Heart of Courage

“I am impressed, Deval.” James gazed up at the sleek, curving hull of the Rainbow Dash. “You were true to your word. It’s only been six days and your workers are almost finished with repairs.”

“I keep my promises.” The mysterious human let out a quiet chuckle. “Your ship will be battle-ready later today. Then you may take Princess Sparkle back home.”

Standing next to the two humans, Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes at Deval Aldridge’s latest nickname for her. With her gaze averted, she missed the deadpan stare James gave their new friend. “Ha, ha. Very funny, Deval,” She countered sarcastically.

“I aim to please, your majesty.” The dark-skinned outlier gave a short bow while returning Twilight’s annoyed stare with his characteristic sly grin. “Why don’t you show James the latest spells we have been working on?”

At this request, James Fletcher regarded the pair with a confused look. “What? You’ve been working on spells together?”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed at Deval. “You told me he was okay with our training.”

“Oops.” Aldridge shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and James let out an exasperated huff of air.

“Well,” Twilight turned to face James, “Deval has been teaching me some new magical spells that might be helpful. They were rather difficult to learn but I think I’ve got them down. He taught…”

Deval interrupted before she could continue. “James, I taught her three spells that took me six months combined to perfect. She did it in three days. I’ve never met anyone with her magical prowess.” Giving Twilight a nod of approval, Deval continued. “You sure do live up to your legend, Princess.”

Twilight blushed at the complement but sighed at the annoying nickname. She did not like how he used it as if he knew something she did not. Trying to not entertain the outlier, she continued from earlier. “Deval taught me his invisibility cloak spell, the ability to fire a plasma bolt hot enough to take down a cygnul soldier, and how to create a small pocket dimension to hide things in.”

James nodded approvingly. “Those do sound useful. Maybe I can overlook you going behind my back on this, Deval.” The captain patted his friend’s shoulder. “What was that last spell? A pocket dimension?”

“Only those who are experts in the art of magic can learn this particular spell.” Deval began excitingly. “The spell caster creates a small pocket of space, no larger than a backpack, in a dimension close to ours. With great focus and will, the caster can create a permanent link between themselves and the pocket. Like a backpack, any item can be stored in this dimension where it is invisible to every known detection method in the galaxy.”

James stared dumfounded at the grinning human. “Wow, that sounds useful… and dangerous.”

“Only if used by the wrong people,” Deval gave a sly wink. “Luckily, knowledge of this spell is known only by a few dozen researchers and magi. The list of those who can cast it is even shorter.” Deval’s hand began to glow a deep red as he waved it in a circle. Slowly, the air began to shimmer in front of his face. The human reached forward and his fingers seemed to fade from existence before he pulled them away. The distortion vanished as if nothing had happened, but between Deval’s thumb and index finger rested a dark brown cigar.

“Impressive.” James crossed his arms and nodded approvingly. Glancing towards Twilight, his eyebrows raised. “So, what do you keep in your pocket?”

Twilight closed her eyes to concentrate, and her horn became obscured behind a bright nimbus of purple light. In front of her, James could see the familiar distortion before a large hand cannon popped into existence. Opening her eyes, Twilight’s right lip smirked upwards as she held the pistol with her telekinesis, pointing it upwards in a safe direction. “I like to be prepared.”

“That could come in handy.” James said with a laugh. “Hey Deval, I think she did that faster than you.” He lightly slapped the outlier on his back and for the first time since they had arrived, the dark-skinned human was at a loss for words.

Later that night, Twilight climbed into her chair on the bridge of the Rainbow Dash. As she settled in, the unicorn let her worries fade away. Even though they had already gone through hell and back again, surrounded by her friends and the Rainbow’s professional crew, Twilight felt safe. They would fight to keep her from harm. And now that I have some training, maybe I can return the favor.

To her left, a cheery voice caught the lavender unicorn’s attention. “Welcome back, Twilight! It’s good to see you again.” On her chair’s foreleg-rest, a pint-sized holographic Alice stood, beaming up at her.

“It’s good to see you again, Alice.” Twilight returned the smile before the artificial intelligence vanished, only to reappear on James’ armrest.

“Captain, two Valkyrie-class patrol frigates jumped in-system an hour ago. I have been hailing them, but they say they will only speak to you. I received an information packet marked for your eyes only from Admiral Hawke, but when I asked if it was urgent, I never received a reply. I did not want to alert anyone on the station so I waited to tell you personally.”

“Thanks, Alice,” James replied as he began to use his view screens. “Though, I’m sure Deval already knows about their presence. Not much gets by that man.” The human let a small smile creep onto his face. “Have you peeked at the message yet, Alice?”

The A.I. stared at the ceiling innocently. “That would be highly illegal, Captain. If you believe such a break in procedure occurred, you are free to check the ship’s logs. Those are impossible to alter in anyway.”

James let out an amused huff of air. “You have been around long enough to know how to break into any secure system without leaving evidence.”

The A.I. gave a virtual shrug before giving James a more serious gaze. “You really need to read that message as soon as possible, James.”

During the following silence, Twilight mirrored James’ actions and activated her chair’s computer. On her screen, she pulled up the locations of the two patrol frigates that had entered the Tartarus System. The ships orbited the star system too far away for normal optics to see clearly, but two red circles marked their position far off in the distance. A line traveled from each circle to a part of the screen showing close up diagrams of each ship, downloaded from the Rainbow Dash’s extensive database. The UEN Whirlwind and the UEN Sprague, Twilight read off the names of the ships in her head.

“James,” Twilight hesitantly called out, “why do these ships look different than the Rainbow Dash? Aren’t they also patrol frigates?” Twilight had studied the newcomers, and although they had a similar sleek form, subtle differences set them apart from the Dash.

“The Valkyrie-class is the new class of patrol frigate. They are smaller, cheaper, and have better armor, but they can’t accelerate as fast as we can.” Pulling his eyes off the screen, James met Twilight’s gaze. “For us patrol frigates, speed is life; more so than weaponry, shields, or armor. That’s why I prefer the older ship-class.” The human captain then pulled open the virtual envelope marked for his eyes only.

“Do you want to read that in your cabin?” Alice asked with an inquisitive gaze.

“Why waste the time. You already know what it says, and I’m going to keep my crew in the loop anyway.” The two ponies exchanged shrugs, one real and one virtual before they looked at James’ computer while it quickly decrypted the file.

Once the status bar had filled, a video tab opened, showing the face of a grizzled elderly human male. A grey head of hair, more salt than pepper, topped his head while long lines of worry creased his unsmiling appearance. Twilight’s eyes were drawn to the multitude of metals and awards decorating Admiral Hawke’s uniform. He must have seen a lot of combat in this war, she thought with a pang of pity. It shows on his face.

“Captain Fletcher of the UEN Rainbow Dash,” the human began, “We have received a private communication from the Cygnul leadership, and the message itself has been determined to be authentic. The Cygnul have called for a ceasefire and want a meeting at a neutral location to discuss the end of hostilities between our forces. Yesterday, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pursue a diplomatic end to this war.”

Admiral Hawke hesitated only momentarily, but he grimaced as if he had swallowed something bitter or sour. “The meeting will take place at the neutral Griffon colony, Valles, on the thirteenth day of this month, at o-six-hundred hours galactic standard time. Unfortunately, the Athens has to complete her original mission and won’t be able to assist, but I have placed two patrol frigates under your command to act as escorts.” He paused for a few seconds and let out an almost imperceptible sigh. “I know you are carrying a special package of great importance but my hands are tied. Be safe, Captain.” Then the video tab vanished.

James, Alice, and Twilight stared at the blank screen in silence for a long minute. The end of the war? She thought to herself. No more fighting. No more deaths. We could safely go back to Harmony. After being torn from her friends and family in the midst of a war for survival, and tossed smack dab in the middle of another one, Twilight let an ember of hope flare to life that she could finally experience peace again. Finally, the unicorn broke the silence. “Do you think it will work?”

James closed his eyes and rubbed them with his hands, allowing them a startling glimpse past his usual confident demeanor. Sitting next to her, he hunched over and let out a deep pent up breath. All of a sudden, the human male did not look like the self-assured ship captain anymore. Rather, he resembled someone who had grown tired of losing friends over the years. From somebody who Twilight assumed would yearn for the war’s end, what he said next snuffed out her optimism.

“No, Twilight. I don’t think this will work. The Admirals, and probably the princesses, feel the same way.” The human glared and waved a hand dismissively at his screen. “It’s irrational for the civilian government to delay our return to Harmony on this fool’s errand. You’re our real hope for victory. Many just don’t believe in the Elements anymore.”

Neither Twilight nor Alice replied for a handful of seconds. Hesitantly, the glowing earth pony shuffled one hoof against the other. “I agree with you, sir. A ceasefire will only delay the inevitable.”

Twilight looked from the small virtual pony and back to James. “How do you know for sure?” The lavender unicorn asked timidly.

James rubbed his forehead before explaining. “There was a clue in the message that the Admiral wanted us to pick up on, but no one else. He never said that the military or the princesses agreed with the meeting. Only the Senate did. Honestly, it’s a surprise that the cygs have waited this long to pause the war in order to finish building up their forces. It’s a smart move.”

A cold lump formed in Twilight’s throat. “Then what can we do?”

At this remark, a sly smirk appeared on the human’s face. “Well, the Navy is way ahead of you. The fact that they set the meeting at Valles, is a dead giveaway. That is the closest griffon colony to the tripoint where Griffon space, Cygnul space, and the Outlier Systems meet. If I wanted this meeting to work, I would have it at one of the Kingdoms’ heavily defended inner colonies, not at a place like Valles, which has no standing fleet. A move like this is just bait dangling in front of the cygs. Also, I would have placed more than two patrol frigates as our escort.”

Twilight mused over the facts for a second before coming to the realization. “The Admirals want the Cygnul to come after us and in the process, force the griffons to join forces with the UEN?”

James pointed one index finger at her. “Bingo. Patrol frigates are the fastest ships in the fleet so we have the best chance of escaping a cyg treachery. All we need to do is tempt them to chase our ships.” He raised his eyebrows. “Maybe it will be something as simple as dropping a hint that we have valuable information in our onboard database.” On his armrest, Alice seemed to stare into the distance, though Twilight guessed that she was probably running calculations and generating their odds of success. After a short moment, the A.I. turned to face James. “What do you think, Alice?”

“We are tasked on an extremely complex mission that depends on hundreds of factors out of our control,” the virtual pony shrugged her shoulders before allowing a light smile to grace her face, “but I think we can do it.”

Thoughts of all the different issues and concerns that could go wrong flooded Twilight’s head. What if they don’t come after us? What if we can’t get away? What if the Griffon Kingdoms refuse to ally with the UEN? What if I mess up and let everypony down? Shaking her head to dispel the doubts flooding her mind, she let out an exasperated huff. “This is a very elaborate deception.”

“Indeed, Twilight,” James let his eyes pour over the data screens in front of him while a plan formulated in his brain, “but this time, we have the advantage of surprise.”

Long streaks of sunlight stretched lazily between wooden planks boarded over a cracked window. A lone candle burned on an antique wooden table, casting the only artificial light in the tower’s chamber. At the table, the room’s sole occupant sat writing on a long scroll of dirty parchment with tiny, purple-scaled claws.

The sound of the pen’s incessant scratching ceased momentarily as a short exasperated huff of smoke arose from the baby dragon’s nostrils. Setting the quill down, he rubbed his strained eyes with his hands before skimming over the report he had just written. Eastern trench grid is still under construction…. Medical tents have been established behind Clover Ridge…. Air strikes have been successfully harassing Wulven flanks, slowing down their advancement.

Satisfied with what he had inscribed, Spike rolled the parchment up and tied it together with a thin, dirty ribbon attached to a dull, golden royal seal. He took in a deep breath before letting out a small puff of magical green flame. The scroll disintegrated in front of him as the transportation spell sent it to Princess Celestia.

Taking a moment to rest, Spike mindlessly straightened out the stack of mismatched blank parchments on his desk. Most of the paper had been requisitioned on order of the princesses themselves to compensate for the heightened traffic needed to ensure adequate communications during the war.

Spike plugged the top of his ink well with an old cork and blew out his dwindling candle before picking up the feather lying next to it. He ran his claws through the light red plumage along the end of the quill, its color faded by age and use. Others had offered to give him a new pen, but Spike always refused.

Jumping off of his chair, the purple scaled dragon wandered over to the nightstand next to his bed. He opened up a small wooden box before placing the quill inside. Spike glanced at the photograph tapped on the inside of the lid. It was a picture taken not an hour after he had hatched from his egg. Little baby Spike sat in the bottom half of his egg, while a young Twilight Sparkle stood behind him, beaming with joy.

Spike closed the lid slowly, murmuring, “I miss you, Twilight.” Then he turned and left the dark tower room to grab some dinner before the sunset. Spike took one last look at the box next to his bed, before closing the door with a soft click.

Twilight’s stomach somersaulted as the Rainbow Dash and her escorts reappeared back into normal space a week after leaving Erebus. A flash of radiation announced her arrival in the griffon-controlled solar system housing one of their garden worlds, Valles. Alerts immediately filled the bridge as orbital defense radars locked onto the newcomer, trying to discern its intentions, but before any warning message could be transmitted to the Dash, James Fletcher sent a hailing call to the command center rotating around the habitable planet. “This is Captain James Fletcher of the United Equestrian Nations. I am here to represent the UEN in peace talks with the Cygnul.”

“Roger that, Captain Fletcher, this is Orbital Control.” A middle-aged griffon appeared in the corner of the front view screen on the bridge. “The Cygnul representatives are already planetside at Installation Twenty Six. You are cleared to enter Valles airspace via shuttle where you will be directed to a designated landing site. I am forwarding the flight path to you now. Any deviation will be seen as a hostile action and we will respond accordingly. Orbital Control, out.”

“Roger, Control, we copy.” James replied nonchalantly while reading over the flight path sent by the griffons. “Isamu,” he called out to the weapons officer, “take a look at this.”

Isamu pulled up the data file on his work station before musing over it. “This is not a standard atmospheric reentry path.”

“I noticed.” James said with a wave of his hand. “It is way too steep. What are the griffons up to? Are they in a hurry?”

Isamu spun around to face James and Twilight. “I don’t think they are working with the cygs if that is what you’re thinking, sir. I can easily do this reentry, though it will be very uncomfortable. They probably want us to divert off this path so they can remind us who is really in charge here”

“Ahh, I see. We will show them how well trained our pilots are then.” James deactivated his computer and stood out of his seat. Gesturing with his hand, he began making his way off the bridge. “Twilight, Isamu, come with me. Dmitri, you have the con. Take care of my ship.”

“Aye, aye; I have con.” Dmitri announced with his thick stalliongradian accent before pulling up a screen detailing the ship’s status readouts. “Good luck, you three.”

Twilight slipped off her seat and followed after the two humans. They strode briskly down the passageways of the Dash while enlisted crew members moved quickly out of the way of the trio. “James, why do you want to bring me to the meeting again?”

They turned into the ship’s armory and James started pulling on his combat suit. “The main reason is that our plan should paint a big fat target on the Dash. Therefore, the three of us should have an easier time slipping away and regrouping. Another reason is the griffons are going to take any of our weapons away for the meeting, but I frankly don’t trust the cygnul to play nice so we won’t either.” He pulled a small submachine gun off of a weapons rack and loaded a full magazine into it. Racking the bolt, he stepped towards Twilight, holding the gun out towards her. “Here, can you hide this in that pocket dimension of yours along with your pistol? You’re the only way we will be able to sneak firearms past their security systems.”

Twilight gingerly took the weapon with her telekinesis; a nimbus of purple light encompassing the gun. “I think I will be able to fit both, but I don’t think I can fit any extra ammunition.” She scratched her chin apprehensively.

James paused, mid-click of a buckle on his leg guards. “Hmm, we’ll have to improvise then.” He shrugged his shoulders, and Twilight closed her eyes in concentration. With a flash of light, the submachine gun vanished from the world.

“At least we’ll have something to defend ourselves with.” The lavender unicorn smiled at the human before she began pulling on a combat suit designed for a pony. Twilight fought the form fitting suit, forcing her hooves down each sleeve until it sat snugly around her. Though she knew this armor could hold up to damage much better than the Equestrian battle attire of her era, its lightness in weight did not do much to reassure her.

Isamu must have sensed her apprehension because he strode over in his flight suit and patted her back reassuringly. “Don’t let the armor’s size fool you. It will stop most small caliber rounds and it’s very flexible to allow you to move about as if it wasn’t even there.”

“Thanks, Isamu.” Twilight forced herself to smile. The human’s use of the word most when describing her protection did not do much for her nerves. With a final snap, she attached the helmet ring around her neck. In a moment’s notice, it could be triggered to fold out a fully sealed helmet and visor to protect her during combat. It even had a ten minute supply of oxygen in case, Celestia forbid, she ended up in an airless environment.

Stretching out in various poses, Twilight tested her suit’s elasticity. Sure enough, Isamu hadn’t lied. She felt no hindrance from the armor and she even enjoyed having her mane and tail free of confinement. “James, if this armor is supposed to be able to withstand a vacuum, then why are my mane and tail free. Not that I am complaining of course.” Twilight swished her tail around and followed after the two humans as they left the armory. “But comfort won’t help me if I asphyxiate in space.” The unicorn gulped down nervously.

Glancing back at her, James grinned. “Those suits are designed to allow your mane and tail to be free while keeping an airtight integrity around them. We humans can shave our long hair without the discomfort your kind would face if you did the same thing. That was something discovered early on in your species first ventures into space.”

“Oh, okay.” Twilight replied as the trio continued traversing the ship. “I enjoy the additional freedom, though I wish your culture didn’t look down upon naked ponies. I definitely do miss that level of freedom.” She said with a sly smirk, earning a couple of chuckles from James and Isamu.

Not long after the end of their conversation, Twilight entered a reinforced door labeled, Hanger. Inside the largest room on the patrol frigate sat the two shuttles she carried. Both craft stood about half as high as her home in Ponyville, and extended nearly four times that in length and width. A wide cockpit jutted from the shuttle craft’s nose, containing several transparent panels to allow its pilot to look out, and two large multi-barreled Gatling guns projected out of partial ball turrets along the shuttle’s bow. At the back of the craft, the stubby wings tapered into a long tail containing another, yet smaller multi-barreled cannon.

Following James, Twilight climbed up the sloping rear hatchway of the left shuttle while Isamu inspected the outside of the small ship. They walked through the large, empty cargo bay before entering the cockpit behind a thick bulkhead. Inside sat four chairs in two rows of two. James took the front right seat and began fiddling with the holographic computer screens as a high pitched hum filled the air. Twilight sat in the pony designed seat behind him and strapped herself in tightly. “How bumpy is this ride going to be?”

From behind her, Isamu entered the cockpit. “It will not be as nice as an elevator trip to the surface. I guarantee that.” He took the front left seat and imitated James’ movements with the screens in front of him. Twilight gulped as she pulled her chair’s straps a little tighter. “The ramp is up and locked. We have airtight integrity. Engage atmospheric shielding and open the hanger door,” Isamu calmly stated while buckling up in his seat.

James finished locking the last belt around his waist before turning a holographic dial in front of him. “Unlocking docking clamps. The board is green and we are good to go. Rainbow Dash, this is Tank, initiate launch procedures, over.”

The voice of Dmitri came over the cockpit’s speakers. “Roger, deactivating hanger gravity. Good luck.”

For the second time that day, Twilight’s stomach did a somersault as she went from feeling gravity to complete weightlessness in a fraction of a second. Don’t be sick, don’t be sick, don’t be sick…. By will alone, she forced her breakfast back down before being thrown forward against her straps as they reversed out of the hanger. In front of her, Twilight watched a semi-transparent blue wall slide around Tank’s form as the shuttle left Rainbow Dash’s hanger. Designed to keep air in but allow ships to leave, the shield remained active until the frigate closed her thick armor plated hanger doors.

Isamu grabbed hold of the yoke in front of him and spun Tank’s nose around. The sleek, shark-like Rainbow Dash vanished from view to be replaced by a bright planet, dappled with a pallet of browns and greens. White fluffy clouds swirled over portions of its southern hemisphere, and small patches of dark blue marked the few bodies of water visible from space. “Wow.” Twilight murmured in awe at the beautiful marble in front of her.

“Welcome to Valles, Twilight.” James cheerfully said as he continued fiddling with his controls. “One of the Griffon Kingdom’s worlds, and home to one point two billion griffons, it is an arid planet but still has some neat features.”

“Really,” Twilight’s curiosity took hold of her, “what are they?”

“Valles hosts a large chain of very active volcanoes on its far side. They always give tourists a fascinating display of fire. Also, a rare spice is harvested from desert plants along the arid equator. The Griffon Kingdoms make a hefty profit from its export. Finally, dune racing is very popular here, and I believe the Knossos Cup is in a week. That’s one of the bigger races in the galaxy,” the human stopped his description of the griffon world to adjust a few dials, “and that’s pretty much about it.”

“Can we visit any of these things you described? They sound fascinating!” The purple unicorn stared at the garden world in awe.

“Sorry, Twilight but I don’t think this trip is going to be a pleasure cruise. I have a feeling we might need to leave quickly.”

Twilight’s ears drooped slightly. “Okay.”

An awkward silence fell upon the cockpit for a few seconds before Isamu spoke up. “James, you didn’t tell her about the Greken Canyon.”

The human captain gave his pilot a disapproving stare while gesturing with his open palm. “Isamu, I was going to surprise her.”

“Oh.” Isamu Zhang kept his eyes staring straight ahead to avoid antagonizing his commanding officer again. “I’m sorry.”

James shook his head side to side. “It’s alright.” Then he glanced back at an inquiring Twilight leaning forward against her straps. “The Greken Canyon is the largest canyon in the known galaxy.” Turning forward again, James pointed at the rapidly approaching planet in front of the shuttle. “See that dark line running diagonally across the northern hemisphere?”

Twilight studied Valles more closely. Along the top half of the planet; what she thought was just a river grew more sharply defined with every passing second. A long dark cut in the tan-colored countryside stretched across what must have been thousands of miles of land before opening up into a small ocean.

“At five thousand miles long, and fifteen miles at its deepest point, the Greken Canyon is the largest and longest of its kind. They aren’t sure how it formed exactly, but many theories circulate the galactic web. An ancient river, meteor impact, ancient aliens, they are all there with plenty of conjecture to sift through."

Twilight gave James a questioning stare. “Why did you try to surprise me with that?”

Up in front of the shuttle, Valles grew close enough to completely fill the forward facing windows. “Because the site for the meeting sits at the end of the canyon,” James gave Twilight a friendly smile. “And it’s one hell of a view.”

Twilight’s smile radiated back before a sharp maneuver of the shuttle tried to throw her to the side. Shaking her head to clear it, Isamu twisted the controls in front of him, swinging Tank’s nose around to point towards the rounded horizon of the planet. “Entering the atmosphere now, Captain. Shields are at full power and engines are prepped for de-orbital burn. We’re in the pipe, five by five.”

“Good job, Isamu.” James pulled on his tightening strap while Twilight did the same. “Go ahead and take us down. Don’t deviate from their flight path. Show them how it’s done. I’m going to activate everyone’s helmets.”

With a push of a button in front of him, the three neck attachments all opened up as one, folding out several panels that all locked together in half a second to form airtight seals around their occupant’s faces. Twilight jumped slightly at how fast her helmet deployed, though she continued to breathe regularly. A slight hissing sound signified fresh air being pumped into her mask.

Adjusting the controls once more, Twilight felt her body pulling against the straps as Tank spun around to now face a starry expanse of sky. Far ahead on the left, a bright yellow star cast its light upon the Griffon colony as well as the tiny spacecraft rocketing across the heavens. Unlike Erebus’ sun, Hades, this star shone too bright to look at directly. Twilight averted her eyes until the windows automatically darkened to adjust for the increased lumens entering the cockpit.

Slowly, the shuttle began shaking and a constant roar grew progressively louder with each second that passed. An abrupt change in velocity made Twilight panic, thinking that the shuttle had been hit by something. Before she could vocalize her fear, Isamu’s voice spoke over her helmet’s speaker. “Engines engaged at one hundred and ten percent power. Coolant temperature is rising but still below danger threshold.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the temperature readouts.” James nonchalantly replied.

Outside the windows, a wall of flame grew to encompass shuttle, and the mixture of turbulence and thunder continued to increase in intensity. Twilight held on for dear life as only a few inches of armor separated her from the steel-melting temperatures outside. She bit down hard to keep her teeth from chattering, and her eyes squeezed shut while she prayed for it to end soon.

After what felt like an eternity, the shaking slowed down, and a strange silent calm settled down in the cockpit. Twilight relaxed slightly, not even realizing how hard she had strained her body until a wave of exhaustion mixed with relief flooded through her. “Is it over?” She asked cautiously.

“The hard part is.” James said as Isamu adjusted the throttle next to his seat. “Now onto the fun part. Isamu, bring her around and cut back the engines. We can store our helmets now.” Just as fast as they had deployed, all three helmets folded up into the collars around their necks.

The use of maneuvering thrusters resulted in short abrupt changes in Tank’s vector as the shuttle spun around to face forwards along her flight path. As Tank lost altitude, Twilight leaned forward to more closely study the planet below them. By now, they had crossed into the night side of Valles and bright clusters of lights indicated the locations of several major cities on the surface, all of them gathered around decent sized bodies of water.

In the southern hemisphere, Twilight noticed dozens of dividing lines comprised of glowing red dots and streaks. They branched across a massive range of mountains before terminating at another inland sea. “James, is that the volcano range?” She pointed with a hoof.

He glanced down before returning to keep an eye on the screen in front of him. “Yes it is. I haven’t had the chance to visit them yet but I know a few who have. They all say that it’s amazing to bear witness to a landscape of molten rock as far as the eye can see.”

“That sounds fascinating. I hope I can see it one day.” Twilight gazed across the fiery countryside.

“Me too, Twilight. We’ll make a trip of it.”

“That sounds good to me.” Twilight resumed her study of the desert world while Isamu continued to bring them closer to the landing site. Rays of sunlight stretched across the horizon as the shuttle passed once more into the day side of the planet. They dropped in altitude and small features became more easily visible to the cabin crew. Long, thin rivers snaked across dusty plains, rocky plateaus sporadically jutted out of the ground, and mounds of sand creeped ever so slowly across the desert, pushed by seasonal winds.

Tank had reached an altitude of only a few hundred feet when Twilight noticed a large griffon-made complex growing steadily larger in front of them. Several small structures sat behind a large fence topped with razor wire, and a large tower marked the middle of the facility, several times the size of any of the other buildings nearby. Almost at its peak, a landing pad protruded out of the side of the tower.

In front of her, Isamu keyed the shuttles radio. “Installation Twenty Six, this is UEN flight zero five zero. We are finishing our approach and are requesting permission to land, over.”

Silence returned over the radio long enough for Twilight to grow anxious, but finally a response came through from an apathetic flight controller. “Roger flight zero five zero, you are cleared to drop off your envoys, then you must proceed to the designated holding pattern. Forwarding you flight data now, over.”

“James,” Isamu began after keying off the radio. “They do not sound prepared. It is as if they don’t see the cygnul as a threat. And look at this holding pattern.” The pilot gestured to the map sent by the griffon flight controller. “I will be nearly two hundred miles away. If anything goes wrong, you will both be alone for a few minutes without any support.”

James Fletcher rubbed his chin while Twilight gulped behind him. “I know, but there is nothing we can do about that. Just be ready to punch the accelerator if it kicks off.”

“Yes, sir.” Isamu pulled up on the yoke while pressing buttons on his holographic instrument panel. A series of hydraulic wines sounded as the shuttle switched into a hovering mode. The craft lifted higher above the ground in preparation to land on the tower pad when Twilight gasped at what she saw. On the other side of the complex, a huge cut in the earth zigzagged across the planet’s surface, away from the point where the griffon base sat. Sheer cliffs encompassed either side of the gorge, casting long shadows as the sun had not risen high enough yet to reach the entire canyon floor. The multi-colored walls displayed various reds, oranges, and browns that distinguished each unique layer of earth, visible in the massive scar on the planet’s surface. Off to the right, a small river poured over the cliff lip, the water turning into mist by the time it reached the bottom several miles straight down.

Twilight stared in amazement at the geological marvel that continued on and on, until it vanished over the far edge of the horizon. Several smaller chasms, though each larger than any back home in Equestria, branched out of the central canyon at intermittent points along the walls. “That is amazing,” Twilight exclaimed in awe.

The shuttle lowered until landing softly on the tower’s flight pad. As James unbuckled, he lifted out of his seat and grinned at Twilight. “I thought you would enjoy that.” He helped her rise from her seat and they exited the cockpit. “Let’s go, we have a cygnul diplomat to meet, if they even do have such a thing.”

“Be safe.” Isamu called after them as Twilight followed James down the rear ramp of their shuttle. Waiting by the entrance to the tower stood two armed griffon guards. Clad in thick plated armor, they sharply contrasted a third smiling griffon between them in a form-fitting flight suit. The third griffon waved at the duo and made his way towards them as Tank loudly lifted off the platform.

“James Fletcher!” The beige-feathered griffon yelled over the roar of Tank’s engines before they grew quieter as the craft sped away. “I had no idea they were sending you for this mission.”

“Theron Mikkos. It’s good to see you!” The human strode forward and clasped the griffon’s outstretched foreleg. “I thought you were moving here next month.”

“My deployment got moved forward because of this meeting. The Kingdoms wanted another wing of Raptors stationed in orbit in case someone didn’t play nice. My family landed planetside last week. If you’re free after all of this political business, you should see about stopping by.”

“I can only hope, but you know how the military is.” James replied before his eyes grew wide and he looked at Twilight. “Oh, I'm sorry. Theron,” he said with an open palm gesturing to the pony, “this is Moondancer. She is my battle mage.” With a gesture towards the griffon, James faced Twilight. “Moondancer, this is Theron Mikkos. I met him a few years back when the UEN worked with the Kingdoms to bring down a pirate lord. He flies a griffon Raptor fighter, and is one of the best pilots I have ever met.”

Theron smiled at Twilight while reaching forward with one of his clawed feet. “It’s nice to meet you, Moondancer.” Twilight nodded and mirrored the action, shaking his foreleg. As soon as she had put her hoof down, a loud reverberation filled the sky as another spacecraft came in to land. Though it may have been much smaller than Tank, the ship took a longer time to settle over the pad before landing roughly.

“Well, sorry to cut this short but that’s my ride.” Theron yelled over the griffon ship’s thrusters. “It was nice to see you, James.” He reached forward and pounded a clawed fist against the human’s. Turning towards Twilight, he lightly bowed his head. “Nice to meet you, Moondancer.” Then the griffon trotted up the shuttle ramp before the craft took off and accelerated into orbit.

James’ smile slowly faded, his brow furling while watching his friend leave the planet. Twilight noticed the look and concern graced her features. “What’s wrong, James?”

The human didn’t answer immediately, but when he did, he spoke slowly and quietly. “Nothing, Twilight,” James gave her a fake smile before turning towards the tower. “Let’s go.”

He lied to me, Twilight thought to herself. James must be really worried about something if he won’t even tell me. The lavender unicorn moved on autopilot as she tried to figure out what bothered the human captain enough to keep it to himself. It must be something out of our control. She hardly noticed the griffons search them for weapons, and of course finding none, nor the long elevator ride to a floor deep in the rock. The next thing she knew, Twilight stood outside of the entrance to the meeting room. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she realized the griffon guard had been explaining something to James.

“… and then we will allow your shuttle craft to pick you up. Do you both understand?” The griffon guard finished his speech. James nodded his conformation and Twilight shook her head up and down though she had no idea what had transpired in the last ten minutes. The griffon, satisfied with their answers, touched a keypad and unlocked the double doorway in front of them. Each guard took one side of the entrance and pushed the doors apart.

Twilight’s eyes grew wide at the sight before her. Sitting awkwardly in chairs not designed for them, sat two large cygnul warriors, just like the ones she encountered on the fortress. Their large clawed hands clasped in front of them across the steel table, twin cat-like turquoise eyes stared unblinking at the newcomers to the room, and the chitinous armor plating on the creatures’ shoulders bulged slightly as they flexed the muscles underneath.

What sat between the cygnul warriors though, caught Twilight’s attention right away. A much shorter, but no less menacing, cygnul creature sat facing the two UEN representatives. This one lacked the thick armor of its bodyguards and its clawed hands looked suited to more delicate tasks than melee combat. Another distinctive characteristic was its body shape. Twilight estimated the creature to stand around the same height as a human, and it also had a head twice as large as the generic cygnul she had encountered. Its eerie, intelligent glowing eyes shifted between James and Twilight, like a predator sizing up its prey, while a disturbingly human-like mouth grew into a sly smile.

Twilight and James made their way to the table where the cygnul sat waiting. Though she used her inner strength to control her fear, she couldn’t keep from staring at the strange looking cygnul. It gave off an aura of some kind that made Twilight feel very uncomfortable. Her horn tingled annoyingly and the unicorn found it harder to concentrate as she approached the table. Shaking her head to try and clear the fog settling in, the unique cygnul turned its head directly at her. Twilight stopped her approach to the table, causing James to slow and look at her inquisitively, his unspoken question plastered on his face, wondering if she was alright.

Staring straight at the creature, the unicorn pony couldn’t tear her eyes from the black slits boring back at her. The cygnul’s eyes narrowed as it leaned forward slightly, and Twilight immediately felt another presence reaching out towards her mind. She let out a light cry as the unseen entity probed at her mental defenses. Now, James and the two griffon guards stared at her worryingly. Sweat soaked into her lavender coat from the strain of holding up her mental barricades.

For his benefit, James turned back towards the cygnul creature with a furious look. He took one step forward before the dark entity slipped past a crack in Twilight’s defenses and entered her mind. Twilight gasped as she encountered the controlling manifestation behind the cygnul. Before she could react, the creature scoured through her mind, learning everything about her. Gearing up to repel the invader, Twilight began her counterattack as it paused on one piece of information in her head; the Elements of Harmony, and how she was the bearer of the sixth element.

A resounding magical explosion blew outwards from the cygnul creature after its turquoise eyes opened wide in realization. YOU! The beast mentally screamed in words not spoken aloud. Its telekinesis picked up Twilight, James, and the two griffons while they all yelled and struggled to no avail.

The cygnul floated Twilight closer towards it while overpowering her every attempt to escape. Loud words filled her head as the creature spoke psychically to them all, causing her to flinch at each syllable. YOU ARE AN ELEMENT OF HARMONY! YOU CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO LIVE!

James cried out against his magical restraints. “Do something, Twilight!”

She floated ever nearer to the three cygnul, the two warriors flexing their claws in preparation to strike. Every escape spell she tried was blocked before she could even begin powering her horn up. A cold pit grew in her stomach as hopelessness set in while Twilight watched her inevitable end come closer.