• Published 30th Aug 2014
  • 799 Views, 6 Comments

Ad Astra - Merchent343



Only a single generation after the Solar Sisters have fallen to old age, the nation of Equestria collapses as the various species of ponies squabble and divide. And thus an age of conflict has arisen, and with it the empires of old have returned.

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Prologue


2089 ANM
Baltimare, Underground District, Sector A3-A1


Flakes of concrete dust fell from the high ceiling as the sounds of explosions far above the shelter echoed through the tunnels. Hundreds of lunar ponies were clumped together in the tight confines of the underground bunker, with barely enough room to walk around or stretch out. The sounds within the shelter reflected its' occupants: The hushed whispers of adults, the laughter of foals, and the crying of those too young to do any of the former.

"Mommy, why is this happening?" a lone filly asked her mother, both of them laying on the ground against a wall.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna died five years ago, sweetie," the mare said, "Now everypony is just being stubborn... They don't like one another."

"I heard my teacher say the Pegasi caused it," the filly claimed.

"We don't know who started it. We just hope that it ends soon, my little Astral." the mare replied as the bunker shook from yet another close miss, more dust raining from the ceiling. Even three kilometers underground, the open warfare on the surface above was making an impact.

"...What if it doesn't end?" Astral asks, looking up at her mother.

"Then I don't know what we'll do." the mare says as several more ponies pushed into the shelter. With a dull thud, the door shut with a hiss once more, sealing the ponies inside for good.

Without warning, the earth beneath them shook like an IX-scale earthquake, sending frightened ponies to the ground as the lights above them flickered. An entire five-meter-wide section of the ceiling detached, falling into the crowd a short distance away from the mother and her filly. Astral's mother didn't even notice the steel beam that came down and smote her, the lone incident lost in a tidal wave of terror and chaos.



Far above them, a fireball came into being over the city of Baltimare, sending highrise buildings crumbling to the ground and flinging the massive water-going ships in the port like mere toys. The water in the bay vaporized as the ground in the city was forever scarred, millions of ponies dying in an instant.

In the distance, another fireball rose up as the war raging on the surface quickly turned from one of military battles to one of annihilation, the efforts of an entire civilization focused on their own destruction.

From the planet's orbit, dozens of ships engaged in a slow-motion battle, the sideshow of the war drawing to a close as the planet burned below them.