Letters from the Homefront

by Leaf Whisper

Rating: teen
Tags: Death, Alternate Universe, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Other, Romance, Adventure, Shining Armor, King Sombra, Profanity, Violence
Length: 11734

The tale of the Crystal War is a long and torrid one, told through the blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds of ponies. These are some of the stories, told by Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.

The year was 1940, and all was well. The Crystal Empire, Equestria's ally to the north, was experiencing a new era of economic growth, under the kind and wise rule of Princess Vero Amore and Prime Minister Sombra. Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, having just graduated from the Royal Academy of Magic, were ready for the next steps in their lives, Shining taking a commission in the Equestrian Army and Cadance taking some time to relax in Canterlot before returning home.

But no good thing can last forever. Before the summer had closed, Princess Amore had died, Sombra had declared himself King, and the two nations were at war. Lieutenant Shining Armor was sent to the front lines, while Cadance remained behind with Celestia and Luna to prepare to take her role as the Crystal Empress.

This is their tale, the story of the Crystal War, told through letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles.

A tie-in story to Ponyville Noire, set nine years before the start of the story.

Published 2018-01-02 21:10:11 UTC
Last updated 2018-02-12 16:08:13 UTC

Canterlot Herald: Tenth of the Moon of Berries, 1940

Princesses Attend Royal Academy of Magic Graduation

Princess Vero Amore, Empress of the Crystal Empire, visited Canterlot today to oversee the graduation of this year’s class from the Royal Academy of Magic. Princess Celestia and Luna both greeted their fellow alicorn before presiding over the graduation ceremony for the class of forty-seven graduates. Among the graduates was Princess Amore’s daughter, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, known to her friends as Cadance. Princess Cadenza has been an exchange student at the Academy for the past four years and was the valedictorian of this year’s class. She began the ceremony with a speech to the class, reminding them all of the long journeys that they had undertaken towards this goal and imploring each of them to keep the spirit of inquisitiveness that had helped them succeed at the Academy and would help them press the boundaries of magical study in the future.

Following the ceremony, the Princesses, staff, and graduates retired to the Skyline Conference Center on the underside of Canterlot to dance the night away in celebration. Princess Cadenza spent much of her time with the class’ salutatorian, Canterlot-born Shining Armor. The head of the Academy’s Ogres and Oubliettes Club, Shining Armor is an ROTC graduate and will be joining the Equestrian Army as a First Lieutenant for a tour of duty at the beginning of summer. When interviewed, Mr. Armor stated that he had ambitions of serving in the Army’s outreach programs, providing aid to our allied nations in need.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do is to try to help others and make the world a little safer for ponies like my little sister, Twilight,” he told reporters. “There are hundreds of colts and fillies like her around the world that could use my help, that need—if you’ll excuse the cliche—a knight in shining armor to help them.”

Princess Amore told reporters that while she was away, she was leaving the Crystal Empire in the trust of her Prime Minister, Sombra. “There is nopony I trust more with the safety of my people,” she said. “Sombra has guided us through a difficult economic situation; if it weren’t for his guidance, the crystal ponies would have suffered greatly. Before Sombra, families were begging outside my palace for food. Now, none of my children have to go to bed hungry.”

When asked about the recent expansions of the Crystal Empire’s military forces, Princess Amore replied that, regretfully, it was a necessary measure. “In part, the expansions have provided jobs in manufacturing and other services that have helped bring us out of the recession,” she explained. “It is also a necessary measure for our national defense, as we are currently experiencing tension with the Frost Dragon tribes that live in the Frozen North.”

Princess Celestia stated that Equestria was behind the Crystal Empire forever and always. “Ever since the Empire was founded by Princess Speranza, who was a friend of our mother, we have remained close with the Crystal Ponies.”

Princess Cadance has not yet made up her mind what she will be doing during the summer. “Mother wants me to return home to prepare for being the future Empress—as if she hasn’t been preparing me since I was in diapers!” she laughed. “But I think I want to stay in Canterlot for at least this summer and spend some time with my friends here before I have to head back home. I’ve almost literally worked my tail off for this, I think I deserve some time off!”

However, she has made it clear that she knows what her destiny holds. “The Crystal Empire will always be my home,” she told reporters. “I am an only child, and now that father is gone, my responsibility to my people is even greater than before.”

Readers will remember that Prince Canzone del Cuore, Princess Amore’s beloved husband, and Princess Cadenza’s father, was tragically killed earlier this year when his car was caught in a rockslide.

Author's Note

Note: Equestria in Noireverse runs off of a lunar calendar, with a different name for each moon. They are, in order:
Moon of Wolves (January)
Moon of Snow (February)
Robins (March)
Rain (April)
Flowers (May)
Berries (June)
Sun (July)
Grain (August)
Harvest (September)
Hunters (October)
Frost (November)
Cold (December)

The years are counted from the founding of Equestria, which was Year 1 AE (Age of Equestria).

Shining Armor: Fifteenth of the Moon of Berries, 1940

His pressed uniform of dark blue fit perfectly around his form. Every inch of it had been ironed and rolled, and the single silver bars on each of his shoulders shone in the sunlight streaming in through the window. Shining Armor sat at his desk, pondering the letter in front of him. His eyes panned over the room one last time. His bed was neatly made, the sheets so perfectly tight that one could bounce a bit off of them; he knew, he had tried. His action figures were all standing in a perfect row on his shelf, like soldiers at attention. The books and comics that he hadn't packed were waiting in stacks beneath the shelf, awaiting pickup.

Shining's eyes drifted to the two framed photographs on his desk. One showed him in his bright blue gown and cap, surrounded by his family: his mother, his father, and little Twilight held in his forelegs, all of them grinning from ear to ear at the camera. The other showed him in a pale blue suit and red bow tie, with a crown upon his head, his foreleg wrapped around that of the most beautiful unicorn in Equestria, who had laid her wonderful head on his shoulder. Her perfect pink and yellow mane spilled almost down to the floor, she wore a sky blue-white dress, and a tiara was perched on her head. He smiled at the picture, stroking the mare's smiling face.

"Shining!" his mother's voice called from downstairs. "The taxi's going to be here any minute!"

"I'll be right down!" Shining called. "Just gotta finish up this letter!"

He looked down at the letter in front of him and read over it one last time.

Dear Cadance,

Well, today’s the day! By the time you read this letter, I’ll be on an airship on my way to Fort Mustang outside of Canterlot to begin my commission!

Mom’s been fussing over me all morning, trying to iron my uniform one last time, combing my mane again and again. It’s like she hasn’t figured out I’m not five anymore! And she still calls me “Shiny-Winy!” I’m not gonna miss hearing her call me that anymore. (I will miss having her do my laundry, though, but don’t tell her that)

Twilight was a little upset earlier, so I sat down with her at our spot beneath the tree out back and had a talk with her. She’s really gonna miss me while I’m gone. Heck, I’m really gonna miss her while I’m gone. But at least she has you for a while. I know you’re gonna take good care of her while you’re still here in Canterlot.

I’m still a bit jittery about my first day, though: what if the ponies under my command don’t respect me? I’ve heard that Lieutenants who come from ROTC aren’t well-liked since we have no experience. I mean...I worked hard all four years I was at the Academy for this, same as they did! I deserve this position!

Sorry. That was me rambling again. You were right; I really do spend too much time with Twilight.

I’ll just try to remember what you told me; every day is a new chance, a new beginning. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up, get dressed, and head out to do my duties the best I can. And I’ll think of you while I’m doing it. I wish you could be here with me; I always seemed to do better when you were with me. You always knew how to calm me down, somehow.

And if things get rough, I’ll just think of the last night we spent together. That was unforgettable.

I love you, Cadance. I’ll be counting the days until I get to see you again.

Love,

Shining Armor.

Folding up the letter, he tucked it into an envelope, already pre-addressed to the hotel that Cadance was currently staying at. Slipping the envelope into his shirt, he then picked up the two photographs in his magic and dropped them into his waiting saddlebag. He looped the saddlebag over his head and tightened the straps.

"Well," he said to himself, taking in a deep breath. "Here we go." And with that, he exited his bedroom for the last time, closing the door behind him.

Princess Cadance: Twentieth of the Moon of Berries, 1940

The sound of birdsong mixed with two laughing voices. A purple unicorn with the cutie mark of a six-pointed star, her height placing her firmly in her late teens, was chasing a small purple dragon around a trio of tall oak trees, both of them laughing with joy.

"I'm gonna getcha, Spike!" Twilight Sparkle growled playfully, her tail wagging as she pursued her target. The dragon youngling laughed as he stumbled over his own feet in a desperate bid to escape his caretaker's wrath.

Watching from the back porch of the house was a tall pink unicorn, her long pink mane pulled back in a ponytail with a blue ribbon. She giggled to herself as she observed the two children at play and glanced up at the unicorn beside her. The stallion was dressed in a crystalline turquoise uniform with white highlights that marked him as a member of the Crystal Royal Guard. A blue band on his left foreleg bore the emblem of his nation, a simple six-pointed snowflake. On his right foreleg was a trio of chevrons and three bars. He stood at attention next to her, his gaze panning the horizons and the skies. His cutie mark was the head of an angry ram, glaring out at the world.

Mi Amore Cadenza turned and looked back at the letter she was composing.

Dear Shining,

By the time you’ve read this letter, you’ll have started showing everypony that you are the best Lieutenant those soldiers have ever seen. I’m not going to say otherwise because I know you too well: I’ve watched you during your exercises, and I know that you’ve done and will do an amazing job. You’ve wanted to be a soldier ever since I knew you, and I know just how powerful an effect dreams like that have on ponies.

I wish I could be with you, too; I’ve missed you ever since our last night together. Every time I pass by Donut Joe’s shop (the paparazzi would have a field day if they knew that a Princess was eating at a donut shop—I’m so glad that we learned that glamor charm!), I remember the smile on your face when you took my hoof. You had sprinkles all over your face, and your smile just lit up the whole place. (Of course, we did a lot of other things worth remembering that night when we got back to your home, didn’t we?)

Speaking of your home, that’s where I’m staying right now; your mom and dad said I could stay with them as long as I wanted to! Your parents are so sweet—they said that I was practically part of the family! Of course, staying here means that we’ve had to find room for Battering Ram and Frost Shield. They’re currently sharing your old room; one of them sleeps while the other watches me. They might be my friends, but you know how much I hate having to have bodyguards following me around everywhere!

That’s part of why I like being here for the moment. With Twilight and your parents, I don’t have to be a Princess or even a high-class unicorn—I can just be a pony. I can be me with them. When I go back home, I’ll have to put on the royal act all over again and be the Crystal Princess, Heiress to the Crystal Throne, daughter of Amore of the Crystal Heart, granddaughter of Speranza the Founder. That’s why I’m going to be spending as much time here as I can. I got a letter back from mother: she’s given me until the Moon of Grain to get my affairs in order and come back home.

She glanced up from the letter at the filly and the dragon, who were now play wrestling in the grass. Spike's claws found a particularly ticklish spot on Twilight's belly and the filly fell over, laughing and squirming helplessly. Cadance looked back down at the letter.

Twilight is doing very well; she still hasn’t been making as many friends as her parents and I would like, but she’s getting better at interacting with others. I think her bringing Spike to stay with her during the summer has helped a bit. He’s such an adorable little thing! When he’s not making a mess, that is.

How are you doing otherwise? Are you making friends amongst the other officers? Battering Ram told me that he knows a bar near Fort Mustang called the House of the Phoenix where soldiers hang out. Maybe you could try there!

Thinking of you always, my love,

Cadance

P.S. “I always seemed to do better when you were with me.” Yes, because you were always trying to show off and impress me, you lovable little dork!

"Cadance! Help!" Twilight squealed through her laughter, thumping the ground with a hoof as Spike relentlessly tickled her. Chuckling to herself, Cadance folded up the letter, then leaped off the porch and jumped into the fray. As she did so, she noticed out of the corner of her a small glimmer of a smile on Battering Ram's face.

Shining Armor: Third of the Moon of Sun, 1940.

Dear Cadance,

I love this place! The weather’s really nice here on the other side of the mountains—it’s sunny almost every day, and the nights are just cool enough that you can go out and watch the stars for hours. And, as an officer, I get my own room! No more sleeping on cots with dozens of other ponies who all need a shower!

I took Battering Ram’s advice and checked out the House of the Phoenix. It’s within walking distance of the fort, and it’s a great place; kinda small, but a lot of NCOs and officers hang out there. The bartender is this old retired Army colonel, and he’s always got some really interesting stories, and good advice.

Most of the stallions under my command are pretty good. The First Sergeant is a really nice stallion named Waterwind; he had ambitions on joining the Wonderbolts but decided to enlist in the Army instead. He’s been with this company for a couple years and knows how things work, and he works well with me. We have both learned a lot from each other, and we go out for drinks at the Phoenix every other week. He’s a really great guy; turns out he’s from Canterlot, too. His family actually lives not far from my place!

Since I’m kinda the FNG here, I’ve had to prove myself to the other officers and the enlisted ponies. On my first week here, somepony pranked me by sneaking into my office and putting glue on my chair. Wound up waddling around for a few hours with my chair stuck to my butt until a couple other officers took pity on me and helped me get it off. That got a good laugh out of everypony except me. I tried to force a smile to show that I wasn’t going to let it bother me, but it was hard.

I got through it by imagining you beside me, holding your head up high. You wouldn’t have let anything like being laughed at stop you, so I wouldn’t either.

A few of the ponies in my command are being real pains in my plot, too; they’re always pushing the boundaries and trying to get me to lose my cool. Last week, I was coming back from the Phoenix with Waterwind when we saw two ponies who were supposed to be standing post—Silver Ghost and Dawntail—trying to sneak back into the barracks, both of them completely drunk. I gave them a serious dressing down, then called them into my office at the crack of dawn and made them run laps until they puked. I think they got the message. At least I hope they did, because there was quite a lot of grumbling from the others about me being too strict.

I hope I’m not: I want these ponies to respect me, but I also can’t have them running around doing whatever under my command.

Somehow it’s easier to talk to you about these things than the other officers. Some of them are nice enough, but a few of them don’t pay much attention to me. They’re probably not expecting me to last very long.

Shining Armor frowned down at the last line of the letter he'd written, then looked up. He was sitting in a small office behind a simple wooden desk, on top of which were the framed photographs from the ball and his graduation, and a stack of paperwork that he was midway through completing. The stack was still about three inches tall; he swore that every time he looked away from it, it grew larger by a small amount.

A small breeze brushed through his mane. Turning, he looked out the window behind him. Outside was the exercise yard of Fort Mustang. The centerpiece of the area was a hoofball field encircled by a quarter-mile track. A squad was out in the middle of the yard, doing calisthenics; he could hear the squad leader calling the count through the open window. Another squad was running around the track, singing one of his favorite running cadences.

"Mama, mama, can't you see!" the squad leader bellowed from the head of the pack as they passed by his window.

"What the army's done to me!" the rest of the squad hollered back.

"They put me in a barber's chair!"

"Spun me round and I had no hair!"

Next to the track and hoofball field were some exercise machines and fields for soccer, volleyball, and basketball. A pair of ponies were playing one on one on the basketball court, talking and laughing. One of them looked up at Shining's window, then turned to his companion and jerked his head towards him. His companion laughed loudly.

Shining scowled and turned back to his letter, writing down another line with his magic.

Well, I’m going to prove them wrong! I know I don’t look like much and I’m just an ROTC graduate and a comic book fan, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be just as good a soldier as they are!

Shining paused, blinking. He observed how, in his fury, he had pressed down much harder with his pen than usual, making the previous line much bolder than the others. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and raised a hoof to his chest, then exhaled slowly as he extended his hoof straight out. His anger abated, he opened his eyes and continued to write.

Yeah, I know: I shouldn’t get worked up about this. It’ll get better over time; I’ll just have to keep at it.

Have you heard that some soldiers from the Crystal Empire have down to Canterlot for a week or so? It’s some kind of exchange thing: both armies talking about tactics and technology and trying to learn from each other. I’ve met them both, a couple of staff sergeants, at the Phoenix last night and we hit it off pretty well. I’m looking forward to speaking to them again; the magic of the Crystal Empire is really fascinating, and I’d love to learn more about it!

How’s Twilight and mom and dad and Spike? Have you been keeping in touch with Lemony Gems and Diamond Rose? Say hi to everypony for me!

Love,

Your Knight in Shining Armor

Smiling, he folded up the letter and placed it into an envelope which he set aside. The smile quickly vanished and turned into a sigh, however, when he turned back to the stack of paperwork.

"Sometimes I think being an enlisted pony is more fun," he muttered to himself, taking the top sheet off.

Author's Note

"They took away my favorite shoes!"

"Now I'm wearing Army blues!"

"I knew the best beauties alive!"

"Now I love my .45!"

Canterlot Herald: Sixteenth of the Moon of Sun, 1940.

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.”

Shining Armor: Eighteenth of the Moon of Sun, 1940.

The House of the Phoenix was a small but classy old-time place with round wooden tables beneath low lights, a long bar with every variety of liquor on the shelves behind it, the scent of spilled cider, cigarette smoke, and dip hanging in the air along with the constant murmur of mixed voices: the kind of place where ponies would go for some conversation and get just sauced enough that their slightly more sober friends would have to call a cab for them. The painting of a phoenix rising from a flame, droplets of fire dripping from its spread wings, adorned one wall: the wall was decorated with several black and white photographs of past events and frequent visitors.

The bartender, a tall brown pegasus with red hair streaked with gray, green eyes that had not yet lost their spark, a cutie mark of a five-pointed silver star with wings, and a stump where his left wing used to be, was behind the bar, washing a stein. Shining Armor himself was sitting at the bar, slumped over a piece of paper and a shot glass of whiskey sour. As one, both stallions turned and glanced over at one of the tables in the far corner of the bar.

Two ponies sat at the bar, a pair of unicorns, both of them taller and broader than most earth ponies with military standard buzzcuts. Each of them wore uniforms of crystal blue and white, with the emblem of a snowflake on a blue background on their left forelegs. Their right forelegs were both adorned with three chevrons. The two of them had been muttering together, but stopped and looked up when they sensed the gaze of the stallions at the bar. The Crystal soldiers stared coolly back at Shining and the bartender for three long seconds of silence. Finally, the bartender grunted and looked away, prompting Shining to turn his gaze back as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the Crystal soldiers putting their heads back together and continuing their muted conversation.

Taking up his pen and his glass in his magic, Shining downed a sip and began to write.

Dear Cadance,

Something’s not right. Those Crystal Soldiers that came over to Fort Mustang? They’ve been spending a lot of time by themselves, muttering to each other. And one of them came up to me in the Phoenix yesterday and started asking about you. He said he was just making conversation—talked to me about his wife back home in Coeur, who’s pregnant with their second child—and I wanted to seem polite, but it felt...weird.

Most of the soldiers here are ignoring the Crystal Soldiers; they’re not happy about how the Crystal Army’s been stationed on the borders of our land, doing those exercises. I’ve had to chastise several of my soldiers for speaking rudely about them when they were around and let me tell you, it’s not doing wonders for my reputation. I’m just trying to be fair! The Crystal Empire and its soldiers are supposed to be our allies, but these guys are starting to get pretty fishy-looking to me.

I want to keep believing that we’re on the same side, but more and more ponies are turning against the Crystal Empire. Did you hear that a stray shell landed outside somepony’s house in Manehattan two days ago? Thank the Mother that nopony was hurt, but the entire nation was up in arms about it.

How’s your mother? Have you heard from her at all? The papers say that she hasn’t been seen since this summer, but I had hoped that she would’ve said something to you. I just want to know that things are going to be all right.

Give my love to mom, dad, Twilight, and Spike,

Shining Armor

Finishing his letter and his drink simultaneously, Shining folded up the sheet of paper as he pulled some bits out of his pocket and placed them on the counter.

"Leftenant," the bartender muttered as he scooped the bits up with his wing.

"Sir?" Shining asked. The elder might have turned in his uniform long ago, but he still carried himself with the bearing of an officer, and that, more than anything else, commanded the respect of all who knew him.

The bartender looked over at the Crystal soldiers again, then back at Shining, his gaze steely. "Be careful who you trust," he advised.

"Yes, sir," Shining nodded and stood. He turned to exit the bar, casting another look over at the soldiers again as he exited the door. Both of them were bending over a large sheet of paper, one of them tapping it with his hoof.

It wasn't until Shining Armor was halfway back to Fort Mustang that he realized what the paper was. A map of Canterlot.

Princess Vero Amore: Twenty-first of the Moon of Sun, 1940.

Another round of coughing shook her entire body. The tall alicorn with the creamy coat staggered over to the desk, taking every step as though her bones ached just to stand. Her long, pink-red hair had lost most of its shine and now hung loosely around her bony frame. Her wings drooped: even holding them up was painful for her, as evidenced by the frequent winces that escaped her mouth as she staggered across the purple carpeted floor.

Suddenly, the scenery changed: instead of a grand stately room filled with the finest crystal and silver, she was walking through a field of grass in the shining sun. Before her was a great checkered picnic blanket, with bowls of ice cream atop it. An earth pony with a white coat, long, sunshine yellow hair, and the cutie mark of a treble clef enclosed within a heart was laying on his side atop the blanket; he was watching a small pink unicorn filly running through the grass in the distance, giggling as she chased butterflies across the meadow.

But then she shook her head and the fever-induced dream vanished, along with her husband and her daughter. She was back in her quarters in the Crystal Palace, and still faced with the monumental task of making it to the desk. Panting, she continued on her quest. The journey from the great bed with the large blue sheets decorated with snowflakes to the grand desk carved from crystal in the corner, a mere ten feet, took her almost five minutes.

She clambered into the cushioned chair with a grunt of effort and paused to catch her breath. There were heavy bags under her blue eyes, which were dull with exhaustion. The moonlight through the great window in the wall behind her fell on her body, illuminating her cutie mark: a yellow heart. Panting, Princess Vero Amore lit up her horn in a blue aura. Extracting a pen and a sheet of parchment, she began to write hurriedly.

Celestia and Luna,

I am afraid that this may be my last letter. I am not much longer for this world; it is taking most of my strength just to write this letter.

As I sit here in my empty bedchambers, I cannot help but think back on the time when we were fillies, romping about in the fields, making the Royal Guards chase us across half of Equestria, and driving our poor mothers up the wall. Back when we could play at being Princesses. Even all these centuries later, it still brings a smile to my face, to think of the three of us without a care in the world.

I can still remember the day when your mother repeated the accident that had transformed her and my mother and blessed you with your wings. I can picture the two of you now, zooming around laughing, with our parents frantically chasing after you and trying to keep you from smashing everything in sight. Not long after, my mother gave me my wings as well. We both thought they were such a wonderful thing! How could we know the burdens that we would have to carry on those wings?

I had hoped to give Cadenza her wings myself. I had hoped that we would have more time to prepare, more time together. But time has run out.

I have been listening and watching in silence as my Empire was slowly stolen from me. Sombra has been taking over the Empire, piece by piece. He maneuvered himself as my Prime Minister with quick solutions to our economy, earning my trust. He lobbied for more and more power, convincing us all that it was in our best interests. He expanded our military and prepared us for a war. A war against you.

And he murdered Canzone. He killed my husband. I heard him brag about it to one of his generals, saying how he had arranged that accident. I could chalk it up to one of my many fever dreams, but no: I know this was real.

This is my dying wish, my sisters in spirit, a promise that I beg you to keep: protect my daughter. CADENZA MUST NOT RETURN TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE. SOMBRA CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE HER.

Keep in her Equestria. Tutor her. Prepare her to be the Empress. And most of all, keep her safe. Do all the things for her that I cannot.

Amore paused, breathing hard from the exertion. Her eyes fell on a photograph in a silver frame on the desktop. The picture showed a pink unicorn filly sitting in the grass, smiling and giggling as a group of butterflies danced around her, a bright swallowtail alighting on the tip of her nose. Coughing heavily, Amore took up the pen once more and continued to write.

And Cadenza, my daughter, I have this parting message:

I have loved you since the moment you drew your first breath. Nothing could ever extinguish that love, not even death. I have watched you grow from a little innocent filly into a brilliant, gentle, kind, and wise young lady. Words cannot describe how proud of you I am.

You will be afraid. You will feel like you are alone. You will think that you are lost. This is all normal; these are all the things that I felt when your grandmother Speranza passed from this world and the crown of the Crystal Empress fell to me.

But you are smarter and stronger than you know, my daughter. Your wisdom, your kindness, your love and hope, these will never let you down. They will guide you when you feel lost, keep you strong when you feel weak.

Cadenza, your mother loves you. Your father loves you. Your grandparents love you. Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna love you. The Holy Mother loves you. You will never be alone. Not even death can keep us from being with you in your heart. Believe that, my daughter. Believe and be strong.

Your Loving Mother,

Princess Vero Amore.

Tears dripped from Amore's eyes and fell to stain the parchment. Rolling up the letter, she enwrapped it with her magic and the letter vanished, transported across the nations to her sisters in Canterlot. She reached out with a bony hoof and picked up the photograph. More tears fell from her face as she raised the image to her face and kissed the facsimile of her daughter, hoping that her love would be strong enough to carry itself through time and space.

"Mother," she prayed, closing her eyes and hugging the picture to her breast. "Please take care of her."

She sat there, alone, rocking back and forth, the room dark and silent save for her heavy breathing. Slowly, her breathing became deeper, her tempo slowing.

With a clatter, the picture fell to the floor, and she collapsed against the desk. Her chest heaved with breath a few more times, and then Princess Vero Amore, the Crystal Empress, was still.

Author's Note

Princess Amore appeared in the MLP comics, specifically in FIENDship is Magic #1 and in the Siege of the Crystal Empire arc. I adapted her for use in the Noireverse, which included turning her into an alicorn.

Princess Cadance: Twenty-third of the Moon of Sun, 1940.

The bright, optimistic light from the late morning sun streaming in through the windows seemed to mock her. Cadance lay on her side in a large bed in a great round bedroom decorated in elegant colors of dark blue that contrasted with the white and yellow sheets on the bed. The rumpled pillows and tangled sheets were stained with tears. A silver tray bearing buttered toast, fresh oranges and strawberries, and a mug of tea lay untouched on the table a few feet from her. Cadance stared apathetically at the wall, completely still except for her breathing.

There was a knock at the door, which opened after a moment. A frost blue unicorn stepped into the room. His normally military regulation mane was untidy and tangled, and there was a light dusting of stubble along his jaw. His watery blue eyes were exhausted and he blinked heavily every other second. His Royal Crystal Guard uniform, which was normally pressed and pristine, was now rumpled and wrinkled.

Sergeant Frost Shield looked at the tray, then at his charge. "Your Highness, you should eat something," he said, speaking in Crystalline, their native tongue.

"I'm not hungry," Cadance mumbled, which was at least partly a lie. Even though her stomach ached with hunger, it also heaved like the bed was the deck of a ship in a storm.

Frost frowned, then walked over to the bed and sat down upon him. "You should write to him, piccolina," he said softly, drawing a hoof through her tangled mane.

Cadance blinked. "Will that help, you think?"

"I know that bottling up how you feel will not help at all," Frost said, continuing to stroke her mane. "And he must be worried about you. This will set both of your minds at ease."

"As much ease as it can," Cadance muttered. She took in a quivering breath and sat up. "You're right, though. I should write to him."

Frost Shield nodded and stood up from the bed. "I will be outside if you need me, Your Highness," he said, bowing slightly and turning to make his exit.

"Frost?" Cadance called in a quiet voice.

Frost Shield paused at the door and turned to give her a soft look over his shoulder. His eyes seem to glimmer, a crack in his mask of control.

"I will miss them, too," he whispered. With a final nod, he exited and closed the door behind him.

Taking a steady breath, Cadance sat up on the bed and lit up her horn. Parchment and a pen flew out of the nearby desk and floated in the air in front of her. Cadance hesitated with the same trepidation of a pony standing on the end of a diving board standing thirty feet over a small pool of water; memories that she'd spent the last several hours trying to bury after having them play on constant repeat all night began to resurface. Concentrating on taking slow, deep breaths, Cadance began to write.

Shining,

I know you’ve probably been worried sick since you heard what happened, but this is the first I could get word out. I’m still trying to process what happened: maybe writing this down will help me deal with it a little.

First of all, I want to say that Twilight and your parents are all okay: they weren’t involved in this at all, so don’t worry about them. It all started that morning. I’d gone out to do some light shopping for myself: Battering Ram and Frost Shield were following me.

We’d just reached Donut Joe's when two soldiers wearing Crystal Army uniforms stepped up. They said that they had received a message from mother: I was to return to the Crystal Empire immediately. Something didn’t feel right, and Battering Ram must have felt it, too, because he started to step in between me and them.

I told the soldiers, “Strawberry ice cream.” That was a code phrase that mother taught me when I was young. If she sent somepony to fetch me, she’d tell them to say “Crystal berry pie.” My favorite dessert. But they didn’t understand; they just stared at me. For a moment, everything just seemed to freeze, and I thought, "What do I do now?"

At that moment, there was a loud popping noise from somewhere. It sounded like a firecracker to me, but then I realized that the soldiers were both drawing their guns. Battering Ram immediately charged in and knocked them over, and he and Frost started to bustle me down the street, heading for the nearest police station. I could hear them shouting and chasing after us: Frost started putting up ice barriers behind us to slow them down.

I just ran. I didn’t know what to think, or where to go: all I could think was that I was being attacked and that I had to get away. Frost Shield was behind me, covering the streets behind us in ice and creating walls: Battering Ram was in front of me, yelling for everypony to get out of the way, pushing aside ponies that didn’t react in time. Everypony around me was frozen, like time had stopped and we were the only ones who could still move. It just didn’t seem real: I remember I started laughing at one point because I thought this was all just a crazy dream and I was going to wake up and be safe in bed at any moment.

That was when the shooting started. The Crystal Soldiers had caught up and one of them was firing his revolver at us. Battering Ram shoved me around the corner, then just grunted and fell down like he’d been shoved. I didn’t think to stop—Frost Shield just pushed me into the alley, closed up the entrance with ice, and we kept running. The next thing I knew, I was at the police station and everypony around me was yelling, and then I was in some kind of office with a cup of cold coffee in my hooves.

That’s when it really started to hit me: it was real. All of that had just happened. Soldiers from my homeland had tried to kidnap me. I had had to run for my life. Battering Ram…

Her pen paused, quivering in her magical grasp. Cadance's breath shook and came out as a choked sob. She had to take several breaths to calm herself enough to continue: the faces of her friend and her mother flickered before her face like holographic images in a funhouse mirror. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to write out the hard truth.

Battering Ram was really dead.

Shuddering, Cadance paused to recollect herself. Fresh tears stung at her eyes, but she wiped them away and continued writing.

He had a marefriend back home, Shining. A beautiful mare, a sculptor. He was going to propose to her when we got back home: I helped him pick out a ring for him last week. He was standing right next to me one moment, and then...he was gone.

Gone just like my mother. I didn't learn what had happened to her until after all this.

She was dead. Battering Ram was dead. Dead. Gone forever.

I don’t remember much until Celestia showed up with some of her bodyguards. She just walked in and hugged me, and I broke down and started sobbing on her shoulder. She carried me out of there and we went back to the Palace. Once I calmed down a bit, Celestia explained what was happening. She told me about mother dying, about how the soldiers were claiming that my own bodyguards had kidnapped me, and how she was going to go to Couer to get an explanation.

Frost Shield kept a stiff upper lip the entire day, right up until later. After Celestia talked to me, she told me to go get some rest. I didn’t really want to, my head was spinning with thoughts, but I was so tired from the day. I was walking to one of the royal suites when I heard crying from a bathroom. I peeked inside and saw Frost laying on the floor, bawling his eyes out. He and Ram were best friends—Ram had asked him to be the best pony at his wedding. I just lay down next to him and we hugged and lay there for hours, until we couldn’t cry anymore.

I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and I feel sick: I could barely eat anything at breakfast, I thought I was going to throw up. Celestia popped in earlier to say goodbye before she left.

I hope that Sombra listens to her. I hope that they can reach an understanding and get to the bottom of all this. I hope that I can go home soon and properly mourn my mother and get ready to take her place on the throne.

I hope that your land and my land don't have to go to war.

Be safe. I love you.

Cadance.

The ending words felt inadequate, too small to properly express her feelings, but they were the only words she could come up with. She laid back on the bed, closing her eyes. The weight of emotions was temporarily relieved, and sleep rolled in like a tidal wave, enveloping her.

The last thing she was aware of before she slipped into sleep was Frost Shield creeping into the room and gently taking the letter from her grasp.

Author's Note

"Piccolina" is Italian for "little one," and is a common term of affection or endearment.

Princess Celestia: Twenty-third of the Moon of Sun, 1940

Celestia lay in the midst of the four-poster bed, staring at the mirror standing atop the simple crystal dresser next to her. Her reflection scowled back at her, the mouth drawn thin, the eyes glaring.

She turned and studied the room around them. They were in a stately room with crystal walls and no windows. Aside from the dresser and the bed, there was also a pair of cushioned chairs and a low purple crystal table. The room was dimly lit by a small chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Celestia was not alone in the room. Four other ponies stayed with her, each of them wearing the blue and gold uniforms of an Equestrian Royal Guard. Two of them, a white stallion pegasus corporal with red hair and an orange female unicorn with golden hair, each laid on one of the couches, snoring quietly. A yellow pegasus mare with blue and white hair and a tall, broad-shouldered red earth pony with clay brown and red hair stood by the door, facing inside. All four of the guards had their hooves close to the holsters at their sides.

Lighting up her horn, Celestia closed the curtains of the four-poster bed, allowing herself some privacy. Taking out a pen and a roll of parchment, she began to write.

Dear Luna,

I’m writing you from the guest room from the Crystal Palace. We arrived a few hours ago, just after sunrise, and what I have seen has broken my heart.

When our train pulled into the station, we found an entire platoon of Crystal Soldiers, thirty of all, waiting for us on the platform. They were adorned in their new uniforms: black, with purple highlights and heavy metal helmets. Each of them was armed with BARs, those new guns that their armory’s designed. Over the station, I saw the new flag of the Crystal Empire: the same snowflake, but now embossed on a shield with a black background.

The lieutenant in charge of the platoon stepped forward as we disembarked. “Celestia,” he growled at me. “You will come with us.” It was an order. All those soldiers glared at us as we followed, and I saw several of them reaching for their weapons. Their anger and their fear was like a cloud hanging over us. My guards could feel it themselves, and not one of their hooves went far from their holsters.

We walked from the station to the town center, towards the sound of a great marching band, and beheld an army procession marching through the streets. Hundreds upon hundreds of grim-faced soldiers stomped across the crystal, every step so perfectly in time that the ground shook beneath their weight. As they passed by a stand set in front of the Palace, each of them, in perfect, machine-like precision, turned to their right and raised their forelegs in salute to Sombra himself, who stood at the top of the stand. He looked just like any other unicorn, but as I stared up at him, straight-backed, proud, and pristine, I felt like I was looking up at a legend torn from a history book...or maybe a fairy tale. One of the ones that mother and father used to tell us, about monsters in the woods and wicked things passing off as ponies. He wore a uniform himself, that of a five-star general, and saluted the soldiers beneath him as they passed. His generals were on either side of him. The crowd cheered as the soldiers passed: “Grandine vittoria! Grandine vittoria!”

“Hail victory,” they were saying. What victory?

That’s when Sombra saw me. He directed those cold blue eyes at me and raised a hoof. Immediately, everything stopped. Everything was silent, and it was more horrifying than any scream, any thunderclap. Every eye turned towards us, towards me. I found it hard not to swallow.

“Is it not enough that you must control the sun and the moon?” Sombra called to me, his voice booming across the town center. “Now you murder our Empress and keep our Princess from us?”

At his words, the entire crowd started jeering and catcalling. “Murderer!” they screamed. “Give us back our Princess!”

Celestia paused, closing her eyes momentarily and taking a slow, shuddering breath. For a moment, the echoes of the screaming crowd sounded in her ears. Quieting the voices, she continued to write.

You know that since mother passed the crowns to us, we’ve had to get used to wearing masks, to pretending that nothing affects us. But that mask almost cracked right then. If Amore could see what had become of her beloved ponies, if they could see the prominence of their soldiers, how they screamed at me, she would have wept.

“Cadance is safe, where she belongs,” I declared. “It was the dying wish of Princess Amore that she be cared for in Equestria—”

“I heard her dying wish from her own lips before she died from your poison!” Sombra spat back. “She wished for Mi Amore Cadenza to be returned home! Why are you keeping her from us?”

Again, the crowd screamed at me, howled accusations at me. Again, the mask almost cracked.

“This is not something that is to be discussed in front of a crowd, Prime Minister Sombra,” I declared. “Could we please move this to more private quarters?”

Sombra just glared at me for a moment, then jerked his head. “Come,” he commanded and turned away. Our entourage went with him, the crowd still shouting accusations at me.

I followed him up to the Palace, past the spire where the Crystal Heart was placed, sending out its energies across the nation. I couldn’t help but think of Amore then. Do you remember, sister, when we helped her carve that stone? She wished to ensure that her mother’s empire would be given hope and light for all time.

What can the Heart do for them now?

Sombra insisted on having the negotiations in a private room in the Palace, by ourselves. He laid out his demands right from the start. He wants us to return Cadance to the Crystal Empire, pay reparation for Amore’s death, cede a significant amount of territory to him, and begin to disarm and reduce our armed forces. Such demands are patently absurd, and I had half a mind to tell him as such, but that would have gotten us nowhere. Instead, I attempted to reason with him, to explain that we were not responsible for Amore’s death and that Cadance was to stay in Equestria. But he refused to listen.

We went back and forth like this for several hours until long after dark and we were both exhausted. Sombra dismissed me with a grunt and two of the palace guards brought us to a set of guest chambers. There’s enough room for myself and my four bodyguards.

Celestia paused again, casting her eyes around as if she could see through the curtains. The room was still silent save for the breathing of her companions.

But this is a gilded cage. As soon as the door was shut behind us, I heard it lock, and I detected a Looking Spell glass on the mirror over the dresser, so we are being watched as well. We are secured in and watched. Right now, Sunny Skies and Clay Pigeon are standing guard at the door while Zipline and Bright Torch sleep. All four of them are keeping their hooves on their holsters--the palace guards tried to get them to disarm themselves when we arrived, but they flatly declined.

I’m writing this behind the covers of the four-poster bed. I’ll send it to you with that spell that Starswirl taught us. If Sombra is monitoring the magic usage in this room, all he will feel is a short burst of indistinct magic, I hope.

Luna, this is all going wrong. I had hoped that this was a simple misunderstanding, but now we are prisoners in the land that used to be our ally. I know you are likely eager to leap to our ponies’ defense, but please, be patient. I will give Sombra one last chance to end this peacefully.

Fret not, my sister. I will be all right.

Love,

Celestia

Rolling up the parchment, Celestia held it up before her and the letter vanished in a brief flash of golden light. Laying back down on the bed, Celestia tucked the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes, knowing that she would not get much sleep that night.

Princess Luna: Twenty-fourth of the Moon of Sun, 1940

"Your Highness, it's time to wake up," a gentle voice called, rousing Celestia from unpleasant dreams. Opening her eyes, Celestia looked up to see Bright Torch bending over her, shaking her awake. With a groan, Celestia sat up on the bed, pulling the curtains aside in her magic and yawning.

Zipline was waking up Clay Pigeon and Sunny Skies, who climbed off the couches, shaking themselves to full alertness. "I wonder if the coffee up here is any good," Clay Pigeon commented, scratching his chin.

"Your Highness," Bright Torch whispered urgently, bending down to the floor. She stood back up, holding a scroll sealed with wax. Casting a glance at the mirror, Celestia turned so that her back was to the dresser and opened the letter.

The sight of Luna's familiar hornwriting in her favorite blue ink brought a feeling of relief to her, but it was quickly doused by the message that the letter bore.

Celestia,

May this letter be the first thing that you see upon awakening this morning. Unfortunately, I wish I could bring better news.

I understand your wishes to resolve this peacefully, but you know that I am less trusting of others than you. Soon after you left, I gave an order for more of our troops to move to the northern borders. We must make a show of solidarity to show our citizens that we are protecting them from any threat, and to show the Crystal soldiers that we will not tolerate any aggression from our neighbors.

Also, last night, I entered the Dreamrealm as usual, but I made it my duty to search the dreams of the Crystal ponies. What I saw has shaken me to my core. Mostly, I saw visions of grief and pain, of mourning for Amore. But I also saw envy and hatred--of us, of our nation. They see us as tyrants, sister, selfish rulers who hoard the power to control the sun and the moon. They view you as a despot who plays fate with the lives of our ponies, and myself as a demonic plotter who spies on ponies in their dreams.

They hate us, sister. They truly do hate us.

Sister, I had expressed hope that some sinister outsider had plotted Amore’s death to drive a wedge between our nations, but a hatred such as this is not born overnight. It seems to me that Sombra is more complicit in this than we previously thought. Tread very carefully today, Celestia, and above all, do not tell him about the movements of our troops. If he doesn’t already know, it is best that he remains that way.

I will be counting the moments until you return, sister. I always feel safer when you are near, and so does this nation.

Love,

Luna

Sighing, Celestia lit up her horn and the letter instantly turned into a thin dusting of ashes, which Celestia quickly and discretely scattered across the floor.

"What news?" her sergeant whispered.

"Not good," Celestia replied. "But it is best that we face it over breakfast."

Torch turned to the other three. "Are we ready, team?" she asked.

"Ready," all three Royal Guards replied as one.

Celestia placed her crown upon her head and sighed, feeling the mask sliding down back on her face. "Then let us resume."

Shining Armor: Twenty-fourth of the Moon of Sun, 1940

The engine of the airship rumbled through the metal interior, ratting its way up through Shining Armor’s bones. He was sitting on the metal bench on the exterior of the airship’s undercarriage, his eyes casting around the rest of the carriage. To his right was his immediate CO, Captain Spectral Glow, who was leaning back in his seat, his eyes shut. The Captain was a silvery blue unicorn, taller and wider than some earth ponies, with bone white hair and the cutie mark of a yellow silhouette of a pony. He, like, Shining Armor, was dressed in the standard green battle uniform of the Equestrian Army; on his shoulders were the golden bars that designated him as a captain, on either sleeve was a facsimile of the Equestrian flag--blue, purple, and green horizontal stripes with three white six-pointed stars in a row in the middle--and the name “GLOW” was sewn onto his right breast.

Looking around, Shining beheld that the carriage contained a sea of olive green. Ponies of all races, shapes, and sizes were packed into the seats that ran in four rows up the entire length of the minimally decorated interior. Some were napping; some were talking with their neighbors, a few of them playing cards, a few faces shining with laughter; and still others simply sat still, staring out blankly or looking around. Shining could see his own feelings reflected in his eyes; doubt, confusion, fear.

He glanced down the row opposite. Sitting side by side were two unicorns from his unit. Private Silver Ghost was a tall, silver stallion with blue eyes and the cutie mark of a semi-transparent skull on a black background; his friend and partner, Dawntail, was grass green with sunshine yellow hair, green eyes, and the cutie mark of a shooting star. Both ponies made eye contact with him for a moment, then turned away, returning to their private conversation. Dawntail made a comment that Shining didn’t hear, and Ghost laughed.

Frowning, Shining Armor looked down at the letter in front of him that he had spent the last hour composing.

Dear Cadance,

I’m writing this from an airship headed north to Vanhoover. Our battalion is to join up with the local Army depot and set up a defensive line along the border. We received those orders from Princess Luna herself late last night; every available troop is headed up to Vanhoover, Manehattan, and Fillydelphia to hold the line and make sure the Crystal Empire soldiers don’t pose a threat.

Some of the ponies are so excited, getting a taste of action. They’re all laughing about how they’re gonna chase the Crystal ponies back to Couer with their tails between their legs.

Personally, I’m terrified. No matter what happens, if this goes badly, ponies are going to get hurt on both sides, including innocent ponies that live in these cities.

“There they are,” Captain Glow said beside him, turning to look out the window. Shining looked up from the letter to see for himself, as did everypony in the carriage with access to one of the portholes.

Beneath them was the sprawling city of Vanhoover, a sea of concrete, glass, and steel. Vanhoover’s famous Manticore’s Gate Bridge stretched across Maple Leaf Bay; nearby was the distinctive geometric sphere of the Magic Dome.

To the north of the city lay a broad expanse of meadows and plains, lush green grass. A set of train tracks ran through the flat expanse. A few miles north, there was a sign next to the train tracks depicting a spire made of crystalline blue and a small heart. Though he could not read the words from this high up, Shining knew that they read “Now Entering the Crystal Empire” in blue script, both in Equish and in Crystalline.

Not far from the tracks was a small clearing with clean, orderly rows of white tents, several smaller ones for enlisted ponies and a couple larger ones for officers. Scattered amidst the tents were armored vehicles: tanks, personnel carriers, technical trucks, field ambulances, even a few single-pony attack airplanes lined up next to a catapult truck. A line of mortars and pony-drawn cannons stood in a proud row to the south of the encampment, pointing inwards towards the camp. Farther to the north, Shining could just make out the white of the Frozen North’s territory. Just behind their airship was another, this one carrying supplies and the rest of their personnel.

Turning to sit back in his seat, Shining read the rest of his letter.

I joined the Army because I wanted to help our allies. Instead, I’m being sent to the border and there’s a very good chance that I’ll end up fighting our own allies. If they even are our allies anymore. If Princess Luna thinks something like this is necessary, things must be bad up in the Crystal Empire.

I’m sorry, I don’t mean to worry you. I know you’re still hurting over your mom’s death. I’m really sorry about that. I never got a chance to say this to her, but I really did love her. And I know she wouldn’t have wanted this.

I never met Sombra, but you always talked about him with respect. You told me he was smart and witty, and he knew how to get ponies on his side and get them energized. I remember you telling me about that groundbreaking ceremony for a new school; he gave that amazing speech and stayed with the workers all day. I just built up this image of the guy in my head, and now I can’t understand at all why he’d be threatening a war with us.

I feel like I’m trapped in a nightmare and I can’t wake up. I just want this to be over.

Please write back soon. I just want to be sure that you’re okay. It’ll be one less thing weighing on my mind.

Give my love to mom, dad, Twilight, and Spike.

I love you,

Shining Armor.

“Attention: we will be landing in five minutes,” a voice said over the PA.

“Get ready, ponies!” Captain Glow barked. “Final check on your gear, make sure it’s in order. Dog those cards, private!”

At his command, there was a flurry of activity up and down the seats as soldiers checked their duty belts, ensured their weapons safeties were on, and put away their cards and letters.

Tucking the letter into his shirt, Shining checked under his left shoulder. His Colt M1912 was still tucked safely in its holster where it belonged; the hoofstrap attached to the right of the handle. He checked the rest of his duty belt. Knife, first aid kit, canteen, emergency rations, extra magazines, flares...all present and accounted for. At his hooves was his flak jacket, which he donned with the aid of his magic. The ensemble of magically strengthened ballistic nylon was hot and heavy. The frag grenades strapped to the grenade belt jingled in a strange, displeasing music. He then strapped on the helmet. Already his sweat was clinging to the webbed interior. He nervously adjusted the dynamo-powered flashlight strapped to the exterior.

“We’ll be landing in Fort Hackney, and from there, we’ll be coordinating with Colonel Ironsides to form a defensive line along the border,” Captain Glow stated, adjusting the chin strap of his helmet. “I want you all on alert. We’re at our most vulnerable while we’re disembarking. Be on watch for any signs of an impending attack. Clear?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” the entire company barked back in one voice. Shining barely heard his own voice amidst the chorus, and wondered if it even counted.

He looked down the line towards a dark blue pegasus with wavy aquamarine hair and blue-green eyes. He had a cutie mark of an incoming wave against a cloudy white background. His First Sergeant, Waterwind, made eye contact with him and held up a hoof in a gesture of solidarity.

Shining Armor nodded back. With a thump, the airship landed and the door began to hiss open. Taking a deep breath, Shining Armor stood up, one hoof clutching at the letter beneath his uniform.

Time to do your duty, soldier.

Canterlot Herald: Twenty-second of the Moon of Sun, 1940.

Amore's Death Rocks Relationship with Crystal Empire

Early this morning, we received this tragic news from our sister office in Couer: Princess Vero Amore, Empress of the Crystal Empire, is dead. It was reported that she passed away last night in her bedchambers; furthermore, it was reported that an autopsy revealed that she had been being systematically poisoned since mid-summer. A clerk in the Crystal Palace whose name has not been released was arrested this morning and it was reported that documents were found in his position that revealed that he had been hired as a spy by the Equestrian government.

Sombra, the Prime Minister of the Crystal Empire, called an emergency session of the Crystal Parliament this morning to discuss their response to the Princesses' death. They have also sent a message to Princesses Celestia and Luna, demanding reparation for the murder.

“These shocking statements are blatantly false,” Princess Celestia declared in a press conference just before noon. “Luna and I grew up with Amore; we loved her like a sister. We mourn her passing and had nothing to do with her death. This clerk was not employed as a spy and we request an explanation for this outrageous accusation from Prime Minister Sombra.”

We have also received scattered reports that earlier today, two soldiers from the Crystal Empire who were in Canterlot as part of a cooperative training exercise attempted to kidnap Princess Cadenza. Princess Cadenza is safe, but one of her bodyguards, Staff Sergeant Battering Ram, was shot and killed during the fighting. The Crystal soldiers have been arrested and are being held pending a trial, but both have released statements to the press that they were following orders from the late Princess Amore to bring Cadenza back to the Crystal Empire. Both claim that Cadenza's bodyguards fired upon them first and they acted in self-defense and that Princesses Celestia and Luna are holding Cadenza in Equestria against her will.

Princess Celestia has announced her intention to travel to the Crystal Empire tomorrow to meet and speak with Prime Minister Sombra, to explain her side of this story and attempt to reach a peaceful settlement. By this evening, she will arrive in Vanhoover to stay overnight, where she intends to meet and speak to the Crystal soldiers who are still posted mere miles north of the city doing live exercises. She will arrive in Coeur tomorrow morning.