Reconstruction

Chapters

Winds of Change
Storm of War
Thunder of Chaos
Sun of Tomorrow

Winds of Change

"Some say God made all of us, and always meant for us to come together. Others say it was a freak accident. Scientists talk about our dimensions crossing over each other and melding into one, all out of chance....No matter how it happened or why, our story begins in the city of Manhattan...."

The metropolis was filled with noise and activity, but not in the traditional sense. The smell of smoke spread throughout the city and people screamed in terror as their homes were destroyed by a giant beast. Its four long, scaled necks moved through the air with a grace and elegance man could never have imagined from such a giant, and it struck with a rage that laid the city to waste.

But the hydra was not the only stranger within the city. A few hapless souls met their doom as they were distracted by the sight of several pegasus in the air.

"Where are we?" A pegasus asked, seeing a large sign with a hairless, malformed monkey on it. The large billboard was quickly destroyed as one of the hydra's heads smashed the building, making it join the ruins and debris around it.

"It looks like Manehattan, but -whoa!" The female pegasus was pushed out of the way of the hydra's snapping jaw as a rainbow streak saved her life.

"Watch it, Western Wind! Dumbbell, Hoops! Keep distracting the Hydra's heads! We have to make sure the other ponies get somewhere safe!" Rainbow Dash ordered, glaring at two of her fillyhood bullies. The duo screamed in terror as the jaws snapped at them. The blue pegasus groaned and continued to order her fellow pegasi, before she heard a scream.

Rainbow Dash turned her eyes to the unfamiliar streets below, and she saw a mysterious creature on the ground. The tall, lanky creature was trapped under several pieces of rubble, and judging by her mane and clothes, was female. Creatures like her ran by, when suddenly one stopped. Judging by its mane, it was a he and the strange colt (Rainbow Dash wondered if she could call the creature that...) attempted to lift the rubble off of the filly.

“They were very much like us in a way. Legs. Eyes. A nose. A tongue. A body, soul, mind, and heart.”

The hydra gave little thought to the new, strange animals and unknowingly raised a foot above them. By the time she was free, the gigantic foot was about to crush them both. A rainbow blur shot down, though, saving both of the aliens. They held onto their savior before she dropped them both off down the street.

"Run!" She ordered them, before flying back towards the four-headed titan.

The heads roared, only for one to be stunned by a hoof to the chin. The other three laughed at the young head's misfortune, before another was hit. The heads glared at the challenger as the others shook themselves back to focus. They all struck forward, intending to attack the rainbow maned speedster, only to stop as the eight eyes saw black, metal animals fly over to attack.

Rainbow Dash followed their gaze and quickly flew out of the way as several rockets were fired, hitting the multiheaded monster. The rockets did not explode, but instead leaked out a white gas. The pegasi fled as black helicopters flew above them, firing down on the orange scaled beast. Rainbow Dash saw darts pierce the hydra's thick hide. She also saw Hoops lagging behind the others, coughing and plummeting to the ground due to the white gas.

She quickly flew over, stopping only in shock of the white gas. Her lungs felt like they were being filled with red, hot lava. Her eyes experienced a pain that resembled knives impaling them. She coughed and hacked, spit dribbling down her lips as she struggled to keep moving. Her trip was made no easier as loud screams rang through her ears as one of the helicopters was hit by the flailing hydra heads, crashing into a nearby building. She barely reached the falling colt, carrying him out of the white, gas dungeon.

Other pegasi grabbed the hysterical Hoops as Rainbow Dash was held in the hooves of her fellow fliers. When her eyesight finally returned to her and she was able to stop coughing, she saw an army on their way. Metal carriages rode towards them; jeeps armed with miniguns rode down the paved road, opening fire upon the reptile. More rockets and tranquilizer darts assaulted the monster, piercing through its scales and making it cry out in pain.

The several dozen pegasi landed on the ground as the hydra fought the black helicopters and cars. A car was picked up by one of the heads, and Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she saw the colt inside scream in horror, before the hydra closed its jaw. Another two copters were hit by the heads and sent to the ground, before the giant lizard tumbled to the ground, crashing onto yet another building.

The pegasi watched as a portion of helicopters landed, and inside of them they could see more of the bizarre colts and mares. They saw the doors slide open, and the passengers walk out, holding guns in their hands.

“A united strike between the American Air Force and the American Army had been called in to protect and evacuate the innocents and to stop the hydra. The attack was led by Master Sergeant Jane Wilson, with orders from her superiors to bring in the hydra alive.”

Two humans walked out of the landed copter; a man and woman. The other copters opened up and the people inside stepped out as they looked at the ponies. The ground forces soon joined them, with one man in particular running over to Master Sergeant Wilson and the man next to her, Staff Sergeant Luke Akins.

“Sir!” He quickly saluted before Enlisted Medic Tim Lopez pointed back to the wreckage the attack left. “Three Jolly Green Giants have been grounded, and we have pair of destroyed jeeps. We have multiple injured soldiers.”

“Have an onsite hospital set up and do what you can for them,” Wilson commanded.

The man nodded and was about to leave when the Staff Sergeant noticed something. “Sir, they seem to have injured,” he stated, motioning towards injured pegasi who could no longer fly, had some form of noticeable injuries on them, or who had been caught in the gas attack.

“Can you help them, Lopez?” Master Sergeant Wilson inquired.

“I’m a medic, ma’am. I’m trained for humans. Not winged horses. Maybe we should ask someone if they have any experience on a farm or something, better than nothing, all things considered,” the medic said.

“E-excuse me?”

The soldiers turned to see another one of the horse creatures, save this one lacked wings. Instead, she resembled a normal horse, if significantly smaller. She was white, with a pink mane in a bun, and a matching tail. She wore a nurse cap on her head, with a red cross on it, and a matching insignia on the side of her body. As she walked out of her hiding spot, two dozen ponies like her, some having a horn on their heads, followed, which brought the number of pastel-colored horses to over sixty.

“I…couldn’t help but overhear. You have injured? I’m Nurse Redheart, and I have some experience with helping sick patients. If I could help in any way, I would be happy to….”

“Master Sergeant?” The Medic looked at his commanding officer, who simply nodded in response.

“Keep an eye on her,” she whispered. The doctor nodded and motioned for Nurse Redheart to follow him.

“…If you can, I can help you with your injured when we’re done.”

“Thank you, that would be very helpful, Mister…?”

“Lopez. Tim Lopez.”

“How do you know our language?” Jane asked.

“How do you know ours?” Another pony asked, pointing an accusing hoof at the humans. “What are you things anyway?” The colt added.

“Do you have a leader? We would like to talk to him,” Master Sergeant quickly interrupted, holding her hands up passively.

The ponies were silent, before Rainbow Dash stepped forward, the affects of the gases finally wearing down enough for her to operate. “I’m the leader. Now I got three simple questions for you: I want to know who you are, where we are, and how do we get back to Ponyville?”

“…Ponyville?” Luke repeated, looking at his superior officer for answers. She merely shook her head in confusion.

“You’re in Manhattan, in the state of New York, one of fifty that belong to the United States of America. My name is Master Sergeant Wilson. Now, I don’t know anything about any Ponyville, but I do know that just a few hours ago, all of you, and that overgrown iguana back there appeared in this city. I don’t know how or why, but I know that if either of us wants answers, it would be in our best interests to work together, or at least tolerate one another.”

Rainbow Dash stared at the young woman, before a smile tugged at her lips. “Alright, Wilson. What did you have in mind?”

When they appeared, many of us were afraid of them, or worst, hated them for whatever reason. But each side had its heroes. Those willing to trust this strange, new species that had appeared before them.

“Octy!” A white pony embraced and nuzzled her face into the neck of her friend. The light grey pony nuzzled her head into Vinyl’s neck, before the two released one another. Despite being each other’s musical opposite, the two were thankful to see anypony they knew who wasn't hurt or worse. “I thought you were dead! When the hydra started stomping around, I thought-”

“I know, Vinyl. I know. It’s good to see you again, too.”

The two smiled at one another and nuzzled each other in relief of finding one another, when Octavia noticed Nurse Redheart, and one of the strange, tan skinned bipeds walking around and helping ponies. She pulled away from Vinyl and the two saw many of the injured bipeds being carried to what looked like a hospital by other bipeds, no doubt injured by the attack.

“Octy?”

“What do you think they’re going to do with these talking horse things?” A soldier asked. His partner simply shrugged his shoulders as he did his job and led the patrol, making sure everything was going alright. The two stopped at the sound of hooves touching the pavement. They turned to the source to find a light grey pony, with a black mane and purple eyes staring at them. Behind her was a white pony, with an electric blue, short mane, and purple tinted glasses over her eyes. Both talking ponies had a musical note on their flanks.

“Can we help you, ma’am?” The older soldier questioned, as his younger partner seemed far more confused and disturbed.

“My name is Octavia. This is where the injured are being tended to, correct? I was wondering if it was possible I could enter and play them a song?”

“WHAT?!” The white pony shouted.

“You…want to play them a song?”

“That is correct, yes. I can understand if you reject me; I simply wish for everypo…everyone inside to know that I am sorry for what has happened and I wish to do everything I can to make their time healing as pleasant as possible. Vinyl, bring it over please.”

The disc jockey shook off her shock and used her horn to lift up a box, bringing it over to the three. She laid it on the ground and Octavia opened it, revealing her cello.

“You play the cello?”

“I do.”

“How? You don’t have fingers.”

“May I see?” The older soldier gently took the instrument into his hands as the grey pony gave her blessing. He examined it and the bow in his hands, before placing both back in the box. The craftsmanship, he noticed, was beyond stunning. “Alright. Come on. Stay here, kid.”

“No arguments from me, man.”

“Come along, Vinyl.”

The white unicorn followed, glancing at the black weapon in the hands of the young creature. She followed her earth pony compatriot, deep into the human structure, seeing a multitude of injured victims. They filled the rooms and nearly filled the hallways, making it so that the three had to be careful where they stepped so as not to further injure some poor soul. When they reached a spot that had enough room and was deep enough into the building, Octavia began to play.

The sound of groans, moans, and crying was replaced. The atmosphere of pain and heartbreak was slowly chipped away, revealing the sounds of music behind it. The music sang of tragedy, but also strength. It spoke of overcoming adversity, to stand above it, to stand united. It begged for forgiveness and it prayed for a happy ending.

When the song ended, no one knew what to do. On one hand, it was truly beautiful song, done by one, single musician. On the other, it was being played by a talking pony.

The first sound to shatter the silence like a well placed bullet was Vinyl. The unicorn had always tried to keep her love of classical music a secret kept between her and her best friend, but Octavia deserved this. The sound of her hooves hitting the ground was soon met by a soldier clapping his hands. Soon, more and more people began to join in, thanking the cellist.

Octavia blushed and gave a polite bow to everypo…everyone. As the applause faded, and a sense of comfort was felt in the hospital, the grey pony noticed someone wasn’t as relaxed or happy as everyone else was.

A child version of the other creatures glared at her with her brown eyes. Small, with a black mane, and wearing a blue dress on her body. Octavia gave a sheepish smile, before the girl turned away angrily. Vinyl noticed this and asked aloud.

“What’s with her?”

“Vinyl…Vinyl, look,” Octavia whispered, pointing to the room the girl entered. The two saw a larger, older, colt version of her tied to various machines on his bed. He was silent, and it was only now that they could hear the high pitched beep one of the machines gave, showing a flat line.

“A lot of people were hurt during that hydra’s attack. A lot more weren’t as lucky. Causalities are ranging in the thousands.” The old guard looked at the two as they looked at him. “People think somehow your kind is connected to all of this. That you brought that hydra here.”

“That’s a load of flying feathers! We just appeared in the middle of your city! We didn’t bring that monster here!” Vinyl argued.

“Do you believe that, sir?” Octavia inquired, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder to try and calm her down.

“I don’t like believing in anything without proof. But some monster tears apart the town, and at the same moment, a race of talking animals appears? You can see why some people are jumping to conclusions.”

“I see. Well, thank you for giving us the benefit of the doubt.”

The three were about to leave the hospital, when suddenly they heard what sounded like laughter and party favors. They saw confetti fall out of a doorway and onto the ground. The three walked over and inside the room they saw an equal number of patients, lying in bed, strapped to machines, and laughing at the wacky antics of a pink pony.

While her eccentric behavior was causing other humans to become discontent, those that believed the new intelligent race was to blame for the attack, many desired an escape from their gloomy reality, even if it was from one that was suspected for bringing a monster to town.

She danced and sang for the patients, making them laugh and smile. One of them, a grown man, even tried singing along. Before the ponies came along, the atmosphere was depressing and only crying and groans of pain were heard. Now, people seemed more optimistic, many of the patients were quiet now, resting or at peace.

“May I ask what your name is, sir?” Octavia asked, looking at the soldier.

“Private First Class Knipp.”

“Yeesh, and I thought Octavia Philharmonica was a silly name,” Vinyl laughed as the three began their trek to exiting the hospital.

And as the people and ponies attempted to understand one another, the leaders of the nation they had appeared in were attempting to figure out the situation and save as many people they could, only beginning to learn of the magnitude of the crisis.

In Washington DC, capital of the American Republic, and home to the President of the United States, a meeting was being held by the nation’s leader, his Cabinet, and the General of the Army. The room was in an uproar, with many of the members arguing with each other as the President and Vice President tried keeping the peace.

“Sir, all of Los Angeles is gone! We can’t reach Topeka or Houston. Also, satellite imagery shows all of Florida and Hawaii gone!” the Secretary of Interior shouted.

“Sir, we simply do not have enough soldiers or transportation for the entire nation. We’ve gotten word of anarchy in massive population centers, and we’re also getting word of giant monster attacks in Manhattan, Seattle, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Atlanta! Our forces are too thin!” The Secretary of Defense argued.

“Damn it, we have to try! We have to save as many people as we can! I don’t care if dragons come down from the sky; our duty is to protect the American people!” The President roared.

“There are not enough hospitals for the injured! Our death toll is already over a million!” The Secretary of Health and Human Services cried, slamming his hand onto the table in a rage.

“Sir, we need to find out what caused those cities to vanish and what brought those monsters here! We need to find them and make them pay for every one of those lives!” The Secretary of Homeland Security declared, raising her fist into the air. “Not to mention all the lives that vanished with the cities and the states they lived in!”

“Our resources are low as it is,” the Secretary of Agriculture added.

“Our nation has never seen this amount of property damage! Hospitals are overcrowded, and thousands of homes are either gone or have been destroyed!” The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development exclaimed.

“Mr. President, we’re getting reports from the United Kingdom, Moscow, Canada, Paris, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Cairo! All are victims of similar incidents. Entire cities and land masses are gone, and there are reports of giant monsters tearing apart population centers,” the Secretary of State explained.

As the arguments flew, a young, female guard walked into the meeting room and whispered into the president’s ear. “Sir, there’s someone outside who wants to talk to you.”

“What?! We’re in a meeting right now! I don’t have time for this!”

“Sir, it’s very important you listen to her! She said-”

The guard was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening and a bright light blinding the officials. When it faded away into a warm glow, the president was shocked by what he saw before him.

Three horse-like creatures, two of which had a horn and a pair of wings, their only difference being color and a one being slightly bigger than the other. Beside them was a smaller, purple unicorn, who seemed curious yet suspicious of him and his assembly.

“Mr. President, I take it? My name is Princess Celestia. I believe we have something we need to talk about.”

Storm of War

Within the walls of the United Nations, humanity argued among itself. The humans were filled with anger and a thirst for vengeance, and while many could have mistaken it for malevolence, the truth of the matter was that humanity was scared and simply seeking justice. Many cities laid in flames as they argued, and each ambassador fought and argued that their own people needed to be saved.

"There are dragons in my country!"

"Ambassador-"

"Our cities are being destroyed!"

"Ambassador-"

"This is an act of war; I demand to see the ones responsible!"

"Ambassador-"

"Where did these things come from?"

"Ambassadors, please! May I have your attention?!" The American Ambassador shouted, standing up and raising her hands into the air. The assembly began to calm down, and when it was ready, she continued, "You are all rightfully upset, and I can understand your desire for answers and retribution. Now then, may I please introduce to you the President of the United States of America."

The uproar returned as the President walked into the assembly, standing by the ambassador for his country. He held up his hands and waited for the people to calm down.

"My friends, I know my presence here is unexpected, and to some of you, unwanted. But I have good reason to be here. The recent attacks and appearances of these strange characters have caused much destruction and death, and I am sorry for all the lives that have been lost. These creatures are not of Earth, as some of you may believe. As insane as it may be to say, these creatures are from another world, one parallel to our own. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the ambassadors of the parallel world."

Once again, stronger than ever before, the assembly roared with shock, rage, and confusion. The doors opened and a small herd of creatures walked out, the most normal of them being a donkey, an American buffalo, a zebra, a mule, and a cow. Other creatures included alicorns, a griffon, a minotaur, and finally a unicorn.

"What are those things?!"

"What are they doing here?!"

"Mr. President, you have no right to bring these creatures here!"

"It’s because of them, my people are dying!"

"Everyone, please, I understand your outrage, but they have a right to speak for themselves!"

"That is not your right to decide, American!"

"Ambassadors!" Princess Celestia's voice echoed throughout the assembly, and everyone turned to her, stopping from the loud boom. She looked at them, before continuing. "We did not choose to bring our creatures here. We did not choose to have them rampage throughout your lands. My heart aches for every lost life. I do not know how, but it seems our universes, once parallel to each other, have crossed, and my people and yours have become spread out among this amalgam of our worlds."

The humans listened to the princess finish, before one of them spoke. "Four million. Four million dead in my country! My people are being slaughtered! A blizzard, one more powerful than any we've ever seen is destroying everything!" The Ambassador of Russia stood up and looked at the Princess and his colleagues. "Not only that, some sort of disease is affecting my people. Hatred and betrayal are widespread. Citizen attacking citizen; mother abandoning child; and comrade killing comrade. Are you telling me your creatures are doing this?!"

Celestia felt her heart ache at the thought of what could be doing such a thing. "Windigos. Yes, I'm sorry. Those creatures are native to our world."

"A giant bear is destroying my capitol- a being that dwarfs many of our buildings and easily slaughters our military. This monster is native to your world?"

"An Ursa Major. Yes."

A commotion was beginning to take root as many of the humans glared at the otherworldly creatures. Princess Celestia was about to speak when her sister cut her off.

"My sister said it herself. We are sorry for the lost lives your countries have suffered. We want you all to know that you have our full support. We wish to do everything in our power to help you. We can advise your armies in strategies to lure and capture the beasts. We can help heal the wounded. We want to help."

It was this that caused one of the leaders from the Pony world to speak. "My people are stretched thin, princesses. We did not agree to give any support to these creatures," the donkey whispered.

"We owe it to them."

"You do. My people are lost and scattered. They need a leader."

"Then go if you so wish, but see how many allies you have when you need them," Celestia replied, looking at the smaller creature. He growled at her, gritting his teeth, before a human spoke.

"You said capture." The human ambassador of Japan stood up and continued to speak, "My country is being destroyed by dragons. Capturing them is not an option, at least not without sacrificing my people to do so. I will not let any more of my people die! I do not want them captured; I want them slaughtered! I cannot let my people die anymore!"

"Are you saying we put the animals of your world's lives before our people? I do not know how things worked in your country, Princess Celestia, but I will not sacrifice the lives of innocent men and women- of children! Not to save the lives of your people, or the lives of dumb monsters!"

The minotaur ambassador slammed his hoof into the ground, and the ambassador of Germany stepped back in shock. "My people are strong! Stronger than any race! If you sacrifice your people to help my own, I swear you will have the strongest of warriors by your side!"

"I will not let innocents die for some animal!"

"Animal?!"

"SILENCE!" Luna's voice roared, silencing both parties.

"Thank you, Luna," Celestia nodded, before looking at the humans. "When I said capture, I was simply speaking of the best case scenario. Do not mistake my words as an insult. If I have to make the choice between the lives of human citizens and soldiers, and the life of an animal, I will save the humans. I will understand if any of your armies have to make that choice."

There was still lingering doubt and anger towards the new creatures, but the many nations of humanity seemed to have settled down. Now there was another matter to talk about.

"Do you have any sort of residence? If your people are scattered like ours, do they have any homes?"

"Our ponies do have homes, but much like your world, pieces of my world are gone entirely. A large percent of our population is lost."

The President stood back up and began to speak. "My country is already constructing camps for the natives of the other world. I cannot and will not order any of you to do the same. Any of you that have the natives of the Princess' world are welcome to send them to America, where they will be given safe refuge."

"How expected. America giving safe refuge to the victims of tragedy."

"Ambassador, is there something the matter?" The President turned to look at the Ambassador of Nigeria

"Mr. President, how do we know there isn't some ulterior motive to all this?"

"What are you implying? That I planned all this?!"

"No, no. But here you are, showing yourself off as the hero- another Berlin Airlift or Operation Tomodachi."

"A publicity stunt? These are people's lives!"

"Exactly! You're putting your resources to helping these creatures, sacrificing what could be used to save lives, and you expect us all to play along! And if we don't, we're the bad guys, while you get to play the savior and gain the favor of all these mystical creatures!"

"The Ambassador of Nigeria has a point," Rwanada's ambassador added. "How do we know you will not simply capture the beasts and keep them in case of war? How do we know you will not simply rerelease them upon our homes and nations?!"

"And what of your allies, Mr. President?" The Ambassador of the United Kingdom inquired. "Do you just intend to abandon us?"

"Ambassadors, trust in me that I will not let people die to help our new allies, but they are victims just like us. It is the right thing to do."

The Assembly seemed to finally allow the subject to die, and it moved onto other matters of importance. As they discussed their next course of action, and what could be done with the new...immigrants, Celestia looked at the President and mouthed off the words, 'Thank you.'

The President gave a simple nod, before the assembly devolved back into a shouting contest. Celestia sighed as she heard some of her fellow guests join in. It seems politics is a constant in all dimensions.

And so the Princesses offered advisers to every country they could, ponies that could communicate with the beasts and animals of their world. One of them in particular was the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. She was one of the first of the ponies to find a true friend in the realm of man.

Fluttershy, Twilight, and Princess Celestia walked down the hall of the military base, before they stopped within a large room. They saw several humans walking into and out of the room, all doing their job as best as they could. Twilight noticed her pegasus friend was shaking and gave a supportive smile.

"Fluttershy, don't worry. Everything's going to be okay. Everyone's been really nice to us. You don't have to be afraid," the unicorn assured.

"I just don't see why I have to be one of the advisers," the mare whimpered, seeing a pair of humans staring at her, before talking to each other, with her no doubt being the center of said conversation.

"No one knows more about animals than you do! No one can get animals to trust others better than you. The Princesses are giving animal advisers to several nations, and you're the best out of each of them," Twilight smiled. "I have faith in you."

Her friend's words touched the pegasus, and she smiled at the unicorn. "Thanks, Twilight. I needed that."

"Girls," Celestia called them to attention as the door opened and a human colt walked in. Fluttershy felt her knees buckle at the sight of him. He was towering above even Celestia, and his clothes seemed to struggle to contain his muscles. His skin was riddled with scars that went under his green camo outfit, and the only hair he had on his head was a greying flat top.

Fluttershy whimpered at the sight of the strong, intimidating general. He walked towards the group and seemed visibly distraught by the sight of the strange, otherworldly creatures. There was a quiet, rather awkward moment within the group of four, before he saluted them.

"Princess Celestia, Ambassador Twilight." The general turned his head to the pegasus and gave a nod. "And you must be my adviser, Fluttershy. It’s an honor. I'm General Fallon."

"H-h-hi," she replied, avoiding eye contact with the towering figure.

"You'll have to forgive Fluttershy. She's...timid," Twilight explained.

"Given the circumstance, I don't blame her. Miss Fluttershy, are you fit for duty? If you don't feel able, I could see another adviser," the old human offered, speaking with surprising sincerity and kindness. The soft words helped the pegasus relax a bit, and a nod from the Princess helped her again.

"N-no, sir. I'm fine."

"Alright. In that case, we have a mission briefing to get to. Princess, Ambassador." General Fallon saluted the two once more, and Twilight awkwardly gave the same motion. The General's blue eyes turned to Fluttershy and the young mare and human soon left the room, on their way to a briefing with the other generals and advisers.

Before Fluttershy could realize, she was exiting a military armored vehicle, beholding a horrible sight. A family of manticores was attacking the city of Detroit. The pride of lions was tearing apart the area, and was quickly making a path of destruction to the next.

She shuddered in horror at the sight of several dead bodies behind the terrorizing beasts- no doubt humans that had gotten in the way of the beasts. Wrecks of cars, debris, and the such polluted the streets, and people scream and ran in fear, or tried to fight the animals, only to be met with a swift death. On a closer inspection, Fluttershy saw that there were also manticore bodies on the street, dead, with blood leaking out of them, though it seemed like only one body for every six or seven humans killed.

A line of soldiers were attempting to tranquilize the beasts, but they were resistant to the drugs. If anything, they were only being held back by the darts. To the shock of the troops, the eldest of the monster shot the bard at the end of his tail, impaling one of the soldiers.

"Medic!" Another cried, running to his friend as he began to bleed from his wound.

"Fluttershy." The pegasus looked at General Fallon as the two stood behind a barricade the army had made. "None of the nonlethal weaponry is taking these beasts down- the alpha male leading them especially. I need you to calm them down, if possible, or find some way for us to bring them down peacefully, or else we will terminate them.... Fluttershy?"

General Fallon saw the pegasus was already flying over to the family of manticores. "Hold your fire," he ordered all of the troops, before motioning for them to trade their weapons for the more lethal variety.

"Stop!" She pleaded, and the family froze in place. The leader moved closer to her, growling with his teeth bare. It exhaled in front of her, and Fluttershy could feel the hot air touch her fur. She stood brave before it. "Calm down. I know you're scared, but please, you have to calm down," she pleaded, talking with a surprising firmness, while still showing the male that she did not mean to harm him. "They're just protecting themselves," she explained as the manticore's eyes traveled to the human soldiers.

The beast turned away from the pegasus and looked at the dead bodies of his family. Its brow shifted, and a look of melancholy formed on his face. One of them was a cub...

"I understand. But you can't terrorize all of these innocent people for what happened to your family. I'm sorry for your loss, but don't make another father mourn the loss of his children."

The father manticore stared at the mare, before giving a roar to his family. They obeyed, relenting, and letting their bodies relax. Fluttershy turned to General Fallon and gave a smile, before looking at the manticore once more.

"Now then, will you be so kind as to go with the nice gentlecolts? We'll put you somewhere safe, and take good care of you until we can find a nice forest to put you in."

The monster glared at her, before looking at his pride. He gave a growl at them, before looking once more at the pegasus and nodding.

"He's agreed to go peaceful."

General Fallon let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you, Fluttershy. Alright, let's get the cages and transport ready, move it, people!" He ordered the soldiers.

From the sidelines, a civilian that was being tended to by a medic suddenly stood up. "What?! You're just going to let it go?! That son of a bitch killed my wife!"

Fallon looked at the outraged human and tried to talk some sense to him, walking forward. "Sir, please, calm down."

"No, you're letting a killer go! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He screamed, pushing the medic back as hatred and fury boiled in his blood. "My family should be avenged! Everyone those monsters killed should be!"

General Fallon stepped back as a young man placed a hand on his father's shoulder and tried calming him down. It seemed to have worked, for now, and the angry widower looked away as the animals were brought into cages.

General Fallon sighed as Fluttershy flew over, asking if he was okay. His eyes wandered to the injured residents of Detroit. "I'm fine, but we better move fast." The general noticed the dirty glares many of the citizens gave the soldiers and pegasus, "A lot of people aren't happy that these creatures go on without a scratch." The old man looked directly at Fluttershy now as they walked back to the transports. "I apologize, Fluttershy. I hope all this doesn't make you think badly of humanity."

"Oh, no. I love my friends; they're like a family to me. If anyone ever hurt them, I...I just don't know what I'd do!" The pegasus shuddered as she remembered how she acted when Twilight needed her to go after Rainbow Dash. When they had been turned into broken reflections of their own elements. She was so angry... "I'm sorry our animals have caused you so many problems."

"It’s not your fault," Fallon assured. "I don't blame you. Come on, we need to get these manticores to the holding area," he ordered, before placing a hand on Fluttershy's mane. He patted it gently, hoping he wasn't over stepping his boundaries. She seemed to react positively to it as the two friends walked back into their transport.

Friendships and bonds of brotherhood were already forming between human and pony. Both sides had their heroes willing to look past the shell of their counterpart and see that, humanity and ponies were more alike than they thought. Sadly, for every hero, there was an antithesis. But let me ask you this. What does it take to make someone a true monster?

The earth pony's eyes shot open as he fought for air, finding his throat being squeezed by a metal collar. He was trapped. No light. It was a dark, cold room. "H-hello?" He struggled to find an exit to the prison cell. There was none to be found. As he searched for a way out, he felt the room become hotter and hotter. "H-hello?! Please, help me! Where am I?!" He screamed, beads of sweat pouring down his fur.

The human scientist watching the pony burn wrote on his notes. He noted the temperature the pony began to feel sweat at, how long until the pony seemed to black out at, and how long it took the pony to die.

"How is it?" Another human asked, walking up from behind.

"Well enough. Have you found what caliber of bullet is optimal for piercing their hide?"

"Yes, sir, for each of the three subspecies. We're currently trying to find the one best for piercing minotaurs."

"Good. When you're done, there is a list of drugs and circumstances I want you to give the unicorns while they use their 'magic.' Find out how they react to each stimulates."

"Yes, sir."

The new scientist walked out of the room, leaving the other alone in the room, staring at the burned husk of the pony. He placed his notepad onto the table in front of him and rubbed his brow as he sighed. "God forgive us for what we do..." He then placed a finger on a red button and spoke into a microphone. "Bring in the next test subject."

Thunder of Chaos

"Professor!" Radiant Light wrapped her hooves around the neck of the scientist. "How are you?" She inquired, smiling at the human, her blue eyes twinkling with trust.

"I'm fine. How do you feel, Radiant?"

"Really woozy. How is it going with you? How is my husband?"

"He is recovering well. You'll be able to visit him in due time."

"That's fantastic!" The unicorn then looked at the plate the professor was holding and grinned. "Food for Bulb and I?"

"Actually, just for you. Bulb is scheduled for his operation now."

"What? But you said tomorrow!" She argued.

"The sooner we cure him of his disease, the sooner we can focus on finding other members of your race."

The unicorn slowly nodded, but still seemed reluctant. "I wish I knew why my family alone ended up here...." The mother looked into the nearby room, and called out to her son. "Bulb! Please come out here."

An earth pony foal opened the door and walked into the room. He smiled at the scientist, and his mother. "Hey, Professor Mandela! What's up? Ooh! Did you bring us food?"

"Actually, this is all meant for me. The Professor says its time for your operation," the mother explained.

The earth pony shuddered and took a step back. "Prof...I'm scared. Are you sure I have to?"

"I know, Bulb. Fear is normal. But you need to face that fear. I promise, the process is painless. You'll be asleep for most of it," Mandela swore, petting the white mane of the yellow colt. "I give you my word, Radiant Light, your son will be fine."

"Thank you, Professor. I trust you." The mare nuzzled the human's hand as he moved it near her. "Go with him, Bulb. I'll see you and your father soon."

"Right, mom!" Bulb smiled, jumping into the arms of the scientist, laughing as the man stood up and he looked down at his mom.

"You should start eating, Radiant. I'll be back later to make sure you're okay. If you need anything, just tell someone through the intercom," Mandela comforted. As he took the foal away from his mother, he noticed the mare was struggling to lift the food to her mouth with her magic. He made a mental note of that.

"Thanks, prof," Bulb grinned. "You found my family."

"I'm glad we found you too, Bulb. If we hadn't, the disease might have progressed to a more severe stage."

The young colt smiled as he got himself comfortable in the arms of the human. He eventually arrived in a sterile, white room, with a table of medical tools arranged on wheeled table. A nurse and doctor were also there, ready to cure the colt. He was placed on a table and Mandela whispered to him to relax.

"Hey, Bulb. How you feeling?" The doctor was already picking up syringe filled with a clear, odorless substance. Bulb shuddered at the sight of it.

"I'm okay, doc, but...is that for me?"

"Its an anesthesia, Bulb. Its going to make you sleep. It'll make this all painless for you," the man promised.

The colt felt his hoof being held by the nurse, and she gave him a reassuring smile and a stroke on his head from her gloved hand. "How is your mother, Bulb?"

"She's okay. Hey, can I see my dad when you guys are done?"

The nurse made a noise with her mouth. As if she was gasping, or panting for air. She simply nodded her head and placed a medical mask over her mouth. "Yeah, you'll be with him after this."

"Are you okay, nurse? You look sad."

"Okay, we're ready. Hold still, Bulb," the doctor requested, interrupting the stallion. The colt flinched as the needle neared him, but the nurse offered her hand from him to hold and nuzzle into as the needle went through his hide. The liquid nothingness was pushed into his body.

"There. You were a very brave boy, Bulb."

"Thanks, doc...Oh, wow...I think I feel it getting to me already," the colt mumbled, feeling woozy. He felt his head fall back, onto the head rest. "Thanks again," he mumbled, giving a weak smile to the professor as he went to sleep...

Fear can create hate. Hate can create evil. But sometimes, being afraid helps you do the right thing.

"My name is Jean-Jacques Dubois, an agent of Interpol. Do you know why you are here?"

The woman was of Asian descent. She looked at the French agent for a moment. "I will not tell you anything, until you promise my protection. I am risking my life coming here. They could have followed me. They could know I am here and may plan to kill me for it."

Jean-Jacques wrapped his hands around the woman's and he gave a reassuring smile. "I promise, you will have the full protection of Interpol. We can and will protect you."

This seemed to be enough for the elderly woman, and she began to recount her story. "My name is Alona Vong. I am from Laos. I was a scientist in Project Ends- a multinational operation to understand and study the new creatures, Equestrians, minotaurs, as well as several other races, including a captured giant bear which we now know is called an Ursa Minor. Our objectives were to find each species' weakness, to understand them, and to figure how to best protect ourselves from them."

"Why are you here? Why tell us this?"

"The head scientist, Wole Mandela, believes in treating the subjects 'humanely' before their experimentation. He says he wants their final moments to be in ignorance and joy. He does it to avoid needless cruelty, but I, and several of my colleagues found it only made the process worse. We made friends with the creatures, and told them that we were there to help, only to drug their food. We told them they were sick and we could help them, and they believed us. I found it worse than treating them like cattle."

Agent Dubois nodded his head and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder as she began to cry. He reached into his pocket and handed her a tissue, before asking her if she wanted to continue. She did. "We also have several informants in various governments. I cannot give you all the names, but I can give you some of the governments we have moles in. The United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Russia, Norway, and Japan."

The officer, who so far had been nothing but sympathetic and patient with the woman, was shocked by what he heard. "What?! That's impossible, how have we not found them?"

"We may come from third-world countries, but that doesn't mean our agents are third-rate." The woman looked at the man. "I only know the names of a few agents. I had to escape before they realized what I did." She then pulled a CD case from her shirt pocket and placed it on the table. "You'll find their names on there."

"Thank you for coming to us with this information."

"I can show you where it is, if you can rescue them." She looked at him, wiping tears from her eyes. "Will you rescue them?"

"We'll notify the United Nations. We will save them. Until then, you will be placed under protection. I promise, Miss Vong, everything will be okay."

The woman nodded her head, and as the man left, she quietly continued to wipe away her tears.

When the United Nations heard about Project Ends, the usual uproar was only made stronger. Accusations were thrown at one another. Princess Celestia, her sister, and the rest of the 'aliens' were asked to leave the assembly, not knowing anything about the situation.

"Can you hear them?" The minotaur ambassador, and his fellow creatures, were in a separate room. The loud roars of the Assembly reduced to muffled whispers to them.

Celestia nodded her head. A simple listening spell allowed her to clearly hear the angry shouts and accusations each ambassador made to the other.

"What is happening, sister?"

"There is a lab, in one of their nations, that has dozens of captured ponies, minotaurs, griffons, and even a young Ursa Minor. They've been experimenting on them. Dissecting them." Celestia prepared herself for the rage of the ambassadors, and the questions and disbelief her faithful student gave her.

"That's not possible! The ambassador told me-"

"The human ambassador lied!" The bison stomped his hooves into the ground in anger. "They all lied! I knew coming here was a mistake!"

"These creatures are a threat and should have been seen as such from the beginning!" The griffon ambassador added, his claws digging into the floor.

"All of you, calm down. Remember, an individual a group does not make....The humans say they are going to launch an attack. They're going to bring the scientists to justice."

"Oh. This ought to be good," the cow mumbled.

The rest of the ambassadors began to exit the room, intending to leave back to their own people. This left Twilight, Luna, and Celestia among themselves. The unicorn looked at the white alicorn and the little sister seemed to be contemplating their place in all of this.

"Sister, do you still have faith in these creatures? Are they still worthy of our trust?"

"I believe they are."

"Then we have faith in your belief," the Princess of Night replied, nodding her head.

"Do not have faith in me. Have faith in them," the elder sister replied. "Still, I will need to speak to the President after this. Something tells me this will only get worse before it gets better..."

And in the dark of a night, an attack was launched by the United Nations. They invaded the base in silence, a multinational team, though many of the members were from the country the attack was being held in, Iran. With American, French, and Japanese overseers, they invaded the base and caught the scientist. It was all so easy. Of course, now came the true test of whether or not the two groups could coexist, side by side...

The head scientist sat in a well lit room. The only pieces of furniture being a white, metal chair, bolted to the ground, with a similar table in front of him, and another chair on the opposite side.

The scientist stared at his distorted reflection on the table. His dark skin was covered in beads of sweat. He stared at it, even as the door opened and a figure walked in. It was an African woman. She sat in the opposite seat and was the first to speak.

"My name is Abena Okonkwo. Do you know why you are here?"

"My name is Wole Mandela. I was the lead scientist for Project Ends. It was me who allowed each project and I was there for a majority of the experiments. You are here to no doubt interrogate me."

"I am."

"You will no doubt break my arms and hit me, yes? That is how Americans gain information, yes?" He spat, still not looking at the woman.

"You have been watching too much American television, Wole. I'm here to talk to you. Nothing physical."

"Americans love their violence, don't they?" Wole let out a grim laugh, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I will talk. You need not torture me. I did what I thought was right."

"You killed innocent creatures. Dozens of them. Even more are scarred, physically and mentally."

"Creatures? Can you not find a better word for them? They talk, think, create, love. They are like us."

"You knew this and yet you killed and hurt them."

"For what its worth, when I could, I gave them anesthetics. I wanted them to suffer as little as possible. When they had to die, I killed them as quickly as I could, even if that distorted the data we received. Painless. I gave them each 'humane' quarters. Food. Water. I gave them good final moments. I did not hold them in pens, like lambs to the slaughter. They were not walking in a line into death. I did my best to ease their suffering."

"You slaughtered them."

"I know. I would have done it again if I could go back. Even if they were humans. Even if they were angels."

"Why?"

"Because my people have suffered enough. Because the rest of the world lives in fear of the new Roman Empire." The scientist, for the first time, looked into the woman's eyes. Tears were going down his face as he struggled to control himself. He swallowed and continued. "Over 500,000 lives were lost during the genocide of my country, Rwanda. We pleaded for the mighty, 'developed' nations to help. We called out to America to save us. We received nothing."

"That's what this is about? Revenge? You think killing all of these innocents will hurt America like your country was hurt?!"

"No!" He roared, slamming his hands onto the metal table. "It was to protect my nation! To protect us all! Uruguay, China, Iran, Laos, and all of the other 'savage' countries, America and her elite vilify. Think about this, Miss Okonkwo. America already has one of, arguably, THE strongest military. America has bases across the planet. America is on the edge of technology and medicine. America is the world's superpower! What is the rest of the world then? We are nothing, but the next Iraq, if we are lucky. If we are not, than we are another Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Wole wiped the tears from his eyes as he struggled to control himself.

"And now, these ponies and minotaurs and griffons come. They go to America for help. America is happy to do so, and in doing so, America becomes even more powerful. It is simply a matter of time until America unleashes the captured monsters upon our nations. A matter of time until America 'liberates' another country."

"You believe America is your enemy?"

"I hate evil, no matter the name or shape. You can call us monsters for what we did, I will agree, but we are only monsters because they forced us to be." Mandela looked back at the table as every memory went through his mind. Every face. Every lie he made, fresh in his mind, yet it was like their decayed husks were infesting him. "An innocent foal trusted me with his life. Thought I was saving him from a disease. Thought it was anesthesia. Another one thought I was giving him food. Even more thought I was their friend. I keep asking myself, was it right? Not killing them, I knew that was wrong, but was it right to treat them like that before their death? Giving them food and shelter, telling them I was there to help?"

The tears came back, stronger than ever. He cried for every mother that did not know her child was dead. He cried for every father he ripped away from his family. He cried for every friend he betrayed. He cried, because they never got the chance to know the truth before he...

"I won't ask for mercy. I won't ask for forgiveness. Just know that I am more than a villain. I had my reasons. Let history be my judge."

As the interrogation continued, a call came to one of the agents monitoring the act. He took out his phone and held it to his ear, his eyes widening in horror as he heard the news.

"Get away from me, you monster!"

"What's going on here?!" A trio of soldiers entered through the room to find the place in chaos. Human soldiers were aiming guns at the Equestrians and their fellow supernatural beings. A man was already on the ground, slumping against the wall, and the TV was the only source of sound.

"We didn't do anything!"

"Liar!" One of the unicorns roared, his horn glowing, ready to open fire with it.

"Dad, stop! He's our friend, remember?!" His daughter screamed. The pegasus flew in front of her father as the colt seemed to shake with fear.

"Where's my wife?! You said you had to take her in due to injuries! But you killed her, didn't you?!"

"Where's my brother?!"

"Where are my foals?!"

Chaos and threats were thrown across the room. As they were, the three soldiers saw the TV and in all the chaos somehow still heard the reporter speaking.

"Pictures and videos of the creatures being killed and dissected have recently been posted on several internet sites. The types of creatures dissected on camera include minotaurs, griffons, and all three types of Equestrians. Each video seems to imply that the scientists, whose faces and voices have been distorted, had gained the trust of the victims, before giving them a lethal injection of potassium chloride, telling them it was an anesthesia. Government officials have not given a response to this recent, and distu-" The TV was silenced by a beam of magic hitting it, causing the flat screen to explode in a mix of sparks, glass, and plastic.

Anarchy and discord filled the area, as the humans struggled to control the situation. The ponies that feared for their lives, and the lives of their loved ones attempted to protect themselves from what they saw as traitors to their trust, and the ponies that still had faith in the humans, who were trying to calm their kin down.

One of the soldiers couldn't take the chaos anymore. He saw one of his friends being thrown across the room and into the ground. He fell to the ground, still. The soldier held up his gun and placed a finger on the trigger, before he fired.

Similar cases like these appeared all over the world, but it was focused in America. Fear and paranoia infected the minds of many, of pony and human alike. Professor Wole Mandela's plan seemed to have been a success. He wanted to save the unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi, and all those like them, from being used as weapons by the empires of the world. Now, the idea of either side working with one another seemed impossible. At best, isolation from each other; at worst, a full out war between the races. All hope seemed lost.

"Mr. President?"

The man turned his head away from the window to behold the radiant body of Princess Celestia. She bowed her head to him and he did the same.

"Princess Celestia. I didn't hear you come in," he said, sitting in his chair and turning his body to face her. He felt his soul overcome with guilt as he looked at her, before he hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry." To his shock, both leaders had spoken at once, and they stared at each other with disbelief.

"Mr. President, my ponies have allowed fear to infest their minds. They should know that the actions of a few members of your race do not echo through you all."

"No, Princess, I should apologize to you. Not only is it my species, but we've discovered several conspirators within our governmental body. People who have been feeding information to the scientists, even locations of isolated members of your kingdom. I'm sorry."

"It takes great inner strength to apologize for one's mistakes, Mr. President. But we should not focus our energy on apologizing, at least not to each other."

The aging man sighed and nodded his head. "You're right. We need to get our kingdoms back in order, it would seem."

"Agreed. Trust is easy to break, but difficult to mend. Difficult, but not impossible."

The man looked out his window and stared into the night sky. Celestia did the same and couldn't help but be reminded of her changed role in life. Her powers could still move the moon and sun, but her powers were no longer needed for it here. Yet her subjects still looked to her and her sister for leadership.

"The people out there wanted a leader. They needed someone who could get them out of the dark and into a better place. Not paradise, maybe, but a day better than yesterday." The president turned once more and began walking over to Celestia. "They chose me, but I never imagined it was going to be during my term that we would meet the first 'aliens,' and I never could have imagined all this would have happened. Its hard to believe that the rest of the world had this little faith in us...." He sighed, stopping just about a foot away from the princess' snout. "But looking back...I can see why."

"Is that it then? You will just give up and let our people fight among themselves? Let distrust and chaos rule over pony, human, and others alike?"

"I didn't say that. But I can't fix the mistakes of the past. I can't save the lives lost, and I can't stop people from thinking what they will think. Even if we destroyed every last copy of Project Ends, no one is going to trust each other. Not after that..."

"I wish to tell you a story." The President stopped his inner monologue and gave Celestia look of utter bewilderment. "You're never too old to learn, Mr. President. Once upon a time, the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies lived in disharmony. Hatred and distrust were rampant. To make matters worst, a blizzard was destroying their country and leaving nothing but death and suffering. But the blizzard did only part of the work. The hate between the three races did far more damage to each other than the blizzard ever could. It was only by working together, and choosing not to meet the end as enemies, did they find a new home and save the remnant of their races."

"Wasn't the blizzard caused by the Windigos? Who fed on hatred and created more of it to devour?"

Celestia's elegant and wise poise was broken as the human spoke and she looked at him in curiosity. "How did you know that?"

"My ambassador and yours seem to have become good friends. They are constantly exchanging tales of our two races, and he, in turn, gives them to me," he chuckled, laughing at the memory of just a few days ago.

A smile formed on Celestia's snout and she joined in the small laugh. "Yes, it would seem so." Her face slowly returned to one of wisdom and age. "My point is this, Mr. President: No country is free of sin. No being is without evil."

The human nodded in agreement. "An intelligent man once told me that there is no such thing as good and evil in the world, only different shades of grey."

"And a very wise pony once told me that 'Friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing. Even the worst of enemies can become friends. You need understanding and compromise. You've got to share, you've got to care."'

"If it was that easy, we'd all be singing songs together and dancing," the president grimaced. The soft hoof of the goddess was placed upon on his shoulder. "It won't be easy..."

"Nothing worth doing is."

Sun of Tomorrow

Unbeknownst to the humans, the rulers of Equestria and their six greatest had found their capitol of Canterlot in the land of Europe, as beautiful and as majestic as the day of its completion. There, they would attempt to escape. To reverse the crossing of two worlds.

The Elements of Harmony fell to the ground. They fell from the bodies of the six chosen heroines, clattering against the tiled ground. The eight stood in the room in silence, Celestia's....the foreign sun now setting, moving on its own accord, as it's smaller sibling became clearer in night.

"The Elements...they...failed?" Twilight muttered, her tone hushed and shocked as she looked at the rulers of Equestria...

"It was a long shot to rest our hopes upon them," Celestia sighed, as her sister recollected the Elements.

"I don't get it!" Rainbow Dash shouted, kicking hers, sending it flying into the wall, where it harmlessly bounced off. "We're all friends still! None of us are brainwashed! We're all here! Why aren't the Elements working?!" She angrily stomped her hooves into the ground, her teeth clenched.

"Maybe...Ummm...Maybe..." Fluttershy hesitated to speak, finding her words getting caught in her throat and falling apart in fear of the misconception the others would have.

"What is it, darling?" Rarity, ever the friend, supported her, wanting her to voice her opinion. "If there's anything you may know, or think, please, Fluttershy, tell us."

"Rarity is right, Fluttershy. If you have an idea, we could use it," Twilight agreed, nodding her head.

"It's...not an idea. I mean, it is, but...You won't like it."

"Can't be that bad," Rainbow Dash mumbled.

"What if this isn't a bad thing?"

A silence captured the room, almost choking the life out of it, it seemed. Applejack was the first to weigh her opinion, as the others pondered the truth in the pegasus' words.

"Sweet Apple Acres is gone! As in, all gone! Ah don't know what fancy shcmancy words Twilight would use, but the entire farm is gone! Tarnations, Fluttershy, ain't none of us even seen a lick of Ponyville or Los Pegasus, or a half a dozen other towns! Not to mention all the folks hurt by this whole mess!"

"I...I was just saying," the yellow mare whimpered, scolding herself for even suggesting that the death of so many could ever be a good thing.

"Applejack, wait. Fluttershy didn't mean it like that, and you know it," Twilight argued, ever the voice of logic. "You know she cares about your farm, just as much as the rest of us. None of us would ever wish anything bad at it, or Ponyville, but the simple fact is that this...fusing of our worlds hasn't been all bad."

"...One of those human doctors helped out Hoops after he got a dose of that gas stuff. He was helping Nurse Redheart with all the injured ponies. He even apologized to me about the whole gas, thing," Rainbow Dash suddenly stated, gaining everyone's attention.

"Were it not for one of the humans, Sweetie Belle wouldn't have made it back to me. Nor Applebloom to you, Applejack." Applejack looked at Rarity and gave a solemn nod in response.

"Don't get me wrong, gals. Ah don't blame anypony for this, but...part of me just wishes Ah could. Ah feel like it needs to be someone's fault. Ah don't like the thought that all those ponies got hurt just cause. Ah'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Applejack," Celestia assured. "I am not proud of the death and destruction, nor am I pleased at the forced merging of our two worlds. The thought that all of this happened simply by chance, is tragic. But humanity has been kind enough to trust us enough to give us a chance. We will give them the same. Twilight, I understand you and the human ambassador of America have quickly became friends. Do you have anything you wish to say about them?" The Princess looked at her student, who flushed as everypony paid attention to her.

She wiped away her embarrassment and began to speak, speaking with a tone of leadership that she had inherited from her teacher, and from her adventures. "We've spoken a lot with one another. He hasn't tried to cover up his species' past. He told me and I verified everything he has said. Humanity does have a history of violence and aggression towards themselves. Looking through their history books, I estimate that they have experienced more than twice the amount of warfare Equestria has ever had."

The other ponies, minus the alicorns, seemed to flinch at this statement. They had seen the evidence, and none of them were fools. They knew that all of the weapons they had seen their allies use were not always used on the monsters of their world, but to think that so much war and violence was spawned from a single race was inconceivable.

"But there's more to them than just that. I've been looking at their race, and there is history and culture to it. They're not so different than us. The reason they seem so much more violent than us is because their world seems to be so much harsher than ours."

"Harsher? Our world's got hydras, and dragons, and buckin' Discord, for feather's sake!" Rainbow Dash argued.

"I know, and you're right, and at first glance, our world is a worse place. But think about it like this: Early Equestrian history recites about how the Windigos nearly destroyed Equestria. The ponies avoided it by using the power of harmony. Humanity, on the other hand, had to survive a different beginning."

"First off, their species is over 200,000 years old, at the very least," Twilight began.

"Two hundred thousand...? That is surprising. To our knowledge, ponykind has only existed for roughly 60,000 years," Luna explained, stroking her chin at thought about this.

"Then perhaps the abundance of war is not so surprising. Any species that lives as long as that could only be expected to have a large history of violence," Celestia added.

"There is more. From what I can tell, the animals of this world and our world are different. We, we being the ambassador and I, theorized that early ponies and the animals were able to coexist. Perhaps it was because of magic, domestication, or even we evolved to form a more beneficial relationship, our creatures are, for the most part, less threatened by us. Humans, on the other hand, when food was scare, were forced to hunt the animals."

"Sweetie Belle mentioned a human that helped her. He was a hunter. She said she saw him kill, cook, and eat an animal." Rarity stated.

"They...eat meat?" Rainbow asked, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Rainbow Dash, food was scare back then. It was how the food chain worked. We can't blame them for what their ancestors did, and we shouldn't blame them for biological and cultural differences," Fluttershy defended. Rainbow looked at her friend with a strange stare, which was met with a smile. "I've had to catch and prepare fish for some of the animals back home. I don't hate them for it, its simply how they live."

Rainbow Dash nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry. Guess its just something I'll need to get used to."

"My point is this. Humanity has done a lot of dark things during their time, but there's more than just war and violence. There's love, kindness, and..." Twilight smiled as she took a step forward, standing proudly, inspiring herself. "Friendship. They're more like us than it looks like at first glance."

"Then it is decided," Celestia nodded, smiling at her student's words. "We shall stand by humanity, and we shall work to becoming allies, and with luck, become friends."

After the actions of Professor Mandela, it seemed the world was filled with fear and distrust. The next day, the President of the United States came before his country, giving a speech to the entire planet. Simultaneously, Celestia and Luna were doing the same. Both speeches were being played across the world, by radio, television, livestream, and magically to those lost on the planet.

The President began, sitting on his chair, within the Oval Office. He looked at the camera, before he began to speak. "Let history not remember me as an American."

Miles away, within the royal land of Canterlot, Celestia and Luna stood within their throne room, their horns glowing as their voices were projected to their subjects, and to all those that were not watching the President's speech.

"Let history not remember us as Equestrians."

"Let history not remember me as a man."

"Let history simply remember us as a voice."

"A voice that spoke of what has happened, but also of what can still happen."

"The works of Professor Mandela and his associates have been stopped, but their actions have tainted us all."

"But we cannot punish all of humanity for the works of a single man, or even of a dozen men."

"If the actions of so few spoke for all of us, we would all be guilty of horrible crimes."

"Giving up is too easy. We are who we are, because we did not bend to the storm. We are stronger than that."

"Let us be strong, and walk a higher path. Let us offer friendship to our new kin, and not persecute them."

"Together, we can be stronger than we ever were alone. Together, we can make our new world a better home. There are so many stories we can weave together. Stories of friendship."

Lyra's vision was gone, forcing her ears to become more sensitive. She tested each string of her lyre, making sure each one was perfectly tuned. Once the preparations were done, she began to play.

A song played for the birth of New Ponyville. A song for everyONE to sleep to. The humans, the minotaurs, the mules, the cows, and all the others who came to help with the reconstruction of the town.

The gentle, enchanting lullaby was heard by many, and most found themselves drifting off to sleep thanks to it.

It was only when she opened her eyes did she discover that her music had gained a one man audience- a human female, most likely one of the workers that had either volunteered or were hired to help. She was wearing simple pajamas. She looked like she was about ready to sleep, as she stood barefoot on the grass.

"Oh! Hello there," Lyra greeted. "I'm sorry, did I wake up you up with my song?"

"Oh, no! I was awake long before it. I have a hard time sleeping sometimes, so when I heard you, I wanted to see who was playing that awesome song."

"Heh. Thanks," the green unicorn smiled, putting her instrument into her bag, before standing up.

"You headed back to the temporary homes?"

Lyra nodded in response, before the sound of hooves crushing grass was heard. Another pony, this one tan colored, with a blue and pink mane, ran over and smiled at the mint colored one. "Bon Bon?"

"Lyra, I was wondering where you went. Why didn't you tell me you were playing everyone a song?" She smiled, lightly poking her fellow pony.

"Sorry, Bon Bon. You were just so tired today, I wanted you and Tootsie to rest."

"Aww, you're so sweet," Bon Bon complimented, petting her wife's cheek, before noticing the human girl. "Oh, sorry. Hello there."

"This is my wife, Bon Bon. Bon Bon, this is...Um...?"

"My name is Amy. Wait, did you say wife?" The human woman was visibly shocked by the statement, looking back and forth between the two.

Bon Bon seemed to cringe at the shock, a familiar look they had recieved in the past. She was quick to the defense of her lover. "Is there a problem?"

Amy realized her mistake and held up her hands. "Oh, no! Not at all. Sorry, I just didn't think any of you ponies...um....swung that way. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I'm glad you two found each other."

The couple relaxed at the girl's words and smiled at her. They thanked her, before Bon Bon kissed her wife's cheek. "We should get back to Tootsie now, sweetie."

"Yeah, you're right. Don't want her waking the neighbors," the musician chuckled, before looking at her new friend. "We'll see you later?"

"Definetly. In fact, tomorrow night, some of the workers are having a party. One of them is talking to this pony about getting some drinks. Think her name is Berry, or something. Anyways, I'm sure everyone would love for you to come over and play a song or two."

"Heh. I don't think my kind of music is the kind you want at a Berry Punch drinking party." Lyra smiled as she remembered she and her then-marefriend drinking a bottle of Berry's special stash. The two had woken up to a mess in their kitchen and living room. "But we'd love to come by still and meet everypo-everybody working on New Ponyville. That okay with you, Bon Bon?"

"Well, we'll need to find a foal sitter for Tootsie, but it does sound fun," the cream colored earth pony thought aloud. "We'll see you there, Amy!"

"Stories of discovery."

"And that is story of the Return of Harmony." Cheerilee closed the book and looked at her new class. Had someone told her that she would be teaching a class of ponies, along with a class of strange, primate creatures called humans, she would have called them crazy.

While there was a vocal group that was against a 'talking horse' teaching the youth of tomorrow, there were also many that argued that Cheerilee still had a right to teach, and that giving those teachings to humans would not be so bad, and for now, they seemed to have won.

The purple earth pony closed her book and finished the story. She was reminded of yet another problem many had with her. She was reading a story of Equestria history to the foals, and children, in the room. She made a mental note to read a human book later, before she continued her lesson.

"Now then, can anyone tell me the moral of the story?" A batch of hooves and hands rose up, waving in the air with childlike excitement. "Hmm...Yes, Richard. What do you think?"

"That friendship is stronger than chaos?"

"Exactly. Together with our friends, we can overcome any problem. Now then, everyone, please take out a sheet of paper and pencil," she instructed. "I would like everypony, er...everyone to draw a picture of their friends and to keep it so that they can remember they're never alone." The students went to work, save for one. Cheerilee walked over to one of her human students, Richard, and stared quizzically at the blank paper. "Richard? Is something the matter?"

"Miss Cheerilee, I don't have any friends! I don't have anyone to draw..."

"Nonsense! I'm your friend," the pony smiled.

"But you're my teacher...?"

"That doesn't mean we can't be friends too."

The simple words spoke to the child, and he smiled as he nodded his head. He quickly began to get to work, creating a poorly done drawing of him and his pony teacher, both smiling. Cheerilee was proud of her student, all the same though, and was happy that foals and human children were not so different. Both needed a teacher.

"Stories of laughter."

"It was very nice of you to visit, General Fallon," Fluttershy smiled, as she and her human friend sat at a table. The ponies at the restaurant stared awkwardly at the primate creature with her, but no one said anything.

"I'm off duty, Fluttershy. You can just call me, Max," the man assured, as a waiter walked over to the two.

"And what shall we be having to eat today, madam?" The stallion waiter inquired, walking over to the table.

"Oh, um...I'll have a daisy sandwich, please, if that's alright, thank you," Fluttershy nervously ordered, looking into the eyes of the unicorn, who wrote it down.

"And for you....sir...?" The man may have just been hearing things due to his old age, but he could have sworn there was a touch of contempt within the colt's voice, intentional or not.

"I'll have a....Um..." Max struggled to find something he could eat, but all he found were flowers, grass, and hay. It suddenly dawned on the general what a terrible idea it was to eat here. "You know what? I'll just have some water, son."

"Of course." The waiter left, and the pegasus looked at her human friend.

"I'm sorry, is something the matter?"

"No, no, its fine! I just don't think this restaurant is used to serving my kind," Max responded, as their food was quickly brought to them. "Wow, you unicorns are magical."

"Sharp as a knife, sir," the stallion replied, placing the plate in front of Fluttershy and the cup of ice cold water before Max. The unicorn placed a flower into the water, before walking away to serve another customer.

"Right," the old man chuckled, taking the daisy out of his drink and taking a sip.

"So, um...Max. How are-?"

"GAAAAAASP! Wait right here! Don't move!" Pinkie Pie suddenly ordered, standing on the general's wrinkled head. She vanished in a pink blur, before returning with a wagon behind her. "Ahem." With the press of a big red button, the wagon opened up, revealing flags, trumpets, and other things Max couldn't comprehend that could fit in there as music filled the air. "Welcome, welcome, welcome. A fine welcome to you. Welcome, welcome, welcome, I say how do you do? Welcome, welcome, welcome. I say hip, hip, hurray. Welcome, welcome, welcome to New Ponyville today!" Pinkie Pie sang, sliding over to the two.

"...What?"

"Wait for it..." The machine suddenly fired, and Max jumped out of his seat in shock as confetti was suddenly fired at the patrons of the restaurant. The man stood back up, just in time to get a face full of cake mix. "Can you believe I used to put confetti in the confetti cannon, and the cake in the oven? Mmmm," Pinkie Pie moaned, eating away at the cake mix that covered her body. "Confetti in the oven and cake in the confetti cannon is a much more super, amazing, fantastical mix! Yummy."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, General Fallon! Are you okay?" Fluttershy wondered, flying up to eye level with him, some of the cake mix on her as well. To her surprise though, he was smiling.

"Heh. Least I can eat this," the man laughed, licking away at his lips, tasting the delicious mix. "Thanks, Pinkie."

"No problem, Maxy!"

"Stories of new homes."

"Welcome, human ambassadors, to Cloudsdale!" Twilight Sparkle announced, motioning a hoof to the city made out of clouds.

The ambassadors huddled closer together, staring out the door with a look of shock, nervousness, and worry. Their plane, enchanted by unicorns, had landed upon the city. Now they were asked to begin walking upon the clouds as if they were pegasi. Twilight had claimed everything in the plane had been affected by the spell, but the humans did not seem so easily convinced.

"I told you, we ran several tests. The spell affects humans just as well as it affects ponies. Here, watch," the unicorn advised, walking out of the plane and taking a step onto the soft clouds. "See? No problem. Now you try."

The humans were starting to relax, but still they seemed worried. One of them though, a young African American representative from North America, was brave enough to take the first steps. He walked forward, a line forming behind him. He was the first human, in history, to step onto a cloud and walk upon it like it was earth.

"I'm...walking on a cloud. This is amazing!" He laughed, tapping his foot against the 'solid' floor.

"See? No problem!"

Princesses Luna and Celestia were already upon the cloud, welcoming the representatives of several nations. They exchanged simple small talk and greetings, until one of the ambassadors went beyond that.

"Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, if I may be so bold. My country suffers from overpopulation. If we could perhaps work out a system? If you would not mind indefinite occupation."

The two princesses looked at one another in surprise, before smiling at the ambassador of Japan. Luna was the one to speak. "We are sure an arrangement that benefits both of our parties can be established."

Another ambassador, this one from United Kingdom, asked a question. "What about agricultural benefits? Could this environment be used to sustain any flora?"

"I have actually looked through several human books, and I believe that Cloudsdale and cities like it can be used to sustain your plants. The process is achievable through hydrponics, a form of plant growing that does not require soil, only water and mineral nutrient solutions. We have plans to begin furthering research here on Cloudsdale and several other cloud cities," Luna explained.

"Stories of love."

The cloudpolis bustled with life. New Los Pegasus was in a festivity, celebrating the foundation of the new town with the help of the ponies' new friends. Humanity and pony alike celebrated in the city of excitement and rainbow lights. In the center of town, music filled the air as the residents of the new town danced and partied.

Two of the workers who had helped with the construction of the new city were Timothy Lopez and Luke Akins, both of whom had met many of the ponies during their time in Manhattan.

"This party is awesome!" The military medic laughed as he grabbed a rainbow colored cupcake and took a bite out of the succulent treat. The off duty staff sergeant agreed, but he seemed miles away from the actual party. His friend gave him a slight shake on the shoulder. "Hey, man, you okay?" Luke nodded, but Tim followed the gaze of his friend, seeing that he was staring at one of the pegasi they had met, a blue mare by the name of Western Wind. "...Something you wanna say, Luke?"

"I know what you're thinking, but no. No to every word of what you're thinking right now. We're just friends."

"Hey, man, it's okay. I get ya." A smile tugged at the man's lips, and he couldn't resist the urge to joke around a bit. "When I was working with Nurse Redheart, I thought she was pretty cute, too."

Luke flushed a bright pink, elbowing his comrade. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, very funny! Pick on the guy who just found out has has a thing for-"

"Hi, guys!"

"Western Wind!" Luke greeted, smiling instantly as he walked over to the blue pegasus. "Enjoying the party?"

"Yeah! I love Los Pegasus, and New Los Pegasus is even more beautiful! Are you?"

"This place is like a flying Las Vegas! You bet I love it here!"

The raving, party music filled the air, and the two looked at each other. Luke handed his drink to his friend, before joining the mare on the dance floor. The pegasus took flight, hovering above the ground, to deal with the height difference, and she even placed her hooves into the hands of the human.

Western Wind may have been the one with wings, but that night, Luke felt like he was flying with her. Maybe if he was lucky, they could fly together again....

"Stories of heroes."

Russia was a frozen wasteland. Her people, her buildings, her land, her very essence seemed frozen by the unfathomable might of the Windigos. They feasted on the delicious hatred their powers wrought. The blizzard and their powers laid down seeds of rage, and like the Equestrians before them, it bloomed.

Their blizzard only gave them a portion of their meal.

The Windigos turned their attention away from their feast, their laughter stopping as they sensed new life enter their new domain. More food. These ones felt more familiar, though. Equestrians.

The older Wingdigos neighed with delight, racing ahead of the others to begin to devour their hate. The race to the food was suddenly stopped though, as a burning pain shot through them.

Fire.

Heat.

It sweapt over them, and they cried out in agony, the ones who could retreated far away, while the others were burned, being absorbed by the bright, destructive fire, until nothing of them was left.

Princess Celestia flew through the air, as other pegasi, and human-made helicopters followed her. They began to land, helping those affected by the supernatural blizzard, dropping off human and pony alike.

The process of helping the slowly awakening populace of Moscow was not an easy one. Many people were unable to form stable thought after the process of being frozen, and others were in search of their loved ones, lost to them during the frozen torture. Their saviors were quick to help as many of them as they could.

"Stories of forgiveness."

"Stop!" One of the soldiers pushed the gun towards the ceiling, before it could fire. The gun went off, and series of bullets hit the ceiling before the other soldier took his finger off the trigger. The sound of gunfire silenced everyone, and for a moment, the fearful ponies ceased their struggle. "Everyone, stop...Look, we're your friends," she assured. "You can trust us. Come on. We'll take you to your families and friends, but I need all of you to calm down first."

The ponies stopped and looked at one another, before slowly relaxing, still in shock from what they saw. The armed soldiers began to escort the ponies, both groups on edge, but kept from attacking one another thanks to the work of their leaders.

They walked down the hall, before coming to the infirmary part of the facility. The doors were pushed open, to reveal many unconscious, but stable ponies and humans.

"Honey!" The red unicorn ran into the room and found his sleeping wife, a cast over her left forehoof. "I-is she okay?"

"She's fine. She just needs time to heal. We didn't think you would have wanted to see her like this, so we didn't let you visit just yet."

"See, dad? I told you they took care of mommy," the unicorrn's daughter grinned, flying over and looking at her comatose mother. She gave a sad smile, before glaring at her father.

"I...I'm sorry...I just...I...I love my wife. If anything ever happened to my family, I wouldn't be able to live...I...I'm so sorry," the unicorn cried, realizing what had nearly been done. "I'm sorry...."

The female soldier took a deep breath and sighed, nodding her head. "It's okay. I get it. You were worried about her, but people were almost killed today. You have to promise you won't let anything like this happen again, or else I can't promise I can prevent an incident."

"Y-yes. I understand, completely." The unicorn bowed his head, before looking at his sleeping wife, whispering "I love you," again and again.

"And stories of trust."

Pony and humans worked to get the supplies out of the trucks. The people of Sudan watched as the workers began to form lines out of them, giving out food, clothes, and water. Earth ponies were at work planting new plants, and other pegasi were quick to deliver water to them from the rain clouds above.

"Please, bring all sick or injured here to be examined. If they are too unwell to move, please notify a worker with a green tag on their clothes, and we will go to them," Doctor Stable commanded, before looking at a young boy. "Hey there, little guy. What can I do for you?" The boy stared blankly at the colt, before suddenly hugging the pastel colored pony. "Oh. You're quite welcome, but I haven't helped you yet."

"Thank you," the boy simply said, seeing his mother being nursed by doctors and nurses.

Some of children had surrounded one of the ponies and were clamoring to pet and hug the creature. The red earth pony looked at his family for help, only to see his sister laugh, and get back to work.

"Eeyup," he sighed, as he felt some of the kids climb onto his back, begging and pleading for rides. The stallion was nice enough to do just that, starting to walk.

"More charity from mighty America?" A dark skinned man bitterly asked, looking at a Caucasian worker.

"Actually, I'm from Norway," the man chuckled, his voice thick with accent. "But if you want my opinion."

"I don't."

"Maybe you shouldn't see this as America helping Sudan, but just living beings helping other living beings." The Norwegian man then got back to work as the Sudanese man stood there. He walked off, getting in line for the free food, and considered picking up some new clothes for his family. Even if he saw this as an act of pity, he was not foolish enough to reject it.

"Together-"

"We can-"

"Make a difference."

"Together-"

"We can make-"

"A better tomorrow."

There are no such things as Happily Ever Afters- not in the real world.

There will be hitches down the long path of Second Earth. Tragedy and hardships await humanity and pony alike. An old enemy will return, and a new one shall follow it. There will be those who seek to continue the works of Professor Mandela, believing in his ideas. Some individuals will forever hold onto their hatred. What humans would call World War Three will threaten the planet in the years to come.

But the strength, integrity, ingenuity, and determination of all races will stand against it.

Together, they can make a better tomorrow.