Camaraderie Is Warfare

I - SMALL BEGINNINGS

Only so many things can be considered constants in the world. The vast majority of them are natural; the daily rising and setting of the sun and moon, the ebbing and flowing of tides, the flow of a river or a glacier, floods, earthquakes, eruptions, and countless other similar processes. These constants were the world's own, and occurred on a regular basis.

Humanity, however, was something different. Ever since its emergence and ever since it distinguished itself from more basic primates tens of thousands of years ago, it evolved, constantly, in ways both minute and noticeable, and only so much could be said to be constant about it. Ages passed, stone passing the torch to bronze, passed in turn to iron. Countries established themselves. Empires expanded and shrank, many ceasing to exist entirely. Influential individuals came into being and left the worldly stage with time, some bringing discoveries, inventions and other marvels that served to propel humanity onwards. Others, however, achieved power, swaying peoples and nations with words alone, conquering and subjugating those beneath them as they changed history and the boundaries of the world through force.

And it is here that one of humanity's outstanding constants does reveal itself, and that is war, and the waging of it. Ever since the dawn of humankind, as humanity's ancestors killed one another over such things as food and territory, conflict had always persisted. As humans evolved, it evolved alongside them, becoming something beyond simple group disputes. It came to span entire continents and involve whole nations as some military leaders shaped the world, as dictatorships emerged, as crimes were committed and treaties were violated, and as nation took umbrage with nation, becoming infinitely more destructive as time marched onwards. Indeed, it became something that some humans considered an art form; something they excelled at.

War's evolution and beginnings are also tied into the second of humanity's constants, that being greed. Just as the earliest conflicts concerned territory and resources, even numerous recent conflicts revolved around the acquisition of resources, shadowed by pretexts, and often involved unofficially expanding territory through the establishment of bases in far-off regions. Even when resources were not involved, it was not uncommon for countries to fabricate pretexts to justify their actions in order to further their ulterior motives. Some wars were waged for nobler reasons, but these became increasingly rare. Greed was not solely confined to the realm of conflict, either. Indeed, it was present in almost every strata of society.

So it was that conflict and avarice went hand in hand, most notably through the later 21st century. Resources essential to humanity's continued survival were beginning to run dry, and many knew it. More wars were waged with either imperialism or resources in mind. They remained simple ulterior motives for a time, until peak oil was reached. Peak coal and peak gas soon followed, and subsequently, wars being waged simply for the control of resources and the lands that held those resources became more commonplace, as nations made a mad scramble for whatever was left. Even relying on nuclear energy alone was insufficient.

It was at this point in time other leading powers consulted leading corporations, in the hopes that they would use their expertise to stem the tide and succeed where luminaries and think tanks had failed. At their bidding, numerous corporate bodies conducted investigations, in an attempt to unearth a last patch of non-renewable energy sources. To their combined shock and elation, they succeeded; through toiling, remote areas home to the resources that the nations craved were discovered.

The leaders of the corporations responsible for their discovery, however, had other plans, despite their success. They were aware of what their discovery would lead to, and, knowing this, gathered key personnel and equipment essential to their continued existence, and discreetly spirited them away, away from what was to come. It was a wise decision.

After the locations of these resources were revealed, the nations of the world entered a downward spiral of destruction and decay. In their crusades to acquire these patches of land, the stronger nations set about annihilating all who could potentially oppose them. First, it was their enemies. Next, it was any potential competitors. Then it was each other, as nation betrayed nation, alliances crumbled, and juggernauts clashed, doing everything within their power to ensure the other's total obliteration. Weapons of all kinds were used in this titanic struggle, and among these weapons were bipedal machines known as Armored Cores. Brought about by extensive advances in robotics, and capable of wielding a variety of weapons along with being heavily customisable, able to be modified for any mission, these versatile weapons platforms dominated the battlefield, being at the forefront of several operations as just as many pilots became legends in their own right.

As they fought, and as conventional armies clashed, the lands were scarred by bombs, artillery and fire, and eventually, at the conflict's crescendo, nuclear hellfire was loosed upon the world, consuming both people and countries. Even this cataclysm did not stop the carnage at first; through the desolation, ruined cities and radiation, shattered remnants continued their struggle, fuelled by pointless determination to finish what their masters had started. The nuclear option, however, did take its toll, and, slowly but certainly, as the fallout settled, the guns fell silent. The conflagration left continents ravaged, countries devastated, the environment irreparably damaged, and an astronomical number of casualties, of all varieties: entire species of animal and plant life were swept from the earth, and human deaths were innumerable.

It was then that the corporations re-emerged from their hiding places, sheltered from the chaos. Using the cities that remained, they re-established themselves in the aftermath of the war, whilst using their equipment to both consolidate their rule and to excavate whatever they deemed useful to bolster their arsenal. Abandoned Cores, their pilots long since dead, were among the recovered tools. It was during their establishment that they declared, citing the recent war as the epitome of man's carelessness, that only they were fit to manage the resources that remained. Merging into a single corporate entity, they became the world's dominant force.

Few complained. In the wake of the destruction, they proved themselves benevolent. Using their expertise, they assisted those who they could, and attempted to rebuild and make something of a bleak and fragmented world. Over time, and through their rule, it seemed as though a sense of newfound order and stability had
been restored.

Neither of those were prone to lasting long, however; a third constant of humanity.

A/N: And so, I embark on a curious task: the creation of what is probably the first MLP/AC crossover in this archive's history.

I am well aware that this may confuse some of you who read this, but worry not- I'm building this up, so I can introduce you all to what is more 'familiar' when the time comes. I want to make this work.

And hopefully, I'm going to.