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// Chapter 8 
// Story: Militant Equestria 
// by GuitarKirby 
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     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.