Chapter 10: Cleaning Crew

The gaggle of Equestrians and humans waited at the police barricade for well past the hour Celestia had mentioned. Darkness gradually fell, and the the two Ponyville police officers scanned the edge of the forest with flashlights while McAllister and Sanchez stood watch alongside them, rifles in hand.

"I wonder what is holding her up, she's never late," Twilight said, worry coloring her voice. "The last time she didn't show on time, she had been kidnapped."

"I'm sure it must just be taking longer to organize the task force than she had anticipated," Hamilton said comfortingly. "I'm not sure how she would be able to mobilize them so quickly anyway."

Twilight waved a hoof. "There are always troops in garrison at Canterlot. It's the capital city of Equestria after all, and it has been attacked more than once."

Chris's ears pricked up. "Attacked?"

"Yes, as peaceful as we are, sometimes there are those who don't want peace and want to take things that we won't willingly give. There are dark places in Equestrian history, as there are dark places in the world. From time to time we have fought. We don't like to, but sometimes, it is the last resort."

Chris stroked his chin. "Judging from what I've seen, it would take a great deal of effort to instigate hostility with your people."

Twilight smiled. "We Equestrians do make an effort to extend friendship and hospitality to all."

"Hey guys, I see them!" Rainbow Dash called down from above, where she had been hovering on lookout.

The others looked in the direction her hoof was pointing.

Hamilton squinted into the night. "Your eyes are pretty good Rainbow Dash, I see nothing but dark clouds. Oh wait, I see them now."

A group of flying Pegasus appeared, each carrying a Unicorn or Earth pony. Celestia flew in the lead.

McAllister and Sanchez turned around to watch. "Well ain't that a sight."

"Angels on the wing," Sanchez replied, wonderingly. "They're beautiful."

Celestia really did look like an angel as glided towards them and landed, her gold-shod hooves touching the ground as gently as a falling leaf, majestic wings reaching to the stars behind her crowned head. The Pegasus squadron landed softly behind her, placing their non-flying partners on the ground. They immediately scattered and began setting up equipment.

"I apologize for the delay," Celestia said as she walked towards the police barricade. "I have been informed of unusual events from other areas in Equestria."

There were several questions at once. Celestia held up a hoof. "There have been incursions. Dangerous, unusual creatures have appeared around the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor dealt with them, but they discovered a rupture in space through which monsters are emerging. Shining Armor sealed it temporarily with a modified containment spell."

Chris scratched his chin. "Has this sort of thing happened in Equestria before?"

Celestia shook her head. "We have had dealings with other worlds before, but not like this. It is as if parts of the universe are torn."

"I wonder if the gate created instabilities through multiple dimensions," Sanchez said thoughtfully. "Our even coming here was not supposed to happen. Who knows what else is happening."

Chris looked serious. "If so, the Gate experiment may have put your world in terrible danger."

Celestia looked at him, and a small smile came to her face. "Life is dangerous. Your people didn't intend to cause us any trouble. And meeting new people is often a risk. Not to mention there's nothing we can do to change it now, so we should move onward together to find a solution. Besides, we can't be sure. The problem with your equipment, and the ruptures in our universe, may both be due to something else."

"Well now I don't know about that, but at the moment hadn't we better do something about these things in the forest?" Applejack gestured at the dark sky. "It's been hours. We don't know what could be going on in there."

"Applejack's right. We've been waiting too long already!" Rainbow Dash bounced around in the air with excitement. "All this standing around is making me bored, too."

As they spoke, a green Unicorn female with an aquamarine mane approached. On her flank was the image of an atom. "Princess Celestia, we are ready to proceed."

Celestia nodded at her. "Thank you, Emerald." Celestia gestured to the others. "Meet our new friends. Everypony, this is Emerald Resonance, she is an agent from the Canterlot Advanced Sciences Division."

Emerald smiled, and her pleasant voice was excited. "Hello everypony, I've been waiting a long time for something like this to happen. I mean, I didn't WANT anything bad to happen to Equestria, but I studied and trained so hard, then I didn't do anything for such a long..." She trailed off. "Um, I'm sorry that was a little off topic. Again, I'm an agent from CASD, and I'm here to help oversee this response task force."

McAllister leaned over and whispered in Hamilton's ear. "Do they always say that? Everypony?"

Hamilton chuckled. "Yeah well... It's kind of their thing, so generally yes."

McAllister looked thoughtful. "Everypony... everypony... Ha. That's kind of fun to say."

Chris took a step forward and put his right hand out. "Pleased to meet you, Emerald Resonance. I'm Chris."

Emerald looked a bit bashful as she hesitantly reached her right hoof out and shook his hand. "You're a, uh, 'human?' You're quite... unique." Her hoof stayed in his hand a few moments longer than was strictly necessary as she leaned forward and inspected the powered exo suit connected to his body and arms. "This armor you wear is fascinating. And please call me Emmy."

Chris moved his arm around after she pulled her hoof back, demonstrating the suit's flexibility. "It's something that the company I work for provided me with. It boosts our strength and abilities."

Emmy was openly impressed. "That's so cool. I've never seen anything like it before." She tossed her mane, then looked at the others. "Very cool." Her gaze traveled, sizing them up. She stopped when she got to Marky. "A black Alicorn?" Her eyes widened. "The only black and blue Alicorn I've seen is Princess Luna. And I'm not sure I've ever seen a male Alicorn." She frowned at her own words. "I'm sorry, that sounded rather rude."

Marky smiled and laughed. "Not at all, it's okay. And I'm not from around here, either."

"Not from around here?" Emmy's confusion was evident. "But-"

One of the Equestrian soldiers tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. She turned back to Celestia and the others. "Well, it's time. Are we all ready to do this?"

Princess Celestia glanced at the humans, who nodded and hefted their rifles.

Chris grinned. "I was born ready."