//------------------------------//
// Plan C 
// Story: Politics 
// by Dai Kirai 
//------------------------------//

"Aim towards the Enemy."
— Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher

6/24/14  4pm, Geosynchronous Orbit above Bridal Lake
Thor sat in orbit, having left the space craft minutes before. It now received minor adjustments from ground control. Focusing its optics on a large pink circle, it centered on the large marble Embassy building and performed last minute physics calculations for the controllers back at base. ‘Using current force estimates and predictions, a single kinetic launch will be sufficient to force to remove the obstacle and level the surrounding areas.’
‘Launch 1’ Came his orders. ‘And put 2 on standby.’
‘Orders confirmed. Launching 1.’
Thor primed the first round and moved it into position, rotating the drum of six. Round 1 clicked into place, the small chemical rocket on the end hooked into Thor’s firing system. The chemical engine was to give the rod enough momentum to clear its housing; the gravitational pull of Earth would provide the rest of the force. 
The latches on rod one disengaged and the chemical rocket pushed enough to get the rod on its proper course for entry as the ten feet of metal moved to its target. 

Round 1 hit the atmosphere, its tip glowing red and spreading down the length of itself. The solid metal not giving into the heat, its sensors blinded by the plasma coating its body. It broke through the atmosphere at its sensors cleared. The fins along its back deployed as it homed in on the shield.

Knight Shade looked up, the shield obscured his vision of the blue sky making it easier on his eyes though still harsh as they were designed for use at night and reflected the light back to his retina. A bright spot stood out in his vision, the Lunar Guard blinked to clear the spot, but all it did was get brighter. 
Knight pulled out his spyglass and tried to focus in on the bright spot, it was massive and growing larger. It was headed right for Bridal Lake. 
“Emergency!” He yelled from atop the Embassy building. “There is a missile coming from the sky, straight up. Wake Shinning and Cadence. Reinforce the shield!” Shade flew down using his bat wing and to the ground floor; he had to warn the rest of the guards. 

Golden Pond heard the alarm and ran around looking for her father, one of Celestia’s Royal Guard, they were supposed to meet for dinner and games. She saw the massive fireball in the sky which disappeared but the siren continued. She broke down and cried on the street, there was no way she could make it home and the streets were deserted. 
“Come along, Pond.” A comforting hoof picked her up.
Golden couldn’t care who it was as she clung tightly to the stallion. She opened her eyes into the brown coat, it smelled of charcoal. 
CRACK!!!! 
The sound tore through the air, deafening the foal and making her cling tighter. The stallion patted her on the back, comforting her. She still couldn’t hear as the stallion set her down and said something before running off.
She looked around, this was her home, at the front door. How did we get so far? Then she looked up at the crumbling shield, the large rod dropped through the hole, landing where Golden knew she had waited for her father.

6/26/14  11:58am Bridal Lake
Celestia watched her guards train in the empty space available. Morale had improved since their first victory with such small numbers of casualties. Three cannons had been destroyed and half a dozen ponies were injured and two killed. Shining Armor was doing most of the training and pushing both the Lunar and Royal Guards. 
The next attack will be in the cities. They will sneak in and target lone ponies. She guessed, not that it would work, she didn’t have the forces for that or the interest. Human civilians were of little consequence outside of confiscating weapons and stopping insurrections. She had some people passing out propaganda and food to the poor, which they refused to take. The humans helping her would be the ones targeted and will have to protected if this war is protracted. 
A pegasus settled down next to her, a familiar grey and blonde mare. “Message from President Tow. It was delivered a few minutes ago. We already checked it for safety.”
“Delivered?”
“A human stood outside the shield and used a flare to get our attention.”
“He made it through the minefield? What did the aerial observers see?” Celestia asked. 
“They had a machine that detected them.”
That was to be expected, we have nowhere near enough for an effective defense. “Did you let the human leave peacefully.”
“Of course.” Derpy answered, still holding the letter. “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
“Good.” Celestia nodded. We can’t expect that to hold.
“I will take the letter.” Celestia said and the pegasus hoofed it over.
She was taken aback. 
‘See, they only react to force.’ The voice said. 

        Dear Princess Celestia of Equestria,
        I would like to personally invite you to Camp David tomorrow at 4 pm to discuss a cease fire before this destroys both our peoples and economies. Both Senator Brent and I along with several advisors will be in attendance to discuss the current avenues to peace.
President of the United States Margarette Tow

‘They are not to be trusted.’ The masculine voice had become a constant companion. It loved talking to her at times like this. 
I know. They still think they will have an advantage.
‘And you have to show them they don’t if you are  ever to get a fair deal. And this may be your chance to grab the Senator.’

6/24/14 3:55pm,  Camp David
Celestia materialized in a meadow. She looked around at the vibrant green trees surrounded by lush grass. The beautiful serene environment, birds and squirrels ran about. In a way it reminded her of the Royal Gardens, even more amazing with how humans valued construction. There were no humans around despite them calling her to Camp David. The Princess had left her guards at Bridal Lake, she could take on anything the humans tried and would NOT let her guard down. 
The alicorn felt around for guards or possible snipers. There were plenty of humans about but no weapons, not in the meadow at least. There was a solitary human in front of small building that led underground. Celestia took her time getting there and enjoyed the fresh air, a deer jumped into her path and they watched each other for a minute before the deer leapt away again. How much of the planet used to look like this? How much had she herself destroyed by causing aircraft to crash into forests? I did what I had to do for my ponies.
Celestia made Tow wait at the entrance to her small building. She is unguarded? There were two dozen humans underground but she couldn’t tell who they were or if they had weapons. 
“Good Afternoon Princess Celestia.” Tow gave a small bow, following Equestrian protocol. “I hope you are well.”
“Yes. Thank you President Tow.” Celestia gave her own bow in return. “Are we to have out meeting in the meadow or underground?” There were advantages to revealing what she could sense. 
Tow showed a second of surprise. “Yes. Senator Brent feels safer there. Is that fine with you?”
I could just take him. The Princess realized. Teleport him out. But that won’t solve the situation. 
“Of course. The location means nothing compared to what is discussed.” Celestia nodded. “Shall we head down?”
President Tow held open the door to the small cottage. Celestia entered the spartan interior. There were small pieces of wooden furniture scattered about, the walls held plenty of windows but no pictures. Back where the bedroom was sat a closet hiding an elevator. No, there was space between the elevator and the wall; it had to have come from the ground. The size was large enough to hold both of them with spare room. 
Celestia and Tow rode the elevator down several dozen feet. The Princess noticed a lack of odor, no perspiration or metal tinge, not even perfume wafted through the air. A hint could be smelled from the person next to her but only just. They are clever. Using ventilation to keep what I can tell to a minimum. The hallway they entered from the elevator was slate grey and led directly to a sealed room.
Inside the room was just as bland as the hallway, a table filled the center and while it could seat twenty five there was only half that number currently. Maybe were in suits but quite a few also wore clear uniforms covered in medals. On either side of the door stood marines holding rifles, four more had spaced themselves about the room. Celestia wouldn’t be surprised if there were other defenses set up, this looked risky for the humans allowing an alicorn near their leaders in a time of war. 
Maybe there is some hope.
“Please take a seat.” Tow offered a spot near the door where a chair had already been removed before taking a seat at the other end.
Celestia took the proffered spot and looked at the other people seated, most of them looked unsure of having here there, at least one looked excited at the prospect and the rest were guarded with one seat empty. Why is the military man excited and who are all these people? So many of them men.
“These are some of my advisors. They are here to offer me advice.”
“Understandable. Where is Brent?”
“He is in another room. We need a guarantee you will not try to hurt him before he will see you.”
“Of course he is safe. These are peace talks.” Celestia felt around, but all the humans in this dwelling were in this room. No, there was a small bubble of nothing, her third time feeling such a thing. 
“Let us get some formalities out of the way first. What are you wanting, exactly?” 
“For a fair trial for those responsible for attempting to kill me and killing Rarity among other ponies. And  a guarantee of safety for my ponies.” 

6/24/14 4:05pm, Bridal Lake
The weather was clear, a soft breeze bringing puffy white clouds through the blue sky.
Private Jenkins walked in step with his fellow soldiers around the military transport, rifle slung over his shoulder loaded with AP rounds. Meyers walked out in front with the ground penetrating radar to spot mines, so far so good. There were a couple dozen men and three tanks along with the transport. He knew there was artillery further back if they needed assistance, one shot had already been fired into the desert to show their intent. 
The Sergeant had spoken over the loudspeaker attached to the transport after the round: “You are not to impede our progress or we will open fire. There is artillery position around the entire and they will target every building at the slightest hint.”
They started from the north this time and began moving after the missile hit. Jenkins had been part of the failed mission two days before, nothing more than a test of defenses. Once air superiority had been lost they pulled back, firing a few rounds at clear targets. They passed through the village to make a statement. He saw a large metal building further away; they wanted to stay away from any building they didn’t know the purpose of. The group carefully made their way to the middle building where the portal lay.


"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!"
— General John J. Pershing