Chapter 1: Today When the War Began

Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship, a school built by Princess Twilight Sparkle, for the purpose of teaching friendship to not just ponies, but to other races all around Equus… The homeworld of the ponies and many other species.

It is another school day, with sun shining, and not even a cloud in the sky. Students just got out of bed, and have made their way to the commons for breakfast. Ocellus, a blue and pink changeling, grabs her tray in her magic and goes over to her friends table. Her friends being Yona the Yak, Galus the Griffin, Smoulder the Dragon, Silverstream the Hippogriff and finally Earth pony Sandbar. To where she sits down and joins her friends in conversation.

“So what should we all do after classes?” Smoulder asked.

“Maybe we should go back to the lake where we stayed, when the school first opened.” Galus replied.

“Sounds like a plan to me…”

Twilight Sparkle and her friends met in her office. Discussing the days assignments and lesson plans for their classes.

“Okay so…” Twilight was starting to say, when Spike ran into the office in a panicked hurry.

“Twilight! I just got this letter from Princess Celestia for you!” he said, holding out the letter in his claws.

Twilight took it into her magic, and read the letter. She gasped at the news.

About an half hour earlier, when Twilight received word from Princess Celestia. Word at a forward operating outpost E-Watcher #7, was being received by Sergeant Gale Winds. A Pegasus pony from Cloudsdale. He listened on the radio, as his orders were being delivered from Canterlot.

“We’re receiving sightings of several airships approaching Equestrian borders. Sergeant I want your unit to search for signs of airships and report back to us.” came the stallion on the other end of the radio. Gale Winds saluted as he replied with his understanding of the orders.

“Alright guys! We have our orders! So let’s look for those airships!”

It only took about twenty minutes of watching the radar, and looking out at the skies, but eventually the first airship was found. It was just coming over the horizon, followed by more airships. The one sighted first looked to be the largest one out of all of them and possibly the flag ship. The flags waved as the airships drew closer…

“Uh Sarge…” said a pegasus mare, “It looks like they’re ready to fire…”

“WHAT!?”

Gale looked through the binoculars he was holding. Indeed it looked like the flagship was preparing it’s cannons, and aiming at the outpost.

Onboard the flagship a general wearing a black ceramic painted mask. The rank on his uniform showed that he is the rank of a General.

“Proceed General. Take them out!” said the purple alicorn with white hair in the shadows.

Back at the outpost, Gale Winds just got on the phone with the Generals of Equestria’s military.

“I repeat DEFCON 3! We have a DEFCON 3! We’re under.... AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

The airships opened fire on the outpost and obliterated it within a matter of seconds. Killing every pony there. The airships continued across Equestria’s borders to begin their conquest.

Twilight ordered the school to be evacuated. Where they were going to go was anyone’s guess. Twilight didn’t really think that they would ever be invaded, nor that the DEFCON level would be raised to a 3.

As the students were being evacuated in a calm state, Applejack galloped up to Twilight.

“Twi, where are we all going to go? There is no bomb shelter below this school.” she said.

“I know Applejack! There is really no safe place to go. However there is a basement level in the palace. So that will have to do.”

As the evacuation continued, the enemy forces landed some of their airships, and the soldiers onboard left to set up their base camps at various locations around the outer edges of Equestria. With the rest of their airship fleet heading further in towards Canterlot. The flagship continues onward toward Canterlot.

“Your Majesty! Reports indicate that Ponyville is a good location to launch a strike against Canterlot.” the General said.

The King fully exits the shadows, revealing his purple fur and white hair. Along with his green glowing eyes. King Magic Tricks, current King of the Kingdom of Solomon, grinned in a sinister way.

“Proceed… Take Ponyville for the glory of Solomon!”

Back in Ponyville, the evacuation of the school was a success, as the students and facility made it to the basement level of Twilight’s palace. The rest of Ponyville was being evacuated to her palace as well. With every pony entering the palace to hide. Things got a bit crowded in the basement level. However things looked like they were going to get worse. As the Solomon flagship flew overhead and landed nearby.

Magic Tricks led his army out of the flagship. All soldiers armed to the teeth with various weapons like the MP40, Kar88k, Gewehr 43, and other firearms. Magic Tricks barked a few orders out and the soldiers went their own separate ways throughout Ponyville, finding the entire city abandoned. When they regrouped, they came to realize that the citizens evacuated to the big crystal tree palace.

“GO! Raid that castle, and remember my orders! Do NOT harm any pony unless they they fight back!” Magic Tricks ordered as they stormed the castle.

In Cloudsdale, the elite Task Force Delta, was summoned by their commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Wind Blade. Wind Blade is green pegasus stallion, with cyan and blonde streaked hair. He sat near a chalkboard in a classroom, where the mission briefing was taking place. Once every pony gathered, the briefing started.

“Good afternoon!” Wind Blade said, “Today Task Force Delta has been ordered to fight back the enemy nation of Solomon. Now here is what we’re going to do.”

Wind Blade flipped over the chalkboard to show a map of Ponyville.

“We’re sending ground forces in to clean up the ground troops that are inhabiting the city. Your job is to keep our troops covered from the air as they liberate Ponyville. I should also mention that the Kingdom of Solomon fly jet fighters. So our piston fighters may have a bit of trouble dealing with those.”

“It has always been rumored that Solomon had better technology than Equestria.” said the team leader, a blue pegasus mare with red mane, green eyes, and a yellow tail. She also has white wings. Her name is Sky Dawn, rank of Captain.

“Apparently that is true Sky.” Wind Blade said, “Anyway good hunting. Dismissed!”

Delta got out of their seats and left to suit up for their mission.

The Solomon army broke through the front door of the castle. Splitting up into teams they began to search floor to floor, to find every pony. Down in the basement the ponies heard their footsteps. Knowing they’ll soon find them soon.

“Twilight, what are we going to do now?” Pinkie Pie asked. Her mane now completely flattened. “There is no secret tunnel down here to escape from…”

“Everypony get close to me. I’m going to teleport us out of here.” Twilight said. The others gathered around her. Twilight concentrated on the ponies. To help her out Starlight Glimmer focused on the others too. Then both used their teleportation spells to take them somewhere safe.

The ponies and students from Ponyville appeared in a blinding flash in some vegetated sinkhole. Rock walls surrounded them with a waterfall pouring water into a small lake. While they were all excited. Twilight knew that this was one hidden place in the Everfree Forest. Since not many ponies traveled really far into the Everfree, there was no pony to have seen this place except for the map makers from eons ago. Now that they were there, they had a safe place to hide. Ironically the sinkhole has been named “Tartarus”, by those who first discovered it.

“Okay everypony split up and explore this area. We need to find sources of water, food and a exit in case we have to leave.”

They split up and went their separate ways.

In Canterlot the remaining airships have landed outside the city limits. All soldiers were disembarking and carrying their equipment with them. Once unloaded some of the airships that were part of the Air Force took to the skies to monitor city and the surrounding areas above. In Canterlot palace, a female unicorn with white fur and white hair with red and pink stripes, grey eyes, and wearing a pair of glasses stood in between Luna and Celestia. As she looked out the gathering forces around the city tears fell from her eyes.

“My baby boy… What have you done…?” she said aloud in her sorrow.

Author's Note

The title of this chapter and a part of this story is based off of the novel "Tomorrow When the War Began" by John Marsden.