In media mundi

by Vindicar

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Original Character, Mystery, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1794

Equestria. The most advanced nation on Equus. A beacon of science, an economic powerhouse. At least, that's what the ponies think.

For a long while Equestria had remained at the forefront of progress. Sure, the creativity of modern scholars isn't quite up to the level of the fabled Starswirl the Bearded, but it allows them to maintain their position as the strongest nation of Equus. Even centuries of splendid isolation hadn't changed that.

Published 2022-11-21 09:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-11-21 09:00:01 UTC

There are more things in heaven and earth...

The Canterlot Herald, June 24th, year 1009.

An End of an Era
Tomorrow's Summer Sun celebration marks a historical moment, being the last time when the ritual is performed by Princess Celestia herself. Mere years after the ascension of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Their Majesties Celestia and Luna, Diarchs of the Sun and the Moon, had declared their intention to abdicate the throne, leaving the youngest Princess as the sole ruler of Equestria. While this decision came as a shock to many of our readers, the mare in question has on many occasions demonstrated the ability and willingness to both act as the highest authority and to protect the country whenever necessary.
With that in mind, all Canterloteans are invited to show their support to the Princesses during the tomorrow's ceremony.

The Canterlot Herald, September 1st, year 1009.

The Equus Greets Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Equestria
Twilight Sparkle, the ruling Princess of Equestria, is to hold a meeting today with the representatives of various speaking races of Equus, including ambassadors plenipotentiary of the Griffon Kingdom and Zebrica. Among the topics to be discussed are trade concessions and exchange of scientific knowledge.
The latter matter is expected to be of a particular interest to the Princess, given her academic background. However, it is unclear at the time if such an exchange will be beneficial to Equestria, given its undisputed lead in many areas of magical and mundane expertise.

The Canterlot Herald, May 19th, year 1011.

Griffonstone Abandoned?
Following the new trade arrangements with the griffons, a group of merchants attempting to find further opportunities have reached the once-proud city of Griffonstone, only to find it entirely devoid of life. Despite having been in decline for centuries, the city still had a sizeable population, at least by griffon standarts, which only adds to the mystery of the mass disappearance. The eyewitnesses claim that the traces left tell of an organized evacuation, rather than a panic caused by an opportunistic raid or a natural disaster.
Garibald the Griffon, the ambassador of the Griffon Kingdom, had refused to shed light on this matter, only stating that this is an internal affair of the griffons, and that Equestrian intervention is neither required, nor welcomed.

The Manehattan Daily, September 26th, year 1010.

A Stunning Story or a Tall Tale?
Wind Rose, the president of Explorers' Society of Manehattan, had made a statement regarding the story of Stiff Breeze, a pegasus explorer whose airship had supposedly survived a hurricane while traversing the skies of Zebrica. According to him, the hurricane had forced his ship to fly over the area marked as forbidden by the Zanginar treaty. While in the area, Stiff Breeze reportedly saw "a city that could give Manehattan a run for its money", but could not maintain visual contact for much longer due to adverse weather.
In her statement, Wind Rose reminded that out of all explorers, who supposedly succeeded to enter the forbidden areas in the past, none have returned. This casts further shadow of doubt on Stiff Breeze's already fantastic tale. As far as it is known, the Zebras have very little interest in urbanization, with their sedentary population spread thin, and the rest following a nomadic lifestyle.

The Manehattan Daily, March 23rd, year 1012.

Sweet Gravy arrested!
A well-known mob boss, Sweet Gravy's name was putting fear in the hearts of Manehattanites for quite a while now. Thankfully, after a thoroughly planned and carefully executed operation MPD was able to locate his hideout and arrest him. It is known that offshoots of his organization were active in Fillydelphia and Las-Pegasus, and investigators hope to uncover enough to find out the identities of his associates.
As our readers may remember, several of their heists were performed with a surprising degree of coordination. According to our sources, evidence found in the hideout could shed some light on how the infamous stallion was able to run his criminal empire while evading earlier attempts to apprehend him.

The Manehattan Daily, April 8th, year 1012.

The mystery of Sweet Gravy
Following the arrest of the infamous mob boss, MPD members were left puzzled by the items found in his hideout. The aura of mystery intensified when our sources reported Princess Twilight Sparkle herself joining the investigation. During a private conversation, the Princess supposedly noted that among the items confiscated during the raid there were several 'advanced communication devices' of unknown make. While some speculate that it were those devices that allowed Sweet Gravy to maintain tight control over his organization, we do not have any official statement from the MPD or the Crown regarding the issue.
If this conjecture is proven true, it will raise several worrying questions: who had manufactured those devices, how had they ended up in the hooves of a known criminal, and how many more can currently be found within Equestria?

The Canterlot Herald, October 13th, year 1012.

A prodigy or a pretender?
Yesterday, during the biennial congress on magical technology, the attention of the attendees was held by a report from Ziazan, a young scholar from Zebrica who until now hadn't been known to Equestrian scientific community. While the topic of the report itself is rather specialized and not well-known by the general public, it has far-reaching implication for the general magical theory. The point of contention is the fact that the report references several unknown works by Zebrican authors, and the experiment that was supposedly performed to test the hypothesis lies quite beyond the known limits of Zebrican magic. As such, several experts in the area had expressed their doubts in the veracity of this controversial material.
Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had been habitually attending the congress during the last decade, had taken a cautious stance on the matter, advising the assembly to approach the issue with an open mind. However, she hadn't stated her opinion on whether the supposed breakthrough had really taken place.

The Fillydelphia Times, November 2nd, year 1012

Gunboat Discount?
Following an unexpected upturn in sea piracy, it had became customary for many trading ships to arrive with an armed escort. However, the griffon trading ship 'Zephyr' that had arrived to our fair city's harbor yesterday, had set a new record.
The escort ship 'Loricatus' had immediately attracted attention with its slick, fully armored hull. Observing pegasi also noticed what looked like a pair of turret-mounted cannons, covered with tarp. While not the largest military ship to ever visit Fillydelphia, it certainly seems to be among the most dangerous.
This raises questions regarding the actual intentions of the crew. Are they attempting to intimidate the traders to get a better bargain? Are griffons trying to sell their escort services to Equestrian ships? Or are they really that worried about the pirate attacks?

The Manehattan Daily, November 10th, year 1012

Who is 'The Storm King'?
With arrest of Sweet Gravy many a Manehattanite breathed a sigh of relief. However, it seems that something worse had stepped up to take his place. An upturn of sea piracy observed in recent weeks didn't seem like anything out of ordinary, until the news of an attack on 'Lady of Tides'.
'Lady of Tides', a well-known luxury liner, was making a tour of Equestria's east coast, when it was chased by a black airship of an advanced design. The crew, including extra hired guards, did their best to repel the assault, but they were overwhelmed by the heavy weapons the attackers were using. The survivors' tales are disjointed and contradictory, but many agree that the attackers were of a less known species - heavy, bipedal creatures somewhat resembling minotaurs, albeit hornless and covered in shaggy fur.
With the resistance suppressed, the pirates were able to reach the passengers' compartments and force them to part with their valuables. It's during that time some of them made threatening remarks about the wrath of 'The Storm King' whom they apparently served.
The efficiency and brutality of this attack calls in question whether it will be possible for Equestria to maintain its eastern trade routes while this self-styled pirate king is being dealt with.

The Manehattan Daily, November 23rd, year 1012

A state of emergency declared on the east coast!
In today's Royal address, Princess Twilight Sparkle had declared a state of emergency in the cities along the eastearn coastline of Equestria "due to unprecedented pirate activity". In response, the Griffon Kingdom was among the first to offer assistance, military or otherwise. A summit is expected to be held soon, where the interested parties will attempt to determine the course of action best suited to combating this threat.

The Manehattan Daily, December 20th, year 1012

The state of emergency is lifted!
Following nearly a month of naval maneuvers and combat operations against the self-proclaimed 'Storm King', Princess Twilight Sparkle had issued a statement regarding the end of the state of emergency. The ordeal seems to have left a heavy impression on our monarch, who had given a brief interview to 'The Canterlot Herald'. We offer the following excerpt to our readers.

"For the most of my life, I was a scholar in heart, taught to approach new events and ideas in a calm and methodical manner. It's often said that many great scholars long to see their worldview upended, turned upside down by a radical new idea. However, such revelations are often more fun to read about than to live through.
Equestria itself is on a verge of such an event, and had been for some time, as it had turned out. Thankfully, friendship and harmony prevailed, and many speaking nations of Equus helped us do what we couldn't do alone.
As trite as it might sound, this is an end of an era, and our actions will decide what the next one will be like."

Our words will echo through the ages

Author's Note

So, if you are wondering what caused the state of affairs described in the main chapter... here is an answer.

Our words will echo through the ages

”...And Caelestia had appeared to them, the Griffins, and the Minotaurs, and the Zebras, in her Fire and Glory, and thus she spoke.

You sought to strike us while we were at our lowest. You sought to feast upon the fat of our land. Now be warned that even in the darkest hour will I stand guard over Equestria. And all who would challenge us will know my wrath, unfettered and raw.

And the speaking peoples of the world had heeded her words, for to go against the will of the Sun was to invite death...”

An excerpt from “The Aftermath of the Nightmare Heresy”,
recovered and translated by Brittle Page.