Chapter 4 - Who We Are

"Damn. You pulled out all the stops on this one." Chase Dawes said, his being impressed clearly heard in his voice. The Castle Staff, even on such short notice, had assembled a large meal for everyone present, including the eight Militia Pilots.

"We always do for our guests." Shining replied, he and Cadance taking their steas at the head of the table. "Make yourselves comfortable."

"Thank you, sir." Daniel nodded as the Pilots and Equestrians sat down across from each other, with eight seats on each side. "Indy, how are you and the other Titans doing?"

"We are maintaining Guard Mode, Pilot McKenna." IN-2632 replied. "I have relayed your mission success and relevant intel gained from your interactions with the locals to Field Commander Sarah Briggs. She asked me to tell you "Job well done", and she is preparing to join us at our present location."

"Understood." Daniel replied. "Keep us posted, Indy. McKenna out."

As Daniel said down and removed his helmet, the other Pilots followed his actions, except for Romero, seeing as he was a Spectre and didn't need one. At this, Princess Luna began studying them intently.

Daniel McKenna and Jack Cooper had similar-shaped faces, but Cooper had a slight beard and a crew cut, where Daniel was clean-shaven and his hair was slightly longer and featured a braided area on the left side.

Sasha Voryunov had short-cut black hair with a few strands falling down her forehead, and her eyes were pale blue.

Kelly's hair was blonde, and her gray eyes supported her light frame.

Chase Dawes and Sean Walker were more bulky, with Sean's strawberry-blonde crew cut and Chase's black tail contrasting each other.

Helena was similar to Kelly, but her hair was black flecked with gray, and her eyes were a bright green.

"So, Helena…" Rarity asked. "Is your hair natural? Those flecks don't seem like mane dye to me."

"Sort of." Helena shrugged. "I've had those flecks ever since I was about seven. My folks always said it was a birthmark. Never had reason to doubt it."

"Do all humans have similar mane colors?" Rainbow asked. "It seems kind of...dull to me."

"Pretty much, and we call it hair." Daniel said. "Mostly brown, black, blonde, or shades of red. Apart from those, no other natural colors. People can dye their hair, but it's mostly a civilian thing to do so."

"I see." Twilight replied. "So, where are you all from, if you don't mind me asking? Just trying to...break the ice further. No offense."

"None taken. I was born on Planet Harmony, the Militia's homeworld." Daniel said, with Sean and Jack affirming it was their home as well.

"For me, it was Planet Gladestone." Kelly sighed. "It was a forested world, great for farming. The elite of IMC society built vacation homes there before it was taken over."

"Planet White Tide." Chase said. "Island planet, great beaches. One of the few worlds that the IMC didn't fully take over due to the high civilian presence and its status as a resort world. My family still lives there."

"Planet River's End." Helena smiled. "Mountainous and full of rivers, but lots of arable land in between. Full of mineral resources we used to sell privately before the IMC came."

"What about you, Sasha?" Fluttershy asked, seeing that the last human Pilot hadn't spoken yet. "Where are you from?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." she replied with a bitter tone that made Fluttershy give an "eep!" of concern. "In fact, I don't talk about it at all."

"Any particular reason why?" Rainbow asked. She quickly said "Sorry!" when Sasha glared at her with frustration-filled eyes.

"Sasha, stand down." Daniel said to his teammate. "They were just curious, it's nothing to get mad about."

Sasha nodded, before swiftly standing up, placing her helmet on, muttering "Excuse me, I need a moment" to Daniel before heading out of the room, without another word.

"Is she okay?" Pinkie asked.

"She gets like that anytime her home or family gets brought up, as it's a really sore subject for her." Romero said. "It's not your fault, though. She probably just needs a break. It'll be fine."

Daniel gave a nod to confirm, and the rest of the meal passed in relative silence, with only a few brief conversations in between.

====

Sasha brushed past a pair of maids and opened the doors to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard where their Titans were standing in Guard Mode. Pulling off her Pilot helmet, she collapsed against the crystal railing with a sigh.

"You okay?"

She looked up to see Twilight approach, with a look of concern.

"Just stressed." she replied. "I don't enjoy talking about my home. Sigh...too many...unpleasant memories."

"I see." Twilight replied, sitting down next to her. "Sasha, look, my friends and I are sorry for saying or doing anything that upset you. We were just curious."

"Right." Sasha replied. "Thanks for that. It's just...let's just say that when I left my family's home for good, I swore that if I ever decided to go back, the only reason would be to burn it to the ground."

Twilight was shocked at such a vow, but she composed herself.

"Whatever happened there, I'm sorry that it did." she said sincerely.

Sasha nodded and gave a small sigh.

"Thanks." she said. "Let's head back. I'm okay."

"You're sure?" Twilight asked.

"I'm sure." Sasha replied. "Let's rejoin the others. Hopefully they haven't caused too much trouble while we were out."

Sasha immediately regretted saying those words once she and Twilight returned to the dining room. Somehow, Rainbow Dash and Chase Dawes had managed to get into an arm-wrestling showdown, and Rainbow was currently losing. The other Bearers were cheering on the Element of Loyalty, the other Pilots were supporting their teammate, and the other alicorns and Shining Armor were watching it all, feeling a mix of amusement, frustration, and disbelief at the same time.

"How long has this been going on?" Twilight asked.

"A few minutes now." Luna replied. "I will give Chase credit, he's quite strong."

"Rainbow is, too." Twilight sighed. "Let's hope they don't break the table in the process."

"Well, whatever happens…" Cadance smiled. "I think this should be over soon."

"Why's that?" Sasha asked.

SLAM!

The sound of a hoof hitting the table signalled that the contest was over, and Chase had won.

"Yeah, suck it blue!" Chase laughed. "Told you guys I'd win!"

"Rematch! Now!" Rainbow protested. "You just got lucky!"

"That's enough!" Twilight interjected. "You can have a rematch on your own time. I think it's time we get back to business."

"I agree."

Everyone turned to see Field Commander Sarah Briggs leaning against the doorway, chuckling under her breath.

"Commander? How long were you there?" Chase asked.

"Long enough." Briggs replied. "You put on a good show, Pilot, but we've still got work to do."

"I take it you must be Field Commander Sarah Briggs?" Princess Luna asked.

"That would be me." she replied, taking a seat. "So, let's get to the business at hand, or at hoof in this case, shall we?"

Author's Note

This took way too long to write, but it was worth it.

Also, did you catch a Red Versus Blue reference? I put one in.

Next time - The Equestrians tour the MacAllan II and a new threat stirs...