The little filly was playing quietly in the garden of her house in early autumn. She was having fun jumping into the piles of leaves her mother had picked up the day before. She was also having fun climbing trees, from where she had an unobstructed view of the fields not far from home, but also of the town of Vanhoover in the north-west of Equestria.

The area was quiet, and many ponies lived in the town, making their living from trade and the port on the edge of town. The town was often visited by pony tourists from the central regions of Equestria, notably Canterlot, Ponyville and Cloudsdale, or from the east, such as Manehattan and Baltimare. However, they weren't the only ones: there were also crystal ponies from Crystal City or Rainbow Falls, but above all, there were many deers from the neighboring country of Olenia.

Life was happy and many exchanges between ponies and other creatures were commonplace, but a dark image tarnished this idyllic picture: the other neighbors, the Changelings, came straight from the Changeling Lands. Recently, there was some border friction between the Changeling Lands and Equestria, but Vanhoover was relatively far from the border and it was the Acornage ponies who were most at risk. A community of changelings also lived there, and despite their willingness to integrate and flee the reign of Queen Chrysalis, who had recently succeeded in unifying the various Changeling Hives, they were badly perceived by the local ponies.

All these stories were far removed from the concerns of the little filly playing innocently in her garden. Her mother called out to her as it was time to go home and take her bath before supper, as tomorrow was a school day.

The next day, she travelled to school by train to Vanhoover, sitting with friends of hers in a carriage, talking about their weekends and what they'd be doing at school or when the next vacation was. The colts and fillies, however, were the only ones to have any joy in this dull, gloomy carriage. In the seats next to the little ponies, two other ponies were talking about the news, one of them reading a newspaper.

"They're becoming a real threat, I don't understand why Princess Celestia doesn't see the danger" said the first pony.

The second pony replied provocatively, "The Canterlot government is far too far away to take anything into consideration in this part of Equestria".

"Keep your voice down, didn't you see those soldiers boarding in the next carriage? I think something serious is afoot" replied the first pony.

"It's going to take a lot more than a few soldiers garrisoned in the area to contain these enraged Changeling, since Chrysalis has taken power over all their Hives, the threat they represent is growing ever greater" said the second pony.

"In any case, in view of Queen Chrysalis' defeat in the Canterlot attack, I don't think she'll be risking another attack any time soon" replied the second pony.

"You're far too confident" said the first pony.

The train bell interrupted the many discussions between the passengers, and a ticket inspector arrived in the carriage, announcing

"Vanhoover station, 15 minutes stop".

The little ponies grabbed their bags and climbed out of the carriage, exiting the station animated by the many ponies present and making their way through the crowds before arriving in the central street just outside the station, their school was just two blocks away. They made their way to school and so began their back-to-school week.

On leaving school, the colts and fillies were happy that school was over, and eager to go home. The little filly took the train home. The suburban station was a 10-minute walk from her house, and she continued her journey home, seeing her mother already hard at work preparing the evening meal.

A little later, a noise was heard: her father had just returned from work, he was a civil servant at the Town Hall in the suburb where the family lived. He kissed his daughter and wife before getting ready for dinner.

The family sat down to dinner, and the little filly recounted her day at school, the start of the new school year, the reunion with her friends, and some of her friends who were no longer there. She asked her mother why they had left, as no one at school knew, but the little filly had quickly noticed that the adults seemed preoccupied by something, something they didn't want to say.

Her mother, with a serious expression on her face, replied, "They must have gone to see some relatives".

"Come on, we know they've run away" said the father.

The mother turned angrily to her husband, "Don't add to it, it's hard enough as it is".

The father looked at his daughter, who looked both sad and appalled.

"Don't worry my filly, everything's fine, some people just need time to get back to work, that's how it is, and some people just want to travel" said the father, shaving his daughter.

"Unpack your table and go brush your teeth, it's time for bed" said the mother.

While the filly was putting her plate and cutlery in the kitchen sink, she heard her parents engaged in a serious-looking discussion.

"Do you know what's going on?" said the mother.

"Look, we're all in the dark, and if our superiors don't know what's going on, then we Town Hall employees know even less" replied the father.

"Today I saw the neighbors down the street take their things and leave" said the mother.

"Rumors aren't truth, none of those about us are true as far as I know" replied the father.

"Maybe we should think about leaving too" said the mother.

"And go where? This is our home, but if it's any consolation, I've got a friend in the army and I'll try to contact him to see what he can tell me about the current situation" said the father.

The filly who had been listening to the conversation behind the kitchen door had gone back up to her room. She didn't know what her parents were referring to, but it was clear that it was something serious.

A few weeks later, the filly was playing in the garden when a loud crash was heard in the house. She rushed in, seeing a broken plate on the floor. Seeing her daughter come over looking worried, the mother said to her

"Don't worry darling, it's nothing serious, I just dropped a plate", and she grabbed a broom to clean up the floor. The filly turned back towards the garden, only to be stopped short by the sound of the radio playing in the background, a voice could be heard talking about the news.

"...from the first reports from the border it would seem that the attack is confirmed, our reporter in Hjortland the capital of Olenia will be able to tell us more."

"Indeed" replied a voice of poor quality seems to come from afar "The situation in the major cities of the country is alarming, mobilization has been decreed and Olenian troops are on their way to the border but the declaration of war has caught King Johan off guard, for recall the King was already facing an internal rebellion movement of the Harmonists led by Queen Velvet claiming the Olenian throne".

The voice continued, "Wait, I've just been told that Vaverfront has fallen and that the invaders are starting to arrive in the plains north of the capital. Reconnaissance units have just been spotted near the capital in the neighboring region. We're leaving the country now".

"Following these events, the Princess will be addressing Equestria later today, a government statement to this effect has just reached us and..."

The radio cut out, the mother had just turned it off.

"Go back to playing," said the mother in a distressed tone.

The filly returned to the garden, but she couldn't help thinking about what she'd heard, and it didn't take her long to understand. She lived in Vanhoover near Olenia, and if the Changeling, known to any pony as a serious threat, really did invade the country, then it might just be a prelude to something more serious, a conflict on a much larger scale. There had been conflict on the continent of Equus, between Yayakistan and Jakistan and between Stalliongrad and the Republic of Nova Griffonia, but never anything so close to home.

The day passed, she remembered the event all day long. She couldn't help feeling anxious, perhaps her mother was right and we should flee before the Changeling arrived.
After a month, Olenia's defeat and capitulation had been recorded, and it had become a puppet state of the Changelings. The Equestrian media kept repeating that it was a territorial dispute between the two nations, and that once the conflict was over, peace would return to western Equus.

But events were not going to be good news.

Indeed, the events that followed weren't much better. The radio was transmitting the latest news. The Polar Bears communities had just submitted to the Changeling as a result of military pressure.

Now that the Changelings had taken control of their neighbors to the north and west, their next target would be their eastern neighbor, Equestria.

Border tensions had already been observed as events unfolded over the last few months, but nothing like this until now. The little filly watched planes pass over her house from her window, and although the first passes were distressing, she found comfort in seeing the symbol of the Sun and Moon on the wings of the planes, which are representations of the Cutie Marks of the Princesses of Equestria, symbolizing that the planes belonged to the Equestrian army.

More and more convoys, both motorized and by rail, came and went, often stopping off at Vanhoover before heading north towards the border. It was clear that Equestria was preparing for war with the Changeling, and that it would be nothing like the threats Equestria had already faced.

In her speech to the ponies, Princess Celestia had said, "This threat will not be solved by a few ponies, but only by mobilizing the nation in a common effort to defend our home and Harmony."

Peace was now hanging by a thread, and both sides were now facing each other, ready to fight at the slightest opportunity. There was still time for the nations to renounce the escalation of tensions, but each feeling threatened by the other, none would be prepared to lower their weapons in this context.

The Princess ended her speech by saying, "We won't be the ones to fire the first shot, but we'll know how to defend ourselves. If the Changelings attack, they will be met with the hard fire of our soldiers and the fury of our weapons."

Princess Celestia had always been able to reassure her subjects, but now, faced with an unprecedented threat, it may be time to unite the ponies against a common enemy in what will surely be an all-out war on a scale never seen before.

A Great War.