“We have no chance of winning,” I mumbled through gritted teeth, as I scanned this morning’s newspaper.

Just a week ago, four spies were sent from the Lunar Republic to the Solar Empire. Only one of them returned yesterday, and he claimed the other three were killed in the hooves of Princess Celestia.

The newspaper stated that our Princess Luna commands us not to be discouraged, and that if we stay loyal, we will surely defeat the Solar Empire.

I sighed and discarded the paper into the air, watching it flutter away in the wind. Hopefully, another pony without any money would get their hooves on it and read about the bad news.

My bones cracked painfully as I stood up. I ignored the disgusted looks of richer ponies as they walked past me down the street. I was just another homeless guy who just made a bad impression on the Lunar Republic.

Maybe I should leave.

That thought had crossed my mind more and more within the past month. I could run away and nopony would care or notice. I could get away from this war and just live on my own, without a care in the world.

Nah.

Everywhere outside of the Territories had such harsh environments, I would never be able to survive.

The earth was scarred when weapons running on unicorn magic and technology were invented. Homes would be burned down, ponies were killed; it was all hectic.

Everypony blamed Princess Luna. It actually wasn’t her fault completely.

Long ago, she was banished by her elder sister Princess Celestia until the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony brought her back. However, the ponyfolk were unwilling to let her return to the throne just like that. Besides, she was gone for a thousand years! Everything had been fine after she was banished.

Luna and Celestia had gradually divided as well. Luna was furious that after being gone a thousand years, the pony folk disliked her even more. Celestia tried to reassure her that soon, they would come to love and respect her as one of their Princesses.

Time passed, and nothing changed. The ponies just got more and more angry, and so was Luna.

There were some who even tried to assassinate her. Luna was furious by those acts, declaring that any who opposed her didn’t deserve to live in her land.

Celestia kept reminding her to be patient, but Luna said that nopony could stay patient forever. Did her sister expect her to wait another thousand years or more?

And then, that day came. The out-of-the-blue decision.

The decision was shown first on newspaper. Then, propaganda started appearing.

Fliers of either Celestia or Luna were scattered across the kingdom, telling the ponyfolk to choose a princess to follow. No further details were given. This was purely a test to see which princess the ponies loved more.

The results were unsurprising.

Of the estimated 10,000,000 ponies inhabiting Equestria, Celestia received around 8,500,000. Luna received the rest. Thus, the real war began.

This happened twenty years ago.

What about the Crystal Empire? I thought. Maybe I could run there. But that was hundreds of miles away.

Nopony had been in contact with the Crystal Empire for the last two decades. Shining Armour, once Prince and Captain of the Royal Guards, abandoned his title to lead the Empire beside his wife, Princess Cadence.

After the division of Equestria, they had stated bluntly that they would not take part in any of this war. Nopony could really force them to, since the Crystal Empire technically wasn’t a part of Equestria. So they stayed isolated, miles from the Territories established by the Princesses.

Both sides had an equal amount of territory more-or-less, despite the Lunar Republic having a much smaller population.

The dividing point was at Canterlot. Lunar Republic’s furthest area to the north was Neighagara Falls, which led to Manehatten. The shoreline was part of the boundary, and their south-most area was Hayseed Swamp. The boundary then skirted around the Badlands, and then stopped at the railway in Appleloosa. Part of the Everfree forest belonged to the Republic.

Now, Solar Empire had pretty much the other half of Equestria, excluding the San Palomino Desert. The Frozen North was unclaimed by either side.

Princess Luna resided at Manehatten, while Celestia lived in Vanhoover.

What’s life like in the Solar Empire? It has to be better than this.

I was four years old and an orphan in the only orphanage in Equestria when this war began. That orphanage happened to be located in Baltimare, on the Lunar Republic’s half. I was automatically placed in the Lunar Republic. I lived oblivious to what was happening in the world until I turned eighteen.

I was kicked out. I got a painful amount of bits to live off of, which I quickly ran out of. I couldn’t find any jobs. Our world was poverty-stricken by then and nopony wanted to hire a homeless pony fresh out of the orphanage who had zero experience in everything.

Things just kept going downhill for me these past six years. Well, things have been going downhill for everypony here in the Republic.

I ruminated about my life in the orphanage. It was a dark, gloomy place, but at least I got to eat everyday, had a bed to sleep in, and made friends.

I had one friend who was nearly the same age as me. He was two weeks older, so he got released from the orphanage two weeks before me. We were each other’s closest friends, and he vowed that he would wait near the orphanage for me.

Two weeks later, I found him sitting behind the fence that caged in the orphanage building. We stayed together and watched each other’s backs. We were homeless, but we were pretty happy to have each other’s company.

This only lasted a month or two. I had gone exploring the city and when I returned, I found my friend missing from our usual shelter. I heard gunshots from around the block, and when I galloped there as fast as I could, I found him lying on the ground. There were two bullet holes in him. I had to look away, since it was the first time in my life that I had seen so much blood.

It was also the first time I saw death.

Standing a few lengths away was an armored stallion. He was a unicorn, and he was levitating a strange metal object.

I remembered that just before I left the orphanage, the matron warned me about the police. They were Luna’s guards. There were few of them, but if they ever saw anypony causing trouble, they would take out this strange weapon and shoot them. One shot, and a pony could die.

I gaped at my friend in horror. He was dead.

“Once a pony is dead, you will never be able to talk to them or see them ever again,” the matron’s quivery voice had warned me that day as I eagerly stepped past the orphanage door.

The police was eying the gathering crowd. I heard somepony exclaim, “Why did you kill him?!”

“He tried to steal my gun,” the guard replied curtly.

I stared at the object. It was called a gun.

“You killed him for trying to steal your gun?” Another pony said with disbelief.

The guard raised his gun and pointed it at everypony. I felt my knees go weak when it pointed at me.

“Anypony who defies Princess Luna doesn’t deserve to live here,” the guard declared. “I am her guard, so anypony who defies me is defying the Princess as well.”

I turned tail and ran. When I turned the corner, I saw our shelter. I raced past it without a thought.

That was the last time I saw that little shelter I called home.

I never found another one like it.

Author's Note

For the part where there is a description of the Territories, refer to this http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130403195243/mlp/images/c/cb/Map_of_Equestria_April_2013.jpg