This story is a sequel to Armor's Game
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.
Canterlot has fallen. The Element Bearers have fled Ponyville. And now civil war ravages Equestria as the traitor and usurper Blueblood seeks to conquer the rest of the realm. Standing against him is a scattered army with divided loyalties and uncertain leaders. Yet even as the ponies' armies are arrayed against each other, in the black north beyond the Crystal Empire, savages and demons and worse are poised to invade Equestria, and few soldiers can be sent to confront it.
The war for Equestria rages, but if the Crystal Empire falls, nopony will live to claim it.
Chapters (8)
Changelings are everywhere! Good story.
I almost missed this! Looking forward to part 2 of this series!
Finally!!!
That's the hardest part, the waiting. Pinkie's segment brings to front the value of skill sets. People might ask what can a baker bring to the war effort? Well how about taking inventory and stock? Always vital to any campaign. All soldiers were civilians at one point, and they bring the skills they learned at home with them.
6617893 That's the problem with trying to write war fics for something like MLP: it's kind of a self-defeating exercise to twist the personalities of pastel-coloured horses in a kids' show into professional soldiers. Of the Mane Six, only Applejack and Rainbow Dash really have the temperament for front-line soldiering. With effort you can make Twilight and Rarity officers, but Fluttershy just isn't a soldier and Pinkie Pie is... well, Pinkie. That said, however, it's far to easy to try to exaggerate their personalities in the other direction. Fluttershy, I think, would rise to the challenge for the sake of her friends, even if she wouldn't fight. She'd probably be like one of those Conscientious Objectors who signed on as a stretcher-bearer in the First World War while refusing to carry a weapon. Likewise, I don't like the common fanfic trope of Pinkie Pie going full
when confronted with a stressful situation. If Pinkie Pride, Party Pooped and Too Many Pinkie Pies prove anything it's that Pinkie tends to approach serious adversity with more fatalism and resignation than "laughing mad" insanity.
I Liken this! I hope blueblood gets his flank kicked eventually...
Hang in there, Flash. It can't get an;y worse.
6739853 Yeah?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Last-stand.jpg
Late to the party here... heck I only found the story while looking for something to read... Hey, OTC, you should edit your epilogue from Armors Game to include a linky to the new story. I bet there are a lot of folks like me that never knew you continued the tale! In any event, stoked to find this continuation!
quotehd.com/imagequotes/authors9/tmb/admiral-david-g-farragut-quote-damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead.jpg Onward to the next chapter!
This story has everything that a good war epic should have.
1 War- ya that's the easy part. Fighting is easy, detailing both the combat with the aftermath is hard. This story does it very well.
2 Intrigue- most get that part to at least some degree, though this one has it in spades.
3 Logistics- most either totally forget this vital part, or only mention it in passing. This story remembers it is literally the keystone of any war.
4 PEOPLE! most stories about wars only mention a few key people, they totally forget about the tens of thousands of others. This story does very good in reminding the readers there are many more people affected by the conflict, other than the generals and star players. Kudos to you for showing the hardest part about a war, those effected by it.
5 Disruption of vital services and what they do to the population! This could be considered a combo of #3 and #4, but I think it deserves mention by itself. OTC has brought very realistic details to what war can do to the simple things we take for granted and does so through multiple differing viewpoints. It is very well done. From silly things like cost of wine, to much more important things like blankets and food. Again, the details make this story much more that a good tale, it is making it quite the epic.
encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSK0kukJlAPHn9oOTFiBiTxzqntkFAzhhG16zlIMwHfA6dKwn75
So we've had some logistics, now time for some strategy! And strategy is ultimately the slave to politics, which sadly Shining Armor just doesn't understand. The discussions here were largely inspired by the situation at the start of the American Civil War, where the Union's military advantage on paper was reduced by the geographic advantage of the Confederacy. The discussions surrounding Baltimare were also based on the fact that what looks promising on a very large map does not necessarily translate to feasible on the ground, as anyone who is familiar with the Gallipoli misadventure might recognise...
Politics and strategy. The two never see eye to eye.
How much research do you do before or during your writing sessions? I get the sense that this was rewritten several times, which is something considering its length. It seems like you're drawing a lot of inspiration from the American Civil War as opposed to the Napoleonic Wars, as with Armor's Game. Of course, fighting each other while a greater threat looms up north reminds me of the situation in Game of Thrones, where politicians and bureaucrats squabble while the true enemy looms overhead.
6879776 The comparison to the American Civil War should be seen as a broad one: much of the action will still be inspired by Napoleonic battles, though for Armor's Game, I was only actually inspired by one Napoleonic battle - Valmy. The rest were based on actions in the Seven Years' War or the War of the Spanish Succession.
Shining Armor: Our position is strong and will strengthen over time, leading us to inevitable victory. Only a foolish blunder of catastrophic proportions could possibly undo us.
Celestia: Hurry up and get your rectangles into that dot with these lines.
Shining Armor: Dammit!
I guess this is the time for Shining Armor to offer his resignation. "This is my plan and I stand by it. If you know of a better general with a better plan, I invite you to replace me with him." And then if she cans him (in favor of Colonels Flim & Flam), he can use his status as Cadance's husband to hang around the command center and point out how much better things would be if they'd followed his strategy instead. And who knows? Maybe he can get some of his ideas implemented behind his rulers' backs. It's better than being scapegoated.
6883778 He won't have the balls to present his resignation. He would be despised by everypony if he does that and besides his mare would have him sleep in the couch for a looong time for letting her aunt down.
6884659
That's kind of my thought, too. I'd be quite surprised if the story takes this route. I expect that Shiny will hash something together. I hope he at least has the sense to get it in writing that he's doing this under protest, expects things to go wrong, and that the princesses are taking responsibility. A document like that is going to be mighty important when scapegoating season starts.
Scumbag! Someone kill him already!
Ah yes, nothing like turncoats... this is getting brutal!
Oh, Twilight. No matter how useful it seems, nobody in this setting has so much as mentioned teleporting, let alone used it as a tactic. There's probably a good reason for that. Celestia and Luna, no matter how powerful and mobile they seem, have spent the entire war as far from the enemy leaders as possible. I'm sure there's a good reason for that, too.
This is not going to end well.
7173370 This guy knows what's up
7173370
7175426
TBH, I hope that they get captured.
Would teach them a little humility, and the difference between a lone aggressor and a trained army.
Well, this can either work brilliantly... or backfire horribly... not sure which way it could go. Throughout Armor's Game and sofar though this part of the tale, no mentions of high level magic used in warfare. Either the number of unicorns capable of high lv battle magic is very low, or perhaps they are easily countered. I do not know, but I'm sure we will find out in the next riveting installment of 'As the World Burns' err... I mean, Blueblood's war!
Meanwhile in the north, the Humans are preparing for Shining Armor's wife by sending a diplomat to meet her...
static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Meanwhile+in+soviet+russia+reloads+we+don+t+need+reloads+where_4b3f31_4073051.jpg
7173370
7204714
7188463
So I can see the decision to introduce teleportation has been a controversial one, and I admit that within the context of the fic it feels like an asspull. However, I believe it makes sense within the greater context of the show: teleportation has always been shown to be an extremely rare feat (does anyone except Twilight actually do it?), which dampens its military applications severely. However, Twilight is ideally placed to make use of it, not just for the military implications of scouting and sabotage, but also for propaganda: the Young Princess fighting the traitors behind the lines! Twilight's unique magical skill and her friends make missions high-reward but generally low-risk (though rest assured, it will certainly not be easy).
Finally, I do admit that this was done to a degree out of not being sure what to do with the Mane 6. I didn't want to do a rewrite of Equestria: Total War. I envision them as being more like Sharpe and his Chosen Men. Issues raised earlier in the story, for example, logistics and supply, will still be brought up and confronted, though through means other than the faintly-ridiculous image of Pinkie Pie sitting behind a desk consulting march tables.
Congrats Celestia, you just fucked your entire army.
I love this story. Though curious to see what other world powers are saying about the civil war? Also won’t there be a minor recession around the world since Equestria, largest trading country in world, is going through a civil war
Make more, come back from the dead please.
Seh, seré sincero, vine por la etiqueta de humanos y leo por encima lo que no lo es.