15th Day of the 5th Moon, 6 ALR: Canterlot Castle

Commodore Lighthauler had been a wonderful host, taking Twilight on an all-encompassing tour of the marvel that was Mauritania. Her first-class accommodations were stunning, with wood carvings and plaster works rivaling the appointments of Canterlot Castle. However, Twilight was far more interested in the engineering of the ship, seeing her message being transmitted to the human leaders through a pattern of electrical pulses was fascinating. It was truly spectacular that the humans could use copper wiring strung through complicated instruments to send near instant messages to faraway lands by only using the properties of light. The machinery spaces of the ship had also been completely mesmerizing, massive rooms lined with boilers, coal spilling out of the bunkers that separated the rooms. Had it not been for her burning desire to visit the ship’s library, Twilight could have listened to the Machinery Officer talk about the intricacies of steam production and pressure for hours, learning about how steam turbines functioned and how they were able to propel such a massive ship.

The library had about as many books as the Golden Oak Library, but every single book was completely new to her. Twilight immediately thanked the commodore, before prancing up to the sycamore bookshelves, the books enclosed behind doors inlaid with fine wrought iron grates. She opened the doors of the History and Technology sections of the library and floated out dozens of books over to one of the plush sofas in the room. Making a sizable pyramid of books, the lavender alicorn teleported to the sofa curling up in the soft velvet cushions, and started combing through all the new books.

From the meeting with the ten captains, Twilight had already gotten the sense that the humans were divided into tribes based on their different languages, and like the pony tribes that existed before the Fire of Friendship and the creation of Equestria, the humans mistrusted one another. Reading about their history revealed a depressing and bloody truth, human history was marred by war after bloody war. Unlike Equestria who managed to unite and then advance peacefully, it seemed like with every new advancement, human wars became bloodier and bloodier. Since the 1600s in human years, They have fought massive wars that included nations from all around the world, the Thirty Years War, the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession, the War of Austrian Succession, the Seven Years War, The American Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Hungarian Revolutionary War, and finally the War of Italian Unification.

Even more tragically was that the humans had recognized the sheer brutality of their conflicts. With so many dead following the Napoleonic Wars, the Great powers had attempted to form a balance of powers to prevent such a conflict from ever happening again. This Congress of Vienna had promised eternal peace and harmony between humans, and it endured through the revolutionary struggles of 1830. However, as the leaders who had witnessed the destruction of the Napoleonic Wars passed on and new leaders sought glory, the spark that was the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 plunged Europe back into war. In four short months, the bulwark of European diplomacy had been destroyed, the Republican and Hungarian Revolutionaries had deposed the Habsburg Monarchy and Russia had begun an invasion of Galicia. The forces of the German Confederation had managed to restore order and restore the Habsburg Monarchy but as King rather than Emperor.

With the Austrian Empire obliterated, the balance of power so carefully crafted in 1815 was shattered and the Great Powers scrambled to fill in the void. Russia annexed Galicia and the Prussians as the new leaders of the German Confederation stamped out any remaining Republican resistance in Bohemia and Austria, reorganizing the former Imperial lands into three separate kingdoms to ensure their position. In the chaos of the Austrian collapse, the French and Spanish crowns were united in violation of the pledge that the marriage of Prince Charles France and Queen Isabella of Spain would never result in personal union. Everything had happened so fast, and the British Government had been paralyzed by indecisiveness, thus by the time Britain had decided on a course of action, the dust had finally settled and France had forged an Empire that dominated Western Europe. The Bourbon Domain not only controlled France and Spain, but without Austrian influence in Italy, the new King Charles XI was also able to secure Southern Italy and have himself crowned Roman Emperor by the Pope. Twilight was stunned, every subsequent book she read would describe the millions that died in the human wars, she was utterly surprised that windigos had not blanketed their world in deep frost.

After about an hour, she gave up reading the depressing human history and moved on to reading about their accomplishments. The Mauretania was already a testament to the advanced nature of these Humans, with all of the technology showcased to her in the tour, but the books described far more advancements. Self-propelled carriages, magicless heavier than air flight, buildings that towered over the massive masts of the ships that loomed over Manehattan, industrialization, electric lighting, radio, telephone, and many more technologies that used not one ounce of magic. So much innovation, drive, and ambition, if only humans could learn to get along then they could truly bring about a golden age of discovery and advancement. The crew of Mauritania had also shown just how generous and kind the humans were, they had truly made her feel right at home and had allowed her to take dozens of books back to Canterlot to continue her studies. Twilight was now determined that her summit would do what the Congress of Vienna had aspired to achieve, an international community of nations that would bring peace prosperity, and harmony throughout the world.

Now Twilight sat at the head of a large conference room, along the sides of the table sat her friends, Spike, Shining Armor, Fancy Pants, Starlight, Captain Rampart, Chef Tasty Plate, Mayor Scribble Write, and at the other end of the table sat Cadence. Discord had made a miraculous recovery since his magical surge and was curled up at the corner of the room closest to Fluttershy, who still wore a cast on her forehoof and wing. Twilight shuffled through some notes Spike had handed her, “I would like to thank you all for joining me here at this meeting. As you may all know, following Discord’s surge, Equestria made contact with the humans. After traveling to Manehattan I was able to meet with some humans who told me about the various human nations, and with their help I was able to invite the human leaders to participate in a summit of nations. The humans have also helped Equestria reconnect with the Eastern Continent and bring Ponies, Griffons, and Deer back to their homes. I need your help in organizing a successful summit to ensure positive relations between the nations of Equis and the humans,”

“Alright, what do you need us to do?” Asked Rainbow Dash as she flew out of her chair, hovering in place and looking expectantly at the Purple Alicorn.

“Rainbow, I need you to coordinate with the Wonderbolts to create a routine that is sure to impress the dignitaries. We will have a meeting tomorrow so please come and tell us what you guys came up with,”

“On it!” Replied Rainbow Dash before disappearing in a blur of rainbow light.

“Chef Plate, you will work with Applejack and Pinkie Pie to cater the event. From my reading, I have learned that the humans are omnivores such as the griffons, and have a taste for roast beef, pork, and chicken,” Twilight paused looking at the other ponies grimacing, although griffins were known to eat meat, ponies did not like to touch on the subject. Frowning she continued, “But they also eat foods that ponies eat, apart from hay and flowers. Here I have a book of Human recipes, Chief Plate, you have experience cooking for griffin dignitaries, thus I entrust you with cooking the human meat dishes. Pinkie and Applejack, you two will work together to cook some vegetarian and pony dishes to introduce them to our culture. Please choose some of the recipes you would like to make and then we will reconvene here to discuss options,” Twilight then levitated two books, floating one to the Royal Chef and one to Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“Yes your Majesty,” Replied Chef Tasty Plate as he flipped through the cookbook marked in red sticky notes.

“Okki Dokki Lokki!” Cried out Pinkie Pie, her eyes glued to the book's pages.

“With us three it’ll be as easy as bucking an apple off a barn door!”

“Great! Alright, Rarity, this book here has information on current human fashion trends. All the humans I interacted with wore clothes and the reading I did, stated that it was taboo for humans not to wear clothes. I was thinking that we should all wear clothes at the summit, to not offend the human leaders, and thought you might be interested in using these designs as inspiration,”

“Why thank you, darling. I will draft up some designs and then we can organize a schedule to have you all fitted,”

“Thank you, now remember girls, don’t worry about costs, I have committed substantial funds for this summit, so please write down any expenses, and I will be sure to reimburse you,” Twilight turned to Fluttershy, “Thank you for coming to Fluttershy, you really didn’t have to be here and I appreciate the gesture, but I think that it is important that you rest and get better. However, if you want to help, you can either help Pinkie and Applejack with the food, or Rarity with her dresses,”

“Um, ok,” replied Fluttershy, smiling.

“Captain Rampart, Shining, I need you both to collaborate on security for this event, I want the Guards to set a good impression on the human leaders and I am confident that with your experience you can both drill the guards into shape,”

“Yes your Majesty, the Prince, and I will ensure that all necessary preparations are made,” replied Captain Rampart as he saluted and then turned to look at Shining Armor.

“Twilie, you can count on us, Rampart and I go way back, the men will be ready and wiped right into shape,”

Smiling Twilight turned to Starlight and Fancy Pants, “Lord Fancy Pants, Starlight, Mayor Scribble Write, you will be working with Spike to organize the reception. I am confident that with your combined experience and Spike’s notes on human customs, you will all be up to the task,”

“Yes your Majesty,” replied Fancy Pants and the Mayor in unison.

“Twilight, how will I be any help in planning a reception?”

“Starlight, you have wonderful managerial skills, that’s why I entrusted the School of Friendship to you. I have complete confidence that you can make sure that all ideas are considered and that the reception runs smoothly,”

“Yeah Starlight, Twilight trust you, you’ll do great,” said Spike as he pulled out a giant binder full of notes Twilight had him jot down from under the table.

Twilight then turned to Cadence, “Princess Cadence and I will be working on creating a cohesive diplomatic approach in dealing with the humans,”

“What about me, what do I get to do?” cried out Discord as he teleported up on top of the table. The girls and Spike gave unamused expressions, Fluttershy let out a small giggle, and the rest of the ponies sat wide-eyed with shock.

“I appreciate that since your recovery you have volunteered to take care of Fluttershy…”

“Of course, it is what a good friend would do,”

“However I don’t think we need your services to prepare for or at the summit. If you really want something to do, accompany Fluttershy, but do not mess with anything!”

“Oh, but I am only trying to help,”

“The last time you tried to help, you masqueraded as one of the most evil figures in Equestrian history and then you helped the four most dangerous villains coordinate an attack that almost destroyed Equestria, all in the name of creating a test to prove to me that I was capable of leadership!” Twilight slamming her hoof on the table for emphasis.

“Point taken Twilight, point taken,” replied Discord before teleporting to his spot in the corner of the room.

“Alright then, let's get to work,” Twilight got up from her chair and the rest of the ponies followed suit, “Spike and I have set up some personal work rooms for you all so please feel free to use them. Captain Rampart, Shining, since you will need to go to the barracks come back tomorrow like Rainbow, you are free to go,”

“Yes, your Majesty,”

“Thanks, Twilie,”

Soon Twilight and Cadence were alone in the conference room as the rest of the ponies filed away into their respective work rooms. Opening a chest, Twilight levitated a map of the human world that the crew of the Mauritania had given her. She then cleared away the table and unfurled the map, placing tea saucers on the corners as paperweights. Finally, she brought a quill and drew a circle in the North Atlantic and Pacific.

“This is a map of the human world, this circle right here is the general location of Equestria according to the humans,” Twilight pointed to the circle she made in the Atlantic.

Cadence scrutinized the map, “When you were still in Manehattan you mentioned the concerning history of the humans,”

“Humans are very competitive by nature and have a strong warrior culture. Coupled with intense factionalism, has resulted in a long history of bloody conflict. But, they are also so kind, generous, and innovative, the technology they possess is incredible, and leaps beyond our own. All the books you see here were given to me by Commodore Lighthauler, and his crew graciously answered my incessant questions on their technological feats. I have read about their attempts at peace, the humans are not bloodthirsty, they recognize the horrors of war and have tried to prevent further. In the aftermath of the bloody Napoleonic Wars, where millions of humans died, the humans had finally had enough and came together at the Congress of Vienna to negotiate eternal peace. It almost worked, Cadence, but 33 years later it was bitterly crushed by the collapse of Austria, with the keystone gone, peace collapsed into war. Cadence we can be the keystone, we can finally bring peace to the humans. I have been taking notes of the human geopolitical conflicts and between the two of us, we can try to find peaceful solutions to all these issues. Now granted we can’t get all this done in one summit, but through a series of meetings we can create a world in which magic and human innovation can work together to truly forge a future brighter than ever imagined,”

“Twilight, I trust you, but let’s not get carried away. I understand you are very passionate about this, but first, we must meet with the human leaders. You can't try to meddle in human affairs without forming positive relations with them first. This isn’t like a normal friendship problem, you need to earn their trust first before you try to announce solutions to their problems,”

“You're right, it's just that humans truly have so much potential and if they learned to come together they could achieve inconceivably great things,”

Cadence chuckled, “Twilight you have saved Equestria countless times, if any pony can bring the humans together it's you, but first please tell me more about these human nations,”

The two princesses then spent the following hour discussing the aspects of each major human nation, brainstorming diplomatic avenues that Equestria and the Crystal Empire could use to curry favor with each country. Yet still in the back of her mind, Twilight thought of ways she could finally bring eternal peace to humans.

Author's Note

A shorter chapter than normal and I didn't get around to finishing the hoi4 inspired country panels. Pretty busy week, next week is my orientation for university so updates may come every two weeks moving forward, but I will try to stick to the weekly schedule as long as possible.