One. Five
Explosive Delegation
Canterlot was a big city, but not confusing. It wasn’t hard for Captain Kuyaki and Chancellor Steelbeak to find Canterlot Tower, the largest building in the city, and enter her halls. At the back of the ground floor was a massive dining hall where the committee would gather, the ceiling well over 50 feet high.
“The Kabato is well outside Equestria’s borders, keeping in line with the non-aggression pact we have with them, but I can have her perform an in-atmosphere slipspace jump. Dangerous, but it will work for the shock and awe effect” Kuyaki told Steelbeak, who nodded.
Entering the dining hall Kuyaki and Steelbeak were greeted by all three Equestrian princesses, as well as the Crystal Princess, Cadence, and her husband. Also present was the Minotaur emperor, the Canine President, the Spider God, and the High Lord of the Dragons.
“Welcome, leaders of Equestria’s provinces, states and foreign representatives. Please, let’s be seated and begin” Princess Celestia stated, sitting at the head of the large table. All leaders did as instructed, though the dragon had already been sitting. He was a good 30 feet tall, with black scales and a light brown underbelly. His body was wrapped in ornate dress armor, the shoulder pauldrons spiked and the helmet sporting a cleft in the middle, covering the front of his mouth, the entire ensemble a fiery orange.
It reminded Kuyaki of the ornate armor Covenant Elites wore.
“Today’s agenda covers the Demilitarization of Equus Act and our concerns over several nations expanding their militaries” Princess Twilight declared, looking over her notes. “Now, we have discussed this before with Chancellor Steelbeak, but now we will say it to all races it concerns; we are staunchly opposed to military expansionism.”
“What are your reasons for this?” the Minotaur emperor asked, his race obviously being one of the ones investing in new military technology.
“Large militaries require heavy funding, and competing for the largest military and newest tech breeds unwarranted tension and friction between the races of the world as everyone fights for the most power” Twilight answered.
“Do you have evidence to support these claims?” the Canine President stated, gesturing his hand out as if motioning for the Princesses to hand something over.
“The proof is in the proverbial pudding! Since the Griffons have expanded their military our relations have grown tense!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Hmmph! That sounds like it’s YOUR problem, not ours. To me, that sounds like you WANT to breed and seek out tension with the races of the world. You CAN maintain peace with a nation that has a strong military” the Minotaur emperor stated.
“What?! That’s an oxymoron. ‘Peace’ and ‘military’ do not go together” Twilight said.
“Hah! Wow, this is unbelievable. Are you that fundamentally paranoid of strong militaries? Are you so actively scared of anything deadlier than a sword? I can see and smell it; you’re scared beyond any rational thinking of military expansionism” the Minotaur emperor replied.
“We see no reason for any race to invest in military spending since there has been no war in hundreds of years and no new threats have arisen!” Twilight said.
“This bickering is pointless! You should all vote and be done with it!” Captain Kuyaki piped up, folding his arms over his chest.
“Agreed!” all parties declared. The papers were slid out to each leader, including Kuyaki, with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ checkbox to the question at the top; ‘should the DEA be renewed?”. Captain Kuyaki took a quill from the cup next to him and scratched out the ‘no’ box.
When the voting was all said and done the papers were handed back to Princess Celestia, who looked them over in private, sighing. “The vote comes to 4 ‘no’, 3 ‘yes’. The DEA remains expired, and all races of the world are free to expand their militaries” Celestia declared.
“Unbelievable!” Twilight exploded, slamming her hoof on the table. “We’ll all be constantly clawing at each other’s throats within a decade, psychotically justifying violent wars, because all of you are so intent on building empires and armies! I bet within five years we’ll ALL be embroiled in war!”
“You know, I think if anyone present here is paranoid it is YOU, Princess Twilight!” Chancellor Steelbeak exclaimed. “Why do you so adamantly believe that strong militaries spark massive wars? We maintain militaries to deter any would-be enemies from trying to take from us our way of life! We all have armies, even you. It is just time to update and expand them all.”
“I do not agree with that! I believe we should abolish all forms of military in favor of strong peace. What is the point of having an army if you have no enemies?!” Twilight demanded.
“Because you DO have enemies” Kuyaki announced, leaning forward. “We ALL have enemies; someone, somewhere out there, will ALWAYS want to destroy you and everything you stand for. It is happening to my kind as we speak! An alien alliance billions strong are burning their way through the stars, and if they haven’t found your planet yet then they surely will! And when they do, if you had no military you would be completely HELPLESS to stop them” the Captain explained.
“I’m sure we could establish peace with your ‘Covenant’” Twilight spat.
“Don’t you get it? There IS NO peace with the Covenant. The only kind of ‘peace’ you maintain with the Covenant is if you JOIN the Covenant. You only have two choices with them; join their empire and survive, or resist and be destroyed! And when you join them your culture, your way of life, your beliefs, any and ALL religions are abolished and destroyed and replaced with the Covenant’s! And if you resist... Have you ever seen a LIVING being MELT into a puddle of bone paste and blood before your very eyes?! What the Covenant Empire is capable of doing with even the most basic of their technologies is extreme, and without a significant military you would be powerless to stop them.”
“Well we’re not fighting the Covenant, and they haven’t found us, so we’re not worried about them” Twilight responded.
“Exactly! With a strong military you are prepared for any future enemy” Adam stated.
“I still don’t see the point in wasting money on war when you are at peace. I want to schedule further conferences over the DEA” Twilight demanded.
“There will be no such conferences anymore. You lost, Princess. Military expansion WILL continue” Steelbeak replied, standing from his seat.
“UGGHH! I can not believe this!” Twilight exclaimed, well and truly pissed now.
“Calm yourself, Twilight. This is the way things are now” Celestia stated, putting a hoof on her prodigy. Captain Kuyaki stood, preparing to leave as well.
“You’re war mongerers, all of you who voted against the DEA” Twilight commented.
“Military expansionism is the future! The future to ensure the future. Should you continue to act with aggression towards our expansionism we will react accordingly. In fact, why don’t we SHOW you the might of our alliance?” Steelbeak declared, turning to Kuyaki and nodding.
“UNSC Kabato; put on the light show” Adam ordered over the radio, not bothering with Excalibur’s reply. He put the radio back in his pocket and walked over to the nearest window. “Watch, Princesses. Let us SHOW you a real military.”
All four of the Equestrian Princesses and the other leaders turned to the massive windows and watched as the UNSC Kabato warped into existence over Ponyville, barrelling down on Canterlot. The destroyer, massive compared to the pony cities, loomed like a beacon of war. “THIS is the culmination of human warfare. A vehicle capable of waging war from space itself! And it's not even our biggest one” Kuyaki announced.
Almost like clockwork both barrels of the Kabato’s MAC cannons thundered, spitting out two 1,000 ton slugs of titanium at five times the speed of sound, the searing streaks of white almost unseen against the blue of the daytime sky. Three dozen Longsword fighters came out of the ship and screamed over Canterlot, rattling the windows of the hall.
“The power of the UNSC and the knowledge of the Griffon Republic will make for Equus’s strongest military, and any who would join us would be very wise to do so” Chancellor Steelbeak announced as chaos erupted in the streets below, the panicked screams heard from all the way up in the tower.
“A strong military is the lifeblood of any and all races of the universe. The means to protect their citizens, and destroy their enemies. Peace is an impossible concept” Adam stated.
“Such an act of war will not go untolerated!” Princess Luna bellowed as the Longswords began to circle around Canterlot like sharks. The Dragon lord lowered to all fours and growled at the human and his Griffon compatriot. Kuyaki put his hand on the butt of his M6D but didn’t draw it.
“Kabato, show the Equestrians more power. Flex your wings” Kuyaki commanded, not bothering to watch as the destroyer fired one of its MAC cannons, the round thundering directly over Canterlot and landing harmlessly in a nearby lake.
“Pursue ANY kind of war against the Griffons, and the might of the UNSC will come to bear upon you, Princesses.”
The Dragon Lord snorted and black smoke billowed out of his nostrils but he didn’t move as he watched Kuyaki and Steelbeak exit the dining hall, leaving the Equestrians and Dragons pissed, the Spiders unsure of their allegiance, and the others sure of the future.
The Equestrians would be going to war.