As the sun rose over the Sentinel and the Clone Settlement, Gale slipped out of his bunk and gathered his armor, placing it on piece by piece. As he reached for his helmet, he paused. Looking down at it, a carving was visible in the morning light. It was faded with time, but Gale knew it well. It was a name and a Clone designation.

CC-4265 - Harme

Gale sat back down in his bunk and eyed the carving. Commander Harme was previously the Commander of the 389th when Gale was a Captain. During the midpoint of the Clone Wars, after Geonosis, Harme sacrificed himself to save Gale from a sniper's shot. By shoving Gale out of the way of the bolt, he had saved the Captain's life...but given up his own. Gale had taken control of the current operation and achieved the objective...but it had cost the life of the only Clone Gale felt close to at the time.

Gale wiped his eyes clear, brushing his fingers over the carving. Feeling a new resolve brew in him, he put his helmet on and headed outside to the Settlement's rudimentary plaza.

"Morning, sir."

Gale turned to see a Clone Sergeant approach.

"Morning, trooper." Gale replied. "Anything to report?"

"Actually, yes." the Sergeant said. "We had a bit of a problem last night while you were gone."

"What sort of problem?"

"We believe a spy or saboteur was surveying the settlement from that gulch there." the Sergeant said, pointing out the natural feature in question. "One of the Sentries got close, but it got away. He did see a medallion on its chest with this symbol."

Gale took an offered datapad and saw that the symbol was a crown with a sword and laurels in the center.

"By the time we got search teams out, it was long gone." the Sergeant added. "We've bumped up patrols and are scouting the area further."

"Good work." Gale said. "What's your name, Trooper?"

"Most of the guys call me Slate, sir."

"Well, Slate." Gale said. "That's good work there. Have you been to the mess hall yet?"

"No, sir."

"Then let's head there now."

Slate nodded and followed Gale to the large mess hall, where several Clone squads were already eating. When they saw Gale, they stood up and saluted.

"As you were." Gale said. "What's on the menu?"

"Same as always, though we do have a good supply of fruit from the town. One of the locals dropped off two crates this morning, said it was surplus from the harvest, and thought we'd like it."

Gale fetched a tray and one of the fruits. It was bright red, with a shining exterior. He took a bite, and found the taste was fine and crisp.

"So, any other reports about last night?" he asked as he sat down.

"Eh, not much else." said another Clone. "Whoever it was got away quick. Like they saw us beforehand, knew our patrol routes."

"Not a bad theory, Trooper." Kyris said as he came in. "At ease."

"Yes, sir." the Clones said. "What's the plan for today, sir?"

"Princess Celestia has spread word of our arrival to the other realms of this world, and their representatives are coming here in about two hours." Gale said. "We'll show them around most of the plaza, but the Armory, Barracks, and Vehicle bays are off limits, as well as anything military."

"Yes, sir." Gale said. "Anything else?"

"I also received word of our spy earlier." Kyris said. "Whoever it was left no tracks behind once they got near the forest's edge. That makes me wonder if they had help or could fly on their own."

"That would explain why we haven't found anything yet." Slate suggested. "But there's something that's bugging me, General. That crest that our trooper saw. Do you think maybe one of the diplomats might recognize it?"

"Good thinking." Kyris said. "Anyway, we have time to prepare, so let's get to doing just that. Finish up here and begin setup for our guests' arrival."

"Yes, sir!" the Clones replied as one.

====

Twilight Sparkle, the Element Bearers, and Spike were walking through Ponyville when they saw something peculiar. A trio of Griffons were hunched up together by the fountain, and judging by the way the were together and speaking quietly, they were planning something.

Twilight told the girls to stay back and hide, and approached their position, staying hidden behind a hay cart to listen in on their conversation.

"...at least seven guard posts with eight soldiers each. They were armed at all times. Most were concentrated at these three points."

"A barracks and weapons cache, most likely. From what I could tell, they never went too far away from it at one time. One or two were always at each entry point"

"I saw that too. However, it goes without saying that we need to be more subtle."

"It wasn't my fault."

"The guards saw you somehow, you idiot, which nearly blew our cover. Make sure it doesn't happen again. We need every advantage and piece of information we can possibly get before…"

Twilight furrowed her brow as the Griffons flew off. Twilight walked over to the fountain and scanned the area. As she found a small canister near a rock, she realized it was a container for a scroll with a message written on it.

Survey the settlement. Do not provoke them. Gather as much information as you can. Once you have finished, return to safe lands immediately.

Gahel

Twilight turned to the Element Bearers and Spike as they approached.

"What was that?" Rainbow asked. "Why are there Griffons in Ponyville again?"

"From what I could gather, they were talking about the Clone's settlement and their results of spying on it." Twilight replied. "Then, there's this message from a "Gahel", directing them to do so."

"Huh." Pinkie said. "Why would Griffons want to spy on Mr. Marchen? They haven't done anything wrong."

"Maybe." Twilight frowned. "But it seems that the Griffons have too much interest in them for now. Spike, send this to Celestia. We need to warn her of what's going on."

Spike did so, and after a few minutes, got a reply.

Twilight,

Do nothing more until I can alert Master Marchen and the Clones. The representatives have just arrived, and they are quite avidly discussing our guests. This would cause quite the disturbance should we handle this improperly.

And above all else, be careful.

Celestia.

Twilight told the girls of Celestia's recommendations, and as they proceeded to move towards the Clone Settlement, the Solar Chariots bearing the diplomats and emissaries could be seen in the distance.

====

As Twilight and the Elements approached the gate, they were surprised to have Commander Gale wave them in past the sentries.

"Commander, we've got something you should see." Twilight said, handing the Clone Commander the message they intercepted. "We think Griffons are spying on the settlement."

"We know. Some of the sentries almost caught a spy on the east ridge last night." Gale said as they headed to the command area. "But we couldn't catch them. What further can you tell us?"

"Griffons are one of the more noticeably hostile races on Equis." Twilight said. "They're brash, arrogant and haughty by nature, and they have a standing military unlike Equestria. Princess Celestia is bringing some of their ambassadors here along with others soon."

"Brilliant." Gale sighed. "Then they might have an interest in some of our technology. But how can we be sure that these ambassadors and the spies are linked?"

"Because one of the ambassadors has a brooch with the same seal the spy bore." Kyris said, coming in with a team of Clones behind him. "We need to catch them at the right time, and dare I say red-handed, or we could face the accusation that we made up our evidence beforehand."

"So, what do we do?" Rainbow asked.

"Celestia told me to let her handle it at first, but I have an idea that'll work in this situtation." Kyris said. "Everyone, bring it in. Here's how we're going to do this…"

====

As Celestia and the Ambassadors, which consisted of one or two of each Equis-borne race, or in the case of the Griffons a group of three, entered the base, General Marchen came forward with a team of Clones.

As introductions went around, Kyris gave a discreet hand-signal to Gale, who was positioned nearby. Gale gave a nod and motioned for the Elements, Slate and two other Clones to move out.

"Aren't those the Elements of Harmony?" Dragon Lord Ember asked. "May I ask why there are here?"

"They are helping us get accustomed to life here." Kyris replied. "Such as delivering supplies, among other tasks."

"But there was a disturbing incident last night." he continued. "A spy attempted to survey the base from the eastern ridge. Though my Troopers nearly caught the saboteur, he or she managed to escape. We are currently searching for any lead we can get about our guest's identity."

The ambassadors murmured to each other, Kyris noticing one of the Griffon ambassadors frown slightly and murmur something under his breath. To many it would've been inaudible. To Kyris's honed Lystraian sense of hearing, which was quite acute even before he was a Jedi, it was loud enough he could hear it.

"The fools...I told them to be subtle…" he murmured.

Kyris then noticed what Celestia told him was true. The ambassador wore a brooch of the same logo as the spy's on his cloak. Kyris mentioned to Celestia, before he and the Clones came to a stop, surprising the diplomats.

"You know, my Griffon friend…" Kyris said, slowly drawing and igniting his Lightsaber. "Had you told me of your intentions sooner, it would've been much easier on my part."

"What do you mean?" the Griffon asked, faking his innocence.

"That brooch you wear bears the same crest we noticed on the spies from last night. Recently, we also intercepted orders from a "Gahel" to spy on our settlement. And now, you just said that the spies presumably under your command were told to be subtle, am I correct?" Kyris smirked as the Clones raised their blasters, set to stun.

The Griffon then noticed Gale, the three other Clones, and the Elements approach from behind with weapons loaded.

"Why?" Kyris asked. "What have we done to warrant this?"

The Clones surrounded the Griffon, who cracked a malicious grin.

"You came to our world with technology beyond ours...what did you expect?" he laughed in a dark voice. "That others would not seek to acquire it for themselves by any means possible? You may have won this round, but we will never stop until your powers belong to us."

In a flash, the Griffon hurled a dagger at Kyris, who sidestepped and caught the weapon using the Force. Then, his vision and that of everyone else present went black as a smokebomb went off.

As Kyris dispelled the smoke using a Force push, the Griffon was gone along with the other ambassadors. As the other diplomats gasped and avidly began whispering amongst themselves, Kyris motioned Gale to him.

"Orders, General?" Gale asked.

"Lockdown the settlement, send everyone to high alert. Send out scouts to search the area." Kyris said. "Make no mistake, we will catch whoever is behind this."

As the Clones departed at a sprint, Kyris furrowed his brow, knowing that whatever happened next was in the hands of fate.

Author's Note

Update!