"Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter."
— Winston Churchill
6/5/14 12:00pm White House, Earth
President Tow stared at the newest photos placed on her desk; Brent had been right even if he had been just making it up at the time for public opinion. Over the last few days, ever since the bombing, what could be seen as more ponies were filling the shielded area. It took a day just to enhance the image enough for the needed image quality.
The top image showed an alicorn near at the top of their dome, wings and limbs spread, a bar along the side showed the ‘visible’ magic levels which were off the chart, but nothing could be found as to what the Princess was trying to effect. It must be some sort of funeral right. Tow tossed the pile of photos back onto her desk with enough force that several went over the edge and onto the floor. There is no way of knowing because our expert is on the other side and no one else had his contacts! Even if he were here he could never be trusted, not when he gave out those documents. The ones she stared at on another corner of her desk, the copies sent directly to the Embassy, complete with hidden watermark.
There was nothing to do. She lamented, standing to pick up the disturbed photos and files. The U.S. can’t risk information like that getting out; Russia would kill for that opportunity. Who knows what it would do to the fragile economy.
“We must work together to pro-“ She stabbed the power button on her TV with a finger, thankful to finally have it off.
What can be done now? Any kind of favors will make me look weak and anything I do to help Brent will just fuel him and damage any chance of cooperation with Equestria.
She held back a sigh, remembering her mother’s words: ‘Every time you sigh, a little bit of happiness escapes.’
We could reveal “Orpheus” but that could backfire just as easily as help. Let us just wait and see. So long as they don’t know that radio waves cannot penetrate the portal, that the stairs hide a radio transmitter or that the cord for the M.A.L.P. was for communications, they should be able to get set back up. If this new anti-magic field can be modulated properly…
6/5/14 4:00pm Research Facility, Earth
Celestia waited, the Element Bearers would be coming through the portal at any moment, its blue white light reflected off the Solar Princess. The room had finally been cleared of its extraneous human devices, leaving a space large enough for a contingent of guards, even a small dragon if they could fit through the portal. This should end in one hit if hard enough.
She sat, and waited for her tardy student to pass through the portal for another ten minutes before any ripples appeared in its smooth water surface. The first pony through was her faithful student, clad in gold. Horn covered in a vicious looking blade whose main purpose was to protect the horn from damage, a layered plate armor that left only her forearms and gaskins uncovered by metal. A golden sun was etched onto the chest with a center of yellow spinel that radiated a soft magic and mirrored on either flank, a defensive spell developed by Luna. Her helmet and shoulders flowed out like wings, giving an angry visage.
Next through was Rainbow Dash in an onyx armor suit reminiscent of the pegasi of old, before the three races came together. It showed the military tendency with an onyx crest atop a helmet of the same color trimmed in darkened gold. Dark gray caparison covered her body with burnished gold inlayed into the armor and a gem in the shape of a lightning bolt adorned her chest. The leading edges of her wings were covered by a similar metal offering protection without hindering flight.
Applejack was the next one through the portal wearing a different sort of armor. Chainmail could be seen under red plant leather, rear legs covered by a draping piece of cloth, cast metal horseshoes finishing it off. Armor did not work as well for earth ponies, at full speed they could hit something and dent their own armor, power required flexibility. An apple pendant hovered over her chest and reflected the light.
Pinkie Pie came next, as naked as the day she was born except for a white saddlebag emblazoned with her cutie mark. Fluttershy had a similar attire except that her bag had a red cross on it.
“I hope every one of you is ready.” I wish you had more time to train.
“Of course! No one hurts my friends and gets away with it.”
“A’m as ready as anypony I guess.”
“I don’t want to throw a party for this one.”
“Everypony please stay safe.”
Twilight bowed. “We are ready to help.”
Celestia looked at the gathered elements, at the mixed emotions. The cyan mare was ready to let loose while all the yellow could do was paw the ground. “Get some rest and relax. Tomorrow will be a long night. See the guards and get to know them, ask them questions and teach them what you know.” Four of the ponies left her, Twilight staying behind.
Celestia moved closer to her pupil, nuzzling as they met. “What is wrong Twilight?”
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with a forehoof and looked at her mentor with downcast eyes.
“Did the training go well?” Celestia stepped away, walking to a piece of floor away from the portal and sat.
Twilight followed her mentor. “It did. I’m amazed at how long it felt. There is so much history that isn’t thought. So much magic that is hidden.” She stared with questioning eyes.
“What do you think would happen if foals read half of what you did? How could we maintain peace if past hatred was constantly brought up?”
“I know,” the purple mare started and looked away. “But I don’t want this.”
“Nopony does, but it still happens.”
“But we have never had to kill before. Even Chrysalis was left to live somewhere else.” There was a pleading note in her voice.
“With any luck you still won’t have to kill.” It was Celestia’s turn to look away. “But was what happened to the changelings really a kindness? What if they return or attack some other civilization because of us?”
The student opened her mouth to reply and closed it, trying again to no avail.
“How does the armor work?”
“Steel Mill is amazing!” Twilight fought through her emotions, her face shifting expressions. “These things are so light and yet can block so much.” Sadness eventually won out. “And all I can think of is how Rarity would have tried to make them more fashionable.”
“How are your friends holding up?” Celestia placed a hoof across Twi’s shoulders.
Twilight leaned against the alicorn as Celestia settled a wing over her. “Not as well. Aquatica and Fluttershy got into a fight about the job of a medic and which injured should get the help. Neither of them won. Rainbow Dash spent her off hours reading about the Air Force. AJ has been looking after Sweetie Belle, but hasn’t been around as much. And I have no clue what Pinkie Pie has been doing.”
Celestia looked down at her most faithful student, at the crossed brows as she found a puzzle.
“What was Pinkie doing?” She looked up at Celestia. “And why did she need her party cannon?”
“Tis a surprised.” Celestia winked. “But it sounds like your friends have all grown since you first met them.”
They sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company in a way they hadn’t been able to and wouldn’t again for a while.
6/5/14 7:32pm
Applejack strode through the embassy doors, letting the cape flow behind her with the metal clack of her shoes. It still felt weird to her to be wearing such clothing. The guards all let her pass without incident, all busy with their own preparations. The foyer, a word she learned from Rarity, was filled with weapons, some clearly not Equestrian.
The earth pony made her way down to the basement staring at the pure white of the whole place. There were rooms lining one wall, only one had guards posted outside of it.
The two golden clad white unicorns saluted as she approached.
“Ah think ya got the wrong pony.” Applejack looked at the guards.
“No ma’am. You are the element of honesty.”
“Can ya’ll stop doin’ that?”
“Were you wanting to see the prisoners?” The quiet guard moved a blue gem near the door until gears could be heard in the door.
Ya sure its o-kay ta go in?
“We are constantly observing them from out here and they haven’t tried anything yet. Just be warned the female one is injured and may be a bit feral.”
AJ tried to keep the disgust off her face, it wasn’t mean spirited to her.
She saw two groups of humans, the males and females were on different sides of the room. The male ones shifted their gaze and signaled each other while the female one sat off in a corner and glared. As the pony got closer she heard slight rasping as the human breathed, wincing every few breaths.
Applejack had questions she needed answered and every stop brought her closer to the human she hoped could answer them. Aiko kept up her gaze as the pony stepped closer.
Before the mare could get to the question she wanted, something else escaped her lips. “Whadja wanna spar for anyhow?” It left her voice with anger she didn’t know was there but it was displayed in her body. Tense muscles, clenched teeth.
“Because the second rule of combat is to know thy enemy.” AJ was shocked at the smooth voice, liquid cool as it sent a chill down the pony’s back. “If one day I had to fight a pony it wouldn’t be flat footed. But you were an excellent teacher.”
The mare felt her blood rise, she just wanted to take her sodden hoof and slap the human. The mare raised her hoof only to set it back down. Cain’t do it. She realized. “Why did you kill my friend?” That prissy, detailed-obsessed, fraid to get dirty friend.
The two continued to stare.
Aiko was the first to break the silence. “I have nothing else to say.”
“Now she wants to shut up.” Came a snide comment from one of the other humans followed by the sound of something fleshy getting hit.
Applejack wished she knew what else to ask, but she hadn’t ever expected those answers and doubted anymore would be coming.
6/5/14 4:48pm Bridal Lake, Earth
Celestia looked out at her assembled ponies, the five remaining Elements of Harmony at the front followed by rows and rows of Royal and Lunar Guards. Every pony was alert with crisp lines and clean armor, even the Element Bearers. Her platform stood in the rubble of the Ambassador’s house, beams and blackened wood covered the brown earth with the smell of death hanging over everything.
“Clever. Using the rubble to remind everypony of what is at stake.”
You use what you can to survive.
“In a few hours Equestria will launch its counter offensive to the attack perpetrated against us by the United States government under the guise of friendship.” The Princess used a variation of the Royal Canterlot voice to boom her message to her solders. “You have seen off of their own news sources that they are moving troops into battle, the tanks. Even the speeches have turned against us. We will not let them. Their numbers mean nothing if they cannot use their weapons. A kick from a regular pony could disable one, let alone from the best Equestria has to offer.”
Celestia reached out to feel for the wave of energy hurtling towards the planet, estimating how much longer she had. “In about an hour I will teleport you to your designated attack coordinates. The Elements are going with you to show these humans that we are not weak, that every pony will stand up to them. That we will not let them rule us!”
“For any of you guards worried about the Elements entering into battle; these are the same ponies who stopped Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Queen Chrysalis. They have also spent the past week training with the same mare that trained all of you and focused on the advanced courses. They have direct knowledge of humans and have just as much at stake as you do. Listen to them.” And we need symbols and morale. Celestia reminded herself.
“All medical personnel will stay here to help the injured on their return. Fluttershy has brought more information on triage so follow her lead.”
“What impact will putting human lives on the same level of importance as ponies do to your precious morale?” It was a question Celestia had, but Fluttershy refused to help unless they were all treated equally and her presence was just as important for morale.
It gives us the moral high ground while degrading the human’s.
“Pinkie Pie will be on a special mission. She has already given Buck Shot schematics and ideas to help with defense.”
“A lone pony behind enemy lines. You are more like your sister than you thought.”
Silence! I don’t know why my inner voice has become so vocal but it shall end!
“So be it. I am just saying what needs to be said.”
“Twilight with her new training with combat magic and the help of the Royal Guards shall attack Fort Lewis, a major training and mobilization base. While Rainbow Dash, along with some of the most skilled Lunar Guards does the same for Nellis, Applejack will hit Camp Pendleton with her own group. The rest of you already know your targets and have trained for weeks to be a good group.” Aquatica should not have done this on her own accord, but it was wise.
“Make sure you are ready. As soon as the wave hits, your jobs begin.”
6/6/14 7:58pm Pacific Time
President Tow gathered a few loose papers on her desk, several were reports from experts; others were marked as URGENT. There was one warning about increased solar activity, Russia moving troops to its western border, increased activity in the bubble and Brent.
Everything has to happen at once. She fumed as the last few folders were added to the pile. How dare he! ‘I know they took the Embassy. How is that not an official attack? How will the people respond when I release this information in twenty four hours?’ If I EVER get ahold of him, trying to force my hand. Tow knew she was cornered for now, she had hoped for at least a week to figure things out, instead she was having an emergency cabinet meeting.
The best option is a blockade, if they had more trade an embargo might work, show that something was being done… No, so much as one trigger happy marine could end this real quick. Midterm elections are coming up and no way is his party getting those seats. There is nothing we can trade for hostages and no way to get them to give up Bridal Lake. Damn them! Both of them.
The President looked up as the lights gave a brief flicker. She ignored it and walked across her office. If we can take Bridal Lake though, or just give a sufficient show of force. She let her thoughts continue as the lights flickered and died. More good news. The red-headed woman pulled the small plastic slab of her phone out only to find it dead.
Her eyes went to the URGENT file on top, of Russian tank movements. They wouldn’t dare use an EMP just to take a little bit of territory. She made her way back to the desk, everything pitch black, but knowing the office intimately, set her files down and picked up the landline. It too was dead. This line was supposed to be shielded! How big was it? There should have been some indication, we have people who would have heard something, even from China.
The doors to her office burst open. Tow dropped to the floor and moved behind her desk.
“Madam President!” The deep, gravelly voice called. “This is the Secret Service, we need to move now.”
“How bad is it?” Tow stood, recognizing the familiar shapes of these two officers.
“No idea, but we have to get you out of here.” The guard handed her something as she approached, a long cylinder with a strap.
Margarette Tow looked at the object in the pale light, night vision goggles. The world washed away into shades of green putting them on. Outside her office she could see another six guards.
“There is a car in the basement.” He said, leading the group down the hall. “Herbert Walker had us implement it. An old thing in a faraday cage. It should be immune.”
The group moved through the empty halls, very few worked this late at night. The cabinet members will be moved shortly. Air Force One will be dead, She couldn’t remember what was supposed to happen in this situation. Trust your staff.
President Tow looked out the darkened windows of the silver van as they drove past the dark roads, using grass, the median, or whatever part did not have stalled cars. The shapes could be seen in the green light. She took the goggles off and stared at them. “How do these work?”
The Agent in the front passenger seat looked back at her. “New technology ma’am. Something about using rhodopsin and magic is all I know. Expensive as hell though, fifty grand a pop easy.”
“Synthetic?” The President asked, putting the goggles back on. People are out there. I can see them. Scrambling in their cars, running. She looked behind and in front of their van, at the small convoy making its way.
“From what I hear.” His eyes stayed focused on the road ahead. “The real ones are too precious.”
And in use for more important research. How many billions in defense spending went into all this? She had seen the numbers, had made sure of it, and just could not remember.
The sun crested off to her left as the new morning rose. At no point had the President been able to sleep during the night. Even after traveling over 500 miles south, there is still no power. That blast must have been massive.
“Are you sure those reports are accurate?”
“Yes ma’am. The old telegraphs work. We checked one just an hour ago while you slept.”
Did I sleep? She didn’t feel tired but that could have been the adrenaline. The trip did feel like a blur though.
“It extends up to the Canadian border. And we have yet to hear from any place south or west yet. Nothing works and no sign of attack.”
“But, there has been no sign from California or western states has there.” It would be stupid to attack either coast. If any place wanted to attack this coast it would be either with a missile or they would have to go past Europe. To attack the west coast is much shorter, but much better defended and unless they used multiple EMPs they couldn’t have hit both sides of the country. Something felt off, some key fact.
“Get me back to D.C.” Tow ordered.
“We can’t do that ma’am, we have been attacked. There is no other explanation.” He explained from the front of the van.
“Once communications are back up things will need to be coordinated.” She stared down at the pile of files next to her, some lying on the floorboard, one without red sticking out.
“Those defenses are NOT secure enough, we can find a satellite phone to repair further south and coordinate that way.”
Tow picked up the file. Weird solar activity…
“No, that won’t work, satellites will be out too. This is an order! Take me back so our allies can find us.”
“Ma’am?” He asked as he looked back to her then gave a curt nod at seeing her expression. “We will take the next off-ramp.”
“We have two priorities; reestablish contact with Cheyenne, Fort Huachuca, the Pentagon and Nellis. And get us in contact with our overseas allies ASAP. Any unit that can be reached is put immediately onto full alert status.”
6/6/14 8:02pm
Celestia felt the wave of energy, solar winds striking far above, an increase in the flow of energy around her, an increase in the available magic as a quasi leyline appeared before her.
“It is time my ponies.” The Solar Princess looked out at the fidgety ponies. “They should have lost most of their advanced weapons, but their guns will still work. Move into your groups and be careful.”
As her ponies split into groups, Celestia flapped into the air and reached out for the available magic.
“You could just teleport yourself to their capital and take it.” The voice purred. “End it with one punch. What could they possibly do without their leader?”
No. They have redundancies, they have allies and they could counter attack still.
Magic poured through the princess as she prepared multiple translocation spells at once. Not only did she have to send large groups of ponies to each spot but also gear and leave enough magic to teleport everyone back. She saw the auras of all her ponies as her eyes opened, pure magic spilling forth. With a flash of light the groups disappeared one by one. Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Trixie, Buck, and the other five groups followed by the lone pink pony.
When she had finished, sweat trickled down her forehead from the exertion.
“I could have helped them.” Shining Armor protested again.
“No, we can’t leave our foothold defenseless. They will strike back once they figure out what happened.” We must be ready by then, without adequate knowledge of what they may have in hiding.
Honestly, I am very sick of the whole anti-Flash nonsense, a thousand times over. I'm 110% grad that you didn't added it, because I would have frowned at that.
Anyways, this whole mess is about to start, and Celestia had yet to see that something isn't right with that second voice in her head. And, if President Tow wasn't so worry about nonsenses like covering her own butt or what others does/say, she would have gotten everything straighten out or, in the least, calm down somewhat. As the saying goes: 'sometimes, you are your own worst enemy.' Can't wait to see how this will play out.
Short C&C:
Ya sure its o-kay ta go in?
> Missing both quotation. Replace "its" with "it's".
Very well written. Can't wait to see how this will play out.
Never before had I so much hatred for ponies, I understand their reasons and the fact Celestia is being manipulated but still, it's arrogant of them to assume they can fight against the entire Earth, which armies consists of millions, Celestia's army is only a force of several hundred thousand at best. That and also the fact that if they kill our leaders they can be replaced though I worry for everyone sake if the current president's rival takes over.........while if Celestia or Luna are killed........to Equestria they are irreplaceable and no doubt cause the country to fall into anarchy without them
LONG LIVE HUMANITY!!!
FIGHT TO YOUR LAST BREATH COMRADES!!!
Hehe, so this is it. We're fighting this WW2 style! Time to give the ponies some freedom!
Seriously? Dammit Celestia did you just forget about NATO?
Edit: Oh hell I just realized something. Every piece of tech in continental America is going down. Including medical stuff and airplanes! Anyone in surgery, on life support, in a coma, with a pacemaker is likely gonna die! And not to mention all the people in the air, especially FOREIGN NATIONALS. My god the world is gonna be after her head and I'll bet China will be near the front! She doesn't have a defense either, she knew it would disable human technology.
I have looked up what EMPs would do to military vehicles and it seem that some M1A1 are EMP proof but not all because its expensive.
the nukes are in underground bunkers and silos so the solar storm wouldn't have knocked them out and the telegraphs still work so all the pres has to do is send one telegram and equestria is a giant radioactive crater
5875341
That's assuming there are any lines left, I'm honestly not sure on that but they were probably replaced with modern landlines. Now there are some Ham Radios running on vacuum tubes.
5875418 they said in the fix to the president that the telegraphs we're working that implies that they have lines up or else how would they know that it worked
5875639
Oh. Missed that, my bad.
Anything that involves killing Flash is fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/282/e/5/twilight_sparkle_approved_by_ambris-d4c255h.png
Also approved by me, but that's whatever.
5875432 5875341 5875105 There are some things that should be made clear. This is not an EMP, it is similar in effect but several levels of magnitude higher. During the Cold War the US spent millions on EMP proofing their tech while the USSR spent hundreds of thousands making something more powerful to go through it. There is no such thing as perfect protection, I know "bullet proof" science is not the greatest example but the same principle applies. You get a big enough solar storm and it can even kill people, not to mention tech. If there were such a thing as a perfect defense it wouldn't need R&D.
5874889 I don't like the character because he is poorly written and the only way they can introduce him is the "bump into" cliche. I don't really hate him and would love to see him get some sort of personality, but I am also not a huge fan of EG. And sometimes it is just fun to have a character to hate or a scapegoat. And tbh, adding him just wouldn't feel right.
5875039 And yes, I am waiting for more people to realize that.
5874974 that old tech is quite impressive
5874889 You familiar with schizophrenia? For some it is really hard to tell what is real and what isn't. Especially by yourself. And if the voice has been there long enough, starting out small and building, then it wold be even harder to realize it is off. But there are ways, there are always ways.
5879659 if the solar storm was weak enough to leave the telegraph lines than the nukes, which as i mentioned before are in bunkers and silos underground, are definitely ok and so is all the EMP proof stuff unless in this universe telegraph lines are just invincible to everything
5879907 ok, i overestimated telegraph lines. lets just call them invincible, either that or i can redo parts of it. wow is that a mistake on my part. missed that from the 1859 example. Although... there were cases of operators being able to send out telegrams despite disconnecting the power meaning other stuff was going on.
Edit: talk to some people and got more info, tipsy prof are fun btw. A telegraph is incredibly simple with a very large gap for the electricity to gap. What EMPs blow are typically the small ones. This stuff can also be fixed, the simpler something is the easier it is to fix. Look at old cars, jacob's ladder (visual effect from old scifi), or even the charge it takes to fire a spark plug, tons. And to be fair, most of this stuff is kinda speculative and more than a bit is classified which makes it a bitch to research and means prone to errors. Magnetic waves, which can also travel through the ground would affect a ton of stuff buried, there was a huge case in Canada where electronic water valves that were buried blew.
5879659
I have always consider hurting a character badly (or killing him/her), just out of spite, to be bad form. I mean, I got nothing against poking some fun here-and-there with those said characters, but to throw said characters into a deadly situation (or into deadly situations), just for the heck of it, is just a poor decision (one I see often, though thankfully not too often). But, it is a moot point here anyway, and I'm really thankful that you have more respects for your characters than that. [Personally, I have no real issue with him myself...he isn't a great character, I will agree to that, but he isn't really bad either. As for the movie, I like it...it wasn't the greatest movie I have seen, but I like it.]
5879678
To some degree, somewhat. To be honest, I wasn't too expectant (not sure if that is the right word for it) of her realizing it. Part of it was just me commenting on it.
5880875 I agree. To just kill off a character feels cheap, people feel and care for them, there should be a meaning and a purpose. One reason I hate Game of Thrones (one of). It needs to add to the story, be a reason. For me the characters are a part of the writer, and it should hurt when they hurt, which I hope keeps them consistent. And I will admit that some of the deadly situations, happened because the characters went one way and put me in a corner. How do you poke fun with characters?
Ok, here's a secret. The movie is fun, cheap fun. It is great if you are with a group of friends and want to laugh and joke. I may or may ot be listening to it in the background as I read.
And I figure just commenting, but i like to comment back, and discuss. It provides great ideas and leads both parties to enjoy it more (hopefully). That and maybe a bit of keeping people guessing by mentioning different ideas. A beautiful mind is a good movie on it. So keep on commenting.
5880908
There are a few ways. Some great authors would actually poke fun of their own personal creation(s). CardsLafter, with 'Through the Eyes of Another Pony', is one such perfect example. I love that story to death, and throughout the whole story, the author is not shy for poking fun at his own characters. I think that is one reason why it is so awesome.
And I'll be happy to continuing to comment and discuss with ya as well...at least, to the best of my ability and limited free-time.
5875039 Excellent observation!
fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/022/e/f/nuke_by_tehfluffy2012-d73c3mp.gif
... Eyup.
Question, does this solar flare mean it's affecting the ENTIRE world or just USA?
5894765 Go watch a movie called kuroi ame, its on youtube
5894769 Western hemisphere with some bleed over, solar radiation would affect the whole world but one side would take the most damage
5895560 Huh, not as bad as I was imagining. If it had hit everywhere... Well Celestia would still be up the creek without a paddle, but there'd probably be man-eating piranhas to go along with it.
5895774 One thing she isn't is an idiot. It was very calculated and timed. But it could have been made bigger or hit the entire world. Although I shouldn't have said as much as I did, spoilers and all lmao. But it can be seen through science. How bad did you imagine?
Oh, and there would be some difficulty moving a stratofortress through that small portal
5895804 I agree that it was calculated. Strategically, it was a good move. My question was how big the effect was. If she had just did a full blown shutdown of every electronic device on the entire globe... Well... As previously stated, that EMP hit a lot of civilian targets. A lot of which will result in the death of people. Family of said people will be in the streets screaming for her blood. Instead of just the most militarily powerful nation out to get her, it would be the most militarily powerful nation and all it's friends ganging up on her.
While she isn't stupid, I would say she is horribly misinformed or purposefully blind. The second being due to that 'inner voice' that keeps popping up. I'm having a suspicion that the eldritch book of horror was more than a deus ex machina. If it is the first I will be terribly dissapointed.
5895804 The gif was for comedic effect, not what I was actually imagining.
However, given enough time and planning, I'm certain the military would figure out a way to shoot a nuclear missile through the portal and have it detonate.
Edit: And even if Celestia could prevent that from happening, there'd be little that could stop us from bombing our side of the portal. She was already taxed from stopping a stationary bomb. Just regularly bombing the ever-living snot out of Bridal Lake would be enough to break resistance.
As I said in the last post, Celestia is either hopelessly misinformed or being deliberately blinded to reality. Even resorting to less advance weapon systems and communication, the US Military still has the ability to beat the snot out of a few thousand ponies and their demi-god commander. If nothing else than to bomb the hell out of them, by artillery or air support. And that's not counting all the forces we have stationed around the world. Depending on how serious the solar storm was, we still have a bit of advanced air craft and weapons systems still functioning.
Hang on a tick... A lot of military tech should be EMP proof. Can Celestia really make a solar flare that powerful?
5902460 Morals? What are those? Is it logical? And love the head slap, you get a ittie bittie twinkie pinkie for that
Are any of them really beyond help though? (ignoring the obvious bastards).
5907186 Will finish it in a bit, but I am not pro pony just fyi
5915168 You aren't pro pony? Oh, that's a relief. I have been reading this story almost from the beginning and I would hate to see it become a pony wankery one. Now that you have confirmed that you're more or less neutral I'll wait for a well-balanced war.
PD: Great story
5916696 wat
... ok, that threw me for a loop. Um, wow.
If I were pro-pony they would have been "better" and not kinda dicks.
Half the point is that neither side is "right". Might as well say it, it was about how even with good intentions things could still go badly, how as war progresses things change, strategies are learned, more desperate tactics are allowed. Among other things And yeah, trying to explain while being vague.
Again, I wrote this story because those, as you call it, "pony wankery ones" piss me off. A lot of the things in those are pure evil, and they would not be stood for. In some of those situations nukes would be used. I will try in the next chapter A/N to put in why nukes would not work at this point.
5917190 Hmmm well I'll have to wait until Friday ( hopefully) but give me a clue about why nukes wont be an option. It will be for technical reasons, political reasons or strategic reasons?
Btw I thought that you were pro pony because from the beginning of the Titans series the ponies have performed more or less well while the humans have performed like they were all retards ( with special mention for the Ambassador who seems to suffer congenital imbecility). That combined with a slightly OP magic for my taste made me fear the worst. But now I am relaxed
5918064 Technical is not a problem, technicalities of nukes were worked out ages ago. But for political and strategic reasons a nuke wouldn't work except as a last ditch effort or if they can get one through the gate. But fallout and other damage, it would kill more citizens then the EMP, and using a sledgehammer as an opening gambit in war is not good.
But the Japanese did something similar with Pearl Harbor which was pure brilliance. Plane mounted torpedoes needed 1000 feet to level off, so with the entrance to Pearl Harbor being nowhere near that deep, the US got arrogant, as well as the effect politics played in preventing a warning from getting through. The Japanese designed a bamboo cover for the propeller of the torpedo that reduced the depth to 100 feet. It was quick and decisive. Another thing is the US tends to win using power over brains. 10 to 1 kill to death ratio for German Tiger tanks, they killed 10 times the amount we did, but attrition is a bitch.
Look at the French in WWII and how Rommel got them to surrender. It was standard practice to always leave some units in reserve when attacking just in case you fail miserably. Well... he didn't. He brought forward every unit at his disposal and just charged, freaking the French out and making the superior force surrender using what in essence was just psychological warfare. And the French Resistance was freaking effective for their part, bringing down scout planes by peeing in the urethane. And yes, this rushing tactic I have employed in games like Empire at War and it can work beautifully well.
Look at Genghis Khan and the predecessor of the composite bow. It allowed better range and firepower, and their firing method provided better accuracy. Germany had jet aircraft during WWII.
Yeah, the humans are idiots, but I pulled from my own experience and humans (generality) are short sighted and greedy. But they shine when forced to. This comes from dealings with the news and dealing with people in an Ivy League type school, you will never find a dumber group of people. The horror stories I could tell of pure self centered logic and ignorance. The shit rises to the top. But you read about war and tragedy, and you see something else, there is a beauty to how people react and interact (sometimes).
And the thing about magic is it is OP, sort of, but that is because it violates the normal laws of physics. It can do what scifi does, with costs. But technology also makes huge advances once people know something is possible. Trying not to geek out about NASA potentially finding a way to go faster than light, they may have accidentally created the foundations of the Alcubiere Drive. Tech also gets smaller as it evolves, magic doesn't. And you have already seen the basics of an AM field.
But magic and tech also operate differently. Magic can be just as much about setting up the field as running it where tech is about patience and finding the weak point and good opportunities. And no, the ponies were doing just as much stupid, just not as blatantly. That and hindsight being 20/20. But there is also group mentality to consider, herd instincts vs individualistic needs.
That and I have an innate talent for finding ways to piss people off. Look at my final paper that defended the nuking of Japan and the creation of exclusion zones in WWII. So maybe relaxing isn't the best thing in the world But the fact I am pissing off both sides makes me very happy.
5918064 Wait, so you have been readings this for a long time? Sorry for the long update hiatus' then.
And I don't think the Ambassador ever did anything THAT stupid. Used to complaints about the senator lol
5919110 Apologies about the hiatus accepted. Regarding the Ambassador he wasn't doing that bad until he let a lot of top secret documents leaked because, and I quote, “I never put those papers in the safe, never saw a need to.” That and the fact that he willingly let Luna enter in his mind (A.K.A access to all the potential informantion he could have) to defend his wife (like that would accomplish anything) should make him the most shittiest Ambassador in the history of US. In my opinion, Senator Grant was doing the rigth thing until he screw up the mission adding actual bombs. That was a stupid move.
And about nukes, when I said technical reasons I was thinking that with that massive EMP probably the launch button doesn,t work anymore. Btw, Celestia has (technically) used a WMD with that EMP so according to the MAD doctrine...
Finally, you said that magic broke the laws of physics, huh? Well then this is the only thong I can say
5919675 Ahh, ok. Welp. Trust and love are weird things. What do you expect when they put people who are unfamiliar with this stuff in a position of importance. I am not mad about Caroline Kennedy being placed to be Japan's Ambassador despite not knowing shit about the culture or language or well anything, nope, not me.
I will have to make it clear in a later chapter, not quite sure how yet, that Brent had nothing to do with the bombs. Victor lied, revenge being what it is.
And I like that logic. MAD sure apply, maybe, slightly different theory. And I can't see all those minuteman missiles being left defenseless without spare parts. The Cold War may be past, but paranoids don't sleep.
And I would break it again. MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!!!
Just as modern physics broke the physics of the 50's. Time travel and teleportation don't work with modern physics... yet.
5919739 Senator Brent has nothing to do whit the bombing? He has just recovered his status as best character in the story
Victor lied? SOMEBODY EXECUTE THAT BLOODY TRAITOR
And we never will
PD Some scientist have succeeded in teleporting an atom so...maybe teleport humans isn't so far in the future
5919865 Your conservativism is showing You are the first person who seems to like the senator
5922134 Meh, he is the only one who has shown common sense. If anybody had listened to him that attack wouldn't have been possible in the first place.
Anyway, I don't call it conservativism, I call it
paranoiacaution. But...#SenatorBrentForPresident2015allthepresidentsbooks.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/goldwater-button.jpeg
5923538 If he wasn't in power it might never have happened. And it would be 2016, not 15. Elections are held every 4 years. I may have to use that button later though
this is one of the most outright stupid celestias i have ever seen in a fic