Convergence

TWO DAYS LATER

The only sounds in the little dark room came from behind one of the doors, outlined against the black wall in a rectangle of light.  The sounds that drifted through were faint, people chatting amongst themselves, and the buzzing and whirring of electronic equipment.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this Ben?”  The voice came from a shadowy man, barely visible in the dim light.  The forty nine year old general chuckled quietly, careful not to be too loud, lest their voices would carry through the door.

“I guess I am Quentin...  I have to lead a little rebellion, arrest the president of the United States… and now we get to the hard part.  Trying to persuade people.  Trying to get them to believe, that their president, the president of the United States of America, land of the free and home of the brave…  Tried to commit genocide.  Against a species that we didn’t even know existed, until a week ago, no less.”

Quentin shook his head, afraid of the possible outcomes.

“If you slip up in there one time Ben…  It could be all over for us.  Have you got everything that you need?”

Benjamin Anderson slid a brief case onto his lap, gently patting it.  “Everything I need is in here, and I’ve already been over it three dozen times.  Hardly got a wink of the last couple of nights.  The media teams have already been given a few short video clips and pictures…  they’ll put ‘em up when their cued.”

Quentin scratched the back of his neck, concerned.

“I just can’t shake the feeling that they’re going to tear you up out there.  Then what?  We stop a crazy jerk of a president, save a world, and then get arrested?  What an interesting way to end a career.”

Anderson smiled, not afraid.

“As long as the media believes it, the people will believe it.  At least, most of them will.  Most of the time, that’s annoying, but for now, it’ll play in our favor.  All I have to do is convince our ‘friends’ at Fox, CNN, and MSNBC…  Then it’ll be a breeze.”

Quentin sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“What if you don’t?  What do we do then?”

“Then, we go to prison for a very long time.  But that’s ok.  It’ll be annoying, that’s for sure, but let’s look at what’s important.  We saved an untold number of lives, stopped a crazy rampaging moron, and at least managed to create enough suspicion that he’ll never be able to do anything like that again.  It wouldn’t be the first time that a few men took the hit for doing something right.”

Anderson stood, sensing by the sudden decrease in chatter coming from behind the door that the show was about to start.  The sound of a single, louder voice confirmed this suspicion.  He walked towards the door, waiting to be signaled in.  Then, he turned around, facing his old RIO.

“Well Quentin, no matter what happens, at least we know one thing.”

The younger man looked at his friend.

“What’s that, Ben?”

Anderson grinned.

“We aren’t going down in history as the guys who just followed our orders.”

With that, the door swung open, flooding light into the room.  Anderson turned, and strode out onto the stage, outlined by the light.  In front of him, a bank of cameras and microphones lurked, preparing to record everything that happened on the stage.  The general strode towards a podium, quickly taking his place.  He opened the briefcase, and slid the first piece of paper out in front of him.

Anderson stared into the cameras, and at the reporters behind them.  His face serious, he began to speak.

<(^)>

The red F-150 pickup truck eased its way up to the house, its headlights illuminating the night around it.  The engine stopped, and the front doors swung open.  Two sets of feet landed on the ground, and walked up towards the house.  Behind them, the doors slammed shut.

The first man, a military chaplain, turned towards the second.

“Are you ok doing this James?”

The pilot sighed, shaking his head.

“Not really… but too late now, right?”

The chaplain smiled.

“Yeah… just a bit.  You’ll do fine, try not to worry.”

James looked up at the house, and then turned back to the yard.  He looked down.  He had broken his left arm on this sidewalk, trying to jump his bike off a homemade ramp.  He smiled at the old memory.  He looked back at the house, staring at the window that led to his friend’s old room.  It had been a long time since he’d been in there.

James walked up, and knocked on the door.

“Just a minute!”  The faint voice came from inside the house.

James swallowed, listening to the footsteps coming closer to the door.  It swung inward, revealing a woman in her early fifties.

“James!  What are you doing here?” She turned back into the house. “Tom!  James is at the door!”  She looked back at the fighter pilot.  Behind her, a young man in his late teens peered out of a hallway, while up on the floor above, heavy footsteps could be heard.  “I’m coming Laura!”

“Mrs. Williams… is it alright if we come in?”

“Well of course it’s alright sweety!  This is practically your house too you know.  But who do you have with you?”

She peered out behind him, seeing the chaplain, Bible in hand.

“Is… is something wrong?”

James took a step inside the house.

“Mrs. Williams… I think it would be best if you sat down.”

The chaplain carefully stepped in behind him.

“Oh… oh no…”

The woman took a few steps back, coming to sit on the bottom of a flight of stairs.  James slowly kneeled down across from her, his face grim.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Williams… I’m so sorry.”

He brushed a tear from his right eye.

“What,” She halted, suppressing  a sob, “What happened?”

The pilot pulled a small box out of his back pocket, handing it to the woman  Inside it, were some of Alex's possessions.  Down the hallway, the teenage boy had disappeared, the doorway from which he’d been leaning slamming shut.  Footsteps could be heard rushing down the stairs, and James recognized his best friend’s father.

“Laura?” The man quickly slid in next to his wife, “What’s wrong?”

“Mr. Williams… I’m really sorry.”  James continued. “Alex…  Alex was killed in action, three days ago.”

“Oh…  Oh dear…”  The older man quietly wrapped his arms around his wife, who was now weeping uncontrollably.  Slowly, the old man shook his head, his eyes flowing upward to a point above the door.  James knew what was up there, but he looked anyway.  A large photo sat in an elegant frame.  In the middle of the picture, two men stood in front of an F-15E, grinning like a couple of rookies, straight out of the academy.  Which, James remembered, they had been.

Behind them, the chaplain slowly closed the door, sealing them off from the cool night air.

<(^)>

TEN MONTHS LATER

The breeze blew through the open windows of the room, rustling Twilight’s mane.  Her checklist remained unaffected, gripped securely in her magical grip.

“Oh…  I really hope that we covered everything!  I’m so nervous!”

“Seriously Twilight!  Just relax.  Todays supposed to be happy, not stressful!”  The voice came from a small purple and green dragon, sitting across the room from the lavender unicorn.

“Oh, I know Spike!  It’s just that everything needs to be perfect!”

“They’ve been planning the event for the past month and a half Twilight…  To get so worked up about it a half hour before it starts seemed sort of silly.  Has Apple Jack gotten all the food set up?”

“Yes…”  Twilight said hesitantly.

“And has Rarity gotten everypony into their outfits?”

“Yes…”

“Did Fluttershy get the bird quire together?”

“I think so…”

“Is Pinky ready for the party later?”

“She’s ALWAYS ready for a party…”

“And then has Rainbow Dash gotten the airshow worked out?”

“Yes again…”

Twilight sighed.

“I guess there isn’t really anything to worry about…”

Spike laughed.

“You’re always getting worried Twilight.  You should really stop worrying about all the little details.” He kicked back, looking rather stylish in his little tuxedo. “You should follow my example, you’ll get way less stress.”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“If I did things the same way you did, NOTHING would ever get done.”

“Heh, maybe.” The tiny dragon laughed.

The door to the room burst open, and Apple Jack trotted in.

“You two ready, sugar cube?”

Twilight set down her checklist.

“Yeah… I guess.”

“Alright then, let’s get going.”

The two ponies and one dragon strode out of the room.

<(^)>

The room was packed with ponies, almost bursting from the sheer number of them.  They were all excited to witness such an important ceremony.  Twilight stood next to her friends, taking in the sights around her.  Pinkie Pie was smiling ear to ear, and Rarity was refined, looking around the room in a regal fashion.  Apple Jack and Fluttershy whispered nervously, while Rainbow stood at the edge of the group, leaning her head against a stallion that she had introduced as ‘Swiftwing.’ Spike sat next to Rarity, obviously trying to catch her eye with his stylish clothing.  The white unicorn rewarded him with a smile.  Spike beamed.

Meanwhile, up at the front of the room, General Starblink stood next to Princess Luna.  He was wearing his full dress uniform, and smiling nervously at the crowd.  Luna was grinning at him, obviously pleased.  On either side of the two ponies at the front, an honor guard of several high ranking Equestrian officers stood, their ceremonial sabers in hoof.  Twilight waved at the unicorn colonel closest to herself.  Alex smiled, and gave a quick wave back, before resuming his previous position.  Suddenly, at the back of the room, a set of large double doors swung open, revealing Princess Celestia.

Twilight, who had already been smiling, felt her smile grow at the sight of her mentor.  As music began to play, the Princess walked down the center of the room, attracting the eyes of all her subjects.  Slowly, she walked up to the front, coming to stand across from Starblink.  Luna smiled at the two, and nodded at her sister.  She nodded in return, a huge smile plastered across her face.

“Today,” the princess of the night began, “we are gathered to witness the joining of two great ponies…”

Twilight smiled, glad that her mentor had finally found her very special somepony.

<(^)>

“I understand that you want to be off soon, my sister…”

Luna, after much convincing, had finally decided to drop the plural pronouns.

“I can guess that you and Starblink have… plans.”

The pegasus blushed slightly, standing next to his new wife.  Luna continued.

“But I am afraid that I have yet to fully understand something…”

“What is it Luna?”

Celestia was curious, her sister was acting strangely nervous.

“Well Tia…  It’s about the portal incident.”

The three ponies stood on one of the castle’s balconies, overlooking the rebuilt city of Canterlot.

“I’ve been doing additional research on the issue, and well…  The library has nothing.”

She looked into her sister's eyes.

“At least, the royal library has nothing.”

“I see…  I believe I know where you’re going with this.”

The white Alicorn frowned slightly, some unpleasant memories coming to mind.  Luna continued.

“That’s just it…  Tia, I need the keys to the scroll vault.”

Celestia sighed, closing her eyes.

“There are some dangerous things in those writings Luna…  are you sure that you must pursue this knowledge?”

“I am.  To remain ignorant is to remain vulnerable.  I must know, sister.”

Celestia’s eyes drifted up to her crown.  She hesitated, and then nodded.

“So be it.  Take great care, my sister.  There are some things best left forgotten.”

Celestia’s horn glowed, and slowly, a small piece of metal separated itself from her crown, and floated down to Luna.  She caught it with her own magic, tucking it under her wings.

“Thank you Tia.  I won’t let you down.”

Though she was trying to remain calm, her heart was thumping away furiously, her excitement obvious.

“Have a good night!”  With that final exclamation, she teleported away, vanishing in a flash of light.

Celestia laughed, though she felt a shade of fear for her sister.

“She’s certainly excited.  I haven’t seen her that way since her one thousandth Birthday… quite the celebration, I can assure you.”

Starblink smiled, reminded once again of the two sisters incredibly long life spans.

“Ugh…”

He groaned slightly, an odd sensation running through his wings.

“I’d really love to know what you two were just talking about, but for some reason, I keep having all these little pains.”

Celestia smiled.

“Don’t worry…  That’s actually a good sign.  You’ll feel completely normal in the morning.  Well… not normal, but you’ll feel fine.”

She draped a wing over the pegasus, who was roughly the same size as Princess Luna.  He leaned against her side, gently nuzzling her.

“For now… let’s just say it’s part of having your soul melded with the soul of an immortal, incredibly powerful being.  I’ll explain more in the morning… though I will say… you may feel taller, when you wake up.”

“Ok…” The general shook his head, confused. “Anyway… I’m getting tired.”

Celestia snuggled closer to her husband, anticipation growing within her.

“Indeed…  I’m rather worn out myself.  Who knew that getting married could be such a tiring procedure?”  She smiled, and then lowered her head, gently kissing the stallion.  Their lips parted after a few moments. “Shall we be off?”

Starblink smiled.

“I think… I think that that would be great.”

The two ponies turned, and strode into the castle.

<(^)>

The Princess of the night alighted in the ancient palace, deep within the Everfree forest.  Luna looked around at her old home.  It had been little more than a ruin, but since her return, she had ordered its repair in secret.  It had now been restored to its former glory.  Huge stained glass windows, copies of the ones in Canterlot, filled the halls.  A plush, midnight blue carpet ran through the center of the walkways, decorated with small stars and moons.

She quickly strode through the halls, eager to reach her destination.  Her hooves sank into the soft carpet on the floor.  She entered the old throne room, and paused.  She took a deep breath.  This was the place where the elements had finally cast the nightmare from her.  It took her back to a black night, over a thousand years before.

Late that night as she stood raising the moon, she was overcome with jealousy.  It had been there for years, but on that night, as she watched her subjects quickly retreat to their warm houses, it angered her.  Why should they ignore her beautiful night?  How could they be so foolish?  And while she was distracted by her own desire for respect, IT had come.  It had offered her power, and what she wanted above all else.  The love of her subjects.  In her foolishness, she had accepted the offer of the little purple cloud.  Then, in the moment of her acceptance… it had taken her mind.  She shuddered at the terrible thought.

Slowly, she pushed that old memory from her mind.  Never again.  She had sworn that to herself a million times, and yet, she never seemed satisfied.

She strode forward, and came to stand before the old table that had held the elements of harmony, or at least, the five that were known at the time.  Her horn ignited, and the great stone table slid slowly back, revealing a spiral staircase.  She descended, her heart pounding.  There was a reason the nightmare had returned to the old castle.  The elements, yes…  but there was one other thing.  She halted.

At the bottom of the staircase, a huge stone door sat, ominously locked.  Luna’s horn glowed, and the small shard of metal that her sister had given her slid out and entered the door.  With a mighty creaking sound, the door swung open.  Her horn glowed again, and a multitude of torches suddenly ignited.

The light showed a massive room, filled with shelves.  Each shelf was lined with scrolls.  Luna smiled.  Twilight would love it down here.

Without another thought, the Princess of the night strode into the room, carefully levitating over the first of the scrolls.  She took a seat at an ancient chair, blowing off the dust.  The scroll unrolled in the air before her, suspended by her magic.  The Princess smiled, and began to read.