Stalin in Equestria, Chapter 1

>Long day being General Secretary

>Home, finally

>Summon guards/servants to fetch vodka and smokes

>Out of cigars

>Seriously?

>Give your faithful minions a gaze that could kill bears

>They back off

All of you, leave me be. I can't deal with you tonight.

>Head upstairs

>Close door, and open your vodka

>Move to take a sip

>What is this paper doing under your foot?

>Slip and fall, lose grip on bottle

>Right in the face

>Black out

 

>Wake up with a headache

I didn't even drink any...

>Sun is bright as fuck

>Shield your eyes, and try to get up

>Feel grass under your hand

>Wasn't your window closed? Why is there sun...

>Take a look around

>A field

>...

>A field? What?

>Stand up, dust off clothes

Well, damnit.

>Was probably that Beria, the traitor

>Should of purged his ass months ago

>Take in the surroundings a bit better, eyes arent hurting as much anymore

>Notice some apple trees nearby

>Better than nothing

>Offwego

 

>A few trees turns into an orchard

>Not actually going to climb a tree for some damn apples

>Look for a low branch to grab some off of

>Theres one

>Grab a few off, and wipe them off

>Take a bite

>Its good

Mm, better than usual. I'll have to remember to send for more later...

>Finish four of them before being full enough

>Still have 2 more for later, assuming you don't get home soon enough

>Keep walking, a path seems to have emerged

>Is that a barn?

Oh good, civilization.

>Continue onward

 

>Notice what seems to be a red horse in the corner of your eye, down a path

>Well, it is a farm. And farms have horses.

>Reach barn, look around

>Nobody is even here

>Walk past barn, see a farmhouse

>Someone must be in there

>Walk towards it

>Alright, hows this going to work?

>What are you thinking? You own this country. Just walk in and ask to use their phone

>And probably for some of that apple pie you smell

>Getting damn close now, can hear voices from inside

>Voice sounds female, and fairly old

>Something about 'putting time and care' into everything one makes

>Not really paying attention

>Reach the door

>Knock Knock Knock

>The other voice, obviously a child says they'll get it

>Door opens, and a cheerful voice declares:

Well Howdy Mister!

>It frowns

>You frown

>Why is a horse answer the door

>Why is a horse talking

>Where the hell did Beria dump you?

 

>Your frown turns into a horrified stare

>Taking a second to examine this creature, you see its a very very small, -yellow- horse with a bright red mane, with a bow inside it

>You think, do horses even come in yellow?

>You've seen a white horse before, and a light orange one, but not yellow

>Definately not THIS brightly yellow

>The horse seems to be trying to figure out what you are and has backed away

>"Apple Bloom, who's at the door?"

>The older voice again

>The yellow horse tries to mumble something out, but fails

>Obviously scared shitless

>But then again, who didnt fear the man of steel?

>Decide to play Beria's strange little game

One Joseph Stalin, miss! I am in need of assisstance!

>The other voice doesnt seem to be leaving the kitchen

>"Well come on in! Apple Bloom, show this polite colt a seat while I fetch some Apple Pie!"

>The yellow horse's eyes shrink further at this demand

>"F-f-follow me" it manages to mumble out

>It leads you inside, to a table with some chairs

>Rather small chairs

>You turn to the terrified horse,

"I'll stand, thank you."

>'Apple Bloom' backs away and scurries off, and you reach into your pocket for a smoke

>Oh right, you don't have any

 

>Silently curse your servants for running out of cigars

>Didn't you tell them to keep at least 2 crates in the cellar at all times?

>You hear the telltale clip-clop of a horse coming towards you

>You turn

>The yellow one again

>Its shaking, and holding a plate in its mouth

>There's a slice of Pie on the plate

>You bend down and take a plate and lift the pie up off of it

>You take a bite into the pie, it smelled wonderful

>Tasted much better, though

>You quickly eat the entire slice

>You look down upon the terrified filly which avoids your gaze skillfully

"You. Get me a napkin."

>It cries out in surprise, and scurries off

>It comes back with a napkin in short order

>You smile

>Even the beasts of the land knew to respect your authority

>You begin to reach for your lighter, but stop

>You still don't have any cigars

>Looking back at the tiny horse

>It probably has no idea what a cigar is

 

>Wipe your face off with the napkin

>Damn, really pigged out that time, didn't you

>The Little Horse is still loitering about you

"You need something?"

>It jumps a bit at your voice.

>"I uh..."

"Well?"

>"I j-just wanted to know w-what you are?"

>It looks away, scared

>You blink

>It didn't know what humans are?

>Then again, that made some sense. Would explain why you've never been told of talking horses before

>May as well tell her

"I am a human, little horse."

>It looks at you, a curious expression on its face

>"A hooman?"

>You roll your eyes at its failed attempts at pronounciation.

"Yes. Where is your phone? I need to make a call."

>Its expression remains one of confusion

>"A phone? What's that, mister?"

>You frown. They don't have phones. Getting out of this mess is going to be harder than you thought.

 

>You groan. Again you reach for your lighter, and again you stop yourself.

"Damn you Beria..."

>The horse looks up at you with another look, this one of contempt

>"Y'all shouldn't say those things about other p0nies, mister."

>You give it a deadpan stare.

>Wait, P0nies?

>That would explain thier size. P0nies are small things.

>It looks down again, probably thinking of what to say next

>"Um... Mister?"

>You grunt in response.

>"You never said what a Phone was..."

>You groan again.

"Its a device that lets you talk to other people in different places."

>You hope thats a good enough answer.

>Its not.

>"Wow! Is it like magic, then?"

>Magic?

>You open your mouth to tell her magic isn't real.

>But you ARE having a conversation with a horse right now...

 

>Before you can say anything, you hear the front door open again.

>You turn to the yellow 'p0ny' before you

>Its clearly not as afraid of you as it was before

>It turns towards the door,

>"That's probably my sister Applejack." she notes.

>You look at her expectantly.

>She eventually catches your gaze, a jumps slightly.

>Clearly not quite used to you

>"Um, lets go say hi?" she suggests.

>You shrug, and walk towards to front of the house, 'Apple Bloom' following closely behind you.

>As you approach you hear the so called 'Applejack' talking to the eldery pony.

>'Applejack' is talking about the weather outside, and how nice it is.

>Claims "This years harvest is definately going to be a big one."

>Turn into the kitchen, ironically the elder is mentioning a guest

>The elder, a green coated, white maned pony pauses upon seeing you.

>Applejack looks confused, and then turns to meet your gaze.

"You must be Applejack. Hello."

 

>Applejack and the elder (parent, perhaps?) both look at you. Applejack seems to be unable to find words.

>However, before the tension causes any harm, the yellow one beside you pipes up, and relays what you've told them.

>The orange p0ny, Applejack greets you, though is clearly suspicious

>The elder, who is introduced as Granny Smith calms down quickly

>You're noticing a pattern in the names of these horses

>Whatever.jpeg

>"So, partner, what brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?"

>You shrug again.

>Applejack frowns, "You just felt like visiting?"

>You roll your eyes

"But of course. Who doesn't want to wake up in a field outside of an apple orchard"

>Your agitation is becoming rather obvious.

>"Y'all woke up in a field nearby?"

"Thats correct. I believe I was left there."

>At this point the trio of p0nies are all wearing shocked expressions

>The orange p0ny, Applejack, now seems rather furious

>"Now that ain't right! Why would somepony dump somepony else in the middle of a field?"

>You shrug again

"That's Beria, for you."

 

>A few hours have passed, and you are sitting on the side of the bed in the guest room

>Unfortunately, but not unexpected, the bed is far to small for you

>You frown, and sigh, reaching for your lighter once again

>Sighing, you realize once again you have no cigars

>And considering your hosts cant even grasp a cigar, they most likely do not have any

>You stand, and approach the window, to take a look at the farm

>From your vantage point you can see Apple trees...

>And apple trees...

>And even more apple trees.

>Oh, and some mountans to the east.

>Applejack said she'd contact her friend 'Twilight Sparkle' to assist you in your dilema

>You still don't get that rediculous name; maybe you'll figure it out tommorrow

>You sit back down, and noticing the nightstand beside your bed, decide to open it

>You find a small notebook

>Flipping through, you find naught but empty lines

>You decide to keep the book; a journal could be useful

>You open it to page one to write

>...

>Shame you don't have a pen on you.

 

>The next morning, after a rather uncomfortable sleep on an awkward angle

>You go down stairs, and wonder if anyone else is up

>Of course, you realize, they are; it's a damn farm

>You head to the kitchen and find, Granny Smith slaving away over something. Probably another pie

>Hopefully another pie

>You snatch up an apple from a bowl on the table, and walk outside

>You see the Red pony again, Big Macintosh was it?

>He glances towards you and gestures you to approach

>You give him a puzzled look, and approach

>He starts speaking, "Mah sister Applejack asked me to send you down to town. She was gonna take you herself, but you were still asleep."

>You give him another puzzled look. He seems to realize why.

>He gestures behind him down a path, "Just head down to the gate, and take a left."

"And where would I find Applejack there?"

>"She's probably in the town library with Twilight. It's the big tree right down Mane street."

>You blink at the mention of a big tree.

>What kind of library is in a tree? What if it burns down?

>Whatever, not my issue

"Thank you comrade, I will go."

>He nods, and heads off into the orchard.

>Now, to find Applejack

 

>Wandering down the path as directed, a town comes into view

>You enter the town, and as told, head down 'Mane' street

>Ignoring the multitude of glances your towering figure gains, you approach a large tree

>You go to the trees side, and peer into a window

>Applejack is in sight, and she's talking to someone

>Though, you can't hear them through the glass

>You walk back around to the door, and knock

>It opens shortly after, and you glance downward to see...

>A lizard?

>It seems to mirror your own confused look, and backs off slightly

>"Oh, Mr. Stalin! Howdy. This is Twilight" She gestures to her friend, a purple unicorn.

>You find yourself staring at the horn on the creature's forehead.

>Unicorns exist?

>Then again, so did talking equines.

"Erm, hello."

>You walk in awkwardly, forcefully look at the shelves to avoid staring at 'Twilight'

>"Ah've been tellin' Twilight here all about ya, so she could help ya out."

>Applejack and Twilight both force a smile

"Right."

>"Well Mr... Stalin. It's nice to meet you!"

>You look to respond, but find yourself again staring at her horn.

>"Uh, I think I'll leave you three too it, then."

>The lizard, that time. It backs up into another room, and leaves us.

>And then there were three.

 

>After glancing awkwardly, Twilight eventually speaks

>"So, Mr. Stalin, you said you believe you were left outside of Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Thats my best guess."

>"And you said someone named 'Beria' is responsible?"

>You frown, thinking.

"Yes, most likely Beria. Khruschev is too loyal to do this."

>Her turn to frown, "Khruschev?"

>You don't plan on giving an explaination.

"Yes."

>She looks off, in thought. Applejack stands nearby, watching.

>Her horn glows, and a few books float off the shelves in front of the p0ny.

>You watch intently, inwardly shocked at the confirmation on magic's existance.

>But the Man of Steel doesn't show this to these beings, of course.

>She opens up one of the books, skimming through it.

>"You said you were a 'Human', right?"

"That's correct."

>She frowns, and closes the book.

>"I've checked all the books I have, but I don't have anything on your kind..."

>She seems quite upset about this.

>She turns to you, and thinks.

>This doesn't look good.

 

>"Well, Mr. Stalin, I'd love to help you find a way home."

>You nod. Your worries subside partially.

>"I'll send a letter to the Princess, and I'm sure she'll be able to send you home."

>You blink.

"Princess?"

>She smiles, "Yes, Princess Celestia. I'm sure she'll be able to help you!"

>You frown. A monarch ruled this country. Bad sign.

"I see."

>Applejack seems to have picked up on your lack of confidence in this 'Celestia'

>"Don't worry Mr. Stalin, she'll fix up everything! Ya'll see!" She smiled brightly.

>You'd definately need to know more about this Princess.

>Bourgeois, were, after all, the enemey.

>Twilight speaks again, "So, Mr. Stalin, would you be able to tell me about yourself?"

>You frown. Your paranoia is acting up again.

"What would you like to know?"

>She smiles again, "Everything."

 

>She offers you a chair, that is much bigger than the ones you saw before.

>Cautiously, you sit down on it

>Luckily for you, it doesnt break immediately.

>Twilight levitates what seems to be a notebook over to you, and starts writting in it

>"So, Mr. Stalin, what exactly are humans?"

>She's got this scientist look going now

"Well, we're like big apes."

>What an excellent response

>She writes this down in her notebook

>"Apes, then? That means you eat fruits and insects, I take it?"

>Eating insects? Haha, no

"Fruits, sure, but I have never met a man who eats insects."

>She's taken aback slightly from this

>"Oh, well, what do humans eat then?"

>You shrug

"Standard things. Fruits, Vegetables, Fish..."

>You pause. Her look of mild disgust suggests mentioning you eat meat would be a bad idea

>She writes again

>"Omnivore then."

 

>She turns back to you, after writing some more notes.

>"So, Mr. Stalin, where do you come from?"

>You smile,

"The great Soviet Union, of course."

>She raises an eyebrow at your statement.

>"'The Great Soviet Union'?"

"Yes."

>She frowns, and writes some more notes, but keeps her view on you.

>"I've never heard of a 'Great Soviet Union' before. What is it, exactly?"

>Your turn to raise an eyebrow. She's never heard of the Soviet Union?

>Where on Earth did Beria dump you?

>...Are you even on Earth anymore?

"The Soviet Union is the largest nation in the world, which I am in charge of."

>Even Applejack seems surprised at this.

>"Y'all run the largest country in the world?"

>You nod.

>Twilight seems even more surprised than Applejack

>"So, you're a Prince, then?"

>She starts to sweat, and looks around.

>May as well burst her bubble now

"No, no, I am not royalty."

>Another confused glance, "Then how do you rule such a big country?"

 

>This revelation hits you like a pile of bricks.

>They've never had any ruler other than a monarch

>You rub your chin; this is going to be a problem

"You don't need to be royalty to rule"

>She frowns, "I figured you had to, to rule something so big..."

"Well, you don't. Don't you have non-royal authority figures?"

>Applejack pipes in, "Well, we have the mayor"

>You turn back to Twilight

>She stills seems defiant of your new knowledge

>"Yes, but Mayor Mare only handles administrative duties for the town. Its not like she rules over it."

>Mayor... Mare? How'd that happen?

>"Does that make ya the mayor of the 'Great Soviet Union', Mr. Stalin?"

>Haha, no

"No, I am General Secretary of the Communist Party."

>She nods, but probably doesn't understand.

"The Communist Party rules over the Soviet Union, and I rule the Communist Party."

>She seems to understand now. Twilight is not convinced.

>"But why would the secretary rule over the... 'Communist Party'?"

"Because the secretary sends out invitations to the party meetings. And if you arent invited, you have no say."

 

>Twilight thinks about your statement. She seems to understand now.

>"Alright... So, what is this 'Communist Party', then?"

"Do you not have political parties in this... kingdom?"

>She frowns again. "Political Parties?"

>Applejack speaks again, "Heh, that sounds like something Pinkie might like."

>Who was this Pinkie? Perhaps a potential revolutionary in the making?

>"Focus, Applejack."

"A political party is a group of people who share an ideology."

>"Oh, so 'Communist' is a type of ideology?"

"Correct. It is the superior ideology, you see."

>Twilight writes some more notes.

>"So, what does your Communist Party stand for?"

>You smile. Finally, something that matters.

 

>You clear your throat

"Communism is a concept of universal freedom. The Bourgeois, those who exploit workers for thier own personal gain, are overthrown removed in such a society, and the workers controll the means of production."

>They duo gives you a confused look; they probably don't follow fully, but whatever

"By doing so, the workers can destroy the rigid class system, and make all people truly equal."

>They still seem fairly lost, but that's to be expected

"That's it pretty generally. It's a bit more complicated than that, obviously..."

>Twilight nods, "I figured as much."

>Applejack, who's understanding was clearly lacking, just nodded

>Twilight turned to her notebook, and started writing once more

"So..., you said you'd contact this Princess?"

>Twilight blinks, "Oh yes, right!"

 

>She calls out, "SPIIIKE!"

>Sound of walking, and the lizard from before walks back in

>He glances at you nervously, then to Twilight

>However, Twilight is busy writing on some parchment. Probably the letter.

>That meant then, that this 'Spike' was to send it?

>Twilight finished writing, and rolled up the letter into a scroll, pass it to Spike with her magic

>"Send this to Celestia, Spike."

>The Lizard nods, and breathes in deeply

>...And then breathes green fire on the letter, destroying it

>You stare at him shocked

"...You just... destroyed the letter."

>Spike raises an eyebrow at you

>"Oh no, Mr. Stalin, he didn't. He can send things to the Princess with his firebreathe."

>yeahokthen

 

>You give her an incredelous look

"If you say so."

>The four of you stand (or sit, in your case) about.

"So, now what?"

>"Well, you're staying with Applejack, aren't you?"

>Applejack nods before you can answer, "That's right, he is."

>"Well, it'll be a while before the Princess is able to respond, most likely." Twilight frowns, deep in thought.

>"Well, since you'll probably be staying awhile, I guess you could help on the farm," Applejack suggested.

>You give her an incredulous look

"I'm not really one for hard labour."

>She looks at you quizically

>"Ya know, hard work never hurt anypony."

>You frown

"No, but that doesn't mean its what I'm good at."

>She frowns at you, giving you a harsh glare

>A staring contest hath begun

 

>The tension continues to rise, Spike and Twilight watching on worriedly

>Though, if it came to it, Applejack would probably hand you your ass

>Being secretary doesn't exactly develop one's muscles

>Twilight magics over a newspaper, and then steps between you and Applejack

>"Well, it says in the paper that Mayor Mare has an openning for her secretary position!"

>You raise an eyebrow to this

>"And since you're the General Secretary of the, um, 'Great Soviet Union', you'd probably be perfect for it!"

>She turns to her orange companion

>"Wouldn't you agree, Applejack?"

>She sighs, conceding defeat, "Ah suppose you're right."

>You ponder this idea

>You haven't actually done much secretary work in awhile, but it's not like you've forgotten everything

>Plus, you'd be in a position of relative power

>And possibly gain even more power, if you worked things out right

>You smile

>This could work out for you after all

 

"That seems like an excellent idea, Twilight."

>Your smile turns into a somewhat maelovolent grin

>She seems oblivious to this, and smiles warming back

>"Great! Why don't we head over now, and set everything up?"

>You nod, and stand up.

>You really are alot taller than these p0nies...

>The three of you ('Spike' stayed inside)

>"Well, Ah guess Ah'll be headin' back up to the farm. See y'all later."

>You and Twilight nod, as Applejack heads down the path you took here.

>She looks up to you, "Well, follow me then."

>She starts trotting down the opposite way

>Cautiously, you follow down the path

>Quite alot of confused looks, as expected

>You notice what appears to be a rainbow colored blur buzz overhead

>Now what could that be?

 

>Twilight turns back to you

>Looks like you forgot to keep walking with her

>You blink, and quitely catch back up

>Twilight gestures to a large building a bit down the road

>"That's town hall. It's been fully repaired and renovated since a storm a few months ago."

>You nod

>"Unfortunately, our old secretary moved to Trottingham two weeks ago, and no one has been able to fill her horseshoes."

>You nod again, not particularily caring much

>"But since your special talent is being a secretary, you'll be perfect for it!"

>You raise an eyebrow to her

"Special Talent?"

>She smiles at you, "Of course!"

>You blink. She pauses.

"Right then. Lets continue?"

>She nods quickly, "Right! It's not much further"

 

>The Townhall is... Well, a town hall

>It's got a little foyer, with an conspiciously empty desk, and a few rooms in the back, presumably offices

>Twilight walks over to one, and knocks on it politely

>A voice calls out from within, "Come right in!"

>Twilight nods at you, opens the door and walks in

>You take a breathe; lets make a good impression?

>You enter, Twilight's already talking to this mayor

>"This is Stalin. He's new, from a place called the Soviet Union."

>She glances towards you, and freezes up.

"Hello, Miss Mare."

>You give her the best friendly smile you can manage. It's not particularily convincing.

>"Back in his home country, he's a General Secretary. He needs a job, you see, and you have an openning."

>She nods, slowly, "Er... Yes. I do."

>She's not particularily confident

>Twilight smiles, oblivious, "Great! When can he start?"

>She blinks again. "Um... Tommorrow?"

 

>And so, with that awkward meeting out of the way, you found yourself back at the library

>Twilight was upstairs, looking for 'Spike' the 'Dragon'

>You still wondered where you had ended up

>Possibly some part of China? They had dragon's didn't they?

>Then again, Mao never mentioned any

>Mao was too serious most of the time anyhow, so you wouldn't expect him too

>Your contemplation was interrupted however, by hoofsteps coming down the spiral stairs

>"You're in luck, Stalin! The Princess already sent a response"

>You grunt, she must have lots of free time

>Or considered you a threat to her reign

"Well, lets hear it, then. What's her strategy?"

>She floats the letter, in front of her, carefully breaking the seal and openning it

>"Lets see..." She starts skimming the letter. Probably looking for the important part(s)

>"Well, she wants us all to make you feel as welcome as possible"

>"She also says she has her top mages working on a method of sending you back home." She smiles.

>You nod, somewhat hopeful.

"Good to hear. Though, if royal beaurocracy is anything like it is back home, it'll probably be a while."

>She frowns, confused, "But doesn't the Soviet Union not have nobles?"

"Of course not. Unfortunately, not every country is as forward thinking as ours."

 

>Twilight seems to understand your statement

>Compared to Applejack, she's a bloody genious

>...Not that you tell your temporary landlord that she's stupid, of course

>"So, what are some other countries in your world, then?"

>You notice she has floated the notebook from before back to the table beside her

>You frown, thinking; which of the 100 or so countries would be best to start with?

>You think back to Mao. Good ol' Mao. China seems good enough

"Well, there's another Communist Country known as China. It's shares a border with the Soviet Union, actually."

>She nods, and writes in her notebook again.

>"And what creatures live in this China?"

>You raise an eyebrow. What did she think lived there? Goats?

"Humans, just like the Soviet Union."

>"Oh." She seems a bit let down. What was she expecting?

"There's only a couple other important countries in asia, honestly. India, Persia, and Japan are the only others who matter."

>She writes down some more notes.

>"Are those countries also Communist countries like yours?" You frown.

"Unfortunately, no. India almost is, but seems unwilling to commit to the cause."

>She frowns at this.

 

>"Well that seems silly," she concludes.

>You look at her, awaiting her response.

>"I, well, I just meant why would somep0ny bother doing something only halfway?"

>You nod. It made sense, honestly. Socialists had no excuse for thier lack of effort.

>She writes some more in her book. "So, this 'Asia' place. I take it that's the continent your country is on?"

>You nod.

"Partially, at least. A good chunk is in Europe too."

>She turns her head to the side, like a confused dog. "Your country is on two seperate landmasses?"

>You frown at this. How rigid had this 'Princess' set up the world?

"Europe and Asia have land connections."

>She frowns now, "Then how are they seperate continents?"

>You open your mouth to respond, though she has a point. Weren't continents supposed too, you know, not touch?

"I did not define the continents. It like has to do with cultural differences between the two."

>Seemed like a good enough reason.

>"Oh, I see. Well what are some countries in Europe, then? Besides your Soviet Union, of course." The smile is back.

"Well, there's France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland... Italy..., and a few others who don't really matter."

>She raises an eyebrow at you.

>"France? I think I've heard of that one before."

>You fall backwards at this. How could she know of those countries?

 

>"Is something wrong?"

"Er. No." You fix your composure. "I simply did not expect you to know of France."

>"Oh."

>Awkward silence.

>You glance about the library, noting the various shelves.

>Getting up, you head over to what you believe to be the history section.

>You snatch up a couple random titles. You turn to Twilight,

"Mind if I borrow these?"

>She shakes her head, "No of course not. It IS a library, after all!"

>You nod.

"Very well then. I think it's time I do some research on this Equestria place of yours."

>You note the time, and realize you should probably head back to Applejack's farm first, though.

>You wave goodbye to Twilight, and begin to head out, but stop.

"By the way, you wouldn't happen to have something to write with, would you?"

>She smiles, floating her quill and ink to you, "Sure, use these. I've got tonnes more of them, after all."

>You nod again, and head out.

 

>Later that evenning, you had begun to plow through the various tomes you had obtained from Twilight

>From these, you had determined a few key facts about this magical kingdom you had stumbled upon

>First and foremost, it wasn't in fact a monarchy, but a diarchy; there were two nobles running the show, one called Celestia, and the other called Luna.

>These books also claimed the pair raised the sun and the moon, which was rather insane, so you dismissed it quickly

>You had also learned that these royals had been running this country for well over 1000 years, which even you knew was far fetched

>Therefore, they likely were replacing these figureheads as they died off with new, identical lookalikes

>Which thus also meant these two were likely not actually pulling the strings

>You figured it was some sort of bloc of oligarchs, though you couldn't be certain

>Either way, you were likely to figure out soon enough, as this 'Celestia' would likely come visiting sooner or later

>But regardless, you figured you'd get some sleep; you have secretary work to do tommorrow

>...

>This was not going to be fun, was it?