The Sundering of Equestria - A Future History

The Home Front Part 1 – Under an Iron Hoof

By the beginning of 1040LB, life for the ordinary citizens of Equestria had changed dramatically since the assassination of 1031LB. In the interests of providing a full and impartial social history of the war, a brief examination will now be made of the various lifestyles, problems, sufferings and achievements made by the common ponies living in different parts of Equestria, during the first months of 1040LB.

Modern estimates put the proportion of Equestrian civilians living in areas under the control of Princess Celestia at around 30-40% of the total population. These citizens, however, were existing in extremely cramped living conditions, as Celestia’s remaining domains consisted mainly of cities under siege.

Life for these ponies was regimented and extremely harsh. In most cities, large areas of below-average-priced housing had been demolished to allow for all-important food to be grown behind the safety of the city walls. This had the effect of making a significant proportion of the cities’ population homeless; these civilians therefore had little choice but to either cram into the houses of their friends or, if their friends had no homes either, to join the Royal Guard. Those with jobs unrelated to the war effort (including such otherwise vital things as civilian healthcare) were forcibly drafted into the factories and forges to produce weapons, armour, tools and equipment for the armies of Old Equestria. Working hours were universally long, and pay almost non-existent, as part of Princess Celestia’s effort to maximise the output of her meagre resources. Working injuries, including severe burns and “impromptu amputations”, were common.

Life was somewhat better for a new unicorn elite that the Sundering of Equestria had inadvertently created. The demand for Solar Disciples had greatly increased over the previous few months – sources suggest that the Princess was planning to use them as a counter to the armoured war-creations of the World Empire and the Griffon Kingdoms – and Celestia’s ‘Solar Schools’ were taking on more and more unicorns. Those ponies with a talent for magic quickly realised their worth, and arrogantly demanded the best food, accommodation and lifestyle available in the wartime cities. This created a kind of new aristocracy that quickly drained the Old Equestrian cities of what little extra resources they possessed.

Riots and attempted coups are surprisingly absent from sources referring to life under Celestian rule, but this does not mean that they did not happen. Possibly they did, and were merely expunged from the government’s records; if riots did occur, then it is certain that they failed. Explanations for why there may have been no attempts to overthrow Celestia within the Old Equestrian cities are many and varied, but most proponents of this argument point to the constant presence of the Royal Guard in every walk of life and, of course, the fear of ‘Celestian Justice’.

Despite large sections of cities being turned over to farming, most of the food produced was given over to the armies and the government, so rationing was still harshly enforced. According to one source, as many as 1,100 ponies had died from starvation by the beginning of 1040LB, and most of those died during that winter. More were to die in the same way as the war dragged on. The source that gives us the aforementioned figure also claims that Princess Celestia, upon hearing of an unexpected bread shortage, jokingly offered the starving ponies a piece of the cake she was eating. However, a different source claims that Celestia made a point to eat the same size and quality meals as her subjects; the exact truth of the matter is therefore unknown.

Overall, Princess Celestia’s interaction with her people is best described as distant. Although she made regular appearances at government meetings, Celestia made extremely few appearances in public. While this may have been for her own safety (those under her rule were not necessarily her supporters), one of her ministers recorded the following.

“She doesn’t hide from them because she’s scared. Far from it. She’s ashamed. She’s filled with regret for what she’s done – the war that she knows she caused. She can’t stand to look into another pony’s eyes and see only burning hatred, where once there was only unconditional adoration. I don’t know if trying times can make great ponies, but they can certainly break them.”

It is unknown how accurate this assessment of Celestia is, but another source tells us that the aforementioned politician was later executed for “libel and treason against Her Highness”. Historians have interpreted this in many ways.

The Home Front Part 2 – Under Free Stars

The ponies living in the areas under the control of the New Lunar Republic were considerably better off than their Celestian counterparts, but by no means were they free of hardships. Due to the War Council’s incessant demand for more pony-power and more weapons with which to equip their troops (large, easily-replaceable armies being one of the main strengths of the Republic), huge numbers of civilians were forcibly drafted into the Republic’s armed forces. Although their armies were initially made up entirely of civilian volunteers and defectors from Old Equestria’s military, the Council decided to introduce regular conscription after the Siege of Manehatten, in order to ensure that their military remained at full strength.

Modern historians estimate that, of those ponies living under the banner of the New Lunar Republic over the whole course of the war, approximately one-fifth were drafted into active military service, and another quarter were forced into working in factories and businesses that directly contributed to the war effort (including armament factories, farms and military hospitals).

The social impact of this was tremendous. By the end of the conflict, there was not a single family that had remained untouched by the war, and for most, achieving victory became a matter of personal import, rather than merely a common national hope. Many historians are therefore quite right in concluding that, of all the factions involved in the Sundering of Equestria, the ordinary citizens of the New Lunar Republic were most desirous of victory.

Of all the various groups contributing to the war effort, the ponies most respected by both the War Council and the common soldier were the scientists. Freed from Princess Celestia’s ancient laws put in place (apparently intentionally) to impede and (very nearly) prevent any technological advancement, the scientists of the Republic managed to quickly perfect magic-crystal technology. Originally intended to be a cheap and easily-accessible power-source by its developers, magic-crystal technology was seized upon early on by the War Council and was used to create a new breed of weapon, with which the Republic could gain an advantage in the war.

It is believed that, by early 1040LB, tests had begun on the first prototype of an entirely new kind of magic-crystal-based weapon. Based on the Hearthstone Engine (the semi-magical device once envisioned to produce limitless amounts of cheap energy, though it was never quite that efficient), and inspired by now-confirmed reports of the Griffon Cannonade Cart, the first Battlecart prototypes came into existence. Although not deployed in battle for quite some time, the Battlecart – this first experimental prototype was dubbed the ‘Type 1 Nocturne’ – was truly a miracle of magic-crystal-based technology. Hovering several inches off the ground and covered in thick armour plating, Republican Battlecarts were intended to be the revolution’s swift-moving (but still heavily-armed) answer to the Griffon Kingdoms’ Cannonade Cart. However, due to setbacks concerning the weapons they were to be equipped with and various other issues, the deployment dates of the first Nocturne Battlecarts were continuously delayed, much to the chagrin of the War Council and their generals.

Meanwhile, in those towns and villages of the Republic that remained distant of the fighting, the new culture of the revolution was thriving. Songs, stories, poems and plays depicting the struggle of the “glorious ponies’ revolution of Equestria” were crafted and swiftly became immensely popular. Many of these works of art still survive today, and are rightly credited with keeping morale high amongst the citizens of the New Lunar Republic throughout the war.

The Home Front Part 3 – In the Claws of the Invaders

Life for Equestrians in the conquered territories was vastly different to elsewhere. Mainly this was due to the invading factions drawing their resources and reinforcements from their own countries (so no Equestrians were forced into factories or conscripted into the army), but the different ways the ‘natives’ were treated by the occupying soldiers gave rise to two very different kinds of localised society.

For the ponies living in the towns and villages around Manehatten, and therefore those under the rule of the Griffon Kingdoms, day-to-day life was truly terrible. With over a thousand years of pent-up racial and national aggression being released, the soldiers of the Griffon Kingdoms wasted no time in enjoying their newfound power over their ancestral enemies. Many ponies were effectively enslaved; taken away from their families, abused and forced to work without breaks or pay for their Griffon ‘masters’, a great number of these ponies were never seen again. There are recorded cases of ponies that objected or tried to hold on to their loved ones being dispassionately killed. Although slavery and the murder of civilians were against the law in all twelve of the Griffon Kingdoms, very few of the officers in charge of army discipline and conduct seemed interested in stopping these abhorrent actions, and in fact many officers seemed to have indulged in them.

Food was regularly taken from ponies’ homes, as were numerous other possessions, whenever a Griffon soldier felt like taking it, either as an interesting trophy or to supplement their rations. When combined with the fierceness of the winter, this resulted in a number of ponies dying of starvation. Eventually these practices of theft, murder and slavery (and most likely worse) were reported to the civilian authorities back in the Griffon Kingdoms, and these things came to a gradual end. However, during the winter of 1039-40LB, an estimated 3,400 civilians starved to death or were either killed or made into slaves by the Griffon occupiers.

In the area around Horseshoe Bay, things could not have been more different. While the majority of the World Empire’s expeditionary force spent the winter of 1039-40LB constructing intricate defences and acclimatising themselves to the foreign land they now found themselves in, they did this at a great social distance to the local ponies, who were not unduly effected by the Empire’s defensive and constructive efforts.

There was inevitably some impact on the Equestrian ponies’ everyday life, however. With the Empire having assumed the role of local government, squads of Imperial soldiers were ordered to patrol the streets and act, in all respects, like police-ponies. Since most Imperials did not speak the local language, officers of the expeditionary force were taught basic (and often fractured) phrases in Equestrian – such as “you have broken the rules”, “halt right there, criminal”, and “no seeing here, citizen, continue moving” – to help them in their new role of peacekeepers.

Higher-ranking officers (usually Captains or Majors) who had a better grasp of Equestrian took the role of local magistrates. There are numerous accounts of these officers settling private disputes as judges, ensuring that poorer ponies received (at minimum) the Empire-approved quantity of food and clothing rations, and even organising traditional local events (including the Hearth’s Warming Eve celebrations, which must have been particularly amusing at the time as the citizens of the World Empire did not celebrate Hearth’s Warming, and thus the occupiers must have had no idea what it was all about).

Relations were helped by the fact that the ponies local to Horseshoe Bay had been mostly neutral during the revolution, and that, due to their extremely strict training, the Imperial soldiers did not in general indulge in the kind of minor looting and other misdemeanours that so often plague armies in foreign lands. Therefore, despite a number of minor incidents (usually resulting from mistranslations), relations were generally good between the local Equestrians and the soldiers of the World Empire during this time.

The Home Front Part 4 – The Occupation of Vanhoover

Unquestionably, the Equestrians who suffered most during the last weeks of the winter of 1039-40LB were those unlucky enough to have been enslaved by the Changeling Swarm, after Queen Chrysalis’ takeover of Vanhoover. Since Changelings do not keep records, it is extremely fortunate for historians that some ponies were brave enough to keep diaries of their lives during this period.

One such account, only recently rediscovered, is the now-famous diary of Anne Flank. As it is more intact and comprehensive than any other account of life under Changeling rule, Amaranth Flyer’s diary can rightfully be said to be amongst the most important documents dating from the time of the Sundering of Equestria.

In the following extract, Miss Flyer describes how the Changelings treated the populace of Vanhoover.

“Under the carpet in the main room is a trapdoor that leads to the cellar underneath our house. As soon as we heard the buzzing, Mom jumped out of her seat and rushed us all over there. Fizz went down the trapdoor stairs first, asking all the time what was happening, in that little squeaky voice of hers. I went next, then Mom.”

“In the cellar there are two wooden benches, some cans of food and a small candle so we can see. Once Mom had made sure the carpet was rolled over the trapdoor, she closed it, locked it, and came down the stairs.”

“Almost straightaway we heard the front door open, and then the buzzing got louder. Mom kept pressing her hoof to Fizz’s lips, not saying anything, just trying to keep her quiet. I already knew not to make any noise. I bit down on my hoof, to stop me making any gasps by accident. Mom did the same, and Fizz copied us.”

“I heard Them come to a stop, right above our heads. None of us dared to even breathe.”

“I knew what would happen if They found us. It had happened to my friend Bell Blossom two weeks ago. They’d come into her house and taken away the healthiest members of her family. Bell Blossom was sick with something at the time, so They hadn’t taken her. She told me that They were taking the healthiest ponies in the city into Their Hive, to be drained of all their emotions, never to come out again.”

“I haven’t seen Bell Blossom at all since then. I hope she’s okay.”

“We heard a sudden banging noise, and we all nearly jumped. I realised later it was Them knocking over our furniture. Little Fizz almost cried out, and she would have done, if Mom hadn’t been holding her so hard she could barely breathe.”

“After a few seconds, the banging and crashing died away. Then there was a silence. It was the worst silence I’ve ever experienced. We didn’t know if They’d found us – if They’d spotted the trapdoor – or if They had given up.”

“For one terrible moment, I felt the urge to scream. They’d found us, I knew it, and what was going to come next was too terrible to even think about. If I had, it would have been all over for us.”

“Thank goodness I didn’t. A few seconds passed, and we heard the buzzing of Their insect wings again – but it quickly got fainter. They were leaving. We were all so relieved. In fact, Mom was so relieved she almost fainted. I was pretty pale myself.”

“As I’m writing this, I’m so, so happy that we managed to escape Them – but what about next time? Eventually They will come back. Can we keep hiding from Them forever?”

There are only two further entries in Miss Flyer's diary after this one. Amaranth Flyer’s ultimate fate remains unknown, but historians agree that the unfortunate mare was most likely abducted and eventually drained to death by the Changelings.

The Home Front Part 5 – The Everfree Cross

One organisation from this time that cannot go unmentioned is the Everfree Cross. Renowned today as the world’s largest international aid organisation, the Everfree Cross was first founded during the Sundering of Equestria, at the beginning of autumn, 1039LB. Starting from humble beginnings – a team of nine like-minded ponies and griffons – the Everfree Cross eventually swelled to an organisation of almost 12,000 peace-loving volunteers, complete with its own hospitals and management staff, by the time of the war’s final battle, and is remembered as being the only truly neutral organisation in the whole of the war.

The Everfree Cross (as the source-less legend goes) was originally inspired by the selfless sacrifice of a single pony during the Siege of Manehatten. This mare supposedly risked her own life to drag wounded soldiers (from all three sides) out of the line of fire and into her makeshift ‘hospital’. There, this heroic pony treated these wounded soldiers to the best of her ability, saving (supposedly) at least 30 lives. However, after venturing out into the line of fire one-too-many times, this mythical mare took a musket-round to the head and perished. A group of those she’d saved vowed to carry on her work, and thus the idea of the Everfree Cross was born.

The name of this pony has, unfortunately, been lost to history, but a statue of what she supposedly looked like has been erected outside the Everfree Cross Centre in Riydh (the capital of Saddle Arabia, for those who are unaware); it depicts her as a long-haired pegasus, cradling the symbol of the Everfree Cross in her hooves. However, there are no reliable sources available to modern historians that confirm that this mare was indeed a pegasus – or, indeed, that she ever actually existed.

What the sources do confirm, however, is that, during the ambassadorial meetings between the four factions that took place as a result of the arrival of the World Empire’s expeditionary force in Equestria (1039LB), six ponies and three griffons arrived at Horseshoe Bay. After convincing the Imperial soldiers to let them meet with Ambassador-General Doctrinaire, these nine souls pleaded before Doctrinaire and the other ambassadors to allow them to form the Everfree Cross organisation.

Moved by their pleas, and the story of the pony that had inspired them, all four ambassadors – Doctrinaire, Cloutus, De Auvin and Lacklustre – signed the International Everfree Cross Agreement. This document ensured that the four ‘member’ factions would agree to respect the neutrality of the Everfree Cross workers, not to fire at them during battles, and allow them to help wounded soldiers and civilians from all sides, in “this and any other future conflicts”. De Auvin and Doctrinaire also agreed to petition their governments to help fund the organisation; they were successful, and this allowed this small group to set up their first base of operations, near to the ruins of Manehatten.

Although this meeting was not recorded on a Phonograph (as the subsequent ‘enquiry’ was), paper records of the meeting do still exist in the vaults of the World Empire. Other than the terms of the Everfree Cross Agreement itself, the events of this meeting are somewhat haphazard and difficult to understand. For example, one line refers to an ‘Element’ being “recovered” by the founders of the Everfree Cross after the Siege of Manehatten – presumably this is separate from the ‘Element’ Baron Von Clawtoven spoke of, and has led some historians to speculate that an ‘Element’ is a group of 30 soldiers (the number of troops the mythical mare saved during the Siege), although this is still debated. Following the mention of the term, Ambassador-General Doctrinaire expresses some confusion, so presumably ‘Element’ was a term used solely in Equestrian armies, and was never used by the World Empire. However, later sources involving Colonel Staid seem to contradict this latter fact, so the truth continues to be shrouded in mystery.

Regardless, from that meeting onwards, in every battle involving those four factions, members of the Everfree Cross were present, often unnoticed and unrecorded by most contemporary chroniclers, aiding and healing the troops of all sides without preference or partiality.