FOR THE GOOD OF EQUESTRIA
~~~~
START CHAPTER 1
~~~~
Part 1: Planning For War
Twilight Sparkle walked down the hallway towards the towering double doors at the end.
She was in the Crystal Castle, from which her brother and his new wife, Cadence, governed the Crystal Empire. Fitting the name, the crystalline walls sparkled in the light. Twilight normally found the colors produced mesmerizing and beautiful.
Today, however, Twilight found them distracting. She was trying to figure out why she had been summoned here by Princess Celestia, her mentor and the ruler of Equestria. Though Twilight also held the rank of princess, indeed, there were four ponies in total with the rank, Celestia was the de facto ruler of the country.
Twilight reached the doors and curiously peaked inside. The room contained a table around which the other princesses, Luna, Cadence and Celestia sat. On the table was a map of Equestria and the surrounding territories.
"Shut the door behind you" Celestia commanded as Twilight entered the room
Twilight complied and then took a seat at the table. The windows had curtains drawn, so little light entered the room, coming through the walls, giving the feeling of an ancient temple.
"Good, now that we are all present we can start." Celestia began, "As you no doubt recall, our kingdom was attacked by the changelings a few months ago."
The princesses all nodded. How could they forget? Twilight's brother had been married to Princess Cadence on the same day. The Changeling Queen had attempted to take Princess Cadence's place and had done considerable damage to the capital city, Canterlot.
Celestia continued, "Most of you have already heard about this, however, for Princess Twilight's benefit, I feel we should go over it again. It seems clear that the Changelings represent a clear danger to Equestria. Their ability to infiltrate even our highest positions of authority represents a significant threat, and their aggression and goals put them at direct odds to the safety of our lands. It has been decided that the best thing to do to ensure our security would be to launch an invasion of the changeling lands to destroy their government and people. These meetings are to discuss how best to conduct such an operation"
Twilight was stunned. A war?
Twilight looked at the other ponies at the table. The atmosphere in the room was cold. Celestia and Luna, the sister Princesses, both looked deathly serious, while Cadence looked less certain.
Good, thought Twilight, so at least I'm not the only one with doubts about this.
"Isn't there some other way?" Twilight asked.
"Please try to understand, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Luna spoke, "We do not plan this lightly. However, it is our duty to
protect the citizens of Equestria"
"But how are they protected by declaring a war!?" Twilight stammered
Princess Celestia's eyes narrowed, "Twilight, the Changelings have already attacked us unprovoked once. Then they managed to infiltrate our military and political leadership. It wasn't easy for us to succeed then, and if it happens again, there's no guarantee we'll be able to successfully defend ourselves a second time. We must do this, and we must do it soon, before the Changelings have a chance to strike again."
Twilight was horrified. She could see Celestia would not be convinced with an argument that a war was not in Equestria's best security interest.
Twilight glanced at Cadence again, who was now looking at the floor. Seeing Cadence so uncertain gave Twilight the confidence to try a different route.
"But, the attack happened months ago. How could we attack them unprovoked now? Surely there will be lots of ponies who would object after this much time has passed since their attack." Twilight argued
"Yes, that is precisely why this meeting is being held." Celestia responded, "We need to discuss how to lay the groundwork to justify this necessary action to the populace."
Once again, Twilight was mortified. She had no idea this sort of thing had been going on before now.
Luna now spoke, "Princess Twilight Sparkle, you have been studying the public in Ponyville, how best do you feel we could create the necessary feelings in the populace to initiate our plans?"
Twilight glanced around the room, trying to come up with any excuse not to answer the question.
"It seems to me like we already had a justification, months ago! Why didn't we start a war then!?" Twilight exclaimed
Celestia responded to this comment, "The infiltration of our political hierarchy was a problem. We needed time to investigate whether other ponies had been compromised before launching such an operation. The Changeling nation is not weak, and attacking without the proper preparations would have been a disaster, especially if they had a spy. We need to know what we can do now to remind the public of the danger the Changelings represent. Do you think we must suffer another attack?"
"I don't think anything short of another act of aggression on their part would justify this kind of activity." Twilight exclaimed.
Celestia nodded, "I was afraid you might say that."
Celestia then sighed.
"I can see this has been a shock for you, and you'll need time to think about what we've just talked about. Please do not mention anything that has been discussed here to anyone outside this room. For now, we will adjourn this meeting. When I feel it is time to meet again I will contact each of you."
~~~~
Part 2: Thinking About It
"You're not comfortable about this either right?" Twilight demanded.
Twilight was in Cadence's private study, talking with her Crystal Empire counterpart.
Cadence sighed
"Twilight, even if I doubt this is the best course of action, you know as well as I do that Celestia is the one who ultimately
makes the decision. Celestia is the one who started discussing this matter with us. She's already decided on what to do."
"But she's planning a war!" Twilight exclaimed.
Cadence looked out the window, "Until Celestia and Luna attacked, the Crystal Empire was a miserable place. King Sombre ruled with an iron hoof, and the ponies under his rule were miserable. Sometimes good can come from wars. Conducting wars to do what She sees as good isn't new to Celestia."
"Is Luna in favor of this, too?" Twilight asked
"I'm afraid so." Cadence said.
"Does my brother know about this?"
"No, I haven't told him. You shouldn't tell him either."
"Why not?"
"Because, telling him would threaten Celestia. It would be treason. And it would threaten Equestria. If your brother knew, it might cause problems in the Equestrian military. We don't need to make this problem worse than it already is." Cadence insisted.
"But if there's a war, ponies will DIE." Twilight pressed on.
"I know" Cadence said, fatalistically, "But what can we do?"
"I- I don't know. But we need to think of something. How long have these plans been going on?" Twilight asked
"Ever since the Changelings struck. As Celestia said, there was a massive investigation to find any spies in the government. Its been going on for some time"
"How have they been investigating? If the police were involved then this would have been public by now... " Twilight's voice trailed off
"Celestia's personal agents have been handling the investigation" Cadence spoke aloud the conclusion Twilight had already realized herself.
The Celestian Intelligence Agency had been founded after the Changeling attack. Its official purpose was gather information concerning personal threats to Equestria. The agents were handpicked by Celestia and loyal to her, and her alone.
"What we discussed in there, you don't think she's planning to... " Twilight's voice trailed off again. She couldn't believe she had been about to say that. That that thought had even crossed her mind. It seemed unbelievable to consider.
Cadence seemed to understand, "She wouldn't. She cares far too much about the ponies of Equestria to ever do something like that."
They left the idea unspoken, understanding the feeling that giving voice to the idea. would make it more real, would make it more plausible. It seemed safer to let it remain unsaid.
Twilight left the room feeling no more happy about the situation than before. She headed to the Crystal Empire's library to read up on the history of Equestria's wars and the justifications for them. Perhaps she could discover some legal precedent or loophole that would come in handy. Though she had studied the subject before, for some reason, she felt that the recent developments would put the history in a different light.
~~~~
Part 3: Disaster
"TWILIGHT! WAKE UP TWILIGHT!"
"eh?" Twilight woke up to the shouting. It took her a moment to clear her head and realize her assistant Spike was the one attempting to wake her.
It had been a few weeks since the meeting concerning the planning for war. Despite Twilight's initial concern over it, everyday life had once again asserted itself, and the meeting had faded to a somewhat distant memory. Part of her earnestly wanted to believe it was all a bad dream.
"What time is it Spike?" Twilight mumbled, looking out the window and seeing that it was still dark outside.
"Its a little after 4, but this is pretty important" Spike admitted
"Whatever it is, it can probably wait until morning, Spike," Twilight admonished. She was tired, and had been having a pleasant dream that she was quickly now forgetting.
"I don't think this can. Look!" Spike said, shoving a scroll in her face.
Twilight groaned and stared at the scroll until the words came into focus. As she read the words, their meaning became detached, becoming lines with no special significance to her. She shook her head and tried again. She had to read it several more times, as she tried to force the words to take on different meanings; to mean anything else rather than the meanings that were familiar to her.
It read:
URGENT FROM THE DESK OF PRINCESS CELESTIA TO PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE.
FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.
CRYSTAL EMPIRE LIBRARY BURNED. FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED. CHANGELING ACTIVITY SUSPECTED.
MEET IMMEDIATELY AT CRYSTAL EMPIRE LIBRARY.
~~~~
Somehow, Twilight managed to get out of bed and get her appearance into a passable looking condition and get aboard the late night train to the Crystal Empire. She didn't remember any of it. All her thoughts were focused on the thought of the war that now seemed inevitable. Still she had hopes. Perhaps their conclusions were overzealous? Perhaps it was actually an accident? Perhaps the Changeling was acting alone? Would those things matter?
Before the meeting she had had during her last visit to the Crystal Empire, she would've thought for sure that the answer to the last question would have been "yes".
That she even doubted this now troubled her deeply. Twilight resolved to look into the investigation and the evidence personally. She wouldn't allow Equestria to be marched off to do battle with another country because of hasty conclusions.
Twilight watched the scenery go by out the window of the train car. She tried to imagine what a war would look like. Would the ground be scorched? The trees knocked down? The bodies of dead ponies, littering the ground, slain by steel and disease? She shuddered at the images in her mind. And then worse ones took their place.
What of herself, and her friends in Ponyville?
They were the one's who wielded the elements of harmony. They had fought and used the powerful magical items to defend Equestria on multiple occasions. Would they now be required to fight not to defend, but to attack? She couldn't imagine her friends fighting in a war.
Twilight's thoughts about what could happen frightened her the entire train ride to the Crystal Empire.
~~~~
Twilight followed an escort of Royal guards that pushed through the gathered crowd. Although the train ride had lasted for a few hours, Twilight wouldn't have expected the number of ponies who had gathered around the library to have been awake yet. Even from within the crown she could see the ash black structure, where what remained of the library still stood.
The damage didn't look terrible from the outside, the library structure was mostly crystal. However, the carbon from the books had blacked significant portions of the outside, and she could imagine how terrible the damage inside had been, particularly to the books.
Yellow caution tape and uniformed police ponies stood, holding the crowd back.
They allowed Twilight through.
Inside the perimeter, there were significantly fewer ponies. Uniformed ponies scurried up and down the front steps,
and collected samples from various locations throughout the library. Celestia, Luna and Cadence, as well as a large entourage of guards, stood by and watched. The princesses were talking among themselves quietly.
"Ah, Twilight, sorry for waking you, but as you can clearly see, the situation is quite grave.", Celestia said when she saw Twilight approaching.
"I came as soon as I could, Princess." Twilight responded, "Uh, in your letter, it said that you suspected changelings were involved..."
"Yes, a suspect attempting to flee the scene was apprehended" Luna replied.
"Do we know that this suspect was responsible? There still appears to be an investigation..." Twilgiht commented, indicating the ponies running around.
"We are reasonably confident, the suspect was discovered with the tools used to light the fire. If not the actual perpetrator, this Changeling is at least somehow involved." Celestia said, "These ponies are just taking care of a few loose ends."
Twilight's hopes sank. "Where is the suspect now?"
"In custody. I've set up the investigation team personally" Celestia said. "As it is a matter of international concern, the Agency has been put in charge."
"Can I speak with the suspect?" Twilight pressed
"No, the investigation is at a very delicate stage at the moment. It should be left to the professionals," Luna said.
"You said it was a matter of international concern...." Cadence brought up, nervously.
"Yes" Celestia said flatly, "We have suspicions that the Changeling Empire may have sponsored this activity."
"Why would they do that?" Twilight asked
"The attack is symbolic. Its supposed to demonstrate we cannot defend our territory; to make us look weak." Luna said.
"We need to verify that the suspect was involved with the Changeling Empire. For now, remain in the Crystal Empire. We will see what further developments arise" Celestia said.
As Twilight left the scene, she shook her head. This was crazy. She would have to get her hands on the official report and go over it carefully when it was made available. At the moment, that's all she could do.
~~~~
Part 4: Declaration
It hadn't even been a full day, but Twilight now found herself in the same room she had been in weeks ago. The map on the table was now covered in symbols and statistics, representing troop numbers and logistical supports. Arrows pointed from some symbols into the territory belonging to the Changeling Empire.
The 4 Princesses sat around the table, joined by several ponies, including Twilight's brother, in military dress uniform.
"Mares and Gentlecolts, we are gathered here to discuss the response that needs to be taken against the Changeling Empire for the recent attacks on our peaceful nation" Celestia said
Celestia held up a document, "I have here, the signed confession of the perpetrator, a changeling, who attacked our peaceful nation at 2:17 am this morning. In it, he admits to destroying the library to sow fear and confusion in our nation, acting under orders from the Changeling Empire."
"General Lightning Strike, how soon can we attack the Changeling Empire?" Celestia asked
A unicorn in a military uniform bearing 5 stars on either shoulder stood up and pointed at the map. "On your order, I can have my forces ready to conduct coordinated attacks with the Equestrian Navy and Air Force within 2 hours. After that, you simply need to give the order to attack."
"Understood. Begin preparations immediately. By the end of the week, I'm afraid we will be at war with the Changeling Empire."
Celestia addressed the entire room, "You all know what is expected of you. You are now aware of the situation. I will be making an official statement tomorrow at 1800 hours. Dismissed."
The military ponies saluted the princesses and filed out of the room.
"That's a confession of the involvement of the Changeling nation?" Twilight asked, once the Princesses were alone.
"Yes, that's correct" Celestia said.
"Can I see it?" Twilight asked
"Certainly" Celestia said, handing over the document.
Twilight read through it quickly. It was short and to the point. It said exactly what Celestia said it did, and at the bottom it was signed.
"Can I speak with the suspect?" Twilight inquired again
"No." Celestia responded, "The suspect is dead. Their guilt was deemed obvious by a special tribunal and they were sentenced to execution."
Twilight turned her head and stared at the map. She could see in her mind the small triangles representing trees burning, bodies lying along the arrows indicating directions of attack.
She was stunned. She had no idea how to react.
"So, this is it. We're going to war..." She mumbled.
~~~~
A huge crowd was gathered in the amphitheater. Thousands of ponies, as far as Twilight could see. She sat behind a podium, where Celestia stood.
Celestia held up her hoof, and slowly the noise of the crowd settled to a dull roar. Celestia then spoke into the microphone, and complete silence from the crowd followed shortly, as they all listened to their ruler.
"Yesterday, at precisely 2:17 am, the Changeleing Empire attacked our fair nation of Equestria. This has not been the first instance of their treachery. Despite their flagrant attempt to destroy us only a few months ago,
we merely defended ourselves and our lands.
Our tolerance and patience has been met with brutality. 2 Equestrian ponies were killed in the fire set by a Changeling agent, 9 more were wounded and over 100 million bits of damage was done. This was an act of wanton aggression, ordered by the Changeling Empire. In the Changeling attack 6 months ago, which was undertaken by their government, we suffered the further deaths of 645 and 3450 were wounded. There was 10 Billion bits in property damage.
But our losses cannot be measured by simple numbers. Those who have died were irreplaceable. They were friends and family. Citizens. Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Crystal Ponies. Everyday workers just doing their jobs. They had done nothing to warrant this aggression. Our faith in our security has been struck. The ideals of friendship and tolerance, which our country stands for, are under attack by a force which only seeks to destroy and corrupt.
These are acts of absolute evil, which cannot, which will not, be ignored. We were attacked merely because of our way of life. The changelings seek to feed off of our love and harmony. We will show them that Equestria is strong. And that our unity, our friendship, our ideals are the source our strength. We show that we will never allow our way of life to be threatened by evil.
Thanks to the fine efforts of the ponies in our medical and investigative units we have managed to keep the damage to a minimum, and find those responsible for these acts of evil. Our military forces are now prepared to conduct operations which will demonstrate to all nations, that though our belief in peace is strong, and our tolerance is great, Equestria is not a nation to be tread upon. We will defend our ideals forever.
It is thus, with a heavy heart, but with firm determination, that I must declare a state of war between the nations of Equestria and the Changeling Empire, in order to defend our way of life."
As Celestia walked away from the podium, the crowd erupted into applause. Twilight watched on in horror. Did they not realize what they were cheering for?
~~~~
END CHAPTER 1
Author's Note
This is my first time writing fiction in a long while. Reading over it, its probably not great. But since I bothered I thought I might as well post it. If people actually do like it, I have a basic story arc planned out. Celestia surprised me since she declared war sooner than I thought she would, but I tried to let the characters react to the evolving situation as I imagined they might, not dictate the story to a series of fixed events. In the show, we never really see much from these ponies in their handling of foreign affairs, so I admit I kinda assigned personalities to them: Celestia is shown to care deeply about the ponies in Equestria, so I take this to a fault by making her perhaps overly concerned with their safety and security, even at the expense of neighboring nations. Luna is still trying to justify herself in the eyes of Celestia after her rebellion as Nightmare moon, and so, at least for now, is somewhat following her without question, to prove that she's now loyal. Cadence is meanwhile new to governing territory, and, like Twilight is much less comfortable in her role as a new princess. She differs from Twilight, she's less assertive, which I guess I get from her actions in the Royal Canterlot wedding, where Twilight was able to escape soon after being captured, but Cadence wasn't. Twilight is a bit preachy, she's an intellectual type who has a strong idea of how she expects the world to work, and is willing to take matters into her own hoofs to force the world to conform. We don't really see much of that yet, but if the story progresses, I kinda plan to bring that out more.
