//------------------------------//
// Foreign Policy 
// Story: M.A.N.E. 
// by BRBrony9 
//------------------------------//

	'You understand, ambassador, that this was an act of war?' 

'Your Highness, once again we find an Equestrian craft in our territory. It was a military vessel, entering our waters without invitation. That alone would be grounds for a declaration of war.' Silver Birch's tone was just as strident as Princess Celestia's. The atmosphere in the throne room was even more tense than it had been at their last meeting. Both sides knew what was at stake. Though the sudden escalation of tensions between them worried her, she had no doubt that the USR leadership did not want war any more than she did. There had been plenty of chances over the last few decades for them to spin some excuse for war from a minor incident, and, although their nuclear forces were now at the strongest they had ever been, the USR's frontline military had been weakened by budget cuts, lackluster training and equipment problems. Now was not a good time for them to fight a conventional war against Equestria, and there was never a good time to fight a nuclear war.

'Ambassador, the navigation logs of our ship show that it was never within five miles of your territorial waters. It was engaged on a search and rescue mission in international waters when it was struck by an unprovoked and deadly attack that left twenty eight sailors dead and our vessel at the bottom of the ocean.'

'May I remind you that your ship also shot down one of our aircraft?' Silver Birch replied. 

'Yes, it did, because that aircraft had opened fire on it,' Celestia said 'If you do not want us to shoot down your aircraft, then I suggest you refrain from attacking our vessels!' 

'First you penetrate our airspace with a military surveillance aircraft, and now y...'

'Ambassador, please,' Celestia interrupted. 'You know as well as I do that you shot down an unarmed civilian aircraft, and now you have attacked and sunk one of our warships.'

'It was in our territorial waters!' Silver Birch protested.

'Even if it was, what right does that give you to sink it? Your own naval vessels have entered our territorial waters numerous times, and have we ever sunk one of them? No. We hail them and request that they return to international waters. We shadow them. We escort them out. We do not open fire without provocation. Does your government want a war? Because if they do, then they are certainly proceeding down the correct path.' 

'Nopony wants a war,' the ambassador said. 'We simply request that you keep your military forces out of our territorial waters and airspace. We have not forgotten the spy planes that you deny any knowledge of, either, Your Highness. You have provoked us often enough before.' 

'But never have we attacked,' she said. 'We are not in the business of unprovoked aggression, and we are certainly not in the business of murdering innocent civilians.' 

'That is a relief to hear, Your Highness. Neither is the USR.'

'Your actions three days ago say otherwise, ambassador,' Celestia replied coldly. 'The blood of four hundred and twenty three dead civilians, and now twenty eight sailors, are on your hooves.' 

'Your Highness, this is far from the first time our nations have come to blows,' Silver Birch said slowly. 'Surely there is no need for things to escalate any further. I urge restraint and caution in these matters, lest you find things getting out of hoof.'

'Then I trust, ambassador, that there will be no further attacks on Equestrian ships or aircraft that may stray into your territorial waters, regardless of whether they are civilian or military?'

'You have my solemn word, Your Highness. The Chancellor has instructed me to tell you that no such actions will occur again. I can promise you that the USR will not attack any Equestrian vessel or aircraft that strays into our territorial waters.'

She nodded. 

'I am very pleased to hear that, ambassador,' she said. It must be clear to you that...' She was interrupted as the double doors to the throne room swung open. A tall guardspony in full ceremonial uniform entered, a sheet of paper clutched in his hoof. 

'Your Highness!' he said loudly as he trotted over to her. 'Please forgive my intrusion, but you need to see this right away.' 

Silver Birch turned for the door. 

'I should take my leave,' he said, but the guardspony stopped him.

'This will be of interest to you also, ambassador.' He passed the dispatch to Celestia, who quickly read it. She struggled to maintain her composure.

'Well, ambassador,' she said grimly. 'It appears that the USR has invaded Saddle Arabia.'




Sandy Oak stood by the high razorwire fence, his face pressed up almost against it. It was his favourite place- he loved the sights, the sounds, the smells. Part of it was simply that common colt love of all things loud, fast and 'cool,' but for him it was more than that. He loved it all the more because his father worked there, and he wanted deeply to be a part of it someday, when he was older.

He was standing by the perimeter fence of Hoofstead Air Force Base, not far inland from Equestria's southwestern coastline. Normally it was home to the 4th Strategic Bomb Wing, which consisted of two squadrons of the Outlaw heavy bombers that formed the backbone of the air force's nuclear strike capability, along with a cluster of supporting units. Among the crews was Sandy Oak's father, Golden Oak, who flew as the bombardier of one of the jets. The Bomb Wing operated as part of the quick reaction alert force, kept at constant readiness to take off in the event of an attack. 

Since the USR's invasion of Saddle Arabia two days earlier, however, Hoofstead had been home to an ever-changing array of military aircraft that were using it as a staging post on their way to their ally's aid. The USR's excuse for the invasion was that spy planes had been taking off from bases there and overflying their territory, but everypony knew that an excuse was all it was- they had been champing at the bit to invade Saddle Arabia for years. The country possessed rich natural resources; gems, oil and, importantly, uranium for their nuclear weapons. Under the present conditions, the vast majority of those resources went to Equestria. Some Equestrian military units were permanently stationed in Saddle Arabia, and they had joined the local army in trying to hold off the USR while reinforcements were rushed in by sea and air from Equestria. Right now at Hoofstead, for instance, there was a squadron of Bronco transport aircraft parked up on the hard standing, and another of Mustang fighters, which were lining up for takeoff at the far end of one of Hoofstead's two parallel runways. 

This was Sandy Oak's favourite part. He watched the slender fighters turning onto the runway, lining up three abreast on the wide strip of concrete. Imaginary radio transmissions ran through his head as he tried to picture what was going on in the tandem cockpits of the jets as the pilots and weapons officers prepared for takeoff. 

Viper, he thought. I bet their callsign is Viper- that's a cool name. The callsign of his father's squadron was Cutlass, which sounded cool, even though he didn't know what a Cutlass was. In times of high tension like this, the strategic bomber crews were kept constantly on alert, taking shifts so that there was always a crew in the cockpit of the jet at all times, with the aircraft themselves kept at a constant state of readiness, so that they could get into the air within minutes in the event of an attack. 

From the other end of the runway, a sudden roar went up. He dismissed all irrelevant thoughts from his mind and focused on his favourite sight in the whole world. Though he was an earth pony, he wanted to fly more than anything. He desperately envied his Pegasi friends who could do so whenever the mood took them; for ponies like him, the only route to flight was through mechanical means. His father and hundreds like him proved that you didn't need to be a Pegasus to be in the Air Force, although most members of the service were, for various reasons ranging from simple prejudice to practical arguments, such as that it was easier for a Pegasus to bail out from a crashing aircraft.

The roar grew in intensity as he watched the first trio of Mustangs accelerating rapidly down the runway towards him. Almost as one entity they leapt into the air, and seconds later passed over him, their afterburners blazing like miniature suns. He watched in awe, his heart pounding with excitement as it did every time he stood at the end of the runway to watch. It never failed to thrill him. Long before the roar of the first three jets had died away, the next section were overhead, racing after their comrades, followed by three more, then the final section, for a full squadron of twelve jets. He watched them peel away to the left, turning almost a full 180 degrees to race away to the southwest towards Saddle Arabia. He knew his father wouldn't have to go abroad to fight- as part of the nuclear deterrent force, the Strategic Bomb Squadrons were permanently based in Equestria. He watched the fighter squadron recede into the distance, thankful that his father would never be called away to war.






'Remind me again. What exactly is this stuff, and why should I be enjoying it?'

Rainbow Dash lay on the spa table, a robe wrapped around her body and her face coated in gunk. Fluttershy and Rarity lay either side of her, similarly attired. 

'Oh darling,' Rarity chuckled. 'It's called a face mask, and it is to exfoliate and freshen your skin!' Fluttershy nodded.

'Oh yes, it's wonderful. You really should give it a chance, Dashie.' Rainbow rolled her eyes.

'Alright, alright, jeez. You've finally dragged me here, I'm not gonna back out now and have AJ calling me chicken.' Her friends giggled. Though Fluttershy and Rarity made their way to the spa together several times a week, they had never been able to persuade Rainbow to come along before. She was famously averse to such things, but she had to admit, having this stuff on her face did feel quite nice. 

'I don't suppose I could persuade you to join us again this Saturday, darling?' Rarity said. 

'Nope!' Rainbow replied, happy to have a genuine excuse. 'I'm gonna be helping Pinkie run Sugarcube Corner while the Cakes are away.' 

'Oh, yes, I heard about that,' Rarity said. 'Does she not think she is biting off a teensy little bit more than she can chew. trying to run the whole place by herself?' 

'I guess so, that's why she wanted me to help out!' Rainbow grinned. 'She needed some help and she knew just who to turn to!' Rarity smiled.

'You know she asked all of us first, darling? You were the last one she asked, and the only one that was free.' Rainbow blinked.

'Oh...'

Rarity giggled, picturing the kinds of chaos that would no doubt befall Sugarcube corner with Rainbow and Pinkie at the helm. 

'Yeah, well, at least I wasn't too busy pampering myself to help a friend!' Rainbow countered. Rarity giggled again.

'Oh but darling, I will be helping a friend! She turned to Fluttershy. 'I will be instructing her in various matters here at the spa, and then we shall head back to my boutique, because I simply must measure her for a new dress!'

'Oh yes,' Fluttershy said. 'I really need a new one. My old one got...kind of...damaged.' 

'Well, you'll see! We're gonna run that place like clockwork!' Rainbow grinned. 'You should pop in after your makeovers, see how we're getting on!' 

'Well, we might just do that! How about it, dear?' Rarity looked at Fluttershy. 

'Oh yes, of course!' Fluttershy said. 'I'm sure you'll both do a wonderful job.'

'Yeah! H-hey, this stuff is burning a little...' Rainbow said, rubbing at her face mask. 

'Don't worry, it's supposed to!' Rarity replied. Rainbow relaxed a little. The soothing atmosphere of the spa was helping her forget her worries about the conflict in Saddle Arabia. Several of her friends from flight school and the Wonderbolts Academy had been, or were about to be, deployed overseas. She had managed to clear such thoughts from her mind, at least until Rarity brought them flooding back.

'I say darling, do you know if the Wonderbolts are being sent to Saddle Arabia?' she asked. Rainbow glanced over at her.

'No...not yet anyway. They're still primarily a flight demonstration squadron, even if they are all qualified frontline pilots as well,' she replied. 'Besides, they're all celebrities. Wouldn't be very good propaganda if they went over there and got shot down.' 

'I suppose not,' Rarity said, stretching luxuriously. 'Such awful stories coming out of there. I'm certainly glad you never joined the Air Force, Rainbow.' 

'Yeah...me too,' Rainbow said grimly. 'I want to be in the Wonderbolts, but I don't want all the other stuff that comes with it.' 

'I don't think I could take it if you went off to fight,' Fluttershy said softly. Rainbow smiled comfortingly at her timid friend. 

'Don't worry, Flutters. I'm not going anywhere. We're all gonna stay out of this war.'






'It doesn't look too good, Your Highness.'

The table in the war room was covered in documents and photographs, and surrounded by high-ranking military officers. Princess Celestia sat at its head, with Shining Armour nearby. General Charger, Chief-of-Staff of the Army, continued to speak. 

'We are outnumbered. They have managed to get eight whole mechanised divisions across the border, as well as three armoured. Their naval infantry have made landings along the northeastern coast behind our lines, supported by Pegasi air assault units. We're being forced back, even with the reinforcements we are moving in. The Saddle Arabians are fighting hard, but they are being overwhelmed.' He gestured at the large-scale digital map he was standing in front of, showing the latest troop positions on both sides.

'As you can see,' he continued, 'we are currently holding a line here, about 60 miles north of the capital.' He tapped a thin blue line on the map. 'The main USR thrust is expected to come here,' he tapped the blue line just east of its centre. 'This is perfect tank country; mostly flat, some gently rolling plains. We expect them to concentrate their firepower here and try to break through to the capital. As such, we have spent the last 36 hours strengthening our positions along this sector. If they come, we will be ready for them, Your Highness.' 

Celestia nodded, her eyes red through lack of sleep. She had barely had time to rest since the invasion began. Nor had her staff. Nor, she imagined, had the troops in the field. USR airstrikes and artillery had been pounding their line for the past day and a half, since the combined Equestrian-Saddle Arabian forces had been pushed back from their original positions to the north. Intelligence reports suggested that the USR had moved tactical nuclear missiles across the border on their mobile transporter-launchers, in support of their attack. Celestia knew the USR expected that, in any major ground war between the two, Equestria would find herself overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers and resort to battlefield nuclear strikes to decimiate the advancing USR formations. Though this strategy was enshrined within the operational doctrine of the Equestrian Army, and their own tactical missiles had been deployed in Saddle Arabia, Celestia herself had no intention of issuing any such order unless the USR fired first. She knew that the use of tactical nuclear weapons was the start of a very steep and very, very slippery slope that would only head in one direction, and that was a direction she had no intention of going. She did not want to go down in whatever history would remain as the pony who ordered the deaths of tens of millions in a fiery holocaust. 

'Tell me, General,' she said to Charger. 'If they hit us, can we hold?' 

'If they hit us there,' he tapped the same spot as before, 'then yes. If they attack elsewhere along the front, then I can't guarantee anything, especially if they focus all of their efforts in one spot. We simply don't have enough ponies in the line. We don't have enough troops in country yet. Truth be told, they caught us off guard. Even though we saw them massing near the border, we never thought they would actually dare invade. We were spread thin enough before we concentrated our forces to defend against their likely route of advance. If they double bluff us and come at us from somewhere else, then I don't know if we can hold them off.' Celestia nodded, frowning. Equestrian troops were still pouring in to Saddle Arabia's ports and airbases, but they took time to arrive, and even longer to drive to the front. The USR were swarming towards them in great numbers, able to simply drive over the land border from their homeland, and they threatened to punch right through the defensive line. Then, it would be clear sailing to the capital.

'You must hold, General,' Celestia said. 'I will not allow the USR to subjugate our ally. I made a promise to them, and I do not intend to break it.' Charger nodded.

'Yes, Your Highness. We will do our best.'




Twilight climbed the steep road to the observatory, a stiff breeze playing over her, keeping her cool despite her exertions. Low, scudding clouds overhead obscured the moon and the stars, but she still wanted to make the journey, for the company if nothing else. She liked the two astronomers, Starshine and Quasar. Especially Starshine- though she would never admit it to any of her friends, she had something of a crush on him. He didn't fit the traditional, stuffy image of a scientist- he was young, handsome, with a long, flowing mane of deep blue, and she certainly enjoyed his company. Even though they would not be able to see the sky tonight, they could talk, and look at the data they had collected over the past week. They were still scanning the Horsehead Nebula. 

She opened the door and trotted down the corridor to the control room.She was surprised to see Quasar, but not Starshine. 

'Good evening, Twilight!' Quasar said, fiddling with the control panel. 'I'm afraid we're out of luck tonight. The weather seems to have other plans!' 

'Oh, yes...where's Starshine?' she asked as she walked into the room. 'Is he ill?'

'Oh no,' Quasar replied. 'Did he never tell you he is in the Army reserves?' A sudden feeling of unease came over her. 

'No...he never mentioned anything about that,' she said. 

'Oh yes, he has been for, ooh...just over a year now,' Quasar continued. 'He's been called up, what with all the developments abroad, you know. I had a message from him this morning, actually. He hasn't been sent overseas yet, but if things keep going badly for our colts over there...' She nodded, troubled. This war was starting to get altogether too close to home.