Stargate Ponies

-Forty years ago, Gabala Desert-

"BE CAREFUL!" screamed a grey vested unicorn. "Those stone blocks could have valuable information on them!" he said as he thundered over to the group of worker ponies that had just dropped a large stone block onto the sand when their cart tipped over.

Moon Gaze, a dark purple unicorn foal and also the son of the screaming pony, stood under a canopy as he watched his father continue shouting at the ponies. He turned his head to the large pit which the workers had dug. It was large, like a calm great lake. Shovels dug, spraying sand into piles to be removed. The massive ruin the dig site was over was gradually getting uncovered as more and more sand left the hole as the day wore on. There were several accidents and cursing was common as it neared sundown, but the biggest event of all was the finding of a door. It was massive and sealed, but the workers were working quickly to open it.

Moon Gaze's father came to the canopy to rest as the last rays of the sun fell on them for the night. "I wish these simpletons would understand the importance of preserving most of the artifacts. They hardly seem to care and if me and my co-workers weren't here to make sure they did preserve them, they would probably be dust by now."

"Dad, why is it so important that we have to be out here? I'm sure..."

"Son, please understand. This is about something that will change history. When my friend discovered the tip of the obelisk that marked this temple you don't know what it meant. This ruin is perhaps the greatest archaeological find since the discovery of the Ludapa Sphinx. Be a good boy and listen to me," his father ordered.

His father turned to look at the night sky before a loud cheer went up. He quickly turned  to the dig site to see several of the workers pulling the door open. A stallion came running up, sending sprays of sand into the air in his haste. "Dust Storm, sir, the door's open, we can go inside!"

"Excellent! Moon stay here while I... no. No, you should come too. You'll be one of the first to see the grand hall of this old temple. Yes, I think today you get to explore the ruin with me. Today, my son, we make history. You, help my son down into the dig site. I expect him by the door with me in five minutes!" his father ordered before thundering off into the chaos of the dig site. Moon watched him as he ran over the uncovered ruins and met with the ponies removing the door.

"Come on kid," the stallion told him. "You heard your father, let's get you down there," the coarsely dressed stallion told him before grabbing his hoof. The stallion half pulled him through the confusion of the dig site. Moon had to duck several times as shovels passed where his head had been to relinquish their load onto one of the carts. Moon looked to and fro as ponies appeared and disappeared into the seething ocean of bodies. They finally made it to the door and Moon stared at the dark space inside. The ancient structure was magnificent and foreboding on the outside, but nothing compared to the inside. It was a hollow dark passageway to hell. The walls were covered in ancient drawings depicting a violent war and many atrocities. Moon's father stood in front of one of the murals with a servant standing behind him holding a torch.

"Marvelous... simply marvelous. This must be the god war that was spoken of in the temple of Caru. By the looks of it, this temple has the complete recording," his father said before turning and catching sight of Moon. "Ah, Moon, now that you are here we can proceed into the depths." His father walked over and took his hoof from the stallion. "Alright, let's go. History awaits!"

Moon followed his father as they entered the ruin. The walls story grew in size and before Moon's very eyes he could see the war. The images moved and played a story just for him. Thousands of ponies, young and the old rebelled against the god depicted on the walls. He saw the figures move in an ancient battle. Spears flew into the sky and a thousands of ponies rushed forward with all manner of weapons. The god's loyal followers marched into the army and fought to defend their god. They slew many of them, but could not against the sheer number of ponies.

Seeing his followers dying, the god lifted his pyramid from the ground. The pyramid lifted and floated above the army of ponies. Many fled, but then suddenly a shaft of light flew from the pyramid, destroying the fleeing ponies. The rest panicked and ran in all directions, but the light followed and killed them. The god lifted his head and laughed. Moon screamed and squeezed his head into his father's side. "Dad, dad! Please, I don't want to go any further. Let's go back," he pleaded.

"What's wrong?" his father asked, kneeling down to comfort his son.

Moon looked up to his father's blue eyes and felt a little better. He turned his eyes back to the wall's mural and was dumbfounded. It lay still, unmoving as if it had never moved.. "I... I guess I got scared. I thought I saw something, but I guess it was nothing."

"Good, then let's continue, I think I can see a door," his father said as he took a torch from a servant. He walked forwards, keeping his son close. Moon huffed as he saw the door. It was as dark and ominous as the entrance to the temple. In the center of it lay a giant circular hieroglyphic. Moon stared at it and suddenly the picture moved. The center of it seemed to spin and suddenly, something spewed from the center of it that looked like a monster. Moon screamed.

"Moon! Whatever is the matter?" his father asked, picking his son up and cradling him.

"I want to go outside!" Moon pleaded. His father sighed and nodded.

"You, take my son outside," his father ordered to one of the servants.

"No dad, I want you to come with me!" Moon screamed at his father. "I don't want you to go through that door!"

"Moon. I don't know what you are worried about, we are the only living things here," his father told him,but the realized his mistake as Moon began to tremble more. "What I'm saying is, there is no danger. I'll let you go outside if that is what you want, but we have to finish exploring this ruin. I've been looking at the hieroglyphics as we came down and noticed something about a sealed god. This temple could possibly contain the remains of the god Vramosh, lord of light, because he is the only one mentioned in these walls."

Moon looked up to his father and smiled. He knew his father was right, there was no danger. His mind was just playing tricks on him. "O-okay dad. I'll be fine."

Dust Storm smiled at his son. "Okay, could the two of you get the door open?" he asked two of the servants. They ran forward towards the door and brought up chisels to it's sides. They leaped back when the door started sliding down. Moon's father stood up and stared at the moving door. "Amazing! They actually had moving doors!" he cried as the door slid fully open. He lifted his torch high and walked through the newly opened doorway. He gasped at the sight.

What he stood in appeared to be a throne room, except it had no throne. The room was decorated in gold and silver. The walls were covered in many old pictures. The biggest being on the wall opposite the door. It was the grand image of Vramosh, the lord of light. "So much treasure. This must be his burial chamber. To think a god was real!" he cried. "But then again, princess Celestia already proves that," he muttered, a little disheartened before turning to a large plinth in the center of the room. "Hello, what's this?"

He walked over to it and stared at the ancient stonework. He pursed his lips and blew the dust of centuries off of the large object. His eyes went wide as he saw the glyphs covering it's surface. "Meadow Dew, come over here and tell me if I am reading this correctly."

One of the ponies in the group of servants marched over. He stood beside Moon's father and looked down at the words. He spoke an ancient language as he read the glyphs. The pony turned to his father and whispered something. Both the ponies turned and looked at the plinth, then the surrounding room. Dust Storm walked over and gave some hasty whispers to the group of servants who began to leave. After a few minutes Moon, his father, Meadow Dew and his father's co-workers were all that remained in the dimly lit room. One of the ponies turned and looked at Dust Storm.

"Dust, can you please explain why you sent them away? Are we to do the work of removing a god's remains by ourself?" he asked, quite annoyed at having to now carry his own equipment.

Dust turned to the group. "We won't be removing any remains because they aren't here."

"Then what about what you translated?" one of the other ponies asked, anger tinting his voice.

"I read it wrong. This plinth has told me the truth," he said as he walked towards it and reread it.

Another of the ponies grunted. "What is the truth then?" he asked as he took a step forward. "I came here expecting a grand discovery. I didn't come for a few measly trinkets and a massive story."

Dust Storm looked at the group of ponies and took a firm poise before he spoke. "This may not be the god's tomb, but it leads to the entrance," he stated with sincerity. The small group gasped and even Moon was taken aback. How could this lead to it? There was no other door, no way in or out, other than the long hall with all the pictures.

"...And what is the entrance?" said one of the ponies after some time was taken to digest this.

Dust smirked. "Roughly it reads as: The god's gate," he said to the amazement of the group.

"And not roughly?" asked a curious mare. Her voice filled with curiosity.

Dust Storm turned to Meadow who nodded and stood forward. The old brown pony stared at the group before opening his mouth. "In formal terms it would be called 'The Gate of the God's Stars'." Many of the ponies gasped and a few muttered prayers. "I have read many ancient stories about this ancient thing, but I believe it lays here in this very building."

"It's here!" cried one of the ponies. "But that is impossible. It couldn't exist! I mean, how can there really be a gate to the god's realm even if it exists?" he asked, the other ponies agreed.

Dust Storm stood beside Meadow Dew. "You know full well about magic and the plinth states it is here and that it leads to the god's realm." He walked past the ponies to the giant picture of the Vramosh. "If we can truly find this Godgate or Stargate, then we can once and for all prove that there is more than just this world." The ponies nodded and mumbled agreement, but one stood forward.

"But what about the servants? Why were they sent away?" he asked.

Dust laughed. "Because they are superstitious and if they learned what was here, they would truly try to keep the gate for themselves. We cannot allow that. We must find the gate and we must reach the god's realm. Science requires it and Celestia demands it." He turned towards the giant stone artwork and placed his hooves on it. "The children are coming to the gods!" he stated to a chorus of agreement.

Suddenly the wall cracked with an earsplitting sound. All the ponies, including Moon covered the ears and cringed as the temple filled with noise. The rumbling went on for several seconds as the whole temple shook. The rumbling slowed and stopped. Each pony carefully opened their eyes and looked where the effigy of Vramosh had been. Instead of a wall and picture stood a new portion of room. There on top of a massive platform, dominating it like the crown of Celestia, stood a massive ring. It was made of metal, but it looked like nothing the ponies had ever seen before. Two small crystals stood to each side of the ring. The outer ring had seven triangle pieces that were a dull green and an inner ring that contained many strange glyphs. The ponies stared at it in awe as they all trotted slowly up to it. Dust stood stuck to the very spot he had been, staring at the amazing find. "The... Stargate..." he muttered as he looked at it. A massive circular stone block filled it's center, blocking the view of the rings opposite side.

Dust regained his composure and ushered to the ponies as Moon watched from the other side of the room. They placed their hooves on the stone block and pushed. The block moved slowly, ever so slowly, as it slide and scraped the giant ring. Soon, the block tumbled out the other side and the massive ring stood empty and imposing. They stood back and admired it before jumping back as it began to move. The crystals began to glow and the center of the ring began to spin. They stepped back further away from the ring as the spinning slowed and a red triangle shaped piece lit up, slid down and touched a glyph before pulling back up and dimming. The triangle segment to the right of the top one glowed.

The ring then spun to another glyph as the ponies stood stuck watching. The segment slid down and another glyph below the one that previously lit up also glowed. The process repeated for several minutes as the ring spun and repeatedly caused it's segments to glow. Then as all six of the glyphs apart from the top one were alight, the ring spun and slowed to a final glyph. The top one descended and lit up and instead of pulling back up stayed down. Then, like a burst of fire from the sun, a massive burst of blue blasted from the ring and pulled back as a blue watery surface appeared in the circle the ring surrounded.

The ponies stood speechless before slowly walking towards the watery surface. "Dear Celestia," his father muttered as he drew closer.

"DAD!" Moon yelled, finally able to overcome his fear for the moment and make a sound. His father turned and smiled at him.

"It's okay Moon." He turned back to the watery surface and touched it. He recoiled before putting his whole hoof in. He smiled to the others before plunging headfirst through the gate. Moon cried for his father. The other ponies followed, too curious to listen to him and ignored his pleading. The each plunged through the watery surface, one by one. Moon stood alone in the room for minutes, waiting for his father to return. He gathered up the courage and walked in front of the gate. Staring into it. He thought about chasing after his father when something happened. The light from the crystals began to fade and soon went dark. Then with a final flash of light. The watery surface of the gate disappeared with a flash. Leaving Moon alone, without any light and without his father. For several seconds nothing happened. Then, Moon screamed.

-Present day, Maroon Fields-

The axe fell heavily on the dead tree's trunk creating a resounding crack. It splintered the wood before being pulled from the tree's wound to be swung again. It chopped again, splintering more wood. Soon the tree gave a mighty groan before crashing to the ground in a long, drawn out fall. Crab Apple grunted as he wrestled the axe from the splintered stump. He placed the axe's blade firmly on the ground and knelt on the handle. He huffed heavily from exhaustion while sweat ran over his yellow body and through his orange mane as he stared at his orchard. Many of the trees were in bloom and the others were starting or about to blossom. Crab stared at the many colors that filled his small orchard. The bright and vibrant greens, the luscious and delectable reds, and the strong and proud browns. His green eyes flickered through the many paths until he noticed a color that didn't belong. A dull and basic military blue.

"Good evening," the uniformed soldier began as he approached, ducking under a tree. "Colonel Apple, I presume?"

"Ex-Colonel," Crab Apple replied before lifting his axe up and sending it crashing through the fallen tree's branches. "I'm retired, so what do you want?" he asked as he pulled the axe loose.

"I'm here on the recommendation of General Silver Star, sir."

"Silver Star? He's been made a general? Next you'll be telling me Tartarus has frozen over," Crab mocked with another wood splitting swing. There was a thunk as the axe buried itself in the trunk.

"Very funny, sir. The general did mention you had an amazing sense of humor," the officer replied dryly.

"If you're trying to get me to come back by complimenting me, you're doing a lousy job... but then again, you are doing better than the last five who tried to get me to re-enlist. They kept claiming it was my duty to the country to serve," he spat the last words with venom. "Face it..." he took a look at the pony's badges, "...Major, I'm not coming back."

The Major looked at him before sighing and nodding. "Fine then. I can see you're unwilling anyways, so I won't bother... but before I go, may I be allowed a little R and R?"

Crab Apple looked at him with a quizzical brow, but also sighed and nodded. "Sure, why not, just so long as you tell those pencil pushers to stop sending for me," Crab Apple told the Major before setting the axe down and motioning towards the house. "I've got some cider on tap... you're not on duty, right?"

"I guess I could have a little cider. I go off duty... as of now," the Major said with a coy smile.

Crab led the way and they trotted through the orchard towards his home in silence. Crab stopped when they passed a hose and tap to turn it off, shutting off several sprinklers that were watering the garden. He nodded to the major and they continued into his home.

The Major entered and sat down on one of the small wooden chairs presented as Crab walked into a different room. He looked around the small room and noticed that something. He stood up and walked towards a glass case. Inside the case was an old Mk3 Long Driver with a silver bayonet sitting alongside many medals. The Major looked at it and noticed several notches on the side and something wrong with the butt. He looked at it and noticed it was cracked. He could see glue sticking out of the many cracks. 'He's actually used this to hit someone.' the Major thought. He turned at the sound of a door opening.

"Here we are, two mugs of cider," he said as he plonked one down on the table for the Major. He took notice of the Major standing next to the case and shook his head. "I only keep that there to remind me why I shouldn't go back." He took a large swig of his cider as he sat down on a chair.

The Major smiled and returned to his seat. He took a small sip of the drink before taking another gander at the mounted rifle. He had never before seen a Mk3 before apart from in a book and doubted he would ever see one again. His eyes strayed up along the barrel which gleamed and across the bayonet, which he could tell was razor sharp. "So, I never really read up much on your record. All I know is that you quit after your promotion to Colonel. Why was that?" he asked, turning back.

Crab Apple didn't even blink in response. He took another swig and placed his mug on the table. "Ever been in a war?" he asked. The Major shook his head in response. "Well I have. The second Great Equestrian War to be exact."

"Ah, that would explain much," the Major commented. "There were some horrible things that happened during that war," he said absentmindedly. He nodded to Crab to continue.

"I was in the war from the moment it began, to the moment it ended. I don't know which side got off worse," he stated as he turned to the case. "I took many lives during that war and a good few of them I shouldn't have. I did it on the orders of an officer, but that still doesn't make it right," he said as a tear formed in his eye. "I was forced to gun down an innocent family because one of the women refused to bed with a captain."

The Major looked appalled. "You could have just said no to the order. It goes against-"

"I was young and I didn't know, but that still doesn't make my actions right. Several times I was ordered to shoot civilians for just the whim of a commanding officer. Most of the time because they wanted to see suffering and death. Those sick aristocratic bastards turned us into tools for their own perverse pleasures. I was no better than they. I could have said no, but I was too scared to do it," he cried as more tears formed. "But, I guess I was able to stand up. The very last battle I attended, the battle for Natle Rock, I refused an order to kill a civilian."

The Major stood stunned. "What happened?" he asked, wanting to hear the details.

"Captain Rice ordered me to shoot a young girl. The man was a sick pedophiliac. He had tried to rape the girl and she had bitten him. He ordered me to shoot and kill her. I raised my gun, brought the butt to my shoulder, but I decided against it and grabbed the muzzle and swung. I slammed that very rifle you see's butt into the jaw of Captain Rice. His jaw was far worse off than the butt was. I had broken both sides of it and had destroyed most of his teeth. After he was down on the ground I pulled out my side arm and shot his stallionhood off."

The Major winced. "I guess that was a sort of poetic justice."

"Yes, I guess it was," Crab said before downing his mug. "After I made damn sure the bastard wouldn't ever be able to touch another child, I lifted the girl up and carried her out of the trench."

"You're the colt that did that? That is in many poems about that war," the Major commented before bringing the cider to his lips. He took a sip as Crab began to talk again.

"I know, my friend Sugar Field wrote one of them," The ex-Colonel explained.

The Major sprayed the sweet alcohol. "You knew-*cough*-Sugar Field?" he half choked. Crab stood up and gave him a pat on the back as the major started coughing like an old engine.

"Yes, I knew him. We were mates during the war. We looked after one another."

"One surprise after another. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew about why I am here," the Major quipped as he stood up. "Thank you for the drink, I'll be off now."

"So you're not going to tell me what I'm wanted for?"

"Yes, that's right. You said it yourself, you're not coming back," the Major reminded him as he turned to the door. "I'll be sure to tell the pencil pushers at Ridge Mountain that you aren't interested."

Crab's eyes went wide with that name. "Ridge Mountain?" he asked. "Silver works at Ridge Mountain?"

"Yes, that's right. He runs the whole operation there. Silver has been in charge of that installation for the past six years. It's too bad you aren't interested, because I'm pretty sure the General was interested in showing you the same thing you found in your Captain's journal twenty years ago."

Crab barely could catch his breath. He knew exactly what the Major was talking about. Twenty years ago, the day he had shot his Captain, he went into the Captain's tent and caught sight of the very particular journal. No longer fearing repercussion, he opened the journal and found a scrap of paper describing a strange ring like object. One not of Equestrian origin. The things he read about it filled his dreams and gave him a purpose he had now lost. He had spent years of his life trying to find whatever he could about the ring after the war, but to no avail. He still had the journal  Silver, the very colt who he had shared the delicate information about had the final key to the puzzle.

"Alright. I'll come."

-Ridge Mountain-

The military cart rolled slowly through the base's checkpoint, its stone wheels ground smoothly over the cement flooring. Crab hated having to wear the clothes he had been given to enter the base. They were Blue, like the Major escorting him, but they bore the distinct insignia of a Colonel, a golden sun, adorned on each shoulder piece. He had noticed the distinct mass of firearms held by the guards patrolling the base's perimeter. During the war he hadn't seen anywhere near this amount of armed ponies around even their command bunkers. What in Tartarus is here? he wondered as the gate opened for the cart to enter.

Mere minutes later after a few more security check, they entered an elevator system that took them into the base's facility, a massive complex, the Major explained, with enough supplies and munitions to support a small army. With a few clicks and a massive whirring of gears, Crab could feel the elevator descend. The room inside the elevator was stifling quiet as the Major and attending guards didn't move a muscle and all that could be heard was the sound of controlled breathing and the whirring of the gears. Crab, grown used to the ever present sound of nature, felt out of place. The shock of the situation became even larger when he realized how long he had been in the elevator. There journey down finally came to an end and the doors opened with a hiss.

The Major, with a wave of his hoof to the guards, escorted Crab down the hall. Crab took note of all the personnel filling the place. "Was that 243 or 244? Gah, I lost count... this place must pack it's own private army," he thought as he was led into what was obviously the command room. He got a quick view of the machinery before somepony tapped him.

"Well, Colonel, it's good to see you're out of retirement," Silver Star said as he walked up beside Crab. "You know, for all the staff here, I would trade probably every one of them for you," he said with a smile, "there ain't anypony like you in combat or ethics. Glad to have you aboard."

"Well sir, I only came for one reason," Crab responded, pulling a tatty book from a bag hanging from his side. "Is it the real deal or a hoax?" he asked, pushing the book into the generals hooves.

"It's the real deal," Silver replied, flipping to a certain page in the book. "Yep, exactly like the picture," he commented, "alright, have a seat and relax. I'll show you."

"Alright, so what does it do?"

"That's what you're here to find out," the general said, motioning to one of the officers in the room who activated a series of switches.

Crab gasped as the control room's wall shifted and raised itself, revealing a further room beyond, behind a glass pane. Lights slowly switched on in the second room, illuminating wires and equipment as the each in time turned on. Finally, when the last set flashed on, he saw it.

A giant multi-level metal ring stood at the farthest wall, held upright and in place by cables and several stands against and cat walk that led into it. On it, depicted in it's inner ring was a series of constellations he recognized. "Ursa Major, Ursa Minor," he whispered under his breath as he named a few off, but his brow furrowed at series he had never seen. "General..." he began.

"Those are constellations that are invisible to the naked eye. Takes a high powered telescope to view them. Don't worry about the ring. We're handling it,"

Crab rubbed his chin with a hoof as he continued to stare at the real life image of the thing that had haunted his dreams. "So... what exactly does it do?"

"It's an inter-dimensional portal, or otherwise known as a wormhole projection device," a dark purple unicorn in a white coat said as he walked into the room and towards the Colonel. "I'm Moon Gaze," he said, shaking hooves with Crab, "this ring is my father's discovery and now it rests in my hooves."

"How do you know it's a portal?" Crab asked.

"Because I saw it open and my father step through, if that explains it clear enough. The ring was a hard thing to get ahold of, since I was only a child at the time, and all the chief research staff had disappeared very suddenly at the final part of the excavation. It was seized by Southern Equestrian defectors and taken to a storage site to be sold on the black market. Luckily, not two days after it had been taken to that site, a group of Equestrian infantry seized it before their assault on Natle Rock and Celestia was able to get it back safe and sound to Canterlot, were it stood in the castle's vault for several years, before I was old enough to assist in it's research."

"That facility wouldn't have happened to be called Grounds Keep?" Crab asked.

"Yes it was," Silver responded, affirming his suspicion.

"Makes sense, Captain Rice temporarily served as captain of the squad that seized that place, which explains how the ring ended up in his journal. Here, pass it to the doc," Crab told the general.

"I'd kindly not like to be referred to as doc. My name is Moon Gaze if that is too hard to remember after one mention of it," Moon responded before accepting the journal. Levitating it up to his face, he shifted his glasses over his cyan eyes and read through the marked page. "Hmmm, most of this is garbage, but it confirms my speculation. Looks like we have all the right tools, now we just need the juice," he said closing the tatty book with a slam.

"Oi, I had to kill ten guys to get that... well not really, but that is still mine," Crab said taking the book from Moon, "honestly, show some respect for property," he stated, roughly shoving the book into his bag. "Now, someone said something about juice, I'm thirsty, I'll take two glasses."

"You can have the juice later, right now I want you to meet your team."

"This is my team? There's like... half a dozen that wouldn't even qualify basic training," Crab said as he looked at the assembled personnel. "And that one's female!"

"It's a different age Crab, things change.Training isn't as rough as it was when you and I enlisted, but trust me, most of them are bright eyed and bushy enough to work with you," Silver Star told him.

"Fine... I'll take every one of them except the mare, she leaves," Crab responded.

"I'm afraid that is a no go situation," Silver responded, causing Crab to give him a look. "Well, let me explain it to you simply. She's Moon Gaze's daughter and she is adamant in joining the mission, and her father happens to be the one with the knowledge on how to open it. Piece it together."

"What?" Crab said in shock. "Seriously? You have to be joking. No?" Crab said as he turned back to the female at the edge of the group. Sighing, he walked over and looked her up and down. "Soldier, what is your name?" he asked in an authoritative tone.

"The great an-" the mare started before Crab gave her a sharp look.

"I'm sorry could you try again?" he asked.

"Private Trixie Lulamoon Sir!" the blue unicorn mare responded.

"What makes you think you're qualified to serve on this mission?" he asked in an equally authoritative tone.

"Because Trixie is very good at identifying possible weaknesses in enemy territory. For a while before Trixie joined the military at my father's insistence Trixie traveled all over Equestria performing stage shows. Before each show Trixie learned as much as Trixie could about each town so as to show myself in the best possible light as possible. Of course this didn't work all the time and eventually Trixie lost her life's hard work," the unicorn said, slightly sweating under the Colonel's staring eye.

"Two suggestions, I didn't need your life story, nor do you need to refer to yourself in the third person, that habit's kind of arrogant, but otherwise I guess you're alright for this group of rag tags," he told her. "I'm at least glad they were able to find a unicorn for the team. If one and only one, but having horns visible is a poor strategy."

"Sir?" the blue mare asked.

Crab responded by taking off his green hat and placing it on her head, covering her horn. "Keep it covered and keep it out of sight, use magic only in necessary situations. We don't want to show the enemy all of our guns at once."

"Understood Sir!" Trixie responded.

"Now for the rest of you, I want you each to know your roles in this mission," Crab commanded as he walked up the line. "Nice to see you Major," he said sarcastically as he passed him, scowling a bit. He stopped in front of Silver Star and gave a salute. "Silver, General Sir, would you please inform them what the mission is," he asked.

"Your mission is a reconnaissance mission. Nothing too hard, just simple scouting. We want detail about the geography on the opposite side, any fauna and flora in the area, and information on any sentient species on the other side. We never know what there could be," the general stated. "Now, as for combat. You are allowed use of deadly force if you encounter hostility warranting it. It's to be avoided otherwise. For now report to the cafeteria for some nourishment before you leave and then to the armoury. We'll be waiting for you in the gate room. See you in one hour."

The assembled ponies saluted and began to disperse. Trixie got as far as the door before somepony tapped her. "Hey, sorry about making you nervous before, just making sure you weren't some namby pamby pony before we ended up in a tight squeeze," Crab said as he quickly trotted up beside her.

"Trixie-"

"Ahp!" Crab said.

"I mean, I'm glad you're concerned for my safety, but don't worry about me," the blue mare said.

"Well, it's just that... strange place, unknown hostiles, possible world invasion force on the other side. You don't know what to expect, but I'm glad you've got some confidence. Would you mind if I sat at your table when we get to the cafe, private. It's just I don't want to have another dull conversation with that Major and you sound like you've lived a pretty interesting life."

Trixie laughed. "Alright, I'll let you sit at my table, but only if you buy the jello."

"Deal."