No one thought it could happen, but it did. The Royal Sisters always had their preferred methods, but never did they clash before. When an unforeseen attack on Canterlot Castle ends with many dead or injured, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are unable to agree on how the attack should have been handled. After some time passes, the Sisters realize there are quite a few things they do not see eye-to-eye on. In frustration, Princess Luna secedes from Equestria and declares her independence. Equestria soon became divided in two. The Solar Empire, the loyalists who could never betray their beloved Princess; and the Lunar Empire, made up of those who preferred Luna's leadership. Civil War was inevitable at this point. The Sisters now scrambled to garner support from as many sources as they could. Celestia, having been on good terms with Princess Ember of the Dragons was able to secure their considerable aid. Luna, meanwhile, was ale to recruit the support of Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, and the roaming Bison Herd of Apploosa. Only the Crystal Empire remained neutral, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor having no desire to leave their infant daughter and the Crystal Heart unprotected just to take part in a war between two Sisters.
One by one, towns chose sides. Larger cities such as Canterlot and Manehatten remained loyal to Celestia, while the smaller towns such as Ponyville eventually joined sides with Luna. Cloudsdale, like the Crystal Empire, remained neutral - though not for the same reason. Cloudsdale needed to provide weather for all sides, but quickly realized the wealth it stood to gain. They began selling weaponized storm clouds to be used by Pegasus Squadrons on either side, providing a nice boon to Cloudsdale's own economy as a result. Despite being outnumbered, the Lunar Empire proved to have a superior spy network, thanks in large part to Princess Luna's own power. The Dream World proved to be an effective way to gather intelligence. But this did not guarantee an easy victory for the Lunar Empire, in fact, there was hefty losses on both sides.
Nearly six and a half years have passed since the war began. Heroes on both sides have begun to emerge and make a name for themselves. But the war itself appears to have reached a stalemate. Talks and rumors of a ceasefire or peace treaty have begun murmuring throughout both Empires. Neither has been confirmed or denied, but everypony knows that something eventually needs to happen or the Empires will just end up wiping each other out.
The Mane Six
She was once Celestia's greatest pupil. Had this war happened some time earlier, Twilight and the inevitable aid of her five friends could have granted an easy victory for Celestia. However, as a Princess with a pupil of her own in the form of Starlight Glimmer, Twilight just isn't as gung ho about going to war for Celestia as one would think. Instead, she decided to place her loyalty in her family. She along with Starlight, relocated to the Crystal Empire. There Twilight can spend more time with her niece and Starlight can catch up with Sunburst and truly patch things up with him.
At first glance, Rarity seems like she would remain with Celestia. However, she instead decided to follow Twilight's lead and move to the Crystal Empire. Her business associates in Canterlot and Manehatten respectively have promised to keep her boutiques there open for business while Rarity focuses on opening a branch in the Crystal Empire.
Also not eager for war, Pinkie Pie left Ponyville as well, although reluctantly. She at first went home to the Rock Farm, where she and Maud did their best to protect it from the war. Eventually, that became impossible and so the Pies had to immigrate to the Crystal Empire.
The whole Apple Family stubbornly wanted to stay loyal to Celestia. They eventually lost the debate when Mayor Mare put it to a vote, with those wishing to join the Lunar Empire outvoting the Apples on the matter. At first Applejack had a mind to leave and join her friends in the Crystal Empire, but ultimately decided it wouldn't be worth losing the farm. As such, the Apples remained on their land and reluctantly support the Lunar Empire, though only indirectly.
Rainbow was initially called into duty along with all the other Wonderbolts to serve the Solar Empire. At first Rainbow was eager to serve. It was her duty as a Wonderbolt after all, plus she saw it as a chance to prove once and for all she was the best flier in Equestria. But then Cloudsdale remained neutral... as did all of her friends. All her excitement gone, Rainbow Dash surprised her whole squadron by suddenly resigning from the team and then following her friends to the Crystal Empire.
Abhorrent to the idea of war, Fluttershy refused to take part. Instead she enlisted the help of Discord and Zecora to provide relief aid to everyone on both sides of the war. Her Relief Corp has made a name for itself and is respected by both Empires.
Nations and Cities
The war has had little effect on the former Equestrian Capital. Being the home of Canterlot Castle and - by extension - Celestia, Canterlot has remained firmly loyal to her. The only real change Canterlot has had is being referred to as the Capital of the Solar Empire rather than of Equestria. That and the Starpoint Military Academy has had increases in enrollment and graduation thanks to the war. Those who wish to serve the Solar Empire are often eager to train at the same school Shining Armor himself graduated from.
Like Canterlot, Manehatten has not been changed too drastically by the war. Perhaps its been a little less crowded lately due to the recent military drafts, but that's about it. Otherwise, well known locations such as Rarity's Manehatten Boutique are still open for business. Some of the theaters and art galleries have seen less traffic lately, though one could easily attribute that to the population focusing more on the war effort. The police have had to call on reserves due to some of the regulars being called in to serve the military.
A quiet little town like Ponyville was affected rather greatly by the war, considering its size. For one thing, Princess Twilight's castle isn't currently being lived in, and of the Elements of Harmony only Applejack still lives in Ponyville out of obligation to her family's farm. Otherwise Ponyville hasn't been nearly as lively as it used to be. The fact that the town was nearly divided when it joined the Lunar Empire didn't exactly help matters, either.
Another small town that has been surprisingly affected by the war. When Princess Luna seceded from Equestria, the majority of Apploosa was content to remain loyal to Celestia. That wasn't entirely the case for the Bison Herd that roamed outside of town. Promises of having their full stampeding grounds restored to them was just too good an offer for the Bisons to pass up, and so they have promised their stampeding strength to the Lunar Empire whilst the town itself remains staunchly with the Solar Empire. There hasn't been a single rodeo event since the start of the war, plus the members of the Apple Family caring for the Apploosa Orchard haven't exactly taken kindly to the news of their kinfolk in Ponyville staying there despite it joining the Lunar Empire.
Cloudsdale has perhaps changed the most out of the Equestrian cities. When the war first started, many were waiting with anticipation to see who Cloudsdale would support. As the primary manufacturer of weather in Equestria, whomever Cloudsdale sided against would be at a massive disadvantage should the city simply refuse to provide much needed rain to their lands. To almost everypony's relief, Cloudsdale chose neutrality, promising to still provide weather for all of Equestria, and not just half of it. However, they didn't exactly have the noblest of intentions. Cloudsdale new that storm clouds would serve as a useful Artillery tool on the battlefield. As such, they began manufacturing and selling weaponized storm clouds on the side to buyers on both sides of the war. Such profiteering isn't exactly smiled upon by most, but on the positive side Cloudsdale's economy has rocketed upwards thanks to this decision.
When the divide in Equestria happened, the Crystal Empire shocked everyone when Shining Armor and Princess Cadence announced their refusal to take part in the war. And so the Crystal Empire has remained neutral through all of this, Cadence and Shining Armor having no desire to march off to war and leaving their daughter and the Crystal Heart unguarded. Though now that Princess Twilight and four of her five friends have immigrated to the Crystal Empire, it is now more well-guarded than ever, perhaps the only place truly safe from the war... at least for now.
Before the war, the Griffons were suffering a bit of a depression. Homes were in shambles and the Griffons themselves had to become shrewd merchants just to scratch out a living. When Equestria split apart and war was declared among its inhabitants, the Griffons at first considered neutrality. They were first approached by Princess Celestia, who offered to fund the rebuilding of the kingdom as a gesture of friendship. But the Griffons had little use for something as abstract as "friendship" and so they refused the offer. But then they were approached by the fledgling Lunar Empire. Princess Luna did not offer a gesture of friendship, but rather an offer of payment, renovations for the Kingdom in exchange for their army's support. This was an offer the Griffon's understood and could get behind, and so the Kingdom of Griffonstone threw in its lot with the Lunar Empire.
At the war's start, Princess Ember had recently formed friendly relations with Equestria, and so it made sense to her to pledge the considerable strength of the dragons to the Solar Empire. Princess Luna did try to make an appeal, but the Dragons proved surprisingly loyal in their refusal to turn their backs on Princess Celestia. The might of the dragons have been a boon to the Solar Empire's forces, even if the Ponies outnumber them nearly ten to one. For the first year of the war, it was believed that the dragons would give Celestia an easy victory, but Princess Luna has proven to be a rather brilliant strategist thanks in no small part to her power over the Dream World. Even still, an angry dragon is dangerous and anypony worth their salt knows to never take one on without backup.
The Yaks are a relatively new addition to the war. For the longest time they remained stubbornly neutral and refused to take part, believing that "Ponies should take care of Ponies' own business". However, a string of harsh winters in the following years was enough to make the Yaks more open to negotiations. Princess Luna was the first to achieve an alliance, thanks again to her Dream World magic allowing her to see the troubles the Yaks faced before Celestia could discover it. Between the Yaks and the Bison, some believe the Lunar Empire has just enough muscle to now match even the Dragons.
Of all of Equestria's allies, the Changelings have perhaps had it the worst. When Civil War broke out, Thorax was faced with a difficult decision. He could choose a side, and thus be able to use their support to maintain a defense of the Changeling Kingdom, or immigrate his people to the Crystal Empire, where they will be much safer but forced to live like refugees. Things didn't help when Queen Chrysalis led an uprising of Unreformed Changelings in the hopes of taking back her kingdom from Thorax. And while Celestia has consistently lent her forces to stopping Chrysalis, Luna has been strangely silent, and some wonder if she's considering an alliance with Chrysalis to bolster her forces.
That's just a sample of my idea. I'll include details about each of the outside countries and towns within Equestria and what roles they play in the war. I don't know if I want this to be Casual or Advance, so I may leave that up to a vote. But since none of the main cast are actively taking part in the war, that leaves a lot of potential for formerly unknowns (player characters) to shine and make a name for themselves in these events. But before any further discussion can be had, I need to know if anyone's actually interested in this or not.
