All Types of Rain

All Types of Rain

By: The Grey Pegasus

= P =

Prologue—Time Flows Like a Flooded River

'War's like rain. It ain't always the same everyday. Some days it's light. Some days it's heavy. But no matter what, rain's still wet. War's still hell. But... not just hell. Not always hell. War is complicated. Like rain. Some days, it's just a drizzle, and it's a cool mist that lands on your tired self, and you're not that far from dry. But the next day, it could be a storm, with stinging rain, or drops hittin' your head from the tree branches, and you're soaking. War isn't great. But it's complicated. It's also got its painful and stinging days and also its refreshing days on your heart, like rain has on your body. Rain helps plants grow. But other times, rain causes floods. War isn't something to be liked. It's defnitely bad. But... it can also be good. Maybe like rain, war is inevitable. It comes. It goes. If an evil rises, you shouldn't just take it sitting down. You get up and do something about it. Just like rain. You ain't gonna sit still and let somepony get wet. And if it comes to war, then so be it. War is complicated. So many shades to war, like what we experienced down there–all types of rain.'

–Compilation of thoughts from 'Harmony'

<<+>>

"Princess Celestia."

"Ah, yes. I see you're both here and on time. Shall we begin the overview immediately?"

"That'll be fine."

"Very well then. Please sit down."

"If you could start from the very, very beginning, that would be best."

"I'll step right into it. It all started a little over a decade ago..."

==+==

The year was 1003 Celestial Peace. During this time, Equestria was flourishing. The lands around our borders were of no trouble and the lands within our borders doing well.

However, Princess Twilight Sparkle is one that seeks more than the status quo. As Equestria itself was stable, she sought to learn more from lands abroad. Although I did well in my ambassador duties and maintaining relationships with other nations, Twilight Sparkle was not satisfied. She wanted the world revealed to her.

As such, Twilight made arrangements for a program to send out ponies to study foreign countries, more in-depth than anything done thus far. Over the year, the program was organized. Much of the difficulty was making arrangements with the countries to allow Equestrians in and do their work. The program fully began later in the year when ponies were finally sent out.

Given the many events of the previous years around the country, Equestria was in a generally good, patriotic mood.

==+==

"Supplementary material?"

"I believe that seeing some actual newspaper headlines would help make my points."

"'Twilight Sparkle Versus The World: What strange discoveries will be made by the Princess's bold program?' Simple enough. Can't imagine what goes wrong with that. What's next?"

"She's poking around in foreign countries; something has to go wrong given the circumstances."

"Unfortunately, yes, it did feel like we were tempting fate when we agreed with Twilight's idea. But they say fate favors the bold, and to learn more about the world we live in was a risk that Twilight herself had calculated...."

==+==

Early in the year of 1004, Princess Twilight Sparkle learned of the tension within the country of Annamitia. It is a fairly distant country, separated from us by a large expanse of ocean on our west coast, or, as we preferred, a long land route across continents where a supply chain and posts could be set up. There was already some pre-existing infrastructure from the Gryphons. They were a previously dominant force in the region, even attempting to colonize Annamitia before they were ousted.

==+==

"So it's a country halfway around the globe that the griffons themselves had already been in before?"

"Yes. The situation itself already doesn't look too bright, does it? But Twilight believed you learn more the farther you get, and it's not that we didn't know anything about Annamitia. I had visited it a few times over the centuries. It's a nice place and its inhabitants are equally respectable.

"Alongside those facts, we were also able to get the zebras to accompany us. While the relationship between the average Equestrian with Zebricans varied, they are and always have been a helpful group when dealing with things far beyond our borders. Equestrian knowledge of foreign lands is great, but the way the Zebricans interact with others is unsurpassed."

"So the ponies that went to Annamitia had zebras to help them along?"

"Correct. Our relationship with the Annamese set off acceptably, no doubt helped along by the zebras. But that didn't mean their own tensions were going to get in the way..."

==+==

We had arrived during a period of shaky but otherwise quiet strained relations between two factions. This was an age-old tension within the country. It existed even during a visit I made centuries ago. It was hoped that our presence would not increase the tension already present. Unspoken between ponies though, we always felt our presence would begin to heat up relations that had momentarily cooled, one way or another.

==+==

"Who are the... the Annamese, exactly?"

"The Annamese, as they told me when I first came to them and identified as such by the zebras, are the inhabitants of the country of Annamitia. Their kind are called kapirs, although 'gazelles' is a common slang term used by soldiers as I've been told."

"... Kapirs? What... are they like?"

"To take a page from Twilight's notes, they're 'the eventual result of the hybridization between okapis that moved out of Zebrica and an ancient saola-tapir mix'."

"... Right, okay."

"Here are a few pictures and diagrams; they should give you the answers you need."

"... They're about the same size as us. Do all of them have stripes?"

"Frequently, but there are some without Or their stripe color blends too much with their main coat color. Their coat colors are generally forest tones. They have two horns that they can use magic with, or use physically if needed. They have instincts for living off of the land, especially in forests and mountains."

"And this is who you're fighting now?"

"Rare is the time when you have all the advantages. Continuing on..."

==+==

In Annamitia, agreements were compromised, moving forward on the road of Princess Sparkle's program of foreign research. As we were deemed to have better equipment and facilities, surveying and studying of the land was seen to be a very favorable prospect for all parties.

However, I believe this was when some friction started. Only Luna and I had any suspicions, and even then, very little suspicion. Hardly a feeling. Tarpa, an equine country far to the north, showed interest in our excursion in their hemisphere. They approached Equestria with the prospect of doing their own research.

The issue was heavily discussed between us Princesses and our advisors, as well as within different departments. Concern was voiced over the stability of the country, given the tension, and whether allowing another nation to participate would be wise. Luna and I were especially wary, though we both felt that part of it may be personal bias. Other ponies had their own opinions of the Tarpans, but nothing substantial to make a feasible objection.

The issue was also discussed with the Annamese themselves. By the end of the year a compromise was made. The northerners willingly allowed the Tarpans to conduct research in their part of the country. In the last month, a few researchers arrived from the northern equine country.

==+==

"I take it that it eventually developed into a problem?"

"One that does not arise until much later, after other issues already rose. Also, we had yet to encounter the strange discoveries that truly started it all..."

==+==

In 1005, Twilight Sparkle, in recognition of her efforts, was given authority over Royal Intelligence in the belief that her possession of such a tool would benefit everyone for the greater good; only Luna and I had authority prior to this. Royal Intelligence was permitted to accept any orders from Twilight Sparkle.

==+==

"That... already sounds... fantastic."

"The idea of giving Twilight power over Equestria's most powerful tool for gathering intelligence didn't sit well with some ponies. The most vocal, though, were only from those close to her; especially her five friends that compose the Council of Friendship. In actuality, I knew Twilight to be a highly responsible mare and that she had potential to use this new tool with possibly greater effect than Luna or I had ever been able to achieve, but also use it within reason."

"How has that turned out?"

"Exactly as I predicted, exactly as I said. I have not been given any reason to regret that decision..."

==+==

As Twilight was another princess of Equestria and therefore our equal, it was only right that she had authority over the various departments that Luna and I did as well. Given her intellect and observational prowess, being given authority over Equestria's greatest intelligence resource was only a logical step. Still, her authority over Intelligence had little relevance to anything at that point in time.

Twilight's program for seeking new knowledge included studying foreign history and seeing if there was anything our outside perspective could shed light on or even discover. As it was, discoveries were made while probing around in the land. Although natural resources of use or probable use were found, the discovery of ancient artifacts garnered more immediate attention.

The search for artifacts became fervent. The excitement grabbed hold of many. Equestrians, Annamese, the Tarpans in their northern areas, and even some other outsiders. Everyone started looking for traces of the past. Some even started looking within their own borders. They say that if you seek, you shall find. Find they did.

==+==

"Did any searches happen in Equestria?"

"Oh, of course. But we had already began such archaeological endeavors long ago. I suppose it's just that interest became heightened. Strangely, though, it seemed that we found more after this time."

"What was found?"

"An excellent question, and the most important question of all..."

==+==

When the year 1006 came, these findings flowed in steadily from Annamitia. Princess Twilight Sparkle, as a very curious individual herself, utilized her talent in magic to develop a highly advanced spell to use an item to, in a sense, travel back in time. Although there were other spells allowing the caster to refurbish an object to a previous state, such spells were difficult to perform on objects of extreme age. Twilight's spell instead allowed the user to see 'around' the object to a small extent through its history as the object's clock was virtually turned back.

It took many months to formulate, but by late September, Twilight Sparkle was able to make it function. Though it was clear that there were still improvements to the spell to be made, for the time being, it functioned as intended.

What she saw shocked her. Somehow, by strange fates, the item she held in her hooves was an artifact from a war. Her curiosity piqued more than ever, Twilight Sparkle issued orders to continue searching and increased efforts in learning about this long-gone civilization.

==+==

"Have you known about this civilization before all this?"

"Yes, although very little. Some even wondered if what little we had on them was credible. The existence of this civilization was easily put off as a myth. But after 1006, no one could deny their existence any longer."

"... What did you learn from them?"

"A great race, they were. Tragic? We're not sure. It's a topic we'd love to learn more about, but we were soon consumed by much more urgent and pressing matters..."

==+==

Time passed quickly, and soon enough, it was 1007. Luna's and my feelings of suspicion of the Tarpans returned. Princess Twilight Sparkle herself became highly suspicious of the kapirs and ponies in northern Annamitia.

As per her regular approach to similar situations, Twilight wanted more information surrounding the situation immediately. She commissioned a new division in Royal Intelligence, partly from the ground up, partly incorporating existing departments. The Special Intelligence and Reconnaissance Division was formed. The mission of these ponies was to obtain information through more discreet means, then analyze recovered information. Pegasi from the field section, the Royal Reconnaissance Regiment, the 3R, were sent into the region for aerial reconnaissance.

==+==

"As a side note, rumors began to run at this time that ponies of Royal Intelligence repectfully refer to and address Twilight Sparkle by the title of 'Director'."

"Was she really becoming that big of a face that quickly?"

"Quite so. It may be a stroke of their egos, no offense, but they did do as told and they did produce the results Twilight wanted. She was becoming the de facto head of intelligence with her increasing amount of involvement."

"Did they find anything?"

"Only small traces, but after a time, they didn't have to search too hard..."

==+==

Still, while Royal Intelligence began their work in Annamitia patrolling the borders and such, the archaeological studies continued, well in progress. Discoveries were still being made and, like Twilight's vision when her crusade for knowledge began, we were learning more.

Twilight made to me a curious remark that she felt like we were meant to find all of this. Like something wanted us to find it all. Whether that was a good feeling or not, she didn't know; she noted that it could be that the absurdity of everything was getting to her. Neither Luna nor I had any specific say on the matter. Of course, with our ages, we understood the effects of time and history, and we watched on with interest as history continued to be uncovered.

==+==

"You mentioned earlier that Twilight Sparkle found an artifact from war. I can't help but feel that that's an important detail, considering the current circumstances."

"You are correct. Discord himself was more than amused with the idea when he first heard about it. Only right of him suppose, and he can't really be wronged now. They would play a very important role, and it's yet to come..."

==+==

1008 was a slow year. Royal Intelligence continued their work watching over the country. Twilight Sparkle sent pegasi of Royal Reconnaissance to watch over the north,  all the way up to the northern border of Annamitia. Whether it was caution or paranoia, she didn't reveal. I thought myself to be a good judge of her character, but she had grown much as a princess and therefore became more difficult to read. Royal Reconnaissance was also utilized for other useful tasks such as aerial mapping.

The researchers continued their work as well. Our knowledge of Annamese culture had greatly expanded during our presence in the country. Also to note, working alongside zebras improved their reputation with Equestrian citizens. It's as if Equestrian harmony was being spread where we went and it filled me with some joy to see it.

Yet I wasn't so easily given into what could be an illusion. Between my age and having to contend with Discord regularly, I was still sharp to my surroundings. I was on a fine line between comfortably sitting in my throne and sitting on edge. Alas, nothing came that year.

==+==

"You're getting close to the start of the war. So what happened in the short timeframe remaining?"

"I suppose my statement about nothing happening was not entirely true. Royal Intelligence gave us information that hinted to a heating up of tension between the two factions mentioned earlier. They speculated that the division of involvement, Equestrians mostly everywhere but the Tarpans secluded to the north, created added polarization. It was a matter of not having enough, if any, conclusive evidence to read the lines correctly."

"So what exactly happened?"

"Initially, Twilight was looking for signs. But in the span of about a month, we were looking for courses of actions."

"What caused it? Did it have anything to do with those 'Tarpans'?"

"Let me clear up my view on those ponies. The Tarpans are decent ponies, but they seem to me to be less orderly than Equestrians. Their way of life just... doesn't exactly fit with me... However, my personal views are irrelevant. You came here for facts, so I'll just continue..."

==+==

For the Tarpans to return their own discoveries to Tarpa was a natural thing to do. If we could do it, why couldn't they? Luna, but especially I, had our own opinions of them, yet we had no grounds to discount them from the same privilege nor a way to enforce it if we did.

The picture changed in early 1009 when the amount of shipments coming in to Annamitia from Tarpa increased. We attempted to contact the Tarpans concerning this, but they did not reply for the first few months. After persistent questioning, they only returned an inconclusive reply. Yet it was grounds for assuming something was going on.

It was near mid-1009 when Royal Reconnaissance reports came in. Our suspicions bore fruit. For some reason, Tarpa was shipping in weapons. To this day, we still think that it's a simple case of greed.

Luna offered to take the next step forward and contacted the Tarpans, stating that we had suspicions that they were shipping in weapons. Yet all they did was deny the accusation.

Now, the northerners were militarizing, far behind their own territory where Equestrians never operated. Our pegasi were taking cautious flights over their territory to bring us information. We continued to try and hold peaceful talks, but they kept denying them. The build-up of forces was constant and it got to a point where I could bear it no longer. The fear of our ponies being caught in a dangerous situation was too much.

I ordered Equestrian military personnel to be sent over and reinforce the ones we already had present. Our military was not especially large at that time, as we had little need to maintain a standing military of immense size, yet what we had would have sufficed for the purpose.

We spoke with the southerners that we had become more familiarized with and they welcomed in the ponies of the Royal Army. It's possible that they knew what was going on and figured that everyone should be prepared if hostilities began again.

==+==

"So I suppose war comes next?"

"The official war comes next, yes. It was a brutal attack, worse than a slap awake."

"They attacked with new weapons, didn't they?"

"Royal Reconnaissance was never able to get all the information about the shipments. I also feel as if Tarpa held back on shipping arms once we began inquiring about it. Or that they supplied the bare minimum thought to be required to scare us away."

"What happened, then?"

"They made a mistake. They attacked us..."

==+==

It was early in 1010 when it happened. We had bases set up near the approximate boundary between the north and southern factions.

I was told that when the North Annamese attacks came, it was the manifestation of the saying 'brining a knife to a gunfight'. Many lives were lost in the initial wave as we were attacked with rifles more advanced than what we had at the time. We only had relatively simple powder rifles and cannons. They attacked us with automatic weaponry.

The defenders were able to turn the tables with their superior magic training. Our unicorns narrowly held them off during the fighting. By a miracle, the Equestrian defenders defeated the Annamese attackers, but the damage was already done.

They had already made their mistakes. They may have underestimated us in their overconfidence with their advanced weaponry. They could have underestimated our will. But the spirit of Equestrians is something impressive. The country was roused by the news of hearing that we had lost hundreds of lives in a single day.

==+==

"Seems to me a fairly natural reaction to such an event."

"Perhaps to you. But others sometimes see Equestrians as ones who would rather cower away. Yet to this atrocity, they didn't back down. It lit a fire that I'm sure some ponies didn't know that had it in themselves."

"I suppose national pride is something not easily stifled when you love your home."

"It's certainly a force I had to contend with...

==+==

I was under pressure from the public to allow Equestrian armed forces to move in. I eventually allowed it. Princess Twilight Sparkle remained mostly neutral on the subject, yet it showed that she supported it. Princess Luna, however, was definitely supportive of the action. But I was never entirely willing to do it. I knew what I was doing. To send ponies off, certain that some were not coming back, was not something I wanted to do. I would have rather attempted to talk it out more, but no one was going to have any of it. Not the Equestrians, not the Annamese.

So shortly afterwards, I relinquished control of all military affairs to Luna. She took it over without hesitation. Twilight Sparkle kept her role overlooking the operations of Royal Intelligence. With all that was happening, she was essentially the one in charge by then.

Luna declared that with the power and resources of Equestria, the war would not drag on for long, but she also declared that we would remain fighting to defend the greater good no matter how long it took. According to Luna, as a great nation of peace and harmony, it was only right that we preserve it not only in our own country, but around the world. Her declarations were met with praise by the public. It was the rallying cry in those days.

Given the initial encounter in Annamitia, a logical conclusion was made. Luna gave orders to expedite all research concerning every artifact we found and anything we would be able to find through the pseudo-time-traveling spell. We were to convert, modify, and produce our own military equipment as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Twilight began reorganizing sections of Royal Intelligence for military operations. The Royal Reconnaissance Regiment was redesignated the Royal Scout Regiment, to signify a shift towards a more offensive purpose. She utilizes them as her foremost tool in influencing the war as she sees fit.

The first forward forces sent into the border regions under military action were units of the Royal Scout Regiment. New high-altitude photographs were taken of the landscape for up-to-date information as well as possible future terrain navigation purposes. Establishment of observation outposts within the region began as well. With the way the war started, these tended to be in the middle of enemy territory. Therefore, the bulk of the active field operatives of the Royal Scouts at the time consisted of pegasi.

All the while, the Royal Equestrian Army was holding off weekly attacks. They scavenged what they could from the attackers and they edged out the assaults with magic. But it was clear that this cycle couldn't last much longer. They were slowly getting pushed farther south, and clearly, acting quickly was the only solution.

==+==

"Did Luna ever give an estimate of how long she foresaw the war was going to last?"

"She told me that a year would be optimistic, but given the variables, at the time she'd rather not guess. While the newer weapons of war made for much faster... work, it was also a complicated task. The motives of the North Annamese and the South for fighting each other lent itself to this standoff. They've quarreled for a long time—I recall it even from a visit long ago. This time, it seems like they want to finish it. With deadlier weaponry, it has become a slow and tedious war, neither side willing to make a disastrous mistake."

"Well, it's definitely been more than a year. What does the public think?"

"As I said, the Equestrian spirit is something impressive. It's only began to show cracks recently..."

==+==

The year 1010 was a difficult time for the Equestrian military. They were constantly at the disadvantage. We did not have any weaponry to effectively combat them yet. But Equestria's infrastructure was converted in a matter of months to meet the new demand and we began producing rough equivalents from what designs we were able to test. These turned out satisfactory enough to halt the push south, stopping the north about halfway through the southern territories.

But the end of the year we were also hit hard. As I mentioned previously, we were edging out because of our magic. By the end of 1010, the North Annamese had devices that created a large field where magic could not propagate effectively, severely reducing our combat effectiveness. Although not yet too common, at times Equestrian soldiers found themselves relying solely on steel and spirit.

1011 was seen as the true start of the war, when we were finally on an equal level with the North Annamese. However, their technology was advancing and they already had a headstart, due to Tarpa continuing to supply and upgrade the technology. I can't imagine how much they profited from the frantic need of war materials. Meanwhile, we were still working hard to keep up, especially since we couldn't regularly rely on magic to compensate for any deficiencies in combat. Even more so as their anti-magic field technology was improving to cover larger and larger areas.

It was probably around mid-1011 when we not just kept up with the pace of advancement, but also surpassed them. The resources available to us were a great benefit, as were the minds working for us. We were settling comfortably into a stride and were consistently winning battles, even without magic. We were pushing back towards the original pre-war boundary lines by the end of the year.

By the year 1012, the war was obviously stretching longer, but the ponies continued to back Princess Luna, believing that they must fight until peace is secured. Luna alloted increasingly additional soldiers to the region.

Then, midway through the year, Luna called for volunteers, after seeing that the standing military alone did not have enough numbers. Enlistment numbers were moderately high. Whatever personal reasons ponies had for signing up varied, but as long as Luna got her numbers, she couldn't really ask for more.

Until came 1013. A draft was put in effect by Princess Luna early in the year, after seeing that even enlistment numbers were not high enough for the flow of troops required to increase pressure on the enemy. By now attacks had stopped and we had locked the war into a stalemate.

==+==

"And that's how it's been since?"

"Unfortunately. We are bogged down in Annamitia. After they started losing to us consistently in straight fights, they turned to asymmetric warfare."

"And at the same time you're struggling to utilize what new tools you continue to discover."

"Every single thing we find, we find a purpose for. I suppose it's only a matter of holding off until we're able to finally get the right tools to end it. Do you two have any specific questions about the previous years? I'm aware that it's a cursory look, but you should be able to read about it."

"Not from me. I'm fine with reading about it."

"You're stuck in a pretty bad spot. I'll read about the rest."

"Well then... the present year is 1015. The war continues into its fifth year. No end is in sight. The draft still stands but ponies are also still volunteering. Some ponies hearts are broken by seeing loved ones be sent off to war; some hearts are mended on return, while others are futher shattered. Some ponies are becoming weary of seeing neighbors sign up for war; some feel relief on seeing them back home, while others feel solemn disappointment. Some ponies keep their spirits intact by joining their friends into war; some have them broken together, while others keep each other intact.

"Many ask: are they being sent in the defense of harmony, peace, and freedom, or are they simply being sent to die? Because at this rate, any pony can still be sent to war... To the hell, where it rains."

"... And that's the story we're sticking with?"

"Oh no. That's just the cover. There's also plenty of pages that you will have to read yourselves. Current affairs and such, delicate topics, confidential details."

"Things you'd rather not speak about yourself?"

"Things I'd rather you receive from a written page rather than word of mouth."