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// Beginning of the end 
// Story: Stories from a Shattered Equestria 
// by Crimson97 
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  “The abundant gems in Equestria along with the ease that earth ponies could obtain them quickly made it easier for Zebra to trade for gems than to gather them themselves. Tribes who practiced trade grew rich and began developing more pony-like settlements and towns. Those who avoided trade with the equestrians still benefited in easy access to gems but did not share in the wealth or the modernization of those who did.” The visual of nomadic tribes settling down and rapidly progressing through several eras of development comes into view. Once its down a group of nomads comes to the one-village seeking to settle for the winter in what once were tribal lands.

  “This caused a split within the zebra, those who felt the trade was good and those who believed the zebra were now slaves to the whims of the Equestria market.”

  The nomadic tribe turns away, asphalt and dirt roads making even temporary homes impractical. The inflated market offering food at prices never imagined, and the clothing sold for more than what most of them owned. Angered by the changes and fearful of their future they move inland where the trade is less and the land is still wild.

  “In a way both were true, things went well for several years but not everything can last. As more and more Zebra sought to undercut the leading tribes by moving to equestria and offering cheaper goods the gem supplies they had become dependant on dwindled. Relations remained good, and while it wasn’t dire it was unsettling.”

  The lights of the coastal town are dark as more and more zebra move away, returning to their tribes with vast riches of moving across the water to sell goods at a faction of what the home country could. Those who stayed continued living comfortably, but the boom had ended.

  “Then as the supply of gems fell, their need suddenly grew; a contaminated shipment exposed a tribe to swamp fever. Initial attempts to cure it with gem magic all but failed serving only to spread the disease. Trees grew and the fever became a plague.”

  Merchants were the first to report what was happening, booming towns going silent between trips, strange trees appearing out of nowhere. It wasn’t until weeks later a sample was brought in and the epidemic identified. The zebra continued to fight it with magic, soon managing to slow its spread, then its symptoms, but a cure was far from complete. Princess Celestia with the aid of Fluttershy began sending shipments of Flash bee honey to cure who they could. But with only one hive, and the need to keep it alive as well, they could only send so much.
“As the plague spread tribal medicine became a vector for infection. Doctors looking to cure it became infected and exposed numerous others. The zebra tribes became increasingly desperate. “

  A map of the zebra lands with a blob of red along to coast traces the spread of the Swamp fever, soon thick veins run through the land. Pockets popping up here and there, even deep in the forests and high in the mountains. Soon deep red covers the continent, no place was safe.

  “Finally in an attempt to force greater equestrian aid members of the Ko Tor tribe captured a merchant vessel and demanded an impossible ransom. They requested gallons of the honey, the princess sent as much as she could. In return for the paltry amount; she received the wings and horns of the captives. Celestia weeped for her citizens, but her sadness turned to rage. The wonderbolts were sent out in the first engagement of what was to become an endless war.”
  The village where the prisoners were kept was largely civilians unaware for what was taking place around them. With the arrival of the Wonderbolts and their first display of force the town was in arms. Below them stood small battalion of zebra, however supplementing the force was strange zebra-tree hybrids. It seemed while the tribal magic failed to cure swamp fever it could stop it, to an extent.

 Spitfire eyed the new things wearily as she demanded the prisoners, the town insisted they had none. A spear flew from the gathered crowd, it missed its mark but its job was done. The wonderbolts struck back, weather and lightning against strange tribal magic.”

  A large coastal village comes into view, teeming with zebra. Overhead the wonderbolts fly about in formations once reserved for entertainment. Lightning and tornadoes tear through the populous as bolts of magic and spears fill the air. Soon it’s difficult to tell who is who as the clashing forces fill the area with smoke and multi-colored gem dust.

  “As each side wielded the elements against each other for the first time collateral damage was unavoidable. When the dust cleared only the wonderbolts remained, now standing in a silent village. The majority of them made it through, a few rookies were lost and an aging Soarin was wounded but they had suffered minimally.”

 The village however was smashed to flinders. Fires raged and rogue storms worked their way across the cost, bodies littered the streets. As the wonderbolts searched for the prisoners the weight of what happened settled upon them. This had been an act of war and no amount of honey or gifts was going to stop what was coming. In an almost poetic twist they found the captive they were searching for, but they had been dead since the fight began. It seems the zebra weren’t giving in no matter the cost.

 What followed next neither side was prepared for. Three covert attacks by the Zebra in rapid succession. This unknowingly set the tone for the war, zebra covert operations became their primary form of attack. The first strike was the ponyville train station, this both showed the lengths they were willing to go and showed nowhere was safe even in the shadow of Canterlot and under the nose of Twilight the Zebra could strike. A series of swamp spore vials were hidden in the station and designed to shatter with the next train. Dozens of ponies were infected and the entire rail line had to be shut down until the train could be cleared of any spores that may have drifted inside.

 Only a few days later came a failed attempt to infect the entirety of Appleoosa. By spreading spores onto the apple trees they hopes to infect anyone who ate them, including anyone who ate exported apples. Luckily a farming family soon came down with the symptoms and they were able to quarantine the trees. Though they failed to infect the town they did succeed in food shortages.

 The last attack before the war began in earnest was a strike against Cloudsdale. It was the day of the annual water collection so they could make clouds for the year. The zebra had filled the lake with spores. Within a day most of the city was infected and the clouds holding the city together were filled with spores. Those who weren’t infected ran, those who were had little hope of a cure. With the honey supply already stretched thin due to the previous attacks only those deemed vital to weather control could be saved.
 In a final attempt to save the rest of Equestria from the tainted city it was pushed out into the San Palomino desert where it remains today. Any trees formed quickly fall through the clouds dying from the impact and the intense heat that for some reason has left the clouds supporting the city in tact.

 With one city starving, another wiped out, and the weather of equestria crippled the Zebra moved onto their next step.