Author's Note

New school, new people, new rules, new inspiration.

Chapter 28 - Relativity

///LOCATION - NLTT-512-3A/EQUESTRIA/CANTERLOT///TIME - 14:42 LMT///DATE - 20-05-2232///

The Royal Palace seemed far more menacing than Solar Streak had remembered. There were fires everywhere, lighting up the thick plumes of smoke that rose up to the clouded sky. They continued their way towards that once magnificient structure, with Dr. Märtha and two Marines in tow, and escorted by one of the Guards. They walked past the various military structures that had been built all around the Palace, including the office-buildings where Solar Streak had walked in with Lightning Sky not that long ago, to tell what he had seen. If only he had known then what he knew now.

As they walked, Solar saw just how much damage the humans had done. Various pieces of the Palace were destroyed. One of the towers had completely collapsed, and another was close to falling over. There wasn't an unshattered pane of glass in sight. There were wounded ponies and dead Changelings everywhere. Unicorns were busy taking care of the wounded, Earth-Ponies loaded up more and more Flak-Shells into the cannons to eliminate the Changelings, and Pegasi were flying high above the walls, shooting down any Changeling that dared to come close.

It had seemed that the Changelings liked to attack in waves. This made them stronger, but also more predictable. The last wave had just been taken care off by the combined force of the UEN and the Royal Guards, and the next wave was expected to arrive somewhere within 30 minutes from that point. They would have to hurry towards the Palace, otherwise they might end up in the middle of yet another battle. They stormed onwards towards the entrance of the magificient building, where they were quickly stopped by the Guards who were still holding their post.

"HALT!" yelled one of the Guards, aiming his rifle at Solar Streak. "Why are you here?!"

Solar didn't risk getting shot by moving. However, the pony that had been escorting them hadn't made a sound. He kept quiet. Solar began to grow more and more impatient, so he eventually decided to answer: "We are here to talk to the Princesses! It is important!"

"Sure it is! The Princesses are secured inside. Nopony enters, nopony leaves!"

Solar had to do something. He had to get in. he just didn't know how. "We were escorted by another Guard! He'll let us in!"

"Who are you talking about? You are the only one here!"

He looked behind him. just a minute ago, another pony, Dr. Märtha, and the two humans had been walking behind him. Now, all of them had dissapeared without him noticing. Where had they gone? As he looked around behind him, he heard a buzzing sound coming from in front of him, where the Guards were. He quickly looked in front of him again, and saw the two Guards fall limp onto the ground.

"W-what?!"

"Good job. They should be out for atleast a few minutes. That should be enough time for us!" Solar saw the two humans appear from both side of the door. They had snuck up on them, making sure to stay out of their sight, and they had knocked them out using their Tazers. These were built into their suits, so they had been able to hide them when they had to give away their weapons. Solar had no idea how any of that worked, but atleast they could now enter the Palace.

Dr. Märtha also peaked her head around the corner, making sure that the area was clear. She saw that Solar was looking confused at the Guards on the floor, and she tried to explain. "Don't worry, they're not dead. The Marines used electricity to stun them. They should be fine in a few minutes." Solar wasn't too sure, but atleast it was an explanation. Better than nothing. He still wondered where the other Guard that had escorted them had gone.

"Oh, the same thing. They stunned him from behind, and dragged him into some bushes. They then snuck around the entrance, and then, well... You know the rest!"

That made sense. Actually, it didn't, but Solar didn't care. He just accepted the fact that the humans have way more advanced technology than ponies would ever have, and that they can do basically anything. You only had to look up into the sky to see what he meant. Deciding that they had waited around long enough, the group opened the door, revealing a long and tall hallway. It seemed quite impressive. Solar didn't usually come here, unless there was a special event. And to be honest, this was quite a special event.

///LOCATION - NLTT-512-3A/EQUESTRIA/CANTERLOT/PALACE///TIME - 09:45 LMT///DATE - 20-05-2232///

"FOR THE LAST TIME, WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE SUPPOSED TO BE?!"

Princess Celestia didn't respond. She enjoyed seeing this previously annoying creature yell in panic. She had managed to break him, just as she had hoped. And the best part? It wasn't even real. She couldn't just give creatures cutie-marks. It was impossible. Instead, she had cast a spell that had made Eric believe that there was now a stamp on either side of his hips. And thanks to her great sister Luna, who had dug around in Eric's dreams when he was asleep and locked up, Celestia knew exactly what Eric's greatest fear was.

"Like I said, it's your cutie-mark." She finally explained. "You didn't understand how they worked, so I thought I'd show you. It shows your purpose, your destiny. It shows what you are good at, or rather, what you excell at."

"So you are telling me, that my purpose, is to crash?! To burn and die?!"

"I'm not saying any of that. I don't decide what your cutie-mark looks like!" That was half a lie, and half the truth. Normally, she had no saying in what cutie-marks did. She barely understood how they actually functioned, or where they originated from. Therefore, she couldn't decide what ones cutie-mark would be. However, Eric didn't really have a cutie-mark. He just thought he did, thanks to the illusion-spell. Because of the fact that Celestia was the one who put the spell on him, she could decide exactly what this one looked like.

"Well... I get it, okay?! Just make it dissapear! I don't want this anymore!"

"Oh, but I can't just remove a cutie-mark. It doesn't work like that! I thought I told you?"

"Told me what?!"

"That cutie-marks are permanent, ofcourse."

"..."

Eric didn't know what to say. They were permanent? Why didn't she warn him about that BEFORE giving him those stupid marks?! He just stood there. To say that he was confused would have been a severe understatement. He knew he was out of options. He didn't know why, but those marks... What they showed... Burning and crashing... It made him afraid. Afraid of dying. Afraid of losing... Something? Someone? He didn't know. He didn't care. It was all lost. He would be here forever. They would surely perform tests on him. Dissect him. Put him up in a museum. Show his dead body to their children. They would-

*BOOOMMM*

He was cut off by an incredible explosion, and the feeling of a massive burst of wind pushing him forwards, accompanied by the sight of two gigantic wooden doors flying past his sides into the room. Curious to what might have caused such a blast, he looked behind him, and saw what he hadn't dared to hope he'd ever see again.

The Marines had arrived. And with them, an incredible amount of plastic explosives, which they had stuck on the doors to breach the chamber where Eric and the ponies were present. The Marines, two high-ranked soldiers from what he could see, were holding Equestrian rifles, instead of their own weapons.

"UNITED EARTH MARINES! HANDS UP!" Training and routine had made this sentence stick so deep into the Marine's mind, that he didn't even stop to think about what he just said, nor did he remember that nobody in the room aside from Eric could even understand him. Therefore, they didn't give his command any attention, instead raising their weapons at them, and making the ministers duck for cover in fear of what might come.

Nobody made a move. Nobody said a word. Nobody did anything, out of fear of what it might cause. The tension in the air was thick as syrup. Rifles were aimed and in position to fire, yet not a single clack from a mechanism could be heard. In the midst of it all, stood Eric. Dazed, confused, scared, out of options. He knew that, if he made just one wrong move, most people and ponies in the room would be dead within seconds. Nevertheless, he had to do something.

"Excuse me..."

Dozens of rifles, human and equestrian, instantly took aim at the frightened human.

"Please, don't shoot! Please!" Eric, in a state of panic, flung his arms up, and screwed his eyes shut in expectation of the feeling of several pieces of metal piercing him from all directions. But nothing happened. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that everyone, ponies and humans alike, were staring at him expectantly.

"Well, speak up then!" yelled one of the Guards.

"Wh-what?"

"Spill it, or we'll be forced to shoot the three of you!"

"R-right, okay..." Eric began. He hadn't really thought this trough, but he knew that if he waited for another few seconds, death was inevitable. "I.. want to propose.. a deal."

"A deal?!" said Princess Celestia mockingly. Eric thought about how she had been simply sitting there the entire time, even when the Marines breached the broom. "And what is this 'deal' that you speak of? Another trick, perhaps?"

"NO! I-I-I mean... no, it's not a trick! I believe that we could... help each?" Eric was panicking again, but he tried his best to stay calm, despite of how tense he was.

"Help each other!? How, exactly?"

"Well..." He noticed a change in Celestia's voice. Something almost unnoticable, something incredibly subtle, but just obvious enough for Eric to notice. "You are having a problem with creatures attacking your cities, right?"

"That is correct. In fact, I'm looking at one right now."

Ouch. "Fair enough. But as you probably know, I am talking about those bug-horses."

"Changelings?"

"Yeah, those. What if I told you, that I can make them go away within an instant?"

"I'd laugh at you, but I'd also be intrigued... Continue."

'Time to turn the tables!' thought Eric. "How does this sound? You release me, and I will make sure that wherever those Changelings are coming from, is destroyed. Deal?"

"Hmmm... No."

"Wh-what do you mean, 'no'?" Eric was destroyed. He was sure he had come up with the perfect plan to get this all over with. Apparantly, he was wrong.

"I'm not letting you go just like that. First, you destroy the hive, and then we'll talk further."

*sigh* "Fine, but you'll have to help me out. I'll need to talk to these two over here." He pointed towards the two Marines, who were still ready to shoot some horses, but although they couldn't understand a word of the conversation, they simply 'hoped' that this civilian knew what he was doing. "I can't exactly communicate a strike against those Changelings without being able to talk to them."

"I see your point... Fair enough, hold still for... one... moment..." Her horn lit up. Slowly, it started to increase in intensity. Soon, it envelloped Eric in its glow. Bit by bit, his vocal chords were returned to their original state. It wasn't painfull. It wasn't even unpleasant. It just felt... warm. 'Is this what magic feels like?' he wondered. Before he could get used to the feeling, the glow receded, and so did the feeling. It felt like something was missing. Like there was a hole inside of him.

"Testing, testing..." Eric tried to speak. Much to his delight, his voice had returned to normal, though it did sound a little bit raspy. Maybe he was just a little hoarse. "Okay.. So... How much of that did the two of you understand?"

"Wh-what? You can talk?!" asked one of the Marines.

"Uhm... Yeah? Anyway, no time for that, I don't know if they know what we're saying, but we don't have much time, so you two will have to do as I say, got it?"

"Hold on a sec!" One of the Marines quickly walked up to Eric, clearly annoyed. "And just who in the hell do you think you are?!"

"I'm the reason that we are now at war with these creatures! So calm down, and let me fix what I have caused, or YOU will be to blame for the extermination of an alien species!"

The Marine was visibly taken back by this bold claim. Eventhough every fibre in his body told him not to listen to this man, deep down in his mind he saw something in him. "Okay then... I suppose you are our target then?"

"If you are looking for a missing pilot, that would be me. Eric Callaghan, a pleasure to meet you." Eric gave the Marine a firm handshake. "I'm not normally all that keen on Marines and the authorities, but I'm glad you're here."

"No problem, it's our duty. I'm First Lieutenant Adams. This is Sergeant Ayers. Are you ready to go?" Lieutenant Adams started to slowly move in the direction of the door, or where the door used to be.

"Go? We're not going anywhere! I promised to get rid of those 'Changelings' in return for my freedom, and I'm NOT going to skip out on my side of the deal!"

"What deal?!" asked Adams.

"Just shut up, please! I got this! Give me your VisionARM, and patch me trough to whoever is in command of this operation!" Eric held out his hand.

"Wh-what?!"

"Just do it!"

With much regret and a grunt, the Lieutenant took off his VisionARM and gave it to Eric, who immediatly put it on and engaged the device. He brought up the writing-app, and started to type a holograpic text, which sparked the interest of quite a few Equestrian Guards. As soon as he finished typing, he turned his arm around, showing the holograpic text to the Princesses.

Eric had remembered that he would no longer be able to talk Equestrian, but that he would still have to communicate with the ponies if he wanted his plan to work. Luckily, he still remembered Equestrian language, and that it used the same letters as English. He had typed his plans, and now that both Princesses had nodded their heads in agreement, the plan could be set into motion.

It was time to teach those Changelings a little lesson, and to impress some to-be-members of the Intergalactic Council in the process.