Luke nailed the plywood to the door and got out his marker. In large block letters he wrote “Closed until further notice” on the door to his shop. He took off and flapped his wings slowly. He wanted to be home, but wasn’t enjoying the trip.

Julie was waiting for him. “I sold the last of the stock today,” he said. “We’re good on money, at least.”

“There are others who aren’t. No one saw this coming, and a lot of other people in town were dependent on Earth for their livelihood.”

“I know. Amend my previous statement. We, meaning all the people of Humantown, are good on money to the degree that one trader and his lovely wife can provide.”

Julie looked across at Ponyville. “Maybe they’ll open the Gate again soon. They can’t just leave us like this.”

“If they do, buying trips won’t be given priority, which means that we’re going to have time on our hands. We need to figure out what to do.”

“I imagine we’ll have enough to do just helping everyone get by. But don’t worry. You built it up once, you can do it again.”

Luke grimaced. “If I have a chance. And I feel guilty for thinking about it.”

“I know what you mean. We finally had everything we wanted and now it’s taken away from us. Doesn’t seem fair, and yet what is self-pity going to do?”

“Well, if you’re indulging in it, then I guess I won’t feel guilty. You stay cheerful through anything.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Rainbow Dash entered in a hurry.

“Good, I found you two together. Now I don’t have to go flying all over. Come on, get your things.”

“What’s going on?” said Julie. “Are we leaving Equestria?”

“No, at least not right now. Princess Celestia gave us a list of people to find. You’re on it, both of you. Let’s go.”

Applejack strapped on her saddlebags and kissed Apple Bloom on the head. “You be good, now, and mind what Granny Smith tells you.”

“How long are you going to be gone?”

“Can’t tell. Anything can happen.”

Fighting back tears, Apple Bloom said, “But why are the humans causing problems? I thought they were our friends.”

“They are. Leastways, most of them, the ones that are here. But there’s others that are bad’uns and we’ve just got to deal with them.”

Big Macintosh rubbed Apple Bloom’s head with a hoof. “Our sister’s a real important pony. We’ve known that ever since she helped bring back the day. So we’ve just got to hold the fort until she comes back, and not complain.”

“Not complainin’s easy for you; you don’t talk!” said Apple Bloom, but she was laughing as she said it. They all hugged Applejack, who trotted off.

Alex was waiting at the gate in the picket fence. “When all this is over, I need to think about starting a family. I’ve got no one to hug me good-bye.”

“It ain’t easy, having them at times like these. I’ll be happier when I can hug them hello again.”

Lisa sat around the waiting room of Olivia’s office and magically juggled a few of the magazines left on the table. She remembered how juggling got her into Equestria. It wasn’t all that long before, but it seemed like an event of the distant past.

The caller left the office and that gave her a chance to catch a snippet of conversation with Olivia before the next appointment arrived.

“What’s the word?”

“Well, I’ve set up a ration plan.”

“How long can we last?”

Olivia looked at her clipboard. “It’s not that simple. Ideally I’d spread out the protein-rich Earth foods we have for another six weeks, but a lot of it won’t last that long. There’s also some pony food that we can eat, but it doesn’t cover all our diet. We’ve got a month before the important stuff runs out, and maybe another week before we see the effects.”

“Well, I’m willing to go without.”

“That’s nice, but if you do, you’ll die. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of chances for noble sacrifices, I’m sure.”

Lisa shot a few sparks from her fingers. “If only we could smuggle some food in. But no one can go through the Gate.”

Olivia looked nervous and turned away from her friend.

“Hey, O, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Yeah, actually. I forgot. Twilight said that we have to go to Canterlot with her soon. That was the last thing I have to do for the day. Well, no, technically, I have another week’s worth of work to do today, but this takes priority.”

Lisa sensed the evasion in her voice, but didn’t have an opportunity to follow up as Twilight came in just then.

“Good morning, Twilight,” said Olivia.

“Morning. Did you tell her what we’re doing?”

“Not all the details.”

Lisa started getting a little steamed. “Yes, someone please explain.”

Twilight paused for thought, then said, “Princess Celestia has summoned us to a council of war.”

Thirteen heads looked at each other across a grand table in Canterlot Castle. Eight had muzzles, four had horns. There was no seating order assigned. Humans mixed with ponies. Mages, flyers, and earth folk were all interspersed. Even Celestia and Luna took no position of prominence. The table had no head.

“As much as I regret imposing on you all,” Celestia said, “I’m sure you understand what a time of crisis this is. We must discuss policies and options for the conflict we now find ourselves in.”

Alex raised his hand. “Can I ask something? This is a war council, but I know all my fellow humans here, and unless I’m mistaken, none of us know much about fighting. There are plenty of bronies who serve in the military. Why not ask them?”

Luna shared a knowing look with Celestia. “This is the second incarnation of this council,” she said. “The first was as you suggested. We asked how we could defeat the invading army in an open war, and the people we had invited said point-blank that it was impossible.

“We are not unused to dealing with impossible situations, but recognize that some of you may be. And so my sister and I have decided to try again, but base our selections on character instead of reputation.”

“I don’t much see a way to beat them.”

“In the first place,” said Luke, “they don’t have to attack us again. Now that we’ve netted ourselves in, they can wait us out until we run out of supplies, then we’ll have to surrender.”

“That may not be the case. I’m not entirely sure they know how long we can make it without access to Earth,” said Celestia. The humans were appreciative of her using the word we. “And they may be on limited time as well. Olivia?”

Olivia stood up, blood rushing to her face. “A few nights ago, I was shuttled through the Gate in secret to gather intelligence.” She looked at Lisa. “And before you ask, no, I could not get a message to your parents or anyone else. I wish I could have, but this was more important.”

“Beyond that, you could have been caught, or killed!”

“I know, but we had to take the chance, and we needed to know how things were going on Earth and why they chose now to attack.”

She explained about the Longest Sunday and the work stoppages. Displaying newspaper clippings, she painted a picture of a world on the verge of collapse.

“I’m not sure that it’s as bad as they’re saying, but you have to understand that the economy of first-world Earth is much more delicate than ours. If ten percent of us stop working, our food output drops ten percent. If ten percent of Americans stop working, they have ripples throughout that makes it much worse.”

“So maybe we can wait them out,” said Julie.

“Are you really willing to shatter your home world?” Rarity said.

Twilight’s first recourse in confusion was to reach for her scroll and quill. She diagramed and doodled. “This is mostly a moot point. We expect another attack soon enough, unless we strike the last Gate and trap us all here. And if we tried that, the homesick humans of Equestria would then rebel and we’d have to reestablish one. On the other hoof, Earth might dither and attempt to besiege us. In that case what we’d try to do is establish a ‘consulate’ on Earth. We’d send through people, and maybe a few ponies, and reestablish trade. Then they’d see that they were losing and start the attack. One way or another, the soldiers are coming back.”

“D-does this mean that we have to fight again? And again and again?” Fluttershy’s voice quivered.

“It will, in all likelihood, not be long and protracted. When two cultures so different from each other meet, their differences will come out quickly. According to all the books I’ve read, the longest wars are wars between two sides mostly equal.”

“I think she’s right,” said Luke. “The US has no taste for long wars. If they don’t conquer us within three months, they’ll be surprised and stop. The only problem is the if.”

Pinkie Pie had been rubbing her hooves together and looking down. Next to her, Applejack noticed her discomfort. “Are you all right, there? You haven’t said much.”

“I’m not so good in situations where everypony isn’t happy and laughing. I don’t see why we can’t just all sit around a table like this with the Americans and talk it out.”

“That applecart’s left the barn, I’m afraid.”

“Maybe not so much,” Olivia said. “At some point, there will have to be talks. The problem is that if it’s now, they’ll be intransigent. They won’t compromise. Compromise is seen as a sign of weakness. They’ll just demand that we go back in exchange for not attacking Equestria again. That’ll be their idea of a give-and-take. If everypony had known about Twilight’s matter-destruction spell and been able to use it, if we’d really beaten them back all over, it would have been the perfect time to negotiate. When they come back, all we need is one clear, decisive victory to put them off their guard. Then we talk and try to help them, on the guarantee that they stop attacking.”

Luke chuckled. “And so the mice agreed to bell the cat.”

“I beg your pardon?” said Rarity. He had to explain the fable to the ponies.

“I hate to be the one to say it,” said Rainbow Dash, “but I know that everyone else has thought about it. Why do we have to be so passive? I don’t want any humans to die, but maybe we can scare them or hurt them a little to make them leave? And if they are killed, well, it’s them or us, right?”

“That won’t work, Rainbow,” said Princess Celestia. “Such a victory would be hollow.”

“It might be the only way to make them stop. And I don’t think they would come back if they did.”

“But even so—“

Luna interrupted. “Forgive me, dear sister, but I do not think that you and they are communicating properly. And the rest of you will forgive me if I say that Celestia and I are more long-term thinkers than you.”

“In the long-term, we’ll have to deal with Earth one way or the other,” said Luke.

“That is not the long-term I mean. We are used to thinking in terms of many generations.”

She stood at the table and raised her voice in clarity a little.

“Let me explain how it will play out. We use our superior abilities to cause injuries and deaths to the non-magical and unenhanced people of Earth. They, as you say, back down and surrender. For a while they are cowed, then as the pendulum of politics swings, eventually a radical faction demands another attempt, which fails worse. At last, Earth and Equestria must deal as equals, but we are the younger land, and the more dynamic. Our star is on the ascendant while Earth continues to stagnate. There is no collapse on earth, no great disaster, only a general malaise sets in that condemns its people to perpetual mediocrity. The children do not expect lives much better than the parents.

“Meanwhile, we in Equestria are innovating in ways that even I cannot possibly dream of. The conjunction of the two cultures produces all the fruits that we expect, and there is boundless opportunity. Ponies and humans become richer in spirit, in body, and in wealth. Your great-great grandchildren worship you as revolutionaries. A new golden age arrives.

“But the wealth is not unlimited, and neither is the spirit. The eldest inherit, and the second-born are left disgruntled and disenfranchised. The wisest and the quickest rise within the society, but the true radicals find themselves left out. In the first generation of the golden age, this matters not. In each subsequent one, it gets a little worse. Lime forms in the pipeline that moves the world.

“Equestria is not boundless. There are lands untamed, unexplored, and uninhabited. Expeditions would arise, and then colonies. Colonies of people and ponies who found themselves out of place in a mature world, but who fit well in a young one. Such colonies would be funded by Equestrians, and they would expect return on their investment. Eventually, the colonists would decide that they have paid enough.

“At that point, your descendents ten or twenty generations hence will find themselves in the same situation that your immediate ancestors do. Their best have left them, and it is all they can do to try to hold on by force. Far away, the revolutionaries will sit around a table and talk of how to win their freedom.

“They will look to history for guidance and find you. They will look as you are looking now. You see examples where humans took up arms in defense of freedom and think them brave. How much more would you think of them if they laid down arms and still won? For if they choose as you would, then Equestria would follow Earth into stagnation and malaise.

“Such a cycle is not limited to humans. Ponykind has played out the scenario too often. You’ve heard of the struggle of the three tribes and how the windigoes nearly killed them. There is, I regret to say, more strife in Equestrian history. Celestia and I have seen it too often. But because we lived long enough to recognize the pattern, we knew how to stop it. It requires a great deal of strength on your part. It requires you to fight the yoke of the sense of injustice you feel and recognize those who attack you as having a position that, from where they stand, is as important to them as yours. If you can do that, your names will be revered, not merely for ten generations, but for all time.”

She sat down, and no one spoke about an offensive war again.

“That still leaves us with the problem of what to do for defense,” said Rainbow.

“We used the matter-destruction last time,” said Lisa, “and we’ll need it again in the next battle. But if they’re fast enough we’ll miss and they’ll be able to do damage. We need to hit them hard right as they come through the Gate.”

“Twilight,” said Luke, “Can you also use your force field over Ponyville? I can think of nothing more frustrating than facing a wall you can’t go over, under, or through.”

“It’ll be in place. Pegasi and pegasus people will have to serve as scouts also, and we’ll all need to be careful about staying out of their range. We don’t know if they’ll bring longer-range weapons the next time.

“Seems like you’re leaving us out of the mix,” said Applejack.

“Not at all,” said Twilight. “Earth ponies and humans will be valuable, especially the impervious ones, in drawing fire away from those who can be hurt. Or if, like Pinkie, they can move fast enough to never get hit.”

Pinkie still had her lips pursed. “I’m not sure I want to be in any battles. They’re basically the opposite of parties.”

“And you don’t have to be.” Olivia put her hand on Pinkie’s shoulder. “But if one of the soldiers is aiming, and he has to pick between you and Fluttershy, or you and Twilight, or you and me, wouldn’t you want him to pick the one who won’t be there when the bullet lands?”

“There are many other from the affected towns who will want to join you,” said Princess Celestia. “But I concluded that we don’t have the resources for a large garrison. That may be one advantage if we have to force the issue; we can bring in the reinforcements. In any case, the tactics of the next battle may be determined ad hoc. The strategy is what’s important. You have suggested to me that a decisive victory followed by negotiations is our best course of action. I believe that, if any path is open to us, that is it. Let us return to Humantown and Ponyville and make preparations.”

“Will you be joining us, Princess?” Alex asked.

“Alas, we have much to set in order here. We hope that you can handle it on your own.”

Nervous but hopeful, the meeting broke up.

For a week and a half, nothing happened. The Gate had been left open, a large and inviting target, and it was monitored at all times. The population of Humantown bulged and shrank as people eager to help came to set up, only to find that their home fires needed tending as well.

After the first week, Twilight and Olivia put the newcomers to work organizing their supplies for a potential incursion.

“If we do have to set up on Earth to draw them in, it’ll be important to be set up ahead of time,” Twilight had said.

“I understand you a little better now. You’re giving them something to do to keep their minds off what’s going to happen, right?”

Tensions ran high, and yet, when it finally began, there was none of the shock and awe that accompanied the first incursion. The Americans quietly and calmly walked through the Gate and began setting up their equipment.

“All right, everypony!” Rainbow Dash cried throughout the town. “This is not a drill! Assemble and follow your assignments.”

The members of the council of war were gathered close together near the center of the line, except for Fluttershy, who was flying back and forth.

“You have an important role,” Olivia had explained to her. “Rainbow Dash will be directing things from above. Twilight, Applejack, and the others can’t move as fast as you. All the other humans will need to see one of you often to boost their morale. Just cheer for them the way you did for Rainbow at the flyers’ competition.”

The troops had moved in, but this time weren’t setting up any camp. They were designed for quick movements, and had a Humvee squad as well as a column of men on foot.

“Do we hit them now?” Rainbow called from above.

Twilight looked at Olivia. They both nodded. “Go ahead!”

The first matter-destruction spheres hit the column, stripping and disarming the men, but not discouraging them. They seemed willing to give up their materials so long as they kept advancing. Humvees were taken out frequently, but the soldiers riding them abandoned the vehicles and joined the foot soldiers.

Soon enough they had formed their own line, and the battle now resembled something from centuries past, when solid lines mattered more than stealth and armor. But the Equestrians had all the armaments, and the opposition was in rags.

Rainbow Dash kept her eye on all the action, making sure that nothing escaped the barrage. “Second wave coming through!” she cried out.

The pegasi picked up another cache of destruction spheres, while the earth folk acted as live catapults. The unicorns and magical bronies dispensed with the spears and just cast the spell as needed.

“Twilight, what’s their plan?” asked Lisa. “Do they think we’ll run out of ammo maybe?”

“I don’t know. But so far things are going our way.”

Rainbow had a sphere in her hooves and spotted another Humvee coming through. As she let fly, some of the soldiers in line broke rank and turned their heads. The sphere picked up speed and splashed right into the engine compartment.

And the four-wheeler kept on going.

“What the—?”she cried out, but was cut off as she had to dodge a bullet fired from the gun mounted on the vehicle. “Twilight! We have a problem!”

The soldiers in the first line had also noticed, and let fly with a “Hooah!”

“Everypony back inside the force field!” Twilight cried. The Equestrians’ line broke and ran for Humantown, while the second wave of Americans reached the first and resupplied them with sidearms and uniforms.

“How did they avoid the spell?” Lisa said as she ran. “And why did it still work on the first troops?”

“I don’t know about the first,” said Olivia breathlessly, “But maybe the first line was sent in as a diversion, or to build up our confidence and let us think we could win easily.”

“You really think they would do that?”

“I would.”

Lisa didn’t have time to react to her friend’s ruthlessness as she was running for her life.

Twilight pulled down the barrier and let the Equestrians through, then reestablished it. The translucent red glow reflected the sunlight for a moment, and looked very solid. Ponies and humans ran for the nearest building and watched.

A sergeant made it to the front of the barrier and held up. Taking off his hat, he swatted the barrier as if it were a fly.

The hat was undamaged, and sticking halfway in. He put it back on his head and stepped through.

Another cheer from the soldiers, but they quickly regained their discipline and formed columns, advancing into town. Julie panicked and tried to fly out the window.

“No!” cried Luke. She was the only target in sight, and a dozen rifles trained on her. Twilight, not knowing what else to do, shrunk the force field around town until it just surrounded Julie.

“Please work,” she said, pouring all the power she could through her horn. The rifles fired, and Julie was unharmed as the shield was solid to the bullets.

“Careful!” came a cry, as a ricochet shattered the window of a nearby house.

“We’ve got to get everyone out of town,” said Twilight.

Lisa peered out into the street. “How do we do that?”

“Well, let’s see. If we first can establish a meeting point—“

Olivia stood up. “Twilight! We don’t have time for a checklist! Everyone run!”

The retreat was on. Once three folks were out in the streets, all the other Equestrians broke with them. Very few of the mages knew the force field spell, and they were counting more on luck and dodging to avoid the bullets.

As Alex ran down the street he saw Rarity coming from a cross street. “Come on!” she cried.

“No. You go! I’ll cover your escape. They can’t shoot me!”

“They can still capture you, you fool! Run!”

But he had already stopped and was waving his arms. Rarity dug her hooves into the ground and turned back toward him at full gallop. Her spells were deflecting bullets, but she couldn’t establish a shield. She reached Alex and grabbed his collar in her mouth, then threw her hoof under his arms and ran off on three legs.

“All right, all right!” he said. “Together.” He got his feet under him and they both ran as the troops closed.

A horrible sound, a pony scream, went right into Alex’s ear, and he winced from the noise. Not daring to think about what he feared had happened, he slacked his step, threw Rarity’s hoof over his shoulder, and pulled. Finding strength he didn’t know he had, he dragged her along, even as she could only use her back legs.

Reaching the field that lay between Humantown and Ponyville, they found others to help them, and Rarity was floated across by several mages.

“Are they crossing the field?” Alex asked.

Luke was hovering above with Julie and Fluttershy. “No, not that I see. They may have taken the town as a base.”

A sight and a smell proved him mistaken. Smoke rose up from the wooden houses of Humantown.

“No!” it was Lisa. She started to run across the field, and had to be held back by Olivia and Twilight. “But they’ll destroy everything.”

The first flames were rising from the town.