1018, December 31st, Mareposa.
The tavern is full. Equestrian soldiers fill the hall with laughter and boasts. Three months before, they had stormed through the Polar Bear lands, uniting Equus under the banner of socialism. Most toast to relatives or complain about officers and commissars, few tell others their war stories or even their aspirations. 10 years back, most had been farmers. Hailing from the area little west of Albion. They had lived simple lives; they had believed in Celestia, in the elements of Harmony, and most importantly, they had believed the world they knew would continue on.
Now, they celebrate the new years as citizens of a new nation, one they could not have imagined. The bar owner ramps up the volume of the radio. It amplifies the sound of classic new year songs, most written before the war.
Suddenly, the music from the radio stopped. A few ponies notice the pause, but the entire bar is silenced when "Arise" blasts. The soldiers know this signifies an important announcement.
Sure enough, they hear a gruff voice from the speakers.
"Rise, this is an important announcement from the Premier of the Socialist Republic of Equestria, Comrade Sinister Serov."
Moments later, a softer but equally intense voice comes on. It's familiar, one with a slight Severyanan accent. It'd been present when Stalliongradian armies occupied Eastern Equestria, up to the final victory speech in the Spring of 1017. Since then, they had heard surprisingly little of the Premier. Other than important holidays, Sinister’s speeches had been surprisingly absent from public life. Not even with the invasion of the Polar Bears did the old Stallion make one of his passionate speeches. Many a pony is anxious to hear his words.
"Hello everyone, comrades and citizens of the Republic. I apologize for my absence from public view for the past year. But now, I have news of vital national importance,”
Sinister coughs, it's a brief one. However, the pause heightens the tension in the room.
“Ponies, I come to you not as Premier but as a simple stallion. Guiding the ship of state has not made me numb to wonders and walking through the city of Manehatten, I can only stand in awe. Where there was animosity, there is now solidarity. Prudence, where there was indulgence. Great factories have arisen from nothing! Ponies from the country assemble the finest tanks and planes the world has ever seen! I know you can see it too! Do you not see the greatness we have created?!
Through blood, sweat, and tears, we have created a new world! We beat back the Changeling threat, we have transformed our nation into a bastion of equality, our triumph will echo through the ages!
Across Equus, creatures of all sizes have joined in our Revolution! The old order is crumbling!
Now, let it be said that I harbor no hatred for Celestia. For millennia, she ruled with compassion. However, Alicorn rule is not suited for the modern age! In her naivety, she enabled the actions of crooked plutocrats. She let Equestrian defenses crumble to a dire state and did nothing to advance the rights of our Thestral brothers and sisters.
We thank her for her service, but it is a new age. Now, ponies take control of their own destiny!
Now, comrades! Onto the main order of business. The war is over, yet our nation is in tatters. We must seek not to simply rebuild but to create something wholly new. Millions in our country lack housing, and the cost of goods has skyrocketed. Our armies are victorious, but the war on poverty has yet to be won.
To combat this, the Supreme Council has approved a comprehensive economic recovery plan. Millions of new homes, tens of thousands of miles of rail and road, and countless factories will be built! In particular I have to thank Comrade and Minister of Industry Vasilily and his Special Committee of Economic Recovery. In his honor, this doctrine will be dubbed the Vasilily Plan.
I will not lie to you, the road ahead will be difficult, but I have faith that we, ponies, shall win this peace and win our future!
However, to carry out this plan, drastic changes must be made. Since the establishment of our Republic, it has been one unitary entity with one government of the people. In war, this was useful, but we must now think ahead.
By the dictate of the Supreme Council, by the end of today, the Socialist Republic of Equestria shall be no more. To replace it, the Socialist Union of Equestria shall be established!
This will be a federation of 7 co-equal republics:
The Socialist Republic of Severyana, with its capital of Stalliongrad!
The Crystal Ponies' Republic, with its capital of Crystal City!
The United Republic of Tzinacatlia, with its capital of Baltimare!
The Socialist Republic of Mixieland, with its capital of Rocksville!
The Thestral Autonomous Republic, with its capital of Ayacachtli!
The Eastern Republic, with its capital of Manehatten!
And finally, the Central Ponies' Republic with its capital of Tall Tale!
Rest assured, this division is simply for administrative purposes. Regardless of location, all citizens will be first and foremost citizens of the Union, with all the rights that entails. The Supreme Council will maintain authority and will still reside in Manehatten for the time being.
In the coming days, maps with the exact boundaries of each republic will be distributed. In the coming months, elections for the councils of each republic will be conducted.
With this action, more power will be given to regional governments, who are best suited to tackle regional issues. This is the next of the revolution comrades, a testament to how far we have come. A decade before, the ponies of this continent were divided, now we have united into a union of equals standing beside comrades of all species. The regions are now able to rule autonomously, without the need for central guidance.
To mark this momentous occasion, the Supreme Council has voted to abandon the old calendar. We of a free Equestria refuse to have a calendar defined by the old regime. Tomorrow will not be January first, 1019 but the first day of year 0 of the Revolutionary Calendar!
Each January 1st shall not only be New Years but also Union day, a new national holiday.
Glory to Marksism, glory to all Ponies, and eternal glory to the Union!
We have proved our rightness comrades! Our time has come!"
With the closing of the speech, the national anthem plays.
Cheers ring out from the soldiers, but it is not absolute. Many are still contemplating the words spoken by the Premier. Still, in the spirit of new years more than anything else, the party more or less continues.
One table in the back is wholly silent. It seats three earth ponies: they’re relatively young- teenagers when the war began.
One of the ponies, with light brown fur and circular rimmed glasses, breaks the silence.
“New year system huh? The Daily Worker was talking about that; it was something of a debate in the Supreme Council.”
“Oh stop, Ples. I know you just love this new… thing.”
The bigger earth pony with dark gray fur chimes in.
“Wha- What do you mean Anya?”
“Before the war, you said you wanted to abolish the year system.”
“W-well I just thought it strange that it was defined by a national tragedy, I just thought another system would put more of a… positive spin on things.”
“Tha-that’s beside the point, I know you were a Communist before all this.”
“Th-I- I keep telling you, I was a Republican, those two aren’t the same thing.” The weary soldier sighs at having to clear up that surprisingly common misconception.
“What are you now?”
"I-I…"
Pleasant looks down at his drink. The war had not given him much time to think.
“I- I’m willing to give this government a chance. It won the war at least.”
Anya snorts. “Then I’ll say this while the Commissar isn’t here: first thing I’m doing is finding is a way to New Mareland.”
“Everyone kept saying that till they figured out they can’t. Why not try to make things better here? Sinister even dropped the whole “false/deceitful goddesses” rhetoric, which must have been hard for him…”
“Both of you are going to be arrested.”
The third member on the table finally decides to join. He’s a thinner stallion, deep blue fur and deeper blue eyes. Before the others can respond, he takes a long drink, trying to empty the beer mug.
Pleasant doesn’t care.
“You know I can’t get arrested for insulting the Premier. The Commissar will just glare at me.”
Pleasant points at Anya.
“She’s the one who's going to get arrested.”
Anya scowls at Pleasant. She takes a quick swig before responding:
“The Severyanans are going to change everything, they admit it. You two should be more worried. I have to worry about the family farm, who knows when they can just take that away.”
“Sinister promised small farmers they could keep their land.”
“They took land away after their revolution, who knows when they can do it again.”
“Anya please, I’m worried.” Pleasant speaks in a dead serious tone, usually only reserved for combat.
“...”
“Waves, tell her you're worried too.”
The pony, who had long finished his beer, looks at the stubborn mare.
“Anya, I’m worried. Don’t commit crimes.”
“That was convincing,” His companions say while rolling their eyes.
Waves shrugs. “Doesn’t make it not true.”
Anya, rolling her eyes one last time, concedes. “I won’t do anything till the country’s rebuilt. It’s still my home no matter who’s in charge,”
She glares at her two friends.
“Happy comrades?”
Waves smiles.
“I’m glad you're acclimating to our new repub- I mean Union well.”
Waves raises his empty mug.
“Cheers to the Union.”
“Fuck you.”
Regardless, both Pleasant and Anya raise their mugs.
“Cheers to the Union!” the trio shouts, each half sarcastic, half hopeful.
…
Year 0, January 1st, Mareposa.
The party is done. Merely an hour before sunrise, two ponies are dragging their friend's front legs to the barracks. The town is dimly lit and empty, other than, of course, any soldiers stupid enough to stay out this late.
“Pleasant got carried away again huh…”
“Last time I’m drinking with him, that’s for sure.”
The two share a laugh. The air is frigid, with breaths turning to humes of smoke. Still, it’s far from the worst any of the three have experienced.
“Hey, Waves, you never told us, what are you doing after this? Ples is going to find his way into a college, but what about you?”
“I’m going to be a father.”
Anya stumbles, almost tripping.
Waves is surprised.
“Careful there.”
Anya looks at Waves as if he had grown a second head while she wasn’t looking.
“H-how? When? Wha-”
“Before we were deployed against the Polar Bears, Eva and I submitted marriage papers and spent some time together.”
“Eva? The Severyanan Engineer? I knew you were an item but this?”
“I survived the Great War, that was my promise to her.”
“What didn’t yo-”
“Never came up.”
Anya is disappointed but not surprised. This is typical Waves behavior. She opts to just be a good friend.
“Congratulations. Any idea when the child is coming?”
“Should be around today actually…”
Anya sighs in true disbelief.
“I truly promise that there was no occasion to bring it up.”
“You’re turning into a city pony just like her, never telling anyone about anything.”
“Eva’s nice and she isn’t even from the city, she just studied in Stalliongrad.”
“Fine. So, any idea where you’re going or doing?”
Waves shrugs.
“Engineers are needed all around the country, Eva will probably be the breadwinner while I raise the kid and maybe find some part time job.”
“No idea at all?”
“Might not be in Equestria, might be the Crystal lands or Severyana, or even Nova Griffonia, Yak land, Ole-”
Anya lets out her heaviest sigh yet.
“The world’s going insane these days… Well, wherever you end up, write, my address will be the same, unless Sinister changes that too.”
“Don’t say that, it isn’t time for goodbyes.”
By Waves standards, those words sound sincere. Anya almost smiles.
“Sure, sure. Let’s get back quickly.”
…
In a literal sense they were right. They will make it back to the barracks and see each other again, with hangovers, the next day.
Within the next two weeks, they will have made it back to their hometown. From there, the three friends will go their separate ways. That point is truly the time for goodbyes as the three will never see each other again.
In a more poetic sense, however, especially for people like Anya, January 1st of year 0 is a time for goodbyes. For Equestrians who grew up before the war, that day was the last of any Equestria they recognized.