Pony Planet -- Today is re-unification day. It celebrates the Grand Army Of the Horses victory over the Army Of the Ponies. Every civillian remembers this well, but those outside of Pony Planet might wonder, what was the Civil War? Somewhere around two hundred years ago, the entire Horse population was trapped on what is now Pluto while the Whales determined what to do with our species next. During this time horses carried out hard labour in mines across the planet to 'earn their keep' for the Whale's. This early hostility soured relations with the nation for years to come among the populace but also created a separate problem. When the largest mine on Pluto experienced an irreparable disastrous cave in, only the smallest of Horses could fit through the last remaining gap. Thus the manual labour fell solely upon the ponies, who were a breed of Horse generally short and stout. When the Horses were finally settled on what is now Pony Planet, rich Horses who made their money off of investments in the Whales empire saw an opportunity. They struck a deal with the Whales to take over mining operations on Pluto and continued to employ ponies. At some point however, they realised that Pluto was outside of Pony Planet's jurisdiciton. They began paying them less and less, unbound by labour and wage laws paseed on mainland Pony Planet. When horses began to revolt they became their own police force, charging the workers with made-up crimes and forcing them to stay on Pluto to work and 'pay off' the 'damages' they caused the mining company. Pretty soon, all two million ponies were no less than indentured servants. Slowly, the fact that it was always Ponies doing the work, and the amount of time this had been the case degraded them in the minds of the business owners. They began to see the ponies as lesser, pathetic beings. Back on Pony Planet, lawmakers caught wind of this and worked quickly to ban what was effectively slavery - in all territories, not just mainland Pony Planet. Despite their attempts, the rich mining companies proved too influential and blocked any such law from passing. For two years the ponies suffered, most unable to return home to see their families as the moment their debts were 'paid off' they were brought up on more phony charges. President Choclate visited the mines in August and was appalled by the scale and level of suffering and mistreatment. Upon returning home she took drastic measures, she immedietely declared martial law and put Pony Planet into a state of emergency in attempts to pass anti-slavery bills. Unfortunately, just a few months earlier the first Great Animal War had ended. During this time a fearful public voted for the creation of a military - the Grand Army Of the Horses. This military had billions of dollars behind it and was a complete and total mess. It was disorganised, had never actually fought a war, and was simply too big as a result of it's hasty creation. Naturally, the Grand Army Of the Horses was a organisation rife with corruption. One of the figure heads of the mining companies - the 'Funcle' as he liked to call himself - had deep pockets. While simultaneously lobbying congress, the Funcle paid of 2/3 of the commanders for the Grand Army Of the Horses. In May the Funcle's newly paid off military invaded Western Pony Planet intending to seize the capitol.
What remained of the Grand Army Of the Horses still under the control of President Choclate mobilised to repell them, but quickly crumbled as it became evident just how fractured the remaining pieces were. Two months into the war the Funcle was less than 200 miles from the capitol, however tides began to change. In scores of tens of thousands soldiers from his army began to defect. The Funcle had paid off the military commanders, but not the soldiers themselves. Once they realised what they were actually fighting for and why - as their commanders had only told them lies about them stopping a military coup - they quickly defected to fight with President Choclate. The defectors were not enough however, and lacking the necessary armour and artillery the Grand Army Of the Horses allowed the Funcle within 50 miles of the capitol. By the third month, with the Funcle's military bleeding soldiers he had no choice but to bring in his pony slaves into forced service. Squads of gunmen sat behind the ponies and gave them a choice, shoot the people in front of them or get shot by the people behind them. This is how the Funcle's army came to be known as the 'Army Of the Ponies' despite the fact it fought for their enslavement, as by the end of the war it's makeup was more than 80% pony. On the third month of the war, in a desperate bid to hold on to the capitol, president Choclate herself went to fight. She marched for twelve days from Eastern Pony Planet to the front lines in the west. She had hoped for 10,000 civillians but gathered a volunteer force of more than 45,000. Citizens everywhere believed in the war whole-heartedley. They were prepared to do anything to defend their fellow ponies. In each city a staggering 98% of estimated war-capable citizens volunteered. For the two years of war that followed, the residents of Pony Planet eveywhere gladly made massive sacrifices and gave up their quality of life for the war effort. Despite not having any formal military training, led by President Choclate, the volunteer force was enough to finally push the Funcle's army out of Pony Island and into hiding by the end of the third month. The war would continue for another 2 years after.