A Twinkle of Hope

A Twinkle of Hope - Prologue

Four years have passed since that faithful shot was fired in Fillydelphia. The national guard was sent deal with the "Equalist Movement". But that battle was lost. The city fell to the Rebels, and thus began the Civil War. The horrors of war haunt the minds of all those who participate, especially when the enemy is family or friend. The ideologies set forth by each side revolved around one key issue: Who deserves to rule Equestria?

For centuries the two Alicorns have looked over the land, granting it beautiful days and enchanting nights. The two ruled justly, and Equestria flourished under their guidance. Still there existed those who thought the Sun and Moon where obsolete, relics of a bygone era holding on to the last remnants of the old ways. Thus was the germ of the Equalists, preaching a world where anypony could rule, and where the archaic doctrines of magic were superseded by scientific discovery, burying the old practices where they rightfully belong, in the history books, along with the Alicorn.

But this feeling was not shared by all. To them, the two Princesses belonged at the helm of the kingdom, and performing their duties of raising and lowering the heavenly bodies. The world was in balance. The world was as it should be. And those that held these things to be true, and indeed self-evident, the Equalists sought to tear down establishment for their own anarchic purposes.

And ponies fought to prove they were right. If things can be proven right by those who make the rules, the Equalists had fought the good fight. But the glorious fantasy envisioned by the agitators never came. Great ideas were preached; ones of truth, justice, equality, freedom. But those virtues are now perverted. Only ignorance, fear, and oppression remain.

Now the war draws to a close. The remnants of Equestria's once proud military take refuge in a location as of yet unknown to the Equalist leaders. There the last light of everything their once mighty kingdom held dear endures. The ponies that seek to defend it do so because it is something worth fighting, and dying for. The tyrant wishes to lull them to sleep with sweet, empty promises. But they will not go quietly into that good night...