A War

by Comma Typer

Speech

Those three unicorns had a lot more donuts on their table, a pyramid of them, even. One of them—a yellow one named Lemon Hearts—was grabbing donuts and stuffing her paper bag with them, sticking out her tongue.

The other two just watched her.

"Any way to freeze these donuts?" she asked the watching two in a serious tone—her hoof stopped in mid-air, inches away from yet another donut.

"Why are you doing that all of a sudden?" the white one, Twinkleshine, asked, raising a hoof with her question.

"You never truly know when disaster strikes," Lemon Hearts replied.

"Relax!" the blue unicorn, Minuette, said, gesturing around with that one word. She grabbed her friend across the table and held her shoulders. "They're far away from Canterlot. We have plenty of time to prepare our things if they're advancing, and that's if they're advancing. Don't you trust the royal guards?"

"Our incompetent royal guards?" Lemon Hearts asked back. Returning to stuffing her paper bag with donuts, she went on: "I don't know what's worse—falling into enemy hooves or being escorted by our royal 'guards.'" She rolled her eyes at that.

Twinkleshine leaned on the table. Spreading her forehooves out to her two friends, she said, "Girls, let's stop this fighting, OK? We have bigger problems than nit-picking each other's words!"

Lemon Hearts groaned as she stuffed a donut into her mouth.

Minuette stayed silent as she also grabbed a donut and ate one.

Twinkleshine eyed the both of them before resting on her stool, choosing not to eat.

---

At a street, there was a residential area—not as sensational as the others with their gaudy splendor, but they still spoke of wealth. Houses of two to three stories lined the road, adorned with greenery such as bushes and flowers and the occasional tree; most of the houses had wide stairs leading up to a custom door, each different from the ones beside it. The same black streetlights dotted the sidewalk, similar-looking ponies walked up and down in their similar-looking fashion and there were the same carriages going about at an astonishing speed.

The three unicorns carrying saddle bags walked up to one of those houses.

This violet brick home had its windows shaped like hourglasses. The entrance, too, was shaped like an hourglass but only more formal—the wooden blue door was framed in yellow to look like an hourglass and its window was shaped like an hourglass, too. Big white stairs led up to that door.

Minuette opened the door first but let her friends come inside before her.

The living room was a cozy, if not cramped, room. Faded paint was evident on the walls, the shelves and the cabinets were of dull colors, and the plants in their places spruced up the place by only a little, being a vibrant green in a sea of messiness—dust and dirt were here and there on the floor, on the rug. Pictures and images hung on the wall, depicting the happy times these three unicorns had together with a few more friends—here, they were hanging out at a birthday party in a lush, well-trimmed garden; over there, they were hanging out at a cottage in the middle of the night, facing the camera with wide smiles. A yellow desk was at the wall, holding a stack of books, and another white unicorn was sitting there, wearing glasses and with a tied up mane of three colors; she was reading a book.

"Moon Dancer?" Twinkleshine asked as she sat on a brand new couch. "You're still there?"

Moon Dancer turned around to face them and smiled back.

Minuette closed the door.

"It's not much," she said. "But, I'm doing the best I can."

"The best you can at...what?" Minuette asked, walking on her unclean floor.

"Searching for the most ideal and the most practical course of action to take," she said, closing her eyes as she spoke thus. She fixed her eyeglasses with a hoof. "Anyway, you brought some donuts for me?

Minuette's horn glowed yellow and out of her saddle bag levitated a paper bag glowing yellow, too.

The glow changed to pink as Moon Dancer's horn glowed that color; the paper bag then floated to her and landed on the desk.

Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine threw their bags on to a small table, Lemon Hearts going to the same couch and sitting there.

Minuette walked up to Moon Dancer, passing by a tiny collection of plants sitting on a pedestal. Taking on a severe face, she said, "Have you found anything, yet?"

"I perused all relevant archives here in Canterlot," she said. "I even ordered a few books from the Manehattan Specialty Library, the Golden Oak Library, the Official Vanhoover Historical Book Collection—but, they're going to come in a few days."

"And, 'We don't have a few days to wait,' eh?"

Moon Dancer nodded, frowning.

"So, we literally have no information about the other side?" Twinkleshine asked, sounding disheartened.

"Just the basics," Moon Dancer replied. "It's an ancient empire, with some saying it predates Equestria as we know it. A special kind of pony known as the Crystal ponies live in—"

"We know that already," Twinkleshine complained.

Lemon Hearts got up and walked out of view into another room. "If you need me, I'll be at the kitchen experimenting with storage life."

The remaining unicorns looked at where she had gone.

Moon Dancer fixed her glasses again. "As I was saying, the Crystal Empire is old. Princess Celestia, with her sister, banished the evil King Sombra. But, when they did that, the Crystal Empire disappeared with him. Now, for some reason, it's back."

"We know that, too."

"Will you listen?" Minuette said in a stern manner. "We have everything on the line here!"

Twinkleshine then stood up out of the couch. "Fine."

Moon Dancer went up from her chair.

"And then...?"

Moon Dancer eyed Minuette. "And then what?"

"And then...what do you think?"

Moon Dancer sighed. She paced the floor. "We don't even have the minimum amount of information about the Empire. All we know for now is that its leader is bad. We don't know what Crystal ponies are capable of doing other than being reflective like actual crystals."

"They might use light against us, then," Minuette surmised.

"Light-based weaponry?" she asked. "Now, that's a kind of magic we need to counter."

"Using mirrors to blind our 'guards' isn't that bad when you think about it," Twinkleshine said, twirling a hoof about as she said so.

"But, that's all speculation, right?" Minuette asked, raising her voice a little in hope.

Moon Dancer sighed. "Just speculation. And, that's the bad part."

"So, what's the 'best course of action' right now, Moon Dancer?"

She was silent for a while. Then: "Wait. Wait for Princess Celestia to speak later this sundown."

Minuette let out a sigh as well. "Well, in the meantime, let's not do anything silly in my house, OK?"

A crash came from the kitchen. A few fallen pots and bowls tumbled into view.

"Sorry!" Lemon Hearts cried out.

---

Several hours passed by and, now, the sky was a sharp orange, the sun penetrating the horizon with its rays. It was a cloudless hour—no clouds obstructed the gorgeous view and the ponies that were standing on high-up balconies and on ornately-designed roofs looked on at the sky with open mouths. Even some "Ooh's!" and "Aah's!" could be heard.

Down there, on the streets, bustling crowds of ponies—whether they be fancy Canterlot ponies with their stuffy clothes and good-smelling scents, or tourists with thin shirts and hats and cameras, or reporters with more serious hats and more serious cameras and more serious faces, or just the ponies who lived there without a care about how to look splendid—these crowds stormed their way through, moving sluggishly but still surely toward a wide open space, a Canterlot square.

On the square itself were battalions of royal guards all in their different-colored armors. Brandishing spears, bows and arrows, crossbows, cannons—these guards stood tall, stood proud, and stood with stoic faces showing no emotion.

A faint cheer rose from the crowd though it was quickly silenced by boorish screams and shouts.

At the far end of the square was Princess Celestia herself—that magnificent pony taller than the rest of her subjects, a white alicorn with an ethereal mane and ethereal tail that flowed with the colors of a morning sky, decked with golden regalia of crown and bracelet and horseshoes, her cutie mark being the sun. Imposing, she stood still and had on her face a stiff mouth and narrowed eyes.

Then, she stepped forward.

All the crowd's noise disappeared.

Now, the crowd surrounded the square and even occupied a part of the square. Guards stood at certain positions, blocking the crowd from overflowing to this or that street. Some even aimed their spears at offending citizens but were hastily stopped by their commanding officer or some other of a high rank.

All were silent as Princess Celestia took yet another step forward.

Eyes were on her; her eyes sweeped the visage.

All those ponies were looking at her—no smiles, no frowns, only faces that expected, faces that yearned for a word from her. On the streets, on the sidewalks, on the square, behind the windows, in the air, on the roofs, on the balconies—here they were.

Waiting. Present.

The Princess took in a deep breath.

Some of the ponies there took deep breaths, too.

"Citizens of Equestria," she began in her soothing yet sober voice.

All were still silent, all—except the guards—looking at her.

"It is with great regret that Equestria is at war with a kingdom that has had its own history—a unique one. I will not hide from you that we used to be in good terms with the Crystal Empire; there was, indeed, a time when our ponies mingled with theirs, when their wares traveled with ours, when friendships between an Equestrian pony and a Crystal pony were brought forth and made precious moments, precious years to never forget between one another. Even now, I believe that this is the will of the Crystal ponies: that they want no conflict, but only a friendship that would bind us even closer.

"However, whatever the will of these ponies may be, it is not they who clamored for this war. An evil pony—King Sombra—has come back from his banishment and wishes to invade Equestria. I have tried to reason with him ever since he returned less than a week ago—I have had meetings with him, then visited his fair city, then even had personal conversations with him—but, to no avail. Those days went by with Sombra having a stronger and stronger resolve each time, refusing to listen to the fact that we don't want to bring him or his subjects harm but that we want to help them grow.

"But, as you know, the fateful day of war has arrived."

Gasps and murmurs spread across the crowd. Sobbings could be heard and a few yells, too.

"I scouted the Empire without being seen. Though I could not see much, for there was a mist going by throughout, I saw what Sombra did to train his soldiers.

"The ponies themselves did not want to fight. Yet, they were slaves to him, dragged in chains. I saw Sombra force helmets into these poor, innocent ponies. Then, they glowed green, telling me that they were brainwashed, their minds only focused on serving Sombra's motives and nothing more. And, if fulfilling those motives means taking down all that we stand for—not just peace but friendship and harmony, too—then they would do just that."

Gasps, screams, and cries.

"Although there has been no battle yet, I can already see that this war is not like any other we've seen before. At least in the past, the wars that have been fought always had another war before to justify itself. But, now, Equestria has been at peace for over a thousand years." A pause. "This war threatens to upend all of this peace, to plunge Equestria into a descent from which it could never recover, to plunge the world into a never-ending darkness of chaos and strife, where no one would truly be free.

"I certainly do not want to see friendship and harmony torn away from Equestria, from this world. As you have not only seen but have also experienced for yourselves, friendship is more than just getting along with your fellow creatures. It is what builds us up, what improves us, what makes up a brighter life.

"It is sorrowful for me to resort to weapons to uphold friendship once again. But, there is no other way. If we fail here, then not only will Equestria disappear but its ideals of friendship and harmony will disappear, also.

"But, we do not seek to fail our friendships, do we?"

And a rising cheer, a rising roar, came from the crowd.

Celestia hung her head down, eyes at the paved ground.

A blink.

Her mane flowed and so did her tail just as they always did.

She raised up her head.

"I do not have much else to say."

A pause.

All were silent.

"It is with these words that I bring your young stallions to combat. It is with these words that I bring them forward to the frontlines. It is with these words that they will fight for not only peace, not only freedom, but friendship above all.

"It is with these words that I plead with you to help them in whatever way you can. Go to the factories and produce uniforms for these stallions, go to the workshops and forges and create more weapons which they'll fight with, go to the farms and harvest the food that they'll need to keep up this battle until the end. Even if you choose to do so for only a few hours a day, then that will be of much help in finishing this war before it gets out of hoof—before it takes more lives than it should.

"I hope that you hear my appeal to you, my subjects."

She stepped back and hung her head down, looking then at the guards in front of her.

The battalions now walked up in their neat squares and rectangles, all in their armor and all wearing their weapons. The spears were held high, rising from the mass. They stood in front of the crowd with their stoic faces, only blinking and never moving.

An officer—for he was wearing a cap along with his armor—stood in front of the battalions.

He stomped a hoof.

And they stomped their hooves.

The officer marched in place.

And all the battalions marched in place.

Slowly, the squares and rectangles of guards moved about together, never breaking their shape or formation but stepping together—all stepped on their left and then their right, never missing a beat.

The crowd was silent before this display of power, of military power.

The Princess raised her head—no smile, but only a solemn frown made beautiful by her flowing mane and her flowing tail, reflecting the orange sky and the setting sun.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" another officer yelled.

A clear path cut through the crowd.

The marching began once again—stomp, stomp, stomp; left, right, left, right. Everyone in the guard marching together, first in place, then moving slowly past the crowd and on that concrete path. Weapons passing by, armor passing by, those soldiers passing by—stoic faces, no emotion on the surface. Then, past the windows, past more ponies. March, march, and march they did until all were gone past a corner.

The Princess looked at the square now, populated by only the crowd and a few standing guards who were saluting her.

She said nothing.

---

"Princess Celestia! What do you think about the war effort?"

She was walking on the road. She had a slow gait—which was beneficial for the reporters swarming around her, flashing their cameras and holding out their notepads and quills and ballpens. Farther back, a crowd was following her.

"Princess! Any estimate on when it will end?"

"Princess Celestia, how many guards will you be sending to the front?"

"Princess Celestia? Any news about the strength of the enemy forces?"

"Princess, what will we do with the Crystal Empire when we win?"

"Princess, Princess Celestia! Are you talking about voluntary soldiers or drafting already?"

"Princess Celestia, are you going to introduce food rations right now?"

"Prinecss Celestia? Where's Princess Luna?"

Celestia's eyes perked. Her ears raised. She looked at the pony who had asked the last question.

"What did you say?" she asked, never slackening her walk.

"Princess, where's your sister?"

A wistful eye. A small smile. "She's at the castle. She will lower the moon shortly."

Eff Stop nodded, blurting out "Thank you, Princess Celestia."

And the questions kept on coming, bombarding her. The flashes, too, fell down on her.

Eff Stop looked on at the Princess while being jostled and budged about by his fellow and rival reporters around him. Pushed, pulled, and just moved about—yet, keeping his hat steady, his camera safe, and his notepad and quill close to his wing.

Never really looked at them. Only a glance—perhaps a caring glance.

No more words came out of her mouth even as the reporters became bold and kept the pace of questions up.

It was a slow walk, a slow journey, but the Princess finally reached the steps of the castle.

It was a humongous castle, of intricate architecture and of many discrete parts all combined into one cohesive structure. Fitting in with the rest of the Canterlot buildings, the castle was purple, white, and gold. Spires and other towers rose to the sky, roofs of various kinds topped the castle all over, and everything had that elegant feel—for example, stars were painted on the several walls and roofs, windows were of no simple frame but had complciated layouts.

At the end of the upward stairs was a large double door with stylized symbols of the sun and of the moon right through the middle of the door.

Guards stood at each side of that door.

The questions came forth, and so did the camera flashes.

With a yellow glow of her horn, she opened the door magically, revealing the tremendous hallways of far-out roofs, stained glass windows, polished floors, soaring columns, colorful banners, red carpets, refined doors, and more guards.

She stepped inside.

---

"That's not good," Press Release said as she and Eff Stop walked on the sidewalk.

The sky was darker, more orange. Already, the streetlights were on and some of the buildings activated their lights, brightening the road alongside the sun.

Eff Stop sighed. "I wish I could say it's a little good. But, you heard the Princess yourself."

She looked down. "What are we gonna do next?"

"Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary," he answered, retaining that seriousness in his voice. "Unless you want to volunteer, we'll just have to go around Equestria and tell the news—be at the scene when it happens."

"But, what happens if we get a warrant or a permit to report news from the fighting?" she asked.

"You mean war correspondence?" he asked. He arched an eyebrow at her. "I thought you're the pony who doesn't want to get involved in physically dangerous situations."

"We're under a publisher, remember?" she said back as if retaliating. "If Print Run orders us to get out there to increase ponies' morale, we have no choice."

"You're awfully right. I haven't considered that before."

"You better start considering it now—I did, and I don't want to get in the line of fire."

They were approaching an intersection. Over there, on the street perpendicular to them, were two rows of restaurants all emitting culinary smells. A peek into the windows of one across the street showed a hearty glasses-wearing stallion—apron and stubble—serving up smoked oats and other grilled grains and vegetables.

Eff Stop held up a hoof.

Press Release stopped.

"That's new," he said. "Haven't seen that place before."

"Let me guess." She pointed at the place. "Dinner?"

"Dinner."

And the two proceeded to the end of the sidewalk.

"Oof!"

And the two stumbled to the ground.

As they stood up, they noticed the other ponies they bumped into.

"I'm very sorry for that, mister and miss!" Moon Dancer said.

Her other three friends were standing up as well, recovering.

"No, I should be the one who's sorry," Eff Stop said, pointing to himself and making an apologizing smile. "We were just on our way to...that restaurant over there." And he pointed at it.

"You mean The Smoked Oat?" Minuette asked. "You must be new here—you should definitely try it!"

Twinkleshine nodded in agreement.

Lemon Hearts moaned, levitating a jar of donuts and ice cubes.

Press Release eyed the jar. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Danger-proofing," she said.

"So, what would be your names?" Moon Dancer then asked the two, looking at the reporters.

"I'm Eff Stop," he said.

"And, I'm Press Release," she said.

"Ah, working for the press, I see," Moon Dancer observed. "Well, you must be hungry from a busy day, so unless you want to—"

"It's fine," Eff Stop said, raising a hoof.

"If you want to come with us, that would be great," Press Release said.

He glanced at her. "Huh?" he whispered.

"I don't think we can," Moon Dancer said.

"We're in the middle of prepping up for...you know." Minuette made a big smile.

Twinkleshine poked her blue friend. "Just say it."

"You don't have to hide it," Press Release said. "We know what you mean."

And the four mares had solemn looks on their faces for a second.

"I hope we're not delaying you," Eff Stop said, taking a step forward.

"You're not," Minuette said, walking in front of Moon Dancer and making a huge smile.

"You are, Minuette," Lemon Hearts whined, still levitating the jar.

"Well, the pleasantries have been nice but I think we must be off," Eff Stop said as he hurried on to the street. "Sorry, bye!"

And Press Release waved at the mares who waved back at her and her friend.

The two reporters then entered The Smoked Oat.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

I haven't actually read the story yet, but why isn't there an Applejack tag?

[Comma Typer]

8606865
That's covered by the Mane 6 tag. Also, I wanted to get some cover art from the Crystal War timeline that's not related to battles—just a quiet scene. :)

[BradyBunch]

I like the way this is going--you're showing a war in civilian terms, and that's greatly appealing and interesting to me. The dialogue is amazing, your settings are lavishly detailed, your diction is diverse--the only problem I see is with the sentence and paragraph structure. This is great, and I don't know why I didn't examine this beforehand. Keep up the good work!

[Tallow and Port]

I wonder where Twilight is... did she... commit suicide.... a few years after not being able to enter the school?