’t want either one of the royals to rule anymore, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a threat either. These ‘Deer’s Party’ members would throw Olenia’s ancient traditions to the wind and abolish the monarchy altogether, letting the mob rule and freeloading off of the work their betters had painstakingly built over generations of industry and trade.

And these dangers were not even the greatest threat to his rule. In Equestria, Velvet was continuously peddling that sob story of hers that it was unfair that her brother now ruled Olenia. Hah! What did that spoiled doe know of unfair? Even so, the elite from Canterlot were charmed by her support of their system of harmony. If they ever convinced their Princess, Celestia, to back Velvet’s claim to the throne, Johan did not believe his soldiers would fight to maintain his rule against the overwhelming might of Equestria.

And to Olenia’s north loomed another power. The changelings, under Queen Chrysalis, had coalesced into an effective fighting force. Less than a year after Johan’s accession to the throne, Canterlot was taken by complete surprise when the changeling queen infiltrated the royal wedding of the current ruler of the Crystal Empire. Though said princess proved herself to not be the meek, soft-hearted damsel Johan always thought she was, and repelled the invasion at the last moment. This still came as a shock to the cabinet and Olenian military, who breathed a sigh of relief it was Equestria, not Olenia, that had roused Chrysalis’ anger. But all predictions pointed to the same conclusion: should Chrysalis ever turn her gaze on Olenia, the kingdom’s meagre forces didn’t stand a chance. If anything, this only furthered talk of seeking an accord with Equestria and ousting Johan as king if that was what it took.

If he wanted to end this talk of sedition, a real change in government was needed. Not all of the lords and clergy who kept their Riksdag seats permanently thanks to him were truly grateful, and amongst those who had been jilted by his suspension of the elections were potential allies with talent he could use. The solution was obvious: fire the ungrateful, shiftless traitors to make room for hardworking deer who could show their gratitude by passing legislation that would put an end to the bellyaching from trade unions, harmonists and radical newspapers. The ordinary deer of Olenia had been spoiled rotten with prosperity and license to speak their ignorant minds and complain they hadn’t been given enough yet. By Pellervo! How much free stuff would Velvet have given these ungrateful wretches if the classes creating this wealth hadn’t stepped in to put him on the throne? It was high time they found each other once more to prevent Olenia from going back into the decline it suffered under his father.

A soft creaking notified him of intrusion, and he looked back to see a young buck enter the room with uncertainty.

“Papa? Do you want- do you have time-” His son, Prince Mathias stammered.

“Do you not see your father is working? Begone.” Johan interrupted sternly.

“Uh, butt… you aren’t.” He assumed, based on the lack of ministers or paperwork within the room.

“I am thinking. Of Olenia’s future, of yours. That is the work of a king. I can not be interrupted to play, Mathias.” The small fawn knew better than to argue with that tone, lest there be punishment.

Mathias shrank as Johan approached him, his great size towering over him making him cringe. Was he in trouble? A foreleg being placed tenderly on his withers assured him somewhat.

“Mathias, your future as my heir demands I spend less time with you. As my only rightful successor, your life demands nothing less. But do not think you are unloved. You matter more than any of our subjects to me.” Johan gently hugged the child to reassure him. “Run along, go tell your mother she needs to raise you better than this.”

Mathias left disappointed, but thankful it was mother getting scolded.

Johan looked down upon the streets of Hjortland, lights from street lanterns and emanating from the houses as the darkness fell. Another shiver ran along his spine at the unshakable feeling Olenia itself would soon be covered in a different sort of darkness. He was a timid stag, who lacked the confidence in public his half-sister always displayed. Yet he was going to have to face down the most self-assured, powerful deer in the kingdom tomorrow, who had emboldened him to seize the throne six years ago. If he could not do this, then before long Velvet would be back in Hjortland and he’d be dead. If anything he’d done was to have any permanence, he could not let his kingdom fall back into incapable hooves. It was up to him to make his future cabinet see this.

29 July 1007 ALB
Hjortland

Johan, seated at the end of a long table in the cabinet meeting room, waited impatiently for his ministers to finish their final deliberations. He had gathered them and his likeliest picks for the future over the last few months. Ironing out a deal whereby they would place their full support behind him had taken him weeks of negotiating, trading favours and bribery. And he was looking forward to the summer holiday recess. After that, the new government could take the place of the old one, and get to work implementing the changes he’d been made to promise them.

The various aristocrats and capitalists were sometimes difficult to reconcile. The nobles had demanded guarantees their ancient rights would be upheld while the new rich wished for access to the many privileges that came with the peerage system. Both, however, could see the threat that the harmonists posed to both. The factory owners wanted to stave off any extensions of workers’ rights and roll back those already in place that were hurting productivity. The landowners did not want the property seized from Velvet’s supporters returned to them.

Maintaining Johan as king would prevent such threats. And in exchange for restoring the power the nobility held over the deer living on their land and instituting new titles for capitalists who proved their worth to the kingdom, the new government would back Johan’s efforts to strengthen the authority of the king and strip Velvet of all legitimacy.

He looked at them, as it seemed their last arguments had come to a close. He kept his silence, as he scanned them one last time, making them slightly uncomfortable at the thought he might be reconsidering some of his appointments. Risto Kekkonen, minister of internal affairs. Karolina Manesonen, minister of economic affairs. Vidkun Hjortsling of the Flokks Parti, minister of foreign relations. Various nobles and representatives of Cervus Industries, Alda Gunworks, Hjortland Naval Dockyards, Korvensuu and other conglomerates. Carl Gustaf Mantlerheim, chief of staff. They looked back expectantly, as Johan delayed. A true king did not move at the pace his subjects demanded. He set the pace, allowing the lesser deer to realize who dictated events, who held the power.

After a tense silence, Johan took the pen placed next to him on the table in his mouth and signed the document to empower this new cabinet. A few breaths of relief escaped the mouths of some deer, and others continued to watch him as if expecting a speech of sorts. Johan wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction seeing his weak side, but stood up.

“You have your mandate. I’ll leave you to your work.” With that, he left the room.

Despite having conducted these talks in secrecy, Olenia as a nation had not failed to notice there was a shake-up in the government coming. Which members of the moribund Riksdag had and hadn’t been invited to the meetings had tipped off a political commentators as to who would and wouldn’t keep their seats, and Johan had been pestered by some of the deer who’d fall by the wayside by the time his new cabinet would take power to reconsider. Some made empty threats, others promised their loyalty belatedly. None of them had any skills to offer his final picks lacked.

It was at least satisfying to notice the gradual change in attitude from these deer. Instead of Johan having to bribe them to assure their loyalty, more and more they came offering bribes of their own to keep what had been given. He could finally stand tall and firm, instead of feeling a submissive slouch in his back when confronting other deer.

1 December 1008 ALB
Hjortland

King Johan stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard of Hjortland Castle, crowds gathered below as his herald read the proclamation he had drafted.

“…Therefore, having consorted with foreign powers, seeking their aid in deposing the rightful king of Olenia, the princess Velvet has continued to pose an imminent threat to the safety and the security of the Kingdom of Olenia. To disincentivize Equestria’s ruler from further support towards princess Velvet, his majesty King Johan has deemed it necessary to return Olenia to its tradition of Agnatic succession.” The herald paused as the crowd murmured in discontent. “Henceforth, the crown of Olenia shall not be inherited by does, but remain with stags and bucks in perpetuity. Thus ensuring none outside the House of Jelzek may rule over Olenia. The princess Velvet, being herself female, has her claim to the throne voided, as is that of all fawns born to her, male or female. This decree has been signed by the king, in agreement with the godar, and is effective immediately.”

Johan smiled as the herald tucked away the scroll, despite the rumblings below from the upset crowd. In his place Jurva, the first among the godar, took his place. Motioning for quiet, he held his own public speech on why the patrilineal succession laws should clearly favour a stag above a doe, how it was a good thing Olenia was restored to patriarchy, and how the feminist experiment had to be ended. That the godar was an archconservative and a reactionary was no surprise to the crowd. Yet his oratory skills could lessen the discontent amongst Olenia’s citizens. And should that fail to, Johan had already positioned much of the Kunglig Vakt along the edges of the courtyard and castle walls to quell any riots. Olenians would have to accept his decree, just as they had to accept him as their king.

Even so, it irked him to plead with the church to denounce Velvet. Johan had the same royal blood in his veins as hers, and was her senior. But simply because their father had not said the one measly vow he’d given Velvet’s mother, he had been bypassed in the line of succession. He had been insulted and shunned as a fawn and bore the taint of bastardry even as a king. His nickname Djavulen, ‘the Devil’, insinuated he was wicked because his damned father could not be bothered to remain faithful! Even his passionate support of Olenia’s church and monogamy was considered ‘atonement for his sins’ by the Allsherjargodi. What sin had he committed by being born of a stag too vapid to even care he existed?

Part of him wanted to give this high and mighty godar a push, off the balcony and into the hooves of the discontented deer below. The knowledge that sparking such a riot by the palace was dangerous, and that angering the devout population who obeyed him simply because the godi ordered them to, pushed that notion away. At least he could smile at the knowledge that Velvet and her Equestrian hosts had suffered a great setback.

8 December 1008 ALB
Hjortland

The response from Canterlot to Johan’s recent decree was not one of quiet acceptance. He had received a very personal, condescending letter from Princess Celestia, who had also denounced the rule as backwards and illegal, and once more declared that Johan was illegitimate. Who was she to talk? No pony or deer alive even knew who her father was! Regardless, no law could change the fact that the relationship between Olenia and Equestria was now worse than it had ever been before. His trusted generals, despite remaining loyal to him, warned him they could not guarantee their soldiers would fight back if Equestria would escalate the matter, which was now a real possibility.

The civilian population was having difficulty adapting to their new roles, as Johan had increased the power that landowners and employers had over the working deer. Although radical socialists and harmonists had been jailed, it would take time for the other deer to submit to the new state of affairs. Time Johan feared he didn’t have. If his own subjects could not be depended on to fight to maintain his rule, he knew he needed allies that would.

There were not many nations on the continent Olenia had good relations with ever since Johan took power. Neither were there many who saw Equestria as much as a threat as he did, except for one. Queen Chrysalis made it no secret she despised the kingdom, and wished to crush it at the earliest opportunity. She was also not shy about her designs on the neighbouring realms, as their resources could maintain the war economy. But perhaps an alliance could be made. A changeling invasion of Olenia would only serve to weaken them both, while the Equestrians waited in the wings to finish off the victor. Chrysalis was too shrewd not to see this, and that the only hope for either of their kingdoms to survive in the long term was if they stood against Equestria together.

15 December 1008 ALB
Vesalipolis

The changeling lands were not hospitable. The climate was as cold as it was in Olenia, but the murky swamps could give even a deer a chill. There were vast stretches of snow-covered wasteland where nothing could grow or live. And the forests that contained the hive cities were dark, foreboding and crawling with creatures that would tear an unwary deer apart. But that was not the kind of inhospitality Vidkun Hjortsling was currently thinking of.

Hjortsling had served as a member of the diplomatic mission to Stalliongrad, and it had been a small mark of personal pride to him the communist nation was as receptive of him as it had been, despite Olenia being a monarchy. While a shared hatred of Equestria existed between their two countries, Hjortsling knew preserving the rule of King Johan was not a cause the communists were willing to die for. This reality had brought him to the only other enemy Equestria had on the continent of Equus. The realm of Queen Chrysalis.

Even travelling under diplomatic immunity for himself and his entourage offered him no reassurance. The drones of Vesalipolis regarded the Olenian delegation with hostility, as if they were sizing them up for a meal. Hjortsling knew all to well that these creatures would drain you of all feelings of love and compassion until you were a joyless, lifeless vegetable. Any sane deer would avoid them if they didn’t have a death wish. The fact that their queen Chrysalis was capable of reason was the only thing that meant this wasn’t a suicide mission. But Hjortsling reminded himself that if he could make those godless communists like him, a changeling queen was only slightly more difficult. At least he hoped.

The doors to the throne room opened for him, after he had been kept waiting deep inside the cavernous city where the royal palace seemed like every other tunnel or warren. Marching ahead, he was announced by a herald of the queen.

“Vidkun Hjortsling, foreign minister to Olenia.” The drone shouted.

Little wonder it had to be this loud, as the throne room was a stark contrast to the claustrophobic city. Dozens of the queen’s royal guards stood on either side of the carpet that led him towards the throne, upon which the dreaded Queen of the Changelings sat. Upon reaching the dais of the throne on which she towered over him, Hjortsling bowed deep, fearful what a wrong impression would mean.

“The only reason you deer are inside my city alive,” Chrysalis spoke, a disturbing resonance in her voice “is because we are curious as to why an Olenian thinks we would be interested in diplomacy at all. If your nation has anything to offer us, believe us when we say we’d have taken it already.”

“Your majesty, I was sent on behalf of King Johan of Olenia to open up diplomatic relations between our two kingdoms.” Hjortsling began, still with his head bowed even as every instinct told him not to expose his neck to danger.

“Pathetic. Is that king of yours such a coward he could not come to me in person? He had to send the expendable underling to speak for him? Royal diplomacy requires royals to speak. That is, unless one is not royalty to start.” Hjortsling finally looked up, seeing the queen lean on her throne with a bemused smirk. “So the bastard of Aldar Jelzek has a request of the changeling nation?”

“My king-” He was interrupted by Chrysalis.

“Johan. Let’s just call him Johan instead of pretending he’s a real king.”

“Johan” Hjortsling managed through grit teeth “is of the belief that Equestria seeks to depose him through supporting his half-sister’s restoration. As such, he considers it wasteful that Olenia and the changelings still regard one another as enemies when our mutual enemy lurks to the south.”

“We agree.” Chrysalis stated, surprising Hjortsling with how quick she was to see his king’s point “Equestria is an enemy to us both. However you should not expect this to stay our hoof. We will crush their feeble kingdom, and we will use yours to do it. Expect our armies to take possession of it soon.”

“But your majesty-” Hjortsling protested, causing the royal guards standing below the throne to raise their guns. “If the Equestrians are smart, they’ll use the invasion to prepare, then crush whoever wins.”

“You mean crush us. And no, they won’t. Equestria will make a feeble protest at our invasion, if even that. It is a nation without a spine, having been humiliated time and time again by its own unreadiness. The fact it has not fallen already is a miracle, but it will not save them now.”

“We will fight back. And even if Olenia cannot stand against your armies, it will take its toll on them. Every drone you lose fighting us is one less for Equestria to fight. And their nation numbers a dozen times the number of ponies than there are changelings. You condemn both of us to become ruled over by harmonist scum who would see us kneel before their vaunted princess!” Hjortsling’s frustration was palpable.

For a species so attuned to emotion, it was hard to miss his anger. Not with Chrysalis, but the idea of harmony. Hjortsling had lived on the fringes of Olenian politics, moving between extremist ways of thought, but always dissatisfied with the harmonist ways. A harmonist was a fair weather friend who was intolerant to deer who had genuine grievances with their working conditions, their lot in life, loss of national identity and pride in deerkind. Harmonists wanted every deer to get along and ignore real problems. To kiss the hooves of the undeserving princesses and capitalists running everything.

Hjortsling once sympathized with Johan when his reign began, having defied those harmonist traditions that said some deer were unworthy because they were born to the wrong mother. But while it had been comforting to know that thanks to Johan he no longer had to treat his doe as his equal by law, the king’s treatment of the commoners was worsening the exploitation of workers and reinforcing the divisions between them and the elite. And now this fool had sent him to his death in a frozen wasteland, far from home.

Hjortsling waited for the queen’s command to seize him for his outburst. Insulting her had been the wrong diplomatic call, but it hardly mattered anymore to him. When nothing came of it, he opened his eyes and dared look at Chrysalis.

“You are an angry little buck. And you are Johan’s ambassador. Tell me how you truly feel about your ‘king’. I promise nothing between us leaves this throne room.” It was strange to hear her drop the royal plural and speak so comforting.

Caught of guard by her demeanour, he obliged.

26 January 1009 ALB
Hjortland

“For the first time in the history of Olenia has a deer come back from the changeling lands to bring us good news. Despite centuries of mistrust and mutual aggression, my loyal servants have conducted long negotiations with the noble Queen Chrysalis and delivered what Equestria would not give us: promises that will forestall any aggression against our kingdom. And, I believe, it is peace for our time.”

Johan turned off the recording of the Lokia radio set, his broadcast now over. Public speaking from the safety of a recording studio inside his castle was still not enough to make him comfortable with crowds of deer listening to his words, judging him for them. But it had to be the King of Olenia who told his subjects the good news that changelings were not a threat to them anymore.

Hjortsling’s talks with Queen Chrysalis had taken him months, during which there were large gaps of silence on the progress of the negotiations. At times, Johan worried his appeals to Chrysalis would be rejected, but Hjortsling would always come through to assure him he was establishing quite a rapport with the queen. For Johan, it would have to do.

Even before the news of a non-aggression treaty reached him, there had been positive signs. The changelings were sharing some of their reports from their infiltrators within Canterlot on the activities of his half-sister, Velvet. Following his decree to disinherit her from the Olenian throne, Princess Celestia herself had come to guarantee her safety. It really looked as though the ruler saw a chance to restore Velvet to the throne. Despite this, Johan felt confident that peace with the changeling nation would make Celestia reconsider. It would be obvious to the casual observer that Queen Chrysalis would not sit idle while Equestria installed friendly regimes on her border.

3 Februari 1008 ALB
Hjortland

Nothing had gone as expected.

Instead of being intimidated by the unified front Olenia and the Changeling Lands presented against Equestrian imperialism, Princess Celestia had only become more bellicose. In her speeches she had decried the ‘sinister ambitions’ of Chrysalis. She began warning her little ponies it was time to wake up, and realize Equestria was in mortal danger.

“Mortal danger from a kingdom merely building alliances with those who would stop her meddling? Such arrogance!” Johan fumed as he paced about, his foreign minister sitting quietly as they deliberated on what to do.

“The deerfolk who still support Velvet are beginning to feel emboldened by her statements of support. Demonstrations are continuing to disrupt life in Cervus and Sakara.” Hjortsling eventually stated after a pregnant silence.

“Ukko strike them all down! Don’t these treasonous fawns see how Celestia uses Velvet to make pawns out of us? To impose hegemony over the continent?” Johan raged.

Hjortsling was clever enough to see that. It was a sentiment he had heard often enough during his time in Stalliongrad. But he was in tune with the commoners enough to know they didn’t see the bigger picture, and clung to their shallow understandings of ‘righteousness’. To them Velvet was as a fairy tale princess, wrongly deposed by her wicked half-brother. Whose bastardry went hoof in hoof with him being a figurative bastard as well.

But they conveniently ignored how King Aldar was a philanderer whose extra-marital affair had muddied his own succession, placing his own pleasures before duty. How was it fair that Johan grew up knowing he not the equal of his younger half-sister because of the mistakes of his unfaithful father? Unlike his father, Johan was married to the doe who had born his son. Because their queen was not a headstrong liberal harridan, or slovenly homewrecker. Not like Velvet, who was still unmarried and, if the Olenian press could be believed, dallying around with Canterlot nobles. It certainly fit the free spirited image he had of the Equestrian royal court.

Even so, bringing any of this up with Johan was a lost cause. His king was particularly sensitive about this subject, and it was this insecurity that Hjortsling disliked about him far more than any meaningless, old fashioned succession law.

“Are you listening!?” Johan bellowed, snapping Hjortsling out of his thoughts. “I called you in because I need solutions! The generals tell me after the riots here in the capital three days ago, they’re having difficulties preventing soldiers from defecting to these protestors. I want another solution.”

Hjortsling composed himself hastily. “My party has agreed to deploy its paramilitary Hinden in support of the army-”

“Much as I approve of does knowing their place and fighting for the defence of the realm against this insurrection, you don’t seem to realize that more violence amongst Olenians only drives a greater wedge between us for the Equestrians to exploit.” Johan cut him off. “We don’t need civil war, we need to prevent it!”

Finally, his opening presented itself after months of work, and Hjortsling pounced on the opportunity, now that Johan was at his most vulnerable since seizing the throne.

“There is one person who can help us. Whose soldiers do not sympathize with the rabble, and will gladly fight for your crown. If she is given incentive to do so.” Hjortsling broached the subject, prepared for a long night of arguing on behalf of his benefactor, and with his king.

8 March 1008 ALB
Hjortland

“Your Majesty,” The minister of economic affairs began to protest “These territories contain valuable mineral resources accounting for a third of all aluminium production. The affected mining concerns will not approve of this, neither will the industries who are facing a cost increase from decreased supply.”

Johan put his hoof to his forehead in exasperation, having expected this disagreement. He almost did not wish to explain the situation to his cabinet a second time. So he was only slightly irritated when Hjortsling spoke out of turn.

“We are trading land for peace here. How is this not a benefit to Olenia? If Chrysalis wants these provinces, she can take them whenever she wants, along with the rest of the country. But she is graciously offering an alliance in exchange. If Celestia has it her way, she will install Velvet, who will steal from these same mining companies to reward the sycophants and thankless underclass. They need to think of how much they stand to lose without this treaty.”

“That is what concerns me. We do not even know how much we’re losing to the changelings! His Majesty’s government has, in its infinite wisdom, cancelled early prospecting operations to hide the true value of these disputed territories.” Manesonen rebutted, only for the Chief of Olenia’s royal army to become involved.

“And rightly so. The more wealth we have, the more tempting a prize we become for Chrysalis.” Mantlerheim argued. “But right now, we are hearing reports of a build-up of troops around Vanhoover. If it isn’t an invasion force, it is still emboldening the citizens of Olenia to act out and riot in our streets.”

“I thought the brigade of thugs of the Flokks Parti from our esteemed colleague was dealing with that?” The minister glared at Hjortsling, venom dripping from every word.

“My esteemed colleague should know that enforcing order without the power to declare martial law is much harder than tallying budgets or schmoozing with uppity capitalists.” Hjortsling shot back with equal contempt.

“Both of you shut your muzzles!” King Johan intervened, silencing the quarrelling pair. “I gave you permission to comment on this treaty, woman. If you cannot show me respect, then remind me why I keep you in your post?”

“Apollogies, your Majesty.” Manesonen uttered uncomfortably. “But it is my duty to ensure you are hearing the opinions of those who matter. And the territorial concessions are not their only problem. The changelings are demanding unrestricted access to our markets, but do not reciprocate in kind. This is frankly unheard of in international diplomacy. We are putting ourselves at a significant competitive disadvantage.”

“And then there are the ‘advisers’ Chrysalis intends to send to Olenia.” Minister Kekkonen entered the conversation. “What role are they going to play that the cabinet does not already fulfil? The document is especially vague on this point, and I would insist this be negotiated further and codified into clear language before signing this treaty.”

“Denied.” Johan decided without hesitation. “It has taken us this long to make any progress with Chrysalis’ temperamental disposition. We do not waste time and risk a major rebellion or Equestrian attack. Manesonen, tell your lobbyist friends the crown will reimburse them for the loss of the investments and contents of the mines. We will find the necessary funds if we have to cut education and healthcare to do so. I won’t risk my crown for any longer!”

Giving his signature to the treaty, Johan passed it to Hjortsling for him to have it sent to Vesalipolis. He needed distraction, and a reminder of what he was doing this for. Mathias was likely already waiting on him to take him for a stroll through the king’s woods, and he wouldn’t keep him waiting on account of these stuffy ministers any longer.

Hjortland
6 April 1009

A great stage had been prepared on the square in front of the capitol city hall of Hjortland. Changeling and Olenian flags hung side by side in the background. With a larger, prominent banner displaying the emblems of both nations together in a show of friendship between deerkind and changelings right behind the speaker platform. Soldiers of the Queen’s Honour Guard and Kunglig Vakt guarded the perimeter in front of and around the stage, and controlled access to the square. The crowd in attendance were deer carrying all kind of placards or insignias of the Flokks Parti, the royal house of Jelzek, or the odd changeling citizen with their Changeling flags. And behind the stage, shielded from view by soldiers and barricades, Johan and Chrysalis watched the minutes tick by on the clock of the great stave temple opposite the square.

At last the hands reached 3:45, and the crowd began to quiet in anticipation. As one, the two monarchs approached the stairs up the platform, Johan noticing how Chrysalis’ pace was constantly just ahead of his. She came into view first, to the roaring enthusiasm of the crowd, followed by him, who took to the stand to deliver his part of the address first.

“Citizens of Olenia. You are assembled to commemorate the official signing of the treaty of friendship between Olenia and the Changeling Lands. For years now, the usurper princess Velvet has manoeuvred herself to entice Equestria to meddle in Olenian affairs. Today we shall say: enough! No longer do we allow wily princesses to dictate our future. No longer will we accept that ponies restrict our economic methods by their hindrance. No longer do we tolerate the cancer of harmonic liberalism that deludes us with promises of equality and welfare. With the help of our likeminded friend, Queen Chrysalis, we sign a pact to resi-”

From the corner of his eye, Johan saw the object thrown at the trajectory towards his head only in time to turn his head just as it impacted. His right eye went red as a thick, oozing liquid splattered from his temple and his head was jolted back. He reached with his hoof to feel what it was that hit him, and it dislodged the ripe tomato from his forehead. Angrily looking into the crowd for the culprit, he saw the deer at the front row, looking back at him resentfully.

“You sold us out to the vile bugs. Traitorous bastard!” The deer shouted.

Johan shuddered with rage at the insult to his lineage. He bellowed to his guards. “Seize him!”

Dumbfounded, both the crowd and the guard stood silently at the insult that had transpired for several seconds, during which Johan felt increasingly emasculated for being ignored. He kept his hoof pointed at the offender, but it only served to highlight his supposed impunity. At last, seemingly out of mercy, Chrysalis joined him on the platform and extended her own hoof.

“Arrest this agitator!”

At her command, changelings who had made up half of the perimeter in front of the speaking platform broke off and isolated the protestor, who made no attempt to run even as he was ushered away from the gathering and towards a wagon somewhere towards the back for troublemakers such as him. Chrysalis did not allow Johan to finish his address, quietly pressuring him to step away from the speaking platform so she could give her own speech.

“Olenians! You bear witness to a new order forming upon the continent. Your former princess huddles beneath the legs of the weak Princess Celestia. She is putting you in danger every day by divulging your state’s secrets to a conniving old crone with delusions of godhood, who manipulates her own subjects into facing lethal threats to her reign. I have endeavoured to provide for my subjects, and take on greater risks than even the lowliest drone should. I plan to do much the same for Olenians. I want to be your queen as well!”

Cheers and stomping applause went through the crowd, until Chrysalis motioned for quiet.

“Through long sessions of talks with your foreign minister, the visionary Vidkun Hjortsling, we have a plan for a common defence. My subjects shall come to advise your government on matters military, diplomacy, and anything else we deem important to the continued security of Olenia. The mighty Changeling realm shall be triumphant in any future conflict against Equestria, and you deer may celebrate our success. You will march shoulder to shoulder with the greatest military force on Equus, and to all who would bar our path I say: you cannot contend with us. Never shall I allow you to become the subjects of the false princess, or her pet doe. Olenia shall become a part of a new hegemony. One that will challenge the old order, and replace it with one that belongs to a more evolved race, a superior race! We changelings are fuelled by love. Love of country! Love of the queen! A love of all creatures who understand their place in this world and subjugate themselves only to this natural order. And I will personally ensure the ponies shall know what their place will be; at our hooves!”

The public cried even more loudly in approval as Chrysalis’ passionate, emotional invective went on.

“Olenia will not only know security through this pact, but it will know victory. Soon all deer will feel the pride of winning over an ancient enemy, and knowing that a new age has dawned in which the new order shall rule over ponykind forever! Shed your old prejudices and histories, see changelings for what we truly are; the salvation of all races. Cast aside your old divisions amongst your own kind to come together under the banner of the Hegemony! Stags, does, drones. Workers, soldiers and artists. Rally to the Hegemony’s flag in defence of your birthright. The future belongs to us!”

Johan listened passively as Chrysalis’ superior oratory skills gained her the admiration of his people that he never had. He noticed from the corner of his eye that his son was trying not to stare at the tomato juice that still covered his forehead. He felt humiliated. But not by the act of defiance from some soon-to-be dead stag. He had unfortunately gotten used to how hated he was. But the fact that he had to rely on a female to step in and give him back his throne and his dignity. One whose motives he still could not fully trust, and whose adoration by his subjects now undermined his authority.

Canterlot
12 September 1011

Lt. Einar formed up on the side of the heavy door to a stately pony mansion and he waited for the sergeant to finish placing a shaped explosive on it. He turned his head to the platoon seer, who exited her trance, and drew a sigil in the air with her hoof, looking grimly at the sergeant. He noticed, but nodded. The other soldiers had secured the block to watch for potential escape attempts from the house.

Einar Fjellgevir signed up to honour family tradition, and so he was with the 2. Bergsklättrare-divisioona the day Chrysalis called on Olenia to attack towards Vanhoover. He had seen action across the Unicorn Range as Olenia’s armies cleaved their way through Equestria’s defenses over the coming months, bypassing the natural defenses that protected south Equestria to trap their forces. His merits and honours swelled his pride, making what was a hellish war for others into his finest years as a grown stag. Even when his division was ordered to take the peaks overlooking the capital city with their mountain guns to observe troop movement and provide fire support for the changeling stormtroops whose glory they were not supposed to steal, he felt great pride in his service to the Hegemony. “Let the bugs win glory shedding their blood” he had thought. There was nothing left for the Olenian mountaineer to prove. All except this final task, which had come from the high command of the Hegemony’s combined forces now that Canterlot’s defenses had fallen.

“Clear!” He shouted as the sergeant detonated the charge on the door, after which the deer under his command stormed the house.

Screams and gunfire filled his ears as the first two groups moved in opposite directions, fanning out across the ground floor while his sergeant and another deer ran up the stairs. A pony in his royal guard armour appeared at the top, but could not ready his own weapon before Einar loosed a shot from his magic rifle, which exploded against his barding and knocked him down. He could hear the noise of tables and desks being pushed over, but his subordinate had already rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and fired his KP/-10 by the time Einar reached the 1st floor. Two other soldiers spilled into the room under the sergeant’s cover fire before a beam of dark energy punctured his chest and caused him to fall dead. As the seer had predicted.

The suppressing fire of the other soldiers allowed Einar and the other stags to move into the room and ready their guns. At a glance, he could see this room of the stately mansion had been used as an office. Papers now lay scattered or burning in the hearth. A typewriter had fallen off one of the desks, and the horn of a telephone dangled over the edge of another impromptu-barricade.

“Stop! Enough of this fighting. I won’t have any more creatures die on my account!” Shouted a woman whose accent unmistakenly made her Olenian.

Einar watched a doe rise up from behind one of the tables, gesturing her surrender. He recognised her immediately as the target of this capture mission. After a second, the rifles and pistols of the ponies guarding her were tossed and shuffled their way, and one of the privates set to the task of confiscating them as others moved in, weapons ready, to take them all prisoner.

“Princess Velvet,” Einar smiled as he spoke the words “by order of his majesty King Johan, you are under arrest for treason against Olenia and its allies. Your fate shall be decided by a tribunal of the judges of the Hegemony for crimes committed against them.”

Velvet was defiant even in surrender. “We both know who the real criminal is, sir.”

“Do you deny the charge?” Einar frowned, having expected this illegitimized doe to backsas him.

“No sir, I do not deny that I have provided aid and comfort to the enemies of Olenia and will face the judgement of your court. But I did so to save it from the changelings that the usurper you serve allowed to take over. He is the real traitor.” Velvet replied.

“Chrysalis is our ally, and a defender of our ancient traditions you sought to overturn. You deny every stag and every doe is born to their rightful place, you promoted dangerous ideas that caused revolution in your beloved Equestria, selfishly advocated a revision to inheritance law to make does equal so you could rule yourself, and you turn a blind eye to our pony enemies occupying deer land, instead turning into one yourself.” Einar sighed, as a grandfather would to an upstart fawn. “But you are no different from the other harmonist deer I’ve met, and will just have to disagree, for what it’s worth in your predicament.”

Seeing Velvet’s hindquarters bleed from where a bullet had grazed her, he cleared his throat and forced himself to avert his eyes. “The seer should see to your wound. I promise no stag will lay hooves on you.”

“You are, despite everything, a gentleman.” Velvet bowed slightly in recognition as she waited to be treated and taken into custody.

Canterlot
22 September 1011

“My subjects, I speak to you from the palace of Canterlot to announce that final victory is ours! The empire’s armies are winning on all fronts. Manehattan is now under changeling control. The crystal ponies have been driven from the CrystalCity in disgrace, its prized Crystal Heart now the spoils of war and to be studied at Soryth. In Baltimare the two sisters make their last stand, knowing that it is futile. As I speak, we are establishing our protectorate over the far flung regions.”

Chrysalis’ voice could be heard on the radio, delivering her victory speech from the balcony of the Royal Castle of Canterlot to signify its fall. Johan had already heard it standing several feet behind her when it was delivered, and now it was being repeated on the radio every hour to the nations of the Hegemony. But he hadn’t come merely to be a sidenote in her historic moment. He had an important visit to make.

The warden personally led him to the room where an empty table stood in anticipation of his visit. Seating himself, he was soon accommodated by a changeling guard who led the prisoner in for him, and had her sit opposite Johan.

“Greetings, sister.” Johan broke the glum silence.

“Half-sister.” Velvet insisted.

She was a pitiful sight. Her eyes looked weary, with bags under them. Attempts to cover up the bruises and scrapes only drew more attention. And there was a hostility in her demeanour no deer would have expected from the princess.

“I felt it was only right that I pay a visit while I’m in the city.” Johan continued. “I see you’ve been…better.”

“How sociable of you, my brother. To come see your beloved sister who you dethroned, slandered and disinherited before leaving her to the tender mercies of changelings!” Velvet was vicious in her reply.

“You would not believe me if I told you I did not intend for you to suffer, but it is the truth.” Johan did indeed feel pangs of guilt at what had become of her. A part of him wondered if, had events turned out differently, Queen Chrysalis would be the one visiting him in jail, to gloat at his maltreated self.

“Save me your pity, Johan. These changelings have tormented my emotions to make me talk. I have been beaten for information and sport. I was violated in body and mind. No lady should have to endure this.” Her words conjured up some vivid images her brother could only agree were disgusting.

“That is not what I wanted for you. I would have had them treat you better. But it is not my decision to make.” Johan felt himself doubting his own sincerity.

He used to feel indifferent, but her torture was an eerie reminder of his own nightmares. And he had no stomach for seeing deer mangled and abused, even if he knew perfectly well what went on inside his own kingdom’s prisons, and what he had unleashed on Equestria. But she wasn’t family. And he didn’t care for her. Did he?

“I believe you. I truly believe you could not stop this even if you wanted. Because you are nothing but a minion to Chrysalis. A cowering fawn hiding under its mother’s legs. And for what!? You own power? You are too smart to think you wield any power in this dynamic you’ve created for Olenia.” Velvet venomously deconstructed the relationship with the changelings.

“I seized power not for its own sake, but to right an injustice! Even at the end of your tether, it is so easy for you to cast me as your villain, robbing you of your right to rule over Olenia by law, when I was father’s firstborn son! If not for an inconvenient detail in the law, I would have been his heir, and not you.” Years of resentment boiled over, and Johan stood over Velvet, fuming. “He was a selfish deer who took no responsibility for the consequences his broken vows had on his children. As long as he had you to succeed him, he could convince himself what a righteous family stag he was and continue to ignore me. And now I rule his kingdom, instead of his daughter.”

“You’re pathetic, you know that? You seized the throne, oppressed our deer subjects, and sold us all down the river. And all to make a point that the law of inheritance is unfair? This is why no one likes you, Johan. Everything is about you, and your pain, and your cause! Do you ever stop to ask how your actions have hurt your subjects? What injustices you’ve caused yourself with all of this? How the changelings will bring misery and death to others?” Velvet stared back coldly, unaffected. “If you were worthy of your crown, you would have put the grievances of Olenians before yours, irrespective of legal standing.”

“Harmonist prattle! Subjects exists to serve their leaders, not the other way around.” Johan mumbled.

Silence reigned at the table for minutes, as both siblings thought on what the other had just said.

“I feel sorry for you, Johan.” Velvet finally spoke up. “I won’t deny father was wrong to have ignored you as much as he did while still letting you stay at his court. But he wasn’t the terrible swine you think he was. He was a good stag, who showed me that he loved me. If he had done the same for you, you could have been a worthy successor.”

“Aren’t you happy he didn’t?” Johan replied with bitter amusement.

“If you weren’t so entitled, no. I would have stepped back and let you be king, if he’d decreed it.” Johan was genuinely taken aback at that. “Shocking, isn’t it? You always spent so much time pitying yourself that you failed to see when others tried to reach out to you, or treat you kindly in spite of your illegitimacy. Instead of noticing how I wasn’t taking a part in all the bullying you endured from other bucks, you still acted like I believed myself superior to you. You drove others away not because you were a bastard, but because you let that turn you into a resentful, vindictive person.”

“At least I am not a philanderer. I have a god-fearing, subservient doe and an heir I know is mine. And I have given the Allsherjargodi power to protect the institution of marriage. Something you harmonists don’t seem to respect.” Johan’s grandstanding slightly amused Velvet despite her predicament.

“Yes, family is important and the cornerstone of Olenian life. But family is not about whose name you have and what rituals you’ve done to officiate it. It’s about the deer that you love besides yourself. It’s a real tragedy you never got the chance to learn that.” Velvet’s reply did not help Johan see her as anything but condescending.

“You will see. In my Olenia, stags and does know their place, and the penalty for infidelity. Pride of nation and family shall return, and all shall praise me for generations for having brought a new age to Olenia. One in which whores, libertines and absent fathers will once more be shamed for the harm they bring.”

“I doubt I will be alive to see it.” Velvet denied, with little fear for the grim implication. “And I doubt you will. Because it is not up to you anymore. It’s up to your queen, Chrysalis. For all of your sexist attitudes, she’s the one who has more power in Olenia than you now.”

Gritting his teeth, Johan stood up and walked away. He had had enough of being belittled by women, and he was determined to prove her wrong.

2 Decmber 1011
Hjortland

To Queen Chrysalis, the One Queen of the Changeling Lands, Hegemon of Equus
From King Johan Jelzek, ruler of the Kingdom of Olenia

Your royal majesty,

Your inspired leadership has seen our countries triumph over the hated harmonists of Equestria and safeguard both states from their meddling in our species’ affairs. As your armies carve out new states out of the remnants of Equestria to ensure the future of the Hegemony for centuries, there is a dispute we wished to bring to your attention.

In ancient times, deerkind colonized the lands between the Tall and Cheval rivers. The AcadiaBay and Vanhoover settlements were once as great as any of the jarldoms of Cervus or Hjortland. But the arrival and proliferation of the Equestrians would take their toll on deerkind’s control of the area. This would accelerate as their alicorn Royal Sisters waged a campaign to displace our people, and Princess Luna would impose her name on the seas around it when she conquered what is now Vanhoover. Despite repeated attempts by our bravest heroes, the Equestrians stubbornly clung to our land.

Now that ponykind is properly chastised for its defiance, the opportunity has come to rectify this historic mistake. We ask you, in the name of our subjects who thirst for glory, and for the honour of our ancestors, to make Equestria relinquish these territories to Olenia once more. Our armies have fought and bled for you in the fervent belief that you would reward them, and we trust you will not disappoint them. A magnanimous gesture of the return of rightful deer land could cement our realms’ friendship for good.

We assure you that, under our rule, the authority of the Hegemony will not escape the current pony inhabitants. Conforming with the racial policies of other protectorates, we shall strictly remind our new pony subjects of their subservient status at any time, and elevate the rights and privileges of deer and changeling over all others, as it should be. And we shall aid in your consolidation of Equestria at a time when the Hegemony’s garrisons are stretched to their limit.

We trust that you will see the benefit to both the region, and to the Hegemony as a whole.

Yours truly,
King Johan Jelzek

6 December 1011
Vesalipolis

To the pathetic bastard of Aldar
From Queen Chrysalis, Hegemon of Equus and One Queen of the Changelings

Do not bother me with your insignificant begging in the future. If you could not take the hint before, let me make it clear to you now: you and all your forest frolicking subjects are mine. You will do as I say and be happy at my hooves. You will be grateful for whatever crumbs I deem worthy to grant you. Which, after this snivelling request, is going to be even less than I would have considered. You are not the ruler of your kingdom, and shall not make requests of me on its behalf.

If your ancestors could not hold these ‘rightful lands’ as you call them against those craven ponies, then your kind were obviously not fit enough to rule them. Just like how you proved yourself unfit when you came begging for my protection against those same ponies. You are weak, and your subjects have no love for you. Instead they adore me, as a true leader who is not of a polluted bloodline, and stalwart in her bearing.

You loathe your female kind, treat them as feeble and thoughtless. But shamelessly grovel before a real queen, who only just recently dealt with another of your mistakes. You may never experience the joy of feeding, but I will entertain you with the knowledge that your half-sister was delectable. Not like you, who tastes sour, and awful even from across the room.

I hope that I have made myself crystal clear to you, Johan. I expect an apology for wasting my time.

Truly mine,
Queen Chrysalis

Johan put the letter down, a feeling of despair washing over him. Changeling surveyors in Feer Dalar had recently found that the regions relinquished to the Changelings held significant quantities of iron ore within them. The crown’s concessions to the mining conglomerates to compensate them for loss of potential profits was now threatening significant budget deficits. The concession of Equestrian territory was his plan to help offset this economic blow after years of warfare. Of course, the changelings would be more than happy to help Olenia remain solvent with loans. But there would have to be some collateral for them to repossess if Olenia’s fortunes did not improve. And the changelings within Vidkun Hjortsling’s cabinet would make sure they didn’t.

Meanwhile the Flokks Parti and the godar’s influence on the deer was increasing, with the celebration of victory in the war bringing their support to the forefront. Popularity with the masses allowed them to leverage more influence from Johan, who needed them more than ever now. That these two groups were more loyal to Chrysalis than their own monarch only meant he was even less able to wrest any sort of concession from the queen. He had by now truly lost his kingdom in all but name to the changeling hegemon.

His thoughts turned to Velvet, and the horrific fate that had befallen her. Queen Chrysalis was not one to leave loose ends, and Johan knew without trying he could not have stopped her execution. Not when Chrysalis was sick and twisted enough to delight in such a personal and cruel means of disposing of her enemies. Velvet’s words came back to him, and it was now clear to him just how right she had been. Oh certainly, he had some idea of the danger beforehoof. But it wasn’t until now that the real extent of it became frighteningly clear.

“Papa, are you… feeling well?” Johan’s thought were interrupted as Mathias meekly spoke up.

He looked at the young buck, who was still too young to understand the situation, but old enough to sense the dark mood that had fallen upon the palace in recent times. For a long time, he had been his heir, his legitimate heir to the throne whose existence lent stability to his lineage. Now that Johan’s own future seemed uncertain, he felt only an obligation to protect the small buck.

“Come here, son.” Johan put his forehooves around Mathias.

Perhaps his own father’s absence had hardened him to think of his son as nothing but an extension of his own rule. Now that his pretensions of being the true king of Olenia had shattered, he finally had to admit that underneath, he’d always loved him. Once more, he realized the truth in Velvet’s words. That family is not lineage or formality, but an expression of love. It was too late now to admit it to her.

“Papa?” Mathias uttered, not understanding his father’s thoughts.

Johan simply pressed him tighter as tears fell. His son was now all he might have left. He had to learn to cherish it.