That Others May Live

In the year 2054, the first world war on the planet Avol broke out. It began when radicals from the Changeling Nation assassinated a noble of the Griffon Kingdom’s court. Immediately, war was declared. The Griffon King Lion Heart accused Queen Chrysalis of attempting to destablize his country. The Changeling Queen denied the accusation, claiming that these changelings acted of their own accord. She sent ambassadors to try and find a diplomatic solution...only to have their heads sent back on a silver platter  with a note: “We will fight. Our noble was the first casualty of this war; let these ambassadors be the second.”

Outraged, the Queen turned to her allies, the Zebra Nation and the Equestrian Empire, for aid in fighting this war against the griffons. Pulled in by the sworn alliance they shared, the zebras and the ponies of Equestria gathered their forces and sent them off to fight.

Knowing they were outnumbered three to one, the Griffon Kingdom sent messengers to the Dragon Badlands, asking the powerful Dragon King for aid in this fight. Civil war broke out over the decision, in which the two sides—the Loyalists and the Renegades—fought to a standstill. Eventually an agreement was decreed by the Dragon King to allow each side decide what to do. This led to the dragons splitting into two factions: the Loyalists, who swore neutrality, and the Renegades, who thirsted for bloodshed.

Thus, the battlefield was set. On one side, there was the Talons, consisting of the Griffon Kingdom and the Dragons. On the other, there were the Allied Forces, made of the combined military might of the Equestrian Empire, the Changeling Hives, and the Zebra Nation.

War was fought for almost two decades. It was eighteen years of bloody, horrible conflict. The Allied Forces were pushed hard, losing many of their battles; the combined forces of the dragons and the griffons were too powerful. Soon, a large army of Talon soldiers had surrounded the Equestrian capital of Canterlot, and began laying seige. Other forces kept the zebras and changelings from aiding their pony allies. Hope seemed lost.

Until, on the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day of the Siege of Canterlot, reinforcements arrived in the form of an unexpected ally: the remaining dragons. In the last year of the war, a new king ascended to the throne of the Dragon King, and made the decision to aid their equine neighbors. With this new ally, the Allies pushed back the Talon Army and fought them into submission.

Finally, on the 24th of February, 2072, the fighting ceased as an armistice was called. The date is now celebrated as Armistice Day by the Equestrians, the Changelings, and the Zebras.

The year is now 2092, twenty years after the end of the First Avol World War. Since then, many things have changed. The zebras grow restless and angry, as they did not receive the rewards promised for their service in the war. The griffons have a new king, one who promises to bring glory back to the Griffon Kingdom. Equestria’s military has diminished since Armistice Day, and only the Changelings remain alert.

Political pressure is rising. It is only a matter of time.