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// Military Expansion 
// Story: A Guide to Recent Equestrian History 
// by mint20 
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New Challenges
2159-2188 AW
Military Expansion
Expansion: 2159-2171 AW
Attack on Pegasusoplis: 2168 AW
Treaty of the Alliance: 2171 AW
Economic Crises: 2170-2173 AW


Whether or not this is considered a war is hotly debated by scholars. Technically speaking, the Harmonious Revolution had put the ponies in a state of war against changeling forces that was never repealed. However, one could also argue that the war was against Discord, not changelings. Therefor, because no declaration of war was past, the troop movements were violating Equestrian law. Also, another possible reason for the war was ponies who lived in cities under changeling control were once Equestrian citizens, often related to current Equestrian citizens. Securing those cities were a huge step to guaranteeing popular support by current citizens. On top of that, adding citizens would open up the ability to raise revenue without raising taxes, in addition to increasing the potential military capability of the young nation.

Legal or illegal, the Princesses considered themselves to be at war against the neighboring changeling lands. And, with reform acts successfully past, popular support with the Princesses were at an extreme high, so nopony questioned their decision to attack. In 2159, military forces were pulled from within the nation to invade and conquer lands controlled by the changeling legions. 

First, the pony armies chased the changelings out the Everfree Forest, with the Battle of the Ghastly Gorge in February 2160 securing and stopping future raids against the pony nation.

After those advances, the Royal Sisters turned east, looking to claim the three east coast cities, that is, Baltimare, Fillydelphia, and Manehattan. These three cities were all controlled by the same changeling nation, with the seat of their power located in what is today known as Hollow Shades. An invasion against the changelings commenced in July of 2160 and lasted for three years. It finally ended in the Battle of Two Moons, which, as the name suggests, lasted for two lunar months (about 58 days). The result: utter devastation of the changeling government, and complete annexation of all of their territory.

The invasion concluded, with the young nation on top. Between the two campaigns, the loss of pony life was rather low, less than five thousand. Feeling invincible, Equestrian forces struck against Las Pegasus in 2165.

That was a terrible mistake. The Third Army of Equestria, numbering around ten thousand hooves strong, clashed with a changeling/buffalo allied force. Their numbers are not known, but are estimated to have been at least fifty thousand strong. It is also believed that the changelings infiltrated the core of the army’s leadership, leading to poor maneuvers. The details of battle are vague at best, due to the fact that only fifteen ponies escaped the slaughter.

Now, the reason for the joint Changeling-Buffalo Alliance was befuddling to the Equestrian government at the time. Past records and patterns indicate that the Royal Sisters had little to no interest in the San Palomino Desert. In addition, nopony, as far as known to modern scholars, had provoked the buffalo into a state of war.

A complete investigation was launched by the Royal Sisters. This operation lasted for several years. Meanwhile, an offensive was launched by the First and Second Armies of Equestria against the western and north western territories. By 2168, the Smokey Mountains and over seventy-five percent of the Unicorn Range were secured and under occupation by Equestrian troops.

However, the offensive war had left the interior of the nation vulnerable to lightning attack. With the Fourth and Fifth Armies of Equestria still suppressing resistance on the Eastern Front, the First and Second out conquering land, and the Third Army completely destroyed, the defensive capabilities of the nation were greatly reduced. This was exploited by a group of Changeling soldiers. Estimated to be five hundred strong, the ancient enemy of ponies struck deep into Equestrian territory, striking Pegasusoplis on August 4, 2168 AW. They overwhelmed the weakened militia in less than two hours, and occupied the city for upwards of a year, before the Fourth Army was able to return and challenge the invaders on June 24, 2169, driving the invaders away by June 26. 

While not a critically wounding defeat, the blow was devastating to Equestrian morale. The nation had failed to defend itself against the “dark wings of the enemy.” Civil unrest spiked, as more and more citizens became concerned about their own safety. In response to the unrest and anxiety, Princess Celestia and Luna declared their intent to expand the armed forces. The request for volunteers went over very well, all things considered, with sixty thousand ponies, most from the newly conquered lands, volunteering for military service.

With these volunteers, by late 2170, the Third Army was rebuilt, and five new armies were commissioned into service. The Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Armies were built, and the First and Fifth Armies were assigned to permanently defend the eastern and western territories, respectively. Without delay, the Eighth and Tenth Armies were dispatched alongside the Second to complete the northern front. The Smokey Mountains were conquered by 2171, and the ponies laid siege to Yanhoover soon after.

Meanwhile, Las Pegasus had not been forgotten. Equestrian intelligence revealed that the Buffalo-Changeling alliance was formed because of a changeling infiltration. The Chief of the Buffalo had been killed, and replaced by a changeling. Princess Celestia and Luna dispatched an ambassador to inform the buffalo of the treachery.

To say that some of the buffalo were outraged would be an understatement. After all, the buffalo were - and is - an old and proud race, which had no argument against Equestria. The very idea that someone infiltrated them is toxic. However, the sword cuts both ways. Many buffalo denied the charges, forming an army and spat upon the ones who dared accuse their mighty chief. The buffalo divided, with over half of the population rejecting the others and declaring war on Equestria. The rebels offered to support the nation in the war to capture Las Pegasus in exchange for two things: military support in defeating their enemy buffalo, and a treaty prohibiting the settlement of the San Palomino Desert “from now, everon.” In addition, if they failed to defeat the Buffalo, the rebels wanted political asylum.

Princess Celestia and Luna were all too painfully aware that, even though they had greatly expanded the military, many of the troops were rather hastily trained. Equestria had to have the support of the rebel buffalo to win and capture Las Pegasus. Somewhat reluctantly, they agreed and signed the Treaty of the Alliance in 2171. As it was a “major” treaty, under the Equestrian Constitution, it had to be ratified by the citizens of Equestria, who passed the treaty by a vote of seventy-eight percent for on August 25, 2171.

An important part of this treaty is found in Article II, Paragraph 14. It reads, “In the case of attack, the parties agree to assist each other without limits. This assistance includes, but is not limited to, military and economic aid.” This cause was put in as a way of stopping Equestria from simply providing monetary support to the buffalo. This will become important during the War of the Bloodied Crystals.

Anyways, with the ranks of pony armies bolstered by buffalo, the alliance took to the battlefield by September 4, 2171. The Sisters dispatched the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Armies of Equestria, some fifty thousand strong all together. They were supported by at least twenty-five war-parties of Buffalo, made up of about one thousand warriors each. The armies clashed with at least forty thousand changelings and a similar number of buffalo at the Second Battle of Las Pegasus.

The battle lasted for two days, and is, along with the Battle of Night and Day, and the Second Battle of Ponyville, one of the single most important armed conflicts in Equestrian history. The battle opened with a magical bombardment on the changeling camp. While the ponies were providing cover, the rebel buffalo struck the changeling camp, inflicting severe damage through the changeling armies. The ponies correctly surmised that they had to quickly defeat the changeling forces, else their armies be compromised by imposters. As the day wore on, and more and more conflict took its toll, the enemy buffalo were still nowhere to be found. The pony general started to get more than a little suspicious, and pulled back the buffalo troops. Not a moment too soon, for the city of Las Pegasus suddenly revealed thousands of buffalo, each one charging blindly for the Equestrian allies. However, instead of finding the rebel buffalo engaged in a melee with changeling troops, they soon found them in a defensive square formation, equipped with spears on loan from the Equestrian armies. And all throughout their blind charge, they were taking fire from Equestrian magic and bows.

Too late to veer off, the buffalo charged straight into the spears of the rebels. A bloody hoof to hoof conflict followed, with the rebels decisively winning. At least five thousand of the forty thousand enemy buffalo were slain, all within an hour and a half. By comparison, the rebel buffalo sustained just over seven hundred fifty deaths.

After that disastrous exchange, the sun was starting to set. The ponies launched one more attempt to wipe out the changeling forces. It met with moderate at best success, crippling the changeling troops, but at a cost. By the end of the day, almost fifteen thousand changelings were killed. The ponies suffered about five thousand casualties, in exchange.

The night was relatively uneventful.

Morning saw a raid on the rebel buffalo by scattered changeling forces. This raid happened early, and, by the time the ponies had rallied to support their allies, the attacking troops had vanished.

They had accomplished their goal, though. Soon after the ponies left their fortified camp, an all-out attack was launched against them by fifteen thousand changelings and ten thousand buffalo. This wouldn't have been much of a problem, for the ponies outnumbered the army, if it wasn't for the fact that the ponies had skipped breakfast to reinforce their allies.

Now, one must fully appreciate the effect skipping a meal has on morale. It crushes it. Ponies that have survived such a tactical blunder have said that each movement seems to take three times as much effort. Against the enemy, who had eaten before launching the attacks, the ponies seemed slow and sluggish, always two steps behind. And, in battle, even the slightest mistake can mean the difference between life and death, victory and defeat.

Defense against the charge was disastrous. As the ponies, caught unaware and hungry, attempted to rally, the enemy forces smashed in the pony line in a wedge formation, wrecking havoc. And, to add insult to injury, despite the ponies’ best efforts to prevent it, about fifty changeling troops had managed to inflate the army. As they turned weapons on the ponies, the entire army started to break down and defeat was inevitable.

Or rather, it would have been. However, the Armies of Equestria suddenly received a form of backup that they did not expect.

While the battle was raging outside their walls, the mostly pegasi citizens of Las Pegasus felt the need to intervene. After all, military service is central to pegasi culture, and a battle was being fought right outside their wall. So, on September 5, a force of civilians some two thousand strong attacked the forces that were devastating the pony armies. With the element of surprise on their side, the makeshift warriors, armed with whatever weapons they could find, crashed into the enemy. 

This move saved the battle. Coupled with the buffalo charge that occurred soon after the attack, and the enemy force was in serious trouble. Thanks to the distraction, the Armies of Equestria rallied. Soon, they were pushing back at the enemy troops, causing heavy casualties on both sides. By noon, the troops of Equestria had wiped out almost every one of the thirty thousand combat troops that had attacked the armies. But, victory in this fight came at a high cost.

So far in this battle, thirty-five of the forty thousand changelings, along with fifteen of the forty thousand Buffalo that started this engagement as their allies, had been killed. Contrast with the Army of Equestria, who, so far, had lost twenty-nine thousand combat troops. The rebel Buffalo had lost just over three thousand warriors.

The changeling forces, seeing that they could no longer win the battle though conventional means, decided to launch one final attack against the Equestrian Army, with the hope that they would be able to force a hole through the exhausted pony lines. And thus, the remaining changeling troops, about five thousand strong, attacked an army about four times their size, taking heavy fire from Equestrian bows and magic. The attackers never actually made contact with the ponies, for the allied buffalo, sensing that their allies couldn't take much more, brought the battle to them, devastating what was left of the changeling troops and decisively winning the battle.

Thanks to the buffalo, Equestria was triumphant. The city of Las Pegasus, along with the White Tail Woods, was annexed by Equestria, and the siege of Yanhoover was complete by September 10 of the same year, allowing it and the surrounding territory to be added to the vastly growing land of Equestria. All pony citizens of the cities were offered complete citizenship as long as they forswore any allegiances they previously pledged. The Second Battle of Las Pegasus, along with the various other invasions and battles, decisively broke the power of various changeling nations. One by one, they would collapse, often by the sword of other changelings. The packs and hives that remained would not present a meaningful military or economic threat for over a millennia, when a changeling queen would reunite them into a massive empire.

The entire twelve years of expansion and non-stop warfare cost at least fifty-five thousand pony lives, and the economic impact would be felt for three years, as the government fell into a state of crises. It is estimated, that in today’s bits, the wars cost a grand total of one and a half billion bits. To meet these demands, Equestria was forced to borrow huge amounts of money. When the wars were over, the money had to be paid back, and the nation’s investors were not patient with the Royal Sisters or their excuses. On top of that, the nation had captured some ten thousand changelings, and paying to guard them was a severe economic and military burden on the nation.

The government wasn't forced to default - which would have been a new definition of bad, but they were forced to shut down for the dates of August 5-7, 2173. Thankfully, the new incoming taxes from the conquered cities started prove their worth, as the income from taxes raised and the cities granted Equestria access to the ocean, where they could conduct business, which could be taxed. The taxes quickly started to refill the Equestrian treasury. Just to put things into perspective, the population of the nation grew from one and a half million in 2160 to more than eighteen million by 2180. Thus, Equestria was ready to expand its influence over neighboring realms. Unfortunately, the nation would need the backing of its neighbor to defeat its next great foe.