The Nautilus Protocol

Chapters

Chapter I
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter II
Chapter XVII

Chapter I

The wake up tone sounded just like it did every day, causing her to be roused from her deep, dreamless sleep. All around her she could hear the sounds of the other bunkmates as they awoke and made their way to the mess hall, further pulling her from the comfort of her pillow.

Dully, she opened her eyes, her brain sluggishly trying to process the information around her. It was a morning just like any of the others that she could remember; not that she remembered anything other than the ward. Once she got up, she filed out of the room with the rest of her bunkmates in a stupor. Like her, they all wore orange jumpsuits, as well as metal collars around their necks. The metal collars had a small green light on it which blinked at a set interval, and every so often she could hear a quite hum from hers. Unlike her, the others were all bipeds of varying descriptions. In fact, she was the only quadruped in the whole ward; but that didn't bother her.

She frowned at this. She was sure that there had been a time when this would have bothered her, but she couldn't remember. Remembering was so hard, and too much of a bother, so she stopped trying. Instead, she focused her attention on the back of the ward mate in front of her, putting her purple hooves on the right path towards the mess hall.

As she followed the line, she saw one of the white clad caretakers directing the crowd. She smiled at its tentacled face as she passed, glad for the direction that it provided her. She was happy for direction. Direction made it so she didn't have to try to think.

Thinking was too hard.

By now she could hear the food dispenser whir and clank as it poured food into bowls for the ward mates. Once she had reached the front of the line, she picked up her tray in her mouth and moved to her usual table.

She frowned at this. Wasn't there a better way to pick things up? She wasn't sure... It seemed like there used to be, but that was so long ago...

She sighed, and gave up again. Thinking and remembering were simply too hard, so she decided to instead concentrate on her meal as she sat down at the table. It was green mush inside a rather large bowl, her favorite!

...Was it her favorite? She had often asked herself this same question, and she had always come to the conclusion that it was too hard to decide. This time was no different, so she immediately began to dig into the green mush.

Curiously, she looked up at the person who sat directly opposite to her. He was always there. Every day he sat opposite to her, and if she wasn't mistaken, he also slept in the bunk above hers.

He was taller than she was, standing just a hair shy of five and a half feet. She also noticed that he was well muscled, and had striking green eyes that seemed a bit... small, for some reason. He had hair like her, but unlike her, his brown hair was only on the top of his head, and on a few places on his face where it formed a short, scraggly beard. His face, which might have been called handsome at one time, was covered in scars. She thought that this should bother her, but for some reason it didn't.

Nothing really bothered her. Nothing except the fact that it was too hard to remember why that was a bad thing. Was it a bad thing? She wasn't really sure.

After the meal, she got up with the others and proceeded to the work yard. The work they did was long, tiring and repetitive. They had to carry large rocks from one end of the yard all the way to the other end. Once they were in place, another group of ward mates would take pickaxes and break apart the rocks. Every so often they would find a small multicolored crystal, which they would pick up and place in carts. The refuse was placed in another set of carts, which in turn was taken and poured down a chute on the far side or the room, all of which took place under the constant watch of their caretakers.

She didn't mind though. The work might be repetitive and exhausting, but it didn't require her to think.

Thinking was too hard.

Every so often during their work, one of the ward mates would be singled out by the caretakers and taken away. Sometimes they would come back, sometimes not. She felt sad about those that did not come back.

Why was she sad? She wasn't sure. If only she could remember, then maybe she'd know why.

She was so lost in thought about this that she stopped paying attention to where she was going, and didn't notice that she was about to run into someone. She heard a loud whistle from one of the caretakers, which snapped her focus back to the job at hand. However, it was already too late, and she found herself tripping over the paw of a large, furry, lion-like biped heading the other way.

She cried out as she hit the pile of rocks hard, and could have sworn she heard something snap. However, when she was looked over by her silent caretakers, they seemed satisfied that nothing was wrong, and pointed her to continue working.

She didn't feel like she was hurt, but something seemed... off. Something wasn't right. Why wasn't it right? Things seemed... foggier than usual. If only she could remember.

After they finished their work for the day, she and the others went back to the mess hall for dinner. However, something was different this time around, something she just couldn't place. Somehow all of the other people around her seemed...strange. She couldn't say why though... maybe she was just imagining things...

Once she had gotten through the dinner line, she sat at her usual table and started to tuck into the food provided by the caretakers. However, this time she gagged on the disgusting slop she was eating. Why was it so gross? Did it always taste like this?

She was still very hungry from all the hard work earlier, so she continued to choke down what was left of her meal. She couldn't help but think, though, that this would be a whole lot easier to swallow if it tasted like Applejack's apple fritters.

She stiffened at the thought. Who was Applejack? She knew the name, but somehow couldn't match a face to it. Why was that? It was just so hard to think, to remember, but she knew that this was important. It wasn't something she wanted to let go of, no matter how hard it was.

She frowned slightly as she looked down at her purple hooves. Unlike all the other times when she tried to remember, this time she had actually remembered something. It gnawed at her, ate at the edge of her consciousness, like a puzzle that needed to be solved.

Dinner time was over, so she got up from her seat and filed out with all of the other orange clad people, making her way back to her bunk in a foggy stupor. Once there, she threw herself on the low bed in exhaustion, trying all the while to put the pieces together. Who was Applejack? Was she a friend? Was she a she, and not a he?

No... that didn't feel right... Applejack was definitely a mare, of that she was certain.

She had to suppress a laugh at the thought of Applejack as a stallion. The orange farm pony looked extremely awkward in her mind's eye.

She froze up again. She remembered what Applejack looked like! In fact, she could remember a picture of her in her mind. She was standing with five other very important mares. Were they important? She wasn't sure. If Applejack was with them, then they must be...

Yes... they were all important. They were her friends... well, almost all of them. The one in the center wasn't. The one in the center couldn't possibly be her friend.

Why was that? Was the center one her enemy?

...No, that wasn't right. She knew the center one well, of that she was certain. She was so familiar... The purple coat, the dark blue mane with a purple and pink stripe, and those purple eyes. What was most peculiar, though, was the star burst mark across her flank. It was important somehow... It defined the purple unicorn somehow...

No... It defined her. She was the purple unicorn. Reaching up with her hooves, she felt the horn on the top of her head. It was important to her for some reason...

She closed her eyes, trying desperately to remember the names of the other ponies in the picture. The names danced at the tip of her mind, never forming, and always staying just beyond her grasp.

But she had to remember. It seemed so important that it ate at every fiber of her being. Her name, the names of her friends, and the seemingly infinite wonders that those memories held, all sat on the edge of conscious thought, dancing barely out of reach. If only she could remember...

She continued to toss and turn like this for an hour before sleep finally took her. But just before she drifted off, one thing floated up into her thoughts.

It was a name. Her name. The fact that she was able to name herself eased her mind and finally allowed her to drift off to sleep.

Twilight Sparkle grinned as sleep took her. Remembering was hard, but it was too rewarding to stop.

Author's Note

Well, I hope this was enough to hook you in! what will happen next? Thoughts and guesses are appreciated.

EDIT: I've made some minor changes to the text. Nothing major, just clarified a few things, but mainly fixed grammar and punctuation errors that I, in my earlier days as a fimfic author, couldn't spot.

At any rate, if you're new to this fic, welcome! Fair warning, a lot of these earlier chapters will have quite a few errors. I'm going through to fix as many as I can, but I'm not perfect. Expect me to miss a few. If you spot any, I would be deeply grateful. You also earn a point for each one you spot. Points can be used to buy non-existent prizes! Huzzah!

Chapter III

Jaleth was the model of clinical detachment as she watched the test subjects continue their back breaking work. She and the other Dridune guards had been standing there for hours, just watching as the test subjects broke apart the asteroid fragments with their tools. Every so often, one would find a precious Givlong stone and deposit it into the chutes for processing down below. It was incredibly boring, and most of the guards took bets on who would nod off first. Jaleth wasn't one of them however. Jaleth couldn't possibly fall asleep in the middle of all of this.

Right in front of her she was witnessing the creation of the fabled Psystones. While the process to create these stones were still a mystery to her, she had been able to catch a glimpse of their construction here and there throughout the station.

The Psystones were the key.

A Psystone, once implanted into the skull of a Dridune, allowed the Dridune to harness their dormant psychic powers and become living weapons.

It took training to become that though. The Dridune brain, while already somewhat psychic, naturally rejected the idea of using the mind as a weapon. From what Jaleth was able to gather, It was supposedly a self-preservation instinct, hardwired into their brains. It was based on the fact that they could become trapped within another's psyche, and die at the hands of their personal demons.

Because of this fact, the Dridune's natural telepathy could only broadcast thoughts. In fact, the Dridune had no spoken language. Instead, they were able to broadcast their thoughts, feelings and desires to others, which were automatically translated by the brain of the receiver. Sure they had ears (ear-holes really), and could eventually learn the languages of the other sapient species of the universe given time. But they had no means to actually speak those other languages, nor did they have the ability to hear thoughts without the aid of Psystones.

It took twenty years for a Psywarrior to overcome this instinct. Of those that were able to do this, only 1% of them survived the personal demons of their instructors. Those that did survive, however, took another twenty years to learn the various techniques of Psycombat. On top of all of this time, it was also hideously expensive to train Psywarriors, with the Psystones themselves costing thousands of quads to produce alone, and that didn't even count the fact that Givlong was exceptionally rare.

All of these fact had piled themselves in front of the emperor, becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. However, he loved his Psywarriors deeply, as they were the only reason why the Dridune Empire covered such a huge quadrant of space. A single Psywarrior could conquer an entire planet by himself, crushing any resistance and turning the inhabitants into the mindless slaves of the empire.

It came to no surprise, then, that the emperor was more than pleased at the proposition his scientists had given him. They had asked the question “what if?”

What if the self-preservation instinct training only took a quarter of the time? They were convinced that the secret to all of their problems was locked in the genetic code of the other sapient species of the universe (along with several other much desired traits).

They had theorized that it was the destiny of the Dridune to incorporate all of the most desired traits of the different species of the universe into themselves, and become something more.

The believed that they could turn their species into a race of gods.

That was the purpose of the test subjects. Sure they were cheap labor, but they were also the guinea pigs of the scientists aboard the mining station. They were here to turn the already deadly Dridune into the ultimate life-form.

All of these sapient beings, male and female, had been taken from their home worlds and spirited away to this station. Here they were drugged, forced into slave labor, examined, tested, probed, vivisected, and eventually killed and dissected. All for the glory of the great Dridune Empire, and her ageless, nearly godlike Emperor.

Jaleth hated it. Every waking moment she prayed to Baznalt to put a stop to this madness, and every night she dreamed about taking apart this hideous, bloated empire brick by brick.

It was either that dream, or it was the nightmare where she saw each of these people vivisected in front of her, screaming and pleading for her to do something.

They haunted her, but she was unable to do anything yet. Her superiors at Galactic Alliance Headquarters had stressed to her the importance of her maintaining her cover, despite the lose of innocent life. She understood that more lives were at stake, that her mission here was vital to toppling the Dridune Empire, but those thoughts didn't stop the nightmares. Nor did she think that that knowledge would bring any sort of peace to the families that these people had left behind.

“Captain Clysoth, I need another test subject for my experiments,” a thought came through the communication device at her hip.

Dejectedly, she reached down and pressed the send button. “Which one did you have in mind?” she thought back.

A picture of a light purple, horned equine came through the Psytransceiver. “She needs to be in Vivisection Lab Three as soon as possible."

Jaleth looked around, quickly locating the strange, yet cute little alien. The creature was busy pulling a cart full of asteroid fragments towards the end of the yard where they were broken apart, completely oblivious to Jaleth's searching gaze.

It was odd how closely she resembled the species of ponies that hailed from her home world of Earth, though there were some obvious differences. Her head and eyes were bigger for example, and her forelegs seemed to posses a startling degree of dexterity and flexibility. She was also very brightly colored.

Not to mention that she also had a horn growing out of the top of her head.

Jaleth wondered to herself how a species that brightly colored could have survived long enough to invent tools. Maybe they're poisonous. Or maybe they're trying to appear poisonous, Jaleth thought to herself.

Shaking her head slightly, she tried to force down her growing curiosity. Getting curious would only make what was about to happen even harder, and she couldn't risk exposing herself. At least, not yet.

With a determination that she did not feel, Jaleth walked over to the cute purple unicorn-thing and called to it.

“Come with me.”

The purple equine looked up, then proceeded to unhitch itself from the cart. Did she just...? No, the drugs in her body prevents all independent thought, Jaleth shook her head ruefully at that thought, then took a look at the equine's coller, just to be sure...

Yep it was still blinking, so there was no way that she had just seen fear in those large purple eyes.

Then why did the unicorn thing seem nervous as she followed? Maybe it was Jaleth's mind playing tricks on her, but it seemed like the unicorn was nervous.

...It was probably just my imagination, she reasoned with herself.

Shaking herself from her reverie, she approached the door that lead to the Vivisection labs. She let her breath out in an explosive sigh, then looked down at the young unicorn-thing.

The unicorn just continued to stare at the door, waiting for further instruction with a blank look on her face.

“I don't know if you can understand what I'm telling you,” she thought at the purple unicorn sadly. “But I'm sorry for this. I wish I could stop what is about to happen, but I can't act. Not yet, at least. Maybe if something changes, I'll be able to stop all of this madness. But until that happens my hands are tied.”

The unicorn only looked at her blankly. For a second there, Jaleth could have sworn that she had seen something in its eyes. Sadness? Fear? Understanding?

...She wasn't sure. The look was gone almost as soon as she had spotted it, lost as a look of blank incomprehension quickly overtook the pony's features.

Oh well, better get this messy business over with, she thought to herself.

She reached over and scanned her stolen key card over the terminal. Buzzing loudly, the door hissed as it slid sideways to reveal Vivisection Lab Three.

The laboratory was white and sterile. Bright white light gleamed from the movable lamps overhead, while four computer consoles surrounded an operating table in the center. Above the table, Jaleth could see dozens of mechanical arms suspended from a large apparatus that hung from the ceiling. Each of the gleaming metal arms had some sort of tool attached at the end, some being lasers, others being claws or clamps, while a few held a needle. Most, however, held some kind of blade.

At each of the consoles there stood a waiting Dridune scientist, their disgusting tentacled faces twitching in excitement for what was about to happen. Jaleth wasn't sure why they always seemed excited before each of these things, she personally only felt sick about what she knew was going to be a horrific experience. They always insisted that she be present for each one, and it never got any easier.

She had mastered several mental techniques to help her cope, but all they did for her was stave off the horror until she could safely scream her terror in the safety of her own bedroom.

She looked down at the purple unicorn. “Get on the table.” She ordered the pony.

Silently, she screamed at herself to put an end to this. Come on! It would be so easy! Just draw your blaster, take aim at that slimy Qualda guy, and put an energy round through his head!

However, she did not heed her mind as the purple unicorn approached the table, and, with some difficulty, got on top of it. For probably the thousandth time since she had been posted on this cesspit called a station, she wished that she hadn't gotten such high marks in her espionage classes back at the academy. She wished again that the doctor responsible for her genetic mutation into a Dridune had messed up, and that she had died in that vat of goo. Once again, she wished that her superior had not died, forcing her to take her place as the undercover agent.

But all of her wishes could not change the fact that she was helping the enemy torture and slaughter innocents, no matter how subversive she might be about it. No matter what information she was leaking back to headquarters, she still had the blood of the innocent on her hands.

No amount of good that she ever did here would remove that stain.

The only thought that allowed her to continue with her current course was the knowledge that with her help, this sick and twisted excuse of a nation would finally be brought to its knees. If she still had lips, she would have smiled at the thought.

However, the happy feeling was doomed to die as she watched the innocent, cute, purple, unicorn-thing stand on the table, ready to have her insides removed for all present to see.

Jaleth couldn't look away. It was something that she swore that she would never do. She would remember each victim's face each time they went under that horrible machine. It was her own personal way of honoring these innocent lives. By remembering what had happened, she hoped to one day bring justice to the depraved souls that had caused such an evil to exist. It made her hate herself even more, and it made the nightmares increasingly worse, but she could not show cowardice to these poor souls.

The lead scientist, Qualda by name, walked up to the purple unicorn and started to mind-speak to the whole room at this point. “Sit,” he told the unicorn in a dismissive tone of thought. Quickly the unicorn followed his instruction and sat on its haunches.

“We have a very rare specimen before us today,” Qualda said to his colleagues. “Not only is this a sapient quadruped, but her race also has become the dominant, tool wielding species of her planet. How is this possible you might ask? She doesn't even have opposable thumbs! Her mouth seems to be her only apparent method of manual manipulation, and her garish coloration would make her species an easy mark for predators. However, we have recorded several instances of her species enacting some weird form of clinging effect on the bottom of their hooves, allowing them to pick up objects as easily as any of the other tool wielding species would.”

Well that answers that question, Jaleth thought to herself. Yet opens so many others...

“However, this is not all,” Qualda continued, completely unaware of Jaleth's inner monologue. “We have also witnessed several instances of telekinesis from this species, as well as several other strange phenomenon that we cannot account for or explain. Since her home world sits well inside Galactic Alliance protected space, our spy ship was only able to collect a few photos and video files, as well as collect our current specimen, before it would attract the attention of a galactic patrol ship. Therefore, the data we have on this species is quite limited. Also security has increased in that quadrant since our ship made its pick-up, making it infeasible to collect any more.”

“However, we have this one specimen. If we are able to unlock the potential of her telekinesis and apply it to our own genetic code, I foresee our soldiers easily wiping out the Galactic Alliance within a few short months. In addition, this telekinesis may also be the key to fully unlocking our own psychic potential! However, all this is merely speculation until we examine our specimen more... fully...”

At this, all of the scientists started to hiss evilly, a Dridune's rough approximation to a cackle. They were very... eager... to begin the operation, and no prayer that Jaleth said could hope to stop the sadistic actions of the individuals in this room.

“Begin preparing the specimen for vivisection!” Qualda thought out loud to the room.

Jaleth turned back to the purple unicorn, sorrow filling her eyes. Well, here we go again, she thought hopelessly to herself.

“Fenris, Et UNLALDA?!?” the unicorn screamed at the scientist next to her.

Jaleth could feel her jaw drop at the sound of the unicorn's distressed voice. It had a young, intelligent, feminine, almost musical quality to it. The voice also revealed that the unicorn was very, very afraid.

She's conscious! Jaleth thought to herself in shock.

“Captain! The subject is not sedated! Quickly stun her before this gets out of hand!!”

Jaleth quickly reached for her pistol. Not to stun the unicorn, but to blast the scientist in front of her. She wasn't even fully aware that that was her intention. It was just a simple fact that, after months spent undercover among the nearly silent Dridune, the sound of someone talking had woken up something inside Jaleth. Something that she had buried deep inside of her a long time ago.

However, before Jaleth could actually pull the pistol from its holster, the unicorn closed her eyes and scrunched her face up in a look of extreme concentration as the unicorn's horn started to glow with a pale lavender color. Without any further warning, the unicorn vanished in a bright flash of purple light, leaving behind nothing but her empty orange jumpsuit, and the metal collar she had worn around her neck. The collar seemed to fall in slow motion, finally landing with a loud metallic clang on the operating table.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! thought I would try to sprinkle in a little world building into this one as well, give it a little bit of depth. hope you enjoy, and please leave comments about it! I feed off of your approval for strength.

EDIT: changed a few minor details, made a few corrections, and changed how the telepathic conversations were read. hopefully this makes it easier to read.

DOUBLE EDIT!: well, got to this chapter. Can't believe I missed all those errors. There was nothing major, just a few places where I capitalized incorrectly.

Chapter IV

The whole station was in an uproar. Orders were telepathically shouted over the Psytransceivers, captives were all being shepherded back to their cells, and all hands quickly took up battle stations in preparation for what they knew was going to be a major attack on the facility.

There was no other logical explanation for what just happened. Nobody just winked out of existence like that, so there must have been a ship of some sort nearby that had teleported the equine away.

And if there was one ship, there was most definitely more.

Jaleth quickly made her way to the observation deck as thoughts constantly jumped back and forth inside her brain. What happened back there? Was there an fleet nearby? Had the Galactic Alliance finally decided to end this place?

It was a distinct possibility, but that didn't mean that she should blow her cover just yet. I can still make a difference here, and help as a saboteur from the inside, she thought to herself as she entered the observation deck.

But first she needed to know what was happening.

“Give me a status report Gelzok, what's out there?” she asked the male Dridune at the scanner station.

“Completing last sensor sweep... now. All scanners report that there is nothing within range Ma'am,” the technician said, confusion clearly evident in his thoughts.

“...Nothing? Not even from the psychic scanners?”

“No ma'am, nothing at all.”

This was extremely odd. Even if the ship was cloaked, there still would have been some sort of residue, either from their jump drive, or from their plasma engines. They certainly wouldn't have been able to locate the cloaked ship, but still...

“Captain Clysoth, report. What is going on out there?” Qualda demanded through the Psytranceiver.

“Nothing sir, there is literally nothing out there. No cloaking signatures, no jump signatures, no weapon fire, nothing. It's dead out there sir.”

There was a long pause from the Psytransceiver. Jaleth couldn't help but imagine the look of complete confusion on the creepy scientist's face. “Continue scanning. Also check the station scan logs and try to figure out what happened to the specimen. No one simply vanishes into thin air, there must be a logical explanation.”

“Yes sir,” she replied.

“This could not have happened at a worse time... Our yearly inspection is due in a couple of days, and a high ranking Psywarrior is going to be a part of the inspection team. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have my psyche crushed by his displeasure at losing such a valuable specimen.”

Jaleth felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as a wave of pure terror filled her mind. A Psywarrior? Here?

In retrospect, it seemed obvious that the station that created the Psystones would play host to the Psywarriors from time to time. However, Psywarriors were rare, numbering only in the hundreds. Also, because of the war with the Galactic Alliance, all of them were deployed on the front lines, turning Jaleth's countrymen into slaves of the Dridune.

With these two things in mind, it was no wonder that she was surprised at the appearance of a Psywarrior.

She knew that she had to get off the station before that Psywarrior arrived. If she was probed, the damage that could be done to the Galactic Alliance's spy network would be catastrophic.

True, she had a cyanide 9 tablet in one of her teeth, and she was not afraid to die for her cause.

She would just rather avoid that scenario at all costs.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle was lost.

This was not just any kind of lost either, this was the special kind of lost created when you teleport without any destination in mind.

It wasn't her fault either. The moment that... thing... had psychically informed the room that they were going to vivisect her, she had been understandably freaked out.

Her first pick would have been home. But after hearing that she wasn't even on her own planet anymore, she was unsure if home was even within her safe teleportation range. Sure, she could try, and she might actually succeed. But the chances of her ending up inside out became a certainty after a few thousand miles. If she were to factor in interstellar distances, not to mention the fact that she had no clue which direction home even was, and she would be lucky if she even ended up in the right dimension.

So she had teleported on pure instinct instead. While this had the upside of her not being in danger of facing a live dissection, it had the downside of her not knowing where the heck she was.

From a cursory glance, however, she would have to say that she was in the laundry room, if the smell of soap and the clothes that surrounded her were any indication of that sort of thing.

Specifically, she was probably in one of the dirty clothes hampers.

She was roused from her musings by the mental impressions of the strange telepathy that those monsters used in the place of speech. She froze as soon as she felt those impressions, hoping that the sound of the washing machines had sufficiently masked her appearance.

If those monsters can hear thoughts, then I'm doomed. Oh please Celestia, don't let them hear my thoughts! she silently prayed.

“I can't believe we're on laundry duty again!” she heard one of them say in that peculiar mind-speak of theirs.

It was weird. She was certain that they were not thinking in equestrian, and all she was getting from the squid-like monsters were feelings and pictures, but she could still understand what was being said.

“At least down here we can actually talk to each other,” she heard the other one think. “If we were on guard duty, we would have to stand there in total silence for hours, waiting for-”

The second monster stopped talking as a loud alarm started to sound throughout the room, causing Twilight to flatten her ears against the sides of her head in annoyance.

“Attention! All hands to battle-stations! One of the test subjects has escaped and we have reason to believe that an enemy assault on the station is imminent. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Report to your battle commanders immediately and secure all remaining test subjects in their respective wards,” she heard someone shout telepathically.

Silence followed the announcement, and Twilight froze again, not wanting to make the slightest sound that could alert the aliens to her location. Seconds past, but to Twilight they felt more like hours.

“What?” one of them thought to the other in annoyance, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“weren't you just saying how boring it was around here? I took this position to be as far away from the front-lines as possible!” she heard the other one think.

There was the sound of a door sliding somewhere nearby, and she could hear them continue to argue, but she lost the conversation as soon as the door closed.

Twilight's head popped out of the laundry basket as she let out a sigh of relief. “Well, that was fascinating, it seems that they cannot hear thoughts, and that their telepathy can be blocked by certain materials,” she said out loud.

She felt pretty secure in her reasoning. If they could hear thoughts, then they would have found her quite easily (she was having a panic attack in the hamper and was sure they could here every bit of it). She also noticed that while the heavy metal door blocked their conversation, the clothes hamper did nothing to prevent her from hearing what was being thought.

She started to climb out of the clothes hamper, but was slowed down a bit by her awkward position. Eventually she lost her temper and just teleported out of the hamper instead.

“Hmmm....” she said as she looked up at the large metal door. She was in clear danger, with no friends, no information, and no fall-backs. If she wasn't careful, these strange creatures wouldn't hesitate to kill her. After all, they were about to vivisect her, and she was sure that while they would find a dead specimen less than ideal, they would still prefer that over a specimen on the loose.

Summoning her magic, she quickly transmuted some of the clothes in the hamper into a clipboard, quill, and a bottle of ink. While not strictly speaking necessary, she found that having a physical check-list helped her organize her thoughts and come up with plans.

And boy, did she need a plan.

* * *

He liked to break rocks. Breaking rocks was something he was good at. Plus, it kept him from trying to think.

Thinking was too hard.

He felt sad when the caretakers had come and taken the purple horse away. Why would that make him sad though? He frowned at this, trying to figure out the conundrum, but quickly gave up. Figuring things out was simply too hard, and it distracted him from his work.

Hopefully the horse would be back, though. He didn't want to forget it like the others.

Were there others? He wasn't sure... but it felt like there might have been others at one time.

Shrugging slightly to himself, he lifted the pickax to break up the rock in front of him when a ear-piercingly loud alarm filled the yard. He felt words and ideas enter his mind, but they were far too complex for him to even guess at their meaning.

The words and ideas made him feel strange however. He wasn't sure why, but they made him feel... happy... for some reason. But happy wasn't the right word for how he felt, though.

The caretakers apparently knew what the words meant however, and started to move towards the ward-mates at work.

“back to bed," he heard one of them say to him. Obediently, he dropped his pickax and followed the other ward-mates back to his bunk. He felt a bit melancholic that he couldn't continue working on the rocks, but he still felt inexplicably happy for some reason.

The feeling was hard to describe. It wasn't the kind of happy he felt at mealtimes, or after he had broken up a particularly large rock. It wasn't even the kind of happy he felt after a long, hard day's work. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that he had felt this kind of happy before, either.

It intrigued him, and he felt that it should have a name that was different than just plain old 'happy'.

It was also surprisingly easy to hold on to the feeling. For some reason, it continued to stay with him despite the fact that thinking about anything was hard. Why was that, though? Why was this one feeling so easy to hold on to, when everything else just seemed to slip through his fingers?

He continued to wonder about this as he climbed into bed. Eventually, he stopped wondering and just continued to enjoy the feeling.

As sleep started to take him, a word bobbed to the surface of his mind. It was a small word, but it held great meaning. It seemed to carry the weight of the world on it, and it was also inseparably connected to the happy feeling that was surging through his chest.

He lied there for probably an hour while he tried to make sense of this word. When he finally fell asleep, it was only because he had finally figured out what that word meant.

Hope.

* * *

He woke with a start. Something was... off. He wasn't sure what it was, but something did not feel right.

He looked around the dark ward for a little bit, but couldn't see what had caused him to wake up so suddenly. Shrugging slightly to himself, he rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep.

He was foiled in his attempt, however, when a bright purple flash appeared on his bed. It briefly illuminated the room and left just as quickly, spoiling his night vision and leaving him blind in the darkness of the ward.

Before he could try to comprehend what he had just seen, he became aware of a presence next to him on the bed. He squinted in the darkness in an attempt to see what the presence was, only to have that question answered when a faint purple glow pierced the darkness, allowing him to see.

Lying in bed next to him was the purple horse from earlier. He couldn't understand how it had gotten in here, but he was glad to see it nonetheless. Why was he glad to see it?

Before he could even try to think about this new conundrum, the purple pony lowered its head and gently touched his collar with the tip of its horn. He briefly felt the skin under the collar tingle slightly, but other than that, nothing seemed to happen.

The pony was apparently satisfied with whatever it had done, however, seeing as how it now wore a self-satisfied smirk on its face. It nodded once to itself, then lowered its head once more.

This time its horn lightly touched his forehead, and for a brief moment, nothing seemed to happen.

Then his world exploded.

Lights, sounds, smells, feelings, and tastes all bombarded him, demanding his attention. It was painful. More painful than he could possibly imagine. Yet it was a good kind of pain, similar to the feeling of poison being drawn from a wound.

After what seemed like eternity, but at the same time seemed like only a second, he started to see images flash quickly in front of his eyes. It was like watching a movie played at super-sonic speeds.

It was all so very confusing, but he found that he could still keep up with everything that he saw and heard. The images were alien, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel as if he had seen all of this before... It felt so familiar...

It suddenly occurred to him that he was seeing someone's life flash before his eyes. Just as that thought bubbled to the surface of his mind, he also realized that it was his life that was flashing before his eyes!

Just as quickly as it had started, it all suddenly came to a screeching halt. The pony's horn stopped glowing, and he felt the tip of it remove itself from his forehead.

Groaning slightly to himself, Lieutenant Captain Zachery Hale shook his head to clear it from the last vestiges of the drug that had robbed him of his free will, then looked up at where he thought the strange pony would be. He then said the only thing that seemed appropriate at the time. The only thing that fully conveyed everything that he was feeling right now.

“What the heck?”

Author's Note

Here's chapter four! sorry it took so long, I blame work and college. please be patient, hopefully I'll be able to update more often now.
Also PLEASE leave comments below. tell me what I'm doing right, but more importantly tell me what I'm doing wrong. I cant improve unless I get some feedback.

EDIT: Not as many errors to fix in this one than the others, but hey, still got to it.

Chapter V

Captain Hale took stock of the situation while he stood guard at the door. Honestly, a few things just didn't add up here.

Captured by Dridune? Sure, he could accept that. His star fighter had been adrift after that last battle, and he was pretty sure that his side had lost. He wasn't positive about that last fact though, seeing as how he had lost consciousness roughly around the same time when his oxygen recyclers had lost power. Anything could have happened after that point.

Put into a slave labor camp/research facility? He could accept that too. The Dridune were a sick lot whose one goal was the domination of everything in the galaxy. Frankly, he was surprised that they hadn't murdered him and dissected him as soon as he had been captured.

The purple psychic unicorn that had freed him from his collar? He watched her for a few seconds as she made her way to the next bed. Heck, he had seen his wing turn on him during that last battle against the Dridune! A purple psychic unicorn was tame compared to that.

No, what he couldn't accept was the fact that he still had all of his cybernetics.

The way he saw it, there were only three possibilities here: One, the Dridune were far more arrogant than he originally thought. Two, an infiltrator had let him slip by with his cybernetics at great risk to himself. Or three, this was a trap, and the Dridune wanted to learn more about human tactics in a controlled setting.

Knowing how devious the Dridune were, he wouldn't be surprised that this was a trap. However, according to the time stamp on his ocular implants, he had been a prisoner of the Dridune for a full three months. While it was possible that they would have waited this long to set everything up, it was highly unlikely given the fact that the Dridune had all the patience of a two year old in a candy shop.

No, it was far more likely that it was arrogance or an infiltrator to blame for his good fortune.

While he was musing overall of this, he noticed a red light start to flash at the edge of his vision in his left eye. He sighed gently to himself as he turned off the low battery indicator. Oh well, it isn't anything insurmountable. I just have to find a power outlet to drain, then I'll be ready for action, he thought to himself.

“Say, you didn't happen to see any power outlets around here, did you?” he whispered as the purple unicorn made her way to the next bed.

He saw her pause and look at him curiously. “H'es enta'ri uldana?” she asked him in her strangely musical language.

He just shrugged, then sighed to himself. This wasn't going to be easy, and the language barrier was only going to compound the problem. Normally, he would have had his linguistics analyzer working on this, except he needed to conserve power for his weapon systems.

After about thirty minutes, the purple unicorn had woken and freed every prisoner in the room. Some of them were crying, some looked like they were praying. All of them looked terrified and hopeless.

Well, almost all of them. Three of the prisoners; a Lionel, a Jakra and a Peli, separated themselves from the others and made there way over to where he was standing. The only reason he recognized their species was because he had fought alongside them on the front lines.

Well, not these individuals specifically, but with their races in general. Lionels were a strong, proud race of cat-like hominids, Jakra were a highly intelligent race of insectoid mantis men, and the Pelius were a race of blue skinned hominids similar to humans.

The Lionel approaching him had brown fur and a deep red mane. His eyes were a deep blue, and his face was covered in scars and tribal tattoos. “Gashalt Primius,” he said, giving the customary greeting of his people, followed by their customary salute by striking a closed fist against his chest. “I am Pride Leader Rashi Alik. By chance do you know where we are Terran? Most of the others here cannot speak Galactic Standard, and the few that do are just as confused as I,” he said in his deep, growling voice.

Pride Leader? That puts him at roughly the same rank as a GSM Sergent. “Can't say that I do, but she might,” Hale said, jerking his thumb towards the unicorn across the room.

“The equine?” the Jakra buzzed as she looked at the unicorn, her large, iridescent green eyes narrowing suspiciously. At the moment, the purple pony was levitating a clipboard and quill in front of her and was furiously scribbling something down. “Do you think she is in league with the Mindstealers?”

“I don't think so, I ain't ever seen no squid levitate nothing before,” the Peli said with a rueful shake of his head. “If she were work'n with 'em, don't you think they would have gotten the secret of how to do that out of 'em by now?”

Captain Hale nodded his head in agreement. “I agree, but I think it's too early to tell at this point. We will have to wait until we get my Linguistics Analyzer back online before we can hope to ask her anything, seeing as the only thing she speaks is her native tongue.”

“You packing cyber gear partner? How did they not take that crap off you?” the Peli asked incredulously.

Captain Hale didn't answer immediately. Instead he pressed the inside of his wrist, opening the compartment located on the inside of his arm. “Honestly, I have no clue. I was unconscious when they captured me, so my best theory right now is that a spook is responsible for my good luck,” he said as he fiddled with the mechanism for a little bit.

“This is all interesting, but what do we do from here?” the Jakra buzzed in irritation.

“Well, I have always felt that introductions were a great way to start any new endeavor,” Alik rumbled pointedly.

“Good call Alik, I'm Lieutenant Captain Zachary Hale, G.A.S.N. fighter pilot,” Hale said seriously.

The effect was instantaneous. All three of them instantly put themselves into some form of attention. The Lionel had his fist to his chest again, the Peli had pulled off a rather sloppy looking marine salute, and the Jakra had her head bowed and her claws were touching the top of her head in respect.

Captain Hale wasn't having any of that though. “Stow the salutes men, we aren't exactly in a position to stand on ceremony here,” he said gruffly.

“But yer a legend! How did they capture ya sir?” the Peli gasped in disbelief.

“That's really a story for another time. We are in too deep to be swapping war stories right now, but once we get out I promise to tell you the tale,” Hale said dismissively.

“Of course, mighty warrior. I am Kzzalt Hexomer, of Her Majesty's Royal diplomatic staff,” the Jakra said gravely.

The Jakra were an imposing race. They stood about six feet tall on average, with the females being slightly larger than the males. Their bodies were thin, and covered with a chitinous exoskeleton. They had two sets of arms; one larger set of praying mantis-like claws, and another, smaller set of claws that closely resembled hands further down their abdomen. Their heads looked a bit small when compared to their huge mantis claws, but the set of mandibles that sat on their faces didn't make them look any less imposing. Their legs were triple jointed, and ended in a three toed claw. Royals were distinguished from the common drones by the large, iridescent wings that adorned their backs.

Hexomer wasn't a royal however. She stood roughly six foot three, had green eyes, and red chitin with yellow strips running down her back. A rather unusual combination in a drone, Captain Hale thought to himself.

“You're an ambassador?” Hale asked.

Hexomer shook her head. “No, mighty warrior, I am but a humble scribe. My lady's ship came under fire when we were making our way back from a mission to Earth. Our main reactor became damaged, and we were forced to abandon our vessel. I am not sure, but I believe that everyone on board has either been captured or killed,” she said sadly.

The Peli whistled softly at these words. “I'm sorry about that miss, we'll gladly help you get home. Assuming that we can get ourselves out of this rathole, of course,” he said earnestly.

Hale took a second to examine the Peli. He was rather short, standing only about five feet tall. His messy green hair was thick, making it rather hard to see the twin horns that grew on the top of his head. He also seemed to be missing one of his eyebrows, although that probably had something to do with the burn mark on his forehead. His three fingered hands were covered in scars, and Hale could tell that he was missing the tip of one of those fingers. “What's your name soldier?” Hale asked the young Peli curiously.

“Ah, shoot sir, I ain't no soldier, though I did have to go through some combat training. In reality sir? I'm just a grease monkey. M'names Donny Quelzok, and I used to be chief engineer aboard the Valhalla. At least, I was before we was ambushed by them squids coming out of Hyperspace,” The Peli said modestly.

“There is no such thing as 'just a grease monkey' Donny, your job is just as important as mine, maybe even more so,” Captain Hale rebuffed the startled engineer. “Without men like you, men like me wouldn't have a ship to fly or weapons to fire. Don't sell yourself short.”

“I agree with the Captain. Besides, if we can make our way to a vessel, your talents will prove invaluable in our escape from this Hazack,” Alik rumbled in agreement.

Hexomer nodded her head, “Now that introductions are out of the way, it would be best if we formulated some sort of plan. I propose that we—” she started to say, but was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her.

Hexomer turned around. At first she didn't see anyone there. However, when she heard the sound again, she looked down at its source to find a purple unicorn looking up at her.

* * *

Admiral Zelgius jumped when he heard the priority alarm on his computer go off. Since he happened to be in the shower at the time, this had the effect of causing him to slip on the slick enameled surface and almost knock himself out on the tiled wall.

Luckily, however, the Admiral was a Simiate; A race of sapient monkeys that hailed from the Unlada System. All Simiates were blessed from birth with quick reflexes and a prehensile tail, which he quickly used to catch himself before he fell by latching onto the door handle of the shower. He quickly righted himself as he turned off the water with his foot, gumbling to himself as he did so. “Yeah yeah, I'm coming! Just keep your pants on!” he shouted at the top of his lungs as he shook the water out of his fur.

A partially dry Zelgius quickly pulled the door open and hopped out of the shower, pausing only for a second to wrap a towel around his midsection. He then loped out of the bathroom and sat down at his rather spartan work desk. The men and women under his command were always surprised at how very bare the Admiral's living space was. If it wasn't for the plaque outside the door, one might have been lead to believe that no one had claimed these quarters.

There were no pictures of family members, no mementos, no files or folders. Heck, even the sheets were the regulation white. Not that he preferred it that way, it's just that after the fifth assassination attempt that involved a bomb, he decided that his quarters at Naval Intelligence wasn't the best place to keep any of his private effects.

Quickly he typed in the authorization code, then sat still as the computer read his retina and brainwaves. These precautions seemed like overkill, but not when you took into account who the Galactic Alliance was fighting against.

After a few seconds, the computer beeped in recognition. “Recognize, Admiral Halik Zelgius of Naval Intelligence. Good Evening Admiral. You have one incoming call, Priority One, from Infiltrator Jaleth Shadowfall. Shall I patch her through?”

“Jaleth? But she's stationed and the Dridune research facility! This had better be important to risk blowing her cover,” he muttered to himself. He then rubbed his face with the palms of his hands, groaning in frustration at what was sure to be terrible news. “Patch her through,” he said after regaining his composure.

The screen went black, then flickered back to life as Jaleth's tentacled face appeared on the screen.

“Jaleth, this had better be important. You know you're to keep radio silen—” the aged admiral started to say in his squeaky, Simiate voice, but was interrupted as Jaleth waved her arm at him in desperation.

“I know sir, I know,” she said in the oddly gargling voice of someone who has had their morphology changed into a Dridune. “I wouldn't have called you unless it was of the utmost importance. Sir, I am requesting immediate extraction.”

Zelgius leaned forward, his expression grave. “Have you been discovered Jaleth?” he asked in a serious tone.

“Not yet sir, but I will be in two days,” she said seriously.

“What makes you so certain of this Jaleth?” Zelgius asked her.

“Well sir, in two days we will be having a visit from an inspection team who's mission is to review the science team's progress and inspect the security of the base.”

“...And you believe that the will discover you?” Zelgius asked slowly.

She shook her head. “No sir, I KNOW they will discover me. They are bringing a Psywarrior with them. Sir, they're bringing Hivanti to the base.”

Zelgius felt as if his whole stomach had been turned into ice. Even a low ranking Psywarrior could mean the scrubbing of an operation of this size, but to have someone of Hivanti's caliber on board that station? He would be able to sense that she didn't belong right from the start. The Dridune's reputation was legendary. In fact, all they had on him was rumor and word of mouth. Any of the men that Zelgius had that came within range of his telepathic powers had instantly been recognized as hostile and had been mentally dominated by this demon. Any Dridune that they had captured had spoken as if he were a messenger of God, and considering that they worshiped the Dridune Emperor as a deity, that probably wasn't too far from the truth. “Are you sure it's Hivanti?” he asked, with a slight edge to his voice.

“Sir, I'm absolutely positive that it's Hivanti. All incoming and outgoing traffic has to go through me, and I just got the paperwork for the incoming shuttle today. It's him, sir,” she responded with a slight tremor of fear in her voice.

Zelgius leaned back in his chair and thought for a second. “I'm sorry to tell you this, Jaleth, but the closest extraction vehicle is a full four days out. If you had given us a little more advance warning, I might have been able to arrange for something...” he could see her visibly pale as he talked, and honestly his hearts went out to the poor girl. There was nothing that he could do, however, but give the hardest orders that he could ever give an operative.

He always hated this part, and it never got any easier. “Jaleth, here's what I want you to do. I want you to transmit everything that you have gathered so far, then blow up the station. If you can make sure Hivanti is on board when that cesspit goes up in flames, all the better.” He inhaled slowly, then exhaled. “But as to how you are going to get off, I'm afraid that is up to you. You'll be light-years behind enemy territory, and our nearest extraction ship will have no way of finding you without either of you revealing yourselves to the enemy. Stealth will be your ally, seeing as how Dridune Standard Procedure is to mentally probe all personnel that are found adrift in space.”

He could see the fear in her eyes, but there was determination there as well. “Sir... what about those who are being held captive here?” She stammered.

He let out another explosive sigh. “If you can get any on an escape shuttle with you, then do so. But be warned that those shuttles usually only have enough food and oxygen for about half a dozen standard-sized lifeforms, and that those supplies will only last for about a month. You may have to leave them behind if you want to have a chance of surviving the trip back home.”

He could see her features harden when he said this. “I can't do that sir. I either save all of them, or we all go down.”

His eyes widened slightly at this statement. “Jaleth, you can't possibl—”

“I'm sending my final report now sir,” she said, ignoring his sputtering protests. “I hope you can make use of it, to make our deaths meaningful. On that report is a list of every being that the Dridune have kidnapped and brought to this station... please make sure that their friends and family are made aware of what has happened here. Make sure that they have some form of closure,” she finished as the tears ran freely down her face.

He stared at her for a moment as the computer in front of him received the data she had sent. He slowly swallowed, then nodded in understanding. “I will,” he said as his features hardened and his hand rose in a salute. “May Baznalt prepare a place for you in the world beyond,” he said, invoking the ancient farewell of Jaleth's people.

“Thank you sir. May Baznalt grant the Alliance victory. Farewell,” she said as she signed off.

Even though the screen had gone black, even though he knew that he should really get started on that file that she had sent, Admiral Zelgius couldn't move an inch from his chair. Even hours later, long after his fur had dried, he just continued to sit there.

He had sent many to their deaths before. He was an Admiral, it was part of the job description. However, it never got any easier, and the brave ones were always the toughest.

And she had been one of the bravest.

* * *

“How does that even make any sense?” Doctor Qualda thought incredulously.

For the past two hours he had been examining the malfunctioning collar, trying to figure out how it had stopped functioning, yet still somehow send the signal that it was working in top condition. What he had found had been perplexing to say the least.

Doctor Qualda hated feeling perplexed. It was one of the many reasons why he liked to dissect things so much. “Once you cut something open, all the secrets it held were revealed to you,” he said as he shivered with pleasure at the memory of the last dissection. “Yes... everything becomes so... clear... under a knife and a microscope...” he thought to himself.

At any rate, he had found that the injection system had become cracked, and was leaking Slv-12. That could explain why Equus Sapience was able to regain consciousness. That he could understand. It was a simple break, probably cause by stress or by the subject falling.

No, what he couldn't understand was how the device was deactivated, but still somehow was able to send out a signal.

Literally every single piece of machinery had been deactivated. He had even removed the power cell from the collar to see if that would stop the transmitter from... well, transmitting. But there it sat, blinking as if it was possessed. It perplexed and baffled Doctor Qualda to no end.

So he had run some tests. He had found that power was running through the transmitting device, but somehow the laws of nature had stopped working right where the transmitter connected with the rest of the collar. Not only was it self-generating electricity, but somehow that electricity wasn't jumping to the rest of the device. On top of that, when he had tried to get the power to jump to something else, it had refused to do so. It was almost as if physics had decided to take a holiday.

He had brought in his scanning equipment and had thrown every test he could think of at the collar. He had found nothing. No radiation, no electromagnetic fields (aside from the one that seemed to be generating itself for no good reason), no emissions that he could find whatsoever.

Heck, he had even used a psychic scanner on the device, but all he found were the trace psychic impressions that you'd expect to find on a pair of pants that someone wore on a regular basis.

The psychic impression was odd, however. It seemed to have some sort of message embedded into it, repeating itself every couple of seconds. What that message was, he had no clue. It was in the equine's native tongue, and he didn't have a large enough sample of the equine's language to even think about running it through a linguistics analyzer.

Then, roughly about twenty minutes ago, whatever power that was keeping the signal going suddenly disappeared. In fact, the device acted as if the force that had possessed it had never existed in the first place!

His tentacles wiggled in frustration. It just didn't make any sense! On a whim, he brought up the feed from the equine's escape again. The teleport had looked exactly like any teleport should, at least from the sensor's perspective.

What didn't look normal was the fact that the teleportation signal had come from the equine. No teleportation device could possibly be that small! The power requirements alone meant that you needed a fusion reactor at the very least, not to mention you needed a sensor array for locating the target and the destination, as well as a computer for making the complex quantum calculations needed to ensure that the target made it to its destination in one piece. All of these parts ensured that a teleportation device needed to be at least as large as a star fighter, maybe a little smaller.

But somehow, the strange creature had plucked itself from local space, and had dropped itself somewhere else. Not only that, but that thing had made it look easy.

He had to dissect this thing. Every single thing he learned about this strange creature made it increasingly apparent that it was the key to the ascendancy of the Dridune. If the Dridune could teleport at will, that alone insured not only their total victory over the hated Galactic Alliance, but also their dominance over all creation!

...but first they had to find the creature and get it under control.

Finding where the equine had gone was a simple task. Teleporting always leaves a distinct trail, and at least here physics hadn't failed him. The equine had ended up in the laundry room three decks down. On one tentacle, that meant that they weren't about to be attacked by an Alliance Armada.

On the other tentacle, that also meant that they had a hostile specimen of unknown power and capabilities loose aboard one of the most top secret research facilities in Dridune space. This notion almost made him wet himself.

He sat there for quite some time, pondering on what precisely he should do. He had already informed the security personal of the situation, and they were currently scouring the base searching for the little monster. But what if that wasn't enough? What would happen if the inspection team arrived to find that everyone on board the station had been killed and cocooned in some weird goo? He knew his imagination was playing tricks on him, but at this point he knew next to nothing about the equine. Everything he thought he knew seemed to go out the window where this creature was concerned.

“...I'll probably have my personality striped from me for this, but being a vegetable beats being dead,” he thought out loud as he opened a channel to the approaching inspection ship.

After several heart-pounding minutes, during which he seriously considered committing suicide, a Dridune's face appeared on the monitor. It was a heavily scarred face, and Qualda could see that it was missing some tentacles. It was a face that many Dridune worshiped and feared the galaxy over. “What do you want Qualda?” Hivanti the Psywarrior thought in irritation. “And whatever it is, can't it wait? My inspection team will be there in two days, and any questions or concerns you may have can easily be answered once we get there.”

“A thousand pardons your eminence. It's just that we... have a situation here, and I fear that we may not be properly equipped to deal with it before your arrival...” Qualda said in a simpering, fawning tone of thought.

Without warning, Qualda's world exploded. Pain beyond pain lanced through his whole being, and he felt another's presence examine everything he was. In the back of his mind, he realized that Hivanti's impatience and irritation had made him decide to simply take the information that Qualda was going to willingly give him. For his impertinence, Hivanti sent an extra jolt of mental anguish to that region of Qualda's mind almost before he had finished that thought.

Then, almost as soon as it had begun, it was over. Qualda was lying face down on the cold steel of the station's floor, covered in a cold sweat. As quickly as he could, he got back into his chair, relieved that Hivanti had merely probed him, rather than strip him entirely. Qualda looked up at the monitor, expecting anger in the Psywarrior's eyes.

He hadn't expected fear.

“You were right to inform me of this latest development. My ship's course shall be changed, and we will arrive within the next ten hours. You will be commended for your loyalty in bringing this to my attention,” Hivanti told the recovering scientist. “Do what you can to bring the specimen back under control, but be careful. The creature is not to be trifled with.”

Then, without any further instruction, the line disconnected, leaving Qualda wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! hope you guys are hooked by now, and thanks for reading this far. Please remember to leave comments below on what you think.

Also, to head off a question that I know is coming, why couldn't Hivanti just fix everything from a distance using the psytranciever? the answer is that those are extremely limited when it comes to Psywarrior abilities. You pretty much have to be holding the darn thing to be able to be affected by a psywarrior through them. There are also a few other reasons, but for me to tell you them now would be spoilers.

EDIT: I changed a few minor things in this edit, such as the fact that twilight's spell on her collar ran out of juice, as well as a few minor consistency problems. other then that its good.

Even though I changed the name of the story, I'm still not completely happy with it. Any good suggestions for a better name would be greatly appreciated.

Chapter VI

“...And you're sure that you can't find anything on the thermal scans?” Jaleth asked the tech officer slowly, incredulity clearly showing in her thoughts.

“Yes ma'am. The moment you told me that it had shown up in the laundry room, I checked the scan logs. Ma'am, the logs show that it teleported there as we suspected, and that it probably spent close to fifteen minutes in that room. However, she just up and disappeared. I pulled the video logs, and I think you will want to see this,” Gelzok said nervously.

He punched a few keys on his console, then leaned back to let Jalath and Qualda have a better view of what was going on.

The screen went black, then turned back on to reveal a top down view of the laundry room. There seemed to be two Dridune guards near a set of laundry machines, folding the base's laundry and arguing about how boring their job was.

“I can't believe we're on laundry duty again!” one thought to the other.

“At least down here we can actually talk to each other,” the other one responded. “If we were on guard duty, we would have to stand there in total silence for hours, waiting for-”

He never got to finish his thought, however, because at that precise moment, the alarm went off, and Jaleth's thoughts came through the Psytranceivers, interrupting them both.

“Attention! All hands to battle-stations! One of the test subjects have escaped, and we have reason to believe that an enemy assault on the station is imminent. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Report to your battle commanders immediately and secure all remaining test subjects in their respective wards.”

The two guards just stared at each other for a few seconds. Finally, one threw up his arms in frustration. “What?” he thought in irritation.

“Weren't you just saying how boring it was around here? I took this position to be as far away from the front-lines as possible!” the other one thought in exasperation as he stomped out of the room.

The other one followed him out “you can't pin the blame on me! I had-” he started to say, but his thought was cut off by the closing door as the two left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Jaleth caught a small flicker of movement near the edge of the screen. She immediately focused her attention on the area just as a small purple head popped out of the laundry basket.

She then said something in that oddly musical language of hers. Jaleth couldn't make out what was said, but the tone was unmistakable.

It was a thoughtful tone of voice. The scientists and tacticians back home would often use that exact tone of voice when trying to overcome a problem.

The pony tried to get out of the basket, but seemed to have trouble finding sure footing in the large clothes hamper. Honestly, Jaleth thought it looked adorable, but she kept her thoughts to herself. After about a minute of this, the equine became frustrated at her lack of progress and simply teleported herself.

Jaleth heard Qualda hiss in irritation at the physics defying equine, but Jaleth just ignored him and continued to watch the screen. They watched carefully as the equine slowly cantered up to the door. She didn't get close enough to open it, however, apparently content to just stare at the door for a while. “Hmmm...” she said, clearly deep in thought.

After about a minute of this, the equine seemed to reach a decision. She quickly trotted back to the laundry basket, then levitated a pair of trousers and a shirt out of the container.

What happened next completely blew Jaleth's mind.

The light from the unicorn's horn grew brighter and brighter with every passing second. Jaleth noticed that, as the glow around the unicorn's horn grew, so did the aura that surrounded the clothing she was levitating. Then, without any warning whatsoever, the pants turned into a clipboard!

Jaleth blinked. Rubbed her eyes for a bit, then looked again. Yup, the clipboard was still there, and it seemed that the unicorn turned the shirt into writing materials as well.

“How is that even possible?” Qualda mentally shouted in confusion. For the first time since meeting the creepy scientist, Jaleth found herself agreeing with him. Such a thing defied all logic and reasoning. Not only that, but the unicorn did it as if it were the most natural thing in the world!

“How does that even...” she thought out loud, her thoughts becoming incoherent as she watched the universe-breaking unicorn calmly scribe a list on her impossible clipboard with her impossible quill.

She thought she had seen everything now, but was proven wrong when after about ten minutes of this when the unicorn got up, and transmuted some more clothes into what appeared to be a set of saddle bags. She then set the bags on her back, placed the clipboard inside, then made her way over to the laundry room door.

Jaleth felt like she had to pick her jaw up from off the ground though, because as the unicorn made her way towards the door she slowly became more and more transparent. Eventually, she disappeared from view entirely.

“Did she- did she teleport again?” Qualda asked uncertainly.

“No sir, the scanners did not pick up any teleportation signal. It seems like she had managed to turn herself invisible,” the confused technician said.

“How can you be sure?” Jaleth asked him slowly.

However, before he was able to answer that question, the video answered it for him. There was a bright flash of purple light near the door, just like the one that happened in vivisection lab three when the pony had first escaped by teleportation.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“Well, according to the scan logs, there was a teleportation signature that passed through the laundry room door that coincided with that flash. If I was to hazard a guess, I'd say that it turned invisible, then teleported through the door when it couldn't figure out how to open it without becoming visible again,” the technician said.

Jaleth looked at Qualda. The creepy scientist seemed to have mixed feelings about all of this. “Can you track where the specimen went after it became invisible?” he asked uncertainly.

The technichian shook his head ruefully. “Unfortunately, no. The thermal signature disappeared as soon as the alien did. I was about to scan the logs for any more of those teleportation signals when you came in for a status report.” Gelzok said helpfully.

“Good, let me know the moment you find anything,” Qualda said. He turned to leave, but stopped when something seemed to occur to him. “Why weren't the logs being monitored in the first place?” he asked Jaleth pointedly.

Jaleth just rolled her eyes at this. “The site-to-site teleport logs are not considered key to station security, seeing as how the only ones who use that system are security personal, and lazy scientists who think walking is 'beneath someone of their stature,'” Jaleth snarked back at him, annoyance registering clearly in her thoughts.

Qualda didn't even dignify that with a response, however, and instead stormed off, clearly annoyed at the disguised Peli.

“You're playing a dangerous game there, Ma'am,” Gelzok said cautiously.

“You worry too much. Just tell me when you have something,” she said to the worried Dridune.

As she walked away she could only pray that Gelzok wouldn't be able to find the pony before she did.

However, she didn't get very far before Gelzok's thoughts interrupted her reverie.

“Uhh... Ma'am, I think I just found something,” he said nervously.

Figures... I just had to jinx myself, didn't I? she thought to herself. “What do you have?”

“Well, I was quickly running a routine check on all the specimen collars, and I found something... odd...” he said in a confused tone of thought.

“What's wrong Gelzok?”

“Well, all the collars in cell 3 seem to be working fine, except they aren't responding to any signal that I'm sending them. Just let me bring up the video feed for that room so we can see what's happening... and... oh crap...” he said nervously.

Jaleth stared at the screen in disbelief. It hasn't even been two hours since her escape, and the equine was already freeing the other prisoners! Dang that pony works fast! She went straight for the room with Captain Hale, too, She thought to herself.

“Alert Doctor Qualda of this development, and alert the rest of the station as well,” she told the nervous technician.

If the Dridune weren't so busy thinking that she was some sort of alien monster who was going to suck out their organs and lay her eggs in them, they might have thought that allies would have been the pony's first move. Well, luck seems to be playing in your favor today little pony, she thought to herself.

“Ma'am, might I ask what you will be doing while I alert the crew?” Gelzok asked.

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I think I might have a way of solving this whole messy business, but it's going to take me a little bit of time to get it ready. Think you can cover for me until I get back?” she lied.

As soon as she saw him nod his assent, she bolted for her room. If she was going to blow this station when Hivanti arrived, she needed to make sure that the charges were in place.

* * *

“I'll try explaining this again. You've always wanted to fly, right?” Jevik asked in an exasperated tone.

Galvis had to think about this one for a second. “Well... yeah...” he answered.

“And birds are an inferior species, correct?” Jevik continued, pressing his advantage.

“well, yeah...” Galvis agreed reluctantly.

“Well, if one of these beast's genes gave you the ability to fly,” Jevik said, jerking his head towards the bunk that they were guarding. “Wouldn't you jump at the chance to take it?”

“Okay, okay, I see your point. Just because we're superior doesn't mean we have everything,” he agreed grudgingly.

“And THAT'S the point of this whole operation. To make it so that we DO have everything,” Jevik said smugly.

“Yes, but what about the human? As far as I can tell, they don't posses any traits that we as the Dridune would want in our gene pool,” Galvis asked stubbornly.

“I was wondering that myself, asked around a little, and do you want to know what I found out?” Jevik asked thoughtfully.

“What?”

“Well, as it turns out, humans are quick learners. In fact, by the time it takes you to finish basic training, a human is already a highly effective killer, and probably several ranks above you,” Jevik said pointedly. “If we can add that potential to our gene pool, what do you think that would do for our Psywarriors? It would cut the training time in half, that's what it would do.”

“Yeah, but... what abo-HCKKK!!”

Galvis never got a chance to finish his statement. At that precise moment, the door to the bunk that the two guards were stationed at opened. Before either even registered what had happened, both guards were grabbed, pulled into the room behind the door, and subsequently given a not-so-inferior beating into unconsciousness.

* * *

“Grab their weapons, tie them up and leave them here.” Captain Hale ordered as he smashed open the guards Psytranceivers.

Alik and Donny nodded and began working on making sure the two guards stay would be as uncomfortable as possible. While they were busy with that, Hale bent down and picked up the power cells from the wrecked Psytranceivers. He quickly popped open the compartment at his wrist, and plugged the batteries into his power converter.

He knew they wouldn't have too much power inside, but it would be enough to at least get a halfway decent translation matrix going. Almost instantly he saw his battery monitor fill. It didn't ever get to 33% capacity though, before it stopped. Oh well, that will have to do for now.

With a quick mental exercise, he brought up the Linguistics Analyzer and immediately put it to work analyzing the ample language sample that he had recorded from the purple unicorn. It hadn't been as hard as he thought it would be to get it, either, since the unicorn seemed to like to talk to herself a lot when thinking. That had been all that he needed to figure out which language she used. Hopefully her tongue was in his database, otherwise he would have little to no luck in translating anything she said.

While the Linguistics Analyzer was busy doing its thing, he started up his species identification software and activated his Translation Matrix. With any luck, he'd be able to get the civilians to understand him and, hopefully, get them all out of this evil place.

All of this took a matter of seconds. However, it still gave him a bit of a headache whenever he used this particular technology. It also didn't help that this particular tech also had a tendency to make him zone out the moment he activated it.

So he wasn't too surprised when he came to to find the purple unicorn suddenly holding his arm in her hooves, raptly examining the still revealed robotics in his arm. Annoyed, but not surprised.

“Quit it!” he said, jerking his arm away from the curious equine.

She shied away nervously and started to babble: “azlati, manis feri alt concerta! Malis just so fascinating! I haven't seen any thing like it before where I come from, and I was curious to know whether you were a golem, or part golem, and I really didn't mean to offend you! I just-”

Wow, I didn't think her language would be in the database. Hale thought to himself as the translator decoded what the unicorn was saying.

Although he was a bit fuzzy on the specifics of the translators, he knew the basics of how they worked. A long time ago, some scientists had noticed that when certain parts of the brain became damaged, the speech of the victims become garbled. Often victims would replace the b sound with a q sound, but think that what they had said was correct. What the translator basically did was mimic that brain damage in a controlled fashion.

Its database would translate the words others spoke into the user's spoken language. Once that task was complete, it stimulated the part of the brain responsible for speech and changed what the user said and heard. The user might think that he was speaking and hearing his native language, but in reality he was speaking and hearing in a different language. It made communication much easier, but the user had to remember to turn it off or make it switch languages if he wanted to talk with anyone else.

Not to mention that using the tech too much usually gave the user terrible migraines.

“-it's just that, this is so frustrating! First friendly contact with a species not from Equis, and you can't even understand a word I'm saying!” she said, slightly exasperated with herself at rambling on and on to someone who couldn't even understand her.

At least, until recently that is.

“Actually, I can understand you,” he told her.

He grinned at her when she did a double take. Honestly, that never got old.

“Then why didn't you say anything before now?” she asked, a bit exasperated at having to go through all of that.

“I have a device that translates for me,” he explained. “I couldn't use it before because I was low on power.”

She looked like she was about to ask him further about it, but Hale cut her off with a quick gesture. “We really don't have time for a Q&A, I just need to know a few things,” he said seriously.

She looked like she was going to say something else, but quickly thought better of it. “First off, I need to know what you know about the Dridune,” he said seriously.

“The what?” she asked, clearly confused about what he just said.

The human couldn't help but sigh in relief. If she didn't know the name that those arrogant squid-folk introduced themselves as to every race they met, then she probably didn't work for them. The name literally meant “your masters” in the ancient tongue of the Chimeras, firmly establishing how they felt towards every other race with a simple introduction.

“They're those squid-like monsters that have us captive. Anything you might know about them would be useful,” he said, a bit more gently this time.

“Oh! Well, I really don't know anything other than some simple biology that I've been able to gather from remote observation. However, the fact that you know their name implies that you already know more than I do,” she said, understanding dawning on her face.

Huh, got a smart one here, Captain Hale thought to himself as he started to walk away from her.

“Dridune though,” she said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin with her hoof. “That name is a combination of words in Old Equish. It literally means 'your masters' in that ancient tongue,” she said thoughtfully.

Captain Hale did a double take when she had said this. That was most definitely something he had not expected to hear out of the mouth of the purple unicorn.

“I think we need to talk...” Hale said slowly.

Their conversation was going to have to wait though, because at that exact moment an alarm started to sound throughout the base.

Captain Hale quickly switched his Translation Matrix off, just in time to hear Donny shout: “Uh... Sir? Ah don't mean to interrupt, but Ah think those nice gentlemen down the hall there might be want'n a word with you sir,” as he leveled his stolen pistol and opened fire.

“Oh great, this is just perfect...” Hale said sarcastically as he rushed over to where Donny and Alik were firing at the incoming hoards.

He heard screaming from behind him, but ignored it, trusting that Hexomer would be able to find a way to calm the scared civilians. While he wasn't one hundred percent sure that she had translation software in her head, he did know that she worked as part of a diplomatic staff. As such, he felt reasonably sure that she had the best skill-set to deal with the panicking civilians.

...Okay, maybe he was trusting her a little too much with that task, but he had to go where he was needed the most, and that was between the enemy and the innocent.

“Okay! What do we got so far?” he barked to his men.

“It would seem that our playmates have flanked this room and are trying to suppress us with stun fire,” Alik rumbled. “They seem to want to capture us rather than kill us, but I would think that that situation will change if we prove too unruly.”

“Yeah, and they're wearing armor too. These stun-guns ain't gonna do crap to them unless we can get some heavier gear. Maybe slow 'em down, but not by much.”

“Hmm... what's their numbers like right now?” Captain Hale asked quickly.

“There are six coming from this direction, War-Leader,” Alik shouted as he turned the corner to fire again.

“And I gots me four... no five comin in from this direction Sir,” Donny shouted as he ducked for cover. “I reckon that we don't have much time before the rest of the station swoops down on us. If we can break through their line and find a console, I could probably hack their system and screw their scanners over. Otherwise, we won't have a chance, and I'd hate to meet Baznalt this early. I ain't even found meself a wife yet!” he quipped as he turned to fire again.

Hmm... I could send Alik out to take out one of the groups, but the other group would switch their weapons once they realize that stun weapons don't work on Lionels. I need a way to neutralize both groups, and unfortunately, my weapon systems only have enough juice to take maybe one armored foe. Donny is right too, we really don't have time to waste here, Hale thought, trying desperately to figure out a way out of this.

Hale was interrupted from his musings when he felt a tug on the sleeve of his jumpsuit...

* * *

“Sir, I think all they have are a couple of stun-pistols at their disposal,” Halvok whispered to his superior.

“That's perfect. Start moving, dogs! I want this by the book, no casualties on either side if you can help it. You can rough them up if you want, but I don't want any of them dead!” Balvalt whispered to his men.

The Dridune in the front quickly gave a signal, and the five of them burst from cover and charged the prison cell, hissing in rage as they moved forward.

They probably only made it halfway down the hall, though, before they all crashed into a solid purple barrier that seemed to form out of thin air.

“What in the name of-” Balvalt exclaimed in shock.

“How did-”

“A force field? But how?"

Their astonishment quickly turned to terror when the largest Lionel they had ever seen burst out of cover, charging down the hall on all fours towards the other group on the far side of the corridor.

He was fast. Too fast. They could only watch in horror as the Lionel took stun-blast after stun-blast as if they were nothing more than insects. A couple tried to switch weapons, but were too late to stop the primal force that is a charging Lionel.

“Quickly! Switch weapons and punch down this field! We can't let that monster tear through our troops!” Balvalt shouted to his soldiers.

The four under his command quickly moved to obey. Drawing their beam rifles, they turned the weapons on the offending force field and opened fire.

The field held, but Balvalt could see cracks start to appear on the surface of the field. That's odd, Forcefields don't crack. They flash, they weaken, and they fall, but they most certainly do not crack, he thought to himself.

They continued their frantic barrage, but Balvalt could only watch in horror as the Lionel laid waste to the troops on the other side of the hall. Through the field he saw the beast punch, claw, bite and throw his men like they were rag dolls, and he could do nothing to help them.

A few seconds after the monster had reached his troops, he saw at least seven other beasts swarm out of their hiding place and make their way to where the Lionel was decimating his troops.

“Shoot faster you maggots!” he screamed at his soldiers. "There wont be anything left of the other contingent if we don't-”

The thought died in his mind, however, when he saw the alien monsters reach the end of the hall, pick up fallen beam rifles, then turn to face him.

“Back, BACK! RUN YOU FOOLS!!”

The pale biped, Human, he thought was its species name, shouted something in a language that he couldn't understand, then opened fire.

Right at that moment, the purple forcefield fell as well.

Beams of energy tore through Balvalt as he turned to run back towards the safety of cover. He saw a few of his men manage to get off a shot or two, but for the most part they all turned and ran back the way they came. Before darkness took him, Balvalt could just make out the lithe form of Halvok as he reach the bend in the hallway and escape.

He smiled at his last conscious thought; “At... at least my son made it to safety...”

Then he knew no more.

Author's Note

Well, I know this chapter isn't very pony centered, but don't worry! a Twilight Sparkle POV chapter is up next!
Also, thank you all so much for sticking with me this long. You guys are great.

Also, I felt that I made you guys wait long enough for this, so I'm actually giving you this before my prereader got to see it. (he had college stuff he needed to take care of.)

Remember, if you like it, please comment and upvote! your positive energy gives me power!

EDIT: Made some grammar edits, as well as a minor change to how the translator works. It now cannot translate anything unless the language is already in the database. This means that Twilight's language was already known to the Alliance (plot point!).

Chapter VII

“NO!” Qualda screamed as he watched the beam rifle rounds tear through his security personal. “It can generate forcefields? How is that even possible!”

“What are your orders, sir?” Gelzok asked the fuming scientist.

Qualda thought about this for a second. This whole scenario was about to go sideways, and at this point he honestly cared more about his own life than whatever good the unicorn could do for his research. He might receive disciplinary action for what he was about to do, but he felt that after what had happened, he would take whatever his superiors would do to him over whatever fate these alien monsters could inflict.

“Seal off the area, then gas the subjects,” he said coldly.

Without hesitation, Gelzok began to punch in the codes that would close and seal the blast doors for the area. “Right sir, activating quarantine-”

However, Gelzok never got the chance to finish the thought. At that precise moment, electricity began to course through the console and root itself in the unsuspecting Dridune's spine. Gelzok would have screamed, but he lacked the vocal cords to do so.

Qualda gasped in shock as the unconscious technician fell from the chair, his body smoking slightly from the shock. Before Qualda could even contemplate what had happened, however, a cackling laughter started playing through the bridge's audio, interrupting his train of thought.

His head shot up, and for a second he wasn't even sure what he was looking at. The monitor's display had changed: Where before there was system readouts and station details, now there was only an animated laughing primate skull, under which were two femurs arranged in a cross shape.

A message then started to play through the speakers in Galactic Standard. Unfortunately for Dr. Qualda, the message was absolute gibberish since he only knew about four words in Galactic Standard.

That fact didn't make him any less terrified though.

* * *

Twilight was tired. More tired than she had ever felt before in her life.

While it was true that the magical feats that she had accomplished in the past far outstripped anything that she had recently done, she had still done a far greater amount than she had ever done before in a single three hour period.

On top of that, she was also suffering from malnutrition and sleep deprivation, so she wasn't exactly in the best shape of her life at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, she stumbled out of the room in a stupor. Upon leaving the room, however, she immediately began to gag as the scent of burnt flesh assaulted her nose, nearly causing her to throw up. She quickly glanced around to find the source of the smell, only to realize just what had happened outside of the room after she had lowered her spell.

She had heard stories of terrible battles from her brother before, when he had gotten into skirmishes with bandits from the neighboring Griffon Empire, but none of that had prepared her for an actual battlefield. Sure, she had fought during the changeling invasion, but she hadn't been fighting to kill.

Needless to say, she felt horrified at the sights and smells around her. While the logical part of her brain told her that it was necessary, that these monsters had tried to kill her and her allies, the far more innocent part of her couldn't help but ask if there was another way.

As she tried to block out the sights and smells around her, she unsteadily wandered over to where the strange biped was barking orders to the others, causing her to wonder how this 'translation device' of his worked. Her curiosity only increased as he repeatedly changed languages to suit the moment: One minute, he was croaking like that weird frog-thing, the next he sounded like a wolf announcing a kill.

It was all very perplexing, but she could deduce a few things based on how he acted. For starters, she notice that he seemed to zone out for a few second whenever he switched languages. Also, he seemed to only be able to speak one language at a time. This probably meant that the device affected the language center of the brain, and that it probably was located in his brain.

As fascinating as that was, the thought of a surgery to implant an object into a brain made her feel very queasy.

As she approached, she could feel her strength get weaker and weaker. Her head began to spin, and she felt the distinct need to pass out. Or vomit. Probably both.

In the back of her mind, she realized that she was going into mana shock, and that she should probably find a place to rest. The stubborn part of her wouldn't let that happen though. Not yet. They were still in a very real danger, and she had to get these people out before the monsters found them again.

The strange biped looked up from what he was doing as she approached. His eyes unfocused and dilated for a second, then returned to normal. “Are you okay? You look like you're on your last legs,” he said.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I just need... to...”

She wasn't able to finish her sentence though, as the symptoms of mana shock overtook her, sending her into convulsions.

She was faintly aware of the others calling to her, asking in tongues unknown if she was alright. she tried respond, to tell them that she would be fine, that all she needed was rest.

Unconsciousness, however, had other plans.

* * *

“Is anyone here a doctor?” Hale asked repeatedly in different tongues as he knelt next to the convulsing unicorn. As he looked around, he quickly realized that he was probably the most qualified person here to deal with this. Problem with that, however, was that the grand sum of his medical training was the first-aid merit badge he had earned while he was in Boy Scouts. It was still better than nothing, but it did nothing to help him with alien biology.

“...Mighty warrior, even if we had a doctor with us, we don't have time to deal with this now. The Dridune could regroup and fall upon us at any moment, or worse, activate their point-defense system and slay us,” Hexomer said in a rush as she knelt beside the captain. “I will carry her until she awakes, or until we find an appropriate place to hide.”

Captain Hale nodded as he picked up his stolen beam rifle. “You're right. Since you also have a translator, I'm going to need you to help me relay orders,” he said as he looked at the rest of the escaped prisoners briefly. Despite their fear, and obvious lack of training, they had still come forward of their own accord to help him make their escape. True, Hexomer had something to do with that, but he still could only salute that kind of courage.

As he stood there, he quickly he took stock of his assets. Apart from himself, Alik, Hexomer and Donny, there were five other individuals armed and ready. One, a short, frog-like individual, had taken a blast to the shoulder. However, he was still up and ready to fight, despite the wound. As for the rest of them, they had come through the last fight completely unscathed.

“Okay, our first priority is to find a terminal so that Donny can hack their systems, and I can hopefully recharge mine,” he said in Galactic Standard. “We don't have too much time before they rally their guards, so we need to hurry.”

He jerked his head forward and started down the hallway “Lets move!” he said, then repeated the order for the rest of them as he started down the hallway.

* * *

He was floating. Things seemed to be so peaceful. Was he dreaming? Was he dead? He wasn't sure, but he hoped that he wasn't. That would mean that his soul was being returned to the Emperor, and he wasn't really sure if he was ready for that yet. He had been a good soldier, but he had had almost heretical thoughts before about what they were doing. Didn't that make him a bad Dridune? Dridune weren't supposed to feel sorry for the enemy. Lesser species were their playthings, and as such, anything that they chose to do to those animals had to be right.

“...Father...”

...Then why did he feel so guilty? Why did he question the ethics of what they were doing? According to the teachings, he shouldn't feel this way... They were lessers...

“...Father! Please, wake...”

Wait, was he even dying? By all accounts, the pain should be leaving him. Instead it seemed to be growing, and he seemed to be getting heavier for some reason.

Slowly, blearily, Balvalt opened his eyes. He groaned slightly as he tried to get up, only to be restrained by his son.

“Easy, sir. Just take it easy,” he heard Halvok think as he held his father down with a shaking tentacled appendage. “You've been through a lot.”

Halvok didn't really need to say that though. The fact that Balvalt couldn't feel his legs probably meant that they had been blasted off, and his aching shoulder told him that without Mutation Therapy, he would probably never be able to hold a gun again. However, the nature of his wounds ensured that he wouldn't bleed out, and the fact that it felt like nothing vital had been hit meant that he wasn't in danger of organ failure. He would live, but he would wish that he hadn't for the next couple of weeks.

“You okay?” Halvok asked nervously.

“Yeah, other than having my legs blown off, but thats nothing a little time in the vats wont fix.” Balvalt grunted. In truth, he was in a great deal of pain, and would be unconscious if it hadn't been for the med-pack that Halvok had administered to him earlier. The med-pack was good, but it couldn't compare to hard anesthetics.

Its main purpose was to get soldiers back on their feet, not kill the pain.

“What happened?” Balvalt asked gruffly.

“I ran back as fast as I could to the closest security station, but the hallway was sealed off,” Halvok said with a note of despair.

“Do you mean that we're in a full security lock-down?” Balvalt asked in terror. He would have preferred to have been unconscious when the higher ups had decided to gas him.

Halvok shook his head. “I don't think so sir. I tried the console, but all I got was the same message in animal garbage,” he shook his head ruefully. “Sir, how is that even possible? It should take months for those animals to hack our systems. Those creatures only escaped about an hour ago!”

“I don't know either soldier, but I intend to find out. Do you know which way the beasts went?” Balvok grunted.

“I believe they went in that direction. And before you ask, yes, they took almost every weapon we had. All we have now is mine,” Halvok said as he bent down to pick up his father.

“That's to be expected. Lets just find a place to hole up until help arrives,” Balvalt said as he clenched his fangs in pain.

If they were able to keep their heads down, they just might survive this.

* * *

He looked up into the sky, cursing as he watched Freedom leave the planet behind. Freedom had always been a thorn in his side, constantly getting in the way of his plans. It was only fitting, then, that Freedom was the one to stop him and leave him behind to rot on this underdeveloped planet.

Law turned and started to make his way through the dense jungle, all while his mind chased itself around in circles. All in all, he felt that he had been given quite the gift. Frankly, he had expected Freedom to simply kill him after what he had done. Instead, Freedom had merely sentenced him to lifelong exile on this backwater rock. Law would have killed Freedom if their positions had been reversed, but honestly Law could see why the soft Freedom had decided on this course of action.

After all, genocide was a hard crime to bear.

They were the only two left, and Freedom just couldn't bring himself to finish the job that Law had started. Of course, at that point, Freedom no longer called him Law. No, Freedom, the self-righteous prick that he was, had started to call him by a different name entirely.

A name that Tyranny thought suited him quite nicely. After all, free will was the cause of all the hardships in the universe. If peace were to be achieved, the universe had to subvert their will to his.

He had almost done it too. He had dominated the lesser, underdeveloped races with but a thought, and had led them in war against the only beings that were immune to his mental domination.

The Forefathers were a powerful lot, but Tyranny's inside knowledge of their defenses allowed him to anticipate their every move. Tyranny couldn't help but smirk at the memory of his burning home-world. However, there had been one that he had not been able to anticipate.

Freedom. Freedom had fled at the sight of his approaching warships without a second thought, leaving the rest of the fleet behind to deal with Tyranny's forces. Tyranny had laughed at his cowardice, then had let him go, seeing as he had more powerful fish to fry. However, he had sent a token force to deal with the cowardly individual.

He had thought his victory assured at that point. The universe would finally be put back on track. Order would reign...

* * *

Twilight groaned as light shone through her closed eyelids. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to continue the dream that she had been having. It was a strange one, one that she was sure that she had had before, but from a different perspective...

She tried to pull her blanket over her head, but was foiled in her attempt by the fact that it was missing. As she searched around for the missing comforter, she could hear someone talking nearby, their words indecipherable despite how close they seemed to be.

“Spike... tell your friend to go home. It's too early...” she mumbled incoherently.

There was something wrong here, though. Not only was she unable to find her blanket, but she also seemed to be lying on something hard. In addition to these two facts, that strange voice didn't seem to be going away. Instead it seemed to get closer.

Tentatively, she opened her eyes, only to look up into the face of a nightmare.

“GHAAAAHH!!!” she screamed, reflexively throwing a telekinetic barrier in front of her to ward off the perceived threat.

Instead of attacking however, the insect-like creature backed off carefully, holding its fore-claws up in what it apparently thought was a placating gesture. It then turned its bizarre face towards someone behind it and said something in its strange, clicking voice.

Twilight watched wearily as another, different creature rushed over to where they were. Just as the odd, ape-like hominid approached her, everything that had happened over the past couple of days came rushing back to her. Her enslavement, her escape, and her efforts to free the others, all presented themselves to her, demanding her immediate attention.

The fact that her horn was aching, a sure sign of recent Thalmic Hyper-extension, did nothing to help her disoriented state of mind. As the strange hominid approached her, it said something that she didn't quite catch at first.

“I'm sorry, could you please say that again? The ringing in my ears hasn't quite subsided yet,” she groaned a bit louder than she meant as she lowered the barrier.

“I said are you alright?” he repeated.

“I'll be fine, I'm just suffering mana shock caused by Thalmic Hyper-extension,” she answered wearily.

There was an awkward pause that followed this statement, causing her to look up at the weird creature and notice the puzzled expression on its face. It's strange how expressive his face is. Not to mention that, if I'm reading his face right, how closely his facial expressions mirror Equestrian ones, despite the fact that those ears don't seem to move any.

“I'm not sure what you mean. I think my language doesn't have any words for the ones that you just used. Will you be alright? This won't happen very often, will it?” he said in a concerned tone of voice.

She shook her head ruefully. “I simply overextended myself. Used too much of my power,” her stomach decided to make itself known at that point, causing her to blush. “Not to mention that I haven't had a decent meal in forever,” she said, a bit embarrassed.

He grinned impishly at her when she said this, an expression that was only amplified by the scars that covered his face. “No worries, for what you've already done for us, the least I can do is buy you lunch when we get out of here. Hope you like pasta,” he said as he offered her a hand.

“Thank you...” she said as she took the hand and got back on her hooves.

As she stood up, she took a few seconds to get her bearings. The unlikely group of escapees seemed to be lurking in some kind of three way intersection, the wolf-like being was watching one of the hallways, while the lion-like being was watching the other. At the group's back there seemed to be a large steel wall which clashed too much with the uniform white hallways to be a regular feature. She was currently standing in one corner of the little cul-de-sac, while the strange blue hominid was crouched in the other corner. He seemed to have pulled apart the nearby wall, and was working on the various wires and tubes that had been revealed by his actions. Honestly, the sight made her feel like they were trapped in some sort of monster.

The thought wasn't very reassuring.

She swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat, however, then looked up at the creature in front of her. “What happened while I was unconscious?” she asked him.

His face turned into a grimace. “Surprisingly, not much. We reached the end of the hallway here, then encountered the blast door you see in front of you. At first we thought that the Dridune had enacted security protocols and were about to gas us, but Donny here quickly disproved that,” he said as he clapped the blue hominid on the back.

Donny looked up and said something that Twilight couldn't understand, then went back to his work once the strange hominid answered him. She wasn't sure what he meant by 'gas us', but based on the context, she was pretty sure that it was synonymous with death.

“What's happening then?” she asked cautiously.

“Well, it appears that a spy has infiltrated their base and screwed up their systems. As soon as they attempted to kill us, our spy locked down the whole station. Problem is that this also sealed us in here unless we can somehow get this thing open, or guess the password that the spy used,” he said.

While she wasn't sure what he meant by 'systems', Twilight Sparkle was still incredibly intelligent, and quickly guessed that this 'system' was some form of automation for the alien base. “So... I assume that we are safe from attack then?” she asked him.

“For the time being, but I wouldn't count on it staying that way. The Dridune will be trying to get at us, and as soon as Donny gets that door open, everything is just going to start all over again,” he said wearily as he plopped down on his rump.

She looked up at him as he sat down, then suddenly realized that she had never gotten this strange creature's name. “I'm Twilight Sparkle by the way, what's your name?” she asked him with a little hesitation.

“Lieutenant Captain Zachary Hale of the Galactic Alliance at your service ma'am,” he replied.

Lieutenant Captain? I wonder how high that puts him in his military? Based on how the others deferred to him, I'd have to say that he is probably pretty high... “What is the Galactic Alliance? Is that your government? Or a combined military?” she asked him, curiosity burning through her,

“A little bit of both, actually. Some of the civilizations have complete autonomy, while others are either partially, or fully governed by the Alliance itself. Mostly though, it exists to defend the free races from the Dridune,” he told her.

“How many races are in this Alliance then?” she asked him curiously.

“About a hundred.”

She gasped at him in wonder “one hundred? Just how terrible are these Dridune that it requires the combined might of a hundred civilizations just to keep them in check?” she asked him in fear.

Captain Hale looked at her with sadness in his eyes. “Your mistake there was assuming that we are actually holding our own in this war,” he told her.

Author's Note

Hey all! no, I'm not dead. It wasn't clear-cut there for a second though. I caught bronchitis during finals and almost didn't make it. Still managed to scrape by with decent grades though, and had enough time to get out this short chapter. Sorry if it seems a bit like filler, but it was necessary for the storyline. Keep an eye out for the next chapter though, it's going to be crazy!
And no, my prereader has not read this one yet. I decided to to get this one out ASAP, so if you see any glaring problems, just tell me. I am open to suggestions.

EDIT: A few more tweaks here and there, but over all, nothing major.

Chapter VIII

“Okay boys, we'll be in perfect position to ambush this convoy as we come out of Hyperspace, they won't know what hit them until it's too late!” Hale said over the radio.

“That's assuming that the intel was correct and they don't have a Psywarrior on board,” He heard Jim reply a bit pessimistically.

“Stop jinxing us Jimbo!” Alexis chastised him. “As far as you know, everything is going to go off without a hitch!”

“Valhalla to Little-Big Squadron, we are approaching our destination. ETA is two minutes,” Hale heard Colonel Vivak's voice over the radio.

“You heard the lady, keep your eyes open and stay frosty,” Hale ordered over the radio. Hale then took his head between his hands and, with deliberate slowness, twisted it one direction, then the other. He was rewarded with several satisfying pops, as well as a sensation of relief in his neck.

As he did this, he took a second to contemplate the view outside his fighter's cockpit. He always became melancholic right before battle, and seeing the passing Hyperspace only served to deepen that feeling. It was so beautiful, yet he wasn't able to fully appreciate the sight because of the coming conflict. Hale briefly wondered what he would have done with his life had the Dridune never existed. He could have been a chef, or a farmer, or...

“Exiting Hyperspace in three... two...”

He might have done a lot of things, but those thoughts were for another day. Now it was time to...

Oh dear.

“What in the name of-” he heard Alexis gasp over the radio.

“Sweet Baznault above, is that a Capital ship!?!” Jim swore over the radio.

“All ships retreat! I repeat, this is a priority one order! Get out of there NOW!” Colonel Vivak started screaming.

Captain Hale started inputing the command into his console, but was stopped as his fighter rocked violently. A grinding hum reverberating through his ship made his heart fall, and a quick look at his instruments only confirmed what he knew in his heart was true.

A large tachyon pulse had fried his Hyperspace emitters.

His shields normally would have been able to prevent that from happening, but Hyperspace prevents their use during a jump, and afterwards they take roughly a half a minute to charge. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened.

The Dridune had been waiting for them.

As they had come out of Hyperspace, the pricks had fired a tachyon pulse, taking advantage of the Alliance ships' momentary weakness. True, that meant that the Dridune had probably fried their own emitters, but that didn't really matter much if they won the battle.

And seeing as how that was a Capital ship out there, with probably a dozen Psywarriors on board, Captain Hale seriously doubted the Alliance's chances of pulling a win out of this one.

“All fighters scramble! Keep moving, and don't keep any formation!” Hale shouted as he quickly pulled back on his control stick while accelerating forward. The fighter responded beautifully, shooting forward and pulling up.

That order, as well as his following action, were probably all that saved him and his men from what happened next. Blaster fire and antimatter torpedoes lit up the nose of his ship, but he was barely able to dodge the incoming fire. A few of his squad wasn't so lucky, and he saw their IFF tags go dark on his monitor.

What was strange about that however was the direction of the incoming fire. Aside from the tachyon pulse, the enemy ship hadn't even fired a single shot.

“Crap, not you guys!” Alexis shouted over the intercom as she dodged an antimatter torpedo launched from the G.A.S.N. Valhalla.

“Stay focused! Those Psywarriors can only control so many, and I doubt that they've taken the whole ship.” Hale shouted at his men. “Get withing ramming distance of that capital ship and light them up!”

“Sir, we won't last long against their point defense weapons at that range!” Jim shouted back in terror.

“If the enemy keeps the bridge crew firing at us, we'll be able to do quite a bit of damage to the enemy ship from friendly fire alone. It may even give the rest of the crew aboard the Valalla time to re-take the ship,” Hale responded as he narrowly avoided a blast that would have taken him out.

“But sir...”

“Jim, just do it! It's our only chance!” Quelik shouted at him. “Otherwise we are just sitting ducks out-gha!”

Quelik's voice suddenly cut out, but a quick glance at the IFF told Hale that Quelik was still flying strong. What the heck happened to-

Realization dawned on Captain Hale roughly around the same time that his ship was hit. The Valhalla had stopped firing at them, but roughly half of Hale's squadron had suddenly started firing at the other half. Hale had only seconds to contemplate this as his ship started to spiral out of control.

His engines had been hit, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before his reactor overloaded. Thinking quickly, he grabbed hold of the manual release and pulled.

A loud ker-chunk sound shook his vessel, quickly followed by his ship accelerating forwards at an alarming rate. Anyone who had happened to look in his direction would have seen his V shaped fighter eject its core, quickly followed by the core itself exploding in deep space. The force of the blast pushed the now powerless fighter off course and away from the fight.

“I've lost my power core!” he shouted over the intercom. “All fighters that can still think for themselves, break off and attack the Capital Ship!” he instructed as he rerouted all of his auxiliary power to his oxygen recyclers. He knew that without the main core, he probably only had about an hour of oxygen left...

A faint hissing noise quickly disabused him of that notion. He was venting atmosphere, which meant he probably only had about ten minutes left. Thinking quickly, he put on his re-breather helmet and programed the re-cycler to pump all available air out of the cabin and into the reserve tanks. He knew that he had probably only bought himself a few more minutes, but that was still a few more minutes he could use to survive.

If, by some miracle, the rest of his squad managed to pull a win out of this battle, they could retrieve his marooned spacecraft and hopefully save his life. He was holding out hope for that outcome.

He truly felt helpless at that moment, being unable to do anything other than sit and watch as his own men tore each other to pieces. He couldn't even listen in on what was happening because all of his power was going towards keeping him alive. He hated this feeling, the feeling of watching your friends attack and kill each other, but being unable to do anything about it.

His last thoughts as he blacked out were of home.

Author's Note

A little bit of backstory, showing how the Valhalla was captured.
Comments, advice, and criticism is all welcome, just don't expect another chapter until after finals.
Also, even though my proofreader has taken a look at this, he hasn't reviewed the updated product yet. While it isn't a first draft by any stretch of the imagination, it is still an early draft, so anything in these two chapters is subject to change.

Chapter IX

Jaleth walked with purpose and determination down the long and winding corridor. Every so often she would pass by a sealed blast door, but paid them little or no attention. After all, she was already in the portion of the science facility that she needed to be in, and she didn't really want to open this part of the base to the security personal.

Luckily for her, all of the guards on the station had already abandoned this portion of the base when the pony had first escaped, and the only remaining personal in this section were all engineers.

Dead engineers. A few quick commands had flooded the area with a potent nerve gas, ensuring that she would be able to get through this area unmolested. She was sure that she should feel guilty for what she had done, but she couldn't help but remember each and every innocent that these monsters had butchered over the course of her stay. In fact, she would have gassed the rest of the station as well, but two things stayed her hand:

One, the bridge did not have any nerve gas attached to its ventilation ducts. Not to mention the fact that if lock-down was initiated, the bridge was hard-coded to seal itself against any attack and to switch to its own private air supply.

Two, she couldn't gas the rest of the station for fear that she might hit the escaping prisoners. While it was true that they probably wouldn't be able to escape the facility, she just couldn't bring herself to end their lives. She vowed to give them every opportunity to escape if she could.

She quickly ran to the entrance of the engineering bay and opened the door. She knew that she was running out of time; she had monitored all communications in and out of the station since she had discovered that Hivanti was coming, and she knew that Hivanti was double timing it through the system to the station.

Because of creepy Qualda's big fat mouth, Hivanti will be here within four hours! I have to work fast if I want to be able to keep my timetable... She thought to herself as she stepped over a dead engineer.

She stopped for a second as she adjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder, taking a moment to look around. As she did so, she couldn't help but marvel at just how large the main reactor of the base was. The thing was freaking huge!

“That's not really that big of a surprise though.” she gurgled to herself out loud. “The power requirements for creating Psystones is enormous. I'm actually surprised that it isn't bigger than this.”

The whole room was probably the size of one of those rugby fields from back home, with the center of the room being dominated by the main antimatter reactor. The antimatter reactor was a huge beast of a thing; she could see huge turbines, pistons, cables, tanks, and catwalks that surrounded the whole thing. At the center though, was the heart of the monster: The antimatter chamber.

The antimatter chamber looked like a huge glass tube filled with a weird, blue, viscous liquid. Randomly a brighter, lighter shaded ring of light would streak down from the top of the tube towards the reactor.

While she wasn't too sure on the exact physics of the stuff, she didn't really care. All she really cared about is what would happen if she were to blow it up. From what she had heard, it was simultaneously one of the most awe inspiring and fear inducing sights anyone could ever behold.

If Jalath still had lips, she would have grinned at that thought.

* * *

Captain Hale finished his story, then looked down at the horrified expression on the small unicorn.

“They are able to control other people?” she asked him, horrified at the thought.

“That is the long and the short of it,” he answered her. “ They seem to have a range limit, but we've learned that their ships each have some sort of amplifier built in that allows them to overcome this limitation. These amplifiers also seem to allow them to control more people than they are normally able to,” he said as he shifted himself into a more comfortable position. “we're just lucky that this place doesn't seem to have one around, otherwise we would have already been re-captured and under a dissection table by now.”

Twilight shivered at the thought. Memories of the vivisection lab that she escaped from were still very clear in her head.

Captain Hale looked down at his hands, suddenly looking very old. Twilight couldn't help but wonder how long he had been fighting this war. "I can't even imagine what you and your people have been going through, fighting an enemy that can turn your friends... against..." Twilight started to say, but trailed off as the thought hit her.

"I'm prepared to be defeated ladies, fire when ready."

She knew exactly how Captain Hale felt because she had fought the same battle not even six months ago.

Hale gave the troubled unicorn an odd look, as if waiting for her to finish what she had started to say. When nothing happened, he waved his hand in front of her face, jolting her back to this world. "You gonna finish that sentence anytime soon?" he asked her.

“Well...” she started to say, but was interrupted as Donny walked up to the two of them. Without a word, he reached out, grabbed the Captain's arm, and gave it a sharp twist at a point just above the elbow. With a an audible click the arm came free; much to Twilight's amazement and Hale's apparent annoyance. Donny then walked back to where he was working, arm slung over his shoulder while pointedly ignoring Hale's sudden protests and Twilight's gasp of shock.

Hale grumbled at the Peli in disgust, then turned back to Twilight. “I'm sorry you had... to...” he started to say, but trailed off when he noticed that the pony was examining the stump of his right arm. The slight glow coming from her horn and his arm was a bit disconcerting, as was the faintly electric feeling he was experiencing from that.

“How does it do that?” she asked after a few seconds, awe apparent in her voice.

“Well, I lost some limbs over the course of my career, and I needed some replacement ones,” he told her in a slightly amused tone of voice.

“Thats not what I asked. How are you able to move these artificial limbs without magic?” she asked in complete wonder.

Magic? Is that what her kind calls what she is able to do? Is my translator even processing that correctly? he shook his head ruefully at the thought. “Well, I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you. I'm a pilot, not a mechanic. If you need to know, I would suggest you speak with Donny over there,” he said, jerking his remaining thumb in the direction of the busy engineer.

Twilight got up to do just that, but stopped herself as a thought struck her. She sat back down next to Captain Hale with a slightly sad look on her face. “What's wrong?” Hale asked her.

She seemed to hesitate for a second, then told him. “I don't think your friend has one of those translators inside his head. Even if he did, though, he doesn't really have the time to spend explaining otherworldly technologies to me,” she said in a forlorn tone of voice.

Captain Hale couldn't help it. They were deep in enemy territory, with the very real possibility that they could be mind-raped at any moment, and she was disappointed that she couldn't find out how something ticks?

“What? What did I do?” she asked as the Captain fell over on his side, laughing his head off.

“Oh, you are just adorkable! You remind me of my little brother, Sparks, I think you two would get along just fine...” he said as he ruffled her mane with his remaining hand, tears freely streaming from his eyes.

She grumbled at him as she batted away the unwanted mussing, which only served to broaden the smile on the chuckling human.

They were interrupted from their thoughts, however, by a loud shout from Donny. The strange blue alien was busy... well, she wasn't really sure what he was doing. It looked like some sort of odd dance. He would stand there with his hands on his flanks while he sung some sort of weird tune, gyrating his hips to the beat. Then, seemingly at random, he started jumping in circles while twirling an arm in the air.

He repeated this strange act three times before Captain Hale's shouting was finally able to bring him back to reality. Twilight watched in bewilderment as the two conversed for a moment, only to be shocked when Donny started to dance again.

While this wasn't too surprising, what really threw her for a loop was the fact that Captain Hale didn't stop him...

* * *

“Your eminence, we will be leaving Hyperspace in two minutes, and will be able to dock with Research Station Genome in four. Shall we hail them on the subspace radio?” the helmsman asked the Psywarrior. His tone was respectful, just bordering on fearful, with a slight undertone of awe thrown into the mix.

As it should be, Hivanti thought to himself with a smirk. “Go ahead and hail them, I don't want any surprises once we land.”

“Yes sir!” the communications officer said as she imputed the commands into the console.

“Research Station Genome, this is The Dominator. We will be arriving at your station within a few minutes and order you to prepare your docking bay for our arrival.”

The only response they received was static. They waited for almost a whole minute before the communications officer tried again.

The unease was palpable in the air, more so for Hivanti. He could sense his crew's unease and fear, and while that usually was a good thing, it was less than ideal for this situation.

“I'm not taking any chances. All hands to battle-stations!” Hivanti ordered through his Psytransceiver. With an almost neglectful thought, he took control of the tactical officer and had him start the shakedown of the Psionic Amplifier. Releasing the dreg, he then popped open a compartment on his armrest. "I just hope there's someone left alive in there..." he thought grimly as he reflected on what he had learned from Qualda's mind.

From this compartment, Hivanti extracted a silver headband with three glowing blue stones set in the circlet. He carefully read the instruments on the band, adjusted a few things on it, then placed it on his head. He was always careful with this device, since the slightest mis-calibration could...

Best not think about what COULD happen... he thought to himself. Memories of the last poor soul that had misused one of these things still haunted his nightmares.

After making sure that the device was functioning properly, he carefully nestled the circlet on his head. Instantly, every mind within a five hundred kilometer radius from him became open to him, appearing as brightly glowing dots on the mindscape whose color represented their emotional stability and allegiance towards the Empire.

While that description wasn't entirely accurate to the experience of detecting the minds around him, it was how Hivanti visualized the experience; and since the interface was constructed from the mind of the user, it was accurate for him.

Most of the minds on his ship were green, with a slight tinge of yellow. That signified to him that they were not hostile towards him, yet they were slightly afraid. Probably of him. He ignored those minds and allowed his consciousness to cycle those out of his range of perception. The only minds left on the ship were bright blue; This color represented those souls on his ship that harbored some sort of affection towards him. Whether it was awe, worship, or desire, it didn't matter. Those too he let cycle from his consciousness.

With that done, his mindscape was now very quite.

"As it should be," he thought with a hiss.

“Sir, we will be exiting Hyperspace in three... two... one,” the helmsman told Hivanti. On cue, the ship rocked and shook as it returned to Normal Space.

Instantly Hivanti dialed up the Psionic Amplifier's range, doubling his observation distance, but making it impossible to control anything. At this distance, he could feel every mind within a one thousand kilometers, easily allowing him to “see” every mind on the station that appeared on the view screen in front of him.

There were currently sixty-one minds operating on board the station. This was a bit disconcerting, seeing that the crew complement of the station was eighty, with an average of twenty-five alien individuals kept on board at any one time (usually less, given Dr. Qualda's predisposition to dissect things). He could feel the aliens that were still being restrained, in his mindscape, they appeared as barely glowing grey dots. These he filtered out with contempt, barely sparing a thought towards them. He then concentrated on the rest of them. there were currently eleven non-Dridune on the move inside the station.

He could have easily stopped them all right then and there, but he stayed his hand for a moment longer. He first needed to contact the remaining Dridune aboard and figure out what had happened during the few short hours since he had last checked in.

He was pleased to see that the bridge was still under Dridune control. He spent about a minute listening in on their conversations, thoughts and memories to try and get a picture of the situation.

He was not happy about what he learned.

“Get us within control distance,” he ordered grimly. “It seems that there is a spy on board, and I fully intend to teach him the meaning of pain.”

* * *

“Almost, and... there! We are in business!” Jaleth gurgled out loud to herself. She was fairly impressed with how quickly everything had fallen together!

Now all she needed to do was to remove all of those explosive she just planted.

Yes, that was what she needed to do. Then she needed to implement the codes to remove the lock-down, and return control of the station to Qualda. After all, he had done such a good job dissecting the inferior species, he should be allowed to continue.

Also, she needed to work quickly in order to be there when Hivanti stepped off his ship. She couldn't be late to greet her master!

Deep underneath the implanted personality however, Jaleth screamed her terror at having her mind and body hijacked. She felt helpless, completely at the mercy of an alien intelligence.

Deep down, she knew that the Dridune had purposely left this spark of herself underneath. That thought wasn't comforting in the slightest.

She had failed.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next Chapter! The dreaded Dridune Psywarrior arrives far earlier then expected!
comments, advice, criticism is all welcome, just don't expect another chapter until after finals.
Also, even though my proofreader has taken a look at this, he hasn't reviewed the updated product yet. While it isn't a first draft by any stretch of the imagination, it is still an early draft, so anything in these two chapters is subject to change.

EDIT: Finally got around to editing this one. I must have been getting better by this point, because I only found some really small errors. nice.

Chapter X

Hivanti nodded to himself in satisfaction. “Now that that little trouble-maker is out of the way, I can concentrate on those escaped animals,” he said to himself.

With an air of smugness, Hivanti readjusted his circlet, then delved once again into the mindscape.

* * *

The attack came without warning.

One minute, everyone was looking at Donny's dance with bemused expressions on their faces, and the next they were all doubled over in pain.

“What the heck is this?” Donny screamed at no one in particular.

“I can feel it in my head! The Mindstealer is inside my head!” Alik yelped.

Hexomer and several others keeled over in pain instantly, thrashing about and unable to say anything beyond tortured screaming.

Captain Hale was in pain. His world seemed to explode around him as he heard a voice whisper in his mind. It told him to do things, to take his gun and slay the others. To tear them to pieces with his own hands and drink their blood...

He watched in abject horror as his arm slowly raised itself, its weapon systems coming on-line of their own accord. He could feel the invading presence's glee as Hale sighted down poor Donny, the anticipation clear in its mind...

No! I'll not become your puppet! he screamed in the silence of his mind.

Slowly, his arm powered down, thankfully obeying his command.

He looked down at his arm in disbelief, pain still shooting through his skull. No one has ever been able to resist the orders of a Psywarrior for any length of time before.

Yet somehow here he was. Resisting.

“How is this possible?” he gasped in pain.

Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the pain stopped.

Hale dropped to knee, panting heavily. Once he had caught his breath, he glanced around at the others. “Is... is everyone okay?” he asked everyone one by one in their native tongue.

That is, he asked everyone until his eyes fell upon Twilight.

* * *

The quickness and strength of the attack had taken the purple pony quite by surprise. It was a vicious, brute-force attempt at breaking into another's mind that lacked any sort of finesse. It was clear that the mind behind it usually got what they wanted, when they wanted, however they wanted it. It was petulant, forceful and needy. It was also highly intelligent, crafty and ruthless.

The mind felt strong. Extremely strong. The best analogy Twilight had for the mind assaulting her was a professional boxer who didn't care if they fought dirty.

It was arrogant too. Blueblood level of arrogance, except this mind actually had the power to back up that arrogance.

The invading mind's arrogance, however, was the only reason that it did not notice that Twilight had only briefly been incapacitated by the assault. This gave her just enough time to perform the mental equivalent of a parry: In her mind, she imagined a copy of herself doing exactly what the attacking mind wanted her to do. That done, she took a small portion of the power at her disposal and used it to trick the attacking mind into attacking her mental construct instead of her with a variant of the 'Want It, Need It' spell.

With that out of the way, she then took a mental step back to examine the power that was assaulting her and her friends. What she found was... disturbing.

The attack was designed to disengage the victim's personality from control of its body. She assumed that the next step after that was to take control of the victim's body, but she couldn't be sure unless she let the assault take its course.

Luckily for her friends, her True True Self spell was still in effect. While the original purpose of the spell was to cure her friends of Discord's influence, it had a secondary function: It protected those under its influence from further tampering.

She was extremely happy to see that, even though the spell was designed with Discord in mind, it still worked against this alien power. As long as she and her friends fought for control, the enemy wouldn't be able to control them.

The scientist in her was fascinated at the alien's power; The ability to control another was difficult, even with magic. To be able to do it without any apparent magic was a miracle!

However, the pony in her was absolutely horrified. Just like Chrysalis or Discord, these Dridune were attempting to subvert and remove the most fundamental truth of sapient life.

She had questions, but now was not the time.

Now was the time to act.

Reaching out with her will, she exercised a small portion of her power and slapped the mind controlling her imaginary self. She then broke the illusion and the attached spell, allowing the invading presence to see that it had been duped.

She felt the consciousness pull back, ceasing its attack against her friends and turning all of its attention towards her. She felt its confusion at what she had done. She also felt a small worm of doubt enter its mind.

She couldn't let it escape and plot another attack against her and her friends, though. It was crafty, and might use that craftiness to physically hurt them instead of mentally.

She needed to distract it just long enough for her to construct a trap.

Quickly, she reviewed what she knew about the invading force as it tentatively poked at her defenses. It was crafty, sure. But it was also extremely arrogant. If she could somehow appeal to that arrogance, and anger it, she might be able to distract it long enough.

She needed something that would draw its attention. Something that could be infuriating, confusing and illogical, yet could not be ignored or denied.

Unbidden, an image floated to the top of her consciousness, one that made her grin uncontrollably.

* * *

Hivanti was perplexed. Here was something entirely new; somehow, these animals were resisting his attempts to usurp their minds, albeit at great personal cost.

He could feel it, though. The strength that they had was not their own. Some force was weaved into their consciousness, making it so that the only will that could be exerted upon them was their own. He was attempting to chip away at it, but it felt like the mental equivalent of hardened steel: it would take time to gain any degree of control.

Then, without warning, the one mind in the group that he thought he had control over suddenly struck back at him.

He quickly realized that the equine had employed some sort of strange mental construct to protect herself from his intrusion. The attack hadn't actually hurt, it just surprised him. It felt weak, as if the user had only just become a Psywarrior.

He had trained plenty of Psywarriors in his days, and he knew a feint when he saw one. It was clear that the mind was trying to get his attention; but for what, he had no clue.

curious... he thought to himself as he pulled back his assault on the others. Tentatively, he poked at the mental defenses of the strange creature. It was soft, pliable, yet whenever he would touch it, it would strike him with that same weak attack.

"Clearly this needs to be investigated further..." he said to himself.

“Boy, you can say that again!” he heard a bubbly voice say in his ear in Chimeric.

Quickly, he turned his astral projection to the left to see who had dared interfere with his thought process.

Next to him was something that he never thought he would see in his entire life. It was vibrant, pink, and four-legged, and was currently busy bouncing next to him, Its darker, poofy pink mane and tail bouncing right along with it. It had comically large, extremely expressive eyes that were a brilliant shade of blue, while on its flank there appeared to be a tattoo of some sort that depicted three round objects with what appeared to be string trailing from the bottom of each. On its face it wore a broad, almost manic expression of glee that seemed to stare into his very soul.

“Who, or what, are you?” he asked it as he mentally probed the strange creature. It seemed to be a mental construct of some sort, but somehow it felt far more real than just a simple construct. There seemed to be a real personality behind the mad grin that was being directed towards him.

“My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours? Oh wait, don't tell me. I'll guess! Is it Deep Sea? How about Cthulhu? Oh! How about Captain Meanie Pants! On account of how you seem to be such a-”

“Begone,” Hivanti said, dismissing the construct with a wave of his hand. On command, the construct dissipated into nothingness.

“Now then, where was I?” he said as he refocused his attention to the mind in front of him.

“I believe I was just about to introduce you to my pet Gummy! Say hello Gummy!” Pinkie said in Hivanti's right ear. As she said this, a pair of strong, yet toothless jaws clamped down on his projection's facial tentacles.

Hivanti almost jumped clear out of his trance at that.

“What in the name of the Emperor!?!” he shouted into the mindscape as a small reptile went flying from his face.

The PInk One deftly caught the creature, then stuck it in her hair without missing a beat. “Oh! You have an emperor? What kind of emperor is he? Is he wise? Foolish? Does he wear footsie pajamas to bed? Oh! I bet he's constantly scowling like this!” the pink pony said as she quickly put her face into the most mocking scowl that she could muster, all while the small reptile in her hair began to chew on said locks.

Quickly, Hivanti pooled his ego and hurled it at the offending pony.

“No one mocks The Emperor!” he shouted at the offending construct.

As the psychic attack struck the annoying pink specter, it broke apart at the seams, leaving behind nothing but the fog of the mindscape.

“Finally, maybe now I can-” he started to say, but was interrupted as a loud noise and streams of confetti seemed to explode all around him.

“WOOHOO! PARTY TIME!” Pinkie shouted as she fired her party cannon.

Hivanti turned and glared at the evil pink apparition, his astral projection glowing ominously, burning away the imaginary confetti that covered him.

“Awe, don't be such a grumpy grumps. I know what you need! Cake!” she said as she somehow produced a large, frosted confection from her mane.

That was the last straw for Hivanti.

“I. WILL. NOT. BE. MOCKED!” he screamed, each word punctuated by a psychic attack directed at the bubbly pink pony.

This attack was designed to not only destroy the construct, but to also erase the mind behind it. It was his most devastating ability; If used, it would leave its victim a vegetable.

However, as the hellish fire reached out to engulf the pink pony, Pinkie somehow managed to dodge the rage fueled attack. This only seemed to infuriate the Psywarrior more, as he continued to throw attack after attack at the manic construct. Each frantic attack missed though, as the pink pony bounced further and further away from Hivanti, her mouth constantly babbling insanity as she moved away from him.

On and on they went. She would continue to babble at the increasingly wrathful Psywarrior, while he continued to chase her, his attacks becoming increasingly more frenzied. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he had finally cornered her.

He held up his glowing fist, pure rage flowing through his whole being as he towered over her. He was going to erase this figment, track it back to its place of origin, and erase the mind that had created such a demonic idea.

“You have nowhere to hide you annoying little-” he started to say, but stopped as the realization suddenly hit him.

He had cornered her.

In a place that was supposed to be completely devoid of walls, floors and ceilings.

“Well, not that this hasn't been fun, but I really need to get going. The Cakes are letting me practice my piping in the morning, and I have to tell everypony that Twilight will be home soon! Bye bye!” she waved as she faded from existence.

Hivanti quickly looked around, his confusion and alarm mounting. While he had been chasing the strange being, a large maze seemed to have been quietly constructed around his psyche, imprisoning him within. He quickly discovered that the maze's construction didn't seem to follow any sort of euclidean logic.

Oh, and the walls seemed to avoid any attempt he made to destroy them. In fact, any attack he made just seemed to loop around and strike him in the rear.

“Banthis dung,” he said after several of these failed attempts.

* * *

Gotcha, Twilight thought as the door of her trap swung closed. Quickly, she reinforced the borders of the planair maze with magic and constructed the exit.

While she didn't want to make one, she still had to in order to complete the spell. That was the weakness of binding magics; you had to put in some sort of key or method of escape, otherwise the spell would fail.

Hopefully, the Psywarrior wouldn't find the exit or break out before she and her friends managed to escape.

After she finished wrapping up the prison, she sent it back along the Psywarrior's link back to his body, effectively imprisoning him within his own head. She wasn't sure how long it would take him to break out, but she wasn't going to take any chances...

* * *

“What do you reckon she's doing?” Donny asked Hale as he slowly approached the unicorn.

Hale scratched his head in wonder. “I don't know. On a guess however, I'd have to say it has something to do with the fact that we're not being mind-raped right now,” he said.

He examined her closer. The unicorn's eyes and horn were both giving off a brilliant white light, while her body seemed to be releasing quite a bit of heat. There also seemed to be an almost electric quality in the air, something that he could almost taste.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Twilight groaned, then shook her head to clear it.

“What the heck was that?” Hale asked her carefully.

Twilight's head snapped up at the sound of his voice, then quickly looked around at the others who were all staring at her. She blushed at the sudden attention and looked extremely flustered.

“I... um...” she said, then took a deep, cleansing breath. “I think we were just attacked by a Psywarrior,” she said.

“No crap. That's not what I asked. What the heck was up with the glowing? And why were we able to resist the brain-stealer's control?” he asked her gruffly.

Twilight looked up at him, shocked by his hostility. “Well, to answer your second question first, The spell I cast on each of you earlier strengthened your minds against any effect that would change your mind against your will,” she told him.

Hale looked stunned. “You... you can do that?” he asked her in awe.

“To answer your first question, I was glowing because I was fighting the Psywarrior,” she told him. “I managed to trap him in a magically constructed maze, but I'm unsure about how long it will take him to break free. We need to hurry and get off this station while he's occupied,” she told him as she got back up on her hooves.

He looked down at her in awe and fear. “...seriously? You... you actually managed to out-brain a Psywarrior at his own game.”

She looked at him, unsure about the reaction she was receiving. “Um...Not sure about the terminology, but yes...” She started to say, but then shook her head. “Look, I know that you probably have about a million questions for me. You probably have some fears that need to be answered as well, and I would love to answer all of them. But now is not the time. For now, you just have to trust that I'm your friend, not your enemy,” she said as she stomped one of her hooves on the metal deck plating.

Hale's face became an unreadable mask as he scrutinized her. Nodding once, he turned to Donny and gestured his thumb towards the taken apart console. “I'll accept that for now Sparkle,” he said quietly. As he talked, he started walking after Donny, his remaining arm swinging wildly to help him keep his balance. “Based on your past actions, I'll trust that you're on our side,” he said as he received his other arm from the engineer. “But know this: Most species don't take kindly to others messing with their minds,” he said pointedly as he reattached his arm.

Twilight gasped at him in shock. “I would never even consider anything like that!” she said in horror. “It would break one of the highest laws of ponykind! To take control of another's mind...” she trailed off when she noticed that Hale wasn't paying attention anymore, and was instead addressing the other escaped prisoners.

These people must have been fighting this war for a very, very long time to be this suspicious of their own allies, she thought to herself as she sat down on her haunches.

She hoped to one day change that.

Author's Note

Welp, here is the next chapter! I know I said that I would have it to you after finals, but I couldn't leave you guys hanging for that long. I haven't even sent this off to my proofreader yet!
...which means that it's probably crap...
oh well...

As always, comments, criticism and concerns are always welcome, as long as they are helpful. Any "u stnk dnt rite enymor." comments will be ignored with extreme prejudice.

Chapter XI

“Blast! This is completely infuriating!” Meliath said, striking the console with her tentacled appendage. Her partner merely shook his head in frustration. Neither of them could take the stink of the animals any more, yet they couldn't get out of Holding Cell B with the lock-down in progress.

Yet, no matter what code they put in, that odd, simian skull would continue to laugh at them, mocking their every attempt at escape.

“You know what this means, right?” Verila said, drawing his combat knife.

Meliath slowly nodded, not even facing him as she did so. She knew what the protocol for this situation was. She knew what her duty was. They had been cut off from command for the better part of two hours, and they had been putting off the grisly task that laid before them.

Slowly, she turned and approached one of the bunk beds, drawing her own knife in the process. Protocol was clear. In the event of an alien incursion, and with no orders from the bridge, they were to execute any and all test subjects.

Orders were orders, but that didn't stop them from putting it off for as long as possible. They had tried everything, from hacking the console, to taking it apart. But the stone cold fact remained that neither of them were very good with technology, and try as they might, they just couldn't get past the alien virus. They were soldiers. And as soldiers, they had a duty to preform. Neither of them had ever killed another in cold blood before, and to be honest, it didn't sit right with either of them.

Even if they were just animals, it still felt like murder.

"...How about a game of snake, rabbit, grass to see who goes first?" Meliath asked hopefully.

* * *

“Ok men, we have a window of opportunity, and I for one am not going to waste it,” Hale said, gathering his fellow escapees together. “Twilight here has managed to put the mind-raper out of commission for an unknown period of time, so we need to make every second count,” he said, as Hexomer helped translate for the ones that did not know Galactic Standard.

“Donny here has managed to get into the station's systems, which means that we have access to the site-to-site teleportation systems. Wiz-kid also managed to find an off-the-books frigate in the docking bay while using the security cameras. This is our escape route,” Hale said with a satisfied smirk.

There was a brief muttering as this news was circulated, however that quickly quieted down as Hale raised his hand. “According to the logs, someone, probably our unknown benefactor, opened the airlock in the docking bay when lock-down occurred. The docking bay has since been pressurized, so we should encounter token resistance at best,” he said, grinning like a loon.

However, his smile quickly fell as he gathered himself for what came next. “We need to board that ship, hack its systems, and rig up a control scheme that I can use. While Donny and I are busy doing that, the rest of you will be watching the docking bay, making sure that we are uninterrupted while we go about our work,” He took a second to catch his breath as Hexomer relayed his orders. “All of this should take us about an hour to complete, so if our mysterious benefactor hasn't arrived by then, then we will have to assume the worst.”

Twilight held up her hoof as soon as Hale had finished in her language. “Yes? You with the purple stripe.” he said sarcastically.

“What about the others?” she asked, her large, purple eyes filled with concern. “It doesn't feel right to leave anypo- anyone to these monsters.”

He looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean, 'others'?” he asked, unsure of what she was talking about.

She looked around at the prisoners that surrounded her, as if it were obvious. “This clearly isn't everyone that has been taken from their homes. The mess hall and work room usually had about twenty or so individuals, and there are only ten of us here,” she said pointedly.

Shock ran through Hale's mind as he looked around. She was right, he did seem to remember that there had been others on board. Instantly his impression of the small unicorn improved, causing his earlier unease to dissipate almost as quickly as it had come.

However, as interesting as his opinion of Twilight was, it did not change the fact that there were still people to save aboard the station. Luckily, though, he knew exactly how to remedy that situation.

“Thanks for the catch Sparks.” He said, ruffling her mane a bit. She batted at his hand in annoyance, her eyes glaring up at him. “Once we get the ship up and running, we'll have Donny teleport them on board. The ship is pretty small, but I bet we could make room in the cargo hold. I want half of you to go through that section of the ship, find anything that doesn't look like food, and get rid of it. Everybody understand what we need to do?” he asked, as he picked up his weapon.

As he looked around, he saw many variations of the affirmative. Some were nodding, others holding their palms to their foreheads.

“Then let's do this,” he said as he signaled to Donny.

* * *

“There! All done! Now time to turn control back over to Qualda, then teleport to the docking bay to be there when my master arrives!” Jaleth said cheerfully as she made her way to the control console.

Please! Just do something! Anything! I could even go for a voluntary eye movement at this moment! Jaleth thought as she fought for control.

However, nothing that she thought or felt gave her release from the terror of not being in control of her own body.

* * *

“Sir! We've regained control of the station sir!” the technician said excitedly.

“Finally! Give me a status report, soldier,” Qualda ordered.

After a few quick key inputs, the technician suddenly turned very pale. “Well, sir... the animals are no longer quarantined in the genetics labs. They're in docking bay two, attempting to steal your personal vessel,” the tech said nervously.

“WHAT?” Qualda screeched, his shrill mind-speak causing everyone else in the room to cringe in pain. “Let me see.”

The main view screen flickered to life, revealing the docking bay. Sure enough, there were the animals, looting his personal frigate and throwing his effects out of the cargo hold.

He was about to order the docking bay doors open, when he was interrupted by the technician again. “That's not everything, sir. The Dominator is orbiting the station, and has apparently been hailing us for the past half hour,” the technician said fearfully.

Silence pervaded the bridge of Research Station Genome. Nobody dared move, or even think to each other for a full minute.

Finally, Qualda seemed to regain his composure. “...patch them through,” he said, straightening his lab coat and forgetting about his previous thoughts.

Almost instantly, the view screen flickered to life, revealing the bridge of the Dominator. “Your Excellence! Welcome to-” Qualda started to say, but was interrupted by the first officer.

“Your genuflections are neither needed or asked for, nor can they be acknowledged at this moment. Psywarrior Hivanti is currently trancing to clean up your mistakes,” he said dismissively. “We will notify you when the situation is taken care of. Until then, just sit there and try not to mess up anything else.”

Qualda visibly deflated as the view screen shut off. Quietly, he stumbled back to his chair and sat down, his face held in his tentacled hands.

“Sir? What are your orders sir?” the technician said as he brought up the security camera from the docking bay. Qualda looked up dispassionately at the screen where the escaping animals could be seen throwing thousands of quids in equipment overboard.

“...Those animals are under Hivanti's control. To do anything now would be acting against the will of a Psywarrior, and by extension, the will of the Emperor,” he said as he stood up. “If anyone needs me, I will be in my chambers, getting a drink.”

Qualda then turned and left the bridge.

* * *

“So, Donny, how long do you think it will be before you can hot-wire this thing?” Captain Hale asked as he handed Donny a plasma torch.

“Well, considern' the squids use a combination of physical controls and mental controls to fly their ships, this could take a while,” he said, as he began to cut open the panel.

“How long is 'a while' noble crafts master?” Hexomer asked, tilting her head to one side.

Donny scratched his head in thought. “Well, considern' I need ta rig something up that flies a bit more like the fighters Cap'n is used to, could be anywhere between ten minutes to three hours. Dependin' on how fast that hacking software the spy was using works, of course.”

He paused for a second to wipe his brow, gesturing towards the toolbox they had found in the process. “Also, I don't have proper fabrication tools here with me, just the crap that the squids use,” he said, as he started to rewire the console into Hale's arm. “The best I can do is wire the ship up to you and let your computer sort out what needs sort'n. At least your computer is an operating system that I'm one hundred percent familiar with.”

“Hey, whatever you can come up with to get us out of her is fine by me Donny, just make sure that we can get off this deathtrap when we need to,” Hale said as he settled into the pilot's seat a little more. The cockpit to the frigate was pretty small, but Hale was expecting that from a ten man vessel. Sure, they might be a little cramped in here, and they might be a bit strapped for food near the end of their journey, but he was sure they could at least make it back to Alliance space before supplies ran out.

The real problem was choking down the slop that the squids called food. Alliance scientists had already checked it over and found that it was digestible and nutritious to most of the species in the Alliance. They even recommended that, given a choice between Dridune cuisine and unknown alien plant life, go with the squid stuff.

That didn't stop it from smelling like month old diapers, or tasting like them to boot.

According to the ship's navcomputer, though, they weren't too far behind enemy lines. Not to mention they had an expert engineer with them to help crank out a little more juice out of there Hyperspace Emitters and propulsion system.

All they had to do was get out of range of the station's disruption field.

“Hey, Hexomer, Donny's got this. Why don't you head back to the landing ramp and act as the communications hub for everyone there?” Hale asked, pointing a thumb towards the back of the ship.

“Very well, mighty warrior. Please alert me the second we are ready to leave, however,” the mantis-like being said, bowing slightly to Hale as she left.

* * *

Hexomer walked towards the back of the ship, deep in thought. Even though her mission had ended in disaster, the attack on The Excelsior may just have been the push needed to get the Queen to fully commit to the war. If I could get home, relate to my people what had happened, then hopefully the Queen could be brought to see reason... Hexomer thought to herself, absentmindedly scratching at the chitin underneath her mandibles as she did so.

Her thoughts were interrupted once she reached the exit ramp for the ship. As ordered, some of the prisoners were standing guard, while others were busy searching through the crates in the hold, and tossing anything non-essential overboard. The way they carried out their separate tasks, however, told Hexomer everything she needed to know about these people. With the exception of Pride Leader Alik, they all preformed their various tasks with the efficiency of amateurs. It was clear that none of them were soldiers, and that they were all very, very scared.

This fact was probably the reason why the purple equine was looking so distraught. Hexomer noticed her immediately, helping the others unload the ship with her telekinesis. She also noticed that, every so often, the small unicorn would receive an odd look from one of the other escapees. The looks she was receiving were a mixture of awe and terror, and it was clearly unnerving the small equine.

Hexomer could understand their suspicion, though. To be honest, anything with that kind of power unnerved her. She couldn't help but think that that cute exterior only served to hide a monster underneath, despite all the good that she had done for them.

Cautiously, she approached the somewhat distraught unicorn and cleared her throat. Instantly the unicorn turned towards her, but in her flustered state she managed to drop the large crate she was carrying.

“Oops! Sorry! So sorry! You surprised me...” Twilight said, smiling nervously as she did.

Hexomer waved off her apology nonchalantly. “It is quite all right, little one. I think the others can take care of this though, so I thought we could take this opportunity to talk,” Hexomer said politely.

Inwardly, however, she couldn't help but wonder at the small unicorn's mannerisms. It was clear that she had been in dire situations before. Perhaps had even held positions of leadership, based on how easily she kept a cool head. The equine was also very, very powerful. Yet, even with all that power, she was easily put on edge by the unfriendly stares of others, and had an almost larval-like fascination for learning.

“Are you sure? Because I don't want anypony to think that I'm not pulling my own weight...” Twilight said as she eyed the still working escapees.

That was another thing odd about the pony. She was so willing to please others, as if she were afraid of offending someone.

“I'm sure that it is fine. No one can claim that you have not 'pulled your own weight.' Especially after how you so easily defeated a Psywarrior,” Hexomer carefully baited her.

Twilight blushed at that. “I wouldn't say that it was easy. It was actually quite difficult, and had he been a little more careful, things could have easily turned out differently,” she said, fiddling with her hooves as she did so.

“Yes, but to defeat a Psywarrior is no easy feat. You must have trained for years in the art of psychic combat in order to best him so handily,” Hexomer said, laying on the praise a little thickly.

Twilight only looked more uncomfortable at the praise however. If this is really an act, then she is really good, Hexomer thought to herself.

“Well...” The purple unicorn started to say, but was interrupted by a shout from the landing bay door. With a brief mental exercise, Hexomer switched her translator back and addressed Pride Leader Alik. “What was that?”

“I said it looks like we've got company,” he said, taking aim with his stolen beam rifle.

* * *

Jaleth materialized in the docking bay a little disoriented. After clearing her head, she took a look around. It seemed like Master hadn't arrived at the station yet, but that didn't really matter to her. She just knew that she had to be ready for when He finally arrived. Gently, she put the duffel bag full of Thor-12 charges down and made her way to where her master was going to dock with the station. She then fell to her knees, and bowed herself towards the sealed airlock, ignoring the conversation in Galactic Standard that was happening not twenty feet from her.

Sure, she had seen the animals, but nothing in her orders said anything about them. As far as she was concerned, they didn't exist.

However, inside, that small spark that was still her had leaped for joy! They can help me! Please, take me with you! she thought to herself. But inside her heart, she knew that they had no reason to trust her. She still looked like a Dridune, and the most she could hope for from them was an end to her current misery.

“What is it doing?” she heard a feminine voice say. The voice had an odd quality, it seemed to hum a little, and click every so often.

“It appears to be genuflecting that airlock,” a deep, male voice rumbled.

“...Have you ever seen a Dridune do that before?” the female asked.

“Never. Though I have seen our own forces do that on occasion... Usually in the presence of a Psywarrior,” the male said.

The was a pregnant pause, then Jaleth heard another female voice speak up in a language she couldn't understand. The humming voice responded, and the two conversed for a couple of seconds, then silence.

“...What did she say?” the male asked after a bit.

“I told Twilight what the alien was doing, and she seems to think it might be a good idea to take it with us. I am inclined to agree, seeing as how this could possibly be our mysterious benefactor,” the humming female answered.

There was a short pause, followed by a rustle, then a clicking noise. Jaleth then heard a loud, oscillating hum that usually signified the use of a stun pistol.

Then everything went black.

* * *

“Almost... and done!” Donny shouted as the screen in front of him lit up.

Captain Hale could feel the ship's computer pour into his mind. He was in control of the whole vessel, and while he was used to a more conventional control scheme, he still breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally back where he belonged, behind the controls of a starship.

“Fantastic work, Chief. Go ahead and teleport the others aboard, and we can get out of here,” Hale said as he made himself more comfortable in the pilot's chair.

Donny turned on a nearby console and started to input some commands. “Uh oh,” he said.

“I don't want to hear any 'uh oh's Chief. Thats the last thing you want to hear from your doctor, dentist, barber and chief engineer. What's with the 'uh oh'?” Hale asked in a rush.

“Well... It seems like the squids have control of the system again. The virus is still there, so I can lock them out again, but they may have set traps,” Donny said as his fingers flew across the console.

"Well... lock them out and get the others on board. Give them a headache," Hale said as he powered up the ship's reactor.

* * *

They had played snake, rabbit, grass over a thousand times, and after a very loud argument over the results, the two guards had finally reached a decision. Because of her rank, they had decided that Meliath should be the one to take the first life. Verila watched on as the guard slowly made her way to the first bunk, knife in hand. She would have preferred to use her pistol, but the stun gun wasn't in any way lethal.

She would have to do this the old fashion way.

As she stood above the reclining alien, she noticed that it was one of those amphibious fish beings from Chothis. The creature looked up at her, those large, slitted eyes boring into her soul. However, it did nothing as she brought her knife to its throat, the drug in its system keeping it docile. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and pulled.

Yet, instead of a sickening slicing sound, followed by the creature gasping for breath, she heard a shimmering, oscillating hum. Her eyes shot open just in time to see the sparkling energy field fade, letting her know that the fish-creature had been spirited away. Quickly she turned to the other bunks just in time to see the others disappear as well.

“No! They're escaping!” Verila said as he scrambled over to one of the bunks.

Meliath said nothing. She simply fell to her knees and cried on the bed.

* * *

First officer Qualk knew that something was wrong. Unless Master Hivanti was playing some elaborate game with the animals aboard that station, he should have come out of his trance by now. Of course, he couldn't be sure that Hivanti wasn't playing some elaborate game, but he certainly wasn't about to disturb his master without good reason.

But it had been a full hour since they had arrived, and he was starting to feel nervous.

“Uh, sir? The docking bay doors are opening, and a frigate is coming out. What are your orders?” the helmsman asked, glancing over at the still comatose Psywarrior as he did so.

Qualk looked over at his Master. Sure enough, he was still comatose, which meant that this was all part of the plan. “I think the Master is sending the Alliance a little present. Stand down and let them through,” the first officer said as he straightened his shirt.

He watched as the frigate accelerated away from the station, then glow as it warmed up its Hyperspace Emitters. Silently, a blue tear appeared in space in front of the fleeing frigate, and the ship disappeared as it made the jump to Hyperspace.

Qualk then turned and sat down next to his Master. Slowly, he straightened his collar, then looked towards the view screen. “The Alliance won't know what hit them, right Master?” he said, turning to Hivanti as he did so.

Hivanti responded by sliding out of his chair, completely limp and unresponsive.

There was complete silence aboard The Dominator's bridge for a full minute.

“Bridge to medical, we have a priority one! Teleport up here NOW!” Qualik shouted as he rushed to his fallen master.

Right as he said that however, Research Station Genome exploded.

Author's Note

You know, I spent months rewriting and rewriting this chapter. I couldn't decide whether to have this end with the other half of the prisoners dying or not, or whether the escape should involve a ship to ship battle or not, or whether or not Jaleth got left behind.

I finally went with this. I figured that the Dridune aboard The Dominator wouldn't question that their leader had been in his trance for a very long time, and that when the frigate left the station, they would have thought he was doing something clever to further the war effort.

I also decided that, while having half of the prisoners die would cast the Dridune in a more sinister light, that was a little too dark then what I wanted to see in a story. Plus, the interaction between the two guards helped humanize them a bit more.

And finally, I decided that Jaleth would serve better as a reoccurring character then as a martyr for the cause. As I neared the end, the chapter was pretty much writing itself at that point.

I know I disappointed a lot of you by not having a star battle during their escape, but I figured that the escapees really wouldn't stand a chance in a straight up brawl. The ship's controls had been jerry-rigged, and only three of them had any real combat experience. Frankly, I just wanted to get them away from the station and into the next phase of the story.

But even with all that, they still left with a bang.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for: home.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting. Thanks for your likes and comments and faves and follows. Leave any comments below to tell me how I can improve. Can't really fix anything if I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

Also, since this seemed to confuse so many of you, yes the explosives had been disarmed.
But then Alik got his hands on them.
Alik is a demolition's expert.
also, the station wasn't completely destroyed, just somewhat destroyed.

Chapter XII

Battle Watcher Althis Kan gently stroked his graying mane as he stared at the view screen. On the screen he could see the asteroid field that he and his crew had hidden themselves in during their stay in the system. They weren't really hiding from anything in particular, just patrolling for Dridune spy ships. They had already caught a few unmanned ones this week, but nothing major though.

If Kan were to be honest with himself, he was bored. He was a warrior, and he was stuck here patrolling the Kaldis System watching for enemy incursion.

“Sir, I've got incoming,” Ensign Smith said, turning to his Lionel commander.

“Where?” Kan asked, straightening up a bit in his chair.

“Satellite four. It looks small, probably a frigate or something similar,” the human said as he input a few more commands into the console in front of him.

“Put it on screen,” he ordered, his demeanor unchanged.

“Yessir,” the helmsman said as he input the command. The view screen instantly changed to reveal the viewpoint of satellite four as it orbited around the last planet of the Kaldis System. It was definitely Dridune, though it didn't look like a military vessel. “What is a Dridune civilian ship doing way out here? Do Dridune even have civilians?” Ensign Smith asked in confusion.

“Of course they do. How do you think they're able to finance their war effort? Every intelligent species has civilians. Never forget that ensign,” Kan said, frowning at the helmsman. Ensign Smith looked suitably chastised at that remark as he turned back to his instruments, which made Kan smile a bit to himself.

“However...” Kan said, standing up as he did so. “You still raise an interesting point. What is a Dridune civilian ship doing this far from Dridune space?” he said thoughtfully.

Silence pervaded throughout the bridge of The Raven. After a couple seconds of this, Kan sat back down in his seat. “Set an intercept course. Let's find out what-” Kan started to say, but was interrupted by his communications officer. “Sir, that ship is broadcasting an open transmission. I think you'll want to hear this,” she said, turning to face her commander.

Kan motioned her to play it, his eyebrow raised in curiosity as he did so. Almost instantly a voice started to play through The Raven's speakers.

“-Repeat, this is Lieutenant Captain Zachary Hale of the Galactic Alliance Space Navy. Is there anyone out there? We require assistance and an escort back to an Alliance Homeworld. I repeat, we request an escort. Can anyone here me?”

There was a brief pause, then the message started to repeat itself. “What are your orders, Sir?” the helmsman asked Kan, turning slightly in his seat as he did so.

He looks worried. As he should. Captain Hale was presumed dead after the capture of the Valhalla. Kan thought to himself. To see the Captain return alive was a miracle.

If it wasn't a trap.

“Open a subspace channel to Allion. Tell them we have a Dridune ship coming in, and that they need to enact Nautilus Protocols,” he said to his communications officer. “Once you've finished with that, cloak us and maneuver us out of the asteroid field and into weapons range of that ship,” he said as he settled a bit into his chair.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

“I do not believe anyone is out there Captain,” Hexomer said, looking down at Hale as he did so.

“Nah, they're out there. This is a key sector, what with the nearby Qualish colony and their deep space telescope,” he said, waving her off as he did so.

“Then why have they not answered yet? You must have played that message twelve times by now!” she said in annoyance.

“Well, they're probably following Nautilus Protocols and calling for backup. Although, at this point, they're probably cloaked and sneaking up on us,” Hale said as he kicked his legs up onto the face of the console in front of him.

Hexomer just looked at him like he was crazy when he said that. “Why are you not worried about this? They might be getting ready to kill us!” she shouted at him.

“Because, according to Nautilus Protocols they have to give us the benefit of the doubt. They can't just destroy us with no good reason, and with backup coming, they know that they can take us if we turn on them.” Hale said, waving off her concern. “They know that there is a very, very good chance that none of us are who we say we are. However, if there is the slightest chance that we are, or that we're Alliance spies, they will hold their fire,” he said.

Hexomer looked unconvinced at that. However, if Hale noticed, he didn't show it. “Just you wait, they will decloak right about... there,” he said, pointing to a patch of empty space on the view screen. The patch he pointed at was roughly three o'clock off their starboard.

“What makes you so sure they would appear there?” Hexomer asked dubiously.

“Just a gut feeling I have. Just give them about ten minutes for backup to send word that they are on their way,” he answered as he settled himself into a more comfortable spot.

Sure enough, after ten minutes of waiting, a ship materialized off their port bow. When this happened though, Hale snapped his fingers in frustration. “Dang, wrong side,” he said in mocking tone of voice.

The ship that materialized looked like a predator. It was a large one, probably a cruiser, though Hexomer had trouble placing what species was responsible for its design. It had large, swept back wings and a nose that made it look like a bird of prey. On top, there were two, forward facing crescent fins that looked like scythes. Hexomer could see several gun ports lining the beast, as well as four front mounted torpedo bays. The whole thing was painted a deep red, with a gray bird of some sort painted on each of its wings.

She gulped nervously, hoping that Hale was right about this 'Nautilus Protocol'.

“Hmm... That looks like a Lionel ship. Nice, I didn't know any were posted out here,” Hale said as he took his feet off the console.

The console in front of him started to make a beeping noise, alerting Hale that they were being hailed. With a thought, he patched the communications through to the view screen in front of him. Instantly the view of the Lionel ship was replaced by a view of its bridge.

The bridge had a distinctly imposing feel to it, what with its dim lighting, its intimidating tapestries that hung from the walls, and the throne-like commander's chair that bespoke of power. In the chair sat an aged Lionel, his gray mane showing traces of a deep red running through it. His uniform had a draping, robe-like quality that announced his rank as a Battle Watcher. It was a deep, rich red trimmed in gold with the symbol of the Lionel Empire emblazoned on its front.

“I am Battle Watcher Althis Kan, according to Alliance protocol, you are to power down your ship's engines and prepare to be boarded. Any resistance will be met with lethal force, is that understood?” the Lionel ordered in a business-like manner.

Hale gave the Battle Watcher a crisp salute. “Understood sir. Be advised that we have a Dridune aboard. We've kept her sedated, so she shouldn't pose much of a problem. Everyone aboard could also use a shower, seeing as how this ship only has one, and there are twenty-one of us aboard,” Hale said as he powered down the ship's engines.

Kan nodded at this, seemingly pleased with Hale's complacency with his orders. “As you know, captain, I cannot trust anything that you say until Naval Intelligence has cleared you and your crew. But, if you are really who you say you are, then let me be the first to welcome you back,” Kan said, a slight smile appearing on his face.

Hale cracked a smile of his own at this as he dropped his salute. “It's good to be back,” he said.

* * *

Captain Hale patiently sat in the clean, white room. He was currently hooked up to a number of machines that were monitoring several of his vitals, namely his brain activity and his heart rate. In front of him sat a tall Peli in a long white coat with a datapad, an expression of interest on his face.

The room also contained two guards with stun weapons, but frankly they were unnecessary at this point. They had already stripped Hale of most of his cybernetics, so it wasn't like he could actually manufacture an escape if he wanted to, not when he was missing both his arms and legs.

“Then what happened?” the Peli in the white coat asked after making a note on the datapad.

“Well, through the pain, I felt my arm raise, and my pulse cannon come online. I ordered my arm to stop, when to my surprise, it did. Then, without warning, the pain suddenly ceased, leaving me gasping for air. I looked around, trying to make sure that everyone was alright, when I saw the purple unicorn thing. She was glowing.”

This actually wasn't the first time he had told this story. Nor would it be the last, if Hale was to be a judge of these sorts of things. He and his companions had been behind enemy lines, subjected by their own admission to the mental abilities of a Psywarrior. That being said, he and his friends had been subject to a battery of tests to detect if Psywarrior programming was present in any of them.

The questionnaire continued for another hour, until finally the scientist seemed to have everything he needed. “Thank you for your time, captain. Hopefully everything you've said is true, and you'll be able to return to active duty soon,” he said a little apologetically.

Hale didn't say anything. He knew protocol, he knew that the doctor was just saying that to make him feel better.

However, Hale also knew that he would pass all of their tests, so he wasn't too worried about that.

What he was worried about was what they would do with Twilight.

“Is there anything you require before I leave?” the doctor asked, quirking an eyebrow at the immobile human.

“Nah, I'm good. I still have a couple of books in my library that I haven't read yet, so take your time,” he said with a rueful expression on his face.

The doctor merely shrugged at this and left as Hale brought up his book reader in his ocular implant. As he scrolled through the selections, he stopped on one and opened it. It may have been an oldie, but considering everything that has happened, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe may be just what he needed.

Especially given the long talks he had had with a magical unicorn during the return flight.

* * *

Doctor Morith strode down the halls as he made notes on his datapad. Outside, he radiated an aura of calm and clinical detachment.

Inside, however, all he felt was a profound sadness. It was clear that Captain Hale and his fellow escapees were all victims of Psywarrior reprogramming. It was really quite sad, though. They had made so many advances in technology and neuroscience, yet they were no closer to removing the taint of a Psywarrior from a victim's mind.

However, as insidious as the Dridune mind control was, it was actually pretty easy to spot, medically at least. When a Psywarrior “adjusted” someone, they actually rewrote the victim's brain. This kind of tampering always left a mark that could be seen using a simple MRI scan.

The problem was triggering the damage. You had to get the patient to think about their past, preferably about either their programming, or when the programming occurred, in order for the damage to appear on the MRI. Fortunately, they knew the time period during which the reprogramming would have taken place, which helped immensely.

Quietly, he opened the door to the main labs. His colleagues were all busy going over the various readings from all the testing that they had put the escapees through. “So, what do we have?” he asked in a resigned tone of voice.

Fredrick quickly motioned to Morinth, his hands folded in front of him and his face a mask of concentration. “I think you'll want to see this for yourself,” he said as he frowned in concentration.

Morinth took a look at the computer screen that Fredrick was staring at. It showed several MRI scans of the captain's brain. “Do you notice anything strange?” Fredrick asked quietly.

Morinth looked at the computer screen for a few minutes. “No, I can't say that I do,” he said slowly.

“Neither can I. I've gone over this scan over and over again. Usually when you ask about the event, the victim's whole brain lights up like a Christmas tree. During the whole time you were in there, I have found nothing strange,” Fredrick said, turning quickly in his chair.

Doctor Morinth was in shock. “Does this mean that the Psywarriors have found an untraceable way to corrupt our soldiers?” he asked in disbelief.

The human merely shook his head at that. “I don't think so. Infiltrator Jaleth has clear signs of Dridune tampering. I also called one of our other labs while you were busy; they just got a bunch of victims in that all showed clear signs of tampering this morning,” he said, his excitement building.

There was silence in the whole lab at this statement. The other scientists were all looking at the two of them, excitement written on all of their faces.

“...Call Naval Intelligence. We need to let them know what we have here. Also, we may have a problem,” Morinth said seriously.

“What's that?” Fredrick asked curiously.

“We just let something that mentally overpowered a Psywarrior into this base,” Morinth said quietly. “As of now, this facility is under quarantine.”

* * *

Twilight sat quietly in her clean room, patiently twiddling her hooves as she did so. True to her word to Captain Hale, she had refrained from using her abilities as soon as they had been picked up. The scientists had sat her down for a bit and had asked her a few questions. Mainly, the questions had been about her, but they had asked a few about her species and home planet as well. She had answered each question honestly, then they had left.

However, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Despite the fact that she was no longer in danger of a vivisection, she still felt like a prisoner. Sure, they had given her some decent food and a bed to lie down on. She also felt far safer than she had in over a month, not to mention that the shower she had taken had been pure bliss. She hadn't been allowed to leave the room, however, and her toilet was in the same room with her.

Also, the guards near the door did nothing to alleviate the impression that she was being held prisoner.

As she was contemplating her current predicament, she heard a faint buzzing noise come from the direction of the door. Quickly, her head perked up at the sound to see a gray haired, white clad Peli enter the room. In his hands he carried a small, gray, rectangular device that Twilight recognized as one of those 'datapads' that Donny would use. On his blue face he wore a pair of half-moon spectacles and a nervous smile as he slowly approached the circular table that Twilight was sitting at.

“Hello, Twilight. My name is Doctor Alexander Morinth,” he said as he sat down, his deep voice rumbling a bit as he did so. “On behalf of the Galactic Alliance, I'd like to welcome you to our facility. I was hoping you could answer a few questions for us.”

“Okay,” Twilight said meekly. She glanced nervously at the guards behind him, then looked back at him. “Am I a prisoner?” she asked quietly.

The doctor let out a quiet sigh at this. “Well, technically, yes and no. Are you guilty of any crimes? No. In fact, according to Captain Hale, we should probably be giving you a medal of some sort. Do we need to keep you here? Yes,” he said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You see, you're an unknown. The only contact we've had with a psychic species before has led to war and enslavement. We've never encountered a friendly psychic species before, and therefore we have no clue how to treat this situation.”

Twilight shook her head at this however. “I'm not psychic,” she said quickly. He just glanced at her when she said this, his eyes clearly telling her that he didn't believe her. “I'm not! I can't hear thoughts, or communicate telepathically, or anything similar to that!” she said defensively.

“Well, then could you please tell me how you managed to defeat a Psywarrior, and protect nine others from mental domination?” he asked, clearly not believing her for a second.

“Magic,” she replied. Morinth carefully tapped on his datapad a couple of times, then looked back up at her. “Right, Captain Hale mentioned that you called your psychic power 'magic' before. He also mentioned that you were able to manipulate objects using telekinesis, not to mention you removed a potent drug from his system,” he said carefully.

“Yes, I did, but I didn't use 'psychic power.' What I did was I manipulated the magical field that surrounded Hale and the others using my own magical field,” Twilight said, slightly irritated that the scientist didn't believe her on this small subject.

The scientist gave her an odd look, then typed a few more things on his datapad. “Ok, let's say I believe you. What sort of effects is this 'magic' capable of, and is it unique to your species alone?” he asked carefully.

Twilight looked up at him, her chin resting on her hoof. “I think that those questions would be best answered out of order. Magic is something everything possessing a soul is capable of. As to what magic can do, well, that really depends upon the species and individual,” she said, her eyes glimmering slightly as she said this.

“...Are you a professor of some kind? Because you seem very knowledgeable about this subject,” Morinth asked, his eyebrow quirking slightly as he said this.

Twilight blushed a bit at that, her smile becoming a bit flustered. “No, I'm just a student who studies magic,” she said dismissively.

“That would explain your familiarity with the subject matter,” he said, straightening a bit. “But back to my previous question, what did you mean by it depends upon the individual and the species?” he asked curiously.

Twilight thought for a second, carefully choosing her words. This is his first encounter with the fifth force, so I need to use terms he can understand. However, despite them having no experience with the fifth force, they have mastered the other four so completely as to be able to travel the stars, she thought, putting her hooves to her temples. How is that even possible? How can they know so much, yet be completely ignorant of one of the fundamental forces of nature?

“Magic...changes... depending on the genetic code of the individual. Part of that code is specifically for how your body processes and exerts magic. However, magic is also inseparably tied to the spirit of the one who wields it, so even if someone changes their race, their spirit will still remember who they are. Even with all of that, magic still acts like a muscle: The more you use it, the stronger it becomes,” she said after some thought.

The Peli tapped his datapad a few more times at that. “So, what kinds of things are you capable of? Besides what we've already talked about,” he said carefully.

“Oh, I can do all sorts of things! I can cause sudden and rapid hair growth, I can manipulate certain atmospheric and meteorological patterns, I can produce light, transmute matter, create illusions, produce magical shields, and teleport!” she said, beaming up at the disbelieving scientist.

“Teleport?” He asked incredulously.

“Yup!” Twilight said, and with that she winked out of existence in a flash of purple light.

The scientist bolted up at this as his guards reached for their weapons. However, all of them stopped when they heard Twilight's voice behind them. “With proper training, you can do these things too. However, I really don't think it would be a good idea if I taught you anything yet,” she said as the beleaguered scientist spun in place.

Twilight stood six feet behind him, her stance completely nonthreatening. Before the guards could do anything rash, Doctor Morinth put his hands on each of their weapons. He said something to them that Twilight couldn't understand, which caused them to back down a bit. He then looked back at her with a guarded expression on his face. “Why wouldn't that be a good idea?” he asked slowly.

She looked up at him, her face unreadable. “I have to ask my mentor and ruler Princess Celestia. However, seeing as how you and your friends have been defending free thought across the galaxy, I can't really see her saying 'no,'” she took a deep breath after saying this, then looked him dead in the eye, a hopeful look on her face. “Also, I want to go home. I want to see my family again,” she said, tearing up as she did so.

* * *

Doctor Morinth was impressed. Despite the immense power that this creature held, she did not try to impose her will upon others. Her first instinct was to try diplomacy, and she clearly held free will in very high regard.

Hope was fluttering in his chest. Maybe, just maybe she was who she said she was. She probably could have busted out of here at any moment, turning him and his colleagues into her slaves.

But she didn't even consider that to be an option.

Slowly, he inhaled as an idea came to him. “Twilight, you know how you protected others from the Psywarrior?” he asked. After she had nodded to him, he lowered himself until he was kneeling in front of her, his eyes level with hers. “Well, we have people here who are still suffering from Psywarrior control...” he said, taking a deep cleansing breath afterwards. “Can... can your magic cure the damage that has been done to them?” he asked hopefully as he looked at her tear-stained face.

* * *

Battle Master Tilok Vi struggled against the padded restraints that held him bound. He had to get out of here, had to return to his masters.

These beasts couldn't hold him here forever. He was unconquerable! He had the holy strength of his beloved masters backing him! Never in a thousand years could they turn him from his crusade.

Tilok's acute ears swiveled at the sound of the door opening. Probably the heretics come to try and break him again. Well, try whatever torture they wanted, it would all come to naught. He would never submit to them. When his masters finally came to collect him, he would be hailed as a hero!

The lights suddenly came on, temporarily blinding him, forcing him to squint. As soon as he saw the small purple equine, her two guards and that accursed doctor, he immediately strained against his restraints, snapping his muzzle while he attempted to reach his hated foe. With each snap, he let out a terrifying bark, warning them that if they got too close, they would suffer for their gall.

However, since he was wearing a muzzle, the Wolofor's threats were just that. Threats. He knew that some day, however, that the Dridune would come for him, and cleanse this accursed world in holy fire.

As he barked, he became aware of the table he was tied to slowly being tilted back. He did did not care, though. Whatever the torture that they had devised, it wouldn't work on him. His masters had enlightened him, had given him strength and purpose, had given him the way of the Emperor.

He didn't even register when the tip of something hard touched his forehead. he did register what happened next, however.

Sights, smells, sounds, tastes and feelings bombarded him. He convulsed, thrashed, and screamed as the pain roared through his entire being. He was being annihilated down to his very last cell. Have they finally decided that he was too strong? That they should just kill him?

Would... would he dream? He was afraid. So very, very afraid. His masters hadn't been too specific on what happened when you died.

His last thought was a prayer. Please, Master. Save me!

Or at the very least, avenge me...

* * *

Tilok Vi blearily opened his eyes. Then immediately started to cry. I... I just opened my eyes... I OPENED MY EYES! He thought, as tears freely fell from his now responsive eyes. Somewhere close by he heard the sound of hooves clopping on the tiled floor, but he ignored it as he attempted to move the rest of his body.

On command, the claws on his front paws twitched, each of the four digits moving at his glorious, blessed command. He couldn't move his arms too much though, on account of the restraints holding him to the table. However, that mattered little compared to the incredible feeling of being able to move his own body again. How long has it been since I've been able to feel that glorious feeling? he thought as his sobs increased dramatically.

Somewhere close by, he heard a female say something that he couldn't understand. Slowly, he turned his head to look at the source of the voice. To his right, he saw the purple equine from before.

At that moment, she was the most beautiful thing in the cosmos.

His ears flickered as he heard his restraints being released. All four, at the same time. The doctor said something to the equine, but was waved off as she said something in response.

As soon as he was free, Tilok sprung from his bed, knelt down, and hugged his tiny purple savior.

“Thank you... Thank you so very much...” he said as he cried into her shoulder.

* * *

Admiral Zelgius looked over the reports on his desk in despair. Frankly, the war wasn't going very well for the Alliance, and everybody in command knew it. The Dridune had recently taken Melthos Prime, and had re-purposed the shipyards there for their own purposes, bringing the total number of Alliance worlds they had taken up to seventy-five. If only they had some way of getting past their Psychic Net, they could hope to maybe retake some of these planets.

But, as things stood, the Alliance could only defend. Any soldiers that they lost to the Psywarrior's control were lost for good. Any that they took alive had been committed to a psychiatric ward, while those that they were unlucky enough to not take back just swelled the ranks of the Dridune's slave army.

Zelgius put his head between his hands and groaned. He needed a miracle, or else the Dridune were going to succeed at their crusade...

Just then, his computer started to play its alarm sound, signifying that he had an incoming communication. He just groaned at that, shaking his head in disbelief. What now? He thought in frustration. He never got a communication anymore unless it was bad news, and it was really starting to take a toll on him.

“Computer, patch in the communication.” He said in resignation.

Two hours later, Zelgius burst from his office, eyes wide and heart racing. His eyes swept the reception area until he located his secretary. “Private Viers, cancel all my appointments, and ready my ship,” he said in a rush.

“Shall I give a reason to the Council why you cannot make it to the war meeting?” he asked in a confused tone of voice.

“Tell them a miracle just fell into our laps,” Zelgius said, grinning as he did so.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! A lot earlier than many of you expected, given my usual release cycle (approximately whenever I feel like it.)
However, I really hope that I got the feel of each character down, and I hope that I brought a bit more emotion to this work.

As always, thank you for reading my story, any comments, concerns, or criticism is greatly appreciated, so long as it is constructive.

:pinkiehappy:

Chapter XIII

Admiral Zelgius pursed his lips as he flipped through the material in front of him. Honestly, the whole thing felt too good to be true. However, since his personal spy ships had confirmed that Allion was still firmly under Alliance control, he had little reason to doubt the evidence in his hands.

Other than the fact that they apparently had an insanely powerful, magical unicorn at the Psywarrior Research Facility, who could apparently undo the 'permanent' mental programming of the patients there, and had even beaten a Psywarriors at his own game.

Oh, and to top it all off, the Psywarrior she had beaten had been Hivanti. That was apparently a thing now.

Yet, even with all that power, this unicorn was also apparently benign. Zelgius had no illusions that this creature could have taken the entire planet if she wanted to, yet she hadn't. She was also in a position to make whatever demand that she wanted, and instead of giving orders like a little tyrant, she had asked as meek as a lamb if they could take her home.

The whole thing reeked of a trap, yet he couldn't help but trust that it wasn't. Maybe it was the video files that Doctor Morinth had sent. Maybe it was the fact that this 'Twilight Sparkle' had brought one of his top operatives home.

Maybe it was the fact that, without a real miracle, the entire Alliance was doomed to collapse under the weight of the war.

The stone cold truth was that the Dridune were consuming the Alliance piece by piece. It did not matter what weapons or armor the Alliance developed, what modifications they made to their ships, the Dridune simply stole the Alliance's soldiers and technicians and forced them to reveal their secrets. Every planet they lost added billions to the enemy's slave army, as well as another willing world to supply the Dridune's war effort.

The Psywarriors were unbeatable. It was a common fact. They had somehow managed to avoid all forms of assassination, turned whole planets into slaves for the empire, and had won each and every single engagement that they were involved in.

Yet, somehow, The Dridune's best Psywarrior had been crushed by a small, cute, purple unicorn who, if the files were to be believed, had the mentality of an obsessive/compulsive sixteen year old bookworm.

If this turns out to be true, it would prove that not only do the Gods exist, but that they do, in fact have a sense of humor, Zelgius thought as a smile came to his face.

So, even if this was some form of elaborate trap, Zelgius couldn't stop himself from walking into it. He couldn't help it. Deep in his gut, he felt that this was the real deal, that the universe wasn't about to play some elaborate prank on him, and end his life at the hooves of a small, adorable, pony-thing.

His gut had never led him wrong before, and it had been a long time since he had had a gut feeling this strong.

This is either the worst mistake of my career, or the greatest decision I have ever made, he thought to himself as he threw the datapad onto the desk.

“Sir, we will be exiting Hyperspace in five minutes,” Zelgius heard through the intercom.

“Thank you captain,” he responded as he straightened his uniform. He felt like he was going to his own funeral.

Or maybe his salvation. He couldn't really tell at this point.

* * *

It was over. The remainder of the planetary defenses had surrendered to his slave army, leaving him to stand victorious over those pretentious council members. He smiled as he remembered how he had casually set their world to burn right in front of their very eyes, then had slaughtered each and every one of them. Oh, they had begged and pleaded with him to spare their pathetic lives, but Tyranny just couldn't afford to let them live.

They could resist his power. Free will was a crime punishable by death under Tyranny's rule, and he had decided long ago to make them pay for their arrogance.

Then the system was finally at peace. For ten years he had slowly expanded his empire, consuming world after world. His thralls bringing more and more under his ever-growing dominance.

It seemed that peace would rule throughout the universe for all time. A Forefather's rejuvenating physiology meant that, baring physical injury, he would live forever as the universe's ageless emperor.

However, he had overlooked one factor in his quest for peace.

Freedom.

* * *

Twilight woke with a snort, her mane a mess, her bloodshot eyes wide as she gazed frantically around the semi-darkness of her holding cell. Quickly she sat up on her haunches, feeling extremely dirty after that dream. It had been so real, so vivid.

Shaking slightly, the pitcher of water on her table lifted itself and poured some of its contents into a metal tumbler. The cup then levitated itself over to her, glowing gently as it hovered through the air. Twilight then took the cup, drinking slowly as she pondered the dream.

The worst part had been the point of view. Instead of merely being an observer, or maybe even a victim, she had seen the dream from Tyranny's eyes. She would have preferred to have been butchered by that monster rather than be him.

Her horn itched as she thought about it. Before Luna's return, she would have thrown herself into her studies after a nightmare, that usually cheered her up. However, she didn't really have any study material, and she doubted that the people who ran this facility had anything written in her language.

After Luna's return though, she almost never had nightmares. The ones she did have however had been quickly calmed by Princess Luna, as the Lunar Diarch had quickly gone back to her sacred duty as the Warden of Dreams. However, Twilight doubted that even Luna could reach her here.

I don't even know if I'm in the same galaxy anymore... she thought to herself as she wrapped her blankets closer.

She felt so very alone. Even when she had thought that friendship was unimportant, she had always had somepony to go to when things had become too great for her to handle. When she had been younger, she had always turned to Shining or Cadence. Later, after her brother had joined the Guard and she had become Princess Celestia's private student, she had confided in Spike or the Princess herself. After Luna's return however, Twilight had an overabundance of friends she could confide in, always there for her, ready to help, to lend an ear.

She missed each and every one of them so much that it felt like a physical pain deep within her heart, the ache growing constantly until finally it had reached its peak, and Twilight couldn't hold in the tears any longer.

For the first time since she had woken up on that dreadful station two months ago, she broke down completely. She cried long and hard, her sobs wracking her small body as she burrowed her head deep into her pillow, her blankets wrapping tightly around her.

She was so busy crying that she didn't even notice the shadowy figure detach itself from a corner of the room. The small figure quietly made its way across the room until it reached the table. Once there, it pulled out a chair and sat down, taking special care to not sit on its tail as it did so.

It just sat there, staring at her for the longest time as she cried into the pillow. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it spoke. “You know, I spent every waking hour on my way over here trying to figure you out,” he said in a somewhat high pitched, yet still masculine voice.

“Eep!” Twilight said as her head shot up when she heard the voice, fear running through her veins. She looked around until she spotted the shadowy figure at the table. “...Who...who are you?” she asked nervously.

The strange creature ignored her question though, and continued to ramble at her. “I thought of hundreds of scenarios on how this would play out. I though that you might be a genetically altered Psywarrior, and this was simply a new way of getting into our heads. I quickly discounted that one, seeing as how they're winning anyway, and they don't really need to resort to such tactics,” he said, shaking his head and pulling the water pitcher towards him.

As he poured himself a cup, Twilight couldn't help but feel how absolutely surreal this was. Despite the fact that he was addressing her, he was clearly only talking at her, not to her. Nevertheless, she still tried to worm her way into the one-sided conversation.

“Um...” she said intelligently.

However, despite the attempt, the the person at the table continued to talk over her, ignoring her less than stellar attempt to interject her viewpoint. Clearly the strange creature was talking itself through something, and wouldn't answer her growing questions until he was good and ready.

“Then, I thought you might be some alien terror, who's cute exterior only served to hide the beast within. Theory after theory chased each other around in my head, like dogs chasing their own tails. I wasn't getting anywhere,” he said, then paused as he took a drink. “Finally, after three days of this, when my ship finally made port, I came up with an idea. I thought to myself, 'Halik old boy, you know the Alliance is pretty much doomed, you're just stalling the inevitable at this point. Why don't you just go in and see what she's like yourself?'”

He set down the metal cup and let out a sigh. “It was a substantial risk. Had you been a Psywarrior, I would have already been under your control,” he looked up at her when he said this, his head tilted to one side. “Did you know that? Did you know that they can take you in their sleep?” he asked, cupping his face in his hands. “I watched you sleep for so long, yet nothing happened. I was so sure that something terrible would happen, yet nothing did. Then you woke with a look of terror on your face, and I was sure that you had detected me, yet it turned out that you just had a nightmare.”

He took his hands off of his face, then looked up at her. “I have three beautiful little girls at home, and I can tell you that I know when they're fake crying or crying for real. Is this really what you are? Just a scared little girl, yearning for home?” he asked, hope rising in his voice.

This seemed like an actual question, so Twilight answered. “I'm not really little anymore, but...” she trailed off as the strange creature seemed to reach a decision. Slowly he stood up and snapped his fingers. Almost immediately the lights in the room increased their output until Twilight could see her strange visitor clearly.

He was rather short compared to the other aliens that she had encountered so far, probably only four and a half feet tall, barely taller than Twilight if you included her horn. His short fur had probably been a deep brown at one point, but was now a faded gray color. His uniform was a deep blue with gold trim around the shoulders and the hemline of the pants, while on his right chest pocket was some form of rank insignia. His face had a very distinctly simian look to it, which was fully complemented by the long prehensile tail that curled up behind him.

“My name is Admiral Halik Zelgius of the Galactic Alliance, and it would be my honor if I could personally escort you home,” he said as he bowed deeply to her.

* * *

“Yes, I know,” said Lucy crossly. “Wait a minute.”

“Daughter of Eve,” said Aslan in a graver voice, “Others are at the point of death, Must more people die for Edmund?” Hale read, but was interrupted from his book as the door to his holding cell opened, revealing none other than Admiral Zelgius of Naval Intelligence.

Hale quickly stood to attention, or rather, he would have if he still had his arms and legs. All that he managed to do was to flop forward and land face first on the bedspread in front of him.

“Mffg mfg al mffgg. Mffg mfgg mffgh mffgh?” he said intelligently.

“I know, I have that effect on people,” Zelgius said in an amused tone of voice.

Firm hands grabbed Hale and gently set him into a sitting position. Glancing around, Hale noticed that three other people had entered the room with the Admiral. Two of them were doctors, while the third seemed to be the Admiral's guard. Currently, the doctors were busy reattaching Hale's missing limbs.

“Uh... sir?” Hale said in a confused tone of voice.

“Against my more paranoid judgment, I have decided to take this whole situation at face value. If I'm wrong about her and her people, then all I've done is expedite the destruction of the Alliance,” the Admiral said as he took a seat in front of the confused Captain. “However, if I'm right, the Alliance might just have gained an extraordinarily powerful ally, one who could easily turn the tide of war for us. Personally, I think that the potential gain here far outstrips the loss,” Admiral Zelgius said with a grin.

Hale couldn't believe what he was hearing. Zelgius was supposed to be the most paranoid, cunning, wily old fox that the Alliance had. There was a reason why he had been in charge of Naval Intelligence for so very long. He seemed to have a sixth sense for danger, and had avoided several assassination attempts and mind control attempts on that sense alone.

Yet, if he was saying what Hale thought he was saying... “Sir, does this mean that-”

“Yes Captain, we are taking the young miss Sparkle home. Hopefully we will be able to make a good enough impression with her people to get them to help us,” Zelgius said as the doctors finished attaching Hale's limbs.

Hale rotated his arms a few times to make sure the weight was properly balanced. “Sir, while I am relieved that you have decided on this course of action, I can't help but wonder why you're here telling me all this,” Hale asked suspiciously.

Zelgius merely quirked an eyebrow at this. “Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm going to be making first contact with Twilight's people, and if I'm going into this metaphorical lion's den, then I'm taking you with me. Vacation is over, Captain Hale,” Zelgius said with a grin.

Hale gave out an exasperated sigh at this. “I didn't even know I was on vacation!” he said as the admiral left the room.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle was in awe. In front of her was probably the most incredible sight she had ever seen. Multi-colored lights winked at her from all directions, words were scrolling on the various screens that lined the walls, and people of various races and species hurried back and forth, busily fulfilling whatever tasks they had to keep a starship up and running. The whole thing had a sleek, silvery look that made her think of efficiency.

However, the most impressive sight was the large view screen positioned at the front of the room. She still couldn't believe that what she was looking at wasn't just a window. Nor could she believe the sight that this 'window' revealed. On the other side of the 'window', she could see what was unmistakably a green and blue planet, slowly turning as the sun rose on the horizon.

Twilight was so flabbergasted by the sight, that she didn't even notice as Captain Hale strode past her towards the Admiral standing in the center of the room. He started to talk with the admiral, but whatever they said was lost on the quietly hyperventilating unicorn.

This is incredible! How does all of this work? How does it keep track of everything? these and other thoughts quickly chased each other around in her head, but she was no closer to any answers when Hale approached her and gently used one hand to close her hanging jaw. “Yeah, I had the same reaction the first time I stood on the bridge of a starship,” he said to her.

When she didn't immediately respond, he cleared his throat a bit to get her attention. However, that did nothing to snap her out of the stupor that had befallen the purple pony. “I see that we broke the poor girl,” Admiral Zelgius said in Twilight's tongue as he approached the two.

“Apparently...” Hale said as he snapped his fingers a couple of times. “So, how are we going to find Twilight's home planet? Can she give us star coordinates? or...”

“Actually, we already have her planet's coordinateness,” Zelgius said with a smirk.

Both Hale and Twilight gave him a sharp look at that. “How do you know where my planet is? I haven't told you anything about it!” Twilight said in amazement.

Zelguis smirked at the two of them again. “On the same day that you made your little escape, my agent aboard the station sent me a communication. It had all the information that she was able to steal while she was aboard. Included in that datapacket was details on each and every prisoner that had ever been on that accursed station, including their home planet's coordinates. We can be there in a week,” he said as he waved down an ensign.

“Wait, if you had someone aboard, then she still might be there! We need to-” Twilight started to say, but was interrupted as Zelgius waved her down. “You don't need to worry about her. She was the Dridune that you picked up on your way out, and if memory serves, you already cured her earlier this week,” he said. “Thank you for that, by the way. She was one of my best operatives, and to see her returned safe and sound does this old heart a wealth of good.”

“You're welcome, admiral,” Twilight said as she blushed a little at the praise being heaped upon her.

“To be honest, your planet has been a bit of a curiosity for my people. Almost every day I see a request on my desk for funds to go and study your planet, but I've had to deny each and every one of them because of the war,” Zelgius said as he started to walk towards the chair situated in the center of the room.

“Why would our planet be such a curiosity?” Twilight asked honestly.

Zelgius didn't immediately answer. Instead, he took a second to ease himself into his chair, making sure to avoid sitting on his tail. “It's quite simple, really. Your planet is the only planet who's star orbits its planet, instead of the other way around. We would have had ships out there earlier, but the odd gravitational forces in the system make it dangerous for ships to even attempt it, hence the constant requests for funds,” he said as he glanced towards the small unicorn.

“You mean, that star out there doesn't orbit its planet?” Twilight asked with a gasp.

“No, nor is it normal for your star to be orbiting yours. You wouldn't happen to know why, would you?” Zelgius asked as he quirked an eyebrow.

“No, I don't. I have a few theories, but nothing concrete. However my mentor Princess Celestia would know,” Twilight said after a moments' thought.

“Why is that, Sparks?” Hale asked curiously.

“Because she controls the sun.”

The silence that followed this statement was so profound that you could have heard a pin drop. Even those people who couldn't understand a word that was being spoken stopped what they were doing when they saw the look on the admiral's face.

“What?” Twilight asked after a couple of minutes of silence.

Author's Note

Well, with the new computer, comes a brand, spanking new chapter, filled to the brim with stuff!
...hopefully awesome stuff. I know I might be rushing a little, but I really want the story to get a move on, and it seemed like they spent forever inside the station.

I really hope that I didn't rush this scene too much but still managed to make the scene believable. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it!

As always, thank you so much for reading my story! any comments and criticism are appreciated.

Chapter XIV

As soon as Twilight's young assistant Spike had woken that fateful morning, he had found that his best friend and surrogate mother had disappeared. At first he thought nothing of it, seeing as how she often would wake up before him to get breakfast ready, or else study some new book that Celestia had sent. However, after searching the whole library without even finding a note, he started to suspect that something was wrong. Especially after Pinkie Pie had burst in screaming that she couldn't find Twilight anywhere.

That event alone had warranted a letter to Princess Celestia in Spike's eyes. Pinkie had, literally, a sixth sense about finding other ponies. If she was having trouble finding Twilight, then there was a very good chance that something had gone terribly wrong.

At first, Celestia had thought that Spike was overreacting. Surely Twilight had simply forgotten to leave a note stating where she had gone, so there was no reason to panic. The letter she sent back had been comforting, letting Spike know that Twilight had probably just gone out for a walk. Celestia had also told Spike that if Twilight hadn't returned by nightfall, that he should send her another letter.

That had been six months ago, and yet there was still no sign of Twilight Sparkle. As soon as it became clear that Twilight had disappeared, Celestia's fears began to run away with her. At first she had feared that somepony was planning an attack on the Elements of Harmony, so she had moved the remaining bearers to Canterlot for safety and had increased the security throughout the nation. Soldiers could be seen patrolling the skies and streets of Equestria, while Celestia had discreetly sent messages to all her allies, and spies to all her enemies, hoping that somepony knew anything about the whereabouts of her prized student. Not only that, but ever since Twilight's disappearance, Princess Luna had busied herself by sweeping through the entirety of the portion of the Astral Plane that surrounded Equis.

Eventually, after it became clear that nopony was attempting to steal away the elements, Celestia had grudgingly allowed the five mares to return to their homes, albeit with a guard detail discreetly tailing each one.

Even now, while Celestia handled Day Court, Luna was still busy sweeping the Astral Plane for any echo of Twilight. Celestia sighed when the griffon diplomat finished his long winded speech. It was one that Celestia was having a hard time following, due mainly to all the flowery words and fore-so-muches. “Chancellor, please just tell me simply what it is that your nation wants, I have other matters to attend to.”

“Simply?” the chancellor asked, looking a bit offended at Celestia's bluntness. “Simply put, we think that the alert status of Equestria is uncalled for. One missing pony is hardly something to fret over, and you're making my nation uneasy,” he said, clearly disappointed.

Normally Celestia would have treated the Chancellor with more respect, but after spending so many sleepless nights scanning the Astral Plane with Luna, she was frankly out of patience. She opened her mouth to tell the griffon diplomat just that when the booming voice of Sergent Clear Eyes rang out across the throne room. “Announcing her Royal Highness, the Oracle of Time and High Shaman of the Zebrican Tribes, Lady Alala!”

Celestia immediately rose from her throne in respect as the Zebrican Oracle and her aid slowly made their way to the throne. “I'm sorry Gustaf, I'm afraid I will have to cut our conversation short,” Celestia said.

The Chancellor only nodded at that, unable to tear his eyes away from the blind Seer. He gulped ever so slightly in terror as the unimposing zebra, with the help of her aid, slowly came to a stop in front of the throne. Respectfully, he moved out of the way to allow Alala unimpeded access to the Princess of the Sun.

“Lady Alala, It is my great honor to welcome you to Canterlot,” Celestia said as she took her seat again.

The Zebra looked up at the Princess of the Sun, her face unreadable and her milky eyes unfathomable. “The Sun and the Moon would do well to heed, for all of Equis is in dire need. Trouble comes, destruction assured, unless my warning is heard,” she said, her clear voice ringing with apprehension.

Celestia tilted her head slightly to the side, a twinge of fear running through her heart. Rarely did the Oracle ever leave her home, and even rarer did she ever talk with anypony other than her fellow zebra. However, each time she had, her warnings had been dire, and extremely accurate.

Only a fool would ignore a warning from the Oracle.

“I'm listening,” Celestia said carefully.

The Oracle stood a little straighter at that, her robe jingling as she did so. “A stranger approaches on wings of fire, bringing with him war's dark ire. Terror follows, ponies flee, the whole world in calamity. I see Equis, awash in flame, dead and gone, with us the same. Slaves of slaves our people become, with all our great work undone.”

While this pronouncement of doom filled Celestia's heart with dread, she knew that there had to be a way out. Lady Alala never revealed what the future held unless it could be changed. “What must we do to defeat this stranger?” Celestia asked.

“The stranger? You need not fear, though very strange he may appear. At his heels, though, terror true, an ancient evil comes for you. It comes for all, young and old, ending freedom, enslaving souls. The stranger comes to fight this foe, though how he does not know. Our help he needs to stop this blight, with his kind we must unite.”

Then, without another word, The Oracle turned and started to leave the throne room.

Chancellor Gustaf turned towards Celestia at that point, his expression perplexed. “Not even a goodbye? Or a by-your-leave?”

“We are lucky she decided to say anything at all. The Oracle only says what is needed, and no more. Often times she doesn't even say that much, preferring to let history take its own course without her meddling,” Celestia said as she arose. “I'm afraid that I must end Day Court for today, I must consult with my sister about this new development.”

The griffon nodded at that, his piercing blue eyes fixed upon the retreating back of Lady Alala. “I must take my leave as well. The emperor must be appraised of the recent developments, and it seems that we have a war to plan for.”

* * *

Celestia watched patiently as her sister left her trance, shaking her head slightly at the strain that she had endured in the Dreamscape. “Any luck Lulu?” Celestia asked as her sister slowly rose from her bed.

“I'm afraid not, dear sister. If she were dead, she would have left an echo on the Astral Plane. As it now stands, it feels as if she had just vanished! I cannot find even a trace of your student. I am sorry,” Luna said as she poured herself a cup of tea, exhaustion written clearly upon her face.

Celestia sidled alongside her sister, enfolding the Princess of the Night with one alabaster wing. “It's fine, Lulu, I know you've done your best. Far more than anypony could hope to match,” Celestia said as she hugged her sister closer. “You know what they say, no news is good news," she said weakly.

“Tia, you may put on a brave face for your people, but you need no such farce when you speak with me,” Luna softly rebuked her sister.

Celestia sighed at that, her mask falling as she did so. “I don't know what to do, Lulu. I feel that she is in danger, yet I don't know where to even look. By your own admission, she isn't even on Equis anymore...” Celestia said as sorrow seemed to fill her entire being. “Not only that, but I actually do have some news, and it troubles me greatly.”

Luna looked at her, her face falling a bit. “What has happened?” she asked urgently.

“The Lady Alala came to Day Court.”

Luna reeled at that, her eyes wide in amazement. “The Seer? She only leaves her mountain for the most dire of reasons! What did she say?”

Before Celestia could respond to her, however, she was interrupted by a deep rumbling from outside. “What in the name of-” Celestia started to say, but was interrupted as the doors of Luna's private chambers burst open, revealing Lieutenant Iron Heart.

“Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! The sky is on fire!” he said, clearly out of breath.

Both of the Princesses quickly bolted to the balcony, gazing in awe and fear as a fireball slowly made its way towards Canterlot. It was huge, nearly the size of the city itself, and it seemed to be dead set on crashing into Canterlot castle. Below her, Celestia could hear the screams of her citizens as they panicked through the streets.

“Lieutenant Iron Heart, get together your best troops and quickly evacuate the city. Have Sergent Wild Wind gather our battlemages. I feel that we will need their help in averting this mete-”

“Sister, look! It slows!” Luna said, pointing with one hoof at the sky.

Celestia quickly turned, her eyes scanning the strange fireball. Sure enough, the fireball was slowing down. Celestia quickly noted that, along with the slowed speed, the fire seemed to lessen as well, until both the fire and the object stopped entirely.

What was revealed defied all reason. The object was large, probably as big as Canterlot Castle itself. It seemed to be a distinct oval shape, with three glowing disks positioned in a triangular pattern along its bottom. Its top was a complete mystery from this angle, though Celestia had no doubt that it was any less imposing. The object seemed to be painted a uniform black color, with what appeared to be silver lettering of some kind painted on the side. The object stopped just above Canterlot, its ominous form lurking in the evening sky.

“What is it?” Luna gasped.

“I do not know Luna, but I do not think it bodes well for us,” Celestia answered as a smaller black object detached itself from the larger object and swiftly made its way towards Canterlot's main airship dock.

* * *

“Increase elevation by thirty-five degrees.”

“I really don't know about this...”

“Just do it!”

Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

“Now, a little more to the left...”

“...You know, this really doesn't seem very safe, I really think we should be evacuating with the others...”

“FIRE NOW!”

* * *

“Do you really think this is a good idea Admiral? My people are usually very skittish, even at the best of times...” Twilight said nervously as she fiddled with the straps holding her in place.

“I'm sure. If my intelligence is correct, we don't really have that much time before the Dridune Armada get here. The gravitational forces around here make teleportation dangerous, so atmospheric entry was really our best course of action. As far as first contact situations go, it isn't ideal, no. But neither is the situation,” he responded as he waved one of his paws at the fretting unicorn.

“I'm just glad that we were able to get this many ships together in such a short notice. I really need to send the Pride King a gift for this one,” Captain Hale said from the pilot's seat. “Not to mention those planetary defense guns he gave us. Those will come in handy, especially if they just decided to nuke your planet from orbit.”

“Would they really do that?” Twilight asked in horror.

“You tell us. You've been inside their heads, you know them better than any of us. We don't know what they would do to an incorruptible planet because there has never been one before,” Captain Hale said as he deftly maneuvered the shuttle closer to the platform.

Just as he said that however, the proximity alarms at Hale's fingertips started to go off. What in the blue blazes? He wondered, just as something fast and pink streaked at high velocity directly for the small craft. With an explosion of confetti and streamers, the pink object hit the windshield of the small craft.

Everyone in the shuttle jumped as the strange creature thumped against the craft. The creature was pressed up against the windshield, her forelegs and hind legs spread out, while in her front hooves she held a sign that said something in Twilight's native tongue. She was far pinker than anything on hooves had a right to be, her mane and tail being a darker hue of pink, while her wide, manic eyes were a deep, piercing blue. Her mouth was contorted into a huge, toothy grin, which quickly opened as she screamed something that the people in the cabin could just barely make out.

“Hi Twilight!”

“Gah! Pinkie Pie!” Twilight yelled at the ridiculous mare.

“What in the blazes is that?” Zelgius asked, clearly shaken by the appearance of the pink pony.

“Thats one of my best friends, though why she's on the window is something only she knows.” Twilight said as she tried to get her heart back down to a more regular pace.

“What does the sign say?” Hale asked curiously as the mare started to wave.

“It says 'Welcome to Equis!'” Twilight answered him.

“Well, we can't let her just stay out there, she might fall off, and it is a long way down to the ground,” Hale said nervously.

Before anyone could say anything else, however, the proximity alarms went off again as a blue streak cut through the sky and nabbed Pinkie Pie off the windshield.

“What the heck was that?” Hale asked as the blue streak landed on the distant platform.

* * *

“Pinkie, how could you even think of doing something that stupid!” Rainbow Dash berated the hopping pink pony. “Those are aliens! They could have vaporized you without a second thought!”

“Aw, don't be mad Dashie! These are friendly aliens!” she said, not pausing for a second as she continued to bounce.

“How can you be so sure about that? What if they're some sort of horrible, bug-like abomination, who are just waiting to lay their eggs inside our cocooned bodies!” Rainbow said with a shiver as she waved her hooves at the pink mare below her.

“I think somepony has been reading Spike's comic book collection!” Pinkie said in a singsong tone of voice.

Before Rainbow could answer her though, she was interrupted as the platform was suddenly swarmed with gold plated Solar Guards and dark plated Night Sentinels. “Miss Dash, Miss Pie, I'm going to have to insist that both of you leave the area. It's not safe.” one of the guardsponies said as the others took up a perimeter around the slowly descending craft.

“I can't leave now! What if something happens! I need to be here to make sure that these aliens don't try anything stupid!” Rainbow said aggressively.

“Yeah! And I need to be here to throw all of our new friends a superrific 'Welcome to Equis!' party!” Pinkie said as she continued to bounce, uncaring about the way that everypony nearby was giving her an odd look.

“I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with the sergeant, my little ponies,” a regal voice said from behind the two mares.

Pinkie and Rainbow quickly turned around to see both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna alight onto the crowded tarmac.

However, before either Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie could begin to protest, or even begin to bow, a shout from one of the unicorns closest to the strange craft drew everypony's attention.

“It's opening!” he shouted in a panicked voice.

Everypony had frozen in place as they watched the strange, sleek black craft open. The door seemed to make a hissing sound as it opened, its black maw looking more foreboding with every passing second. The silence around the tarmac was palpable as the unicorn guards all pointed their horns at the craft, while the pegasi in the air readied their thunderheads that they had retrieved from the pegasi armory.

“Hold your fire!” Luna said to the assembled guards.

Reluctantly, the guards complied to the Night Princess's command. The tension was thick in the air as everypony anxiously waited to see what horrors from beyond the void would crawl out of the strange craft.

It was almost anticlimactic when all that trotted out was a young, purple unicorn mare, her smile slightly sheepish as she looked around at all the guards.

“Twilight!” everypony gasped in amazement. However, before anypony could make a move, something pink and fast weaved her way through the guards, zoomed up to the purple pony, and promptly wrapped her front hooves around the startled young mare.

While Twilight tried in vain to pry the exuberant Pinkie Pie off of her, the other ponies who were there started to take a step forward, only to retreat a little when something else stepped out of the landing craft.

* * *

Admiral Zelgius slowly left the shuttle, acutely aware of the stares and the horns directed his way. He made sure to make no sudden moves as he approached the assembled Equestrian forces and what appeared to be the Princesses, if Twilight's description of them were anything to go by.

He knew that any one of these creatures could end his life in any number of nasty ways, and frankly he was completely terrified of them. However, he had a mission to complete, and whether they killed him or not, he was still going to try.

There were just too many lives at stake, theirs included.

So, with all of this in mind, he did the one thing he could think of to alleviate the situation.

He bowed.

Author's Note

Wow, I just realized that I never made an author's note for this chapter. Weird...

Chapter XV

With a bit of effort, Twilight finally managed to disentangle herself from Pinkie Pie. She quickly rushed over to where Admiral Zelgius was bowing to the Princesses, then sunk into a deep bow herself. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, It is my great honor to present Admiral Halik Zelgius of the Galactic Alliance,” she said, a little out of breath as she gestured towards the still bowing Zelgius.

“Your Highnesses, I am deeply honored to meet you, though I wish the reasons were not so dire. Is there a place where we may speak in private? We have much to discuss, and very little time to do so,” he said, rising from his bow as he did so.

The Princess of the Sun had an unreadable expression on her face as she studied the strange being before her. Slowly, she approached the admiral, then held out a hoof to him. Almost hesitantly, Zelgius reached out and took it, shaking it gently. “Of course admiral, we will have a meeting place prepared. I would also like to thank you for bringing my student home safely, though I would like to know how she fell into your care in the first place,” Celestia said carefully.

“Aliens kidnapped me and took me to a horrible prison, where terrible experiments took place,” Twilight piped in as she drew closer to her mentor. “I managed to escape with the help of some of the other captives there. His people found us and brought us home.”

“Is that so?” Celestia said, her eyes softening as she listened to Twilight's brief explanation. “Then it appears that I am in your debt, admiral.”

He chuckled at this. “Don't thank me just yet. Let's just survive the day, then you can thank me.” he said ominously.

“What do you mean by that?” Princess Luna asked apprehensively.

“I mean that war is upon you. The race that kidnapped the young miss Sparkle is coming here. We managed to get here ahead of them, though I can tell you they are not far behind,” he said gravely. Everypony there seemed shocked at his words except for Celestia for some reason. “However, this isn't really the place for such talk. Could we head somewhere more private? We should also have your generals and tacticians with us when we speak. They need to hear what needs to be said.”

“...Very well, right this way,” Celestia said, motioning with her hoof.

Twilight made to follow, but was prevented from doing so as something small, purple, and covered in scales shot out of the crowd and latched itself onto her, effectively arresting her movement. It took Twilight a second to realize it was Spike, and only a little longer to realize that he was crying. He seemed to be trying to say something, but all that came from his mouth was incomprehensible mumbling. “...Thought I lost you...” he finally managed to say.

Twilight gently enfolded the wyrmling in her hooves, tears streaming down her face as well. She gently hushed as she held the quivering dragon, planting a small kiss on his scaly forehead. “There were times that I had thought I had lost you too, Spike,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “I'm just glad to finally be home.”

Spike said nothing, but answered by squeezing Twilight a little bit tighter, almost as if he thought she might disappear on him again.

I'm finally home... Twilight thought to herself, as she gently smoothed Spike's spines. I just wish that danger hadn't followed...

* * *

Hale watched the uneasy exchange between the alabaster princess and the admiral, acutely aware that if things turned sour, he'd have the distinct honor of playing as the admiral's getaway vehicle. However, when he saw the two shake hooves/hands, he audibly gave a sigh of relief, hope leaping in his chest.

Feeling a whole lot lighter, he leaned forward and opened a channel to The Jolly Roger. “Jolly Roger, Pitstop. The bird has landed, and has made peaceful contact with the natives. Proceed with defensive measures, but don't land any Kingfishers yet, we still need permission before the guns can be deployed, over.”

“Copy that Pitstop, beginning preparations now. Hurry though, we need those guns on the ground ASAP. No bogies yet, but I can't promise that it will stay that way." Hale heard Major Morris reply through the comlink.

Satisfied that his work was done for now, Hale unstrapped himself from his seat and made his way to the shuttle's docking ramp. A quick glance around told him that there were still plenty guards surrounding the shuttle, their gazes locked on the landing craft as if daring it to do anything suspicious. Not wanting to antagonize them, he slunk deeper into the craft, closing the door as he did so.

This, of course, elicited some uneasy movement from the assembled guards, but when nothing else happened, they calmed down again. I really have to hand it to them. They are remarkably well disciplined, especially given that aliens just made planetfall, despite our peaceful intentions, he thought to himself.

He continued to watch the outside for a little bit longer through the computer console located at the side of the door. He was startled at first when he saw a small pudgy lizard weave its way up to Twilight, but smiled when he realized that the creature was giving the purple unicorn a hug. The tears in the lizard's eyes, plus the distinct, musical sound of the Equestrian language coming from its mouth gave Hale little doubt as to the reptile's sapient status. The creature was really quite cute, though it made Hale scratch his head a bit at the species diversity shown on this planet. Something is definitely screwy about this place... he thought to himself as he turned back to the shuttle's control console.

“What the heck are you doing in my seat?” he asked the poofy pink pony who had somehow appeared in the cockpit.

“Well, I thought that since you had nothing to do, and you and your friends up in that spaceship are brand new to Equis, I could throw you all a “Welcome to Equis!” party! I already have a place rented out, and I have all the treats and decorations set up, now all I need to do is deliver all the invitations!” Pinkie Pie said hurriedly as she held up a large stack of pink envelopes.

“You have invita- wait, you had it all set up in advance?” he asked incredulously.

“Yesiree! Everything is ready, just need to deliver these!” she replied, holding the invitations up again.

Hale's brain just about seized up at that point. “...But, how did you know we were coming?” he asked, almost afraid of the answer he was going to get.

“Well, duh, of course I didn't know if you were coming, thats why I made these! After you respond to them, THEN I'll know whether or not you're coming!” she replied, again as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Hale, of course had had enough at that point.

“But how did you know to plan a party at all? For that matter, how did you know we were even coming to Equis?” he asked incredulously.

"Why else would I have made this many invitations, if not for a superterrific alien party?"

“Gah...I think you hurt my brain...” Hale said as he collapsed into one of the shuttle's chairs.

* * *

Rainbow Dash was bursting with questions. Questions, unfortunately, which had to wait for now. She might be a little impatient at times, but she knew 'I need some alone time with somedragon' when she saw it.

Besides, she thought, as she quickly flew away from Canterlot City. I'm pretty sure that Applejack and the others need to know what's happening.

* * *

Celestia slowly eased herself into her seat, with her sister taking the seat directly to her right. The room they had led the strange alien to was a conference room used for state meetings, usually used during peaceful times as a place to discuss law and policy for all of Equestria. The room was rather large, and richly appointed, with a large, round oak table dominating the center of the room. Directly behind Celestia was the Equestrian banner, which depicted the two royal alicorns forever locked in the cycle of night and day. The room was usually a boring place, where nothing exciting ever happened.

However, as the strange alien took his place on the other side of the table, Celestia couldn't help but feel a thrill of fear at the knowledge that this room was going to be used for far more violent reasons than Equestria's tax code.

As soon as all of Celestia's advisors and military commanders were seated, Admiral Zelgius reached into his pocket and withdrew a small flat silver disk. He fiddled with it with his long slender fingers for a second, then looked up at the assembled Equestrians. “My good people, I come before you as an emissary of peace, though my reasons for doing so are anything but peaceful,” he said as he tapped the device once.

Instantly there was a flash of light from the disk. As soon as everypony could see again, they found that some sort of strange, tentacled biped had appeared on the center of the oak table. The gasps and muttering sounds that followed this display were quite disturbing, as was the creature depicted. “This is a Dridune,” Zelgius said without much preamble. “They are a sapient, highly intelligent race of creatures with some natural ability in the area of psychic manipulation. Every Dridune from an early age is able to broadcast their thoughts and feelings to those around them, though that does not give them any degree of control over others, or the ability to read thoughts themselves,” he said with a fair bit of venom in his voice.

A pegasus by the name of Low Flier raised his hoof at that moment. “As fascinating as that is, why show us this strange creature? What we want to know is why you come to us, with your ship that instigated a mass panic and riot among our citizens, as well as disrupted our trade and commerce,” he said gruffly.

Zelgius gave the yellow pegasus a look that Celestia instantly recognized. It was the same look that Shining Armor gave Low Flier whenever Shining thought that Low was being an insufferable prick. “This creature's race is the whole reason we are here. They are coming to your planet, fully intent on either enslaving your entire populace or burning your world to the ground,” Zelgius said curtly.

The uproar that followed this statement was immediate and loud. However, a single stomp of Luna's foot against the oak table quickly calmed the assembled ponies. “I would hear what the Admiral has to say before shouting his ears off,” she said, a stern glare delivered to the rest of the room.

Almost as if they were ashamed at their behavior, the assembled ponies looked down at their hooves. “Good, now, if you could continue, Admiral, why would they come here to conquer?” she asked calmly.

Zelgius smiled at her thankfully. “Thank you Your Highness. To answer that question though, I will need to explain one other thing about them and their abilities. As I said before, these creatures have no natural way to control others with their mind. That is, they have no way of controlling others unless they first augment and train themselves to use this ability. Dridune that undertake this process are known as Psywarriors, and are among the most deadly and terrifying creatures that anyone can ever face,” he said with a shudder.

Celestia was about to question the Admiral further, but was interrupted by a harrumph from Celestia's left. Celestia knew instantly who it was without even looking, though that didn't stop her from slowly turning her head towards the pompous prince.

“So what, they come to control us with their spooky mind powers? While this is all highly entertaining, the only proof that we have is on your word alone. What makes you think we would believe any of this at face value? All you've done so far is scare the living daylights out of everypony in the city, then you expect us to believe that invaders are coming unless we put our faith in you? Who's to say that you are not the invader, and that this is all an elaborate trap, set to enslave us with the very same situation you claim to be here to stop?” Blueblood asked pompously, his chin thrusting out aggressively as he spoke.

Zelgius fixed the prince with a flat look. He opened his mouth, but was interrupted before he could even form the words. “My personal student has vouched for his honesty. Not only that, but I have additional evidence to support the Admiral's story. Until he and his kind turn on us, I have decided to take his word at face value for now, and I would ask that he remain uninterrupted until he finishes his presentation,” Celestia said dismissively.

The assembled ponies did not look happy at this, though they wisely decided to keep their peace for now. Luna, however, shot her sister a questioning look, to which Celestia leaned in and simply whispered “Lady Alala.”

Luna's eyes widened in surprise, but she showed no other outward sign of shock. “Anyway, as you were saying, I believe you were about to illuminate us on the capabilities of these 'Psywarriors' Admiral,” Luna said after composing herself.

Zelgius looked shocked that the two Diarchs seemed to not only be taking this well, but also trusted what he said was the truth. “Well, that's just the thing. We don't know all that they are capable of,” He said, deflating a little. “We've never been able to capture one for study, and whatever force or power they use to control minds is undetectable by our scanners. We know a few things from observation, such as that they can either directly control someone, or they can program the person to follow a set of instructions, or program them with a completely different personality entirely. We also know that they seem to have a limit as to how many they can control at a time. However, this limit is superseded when they use a device that we call a Planetjacker,” he said, pressing another button on the small disk.

Instantly the miniature Dridune was replaced with what appeared to be a small planet. Celestia could see two odd, yet identical shapes at both the northern and southern poles. The shapes looked like predator teeth, though Celestia knew of no predator that was so large. “The Planetjacker is a pair of devices that, when placed at both poles of a planet, allow a single Psywarrior to somehow enslave the entire populace, as well as anyone as far as a moon's reach,” Zelgius said as the two teeth speared both poles.

Slowly, the whole planet took on a sickly yellow color, and Zelgius sadly shook his head. “We are still completely baffled as to how they are able to do this. Any countermeasures we've developed have proven useless against them, and by themselves, the Psywarriors have single-handedly conquered seventy five worlds this way. The Planetjacker's only saving grace is that they are hideously expensive to create, and the materials used in their construction are exceptionally rare. They can only manage two sets per year, at best,” he said as a little bit of hopelessness entered into his voice.

Celestia looked at him with sympathy in her eyes, but before she was able to so much as express her sympathy, another voice piped in.

It was Lieutenant Iron Heart, and he looked a bit nervous at interjecting at this point. “I'm sorry to hear about that, really I am, these things sound terrifying. However, just playing Discord's advocate here, you still haven't answered Princess Luna's question. Why would they come here to conquer us? We haven't done anything to them, and they seem pretty set on conquering your Alliance, so why come here?” he asked, though he seemed to shrink under the stares of those around him.

At this, Zelgius seemed to smile a little. He didn't answer immediately, though. Instead, he fiddled with the device in his hands once more, and the image changed again. This time the only thing that it showed was a single pony that, by this point, was very familiar to everyone present. “Remember when I said that none of our countermeasures had worked on a Psywarrior? Well I was telling the truth about that. We still don't have a way to fight them on their own terms. Every attempt has resulted in failure, and every soldier we have sent against them have lost their free will to these monsters. We don't even have a way to free them after they've been captured, so any troops that switch sides are gone for good.” He said. However, instead of becoming more depressed, he seemed to become more excited as he finally reached the point he wanted to talk about. “However, two months ago, something that has never happened in the history of the war, happened. A Psywarrior was brought down.” He said dramatically. “Not just any Psywarrior either, this was their chief, and since the Psywarriors pick their leaders based on power, this is a huge deal. However, none of the people under my command were responsible for this feat. No, the one responsible was your very own Twilight Sparkle. Not only that, but she also proved that she could cure those who were afflicted by the Psywarrior's abilities.”

“They are coming to cleanse us, then,” Luna said, horror apparent in her voice. “They fear that you will use us to turn the tides of the war, and to stop this from happening, you think they would conquer or burn our world?”

Zelgius's head hung at this. “That is the long and short of it. According to Alliance law, my fleet stands ready to assist your planet in evacuating its citizens. The decision is yours however, and I will not force you to leave, nor will I force my aid upon you,” he said in resignation.

“I don't understand though,” a refined voice spoke from Celestia's left. Celestia glanced in that direction to see that Duke Fancy Pants had risen from his seat, a look of confusion and a little desperation on his face. “Why are they so dead set on conquering the galaxy? Surly there is enough room for everypony. Can we not reason with them?” the white and blue unicorn asked hopefully.

Zelgius merely shook his head. “You wouldn't be the first to ask that question. The last species that tried 'peaceful negotiations' were conquered in a single day. The Dridune sent a Psywarrior to 'handle' the negotiations. As you might expect, it didn't really work out,” he said sardonically.

“But why, though? Why are they so dead set on domination?” Fancy Pants asked, his confusion only mounting.

“The problem here is the Dridune see themselves as holy warriors, and their mission of galactic dominance is really more of a crusade. They don't believe in free will. Free will is a sin to them, and since you have the ability to resist them-”

“We would be considered unholy abominations, or even demons,” Fancy Pants finished for him in disgust, plopping back down in his seat as he spake. “Never in my life would I have considered myself an abomination,” he said ruefully. “Will we really need to evacuate though?”

Zelgius looked up at this, a glimmer of hope in his eye. “I don't think so. For the first time since this terrible business began, we actually have a shot at pushing them back, and I for one, am going to take it. We have thirty warships in orbit, ready to defend the planet with every life on board. We also brought a number of surface-to-orbit weapons ready to deploy on the surface of your planet. However, all of that will be useless if our soldiers are being controlled by the enemy,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his hand.

“And if we agree to aid you, what do you need from us? Food? Gold? Our first born?” Blueblood asked suspiciously. “If you ask me, the very fact that you brought all those weapons in the first place is reason enough to fear and suspect you,” he said accusingly.

If Zelgius took offense to Blueblood's accusation, he did not show it. “According to Galactic Law, we cannot land troops and weapons without permission from the native governing body, unless Psywarrior influence is detected within the ruling hierarchy. What we need from you is permission to defend your planet. We will also need you to shield our troops from the invader's mental domination. We brought our own food, our guns don't fire gold, and I can see no reason to demand your firstborn,” Zelgius said stiffly.

Zelgius's eyes then sought out those of Celestia's, and the Solar Princess could see hope burning within them. “We do not come to conquer, but to defend liberty, and with your help, I believe we can do just that.”

He then knelt before the assembled ponies. “Today, I do not represent the Galactic Alliance, but every free soul in the galaxy. Will you help us not only defeat the invaders of your world, but the invaders of all worlds?” he pleaded as he bowed his head before them.

* * *

“I still don't get it,” Hale said, his confusion mounting.

“It's simple! When my ears get floppy, and I have a crinkly knee, and my back itches, it means that I'm going to make a ton of new friends all at once! And I thought, 'what's the only reason why I would make so many new friends all at the same time?'” Pinkie asked slowly.

“...A party?” Hale asked uncertainly.

“Exactly! So I thought, 'I already know everypony in ponyville, so it must be in Canterlot where I'm going to meet all my new friends all at once! But a tingle in all four of my hooves also told me that Twilight was coming home, followed almost immediately with a twitchy tail, which means something was going to fall, so I thought there was only one logical explanation!” she said hurriedly.

“Somehow, I think that the only relationship you and logic have is one chasing the other out of the room with a bat,” Hale quipped.

Pinkie didn't seem to notice, however. She quickly sat up on her haunches, slicked her hair back, and held up her hooves in front of her. “The only logical explanation for Twilight coming home and me meeting a ton of new friends was...” she paused for dramatic effect. “...Aliens.”

"Of course it was," Hale said, rolling his eyes in the process.

* * *

Zelgius stayed on his knees for what seemed like forever. He could hear the assembled Equestrians whisper back and forth as they deliberated their decision. Every so often he would steal a glance upwards at the assembled ponies, to better gauge how things were progressing.

The blond maned, white unicorn seemed to be in a huddle with the yellow pegasus from earlier, while all the soldiers in the room had congregated to a corner all their own. The white unicorn with the blue mustache wasn't talking with anyone. Rather, he seemed to be trying to gage how the two Princesses would act.

Speaking of which, Celestia and Luna were completely ignoring the chatter around them, and were quietly whispering to each other. After a few minutes of this, the two nodded to each other, as if they had made a decision.

Luna rapped a single black-shod hoof on the table again, instantly drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “We have made a decision," she said, her face showing no emotion as she stared intently at the kneeling Simiate. “Not only will we protect your forces from the mental domination of your enemies, but we are prepared to aid you with whatever you require to free the other worlds conquered by these monsters.”

Several Equestrians immediately started to protest, namely the white and blond unicorn from before. However, Zelgius lept to his feet when he heard the news, his grin wide for all to see. I can't believe it! Politics never go that smoothly! he thought to himself.

Celestia cut off the protesters with a single wave of her hoof, her expression brooking no argument. “Our decision is final. We will forge an alliance with these people. However, before we begin, I feel we need to first decide how we are to best these Psywarriors. For that, we need the only one who has ever faced one and escaped unscathed,” Celestia said, her horn gently glowing with a soft, golden light. In response, a quill and parchment levitated in front of her from underneath the table, sporting the same aura as her horn.

Quickly Celestia penned a note, then, to Admiral Zelgius's alarm, she incinerated it.

“Is there something wrong, Admiral?” Celestia asked Zelgius calmly as the smoke from the fire quickly fled out of the room.

“No, nothing. It's just that...my people can't use magic. In fact, until we met Twilight, magic was a myth to us,” he said ruefully.

Celestia looked a little surprised at that. “Magic is one of the five fundamental forces of the universe! How can you be so advanced, yet ignorant of its power?” she asked. Zelgius noticed that her voice was neither condescending, or prideful. She was genuinely confused at his lack of knowledge.

He merely grinned roguishly at this, though. “How? I have no idea. However, an integral part of any alliance is the sharing of information. How about you teach us magic, and we'll teach you of our technology?”

Celestia's grin was just as impish, however it was tinged with sadness as well. “Let's first survive the onslaught, then see where the future takes us,” she said grimly.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! I also went through (some) of my previous chapters and (tried) to find all of my previous mistakes. Thank you so much for all of your input, advice and help!

Also, I know this is a little exposition heavy, but it was sorely needed before the Dridune arrived. Also, also, this battle wont be clear cut. It's gonna be epic, and huge, so keep an eye out for it!

Chapter XVI

A small, dark ship made its way through a most curious star system. The ship had observed dozens of worlds, had borne witness to hundreds of battles, and had recorded thousands of civilizations. The black vessel had been watching the war between the Alliance and Dridune since it had started, silently observing from the shadows of the void. This star system, however, was unlike every other known system in the galaxy. It lay within Alliance borders, but unusual gravitational forces made navigation difficult, and the Alliance was too busy with their war to properly finance an expedition of the system.

It traveled to the small life-bearing world, its magnetic propulsion drive struggling against the gravitation tidal forces as it entered orbit. It raced across the world's sky, collecting probes as it circled the globe. The ship had been here several times on its way from home to the war's front, each time it collected a little more data about the strange planet. Meteorological data, flora and fauna, all was of interest. Most importantly, though, the probes recorded the strange intelligent creatures of the world. They were of special interest.

The ship was nearly done when it detected something. Immediately the ship left orbit, leaving a few uncollected probes behind. It watched apprehensively as a fleet began to approach the planet. The ship moved quickly, hoping that the fleet wouldn't detect it.

That was unlikely since the ship had been built for stealth.

As the fleet headed directly for the planet, the ship ran, taking note of how the fleet began to take up positions orbiting the world as it left the system. The ship had to get beyond the boundaries of the star system, had to alert its superiors of this new development before it was too late. Once it had left the system's distortion field, it sent an urgent message, hoping that the armada would make it in time...

* * *

Rear Admiral Petran looked over the assembled ponies, simultaneously excited and dreading this meeting. It was always hard, briefing a new species about the enemy they faced. Luckily for him, Admiral Zelgius had done most of the hard work, having been the one to convince the natives that the threat they faced was very, very real. However, as helpful as that was, it still fell to him to make sure that the natives knew that their previous tried and true tactics were obsolete. He had seen it all; disbelief, rage, fear, mistrust, pride, all because some alien species had made it its mission to wipe out the fundamental concept of free will.

...And it was his distinct honor to plan the defense of this world, while simultaneously heading off both native resistance and native panic.

Yay me... he thought as he mentally shuffled through his presentation. Sure, Admiral Zelgius was there to back him up if needed, but Zelgius was in charge of Naval Intelligence, not Naval Operations. As such, Zelgius's gifts lay in long term planning and espionage, not in the actual planning and tactics involved with defending a world from invasion.

That was why he had shoehorned Rear Admiral Petran into joining him on this crazy endeavor. Not only did Rear Admiral Petran have plenty of experience in the area of planetary defense, but he also owed the crazy simiate a favor.

However, most of the ponies present were military, which meant that he wouldn't have to stop and explain certain aspects of his presentation. They would understand such basic concepts as choke points and key areas, but they might be stubborn about the new tactics that he was about to introduce to them.

After all, it's been over seventy-five years and the Lionel Prides are still having trouble adapting their tactics to evolving tech and circumstance, Petran thought in exasperation. No reason to suspect anything different here, especially given that their tech is so much further behind the Lionels when we first encountered them.

The dark skinned human ran a nervous hand through his hair as he thought about the task in front of him. No matter how many times I go through this, it never gets any easier. Not to mention that these people actually have the key to winning this war. No pressure. Just that, if you mess this up, the whole galaxy is doomed... he thought grimly to himself.

As he cleared his throat, with worries and hopes both chasing themselves around in his head, he was surprised when a hoof shot up before he even began his presentation. “Excuse me admiral, but before we get started, I just needed to know a few things,” the gray, 'children of the night' themed pony said boldly. He seemed to be a pegasus, though instead of the classic feathered wings, he had bat-like ones. There were a few other differences as well, such as the slitted, cat-like eyes and the fangs that poked out to give him a slight overbite, making him look like nothing less than a vampiric pony.

Rear Admiral Petran had to seriously fight the desire to ride that magnificent pony into battle.

“Yes...?” Petran asked, a little distracted.

“Captain Nightfall, sir, I was just wondering, is it safe to assume that current military doctrine is obsolete?” the pony asked, completely taking Petran by surprise.

“...Um, what?” Petran asked, not quite sure if he had heard the pony correctly.

“Well, it's obvious that spears and arrows aren't going to cut it, especially if we're dealing with interstellar vehicles and futuristic, comic book-style armor and weapons. Thank you again for talking to us instead of bombarding us from orbit, by the way,” a dark blue, wingless, hornless pony with tri-colored hair quipped.

“Not to mention that the enemy is probably going to be arming its ground troops with higher caliber weapons than what we can produce, probably on level with any of our battlemage's AOE spells, so rank and file tactics aren't going to work either,” a white unicorn cut in with a thoughtful look on her face.

“Uh...”

“In fact, its probably safer to count the number of things that aren't obsolete. I'm thinking Unicorn magic and, to a smaller extent, Pegasus and Earth pony magic,” Nightfall said as Petran tried desperately to figure out what was going on.

“That is, of course, if you assume that magic even works on these bloody nightmares. For all we know, they could have some sort of magical cancellation effect, where even our most powerful spells simply dissipate against their hides,” the dark blue 'normal' pony said grimly.

Admiral Petran was totally thunderstruck. He had seen generals scoff at his tactics, been shouted at by a room full of angry lizards, and had had an entire planet basically tell him that his services would not be required.

This was something new entirely.

Before Petran could even think to attempt to regain control of the situation, a loud hoof stomp echoed through the room, quickly silencing the assembled soldiers. “Ponies, as much fun as it is to speculate at how our tech and tactics stack up against our comic book fantasies, I believe it would be far more productive if we actually let the poor admiral tell us what we're dealing with,” a rather large bat pony said with a huff.

“Thank you...?”

“Dark Seeker, Captain of the Night Sentinels,” the pony said briefly.

“Well, thank you captain. I don't get to say this very often, but Nightfall and the others are completely right. Anything you thought about tactics are effectively null and void, largely because of the radically different technology that the enemy is going to be using on the field. Melee weapons and tactics are largely unused except in very rare circumstances, and even then it is only used as long as it takes to get to your ranged weapons,” Admiral Petran said as he pressed a few buttons on his projector. Instantly the specs and readout for a 98-Chilsta Beam Rifle replaced the static image of the planet Equis.

The assembled ponies looked suitably impressed, but unsure at what they were looking at at the same time. “Is that some kind of weird crossbow?” Dark Seeker asked in confusion.

Petran shook his head as this. “It is a ranged weapon, but unlike any you have encountered. This is a beam rifle. It is a weapon that fires an incredibly focused beam of light, which reaches its target with a high degree of precision and speed. It is fast, has little to no downtime between shots, and is able to cut through two inches of steel after only a single shot. Its beam cannot be maintained for an extended period of time without overheating the weapon, which is why it fires in short bursts. Most, if not all, of the enemies you will face will be armed with a weapon very similar to this one.”

“Kind of sounds like Glitter Stone's Solar Cutter spell," the white unicorn from earlier said slowly. “If they are able to arm their common rank and file soldiers with these weapons, we're going to be in sorry shape indeed.

"...Wait, what?" Petran asked quickly.

"Yes, but that also means that the dissipation wards on our armor might still be an effective counter, meaning that our soldiers might stand a chance against that kind of firepower," the dark blue normal pony said.

"Not if it's against a hundred of those things. Those wards only stop so much," the unicorn countered.

“Quiet you two," Dark Seeker said in irritation. "Will we have access to these weapons?”

Petran just shook his head in disbelief. “You will, we will even train you in their use. But if the enemy arrives before we are finished with the training, we will have no choice but to refrain from arming you with these,” Petran said briskly. There was an outcry at that last statement, to which Admiral Petran simply raised a single hand and shook his head. “I'm sorry, but we cannot afford any friendly fire on the battlefield. We only brought so many weapons with us, and they would serve far better in the hands of those that actually know what they are doing.”

The assembled ponies grudgingly agreed to this, which allowed Petran time to gather his thoughts as he switched the projector back to the view of the planet. Wards? Spells? I really need to know more about this "magic" stuff. What can it do? What are its limitations? he thought to himself.

He didn't brood on that subject for long, however, seeing as how he had a much more important matters to discuss. “However, all of that is somewhat moot at this point. Most of the battle isn't even going to take place on the ground. Instead, the whole planet's fate is going to be determined among the stars.”

Instantly the three dimensional representation of the planet Equis was surrounded by a large number of ships. “The enemy, if given the chance, would either bombard the planet from orbit, or deploy their Planetjackers. They would never even bother with ground combat if they could manage it,” Admiral Petran said as the holographic globe was bombarded by the fleet. The fleet then disappeared to make way for a pair of tooth-shaped craft that Zelgius had shown them earlier. The two devices then made their way to the poles of the planet and speared them, slowly turning the whole planet a sickly yellow color.

At this, the assembled ponies began to mutter amongst themselves nervously, many of them pointing at the globe as they tried to figure out a counter for this strategy. Finally, the dark blue 'normal' pony from earlier raised a hoof, a look of confusion on his face. “I'm sorry, but if things are that hopeless for the ground battle, why even gather us together? And why show us these 'Beam Rifles' if we are never going to be using them in battle? It seems to me that you've either got the whole battle yourselves, or we lose our planet,” he said.

“What was your name soldier?” Petran asked as he eyed the pony.

“Low Captain Knight Breeze, sir,” the pony said with a salute.

“Well captain, I gathered you together to show you this,” Petran said as he pressed a few more buttons on his holoprojector. The projection was replaced again, this time with what looked like a dome with several cylinders sticking out of it. “This is a Mark-VI Anti-Orbital Kingfisher Cannon. A single cannon is capable of repelling most ships over a small area, while a whole network can defend an entire planet. They are not infallible though. If there are too many targets, they will be unable to properly do their jobs. They require both aerial support and ground support if they are to function correctly.”

“Why ground support?” a white unicorn asked.

Once again, the view changed to reveal a large number of silver, pod-like craft descending towards the gun. The gun immediately began to fire upon them, but it quickly became apparent that there were too many for it to take on by itself. “The guns are equipped with protective shields and are programmed to give anything headed straight towards them top priority. However...” Petran trailed off as the silver pods made planetfall, then opened to reveal several humanoids armed to the teeth.

“They are weak to ground assault, and since too many targets can overwhelm them, can easily be defeated with a landing force.” Nightfall finished for him as the ground troops quickly overcame the gun's defenses. “I would also guess that enough firepower from above could overcome them as well, hence the need for air support.

“Correct. We will handle the air side of things, but we may not be able to take out all the landing craft that they send your way. The cannons are going to be the last line of defense, and your job will be to make sure that they do not fall.” Admiral Petran said grimly. The assembled ponies straightened up at this, their job now clear in their heads.

“That brings us to our next point of interest: we need space to place these weapons. Our computers have already scanned the planet, and we have determined that a placement like so,” at this, the ruined Kingfisher was replaced with a view of the globe once again. This time their were a number of red dots positioned in an almost random way all across the globe. “Would give us the best coverage and allow our ground forces the best possible chance of defending those guns.”

Admiral Petran swept over the assembled ponies with his gaze. “Defending those guns won't be easy. Many will die, we may lose many of those guns before the day is done, but you won't be alone. We have brought with us a small army, each individual ready and willing to lay down their lives to protect your homeworld. However, as I have stated before, it is a small army. They will not be able to defend all of those guns by themselves. We will be stretched thin to the greatest extent of the word. At a guess I would say that we will only be able to send, at the most, a hundred men to guard each cannon. Because of this, the defense of those guns will fall largely into your... hooves...” he finished awkwardly.

Petran swept the assembled ponies with his gaze, only to stop on the alabaster hoof of Princess Celestia herself. “Excuse me good admiral, but there is a problem with that particular placement of your guns. Many, if not most, of those guns will be placed on land that we do not own,” she said, her lips turned down in a frown.

That's not good... Admiral Petran thought to himself, a little taken aback by this statement. He was quick to recover though and sunk into a deep bow. “I apologize for my gall, but I had assumed that you and your sister ruled the entire planet. Please forgive me.”

“There is nothing needed to forgive, but tell me, why did you think that I and my sister ruled the entire planet?” Celestia asked with a tilt of her head.

Whatever the answer was, however, it was going to have to wait until later. “It is unimportant at this time. What is important is convincing the other nations of this planet to allow us to place our weapons, and hopefully help us protect them as well,” Petran said as he waved off the question.

“You are quite right,” the Solar Diarch said as her horn began to glow. In response, a single spot on the holographic globe lit up, detailing an area in the southern hemisphere. “I would suggest you begin here...”

* * *

“What do ya reckon it means, Mac?” Applejack asked her big brother as she nervously eyed the strange, glowing object that could be seen hovering in the night sky over the distant city of Canterlot.

Big Mac didn't respond immediately, instead choosing to move the piece of straw between his teeth from one end of his mouth to the other. “I don't rightly know, AJ,” he said calmly. “I think it's gonna spell trouble for all of us, however.”

“The ponies in town are going to be panicking, they'll be ask'n fer answers, and I got none ta give,” Applejack said with a sigh.

“Eyup.”

“Applebloom thinks it's aliens, and I honestly don't blame her. She says it's only a matter of time before we're all thrown into pods, if'n Spike's comic book collection can be believed about that sort of thing,” Applejack said slowly.

“Eyup.”

“What's worse is that we can't use the elements on this one, on account of Twi being missing and all. Would they even work on somethin' like that?” She asked, pointing in disbelief at the strange object.

“Wouldn't know, but it gives me the willies whenever I look at it,” Mac said as he spat out the piece of straw between his teeth.

“Do you reckon Dash, Pinkie and Spike are safe? Pinkie and Dash went to Canterlot to visit Spike over the weekend,” Applejack asked, her face a mask of concern.

“I don't reckon I know. I do know that the Princesses will do their best to see them safely home, not to mention they'd do their best to see us all safe from that thing,” Mac said after a bit of thought.

“Yer right, but it don't feel right to just sit here and-” Applejack started to say, but was interrupted when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

“Applejack!” Dash called out as she rapidly approached the two farm ponies, her rainbow colored contrail painting the sky behind her.

“Rainbow Dash! What in tarnation is going on? And what is that thing?” Applejack demanded, relief clear in her voice.

“Aliens, AJ, that's an alien vessel, but that's not really that important right now!” Rainbow said as she landed, a little out of breath from her rapid flight from Canterlot.

“How in the hay is that unimportant! If'n we're being invaded, we got ta do somethin and fast!” Applejack said as she turned and started to move towards her house. She was stopped in her efforts, however, when Big Mac held out a single massive hoof in front of her.

“Nope,” he said, his eyes locked onto Rainbow's.

“What in the blue blazes do you mean by that? We gotta-” Applejack started to say, but was cut off again when her big brother gave her 'the look'.

It clearly said 'I know you're worried, but let her finish before you make a mistake.'

Applejack just turned at that, fixing Rainbow with the stink-eye. “Okay Rainbow, spill. Why is the fact that aliens are invading not important?” she asked.

“Because they aren't invading! They brought Twilight home!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

“What!?” Applejack asked in disbelief.

* * *

Low Rider walked with purpose as he made his way back to his room. On the outside, he was the picture of calm, exuding nothing but confidence as he opened the door and ducked inside.

Once inside, however, he became a whole different pony as he quickly locked the door and threw his saddle bags onto his bed. His expression was that of worry, and his whole mannerism screamed 'I am in trouble'. Quickly, he stalked over to the mirror that stood beside his bookcase, then closed his eyes in concentration.

Almost instantly he was consumed by green fire, and his once cute pegasus exterior was rapidly replaced by a more frightful, insect-like one. His carapace was a sleek, black color, with a teal plate on his back and pupil-less eyes that matched. His limbs looked like a carpenter had gone to town on them with a drill, while his gossamer wings had a distinctly ragged flair to them.

He shook himself a little, his natural form feeling alien after so much time spent as a pony. He quickly recovered, however, then stepped closer to the mirror in front of him. His sharp, rhinoceros-like horn glowed green, causing the mirror in front of him to ripple like a pool of water at his approach. He then closed his eyes and stepped through the mirror without hesitation, vanishing from the room and from Canterlot entirely.

He opened his eyes as soon as the world stopped spinning, only to be greeted by the sight of the extra-dimensional space inside the mirror. In front of him was a large, green crystal, whose many-faceted surface revealed the face of his queen. He dropped into a deep bow in respect, awaiting his queen's will.

“Arise Zigg, what news from Canterlot?” she asked impatiently.

“My Queen, strange beings have come from beyond the stars and have landed in Canterlot. They claim that another alien species is coming to Equis to lay waste to everything around us,” he said as he got to his feet.

Chrysalis stared at him for a bit, trying to detect if the drone in front of her was attempting some sort of prank. “Aliens? Really?” she asked flatly.

“It is true, milady. Already the news of a fireball across the night sky is spreading through Equestria, and by tomorrow you will have reports of a strange metal object hovering above the city,” Zigg said without guile.

“What do they want?” she asked, her piercing glare fixed on the changeling in front of her.

“Apparently they are here to protect the planet from an alien menace known only as 'the Dridune'. I do not trust them in the slightest, there is no possible way that they come here to defend us against this unknown threat, with no other motivation than the goodness in their hearts,” Zigg said.

Chrysalis however did a double take when she heard the name of the so-called invaders, her double ringed eyes narrowing in fear. However, Zigg seemed to not have noticed this, as he continued his report of what had happened. “The aliens wish to place a number of weapons around the planet to ensure our 'safety', and will be sending a delegation to our hive tomorrow to negotiate for a portion of our land as well as military aid,” he said with a bow.

“Do they know where our hive is?” Chrysalis asked quickly.

“They do not, my Queen. The Equestrians did direct them towards the badlands, but since they themselves do not know our home's location, they will never be able to locate-”

“Zigg, I want you to give the Equestrians an anonymous tip, telling them that we will meet these visitors in the Valley of Kings,” Chrysalis said, interrupting him.

“...Yes my queen,” Zigg said in confusion.

“Also, release Low Rider and return home, you will be needed here,” Chrysalis said grimly.

Author's Note

Well, after much work, deliberation, stalling and broken promises, here is the next chapter of The Nautilus Protocol! Thank you all so much for being patient with me and waiting so long for me to write the next chapter, you guys are saints!

By the way, if you guys were wondering at the military ranking system of the ponies, you can find a full explanation on their command structure here.

Anyway, I hope that this lived up to your expectations. If you were wondering why Big Mac and AJ seemed so nonchalant, I was sitting there, wondering how I would approach the ponyville pony's reaction to the approaching ship, and I thought: "wouldn't it be really funny if the two of them seemed completely unfazed by the whole ordeal? Big Mac more so then his sister?

The thought just felt right to me.

EDIT: made a mistake with the admiral's name. it was supposed to be Petran, not Petrine. sorry if that confused some of you.

Chapter XVIII

The mood on The Jolly Roger was tense. Everyone knew what was coming, they knew what was at stake, but they also knew that they wouldn't stand a chance. Most of the crew members were intelligence officers, spending more time sorting data or working undercover than fighting the front lines. Yes, their jobs could be deadly. Many had lost friends and colleagues while working undercover, but this was a whole different kind of deadly.

This was the reason why Petran was here in the first place. He had fought on the front lines. He had earned his rank the hard way: through the broken ships of his enemies. He had to admit, though; despite the hopelessness of their situation, he wasn't too disappointed to be reassigned to Zelgius' command.

With a cool air of authority, Petran strode through the corridors of The Jolly Roger, lifting spirits, giving orders, and complementing his crew as he went. Even though he had only been in command of this ship for a few short months, his presence was still a balm on their psyche; they had heard of his victories, they had heard of his triumphs. Even though the Alliance was still losing this war, he was still their most successful fleet admiral, and as such, he brought hope to those under his command.

At his side was the strange, bat winged pony named Night Fall. Despite being from different cultures, not to mention different technological periods, the two seemed to be cut from the same cloth. They were both serious, and knew what needed to be done. Under different circumstances, Petran might have enjoyed the company of the diminutive equine. However, in their current situation, he couldn't afford to let his guard drop for an instant.

During his trip aboard The Jolly Roger, Night Fall had been issued a translator to help him understand just what was being said by the many, many crew members aboard the ship. The translator consisted of two small devices that rested comfortably inside his ears, as well as a small device that clipped to his armor. The device itself translated any audible information into his language, though not nearly at the speed that the implanted ones did. Night Fall had commented earlier that one of the princesses was working on a spell to translate for the ponies, but it wasn't ready yet.

This device had little to do with their current conversation, but it still aided him in talking not only to Petran, but also the the soldiers that they had met during the tour.

“We don't have enough troops to hold the ground,” Petran said, shaking his head a bit. “Even with your abilities, and the training we can provide, there is no way we can fend them off.”

The night pony was quiet for a moment as he thought about this. “We've already called up all of our active duty soldiers, and even the entirety of our reserves,” he replied slowly. “Unless we begin drafting ponies, this is all we have to offer.”

Petran hesitated at this. He was used to breaking bad news to primitive aliens, used to telling off other commanders for jeopardizing their people for the sake of traditions. But he never really cared for it. On top of that, he was starting to gain a huge respect for Night Fall, which didn't help matters in the slightest. “Look, I know it may be difficult, but we need every soldier we can muster. If that means you have to conscript them, then that's what must be done,” he said.

Night Fall sighed at this. “Look, everypony knows about you, about why your here, and about what's coming. What they don't know, however, is just how bad this is going to be. If we begin forcing ponies into the military now, it will start a panic. Not to mention it could stir up resistance to the princesses, and the last thing we need right now is a rebellion,” he said, though he paused for a moment to look up at the admiral beside him. “This world is a relatively peaceful one. While ponies, griffons, and zebras all maintain armies, we haven't had a major conflict in hundreds of years. We've grown to love peace, and many are horrified to let that go.”

There was a profound silence after this statement as the two continued down the corridor. Neither seemed to want to break it, either. However, as the two approached the bridge, Night Fall finally spoke up. “Alright, most ponies may be peaceful, but my people still have a strong military tradition. Everyone who is physically capable is expected to volunteer for service. I'll talk to Princess Luna, and see if we can't get some ponies to reenlist. Our numbers aren't great, but it should pad out our forces quite well.”

Petran gave a rare smile at this. “Thank you,” he said.

He was about to continue, but was interrupted when a voice shouted out to him from the direction of the bridge. “Admiral Petran!” the voice said, accompanied by heavy footfalls. Almost immediately following this, a young, female officer came charging around the corner. She came to an abrupt halt when she realized just how close the two were, giving the admiral a crisp salute as she did so.

“At ease,” Petran said casually. He had never been big on formality, and now was not the time to change that. “What's so important lieutenant?”

“There is something you need to see, sir,” she said, fighting to get back her breath.

Petran froze at this, as numerous fears danced through his brain. “Is it the Dridune? Are they here already?”

“No sir,” she assured him. “But you really must see this.”

Petran glanced down at Night Fall before returning his gaze to the young woman. “Alright, let's go,” he said.

The three started walking again, with the lieutenant leading the way. Oddly enough, Petran felt the need to break the silence with some introductions. “Night Fall, this is Lieutenant Hikari Enokida. She is one of our top navigators. Hikari, Night Fall here is a captain of the local military. He is also currently serving as liaison for the Equestrians.”

“It is an honor to meet you,” Hikari said, nodding her head in respect.

“Likewise,” Night Fall replied.

After the introductions, Hikari rapidly began explaining the situation. “Do you remember when we first arrived in the system?” she asked, but didn't wait for a response. “We had detected a small anomaly, if you recall. Our sensors told us that we had glimpsed an Einstein-Rosen Bridge.”

“What's that?” Night Fall cut in.

“The common term for it is a wormhole,” Petran replied. “It's a little difficult to explain, but the simplest way I could describe it is a hole in the fabric of space and time, with another hole at another spot somewhere in the universe. It creates a kind of tunnel between two places, allowing for almost instantaneous travel from one point to another. You could use it to travel from one end of your world to another in a matter of seconds.”

Night Fall still looked confused at this explanation, but he decided not to say anything else.

“Anyway,” Hikari continued. “We had sent out one of our scouts to the area, but there was nothing there. It was just gone. We just figured it must have been a glitch in the system, so we forgot about it and began a diagnostic on the sensors. However, as we were running this diagnostic, we spotted it again!”

She was getting more and more excited as she went on, her excitement reaching its peak as the three reached the bridge. They entered without much ceremony and made their way to the navigation panel, where she began to show the Admiral what they had seen.

“One of the Lionel ships was returning from recon duties when it detected another Einstein-Rosen Bridge, though this time it wasn't just something on the edge of their sensor range. Not only were they able to get data off of it, but they were able to get a little info from the other side. They were even able to catch a glimpse of a planet!”

Petran held up his hands to try to calm the lieutenant down. “Okay, I get it, but why is this so important you had to charge after me screaming?”

She gave him a broad smile at this. “Because it's gone.”

Petran just shook his head. “What does that have to do with literally anything?”

A flash of embarrassment crossed her face, but she immediately regained her excited mood. “When the Lionels first detected it, it had just recently appeared. However, it then disappeared approximately two point four seconds later. It literally opened, then closed seconds later. This defies almost everything we know about them! I think we may have just witnessed something that has never been seen before!”

“Or it was the Khallarae.” a voice interjected hesitantly. Instantly the mood of the entire room changed, as everyone stopped what they were doing. No one made a sound. No one moved. Petran shot upright at the comment, and looked around the bridge, trying to figure out who had said it.

After a couple of minutes of this, he straightened his uniform a bit, then cast a firm glare around the room. “It wasn't the Khallarae,” he said firmly. “They haven't cared about what happens outside their borders for twenty years.”

He paused at this, letting the words sink into the crew. “Despite all of the rumors you may have heard, the Khallarae aren't some massive evil empire. They can't destroy entire star systems, they can't wipe out whole fleets without a trace, and they certainly can't teleport across the entire galaxy. They are just isolationists, who don't want to deal with other people's problems. Now I suggest you all get back to your duties, and forget about the Khallarae.”

He then turned back to Hikari, and dropped his voice down to a less audible volume. “Keep looking into these anomalies, but don't let it distract you from your duties.”

Night Fall and Petran then left the bridge, though it seemed that they weren't going anywhere in particular. Night Fall also noticed that Petran was unnervingly silent.

“What's the Khallare?” Night Fall asked, breaking the silence.

Petran didn't answer at first. It was clear that his composure was slipping, despite telling his crew to not worry about it.

“They are a species from the opposite end of the Alliance from the Dridune,” he said quietly. “We've known of them for a while now, but still know very little about them. Our first contact scenario with them involved them capturing one of our exploration vessels, and imprisoned her crew. We received a message soon after, telling us never to cross their borders again. We never did find out what happened to our ship, or our people, but High Command didn't think it was important enough to start a war with another species, especially one that we knew so little about.”

As he talked, Night Fall noticed a slight tremble in his voice, almost as if the usually solid admiral was afraid.

“When I received my first command,” he continued, his face an unreadable mask. “I was stationed on the border of the Jakra. Not long after my posting, though, the Khallarae invaded Jakra space. My ship was close enough to the action, allowing us to hear everything.”

“What happened?” Night Fall asked hesitantly.

“From what we could tell, the Jakra never saw a single Khallarae ship. Systems just went dark, and nothing was ever heard from them again. The Alliance didn't want to get involved in another war, so we remained neutral,” he said with a sigh. “One day, an unaffiliated trading vessel was moving through the Jakran system just before it went dark. They reported detecting hundreds of wormholes, just before they received a message telling them to surrender. The trading vessel sent a message back, stating that they were just spice traders, having no other affiliation with the Jakra. They were allowed to leave, though they were given a warning to never enter Jakra space again. After this, the Alliance tried to broker a peace deal between the two warring species. It was difficult, but the Khallarae finally agreed to stop attacking Jakra systems. In exchange, however, they were allowed to keep what they had conquered. To this day, we still don't know why they attacked.”

He took in a deep, cleansing breath after this, letting his body relax as Night Fall absorbed the information that had been dumped on him. “That was the last we heard from them,” Petran finally said, shaking his head.

The two continued down the corridor in silence after that, their thoughts more than enough to keep them occupied.

* * *

“Um... excuse me?” Hale asked, a little confused at the turn of events.

“Did I miss something here?” Captain Breeze agreed.

As the Equestrians and their allies looked on in confusion, a rather stocky looking changeling dressed in dark blue armor stepped forward, chattering unintelligibly to his queen in alarm. She quickly got up from her bow to turn and snap at him irritably in that same language. This seemed to have the desired effect, and the changeling quickly backed down, bowing to his queen submissively.

Chrysalis nodded at this, then turned and faced Captain Hale and Captain Breeze again. “I apologize for my swarm leader's manners, he can be a little overzealous at times. May I know your names, noble Night Sentinel and Star Warrior?” she asked the confused pair.

“My name is Captain Zachary Hale, of the Galactic Alliance,” Hale said with a bow, his new rank still sounding odd in his ears.

“Low Captain Knight Breeze of the Night Sentinels,” Captain Breeze said, also bowing to the Changeling Queen. Hale took note that, while Captain Breeze had shown confusion and apprehension before, that was nothing but a memory now as used a more suave and debonair tone. “I must admit, this is an unexpected pleasure to meet with the Queen herself.”

“Come, we have much to discuss, and not very much time to do so,” she said with a nod of her head. “If you would care to follow me, my changelings have erected a pavilion where we may discuss the future in relative comfort.”

Hale shot Captain Breeze a worried glance, to which the dust pony did not even acknowledge, preferring to instead follow the Changeling Queen. Captain Breeze might have seemed at ease, but Hale had been a soldier long enough to recognize when another soldier was nervous. While Captain Breeze might not have said anything of the sort, Hale knew that he was expecting Chrysalis to betray them at any moment.

“Jolly Roger, this is Hale. We've run into an unexpected situation. Instead of meeting with a representative, we've made contact with the Changeling Queen herself. She has apparently given us complete control over her lands and changelings. Our liaison with the equestrian government believes that this may be a trap. How shall we proceed?” Hale mentally messaged the orbiting ship.

While Hale waited for an answer, he saw no better course of action than to follow Captain Breeze's example. The tent itself was a rather lavish affair, being a a deep red color, with various throw pillows scattered about on the inside. Hale calmly entered, while simultaneously sending his marines a message using his hardware. “Stay outside and keep an eye out. According to Captain Breeze, their mind controlling trick can't pass through most metals, so I'll be safe, as will you as long as you keep your armor on. If anything happens in there, I'll give you the signal to come in guns blazing. Just cool it out here for now, though."

Both the simiate and the wolofor signaled their acknowledgement and stopped in their tracks, standing perfectly at attention while suspiciously eyeballing the changelings who also remained outside. Captain Breeze also signaled for his troops to remain outside, leaving him and Hale to deal with the queen by themselves.

As Hale and Captain Breeze took their seats on the cushions, his communicator finally buzzed to life, telling him that orders from his superiors were inbound. “Stay on your guard, but continue to play along, for now,” he heard Major Morris say. “If she turns on you, you are authorized to use deadly force, though hopefully it won't come to that.”

“Expect the best, but prepare for the worst?” Hale asked.

“Standard procedure,” the major affirmed.

“I'm expecting you to have a lot of questions for me, and they will be answered in time,” Chrysalis said, bringing Hale back to the matter at hand. “However, we have more pressing matters to attend to. My sources tell me that you need a number of locations in my desert to place your weapons, as well as troops to help defend them.”

“That is correct, Your Highness,” Hale said, remembering his manners despite the weirdness of the situation.

“And you shall have them,” Chrysalis said with a wave of her hoof.

“I apologize, Your Highness, but don't you have a few questions for us?” Captain Breeze asked with a quizzical tilt of his head. “You have yet to even hear of the threat, much less know how much land we need.”

“Do not fret, I am not an idiot. I have plenty of questions, but only some preliminary ones about the slave armies that we will face, as well as a few about training available forces,” Chrysalis said as a changeling poured some sort of red liquid into three crystal goblets. One was levitated towards her, while the other two were levitated to the two captains. Hale and Captain Breeze both took the proffered drinks, though Hale set his down, fully expecting it to be poisoned in some way. Captain Breeze, on the other hand, put the cup to his lips and gently sipped.

Or, at least he made a show of sipping the liquid. Hale's software had analyzed the cup Captain Breeze was holding, and had not detected even the tiniest drop in the crystal container's liquid level. Clever, Hale thought to himself.

Chrysalis, on the other hand, took a couple of sips before continuing. “As for how much land you need, and the danger you face, I already know the answer to both of those. You face the Willslayer, the Grand Dridi, Lord Tyranny, the Whisperer of Insanity. He has other names, though most cannot be said in polite company,” she said, setting her glass down. “I would give everything that I posses, even my own life and the lives of my children, to ensure that he and his slaves are brought down. It is my purpose, my destiny, and the destiny of the changeling race. When you are ready, so shall we be. When the time comes, we will use everything that we have to bring this dream to fruition. Of that, you have my solemn oath.”

“I beg your apology, Your Highness, but we're not fighting a 'Lord Tyranny'. We're fighting a race known as the Dridune,” Hale said, a little confused. Hale then began to elaborate, but stopped when he realized that Chrysalis was reciting word for word everything that Hale was saying.

“They are a sadistic race of creatures that use their mental abilities to enslave all those that they see as lessers?” she said, raising one of the ridges of her eyes, much like how a human would raise an eyebrow. “Their physical weapons may have changed, as has their faces, but the Dridune are known to us, as is their ageless, immortal, god-like king. You probably know him by some other name: The Emperor, The Master of All, or He Who Brings Order. Or maybe he has taken up a new moniker since his banishment. I believe that I know more about him than you do, mighty Star Warrior, and let me say that you should be quite grateful that his banishment is still in place. The Emperor's mental powers far outstrip those of his underlings.”

“...How do you know all of this?” Hale asked, dumbfounded at the changeling's knowledge.

“Let me start by explaining a misconception you seem to have,” Chrysalis said, taking another sip of her wine. “The name 'Dridune' does not specify a single race, or force. Rather, it denotes those whom are the Willslayer's most trusted slaves. He only gives this moniker to those whom he has cursed with a fraction of his power, to be his slave drivers, his overseers. In modern equestrian, the name 'Dridune' improperly translates to 'Your Masters'. A more correct translation would be 'Slave Overseer,' though that is still not completely correct.”

Captain Breeze nodded his head a little. “Twilight Sparkle mentioned that, though she didn't seem to know the more correct meaning of the word.”

“That is because Ancient Equestrian is a long dead language. It is highly unlikely that she would know the true meaning of the word, because any manuscripts she would have read on the subject would have been second hand sources at best. The language has grown, evolved, changed since it has been in use. Right now, there are probably only six individuals who fluently speak this dead tongue.” Chrysalis told him.

“This still doesn't answer my question on how you already know about the Dridune, or about how you know about their Emperor,” Hale said, folding his arms impatiently.

Chrysalis just sighed at that, then swirled her drink a little. “...I will explain myself fully, but not here. Not now. What I need to say must be said to you, as well as to the Solar Diarch,” Chrysalis said, finishing her drink. “I believe I must ask that, for now, you trust me when I say that I am on your side, and that it is impossible for you to find anyone who wants the Willslayer dead more than me.”

The two captains just stared at her for the longest time, before Captain Breeze finally nodded his head. “I believe you, though you will need to explain yourself sooner, rather than later.”

“And I will. First, I must address my hive. I must explain some things that I and the other matriarchs have kept hidden for a very long time, as well as deal with the resulting backlash. In three days time, however, I will fly for Canterlot. What I have to say can only be said there, in front of the Two Sisters, as well as under the gaze of The Wanderer,” she said cryptically as she rose to her feet.

Taking this as a sign that their interview was over, the two captains also rose to their feet. “When is the earliest possible time that we can begin deploying our weapons?” Hale asked her.

“You may begin to deploy them on the morrow. You may also begin to deploy your weapons in Saddle Arabia on the morrow as well; the Sultan and I are very close. He is the only other living individual who knows everything that I will tell you, and will be there tomorrow to hear what I have to say,” Chrysalis said with a bow.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Hale said, returning the bow.

Author's Note

Well, here you go! Plot twists galore!

If you have any thought or theories about what Chrysalis knows, go ahead and leave them in the description!

Chapter XIX

“Jolly Roger, this is Major Kurai. I should be at the Griffon Arie within ten minutes. How's things on your end?” Kurai asked curiously.

“We've started laying mines in the surrounding space, and Major Jivat has already begun placement of the sensor arrays on Equis's moon. Admiral Zelgius has reported that Miss Sparkle and Princess Luna have already begun training the anti-mind rapers, stating that they will be ready for when the time comes. Our marines have already begun meeting with the Equestrian Military to begin training soldiers, while our engineers have begun retrofitting armor and weapons for equestrian use,” Major Morris reported.

Kurai scratched his horns at that, wondering how the engineers would get around the equestrian's 'no digits' handicap. “I've got to say, they've got their work cut out for them. How do our engineer think the equestrians will be able to use the new weaponry?”

“Some of our engineers have suggested implants and power armor, but the equestrians shot them down on that one,” Major Morris answered.

Kurai sighed at that. “I can't really blame them. Up to this point, the most technologically advanced thing they've dealt with are movie projectors and radios. The idea of having machinery implanted in your skull is an advancement that a lot of our troops are still having trouble stomaching. I mean, this is an elective surgery we're talking about. It's not like they're just taking a pill and are suddenly able to speak with computers.”

“You're right, though the engineers think that they might have a workaround. The chief says that they might be able to rig together an external neural pickup for the armor,” Major Morris said.

“An ENP? Aren't those a little primitive?” Kurai asked.

“When compared to neural implants, yes. But, they will still get the job done. Even with the slower reaction times, the equestrians will still be highly effective, considering that they have access to this 'magic', however it works. They'll be able to withstand a pulse rifle blast, as well as wield a beam rifle, so it's better than where they were before,” Morris answered.

Before Kurai was able to ask anything else, however, he was interrupted by his pilot. “Sir, we're approaching the Arie, though I think we have company, if those Griffons flying alongside us are any indication of that sort of thing.”

“I'm going to have to call you back, Morris. Looks like we've arrived,” Kurai said.

“Good luck. I've heard that the Griffons are supposed to be a proud lot, so I do not envy your current assignment,” Morris said, before signing out.

Kurai let out a sigh as he put down his datapad, not at all relishing what was about to happen. “Lieutenant Reynolds, what are the griffons doing? Have they started freaking out and attacking us yet?” the peli major asked.

“Uh... no sir. They appear to be directing us to land. They don't seem too surprised to see us, either,” the lieutenant answered.

Huh... did Celestia send word that we were coming? I certainly hope so, it will make negotiations so much easier... Kurai thought to himself.

After a few minutes of smooth flying, Lieutenant Reynolds landed the pod with a slight bump. Kurai took a moment to steady himself before exiting, needing a little time to prepare before facing the Emperor of Griffania, fully aware that the survival of these people rested on him being able to make a suitable case. Zelgius had told Kurai that the Griffon Emperor would be easy to sway, stating that Emperor Phelan and the Princesses had been friends and allies for quite a number of years.

That didn't make Kurai feel any less uneasy, though.

Finally, after stalling for what seemed like forever, Kurai opened the pod door and stepped out onto the griffon tarmac, fully expecting the worst.

Imagine his surprise, then, when he stepped out to several rows of soldiers, all standing at attention. Each of the griffon warriors wore old, medieval style full plate that shined brilliantly in the sunlight. In their talons they each gripped a pike, while at their sides they each wore a curved, nasty looking sword.

However, none of them looked threatening. In fact, they looked like they were on display. This impression was further solidified when, as soon as he had fully exited the pod, the ranks in front of him parted with a distinctly metallic chunk sound, allowing an aged griffon to approach the landing craft. “Welcome, noble visitor, welcome to the capital city of Griffania!” the wizened old griffon said with a bow. “I am Chief Steward Neese, by what name shall I announce you to the Emperor?”

“I am Major Jelinor Kurai of the Galactic Alliance Space Navy,” Kurai answered weakly. “Might I ask why you seem so... unfazed... by my arrival?”

“Chancellor Gustaf had sent word ahead that you were on your way. He didn't seem to know what you would look like, only that your vessel would be 'unlike anything we have seen before',” the steward said as he motioned for the major to follow him. “I admit, he was quite right about that. You very nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you coming in. I thought to myself: So help me, if you and your kind turned out to be some kind of slime monstrosities, I don't know what I would do. The halls alone would take ages to clean.”

“Um... yeah, that would have been a problem...” Kurai said, trying to make sense of what the babbling steward was saying. As the steward continued to talk, Kurai couldn't help but take note of the halls he was being led through. They were pretty impressive, in a distinctly medieval sort of fashion. Intricately woven tapestries hung from every wall, and decorative suits of armor dotted the corridor every twenty feet or so.

“Oh, but where are my manners? I need to take you to the Emperor immediately. He is already aware of your arrival, and will want to talk to you as soon as possible, to hammer out the details of our new alliance,” Neese said, bringing Kurai back to the present. “I must say, though, the thought of a war with an alien species does not sit well with me in the slightest. I only hope that we will be able to win the day. We are already drafting more soldiers, preparing them for the bloodshed that is to come.”

Before Kurai could ask the old griffon to elaborate, however, the two and their escort stopped in front of a set of impressively large double doors. The guards on either side pushed the doors open, allowing the steward and his charge into the hall beyond.

On the other side of those elaborately carved doors was the Emperor's throne room, which was truly worthy of that title. It was large and imposing, clearly designed to impress, or at the very least intimidate. Running down the center was a large, red carpet with gold trim, while on either side of this carpet were statues of crowned griffons, each holding some kind of weapon in their claws. In the back of the room sat the throne, upon which the Emperor of Griffania sat, flanked by two more Griffon soldiers.

The emperor was smaller than Kurai expected him to be, but no less imposing for what Kurai had to do. His plumage was a pure white, while his lion half was a much, much darker brown, almost looking black in comparison. On his head was a gold crown with green gems set in it, while at his side was a ornate, ceremonial sword.

“It is with great pleasure that I announce Major Jelinor Kurai of the Galactic Alliance Space Navy,” Neese said, waving a claw towards the major with some flourish and falling into a bow. “Major, this is his Excellency the ruler of all Griffania and its provinces, the Sovereign of the Skies, Emperor Phelan.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Excellency,” Kurai said with a bow.

Phelan just shook his head at that. “No, the pleasure is all mine. It is not every day that I get to entertain an alien visitor,” The Emperor said as he rose from his throne. “I hear from my envoy that you and your kind are here to defend us from some sort of terror?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. They are called 'the Dridune', and are-” the major started to say, but stopped when he saw that Phelan was quickly approaching him, the emperor's guards following close behind.

“I apologize for my rudeness, but before you begin to explain yourself, your reasons, and the enemy we will face, I would show you something,” he said with a gesture of his talon.

Slightly perplexed, Kurai fell in line behind the Griffon Emperor, acutely aware of the guards who were giving him the stink eye as he followed.

The Emperor led him through a side passage, through a maze of corridors, stopping finally at a seemingly random tapestry. The Emperor then turned and faced the peli, a single eyebrow raised. “What has Celestia told you of the Lady Alala?” he asked him curiously.

Kurai was caught a little off guard at this, but attempted to answer as best as he could. “Very little, Your Excellency. One of my compatriots is currently on his way to meet with her, to petition her for aid in the coming war. I do not know how well she will fair, however,” Kurai answered.

The griffon nodded his head solemnly, then looked up at the tapestry. “I would assume that your envoy would fair quite well...” he said, lost in thought.

“Why is that, Your Excellency?” Kurai asked.

Phelan did not respond immediately, instead choosing to study the tapestry in front of him more closely. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he spoke. “Two hundred years ago, my nation went to war with the island kingdom of Minos. For months, my ancestor planned the assault, down to the very last detail. We thought that we had the number advantage, the time, and the resources to easily take the minotaur's tiny island nation. It seemed like we were poised for victory,” he said with a bow of his head. “However, the day before the invasion, a blind zebra came to our doorstep under the banner of the Zebrican Tribes. She claimed that she had a message for my ancestor, and that it was urgent that she speak with him.”

“My apologies, Your Excellency, but I fail to see what this has to do with the matter at hand,” Kurai said politely.

“Patience, my friend. Patience. I am getting to that,” the emperor said with a sigh.

“Again, my apologies. Please continue,” Kurai said politely.

Phelan rubbed a single claw on his forehead, clearly thinking about what he had to say. “My ancestor let her in, purely by virtue of political niceties. At the time, my great, great grandfather had very little respect for the equine races. He saw them as slaves of the earth, the skies, and the heavens, rather than their caretakers, not even realizing just how powerful a bond like that is. He expected some sort of tribute, or message of friendship, or some other silly thing from the zebra. She was an annoyance to be humored, and little more,” Phelan said with a negligent wave. “What he got, however, was a warning. The blind oracle warned my grandfather that if he did not retract his design, not only would his army be shattered, but his family tree would be uprooted and burned, with only a single seed remaining of his once mighty line. Needless to say, my grandfather did not take kindly to that and had her thrown out. He ignored her, thinking her nothing more than a mad zebra, intent on scaring him into submission with her prophecy.”

Major Kurai kept his mouth shut, but inward he marveled at what he was hearing. Prophecy? Like the ancient seer Baznalt? He thought briefly.

“At any rate, he proceeded with his invasion. He said that history would know him as Kelwyn the Conquerer, the Emperor who finally brought Minos to its knees. He boasted that he would enslave the people of Minos, and bring their riches under his heel. He claimed that afterwards, he would begin a campaign that would sweep across the entire face of the earth, placing him as the Emperor of the whole world,” Phelan said sardonically. He then gestured towards the tapestry, his feathers ruffling slightly at the movement. “What actually happened was that he forever became known as Kelwyn the Foolish.”

Kurai finally examined the tapestry, his mind trying to make sense of the unfamiliar art form. It seemed to depict a large number of griffons, fleeing from what appeared to be large men made of stone. “I take it that the assault didn't go so well.”

The griffon emperor just shook his head at that. “That would be an vast understatement. We weren't just defeated, we were utterly annihilated. The people of Minos are masterful artificers, capable of imbuing stone and metal with a semblance of life. We were slaughtered down to the very last griffon, unable to even flee properly due to the nature of the weapons wielded against us.”

Artificers? Semblance of life? I think we need to have a long discussion with these minotaurs. Kurai thought to himself.

The emperor then turned and began to walk down the hallway, still explaining the horrors of that battle. “Thousands of griffon warriors died that day, while the people of Minos's casualties only numbered in the tens. In his pride and arrogance, my ancestor had thought to take what could never be his, with only the strength of steel to back him up. My people have never been particularly skilled with magic, preferring to instead let our talons speak for us, and to save the spell-work for the enchanters,” he said, shaking his head ruefully. “If we had even a quarter of the battlemages that Equestria employs, we may have stood a chance. That being said, Kelwyn's arrogance not only cost him his own life, and the lives of his soldiers, but also the lives of his sons, as well as the lives of his brothers and sisters. In a single day, the entire family of Kelwyn was wiped out, with only a single child surviving the carnage, on account of him being too young to join the fray.”

Phelan stopped at another set of double doors, through which Kurai could faintly hear the sound of steel against steel, and looked Kurai in the eye. “This day was later known as the blackest day in our history. Our greatest failure. But we griffons learn from our mistakes. At least, we do if we want to continue breathing.”

“And what did you learn from this?” Kurai asked, genuinely curious about what the Emperor had to say.

“We learned to listen,” Phelan said as he turned and opened the door. On the other side was a balcony, which overlooked a large courtyard. In the courtyard, Kurai saw a large number of griffon soldiers, all preparing for war. “I don't know if Celestia has told you this yet, but hours before you arrived, a blind zebra arrived in Canterlot. She foretold your arrival, stating that if we did not unite with you, we were doomed to extinction. I don't know if your people believe in prophecy, or in revelation, but mine do. We still bear the scars from when we refused to listen. We remember what happened when we passed off the seer as nothing but a madmare. It is not a mistake that we are willing to make again.”

Emperor Phelan then cocked his head to one side, a curious expression on his face as he looked up at the peli. “Major, it doesn't matter what you need of my people. It doesn't matter what lands you require, or how much tercelpower you need. What does matter is the survival of my people. I may not trust you, simply because I do not know you. However, I trust the Oracle of Time. I trust her when she says that to reject you is to court death.”

“Your Excellency, does that mean what I think it means?” Kurai asked hopefully.

“It means that we are mobilizing and preparing to fight. The Empire of Griffania will stand beside you. Your cause is our cause. Your enemy is our enemy. Your rage is our rage. By this, we make our pact, that we will stand beside you, or fall beside you. Of this, you have our solemn oath,” The Emperor said with a bow.

* * *

King Thunderhoof sat with his head in his hand as he listened intently to the lion-like alien messenger. All around him, his retainers had bored expressions as they listened, already sure of how this meeting was going to turn out.

The hall that the meeting was taking place in was impressive, to say the least. It had carvings depicting the history of the Minotaur race on every wall, intimidating stone columns that looked like minotaur statues holding up the ceiling, as well as a rather large stone throne, representing the power that the King of Minos held. The whole setup spoke of power, strength, and wealth in abundance. The kind of wealth that was too tempting to pass up on.

Time and time again, nations have come to Minos in hopes of exploiting the wealth that the island kingdom hid underneath its craggy hills. Its mineral rich mines being the aim of many a would be conquerer, not to mention quite a few dragons. Many had come, seeking not only the large amount of gold that could be found there, but also the large deposits of arcanite that lurked just beneath the surface of those red hills.

However, all had been repulsed, due mainly to the same arcanite deposits that the invaders sought. Arcanite was treasured not for its rarity, though it was still plenty rare. No, the allure of arcanite came from its worth as a magical conductor. Artificers needed this material to practice their craft, and any non-unicorn spellcaster needed the substance if they wanted to shape even the simplest of spells, as it was a required component in any form of wizardry.

Because of its abundance in the islands, the Kingdom of Minos had become a superpower. Their artificers knew no equal, and their golems were among the most feared and deadly automatons known on Equis. The kingdom had refused to expand, however, seeing the folly in such a tactic. They had power, yes, but the only avenues of expansion were into griffon territory, or into Equestria. While either prospect was tempting, Griffania's mountains made them untouchable, allowing them to defend themselves with the bare minimum required effort. Equestria had no such natural defenses, but instead held a great deal of magical power, due to their rolls as guardians and caretakers of the world. No, the kingdom of Minos was fine with its isolationist tendencies, only trading for what they needed, and sending only the token diplomat to the other nations.

That being said, Thunderhoof wondered how this alien would react to his answer. Thunderhoof and his forefathers had heard all of this before, and while the messenger was different, the message itself was still the same.

I wonder how this species will take our answer, he thought to himself. Will they follow the griffon and walk into the slaughter? Or will they follow the far wiser kirin?

“All that we ask is that you lend us a small portion of your land, so that we might place our defensive weapons to protect you from the coming storm. If you would care to also lend us some of your troops, all the better. We would be honored... to...” Battle Watcher Jenthis was saying, but trailed off as Thunderhoof rose to his feet.

“The answer is 'no',” the king said dismissively.

There was a pregnant pause as the messenger processed this answer. Finally, he cleared his throat, and looked back up at the king. “May I ask why?”

“Because you are not the first to come, claiming to grant us protection for some tribute. We have played this song and dance before. 'Grant us place to rest our heads, and food for our troops, and gold for our weapons, and we will protect you from the barbarians at the gates!'” ThunderHoof said with a negligent wave of his hand. “The people of Minos have yet to be taken in by such honeyed words, and we do not intend to change that now.”

“But Your Majesty, we-”

“Spare me your lies,” ThunderHoof said, sweeping his arm over his expansive, extravagant hall. “The people of Minos have carved out a living on these islands. We have fought wars to protect ourselves from would-be invaders like you. We have become strong, and we cannot be broken. If this alien menace does exist, and does come to our shores, we will end them like we have ended all others who seek our riches.”

The battle watcher raised a single eyebrow at this, then bowed in respect. “If that is the will of the King of Minos, then we have no choice to comply. But I would give a gift before I leave. A token to allow you to petition for aid when, not if, the Dridune come,” Jenthis said as he held up a small black rectangle.

The Minotaur King snorted in contempt. “The equestrians may trust you implicitly, on no other proof than the words of a child and the mutterings of a madmare, but I will not. Keep your 'gift'. Minos calls for aid from no one.”

The Lionel just nodded in respect at that, then turned to leave. When he reached the door, however, he stopped and turned back one last time. “I assume you have some way of contacting the Solar Diarch? If you find the battle too great for you to manage, please contact them.”

Before the stubborn king of Minos could give a rebuttal, though, Battle Watcher Jenthis left, firmly shutting the door behind him.

Author's Note

So, officially, that brings the count of nations up to 5/1/2, with the minotaurs abstaining, the dragons and kirin still unaccounted for, and the zebras implicitly joining the Alliance How will the other nations react? Will there be dragon support in the future? what will the coming battle hold for the equestrians and their allies?

At any rate, there is a lot of world building contained within this chapter, so I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter XX

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza woke up with a start, glancing around for the source of her alarm. After a few minutes of looking, while simultaneously listening to her husband's snoring, her heart finally seemed to settle down to a more reasonable rate. However, as she snuggled back into bed, she was forced to get up again as her bladder demanded her attention.

Grumbling slightly over the finicky nature of bodily functions, she finally rose from the comforts of her soft, warm bed and made her way to the bathroom. As she rose, Shining Armor mumbled incoherently in his sleep, then flipped over, bringing a smile to the pink princess's lips.

As cute as she found him, though, she could not deny the siren call of the restroom.

Once she was finished with her business, she stumbled out of the bathroom again, flipping off the glowcrystal lighting as she went. However, as the lights went out in the bathroom, something caught her eye, which made her flip the bathroom lights back on again.

There, sitting on her desk, was a rather important looking scroll emblazoned with Celestia's personal seal. Her heart started hammering as she quickly scooped up the letter, both hoping and dreading what it contained.

It had been six months since Twilight's disappearance, and there had still been no word as to what happened. Shining Armor had been a wreck, having not only led the charge in the search and rescue attempt, but was also one of the few remaining guards that still held out hope that she was alive somewhere.

Cadence still held out hope as well, but she also knew the statistics. The longer someone was missing, the more likely it was that they would be found dead. It was why she had started dreading each and every piece of correspondence from the Solar Diarch. She dreaded the day when she would receive a tear-stained letter, informing her in shaking horn-writing that her sister-in-law's body had been found somewhere.

That being said, Cadence still held out hope that Twilight had simply ran off and eloped somewhere, and that her absence was simply the result of her being on her honeymoon. It was a thin hope, but it was one that she desperately held on to.

The alternative was to lose hope. That was something that she could not do.

Therefore, it was with both excitement and fear that she broke the seal on the scroll. Then, with some apprehension, she unrolled the long paper in front of her.

* * *

Shining Armor planted his hoof on the shadowy figure's face, his horn glowing as he looked down at the scum underneath his shoe. “Where is she?!” he shouted at the figure, his face an inch away from the perpetrator's.

“You'll never see her! She's gone forever!” the monster cackled madly.

“You tell me where my sister is right now, or so help me...” Shining said, delivering a swift kick to the shadow's gut.

The shadow rolled a few feet, then stopped. Shakily, it rose to its hooves, looked up at the enraged Captain of the Guard, and opened its mouth, only to release an eerie, ear-shattering scream.

* * *

Shining Armor jolted awake at the sound of his wife's ear-piercing scream, his heart racing as he tried to figure out where the danger was coming from. He was interrupted in his search, however, when the pink princess scooped him up from his bed with her magic, spun him in a circle a few times, then planted a big, wet kiss on his lips.

Somewhat disoriented, yet at the same time relieved that her scream had been one of joy, and not of terror, Shining Armor looked up at his grinning wife a little bemused. “Um... is there something I should know?”

“Just the most amazing news ever!” Cadence said, pulling Shining into another one of those wonderful kisses he was so fond of.

Shining, of course, was far too tired to think properly. That being said, his mind, like the minds of all newlywed husbands, came to the first logical conclusion.

“You're pregnant?” he said, hope and dread rising in his chest.

“What? No!” she said, setting him down in shock.

Shining Armor wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. He was both elated that additional responsibility had been put off, but also extremely disappointed at the same time. “Oh...” was all he managed to say.

“You don't have to sound so disappointed,” she said, lightly pushing his forehead with her hoof.

“Well, if it's not that, then what could possibly cause you to scream at four in the morning?” he asked, glancing quickly at the clock.

“Honey, they found her! She's alright!” Cadence said, pulling Shining into a hug as she pranced about in excitement.

Shining was dumbstruck. “You... you mean that... that they found Twilight?” he said, not quite believing his own words.

“Yes, Shiny, Princess Celestia sent me a... letter...” Cadence said, but trailed off as Shining quickly turned and sprinted for the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on, followed by Shining screeching about the coldness of the water. Cadence waited impatiently as the shower continued to run, then was turned off. Shining then came out, toweling himself off and looking at her in confusion. “Okay, I'm awake now. What was it you just said? Because I think I must have been dreaming that last part,” he said, bracing himself for the worst.

“Shiny, it's no dream. Celestia sent us a letter in our sleep. They've found Twilight!” she said, holding his damp face between her hooves.

In an instant, Shining lifted his wife off her hooves with his magic, covering her face in kisses as she squealed at the unexpected display. He pranced around a bit, then finally settled down and just held his wife. “Oh, thank heavens!” he cried into her shoulder. “I... I just...”

“...I know, Shiny, I know,” she said, gently rubbing his back.

They just sat there for the longest time, holding each other, sharing in the joy that a lost family member had not only been found, but was safe and sound. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Shining pulled back, his face filled with excitement. “Well? What else did the letter say? Where has she been all this time?” Shining asked.

“I don't know! I just read the first couple of lines, and screamed at what I had read!” she said as she levitated the letter towards the two from its resting place on the floor. She then flicked on the bedroom lights, to allow them better reading light as they both bent over the glorious letter.

Dear Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor,

It is with great pleasure that I write to you tonight. I know that you may have already gone to bed, but this is news of such great importance, that I felt it could not wait until morning.

We have found Twilight Sparkle.

Not only have we found her, but she is also alive and well. As you can probably guess, this is momentous news. We have already informed her parents, who have rushed to the palace to see their daughter as quickly as possible. If memory serves, I could hear the screams of joy all the way from my counsel room, as I was otherwise occupied and unable to greet them personally.

As fantastic as this news is, it is poisoned with news that is far more dire. Twilight, though safe and sound now, had been ponynapped by creatures of such unimaginable cruelty and evil, that it is truly a miracle that she made it back at all.

By her own admission, these creatures have absolutely no regard for others, treating them as their playthings, torturing and killing without cause or provocation. She managed to escape, however, with the help of others who were in a similar predicament. She and her new friends fled from them, and were later found by those that are allied against these evil creatures. They then returned Twilight to us free of harm, but come bearing dire news: the evil is coming to us.

I know you are wondering what these evil creatures are, and how we can bring justice to them for what they have done. I also know you are wondering who it was that brought Twilight home safe and sound.

The answers, however, are just too fantastic and terrifying to properly convey in a letter. Instead, I will be sending a representative of those allied against this new evil to you in the Crystal Empire. He will have much to discuss, and will wish to meet with you personally. These new visitors are very strange, not only in appearance, but also in how they traverse the world. If you see something loud and frightening in the sky, please take heart. That is probably them. Believe me when I say that they mean us no harm.

This 'Alliance,' as they call themselves, will make many requests, both for land and for assistance. It has been decided that it is in our best interests to comply and aid them as much as possible.

They are our allies, and will act as such. Any request they make may be freely turned down, and I have found that they will respect our wishes in this. However, they only seek to protect us, and turning down their requests will prove foolhardy, as it will open us to the assault that is undoubtedly coming.

This representative will arrive sometime in the morning to late afternoon, so please be on the lookout for him. His means of transport will be black and ominous looking, but he and his superiors are here to help.

Hoping that this finds you well,

-Princess Celestia.

At this, the couple just looked at each other in shock. “What do you think she means by all that? Why wouldn't she describe fully who these saviors and demons are?” Shining Armor asked, apprehension clear in his voice.

“I don't know. Aunt Celestia seems to think that it is something that we probably will not believe, not without seeing for ourselves with our own eyes,” Cadence mused as she reread the letter.

“Well, whoever these new allies are, they saved my sister. I don't care who they are. It could have been a group of changelings to find her for all I care, I still will greet them as brothers and friends,” Shining said.

“Agreed, though Celestia seems a bit... intimidated. Either by them, or by the enemy that is coming. I wonder what could have unsettled her this much?” Cadence asked quietly.

“I don't know, but these new enemies picked the wrong family to mess with,” Shining said, pulling his wife in for another kiss.

“You got that right,” she answered with a giggle.

* * *

Princess Cadence fidgeted nervously on her throne, busying herself with the day-to-day paperwork as she waited for the arrival of this mysterious visitor. She and Shining had discussed it during the early hours of the morning, and they had agreed that she would continue working on the needed functions of the Empire, while he prepared the citadel to host the Alliance's representative. He had already had his best troops spit-shine their armor, and had prepared a huge banquet in honor of the occasion. However, despite this, as well as Princess Celestia's reassurances that these people who had returned Twilight were friendly, she couldn't help but feel a certain amount of apprehension over what was to come.

This was hardly a surprise, however. Cadence still had no clue what these newfound allies even looked like, much less whether or not they could even eat the food they had prepared. Silently, she prayed that this representative wasn't carnivorous; not because she had any aversion to carnivores, but because the Crystal Empire rarely played host to such beings. That being said, their supply of meat was practically non-existent, and many of the crystal pony chiefs would probably freak out if asked to prepare anything that wasn't vegetarian.

Hmmm... what did she mean by a big, black, noisy object? Are they coming by airship? Cadence wondered to herself. Celestia had been rather skimpy on the details, but she had reassured the pink princess in her letter that the representative would be difficult to miss.

As she was sitting there, musing to herself over what Celestia's cryptic warning could possibly mean, she slowly became aware of some sort of noise that seemed to grow progressively louder as she sat. It seemed to be coming from outside, south by southwest if she were to judge its direction.

Quickly, she ran towards the window, eager to see what sort of beings would return her sister in law to her home. As she scanned the horizon, she spotted what appeared to be a black speck off in the distance. It didn't stay that way for long, however, and approached far faster than she thought was possible for a vehicle.

As it came closer, the noise grew into a roaring hum, and Cadence had to gasp at the strangeness of what she saw.

It appeared to be some sort of sleek, black box, though more angular and clearly more aerodynamic. Underneath the pod was a series of glowing blue discs, while at its rear was a set of glowing strips of light that seemed to leave a trail of energy in its wake. It swiftly made its way to where Shining Armor and his troops were waiting, then slowed until it came to a complete stop. It then gently descended until it touched down with a gentle bump.

It was almost eerie, the silence that had fallen over the whole city. Thankfully, nopony was panicking, due mainly to Cadence having released an official statement earlier that day, informing everypony of the impending arrival. She watched with anticipation as the box-like craft slowly opened, then recoiled slightly at what had come out.

What... what am I looking at here? she thought as she tried to make sense of the new arrival.

* * *

Captain Shining Armor couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as the nightmare came out of the craft in front of him. It was tall, standing probably at six feet. It had four long, bug-like legs, which made an ominous skittering sound as it exited the craft. It had two sets of arms as well, one set positioned above the other, though both were currently folded behind the creature's back. Its beak was a strange, serrated parody of a bird's, with two slits near the front that Shining assumed served a similar function to a nose. Above its beak were its eyes, though the appearance of those eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen before. Though they lacked irises, they still had pupils in the center, the rest of the eye being a weird, iridescent green color. On its forehead were a set of antenna, which seemed to have a life of their own, moving at seemingly random times.

The creature was clothed in what appeared to be a blue and gold dress uniform. On its right breast pocket it wore some kind of winged insignia, as well as some sort of motto written in another language. On its upper left shoulder Shining spotted a patch depicting what appeared to be a purple and green sphere, while on its other upper shoulder was a patch that looked like a flaming eye.

The creature slowly approached the group, and Shining could only commend his troop's bravery for standing their ground in the face of such a monster. The creature stopped just in front of Shining Armor, then brought its upper right hand from behind its back. Shining noted that the creature had a four-clawed hand, with one of those claws being opposable. The creature then brought its hand up to the ridge above its right eye, and went into what was unmistakably a salute.

“Prince Shining Armor, I presume?” it said, its voice sounding male, and almost... jolly?

“...Yes?” Shining asked slowly.

“I am Captain Hazalk of the Galactic Alliance Space Navy. I was told by Princess Celestia that you would be apprised of my arrival. Also, I was told to deliver a personal message,” he said. Shining couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the faintest hint of... mischievousness... in those eyes. However, it was gone before he was even able to register it.

“We were told you would be coming, though we did not expect you to look so... different,” Shining said awkwardly, trying desperately not to offend the bizarre creature. He shook his head awkwardly, hoping to shake off some of the misgivings he had about this creature. “So, what was that message?”

“I am simply to tell you, 'I am alright BBBFF. Hope to see you soon!'” he said, his eyes flashing again with that same mischievousness as before.

Shining just gave him a flat look at that, but then turned his face into one big grin. “What in the hay kind of trouble did Twili get into to run into aliens?” he asked, his whole demeanor instantly changed.

Captain Hazalk just shook his head at that. “It's the kind that puts entire galaxies at risk. If we may? We have much to discuss, and very little time to do so.”

“Of course, captain. Right this way,” Shining said, gesturing for the strange, yet friendly alien to follow him. “We have even prepared a banquet in your honor, and we would love it if you could join us.”

“I would love to, though we cannot take too long. I really need to get back to preparations, seeing as how we are unsure of how much time we have,” Hazalk said, nodding his head politely.

* * *

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked up in wonder and fear at the huge object that hovered over the distant city of Canterlot. “I'm telling you, guys! Its just like in issue 27# of Buck Dodgers and the 41st Century!” Scootaloo said, waving her hooves about from her position on her scooter. “They'll act all friendly, pretend to be here to help, then whamo! They'll turn on us, and we'll all be replaced by pony golems that look just like us, except evil!”

Applebloom just shook her head at that. “Ah don't know. Mah sister said Rainbow Dash came by our house last night, and she said that they was friendly. Not only that, but she also said that they brought Twilight back! So can they really be as bad as you say they are?” she asked uncertainly.

“It's probably some sort of trick. Or! Or they already replaced her! We need to tell everypony as soon as possible!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

“Why are you so excited about this?” Sweetie Belle asked, somewhat confused by her friend's attitude. “It would be terrible if Twilight was replaced by something like that!”

“Yeah! And, how could you even tell if she'd been replaced anyway?” Applebloom asked.

“Uh... I dunno! The comic had antenna coming out of the golem ponies, so maybe we should look for something like that?” Scootaloo said weakly.

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted when a loud, roaring sound echoed through the town of Ponyville. All three fillies looked up at the source of the sound, only to see something large, black and scary scream through the sky, making its way towards the edge of town. The three fillies watched in awe and fear as the large object slowed down, then slowly started to land somewhere out in the meadow near town.

“Come on, you guys! Those were the aliens!” Scootaloo shouted excitedly. “Let's go check it out!”

“Um... I don't know, you guys... what if we get caught?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

“Don't be such a scardy-cat, we're not gonna get close. I just want to see what they look like!” Scootaloo said excitedly as she motioned for the other two to hop into the wagon behind her scooter.

Applebloom only had to think about it for a second before jumping into the wagon and putting on her helmet. Sweetie Belle, though, took a lot longer. “Um, if it's all the same to you guys, I think I'll pass on this one.”

“Ah come on, Sweetie Belle! Where's your sense of adventure?” Applebloom asked her. “And besides, maybe we'll get alien hunt'n Cutie Marks!”

Sweetie was still indecisive. The idea of an alien hunting Cutie Mark really didn't appeal to her, but she climbed into the wagon anyway. To be honest, she was a little curious herself. More importantly than that, though, was that she didn't want to feel left out while her best friends went on adventures without her.

* * *

Chief Engineer Donny Quelzok carefully looked over the schematics for the Kingfisher, then promptly snorted to himself. “Lousy Lionel design. Does the job, but their 'taint no soul, no artistry ta it,” he said, shaking his head in frustration.

“Well, you can hardly blame them,” J'zalk said as he handed Donny a cup of coffee. “They mass produce these things, so it's not like they can really spend a whole lot of time on each one.”

Donny gratefully took the cup, but still frowned at the trouble-making Krin. “Don't you go be muddling the issue. There is an art ta mak'n stuff go boom. The right amount of force in the right place can cut an unshielded ship in half. Also, just the right amount of explosives, shaped in just the right way, can punch straight through a force field if fired at the right spot,” Donny said, a dopey grin appearing on his face. His expression soured, however, when he looked back down at the offending schematic in front of him. “Have you seen the code in these things, though? They just lock on and fire at the center of mass, no finagling, no nothing! And that's not even counting the payload! We have absolutely no variety here, only energy weapons, and 'situational shells.' Why, I have half a mind to start fabricating some 'situational shells' myself, just to show em' just how 'situational' some of these can be!”

His eight-limbed assistant just looked at him dubiously. “Do you really think that's wise? What if they aren't ready by the time the Dridune show up?”

Donny shook his head at this. “Ah know, but I'll be a monkey's uncle if I'm ta let this travesty continue. Tell ya what, let's work on some replacement code, see if we can hack something together before they show up. If'n its ready, we'll at least have something better than these piles of scrap. I don't think it would sit on my conscience very well if'n that pretty little town over there gets leveled because we didn't do our jobs right,” he said, rolling up the schematic as he did so.

J'zalk took a glance back towards the town and nodded his agreement. “Yeah, I couldn't live with myself either. Looks like we're attracting the attention of the locals, though,” he said, noting the crowd that had gathered at the edge of the meadow.

“Let them pony guards take care of them. We've got more important things to worry about here, like mak'n sure they don't become radioactive ash from Dridune capital ship missiles,” Donny said as he strode towards his cannon. “Let's run some preliminary tests, calibrate the darn thing, and make sure nothing's gonna fall out when it starts firing. We got three more of these things to plant before sundown, so make it snappy.”

J'zalk saluted at that. “Yes sir!” he said sardonically.

“And don't be given me any of that crap! I got enough of that from them cadets back on the Valhalla,” Donny said with a shiver. "Ah didn't need it then, and Ah certainly don't need it now."

"Of course Chief Engineer," J'zalk said, switching tactics.

Donny merely grunted in frustration at that, throwing his arms up in the air and storming off, all the while muttering something about the duplicity of the Krin.

Author's Note

So, here is the next chapter! I am curious if any of my What I've Become readers have spotted the cameo in this chapter. It shouldn't be too hard. After all, he practically barges in and commands the stage!

As for the Krin, I did a drawing of them earlier, though personally I think it looks like crap. Here it is:

I'll probably do more of the other races, but later. I'm a writer, and drawing takes me forever.

Chapter XXI

“What are its weaknesses?” a lieutenant said as he slowly walked around the figment.

“It was both arrogant, and spoiled. It was confused when it realized I hadn’t been stopped by its powers, and tried to test me when it thought that I was no danger to it,” Twilight said as the other ponies slowly walked around the mental construct that she had formed for them. “I had the distinct feeling that it wasn’t using its full power against me, especially when it became irritated by the mental construct I had made to distract it.”

“...Hmm,” Princess Luna hummed as she looked over the alien entity. “I am curious, does it really think of itself in this way?”

The Princess was, of course, referring to how the alien’s mental construct appeared. It looked much like how the Dridune from the Alliance’s illusionary devices appeared, except that it was much taller, had broader shoulders, and seemed to ooze darkness all around it.

“I really don’t think so. It may have made itself look like that in an attempt to frighten me,” Twilight said with a shrug.

“Well, we should-” one of the sergeants started to say, but stopped when the hazy, indistinct plane around them seemed to shimmer and distort.

“Uh, Twilight?” a child’s voice seemed to say from somewhere nearby, yet at the same time it seemed to come from an incredibly long distance. “Your- I mean, someone’s here to see you.”

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “Can you make her come back later, Spike?” she called out to the mists.

“You know I can’t do that. She’ll just wait outside the door until you come out,” the baby dragon’s voice said, distorting the tranquility of the plane once again.

“She’ll just have to wait, then. I’m trying to-” Twilight started to say, but was interrupted as the plane around the ponies seemed to melt away.

Twilight gasped as her head shot up from the cushion she had been sleeping on, her breath ragged as she remembered where she was. Her eyes quickly swept across the room, taking in the reclining forms of the Dreamguard she had been instructing. “You okay, Twilight?” Spike said, laying a comforting claw on her shoulder.

“She will be fine,” Princess Luna said as she materialized in front of the still rapidly breathing mare. “It is always… disconcerting when one is pulled from the Aetherial plane against one’s will.”

“...Why? We don’t have-” Twilight started to say, but was hushed into silence by the Lunar Princess.

“Twilight, go see your mother.”

“But Princess! I have to make sure that we’re ready when-” Twilight protested as she groggily got to her hooves, but was interrupted again as Luna spoke.

“Do not misunderstand: Your contribution to the cause has been invaluable, and will surely help us in the coming conflict,” the princess said kindly. Her face then morphed into a disapproving frown, however, as she continued to look down at her sister’s student. “However, ever since you got back, you have done nothing but help us prepare. You have been leading the research on runes to block mental intrusion, aiding us in our training, acting as a liaison between the Equestrian and Alliance forces, and have been trying to teach magic to our non-magical allies. You only sleep when we hold these training sessions, and you make absolutely no time for friends or family.”

Twilight shook her head at that. “Princess, I’m working this hard for them! If we do not stop these monsters, then-”

“Twilight, I am well aware of what will happen if we do not stop these invaders, but that does not mean that you have to - or should - dedicate every waking moment to the problem. Your friends and family have done nothing but worry about you the moment you disappeared, but now that they have you back, it is as if you never returned,” Luna reprimanded. “Do you even know how many times Miss Pie has tried to throw you a surprise party in the past three days you have been back?”

“I know, and I’ll make it up to them. I just...” Twilight started to say, but trailed off as she caught the look in Luna’s eyes.

“Twilight. You are not my student, but please learn this lesson from me, before you learn it in a different fashion. You may think that your family are little more than a distraction now, but I promise you, if you give them a chance, you will find that they are your greatest strength,” Luna said pointedly. “Let your family support you, and be there for them in turn. If you continue as you are now, you will burn yourself out before the invaders even get here.”

At that, Twilight's head lowered in surrender. “Okay, Princess. I’ll go see them… After the-”

Luna stamped her hoof at that, causing both Spike and Twilight to jump unexpectedly. “Twilight Sparkle. I will see to the training of my troops. While it is true that you are the only person to face one of these things and survive with your psyche intact, I assure you, I am no stranger to mental assaults,” she said as she raised an eyebrow at the purple unicorn. “Now, go see your mother. I’m sure she’s getting ready to assault the palace guards as we speak, and I really need them for what’s to come.”

Twilight sighed in frustration, then turned to leave. “Come on Spike, let’s go.”

“Right!” the young dragon said as he hopped onto his surrogate mother’s back. As the two turned to leave, the dragon shot a grateful smile back towards Princess Luna, while at the same time mouthing a silent thank you.

The Lunar Princess smiled to herself before vanishing into the aether to join her troops in their training exercise.

* * *

“Ma’am, I’m really sorry, but I can’t let you through!” the tired-looking guard said.

“And I’m telling you that I’m not leaving until I see my daughter!” Twilight Velvet said as she thrust out her lower lip aggressively.

“Ma’am, I don’t want to-” the soldier started to say, but was interrupted as the door behind him opened again, revealing a disheveled, slightly grumpy-looking Twilight Sparkle with a small purple and green dragon riding on her back.

“Mom, I-Oof!” Twilight Sparkle started to say, but was cut off as her mother quickly closed the distance between the two of them, wrapping her hooves around her daughter.

“Have you been eating well? Sleeping? They haven’t been working you too hard, have they?” Twilight Velvet asked in rapid fire succession.

“I’m fine, Mom, really!” her daughter answered.

She was undermined in her statement, however, by the scoffing sound coming from her back. “To answer your questions in order: No, no, and she’s been doing that to herself,” Spike said flatly.

“SPIKE!”

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight’s mother said sweetly, while she gave her daughter a disapproving stare.

“Mom…”

Twilight Velvet didn’t say anything; she just continued to give her daughter that same glare.

“Mom, I’m fine. Really! Besides, it’s more import-Ow!”

Twilight Velvet leaned forward, stood on her tippy hooves, and lightly bit into Twilight Sparkle's ear. She then proceeded to walk away, keeping her daughter’s ear firmly between her teeth.

Twilight was then given a very important decision-Either hold her ground (and possibly lose her ear), or follow her angry mother, all while saying something really embarrassing. While the former seemed like a good idea at first, the moment that her sensitive ear felt her mother’s pull was the moment she lost the will to resist.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,” Twilight said as she quickly followed her mother down the hall.

Spike, of course, found the entire thing absolutely hilarious, and showed his approval by collapsing onto Twilight’s back in a fit of laughter, nearly falling off in the process.

The two guards posted at the door watched impassively as the three turned a corner, not moving a muscle until the baby dragon’s laughter had faded into the distance. Finally, the one on the right breathed out a sigh of relief. “Boy, I’m glad she came out when she did. That mare’s glare could cut stone.”

The other one nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’m just glad she wasn’t like our mother. She would have already been past us, through two hundred of our finest, and had both Princesses out cold before you could even blink.”

“Rule three: Never get between mamma bear and her cubs,” the first said as he straightened up a little bit.

“Amen to that, brother.”

* * *

Donny leaned his back against the tree, a datapad in one hand, and a sandwich in the other. The sandwich wasn’t anything special; just a P.B.J. It was simple fare, but that’s how Donny preferred it. Unlike some other peli he could mention, he actually liked what his race’s new home-world had to offer, especially their cuisine.

He had never seen his ancestral home, never felt the blue grass under his toes, never looked up into the purple sky, and never tasted the food grown from its soil. Few living peli had. Yet there were those that constantly pined for their old home. The closest those scrubs had ever gotten were the old vids that survived the exodus, and even then they had been badly damaged during the power surge that had fried The Journey’s computer.

Donny set down the pad and looked out over the field that his people were using for the Kingfisher. “If’n ever do win this war, I might go back ta see it. But I wouldn’t stay,” he said wistfully to himself. He then took a bite out of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully as he examined the alien, yet all too familiar world. “First thing’s first, though, gotta save this planet, so they can save us.”

Donny picked up the data pad again, his thoughts focused on the task at hand. “Let’s see, if’n x is the target, then…” he said, but trailed off as his blue fingers danced across the face of the pad, creating line after line of new code to implement into the Kingfisher’s targeting matrix.

As he worked, though, he slowly became aware of the sound of whispered argument. It seemed to be coming from the forest behind him, though the language wasn’t in any tongue that he understood.

That’s not to say he didn’t immediately recognize it, though. It was clearly the same language that the ponies spoke, though until now he had only heard a certain purple unicorn speak it. He sighed in resignation as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his external translator and its earbud, then stuck the earbud into his ear.

Sure, as the chief engineer of a starship, Donny had had plenty of opportunities to augment his body with a translator. He had turned them all down however. It’s not that he had anything against cyber augmentation, it's just that each time he was given that particular offer, he had always found a way to quickly change the conversation before anyone could get to the part where they would put him on a slab and cut his head open.

With the earbud securely in place, Donny pressed the button on the translator, immediately causing his earbud to static out as the darn thing calibrated itself. “...Don’t know, it’s just sittin there,” a young girl said quietly.

“Yeah, it kind of looks friendly! What’s it eating?”

“Probably somepony who got to close to it. That’s probably how they get you: they act all friendly, then whammo! They suddenly sprout tentacles and teeth, and they have a hankering for pony flesh!” a third voice said darkly

“Ya know I can hear ya, right?” Donny said loudly.

This immediately caused the three voices to quiet down, as well as the bushes to Donny’s right to shake uncontrollably. Donny just stood up and brushed himself off. “Look, I know ya won’t believe me, but we’re here ta help. Just don’t stray too close to the work site, okay? We got work ta do, and we can’t do it while ya’ll are underfoot.”

The bushes just shook some more, before becoming still again. Donny knew he wasn't going to coax the children out, nor did he want to: he had far too much work to do, and his break was over anyway.

Sighing slightly to himself, he turned and started off towards the Kingfisher. However, once he reached the halfway point, he couldn’t help but shoot one last glance back towards the forest.

There, standing at the edge of the trees, watching him as he made his way back to his men, were three small pony children. They seemed to be whispering to each other, each of them with a look of pure wonder in their eyes.

Donny couldn’t help it as a smile graced his face, and, for a second, he considered turning back to talk with the skittish children some more. He thought better of it, though, as the memory of why he was here in the first place reared its ugly head.

Donny looked back down at his datapad, new resolve filling him as he looked over the code he had written. “Don’t worry, kids, I got this,” he whispered to himself.

* * *

Queen Chrysalis took a deep, cleansing breath as she looked down at the sprawling city of Canterlot. Last time she had seen it had been months ago, and that had been when she had left the city at high velocity, carried by Shining Armor's love-fueled shield spell.

She wasn't surprised that she held no malice towards the ponies for foiling her selfish plan, though she was surprised to feel a certain amount of melancholy when thinking about what had happened. Had she not been defeated, Equis would not have been prepared for the coming storm, and the destiny of the changeling race would have been frustrated. It was no wonder that the matriarchs had been so against her plan.

“Now do you see why we have tried so hard to strengthen them, rather than break them?” Chrysalis heard them say.

“Yes, mothers, I can see that now. I'm sorry for not listening to you when you warned me. It is lucky that I failed in my design,” Chrysalis answered.

“Good, so long as you know this. From here on out, you must remember the duty that has been placed on your shoulders. The Wanderer trusted us with this mission, and by inheritance, you. You cannot betray that trust again,” they warned her.

“I will not,” Chrysalis thought, her resolve firm and unyielding.

“See that you don't. The culmination of all our preparation begins now. You were premature in your attempt to step out into the light during the invasion, but now is your chance. Now is your chance to really show the world what the changeling race has done, what we have given up, all in the name of Freedom,” they said comfortingly.

“My Queen, are you well?” Gath asked, his disguised face revealing his worry.

“I am fine, I was just remembering something that my mother told me,” she answered.

The swarm leader turned to look at the city below. “It is strange, finding out our swarm's true motivations. Why we replace ponies, why we consume love, why we do what we do. It is strange to know that our prey has never been prey, in the real sense of the word. I understand why the matriarchs would keep this hidden, but still...”

“It feels like a betrayal of trust. I felt similarly when I found out, though I was angered more at how we had to stay to the shadows.”

“At any rate, the Princesses and the Star Warriors are waiting for our explanation. How do you think they will take the news?” Gath asked nervously.

“I do not know. I fear that they may be angry with me when they learn that I neglected my duties to prepare them. Despite all that we have put them through, I fear that we may not be ready, and that we will not be able to withstand the Willslayer when his slaves come knocking at our door,” she answered, her disguised shoulders slumping a bit.

“Do not be so pessimistic, Your Majesty. During your reign, we have harvested more love, bewitched more people, and spread out more than any other queen's reign. You have done a magnificent job, despite your one transgression,” he comforted her.

“Yes, but that was all for my own selfish desires. It may have prepared them, yes, but I did not do it for the right reasons. I wonder, if I had put my ambition to better use, would we be ready for the coming storm?” she asked wistfully.

“I prefer not to think about the should haves, and the could have beens. We must focus on the now, and the cards that fate, and our own actions, have dealt us,” Gath said, almost automatically.

Chrysalis straightened up a bit mid-flight. “You're right. There is nothing we can do now but reveal our design and pray for the best.”

Gath nodded, but didn't say anything.

At this point, nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

Celestia was the absolute pinnacle of calm detachment as she held her press conference, though that was only the pony on the surface. Inside, she was a nervous wreck.

She had been very busy as of late, not only because of the numerous war counsels that she had held with Admiral Zelgius and his cabinet, but also with all the petitioners who came to day court, seeking reassurances over the Alliance's appearance. On top of that, the press had been having a field day at her expense with the Alliance's arrival.

She tried hard to relieve her pony's worries, but to be honest, she had very little to give them. What she had given them, though, was enough to cause anypony a heart attack.

Celestia had already released an official declaration, stating that the alien visitors meant no harm, and were here on purely noble reasons. Of course, this did not alleviate the growing fear and panic that was building in the populace in the slightest, especially since those noble reasons were to protect the populace from a much greater alien threat.

They were scared, and Celestia could not blame them. She tried her best to head off panic, but the fact remained that Equestria was about to be invaded. Panic, while not helpful in the slightest, was still entirely called for.

On the plus side, however, recruiting for the Guard was now at an all time high. On top of that, Duke Fancy Pants had already commissioned the construction of several shelters for civilians in an effort to protect the people from the coming carnage.

However, as panicked as her people were getting, as paranoid as many became, she still had a job to do. Some may have thought it folly to announce the reason behind the Alliance's appearance, but this was far too large for her to even think about attempting to cover up. She had to ensure the safety of her people, and pretending that the Dridune were not coming wouldn't help anypony.

“Your Highness, reports say that these so called 'allies' have dropped huge, dome-like devices all over Equestria, and indeed, in many of the lands beyond our borders. Did you know about this development? Or are the alien invaders sneaking things past you?” one of the reporters asked, Juicy Gossip, if Celestia remembered the unicorn mare's name correctly.

“The aliens, as I've stated before in your questioning, are not invading. Rather, they are preparing our world for a much larger threat, as I have already stated in the official declaration. As for the strange, dome-like structures, yes I did know that they were going to start dropping those soon. They may look imposing now, but sometime in the near future, you will look at those devices, look at the alien visitors, and wonder how you could have ever doubted them or me,” Celestia said serenely. “As long as I still draw breath, I will protect Equestria, and this world, from every threat that seeks to invade our borders.”

“Yes, but how would you respond to your detractors? The ones who think you've gone senile, and that you are letting a danger far greater than Discord run amok?” another reporter asked.

“I would ask them if they can name a time, in the past thousand years of my reign, when I have ever led the ponies of Equestria astray. Since I do have such a stellar track record, I would ask for a little bit of faith in me, and in the way that I run things,” she said carefully.

More hooves shot into the air at this, to which Celestia singled out one at random, a rather stocky looking earth pony with a wide-brimmed fedora. “Princess Celestia, we have heard a great deal about the supposed ruin that this 'much larger threat' is bringing, but nothing about them specifically. What, exactly, are we facing?” he asked.

Celestia had been around long enough to recognize instantly when a reporter was trying to 'get the scoop', and when they earnestly were looking for answers.

To her, it was clear that this one was the latter, rather than the former. “What is your name, good stallion?” she asked politely.

“Keen Eye, Your Highness, of the Canterlot Crier,” he said with a bow.

“Well, Keen Eye, I-” she started to say, but was interrupted as one of her Solar Guards leaned in next to her and whispered in her ear.

“Your Highness, they have arrived. They and the Admiral's party are all waiting for you in the gardens near the statue of Discord,” the guard said.

“Thank you, sergeant. Please go alert my sister,” Celestia said as she stood up.

“We already have someone on the way, Your Highness.”

Celestia smiled gratefully at the soldier, then turned to the crowd in front of her. “I apologize, but it seems that something has come up,” Celestia said with some relief. “If you would all like to come back this time tomorrow, I would love to answer any other questions you might have for me. As for your question, Keen Eye, how would you like an exclusive interview with me and my sister, probably around nine tomorrow? But for now, I must consult with Equestria's allies about what the future will hold.”

Celestia then stepped down from her throne, making her way out of the room while her guards shielded her from the throng of ponies, each one shouting for answers and assurances that she could not give.

Author's Note

Well, after eight months of procrastinating, writing, re-writing, telling myself I'm no good, that this entire thing is nothing but a crap fest that should be scrapped, slamming my head against the table, deleting whole chapters, rewriting half of them, and generally screwing around, I finally said "screw it, I'm releasing what I've got!"

Hope you enjoy my pain, because it took me a really long freaking time to finally get this chapter up to the point where I didn't cringe every time I looked at it.

Still hate its guts though. Hopefully the next chapter will be better. :facehoof:

Chapter XXII

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” Twilight Sparkle said as she continued to follow her mother, still being pulled along painfully by the grip on her ear. She had lost track of where they were going, mainly because she was too busy focusing on the pain, as well as Spike’s unending giggles.

Suddenly, without warning, the trio came to a complete stop, and Twilight’s mother relinquished her hold on her daughter. “Ow… what was that for, Mom?” Twilight asked as she painfully rubbed the side of her head.

“Hey, if I was taller, I would have done it myself,” Spike said, his voice barely restraining his glee at what he saw.

Twilight Velvet didn’t answer at first, choosing to instead fix her daughter with that glare that Twilight was more than acquainted with. “Seriously, honey, you’re just as bad as your brother. I thought you had gotten over the whole ‘overworking yourself’ thing when you were fourteen, but apparently not.” Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth to argue, but was interrupted before she managed to get a single word out. “Do you remember what happened to make you stop then?”

This stopped Twilight in her tracks, causing her to look down in shame. “...yes.”

“Now, get into bed, and I don’t want to hear any lip from you, young lady. You may be an adult now, but you're still my child, and you’ll never be too old for that, understand?”

For the first time since this conversation had begun, Twilight Sparkle took in the room that Twilight Velvet had dragged her and Spike to. It wasn’t a large room, at least, it wasn’t large in comparison to many of the other rooms found in the castle, but it was still quite spacious. The bed and other furnishings served to give the room a cozy, warm feeling, and the window (which Twilight Velvet was busy drawing the curtain over) overlooked the castle garden.

“Mom, I really don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, at least, not right now,” Twilight said with a sigh. “Besides, whose room is this?”

Twilight Velvet just gave her daughter a ‘no nonsense’ glare again, then got back to what she was doing. “I thought as much. You’ve been so busy that you haven’t even been to your own room yet.”

Twilight just gave a shrug at that as she watched her mother pull back the covers. “I’ve been busy. I really haven’t had time to- Woah!”

Twilight’s argument was cut short when her mother suddenly scooped her daughter up with her levitation and, without much ceremony, deposited her in the bed; all while ensuring that Spike didn’t take a sudden plummet to the floor. “Now, you stay right there, young lady, and don’t move until you get a good eight hours of sleep. More, if I have anything to say about it.”

Spike shook his head in disbelief as he approached the bed. “Do you really think that’ll work? She’ll just wait until you leave, then teleport the instant you’re out of hearing range.”

“Do you really think so, Spike? Because it looks to me that she’s already asleep,” Twilight Velvet answered smugly.

Spike pulled himself up to the edge of the bed, not quite believing the matriarch, but astonished when he found that she was right. Twilight Sparkle was already fast asleep.

* * *

The Canterlot Gardens were absolutely lovely this time of year. Many of its flowers were in bloom, not to mention that the various animals that populated the gardens were happily chattering and singing, going about their business without a care in the world.

It was a sight that was so serene, so perfect, that one could almost forget the terrible horror that was on its way.

Almost.

“How was your press conference, my princess?” Captain Star Blaze asked as Celestia approached the group in front of the statue of Discord.

“It went as well as could be expected,” Celestia answered with a sigh. She then let her gaze sweep over the six foreign equines that were in attendance, along with the delegation from the Alliance. Her sister had gotten there before she had, though Celestia personally blamed Blueblood; his need to whine about the smallest rumor he had heard around town about the aliens was really starting to grate on her nerves.

Three of the foreign equines were known to her, they being Sultan Malik and his Sashali, or royal guard. The Sultan himself was a dark blue stallion, whose mane and tail were a deep black color. Strangely enough, he wasn't dressed in his usual royal robes and crown, instead opting for a much more simple white robe.

The other three ponies were all pegasi, though she had never seen any of them before in her life. However, knowing why they were there in the first place, she could easily guess their identities.

“I take it that these ponies here are our guests of honor?” she asked sardonically.

With a flash of green fire, all three ponies disappeared, only to be replaced by Queen Chrysalis and her changeling guards. There was a sharp intake of breath from Zelgius's advisers, though the admiral himself remained unfazed by the sudden transformation.

“Are you okay, Tergus?” Zelgius asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I just wasn't expecting... that... as their transformation. I was kind of expecting something similar from the movies, where they transform slowly,” the lieutenant said shakily.

“That would be both useless and wasteful. A changeling needs to be able to adapt quickly, or risk discovery,” Chrysalis said haughtily. “Transformations need to be made at a moment's notice, often when pursued, to lose those who would catch us. A slow transformation would defeat this purpose, leaving us vulnerable to discovery.”

“Um... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause offense,” Tergus said, a little confused.

The Changeling Queen just sighed at this, then rubbed her head with her hoof. “No, you need not apologize. I am on edge right now, and just a little nervous at what I have to reveal.”

“Before we begin, I would know why you attacked my nation, and ruined my niece's wedding,” Celestia asked, raising a single eyebrow and giving the changeling her best 'this had better be good' glare.

It was quite good, seeing as how she had perfected it over several centuries.

Chrysalis just sighed at that, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. “I would tell you all, but some explanation would be in order first. Some explanation about the origin of the changeling race, and a promise that we made, oh so long ago,” she said as she straightened herself a little bit. “I must tell you now, though, that my reasons and my actions were inexcusable; I will gladly accept whatever punishment you deem necessary, but only after this war is finished. I only ask that you are merciful to my people. They had nothing to do with my choices, and were only following my instructions.”

Celestia and Luna just looked at her for the longest time, their faces unreadable masks as they thought about what she had said.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Celestia spoke. “Let's first hear of this, 'promise,' that your ancestors have made, as well as your connection to the Dridune. After all of this is over, and Equis is safe from invasion, then we'll decide upon a fitting reparation for your attempted coup.”

“That is the very reason why I come to you today,” she said, turning towards the statue of Discord. She then reached out and gently put a hoof upon his stony exterior, almost in apology. “I would explain the reason why we changelings must feed upon your emotions, why we hunt you, kidnap you, brainwash you, and return you emotionally drained and mentally scarred.”

Admiral Zelgius shook his head at this, folding his arms in disgust. “I don't think any story that you spin is going to make us see you and your people as anything other than monsters. Those are some pretty hefty crimes you've just admitted to. Even if you don't count the coup, you'd be looking at jail time from some cultures, and execution from others.”

Chrysalis nodded her head. “I know. What we have done to the people of this planet is deplorable, yet necessary. You may not believe me now, but please, all I ask is that you hear me out.”

Princess Celestia narrowed her gaze at this. “I already said that I would hear your side of the story, so please, continue with what you have to say.”

The Changeling Queen took in a breath, then exhaled as she attempted to steady her nerves. “It all began with a race of beings called The Watchers. At least, that is what they called themselves. Much of what I know about them has been forgotten, lost to the ages as the memories of my hive waned, but I still know some of what they were,” Chrysalis said as she sat down in front of the statue of Discord. “According to legend, they were a people with great power, possessing the ability to not only see into the hearts and minds of others, but also to change what they found there. However, they saw this power as a curse, one to never use under any circumstances. They decided that, instead of using this power to rule, they would simply watch the unveiling of the universe. Hence the name, The Watchers.”

Admiral Zelgius just shook his head at that. “I find it hard to believe that an entire race would feel this way about this power of theirs, and simply stand by and 'watch'. At least one would try to abuse it,” he said in disbelief.

“You are correct. I do not know his motivations, whether he thought he knew better, if he just craved power, or if he suddenly went mad,” Chrysalis said with a wave of her hoof. “Whatever the reason, there was one among The Watchers who was not satisfied with his place in the grand scheme of things. He sought more, and to do this, he began to use his power to conquer those he deemed as 'the lesser races'. He traveled far and wide, bringing more and more under his banner, making them happy slaves to his will as he amassed his army. Finally, after he had gathered a sizable force, he struck out against his kin, burning their entire world to the ground, slaughtering them all without mercy.”

“Why would he do that to his own kin?” Celestia said with a gasp. “The very thought of it is monstrous to the extreme!”

“It is indeed. As to the why, he did it because they could resist his will. Even if they had sworn allegiance to him, they could still have plotted an uprising and have dethroned him. His only choice, if he were to forever retain his power, was to ensure that there was no one who could challenge his rule,” Chrysalis explained.

“What... what did he do then?” Luna asked faintly.

“According to lore, he established himself Master of All. He then created servants to relay his message of dominance. These creatures, who had a fraction of his power, were bearers of his will, incapable of disobeying their master. These he sent to other worlds, slowly corrupting others to his will.”

“And these are the Dridune, I take it?” Zelgius asked, raising an eyebrow.

“They were, but not as you know them. They were far different than the ones you know now. From what my agent has told me, the Dridune that you fight now resemble bipedal octopi, they being both disgusting in form, and tyrannical in nature,” Chrysalis said with a nod. “The Dridune in the past, however, were far more lovely, yet far less powerful, at least at first. They were creatures of seduction, both in body and mind, possessing the power to appear as whatever their victims desired most. They craved the minds of others, and would consume their entire psyche, taking everything that their victims were, and giving nothing in return. This in turn made them more powerful, until they had the strength to dominate entire planets.”

Celestia's mind froze as she heard this. Those traits combined sounded awfully familiar to her, but she decided to refrain in her judgement until after Chrysalis had finished her story.

“Well, since the universe isn't under the thumb of this madman, and you said that this took place a long time ago, I assume that his plan was foiled in some way?” Admiral Petran asked curiously.

“It was. In his arrogance, Lord Tyranny overlooked one thing. During the battle to destroy all who could oppose him, he made a minor, yet crucial mistake,” Chrysalis said, her voice rising with pride. “He let one of his countrymen escape.”

* * *

I was wondering when you’d get here.

Oh? You have something to say? I’m sorry, but not only do we not have time for that, but you can’t exactly talk to me in your current state. Besides, there is more for me to show you than questions you need to ask.

Look, and see what… wait, what’s this? You’ve already seen this? Well, this changes a few things…

Oh, don’t give me that look, the things you’ve seen? It just means that you’re a bit ahead of schedule. We can skip past the dull, boring, mass murdery bits that my brother was responsible for, and skip right to the important bits.

Namely, me.

Yes, hold your applause, you knew I was… wait, you haven’t figured it out yet? Really? But… my brother gave you all those hints!

Agh! Whatever! We’ll start from where you last left off, then: My escape.

* * *

“Psychic controls offline. Sublight engines offline. Switching to auxiliary controls. Switching to- Error. Auxiliary engines damaged. Running diagnostics on plasma nicelle. Please wait.”

“Grah! Belay that! Instead, activate the ship’s self destruct, and redirect all available power to the cockpit’s inertia dampeners. Prepare to eject the cockpit on my mark!”

Freedom started to count under his breath as the blue orb on his monitor swiftly filled the whole screen. There was obviously going to be life on that planet, and he would be daft to allow his ship to cause any more death today.

“Ship to self destruct in five, four, three-”

“MARK!”

With a sizable jerk, the entire room around him shot forward, leaving his crumbling ship behind. Suddenly, without warning, the entire cockpit pitched forward as the ship it left behind detonated into a thousand, tiny, easily burned up in the atmosphere pieces.

As Freedom looked out the window at the quickly approaching planet, he reached into his coat pocket with his lower right hand. He had been saving the wine for a special occasion, but it looked like such a time was never coming.

“Here’s to you, mysterious planet,” he said, toasting the rapidly approaching rock. As he started to down the bottle, warning lights started flashing all across the cockpit, alerting him to the coming danger, and warning him to do something about it.

He ignored them, however. After all, what could he do at this point to stop any of it? Even if he survived this crash, Tyranny would find him anyway. Freedom knew he was living on stolen time, paid for with the lives of his countrymen as they had thrown themselves at Tyranny’s forces.

While he had fled like a coward.

You’re the lorekeeper, Freedom. If we accomplish nothing else, you must escape this…

Freedom shook his head wistfully at the memory. It was a pointless one, now, seeing as how the data stores he had been guarding had been destroyed with the rest of the ship.

With one last look out the window, Freedom drunk the last of his alcohol as the planet rushed up to meet him.

* * *

Jalath Shadowfall blearily opened her eyes. The bright, white light above her was blinding, so she quickly shut them again.

“Ugh… why is everything trying to murder my eyes?” she asked, her voice cracking as her dry throat made speaking difficult.

“Oh, good, you’re awake. Give it a few hours for the drugs to work their way out of your system, and you should be ready for some physical therapy in no time,” a male voice said somewhere close by.

“...I take it the operation was successful?” Jaleth asked groggily.

“It was. You should be regaining full motor skills in a matter of days. Would you like a mirror? Patients who undergo this particular treatment-”

“That won’t be needed,” Jaleth interrupted him. “I wouldn’t be able to see it right now, anyway, since I’m effectively blind until my… eye… things, jive with my brain.” she was still quite light-headed from the drugs they gave her, so words and ideas were a bit difficult for her right now. “Where am I?”

“You’re on board The Jolly Roger, currently orbiting the world known as PTS-945. With any luck, we’ll be able to get the locals to give us a name more suiting than that.”

Jaleth thought about this for a second, but what she remembered didn’t match up with where she was. “...Why? Why am I on the admiral’s personal ship? What happened while I was out? I was kind of expecting-”

“Don’t worry about that, infiltrator, the admiral told me that he wished to explain things to you personally. All you have to worry about right now is making a full recovery.”

Jaleth groaned in frustration over that. The very least he could have done was left me with a little bit of a head’s up…

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! Sorry about the HUGE wait, but I had writer's block.

Anyway, my writer's block is finally gone. Or, rather, it moved. Now I can't write anything for What I've Done, so I've switched to this. Hopefully it will stay like this, and I'll be able to do a whole lot more!

Also, mad props to my new editor Eddiehowell! He's great!

Tip Jar!

Chapter II

Twilight grumbled incoherently as the infernal wake-up tone sounded through her bunk. The tone was an annoyingly loud, high-pitched screech that would repeat itself every couple of seconds to her immense displeasure. Reluctantly, she threw the blanket off of her head and groggily looked around in confusion.

It was strange. Even though she was still tired from just waking up, her mind felt... clear. Almost like these were the first coherent thoughts she had experienced in a long time. She also noticed that her mind was taking in a lot more detail about her surroundings now. Why is that, though? she thought.

Grumbling slightly to herself, she reached up with her hoof and rubbed the back of her neck. Honestly, it felt like she had slept on a rock last night...

Her hoof froze when it came into contact with the hard metal surface of the collar that she was wearing. What is this? she thought as she felt the collar. As far as she could remember she had always worn it, but only now did she question what it was.

Wait... that isn't right, she thought to herself. She distinctly remembered that there had been a time when she had not worn it.

Something definitely isn't right here... she thought as she examined the room around her with interest. It was familiar, yet strangely alien at the same time. She knew that she had spent months, maybe even years inside this room, but she had never really examined it in any particular detail before.

The room was roughly the same size as the main reading room in her library back home. However, where her library had an open and airy feel to it, this room felt cramped due to the six bunk beds spaced evenly through the square living space. Currently, all the bunk beds were empty, their former occupants already on their way out of the room to the mess hall.

Panicking slightly, though unsure why, she leaped out of bed and hurried to follow the others. She easily caught up with them before they had even gotten five feet away from the door of the bunk, nearly bumping into the hominid at the back of the line. As she fell into step, something nagged at her consciousness. Something that she recently remembered... something important...

She had a library.

She had a library! With books! Of course! How could she forget the Golden Oaks library! It was where she and Spike had made their home after the Nightmare Moon incident! She and her friends had defeated... her... with the elements...

The feeling of joy she had felt at remembering so much of her life had quickly turned into abject terror. If she had friends, family and a home, then why was she here? Why was she wearing these strange clothes? Why was she wearing a metal collar like some kind of dog? Why were there so many strange creatures around that were similarly dressed?

And what was that?

That last thought was directed at the caretaker who was watching as his charges filed past. Luckily for her, it was preoccupied with watching the rest of the orange suited creatures, completely failing to notice the horrified stare of the small purple unicorn further down the line. It was a hideous creature, standing roughly six feet tall, its face covered in tentacles where a mouth should have been. Above the mass of tentacles, she saw two beady black eyes which swept up and down the line, carefully looking for anything out of the ordinary. Its green, rubbery, bald flesh had a slimy sheen to it which made Twilight slightly sick as she watched it. It had two forelimbs, which faintly reminded her of a Minotaur's arms, with the exception that instead of fingers, the creature had short, curling tentacles in their place. It was wearing an immaculately clean, white lab coat, with equally white pants on its legs, and a set of shiny white boots on its feet. At its hip was a small, white, L-shaped rod holstered in a white sheath.

For some bizarre reason that rod made her apprehensive, though she wasn't sure why.

As she examined the creature, it dawned on her that the caretaker was looking for signs of intelligence from any of its charges. She wasn't really sure how she had come to that conclusion but, by the way it looked at each of the other creature's faces, she was sure that she was correct. She also came to the conclusion that she needed to play dumb if she was to keep herself safe—at least for the time being.

Quickly, she arranged her face in what she hoped was an unthinking expression—just in time too, because at that exact moment the creature decided to look directly at her.

The moments that followed were especially tense for Twilight, as she was sure the creature had seen the spark of understanding in her eyes. However, she desperately kept her face expressionless, just concentrating on putting one hoof in front of the other as those beady black eyes bored into her.

Inside, she started to panic, however. Any moment now, the caretaker was going to notice that something was different about her. It was going to stop her, pull out that odd shaped rod, do something to her...

Step by agonizing step she moved past the guard and into the mess hall—then breathed a sigh of relief. Not only had the guard failed to notice her, but it also seemed as if there weren't any in here to see through her facade.

Now that she was out of any immediate danger, she decided to get a better look at her surroundings—and at the others that were also being held prisoner.

Prisoner... honestly, it was the only word that fit her situation. All of the ward mates—no, all of the prisoners—were wearing uniform orange jumpsuits with symbols on the back, as well as those weird collars with the flashing green lights. Each prisoner (besides her) was also bipedal in nature. However, that was where the similarities between all of them ended.

They were all different. In fact, there were no two prisoners that were alike in any respect. One had a distinct lion-like appearance, while another looked like a large, upright frog, while yet another looked like it was some sort of bizarre insect. Some looked dangerous, while others looked quite frail. All of them, however, had blank, unknowing expressions on their faces.

The room they were in was large, larger than the dance hall at Canterlot. Spaced evenly throughout the room were several rows of rectangular metal tables with metal benches on either side, while at one end of the room there were four small machines that whirred and clicked as they dispensed that disgusting slop from yesterday. The walls, ceiling, and floors of this room were all made of metal, with the floor covered in some form of weird grating that hurt her hooves. All along the walls she could see long luminescent strips which gave light to the rest of the room.

She thought that she should be scared to be in a room with so many weird creatures, and in any other circumstances she would have been. But right now, they were all in the same boat that she was; they were all prisoners of those strange, squid-like guards. Each probably had friends and family that missed them dearly. Each had a life before this living nightmare. How could she be scared of these people knowing that?

Her mind raced furiously as she followed the line to the dispensers. Clearly whatever had prevented her from remembering was also being used on these strange creatures, and by chance or fate, she had somehow broken free. If she was to get home, she was going to need some help.

Which meant that she was going to need to free them from whatever magic that was keeping them all spellbound like this. Did those collars have something to do with it? Maybe—

Wait, magic? What was magic? It seemed importan—

Then she remembered. She could use magic! That was why her horn was so important to her!

Clearly whatever was keeping her fellow prisoners in an obedient stupor was still having an effect on her memory. Things were fragmented, but if she concentrated, she could remember details.

She frowned as she took her tray of food from the dispenser. She could have sworn that something like this had happened before, something that had caused her and her friends to forget who they really were. Yet even then, she had found a way to reverse that damage...

...Real friends don't care about what your cover is...

Some sort of spell, some magic she had used to allow them to become the Elements of Harmony once again, so they could defeat...defeat...

...friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing...

As she sat down at her usual table, Twilight's horn flared to life for a brief instant. Suddenly, the fog that had been clouding her mind was burned away, like dew was burned away by Celestia's Sun.

...Defeat Discord! Of course! The memory spell!

Twilight Sparkle, personal protégé of Princess Celestia, bearer of the Element of Magic and Librarian of the Golden Oaks Ponyville Public Library would have danced and sung for joy!

...had she not been in such a dangerous place at the time.

Okay, I've got my memory back, she thought to herself as she picked at the glop in front of her. What's my next move?

She looked up at the creature in front of her, taking note that the weird, hairless hominid was both familiar, and alien at the same time. The creature continued to chew its food with an impassive expression on its face, not even noticing her far more attentive stare. Well, I'm going to need friends if I'm going to make it out alive, she thought to herself.

Cautiously, she reached out with her magic and started to scan the creature in front of her for anything foreign. However, not knowing anything about the biology of the creature in front of her, she wasn't really sure what she was looking for.

She was somewhat surprised to find that the hominid in front of her had very little inherent magic inside it. Sure it had magic, but it was as if it had never used it before. As for foreign magic, she found absolutely nothing.

There has to be something that's causing this! she thought to herself. It occurred to her that she could use the memory spell, but without removing the thing that was causing the memory loss in the first place, she would just be back to square one again.

Feeling a bit frustrated, she turned her scanning spell on herself. Maybe there is some of whatever it was still inside me, she thought to herself.

While she didn't find any foreign magic, she did find a weird chemical compound in her system. This particular compound was new to her, but she was familiar enough with chemistry to be able to guess what it was supposed to do.

It seemed like it was some sort of drug that clouded the mind, but how had it gotten into her system in the first place? And why was it still inside of her? A drug like this would have been metabolized within four to five hours of administration, and according to her memory, none of the guards had ever injected her with anything...

Was it the food? A quick scan told her no, it wasn't the food. Maybe the drug delivery system was in her clothing...

Quickly, she turned the magical scan upon her clothing and methodically searched through the orange fabric. No... not the clothing... what about the collar though? It can't be there just for show...

In truth, she had already suspected the collars that they all wore. She just wanted to eliminate all possible variables before tackling that irritating thing.

Inhaling deeply, she directed her scan on the collar. Inside, she found a device of such a degree of complexity that she wasn't really sure where to begin. It seemed to run on electricity, however, so it wasn't entirely beyond her comprehension.

There were signals being passed back and forth between the green light and some sort of compartment filled with that mind fogging compound. The compartment itself was connected to a needle, which in turn had pierced her hide and was pumping the compound into her.

Or, at least, that was what it was supposed to do. The device had been broken somehow, and the needle was only pumping a tiny fraction of the drug into her system. Enough to slightly cloud her mind, but not enough to make her forget.

She was about to turn off the device when she stopped herself. By sheer chance this device had broken, allowing her to escape. This device also didn't appear to have any way to replicate the drug. Clearly, this device needed to be serviced regularly, or it would stop working. This was obviously the purpose of the green light, to let her captors know if the drug delivery system stopped working, or if the device had malfunctioned in some way. Due to the nature of the break, the device thought that it was still operating at full efficiency, even though it wasn't.

Well, it wouldn't take a very complicated enchantment to make sure it stayed that way, now would it? she thought to herself. Probably a modified version of the 'come to life' spell would do here.

In truth though, the enchantment to do just that would have been moderately complex, and far beyond the skill of the average unicorn. However, Twilight Sparkle wasn't 'any average unicorn'. As Celestia's personal student, moderately complex spells were well within her abilities to craft and cast, so it didn't take her too long before she was able to fool the device, making it think that it was constantly running at top efficiency. Even after she had deactivated the rest of the device, the light continued to blink green.

A bit relieved at how well that turned out, she was about to do the same for the hominid in front of her when a guard walked into the room, blowing a loud, piercing note on a small, silver whistle.

At first, Twilight thought that she had been discovered, only to remember a second later what that whistle meant.

It meant that it was time for them all to head to the yard.

Twilight gulped. This wasn't going to be easy, but for now she had to play along. At least, long enough for her to free the others.

Author's Note

Made a few edits, mainly to improve flow and to fix a few errors. Hope you guys like it!

EDIT: Well, as promised, I've gone through this chapter as well, hopefully sweeping any mistakes I've made under the rug. Again, if you've spotted anything I may have missed, please let me know!

Chapter XVII

“Are you sure that you want to see to this personally, My Queen?” Gath asked hesitantly. “You have not yet fully recovered from your wounds, and I would not have you trot into harm's way,” the rather stocky changeling drone said.

“I am sure, Swarm Leader. This is the most important event in the history of The Hive, and more importantly, the history of the entire planet. Everything we have strode for, everything we have built, and every life we have hatched under these sands will be for naught if we cannot weather the coming storm,” Chrysalis said calmly.

“Yes, but what if these aliens and their pony allies try to seek vengeance on us for our attempted coup? Or what if they come for less honorably reasons than what they claim?” Gath pointed out. “At least allow me to meet them before they reach us, to ensure their peaceful intentions.”

Chrysalis didn't seem to hear him, though, and was instead lost in her own thoughts. “I had honestly tried to forget that this day would come,” she said wistfully. “My mother had warned me, not to mention that the great Matriarchs from the past had tried to warn me as well. I had ignored them, of course. I was tired of living in the shadows, scraping a thankless existence off of the scraps of other species. I suppose it is my punishment for my hubris that the prophecy is fulfilled during my reign.”

There was a profound silence that followed this pronouncement as Gath tried to make sense of his Queen's ramblings. However, before he could finish his contemplations, a loud roaring sound broke the silence, causing the assembled changelings to glance up in terror as a sleek, black pod shot through the air overhead. It hovered for a little bit above a nearby sand dune, then gently touched down, throwing up a dust storm around it.

“It is still not too late, they have not yet reached the oasis. We can still take them by surprise without them even setting foot on this sacred place,” Gath urged his Queen, baring his fangs as the strange craft's door opened.

“You will do no such thing. These visitors, and their pony allies, are not to be harmed,” Chrysalis snapped, her eyes glowing dangerously as she glared at the overzealous drone. “To harm them is to bring about my wrath, and need I remind you what happened to the drones that chose to rebel after the failed coup?”

Gath gulped awkwardly as he backed down. “I apologize, My Queen. I spoke out of turn, and for that I am prepared to face my punishment.”

“I have no desire to punish such a loyal warrior, just remember where to direct your wrath. These visitors are not our enemies, nor are the ponies, though they will not treat us like it after what happened at Canterlot,” Chrysalis said dismissively. She then let out a sigh of regret, rubbing her forehead with her hoof as she did so. “It was folly in me to attempt to change our status as guardians of the shadows, and for that I must pay the price. That must come later, though. First, we must survive the coming onslaught.”

Further conversation came to a halt, however, when the delegates exited the strange craft.

“By the Matriarchs, what are they?” Gath hissed at the sight of the approaching aliens and their pony allies.

Their apparent leader was a tall, fur-less biped who's face was covered in scars. It had a strange, brown tuft of hair similar to a pony's mane on the top of its head, as well as two much smaller tufts directly above its eyes. Its skin was an extremely light, beige color that was tinged with various shades of pink here and there, as well as other blemishes that were too numerous to mention. It wore a deep blue uniform with gold trim, while on its right breast pocket it wore some sort of insignia depicting a set of wings. On one shoulder, Chrysalis could see a patch depicting a blue and green sphere covered in a grid-like pattern, while on his other shoulder it wore a patch showing a flaming primate skull flanked by a pair of black wings.

To the left of the alien hominid was a dark blue dust pony. Dust ponies were one of the three pony races that belonged to the Night Tribes; a group of ponies that bore cat-like eyes, fangs, and a usually more muted color palate. Dust ponies differed from their bat pony and starlight pony cousins in the fact that they lacked both wings and horns, more closely resembling earth ponies in their appearance.

The dust pony wore royal, dark blue armor with bat-like motifs, easily marking him as one of Luna's Night Sentinels. The style of his armor declared him as an airship captain, though, rather than part of the Night Sentinel's regular forces. This was strange, because this particular role was usually filled by unicorns or pegasus ponies; never before had she seen this armor worn by a dust pony.

Behind the pair were two more of Princess Luna's Night Sentinels, as well as two more of the alien visitors. The ponies weren't anything special, just a thestral and a starlight pony: a bat-winged Night Tribe pegasus pony, and a unicorn who possessed a sharp, curved horn instead of the more common, straight, spiral horns of their Day Tribe cousins. Both were dressed in a manner similar to their captain, though clearly lacking the airship style in their armor. All in all, nothing that she hadn't seen before, though it was odd that the two princesses had sent Night Sentinels instead of Solar Guard.

It was the other two visitors that had caught her eye, and had given her drones cause for alarm.

They were huge, looking nothing short of two large, bipedal golems. In their large, metal hands, they gripped heavy, intimidating weapons that faintly reminded her of a wizard's staff, due to the glowing crystal at the end. She could tell that they were not golems, however, because of the clearly living face that stared out from the open face-plate of the armor. One was that of some kind of green-furred, monkey-like creature, while the other was that of a gray wolf. Their armor was incredibly imposing, covered in skull-like motifs, and what she assumed were death threats written in other languages. She felt an unpleasant shiver travel up her back as she watched the six creatures approach, and not for the first time did she deliberate the wisdom of her actions.

"You cannot back down now, too much is at stake."

Though the voice did steel her mind a bit, she still had to suppress a gulp as the imposing party approached.

As expected, the Princesses of the Sun and Moon do not show, Chrysalis observed nervously to herself. She was attempting to distract herself from her growing fear, but it didn't seem to be working. Of course, had they known that I was to meet them myself, Celestia would have insisted on being here. Somehow, this doesn't comfort me in the slightest...

* * *

The small pod roared as it set down near the small oasis, its grav discs shutting off with an audible whine as the pod powered down. “Are you sure this is the place?” Captain Hale asked as he nervously gazed out over the arid landscape.

“I'm positive. This is the Valley of Kings. It's a sacred spot for both the Saddle Arabians and the Changlings. Both have used it as neutral ground when parleying in the past, as both species are loathe to bring conflict here,” Captain Breeze answered as he readjusted his helmet.

“Why is this spot so sacred to them?” Captain Hale asked curiously, though secretly he was struggling to not groan at the horse pun that Captain Breeze just dropped. Again, he wondered whether or not his translation matrix was working properly, and why on earth it had decided to translate the name of an entire empire into a horse-related pun.

That, and the fact that the name translated into something that sounded incredibly similar to Saudi Arabia, an ancient geographical location back on Hale's home planet of earth. There are so many similarities here, it just boggles the mind... Hale thought to himself.

“Several reasons, actually,” Knight Breeze answered, breaking Hale from his reverie. “Apparently this was the site where an ancient Saddle Arabian prince fell in love with a changeling nymph, as the stories go. I'm not too familiar with the specifics myself, but it is the main reason why the Saddle Arabians refuse to hunt down and drive out the Changeling Hive that infests the desert.”

“Is that so? So we're guaranteed safety while we're here?” Hale asked nervously.

“With changelings I cannot guarantee anything except for deceit...” Breeze answered with disdain. “As I've said, I'm not too familiar on the specifics. They have historically avoided all conflict here, so I believe that they really just want to talk.”

“Good, because I'd rather not start a war with something else that can control minds,” Hale said nervously.

“You don't have to worry about that. From the descriptions that you've given us, as well as the information given by Miss Sparkle, I would conclude that changeling mind control is not only easier to spot, but easier to avoid as well. They cannot just take you over like how these 'Dridune' do; rather, they have to hit you with the spell first. The spell has a clear visual and audible clue that can be dodged, not to mention that it can also be blocked by most metals. Also, they won't be able to mentally control you from a distance; they have to be close enough to be able to give you vocal commands,” Captain Breeze reassured Hale.

Blocked by most metals, eh? Hale thought as he rubbed his forehead. “What are the visual and audible clues?” he asked, relief bleeding into his voice.

“Oh, don't worry, you won't be able to miss it,” Captain Breeze said as he fumbled with the buckle holding him in place.

“What's that supposed to mean? How will my men be able to dodge it if we don't even know what we're looking for?” Hale asked incredulously.

“Well, I don't know about the kind of place you're from, but from where I come from, if someone tries to shoot green lasers at me, I'd try to get out of harm's way,” Captain Breeze said with a sardonic grin.

“Huh...” Hale said as he reached over and unbuckled the gray pony. “One last thing, are you sure that this is all that we need?” he asked as he threw a sweeping gesture towards the pod's other inhabitants.

While Hale had brought up this point before, it was still one that he felt needed addressing. They had only brought a single unicorn by the name of Lieutenant Nova Burst, as well as a single pegasus named Sergeant Fair Weather. As for the non-pony crew, Knight Breeze had insisted on only two other members. Hale had selected a Simiate Sergeant by the name of Calavad, as well as a Wolofor Battlemaster named Ki'yun. Despite this being a diplomatic mission, Captain Breeze had insisted that they wore full battle armor, claiming that it was customary when meeting with a hostile nation.

That being said, both the sergeant and the battlemaster cut imposing figures in their powered assault armor, and not for the first time Hale wondered at the wisdom of such a show of force. At the same time, however, knowing that these creatures could control minds made him also wonder whether or not he should have brought more.

Knight Breeze just nodded at this. “I'm sure. We're just a diplomatic party, we're not here to start a war, we're just here to see what they want.”

This was true, though Hale had to wonder at this custom of sending warriors to negotiate when dealing with a hostile nation. While it was true that Hale looked the part of a diplomat, he really felt that someone more qualified should be here instead of him. Unluckily for him, however, everyone more competent than him were tied down elsewhere, or were not in the system at all. The Alliance forces that had come were a defensive force; they hadn't brought a diplomatic party, simply because Admiral Zelgius had judged that there wasn't enough time to scrounge one together.

That being said, Hale still had one trick up his sleeve, or more precisely, in his head. His nature as a cyborg allowed him to receive instruction from his superiors during even the most hectic firefights, despite the fact that he wore neither an antenna or speaker. Receiving orders during a diplomatic discussion? That would be a cakewalk in comparison.

“Anything I should be on the lookout for? For example, are there any customs that I shouldn't step on?” Hale asked as he opened the shuttle's door.

“You don't have to worry about that sort of thing. The changelings will be expecting a certain amount of hostility, as well as ignorance to their ways. Changelings rarely let outsiders into their hive, let alone tell them whether or not it is impolite to bow or not. They usually adopt to the customs of whomever they are parleying with, rather than expect others to adopt to theirs. Since you're a new species to them, they will be just as lost as you will be, so we'll actually have the advantage here,” Knight Breeze said with a grin.

Captain Hale nodded as he led the party out of the craft. “Anything else I should know about them?” he asked.

“Not really. Other than what we've told you on the way here, very little is known about the changelings. Evidence suggests that their civilization is very old, though, so I would expect a bit of arrogance and disdain,” Lieutenant Burst cut in as she stepped out of the craft.

Well, might as well get this over with, then, Hale said as he strode towards the oasis.

The strange group entered the oasis with no issues, easily catching sight of the group they were supposed to meet. However, as soon as they came into view of the assembled changelings, Knight Breeze and his subordinates froze in their tracks.

“What's wrong, Knight?” Hale asked curiously.

“We. Are. Screwed,” Knight Breeze whispered quietly to Hale. “That isn't a representative like we originally thought, that is their Queen. I wasn't in the throne room during the coup, but I have heard stories. She's ruthless, calculating and clever. We should have brought one of the Princesses with us to negotiate, otherwise I don't see any hope of us escaping here alive...”

As the Queen and her entourage approached the party, Hale took this opportunity to examine the changelings up close. The drones (at least, he assumed that they were drones, based on Captain Breeze's description) were shorter than the average pony, though they made up for that by looking twice as vicious. Inch long fangs protruded from the tops of their mouths, while a sweeping, curved horn similar to Lieutenant Burst's graced their foreheads. Their bodies were covered in a shiny black chitin, except on their back where it formed a single, dark blue shell from which their insectoid, ragged wings grew. Their eyes were a light, solid blue color, lacking both iris and pupil, giving them a soulless glare that quite unnerved Hale. These traits, as well as their hole covered legs, ragged ears, neck frills and tail gave them a distinctly menacing, alien, predator vibe that Hale found hard to shake.

There were ten drones in all, all surrounding their Queen in a protective fashion, all ready and rearing for a fight. Hale sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

The Queen herself was quite the imposing sight to behold. She was similar to her drones, but at the same time completely different. Her shiny black chitin was like theirs, as was her hole covered legs, and ragged, insectoid wings.

However, that was where the similarities ended.

She was much taller than any of the drones, easily towering over the others by a good two feet. Her mane and tail didn't appear to be hair in the traditional sense. In fact, Hale was having a hard time nailing down precisely what the turquoise substance was. It was long and stringy like hair, yet at the same time it seemed to want to stick together and act like a non-Newtonian substance. Her horn was a twisted, gnarled thing that jutted out from her forehead, while just above that was some sort of black crown thing with blue, gem-like objects sitting on the end of each of the spikes. The reason Hale was having difficulty describing it as a crown was because it honestly looked like some kind of weird growth coming out of the top of her head, rather than something she was wearing. Around her belly was a band of blue, while on her back was a much brighter blue shell then that of her drones.

However, as much as all of these differences made her stand out amongst her drones, they paled in comparison to her eyes.

Her eyes had irises and pupils, just like a humans' eyes. However, unlike a human, her eyes had two, differently shaded green irises, one encircling the other, while at their center sat catlike pupils that seemed to glow with a predatory gleam.

The Changeling Queen stopped just shy of twelve feet from Hale and his crew, then waved a single, dismissive hoof towards her drones. They began chattering to her in some kind of incomprehensible language, to which Hale leaned down towards Captain Breeze in confusion. “Do you understand any of that?”

“Not a single word. But whatever she's planning, the drones don't like it in the slightest,” Captain Breeze answered.

The Queen just snapped at the assembled drones, her eyes glowing green as her patience reached its limits. They immediately backed down, their heads bowed in submission towards their ruler as they withdrew from around her. She then stepped forward until she was six feet in front of Hale, her eyes searching his face, almost as if she was looking for answers.

Her front legs then buckled, and the Queen of the Changelings fell into what was unmistakably a bow.

“Welcome noble Star Warrior, foe to the Willslayer. My home, my lands, and my changelings are yours to command. Use us wisely,” she said, pointedly ignoring the stunned silence from the drones behind her.

Author's Note

Edit: Sorry for being a little skimpy on story. I promise more in the next chapter, I swear!

Yeah, some of you may notice that I'm using a few OCs from my other stories, the biggest being Knight Breeze there, the one that I named my fimfic account after. Trust me, the OC existed before the account.

Anyway, for any of you not familiar with my OC and worrying where I'm going with him, let me put to rest some of your worries right here and now. No, he's not a self insert. No, he's not a main character. No, he's not going to be hogging the spotlight. He's a side/support character, and I actually prefer him to keep that role, since it allows the main characters a much greater time in the spotlight. He's just here to facilitate a few things as well as explain things to Hale, and by virtue of that, explain things to you.

If you want a story about Knight Breeze, one already exists. It's called Fool's Gambit.

Also, expect a few new OC support characters to pop up over the next few chapters. They will be important later on during the battle segments.