Ponykrieg

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1-1
Chapter 1-2
Chapter 1-3
Chapter 1-4

Prologue

The sun shone hotly on the city of Sarajevo, on that June day.

The crowd was dense as curious bystanders dressed in summer clothes tried to catch a glimpse of the city’s guest of honor, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir of the double crown of Austria and Hungary, and his wife.

After all, it’s not every day the Austro-Hungarian nobility leaves Vienna to travel so far south, in the Balkans, near the border of the Empire. And the crowd was eager to see the future emperor, whom they said would grant more importance to the Serbian people once he sat on the throne of the double monarchy.

The intrigued people were not disappointed; the archduke appeared wearing a magnificent blue military uniform, and his spouse a hat with a mauve feather that would leave many women jealous for a good while among those of the Bosnian elite.

But the crowd that had come to see Franz Ferdinand were in for an incredible surprise. Trotting next to the imperial carriage, the people of Sarajevo and those that had made the trip from the countryside discovered a mare of great size, as white as the purest snow, with powerful wings on her sides and a horn on her head.

There was great discussion and a good deal of pinching amongst the crowd. Was this some sort of collective illusion? Horses in the archduke’s escort, by all means; but this strange creature?

With wings? And a horn? And a mane of many colors, that seemed to dance in the air without any wind as if it were gas?

Either the eyes of every spectator were tricking them all at once, or the waiters of the city cafés had served beer much too generously that morning!

Rumors quickly spread through the crowd, distorted and exaggerated with every passing person. Word spread of an extraordinary gift from the city to the archduke. Others said that it was in fact Franz Ferdinand himself that had brought this outlandish present to the mayor of Sarajevo, to reward him for remaining faithful to the Danube monarchy.

The beast was a far from usual sight, but this was the 20th century after all! Scientific research made huge steps forward everyday! Perhaps this was some newly discovered kind of equine?

A few spectators, those closest to the imperial carriage, swore that they heard the mare speak to the archducal couple in German. This earned them many disbelieving laughs from the others. Surely it was a gigantic hoax! The mare had no doubt been made to look like a winged unicorn, and some ingenious system gave it the illusion of speech, all to play a trick on the crowd. In his time, Ludwig II of Bavaria had been known for such moments of madness. It wouldn’t be the first time that the nobility used such eccentricities to impress its people.

The laughter died when a small bomb was seen flying towards the imperial carriage, bouncing off its roof before falling into the vehicle behind it and exploding with a deafening sound. Time seemed to suddenly stand still in Sarajevo and throughout the Empire. A bomb. Someone had thrown a bomb at the archduke!

The crowd stirred. Shouting, crying, and the screams of the wounded were heard. Once the smoke cleared however, the austro-hungarian heir was seen completely safe, and the convoy moved onwards. The police arrested a young man who had leapt into the river after the attack, and whom according to many witness accounts was the perpetrator. Everybody forgot about the strange mare for the time being.

Forty-five minutes later, after a stop at the mayor’s office, Franz Ferdinand and his wife stepped back into their carriage and the convoy left for the hospital, the couple wanting to visit the bedside of the previous attack’s victims. Near the Latin bridge, as the convoy stopped to allow its driver to make a turn, a young man caught up with the car, passed through the escort, pointed a pistol to the archduke and fired it three times.

Three simple little gunshots, shot with a small firearm. The first one hit the archduchess in the stomach, the second struck the archduke in the neck and the third, bouncing off the door of the carriage, struck the strange mare right in the heart.

The three of them clenched their wounds tightly as the people rushed to their aid and sized the gunman. The archduke and his wife were rushed in a panic state to the governor’s house, but it was no use; Franz Ferdinand and his wife died of their injuries a few minutes later.

The mysterious mare had been killed on the spot.

On that morning, the 28th of June 1914, it would only take three gunshots to set Europe ablaze and mire it its most formidable war yet. The blood shed by the deaths of Franz Ferdinand and his wife would be repaid by that of an entire continent. And by the blood shed by its leader Celestia, killed by accident in the attack, the Principality of Equestria would join in the macabre dance of the great european suicide.

Chapter 1-1

When he declared that the future belongs to the species best capable of adapting itself to change, mister Charles Darwin was sadly mistaken. The future belongs to the ponies! And to the German Reich, if it is wise enough to tie its fate to that of the Principality of Equestria.

Introductory statement made by the German biologist Richard Semon, during his presentation “Equestria, land of the intelligent beasts”, given on May 3rd 1914 at the Berlin castle, before emperor Wilhelm II and his counselors.

* * *

High above the battlefield, I was flying. Or rather I was gliding. I had spread my wings wide after passing through a thick sheet of clouds, which I was now flying above in wide circles, on the lookout for any enemy activity. In reality nothing was really likely to happen today. After all, we’d taken control of the skies here a few weeks before, but that didn’t give me an excuse not to be vigilant.

All this hovering was starting to annoy me. It it was just up to me, I would’ve started to zip in every direction, trying new stunts, tearing this leather helmet off just to feel the wind in my rainbow mane again.

But I couldn’t do that. I had to stick to the orders I’d been given, and they were too important for me to ruin on impulse. I opened my mouth a little, filling my lungs with fresh air. It was delicious. That’s really one of the many privileges of being a pegasus: having a fresher air to breathe than the one earth ponies and unicorns were used to. But you gotta be careful: past a certain height, breathing too fast and too much became dangerous. Back when I was at flight camp with Gilda and the others, I saw a pegasus one day that had made the mistake of trying to go as high up as possible, just to impress us. He’d gone up so high that the only thing the other students and teachers could see of him was a little colored dot in the blue sky. Then suddenly, he started free-falling, and was caught by two flight instructors. The pegasus had simply fainted from going up too high.

Naturally, all the students at flight school started taking the stupid challenge of who would manage to stay up highest in the sky for the longest amount of time. Needless to say I won, narrowly escaping death twice: once by myself, and the other by defending my title against Gilda. And we were so proud at the time, in our foolish childishness.

I sighed bitterly. Long gone were the days of flight camp. Just like the days of my life in Cloudsdale and Ponyville, in fact. It seemed to me like it had all gone up in smoke. Maybe when the war is over I’ll be able to recall exactly the taste of Applejack’s apple pies, of all the fun we would have at Pinkie Pie’s parties or of the pretty dresses Rarity would make for us when we were going out. But right now it’s like all of that never really happened. Right now, I had a battle to fight.

A noise, like the buzzing of a bee, snapped me out of my nostalgia trip. I turned towards the source of the noise, and I saw it: judging from its cockade, it was a British airplane. It came from a hole in the clouds below me, flying at a good speed.

I was pretty sure it wouldn’t stay for long. Judging from its gait and its general lack of machinery, it was only a recon aircraft. The English must have sent it to spy on our camp and take pictures to bring back to their headquarters. I was sorry for the plane, but I couldn’t let it do that.

I went into a dive towards a cloud below, poking my head through its gaseous bulk to assess my enemy’s position. It was strictly maintaining its course. I was willing to bet that it wouldn’t stay up here for a single minute more than what its mission demanded. It was going to fly right above its target, dive, take some pictures and then hurry back to its airfield.

Now was the time for me to act. Forelegs straight in front of me, I took off so fast I actually surprised myself. I felt the wind whip against my body and tail. I still loved flying at full speed. That’s when I saw the English plane coming close to me. Very close to me.

Without slowing down I pointed my hooves straight towards its tail rudders, gritted my teeth, closed my eyes shut and braced myself for the impact. The metal casings on my armored hooves tore through the rudders of the English plane like through paper, in a thunderous crash.

I heard a gunshot and saw a bullet zipping not far from me. Had the pilot managed to take out his firearm and aim at me while I was attacking him from behind? Not bad, he was skilled. Not as skilled as me, though.

I gained a little distance from the plane, and speed. I then went into a curving movement and arched myself so that I could strike my enemy’s underbelly, where he wouldn’t be able to get me. The English pilot realised immediately what I had in mind and went into a nosedive, to have me straight in front of him. While we were both flying towards each other at full speed, the lack of shooting made it clear to me that the pilot’s revolver was his only weapon. Otherwise he would have shot me down long ago.

As I saw the aircraft’s propeller grow bigger by the second, I made an effort to distinguish the plane’s pilot. It would be when he extended his arm out of the cockpit that I would have to break off my course.

A few seconds passed and still I waited for the right moment. I had to time it just right. Too soon and he would be able to shoot me in the back, too late and he would lodge a bullet in my head, that is, if I wasn’t torn to pieces by the blades of the propeller yet. Not yet... Not just yet...

I saw his right arm extend through the window of the cockpit and aim at me. Almost there...

I saw him cock his gun. Really close now...

Now!

Suddenly I turned to the right, placing myself on my enemy’s left side. The surprised pilot didn’t have time to change his shooting hand that I was already breaking his wing holders. The left-side wings of my enemy’s aircraft crumbled under their own weight and the plane took a steep dive. Satisfied with my performance, I stayed high up watching the enemy plane disappear into the clouds. No need to go further. It was rendered incapable of completing its mission but not so damaged that it would crash immediately. The British pilot would be able to flutter back to its airfield or at the very worst would crash far from the no man’s land.

Both of us would be better off that way. I don’t like having blood on my hooves. Maybe that doesn’t fit the type of an Equestrian Air Force pegasus but that’s just the way I am. I like flying, and I like winning.

Not killing. That I left to the infantry.

I continued my recon flight for another two hours before I headed for the base. I gingerly left the blue skies behind to return to brown mud and the green forest. I was still flying high enough not to be shot by a trigger-happy flak cannon.

More than a pegasus had already been lost that way. I was soon back to our base, and I passed the ranks and progressively slowed down as I neared the village where we had set camp.

The airfield was no longer anything more than a vast field of dirt from which pegasi and airplanes took off and landed all day. I set myself down smoothly on the edge of the field. A few pilots, human and pegasi, saluted me as I folded my wings and finally removed the leather helmet that was keeping my head prisoner. I ran my hoof several times through my mane to undo all the little knots that had made themselves there and to remove the slimy beads of sweat that stuck to it.

A nice hot bath would have been just great right now

My aide-de-camp, a pegasus with a pearly grey coat, came to relieve me of my stuff. I gave him my helmet and my war pilot harnessing, a leather jacket and the metal casings of my hooves. I did keep my scarf around my neck, a white scarf with a multicolored thunderbolt. It was hoof-woven for me by Rarity as a present for when I left for the front, and I avoided taking it off as much as possible. When I wore it, it felt a bit like my friends were here with me.

“Did your flight go well today, lieutenant?” my aide-de-camp asked me.

“If it hadn’t gone well I wouldn’t be here to brag about it,” I replied without missing a beat. “If you could just wash all of that and bring it to my quarters, that would be very nice of you,” I said, gesturing towards my belongings. “And get a hot tub ready for me.”

My aide put his hoof to his temple

“It’ll be done lieutenant! And lieutenant, before I forget, kommandant Koëning wishes to see you as soon as possible.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Did he say why?”

“Negative, lieutenant,” replied my aide-de-camp while shaking his head. “Only that your presence was requested at headquarters as soon as you had finished your flight shift.”

Well, so much for the bath then.

I left the airfield, making my way to the village right next to it. The place wasn’t big at all, like most of the local villages. About fifty people must have been living here before the war.

Many long months ago, all of this part of the front had fallen into our hands, and since the French and English trenches stopped us from moving forward, we were stuck in a struggle for position.

I passed in front of abandoned houses, some of which had been turned into ammunition bunkers. On some of them there were still traces of fighting for the control of the region.

The town hall was a big building of white stone that commander Koëning had obviously turned into his headquarters. I passed in front of sentry guards, walked down the building’s tiled hallway and arrived at the dimly-lit back courtyard, where the commander usually held his meetings. And sure enough, Koëning and his staff majors were all there, sitting around a wooden outdoors table, smoking a fat cigar and stroking his graying mustache with care.

When the commander was discreetly informed of my presence, he invited me join them.

“Come lieutenant, please, come closer!”

I took a few steps towards them but didn’t want to get much closer than that. The officers had the disgusting habit of pairing each intake of breath with a puff of their cigarette, which made a nauseating cloud of smoke hang above them. The smoke above them was so dense, even though we were outside, that I could hardly make out the black, white and red of the imperial banner that hung on the entire inner wall.

Seeing how reluctant I was to make another step forward, Koëning took upon himself to close the small distance between us and extended his hand out to me. I touched it with my hoof. The commander smiled.

“I’m glad to see that you’ve returned in one piece from your mission.”

“It was only a routine flight,” I replied with a shrug.

“Nonetheless,” insisted my commanding officer. “Wilfried!” he said, calling out to one of his men, who came to join the two of us.

This guy was the spitting image of a prussian officer: tall and lean, with a monocle and a golden cigarette holder, complete with a ridiculously long mustache.

“Wilfried,” said Koëning with a smile that only grew wider as he spoke, “allow me to introduce lieutenant Rainbow Dash.”

“And so we finally meet,” said the prussian in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. “Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria. Do you know that your exploits are the talk of all the salons of Berlin? From what I hear, his majesty Kaiser Wilhelm himself has an ongoing bet with one of his cousins as to which of you or captain Richthofen is the best pilot of the imperial army.”

“With all due respect, Colonel,” I replied while inspecting his grade, “I am not technically part of the imperial army. The expeditionist Equestrian corps--”

“We understand you,” cut in the officer. “I shan’t keep you longer, lieutenant, I can imagine you have much business to tend to. However, I am to stay for a while longer still on this part of the front. I hope therefore that we have the pleasure of meeting again.”

I didn’t know what to reply, so I simply nodded to the prussian colonel as he retired to the group of officers nearby, leaving me on my own with commander Koëning.

“I believe you called for me, sir?”

“I simply wished to introduce you in person to colonel von Aesch,” he replied while chewing on his cigar.

That’s it, then? He stopped me from enjoying a nice hot bath and cleaning my wings only to show me to his friend?

Clearly, the more I hang around with military types, the less I like them.

“Permission to retreat, sir?”

“Granted,” said Koëning. “You may leave and rest now, lieutenant. At ease.”

I nodded, turned around, sped down the hall while deploying my wings, and within a few seconds I was flying above the village.

Walking from the airfield to headquarters had allowed me to stretch my legs a little, but there was no way I’d walk all the way back to our quarters, which were a bit far from the rest of the sector.

The expeditionist Equestrian corps, which the German called Die PegasusKorps -- the Pegasus group -- because of the high level of winged ponies within the battalion, had set camp in a large fortified farm a little ways from all the local villages. The farm and its dependences had been left entirely for ponies to adapt to their morphology.

Atop the farm’s bell tower, the banner of Equestria, a white and a black alicorn turning around the sun and the moon on a starry background, fluttered proudly in the wind. I landed in the dirt courtyard, which scared a group of small chicks which went to hide behind a bush. Fluttershy, true to her convictions, couldn’t stand to see the animals of the farm and its surroundings living without anyone to care for them and as a result a good deal of the farm had become a true natural reserve.

I found my friend in the grange, which had been turned into a pony infirmary where wounded Equestrian soldiers came to rest and gather their strength before going back out to battle. Fluttershy flew from one patient to another, giving them medicine, changing their bandages or simply holding their hooves for a few minutes. Technically, given her grade, she wasn’t the one supposed to do this job but Fluttershy had insisted to take care of the wounded personally. When I entered the grange, Fluttershy cut her conversation with another pony nurse short and fluttered towards me.

“Rainbow?” she asked, in her usual tinny voice, “How did everything go up there? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“I’m ok,” I said immediately for reassurance.

“Oh but you’re not ok!” she replied, alarmed. “Look at your right hind leg!”

I checked it out and discovered to my surprise that indeed, there were a few dried blood stains on my blue fur. I must have scraped myself while fighting the English plane.

“It’s just a scratch, Fluttershy,” I assured her. “I don’t even feel anything. Trust me--”

“I need to tend to it right now!” she cut in, dragging me by force to a nearby bed where I sat down while she galloped across the entire grange to find the necessary things to heal my leg.

I felt kinda stupid, awkwardly lying down on an impersonal bed, my right hind leg laid out on the covers as my friend returned to my side, her hooves full of tissues, brown bottles, sewing thread and bandages. She also asked one of the nurses to bring her a clear water basin.

Fluttershy’s muzzle was practically touching my scar as she pushed aside the fur covering it to better see it.

“Looks like it’s healed already but I don’t want to take any risks,” she mumbled to herself while taking a tissue and soaking it in the basin before applying it to the wound. “Now let’s clean this up and disinfect it.”

I couldn’t help sighing in annoyance, but I said nothing. Fluttershy was the perfect nurse for the expeditionist Equestrian corps. Only she sometimes went a little overboard. Especially with me.

That being said, I could understand that. The war which our nation had joined more than two and a half years ago now was beyond anything we could have ever imagined. The battles were huge, like the casualties, for both Equestria and the Triple Alliance and for the Triple Entente. Whereas in August 1914 -- I’d never get used to the Human calendar -- the number of volunteers was very high, especially among pegasi, today they were too few.

“There we go,” said Fluttershy as she finished applying a cotton drenched in a pink liquid that smelled bad to my leg before wrapping it in a thin strip of gauze. “Keep that bandage at least till tomorrow and then you’ll be able to remove it without any trouble.”

“And what about my bath, huh?” I snapped. “How am I supposed to take a bath with this thing on my leg?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy stammered. “I-I’m sorry... I thought that... Well, um, that--”

“It’s cool,” I said after a few seconds. “I’m just teasing ya. I’ll manage.”

“Oh... I... A joke. Yeah. Yeah, that was funny,” she giggled. A pony passing by only a few inches next to her would have hardly been able to hear her laugh, but I could feel it, and sharing this little joke with my friend did me good. Humor was actually one of the best ways to cope with the atmosphere on the front.

“Tell me, Fluttershy,” I asked her as I stepped down from the hospital bed and walked towards the exit of the room. “If you’re free tonight, maybe we could have dinner together?”

My friend seemed to be embarrassed.

“Well, it’s just... It’s just that I have to take care of all the farm critters and there are still wounded ponies to tend to not to mention that--”

“I’m just asking you for an hour or two,” I insisted. “I haven’t had a real meal around a table in weeks. And I haven’t eaten with a friend in even longer.”

“Okay...” Fluttershy finally said after a long while. “I guess I can find some time.”

“Awesome!” I said, leaving the grange. “See you tonight then!”

Once outside, a strong gust of wind made me shiver. I looked to the countryside and was surprised to see how beautiful the landscape could be, even though just a few miles from here, folks were being gutted out and were swimming in their own blood, for reasons much more complex than the simple nature of things.

A soldier from the PegasusKorps came to tell me that a hot tub had been prepared for me in my room. I nodded in silence before walking to the Equestrian officers’ barracks. I was going to wash up, bask in the hot water and just unwind. Then, I would have dinner with Fluttershy and we would both laugh and talk about the old days. Tomorrow I’d leave for another routine flight above the fields of death; but not tonight. Tonight I was going to try to remember the taste of a normal life with one of my best friends, like an echo of the time when the six of us would live out peaceful days in Ponyville.

An echo of a world that no longer existed...

Chapter 1-2

Sitting with his back to the rough bark of the library treehouse, Spike chewed on a spinel without much enthusiasm. The gemstone was anything but tasty and the young dragon couldn’t understand how some could possibly call it a ruby. This was no ruby! Rubies gave the impression of melting on your tongue and flooding your palate with spice; the spinel had nothing more than a stale bitterness to its pasty feel. Oh well... With the wartime restrictions on food, he would have to deal with what he was given. And spinels were always better than just grass.

Spike looked over his shoulder and was not surprised to see that lights were still on in Twilight’s room. When he had left for his evening walk around Ponyville, his friend was still buried in one of her heavy tomes about humans. Spike was willing to bet his scales that she was taking notes right now.

Twilight’s love of studying was not new by any means, and nor was her curiosity regarding the latest discoveries, but it seemed to the young dragon that her thirst for knowledge regarding humans was exaggerated.

Like everypony else, Spike had been very eager to meet this new kind of sapient bipeds, but he didn’t care about anything beyond the basic details, meaning which of the humans would side with them and which would not. For Twilight, it was different. She seemed to want to know everything there was to know about humans, from the most precise biological details to the long and overly complex history of their race. Spike suspected that by doing so, she would take her mind off the war and escape to her own private world of ink and wisdom.

And the dragon couldn’t really blame her. This world had been rather chaotic for the last thirty months or so.

First, there was Equestria being suddenly freed from its isolation due to some spell cast by Princess Celestia, with everypony discovering that the earth they believed to know by heart was in fact populated by millions and millions of a kind that nopony had ever heard of before. Then came the diplomatic relations that the princess had made for Equestria with human nations, followed by Celestia’s tragic demise, and all the nations of the world engaging in a gigantic conflict in which Equestria was thrown in... All of that was far beyond the rational understanding of things for a little dragon such as Spike, or for any Equestrian pony for that matter.

Spike gave a frustrated sigh and tried to take his mind off things with another mouthful of spinel. It didn’t work.

High above the dragon, perched on one of the branches of the treehouse, an owl hooted in the night. Spike looked up towards the immense dark branches, and for a split second, envied the creature that was nesting there. How lucky it was not to be concerned with the war. All it had to worry about was to hunt to gather enough food for its young and to find a nice spot to rest during the day. It needn’t think about how torn in two Equestria was since the start of the war, or worry about the fate of those ponies gone to the front.

Long before all of this, back when Spike and Twilight had just moved into Ponyville, the young unicorn had told a riddle to her number one apprentice, or rather, a philosophical question: Was it better to be a fool, or to be wise?

The dragon hadn’t even thought twice before answering: To be wise was the way to be, of course! Who would want the life of a dimwit?

Twilight hadn’t offered her opinion right then, preferring to set her book down on a table where other books were already stacked in an impressive pile before replying to Spike, a small smirk on her face. She’d told Spike that his stand on the matter was the most obvious one. It seemed common knowledge that the wise pony was better fitted to move on and discover the beautiful things in life. But, she said, the wise pony would move on to discover all the injuries, all the sufferings that he would never be able to face, that made for an unavoidable part of life. The fool however, would live for the now and without a care for such things, simply carrying his boat along the great river of life as best as its rudders could. Therefore, concluded the young unicorn, it all depends on what you choose for yourself, between wisdom and instant happiness.

Twilight had then added that she agreed with her assistant, her own opinion being that the wise pony could prepare itself for the difficulties of its life, and that the knowledge it gained everyday allowed it to play music, cook a nice meal for its friends and generally uncover all the secrets of life. And that was well worth all the joys of the fool’s life.

Spike had remained true to this philosophy for a very long time. But today... today... to be in the feathers of that owl for even just an hour, the dragon would give all the gems of Equestria and of all foreign lands beyond.

He was about to take another mouthful of spinel when he heard the sound of hooves shuffling the grass nearby. Spike’s ears perked up in surprise. Who would visit the library at this hour? The dragon peered into the night, and saw a shape draped in white and purple that took form as it came closer to him. When he was close enough to make out its azure eyes, Spike thought his heart would burst from joy.

“Rarity!” he cried out as he took three steps without thinking to get closer to his friend.

The unicorn smiled broadly when she saw him, and extending her hooves, seized him in an unrestrained embrace. Spike, who was both surprised and thrilled by this affectionate physical gesture wondered if he wasn’t actually dead or dreaming.

“Careful, Spikey-wikey,” she said in her gentle velvet voice. “You’re going to crease my new dress.”

Spike gently let go of her with a wide grin. Only Rarity could open a conversation with something to do with her clothing!

He took a step backwards, examining the unicorn’s dress. She was wearing a dress of a cream hue that went perfectly with the strip of lilac that ran across it, as well as a prune-colored scarf which hung on her belt. But all of that didn’t catch his eye as much as the giant hat the unicorn wore: to Spike it looked like a great white feather, as if a massive bird had let just a touch of its feathery fall to the ground, just for Rarity.

“Rarity...” said Spike after a few seconds, “You’re... absolutely stunning!”

“Thank you,” replied the unicorn with a blush. “It’s the latest fashion in Vienna, you know.”

Spike took her word for it, even though he didn’t know where that city of humans was exactly.

“How long have you been back?”

“Just now, I hopped off the train,” replied Rarity while walking towards the library. “I see that Twilight is still awake,” she said, pointing a hoof towards the library.

“She hardly sleeps anymore,” said Spike melancholically. “I don’t think she’s been out once in the last three weeks.”

“Oh, the poor dear! I hope my visit will do her some good.”

“I hope so too,” said the dragon as they arrived at the foot of the treehouse. He pushed the door to the library open and let his friend in.

As usual, the library was spotless and the books neatly shelved. But there was something different in the air. Maybe it was the dust covering the books that used to be Twilight’s favorite, or the staleness of the air. But mostly, the feeling came from a parchment that had yellowed with time, sprawled on the purple unicorn’s desk and bearing her neat and recognizable writing. Spike knew that parchment well, for having sent many of its kind to princess Celestia. They were the friendship reports that Twilight used to send regularly to the Equestrian ruler.

Twilight had been in the middle of writing one when news of Celestia’s death reached her. She’d immediately stopped, and had galloped outside to try to gather information. Ever since that day, Spike had never seen her pick up that letter again, and it stayed unfinished forever.

Rarity walked timidly through the library, looking about for her friend. Spike pointed her towards a small purple figure curled up on a bench, next to impressive piles of books that surrounded her like a book fort.

“Twilight!” called her assistant. “Look who came to visit!”

Twilight Sparkle lifted her muzzle from between the pages of her book and glanced over her shoulder.

“Oh, hey Rarity. You look good,” she mumbled before sinking back into her book.

“What do you mean, ‘oh hey Rarity’?” shouted Spike. “Rarity has been out of Equestria for over ten months and this is how you greet her?”

“It’s alright,” said Rarity, placing a soothing hoof on his shoulder. “Could you be a dear and go make us both a cup of tea?”

“Just for Rarity, Spike,” Twilight said flatly. “I’m not thirsty.”

Spike was about to protest but a look from Rarity, filled with kindness but still adamant, made him grant her request without another word. As he went to the kitchen, the dragon couldn’t help but notice how Rarity’s new job had affected even her behaviour.

While Spike was busy heating up the water and preparing the cups and herbs for tea, Rarity trotted towards her friend, and sat right next to her. Twilight was still completely absorbed in her book, not taking any notice of Rarity’s presence to her left.

The white unicorn gave two little coughs, which earned her Twilight’s attention.

The librarian gave an exasperated whinny and closed her book abruptly before setting it down with the others.

“What do you want, Rarity?” asked Twilight rather bluntly.

Surprised with her friend’s aggressiveness, Rarity waited a few seconds before answering.

“I just came to see you, that’s all,” she answered with a smile.

“Couldn’t this wait till tomorrow?”

“No, not really. The Empress wants to see me first thing in the morning, so--”

“The ‘Empress’?” cut in Twilight, raising an eyebrow at the word.

“Yes, well... you know... Luna. Our sovereign.”

“I’d forgotten she adopted that ridiculous title after her sister died,” grumbled Twilight. “Isn’t being the only reigning princess in Equestria enough for her?”

Rarity blinked in surprise. Several times. By all the beasts of the Everfree forest, what had gotten into her friend? First she ignored her, then she openly insulted the Empress...

“Darling,” said Rarity gently while placing her hoof on Twilight’s own, “are you sure you’re all right? You look exhausted.”

It wasn’t just the librarian’s unkempt hair that led her to believe it, but also the bags hanging heavily from under Twilight’s eyes like cheap makeup, as well as her abnormally dull eyes.

“I’m fine, thank you very much!” snapped back Twilight, withdrawing her leg. “And I’ll be doing even better once Spike will have brought you your tea, once you drink it and once you leave!”

“Twilight, dear,” Rarity whispered softly, “you don’t know what you’re saying.”

“No, I know very well what I’m saying,” replied Twilight. “But I don’t have anything to say to somepony who sold herself to Luna.”

It took Rarity all of her self-control to act ladylike and to not strike her friend hard across the cheek.

“I can understand how my current job may not suit your taste,” said Rarity with much diplomacy. “After all, you and Celestia were very close and--”

“I forbid you from saying her name in my presence,” hissed Twilight, spitting out each word icily. “You are the last person in all of Equestria with whom I want to talk about the princess right now. Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

And without waiting for a reply, the unicorn opened up her book and buried her face in it once more. Rarity stayed there without doing anything for a few moments. Then she adjusted her hat, got off the bench and, her head hanging low, walked sulkily towards the door.

Spike joined her outside, bringing her her tea with two sugars, just the way she liked it. The unicorn and the dragon stayed there for a moment in silence, watching Ponyville sleep.

“That didn’t go nearly as well as I had hoped,” Rarity said in between two slurps of her tea.

“Celestia’s death was terribly upsetting for Twilight,” said Spike. “And things only got worse with time.”

“Same for Equestria,” said the unicorn wistfully after a long while. “Does Twilight never leave the library?”

Spike shook his head.

“Not even to see the girls?” asked Rarity.

“Don’t you know?” replied the surprised dragon. “Twilight is the only one of you six that still lives in Ponyville.”

It was Rarity’s turn to be stunned. Spike quickly resumed the situation for her, counting off his claws.

“Rainbow and Fluttershy both left for the front in the beginning of the war; like all the other pegasi, actually. You were appointed to diplomatic relations by Luna shortly afterwards.”

“Sure, but what about Pinkie Pie? And Applejack?”

“Pinkie just kept on being Pinkie,” explained the dragon with a defeated shrug. “I don’t think she fully realizes what war means; though I can’t say I do, either. She decided to go cheer up the ponies on the front by setting up some sort of travelling show. Last news we got of her was that she was leaving for a place called Falanders, I think. Where’s Falanders, anyway?”

“It’s Flanders, Spike,” corrected Rarity. “It’s in Belgium. Not very far from where Rainbow and Fluttershy are stationed, in fact. I do hope they get to meet each other there. And what about Applejack?” she asked. “Did she go with her?”

“Not exactly...” said Spike, seeming to have chosen the words carefully. “The thing is, Applejack was kinda like Twilight, she found it hard to stomach the princess’s death as well as Luna being crowned as the only ruler of Equestria. But you know what AJ’s like, she was always one to speak her mind out loud. A bit too much, maybe. She took a stand against Luna, several times and quite radically. The princess-- uh, I mean the Empress, let it slide a few times, but when she saw that AJ wouldn’t quit, she decided to punish her. Remember how Sweet Apple Acres was given to her family by princess Celestia, to Applejack’s great-grandfather?”

Rarity nodded.

“Yeah, well,” continued Spike, “Luna simply figured she was in her right to reclaim the farm and all its orchards.”

“The Empress did that?” exclaimed Rarity, bewildered.

“It was only supposed to be temporary, until AJ offered a public apology and started showing some support for Luna; but Applejack took the confiscation of her land very badly. She fought the imperial guards that came to execute Luna’s orders and wounded some of them very badly. One guard died from his wounds in the hospital.”

“So Applejack’s in prison now?” asked Rarity.

“She split town after that,” explained Spike. “No one really knows where she went but she left Equestria, that’s for sure. Luna condemned her to exile in absentia.”

“So that’s why Twilight’s been left all alone,” said Rarity with a last sip of her tea.

“Yeah,” added the dragon in a saddened tone. “I hope this war ends soon so that you can all come back to Ponyville. I’m sure Twilight would feel that much better if she knew that her friends were there safe and sound by her side.”

Rarity would have replied that there was little chance of Applejack ever returning to Ponyville, even once the war was over with, but she didn’t want to burst her friend’s bubble. Instead she simply nodded and gave him a weak smile.

In spite of the sugar in her tea, there was a bitter taste in her mouth.

“What about you?” asked Spike. “How are your missions throughout Europe going?”

“Ah, well,” said Rarity with a smile, “I’m always either in the train, or on a boat. I meet people that dress as fancily as they speak and that don’t seem to mind conversing with a unicorn in any way.”

“And what’s Europe like?”

Rarity momentarily stared into space.

“It’s magnificent, Spike,” she said after a while. “Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Budapest... I was even in London once!” she exclaimed with stars in her eyes. “I just don’t understand why Celestia only broke the Equestria isolation spell when she did.”

All of these unknown human city names were making Spike’s head spin. Also, they gave him the burning desire to see them all.

“When the war is over,” said Rarity, “I’ll take you to Austria, to the city of Kraków. That’s the city of the dragon!” she added with a wide smile.

“Really? You Pinkie promise?”

“Really!” she replied with a laugh. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Spike joined his friend in merry laughter, while far from there a rooster sang to announce the sunrise; or rather, to announce to Empress Luna that it was time for her to raise the sun.

“Already?” said Rarity, examining the sky. “I have to go back to Canterlot immediately. And Spike, in case we don’t see each other until much later...”

The unicorn bent down and planted a kiss on the dragon’s forehead.

“Take care of Twilight for me, all right?”

Spike wanted to pinkie promise to her that he would, but only painstakingly managed to blurt out a series of incoherent noises. But it didn’t matter, for Rarity hadn’t noticed and by then was already galloping to the train station to catch the next train to Canterlot.

The dragon stayed there for a while longer, watching the love of his life shrink into the distance until she disappeared. He gave a sigh of melancholy and went back inside the library treehouse.

Perhaps now that Twilight was alone, she would want some tea.

Chapter 1-3

Using her magic, Luna lifted the large coronation cape from the mannequin it was resting upon towards herself. She placed it upon her shoulders and fastened the two little clasps on the cape together, one shaped like the sun and the other like the moon. The cape was of a deep blue, the color of the night sky speckled with twinkling silver stars. Its lining -- made from the fur of a royal white fox, an extremely rare creature of the realm -- was meant to remind to all that only Equestrian sovereigns were worthy of such a garment.

It used to be that there were two coronation capes: one for Luna, and one for her sister. The two capes completed each other, so that whereas on Luna’s the colors were dark and reminiscent of the moon and the stars, Celestia’s cape was of the purest white, and adorned with gold-woven suns.

To Luna’s memory, there had been only one single time where both her and her sister had worn those capes. It was on the day they were crowned as Princesses of Equestria, after having defeated Discord and trapping the demon in stone.
Celestia had always thought the decorum to be a little over-the-top. For her it was not the clothing, but noble acts that made one a princess. Luna had always thought the contrary, or at least that regal clothing was essential to the affirmation of regal power.

At her sister’s funeral, Luna had insisted that she be inhumed in great fashion and according to good protocol. The ceremony was held in the royal gardens, and all residents of Equestria had made the journey there to pay a last tribute to Celestia. Luna had personally draped her sister’s face with a sheet of silk before letting the royal guard carry her into the earth. According to the instructions Celestia herself had left behind, each pony was invited to throw their own hoofful of dirt so that the entire population may participate in the funeral of their sovereign. Luna felt that it was a breach of regal protocol, but decided to grant her sister’s final wishes.

After a brief speech, the sole remaining Princess of Equestria let the sun shine for an entire day as a tribute to her sister. All through that long day and afterwards, entire groups of ponies had made the trip to Celestia’s grave to offer up flowers, poems, jewelry, and any general token of affection for their leader.

This show of love from one people to its leader had moved Luna deeply.

The sadness left in the wake of Celestia’s leaving was soon mingled with a widespread feeling of anger towards what the people considered to be intolerance and injustice. It didn’t seem fair to anypony that Equestria’s reward for opening itself to the outside world should be the death of its princess. It was the reason why earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi alike fervently applauded Luna when she declared that she would join the Central Powers in the war that was to come.
Equestria had chosen war; and it was so, that a nation that had always placed harmony, love and tolerance above all else was suddenly hit with a wave of madness and demanded human blood to pay for the blood shed by its fallen
princess.

It was then that Luna had openly encouraged any willing pony to take arms and to join the German and Austro-Hungarian armies as an expeditionist corps. The pegasi had massively joined the war as such, while the two other races had preferred to stay behind and support the war effort, by helping workers in the Triple Alliance with their factories or by harvesting the land so as to send more goods to the front.

Luna carefully placed her jet black crown on her head, making sure that not a hair on her mane got stuck in its folds. The Supreme Leader of Equestria had to be absolutely irreproachable in appearance and manner. Finally, she put on her black plastron bearing a white moon before turning back slowly and examining herself in the mirror.
Every little thing was now neatly in its proper place.

Luna took a few steps to the massive doors that separated her room from the rest of the palace. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath that she held in her lungs for a few seconds before letting it out in a swift huff. She then forced herself to adopt a stern, imperial look before magically opening the doors and stepping through.

The two royal guards assigned to her security gave a bow in salute to their leader before escorting her silently to the throne room. As she advanced in the large corridors of the palace, she couldn’t help but to notice how silent it had become since the death of her older sister. She looked at the beautiful stained glass windows on which the glorious history of Equestria had been painted. As she passed in front of the window depicting the fall of Discord, she felt a tear pearl up at the corner of her eye, which she immediately blinked away after cursing her weakness. She couldn't let the past hold her down: she was the ruler of Equestria, and an empress no less! She had a country to look after and a nation to lead to victory.

The throne room, which the alicorn had just entered, had been greatly modified ever since the first days of her rule.
The golden throne, along with its fountains, had been preserved, but Luna insisted on having the flag of Equestria's three founding tribes placed on the inside back. Luna hoped that the symbolic force behind that banner would help her in her rule. The empress went to her throne, made herself comfortable, and gave the order to her guards to start the day's meetings with a nod.

Luna was glad to see that Rarity, one of her most zealous diplomats, was the first audience of the day. The unicorn bowed before her sovereign, who then made her rise.

"We are most pleased to see you, Lady Rarity. How did you fare with your assignment in Vienna?"

"My mission ended with...mixed results, to be honest," replied the diplomat. "While the Austro-Hungarian plenipotentiaries are satisfied with the shipment of ammunition and gold, the German officers wish for a stronger military help. The battle of the Somme and the battle of Verdun came at a great cost for the kaiser's army. He calls to his allies for help to get a handle on the situation."

Luna started grinding her teeth, a gesture which - although unbecoming of her rank - showed exactly how she was feeling.

"We have already told Wilhelm II that any pony willing to fight has left for the front lines long ago !

"Some German diplomats have suggested..."Rarity seemed to be at a loss for words.

"...Conscription." she said quickly, knowing full well that this idea did not sit well with the empress.

"Absolutely not," snapped Luna," We will not go down in history as the ruler who pushed her subjects to fight against their will. Any pony, pegasus, or unicorn who wishes to join the battlefield and defend our nation can do so today. The rest of our nation stands back and fights its own way, by working in factories, mines, and farms until the final battle is won. Or by working at our side, like you do, Lady Rarity."

The alicorn had a pause, gathering her wits before continuing.

"Therefore, conscription is not an option for Equestria unless the gravity of the situation gives us no other choice. For now, as much as the kaiser disapproves, it will remain that way. Are We clear?"

"Crystal clear, your Highness."

Luna rose from her throne and started walking throughout the room, which she usually did when she was thinking.

"That being said, Wilhelm is right about one thing: the outcome of this war might depend on numbers, and on that field the Central Powers trump the Allies. The Russian borders should be secured once and for all and Italy should be the target for a massive assault. Once Rome falls, we could attack France by the South and defeat it once its troops are on the northern front."

Rarity simply nodded. Ever since the opening of the Italian border, which was met with great fear since after all, the Alps were the only thing separating the Boot from the Empire, many ponies reached the conclusion that this was the key element to ending the war.The western front was blocked since the first months of the war, and that front seemed blocked both by the size of Russia and its massive amount of soldiers, which could allow Russia to take hit after hit without falling.

"I'm afraid I have more bad news, your Majesty."

"Speak, We are listening."

"Reports of the casualties on the Romanian front have just reached us. Trixie the magician is one of them. She fell at the battle of Bucharest."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie?" asked the Empress with an eyebrow raised, before her expression darkened when Rarity nodded.

"This victory came at a high cost for our nation."

Rarity could only nod once more. The late unicorn's vanity did not matter much, as it was only for her ego that she joined the fight. What did matter was that she had become an icon, as she was one of the very few unicorns who dirtied their hooves on the battlefield. This was a symbolic loss more than a loss of power, since Trixie's magical prowess would not affect the Empire.

"We must fill this gap as soon as possible," muttered Luna, as she observed Canterlot through one of the many windows of the throne room. "The battles to the east are already difficult, and the loss of morale that Trixie's death will bring will only slow down our progress. Do you know of any other unicorn who could take her place?"

Twilight was the first thing that came to Rarity's mind.

"Actually, your Highness, there might be someone: our late princess' protégé and my friend, Twilight Sparkle. But I doubt I could convince her to..."

Luna's eyes became clouded with memories.

"The young Sparkle. It was she who led your group when you freed me from Nightmare Moon, was she not?"

"Yes your Highness," confirmed Rarity, keeping the fact that Luna spoke in the first person to herself,"but I was thinking: couldn't we use the Elements of Harmony to win the war? It is Equestria's most powerful form of magic, isn't it?"

"You just hit the nail on the head, Lady Rarity," said the Empress as she walked throughout the room once more."The Elements have no limit to their powers within Equestria's borders. But We have no idea what they could do in the Human world: they could either destroy everything, or produce nothing more than a spark. One way or another, it would be much too dangerous to rely on them to win. A conflict of this magnitude is not won by relying on chance."

Luna put a hoof to her eyes, which were getting heavy due to weariness.

"You may leave now, Rarity. You may take a few days to rest alongside your loved ones before taking a new assignment. We will keep you informed."

The unicorn bowed once more.

"Thank you, your Majesty. But before I leave, may I ask you a favor?"

After a nod, the diplomat continued.

"My friend Applejack was banned from Equestria following the events which unfolded at Sweet Apple Acres.
And your Highness must surely know how much she means to me. Moreover, she is an Element of Harmony, the same way Twilight and I are. I am convinced she could serve the crown well, if she were forgiven."

"We have already discussed the issue with the Elements," said the Empress drily, "and even if we were to use them, Applejack has already been judged and condemned. She is forbidden from staying in Equestria."

"But all you need to do is-"

"NO!"

Luna was always careful not to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, except when she needed to emphasise a word or a point. Rarity feared her ears light implode.

"APPLEJACK THE FARMER DARED GO AGAINST OUR WISHES, WHICH IS WHY SHE WAS PUNISHED!"

Then the Empress used a calmer tone.

"Nevertheless, We understand your concerns. We might be ready to forgive your friend if her apology is sincere, but only when the war is over. Until then, We must stand our ground when making decisions."

Rarity simply nodded, and made to leave the room with a defeated expression when Luna stopped her.

"One last thing, Lady Rarity. We will surely reconsider your friend's situation if you manage to convince Twilight Sparkle that joining the fight is in her best interest."

The unicorn immediately understood what the Empress was suggesting: manipulate Twilight so that Applejack might return. Rarity felt dirty by thinking about tricking Twilight, but if it was the only way to clear Applejack's name, she had to try. She nodded once before leaving.

The Empress, left alone in the throne room, had the meetings suspended for a moment. She made her way towards a small door at the back of the room, pushed it open and walked down a narrow flight of stairs. After a few minutes, she arrived at the walkway of a large circular work room, where dozens of ponies in white blouses - albeit covered in grease - ran around, working on maps, charts and schematics. It was in this room that research was made to create the technology that would allow Equestria and the Central Powers to win the war. Ponies, who were well accustomed to Zeppelins, had allowed the development of German and Austrian Zeppelins in exchange for the creation of the Equestrian Empire's first boats.
Since they rarely had encounters with the ocean, ponies were very reluctant to go through a 'trial by fire' with their boats, which were staying under the watchful eye of the Austro-Hungarian army at the bay of Pula. However, Equestrian scientists were fascinated by submarines and amphibian technology in general. The latest developments in U-Boat research would not have been possible without the help of the Empire.

From her elevated position, Luna's eyes searched for those she came looking for, which she found after a few seconds. The Flim-Flam brothers, who once sold cider, were quick to offer their services as inventors to the crown. Their encouraging results made Luna name the twins head of R&D. Their only condition was to have most of the credit for their research and to only answer for their actions to the Empress. She had accepted, convinced by the brilliant victory at the castle of Hooge, which was achieved thanks to the changes made to the German flame-throwers, courtesy of the Flim-Flam Bros.
Flam, the youngest of the two, who was identified by his ginger mustache, was working with two other ponies on schematics for new battleships. He looked at the walkway, saw the alicorn, and hurried to join her. She couldn't explain how, but a few seconds later the twins were by her side.

"Hello, your Majesty! Are there good news from the fronts?" asked Flim enthusiastically.

"Some," said Luna with a stoic expression,"but we are still facing our enemies at the East and West, and Russia refuses to fall."

"It won't for much longer, ma'am," said Flam with a triumphant look, "because you'll be happy to know..."

"...that thanks to our latest changes to the German U-boats..."

"...the kaiser will soon be able to officially start an unlimited underwater war!"

Luna was hardly surprised to see how each brother completed the other's sentence. Most of the time, it was as though Flim and Flam were two recipients for the same spirit. When she and Celestia were foals, they also gave off that impression.

"Wilhelm will no doubt appreciate your zealousness, gentlemen," added the Empress as she walked slowly along the walkway, occasionally looking at the work happening below. "The embargo will no doubt weaken our enemies, but We do not think that it will grant us a much-needed victory. And Equestria needs a triumph, gentlemen; a quick and glorious triumph. But we tackle these issues in the right order: first Russia, then Italy, and finally France. How is research going on those countries?"

"The latest prototype of Zeppelins..."

"...has just been delivered to the French Flanders. If the results are encouraging..."

"...we could consider a grand scale air raid over London and Paris to break the spirits of the populace and push them towards signing a peace treaty."

Luna couldn't help but agree. Equestrian zeppelins, and anything relating to aerial combat, was without a doubt the Empire strongest asset.

"Excellent. And as for Russia?"

The twins suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Truth be told, ma'am, we aren't optimistic about our chances of victory against the East," said Flam, nervously tugging on his mustache.

"The Russian Empire is simply too big and decentralised for the raids to do any lasting damage," said Flim," not to mention our troops don't have the necessary bases to allow the launch of zeppelins. Even though the front is slow, it is still moving."

"So you do not have any solution for our problems in the East?" concluded Luna, looking miffed.

"We have a project in the works, but its still in the early stages," said the youngest of the twins.

"The idea is extremely simple, but difficult to apply," added Flim.

"We are listening."

"We're not sure of anything yet! We wouldn't want to bother your Highness with-"

"We. Are. Listening," said Luna in a cold voice.

"Basically," explained Flim,"we're looking for a way to focus magic within a projectile, which would be thrown at enemy cities and bases from a zeppelin, a plane, or even by a pegasus.

"How much magic are we talking?" asked Luna, who was quite intrigued in their idea.

"A lot, your Majesty. Large, huge quantities," said Flam with a grim expression,"which is the main problem we have: harnessing that much energy while keeping it under our control.

"But if this weapon were to be made," added Flim excitedly,"its power would surpass by far any technology used during this war. One magic bomb, just one...and we could level an entire capital of the Central Forces. Their forces would surrender without a second thought, shaking in their boots at the sight of our weapon."

"It could put an end to the war, your Majesty. An end to any war. No one else would dare go up against Equestria and its allies."

Luna stayed silent for a moment, with a heavy heart, imagining that the brothers' project might come to be - and the Moon knew that those unicorns had untangled problems much more twisted than this - and wondering if this weapon would be ethically usable. Yes, it would kill hundreds and hundreds of people, most of them civilians if it were used on a city, but how many ponies and men had already fallen? Would a few hundred more be acceptable for the sake of world peace? She had to give this a lot of thought.

"Continue your work, gentlecolts. We are most pleased with you."

The unicorns bowed while the Empress went back to the throne room. While she was climbing back up the stairs, Luna couldn't stop the little voice in her head, hidden in the depths of her mind, which whispered that such a weapon would be the miracle the Empire was waiting for to win the war once and for all and guarantee Equestria's safety.

And, aditionnally, to prove to mankind that killing an Equestrian princess was undoubtedly a very bad idea.

Chapter 1-4

Twilight Sparkle shifted a hind leg so that she could get comfortable while laying down. Noon was approaching and the sun had warmed Equestria for a few hours, although some dark spots remained in the sky above her and the grass surrounding her was still damp with the morning dew. The young unicorn had taken the precaution of taking a large towel with her to Ponyville's park, in order to protect her book rather than her fur.

The book was a heavy tome, with roughly six hundred carefully printed pages containing detailed descriptions and illustrations. Its title, An Essay On The Human Race's Inequalities, Tome I ,was marked in golden letters on the brown leather cover. The essay was one of the first books Twilight had acquired after Princess Equestria had lifted the isolation spell and exposed Equestria to the rest of the world.

Most ponies had been cautious about the end of the Equestrian Isolation. This human world was unknown, dark, and dangerous to them. It was to reassure her people that Princess Celestia had established diplomatic relations with their new neighbours, something which would bring about her demise thirty months later.

A tearing sensation. There was no other way to describe the feeling that hit Twilight when she learned about the death of her mentor. Her quill had dropped to the floor, tainting the floor of the library with black ink, but she ignored it along with everything else when she ran out of her home. She had been writing a friendship report when she heard that Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the kingdom of Equestria, had been murdered during a visit to Austria-Hungary, one of the first human countries to befriend the pony nation.

Ironically, the friendship report she was writing tackled the issues of death and grief: young Pipsqueak's dog had passed on during the previous night and the young colt had been depressed for days, before his friends helped him overcome his sadness and move on. Twilight had meditated on the meaning of friendship during those times and intended to share her thoughts with her teacher. The followings events, however, stopped those plans dead in their tracks.
When she thought of Pipsqueak's dog, Twilight couldn't help but think that she would have liked her friends to cheer her up when she was grieving. But seeing as how Celestia was a mother to every Equestrian citizen, nopony had taken the time to sit down and truly realize what her death meant. Instead, the nation had risen up in arms and allied itself with other forces in a conflict the likes of which made the fights between the Three Tribes look like petty squabbles.

Twilight might have handled the situation better if her group of friends hadn't been shattered by this catastrophe. Between those who wanted to fight, those who didn't and those who wanted nothing to do with the war, tensions had escalated quickly to the point where the six friends had gone their separate ways. But that's the way things were, and with the departure of her friends -starting with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash – the young unicorn had turned to those who had always been there for her, ever since Canterlot.

Her books.

Twilight had always loved reading and writing; it was part of her personality while leaving room for her friends. But, with the end of her friendships, books returned as the dominant interest in her life.
The last straw, however, was when Rarity had declared to her, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, that she had obeyed Princess Luna's orders and joined Equestria's diplomatic body. At that moment, Twilight felt as though she had taken a hoof to the gut. Rainbow Dash's decision was unfortunate but expected, as her rough and tumble lifestyle had helped influence her. Fluttershy's decision had been harder to digest, even though the pegasus had calmly and politely given them her reasons. But Rarity ? Having her leave for the battlefield would have been easier to understand than joining a group of diplomats, and not with Luna's express orders.

Twilight didn't like Luna for one simple reason: she was the one had taken the decision to engage Equestria in warfare. True, everypony had demanded reparations for the death of their ruler, but this was blind anger brought upon by the pain of losing her sister. If Equestria had taken a break for a few months, had calmed down a bit, ponies would have understood that the best thing to do would have been to overcome this and not start a massive war that looked more like a collective suicide rather than a crusade for peace.

Luna was the most devastated pony of all after the death of her sister, which is something Twilight understood, but her way of ruling didn't seem right to her. The alicorn had rallied the populace in an effort to start a total war and had solemnly sworn on her sister's grave that the Principality would not rest until the Triple Alliance had won the final battle.

Well, 'principality'...'Empire' was more fitting. Luna was the self-proclaimed “Equestrian Empress” shortly after the beginning of the war. She had also announced her decision to follow the regime of her allies, Germany and Austria-Hungary, which were both under the rule of emperors. Later on, the adddition of the Ottoman and the Bulgarians to the conflict had reinforced her policies.

Twilight had quickly found the error in this train of thought. By acting in such a way, the heads of the Triple Alliance wanted to give their war an air of authority, to suggest an alliance of empires against the rest of the world. Except that wasn't true: the English king Georges the Vth was at the head of the British Empire, the tsar Nicolas II was the emperor of Russia, and France, the only republic to participate in the war, had mobilized her colonies. It wasn't the empires against the rest of the world, it was empires fighting one another, which made the whole ordeal that much more ridiculous. Ponies had nothing to do with humanity's business.

That being said, Twilight had to admit that these human were fascinating. She already knew a good deal about manticores, hydras and cockatrice, but not much about humans, which is why the book written by the count of Gobineau had quickly become one of her many books of reference when studying this mysterious race. As months went by, the unicorn had amassed an impressive collection, but An Essay On The Inequality of the Human Races remained her favourite. She had yet to grasp every concept and disagreed with Gobineau on certain elements, such as the idea that there were several sub-races of humans on Earth which were recognisable by the colour of their skin, but she couldn't help but read it again and again in order to milk it of all its knowledge.

Earlier that morning, Spike had practically thrown her out in order to really clean the library, but she knew that it was an excuse to make her get some fresh air. She had therefore accepted his demands on the condition that she could bring her book and a bottle of water.
The unicorn found the roads to be almost empty, which was the case in many of Equestria's cities. Indeed, the ponies who hadn't directly left for the battlefields had gone to the human world in order to help. Those who had refused to participate in any way were few, to say the least. Here and there, Twilight had come across a few familiar faces, but that was nothing compared to the usual amount of habitants of her new home.

The only thing which gave the town a strange appearance were the propaganda posters, which encouraged the people to fight or contribute in any way possible. Apart from the fact that it was calmer, Ponyville hadn't changed that much, and that's what Twilight hated. The war had become a regular, normal thing, it had become omnipresent. You couldn't go through one day without hearing about the troops' movements, announcements of this victory and that defeat, of great patriotic speeches, and so on and so forth...

Twilight never thought she'd have to live through a time like this. She'd had given anything for this nightmare to end and for things to go back to the way they used to be. But it seemed some things had a limit...
She was finishing a paragraph from her book dedicated to the blending of races and its consequences when she felt a presence behind her shoulder. She didn't even have to turn around to know who it was, as that familiar crystal perfume gave it away.

“Good morning, Twilight!” tried Rarity.

“ 'lo there, Rarity,” mumbled her fellow unicorn.

Without waiting for an invitation Rarity sat down on the towel, next to her friend. Like the previous night, Twilight chose to ignore her and focus on reading. After a few awkwardly silent minutes, Rarity decided to break the ice.

“Twilight, darling,” started the diplomat, “I understand that you might be angry after what happened. When Cel-”

The unicorn quickly paused, knowing that mentioning the name of her friend's mentor would not help her situation, as she had learned last night.

“After the Princess left,” continued Rarity, with hesitation in her voice, “everything went sour. We both know that.”

Twilight gave the tiniest nod, which was good enough for Rarity, who continued on.

"You have every right to be mad at something if it helps you feel better, and if that 'something' is me, I can take it.”

Rarity gave a pause, slowly extended her hoof and placed it on Twilight's, who tensed up but didn't pull away. After giving a heavy sigh, she closed her book and, for the first time Rarity's return to Ponyville, looked her friend in the eye.

“I'll stay mad at you as long as you're working for Luna,” said Twilight, not with care or iciness in her voice, “but I think that I can forgive you, as long as you leave your current job.”

“It'd like for it to be that simple darling, I really do. And I swear on my honour that I'll end my duties towards the Empress the second my diplomatic mission is over with. But for that to happen, the war needs to end.”

“War, war, war, war, war...” muttered Twilight, “are you going to go on about this too?”

“As unfortunate as it is, this isn't something that can be set aside,” said Rarity, giving a shrug. “I'd like to talk to you about the history of magic and the latest hats in Canterlot Fashion, but we just can't. Things will go back to normal, but until then we are bound to our duties.”

“Oh, what duties?” snapped Twilight, “killing as many humans as possible while sending ponies to their death in Celestia's name? Do you think this is what the princess would have wanted for her subjects?”

“What the princess would have wanted is unfortunately not the subject here, Twilight. She is gone and we must follow her sister's wishes.”

“Great, a tyrannical alicorn to replace the best ruler in history, we can sure say we're lucky!” sneered Twilight.

“The Empress isn't that bad, darling. You know, you were the one who helped her socialise during Nightmare Night. Luna may be more stoic than Celestia, that's true, but she cares for her people just the same.”

“You're not going to change my mind, Rarity,” stated Twilight. “As long as Luna doesn't understand that signing a peace treaty with the humans and getting out of this whole mess while she still can is the best thing to do, I won't trust her.”

Rarity stopped, curious.

“You support Blueblood?”

Prince Blueblood, Celestia and Luna's nephew, had been one of the few rare ponies to turn his back on the war, saying that Equestria was a nation too evolved and developed to stoop down to such “peasant conflicts”. As months went by, Blueblood had declared his wishes for peace many times before ponies who were disgusted by this Great War slowly started joining his cause.
The prince's faction had even tried to stage a coup against Luna while she was visiting Manehattan on official business. This was a complete and utter failure, as he and his troops ended up running away from the Empress' forces into the Alps. Rumours were that a full-on guerilla was happening in the mountains in order to weaken the regime and try to stage a second coup, after which Blueblood claimed his first step would be to sign a peace treaty.
People also said that he was nothing more than a puppet controlled by his counsellors, who had been shamed after Luna's ascension to the throne, and whose motives were more to serve them than the nation. But people said so many things these days...

“I am neither for or against the prince and Luna,” spat the lilac unicorn, “I'm all for the end of this horrible war which takes away the people who are dear to us.”

Rarity simply nodded, having nothing to counter her friend's arguments.

“You know, Twilight, I had a meeting with the Empress this morning, and she said she would agree to cancel Applejack's exile.”

Twilight suddenly stood straight, and she seemed to have a more colourful coat and more life sparkling in her eyes.

“Really? You're serious?”

“Very. But she did set a condition.”

“Which is...?”

The diplomat hesitated for a bit.

“This isn't going to please you...promise me you won't interrupt me and that you'll let me say what I must, okay?”

“I promise,” she replied, lifting her foreleg to her chest.

Rarity took some time to steady her breathing, and then she babbled as fast as she could.

“Trixie just died in Budapest and the Empress thinks that you're the best unicorn in Equestria so you should take Trixie's place in the battlefields in the Eastern fronts.”

Twilight just stood there, blinking a few times as if to clear a fog in her mind. Surely she must have misheard that. By all the hairs in Starswirl's beard, Luna wanted her to WHAT?! Seeing her friend's reaction, Rarity decided to repeat herself.

“Trixie died in Budapest and-

“I heard you the first time. So it's official: Luna is bonkers. She wants me, who must hate this war more than anypony else, to join it to defend our flag. You know what? No, she isn't bonkers, she's actually INSANE!”

“Twilight, darling, please calm down?”

Around them, some curious bystanders had stopped to stare at them.

“I told you you wouldn't like it,” said Rarity with a sheepish smile, “but for what it's worth...I agree with you.”

She hastily continued to explain before her friend could interrupt her.

“You're the most gifted unicorn in all of Equestria. Celestia knew it, Luna knows it, and you know it even if you have a tendency of down-playing it. Unicorns aren't many to serve directly on the front-lines and most of them are like me, diplomats or propaganda leaders, who serve the throne from a proverbial backstage. As far as I know, Trixie was the only one to have directly asked to go in the battlefields, and on the front-lines no less. Now that she's gone, our troops will be deprived of their most valuable weapon: magic. I'm sure she was a good tactician and a capable leader, but it was her magic that helped us the most, that is undeniable. But you are better than her, and with your magical prowess we could have a huge advantage!”

For a moment Twilight said nothing, before looking at the horizon and replying with a tired voice.

“I don't like this war, or fighting. I don't want to hurt anybody.”

“Who said anything about hurting people? It'll b like Winter Wrap-Up...only bigger.”

“Did you just compare Winter Wrap Up to a war?” she said, disgusted. “That's it. I'm going home.”

And with that, she shoved her book into her bag and got up.

“Twilight, please!”

“No, Rarity,” snapped her friend, taking the towel with her, “I agreed to listen to you but I don't agree with your view of this war. That's it.”

Rarity stood there, watching her friend go away and reach the park's exit. Why, oh why did she have to put Winter Wrap Up and the Great War on the same level! Didn't her job as a diplomat require her to have a way with words?
Gripped by a sudden fit of self-loathing, she was two steps away from smashing a rock with her hooves, just to vent out her frustration. The only thing that held her back was the fear of ruining the magnificent hooficure she had received form Aachen's spa. A lady may get angry, but she must remain a lady before all.

And so it was that with a heavy sigh and dragging hooves that she returned to her home. She hadn't found the time to finishing moving back in, not to mention that she longed to see her studio again. Even if she didn't have the time to work on her dresses these days, she had once told herself that she would dedicate a few hours to the art of making clothes. Doing what she did best, even if it was only for a few days, would be good for her.

The unicorn had just opened the lock and walked into the Carousel Boutique when she stepped on a carefully folded note. She picked it up, unfolded it, and instantly recognised the calligraphy, which belonged to her sister Sweetie Belle.

Dear sis,
I'm writing this letter to tell you not to worry about me; I've gone to Mom and Dad's place. Appleboom is really sad since her sister was banished by Luna, so Scootaloo and I decided to help her find her. Applejack, not Luna. Again, don't worry, once we've found Applejack we're sure to get our Cutie Marks as explorers, like Daring Do!
I have to go, the other girls are waiting for me.
Love,

Sweetie Belle

Rarity let the note fall to the ground and a heavy weight formed in her mind: Twilight had listened to her until she screwed it up, the end of the war seemed to get further away with each passing day, and now Sweetie Belle had run away with her friends in hopes of finding Applejack, who was now a pariah in the eyes of the nation.

A four-letter word, proclaimed loud and clear erupted from the unicorn's mouth and echoed throughout the entire Boutique; a word she had sworn never to say, as ladies worthy of respect would never swear....ever.