It has been two years since the Great War began. The relentless advance of the Changeling army, while not stopped, has slowed considerably. With the balance of the forces in a delicate equilibrium, Princess Twilight Sparkle is looking for an answer. A technology hitherto quite unimaginable. A technology that could potentially save millions of Pony lives, along with countless other creatures. And the price?

A single friendship.

This is an Equestria at War story, a mod for the grand strategy game Hearts of Iron 4.

This is my very unofficial entry for the 2022 EaW write-off. Though I could only start it in the dying days of the contest and as such it was never feasible to make it in time, I still wanted to finish it. Taking things slowly seems to be a hallmark of the contest anyway :D

I must thank my Great friend Scribbly for editing my story. He is a great guy and deserves every bit of success he achieves.

The poisonous influence of Allsherjargoði Jurva has been well known for quite some time now. He turned the Olenian church from the bedrock of society to insatiable mouth eager to consume everyone.

The changes he enacted have repulsed many former members from the church. Some chose to retire, some were chosen to be killed. One pure soul have taken up task of preserving the purity of the gods teachings, far far away from the watchful eye of Jurva.

For the time being, it seemed to be working. His little community shines like a beacon among the tides of darkness. His renown however just reached a pair of ears eagerly listening for any sound of hope, in this clamour of desperation.

And what can one mere deer do when history herself is knocking on his door?

Takes place in the EaW universe, written for the 2021 EaW write-off.
Special thanks to Dice from the EaW discord channel for pre-reading the story.

It was the year 1015 and the Great War between the Changeling hegemony and the land formerly known as Equestria was finally drawn to a conclusion. While Queen Chrysalis and her fascist dictatorship suffered a devastating defeat, by the time the dust settled after 5 years of bloodshed, a new order rose from the ashes. One that was poised to shake the very foundation of the world.

The immortal Princess Celestia, in her desperation to save her little ponies from the onslaught of the changeling armies, turned to the most ancient source power of Ponykind: Hatred. And while, eons ago, the strife of the three tribes turned the northern part of the continent to a frozen wasteland, her rage turned the princess into the evil incarnation of the sun: Daybreaker. A twisted, cruel, egomaniac, committed to bend the entire continent to her will.

Her little sister Princess Luna tried to ignite a revolution against the tyrannical oppressor, but it was swiftly and mercilessly put down by the battle-hardened veterans of the imperial army. But those who hoped this, if nothing else, ended the bloodshed for the moment, were wrong. 

The self-proclaimed Goddess, caught blindsided by the betrayal of her beloved sister and five out of the six elements of harmony, was enraged and sworn to exact a revenge the likes of which the world had never seen before. After a few targeted assassinations, and a horrifying demonstration of the power of a new class of incendiary, “Napalm” bombs on Ponyville, and she turned her attention to the beloved children of her late sister: The Batponies.

Daybreaker quickly established a new government branch; the Bureau of Genetic Diversity. This hodgepodge of a pseudo-scientific think-tank, an independent and unappealable judiciary, and a secret polive was a thinly vailed attempt to justify, legalise and administrate the genocide of the entire Thestral race. 

And as so many times before in history, science bowed down to politics to create a justification for whatever horrors she wished to unleash upon a nation. In a mere 12 month at least 90 percent of the six million batponies were rounded up, tried and executed. Some of the rest fled the country, but most of them simply disappeared in the carnage as rounding errors. 

Our story happens somewhere in that 12 months, in an unnamed jail somewhere near Vanhoover. Just two ponies in a small room, an Earthpony and a Thestral, a lawyer and a defendant meeting for the first time.

This is my entry for the The Third Annual Equestria at War Writing Contest!