The War

My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am the Princess of Friendship in Equestria, and I am prejudiced. Before I saw war, I thought it would have a different face. I thought of Diamond Dogs on a raiding campaign to plunder Equestria’s riches. I thought of rogue dragons who refused to follow Lord Ember’s rule. Heck, I even thought of Yaks mounting a full-scale invasion after an unintentional insult. I never imagined my enemies would be among my own subjects—subjects who I’d smiled at and who smiled at me. Ponies who I looked in the eye and saw genuine good.

The first war I’d ever been a part of, Princess or otherwise, literally began right before my eyes in the center of my nation. This is how it began, how it changed me and my friends, but most importantly, how it showed me that no matter what: the Magic of Friendship is unbeatable.

14 August, 5YH (Year of Harmony)

Princess Celestia had lowered the sun to a point where its rays cast a vibrant but calming orange glow on Canterlot Castle for the evening. We were attending a formal event. It was one of many for the summer and the first one in quite a while that all four Princesses had the spare time to attend. This particular event took place in the main throne room. The usual crowd was there: nobles, elites, and rich ponies from Canterlot and all over Equestria, other ponies who wanted to experience some of the royal life, and, of course, my friends. That day would have been mostly forgettable, really, had I not caught the gaze of a certain unicorn stallion as I meandered through the crowd after a dance. His eyes were as gray as his coat and his black mane and tail were expertly styled and slicked. Though his cutie mark was slightly obscured by the coattails of his tuxedo, I could make out that it was some sort of crown.

Our eyes met, and I felt the need to approach him. I’d only been a Princess for a short while, but already some movements were automatic to me—I extended my hoof for him to take and greeted him,

“Hello,” was all I said. I didn’t intend to have a conversation with him. I started speaking because I felt I had to. I had no desire to talk to him, though it wasn’t as if I wanted to stay away from him either. Perhaps the magic within me was guiding me to him unconsciously, because I cannot forget him to this day.

He took my hoof, but did not bow. In fact, he locked up instead. It wasn’t out of fear or nervousness, though. I think he wanted me to notice that he was intentionally not showing respect. I was never very fond of royal behavior toward me, so the fact that I didn’t respond to his gesture was probably what prompted him to engage me.

“This is a lovely event you’ve put on, Princess Twilight,” he said. His deep, smooth voice sounded commanding even though he was just delivering a compliment. It unnerved me.

“Oh, it wasn’t me,” I chuckled and waved my hoof dismissively, “In fact, this isn’t even a royal event. The four of us just happened to be free for the evening, so, here we are.” I gave a courteous smile.

“How fortunate for us. I know I speak for many ponies when I say that a simple summer night being graced by all of Equestria’s royalty will make this evening truly special. Even more special than it was before.”

“Thank you, that’s flattering, mister…”

“Silver Crown,” he said. Before our small talk could continue any further, a pony came up to Silver Crown and whispered in his ear.

“Excuse me, Princess,” he dismissed himself. I made my way to my temporary throne set up next to Celestia’s, where she sat alongside Princess Luna overlooking the party’s patrons. I let out a sigh as I sat down.

“Enjoying yourself?” Celestia asked jokingly.

I rolled my eyes, “I’m beginning to understand why you wanted to start livening up the Grand Galloping Gala. These events are becoming…”

“Routine?” Celestia said.

“Predictable?” Luna chimed in.

“Downright boring,” I said.

“Are you sure about that?” Princess Cadance joined us on her own temporary throne next to mine. She poked me in the side with her hoof, “I saw you talking to that stallion just now,” she winked.

“Don’t get excited,” my eyes circled again, “I don’t even know why I talked to him. He’s just another noble trying to get cozy with royalty. Silver Crown, I think it was.”

“Silver Crown?” Celestia echoed. I noticed panic in her voice. “He shouldn’t be allowed in Canterlot, much less the castle. None of his family should be. Where is he?” I scanned the partygoers for him, but he had disappeared.

“His entire family is banned from Canterlot? Why?” I asked as I continued to look for Silver Crown. Because the four of us had taken our seats many of the partygoers observed us like we were scenery. We nodded and waved occasionally as our eyes met one face after another, on the lookout for the rogue stallion.

I scanned faces and but struggled to find anything out of the ordinary, that is until I noticed eyes much more intent on meeting ours than the usual royal gawkers.

“Celestia,” I whispered, “Do you see them?”

“I do. They’re waiting,” she said.

“Waiting for what?” I asked.

“Likely for us to notice them,” Celestia responded.

“Then let us oblige them,” Luna spoke up. She stood and flared her wings and lit her horn,

“Luna, no!” Celestia called, but it was too late. That was the sort of signal they were looking for.

A mare tore her dress to reveal several explosives strapped to her.

“FOR A NEW EQUESTRIA!” she yelled. She pressed a button on her harness and detonated.

“FOR A NEW EQUESTRIA!” a stallion on the other side of the room blew up as well.

The same declaration blended in with a growing cacophony of screams and explosions. I lost count of how many ponies had turned themselves into bombs. The throne room transformed into a sea of blood and fire, and the other Princesses and I could only look on in horror.

When my head stopped shaking enough for me to form a thought my mind snapped to my friends, who must have been in the explosions.

I called their names, desperate for a response, “Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Where are you? Starlight!”

“Here, Twilight!” it was faint, but Starlight Glimmer’s voice reached my ears amidst the din. I teleported to where I thought I heard her. Luckily my guess was right.

Starlight had a handful of ponies around her, all terrified, but alive. She was helping wrap a torn tapestry around a mare’s gashed hind hoof. She didn’t even turn to me as she continued to wrap and explain how she survived.

“The first explosion was on the other side of the room. I threw up a shield right away and managed to save these ponies. Well, most of them. A couple ponies ran out of my protection and were caught in other blasts.”

“That’s horrible… Thank goodness you’re all right. Have you seen any of the others?” I asked.

“Not since before everything went straight to Tartarus,” Starlight shook her head, “Rarity went to the garden a bit before, so I’m pretty sure she’s okay. As for everypony else… well, I’d get looking.”

I went to Luna at a shattered window holding the hoof of a pony in his last moments.

“I shouldn’t have moved,” Luna cursed herself. The dying pony put his hoof on hers,

“Please, Princess Luna. You saw a threat and were trying to protect us. I would have expected no less of your vigilance.” Luna displayed confusion. “My daughter is in your guard,” the stallion explained, “I know the good work you do.”

Tears welled in Luna’s eyes, “I’ll release her right away, your family won’t suffer any—”

“No,” the stallion coughed, “No, let her keep her post, your highness. She will not take my death sitting down.” He took in a few more sharp gasps before his chest rested for the last time. Luna closed his eyes.

“Princess Luna,” I said, “I have to find my friends.”

“Go, Twilight. We will be meeting soon,” Luna dismissed me. I teleported to the garden and found Rarity ushering more survivors away from the castle. She was the most intact pony I’d seen since the attack, save for a few cuts on her dress and face from flying glass.

Rainbow Dash immediately took toward the ceiling after the first bomber exploded. She tackled another attacker preparing to detonate and restrained him. A nearby royal guard disabled the explosives and Rainbow immediately took the attacker to the dungeon to question him.

Applejack was in close proximity to another bomber. She managed to kick up a table just before they exploded, and while the table prevented a fatal blow, one of her hind legs was heavily injured and she suffered many other deep lacerations. While this would have caused a normal pony to pass out, Applejack continued to help who she could after haphazardly splinting her leg herself.

Pinkie Pie was in the nearest kitchen at the time of the attack. She barricaded herself and the ponies that were with her inside, including several foals, refusing to let anyone enter until I convinced her that I was who I was. When I told her what happened, I saw an ominous spark in her eye when she vowed to “help make sure no one lost their smiles that way again.”

Fluttershy lost a wing. Her side from her cutie mark up to right behind her eye was scorched. I found her among other bodies and body parts and screamed. Seeing her laying there… I couldn’t move. Starlight ran over in response to my cry and checked Fluttershy’s pulse. She was alive, but barely. I had Fluttershy rushed to the Royal Canterlot Hospital where surgeons managed to re-attach her wing, though I was told it was unlikely she’d ever fly again. She was in a medically induced coma for weeks.

As for Starlight, I commended her for her quick action. Her… uniquely pragmatic attitude and cool-headedness in the wake of the attack was instrumental in saving the lives of dozens of ponies, including Fluttershy.

Days after the attack, I met with the other Princesses and my friends (minus Fluttershy). It was determined that the organizer of the attack on the party was Silver Crown himself, who was at the party to witness the destruction he had ordered with his own eyes. The Crown family, as Celestia explained, was a family that used to live in Canterlot for several hundred years. Over that time, various members of the family have sought the throne of Equestria, going through various plans as simple as asking Celestia directly to abdicate, to organizing coups and attempted democratic referendums to do away with royalty altogether. The coups were foiled, the referendums barely ever gained any modicum of support, and, of course, Celestia always said no. After the most recent attempted coup before I was born by a younger Silver Crown, who launched the plan as an ambitious coming-of-age celebration, the entire Crown family and many of their supporters were ousted from Canterlot. As we learned, though, the adage about keeping your enemies closer showed itself to be all too true.

With the family spread across Equestria, the Crowns gained more followers than ever. As Celestia’s control could not reach other cities outside Canterlot as easily, it was much easier for the Crowns to convince ponies of their ideology. Their argument was that Celestia’s reign was archaic and far too arbitrary to be relevant to a modern Equestria. With the return of Princess Luna, the consolidation of the Crystal Empire into Equestria’s domain, and my own ascension to royalty under Celestia’s wing, the Crowns’ spun a tale that all of Equestria’s prosperity would soon be stripped from the average pony and used to elevate only those that royalty deemed worthy to everlasting luxury. Other ponies and creatures within Equestria would be exploited to fuel that luxury, and even other nations would be invaded and conquered to add to Celestia’s tyranny until the entire world would be burned bare from the overconsumption of the elites. The Crowns touted themselves as the perfect replacements for the current reign, suggesting that because most of their cutie marks were crowns, tiaras, brooches, and other symbols of leadership, that magic itself was willing them to usher in a new era.

Although it was estimated that only about one in one hundred Equestrians supported the Crowns, it was enough to raise a faction that claimed many cities across the Princessdom, including Vanhoover, Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Baltimare. These seizures happened at the same time as the terrorist attack in Canterlot, which was more of a declaration of war than an attempt to take the city. The suicide bombers were meant to show how loyal the Crowns’ supporters were in an attempt to make the Princesses surrender. The four of us were a focus, but not a target.
Instead of bowing, we decided to put the Crowns down once and for all and answer their challenge to war. Equestria’s military was mobilized across the land for the first time in centuries. A number of armies and officers previously under Celestia and Luna unexpectedly swore loyalty to the Crown family, leaving the royal military starving for leadership. My friends were recruited as generals, and we entered a life we never expected to have. It was our history as the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and our bonds as friends, though, that would ultimately prove to the Crown family that without the Magic of Friendship, they would never have their way.