She wanted peace. She wanted diplomacy. She wanted harmony and friendship.
She got war.
With the armies of the Changeling Lands marching through Equestria, overwhelming any and all resistance they encounter, Princess Celestia has had to resort to increasingly drastic measures to save her country and the ponies that live in it. But while her sister leads the armies from the front and her ponies fight and die in the name of princesses and country, Celestia feels useless and inadequate in Canterlot. After all, she was supposed to protect her precious little ponies. How had she failed them so badly?
Those doubts and worries gradually gnaw away at her, day after day and month after month. Until one day, she reaches a tipping point, the point of no return:
She will save Equestria, no matter what it takes.
[An Equestria at War story]
Before I read this, I must know: Why can't Discord/Twilight and her friends fix this?
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IDK about Twilight, but Discord would just end Daybreaker's plans in one chapter. Probably best he just remains "Forgotten" as far as this story is concerned.
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In terms of the Equestria at War setting, Discord is never mentioned or considered, because he could end all the wars and mess with the world at will. It's the setting's policy to just kind of... ignore him in the interest of actually telling war stories.
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I believe that as far as Equestria at War goes it's implied that Discord simply refuses to intervene. All he is interested in is protecting Fluttershy, all others can feck off while he enjoys the world descending into the chaos and madness of war.
In the mod, Daybreaker usually deals with Twilight by kidnapping and then brainwashing her into becoming 'Sunset Sparkle', the Empress' most devout and loyal subject.
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Good chance Twilight and the element bearers are scared.
Who wouldn't be scared of daybreaker at least to an extent?
And yanno, Discord is Discord.
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The story ends with the implication that they joined Luna and the Resistance in the Crystal Empire after realizing how far Celestia had fallen.
I don't think "scared" is the right word.
....dang. That, that was an emotional roller coaster. Seeing it all play out was like watching a play your friends are in spiral out of control, unable to do anything to stop it. Seeing Celestia change so much under such dramatic pressure, felt more real than I originally thought, and that final encounter between the two sisters struck me to the core.
If a sequel to this ever gets published, I'd read it in a heartbeat. The emotions behind everything were clear as day (no pun intended) in the words written. Whilst Celestia's fall and Daybreakers rise felt a tad quick at the very end, it's definitely well paced with the topic it covers. War can change people, no matter who they were at the beginning. And when Celestia fell, she fell hard.
Fantastic job, a great story about a great game.
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The EaW Devs handwaved him away by having him find all the chaos caused by war to be enjoyable. To be fair, it'd probably fit his nature fairly well, if the show could be more mature.
Another glorious Equestria At War fic about Daybreaker! Equestria at War is dear to my heart because it was what introduced me to the world of FiM and made me decide to give the show a chance. Also I'm a big fan of the fallen hero trope. Very well executed! Wouldn't mind seeing a part 2 of this about the rest Daybreaker's conquests and her detractors, possibly lead by Luna trying in vain to stand against her.
i.pinimg.com/originals/7b/19/e0/7b19e05c349d55ece1a0f86c75ea1dbb.jpg
For the glory of Daybreaker! For Equestria!
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A lot of fans headcanon that you play as Discord in the game. And all these decisions you take are just him messing with the world.
Welp. Guess Chryssi succeeded in a certain way, due to Equestria being gone.
Db: "Any last words bug queen?"
Chrysalis: "Yes. Congrats for making MY goal happen. Have fun playing house with your ashes *mad cackle*"
Well written story.
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How would you describe it then?
A realistic turn for Celestia here, I think. Excellent work overall.
This is such a sad story.
I was halfway hoping Celestia would find a balance between her inner monster and regal self. What's the point of unlocking your super power only to immediately fall to your baser instincts... In my own headcanon for this story Daybreaker understands that her whole point smiting the enemy is to protect her ponies and Celestia understands she doesn't need to suppress or hide her inner Daybreaker to serve those needs. There could be balance.
I did like the angle of Celestia making a real sacrifice where she's only asked others to make real sacrifices before. That made the transition to Daybreaker feel believable. Luna's arc going from 'we need military action not diplomacy' to 'wtf are you doing supporting the war' felt less believable. What exactly did Luna expect of Celestia?
That ending though... A monster/weapon was created to fight a war and the moment the war was 'over' it immediately continued seeking a new target and purpose because that was what it was build for. Has a real IRL allegory feel to it.
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A fair point indeed.
Ah, Equestria At War my favorite Hoi4 Mod. This was well written and fits the tone of the Mod. It also reminds me of my Griffonian Empire game, the world had gone to hell everyone was going insane Maresoc, Daybreaker, evil River Republic, the Dread League washing over the hill ponies, and beyond. I took the Dutchess Eagleclaw for Grover VI regency and unified all the lost lands and restored the empire. I was the only major power in the world that had not gone insane. So I roleplayed as the last best hope for all people ponies, griffons, zebras, all would be liberated under the Grover VI. When it was done and all evil had been purged, Grover VI was old enough to rule and I went constitutional monarchy path and demobilized the nation bringing peace, justice, and freedom to the empire. Also, it is my personal headcanon that Flurry Heart becomes Grover's Consort with the logic being that she convinces him to librate Equestria from the crazies that rule it whoever that may be and rule Equestria under personal union to justify full annex.
Boy... a lot of ponies are going to die under her to achieve her utopia. It's been said one person's utopia is everyone's else hell.
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I agree with the Grover VI and Flurry heart headcanon. I headcanon that because Flurry is an alicorn they can have viable children
This was an incredible read and really highlighted the horrors and truths of war exceptionally well.
This was fun. I disagreed with some of the ways you managed some stuff, but all in all, it was interesting take.
Ah yes burning the bugs in Holy Fire as it should
10/10 bug burning party
~Reggie
Changelings, getting love by slaughtering the ponies they need to get the love from...
Clearly, a cry for self-extinction! I CAN HELP WITH THAT!! ERMAHGERD! CHERNGELERNGS!! *rides giant DDT-nuke down upon the bugpone swarm!* YEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
(This would be an amusing image...)
So this is what would have happened if the league of sweetie belles didn't intervened where they stopped her from becoming day breaker ?
Man, that was just tragic. A brilliant story that showed how war can wear down ideals and reduce people to their basic instincts for survival. I get why Celestia went all-out to stop Chrysalis, but it’s sad that she gave up her belief in Harmony to do so. It doesn't seem like Equestria could have survived without heavy militarization, though.
isn't this the speech from when pearl harbor was attacked? swear i've hear the opening before...
Ah, The Solar Empire, the only true route for Equestria. Now if only there was a sequel with High Inquisitor Sunrise Sparkle and High General Sunset Shimmer.
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I actually used a combination of FDR's Day of Infamy speech and Neville Chamberlain's declaration of war on Germany for writing the radio address, since the situation of Equestria and the surrounding scenario was similar to both nations.
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i approve.
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Praise the sun!!
i do love the Daybreaker artwork
“Canterlot stands, The Empres portects”- A war cry that became common after the ascension of Daybreaker.
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Not sure how much this applies to this story, but in the mod if the switch to Solar Empire happens during the war then there's a 90% chance that Twilight gets captured and...whatever it is that causes her to change sides happens.
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Hmm. Sounds interesting—and somewhat fitting.
(I know this is completely random, but I can't help but imagine the sight of a disillusioned Twilight desperately waving a sign labeled "PLEASE CAPTURE ME" at the opposing army.)
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Discord has a literal door to his dimension... I choose to believe he grabbed Fluttershy, peaced through it, and locked it behind them.
"I'm all for chaos... but this? This isn't chaos. Chaos is messing with the status quo for shits and giggles. No.. this is War, war isn't chaos... it's.. senselessness, and I'll not be a part of. I'm taking this horse, her rabbit, and her other animals, and leaving."
Very... bombastic.
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You can choose Empress Protector, Empress Mother, or God Empress for your national Focus as Daybreaker. Every Solar Empire player ever: Why would you choose anything over God Empress?!
Cue the music! (actual soundtrack that plays when this happens)
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I was thinking the same thing too. Haven't checked but I wonder if there's a story about Twilight being captured and her the her reign as the leader of the crystal empire
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Dont worry, just say you were making a punny reference and it’s all fine, no matter how little sense it actually makes world building wise. ;D
That aside I think it’s the “suddenly and deliberately attacked” bit that reminds you of it, cause I don’t think the rest is the actual speech.
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nah, just the opening of it really.
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There is, but I can't remember its name.
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There is actually reason to go the full worship path, that being the fact that you can reliably kill the resistance before it gets too big, I can't tell you how many times I've had to fight a second civil war because I unlocked the decisions to destroy the rebels too late. But in terms of bonuses I still consider Empress Mother the best option because you don't have to take the research nerf.
...
I play way too much HOI4
Praise be to the Sun.
It fills me with such joy to see the fic I have wanted to see come to life after so long. And it was well worth the time.
Long live the Sun, Sol Invicta!
For some reason I was expecting nuclear war.
I'm torn on this. On the one hand, awesome work portraying Celestia's mind set breaking down in grief and trauma, and Daybreaker's attitude. On the other hand...she's lived a thousand years. Surely this has happened before? It seems weird for her naivety re. war to persist that long. Also, while her conflict with Blueblood and Luna made sense at the start of the fic, in her second meeting Luna's suddenly arguing for the exact opposite of what she was at the war's outbreak but we didn't see her develop into that mindset.
It's also strange to see Daybreaker immediately dismiss Luna and banish her, even though Luna's powers and reputation are both formidable war, and later empire-building, assets. At the very least she should have pitched her the idea of the New Solar Empire instead of instantly calling her weak and pitiful.
Only complaint... lack of Discord snapping his fingers and being done...
I had just thought, "Maybe I should write about Daybreaker and the Equestria at war mod." only to find out someone got to it first.
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Alot of people have. You still should.