"Just Progress, My Friend."

Chapters

More Land for No More Apples
From Farm to Refinery
Applementium Industries
The Equestrian Arsenal
The First Equestrian Civil War
A Way to Eliminate Heirarchy
So-Be-It You-Nie-One

More Land for No More Apples

It was the morning of the first Saturday of Spring. The leaves on the trees were dripping with last nights showers, and the sound of the early birds filled the barely lit-up sky. The Apple Family was looking forward towards another long, hard, and hopefully prosperous harvest this year. There was still a lot of time to pass before any harvesting could start, so the day began with the every-day tending to the animals, clearing dead wood, and removing pests. By around six o' clock in the morning, Applejack and Big Macintosh had their branch cutters ready to clear away any dead branches. Applebloom was not too far behind as she eagerly ran after Applejack, hoping to be of some assistance.

By around lunch, Applejack and Big Mac had finished most of the farm work. With Applebloom's help, they managed to finish pruning most of the immature apple trees and tend to most of the animals. They still had to clear any trees that died during the winter, and there was almost a whole boarder of trees on the farm that had succumbed during the frigid months. Applebloom had left to go play with her friends as Big Mac and Applejack set off to start tugging the dead trees for disposal. As they arrived at the southeast corner of the farm, they met their neighbor Old Farmer Strauss. He had owned his farm for as long as Granny Smith had, and the two were good friends. As the mare and stallion finished up with removing the dead trees, they looked over the fence to bid Farmer Strauss good night, but as they peaked, they found most of his farm to be completely ravaged. Big Mac and Applejack decided to stop by to help him with his dead trees.

"Why, good evening! What brings you here this late?" asked Farmer Strauss as he was tugging a dead tree out of his farm.

"Well, we came to see if you needed any help for them lot of trees," replied Applejack, "because there seems to be more tree than there should be. By the way, what did happen to your trees? Did your soil die? Was there a fire?"

"Yes, my soil died. It seems that none of my plants can grow here anymore. I don't know what went wrong, but it seems that the ice had shaved off the whole topsoil. It will take years for that topsoil to come back," said the old stallion. "I could pile some more soil, but we all know that the best apples come from native soil. and besides, Ponyville only sells soil from these two farms. Actually, come to think about it, do you have some spare soil I can buy for my farm?

Applejack and Big Mac thought hard. They had no soil to spare because the spring had only started, and the soil was still barely alive in their farm. However, the two could not bare to think about a poor old stallion without any soil to make a living. He had been working on the farm for years, and he was already in his 90s. They thought long and hard about what to do with him with the few options they had.

"Sorry sir, but we don't have no soil in our farm," explained Applejack, but just as Farmer Strauss was about to enter his house sad, Applejack added, "However, would it be in our best interests for us to buy your farm off of your hooves? We feel that you have been working for long enough, and we can pay enough money for you to retire."

Farmer Strauss turned around with a sign of relief. He also felt that he was too old to be working, and happy thoughts rushed his mind. "Would you, please?" begged the farmer, "I the gesture was kind and I would really appreciate it!" The three ponies shook hooves and then head back to their homes for a well earned night's sleep.

The next day had begun, but today demanded all the effort Applejack, Big Mac, and Granny Smith could put. As well as the chores, they had to stop by in Ponyville to talk to the lawyer so that the land exchange could be approved. As they walked into town, Rarity was strolling town square to pick up Applebloom for the day as the rest of the Apple family consulted about the topic of land purchase. Farmer Strauss was waiting by the doors of the courthouse waving to the generous ponies, and then walking with them inside to meet the lawyer.

The group sat inside the courtroom as the lawyer came in with his papers. "So you're Applejack, Macintosh, and Lady Smith, I presume?" asked the lawyer, and then turned to ask, "and you're Mr. Strauss?" All the ponies replied and stated their desires to by the land off of Farmer Strauss.

"Okay, let us see. So, Mr. Strauss, you are 90 years old, am I correct? Yes, and you have been working on the form for 67 years? Ok. The land you own is approximately 1,000 acres in size. What is the quality of the land?" Mr. Strauss explained how most of his farm was dead, and how the soil was not fertile enough to grow crops. "Um, let us see now. I will have to have a surveyor come with me to inspect the value of your land. We will be there in about two hours. Is that convenient scheduling?" asked the lawyer. The ponies agreed and returned home to get as many chores done as they could to make up for lost time.

It was almost lunch time when the lawyer and the surveyor arrived to inspect the land. The poked at the ground and sampled the resources in the farm. They then left and called back about five hours later. The letter stated, "We have come to a conclusion to how much the land owned by Mr. Strauss is worth. Judging by the quality and size of the land, it is only worth 500 bits. Come to the court room by 10 o' clock tomorrow morning to either confirm or refuse the purchase." They ponies returned the next day, and the Apple family believed that 500 bits was not a fair price for land that was only recently destroyed.

"So, have you made a decision. Both you, Lady Smith, and Mr. Strauss must sign this contract in agreement to the transaction. If any comments or changes must be made, please do so before your signatures."

"We would like to pay double for the land," exclaimed the whole Apple family. The lawyer was surprised, but he was not in the position to deny this offer. He adjusted the contract to be a transaction of 1,000 bits towards Mr. Strauss, and Granny Smith and Farmer Strauss signed the contract. The deal was confirmed.

The next day, Mr. Strauss was waiting outside his house for a cabby while Applejack visited to bid him good-bye.

"So, ready for some well earned years of relaxation mister?" asked Applejack.

Mr. Strauss replied, "I am really thankful for this. I can now retire and live a peaceful life in Ponyville without worrying about a dead farm." He bid his last good-bye as the cabby arrived, and then he was gone. This job was over, and it was now time for Applejack to figure out what she would do with the new land her family had acquired.

For a few days, the land was only being used as a play area for Applebloom. Applejack and Big Mac were working hard as Applebloom wandered around in search for hidden treasures. She even had Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo join the hunt as they then assumed characters as pirates hoping for scavenging cutie marks. The poked in the bushes and the dead wood, until Sweetie Belle decided to dig into the ground.

"Sweetie Belle, what are you doing? Mah sister doesn't eve know what to do with this land, so you can't go around digging into it! Do you know how much trouble I could get in?" angered Applebloom. As she continued ranting, Sweetie Belle stopped just at the time a shimmering reflection poked from out of the ground.

"Hey, check this out!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, exciting the other two crusaders who were anticipating a major discovery. They peered into the ground and also saw something shiny. The continued digging to find out that the shiny material was really a disgustingly gooey body. The cutie mark crusaders sprinted to inform Applejack about their discovery. When she saw the substance, her firs reaction was that it was a dangerous fungus that needed to be removed. This could even have been what had caused Strauss' plants to die. Applejack brought an iron shovel and scooped up the fungus to throw into the Everfree Forest, but as she was walking, she tripped and fell on the shovel. Something strange happened.

"Huh, that's funny," Applejack responded, "Why didn't my shovel break? I even landed on a rock and it still didn't break." She tested the shovel by hitting it on a rock, but there wasn't even a scratch. The dropped the "fungus" onto the ground near the forest and found that the metal was tinted brown. She hit the shovel on the rock in a place on the shovel that was still grey iron. The shovel bent like wire, but whenever she hit on the brown metal, the metal remained strong. At first she thought the metal was affected by a chemical and that it was unsafe to touch. The mare left it behind until finding out that ants started crawling on the shovel hoping for some leftover fungus. This was worth studying.

After the chores were complete, Applejack stayed up late to study this "metal" and "fungus." She tasted the fungus, and it was rather delicious. Flies had been on it all day, so she knew that the only thing wrong with the fungus was whatever gunk landed on it. The metal, on touch, felt like ordinary metal, but significantly stronger. She placed it in flame, and it would not melt. She left it in the ice box for several days and it didn't even crack. She managed to crack it when she placed it in the oven and the metal smothered away. It was impressive, considering that the metal performed better than iron. Applejack also discovered that the fungus made any sort of iron into this metal, and with the help of Applebloom, she also discovered that the new land was littered with these fungi, all growing in quantity by harvester ants. Maybe this land had use after all.

From Farm to Refinery

Applejack had many thoughts about this new concept of fungus strengthening iron. Her first though was to sell it, but it seemed to new and unusual to do so without proper testing. She decided that it was of her best interests to try using this fungus for about a month on her equipment, putting it through the maximum stress of everyday life. The mare marked each fungus point on the farm with a picket sign, and then dug up one fungus to place on Big Mac's branch clippers. After the blades turned from shiny grey to brown, she ordered her larger brother to chop the hardest branches off. A day of branch clipping went by, and the blades were still as sharp as they were earlier. More tests were conducted when they used the branch cutters to cut up solid pipe. The axle on the cart was then reenforced, as well as the barbed wire fencing. A long month had gone by and the equipment were still in perfect condition.

One morning, in mid Spring, Pinkie Pie was taking a jog through the road leading to the orchard. She was whistling away her "cupcake" song until she caught sigh of Applejack doing something awkward.

"Why are you hitting a rock with a shovel?" asked Pinkie as she stopped by.

"Why shouldn't I hit a rock with my shovel? It's too heavy to move out of the way," replied Applejack.

"Don't be silly!" exclaimed the baker, "Shouldn't you use a pick axe to break rock? Your shovel is going to become glass before you even scratch that rock!" At that very instant, the rock cracked, and Applejack was able to move the peaces out of the way for the cart to move over. Pinkie Pie was gaping in astonishment and guilt for such comments. But who could blame her? One usually doesn't use a shovel to break rock. Pinkie walked over to Applejack to inspect the shovel to see if there was some kind of trick.

"Hm. Why is the shovel tainted brown? Did Applebloom colour over it?" asked the pink mare in a confused tone. Applejack surprised her with the fungus, and showed how it could strengthen iron. "Wow! Amazing! Hey, if I may ask you, may I borrow a bit of that fungus? I was running over to the blacksmith's shop to fix my kitchen knife, and I think it would be good if I reenforced after fixing it," she asked.

"Um, maybe you come back here to use it. I don't want to lose it," explained Applejack. Pinkie nodded and ran off, and came back after a while with the knife in her hand, expecting Applejack to rub the fungus over it, which she did.

"Thanks Applejack! I needed that. See you later," bid Pinkie Pie as she ran off. But just as she left the scene, a stallion had caught eye of the fungus and its power. He was tugging a cart who's axle was so worn out that it was prone to snap at any second. The young stallion trotted over and asked, "hey, can I try out some of that? I need it to mend my axle on my cart. How much did that Pink Pony pay you?'

Obviously Pinkie had used it for free, but this was the perfect opportunity to start a profitable business. Not everyone needed apples, but everyone could use some refined metal in their lives. Applejack charged two bits to use the fungus. Once the axle had been reenforced, the stallion thanked her and trotted off. Applejack continued with her work.

In town square, word had spread about a fungus which could be used to refine iron into a special brown steel. No one knew what the fungus was exactly (except for Applejack), or even how it grew. This caught the attention of Twilight Sparkle, who was curious enough to attempt to study the fungus. She paid a visit to the Apple farm to get her first taste of this new concept.

As the librarian arrived at the Apple farm, she caught sight of a massive line leading to the barn previously owned by Mr. Strauss. More and more ponies had learned about the fungus' incredible power, and each had come with some iron utensil or another to be refined. What Applejack had sold for two bits she was charging for 10 bits for each pound of metal. To get a perspective of how successful the business was, the line wouldn't budge because the pony at the front of the line was rude enough to bring his 150 pound hammer to be refined. Twilight budged in to take a look at the activity.

"Why howdy sugar cube? Did you figure out what I was doing over here?" asked Applejack.

"I'm just curious to see what this fungus is! I mean, think about all the uses this fungus could have, and how many ponies' lives will be helped. May I take one for some study?" requested Twilight.

"Sure, just don't go around showing it to everyone. I am only 200 bits away from being able to purchase a new hip for Granny Smith, and the last thing I need now is competition," warned Applejack as she helped with another order. "Here you go."

Twilight rushed home with the fungus to avoid suspicious eyes. She locked all the doors, and forbade Spike from entering the room. She had full respect for Applejack's business, so she couldn't let anypony else learn the secrets behind this goo. The librarian had massed an arsenal of test tubes, Bunsen burners, microscopes, and text books to try and identify what this was. To her relief, she discovered no bad trait behind the fungus. This organism was native to the Everfree Forest, and could only grow with the aid of Harvester ants. The Harvester ants fed on trees to produce a chemical which it deposited near the fungus for it to feed, in turn releasing a goo for the ants to eat. The Harvester ants were rare and only lived in one area of Equestria: Applejack's farm.

Sparkle returned to the farm by sundown. All the ponies had left after receiving satisfactory services, and all that was left Applejack cleaning up her stand, as well as a stockade of crates filled with gold bits. She had made more money in one day than she could make in two harvest seasons. The problem now was that everyone's metal was refined, and the rich arborculturist was closing up shop. Twilight came running to give her good news in order to keep her business running.

"Hey Applejack! What are you doing? There will be hundreds of ponies coming tomorrow hoping for some refined metal!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I refined all the metal people could carry today, so there is no point for me to keep this shop open," she replied disappointedly.

"Do you even know how ponies get their iron in the first place? Stores have to buy iron from mining companies, and I have a great idea and a surprise for you!" informed Twilight.

"So? What are you getting at?" replied Applejack. Twilight Sparkle dropped a piece of paper on the stand just before Applejack began to dismantle it.

"Work starts next week! After extensive research, I discovered all the uses of the fungus, and then I went and told the-"

"I told you not to tell anyone!" interrupted Applejack.

"Don't you see? There is an iron mining company that wants you to refine their metal before selling it to all the shops in Equestria! You could make millions!" screamed Twilight excitedly.

"You didn't stop to think once how many ponies it would take for this kind of task, didn't you?" Applejack criticized.

"Oh, right," responded Sparkle disappointedly. She turned and started her way home, unsatisfied that her idea wasn't good, until Applejack stopped her. Twilight turned and looked.

"I'll follow your plan, but I would need some more help. How would you like to be the administrator of Applementium Industries?" asked the saddened mare. "In fact, how would you and our friends all like it if they helped me manage this new-born business."

Twilight squealed in glee and ran back to Ponyville to inform her friend. All of her friends would aid Applejack in this new business. She decided that the next day, their job would be to find ponies who could do the laborious tasks of actually refining the iron, as well as keep the secret behind the fungus. But the fungus was not the only new concept brewing up. Applejack had overlooked the fact that the "mining company" was just a large family who farmed iron. This was the first time any large scale work-force was being assembled, and it would soon change the face of Equestria in ways few ponies could even imagine.

Applementium Industries

Like any good businessmare, if you have a lot of money at your disposal, spend it on your business first. Applejack converted her killings and her new shed into a full scale factory, anticipating the first shipment of iron. There was still another day to go before business would start, so Applejack and her new administrators gathered together to discuss of final terms. They made a last minute checklist of all the equipment and ponies they needed for the big day. No one before had ever done this type of work at a large scale, so there was no reference point to form the industry. They counted 50 workers who would move and refine all the iron that would be shipped into the factory, each worker being paid a heavy 20 bits per hour. 10 more stallions were hired as guards to keep any wandering hands off of the fungus. They also confirmed that each station was ready with scissors to cut the fungi, shovels to dig up extra fungi, and carts to move Applementium (Applejack's name for the substance) and fungi for storage. On the fields, Applejack realized how fast the fungi grew. Her apple trees were barely blooming, and she had already recorded double quantity of fungus. She had to store the excess for winter so her business could flourish even then.

The first shipments arrived on April 16th, and the factory had immediately turned from a dormant building to a power house. Workers were scrambling to create Applementium, gather fungus, and collect funds. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity sat in the main barn counting profit and managing progress. After money was stashed away for the business, half of the rest of the profits were divided equally amongst the six ponies, and the other half were given to charity. Fluttershy did not partake in the discussion. Being as shy as she was, she never got into any budget management situations, so the timid one was left on the fields tending to the ants, learning about how to make the ant farming more productive. As for the ponies' original jobs, Twilight lived in her business. Rarity sold out her business in about a month, only working on clothes as a free hobby. Rainbow Dash never really had a job. Pinkie was already out of work when the Cake family sold their business and left the town. Fluttershy pretty much kept her job. Life seemed all fine, if not more productive, for the crew.

It was almost a year since the business started. The rest of the Apple family helped with the selling the apples, while Applejack made the primary revenue for the family. Half of her earning went to funding the apple farming. She had Granny Smith's hip fixed, she had the house refurbished, and she even made a steam powered tractor for Big Mac to use. Work on the farm was significantly easier. Judging by the size of the farm, all this revenue had cut down the amount of work needed by half. Being the generous family they were, they spent their free time volunteering and helping elsewhere. Granny Smith volunteered for Applebloom's school, which Applejack had donated money to, making the school in a facility capable of educating foals and young adults, while Big Mac helped with in-town construction. As for what impact this refinery had on the rest of society, the town had almost turned into a small city. With Applementium supporting the heavy loads, they could use it for cranes and as the structure for buildings, raising almost all the buildings in town around two stories in height. Ponies from all over Equestria came to Ponyville in search of work, whether it was helping in the mines, directly for Applejack, or helping in improving the city.

Not only was Applementium helping build the city, but also the whole idea of a company run by a massive work-force, which had been almost tripled in Applejack's farm. They had to build into almost two square miles of forest, with Fluttershy's help in displacing the animals. Other companies started to develop around Applementium. They had no access to the fungus, but they created jobs for distributing the refined iron, storing it, recycling it, and even making products out of it. Ponies who used to spend their lives hoping for sales in the market place could make a steady income working in these new industries. Some of the industries formed included Applementium Distribution Association, Applementium Final Production Centre, and Applementium Storage and Market. With all this success, Applejack had a statue of her erected in town square. Eventually, after about 18 months of production, Princess Celestia became exceedingly interested in this "industry" business.

Princess Celestia payed a visit to Applejack to learn more about her industry. The businessmare showed Princess Celestia around, and explained where the money went and how the fungus worked. Other that her friends, the Princess was the only other pony worth trusting for this. She was pleased with how all the efforts greatly contributed to the growing of Ponyville and the rest of Equestria. All the other cities in the nation started growing due to trade companies. As a reward for formulating a magnificent idea, Princess Celestia requested that Applejack make some shipments of Applementium to Canterlot, specifically the palace. Business and publicity really hit the roof at this point!

After a regular day of working at the factory, Applejack and her friends decided that they should have a well earned vacation for the weekend. The business shut down, and all the workers were on temporary paid leave. Rarity treated her friends to a supper at a fancy restaurant in Canterlot that night. Together they rented a private table for them to chatter about anything that did not pertain to the Applementium business.

"This weekend, I am going to spend some time here in Canterlot working on a new dress design I came up with. After researching some dress styles found in East Equestria, I decided that it would be magnificent if I started working my magic on ethnic styles," explained Rarity. "What are you girls going to spend your time upon?"

Twilight Replied, "Well, I discovered this awesome new form of relaxation! This weekend, I am going to the beach! I even have my sunscreen, dark tent, shades, and parasol ready to go!" None of the other ponies replied to the weirdness of that comment, so the continued with Rainbow Dash's plans.

"I have some wind sailing to catch up with. I am going to try and beat my last dive height record! It's going to be awesome!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as Twilight brought up a confused expression.

"Dash, is it even possible for you to go faster than the speed you travel to make a sonic rainboom? I mean, that is breaking the light spectrum!" criticized Twilight.

Dash then replied, "How many dreams have you attempted to crush using your egg-head logic?" The two started to argue before the other ponies ended the argument.

"We are officially on vacation, so let this actually be a pleasant one, please?" begged Fluttershy as everypony else agreed. "Now what am I going to do this weekend? Well, I don't really know. The beach sounds nice, but I am afraid of large bodies of water. I also don't want to leave Angle behind for too long, or else he gets crabby. I know that he should just live with it, but I think it is less trouble if I just tend to his vacation instead. So, I will probably stay at home, you know, doing, stuff."

Pinkie responded, "Hey, maybe we should getter together! I have nothing to do this weekend. You have nothing to do this weekend. We can go party somewhere! We should go to the carnival!"

"But I'm Angle doesn't like carnivals because they are to noisy. and he will be angry if I go somewhere without him. Besides, I am afraid of large crowds," muttered Fluttershy. The other ponies groaned in frustration to this response and continued with their discussion.

"Hey Pinkie, speaking about a carnival, there is just a spectacular circus coming into Canterlot, and I am just dying to see it. I can buy you tickets so you two can come. Oh, and don't worry about angle! How bad could be possibly be?" said Rarity, who immediately shut up after Fluttershy showed her a picture of Angle charging with a chainsaw. "Yes, um. I didn't know such a little guy could hold a large, um, object."

Applejack then explained, "I have some work on the Apple farm, so I can't go anywhere, but would it be fine if my sis tagged along? She has always wanted to go to a circus."

"Splendid! The three fillies will have a wonderful time!" reacted Rarity. "Which reminds me, have any of you wondered where Scootaloo lives? I mean, she appears out of nowhere to play with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but none of us have ever thought about how to contact her for play dates and such. I don't even know her own mum or siblings! Rainbow Dash?"

"Don't look at me! I am just here role model, not her family. To be honest, she gets on my nerves at times," replied Rainbow Dash.

The bill came and supper had met to a conclusion. The ponies shook hooves and hugged good-bye. As Applejack walked to the train station, she ran into a messenger.

"Wow Applejack! It's hard to imagine you without your cowpony hat! Anyways, I have a message sent to you directly from Princess Celestia, and she would like to meet you immediately. I don't know why, but hey, I am only the messenger," explained the messenger mare. Applejack turned around, called a cabby, and rode off to the grand palace to see what was needed to be said.

As Applejack entered the building, Princess Celestia stood across the hall, and ordered to e guards to leave the hall and lock the doors to keep strangers out. This was to be an important private discussion.

"So how is business Applejack? Making money? Sharing it with other deserving ponies?" asked the Princess.

"Everything's fine! Each day brings in a killing, enough to pay for schools and hospitals, as well as enough for me to keep at home. I have had some refurbishing done at the Apple house recently, so it now looks brand new," explained Applejack.

"Well, your services to all of Equestria have been astounding, but it seems to be much work. I mean, the whole country rests in your hooves! What will you do about it? Would it be better if the company was a little bit more, um, you know," explained Princess Celestia while still nowhere near the point she was trying to make.

"What is it? I don't understand?" asked Applejack.

"I am making a proposition. How would you like it if I bought the company off of your hooves?" requested the Princess.

Applejack smiled in glee. She became very excited about the matter as happy thoughts about her answer rushed her head. She eagerly responded, "You're kidding me, right?"

"No I am not kidding-" responded the frustrated Princess.

"Are you kidding me?" responded Applejack. "I am making more money then ever, I have gotten plenty of respect, and I have introduced something great to Equestria. I am not about to give up the dreams I made the day I found that fungus. You understand, right?" Applejack became frightened as the Princess became enraged.

"You are backing away from a direct order from the Princess? I will not tolerate this. Do you even know why it is dangerous for you to own the company?" angered the Princess. The businessmare was puzzled. "Your ideas have given you more power over Equestria than I should have! I have had more experience with governance, so I demand you give your power to more able hooves with appropriate compensation!"

"No can do Princess. I am starting to think that you are just plain jealous. You don't like how I have more power than you, so you are trying to take it away from me. However, you are too kind to force me to sacrifice my business, so you are desperate to buy it from me. I'm sorry, but you can become more powerful some other way. I have earned my power and I plan on keeping it! If you want my business, then you have to take it from me!" intimidated Applejack.

"You are banished from Canterlot now! If you do not withdraw from your power hungry state, you will be sleeping with Luna from now on!" enraged the angry Princess.

"You can't banish me, because I am this close to banishing you! And who are you calling 'power hungry'?" angered Applejack.

"You leave me no choice but to deal with you with force! If you can't take a polite offer, that I will force you to retire your factory, and this time, with no compensation!" intimidated Celestia.

"Oh ho! You are really asking for a beating now! I will be waiting for you, for I have a brilliant plan now! Even the power of the sun will not help you! Prepare for war!" yelled Applejack. She was then immediately and painfully literally kicked out of Canterlot. Applejack was not on her right mind. What had she gotten herself into. She could either give up her whole life to prevent apocalypse, or she could get help from some friends. Would they have mixed thoughts about the Princess, or would they side with her and throw away Applejack. Maybe the situation wasn't as bad as it seemed. After all, she and her friends were the elements of harmony.

The Equestrian Arsenal

Since a lack of thought was put into Applejack's argument with Princess Celestia about who would own Applementium Industries, and quite frankly all of Equestria, the Princess was preparing a government force to try and subdue Ponyville before Applejack became too powerful. Applejack, on the other hand, was nowhere near ready for even an assault of bunnies. But to her luck, after warning about the upcoming situation, all the ponies were convinced that life would be worse if Applementium Industries was under government control. If that were to happen, Princess Celestia would once again have total control over each and everypony's lives, considering she would own Applementium and all the businesses that thrive around it. The ponies of Ponyville all agreed that it was time to prepare. Applejack may not have had weapons, but two things were for sure. She had access to the strongest metal in the land, and she had the full support of her friends.

The Princess had an army that was almost mobilized, so the Ponyville had to act fast. They had to work together and make weapons that could could use each pony's full power. Pegasi were best suited for scouting and dropping bombs. The unicorns could use their magic to operate projectile weaponry, while the earth ponies could fight in the front line, produce munitions, or grant medical aid. Ponies have had explosives for a long time, but they were usually used for mining. It was time to crack open each and every last crate of boxes and manipulate them to be dropped or projected before exploding. The first day of making munitions was hard, and none of the ponies had even tested to see if they worked. With no opposition in sight, they tested each time of shell to find the best. Applementium could not be used as a missile just because of how durable it was, so they stuck with iron shells. Timed explosives were unwieldy, so they had to use fragile rounds that contained two different chemicals that would explode on contact. After discovering the perfect bullet, it took hours to even make 100 shells, which was obviously insufficient.

"Why is it taking so long to make these tiny shells? We need to move faster if we want to even stand a chance against a magic-powered army!" ordered Applejack.

The workers explained, "We can't construct any faster! Some of us don't remember how to make a full bullet, and some are just not that fast!"

"Well, there is a simple solution so that we can get 1000 shells in half the time," said Applejack.

"What do we do?" asked the workers.

Applejack responded, "Simple. All you ponies need to do is split the labour. Divide into stations. One station makes the cartridge and then passes it to the next station, who will add the explosives. Then the round is passed to the final station, who will finish the bullet. Does that sound easier?" And it certainly was easier. At first, the ponies were not used to splitting jobs, but once the had adapted to the change, an assembly line was created, punting out dozens upon dozens of shells in almost half the time. Other task forces caught on and designed bombs and tools just as fast. Applejack and her genius had once again given them and advantage.

As well as weaponry, the ponies needed fortifications. Unlike in the shells, Applementium was the perfect for this job. Applementium hedgehogs and barbed wire were placed around the town, as well as plating over the buildings to give a makeshift areal shield. With the assembly line, massive cannon towers were being constructed in a matter of days. They even fitted the railways with locomotives armed with rail-bound cannons to scout around the city, fire, and drive away. Twilight Sparkle then devised a similar tactic: she fitted tracks to the locomotives to form belt mechanisms so that the locomotives could drive over land. The body of each train was replaced with an Applementium casing, with sides completely covered by cannons. Twilight had brought mounted warfare to the next level. in about a month, the residents of Ponyville were prepared for battle.

Even with all these innovations, the opposing side was also devising some of their own military advantages. For one thing, Princess Celestia was going to darken the sky during the invasion, which no pony else could do. She also remodeled some of the airships to act as floating fortresses. She knew (because of spies) that Ponyville did not arm the pegasi with anti-air weaponry. Their jobs were to bomb, so the Princess had the whole sky to herself. Other than air vehicles, she had nothing much else in terms of mechanics. But what she lacked in weapons she compensated with training. Unlike the ponies, the Royal Elite was the best trained fighting force even in Canterlot. They were trained to ambush the enemy, and with the darkness by their sides, they had the potential to defeat Applejack singlehoovedly.

While Ponyville was preparing for attack, the Princess already stationed her army around the city. The unicorns implanted massive siege cannons into the ground while pegasi flew at high altitudes dropping time-arming mines into the ground below them. As for countering Twilight's tanks? The Princess had no anti-tank weaponry. Even the cannons were based on magic, not combustion. What she did was was heavily train her unicorns with moving heavy moving objects. A well trained unicorn could wipe a path between even a whole army of tanks, walk through, and move the tanks back in place. She had nothing to counter the Applementium fortifications, so she was now even more reliant on the unicorns being able to maneuver around the defenses.

The Princess had an elite infantry force at her command, while Applejack had a clumsy steal wall under her hooves. No one in Ponyville had any experience with fighting. Twilight insisted that the tanks move in one at a time to stall the enemy without wasting too many. Rarity ordered for colourful uniforms so that no one would confuse the enemy with the ally. Rainbow Dash was confident enough that her bomb squadron would not face any areal opposition. Pinkie was smart enough to order for a stationary army behind the safety of the walls, but that was a no-brainer. Fluttershy was not willing to partake in any aspect of the battle. The stupidest decision was Applejack agreeing that these were all good ideas. With this unintelligent of military planning, Ponyville was heavily reliant on the performance of Applementium.

So, why was a war even necessary? The answer is that it wasn't. Applejack was earning power, while Princess Celestia was losing power. Both needed their positions and could not afford to sell them. But was war mandatory? Fluttershy asked this question. "What is wrong with settling an argument with a simple board game ore something," thought Fluttershy. "Why even disagree with something in the first place? Couldn't Applejack keep her factory yet still help the Princess retain the loyalty of her subjects. This could all have been better if the two would have worked together." But with Fluttershy's personality, there was really nothing she could do, except evacuate the children and animals.

The First Equestrian Civil War

The Defense at Ponyville

The sun was setting on the first day of summer as the Princess unleashed her first stage of her invasion. The ponies if Ponyville were mobilized and ready for action at the sound of the alarm. One of Twilight's tanks reached the front, while the pegasi squadron took to the sky. All seemed fine when they first sighted Celestia's frontline battalion, but as they climbed their first hill, all hell broke loose. The pegasi dove, dropped bombs, and retreated to reload. The city showed off their superior artillery and shelled the light infantry force.

The first causality came due to friendly-fire as one artillery shell hit their first tank. Apparently high-explosive shells could cut Applementium like butter, making it even more urgent to defend the city without leaving any metal for the enemy to use. Along with this discovery, Twilight also reevaluated her strategy with armor, so she moved the tanks to the second line as sniping cannons rather than in line of friendly-fire. However, as for Celestia's army, soldiers were being punted back and forth like pebbles on a rock bed. This was not a set-back, however, because the Princess was the military genius who even unified Equestria in the first place. She sent another battalion to run the hill as another would sneak through the Everfree Forest and attack from behind. Rail-emplacements around the city fired inside as the unicorns worked desperately hard to fling the heavy missiles from long range. Most of the rocks were deflected by the steal curtain placed by the Ponyville residents, but some managed to bounce around inside and disorient the defenders.

As the second force drove up the hill, the elite managed to sneak behind and attack at the production centres. The defenders hand to turn around and fire the other way, giving some space for the hill front to charge. A counter-coup was sent by Ponyville in hope of ambushing the soldiers, but their bright uniforms got them slaughtered. The only successful defenders for the first wave of attacks were the pegasi, who could bomb on the enemy, eliminate most of the soldiers, and return home without being fired upon. Unfortunately there were too many soldiers for just the pegasi to handle, and with most of the defenders distracted, all that was left were the tanks, who were sitting on hills waiting for still out-of-ranged targets.

"Twilight, what are you doing? Why are your tanks doing nothing?" frantically asked Appplejack.

"Simple! If I sent the tanks out, then our artillery would hit them and destroy them. So, I left them on the hill so that they would be safe," replied the pony who was trying her best to play Guderian.

"I sometimes wonder how smart you actually are. Everyone is in danger in war, so you might as well send the tanks out and actually get some stuff done! The defenders should learn to aim better, so send your tanks out now!" ordered Applejack as Twilight slapped her head with her hoof out of stupidity. At the sound of another alarm, the tanks rolled out, except now as a unit. Steam engulfed the outskirts of the city as the tanks relentlessly charged into the blue, hoping for a massing of targets. After receiving further orders, Pinkie ordered her defenders to watch their aim and shoot farther then they think they must. Fire fell from the sky as the tanks ambushed another offensive battalion. Unluckily, this was an elite core of unicorns, so they managed to repel most of the projectiles, specifically at the tanks. Though most were destroyed, more were rolling out of the factories to replace casualties, and they eventually captured the hill. The capture of the hill was significant for the Ponyville defenders, who eventually defeated Celestia due to superior numbers and production rate. But war could not end until either Ponyville or Canterlot was captured. It was now time for the offensive.

The Anti-Tanks

After the victory at Ponyville, Twilight was ordered to role out and try to blitz the retreating Royal Army, so her tactic was to try and go for as many hills as she possibly could, and then snipe at the enemy. But the tanks were up for opposition now, a plan specifically devised by Celestia to not be used on Ponyville as a matter of surprise and lowering moral. Lying in wait in the bushes were lines of long rails guarded by soldiers. These were the anti-tank systems. The soldiers were unicorns who would use magic to fling sharpened super-heated projectiles at the tanks. The emplacements were perfectly hidden, when a tank managed to stride ahead of the others, no one could answer how it exploded. Out of fear, Twilight ordered for the tanks to camp in the previous hill and snipe on any targets at first sight.

It was hours before even one cannon was fired. The tankers discovered the source of the problem when a bright streak appeared out of the hill ahead and incinerated one of the tanks. Everyone then opened fire. The anti-tanks were well fortified, unlike the tanks, so few of the cannon shells could hit the artillery crew. As for the tanks, almost 50 tanks were needed to replace the casualties. Twilight urged for support from the pegasi, but they were busy with some sort of "secret weapon." Pinkie's artillerymares were too far to effectively aid Twilight by shelling. Whence her tanks became too overwhelmed, they pulled back. However, the battle did not end yet. As the tanks pulled back, infantry crept around the hill to climb up from behind. They charged up the hill with pikes, hoping for an easy ambush victory. It was only when Twilight figured out there were mines on the hill that she admitted defeat and retreated. However, she did succeed at something: none of the enemy forces were stupid enough to advance into the range of the artillery.

It was decided that a mine-clearing system had to be devised to even get over the hill, let alone destroy the anti-tanks, so what Twilight decided was to pull the tanks around the hill where the infantry went and fire at the face of the hill, and hopefully explode some mines. The tanks slowly crept up the hill while mine after mine exploded in front of them, disabling a few of the steam war machines. The noise had alerted the Royal anti-tank corp, causing them to turn around. The ditches they had dug made it harder to swivel the guns; they had to pull all 400 pounds worth of gun and ammo out of the pit, turn it around, and place it back in before they could fire. By that point the tanks had run over the ditches causing enemy retreat. Twilight had learned about the importance of swerving rather than an all out charge. She had successfully made it to the final hill overlooking the plains leading to Canterlot.

Wrest Power of the Sky

Rainbow Dash had made the worst assumption that she had the whole sky to herself. The pegasi were making bombing runs over enemy advances with much success. It was only when they found out about Celestia's anti-air system that the flight corp had gone downhill. Though certainly not as maneuverable as the nimble pegasi, a flying monster had been built, causing almost as much surprise as the tanks would have caused. The Princess had modified the transport balloons into a set of three large flying fortresses. Each monster would fly side-by-side with netting connecting them to trap and stall any pegasi who managed to get caught in it. For those who were lucky enough to fly over or under the beasts, they faced the wrath of the on-board firing teams who flung sharp iron missiles at them. Some pegasi cowered and flew back to Ponyville. Others were impaled or disoriented, leading to a grim death on the ground. The only weapon to counter these fortresses were the bombs they were armed with, and they only worked if the bombs were dropped from a high altitude from their target. This meant that the air force would have to fly almost another thousand feet higher to drop inaccurate bombs on a moving target. The counter-strike was unsuccessful and the survivors retreated.

Rainbow Dash had almost no clue what was going on. Being as stuck up as she was, she was confident that the bombers could open a clear path to Canterlot. She didn't even know about the flying fortresses. Applejack caught notice of this and immediately took appropriate action.

"What the hell are you doing laying on the couch when there are three floating giants headed strait for Ponyville?" angered Applejack at the novice commander.

"What are you talking about?" replied Rainbow Dash. "The only floating 'giant' that is around here is my air force. Now lighten up and enjoy yourself as we make an easy victory."

"If you are so confident," intimidated Applejack, "then what is that sound you are hearing?"

"Hmm. I was wondering that too. Did somepony leave the fan on?" asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack pulled her by the ear outside to show here a massive object in the sky suppressing the Ponyville war machine under heavy semi-automatic fire. Rainbow Dash rushed for her helmet and ordered Pinkie to order an artillery fire at the floating fortresses. Little thought was put into the order and all the shells did were fall back to earth. In response, the air corp was ordered to arm themselves with pikes rather than bombs, so they flew up to pop the fortress like a helium balloon. Few made it under the shrapnel fire, but one managed to pop one balloon, which in turn, brought the other fortresses down too. The air was now theirs for the taking as the surviving pegasi returned home to help invent some areal assault weapons.

The Battle of Canterlot

The first to make it to the gates of Canterlot were the tanks under the command of Captain Sparkles (as Twilight so named herself). With no more opposition, Pinkie had a clear route to move her artillery around the base of the acropolis. The hill was so steep that the tanks moved slower than a tortoise could climb the hill, so it gave Pinkie plenty of time to set up and shell the city. Refugees who were confident enough that the Princess would win fled the city for the walls of Ponyville. The crowds that flooded past blocked advancement, making it even more challenging for the fighting infantry to climb up. After innovation, the pegasi managed to set up an assault system. They shrunk Pinkie's artillery technology to a small enough size that it fit on their hooves. While some continued to bomb, others dove into the buildings machine gunning any guards who tried to get into position.

It took almost two days before the first tank made it inside the high city. Some anti-tank emplacements were placed here and there, but other than that, there was not much in terms of defenses. The bombing stopped to avoid friendly fire, but machine gunners continued to pelt the city. All opposition had been defeated as a clear path to the palace was paved. Applejack had come just in time to lead the final push into the palace. The fate of Equestria now laid in her hooves.

As the victorious governess approached the gates to the palace, the Princess opened the doors almost as a greeting. The tanks aimed their guns, prepared for any trap that could be unleashed. The gates closed for a private conversation as the Princess stepped off her throne and came to the floor in submission.

"You have proven yourself worthy to fight someone as well versed in war as me. What do you say that we put are arms down and end this arrogant conflict?" plead the Princess.

"Gosh certainly!" replied Applejack. "What were we thinking even starting this war in the first?"

"Certainly not either of our finest moments," joked the Princess. "I am just glad we had stalled long enough that no one who wasn't supposed to fight got hurt."

"Ah well. What happened happened. Let us end this notoriously short war. However, you do notice that I am now the ruler of Equestria, and that you have to follow my law," said Applejack as she herself stepped on the throne. "First off, just to avoid further conflict with a defeated adversary, you will have no political power. You sole duty will be to let the sun rise and set as needed. Second, the throne will go. Considering the world we live in now, and how weak I am compared to you, Equestria will be run by a council consisting of my friends. For each one of us who loses our political seat, it will be up to the ponies to elect a replacement. Equestria will now run Equestria, not Canterlot."

The Princess nodded and left. She was now a regular pony like everypony else. The rising of the Sun marked the end of this week-long war, and Celestia head out to the country for some well deserved fresh air. Applejack, on the other hand, quickly established governance, moved the capital to Ponyville, and started her friends on a new adventure from business administrators to secretaries of state.

A Way to Eliminate Heirarchy

Breaking dawn had introduced a fresh new breath of a totally new society. The ravages if war were all cleaned up, and all the tanks and the guns returned to the arsenal, ready for the day a new conflict were to arise. The capital was established in Ponyville because Applejack and her friends agreed to centralize the government around Applementium Industries. To avoid and further conflict and uprisings, the girls banned together to form a type of parliament. The concept of this idea appealed to all the ponies of not only Ponyville, but all of Equestria, believing that they would have almost complete say on who would lead the society. Applejack was the prime minister. She was in charge of every aspect of the civilization, whether it was taxes or military, but she was under supervision and required consent from the other five ponies, who served as the senators. When Applejack would lose her position, via death, it would be up to her friends to elect a new leader. However, whence a senator died, the people would elect the senator, hence giving them indirect power over state.

Applejack, now in control, had to decide what to do next. Certainly after all the work it took to earn this much power, she would have at least something to do. Her first order of business was to rid of hierarchy. Hierarchy had always been what had cause disruption in peace and prosperity. As easily learned about when the ponies were reminded of the time the pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies confronted one another for territory and caused an ice age, there were similar issues that prevented productivity. She even thought to herself about tradition. Take Winter Wrap-up for example. The though of why unicorns could not use magic to help set up for seasons haunted the new prime minister. It was originally an excuse to show awareness towards the laboring earth ponies, who had to use muscle and mind to get work done, and make work fair for the unicorns who could get work done at the twitch of their ear. Why couldn't a unicorn get the laborious tasks done with minimal work, and give the leftover jobs to the earth ponies? However, she could not just switch the roles of the two groups and be unfair towards the unicorns who wanted to do something else. Applejack came up with two words to solve the problem: meritocratic society. If ponies could earn their positions, life would be much more fair for everyone.

These ideas were great, but not all the ponies like them. Out of the other five, only Rarity and Fluttershy agreed with Applejack. They believed in free living and earning positions and striving for dreams, but they also believed that the civil populous could not have a direct say in policy. Rainbow Dash agreed with "striving for dreams," but she believed that the civilians should have a more direct say in policy, and that the government could rely on the public for support and assistance. On the complete opposite of the table were Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, who believed in planned policy. They believed that ponies had very little knowledge on how government was supposed to work, so they would have less say in the government. They also believed that ponies should do what they were good at, not entirely what they wanted to do. The thoughts were that society would be more productive if everyone had a job dealing with their cutie mark, and the excuse was that ponies innately enjoyed what they were good at. As there were quite harsh disagreements, they all agreed that the best thing to do was to take a little of each idea and form their parliament from there.

Not only did policy try to make a more together Equestria, new technology also helped. With trains rumbling between cities, ponies tried better ways to connect each other without travel. Telegraphs were made to connect stations and factories, as well as telephone booths established in town squares to ponies could talk to friends and family. The steam engine was innovated to a combustion engine, allowing for faster travel, as well as more productivity in factories and farms. Farmers could use new combustion engine tractors to produce enough food to survive any drought, famine, and war. In fact, the combustion engine started a new wave of technology which allowed for earth ponies to fly. All of these events occurred at a time span of six years, which was faster than how any other technology had been developed during the rule of Celestia. Jobs opened each day to manufacture, maintain, and dispose these technologies, leaving almost no pony behind another.

"Girls," introduced Applejack with a mug of cider in her hoof, "I would like to toast to a successful seven years of working together as assistants, as co workers, and as best friends." All the mugs raised to the air and cheered in celebration for prosperity.

"I am so glad I met all of you," said Twilight. "This is the best group of friends that I have ever had. Actually, quite frankly, this is the only group of friends that I have ever had. And who would have thought that I would have overthrown my own teacher. Meh, she wasn't that great."

Applejack replied, "Now don't hide your feelings. We all miss the Princess. She was great, and she truly fell as an honest and honorable mare. I can tell that you feel very bad for these current events, and I admit that they were all because of me. But I cannot deny the fact that this has cause a hell of a lot of good for the citizens. I mean, earth ponies can fly, work on the farms has doubled in only half the time, and we have technology that can keep all the ponies together in a unified environment without actually needing to move." Everyone was heart struck, and the girls gave each other a large group hug. Tears were shed, and not knowing whether the crying was from joy or guilt. Whatever it was, life just didn't seem to be something that could get any better that the moment they had, and don't worry, because life would get a whole lot worse.

So-Be-It You-Nie-One

As we approach the closure to this sad part of pony and, quite frankly, human history, we start to realize that production and technology is not what brings the world together. After an established parliament, life seemed to be fine, but deep in the hearts of each of the six governing ponies, few came into agreement. However, none attempted to stand up for themselves because that would disrupt the peace and cause another unnecessary war. Granted, all the ponies agreed on secretaries to agree on policy, but not everypony agreed on who would work for what and how new leaders would be elected.

After almost six years of cooperation and prosperity, ponies who did not agree totally with Applejack started to fade into their own paths, insinuating their ideas to the civil public. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were not vigilant enough to realize that Rainbow Dash was secretly leaking government information to the public, hoping that some ponies would realize that they never asked for some of the decisions made, convincing the advantages of civil rule. On the other hand, Twilight secretly persuaded people to certain tasks. On breaks, she and Pinkie together would reach the public and convince ponies to commit to tasks they were better with, and everypony was convinced by the logic behind it. It wasn't till ponies started revolting when the other three realized that a serious situation was bubbling to the surface and slowly revealing a terrible monster.

Streets filled with people and federal post filled with complaints on how decision making was not under the consent of the civil community. They demanded that they'd approve anything even immediately after the cabinet approved. Applejack was confused with what the problem was, because that was the original plan. The ponies decided to host a meeting with one another.

"See? I told you that ponies don't like to be cheated on!" ranted Rainbow Dash. "Why should we decide on something if no pony else likes it. We are best friends, so of course will agree on any shit that comes into discussion! We need strangers to also be pleased with decisions. That is why every decision should go through the public first before going live!"

"Sweetie, have you ever stopped to think that some ponies were not meant to make a decision?" asked Rarity to Rainbow Dash. "The reason the senators are supposed to be elected is that the public puts their trust in us! We do not need their consent for a decision. We need to approve each other before we get anywhere."

"I agree with Rarity," explained Applejack. "I mean, not every pony knows how to lead. They should leave it to the professionals. They wholly trust us because we hold the elements of harmony and because we come up with good decisions. We should not have our loyalty tested, that is why we have multiple senators." Fluttershy was unable to speak. She was confused with what was going on, and as it is she was still shocked by the sudden warring outburst six years ago.

"You know what? Screw you all," insulted Rainbow Dash. "You keep your pish-posh parliament, while I start a real government who listens to ponies! I have plenty of buddies in West Equestria, and they will serve for me. Sayonara suckers, because this "president" is out to get something done!"

"Um, ok," approved Applejack. "You know what, we can live with that. If we at least stay as friends, because I really don't want friendship to collapse. You can have your supporters, and we can have our supporters. Yeah, maybe that would be better."

"Well," introduced Twilight, "then I will take North Equestria for some of my supporters to exercise my new socialistic ideological concepts, because we are all friends and we can make this work out as well."

Applejack interrupted with agreement from Rarity, "Oh no! I will not let you limit freedom. Isn't that what we fought for in the first place, and you are going out to get rid of it? No, I cannot let you do that. And how did you, of all ponies, come up with an idea that is so cruel?"

"But think of the problems we would have if the civil populous even had power over the government," explained Pinkie Pie. "Ponies make bad decisions! Shouldn't we have the professionals take total control over state? I mean, that was how successful Princess Celestia was. We will do that, except with a group of people to agree on something."

Twilight agreed, "Yeah! And isn't it also bad if we let ponies pick their favorite jobs too? It is unfair and unproductive if a pony who is clearly better at a job that another doesn't get the job. With help from the government, we can help ponies live up to their cutie marks and give them a role that best suites society!"

"Um, Twilight? I hate to burst your bubble, but that is a terrible idea. I would like to do something I want, just not something I'm good at. Ponies should still have the choice of how to live their lives," retaliated Pinkie.

"Let us not get too hasty here!" cried Applejack. "I will not let you two start some sort of "manefesto" and ruin the peace and freedom we have successfully fought for. Now, reevaluate your thoughts."

Twilight rebelled, "I have control over the armed forces! I can do whatever the hell I want! I will keep North Equestria for myself, and you will let me!" Pinkie escaped the room hoping her friends in East Equestria still wanted her to be chancellor.

"Twilight, you have gone mad! Bonkers! Insane! You need to keep your cool if you want peace to rem--" argued Applejack until a new thought occurred to her. "Hey, where is Pinkie Pie? Oh, don't tell me she has already left for her land!"

"Proshchaĭ zadnitsu otverstiya," angered Twilight as she rudely dismissed herself. "I am off to claim my destiny, and none of you can stop me! So be it, you NIE one!" The mad pony stormed towards North Equestria with an almost worrying maniacal laugh.

Things were not looking up as a well established friendship slowly crumbled unconsciously. Rainbow Dash was fine because she really did not change policy for the bad of the civilians, but there were huge arguments between Applejack's Parliamentary Republic and Pinkie's Autocratic Society and Twilight's Socialistic Federation. Life was certainly looking up, especially if everyone still had control of Applementium.