Mind Over Matter.
Chapter 1. The Background.
Congratulations, Corporal! You should know by now that you are now fully committed to your new post in the NSRP's 13th Battle Corps! It is pivotal for future knowledge that you read this handbook fully to familiarise yourself with our equipment, our responsibilities, and our enemy.
Section One.
History.
Death. It's a powerful word, isn't it? Those five special letters strung together to form something terrifying, and a concept so dark and inevitable it makes all fear what it holds... Life. Being snuffed out. One can overcome death, face it honourably, face it fearless, and face it period. Or at least, that's what they say. War has a way of changing things for its participants, but how is all this relevant?
Equestria is... was... a peaceful place. Every single equine citizen strived to hold onto every friend or relative they had, it was perfect. Why wouldn't it be, they had no reason to fight! No rivals, no arguments, no conflict... Except... They had a reason to fight. It's funny really, because the trigger was so easily resolvable. Let's run over the basics first. You're probably familiar with how Equestria's population structure used to be; Wealthy unicorns at the top with political power and control, and Earth ponies near the bottom working the land, and Pegasi in-between the two, as capable but unintelligent creatures. This was obviously not a very fair system, let alone a morally correct one, but the age-old argument of design (That is to say, Unicorn intelligence and magic gave them educated jobs, Pegasi powers dictated their roles also, and Earth ponies were naturally inferior, due to lack of either wings or a horn) had always kept it in place.
Except Pegasi were underachieving. Their foals were going into school with a more lax approach, not studying as hard, or receiving enough encouragement from mom and dad... so they were bound to fail, and work physically as opposed to academically. However... eventually, and I do mean eventually, a Pegasus politician known formally as Wild Wing gave a speech declaring Pegasi to be as intellectually capable as Unicorns, and for any foal with two wings to study harder and achieve greater! They did. They worked harder, and Pegasi experienced almost a new age in career opportunity, Canterlot developed a pegasus estate purely from the new influx of wealthy mares and stallions who achieved success without a horn.
But this was obviously not as simple as it got.
Unicorns quickly realised they would be facing extreme competition, so they used their political leverage to reshuffle the education system; using the argument of Unicorn intellect, they dropped Pegasi and earth ponies into their own exam courses, with Pegasi exam standards dropped enormously. This meant a degree for a pegasus had much less value over a unicorn's degree, regardless of subject or, almost entirely, the grade. This made the Pegasi furious, and after a series of protests leading to nothing, they stepped up the game. Strikes, across the entirety of services, academic, labour, and most importantly, weather! The strikes yielded the assassination of wild wing, which, narrowly avoiding civil war, caused the pegasi as a whole to emigrate, founding their own state.
For a couple of years, all was well. In Equestria, the old system went back to how it was, except with much less pegasus influence. Understandable, as most had gone to form the 'New Sovereign Republic Of Pegasi'. Politics became a bit more complex, and the age-old land of unity and friendship started to forever change, with economic rivalry and the world's first organised militaries forming. The Pegasi took many leads, their nation developed into an entity capable of matching Equestria in almost any way. This actually lead to many improvements in everyday life, cheaper goods and services, more exploration of the planet, and many advancements in various scientific fields.
The Unicorns however didn't very much appreciate the arrival of a new state, and while the royals were forbidden from politics to ensure democracy, Unicorns started to badger the still-cautious pegasi, and began focusing on the development of magic weaponry. We all know that when you pitch this in-between two rival nations, it snowballs. And snowball it did.
Over the next ten years several other changes occurred, firstly and most dramatically, the earth ponies decided to themselves become a political individuality, developing slowly in peace as they tended to the land, worked the fields... They didn't change. The 'Earth State' formed and left Equestria almost entirely Unicorn, but it retained its name for historic reasons. Equestria and the NSRP had just kept competing. The golden age which had lasted a mere 15 years was gone, now replaced with two powerful states, each sporting specific militaries.
Keeping to their advantage, Unicorns harnessed magic into mobile and weaponry formats, using it as an energy source and as a means of propulsion, ballistic and otherwise. They created powerful machines of war, but stuck mainly to versatile infantry and support vehicles. The pegasi took a separate swing. Magic outgunned them, but not intellect, and they had strength. So they merged the two, creating a series of more powerful and conventional machines, their air force matched by none, their vehicles focusing on intimidation and strength, and their infantry armed with normal ballistic weaponry, used to support the armoured sections.
Earth Ponies had no choice but to join in, and they resorted to a military akin to most of the armies you'll all be used to. Aircraft, Vehicles, and infantry. None weaker or stronger than the other. They built out of necessity, and they aimed to do nothing but defend their soil, should the need arise.
Equestria and The NSRP, formally since the 23rd cycle, have been locked in a seven year war started by a meagre border dispute. Hundreds of thousands lay dead and cold, the two races fighting bitterly and matching each other consistently every time, no clear victor in sight. The pegasi are looking towards the Earth Ponies for an upper hoof, and it may well work...
This concludes the background knowledge recording for the Grand War. Please turn your manual to the next section for up-to-date information on what you as a soldier of the NSRP will be fighting both with and against.
Note that this is an alternate universe, and is the backdrop for the story. I'll be looking to make it as interesting as possible, maybe even a new flagship story~! Bye for now.
~Red~