Two Years Earlier
City of Manehattan, Equestria
1500 Hours
January 15th, 2013
If there was any city within Equestria that showed prowess and ingenuity of Ponies, Manehattan was that city. Unlike the noble atmosphere of Canterlot, or the farming community of Ponyville, Manehattan was much more industrial. Like the capitol city, buildings covered the town, with trees and other vegetation only seen in suburban areas and parks. The streets were filled with honest, hardworking ponies moving back and forth to work, but never too busy to help Somepony who was in need. It was something Celestia loved about the city, another reason she was glad to be visiting. With Luna able to now run the Government by herself from time to time, giving Celestia the time she wanted to get out of Canterlot and connect with her people. At the moment, she was enjoying a meeting with the city’s mayor in his office.
“And production has risen?” Celestia asked, sipping her tea. The mayor nodded, a pleased look on his face.
“Not to an incredible degree, but it will help raise…” He let his sentence drift off, then allowed himself a small laugh. “Forgive me your highness; I know that you didn’t come here to talk economics.” Celestia smiled,
“It’s quite alright,” She said. “That is good news, regardless of my visit. However, I do look forward to meeting everypony I can.” The Mayor nodded,
“Of course Princess,” He said. “I thought we would start at Central Park, it’s lovely this time of year, and-” Suddenly, the door to the Mayor’s office burst open, and a blue Earth Pony entered, clearly out of breath.
“Mr. Mayor, we-” He stopped, bowing after seeing Princess Celestia. “Oh, I’m sorry for interrupting your highness.” Celestia held up a hoof,
“Please, do not mind me,” She said. “I’m sure whatever you have to say to the Mayor is important, so please, continue.” The Pony looked to the Mayor for permission, who nodded.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. The Pony took a deep breath, probably to both gather his thoughts and help his burning lungs.
“I don’t know what exactly,” He said. “But some ponies have spotted ships far off the coast, and they’re not of any design we’ve ever seen.”
“What do you mean?” The Mayor asked. The Pony just shook his head,
“We have no idea, but they’re not of any Pony, Gryphon, Zebra, or anything else we can identify.” The mayor looked slightly alarmed, but he remained calm,
“Have we been able to learn anything about the ships?” He asked.
“Just one thing,” He responded, looking panicked. “From what we can tell, they are Warships.”
~~
Being a Captain of a Federation battleship had its privileges. For instance, he didn’t answer to anybody on his ship but himself. However, these privileges also came with many responsibilities, such as knowing what to do when nobody else does. This was one of those times where Captain Matthews hated his position. Once the fleet had spotted the city on the horizon, no one on the bridge had spoken a single word. Matthews, like most other humans, didn’t really believe that there were any civilizations out there that could match humanity in terms of technology, or even if there was intelligent life outside their borders at all. But here was proof, undeniable proof that there were not just other civilizations, but they had technology that could match those of the Federation. The city he was looking at was very similar to Coronet, with large buildings and a wide dock for ships to conduct trade. Actually, had he not known better, he would have thought that he was back on the human mainland looking at a coastal city. The only real difference he could find was that this city was much more colorful than any town he had visited back home.
“Sir? Sir!” Matthews was snapped out of his observations by Commander Madine, his second in command.
“Y-yes, what is it?” He asked.
“Well, we’ve found another Civilization,” Madine replied, his eyes locked on the city. “Now what?”
“According to orders, we’re supposed to make contact with this civilization,” Matthews responded. “But, this is not how we imagined we would discover another civilization. We can’t use radio, because we don’t know if they have that technology, or if they would even understand our language if they did.”
“Then, do we try a direct approach?”
“No… They might take that as an aggressive action…” Matthew’s said. He felt a headache coming on, as he knew that his actions right now might very well determine the future of his nation. His head began to ache, he just wanted to return to his quarters, sit down, rest for a few hours.
His eyes widened as a sudden realization came to him.
“We do nothing.” He said out loud. He the weight of everyone’s gaze shift to him. Madine cleared his throat,
“Sir?”
“We do nothing,” Matthews repeated “At least for now.”
“With all due respect Captain, I don’t think-”
“Do you have a better idea?” The Commanding Officer asked. “All of our options are either doomed to failure or can be perceived as an attack.” He sat down in his chair, now feeling fully in command. “Order all ships to stay at this distance from the city in parade formation. If anybody approaches our ships, do not open fire. We are to not to engage unless we are attacked first, am I clear?”
“Yes sir.” Madine said uncertainly. “But with all due respect, what are you expecting to happen?”
“I’m letting them make the first move,” Matthews responded. “This way, we see how they react to situations, and we don’t look like invading their land.”
“I see,” Madine looked thoughtful. “How long do we wait.”
“One hour.”
“And if nothing happens by then?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Matthews said. “But with any luck, we won’t have to worry about that.” The Captain continued to stare out at the city, knowing this would be the longest hour of his life.
~~
The four different monitors showed similar images, each showing pictures of the different ships that were holding off the coast of Manehattan. The images were somewhat blurry, but they showed the ships in clear enough detail. Several of them appeared harmless enough, but the larger ships were clearly manufactured for battle. Large guns covered the steel decks, looking menacing even from this distance. The mayor was almost in a panic, flailing his hoofs around and his eyes darting, as if the answer was lying somewhere in the room.
“Are we under attack?!” He was demanding. “We should scramble the military! They could make landfall at any moment! We have to be ready!” Celestia however, kept as calm as ever, an almost unnerving calm for this situation. She studied the images on the screens carefully, mentally logging every detail. Finally, she spoke.
“No.” She said simply. Everypony in the room turned to look at her.
“Your Highness?”
“I don’t believe we’re facing an attack.” She pointed at one of the monitors that was showing a warship. “Look, their weapons remain silent. And they’re not approaching the city.” She looked thoughtful, “It almost appears as if they’re waiting.”
“Waiting?” The Mayor finally seemed to calm down. “Waiting for what?” Celestia shook her head,
“I cannot know for certain,” She said. “But if I were to hazard a guess, I would say whoever it is, they’re waiting for us to make first contact.”
“Why would they do that?”
“It could be any number of factors. But whatever the reasons, they appear to want us to reach them in some manner.” The Mayor now took on a look of deep concentration.
“Should we… send out a Pegasi as a representative?” He asked. Celestia considered,
“No, we still don’t know what’s out there, and I don’t want to put anypony in danger like that.” She thought for a moment, then an idea formed in her head. “Are there any radios around?” The mayor gave her a confused look,
“One of those old Ham radios that the military uses?” He asked. “I think there might be one in one of the storage rooms.”
“Get it,” She ordered. “I think I may know a way.”
~~
Matthews had read many books which described waiting as seconds passing by like hours, but he had never actually experienced such a thing.
Until now
Every heartbeat felt like years passing by, as he stared out at the city, trying to learn more while he was miles away. The bridge remained quiet, mostly because nobody had anything to say. The time trickled by as the sailors waited for something, ANYTHING to happen. After they had reached about a half hour, Matthews had begun to worry that he had been wrong. His mind began to race, trying to think of some way he could salvage the operation. Before he could think up a good contingency plan, the burst of static resounded around the bridge.
“This is the city of Manehattan to outlying ships, please identify.” Everybody stared at the radio, not quite believing what they had just heard. Not only had the city contacted them over the radio-waves, they were speaking the same language as the humans.
“Repeat, this is the city of Manehattan to outlying ships, please identify.” The voice sounded envious, but commanded the respect of one who was in a position of command. Matthews took a deep breath, his heart pounding inside of his chest. He held the microphone to his face, and spoke in the most official voice he could manage.
“City of Manehattan, this is Captain John Matthews of the battleship F.S.S Endurance, flagship of the Federation Expeditionary fleet.” A silence followed his words, and he figured that they were probably equally surprised that he had responded.
“Um, Captain Matthews, repeat your last, where are you hailing from?” The voice asked. Matthews mentally face palmed himself, forgetting that he wasn’t in his home country.
“We hail from a nation known as the United Human Federation, and we’re out searching the world for other civilizations.”
“…We request to know why you would choose this time to explore the world, since we have never heard of your nation before.”
‘I can’t imagine why,’ Matthews thought.
“We are seeking help with a crisis that is plaguing our mainland; we are in need of immediate assistance.”
“What is the nature of the emergency?”
“Something that is far too complicated for me to explain over a radio. We would like to be able to send a representative of government to meet with one of your leaders to discuss the nature of our crisis, nothing more.” A pause, as the being on the other end was probably talking to someone of higher authority. Finally, the voice responded.
“Federation ship, we will allow a representative to arrive our soil, but he must be alone, in a very small, unarmed boat.” Matthews wasn’t in a position to me making demands, but he didn’t like the idea of sending the representative alone in an unknown land.
“We request that a small escort of two men carrying only small arms be allowed to accompany the diplomat ashore.” Another pause, this one longer than the rest, as Matthews held his breath.
“We agree to your terms Captain, we shall meet your delegates when they arrive, Manehattan out.” A small click followed the statement, then static. Matthews put the radio down, then turned to Madine.
“Make the preparations; I want to have that the diplomat in the city within the hour.”
~~
“Dammit, I can’t take it anymore!” Riley shouted, standing up from the table. “What’s so important out there that they don’t want us on deck?!” All the other crewmen in the battleship’s giant mess hall simply rolled their eyes and shook their heads in annoyance at the outburst.
“Settle down Sergeant,” Lieutenant Miller said, aggravated by the soldier’s impatience. “I’m sure we’ll be told what’s going on soon enough.”
“I don’t like it,” Riley said, sitting back down. “I’ve been hearing some of the sailors talk, and I don’t like what I’ve heard.”
“They say a lot of things,” Miller responded, trying to get into a comfortable sitting position himself. “I would take it with a grain of salt.”
“Normally, I’d agree,” Riley said. “But these don’t seem so far off. Several of them have been saying that they saw land before we were ordered to go below deck.”
“So they saw land, someone call the press, it’s something we’ve never seen before.”
“Do you remember why we’re on this damned expedition? Land means another country!”
“Calm down, it doesn’t mean anything.” Miller hissed.
“Really? So you think this is all a coincidence?” Riley demanded. “We see land, and we’re ordered to stay out of sight, and we’ve been this way for the better part of an hour, doing nothing. So tell me, what do you think is going on?” The Lieutenant sighed, shaking his head.
“I don’t know,” He admitted. “But it doesn’t make sense. If we found another country, let’s assume that it’s friendly, since we’re not under attack right now. We would make contact, preferably in person. That would mean that under preferable circumstances, they would send an escort with our representative, but no one has left the mess hall.”
“So, who do you think they would send with the representatives?” Miller shrugged,
“Probably the best troops we have.” As if on cue, Commander Madine stormed into the Mess, eyes locked on the two men.
“Miller! Davis!” He barked. “Get suited up Marines, you’re heading out!” Without another word, the officer spun on his heel, and exited the hall. The pair sat in silence for a few heartbeats, then Riley smiled.
“I guess WE’RE the best!”
~~
Riley never really liked Madine. It wasn’t like he was a bad officer; he was fair to all the men, and wasn’t as uptight as most in the Navy were. But what he hated was his unnerving gaze, something that would make even the toughest of men feel uncomfortable. It didn’t help that he was watching them while they geared up in the ship’s armory.
“So what’s the lowdown sir?” Miller asked, taking stock of his gear.
“I think you both have a pretty general idea,” Madine said. “But here’s the basics. We have completed step one of our Operation, we’ve made contact with an intelligent civilization that looks to have technology that is at least equivalent to ours.” Out of the corner of his eye, Miller saw Riley give him a smug smile. He ignored him,
“So we’re protecting the delegate then?” He asked, guessing that his friend’s other prediction would also be true. Madine nodded,
“Basically. Remember, you’ll be among the first of our people to set foot in this country, so try to make a good impression.” Miller snorted in amusement,
“You want to make a good impression?” He chuckled. “And you’re sending Riley? I think you’ve just sabotaged your own operation.” Riley’s smile fell as he glared at the other Marine. He grunted in annoyance as he reached for his combat gear.
“No.” Madine suddenly said, his eyes locked on Riley.
“…No?” The soldier replied, not understanding.
“No Marine combat gear, you’re going in with Navy uniforms.” Riley looked at Madine, confusion on his face.
“Why?”
“Marine colors have been deemed too intimidating,” Madine answered. “We don’t want them to be too scared of you when you first meet them.” Riley grumbled in protest as he placed the desert colored uniform back in its place, and reached for the digital blue colors of the navy combat uniform. Beside him, Miller loads his gun.
“No rifles either.” Madine said. The Marine’s stared at the Navy Officer, shock on their faces.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No I’m not. You’re here to make peace, not war.”
“How the hell are we going to be able to protect a delegate if we can’t even bring proper weapons?” Miller demanded. Madine looked to the floor, looking very weary for a moment.
“It’s not an ideal situation, not by a long shot.” He said “But we’re not in control of it, we’re in a foreign land searching for help that we don’t even know exists. Please,” his voice broke slightly, “We have to do this, for our people back home.” The silence that followed weighed heavily on the men in the room, the pressure on them feeling like physical weights on their shoulders. Riley was the first one to move, Strapping on the black body armor over his uniform, placing his pistol in its holster, and completed the outfit with the military cap on his head. Without speaking another word, he walked past the two men out of the armory. Following his friend’s lead, Miller finished readying himself, then left after Riley.
~~
To say the boat they were on was small would have been an understatement. It wasn’t like the Zodiac boats that Riley had used during the amphibious training of Marine boot camp, but it was quite smaller than any patrol boats he had ever seen being used by the Navy. Miller was at the helm, steering the unarmed vessel toward the city harbor. At the front, Riley was trying to keep watch for any danger as they got farther away from the fleet, but he was distracted by the sights of the city in front of him as it grew closer. Behind him, seated in the boat’s passenger area, was Representative Rousey. Riley didn’t know much about the man, except that he had been a high ranking member in the senate before he had volunteered to represent the Federation on the mission. He wasn’t very impressive physically, being short and with mid-sized blonde hair, but he apparently made up for it with a massive intellect that most humans couldn’t even hope to match.
The dock was now within few, and Riley could make out figures gathering where they were going to place the boat. He squinted, trying to get a clearer picture of what they looked like. They were colorful, what some might call fruity, but they had a certain-
Riley’s breath caught in his lungs.
“What the…” What he was looking at, was definitely not human. “Uh, Miller….”
“I see ‘em,” Miller said, his voice just as surprised as Riley. “But I don’t believe it.”
“Interesting,” Rousey said, moving to see what his escorts were looking at. “But there was never a guarantee that we would be meeting another human nation.”
“Maybe not,” Riley responded, observing the four legged creatures. “Still doesn’t make this any less strange.”
“Well, at least TRY not to stare.” Rousey said.
“Why? They have no problem staring at us.” He was right, all of them were staring at the humans, their eyes wide with fear and confusion.
“Well, so much for not scaring them.” Miller commented.
“Indeed,” Rousey said. “Let’s try not to ruin this mission anymore than we already have.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Riley retorted. Miller brought the small ship to the dock, then dropped the gangplank onto the wooden structure.
“Ladies first.” He said, making a small bowing motion. Riley snorted,
“Cute.” He gingerly stepped onto the gangplank, looking around at all the ponies watching him, before stepping off onto the land.
‘I’m probably the first human to ever set foot here,’ He thought. ‘Maybe I should write a book about this someday.’
He moved to a standard guard position to the left of the plank as Miller took position on the right. Neither of the men were giving intimidating looks, but both had the standard neutral Marine look on their faces, one that didn’t cause fear, but let others know that they meant business. Rousey was next, having his regal diplomat’s look as he stepped onto the foreign soil. As the three humans walked forward, a path was cleared for them as the ponies stepped aside, some looking quizzically at them, others with fear. They were greeted by four armored ponies who were obviously part of the military, some sort of guards by the looks of it. Riley found it quizzical that the armor they were wearing looked as if it was the top of their capable technology, but their guns told a different story.
“We’ve been ordered to take you to the meeting point,” One of them said, his voice gruff. “Follow us.” Rousey nodded, motioning for the ponies to lead the way. As they continued down the street, other uniformed ponies, who Riley assumed were police officers, dispersing the crowds. He was now getting better looks at the ponies, and could see differences between them. There were ones with wings, who seemed to be able to fly around and about. Others had horns on their foreheads, and he thought he saw glimpses of them glowing and some objects levitating, but he was sure he was just seeing things. Still others seemed to have nothing special about them whatsoever. But in the same way he was observing the ponies, the ponies were obviously observing him as well. Looking him up and down, at his clothes, his eyes, his hair, and everything in between.
As Riley pondered this fact, his tactical sense told him that their escorts were slowing their pace. He looked ahead, seeing a large building that he assumed was town hall.
“We’re here,” One of the other guards said. “We’ll take you inside, but don’t try anything funny.” Riley was hard pressed not to make a retort. Luckily, Rousey answered.
“We understand.” He said. The four guards made a square formation around the humans as they entered. Riley couldn’t quite understand why they had the paranoid security around them since they’d arrived. Humans had obviously never been seen before, and the two marines were carrying weapons, but he got a sense that there was more here than what had been revealed. The guards opened the door to a waiting room, and Riley got his answer. Standing in the room with two other guards was a pony unlike any he had seen while walking through the city. Riley had been almost two feet taller than the other ponies on the streets and the guards, but this one was eye level with him. From what he had observed ponies could only have either wings or a horn, but this one had both, and her flowing mane covered one of her eyes and a crown on her head. From all accounts, this pony was one of very high authority. Rousey bowed respectfully, feeling the same aura of royalty that Riley felt. The two marines were inclined to do the same.
“Welcome to Equestria,” She said, her voice regal. “I am Princess Celestia, ruler of this nation.”
“I am Senator Rousey, representative of the United Human Federation,” He motioned toward the other two humans. “These are my escorts, Lieutenant Joe Miller and Sergeant Riley Davis.” She smiled,
“Charmed.” She said. She nodded her head towards a nearby door, “Now, we should discuss this crisis that your people are facing. However, I must request that your escorts remain outside, security reasons and whatnot.” Miller looked as if he was about to object, but Rousey cut him off.
“Of course your highness,” He said. “We understand completely.” The Lieutenant turned him around.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He said. “Our orders are-“
“Your orders are to do as I say,” Rousey countered. “And right now, I’m telling you to stay out here. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not in a position to be making demands. Besides, if they wanted to kill us, they could have done it dozens of times by now.” Riley sighed in frustration. As much as it frustrated the soldiers, he was right, there was nothing they could do.
“Alright,” Miller growled. “But we’ll be right out here, something goes wrong, just squawk.” Rousey nodded, then turned back to Celestia.
“Let’s not waste any more time. I apologize for my impatience, but our situation is quite dire.” She nodded, and motioned toward the conference room. Rousey entered, followed by the Princess and her two guards, then the doors behind them shut. The two Marines stood on one side of the room at Parade Rest, opposite of them stood the four other guards that had brought them to Town Hall. Now that they had a moment of silence, Riley let his mind wander. This land was strange, so much different than his home. There was a word for it, something they didn’t see in the Federation mainland. It was at the tip of his tongue, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. Suddenly he was aware of one of the ponies whispering to another, glancing in his direction. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were talking about him. He felt anger boil up inside him, and his mouth ran away with his brain.
“You got something to say to me?” He growled. “Say it to my face.” The pony looked at him, his face betraying no emotion.
“I was just saying that it’s odd that you humans wear clothes over all of your body except your face.” He said. Riley’s anger quickly gave way to confusion.
“My… huh?”
“Your clothes. We ponies rarely wear clothes, if at all. Do you humans wear clothes all the time?” Miller, who had suddenly decided to join the conversation, nodded.
“We do.”
“Why?”
“Well, we aren’t covered in fur like your kind; clothes have just become a way of life for us.”
“Your clothes just seem so… cumbersome.” Another pony said. Riley snorted.
“You don’t know the half of it,” He said. “Back in boot camp, they made us where this stuff while carrying over a hundred pounds of gear while we were on a ten mile hike.” The other ponies smiled at that.
“Is that it? We had to carry twice that much while crawling through mud.” That brought a laugh out of Miller,
“Sounds like training sucks no matter what the species.” All six of them were now laughing,
“Boy have I got stories…”
~~
Rousey took a seat at the table opposite of Celestia, folding his hands.
“Before we begin,” Celestia said. “I would like to know more about you and your people.”
“Fair enough,” Rousey replied. “I’ll give you the quick version. For as long as we have existed, humanity has been at constant war with each other. Due to this, we have been confined to our mainland, to worried with one another to focus on the outside world. Fifty years ago, we engaged in the most explosive and bloody war in our history. We called it the Unification war, because after it ended, a council of all the nations formed together under a single banner. Thus, the United Human Federation was created. Since formed, we have kept a strict isolationist policy, which is why you’ve never heard of us, and we’ve never heard of you. Myself and the rest of the Expeditionary Fleet are the first humans to ever set foot outside of our homeland.” Celestia considered.
“And this crisis you are facing drove you to throw your policy aside?” She asked. Rousey nodded,
“Believe me, it was a last resort, but we could see no other option.” Celestia made herself conferrable.
“And what is exactly is so incredibly important that caused your government to seek out help?” The diplomat shifted in his seat; obviously it was a delicate subject.
“Did you witness a meteor shower recently?” He asked. Celestia nodded, remembering the stellar phenomenon that Twilight had written to her about, saying how all of Ponyville had watched the incredible sight. “We did as well,” He continued. “We also wished to learn more about them. We constructed a magnet that would be powerful enough to bring a small meteor down to our mainland for us to study.” Celestia raised a brow, the story sounding very familiar to something that had happened in Equestria long ago. She had a hunch of what the humans were facing, but she determined to keep listening.
“Go on.” She said simply.
“The problem was our scientists made an error,” He continued. “The magnet was powerful, far too powerful. It brought down a far larger meteor than we would have wanted. It caused massive damage in one of our cities, but we didn’t think it went beyond that.” He looked down to the table. “At least until reports of the illness began pouring in.”
“The illness?” Celestia asked.
“It started in the city where the meteor crashed, but then it started spreading across our land. Nothing we have has managed to stop it, no medication, anti-biotics, even quarantine can’t seem to stop it.”
“What are the symptoms of the illness?” Celestia was almost certain she knew what was wrong, but she wanted to be sure.
“Fever, vomiting, illusions, and boils on the skin.” He said. Celestia nodded,
“I know what the problem is.” She said. Rousey perked up,
“You do?”
“Well, not exactly.” The Princess looked thoughtful. “A similar event happened long ago in our land. Much like you humans, we wished to study the space-born objects. We used our magic to bring down a meteor, and the same problem happened to us, hundreds of ponies were infected with the illness.” Rousey looked at her, a confused look on his face. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” He said. “I must have heard wrong. Did you say that your subjects used MAGIC to bring down a meteor?” Celestia blinked.
“Why of course, we use magic for many things, do you humans not?” Rousey shook his head.
“We have no magic. In fact we believe it to be nothing but tricks and optical illusions.” Celestia chuckled, then used her magic to hold up a nearby pen.
“I assure you Senator, this is no optical illusion.” She said. Rousey’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Ok, I believe you,” He said. “Mostly.” Celestia looked thoughtful,
“But because you humans don’t have magic, it’ll make curing the illness far more complicated.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the only cure we could find was by using magic.” The senator bit his lower lip,
“That does make things interesting to say the least…”
“However, the spell to cure the illness is quite simple,” Celestia said. “If your government would allow it, I could have an Aid brigade formed with Unicorns who wish to help sent to your land to purge the disease.” Rousey blinked, not quite believing what he was hearing.
“You would do that? I don’t know what we could do in return.” Celestia shook her head.
“There is no need for any repayment, I couldn’t stand by and let others suffer.” She paused. “That is, if your government will accept our help.” Rousey rubbed his chin.
“I’ll be honest, It’ll take some convincing in the Senate,” He admitted. “But I don’t see any other option for us. Allow me to contact the Federation and make arrangements.” The Princess nodded,
“And I shall make preparations for the Aid Brigade.” The two stood up, and proceeded to exit. The moment the doors opened, familiar voices came to their ears.
“…And then the Sailor says, ‘Buddy this is a Navy base, you’ll have to be more specific than that!’” A roar of laughter resounded through the room as the four guards and two marines were laughing hysterically. Then the soldiers spotted their superiors leave the room, and they immediately snapped to attention, trying to act like nothing happened. Celestia smiled,
“Having a good time with your new friends are we?” One of the guards cleared his throat.
“My apologize Princess, we were distracted.”
“Indeed,” Celestia turned toward the two humans. “I congratulate you Sergeant, my guards are nearly impossible to get a reaction out of them.”
“The same can be said about Federation Marines,” Rousey said, eyeing his two escorts. “Most of the time.” He bowed before Princess Celestia. “If you’ll excuse us your highness, we must get back to our fleet to make contact with the Federation.” He motioned for the pair of soldiers to follow him, as they left City Hall. Once they were back on their boat, they broke the silence.
“Care to share what you two agreed on?” Miller asked.
“We haven’t agreed on anything yet,” Rousey replied. “But she says that she can help us, and has offered to do it without compensation.” Riley raised a brow.
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
“The catch is that we would have to allow a large number of ponies inside our borders in order to treat those infected.” A shocked silence followed his words.
“….Ponies?” Miller said slowly. “In our borders?”
“No one but humans have been on the mainland, and it’s been that way for… well forever!” Riley exclaimed.
“We don’t have a choice, not this time. At the rate the infection is spreading, the Federation could collapse within a year. If they can cure it, we would be foolish to turn down such help.” They let the words sink in for a moment.
“I just don’t know,” Riley said. “Do you think that our species would even get along?” Rousey chuckled,
“Two Federation Marines and four Royal Equestrian guards, arguably biggest hard-asses that I could think of, and I find them laughing and cracking jokes.” He shook his head. “Oh I think we’ll get along just fine.”
City of Canterlot, Equestria
May 28th, 2013
1800 hours
Four months after first contact
“And so,” Celestia concluded. “The Royal Court has ruled that Anderson Industries has the right to conduct trade within Equestrian borders, so long as said company abides by the laws and regulations that we have set in place. This court is adjured.” The court, a mixed group of ponies and humans, left the throne room, all parties looking satisfied at the result of the hearing. Celestia smiled to herself, happy at the conclusion.
“That was very well done,” A familiar voice said. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.” The Princess looked up to see a very well dressed human, one she knew very well.
“Yes well, you humans have stirred up quite a lot since you’ve arrived on the scene.” She answered. “You’re the President Mr. Rousey, you should be handling this as well.” Her friend chuckled,
“Oh trust me, a lot more ruckus is going on at the mainland, but the good news is, the infection is gone for good.”
As he had predicted, the Federation Senate had been in an uproar over Celestia’s offer. Many had claimed that humanity should stay by itself, keeping the isolationist policy going. Luckily, cooler heads had prevailed in the end, and the Federation had opened its borders to the brigade of Unicorn volunteers. As Celestia had promised, they had cured those with the infection, one by one, until it had vanished completely. Soon after, the President and Vice President had both stepped down to be with their once infected families. Using the new political influence he had gained, Rousey had won in a landslide election to be the new President of the UHF. Most humans were hesitant to get involved with Equestria since they had been in Isolation for so long, but Rousey had largely encouraged private companies to get involved with the newly discovered nation. Trade had spiked, as the two species opened up to each other.
“I can imagine.” Celestia said. “Any problems?”
“Some,” He admitted. “But nothing to major. In fact, many are excited for the new possibilities.”
“I share their excitement,” She paused. “That reminds me, why are you here? I always enjoy our conversations, but as you yourself said, you are very busy. You wouldn’t bring yourself all the way to Canterlot just to make small talk.”
“Right to the point I see,” Rousey said, a smile forming on his face. “You’ve been very gracious and kind to us, much more than we would have ever been. You not only cured the illness, but you opened your ports to trade. You’ve asked for nothing in return.” Celestia waved dismissively.
“Think nothing of it.”
“No, we do.” He took on a serious look. “So allow us to return the favor. I offer you the one thing we humans specialize in. Our military strength.” Celestia blinked, but stayed silent. “Your nation is one of peace and harmony, and we wish to help you keep it that way. We want to be able to help you keep it safe, and our military might can do just that, if you’ll accept it.” It took a moment for the Princess to understand what he was asking.
“Are you…. Proposing an alliance? Between our nations?” She asked. Rousey nodded,
“The senate has already approved it. And I believe it will strengthen both of our nations for generations.” The Princess paused for a moment, considering, then smiled.
“Allow me to get my sister,” She said. “We can all make this new Alliance official.”
Ponyville
May 30th, 2013
1300 hours
Sugercube Corner wasn’t particularly busy today. Many ponies were out and about going on their daily lives, but not Applejack or Rainbow Dash. With Apple bucking season just ending, and the sky clear for the day, the two mares decided to take the day off.
“Thanks again for the cupcakes Pinkie!” AJ called. “Their great as always!” Pinkie, who was behind the counter, smiled.
“No problem! It’s all in the secret ingredient! It’s-“ She was cut off, as the door opened, and a lavender unicorn entered.
“Hey everypony!” Twilight said. “Have you heard the news?” Rainbow raised a brow,
“What news? She asked. Twilight’s horn glowed, and the small television set that sat in the corner of the dining area came to life, showing a news mare.
“… And in breaking news today from Canterlot, Princesses Luna and Celestia of Equestria and President Jacob Rousey of the United Human Federation stood side by side today with their announcement of the Equestrian Human Alliance pact. As part of this agreement, ports in the human mainland such as the Capital city of Coronet are being opened to specific trade to Equestrian private companies, and other trade benefits. Along with commerce provisions, this treaty also has specified the allowance of Federation Military forces to be stationed in Equestria for defense purposes. President Rousey was quoted in saying that this new treaty would not only strengthen the relation between the nations, but draw both species closer together. Tonight, we will be able to have a face to face interview with Princess Luna, who also strongly supported-” Twilight switched off the television. Rainbow leaned back in her chair.
“Well… That’s something.” She said simply. Twilight nodded,
“This is going to have a huge impact on Equestria!” The unicorn looked thoughtful. “I wonder what humans are like…”
“Ah met a few durin’ mah trip to Manehattan a month ago,” Applejack said. “They seemed like decent folk to me.”
“I’d like to meet one of them myself, see how different they are from us.” Twilight said.
“Well, you’re going to get the chance soon.” All four ponies jumped, surprised by the Mayor who had entered without them noticing.
“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked. Twilight wondered whether or not Pinkie actually cared about politics, or if she just wanted to see if humans would enjoy her parties as much as she did. Probably the ladder.
“I just received a phone call from Canterlot,” The Mayor replied. “It turns out, the humans will be putting one of their bases here.” Rainbow raised a brow,
“They what?”
“It won’t be in the city, it’ll be out in the outskirts, but we’ve been given instructions to help build a human Air Force base.” Pinkie’s eyes lit up,
“So more new ponies will be coming to town!” She cried. Twilight shook her head.
“You mean more ‘people’ Pinkie.”
“Well, it looks like we’ve got work to do then.”
FOUR MONTHS LATER
“No no no, you’re going the wrong way!” Dare said, rolling her eyes. “Ponyville is THAT way!”
“Dare, I know this is hard to understand,” Cole replied, his voice laced with annoyance. “But I am a pilot in the Federation Air Force, and I am sure that I can find my way to a little town!” Behind the wheel of a military issued jeep, Cole tried to show his female counterpart that he was competent enough to get them to the small town of Ponyville that was right next to their base.
It had been about five hours since Rouge Squadron had landed at the Ponyville Air Force Base, spending the time getting acquainted with their new surroundings and their jets in the hangars. They’d been given the night off, the base commander encouraging them to get to know some of the locals. So Cole, Dare, Justin, and another Rouge pilot nicknamed Blaze had got in a jeep with the town in destination.
“Really? Then why are the city’s lights THAT way?” Dare asked, pointing. Cole cursed under his breath,
“I knew that…” He made a turn back toward the town. As they approached, Cole could make out the small buildings that dotted the town. It looked quiet, peaceful. He had a feeling that he would like it here. The sun had just set, and several ponies were still walking the streets. As expected, the ponies gawked and stared at the approaching humans. They pulled to the side of the street, disembarking.
“Well, this place is pretty nice I suppose.” Justin said.
“What’s the matter city boy?” Dare chuckled. “Have to live in a big town like Coronet?”
“Coronet, that’s your capital city, correct?” The four humans turned to see a lavender unicorn and an orange earth pony behind them.
“Ya, that’s right.” Cole replied. The Unicorn smiled,
“I’ve been studying your people, trying to learn as much as I could. My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“And ah’m Applejack.” Her companion said. The pilot smiled,
“Pleased to meet you,” He said. “I’m Cole, these are my friends Justin, Dare, and Blaze.”
“We’re Air Force pilots from the base.” Justin chimed in.
“Air Force?” Twilight asked. Dare nodded,
“Rogue Squadron, we fly those F-16’s that were overhead earlier.”
“Ah, those planes,” Twilight smiled. “My friend Rainbow Dash saw them.”
“Rainbow Dash?”
“A Pegasus pony who believes she’s the greatest flier in Equestria.”
“Well, she’s the second best now that I’m here.” Cole said with a smug smile. Applejack rolled her eyes,
“Oh ya, ya’ll will get along just fine.” Out of nowhere, another pony, this one a bright color of pink approached. Once she saw the humans, she stared at them for a moment.
“Uh, hello?” Blaze said nervously. She was quiet for another heartbeat, before she let out a shrill gasp, leaping into the air, before sprinting away in the opposite direction. The four humans watched her for a moment,
“Um,” Justin said. “What just happened?” The two ponies laughed.
“Oh you’ll see soon enough.”
Trottingham AFB
June 3, 2013
1200 hours
To the naked eye, it was a normal jet of the human military, with nothing extraordinary about it. The only markings that make the fighter unique was the ribbon insignia on the tail of the plane. As it’s cockpit opened, the pilot removed the flight helmet.
“So this is Equestria,” The human said, looking around at the surrounding area. “Not bad.”
It was a wide world, and a future that was looking very bright indeed.
Livingwood Army Base, Equestria
February 2nd, 2015
0200 Hours
2 years since first contact
“So, run this by me one more time,” Payton said. “How exactly did you piss off the Sergeant?” Kyle sighed, looking over the supply list on his tablet.
“I tried to pull a prank on Patrick, putting in some laxatives in his chili. Unfortunately, the Sarge got there first.” Payton laughed out loud,
“I can’t imagine that he took the joke well.”
“Yes, he took it so well in fact, that I’m working graveyard for the next month!” He shook his head. “And that’s why I’m out here right now and not asleep.”
“Well, It could be a lot worse,” His friend said, looking over the supplies in the warehouse. “Besides, we’re almost done, then we can hit the hay.” Kyle nodded, then looked back at the supplies.
“Everything’s here,” He said, glad to finally be done. “C’mon, lets…” He let the sentence drift off as he saw a crate that he hadn’t noticed before sitting in the corner. He looked down at his tablet, then back at the box. “Hey Payton.”
“Ya?”
“Is that box over there on your supply list?” Payton looked down at his own tablet, then shook his head.
“Not on mine,” he replied. “It’s not on yours?”
“Nope.” Kyle approached it, now eyeing it carefully. “Could be a typo?”
“Maybe,” Payton replied. “Should we just ignore it?”
“No, that would be taking a bigger chance then I’d like.” He looked at his friend. “Go get the supply Sergeant, just to be-” He was cut off, as the crate suddenly exploded, sending both men flying backward with shrapnel buried in their bodies. As his vision began to darken, the last thing Kyle saw was a green gas hissing through the room.
Orlando Naval Base, Equestria
F.S.S Valiant
February 2nd, 2015
0500 hours
Silence
It was something that just never existed on a Navy ship, leaving both sailors and marines to get used to the noise when they were trying to sleep. It was a skill that Riley had learned to master during his time in the Corps, and it was made even better when he had finally earned his promotion to Lieutenant and his own private quarters aboard the ship. Even so, it was far from silent. Which was why he wasn’t surprised when he was awoken earlier than usual by activity aboard the ship. He rolled over, trying to get back to sleep, when the commotion seemed to be getting louder.
“Ugh,” He groaned to himself. “Why are they running drills so early on a Sunday…?” It was his first day of shore leave in a month, and he wanted to at least get more sleep than usual.
The noise continued, and he could make out some voices yelling for marines to get on their feet. Now getting a bad feeling, Riley slowly sat up, still trying to fully wake himself up, until a voice from outside his room called out something that made his blood run cold.
“GAS GAS GAS!!!”
Riley leaped off the bed, now completely alert, as his training kicked in. He immediately reached into his footlocker. He quickly pulled out his gas mask, fastening it too his face. Once it was secured, he grabbed his weapons, fearing that they were under attack, and exited his quarters. Outside, he could see gas-masked marines milling around the halls, unsure what to do.
“Let’s go Marines!” Riley shouted. “We gotta get topside! Move it ladies!” The disciplined soldiers followed the orders, moving to get to the top deck. Green gas was now filling the halls of the battleship, taking down anybody who didn’t have their masks on. He kept moving, barking orders at marines as he passed them. Rounding a final staircase, he exited to the upper deck, getting a good look at the base and the rest of the ships in dock.
“Mother of God…” He whispered. The entire base, and every ship in port was oozing the green chemicals. Hundreds of soldiers and sailors would’ve had time to react to gas, killing them while they were still asleep.
“What happened?!”
~~
“No really!” Justin said, trying to breathe through his hacking laughter. “I see a lot of tension between you and that bookcase! You should see the base psychologist about it!”
“Oh for the love of all things good,” Dare groaned. “Shut him up!”
“I told Pinkie that it was a bad idea to spike the punch…” Cole said, using all of his self control to stop himself from killing his drunken wingman.
“Actually,” Blaze chimed in. “I think it was Spike who spiked the punch.”
“Wait, the dragon?”
“Yep.”
“Spike spiked the drink?”
“Uh huh.”
“Is that legal?”
“Probably not, but I don’t think he-” The remainder of Blaze’s words were drowned out by a civil defense siren that blasted from town square. An announcement followed,
“Attention, attention. All Federation Military personnel, we are at Code Emerald. I repeat, Code Emerald. Once personal safety has been assured, begin assistance of civilian emergency procedures. This is not a drill.”
On the streets, groups of humans of humans who were supposed to be on shore leave were now scrambling to follow the orders. Dare was the first of the Rogues to get moving, pulling the gas masks out of their jeep. She tossed them to her squadron mates.
“What’s going on?” Behind the pilots, the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony had gathered. Cole sealed his mask,
“If that announcement is correct,” He said, his voice slightly muffled. “Then the base has just fallen under chemical attack.” The shock and surprise was evident on all of their faces, both Pony and Human, but the Pilots had been drilled enough to know what to do in the situation by pure reflex. Even Justin in his intoxicated state was performing the actions with precision, a deadly serious look on his face.
“Oh my…” Fluttershy said, panic in her eyes. “Has anyone been hurt?” Cole was almost certain that people had not only been hurt, but most likely had died. But now wasn’t the time to bring that up.
“We don’t know yet.”
“Are you heading back to the base?” Twilight asked.
“Not yet,” Dare replied. “We need to get you six to safety, then help with the rest of the town.”
“Fluttershy, you live on the edge of the Everfree Forest right?” The mare nodded. “Alright, that should be a safe distance from the base. Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy get there as fast as you can using your wings, got it?” The two Pegasi did as they were told, Rainbow Dash flying much faster before she remembered Fluttershy. Cole turned to his left.
“We’ll help get any other ponies to a safe area,” She said, motioning to Blaze. “Get them to Fluttershy’s.” Without another word, the pair broke into a run towards the town square. Cole jumped behind the wheel of the vehicle, Justin right beside him.
“Everybody in!” He called to the ponies. The mares looked uncertain, but piled into the jeep. Looking into the distance, Cole could see a green gas approaching the town. “Oh this is not good…”
City of Canterlot, Equestria
February 2nd, 2015
1200 hours
“At five AM this morning, attacks were triggered across Equestria, targeting centers of Human Military activity. Details are still sketchy, but we have determined the attacks were of a chemical or a biological sort, and the casualty rate is estimated in the high thousands-“
Celestia silenced the Television, not wanting to hear anymore. She was sitting in her personal office, preferring the organization of her personal work space to the more public space of the throne room.
To say that the current situation was bad would be the understatement of the millennium. Nothing of this magnitude had occurred since the uprising of Nightmare Moon over a thousand years ago. To make things worse, she hadn’t been able to contact President Rousey all day, his assistance telling her that he was holding an emergency meeting with his military council. And to add to that, she still was lacking the reports she’d wanted regarding all the locations of the attacks and the casualty rate.
A knock on her door brought Celestia out of her thoughts. It wasn’t a buzz on her com, so whoever was knocking was of high enough importance for the guards to let pass.
“Come in.” She called. As expected, Luna entered the office, using her magic to hold a group of documents in mid-air. She looked tired, staying up all night since the news of the attacks first came in.
“Long night Luna?” Celestia asked. Her sister nodded,
“And I have a feeling it’s going to be an even longer day for you Tia.” Luna set the files on Celestia’s desk. “We received the first detailed reports of the attacks.” Celestia felt a little relief, as it was the first good news she’d received all day. She opened the documents and began to study them, even as Luna continued speaking.
“Out of the twenty human bases within Equestria, seventeen have suffered from the chemical attacks.”
“Have any of our military instillations been hit?”
“No, though they have been placed on high alert just in case they’re targeted next.”
“How bad is the damage?”
“We still don’t have an exact count on the human casualties, so many dead or missing, but it looks disastrous.” Luna said.
“I’m almost afraid to ask this,” Celestia took a deep breath. “How many ponies have died?”
“…None.” Celestia blinked.
“What?”
“None of our subjects have been affected.” Luna said, her voice one of disbelief.
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know, but even in the areas where our people were exposed to the chemical, nothing happened.”
“Interesting, we’ll have to put more study into it.” Celestia looked at her sister. “Now you should get some rest.” She held up a hoof to forestall her rebuke. “We’re going to have a long few days ahead of us, we need to be at our best. Go get some sleep, I can handle things for now.” Luna bit her lower lip, but nodded.
“If anything else happens-”
“I’ll let you know.” Celestia promised. As Luna exited, her com buzzed.
‘No breaks for me today it seems,’ Celestia thought. She pressed the button,
“Yes?”
“You have a priority video call coming in from Coronet.”
“Put it through.” She turned toward the large monitor on the wall. She expected to be met with the face of President Rousey. Instead, she was greeted by a man wearing the uniform of the Federation Air Force. She knew who it was, as she had met him on several occasions.
“General Davis,” She said neutrally. “I was expecting to hear from the President.”
“Get in line,” The man replied. “He’s so busy talking with every department of government that even I can’t see him.” Celestia ignored the quip.
“I assume you’ve received the reports?”
“Even better ones than you’ve got. This is the single worse event in human military history, thousands of my men are dead, and I don’t know if my only son is among them. And yet somehow, your ponies are just fine. Why do you think that is?” His voice held a small hint of accusation. Celestia narrowed her eyes,
“What are you saying?” The two glared at each other for a few heartbeats, then Davis pressed a button, making something that looked scientific.
“This is the analysis of the chemical agent used on all the attacks.”
“I’m still not understanding where you’re going with this….”
“We discovered something interesting. This chemical is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, as it is specifically meant to kill humans.”
“What?”
“You heard me. These chemicals are tailored to kill those of humanity, just humans. Surely you noticed that your ponies weren’t being affected.” Davis said, acid in his voice. She actually hadn’t known until now, but she wasn’t about to let this human have any victories.
“Why would this agent just target humans?”
“I was just about to ask you the same question.” Realization dawned on Celestia,
“Are you accusing ME of ordering the attacks?” Davis snorted,
“Please, even I know that such action would be more harmful than helpful to you.” He shook his head. “No, I think it was a rogue element in the Equestrian military, or a terrorist group with a grudge against humans. Either way, you know more than you’re letting on.” Celestia felt shocked and appalled, feeling like putting this human in his place.
“Let me be perfectly clear,” She growled. “I have no knowledge of any anti-human groups within my borders, if I did, I would share it immediately, because I actually care for this alliance that we have created.”
“I’m sure,” Davis said, his voice cold. “Just get your act together Princess, or we’ll do it for you.” Anger began to boil over in Celestia.
“Is that a threat General?”
“No your highness, THAT is a promise.” The human ended the call. Celestia sat in silence for a moment, then let her calm demeanor break for a few heartbeats.
“Arrogant Human…” She snarled.
City of Coronet, Human Mainland
February 3rd, 2015
0100 hours
Graveyard shift was among a Minuteman’s worst nightmare. The late atmosphere was always depressing, but now, it felt crushingly so. Coats sipped his coffee, the one thing that was keeping him awake after sixteen hours of work. Manning one of the Air Force’s Minutemen consoles, the Major watched streams of data go by. Nothing important of real note that he needed to pay attention too. The caffeine was wearing off, and his eyes began to feel heavy. He closed them, feeling the peace of sleep closing in-
“This is Kingston Air Force Base, we’re under attack!”
Coat’s eyes snapped open, as he realized it was an emergency call from a Federation base inside Equestria.
‘Oh no,’ He thought. ‘Not another chemical attack!’
He quickly activated his microphone.
“We read you Kingston,” He said. “Decontamination units will be routed to your-“
“NO! SEND THE ARMY DAMMIT!” The voice screamed. Coat’s heart skipped a beat.
“Kingston, repeat your last!”
“We are under a full assault by hostile forces!”
“Say again Kingston, what hostile forces?!”
“It’s the Gryphons, they’ve launched a large-scale invasion. My God, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!!! We need immediate support NOW Dammit!” The call broke off into static with their final chilling words
“Equestria is under attack!”