Love and War

May 22nd, 2001

10:04am

Canterlot Castle, Canterlot City

It was a beautiful day in Canterlot. The sun was shining and all the animals were out and about.  Inside the Canterlot Castle throne room, the extended royal family, Princess Celestia and her husband Discord, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, the elements of harmony, and their husbands, along with many other ponies were celebrating Celestia and Discord's newborn child Illusion.  The party was going smoothly and after a bit of dancing, Twilight walked to her former mentor who was standing beside the crib with her husband and child.

"I'm really happy for both of you."  Twilight look at them both with a warm smile. "I wonder if me and Flash will have a child of our own one day."

"I'm sure you and your husband will be ready for that one day Twilight," Celestia replied.  "By the way how is being an aunt so far?"

"It's been good so far,"  Twilight replied but then shuddered, "Except last time I looked after Valiant Heart, I had to clean his diaper. You don't want to know what happened."

"I think it's for the best that I don't," Celestia said, giggling.

"Yes, yes, diaper mishaps, now let's celebrate our first child,"  Discord interrupted pulling Celestia into a hug.

Twilight rolled her eyes. She was preparing to go and dance again, but suddenly a guard rushed in pushing crowds of ponies out of his way towards Celestia with a piece of scroll held in his magic.  Everyone was shocked seeing the guard til Luna walked towards him.

"Guard, why have you interrupted my sister's celebration for her new foal?"  Luna demanded.

The guard bowed before the royals.  "I'm sorry, my princesses, but we just gotten terrible news from the south western border of Equestria that, well,"

"What?"  Celestia asked.

The guard took a deep breath, feeling everyone staring right at him.

"The minotaurs are invading."

The entire room went silent. No pony knew what to say. The Minotaur Empire had just invaded Equestria!  It was a while before Celestia took a deep breath, walked to her throne, and turned to face all the ponies in the room to make an announcement.

"I must ask that everyone, besides the princesses, go to their homes and, for the time being, keep what you have heard hear to yourselves. Some of you will be contacted for a meeting later today.  For now, you must remain calm and try not to panic."

With that, everypony left the throne room and proceeded back to their homes, leaving the throne room empty aside from Celestia, Discord and the other princesses.  "This can't be happening."  Twilight walked up to her former teacher with a worried face.  "Why would the minotaurs break the treaty of Stalliongrad to invade us?!"

“The Minotaur Empire have always despised Equestria because they think it should’ve been their land since our very founding. They have been trying to conquer it since.”  Celestia answered then turned around to look out of her window.  â€œ400 years ago, after the treaty was signed, I knew that it wouldn’t last forever… that someday they would invade. And after its fascist party took control of the country 20 years ago…”  Celestia looked at her son in his crib.  â€œI just never thought it would be this day.”

“What now sister?”  Luna asked.

Celestia looked to Cadance.  â€œCadance, can you look after Illusion til tomorrow morning?”  Cadance nodded and went to pick up Illusion then took him out of the room.  â€œThe rest of you will be called in for a war summit later today.  Til then, try to comfort yourselves.”

(^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^)

7:12pm

Secret EQ Military Base 117, undisclosed location.

Twilight walked through the halls of Base 117, escorted by a royal guard at each of side. As she walked deeper into the bunker, it was making Twilight uncomfortable.  She had heard rumors and conspiracies about this place before her ascendance to princesshood — about how it kept secrets that no pony in Equestria knew.

The biggest conspiracy was the “Dodge Junction UUO Incident” 51 years ago, where a team of cherry pickers fell down a sink hole and discovered enormous underground preserved warehouses that had words Smithsonian Institution Archives, filled with all types of advanced technology, hundreds of years ahead of the then state of the art. This was the source for Equestria's recent technological revolution. Equestria had gained new inventions like engines, and power plants.  Of course, it was kept a secret so that no enemy nation would obtain the newly discovered technology. Area 117 was where all the discovered technology had been brought to study.  Until she had been instructed to come here, Twilight hadn't believed in the conspiracy theories about Area 117 or the Dodge Junction UUO Incident, and thought they were silly… but now, seeing Area 117 for herself, the facts all slotted into place.

“Princess, we're here,”  the guard on her right side said.

Twilight stopped to see more four guards standing next to a vault door saying ‘War Room’ and a small safe as well. She approached the door but was stopped by one of them.  â€œAny authorized personnel must say his or her password.”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.”  Twilight responded.  â€œI think I can come in?”

The guard shook his head.  â€œSorry princess, standard procedure. Can’t let anyone in without a given password.”

“Fine.”  Twilight sighed, then began to speak her password.  â€œSmartCookiePlatinum2965.”

The guard brought out a key to unlock the safe and brought out a scroll listing ponies that are to be in the War Room today.

Celestia = PC6291

Luna = HPH5178

Twilight = SCP2965

“Alright, open the vault,”  the guard said, putting the list back in the safe.  Two of the guards brought out their own keys and inserted them into matching key holes at opposite ends of the wide doorway, after a few clunking sounds, all four guards tugged open the heavy door.  Twilight and her guards went through the doorway to see an vast room filled with maps, charts, and dozens of ponies working non-stop, using a the latest computers.  Twilight's eyes wandered the room til she saw Celestia and Luna sitting at a round table, talking with a couple of generals.

“Celestia!”  Twilight called out.

Celestia looked at Twilight.  â€œTwilight, come here.”  Celestia gestured her to come forward.  â€œWe were just about to discuss the minotaurs' invasion.”

Twilight quickly came forward and sat in a chair at Celestia’s right.  After she sat down, Celestia continued.  â€œAs I was asking, how did the minotaurs invade Equestria?”

A yellow earth pony stallion, General Bittersweet, got up and unrolled a map onto the table.  â€œAt 8:46am, the minotaurs used the strategy of Blitzkrieg to eliminate about 20% of the Royal Army stationed there. They used brute force, and incredibly advanced weaponry.”

Twilight looked at the map and saw that the minotaurs had taken a lot of territory, including major bases and two cities — San Prancisco and Vanhoover.   “If that's the case, Equestria should still have enough fighting force to stop the minotaurs' advance.”  Twilight looked at general Bittersweet.  â€œHow were they able to take over so much of our territory so quickly?”

“Because of this.”   Bittersweet placed a picture on the table, the picture was of the RA military base Neighvarro, almost unrecognizable as it was completely covered in a light red fog.  â€œThe minotaurs have developed a new chemical weapon called Ketchup gas. It is designed to only kill ponies, and in just a matter of minutes.”  He showed pictures of fallen Royal Army soldiers laying on the ground, dead, their eyes were wide open with blackish blood coming out, and their fur and skin looking like it had been melted off, only leaving their muscles exposed.  â€œThey released the gas after their Blitzkrieg attack, wiping out almost all of our forces there.”

“What happened to the cities when the minotaurs began using this… this… ketchup gas?”  Twilight asked with a worried look.

The yellow earth pony sighed, looking down on the table.  â€œThe army was not ableto alerty San Prancisco and Vanhoover to the invasion fast enough, and when the minotaurs fired the ketchup gas… They hit Vanhoover first: by our estimates, about 500,000 died. ”

Twilight put her hoof over her mouth in disbelief. ‘500,000… that’s most of Vanhoover’s population.’ Twilight thought, trying to hold back tears.

“The city of San Prancisco was more lucky.”  General Bittersweet continued.  â€œSome survivors from Vanhoover reached Prancisco and warned them about the chemical attack, and thankfully the city was evacuated before the chemical bombing started.”

Twilight sighed in relief hearing that at least the ponies of San Prancisco survived, though she still mourned the lives that were lost in Vanhoover.  When Twilight was about to ask another question, Luna spoke instead.

“With that many casualties, how have we managed to hold back the invasion so far?”  Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What remained of our Royal Army forces were non-pony soldiers like zebras, bulls, chimeras, and other Equestrian species. They are not affected by the gas.”  Bittersweet answered.  â€œBut it’s only a matter of time before they get overrun by minotaur forces.”

“What are our options for a counterattack?”  Celestia asked.

A dark blue unicorn with a red and yellow mane got up and General Bittersweet sat down. Twilight recognized her as Professor Glowing Ember, one of Equestria's leading scientists. “My colleagues and I have developed a new gas suit that our Royal Army can wear in the ketchup gas.”  She then showed a picture of an armored suit. “It is a full body armor suit that completely covers the pony with our most advanced gas masks yet.”

Twilight levitated the picture closer to see it in more detail.  â€œHow effective is the suit in combat?”

Ember rubbed the back of her head.  â€œWell, it is light so the soldier can run faster, and it is comfortable to move around in it, but we are still working on some flaws. If it takes damage from minotaur weaponry, it's like shooting a crossbow through paper.”  She brought out a small plastic wrapper that read ‘E-Sealer’.  â€œSoldiers are equipped with these packets called E-Sealer. If there’s a puncture in the suit, they can use the E-Sealer to block the opening for a while. It's sort of like a bandaid for the suit.”

“Is there any way to improve the suits to withstand any more damage?”  Luna asked.

“Well with a few years' development we could, but under these circumstances… that isn’t an option,” the azure mare replied.

Luna thought about the information for a minute before speaking.  â€œHow long until we can begin production of these suits?”

Then a dark blue pegasus mare, General Dark Skies, spoke.  â€œWe have already begun mass producing the suits and weapons.”  The dark blue mare showed a chart of numbers.  Twilight quickly read and her eyes widened in surprise.

“3,500 suits already?!”  Twilight exclaimed.  â€œWe can't have made this many suits since the minotaur invasion!”

Ember got up again and answered.  â€œThe suits were developed a year ago for emergency purposes like gas leaks, smoke protection, and other things, but with the war, they will be modified for our soldiers in battle.”  The mare looked at the picture of the suits with a sad face.  â€œThey were suppose to be used to rescue ponies in emergency, not used for a pointless war.”

“Do not worry, my little pony.” Celestia responded.  â€œAfter this war, your suits will be used for their original purpose.”

The azure mare smiled at Celestia’s reassuring voice.  â€œThank you, princess.”  Then she got a hold of herself, realizing that she was still in a meeting.  â€œAnyway, we will have an enough chemical suits for the entire Royal Army in less than a month.”

“Good to hear that, but…”  Celestia began to ask.  â€œHow does our military measure up compared to the minotaurs’?”

“If you talking about weapon technology, the minotaurs have us beaten.”   Dark Skies spoke again.  â€œTheir weaponry is slightly more advanced than ours. For example, their A7V tanks are bigger and are armed with a 57mm gun and six MG08 machine guns, while our M1917 tanks are smaller and armed with only a 37mm gun.”  The pegasus mare sat down with one hoof on her forehead.  â€œNot to mention that we still use semi- and automatic-crossbows while the minotaurs use lever-action rifles, and machine guns.”

“Can we improve our weaponry in any way?”  Twilight asked.

“Well, me and my colleagues are developing a heavy tank to combat the minotaurs’ A7Vs called the Equestrian Mark V tank.” Ember pulled out a picture of a Mark V tank and showed it to the board.  â€œThe Mark V tank is bigger, and more armed than the M1917 tanks. It has two 57mm guns with four Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine guns that we managed to manufacture from the designs of captured minotaur MG08s, and unlike the A7V it can go over obstacles like trenches and steep hills,” the mare proudly announced, “and as I mentioned just now, we've been studying minotaur guns to make our own types of weaponry.”

“That’s good news,”  Twilight said.  â€œHow long would it be til they are deployed?”

“That’s the bad news, princess. Before the invasion the Mark series had all sorts of problems. Even before the Mark V.”  Ember showed pictures of Mark tanks with smoke pouring out of them. The worst looked like it had blown up from the inside!  â€œThe old Mark tanks were just disasters waiting to happen, like this one right here broke down only ten minutes after it was started. That one had engine problems so bad that the smoke caused the tank operators to abandon it. And this last one… it had a massive fuel leak that caused it to explode. As you might imagine, there are still a few problems with the Mark V.”  The mare groaned.  â€œSo to make just a hundreds of fully operational Mark V tanks, and to put them at the frontline would take three months at least, princess.”

Celestia rubbed her forehead and asked,  â€œso what you're saying is that for the next few months we will have to fight with our current weaponry?”

"Unfortunately so, princess."  General Dark Skies answered.  "And by Glowing Ember's assessments, we'll lose about 50% of our remaining forces by then."  Ember pulled out a graph of casualties in four months.  "So, me and the other generals thought about this and came up with the most logical counter action to this problem."

"What do you mean?"  Twilight asked in a shaking voice, she knew the answer but needed to hear it to confirm it.

"We need to issue a nation wide draft of all ponies aged eighteen to thirty."