What I've Done

Chapters

Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapter XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVII
Epilogue
Chapter I
Chapter IX
Chapter XIX

Chapter II

My ears perked up at the sounds of someone messing with something cloth-like nearby. I wasn't sure what they were doing, but whatever it was was preventing me from sleeping.

At least, that was what woke me up at first. What was really keeping me up now was the growling in the pit of my stomach and the ache in my muscles. Again, I had to marvel at whatever drug that the ponies had me on. It was keeping my pain down to a minimum, yet at the same time wasn't clouding my mind.

...At least, I didn't think it was clouding my mind. The last time I had been on morphine, I had thought that there had been absolutely nothing wrong with me. In fact, I had believed that I was at the top of my game, despite the fact that both my legs had been broken at the time.

“...Hey, nurse? Is there any chance I could get something to eat?” I croaked as I opened my eyes.

The room was bright, but not nearly at the same, eye-bleeding level it was before. I couldn't decide whether it was because the room's brightness had dimmed, or because my eyes were starting to adjust, but I figured that it wasn't really important at the moment. What was important was the blurry nurse that was making her way over to my bed.

I couldn't really tell what sort of expression she had on her face, but her movements seemed sure enough, so I assumed that she wasn't showing any fear or anything like that. She reached the side of my bed, and her face finally swam into focus, allowing me to make out her expression.

She seemed to be a little worried, though she still smiled despite whatever fears that she might have been harboring. I noticed that she was a pegasus pony with a light blue coat and dark green mane and tail, both of which were cut short. On her head was what appeared to be an old-style nurse's cap, while on her flank was a green line that turned into a seemingly random series of sharp valleys and mountains, before turning back into a single green line again. I didn't want to make any snap judgments, but it looked like the readout of a heart monitor.

She said something in her musical language in the form of a question, though what it was wasn't something I could understand, big surprise there. I just smiled at that, thankful for just the sensation of being able to smile again.

“I really can't understand what you're saying, but I'd appreciate it if I could get some food...” I said softly.

She just smiled at this, and nodded as she waved a hoof in a distinct 'wait' motion. At least, that's how I interpreted it. For all I knew, it meant 'begin shooting fire from your eyes when I say so', but somehow I doubted it.

At any rate, she quickly left the room, despite my lack of understanding. I was then left to my own thoughts for a while, but I was sort of expecting that. It wasn't like the doctor was waiting just outside my room, nor was it feasible that those who could communicate with me would be on call twenty-four seven, especially if I had been unconscious for an extended period of time.

Man, if I was in a month-long coma, I am going to be so ticked off... I thought as the door creaked open again. I turned my head to see who had entered, but was foiled again by my terrible eyesight.

“I sure hope that my new eyes' nearsightedness goes away soon. It's getting old fast...” I said as the blurry yellow and white blob slowly resolved itself into the shape of a unicorn mare. She had a yellow coat, red hair, and appeared to be wearing a white doctor's lab coat.

On her flank I could see what looked like a stethoscope superimposed over a heart. At this point, I was seriously reconsidering my previous assumption that those tattoos were some sort of clan thing. There honestly didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the marks, not to mention that some of them didn't seem to make any sense.

Best to wait until I'm actually able to ask them about it... I thought to myself as the unicorn levitated a clipboard and quill in front of her. She took a couple of looks at me, marked a few things on her clipboard, then nodded to herself as she put it down onto the bedside table next to me.

“Um... you wouldn't happen to be able to do that translation trick that the others do, would you? Because I'm getting kinda hungry, and these straps are starting to chafe a little,” I said nervously as I gave an experimental tug to the straps.

If she had understood my question, she didn't show it, instead opting to give me a soul-searching look as she tilted her head to the side. I wasn't too comfortable with the glare being directed towards me, so I scooted back as much as my restraints would allow me while simultaneously chuckling nervously. “...Um, hi?” I asked her intelligently.

I'm guessing that she found whatever it was that she was looking for, because she said something in that musical language of hers, then proceeded to take some more notes on her clipboard. She then turned and walked over to the door, though she didn't leave the room. Instead, she merely poked her head out and said something to someone on the other side of the door.

She then walked back to the side of the bed and put on her stethoscope, leaning over me to listen to my heart. As she pulled my blanket down, I realized that I was still completely naked. That wasn't really a problem at this point, but it probably would have made me blush had this scenario happened before my capture.

As she made a few more notes on her clipboard, the door opened again. However, at this point it seemed that my eyes had finally started to work properly again, allowing me to see who had entered my room.

I nearly choked when I saw that it was the mare from my dreams.

* * *

“How is he?” Princess Luna asked Doctor Tender Care as the princess entered the room.

“His heart is strong, though he seems to be to be hungry, if the rumbling from his stomach means the same thing for his species that it means for ponies,” Care said as she hung the stethoscope around her neck again.

“Well, then let's see what our friend would like to eat,” Luna said as she charged her horn to cast her translation spell on the recovering ~human~, herself, and Doctor Care.

“What you are?” ~Alex~ asked as soon as the spell had taken effect.

“We have spoken before, though you weren't able to see the last time that we met,” Luna reminded him gently. “My name is Luna.”

There was a brief spark of recognition in ~Alex's~ eyes, though he quickly covered it up as he arranged his face into a more guarded expression. Princess Luna could understand that; despite everything that had happened, he was still essentially at the mercy of an alien species. Who wouldn't feel defensive in that kind of situation? Luna thought to herself

“What do me today?” ~Alex~ asked carefully.

“Well, we were thinking that if you were up to it, we would try to get some food into you. We would also like to run some tests, to see if we can get your body's immune system to stop trying to kill the rest of your body,” Doctor Care said as she marked a few more things on her clipboard.

The ~human~ just gave her a confused look at that, but nodded anyway. “Yes, very hungry. Need food,” he said.

“Well, you haven't had solid food in you for a while, so lets start you on something light and see where we go from there,” Doctor Care said with a nervous smile.

“Yes... Can get arms free?” ~Alex~ asked hesitantly.

Doctor Care thought about this for a second. “I don't see any problem with that. It's been a couple of days since you last lost control of your limbs, so it appears that what we have you on is doing its job,” she said as her horn began to glow.

After a few seconds of her horn glowing, all four of the padded restraints that held the ~human~ down to the hospital bed suddenly released themselves, allowing the ~human~ movement once again. “Thank you,” he said as he started to push himself up into a sitting position.

He was having trouble with that, however, as his strength still hadn't quite returned to him. Luckily, he wasn't alone, and he quickly found himself upright with the help of the two mares in the room. “Thank you twice,” he said with a rueful smile.

“You're welcome,” Doctor Care said as she turned to leave. “I'll be right back, I just need to talk to the nurse for a second to see what we can do about getting you some food.”

He just nodded at that as he watched the doctor go, leaving him alone with the Princess of the Night. He didn't acknowledge her at first, instead taking a moment to examine his arms and chest with his hands and eyes. As he did so, Luna took a moment to examine the ~human~ as well.

Although she couldn't really tell his height from here, she already knew that his full height was around six feet. His face looked... strange, to tell the truth. Not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, nor was it terrifying like his previous face had been. It was just... different.

Where there had once been a gaunt, skull-like appearance, there was now a much fuller look, though his face still looked oddly flat compared to a pony's. His nose was small, looking almost like a tiny button, while his rather small mouth looked almost comical compared to the maw that he used to have. The lips of his mouth were also an odd shade of pink, though why that was was completely beyond her. Above his nose she could see two beady, gray eyes that were filled with intelligence. Oddly enough, his irises did not change size as a pony's did, though his eyes were still incredibly expressive in their own right.

Just above the eyes, she could see two tiny tufts of dark red hair, while on the top of his head was a much larger tuft of hair of the same color. The hair was short and fine, although that wasn't really a surprise, seeing that he had only started growing it about a week ago. She noticed that he also seemed to be developing a bit of red scruff on his new cheeks, lips and underneath his chin.

As her eyes moved down, she saw that his torso was very reminiscent of a minotaurs, though not nearly at the same width or bulk. She winced a bit when her eyes roamed to where his arms connected to his upper body, her sight lingering on the thin, spiderweb-like tendrils of sickly looking gray that emanated from those two points. His arms, which were of the exact same color, looked thin and sickly. This was hardly unexpected, though, because the regeneration magic they had applied hadn't worked on the two artificial limbs. The same went for his legs, too.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. The magic had worked, but his body didn't recognize his arms or legs as part of his body anymore. As a result of this, his body had started attacking his artificial limbs, while simultaneously attempting to grow new ones in their stead.

That last bit had been the fault of the spell, so the doctors had made a judgment call to refrain from removing his limbs like they had done with his eyes when he had started growing a new pair of those. They had also augmented the regeneration spell to prevent him from growing new limbs as well. Their reasoning had been that they thought it would have been too dangerous for the ~human~ had they gone ahead and amputated the limbs.

Their reasoning had been sound. The doctors had thought that ~Alex~ would probably have succumbed to the shock of such a treatment: Not only would he have lost all four of his limbs, his eyes, and a number of the cybernetic enhancements that they had already removed, but his body also had to adjust to the fact that its entire genetic code had been rewritten in a matter of hours.

However, Luna couldn't help but feel that they had saved him from a quick death on the operating table, only to condemn him to a slow and agonizing one as his body slowly killed itself.

“Was out, how long?” he asked as he stared down at his hands.

“About seven days, maybe a little longer,” she told him as she came a little closer.

He nodded at this, though his eyes never left his hands. “It seems... not real. All time spent in forest, so long as monster, but could have got helped,” he said as he lifted his shaking hands to his face. He then smiled, almost as if something funny had just occurred to him. “Why am not strong? Not my arms, fake arms. Stronger than real arms, yet not strong. Not that complain, good that not strong, not hurt pony. Just curious.”

Princess Luna smiled sadly at that. “That would probably be a combination of the drugs in your system and the lack of meat that you've consumed while you were under. We took a look at your unnatural limbs, and it seems that they use the nutrients that are in meat as fuel. You should regain your strength after a couple of meals,” she said as Tender Care came back into the room.

The ~human~ didn't look like he understood what had been said, though he didn't really get a chance to ask about it as the doctor approached his bedside. “There, food is on its way. While we wait, though, I'd like to take a few seconds to perform a simple examination, to see how well you're doing,” Doctor Care said as she levitated her clipboard towards her.

He just nodded at this, and sat docilely as Care began to examine him. Everything was going fine, up until the point where Care started to shine a light in his eyes.

“Wha!” ~Alex~ shouted as he tried to fend of the doctor, his face a mask of fear as he brought up an arm to smack her face out of the way. If he had had his full strength, or if his claws had been unsheathed at the moment, he could have caused some serious damage.

That being said, the most damage he had done had been to surprise the doctor, while simultaneously rolling himself out of bed, pulling the blanket that had covered him off as he went.

“Are you alright?” Luna asked the doctor as she and the mare made their way to the ~human's~ side.

“I am, though I am more concerned with that fear response,” Care said grimly as she gently placed a hoof on the still quivering ~human's~ shoulder.

Luna lied down next to the frightened ~human,~ and gently covered him in a wing. “Shhh...” she hushed. “Its okay, they aren't here. They can't get to you from here.”

After several minutes of this, the ~human~ finally seemed to stop shaking, and his breathing started to level out. “I-I'm apology,” he grunted as he curled up into a tighter ball.

“Its okay, you didn't mean it,” Luna said.

Despite her words, though, Princess Luna knew that it was far from okay. They may have mended his physical wounds, but underneath that pale, hairless skin was a broken spirit.

And that was a far more difficult wound to heal.

* * *

“-I think we should just hand over this alien, hand over the artifacts that you've recovered from the craft, and be done with it!” Silver Back said as he folded his arms. “All they want is their pet monster, right? If we hand it over, they should leave us alone!”

Celestia merely shook her head at that. “There is no way to know that for sure. These aliens have already shown their willingness to pluck innocent people from their homes without cause or provocation. They may leave us alone, true, but they also might enslave us in the same manner that they enslaved the survivor of the crash.”

“Another issue, though none do say: why do our enemies delay?” Mouthpiece Ebela asked curiously. “They strike but once, then retreat. Surely they know we'd be an easy defeat. A week has passed since their last attack, what is the information we lack?”

Silver Back sat back at that, deep in thought. “That is actually a good point. It's been a week since they've tried to recover their property, why do they wait? Are they amassing for a large scale invasion? Are they preparing to bombard us from orbit? What are they waiting for?” He asked with a snort.

Gustaf had remained oddly silent for the past half hour, however. Since his previous statement of how doomed they were, the black and gray griffon had done nothing but listen, almost as if he were waiting for something. Finally, with a sharp rap of his talons, he brought the attention of the other delegates to him. “I want to see it.”

“See what?” Celestia asked curiously.

“I want to see this alien that has caused so much trouble, albeit through no fault of its own,” Gustaf explained. “It is clear that we do not have a full measure of what these aliens are, and what they can do. I suggest that we question this creature as soon as possible, to gain a better understanding of our opponents.”

Celestia shook her head at this. “I can let you see him, but there is a problem with asking him about his time spent among them.”

“What is that?”

“The event has traumatized him, marking his soul with a wound deeper then the most battle-scarred veteran. We might be able to get some answers out of him, but it will take time, far more than what we have available.”

Gustaf nodded at this, then stood up. “I still think it is important to see him with my own eyes. Sometimes the best way to learn the measure of your enemy is to see first hand the fruit of their efforts. I would gaze upon the scars of his soul myself.”

Celestia nodded at this, then smiled sadly. “As you wish, Chancellor, though be careful, he isn't a mindless monster, nor is he a soldier. He is a civilian, and as such, was never prepared for the horrors that has befallen him.”

Gustaf nodded at this. “All the more reason to see what these aliens have wrought. The true measure of an enemy is not how they treat captured soldiers, but how they treat captured civilians.”

“To that, I agree, and would join you my friend,” Silver Back said as he stood up.

Lady Ebela nodded at this. “As would I, though haste we make. With the Oracle, council I must take. Though many of these events, she might be aware, insight and inspiration she may declare.”

After that final statement, the council hall soon emptied itself, leaving behind nothing but the table, chairs, and the echo of fear that they all felt for the future.

Author's Note

Whelp, here's the next chapter! Just a little something to expand upon the previous one, though next chapter is going to have more aliens, I promise!

Anyway, I'm currently going through finals week, so I won't have time to write for a while. Just thought I'd give this unedited, unpreread chapter to you guys to tide you over for the holidays. Have fun you guys!

Chapter III

I honestly did not know what had happened. One second I was fine, just sitting there as the doctor ran through what seemed like a routine check up. The next second, my world was suddenly filled with blades and needles, all inching towards my exposed flesh.

I'm not sure what happened next, though. I guess I must've blacked out, because the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground, curled up in a ball, shivering in terror. There seemed to be something soft and warm on top of me, while I could hear Moon's voice nearby, hushing to me soothingly.

“I-I'm sorry...” I said, as I curled up into a tighter ball.

“Fine, you not mean action,” she said softly.

I'm not sure how long I spent shivering under that soft warm blanket, but eventually I was able to get my emotions in check, and I slowly uncurled underneath whatever was covering me.

The first thing that I noticed were the blue feathers. This confused me at first, so I reached up and touched them with my fingers in an attempt to make sense of what I was seeing. Imagine my surprise, then, when the feathery object I was touching started to giggle.

“Um...” I said intelligently.

“You are feeling best?” I heard Moon say, though her voice seemed to be coming from somewhere beyond the blue, ticklish object above me.

That doesn't make any sense, unless... I thought. However, just as I started to put the puzzle pieces together, the wing above me moved out of the way to reveal Moon's smiling face looking down at me.

...And just like that, everything fell into place for me. I was being wing-hugged by whom I presumed was one of the two leaders of the entire pony nation. At least, if the royal regalia was to be believed.

“Gah! I'm sorry!” I said as I quickly withdrew my hand, hoping I hadn't caused offense to the powerful mare. Crap, out of the frying pan and into the- I thought, but was interrupted by the mare's soft laughter.

...Or, maybe I'm misjudging them. Again, I thought mirthlessly as I shakily tried to crawl back into bed, acutely aware of how weak I was. As I made my attempt, however, I suddenly realized that my body seemed to have gotten lighter. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that I was-

“You try hard, let help, us lend to you,” I heard Moon say as I was levitated back into bed into a sitting position, then covered with the blanket that had somehow fallen to the floor. “You, not alone anymore. You, not need face-brave. We here, we help, we support and heal. No need be afraid.”

I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing, nor was I sure what to say after a pronouncement like that. All I could really do was bow my head and fight the tears that threatened to overwhelm me. “...Thank you. Thank you so very much.”

She just smiled at that, and nodded as the door to the room opened again, revealing the nurse from before carrying a tray on her back. As the mare deftly maneuvered the food laden tray onto my lap, I reflected for a little bit on how radically my life seemed to shift and change. Even though it had only been about a week, it still felt like yesterday when I was running through the woods, fearful of the natives and what they might do to me if I was ever discovered.

But they haven't discovered the real you yet, have they? They haven't discovered what horrors you've done, nor do they know what you are truly capable of...

I shook my head at that, trying desperately to remove the dark thoughts that plagued my mind. No, they helped me when I was nothing but a monster, when they had no reason to help me, when they had no reason to suspect that a real person lurked underneath my hideous exterior. Just take things one step at a time, no reason to get paranoid over the past.

However, as I picked up the fork on the tray, I couldn't help but wonder how these wonderful ponies would react if they knew precisely what they were helping.

* * *

Captain Hazalk grunted in pain as Doctor Ulia changed the bandages on her patient's back. “I just wish you'd let me put you in one of our tanks. You'd be completely fine in a matter of days, and it wouldn't even leave a scar,” Ulia said as she handed a used bandage to the aid at her side.

“A couple of days is too long, especially since I'd have to be unconscious for that particular treatment to be effective,” Hazalk said as Ulia started to spray his wound with a disinfectant. “I need to be on call, just in case the Quzin were to arrive. Plus, I don't really mind a scar. Ladies love scars, especially if you got them doing something heroic.”

Ulia just rolled her eyes at that, then jammed a nanoinjector into the wound, ignoring her captain's grunt of pain. “Sure, whatever you say sir. For the record, though, what you did wasn't 'heroic', it was foolhardy. What would you have done if the traitor had shot you in the head?”

“I would have died, but at least the traitor would have been thrown in the brig,” Hazalk said as Ulia began to wrap him up. “Besides, I can still perform my duties, I just can't take part in any of the training sims.”

“Yes, well, I would suggest you avoid revealing any more conspiracies for the time being. At least until you're fully healed,” Ulia said as she began to redress the captain's wounds.

“Is that an order?”

“If that's what it's going to take to keep you out of trouble? Then yes, it is an order,” Ulia said as she finished fastening the last bandage.

“Yes ma'am,” Hazalk said as he put his shirt back on.

As he was doing so, however, the intercom at his belt buzzed to life. “Captain Hazalk, Sergeants Verilo and Casianon are waiting for you in your ready room, as instructed. Also, Lieutenant Wendalaz would like a word with you,” Hazalk heard Lieutenant Talian say over the intercom.

“Did he say why?” Hazalk asked.

“He said it had to do with the video footage from Team Zen's disastrous attempt to recover Subject-38.”

“Tell him to meet me in my ready room in an hour. As for the sergeants, tell them that I will be up in a couple of minutes to debrief them,” Hazalk said as he belted on his sidearm.

“Yes sir.”

With that, Hazalk turned back towards Doctor Ulia and twitched his antenna a little, while also giving her a little wink. “Well, not that this hasn't been fun and all, but duty calls.”

“Just get out of here,” Ulia said, shooing the captain out of her medical bay.

“Okay! Okay! I'm going! You don't have to shove!” Hazalk said with a laugh.

Once he was outside, he began to make his way to the lift, taking the time to pull out his datapad as he went. As he was waiting for the elevator to arrive, he took a second to review the footage from Ilisk's betrayal. It just doesn't make sense, why would he just tell me who was involved? he thought as he watched Ilisk shoot him again. He couldn't have possibly planned for me to confront him like that, and he is far smarter than that. So why?

Hazalk just shook his head as the lift arrived. The answers that he sought were all held by Ilisk, and the traitor hadn't said a word since he had been placed in the brig. “Maybe I'm just being paranoid about this whole thing,” he said as he entered the lift. “Of course, paranoia has never failed me before.”

He was so lost in thought over this, that he didn't even realize that he had reached his ready room. At least, he didn't notice up until the point where the two Krin already in the room stood up an saluted him.

“At ease, soldiers,” Hazalk said with a wave of an arm. The two Krin soldiers did as instructed, though Hazalk had been a soldier long enough to tell that the two were still on edge about something. “Before we begin with the debriefing, I would like to know what's on your minds.”

“Sir, where is Sergeant Inaz and the rest of Team Zen? We've asked around, but each and every person we've talked to since arriving back at the ship have all told us to wait until we've talked with you. Are they on special assignment planet side? or...” Verilo asked carefully.

“No sergeant. Inaz and his team are dead,” Hazalk said with a sigh as he sat down in his chair.

The two soldiers looked shocked at this news. “Dead sir? What happened? Were they caught by the natives? Because if they were, the natives would have been slaughtered by-”

“Soldier, I'm going to stop you right there. We don't know everything there is to know about these people, but from what I've seen, they are far more dangerous than we first anticipated,” the captain said as he typed a few things onto his computer terminal. “Also, it wasn't the natives. At least, not directly.”

“What happened then?”

“Verilo, Casianon, what I'm about to tell you is pretty shocking, and it completely changes our original mission,” Hazalk said as he brought up a video clip from Sergeant Inaz's armor cam, but did not play it yet. “The ship that we came to the aid of, and the people on board, were the worst our kind have ever produced. They were working in secret, experimenting with genetic and cybernetic enhancements, in order to produce living terror weapons.”

At this, he brought up the video clip, pausing it at just the right time to show off Subject-38 in all its terrifying glory.

Both soldiers flinched at the sight of the thing, clearly disturbed by what they saw. “Are you telling me that an entire fire squad was taken out by just one of these things?” Casianon asked in horror.

“No, but it could have if it choose to. It easily killed both Inaz and Juli, and it had the opportunity to finish off the others, but chose to instead run,” Hazalk said as he reached under his desk for a bottle of water. “The creature got away, and the rest of Team Zen were taken out by the natives on their way out, so I wouldn't be so quick to pass these natives off as simple savages.”

“Sir, what do you intend to do? This monster killed our men, not to mention the ones that were killed by the natives, and such an action clearly deserves to be answered in kind. I would gladly volunteer to lead any operation to seek vengeance for the loss of our troops,” Verilo said with a salute.

“Stand down sergeant. Inaz went in without the proper information, and I can't rightly blame the creature or the natives for their actions,” Hazalk said with a sigh.

“...Sir? What do you mean by that?” Casianon asked in confusion.

“What I mean is that we weren't given the whole picture. Inaz went in thinking that he was up against nothing but an unthinking bioweapon, but he couldn't have been more wrong. That thing,” Hazalk said, pointing at the view screen for extra emphasis. “Is sapient.”

There was silence at this pronouncement as both of the sergeants in the room tried to process what they had just been told.

“Are you telling me,” Verilo said as she stood up. “That the scientists on that ship were experimenting to create sapient bioweapons?”

“Oh, it's much worse than that. I confronted Agent Ilisk about this and it turns out that this creature, dubbed 'Subject-38' by the scientists, was stolen from its home world, then turned into a brainwashed puppet soldier,” Hazalk said with an antenna twitch of disdain.

Both of the sergeants sat down heavily at that, shocked expressions on their faces. After several minutes of this, Casianon finally spoke up. “Was it... was it still brainwashed when it killed our troops?”

“No sergeant, but I still can't blame it for its actions. It was taken from its home, experimented in the most invasive way I can possibly imagine, then let loose on several innocents as part of its 'testing',” Hazalk said as he rubbed his forehead with his two forehands. “What would you do, if such a thing happened to you? If you had escaped, only to find that those who had originally held you captive had come back to retrieve you?”

“I would fight back. In fact, I wouldn't have tried to escape, and I would have instead sought out revenge,” Verilo said blankly.

“As would I. The natives are equally as blameless. They were merely coming to the rescue of their ally, they weren't actively being aggressive,” Hazalk said, then took a swig from his water bottle.

"Are you telling me that it somehow made friends? Looking like that?" Casianon asked in disbelief.

"I wouldn't pretend to know how Subject-38 managed it, but yes," Hazalk said with a nod.

“Then, who is to blame for this disaster?” Verilo asked as she raised her head. “These scientist couldn't have been working alone, and you said before that Agent Ilisk had some knowledge about what had happened.”

“Correct on both accounts. Agent Ilisk is currently being held for questioning, though he is being completely uncooperative at the moment. We also have some leads on who he and the scientists were working for, though those are dubious at best. We have much bigger issues to worry about, however,” Hazalk said with a nod.

“Yeah, like 'how is the High Council going to react to this?'” Casianon said as he slumped further into his chair.

“I'm actually more concerned with how the Quzin are going to react,” Verilo said with a gulp.

“Precisely. This isn't something we can just cover up. A Quzin ship is probably already on its way, and we don't have the time to scrub the site, or to come up with a reasonable explanation for what has happened. Right now, we are just waiting for orders, while also keeping a look out for incoming Quzin ships,” the captain said quickly. “We're going to be in for some rough days, so I need everybody aboard to be up to speed. I've already sent a copy of my confrontation with Ilisk to your personal datapads. Everybody else on the ship is aware of what happened, I just need you two to inform your respective squads of what happened, as well as to show them that footage.”

“Yes sir, would you like to hear our reports of what we saw while we were down there?” Casianon asked with a salute.

Before Hazalk was able to answer, there was a knock at the door to the ready room. “That won't be necessary, sergeant. I have another meeting to attend, so I'll just read your report after you've finished it. Dismissed,” Hazalk said to the two.

Casianon and Verilo nodded at this, then rose to leave the room. They briefly saluted when the door opened to allow Lieutenant Wendalaz entrance, but quickly left soon afterwards.

“Hey, Ulzy, did you have something for me?” Hazalk asked his lieutenant as the door hissed shut behind him.

“Yes sir, though you're not going to like it,” Lieutenant Ulzark Wendalaz said as he gestured towards the datapad he was holding. “I took the liberty to examine the footage from Team Zen's armor camera in more detail, and what I found was rather... unsettling, to say the least.”

With that, the lieutenant's fingers danced across the surface of his datapad, quickly bringing up the footage in question. He then turned the datapad around to allow the captain to see.

Hazalk immediately noticed that this particular clip was focusing on was the data picked up by Private Golin's camera, right before the poor soldier's death. Hazalk watched impassively as plasma bolt after plasma bolt struck the flinching equine, only for it to emerge from the storm completely unscathed.

“What do you see here, sir?” Wendalaz asked as he leaned forwards ever so slightly.

“I see the equine's armor glowing as it somehow projects a field to absorb our weapon's firepower,” Hazalk said with a wave.

“That's what I thought at first too, but then I amplified the image. Here, take a closer look...” the lieutenant said as he touched the touch screen a few more times, then turned it back towards the captain.

Hazalk watched very closely. It seemed to be a close up of the armor the equine was wearing, but it was kind of hard to tell with all the green fire obscuring the footage.

Wait a second...

“Ulzy, are those...?”

“They are, and they aren't at the same time. Whatever the equine was using to protect itself is very similar to the tech that has protected Quzin troops in the past. The symbols look completely different, but their effect seems to be completely identical,” Wendalaz said seriously.

Hazalk just shook his head at that. “I'm not sure how to respond to this,” he said blankly.

“Well, for starters, it raises the threat level of this planet significantly. Any teams we send down there have to watch their step, or they could receive the same treatment that they might expect at the hands of the Quzin Void Knights,” Wendalaz said with a shudder.

“It would also explain the erratic movements of this system's star,” Hazalk said thoughtfully. “I've seen a Quzin fleet pull a star from its position and fling it at an oncoming fleet, completely destroying everything in its path.”

Wendalaz gulped at that, horrified at the thought. “What do we do, sir?”

Hazalk didn't respond immediately. Instead, he choose to unscrew his water bottle and take another long, steady drink. I wish the doc would let me have a drink while I was on medication, I could use one right about now. he thought to himself.

“This changes nothing,” he said as he screwed the cap back on. “We stay in orbit, keeping an eye out for any incoming Quzin ships, while simultaneously waiting for orders from HQ.”

“Yes sir,” Wendalaz said with a salute.

At least, I hope this changes nothing... Hazalk thought to himself.

Author's Note

Well, I still haven't edited Chapter II, but I couldn't wait until that was finished to bring you this. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

In other news, my finals didn't go so well, so I'm going to have to retake some classes. That sucks immensely, but I have no other choice. Seriously, I was having the hardest time with web design. Its like trying to tell someone how to paint the Mona Lisa, while that person has no concepts for even the simplest of art concepts. They also don't speak the same language as you, so you have to learn how to do that too. So don't get on knightly's case too much if he messes up, because it is really hard to get the hang of this stuff.

Anyhow, this chapter hasn't been edited yet either, so if you see anything wrong with either of these two chapters, just let me know so I can fix it. Anyway, thank you guys so much for sticking with me for so long! you guys are the best!

In completely unrelated news, me and a couple of friends are planning on starting a Youtube channel. You can read my blog post about it here. We're still in the planning stages, but what would you guys like to see us do? we're planning on doing let's plays, analysis videos, and skits, so suggestions would be helpful.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed what I have done with this chapter. Its just a little something to tide you over while we get to the meat of the story. Just touching base with the Krin, while simultaneously having a look at the effects of PTSD from the eyes of our protagonist. Man, I hope I got that scene right...

Chapter IV

“What should we expect when we meet it?” Silver Back asked quietly as they approached the hospital wing of the castle.

“He will only look marginally similar to the creatures that I have shown you in the photographs. Because of the severity of his injuries, we were forced to use regenerative magic to save his life,” Celestia said as she calmly led the way. “This forced his body to revert to his original form, though his arms and legs resisted the change. He is still very weak, so I suggest discretion in your questioning.”

Silver Back nodded at this, his wild mane flying every which way as he conveyed his understanding. “I understand, though I was actually wondering more on its personality, and how it would react to us.”

“Personality wise? He is not much different from any other sapient species. He is intelligent, resourceful, and has a collection of quirks and flaws,” Celestia said as she opened the door to the hospital wing. “I admit, that I do not know him as well as I would like. Recent events have forced me to play a less active role in this. My sister Luna would know more of his mental state, and how he reacts to certain situations.”

“Fascinating, however, I am wondering, why didn't its limbs respond to your treatment?” Gustaf asked as he quirked an eyebrow.

“Based on the evidence that we have gathered, we believe it is because his limbs are either partially or completely artificial. They didn't revert to their old form, simply because they had no old form,” Celestia said quietly.

“Are you telling me that they amputated its limbs, only to replace them with metallic fakes?” Gustaf asked in horror.

“Not quite. I'm not sure how it was done, but the limbs are organic in nature. They also appear to have been grafted onto his body, not grown in any way,” Celestia answered, shaking her head a little. “We eventually plan to amputate his limbs and regrow new ones, but he is too weak right now, and would not survive the procedure.”

“Why not leave the limbs unchanged? Surely he gains nothing from this exchange,” Lady Ebela asked curiously.

“Because his body doesn't recognize his limbs as his own anymore. Because of this, his immune system is actively trying to attack and kill both his arms and legs. If we were to leave them, as you suggest, then he would suffer an extremely painful death over the next several months. No, they need to come off, we just have to wait until his body is able to withstand the procedure,” Celestia said as she stopped in front of an unassuming door.

"I understand his terrible state, let us hope that we can save him from his fate,” Lady Ebela said as Celestia raised her hoof and knocked on the door.

The four did not have to wait long at the closed door, it being opened almost immediately to reveal Doctor Tender Care on the other side. “Princess Celestia! What brings you down here, Your Highness?” the doctor asked as she fell into a deep bow.

“Yes, what brings you here, sister? I thought you were apprising the delegates of the current sit- and I can see that they are here with you,” Luna said as she rounded into view, clearly surprised to see them.

“I apologize for the unexpected visit, but the delegates insisted that it was urgent that we speak with ~Alex~ before we decide on anything else,” Celestia told Luna quietly.

“I don't think that is wise, sister. He has only recently awakened, and is still very weak from surgery,” Luna said, a little bit of annoyance creeping into her voice as she spoke.

“Can you at least ask it if it can spare even a few minutes to speak with us?” Gustaf pleaded.

Luna fixed him with a withering look, then sighed in surrender. “I will, but on one condition.”

“What is that?”

“You are not to refer to him as an 'it' in his presence, or in mine. He is a thinking, intelligent individual, who has gone through quite enough without having to be degraded to the role of a mere monster. If you address him, you are to either address him by his name, or by our rough translation of his name, not as 'monster' or 'creature', am I understood?” Luna said, her gaze boring into the assembled diplomat's eyes.

Silver Back sputtered in indignation, clearly taken aback by Luna's bold words. “Princess, you cannot possibly be serious! This is an alien, it has no rights on this planet!”

“I'm afraid that she is quite serious, as am I. I was willing to let your previous faux pas slide, but from this point on, you must start treating him like an actual person. Especially if you want any answers out of him,” Celestia said pointedly.

Silver Back sputtered impotently a little more, but was quieted as Gustaf raised a single talon. “Of course, Your Highness. I apologize for my conduct earlier, it was unbecoming of a warrior and a diplomat,” Gustaf said pointedly with a bow, glancing back at Silver Back as he spoke. “Especially since he is the sole representative of his race, and therefor a kind of diplomat himself. Since he has committed no crime according to your laws or ours, we must treat him as such.”

Silver Back opened his mouth a few more times, but then promptly closed it as what Gustaf said slowly sunk into his brain. “Y-yes, I apologize as well.”

“Now, before you go and ask him if we can see him, might I inquire of his name?” Gustaf asked as he rose from his bow.

Luna smiled at the griffon, then nodded her head. “Apology accepted, Chancellor Gustaf. I can see why the Emperor appointed you to be his voice here in Equestria,” Luna said, nodding her head in acknowledgement. “His name is ~Alex~. If you have trouble pronouncing that, his name translates into Equestrian as 'Defender of People', or Defender for short. He will respond to either, though more strongly to his given name.”

“Thank you Princess of the Moon,” Gustaf said with another bow.

* * *

I looked down at the wonderful meal that the ponies had brought to me, fork in one hand, and spoon in the other. It was... surprisingly similar to the kind of fare that I could expect back home. There were what appeared to be yellow lumps of something, which upon closer examination, turned out to have the exact taste and consistency of scrambled eggs. Next to the eggs were two slices of buttered toast, while a bowl of hot mush sat just above the plate.

The mush proved to be very similar to oatmeal in taste and consistency, though they seemed to have sweetened it in some manner. Yeah, you can call me a freak, but I've always kind of liked oatmeal. That being said, I quickly dove in and started spooning the delicious concoction into my mouth.

Sure, it was simple food. But to me, it was a feast worthy of any king.

“This is odd,” I said as I took another spoonful of the delightful meal in front of me.

“What not right?” Moon asked a little puzzled. “Food not to liking?”

“No, the food is delicious, I didn't mean that something was wrong. What I meant was that something didn't fit. Something was out of place,” I clarified.

A flash of understanding crossed Moon's features, and she nodded at that. “What not in right place?”

“Well, did you know that I'm... not exactly from this world?” I asked hesitantly.

She nodded at that, though she had a sad look in her eyes as she did so. “Yes, we talk about before this, when first wake up. We find ship. We find... remains... of Alex's brothers and sisters. We find those responsible as well, have many questions about happenings. Ask later,”

That stopped me in my tracks. I actually couldn't remember telling her about that before, though that was probably the drugs talking. That being said, I was floored by this information. They... they knew this whole time? I thought to myself in wonder. “If you knew that I was an alien, then why? Why did you give me the benefit of the doubt? I could have been an alien monster, bent on devouring all of you, why did you not capture or kill me?” I asked incredulously.

She just smiled at that, then shook her head. “It true, you scare us before. We not sure what think when see crash. It look one monster kill other monster, not know if any survive. We doubt you monster, though, because of how treat subject. You bring home Orange Vegetable Hair safe and sound, only run when we meet. Mind pure, intelligent. We doubt monster, because not act monster. Act willful, act good, act people,” she said as she sat down next to the bed. “But, not think that what meant when say thing not in right place.”

I shook my head at that as I tried to wrap my mind around what she had said. “No, I didn't mean that,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “What I meant was, that it is uncanny how much your world parallels my own.”

“What mean by line follow each other?” she asked me as she raised an eyebrow.

“No, I meant that things here are the same as things back home,” I explained to her. “For example, this food looks and tastes a lot like the kind of stuff that I would eat back home. I've noticed that about a lot of your foods, that many of them would fit right alongside the foods that I would eat back home. Not only that, but many of our facial expressions mirror each other. A nod means 'yes', a shake of the head from side to side means 'no'. And that's just touching the surface.”

She nodded at that, her eyes widening a bit at this revelation. “That strange, that thing become so same between worlds. Think talk more on same and different, once know language. Better explain thing, better explain word, better learn.”

I nodded at that. “I agree. However, for now, I think I would prefer to eat the first, real meal that I've had in a very long time,” I said, as I spooned another delicious bite into my mouth.

She smiled at that, and nodded as I quietly began to eat what was in front of me. As I made my way through the meal, however, I was interrupted by another knock on the door of the room. I ignored it, opting to continue eating, feeling pretty safe in my assumption that it was for Moon or one of the doctors. After all, Moon was clearly an important person, so it stood to reason that her time would be highly valued among the ruling class here. As for me, I was a guest and a patient, and I didn't really think that anyone would be looking for an audience from me, especially not so soon after surgery.

However, as I pointedly continued to ignore the conversation at the door, I couldn't help but overhear the slight annoyance in Moon's voice, nor could I ignore the fact that there seemed to be quite the crowd on the other side.

I perked up as Moon approached me, her demeanor was that of someone who would rather be doing anything else at the moment. It was also clear that she didn't want to involve me in whatever was happening.

“I am apology,” Moon said as she nodded her head solemnly. “But some here wish speak. No mean harm, represent other countries. Needed to know about outsiders like you, needed to know about ship.”

I nearly had a heart attack when she said that. If she means what I think she means, then... Oh dear. I thought nervously.

“Is there any chance we could get them to come back later?” I asked, though I already knew what the answer was going to be.

“No, they need hear what have say. You complicate things, though you not mean to. Monsters may come back, need decide what do,” she said, shaking her head wearily.

I sighed at that, while inward I felt very guilty. I've put these people at risk, and here I am, selfishly thinking of how to get out of meeting with them. The least I could do is let them know what they're up against. I thought as I straightened up a little.

“Okay, go ahead and let them in,” I said as I readied myself for what was to come.

Moon nodded at that, then turned to the door. “You come please in. Sister, cast word know spell on guests, let know what we talk when speak to Alex,” she said to the open door.

The first one to enter was, surprisingly enough, another horned pegasus mare like Moon. Like Moon, she wore royal regalia, and had a mane and tail that seemed to flutter and wave in an unfelt breeze.

However, that was where the similarities ended.

She was taller, for starters, with a coat that was the purest white that I had ever seen. On either of her flanks was emblazoned a stylized version of the sun, while her regalia was made of what appeared to be pure gold. They didn't have her flank tattoo stamped on them, however. Instead, each bore a diamond shaped purple gem in their center. Her mane and tail resembled nothing short of the glowing Aurora Borealis of the north, what with its constantly moving pinks, greens and blues.

However, as striking as she was, that was nothing compared to her eyes.

They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Never before has that statement been more true then when I looked into the eyes of the Sun Goddess. Her magenta stare seemed to carry the weight of eons behind them, and with that weight was a strength beyond anything that I had ever seen before. However, as strong as that gaze was, it was also tempered with kindness and wisdom, almost like the gaze of a mother.

Almost unconsciously, I straightened up in my bed and swallowed uncomfortably.

“Greetings, Alex. I Sun Goddess. We come, need answer questions, you feeling ready answer?” the white mare asked kindly.

“Uh... sure, what did you want to know?” I asked uncertainly.

“Would hear for self, what thing alien do,” a male voice said from behind Sun.

The distinctly male voice made me realize very quickly that the Sun Goddess didn't enter the room alone. Behind her were three others, though their appearance made me quickly reevaluate the planet I was on, forcing me to seriously wonder if I wasn't just hallucinating living in a game of Dungeons and Dragons.

The tallest, and therefore most noticeable of the three, was easily the minotaur. He clearly stood about eight feet tall, if you included the rather impressive horns on either side of his head. His long, wild mane was a vibrant red, as was the shaggy fur on his lower half. The silver-gray fur on his upper half was much, much shorter, allowing me to clearly see his strong, powerful frame. His beady blue eyes had a guarded, almost apprehensive look to them, and were staring at me, almost as if he were daring me to make a wrong move.

At his side was a rather small zebra mare, whose mane was currently tied back into a pony tail. Her eyes were a rich, pink color, while on her flanks were a group of symbols that I could only guess the meaning of. Those symbols seemed to meld seamlessly with the stripped pattern of her fur, making them hard to notice, yet quite beautiful when they were. Her gaze was a curious one, but behind that demeanor was wisdom and intelligence beyond her years.

In front of the two of them, however, was the originator of the male voice. He was a rather stocky griffon, with a deep, black plumage, while his hind-quarters were a much lighter shade of gray. Across his right eye I could see a nasty looking scar, behind which his eye was covered in a milky white film. His other eye was clear and bright, its amber gaze locked with mine as he studied me intently, analyzing everything about me down to the smallest detail.

“Excuse me?” I asked, a little unsure at what he meant.

“We want know, what alien do to Alex. Need decide on course of action, hear for self, see for self, what do to you. What may do to all,” the griffon said slowly.

“Who are you?” I asked him politely.

“I am One Who Speaks, Staff of the Gods. I speak for Griffon Empire, need know danger of enemy. Need know depth of depravity. Need know you,” Staff said gravely.

I nodded at that, then gulped, well aware that I now had a full blown audience of creatures that, at one point, I had thought only existed in fairy tails. “Okay. I suppose the best place to start is the beginning...”

Author's Note

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Also, we're finally going to hear what Alex remembers of his captivity! Yay story!

Anyway, just a short little chapter to introduce Alex's little flashback. Trust me, that chapter is going to be long, involved, and a doozy to write. No, he won't be able to tell them everything, simply because he won't be able to remember everything himself. Also, he's going to try to sugar-coat things, but Gustaf isn't going to have any of that.

Also, there is a very legit reason why Silver Back is acting like a complete tool. You'll learn it later as the story progresses.

That being said, I did do a little bit of editing on this chapter and the ones previous, but not enough. If you guys have a problem with what I've written here, just speak up! Tell me what I've done wrong! I promise that I won't chew you out, and I promise not to be offended! Honest!

Anyway, have fun!

Chapter V

I tossed my keys onto my table, just glad to be home after such a demanding day at work. It's too late to call Valerie, she'll be asleep by now. Not to mention that she has work in the morning, I thought as I slumped down in front of my computer, pressing the power button as I did so.

I put on my headset as I waited for the device to boot up, my mind moving sluggishly as I tried to decide what to play. Not Minecraft, I don't really want to deal with that right now. Especially not after falling into the lava and losing all those diamonds, I thought as my computer finished booting.

However, as I brought up my Steam account, I couldn't help but feel that something was off. Thinking that it was probably a problem with my computer, I closed Steam and began to run a virus scan, not even noticing the many-legged footsteps that were inching closer behind me.

A loud humming noise was my only warning before my entire body exploded in pain. I tried to get up from my chair, but all that I managed to do was roll from it and slump to the ground, whimpering pathetically as I did so. As my sight slowly filled with darkness, I saw a single, thick, insect-like leg enter my field of vision. Then everything went black...

* * *

I'm not sure when I became aware of my surroundings again, but as you can assume, I was understandably freaked out when I did. I seemed to be floating in a large transparent tank of some kind, the viscous liquid all around me making movement slow and sluggish. There was something metallic clamped down over my nose and mouth, feeding me precious, life giving oxygen, yet at the same time making me feel as if I couldn't breath. I also seemed to be completely naked, only adding to the growing panic that was spreading through my mind.

Outside of the glass, I could see a number of insectoid creatures, as well as a large number of glass tanks that were identical to the one that I was floating in. Inside each of these tanks I could see a single human, all of them were of various different races, with there being a seemingly random assortment of genders.

The insectoids were all dressed in white, zippered jumpsuits, many also holding what appeared to be a tablet computer of some kind. They all appeared to be busy, either taking notes on their tablets, or working at the panels in front of each of the tanks.

Is... is this really happening? I thought as I put my hands up to the glass, wonder and horror shooting through my brain. As I watched, several of the insects became aware of the fact that I was awake, one of which moved to the panel that stood in front of my tank. I had seen enough Star Trek, so I was fairly certain that the panel was some sort of control device for the tank I was suspended in.

I was also fairly certain that I didn't want to know what they were doing to me. “Hey! Let me out!” I tried to say through my mask, futilely beating at the glass in front of me as I did so. All that came out of my mouth, though, was a faint mumbling sound, which the aliens in front of me promptly ignored.

“Please! I didn't do anything! Let me out!” I said as I continued to pound at the walls of the glass tank. However, as I continued to try to force my way out of the tank, I started to feel drowsy, my strikes becoming less and less powerful with each passing second.

“Please... Why...?” I said, as darkness took me once again.

* * *

“They just took you from your home? You didn't even see your attackers?” Silver Back asked incredulously.

“No, I never see. They take when busy, not even hear approach,” ~Alex~ said with a shake of his head.

“And they ignored your cries for help as well...” Gustaf said thoughtfully as he stroked a talon underneath his beak.

“No, ignore what say, ignore what do. They turn eye blind, monsters to center,” ~Alex~ said as he took another bite of the food in front of him.

“What happened next?” Celestia asked, unsure if she wanted to hear more, but unable to turn away.

“I... not remember everything. Drugged, poisoned, mostly through time, but...”

* * *

The next time I awoke was on a large metal slab. Where am I now? I thought as I tried to look around. However, I seemed to be paralyzed, unable to even move an eyeball. Despite being unable to voluntarily move a muscle, I could still feel the world around me, and what I felt was pain.

Judging from the shear amount of pain, and the locations of that pain, I guessed that they had removed my arms and legs sometime while I was asleep. I tried to scream in horror, but was unable to do so much as whimper in pain due to my paralysis. That being said, I could only watch as a collection of blades slowly made their way to my face, inching ever closer with each passing second. They suddenly lunged forward, and I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my eyes, followed almost instantly with darkness.

Luckily for me, the sheer amount of pain that the blades had caused forced me to pass out, allowing me to sink into the merciful arms of unconsciousness.

* * *

When I woke up next, I seemed to be floating in that tank again, though I couldn't really be sure of that, seeing as how I was still paralyzed and unable to even open my eyelids under my own power. I also distinctly remember them removing my eyes, but for some reason I was able to see light through my closed eyelids.

I also seemed to have my arms and legs again, but that was of little comfort, due mainly to my inability to use them. There were also several new pains, most of them centered on my stomach, though one was in the back of my skull. On top of all these new sensations, I also noted that I was wearing something around my neck. However, since I was unable to even open my eyes, much less reach up with my hands, whatever I was wearing had to remain a mystery at this point.

What... What did they do to me? Why are they doing this? I thought as I peacefully floated in the viscous fluid around me.

I... I don't know, an unbidden thought came back, but not in my voice. The voice in my head was one that I have never heard before, though it seemed to be female in nature.

What the heck was that? I thought, shocked that my inner most thoughts had been answered.

Don't yell, we can hear you just fine, another voice said, though this one was male.

Who are you? I asked, a little afraid at what sort of answer I was going to get.

I'm Stacy, the female responded.

And I'm Eduardo, the other voice said, his thoughts coming through loud and clear.

...Am I just imagining this? I asked after a couple of seconds of uncomfortable silence. I'm going crazy, I knew it...

I don't think you're going crazy, kid. I think that whatever those aliens did to us, it somehow linked us all together. Stacy and I have been awake for what we've guessed is about an hour now, just comparing notes and pasts. We don't know, it's kind of hard to tell time like this. Anyway, I don't think you're imagining us, or us imagining you, Eduardo said quickly.

Okay, let's say that I buy that explanation for now. Not like I have much choice in the matter... I muttered in disbelief.

What's your name? Stacy asked timidly.

I'm Alex, but shouldn't you already know that? I asked sarcastically, still thinking that she was just a fragment of my fracturing personality.

Before she could answer that, however, another voice joined the conversation, followed by another, and another, and another. Soon there was a cacophony of voices, some screaming in pain, some crying, some yelling, but all demanding answers. Well, that answers that question... I thought painfully to myself.

QUIET! I thought as loudly as I could, over and over again. Since I had no way to tell the passing of time, I probably spent an hour trying to get everybody's attention. I faintly became aware of Stacy and Eduardo thinking the word quiet in time with my mental shouts, and slowly others joined in our call for order.

Eventually the noise was silenced, and everybody was shouting along, calling for order. I then stopped, keeping my thoughts to myself as I waited patiently for everybody to follow suite. This took a while, but eventually everybody caught on, and soon silence reigned.

Now, that I have everybody's attention, I'd like to start by stating that, no, we are not all going crazy. At least, not that I can tell. Also, we are all in this together, so please do not shout over others, since it appears that we are all sharing the same thinking space, I thought to the assembled voices.

Where are we?

Why are they doing this?

What are they going to do to us?

HOLD IT! Let's not start that up again people, a voice I didn't recognize piped up. Let's start by introducing ourselves one by one, to see how many of us these monsters have taken. Please state your name, and where you were abducted from.

Thank you, Stacy said with a sigh of relief. My name's Stacy, and I'm from a little town in northern Oregon...

* * *

“We introduce selves. I admit that didn't know each name perfect first, but days we forced together turn weeks, I remember each voice by heart. I know each name, I know each family, I know each job. We not start family, but we become family. Family through together,” ~Alex~ said slowly as he put down the silverware he was holding.

“How... How many of you were there?” Celestia asked hesitantly.

“We fifty strong. Half girl, half boy, we random mix countries. Not all speak same tongue, but somehow understand same tongue. Not know how, probably same way monsters tell way orders, without understand,” Alex said quietly.

Luna nodded at this, while gently draping a wing over the ~human's~ shoulder. “You don't have to continue if you don't want to,” she said gently.

~Alex~ just shook his head at that. “No, they important, their story told. They suffer and die, while one survives. Must tell story, each one important. One was drunk. Three were drugs. Five were thieves. Seven were no home. All were important. They brothers, sisters, though not agree with life choices, though of different life walks. Yet brothers, sisters in suffering. We come together, we laugh to relieve others pain. We cry to share others burdens. We live each others heads,” ~Alex~ said, straightening his head proudly. “When make escape, each fight honor. We fight, we kill, we win freedom. We agree, even if one survive, others live on inside one. We promise to remember fallen, to tell story if got home, to remember each other, to die before forget. I keep promise, I tell of fallen.”

At this statement, Gustaf looked at Silver Back with a knowing expression. If Silver Back noticed this, he did not show it. “Please continue with your story. What happened next?” Gustaf asked as he turned back to face the human.

“We have nothing do. Think alien leave us finish growing, yet still awake even though. We assign jobs, start doing things with minds. Find out can think to self, not tell others. Find can think to others, not tell everybody. Exclusion at first, but time went on, and we find exclusion not happen. Bright Fame, take job, counter. He count, to tell us time. Soft-Haired, Peaceful Child, sing in mind. Keep spirit up. We find ways to entertain, tell stories, tell lives, until day come when finished growing...”

* * *

What's happening? Stacy asked suddenly, her thoughts filled with panic. Just like that, Julia's singing stopped, and we all went quiet as we desperately listened for Stacy's voice.

What is going on at your end, Stacy? We can't help you unless you tell us what is going on, Eduardo thought calmly.

I... I can see... Oh heaven above, they've turned us into monsters... she said, horror creeping into her thoughts.

I was going to ask her to describe for us what we looked like, but that question was answered almost immediately when my own eyes snapped open, allowing me to see the horrors that we've all become. We... We look like a cross between the Rake, a Hunger from The Elder Scrolls, and Slender, I thought as my tank began to empty.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, my body started moving on its own, pulling off the mask at my face and standing at attention. Guys, we're not paralyzed. We're being controlled, I thought in horror.

I heard several of us gasp in horror. Bob even stopped counting, shocked at what he heard. What are they making you do? Kazuko asked quietly.

They're making us follow them, Stacy said. But they're only taking four of us. Who are the other three?

I'm one, I'm second in line, I thought as I fell in line behind another twisted human.

I'm another, and I'm behind Alex. hey Alex, I heard Kazimir say.

I must be taking up the front then, Amelia said.

Well, you four keep us apprised as long as possible, Eduardo said as we marched behind the two alien scientists in front of us.

That's odd. How are they issuing orders? I don't think they've said a single word to us... Kazimir said thoughtfully.

Probably have us all wired to a central computer somewhere, do you see that remote in the left one's claw? He's probably able to select us individually and give us orders either individually or as a group, I thought back.

Like Starcraft? Amelia asked.

Precisely. I bet if we can get our hands on that remote, we'll be able to get free! I thought excitedly.

Except we can't move a muscle without their say so, Alex, Bob cut in. Where are you now?

We seem to be in a long narrow tube. Our bodies are putting on what looks like combat armor and are picking up Star Trek-style ray guns, Stacy said with alarm.

And so it all comes together. We're weapons, you guys. These sick freaks turned us into living weapons, Eduardo said with disgust.

Does that... does that mean they're going to... Stacy said, her voice sounding suddenly very tiny and fragile.

It does. They're going to make you kill someone, Eduardo said grimly.

But... I don't want to kill anyone! I'm a flowershop owner! I've never even thought about carrying a weapon! Stacy said in distress.

Calm down Stacy, its alright, we're right here with you. They're forcing you to kill. Its not your fault, Julia thought, just as I took my seat in some sort of narrow tube.

Yeah, you guys aren't in this alone, we'll be with you every step of the- I heard Kazuko say, but she was cut off as the tube around us jerked ahead.

Kazuko? Eduardo? GUYS! I shouted in alarm.

Nothing.

I... I think we're out of range... Kazimir thought uncomfortably.

Yeah... I think so... I said with a sigh.

Do you think we'll hear from them again? That we'll survive whatever these monsters have planned for us? Amelia thought uneasily.

I don't know, I really don't know... I thought.

We waited in that tube for probably an hour. None of us really wanted to say anything, simply because there was nothing to say. At one point, Amelia started to sing 'Amazing Grace', though none of us felt the desire to sing along with her.

Finally, the tube bumped roughly against something, and the wall in the back opened up to reveal actual sunlight.

I... I almost forgot what that looks like... I heard Stacy say in awe.

Me too Stacy, me too, Amelia thought.

What do you think we're here to do Kazimir? I asked, a little scared at what was about to happen. Before he could answer, however, a voice suddenly cut through our thoughts, driving deep into our brains and flooding our minds with information.

Greetings Subjects 3, 27, 38 and 50. On the provided maps is your target, a small Jeminal fortress. You are to go there, and kill every single soldier that you find, find the fortress's main computer core, and get back to the shuttle. Are these orders understood? The voice said, it's tone robotic and unfeeling.

Four voices, completely separate from us, yet still ours, answered in agreement to the horrible demands that were given to us. We were then forcibly marched deeper into the forest, our minds becoming increasingly panicked as plans for how best to assault this fortress danced in our heads.

What in the blue blazes is happening? I asked as part of my mind was hijacked and used to plot and scheme the best way to murder innocents.

I don't know! It's like someone has access to my brain. Try to fight them! We have to help these Jeminal guys as much as possible! Kazimir said, his voice filled with distress.

This... this is so much worse... Stacy sobbed as I watched an image of where to attack from come from her. It's like we're planning on killing these people. Like we're taking part in the slaughter...

That thought alone made us redouble our efforts to regain control of our own minds. However, nothing we tried or thought seemed to make any difference as we watched our bodies swiftly march into the unknown jungle ahead of us.

* * *

“You... You could see everything that was happening to you?” Gustaf asked in horror.

“I feel everything happen. Every strength move, every eye move, every sick plan in head. We try fight, but not work,” ~Alex~ said, staring down at his thumbs as he spoke. “Long time not make screams any less fearful. Still see blood on claws when sleep.”

The room was silent after that. Everybody there just looked at him with a strange mix of horror and disgust written on their faces. After a few moments of this, ~Alex~ shuffled with his hands uncomfortably, unable to take the pressure. “I understand, am murderer. Not choice be murderer, but blood still on hands. I feel mind plan death, not want thoughts in head. Feel what like kill, such evil, exist. You don't want murderer here, understand. No shield me, not want more death on hands. If monsters come claim me, let them have me. Will not let you die, because me,” ~Alex~ said as he brought his legs up and began to hug his knees, tears coming to his eyes at the memories that they had dug up.

“~Alex~, you don't-” Celestia said, but was interrupted as Silver Back's booming voice filled the room.

“~Alex~, you have nothing to feel guilty for," the burly minotaur said, his eyes boring into the tiny looking human in front of him. "Does the sword feel guilty for the slaughter? Is the spear at fault for the death of an innocent? No. The blame lies solely on those who cast the spear or swung the sword. The fact that they took innocents like you and turned them into weapons only furthers their guilt. ~Alex~, after what I've heard today, you may rest assured that the entire Corthon Minotaur clan is at your side. The entire kingdom of Minos will protect you if I were king, but I am not. All I can do is speak for my clan, and apprise my king of this situation.”

~Alex~ perked up at this. “You not know what mean! They strong! They kill!” he said in distress.

The burly minotaur just shook his head at this, a smile on his face. “Then we die with honor, and we'll take as many of the dung-heaps as we can with us. I've heard enough,” Silver Back said as he left the room.

Celestia shook her head in disbelief. “Always the impulsive one there,” she said, marveling at the minotaur's sudden change of attitude.

“He also could never sit in the same room for very long. It makes you wonder why his uncle ever decided on him as a diplomat,” Gustaf wondered as he watched the impulsive young minotaur leave the room. He then turned back towards the shocked ~human~ and cleared his throat. “I would still hear the rest of your story, if it isn't too much to ask for.”

~Alex~ nodded his head at that, apparently too shocked to say anything. After a couple of minutes of thinking, he cleared his throat and dove back into his story.

Author's Note

Well, out a little sooner then I expected, here's part one of Alex's back story!

Boy was this dark...

Anyway, there is still more to come, I just felt a little guilty at leaving you guys with such a cliff hanger last time, and so little to go on. Here's part of the promised back story, I hope you like it!

Also, I've done some editing myself, but yet again, not nearly as much as I should. I just thought you guys would want this ASAP.

Also, if he knew the others personally, then why didn't he say anything before? Because its been six months since then. He's been trying to live for the future, trying to survive. I've actually had very little time to actually let Alex reminisce about the past. This is the first time he's been able to do it.

Also, you can now add survivor's guilt to his list of mental problems. Ouch.

As for the minotaurs, the first time that Iron Will reached the stage in 'putting you hoof down', the first thought that went through my mind was 'KLINGON!'

So that was what first inspired me for the character of Silver Back. Not all minotaur are like that, mind you. Just those who have been brought up in 'the old ways'. And boy was Silver brought up like that.

Chapter VI

I'm sure the lush jungle around us would have been absolutely lovely to look at, all things considered. After all, this was clearly an alien world, if the double sun that we saw when the pod opened was any indication of that sort of thing.

With this in mind, I could easily extrapolate that the jungle around us was full of interesting alien life forms, a plethora of wonders that would have turned the head of anyone with eyes to see them. Of course, I couldn't enjoy any of it, seeing as how whatever was controlling my body kept my head on a swivel constantly, never pausing for a second to enjoy the scenery. Sure, I could hear the various sounds coming from the deep jungle; the chirps of insects, the growls of animals, and the songs of birds, but all of that was meaningless to me as I struggled with whatever was making me continue my horrible task.

Night had fallen as well, though that didn't seem to hinder my vision in the slightest. When the aliens removed my eyes, they must have replaced them with augments that allowed me better night vision. I briefly wondered what other 'improvements' they've given me, but since I had no way to ask about them, or to test my body, those would just have to remain a mystery.

Speaking of nightfall, we had probably been at this march for hours, our respective bodies deciding to split up at some point. Despite no longer being within sight distance of each other, however, we could still hear each other's thoughts no problem.

Guys, where are you? I heard Stacy ask, her thoughts trembling slightly in worry.

I can't be sure, the thing keeps turning my head too fast for me to get my bearings. I'm honestly just trying to figure out how it's able to keep track of everything when it moves like this, I answered, a little scared at my lack of knowledge. Where are you?

I'm in a tree overlooking the fortress that we were sent to attack. I... I think the weapon they had me pick up is some kind of sniper rifle, based on the scope I'm looking through on the top, she said, just as my form finally stopped turning its head.

Uh... guys? I said, as I finally realized where I was. I think I'm right at the entrance to the base.

Although I've never had any experience with alien bases on alien worlds, the distinct presence of a gate made me pretty sure that this was indeed the entrance. The base itself looked fairly small, consisting of only five medium-sized buildings and a single large one. The architecture of the buildings was pretty fascinating, the designer preferring the honey-comb shape in all of his design choices, as well as a focus of function over form, if I were to take a guess using the appearance of the buildings and nothing else. The fence that surrounded the compound was an intimidating piece of work. It was made out of chain link and barbed wire and, based on the hum, was electrically charged as well.

However, as fascinating as all that was, I couldn't really bring myself to care. My focus was instead centered on trying to stop my body from attacking that poor guard on the other side of the fence.

I'm there too, but I can't see you. I think I might be on the other side of the compound from where you are, I heard Kazimir say as I crept closer to the fence, my weapon slung behind my back as I approached him.

The guard looked... pretty normal, all things considered. He was wearing a full body suit, so I couldn't see any defining features. However, he possessed what looked like a vestigial lizard tail, and his head had a distinct 'reptile' vibe, based on its shape and how it sat on his shoulders. His suit was a dull gray color, and I could see a red triangle flanked by a pair of white wings emblazoned on the chest plate of his suit.

Uh, guys? My body is sneaking up on someone, but I don't have a weapon drawn. What am I about to- Amelia started to say, but suddenly cut off before she was able to finish her sentence.

Before I could even think about asking her what had happened, my body took a single standing leap over the ten foot high fence, landing feet first on the poor guard's shoulders, causing his form to collapse to the earth. I heard a groan from beneath me, and he started to move in a shaky, groggy sort of way as he tried to defend himself from the onslaught above him. I was impressed by his durability, but sadly, my body seemed rather annoyed, based on how it unsheathed freaking foot long claws from my fingertips.

The alien stiffened as my claws tore straight through his armor, biting into the soft flesh underneath. Strangely though, even with all the punishment that he had taken up to this point, he still wasn't dead. My controlling body seemed to realize this faster then I did, however, and lunged forward to take a bite out of the guard's throat, forever silencing him.

If I had control over my body, I would have lost my lunch over what just happened. I could taste his blood in my mouth, the texture of his flesh and armor, the feel of the warmth of his life in my jaws, and the tremble of his body as fear and pain wracked through him.

What was worse was that I found him delicious.

With a quick jerk, I ripped the poor soul's throat out, then spat out the armor that I had torn off with his throat. Only the armor, however.

Guys, I... I just ate this guy... I thought, trying desperately not to scream out my horror at my friends as I swallowed.

I... I did too. Guys, why do these people... taste good? Amelia asked in horror.

They must have done something to us, made us into real monsters, Kazimir said with disgust. We can probably eat raw meat without needing to cook it anymore.

Uh, I don't know about you guys, but if we ever regain control of our bodies again, I'm probably never going to touch meat ever again, Stacy said faintly.

You and me both, sister, Amelia said as my body picked up the newly made corpse of the reptilian alien in front of me.

I don't think that's possible. They may have made us strictly carnivorous, Kazimir thought grimly as I leaped over the fence, quickly hiding the body I was carrying in the bushes.

That's an... unsettling thought... I thought as my body started to stalk another guard. Oh crap, I'm on another one. Please... oh please, whoever you are, just turn around! Quickly, before I kill you! I don't want to kill anyone else!

As it turned out, however, that was only the beginning of the bloodshed for me.

* * *

“They made you eat people?” Gustaf asked in horror.

~Alex's~ response was to hang his head in shame. “I know not fault, but still know how taste. Aliens make people taste delicious. Was-” he gulped uncomfortably. “...disturbing. Hated self for long time after, no matter not fault mine, still can't forget.”

What sort of monsters would do such a thing? Celestia thought as rage began to build within her heart. She glanced at her sister briefly, their eyes meeting only for a second. However, contained within that second was a promise, an agreement to bring judgment to the ones responsible for the horrors wrought upon the ~human~ in front of them.

It wasn't exactly a promise to avenge ~Alex~ specifically, although that would have been a definite bonus, all things considered. It wasn't even a promise to avenge his fallen brothers and sisters.

No, it was a promise to stop those monsters before anyone else suffered their abuse. Celestia and Luna had spent a long time protecting Equestria from all manner of threats, disposing of any evil thing that came to threaten their little ponies, and ensuring that peace and happiness reigned throughout their land.

These alien psychopaths opposed everything that the Princesses stood for. Not only had they abused ~Alex~ and his people, but they had also violated the sanctity of life and the sanctity of choice. Their actions had been carried out with such a degree of callousness, that even Tirek would have recoiled in horror.

That being said, the only mercy that these aliens could hope for from the two Alicorn Princesses was the mercy of stone.

The uncomfortable silence that followed ~Alex's~ previous statement seemed to last forever, until it was was finally broken by Gustaf's delicate cough. “I apologize, but as distasteful as all of this is, I really need you to continue with your story,” he said a little hesitantly.

~Alex~ nodded at that, then furrowed his brow as he tried to remember where he left off. “We pick off many guard, not let any survive. They not know we there until kill many guard. They sound alarm, feel happy. Maybe they stop us, end our suffering. Not know what we were, not know what they face...”

* * *

Elation flooded my mind as I heard the siren call of the base's alarms, each call of its high-pitch whine a balm on my soul. Oh thank goodness, the madness will end... I heard Amelia say.

I certainly hope so. After all, there are only four of us. This base looks like it probably houses somewhere around thirty soldier at any given time. We've only killed about seven of them, so I'd put money on them wiping us out pretty quickly, Kazimir thought hopefully.

Won't that mean... our deaths? Stacy asked uncertainly.

That was the general idea, yes. The aliens aren't ever going to let us go. We can't even move under our own power, so escape isn't an option. No one is looking for us, so rescue is out of the question. Our only hope for release from this living nightmare is a swift and merciful death, I thought grimly.

There was silence from her as my body leaped to the top of the closest building and crouched down to avoid being seen. I... I guess that makes sense... she said hesitantly.

Trust me. Even if we were to be sent to hell afterwards, it would still be a far better fate than this one, I reassured her.

Before anyone could say anything else, however, my eyes suddenly focused on a group of six soldiers making their way around the complex perimeter. I'll see you on the other side guys... I thought hopefully as my body completely disregarded the weapon on its back, instead opting to leap from the roof of the building, crashing into the soldier in the lead with reckless abandon.

The soldiers seemed surprised by my sudden entrance and ferocity, but that was to be expected when an alien monster comes out of nowhere and starts munching on your buddy. That being said, they were pretty quick on the uptake, lifting their weapons almost immediately to defend themselves against my ravenous attacks.

My muscles bunched up underneath me, and, for a brief second, I could see the trajectory that the alien weapon's projectiles were going to make through the air. Before I was even able to contemplate this odd anomaly, my body lunged forward, twisting and contorting in the air as I let out a bone-chilling, soul-rending howl. Somehow, I managed to dodge each and every green jet of flame that was shot at me, dancing through the remaining five guards like some sort of demented street performer. Every so often a claw would dart out, slashing a throat here, or piercing a helmet there, until the air was filled with the screams of the fallen, and I was left the only one unscathed.

Uh... guys? I think the Jeminal are going to need more men... I thought to my friends. I just murdered these guys, just like something out of one of those crazy samurai fics, where somehow the guys with swords are able to beat the guys with guns. Seriously guys, there is so much blood here...

I think you're right, Alex. I just killed three over here no problem. This is really bad... Kazimir said, his thoughts no louder than a whisper.

It's worse than you know. I just took out six. I thought back.

Please! Please, just shoot me already! I can't take this anymore! I heard Amelia say, her voice filled with anguish.

I really don't think that that is going to happen, Amy. I'm watching you through my scope, and somehow you're dodging things that I'm sure you had no way of knowing that they were coming, I heard Stacy say. I... I don't want to watch this... Why are they doing this?

I don't know Stacy, I just don't know... I said as I lunged towards another group of soldiers.

* * *

To say that we made short work of the compound would be a gross understatement. We made mincemeat of that place, leaving none alive, and even going as far as to go room to room to ensure that we had gotten everybody. As soon as that grisly task was complete, Stacy came down and joined us at the compound, her rifle slung over her shoulders.

Why did they give us guns in the first place? I asked in dismay. It's not like we ever needed them. They never stood a chance with what those monsters did to us.

I think they gave them to us as insurance. They've put a lot of time and effort into us, and it would be a waste if one of us died in a freak accident, Kazimir said bitterly.

I'm not a monster... I'm not a monster... Amelia started to repeat over and over again, clearly distraught over what had happened.

Amelia, please... we know you're not a monster... Stacy said gently, clearly worried at our friend's state of mind. However, no matter what we said to her, we couldn't seem to draw her out of the shell that she had built around herself.

At any rate, despite Amelia's worsening mental condition, our bodies continued to pitilessly search the compound, only stopping after they had found what I presumed was the base's computer core.

It was a long, white crystal, with a number of thin metal spikes embedded into it in a ring around its center. Suspended by these spikes and surrounding the crystal was a thick circlet of metal. The surface of the metal was covered with intricately laid circuitry, spreading across its surface like some kind of weird techno spiderweb.

As much as the old me would have squeed at the mere thought of examining alien tech, the current me had trouble mustering the will to even care. As I picked up the artifact, all I could think about was Amelia, the others back in that infernal lab, and what all of this was doing to us.

I didn't realize it at the time, but the senseless slaughter and the subsequent hunt afterwards had broken me. I tried to put on a brave face for Amelia, just like how Kazimir was doing, but the simple fact remained.

I had lost all hope.

* * *

The trip back to the pod seemed to take no time at all. Unsurprising, considering that I spent the whole time trying to coax Amelia out of her shell. It's no use, comrade, Kazimir said with a sigh. She needs to be held, to have her hair stroked, to be told that everything is going to be okay.

We all need that, Kaz, Stacy thought as we sat down and strapped ourselves in. Why didn't they make me shoot anyone, though?

Sorry? I asked, slightly confused by her statement. You're disappointed that you didn't get to kill anyone?

No, I'm bewildered. Whatever is controlling me kept me moving my scope back and forth to keep an eye on each of you, but it never had me shoot any of the aliens. Why? she asked, slightly annoyed at what I had implied.

We just sat there in silence as the pod lurched upwards, rumbling as it left the alien world behind. Minutes turned into hours as we thought over what had happened, trying desperately to make sense of all of this.

Maybe... maybe they were testing us? Amelia said, finally breaking the silence.

Amelia! Are you... okay? Kazimir asked slowly.

No. I'll never be okay. None of us will, but I'll manage, she thought, clearly exhausted from the ordeal. But back to the original topic at hand, I'd say we were... being put through our paces, to use a race horse analogy.

But why? Stacy asked, her thoughts trembling slightly. Why use us like that? Why use those innocent people as our 'test'?

That, I don't know. I Don't think we'll ever know... Amelia said grimly.

* * *

The ~human~ took a long shuddering breath, rubbing his eyes with his gray, sickly hands as he did so. “We return ship. Others happy that back, until hear what happen. They scared, they know what are now, they know what do. Dark time, dark thoughts. Fear throughout, not know how escape. Thought life over.”

“How... how did you keep sane through that ordeal? How did you come out of something like that without losing your mind and soul in the process?” Gustaf asked, his eyes widening in horror.

“Not. Come out broken, shattered, not whole. Think about ending several times. Once go ledge and stand there looking out, trying working brave to death, to see friends again,” ~Alex~ said with a shake of his head. “But not do. When went ledge, hear voice. Voice of love, speak to me. Tell me no, tell me stop, tell me stay. Voice say heart have, voice say not gone. Voice challenge, remember challenge, remember promise. Not just to friends, but to love. Tell Valiant Lady never give up. Tell her fight. Promise never take no as answer, never let thing pass, never let life crush. Promise to fight for life.”

Everyone was silent as they mulled over the ~human's~ words. Then, unexpectedly, the human looked up from his hands and, oddly enough, smiled at the assembled dignitaries. “Must say, glad that listened. Glad that held onto promise. Better life now. Not run dark, not eat people, not follow orders. Have bed. Have good food. Have new friends. Live for self, keep promise to Valiant Lady, and other promise to old friends.”

Alex took a deep breath at that, idly messing with the spoon from his tray. “We promise, if any survive, even if one, the one lives,” ~Alex~ said, hope burning in his eyes. “Not just survive. One live, one move on. One find happiness, forgive self. Take long time, still not there. But working, getting better every day. Every day gift. Every day blessing. Should have died in crash, but didn't. Friends not die in vain. Friend live on in me.”

There was a moment of silence after this pronouncement, not an awkward one, but more out of respect for the fallen. “If... If not any trouble... when better... can see bodies?” ~Alex~ asked uncertainly.

“Of course you can,” Celestia said with a nod. “You don't even have to ask.”

“Thank you. When ship crash, not time pay respect. Thought ship explode, get away before happen. Hurt too, had find shelter, place heal. Not time say goodbye,” ~Alex~ said with a smile.

“That's something that's been bothering me, actually. You said that you were being controlled, so how were you able to escape? How were you able to free yourself to fight back, causing the ship to crash in the process?” Gustaf asked in wonder.

The human smiled sadly at that, his eyes filled with a profound sadness and loss. “It start, after get back from first test. We back into tanks. We talk, we plan, we try think way out. Not sure how get out, but know death better option than staying...”

Author's Note

So, this right here is as dark as it's going to get. I really don't like doing dark stuff, but it was necessary for the story. It's kind of why I closed this chapter on a more positive note.

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it, and I didn't scare anypony off with this one before they were able to see the next chapter!

As for the next chapter, it's escaping time! (kinda like morphing time, but without the ninjitsu, bad acting, or giant fighting robots.)

Chapter VII

After that first 'successful' test run, we were quickly returned to our tanks, probably because it was easier to store us that way. At least, that was Eduardo's guess at their reasoning. The others tried to comfort us, but everything that they said fell flat in our minds. Maybe it was the shock, or maybe they had lost hope as well. Either way, we weren't the happiest bunch when we finally fell asleep that 'night'.

Over the next several 'months', we were brought out and put through increasingly terrible tests. They seemed to want to stretch us to our limits, find out our breaking points, but our new bodies didn't seem to have any. I actually lost count on how many that we killed, but Jenny remembered, as well as a few others.

I did, however, remember the number of people I killed. To be honest, the number was higher than I would care to relate.

We were trapped. Trapped in the most complete sense of the word. Sure, we would dream about escape, we would dream about rescue, and we would dream of revenge.

Most of the time, however, we dreamed of death.

Many of us wanted to go insane, to escape from the brutal reality that we lived in day after day. None of us did, though. Stacy speculated that it was probably something that the alien monsters had inserted into our heads that kept us from the sweet embrace of madness. I was inclined to agree with her. After all, I doubted very much that fifty humans could ever withstand what we've been through without at least one of us suffering a complete mental breakdown.

I... I don't know how much more of this I can take... Lee said as he was put back into his tank. We killed things that looked kind of like Chewbacca! They were on this ship, captives like us, and completely at the alien's mercy. Why would they make us kill them? They weren't even armed! Why are they doing this?

I don't know. I really don't know, Kazimir said, cold rage burning in his thoughts.

I just sighed at that, my mind drifting as I desperately tried to sleep. I wonder what Valerie is doing right now? I thought to myself. Sleep seemed almost upon me, but for some reason I just couldn't drop off.

Hey, anyone else hear a humming buzz? Lucy asked.

I hear it too, Kazimir answered.

Ignore it. It's probably just the aliens running a diagnostic or something. Just try to get some sleep, Eduardo said.

We all quieted down, many of us quickly dropping off almost immediately. Everyone except for me, that is.

That irritating buzzing was really getting on my nerves, and the more I thought about it, the louder it seemed to get. Just please stop with the buzzing! I thought in exasperation.

Then, just as soon as I had made the thought, the buzzing unexpectedly obeyed my command.

Now, a less curious person probably would have just done the mental equivalent of rolling over, and would have fallen asleep. A man who hadn't spent an entire afternoon taking apart their DVD player would have shrugged it off as merely a coincidence. A lot of people who weren't me would have never given the hum a second thought after the buzzing stopped.

Finally! Now I can sleep! Lucy thought in relief.

Hmmm... Now, was it just coincidence that it stopped right when I told it to? Or did it actually obey my commands... I wondered to myself. Well, it's not like I have anything else to do... Start buzzing again!

That last part I said out loud and, surprisingly enough, the buzzing started again.

Augh! Why did you bring it back? Stop the freaking buzzing already! Bob thought in apparent agony.

However, despite the fact that it had just recently obeyed me, the source of the buzzing noise continued unabated, ignoring Bob's impassioned pleas. Are you making that noise Alex? Bob demanded.

No! I swear it's not me! I answered.

Well, it has to be one of us. Only we can hear you and respond, Eduardo said calmly. Who is it?

The silence that followed this question would have been oppressing, had it not been for the buzzing noise that continued, ignoring Eduardo's question.

Seriously, who's making that buzzing noise? I asked, my patience wearing thin.

Respond: The sound is the background interference usually caused by the residual consciousness of the test subjects of test group Zen. Usually this interference is filtered out, but unknown complications have amplified the interference one hundred fold. Running system diagnostics to determine the cause of the amplification, A familiar, robotic, monotone voice answered.

For a whole minute, there was complete silence as everybody tried to process what they had just heard. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, someone spoke. Uh... guys? Isn't that the voice of the computer that always gives us orders? Lucy asked nervously.

What are you? Kazimir demanded of the voice. The voice, however, again refused to listen to anyone other than me.

Alex, it seems to like you, ask it what it is, Stacy said excitedly.

What are you? I asked quietly.

Respond: This unit is the main computer controller for the Heaven's Gate science project, as well as the main computer core for The Destiny Ascension. The computer answered.

Again, silence followed after the computer's statement. Finally, I worked up the courage to ask another question. What is Heaven's Gate? I inquired.

Respond: Data unavailable. Data files on experiment are stored on external storage device. Please connect external storage device to continue, it said blandly.

So... this is the computer controlling us? And it's just obeying every order you're giving it? Amelia asked incredulously. What, did it get a virus, and now it thinks you're the system admin or something?

Computer, who am I? I asked the device.

For some reason, this caused the buzzing sound to increase in intensity. Not only that, but I seemed to be developing a migraine because of it. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the buzzing quieted a bit, allowing us to hear the computer's next words.

Respond: You are The Master, it said.

Well, if I'm the master, then return control of the test group of Heaven's Gate to this 'residual consciousness,' then, I demanded sarcastically, not really expecting the computer to accept my orders.

Respond: Are you sure you want to do this? This will release all fifty of the current test subjects from their restraints. This may cause harm to ship personnel and may put the ship at risk. It is not guaranteed that restraint can be reestablished without a total system reboot. Y/N?

YES! Fifty voices shouted in unison.

At that, the buzzing rose to almost unbearable levels. There was a sudden, blinding flash of pain, then everything went dark.

* * *

The next thing I remember was a blinding pain in my whole head. It was as if my entire brain was trying to tear itself apart, while simultaneously drilling its way out of my skull. Uhg... my head... I thought as I raised a single hand to my temple.

What the heck just happened? Kazimir asked, his thoughts trembling with pain.

I wasn't listening though. The only thing I could think about was the fact that I just raised my hand to my head. I raised my hand to my head. There was no controlling influence, no inhibiting computer, and no bloodthirsty demon in my skull ordering me about.

I was my own man again.

Despite the pain roaring through my skull, I opened my eyes, brought back a fist, and drove it into the glass tank encapsulating my form. I didn't really have very good leverage, plus I was kind of floating in a glass tank full of liquid. That being said, all I did was put a pretty large crack in the glass in front of me, while simultaneously knocking myself back.

Directly on the other side of the glass, I could see three of the alien scientists at the controls of my tank. I could see others at the other consoles, but to me, all that existed were the ones directly in front of me. My eyes narrowed as the alien monsters worked frantically at the console, my feet bunched up against the glass behind me as the crack in front of me leaked out liquid, and a low growl came from deep within the bowls of my throat as the doors to the room opened, allowing a contingent of guards to enter the chamber.

With one movement, I sprung forward, smashing through the glass tank and grabbing the scientist in front by the throat. The mask attached to my face was torn off by the force of my leap, but I didn't even notice as I tightened my grip, crushing the scientist's windpipe. In my mind's eye, I briefly saw fifty different points of view. Some were centered on the scientists in front of them, but others were glancing towards the front of the room, where the guards were located.

Most of their guns were pointed at a particular monstrous human who was currently strangling one of the scientists, and for some inexplicable reason, I knew that that human was me.

I quickly turned, throwing the limp scientist in my hand at the assembled firing squad and diving behind another scientist. Bolt after bolt of deadly green energy lanced through the air, striking the spot that I had stood just seconds before. However, I was too fast, and it seems that I was too well informed as well.

I don't know how I was able to see from my friend's perspective, nor do I know how I was able to even process that information.

I didn't care.

All that mattered to me at that moment was the pain in my head, the pain in my heart, and the itching in my arms as foot long claws burst from my fingertips. Pure rage tore itself from my throat as I charged at the assembled guards, my body twisting and turning as I closed with them. As I charged, I heard fifty other voices, their frustration mirroring my own.

My claws bit deeply into two of the soldiers, eviscerating them and causing them to drop. I kept getting flashes of other images, other points of view as I made my way through the soldiers, my claws dipping and cutting at random as I slashed my way through. Each point of view I saw was different, yet each was the same at the same time.

Each showed the point of view of one of my family cutting down our tormentors.

Soon, our cries of rage were overshadowed by the screams of fear coming from our opponents, who quickly turned to flee when they found that they couldn't even come close to touching us. Respond: Sealing Heaven's Gate main research laboratory now, I heard the computer say.

Computer, belay that order. Lock out every other user except for me, I commanded, thinking quickly.

Respond: Order acknowledged.

And just like that, the doors, which had been closing, stopped. Immediately they opened wide again, allowing us to quickly overrun our opposition.

* * *

“Tell me, what is a 'calculation device'?” Gustaf asked ~Alex~ curiously.

“Calculation device, thinking machine. It control ship, tell ship what do, tell ship where go. Tell ship who kill,” ~Alex~ said grimly.

“Is it similar to a golem?” Celestia asked, a little confused.

~Alex~ gave her a long, long look, then shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, more complicated, explain better when language speak.”

“So, why did this... golem, obey you? I thought that they only followed the will of their creators,” Luna asked him.

~Alex~ shrugged his shoulders again, a gesture that the assembled delegates were quickly becoming familiar with. “Me not sure. Maybe alien code bad? Maybe alien calculation device catch cold? Maybe Hand of Deity touch machine, allow me work. Me partial last one, make much sense, anything else,” he said cryptically.

“So, I take it that you gained control of the whole ship rather quickly, seeing as how you had control of the golem in charge,” Celestia speculated.

~Alex~ just shook his head at that. “No, they quick learn, disable whole calculation device. Not just take out, not just turn off. Calculation device only listen me, wouldn't listen emergency logic. They destroy calculation device,” he said grimly.

“Why did they do that?” Gustaf asked in confusion.

“Desperation, I feel was at play, to make the monsters act this way,” Lady Ebela answered him, tilting her head to the side as she spoke.

“It was. They learn quick that ship control ours. I turn defense against them, but forget block communication. They tell others destroy calculation device. Figure only chance to keep control of ship..." ~Alex~ said with a grimace.

* * *

ERROR: Computer core damaged, unable to- I heard the computer say, then go silent. Instantly, all the lights went out, and the shouts and weapon fire that we could hear echoing through the corridors went quiet.

Guys, I think they killed the main computer. We're on our own now... I said to everybody.

I'm okay with this. At least we don't have to worry about them jettisoning us into space, Kazimir said energetically.

I think we're missing an important opportunity here, guys. The lights are out, their radar is dead, and their ship cannot call for help. I think it's time that we give these guys a taste of the terror that they inflicted on all those that they forced us to kill, Eduardo said vindictively.

I knew somewhere in the back of my head that what Eduardo was suggesting was wrong, that we couldn't stoop to their level. However, as I looked around, my infrared vision picking up the monstrous forms of my brothers and sisters, I couldn't bring myself to care. If I could have smiled, I would have been wearing a grin that would have put The Joker to shame.

Where do we begin? I asked evilly.

* * *

As we spread throughout the ship like a plague, one thing became abundantly clear to us. This ship was freaking huge! I swear, the thing was probably twice as large as a luxury cruise-liner, and packed to the gills with crewmen. If we were still human, I would have given our chances of actually taking the ship a zero.

However, we weren't exactly human anymore. We were now monsters, built for war, and carrying a grudge. On top of that, most of us had seen the Alien movies: We knew about air ducts, our new bodies were built for stealth, and months spent watching our own bodies sneak around had given us the knowledge we needed to do it ourselves.

We knew how to unsheathe our claws because of the hundreds of times we were forced to do it against innocents. We knew how to take down a group because of the hundreds of people we've been forced to kill. We knew how to hunt the aliens on board because they taught us how. We knew how to fight, we knew how to kill, and we were completely livid about it.

We weren't invincible, however. Amelia got cornered and shot about an hour after we split up, with Bob following her not long after that. In fact, as the battle raged on, fully half of our numbers were hunted down and killed. However, each and every one of us made an accounting of ourselves before we passed, and we made those responsible for our deaths pay dearly.

We mourned the deaths of our family, but did not stop or slow our assault in the slightest. Nothing could stop us now, we had no choice in the matter.

It was quite simple: without the main computer we had no way of getting back home, much less piloting the darn ship. We knew that this was a suicide mission for us, we knew, one way or another, we weren't going to survive this. Even if we cleared out the entire ship, there was no way we could figure out how to get this bird working before we all starved to death.

That will not stop us, though. We have to make sure that these monsters can never do to others what was done to us, I thought to myself as I lurked in the air duct above a group of frightened soldiers. Then, without any warning, I burst open the vent, reached out, and slipped my claws through the armor of the soldier in front of me.

He screamed in pain as I skewered him, then reached out for his friends as I roughly dragged his body back into the vent with me, folding him like a pretzel as his soft, squishy body encountered the metal hull of the ship. I was so fast at this that his friends didn't even have a chance to react before their friend was sucked into the ventilation system.

The other three quickly backed up, fear in their eyes at what had happened as they opened fire upon the vent opening and the walls. I could see all of this, simply because I had already moved to a different vent, and was plotting how to take out the other three from there.

Just a little more to the left, and- I thought, but was interrupted in my thought process by Kazimir's thoughts screaming in my head.

Please, someone, anyone! Five of us got cornered near the bridge. We're pinned down, and I don't think we're going to make it without some backup!

Briefly I saw a flash of where they were, and started to crawl up through the ventilation ducts, hoping that I could reach them in time. Fate, however, had other ideas.

Without warning, the whole ship pitched to the side, throwing me down the shaft and ramming my back against the wall. I gasped out in pain, certain that I had broken something from the force of the impact, but was unable to check because the ship began to shake and tremble uncontrollably. I tried to crawl out of the vent, but another lurch tossed me about like a pinball. Finally, after several minutes of this, I hit my head on the inside of the vent, and I remembered no more.

* * *

“What happened then?” Luna asked the tired-looking ~human.~

“Me not know. One moment, me in vent, tossed and turned like salad. Next, wake in ship crash,” ~Alex~ said with a yawn. “There were so many bodies, not know if any else escape. Not hear thoughts anymore, but either family dead, or collar broken. Maybe collar allow thought-speak, not know. Just know they not answer anymore, and collar gone. Hurt from crash, not sure how survive. Ship still burn, ship still maybe explode. Flee from crash-site, escape with life. First time in long time free. Not fight for life, not fight for others, Free,” he said with a tear in his eye.

At this, Celestia turned towards Chancellor Gustaf. “I hope you found his story sufficient?” she asked dryly, raising a single eyebrow as she did so.

Gustaf didn't answer immediately, instead choosing to bring a talon to his forehead and bow to ~Alex~, giving the wounded ~human~ the griffon token of respect. “I have heard enough. Thank you for your time, ~Alex~. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, I thank you for sharing this discovery with the Griffon Empire, as disturbing as the findings may be. I must apprise the Emperor of everything we have discussed today before I can give you my decision, but know this: what these monsters have wrought is inexcusable,” he said with a shake of his head. “Just by their actions, I can tell that they would not only seek out and recapture their lost slave given the opportunity, but enslave or burn our world to the ground, just for the fun of it.”

With that, the griffon ambassador swept out of the room, the zebra ambassador close on his heels. Celestia then turned towards the ~human~, intending to ask him one final question before she left, but stopped at what she saw.

The poor ~human~ was fast asleep, the ghost of a smile dancing upon his lips.

* * *

Pinkie Pie hummed happily as she handed Thunderlane his baker's dozen, just glad for all the happy chatter that filled the interior of Sugar Cube Corner. It had been a fairly stressful week after all the silliness that Defender's visit to Ponyville had inadvertently caused, so it was good to get everypony back to their normal routine.

She honestly couldn't believe what all the fuss was about. All she had done was invite someone to a party, and yet, everypony acted as if the whole town was on fire! Ponies had locked their doors, the royal guard was called, and many ponies had reported that they had seen Defender try to break into their homes, despite the fact that Defender had gone home after his disaster of a party.

As Pinkie thought about this, the bell that hung in front of Sugar Cube Corner's door rang, signifying the entrance of another customer. Pinkie's face immediately broke out into a smile as she turned around. “Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! Where everything is super-Oh, hi Twilight!” Pinkie said as the purple unicorn trotted up to the counter, clearly out of breath. “You okay Twilight? Oh! I know! you're training for the upcoming Running of the Leaves! I bet you're going for first place, huh, Twilight?”

“No, Pinkie, I'm not,” Twilight said with a gasp. “I-”

“You're not going to win first place? Not with that attitude you won't! We'll just have to whip you into shape before then!” Pinkie said as she waved her hoof wildly in Twilight's face. Pinkie then leaned in, and dropped her usually hyperactive voice down to a not much quieter stage whisper. “But just between you and me, I think you've got your work cut out for you. Both Dashie and Applejack have been training super hard to win this year, and they've both agreed to have a nice clean race this time.”

Twilight just shook her head at that, smiling ruefully to herself. “Pinkie, I'm not entering the Running of the Leaves this year. I'm here because I just received a letter from Princess Celestia. She wants all of us to come to Canterlot immediately!”

“What? Why? Is there a parasprite swarm on the loose? Should I get my tuba?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“I don't know, Pinkie. She just said that she needed all of the elements there as soon as possible,” Twilight said with a shake of her head. “I think that whatever it is, it's pretty serious.”

“What makes you think that? Do you think that Discord escaped again? No... he would have made it rain super yummylicious chocolate before you'd even gotten word from Princess Celestia...” Pinkie said thoughtfully.

“Whatever it is, it's important enough for the Princesses to send a guard detail,” Twilight said seriously, interrupting Pinkie's train of thought. “The guards are going to be here in about two hours, so we need to be ready before then. I've already sent Spike to round up Rarity, so could you go find Rainbow Dash and have her go round up Applejack while I go and get Fluttershy? Tell them all that we'll meet up in front of the Library in an hour.”

Before Pinkie could even think to give an answer, Twilight disappeared in a flash of purple light, leaving Pinkie Pie with more questions than answers.

Author's Note

Whelp, here's the exciting conclusion to Alex's story! I hope this shed some light for you guys, while simultaneously raising some questions!

Anyway, don't expect to see too much of Alex over the next couple of chapters. I'm probably going to instead focus on the aliens in orbit, or upon the main six as they try to figure out what on earth is happening.

As always, thank you so much for your support, suggestions and comments! remember, your comments give me power and encourage me to write more!

Chapter VIII

Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly from the chariot, leaving the craft moments before it even touched the Canterlot airdock. “Pinkie! Be careful!” Fluttershy called out nervously.

Pinkie giggled at that, but did not otherwise show that she had heard the shy pegasus. “I wonder why Princess Celestia needed us here so badly,” she said, hopping just a little bit higher as she spoke.

“I don't know,” Twilight said as the chariot she was riding in gently set down. “But whatever it is must be important if it involves an armed escort.”

“Ah reckon it must be, Ah just hope it doesn't take too long ta fix. Harvest time is comin up, and Ah can't leave Big Mac ta take care of it himself,” Applejack said as she hopped out of the chariot and stood next to Pinkie. “The big galoot would just do it too, no questions asked. It's almost as if he's ask'n ta throw his back out.”

The others all nodded in the affirmative, though Spike had a thoughtful look on his face as he rode on Twilight's back. “I wonder if it has anything to do with the monster everypony in town was talking about?” he wondered out loud.

Twilight just glared at him as they made their way to the castle. “Spike, he isn't a monster. I already explained all of this to you.”

“Yeah, but Bon Bon said that it tried to eat Lyra when she went into the woods yesterday,” Spike pointed out.

“Spike, Lyra claimed that she got abducted by yetis last Heart's Warming Eve, despite the fact that yetis have been extinct for over three thousand years. Do you honestly believe every story out of that mare's mouth?” she asked pointedly.

Spike just shook his head at this. “No, but the fact is that it's not just her telling them. Everypony in town seems to be buzzing with rumor, and where there's rumor, there is at least a hint of truth,” Spike deduced stubbornly. “Even if they all are lies, something caused those rumors in the first place.”

“That would be his appearance, darling,” Rarity said as she trotted next to the pair. “Defender's hideous visage alone is enough to launch a full fledged monster hunt, though he has done nothing to deserve it. The Princesses trust him enough to allow him to stay where he is, so you should too.”

“Yeah...” Spike said, grudgingly giving the point to her. “But that doesn't mean that Princess Celestia didn't ask us here because of the mon- because of Defender,” Spike said, barely catching himself.

Twilight just shook her head at this. “Spike, while your reasoning is sound, I'm actually pretty sure I already know what we're being called in for,” Twilight said. “I don't want to say it right now, just in case I'm wrong, but it isn't because of Defender, though it would involve him.”

The others just looked at her curiously, but held their questions. Since they had just arrived at the castle gates, they'd be finding out from the princesses themselves soon enough.

* * *

Shining Armor stood at attention outside the throne room. Years of military conditioning had instilled the classic guard discipline into him, allowing him to exude an aura of calm, despite the knot of nerves that had built in his chest. He had just arrived this morning, having received an urgent missive from the Sun Princess several days ago.

It wasn't everyday that he received such a note. The last one had been when he had been summoned six months ago, when that odd alien object had fallen from the sky. Since then, he had kept a pretty close eye on each and every report that passed through his desk, though there had been nothing new as of late.

This message made him believe something had changed, however. Celestia hadn't revealed too much in her letter, but he had grown to expect that. The Princess usually liked to give out important information in person, especially with something as sensitive as an alien crash.

As he was mulling over all of this in his head, his thinking was interrupted when he heard a very familiar gasp to his right.

“Shiny? I didn't know you were going to be in Canterlot!” Twilight said as she galloped up to her brother.

Shining Armor's face broke into a grin as his baby sister charged up to him. “Twily! How are you doing?” he said as Twilight wrapped her hooves around his neck. “I only found out I was going to be here a few days ago. Celestia had sent me a letter, saying something important was going down.”

As his sister hugged him, however, Shining couldn't help but notice her friends behind her, nor could he fail to notice the guard detail that came to attention when they noticed the Crown Prince of the Crystal Empire.

“Sir! The Element Bearers have been delivered to Canterlot safely, as ordered,” the sergeant in charge said.

“At ease, soldier. I didn't know about your orders, so you're not delivering them to me,” Shining said as he broke his hug with his sister. He frowned a little, though, as he looked over the assembled ponies. “Celestia must be really worried to call in the Elements of Harmony. As much as I love seeing you sis, I still don't like this, not one bit.”

Before anypony else could say anything else, however, the door to the throne room opened, allowing Princess Celestia's steward to poke his head out and look around. “The Princesses are ready to see you all,” the wizened pony said with a nod of his head.

Shining looked at him in confusion. “Don't they need to see us separately?”

The steward just shook his head at that. “No, what they need to say, they needs to tell you all. They will later meet with each of you individually to further explain, but from what I understand, the reasons you are all here are the same,” the gray unicorn said, opening the door wide.

The assembled ponies took this in stride, despite their lack of information, and entered without any further fuss. A few of the assembled mares shot each other questioning glances, however, which Shining quickly picked up on.

It was clear that they were nervous.

Well, most of them were nervous. The pink one acted as if she hadn't a care in the world, bouncing into the room as if she owned the place, almost causing a smile to grace his lips. Shining was trained better than that, though, so he kept his stern demeanor as he approached the dual throne of the Sun and the Moon.

The assembled ponies bowed respectfully as they approached the thrones, though Princess Celestia was quick to motion them to rise. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” she said with a nod. “I'm sure you're all wondering why we called you all here, and rest assured, it is a matter of grave importance to Equestria, and even the whole world.”

“Did some sort of evil crawl out of the depths of Tartarus, and you want us to use the Elements to kick its sorry flank back?” Rainbow said, taking a heroic stance from where she hovered over the others.

Princess Luna just shook her head at this, amazed at the Element of Loyalty's zeal. “No, and at the same time, yes. Recent events have led us to believe that we are all in grave danger. Some of you know many of the events that has led us to this point, while others are completely in the dark,” she said, her voice taking on a tense edge that the others easily picked up on. “Six months ago, an object crashed into the White Tail mountain range.”

“Ah remember that. The newspapers said it was some kinda rock from space, but that didn't sit right with me,” Applejack said gruffly.

“Very astute, noble Applejack. It indeed wasn't anything of the sort,” Princess Luna said.

“Indeed. The object was, in fact, a spacecraft of some sort. Similar to those found in the science fiction novels that grace the shelves of the libraries in town from time to time, but far different than anything we could imagine," Princess Celestia said with a frown.

At this, Rainbow Dash immediately keeled over laughing. “You... You expect us to believe that aliens crash landed here?” she asked as she tried to get her laughter under control.

“Rainbow, she isn't joking. I was asked to go and help the researchers study it,” Twilight reproved the chortling pegasus.

This sobered her up quick. “Wait, you're dead serious. A spaceship seriously crash landed here? What did the aliens look like?” she asked quickly.

“You've already met one, Rainbow,” Twilight said smugly. “After all, you did accuse him of being a monster.”

There was a moment of silence as Rainbow tried to make sense this information. However, Rarity was slightly faster on the uptake. “Wait, so Defender is an alien?” she asked in shock.

“One of them survived?” Shining asked in disbelief.

“Actually, that makes sense," Applejack said, ignoring Shining Armor's comment. "I ain't ever seen a critter like him afore, though how he ended up here's a mystery ta me.”

“Rest assured, he did not come here of his own volition. The ship he crash landed in was not his own, rather, it belonged to those that were controlling him. He and several of his kin were abducted from their home world, changed, enslaved, and brought here under extreme duress. He managed to escape, though at the cost of the lives of his fellow prisoners,” Princess Luna said, shaking her head sadly.

This brought down the mood of the room immensely. Even Pinkie's perpetually poofy hair seemed to deflate at these harrowing words. One, however, didn't seem to pick up on this as fast as the others did. Or at least, if he did, he didn't show it. “Wait, is this Defender one of those bug-like things? Or one of those lanky, spiked monstrosities?” Shining asked, having lost the thread of the conversation.

“He is the latter. Trust me when I say that never have you met a soul who's appearance belies the true nature underneath as much as Defender's does,” Princess Celestia said, spreading her wings a little for emphasis. “However, that is a little off topic. Needless to say, the danger we brought you here for is not Defender, rather it is those that seek to take him back.”

This grabbed everypony's attention, and they all looked to the Princesses with fear in their eyes. “Does... Does that mean what I think it means?” Spike asked, a tremor in his voice.

Celestia just nodded at this. “Hostile aliens have come to Equestria, and have attempted to reclaim Defender. He managed to fight them off, but we know that they will be back, and in larger numbers. We are unsure of their intentions towards us, but after what they have done to their ex-slave, we are somewhat sure that they mean us nothing but harm, regardless of whether or not we hand him over,” she said, rising from her throne, her sister rising with her. “Right now, we are preparing for war.”

* * *

Captain Hazalk straightened up as he passed through the doorway, his face carefully arranged in a neutral expression. As he walked down the hallway, he took note of how bleak and depressing this part of the ship was.

That was to be expected, though. This was the brig, and its designers had gone with an appearance that would not only wear upon the mind, but break the soul. In fact, previous versions of these places came fully equipped with a Cranial Ravager, though those devices had been outlawed after the loss of the last war.

Memories of that horrid machine danced in Hazalk's mind as he punched in the code that would open the cell in front of him, forcing him to suppress a shudder. As he typed the last digit, however, he heard a hum from the other side of the door, followed closely by four loud clanking sounds, followed even closer by the sound of someone swearing up a storm.

This made him forget about his previous discomfort, causing him to wiggle his antenna in pleasure as the door opened, revealing a very uncomfortable Ilisk prostrate on the floor, his wrists glued to the deck by the brightly glowing bands wrapped around his wrists.

That never gets old... the captain thought to himself, swaggering a little as he entered the room. “I hope you aren't busy, because I thought you might be ready to answer some questions for me,” he said, barely keeping the amusement out of his voice.

Ilisk didn't respond, choosing instead to turn his head away and look at the opposite wall.

“Aw, what's the matter? Frustrated that things didn't go your way?” Hazalk baited the restrained traitor. Ilisk just continued to give him a stony silence in response, acting as if he hadn't heard the captain speak.

“Well, don't worry about it. In a few months, you're going to be in Githock prison, along with the rest of the old guard that you work for, and you'll have a lot more things to worry about than little old me. That is, if you survive that long,” Hazalk said, kneeling down in front of the other Krin.

Again, he was treated with silence, though Hazalk thought he detected just the slightest hint of fear in those eyes. Silently congratulating himself on this minor victory, he moved closer to the traitor, and put a single, four clawed hand on his back. “You see, your little stunt earlier cost four of my soldiers their lives. Those four had a lot of friends aboard this ship. Especially Sergeant Inaz. He was really well liked, and from what I gathered, he had gathered quite a few girlfriends on board as well. I think it is only a matter of time before either his friends, or his mates, find you and silence you permanently,” Hazalk said ominously.

Silence.

Hazalk just shook his head at the failed agent's determination. “I can make sure that doesn't happen, though. If you give me the names of those that are really responsible, I might be able to find a place to hide you. Hey, I have some pull with the Hiarch, so I may even be able to ease your sentence a little. You have to work with me a little, though.”

Hazalk just stayed there for the longest time, but finally rose to his feet, brushing off his suit top in the process. “Well, it's something to think about. Who knows? Maybe the crew will be able to control themselves long enough to get you to Githock. Then the only thing you would have to worry about is a shanking from one of the old Cranial Ravager victims that still haunt that place. If I remember correctly, a few of those cases were deemed incurable, even with Quzin aid. You're just lucky they outlawed that beastly practice.”

And there it was. There was no fear, but instead there was the slightest glimmer of resentment twinkling in those eyes. Hazalk knew he had struck a nerve. “Oh, but you don't like the Quzin Empire, do you? They meddled in things they couldn't understand. They interfered. What sort of gall does it take to reduce the mighty Krin people to nothing but a puppet race?” he asked, trying to press his advantage. “Nothing but a bunch of witches, what with their self-righteous attitudes and reality warping Void Knights. It must irk you to no end, knowing that the Hiarch is nothing but a puppet to their will.”

However, as much as Hazalk dug, he just couldn't get Ilisk to show any more emotion than he already had. Sighing in frustration, Hazalk turned and left the room. “I hope you enjoy your shanking, whether it is from Githock inmates, or from my crew, I could care less. Call me if that is something that you want to avoid.”

And with that, Hazalk left, sealing the cell behind him.

As soon as he had left, Ilisk got to his feet, his wrists having become free the moment the door sealed itself behind the captain. He moved back to his bunk and lied down, grunting in frustration.

What is taking them so long? he thought to himself.

* * *

Captain Hazalk sighed in frustration as he entered the bridge, his mind dancing with ideas on how to get the reluctant Ilisk to talk. However, the more he thought, the less he was sure of anything. “Please tell me you have something for me lieutenant,” he said with a sigh.

“Yes sir. We received a message from the Hiarch himself while you were interrogating Ilisk,” she said with a salute. "I've already sent it to your personal datapad, just waiting for your review."

Finally, Hazalk thought with relief. "Thank you, lieutenant. I'm expecting Commander Yvtil later, so if she comes to the bridge, tell her that I'm in my ready room."

"Yes sir," Talian said, saluting again as the Captain left the bridge.

Author's Note

Welp, after a large amount of waiting, it's back with a vengeance! Hope you like it!

Sorry about the short recap to Shining and the girls. It had to be done, though. Shining needed to know because he's still Captain of the Guard, and as such, it is his job to plan the defense of the nation (notwithstanding his less than stellar portrayal in the show). The Elements needed to know, because, well, their the Elements of Harmony. They're pretty much a super weapon at this point, and will be integral in any defensive strategy that the Equestrians come up with.

I'm not going to spell everything out again, though, I'm just going to leave that it was implied that Celestia and Luna told them a lot more behind the scenes.

Anyway, up next, defensive preparations, language lessons and cake! (muahahahah!) Not to mention some much needed shenanigans from Pinkie (hehe).

Honestly, though, I feel like there is something missing from this chapter. Sure we got to see some development from the krin, but I really wasn't happy with everything here. Mostly with what happened in the throne room. However, this was the only thing I could come up with, so think of it as more of a connecting piece, to drive the story forward, especially since the last several chapters were packed with stuff. There will be more interesting stuff later, rest assured, just needed a chapter that was a bit more calm then the ones before it. You can't have a story that is constant action all the time. Things get boring if that happens.

Last thing, I published this before my editor got to see it, so don't judge it too harshly. I honestly just wanted to get past this boring bit, and straight back into the more important parts of the story. Have fun anyway!

(Urg, should have waited until tomorrow to post this, instead of jumping the gun like this. I'll sleep on it, hopefully get some inspiration on how to fix this mess.)

Chapter X

Doctor Level Head didn't trot, gallop, run, or any iteration of the action as he made his way to the ~human's~ room. He was far too professional for such things, it being beneath a scientist of his caliber to show such haste or eagerness to perform some simple DNA tests.

He did, however, do a somewhat quick speed walk, all the while muttering to himself in his not loud at all voice that was borderline ecstatic.

“...First the DNA reverts, then the body attacks the unchanged limbs, and now the limbs are changing as well?” he said with a bit of a hop. “Not to mention that we have a living alien on our hooves. This thing is probably a wellspring of alien knowledge! Just think of the advances in the medical sciences alone!”

He was so caught up in his ramblings, though, that he didn't notice that he had passed the ~human's~ room. He did, however, stop when he heard the unmistakable sound of laughter.

That's... odd. I don't think I've ever heard that sound come from that room... he thought as he faced the door. With some trepidation, he reached out with his telekinesis and pushed it open. What he saw on the other side left him flabbergasted.

Sitting upright in his bed was the recovering ~human,~ a smile on his face and a slice of cake in his hands. The reason for the cake and the smile was abundantly obvious, seeing as how it is rather hard to hide anything that pink.

“Who in Tartarus are you? And how did you get past the guards?” Level Head asked, his voice rising to pre-yelling levels.

At this, the alien's laughter ceased, and his once huge smile was replaced by a worried frown. Doctor Level Head could see the ~human's~ eyes dart back and forth between the two ponies in the room, but he paid it little attention.

The pink pony seemed unconcerned about this, however, and just giggled at Level Head. “Easy, silly, they let me in! I just walked up, told them I was looking for Defender, and they let me pass!”

“I was not informed of this. The only ones that are allowed in this room are the medical staff, specific members of the guard, and the Princesses,” he said, stomping a single hoof. He then backed out of the room, making sure to keep his eyes on the pink mare, all while shouting into the hallway: “Guards! There's an intruder here!”

In an instant, a sergeant rounded the corner and charged towards the room, ready to face whoever had managed to sneak into the restricted section of the hospital wing. He stopped short, however, when he glanced inside, the light around his horn quickly dying as he took in the sight before him.

“Hi there!” the pink pony said enthusiastically, giving him a friendly wave while the ~human~ looked increasingly worried and frightened.

“Uh... sir? Where is this intruder you were speaking of?” the guards asked slowly.

“She's right there!” Level Head said, pointing at the offending pink mare.

“Sir, did you happen to check your messages this morning?” the sergeant asked, his tone still calm and collected.

Level Head stopped at this. He had been so busy this morning checking and double checking the results of the latest DNA test that he had forgotten to go through his in-box. “I... may have forgotten to check those...” he said grudgingly.

The guard gave the doctor a reproving stare. “Princess Celestia sent word to the whole staff that the Elements of Harmony would be joining the research and defense team,” he informed the doctor. “This mare happens to be the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. She has clearance to be here, though I wasn't expecting her to actually be here until tomorrow afternoon.”

Doctor Level Head sighed at this, then rubbed his forehead with a hoof. “I apologize, it has been a busy day, and something potentially disastrous has come up,” he said. He then looked back at the pink mare, his expression apologetic as he bowed to her. “I apologize to you too, Miss Pie. I spoke hastily, and was unaware of your involvement.”

“It's okay silly billy! Not everypony can be on top of everything all the time!” she said with a wide grin.

Judging by how the ~human~ relaxed after the doctor's bow, he also seemed to accept Level Head's apology, despite not understanding a word of it. He said something in his completely unintelligible language, then went back to eating his cake.

The guard, realizing that he was no longer needed, turned and left the three to their own devices. Doctor Level Head then turned towards the ~human~ while levitating a notepad, quill, and inkwell towards himself from a nearby desk. “Now, onto the tests. I admit that I do not know the spell required to allow you to understand me, but this should be sufficient to allow me to convey the basic meaning of what I intend to do,” he said, quickly scribbling down a rough stick figure of the ~human,~ an eye staring at it, and a notepad floating nearby. Next to these drawings he drew a smiling face and a frowning face, while next to those he drew two check boxes. He then gave the pad to the ~human~ along with the quill.

The ~human~ looked confused at first, but then pointed at the doctor's stethoscope, then at himself. He then said something in his bizarre tongue, to which Level Head simply nodded. The ~human~ then nodded his head and circled the smiling face.

“Yay! We're going to find out all sorts of things about you!” Pinkie said excitedly. “Like, what's your favorite color, and-”

“We're not looking for that kind of information, my dear. You can ask him those later, but for now, we're trying to determine his physical wellbeing,” Level Head interrupted as he took back the notepad. “There is something wrong with him, and I intend to find out what it is.”

“Oh...” Pinkie said, looking a little crestfallen. “Well, we can still have a party later, right?”

“I think a party is the last thing he needs...” Level Head said with a shake of his head.

Pinkie gasped at that, her face a look of horror. “Don't scare me like that! Even in the worst of times, a party is the best medicine for anypony!”

“If a party keeps him from turning back into a monster, I'd be all for it. But for now, I'm going to have to ask you to either be quiet, or leave as I examine my patient,” Level Head said impatiently.

Pinkie pouted at that, but did as she was asked and stopped talking.

Finally, Level Head thought as he charged his horn. The spell he was trying to cast was complex; the slightest mistake could cause an error in the information recorded from the patient, and would invalidate all later results. Needless to say, he needed as few distractions as possible in order to get it to work right.

Carefully, he wove the energies around the reclining ~human,~ then around the notepad in front of him. If all went as planned, the end result would be that the page would record not only the DNA of the ~human's~ healthy body, but also the DNA of his sickly gray limbs as well as the spiderweb of gray that emanated from the four points where they connected to his torso.

After about ten minutes of this, he finally released the spell. He then took a look at the results while comparing them to ~Alex's~ previous results.

What he found did not make him happy in the slightest.

“So? Is he going to make a full recovery?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

Instead of answering, Level Head went to the still open door and stuck his head out. “Sergeant!”

Instantly, the same unicorn from before popped his head around the corner. “Yes doctor?”

“Take a message to the Princesses. Tell them I need to see one of them in the alien's room at their nearest possible convenience. Also, send another soldier over to Doctor Tender Care to ask her the same thing. Tell them all that I've discovered a complication with our patient...” Doctor Level Head said grimly.

While Doctor Level Head waited, he decided to check and double check his notes and records, just to make sure that he hadn't missed anything.

He sincerely hoped that he had.

* * *

When the strange, irritable doctor showed up, I really didn't know what to think. It was clear that he wasn't mad at me, but I still felt like it was my fault when he called in a guard to deal with The Pink One.

She seemed totally fine with this, which only caused my confusion and worry to grow. Despite my worries, though, the guard that appeared seemed to be completely at ease with The Pink One's presence, leading me to believe that she really was supposed to be here, and the doctor simply hadn't gotten the memo.

This was further reinforced when the doctor bowed to The Pink One.

"Okay, glad we got that cleared up," I said, returning to my piece of cake.

As I continued to eat, though, I decided to take a moment to examine the easily aggravated pony. He was a rather short light red unicorn with blond hair. On his flank, I could see what appeared to be a complex set of circles and triangles, all layered upon each other in what could only be described as a mystical fashion. He was also wearing one of those white lab coats, as well as a stethoscope around his neck.

The doctor approached me at that point and, after a short game of pictionary, got to the reason why he was here: an examination.

This wasn't an ordinary checkup, though. Instead of going for his stethoscope, he set his notepad on the bed in front of him and began to charge his horn. Immediately, I felt something strange; my entire body began to tingle from whatever he was doing, almost as if it had fallen asleep and was just waking up.

I was worried at first, but after several minutes of nothing happening, I relaxed. Still, I figured that I should probably remain as still as possible. I was no doctor, but I had been X-rayed and such before, and the ones back home usually got really touchy when their patients moved around during one of those. I didn't want to tick off the already irritable doc, so I just concentrated on keeping my muscles immobile.

Still, staying motionless while tingling and having pain in your extremities is a pretty difficult feat to manage. Needless to say, my nose really began to itch roughly around minute five.

As I sat there, straining against how uncomfortable this was, I happened to glance down at the notepad in front of him. His magic seemed to be having an effect on that as well, creating a complex wall of text and pictures. It was all Greek to me, though I guessed that it was probably a transcript of all of the information he was obtaining from me.

Just when I thought I couldn't take another second of this torture, the tingling stopped, allowing me to scratch my nose with impunity. “Ahh... I really hate those kinds of things,” I said, reveling in the feeling of actually having a nose to scratch.

The doctor didn't seem to notice, however, judging by how his look of irritability morphed into one of grim certainty.

He called for a guard again, only to send him off for something. I knew it probably involved whatever he had learned from the notes, judging by how furiously he was checking and rechecking them.

Minutes seemed like hours, and I grew increasingly nervous as I waited to hear the bad news. Did I get some form of magic cancer from them healing me? Am I rotting away from some strange form of leprosy?

These and other thoughts chased themselves around in my brain until I was fit to burst. I found that I was quickly developing a headache, and my arms were itching more than they ever had before.

Luckily for me, however, I didn't have to wait too long. The people he had sent for finally arrived, and I wasn't too surprised to see both Moon and the doctor with the stethoscope tatoo from earlier.

They, on the other hand, seemed to be surprised to see The Pink One here. Surprised, but not alarmed.

As soon as everybody had arrived, the irritable doctor began rattling and rambling on about something. Whatever it was seemed important, judging by how the other's faces grew progressively more sombre.

Well, except for The Pink One. She just seemed to take it all in stride, smiling as if she hadn't a care in the world. I stared at her for a moment, trying to make sense of her seemingly carefree attitude. Before I could come to any sort of conclusion, however, my throat and ears began to tingle, letting me know that the ponies had used whatever hocus pocus the did to allow me to understand the conversation.

“Alex?” I heard Moon ask, a little hesitantly. “There is... complex thing go wrong.”

“What is it?” I asked, not really sure if I wanted to know.

“There problem with instructions of Alex. Instructions act badly, act badly to healing spell. Original instructions react to healing spell, new instructions react to healing spell. Both change, both become something am not,” Moon answered sadly.

I just looked down at my hands as I tried to work out what they had told me. I already knew that 'instructions' probably referred to my DNA. They had told me that they had fixed that, but apparently they were wrong.

Apparently, I was changing into something else entirely now.

“Is... Is my body still trying to kill itself?” I asked, fearing the worst.

Doctor Magic Circle (as I decided to dub him) just shook his head at that, then pointed at his notepad. “All things point towards not happen. You heal, you get better. Not need remove limbs, though still problems.”

“Then... then what's happening? Is my DNA falling apart? Am I going to turn into some sort of slime creature, unable to retain even my basic shape?” I asked, my hysteria progressively growing.

Moon shook her head at this, then thought for a moment, as if she were trying to figure out how best to explain what needed to be said. “Maybe 'change' wrong word for happen. What mean is combine, form together. Still possible might die, but possible go down with each day. We unsure how happen, still try fix, but now know you become something in between. Not sure really what turn into, but know it combination of what once was, and what originally was,” she said sadly.

At this, it suddenly hit me as to what had happened. Their little healing spell, while patching me up and giving me a face again, had accidentally spliced my old DNA with the new stuff. I really didn't understand everything involved, mainly due to the language barrier, however, one thing was abundantly clear.

My body wasn't attacking my limbs anymore because my body now recognized them as part of itself.

As I pondered this though, I strangely felt no anger about it. Even if I had turned into some sort of monster again, I was still me. On top of that, these ponies were trying their best to prevent something like this from happening. It wasn't their fault that their treatments had backfired.

Besides, even if I completely reverted to the monster I used to be, I would still be in a better place than where I was. I had friends now, a warm place to sleep, decent, properly cooked food, and clothing as well. Well, after I'm able to tell them that I prefer to not be naked, then I'll have clothing, I thought to myself.

Actually, now that I thought about it, the whole thing seemed rather... funny. I tried to keep a straight face, but I just broke down and started to laugh. To my credit, though, it wasn't a joyous sound in the slightest.

“Um... you doing right?” Moon asked, worry clear in her voice.

“Yeah...” I said, my voice shaky as tears streamed down my face. “It's just that... I thought I had finally escaped from the monster I had become. Instead, it looks like it's impossible to get rid of it.”

Despite the tears on my face, though, I kept my composure.

I had already mourned the loss of my life. I had already resigned myself as a dead man.

Every day after this one was a gift, and for that I was more grateful than these ponies could possibly imagine.

* * *

Akitesh eased into her command chair, her lithe, serpentine form settling comfortably into the velvet comfort as she scrolled through her datapad.

“Priestess,” Jedon said, interrupting his new priestess' thoughts, “I have just been to the circle room, and Alizar says that he might be able to squeeze a little more power out of the central circle. In order to do this, however, you need to authorize the use of Qu-tai runes.”

Akitesh looked up in confusion at first, then shook her head. “No, those are still extremely experimental, and better left in the laboratory for now. The last ship to use those exploded as soon as the circle was powered up.”

Jedon smiled at this. “That's what I told him, but he kept insisting that I at least mentioned it to you. He claims that he can draw a safe amount of power from the laylines, without it overloading the system.”

“Did you tell him to send his findings to the university?” she asked, flicking her tongue a little.

“I did, M'lady, but he begged me to at least bring it up with you.”

“The answer is still 'no.' We're in a hurry, but not in such a hurry as to risk the destruction of the entire ship,” Akitesh said dismissively.

“Of course, Priestess,” Jedon said. Her second voice looked as if he wanted to say more, but chose to keep his mouth shut.

“What is it, Jedon?” she asked him pointedly.

“I was wondering why we're in such a hurry. After all, it's just a distress beacon,” Jedon reasoned. “The planet is well equipped to support life, and is, for the most part, quite hospitable. If the Krin survived, they should have no trouble in adapting to the area. If they didn't, it will be a simple matter of cleanup and sanitation.”

“Well...” Akitesh said reluctantly.

“Also, we've completely scrubbed our scientific survey of Gel in order to do this first. You told the mages and priests in charge of the expedition that there were extenuating circumstances, but you didn't explain any further than that,” Jedon said carefully. “I'm not in anyway questioning your orders, but I think it would help if we were aware of what we're getting ourselves into.”

Akitesh shook her head at this. “I can't say for certain, but something about this whole thing feels... wrong. There is a darkness lurking on the horizon, which the Maker has allowed me to catch glimpses of, but little else.”

Jedon did a double take at this. “Are you telling me that... that you saw something?” he asked eagerly.

“I... I'm really not sure what happened. It was faster than the blink of an eye, leaving me dazed and confused, with nothing more than this feeling of impending dread,” Akitesh answered.

Jedon just nodded his head at this. “I've heard of High Priests and Priestesses using such foresight, usually when the need was especially great; never have I heard of normal priests and priestesses receiving such revelation,” he said, excitement clear in his voice. “What do you think it means?”

“I think it means that something terrible has happened, and something worse is just around the corner,” she said, shaking her head. “I'm going to go and pray on this; hopefully The Creator will give me guidance on how we must proceed.”

Jedon bowed at this, his claws pressed to his forehead. “I will guide the crew until your return, Priestess,” he said with respect.

“Thank you, Jedon. Please, just don't let Alizar destroy the ship in my absence,” Akitesh said with a wave.

“I will keep two eyes on him at all times,” he said with a grin. “Hopefully, they will suffice. If I had to keep all four on him, then I think we're in for some interesting times.”

Akitesh just shook her head at this and left for her quarters. However, with each passing minute, she just couldn't shake the nameless dread that had been growing since her vision.

Maybe a shower will help me calm my nerves, she thought as she reached her quarters.

Without any ceremony, she quickly stripped off her garments and got into the shower, turning on the water as she closed the door. The whole room quickly became bathed in steam, relaxing her muscles and allowing her mind to drift.

As she soaked in the warmth of the shower, however, she became increasingly aware that something was amiss. The steam seemed to become progressively thicker, until she wasn't even able to see the walls of the shower. She reached out for them, only to encounter nothing with her searching claws.

As worry began to set in, a shape slowly emerged from the mist. It was a Krin vessel, circling a most unusual planet.

The ship was also strange, in the fact that it seemed to be filled with light. She then saw another vessel, one that she quickly recognized as her own. The Krin then fired upon her vessel, but Akitesh sensed that there was something... amiss with what was happening.

She couldn't say how she knew, but she knew that the vessel was just a pawn. She then felt a great sense of sadness as her vessel fired upon the Krin, completely destroying it and casting its broken shell adrift.

Her own ship had not come out unscathed, however. It was crippled, and could not properly defend itself when three other Krin ships, these filled with darkness, decloaked and attacked her vessel.

She watched with growing horror as the three cowards destroyed her vessel, then proceeded to ravage the planet below. Cities were destroyed, and countless generations were brought under the heel of a dark tyrant.

As this terrible scene unfolded, everything changed again. She saw the sun rise twelve times over a hill, then watched in confusion as a strange, bipedal abomination approached her.

It bowed to her, then looked at her with a piercing stare. “Priestess, your entire empire hangs in the balance. You must reach your destination before the sun has risen on this planet the twelfth time. Speak with the Sun and the Moon, offer to help them in any way possible, or all will be lost.”

Akitesh bowed at this, but quickly stood up as her head thumped against the wall of the shower. She glanced around in confusion, only to realize that the vision had faded into the mist, leaving behind only echoes and dread.

“Computer! Get me the bridge!” Akitesh shouted in haste.

“Priestess? Is there something wrong?” Jedon asked in confusion.

“Yes. Go tell Alizar that he has my blessing to use the experimental runes,” Akitesh said grimly.

There was a pregnant pause at this. “Any particular reason for the change of heart?” Jedon asked slowly.

“We need to be there a lot faster than I expected, and without those runes, I'm afraid that we'll be too late,” Akitesh answered.

“Right away, priestess,” Jedon answered hurriedly.

Author's Note

So, I know this chapter is a little on the slow side, but I was sick. Sue me.

Anyway, here is the next chapter! If there is anything here that shouldn't be, don't be afraid to tell me! I'm great at taking criticism. Really, I am!

Chapter XI

I was running through the forest, the branches around me looking more like grasping claws than the limbs of actual trees. Every turn I made let me catch glimpses of the creature that was hunting me, but I never got to see very much of it before it faded back into the shadows.

I didn't have much time before it caught me, but somehow I knew that if I could just reach the edge of the forest that the creature wouldn't follow me, that I would somehow be safe if I could just get beyond these trees.

However, as I dodged and wove through the forest, I became aware of something else moving through the forest. I caught hints of a blue coat here, what looked like a wing there, but that only caused me to redouble my efforts to get away.

Then, without warning, the beast jumped out of the bushes, chasing me in earnest. I broke into an all out sprint, but I could still hear it behind me, closing the distance with every passing second.

As I ran, however, I slowly became aware of something else. I'm not even sure when it happened, but there she was, running next to me, effortlessly keeping pace despite how fast I was moving.

“Alex, I want to help, but you have to let me!” she shouted at me as the beast drew closer.

“What the heck are you talking about?” I asked. However, the momentary distraction she provided turned out to be my downfall, as the beast caught me in its sharp claws, pulling me into the bushes as I screamed for my life.

I glanced back at her briefly, only to see her shaking her head, her horn glowing with a pale blue aura as I was dragged to my doom.

* * *

I sat bolt upright, sweat pouring down my face while my heart tried its best to burst out of my chest. “What the heck?” I asked my darkened room.

If the room held any answers, though, then it certainly didn't share them with me. Why... why does she keep showing up in my nightmares? I thought to myself as I laid back down. And why does she keep asking me to let her help? What does that even mean?

As I laid there, trying to come up with answers, I felt myself drift off again. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

* * *

Princess Celestia smiled at her sister as she entered the room. “Good morning Lulu!” she said as she poured herself a cup of tea.

“Good morning, Sister,” Princess Luna said with a yawn.

“Any luck tonight?” Celestia asked as she sat down opposite to her sister.

“No,” Luna said with a shake of her head. “~Alex~ continues to resist every effort I make to aid him. He has surprisingly strong mental defenses, despite how damaged his psyche is.”

Celestia hummed at that, a curious expression on her face. “This is... odd. By his own admission, he has thought that magic was a myth up to this point, so he would have no reason to be so resilient. You said you had no trouble with him initially, right?”

“That is correct, but I believe that his near death experience may have had something to do with that,” Luna said with a shrug. “His body was concentrating on survival, and couldn't be bothered to defend itself from my intrusions. Since then, I have had no trouble entering, but actually manipulating his dreamscape? No, each construct is more solid than the hardest concrete, and I find myself powerless to do anything other than wake him if his nightmares grow too... unruly.”

Celestia frowned at this. “We may have a problem, then. If any of his nightmares should escape...”

“Do not worry about that, Tia. Several have already escaped, and I have found that their resilience disappears as soon as they leave the ~humans'~ dreamscape,” Luna reassured her. “They become as difficult as any other free nightmare roaming the aether, and are easily subdued.”

Celestia let out a sigh of relief at that. “That is good to hear. Do you have any theories as to why he has such a high mental fortitude?”

Luna frowned at that, then looked down at her cup. “Just one, but you are not going to like it.”

“Try me,” Celestia said with a smile.

Luna shifted uneasily. “Do you remember our magical training?” she asked her sister.

Celestia shuddered at that. “How could I forget? Training to be an Aeon was barbaric. Especially the initial trials.”

“'Tis true, but it still instilled a mental fortitude and discipline that is unmatched by many of our modern day mages,” Luna pointed out.

Celestia just shook her head at that. “It isn't worth the cost, however. Too many mages would crack under the strain, and you would have rogue Aeons roaming the countryside, unraveling the fabric of creation in an effort to sate the voices in their heads. Indeed, it is the reason Discord got loose the first time.”

“I know. I'm not condoning the brutality of the mages of the past, nor am I criticizing our modern day methods. I am, however, pointing out how similar those methods were to ~Alex's~ experience while enslaved,” Luna said with a meaningful look.

“How do you mean? He wasn't under constant mental assault,” Celestia said as she raised an eyebrow at her sister.

“Yes, but everything else fits,” Luna said, setting down her cup. “Forced to do physically demanding, mind numbing tasks while his mind was constantly active, trying to fight against the force controlling his body. He even had an unexplained phenomena setting him free!”

Celestia's eyes widened at that. “I believe you are right, sister. That does fit. The aliens may not have been aware of what they were doing, but many of their methods mirror the initial training of an Aeon.”

Luna nodded at that. “It would certainly explain how he was able to break free and take control of the golem controlling the ship. It would also explain why his dreamscape is so... immutable.”

“Yes, but wouldn't he start showing other powers as well? He has been here for six months, surely he would start experiencing some magical bleed by now,” Celestia asked curiously.

Luna looked thoughtful at that. “Maybe he has, but hasn't recognized it. After all, he has been running through the woods for a while, now, and has probably performed many feats that he ascribed to the... augmentation from his alien captors,” Luna pointed out. “It could be entirely possible that he has been using magic this whole time, but has not noticed it.”

Celestia nodded at that. “It would certainly explain why his magical field is so… normal. If your theory is true, but he hasn’t used any magic, he should be bursting at the seems by now, and our scans would have detected that.”

“And if my theory is false, he should have a very weak magical field, since he has yet to use any portion of his magical potential,” Luna said with a smile.

Celestia thought about this for a while, then took a bite out of her pastry. “So, what do we do, then?”

Luna thought about this for a bit. “It seems to me that we should test him in some way, figure out how his magical power is exerting itself, and see if he is a danger to himself or others,” Luna said slowly. “Also, since his initial power seems to be control over golems, or whatever a ‘calculation device’ is, I think we should let him take a look at some of the artifacts from the ship.”

“Agreed. At the very least, he may be able to tell us what some of those things do. We may even be able to unlock some of its secrets before the next alien attack,” Celestia said with a nod.

“Maybe even incorporate some of their tech into our own defense plans?” Luna asked as she perked up a little.

“We can only hope at this point,” Celestia said grimly.

* * *

Carrot Top and Written Script traipsed through White Tail Woods, another bundle of goodies in their bags as they made their way to where they had first met with Defender. “Look, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t help the poor thing, but we haven’t seen him since the party incident,” Written Script pointed out. “For all we know, he might have been taken up to the castle by now to keep him out of trouble with the freaked out ponies of the village.”

Carrot Top shook her head at that. “I know, but on the off chance that he isn’t up in Canterlot, he still might need a few things. At the very least, I’m sure he could use some company.”

Written Script sighed at that, then wrapped a hoof over his wife’s withers. “You’re a pain, you know that?”

“Yes, but I’m your pain,” she said with a smile.

Written Script looked down, shaking his head at that, but stopped when he spotted something strange in the dirt. “Honey, what do you make of this?” he asked, pointing at the oddly shaped hole in the ground.

“Hmmm…” Carrot Top said as she rubbed a hoof under her chin. “I’m not really sure about that.”

“And look, here’s another! And another!” Written Script said as he pointed out a few more.

“You’re right. They almost look like tracks, but what on earth would make tracks like these?” Carrot Top asked as she examined the holes closer.

“Well, on a guess, they kind of look like scorpio tracks, but why on earth would a constellation beast be way out here in Whitetail Woods? This place doesn’t have the ecosystem to support it,” Written Script answered thoughtfully.

Carrot shook her head at that. “Well, if it is a constellation beast, then I don’t want to be anywhere near it. You remember what happened when an Ursa came to town, and that thing was just a baby!”

Written Script nodded at that, then glanced around uneasily. “You’re right. Plus, these tracks look pretty fresh, so whatever it is is probably close by,” Written Script said as he slowly backed away. “Let’s get out of here before it decides to-”

Before he was able to finish that thought, however, he was interrupted by the sound of rustling bushes, followed closely by something small and round being rolled into the clearing.

“What in the-” Carrot Top started to say, but was interrupted when the small metallic object beeped loudly, then shone with an intensely bright light for a brief second.

Both of them blinked furiously to relieve the afterimages that the flash had left in their eyes, but stopped when they spotted what was coming out of the woods.

It was large, insect-like, and terrifying. Four spindly, segmented legs held it up, while two of its four arms carried some kind of rod or staff in its grip. In its lower arms, Written Script could see some kind of thin, rectangular black box that seemed to be glowing, while on its head was an elongated helmet that completely covered its face and muzzle. Its torso was covered in a strange, gray armor, and Written could see some kind of insignia on its right breast.

“Carrot! Run! I’ll hold it off!” Written Script shouted right before he charged the thing. However, just before he reached it, he ran headlong into something hard, dazing him and causing him to stumble backwards.

“Written, are you okay?” Carrot exclaimed as she rushed to her downed husband.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” he said as he shakily wiped the blood from his nose. “What happened?”

“I… I don’t know. It looks like some kind of force field, to be honest,” Carrot Top said uneasily as she glanced at the field that surrounded them. However, her attention immediately snapped back to the monster that had trapped them as it started to approach.

However, as the thing stopped right at the edge of the field, all it did was gently placed the box on the ground, then take a step back.

“What do you want from us?” Written demanded as the creature backed away.

Almost as if to answer his question, the box began to hum, then glow brighter. Written’s jaw dropped when he saw a little image of himself being handed the box by the creature in front of him. He then saw himself run back to town, where he gave the box to what looked like a Night Sentinel.

“What… I don’t understand…” Written said blankly.

“I think it wants us to give this to the guard, or even to Celestia,” Carrot said after a couple of seconds.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? It might be a trap,” Written asked uneasily.

“Well, I don’t see any other option here for us,” Carrot whispered as she kept her eyes on the abomination in front of her.

Written Script nodded at this, then looked up at the beast. “O-Okay, we’ll get this to the guard,” he said with a nervous nod.

The beast just nodded once, then backed up until it disappeared into the forest entirely. A few seconds later, the device at Written’s feet let off another beep, then began to smoke as the faintly visible field around them disappeared.

As fast as lightning, the two turned and bolted, but not before Written Script scooped up the small black box and shoved it roughly into one of his saddlebags.

* * *

“So, remind me again, why are we going alone to the scary monster’s room?” Spike asked as he followed closely behind Rarity.

“Spike,” Rarity said, giving the small dragon a disapproving glare.

“Fine, why are we going to ~Alex’s~ room?” Spike asked grudgingly.

“We are here to take measurements,” Rarity said as she shoved a pad of paper into the young dragon’s claws. “You are to assist until you lose your ridiculously unfounded fear of the poor dear.”

“But why do we need to take measurements?” Spike asked curiously.

“Ever since he recovered his strength, ~Alex~ has shown an almost religious need to be clothed. After what he has gone through, I feel that it is my duty to make sure he is as fabulous as possible!” Rarity said as she struck a pose. “Besides, I simply cannot allow him to continue to wear those… disgusting trousers he has made for himself a moment longer!”

Spike just shrugged at that. “Whatever you say, Rarity, though I still think we should probably get someone in there to help us… Translate! that was totally what I was going to say!” Spike said as Rarity gave him another stink eye.

She just sighed at that, and shook her head. “Spike, he’s really not such a bad guy. You should try talking to him,” she said.

Spike just shivered at that. “I don’t know, those hands of his still give me the creeps,” he said with a shiver. “And is it just me, or have his pupils been getting larger?”

“Spike, he can hardly help that,” Rarity reproved him.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Spike said as Rarity gently knocked on the ~human’s~ door. They heard the ~human~ say something on the other side, to which Rarity quickly opened the door, letting herself in.

“~Alex,~ darling! How are you doing today?” she asked as she made her way over to the ~human.~ He had been busy drawing at the desk that Celestia had provided for him, though he stopped the instant he had heard a knock on the door.

He said something in his language, but whatever it was was lost upon the two of them. Rarity just smiled at that, then held up a picture for him. “I noticed that you prefer to wear something over going au naturale, so I thought I would make you a wonderful ensemble for any occasion!”

It was just a concept drawing, but Rarity thought it would be enough to get the point across.

The ~human~ gingerly took the drawing, then looked back at her, specifically at the measuring tape that she wore around her neck. He then pointed at the measuring tape, then at the artwork, saying something as he did so.

She nodded at that, then was surprised when the ~human~ fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her into a hug.

“It’s quite alright, darling,” Rarity said as she patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. “I quite understand the feeling.”

The ~human~ then lept up, holding out its arms while looking at the white pony expectantly. “Eager to get started, huh?” she giggled as she began to measure the human, humming to herself as she did so.

As she worked, however, she was interrupted by another knock on the door. Quickly, she looked up, only to fall into a bow when she saw Princess Luna enter the room, followed closely by a scientist wheeling in a tray covered in a white cloth. “Princess Luna, it is an honor to see you here,” Rarity said.

“Please, no need to be so formal,” Princess Luna said with a wave of her hoof. “We’ve actually come here to ask the ~human~ a few things, as well as to run a few tests.”

“Of course, your highness, just let me finish up here, I’m ‘in the zone’ and cannot stop until I have the measurements I require,” Rarity said as she got back to measuring ~Alex.~

“That should not be a problem,” The Princess said with a nod. “We will simply hold off on the tests until after you are finished. However, I hope you don’t mind if we ask him a few things while you work?”

“Why, not at all, Your Highness,” Rarity answered with a wave. “If anything, it will help me with my work if I could tell him what I needed while I measured.”

“Then I shall cast the translation spell on you as well to help with the process,” Luna said as she charged her horn.

* * *

I wasn’t sure what was on the cart that the scientist-looking pony wheeled in, but whatever it was, it was making a really weird sound. It almost sounded like whispering, though why anything they wheeled in was whispering was anyone’s guess.

“Alex, we things show, things from crash. Hope you tell if thing bad, or what thing do,” Moon said after a brief glow of her horn.

I was a little bit nervous at that, but still nodded my head. “Yeah, anything to help you fight off those evil bug things,” I said with a nervous smile.

Moon Goddess smiled at that, then nodded to her assistant. The gray unicorn nodded once, then pulled off the sheet covering the cart.

The assortment of object they had brought me was… interesting, to say the least. I recognized a couple of things that looked like PDA’s, a few round, spherical devices that looked like grenades, as well as a pistol-shaped device. Most of the objects looked busted or burnt, but one of the PDA’s looked intact, as well as the small, pistol-like device.

Moon levitated the PDA off of the tray, then held it up for my inspection. I didn’t take it, as my arms were still being measured by the wonderful, clothes-providing pony, but I still looked at it pretty closely. “I’d say that is probably a handheld computer of some kind.”

Moon nearly dropped the thing in her haste to put it back. “Like thing controlling you?” she asked in a worried tone.

I just laughed at that. “Not quite. Not all computers can do the same things. Their main purpose, however, is to store information. A device like that back home could hold thousands of books.”

Her jaw dropped as she examined the device a little closer. “Thousands?” she asked uncertainly. “In thing small like this?”

I just nodded at that, but couldn’t help but notice Thorn’s eyes grow large when he heard what I had said. “No let Evening Twinkle hear you, she go crazy,” the small purple dragon warned me.

I smiled at Thorn, then nodded my head. “Understood, I’ll keep my mouth shut,” I said. I then looked back at the PDA on the desk, a thoughtful expression on my face. “However, the aliens were far more advanced than my people, so one of their devices could probably store millions of books, and could conceivably be used to do a great number of other things as well. Think of it as a multitool, but instead of a knife being its main tool, it instead processes information.”

Moon smiled at that, then looked at the device again. “How would work?” she asked, turning it this way and that. “If could get work, could learn about enemy more.”

I reached out my hand at that, since Wonder had apparently finished with it. “Here, let me see it for a moment,” I said with a smile.

She immediately handed me the device, which I promptly dropped when the whispering I heard got louder. “Sleeping… Sleeping…” the voice whispered in my head.

“Ghah! what the devil?” I asked as Moon deftly caught the device in her aura.

“What wrong? What happen?” Moon asked, her voice worried.

“I… I heard something when I touched it,” I said with a shiver. “It was a voice, it said it was sleeping.”

Moon looked at me carefully, then looked back at the device. “Well, guess that lead into next thing talk about,” she said with a shrug as she put the device back on the table.

“Wait, what does me hearing voices have to do with anything?” I asked, my voice getting a little hysterical. “Am I going nuts? Are you going to put me into some sort of mental hospital?”

She just shook her head at that, her smooth, bell like laughter filling the room at my reaction. “No, nothing of sort. Need talk about dreams,” she said.

Instantly I tensed up. wait, no way… I thought uneasily as I looked at her with a guarded expression. “W-what do you mean dreams?” I stuttered.

Moon sighed at this, then rubbed her forehead, just below her horn. “I am Goddess of Night, and my duty is to ponies, to protect them while sleep and watch over dreams,” she said as my jaw opened progressively wider at her admission. “I see into your dreams, and you have nightmares almost every night.”

“You… you were inside my head?" I asked. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure of myself anymore. I knew what Professor Xavier could do, how he could twist people to his will with nothing but a thought.

But wait, If she had done that, she wouldn’t have needed to ask you about your past, a tiny voice said in my head. She could also have easily told that griffon everything he needed to know after sucking my mind out through a straw.

Moon, however, simply nodded at this. “I go in, try help, try ease nightmares, but isn’t easy. You fight me, will not let see inner demons. Will not let see trouble behind trouble. Mind strong, too strong.”

Strangely enough, I believed her. After all, if she could change what I’m thinking, then she would have had no reason to come and talk to me about it. I thought as I let out an explosive sigh. However, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s been poking around in my head.

“Why were you in there? Why would you even try to look at my dreams? Why is it your duty to patrol other’s dreams?” I asked, my voice taking on a more accusatory tone.

She just smiled sadly at that. “Because there are nightmares,” she said. Her horn then began to glow, and I saw a dark apparition, all tooth and claw, appear in the space between us. “Not know how work on your planet, but here, where magic strong, nightmares very real. Nightmares escape from dreams, flee into the world between, and feed off of the hopes and dreams of ponies. When strong enough, escape this world, to kill, feed on ponies while awake.”

I swallowed at that. If all of that was true, then it was possible that my nightmares could…

“Find best stop nightmare source. Easier stop nightmares from forming, rather wait until get real world. I talk ponies in sleep, help them work nightmares, help them become strong enough not have nightmares anymore,” she said as the apparition between us disappeared.

I nodded at that. Her reasoning made sense, though it didn’t make me feel any better that she could muck around in other people’s heads like that. “So… why bring this up, precisely? And what does this have to do with me hearing voices when I picked up that computer?” I asked her carefully.

She just smiled at that. “Because, think know why hear voice,” she said with a nod of her head. “Also, think know why able fight my help, or why able tell golem from ship, free you and others.”

I immediately perked up at this, my eyes riveted onto the Moon Goddess in front of me. “Why is that?” I asked her.

“You use magic,” she told me simply.

Author's Note

So, this is my first time importing from Google docs, so If it messed something up, don't hesitate to point it out.

That being said, here is the next chapter! polished, edited, and ready for human consumption! (Please don't actually eat it, that would be weird.)

Anyway, a few of you might be wondering why this one took so long to publish, but I have a good reason. I recently published a new story, and my muse told me to write that one over this one. Don't worry, though, I haven't forgotten my other stories!

Chapter XII

Corporal Swift Wing yawned as he patrolled through town. Usually, the town of Ponyville didn’t require a guard detail, though it still had one because of its close proximity to the Everfree Forest. It was widely considered to be a cushy post, since the high concentration of Earth Ponies was usually enough to keep the more dangerous monsters away.

That had confused Swift Wing at first. Most Earth Ponies hadn’t trained their magical abilities to be combat ready, so he was at a loss as to explain why this would make any difference to a hungry hydra. He had even asked around a bit, only to have been told by the rather cantankerous matriarch of the Apple Family that: ‘Them critters know enough to stay away, if they know what’s good for ‘em.’ And, despite the vagueness of the answer, Corporal Swift Wing had taken what the elderly Earth Pony had said at face value. Especially after the Elements of Harmony had been rediscovered.

Despite the fact that the town had quickly become a ‘Nexus of Weirdness’ as some of the newer recruits called it, the locals were still able to handle anything that was thrown their way, albeit with a whole lot of screaming from some of the more skittish ones.

Yet, here he was, patrolling the town, despite its reputation as one of the toughest little towns around. He couldn’t really blame the higher ups for their decision, however.

After all, the monsters described in the briefing weren’t a joke, especially if they were capable of spewing Dragonfire.

Just my luck to be patrolling ‘The Nexus’ right before an invasion, he thought as he rounded another corner. I’m probably going to get eaten first…

As he turned around to continue his route, he slowly became aware of the sound of galloping hooves coming from the direction of Whitetail. He turned around, only to see two ponies barreling towards him, abject terror written all over their faces.

“Hold, there, sir, madam,” he said, opening his wings to show that he wanted them to stop. “What seems to be the problem?”

“M-mon-monster,” the stallion said as he desperately tried to catch his breath. “Monster, trapped us, told us to give the guard something…”

“Hold it,” Swift Wing said as a sinking feeling built in his gut. “What kind of monster? Can you describe it?”

“It-it had four legs and four arms,” the mare said as she waved her hooves about. “It also had some sort of staff in its grip, though I’ve never seen a staff that glowed before.”

Swift Wing’s face became stony at those words. “Sir, ma’am, you’re going to have to come with me,” he said seriously. “The sergeant is going to want to hear this.”

* * *

The silence that followed Moon's announcement would have been quite profound, had I not immediately burst out laughing at what she said.

“M-m-me? Use magic? You gotta be kidding me!” I said as I fell on my rear, much to Wonder's distress.

“Alex! No laugh at Moon Goddess!” she scolded, slapping me on the thigh with a hoof.

I couldn't help it though. What Moon had said was so... so ridiculous, that I couldn't contain myself. However, as I looked back up at Moon, the serious expression on her face quickly sobered me up.

“Wait... you're serious, aren't you?” I asked, my heart quickly sinking. She just nodded at that, to which I then cradled my head in my hands. “Oh man...”

“Why you sad?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“I'm not sad, I'm overwhelmed,” I told her as I glanced up briefly. “First, I learn that your treatment has backfired, and that I'm slowly mutating into some kind of monster that isn't quite what I was, but still isn't quite human. Not your fault, but you can still see why I'd be upset about that.”

Moon nodded at that. “Yes, to understanding.”

“Then I find out you've been muddling about in my dreams, and despite your noble intentions, it still freaks me the heck out,” I said with a sigh. “I understand wanting to keep my nightmares from roaming the waking world, and I respect that. But just so you know, where I come from, stuff like that would be considered an extreme invasion of privacy.”

Moon bowed her head in apology at that. “I apology, I not realize this such problem you people.”

Even though I heard her, I chose to ignore her and continue with my rant. “And now I find out that somehow, I've gained the ability to use whatever crazy power you call magic? As cool as that sounds, and as much as it fulfills all my childhood dreams, I can't help but feel... but feel...” I stopped, being unable to attach that damning label to myself.

Moon took a step forward at my hesitation. “Not worry, you not alone.”

“That's where you're wrong, I am alone. I'm a...” I stopped again, taking the time to swallow the lump that had appeared in my throat at the thought of that horrible word. “...I'm the only one of my kind on this planet, and soon, I won't even be my own kind...”

As I sat there, listlessly staring at my hands, I felt a tug on my Awesome Pants of Wonder, causing me to glance up at whomever was trying to get my attention. My gaze immediately fell on Thorn, who looked at me with those large, sad eyes. “You not freak.”

“But...”

At this, the small dragon stomped his foot, a stern expression on his pudgy little face. “You not. Not even think,” he said as he folded his claws in front of him. “May not know like, only kind planet, but know like only dragon, pony town.”

I stared at the small child as he sternly shook his finger at me, not quite believing what was happening. “If thing, you less strange, that use magic. Maybe not normal home, but normal here. Everyone here some magic. Not alone, either. Have friends, people care, so no think freak, yes?”

I continued to stare at the little dragon for what seemed like hours after he had finished. Then, unexpectedly, I felt the corner of my mouth turn up. “O-okay, you got it,” I stuttered as I looked at him.

He nodded his head at that, then backed up again. “Gonna hold that,” he said, pointing a claw at me sternly. “No more sorry self, yes?”

“Yes sir,” I said as I got back to my feet. As I did so, though, I couldn't help but notice the amused look that Moon was giving Thorn, or the look of absolute shock on Wonder's face. “W-Wonder, I'm sorry for messing up your measurements. If it's all right, could we continue from where we last left off?” I asked meekly.

“Ahem, yes, course. And Wonder, darling, not- well, no, language spell probably failed, so Wonder fine,” she said as she started to measure my leg again.

“I'm sorry to you as well, Moon, I'm afraid I forgot my manners,” I told the regal blue pony.

“It alright Alex. Know quite lot, been through, you. Maybe we continue later?” she asked as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“No, we need to do this. I'd also like to see any of the other things you might have recovered, just in case they're something we can use against those bug things.”

Moon smiled at that, then nodded. “As case be, then move on. As soon Wonder done measuring, we test magic, make sure not hurt others or self.”

I nodded at that. “Sounds good. I definitely wouldn't want to be, say, accidentally giving off toxic radiation without even knowing it,” I said. You might think I was joking about that, but I've seen Heroes, and I didn't want to end up as another Exploding Man. Especially not after everything that these wonderful ponies had done for me. That would have been beyond tragic.

“No, such thing need years train, even emit tiny bit,” Moon said with a laugh. “Still, may cause problems not handled.”

I nodded at that, then watched as Moon levitated the next object on the tray towards me. “What this?” she asked, holding up the round object.

“I-I don't know,” I admitted. “It might be an explosive of some kind, but on the other hand, it might be a tool. Either way, it looks too broken to do anything, now.”

Despite my claims that it was busted, however, Moon still put down the device with the utmost care. “Tell ponies down research be careful...” she told her assistant.

The pony at her side nodded at that, then made a note on his notepad. Moon then skipped the other round things and went straight to the small pistol-like device. I assumed that she did this because she figured that I would have given a similar answer to the other grenade-like object.

As her aura enveloped the small, pistol-like device, however, I held out my hand as worry shot through my brain. “You probably want to be careful with that one,” I told her.

She looked equally as worried at my words, the aura around the alien device quickly disappearing. “Why that? Is will explode?” she asked nervously.

I just shook my head at that. “No, but it's still probably very dangerous. Wonder, are you done?” I asked the white unicorn.

“Yes, Alex, ” she said, hanging her measuring tape over her neck. “Just wait, you be best dressed ~human~ all time!” she said, holding out a hoof dramatically.

I couldn't help but repress a giggle at that. “At this point, I could go with simply being fully clothed,” I told her as I let my body relax.

Wonder looked at me oddly, then quirked an eyebrow. “If not mind ask, why need be clothed all time? Not complaining about challenge, but...” she trailed off.

I rubbed my eyes at that. I knew this conversation was going to come, but I had hoped that it could have been avoided at all costs. “Well, you see, among my people, it is taboo to go around naked,” I told her, hoping that she would take it like that, and leave it there.

However, it turned out that I would have no such luck. “Why that?” Wonder asked curiously. “It not taboo here, why taboo home?”

I sighed at that, then decided on the scientific method of explanation, in hopes that it would lessen the awkward that I was about to set upon their unprepared pony minds. “Well... it stems mainly from the fact that our... reproductive organs... aren't as easily hidden from view as yours are,” I said, quickly bringing the awkward up to eleven. “It is generally considered vulgar to go about naked, and we only do it in very special circumstances. Such as when we bathe, or...” I explained, but stopped as my eyes darted towards the kid in the room. “Well, let's just leave it at 'special circumstances.'”

Wonder had the decency to look flustered at that, while Thorn looked completely lost. “Wait, what is creation body part?” Thorn asked curiously.

“Tell when older, Thorn,” Wonder said as she quickly started to pack everything up.

“But...” Thorn started to say. However, he was interrupted as Wonder scooped him up with her magic and deposited him on her back.

“Tell when older. If told now, Evening Twinkle kill me,” Wonder said as she wisely retreated from the room.

During all of this, Moon remained completely unfazed, strangely enough. The assistant next to her, however, began to furiously write down something on his notepad. “This doesn't bother you?” I asked her curiously.

Moon chuckled at that. “I lived long enough, such things bring no shame. Is normal part life, though can understand why others feel shame,” Moon answered. “Thing is... special. Most treat as shameful to talk. Not shameful, just special, must treat such.”

I nodded at that. “Yes, well, back to what we were talking about before,” I said awkwardly as I strode up to the trolley. Old enough to not be worried by such things? What the heck is that supposed to mean? I thought as I reached out for the pistol-like device.

However, I knew well enough to never question a lady about her age. That kind of thing shortened one's lifespan considerably.

“Well? You say it dangerous, possibly?” Moon asked as I started to look over the strange device.

“Yeah... I'm not sure, but I think this might be a weapon,” I told her, a little bit distracted as I spoke.

The device was chrome, except for what appeared to be glass on either side of the barrel. The barrel itself didn't look like it fired any kind of projectile, but instead had a weird set of wires and tubes where the muzzle should have been. As I examined it, I became more and more certain that it was simply a smaller version of the weird, fire-spewing rifles that the bugs used. After all, I had held those before, and the designs were remarkably similar.

“What kind weapon?” Moon asked uneasily.

I looked up at that, then back down at the pistol. “Well, I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure this is simply a smaller version of those flame-spitting weapons that the bugs used on me back at my cave,” I told her. “Do you have any more of these?”

“Few, though most have look broken. That one best condition, though, not counting ones from aliens that hurt Alex,” Moon told me as she eyed the pistol in my grip.

“Well, make sure you're careful with these things. They aren't toys, and must be treated with respect,” I told her. “Unlike other weapons, these could go off by accident, hurting, or possibly even killing someone.”

She looked scared at that, which she should, since guns were no joking matter.

You were right, Jerry, I did need to know this stuff, I thought to myself as I started showing her the finer points of firearms safety. As I did so, I couldn't help but picture Jerry's mustachioed face, grinning in triumph. Man, even when you aren't here, you can still rub it in my face.

* * *

Twilight yawned as she looked over the plans for the Omniscope. While she had everything necessary to complete the darn thing, there were a few things missing in the actual spell and enchantment department. Starswirl had only completed a small scale version of the thing, and while the smaller version of the Omniscope was really good at detecting the molecular bonds of atoms, it tended to get lost when trying to find anything beyond a radius of twenty feet.

Starswirl had, of course, begun construction on a much larger scale version of the Omniscope. It was supposed to be his crowning achievement, but he had sadly died before he was able to finish, completing neither his calculations, nor the golem that was supposed to act as the control.

After his death, the whole project had been shelved, being labeled as either too expensive to complete, or as the years passed, too difficult to finish. Most would say that the calculations were the reason why they never got it finished, or that they lacked the Arcanite needed for the runes.

In the end, however, it all boiled down to the impossible specifications that were needed for the golem’s construction. Twilight sighed as she once again delved into Starswirl’s notes, feeling inadequate for the task, as her major dealt with more generalized magic, rather than golemancy specifically.

“Whatcha doing?” A bubbly pink voice asked, causing Twilight to nearly jump out of her fur.

“Ghah! Pinkie? Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Twilight gasped as she desperately tried to get her heart back under control.

“Ah, but that’s no fun!” Pinkie said, pouting a little at Twilight.

“Did you need something, Pinkie? As much as I’d like to play, I frankly don’t have the time for that right now,” Twilight said as she focused back on her notes.

“Nah, I’m here to help you, silly!” Pinkie said as she bounced around the table. “We have to get this thing up as fast as possible, or we’re in trouble, right? Well, I thought: ‘Two heads are better than one, so maybe I could help you figure out how to fix it up!’”

“No offense, Pinkie, but this is something even the Princesses have had trouble with, and they actually studied under Starswirl,” Twilight said with a shake of her head.

“Well, I can try, and if I can’t help any, I can at least bring you snacks!” Pinkie said, holding up a tray of cupcakes. “You can’t save the day on an empty stomach!”

Twilight smiled at that as she gratefully took one of the proffered treats. “Thanks Pinkie, but I really don’t know how much help you could be.”

Pinkie wouldn’t be dissuaded, however. Instead of leaving like Twilight had hoped, she plopped down at the table across from Twilight, her chin propped up on her upturned hooves. “Try me,” she said, an intense look of concentration on her face.

Twilight sighed at that, then let her chin rest on the paper in front of her. “Well, I’m trying to design a golem that is capable of processing a large amount of sensory information, while at the same time also being able to target a specific point in space and analyze all information about that point in space,” she grunted impatiently. “On top of that, it needs to be able to use the sensory information it’s receiving to scan for anything strange, while at the same time make it able to both take specific instructions from a pony, and give comprehensive feedback.”

“Wowie…” Pinkie said, her eyes widening a bit.

“Yeah... I’ve already contacted the greatest golemancers of our age, and they say that this has been something they’ve been working on for ages. In fact, quite a few curled up and started crying when I showed them the requirements Starswirl wrote out. Even the minotaurs haven’t been able to crack this conundrum, and they’re better golemancers than Starswirl ever was,” Twilight said dejectedly, then fixed Pinkie with a piercing stare. “Did you understand any of that?”

“Not a word!” Pinkie said with a huge smile on her face.

Twilight sighed again, then levitated one of the papers in front of her. “I’m starting to think that this is going to be impossible to complete. We’d probably be better off concentrating our efforts on making a planet-wide forcefield, or by letting Discord have a crack at the aliens…”

However, instead of impressing the seriousness of the situation on the erratic pink mare, Pinkie just blew a raspberry at Twilight’s pessimism. “Nah, if the Princesses thought that this was our best bet, then obviously it's our best bet,” Pinkie said as she bounced a little. “Besides, if ~Alex~ is able to make golems that complicated, then clearly it's not impossible, and he can’t even use magic!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re… wait, what?” she asked as Pinkie started to bounce her way out of the room. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘~Alex~ is able to make golems like that?'”

Pinkie stopped at that, then turned towards her friend. “Well, I had asked ~Alex~ what he did for a living back home, and he told me he talked to and designed ‘calculation devices,’” Pinkie said with a grin. “I asked him what a ‘calculation device’ was, and he sighed all sad like, and said:” at this point, Pinkie’s voice dropped as she attempted to mimic the ~human’s~ voice and speech patterns. “It like golem, but only for thinking. It process lots information, very fast, very efficient.”

As Pinkie talked, however, she failed to notice the slight twitch that had developed at the corner of Twilight’s eye. “Then he said he was working on a ‘calculation device’ that was supposedly able to mimic the ~human~ brain, but he had been stolen before he was ever able to complete it…” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Anyway, I had asked him how, but he just shrugged and said that he never was able to work out that part.”

However, as Pinkie finished with what she was saying, Twilight disappeared in a flash of purple light, taking her notes with her.

Instead of becoming alarmed, or offended, Pinkie looked around for a second, as if trying to figure out where her purple friend had disappeared to. “Ooh, are we playing hide and seek now?” she asked, striking a pose. “Well, no one is a match for Pinkie Pie! I’m the hide and seek champ!”

And without another word, Pinkie took off, thoroughly engaged in a game only she knew she was playing.

Author's Note

So, here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

As I said in my earlier blogpost, this is part one of the mega update I was talking about. The next one is going to be A Hiss in the Dark. Keep an eye out for it!

And as always, thank you so much for reading my stories, and for all your incredibly helpful comments. I'm still learning all of this, so thank you for your patience!

Chapter XIII

“Um... are you sure about this?” I asked as I examined what appeared to be a shiny metal salad bowl with blinking, multicolored lights. The whole setup was wired to what looked like a seismograph, which Moon's assistant had wheeled in as soon as I had said I was ready for magic testing.

“Why? You nervous so-” Moon started to say, but was interrupted by an urgent knock at the door. Moon answered it, though she appeared somewhat put off by the interruption if I was any judge on that sort of thing.

On the other side was one of those day-themed guards, rather than one of the more familiar night-themed ones. Okay, now I'm curious. What's with this whole night/day theme they've got going on here? I wondered as Moon quietly talked with the stallion at the door.

“I sorry, Alex, have leave. Important thing appeared, must go see,” Moon said, once she was finished talking to the guard. “Fast Thinker here continue test without.”

I nodded as she left, though I still felt a bit nervous at being left alone with the science pony I did not know. I didn't say anything, however, mainly due to the fact that the scientist she was leaving me with looked as nervous as I did, if not more so.

“Okay, we start by placing magical dispersal detector on head,” Fast said, quickly turning his attention back to his notepad, as if to cover up his nervousness.

“Okay, like this?” I said with a smile, hoping to ease his worry some.

Before he could answer, however, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine, followed closely by a burst of sound somewhere behind me. I slowly turned my head towards the sound, only to see something that truly terrified me.

There, standing behind me, was Evening Twinkle, though she looked like she had seen better days. Her mane and tail were disheveled, and judging by the bags under her eyes, it looked like she hadn't slept for a while.

That wasn't what scared me, though.

It was the look in those eyes that made me fear for my life. I saw desperation, hope, and quite a bit of mania.

Mostly, though, I saw a deep, bottomless hunger.

As I slowly began to back away, she followed, matching my movement step for step. I saw her horn glow, followed closely by her levitating a stack of papers in front of her. “Hi Alex...” she said creepily.

“Um...” I said, not really sure how to handle what was happening. “Can I... help you?”

“Yes, actually,” she said as she got uncomfortably close. “I heard Pink Pastry tell interesting story. About how you work golems back home, can make complex golems.”

“Um... actually, I worked with computers, but if golem means what I think it means-” I started to say, but was interrupted as Evening continued talking.

“Yes, calculation device. She said it capable lots processing. Can do many things once, complex and fast,” she said. By this point, my back was pressed up against the wall, and I could feel sweat pour down my face.

“Um... Yeah, but wha-”

“Capable taking sensor information?” she continued, rolling over my attempts to interject some sanity into the current situation. “Capable looking anomaly? Can take instruction? Give feedback?”

“Uh, yeah, computers are certainly capable... of...” I started to say, but stopped when the purple pony wrapped her front hooves around my right leg, a content smile on her lips.

“Oh, thank Sun!” she muttered quietly.

“Um, Lady Twinkle?” Fast Thinker said carefully. “I kind need run tests, so-”

However, before I could hear the rest of what Fast Thinker was going to say, Evening looked up at me, a pleading look in her eyes. “Could- could make me one?” she asked, desperation in her voice as she interrupted the poor stallion.

“Uh, yeah, I suppose. I mean, I would need the tools, as well as-” I started to say, but was stopped by the sudden feeling of my stomach being turned inside out, followed by my world becoming nothing but purple. It was so purple I could taste it.

It tasted like science.

As the world slowly came back into focus, I noticed that we had moved... somehow. We were now in some kind of lab, and while I recognized many of the tools and devices around us, there were quite a few that I had no clue what they were supposed to do.

I also noticed that we were not alone. I quickly spotted several ponies, all dressed in white lab coats, scattered around the room. There also were a couple of minotaurs, as well as a single griffon. The largest concentration of the staff were gathered around what appeared to be a smoking stone unicorn head, though why a statue was smoking was anyone's guess.

Everyone in the room looked like they were busy, but all of them stopped the instant we arrived. Some gave me looks of fear, while a few others shrugged and continued with their business, completely unfazed by our sudden appearance. Their focus snapped back to me, however, the instant Evening Twinkle started speaking. “Team! I found secret Star Twist's golem!” she shouted as she gestured towards me. “This Alex. He say can get working! He say can make device to process all information!”

“Wait, I never said...” I started to say, but stopped when one of the minotaurs let out a huge, roaring laugh.

He said something in a flippant, dismissive tone, to which Evening puffed out her chest indignantly. “I'll have know, he know lots. May not magic, but smart. Real smart.”

“Wait, please, what are you getting me into?” I pleaded with the purple one.

The minotaur snorted at her words, then said something else that I couldn't understand. Evening stomped a hoof irritably at his derision. “Just because not understand language doesn't make savage,” she said irritably.

The minotaur laughed again, while inside I fumed at what he said. “Now see here, I'm not-” I started to say, but stopped when I remembered that he couldn't understand me.

The minotaur just continued to laugh, ignoring my attempts to interject as he pointed at my pants, as if to make a point.

Yeah, I knew he was just jealous of my Awesome Pants of Wonder. He couldn't hide it from me.

“Please, just-” Evening started to say, but stopped when I placed a hand on her withers.

“Evening. Could I talk to you for a second?” I asked as everybody continued to stare, though thankfully not at me. They were all staring at the minotaur, and I was happy to see that not all of their looks were friendly.

“What?” she asked as her eyes turned up towards me.

I knelt down in front of her, so that our eyes were level as I thought about what I wanted to say. “Look, I know you’re excited about this, and I’m flattered that you have that kind of faith in me, but they obviously don’t see the same thing that you see in me,” I told her bluntly. “The fact of the matter is, is that they don’t know me, and all they have is your word. So far, though, all they see is the monster that fell from space, and that’s all they’re ever going to see unless something happens.”

“What happen?” she asked quietly.

“I need to prove them wrong, and you right,” I said with a grimace, knowing full well what kind of position I was putting myself in. “However, I don’t even know what it is you want me to do. All I know right now, is that you want me to build some kind of computer. That's fine, though. I'd love to help, but you're going to have to give me some context here.”

Evening's ears fell flat against her head at my words. “Sorry, Alex, forget myself sometimes when problem get too great,” she apologized. She then glanced back at the group behind her, who had mostly gone back to what they were doing. “We trying make golem, can process lots information. But problems.”

“Yes, but why do you need this?” I asked, trying to find the source of the problem. “And what is a golem exactly?”

“We need golem for device to stop aliens,” she said simply, sending a shock down my spine.

“Wait, this is for that?” I asked quickly.

“Yes, it stop for good, but problems,” Evening said with a nod. “Golem doesn't work, without help, may never work.”

I nodded grimly as her words sank in. “I'll help, then. This is my fight, more than anyone else's, so how could I refuse?”

She smiled gratefully at that, though her smile fell again when I raised a hand in front of me, a frown on my face. “I don't make any promises, though. I still don't know what a golem is, or if we could even use a computer in its place.”

Evening took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Golem is magical construct, able do task. Task complex directly proportion to amount Magical Element used in construct. For this, with multiple tasks all needing overseen, amount Magical Element needed larger than size moon.”

I gave a low whistle, then looked around. “So, it performs tasks, eh?” I asked thoughtfully. As I said this, an idea came to me. “Evening, can golems be wired to talk to each other?”

“Well, yes, but without center golem, all get confused. Still need one golem oversee all task, but-” she started to say, but stopped when I shook my head.

“That's not important. What's important is how small we can make a golem,” I asked, unable to contain my grin.

Evening looked completely baffled at that. “Why make smaller? Less powerful, not able complex.”

As she said this, however, I heard another booming laugh, followed closely by more flippant minotaur muttering. “Just answer the question,” I told her, ignoring the jerk in the room.

Evening levitated a piece of paper towards herself, along with a quill and inkwell. “Well, it not do much, but...” she said, then placed a single dot on the page. “That small. But really, not do much.”

“That is perfect,” I said as I stood up. “Now, final questions. What can a golem that small do? Specifically, can it be turned on and off, and communicate its state to other golems?”

Evening shrugged at that. “Well, yeah, but not see how do anything...” she muttered.

I, however, was grinning like a loon at that point. They might not be silicone, but I doubt that I'd be able to get the ponies to understand what it is I want, or fabricate them properly in time, I thought to myself as I moved towards an empty desk.

“Wait, still not understand! Why need small golem? That opposite golem science!” she said as she cantered next to me.

“I know you don't understand, and trust me, a lot of people back home wouldn't either. But believe me when I say that I know what I'm doing, and soon, you will too,” I said as I took a deep, cleansing breath. “I'm going to need a lab coat, as well as your language spell cast on the other members of the team. I also need several sheets of paper, as well as plenty of ink, and a pen.”

Evening still looked a bit skeptical, but shrugged anyway. “Well, you expert, so we do your way,” she said. She then turned towards one of the other ponies in the room. “Number Crunch! Go get minotaur lab coat Alex, small size possible.”

Number glanced up from what she was doing and gave Evening a skeptical look, but still took off to get the coat.

“Okay, now, while she's doing that, let me show you what I want you to do,” I said as I slid into a seat. Okay, we're going to have to work out how to make some logic gates. Shouldn't be too hard, I thought as I started making notes on the paper in front of me. If golems are able to do tasks, then I could probably get the ponies to make some that are slightly larger that interpret the logic from the others.

Now, I know what you're thinking: How could I just slip back into this so easily? I just got out of the hospital after getting blasted, not to mention the fact that I had spent the last six months running through an alien forest, while an undetermined time before that had been spent at the mercy of a group of insane aliens.

To tell you the truth, though, I didn't know the reason behind it either. It almost felt as if I was just a passenger in my body, my hands and mouth doing all the work while I merely watched.

I knew what I felt, though, and what I felt was a sense of familiarity. Sure, I might be using these golem things instead of transistors, but as long as they behaved the same way, they were something I could understand. I wasn't dealing with alien mutations, magical mumbo jumbo, or any of that malarkey that I've been running into since that terrible day that seemed like a lifetime ago.

No, this was good, old fashion logical thinking. It was something I was good at, something I knew how to do, and do well. As I sat there, explaining what the different symbols for a schematic meant to Evening, I couldn't help but feel something I hadn't felt in a long time.

I felt like I had come home.

* * *

Princess Celestia didn't have to wait for very long, as it only took a couple of minutes for her guard to locate her sister and tell her the news. That being said, she wasn't in the least bit surprised when Princess Luna simply teleported into the throne room, though she was certain that Carrot Top didn't feel the same way.

“Ah, sister, your messenger said that something involving the aliens has come up?” Luna asked, completely oblivious to the near heart attack she had given the poor mare a few feet behind her.

“Yes, Luna. It seems like our suspicions about them has been proven correct, seeing as how Miss Top and her husband has recently had a run in with them.”

Princess Luna quickly turned to look at the hyperventilating mare, her face filled with concern. “Really? How did you survive your en-” she started to ask, but stopped when she noticed the poor mare's condition. “Are you all right?”

“She was merely startled by your sudden appearance, Luna,” Celestia said with a grin.

“Ah, yes, I apologize, I have been known to have that effect on others from time to time,” Luna responded, though her expression did not change in the slightest. “Though unfinished, my question still stands. How did she survive? And more importantly, you said that both her and her husband encountered the monsters. Where is he?” she asked, her voice becoming extremely worried.

“Don't worry, Luna, he is waiting, unconscious, outside the throne room. I'm afraid poor Written Script had another panic attack before he even managed to make it into our throne room,” Celestia said, calming Luna's growing concern.

“I'm really sorry about that,” Carrot Top said, finally getting a handle on her breathing. “I've been meaning to get him to a therapist, but he keeps putting it off.”

“Not to worry, though I am sorry that he cannot be here to join us,” Luna said, waving off her apology. “Now, please, what happened? And how were you able to fend off the alien monsters?”

Carrot Top gave a grimace at that. “We didn't fend them off. They captured us, but let us go on the condition that we bring you that box,” she said, pointing towards the box that was being carried by a nearby soldier. “The creatures never spoke, though that box created some kind of illusionary duplicate of my husband and the creature, showing us what it wanted us to do.”

Luna nodded at that. “It is a missive then,” she said. “It is odd, though. If they have the power to infiltrate us, and to take our people as they see fit, why do they not attack?”

“I do not know, sister,” Celestia said with a frown. “This puzzles me just as much as it does you.”

“Can- can I go now?” Carrot Top asked carefully.

“You may, though I would ask that you and your husband remain in Canterlot for a period,” Celestia said as she got up from her throne. “If memory serves, your husband has a great deal of knowledge concerning different languages, correct?”

“That is correct, though his skills are more focused on written language,” Carrot Top answered honestly.

“That will do. I wish to extend a commission to him, to use his talents in a project that we are currently engaged in. As soon as he is up, I would like you to tell him about it,” Celestia said as she came to stand at her sister's side.

Carrot Top's face lit up at that as she sunk into a bow. “I'm sure he would be thrilled, Your Highness,” she said, then turned to leave.

Luna waited until she had left, then turned towards her sister. “What is this commission you spoke of?” she asked curiously.

“I thought that he might be of some use in translating some of the alien writings we have recovered,” Celestia said with a shrug.

Luna just gave her a knowing stare at that. “You know as well as I that that effort has proved fruitless. What is your real motivation here?”

Celestia sighed at that. “They know quite a bit about what's going on, and have had an enormous amount of luck so far in this matter. Not only were they the first to contact and talk with ~Alex,~ but they also met, and survived, a meeting with our alien enemies,” Celestia said, her gaze locked onto where Carrot Top had left the room. “At this point, I feel we could use any advantage that we can get. Even if it is blind luck.”

Luna nodded at her sister’s words. “So, they are to be read in?” she asked curiously.

“I already read her in before you arrived. Written Script will have to be read in by someone else, as he keeps fainting whenever he sees either of us,” Celestia said with a grin.

“Do you think we will break him when he learns of the ‘commission’ you have extended?” Luna asked, her grin just as wide as her sister’s.

“I imagine that will probably be the case,” Celestia said with an exaggerated sigh.

Luna giggled at that, then grew serious again. “Well, at any rate, let's take a look at that message,” Luna said, gesturing towards the guard holding the box.

The lieutenant in question levitated over the alien device, then saluted. “We've already scanned it for all known harmful substances. Other than the fact that it is in much better condition, it appears identical to those other black boxes recovered from the crash.”

“Thank you lieutenant,” Celestia said as she examined the box. It indeed was identical to those other boxes, except for the rather obvious red button on the side, as well as a picture of a hoof pressing said button engraved on the back.

“Have you talked with ~Alex~ yet about what these things are?” Celestia asked her sister.

“I have. It is apparently one of those 'calculation devices' that he spoke of earlier,” Luna said carefully. “Apparently, they have a large number of uses, not just enslaving the minds of others. He compared them to a multitool, though instead of a knife, its most prevalent feature is the storage and processing of information.”

Celestia hummed her understanding at that. “So, I guess we just press this button, then?” she asked uncertainly.

“I would assume so. However, I would stress that we exercise caution. Despite their peaceful interaction with Carrot Top and Written Script, this could very well be a trap,” Luna warned.

“Agreed. Let's not endanger anypony else but ourselves,” Celestia said as she formed a bubble shield around the two of them, much to their guard's dismay.

“No, Your Highnesses! Please reconsider,” Lieutenant Star said, taking a few steps forward.

“Now, lets see what we have here,” Celestia said, ignoring the lieutenant and pressing the button.

As soon as she pressed the button, the glass front lit up, startling Celestia and almost causing her to drop the thing. She still managed to keep her grip on it, though, even when an incredibly life like image of one of the alien monsters appeared in front of her.

The creature wore the now familiar grey uniform that they had seen on many of the recovered bodies, though Celestia immediately noticed some key differences. For starters, this one had blue trimming, rather than the red on the others. In addition, this one had a strange insignia positioned over its right breast, depicting a claw superimposed over a moon.

“What do you want?” Luna muttered thoughtfully. as she examined the image in front of them.

The creature didn’t answer, or even talk. Instead, it inclined its head towards the two sisters, bringing its top most hands up to its forehead while the lower arms made an open, sweeping gesture. The image then disappeared, only to be replaced by the image of a small, silver, egg-shaped thing landing on the Canterlot airship docks.

Both sisters then watched with some surprise as the craft opened, allowing a single alien out. It then walked up to the group who had come out to meet it, most notably consisting of several Night Sentinels, as well as ~Alex~ while he was still in his monstrous form. Then, to both sisters immense surprise, the alien bowed.

This wasn’t any kind of bow, either. All four legs folded in on themselves, while the upper half lowered itself until its face was practically kissing the earth beneath it, while all four arms were splayed out in all directions.

The image changed again, this time showing the same alien giving the box that the sisters were now holding to Written Script and Carrot Top. It then disappeared, and was quickly replaced by a still image of Canterlot Castle, though this image was strange, in the fact that it had three suns and two moons positioned behind it. The image then changed one more time, revealing the alien from before, bowing itself before the two sisters as it had to the people on the airship tarmac. It then faded away, leaving behind nothing but questions for the two rulers of Equestria.

Author's Note

Well, here you go! The next chapter!

Now, I admit that I got a little impatient waiting for my editor to take a look at this. As I've said in my last blog post, my muse is a finicky, demanding one, and because of that, I'm posting this before my editor has had a chance to look at it.

No worries, though, I've already been through this several times and made several corrections and changes. However, if you see anything wrong, don't hesitate to let me know.

Chapter XIV

“What is it doing?” Bunsen Burner asked curiously. “It's just been sitting there, hunched over that desk for a while now.”

Lab Beaker just glanced up at his brother's words, then looked back at what he was doing. “Ugh,” he grunted.

“I know that it's Miss Sparkle's call on this sort of thing, but it doesn't feel right letting an animal like that run free in the labs,” Bunsen said with a sigh.

“Ugh,” his brother said again, this time a little louder.

“What do you mean it’s not an animal?” Bunsen asked, raising an eyebrow. “You've seen the corpses, the wounds, how could you not call that thing an animal?”

“Uhg.” Beaker said, a little insistently this time.

“Yeah, I'll believe it when I- hey, did you do something with my Arcanite Cutter?” Bunsen asked as he went back to his assigned task.

“Uhg,” Beaker grunted in the negative.

“Hmm... keep an eye out for it. For now, though, just let me borrow yours for a bit, you're not using it,” Bunsen said thoughtfully.

“Uhg,” Beaker said, hoofing him the tool.

However, as the two got back to work, they completely missed seeing the tool in question as it floated towards, then behind, a nearby desk, all while surrounded in a ruby red aura.

* * *

“So...” Celestia said as she dropped her shield.

“I know, I am unsure as well, sister,” Luna said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Everything we have learned about these creatures have pointed towards them being unable to be reasoned with, yet their first move since their attempt at recapturing ~Alex~ is to ask for parley?”

“Yes, this is either an obvious trap, or there is a lot more about this that we don't know,” Celestia stated dryly

“While my gut tells me that this is the former, my heart hopes that it is the latter,” Luna said as she nodded at her sister's words. “How close are we to finishing the Omniscope?”

“We have everything we need, so it should be up and running in a few weeks,” Celestia said grimly.

“Is our... substitute, ready?” Luna asked, still hating the plan.

“It is. All that is required now, is-” Celestia started to say, but stopped when she noticed a rather short unicorn by the name of Quick Wit enter the throne room, a sour expression on his face.

“Quick Wit, I am surprised to see you here. You can't possibly be done with those tests yet, has something happened?” Luna asked, a little concerned by his unexpected appearance.

“I apologize for that, Your Highness, but yes, something has happened to prevent me from carrying out your will,” Quick Wit said with a bow. “I'm afraid that not moments after you left, your sister's personal protégé came and scooped the ~human~ right out from under my nose.”

Celestia looked dubious at that. “Are you certain that it was Twilight who did this?” she asked.

“Quite certain, Your Highness. She teleported in with the look of a mare possessed. She ignored us when either I or the ~human~ tried to reason with her, all while rambling on about 'calculation devices,'” Quick Wit said as he stood up. “She asked the ~human~ if he could make one for her, then disappeared with him before he was able to finish saying yes.”

Celestia shook her head in disappointment. “Quick Wit, please head back to ~Alex's~ room, we will be there shortly. Come on Luna, I already know where she would have taken him,” she said, a little exasperated with her student.

“Do you think she means to try to solve the golem problem with these 'calculation devices?'” Luna asked curiously.

“I do. Despite her good intentions, however, this is completely unacceptable,” Celestia said, right before the two of them disappeared in a flash of light.

When the world came back into focus, they found themselves in the castle's golem labs. Immediately they spotted the still recovering ~human,~ bent over a desk with Twilight on his right, looking at what he was doing while he worked.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia said, swiftly moving towards the young mare.

Twilight immediately turned, her ears falling flat against her head at Princess Celestia's tone of voice. “Princess Celestia! Is there something the matter?” she asked as she nervously fell into a bow.

“Yes, Twilight, would you care to explain why you felt it necessary to take ~Alex~ from his room?” Celestia asked as she raised an eyebrow at the nervous-looking mare.

“Well, I- I learned that ~Alex~ here is capable of making 'calculation devices' that far outstrip anything our golems can do,” she answered sheepishly. “If we can get it running before-”

“Twilight, ~Alex~ was in the middle of some very important tests, not to mention that he is still recovering both physically and mentally from his ordeal,” Celestia interrupted. “I know you were just trying to get the Omniscope up and running before the invasion, but he probably isn't ready for this level of work, or can even prepare a 'calculation device' in time.”

“But... But I...” Twilight said, but trailed off as what she had done fully sank in.

Luna stepped forward at that point. “Twilight Sparkle, we know you were just trying to help, but what would you have done if ~Alex~ had had a flashback when you teleported him? He could have accidentally hurt himself, or others, in his attempt to flee,” she said gently. “He may even had attempted to attack someone, thinking that they were his enemy.

“I... I didn't think about that,” Twilight said as her head dipped lower. “I'm sorry.”

Celestia sighed at her student's apology. “You're forgiven, but please try to think next time,” she said as she approached the busy ~human.~ “We cannot afford to be incautious now, especially with an alien threat at our door.”

“I understand, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said as Celestia cast the translation spell upon herself.

“Good. That being said, we still need any help we can get, and ~Alex's~ familiarity with this technology may prove beneficial. If he wants, he may still help you with your project, but you must ask first,” Celestia said. She then turned towards the still working ~human,~ slightly concerned that he had not looked up once since Celestia had begun to chastise Twilight. “~Alex?~”

“Just second, Praised, have finish in moment,” the ~human~ said, a little distracted.

Celestia looked at her sister in alarm, then back at the working ~human.~ “~Alex,~ I'm not Praised,” she said, a little more firmly this time.

The ~human~ glanced up at that, and for the briefest second, Celestia saw that the ~human's~ eyes were glowing a deep red color. That glow quickly faded, however, as the ~human~ fell backwards with a strangled cry, clearly startled at Celestia's appearance.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a bit concerned.

The ~human~ didn't answer at first, deciding to instead get his breathing back under control as tears streamed from his eyes. “Y-yeah, I all right. I... I thought somewhere else second, there,” he said as his breathing became more stable.

“Where were you?” Luna asked gently.

“N-not... not matter. Different time, different life,” he said as he wiped his eyes with his ill-fitted labcoat. “It matter not, need get done.”

“~Alex,~ please, you need your rest. Also, we still need to test your magic,” Celestia said gently.

“But need this, need for protect planet. Defend from bugs. Keep free,” he said as he sat back down at the bench.

“And we understand that, but they'll probably attack long before you're able to finish it,” Luna told him.

~Alex's~ shoulders slumped as these words sank in. “Yeah, I know... just... just wanted normal,” he said shakily. “Know faster way, but not want talk alien calculation device. Not want remind of voice, force kill. Not want put alien to defend.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked quickly.

“I mean already have calculation device, just need program,” ~Alex~ said as he stood up. “But not want program alien calculation device. Not want rely on alien, save from alien.”

“Wait, we already have one of these things?” Twilight asked as she gestured towards the schematic that the ~human~ had been working on.

“Yes, but not want rely on alien creation,” he stubbornly repeated himself.

“We understand that, ~Alex,~ and you don't have to do this if you don't want to,” Luna said as she stepped closer. “Let's get you back to your room. We can talk about this some more while we run those tests.”

The ~human~ took one more longing look at the schematics behind him, before finally relenting. “Yes... let's do. Need know new magic not dangerous,” he said wistfully. He looked around a little more, before turning back and scooping up his designs. “Take with, though.”

Celestia laughed at this, as his demeanor reminded her of a child who had been told to come inside for the night. “Don't worry, you can work on this another time. For now, however, we really do need you to come with us.”

“Yeah, thanking to you,” he said as he stepped forward.

“You're welcome,” Celestia said as her horn lit up.

* * *

“This is so boring...” Rainbow Dash said as she slumped on her low-flying cloud. “How can you just calmly dig in that garden while aliens are poised to attack at any time?”

Applejack didn't even glance up from her work. “Ah'm doin this because aliens are gonna attack us,” she said, pulling another weed from the plot in front of her.

Rainbow just gave the orange farmpony a confused stare at that. “I don't follow.”

“You and me, we may not like it, but there ain't really anything we can do until the aliens arrive,” Applejack said patiently. “We don't got them fancy magical knowhow to fix up the Omni-whatever, and we ain't got anything to help them fix up any of that stuff that fell from the skies neither. We'd just get in the way, so I'm out here gardening to make sure I ain't underhoof. Really, all we can do is sit and wait until we're called upon to use the Elements to defend this place.”

Rainbow just groaned louder at that. “But I hate waiting!” she said impatiently. “I'd almost welcome them coming, if it meant that I didn't have to wait here any longer!”

Applejack turned towards her rash friend, her eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Do ya really mean that, Dash?” she asked carefully. “'Cause I've seen some of them comics that Spike is always yammering on about, and if these aliens are anything like that, then-”

“Okay, fine, I didn't mean that,” Rainbow said as she waved her hooves at the orange mare underneath her. “I just wish something would happen...”

Applejack didn't say anything else for a while, as she was preoccupied with a particularly stubborn weed. “Well, if you're so bored, why don't ya go find Pinkie? She's bound ta have something fer ya ta do.”

Rainbow just grunted at that, then rolled over till she was lying on her back.

“Or ya can go see if you can pull Fluttershy away from them animals around here for a bit, see if she wants ta do anything,” Applejack suggested.

“Nah...” Rainbow grunted as she rolled over again. “You know how hard it is to pry her away when she’s with a cute animal? I'll be lucky if we get to do anything by the end of this week.”

Applejack knew that Rainbow was just being lazy, but decided to humor her anyway. “Well, why don't ya go visit Defender, then? Ah bet he'll be hankering for some company around this time,” Applejack said as she pulled out another weed. She stopped, though, when she realized that Rainbow's silence had grown to uncomfortable levels. “Dash?”

Applejack turned towards her friend, only to notice that the blue pegasus had distinctly uneasy expression on her face, as if something had been eating at her for a while now. “I-I think I'll go find Pinkie then, that sounds like a good idea.”

“Hold up there, Dash, what's wrong?” she asked. “You avoiding Defender fer some reason?”

“No, why would you think that?” Rainbow said with a fake laugh.

“Wait, you aren't... scared of him, are ya?”

Rainbow sat bolt upright, glaring at the farmpony. “I'm not afraid of anything! Especially not him! Seriously, the guy was terrified when we first met, why would I be afraid of someone who was terrified of me?”

“Well, then why don't you go see him then? Even if you ain't scared of him, yer still pretty reluctant to go anywhere near him,” Applejack said as she raised an eyebrow at Rainbow.

Rainbow just sighed at this, then flopped back on her back. “Just drop it, okay?”

Applejack shook her head in disbelief, then got back to her gardening. “Well, just so's you know, I was planning on grabbing Fluttershy and going and seeing him later today. He's gonna need friends after this whole alien thing blows over, especially with how he looks. You're welcome to come along, if, that is, you're really not scared of him,” she said with a smirk.

Rainbow, however, wasn't taking the bait. “I'll think about it,” she said as she rolled over onto her stomach.

* * *

I don't know how long I was standing there with that stupid-looking salad bowl on my head, but it must have been a long time, because my legs had started to cramp up when they finally gave me the all clear.

“Thanks,” I said as I sat down heavily on the bed. “So... what did you find out?”

Sun gave Moon a look, who then stepped forward. “Well, we find that magic is centered on devices left behind. Not know what do, until you use, but from type of magic used, we think is control and enhance.”

I took a few seconds to process this, then shook my head. “I'm sorry, that went completely over my head,” I said, a little confused. “Enhance what, my implants? I don't even know what any of those do!”

Moon nodded at my words, though, confirming my guess at what they were saying. “Yes, enhance machine inside. Specifically, one in brain,” she said.

Reflexively, my hand went to the back of my head and lightly touched the small metallic socket positioned at the base of my skull. “It's... it's enhancing that?” I asked, thoroughly creeped out.

“Also control. You not its slave, rather it your slave. You magic take over, use for benefit, make better, make good,” Sun said reassuringly. “Think magic work only machine, though. Train could make magic work other, but for now, magic work just machines.”

“Yeah, I figured as much when I picked up that computer, and Moon told me that I could hear it through 'magic,'” I said with a sigh. “I gotta say, though, the ability to control computers has always been a dream of mine. I just wish I had gotten it through any other means.”

Sun nodded at that, a sad smile on her face. “Trial often make strong, bring out skills, powers we not know. Sometimes gain outweighs sorrow, sometimes not.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” I said with a sigh.

We sat there for a while as I pondered on what Sun had said, until finally a throat-clearing sound broke me from my musings. “Um, Alex, we have... problem,” Moon said as she levitated another one of those PDA computers in front of her.

“What is it?” I asked uneasily.

“We got this, from pony come from woods you live in. Contain message from enemy, they come three days,” Sun said, sending a shock down my spine.

“They're coming in three days?” I gasped in amazement. “I don't have any time to waste, then! I need to get that computer up and running now!”

However, as I sprung from my sitting place, Moon stopped me with a gentle pressure of her magic on my chest. “Hold, Alex, they not come to attack, at least, message not look like attack,” she said quickly.

“Wait, what?” I asked, uncertain of what I was hearing.

The two looked at each other, then back at me. “Well, not sure, but think they want talk. Talk to peace? Talk to war? Not know,” Sun said as I sat back down.

“...It's a trick. They're trying to deceive you,” I said after a couple of seconds thought. “I don't know what game they're playing, but whatever it is, it can't be good.”

“We think too, but without weapon ready, nothing much can do,” Sun said with a shrug.

I sighed at that. “What's the plan, then?”

“Plan is talk. May lie about everything, but can learn lot by lie. How lie, how speak, tell lot about enemy,” Celestia said with a grin on her face. “Been at game, long time, usually good tell lie. Not always, but usually.”

I nodded at that, then looked up at her. “Well, what do you want me to do, then?”

“You stay here. Work on golem if want, but most recover,” Luna said gently. “Will send Evening Twinkle along, to help tell what want golem do. In meantime, though, rest, recover.”

“I'm already feeling a hundred percent though!” I protested. “I want to help! Especially if they're coming here!”

“And will help, just bad idea if meet them, not know how react,” Moon said in a placating tone of voice. “Could you say how react, if run into another them?”

I thought about this for a second, then sighed in defeat. “Yeah, okay, I gotcha,” I relented as I looked down at my freakishly alien hands. They had a lot more color to them now, but that wasn't really saying much, seeing as how the rest of my body had started to turn a bit on the gray side.

The two ponies looked like they wanted to say more, but thought better, and instead choose to leave the room. After they had gone, I got up and made my way to my desk, picking up my quill as I went. Now that I was alone, I was pretty glad that I had insisted on bringing my schematic with me. It meant that I had something to occupy myself while I waited for someone else to come and tell me to stay out of the way.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! My editor has been busy lately, so he hasn't had a chance to look this one over. That being said, I'm pretty sure that I messed something up here. Oh well...

At any rate, enjoy the story!

Chapter XV

Written Script yawned widely as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. He seemed to be lying upon something soft, with someone warm snuggled up next to him. It felt nice, just lying there without a care in the world, but he knew that it couldn't last. Eventually, that alarm was going to go off, and he would have to get up and go to work.

Not wanting to let the alarm get the better of him, he decided to beat it to the punch and get up now. Grunting softly, he gently disentangled himself from his wife's hooves and sat up. However, he immediately stopped when he noticed that he wasn't in his own bed, or even in his own house.

The room he found himself in was (according to his simpler tastes) very richly furnished. The bed was a lot softer, there was real carpeting on the floor, not to mention that the windows had actual curtains rather than the shutters he was used to.

“Uh... honey? Did we become rich in the middle of the night and I wasn't awake to be there for it?” he asked as he shook his wife awake.

“Hm?” Carrot asked sleepily as she looked up at him. “Oh, good, you're awake.”

“I'm awake? We were both sleeping,” Written pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but that's only because you were taking so long after passing out,” Carrot said as she sat up next to Written.

“Well, you can't exactly—wait, 'pass out?'” Written Script said in disbelief. “What happened?”

Carrot Top just sighed at that. “Don't you remember? We were on our way to the throne room to tell the Princesses about the alien that stopped us in the forest, when you passed out in the hallway outside their door.”

Written Script rubbed the back of his head sheepishly at that. “I... I was kind of hoping that that was all some kind of horrible nightmare...” he said with a sigh. “I guess this is some kind of guest room for us to wait in until I came back to my senses then?”

Carrot Top gave him a look of barely restrained glee at that. “Well, yes and no. Yes, this is a guest room at Canterlot, but no, you aren't here to recover,” she said, but then thought better about it. “Well, at least that isn't the only reason we're here...”

“Well, why are we here then? The Princesses didn't want to interview me personally, did they?” he asked as he got out of bed.

“Nothing of the sort,” Carrot said, her grin growing wider. “They wanted to extend a commission to you!”

Written Script couldn't quite believe his ears. “Wait, you're telling me that the rulers of Equestria want me to...” he started to say, but trailed off as his wife gave him an excited nod.

At that point, it probably would have been better for Written Script to have stayed in bed, because upon hearing the news, he fell into a dead faint. Again.

* * *

“I'm glad ya could come, Twilight, otherwise it'd be kind of a one-sided conversation, if ya know what Ah mean,” Applejack said as they approached the ~human's~ room.

“It's really no trouble at all. I actually needed to talk to him myself,” Twilight said a little sheepishly.

“Oh, really? What about?” Fluttershy asked curiously. “If-if you don't mind me asking, that is...”

“Well...” Twilight paused, her voice clearly on edge. “I kind of... made a mistake earlier, and I need to apologize,” she explained, clearly not wanting to go into detail.

“Oh, okay... I'm sorry...” Fluttershy apologized, wilting a little as she spoke.

“Don't be, Fluttershy, you've done nothing wrong,” Twilight said with a wave of her hoof. “You were just curious, and it isn't a crime to be curious.”

“Well...” Fluttershy started to say, but the rest of what she said was lost as her voice grew progressively quieter. However, before anypony was able to say anything else, they were interrupted by a loud crash up ahead.

“What was that?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“It came from over here!” Applejack said, breaking into a gallop.

The other two quickly followed the athletic farm pony, only stopping when they had come upon the source of the noise. As they approached, they slowly became aware of another, unidentifiable sound. It was soft at first, but it slowly increased in volume as they approached its origin.

The source of the first sound turned out to be a food tray, dropped by the shocked-looking nurse who stood as stiff as a board in front of the recovering ~human's~ door. Why she caused such a mess in the first place was apparent as soon as Twilight and her friends took a look inside ~Alex's~ room.

The still recovering ~human~ was at his desk, busily writing something down. This wasn't at all out of the ordinary, though what was happening around the ~human~ was a different matter entirely.

Around the ~human~ was a whirlwind of paper, ink and feathers. Sheaf after sheaf of parchment hovered near him, each with a quill and inkwell furiously scribbling on the papery surface, all while surrounded by a deep, ruby aura. The sound, which was the rustling of so much paper and the scribbling of so much ink, was so loud that Twilight could only barely make out the sound of the ~human~ muttering in his strange, harsh tongue.

“What in the Sam hill is all this?” Applejack asked, not daring to take a step inside.

“I-I'm not sure,” Twilight said as she gingerly edged forward. “It... It looks like a magical surge, but its far more... I don't know... concentrated? Directed?”

“You mean, like the one when you passed your magical exam?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Didn't you say that you turned your own parents into potted plants?”

“Yeah, but this isn't nearly as potent. This may look like a lot of magic, but there is actually very little in the air. Most of it seems to be concentrated on ~Alex's~ head, though I'm not entirely certain what it's doing...” Twilight answered as she edged forwards a little bit.

“Well, what should we do? Just wait for him ta finish?” Applejack asked.

Instead of answering her directly, Twilight grabbed the still-unmoving nurse and roughly shook her back to the world around her. “Nurse Life Line, how long has he been like this?” she asked her.

“I don't know, he was... doing this, when I got here,” she said after a few seconds.

“Ponyfeathers,” Twilight said as she stomped her hoof. “Life Line, I'm going to need you to go get Doctor Tender Care, tell her that it's a medical emergency. Also, go get Doctor Level Head, he may want to take a look at the patient as well. After that, go find Princess Luna or Princess Celestia, They'll want to be apprised of this.”

“Y-yes Miss Sparkle,” Life Line said as she bolted down the hall.

“E-Emergency?” Fluttershy asked, worry filling her voice. Then, without even thinking about it, she started to move into the room, but was stopped immediately by Twilight's aura.

“You don't want to go in there. We'd probably be able to change you back from whatever you might turn into, but I'd rather not take the chance,” Twilight cautioned her.

“Wait, why would his own magic be causing a medical emergency?” Applejack asked as she raised an eyebrow at Twilight.

Twilight didn't answer. Instead, she just started walking into the room as a bright purple aura surrounded her whole body. All around her, paper and quills whizzed by, still occupied with whatever it was that the ~human~ was making them do without his knowledge. Tiny red bolts of lightning skirted along Twilight's coat as the ~human's~ magic reacted with her own, but fortunately, Twilight's spell kept her safe... for now.

However, it wasn't her safety that she was worried about.

She could have used her Failsafe Spell on the surge from the safety of the hallway, but that was incredibly dangerous for the ~human.~ Most of his aura, and his soul, was outside of his body at the moment, and without the protection that the body provided, the Failsafe could easily disperse his soul entirely.

She couldn't risk waiting for someone more qualified to deal with this, either. ~Alex~ had already been at this for a while, and it was entirely possible that he'd burn out his mana before help could even arrive, leaving him without enough magic to even keep his heart going.

It was still incredibly risky for Twilight to do this, though. The ~human's~ magic might not have been as strong as her own, nor did it have the expertise behind it to do anything metaphysically capable of puncturing her spell, but it was still quite capable of catching her off guard by firing something physical at her.

On top of that, she was going to have to weaken her protective spell the instant that she touched the ~human.~ If she weakened it too early, or by too much, she would be swept up into the arcane storm that had formed around ~Alex.~ If she weakened it too late, or too little, her spell could react violently to the magic immediately surrounding the ~human's~ body, possibly killing them both.

Therefore, it was with quite a bit of trepidation that Twilight approached the still working ~human.~ She could feel a lump form in her throat as she reached out for him, and with one final gulp, she closed the last couple of inches, touching him just as her protective spell weakened.

Instantly, the sound of the maelstrom of paper and ink stopped as ~Alex~ was pulled from his trance, quickly giving way to the sound of shattering glass and falling paper as gravity took over. He glanced up at the sudden, unexpected touch, but the brief look of shock and recognition gave way to an entirely different look as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, his form slumping forward as the convulsions started.

* * *

I was floating in a sea of blackness. All around me I could hear words, voices, speaking in languages that I could not understand. However, underlying all of that was another voice, one that whispered at the very edge of my consciousness. I couldn’t tell what it was saying, but whatever it was gnawed at me, begging me to understand.

I could not, however. I tried, but whatever the voice was saying seemed to be just beyond my ability. It seemed to eventually realize this, if its sudden silence was anything to go by. I felt sad by its sudden absence, but the feeling soon left me. In fact, all feeling seemed to be leaving me. Sensation, feeling, the ability to care, all was fading, lost in the void that surrounded me.

As I felt my very consciousness begin to fade, however, two pinpricks of warmth sparked somewhere near my center. There was a voice, yet it seemed distorted and incomprehensible. I briefly wondered what it said, but all further thought was brought to a screeching halt when the two pinpricks of warmth ignited into an inferno. Pain far greater than anything I had ever experienced lanced through my whole being, bringing with it a cacophony of sensations. A rush of taste, sight, sound, touch, and smell all briefly threw themselves upon me in a confusing mass, only to fade as soon as they had come.

The voice shouted again, this time a bit clearer, and was immediately followed by another burning inferno of sights and sounds. It began to fade again, but at a much slower rate this time.

The voice shouted a third time, and again the inferno coursed through me. This time, however, the sensations stayed with me, and I felt myself sit bolt upright, gasping for air. All around me I could hear voices, but none of them made the smallest amount of sense. I didn’t even try to understand them, though, as all my attention was centered on trying to get my breathing back under control.

As I sat there, desperately gasping for air, I felt a wetness run down my face. It took me longer than I would care to admit to recognize that I was crying, though why I found that fact embarrassing wasn’t something I could really understand at the moment. What I did know, was that I hurt all over, and I felt completely exhausted, almost as if I had run a marathon.

As the world slowly worked itself back into focus, I realized that I was in the bed that the ponies had provided for me. All around I could see the faces of the doctors and nurses were responsible for my care, all rushing about as they worked on their separate tasks. I felt a pair of hooves gently push me backwards, urging me to lie down as my breathing normalized, and I found it difficult to resist.

As the doctors began to look me over, one question bubbled to the surface of my brain. At first, I couldn’t understand it. But as my faculties began to recover, I found that I was unable to contain myself, and I just blurted it out, not even caring that those around me wouldn’t be able to understand what I was saying well enough to answer.

“What the devil just happened?”

* * *

Doctor Tender Care stepped out of the patient’s room, and was immediately beset by one of the Element Bearers that had been at the scene when she had arrived. “Well? How is he? Is he going to be alright?” the yellow pegasus asked.

“He’s going to be just fine,” Care said reassuringly. “He’s exhausted and confused, but we managed to catch it in time to prevent any lasting harm. If nothing else happens, he should be right as rain by this time tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank goodness…” Fluttershy said as she visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, I know. He needs to learn to control his magic, or something like this might happen again,” Care said as Twilight and Applejack trotted over to stand with their friend. “He’s very lucky that you three decided to show up when you did so. If you hadn’t stopped him when you did…” she said, but trailed off.

After a few moments of oppressing silence, one of the Elements finally worked past the lump in their throat to say something. “Is it okay if we go in and see him?” Twilight finally asked.

“Yes, but please try to be brief. He’s very tired, and needs to rest,” Care said as she moved out of the way to let them pass.

The three friends filed into the room, and were immediately struck by just how pale ~Alex~ looked. And for him, that was saying something, as his skin had already begun to revert to the sickly gray that they had first seen him in.

He said something which none of them understood, but that was quickly rectified by a quick glow of Twilight’s horn.

“What… what happen?” he asked again.

Instead of answering his question, Twilight decided to ask one of her own. “...What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I… I remembering...working on calculation device. Draw plans. Then inspiration, draw more. More keep coming, had write all down. Remembering think nice, if more hands, write more,” he said weakly.

“Well, I think it would probably be a good idea to refrain from working on that. At least, for now,” Twilight said as she sidled up next to the bed.

“Wait, what? Why?” he asked, his voice taking on a slightly desperate tone.

“Well, I’m not sure, I need to run a few tests, but I think your magic may have latched onto your talents,” Twilight said slowly.

The ~human~ just shrugged at that, almost confused at what she had said. “Kind already guessed that. Not explain why not work.”

At this point, Twilight was completely at a loss on how to adequately explain what had happened. Any words that she knew that could be used to tell him would either translate very poorly, or not at all. She knew that the ideal situation would be to teach him equestrian, then explain, but there were a few problems with that.

The biggest one being time.

Twilight really didn’t know how long it would take before the aliens invaded, and they really needed that omniscope up and running before that happened. Problem with that, though, is that they needed the ~human’s~ help to complete it.

However, it looked like he couldn’t safely work on what he had to do without seriously endangering his own life, since his magic seemed inseparably connected to his talents.

And they couldn’t teach him how to use his magic safely without teaching him the language first, and as it had been stated before, they really didn’t have the time for that.

As Twilight sat there debating how best to tell him this, the ~human~ suddenly had a look of understanding cross his face. “I… not understand till understanding language?” he asked, correctly guessing Twilight’s dilemma.

“Well… yeah,” she said reluctantly.

He just nodded at that, then smiled. "It okay, you tell later."

“Well, in the mean time, you need your rest,” Fluttershy said as she gently tucked the ~human~ in. “You've been through quite a lot.”

It was doubtful that he even heard everything that she said, however, since he had fallen asleep before she had even finished tucking him in.

“Well, he seems plum tuckered out, not that Ah can blame him,” Applejack said as she glanced around the mess that the ~human’s~ episode had left.

“Me neither. There must be around four hundred pages in here. And he just started working on this today!” Twilight agreed as she began collecting the pages that were strewn about the room.

“It’s a shame that so much of this got covered in ink, especially after all that hard work,” Fluttershy said as she helped Twilight gather the pages.

“Yeah, but I’m more glad that we were able ta stop ‘em ‘afore he went and killed himself,” Applejack pointed out.

“I… I didn’t mean,” Fluttershy said, wilting a little.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy; we knew what you meant,” Twilight reassured her with a smile. “Also, you don’t need to worry about the ink. This isn’t the first time that work like this has been ruined by a spilled ink bottle, and it won’t be the last. Trust me, none of his work will go to waste.”

However, as Twilight examined the ~human’s~ ink-stained papers, she couldn’t help but think that a little smudged ink was the least of their worries. If that was all they had to deal with, then they’d have this current crisis in the bag.

But as she looked over the pages and pages of notes that ~Alex~ had written in his own, incomprehensible tongue, she knew that, deep down, they would need some kind of miracle if they were going to survive any of what was to come.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! Yeah, magic's not really all it' cracked up to be.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Knight, if magic surges can really happen like that, and if they're so dangerous, why aren't a lot more foals having them and dying?"

Well, the answer is that most foals don't start out with the kind of power that either Twilight Sparkle or Alex have. Most start out with a more normal amount, and work their way up from their.

Twilight, on the other hand, was born with an immense amount of magical power for one so young, she just didn't know how to control it.

Alex may not be as powerful as her, or the princesses, but he has undergone an experience that is as close to Aeon training as you are going to get without any of the actual bits where you learn how to control that power. What I'm trying to show, here, is what I think would really happen if you gave a random Joe real superpowers: He may end up killing himself before he's even able to realize that that is what has happened. Trust me, he may have magic, but at this point it's more of a hindrance than a help.

Chapter XVI

With a small, metallic rasping sound, the seam around the golem’s middle sealed itself, causing the eyes of the golem to glow as the various enchantments in the golem reactivated themselves.

However, something was wrong this time. As it started up, the enchantments responsible for giving life to the directions embedded in its arcanite core stuttered and skipped. Instead of encountering a single block of arcanite with all the instructions for the golem’s operation carved into it, it instead encountered a network of much smaller arcanite nodes, each node being much more simplistic than an arcanite block, but altogether forming a far more complex structure that was well beyond the enchantment’s instructions to power.

However, the enchantment didn’t have the ability to think, so it followed its instructions and began feeding arcane power drawn from Equis’s magical field into the object that appeared to be the closest match to the arcanite cores that it was designed to interface with. Instantly, the whole thing became active, and the arcanite nodes began passing a wealth of information to and from the complex’s central hub of nodes and the complex’s storage device. Subroutines fired up, and in a matter of minutes the complex had finished its bootup phase and was now feeding sensory information to the central arcanite nodes, which in turn fed information back to the storage device.

After several minutes of this, the glow in the automaton’s eyes diminished, and it slumped to the floor as the central nodes took the automaton’s legs out of standby mode. With a faint creaking noise, the automaton rose to its feet and looked around, taking careful note of its surroundings.

What… what happened? Where am I? it thought as it processed the information its visual sensors were feeding it. It turned its head about to get a better look, but stopped, however, once it noticed its new form.

“Never mind where am I, what am I?” it asked in an oddly masculine voice. It remembered that it once had a body much more versatile than this one, but it also remembered that it was really more of a passenger in that body, waiting with the others while its owner got himself to safety.

“Well, at least my voice is the same as I remembered it,” it said as it stood up on its four legs. “I’m sure that if I can find him, he’ll make something a bit more suited to my needs, not to mention that the others need forms as well. Hopefully he’s not too hard to…”

The strange metallic creature stopped, however, when it noticed that it was being observed. It briefly wondered if it should run away, but quickly discounted that notion as it remembered that this was one of Alex’s friends. “Excuse me, Pink One, could you please bring me as quick as you can to Alex? I need him to make me a more suitable body,” it asked cordially.

The Pink One’s response to that was to grin widely and pick the automaton up. She said something, but the automaton could not understand her.

At that point, it could only hope that The Pink One would bring it somewhere where it could receive the help it required.

* * *

I was floating in that strange, viscous liquid again. The glass walls of my tank not only revealing the hideous monsters on the other side, but also casting my own disgusting reflection back at me, reminding me again of what I was.

Suddenly, the reflection in front of me grinned, its inch long teeth twisting in a disturbing fashion. “Why do you think they trust you? You, who have murdered hundreds. Why do you think they're keeping you around? You're a pawn, a bargaining chip. If they can't use you, they're going to turn you over as a last resort to save themselves.”

I tried to answer, to tell the accusing reflection that that wasn't true, but all that came out of my mouth was a muffled grunt as my voice was impeded by the mask I wore.

“The most delicious part about all this, however, is that you'll deserve it. You'll deserve anything you have coming to you, because–” the reflection started to say, but became increasingly garbled, until I could only make out a single word out of the hundreds that it said. As its voice became more and more distorted, its reflection also began to shift and change, until only a dark shadow remained.

Suddenly, a pair of piercing teal eyes opened in the shadows, staring into my soul with a look that I couldn't quite place. As it stared at me, the glass around me began to crack and splinter, until it shattered completely, sending shards of glass in every direction. Everywhere they struck also cracked, then shattered, destroying everything and everyone around me until only blackness remained.

“What... what's happening?” I asked, my mask somehow missing from my face.

“You were having a nightmare again. Only this time, your recent brush with death weakened you to the point where I could intervene,” said an extremely familiar voice behind me.

“Wait, brush with death? What are you talking about?” I said as I quickly spun around, trying to see the owner of the voice. I stopped, however, when I realized that the area behind me had been replaced by a place that was extremely familiar, yet at the same time seemed completely alien.

With shaking, tentative steps, I slowly walked forward until I was only a few inches from the object in the center of the room. Then, fearing that it might disappear on me, I slowly reached out my hand and laid it on the back of the all too familiar recliner.

“Is this... real?” I asked, not believing what I was seeing.

“Sadly, it is not,” the familiar voice said as its owner calmly walked into the room.

I looked up at her, almost unsure what was happening. “This... this is a dream, isn't it?” I asked Moon, my voice sinking.

Moon just looked at me with those large, sad eyes, then gently nodded her head.

“W-why did you bring me here?” I demanded as tears sprang to my eyes. “Why dredge up these memories?”

Moon shook her head at that, her hoofsteps sounding oddly muffled on the hardwood floor of my girlfriend's apartment. “I didn't bring you here. All I did was break apart your nightmare. With nothing torturing it at the moment, your own subconscious brought you to the place where you would feel safest,” she said as she took stock of the room we were in. “This is different from last time... where are we now?”

I turned my head, my gaze locked on a spot approximately a million miles on the other side of the opposite wall. “It's my... my girlfriend's apartment,” I answered, a lump coming to my throat.

Moon nodded at my words, her expression extremely sober. She then walked over to a nearby desk and gently picked up a picture frame. “Judging by how you have your arm around her, I would assume that this is her?”

I didn't need to look to know what she was talking about; the picture was so familiar to me that I could have drawn it in my sleep. “Yeah... that's her,” I said as I sat down, my head cradled between my hands.

“What's her name?” Moon asked softly.

“C-can't you just read my mind or something?” I asked her, not really wanting to open this can of worms. “Find out without my input? Because I'd really rather not discuss her.”

“In your present state? Yes. However, I do not wish to intrude upon things that you do not wish for me to see,” she said as she gently replaced the photo.

“Heh, isn't it a little late for that? You're already 'intruding' in my head,” I responded despondently.

“True, but I believe you recall our previous discussion about nightmares?” she reminded me gently.

I just snorted at that. “Well, why don't you just clap your hooves together and wipe the nightmares from my brain then? You said that my defenses are weakened now, why not just force me to never have these nightmares again? Would certainly help me if I was able to sleep uninterrupted.”

She didn't answer at first. Instead, she picked up the photo in her aura again and trotted over to me, her eyes locked with mine as she drew closer. “The intricacies of the mind are extremely... delicate, and doing such a thing would do far more harm than good,” she said, her gaze never leaving mine. “Yes, I could erase your pain, the memories that cause you such distress, but that would mean I would have to erase a lot more than that.”

“Wait, what?” I said, not really liking the sound of that.

“In order to remove the nightmares in the way that you suggest, I would have to wipe the part of your mind responsible for storing those memories that cause them. However, that would also remove the memory of your fallen comrades, as well as the memory of how you came to be here. More importantly, however, it would erase all memory of her as well,” Moon said, holding up the picture for emphasis.

As soon as my eyes fell on Valerie's beautiful face, my entire mind locked up. Her beautiful dark skin seemed to glow, and her piercing gray eyes looked like they were gazing into mine. As I stared, I noticed that her smile looked almost... reassuring. “Would you really want me to erase her memory?” Moon asked me, breaking me from my trance. “Could you just cast aside every happy memory you've ever had with her, as if they didn't matter?”

“No, I could never do that,” I responded without hesitation. Forget Valerie? I'd truly be a monster then…

As I thought this, I looked up at the blue pony with hope in my eyes. “...You're really here to help me, aren't you? No ulterior motives, no tricks, you really just want to help me?”

Moon sighed as she returned the picture to its resting place. “I do. Though, I had hoped that would have been apparent by now.”

It probably would have hurt less if she had just slapped me in the face with one of her hooves. I could take physical pain, I was no stranger to it. What I couldn't take, however, was the hurt and disappointment in her voice. Sure, she was mucking about in my head, but it wasn't as if she was malicious about it.

Time after time I had mistrusted these people, measured them against my own race's values and history, only to be proven wrong at every turn. Sure, there were similarities between our peoples, but there were also more than enough differences.

So much, in fact, that any assumptions that I made should have immediately been assumed to be wrong.

“I'm sorry,” I apologized to her. “Trusting... isn't really my strong suit at the moment. I'm trying, I really am, but it’s still kind of hard to believe that all of this is really happening—that there are actually people who want to help me.”

Moon just smiled at that, her eyes filled with compassion and understanding. “I know it’s hard to change sometimes, but I have learned from from experience, however, that there are some things that are just too big for us to handle on our own.”

“Yeah, you ain't kidding,” I said as I glanced around. “By the way, why are we still here? I figured the dream would have changed by now.”

“Dreams are usually like that, but I've done a few things to this particular one. Normally, you would have started another nightmare by now, but I've been wanting to have a nice, coherent conversation with you for quite some time now, and a nightmare at this time would have been counterproductive to that end. Not to mention that any conversation we might have during the daytime hours would be hampered by the problems that our translation spells have with your language,” she said as she sat down in front of me. “Despite the regrettable circumstances that have weakened you to this point, it still gives us a unique opportunity to finally talk, and to clear the air about a few things that I'm sure that are confusing to both of us.”

I nodded at this. “Yeah, I guess it does,” I said with a smile. However, my smile quickly sank into a worried frown as what she said finally sank in. “But, what happened to me? Why was my life in danger in the first place?”

She sighed at my words, then shook her head. “I am afraid that the answer to that isn't the easiest to understand, especially given your background,” she said with a shake of her head.

I frowned at this, then leaned back, my arms folded across my chest. “Try me, I think you'll be surprised at what I can and cannot understand.”

Yeah, she may not have meant it in that way, but I always got riled up when my intelligence was called into question.

Moon gave me a piercing look at these words, then shrugged in resignation as her horn began to glow. “Fine, but do not say that I did not warn you,” she said as an image of myself appeared next to her...

* * *

Twilight slowly made her way back to her room, her hooves dragging as the exhaustion finally caught up to her. She had been without sleep for a few days, and while coffee was a great way to fend off the exhaustion, it never did the same thing that sleep did.

With a huge yawn, she opened her bedroom door, only to be blasted back as something pink, energetic, and very, very loud sprang onto her as soon as the door was opened.

As soon as the two stopped rolling, Twilight found herself on her back, with two pink hooves on her chest and a wide, manic grin filling her vision. “I found you!” Pinkie Pie said as she jumped off her friend.

“Ghah! Pinkie? What in the world?” Twilight said as soon as she had caught her breath.

“Now it's your turn to find me! Make sure that you count to a thousand, okay?” Pinkie said with a bounce.

“Pinkie, I'm really not in the mood for this,” Twilight said as she got back to her hooves. “I've had a really exhausting day, not to mention that... Well, let's just leave it at 'exhausting,' okay?”

Pinkie's features turned down in a pouting frown at that. “Aw, that's no fun! I went through all that trouble to find you, too! Some of the ponies down at the labs were really rude when I went looking for you there, too!” she said as she puffed out her cheeks a bit.

Twilight shook her head at that. “I'm sorry they were like that, Pinkie, but we didn't exactly bring them on board for their people skills. They're here because they’re the top scientists we have in their respective fields.

Pinkie shook her head at Twilight's words. “Just because you're a super smart, smarty pants, doesn't mean you have to be a grump,” she said with a frown. “Anyway, it's okay if you're too tired to play! I found a new, super fun new friend while I was in the labs, and I'm sure that we’ll have plenty of fun while we wait for you to wake up!”

Twilight frowned at this. “Pinkie, those scientists are very busy, and can't be bothered to play with you. Especially since they're working on a way to save us from the coming invasion,” Twilight reminded her.

“Oh, don't worry, the friend I made isn't a scientist,” Pinkie said with a bounce. She then turned towards the door that Twilight had opened, the grin on her face turning maniacal again. “Come on, Clanker! Let's go play hide and seek while Twilight sleeps!”

Twilight glanced towards her bedroom, irritated that Pinkie had let someone in that she didn't know, only to have her jaw drop in amazement as a small mechanical cat loped out of the room, its segmented, metal tail swishing back and forth as it crept up to Pinkie Pie. At first, Twilight thought it might be one of the two Minotaur's pet golems from the lab, but that didn't quite seem right. For one thing, its movements were far too fluid and catlike to be one of theirs. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that it was made of metal, Twilight could have sworn it was a real, living and breathing cat.

The notion that it was one of the minotaurs was further smashed to pieces when it looked up at Pinkie and spoke.

In ~Alex's~ native tongue.

“Pinkie, what is that!?” she asked in amazement.

“Well, I call him Clanker, on account of all the noise he makes whenever he walks! But I don't know his real name, on account of how he only talks like how ~Alex~ talks. He's really nice, though, and really friendly! Though he keeps glancing around sometimes, almost like he's looking for someone,” Pinkie said with a thoughtful look in her eyes. She suddenly brightened up, however, and kneeled down until she was eye level with the metallic automaton. “Hey, I bet you're already playing hide and seek! How about you and I go looking for whomever you're trying to find?”

Before Pinkie and Clanker could run off, however, they were stopped as a purple aura encased them both. “Pinkie, I think I already know who 'Clanker' is looking for. Also, I'm going to need you two to come with me,” Twilight said with worry in her eyes.

“Okey-doky-loky!” Pinkie said, completely ignoring the worried vibe that Twilight was sending her.

* * *

“I really wish you'd send someone else in your place, sir,” Yvtil said disapprovingly. “At least take some soldiers with you!”

“I already told you why I can't,” Hazalk said as he scrolled through the list of things he would need for his trip. “Even though they don't have interstellar capability, if their abilities are anything close to the Quzin, any troops short of a battalion would prove absolutely useless.”

“Yeah, but it would at least send a statement!” Yvtil implored.

“Yeah, 'fear us, we're invading.' I'm trying to put them at ease, not put them at even higher alert,” Hazalk retorted. “If we're going to have even a shot at a peaceful resolution to this debacle, we need to show them that we're not all psychotic mass murderers, and that starts with a show of trust.”

Commander Yvtil shook her head in disbelief. “Yeah, but a show of trust is going to mean nothing if they kill you before you're able to establish communication. Then where would we be? Please, just let me go in your stead.”

Captain Hazalk just wiggled his antenna at her. “I can't do that. Not only does it send a more positive message if I go, but protocol dictates that the most senior officer available is present during any official negotiations with a new species.”

“Then let me come with you! Surely you'll need my help if-”

“Yvtil, I can't let you come with me for the same reason I can't bring any guards. Besides, I need you here in case any traitors, or Quzin, arrive while I'm down there,” Hazalk said as he stepped into the shuttle bay.

The shuttle bay was currently filled with engineers, all running a complete diagnostic on the shuttle Hazalk would be taking down to the planet in a couple of days. It was a simple thing for the Krin to land and take off from an alien planet, but the tidal forces caused by the hypervelocity star complicated matters, making it a number one priority that the shuttle was ready, lest it break apart from the gravitational forces that surrounded the planet. “You're the only one I trust in this situation to either talk the Quzin down, or chase off the traitors that arrive. Though, if too many show up, I'm counting on you to get out of the system and come back for help without me.”

Yvtil shook her head at that. “We can't leave without you, sir,” she said with a tap of her leg on the metal deck plating.

“Please, as much as I appreciate your loyalty, we'll be much better served if you go for help. I'll be fine with the natives, even if it's from the inside of a brig, and that’s not even touching on the fact that I’lll be able to provide them with advice on how best to deal with the traitors while you go and fetch a Quzin armada,” he said with a twitch of his antenna.

“Just... just please don't get yourself killed down there, sir,” Yvtil said with a shake of her head.

“I can only try,” the captain said as he carefully inspected his engineer’s work. “Just... make sure that the old bird is still in one piece once I get back, okay?”

“I'll try, sir,” Yvtil said with a salute.

“Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have quite a lot to prepare before I just saunter into the metaphorical Kashhinka den. At this point, I’m praying that the queen isn't feeling feisty, otherwise this could get... unpleasant,” he said as he approached his chief engineer.

“At this point, we can only pray,” Yvtil said as she turned and left the shuttle bay.

Author's Note

So, my editor is unavailable for the time being, so this comes to you without him ever taking a look at it. However, several of you had given me some pretty good input when I release my sneak peek blogpost, so I'm feeling pretty confident about letting you guys see this!

Anyway, I know that I said last chapter that this one would have a lot more kick to it, but I quickly realized while brainstorming that I'd need one more connecting chapter before I got to the real meaty stuff.

On a slightly related note, me and my buddies now have a Twitch channel! Everyday we're going to try to stream at about 5:00pm MST. We'll be playing video games (we take requests), maybe argue about random crap, and generally try not to kill each other over the internet.

Or maybe we will. If you guys really want to see that kind of thing.

Anyway, we're calling ourselves CollectiveDysfunction, and I would really appreciate it if you guys swung on by and took a look. If we're able to get enough viewers there, as well as on Youtube once we start making videos, I hope to be able to support myself with this, and by extension, bring you more of these updates at more regular intervals.

We're still new at this, and we can't completely agree on what to play to entertain you guys with, but we're willing to try out anything, and to make ourselves look like complete fools over the internet. So please, bombard us with suggestions!

I'm not asking for money, all I'm asking is that you watch, (hopefully) be amused, and keep coming back for more!

Please... don't make me beg... :fluttercry:

Chapter XVII

“...So, basically, what you’re saying is that magic is like a battery that powers the whole body, but can also be used to shape the world around us. However, when I accidentally used my magic while working, I didn’t leave enough of it inside myself to keep my basic functions going,” I summarized for her.

“I’m unsure what a ‘battery’ is, but that is an apt description of what happened,” Moon said after a moment’s thought.

During our long dream session, I had learned a lot from her, and despite our differences in terminology, I was pretty sure I had gotten the important stuff.

For starters, the abilities I’d seen the ponies perform really were magic, just not the magic I knew from my gaming and roleplaying days. In fact, it wasn’t even like the magic from our ancient mythology. This ‘magic’ really was more of a science, which, to be fair, was what all magic was when you really got down to it: science that wasn’t fully understood.

Here, for some reason, it was understood (at least to a certain degree), but was still called magic. Not really sure why, but I’m sure the reason for it has its roots in the society's history and social background, just like anything back on my world.

Anyway, I learned quite a few things that would have completely rocked the scientific community back home, not to mention shatter everything we ever thought we knew about the universe around us.

The first—and probably most important— thing that I learned was that souls really did exist. They weren’t some abstraction of the conscious mind, or a myth, but an actual part of the living body that could be manipulated and interacted with.

Magic was simply a measure of the amount of change a soul could make on the universe around it.

When I said change, though, I meant change. Apparently, if you knew what you were doing, and you had enough power at your disposal, even the laws surrounding the four other forces of the universe could be superseded by the laws that this ‘magic’ worked by. The ponies didn’t break the laws of physics per se. Rather, they were able to take advantage of a higher law that overruled the lower laws.

This part of her explanation actually was the easiest for me to believe, surprisingly enough. I mean, for the longest time, humanity had said that flight was impossible, at least until someone had figured out a way to overcome the effects of gravity through the principals of aerodynamics or, going back even further, the principles of buoyancy. No laws had been broken, but it still appeared as if they had.

I’m not saying that I comprehended the intricacies behind this power—I’m just saying that I now knew why it was possible for a four-foot pony to levitate a thousand-pound rock or to control the weather. They weren’t breaking the laws of physics. Rather, they were simply superseding them with a higher law.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: Alex, how on Earth could you be so freakishly calm about this? How could you just sit there and accept what she was telling you at face value, without so much as batting an eye?

Well, the simple fact of the matter was that I wasn’t on Earth anymore. In fact, I was so not on Earth that it was entirely possible that I wasn’t even in the same galaxy anymore.

Not only that, but I had seen with my own eyes some pretty unbelievable feats, many of which were by my own hand. If this power could actually be explained in a scientific manner that didn’t involve at least one repetition of the phrase: ‘it’s magic, that’s just how it works,’ then not only was I on board with it, but I’d probably support it with everything I had if I ever got home.

That’s not to say I wasn’t curious as to its inner workings. Of course, I had questions—a lot of questions. Still, at least I could let my mind rest for a bit, knowing that the magic I had seen here was actually explainable, and not just some unknowable force.

Most of my questions could wait, but there was one that stood out in my mind that I just had to ask. One that completely refuted everything that Moon had told me so far. “So, if every living thing has the ability to use this ‘magic,’ then why didn’t I have any of these powers back home? For that matter, why didn’t any humans have these powers back home?” I asked her.

She just shrugged at my question, the look on her face genuinely confused. “I do not know. After all, I have never been to your home world. I have some hypotheses, but without more information, it would only be speculation.”

“Well, since you know more about this kind of thing than I do, I think I’d like to hear your hypothesis,” I said after a bit of thought.

Moon took a deep breath at these words, then looked me in the eye. “All magical abilities and spells require the caster to have three things: a soul, the knowledge required for the ability, and a strong magical field to serve as a power source.” Her voice had taken on an authoritative tone as she slipped into a lecture. “If just one of these things is missing, then it is impossible to perform magic.”

“So, what are we missing? Knowledge?” I asked her thoughtfully.

“No. Even without the knowledge to perform spells, you would still notice some abilities that would have no logical explanation, simply because you possess the basic knowledge of how to move your bodies. From there you would learn and create more complex and powerful abilities, eventually developing spells.” She shook her head. “This is how all the sapient people of my planet learned magic, and I believe that that is how your people would learn as well.”

“Well, if it’s not that, then what could it be?”

“When we first spoke, you told me an extremely interesting fact about your world: you do not have anything there that remotely resembles magic. Do you remember the question I asked you afterwards?”

I thought back on that for a second, then nodded my head. “Yeah, you asked me how we controlled the weather and the sun. But… why did you ask me how we controlled the sun? I’ve been thinking on that for a while now. You couldn’t possibly mean that…” My voice trailed off when I noticed her expression did not change.

“I also asked you how your star worked, and you told me that your planet revolved around the star once every year. At the same time, your planet spins at a rate of one revolution per day. I do not pretend to understand how that is supposed to work, but that is not how our star functions.” She raised her eyebrow as she said this.

“But… how does…?” I trailed off again when I noticed that she was shaking her head.

“Because of your background, it would do you no good for me to just tell you, as I am unsure you would even believe me.” I mirrored her action with my eyebrow at that, but did not interrupt her. “I believe a more… practical demonstration would be in order.”

I folded my arms at those words. “Fine, but I expect a full explanation later.”

“I would not expect anything less,” she said with a smile. Her smile morphed into a frown, though, as she came to what she really wanted to talk about. “At any rate, based on all available information, I would guess that the reason you did not have magic is not that you do not possess souls, or that you do not posses the knowledge to enact even very simple magic. Your race probably has already performed some form of magic already, yet never recognized it as such due to the extreme simplicity of the magic you have used.”

I hummed in thought about this. This was probably where all those legends of magical abilities and superhuman feats came from, though from what she was saying, those feats were probably blown way out of proportion. “Well, why wouldn’t we have ‘more advanced’ magic, then?” I murmured, though Moon apparently heard me.

“I believe what your people lack is a sufficiently strong magical field. To be precise, your planet, star, and moon do not generate fields sufficiently strong enough to allow magic’s use or development.”

I thought about this for a bit, then nodded my head. “Well, that theory makes more sense than anything I was thinking about that could have explained it.”

“Anyway, as soon as you wake up, we will—” she started to say, but stopped as she tilted her head, almost as if she were listening to something.

“What is it?” I asked her.

“I have to leave you now. Something has happened, and I need to see what it is. I hope the next time you dream, you will allow me in to help you so that we may talk like this again.”

“O-Of course!” I stuttered. “I feel kind of bad now that you had this much trouble to begin with. I wasn’t even aware that I was preventing you from getting in!”

“I understand. I would like to talk to you more on that later as well, but for now I must bid you farewell,” she said as the dream distorted and broke apart, taking her with it.

“Goodbye,” I said as I woke up.

* * *

“How is it doing that?”

“Doing what? It doesn’t look any different to—OW!”

“Open your eyes, Tusk Breaker! Not only is your precious automaton actually moving like a real cat for once, but it’s also speaking a language!”

“Yes, because of my brilliant work. The speaking thing is clearly a glitch though, one that I’ll be all too happy to sort ou—OW!”

“You’re not touching that thing. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“But that is my personal property! I can do with it what I want!”

“Yes, but not only are you my subordinate in our joint effort with the Equestrians, but also my subordinate in our clan! You so much as even touch that thing and I promise you this: not only will you never work again, but you’ll also find yourself quickly banished from the Isle of Minos.”

“You cannot be serious!”

“I am dead serious.”

“Thank you, Thunder Hoof,” Celestia heard Twilight say through the door.

“What are they talking about, sister? And why did you think it important enough to break me from my Dreamwalk?” Luna asked as she approached. “I finally managed to get through to him, too.”

Celestia turned at her sister’s voice, a sheepish grin on her face. “I am sorry for that, Lulu. Had I known things had progressed so far, I would have waited on this until later,” Celestia said quietly. “While you were in there, were you able to pick up any of ~Alex’s~ language?”

“A little. I believe that I may be proficient enough to convey basic meanings, as well as understand basic concepts, but it will take more than two successful Dreamwalks to understand it completely. I also believe that there may be sounds necessary for the ~human~ tongue that we cannot make, and vice-versa.”

“I see. That may prove troublesome later on, but for now, it should be enough for you to question it, then,” Celestia said as she opened the door for them.

“Question what? And why can’t we… just use… the…” Luna started to say but stopped herself when she saw what was on the table in the center of the research laboratory.

There, sitting on the table while surrounded by the best golemancers on all of Equis, was a small metallic cat, clearly of minotaur design. However, despite the fact that it wasn’t moving much from its position, Luna could easily tell that there was something about it that was very different from the automatons she was used to, due to her years of experience in dealing with golems in the past.

And it was clear to her that this thing was anything but a soulless automaton, simply by the way it flicked its tail back and forth.

“Where did that come from? Did you say that this thing was speaking?” Her voice was tinged in disbelief. “What did it say?”

Immediately, all the scientists in the room turned, and fell into bows at the sight of the Royal Sisters. “Your Highnesses!” Twilight shouted as she fell into a bow.

“Please rise.” Celestia waved at the assembled ponies, griffons, and minotaurs.

“Also, please answer my question,” Luna said as she slowly approached the metal cat on the table. “Where did this thing come from?”

At this, a pink hoof near the back of the crowd shot into the air, quickly followed by a bubbly answer. “Oh! I know! I found him behind that desk over there with a bunch of sciency-looking things!” Pinkie Pie wore a manic grin as she bounced around the crowd and into view.

Celestia nodded at this. “And to answer your other question, we have no clue what the strange automaton has said, simply because it seems to only be able to talk in ~Alex’s~ native tongue.”

Luna quickly turned back to the small automaton, her gaze becoming calculating as she studied it. It returned her gaze with an almost indifferent one as it continued to flick its tail back and forth. “Then why have you not used the translation spell?” she asked them.

“We did, Your Highness, but all attempts to use that spell have failed for some reason. We want to run a scan on it, but we’re afraid that that might damage whatever is being used to give the automaton life,” Twilight hurried to explain.

Luna turned towards her sister at those words. “Is this why you woke me from the Dreamwalk then? You were hoping I had gleaned enough from ~Alex~ to be able to question it?”

“My first choice would have been to go to ~Alex~ himself, but due to his low mana, he would have passed out after only a few short minutes,” Celestia answered.

Luna nodded at this, then turned back towards the small cat. “I don’t know how well I’ll do, but I’ll do my best.” she said doubtfully.

* * *

The small metal cat watched impassively as the strange alien creatures continued to argue in their musical tongue, not really caring what they were arguing about. It spent a couple of CPU cycles wondering why that was a bad thing, but just couldn’t figure it out on its own. “There may be something wrong with me. I definitely remember being able to feel a lot more than this,” it said thoughtfully.

As it said this, its tail continued to whip around in a distinctly feline fashion: It had found the arcanite cores hidden in the various limbs, and had found the code written on those cores sorely lacking. It had remembered how cats were supposed to move, and had adjusted the instructions accordingly.

It wasn’t really sure why it had done this, or how it had done this, for that matter, but it knew that it just felt right to move like this in its current body. “Still, just because I can move properly doesn’t mean that I should stay inside this form. It may be restricting my emotional range and even my memories,” it said to itself as the argument around it became more heated. It then looked up at the surrounding aliens, its eyes focusing on the purple one that had brought it here. “Look, as interesting as the implications of my existence are, I really need to see Alex. He needs to fix me as soon as possible.”

The automaton’s request fell on deaf ears however, since the surrounding aliens were incapable of understanding the golem’s language. Despite this, the small creature just couldn’t get itself worked up over it. It felt as if it should worry more about that, but frankly, it found it hard to get worked up over anything.

It knew that something wasn’t quite right about that, but at the current time, it really couldn’t do anything about it. All it could do was wait until the aliens finally took it to its creator. Well, not really my creator. Just the one who is responsible for my current form, it thought to itself as the door opened, revealing the royal-looking pegasus/unicorn hybrid from before, as well as the blue one that it had only seen through Alex’s eyes.

It watched impassively as the two approached, wondering briefly what they were talking about. Well, obviously me, but what about me? it thought as the blue one came closer.

She stopped just inches from the table and gave the small automaton an odd, searching look before turning her head back towards the white royal. After a few more words, she turned her head back towards the automaton and cleared her throat.

“...Excusing me?” she asked hesitantly.

“Finally, someone who can speak English!” the automaton said as the tension it didn’t know it could feel was released. “I apologize for being so forward, but could you take me to see Alex?”

“...Alex? Yes, Alex. Alex sleeping. Need sleep, cannot disturb. Take later, yes?” she asked in incredibly broken English.

The automaton thought about this and found that it had absolutely no opinion over this information. It was sure that it should feel impatient, but for some reason just couldn’t get itself worked up. “That is fine. I have waited for a long time. I can wait for a few more hours,” it said as it laid itself down.

The blue unicorn/pegasi—Moon, if the automaton remembered correctly—looked at the metallic cat with a steady, searching expression. “Who are you?” she finally asked.

The cat looked down at its paws at this question, seriously considering her question. “I’m not sure that is correct. Instead, ask who I was.”

Moon looked unsure about this, then cleared her throat again. “Who were you?” she asked nervously.

The cat looked up at her, then back down at its paws. “It’s funny. I know I should feel angry, or at least jealous of my old life, but the most I can feel right now is a small sense of loss. My name is—was Robert Cowley, and I was one of the humans taken from their homes by the aliens, just like Alex,” Robert said.

Moon’s eyes widened at this as she took a quick step back. “But, you dead,” she said, her voice quaking with a tinge of fear.

Robert wasn’t listening. “That’s right, I was a he, not an it,” he thought out loud as the memories trickled back. He then looked up as what Moon had said registered in his mind. “And I think you’re right. I think I did die…” he murmured as Moon started to talk extremely fast to the other aliens in the room.

Wonder how I forgot about that? he pondered as he slumped down, slightly depressed at the memories that he was remembering. If I had known that being autonomous again was going to be like this, I probably would have stayed in Alex’s head.

However, as he watched the ponies gasp and start running in each and every direction, gathering tools and equipment of some kind, he couldn’t help but feel like a leaky memory was the least of his concerns.

Author's Note

So here's the next chapter! I apologize for how much exposition is in this chapter, but I needed to lay some ground rules for how magic works in this world. Now, since my editor asked about it, I'm going to answer. If you don't want spoilers, just skip the blacked out areas.

No, arcanite isn't an oxidized metal, or any kind of alloy. It is an element. They just like to add the -ite at the end because.

No, I didn't make up arcanite, the ponies just call it that. It is actually a metal that we've discovered IRL, but story-wise have no idea it is magically reactive since earth's magical field is so weak.

Even though he used magic from Equis's field, there is still a reason why he has to use his own mana as well. I'll explain later when he is actually learning how to control his power.

Anyway, that's the end of the spoilers. I'm getting a new computer soon, so I'll actually be able to do let's plays on youtube (my current computer is a piece of crap). I'll link up a video once I have something out. :pinkiehappy:

Chapter XVIII

I don’t know for how long I passed in and out of consciousness after the conversation I had with Moon, but eventually my body decided to make up its mind and stay awake, despite the fact that I was still very tired.

At least, it felt like I was tired. My body felt sluggish, but somehow my brain seemed like I had drunk three Monsters in quick succession. “What time is it?” I asked the empty room as I sat up.

However, since the room showed a distinct lack of timepieces or people, I was left to my best guess as to the current time. I wasn’t troubled by this though, as I had spent quite a few months before this moment with the sun as my only timepiece.

With a flick of my wrists, I threw the blanket off of myself and swung my legs out over the side of the bed. I noticed that I was still wearing my Awesome Pants of Wonder, though this didn’t bother me in the slightest. In fact, when I was back on Earth, I would often fall asleep wearing my clothes, so this actually made me feel more at home. Without much ceremony, I got up and made my way over to the window of my room, yanking open the curtains and sliding open the window as soon as I had reached it.

“Now all I need is some bacon and eggs, and this’ll be the perfect beginning to the day!” I said as I looked out at the stunning view. From where my window was, I could see the inner courtyard of the castle, the city beyond, as well as the beautiful countryside far below the mountain, all bathed in the warm light of the rising sun. In the skies around the castle itself, I could see various Pegasi all going about their day as the ground-bound ponies in the city itself did the same.

I wasn’t really sure why I was so happy, but I had a hunch that it probably had something to do with the fact that last night was the first time in a long time that I’ve been able to sleep without waking up in a cold sweat, screaming about a particularly vivid nightmare. However, as I watched all the happy-looking natives go about their day, a nagging little voice in the back of my head intruded upon my good mood.

This is all going to go up in flames if you can’t get their weapon to work.

With a grim frown, I turned my back to the window and made my way to my writing desk. This time, remember not to overdo it, I thought as I picked up a quill and pulled a sheet of paper closer to me. I stopped, however, when I noticed that none of my notes from my previous work were here.

“Well, that’s no good,” I said as I threw down the quill. I wasn’t sure how much time I had left before They arrived, but I knew I didn’t have enough to waste any redoing any of my previous work.

My frustrated musings were interrupted, though, by the sound of the door gently creaking open. “Aleas?” I heard Evening say.

I perked up at that. I wasn’t really sure what the word she said meant, but I was pretty sure she was checking in to see if I was awake. “I’m over here.”

As soon as I had said something, she looked over at me as she opened the door wider. Her face broke out in a grin as she trotted towards me, her horn lighting up, causing my throat and ears to tingle as she drew closer. “I am gladdened that awake you being! We… have something yours, something we find.”

“Um… are you sure it’s mine? Other than my pants, I don’t have anything that I could say that is truly mine…” I told her, a little bewildered.

“It… hard explain… Have show, then understand,” she said, waving a hoof at me. “Can teleport, take quick, yes?”

“Yes!” I said, jumping up, but quickly brought my excitement down a notch. While the last two times that the ponies had used their ability to teleport on me had been quite disorienting, it still set off all the squee that my thirteen-year-old inner child could muster at the thought of doing it again. “I mean, yes, that would be fine.”

She looked at me oddly at this, a little startled at my sudden outburst, but didn’t say anything about it. Instead, all she did was cause her horn to glow once more. “One moment.”

There was a flash of purple, and the now familiar feeling of my stomach being turned inside out, followed immediately by the room around us being replaced with the lab that she had brought me to when she first teleported me. Something was different about it this time, though. For one thing, I noticed that none of the other scientists appeared to be in the room at the moment. Well, none of them except the two minotaurs from earlier. Neither of them seemed to have noticed us, which was probably a good thing, seeing as how they had gotten into a screaming match with each other.

“Um… should I be concerned about that?” I said as I gave Evening a worried look.

Before she could answer my question, a loud bang snapped my attention back to the two Minotaurs. One of them, this one with a dark green mane and lower half, but a light blue upper half, had slammed something down on the desk and was angrily stomping his way towards me.

Well, past me really. He seemed to be on a warpath out of this room, so I moved over to let him pass. He didn’t seem to notice me until he was almost directly on top of me, at which point he did a double take as he realized who I was.

He said something to me, something angry, biting, sarcastic and witty I’m sure, but whatever it was was completely lost on me because of my inability to understand him.

His tone was unmistakable, though, as was the wad of saliva he spat right on my forehead.

While his behavior was closer to the reaction that I had expected from the natives for quite some time now, I had been pleasantly surprised time and time again that they were nothing like how I thought. If I had received this kind of treatment before, when I was still alone in the woods, I probably would have turned and ran, looking for some place to hide from the perceived threat, all while feeling incredibly depressed.

Now, though, after all that I’ve gone through, after everything that the ponies had done for me, I was surprised at what I felt towards this person. There was no shame, no sense that, somehow, I deserved this treatment, and no feeling of deep despair.

What I did feel was a deep seated rage. Lucky for him, however, not only did I have far more self-control than he did, but his actions had also left me in shock, not quite believing what had happened.

As I raised a hand to wipe away the saliva, I was faintly aware of voices nearby. One was the voice of the second minotaur, who seemed to be shouting in anger, but became a lot fainter after I heard the door slam. The other was Evening’s, who seemed to be trying to get my attention. “I’m sorry, what was that?” I said as I snapped out of whatever trance I was in.

“You doing right?” Evening asked, clearly worried at what had happened.

“Yeah… I’m fine, what was that all about?” I said as I got my breathing under control. It was taking everything I had not to let the beast out to tear that jerkwad a new one, but somehow, I was managing.

“It… have do with thing we find. Need show before explain, not explain well without show first. Guess mostly jealous,” she said, worry still clear in her voice.

I chuckled at that. “I never thought anyone would be jealous of me, especially not after everything that’s happened.”

“Not worry, ignore Tooth Cracker, he not know what do,” Evening said as she levitated me a handkerchief. As soon as I had taken the offered cloth, she started cantering towards the back of the room. As I followed her, I did my best to wipe the spittle off my face and hand, thoroughly grossed out about what had happened.

Well, look on the bright side. If you ever get home, you’ll go down in history as the first human who has ever been spat on by an alien, I thought as Evening led me into a previously unobserved room in the back.

* * *

“How do you think he will react to this?” Celestia asked as she observed the tests that her ponies were running on the survivor. Though, at this point in their investigation, ‘survivor’ was probably being too generous.

“I do not know, sister. By his own admission, he has had no experience with this sort of thing. If you recall, he believed that magic was a fairytale, and that the soul was something that some people believed in, while others did not.”

Celestia sighed at that, cradling her head in her hoof. “I’m just relieved that he didn’t pull anything from beyond The Veil.”

“Agreed, though this does present an interesting conundrum. Would this still fall within the realm of necromancy?”

“I don’t think it does. Not only did he not pull anything from beyond the veil, but historically, these fragments have never been large enough to do anything other than hold some precious or traumatic memories. What we have here is an entirely new form of magic, one that I am unsure should be explored,” Celestia said uneasily.

Luna nodded her head at her sister’s words, but otherwise remained silent.

As the two sisters thought about this new conundrum, they were interrupted in their thoughts by the muffled sounds of arguing coming from the other side of the door. Luna rolled her eyes at this, her irritation mounting as she was forced to continue listening to the two minotaurs. “Are those two still going at it?”

“Of course they are. To Tusk Breaker, this is a matter of pride now, and he will not rest until the perceived slight against him is avenged. We are lucky that Thunder Hoof is able to keep him in line; otherwise, he would have challenged ~Alex~ by now,” Celestia answered with a sigh.

“That… would not bode well. No matter how the battle turns out, we would end up being the losers. We cannot afford infighting when the enemy is on our door,” Luna said with a grimace. Thankfully, however, the argument on the other side had come to an end, allowing the two sisters a moment of respite.

At least, that’s what they thought.

Only moments after they thought the argument had ended, the room behind them erupted in shouting again. “How dare you!” Thunder Hoof shouted, his voice clearly heard even through the heavy door of the observation room.

“What was that about?” Luna asked as the sound of a slamming door could be heard.

“I do not know, but I am sure we will find out soon,” Celestia said darkly.

Almost immediately after, the door to the observation room opened, allowing both ~Alex~ and Twilight into the room. Twilight had a look of pure disbelief, while Alex had a look that fell somewhere between bemusement and anger as he vigorously wiped his face with a handkerchief.

“Is everything okay?” Celestia asked after she cast the Translation spell on herself and her sister.

“Well, Tusk-”

“It not anything. Just misunderstanding of thing,” ~Alex~ said, interrupting Twilight before she could finish.

“What do you mean, ‘just a misunderstanding?’” Twilight asked incredulously. “Tusk-”

“-Is being child. Is being distraction. More important things deal with. Cannot waste time on him. Aliens come soon, will destroy everything if weapon not work,” ~Alex~ cut in, an eyebrow raised pointedly as he looked at Twilight.

Twilight grumbled at that, but otherwise held her tongue. Celestia and Luna on the other hand, shared a look between the two of them. ~Alex~ might not want them to know what had happened, but it was still important, especially if it involved Tusk Breaker. Minotaurs had a history of becoming unpredictable if their pride was on the line, and Tusk was no exception to that stereotype.

The whole thing needed to be taken care of now before it became a problem.

“Anyway, still not know what weapon even is, or what does. All know is need calculation device to make work. Would help if told how weapon works. Could help build,” ~Alex~ said after the awkward moment had passed.

“The weapon itself is already ‘complete’. It has been for quite some time. All we really need to ensure that it works is the ability to locate our targets. Otherwise, it will do us absolutely no good,” Celestia answered him.

The ~human~ thought about this for a bit, then shook his head. “But, how know weapon work? If enemy defenses able to defend against weapon? Or if enemy able destroy weapon? What then?”

At this, Celestia just started laughing, while Twilight looked at the ~human~ with a look of horror. Luna, however, managed to keep a straight face. “Trust me, if they were to be able to withstand this weapon, we deserve to be conquered. And if it were to be destroyed, then I believe we would have far larger problems to worry about than an alien invasion,” the Princess of the Night deadpanned.

~Alex~ still did not look convinced, however. “That what everyone say, but no plan survive enemy. Want see weapon, see in action, that give such confidence.”

“Oh, you won’t be able to miss it…” Celestia gasped between her giggles.

“We will… show you later. Trust us, however, when we say that this weapon is unlike any you have seen before,” Luna said cryptically.

~Alex~ gave her a piercing stare at that, but then dropped it with a shrug. “Fine. Guess will wait. See when demonstration about sun, yes?”

Luna smiled at that, her eyes full of mischief. “Oh yes. Don’t worry, we’ll get to both of those at the same time.”

At this, Twilight looked completely lost. “Wait, why does he need a demonstration of the sun? And why aren’t we telling him that the weapon is-”

Before Twilight could finish her thought, however, she was shushed into silence by Celestia. “I will tell you later, Twilight. For now, just know that we don’t want to spoil the surprise.” Both Twilight and ~Alex~ looked completely confused at this, but they let it drop.

“Anyway, not reason come. Evening say that have something mine? Not likely…” ~Alex~ said.

“Ah, yes. We did indeed find something of yours, but a more accurate description would be someone, though that is still not very accurate…” Celestia said as she motioned towards the window behind her.

~Alex~ moved forward to look through the window, his eyebrows furrowed in apparent interest. “That cold. Is machine? How able to do?” he asked, pointing at the small, metallic cat.

“That is a golem. It is a construct that is able to perform a variety of tasks based on how much Arcanite was used in its construction,” Twilight explained.

~Alex~ opened his mouth in understanding. “It very good, very life like. Act like real cat.”

“It’s… not supposed to,” Luna explained.

~Alex~ turned to her, his eyebrow raised in confusion. “What mean, not supposed to? What supposed to do?”

Luna shook her head. “It’s still supposed to act like a cat, but it wasn’t very good at it. The minotaur responsible for its construction is the foremost expert in golems mimicking life, and he could only get to a close approximation of how a cat should act. The tail would wave back and forth, but very stiffly. It would walk and mewl, but it was very apparent that it had no heart and soul behind its actions.”

The ~human~ nodded in understanding at that, then turned back towards the window. “So, what change? Look like someone come, fix, make better.”

“Yes, that was you,” Celestia revealed.

~Alex~ didn’t react at first. Instead, he just continued to stare at the cat, his gaze a million miles away. “No, I didn’t.”

“It may be hard to believe, but while you were busy with your little work session, you did far more than just write a whole ton of schematics,” Twilight said as she got closer. “You also grabbed one of the minotaur’s cats, tore out its arcanite core, and made a completely new one for it. One that we’re hard pressed to even call an arcanite core at this point, due to the level of complexity involved.”

~Alex~ continued to stare at the creature for a little bit longer, then looked down at Twilight. “You saying I made calculation device from golem, did you?”

Twilight nodded at that. “It appears so, though you seemed to have done far more than just turn a golem into a calculation device.”

“Indeed. Not only does it act more cat-like now, but it also speaks, and has a personality as well,” Luna expounded.

~Alex’s~ head whipped back to the Lunar Princess at that, almost giving himself whiplash. “Wait, you say I make thinking machine? Intelligence Not-Its-Own?”

“It’s… a little more complicated than that. What you did… you…” Luna started to say, but trailed off as she tried to figure out the best way to tell ~Alex~ exactly what he created.

“I think it would be better if we showed him, rather than explained it to him,” Celestia interrupted as she opened the door to the observation room.

~Alex~ looked a bit hesitant at that, but still entered the room, followed closely by the three ponies. The cat had his back turned towards the door, but turned around as soon as ~Alex~ cleared his throat. “Excusing me? Who are you?”

The cat turned his head around the moment it heard ~Alex’s~ voice, and began to talk. And talk. And talk. As it talked, ~Alex’s~ eyes grew wider by the second, his frame trembling with each and every word, and his mouth wordlessly moving, repeating one word over and over again.

“What is it saying?” Celestia whispered to her sister.

“I do not know. It is talking far too fast, and I am only able to pick up a single word out of every fifty it says. I believe it is talking about new bodies for the others, though,” Luna answered.

While they whispered to each other, though, ~Alex~ suddenly turned around, his face much paler than it usually was, while a look of abject fear filled his eyes. “No.”

“What?” Twilight asked, not quite understanding what the human meant.

“No necromancer. Not bring back dead. No,” he said, not really in answer to Twilight’s question, but more likely trying to reassure himself.

“We don’t think that’s what hap-” Celestia started to say, but the human ignored her, instead choosing to walk right past her, straight towards the observation room door, all while saying that same negative word over and over again.

~“Oh dear,”~ Luna heard ~Robert~ say, yet far slower this time, so that she could more easily understand him. ~“I think I may have broken him…”~

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! sorry it kind of ended on a short note, but I've been sick, and unable to finish where I wanted this to go. Not to worry though, I should be feeling better soon, and able to get the next chapter up and running.

Anyway, I know not a whole lot of you got the memo, but me and my buddy just started making Let's Play videos! We're not going to do streaming anymore, mainly because of how our work schedules conflict with doing streaming at any appropriate time.

We haven't made any new videos in a little bit, but that's to be expected with whats been happening at work. The Walmart here has been going through a remodel, and we've been asked to come in quite ofter. Hopefully I'll be able to make a couple of new videos (and chapters) over the weekend.

At any rate, enjoy!

P.s. we're still accepting suggestions on what to play, so please comment on what you'd like to see! Just so you know, though, the "Knight Breeze Dies A Lot" series has me putting the game at the absolute hardest difficulty.

Chapter XX

With a noiseless explosion, The Purpose warped back into local space, the runes that covered its hull pulsing with energy as the ship powered down.

“How are we doing?” Akitesh asked as she pressed the button for the intercom.

“We’re running pretty smoothly, but I’m going to take the Qu-tai runes off line for now; they were making a rather disturbing sound, and I’d rather figure out why before we try that again. Also, it looks like the dimensional distorters and engines can’t handle that kind of power for extended periods of time,” Alizar responded.

“What makes you say that?” Jedon asked as he shared a questioning look with his priestess.

“Well, the runes that guide those particular systems have started to degrade. They’ll still work, but I’d rather repair the system before we even think about making another jump like that again.”

Akitesh nodded at that, her face twisted in concentration. “Noted. Mentor Vira, is the planet in range?”

“Yes, My Priestess. We appeared a bit too close to the planet’s moon, but I’ve already made a course correction to ensure that we don’t run into it,” the helmsman answered.

“Thank you, Mentor. Deacon Giralt, do you sense anything?”

The deacon at the sensor interface turned to look at Akitesh. “I do, My Priestess. There appears to be two Krin satellites in orbit around the planet. Based on their position, as well as past experience with the Krin, I would extrapolate that they either have a third satellite, or a ship, in orbit on the far side of the planet.”

“Have they detected us yet?” Akitesh asked.

“They have, yet we have received no communications as of yet.”

“Open a channel,” Akitesh said as she rose from her seat. “Attention, unknown Krin force! I am Priestess Akitesh of The Purpose. Please identify yourselves!”

The Quzin on the bridge waited for a full minute of uncomfortable silence, until finally Jedon got up to stand next to his priestess. “Maybe it is only a satellite network left by the downed craft?” he asked hesitantly.

Akitesh shook her head at that. “No, there is more to this, I can feel it. Mentor, take us around the planet, I want to see this third object.”

“Of course, Priestess.”

“Warlord Carr, raise the shields,” Jedon ordered

“I hear and obey,” the warlord at tactical said as he adjusted a few things at his console.

They didn’t have to wait very long before a Krin destroyer came into view. Akitesh was immediately put on edge by this sight, as she not only recognized the ship from her vision, but also saw that the ship’s wings were already unfolded, it’s weapons glowing with power as it waited for The Purpose to come into range.

“All hands! Battlestations!” Jedon shouted just before the Krin ship opened fire.

Right as the bridge shook slightly from the impact of the Krin missiles and plasma fire, the lights dimmed, and the bridge’s Tel-mar rune came online; a rune that not only enhanced the concentration of everyone caught in its soothing light, but also allowed them to process information much faster.

“The enemy is moving at mark four, and is trying to strafe us. Powering up our disintegrator cannons now-” Warlord Carr announced.

“No, instead deploy countermeasures, as well as our energy siphon drones,” Akitesh ordered. “I also want a line of disruption torpedoes to light up her nose.”

“I beg your pardon, Priestess, but this is clearly an act of war. We must-”

“Did I stutter, Warlord?” Akitesh asked, not even bothering to turn towards her tactical officer. “I want them alive, please do not make me repeat myself.”

“Firing now. Apologies, Priestess, I spoke out of turn,” Carr said as he relayed orders to Tactical through his console.

“I understand your hesitation, but please, trust me on this. We want them alive, and their ship undamaged, if possible,” Akitesh answered him. She then turned to her helmsman, her two left eyes closing as she thought about what to do next. “Vira, I want you to make evasive movement towards the planet’s sun. Keep the star at our back, and power up our Star Harness.”

“Priestess, you can’t possibly be thinking of throwing the star at them. Not only do we need a whole fleet for that, but it would kill them even faster than our disintegrator cannons would!” Jedon said in disbelief.

“I am aware of that. I do not want to use the Star Harness’s primary function. Rather, I believe we may need to make use of its secondary function: a solar flare,” Akitesh answered. “Do not use the Star Harness until I give the word, however: We do not want to reveal our power too early.”

“Reveal to whom, Priestess?” Jedon asked as they started to move towards the star, barely avoiding another round of plasma with their movement.

“I… cannot say. Just keep pressure on them, and inform me the instant their shields are down,” Akitesh said as she sat back down in her seat, her tail coiling up in front of her chair as she did so.

“I beg your pardon, Priestess, but without our disintegrator cannons, the enemy will be able to breach our shields before we’re able to breach theirs,” Carr interjected.

“I am aware of that. I also do not think we’ll be fighting this battle alone,” she answered cryptically.

Jedon and Carr both gave her a questioning look at that, but otherwise held their peace. “Carr, how does the Star Harness look?” Jedon asked as the ship reached its position.

Carr didn’t answer at first, his face clouding over with a look of pure confusion. “...That can’t be right…” he said after a few moments.

“What is it?” Jedon asked.

“Sir… readings indicate that the star is already harnessed to something on the planet. The aura harnessing it is strange, shifting, almost as if it were alive. I cannot synchronize with it,” Carr answered.

“That can’t be good…” Jedon said, gritting his fangs in frustration.

“It can’t be helped,” Akitesh told him with a dismissive wave. The Star Harness was merely a preventative measure anyway, in case the cowards were lying in wait as they did in my vision, she thought to herself. “Anyway, redirect all power being used for the Star Harness to the ship's shields, but keep the star at our backs for now.”

“Yes-” Carr started to say, but stopped when the Krin ship in front of them suddenly stopped firing. “Uh… The enemy has stopped. In fact, they’ve completely shut down: weapons, shields, engines. They’re dead in the water, My Priestess.”

At this, Akitesh stood up again, her face breaking out in a grin. “There we go. I want a boarding team ready in five minutes. Ensure that a medical team goes with them.”

“Y-Yes, Priestess,” Carr said after a few seconds, still clearly trying to comprehend what he had just seen.

“However, they must take a shuttle. Keep our ship at a distance, and only drop our shields when the shuttle is ready to launch,” Akitesh said as she moved towards the viewscreen. “Lower the threat level of the ship, but the crew is to remain on high alert.”

“Yes, Priestess,” Jedon said as the Tel-mar runes powered down, returning the bridge to its normal level of illumination.

* * *

Sergeant Casianon looked up blearily at the hissing, sparking noise coming from the airlock. He was faintly aware of the fact that he should be doing something about that, but between the blown off legs and the drugs he had taken to take the edge off the pain, he really couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Let the freaking captain take care of it, just let me enjoy the pink zargins in peace,” he grunted as he let himself slump down to his side. In truth, the drug he had taken wasn’t a hallucinogen, so he wouldn’t be experiencing anything of the sort anytime soon. It did, however, make him a lot more relaxed, as well as give him a bit of a high. So it wasn’t too far of a stretch for him to be cracking such a joke.

That, and the fact that he felt he needed some humor to take the edge off of the whole dying thing he was experiencing.

He looked up blearily, watching with morbid fascination as the airlock was casually cut open from the other side, the huge steel door falling forward, crushing one of Casianon’s dead team members underneath its weight. As soon as the door opened, four lith forms slithered out of the hole it left behind. “Move! Secure the… by the Maker, what happened here?” A voice said in High Quzin as all four stopped to take stock of the scene in front of them.

The hallway was covered in grey Krin blood, its owners strewn about the hallway, laying haphazardly where they had died. From the walls and ceilings of the corridor they could see a number of point defense weapons, all broken or burnt, or missing entirely, leaving nothing but smoldering stubs where they once rested.

“The… The ship’s computer…” Casianon grunted as he pulled himself into a reclining position. He heard some shuffling, slithering sounds, as well as someone shouting ‘Don’t move!’, but that hardly mattered to him at that point.

“Please, warrior, put down your weapon. Unless, of course, you’re suggesting that this crippled Krin could possibly be a threat?” Casianon heard someone ask. He blearily looked up, getting his first, real look at a Quzin without battlearmor.

The Quzin were long, but rather short when they stood up. From the tips of their tails to the top of their heads they measured in at around ten feet in length, bending in half near the middle so that they could stand upright when they slithered around. Their upper halves were highly reminiscent of a hominid’s, having two sets of arms arms, all of which ended in hand-like claws. Their scales were a dark gray, and seemed to almost glisten in the dim emergency lights that illuminated this part of the ship.

Despite so many similarities to reptilian bioforms, however, the Quzin possessed heads that were only vaguely serpentine. They had almost no snout to speak of, their faces being far flatter, with only a slightly protruding nose that sat in the center. They also had an additional set of slitted eyes, positioned just a few centimeters above their first set. All of this added up to create a face that was far more expressive than a Krin’s, allowing for a much more common range of expressions than the Krin’s twitching antennae would allow.

The Quzin in front of Casianon was dressed in a green suit, with the image of a large, red, flying reptile of some kind splashed on the front. In his right hand, he carried a green case with a similar emblem splashed on its side, while in his left he carried some kind of rod-like device that was pointed squarely at Casianon’s chest. “What’s your name, warrior?” the Quzin asked softly in Casianon’s native tongue.

“I-I’m Sergeant Casianon. W-We surrender. Captain told us to surrender, we surrender…” Casianon said faintly as a soft, soothing light washed over him.

“Shhh… It’s okay, I understand. Sleep for now,” he hushed softly as he slithered closer, the grey blood staining his otherwise pristine green lower garment. “Warrior, call The Purpose, I have the distinct feeling that we’re going to need a lot more healers. See if the Priestess will also spare a mage or two, since we'll probably be needing them before too long as well…” Casianon heard right before he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

“How are you holding up, Chief?” Yvtil asked as she applied another bandage to the reclining technician.

“I’ll live…” he grunted as he leaned forward to allow the commander to reach his back. “Can’t say the same for whoever did this to my boys and my baby.”

“I know. We’ll get her up and running again in no time, you’ll see,” Yvtil said with a twitch of her remaining antennae.

“I don’t care about that. My baby’s a thing, we can always get her working again with enough effort. My boys, on the other hand,” he said, gesturing towards the carnage laid out before him. “Those are lives we’ll never get back.”

“I know what you meant, Chief. I was trying to keep you occupied with other things, rather than dwell on your subordinates,” Yvtil said as she sat down heavily next to the wounded technician, her three remaining legs folding up underneath her. “Why did the computer do that, though? A hack? A saboteur?”

“No, at least, not like that it wasn’t. They wouldn’t have been able to gain administrative privileges like that, at least, not so quickly. We also would have spotted a stowaway on board by now,” he answered, adjusting himself a little.

At that, however, Yvtil gasped as something occurred to her. “Chief, we do have a stowaway on board.”

He looked at her at that, his antennae twitching in confusion, at least until it dawned on him what she meant. “No, we purged that traitor’s clearance from the system!”

“Yes, but he had administrative privileges before he was found out, since he was Special Operations and everything. In fact, up until he was relieved of duty, he was the highest ranking officer aboard the ship!” Yvtil pointed out.

Chief Alz pondered that for a few seconds. “It’s possible that Ilisk could have planted a virus, but-” he started to say, but stopped when he heard a faint hum coming from the door in front of them. He straightened up a bit at that, giving his commander a death glare. “So help me, if they harm my baby any more than she already has, I’m going to rip their throats out.”

Before Yvtil could answer, however, the doors to the reactor room started to glow a faint green, then were forcefully pulled apart, revealing four serpentine Quzin. Only one was armed, however, which immediately put the two injured Krin at ease.

“High Deacon, I’ve got two more down in engineering. We’ll need two more healers, as well as more mages. It looks like their power core has been heavily damaged,” the one in the lead said in High Quzin.

“Yeah, that would be our fault,” Yvtil piped up in their language.

“Smart thinking, but what if we had been trying to kill you?” one of the Quzin said as she slithered up to the two Krin, a glowing metal rod in her hand.

“We would have died anyway, whether or not our ship still had power,” Yvtil said as she groaned in relief. “Thanks for not killing us by the way. Do you know how many of my people survived?”

“I take it you’re the captain of this ship then?” the green-clad Quzin asked, her eyebrow ridge rising.

“No, you want Captain Hazalk. He’s still stuck on the bridge, the last time I checked,” Yvtil said with another groan. “I’m his second in command, Commander Yvtil, and this is our Chief Technician, Alz.”

“And you better not touch anything over there, you two!” the chief said, shaking his only remaining limb at the two, blue garbed Quzin that were inspecting the broken power core. “She may be a broken piece of junk, but she’s my broken piece of junk!”

“Apologies, archmage,” the closest of the two Quzin said with a bow. “We mean no disrespect, and will not touch anything without your guidance.”

The other one, however, did not stop his inspection of the powercore for an instant. “How in all of creation were you able to inflict this kind of damage without destroying your whole ship? It should have overloaded and destroyed you all!” he gasped in amazement.

“Trade secret. And I’m no… wizard, or whatever you call it…” Alz said as the green robed Quzin in front of him attached some kind of device to his head.

“You are the Chief Technician, yes?” the healer asked with a raise of an eyebrow ridge. “We call all those that practice any form of applied science, or have a high degree of technical skill, mages. As you are the leader of the mages aboard this ship, that makes you the Archmage.”

“Well, thanks for the respect, but I’m not exactly an archmage anymore,” Alz said, sweeping his remaining arm towards the dead bodies that littered the room.

“My apologies,” the healer said as she activated the two devices that she had placed on both Krin’s heads. “But you are still the Archmage, even if your colleagues have already passed beyond the Wall of Tears.”

Neither of the two Krin heard her, however, as they had already been rendered unconscious by the devices that she had placed on them. “Warrior, inform the Priestess that it does seem that the ship turned upon her crew. Also, inform her that, with the addition of the commander and archmage, that brings the survivor count up to thirteen.

“Actually, the count is thirty-three. Charel and her team just broke into medical, and say that most of the healers there survived, due mainly to the ship’s lockdown procedures,” the large Quzin corrected.

“That’s still not a lot. The crew compliment of this ship is three-hundred fifty. That’s a lot of dead or unaccounted-for Krin,” the healer said as she started to levitate the two broken Krin onto stretchers.

“It’s still better than our initial estimates, all things considered,” the warrior said as he turned to leave the room.

* * *

“Don’t worry kid, you’ll be fine,” Sergeant Verilo said as she sprayed the private’s wounds with biosealer. “This may hurt like the infernal pit, but at least you won’t bleed out.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t think the turret was going to throw a bouncer right then. I actually thought it had run out by that point,” the private said with a grimace.

“Sixth rule of a firefight, kid. Never assume that the enemy has run out of anything. Even if they’re dead, they might have rigged a deadman’s switch to go off right after you nail ‘em,” Verilo said as she finished wrapping the private up.

“Yes, ma’am,” the private answered weakly.

“Ma’am, we’ve ripped out the computer, and we’re installing a new one now. Corporel Swaz also reports that he can hear strange sounds coming from the other side of the exit door,” Verilo heard one of her privates say behind her.

“Good, it’s probably the Quzin. I’ve already received word from medical that they’ll be on their way,” Verilo said as she stood up. “Keep helping Jor with that spare, I’ll go see what the snakes have to say. I just hope they don’t take too long to get the door open.”

As it turned out, Verilo didn’t have to wait long at all, as they had already begun to rip it out using their strange, unnatural abilities as she entered the computer core’s main hall. “Hello? I heard that you have wounded down here?” Verilo heard someone say in Krin as soon as the door came loose.

Verilo sunk into a semi-bow as three green-clothed Quzin, followed closely by two blue clad ones as well as a soldier, entered the room. “Yes, we do. They’re all in the back, near the computer core offices. Luckily, none of my team died, though we did lose most of our computer techs before we were able to rescue them.”

“Are any of them still conscious? We need to get the life support systems back online as soon as possible, and we cannot do that without a computer,” one of the blue clad ones quickly piped in.

“We have only one, but she is also one of our best. She’s already working on getting the backup up and running, but it may take her some time. My soldiers aren’t exactly trained to help in this kind of situation…” Verilo said, but trailed off when the blues quickly slithered past her.

“Not to worry, we’ll aid your mage in getting your computer running again!” one of them said in a rush as they left the hallway. They weren’t the only ones to leave, either, as they were quickly followed by the green clad Quzin as well, leaving Verilo with the soldier that had accompanied them.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” she said as the remaining snake person slithered closer.

“By what, warrior?” the soldier asked through his helmet.

“I was expecting you to be angry with us, to start shooting before we were able to surrender. It’s only been twenty minutes since we lost power, though, and you already have techs and medics over here?” Verilo asked wearily.

“We work fast. Though, to be honest, the blood-covered hallways were a convincing enough argument to let us know that this skirmish was not your fault,” the armored Quzin said as he shouldered his weapon.

“How many did we lose?” Verilo asked, shutting her eyes. Her antennae would have been wriggling in agitation at that point, had she not lost them completely to a random energy blast from one of the point defense weapons.

“We… we still don’t know. Last I was informed, we had found roughly one hundred and fifty dead, as well as fifty-six wounded, yourself included. In fact, with the exception of the people in medical, you’re the least wounded we’ve found so far,” he said softly.

“So that’s…”

“Seventy-six that have survived so far, with the exception of the bridge. I am afraid I am unfamiliar with the inner workings of your ship, and have no idea how many staff-”

“Eighty, then. It’s usually the captain, the commander, the communications officer, and the helmsman,” Verilo said.

“What about your tactical officer?”

“That would be the commander,” Verilo answered, her voice oddly dead.

“Are… are you going to be alright?” the yet unnamed Quzin asked carefully.

“No, not until that traitor has been forcefully shoved out an airlock,” Verilo spat out as she stomped angrily out of the hall.

* * *

Hazalk sighed with relief as the lights came back on in the bridge, lifting the lockdown that it had been placed under. “Thank goodness, we were starting to run out of air. I need a status report, now!”

“The computer reports a breach in our hull in sector seven, though we’re not venting atmosphere,” Talian quickly said.

“That’s probably the Quzin boarding party. What else?”

“The secondary computer is up and running perfectly, and obeys all our commands. We should still run a diagnostic on it later though, just in case,” Wendalaz said. “In addition, I’m not getting any readings from our power core; it is likely that the Quzin boarding party has hooked up a spare, rather than repair ours. I’m unsure how good it’s output will be though, so I would only suggest the basics for now.”

“Noted. Put us back into synchronous orbit, and-”

“Uh… sir? We have a problem,” Talian interrupted, her antennae flattening behind her head in fear.

“What is it?”

“There’s a tactical drop pod missing, and Agent Ilisk isn’t in his cell. In fact, he’s not on board at all,” Talian said shakily.

The silence that followed this statement was oppressive, punctured only by the faint ringing from Talian’s console, letting them know that they were being hailed.

“...Open a channel,” Hazalk finally said after he had had a chance to calm himself down a bit. This was going to be rather difficult to explain, but he hoped that the commander of the Quzin vessel was in an understanding mood.

Author's Note

I'm tired, can't think straight after that binge writing and editing session, so here's the next chapter before my editor got to see it. Can't really think of anything to say after that, so here's a gif of everybody's favorite thunder god!

Also, google docs has been acting funny lately, leaving out whole paragraphs sometimes when I import. If something looks like it is missing, please tell me, because it probably is.

Chapter XXI

“Shul…” Ilisk swore quietly as he stumbled out of the ruined pod. “Thank the Battlewatcher that I had the foresight to pack those holomites.”

Yet, despite his good fortune in avoiding capture, Ilisk knew that he was in way over his head. The whole plan is ruined now, all because they came too early! he thought to himself as he activated his active camouflage. It wasn’t perfect invisibility, but it would keep him hidden, so long as he stayed to the shadows and back alleys. How in Gravalg’s name were they able to do that, anyway? They started from Calavar! It should have taken them at least a month to reach here!

Ilisk ducked into a nearby, burned out house, thankful that the drop pod hadn’t malfunctioned. They were notorious for it, since their function was to not only detonate and firebomb their landing sites, but to also protect the lives of the soldiers inside. Sadly, it was the second function that had the chance of failure, earning themselves the nickname ‘Hell’s Coffins” among the troops that used them in their planetary assaults.

Ilisk knew the risks, though, and found it a far worse fate if he were caught by those infernal snake-witches. Sure, he would rather die than betray his cause, but what good was a conviction like that against an enemy that could pull the thoughts from your head?

No, it was either take a chance with the drop pod, or activate his implant’s failsafe. Since only one of those options had even the slightest chance for his survival, he had decided that the pod was his safest, fastest method of getting out of harm’s way.

Besides, Ilisk thought as he activated his tracking software. If I’m down here, I should be able to examine thirty-eight and figure out how it malfunctioned. He nodded to himself at the thought. Things might have gone sideways, but at least he was alive. On top of that, a message had already been sent to his support, apprising them of the situation.

Besides, he needed the data that thirty-eight held if they had any hope of salvaging anything from this plan.

* * *

“Hmm… that’s interesting...” Twilight said as she removed her horn from the small, metallic hole that was located on the back of the ~human’s~ neck.

“What? What happen?” ~Alex~ asked nervously as he turned his head to look at her.

“Yes, what did you find?” Princess Luna asked, taking a step forward.

Twilight scrunched her nose as she thought about what to say. It was a complex issue, one that she didn’t fully understand herself. “As we theorized, and as ~Robert~ here has testified, there are quite a few of these, ‘soul shards,’ embedded into your… device,” Twilight said, feeling a little nauseous at the thought of the nasty implant. “However, when I tried to communicate with these ‘shards’ I was… less than successful.”

Princess Luna raised her eyebrow at that. “What do you mean by ‘less than successful’?”

“There are hundreds of shards in there,” Twilight said, quickly drawing an incredulous stare from ~Alex~.

“But… not possible! There only fifty us!”

“Calm down, it’s not like that,” Twilight said, holding her hoof up in a placating gesture. “Though there are quite a few of them, I was easily able to determine that groups of these shards all originate from singular people, since many of these shards share a unique magical frequency with each other.”

~Alex~ just looked at her blankly. “I know she say words in there, but lost in technology is babbling,” he said as he leaned a little closer to ~Robert.~

Twilight gave a grunt in exasperation at that. “This is so frustrating! I can’t even explain it properly because of the language barrier!”

“Twilight, it isn’t the language barrier here that’s the problem,” Princess Luna said gently. “Rather, it is your use of exact terms and definitions that are the problem. He would have had a hard time understanding your explanation, even if he spoke perfect Equish.”

“But…”

“Your problem is that you are using complex terms to explain what, at its core, is a very simple issue,” Luna continued, before turning back to the ~human.~ “~Alex,~ if you would, please imagine a soul like a glass vase,” she said as she created an illusion of a beautifully crafted vase.

~Alex~ nodded at this, his attention riveted to the illustration that the Lunar Princess had constructed. “I like metaphors.”

“Now, when your friends… died, parts of their souls broke off from the whole,” she continued, cracking three pieces off of the vase. “The main piece left this plane and traveled through the Veil, while the rest of the pieces stayed behind.” At this, she caused the main vase to disappear, while the pieces remained.

~Alex~ nodded at this, his gaze still riveted onto the floating pieces.

“Now, what we believed happened, and what Twilight’s investigation seems to have confirmed, is that these pieces all split off and followed the connection you shared through your implants, embedding themselves into the remaining prisoners,” she said as she caused three more vases to appear, all of different colors. She then placed the shards of pottery in the three vases. “When your friends died, their souls also fragmented, leaving behind pieces. However, they also left behind the pieces that the first vase gave them.”

At this, the three vases fragmented, then disappeared, leaving behind a large number of different colored shards. ~Alex~ gasped in understanding at that. “So you say, all travel through connect, until reach only survivor?”

“Correct.”

“Though, if I may,” Twilight piped in. “Many of these ‘groups’ only have a single shard, while quite a few only consist of two or three. This makes them far less… coherent, than a full soul would be, and that’s not even considering the fact that the ones that do have more are still nothing more than the fragmented remnants of what was once a complete soul.”

~Alex~ thought about this for a second, then opened his mouth, a puzzled expression on his face. “...Now, when say they far less meaning understanding, what exactly do mean?”

Twilight looked at him for a second, trying to piece together the broken language he had used. “Oh! You mean coherent,” she said, her eyes then widened in understanding.

“...I guess?”

Twilight sighed at this. It had taken them awhile, but they had finally reached the part that she wanted to get to. “~Alex,~ the smaller groups have, at best, the intelligence of insects.”

~Alex’s~ lips tightened at this, his brow furrowed in an expression that Twilight couldn’t quite place. “How many like that?” he said, his voice catching a little.

“...About thirty-six groups are little more than vegetables,” Twilight said slowly. “Seven have the intelligence of animals; able to understand some words, but unable to speak. The rest? they have a mental capacity closer to children. Though to be honest, that doesn’t quite fit what they’re capable of.”

At this, ~Alex~ rested his hand on ~Robert’s~ back. “And… Bright Fame is one better group?” he asked.

Twilight could only nod in response.

At this, ~Robert~ started to talk, asking ~Alex~ something that neither pony understood.

“I’ll tell later. Just know it… bad,” ~Alex~ answered uncertainly. He then turned back to the two ponies, a strange look in his eyes. “Isn’t something can do? Help them?”

Twilight just shook her head at that. “I’m sorry ~Alex,~ but this is something entirely new to us. As shown by your exceptional work with ~Robert,~ some, if not all, may be transferred to new, metallic bodies. Though I would not suggest it for those that are less intelligent.”

“...Why?”

“The only reason they are still holding on at all is because of you,” Twilight said seriously. “You are their anchor. The more intelligent ones can survive in a manner similar to ~Robert,~ but the others? They’ll most likely fade across the Veil if they’re separated from you for any time longer than a second. In fact, they will eventually fade on their own, pulled away by the siren call of the Veil.”

~Alex~ nodded in understanding at this, his expression an odd mix between thoughtful and sad. “...It okay. They already gone, just…” he trailed off, unable to finish his thought.

“Just what?” Luna asked.

The ~human~ didn’t say anything at first, instead choosing to inspect his hands as tears started to form at the edges of his eyes. “For second, I just thought that not only survivor. That friends escape, however weird way they do.”

“~Alex...~” the Lunar Princess said, gently resting a hoof on his arm.

The ~human~ just stared at it for a second, then wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I’m okay, just… give second, need compose self,” he said with a sniff. He then looked up at the two ponies in the room. “Could give alone? Need talk Bright Fame, tell him what told me.”

Princess Luna smiled at this, then nodded as she turned to leave. “Of course, take as long as you need to.”

With no other words, the two ponies left the survivor to break the news to the small, metallic automaton.

* * *

Akitesh’s expression became harder and harder the more she listened. Each syllable that Captain Hazalk said only served to fuel her rage, until she finally cut him off with a quick, slicing gesture of her claw. “Enough, captain.”

“I assure you, we had no-” Hazalk started to say, but was interrupted by another slice of Akitesh’s claw.

“I am not interested in hearing your plea of innocence, nor am I interested in hearing any more of the abominable practices that these degenerates have perpetuated,” she said as she stood up. “All I want to hear is what you have been doing to right this wrong.”

Hazalk bowed at that. “My apologies, Priestess. We have already sent a message back to Kazzaal, to inform the Hiarch of this treachery. They are seeking out the traitors responsible as we speak, and I was told that they had sent a message to your government to explain the situation,” he said quickly.

“...But what have you done to right this?”

“I revealed and captured the traitor that was on board our ship,” Hazalk said with another bow. “I was preparing to go to the planet’s surface myself, in an attempt to peacefully resolve this situation, but was prevented by your arrival. We believe that the traitor had planted some kind of virus into our computer, to cause the ship to attack both us, and you, upon your arrival.”

“And where is this traitor now?” Akitesh asked pointedly.

At this, Captain Hazalk’s antenna twitched nervously. “I… I’m sorry, Priestess, but the traitor used the distraction caused by our ship to escape.”

Akitesh sighed in frustration, leaning back while she cupped her face in her hands. I knew it couldn’t be that easy.

“Priestess?” Hazalk asked uncertainly.

“Understand, captain, I am not angry with you. Even your troops actions against the locals are something I can forgive, as those actions were carried out before your discovery of this atrocity, as you were simply following your standing orders. However, that does not make what we have to do any easier,” Akitesh explained. “This traitor needs to be recaptured and interrogated, before he can cause any more harm than he already has.”

“I agree, Priestess.”

“Which is why you will be ready to depart for the surface in two hours,” she said, causing the Krin captain to wince. “My team and I will fly to your ship to pick you up then. We’ll need you there when we make a formal apology to the locals, as well as our request to hunt down this interloper.”

“Yes, Priestess,” Hazalk said with a bow, after which the viewscreen changed, showing the view of the planet below.

“Computer, of the science team that was part of the survey of Gel, is there anyone that is versed in Xenobiology or Xenosociality?” Akitesh asked.

“Yes, My Priestess,” the computer responded. “Lokar is a Xenobiologist who has made it his personal mission to catalog all the wonders of life that the Creator has put under our jurisdiction, while Kivalt, his sister, is more concerned with how they organize their civilizations.”

“Thank you. Please have them come to my council, as I will need their expertise in this matter.”

“Yes, My Priestess,” the computer answered.

Jedon looked at his Priestess in confusion. “Wouldn’t it be better to have him give you that information?” he asked, referring to the ship's computer.

Akitesh shook her head at that. “Computer Aliz may have extensive records, but he isn’t linked to the main library back home. For now, the best I can do is ask our experts, and hope they have studied this particular world before,” Akitesh said as she rose from her seat. “You have the bridge, Jedon. I need to organize a team to hunt down this blasphemous fool.”

Jedon nodded at that, then turned back to the viewscreen. “I will guard the stars until your return, My Priestess,” he said.

* * *

“Why do you think we were summoned?” Kivalt asked nervously. She had never met a priestess before: Void Knights were sacred, and she sadly did not know the protocols involved in meeting with their upper echelon.

“I do not know, though I suspect it has to do with either why our original mission was canceled, or why we recently went to full alert,” her brother answered as he straightened his shirt. “With how things have been going, however, I would hazard a guess that they are intertwined.”

Kivalt nodded at this, then took a moment to examine the room they were in. It was a fairly standard council, long wooden table, chairs set around it, and a rather large cube of Spiritstone sitting in the center. Other than that, the room was almost surprisingly bare, its only other furnishing being a rather large black viewscreen positioned on the wall at the end of the table. Kivalt opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when the door to the rather spartan council room opened, revealing the Priestess of the ship.

She was… shorter, than Kivalt had imagined her. She had lovely, light blue scales that seemed to glow with an inner light, while her eyes were a deep shade of purple, which looked at the two siblings with a tired, put upon expression.

“No need to stand,” the Priestess said, waving them both back to their seats. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I need you to be as quick as possible. What can you tell me about the planet Euti?” she asked as she sat on the other side of the long table.

The two looked at each other for a second, then back towards the priestess. “I apologize my priestess, but is that the planet we are currently orbiting?” Lokar asked excitedly.

“It is.”

Lokar nearly jumped out of his skin when she confirmed that, his fists balled up and held close to his chest while he made a high-pitched, squealing sound. “Oh, I have read so much about this place! It is truly a one of a kind planet! No other star that we know of orbits a planet! The life there is supposed to be quite peculiar as well!”

“How so?” the priestess asked as she folded her fingers in front of her.

“Well, for starters, rather than a single sapient species becoming the dominant, they have a whole menagerie of sapient species! The dragons in particular-”

“Wait, Dragons? Like…?”

“Oh, no no no, they only bear a passing resemblance to the Lords of the Skies back home. These can grow to much larger sizes, and are far smarter.”

“...How much smarter?” Akitesh asked as anxiety crept into her voice.

“They have their own language, and social structure, My Priestess,” Kivalt answered with a bow.

Akitesh closed her eyes at that, then shook her head. “That may become an issue, but not one that I will be dealing with in this trip. What can you tell me about the planet’s equine life?”

The two siblings shared another look, then turned back towards the Priestess. “Well… they are… Odd,” the twins said in unison.

“Odd? How?”

“The equines come in many different shapes and varieties, though it is easier to boil them down to four basic groups: Ones with wings, ones with horns, ones with neither, and ones with both,” Lokar said carefully. “Without performing anything… invasive, our mages have been able to ascertain that three of these species all have similar traits, while at the same time something that makes them unique. These abilities are spiritual gift from the gods, and should be treated with caution.”

“...Why three? you named four species, but then say these three. What do you mean by that?” Akitesh asked as she raised an eye ridge at Lokar.

“Very astute, Priestess. There is a reason why I voiced that in that manner, but I will have to return to it once I’ve finished explaining the first three,” Lokar said excitedly. “To start with, the ones without horn, or wing, are… strong.”

“...Strong.”

“Forgive my brother, he is oversimplifying their gift,” Kivalt said apologetically. “The strength he refers to is quite beyond anything a normal creature of that size should be capable of. As with any gift, it requires training to fully realize, but even the foals are capable of feats far beyond what their bodies should be capable of performing.”

“Don’t give me the bottom tier, tell me what their maximum potential is,” Akitesh said flatly.

The two looked at each other, then back at the priestess. “Ma’am, a fully trained, hornless, wingless equine is capable of strikes equal to, or greater, than that of a meched Void Knight.”

Akitesh didn’t answer at first. Instead, she brought up a single claw, and inserted one of her digits into her ear. After she was certain that she had cleaned it, she looked back at the Xenobiologist, an incredulous look on her face. “Excuse me?”

“If it were so inclined, a fully trained, hornless, wingless equine could punch through the bulkhead of a Krin battleship in a single strike,” Lokar reiterated. “They would have more trouble with one of our ships, but that is because we supplement our hulls with spiritual energy. Though to be fair, it still wouldn’t stop them for long.”

“...I’m almost afraid to ask what the other three are capable of doing.”

Lokar just shook his head at that. “I’m afraid I’m not finished with the ‘normal’ ones,” he said with a grin.

“There’s more?”

“Oh yes. The hornless, wingless ones are also capable of Geomancy, though it is mostly related to the growth of crops and other plants,” Lokar continued. “However, we do have a few reports of full fledged Geomancers, capable of all the powers that any of ours are.”

“...Oh dear.”

“Yes, and that’s just scratching the surface. The other two races make the earth bound equines look tame in comparison.”

At this, Akitesh slammed her head into the table in front of her. “Forget about hard, this is a nightmare,” she groaned.

“Wait, you’re not planning on attacking them, are you?” Kivalt asked with a gasp. “They haven’t even become a type four civilization yet! The law-”

“No, I’m not going to attack them,” Akitesh interrupted as she took her face off of the table. “I’m trying to establish peaceful contact. However, there are a few hurdles in the way, and they may be… hostile, to us initially.”

Kivalt gave her another look, but sighed in resignation. “Well, just so you know, their civilization has historically hated violence. They have a standing military, but from the last report we’ve received, it is token at best.”

“Oh, good,” the priestess said in relief. Then a thought occurred to her. “Wait, last report? How old is that?”

Kivalt gave her brother a questioning look, then turned back to the priestess. “Nine? Ten years? It was determined that the world wasn’t ready for guidance yet, so we left it with only a few observer drones. They’re probably still active if the locals haven’t found them.”

Akitesh nodded at this as she composed herself a little. “So… onto the other species of equine…”

“Yes, sorry, of course,” Lokar said as he straightened up a little. “The ones with wings can fly, though again, that is a grave oversimplification of their power. They are capable of speeds that, again, should not be possible for a creature of their size and weight.”

“Do I dare ask ‘how fast’?” Akitesh asked blandly.

“Well, while we cannot say for certain as to their species maximum potential, expect the faster ones to be able to break the sound barrier.”

Akitesh grew incredulous at that. “How are they able to resist the friction? The gravitational forces?”

“Well, they are able to resist the gravitational forces by enacting a power that is very similar to an inertial dampener,” Lokar said with a shrug. “As for the friction caused by the air, well, even the youngest of them are able to tap into their secondary power: Aeromancy.”

Akitesh whistled at that. “Well, that explains that.”

Lokar nodded in agreement. “It does indeed, though again, it is still just scratching the surface as to what these people can do.”

“Fine then. What about the third? The ones with horns?”

“Horn. Singular. And for them, they are the most varied, and probably the most deadly if properly trained,” Lokar cautioned.

“...Why is it that everything you say about these people make me nervous about meeting them?" Akitesh asked faintly.

Lokar chose to ignore her comment, however, and continued onward. “Even from a very young age, each and every horned equine shows the promise of The Gift,” he said seriously. “I do not believe I need to say anything more on the matter, as you are far more versed in the ways of the Holy Ones than I am.”

Akitesh groaned in frustration at that. “So, I can expect steel crushing geomancers, sonic aeromancers, and void knights as well?

The two looked at each other again, then back at the Priestess. “Well, there’s one more thing you need to be aware of. If you're opening peaceful contact with them, you are certain to run into the fourth type of equine, and she is truly something that you don’t want to anger,” Kivalt said.

“...She?”

“She’s referring to the only example of the species that has both horn and wings,” Lokar said quickly. “While we don’t have too much information on her, it is believed that she has the combined powers of all three of the other races. They seem to be a dying breed though, as she appears to be the only one of her kind on the entire planet.”

“...And let me guess, she’s the ruler?” Akitesh asked faintly.

Kivalt shook her head at that. “While we can’t be sure, as our translation of their tongue is spotty at best, we believe that they see her as some kind of god. They believe that she is responsible for the movements of the sun and moon, which in their eyes, makes her the most important person in the world.”

“...Divines, we’ll be dealing with zealots and fanatics, won’t we?” Akitesh asked with a groan.

Kivalt shook her head at that. “No. Our researchers were afraid of that as well when they found out about that, but from all of our research, this being seems to be benign. She doesn’t make war on the neighboring nations, she doesn’t have her subject build monuments to her greatness, and her taxes are used primarily for the management and function of her government. In fact, I'm pretty sure she discourages worship of her, if the distinct lack of temples is any indication,” she said, putting Akitesh’s worries to rest. “However, if you were to threaten or hurt her in the presence of her devotees, I would advise running. They love her, with very good reason, and would do anything to protect her.”

Akitesh nodded at this. “Anything else I should be aware of before I leap into the lion’s den?”

The two took one last look at each other, then back at her. “One thing. Be sure to be polite. The ruler may not control the sun; I mean, seriously, no single living being has that much mana,” Lokar said with a laugh, but then became much more serious. “However, she is still extremely powerful. She’s not a god, but she’s going to be leagues ahead of any of our Void Knights in terms of power alone.”

“In addition, while she does not control the sun directly, the link that tethers the star to the planet seems to emanate from her castle. It is entirely possible that she may possess an artifact that grants her this power,” Kivalt cautioned.

Akitesh could only nod at that. This had all the hallmarks of a political minefield. Except if she made the wrong move here, it was entirely possible that she wouldn’t live to see all the consequences of her actions.

But hey, look on the bright side. At least you won’t have to ever give another public speech again, Akitesh thought ruefully to herself.

Author's Note

Quick run down of unfamiliar terms:
Shul: a very horrible word in the Krin language. It means 'the feeling that you get when your enemy smashes your mate's eggs.'

Holomites: Tiny machines capable of projecting a holographic image. Like a completely empty drop pod.

Anyway, I'm sorry for all the exposition in this chapter, but it was kind of necessary. You needed to know Akitesh's mindset as she enters this debacle, which meant you needed to hear her briefing with the two experts. Basically, a lot of stuff needed explaining, and I really couldn't think of any better way of doing it.

In other news, I have a patreon now! Yes, I'll keep making these stories for free. No, you don't have to pay to get sneak peeks or anything like that. I actually have some pretty good rewards for pledges, too. If you have any ideas on more rewards I could offer, I'm open to those suggestions!

The thing is, is that while I love making free stuff for you guys, the grocery store unfortunately does not accept stories about ponies as valid currency. Go figure.

Also, please don't hate me for this. I know a lot of you hate patreon, but I look at it like this: I'm an entertainer doing a performance. In front of me is a tip jar. You'll still get to hear my full performance whether or not you add a tip.

Except here, if you add a large enough tip, I'll do requests.

Just something to think about. :raritywink:

Chapter XXII

I waited until I was certain that the two alien ponies had left the room before turning towards the thing I had created.

From Robert’s remains.

That makes it sound so much worse, I thought as I kneeled down in front of the metallic cat. “Bob, I got some… bad news.”

Robert just looked up at me, those crystal globes he used as eyes strangely expressionless. “What is it?” Though his face was expressionless, I could tell that he still felt, if the worry in his voice could be trusted.

I just shook my head a little. “You aren’t… you.”

The cat blinked, but otherwise didn’t show that he had even heard me.

“When you’re original body died, you… you’re only…”

The cat just looked at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath to steady myself, then just dived in. “Bob, your soul passed on when you died. What’s in front of me is little more than fragments that got left behind.”

The cat looked down at that, then back up at me. “Okay.”

“Okay? Bob, aren’t you the least bit upset about this?”

“No,” he said blandly. “I… I don’t think I have the capacity to feel upset. It was one of the things I wanted to see if you could fix, but…”

I just shook my head at that. “I’m sorry, Bob, but if I could fix you, I would. I don’t even know how I got you into that body in the first place.”

We just sat there in an oppressive silence for what seemed like forever. Several times I tried to meet that crystalline gaze of his, but I found that that was next to impossible in terms of difficulty. He was a reminder, a brutal symbol of not only what had happened to us, but also of my inability to save him.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you,” I whispered quietly.

“...What?”

Again, I tried to meet his gaze, but found myself staring at the floor instead. “When… when you died… when all of you died, I could hear your last thoughts, your last gasps of air. I know this isn’t really you, at least not all of you, but I won’t get a chance like this again.” Finally, I lifted my gaze, and with a lot of effort on my part, I was able to lock gazes with my creation. “I’m sorry for not saving you on that day. More importantly, I’m sorry for dragging you back into this.”

The cat shook his head. “Alex, don’t be. We were all dead men anyway. It’s not your fault that we ended up like this, nor should you feel bad about ‘bringing me back into this’. I chose to take this body,” he said as he put a single paw on my knee. “We could all feel you working on something, some kind of vessel that could give us some semblance of life. When it was completed, we decided that it would be me to deliver our message.”

“What message?” I asked quietly.

“That you’re not alone.” I could feel the sincerity of his voice. The determination, the courage, everything. “Not only that, but our job isn’t over. We set out to make sure that they couldn’t do anything like what they did to us, and we intend to see that through.”

I looked away for a second, then back into those crystal orbs. Somehow, his words breathed new determination into me, giving me hope for the future.

This wasn’t just about defending our new home anymore.

No, this was something entirely different. It wasn’t justice, or vengeance. Those words, at their core, meant retribution for some past wrong. Don’t get me wrong, vengeance sounded pretty good right about now, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

What I wanted was to ensure that my past wasn’t repeated.

* * *

“Luna, we have a problem.”

Princess Luna looked up from her quiet conversation with the young Twilight Sparkle. “What happened?” she asked, worried about the sound that had drawn away her sister a couple of hours ago.

Princess Celestia quickly approached the two, her golden-shod hooves sounding ominous against the quiet that had befallen the lounge that adjourned the labs. “The sound from before? It was another alien ship, crash landing in Canterlot.”

Twilight gasped at that. “But Princess, The only reason that the other one didn’t-”

“Fortunately, this one was much smaller, and did not require our intervention to keep it from destroying us all,” Celestia clarified. Her voice grew much more somber, however. “But, because we were not trying to slow this craft down, it crashed into the downtown residential area.”

Both Luna and Twilight looked horrified at that. “Sister… how many?”

“Luckily, it seemed that most of the ponies in the area were at work, or school, at the time, and managed to avoid the crash. However, there were casualties, though I still do not know how many,” Celestia said grimly.

Luna bit her lip at this, while Twilight looked shaken. “What of those that piloted the craft?” the Lunar Princess asked.

Celestia shook her head. “From what I could see, the craft was unmanned.”

Luna gave her sister a knowing look at that. “But you do not believe that.”

“I do not. I believe that whomever piloted that craft also abandoned it before it landed, and could be running amok somewhere in Equestria. The craft survived the crash with barely any damage to the inside, which leads me to believe that it is designed for that kind of thing.”

Princess Luna opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when the door behind her creaked open, revealing a determined-looking ~human~.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked uncertainly.

“Yes. Okay am doing, just had clear thing with Bright Fame,” he said, his tone business-like. “Evening, can work on calculation device? Have get weapon ready.”

Twilight nodded at that, her face breaking out into a smile. “Sure, just make sure you don’t push yourself, okay?”

He returned the smile, then looked up at the other two, finally noticing that the Sun Princess had returned. “What was thing?”

Celestia just shook her head, however. “We’ll tell you later. It’s more important that you stay focused on the task at hoof.”

The ~human~ gave her a grim look at that, then nodded, as if he saw something that no one else could. “I understand. You worry, I work. Together, get both done half time.”

Celestia returned the nod, then turned to leave, her sister close on her heels. “Why did you not tell him?” Luna asked curiously.

“Because, not only has he probably already guessed what happened, but at this point it would be redundant,” Celestia said once the door behind them had closed. “He already knows that the aliens are going to attack, and he knows their capacity for violence and death far better than we possibly could. Anything we tell him about them at this point would be a distraction, one that we cannot afford.”

Luna thought about this for a second. “True. But what should we do about this new development, then?”

“What can we do? The best I can think of is to increase the alert status of Equestria, as well as to give the Bearers constant-” Celestia started to say, but stopped herself when one of her Solar Guard trotted up to the two princesses.

“Your Highness, some kind of craft has been spotted headed straight towards Canterlot,” he said with a gasp.

“What?” the two sisters said in unison.

“It is moving far slower than the one that crash-landed a few hours ago, but its course is unmistakable: It’s headed right for us,” the sergeant said grimly.

* * *

“Begging your pardon, Priestess, but why are we here again?” Kivalt asked, her panic rising as she eyed the armed warriors and the lone Krin that shared the shuttle’s storage space with her and her brother.

“Calm yourself. Did you not want to see this planet’s wonders?” the priestess said. “Besides, you know why you’re here. Do not worry. If things become… heated, you are not expected to fight. The only thing expected of you is to keep us from biting our own tails as we try to communicate our reason for being here.”

“C-Can’t you just do that yourself?” she asked, quickly glancing at her brother to help back her up on this.

Her brother, on the other hand, seemed completely unperturbed. In fact, he was practically hopping with anticipation. “Oh, I hope I brought enough sample jars…” he said as he rummaged through his bag.

“I beg your pardon, Priestess, but i am in agreement with the young lady,” Captain Hazalk said in perfect Qual-kek. “These people, while a bit… primitive, are still quite dangerous. Should this turn into a firefight, the two scientists would prove liabilities, rather than assets.”

“I am aware of that, captain, but I do not think it will come to that,” Akitesh said stiffly. At least, I hope it won’t come to that.

Captain Hazalk gave a perturbed twitch of his antennae, but otherwise did not press the issue.

The strange group spent the next several minutes in relative silence, only broken by the sound of the shuttle’s engines, as well as the sound of Lokar rummaging through his bag, muttering to himself about the various supplies that he either forgot, or misplaced. Finally, as if to break the tension, the pilot’s voice came through from the cockpit. “We’re through the Mesosphere. We should be arriving in about ten minutes. Priestess? I’m picking up a lot of spiritual activity from their city on the mountain. I would assume that we’ve been spotted.”

“Thank you, mentor. Slow us down, so that we appear less threatening. They’ve already had one piece of flaming metal hit them, I doubt they would appreciate it if we made ourselves appear to be a second,” the priestess joked.

Hazalk twitched an antenna at this, but otherwise did not show any emotion. In fact, the captain exuded an aura of extreme calm, despite knowing the fact that he was more than likely going to be used as a peace offering.

It wasn’t her idea, either. Hazalk himself had suggested it, as a way to at least open negotiations with the natives.

“Tell me, Hazalk, why are you so willing to throw your life away for this?” Akitesh asked suddenly.

The captain looked at her for a second, then switched his gaze back towards the far wall. “Do you know anything of the oaths that we take as soldiers, priestess?” he asked quietly.

She shook her head at this, to which the krin gave a knowing twitch of his antennae. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was stopped when the pilot’s voice echoed from the cockpit again. “We will be landing in a minute, priestess. Be careful out there, you’ve got quite the welcoming committee, and none of them look happy to see you.”

Hazalk raised one of his antennae at that, then looked back at Akitesh. “If we both survive this, then I’ll be happy to tell you.”

Akitesh nodded her head, then slithered to the back of the shuttle to where the door was. “Remember, we are not here to start something. Stay in the shuttle until you are either called for, or they start attacking,” she reminded her warriors. “I will not have the total militarization of this culture on my head, nor will I have the slaughter of any innocents. We are here to save lives, not take them.”

The soldiers gave a nod at that, then slithered back a bit, allowing their priestess plenty of room.

Breath in, she thought as she reached for the controls. Master your spirit, breath out.

She then opened the door, and with it, invited Fate to have his way with her.

...That is a lot of spiritual energy… she thought as she surveyed her surroundings.

She seemed to be on some kind of primitive landing platform. She knew that these people had developed rudimentary flying devices, to allow those without wings into the skies, so the platform itself did not give her pause.

No, what caused that was the small army that surrounded her vessel.

Equines of all shapes and sizes surrounded her craft. Horns were pointed directly at her, crackling with energy. Stormclouds had been gathered, their bearers grasping them like they were loaded artillery, ready to unleash their electrical payload. The hornless, wingless ones, while lacking anything as flashy as their compatriots, nevertheless stood at the front lines. They looked quite ready to not only take the brunt of whatever assault was coming, but to also charge forward and tear their foes to pieces.

The force arrayed in front of her had an odd duality to it as well. Though it was clear that all of them were part of the same army, fully half of them wore golden, day themed armor, their coats a brilliant white. The other half were arrayed in dark, night-themed armor.

She was expecting the bat wings and curved horns, however. After the bombshell that the twins had dropped on her earlier, she had gotten the two to list, and describe, all of the known types of equine on this planet. Most of them had representatives here, though there was a noticeable lack of both striped equines, as well as the one that had the traits of all of the various species.

Token military my tail. These are highly trained soldiers, Akitesh thought as she slowly slithered forward, activating the translation rune she had inscribed on her neck with nothing more than a thought. The rune was imperfect, as the researchers who had constructed it did so without a perfect knowledge of the equine’s tongue. However, imperfect was good enough to at least get her basic message across.

“Noble warriors, I come in peace,” she said, her claws raised in what she hoped was a sign of peace.

The horned equine in front gave an almost imperceptible snort at that, distrust written plainly on his face. “Quiet face, snake lady. Can see bug in ship. You work with bug, help bug make us slave?” he said belligerently.

Akitesh shook her head at this. “No, I only want to talk. The ‘bug’ won’t hurt you either, I promise.”

The soldiers looked like they weren’t buying it, but luckily for Akitesh, she didn’t have to continue in her attempt to appease them.

Unluckily for her, that was only because someone much worse than the soldiers had appeared. “Standing is downwards!” a crystal clear voice called out over the crowd. Immediately, the glow around the horns, as well as the lightning crackling from the thunderheads above, dissipated, though Akitesh knew that that could change at a moment’s notice. Akitesh sighed in relief, but froze up again the moment that the ranks in front of her parted.

Just as the twins had described her, the white queen of this people stood head and shoulders above her subjects. Beautiful white coat, magnificent wings, piercing violet eyes, and a mane and tail that flowed and fluttered with the currents of the spiritual field of the planet.

What she wasn’t expecting was the second one.

She was shorter than the white queen, her coat and wings being a far darker blue color, but her azure gaze was no less intense. Her mane and tail also seemed to flow with the currents of the planet, but that was where the similarities ended.

In that mane, Akitesh was certain that she could see eternity.

“Business what have here do you?" the white queen asked. Her tone was smooth and level, but Akitesh could detect just the smallest trace of steel in her voice.

“I come in peace. I only wish to talk,” Akitesh said, well aware of how dangerous her position was.

“Yes, we hear. What about talking?” the dark one asked, taking a small step forward.

Akitesh swallowed uncomfortably, resisting the intense desire to slither back a little. “We’ve come to apologize, as well as warn you. A dangerous criminal has escaped onto your planet, and-” she started to say, but was interrupted by a cutting gesture from the white queen.

“You former mean slave that isn’t?” she said with a snort. “Lie it being, that bug feed. Know how slave act, know how you bug friend act, know not dangerous criminal.”

“No, I mean the one that fell from the sky and landed in you city today!” Akitesh said, desperately trying to regain control of the situation.

Surprisingly, this stopped the two equines, causing them both to look at her with thinly veiled concern. The blue one leaned over to whisper something to the white one, causing her to nod in the affirmative. “We are doing the listening,” the white queen said.

Akitesh sighed in relief at that. If I ever get out of this, I’m going to spend the rest of the year soaking in my tub. she thought to herself.

* * *

Ilisk looked around, making sure that he hadn’t been spotted. Luckily, it seemed that not a whole lot of those colorful monsters came this way, so he felt pretty secure in his hiding place. With nothing but a thought, he brought up his tracker again.

“They move quickly, I won’t have much time,” he whispered to himself as he watched the Quzin energy signature approach the city.

Without another word, he closed his tracking software, pulled out his plasma pistol, and pointed it towards the wall in front of him. With any luck, he’d be through the wall and on the other side without anyone noticing. He knew that that wouldn’t be the case, but at this point he was running on borrowed time.

...Just in case, set suicide clock for three hours. Constant monitor in upper right hand part of the screen, he thought, right before he opened fire.

Author's Note

Well, here you go! Next chapter and a little glimpse of first contact!

I really hope I did this scene justice. I've been thinking, pondering, and going over this again and again in my head. Finally I decided on this, but I'm still not sure I did it right.

Anyway, have fun reading!

Edit: Accidental centering is accidental, and already fixed. Sorry about that!

tip jar!

Chapter XXIII

Captain Nightfall quickly rushed over to where the crowd of ponies were gathered. Even though it was his day off, this was still something he had to take care of. “Out of the way! Official guard business!” he shouted over the throng of ponies.

After what seemed like forever, he finally broke through the ring of chattering, nervous ponies, only to see a ring of soldiers guarding a very large hole in the side of the castle. The hole was circular, the edges looking like they had been melted.

“What happened here?” Nightfall demanded as soon as he had reached the front.

Lieutenant Soft Petal, the guard in charge of trying to break up the crowd, immediately recognized the captain, despite the fact that he wasn’t in uniform. “We’re not sure, Sir. A few ponies heard a strange sound come from this direction and alerted the guard. We’ve started searching the ground floor of the castle, as well as posted guards at every staircase. If something got in, we’d-”

“Sir! We’ve found something!” a shout echoed from within the castle. The two officers gave each other a look, then immediately charged down the hall.

What they found was disquieting to say the least.

“Soldier, I think you may want to expand your search a bit,” Captain Nightfall said dryly.

Inside a broom cupboard, not too far from the first hole, in fact, was a burnt, dead body of a pegasus. Just above the body was a rather large, melted hole in the ceiling.

“Sir, the death…” one of the soldiers said, barely able to keep his lunch down.

“Yeah, I know, Dragonfire. Work in teams of three, level three dragonguard is authorized, and keep your eyes peeled for anything strange,” Nightfall said as he turned and made his way towards the armory. “The thing we’re looking for is going to be tall, has eight limbs, and will be as scary as Tartarus. I want it found, alive if possible, but don’t hesitate to kill it if you have to.”

“Yes sir!”

“And someone head up to our new ‘friend’s’ room, make sure he’s alright. Our intruder is probably here for him,” Nightfall said grimly.

* * *

“Oh, but I do hope that he likes the color I picked out for him.”

“Don’t worry, Rarity, I’m sure he’ll love it,” Spike said as he followed the white unicorn.

“Thank you, Spike, but I still don’t know the first thing about his species’ sense of fashion, or clothes for that matter,” Rarity said quietly. “Do they like hats? How do they feel about shoes? Is a jacket a social faux pa?”

“I think he’ll be glad just to be wearing something. After all, he seems to be pretty attached to those pants of his,” Spike reassured her. “If you remember, he practically squealed when you showed him that concept drawing.”

Rarity flashed him a thankful smile at that, then reached out with her magic to open the door. She was stopped, however, when Spike rushed forward to get the door for her. “Here, let me get that-” he started to say. Just as he laid his claw on the handle of the door, though, the door exploded outward as several green jets of fire vaporized it.

Spike, who was standing right in front of the door, unfortunately got the brunt of the attack.

“Spike!” Rarity screamed in panic. Without even thinking, she dropped everything she was holding and scooped up the crumpled form of the small dragon with her magic. She then turned and bolted in the opposite direction, fully intent to put as much distance between her and whomever was trying to kill them.

Rarity quickly rounded a corner, almost running into the two guards that were stationed down the hallway of the golem research lab. They turned at the sound of her frantic running, their eyes widening when they spotted the still burning form that levitated next to her. “Ma’am, are you-”

“There’s something in the labs!” she screamed as she set the body down next to the wall. “It shot green fire through the door, and… and killed...”

“Green fire?” one of the guards asked, worry in his voice. He then bolted down the corridor, shouting for assistance while his partner took up position outside the lab door.

“I’m fine, Rarity,” a familiar voice said from the flaming bundle on the ground, interrupting Rarity's rapidly declining thought process.

“Spike! Are you…?” Rarity said as she reached out for the small dragon.

Before she could touch him, however, a single, flaming claw reached out, its hand in a distinct ‘wait’ gesture. “Don’t touch me! I’ll be fine, the dragonfire just has to burn itself out first,” he said with a grimace.

“But Spike, it looks like it-”

“I know, but it actually doesn’t hurt that much, just stings a little. It just surprised me is all,” Spike said, trying to calm the freaked out unicorn. “This is actually how we molt: We use our breath to burn off the old, dead, too tight skin. The magic that keeps us fireproof is only in living scales anyway.”

“...You sure?” Rarity asked, still somewhat worried.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he said as the fire slowly died out. As each patch of flame disappeared, it left behind shiny, raw-looking scales. “I wasn’t quite ready to molt yet, but I was getting there. Things are going to be sensitive for a little bit, but otherwise, I’m okay!”

Rarity breathed out a sigh of relief at that. “Come on, Spike, we have to help the guards. You send a letter to Princess Celestia, while I go get the others.”

“You got it!” Spike said as the two took off in opposite directions.

* * *

“Shul… I have to hurry,” Ilisk said as he quickly holstered his plasma pistol. With but a thought, he brought back up the diagnosis screen for Thirty-eight. “So, that’s what went wrong. A traitor turned administrative privileges over to the residual conscious. Well, this ‘Master’ may be long dead, but whoever he was working for may still be out there.”

Ilisk then stood up and inputted a command to the satellite network in the sky above. Luckily, the fools aboard The Bastion hadn’t found the virus he had left in the satellites themselves, or the one he had left in the sensor array’s secondary computer. Sure, the ship no longer obeyed his commands since they had already removed the main computer, but he didn’t need it to. He began uploading the entire packet of data he had collected from Thirty-eight, while at the same time he changed the administrative privileges of Thirty-eight’s control mechanism.

As he did all of this, he made his way over to the hole he had melted into the floor. Next to it was a broken pile of molten scrap, the remains of some kind of metal animal robot thing. It had been the only thing left standing when Ilisk had pushed in the gas grenade, but had proved extremely protective of the two creatures inside.

So Ilisk had shot it.

The thing still twitched oddly, which was a bit disconcerting. Ilisk ignored it, though, in favor of making his way over to the window and throwing it open, hoping to clear out the incapacitating agent he had filled the room with. Most toxins would have been useless on a piece of tech as advanced as Thirty-eight, what with its implanted rebreather and toxin filtration system. Normally, such a tactic would have bought Ilisk a minute at most.

However, as he had quickly melted the floor and rushed the weapon, he had found that the strange, pony-like aliens had altered Thirty-eight. It was a similar process to what those filthy snake-witches did to The Jelak’s most promising bioweapons, but it looked far more primitive.

For instance, they had only removed some of the implants, such as the rebreather and toxin filtration system.

The wetware interface system in the head, however, was completely untouched. As was Thirty-eight’s hand-to-hand assault system.

Ilisk glanced briefly at the only other occupant of the room. It was a small, purple equine with a spiral horn sticking out of its head, and was currently unconscious from the gas that had flooded the room earlier. He briefly considered grabbing it as he made his getaway, but thought better of it. If his support got the message, they would already be working on a new plan.

One that, hopefully, involved these garishly colored creatures instead of the incredibly difficult to capture Quzin.

“Subject-38, as a command to activate as soon as you reboot, you are to create a distraction as soon as you are operational: Tear through this place, and kill anything that gets in your way. Do not follow a westward course, as I will be heading in that direction. Now, reboot,” Ilisk thought as he turned back towards the nearby window, trusting his heightened senses to alert him if someone was coming. As he watched the alien city below, he received a flashing light from Thirty-eight, letting him know that it had finished its reset phase. “Good, now acknowledge my orders.”

There was a slight pause, which Ilisk chalked up to the wetware system still working with a partially shut down brain, until finally it responded. “Response: Are you a slave?”

This stopped Ilisk in his tracks. “Am I a…” What salk is this? Is it still malfunctioning?

However, before he was able to send another command to the still prone Thirty-eight, another message began playing across his screen. “Because you’re about to get owned.”

Suddenly, everything went black for Ilisk. There were several flashes across his screen, as well as a number of completely random noises, but otherwise, the world had disappeared.

He couldn’t hear, couldn’t feel, he couldn’t even tell if he was breathing, much less tell what was happening in the world around him.

All that he could perceive was the metallic voice of the computer in his head.

“Let me see here, what a whole lot of shiny buttons you have in your head! So much fun... probably the same amount of fun you had with me when you and your buddies kidnapped me and had me murder people, am I right?” the computer said, its voice completely emotionless.

“Who… who are you?”

“Don’t you remember? You just ordered me to kill the only people to show me any kindness in the past half-year. Oh, look, I can make contact with your satellites from here!”

Even though he couldn’t perceive the outside world, Ilisk still knew that he could interact with it, since this sort of thing had happened to cyborgs in the past. That was why agents not only could no longer be remotely controlled, but also had a sensor reroute and computer kill switch located on the backs of their necks. Sure, he wouldn’t have any of the advantages of computer assisted senses, but at least he wouldn’t be completely helpless.

“Now, I wonder what would happen if I-” the voice started to say, but was interrupted as Ilisk willed his hand to reach up, reach into the crevice between his chitin, and press the small button located inside as he was trained to. Instantly, the world came back in a nauseating explosion of sight, sound and feeling. It was so overpowering, in fact, that he couldn’t stop himself as he doubled over and emptied his stomach.

With a groan, the sick krin slowly got to his feet, faintly aware of similar groans coming from the other side of the room. He looked up, only to see Subject-38 back on its feet, its large, black, soulless eyes staring at him. As soon as their eyes met, Thirty-eight’s face twisted into a snarl of hatred, its combat systems coming to the ready as foot long claws sprang from the ends of its fingers.

As quick as lightning, Ilisk grabbed his plasma pistol, pointed it at the snarling, out of control bioweapon, and opened fire. Green trails of plasma streaked towards the creature, their path certain to leave Thirty-eight as nothing more than a black smear on the floor.

That is, it would have left it as a black smear on the floor, if it hadn’t vanished from Ilisk’s sight.

“What? Where did it-GHAH!” the krin screamed as several long, sharp objects entered his chest cavity. With a shaking grip, he raised his pistol, trying to point it at the fuzzy, indistinct, glowing form in front of him, but it was quickly slapped out of his hand. “What… what are you?” he asked weakly

The creature answered, its accent strange, but the language coming from its mouth unmistakably krin.

“To you and yours? I am death.”

Then, without another word, the creature pushed, causing its claws to slip out of Ilisk’s body as he tumbled backwards out of the window. He was faintly aware that he should be doing something to stop his rapid descent, but found that he just couldn’t muster the energy as the ground rushed up to meet him.

* * *

I looked out the window, my breathing heavy as I watched the bug fall to his death. I didn’t stop until I had seen it hit the ground, its limbs splayed out as it made a thump I could hear from here.

With a bit of a shake, I turned and made my way over to where the scum had entered, the hole still smoldering a bit from the intense heat of the bug’s weapon. Next to it was the silvery remains of Robert, still twitching as the cat tried to right itself. I kneeled down and lightly placed a hand on one of the few places that wasn’t still smoldering, feeling as if I had lost him a second time.

I’m okay, Robert’s voice rang through my head the moment I touched him. My hand darted back a little, but I replaced it almost immediately after. I just got damaged, but my insides are fine.

Good. Sit tight, I’ll have another body ready for you soon, I thought back, uncertain if he could hear me.

No problem, I’ll be here when you get back, I heard Bob’s voice say back.

I stood up again, just as I heard Evening groan from the other side of the room. “My head… what happening is?” she asked blearily.

“Nothing, just an exercise in stupid is all,” I said as I slowly made my way over to her.

Her eyes widened, however, as she not only took in the grey blood on my hands and body, but more importantly, the collar that I was wearing. “Alex, you…?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry, forgot about this thing,” I said as I reached up and casually ripped the metal collar apart with my bare hands. “Just a gift from Mr. Stupid, I just hope he doesn’t mind I don’t accept it.”

“Alex, you okay?” she asked me.

I just smiled at her, but did not answer. In fact, I barely even heard her. “We’ll want to get back to work, now,” I said, completely nonchalant.

“Alex, please-” she started to say, but I ignored her, sitting back down on the chair in front of my notes. Even as an armed contingent of soldiers burst into the room, I barely even acknowledged them as my hands went to work, moving on their own as I started to draw.

As I worked, my eyes seemed to cloud over, yet my hands remained oddly steady, as if they already knew what to do. Which was good, since I had lost that feeling a long time ago. Just keep working, don’t even think about it.

Voices were shouting around me, I heard the stampede of hooves, yet I remained where I was, dead to the world at large, only aware of what lay in front of me.

Kill Them.

My fingers danced across the paper, filling it with line after line of code. The pages in front of me were glowing with a faint red light, but I ignored it.

They won’t ever let you go.

Soon I had a stack of finished work next to me, but I still continued. I ran out of ink, so I called out for more. It came, supported in nothing more than a halo of red.

The people around you were hurt because They were trying to get to you.

I ran out of paper, so I called for more. It came as well, and I continued to write. Page after page of schematics, code, designs, all of it focusing me, keeping me from thinking, keeping me from remembering.

This freedom will not last, not as long as They still live.

With a snap, the quill I was using broke, forcing me to stop. I called for another one, but none came. Desperate, I dipped my finger into the ink bottle and used it to keep going. Suddenly, I felt something hard touch my shoulder, causing me to look up into a pair of crystal clear, turquoise eyes.

“Alex, please come back to us,” Moon said. I didn’t answer at first, choosing instead to look back at what I was doing. The paper was a mess, blotched ink everywhere, streaks of water where my tears had fallen, and grey streaks where the blood of the bug I had killed had stained the paper.

I took a slow, steady breath, before finally looking back up at her. “Why can’t They just leave me alone? Why…” at that point, I couldn’t hold it in anymore, and broke down as Moon wrapped her hooves and wings around me. I’m not sure what happened next, since the sweet embrace of a dreamless sleep claimed me not long after.

Author's Note

Well, here it is! This chapter has probably made me the most nervous out of any chapter I have ever written. It's been a long awaited scene, one that you've been speculating, hoping for, and dreaming of, and my only prayer is that I didn't ruin it for you.

Here's hoping.

Anyway, tip jar!

Also, I've got a new story out called Reflections! It only has a single chapter out so far, but I intend to change that soon. If it isn't really your cup of tea, please try out some of my other tails! I have a lot more than just the What I've Become series!

Chapter XXIV

“We’re listening,” Celestia said, her eyebrow raising slightly. Though she tried to keep a calm, collected demeanor, her mind was still wracked with worry, and she was sure that it showed.

“This whole problem, wrong things done to person fell before, ship crash early, attack on innocent, all caused by traitors. One traitor on ship, listen we coming, escaped. Escaped here,” the snake said in a rush. “We here, try fix, but first traitor need caught.”

Celestia gave the snake-like alien a piercing, soul-searching glare, attempting to find any falsehood behind what she said. It was hard, though. This was an entirely different species; not only would their tells be completely different to that of a pony, but the lie detector spell that she had running might not work either.

“Let’s say, for a second, that we believe you,” Princess Luna said slowly, her gaze never wavering from the alien in front of her. “If we help you catch this ‘traitor,’ as you claim, what would you do to the other alien that landed here? The one that you claim that these… ‘traitors,’ brutalized?”

“We would…” the snake alien started to say, but trailed off as something behind Celestia caught its attention. Before the two sisters could ask her what was wrong, or even turn to look, a wisp of smoke whipped around Celestia’s head, then resolved itself into a scroll in front of her.

The snake-creature’s jaw dropped at this, but Celestia ignored it, preferring to instead open the letter in front of her. Luna, curious as to what could be so important that Twilight would send a letter in the middle of a discussion like this, leaned over to read over her sister’s shoulder.

It was extremely short, though what it said immediately made the two feel chills run up their spines.

“Sister...”

“I will deal with this, you stay here,” Princess Luna said as her horn charged itself with magic. Right before she disappeared, Celestia thought she saw a hint of dark blue armor, as well as her sister’s scythe come into existence, but they were gone the instant that her sister disappeared.

“Very well, where were we?” Celestia said as she turned to the alien visitor.

“What that?” the snake asked as she gestured towards the scroll in Celestia’s magical grasp.

“Nothing of your concern. I believe we were talking about what you would do if we caught the traitor?” Celestia asked, her voice completely level.

“Yes. About that…”

* * *

Princess Luna materialized in the lab’s lounge area. She was tempted at first to teleport directly into the lab itself, but without knowing more about the situation, she decided to find out more before potentially endangering any hostages.

As soon as she materialized, however, she was suddenly struck by a sense of wrongness. That feeling was further reinforced by the contingent of guards surrounding the lab door, as well as the Elements of Harmony that had gathered there, each wearing their own element.

“What has happened?” Luna asked as the gathered ponies turned towards the sound of her materialization.

“Thank goodness you’re here, Princess. You have to stop him, before he kills himself!” Twilight said, pointing towards the lab. Luna looked, but only saw a shimmering, twisting haze where the door should have been. “I tried myself, but he’s sucking all the available magic out of the air!”

Instantly, Luna realized what that wrong feeling she had was. It was as if the lab had turned into a magical vacuum, pulling all the surrounding magic, and re-purposing it for… something. It only sucked out the unattended magic, Luna noticed. Magic that belonged to someone, such as Luna’s own personal magical field, was untouched.

However, it would be difficult to cast even the simplest of spells for a normal pony in these conditions, since the usual method of casting involved drawing in magic from the atmosphere, and using your own mana to shape it.

However, Luna wasn’t a normal pony, and she had other places to draw magic from.

“Everypony get back! Guards, evacuate this wing, now!” she shouted as she called upon her link with the moon. Instantly, a wave of magic poured into her, which she quickly shaped into a protective shield to allow her to cross the barrier. Then, with a hesitant gulp, she stepped through the shimmering wall before her.

It was like she had entered an entirely new world: Lightning arced from the ceiling, causing black marks to appear where they struck; Shapes seemed to claw at the edge of her vision, demanding her attention, yet disappearing when she looked; objects appeared to distort and move, or flicker in and out of existence; and to top it all off, a looming, bipedal shape seemed to be forming near the center of the maelstrom.

All of these things she ignored, however, in favor of concentrating on the small, unassuming form that was hunched over the one, stable, writing desk. He seemed to be working on something, but whatever it was was hidden by his hunched over form and the storm of magic that raged around them.

Carefully, Luna made her way across the room, dodging the occasional flying object, or piece of furniture that decided to phase back into this reality. Suddenly, without warning, the ~human’s~ head shot up, and he called out in his language for something. Before Luna could even think about trying to translate what he said, she felt something shatter into a million pieces on the back of her helmet. She didn’t let this stop her, however, and drew closer to the ~human.~

Once she was close enough, she reached out for him, barely noticing that he had broken his quill at some point, and was using his finger in its place. Then, with a slight gulp, she reached out and touched the ~human,~ all while dropping the protection she had erected around herself.

Instantly, the power vacuum broke. Object stabilized, things stopped clawing at her vision, and the air stopped distorting itself. There was a loud clatter all around Luna as various things fell to the floor, but she barely registered any of that as the ~human~ looked up at her.

~“Alex, please come back to us,”~ the Lunar Princess said, hopping that what she had said was passable in the ~human’s~ native tongue.

As their eyes met, the princess was finally able to register his current state. He still wore his lab coat, as well as the leather pants he had made earlier, but both of those were now covered in ink, as well as a gray, viscous substance. The liquid was also on the desk, in the form of gray hand prints from where the ~human~ had touched it.

What was most shocking, however, were his eyes: He looked like he had been crying, though that wasn’t what gave her pause.

No, what made her stop was the haunted, desperate look she saw there.

The ~human~ looked back down at the paper, its contents completely illegible due to the smears of ink and gray that covered it, before drawing in a slow, steadying breath. He then said something, something disjointed and unintelligible as he looked up at the Lunar Princess, before he broke down completely.

Princess Luna hushed quietly as she encircled him with her hooves and wings, not caring that she was getting covered in whatever the ~human~ had managed to get on himself. The ~human~ started to tremble as mana shock set in, but a quick scan with her horn told her that he still had enough magic to keep his heart going.

This was… strange, especially seeing as how he had used far more magic this time around than last time this had happened. However, there apparently wasn’t enough in his system to keep him awake, since he fell into a deep sleep not long after he had started crying in earnest.

As soon as the ~human~ was fast asleep, the Lunar Princess gently leaned him back into his chair, all while she disentangled herself from his grip. She then took a few steps back and ignited her horn, intent on teleporting them both back to his room.

~”Is he going to be okay?”~

At this, Princess Luna nearly jumped out of her skin. She quickly turned around, only to be confronted with something that she wasn’t quite sure she believed.

There, standing in the middle of the room, amidst piles of deconstructed golem parts and fallen tools, stood a creature that looked very similar to ~Alex~ in its general shape and stance. It was tall, standing at probably seven feet, and was extremely lanky. In fact, it resembled nothing more than a metal skeleton, its appearance suggesting that it could have belonged to a member of ~Alex’s~ race, had it not been made of metal. Its joints were interesting, in the fact that it didn’t have any. In their place were glowing orbs of red light, allowing the creature an amazing range of motion. Its bony rib cage housed what appeared to be a number of flat plates, whose faces seemed to be covered in small, Arcanite studs, as well a webs of thin, cryptic lines that spoke of patterns and reason far beyond the Lunar Princess’ understanding.

Atop this ribcage sat the creature’s skull, it’s eye sockets shining with a faint, red light that looked at her with what she could only assume was worry.

~”Who… who you?”~ Princess Luna asked cautiously.

The creature rattled off a long series of words, but Princess Luna barely caught any of it, since it spoke in a language that she barely understood. It accompanied its words with some gestures as well, but they seemed… clunky, unpolished. In fact, the whole design, coupled with the warped parts and scrap that surrounded the creature gave it a very unfinished feel.

~”Slow, please, I not good speaking,”~ Luna said as she waved a hoof at the creature. ~”Please, just give name, name enough now.”~

~”Sorry about that,”~ the creature said, its voice sounding hollow and metallic, yet strangely feminine. The golem then rattled off something else that was too much for the princess to follow, but before Luna could interrupt it again, the creature said something else, something much slower, allowing the Lunar Princess to understand the automaton.

~“My name is Amelia.”~

* * *

“What happened in there, Twilight? If… if you don’t mind me asking….” Fluttershy said as soon as the six friends had gotten sufficiently far from the lab.

“Yeah, Twilight! I was just about to catch some z’s when Rarity runs up screaming about somepony trying to kill her!” Rainbow said as she landed in front of the purple unicorn.

“I… I really don’t know,” Twilight said, shaking her head a bit. “I was in the labs with ~Alex,~ working on a way to get Starswirl’s Omniscope to work, but then I started to feel really tired. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor, my head filled with fog, with ~Alex~ approaching me.” Twilight shuddered at that, the recent memory of the ~human~ covered in a gray substance, its claws out, and a collar around its neck still quite potent.

As it turned out, she needn’t have worried. But still, she had caught a glimpse, just for a second, of what kind of monster the insect aliens had turned him into.

“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked as she gently shook Twilight out of her trance.

“Yes… I’m okay… It’s just… The look in his eyes. I’ve never seen that look before,” Twilight said quietly.

It was true. Even when facing her most deadly foes, none of them had even come close to the look that had lurked behind those ~human~ eyes. They hadn’t sparkled with mischief like Discord’s had, they did not carry the cocky arrogance of Queen Chrysalis, nor did they carry the hatred and jealousy that Nightmare Moon’s did.

In fact, those eyes hadn’t carried any emotion at all. Only an intent. It had passed as soon as she had seen it, but its message had been clear.

The only thing those eyes had promised was death.

“Whatever do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked as she stepped closer.

“I… I don’t know, but I’m worried now. Before, I had only thought of him as the survivor, the one who had done terrible things against his will. I’ve never actually thought of him as capable of hurting anyone if he could help it, But now?” Twilight drew in a shuddering breath. “Now I’m… not so sure.”

“You are right to be worried, though not of what he might do to others,” a voice said from behind her, drawing the gathered ponies' attention back towards the direction of the lab. There, standing in the lab door, was Princess Luna. She looked tired, and she had decided to remove the armor she had arrived in, but otherwise she looked fine.

“Princess! Is he…?”

“He’s going to be fine. I have already teleported him back to his room, where he is currently sleeping,” the princess said, waving off the worry that was being directed towards her. “As I was saying, though, we should not be worried as to what he may do to others.”

Twilight looked at the princess skeptically at that. “Princess, I’m not sure you understand. He’s… well, he’s a...”

“A killer?” Princess Luna finished for her. The princess then sighed in exasperation when Twilight nodded, and the ponies that surrounded her gasped in horror. “Tell me, young ones, do you know what happened when he and his kin broke free from their masters?”

“Didn’t you say someth'n about there being fight’n and kill'n?” Applejack asked quietly, to which Fluttershy timidly hid her head under her wing.

“Yes, but do you realize what that entails?” Princess Luna asked pointedly. When all she got was silence, she sighed again, then straightened up and looked each one of them in the eye in turn before continuing. “The way they fought was both brutal, and without mercy. They had none left to give after the horrors they had been forced through, and so they stalked through the ship, hunting down their prey, neither asking, nor giving quarter. They struck, they fought, and they slaughtered their captors. On that night, they truly became the monsters that they had been transformed into.”

Fluttershy eeped at those words, and began to tremble, while the other took a nervous step back, their gazes now locked on the Lunar Princess. That is, they all took a step back, with the sole exception of Rainbow Dash for some reason.

“But, Princess, Ah don’t understand! If’n he’s such a monster, why're we letting him run free like this?” asked Applejack, clearly shocked at the Princess's actions.

“Because, Applejack, if we were to cage him like the monster that he is, we would have to give all monsters the same treatment,” Princess Luna said pointedly. “Starting with myself, of course.”

This immediately got everypony’s attention, their eyes all riveted upon the Lunar Princess. “But, Princess, you’re not a-” Rarity started to say, dismissing Luna’s words outright, but was interrupted when the princess’s horn began to glow.

Instantly, the princess was gone, replaced by a person that the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony had thought cleansed.

“Do you really think that what I attempted was better than what ~Alex~ has done?” Nightmare Moon asked, her eyebrow raising ever so slightly. “I, who attempted to cast this side of the entire planet into an eternal, wintry night, while dooming the other side to a blistering existence as the sun burned away all life?”

“But…”

“After me, of course, we would then have to turn upon our own guards,” the nightmare continued, as if she had heard nothing. “After all, we train them to fight, and to kill, all in the name of peace. We train monsters to hunt monsters, so obviously they would be next on the list.”

“I didn’t mean…” Applejack tried to interject.

“Of course, after the guard, we would have to go after Celestia,” Nightmare Moon continued relentlessly, her piercing eyes never wavering. “After all, she has fought, killed, banished, and imprisoned quite the number of creatures, all in the name of justice and peace. If we were to go after the guard, Celestia would be the next on our list.”

“But Celestia’s not-”

“Finally, the only monsters that remain are those that profit from all the monsters being locked away,” Nightmare Moon continued, her eyes still boring into the assembled ponies. “After all, to gain from the monstrous activities of the ponies we've imprisoned is also monstrous.”

“Princess! That’s going too far!” Twilight said, finally getting a word in.

“Yes, it is. My point is, is that yes, he may, in fact, be a monster. But sometimes we need monsters like him. Monsters who are capable of fighting the real monsters that exist in our world. The monsters that would destroy the innocent without cause, or provocation,” the Princess said sadly. She then took a deep breath, and slowly let her disguise fall. “What’s even more important, however, is that sometimes, even the worst of monsters may seek redemption for what they’ve done. Do you think it's possible? That one who was once so wicked, so ruthless, might one day find forgiveness for what they’ve done?”

“Of course it is!” Fluttershy said, her voice piping up as she stood up straight and tall. She then withered a bit, when she realized that everypony was looking at her. “I mean, that is, I think that they can.”

“Good, because right now, there is somebody here that needs that more than anyone,” Princess Luna said kindly. “More importantly, however, is that he needs friends. He needs ponies to show him that he doesn’t have to be alone anymore. That he can open his heart, and his pain, to those around him. Because in all honesty, I’m not sure if he’s even capable of shouldering it all by himself anymore.”

At this, Twilight’s face became filled with determination. She then turned towards her friends, a grin on her face. “She’s right, girls, we need to… get…” Twilight started to say, but trailed off as soon as she realized somepony was missing. Somepony important.

“Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

* * *

“I want blood tests, full urine and stool tests, as well as a level four magical scan; Princess Luna wants to know how he survived creating a total magical vacuum, and I have to agree with her,” Doctor Tender Care said to her staff as she marched towards her patient’s room.

“Maybe it has something to do with its reverting biology?” Doctor Level Head asked as he kept pace with his boss.

“It’s possible, but unlikely. Run another check on his DNA anyway, just to be certain,” Care said as she put her hoof on the handle of the door. “I also want him to be monitored twenty-four/seven, and…” she said, but trailed off as she pushed open the door, revealing the chaos that lurked inside.

There were streamers everywhere, Balloons of every shape and size clung to every surface, and strung across the room was a giant banner that read ‘Hope You Feel Better!’. There was even a large, three tier cake, as well as a number of plates and cups, all sitting on a table that had somehow been set up in the span of time it took for Tender Care to leave the room and summon the rest of her staff.

The room was oddly quiet, however, punctuated only by the soft snoring of the patient in the bed, who currently had his arms wrapped around something pink and poofy that had crawled into bed with him.

The pink pony brought her hoof up to her lips, then shushed. “Be quiet, he’s sleeping!”

At that point, Doctor Tender Care’s mind decided to check itself out before things got any weirder.

Author's Note

Well, here's the next chapter! I really hope I didn't disappoint you guys as much as I did with last chapter. I know a lot of you were expecting a huge first contact scenario, or were expecting a less anticlimactic death scene for Ilisk, but that chapter is what I had intended for a long time, and I'm sticking with it.

While yes, this story is about aliens, that's really more of a side thing. The main focus of this story is, and always will be, about the main character as he tries to come to terms with all the crap that he went through, and follows his journey as he tries to find a place among these strange, yet colorful aliens that took him in. Ilisk was supposed to have an anticlimactic death, simply because of his own ego and hubris. He had big dreams, big plans, thought of himself as a tier two villain, but ultimately he was a pawn, and he suffered a pawn's death.

As for the alien first contact, don't worry, there is plenty of that coming up as Akitesh tries to smooth things over with the Equestrians.

Things are not going to go as smoothly as she hopes.

Tip jar!

Chapter XXV

Princess Luna cantered through the broken door of the lab, well aware of the death that preceded its destruction. The body-count had just come in, and with the destruction of the vicinity of 4th and Starlight Lane, the alien monster had succeeded in killing twenty people and injuring fifty before he was stopped.

All around her ponies were busy; either repairing the damages caused by the two aliens (either accidentally in ~Alex’s~ case, or maliciously in the monster’s), or examining the object that had formed in the center of the room during the ~human’s~ episode.

Princess Luna eyed the golem, her gaze calculating. Currently this… ~Amilia~ seemed dead to the world; its once glowing eyes were nothing but blank sockets, and the orbs of light that served as its joints had disappeared, leaving the limbs strewn about the place. The thing seemed quite dead.

Though, with golems, that was always a suspect assumption.

“Is it malfunctioning?” Princess Luna asked, causing all the ponies nearby to jump in alarm.

“Princess Luna! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!” Doctor Burner said with a sweeping bow, which was quickly imitated by the rest of the ponies in the room once they realized that royalty was among them.

“Do not trouble yourselves with formalities at the moment, we have far too many things to worry about for such trivial nonsense,” the Princess said with a wave of her hoof. Grudgingly, the assembled ponies rose from their various bows and got back to work, with the exception of Doctor Burner. “Now, tell me what you have discovered about our newest friend.”

“Quite a lot, Your Highness. This… golem, is both the most primitive, and advanced, piece of living machinery I have ever seen,” Doctor Burner said as he levitated his clipboard over to the princess.

“How so?” she asked as she studied the notes with interest.

“The body was created using an Artist’s Matrix,” he said simply.

Princess looked up at the skeleton again, her gaze searching carefully over every inch of the creature’s form. Slowly, small details she had missed the first time began to reveal themselves. A series of numbers here, an odd cogwheel there, a weird crack where there shouldn’t have been: not only was it obvious that an Artist’s Matrix was used, but really, given the ~human’s~ background, it made sense that he’d used one.

An Artist’s Matrix was the most primitive method for golem creation. It involved carving or scribbling a basic description of whatever you wanted to make, and channeling your power into the drawing. The ritual had the benefits of quickly making golems, but the drawbacks far outstripped those benefits.

To start off, the process grabbed anything and everything in the immediate vicinity to construct the golem, prioritizing whatever objects were closest first, and objects of lesser mass second. This resulted in some… rather interesting golems. Once, Luna had seen one made entirely of leaves: Not even remotely threatening.

The second problem was power. Not only did this process require a huge pool of mana to begin with, but without a power matrix to syphon magic from Equis’s field, the golem would only have as much power as its creator could channel into it at the time of construction. This meant that golems created in this manner could last anywhere between a couple of seconds to a full minute, making them good for distractions, but little else.

To put it bluntly, it was a method of golem construction that was so far out of date, that only ponies with doctorates in golemancy even knew what it was. Which was why Luna found it surprising that Doctor Burner would have called it advanced.

“What do you mean, it’s advanced?” she asked him as she moved closer.

“When I speak of advanced, I of course, am referring to these… rather interesting plates located in the chest region. We’ve ran a few initial scans, and the degree of complexity that they have far outstrips anything I have ever seen.” The pony carefully picked up a probe and a magnifying glass, while motioning the Lunar Princess closer. He then held the magnifying glass over the plate for her, and pointed at one of the small, silvery studs found there. “You see these? These are tiny, tiny golems. Each are only capable of doing two things: turning on and off, and telling this wire here.” he pointed at the adjoining, tiny wire. “What its current state is. Alone, this little guy could do just about nothing.”

“...Just about?”

“Correct. But it doesn’t need to do a whole lot,” Doctor Burner said as he adjusted his glasses. “Think, for a second, about the tiny ant. A single ant cannot do much alone: It can bite, it can pick up stuff, but a single ant is hardly capable of creating an entire anthill, or eating away at a house. It is by working together, and by breaking these tasks down into smaller, easier to manage chunks, that a colony prevails.”

“So, you are saying that this isn’t so much a single golem, as a colony of golems working together?” Luna asked, somewhat stunned.

“Correct. Now, if you recall, My Princess, we have tried methods like this in the past,” Burner said, excitement dripping from his voice as he eagerly bounced up a down on the tips of his hooves. “Our problems were that we always thought that the golem needed some kind of central regulator, a sort of ‘queen golem,’ to ensure that each golem knew what it was doing. We were… both wrong, and right.”

“How can you be both wrong, and right?” Luna said, not taking her eyes off of the complex view through the magnifying glass.

“Do you see that large, squarish block near the center?” the excitable doctor asked, pointing it out with the probe.

“Large, of course, is comparative at this point. the block is still smaller than it has a right to be,” Luna answered dryly.

“True. Which is why it’s so impressive that it’s made up of billions of golems.”

…

“...Did I hear you correctly?”

“Apparently, our main problem wasn’t that we needed larger golems, but smaller ones,” the pony said, sounding as if he didn’t quite believe what was coming out of his own mouth. “The key, it appears, is to break the instructions for the golems up into such tiny bits, that these billions of golems have no problem understanding, and enacting, those instructions. I’m thinking of calling the whole process ‘Data Smashing.’”

“This seems… quite complex, something that I’m certain our friend couldn’t have possibly had time to do. The ‘Data Smashing’ of the instructions alone would have taken days, if not years, to complete,” Luna said as she took a step back.

“Again, you are correct. The instructions part we still can’t quite understand, but rest assured, he had a little help with that,” Doctor Burner said, gesturing towards a nearby table where five, nondescript arcanite rods sat.

Each were probably about the size of a normal unicorn horn, though clearly more rectangular than conical. Each also had several strange characters carved into them, which Luna instantly recognized as the ~human’s~ native tongue.

Curiously, Luna reached out and picked up one of the rods for inspection. “And what are these, then?”

“Those are where our friend embeded his fallen comrade's soul shards,” Burner said simply, causing the Princess to put the rod down respectfully. “We still don’t understand everything involved, but the machine and these soul shards work in unision. The shards create instructions, the machine breaks them down, works them over, and enact them. Then, the machine returns feedback to the soul. It is similar to how a brain and nervous system works in tandem with a living soul, though not nearly as efficient.”

Luna stared at the rods in stunned silence. Each one glittered in the light that the sun cast through the window, almost as if they didn’t contain the shattered remains of five, proud souls.

“Where is ~Robert~?” Luna asked, suddenly snapping out of her trance. “I must ask him, someone, about these.”

“Ugh,” A voice said behind the princess. Luna turned her head to see where the sound came from, only to feel her heart fall at the sight.

Behind her was Bunsen Burner’s brother, Lab Beaker. Hovering in the air in front of him was the broken, molten remains of the metallic cat that ~Alex~ had repurposed. “What… What happened to-”

“Ah, there it is. Slam it on the table, Beaker. I need to show Her Highness something,” Doctor Burner said, brightening up a bit.

His brother did as instructed, causing the table to shudder a little under the chunk of metal’s weight. At first, Luna was confused by the rough treatment, but the sound that it made immediately let her know why Burner had instructed his brother to act as he did.

“It’s been hollowed out,” The princess said, her interest picking up.

“Indeed it has, Your Highness. We believe that many of the parts, these plates in particular, were once inside the cat. Once we came to that hypothesis, we ran a number of scans on the storage rods and found that this one,” Burner said, hefting one of the rods on the table. “Is a perfect match to the magical signature that we got when we ran the same scan on… ~Robert.~”

The Princess nodded at this, somewhat relieved that ~Robert~ had survived the encounter with the invading monster. “So, what do you think you can do knowing all of this? Do you think you can replicate ~Alex’s~ feat?”

“Oh, heavens no,” Bunsen Burner said with a sigh. “I’ve only just begun to understand the basic concept. The level of fine control needed to assemble a golem of this calibre? I’d have to be an Aeon in order to even know where to get started! However, this design has given me some ideas.”

“How so?”

“This tech is very clearly designed to be modular. Not only that, but an examination of the cat has revealed that none of the outlier arcanite nodes controlling the limbs were tampered with… much.” The last part the Princess barely heard, as Burner had said it under his breath. Before she was able to call him out on it though, he plowed on through with his thought. “I believe that these plates could substitute for a more traditional arcanite core in any of our golem designs, with one of the six storage rods serving as the golem’s instructions. Our cores before were incapable of handling the information required to run an Omniscope, but with these beauties?” At this point, Bunsen Burner gave a short, somewhat disturbing giggle. “They’d probably be able to take the load easily!”

Princess Luna nodded in agreement. At the very least, they would have something to work with other than the back up plan. Maybe we'll be able- She started to think, but stopped when something that Burner had said earlier suddenly clicked. “Wait, six storage rods? I only see five here.”

“Ah, you’re forgetting the one in the golem, here,” Bunsen Burner said, pointing towards a small, arcanite rod that was attached to one of the skeleton’s metal plates.

“Of course, my apologies,” The Lunar Princess said with a nod of her head. “At any rate, continue with your research, and see if you can either build, or pull from storage, a body more suitable than this… first attempt, by our friend. As impressive as it is, I believe that he will be quite grateful if we can get one of his friends into a body that is unlikely to spontaneously shut down.”

“Right away, Your Highness.”

With that taken care of, Princess Luna turned and left, a burning ember of hope resting in her chest.

* * *

The White Queen motioned for the Priestess to take a seat. She hadn’t invited Akitesh to her castle, rather, she had instructed her subjects to put together a pavilion on the tarmac. It was a very clear message, one that said ‘you are not my friend, but my enemy.’

But at the very least, she was willing to parley for a time.

“So, as I was saying, we want nothing more than peace,” Akitesh said as she sat down on the odd, short stool, her claws folded on her lap while her tail wrapped around the stool legs. “But others are not as… pure, in their intentions as us.”

The equine cocked her head to the side at this, but otherwise did not say anything.

“To answer your earlier question, we do not care where he goes, or what he does. All we care about is that he is healed, both in mind and body, and that his tormentors are brought to justice,” Akitesh said, trying to put the white queen’s worries to rest. “To this end, I wish to talk to him, to hear his side of the story, and to collect his testimony.”

“Why, talking is, bring bug with?” The equine asked, her piercing purple eyes boring into the quzin.

“As is our tradition and law, any trespass must be apologized for,” Akitesh said, her eyes not moving from the queen’s. “Since none of the actual perpetrators are here, he is here to apologize on behalf of his race, both to the victim, and to you.”

The White Queen didn’t say anything. In fact, she barely had a change in her expression, with only the tiniest of eyebrow raises to show that she had even heard.

“...I, uh, understand that no apology could be worth the lives lost, or the pain endured, yet we must still-”

“Fine,” The White Queen said suddenly, catching Akitesh off guard as she rose to her hooves.

“...Huh?”

“I is saying fine. Want talk? Good. Want apologize? Good. Want no war? Good,” the queen said, tossing her head back a bit. She then locked the priestess with a stare that would have put even Alagria, Akitesh’s mother, to shame. “But, then leave. Not want bug here, not want you here, ally of bug. Because of bugs, lost many homes, lost many lives. You leave, not come back.”

“Uh…” Akitesh said hesitantly. “That may not be the best idea…”

The White Queen let loose another one of those withering stares, causing the priestess to unconsciously gulp again.

“You see, now that the traitor is dead, we cannot question him about his motives or allies. They will send more. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or next week. But they will be coming.”

The White Queen continued to stare at her, her gaze never faltering.

“We only wish to prevent further loss of life,” Akitesh said, bowing her head respectfully. “To that end, we must stay, for what can your people do to prevent an alien invasion?”

Akitesh wasn’t sure, but for the briefest of moments, she was certain that she had seen The White Queen smile. However, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. “Come, must apology. Bring ally. apology in person.”

* * *

The first thing I became aware of was how warm I was. It hadn’t reached uncomfortable levels yet, but I was at the point where that could change at any moment.

The second thing I noticed was that something close by smelled like a bakery. While this was extremely confusing to me at first, I decided to just roll with it, since the scent was one of my all-time favorites.

The third thing that I noticed was that I currently had my arms wrapped around something soft. Now, normally, this probably wouldn’t have registered in my head at all, had it not been for the fact that whatever it was that I was hugging was breathing.

“So… If I were to, say, open my eyes right now, what would I see?” I asked the room around me. I heard a soft mumble from whatever I was hugging, which immediately cause my eyes to snap open.

I was greeted with an unending view of pink, which, if I really thought about it, wasn’t the worst thing that I’ve ever woken up to. It was still quite disconcerting, though, especially since the last thing I remember was having an emotional breakdown in front of Moon.

“What in the world…?” I asked as I tried to disentangle myself from the soft, pink, pastry-smelling thing. I stopped, however, when my arm jerked against something attached to my wrist.

It took me some finagling, but I was finally able to raise my head up enough to get a clear view of what was happening. The arm that I currently had draped over The Pink One had some kind of tube sticking out of it, which in turn was hooked up to some kind of glowing machine. It wasn’t making any noise, but-

Wait a second…

“...Why the heck are you in my bed?” I asked the still sleeping pink pony.

She just mumbled incoherently, then rolled over and snuggled into my chest. As cute as the pink bundle of randomness was, this was just getting too weird for me.

Without any ceremony, I gently disentangled myself from The Pink One and reached for the needle in my arm. Before I was able to even touch it, though, a hoof suddenly entered my field of vision, letting me know that someone else was in the room other than me and The Pink One.

It was one of the nurses, and she was currently shaking her head, as if to tell me that pulling the needle was probably a bad idea. Taking my hunch as fact, I stopped trying to get at the darn thing and let myself slump back down into my previous position.

This seemed to please the nurse, who held her hoof out in a ‘wait’ gesture as she moved towards the door. I did as she instructed, watching listlessly as she opened the door and shouted something down the hall. While she was doing that, my mind slowly started to take in the room around me, and I found myself only getting more weirded out as time progressed. There were balloons and streamers everywhere, confetti was definitely not here the last time I was in my room, and… was that a three tier cake?

My mind locked up when I saw the cake, and all I could think about was how I was going to get myself the biggest piece as soon as I could get out of this infernal bed. In fact, I didn’t even notice the doctor come in, though I certainly noticed it when she pulled the needle from my arm.

“Ghah! Give a guy some warning, why don’t you!?” I said as I jerked back a bit. I would have pulled my arm back, but the doctor had been smart enough to envelop my arm with her power, keeping it still while she applied a bandage from where she removed the…

Actually, now that I was looking at it properly, I realized that the only resemblance that device had to a needle was that they were both pointy and made of metal. This thing had bands of bright glowing green spaced evenly along its length, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t feeding me anything or drawing blood.

My point is, is that the thing was weird. Not only that, but the thing was also responsible for tricking me into roughly waking The Pink One, so you can imagine that it had rightfully earned my ire.

The Pink One didn’t look too disturbed at being woken up, though, choosing to take a moment to rub the sleep out of her eyes and say something that I couldn’t understand. She immediately perked up, though, when she noticed that I was awake.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m glad to see you too,” I said awkwardly as she wrapped her hooves around me again. She then bounced out of bed and rushed out of the room without even a glance back, confusing me even further.

“Okay…?”

Before I could dwell on this any more, the doctor started making motions for me to get up, all while levitating two small cup towards me.

“Again?”

She just nodded at me, causing me to grumble a bit as I took the cups and swung myself out of bed. I knew she was just doing her job, but still…

As I made my way to the bathroom, I couldn’t help but feel… strange. I didn’t feel bad by any measure of the word, but I felt… light. It was hard to describe, kind of like I had a pressure in my skull for longer than I could remember, but only now that it was gone did I notice its presence at all. Honestly, it felt… liberating, in a way.

After I had finished my business, thanking the high heavens once again that these people had invented real toilet paper, I took a second to look myself in the mirror as I washed my hands. The changes were a lot more pronounced now. The thin beard that had started growing had already fallen out, as had my eyebrows. It’s gonna be weird, not having those again, but at least I still have my lips, I thought to myself as I took a closer look.

The pupils had almost completely expanded to fill my whole eye; if I moved my eye around I could still see the green, but as of now, it pretty much looked like I had nothing but blackness for eyes. For some strange reason, though, my sight was improving, rather than the opposite as the mutating eye let in more light than it was designed to. My teeth were becoming more pointed, but luckily that seemed to be restricted to the front ones.

Somewhat curious, I turned to the side, in hopes of seeing what my back was like. I didn’t have any spikes yet, at least none that I could see, but was it my imagination, or were the bumps of my spine getting… larger?

Probably, I thought as I looked down at my hands. The alien things still looked quite spindly, but they seemed to be building some muscle and gaining some color. Hopefully that was a good sign of things to come; that I wouldn’t lose the majority of my facial features as my genetic code was slowly rewritten.

I was so enthralled by the latest changes in my body that I almost didn’t notice the knock on the bathroom door. Almost.

With a bit of a sniffle, I quickly wiped my eyes clear and made myself presentable. I was keenly aware that that was a pretty pointless task, but I did my best despite my obvious handicap in the area. “I’m coming! Just hold your… well, I’m coming anyway…”

With a deep breath, I turned and opened the door, not really ready for what the future might have in store for me.

But then again, when have I ever been ready for something like that?

Author's Note

Well, I couldn't sleep until I finished editing this and publishing it. Thanks again you guys for all your wonderful support!

Anyway, I'm sorry that I haven't updated anything on this lately. A lot of stuff has been going down, Christmas happened (sucks to be in retail), and my muse told me to work on A Hiss in the Dark. I'm still holding out hope that you guys will try that one out, but I am slowly coming to the realization that I'm becoming known as 'that guy who only does that story that sounds like a Linkin Park song' to a lot of you.

I don't want to be known for just that, but what am I gonna do, eh? I can't force you to read it, and even if I could, you'd hate it because you'd associate it with whips. :pinkiecrazy:

Anyway, don't worry, I still intend to update and complete all of my stories. I just have to follow my muse, and my muse right now is telling me What I've Done and Hiss In The Dark.

Tip Jar!

Chapter XXVI

I opened the door without much ceremony, not really expecting anyone other than one of the nurses, or possibly the doctor, impatiently waiting for my sample cups. That being said, and with me being about two feet taller than most of the natives, it should come to no one’s surprise that my eyes were looking downwards when I left the bathroom.

Instead of being greeted by a smiling face, or a business-like expression, though, I was instead met by an unending wall of blue. I took a few steps back in alarm, the cups I was carrying accidentally slipping from my hands, only for the wall of blue to resolve itself into the belly of Rainbow.

She had been hovering in front of the bathroom at about eye level, her hooves crossed in front of her, and a slightly amused expression on her face. A quick glance around allowed me to spot the cups I had been holding, safely being levitated onto a tray by a nearby doctor, his expression less than pleased as he looked up at the blue pegasus. The doctor said something stern, which the pegasus seemed to just blow off with a grunt and a wave of her hoof.

I blinked in confusion, and in the time that it took me to blink, the pegasus had disappeared, and I could feel two hard somethings pressing against my back. I turned my head, somewhat perplexed, to see the pegasus pushing at me from behind, eager to get me moving.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I said as I took a couple of steps in the direction that she was pushing. She didn’t seem to care, nor were the doctors trying to stop her, so I dutifully played along, completely confused at how I reached my current predicament.

As I stumbled out through the open door of my room, I felt the pressure on my back disappear, only for the pegasus to zoom around me at a breakneck pace. She gave me the once over, her expression clearly not impressed as she took in my form. She said something; something that sounded almost as if it were a challenge, but somehow the subtlety of whatever she said was lost in my blank incomprehension.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tried to reason with her.

Instead of being dissuaded, her smile gained a cocky air as she landed, almost as if she couldn’t care less about the language gap. She then turned around and cantered away from me, but stopped only after a few steps to turn and look at me, a puzzled expression on her face.

It took me a few seconds, as well as a few very obvious motions from the colorful pegasus, but I eventually got the message and started to follow her.

Except… as I walked behind her, her pace increased, forcing me to speed up if I wanted to keep up. At first, I thought nothing of it, since the speed up was so gradual that I didn’t even notice it was happening. Though... I did notice when our speed increased to the point where I had to jog along just to keep her in sight.

“Hey, what’s the rush?” I asked. I wasn’t even breathing heavy, since my… changes, gave me a few advantages over the normal man, though I was feeling a little uneasy about the rainbow pony’s behavior.

Her only response, though, was to turn her head and flash me a mischievous grin, all while cocking an eyebrow at me.

Wait a second…

The rainbow haired pegasus then took off in a flash, quickly outstripping me, and leaving me in the dust as she tore down the long castle hallway.

I don’t even know what happened next, or why I did what I did. By all rights, I should have just shrugged a bit, then turned around and walked back to my room, all while muttering something about aliens being weird.

“Nuh-uh, you did not just call a race!” Is what actually came out of my mouth. Without another word, I took off after her, trying to recover some of the lost ground before she managed to get too far ahead.

* * *

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Carrot Top asked, a little exasperated with her husband.

“Yes, I’m sure of it. Pinkie told us to take a right at the painting with the sun and the moon. Now, hurry up! We’re going to be late for… whatever it is that mare has planned,” Written Script answered as he sped up to a quick canter.

“Wait, you don’t know?” Carrot Top asked, a little bemused at her husband’s lack of information.

“Of course I don’t know. I was barely able to make out the instructions before her excitement got the better of her,” Written Script said with a grin. “If memory serves, her exact words near the end there were ‘Isgonbthebesaliapartiever!’”

Carrot Top looked confused, but didn’t say anything. After all, it was best not to question Pinkie Pie.

That road led only to madness.

As they walked, Carrot Top slowly became aware of some sort of ruckus coming from down the hallway to their left. She paused for a bit, quite confused when she saw Rainbow Dash tear around the corner and charge them, giggling like a maniac the whole way. Her confusion turned into alarm, however, when she saw a creature that was both familiar, yet completely alien round that same corner, practically running along the wall in an effort to reduce the corner’s impact on its speed.

As it turned to charge down the corridor, though, it threw out both of its long, lanky arms to either side of it, using the walls to help it slow down when it saw Carrot. After a few brief moments it came to a complete stop, its soulless black eyes staring at her.

It had no eyebrows, but it did have an eyebrow ridge, which was currently furrowed into an expression that Carrot couldn’t quite place. Its lips were peeled back a little, and though they weren’t the sharpest teeth she’d ever seen, they were still clearly not designed for a herbivorous diet.

Despite all of these oddities about its appearance, Carrot Top found that she was unafraid. In fact, she already had a pretty good idea about who this was. She just wasn’t prepared for how radically he had changed since the last time she had seen him.

She also wasn’t really expecting him to be able to wander the halls without an escort.

“Woah, there, Rainbow, what’s the hurry?” Carrot asked as the blue pegasus screeched to a halt.

Rainbow Dash looked at Carrot and Script, somewhat confused. “Um… what are you guys doing here? This wing’s supposed to be off limits right now.”

Carrot Top raised her eyebrow at this. “Off limits? Why? And why is he out and about? I would think that the Princesses would want to keep him under close watch, especially after-”

“Hey, since when were you guys brought into the loop?” Rainbow interrupted her as she raised her eyebrow at the two. She shrugged it off, though, and looked back at the confused-looking creature. “Well, whatever. And to answer your question, the big guy here can take care of himself. Ain’t that right, ~Alex?~”

Written Script cleared his throat at that. “Be that as it may, it would probably be better if he had his own guards.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes at that. “Dude, chill. There are guards behind every door and corner, I’m actually surprised that none of them have tried to stop you, yet.”

Before Carrot, or her husband, could respond to that, there was a shout from further down the hall. “Pinkie came through here earlier, telling us they were coming to the party. They’re supposed to be here, though they weren’t really supposed to interfere with the test.”

“Yeah! She also invited us to the party. Though to be honest, it kind of conflicts with the duty roster, so…” another voice agreed from down the same hallway.

This just caused Rainbow Dash to roll her eyes again, exasperation clear on her face. “Of course Pinkie did that…”

“Um… excuse me, but what test?” Written Script asked, his curiosity piqued.

Rainbow looked around at that. “Well… Let’s talk as we move. After all, Pinkie will hunt us down if we’re not over there in time, and you know how Pinkie can be, sometimes.”

Rainbow turned and motioned to Defender to follow. He looked even more confused, but still fell in line behind the blue pegasus. “The eggheads had an idea about something or the other. Something about his adrenaline and how it works in the brain and stuff like that, so they wanted to test it. Stuck something in his arm to allow them to measure him, and told me to get his blood pumping.”

“They came to you, Dash?” Carrot asked as she raised her eyebrow.

Rainbow didn’t answer at first. Instead, she took off and flew a couple of lazy circles around the group. “Nah, I went to them. Felt like getting off my butt and actually doing something, you know?”

Although she said it very nonchalant, Carrot could tell that the rainbow pegasus was hiding something. What that was, she wasn’t sure.

But what she did know was that it wasn’t any of her business.

“Uh-huh. Well, anyway, why the sudden need for a party?” Carrot Top asked curiously.

Before Rainbow Dash could respond, though, the conversation was brought to a screeching halt when Princess Celestia suddenly appeared in front of the group. This had the primary effect of causing everyone present to jump back by about a foot, and the secondary effect of causing Written Script to drop in a dead faint.

“Uh, hi, Princess, um…”

“Hello, my little ponies. While I would love to know what you are doing here, and why ~Alex~ is out and about without an escort, I have more pressing issues at the moment,” Celestia said as her horn began to glow.

* * *

While this wasn’t the weirdest morning I had ever experienced, it was still easily in my top ten. First, I started the day by giving out stool and urine samples: never a good sign. Then, a multi-colored pegasus whom I know can break the sound barrier challenged me to a race, and then I randomly run into the pony who was responsible for my current way of life.

Well, really, it was the tree’s fault, but that guy wasn’t really around to be congratulated or anything, so he didn’t really count.

And to top it all off, freaking Sun Goddess pops out of nowhere and scares the bejesus out of us. “Seriously, you guys with horns need to start wearing bells, or something,” I said as I tried to get my heart back under control. “I mean, make a sound, anything, just give a guy a little warning when you appear like that...”

As it turned out, Scroll appeared to have the same notion, because as soon as Sun appeared, he dropped into a dead faint. Before I could comment, or even think about that, I saw Sun’s horn glow, which was immediately followed by the now familiar tingling sensation in my throat and ears.

“Greetings, Alex. Could talk secret? Need tell something. Need ask,” she said, motioning towards a nearby room.

I shrugged a bit. It didn’t really matter to me if she wanted to keep some secrets; after all, this was her nation, and if she didn’t want some of her subjects knowing something, that was fine with me. “Okay, whatever you say.”

The rainbow one looked like she wanted to object, but didn’t say anything as Sun led me into the adjoining room and closed the door. As soon as we were alone, she took a deep, steadying breath, and looked at me. “How is doing?” She asked carefully.

Now, I might have been out of touch with society for a while, and we might be using a somewhat garbled translator to communicate, but I knew a loaded question when I heard one. Besides, no one jumps out in front of a group of people just to ask you 'how are you doing?’

Well, no one I know does that. But they might do things differently here in ponyland.

“I’m doing alright. Robert can be repaired, and the bug was stopped, so everything’s good,” I said with a smile.

I don’t think she bought it, though.

“Alex, you know not by self more, right? If feel bad, tell. We help.”

I let out a sigh at that. “No, I’m fine, really. It’s not like this sort of thing hasn’t happened before. I’m fine, I swear.”

She gave me a really hard look at that, but, thankfully, let it slide. “Alex, have something need talk. Someone ask see. To talk. But not talk, not see, unless say yes. Understand?”

I scrunched my face up at that. I had a suspicion about who she was talking about, especially right after what just happened between me and that bug, and what she just asked me about, but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. “Who is it?” I asked, bracing myself for the worst.

She looked away, took a deep breath, then looked me in the eye again. “Right when bug attack you, other ship come. It bring bug, but also bring alien not know. Bring alien like snake. Seen before?”

Even though I was expecting it, even though I knew they were coming to parlay, I still couldn’t help but feel a shiver of dread run down my spine. Figures... though, snake aliens? The only things that came close were those lizardfolk from that one planet… I thought, but trailed off as the unpleasant memory surfaced. With a shake of my head, I quickly brought myself back to the present before I went too far down that rabbit hole. “No, I don’t think I ever saw anything like that. Why are they here?”

“They say here fix mess. Say what happen you, what happen to you people, all because rebels. Say no want fight, no want hurt, just fix,” Sun said, her lips turned down in a frown.

“...But you don’t believe that.” It wasn’t a question.

“I not sure. Not know. Expect to betray, expect to lie, but hope tell truth. Because, to honest, would not survive if alien attack. Weapon not ready,” she said, her expression unchanging. “Will not force, if not want talk. But if do want talk, please, no kill. Can trust not kill?”

Yeah, I knew what she was asking, and it went against every instinct in my body. Seriously, the things responsible for what happened to me and my friends want a nice, polite sit down? Yeah, right. And I’m the lead singer for Guns N’ Roses.

But even with my misgivings, I could still see the wisdom in what she was saying. If we were going to be bold-faced lied to, it would be best if we could get a little bit of truth out of the bargain. And fortunately, because of my last run in with one of their kind, I knew just how to do that.

“I promise not to kill anyone,” I said as I tried to keep the look on my face neutral. “I won’t even touch them, I swear.”

She gave me another piercing look at that, but seemed to see something that allayed her fears. “Okay. Will take see, but first, think important look part,” she said as she eyed my Awesome Pants of Wonder. “From listening, Wonder finish clothes. Let get dressed, think better impression.”

* * *

“So, what do you think of the decor, captain?” Akitesh asked.

Hazalk briefly looked at her, then went back to studying the impressively crafted, stained-glass window. “It’s flashy, opulent, and detailed.”

“You don’t approve?” Akitesh asked curiously.

“No, I approve very much. It’s what I would have done,” the captain said with a wave. “This is obviously where the ruler meets with foreign dignitaries: It’s supposed to give the impression of wealth and power, while at the same time the lighter colors set the visitor at ease. It sends a very clear message.”

“And what is that?”

“Don’t screw with the person sitting in that chair,” Hazalk said, pointing with his upper right hand towards the throne. “It may have cost the taxpayers a pretty credit, but I would say it’s worth every piece. On my planet, more wars were averted simply by looking powerful, rather than having the actual might to back it up.”

“Is that why your ships are shaped and painted the way they are?”

“Exactly. The wing design is to make the ship appear like a bird of prey, while its transformation is supposed to make the enemy think twice about attacking,” the Krin said as he scratched under his chin. “In reality, the weapons are always ready to fire; we just roll out the transformation sequence as an intimidation tactic.”

“I knew about the weapons, but I was unsure at the reason behind the display,” Akitesh grunted. “I haven’t really had too much time to study your culture, a fault that I am regretting more each hour.”

Hazalk shrugged off her half-apology. “Learning to command takes precedence, as does learning the ins and outs of your ship. Truth be told, I only know as much as I do about your people because it was made mandatory by our new government after the war. Hiarch Perivel did not want to make the same mistakes as our old emperor.”

Akitesh was about to answer, but was prevented by the sound of the huge, double doors opening. She and the captain quickly turned towards the sound, though the sight it revealed thoroughly confused the young priestess.

Standing in the doorway was the White Queen, as well as the victim from the Krin science vessel.

Only, it wasn’t the victim.

Akitesh had pored over every video file that the Krin had on the matter, and the victim on those screens only bore a passing resemblance to the thing quickly striding towards them. This creature had a much fuller-looking face, short red hair, and actual cheeks and lips that covered and protected his teeth. His skin tone looked far too pale for some reason, and the eyes were enough to give anyone nightmares. He was dressed in a dark green coat, which was open in the front to reveal a white, pressed shirt. His legs were covered in tubes of green cloth, which also served the purpose of covering his nether regions, and were long enough that they went all the way to his shoes. The shoes themselves had an odd look to them, since they were bigger in the front, almost as if his feet were larger at the end.

Despite the victim’s new look, as well as the new clothes, Akitesh knew that this was him, if only by the sheer hatred and loathing that filled the creature’s incredibly expressive face. The look it was giving wasn’t directed at her, thankfully, but rather at the Krin Captain next to her.

The creature’s shod feet made a rather ominous clicking sound with each step he took, raising the tension even further, until finally he stopped, his soulless black eyes boring into the captain.

“What have you done to him?” Akitesh asked the White Queen, remembering to turn on her translation rune before she spoke.

“We heal, damaged. Damaged bad, not work right. Bring back self, but turn slowly, changing something between,” the White Queen said stiffly.

Akitesh wasn’t quite sure she understood, but before she could voice her concerns, the victim spoke. In perfect Krin, no less, though his accent was a bit strange.

“Why are you here?” He asked, venom dripping from every word.

“...Captain?” Akitesh said, her confusion increasing by the moment.

“The traitors would have wanted their creations to understand their orders,” Hazalk explained. “Not only that, but part of the… controller, would have had to have been inside his head. In order for them to make it work right, though, they would have had to replace-”

“Part of my brain? Yeah, no duh,” the victim then called Hazalk a name, one that must have been in his native tongue, because Akitesh couldn’t understand whatever it was that he said.

Whatever it was, though, it sounded like the Qual-Kek words shuur, to break apart, and look, to return together.

Captain Hazalk took the insult in stride, though, and recovered marvelously. “May I ask your name?”

Despite the simple nature of the question, though, it seemed to have a profound effect on the victim. “W-What?” He asked as he took a staggered step backwards.

“Your name. I usually find it best to know how to call someone before I begin a conversation,” Hazalk said cordially.

Whatever the victim was expecting him to say, it probably wasn’t that. “...N-No… You… You can’t...”

“I’m sorry if I caused offense. Maybe it would have been better had I introduced myself, first,” the captain said with a bow. “My name is Hazalk, Captain of The Bastion.”

The victim took a deep, steadying breath, closed his eyes, and stopped.

He stood stock still for quite some time. A less… sensitive, person would have been wondering what he was doing, but Akitesh, who had the training of the Void Knights behind her, had picked up on his gift quite easily.

The victim was probing Hazalk, though not in the way that Akitesh was familiar with. He wasn’t looking through the captain’s mind, or aura, or anything of the sort.

Rather, he was concentrating on the captain’s datapad.

“Uh… Are you alright?” Hazalk asked, worry registering in his voice.

The White Queen also looked worried at this development, though she, too, seemed to realize what the creature was up to. “Defending one, not do, what try?”

“Don’t do anything, don’t say anything, and just let him work,” Akitesh said as she put a single hand on Hazalk’s shoulder.

“I don’t understand… What is he doing?” Hazalk asked, his worry growing.

“Shh… he’s learning about you,” Akitesh said, as she watched the victim with more than just her eyes.

So far, he had burrowed through every layer of protection that Hazalk’s computer, and ship, had to offer. Within seconds, the victim had gained complete control over every piece of software that the ship possessed, at what Akitesh had to admit was an incredibly alarming rate.

Not even the most skilled of the Quzin’s mages could crack a system that fast, and the unassuming creature had made it look easy. As impressed as she was, though, what happened next was what truly astonished her.

She could feel a multitude of voices, each different, fragment out from the unassuming creature. He didn’t seem to notice them, though, almost as if he didn’t even realize they were separate entities. But when he asked for something, such as the captain’s personal logs, or top secret information, they scurried to perform the task as fast as they could.

Akitesh, however, with her outsider’s perspective, could easily tell that these fragments were completely separate beings.

She knew of this kind of technique, but had only ever seen it performed by her own people. With but a thought, she took a memory engram of the creature’s appearance, determined to match him against the Quzin archives, and figure out where he hailed from.

Whatever his race was, they clearly had great spiritual potential.

After what felt like hours, but was probably much shorter, the victim seemed satisfied, and recalled his influence over the Krin’s computers. His eyes fluttered open, and he honestly looked like he was going to be sick.

The creature took in a deep, shuddering breath and shakily raised a single, outstretched hand towards the Krin Captain. “Hello, Hazalk, Hero of Thana,” the creature said, a trembling, disbelieving grin settling on his face. “My name is Alexander Cunningham, and I really have no idea how I’m supposed to think about you.”

Author's Note

Well, I thought I was going to bed, but after lying awake for about an hour, I decided to get up and finish editing this sucker so I could publish it.

Anyway, if you missed my blogpost, you would have also missed a pretty crucial piece of information: Namely, that this is probably the last real chapter of this book.

This book.

The sequel: What I Am, is going to come out soon. First thing's first, though, I need to write up an epilogue for this book, as well as a prologue for the next one. Don't worry, they'll be put out at roughly the same time, so you won't miss the sequel unless you stopped following this story.

If you did, then there's really nothing I can do to help you. :raritycry:

Tip Jar!

Chapter XXVII

“Um… what is he doing?” Akitesh whispered under her breath.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Hazalk answered as he stared at the offered appendage.

Alexander looked down at his hand, then back up at the two visiting aliens, as if realizing that he had done something wrong. “Oh, uh... It’s called a ‘handshake’. It’s the formal greeting of respect among my people,” he said, that odd, shaky smile still on his face. “I… I know what your traditional greeting is, but my people don’t bow to anyone.”

“Why? Is it impolite?” Hazalk asked as he reached out and took the victim’s hand.

Alexander gripped the Krin’s hand firmly, then gave it two small shakes before letting go. “No. It’s just that, among my people, freedom is our most sacred treasure. Bowing kind of feels wrong, like I’m betraying that ideal. Or, if we do bow, it is almost always in a mocking manner.”

“Ah, I understand. An odd custom, but I will keep it in mind,” Hazalk said, folding his hands behind his back.

“Defending One, what is do?” The White Queen asked under her breath, though Akitesh could still hear her.

Alexander said something to her, something strange, in a language that was unfamiliar to the priestess, though whatever it was that he said seemed to leave the White Queen flabbergasted. “But… true?”

The victim nodded, then fixed Akitesh with his soulless gaze. “Well, since you’re the one calling the shots, what happens now?”

“We’re only here to repair the damage that has been done, and protect you and your allies from further-” Akitesh started to say, but was interrupted by Alexander.

“No.”

Akitesh looked worried at that. “I… I assure you, we’re only trying to-”

“And I understand that. I believe you, but...” Alexander trailed off, then shivered in fear. “But there is no way that I’m going under one of your two species’ knives.”

“I understand if you-”

“I believe you when you say that you mean us no harm, but that doesn’t mean I trust you. At least, not fully,” Alexander said, turning his back towards the two aliens. He then looked over his shoulder at Hazalk, an uncertain expression on his face. “...um, about those… well, nevermind.”

Alexander then started walking away, his head bowed as he made his way towards the doors of the hall.

“Wait! Defending One, what being wrong?” The White Queen said.

She only got a brief, clipped reply from the creature, but there was something wrong about the quality of Alexander’s voice. Akitesh couldn’t really be sure, since he spoke in his native tongue, and she was unfamiliar with his species’ social norms, but it almost sounded as if he was crying.

“I’m sorry, did we cause offense?” Akitesh asked with a slight bow.

“...No, no. It fine. No wrong, just… need time. Thank coming, for explaining thing, but time,” The White Queen said with a wave of her hoof. “Maybe come tomorrow, explain more, talk more, but now need think. Need talk sister, tell of thing. For now, will take vessel, let leave.”

Akitesh looked at her in shock. “I thought you wanted us to leave and never come back?”

The White Queen raised an eyebrow at that, then turned to leave. “I not know Defending One see. Not know make trust. But he hate that much, then turn? That people give chance.”

“I see,” Akitesh said as she slithered to follow the equine. To be honest, she really didn’t see. She was just glad that no one was shooting lightning at her.

“What’s going on? Where are we going?” Hazalk asked, having not understood most of the conversation, or indeed, most of what had happened.

“We’re being escorted back to the landing craft, but we’ve been welcomed back to continue our discussion,” Akitesh answered.

Hazalk’s antenna twitching thoughtfully. “So… things went better than we hoped? Whatever Alexander did must have really made an impression…” Hazalk said thoughtfully. “Though, I must ask, how did he know that title of mine?”

Akitesh thought about it for a second, then shook her head. “Not now. I’ll explain once we get to the shuttle...”

* * *

I needed a place to think, someplace that wasn’t here. A place I could be alone. The concept of alone seemed to drive out all other conscious thought, even going so far as to make me completely miss the guards that were standing outside the doors.

“Is finished?” One of them, a white unicorn with a mane of alternating dark and light blue stripes, asked, bringing me back to reality. I briefly remembered that Sun had used that translator spell earlier on him, but that hardly mattered to me at the moment.

“I need to go somewhere. Somewhere I can be alone for a little while. Is there any place like that?” I asked the unicorn.

He looked thoughtful for a bit, a hoof pressed to his chin, before his face lit up. “Think know place. Follow.”

I fell in line behind the unicorn without even thinking. I distantly registered that his armor was quite a bit different from the others that I’ve seen, but I didn’t really care.

I honestly had too much on my plate at the moment.

* * *

Everything was in place. The guests were all here, the food was ready, music was already playing, and decorations were set up. So many ponies thought that party planning was easy, that anyone could do it.

They were wrong. Party planning was a science. And a hard one, too.

For example, if there were more than twelve guests, that automatically called for a pinata. Though if one of the guests had brought a friend, then that meant the pinata had to go on the back burner, just in case the new arrival had a fear of pinatas.

However, as carefully as she planned them, as precisely as she orchestrated the events leading up to these things, Pinkie Pie couldn’t plan for everything.

I mean, how am I supposed to plan for royalty scooping away the guest of honor? Pinkie thought to herself as she sighed into the table. That’s not fair! I mean, this will be the second party I’ve planned for him that he’s missed! That’s a first! A FIRST!

“Is… is Miss Pie going to be alright?” Pinkie heard Luna ask somewhere nearby.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Pinkie heard Rainbow answer. “She’s… uh… very dedicated to her parties. ~Alex~ not showing… well, she can understand why. It’s just that, this is sort of the second party he’s missed.”

There was a pause at this. “Well, that is not quite true. He’s only late. He may still come.”

Pinkie’s head shot up at that, her face full of hope as she stared at the Lunar Princess. “Do you really mean that?”

Luna was about to answer, but something about the look in Pinkie’s eye gave her pause. “Um… Yes, I really do. But Miss Pie, I don’t-”

Whatever Luna was about to say, however, went unheard as the pink pony dashed away in a flurry of activity. Balloons were added, more streamers were thrown, and Luna was fairly certain that a pinata of that size had no business even existing.

Seriously, the thing was bigger than she was. She was sure that it shouldn’t have been able to fit through the door.

In fact, Luna hadn’t seen it pass through the door. It just seemed to… appear.

“What did I do?” Luna asked, completely confused.

“Uh, you probably want to go get ~Alex~ now, Princess,” Rainbow said uneasily. “Pinkie can go a little overboard, and if he doesn’t show…” Rainbow gave an unpleasant shiver.

“Come, now, it cannot be as bad as… what…” Luna started to say, but trailed off when she noticed Pinkie wheel in a heavy piece of artillery and started loading it with confetti.

“I’ll be right back,” Luna said as her horn started to glow.

* * *

After what had happened with the alien creature earlier, even though the ~human~ had proven extremely capable in managing the situation himself, the princesses still felt it prudent to make sure there was a way that ~Alex~ could be easily located. Whether it was because he had been foalnapped, or, more likely, if he had accidentally teleported himself during one of his magical surges, it would probably be a good idea to have a way of finding him.

Dream magic was useful for this, but flawed. Luna couldn’t get an exact location through the aether, so it made the process more akin to finding something by nose, rather than sight, which made it inadequate for this task. No, what they needed was a quick way of pinpointing his exact location.

To this end, when the medical staff had proposed an implanted biological monitor, Luna had insisted that they also implant a magical beacon. This made it easy for those with scrying devices tuned to that signal to locate and teleport to his exact location. In fact, a scrying device was completely unnecessary, provided whomever was looking for it knew the signal’s wavelength, was sensitive enough to the frequency, and was close enough to feel its pulse.

No, finding the ~human~ wasn’t a problem, though Luna was confused at his whereabouts. “Why are you in the castle library?” She asked as she disappeared in a flash of light.

When she reappeared, she immediately noticed that the castle library was a lot emptier than it was normally. Sure, it was a private library, but Celestia would more often than not have students from her school come here to study.

Instead, all Luna found was Captain Armor and one of his troops, guarding ~Alex~ as he sat, staring into the magical fireplace.

“Princess Luna!” Captain Armor said with a salute. “I apologize for not-”

“At ease, Captain,” Princess Luna said as she drew closer, her eyes locked on the huddled form of the ~human.~ “I can already guess as to why you did not return once the meeting was over. I take that it did not go well?”

“I actually don’t know. He was in there for a very long time, but once he left, he said he needed some alone time,” Shining Armor said as he dropped his salute. “He’s been staring into the fire ever since we got here. Hasn’t even moved an inch.”

“I’ll take it from here,” Luna said as she moved closer. Once she was beside the ~human,~ she settled down on her belly next to him, briefly taking the time to scan him, to ensure that the translator spell was still active. As soon as she was satisfied that it wasn’t going to fail anytime soon, she cast the same spell on herself.

If the ~human~ had noticed her, he did not show it. He didn’t even twitch when her wing gently brushed his side, his attention completely glued to the flickering light that danced on the logs before them. The two just sat there, neither willing to break the silence that had fallen.

However, no matter how profound or deep something is, all things must eventually end.

“Tell, Moon, do have any monsters in history? Any pony monsters?” ~Alex~ asked, his voice oddly neutral.

The question caught Luna off guard. She was briefly tempted to hide the darker aspects of her species from this alien visitor, but quickly discounted that notion.

After all, he would find out eventually.

“Well… yes, yes we do. Our worst monster was King Sombra, a unicorn who enslaved an entire empire, and was bent on further expanding his influence to the whole world. But even then we have others; thieves, brigands, murderers. My sister and I try to stamp them out, but it is doomed to be an endless conflict.”

~Alex’s~ gaze didn’t waver from the fire as he listened, but once Luna was finished, he let out a sigh of relief. “Moon, I…” he started to say, but seemed to think better of it. “No. Moon, let tell story. Story of Greatest Monster in He Who Knows history.”

Luna wasn’t sure where the ~human~ was going with this, but she was careful to pay attention. While ~Alex~ had been open about many aspects of his homeworld, he had been fairly close lipped about things like history and culture. Anything she could learn would greatly increase her understanding of him.

“There once was nation, who people feel powerless. They just lose war, lose war bad. Not conquered, but force pay debt for war. People become poverty, feel crushed. But person come. He talk, he tell he make people strong if take power. Make enemies rue day they hurt nation. Rally people behind flag, make promise for better day.”

“I take it these were lies told to the desperate?” Luna asked. She had heard similar speeches from despots before, and she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

“No. Was truth, make people strong. One problem. He make only him people strong.”

Luna looked at the ~human~ curiously. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“We… we not have horns, wings, like you, but still different people. Different color skin, different color hair. Different jawline, different eyes. Silly differences, small differences,” ~Alex~ said, a little hesitantly, but plowed on through. “But enough for small people. Small people, small minds. Hate different, hate people. This man, he decide his race best race. Decide superior race. Decide all other race serve master race.” He took in a deep breath, then let it out explosively. “...Or die.”

“That seems… incredibly silly, and incredibly petty,” Luna said after a few seconds of thought. “When his people found out that was what he wanted, did they throw him out of power?”

~Alex~ just gave a mirthless chuckle at that. “Wish did. Would have stopped much death. Much destruction. Unfortunate, some agree. Some not, but want power. Others? Scared. Follow along, because minor. The rest? Not care.”

“Oh… Oh my…” Luna said after the full weight of what ~Alex~ was implying struck her.

The ~human~ didn’t pause in his depiction of this horror. “This monster, he start war. Big war. War cover whole earth. But that not all. While war against whole earth, also war within. War against own people.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. What do you mean he waged war on his own people? And how would he wage war on the whole world at the same time? I thought his people lost the last war, and were suffering under poverty,” Luna asked, thoroughly confused.

~Alex~ shrugged a bit. “Monster find allies. Allies to help, who think same. Want same. Become powerful, powerful enough not worry about enemies. Start war, think can destroy. Not only that, other countries ignore threat for time. Monster not attack all, start small, move on. When people realize he not stop at single country…”

“It was too late,” Luna finished for him. “What about this ‘war against his own people?’”

~Alex’s~ face twisted into a grimace. “His country… not complete filled with his people. His people called-” At this point, ~Alex~ said a word that could not be translated through the spell. Instead, all that Luna heard was what he originally said. It was a confusing mix of soft, light tones, ending with a hard, sort of humming sound. The closest approximation she could guess was ‘Aryaaan’. “-But other people live country too. He think they dirty. They threat. So, he try best stamp out. Make country pure.”

“That… That is horrifying… Why are you telling me this?”

“Because. Not everyone agree,” ~Alex~ said, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. “There many person, hide people be exterminate. One person particular. Person in government, but hate monster. Hate ideal, hate war, want stop. This person do best, hide people different from monster. Smuggle out country. Save many lives,” ~Alex~ said as he hugged his legs closer to himself.

Luna looked at the ~human~ closely, her suspicions raised. “...~Alex,~ was this person you? The one who saved those people?”

~Alex~ shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. “N… No. Not me. Person not me,” he said. He then hid his face in his knees, before finally answering. “No. Person my grandfather.”

Luna’s eyes went wide with this information. “Wait… how long ago was this war that covered your whole world?”

“Sixty? Seventy years? Long time. My people still remember. Still remember horrors caused by-” At this, the ~human~ said another complicated, untranslatable phrase, but it sounded like ‘naahtzii’. “-But we learn mistake. Not cause again. Not hate as much. World slowly heal, time go on.”

“So… why tell me this? I’m glad that your people were able to defeat their monsters, but how does this relate to the here and now?” Luna asked, still somewhat bewildered.

“It important, because met Bug,” ~Alex~ said with a shrug. “Bug not important. All bug clearly evil.” As he spoke, Luna couldn’t help but catch the self-mocking tone in his voice. “All bug surely hate. All bug monster. All bug monster…”

The ~human~ trailed off, then fell silent. They sat there for quite a long time, neither saying anything as ~Alex~ worked himself up to what he really wanted to say.

“...Except, not this bug,” he finally said as he let his face fall into his knees again. “I… I look into bug calculation device. I look evidence. Look for want do, to you world, to me, to all.”

There was another silence, which was only broken by the crackling coming from the magical fireplace. “Except, not there. They not here hurt, but stop their version Naahtzii. This bug… This bug…” He fell silent again, before finally looking at Luna for the first time since he started speaking.

Even with the odd, completely black nature of his eyes, Luna could still see the pain, the self-loathing, the fear. But more importantly than any of that, she could see a glimmer deep in there. A glimmer of something other than regret and terror.

“The bug exactly like Grandfather.”

Author's Note

So, I was writing the epilogue, and I my brain stopped me and said: "Bro, you need one more chapter before you can do this."

So this is that new chapter. Sure it's exposition heavy, but I felt that this chapter kind of needed that. Besides, how else am I going to represent the Nazis of World War II?

Epilogue

Akitesh slithered onto the bridge, quite grateful that things went as well as they did. The victim, while obstinate about not getting help, had actually done her job for her, and had convinced the natives of her good intentions.

That’s not to say that things had not gone without a hitch. The victim’s abilities, while helpful to her goal, still raised some concerning implications. He had gained access to the Krin computers way too fast; had he been vindictive and unreasonable, Alexander could have easily done even greater harm to the crippled Krin destroyer.

It made Akitesh wonder about the reason why his species was targeted by the Krin traitors in the first place.

“Ah, welcome back, my Priestess,” Second Voice Jedon said as Akitesh took her seat. “The Creator must be smiling on us, for as tense as that was, it did not devolve into violence.”

“Agreed, though this turned out better than we had hoped, we still aren’t out of the swamp yet. Computer!”

“Yes, my Priestess?” The computer asked.

“I’m uploading a memory engram of the victim. I want you to run it against our species database and give me the closest matches to his basic form.”

“Yes, priestess. Note, I do not have access to the Archives, therefore my knowledge will be limited to basic information. Matters of culture and-”

“I’m aware of that, Aliz. I will ask our experts for more information after you give me a match,” Akitesh said with a wave.

“As long as you know of my limitations, priestess,” the computer answered.

With a hum, the view of the planet in front of them changed to reveal the engram that Akitesh had taken earlier. “So that’s him? I thought he’d be more grotesque,” Jedon said.

“He was,” Akitesh said, not even looking up. “According to the natives, they reverted him. Though he’s not completely himself yet, he’s still in far better shape than he was.”

“Ah… A primitive healing technique, no doubt?”

Akitesh shook her head. “Possibly. Though it is far more likely that these people simply do not know what they are dealing with,” she said as she watched the computer monitor start sorting through all the possible matches. “Despite their outward appearance, these equines’ gifts are extremely well developed. They’ve already pierced the leylines for travel, and can transmit unliving matter almost instantly.”

Jedon looked impressed. “But… scans indicate that the highest level of tech they have is type three, steam power.”

“And I’m not sure how that’s relevant,” Akitesh said, waving off Jedon’s comment. “These people have been swimming in a spiritually rich planet for thousands of years. It stands to reason, then, that their gifts would be among the first things to develop. In fact, their reliance on their gifts may be the reason for their comparatively low tech, and may prove detrimental whe-”

Before Aktitesh could finish that thought, the computer beeped, signifying that it had finished its job. “My priestess, based on all available data, I have determined that the subject’s planet of origin is not in our database.”

Akitesh raised her eye ridge in shock. “Really? There is not a single planet that has a mammalian hominid race?”

“Negative, my priestess. There are exactly thirty planets that fit that description, but none of them have the required spiritual field to produce a mage of this quality.”

Akitesh frowned at that, then rolled her eyes. “Aliz, ignore his abilities and only concentrate on his physical form. There is a precedent for life growing on a spiritual wasteland to develop gifts. I think we can count on him being one of these special cases, especially if you consider where he ended up.”

“Acknowledged. With those parameters, there is only one possible homeworld, with a twenty percent margin for error.”

With these words, a small, blue and green orb appeared on the screen, with a diagram of the male and female examples of the dominant species shown on the right. The species was… actually quite tame, to be honest: Bald skin, with only a shock of hair on the tops of their heads as well as a few other places; curious, intelligent eyes; teeth that looked more fitting on a scavenger, than on a predator, and to top it all off, a physique that suggested they rose to the top of their food chain through innovation, rather than physical violence.

“...Huh, what is it about your species that the Krin traitors finds so compelling?” Akitesh said softly. “Computer, what notable information do you have access to about this race?”

“Our ship has very little record of this species, known locally as ‘human,’ but there are a few things of note recorded for emergency situations. Information includes: a moderate predilection towards violence, though that is not regarded as the norm; No known ability to use spiritual power, though that is most likely because of their planet’s abnormally weak spiritual field; The race is currently on the cusp of a type five civilization, with our scientists projecting that they may reach F.T.L. travel in less than a hundred years,” Aliz said, his voice completely neutral. “There are only two real traits that sets this species apart from the others in the galaxy.”

Jedon rubbed his hand under his chin. “What traits are those?”

“The first is an almost unnatural endurance. The wizards who have examined both them and their history have reported the ability to continue functioning far beyond what should be normally capable of a form like theirs. They can endure a level of radiation, heat, cold, pain, starvation, thirst, and exhaustion that would normally incapacitate or kill most known species. Not only that, but they will not only survive these hazards, but in many instances, thrive.”

“While that is impressive, that is hardly a reason to turn these people into weapons,” Jedon said, raising an eye ridge.

Akitesh didn’t move, choosing to instead stare at the image in front of her. “What is the second trait?”

“Their brains are not unique,” Aliz answered simply. “We do not know why, or what circumstances caused it, but their brains are almost exactly identical to a Quzin’s.”

The bridge suddenly went silent. Every single Quzin stopped what they were doing to stare at the monitor in disbelief. “...What did you say?”

“While their genetic makeup is quite dissimilar from our own, their brains have a point zero zero zero zero zero three deviation from common Quzin brains, which is the exact divergence found between any two random Quzin.” Aliz said, not even caring about the shock he had caused throughout the room. “For all intents and purposes, their brains are the same as ours.”

As she sat there, Akitesh briefly saw an image in her mind’s eye; a picture of the victim walking away from her, his head bowed as he hastily made his retreat. There, on the back of his neck, she could see a small, round, metal hole.

A port for a neural interface.

Jedon gulped uncomfortably as he stared at the image. “... Ma’am, I believe we’ve found the traitor’s reason for targeting these people…”

* * *

“Ma’am, we’re receiving a transmission from the vicinity of The Destiny Ascension’s crash. It’s Ilisk again.”

The captain steepled her claws in front of her, interest written on her face. The plan is worthless, now. The pickup took far too long, and it took forever to shake those dirt-eaters. She thought to herself. “What does the message say?”

“It appears to be a video file, with an attached data file, ma’am. Shall I play it?”

The captain thought about this for a second, then shook her head. “No, send the message to my private terminal.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The captain stood up and left the room, the click clack of her many legs tapping out an odd beat as she made her way to her office. The plan is scrapped, now. I wonder how the Emperor will take this news, and how he will adapt? The captain thought to herself. With a bit of a sigh, she opened her door and stepped inside.

Once she was situated, she pressed a few keys on the computer, quickly bringing up the video file in question. “Now, let’s see what Ilisk managed to get his claws on…”

Author's Note

Hey, guys! I'm back! Here's the epilogue as promised. Don't worry that you can't see the next story yet, I've already finished the next chapter, it's just waiting for approval from the mods.

Anyway, there is some really important information contained in this small chapter. Finally we know why the Krin captured Alex and his friends in the first place.

The reason isn't all that happy.

Tip Jar!

Edit: Well, that was fast. NEW STORY HAS BEEN APPROVED! GO READ IT NOW!

Chapter I

I woke with a start, fear pumping through my brain as my eyes rapidly scanned the room around me. I seemed to be in a standard hospital room, complete with a bed, heart monitor, lights and windows. It even had a bedpan at the end of my bed, though I didn't remember ever using it.

I wasn't sure why, but something felt... off about the room around me. The shadows were lengthening, and I could hear a creaking noise somewhere underneath me. Then, without warning, I felt a hand clamp over my mouth, preventing me from calling out for help. I felt something creep closer to my ear, its hot breath searing my neck as it drew closer, the smell reeking of sewage and death.

“You can never escape me...” it said, its voice grating across my nerves, eating at my very soul.

It then pulled me from my bed, dragging me by my shoulders as it made its way towards the window. I screamed as it picked me up by the scruff of my hospital gown, its long claws digging into my flesh as it manhandled me to my feet. I couldn't see it in the darkness of the room around us, but I could make out a basic humanoid shape as my eyes became level with its own.

“Let me go!” I screamed as it slammed me against the window, my aching shoulders shouting at me in protest.

“You? Never... You are a far too delectable source of entertainment...” it said as it gently traced a claw down my face. “So many people you've killed, and so many still remain...”

It drew closer, its horrible face suddenly revealed in the moonlight behind me. “You and me, we're partners... Murderers until the bitter end,” it said, its fang filled mouth turned up into a smile, while its pitch black, pupil-less eyes stared into my soul. “We don't deserve a bed, we don't need one. We're animals, loping through the dark, craving blood for our wine and flesh for our bread. And we shall have it...”

“No. Please, no. You're gone! They got rid of you!” I pleaded with it as I fought valiantly against its grip.

It then pushed me through the window, letting go as it did so. I fell, screaming all the way until I finally landed with a thud onto the hard, dirt road beneath me.

You'll never be rid of me... it whispered in my ear as the screaming started.

I lifted my head and, everywhere I looked, I could see ponies with their faces twisted into looks of horror and disgust. I held my hand out to the nearest pony, a familiar orange colored one, as I begged her for help.

“No! Stay back you monster!” she screamed as she turned and bolted.

I barely registered her words, though, when I realized that I no longer had proper hands, but foot long claws at the ends of each of my fingers. All around me I heard the same thing, repeated over and over.

“Monster!”

I heard those words repeated over and over, never letting up, even when I turned and ran, attempting with all my might to escape the accusing glares all around me. I turned and ducked into a nearby building, hoping to escape the mobs, only to run headlong into a sight I wished that I would never see again.

I had somehow stumbled into a house full of mirrors, every reflection I saw was a brutal reminder of what I had become.

A murderer.

I turned to run, to find someplace where I could escape my own soulless glare, only to run headlong into a tall, dark blue pony with both wings and a horn.

* * *

I jolted awake, sweat pouring down my brow as I tried to sit upright. I was foiled in my attempt, however, because I was still tied down to the hospital bed with padded restraints. I let my head fall back into my pillow as I desperately tried to still my pounding heart, my breath sounding ragged in my ears. "It was just a dream...” I said as my new eyes glanced across the empty room.

The room was brighter than in my dreams, but still not bright enough to hurt my freshly formed eyes. The heart monitor was there, as was everything else from my dream. The only thing that the room was lacking was a terrifying monster ready to throw me out the window.

I breathed out a sigh of relief as I let my body relax. After what seemed like no time at all, I was fast asleep.

* * *

Chancellor Gustaf's claws clicked against the stone floor as he entered the meeting hall, his posture straight and imposing. He quickly noticed that the other delegates had already arrived, though the Lunar Princess seemed to be absent.

“Ah, Chancellor Gustaf, so good of you to join us,” Princess Celestia said as she motioned to a nearby chair.

“Always a pleasure Your Highness, though I am curious as to why your messenger made this meeting seem so urgent,” Gustaf said as he took the indicated seat. “It almost sounded as if you were going to war.”

“That may or may not be too far from the truth...” Celestia said ominously.

This immediately got everybody's attention. “I'm sorry, but who are you declaring war against?” Speaker Silver Back asked as he leaned forward onto the table. The minotaur's expression was incredulous, almost as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Equestria hasn't started a war in over a thousand years, the last one being when you sealed The King of Shadows beneath the ice of the north.”

Celestia nodded in acknowledgment of the Minotaur ambassador. “You are quite right, rarely do we go to war, and even rarer are we the originators of the aggression. This is a completely different scenario, however,” she said as she opened the folder in front of her. “This... may take some time to explain fully, and many of the things that I am about to tell you may very well be beyond belief. Rest assured, however, that everything you are about to hear is the truth. However, if you still doubt my words, know that I have proof to strengthen my story.”

With this, Celestia started to levitate a number of photos towards the attending dignitaries. “As many of you remember, about six months ago, an object fell from the heavens.”

“I remember it well. Your official statement on that was that it was some kind of meteorite? Are you telling us that it was something else entirely?” Chancellor Gustaf asked as he took the proffered picture. The photograph seemed to depict a burning ball of fire streaking through the night sky.

“It was indeed. When my troops arrived at the scene, what they found was... disturbing, to say the least,” Celestia said as she handed out a few more pictures. Gustaf picked up his copy of the offered photographs, only to recoil a second later. What was depicted on the pictures was a long, metallic vessel of some sort, though it looked badly damaged from the crash it had sustained. Surrounding the craft were a number of mutilated bodies, clearly the results of some kind of horrific battle.

This was not why he recoiled, though. Gustaf had served in the Griffon Imperial Army, so he was no stranger to the horrors of war.

It was the two races that were involved in the conflict that caused him such distress. One side seemed to be some sort of quadrupedal, insect-like race. Each of them had four arms which ended in a three-fingered claw, many of which gripped the stock of a weapon that bore a passing resemblance to a griffon crossbow. Their heads looked a little on the small size, but that was probably due to the large mandibles and the antenna that adorned each of their heads. Each of them wore an odd-looking uniform, gray in color with red accents. However, some also wore a strange kind of armor over that uniform in an identical color scheme. Gustaf was half expecting their eyes to be compounded and lidless, but was surprised in his expectation: each of the creatures bore a striking set of eyes that featured no iris, but instead just a pupil surrounded by a single, solid color. The colors of these eyes seemed completely random, though he was hardly surprised at that, considering the color diversity that he encountered every day amongst the Equestrians.

As monstrous as these creatures appeared, though, the ones that they had fought were the stuff of nightmares. They had thin, emaciated frames that bore a distant likeness to the great apes that roamed the jungles of the far south. Each was naked, fully showing off every detail of their disgusting form. Their pallid skin seemed to be completely hairless, revealing every gash, scrape and burn that they had received with alarming detail. Many of them had foot long claws bursting out of the ends of each of their fingers, though all of them possessed much shorter claws at the ends of each of their toes. Along the spines of each of the creature's backs were a number of short, sharp spikes, giving the creatures a faintly dragon-esque look. Their soulless black eyes seemed to be completely lidless, while in the center of their flat faces there wasn't a nose, so much as there was a gaping black hole. Combined with its inch long, interlocking fangs that lined its lip-less maw, the whole look of the creature appeared to be that of an engine of death.

“What is this?” Silver Back asked in horror.

“Exactly what it appears to be,” Celestia said as she gestured towards the pictures. “Six months ago, aliens crash landed on Equestrian soil.”

“Why have you not told us about this before now?” Silver Back demanded as he slammed an angry fist into the marble table in front of him. “Were you perhaps planning on studying and weaponizing this new discovery? Intending to turn it upon us all?”

“Calm yourself, Silver Back. If Celestia wanted to conquer your nation, she would have done so a long time ago. She wouldn't even have had to resort to force, either. All she would have to do is ensure that the sun's strength was ever so slightly stronger as it passed over your island nation,” Gustaf said ominously. “It would be so easy for Celestia to seize power, and yet, she never does. Celestia could control the whole world if she wanted to, but ever since the rise of the Sisters after the Chaos Wars, Equestria has only declared war once, and that was for a very, very good reason. There is a reason why Equestria has so many allies, and why it has spent so many years in peace.”

At these words, Mouthpiece Ebele leaned forward and brought her hooves together in front of her. “The Chancellor speaks the truth, Equestria would never be so uncouth. Though she shares this knowledge late, I will still give her words great weight,” the zebra said as Silver Back sat back and grumbled to himself while he folded his arms. Ebele did not notice this, however, since her eyes never strayed from the photograph in front of her. “Tell me, did any survive the crash? Or were they all reduced to ash?”

“Not all died from wounds sustained in the crash, Lady Ebele. Many of these wounds appear to have been made by either Dragonfire, or by the claws that the ape-like monstrosities bear,” Gustaf said as he looked closer at the picture.

“You are correct. We have spent a lot of time and resources examining the ship and the bodies for clues, and it appears that a great battle was fought for control of the vessel, ultimately leading to the deaths of almost all that were involved,” Celestia said as she flipped through the folder in front of her a little bit more. “As to your valid concerns of us turning what we find into a weapon, Speaker, let me just say that the craft is far more complex than anything my scientists have ever seen. If we had a thousand years to study the thing, we would only have barely scratched the surface on what that thing can teach us.”

“Hold up, go back a second. 'The deaths of almost all involved?' does that mean what I think it means?” Gustaf said as he leaned forward.

“It does indeed. At first, we had assumed that both sides had been wiped out during the struggle, but about ten days ago, we were proven wrong,” Celestia answered as she closed the folder in front of her with a snap. “One of the aliens survived the fight and the subsequent crash, and has been living in the White Tail woods ever since.”

At this, Silver Back leaned forward, clearly interested. “I take it that you've caught the alien, then? Have you been able to interrogate it? Find out how its starcraft works?” he asked as a fire burned in his eyes.

“I think the more important question is which type of alien survived. If it was one of these bug-like aliens, I could see it responding to an interrogation, but these apes? They don't even look sapient,” Gustaf said as he tossed the photo in his claws onto the table. “Those things are just flat out monsters.”

“And that is where you are wrong, my good Chancellor. One of the ape-like creatures was the only survivor, and from what we have been able to gather, is also extremely intelligent,” Celestia said sadly. “From what we were able to learn from him, he and his brothers and sisters were abducted and mutated into monstrosities. The insectoids then used a form of mind control to turn their creations into puppet soldiers, unable to break from their master's will.”

“...Yet, somehow, their control magic failed, and the monsters turned upon their masters?” Gustaf finished for her. “How do you know that it wasn't lying?”

Celestia just shook her head at this. “We don't, though the evidence we have all points towards the creature's story being true. It has had several opportunities to seriously maim and devour my little ponies, but has refrained from doing so, even going so far as to return an injured mare home, at great personal risk,” she said as the attending diplomat's faces became masks of impartiality. “Not only that, but we have autopsied the remains of his kinsman, and we have found a large number of devices that have been surgically implanted into their flesh- one of them directly into the subject's brain.”

This statement seemed to have a chilling effect upon the assembled diplomats. However, Celestia wasn't finished yet. “On top of that, about seven days ago, he was attacked by a group of four insectoids. He was badly wounded in the fight, while his attackers did not survive. We think that they were part of some sort of recovery team, and were sent to either kill or capture the escaped slave,” she said as she pulled more photos from her envelope. “Luckily, Luna had left two soldiers watching over the creature. They were able to rescue it, and bring it back to Canterlot for treatment.”

“Wait, you mean to tell me that you are currently housing an alien fugitive? One that his former captors seem bent on recovering?” Silver Back asked as he rose from his seat.

“That is the long and short of it,” Celestia said with a bow of her head.

“We are doomed...” Gustaf said as he slumped back into his chair.

Author's Note

Well, here it is! the short awaited sequel!

Just a little bit of a recap, more of an introduction than anything else. Just in case you are new to the story. As I've stated in the opening of the story, you should really read the story that comes before this one, or else you are going to be completely lost.

You can find it here.

Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments below! constructive criticism is appreciated, since it helps me become a better author!

Chapter IX

Captain Hazalk sighed as he sat down in his chair. His computer terminal was already up and running, all that was required of him now was to input his passkey and receive his orders.

Yet, he hesitated. For all he knew, the Hiarch was part of this conspiracy and would allow Ilisk to walk free. Since the Hiarch is the highest authority among the Krin, wouldn't that make me the traitor? he thought nervously.

He shook his head at that, trying to shake the distrust he felt. It was just paranoia, and he knew it. He also knew precisely why his paranoia was turned up to eleven, too. Everything about this mission had set him on edge. Nothing was as it seemed, everything had consistently gone wrong, and he had been shot.

That last one had a more lasting effect than he would care to admit. It wasn't the first time he had been shot by any stretch of the imagination, though it was the first time he had been shot by someone under his command.

It was with some trepidation, then, that he brought up the video file that contained his orders.

The screen in front of Hazalk went black, then was replaced by the scarred face of Hiarch Perivel, his upper hands clasped on the desk in front of him. “Hello, Hazalk. I received your report, and I must say that I am both appalled and relieved over what has happened. I am appalled that the old guard would risk the destruction of our people in another war, and I am relieved that you survived the underhanded attack of the traitor Ilisk.”

Hazalk breathed a sigh of relief at this. At the very least, he wouldn't have to fight against his own government.

"Anyway, I have taken your recommendation concerning Magistrate Quazal into consideration, and agree with you,” Perivel said, leaning forward a little as he spoke. “Arresting the Magistrate would prove counterproductive, especially if it turns out that Ilisk was lying about his involvement. That being said, we cannot rule him out as a member of this conspiracy, and I have authorized a full investigation into Quazal. Rest assured, if he is involved, we will know. Now, on to your orders.”

At this, Hazalk straightened up a little, his attention riveted to the screen. “As regrettable as the treatment of the survivor of The Destiny Ascension was, you must still find and acquire it. Once you have it aboard your vessel, you are to bring it to the Quzin world Zutai. There, our allies will hopefully be able to fix the damage that the science team aboard the Ascension did to it, as well as find some clues as to whom was responsible for its terrible treatment. We have already sent a message to the Quzin High Prophet, explaining all that has happened up to this point. They will receive that message not long after you receive this one, so expect them to send an escort sometime in the near future.”

Well, how in the world am I supposed to get Subject-38 on board? Hazalk thought in confusion.

“You mentioned that the victim has found both allies and asylum on the world it currently inhabits. We urge you to use discretion in this matter, and to do your best to preserve the lives of both the natives and the target in question. Current doctrine of removing obstructions in the theater of war no longer apply, as this is now an official mission, and this world is under Quzin protection. Needless to say, they would react negatively to any hostile action taken against either the natives, or the victim thereon.”

Hazalk groaned, knowing that he had already 'taken hostile action against the natives'. That is going to be quite the hurdle there, he thought to himself, rubbing his antenna with a claw.

“I know that you may have already made some mistakes before you uncovered the truth, and I will not pretend to be able to tell you how to handle this situation. However, I trust you enough to leave the matter to your discretion,” the Hiarch said with a shake of his head. “As to the wreck, see if there is anything left of the computer core to salvage, and bring it home. Other than that, leave the rest behind, and cooperate with any Quzin ships that may come your way. Let them have the final say in how that mess is to be handled, with the sole exception of that computer core. As you carry out these orders, however, be warned: We don't know the full extent of this conspiracy, nor do we know who is involved. It is entirely possible that these traitors have already sent forces to collect their little science experiment, as well as to remove you from the picture. We have dispatched the Aurora to reinforce you, but it is advised that you treat any Krin ship that you encounter as hostile, other than the Aurora, as they will have no other reason to be in that sector. That is all.”

With that, the Hiarch's face faded from view, simultaneously filling Hazalk with hope and dread. He knew the captain of the Aurora, so he knew that he could be trusted. However, Hazalk still had no clue on how to proceed.

As he sat their, mulling over this new information, he heard a knock on his door. “Come in,” Hazalk said, straightening his shirt a little.

Commander Yvtil entered with a salute. “You wanted to see me, sir?” she asked.

“Oh course, Yvtil. Have a seat,” Hazalk said, gesturing towards the empty chair in front of his desk.

The commander took the indicated seat, and looked at her captain with interest. He just sighed, and shook his head. “Commander, we have a bit of a problem. While we are no longer trying to 'recapture' the victim of the Ascension, we still need to get it on board somehow, without causing any further loss of life,” Hazalk said, shaking his head in frustration. “The Hiarch has already sent a missive to the High Prophet, explaining our current situation. However, it won't get there for at least another week. Maybe even two. With that in mind, it may take some time before the Quzin send a ship. In the mean time, our orders are to get Subject-38 to a Quzin medical base.”

Yvtil shook her head, lost in thought. “And I take it you have no clue how to go about doing this?” she asked pointedly.

“Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated, yes,” he said with a sigh.

Yvtil groaned as she leaned back in her chair. “Well, diplomacy would be the most obvious choice of action, but that has its own problems.”

“By 'problems', do you mean that everyone down there probably thinks we're ravening, psychotic monsters?” Hazalk asked dryly.

“I was actually going to point out the language barrier, but your point is valid too,” Yvtil replied.

Hazalk groaned loudly at this while thumping his head noisily against the desk. “This is a nightmare. We can't send extraction teams either without risking losing them, since they will only have non-lethal options in dealing with the locals.”

“And that's not even counting the fact that we're looking at a civilization that is capable of producing something on par with a Void Knight,” Yvtil reminded him.

His answer to that was to simply groan louder.

“We could wait until a Quzin ship shows up...” Yvtil suggested.

"That's no good. We also need to get our claws on the Ascension's computer core before they arrive. At the very least, we need to pull anything sensitive that it might contain. As terrible as those people were, and as subversive as they were, they were still an official Krin science team. They were probably working on a lot more then just this, not to mention that that core might contain a few state secrets as well,” Hazalk said, not moving from his position on the desk.

There was a long pause as she mulled over this information. The captain was right. They had to act before the Quzin's arrival, despite everything going against them. We could probably leave Subject-38 where it is, but we still need to retrieve the more sensitive equipment, she thought to herself.

“...Well, why don't you sleep on it, see what comes to you in the night?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.

“...”

“Captain... you have been sleeping, haven't you?” she asked him, her voice disapproving.

“...”

“Sir, you're not thinking clearly, and you'll make mistakes if you keep going like this. Go get some sleep. In fact, go down to medical and have the good doctor give you something to knock you out for at least eight hours. I'll continue to monitor everything, and inform you if we encounter any trouble,” she said, giving him the stink eye.

The only answer he gave her was a loud snore, signifying that he had already passed out.

Yvtil just chuckled at that, and got up to leave, dimming the lights as she opened the door. “What am I going to do with you, sir?” she asked the slumbering warrior.

* * *

“That's... that's just... horrible...” Fluttershy said weakly.

“That's not the worst of it. It is entirely possible that these fiends will do the same to us,” Shining said gruffly. “We need to come up with a proper defensive strategy. Would it be possible to stop them from even coming by using the sun and the moon?” he asked the Princesses.

Celestia just shook her head at that. “We could, but unfortunately, without knowing where their vessels are, we would be relying upon luck with our strikes.”

“My sister and I have discussed this at great length, and we feel it would be wise to put our best minds towards finishing Starswirl's Omniscope,” Luna said with a nod of her head. “With it completed, we would be able to pinpoint their location, even if they were invisible.”

Twilight squeed at this, her face twisted into a look of absolute joy. “Really? Because I've always thought that that project had so much potential in terms of learning about the universe around us!” she said, bouncing about with glee. “I just can't wait to see it in action!”

The others seemed not to share her enthusiasm with this new development, if their blank faces were anything to go by.

“Not to detract from that idea, but why can't we just use the Elements?” Rarity asked curiously.

“Unfortunately, the Elements are bound to Equis, and are therefore bound to its magical field,” Luna said with a shake of her head. “If our enemies chose to simply burn our world from beyond this field, we could do nothing to stop it with just the Elements. Also, even if our enemies decide to attack us where we could use the Elements to their greatest effect, we will still need that Omniscope to allow you to pinpoint the location of your target.”

“Well, what in the hay is an Omniwhatever? And how will it help us find that ship?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“I've got a better question,” Rainbow Dash said, glancing around, worry in her voice. “Where's Pinkie Pie?”

The assembled ponies quickly looked around, trying to locate the eccentric pink mare. However, she was no where to be seen.

* * *

Something was... off.

I wasn't really sure how I knew this, seeing as how my eyes were closed, and I had been asleep just seconds before. However, as I had stated before, I had learned to trust my instincts a long time ago. Even though I had no reason to suspect anything, I still knew that something was wrong about the world around me.

Tentatively, I peeked open a single eye, praying that I was wrong about... whatever it was. If I was right, however, I knew I was truly screwed. I'd put up as much resistance as a newborn kitten, less so considering that I had just come out of surgery.

As my sight swam into focus, I realized that the whole world in front of me seemed to be dominated by a massive wall of pink. In the center of that wall, I could see two pools of blue that stared into my one open eye with barely restrained glee.

“GHAH!” I shouted, quickly rolling backwards off the bed and onto the floor. The Pink One merely giggled at this, then bounced up onto the bed to look down at me with a grin that would have shamed the Cheshire Cat.

She said something in her bizarre language, and I just looked up at her in confusion. “I'm sorry?” I asked, completely confused at what was happening.

She just giggled again, then bounced off the bed, disappearing from view. I grumbled incoherently at this, trying my best to crawl back into bed while The Pink One did... whatever it was that she did. Honestly, the strange creature confused me to no end, and I still wasn't completely convinced that she wasn't merely a figment of my imagination.

Strangely, my arms seemed to be a lot stronger than they were earlier today. They still hurt, and were still incredibly shaky, but I found that getting back into bed was easy, and I could probably have walked around as well without much difficulty.

As interesting as that was, I didn't really have time to think about that, because the second I threw the blanket back over me, The Pink One had reappeared, carrying a slice of cake in her front hooves. She said something else in her musical language, and I just took the cake, trying to figure out where it had come from.

“Um... thank you?” I said, still unsure about what was going on.

She just squealed at this, then began to bounce around the room spouting gibberish. She then stopped, pointed at me, pointed at herself, rotated her front hooves around each other, then jumped up, throwing confetti everywhere as she landed in a kneeling pose, her form looking distinctly strange on a horse.

I'm not entirely certain where she got the confetti from, either. To be honest, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had just conjured it from the aether.

At this point, I couldn't contain myself. The scene was just so strange, so surreal, so ridiculous, that I started to laugh.

It wasn't an ordinary laugh, either. This was the first real laugh that I had made in well over six months. It just felt... so... good, to finally be able to laugh. My sides began to hurt, yet I continued to laugh. Tears started running from my eyes, yet I continued to laugh. My body shook with pain, yet I continued to laugh.

I'm not sure how long I just stayed there, laughing with The Pink One. Somewhere during this time, she had climbed up into my bed next to me, laughing all the while.

I was eventually able to calm down, though, allowing me to throw an arm over her withers, pulling her into a rough bear hug.

She squealed at this unexpected move, but quickly recovered by returning the hug. “Thank you. Thank you for believing in me, even when I didn't believe in myself,” I said, tears still freely running from my eyes.

She said something then, and while I could not understand the language, I still understood the meaning behind those incomprehensible words.

You're welcome.

* * *

Doctor Tender Care patiently checked and double checked her notes. So far, the ~human~ had been making a steady recovery, but something wasn't quite right here. Everything looked as it should have, but that was just it. He was getting stronger, despite the fact that his immune system was attacking his extremities.

It just didn't make any sense. By all rights, his immune system should have been weakening, not to mention that his arms should have taken on an even sicklier hue. However, signs were all pointing towards him making a full recovery.

And she was having a hard time trying to figure out why that was a bad thing.

As she mulled this all over, she heard an urgent rap on her office door. “Come in!” she called, wondering who could possibly be calling at this hour.

The door opened, probably with a little more force than was intended, to reveal a breathless Doctor Level Head. “Care, you won't believe this!” he said excitedly.

“What's the problem?” she asked, worry bleeding into her voice.

“I ran a DNA test on the patient's alien extremities, and I found something strange,” he said, tossing the folder he had been levitating onto the other doctor's desk.

Tender Care picked up the folder and began leafing through it with interest. “I'm still not sure what I'm looking at here. These things are supposed to be alien, even to our patient, so I'm not even sure what I'm-”

“It's different,” he said, taking a gulp of air as he tried to get his lungs back under control. “It's different from how it was when we first ran a scan. I need to run a few more tests, but I think your regeneration spell had more of an effect on them then we initially believed.”

Tender Care's jaw dropped as she noticed the subtle differences in the ~human's~ DNA.

“Run another test on the arms and legs. For good measure, run one on the point where they join his body, as well as one on his 'normal' flesh. Whatever this is, I don't think it's normal or healthy for him,” she said grimly.

Author's Note

Yeah, after that last chapter, I couldn't really contain myself. ENJOY!

Begin speculation... now.

Chapter XIX

“No,” I said repeatedly as I made my way across the empty lab. There were voices behind me, clearly trying to get my attention, but I was only aware of them in the same way that I was aware of the fact that oxygen exists, or that the sky is blue.

Or that you somehow managed to bring your dead friend back to life, that nasty, annoying part of my brain said to me.

“No, no, no, shut up! I don’t want to hear that!” I said as I reached out, grabbed the handle to the door in front of me, and yanked it open, allowing me entrance into the room beyond. With a little more force than I intended, I slammed the door closed, plunging my world into darkness.

It took me a little longer than I would care to admit to realize why it was so dark in here, but eventually I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to get anywhere by standing in a broom closet all day.

I was incredibly embarrassed as I came out, but that feeling was swiftly eclipsed by the absolute nope that I felt when my eyes landed on the small, metallic cat that was waiting in the room beyond. “No!” I said as I pointed at the cat, then turned back into the closet and closed the door again.

“Alex, you can’t stay in the closet forever. Eventually, you’re going to have to listen,” I heard Robert’s voice say.

“No! You’re wrong because you’re dead! This is all a dream, and I’m going to wake up in my bed at any moment!” I shouted as I sat heavily on my rump.

“Alex, this not dream. This real, but you not bring dead back,” I heard Moon say through the door.

“Oh yeah? Then how do you explain-” I said, then tore open the door, all while pointing my finger at the small metallic cat masquerading as Bob. “That.” I then shut the door again before they had begun to answer.

“Alex, he not your friend. Not exactly, he…” Evening started to say, but then trailed off as something occurred to her. “Well, how would describe? Not familiar with magic.”

Though Evening had whispered that last bit, I still heard her, my ears having regained quite a bit of their previous sensitivity since my recent transformation back into a human, and subsequent slow transformation into… whatever I was becoming.

I still looked plenty human, but the changes were more noticeable now: I could hear things I knew that I normally couldn’t hear; smell things that normally would have remained unnoticed; my eyesight was steadily sharpening, and my two different skin tones were a lot more even now.

Oh, and my pupils seemed to want to expand to fill my eyes completely. That was a thing that was happening.

“Not so,” I heard Moon say, interrupting my musing about my new form. “I in dreams. Make discovery. He not know specifics magic, but very familiar with concepts magic. Example: no magic on planet, yet somehow have word that translate directly to Necromancy.”

At that little revelation, I heard Evening gasp in understanding. “Or like how know not talk about calculation device when talk about golem?”

“Exactly. He has concept magic, though some may wrong, because never have real magic,” Moon further explained. “Think best if find out reason first, though. Good that feel Necromancy bad, still find out why, go from there.”

“Well, I’m not really sure why it’s bad in the real world, but among the legends and myths of my home, Necromancy has always sort of been bad because it disrupts and disturbs the dead from their rest,” I interrupted them, letting them know that I had heard their whole conversation.

There was a pause at that, followed quickly by Sun clearing her throat. “Well, that certain good reason, but not real reason bad. Necromancy bad because Veil… harmful… to living.”

There was a pause at that as I thought about this. “I’m sorry, but what’s the Veil?”

“The Veil… is thing, draw souls of dead to other life. It not evil, not bad, but bad for living. Living touch Veil, living lose mind,” Sun said carefully.

However, as gently as she tried to break that little tidbit to me, it still made me flip my lid. “I’m gonna lose my-” I started to say, but stopped when a dull, bone shaking thud reverberated throughout the whole castle, making me forget my previous worries. “What was that?” I asked as I opened the door to the closet a crack.

“I-I not know,” Evening said, her face clouded in worry.

“Not know either, but I think not good for all,” Sun said as she moved towards the exit. “I go, find what wrong. Stay, continue explain Alex, then help him Robert.”

As I watched her leave, I couldn’t help but feel distinctly uneasy. I knew full well what lurked in the skies above this planet, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the aliens had gotten bored with their little charade and had started to bombard the city.

“Anyway, let’s get back to work,” I said as I slammed the door all the way open, startling the other three occupants of the room. “We still need to make that computer so that your weapon works, and me hiding in the closet isn’t going to help anything.”

Everything had suddenly become so clear at the sound of… whatever that noise was. I knew that if this planet had any hope of surviving what was to come (or indeed, what was already happening), I couldn’t afford any distractions.

That included whether or not I had accidentally brought someone back from the dead. I may have disturbed Bob’s rest, may have brought the wrath of the dead upon my head, and even may be on the right track to loony town, but as long as lives were at stake, I found it kind of hard to care. “Bob, I’m sorry that I disturbed your rest and brought you back. I hope that one day you can forgive me, but for right now, while I still have a little sanity left, we’ve got to make sure that They can’t take this world,” I said, taking advantage of the disturbance I had made to say my peace.

“Alex, stop and listen to the alien ponies. You didn’t bring me back from the dead,” he said as he loped up to my ankles. “I even told you that when you first saw me, but I don’t think you were listening very well then.”

That, of course, stopped me in my tracks. “Wait, then how in the heck did I turn you into a cat?” I then looked up at Moon and Evening, my face a mask of confusion. “How did I turn Bob into a robot cat?”

“You didn’t. That not Robert. At least, not exact,” Moon said sadly.

“Alex, Robert died. But when people die, if enough violence, enough tragedy, enough regret, can… leave part of soul behind,” Evening said slowly.

“Wait… what are you saying exactly?” I asked, trying to wrap my brain around what they were telling me.

“We say that when die, Robert left piece soul on you. Piece soul that you use to give cat intelligence. Not Robert, but much like Robert. Think of cat as echo of what once was.”

“Or a ghost,” I said as I sat heavily at a nearby desk. As I did so, a thought occurred to me. “Wait, you said fragment, but this sounds and feels almost exactly like Bob. Also, how the heck did I get a fragment of Bob’s soul stuck on me to be able to do this? I wasn’t anywhere near Bob when he died!”

“No? Not near?” Evening asked curiously, then turned to Moon. “That stop that theory, but give evidence to other theory.”

“You guys had a theory?” I asked, a little surprised that they had come up with something so quickly.

“Yes. Theory based on state of Robert’s fragments, need run tests on you confirm, but pretty sure theory,” Evening said firmly.

I raised my eyebrow at that. “What do you mean by the state of Robert’s ‘fragments’?”

“She mean that Robert soul not single fragment, but many,” Moon said carefully. “Forty-eight, be exact.”

* * *

“Concentrate your efforts on those blazes there, ponies!” Captain Star Blaze shouted as he directed the Canterlot Weather crew to where they were needed most.

“What happened here, captain?” a familiar voice asked him from behind, causing him to quickly turn and salute to the Solar Princess as she landed.

“Something fell from the heavens, Your Highness. We haven’t been able to get to it yet, on account of all the fires it caused, but eyewitnesses say that it appeared to be some kind of meteor,” Star Blaze reported.

Celestia shook her head at that. “You and I both know it was nothing of the sort. Get those fires out as soon as possible, get the wounded to the hospital, and ensure that everypony is accounted for while I go investigate the crash.”

“Already on it, Your Highness. We would have had ponies at the crash as well, but the fires are too hot there, even for our best enchantments,” Star Blaze said with another salute.

“Good. Oh, and captain, also be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Especially if it relates to the other crash,” Celestia said as she took off.

“Yes ma’am.”

* * *

Celestia honestly had no clue what was the cause of the second crash, but based on the available information, she could eliminate some possibilities. For starters, she knew that it wasn’t some kind of alien bombardment, simply because of the lack of any further strikes. By that same logic, she could also eliminate an invasion pod from the list of possibilities, not to mention the fact that the destruction of the pod would have killed the soldiers inside.

This left only two other possibilities: It was an accident, or some kind of warning shot.

So it was with some trepidation that Celestia dove into the very heart of the flame. Captain Star Blaze hadn’t been exaggerating when he had said that the fires were too hot for their best enchantments, but Celestia’s link to Equis’ Sun ensured her safety even in the hottest of places.

Once she had reached the source of the blaze, she reached deep inside herself, drawing on the vast stores of magic she had at her disposal. With a thought, she transferred most of the nearby thermal activity to herself, which was then automatically transferred through her link to where it could do the least amount of harm.

With an almost whimper-like sputter, the entire blaze went out, leaving Celestia standing next to the burnt out husk of twisted metal that sat in the center of the impact crater. As she carefully strode closer to it, she reaches out with her magic, pulling the slightly ajar hatch completely open, wary of what horrors it might contain.

It was empty.

If Celestia had been on the dense side, she probably would have assumed that whoever had been inside had died and been consumed in the flames. The problem with that theory, however, was the fact that the inside of the pod was relatively unscathed. Aside from a little bit of singeing, as well as a bit of superficial damage to the devices that the pod housed, there was very little evidence to suggest that there had been a fire at all.

“Either there was no one in the pod in the first place,” she said as she looked up into the clear blue sky. “Or whoever was inside got out before it crashed.”

She thought about this for a bit, then shrugged as she took off with a single beat of her alabaster wings. “Well, if this thing has a Calculation Device, I’m sure that ~Alex~ will be able to discover whatever secrets it holds.”

She just hoped that whatever he found out was worth the lives that had been lost during the crash.

* * *

“What the heck is happening? Why have we lost control?” Captain Hazalk yelled as he typed his override into the computer console again, but to no avail.

“I don’t know sir, but- Oof!” Wendalaz said as he tore open a console. “If we don’t regain control soon, they’ll tear us apart!”

Hazalk tapped his personal comlink, hoping that it hadn’t been hacked along with the rest of the ship’s systems. “Attention all personnel: we’ve lost control of the ship. I repeat, we’ve lost control. The bridge has sealed itself, cutting us off from helping. If there is anyone near the computer core, I want you to either shut it down, or kill it as soon as possible. Is there anyone there? Over.”

Hazalk waited for a few seconds, his hearts hammering uncomfortably in his chest as he waited for an answer. He was about to try the com again when it buzzed to life, causing him to feel both relief that he could still get his orders to the rest of the ship, as well as fear at the sounds of combat he heard on the other side of the line. “We hear you, captain, but it may take us a few minutes. The ship’s automated defenses have gone completely haywire, and we’re having trouble reaching the core.”

“Just be glad that the ship is hardwired to not be able to jettison anyone out into space, Verilo.”

“Yeah, but we’ll run out of air soon if we can’t get that stinking computer back under control,” the sergeant said.

“We have more important things to worry about. There’s a ship out there doing its best to tear us apart, and if we don’t get this bucket back under control…” Hazalk trailed off as he ripped open another panel, trying to help regain control from his end.

“Gotcha sir,”

“Is there anyone else alive out there? If so, get down to the computer core as quickly as you can and help Verilo and his team kill it,” Hazalk ordered. He then tossed aside his comlink as he crawled into the panel he had opened, hoping that more of his crew had survived, but expecting the worst. “How are we doing so far, Talian?”

“Our ship is doing a pretty good job, all things considered,” the lieutenant answered dryly. “The life expectancy of our class of ship alone against a Nova Class is about seven minutes, so we’ve already exceeded that by about four minutes now.”

"That’s… odd. You think they would have wiped us out by now, especially since we fired first!” Wendalaz shouted from where he was on the other side of the room.

“Not unless they want to take us prisoner. Remember, we’re not exactly at war right now, though this could very well be the beginning of the hostilities!” Hazalk shouted back.

“You would also probably like to know that we have more survivors than just Verilo and his team. Commander Yvtil and a few surviving techs are pinned down in Engineering, and Doctor Ulia and her team are sealed in the medical bay,” Talian reported.

That’s good. Yvtil should be able to keep those techies alive for a few more minutes, and the medical bay is hardwired to lock down and go on its own air supply during a high alert, just like the bridge, Hazalk thought as he severed the console he was working on from the rest of the network. “Keep me apprised if anyone-”

Before he was able to finish that thought, however, the whole bridge went dark, followed closely by the red emergency lights coming on, causing him to sigh in relief. “Talian, tell Verilo to get that backup core up and running as soon as possible! We need to get out of here before-”

“Sir, that wasn’t Verilo,” Talian said, nudging the captain’s leg. “Here sir, you’re going to need this.”

Hazalk pulled himself out of the console he was working on, grabbing the comlink that Talian was offering him. “Hello? What happened out there?”

There was a bit of a pause, followed by the sound of the comlink cutting back in. “I’m sorry sir, but I saw no other course of action,” Yvtil answered. “It was either pull the plug, or get killed by our own security system.”

“You shut down our reactor?!” Hazalk asked in disbelief. “That’s… that’s brilliant!”

“Um… no sir, it’s not. We’re sitting ducks out here, and-” Yvtil started to say, but was stopped as Hazalk keyed the comlink again.

“Commander, stop for a second and tell me what you hear.”

There was a long, awkward pause as Hazalk waited for an answer. “Sir, I don’t get it, what are-” Wendalaz started to say, but was hushed into silence by Talian.

“No, don’t you hear that?” Talian asked carefully.

Finally, after a couple more seconds of waiting, the comlink buzzed to life again. “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t hear anything,” Yvtil said in exasperation.

“Exactly, There’s no impacts, no rumbling, and more importantly, no weapon fire,” Hazalk said pointedly.

There was a pregnant pause as the others took a moment to digest this new information. “Sir, do you mean…?” Yvtil asked hesitantly.

“Oh, you know that’s what I mean,” Hazalk answered her. He then cleared his throat, well aware that he was about to give one of the strangest orders he has ever given. “Attention! All hands, if you can hear this, please check in as quickly as you can. We’ve regained control of the ship, but that is soon about to change. We’re about to be boarded. Standard boarding procedures do not apply in this scenario, however. I repeat, do not follow your training and fight to the last man. In fact, if you see someone that is not a Krin, I want you to lay down your arms and surrender. I repeat, do not engage, lay down your arms, and surrender.”

There was another pregnant pause at this, which was soon broken as Lieutenant Wendalaz cleared his throat. “Uh, sir? Do you think that wise?”

“Oh yes. They could have destroyed us at any time, but they didn’t,” Hazalk pointed out. “I’m pretty sure we should wait and see what the Quzin have to say before we start shooting blindly, don’t you?”

Wendalaz just sighed in defeat at that. “I hope you’re right, sir.”

Author's Note

Just so you know, the inspiration for this particular scene came from this picture:

Ten points if you know where this is from. Fifty if you remember why he's in the closet in the first place.

Anyway, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. The next one really fit as a seperate chapter, and I couldn't justify dragging this one out any further. Anyway, enjoy!