//------------------------------//
// Side Story: Some Secrets are Better Left unsaid 
// Story: Politics 
// by Dai Kirai 
//------------------------------//

	12/21/12 Washington D.C.
President Tow looked outside the window of the Oval Office, at the darkened grass, wet from the sprinklers.
The door at the far side of her office opened and a man in a black suit walked in. He had black hair and brown eyes and looked perfectly unexceptional; it was the kind of face that you forgot moments after seeing it. He held a manila envelope and walked towards her desk. Her secret service agents around the room didn’t move to stop him. He had already been searched for a gun and had the necessary clearance to see her this late at night. “We had a problem at Groom Lake this evening. There was an explosion at one of the testing sites and there may be an issue.” He handed her the manila envelope and stood waiting for any questions the president might have.
The President just looked up at him and asked “Exactly which program had the difficulties?” The answer would determine her approach to the situation, some were more sensitive than others, some highly classified.
“It was the FTL project. All we know is that they had a malfunction and now everything there is gone. I believe the pictures will explain it.”
She sighed. Just once it would be nice if someone, heck, anyone would just give me a straight answer and tell me what needed to be done. President Tow opened up the envelope and looked at the pictures. 
The first picture showed the salt flat that was Groom Lake with a prefab building standing in the middle of it. She knew this as the site that would be used if a project was deemed too hazardous to be performed at one of the regular test sites. The second picture showed a giant ball of white enveloping the entirety of the salt flat. That explosion had to have been huge to create a ball of fire over three square miles. The last picture was a close-up of a sliver of white and two blackened crumpled forms about five feet in front of it. The blackened forms in front of the anomaly were too burnt to be called anything near human.
President Tow looked up at the man that brought her the pictures. “What kind of explosion was that in the second picture? I have never heard of an explosion that was completely white.” She asked eyeing the man critically.
“We don’t know.” Was the only response she received from him.
“Ok then, what is that last picture of?”
“We don’t know that either Ma’am. All we know is that whatever that is is right in the middle of Groom Lake. Right where the Alcubierre drive tests were being run.”
She rested the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger while she thought. She needed to keep it concealed without letting anyone know what was going on and she needed answers. “Ok. Go back to Langley and tell them that they are to get started on it right away. We need answers. Make sure they cover the site. The last thing we need is a Chinese satellite moving over that site and taking pictures of it.” He turned to leave, but she stopped him. “And tell Langley to bring in whoever they need.”
He looked back at her and nodded. The man then quickly rushed out the door. Well, she thought, this should be an interesting term.
She looked down at the last picture again. That isn’t human. She realized after turning the picture around. Whatever that is has four legs and a horn. 

12/22/12 10:10am
Tow sat across from the Director of the CIA in a special meeting room in Area 51. “They are completely alien.” His voice a mix of awe, fear, and excitement. “We can’t even begin to understand their language. Jarry Field, one of our best should arrive in a few hours. We have given them an option of food; they seem to prefer plants and fruits.” He averted his gaze. “They had an adverse reaction when even offered meat, especially raw. Outside of breads and cakes they are completely herbivorous.”
“Cake?” Tow asked, leaning forward. Who in their right mind would offer them cake?
“A private had some from his birthday, I guess. He would have been reprimanded but the grey one took a liking to him.” Jethro cleared his throat. “We are still taking precautions though, as they may yet prove dangerous.”
“How do you know they are aliens and not some kind of experiment?”
“Nothing like this was being worked on, and there is at least one bacterium has been found on their fur we have never seen before.”
“Are they hazardous?” Her tone lost any sense of joviality or curiosity.
“We don’t know yet, ma’am. Everyone who has come in contact with the subjects is being kept in isolation. And the…portal, for lack of a better term, has been placed under guard.”
“Good. Is there a reason I had to come out to Arizona on such short notice? I was supposed to meet with congress today.” And Brent to try and work out something new on immigration. That is always fun. Even Tow felt the vitriol in her thoughts.
President Tow was led down grey hallways with red pipes across the ceiling. Doors on the wall and paint showed this as a military installation. No personnel roamed the halls, which was odd, places like this were normally a hive of activity. Near the end of the hallway, after a few turns, sat a door with guards in front and a keypad. The Director flashed a badge, entered a number and led her inside.
The room was split in two, the closer had a table and a bank of computers and a few people in white coats writing while the machines twittered and buzzed. On the other side, separated by a floor length two way mirror, were two quadrupedal animals and a man in army fatigues and blue hair. 
“Why does he not have regulation hair?” Tow asked, stepping up to the mirror, seeing ‘toys’ spread about the room. A grayish violet foal, for lack of a better word, sat in the humans lap while he rested a hand against its blonde mane, some sort of circle pattern stood on its hip. In a far corner sat another one, slightly bigger, with a pale magenta body and two tone purple and white hair, the image of a tiara on her hip, her eyes darted around the room and a white scar bisected her underbelly.
“The grey one did that the first day and nothing we do can change the color of it.”
“Is this what you meant by a weird power?” Tow stared at the hair. It must have some kind of application. 
“No, that one also has some sort of levitation. Its horn lights up black before something happens. We are working on a kind of anesthesia in case it turns violent.”
Tow switched her attention to the cowering one. “And the other one?”
“It’s been like that the whole time. It struggled at first when someone tried to pick it up but went slack after seeing more people. We have trouble getting it to eat after showing it that meat, it refuses to do anything.”
“So they are passive.” That would be quite useful.
“On the contrary.” Shepherd shook his head. “It ripped the rifle right out of a soldier’s grip. Thankfully the safety was on and they had orders to bring them back alive. But its head was bruised in the process.”
“Are there more of these things through that portal?” This could be a great resource.
“We have to assume there are, and they may pose a threat. If it is a doorway, which these creatures would suggest, destroying our end would leave the possibility of it being reopened from their side; however, we can design a missile to launch through it once we know the effect it has on electronics.”
“Keep me updated on every development on this project, personally.” I don’t need this information released before I want it to be. This, this is world changing and can put us way ahead of anyone else.
“Always.”

Events permanently redacted due to the War Information Act of 2020
Specialist Greene stared at the mass of greenish powder.
“Another failure?” Violet asked, looking from her own project.
“Almost have it.” He spoke through gritted teeth, setting another clear gem in a device. “The real diamonds can’t hold up and contain the proper charge for more than an hour.”
“And the synthetic ones? Rubies?”
“Rubies tend to collapse under their own weight. It almost killed me last time.” Greene looked through the lens on a microscope, checking for imperfections. “I still can’t figure out if the ‘magic’ requires a perfect gem or what kind of imperfections.”
“Shouldn’t you be doing that somewhere else then?”
“If there was someplace else to do it. But, that last accident has the higher ups a bit nervous.” He turned around after hooking lines up to the gem. “They want it someplace secret and highly reinforced.”
“I’m the opposite of you I guess, just with less resources. I get a few gems to play with since they are in such short supply. To figure out how to use them and what kind of power they really use. These readings are still so strange.”
Greene turned around in his chair. The room was rather spacious, filled with machines and its clean walls. “You still don’t know what causes it?”
“Yes.” 
Greene heard her snicker, unable to see her face. “What are we going to do with all this powder though; it still reads as having some magic in it.”
“Maybe see if there are some other applications.”

Events permanently redacted due to the War Information Act of 2020
Tow sat at her desk, wondering what new discovery the Director had for her today. Some of the past ones were incredible. A new explosive using overloaded synthetic gems, which while not as powerful as a true gem, still made a large crater. There was talk of being able to create a field that made all magic impossible, it was needed with a current unicorn.
“We finished the anesthetic.”
“How sure are you that it works?” Tow asked. It had great potential but a fatality from such a device would turn public opinion instantly. As well as leaving behind proof.
“We have tested it on a dozen different ponies. It works by-“
“Don’t tell me. I need the deniability.” Tow stared at the older man. “Can I assume those dozen tests were in a medical center on volunteers?” Tow knew the answer already. Rarity has been sending requests to help look for ‘lost’ ponies. This has become a very delicate game.
“Uh, yes.” The Director nodded. “They came in for medical tests and let them leave afterwards.”
Tow lowered her head. I should have returned those two foals when I had the chance. Holding them has led to other complications. But we have formal relations with Equestria that are tenuous enough already, if she found out those two foals didn’t die, that they were tested on, that holding them made some CIA agents more brazen in their activity. Nothing can be done about that now. The President thought further. They can’t even be released, they have seen too much, even without Brent’s actions, it would end all relations. 
“And you are positive it works as specified. If used in the field we can’t take any chances.”
“I have been assured it is one hundred percent effective, with dosages changing depending on a pony’s reliance on magic. The one’s we tested it on never knew what happened.”
“Thank you. That will be all for now.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Tow steepled her fingers, resting them against her chin. There are no good options left…

Events permanently redacted due to the War Information Act of 2020
Sgt. Hayes ducked as a ball of black liquid hit the wall behind him, hissing came from the concrete. In front of him stood dinky, the small grey foal, and the current terror. 
The foal’s eyes had gone from amber to a sickly solid neon green color. Her horn crackled with black lightning as pale amethyst smoke boiled off her horn and oozed out of her eyes. 
“Get the anesthetic darts!” He yelled, waving his arms above his head to keep the foal’s attention focused on him. Two ponies were huddled in the back of the large concrete bunker; these ones that hadn’t been evacuated after this one went insane. And the anti-magic bubble isn’t working yet. He dodged another mass of black, which turned mid-air to follow him. Hayes rolled as it smacked into the ground. “Where is Ole Blue?” He yelled as darkness emanated from the foal.
“He got transferred last week!” Specialist Greene yelled from the door, arm blackened from being hit escorting out the other captives. “What set this off?” The foal turned on him and Greene ducked back behind the wall.
“Hell if I know. It just went off.” He stared at the rifle in his hands, when he saw another soldier with the distinctive shape of a dart gun in her hands. Hayes gripped his rifle and fired three shots near the pony, aimed to pass by the pony they hit a wall of something solid and rebounded, one went through his leg and another his arm. Hayes fell to the ground in pain as a massive blob of black came towards him at a leisurely pace. He tried to move using his good leg and arm but the thing followed his movements. Five feet from him the undulating black blob fell to the floor before dissipating into the air.
“You are one lucky bastard.” A female voice called. 
“No shit, Viv.” Hayes moved repositioned onto his ass. “Now if you could help me to the infirmary.”
“One will be coming here. It took three darts to knock that thing out, we can’t risk it waking back up and knowing what these do.”
“Then Greene?” He winced around the pain, without danger his hormones returned to normal and the pain worsened. 
“He’s making sure we have no escapees. You are stuck there. The price of being a distraction.”
“Love you too.” He grimaced. If only there was a crutch I would take myself.

Events permanently redacted due to the War Information Act of 2020
Hayes stared at the screen; the anti-magic field in full effect preventing any of the unicorns from using magic. The small foal was drawing shapes on the floor with chalk. He had been moved from the doors while he recovered, and expected to make a full recovery within a few months.
“Talk about a boring job.” Hayes muttered to himself, alone with screens where nothing ever happened. “What is she drawing?” He leaned closer to the screens. It was an odd pattern with straight offset symbols formed a circle. The Sergeant wracked his brain for why it looked familiar outside of weird occult movies. Then he saw the foal’s flank, it had a similar circle. His stomach felt like it was filled with squirming snakes. 
Hayes pressed a small red button near a microphone. “Dinky is up to something. Send someone to investigate it.” 
Hayes never let his eyes stray from the monitor; a hiss of static filled the screen as the lines of the circle met. When the screen cleared the circle emitted an aberrant light, making everything on the screen hazy. He saw the small foal walk up to the door to her cell, press a hoof against it and watched the pony melt through the door. 
“We have an escape! The foal has figured out how to use magic and escaped her cell!” He slammed his hand down on the alarm. “Be on the lookout for drawn symbols. She did not use her horn. She did not use traditional magic. Use extreme caution.” Hayes’ gaze moved from monitor to monitor looking for the small foal. Damn, we’ll have to keep her sedated. How did she even do that? “Extend the field AM field to cover the whole mountain. And find me a solution if you have to put a round through its head.” He couldn’t let them escape at any cost, not with the current rising tensions, there was already scuttlebutt that Celestia may be breaking off formal relations.