A Guide to Recent Equestrian History

by mint20

War of the Bloodied Crystals: Opening Diplomacy and Politics

The War of Bloodied Crystals did not break out over night. Rather, there was a long, complicated diplomatic crises that led up to the world’s first truly global war. No matter what everypony says, battles are not things that occur instantly and spontaneously. Nor are there typically preemptive actions taken by one group or the other. A long period of diplomatic maneuvering and manipulation almost always comes before a declaration of war, including this one.

It began with the Crystal Succession. When the old ruler of the Crystal Empire died in December of 2197, as is tradition in the northern realm, there was a three month period of morning. During this time, all diplomats of the Empire, including the pony stationed in Equestria, were pulled back and returned to their native land, and Equestria was left without a contact with an important ally and trade partner. So, the Princesses, with little knowledge of the Crystal Empire’s traditions and politics - for the Empire had lost only one leader before this time, and that was while Equestria was still addressing internal imbalance after the Harmonious Revolution - sent a party of two diplomats and an escort of a half-dozen troops to reopen communication with them.

Not knowing the traditions of the Crystal Empire, this would have normally been irritating, but completely acceptable. Unfortunately, the rituals of the Crystal Empire would lead to this being the first step on the slippery slope to war.

The diplomats that arrived in the Empire were met with something approaching indifference. It’s not that the ponies didn’t care, but rather the ponies of the Crystal Empire believed that, before their empire could rejoin the stage of world politics, their leader had to be properly mourned. Now, if the Equestrian diplomats had simply seen the morning for what it was, it is possible much sorrow and bloodshed would have been averted. However, none of the diplomats knew of the traditions, and so they brought their armed escort into the borders of the Crystal Empire’s capital city.

This would have been the equivalent of a declaration of war. Outraged, the ponies of the Crystal Empire attacked and slew the six armed escorts and captured the two diplomats, claiming justification in that Equestria had committed an overly aggressive act. Shocked by the actions of of the Empire, Equestria, after the conclusion of the Succession, negotiated for the release of the diplomats with the newly-crowned Emperor Luzcs. He apologized for the “hasty, inappropriate actions of my subjects,” blaming the misunderstanding and subsequent bloodshed on “old, outdated traditions.” Cautiously, Equestria accepted his apology and looked past the event.

However, not everypony was willing to let bygones be bygones. A number of ultra-conservative ponies, in both Equestria and the Empire, were furious at the actions of the other nation. This group was headed by a certain unicorn mage who was next in line to the throne, only to have the throne of the Crystal Empire “stolen” from him at the last minute by Luzcs, a long-lost earth pony brother of the late emperor, who commanded near-universal respect amongst the ponies of the Empire due to his great prowess in battle. This unicorn’s only surviving name is “Sombra.” Whatever true name he had has been lost to time.

Emperor Luzcs, with his throne secure and the diplomatic crises with Equestria under control, continued to endorse friendly relations with Equestria. In the first year of his reign, he disbanded almost a quarter of the empire’s standing army, closed as many as eighteen of the twenty-five military checkpoints and forts that separated the nations, slashed various tariffs, and reopened two trade routes that had been closed under earlier rulers. In order to foster better relations, he even adopted the Equestrian calendar, though he also retained the Empire’s calendar alongside it. The Crystal Empire benefited greatly from the decreased militarization, as the lowered upkeep of troops and increased trade allowed for far more government money to be spent on public services and even the patronage of the arts. The entire capital city received a complete remodeling, as many expensive crystals were weaved into each building’s superstructure. Tourism to the Empire flourished, even though the empire was centered in the middle of a frozen tundra, as the wondrous sights in architecture, sculptures, and paintings made the freezing voyage worth it.

The Emperor, at the tail end of 2199, looking forward to a new century and the golden age the Crystal Empire had entered, made a speech to his subjects. It was just before the new year (by Equestrian reckoning,) and he wanted to open up a new golden age for the ponies of the Crystal Empire. He reassured the population of the Empire that Equestria was no longer hostile with them, and a new era of peace and prosperity was upon them.

While this was acceptable for the greater portion of the Empire’s ponies, this speech was an unintentional slap in the face to those who opposed the idea of peace between the two nations. Sombra and his followers in both Equestria and the Crystal Empire began to look for a way to undermine the accelerating diplomatic ties between the two countries.

First, they attempted to assassinate the diplomats from both countries and/or attack and capture their embassies. However, in light of the attack on the Equestrian diplomats, both Emperor Luzcs and the Royal Sisters took the security of their diplomats very seriously. Both nations had agreed to devote huge military resources to protecting and fortifying each other’s diplomats and embassies, in a joint military operation. Sombra was many things, but he was not insane enough to launch an attack of his loyal followers against the battle-hardened armies of either the Empire or Equestria. At least, not yet.

With diplomatic subterfuge out of the question, the desperate and scared ponies of the conspiracy turned to assassination. The only way to guarantee war was to ensure that there were hostile, antagonistic leaders of ideally both of the nations.

On February 14, 2200, two simultaneous plans to assassinate both the Princesses of Equestria and the Emperor of the Crystal Empire were put into action. Both attempts were actually pretty well thought out, with ponies planted by Sombra’s group acting as undercover agents from the other government attempted to attack and kill the leaders of each nation. In Equestria, the increased military presence almost instantly captured the would-be assassins and attacked them. When one was detained, the pony, after several days of questioning, finally “cracked” and falsely named himself as an agent of Crystal Empire.

Meanwhile, Sombra’s other assassins struck against Emperor Luzcs. The plan was somewhat simple: First, cut the emperor off from the outside interference, then send in a small group of battle-hardened warriors to kill the emperor, allow themselves to get caught, and after a few days, name themselves as agents of Equestria. They accomplished this by sabotaging the communication between the Emperor’s private chambers and the rest of the palace. Then, a full dozen fully armed combat troops attacked at midnight, striking to kill the emperor.

Records of this battle are shaky, but we do have a few. The assassins that survived the emperor’s sword were few. It appears that the emperor was aware that a faction of some kind wanted to...dispose...of him. He was ready for them, sword out and flashing in the moonlight.

The fight lasted for over ten minutes, as, one at a time, each one of the would-be assassins were slain by the leader of the Crystal Empire, Finally, there was only one assassin left standing. Before he could jump at the Emperor, Luzcs asked who had sent him. The assassin, after a long pause, allegedly said “I belong to-” before the Emperor took him by surprise and stabbed him through the head.

He had won this fight, but unfortunately, he would not live out the night. At the opening of the battle, he was cut by a poisoned blade. The emperor didn't even notice it at the time, and he wouldn’t. Not until it was too late, that is. After fighting the powerful venom for over an hour, he finally succumed to the onslaught of the poison at 3:00 A.M. on February 15, 2200. He was dead by the time his servants found him that morning.

Unfortunately, most any chance for peace between Equestria and the Crystal Empire died with him. Rumors started flying in both nations. As the pones of the Crystal Empire started to line up to deal with the succession of the emperor, one of the biggest questions was war. Sombra played off of this, constantly issuing speeches about the “evil” of Equestria, and how they attempted (and succeeded) to slay their noble emperor. Remembering the incidents of the past, the Royal Sisters recalled their diplomats as the Succession began, hoping that after the ponies had named a new emperor, they could fix the souring relations.

How wrong they were.

While most of the candidates for the throne of the Empire supported some form of retaliation against the Equestrian thrones, Sombra was by far the most radical. Most of the other candidates had little or no wish to try the might of the Equestrian armies, recognized to be one of the most powerful militaries of the time. Sombra, on the other hoof, advocated all-out war, as soon as it was reasonable to do so. After a lot of well-placed propaganda and sucking up to a few of the wealthier families in power during the Succession, the Empire emerged with a new, strong, aggressive leader: Emperor Sombra.

Soon after his emergence, the Equestrian diplomats returned to their embassy in the Empire. Sombra did not want the Equestrians having a place so close to his capital that the enemy could use. Thus, he moved one thousand combat troops to be permanently stationed around the Equestrian embassy. He did not violate international law and attack the embassy, but the show of force sent a clear enough message. When the Royal Sisters inquired as to the reason that the Equestrian embassy had been surrounded by troops of the Crystal Empire, Sombra replied that was only taking prudent measures.

Both the Crystal Empire and Equestria soon adopted a policy of rapid militarization, in light of the souring diplomacy. Of course, both nations were still bound by the Crystalline-Equestrian Alliance that was begun in response to Lord Tirek’s incursion of Equestria. By now, this alliance was almost thirty years old, and the binds it placed on military strength was exhausting Equestria. The far-flung reaches of Equestria made it difficult to fully defend and exert authority over the entire nation with only two hundred thousand troops. Meanwhile, due to the small nature of the Crystal Empire, the restrictions it placed on their troops were much more manageable. As Sombra militarized, the Royal Sisters tried to match his spending bit by bit. Instead of commissioning new armies and fleets, the Sisters instead poured their money into military technology and research, along with a massive investment in various forts and military checkpoints along the border.

To put all this spending into perspective, the investment military upkeep and spending during all twelve years of the Wars of Expansion was one and a half billion bits. In the two years between the beginning of the Crystal militarization and the termination of the Crystalline-Equestrian alliance, Equestria spent almost double that number, dropping over two and a half billion bits on forts and equipment.

By 2205, the Crystal Empire had militarized to the limit that was allowed by the terms of the alliance. The brutally direct Sobra wasted no time in sending a short, direct, and to-the-point letter to the Equestrian diarchs.

As of this fair day, the seventeenth of February, 2205 years after the Great Warming (Equestrian calendar), I, Sombra, Emperor of the mighty Crystal Empire, terminate the alliance between the nation of Equestria and mine, sometimes known as the Crystalline-Equestrian Alliance. My reasons are my own. Do not reply to this discourse.

Freed from the terms of the alliance, the Crystal Empire re-adopted its policy of rapid and efficient military growth. Unless Equestria could find a way to douse the flames of war, they would grow to envelop the entire world.