//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: An Unwanted Past 
// by WhovianPony 
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	I remember the next few weeks being a blur. Everywhere you went preparations were being made to send an attack force into what ponies had named "The Southlands". My job as servant had been to assist the chef in the kitchen, but during the times of preparation I was put to work sharpening swords and fletching arrows. Day in and day out I would wake, eat, work, sleep, repeat. I was surprised and terrified by the blood lust of the ponies that I thought I knew so well. Some were already inventing war chants and many had taken to painting their shields with horrifying images of slain enemies. 

I was the youngest of the group of ponies put to the task of prepping the soldiers and from what I can recall, the only pegasus. Any questions I thought to ask about the morality of going to war were shot down by my elders. It was foalish of me to question the king, they said, I was to young to understand such matters. Even some of the ponies I was working with had taken to humming the chants and most of them knew the words by heart. Somehow or other, the peaceful ponies that I grew up with had all become very comfortable with the idea of hurting others, simply because our king believed it to be the right thing to do. While I didn't understand it at the time, I know now the dangers of panic and herd mentality.  

Even today, I still have not forgotten the day they brought him in. A couple weeks or so before General Standard planned to launch the first attack, a small group of alicorns ventured across the border with the intention of taking a prisoner. When they returned, I don't remember ever being so horrified. At that point in time, I had never seen a draconequus in my entire life. I had heard stories, every filly and colt in Equestria had heard countless stories, but had never actually seen one in person. Yes, I was horrified, but not of the draconequus, of the alicorns. Even I, who had never seen a creature of his kind before, could tell how young the draconequus was. He was unbelievably small, and had the proportions of a child. His mouth was gagged and his bruised limbs were thin and tightly bound. His two horns had been sawed off so as to prevent him using magic. His yellow eyes held such fear as I had never seen as he took in the sight of my king, and tears trailed steadily down his cheeks. Yet, the alicorn soldiers, who had caused him so much pain, stood as if they should be praised. 

The colt, or would it be drake, was in such pain that he seemed to have trouble standing as his legs repeatedly crumpled beneath him. Each time this happened his captors would hoist him back up and force him to stand. I looked around the throne room where everypony stood and took in the faces of the ponies around me. They were triumphant. Pleased. The kidnapping and torture of this child was a sign that the war was won before it had even began. They wanted this. I remember asking myself if it was even possible that I was the only one there who pitied him, the only one who was ashamed of my country. Unfortunately, it seemed like I was. 

The king stood from his throne and approached the colt. His golden crown and robes set him apart from the others. Each hoofstep was purposeful and deliberate. His starry mane and tail flowed around him as if they were blown by some sort of wind that no other pony could feel. He took his time in approaching the colt, he seemed content to bask in this moment of glory. When he got the the colt, he grasped what was left his unicorn horn and pulled him from where he had fallen on the floor again up to eye level. The colt cried out and struggled to free himself, but to no avail. 

The king took a deep breath and addressed the crowd that had gathered to see the spectacle. "I invite you all to look before you at this creature our brave soldiers have captured. This...thing is our enemy. They mean to bring chaos and death into our world, and to topple our glorious Capitol." The king released the colt and let him fall to the floor. His head rebounded off the marble floor with a sickening crack. "I do not intend to let that happen. I will not have my children living in fear of what havoc these creatures may cause. As of now my loyal subjects, my soldiers, my brethren, citizens of Capitol City! We are at war." 

The king glared at the heap that laid at his hooves as the crowd around him cheered and stomped their hooves. He nodded and the soldiers forced the child onto his feet and pulled him out of the room. While the king turned to join his subjects in their celebration, I snuck out the door to follow them.