The Sundering of Equestria - A Future History

March of the Crystal Ponies

With the armies of the New Lunar Republic having failed to depose Celestia, the War Council of the Republic realised that they were going to be in for a long war. Reports were coming in from the north of a hostile force marching over the Crystal Mountains.

Fortunately for the rebels, the Republic was far more organised by the end of 1037LB than it had been by the end of the previous year. The Council drew up ‘zones of control’ on their maps – essentially borders between those areas under their control and those under the banner of Old Equestria – and began to utilise effectively their greatest assets; raw pony-power, and their great numbers of defected intellectuals (who rejoiced in their freedom to develop new technologies without Celestia’s ancient restrictions holding them back). New units were drafted and whole army formations drawn up to replace the losses suffered at the Battle of Canterlot.

Despite the new troops still being “barely-trained” – the War Council having ignored General Trots’ warning – the Republic’s new army did at least have the benefit of experience, their officer corps being mainly composed of survivors from the Battle of Canterlot. Furthermore, the Republic’s newly-constructed armament factories had begun to churn out the more powerful Type 3 Starbeam rifle (although the weapon did not become general issue until 1039LB) and the earliest versions of the antipersonnel Multibeam rifle, designed to compensate for the average revolutionary’s bad aiming by allowing them to fire more shots per second.

Several sub-armies of around 12-14,000 ponies each, accompanied by great numbers of artillery pieces, were sent to besiege all of the major Celestian-held cities. However, due to the Council’s earlier decision to strike at Canterlot rather than begin the sieges in 1036LB, the Old Equestrian forces had had plenty of time to prepare their defences and gather resources. In fact, for the first few months of 1038LB, more of the besieging Republican forces died from lack of food and exposure to the cold than the besieged Celestians.

The War Council then had to deal with the army of reinforcements for Princess Celestia that had, by the end of winter 1038LB, made it through the Crystal Mountains and had captured a number of minor towns built in the shadow of the mountain range. Republic scouts had confirmed their identity as a legion of Crystal Warriors – approximately 30,000 soldiers hailing from the northerly Crystal Empire, armed and trained in much the same way as their southerly counterparts, the Royal Guard. Their goal was undoubtedly to lift the sieges now taking place all over Equestria and aid Celestia in re-conquering her land.

After much debate, during which the Crystal Warriors pushed even further south and towards the large Republic base at Neighagra Falls, the War Council decided to enact the ideas of one Captain Nightstrider. A proficient commander who had worked his way up through the ranks, beginning as a mere citizen revolutionary, Captain Nightstrider was well known in the Republic as a daring guerrilla fighter and, to the populace, he had become somewhat of a national hero. It was this status that permitted him an audience with the Council.

Nightstrider’s plan was to form a number of small but highly-specialised Brigades with which to mount hit-and-run attacks on the advancing Crystal Warriors, overwhelming isolated groups and destroying key pieces of infrastructure that the larger army would be intending to rely on. These carefully planned strikes would hopefully slow down their advance, forcing the Crystal Warriors to waste pony-power trying to hunt down their elusive attackers and ultimately weakening their army.

Following the Captain’s advice, the first three Brigades were organised, the troops composing them hoof-picked by their commanders for their innate stealth. The Council promoted Captain Nightstrider to General and gave him command of the newly-christened Nightstrider Brigades.

Over the spring months and into the summer of 1038LB, the Nightstrider Brigades launched innumerable raids against the legion from the Crystal Empire. It is estimated that only around 900-1,200 Crystal Warriors were killed during these months of guerrilla warfare, but the actions of the Nightstrider Brigades had a powerful impact on the morale of the larger army. Due to the state of his soldiers, the Crystal Warriors’ commander, Legate Pilum Sternum, made the decision not to launch an attack against the Republic fort at the Neighagra Falls and circled around it.

A recently-discovered account from one of Legate Sternum’s advisors, written in her diary, records that the Legate was becoming increasingly frustrated by Nightstrider’s actions. It seems that he was becoming increasingly fixated on capturing and defeating his “elusive nemesis”. Upon being told the news that General Nightstrider and his forces had once again escaped Celestian pursuit, Legate Sternum supposedly slammed his hoof on the table and exclaimed, “Curse that slippery fiend! Is there no soldier in my army that can kill that infernal mule?!”

However, despite the best attempts of General Nightstrider and his soldiers, the Crystal Warriors advanced relatively unimpeded. The War Council of the Republic organised and sent in an army of 7,000 soldiers in an attempt to slow them down, but this punitive force was crushed by the legion’s vanguard troops at the Battle of Hollow Hill. A highly evocative account by one of Legate Sternum’s adjutants described how, in this relatively straightforward battle, the Legate forced the Republic army to attack him on a treeless, grassy hillside, thereby depriving the revolutionaries of their usual strike-from-cover tactics.

Despite increasingly audacious raids, Nightstrider and the wider Republic were ultimately unable stop the Crystal Warriors from meeting up with a force from Canterlot, and sending fresh troops to replace those drawn from the city.

This combined army of around 27,000 soldiers then marched eastwards. It was at this point in mid-to-late summer 1038LB that the leaders of the Republic realised that the target of the Crystal ponies’ march was not Fillydelphia, with the aim of relieving the siege there, as they had previously imagined. To their surprise, the Council discovered that Legate Pilum Sternum and his troops were heading towards the Republic-controlled city of Manehatten.

Nightstrider and his forces broke off from their guerrilla raids in order to reach Manehatten and warn the defenders before the Crystal Warriors reached them. Once there, General Nightstrider decided to remain in the city for the upcoming battle, and (despite it being offered to him) willingly gave up overall command of the Republic’s forces there; instead he pledged himself and his Brigades to the leadership of General Brownstocking, the commander of the Manehatten regiments.

While the revolutionaries prepared themselves for an attack from the land, fortifying the wall-less city and evacuating civilians to more distant towns, neither of the high-ranking generals in the coast-bound city seemed aware of the danger of attack from the sea.

The Griffon Invasion

Since their decision to unite in 1015LB, the Griffon Kingdoms had been steadily building up their forces and directing their industries towards the production of war materials. The union of the twelve Kingdoms had produced other beneficial effects as well; an unexpected eruption of new technological development had taken place, thanks to their intellectuals’ sudden freedom to share their ideas between Kingdoms, and new trade (boosted by increased spending by the government on those industries that the military would rely on) had improved the economy dramatically. As a result, by 1038LB, the Griffon Kingdoms had become the richest and most powerful it had been for centuries.

In addition to improvements in the traditional Griffon technology of black-powder weaponry (muskets and cannon), a new type of weapon, based on the fuel-pump invented in 1002LB, had led to the creation of two entirely new corps in the Griffons’ armed forces.

Specially-trained teams of Griffon soldiers were given Flamenwerfers. Named after their inventor, Klaus Flamenwerf, the Flamenwerfer was essentially a claw-held tube connected to a back-pack full of highly-flammable liquid; a small pump moved the liquid from the back-pack and through the tube, which was then sprayed towards the target. Since the liquid would ignite on contact with air, the target would be engulfed in a mass of liquid fire. One Griffon commander described them as “ingenious, but monstrous…. if war was a weapon, it would be this.”

The second new corps that had been created was the Cannonade Corps, who were trained to operate a type of self-propelled armoured vehicle (although an extremely crude one by our modern standards). While who exactly invented it is up to debate, there are many sources that describe the design and function of these machines. The aptly named ‘Cannonade Carts’ were essentially large wheeled carts protected by a thick metal dome. Small ports were cut into their sides to allow black-powder cannon mounted inside to be fired out. The whole thing was driven by a rudimentary fuel-pump engine that injected in flammable liquid to create small explosions, which in turn powered the ‘drive arms’ that propelled the vehicle forwards. Although slow and unwieldy, Cannonade Carts were unlike any other type of weapon previously seen in Griffon or Equestrian history.

Having been living in constant expectation of an invasion, the Griffon Kings and Queens were immensely surprised to hear of the revolution and the rise of the New Lunar Republic in 1036LB. Overjoyed by this unexpected turn of events, the leaders of the Twelve Kingdoms met to debate on what should be done next. Should the Griffons stay out of it completely? Or wait until it was over, and then invade, annexing parts of the undoubtedly weakened state? Or should they assist one side against the other?

Ultimately they decided to do none of these things. This short speech by King Paris IV, recorded and preserved by the meeting’s scribe, clearly outlines the Griffon’s decision and their motives for making it.

“My fellow Kings and Queens – while your arguments are both many and engaging, I have an alternative proposition.”

“Since their very creation, our twelve great kingdoms have warred with one another. Although we may have united in times of great peril – such as in recent years – we Griffons have been, for the most part, divided. And divided we were weak, unable to progress, unable to advance, unable even to conquer one another.”

“Our neighbour, Equestria, has known since the beginning the dangers of being divided. That is why, time and time again in our history, they have been able to defeat us. And not just in battle – although they have done that many times. You see, the average Equestrian considers himself more cultured, better educated, healthier and safer than his Griffon counterpart. And that is because Equestria has always been united, as one people, with one purpose.”

“In fact, the average Equestrian considers himself SO MUCH better than us, that he does not even acknowledge our existence! Equestria as a whole does not care for us one bit – after all, we are their closest and oldest neighbour; where are the trade deals? Where are the ambassadors? Where is their renowned SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP? It’s not here, that’s for certain!”

“My fellow monarchs, we have to face facts. The Equestrians mock us. They mocked us as weak and barbaric a thousand years ago and, despite our many glorious achievements throughout our illustrious history, they continue to mock us today! But NO LONGER!”

“For today, Equestria is the one who is divided, and we the ones united! Equestria is weak, and we are strong! While their culture and their ‘science’ have stagnated, we have PROGRESSED! The Griffon Kingdoms are stronger than they have ever been, while Equestria is tearing itself apart, and I say – is it not time for revenge? Is it not time to bring those arrogant ponies to their knees? Is it not time to demonstrate to those high-horsed Equestrians that it is WE who are better than THEM?”

“My fellow monarchs – is it not time we conquered Equestria?”

This speech, the scribe avidly records, was met with much agreement throughout, and much applause at its end. It was decided then and there to assemble the newly-enlarged Griffon armies and invade Equestria. Buoyed by King Paris’ speech (which had been edited so that it appeared to address the masses, and then hoofed out to the general public in a leaflet), and their recent advances both economically and technologically, the civilians and soldiers of the Griffon Kingdoms were very much for the war and utterly confident of victory. The expected acquisition of new land and more resources for their expanding economy excited nobles, merchants, entrepreneurs, politicians and ordinary folk alike.

The Griffon armies embarked in their ships during the middle of summer, 1038LB, and set sail. Their first objective was to take a port or coastal city along the east coast of Equestria. It was the hope of the Griffon Kings and Queens that, should this initial assault be successful, their forces could then be reinforced from the sea, before pushing deeper into the heartland of their ancient enemy.

Siege of Manehatten Part 1 – Crossing the Hubson River

A week after the longest day of 1038LB, the forces of Old Equestria arrived at the outskirts of Manehatten. Although the city had no walls, it was clear to the attackers that things would not be as simple as they’d hoped. In fact, the coming battle would turn out to be the second major conflict of the war.

All but one of the bridges across the Hubson River that separated the city from the mainland had been destroyed. The one remaining bridge was overlooked by four impregnable-looking guardhouses and, as Legate Pilum Sternum correctly observed, was no doubt a trap designed to kill as many of the Celestian forces trying to enter the city as possible. The Legate also realised that this meant the defenders had received prior warning of their approach, and had had ample time to prepare; he correctly concluded that the much-hated Nightstrider Brigades were to blame for this.

Sources explicitly state that the Old Equestrian force number almost exactly 27,000 soldiers, including reserves. This number, repeated in a number of different sources, seems to have come from a mare named Diamond Heart; a military administrator from the Crystal Empire, who had served with Legate Sternum since the beginning of his career. Most of the Celestian force was composed of Crystal Warriors, with around 5,000 soldiers from the Royal Guard, a hoof-full of Solar Disciples, and several hundred siege engines. The remaining Wonderbolt Brigades were also present, and are not recorded as being part of the 27,000 soldiers; the sources aren't clear on exactly how many there were, but there could not have been more than a thousand or so - almost certainly there were fewer than that. Overall command of the force was, of course, in the hooves of the Legate.

The Republic forces opposing them originally numbered around 17-18,000 troops, the vast majority of whom were revolutionaries equipped with basic Starbeam rifles, but also included at least two thousand equipped with the new Multibeam rifle (these troops, a Republic military advisor tells us, were attached individually to ordinary squads). Added to that were the 1,200 or so troops from the Nightstrider Brigades, as well as 25 Eclipse Bombard cannons and their crew (although the latter played no part in the battle), bringing the total Republic numbers to around 19-20,000. Despite constant pleads for the Hero of the Republic to take command, General Nightstrider pointedly refused, preferring to go out and fight on the front lines, so General Brownstocking remained in charge.

Sternum wasted no time in beginning the battle. Ordering his siege engines to begin the bombardment (these particular siege engines were trebuchets – wooden constructs, ubiquitously used by Old Equestrian siege forces, that used a massive counterbalance to ‘throw’ boulders and other large missiles through the air), the Legate ordered his ground troops to spread out around the city, to stop any “cowardly revolutionaries” from escaping.

The soldiers of the Republic, holed up in buildings and behind makeshift barricades, prepared themselves for an assault. However, the expected assault did not come. On Legate Sternum’s orders, the Old Equestrian bombardment of the city continued for the remainder of the afternoon, all through the night, and into the following morning. His soldiers worked tirelessly throughout to scour the surrounding area for potential missiles, as well as to actually operate the trebuchets. The bombardment only ended at around midday, when they ran out of objects in the immediate vicinity that they could throw.

Although this had the effect of exhausting a significant proportion of the Legate’s army, the effect on the Republic’s soldiers was utterly devastating. Not only were a great many of their carefully-prepared defences smashed, but the endless whistle of falling boulders had kept almost everypony in Manehatten awake through the fear that they would be hit next. The city itself – thus far untouched by the ravages of the war – was now covered in craters, many of its skyscrapers crushed to rubble, its streets and roadways in ruins.

Mere minutes after the end of the bombardment, Legate Sternum ordered the first 4,000 of his troops to advance. As the ordered ranks of the Crystal Warriors marched towards the one remaining bridge into the city (intentionally untouched by the bombardment), the Old Equestrian soldiers, as previously ordered, formed themselves into a ‘tortoise’ formation. This involved every soldier holding their scuta (large, rectangular shields made out of a tough but lightweight, pumice-like stone, issued to every Crystal Warrior) above their heads, resulting in a kind of interlocking ‘ceiling’ that protected the whole formation from attack from above.

The Republican soldiers garrisoned in the bridge’s four guardhouses began firing a rain of shots down at the advancing troops, but to no avail. The Crystal Warrior’s tough scuta protected them from the revolutionaries’ attack, allowing them to march across the bridge and into Manehatten unharmed.

Legate Sternum then formed up the rest of his assault troops into 4,000 strong ‘tortoise’ columns, and then sent them one after the other into the city. The revolutionaries in the guardhouses were no doubt embarrassed and dismayed as, powerless, they were forced to watch the enemy march straight past them. Cut off from the rest of Republic’s forces and surrounded by marching Crystal Warriors, these 600-or-so well dug-in troops played no further part in the battle.

A recently discovered piece of evidence suggests that, amongst these 600 soldiers, was a young Sergeant named Moonlight Sonata – later known and feared as High Marshal Sonata, who would one day lead the New Lunar Republic’s forces in the final battle of the Sundering of Equestria. But that would not be for some time.

Siege of Manehatten Part 2 – Tightening the Noose

The leader of the Republic’s forces, General Brownstocking, had hoped that the troops in the bridge’s guardhouses would have at the very least slowed down the enemy advance, and at best caused them significant casualties. Realising that this had not happened, Brownstocking ordered his troops in the outskirts of Manehatten to adopt a series of ‘flexible’ lines of defence. In effect, this meant that his soldiers would be constantly and gradually falling back from the advancing Crystal Warriors, but doing so in an orderly way and firing at the enemy the entire time.

This, Brownstocking hoped, would prevent his forces from having to fight in close-combat with the Old Equestrians – something that the Battle of Canterlot had taught them would end in disaster – and result in a high number of casualties for the enemy, compared to only a few for the Republic.

This did mean, however, that a lot of ground would be sacrificed to the enemy. General Nightstrider therefore volunteered to lead his Brigades to the area behind the advancing Celestians, and launch guerrilla attacks against their rear. Brownstocking agreed, and Nightstrider left with his troops. It would be the last time the two Generals saw each other.

Initially, Brownstocking’s plan worked perfectly. Although heavily-armoured, the advancing Crystal Warriors were very slow-moving compared to the lightweight revolutionaries, and so the Republican soldiers were able to keep out of reach of the Warriors’ halberds whilst still maintaining a high level of fire. It is a testament to the Crystal Warriors’ high level of training that they maintained their formations and continued their inexorable advance, rather than break ranks and pursue, in the face of such aggravation.

The losses for the attackers at this stage of the battle are generally considered by historians to have been very high, but recent evidence suggests that this is merely misinterpretation. The Crystal Warriors did not suffer extremely high casualties, but merely lost a proportionally higher number of soldiers than their enemies; overall casualties for both sides during the advance were very low, being estimated at around a thousand for Old Equestria, and barely a few hundred for the Republic - if that.

Unfortunately for the defenders, as the hours passed, the soldiers of the Republic were running out of room into which to retreat. The Old Equestrian forces had, as ordered by their Legate, spread out once they’d entered the Manehatten, and had effectively surrounded the revolutionaries in a semi-circle, with the defenders’ backs to the ocean. At this point, Legate Sternum ordered his troops to “tighten the noose”.

With the Republic troops being forced into an ever-smaller area centred on the Manehatten Spire – one of the few skyscrapers remaining after the initial bombardment, and the command centre of the revolutionary forces – the Legate ordered his troops to halt and form an unbreakable cordon of troops. He then ordered his army’s siege weapons to be moved closer to the city, in preparation for another bombardment. Sternum’s plan in doing this was twofold; but, to the hidden Nightstrider Brigades, only his intention of bombarding the city centre was apparent.

The Old Equestrian trebuchets were pulled up to the very edge of the Hubson River; setting up began immediately, under the watchful eye of only 800 Crystal Warriors, and those were very spread out. General Nightstrider, confident that Legate Sternum was once again being both careless and overconfident, personally led his remaining Brigades across the Hubson River, and descended on the unprepared trebuchet operators en masse.

Unfortunately for General Nightstrider, this was exactly what the Legate had been expecting him to do.

Thanks to his Solar Disciples’ magic, Legate Sternum had been able to conceal approximately 7-8,000 of his reinforcements from the would-be ambushers’ sight. When Nightstrider emerged from the shadows the riverbank and personally led the charge towards the trebuchets, Legate Sternum ordered his own ambush troops to advance, thereby breaking the Solar Disciple’s enchantment.

Acting fast, the Old Equestrians fell on the surprised Nightstrider Brigades before they could react. Approximately 700 of Nightstrider’s troops were killed in this extremely brief battle; General Nightstrider himself was identified by an enemy soldier and captured. In comparison, less than a dozen Crystal Warriors fell. The remaining 500 or so Republican soldiers fled from the field of battle, and escaped into a nearby forest. Although their leader had been captured, the Nightstrider Brigades would continue on.