The Stories of a Dreamlander

Chapter 25: Declaration

Part 1: The Meeting

TIME: 12:00 ERST
DATE: War Day 183/7 Decemus, 1002 C.S.
LOCATION: Canterlot

The rebuilding of Cantrlot was progressing smoothly, far smoother than I imagined. The citizenry were doing everything they could to help out. Me? I needed to talk politics - a favourite and hated subject of mine. I only took the time I needed to get rest and change clothes. Applejack was in the hospital.. actually, all of the girls were laid up, except Twilight and Rarity. They were with me, along with Blueblood.

Blueblood: "The place has really changed.." He started.

Rarity: "Yes, of course. Being bombed to smithereens tends to do that. Oh! And the requests for new clothes from the social elite! Darling, you have no idea how busy I've been, what with the war and all - it's been a boon to the fashion industry in ways you can't possibly imagine!" She babbled.

Twilight: "Let's.. try to focus on the immediate issues. You have customers in high places in Roam, Germaneigh, Prance, Ambelion, Poleland.." She started in, listing them off. "Of course, no one really interacts with the Herdiet Union.."

K: *Confuddled* "Say what?"

Blueblood: "Dirty Stableists." He shrugged. "Reds. Herdies."

K: "Communists."

Twilight: "I'm not sure I follow."

K: "Okay.. uhm.. they generally claim to act for the people, but the state has all the rights. Collectiveism over individualism. The line of thought that each should recieve their own according to their needs, and that everyone must work together - that there should be no superior socio-economic class. That the masses own the methods of production.."

I explained the basics of Communism (Herdism here) as we walked. "Herdiet" - seemed similar to the Russian term "Soviet" which simply means "Council" in English. So, in literal English, "Soviet Union" meant "Council Union" or, if taken more liberally, the entire title "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" could be said to mean "The United Council of Socialist Republics" or something like that. But, of course, the term "Soviet" (Herdiet here) came to have its own specific meaning.

Twilight: "Sounds about right. But they-"

K: "Don't act in accordance with thier stated belief system for reasons they justify with intense propaganda." I finished.

Twilight: "Right!" She nodded.

K: "Again, the Soviet Union, Earth. They did the same thing, but the state was horribly mis-managed and they collapsed within about seventy years." I shrugged.

Blueblood: "Well, the Herdiet Union has been around for over a hundred years." He said, as he passed Joe's Donut Shop. Joe's two boys came all the way back from Coltago to run his store in his memory.

Rarity: "..Joe was one of the first." She said, catching Blueblood's gaze. "I don't think he suffered."

Blueblood: "I have so much to make up for." *Sigh* "My mother is going to be very angry with me."

K: "Yeah, I never asked.. what IS your official position?" I looked to him.

Blueblood: "I'm the Prince of Ambleion.. but not its ruler. My mother, Crown Princess Margaret, is the current ruler." He nodded.

K: "Something like how Celestia and Luna are the ruling Princesses. Why don't you guys use the term King and Queen?" I shrugged.

Twilight: "Because they're synonymous with despots. We've had a lot of cultural issues with ponyfolk calling themselves King and Queen, so, we tend not to use the title." She shrugged.

K: "I see. Hm. And are there any democracies?" I cocked a brow.

Twilight: "What's a democracy?" She squinted.

K: "Isn't Mayor Mare an elected official?"

Twilight: "No. Princess Celestia selected her once she got her Cutie Mark. She was born for leadership." That explained why she seemed to take charge when Nightmare Moon zapped Celestia a good one.

K: "I see. Uhm.. Democracy in its most basic form means one pony, one vote. Each casts a ballot for who they think is the best choice for each political office. I honestly think Equestria might benefit from some lower level of representative democracy. I'm sure there's somepony out there who thinks his or her voice isn't being heard, and would like some form of representation at Court outside of their local royal official bringing up whatever problems might exist with Celestia. Done right, a good democratic system backed by a strong central power can get a lot of work done and filter out the smaller problems while letting the strong central power directly address larger issues or those they feel are important. Something like the British system on Earth - a legislature of one or two levels, one comprised of royal and social elite, one of elected commoners, with Princess Celestia as the final absolute authority. It would free up a lot of time for her." I nodded.

Twilight: "Oh, that sounds like Canida! But, they call themselves a Republic. We.. we don't interact with them, much, either." She blinked a bit. "Ahh.. Havoc.. those would be his people."

K: "I see." I nodded.

And thus began my own personal goal of making things better in Equestria. I explained as we walked what the basic pitfalls were of the American system - my own government - and why it has its weaknesses. And then I explained the United Kingdom's Parlamentary Republic system, and why I thought a Parlamentary or Federal Monarchy would work for Equestria. After all, Celestia and Luna were technically supposed to be equals, and given what we discovered about her past and what she and Luna initially did, I felt that Celestia herself needed a check and balance besides her sister. Because Luna alone worked SO well before..

Blueblood: "I had no idea Auntie Celestia had done anything like that.." He shrugged.

K: "You refer to her as your Aunt?" I asked, looking over to him.

Blueblood: "Eh.. it's tradition. Royals from nations aligned with Equestria all refer to Celestia as Aunt or Sister. There may be other kingdoms, General, but we tend to follow Equestria's lead - if not directly, then as a matter of social formality." He said, speaking more like a seasoned veteran of palace politics rather than a spoiled rich kid. He really had changed. "Referring to Celestia as a relative makes us all feel like one big family."

K: "I knew Celestia had influence, but.." I shrugged. "..eh, it works for you guys. Equestria, I'm guessing, has always been seen as the primary military and political power on this part of the continent?"

Blueblood: "Outside of the Herdintern Pact, yes."

K: "That again. You're going to have to explain this before I talk to her. I don't want to suggest something stupid."

Blueblood: "The Herdintern Pact is a collection of Herdiet and Stableistic republics. Led by the Herdiet Union itself, members include the People's Republic of Kianga, The People's Republic of Takhigolia (Mongolia, as I later found out, since "golia" literally means "state"), and the Lopeaos People's Democratic Republic. And it crosses even into other species - there's North Cowrea, too, but they're like the annoying little brother with a cork popper. The Herdists.. ehm.. they really don't like to associate with the rest of us."

K: "What's the chance Kianga decided to mess with Equestria without the Herdiet Union knowing or giving them permission?"

Blueblood: "Big chance. The Herdiet Union and the Kiangese aren't exactly best friends." He shrugged. "It wouldn't shock me if the Herdiets had no idea we even had firearms yet. They're mainly idealists, blowhards, and saber-rattlers. They'll stir up political trouble but they won't do open warfare. They're too isolated and too invested in trying to keep their people fed and the infrastructure going." He shrugged, dismissively.

K: "Who else might want to help Tirek, politically? If we're just talking about the downfall of Equestria?"

Blueblood: "The Zebras might. But they're extremely disorganized, little in the way of a central government. They have one, but it lacks teeth. Tribal cultures, mainly." He shook his head.

K: "Mmm.. Zecora went on about that." I up-nodded to him.

Blueblood: "The Griffons might want in on this, but they wouldn't act openly. They have too much invested in Equestria and her allies, commerically. Still, we did fight a war with them in ancient times, and that war is one of the few things that more or less prevents them from policing up splinter groups that attack Pony lands. The splinter groups are more or less striking back at us, that long story of revenge, and no one is willing to stop the practice because it provides an outlet for their cultural rage issues."

K: "I see."

Blueblood: "Then there's the cervines."

K: "Deer."

Blueblood: "Right. They hate us, but they won't do anything. They're all on the other side of The Great Sea, and part of the war settlement we made with them two hundred years ago, was that we'd abandon all our settlements there. They were mainly Pranco-Germane settlements anyway. Equestria was simply a co-belligerent since Prance and Germaneigh were involved. Bad war. We technically won, but the cost was considerable. So, we accepted losses in territory to prevent further wars."

K: "I see."

Blueblood: "Then there's the Association of Non-Aligned Nations - Macedonkia, Tarpangoslavia, Taprious, Messaria, Blowgaria. Blowgaria and Messaria are pony nations, the rest aren't. They're their own political power block. And Ambleion has her own Commonwealth Nations. South Zebrica, Hosstralia, New Zebron.. and then Prance has one, Quirtbeck, which is in a political union with Canida, actually.. and then Germaneigh has one as well - Dockmark. Equestria's other allied nations - more or less - include the Roaman Empire, Poleland, Neighpon and South Cowrea. I say 'more or less' as they're all ones that refer to Aunt Celestia in the familiar. Well, except Cowrea and Neighpon. They've their own royalty, and the Neighponese Emperor is only aligned with Equestria to counterbalance the considerable power of the Kiangese."

K: "This is a pretty complex political picture." I shrugged. "And I had no idea of this. I was so focused on.." I looked right at him. "What do you know of the Crystal Kingdom?"

Blueblood: "The Crystal Kingdom was the only power block of ponies that didn't participate in the three-way conflict between Earth, Pegasi, and Unicorn. They simply left and formed thier own kingdom away from the rest of us. A long time ago, they vanished. Well, to be specific, the capital city vanished, along with their palace. Princess Cadence is the decendant of their royal family, and by tradition, Equestria has been responsible for the remnants of the Crystal Kingdom's defense, but the Crystal Ponies don't leave their homeland. I'm not sure why.. but they do have a couple of smaller cities near the northern border of Equestria - it's just that they've more or less been under local rule. I've never been there - for reasons that have never really been explained, travel there is highly restricted. All matters of diplomacy and trade for them are handled here in Canterlot."

K: "I bet that's where Celestia and the others went after Canterlot was attacked. She did say she fled to the Crystal Kingdom for a while, until the palace was rebuilt. I never kept tabs on that." I shrugged.

Blueblood: "The border cities can be visited - but you need a royal pass. There's transportation to there, but there's hardly anyone that goes but traders and merchants, and a few non-pony diplomats and the like that want to deal with the towns specifically. You might ask a Canidian official more about this, but.." He shrugged. "It's not like we have permanent buildings for each nation in Canterlot for everyone to sit at."

K: "That's something else. Canterlot needs permanent Embassies, and we really need to form some kind of permanent alliance of nations versus the patchwork things we have in place now. If Kianga is attacking Equestria, how long before they attack Equestria's allies?"

Blueblood: "Excellent point. I'll talk to mother. Of all of Equestria's allied states, Ambleion is the strongest. Prance and Germaneigh are about equal to each other, but Germaneigh really doesn't have a standing army like the rest of us do. Just a royal guard force, but they're considerably well trained. The Roaman Empire isn't what you'd call a competent military force. Not any more. They've been militarily insignificant since the Tarpango War." He nodded.

Rarity: *Dreamily* "You're so worldly.." She blinked. *Coff* "I-uh.. mean that.. you'll be a great help in political policy, Blueblood."

Blueblood: *Blush* "Thank you, Miss Rarity." He lowered his head.

K: "Let's talk to Celestia." I said, leading the way into the Palace.

We simply walked right to the Throne Room. The guards were happy to see us all. Ironhide was there. Happy to see me, he paced up with Sergeant Tipper Bell and Lieutenant Lightnng Strike.

EOG Ironhide: "General K. I'd like to introduce one of the Royal Army's officers - Lieutenant Lightning Strike."

Lt. Lightning Strike: "So, you're the famous General K. The stories are true - you really are a human, aren't you?" She looked me over.

K: "Sure am. Pleasure to meet you. What unit are you with?"

Lt. Lightning Strike: "I'm a Staff Officer for Ironhide at the moment, but I've already asked for a transfer to 15th Company - they need a new Lieutenant, after all. That battle must have been horrible!"

Rarity: "You have NO idea, darling. It was simply DREADFUL.. horrific, even! And I wasn't even there to see it!"

K: "Nopony made it out unscathed. Everyone that survived, was wounded. They've taken to calling themselves the Chowsin Few - the Chowsin Ridge was right above our entrenchments." I shrugged. "I think they've earned the right to call themselves whatever they want."

EOG Ironhide: "I agree, General. We've already completed training for enlisted replacements from 2nd Ponyville, and we will soon have enough to form a third battalion. We're a bit short on officers, though." He shrugged.

K: "Do what you can. If you have to, promote some of the NCO's from the rest of the Army and transfer them in. I'd rather have new junior NCO's to worry about, than a lack of officers."

EOG Ironhide: "Of course, General." He nodded. "Come on, Lieutenant."

Lt. Lightning Strike: "I hope we get a chance to converse later, General." She nodded as they paced off.

And on we went to the Throne Room. Celestia was there, addressing some of her Mayors about the crisis and what they can do to make things go smoother on the home front. Things like planting extra gardens and what not - but there was a strong emphasis on morale, I noted. She recommended reviving local holidays as a means to give the ponies a reason to celebrate. Whe she dismissed everyone, she simply nodded us towards her private quarters. We arrived, and tea and coffee (for me) were delivered.

Celestia: "You have a report, General?" She asked, after giving Twilight a hug. "And it's good to see you, nephew."

Blueblood: "Auntie." He nodded somewhat solemnly.

I explained everything. Especially the intelligence that Blueblood brought back. Celestia's tone went cold. Rage was a rare thing to see from her, but it was there. I was a bit shocked, honestly, but not totally surprised.

Celestia: "She burned an entire village to the ground and killed innocents.. the family of one of my Elements of Harmony.. I can't believe this is happening."

K: "It's happening." I shrugged.

Celestia: "Do you have any recommendations, General?" She plied me, gently.

K: "If the Kiangese are getting involved, we need to know for certain. We have evidence of their espionage - the very fact that they developed firearms based off of my designs is plenty - and we have a field unit we just slaughtered. It's proof that Kiangese forces were there, but it's not proof their government was calling the shots. Some rogue general in their army might have taken money or treasure to help out whomever was at Paradise Estates. We couldn't press our advance due to the mess the battle left, so, whomever they were protecting is long gone - along with any senior officers or staff that might have been present. For starters, we need to speak with the appropriate representatives of all of Equestria's allies. If we end up in a larger war, we will need more troops, a larger industrial base, everything. We need to know that they will declare war alongside us, if it comes down to that." I was firm about this - I didn't want to involve and risk the lives of others, but I was convinced that at the very least, materiel support should be promised and readied form Equestria's allies.

Celestia: "War?!" She was stunned.

K: "Yes. We must be prepared to declare war on the People's Republic of Kianga. And moreover, we must be prepared to make it a very fast, hard war. Does Equestria share a border with Kianga?" Come to think of it, I don't think anyone had ever shown me anything of a global map of the planet..

Celestia: "No. There's an expanse of unoccupied and unclaimed territory between our nations that's roughly.. 100 kilometers in width. The last war with them was fought over a series of islands that wanted to become part of Equestria's sphere of influence. It.. did not go well. The islands were abandoned by us, politically, and later a revolution occured and their government was overthrown by Stableists that immediately aligned themselves with Kianga. All but one island - The Kingdom of Formoserow. We've not abandoned them." She said that last part firmly.

K: "Oh.. I get it.." I rubbed my chin. "Taiwan."

Celestia: "I bless you." Well, after all, SHE IS A GODDESS!

K: "I didn't sneeze. In my world, that's the name of a small island nation who's relative independence is guaranteed by my people. Interestingly, their independence is being threatened by my world's analogue to the Kiangese - but unlike my world, the Kiangese seem willing to shed blood in high numbers to achieve their goals." I nodded. "And the war over those islands is probably an analogue to both the Vietnam War and the Spanish-American War.." I gave a dismissive hand-wave. "Point is, we must speak with our allies first. See what kind of support we'd have for an all-out war against Kianga. Then, as a block of allies, we must call in a representative of Kianga, and tell them in no uncertain terms that we will not permit them to interfere with Equestrian affairs ever again. This.. battle.." I shook my head. "..we will have to trade the lives of those that died, for peace. They lost several hundred. We lost but a couple dozen. While we may feel each loss terribly, we can hope that their tenacious resistance and our victory is enough to prevent them from desiring a war with us as a result of it. We have Casus Belli - what we do with it is at least as important as what we don't do. We could demand reparations, humilitate them politically, all sorts of nasty things. Or we could gang up on a Kiangese representative behind closed doors and tell them that we will forget this regrettable little incident in exchange for.. a non-aggression pact, a treaty, something. Some written guarantee that they will not get involved any longer." I shurgged, laying out my plan.

Blueblood: "Words? You would trade those lives.. for words?" He seemed shocked and almost offended at this concept.

K: "On Earth, we do it all the time. A threat, some blood, and a conference between top officials. It's how we deal with things - with words. At the same time, of course, we don't take those words for granted. I can use this incident as an excuse to raise proper armies in the other nations to which Equestria is allied, and get them to promise immediate mobilization in the event of the Kiangese breaking their word. Basically, we tell them to buck off, and arm our friends, so if they ever come back, we're totally prepared to buck them in the teeth.. as a team. At the same time, it can get us prepared for Tirek's eventual return - and hopefully show our allies what kind of a threat Tirek is to all of them, and perhaps get a committment of forces from them at all times. So, even if the Kiangese never return, we still have more forces than we did before. Which can save many lives. We trade our Casus Belli for a promise from the Kiangese and cash in our recently-acquired currency of fear that the attack itself is sure to cause, for help. Formal, real help." I pointed out - growing up in Chicago, I learned Politics at a young age, as it was simply the way things were done.

Blueblood: "I would still demand an apology from them." He huffed, and I sympathized with his position.

K: "That's the thing - if we don't make them admit they're in the wrong, then they'll think they got away with something and are more likely to accept some kind of permanent treaty. We manipulate them into thinking they won a small Public Relations victory over us, internally. Which can lead to them getting a big ego and overconfident in their planning.. and making a mistake later that we can get them for, if we have to." I explained.

It was the way we sort of treated North Korea, or Iraq before we pushed their anuses up into their mouths - we spanked them a little but never really forced their leaders to admit wrongdoing, or if we did, we did it in a way that didn't shame them (any more than they already were).

Blueblood: "I see." He seemed to understand - not like, but understand.

Celestia: "One step at a time, General. We begin by consulting with our allies." She nodded. "I'll make the arrangements - it likely won't be until the day after tomorrow, at the earliest. Until then.. please, stay here at the palace. The wounded are all at the Royal Hospital, so, you may see your beloved at any time." She invited me warmly.

K: "Sounds like a plan. It'll also give me a chance to inspect the city's defenses and go back to Ponyville and get my designs." I shrugged.

Celestia: "Excellent." She was about to dismiss us, but..

K: "There is one other matter." I interjected, quickly.

Celestia: "Go ahead." She was all ears for this - I didn't bring things up unless they were vital.

K: "I've noticed Equestria doesn't really have a law enforcement organ. This is a major problem - the Type 1 Rifles that the Kiangese had were stolen designs. That means espionage. That means what little effort we've put into counter intelligence has blown up in our faces. We need to consider something I really don't want to even think about, but it's necessary." I didn't like having power centralized like this, but..

Celestia: "Go ahead. I know you have reservations about anything resembling 'control' over our society - your sensitivity in the matter is understood and appreciated." She said, warmly. She knew I wasn't power mad - just the opposite, I feared it, feared what it could do, and wanted nothing more than to be The Pizza Guy.

K: *Sigh* "We need a Gendarmerie." I started in.

Celestia: "Please explain." She stated, plying me for more information.

K: "Gendarmerie. It's a French loanword that means a militarized police force. They're part of the military, but are their own seperate branch. I propose the Equestrian Gendarmerie be divided into multiple divisions. At least two Gendarmerie should be deployed to each smaller village, and towns the size of Ponyville should have more. Perhaps as many as a full squad of six. Large cities like Canterlot should have regional headquarters with an active mobile force that can respond to a crisis faster than the Militia, and while they wouldn't be able to hold for any length of time, they may be able to delay any enemy incursion long enough for the Militia to arrive, or the local Army force. And, of course, an Intelligence organ and Counter-Intelligence organ - both to gather information on the enemy and deny the enemy intelligence on us. The Kiangese managed to one-up us on technology, because they've been stealing it at least as long as I've been here. This cannot happen again." I said, firmly. And I was serious - this kind of intelligence coup was what nearly got us annhilated at Paradise Estates, and cost us a total victory.

Celestia: "Well.. there's virtually no serious crime in Equestria.." She trailed off. There was crime, but it was likely never anything approaching Earth - mass shootings, serial killers, that sort of thing.

Blueblood: "Auntie, if I may?" Blueblood humbly interjected.

Celestia: "Go right ahead, Dear Nephew."

Blueblood: "Shetland Yard is world famous for having the best detectives. Like Equestria, crime is nearly unheard-of in Ambleion, but it does happen. The Royal Police have been our protectors for generations - so much so, they're simply called by the name of their headquarters. Shetland Yard." He shrugged a little. "At the very least, we can offer professional detective training to the Equestrian Gendarmerie, and I'm sure we can find a few.. volunteers.. who would be chomping at the bit to transfer over to a more.. active.. location." He suggested, with a wink-wink/nudge-nudge sort of tone. I got his meaning right away.

Celestia: "We welcome the assistance." She said with a small smile.

K: "Most definitely." I nodded.

Celestia: "Is that everything?" She asked, sipping her tea.

K: "Everything I can think of at the moment." I shrugged. "I'll let you know if anything else comes up."

Celestia: "I appreciate it." She looked at Twilight. "I expect you'll handle Miss Pie." She said, sadly.

Twilight: "I'll.. take care of it." She shrugged. "No one's told her, yet. Dr. Well Wishes has kept her sedated for the most part, and I told her it was a game. She bought it.. more or less." She shrugged. "How do you tell one of your best friends that your rival killed her family, just to get back at you?" *Sigh* "I'm so worried about how she'll take it. If.. she'll hate me for it." Shaking her head, she looked at Blueblood and Rarity. "But I'll figure something out." Nodding, she tried to put on an air of confidence.

Right now, I had a full plate. Worrying about Tirek was one thing - him, I could stop at the shores of wherever he invaded. The Kiangese? That could be a serious problem. If they were to attack at the same time Tirek did, we simply didn't have enough forces to stop them both. It would be disasterous if either of them made it through, though. For the time being, I would have to worry more about the new Gendarmerie, how I was going to form it and what each unit would be. How they'd act, what authority they should have, and what controls should be placed on their power to prevent the Gendarmerie from being abused in the future.

{End of Part 1}

Part 2: The Aftermath

TIME: 09:00 ERST
DATE: War Day 188
LOCATION: Canterlot, Royal Hospital

The last few days had seen the formation of the Gendarmerie (officially founded on War Day 185, though authorization was given an hour after I met with Celestia) and our first members joining. That was a fun process - Blueblood redirected a few Shetland Yardies to us, and we had a small cadre of 20 professionals from Ambleion's Royal Police that were going to train the various "safety committee" personnel, frontier sheriffs, and others in professional policing. They would arrive within a few days, and training would begin on War Day 195.

Interestingly, our very first actual recruit was a Mare named Chemical Splash. From Coltago, she studied forensics - though it was more for theoretical reasons than practical. The Coltago Public Safety Committee had exactly 20 ponies to police a city of over 750,000 (one of the three largest cities in Equestria, behind Manehattan and Canterlot) and every time there was a crime, she would show up and tend to solve it before the Public Safety Comittee could get off their flanks and get halfway towards a theory - or arrest the wrong person. Once she heard that the Gendarmerie was being formed, she wrote a letter to Norfy who came to see me yesterday, personally, to ask if she could be a member.

How could I refuse one of my most trusted officers? Besides, she was highly educated in several different scientific disciplines. I immediately put her in charge of investigating the intelligence thefts around Sweet Apple Acres, from my barn, pending the Gendarmerie's proper formation (she was the first official member, as it happened, and I'd given her the first badge struck for the Gendarmerie).

Dealing with the rest of the problems on my plate happened one at a time. Twilight and Rarity together talked to Pinkie about her family - to say it went poorly is an understatement. She was catatonic, with random violent outbursts. She was convinced her entire family was dead, and that Trixie was to blame. With psychology in the relatively dismal state it was in this world, Twilight and Rarity talking to her regularly was the only medicine that could be prescribed. Celestia and I had started to wonder if we should seek a replacement for her as the Element of Laughter.

The Expedition of Discovery was on hold, as was our quest to locate the Rainbow of Light. Most of the expedition members were still recovering. Rainbow Dash was in and out of semi-consciousness. I was coming to see her. Norfy had already gone back to Detrot - he told me he was working on something "more practical" than the helmet he'd made for me. I liked the helmet - I really did - but the technology just wasn't there to meet his vision with a practical result. More practical? Perhaps Norfy was in the wrong line of work - great officer, though.

Gaze was in Lyra's room, fretting over her injuries. She was wide awake, and occasionally berating him for being so clingy, insisting she was just fine. I gave him a wave as I passed her room - he was carrying her lunch up from the Commissary, and trying his best to nursemaid his love. It was touching.

Applejack's room was the first one I visited. She was laid up with some deep cuts, a chunk of wood that went through her shoulder, and a gunshot wound. Her hat was hanging on a hat rack. She was sleeping lightly with the blankets completely covering her, so I just crawled into bed with her (CURSE THESE TINY PONY BEDS!).

K: "Hey, gorgeous." I nuzzled her neck. Hm.. more muscley than usual...

*Mrf*

Vigilance: "I think you're handsome too, sir, but you're in the wrong bed."

Oh.. well, shit. Yeah, pull the blanket away, get a white buzz mohawk.

K: "AH! Sorry, Vigilance." *Coff* I rolled out as fast as possible, and landed on my ass.

Vigilance: "..mm, hafta try that one on my wife.." He pondered, before rolling over. "And this never happened. Sir." He said, pulling the blanket back over his head and getting comfortable.

K: "Yeah, no problem." I was beet red. At least no one saw it.

Okay, OTHER bed in the room. This time, I pulled the blanket back to make sure. Yup, there's my Leading Mare.

Applejack: *MMmm* "Y'could'a jes crawled int'a bed, I'd'n't've minded.." She said, sleepily.

K: "I tried that. Didn't work so well." I did crawl in now, though. "How're you doing?" I asked, snuggling with her.

Applejack: "Doctor Stable sez ah'll be outta here in a few days." She shrugged, sleepily. "Whut's been goin' on?" She asked, concerned.

K: "I'll explain everything once you're out of here, okay?" I kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going to check on the others."

Applejack: *Mm* "Jes a few more minnits?"

Vigilance: "Keep it clean, you two. Please." *Dark snicker*

Applejack: "Aw hesh!" She reached over and held my arm to her torso. "Mah Stallion."


TIME: 09:44 ERST

I stayed longer than I wanted to, but I finally managed to get away. Next stop was Fluttershy and Dr. Allcome. Both of them had been hurt fairly badly - Dr. Allcome wasn't so bad off, but he'd get a medal for sure. Fluttershy.. I was a bit worried about. So, when I came into the room, I was a bit surprised to see them playing Dash's favorite board game.

Dr. Allcome: "Cloud 3..?"

Fluttershy: "Uhm.. Miss.. if that's okay with you?"

She was back inside her shell. This.. seemed to happen with her a lot. Every time she get assertive, she crawls back into her shell right afterwards. The severity of the crawling-back-in usually proportional to how much moxie she's shown. She wasn't that bad, this time, though.

K: "How's your wing, Fluttershy?" I asked, walking in.

Fluttershy: "Uhm.. it hurts but.. I'm okay." She lowered her head.

K: "Doc? How's the.. uhm.. arm-leg?" I nodded, pointing to his upper right foreleg.

Dr. Allcome: "Mm.. my colleague, Dr. Well Wishes, assures me there's no permanent damage. Though I'll likely end up with a scar." He shrugged. "It'll make fascinating topic of conversation with the grandkids." A smile from him.

K: "You okay, Fluttershy?" I put a hand on her shoulder, gently.

Fluttershy: "I.. don't know what happened.." She murmured.

K: "You heard that one of your friends had been hurt in a way no one deserves, and you went on a rampage." I recounted. "You did what I was thinking.. what we all would have wanted to do." I made a pained smile. "You did worry us, though."

Fluttershy: "I-I'm sorry.." She looked ready to crawl under her blanket and hide.

K: "Oh, Fluttershy.." I sat next to her. "..what you did was very brave. And it worked out in the end. At least now, you know that you'll go to incredible lengths to protect your friends - even if it means walking out into live incoming fire to help them. You know now that you have the strength within you to do anything." I hugged her gently. She actually hugged back.

Fluttershy: "Thank you." She nuzzled my chest a little. "You're such a great friend, K."

K: "I try." I shrugged a little. And I gave Dr. Allcome a look like 'why aren't you dating her, yet?'

Dr. Allcome: "Now, now, Fluttershy. I'm sure General K has a lot to do. Make with the hugs, and I'm sure he'll be back to see us later."

K: "You can count on it." I said, standing. "Take good care of her, Doc." I smirked and walked out.

Next stop was Sergeant Black Berry's room. I had something special for him. Walking in, I saw him laying flat on his bed, desperately trying to reach a water pitcher with a pencil. Two broken legs, a shattered rib cage.. the stallion was lucky to be alive. Oh, and he managed to absorb 37 bullets - two from one of our own rifles.

K: "Sergeant?" I walked over and poured the water for him. "Need a hand?"

QMS Black Berry: "Not at all!" *Cough* "Okay, maybe a little." He sat up as best he could, and I helped him drink. "What brings you here, General?"

K: "Please, Sergeant, you've more than earned the right to call me K." I smiled. "Where's your family?"

QMS Black Berry: "Wife's at one of the gift shops getting me something, she says. Mah kids're with her. Why?"

K: "Oh, nothing. Just want them to be here for this, is all."

QMS Black Berry: "Here for what?" He looked at me with a cocked brow.

Lemon Berry: "Honey! I got you a couple books to-OH!"

She was a lemon-yellow mare, a bit stockier than the girls, definately older than them. Blonde mane, with white streaks. Around her hooves, following her every move, were two younguns - a filly and a colt. The colt was the younger of the two.

QMS Black Berry: "General? My wife, Lemon." He nodded. "That's Razz, my little girl, and Lingon, my boy."

K: "Perfect. Hey, kids, watch this." I turned to him. "Quatermaster Sergeant Black Berry of Fifteenth Company, it's with grat honor that I present you with this." I handed him a little wooden box, then opened it. "You are hereby permanently promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer."

Lemon Berry: "OH! This is fantastic!" She squee'd. I was starting to guess that the 'squee' sound was actually a common expression of joy among Ponies. "Look, Kids, Daddy got a promotion." She nuzzled the little ones.

K: "That's not all." I handed Lemon a small leather bag. "Some of the toys from Dream Castle, ma'am. They're ancient parts of Equestrian history - your husband expressed an interest in them, for the kids. Please accept these with my thanks for your husband's bravery."

Lemon Berry: "Oh! General! I-I don't know what to say." She nuzzled me, this time.

K: "'Thank you' would suffice." I shrugged.

Lemon Berry: "Thank you!" She nudged Razz. "Thank General K, sweetheart."

Razz Berry: "Fank yoo!" She looked up at me with glimmering eyes and a wide smile.

K: "So cute. Reminds me of Starlight Mint." I smirked.

Lemon Berry: "Who?"

K: "The pony that Princess Luna and I are raising. Her parents were.." I shrugged. "..she calls me father." I nodded to Black Berry. "Alright, you. Get better. You're needed. Both at home and in the field." I smirked a little, and off I went.

Next stop was Rainbow Dash. She had a room to herself. I went in and found her sleeping. Just to be on the safe side, I took a look at her medical chart. Thankfully, there was nothing serious that I could see. Various tests on her all-important wings came out just fine, though there was a recommendation that she take Physical Therapy for two weeks. I sat at her bedside, and pulled out the latest Daring Do book, setting it on her nightstand. Bending over to retie my laces, I sat back up and the book was gone.

K: "Faker." I smirked.

*Fake snoring*

K: "Come off it. I know you're faking it - you swiped the book." I turned to her, and as soon as I faced her, she practically launched herself in my lap. Before I knew it, she was kissing me. She really DID taste like Skittles - ALL of them at once.

Dash: *Blush* "N-Now don't think I'm trying to steal you from Applejack or anything.. n-not that I couldn't.." She turned a bit away from me.

K: "You're jealous!" I chuckled a little. "You're actually jealous of my relationship with her!" It made sense now.

Dash: "Uhm.. maybe.." She huffed. "Just a little."

K: "So you're not pure lesbian after all." I sat her properly in my lap and started giving her a wing-root massage.

Dash: "..no." She hung her head, but her body relaxed once I started rubbing her wing roots.

K: "Does Gilda know you're carrying a torch for me?" Forget Gilda, I was a bit worried about Norfy.

Dash: "She's.. the one.. that told me I needed to stop being so pig-headed and admit it." She shrugged.

K: "You were going to corner me during the expedition and do something about it?" I plied her for information. I knew this conversation was coming.

Dash: "Yeah. And maybe.. well.." She was being SHY about this! Well, then again, Rainbow Dash had a problem with admitting to anything that didn't fit her self-image. Falling for a human - a grounded species - was probably a bit of a blow to her own ego. "..see what all the fuss is about?"

K: "What fuss?" I tilted my head, carefully avoiding her wound sites as I rubbed her wings.

Dash: "Uhmm.. well.. you probably don't know this, but there's a lot of gossip going around about your abilities." She was being dodgy.

K: "Uh-huh. What abilities?"

Dash: "That you don't finish in ten seconds flat, like a typical stallion?" She gave me a look - a familiar one - it was her 'challenge accepted' stare.

K: "Mm.. maybe you'll find out." I picked her up and set her back in her bed. "But keep in mind, Princess Luna has a hard time actually keeping up with me. I could easily outlast her if I wanted to." It was true - if I really worked at it, I could fuck her stupid and still not be fully satisfied. The only reason I didn't use everything at my disposal to make that happen was.. well, I didn't want to be laying there with a hard, unsatisfied dick and an unconscious Moon Goddess. "That's to say nothing of Applejack." That was a different story. I let myself finish with her, because of the wonderful snuggling after a hard roll in the hay.

Dash: "Still.. I.. it's not something I can let go." She waved her forelegs. "Just the thought that.." She shrugged, and shook her head, looking at me. "..you know?"

K: "I think I get it. Your spirit of competition is wrestling with your horomones and losing." I shrugged.

Dash: *Softly* "..not just my horomones."

K: "Oh? You're really attracted to me?" I was a bit taken aback by this.

Dash: "Don't you dare tell anyone!" She stiffened back up a moment. "But.. yeah. A lot of girls are. You're.. unique.. and you.. well, you're supposed to be some kind of sex god.. you're nice to everyone.. you're a fantastic leader.. you're strong.. you're smart.." She went on.

K: "Basically, I have multiple positive qualities, while most stallions only display one or two." I shrugged.

Dash: "Yeah!" She perked up.

K: "I kinda expected that. This world seems very focused on everyone's special skills - I happen to have multiple skills. It's throwing all of you off, since I'm so multi-talented. And you haven't even seen my creative side. I can write stories, too. And do graphical art." With a computer, at least. "Plus, I know advanced technology that's almost unheard-of here." I shrugged.

Really, I wanted very much to avoid a.. love heptagon or something. I liked Dash. As a friend. And I didn't want to go around sticking my prick into EVERY willing orifice. After all, what would people think? The whole concept that I was so desireable was just hitting me, and it made me a little uncomfortable.

Dash: *Hmmmhh* "Why do you have to be so good?!" She huffed.

K: "Humans are like that. We have to be multi-talented - specializaztion in our world can be a death sentence, both in the job market and socially." I shrugged a little.

Dash: "If I was healthy, I'd fuck your brains out right now." She fixed me with a hard stare. "You have no idea how sexy that all feels. Being able to do so much.. it's.."

K: "I'm basically an Alpha. Of sorts. A Herd Leader. And being like I am, your natural desire to find the strongest mate has you wanting hot monkey dick. It's instinct. And me being so genuinely good.. well, that makes it better. I'm not just a leader, I'm a lover. A friend." I leaned over to her.

Dash: "All I hear out of your mouth is 'fuck me, Rainbow Dash.'" She fixed me with a horny look.

K: *Flatly* "How close are you to your next estrus cycle?" Of course, that wouldn't help matters.

Dash: *Lust-dripping* "Now."

K: "Horomones." I shrugged again. "See, now, if I fuck you, I'm going to feel like I took advantage of you."

Dash: "He's even considerate!" She flopped on the bed, her wings popping out. "Ow. Wing boner.. painful.. don't care."

K: "Yeah. Look, if you're still interested in doing something with me after your Estrus, I'll see about it." More like, I'd talk to Applejack and have her deal with it - if she didn't want Dash fluttering on Her Stallion's knob, I'd be more than happy with that decision.

Dash: "Uh-huh.." She rolled over on her belly. "You're just going to go?" She asked, blinking.

K: "I'm tempted, Dash. I really am. I like you, a lot, and honestly, I probably would give you the biggest ride into the heavens that you could ever have, but.. humans have morals, for better or worse, and I don't want to feel like I'm cheating on Appejack any more than I already am. I mean, Katrina thinks of me as hers.. or vice-versa, something like that." I put my hand on the door frame.

Dash: "Do me." She had her flank presented. "Please." She looked at me, pitifully, almost.

I checked my watch. I had an hour.

K: "Your lucky day. Tell anyone alive, I'll deny it ever happened." I said shutting the door.

Dash: "This is so awesome..!" She hadn't moved. "I'm never go-HO-HO!"

Fingers. They've gotten me out of a lot of tight spots before.. and they were squirming their way into a rather tight one right now. I could barely get two in there.

Dash: *Faaaahhhh* "Ohhhhh... that's the stuff.. you really-OH.. uhnn..." Her vocalizations became unintelligable after that.

What did I do? I stood there and finger-fucked her for about ten minutes. After the first two minutes, she was no longer able to 'present' herself properly, I had to stick pillows under her to keep her in position. And she just laid there and took it, the whole time. I counted her out to one solid orgasm every ninety seconds, and minor ones every 45 seconds. Finally, I slowly pulled my fingers out.

Dash: *Hmmmmmmhhh* "Jackie was right.. ouhh.. you really are-"

I showed her my fingers, dripping with her marejuice.

K: "I didn't use my cock at all, Dash." I smirked.

Dash: *Slight groan* "You ass.. mmhh.. don't care.. feel so good.." She tilted her head at me. "But.. now I owe you." She was giving me a lusty look.. either her sense that she'd been 'beaten' was kicking in, or Estrus was making her go nuts with lust. Either way, I wasn't about to find out.

K: "Later. I've got things I have to do." I said, walking over to the sink and thoroughly washing my hands. Lather, rinse, repeat four times. "And remember our deal." I reminded her.

Dash: "Yeah, yeah.. I tell no one. Gotcha." She scooted herself into position and whipped out her new book. "Thanks.."

K: "For the book?" I asked, drying my hands off.

Dash: "For everything." She responded with a smirk.

Exiting the room, I went to the side ward where Screw Loose and the other 'mentally unstable' ponies were. There weren't that many, and they each had a personal nurse. As mentioned before, Equus didn't have much in the way of professional psychological care, so supportive care and talk therapy were the most common treatments. Screw Loose sniffed my hand and barked happily, trotting along side me like a puppy might as I entered the ward. Pinkie was here.. in the room I had ordered prepared.

I didn't want to stay long, so I just looked into the room to see if she was still breathing. She was. Her hair was flatter and straighter than I'd ever seen it, and despite the bright light in the rooom, her colors seemed faded and drab. She was depressed.. far more depressed than I could ever fathom. Screw Loose made a whimpering noise and pawed at the door gently.. like.. she was asking me to fix her.

K: "I'll do my best, Screw." Was all I could say.

Pinkamena: "..all gone now." She looked at me, from her straight jacket, her eyes hollow. All the joy was gone from her.

K: "Pinkie.. you're in there, I know you are." I put my hand up to the small door window. "I'll... I'll fix this. Somehow. I promise. No matter what it takes." I lowered my head, hearing Doctor Stable walk up.

Dr. Stable: "I've never seen a psychological break this bad.. then again, we understand so little about pony mentality. We're not a species prone to mental problems.." He shrugged. "I'm sorry, General. I wish there was more I could do for her."

K: "You're doing more than any other doctor could, Dr. Stat. I appreciate every effort you've been making. Do what you can." I gave Pinkie another look.

Dr. Stable: "If.. I may presume, General?"

K: "Presume all you like - you're the expert here, not me." I shrugged.

Dr. Stable: "I think.. if she saw a living relative.. it might help." He shook his head gently. "But it might make things worse, too. There's no way to say for certain. Pinkie Pie was never.. well, mentally normal to begin with. But it worked for her. Her own brand of zaniness was her sanity. That happiness.."

K: "..Laughter, you mean." I corrected him.

Dr. Stable: "Yes. Laughter."

K: "Well, we'll see." I patted him on the shoulder. "I have a high-level conference to attend. Make sure Pinkie gets whatever she needs, please. I won't be stupid and ask you for miracles, but.." *Sigh* "..just keep up the good work, Doctor, and keep me advised about the state of the other Expedition members. We'll have to set out again once they're fully healed - with or without Pinkie." I shrugged.

Dr. Stable: "I'll do everything I can, General." He gave me a hopeful grin. And if a Doctor shows hope, there must be hope.

As I headed to the Palace to attend the Alliance Conference, I kept thinking about how to help Pinkie. Without her, the Elements wouldn't work - Trixie probably knew that when she killed her family. But if we could just.. help her somehow..

..but how can you restore laughter to someone who's had her heart ripped out?

{End of Part 2}


Part 3: Conference


TIME: 10:55 ESRT
DATE: War Day 188/12 Decemus, 1002 C.S.
LOCATION: Canterlot, Royal Palace, Central Conference Room

I insisted the meeting be held in a more protected location than the Throne Room. Plus, the Throne Room was far too formal. And completely unsecure. Representatives from all of Equestria's ostensible allies would be there. But whether or not they'd agree to half the things I proposed was another story. For the event, I was in my formal uniform. Green tunic over green slacks, red shoulderboards with the sun on them, sidearm and sword on belt.

I dictated that the table be round, that each seat be exactly the same. Even Celestia's. Each nation was sorted alphabetically. There was to be the sense that there was no "head" of the table, no one pony more important than any other. Our list of attendees included Blueblood representing Ambelion, Princess Escargot of Prance, Prince Hoffnungsteher of Germaneigh, Princeps Senatus Bocca Veloce of the Roaman Empire, Prince Milk-Sum of South Cowrea, Shogun Mieyo no Ken of the Empire of Neighpon, and Kisaze (Prince) Nobeserca Casimir of Poleland. And then there was myself and Princess Celestia.

Politics. It wasn't going to be fun.

As the attendees came in, I noted each of them individually, and introduced myself. Princess Escargot and Princess Celestia were the only two female attendees - but of each nation, only Neighpon and Poleland had male rulers. Interesting dichotomy.

K: "Ladies and Gentlecolts.." I said, calling the meeting to order. "Let me begin by thanking all of you for attending this meeting. This is serious business we find ourselves in."

Princeps Senatus Veloce: "We are very'ah plesed to be here'ah once again." He nodded to me. "Let'ah me be the first to express our all sincerest condolences for'ah the terrible tragedies that have'ah befallen Equestria as of late, eh?"

He wasn't honest about that. I knew a shark when I saw one.

K: "Thank you, Princeps Senatus." I acted like that was an honest and sincere gesture. "The tragedies are being compounded further, might I add. Just a few days ago, Equestrian forces were attacked on their home territory by Kiangese infantry.. and a large mechanical armored vehicle known as a Tank. They had, in fact, two such vehicles that they managed to sneak into Equstria within a few day's march of Canterlot."

*Murmuering from the dilplomats*

K: "This is very serious, as we had no arms specifically designed to counter such things. Were it not for the fast thinking and bravery of Prince Blueblood and the Equestrian forces present, we would all have been destroyed." I nodded to Prince Blueblood.

*Hoof-tapping of congratulations*

Blueblood nodded to the delegates.

K: "This, of course, is a very serious breach of Equestria's borders." I continued. "This is a Casus Belli." I could see the reservation in their faces. "But Equestria does not wish to bring us into conflict with Kianga if it can possibly be avoided." This seemed to reassure them. "However, I'm completely convinced that unless we present ourselves as a united diplomatic front, Kianga will see this as a weakness they can exploit. That instead of attacking Equestria, they may seek to subjugate or attack the assets of you - Equestria's allies - in hopes of dividing us further and taking us piecemeal." I continued, pacing at the center of the circle. "To that end, I requested this meeting to discuss a formal alliance of nations - a unified diplomatic front that carries our combined weight - to bring Kianga's attention. To make them see that we will not let something like this simply go without censure - and that we are prepared to back our diplomacy with a combined force of arms. Not just Equestria alone, but all of us. That should Kianga attack any of us, they are attacking all of us. That should Kianga ignore our words, that we will all commit everything we have to stopping their aggression. That we will not tolerate such acts. WE. As a combined coallition of nations."

I paused to let this sink in, and see who was going to dissent first.

Kisaze Casimir: "General K.. vhat you ask is a great deal.." He shrugged. "Vhe have no great army like Eqvestria does. No great arms. We hev only what we need to keep peace vithin our own borters.."

Legitimate concerns.. good.. negotiable..

Shogun no Ken: "Dis is unacceptable. Who would r'ead our armies in time of war? Hm? You?" He snorted. "Neighpon is its own nation - we do not submit to anyone!"

Blustering. Nationalistic pride. Not easily negotiable.

Princess Escargot: "We of Prance do not desire War, General.. of course we understand that conflict does happen, but we wish to live in peace. How do we know that this is not some step towards forcing war with Kianga, to have revenge for Equestria's recent defeat at their hands?"

More legitemate concerns and the expected voice of desired peace. Also negotiable.

Prince Blueblood: "I would like to say that Ambelion is entirely supportive of Equestria in this venture. Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess Margaret, has expressed deep concerns over the Chowsin Ridge Incident and short of extreme measures, will support whatever decisions and actions Equestria is willing to take - and she would encourage the rest of Equestria's allies to do the same. We feel that a formal alliance and a united front against aggression is a legitemate, neutral, and at the same time, appropriately stern and cautious first step to preventing a war."

Support tempered with caution. As I expected.

Princeps Senatus Veloce: "I must'ah agree wit' my Neighponese and Polelish counterparts.. we of Roam have neither the force needed, nor the desire to see them led to slaughter."

Weasel words. He passed the Bit. If I can knock out the Polelish or Neighponese diplomats, he'd fold, having no negotiable ground to stand on. Or I could go after him and get both Poleland and Neighpon to fold as a result.

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "I likevise must agree vith my Polelish counterpart.. zough, Germaneigh would agree to vhatever military leader Princess Celestia deems capable, ve heff no such forces to promise."

I can negotiate that as well..

Prince Milk-Sum: "Considering our very special position so close to Herdintern Pact members, Cowrea is willing to entertain any logical and carefully considered course of action that may work to prevent a war.. so, I will say that as a representative of my people, Cowrea is willing to enter such an alliance, provided that the alliance itself has both teeth, and reins."

Good.. cautious approval.

K: "For those of you that believe you have no forces to offer - no teeth to add to the bite that we wish to have - I will send expert troops to your nations to raise and train forces, as well as the necessary information for you to craft your own arms. All the arms that Equestria has. As part of the Alliance, we would agree on standard service cartridges and magazines so that our arms are completely interchangeable for training and combat use, should that be necessary. But along with these expert instructors, the Alliance would require all of you to have forces of a certain size raised and prepared to fight, with standards of training and preparedness as well. So you would be able to defend yourselves and help defend the other allies of the Alliance with technology and tactics equal to everyone else."

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "You vould provide us vith the means to produce your vepons? All of zem?"

K: "Yes. Everything. And I would ask that we coordinate on research and development of new arms and equipment together, both for standarization reasons, and so we can all pool our brightest minds together for the best possible results for all of us."

Shogun no Ken: "Whutabout R'eadership!? And our fo'ces?!"

K: "Unless the Alliance is activated under the terms of the treaty I wish to forge with you all, each nation would have total control of their own military affairs that fall outside of our standardization agreements. If your nations wish to develop and field your own types and designs of weapons - so long as the ammunition and magazines are identical to everyone else - you may do so. If you engage in your own military affiars outside of the Alliance, you would do so woth total control of your own military forces. But, if we must be united together in one great force, we must cooperate. There must be a single leader - a nominal Commander in Chief of the Allied Military Force. On a tactical level, it would work on simple seniority - the militaries would be organized to one common ranking structure, with each nation dictating the label and level of internal responsiblity of each rank, but with the rank structure formalized that everyone knows immediately whom the superior officers are. In the case of matching ranks, I would prefer command go to the force of the nation the event is taking place in. So, if an Equestrian and a Germane colonel are in Germaneigh, the Germane colonel would have command, and vice-versa."

Princeps Senatus Volace: "And what about restraint? Under what'ah terms would we have to respond to this call?" He huffed a little, sensing he was running out of room to politically maneuver.

K: "I would like to keep the alliance simple. Force met with force. If any member is attacked by any nation or faction outside the alliance, then the attacked nation would have the option to call on everyone else to help them. But we would not answer this call if one of the nations within the alliance was the aggressor - except under very specific circumstances, such as an unavoidable conflict or a preemtive strike on an already hostile nation. We would work diplomatically before we would even consider using force, however - trade embargos, things like that. We would exhaust every diplomatic option at our disposal to force a hostile nation to agree to White Peace before we would consider a preemptive strike. And any preemtive strike would be preceeded with a warning to the Alliance about the conditions of this strike, and the attacking nation would, of course, engage in military action on their own until such time as the Alliance agrees to joint action. And it must be truly joint - no piecemeal commitments of forces. All in or all out." I explained.

Kisaze Casimir: "Hm.. this is acceptable to us.." He looked at Price Hoffnungsteher and they both nodded. "You have our support for these terms."

Shogun no Ken: "So 'rong as Neighpon is not dictated terms to on the battlefield when it is our own concern and no one e'rses, we would agree as wer'."

Princeps Senatus Volace: "We suppose these terms are acceptable.. that Poleleand, Germaneigh and even Neighpon agree, we must, as well."

Princess Escargot: "And what of Kianga?"

K: "Once we forge this Alliance, we will use our newfound muscle as a united front to negotiate with Kianga for a promise of peace. Equestria is willing to let the incident drop as long as Kianga promises they will not interfere in any of our affairs, ever again. Though, of course, if they violate this promise, we have the force of the Alliance combined to respond to this, with. Either through diplomatic or military action, depending on what they do. I must reinforce that we will try every possible option of negotiation before we enter into war, even if we are the ones being insulted." I pointed out.

Princess Escargot: "So, Equestria agrees they will not use this incident to force us all into a war with Kianga?"

Princess Celestia: "We promise that we will use our negotiating power to try to make Kianga agree to a lasting peace in exchange for not responding in any way to their aggression. We will exchange our Casus Belli for a promise of peace - that much I do promise. I cannot promise that Kianga will listen to us, or that the Herdiet Pact will not get involved, but we will try. And if any Alliance member wishes to be involved in any diplomatic negotiations, to see for themselves that we will try every avenue of peace, then we welcome their counsel." She interjected, wisely. Good save, Celestia!

Princess Escargot: "Mm.. do expect Prance to be involved at every level of negotiations." She nodded. "But if you invite us to take part in the peace negotiations process.. not conduct negotiations behind closed doors, then Prance has no objection to strengthening our ties with Equestria for all of our common good." She nodded.

That was it.. it was easier than I expected, but they agreed to the basic terms of the Alliance.


TIME: 17:44 ERST
LOCATION: General K's Offical Quarters, Equestrian Royal Palace

It was several hours before everything was finally agreed upon. Of course, Neighpon was strongly against any interference in their own affairs. And the Roaman Empire was seriously against the concept of hard work and spending money on more things they felt they didn't need, but in the end, they all signed the NEIGHTO Treaty. NEIGHTO would capitalize on this new agreement as soon as a diplomat from Kianga arrived to discuss this incident with us. That wouldn't be for over a week and a half, at least. For now, though, I sent for Chemical Splash...

My official quarters was mostly an office at this point, with a drafting table and other such things all around, the bed changed out for a different one (longer and thinner), then pushed into a corner. The frilly stuff was all gone, and I had my own coffee pot hanging over the fire place. I was already thinking about the next concern on my list - the fact that someone had been stealing my designs for quite some time now. The Kiangese Prisoners, as a show of good faith, were being quartered as guests and not interrogated. Though they were under guard "for their own protection."

When Chemical Splash arrived in my room, I was in the middle of assembling one of the captured Type 1's. We would deny having these in our possession if asked. After all, we weren't going to be TOO nice about this, no matter what they said.

Chemical Splash: "You wanted to see me, General K?"

K: "Yes. I was hoping for some kind of status report..?" I asked, fixing the receiver in place.

Chem: "I have nothing solid at this point, sir. Basic investigation has turned up little, and no one recalls seeing anyone unusual in Ponyville recently."

K: "However, you have a theory..?"

Chem: "Yes, General. I believe that the espionage was conducted mainly at night, and deliberate effort was made to hide evidence. As in, someone actually expected the incident to be found out and some form of investigation - a good one - to be conducted."

K: "You base this off of..?"

Chem: "A complete lack of physical evidence at the scene. And I do not mean the absence of it, but what looked to me to be a deliberate attempt to erase this evidence."

She brought out a broken tree branch that had been wilted several weeks, followed by another that had wilted more recently. They were both from apple trees, and they both had what looked like dirt all over them. Not dirt that looked like the branches had rested on it, but that they had been dragged through it.

K: "That.. looks like what someone would do do physically erase hoofprints." I mused.

Chem: "I'm glad to see I won't have to walk you through this, holding your.. uhm.."

K: "Hand. It's called a hand, Constable." I held my had up and flexed my fingers.

Chem: "Yes, that. At any rate, it seems that whomever did this, has been doing this for some time. I've found other broken and wilted vegetation debris all over the place at different directions leading away from the farm. So, not only did they cover up their tracks, they never used the same path more than a few times." She shrugged. "Though the question begs, how did they know to steal in the first place? That angle - motive - I'm still working on. But I have.. a manufactured lack of proof, as proof the crime took place."

K: "It's not like I bothered with any security outside of isolation. I rarely locked the barn as it was." I shugged. "That was my mistake, assuming that Equestria was full of nothing but sunshine, rainbows and butterflies."

Chem: "At least you're clearheaded enough to recognise your own errors, General."

K: "At least you're blunt enough to point this out, Constable." I smirked. "I have something else." I continued.

Chem: "Go ahead, General."

K: "I was hoping to divert you from your current investigation to assist something of national importance. I need to track down Pinikie Pie's sister. She's gone insane, learning of the death of her family, but we have evidence that one sister of hers was not present when her home town was burned to the ground. We need to find her, or the Elements of Harmony, our only major defence against Tirek, is unuseable, making us extremely vulnerable." I shrugged.

Chem: *Sigh* "I'm not a circus trick pony, General. I do not hop up on giant balls on command. You either let me conduct my investigations unfettered and accept the results, or you do not ask my assistance at all. I focus on one thing at a time." She fixed me with a look.

K: "I'm aware of your track record and your methods. But this is vitally important. I wouldn't be asking if I had someone else I could trust this matter to. And it's very dire." I apologetically implored.

Chem: *Groan* "Alright, General. I'll do what I can. But I won't compromise my initial investigation to go chase leads."

K: "Use whatever resources you need. Myself included." I nodded.

Chem: "That is acceptable. Thank you, General."

K: "Of course. You're dismissed, Chem, with my appreciation for your work. Unless there's something else?"

Chem: "Nothing at this juncture, General." She gave a small grin. "I will see about updating you as soon as possible." With that, she left.

Well, that's two major problems handled. The diplomatic avenue was paved with alliances - we would have a stronger front to present to both Tirek and the Kiangese now - and the investigation seemed to be going well. All I needed now was a clue on how to help Pinkie, and everything would be looking up. I stared out my window at the afternoon sky... all we needed was a breakthrough on that front. I hoped Pinkie would recover. That I could hear her laughter again.

{End of Part 3}

Part 4: Dissolve Resolve

TIME: 10:44 ERDT/12:44 Hours, Germaneigh Royal Time
DATE: War Day 195/19 Decemus, 1002 C.S.
LOCATION: Marelin, Germaneigh

The last 12 days had been a break. I'd travelled to Germaneigh, as the personal guest of Prince Hoffnungsteher, along with a few members of the Equestrian Military - Mac, Cheerilee, Lt. Westerly Wind from the Baltimare Artillery, Lt. Webley Weaver from the 1st Airborne Regiment, Warrant Officer Black Berry from the 15th Royal Infantry, Mistress Sea Swirl and Lieutenant Commander Deep Blue from HMS Alarm, and Captain Forest Spirit from HMS Bellerophon's Marine Detachment. Each of them brought some NCO's they trusted, that they'd leave behind as expert trainers. Rarity came with, since apparently, I couldn't be trusted out on my own.

The Kiangese had responded to Equestria's diplomantic inquiry for an Ambassador to be officially sent to Canterlot, with an affirmative. However, they said that no diplomat would be sent until War Day 205. They also said there'd be at least a ten day travel time. I was rather suspicious of this.

As an emergency measure, I devised a weapon to defeat armor. It was little better than a Panzerfaust, really, and I wasn't even sure if the shaped charge would be enough to defeat the Kiangese tanks. But, it was something. The RPG-1 Walker was named for General Walton Walker, who died in a jeep accident in Korea, soon before the adoption of the M41 Walker Bulldog tank. The RPG-1 was a 75mm-diameter warhead that fit in a 40mm launch tube. The warhead was adapted from the 75mm artillery shell, and the launch tube was cannibalized from a Knox Grenade Launcher tube, lengthened and with a completely different stock attached, under the barrel.

The Kiangese tanks ran on a fascinating engine design that I'd never seen before. It was some kind of steam tubine, like a naval engine, shrunk down and stuffed into the middle of the vehicle, with a drive train that came directly out from it, turning both treads at the same time. That made them very hard to turn - the whole vehicle had to make a circle, instead of simply moving one tread.

We had 150 Sherman Rifles, 80 Zhukov SMG's, 400 Lee Pistols, 50 Chaffee Shotguns, 12 protoype Walkers, 2 batteries of 75mm guns, plus several tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, six of my radios, and some other support equipment for Germaneigh's first military unit - the Landwehr. Marelin would host the first Landwehr.

We disembarked the train at Marelin's Central Trainyard. Meeting us was Prince Hoffnungsteher himself, with his Royal Guard. The "Royal Guard" was simply Germaneigh ponies in uniform. No weapons, not even a ceremonial breastplate.

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "Ah! General K. You heff indeed come. Very gut." He nodded. "I heff assembled the volunteers for the Landwehr, they are over here."

Rarity: "Prince Hoffnungsteher." She bowed. Everyone was in uniform. Even me.

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "M'Lady Rarity." He nodded his head back to her as he led us to where the volunteers were assembled.

Standing at the head of the formation was a man in what looked like an outdated Royal Guard uniform. He martially marched up to me and bowed his head deeply.

Haput. Eidelweiss: "Herr General! I am Hauptmann Eidelweiss, Germaneigh Royal Guard, retired." He bowed to his Prince.

K: "Hauptmann Eidelweiss. I trust you have an area set aside for training, Your Highness?"

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "Jawhol! Yes, ve do. Hengstburg Field." He nodded off in the distance.

Captain Forest Spirit: "Permission to inspect the volunteers, General?"

K: "Ah, yes, Prince Hoffnungsteher. Let me introduce my cadre of officers. This is Mistress Sea Swirl, Commander of HMS Alarm and her First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Deep Blue. Captain Forest Spirit, Royal Marines. Lieutenant Westerly Wind, Baltimare Militia Artillery. Lieutenant Webley Weaver, 1st Airborne. Lieutentant Cheerilee, 1st Royal Rangers. Warrant Officer Black Berry, 15th Royal Infantry and one of the heroes of the Chowsin Ridge incident.."

Haput. Eidelweiss: "Herr Black Berry! An honor." He bowed to him.

K: "..and Quartermaster Sergeant Big Macintosh, 1st Royal Rangers." Mac was the lowest ranked out of my 'select group' of volunteers. "And last but by no means least, Miss Rarity, Element of Generosity."

Haupt. Eidelweiss: "Yes, yes, your fashions are known even here in Germaneigh.." He nodded eagerly. He seemed early middle aged - perhaps 40 or so - and certainly still young enough to give this a go.

Rarity: "Oh, my! Why, thank you, Hauptmann Eidelweiss." She blushed a little.

K: "Permission granted, Captain. Mac, go with him. I want troops picked out for Gebirgsjager." Rangers, basically. "And Webley, I want troops selected for Fallschirmjaeger training."

Mac: "Gotcha." He nodded and moved off.

Lt. Weaver: "Of course!" She trotted off with her sergeant - Tornado Twist was his name.

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "You seem ac'vainted vith our language, Herr K." He nodded with a little surprise.

K: "High School. I took German as my foreign language. And from what I can tell, this is.. well, what Greater Germany would be on my world." That being the Germanic regions of Austria, Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic, and what used to be the German areas of Poland, plus some hints of Switzerland. "I'm acquainted with German words - don't expect me to hold a conversation very well."

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "Of course, General K." He nodded. "If you vould like to dine with me this evening, the Royal Palace is along the plaza, to the north. Hauptmann Eidelweiss can take you."

K: "Thank you, Your Highness." I nodded, examining the eager troops at my disposal.


TIME: 18:44 Hours, Germaneigh Royal Time.
LOCATION: Hengstburg Field

After a few hours of selecting the 250 Germaneigh ponies for their various positions, I had two Infantry Companies of eight squads each, a Cavalry company, one Gebirgsjaeger Platoon of four Squads, one Artillery Battery and a Platoon of Scouts similar to Gilda's Cloudriders. Plus a few left over that I was going to use as Support Staff. At the moment, we were issuing shoulder boards to everyone - ranks would come later. Right now they had no rank, other than "Fresh Horse Meat."

Hauptmann Eidelwiess impressed me. He wanted to know everything we were doing - I was sizing him up as the potential Colonel of the Militia, possibly the over all commander of Germaneigh's military. I liked him. He was full of energy, and at the same time, humble about his position. He saw the ponies in his militia as being under his care, but he never once presumed to know anything about war - though he was up-front with his ideas.

K: "Alright, Hauptmann. That's it for today. Do we have field quarters for them?" I nodded to the ponies that were trying to march in formation.

Hapt. Eidelweiss: "Ve heff tents, Herr General." He shrugged.

K: "Have them set the tents up in the field according to the schematic I handed you, then find them some dinner, set your watches - use brooms, I don't trust them with real weapons yet - and have the rest go to bed. Roust them at six in the morning. Breakfast at six-thirty, my trainers will have them start on basic training at seven."

Haupt. Eidelweiss: "Of course, Herr General."

K: "MAC! RARITY! PACK IT IN!" I waved to them. Rarity was taking notes, while Mac was trying to lead a squad in formation marching.

Mac: "E'YUP!" He called back.

After a bit, my officers were assembled again.

K: "Alright, Rarity, you come with me - we'll dine with the Prince. That's -so- you."

Rarity: *Squee* "Of course, K!" She was ecstatic.

K: "Forest Spirit, you, Deep Blue and Sea Swirl are in charge here. Make sure they get the camp set up properly, start putting them through their paces in the morning. Zero-Seven-Hundred." I nodded.

Forest Spirit: "Of course, K." He nodded to me.

K: "Alright.. good. Maybe in a week we can trust them with real guns." I shrugged.

Mac: "Mmm.. e'yup." He smirked.

With my orders issued, Rarity and I departed for the palace. It was easy to find - it resembled a 12th century Germanic fortress. With appropriate fantasy appointments, of course. Light grey stone, lots of red bunting, gold coloured cloth, the works. When we arrived, we were taken directly to the dining room. It was somewhat like Canterlot Palace, but it felt.. a bit more.. official.

Rarity: "My GOODNESS, Darling.. this is splendid!" She gave me a one-leg hug. "You take me to such the nicest places, K. I really must thank you."

K: *Heh* "You're welcome, Rarity. It was either you or Twilight, and I thought you'd appreciate hob-nobbing with royalty more." I shrugged.

Rarity: "Oh, yes! I'm SO happy.." She smiled. No, beamed. "..I never dreamed I'd be able to travel like THIS!"

As we entered the dining room, Prince Hoffnungsteher greeted us.

Prince Hoffnungsteher: "Ah, mein guests! Fantastic. We were just about to have dinner." He nodded.

Rarity: "Yes, Your Highness. Fashionably tardy, of course." She smiled, and as an aside, quickly brushed off her uniform shirt and cape.

There were some other minor royals and officials assembled at the table. Rarity and I were sit next to each other. The dinner itself was about what I expected - high-end salad and fruit, though there was some kind of bird (Cornish Game Hen, if I was to guess) added to the meal, probably to sate my somewhat different nutritional needs. A couple of the officials looked at it with curiosity, so I guessed this wasn't a common dish.

Rarity.. started in on the wine almost right away, and kept going through dinner. I started to get concerned about the amount she was drinking, though she kept commenting on how fine it was. I guessed she'd been to a few wine tastings in her day (something they'd never show on TV) and was acquainted with fine vintnages.

After dinner, the officials left to retire to their own homes and quarters. Prince Hoffnungsteher invited Rarity and I to his guest quarters. A maid met us at our quarters, handing us extra pillows - our rooms were across from each other.

Rarity: *Slurred* "K.. I haff to tell you.. this's been such.. a THRILL, darling.." *Ulp* "We.. we must really.." She nuzzled up to me as the maid departed. *Drunkenly seductive* "..do this again some time."

K: *Cough* "Don't you have your eyes on Blueblood?" I quirked a brow.

Rarity: *Gasp* "Oh! I.. of course, my dear." She said, trying to steady herself. She'd kept her drunkeness in check throughout dinner, going rather quiet towards the end. "..it's just that.. you-you're such a good FRIEND.. and.." She nuzzled again.

K: "Oh, God, Rarity! Not you, too!" *Groan* *ULP!* I was pushed against the wall. Rarity was a lot stronger than she looked - excercise seemed to be important to maintaining her figure.

Rarity: "I.. I will put this simply, my dear. I may be a lady.." *Hic* "..but I would do terrible, terrible things to your monkey-derived derriere!" She said. I could practically see the bubbles surrounding her head.

K: "Rarity, you're drunk off your ass." I shrugged.

Rarity: *Mmmh* Her head bowed down a little.

K: "I can't. If I did, I'd be taking advantage of your condition - of you. I'd be breaking our trust of friendship - and you're VERY good at removing pants with your teeth when you're intoxicated."

Fuck it. I'd let Applejack kill her later. After Katrina, I'd sworn I'd stop feeling guilty about being raped by everything with a sex drive in this world. Besides, her lips were exquisite. She'd had practice.

K: *Grrh* "Fuck. FINE.. but you better finish what you're starting."

Rarity: *Slurp*Suck* *MmmHMmm* She used her tongue well..

I guided her head up and down as I reached over and opened the door to her chambers. My face was one of frustration. At this rate, I may as well open a booth that says "FREE HOT MONKEY DICK!" and travel the world like a Gigolo. And getting this from one of my friends? Yeah, I wasn't letting Rarity around any more booze. Ever.

For all her ladylike attitudes, Rarity knew how to use her mouth better than Applejack, I had to admit. And I wouldn't let Katrina do this - not with HER tongue and fangs! Her lips were like soft, luxurious silk pillows.. it was hypnotic, how steadily my arousal built, even as I was sliding her into her guest room and shutting the door. Propped against the wall, I guided her head up and down along its length, her speed growing with perfect rhythm, her tongue snaking along the full length of my shaft, to the base, and the senastions, as they rose, had me in a trance, stroking her horn with my fingers, my eyes focused directly on it. I didn't even realize we were both moaning like animals.

When I finally released in her mouth, I didn't even realize it at first. The explosion of almost two weeks of built-up need, in her mouth, was suckled up hungrily, her mouth all the way to the base of my shaft, tongue playing along my balls. This act complete, I slunk to the floor, my head swimming. I was about head-level with her. She used her right fetlock to wipe away any errant strands of lust.

Rarity: "I.. uhm.."

She woozily slunk against me, fumbling with her shirt and cape. I pulled them off of her, still hypnotized, bearing her pure, white coat to me. I pulled her close, sliding my lips up to hers as I kicked off my boots and wormed my pants further down my legs. She straddled me, and I lowered her in place.

Rarity: *AhhhHH!* She squealed as I penetrated her. No hymen. Yeah, some lady. "Soo.. hmmnn.. good.."

I gripped her flanks, her soft, marshmallowy pillows, and guided her up and down.. harder.. faster.. slamming her hard, penetrating her deeply, each full thrust making her squeal. Embracing her as her own body involuntarily took over the frantic rhythm, I sucked on her horn. This had her in an almost constant whining moan, begging for release. Her marehood was soaked like a waterfall, and I was so completely into the whole action, I paid no attention to anything else. I was going to teach her a lesson for picking on me - I was going to fuck her so hard, she wouldn't be walking tomorrow at all.

I pumped her more and more, finally, through all the friction, managing to get my pants completely off. I stood up, partly, with her still sliding up and down along my shaft, and brought her to the bed. Laying her down, I took over, on top of her, drilling and pounding her into the bed, my mouth sucking and tongueing her horn like a giant clitoris.. her squeals and constant whining moan was so adoreable - and when it went to a higher pitch a few times to signal her orgasms, I ignored it.

Rarity: "MMHHH! Please.. uhnn.. K.. enough.. enough.. please.. ohhh..." She moaned almost in my ear.

K: *Mm-mm* I pulled my mouth away from her horn. "Not until I'm satisfied - I told you, you'd better finish what you start, and I'm going to teach you a little lesson.." *Trolling growl*

I resumed fucking and sucking, deliberately holding back. Deliberately, now, holding myself from orgasm. I was going to fuck her stupid. I drilled her, harder, faster.. her orgasms started coming closer together, fiercer, cutting through her intoxication and throwing buckets of endorphines on to the raging inferno. Finally, she clenched her vaginal muscles, and let out a nice, juicy scream. Then, and only then, did I let myself go inside of her. Her horn spurted a stream of lavender light (tasted like pink lemonade), which fizzled into little firecrackers. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her mouth fixed into a most-pleasured grin. She clenched for at least half a minute, milking me.

Finally, I pulled out. Still hard - harder, even, at the thought that I still had something left, and she was absolutely spent. I flipped her over on her tummy..

Rarity: *Ngh* "Keh.. K.. wh.. what're'ya..?"

K: "Hush. I'm not done yet!" I playfully snarled as I positioned my slicked and slimed rod outside her pucker.

Rarity: "Eh!?" *Squeal!* "OHHH-H!!" She nearly fainted when I slid and thrust it into her ass.

Pumping her plush tush, I gripped her tail. She was gone, far beyond her ladylike persona. She was a rutting animal, now, and I think it turned us both on. I continued to fuck her, feeling her squeal and squirm, the heat of her body, the sheen of sweat along her torso, feeling every orgasm she had.. I gave her enough to the point where she couldn't even form sounds that resembled something intelligable before I released inside of her, and slid down.. cuddling her close, and fingering her cutie mark..

Rarity: *Nhghngnghh* "Sssooo... uhnnnhh.." She was putty.

K: *Shh* "Just relax. I gotcha." I snuggled her close to me, with a tired but evil grin on my face.

Yeah. I'd let Applejack deal with the fallout of this. This wasn't my fault - and hopefully, Rarity both got it out of her system and learned a valuable lesson: Don't fuck with Equestria's supposed Sex God.

{End of Chapter 25}