There were no breaks. Besides moments of squabble that didn't involve a particular person, there were no real pauses. A glance at his watch revealed that some time had gone by, but he had overestimated how much time. It only felt like hours.

"Next on the docket." The speaker's eyes drifted towards Crane. "Your people are popular today. An announcement that the human people and the sea ponies have been found to be of one root."

Soft applause rippled over the table.

"She means we can make children," whispered Novo in explanation. "Premature, I feel. Just once, and the child has not yet proven fertile."

Crane had been getting updates about that once in a while, but recalled nothing significant other than the child being happy and healthy, and changing without the need for a pendant, though still with the same two forms that its mother had used. Compared to changelings, a cute parlor trick.

He raised a hand, meeting the speaker's eyes.

"America has a statement?"

"A question, if I may?"

She flipped to the next page and back on her clipboard. "America has the floor."

Crane stood up, nodding to the many world leaders gathered. "While some of you have your suspicions and doubts, we would welcome any information on what local force does have the power to move my country. Similarly, something or someone has altered the native speaking language of my people, and identifying that presence is a high priority." As was neutralizing it, but they were working on that.

Soft murmurs spread across the table. The she-cat laughed softly. "You once spoke a foreign tongue? How fascinating... If I did not know better, I would say the pony superstitions have come true."

The ponies present seemed to not want to look towards him at that moment. Had the ponies been involved after all?

Celestia raised a hoof. "If I may?"

"Equestria has the floor," assented the speaker.

Crane sat as Celestia rose, a tall figure as she was, even on all fours. "I cannot speak with certainty, but the lack of communication between our species caused terrible disharmony and... loss, for both sides. I could only thank harmony itself for taking action, though why it held its hoof until after it was mostly settled is a mystery, as are many of harmony's ways."

The dog huffed softly. "It's that kind of thinking that has you calling the language we all speak Ponish."

New idle banter began to spread before the speaker struck with her hammer. "Order, kindly. America, does that answer your question satisfactorily?"

Well, no, but he was fairly sure he wasn't getting better at that moment. "Thank you, speaker."

A new voice spoke in his ear. Wearing a subtle ear-piece, this wasn't that shocking. "Mr. President, apologies for interrupting, but we wanted to check with you beforehand. Should we pass on what's been said?"

"No," he whispered, a hand over an ear. "There's no treaty to approve yet, just a vague promise. We'll get the congress on board for the specifics. Is the media behaving itself out there?"

A new voice replied, "They're giddy anytime they can find something to interview, but nothing notable going on out here, Sir."

"Keep an eye on it." Crane sat up straight, returning his attention to the table.

With American books translated, and their existence not only not top secret, but even impossible to hide with a random casual conversation with a citizen, he had to face it. He allowed several other matters to come and go before raising his hand.

"Do you have a statement?" asked the speaker, clacking her beak.

He stood up, taking center stage once more. "The world we came from was one that knew well the price, means, and measures of war. We reached an age of uneasy peace, with the world becoming increasingly entangled in trade that meant any war threatened to cause more loss than gain. America assumed the role of guard, policing the world."

The minotaur chairman slammed the table. "They admit it!" The table devolved with angry shouts going in all directions. "We will not be policed by a new war-like species as if they understand any of us," boomed the minotaur, easily shouting over the general furor.

Cadance stood up suddenly. "This aligns with what I saw. When we attacked them, and we did... We assaulted them and they struck back, but not at our city, as they could have easily. They struck our warriors directly and with overwhelming force. My... army, though I now laugh to call it that in comparison, was laid low in an instant, and while that is worrying, certainly." Her voice had to keep raising in volume, others trying to shout her down. "They did what was needed to end the conflict, and accepted a bid for peace, without a single request for reparations."

Keeping from requesting things felt like a wiser thing in that moment, as other countries seemed at least mildly mollified.

An otterish female hopped to her feet. "Excuse me!" She was looking at Crane directly, her whiskers lifted. "Excuse me!"

"Yes?" He returned her look, though he had no idea who she was. She had been quiet up until that point.

"Hello, President Crane. I am Queen Ruddertail. I wanted to know, if someone you were fighting did not give up, what would you do?"

"That is a very open question. Can you narrow it a little?"

"Ah, yes, Hm." She slapped the floor behind her with her thick tail that was her namesake. "Yes. We have heard of the great explosions." She spread her furry hands wide in imitation of a big kaboom. "You love your cannons and bombs. What is the most terrible of them that you would use if you felt you must?"

"I was actually working towards that. Thank you, Queen Ruddertail."

"You are very welcome." She clapped her hands and looked genuinely delighted.

"With a history of national wars, our world had more than enough reason to continue to pioneer ways to do it better. Our grandest weapon is one so terrible we make promises to never use it. Mutually Assured Destruction, are you aware of that saying?"

Celestia blinked softly. "That is what I... admit to bringing up, though I prefer not to."

"We feel--"

"--Tell us!" barked the minotaur. "What is this assured destruction?"

"Speaker, may I invite a few workers here, and is electricity available or not?"

The speaker blinked softly, shaking her head. "It is not. Is that required? This is a place of discussion; electricity never felt required."

"We can work without it." They had batteries for that. "Permission to proceed?"

The speaker looked around the table. "Votes in favor of allowing this?" Arms rose. "Votes against." Other arms rose. "16 to 3, motion passes. Please proceed expediently."

"It's... full of air..." The scientist slumped in his chair, dizzy.

"Full of air," sighed out a female, sharing the dazed expression. "How... is... that even remotely possible?"

A third male threw a hand out wide. "In our universe, it wouldn't be. It just wouldn't be. If there was that much air, it would collect into a gas giant. It would not casually permeate the universe. The rules are different. The constants are different. The entire universe is different."

They had discovered that the atmosphere simply did not end. It got colder, sure, but never cold enough to freeze the air. In theory, a person could stand on the moon and, weightlessness aside, behave as if they were standing on earth. The universe was full of air in about the same mixture as the air they were breathing.

"Bloody hell," lamented the woman. "How has the sun, weird little ball that it is, not ignited the entire universe?"

One of the men twirled a finger even as he kicked away, sending his chair rolling along. "We have no proof the entire universe is full of air, but we have no reason to assume it suddenly stops at some point either."

There was science to be done, if they could just figure out the basics again.

A projector was set up, pointed at the least decorated wall. With the help of the slowly expanding satellite network, they could even access the Internet. A video was found quickly.

"I don't show this to intimidate, but it will. This is a weapon that should never be used."

There it was, an empty field, a few buildings and vehicles in sight. It was quiet.

Suddenly a flash. Paint awas stripped clean of the vehicles and shingles flew off the buildings. A mushroom cloud began to form, the wave of force arrived, smashing the vehicles and sending them flying, leveling the building as if it wasn't there to start. Trees were torn from their roots, combusting into flames as they were scattered. It was a test of the bomb, but also served as an example of it. "We have only used this weapon in war once, and two cities were destroyed by it."

Gasps and soft cries echoed through the room at the display. Celestia rose a hoof sharply. "President Crane, why would you show that?! Why would you have that?! Such a thing should never be allowed to exist."

The otter queen crashed back onto her chair, blinking numbly.

"I show it because it is common knowledge among my people that it exists, and you would find out on your own if I didn't, without the chance for me to explain it. None of you are in danger of that." He waved a hand at the blank light the projector was spilling out. "It is a deterrence, meant to dissuade other nations that had the same weapon. If both sides could destroy the other completely, then it isn't ever the right course of action to use it."

Cadance nodded with a shaking head, her entire body shuddering softly. "Well nocreature at this table, besides yourself, has it. Can you... put them away? Destroy them, please. Please..."

"Even their allies balk at their gross displays of power," noted the chairman, frowning at Crane. "Is it any wonder that the TSDI is not only prudent, but required?"

His statement prompted a few more scared voices to call out their joining of the new organization.

Ruddertail bowed her head, ears flat. "I would rather be friends with a people I hear enjoy swimming and playing, but this frightens me as I have never been so frightened. You ask us to forgive so much."

"Why not get rid of them?" asked Novo in a whisper. "If their purpose was deterrence of more of themselves, and there are no more of themselves, this seems like a fine time to be rid of them, dear. You know I adore your people, but this is... troubling."

She didn't sound nearly as shocked as he might have expected her to be. Had she already heard of it? She may even have seen a video, considering how connected Seaquestria was. "I can't promise anything about that. I can propose disarming, but that's been a long and slow process over many presidencies."

"A question." The chairman set his hands together, fingertips touching without the palms. "How many of these ultimate weapons do you have? 1? 5? 50? 500?"

"Thousands." Lying would only cause troubles later. "None of them can be launched--"

"--launched?" squeaked out the she-cat. "You launch them?!"

The tension was stiflingly thick, panic and fear spreading. It was still better than what would have come had it just casually leak out, he decided. "As I was saying, none of them can be launched by any one person. We have never had to launch one before and, God willing, never will."

"No wonder they get along with the ponies." The chairman was smiling a bit oddly. "They both can end the world, and they both pray to higher powers as they do it. If the world burns, it wasn't their fault. Their invisible friend told them it had to be that way."

Author's Notes:

That could have gone better.

That could have gone worse.

Anyone want to visit the moon? I hear it's nice this time of year.

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