Twilight of Harmony

Twilight collapsed with a sigh in the sitting room of her quarters.

“You okay Egghead?”

“I’m fine Dash. Just got a headache from the backlash and dealing with the nobles. Idiots are too afraid of what will happen to their reputations than actually doing anything productive. Though I supposed I could do things unilaterally, but that has its own problems that could be even worse.” Twilight replied to the polychromatic pegasus. “How are you four doing?” She inquired of the four unicorns in the room.

“Better than we were a few hours ago. I think all of us will be having throbbing headaches for a while.” Nightlight responded as the others nodded in agreement.

“Well you should be fine in a few days then.” Twilight replied as Fluttershy walked behind her and began massaging her shoulders. The alicorn let out a contented groan. “Goddess, you have magic fingers ‘Shy.” She said as she relaxed.

“I saw that you were tense and thought I could do something to help.” The demure pegasus replied softly.

“Who knew you could be so bold. If it weren’t for the fact you would be uncomfortable, I would say you need to go work for Aloe and Lotus.” Twilight replied.

Fluttershy giggled. “I actually do on occasion when they have a client that needs assistance with physical therapy. The work is sporadic, but it is rewarding.”

“Well, something new I learned about you today. If I was still writing friendship reports, that would probably be in there.” Twilight replied with a sigh as her muscles relaxed.

The assembled group laughed.

“So you said you were a soldier earlier. Is that anything like it is here?” Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No, what Equestria has currently doesn’t even hold a candle to what the military was like when I was on Earth.” She said, lighting her horn to display an Equestrian soldier and an American soldier next to each other, both in full gear.

“As you can see, there are numerous differences between the regular infantry of the two militaries. The Equestrian soldier just has a uniform, an ammo belt, maybe a small first aid kit, a bolt action rifle, and a metal helmet the is mostly to protect against things falling from above. The American soldier on the other hand, has a camouflage uniform that helps them blend in, a first aid kit that can handle pretty much any kind of injury, a helmet that comes down on the sides and rear that is made of a ballistic material rather than metal, an Improved Outer Tactical Vest that provides places to attach pouches for magazines, grenades, knives, lights, and pretty much anything that is a MOLLE compatible attachment system. The standard rifle is a semi-automatic gas powered rifle that fires the 5.56X45 MM NATO round from thirty round magazines. The standard combat load out is seven of these magazines. Coupled with tools like night vision goggles, advanced optics, and man portable radios, the American soldiers can operate far from their commanders and in small teams of four to twelve and still be able to accomplish their missions.” Twilight explained, highlighting each piece of kit.

“That is a big difference.” Velvet said.

“It is. It comes from nearly a century of lessons learned from over two dozen different conflicts over the last century.” Twilight said. “Then we have vehicles.” She said before displaying the Equestrian tank.

“I do have to admit, once Celestia show a picture of one of these to my Chiefs of Staff and myself, we about pissed ourselves laughing.” Twilight said.

“Why? How is that funny? Yeah it’s slow, but it is a good vehicle.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Because that tank is almost a direct copy of the old Mark I. A tank that is an antique and a museum piece for us. This is what the American military uses as a Main Battle Tank and this is what the British use.” Twilight said as she displayed the M1A2 Abrams and Challenger 2 MBTs.

“The Abrams is the lighter of the two, weighing in at seventy two short tons. Despite this it can hit speeds of nearly fifty miles per hour once the governor has been removed. It has a 120 millimeter smoothbore cannon with a self leveling barrel, that coupled with the targeting system, can be fired while on the move, rather than having to stop, line up the shot, fire, then start moving again. The primary round is an Armour Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot round. There is not much that the round cannot penetrate. There is also an anti-personnel round for it that has over a thousand tungsten ball bearings.” Twilight said. “Yeah it is a 120 millimeter shotgun. Why? Why not?” She said at the incredulous looks she was getting when she mentioned the scatter round for the Abrams.

“The Challenger 2 is a real heavy weight, coming in at over eighty short tons with the extra armour kits added. It has a 120MM rifled bore cannon. Similar speed and fire control on the weapon enabling fire on the move tactics. These coupled with Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Strykers, and up-armoured HUMVEEs, Coalition forces have the ability to dominate the battlefield against a proper organized army rather than the insurgency that we have been fighting for the last ten years or so.” She said.

“Wow. That is impressive.” Rarity replied.

Twilight nodded.
“All of the vehicles were designed at a time when we were planning to fight an organized force in large scale open war. However what actually happened was that we have spent the last thirty years or so has been small brushfire wars that are over within a few months until the Global War on Terror was started. That has been a nearly decade and a half long slog through the deserts of the Middle East not knowing when and where the enemy will strike.” She said.

“How come you didn’t just blow through and take them out?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It sounds like you guys certainly have the hardware for it.”

“Because the enemy is an insurgency. They hide in plain sight in places where everybody and their brother has an AK-47. Their favored tactics are roadside bombs and suicide attacks. Unlike us, they care little for causing collateral damage and they don’t care that women and children are caught in the crossfire.” Twilight replied with a sigh.

The group of ponies and dragon looked horrified at the implications of this.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. That is why the fight against them is so hard. They blend in with the local populace and since we don’t go through destroying cities wholesale to defeat an enemy anymore, we have a hard time taking them out. Plus, they work in small cells that rarely work with others on operations unless they want to take a whole city. Though things have been turning around because the peoples of the nations in which these groups are operating are taking matters into their own hands and standing up to them. Progress has been slow, but things are changing for the better.” She said.

At this point there was a knock at the door.

“Enter!” Twilight called out.

The door opened to reveal Princess Celestia.

The Solar Diarch entered the room and sat down in a free chair with a sigh.

“Are you certain that things have to be this way Twilight?” She asked.

Twilight’s face hardened at this.

“I know that it has been centuries since there was anything more than a minor border skirmish, but one of our cities has been destroyed. That alone was a declaration of war. I asked Admiral Jones to have the photo reconnaissance guys to go through satellite data to see if we can find the launch site and I have also had our four Aegis cruisers forward deployed with support ships to try and intercept any further strikes. Once we have identified all relevant military and pertinent industrial targets, strike packages will be deployed in the form of cruise missiles and long range heavy bombers using precision munitions.” She said. “With any luck, we will be able to disrupt their supply lines and destroy their strategic reserves before we even go boots on ground. That will allow our forces to do a blitzkrieg of their own, pushing the Liger forces back and out of the occupied territories.”

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed once again.

“Can you guarantee no civilian casualties?” She asked after a moment.

Twilight’s face softened.

“I wish I could Celestia. But this is war and collateral damage happens. The best we can do is try to minimize it. The less wholesale destruction we cause will help us in the aftermath and cleanup phase of this mess. The upside is that since none of the troops are from Equestria, all they see is a government that is corrupt and is running roughshod over innocent people. They will be more pissed that civilians were targeted than anything. Should keep revenge acts to a minimum. I will also be issuing orders that we will be adhering to both the Law of Armed Conflict and the majority of the Geneva Conventions and that the Uniform Code of Military Justice still applies.” Twilight said. “ We will handle our own.”

“And if there are any such incidents, how will they be handled?” Celestia asked.

“Depends upon the severity. The UCMJ allows for the death penalty as maximum punishment. As do the Geneva Conventions. War crimes are no joke to us. It undermines our ability to garner trust with a populace if we allow such acts to occur without repercussions.” Twilight replied.

“I do hope that it will not come to that.” Celestia replied.

“I as well. That is an order that I do not want to give.” Twilight replied. “Though, once this is done, there are some other things I need to speak with you about.”

Celestia looked at the other alicorn. “What would that be?”

“The portal on the other world, and Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight replied. “Don’t say anything right now. I have more than enough on my plate right now. Plus it will allow you time to think on your interactions with her, with me, and with your sister. You need to take a good hard look at them and take off your rose colored glasses. I know it won’t be easy. I had to do it with some of my mistakes. Kinda sucks truthfully, but you have been alive for so long and haven't had anyone to call you to the carpet in a very long time. I think that it is well past due.” She finished.

Twilight then looked around at her friends and family. “So, who’s up for dinner?”