Letters from the Homefront

Live Fire Exercises on Border Terrify Civilians

Equestrian Parliament expressed concern earlier this week when several heavily armed troops from the Crystal Empire gathered at the edges of the Empire, within striking distance of a number of major Equestrian cities, including Vanhoover and Manehattan. Reports of distant explosions and gunfire prompted several citizens to flee their homes, thinking that they were under attack.

“I was woken up in the middle of the night by what sounded like a giant drum being banged over my head,” said Manehattan native Timpani Beat. “I looked out the window, and I could see flashes of light over the horizon, with flares and magical sparks shooting up like fireworks. I grabbed my wife and our two fillies and ran for it; me and most of our neighbors, just grabbing what we could and running or driving, going anywhere but there.”

Princess Luna reached out to the Crystal Empire for an explanation. Prime Minister Sombra reassured the Princess that the troops were performing scheduled military exercises involving live ammunition. He promised that there was no danger posed by their exercises, and apologized for any inconvenience caused to the Equestrians.

“We would naturally have preferred that the Prime Minister warn us before he sends his soldiers to practice live drills on the borders of our lands, within range of our people,” a very irritated Princess Luna told reporters earlier this afternoon as she returned from an emergency session of Parliament. The session had been called to discuss options to respond to the Crystal Empire’s display of force. Some Parliament members have expressed concern over the Crystal Empire’s increasing the strength, size, and technological might of its military forces.

“Defending your land from Frost Dragons is one thing, but a 150% increase in the military budget in the last six months and almost weekly shipments of large amounts of the most advanced weapons and armor? You’d think that they were preparing for a full-out war,” said MP Mighty Pen of Canterlot. “I find this most recent development incredibly disturbing, and there are several other MPs that agree with me when I say that we must respond to this outrage.”

We contacted our sister office in the Crystal Empire’s capital city, Coeur. They replied that the Crystal Empire’s Parliament is embroiled in internal conflict over the pros and cons of their increased militarization and several are expressing concern over the increasing amount of power and influence over the nation’s politics that Prime Minister Sombra seems to be gaining; while his critics remain extremely vocal, the majority of the government appears to be on Sombra’s side. Furthermore, there is deep concern amongst Parliament and the Crystal Ponies about their own sovereign, Princess Amore, who is reported to have taken ill at the beginning of summer and has not been seen in public since last month.

“This is not like mother at all,” commented Princess Cadenza, who is still on holiday in Canterlot. “I remember she once contracted a case of blue flu. She still appeared at Parliament every day like clockwork, right up until she was so sick she couldn’t even get out of bed. And she hates violence, so I can’t understand why she’d approve increasing the military; she always put it last on the state budget. And doing live military drills near ponies that could get hurt? Something is seriously wrong.”