Equestria: the greatest and most powerful nation in the world. Respected or feared by other lands and always a symbol of power, it's the pillar that supports all of it's citizens and maintains peace at home and abroad. The greatest nation in all of history with the biggest armies, banks, and moral standards. The nation ruled by three different alicorn beings of immense power and wisdom. The nation that created and held the incorruptible dream of true and complete peace, harmony, and stability.

What a bucking lie.

Maybe somepony could have said all that garbage once upon a time, but with all that's happened to us and with how far this nation has fallen, those words are empty of all truth and pride. We know it isn't true anymore, even if the rulers and the saps who work with them and follow their words and promises do.

I think that with all the time that passed, and through the overall lack of any great conflict from other nations, we got soft. We let ourselves think we were the biggest and best land around, when all we were doing was getting fat and letting other nations grow stronger under the shadow of our ignorance. It's too late to do anything about that now, though. Times are tougher and ponies are getting desperate to grab back that utopia, even if it means they approve laws that bind their own hooves and put their own necks against the blade.

It was bad enough that Celestia, Luna, and Cadence sat and did nothing when other nations began to rise up, all while having been accruing more power than we could ever imagine, and let them do as they wished with nothing more than political chiding and international scolding. But now, with what's happened inside Equestria, we're all screwed with no rainbow in sight.

The public has allowed the government to seize any and all private land they see fit, create public conscription centers, and limit the amount of food and resources that go out to each town. All this is well and good in a sense, but they just keep taking. They take our freedom, our lives, and our memories and force them down the drain so we can go fight a war that nopony saw coming and nopony can end.

Do I think they're doing their best? Yeah, absolutely. The problem is their best isn't anywhere near good enough. With all their power, all their wisdom, and all their great ability to inspire and lead, their hooves are as bound as ours. The Princesses are useless, worthless even. The entire world is on a one way trip to total destruction.

Negotiations go on with enemy lands, but all the while the lives of soldiers and conscripted citizens are wasted. No decisive battle can be won and no treaties or armistices are accepted by all the nations involved. There is no escape. Maybe we don't deserve one. But goodness knows, I never asked to be part of this war.

-?????????

...

Night Watcher, Lt. Commander in the Lunar Knights Division of the Equestrian Military:

When this war broke out, I had remained hopeful that a solution was well within reach, but as it has dragged on I've lost more than just my hope in a peaceable solution. I've given blood, sweat, a few tears, and my left eye to this conflict. Princess Luna is hopeful for a peaceable negotiation, but she has confided in us that such a thing may be a long ways away. I'm not holding my breath.

Through the power of an organized and tactful military force, we can plow through the enemy and force a surrender early, saving hundreds of thousands if not millions from death. If we stick with our principles and our values as Knights and as soldiers of our homeland, then nothing can stop us indefinitely. Victory rings as clear in the distance as the chants of the Knight Legion does in the past and in the present, it's only a matter of getting to it with hard work and courageous acts.

I do regret that a better tomorrow can only be secured by the blood of those willing to sacrifice themselves, like any soldier does. I will shed my own blood in a heartbeat to keep the homelands safe, but the sentiment does not run as strongly in other branches, especially not in the regular legions, and it's even worse in the public militia. We have many enemies, and their greatest tools against us are not lances, swords, or catapults, but the fear of pain and loss and death on our part. Equestria is not a land of soldiers anymore.

On that somber note, the thing that really bothers me about our army is that it has completely lost its spirit, especially outside of the elite forces. The lack of patriotism and pride in being part of the Lunar Knights or Equestrian Military in general is sometimes enough to deter even me. I will never stop fighting. I've faced down fear and terror, pain and suffering, loss and defeat, but I've survived and until I do not survive that which daily opposes me, I will never waver in my commitment to Princess Luna, The Lunar Knights, or Equestria. My loyalty is eternal, and that which stands against what I love and protect must be stopped at all costs. No matter the price.  

When will the war be over? A question many soldiers ponder, but it's a question I don't often ask. The way i see it, there are too many questions in today's age. What is there to question? You fight for your nation until it no longer requires your efforts. Why should you question the fundamental way of life you've been living and are expected and counted on by those who need you to live? The ponies who ask questions tend to get to me too. My resolve is absolute, and my service is eternal. May my love for my country never die...

And may Luna's Moon be with us all as we head to the new front of battle at the dawning of the tenth year of war: Sector 117.

...

Blazing Justice, Commander in the Solar Guards Branch of the Equestrian Military:

And to think this is what we used to talk about...

Back in the days of my fillyhood, all the Canterlot colts dreamed of being a Solar Guard. Most of us weren't suited for it and some of us were all too obsessed with the notion of fighting for our country. I've known a few old friends who ended up criminals because they were rejected from the Solar Guard for not being good enough (though violent enough was usually a different question). The life does not live up to the hype, especially not in times of world war.

The Equestrian Military is no cake walk to begin with, but getting into one of the elite three branches is almost as impossible as it gets. Neither of the three branches has a numbers advantage over the other; we all hold exactly 1,300 troops inside each branch. The regular branches used to consist of around 7,000 troops, but with a total war on our hands, it has grown to around 9,000. Civilian Conscription Centers bring in about 1,200 ponies per major town per year. The number from smaller towns like Stalliongrad or Ponyville wavers constantly. It seems like whenever a soldier falls, another rises up to take his place. An imperfect system, but I suppose it works. I do hope to eradicate it soon, though. Oh, the things I might do if I were an immortal ruler...ah, but that sounds like filly-talk to me.

An impressive force? Perhaps...but numbers and statistics only go so far before they backfire. Reports say that one of every six ponies sent into battle has or will develop some kind of mental illness or disorder, especially conscripted soldiers. And the number of deaths is a figure I try to avoid whenever possible, but the number is always inevitably higher than you'd want it to be. Only time will tell how much damage that does to the families back home, but nopony is overly optimistic. Still, their sacrifices either bring us a step closer to freedom or prolong the inevitable defeat we face. I don't know if judging such things is a task I would like to take up.

I suppose my faith is wavering in my Princess. Perhaps I've seen too much to have any faith in anything. No matter where I go, what I do, and who I fight, I always find myself looking up into that bright morning sun above our heads, and I wonder what they're doing to make things right. I wonder if they've forgotten how brutal is here. It's been over three years since any one of them came to the battlefield.

Solar Guards aren't supposed to waver. They're supposed to shine infinitely and reign down in battle like the light of the sun. We're supposed to be one of the biggest- if not the biggest- symbol of Equestrian might. We're intimidating soldiers, skilled warriors, and battle hardened ponies, but I ask myself how the drill sergeants can stand around and yell at the newest Guards about shining when none of the officers or experienced soldiers shine. Illusions and legends go farther than the eye can see I guess. That, or we really are just fooling ourselves.

Am I bad a Solar Guard? Have I forgotten what I fight for? Do i let the pressure of the military and the nation drive me? Have I allowed the dying faces of our enemies to get to my head? I'm starting to wonder why I ask so many questions...then ask myself if I'll live long enough to answer most of these.

Tomorrow, it's off to Sector 117.

And to think we used to dream of this life.

...

Silver Spirit, Captain in the Crystal Legion, alternatively known as the Crystal Warriors:

With the other two branches heading out to Sector 117, my branch is left to defend Equestria's borders for a while. We've been stretched thin, but we're due to receive aid from some of the newer conscripts, whenever they arrive. Some of us got stationed in nicer places, like Applewood, maybe even the ports of Baltimare. Me? I got stationed in Stalliongrad, and believe you me, the legend does not lie; this place sucks. Oh well, it's part of paying my dues and serving my Princess and my nation. I've never been more proud to be in the Crystal Legion, really.  

I'm a relatively new soldier, only able to attain my rank through a rigorous training course under High General Shining Armor back at the Empire, but I've seen a few battles and lived through some hellish stuff. Not bad for a mare just reaching real adulthood. You'd think some of the veterans here would be about ready for the insane asylum by now, but they've got bigger hearts than any of the rest of us could imagine.

And that's what drives us on in this branch. Love. Love for country, love for allies, love for life.

I think that the enemy has love too, and I think if they could only grasp the love we know, then maybe they'd be more willing to stop this war. With a Princess of Love guiding your life, it's hard to condemn others for not sharing the same standards, but I really believe that if they tried, they could know what we do and this bloody war would finally end in a peaceable way. Would everypony be happy? Probably not, but at least nopony would be dying for the words and beliefs of opposing nations. If only love could seal the gap. I believe Princess Cadence will make those "ifs" a reality someday.

In any case, until they see the same love, until they see the same light, until they can adore the same beauty of life that we can, I don't see how this war can possibly reach an end without one of us extinguishing the other. It's really a shame that we don't all see eye to eye. Imagine what a perfect world it could be if we could teach them all these things. Imagine what good could come of a world where love was absolute. If I can make it so, love will become absolute.