> Militant Equestria
>  by GuitarKirby
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The older Pegasus stretched his wings as he walked beneath the trees of Sweet Apple Acres. He smiled as he looked at the sign above the entrance to the fruit farm. The paint was faded, but it was still plenty legible. He continued walking along, the gentle clop, clop of his hooves muffled by the leaves covering the ground. He chuckled to himself as he heard the cries of young colts and and fillies playing an innocent game of tag around the yard. There was a whoosh, as a rainbow blur streaked with a light blue blasted overhead, blowing the leaves everywhere. The old stallion shook his black mane, highlighted with dark violet, to straighten it after the blast of wind. He continued along at a faster pace.
Honest she may be, but I've never known her to be patient with me.
As if to prove this thought, as he approached the large front yard, he saw a honey-colored pony with a blonde tail, chasing the young ones around the yard, trying to gather them into one place as though it was a round-up. Suddenly, the mare looked up at him. She smiled weakly. Other than small blips of gray in her mane, the few years that had gone by since he had met her seemed to have had little effect on her appearance. Although she had not had any children of her own, her younger sister - now a fully grown mare - had married a stallion from Canterlot. Every year, she sent her children to stay with their aunt.
"Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes? I'm happier t' see you than a love-struck fool on Hearts 'n Hooves day. Think you can take care of these young'ns while I get some buckin' done?"
The old Pegasus smiled widely at her.
"Of course. Dash is here to help with the apples as well. Don't tell her I know that, though."
The honey-hued mare smiled back as she threw her hat on.
"'Course I won't tell her, sugar cube."
The old mare then headed out towards the acres of apple trees that she had to kick at. The older Pegasus looked at the young ponies. They looked nervous at the appearance of a new authority, although a young colt appeared at ease. He was an oddity in Ponyville; although he was born to two earth ponies, he had been born a Unicorn. The colt was good at heart, but he still had no cutie mark, unlike his friends from Canterlot. In fact, he was the last of his class to not have a cutie mark - not a single other remained who shared in his frustration. The young colt walked up to the tall Pegasus.
"Hi, Uncle K," said the young Unicorn. The Pegasus smiled. His name was actually a secret to others, and he wasn't the Unicorn's blood relative, but he considered all of Dash's friends his family, and so, by extension, the little Unicorn was his family.
"Hey there, Star." The Pegasus looked around at the other fillies and colts, of which there were five. "You're all welcome to play tag as long as you stay in the yard. I don't want you bothering your auntie." The five cheered, and promptly ran off. Shining Star stayed with K.
"Uncle K, can you tell me a story?" K frowned at the question. He had a few stories, but there weren't many he thought would appeal to the Unicorn colt.
"What kind of story do you want to hear?" asked K.
"I wanna hear about when you were part of the Air Force!" said Shining Star excitedly. K grinned.
They all want to hear that story... Well, it's a good one. Why not, he's certainly old enough.
"Alright, Shining Star. This is a story about adventure, and romance, and great air battles, but most of all, it's about humans."
K felt a certain sense of satisfaction at the amazed look on the colt's face.
> Chapter 2
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     Stretching and yawning, a middle-aged man looked at the wardrobe across from his bed. In it was a Navy uniform, decorated with several medals. Next to it was an old flight helmet with the words Howling Wolf written across the forehead. It was a bright, polished silver, with the words in dark blue. He smiled sadly at the helmet. Nowadays, people could fly at unbelievable speeds without the helmets he and his squadron had used, thanks to planes being built more effectively. He then turned to the uniform, and his smile turned into a glare, filled with a pure hatred. The only reason he kept the wartime uniform where he could see it was so that he could remind himself every day of how much he loathed the violence and evils of warfare, and the dark part he had taken in it.
He removed himself from his bed and stretched his arms, then turned and smiled at his sleeping wife. He had met her after the war, and she had helped him rediscover himself and find his own inner peace. He leaned over and brushed her dark hair aside, touching her temple lightly. She smiled gently. He stood again, and turned to leave the room.

A young girl of thirteen was sleeping on the couch in the living room as he began making breakfast. Just as he was finishing the bacon for the morning meal, she woke up, rubbing her eyes and yawning quietly.
"Good morning, Alyssa," he said, setting two plates, one for each of them, on the table.
"Morning, Uncle Jay." Jay grinned at her. Although he wasn't really her uncle (technically, he was her godfather), he and her father had been close as brothers, and she had called him uncle ever since. When her father died, although he had lost a friend, he felt he had gained a daughter.
"What do you have planned for today? Hanging out at the mall with Taylor and Kira again?"
"Nope, not today," she said, grinning back at him. Jay and her both laughed - she rarely went out with friends anyway, and Jay often poked fun at her for being so unusual among her peers. She enjoyed books and films, and often wrote and animated on her laptop.
"I wanted to ask you something, though," she said, her smile fading. He looked at her confusedly.
"What about?"
"Well... About when you were in the War. You never talk about it, but you have that uniform right across from your bed. Can't you tell me about it?"
Jay frowned at her, both concerned and upset by the question. Concerned that she had taken an interest, and upset that he would have to answer and talk about the war.
"Well... I suppose I should. You ought to know, especially since you're living in my house. Let me know if you need me to stop; the story is horrifying, bloody, and grim. However, I hope you listen until the end, because it turned out to be for the better."
Alyssa looked slightly scared, but she nodded firmly as she spoke.
"Alright, I will."
Jay began his narration.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     About a week before the war began, the Wonderbolts were doing an annual tour of Equestria, performing in various cities. The prime place to view the show was Cloudsdale, of course, but I wasn't able to make it there. I was busy perfecting several of my own routines just outside of Ponyville. I went to see them when they performed there. During the routine, a streak of color blasted through the sky. Six colors, in fact. Faster than lightning, Rainbow Dash rocketed past the Wonderbolts before performing a Sonic Rainboom. The Wonderbolts took it well, and used the blast to further their own routine, as though it had been planned. Autographs were signed afterwards, and I asked where I could find the rainbow streaked pegasus I had seen. They said they weren't entirely sure, but that they had seen Rainbow Dash floating towards a small collection of clouds. I chased after her; she had sported the most impressive flying I had seen in years. 

I didn't find her, but I did find someone of far greater importance; Princess Celestia. The mighty ruler of Equestria. The one who raises the Sun in the morning, even today... And I couldn't have cared less. However, I didn't ignore her; I felt that would be foolish of me in the extreme. She spoke to me:
"Hello, young pegasus. Might I ask why it is you're running away from the tour? All the fun and excitement is behind you, not in front."
"I know princess, but that mare that performed a Sonic Rainboom -"
"Ah, yes, Rainbow Dash. She's an incredible flier, but rather arrogant at times. I suppose you want her autograph?"
"Not at all, princess; I want to make friends with - was it Rainbow Dash?" 
The princess smiled at me knowingly, as though she could see every thought I was having; I almost felt violated.
"Most excellent; Rainbow Dash is the most loyal pony in all of Equestria. You two should get along well together." She spoke with a twinkle in her eye, and proceeded to take me to Rainbow Dash.

As it turned out, the patch of clouds I had seen was Rainbow Dash's home in the sky. Against the night sky, the rainbows spewing from the clouds - as well as the clouds themselves - were rather beautiful. However, nothing could possibly compare to what I saw when she stepped out. At Celestia's call, she flew from the dark recesses of her cloudy home. She was the most amazing sight I had ever seen. Her coat was the color of the sky, and her mane shone like the Sun. Six spectacular colors were in it, just as a rainbow. She looked at me with a confident smile. Her eyes were the color of roses.
"Hey there. You saw the show? Y'know, that's not the first time I've done a Sonic Rainboom." Her voice was strong and confident, with a hint of arrogance. Somehow, I managed to speak.
"Yes, I saw. It was the most spectacular flying I've ever seen." She jumped down from her cloud, and landed in front of me with speedy grace.
"I know. Everyone knows I'm the best young flier in Equestria, and I've got the trophy to prove it."
I was finding it easier to talk to her as the conversation carried on.
"Well, you deserve all the praise you get. I'm amazed the Wonderbolts haven't taken you onto their team yet." She blushed slightly, and was about to say something when a flash of green fire appeared next to Celestia.
"Ah, a letter from Twilight Sparkle. Let's see... Oh... Oh my!" The princess' face suddenly changed from pleasantly watching our conversation to one of horror. She looked up at us both.
"We have to fly to Ponyville. Twilight's opened a portal to another world... And there are strange creatures that walk on two legs on the other side."
> Chapter 4
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     I was doing a routine training exercise off the coast of California when the message came in. I was already a captain, and I worked with the Blue Angels at the time.
"Angel 1, this is Ground Control. There's something over Los Angeles that you need to see. It could be hostile, so be prepared to use force." If they had never said that, things might have turned out differently. I relayed the message to my team.
"Angels, this is Angel 1. There's an unidentified object over the Los Angeles area. It may be hostile, so be ready to get your hands dirty." Again, if I hadn't said anything, things could have turned out differently.
There were four of us in the air that day, including myself. I knew that the third man, a pilot named John Tellman, was a loose trigger. However, we had to assume the worst at the time. It took us only ten minutes to reach LA, and when we got there, it was rather apparent what the problem was; there was a tear in the sky, as though someone had ripped it open. We flew towards it quickly, but cautiously; anything that large could be very dangerous. I spoke first.
"Ground Control, this is Angel 1. I have visual on the object; it seems like... Well, it seems like someone tore the sky apart."
"Just what were were thinking, Angel 1. See if you can fly into it, but be very careful; don't be afraid to use force if it seems necessary."
We flew on. Tellman was on my left. Just by the way he was flying, I knew he was nervous. We flew towards the tear, all of us feeling rather apprehensive about it. However, flying through it wasn't a problem. It didn't even close behind us. What we saw below, however, was incredible; hundreds of ponies, of every hue imaginable. Some had horns on their heads that would glow every so often, making things they were looking at glow and levitate in front of them. Suddenly, I heard shout over my headphones from Tellman;
"Captain, they fly! Look ahead!"
I did as he suggested, and he was right. There were flying ponies everywhere, with small, feathered wings. They were pushing clouds all over the sky, moving every which-way. Before I could begin to comprehend all of this, there was a streak of rainbow in front of me. I looked out of my cockpit at Tellman.
"Tellman, did you see that?!"
"What was it?"
"I don't know," I said. I hesitated for a moment before making my decision. "But I'm going to find out. Keep an eye on the ground ponies."
I flew after the rainbow streak. To my amazement, whatever that creature was, it flew faster than any jet I'd ever taken on. I had to push the plane to its absolute limits just to keep up. Suddenly, the creature took a dive straight down. I followed; the capabilities of the Raptor I flew at the time allowed for pulling out of extremely sharp dives. However, I wasn't expecting what followed. To my amazement, the pegasus broke the sound barrier, an incredible feat in and of itself. However, not a second had passed before a blast of light - as though a rainbow had exploded in front of me - blinded me completely. Instinctively, I pulled out of my own dive, just in time to hear a shout from Tellman.
"Sir, this one's firing lightning at me!"
I looked out at him; sure enough, there was a greyish pegasus sitting on a black cloud, jumping up and down on it. Every few jumps, lightning would blast out of the cloud. The rainbow-streaked pegasus - which I could now see had a cyan color beneath the rainbow-hued mane - was flying over to her, probably to stop her. Tellman didn't wait that long; he opened fire. He only fired warning shots, but the grey pegasus was knocked from her perch in the sky. She didn't seem to be hurt, but a fall like that can kill. The cyan pegasus flew down and caught her, bringing her to Earth. A purple unicorn ran out to them, catching them both with what I could only assume was magic; a reddish glow encompassed her horn and the two pegasi. The violet unicorn had a small creature on her back that looked like an oversized lizard. Four other ponies came out as I circled the scene. It suddenly sprung to my mind that Tellman might cause more damage; I gave him orders.
"Tellman, this is Angel 1; take the others back to the city, and tell Ground Control what happened. I'll join you soon enough."
"Yes, Captain," he replied, in a rather sheepish voice.
I rolled my eyes at the sound of it. However, I continued circling and watching. The four others all seemed disjointed, but very concerned. One was a pegasus, like the cyan and grey. It was yellow, with a pink mane that fell over one of its eyes. Another was white, with a spectacular purple mane and tail. Another was pink; its mane was completely unkempt, but it bounced along excitedly, despite the bad situation. Finally, the fourth was white, but it seemed larger than the others - from what I could see, anyway - and broader in the shoulders. It also was a pegasus, but had larger wings. It also had a black mane, and a tail to match, though the tail had a streak of violet. I rather thought that one was male, considering his size, while the others were female. I was just thinking that I had seen all there was to see, when I was proven wrong. Gliding on huge, white wings, a giant pegasus came forth. However, she wasn't just a pegasus; she had a horn three times longer than any of the other unicorns. Her mane flowed brilliantly, three spectacular, shining colors. She took all eight of the ponies away in a flash of light. I turned and exited the tear in the sky, and spoke to Ground Control.
"Ground Control, this is Angel 1, and I'm going to tell you what happened as soon as I land. Have a strong drink ready for me when I land, though. Drink some yourselves; it might make this all a little more believable."
> Chapter 5
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     Rainbow Dash and myself immediately flew off. I couldn't keep up with her unmatched speed, so she flew far ahead of me. I flew as fast as I could, however. I didn't know if Celestia was flying, or if she had transported herself there by magic, but whatever the case, I knew I couldn't wait for her.
Although I was slower than Rainbow Dash, I wasn't slow for a Pegasus. I rocketed over the land, attempting to find what had been described by Celestia. It was hard to miss when I came across it; a giant tear in the sky. It was all I could do not to fall out of flight when I saw it; it was as though a claw had rent the sky in two. Rainbow Dash flew up beside me. She seemed somewhat out of breath.
"What is it?"
"Good question. I wonder if Celestia could answer it."
"What's your name, anyway?"
"Soaring Spirit, but my friends call me K," I said, blushing slightly.
"Awesome! Are you a good fli-" Rainbow Dash was cut off mid-sentence by four large, metal objects that came through the tear. They were silver, and flew at high speeds. They looked like aerodynamic, oversized birds, but with wings that never flapped. They flew over Ponyville in a diamond formation. Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke again, her voice hard.
"Nobody outflies me; let's see how that leader can compete against the fastest flier in Equestria!" Before I could say anything, she disappeared in a streak of rainbow. The leader separated from the group when Rainbow Dash flew in front of him. He flew after her, attempting to catch her. To my amazement, he held his own, nearly matching her incredible speed. I watched the other three; they began circling over Ponyville like vultures. I kept an eye on them as Rainbow Dash raced. I didn't expect the Sonic Rainboom, but when it came, I wasn't surprised; she was obviously trying to intimidate these new creatures. Suddenly, I heard the crack of thunder; having been distracted by the Rainboom, I had lost focus on the other three; Derpy Hooves was following one of the metal monsters, hopping on a black cloud to keep it moving. Unfortunately, the cloud occasionally shot lightning at the creature, probably terrifying it. I heard her attempting to apologize to the creature, but it flew away for a moment, before circling around to face her. I yelled out; Rainbow Dash was already flying towards Derpy, but it was too late. The metal creature spit out several small, whitish objects at an incredible speed. None of them hit Derpy, but she fell from her cloud; it seemed as though she had fainted. Rainbow Dash dove for her, and I immediately went to the ground. Dash only just barely caught her before she hit the ground. The three circling planes began to leave. The fourth began circling the grassy field where Rainbow Dash was flying towards with Derpy on her back. I landed, and began running towards the most obvious landing point. The two were caught in a reddish glow; unicorn magic, undoubtedly. I saw several others running up to us, all of them people I knew, or knew about. Twilight Sparkle was the one holding the two pegasi in the air. Fluttershy, another pegasus, was looking at the plane in the sky with a terrified look on her face. Pinkie Pie, the local baker, was hopping up and down excitedly, though she still looked concerned. Rarity was making a fuss over Rainbow Dash, who was trying to speak over her. Applejack was there as well, trying to calm Rarity down. On Twilight's back, there was a small dragon, named Spike. Suddenly, Celestia soared to us, seemingly from nowhere, and spoke in an infuriated voice, though it was still quiet and controlled.
"What happened?" The mess of speech from before died down. Pinkie Pie even stopped bouncing. Rainbow Dash looked at the Princess desperately.
"They made Derpy fall! I just barely caught her in time, and Twilight caught us both!"
Celestia looked at Derpy, concern heavy in her eyes, mixing with the fury.
"Are you alright, my little pony?" She asked. Derpy's crossed, golden eyes looked at the Princess confusedly.
"I'm alright, Princess... I want a rest..." Derpy suddenly fell asleep. Twilight gently lowered her and Dash from the air. Celestia then turned to me; I bowed low, not wanting to upset the Princess. She smiled at me.
"Rise, Soaring Spirit. I wish to hear what you saw, as it seems you were not involved directly with this." I rose, and nodded. There was a flash of light, and we were in the halls of Celestia's great castle.
> Chapter 6
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     Several shots and a long story later, my superiors at ground control were stunned. They even called in a general from God-knows-where to hear it. I had to retell it to at least three, supposedly very important people before they stopped asking for the report. The general spoke to me first.
"Well done, son. This was all crucial information; an open attack from a creature with lightning. I find that very disturbing."
"I swear, it happened. What are we going to do about this?" The question was more for myself than the others, but the mood in the room seemed to stiffen; even the computers that had the images of several important-looking suits seemed to grow silent. Someone from the White House - I'm not sure what his name was - spoke first.
"I'm not sure, but this is in good hands now. The President will be notified. I don't think we want to react hastily or violently to this right off the bat; it could result in a huge war." Personally, I agreed with him. Tellman, who was next to me, did not.
"What?! With all due respect, these creatures, whatever they are, can control the forces of nature! I saw unicorns - unicorns, dammit! - that could make things float. I saw flying horses that could push clouds and shoot lightning! Is there any reason we shouldn't be openly atta-?!"
"Quiet, Tellman!" Snapped Admiral Jacobs. He was only a lower half admiral, but he hadn't gotten that far by ignoring orders and disrespecting higher authorities. "You have no right to speak against these men, you understand me?"
The general spoke again.
"Tellman, I understand your sentiments completely, but we don't have the right to simply jump into an attack, no matter what these creatures may seem. Do you understand, Lieutenant?" Tellman looked at the ground.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Back to business, then."
"The President has just spoken to me; he says that we will head to this new land and meet these creatures, whatever they are," said the suit. The general nodded.
"Perfect. If that goes badly, then a plan of attack will be discussed. As for you, Captain, I'll be speaking with your superiors about a promotion, due to your knowledge of these creatures."
"I understand, general, but I'd prefer to keep my position; my place is in the sky, at least for now."
The general saluted, a gesture we returned, and marched out of the room. The monitors went dark, and Admiral Jacobs turned towards us.
"You both flew spectacularly today. Captain, you failed to mention something to me; exactly how fast was the... the pegasus that you flew after?"
I considered for a moment before speaking.
"I obviously didn't clock it, but it outflew the raptor. I also left out something else; this pegasus performed a sonic boom-"
"What?! That's impossible! Breaking the sound barrier without proper protection-"
"That's not all sir," I added. "A second later, there was a blast of color... I think it was a rainbow, and if I remember my science classes correctly, rainbows are caused by the bending of light." For a moment, Jacobs just stared at me.
"Are you telling me that this creature flew so fast that it bent the light around it, causing this sonic boom slash rainbow?"
"Yes, sir. I didn't want to bring it up because I thought it might warrant an overly-hasty reaction."
"I'm glad you didn't say anything," said Jacobs. "I don't want a war; it could end very badly for both sides if they have such abilities."
> Chapter 7
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     I was about to speak, but Celestia raised her hoof. I snapped my mouth shut at the sign. She had suddenly gained an air of authority and command that I had not seen earlier in the evening.
"I'm sorry, Soaring Spirit, but I must ask you to wait a moment; we cannot continue until my sister, Luna, is present."
"Of course, your majesty." We waited only a few moments before a blast of light filled the room. The midnight-blue image and starry mane of Princess Luna appeared before me. I started quivering, not at Luna, but at the fact that I was in the same room as the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria. Luna spoke, more loudly than her sister usually did.
"What hast befallen you, my little ponies?" she asked, her voice powerful. I bowed, and related the whole story, as I had seen it. Celestia remained calm and collected, if powerfully focused. Luna's control was not so impressive; her face darkened with anger, and she glared as the story progressed. When I had finished, she turned to her sister furiously.
"Sister, this is most unacceptable! We cannot allow our subjects to be openly attacked by these strange, two-legged creatures!"
Celestia looked at her sister, her gaze hard.
"We will not jump to conclusions, Luna. It may have been an accident, and Equestria has not seen war in over 1000 years!" I quailed; the mere sound of the word "war" terrified me, at least at the time. Celestia turned away from Luna, and gazed down at Derpy, who was coming to.
"Miss Hooves, I would appreciate it if you would tell us your side of the story, so long as you think you can." The poor mare looked at Celestia with golden eyes, a confused frown on her face.
"Well, I didn't know they would hurt us. I just wanted to say hello, so I jumped on a cloud. I wanted to talk to one of them, but I was too tired to fly, so I just jumped on a cloud to make it move. But I'm not very good at controlling weather..." Derpy's eyes began to fill with tears. "I accidentally sh-shot lightning at it, and I was trying to catch up to apologize, but it j-just kept shooting lightning, and then he turned around, and there were those white things all around, and I fell off of my cloud, and- and..." She burst into tears. "I just don't know what went wrong!" Celestia spoke to Derpy in soothing tones, trying to calm her down. Derpy stepped on the ground, and her tears were suddenly renewed. Celestia seemed surprised by this. It was then that I noticed something wrong with her hoof.
"Princess, something's wrong! Derpy's hoof..." Derpy raised her hoof for us. Lodged in the cracked hoof was a small, metal object. Celestia used magic to remove it - much to poor Derpy's displeasure - and healed the hoof back over with a small spell.
"This object... It must have been what that metal monstrosity spit out," she said, looking at it carefully. "We will have this looked over at a later time. All of you will attend a meeting with these creatures. I will not allow this to happen again, unless we take part in open warefare."
We all agreed to the Princess' request, and exited the castle. Ponyville was only a short trip away for a pegasus, but I still offered to fly Rainbow Dash home. She was tired from her performance at the Wonderbolts' show, and her race with the humans, so she accepted, saying:
"I could fall out of the sky!"
We flew slowly along together in silence for some time. Rainbow Dash spoke first, after these first few minutes.
"What do you think is gonna happen? Do you think there's gonna be a war?"
I hesitated, not wanting to make a hasty answer.
"Well... I don't think Celestia and Luna will want to jump into a fight, but on the other hand, nopony deserves what happened to Derpy. I think that something needs to be worked out with these two-legged things."
It took Dash a moment to reply.
"Well, I don't know what you'll say... But I think that those metal monsters were machines, with people flying them from the inside." I just stared. The idea of flying on the inside of something, without wings of your own, was entirely alien to me.
"You think so?"
"I know, I know, it's crazy, but it seemed like there was one of those two-legged things inside that giant metal bird."
"That does sound kind of far-fetched. But I guess it doesn't matter. Do you think the two-legs will want to talk with us?"
"Who knows, and who cares? I just want to make sure that they don't invade my turf again." She looked angrily forward, as though infuriated by the very thought of someone in a machine trying to steal her thunder. "They really hurt Derpy. I'm not personal friends with her, and she might make lots of mistakes, but that doesn't mean they can spit metal at her and break her hoof! If they try to do that with even one other pony, then I don't care what the princesses say, the war is starting."
I stared in amazement at her determination.
"Well, Dash, I hope that doesn't happen... But if it does, I'll be right out on the front lines with you." I suddenly realized how dumb I sounded. She turned and gave me a quizzical look, but then smiled.
"Thanks. I guess you need more than one crazy pegasus to fight on the same side." She laughed a breaking, high-pitched laugh, and headed into her cloudy home. I flew away, feeling rather surprised, but pleased with myself.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     About three days later, I finally got word about the peace conference; having met with the leaders of this new world, which they called "Equestria," we were ready to have a formal meeting. The two leaders had unearthly powers; both could fly, and had magical horns. They called themselves "Alicorns," and the eldest of the two, Princess Celestia, raised the sun. Meanwhile, the younger, Princess Luna, raised the moon and stars. We were rather worried that they had such power, but were also excited at what it could mean for our world. The conference was to take place at the end of that week, and I was to be present at it, because of my experience. The United Nations had agreed that meeting so many leaders at once would be an unwise decision, and could overwhelm these new creatures - ponies. Therefore, they put together a list of topics, and sent in the President of the United States to discuss their case. They would also be sending myself, the general - who I found out was to be addressed as General Cole - and Tellman, who had been directly engaged with one of the ponies.

When the time came, I felt the others around me had unfair advantages; the President was the leader of the free world, and had more information on these creatures than I did. He also had two FBI agents with him who refused to disclose their names. General Cole was almost as well informed. Tellman and I were on the same page - or so I thought. As it turned out, he had found out the names of several of the ponies we would be meeting with, but refused to tell me their names. We all piled into Air Force One. I almost felt sick; the plane was luxurious and huge, but it felt unsafe to me, somehow. It was such a large target, and was very slow-moving compared to the F/A 18 Hornets I usually flew with the Angels. Still, I trusted the crew with my life, and so did the President. The flight was very short; we landed just outside the capitol of Equestria, a place called Canterlot, and walked to the Princess' palace. It was spectacularly large, and designed for style and grace, not for defense. We had agreed to meet the ponies on their own turf, as we didn't want to intimidate them with our machines of war. We entered a great room, with a large, round table. Chairs were provided for us, while the ponies sat on their haunches. The air felt tense, as though a single misspoken word could send electricity through the room. I looked around at the table, realizing I only knew two of the ponies' names; Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. The President addressed this first.
"Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, I'm afraid we don't know the names of all the people - excuse me - ponies present. Would you care to introduce them, or have them introduce themselves?" His tone was amiable, but cautious; he clearly did not entirely trust the two Alicorns. Celestia spoke, her sister maintaining her peace.
"Of course. The seven other ponies you see here are as follows:
Twilight Sparkle, my most trusted apprentice and advisor, and the manifestation of the Element of Harmony, Magic," the purple mare nodded her head.
"Fluttershy, a kind, caring pegasus, and the holder of the Element of Harmony, Kindness," the yellow pegasus hid behind her mane, embarrassed.
"Rarity, a foremost fashion designer in Equestria, and the keeper of the Element of Harmony, Generosity," the white Unicorn swept her purple mane back.
"Rainbow Dash, quite possible the fastest pegasus in Equestria, and the holder of the Element of Harmony, Loyalty," the cyan mare gave me a nod, her mane glimmering.
"Applejack, a strong, hardworking pony who is the essence of the Element of Harmony, Honesty," the cider-hued mare tipped her hat.
"Pinkie Pie, who is one of the best bakers in Ponyville, and is the representation of the Element of Harmony, Laughter," the pink pony bounced up and down excitedly.
"And, finally, this is Derpy Hooves, who was in the accident, and I felt should be present at these proceedings." A gray pegasus with a blonde mane looked around the table; her eyes were crossed in an unusual manner. She looked confused and slightly upset.
"I believe that's everypony-" began Celestia, but Luna cut her off.
"Actually, sister, we have brought another to these proceedings. Enter, Shining Spirit!" I noticed that Luna had a louder, more commanding voice than her sister. Celestia looked surprised, but became quiet quickly. A pegasus stallion walked in. He was white, but his mane and tail were a thick, dark black. Streaks of violet shone from the shadowy fur. His eyes matched this violet hue. Celestia continued.
"Well, now that's everypony. I'm afraid we do not know all of these ponie- I mean, all of these people's names. Would you care to tell us?"
The President smiled, and introduced us by name.
"This is General Cole; he is here as Earth's military representative. Next to him is Captain Jay Arteil, of our Navy; he was present at the time of the scuffle, and raced with Rainbow Dash in one of our jets, from what I understand." Rainbow Dash suddenly stared at me, her gaze focused.
"Next to him is the Lieutenant that was with him at the time, John Tellman. He was the one who fired on - Derpy, was it?" Derpy shrank a bit, and Tellman looked sheepish. Rainbow Dash's gaze went from focused to angry, and she turned that look on Tellman. Though Celestia remained quiet, her amiable gaze didn't seem to reach her eyes, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
"I am the President of the United States, and I represent all the governments of the Earth. These two fine gentlemen," he indicated the two FBI agents, "are not allowed to disclose their identities, even to humans." Celestia looked him in the eye, and he seemed to falter.
"I see. We do not wish to jump to any hasty conclusions, but we want to know why this... this John Tellman has not yet been punished in some way." Tellman jumped in.
"Wait a second, that pegasus shot lightning at me!" I glared at Tellman; he shrank again, but his gaze remained steadfast. Twilight Sparkle spoke next.
"I understand what it may have seemed like, Lieutenant, but it wasn't intentional; Derpy was just trying to make a friend. She's not a very good weather pony-"
"Damn straight, she isn't." General Cole joined in my angry gaze at Tellman, but he didn't stop. "That thing shot thunderbolts at me out of a cloud! That's unbelievably dangerous; of course I fired on her! What would anyone here have done differently?" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash piped up.
"I'd've listened to her try to apologize, for one thing!" Applejack jumped in as well.
"Darn tootin'! Y' coulda at least had the common courtesy to listen to the poor filly!" Tellman seemed shocked. I nudged him, but he ignored me, and stood up.
"How was I supposed to listen from inside the cockpit of a plane?!" he roared. This time, Luna spoke, her voice commanding.
"And how dost thou suggest that the young pegasus was supposed to know thou could not hear her?!" Tellman shrank again, but it was too late; the damage was done. Suddenly, Soaring Spirit spoke. The room seemed to go deadly quiet when he did so.
"I believe this conference has already failed. I'm not a leader of Equestria, but I assure you, I was there. I have seen Derpy fly, and it was clear that she couldn't get off of that cloud. Tellman could have retreated, and never attacked, but instead, he chose to knock a pegasus out of the sky with a barrage of these small metal objects." He placed a round on the table.
"You cracked her hoof, making her unable to walk for quite some time. You ought to be ashamed of your behavior, but it's clear to me, and everypony else here that you aren't."
"Hear hear! I find this positively disgusting behavior!" said Rarity. Soaring Spirit looked at her, and she fell quiet again. Rainbow Dash seemed stricken by his speech. Fluttershy remained quiet, but when I looked at her, her eyes were full of an inner focus. Pinkie Pie simply looked around the table excitedly. Celestia spoke again, but now, her voice had the weight of a nuclear weapon strike, and the authority in her stance was unquestionable.
"You will all leave Equestria. This was inexcusable, and I see you have no regrets about what has happened. Consider our relations with you hostile." The Alicorn's bearing how now changed so much that she looked terrifying - it was as though watching our own Sun turn against us. Then, it got worse. Luna spoke; it seemed that from somewhere deep within her, a dark power had reemerged. She had turned completely black, her starry mane flashing and sparkling. Her voice became authoritative and commanding.
"We will not allow any of you to stay here, when more of us may be hurt. Begone from this place, and do not return, or we will personally kill you ourselves! Consider our relations with you beyond hostile; from this moment forth, we are at war, humans!" Her mane swirled above her head, as did Celestia's. The six agents of the Elements of Harmony also glared at us, though Twilight Sparkle seemed somewhat disappointed, as well. Derpy's confusion had transformed into rage; she glared at Tellman, and somehow, her unusually crossed eyes made her all the more terrifying. We all backed away, but not before the President made a final statement.
"You will regret this, Princesses. The United States of America haven't yet lost a war in all their history; I won't see that changed under my government." We then ran back to Air Force One, and headed back to Earth, with the worst news imaginable; we were at war with magical creatures.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A Note From the Author: Hey, guys. I wanted to say thanks for the constructive criticism and such that I've received on this story. Originally, this was just an idea floating in my head, and I needed it removed so I could get to work on my own characters, and my own novel. A common complaint/comment I've heard is that there is no possible way that ponies could stand up to the USA's military forces. Probably true, in a more realistic setting. However, I still hold fast to the argument that the ponies have very strong points as well. The Elements, combined with magic (let's face it; combined Unicorn magic could totally stop a nuclear strike), flight (who knows what the Sonic Rainboom is really capable of?), and even strength (just wait until you see what Bic Macintosh does), I feel that these two races are well equipped for battle. Not to mention, when a world is at stake, unusual alliances are made. I just wanted to clear this up, so thanks for reading. I understand any and all complaints in this department at this point; I'm still happy to hear anything else relating to this story. Thanks for reading, as always! - GK)

After the humans left the room, I found myself in complete shock. Celestia seemed to shrink, while Luna simply glared at the door. The others around the table all looked somewhat stunned. I blamed myself, of course; it had been almost entirely my fault. If I had kept my peace, nothing might have happened. However, I still didn't think that Tellman person was trustworthy, nor did I think he had regretted his actions. I did not realize that Celestia would so quickly jump to the offensive, nor did I even consider that Luna would declare open war. Celestia glared at Luna.
"Sister, why did you do this? I hoped we could keep them away long enough to close the opening to their world!" 
Luna snapped back, her voice powerful.
"But sister, we could clearly see that these two-legged creatures held nothing but contempt for our race!"
Celestia sighed; a fight would not fix anything. She seemed to have returned to her kinder self, but there was a spark in her eye.
"Soaring Sp-"
"Please, Your Majesty, call me K."
"Very well. K, I want to apologize for your involvement in this. I'm afraid I must keep you here, however, as you have become important to the survival of Equestria."
At this, I frowned. Quite by accident, the ponies in this room had become the greatest leaders of Equestria, and maybe our entire world.



About a month later, we had managed to militarize most of Equestria. The Elements of Harmony had become the great leaders; I chose to serve as a lieutenant in the EAF; the Equestrian Air Force. At the forefront of this army was Rainbow Dash. She served as what Celestia called "High Captain," leading all important battles. These pegasi were specially trained by Rainbow Dash to be the fastest, toughest fliers in the land. She was merciless on all of us; our training regiment was strict, and she was quick to hand out punishment. Through this, we became the most respected branch of the Equestria Military.
There were other branches as well. Twilight Sparkle served as an overseer of the two magic-based branches. The first was the MOF, or the Magical Offensive Front. These unicorns were trained in powerful attack magic that could bring down jets and helicopters. They were also taught special defensive magic, to guard the front lines. The other magically based branch was the UNG, the Unicorn National Guard. This branch was made up of large, defensive units that were stationed in many cities. Two shifts were assigned to each city, and the Unicorns synchronized their magic to create powerful barriers, to stop bombs, bullets, and anything else the humans could use against our cities.
Applejack, along with her brother, Big Macintosh, trained the Earth ponies in the EGT, Equestrian Ground Troops. These ponies were given special armor (designed by Rarity to be both functional and intimidating), and sent out on the front lines. Each had a small unit from the MOF mixed in, to help magically protect them. Special weapons were invented for these teams. Applejack wanted to fight at the front, but she had to train the ponies back home. Each and every one of them got strong enough to crack stone. Big Mac, on the other hand, served with these ponies. Although the normal troops were strong, Big Mac was the strongest in the entire military.
Probably bravest of all of us was Fluttershy. She became the envoy to other species across the land, such as the dragons, and the changelings. Although it was frightening for her, Luna or Celestia would often send Cadance or Shining Armor with her.
Derpy became a model for poster slogans. She was seen in her mail-job, being struck down by a jet, with the words NOPONY DESERVES IT underneath.

However, war didn't actually break out until two weeks after this preparation. It surprised us that it had taken the humans so long to attack, and I never found out until much later. The tear in the sky had gotten larger in the last month, and had stretched to a point where ground units could enter and exit at will. Nobody walked down the streets we could see; we rather thought that the humans had set up a perimeter there, just waiting for somepony to walk out and be a sitting duck. However, they attacked first. They brought a small squad of soldiers into our land, along with several tanks. We had our own troops stationed there. They were able to fight off most of the soldiers, whose bullets shattered as soon as they hit the shields. Our specialized Earth pony weapons were special metal machines that shot small spears at the enemy. It was activated by biting a small bit of wood. The humans weren't entirely overwhelmed in that attack, however. We lost several ponies after the shields were broken by the human's weaponry, no small feat. Although the ponies managed to dispatch most of the soldiers, the tanks were another problem entirely. Many an Earth pony died that day attempting to knock over the tanks. Even battalions of them couldn't dent the metal monsters. That was when Big Mac came, an angry flame adorning his eyes. He stomped up to the tank. He then turned, and kicked the machine, alone.
To everypony's amazement, the tank leaned to one side. Time seemed to slow down for a moment, before the tank slammed onto its side. Everypony stared in awe at Big Mac. The impossible seemed to have happened, and we rejoiced for a very short time. When people asked later if he was angry, he simply said:
"Eeyup." The only other question asked was if he was thinking at all. His reply?
"Nope."
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(A Note from the Author: This part of the story is separate from the other two narrations, and exists to add clarity. It is told in third person, and it is related to events happening outside the warzone. -GK)

Fluttershy shrunk slightly as she approached the black hive. Blue-green goo coated the ground, and she had to be careful so as not to slip and fall. Her face was hidden behind her mane from fear. However, she was accompanied by Shining Armor. He seemed uncomfortable at the place of an old enemy, but he had not objected to what Celestia had said.
"Shining Armor, all of the races must be informed of this war, if nothing else. If it seems at all possible, we have to gain their support. I can think of nopony better suited to this job than Fluttershy. However, she may need accompaniment, as she is easily startled. I want you to go with her to the Changelings' hive, and speak with Queen Chrysalis."
Fluttershy froze at the entrance to the hive, seemingly paralyzed with fear. Shining Armor patted her back, and she reached up a hoof, and tapped at the side of the entrance. The knock echoed down the shadowy hall. Then, a loud yell was heard. Chrysalis came flying out above them. Shining Armor was infuriated at the sight of her, but did not speak; he was afraid to do so. Fluttershy stepped toward her. She inhaled, and spoke in almost a whisper.
"Um... Your Majesty, I was told to let you know, that these horrible, two-legged creatures have come to Equestria, and they're attacking the ponies." Chrysalis stepped up to Fluttershy. She had a look of sadistic glee on her face.
"So, the great princess of the ponies has reached out a hoof to us Changelings, has she?"
"Well... um..."
"She wishes to ask our help in this great battle, does she?" Fluttershy squeaked, and Shining Armor spoke, keeping his voice free of any emotion at all.
"Chrysalis, we were simply told to inform you that war has broken out. We do not ask for help. We are simply passing information to you." Chrysalis gave a nasty look to Shining Armor.
"You came, as well? Do the princesses of Equestria seek to insult me?!" Shining Armor's legs stiffened; he was tensed for violence. However, Chrysalis' next words came in a different tone.
"Do not think I wish to hurt you, Shining Armor. I intend to help in this battle, but not for you, nor your princesses. We fight for what you give us, what you feed us. Without your race's emotions, we cannot survive. We will battle with you, in whatever ways you wish." Fluttershy looked up.
"Oh, thank you so much. I don't like fighting, so Princess Celestia sent me to go make peace with you. I'm sorry that I wasn't very helpful..."
To both Shining Armor and Fluttershy's amazement, the Queen actually smiled. A sincere, kind smile.
"My little pony, I hold no personal grudge against you. You and your friends did very little to me, whatever your intentions were. Shining Armor and Cadance were the ones who did damage to me. We shall never be friends, but I harbor no hatred for you."
Fluttershy smiled, but hid it behind her pink mane.



Interview with the President of the United States.
"Mr. President, what, exactly, is the nature of these creatures?"
"While I would like to say that they are friendly, they reacted strongly to our meeting, and clearly mistrusted us."
"Isn't it true that you didn't exactly trust them, Mr. President?"
"With good reason, it seems; our peace negotiations quickly descended into their blaming us for an incident that was clearly caused by them, and nearly resulted in the death of a Navy pilot."
"I see. What, exactly, do you intend to do?"
"These things have declared open war on our country. I do not believe the United Nations will back us in this war, so I intend to send our military to crush these things before they can do any damage to us."
"How long do you think it will take to militarize properly, so we can remove this threat?"
"Based on the abilities we've seen so far, we intend to take two months. The first to plan and prepare, the next to militarize and actually attack. We aren't sure of everything they are capable of, so we want to be fully prepared. Also, we want to say that we do not intend the use of nuclear weapons. We are not even asking the UN for the codes necessary to access our nuclear arsenal."
"That's good news. Why a military attack as opposed to a nuclear strike?"
"Excessive force and the horrors of nuclear attacks do not appeal to this nation. We have the right to defend ourselves, not to torture others just to make things more convenient to ourselves."
Further interview information classified. CIA documentation #5162151781