As the sun rose over Equestria, Gates slowly sat up from his sleeping bag and wiped his eyes. Sliding out of bed and heading for the door, he paused when he heard Sipes's voice speak up.

"Morning, boss."

"Morning, Sipes." Gates replied. "How'd you sleep?"

"Just fine." Sipes said as he began preparing his gear for the day ahead. "You?"

"Ditto." Gates replied as he followed Sipes's example, checking and then equipping his combat gear and Cross-Com eyepiece. "Let's head downstairs, see if anyone else is up."

"Roger that."

As the two Ghosts exited the room and headed down the crystalline stairs to the common room, they were surprised to see a small lizard-like being already making breakfast.

"Hey." Gates said. The being turned and paled.

"Easy, easy. We're friends of Twilight." Sipes said. "We're emissaries from another world, we're working on something with her."

"Well, that explains a lot." the being said, taking a deep breath. "Sorry about that. I'm Spike."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Gates, that's Sipes. Trevor and Adams are still upstairs." the leader of Aegis Team spoke as they sat down. "Whatcha making?"

"Hay bacon, eggs, a bit of fish." Spike replied as he worked the oven. "Are you guys human?"

"Yeah." Gates said. "How'd you know?"

"Twilight and I went to a world of humans after somepony stole her Crown." Spike replied. "I got turned into a talking dog."

"Jesus." Sipes said. "What are you supposed to be here, then?"

"A dragon. I'm still young, though." Spike said, setting a platter down on the table. "Twilight's raised me since she hatched me from an egg. I'm her number one assistant."

"First ponies, now dragons?" Sipes asked in disbelief. "Any other mythical inhabitants we should be aware of?"

"Griffons, Minotaurs, Changelings, Yaks, list goes on." Spike counted off. "Anyway, you can go ahead and eat. Twilight should be up later."

"Thanks, Spike." Gates said as he and Sipes began to eat. After that, it wasn't long before Trevor and Adams came downstairs, fully geared and ready.

"Something smells nice." Trevor said as he sat down with Adams. "Who made all this?"

"Spike did." Gates said as Spike headed upstairs to wake Twilight. "Anyway, remember we're still on mission, everyone. Just because we're sojourning here doesn't mean we're off the hook for finding the bastards who bombed the UN. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." the Ghosts replied. Gates nodded approvingly as they continued to eat. At that moment, Twilight came downstairs and greeted them.

"Morning, Princess." Gates said. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, I would like to show you Ponyville in a more proper manner..." Twilight said. "Also, Princess Luna sent me a letter saying that she and Celestia are coming to visit you, Captain Gates. Any idea why that is?"

"I talked with her last night." Gates said. "In my dreams. Apparently she can enter your mind while you're dreaming. Pretty cool, if you ask me."

"Holy shit." Adams said. "What other impossible stuff can your leaders do?"

"Raise the sun and moon?" Twilight suggested.

"Okay, that's bullshit." Adams said. "The sun and moon revolve around a central sun on their own."

"Not here." Twilight replied. "Celestia and Luna have raised the sun and moon for as long as Equestria has existed. They're the only ones that can do it, since it's respective to their individual magic."

"Damn." Trevor said. "And I thought my high school science class was tough to understand."

"Amen to that." Gates said as everyone chuckled. "Anyway, Princess, what's on the agenda?"

"I figured that I should show you four around Ponyville before Celestia and Luna show up, get the residents used to seeing you."

"Works for me." Sipes said. "When are we leaving?"

"Right after this." Twilight smirked. "And please, be on your best behavior and try not to spook anypony."

"We'll try." Gates said as he cleared his dish, placing it in the crystalline sink. "Alright Ghosts, I want this diplomatic. Nods and smiles, no matter what we get in return. I especially don't want any accidents regarding our presence here. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the other Ghosts replied. As Gates shouldered his HK417 and stood near the door, the others soon finished their plates and joined him. Twilight opened the door and let the morning sun greet them as they entered Ponyville Plaza.

====

As they walked through the town, Gates could observe several of the residents staring at them or whispering to their friends. Though Gates had been in similar situations back on Earth, it still unnerved him, knowing what they were most likely saying.

"You okay, boss?" Trevor asked over the Cross-Com.

"Yeah, just a bit unsettled." Gates replied. "I'll be fine."

"And there's Sugarcube Corner." Twilight said, snapping Gates out of his trance. "My friend Pinkie runs it with the Cake Family. She's quite excitable, as you probably know."

"That we do know." Adams smiled as they entered, a bell mounted on the door announcing their presence. As they all sat down, Pinkie bounced over and smiled.

"Oh! You're those fancy humans that are working with Twilight!" she gasped. "You hungry?"

"I appreciate the offer, but we've eaten already, ma'am." Gates said. "You got a newspaper I available?"

"Sure thing! Be right back!" Pinkie said, bouncing away.

"You read newspapers, boss?" Adams asked.

"I have my hobbies, just like you." Gates replied. "I've learned that they can be a valuable source of information, or in this case, intel on what's going on in this world."

"And here you go!" Pinkie said, depositing a rolled-up newspaper into Gates' hands. Gates' expression was that of bewilderment, but he soon thanked Pinkie and unfurled it. As the others began talking with Twilight and Spike, Gates scanned the paper for anything useful. Then, his Cross-Com buzzed, signalling an incoming call.

"This is Aegis." he spoke. "You're five for five, Colonel."

"Good to hear." Mitchell replied. "I've made some progress on our end. What about you?"

"Equestria's rulers are incoming to speak with us." Gates said. "Do you want to join in?"

"I would if I was able to." Mitchell replied. "The President just released our status to Congress about an hour ago. Suffice to say, the shit has hit the fan. I've got lots of problems on our end, so for now, you're on your own. Not to mention that I've got a phone call to make to a CIA asset I've been connected with."

"I'll let you be, then." Gates said. "Any progress on identifying the bombers?"

"Negative." Mitchell sighed. "I'll keep you posted, Castle. Mitchell out."

As Gates returned to his newspaper, Twilight looked out the window and she smiled.

"What's up?" Adams asked.

"Celestia and Luna just landed in the plaza." Twilight replied. "Let's go!"

As they exited the cafe, with Gates thanking Pinkie for the newspaper, they walked forward and snapped to salute as Celestia and Luna approached.

"You are Captain Matthew Gates?" Celestia asked.

"Indeed. Princess Celestia, I presume?" Gates replied.

"You presume correctly." Luna replied. "A pleasure to meet you face to face, Captain."

"Pleasure's ours, ma'am." Gates smiled. "I'd prefer if we got to business immediately."

"I agree." Celestia said as they began to walk back to Twilight's Castle. "I am afraid that I am not up to speed on what has happened here, would you care to fill me in?"

"Sure thing." Gates said as they entered the plaza. As they neared the castle, Gates' Cross-Com began to ping, signalling an unknown contact before it began to short out.

"You guys getting interference on your Cross-Coms?" Gates asked.

"Yeah, my system just went down." Adams said. "What the hell's going on here?"

Then, there was a crack, a spray of dust, and the ground near Gates' foot erupted from the impact of a sniper's bullet.

"Ambush!" Trevor yelled as gunfire erupted from all over. As the group darted for cover, Gates slid into safety and loaded his HK417.

"Get some Sensor Grenades out! Sipes, cover the left!" Gates ordered. "Trevor, Adams, start shooting! The rest of you, keep your heads down!"

As the ponies sheltered behind cover, Gates hurled a Sensor Grenade and moved to engage their newly-identified attackers, his assault rifle at the ready.

Author's Note

Yep, the Ghosts are now under fire. From whom, you might ask?

You'll see next chapter.