//------------------------------//
// Beyond Remark 
// Story: A War 
// by Comma Typer 
//------------------------------//

Three weeks later


A brown Earth pony looked down the timber stairway. She was wearing a simple, cheap hat and had a camera slung around her neck.
Sour chinks from the ground floor.
"That doesn't sound like a lot of ponies," she muttered, going down the stairs.
Turned left.
The wooden table was quite lengthy, able to seat dozens. Yet, it was bare, save for two who sat at the near end of it, eating some fruit pies smelling fresh.
"Took you long enough, Long Shot," Press Release said as she struggled to turn the chair around to face her. "You're late by five minutes."
"That's not nice," Eff Stop told his companion, pointing a hoof at the newcomer. "We're all tired from the journey here. I've had enough of huge explosions from that mortar whatchacallit. Kept me up all night and I'm sure it kept you up all night, too!"
"But, what's for breakfast?" Long Shot asked.
Press Release brought a hoof up to count. "Apple pie, pear pie, orange pie, banana pie, mango pie, strawberry pie, chocolate pie, cream pie, blueberry pie. Nothing but pie. And water. Not water-flavored pie."
"Eww!" Long Shot cringed. "I don't want to know what that would taste like!"
"Tastes horrible," Eff Stop said. "I've tried it once as my midnight snack, 'cause I spilled some water."
It was Press Release who reeled away from him. "What?!"
Then, he stuffed the rest of his pie into his mouth.
Long Shot looked around the room.
Delicate shelves of vases and other pottery. Magnificent portraits of sodliers and their commanders. Closed windows, ceiling lights on. Floor waxed clean and shiny.
Eff Stop finished his pie.
"So, where's everypony else?" Long Shot asked.
"Where do you think they went?" Press Release snapped. "Your birthday party?"
"Don't they have the Rock Troopers here?" Eff Stop quipped.
"Birthdays are delayed by several hours per military order," Press Release said back while holding up a scrap of scribbled on paper, glaring at him.
"But, where's everypony?" Long Shot persisted. "Shouldn't we be wherever they are?"
"They're at the front!" Press Release shouted, pushing up from her chair. "At the field! You happy?!"
Eff Stop patted her on the head and pushed the seething newspony back on her chair. "There, there. You don't have to be mad all the time. Just be yourself, your good ol' normal self and—"
Levitated a slice of pie and whacked it straight into her mouth and chewed.
Eff Stop laughed nervously, slowly turning to Long Shot. "Well, she's grumpy because of the loud noises last night. I'm glad that you aren't grumpy. So, uh, why don't you sit down and I'll get some pies from the fridge? Can't do our work on empty stomachs, am I right? Heh?"
Long Shot nodded and sat down. "OK!"
Eff Stop stood up and fluttered his way to the fridge at the other end of the room. "Heh."



Sleet of snow. Cold wasteland, some rocks its only beauty.
Gray, foreboding sky; a tint of red orange.
Before the three newsponies, a rising blank and gray hill.
Where several battalions stood still.
A swarm of ponies in armor. A sea of them where one could easily drown and be lost, perhaps to never be found again.
"You know what your job is, right?" Shining Armor said as he walked with the three, leading them toward the peak. He was levitating a pair of special black glasses or goggles.
"Uh, y-yes, sir!" Long Shot said, saluting him.
Her two fellow newsponies looked at her strange.
"Always stay behind cover," Shining told. "Don't get too near the action. Take pictures in a way that you won't reveal yourselves to the enemy—they're ruthless and won't care about hurting civilians for their ends. Understood?"
The three of them nodded in agreement.
"Hurry! I'll stay behind and direct everypony here after the battle starts."
And, the three of them left.
Not a word exchanged as they walked up.
Finally, they reached the first line of soldiers and halted.
Looked up at the top of the hill.
There, near its apex, Princess Celestia.
Silence except for the howling, growling gale.
Everyone's ears lent to her.
"My ponies," she began, her voice loud and clear, "we are about to embark on an historical encounter. Here we are, mere miles from the Crystal Empire itself. Those of you who've made it this far, I congratulate you for your efforts—rest assured that you will not leave this place empty-hoofed. Those of you who only see themselves as new recruits—this is your time of testing, when you will become hardened soldiers, where you will learn the misery of warfare.
"Yes. I will not sugarcoat. While there is much to be had in victory, there will be defeats, too. Some of you seek war as a grand adventure with your friends...drop it right now. By the end of this war, you may be the only one of your friends left standing. By the end of this war, you may be the only one out of your original squad to remain alive. By the end of this war, you may be the only one who knows what war truly means.
"I know what I've asked of you and what I continue to ask of you is not an easy thing. I know that your families suffer, that they yearn for you, that they dream of being together at some cozy fireplace again...to eat dinner together and laugh at days before.
"But, this sacrifice is for a worthy cause. A world under the iron grip of King Sombra is not ideal, nor is it even tolerable. It is a world where oppression reigns supreme, where every freedom and right enjoyed is thrown away to advance the life, the reason, and the purpose of one selfish king. What use is there in bettering Equestria and, indeed, the rest of the world when all is directed to feed the ego and the hunger of Sombra?
"One only needs to look at the atrocities committed under him. Cities are now just places to train new soldiers and produce goods for the front. There is no room for the pursuit of something else—no room for an artist to take a break and to paint a painting in the middle of a lush park, no room for a cook to unleash his creativity and create a dish that would captivate many, no room for a comedian to set up shop in a public square and entertain the passers-by. There is only one thing to do there and that is to work, work, work—for Sombra.
"Past Crystal territory, there is also the fear Sombra inspires through bombings and ambushes. Because of him, nopony can live with ease—they are here today, but what about tomorrow? Yet another purple cloud might extend its evil grasp and take the life of a pony who doesn't deserve death in some remote countryside 'safe' in Equestria. This is without mentioning the more conventional attacks he issues against small villages near the front, terrorizing them to no end, traumatizing them to no end.
"Worst of all is his crime of enslaving his own subjects, his own ponies, to obey his will without question. To force them to trust in you, to obey you...it is beyond words. They have not a single thought for themselves nor for others—not their families, not their friends. All is for their king, all is for Sombra, and their entire energy is spent in doing his will, his bidding. And, what of our captured ponies, those who were not able to escape the invasion in time? They, too, are brought under his control with no consideration of who they were, wresting them away—against their will.
"What shock would their families and friends feel when they know that their loved one has been tormented in lifelong servitude to a monster?"
A pause.
Breathing, panting.
"A world where Sombra rules is not a world where ponies could live in. It is a world where death and destruction thrive, where nopony is truly free.
"Think about it. Think hard and clear. What will you fulfill if we let this tyrant take Equestria over? You will protect the Crystal Empire. Well, why will you protect the Crystal Empire? Because it is, admittedly, a stabilizing actor if it does win this war. But, what do you gain from a protected Crystal Empire?
"Tell me. What do you gain from it? Could you pursue your heart's content, its dreams and desires? Could you express yourself as you please, to talk and to be talked to, to speak and to listen to a great variety of ideas and opinions? Could you bond and befriend anypony, secure in the knowledge that you will not be berated for your actions?
"This Crystal Empire is our enemy not because it is at the opposite side of the ground. It is our enemy because it assails against everything we all stand for: friendship and harmony.
"To this Empire's end, we must fight!"
"For Equestria!" a lone voice cried out from the sea.
"For Equestria!" everyone else rang out.
To silence once more.
Then, synchronized stomps in the distance.
"That is the sound of their approach," Celestia said, spreading her wings.
Turned round toward the vast empty land. A few steps up to its crest.
Gritted her teeth.
Said nothing.
Pointed at the horde of gray on the other side.
And the Wonderbolts flew overhead.
Ground troops at her side.
Flowing down the hill drop.
Them galloping forward.
The enemy galloping forward at them.
On this snowy, barren field.
Closer, closer.
Collision in a cloud of smoke and dust.
Within the confusion, all formation disintegrated. What was left, individual scuffles between Equestrian and Crystal everywhere. Groans, grunts, punches, kicks.
From the smoke, a sturdy gray stallion clothed in metal. A royal robe flapping in the wind. His mane and his tail pitch black, twirling in the gale as if they were shadows. Eyes red, horn a gray becoming red.
Several guards charging at him.
As he looked up.
Horn glowing a frightening purple and green.
Rocks grew up from below, lifting him up.
The guards hitting them, bumping them.
They looked up at the regal pony.
King Sombra laughed.
Dark.
Within viewing distance, a gray-winged Wonderbolt pummeled more Crystal soldiers.
Landed on the ground again, surrounded by friends fighting foes. Cacophony, grunts, downed allies, enemies.
Another Crystal soldier lunged at her.
Shook him off.
Helmet thrown out.
Revealing Rainbow Dash, her artificial limb clean unlike her natural, worn wing.
Rushed to another Crystal soldier.
A red one.
Tackled him, stained in bruises and snow.
A shadow loomed over him.
And her.
Rainbow looked up.
A falling boulder.
Closed her eyes, foreleg raised high.
Blows and cracks, wallops and smacks in rapid succession.
Stones, pebbles peltering her.
Opened her eyes. Looked up.
To her sides.
Pinkie and Maud in full, solemn uniform.
Saluted her, then trotted off.
Rainbow flew up.
Not far from here, the Princess walking down, a face of horror as she surveyed the four ponies about her—near unconscious.
Ground rumbling.
Four Crystal ponies appeared, digging up from below.
Celestia aback.
Stepping forward, toward her.
Stood down.
Her horn glowed.
A white dome around her.
Expanding, exploding.
Away those Crystal soldiers flew.
Celestia back in her commanding stance.
Yet, those four Equestrians down.
The battle raged on around her, more Wonderbolts sweeping Crystal ponies up and dropping them from afar, more ground soldiers attacking others, more Crystals burrowing up and down and throwing rocks, more rocks and stones being crushed to little pieces, more rock and crystal walls formed by Sombra, more ponies down, more medics coming, more beams shooting and zipping, more arrows flying, more orders and shouts floating and flitting, more eyes fluttering, more scars and scabs gained and nabbed, more snow building up, more searing screams from those in pain, more dome blasts and explosions, more dark crystals rising, more reinforcements coming and suffering, more smoke and dust obscuring, more coughs to be silenced, more lives to be risked, more everypony dy—



"Get out, now!"
Commotion infested the barracks, the living quarters. Reservists packed up their things and slung their bags about their torsos, some murmuring sentences like, "I hope they'll be safe!", "Octavia, we will meet again!", "I just need to stay alive!"
Doors jammed, doors broken down into the open.
Pegasi flying back away. Others running away across the grass field.
Both under the cloudy sky.
"They're going to get us all!" one of them shrieked as he ran from the barracks, bag in tow.
Crystal ponies fell from the roof and seized several of his exiting squadmates.
"Agh!"
Out he went, dodging arrows and beams.
Over old, abandoned trenches. Over trodden, dirty roads. Over fallen comrades.
Whizzes, whooshes, barely missing him.
Sweat down his face, pulse racing.
"I didn't sign up for this!" he yelled, dodging yet another surprise attack from a hiding Crystal pony.
Kicked him on the head.
Galloped.
"Come on, come on, come on, where's the nearest train station when you need one?!"
Whistle ahead.
A structure clearer with each leap.
"Got it!"
Several bounds.
A huge beam tearing a hole in the station's roof.
"Ah! OK, OK—" still galloping, still running "—as long as the train's intact, I'm going to get out of here and be the very antithesis of dead!"
And a few more jumps.
Past the station, into the carriage.
Door closed shut.
Whistle shrilled.
Off it went, wheels turning fast, train chugging at breakneck.



"Tell me...tell me I'm dreaming...I'm just dreaming, right?...right?"
Slap on the face.
"N-No...I'm just...just your average Manehattanite...wanting to have some fun with my friends...your friends...everyone's...friends...and we could have lots of polka...and..."
Cold water splashed on his face.
"Agh!"
Hooves, legs, face, whole body shivering wet.
"Whaddya' do that for?!" Cheese Sandwich yelled, holding on to his blanket as he lay. "Is this some kind of wake-up prank? Hey, I'm the one who does the pranking around here!"
A sloppy, big-toothed Earth pony and a blonde-maned, medalled and ribboned unicorn stood before him on his bed, each holding a bucket of what used to be water.
Around him, a white hospital room with various medical instruments strewn about.
"We had to make sure ya' were fine an' not gettin' the rickety rickets or the shockin' shocks o' the century!" the Earth pony said in a thick accent, putting down his bucket on a cabinet labeled "Emergency Wake Up Buckets".
The unicorn nodded. "If you are wondering where you are now, you are precisely at Middle North Point."
Cheese Sandwich leaped up his bed and hit his head on the ceiling and fell down. "What?! We've gone back?!"
"I was pretty sure the whole retreating thing was a big giveaway," the unicorn said.
"But, wh-where's everypony?" Cheese yelled. "Are you and Hayseed the only survivors? Is Equestria doomed or what?!"
"We've suffered major casualties, yes," the unicorn went on, watching his Earth pony compatriot arrange the buckets in order, "but we are not too badly affected by it. We have more than enough to conduct another offensive."
"Another offensive?!" he shouted. "But, Blueblood—can't you do something about it?"
Blueblood shook his head gravely with closed eyes. "No. Military wisdom dictates that we must regroup as fast as we can. Autumn will not last forever. When winter comes, no offensive can be made—and, during that time, the Crystal Empire will definitely think up of some nasty plot to upend Equestria as we know it."
Cheese coughed on his bed, lying down. "Have...have I been hit?"
"Ya' passed out; that's all!" Hayseed Turnip Truck answered, raising another bucket of cold water to the air. "Needs lots of air to get yer' noggin working straight and not curved like a curved line o' circle!"
Opened the shutters.
Lots of light inside.
"Ah!" and Cheese covered his eyes.
Blueblood trotted to the door. "I have to attend to impertinent business." Turned his head at him. "It's understandable that I leave, is it not?"
Cheese moaned, stretched his hoof out at him. "Are...are my accordions safe?"
"They're here in perfect condition."
"And..." raising his hoof to the air, too, "and...and Boneless...?"
A little cackle. "Oh, he's fine. You need not worry about him."
Out he went.



A fracture on the table.
Shining's white hoof, teeth bare.
"We had it!" he shouted, his voice the only one. "We had them right in our sights! There was no way that this could've flopped, but it did!"
Blueblood looked down, the only other pony in the room as they stood before a table's map. A single light hung over them.
"I've had my doubts when you were up for the list," Shining went on, pacing the room. "Those who knew you so well had told me that you had been a royal brat, a snobbish Prince who knew nothing but prosperity and wealth." A pause; he halted. "I'd looked past that, for personality was second to military knowledge and ability. You knew much more than the average pony about warfare, so I got you in."
Smacked the table with his hoof.
"Now, explain yourself, Blueblood!"
Nothing. His eyes under his mane's shadow.
"Silence is not a valid response!" Shining screamed, smashing his hoof on the table again.
Crack.
Shining groaned, gripping the table with his hooves, horn glowing. "We were this close." Held a hoof up. "You know as well as I do how close we were."
Silence.
"Five miles, Blueblood." His eyes drained. "Five miles from the Crystal Empire, five miles from the heart of their operations, five miles from the root of this evil Empire! It was the closest we ever got to them and you blew it!"
Blueblood silent, head down.
"Where was your military genius hours ago? Where did all the knowledge go? Down the drain?!"
Silence.
"OK, I'm not having this any longer!"
Walked up to the door.
Kicked it open.
A hallway of curious soldiers and reporters peeking in.
"Face me, Blueblood."
He did so, facing him, the hallway to his right.
Silence once more.
Shining ripped one ribbon off Blueblood's uniform.
Then, the next one. The next one. The next one. The next one.
And all his medals, too.
At the end of it, a rumpled pile of gold and fabric.
Crushed.
Shining panting for breath.
Pointed at the hallway, not lifting his head to give the pony in front of him a glimpse.
"Out."
Blueblood nodded and walked out of the room.



Picturesque fields of grass, pristine under the breeze's sway and the sunset's glow.
Inside the train, the lone Prince sat, looking off to the horizon, to the orange sky.
"Poor guy," a voice said some seats apart. "Heralded as the general who could stave off the Crystal Empire and turn the tides. Here, he has nowhere to go but some menial job with lots of manual labor."
On those seats, Press Release and Eff Stop along with Long Shot, all wearing cameras. Some notepads, notebooks, quills, and ballpens were on hoof.
"Don't be so loud!" Press Release said, shushing him right after. "He's still a Prince. He could take you down with him to the uniform factory!"
"He's in no state to do that," Eff Stop said. "Especially considering what just happened to him. If he tries to send me to one of those powerhouses, then he's gonna heap upon himself even more fuel to the fire."
"What about we give him something?" Long Shot suggested, an innocent smile on her face. "Like...a flower?"
Press Release gave her a strange look. "You're kidding me, right?"



Blueblood was in line at the factory's entrance. Smokestacks billowed out smog and smoke, filling the air with a heavy, dreary gray.
"Stop."
Looked up, saw a mustached pony holding some bunched up clothes. No ties, no frills. Only fabric.
Blueblood levitated it with his hoof.
"Go."
Walked inside.
The clangor of collective processing and manufacture. The sewing machines were the drums, the percussion that served as the music to the work. Crowds of ponies creating the same clothes, the same uniforms—shirt and pants.
It was hot, it was nerve-racking, it was stressful, it was mind-numbing. On every face, there was no smile. Only a sweaty frown, perhaps a tearful one instead.
Blueblood slung his clothes on his back and walked to an empty spot.
Where some burly stallions carried a new sewing machine, nailed it to the floor, and left.
One empty, unoccupied sewing machine.
He trotted his way to it.
Then, a cart stalled at his side. The driver ran off.
"Hey, hey!" Blueblood cried out after the fleeing pony. The Prince held up a hoofful of wool and fleece from the cart. "How am I supposed to turn this into clothes?!"



"Well, that was a disappointment," Press Release said as the evening landscape buzzed by, the stars and the moon once again gracing the sky. "Didn't get to see much of him inside. Or anything else, for that matter."
Long Shot was drinking some soda, watching the conversation before her play out.
"Maybe it's paying some courtesy," Eff Stop said. "There's a limit to everything. Gotta give him some leg room. He's already gotten enough as it is."
Silence except for the wheels whirring and the train chugging.
"At the very least," Eff Stop spoke, "we're going to have our first break in a long time. Extremely taxing—I'm planning some simple living."
"Simple living in Manehattan, eh?" Press Release quipped. "As if that's going to be simple. You might as well ask to be drafted right there and then the moment you step off of this train. That front hasn't moved a meter away from the city in ages."
"Better than being in the line of fire," Eff Stop said, wiping some sweat off of his face. "We're going to need serious paychecks to cap off the workload." Let out a laugh. "Right, Long Shot?"
Her sipping became sputtered. "Whoops! Ran out! Hey, do you guys have any more?"
Eff Stop scratched his head. "Were you even listening?"
"I was. But, I'm empty."
He laughed again, giving Press Release a nudging look. "Hey, she's not as bad as you think! I think the three of us will get along just fine. Earth pony—" pointed at Long Shot "—pegasus—" pointed at himself "—and you!" Pointed at Press Release.
A subtle, small smile on her.
"A younicorn!"
Press Release proceeded to throw the empty soda cup at him.