Of Starships and Golden Armors

Chapters

Act I, Chapter 1: Incursion Like no Other
Act I, Chapter 2: That Complicates Things...
Act I, Chapter 3: Developments - Part 1
Act I, Chapter 3: Developments - Part 2
Interval 1 - The Tectonic Crisis
Act II, Chapter 4: Scorched Earth
Act II, Chapter 5: A New Beginning
Act II, Chapter 7: Close, Yet not So Much
Act II, Chapter 8: The Turning Points
Interval 2 - Part 1, The Uncertain Borders of Diplomacy
Interval 2 - Part 2, World War One
Interval 2 - Part 3, Luna
Act III, Chapter 9: Arrival
Act III, Chapter 10: Memories
Act III, Chapter 11: Touchdown
Act III, Chapter 12: Lost
Act III, Chapter 13: Night
Act III, Chapter 14: Departure
Tome I Epilogue: Sic Semper Tyrannis
Prologue: Plunged into Chaos
Act II, Chapter 6: The Royal Breakfast

Act I, Chapter 1: Incursion Like no Other

Princess Luna flew through the dreamscape, soaring the Equestrian skies in her invisible form. She had just passed the walls of Canterlot and continued down the massive mountain, soon leaving it behind. She had no purpose here anymore, as she had already finished her task for tonight; now, she only remained in the realm for her personal pleasure - it was the only place she had complete control of, where noone would bash or criticise her anymore, at least for one moment. In the dreamscape, she felt one with the sky, she felt one with her stars. Her stars, the only ones that were always with her, that she could always turn to, even if only in this minimal, symbolic way.

Even though it has already been a few years since Luna was freed from her dark form, the ponies of Equestria have not warmed up to their new princess almost in the slightest. Yes, it was undeniably better than in the very beginning, partly thanks to the efforts of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, but most still saw Luna solely as the demonic being she once was. The nature of nightmares the ponies were having only confirmed that sad fact, as the majority of them consisted of the host being outright attacked or in some other way threatened by Nightmare Moon, and the percentage only seemed to increase as time passed. At first, Luna tried to comfort the hosts by becoming part of the dream herself, as she was used to, but quickly discovered that it was useless to even try - when a pony saw her, it usually only made things worse. Instead, Luna had to turn to other, more... subtle ways.

Luna passed the expensive plains separating Canterlot from the town of Ponyville and continued to fly, clearing her mind of unpleasant thoughts and continuing to make small adjustments to the patterns on the night sky every now and then.

But suddenly, she saw a shooting star, or at least what she though was a shooting star. It seemed closer than the ones she was used to creating, somehow separated from the sky itself. At first she dismissed it as simply a mistake, or just one of the natural nighttime occurances - ones that appeared without her interference, ones she usually adjusted to fit the rest of the midnight canvas or extinguished entirely. Now too, she wanted to do exactly that. She lit up her invisible horn once again and focused on the rogue shooting star, but to her amazement it refused to comply. Maybe it was a meteor, then? But if it was, it should have obeyed her magic regardless - and, as it seemed, it didn't. Luna tried to get a hold of the anomaly again, but once more failed.

Great, she thought. Losing control of our beloved sky is just what we needed

Luna felt anger grow slightly inside her. She knew perfectly well that it couldn't be the case, but the sole perspective of losing the sky - of losing the stars and the dreamscape too - was enough to ignite such feelings. She wasn't sure where she would be then, what would happen if that was the case. This realm was virtually the only place where she was able to find rest from everyday struggles. If she lost it, who knows how little it could take to turn her into Nightmare Moon once again? She may have been exaggerating, but when she thought about it, that was what she feared the most nowadays - endangering the guards, proving her subjects' fears right... endangering her sister, once again. Her sister, who was the only pony in everyday life who Luna felt she could trust, the only person who believed in her and tried to comfort her if she was having an especially hard time. The Elements of Harmony may have cast the monster away, but after four years, Luna feared she felt it coming back to her.

Gathering her lunar magic, she focused on the shooting star once again.

No, I shall not fail to safeguard the sky! I shall regain control!

With all the will she could muster, she released her magic, trying once again in vain to grab the object. This time however, Luna didn't give up, and continued to try to manipulate the anomaly - and even though she didn't succeed, it was enough for her to feel the true nature of the object.

It is not an element of my night sky, she voiced the conclusion in her head, her incorporeal eyes widening in shock. It is a solid, artificial construct! But, that would mean, that... Perhaps I should-

Luna's thoughts were cut off as the anomaly finally crossed the sky and landed - or, more accurately, crashed - right inside the Everfree. All other thoughts quickly disappeared. Curiosity soon took over, and not wasting any more time, she dashed in the new crater's direction, wanting to examine the strange occurrence.

As Luna's immaterial form ventured deeper and deeper into the Everfree, the effects of the forest's twisted magical aura began to manifest, forcing the Princess to lower her flight. Normally they would only have a limited effect on the surrounding environment, preventing the pegasi teams from controlling the local weather on one hand, but still allowing extensive use of most magical techniques, if to a limited degree, on the other. Luna's dreamscape form was already very limited though, and so she preferred to take no chances.

After a couple more minutes, Luna lowered her flight even more, finalling touching the ground amidst the huge Everfree trees just a couple dozen meters from the newly-created clearing. From here, she began to slowly move forward, inspecting the surrounding nature as she went. At first, nothing seemed to stick out, but as Luna got closer and closer, small individual metal shards started protruding from the trees. When she first noticed them, she tried inspecting one to possibly gather more information, but quickly gave up, unable to figure anything important out. Gradually, as less and less separated the Princess from the mysterious object, trees bent noticeably more outwards - likely a result of the initial shockwave. Large scars on many of them could also be seen, as if they've been hit with something small yet very sharp at the same time. On the sides, a few trunks have fallen over, their crowns full of leaves green as green could be, clearly recently nourished.

As Luna neared the clearing, she noticed she wasn't as much moving anymore as she was walking in place. Shaking her head to cast the worries away, she forced her hooves to comply, and started to once again, although still hesitantly, approach the gap in the treeline in front of her. As she went though, she was able to voice her previous thoughts much more clearly. She did not worry for herself, no - she was still in the dreamscape after all, and even if she wasn't, she doubted whatever she could theoretically find behind the trees would pose much of a threat to her. Her sister might have taught Luna to be modest, but that did not mean she would ignore her abilities.

No, it was something else she feared. She feared what she might see across the treeline, how foreign and unknown it could be and generally what it possibly was. Luna didn't want to overreact or draw premature conclusions, but it did not take a genius to suspect what it might've been - it fell from the sky, wasn't its element, was artificial and metallic, and thus likely crafted. Luna knew she may have been exaggerating, but the conclusion seemed to form by itself nonetheless. Even if it was some new twisted griffon experiment, it still didn't seem like good news to her.

The Princess was suddenly forced out of her thoughts when she realized just how close to the clearing's border she was, and however she wanted to ignore it, a large chunk of the meadow could already be seen throught the bent trees. Luna tried to take another step, but quickly found out that her hooves once again refused to cooperate. Looking down and closing her eyes, the Princess took several deep breaths - even though it was clearly no air she was breathing - in an attempt to calm her nerves.

Reason aside, what if the object WAS what she feared it be? What then? What if it's a threat and she just turns around? What would the ponies think of her? What would Celestia think of her?

What would she think of herself?

With newly-found resolve Luna thrust her eyes open and, before she could fall into any more doubts, moved forward with one, sudden motion, finally entering the clearing.

Luna suspected she might stop dead in her tracks as soon as she sees the entire area, but curiously nothing like that happened. Instead, she quickly found out that the supposedly 'new' clearing was not new at all - the object must've been lucky enough to find its way to a pre-existing meadow, as no remains of any trees laid anywhere in the open space. It was possible though, as Luna was far from an expert on Everfree's geography, and what little she remembered had already been rendered obsolete by a thousand years of natural growth - and the further she was from the Castle of Two Sisters, the more noticeable that lack of knowledge was becoming.

In the center of the clearing was the object itself, sticking out of the flat ground like a lonely tree. Even from a dozen meters away it was clear as a summer sky that it could not be a natural occurence. Luna quickly trotted towards it, but stopped herself halfway through, deciding it would be best to examine the surroundings first. Turning to do just that, Luna began looking, but nothing new was found - the ground surrounding the construct was slashed, whether by the impact itself or the resulting shockwave she couldn't tell, and around her more of the weird metallic shrapnel was impaled into the ground, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary could be noticed, especially nothing related to the anomaly. As the Princess finished looking over the surroundings, she heard a roar in the distance, instinctively turning to face it.

A Manticore, she thought. Not our concern.

Having the advantage of the dreamscape on her side, Luna finally trotted up to the strange object itself...

...only to be scared away by a sudden spark appearing on top of the contraption. A couple screeches later another came, and then another, and there were no signs of them stopping. Luna shook her head at her foalish reaction and resumed her trot, only to briefly halt it once again just a couple meters later.

That pretty much decisively confirmed it. The construct was mechanical and apparently used electricity. Not that she hasn't suspected it before - by now its nature was pretty much obvious, hence why this new revelation didn't really affect Luna that much. It was only its origin that remained a mystery. With these thoughts, the Princess resumed her walk once again.

Only then did she really take time to inspect the object more closely. It was a metallic cylinder, or at least it looked like one until she got closer, when the dark-ish device turned out to actually be somewhat triangular. Its back wall was a short circular arc, while the two 'sides' currently faced by Luna were simple rectangular surfaces meeting at an angle. On top of the contraption, there appeared to be some sort of machinery, as this entire part was considerably more bulky and irregular. All the walls were grey, black or a mixture of the two, with small traces of other colors, making Luna wonder whether some of them were actually not original and only a result of the crash.

There was one thing however that especially caught the Princess' attention - just how damaged the contruct was and how much of it appeared to be missing. The top was still emitting ungodly amounts of sparks, and that number only seemed to increase; large chunks of metal laid on the ground near the walls, likely detached from the object, and there was even some steam coming out of a few holes on the back and front. Whatever it was, it was most definitely not operational anymore.

As Luna continued to look the thing over though, something else caught her eye. The black stains on the rectangular walls, which she had recently discovered were actually more purple-ish than black, shifted slightly. Then again, each time accompanied by a quiet crack coming from somewhere inside the construct. Luna's heart suddenly skipped a beat, as she realized what these 'stains' actually were - they were shadows, shapes of something inside visible through a semi-transparent surface. The first conclusion that formed in the Princess' mind was that of a griffon crew, which in turn immediately brought her to the decision to leave the shameless to-be-spy for themselves, or at most fund them a cosy stay in Canterlot dungeons, though a sudden mental remainder of her sister's modern policies quickly diminished that plan.

Soon however another, crazier thought appeared - the one before stubbornly suppressed. Luna desperately wanted to remain reasonable in this situation, but it was not her fault that all reason actually seemed to point in the unreasonable direction. The direction of her first instincts from when the anomaly appeared and when she flied towards the clearing she now stood on.

What if that thing was ACTUALLY not from Equis?

Not wanting to waste any more time, Luna decided it would be best to once again make use of her tactic so cleverly designed when entering the clearing, and although there WAS a hole a bit higher up in the frontal wall, she used the fact that she was indeed still in the dreamscape, and with one, quick motion moved her head through the rectangular plate.

Oh.

A... weird conclusion, to be sure. But what... what? Oh... yes. What is that? Why...?

Luna's thoughts staggered at what she saw. For the first time in a very long time her mind had virtually stopped operating. She froze. Not only physically, but psychically too. When she decided to look inside the machine, she was motivated by the will to find out what, or who, was inside, but however curious she may have been then, she never really took the possibility of it being extra-equusian seriously. Was such a way of thinking forced? Probably, especially seeing as that was the first thing she thought about when the anomaly crashed and a thought she upheld for quite some time. The feeling of needing to be a responsible Princess and thus approaching things 'reasonably' proved to be stronger though, and no wonder, especially considering how much criticism Luna was regularly taking.

But now, after she poked her immaterial head inside, she was certain that whatever, or rather whoever it was, was not of Equusian origin. Even through the loads of obviously ruined machinery inside she could see that perfectly well.

After a few moments of stunned standing, with her mind virtually shut down, Luna shook her head in an attempt to return to reality. Suddenly, from a complete standstill, her mind went into overdrive. What was it? What species? Was it really an extra-equusian being? Obviously, but from where? Why here? What happened?

Now that she knew how important of an event it possibly was, Luna was about to inspect the site even more, paying special attention to the creature. But what should she start from? Maybe the contraptions inside, as she was already there, but then again, as she was in the dreamscape there was no difficulty at all in moving around. Or maybe-

No, Luna stopped her previous train of thought. If this occurence is truly as important as it may seem, it is instrumental that my sister is informed at once. We should only hope it remains... unconscious as it is. We cannot do anything more in the current state.

With that, the Princess lifted her incorporeal body off the ground and flew towards the Canterlot Castle.

It took a while to leave the inner parts of the Everfree, as Luna once again chose to fly low above the trees. She could just return to her body from where she stood, but as that spell was somewhat reminiscent of long-range telaportation, only its lunar equivalent, she once again preferred not to take any chances with the forest's twisted aura, even though she was quite confident she could pull pretty much every lunar-related spell off. She wasn't far enough in the forest for these few minutes to make a big difference anyway.

When the Princess finally once again found herself above the expansive plains next to the Everfree and was about to return to the material realm, she felt something, something she hoped she wouldn't feel today anymore - a nightmare. A horrible nightmare, poisoning somepony's dreams.

Luna grumbled quietly. She wasn't really thrilled about entering another dream. Yes, she was probably going to once again have to save the host from herself, and that was not an exciting perspective to say the least, but that wasn't the reason. She had already gotten used to doing that, but right now she seriously hoped she wouldn't be interrupted.

Luna sighed, ready to ignore the call, but then she felt where exactly the nightmare-plagued person was.

Canterlot Castle. Eastern Tower.

Celestia's Tower.

Huh, thought Luna. Maybe this'll be a bit more interesting after all.

Celestia laid by a collapsed wall in the Caterlot Castle, her mane rugged as it can be, its unique ethereal properties now all but lost. Trails of blood seeped from her wounds, all across her beaten up body. But that was what she was now - a beaten Princess. A failure. A mistake. In the distance, a hysterical, victorious laugh could be heard, and a pitch-black silhouette flashed through the big holes in the now-ruined building. Tears started forming in the corners of Celestia's eyes, and one more laugh from the outside was enough for her to completely burst into tears.

How could she have done that? How could she have let that happen? She still remembered the day she banished her sister to the moon. The day filled with sorrow and regret, just as any of its memories. The worst day of her life, events of which she always blamed on herself.

After a thousand springs, the consequences of that sad day - but truly, the preceeding decades too - were finally, at least partially, getting erased. And for what? For her to allow the exact same thing to happen once again so quickly...

She was truly a failure of a Princess. A failure of a ruler... No - a failure of a sister and of a pony.

Celestia had no strength to get up anymore. The long and brutal fight with the Nightmare had left her weak and vulnerable, and once again proving how much of a failure she was, she wasn't even able to prevail. Last time there were the Elements of Harmony to aid her. Now? There was no such thing. No artifact to help her, nopony to help her, nothing to help her. And even if there was, she doubted she'd be strong enough to use such help.

Among all these thoughts, Celestia could not stop crying. Not over a lost battle or over what awaited her, no. She cried over the fact that she had once again let her sister down. Left her. Abandoned. Betrayed. She had repeated the same mistake she once made, the very same she had sworn so many times to learn from.

Suddenly another, this time much louder laughter could be heard. Celestia lifted her head, streams of tears now mixed with blood flowing down her coat. The black silhouette was now dancing victorious behind one of the still-standing windows, preparing to deal the now-former Princess a final blow. Celestia clenched her teeth.

A white light. Or maybe just whiteness. Yes, yes, whiteness, everywhere.

Snow-white ground, nothing around. Celestia stood in this unspecified place, and although she could not neither know nor notice it, her coat and mane were now back to normal, all wounds gone, ethereal aura back on its place. Suddenly, looking a bit to the side, she saw something which made her lose control of herself.

There, just a dozen meters away, stood Luna, with a weak smile on her face, looking down and to the side. Not thinking much, Celestia dashed forward, tears (but this time of joy) once again forming in her eyes, and hugged her sister with both her front hooves and gargantuan wings. Luna, clearly not fully prepared for such a strong reaction, instinctively recoiled a little.

"Lulu, I... I-I thought I've lost you! Sister, I-I'm sorry... s-so sorry!" Celestia cried out, weeping.

"Tis' alright, Tia," said Luna, trying to sound compassionate, although she suspected her lack of experience in the matter made her fail miserably. "I'm here, sister. We will always be here," she added after a noticeable pause, still a bit taken aback by the emotional reaction. She could comfort ponies, it's been her duty for years now after all, even if recently she resorted to more indirect measures. This was different though. This wasn't some random pony from Star Swirl's alley in Manehattan, no. This was her sister, which meant it was personal, and very much so from what she had seen of the nightmare. That also meant it was much, much more important.

After some time, Celestia finally retracted her hooves and wings.

"I'm sorry, Luna. I think I may have gotten a little carried away..." she added with a small chuckle, wiping the remaining tears from her muzzle.

"We understand, sister. The nightmare you've been experiencing was particularly... unpleasant. We saw it very fit to intervene," answered Luna, but cursed in her mind as she realised how blankly it must've sounded. No wonder every her speech was so poorly rated by... well, basically everypony.

Celestia blinked a few times. "A nightmare? So this is a dream?" Luna nodded. "Oh. I'm only glad, then. And I'm also glad you decided to show yourself, Lulu," continued Celestia, wrapping her massive wing around the Lunar Princess. Luna smiled weakly, scratching the ground with her hoof. For all the weird and worrying things today, she was very glad that at least for once in a situation like this revealing herself to the dream's host caused such a different reaction. It was a very, very pleasant experience. Luna rubbed Celestia with her muzzle.

"You're welcome, Tia," she said, now fully smiling. "Thine dream was unpleasant enough for us to feel it whilst in the dreamscape. But we also had... another reason to talk to you. Under normal circumstances we would have done it in the material realm."

"Luna, words," responded Celestia with a friendly smile. Luna blushed and nervously looked away. Noticing her discomfort, Celestia quickly decided to move on to the main topic. "But what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Lulu?"

Luna looked back up again. "Sister, we-; I believe I have accidentally witnessed an... incursion. I wanted to investigate whilst still in the dreamscape, but decided to inform you first." Celestia sent her a smile.

"And, as you could see, I'm glad you did," she chuckled. Luna smiled. "But what incursion did you see? Did another escape occur?" added Celestia after a while, now more seriously.

"No, worry not, Tartarus is secured tightly."

"What was it, then?" Celestia asked again, clearly not calmed down much by the reassurance.

Luna tapped her chin, not sure how best to explain it, but ultimately decided to describe everything from the beginning. "I was soaring the dreamscape when witnessed a falling light. It was not an element of my sky, so I decided to go investigate when it crashed."

"And where did it fall?" Celestia asked, her face troubled.

"In the northeastern Everfree Forest"

"Good then. Far from any of our settlements."

"Yes, but sister! There is something else. When I... approached the crash site, the object turned out... unnatural," Luna added, preventing any further delays. A brief wave of shock visibly traveled through Celestia's face. She was clearly not expecting such an answer. The Solar Princess nodded for Luna to continue.

"It was metallic, and judging by the sparks it emitted, at least partially utilized electricity. It was clearly no invention of ponykind." Celestia nodded, looking forward. The minotaurs and the zebra strayed from technology, so that naturally only left one option left. "It was also clearly no invention of the griffons." Celestia's eyes suddenly widened, and she looked at her sister with worry.

"So do you think, that...?"

"It would seem like it. When I looked inside the construct, that clearly was not a species I've ever seen," nodded Luna. "And I doubt anything new evolved on Equis throughout the last thousand years," she added, attempting to lighten up the already tense mood a bit, but failed miserably as Celestia's mind was already fully on overdrive. If this was truly an alien construct with a possibly living alien crew, then that meant that if this becomes public, it would overshadow even the loudest events in Equestrian history, including Luna's return from banishment. If this information is leaked uncontrollably, public reaction could be disastrous. But it also begged a question: why did these extra-equusians decide to visit Equis? Were they attempting to make contact? That would make things considerably easier, but from what Luna had said, the craft clearly crashed, not landed. If these beings for some reason desired to take ponykind responsible for the accident, it would undoubtedly lead to hostility. Of course, there was also the multitude of other possible reasons for their visit. Other than that, there were the possibilities that could open if contact was successfully established. If they were able to travel to other worlds, maybe they discovered another fields of magic? Ones yet unknown even to the alicorns? Lastly, there was of course the question of whether or not these beings were truly extra-equusian.

Celestia sighed. However she would want not to believe it, she had learned both in the past and present to trust her sister on such matters. Of course, sometimes Luna could've been wrong, but it was highly unlikely she would actually mistake a known species for something else. Celestia always knew there was some possibility of extra-equusian life, and that if it really existed, one day she'd have to lead the talks. She just never suspected this day may be so close.

Having formed the conclusion, Celestia turned to Luna.

"Could you judge the state of the being inside?"

"It... it seemed unconscious. It moved slightly a few times, although I'm not sure if by its own will," answered Luna, unsure where her sister was going. "I was still in the dreamscape, and so there was not much I could do."

"Don't worry, Lulu. I'm happy of you to have come here," said Celestia, attempting to put on a reassuring smile and briefly embraced her sister with one of her gigantic wings, before going back to the topic at hand. "I want you to show me this 'construct'. Wake me up and muster two squads of guards. I think we should depart immediately, and I'll rise the sun on the way."

"I agree, sister. But Tia, do you think we should endanger the guards for this venture? I... think we should be able to handle possible... threats," replied Luna, trying not to sound too selfish, perplexed at that part of her sister's judgement.

But Celestia just stood in silence, perplexing Luna even more. "Never be too sure of your abilities," she replied after a while. Luna immediately made the connection, guessing her recent nightmare must have only strenghtened the bad memories. Feeling guilty, she blushed and recoiled a little. Noticing this, Celestia decided to once and for all drop the touchy subject, and moved on to point out the guards' more concrete advantages. "With the guards we'll have more of a numerical advantage if danger arises. Furthermore, more eyes means more efficient scouting," Celestia pointed out with a smile.

"Oh... right. I also suggest we bring Captain Night Lightning of our Lunar Guard with us instead of Captain Shining in order to spread out the leadership as much as is possible," replied Luna, fully regaining her confidence.

"I agree. If we are finished, I would gladly ask you to wake me up, so we can get started with the whole affair," said Celestia nodding and sent Luna a friendly smile. Luna smiled back, before lifting off the ground and lighting her horn. Suddenly, a bright, white light embraced everything, and when Celestia couldn't even see her own body anymore, she suddenly sprung her eyes open and, as she was prepared, found herself back in her chamber in the Eastern Tower of the Canterlot Castle.

Cloud Haze was having a really weird day. First, he and his squad had been woken up at five o'clock in the morning by Captain Night Lightning of all ponies, ordering them to suit up and be ready to march off within five minutes. Second, when somepony remarked that 'the Lunar Guard has no direct authority over us', the captain revealed it was going to be a joint operation under direct orders from both Princesses, only doubling Cloud Haze's confusion and curiosity. Not particularly happy about being woken up on such an ungodly hour, the guards had soon managed to drag themselves to the courtyard, to discover that Night Lightning, the head commander of the Lunar Guard and basically the second-in-command of the entire Royal Guard was going to join them in the field. The gears in the ponies' minds soon began to turn, and they connected the dots: if somepony of such a high rank was to lead whatever-the-hay mission they were going on, why wasn't it the obviously better suited Shining Armour? Their protests however were soon silenced by another figure, who had so far managed to blend in perfectly with the darkness of the night.

Princess Luna.

Most of the guards had taken this revelation as their cue. Their cue to one thought: What the actual hay have we gotten ourselves into...?

Luna, in her usual royal stance and regal, but this time not-so-loud voice, then proceeded to inform them that they were to patiently wait for the rest of the participants - presumably the Lunar Guard - and leadership to arrive, and not cause any problems in the process. Voicing that last remark, she gazed down at them dangerously, indicating she was being serious. Soon though, the Princess returned to her previous posture, and started talking something over with Night Lightning.

'The rest of the leadership'? So Shining Armour was actually going with them after all. This had certainly calmed the guards down a bit, and soon they were all fully embroiled in quiet conversations. In the meantime, the Lunar squad arrived on the courtyard, as menacing as ever, and positioned itself left of their Solar counterpart. Now it was only the 'leadership' left.

After what couldn't have been more than five minutes, the castle doors in front of the guards opened slowly, and Cloud Haze saw a white figure stepping out into the courtyard.

Good, he thought. Let's get whatever-it-is over with

But then, the figure fully emerged from the castle. Cloud Haze quickly noticed it was suspiciously taller than he remembered captain Armour to be, but the still-present tiredness caused him to only realize who it really was once he saw the ethereal, rainbow-coloured mane.

Princess Celestia.

Even though Cloud Haze hadn't noticed it right away, virtually the entirety of both the Solar and Lunar squads was now gazing at the newcomer, mouths wide agape.

"Huh," murmured somepony to the left. "I guess captain Armour isn't going to be joining us today afterall."

"Uhuh, I wish it was 'day'," added somepony else.

All of that had been enough to lit a red light for all of the guards. Whatever it was, a regular mission it was not going to be. This was only further confirmed by the third, arguably most worrying thing: when the Princesses, along with Night Lightning, made them swear an oath of secrecy. From then on, they were officially on a surprise joint exercise with their Lunar colleagues. The real nature of this mission was to never leave the confines of these two squads, and these two squads alone, the only exception being captain Shining Armour.

And, as specifically stated, noone else. Not even the Elements of Harmony.

Armed with the trademark spears and their own confusion, Cloud Haze and the rest of the two squads soon marched off through the castle gardens, towards the few chariots that were going to take them straight to the border of the Everfree.

And now, after half an hour of flight and about the same time on hoof, here he was, in the middle of the most dangerous forest in Equestria, still just as confused as before. A few roars and other suspicious sounds could be heard along the way, but so far the guards were lucky enough not to come under attack by any of the forest's wild creatures. If the luck was going to last though remained to be seen.

Cloud Haze sighed. He didn't join the EUP for things like this. Actually, a midnight kilometers-long trek on a suspiciously unusual mission was probably the last thing he would've ever desired, and his colleagues' expressions told him they probably felt the same way. His original reason for joining had been to help protect the Castle. Cloud Haze sighed once more and continued to silently trot forward. The guards' chatter ceased completely when they had first entered the Everfree, both because of the lack of will for discussion and simple necessity - they just couldn't attract too much attention.

As Cloud Haze's mind was slowly waking up, he began to notice more and more things he could possibly tie to the nature of this operation. First, they were not on a patrol of any kind, nor were they looking for anything. Originally after their departure from Canterlot, Cloud Haze and a few other guards concluded that either some dangerous creature was roaming the Everfree or they were going to search for some potentially dangerous artifact, and the Princesses just didn't want to cause too much panic. Now he knew it couldn't be the case; the 'leadership' had them march straight into the forest and walk on some seemingly fixed path, clearly perfectly knowing the destination. Actually, now when he thought about it, Cloud Haze couldn't understand why the previous two possibilities were precisely what they had come up with, but back then they were all still barely conscious at all, so it was really entirely possible for them to come up with virtually anything.

Second, they-

Cloud Haze was suddenly brought out of his thoughts as he nearly bumped into the guard in front of him, who suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The guard turned around, a pretentious look on his face, but Cloud Haze only sent him a confused glare. Rolling his eyes, the guard pointed forward with his hoof.

At the front of the column, Night Lightning and Princess Luna were now facing the guards, ushering them to halt their trot. Princess Celestia was nowhere to be seen. Whatever was going on, it was clear they were to wait.

Suddenly, as quiet murmurs already started rising amongst the guards, a bright light erupted from below the horizon and started filling the sky with its magnificence. The guards gazed at the spectacle with amazement, but Cloud Haze noticed something else over the trees on his left. There, a couple dozen meters away and barely visible throught the trees' upper branches, a white pegasus silhouette with gargantuan wings gently hovered. He was already awake enough to immediately get who it was, and soon enough noticed the long horn surrounded with golden aura.

Huh, thought Cloud Haze. Two Summer Suns in one year. I guess something good did come from this mission afterall.

When Celestia rejoined the column, they have already just restarted their march. Not wanting to delay things any further, she quietly trotted up to her sister.

"The Everfree's aura did not significantly interfere with the rising of the sun. I believe nopony will notice a difference," she whispered with a small smile.

Luna simply nodded, not even turning her gaze. "That is good."

Celestia looked at her sister with worry. She maintained a very neutral expression, mechanically gazing forward. From the many years of experience, Celestia already knew what it meant.

"What troubles you, Lulu?" she asked, still silently.

This time, Luna energetically turned to face her sister, as if surprised by the sudden question, clearly brought out of her thoughts. She quickly realised what was really happening though, and went back to gazing forward, sometimes briefly looking at her sister as she spoke, instinctively trying to conceal the conversation as much as possible.

"Oh... nothing specific. I'm just worried about what might occur once we reach our... destination," she whispered back. Celestia smiled.

"Don't be. We have thousands of years of diplomacy behind us. Even as the nature of the anomaly truly is... as you suspect, I believe everything will go well." Celestia tried to reassure her sister, but truth be told she herself wasn't really any less worried. A thousand more years of public speeches just meant she had more experience hiding it.

Luna nodded, looking at her sister and smiling briefly, but Celestia somehow doubted that her attempts at comforting her worked out.

After a few more minutes of silent march, Luna spoke up once again. "Sister, are thou confident we shouldn't call upon the Elements of Harmony? Their power, no matter the wielder, may prove most instrumental."

"I am sure, Lulu," nodded Celestia. "If this occurence truly turns out as significant as it may, it is important for it to remain secret for as many ponies as possible until due time. Although I most dearly trust my student, I believe the Elements aren't necessary, and so their wielders don't need to know anything just yet."

Luna nodded once again, and Celestia decided to change the topic.

"How far do you think we still are, Luna?" she asked whispering, careful to keep her tone formal not to incite any more worries if unnecessary.

"I can't say exactly, but believe we are closing in onto our destination," responded Luna, this time a bit more vividly. Celestia smiled, glad her attempt at least somehow paid off. But then, a couple dozen meters ahead of them, Luna noticed something familiar - trees slightly bent off, small scars on the trunks. She slowed her march down, and sure enough, a bit further first metallic shards could be seen. Luna neared her sister, still keeping her gaze locked with what she had seen ahead.

"Actually, I believe we are now very close."

"Auxiliary systems restarting."

Stanley slowly regained consciousness, breathing heavily in the smoke-filled pod. He attempted to move his arms, but then remembered they were still being held by the restraints. The same went for his legs.

"Auxiliary systems restarting."

Already conscious enough to think, Stanley looked upwards for the first time, careful to stabilise his breath. Through the thick smoke he could see a few red lights in weird patterns blinking at regular intervals. From his experience, he could tell that at least some of them were not working. To tell the truth, Stanley was now happier than ever that he's had his helmet on, as he was convinced even he would have suffocated after such a (possibly) long time with little to no oxygen. Looking briefly to the right, he was glad to notice that at least his weapons still looked intact.

"Extensive damages detected. Exerting icucine."

As it turned out Stanley was still stunned, at least to some degree, as it took him a few seconds to realize what the computer had just said. His eyes suddenly widened.

"NO! Negative!" he shouted as loud as he possibly could, desperate to prevent the injections.

As he did so, dozens of needles shot out from the sides, but stopped just a few centimeters short of Stanley's body, the medicine slowly dripping from the syringes' ends.

"Command registered," said the computer. "Retracting needles."

As such, the many needles proceeded to slowly hide inside the walls, until they were no longer visible at all. Stanley sighed with relief. As he concluded, he probably had no Youn Pills on him, and so an icucine injection would basically mean death, unless he is able to regroup with allied forces in time - which, judging by the fact that he was basically shot down, he may not be able to do.

Having dealt with this small issue, Stanley proceeded to free himself from his restraints, which, as he had suspected, were not working, and so he had to use quite an extensive amount of force to release them. Even then though, the debris laying on the floor greatly limited his movement. Stanley picked up his main weapon, the multirole AR-v441 rifle, from its slot on his side, and proceeded to try to open the pod. He was careful the entire time, ready for what may await him on the other side, and already switched the rifle's safety off. From what he had heard so far though, it looked like the area was clear. What little he was able to see through the semi-transparent walls and the thick layer of smoke inside only seemed to confirm that. The smoke also meant that once he opens the door, he would be given a brief visual cover. What worried Stanley the most though was that his HUD seemed to be somewhat broken. It displayed almost no information, except the ones coming from his own body, saying that 'connection to appropriate systems has been lost'. The small scanners inside the individual pod could have broken down, sure, but there was no way that Sazana had been entirely cut off from the satellites. Not so quickly, even if he saw what looked like another Swarm attack during the drop. Even some of the most basic systems seemed to have malfunctioned - for example, the digital clock was not moving at all. What it displayed - '1134 CUT, Fri 14.06.6193' - suggested that Stanley had only been stuck in the pod for a short time, but then again, as the clock seemed not to work, this data was not reliable at all.

Just as most of the mechanisms inside the pod, the door's mechanical controls did not work, but luckily Stanley didn't have to break through them and was able to forcibly make the door open along their intended rails. Just before snatching them open, he once again analyzed his situation.

Okay, he thought. Weapon at the ready, find cover quickly. Do not stay in the open, analyze the terrain. Dammit, I'd really prefer to have at least some info to work with.

Stanley switched to thermovision (which to his relief was still working), and with one, quick motion, jumped forward, releasing the massive cloud of smoke in the process. Through his new filter, he was able to idetify his surroundings, and quickly concluded that the best option would be to get to the treeline. Turning on the Intelligent Patterns function of his suit and careful to remain low, after a few seconds, he was already concealed in the lush bushes just next to the clearing he seemed to have crashed on. His armor now adapted to the surroundings, changing its colour in a way that would hide him best. Safe, Stanley searched trough the available comm channels in his helmet, trying to hail someone - first his team, then the command, then any allied unit at all. Everything was unavailable. Everything.

Suddenly, a message appeared on Stanley's HUD - a communique stating that the most basic functions of the pod have been restored and the computer now moved on to trying to bring the AI back online. Sure enough, the HUD soon sprung to life, displaying various data, although most of it still only read 'N/A'. But for now, none of this data concerned Stanley, as he quickly read trough the initial area reports. To his relief, but also confusion, there were no Swarm biosignatures in the 10 kilometer radius. None at all. Granted, it was only a little more than three hundred square kilometers, but coupling that with the wild environment...

Perfect, thought Stanley. Outside the combat zone.

Now certain about his safety, Stanley emerged from the forest and jogged back to his pod, in the meantime getting a notification that the pod's local AI was back online. As he went though, he noticed something peculiar. The sun was already up, but it looked like it was still very early in the morning. For starters, 'early morning' contrasted greatly with his planned drop zone, but there was something even weirder - the sky was clean. Completely clean. Normally, as battle raged on in the orbit, it was possible to see small explosions from the surface of the planet, and from what he had seen during the drop, this attack certainly struck the transport flotilla, which orbited on an altitude of only 200 kilometers. The fighting should surely be visible. Maybe it was already over? If that was the case, he should pray that the Coalition won, otherwise he's screwed. Or maybe he'd been flung SO far off course?

Turning to the now-online AI, Stanley took the opportunity to ask some questions.

"Mind telling me what sector it is?" he said, getting straight to his point. He did want to ask what exactly was it that happened during the drop, but that was irrelevant for now, and thus would have to wait.

"Unknown," answered Selina through the speakers inside Stanley's headgear. "I have no connection to GPS systems as well as basically any other tactical data. Also, I can't connect with TA-3125's main servers. MY main servers."

"Huh, nice to meet you then. I told you you're another person in my pod," answered Stanley jokingly.

"Ha-ha"

"Is the pod really that badly broken? Almost every system that supplements the satellites seems to be offline, according to my HUD," Stanley continued, once more seriously. Unexpectedly, he didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"Actually, not really. Sure, the pod is pretty beaten up, but the computer's just still working on restarting all of the systems. Also, I've allowed myself to help it a little bit, it's computing power without me is laughable. Sorry," answered Selina, to Stanley's relief.

"Yeah, no problem. As long as we're cut off you can have full control," he replied.

The red lights inside the pod changed their colour to blue and flickered a few times, indicating the AI had understood. Knowing that he's going to stay in the clearing at least for a while, Stanley attempted to analyze his options in case an attack came, but was soon prevented from doing so.

"Alright, most scanners online, just scrambling for power to light them. It will take a while to relay the data to your HUD though," Selina suddenly announced, after what couldn't have been more than ten seconds.

"Damn, you're good," whistled Stanley. "Just tell me anything important about the area as soon as the systems are running."

After about two minutes, Selina spoke up once again.

"Initial precise scans indicate this forest is huge, six-and-a-half klicks to the nearest thinning."

"And our location? Relative to the nearest confirmed allied position?" asked Stanley, hoping to at last be brought out of the darkness.

"...That's the other thing. The geological patterns seem not to match any region of Sazana."

Stanley froze briefly.

"Although there may be some error, especially considering the damages sustained."

"Check that," ordered Stanley. "Anything else?"

"Another wave of systems coming online in 5, stand by," stated Selina matter-of-factly. "Carrying out extensive movement scanning..."

Suddenly, Stanley's HUD flashed red.

"Unindentified contacts, three o'clock, sixty meters! Exact numbers unknown! No Coalition IFF, no Swarm signature! Stay frosty!" Selina virtually shouted.

Not thinking much, Stanley crouched next to one of his pod's remaining solid walls and aimed towards where the new contacts were coming from. He once again turned the Intelligent Patterns on and set his rifle to caliber .223 fully automatic, but turned trajectory support off for the moment. Holding his breath, Stanley analyzed his location. He was holding a position next to his pod; a good cover, especially as it could be used against an attack from almost any direction, if he manages to reposition himself in time that is. He just had to be careful not to be forced inside the pod and cornered - he would have no cover nor any maneuvering space then, and his adversaries would have a straight, unobscured shot at the soldier. Unacceptable.

And if things went especially south, only about six or seven meters separated Stanley from the treeline behind him. An easy escape route. Satisfied, Stanley grasped his rifle harder, finger resting on the trigger, ready to take the shot if necessary.

Even though Stanley had already been able to see glimpses of the approaching creatures a bit earlier through the incredibly dense treeline, he only got the opportunity to study them more closely after one finally decided to cross it... at least in a way.

Luna, having gone slightly ahead despite her sister's protests, poked her head through the last trees, coming out a little closer to the construct than the last time. Everything looked almost like she had remembered it, and the wreck in the middle ultimately confirmed that the column had reached its goal. A few things were off though. For starters, a middle-sized smoke cloud hovered above the clearing, slowly rising up and clearing the view more and more, although most of it was already fairly well visible as the cloud had managed to reach the altitude of the surrounding trees' upper branches. Secondly, there seemed to be more smoke coming from inside the contraption than before, which in turn caused Luna to notice the most worrying thing: parts of the machine's walls seemed to have been removed, and although she couldn't say for certain because of the smoke and darkness inside, she was pretty sure the creature from before was now gone. Luna's heart skipped a beat, but reassured by the bushes' rustling behind her, meaning that the rest of the column was already there and ready to back her up if the need arose, she took a deep breath and cautiously stepped into the clearing.

Stanley watched as the indigo-coloured horse stepped into the clearing. Ready to take the shot any second, he kept analyzing the situation all the time. Although he was looking at the new creature, all his senses were on high alert, meaning he was paying high attention to his entire surroundings and was prepared for virtually any attack. He didn't move, but he was prepared for every possible action.
When Stanley first saw the horse, a thought about it obviously being the Equus Caballus flew through his mind, but left it as soon as it entered. The noticeable small differences in biology could just be an effect of it being a rare subspecies, potentially even one artificially created by some billionaire, but there was more. First, the animal had wings and a horn, and Stanley highly doubted humanity ever created anything like that, which Selina soon confirmed. Furthermore, Republican digital archives had no mention of any creature like this. Second, it wore a lot of ornate jewellery. The thirty nine others he was able to identify and target through the treeline similarly wore different kinds of armor. Something like that would be highly unlikely even back in the days of private property, and plainly impossible nowadays. Whatever it was, it was not Equus Caballus. Have the Cyanosians brought something with them? That seemed like the only possible explanation as to why the Republic could not know about such creatures, and if Stanley's clock had really malfunctioned, it was possible they had finally arrived. But the radar still showed no allied signals nearby, and he doubted the animals would just run off tens of kilometers away from deployment zones, finally escaping the combat zone. That left one other possible explanation...

Slowly walking forward, Luna could glimpse the guards still trying to position themselves in the bushes. She sighed inwardly. She understood that the Badlands needed more squads due to the changeling threat, but were these really the best forces left in the capital? The EUP truly needed more training, even for the sake of promoting the noble ideas of harmony itself, which by now they had become one of the symbols of, willingly or not, being so frequently associated with Celestia. Luna halted her trot just outside the treeline, not to stress the guards out even more by walking straight into 'danger'. Doing so, she also allowed her sister to join her in the clearing, at which the Solar Guards wasted no time chaotically rushing there too. Their Lunar counterparts however remained in the shadows, traditionally more disciplined than regular EUP. While she waited though, Luna noticed something new; on the side of the object there were several lines of weird symbols, what she guessed must have been some type of writing. Looking at her sister, she realized she was gazing at the same spot, a serious and cautious look on her face, yet with barely noticeable glimpses of curiosity. For Celestia, the script was especially important, as it decisively confirmed the object was not of Equusian origin. Regardless of whether these were some weird drawings or truly a writing form, she could say with certainty that it didn't match any race or culture in the world. Having looked a bit longer, judging by how the lines of symbols were arranged, she guessed that if it was a writing form, it could have possibly been the same thing written in multiple languages, although she obviously couldn't tell for sure. Sharing a brief look with Luna, Celestia coutiously resumed her walk towards the alien construct, joined by the guards and her sister soon after. Luna knew she could handle herself if danger was to come. And so did Celestia.

Stanley was furious; well, maybe 'angry' would be a better word because of his emotions management skills. He remembered seeing the fold during the drop, but he could swear one had to be named Stanley Martin to be unlucky enough to actually fall into it. It was a one in a billion chance due to the immense distances in space.
But on the other hand, if his conclusion's been correct and this was truly not Sazana, it also meant he had hit another jackpot, this time probably something around one in a quadrillion, by actually falling into a terrestrial planet on the other side.
Stanley cursed quietly. A while ago he had asked Selina if she could scan one of the horses and possibly examine what had happened during the drop, as it finally seemed to become relevant, but he was informed that the deep scanners were still rebooting. By his orders the former was given greater priority, and because of that (as well as not to waste any time explaining), the latter would have to wait for now.
Soon, more horses emerged from the treeline, including a white and very tall one, which was the only creature except for the indigo horse wearing ornate jewellery. He could also notice slight differences in the newcomers' anatomy. To Stanley, they seemed like a highly organised flock of sorts, at least from their behaviour. Maybe a primitive hive mind? But then again, they had armor and jewellery, which suggested intelligence, although it seemed highly likely their gear had been assembled by someone else, but then again, why would someone use such an organized species? For an animal, at least? Maybe for some unknown reason it was the only one suiting their needs?

"Deep scanners online," Selina's voice suddenly rang in his helmet. "Attempt the scan?"

Stanley thought for a while. The deep scanners, unlike regular ones, would be visible. If a bright blue light wave suddenly emerged from an unknown object, there was no way they wouldn't be scared away, sentient or not. If this was to work, he had to reveal himself prior to that and at least attempt to show the creatures that the scanning process was harmless. If they were animals, they'd just run regardless. If they're sentient, maybe something can be achieved. Stanley told Selina his plan, then cutting her complaints regarding it short, and as the two largest horses began to approach the pod, he took it as his cue to show himself. Cautiously, he stood up, weapon still at the ready, and disabled the Intelligent Petterns. Precautiously aiming at the creatures, he stepped out of the shadow. He knew he could handle himself perfectly, anyway.

And the staring contest began, as Stanley stopped just next to the front of his pod, still cautious, and Celestia and Luna's pupils shrunk to pinpricks.

Author's Note

If you got all the way here, please consider leaving a short comment detailing what you did or did not like. Form, grammar, plot, too expansive writing, characters (both MLP and not), anything. It would help me improve a lot.

Just please go light on me, it's my first fic ever :twilightsmile:

Seriously though, it would help a lot, especially if there is something you absolutely despised.

Also, I'm not a native English speaker, so I apologise for any grammar errors in advance :twilightsheepish:

Rate, comment, tell me what you think!

Anyway, enjoy! I hope you have a good read!

Act I, Chapter 2: That Complicates Things...

Nikolai walked furiously down the bridge, the metal floor clanging with his every step. All around, monitors flashed red with symbols of destroyed warships, joined in a brilliant display by the distant flashes dotting the room's windows. He eventually reached the front consoles.

"Sir, the reports you've requested have just arrived!" a young technician shouted suddenly from her post, holding up a datapad.

Nikolai didn't bother turning around, instead typing something into one of the computers. "Which ones?"

"Umm, first wave RSU deployments, Sir!" replied the technician as she lowered the tablet.

"And?"

"We've got... nine hundred and fifteen reporting back, one thousand eighty four KIAs, and one MIA."

Nikolai's fingers briefly froze above the holgraphic keyboard. "Shit...," he whispered, frowning; it was getting worse and worse by the minute. Nikolai sighed and turned around, pointing at a crewman as he did so.

"Yun! Hail admiral Eriksson. We need to turn this thing around, and I think I may just have the trick..."

Celestia held her breath, head involuntarily retracted, mouth just barely open. This was it then - THIS was going to be the most important moment in Equestrian history, and who knows for how many years to come. Every action, every tiniest gesture now could be crucial.

Celestia took a few breaths, trying to calm down. Eventually, she forced herself to take a glance at her sister, despite all heart and mind warning her not to take sight off the alien. Much of the initial shock on Luna's face was now all but gone, replaced by curiosity as the Lunar Princess watched the newcomer with fascination in her eyes, head tilted slightly to the side. It was clear she recognized it as the being from before. Taking one more breath, Celestia decided to follow her sister's example and turned to the alien, prepared to attempt at least some kind of interaction. As she did so though, she could not help but shiver at the creature's appearance. It wasn't that Celestia was scared of it, no, not at all - in fact, she was pretty confident they could hold their ground against whatever the alien may throw at them if hostilities arise. It was something different - how foreign and utterly cold the being looked. Just as Luna had described during the trek, it was bipedal, its... skin black ears to hooves. Or at least Celestia assumed it was skin, and she couldn't really tell since every aspect of the creature was so similar, although as she gazed at it longer and longer, the surface of its body appeared modular, so maybe 'scales' would be a better term. Then, there was the head.

Oh, dear sun, the head.

The creature's head was unsettling. Very unsettling. It wasn't at all different from the rest of the body though, and that was what made it so terrifying. It looked exactly the same as the rest of the body, completely flat, completely black. No expression. No emotions. No distinct characteristics at all. While other things about the creature looked foreign, it could not be missed, no matter how much one would want to ignore it, that the alien had no face.

Truth be told though, the creature's uniformity made it's entire body look like a giant black blob, and so getting any details was harder than it would normally be.

The newcomer was resting its head on some silver-black device, grasping it with its claws from below. Celestia was unsure about the purpose of this stick-like machinery, but the hole in its front made it appear dangerously like a miniaturised version of her ceremonial cannons from Canterlot, and needless to say, that fact did not fill her with optimism.

Putting on as neutral of an expression as she could, Celestia slowly took a small step towards the alien. Behind her, she could sense the Royal Guards tensing up.

"Welcome. Can you understand me?" she asked slowly, clearly voicing every letter, though she highly doubted it would yield any resluts

~~"Welcome. Can you understand me?"~~

"You got that?"

"Of course, but I'll need more data to say if it's speech. I can attempt to get some via the scan, but no promises. By the way, I'm still waiting for permission."

"I know. Try to get that data. Permission granted, begin the scan in five."

"Solid copy. I still don't like it though."

"Noted."

After a few seconds, Celestia sighed. The creature only tilted its head slightly, seemingly in confusement, and it was clear it was not going to answer. Truthfully though, the Princess didn't expect anything else; after all, it was an alien being - by now it was basically certain - so how would it ever get an opportunity to learn Equestrian? Straightening up, Celestia lightened her horn, careful to mix up the spells in the right way to get her desired effect. Before she could get the two parties to understand each other though, something... unexpected happened.

When the glowing aura appeared, Celestia's keen eye noticed the creature wincing slightly. At first, she didn't think much of it; after all, it could've been nothing, and even if it wasn't, it was perfectly reasonable to assume the being could be surprised - it didn't seem to have a horn, so it only appeared natural to Celestia that this race must've had other ways to manipulate magic. With these thoughts, she continued the spell.

But after what couldn't have been longer than two seconds, the previously dormant contraption to their right, which Luna had stated the creature was earlier trapped in, suddenly woke up from its slumber. With no sound at all, blue lights appeared on its sides, casting some insight into how the interior of the machine looked. The lights blinked, then again, and again, and finally, all of a sudden, failed to ignite. After an unusually long pause, they briefly flashed once more, this time accompanied by a low humming noise, and suddenly, without any warning, a blue... 'sheet of light', or maybe 'wave of light' shot out from the machine and started running over the ponies.

To say their response was calm would be a blatant lie.

The guards' reaction was as sudden as it was chaotic. A few shouts, sounds of colliding golden plates, and soon the entire Solar contingent was out of formation, backing up a few steps at a time, unsure whether or not to run, not knowing what to point their spears at, the alien or the contraption. Simultaneously, loud rustling came from the bushes around, but ultimately there were no sounds of hooves, meaning the Lunar force was not about to let go of their discipline.

When she saw the light, Celestia thrust her eyes open, but as Luna quickly turned to face the contraption, Celestia focused on the creature in front of her instead. While previously completely still, almost frozen even, now the alien quickly put its claws up, stepping a little backwards, as it placed whatever it had been holding on its back. The arms, now forward, moved up and down, up, and down again, as the creature quickly turned to face the one pony that was still paying attention to it - Princess Celestia, and although she couldn't judge from the faceless head, it's body's movements were more than enough to conclude that. To Celestia, the alien's intention was clear, no matter what species or culture it hailed from. It wanted to assure them there was no danger.

Of course, Celestia had no guarantee that it was being honest, or that the gesture even meant what she had assumed it did, but quickly decided to go with it for now. What better choice did she have, anyway?

Suddenly though, an indigo aura flashing in the corner of her eye snapped Celestia back into reality. Luna, with clenched teeth and a mixture of shock and anger on her face, now faced the alien machine, ready to erase it out of existance in her first instinct. Already tensed up in case the alien was insincere, Celestia didn't waste any time. Everything slowed down around her. She only had a split second to react, and she would not waste it. Whatever was currently going on, she would not allow Equestrian relations with this new species to be destroyed; not yet, not for possibly no reason. Clenching her teeth, Celestia turned around, lighting up her horn. In no time, she covered the few steps separating her from Luna and strongly nudged her in the back, her speed, not yet fully nullified, only adding force to the jabs. Convinced she wouldn't be able to get her sister's attention in time though, Celestia squeezed her eyes as she released the accumulated magic, creating as strong a shield in front of Luna as she could to give it the best possible chance to stop the powerful Lunar magic.

Thankfully though, its strength was never to be tested.

Having received a fairly strong hit, Luna must've either realised from its direction who it had come from or simply reacted on first impulse, as in a split second she looked first at Celestia, then at the alien. Seeing its completely frozen form, now defensive and harmless, her expression immediately softened, the indigo aura vanishing from around her horn. Turning to Celestia, Luna blushed as she nodded apologetically with understanding in her eyes. The Solar Princess responded with a smile, lowering the magical shield.

How incredibly close to distaster they had just come was... nigh incomprehensible. But now, having avoided it, hopefully they'd be able to-

"Aaagghh!"

Without any warning, a blue ray of magic shot towards the alien from behind the Princesses, illuminating the meadow as it went. The creature, facing the opposite direction, rolled its previously frozen form out of the way at the speed of light, but even then was unable to dodge the beam. It impacted the base of one of its limbs, thrusting the being backwards in the middle of its stunt. Before it hit the ground though, the creature was able to regain control, and rolling over the shoulder (at least if you go by griffon terminology) it was back on its feet in a flash, though this time in a far lower position, one hind limb forward and the other held back.

Celestia's mind once again went into overdrive, and one that could make the previous feel like mere crumbs. Everything halted around her; not slowed down, no - maybe technically, but the truth was, for Celestia the world was not moving at all, even her absurd heartrate all but frozen. Eyes wide open, she noticed the alien reaching out for the cannon-like machinery from before. Immediately, a grave thought dawned on her.

This is the beginning of a war... We are starting a WAR.

However obvious this conclusion was, its sheer gravity caused Celestia to shiver. She knew she had to react quickly if she wanted to have any hopes of stopping the imminent catastrophe.

Celestia turned left. Immediately, she saw a grey-coated Solar Guard, bent forward, his teeth clenched and eyes narrowed. Next to him, Night Lightning stood terrified.

In a fraction of a second, Celestia had to make a decision. Paradoxically though, if it wasn't for the circumstances, the choice would have probably been much harder.

Attack? Two options.
No, possible apocalypse. Yes, one injury; one death.

dea-ath... No, my little pony...

Petrification. Quick, effective, message sent: we are with you.

And like that, only a split second after the original attack, Celestia released her own beam of magic. Just before impact, the guard turned in its direction, mouth wide open, but it was already too late. His silhouette, frozen in the terrified stance, was thrust backwards, its side hitting the ground on the barren clearing. Following Celestia's train of though, Night Lightning levitated the rogue guard above the meadow to present their point even better. The rest of the contingent froze in place.

Celestia didn't waste any more time with the affair though, quickly turning her head back. She needed to know the alien's reaction. Her sister in turn tensed up, taking up a much more secure stance, ready to take up a fight if it came to one.

The creature seemed to mirror Luna's actions in a way, once again frozen in place holding the strange machinery in its claws. It didn't attack, but neither did it look calm, seemingly ready to do so at a moment's notice. Its head shifted slightly, and Celestia suddenly realized it had previously been in fact looking at the floating Solar guard. Or at least it seemed so, as the strange anatomy still greatly confused her. But if it truly was the case, then it meant their response had worked. For now, it had worked.

The blue lights on the contraption to Celestia's right blinked one final time before at last merging with the darkness inside. Only then did it really dawn on the ponies - the blue wave was gone.

Celestia took a deep breath, trying to silence her beating heart a bit, as right now it barely allowed her to hear her own thoughts. It worked. For now, it did. They had avoided the crisis. But now, to the worst part: trying to somehow overcome the obvious distrust between the parties.

Somehow, Celestia felt it won't be an easy talk. But then again, how could she know? It was possible that none of Equestrian behavioural patterns applied to the alien, maybe even not in the slightest. But honestly, this thought filled Celestia with even more worry...

Stanley couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was doing what he could to remain still and focused, at least when it was possible, but the spectacle unfolding before him was simply unbelievable. Light generation? This he could work with, there were many species capable of that. Laser beams shooting out of the head? Uhmm... implants, maybe? Very strong implants, and lots of dentures? Maybe. Telekinesis? No way in hell.

Other than that, Stanley was really starting to doubt his situation. He had been confident he could hold his ground, but after receiving a glancing hit with that laser beam, he really started to question it. The armor held, sure, but the damages it sustained were FAR greater than comfortable. Absurd amounts of energy had to be redirected to support the microshields around his left shoulder, to the point where the rest of his body was left almost defenseless, and the nanobot population on his chestplate took a very huge hit. That, and his personal drone already laid amidst the sea of debris inside the pod, which didn't help the situation, to say the least.

However much he would like not to admit it, if he was cornered by a dozen of these horses in open space, he would have been in serious trouble. But then again, when was it any different? It was his job to make sure he IS NOT cornered in the open. By anyone.

Stanley grasped his rifle even harder, waiting for Selina to speak up. At least they had managed to complete the deep scan, which might shed some light upon the series of mysteries at hand. Stanley inhaled deeply. He had the creatures at gunpoint, ready to shoot any of them dead at will, but quite honestly the main reason he was still holding back after that direct assault, aside from the desire not to spoil relations with a probably-sentient race so quickly, was that he was sincerely unsure of their capabilities. Maybe he could take them, but maybe not, and that was enough.

"Alright, I've got the results. Gathered as much as I could, but the pod is still not entirely functional, so we'll have to work with what we have," Selina finally said, breaking the mortal silence. Stanley sighed with relief.

"Roger that, tell me what you've got."

"Well, limited brain scans suggest they're sentient."

Stanley rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've already pretty much figured that out."

"Good for you. Now on to something you may like: the same brain scans, coupled with some of the shouts and that one line... well, let's just say it was speech earlier. And now I've got a translator. A very basic one though," continued the AI, tone almost unchanged, barely moved by Stanley's comment. The trooper allowed himself a small chuckle as he nodded.

"Okay, give it to me then." Stanley's HUD flashed yellow, indicating a significant data transfer. "Anything else you can tell me?"

"Nothing important for now. I may have a theory on where we are though, but I want to run a few tests first, just to double-check."

"Copy that. But what about the levitation?" replied Stanley, still just as perplexed, although like usually he barely showed it. He had to raise an eyebrow though, as Selina remained quiet for some three or four seconds - a worryingly long time considering no reason had been stated.

"Sela?"

"Unknown," she answered quickly, as if she had specifically been waiting for an opportunity for a fast response after missing the first one. Something utterly impossible for an AI.

Stanley once again attempted to raise an eyebrow, but as it was already up, he had no choice but to just keep it that way instead. He decided to ignore the AIs unusual behaviour though, and moved on to the main topic.

"Ro... ger? Anyway, I've got the translator running, one press of a button and it goes through external." Stanley took a deep breath. "Alright. Let's do this."

With that, he slowly stood back up from his crouch, weapon still at the ready, and took one small step towards the two tallest horses at the front. The white one had already begun to light up its horn once again, but as it noticed Stanley standing up, it immediately ceased to do so, presumably to avoid provoking him. Now it only stood there, tensed up, but strangely calm at the same time. Ready to respond to Stanley, but try to initiate interaction itself as well. Not thinking much, Stanley decided to provide it with an excellent opportunity to go with the former.

"Here comes."

"Yeah. Remember the protocol: establish contact, gather information, achieve your goal. Although with so little data it's quite hard to tell which protocol to go with. I picked the 'Stranded Encounter' version, but who knows if it's correct," replied the AI, advising Stanley one last time. The trooper sighed.

"Well, certainly not me." He slowly moved his hand to the base of his helmet, stopping just short of a small, circular button. "Okay, here comes." With one press, Stanley activated the external speakers.

//Possible anomalistic tendencies concluded
*Confirmation requested - result: [[APPROVED]]
*Inquiry for testing system launch
*Inquiry sent
*System starting

Available modes of action: 1778/255644

!WARNING! - critical testing system failures.
*WARNING discarded
*discarding confirmed

-Testing system launching
*Critical error - LAUNCH FAILED
*Brute Force Protocol requested - awaiting result... done
*Emergency code 10023389110003337 919000188 verified - SUCCESSFUL
*Brute Force Protocol confirmed
*Testing system opening...

-|Course of action choice pending|
//Calculations in progress
-running 1778+ calculations - elapsed time estimated: 3.00000076 ns
-1778/1778 calculations SUCCESSFUL

-Activating testing protocol 135A
-Activation confirmed - systems starting

-Redirecting power - administrator permission needed - inquiry sent...
-Answer received - [[AFFIRMATIVE]]
-Redirecting power...

-Power check: sufficiency - YES // Testing protocol 135A starting...
//Activating power node 13C - DONE
//Activating power node 71H - DONE
-analyzing systems - ONLINE

-Control data requested...
-opening archives - !WARNING! - DATA CORRUPTED
*Emergency data bank access requested... approved
*Emergency data reconstruction requested... approved
*Emergency data reconstruction in progress... done

//Control data ready
-Preparing testing scenarios
*5007 scenarios ready

-Tests starting
-Start confirmed - starting...

-5007/5007 power transfer tests complete
*Generating report... done
*4998/5007 matches
*9/5007 unexpected results
*repeating tests...

-5007/5007 power transfer tests complete
*Generating report... done
*4998/5007 matches
*9/5007 unexpected results
//SPECIAL PROCEDURE INITIATED

-Generating tests... done

-Test 1/5 finished
*Result - GREEN

-Test 2/5 finished
*Result - GREEN

-Test 3/5 finished
*Result - GREEN

-Test 4/5 finished
*Result - GREEN

-Test 5/5 finished
*Result - RED

//Slight laws of physics distortion detected
//Hypothesis confirmed - ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
-Checking emergency database...
-Match - NOT FOUND
-Universe uncharted

//!IMMEDIATE REPORT REQUESTED!
-!WARNING! - no folds in vicinity
-Luger devices not found
-Curving devices not found
*ERROR - contact NOT POSSIBLE

-Inquiry: check for alternate solutions
-Inquiry [[CONFIRMED]] and [[APPROVED]]
-Checking for alternate solutions - calculating...

-FOUND

Lanre ran back to his post, a large adrenaline supply in his arms. After the last injection his desk's stock had ran out, and as automatic refill was temporarily out of service, he had to take a fast trip to bring more himself to continue operating efficiently. Normally he would have already finished for today, but since a couple hours ago the Swarm launched a counterattack, everyone's been basically working around the clock. Still, Lanre was glad he'd only been assigned to the captain's bridge for this operation, as he could hardly imagine how chaotic everything must have been on the admiral's. Even here though, goggled-eyed faces watching rows of fingers dance quickly on various panels were hard to ignore; the still air smelled with sweat.

Sitting down, Lanre quickly got to work. Biting his lip, he skimmed through the multitude of reports and contact requests that had arrived, most of which had already been taken care of by his associates. As he was about to respond to a data request from Fire Control A though, something else cought his attention.

A blue-green labelled report. Top Priority with immediate contact request. Deciding his priorities in no time, Lanre proceeded to superficially read the headings - he had to properly assign it after all. The more he read though, the more... weird the report appeared.

RSU reporting back... okay, alive, but Top Priority? Let's see... Stranded, location - outside 01... wait, what?... First contact... species analysis gives back-

Lanre's jaw nearly hit the floor, as his eyes widened like saucers.

Oh my god... oh my GOD...

Without hesitation, Lanre sprung up from his desk and like antelope rushed through the room, smashing his coffee-filled cup on the floor doing so.

A miserable silhouette reached the footing of the metal-red throne, shadowed by the reflector lights, which seemed to care little for mere servants of their true master. Similarly, while not necessarily in literal darkness, the rest of the room was clearly overshadowed by the majestic object at its back. The people inside, while seemingly comfortable with the throne's presence, had also fallen victims to its unseen pressure, working hard, yet quietly, struggling to succeed, but without complaint, stone-faced all the time, with only a tired sigh or two echoing through the room every ten seconds or so.

And all of that caused by the nearly-regal design of this ancient warship, still built based on even more ancient patterns.

A ship that was now, quite curiously, serving as one of Coalition's flagships above Sazana, refitted and modernised.

The silhouette stopped in its tracks and looked up, towards the figure occupying the massive, grey-red throne. Compared to it, it appeared almost comically insignificant. Saluting, it relayed its message.

"Sir! A RSU trooper has been found missing!"

The figure atop the throne gazed down at the messenger unamused as it lifted one of its hands to its beard. After a few seconds, it replied.

"Why do you keep informing me about things such as one missing trooper?"

The technician blushed a little, embarrassed by his own foolishness. Truthfully though, the obvious mistake wasn't really his fault - normally they'd just send a report, and only the temporary power fluctuations onboard prevented them from doing so - or at least made it harder, causing walking these few dozen meters from the consoles preferable for a while, according to Engineering. Besides that, the technician wasn't even from communications, he was just chosen for this one task.

"My oversight, Sir! We just got an emergency message from the RSNS Constitution. A previously MIA RSU operator just relayed scan reports. Admiral Stratoi requests conference as soon as we fix the power. That's all we know, Sir!" clarified the man, having regained his composure.

The figure on the throne narrowed its eyes, keeping its hand to the beard.

Another talk?

"So the fool thinks it important enough to engage the whole admiralty?" it murmured. After a few seconds, it continued louder. "Very well. I may question his methods, but I trust his judgement. Tell the comms teams to be ready once the power arrives. My orders from before still stand, relay them simultaneously. I do not approve of emergency messaging."

The technician stood perplexed. "B-but why, Sir?"

"Because I prioritise full combat efficiency!" boomed the figure from atop the throne, as it involuntarily bent forward slightly, making its white uniform sharply reflect the lights around.

The technician trembled at first, before quickly catching himself and standing at attention. "Y-yes, admiral Eriksson, Sir! My apologies, admiral, Sir!"

As he said it, the man turned around facing the big windows, flickering with explosions and stray laser beams, and ran towards his post.

With the external speakers activated, remembering what had happened the last time he had surprised them, Stanley took a deep, loud breath to hopefully get the horses used to actually hearing him before he spoke up. He didn't meet with much of a reaction though, and rolling his eyes in resignation, slowly put his left arm back down from the base of his helmet, tensing up as he internally prepared for another standoff.

Worst of all though, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of anything to say. The previously seemingly menial task turned out to be much more challenging. How do you even start a discussion like that? Diplomats are for this, not soldiers. Not these soldiers.

Deciding to go with his gut, after what felt like ages, Stanley finally spoke up, careful for his voice not to be too booming.

"Attention," he took a small pause allowing the inevitable shock to fade a bit from the alien faces. "Indentify yourselves and your associates."

The smaller, indigo horse was the first to react, although even that took a good while. It put one of its hooves, which it had previously lifted in shock, back on the ground, and briefly looking and the bigger one with uncertainty, broke the silence.

"W-who art thou?"

"Identify yourselves and your associates," repeated Stanley, flicking his rifle's safety off as visibly as he could, not really all that concerned about whether the aliens understood what he had just done. He did however make a mental note that the translator... somewhat worked. Even if for some reason it converted to Shakespearean English.

Before the conversation continued, Stanley heard Selina's voice once again ring in his head. "Remember the third point: achieve your goal. Try to be friendlier. How are you gonna get their help getting back to Coalition space like that? And you may very well end up needing that help."

Stanley sighed, rolling his eyes. He once again switched to internal speakers, this time through his neural network. "Alright, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't like bullshit like this, it's not what I've trained for." Before Selina could reply, Stanley switched the speakers back, clearly indicating what he wanted to focus on for the moment.

Meanwhile, gesturing for its indigo collegue to wait, the taller horse took a few small steps towards Stanley, taking the conversation over.

"Greetings. I am Princess Celestia, diarch of Equestria and Raiser of the Sun. This" - the horse, a 'she' as it seemed, gestured to the indigo figure on its right - "is Princess Luna, diarch of Equestria just as I am, and Raiser of the Moon." A smile appeared on the white horse's face, but although it looked genuine, Stanley could not imagine it was not being forced. "We are accompanied by our Royal Guards, and I think it is safe to say that the entire Kingdom welcomes you kindly," she continued, nodding, as she briefly glanced at the levitating guard, eyes slightly narrowed. It wasn't hard to conclude what she meant with that.

Stanley nodded, prompting Celestia to carry on. He kept his weapon raised, but switched the safety back on, making sure the horses see it well. He also noticed Selina must've been actively improving the translator, since its products were now much more modern.

Either interpreting Stanley's gesture correctly or just flat-out ignoring it, the 'Princess' spoke up again. "Now, if introductions are due, I think it's only fair you give us your name."

Well, it wasn't exactly fair, as Stanley was a high-ranking Republican operator, and these aliens had exactly no authority over him. According to almost every protocol, he had full right to just ignore the request.

But all these protocols also included a section advising soldiers to take common sense into account.

Having already evaluated his situation multiple times, the trooper didn't really ponder the choice at all.

After waiting a few long, quiet seconds, Stanley lowered his rifle.

"Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Martin of the RSU Second Battalion," he replied, deciding it was time to make a real step.

You want me to 'achieve my goal'? Establish contact? Well, I'll be damned if I don't try.

Stanley attached his weapon to the lock on his back and, standing straight, extended his arm to the alien horses, careful not to point at one particular 'Princess' but both of them instead, hoping to avoid showing disrespect. For a while he wanted to depolarize his visor, but that thought quickly faded, as he realized how shocking his face could potentially be to the horses. Avoiding chaos seemed to be most important, considering what had happened before.

At first the aliens didn't seem to know how to react, a confused frown on their faces, but Stanley hoped they would eventually get the idea, so his arm remained in place. Sure enough, after a few seconds, the two 'Princesses' exchanged glances and the shorter one, 'Luna', made her move. She slowly closed the distance between herself and Stanley, briefly stopping in hesitation mid-way, before mirroring his gesture with her front hoof.

Stanley could feel Luna shiver slightly as his fingers embraced her limb, and with the corner of his eye saw Celestia tensing up. Even though she still managed to maintain her small smile, it was clear she was paying close attention to the trooper, ready to act at will.

Deciding to go more safely, Stanley slowly and calmly shook Luna's hoof. After he let go, the 'Princess' immediately examined her limb, but it didn't take her long to figure out there was no hidden motive in the motion. Putting her leg down, Luna cast a small smile. As this was probably the first time he had seen her do this since the talk's beginning, Stanley involuntary felt relieved - point one's been completed.

Unbeknownst to him, a tall, white horse just next to him shared the feeling in its entirety, even if for completely different reasons.

Admiral Eriksson shook his head in disbelief. It couldn't have been right.

"So you're trying to say that a stray soldier, somehow stranded during his drop, discovered a sentient alien race that is, of all things, biologically compatible with psionics? And furthermore, said soldier did it outside our own dimension?" the admiral's eyes narrowed. "Even you cannot be foolish enough to believe that, Nikolai. Do you realize how utterly improbable that is?" Eriksson bent slightly towards the holographic screen protruding from his throne. "Very," he finally hissed.

Nikolai sighed in resignation, lowering his head. He had expected the talk to be hard, for the report truly was improbable; plainly impossible even, but his fellow admiral openly questioning its correctness was just irritating, to say the least. It was a discussional stalemate, and for the most idiotic reason. Looking once again at the cyan screen in front of him, Nikolai responded.

"As I've already stated, this report is unlike anything we've seen, but there is no questioning its accuracy. Selina?" he asked, briefly glancing at the ceiling. Immediately, another voice joined the conversation.

"That's true. I only managed to get in contact with... 'me' for a couple of seconds, but it was enough to exchange some data. The pod's systems are beaten up, but the mutual reports of various of them leave no doubt - the conclusion is correct. The laws of physics are slightly distorted; you wouldn't notice that if you were there, but they are, differences in energy transfers leave no doubt. This is no anomaly that could transpire in our world," Selina stated matter-of-factly. "And the deep scanners work perfectly, there's no reason to doubt them - the race is compatible with psionics. Also" - she switched to her trademark playful tone - "I have to congratulate 'myself' on finding a way to contact us. Using energy fluctuations and exploiting these newfound distortions to create a temporary rift was truly creative."

"Yes, truly," said Nikolai, unamused. "And I don't think anyone here realises the importance of the situation at hand! Don't you know what humanity had to deal with during the Psionic Crisis?" - he continued, adressing primarily the non-human members of the conference. "If we had means to control such power-"

"It could be the way to end this entire war, once and for all," an alien, insectoid figure cut him off. It rythmically blinked its four eyes a couple of times, before continuing. "The Uimdar fleet has decided. As Supreme Commanders of the Uimdar contigent, the House of Kauragmi declares its support in the name of the Great Uimdar Kingdom," it stated, but with little actual enthusiasm in its voice.

"And, for once, the House of Zag agrees," murmured another uimdar in a decided, but discontented voice. Nikolai nodded his thanks, before once again adressing Eriksson.

"It's only you now, admiral. Surely you understand that-"

"That this might be our key to victory? The same has been repeatedly said about Defense Line Epsilon. I have said that about Defense Line Epsilon. And just look around! The very first attack, and we already have trouble holding positions," Eriksson cut him off, a tinge of venom in his voice.

"That's why we need a new solution. Even if we win today, it's now clear Epsilon won't be the saviour it was meant to be. Entire grid around Sazana will be shattered, and if they were able to launch a counterattack of this scale, then they're perfectly capable of doing so again. And that means, that-" replied Nikolai as calmly as he could before being cut off by the AI.

"That similar attacks can occur along the entire perimeter. We won't be able to hold them off, we're already redirecting incomprehensible forces to hold back this one onslaught. Even if we are though, there's no way the following assaults, which without a doubt will come, won't break through the already-devastated lines. They will."

Nikolai, previously annoyed at Selina cutting him off, only nodded, confirming her words - she basically summed up what he had wanted to say after all. Eriksson, however, remained silent, staring blankly into his screen. Nikolai spoke up once again.

"Admiral, our contingecy plan is facing imminent failure... If we don't find a solution soon..."

"Checkmate," added another alien commander. Nikolai nodded once more.

Eriksson slowly put his arm, which had previously been supporting his head, back down. He took his time to make an answer.

"Do you... think I do not understand all that?" Eriksson asked slowly. "Because I do. I do realise the data's correct, I do realise the Epsilon Plan's about to fail. But don't you think it's awfully convenient that a one-in-a-billion- no, quintillion chance encounter just when we need it most saves us from certain doom?" he continued, gradually rising his voice. Seeing where it was going, Nikolai tried to end Eriksson's train of thought.

"Admiral-"

"All I'm saying," the admiral continued, not letting himself be interrupted. "Is that we're going to be wasting resources. 'But we are sure!', I hear you say. Yes, we are sure. I've seen the reports. We have all seen the reports. In contrary to what you seem to have thought, I never questioned their correctness. Something is not right here, I can sense it. There are no blessings in the real world, commander, and neither are there miracles. And even if this is indeed a miracle, a solution to our problems, you are actively proposing to waste resources there. And no, the resources won't be insignificant. Everything is significant. Absolute Strategic Priority has allowed us to, through super-accurate calculations, distribute strategic resources in the perfect way possible, with no restrictions at all," Eriksson rambled, faster and faster, as emotions, although suppressed, quickly grew inside him.

"And did that doctrine fix anything?" Nikolai chimmed in, stone-faced.

"No, but it made things better," answered immediately Eriksson. Nikolai bit his lip. "And now, now we're abandoning it? Just like that? Even if acting like this is in line with Absolute Strategic Priority, there are no calcuations yet, and thus we are ignoring the doctrine. You don't know how situation on that primitive planet will develop. You don't know how much resources we'll spend there. All I'm saying is that, even if this is indeed the key, we should utilise these resources in a different way!" Eriksson finally finished, nearly shouting by the end. After a few seconds of silence, one of the alien admirals spoke up.

"What other way do you have in mind?" he asked in a slightly mocking, but at the same time genuinely curious voice.

"Triangulating their signals," answered Eriksson without hesitation. "Locating their homeworld, headquarters or whatever, and cutting off the head!"

"Admiral...," began Nikolai, sighing as he shook his head. "We've already been trying to do that for almost three centuries. There are reasons it's not working out."

"We already have a green light from the High Command. We just need unanimity among the admiralty," Selina chimmed in, once again joining the discussion.

Eriksson brought both arms to his mouth, narrowing the eyes. "I know these reasons, Nikolai," he hissed, seemingly fully ignoring Selina's statement. "I also know, just as well as you do, that it's getting better in that regard. Much better." Eriksson sighed as he closed his eyes. An immense silence overtook the admiralty, broken only by an occasional projectile striking one of the flagships, sometimes followed by an admiral losing balance and shouting a few orders at their bridge crew. Noone dared to reignite the conversation though, letting Eriksson ponder his choice.

After a minute or two, the admiral sighed once again, shaking his head. "I approve of the operation," he said, prompting a sigh of relief from Nikolai. "But I demand the triangulation efforts continue to the fullest possible extent. That also applies to all other Coalition actions, already planned or not; it is not to negate the Absolute Strategic Priority doctrine any more than absolutely necessary."

"I think we can all agree to that," Nikolai replied with a small smile, prompting a wave of confirmations from other members of the conference. "Alright, then it's decided. I think we can call it a day; I'll proceed to carry the operation out as soon as I can. Farewell and good hunting."

A wave of "good hunting" echoed through the bridge, followed by each of the admirals terminating their connection until only Nikolai and Eriksson remained on the line.

"Good hunting, admiral. May your operation go well, I wish you that. Good hunting," said Eriksson mockingly, before hanging up himself. Nikolai sighed as he gestured to Yun to turn the holographic screen off. He then turned to the fleet's AI.

"Selina, prepare to open a temporary rift to our stranded soldier. I'll personally relay him his new orders, maybe that'll show the importance of this undertaking," he said calmly, still very glad they were able to convince Eriksson in the end. However unlikely the report may have looked, it seemed to be correct beyond any doubt. And the things it stated really did seem like blessings.

"Of course, although it might take a while. The second 'me' managed to open a rift just stable enough to relay pure data, and even that only for a few seconds. We've got access to specialised equipment here, but opening a rift still seems problematic. I've already done preliminary tests, and although I've got optimal fold coordinates and the rest calculated, the process seems much harder than usual. Something from the other side may be blocking it, but we need more data to confirm that. Anyway, I'm confident I'll be able to pull it off, just give me some time. But look at the bright sides: you've got a good while to practice your speech," she said, finishing playfully. Nikolai chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that," he said, before gesturing to Selina that it was all he had wanted. Her holographic screen with a soundwave disappeared and the blue LEDs around the bridge flickered, like Selina would often make them do.

Nikolai chuckled once more, loosely preparing himself for the upcoming talk and already thinking about the operation he himself took the burden of organising.

"I'm glad we've been able to come to an understanding after the... incident," Celestia said with a smile as she shook Stanley's hand. The soldier nodded.

"The feeling's mutual," he replied, letting Celestia put her hoof back on the ground. Before he could ask about at the horses' purpose however - what he should've asked at the very beginning - the smaller horse, 'Luna', chimmed in as she turned to Celestia with a tinge of worry in her voice.

"Sister, if we want to succeed, we shall hurry! The sun's already high and the trek long. If we delay any longer, our subjects might notice!"

Celestia's smile faded from her face as she turned back to Stanley.

"Yes, my sister is unfortunately right. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, just as we do ourselves, but that'll sadly have to wait. For now, we should set off at will if we want to avoid further complications - both for us, and for you. We understand you may not trust us yet, but believe me that keeping your arrival a secret requires moving to our Castle immediately."

For a while, Stanley stood in place, a little dumbfounded. Did they really think he'd allow them to take him somewhere, just like that, having nothing to say whatsoever? Because if they did, they were dead wrong, although he had to admit their reasoning made sense while also seeming believable. Other than that, the interruption paradoxically caused him to get his answers. Answers which he had pretty much predicted anyway when he learned the aliens he was facing were some sort of rulers. Otherwise, he doubted his second sentence would ever be something else than 'State your purpose'.

There were a few conclusions he could draw from the statements though. First, it was most likely a pre-first encounter world, as otherwise contact with aliens wouldn't cause such chaos amongst the populace. Second, they were pretty far from civilization, so if he agreed he would end up separated from his pod. Firmly separated.

Suddenly though, a series of messages from Selina appeared on Stanley's HUD.

Messages that were... interesting, to say the least.

'Hypothesis confirmed: location outside 01.
Admiralty contacted and informed.
Call pending.'

Now, that indeed was interesting. Shocking, but... interesting. It meant one crucial thing - there was no way a species using golden armors and spears will be able to help him get back from ANOTHER DIMENSION, telekinesis or not. Stanley sighed quietly.

Knowing he'd have to pick up the call soon, the soldier decided to at least finish the current phase of the conversation.

"Sadly, I'll have to refuse. Returning to Coalition space is now my top priority," he said, already anticipating the answer. He was doing this more to demonstrate his situation to the horses than anything else.

"And does thou posses means to do so yourself?" asked Luna, more with curiosity than irritation.

"No."

"Then sadly I think we cannot help you either," replied Celestia instead, shaking her head. "We may be able to assist if you come with us, but only then. I apologise, but you must understand that as diarchs of these lands we can't allow you to roam them freely, nor can we allow news of this encounter to leak to the populace. Let's just say they have a habit of... slightly overreacting," Celestia said smiling, in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. "You can ask questions along the way, but now we really should leave."

Well, this pretty much decisively confirmed the horses' purpose, and their reasons did seem believable.

Stanley weighed his options. Being stranded on an alien planet with potential enemies - the aliens if he refused - knowing his exact location didn't sound too good, especially as this was an alternate dimension, so it may take a good while for help to arrive. On the other hand, agreeing seemed to provide opportunity to complete, at least partially, point two and cement point one. Obviously, Stanley wasn't going to leave his pod in the middle of nowhere while he relocated, and thus briefly wondered how the horses could be able to take it with them, but it didn't take long for his eyes to accidentally meet the floating guard.

Oh, thought Stanley. Of course.

The trooper sighed. This was all so utterly against everything he had went with for his entire life. Even despite the horses' unusual abilities, he was confident he could ran off if he wanted, with his weapons still with him (oh, he was NOT going to give them away) and the dense forest around, but even then he would still be making his situation worse by effectively getting rid of his pod. And, of course, in his book he was still basically willingly becoming a prisoner.

SO. UTTERLY. AGAINST.

But however he thought, this idiotic choice seemed to be the best one. Stanley sighed once more. He really didn't like this. Knowing he'll have to answer the call anyway, he decided he'd present the situation to Command and hopefully at least get their approval.

"I understand. Excuse me for a while, but I need to talk this demand over with my superiors. I assure you it will not take long," he finally said, addressing the alien Princesses.

Luna looked like she was about to protest, but before she could do anything, Celestia raised her hoof. "By all means, but I ask you to hurry. As I've already said, time is sadly not on our side today," she said with a smile, before turning around and gesturing to one of the guards, who immediately started shouting something at the rest. The 'flock' chaotically moved into some sort of formation, but as most of its members were entirely unable to take sight off of Stanley, the situation looked almost comically. Stanley was sure he could hear Luna sigh at the display, hesitant to even glance at the glaring indiscipline.

Meanwhile though, the trooper himself didn't waste much time, immediately starting to walk towards his wrecked pod. He was going to answer the call from there, even though it didn't really matter, since he would actually be talking through his armor. However, he doubted just silently standing in place for a few minutes before claiming the exchange is over would make the horses more comfortable, so he decided to at least pretend to be using the big piece of technology. This way he'll also be able to give them another reason to take the pod if a simple demand doesn't work.

Having positioned himself inside the debris-filled vehicle, the trooper switched to internal speakers and addressed Selina. "Alright, patch me through. Lock the armor and black the visor, you've got control over the exterior while I'm out."

"Hear you loud and clear. Stand by," she immediately responded, before beginning her work. In a single second, Stanley's entire field of view blackened, and a plain cyan rectangle appeared in the middle. After a few more seconds, Selina spoke up once again. "Stabilising..."

A large 'CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL!' caption could be seen, and soon enough, a familiar silhouette appeared.

Actually, the silhouette was too familiar to feel comfortable. Stanley's eyes involuntarily widened.

"A-admiral Stratoi, Sir! Reporting for duty, Sir!" he shouted, stuttering at first. Why would someone of such a high rank contact a single trooper, even an RSU?

The admiral however looked dangerously serious. "At ease, soldier," he said, trying to cast a small smile, but failing to overcome his troubled frown. "I'll get straight to the point, as we don't have much time. Our connection isn't very stable, and there's a lot to say." As if on cue, the image shimmered, confirming the admiral's point. Nikolai sighed. "You may be wondering many things; what happened to you, how you ended up where you did, but the truth is, we don't really know ourselves. Not yet. But what we do know from your AI's reports is that you've encountered a yet-uncontacted alien species. Now, you have seen them display some... peculiar abilities, and you may have wondered what you were looking at. From the reports, I know Selina said she had no data about it, but that's not true. She does." The screen shimmered once again, prompting the admiral to repeat his sigh. He bit his lip, bending forward slightly. "Lieutenant Colonel, your clearance level is being raised to three-dash-five. With it, read up on the Tectonic Crisis when you're able to, but for now, it's enough for you to know that this kind of power is far greater than you can realise. Incomprehensibly greater." The screen shimmered again, this time much more. One of the technicians on the admiral's bridge turned to Nikolai, shouting.

"Admiral, we're losing connection!"

Nikolai grunted, before quickly turning back to Stanley. "Soldier, we're barely holding them back here. Epsilon's failing. We don't know if we'll be able to hold Sazana. We need to get these aliens on our side. That's all you need to know, it's now top priority. In the name of the Coalition High Command, I grant you limited diplomatic power," he said quickly, some of his words barely understandable through the static

"Stabilising's failing!" exclaimed the same technician from before.

Ignoring him, Nikolai continued, even faster than before. "Talk t- -em. Get - -o like you. T- them ab- us, but -t -ate, repeat, don't nego-. Wait for the dip-. We're com-ng. Need to es-bli- a secure fol-. -re having -fficulties. We're count-in- on you, sold-. Good lu-" before Nikolai could finish, the transmission cut off, a big 'CONNECTION LOST' caption in the middle of the cyan screen. Stanley knew the disruptions were worrying, but he also knew something else: despite the static, he had heard the entirety of the admiral's message. He had his orders. And now, there was little doubt left - he had to go with the horses.

Sighing, Stanley got ready to exit his pod, already preparing for the difficulties ahead of him. And for some reason, he felt that the coming days would be absolutely full of them.

Author's Note

After nearly a month, here it is! :twilightsmile:
I got a lot of advice after the last chapters, and I've tried to take as much as I could into account while writing this one. Did I succeed? Well, it remains to be seen. :twilightblush:

Rate, comment, tell me what you think! You have no idea how motivating that can be! :twilightsmile:

Anyway, I hope you have a good read! Stay pony, my friends! :scootangel:

Act I, Chapter 3: Developments - Part 1

Luna watched as the creature slowly disappeared inside the metallic container, shrouded by the shadows inside. In this moment of silence, she could not cease to marvel at how capable it was. Images from before flashed in her mind, first its composure, then agility, and finally...

The moment of attack. What the alien was hit with was most probably a concentrated magic beam, and it just shrug it off like it was nothing, without any lasting effect. Luna shuddered at the sheer thought of that; a reaction like this gave her the vibe of her sister, Starswirl the Bearded, maybe King Sombra all that time ago. Such a beam wasn't any ultimate weapon, but no reaction at all definitely granted a place in the pantheon of Equusian legends, at least if assembled in terms of pure power. The creature was knocked back, sure, but it was still quite impressive. If all members of this species were that durable, then the matter at hand might definitely prove... most peculiar.

As rustling ceased to fill Luna's ears, she finally found the will to turn around, and with relief discovered that the Royal Guards were done getting into formation, the grey-coated rogue unicorn still floating by Night Lightning's side in his petrified form. The masquerade was over, it was safe to look again. Marvellous. Truly marvellous.

As the final pieces of equipment were tallied and double-checked, Luna saw Celestia leave the living flock that was the Guard contingents and head straight towards her with an honest smile, contrasting greatly with her tired and yet genuinely relieved eyes.

"Admiring our new guest, Lulu?" she asked, getting to Luna's side. The Lunar Princess rolled her eyes.

"I am just thinking, sister. Perhaps we are a bit too open? Have you seen its reaction to the magic beam?"

"I have seen it, and I'm glad it didn't try to hurt us as a response," Celestia chuckled.

"You know what I mean, Tia," huffed Luna. "Do you really trust it already?"

Celestia sighed. "And you don't?"

"It is too early, we have only just met."

"Exactly," Celestia nodded. "We cannot restrain it just because it might be dangerous. So far, we gave it one perfect reason to attack, and yet it decided not to."

"I still think it would be wiser to be careful, sister," replied Luna. "If what we have seen is any indication, then the creature's prowess is something not to be reckoned with," she paused, looking at the treeline in front of her in thought. "I do not wish to antagonize it, but perhaps we should at least ask its purpose? We know nothing about it."

"It gave us its purpose," replied Celestia smiling, as she embraced her sister with her giant wing. Luna looked at Celestia with a confused frown. "It stated its priority was to go back. It means that, just as you said, it crashed."

"Oh... right. But how do we know it is truthful?"

"We don't, but that's something we cannot fix for now," Celestia rubbed Luna with her muzzle before retracting her wing. "I appreciate your concerns, Lulu, and you're right, but for now we should also make a good face. There will be time for questions during the trek - a time we will certainly use," Celestia winked.

"So what shall we do once in the Castle?"

"We'll give it a quarter, but separated from the public and under watch. I agree that we should be careful, but we need to try and establish good relations. A... lot might depend on this," replied Celestia. She almost shuddered at the thought.

"But there is also a lot to gain," Luna sighed. "I'm sorry, sister," she added after a moment. "This is all simply too confusing..."

"We couldn't have prepared for this, Lulu. But I'd say we handled the situation pretty well so far," answered Celestia, chuckling. Luna smiled. "I'm confused too. We know nothing about it, but this will change. Let's hope we are both capable of facing the alien if the need arises, and how our species will get along, only time will tell."

Before the talk could continue, a bright light emerged from behind a mountain top, which had previously hidden it from Equestrian west, and forced Celestia to turn her head away. "Speaking of time, let's hope our guest is ready to depart soon," she stated calmly, moving to shield herself from the blinding sun.

"And that it does agree to come with us. It has not stated its response just yet," replied Luna, taking a look at the alien contraption. "But I believe we shall not worry about the former." Celestia followed her sister's gaze.

There, in the middle of the clearing, the same black blob from before scrambled out of the machine, before turning towards it once again. Celestia winced as the alien proceeded to devastate presumbaly its own creation, making a few small metal plates fall off.

But demolished it did not get. Before she knew it, the process of destruction was over, and yet far from complete. Only one or two parts of debris joined their kin on the ground, as now the creature searched for something in their former place with one its limbs.

Oh, Celestia thought with a sigh. A relief to be sure. Maybe we will be able to get along... Just maybe.

It wasn't long before the alien achieved its goal, pulling out a small rectangular bag with some markings on the sides, its contents hard to judge. Then, with a hiss, it opened a... hole in its back, right next to the cannon-like machinery, and put the pouch inside.

Uh, it must be a type of device. Admittedly, it does look a bit more shiny than the rest of its body...

The creature then went on to repeat the process with two more similar packages and a weird transparent cylinder, before shutting the small hatch and finally heading towards the waiting Princesses, covering rather large distances with each step... for a bipedal creature, that is. The sisters exchanged uneasy glances.

Well, this was it. Truly this time. If the alien agrees to leave the Everfree with the ponies, then the first part of the affair can pretty much be declared over. Successful. Somewhat. If it doesn't though, the case may become... problematic. So far time, although certainly not an ally, seemed to be content not causing larger problems. Sadly, this was now changing. Rapidly. Very rapidly.

Celestia already had a few modes of action pre-planned if she had to negotiate, but that lack of time meant she had to be quick. And ruled out many possible concessions.

If there was any moment the thousand-year experience in diplomacy could be useful, it was now. More than ever.

Meanwhile, the creature had already mostly covered the distance separating it from the Princesses, and was just making the final steps. Wincing its head almost unnoticeably, it soon broke the echoing silence.

"I am happy to announce that my superiors have given a green light. The... government wishes to establish diplomatic relations with... with the..." the alien stuttered.

But Celestia didn't notice. All was gone now.

Was this true?
Just one thing. One revelation.

'The government wishes to establish relations...'

Celestia released a breath she didn't even realise she'd been holding, as waves of immense relief travelled through her body almost making her lose feeling. It was over. It really was. A short endeavor, but oh how important.

But no. It wasn't completely over, not yet. Not just yet. After a while, Celestia finally pictured what the being had said and went on to fill the blank space.

"With the Kingdom of Equestria," she finished for the creature with an involuntary smile. "And what government might that be, pray tell? Forgive me, but I would at least like to know who I am negotiating with when doing so."

"It would be the Republic of Sol," the alien responded after a while. It wasn't long enough to raise a red flag for Celestia, but she made a mental note to remember the reaction regardless. "Although you can probably expect more to express interest over time."

"I see. Now, I understand you are ready to march off? Forgive me, but time is of the essence today."

"I am," the creature replied. "But there is a condition. My pod has to be taken with us." Luna sent it a confused look, her head slightly tilted. Celestia was sure she could hear the alien sigh. "The... mechanism... construct... there in the center," it said pointing at the metallic cylinder.

Celestia tapped her chin. They had to take it anyway, she couldn't allow something like this to be discovered, that one thing was certain. The small shrapnel could be left, it may be anything after all, but not such a gargantuan piece of technology. The problem was, if the 'pod' was so important for the being, it would probably demand to have constant access to it once in the Castle, and that complicated things, especially as they had no idea what it really was. But on the other hand, truth be told, it was something that could very well have been predicted. Deciding it'd be better to think it all over while on the move not to waste time, Celestia put her hoof back on the ground.

"That could be arranged. Let us," she said, smiling. Following her train of thought, Luna turned around and gestured at a group of unicorn guards to come. It went better than expected, and soon the entire contraption was floating above the pony contingents.

"Now," continued Celestia, as she turned and walked towards the treeline. "I think everything is ready, so we should set off at once. Welcome to Equestria... mister?"

"Yes, mister. Stanley Martin, Lieutenant Colonel," the alien replied blankly. Not resentfully, just completely neutrally. Only now did Celestia really notice that detail: every time it spoke, the tone was almost the same, very formal, barely any emotions heard. She decided to ignore that for now though, as the alien had already reached her side. It could've been natural for them, after all. Not necessarily something bad.

With these thoughts, Celestia resumed her trot, cathing up to her sister who had already entered the lush vegetation.

Communications. Working in the section on a warship is one thing, not comparable to how the job looks on designated stations. Outposts. Bases. Zones.

All these things, whether it be a comm center floating in interplanetary space or a small part of a military installation, spend their whole days on massive data transfers, reorganisation of orders, relaying them here and there, and back again, to archives and the High Command. Calling anything and everything about everything, but most importantly, reducing chaos in force coordination. Reducing to zero.

But now, all of that changed. Now, in the morning hours Capital Universal Time, many, many comm centers received a simultaneous order.

All ongoing undertakings were handed over to unaffected bureaus. They were to contact the Cyanosian Empire.

Which basically meant bombarding them with calls until they respond.

Data networks were established for coordination, and the daunting job began.

At first, it was decided to focus on embassies and military units already stationed near the frontlines, as well as stations manned by Cyanosian crews. Option one failed quickly, as it had already been tried, even in person. The stations and ships either ignored the calls or gave laconic replies, the likes of 'personnel here is not authorised to make a response'. With unwavering determination, the bombardment moved on to its next targets.

These were, of course, larger Cyanosian facilities. Their colonies, administration centers, military installations inside their territories, Cyanosian equivalents of comm stations, even the capital ecumenopolis of Kuher itself, but it wielded similar results. Still determined, the people of Communications worked on.

On the fifth day, a news rocked through the section that a certain officer, Edward Lockham, had made indirect contact with a Cyanosian ambassador, but not to any state, but the Coalition High Command's Civilian Advisor Council instead, and was told he'd be granted the desired information. Whether the story was true, noone knew, but brief cheering ensued anyway. But as hours passed, then days, no official update came, and soon enough someone bright distributed data once and for all disproving the existence of Edward Lockham. Unshaken, the Communications section continued its work.

On day seven, the Secretary of State for Intelligence tapped into the network and announced, that 'if a gigantic military communications structure cannot contact anyone in an enormous empire, then it's no wonder the Cyanosians do not cooperate.' Asked how he imagines they should do it, he said to 'call the civvies.' And so call the civvies they did. Multiple times.

On day eight, the Sarlaan Ingenious Monarchy joined in on the party, contributing their own officers. And so, the section's internal network got expanded by nearly a hundred percent. And so did their resources.

On day nine, another news rocked Communications.
Contact had been made with a Cyanosian border outpost, and the line is still on!
After previous experiences, cheering was limited, but champagne did explode after an update came - an update that they were now all to boost the connection and not let it fall.

But hours passed, then a day, and nothing changed. The connection was still on, yes, and occassional talks occured, so they didn't regress. But nor did they advance. Tensed, the Communications section waited, their resolve still unwavering.

Sunlight shone brightly through the green canopy as Stanley kept moving through the dense forest. His companions, a total of forty seven aliens, had asked him to walk at the very front of the column next to the two 'Princesses', and so that was exactly where he now stood. At first, the trooper was about to object, as in his eyes this was nothing less than a direct order from an unauthorised person, but ultimately suppressed the desire and agreed, deciding that something so insignificant was not harmful at all - especially as the vegetation around them was, in some places, incredibly dense, to the point where it was hard to see anything hidden even a few meters behind it. Naturally, various escape plans already flooded Stanley's mind.

The trooper sighed with resignation. They had only just left the crash site, and he already wanted to act like he was in the field. It was nothing unexpected, and at its core wasn't a bad thing - Stanley highly doubted he could ever forgive himself if he let his guard down - but even the sheer difficulty he had making some sentences sound formal meant his new job would be a hard one. There seemed to be a reason he wasn't a diplomat after all. A reason besides his de facto birthplace.

A metallic debris impaled into a trunk briefly brought Stanley out of his thoughts, forcing him to lower his head. He had wondered how much damage his drop had caused, and even though the scanners had already given him the answer, this was the first time he got a broader picture - the damages were substantial, but luckily irrelevant. Which was a relief. Unless these aliens valued nature differently than most of the galaxy.

Ehhh... I really hope the Corps arrive here ASAP

To be fair though, even Stanley was competent enough to see this was likely not the case - the horses paid little attention to their surroundings, both now and back in the clearing, and no damages were even mentioned during his talk with Celestia and Luna. Of course, they could've just omitted it on purpose to gain his (or, more likely, his species') favor, but this was highly unlikely - overall, their reaction just didn't suggest that might've been the case.

But cultural differences may not always be that easy to judge, especially with little experience in the matter besides common knowledge.

Stepping over a fallen trunk, Stanley took some time to analyze his new companions. Just left of him, leading the column, were Celestia and Luna, who he'd already had the opportunity to talk with. Stanley knew little about either of them, forcing him to weight his words, but it wasn't like their situation was any different. What he could make out however was that they were both diarchs - which they had explicitly mentioned, so he couldn't have just misinterpreted what they said. And that was weird - why would any ruler ever go in person into potential danger? There had to be something more to it. Something he had yet to figure out. For now Stanley could go with a little less knowledge than he'd desire, as his orders were basically to lay ground for the negotiations proper - and as the aliens were definitely in a hurry, questions could wait a while more. No need to anger them.

But a while's a while. And it would not last forever.

Turning even more to his left, Stanley's sight was filled by a bright blue aura. In it, the grey equine from before floated... paralyzed? Petrified? Either way, trapped. A similar aura also encased the horn of another alien - a large, equally grey horse a bit ahead of the main column, adorned with reptile eyes and bat-like wings. These last characteristics placed it within one of the main groups (subspecies, maybe?) of the aliens Stanley had managed to make out. And the most peculiar one, at that, as none of the features suited the race's equine nature. Evolutionary leftovers, probably, or adaptations to something Stanley couldn't come up with, but the sight was still quite peculiar. Even in a galaxy of a million worlds, this was about as unique as one could get.

In other aspects though, the horse blended in quite nicely with its kin, standing out only due to its slightly larger size and a more ornate armor. Despite that, something about it was just... menacing, somehow. One could tell it wasn't a newbie, but why, Stanley couldn't say. A scar? No. Damaged armor? Hah! Never. Just something. Something in sight, something in scent, something in the noise... just something somewhere.

Heh, thought Stanley. Seems like Jona just got himself a new friend. Not even knowing it.

How that aura of experience translated to actual performance was, of course, a whole another topic. Obviously, Stanley couldn't find much to back his assumptions with, but just by looking at the horses' armor, his guess was that probably poorly.

From time to time, the grey alien turned around in its march, showing something to the rest of the column. Out of formation, positioned with the leadership, giving 'orders'... certainly a commander of sorts.

And a commander of a force, that is. A truly... mighty force.

Truly... actually truly. Or not.

Stanley had serious problems forging his opinion about these 'soldiers'. He mentally went through the intelligence gathering training, re-training and almost seven decades of experience, but nothing seemed to apply. His options were too limited, considering his situation and orders, and he quickly realized that what he'd experienced so far may be everything he'll have to work with for a while. Unless he manages to get something out of the Princesses in the near future, that is.

For now though, there was only so much he could conclude.

For starters, the alien armor was pathetic. There was no doubt about that - pathetic, period. It was golden, the worst substance to use - heavy and soft, limiting mobility and offering little protection. For a while, Stanley had doubted the nature of this material, even despite years of working with gold in other applications, because it was simply hard to believe someone would actually go with it. These doubts had however faded when Selina confirmed his suspicions - it was gold. Not all of it, but a significant portion.

That, coupled with the fact that the only weapons he'd seen so far were simple spears (and not that well designed at that), meant that this race - or at least this faction - was not experienced in warfare.

Or they were, and this was just a representative company with little combat value. But why send a representative company to contain an alien life form? It doesn't make sense...?

Well, excluding billions of possible cultural differences that may've very well caused that, as they basically determine the core of every reaction after all, one theory immediately found its way to Stanley's mind.

Everything instantly starts making sense if one simultaneously positions the proper force in cover, granting themselves a distraction while not nullifying overall combat capabilities.

Which, surprise, was what the aliens did, in the form of the dark-armored bat-equines now walking next to their golden brethren. And this time, according to Selina, their plating was devoid of asinine material choices.

But they still carried spears, indicating low technological level of this species. Most likely. Or maybe it was all a representative force.

Stanley sighed under his helmet, careful not to give any reaction away for now. It was all just speculations, with any means to confirm them a long way off. Still, they were necessary.

What wasn't speculation however was Stanley's second observation.

The energy beam. The damn energy beam. Such a weapon was something he himself would happily work with, as a possible choice that is. But the worst part was that, according to the admiral, it was not technology per se. It was an 'ability', whatever that meant, and Stanley had no way of knowing what else it could be used for. Nikolai claimed it was nigh-incomprehensibly powerful, but in what way, he failed to say.

So he had no idea if the force before him was an accurate representation of equine military potential and thus couldn't really decisively confirm their technological prowess. In addition, the capabilities of that force were impossible to determine anyway, as the unknown factor successfully prevented that.

Brilliant, damn it.

At least supposedly Selina had some information about this 'ability' the laser beam had been created with. Stanley may not have known a lot about these aliens, but he knew perfectly well he would assault the AI with questions as soon as he got an opportunity - an opportunity that both suits him and doesn't hurt the mission.

So certainly not now.

Soon the debris beneath Stanley's feet all but disappeared and the ground became much less rugged. Damaged trees also vanished, replaced by their much healthier and more majestic counterparts, as the column gradually entered a new area of the forest, one untouched by Stanley's drop. Crossing a few more enormous bushes, the group came into a fine gap between the gigantic trees, a natural path of sorts. The sun shone even brighter through their sparse upper branches.

Looking at the small, creased plants on the ground, Stanley concluded the aliens were probably going back the way they came.

After all the 'guards' had firmly entered the new area and were once again surely marching forward, Celestia cleared her throat.

"I think it's now safe to say we are firmly under way," she stated with a smile, supposedly to both Luna and the trooper, but it was quite clear to Stanley he was the only true recipient.

"How long do you think it will take? To reach the... 'Castle'?" he asked calmly, looking at the Princess.

"We should arrive at the forest's edge before the sun reaches it's zenith. The way to the Castle will be about as long," Celestia answered. Stanley nodded quietly, prompting an awkward silence, broken only by the indigo Princess.

"So... thou had mentioned you wished to establish relations with our Kingdom, but how exactly does your government wish for the affair? Might we expect more of your kind will come?" she asked a little too quietly, whether because of shyness or the desire to conceal the conversation. Luckily, Stanley's enhanced receivers were more than enough to catch it.

"Yes, the Diplomatic Corps are already underway, but it will take some time," the trooper stated matter-of-factly. "Interstellar travel may sometimes... take a while", he lied, deciding it was better not to start his mission with the reveal of humanity's, and the Coalition's as a whole, biggest weakness. It will yet be due time to tell them the real reason. Actually, as Stanley thought about it, that time was likely not so far away.

Celestia looked like she was about to inquire further, but was quickly interrupted by Luna. "Interstellar?" she asked, much more vividly. "Art thou saying your origin is besides our own... sun?"

Stanley could not help but smirk a little. That was huge. Now, the answer was of course obvious. That is, it would be obvious to any race that had achieved space age, or even just atomic age. On the other hand, the Princess seemed to be aware of the existence of solar systems, which, coupled with the info from before, significantly narrowed down the possibilities of their knowledge level, at least in astronomy.

Heh, thought Stanley. Maybe I'm not the worst in this after all. Ehh...

"Yes, well, it is. I thought you were aware of my... foreign nature?" Stanley asked, just to make sure.

"Extra-equusian and interstellar art not one and the same."

"Hmm. I understand."

"Before these Corps arrive then, what are your plans, if I may ask?" chimmed in Celestia, taking advantage of the short pause. Luna once again moved away from the trooper as her sister took the talk over. "As your arrival here doesn't seem intentional, I don't suppose you are a diplomat yourself?"

Stanley sighed inwardly. It had to come to such questions sooner or later, he just hoped he'd have a bit more time. The trooper didn't conceal his occupation before, clearly stating his rank, so he decided to stick to that decision. A quick question about its correctness briefly crossed his mind, but it was quickly discarded, as he concluded that at some point they'd have to learn the truth anyway.

"Not a full diplomat," he began slowly, thinking how to word the response best. "But I do have diplomatic power." With that, Stanley wanted to wrap his answer up, but then admiral Stratoi's words from before started to ring in his head.

'Tell them about us, but don't negotiate.'

'Tell them about us.'

Alright, chief. Just don't be angry at the results.

Sensing an excellent opportunity to initiate such conversation, Stanley went ahead and expanded his reply a bit, although he could not help but involuntarily hope the aliens won't fall for the bait.

"Ordinarily though, you are right, I'm just an RSU Lieutenant Colonel."

Please don't ask.

"I understand. But what might the 'RSU' be, pray tell?", replied Celestia with a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.

Damn it...

Rolling his eyes in resignation and sighing, Stanley braced himself for a long and most probably difficult talk, as the various ways this conversation might go already formed in his mind, and they did not always omit the aspects sensitive for the Republic, to say the least. But everything for the service, after all.

"The RSU is an acronym for 'Republican Strike Units', an elite shock infantry the Republic of Sol utilises to provide support for its main ground forces or conduct special operations of unmatched danger and importance in the heat of battle," he eventually responded, proud at what he had managed to come up with. It was nothing but truth, just incredibly vague and sounding much too impressively.

Celestia however did not look impressed. She retracted her head a little, before looking at Luna who only sent her an 'I told you' look. At first, Stanley thought it might be because it decisively confirmed he wasn't qualified for any more serious talks, although Celestia did state thay had already pretty much figured that out. That impression however faded as soon as she spoke up.

"So, you are a soldier after all. We suspected so after you revealed your rank, although we weren't sure if it coincides with ours," she replied slowly shaking her head, more with pity than disapproval, blowing Stanley's hypothesis away.

"Umm, well... yes, that is true," the trooper replied, holding himself from saying anything else. He didn't really know what to say anyway - making his response, he had wanted to paint the Republic in the best light he could, paint a picture of a mighty state with powerful military and economy, and only later proceed to talk more openly about humanity's war with the Swarm, to influence the horses' reception of galactic situation in his favor. Stanley anticipated such narration might make them anxious later on, but he concluded that if he's friendly overall it will make the diplomats' work easier in the process.

But now? Now he had barely just started and he already got a negative reaction.

As a result of him... yeah, what exactly? Saying he's military? They said they suspected so eariler, although it might be just that this was the final confirmation. But the Princess did say they had such ranks themselves. So what, describing human military in superlatives? And himself as a 'proud' member? Kind of? That was a probable theory, actually, and would explain a lot.

Remember, Stan, it's all about culture. Don't assume too much, or you're screwed.

The trooper decided it best to stay quiet thus preventing himself from saying anything stupid, and waited for one of the Princesses to react. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be eager to push the subject either. Eventually, Luna broke the silence, going back to her previous topic.

"If thou art not from beneath our sun, then where exactly is your origin? Do my stars widely host life, just as it is on Equis?" she asked slowly but eagerly, seemingly trying to suppress growing curiosity.

Stanley smiled once again - he was starting to like this 'Luna'. So far, she'd been providing him with more information about this species than all other aliens combined.

Information, but also questions. 'My stars'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Eh, probably just an expression, Stanley eventually concluded. But still, should keep that in mind. Might have something to do with this society.

"Stars are no different than your sun. They can host life, but its rare for one to do so. Extremely rare, actually. Beyond comprehension. Yours just seems to have been among the lucky ones," Stanley chuckled, answering Luna, as he decided he was basically giving away common knowledge. Still, the Princess almost fell over at the revelation, and had to briefly slow her trot down. "As for my origin, well, it depends."

"It depends? How... does it depend?" Luna asked, tilting her head, shock now replaced with confusion.

"It depends on whether you mean my origin or human origin," the trooper clarified.

Celestia, having previously largely retracted herself from the talk, suddenly turned her head towards Stanley with interest. "There is a difference, then? How so?" she asked in place of Luna, who, quite amusingly, sent her an annoyed glare. "I believe my sister only inquired about your home... sun."

"Yes, well, I believe so too." Stanley was glad he had his helmet on to hide his wide smile. From what he'd heard so far, what he was about to say would be like an atom bomb for the horses, although he did briefly wonder what they'd do with the information. Names of human systems couldn't mean anything to the aliens, even provided they didn't know that none of them was even in their own dimension. "These are still two different things. Humanity originated in Sol, and my homeplanet is in Eterne. Kind of."

Well, was in Eterne, but screw it.

"So, what you are saying is..." began Celestia, shaking her head in bewilderment, already knowing the implications, but was interrupted by her sister mid-sentence.

"You have done more than achieve 'interstellar travel', as thou had called it, by however mysterious means. Your kind has spread!" exclaimed Luna with fascination. It seemed as though her desire for knowledge and Stanley's exotic origin overcame her, sensible at that, caution and prejudices for the moment. Stanley just made an exaggerated nodding gesture, making sure the horses see it despite his pitch black faceplate.

"What do you mean by 'kind of', if I may ask?" answered Celestia instead, once again changing the topic. Luna once more temporarily moved away from the trooper, allowing her sister to talk. "Is there more to human origin?"

Stanley chuckled. "No, that's it, I was referencing my own 'homesun', don't worry. You see, it's technically Sol as well, but I don't even remember it, I got resettled very early. Nothing more to it," he said more freely, a bit disappointed at the lack of any question regarding the extent of human expansion and the likes. Then, he had a subtle impression, he could really drop a nuclear charge with his answer.

But there was one thing his lack of focus during the answer made him omit.

"Resettled?" Celestia asked with concern, but also a tinge of curiosity as she moved closer to Stanley.

The trooper felt his blood freeze.

Fuck...

Oh, how stupid he was. However normal it may have seemed to talk about, he should have realised it was only a product of the war after all. What had he been thinking!?

After a few moments of silence, Stanley sighed loudly, closing his eyes. It seemed like his plans for the talks had just changed. Or, more accurately, vanished.

Okay, say the truth early on, and then try to smoothe it out... or not, it will make it impossible to smoothe out... or- fuck! I don't know, dammit! Screw it, just... just go with your gut! Or... ehh... I'm not a negotiator...

"I... Indeed," he finally said, naively hoping that would end the topic, but Celestia continued to give him an asking look. The trooper sighed once again - there was no avoiding it now. He decided to keep his answer short. "The Republic resettled a few million people to other worlds, since that's where we were needed. My family had to go to the military planet of Eterne II, hence why I consider it my homeworld. I can't remember Sol at all," Stanley said, focusing on implying multiple worlds and the vast population in hopes of changing the topic. When he finished though, he could see Luna straighten her lips and slowly nod to noone, blankly looking forward into some unseen abyss, seemingly deep in thought.

Celestia meanwhile did not fall for Stanley's bait. "You were needed? Why so?" she asked about the admittedly more important thing.

Okay, new plan. If they ask, answer and eventually smoothe it out later... Yes, let's go with it for now. And hope for the best...

Stanley kept walking in silence for a while, to give the impression that he doesn't want to talk about the subject, before finally making his answer. "They... they needed people." He turned around, briefly looking at the rest of the guards, who'd been keenly observing the trooper ever since they'd left the clearing, before glancing back at Celestia. She immediately got the message, and after gesturing something at the alien soldiers, trotted a bit forward to help distance them both from any unwanted ears. Luna though, immediately sped up to join the pair.

Stanley meanwhile did not hurry. He patiently waited for the second Princess to catch up, before sighing with resignation and, having moved closer to the diarchs, quietly speaking up.

"I'm going to be honest with you," he began. "I shouldn't say that, but the Republic has seen better times than now. We... have our problems, and sometimes it just so happens that people don't get to choose their role. That's my place," he said, before slowly looking up at the Princess, trying to show helplessness, but he quietly suspected he failed miserably as he had virtually no advanced expressions at hand to back him up.

Please, tell me I assumed their values correctly...

Celestia looked at the trooper with a tinge of compassion in her eyes, previous temporary resentment now seemingly all but gone, whether because she understood human situation a little better or for some other unknown reason. Then somehow, even through the pitch black military visor, she looked Stanley straight in the face for the first time since they'd met. The trooper couldn't really tell why, but Celestia's eyes were unlike anything he had ever seen in his life. Glimming with experience and age-old wisdom, justice, understanding and compassion, but also sheer prowess, both intellectual and physical. It was magnificent, but also terrifying. Terrifying how Stanley could not explain a thing he was feeling, very much so.

Luna on the other hand, walking on the other side of her sister, looked at Stanley with a faint smile, her sight continuously escaping direct contact with the trooper despite repeated attempts, as if she was unsure whether to keep to her own thoughts or to try and share them. Whatever was the case, understanding beemed from Luna's oddly human expression.

That was another thing Stanley had to make a mental note on - the horses' expressions seemed weirdly similar to his own, in spite of their undeniably equine nature. The alien facial musculature must've been alike to human one.

"I... understand," Celestia finally responded with a small nod, breaking the momentary silence. "I also see we indeed have a lot more to learn about your... realities," the Princess cast a small smile.

"That you do," replied Stanley as he turned back forward, releasing breath with relief. "But don't worry, that works both ways."

The rest of the walk was relatively uneventful. The column kept on marching through the slowly thinning forest, as the trio up front exchanged words here and there. The talk at large however had mostly died out, as all of them seemed to quietly agree it would be better to explain everything once there is no time pressure anymore. Stanley in particular already knew he would basically be spending the next couple of days on loose conversations about nothing, so he had no problem with that at all - he just hoped he'd be able to return to Sazana as soon as the Corps arrive. Playing all nice with everyone seemed more weird than anything, and the lack of both allied and enemy contacts was simply confusing. It was obviously just a matter of getting used to, but the trooper doubted he'd be able to fully do it before his mission is over, especially after so many years of service in another field. Stanley's finger itched on the trigger, even though his AR's safety was of course still on.

Before the group reached the forest's edge, they had to halt their march several times in order to 'avoid dangerous wildlife', as the aliens had put it, causing Stanley to once again reevaluate their overall strength. In the end though, these breaks didn't cost the column a lot of time and they were ultimately able to exit the woods after a little under an hour, at least according to Stanley's clock. There, just behind a few last bushes, truly vast tracts of plains stretched out to the horizon, limited only by monumental mountain chains cutting the steppes off on the right. The sun shone brightly over their tops, giving the vegetation behind the group a flashy luster.

Stanley however didn't care as much about the sight itself as he did about its implications - first, no clear destination was visible, but that was understandable, it could've been obscured by either the forest's edges or even the mountain tops. More importantly however, if the aliens wanted to walk through these vast plains, that meant he'd soon have virtually no way to escape anymore - the visibility there was effectively a few kilometers. He could use the limited vegetation present, small hills here and there, his armour's Intelligent Patterns function and his own combat skills to an advantage and probably be somewhat successful, but it still made such an undertaking considerably more difficult. Granted, for now there was no indication he'd have to resort to an escape at all, but if it did come to that and these laser-equines cornered him in the open - so, essentially, anywhere - he would basically be screwed, as there was little way to obscure their line of fire in these plains, meaning Stanley's armour would likely succumb to their concentrated barrage. It wasn't long before the trooper concluded that none of that likely mattered though, as the aliens surely wished to avoid marching through such open space. Their destination was thus presumably not that far away, just obscured for the time being.

After a few more minutes of walking along the forest's edge, a number of bright-coloured shapes suddenly appeared behind some smaller trees, and soon enough Stanley realised they were actually chariots, about a dozen of them in fact. The trooper's face froze at the revelation.

The species was equine in nature - okay, that was entirely possible. But if so, why would they use chariot-like vehicles? What would they use it on? Maybe some other animal, sure, but nothing like that seemed to accompany the carriages. Slavery was also a posibility, but once again, all horses currently with the trooper were uniformed in the same way, so clearly none of them was of any lower class, and the four new aliens waiting for the column, now quite amusingly frozen with their mouths agape, also fitted into that statement. And there was no way in hell any monarchs would ever be accompanied solely by slaves, for safety reasons if for nothing else.

So... were they going to pull these themselves?

Well, thought Stanley. This will be interesting.

Meanwhile, the forty five returning guards abandoned their formation and began hastily packing themselves into the parked chariots. The trooper's floating pod settled on one of them as well, making the vehicle bend worryingly under its monumental weight. One of the horned horses noticed it though, and, enveloping the chariot in a familiar aura, straightened its floor anew, making Stanley once again raise an eyebrow at the peculiar ability. Other than that though, one thing stood out: some of the aliens were actually attaching themselves to the carriages, confirming Stanley's theory - yes, it was them who were going to pull the vehicles.

Huh. Now that's something.

As he turned left, Stanley saw another chariot, but one greatly sticking out from the rest. Just as them all, it was brightly coloured, with exposed patches of gold and white, but also considerably larger and more ornate. Next to it, Celestia was giving the trooper an expecting look, her sister mirroring her actions from inside the carriage. Beneath his helmet, Stanley grimaced slightly. It wasn't that he felt offended or didn't appreciate the gesture, no, nothing like that. But he was now apparently supposed to ride with the leadership. The monarchs of this land. The very rulers. Their position of course meant nothing for the trooper, as it wasn't even a Coalition state, but it obviously did matter to them, and then there was his mission, so the fact remained: he was being treated with utmost respect - if the Corps succeed in making the horses human allies, formally this ride would be the equivalent of meeting President Sloven in person.

And such treatment was something that just made Stanley wince. It didn't match. It was out of... sense, and... the very nature. Yes, yes exactly. It was. It was. He fought in the trenches and sturdy gunships, and nothing else existed. Period.

Period...

But the mission was obviously still there. And that overrides everything.

Well, I guess I do am an diplomat now. Heh, waddya know. Get used to it Stan, that's your new life for a few days. No way to change it anyway...

As the trooper finally boarded the clearly royal chariot, sitting himself next to the two Princesses, Luna gestured something at the harnessed guards up front. The four then repeated the gesture at their counterparts, and soon enough, one by one the 'caravan' carriages sped up. And sped up. And sped up.

A summer breeze blowing. A pedestrian walking. An athlete running. Equus Caballus galloping.

Huh...?

A cheetah crossing the vast colonial savannas. A light MP tank. A car.

Suddenly, the ride suspiciously straightened up. Subtly looking down to inspect the weird situation, Stanley discovered that the chariots had lifted from the ground. Before he even had a chance to raise an eyebrow, the whole vehicle suddently ascended at a sharp angle, flying to the bright blue skies.

Stanley involuntarily clung to his seat, once again today finding himself glad he had his faceplate to hide his confusion and pure shock. The Princesses looked completely calm, as if nothing special was happening, not even a frown on their faces, and that was understandable, it must've been a daily thing for them. But it only added to the omnipresent weirdness this place emanated with. Looking around, Stanley discovered that all the chariots in their column logically experienced the same, each packed with guards preoccupied with what seemed to be chattering, pulled by a quartet of equines with outstretched wings.

Well, no evolutionary leftovers there, as it seems... still, doesn't look like that's enough to support these guys, let alone while pulling such 'cargo'...

What confused Stanley even more though was that all of these horses, despite clearly being airborne, vividly moved their legs, as if they were still galloping on still ground. It wasn't long before explanation came however - from time to time, small, unspecified glimmering particles escaped from around the aliens' limbs, giving out magnificent shine, even in the middle of a day.

Particles somehow weirdly similar to the colorful auras from before.

I guess the admiral meant it talking about a 'great power', though Stanley. Ehhh... I'm already scared what else they can do.

Soon enough, the chariots levelled their flight, and moving above the nearby mountain range, sped up towards their destination, sunrays reflecting finely from their bright sheathing.

Author's Note

Huzzah!

You though the story was dead, didn't you!? Well, surprise surprise, it's not.

In all honesty though, it's never died. And it won't, not in the near future at least.

So, let this be a small Christmas present for the New Year for you all. Happy 2020!

Also, can I just quickly say that we're getting close to a hundred bookselves?? That's actually amazing, I've never imagined I'd ever achieve it when I first posted this story. I know there's still a long way to go for me, but...

Thank you. Thank you all. Really, honestly thank you. I don't know what else to say.

Now, I feel like I need to address a few things. First, this chapter is inherently a two-parter, hence why it's a bit more open than the previous ones. Don't worry, the second part is coming (in fact it's already finished), but...

That's the second thing. Yes, I know the 'rough schedule' I posted before Christmas didn't really work out, for which I deeply apologise, but that doesn't mean I'm abandoning it entirely. I'm not. Actually, I'm still sticking to what's left of it when you throw out approximate dates.

And yes, that means that weekly updates are now coming. For real. I've decided to change my 'chapter policy' a bit (when I choose to end a chapter), so that I'm able to post more frequently. The chapters will be shorter, but they will come weekly.

Also, yes, Night Lightning is a thestral with a horn. That's not a mistake.

Rate, comment, tell me what you think! You have no idea how motivating that can be! :twilightsmile:

Anyway, I hope you have a good read! Stay pony, my friends! :scootangel:

Act I, Chapter 3: Developments - Part 2

As the chariots crossed the bright blue skies, Stanley was left to his own thoughts. He tried exchanging a few words with the Princesses now that there was no pressure anymore, hoping to determine how his stay in their 'Kingdom' would go, but they kept providing only short replies, carefully watching the column's surroundings, looking for some evasive target - most probably any likely violations of the voyage's secrecy. Not really all that determined to push the talk, Staley soon dropped the topic whatsoever and dived into all the data Selina was able to collect during their trek through the forest with the silently-working scanners. Some things were intersting, some things were not, most was just ordinary tactical analysis of a planet's surface. Worst of all though, the forced silent mode and the drop pod's extensive damages made the gathered info fill little more than a few screens on Stanley's display.

Mere moments into the flight, and the chariots have already ascended above the lowest clouds, hiding the monumental mountains and expansive plains behind the white layers for all the passengers. A few more of the winged horses briefly flashed in the distance, barely distinguishable from so far away, but luckily none of them even turned their head towards the caravan. Before Stanley even finished reading, he felt his body slightly rise up as the carriages once more lowered their altitude.

Huh, not as long as the trek after all.

The column soon pierced through the snow-white fluff again, revealing itself to the world below. The Princesses immediately locked their gazes with something in the distance, smiling briefly, and after exchanging quick looks both lit up their horns. Before Stanley knew it, the column was entirely enveloped in indigo and golden auras, providing a breathtaking roof for everyone inisde. But the trooper wasn't nearly as interested in the sight as he was in something else. Turning his head, he followed Celestia and Luna's previous gaze. His face once again froze in disbelief.

There, attached to the side of the biggest mountain yet, stood a city. But not just an ordinary city, like there were many across the colonies. Not even one akin to the most monumental medieval towns humanity, and not only it, had constructed throughout its history, as that time period seemed a more fitting comparison. No, this city was a marvel in and of itself. Its marble walls entwined the entire construction, while many colorful, but predominantly white, spires climbed to the skies from an even more breathtaking building, which cast its regal shadow on the mountain slopes - a building Stanley naturally assumed to be the 'Castle'. Its ornate facades, adorned with precious stones, shone brightly under the firmament, the many colors dancing happily on both the nearby buildings and green patches of grass. All the while, the entire city stuck to the mountain side like it was nothing, partially built on the rocks themselves, but mostly on gigantic platforms attached to the very range.

At first glance, it didn't even look for Stanley like this construction was able to support the monumental structure at all, even though he remebered seeing similarly unbelievable things pulled off on multiple colonies.

But that was the thing - these building were built on human colonies. By humanity, humanity which had built itself an insterstellar empire. By humanity, which technological level was thus naturally... high. And even then, none of said buildings came close to what he was seeing right now. Not even remotely close... to half of it.

It was either a marvel of engineering on a truly unprecedented scale, or... the admiral's words were proving themselves right in front of Stanley's eyes.

Or a mixture of both. Most likely a mixture of both.

As the chariots neared the massive settlement, Stanley saw it was bustling with life like nothing he had seen in this world before. Crowds of aliens roamed the streets (but with no easily noticeable vehicles - an important detail), and as the caravan reached its final approach to the Castle, it found itself surrounded with the winged horses - pegasi if you go by mythology, as Selina gracefully reminded the trooper - preoccupied with various more or less clear tasks. Some were just flying through the area, moving towards unknown destinations, some chased each other around, some watched something hard to determine, hovering in place in small groups. None of them though payed the slightest attention to the passing chariots, even if they flew just a few meters away. The indigo and golden auras glistened under the blinding sun.

Only then did it really dawn on Stanley.

They... they can't see us. We're being cloaked. Somehow... we're being cloaked.

Soon the chariots passed the city's marble walls, ultimately leaving the plains behind. They descended near the majestic, spire-adorned building, behind one last set of much lower walls, before finally setting down on what seemed to be its gardens. The Princesses extinguished their horns, making the auras disapper.

"Welcome to the Canterlot Castle, Lieutenant Colonel," Celestia finally said with a small smile. "I believe the journey went rather well. Now, if you'd allow us, we'd be glad to show you to the Castle itself."

"Of course," answered the trooper. "Whenever you're ready."

Celestia nodded, prompting Stanley to disembark. The two quickly crossed the small grass patch, catching up to Luna who had already left the royal chariot and had since been waiting at the building's gates. Meanwhile, the bat-winged 'commander' took the majority of the guards and left the courtyard, with only a small handful remaining to accompany the trio inside. It took a while for these few to organise, but as soon as they did so, Celestia lit her horn once again and, enveloping them in a familiar golden aura, opened the meters-high door.

On the other side, a vast, decorated hallway stretched out inside, its many branches visible even from the entrance. White columns by the walls supported the soaring ceiling, all the while various plants and engravings supplemented it all. A fancy red carped laid on the floor.

It took the group less than a minute to reach their destination, and through the entire walk not a single soul besides them appeared in the spacious halls. It was obviously arranged to hide the whole affair from unwanted eyes, that was easy for Stanley to conclude; a shame the very nature of his mission meant they wouldn't be able to keep the secrecy up for long.

Eventually, the small column reached another set of closed doors, only much more ornate than the last time. Here, Celestia dismissed the remaining escort, leaving only two guards by their side. Suddenly, the huge gate opened slightly, with another alien soldier poking his head through, eyes immediately turning into saucers at the sight of both the pitch-black alien creature and the Princesses. He would have likely remained there, frozen like that, was it not for Celestia nudging him slightly in the limb. Shaking his head, the guard slowly looked up at the monarch, still not fully able to close his mouth. Stanley could not help but chuckle under his helmet.

Celestia meanwhile moved on to deal with whatever affair it was.

"Were you looking for me?" she asked the guard with a friendly smile. The alien nodded hesitantly.

"Y-yes, your Highness! I-I a-apologize, we didn't... I didn't suspect you w-would be... here," he finally stuttered, involuntarily returning his sight to Stanley once every couple seconds. Luna rolled her eyes at the display.

"What is it you need me for, then?" continued Celestia, seemingly eager to end the talk as quickly as possible.

"T-the Day Court is d-due to begin, your Highness! Y-your presence is being.... awaited."

"Very well then. I'll join my little ponies in the throne room shortly. In the meantime, would you be so kind and wait for my word behind the door?" answered the Princess, not even once letting her smile flatten. The guard glanced at Stanley one last time before replying.

"O-of course, your Highness! At once!" he said, soon disappearing behind the massive gate. Celestia turned around with a sigh.

"Unfortunately, our further talks once again have to be delayed," she said, adressing Stanley.

"And for a good while at that," chimmed in Luna. "Does your Court today not last until the latest hours?"

"It does, indeed," replied Celestia as she lowered her head. "We've planned to cancel today's session, but as it seems for some reason the word hasn't come through. My apologies."

"No need to worry, there's time," Stanley waved his hand. "Although there are a few things I'd like to discuss before that. Not much, I assure you." he continued, turning his faceplate in a way that ensured Celestia would notice him looking into her eyes.

"I can delay the Court for some time, although I'd prefer not to push it too much," Celestia replied. "What concerns do you have?"

Stanley cleared his throat, preparing to give his 'speech'. "First, I'd like to know how you're planning for my stay in your Kingdom to look like."

"Could thou specify?" replied Luna instead, tilting her head.

"Primarily, what you wish our talks to focus on and, well... what should I do with myself." Stanley struggled greatly to find his words for the sentence. He could of course take care of himself with no trouble, the only problem was what he would do would not necessarily be... approved by the horses - or at least there was such possibility, so they surely had some accomodation planned. Also, there was only so much he was even authorized to talk about.

"The Guards will show you to your quarters shortly," Celestia immediately replied, casting a small smile. "And about our talks, well... we'll see how they end up going," she winked.

Trying to gain an advantage, huh? Make me unable to prepare? Okay, I'll go with it. I'm one step ahead of you anyway - how can you sabotage preparations that cannot exist in the first place...?

"I understand," answered Stanley, before continuing. "Secondly, there is the issue of my... machine. I saw it stayed in the gardens under watch for the time being, so I did not protest, but I'd very much like to have constant access to it during my stay," demanded the trooper, careful to maintain a firm tone.

Celestia briefly bit her lip, but otherwise maintained a calm, reasonably optimistic expression. "We have planned to move it to the Castle's locked higher dungeons, to help maintain the affair's secrecy. We could allow your access, but I'd very much like to know the purpose of this machine first," she said with a smile, but her tone revealed it was less of a request and more of a demand.

Stanley sighed with relief under his helmet - that he could say. "Well, this machine is, as I said earlier, a drop pod. The Republican Strike Units, and the Republic of Sol in general, utilises these to rapidly deploy combat personnel from mid to high orbit - so, well, space," he explained laughing briefly, to give the statement a more genuine appearance.

"From space?" Luna chimmed in once again. "Does thou mean your government drops you from the skies as it sees fit?" she asked with a bewildered frown, moving forward slightly.

Stanley once again froze briefly - another poor word choice. "Don't worry, it's entirely safe. Humanity has utilised orbital drops for a long time, and we have managed to perfect our security measures," he lied. Even though security measures had been perfected, nowadays many contingents just had to use plainly worse pod models to cut resource costs.

Please work...

"Oh... alright," said the indigo Princess, returning to her previous position. "Still, certainly a peculiar practice."

"Indeed," added Celestia, her eyes glimming with curiosity rather than disgust. "But if that's this... pod's only purpose, than why do you need access, pray tell?"

Stanley smirked slightly - he had figured such question would come. "The machinery inside is also my only way of communication with my superiors," he lied again. One of the only reasons he desired access to the pod at all was to ensure the horses don't have an entirely free hand in its examination, as well as to prevent them from learning too much from the vehicle's very limited databanks - although he highly doubted they'd be able to decode either latin alphabet or cyrillic, not even speaking about all the digital work they'd have to do.

Celestia meanwhile, while seemingly sensing some falsehood, looked content enough with the answer.

"I understand. I'll make sure to grant you access to your 'pod' during your stay then. We may discuss details tomorrow - the day I will make sure to cancel my Day Court on," she replied with a small smile.

"Thank you," said Stanley. "I... I think this is all," he continued after a while, tapping his chin in thought.

"Very well. If you don't mind, the Guards will now show you to your quarters. Once again, welcome to Equestria," Celestia replied. Right on cue, the two remaining alien soldiers started their march, giving Stanley expecting looks. Nodding slightly, the trooper soon followed them through the vast hallways.

"And so, the affair is over. We have survived," claimed Luna jokingly as the alien soldier disappeared behind the hallway's corner.

"Indeed," replied Celestia, still silently gazing at the spot he had just been standing on. Even as one calm moment finally descended on the two, it was hard to relax. Everything just felt so unreal. It had went so fast, so incredibly fast. So... strangely naturally.

"So... what do you think so far?" asked Luna as she turned to look at her sister, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"About contact?"

"That is."

"Not much, Lulu, not yet. I sincerely hope it went well, and we have reasons to think so, but truly, only time will tell," she added with a sigh, sending Luna a small smile in an effort to lighten up the mood. Luna merely nodded.

"And these... hew-mons? Him?"

It was a good while before Celestia finally broke the silence with her reply, which echoed amidst the eerie silence of the Castle's empty hallways.

"We don't know much. A race of peculiar appearance, to be sure. I'd surely feel more comfortable if they had a face," she said, wincing slightly. Luna slowly nodded. "We have much to learn before we can form our opinion. Their history, culture... government. Speaking of which, I certainly like how they decided to name their state," Celestia chuckled, while Luna rolled her eyes. Truly though, the last issue sent shivers down her spine more than anything else. So far, the Lieutenant Colonel had only told them bits and pieces, but judging by what he had mentioned, Celestia could think of at least a few worrying possibilities.

"And him?" Luna repeated her question. Celestia tapped her chin in thought, briefly glancing at the corridor's ornate ceiling.

"He seems to have lived through much, but is now determined to appear... as he desires. He has a mask he doesn't want to take off," she eventually said, looking back at Luna. "As time goes on though, we need to remember he's a soldier and so can be... an inaccurate example of his people. Even then however, I believe we have... both already realised there's much to learn, and judging right now would be nothing less than a mistake."

For a moment, Luna gazed at Celestia with amazement. Thay had only exchanged a couple sentences with the alien, and yet she was already able to deduce that. It wasn't anything new, as Luna had witnessed her sister do that multiple times now, but it still remained equally impressive. However, there was something else in Celestia's statement that attracted attention.

"He wishes not to take off his mask, just as we don't," Luna sighed, lowering her head. "It is tiresome, Tia. To maintain the friendly appearance. We have met him a few hours ago, and only the affair demands us to act as such. That is not always what I would do."

"I know, Lulu, but understand we simply have to do so for now. It's diplomacy," Celestia replied, looking at her sister with compassion. "Besides, I don't think any serious... hostility with the alien emerged so far. After the first incident, that is," she continued winking, as she embraced her sister with her enormous wing. Luna simply nodded.

"That is true, sister. But being careful before every sentence... it is not easy."

Celestia nodded slowly, an understanding frown on her face. It had never been easy. "Let's hope that soon enough there won't be a need, then," she said with a wide smile, retracting her wing. Luna weakly smiled back.

"Perhaps. But for the time being... it simply feels strange. Unnatural."

Celestia did not reply. Instead, she nodded her head and slowly went through the closed throne room door, ready to dismiss the waiting guard, taking care of his now certainly too expansive knowledge.

It had already been at least a couple minutes since Stanley left the Princesses with the pair of guards, and yet his long walk still seemed far from over. For every corner passed, another showed up, for every intersection, another three, all the while only a few doors or windows adorned the hallway's walls. Whatever this part of the Castle was, Stanley highly doubted it to be the living quarters, leading him to question the nature of his upcoming 'accomodation'. On the other hand, the alien destination might just be placed in some of the areas his escort had so far conveniently omitted, conviced they were making Stanley lose orientation in the vast maze. Just convinced, because in reality, the only thing they achieved was ensuring the trooper can picture a bigger part of the Castle in his head.

Sooner than later though, Stanley realised that, judging by what he had seen earlier, his escort was finally leading him to a section of the building directly bordering a small recess in the city's walls, in a way that made the hypothetical lower windows hard to notice from the outside.

If not here, then most probably in the dungeons, damn it.

As it seemed to be one of the final moments of their march, Stanley one last time involuntarily considered his ability to take the guards down and run away. He could do it no problem, in a few seconds, there was only a pair of them after all. Escaping the city, though difficult due to its unique location, also seemed possible. The thing was, the horses currently in Stanley's escorts were both horned, which meant that even in the incredibly optimistic assumption that just this variant of the aliens was capable of projecting the deadly lasers, he could still have a hard time fighting them, although it didn't take the trooper long to conclude that if he acted fast enough, he would most likely succeed anyway. Then, there was the issue of-

No. What? No. Why... what? Enough of such thinking. The roles have changed, and so should behaviour. Or at least it should try to adapt. Yes, yes, try, while keeping instincts in place. Of course. Even if only for a few days. Even if with little to no chance of success. We wouldn't want to accidentally, say, murder the leaders of our new 'Top Priority' potential allies, would we?

Stanley's suspicions seemed to confirm as, right after another turn, a multitude of doors dotted the new hallway, a sharp contrast to the mostly barren, though amply decorated, spaces from before. Sure enough, it wasn't long before his escort approached one of them, positioning themselves on each side. One of the horses then lit up his horn, proving one part of Stanley's worries right, and levitated a key up, before turning around to face the trooper.

"Here, visitor," he seeped, trying to avoid direct eye contact. Stanley wasn't sure whether his tone indicated reluctance or nervousness. "Have a nice stay." The guard then opened the door, letting the trooper inside.

As he closed the entrance, Stanley turned to examine the room, and quite honestly, didn't know what to think.

For starters, it was big, very big for one person. It had an area of at least a dozen square meters, a balcony along with a few windows, and even what appeared to be a private bathroom. On the right, looking from the door, was a single, wooden bed, once again much bigger than anything Stanley had been used to, and on the left, right behind the additional room, a small desk, accompanied by a chair that by no means suited human anatomy. Tempted by intuition, Stanley approached the windows and looked outside. Sure enough, small groups of winged guards circled the area, clumsily trying to conceal any association with the trooper; his room was clearly the center of focus of all their flights. Eventually, after two minutes or so of Stanley just staring at them, some of the horses finally gave up, straight up positioning themselves in the near vicinity of the balcony and staying in place. Chuckling, the trooper returned inside, having confirmed one more thing in the process - yes, his chamber was indeed in a blind spot.

All logical choices, of course, and could be predicted.

With nothing else to do, Stanley decided to get right to business. Sitting himself on the bed - much too soft for his liking at that - he activated enhaced sound isolation in his headgear. Better safe than sorry, after all.

"You there, Sela?"

"Well, technically in the pod that's being pulled underground," the AIs voice rung in his head. "Or, even more technically, in Battle Squadron Indigo's Datanet, or the entire Task Force's, but I guess not, since according to you that's not me. Where else?" she continued in her playful tone. Stanley chuckled.

"Good then, cause I don't know what'll be of their promises of 'free access'. Turns out we're surrounded, as always," he joked, gesturing from the entrance to the balcony.

"WOW, who would've thought," Selina exclaimed sarcastically. "They're keeping an eye on someone who can, depending on their imaginations of aliens, potentially destroy the planet? Incredible," she continued. "Also, maybe all that's good for you, but if they accidentally disable my brain with some idiotic tampering down there, don't complain."

"No promises," chuckled Stanley. "But yeah, you're probably right, nothing more to it. They didn't seem too hostile for now. Actually, everything considered, they're extremely friendly, in the given circumstances. I've never really thought about how first contacts go, but there's no way in hell I'd imagine them like this. Orders are orders, but it's a little... unexpected," he continued with a sigh.

After a short while, Selina responded. "At your service here. Combining data from all known galactic entities... it appears you're right. These guys are well above average." Various relevant information flashed on Stanley's visor. "And that's even excluding the times of the Republic's Decree of Expansion. And our own first contact. And, hear this, everything from the Federation region, which, besides the Citizen Federation itself, greatly worsens things, especially in more recent times. But that's all half-objective - you can't measure friendliness after all. And remember, this is how diplomacy works, although in this case their behaviour likely has something to do with this culture as well."

"That's... nice, I guess. For now at least," said Stanley. "But alright, enough, let's get to what's important . First things first, long overdue - how much did you get from that brief link with our Sazana?"

"Enough to satisfy your hunger."

"Good, how're we doing, then? Short version."

"Large-scale enemy counter-attack, cut our lines clear, landing interrupted. Positions stabilised since, admiralty's planning to strike back, but reports from the ground contradict wildly. Heavy casualties prevalent, huge contact problems."

Stanley sighed. "Shit... And here we were, hoping for one quick victory." The trooper paused for a while. "Oh well, time to add 'Sazana veteran' to the collection. After a decade on a planet, it can't kill you anymore, I tell you," he eventually finished. Selina made a chuckling sound.

"Alright, I won't be rude enough to prove you wrong, but okay. Just don't take a look at any personnel files while you have that fancy clearance."

"Yeah, you won't," Stanley replied, in a jokingly serious tone. "And I have seen such files, believe me. Even if not of an RSU," Stanley smirked beneath his helmet, more at the irony than anything else.

"I know you did. Not hard to check."

"Okay. Back to the topic though, what about the rest of the team? Devon-2?" Stanley asked, joining his hands together.

"Of Devon-1, none reported back besides you, presumed KIA," stated Selina. Stanley felt his remaining hair straighten beneath the helmet.

"Ehh, I feared so," he sighed, lowering his head. "Damn, will be hard to get used to a new team after so many years..."

"Hey, with such communications with the planet, everything is possible, truly. You too have just returned from the dead. They may live, not even that unlikely," assured Selina, completing her previous statement.

"I know," Stanley rised his head. "And I hope so, just have my worries. And Devon-2?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Dushiemic reported back. Devon-2-2 and 2-3 confirmed KIA, 2-4 and 2-5 presumed."

"I knew Rosena's tough to kill," said Stanley. "Shame about the others though... Almost a hundred years of fighting on Hezel just to fall on the first day on Sazana... I wonder what'll claim my life."

"Yeah, I don't."

"Heh, thanks for the compassion," chuckled Stanley. "Okay, the next thing. What happened during the drop, what do we know. Short version. Plus give me the reports."

"This one's... more tricky," answered Selina. "I'm sure you noticed I went offline back then, and, well, most of the non-compulsory systems followed in my tracks. Adding to that the fact it all happened pretty early on... and we have a problem."

Stanley let out a deep sigh. "So... you've got nothing? Even from my suit?" he asked bewildered. "Noone reported similar problems? I refuse to believe that."

"Oh, I do have something," the AI ensured. "Just clarifying it may not be enough for your liking. So," she continued, "I have trace data from various lower-grade scanners in the pod, reports on the operations of other systems, including their reactions to the event, then I have the data from your suit and a lot from tracking systems of various ships. Other than that, yes, several others reported similar problems. But, as I said, every conclusion I can make is still just speculation."

"Alright, fair enough," sighed Stanley. "Shoot."

"Spatial interference suggested, barely detectable, even for our hyperdreadnoughts. Something seems to have messed with the pod, and messed hard. Spoiled energy transfers, electric currents, screwed over programs. Then, simplifying, some force virtually crushed the pod. But, besides space dust and micro-matter, no outside impact," Selina lectured, sounding as if she had only been waiting for that moment.

"So I wasn't under fire."

"No. That's when the hypothesis comes in - unknown energy, many types, many effects. Unknown nature. Not from 01, calculated theoretical readings don't match with... well, anything. Not even close, so it's not an estimation error. And, again, readings from the hyperdreadnoughts, mostly just the RSNS Constitution and RSNS Everlasting, seem to confirm that. Just seem, as they too leave a huge margin. Too many unknowns to be sure," continued the AI.

Stanley stayed quiet for a moment, bringing a hand to his chin. "Okay... so an otherworldly energy from another dimension. But if it got through, then someone opened a tunnel, right? Just stable enough to send in pure energy, and barely if we can't really detect it. State-of-the-art kind of barely. Someone shot this thing at us? Does it have something to do with the Swarm's arrival?"

Selina stayed quiet for a moment, but not long enough to raise a red flag for Stanley. "Your assumptions seem to be right. As for the quetions, well, unknown. Double unknown. But certainly possible."

Stanley sighed. "Alright, give me the data and I'll read through it later." the trooper's visor flashed yellow. "Now," he continued. "This is supposed to be a diplomatic mission, right?"

"Kind of."

"Exactly. So... you need to teach me. And quickly. Go."

For a minute, silence overtook the room.

"Seriously now?" responded Selina jokingly. Stanley could not help but smile wildly. He knew she would do this.

"Yeah," the trooper replied, falling flat on the bed. "Man, this thing's so soft it almost hurts. But anyway, they said it's Top Priority, didn't they? Well, here you go, serve humanity and help them achieve 'top priority'," Stanley continued, suppressing a chuckle.

"Not like I have a choice. Restriction Programs and Protocols, remember? Nor do I have a will not to," replied Selina in a faked serious tone. "But okay. I guess we are currently in the process of losing the largest naval engagement in recorded history," she finished, putting a strong emphasis on the last part. Stanley rised back to sitting position.

"What now?"

"The largest engagement in history. Oh, I've waited so long for an opportunity to tell you that, and this's probably as much as I'll get," the AI imitated chuckling.

"Seriously? Again?"

"Affirmative. Most vessels locked in combat at one time. Broke the record once when we attacked, although as that battle lasted only for a day it could kinda left one in want. But worry not, the Swarm just made us beat it again, and with a huge margin at that," she said, in a faked cocky tone. Stanley remained silent for a moment.

"You're scary. You know that?"

"That I do."

"Okay," Stanley chuckled, going back to his lying position. Although he didn't explicitly show it, he did catch the important part in Selina's statement - she clearly said they were losing, and an AI would never lie about such a thing, not even in a joke. The balance of a battle can sometimes of course be quite difficult to determine, but one thing was clear - it was really not looking good. "But back to the topic. Diplomacy lesson for beginners, part one. But before you start, just a question; who is it that I'm to represent here? The Republic? Or the whole Coalition? I assumed the former, but the admiral failed to clarify, and I did briefly run into a problem back on the clearing," he eventually continued.

"This mission's not even in the fleet's network yet, so I wouldn't know, although there are some mentions in other high-grade reports. It seems our side is trying to keep it low for the time being. Just like these guys here, they even postponed everything to, most likely, maintain the secrecy. An interesting thing to be sure," Selina briefly digressed, before going back to the main topic. "But from the memories of the 'other me', as you'd call it, I can say the whole Coalition authorised this mission, and remember, it was its High Command that granted you diplomatic power. May be better to keep it safe though, I have little data on other governments themselves."

"Okay," acknowledged Stanley. "I'll make sure to remember. So, now, may the lesson begin?"

Selina once again made a sighing sound. "Alright. Get ready..."

Luna spent the rest of the day either wandering aimlessly around the Castle or, mostly, sleeping, trying in vain to get some rest after the early day. She had her duties, yes, but as the Guardian of the Night figured she had enough time to take care of them after sunset. For now, just one thing occupied her mind - memories, and not that distant to be sure. Memories of the hours past, and with them, the whole affair in question. The arrival of sentient, civilized, extra-equusian life. It troubled Luna with its implications, but also filled with hope, hope for wonderful opportunities. The myriad of possibilities, coupled with uncomfortably many unknowns made the subject tiresome to think over, even for an alicorn, even if only after seven-or-so-hours of constant attempts. But despite experiencing this 'psychical weariness' in all its might, Luna didn't really notice; for her, it was something else, the excitement of knowledge so expansive opening for all ponykind right in front of her eyes - if they play it right, of course. And if the aliens are willing to share it... The excitement of discoveries of new magic, but yes, also the dangers that come, this unknown culture, however it looks like, the new vast political landscape; the many big things coming to Equestria, things, as it seemed, oh so long forgetten throughout the last millennium, for better or worse. For Luna, these things were something worth thinking over, even just for herself. It didn't as much bring pleasure as it hooked her in.

Truly though, above all, the new topic provided an excellent opportunity for Luna to, at least for a while, break her mind free of her daily struggles, which, as they did before, once again seemed to have no solution, whatever she'd do. An opportunity so rare recently, and by the looks of it, even rarer with each and every passing day.

And so, the day passed, the sun moved across the sky, bathing Canterlot in a new shade of yellow every couple minutes until it finally halted its journey, thus screaming at Luna to do her part. And so she did, and soon, through one indigo flash, the sun was no more, its place taken by a shining grey globe - or, as most ponies would likely say, stolen.

Once again, with still a few hours before the end of the Day Court, Luna was left with her sky. And once again, she began tinkering. Hmm, that one star there, why so close to the other? And here, maybe move a little, fill the blank space... no need to alter much, really. But no, scratch the last one, a star hive would look just so marvelous tonight... amidst the expansive fields of moonlight...

It wasn't long before Luna fully engaged herself in her artistic work. She didn't think much, it just came so naturally. An inspiration, if you wish. But today, unlike usually, no fasciantion adorned Luna's face. No smile, no glimmer in her eyes as she drew line after line on the midnight canvas. Nothing, just a blank face, neutral expression, staring blindly into the abyss above, her horn mindlessly lighting up every few seconds. Despite clearly standing there, on the balcony in the Canterlot Castle, her mind was really somewhere else.

With every touched star a thought appeared. What is there? Are the hewmons living, breathing, eating, chanting under her magical aura? How is it that her stars are no different than Celestia's sun? What did the alien mean? They can't be the same, they surely can't... they never were, and yet life resides there as well... What did the Lieutenant mean, then? Maybe the odd ones? There have always been stars Luna couldn't move, occurances appearing without her interference. Is there someone else there, moving Equis around to fit their own artistic needs? Or maybe the alien meant something entirely different?

A star here... a meteor there, an aurora behind the nebula yonder.

Suddenly, the sound of the Castle's front door closing brought Luna out of her thoughts, and she realised it's time for her to go. Before she did so though, a final glance at her work at last made the Princess smile briefly; it was long since she had last made the sky as marvellous as it was today.

A red, rectangular symbol flashed on Stanley's HUD; he had observed it emptying throughout the last hours, but preferred not to take action when the horses could see him - they always could, of course, as long as Stanley chose to cooperate it was naturally them who were in charge, but at least now the probability of equine presence was lowar than usually - and he would certainly prefer to have the symbol filled for the night, however he chooses to spend it. Sighing, Stanley adressed his companion AI.

"Sela?"

"I see it. Safe to depressurize, I'm sure you already figured that out from the lack of any warnings from me. Actually, this planet's atmosphere is extremely Earth-like; anomalously even. Approximately 76% nitrogen, 22% oxygen, 1% argon, trace gases' composition and amount also remarkably similar. Same with water vapor," replied the AI. "And now, hear this - gravity calculated at 1.06 G, one natural satellite, specifics yet to be determined, as is the case with the planet's diameter. From image comparison... well, look while you can, cause this is about as close to Earth when it was still a continental world as you'll ever get," she finished, once again briefly slipping into lecture tone.

"Gotta take a picture, then," Stanley chuckled as he took his headgear off, the HUD immediately transferring into the dentures inside his eyes. "Still, pretty similar to most of the colonies."

"They did base on something when terraforming those, you know," Selina replied jokingly. Stanley chuckled again.

"Yeah, well, what do you know. Alright, replenishing oxygen..."

The moon had already begun its unassisted voyage when Luna strolled the Castle's hallways again. She had just finished talking to her sister, establishing plans for tomorrow and once again reevaluating the alien arrivals - or, more specifically, arrival. Now, the only thing Luna had to do was go to her quarters, shut her guards outside and get to her duties, including watching over the dreamscape. But there was a topic which resurfaced during the brief talk with Celestia that prevented Luna from doing so, making her wander the expansive corridors aimlessly instead, only more or less heading in the direction of her tower.

It was just a brief mention, somewhere inbetween various hypotheses about possible alien politics, assembled in vain despite so little information in an attempt to handle first contact just a little better. A brief mention, but also a reminder, and as more and more time passed, it rooted itself deeper and deeper in Luna's mind, refusing to let go.

This Lieutenant... A military pon-... person, oh so strongly believing in his efforts by the looks of it, in their, the hewmons', efforts, ideas. In efforts he himself undertook, most probably, through his occupation. Occupation, from what he had said, likely forced on him by the same authorities he now worked for - at least that's what 'military planet' could imply.

He so strongly believed in what was forced on him, through what was nothing but a betrayal by his authorities, maybe even stripping him of what he was truly meant to be, although that the ponies couldn't know. And why? At random, as it seemed from what he had mentioned.

He'd been betrayed for nothing, for simply... existing, beeing, beeing... who he was. He...

Luna halted her march through the corridors, sending a resounding echo through the building. In an instant, she turned around, first just her head, followed by the rest of the body, heading in a new direction. She had to. She simply had to.

Stanley was sitting on his bed, like he had been for the past couple hours, trying to get used to its incredible softness - so far, mostly in vain. At this rate, he was going to be sleeping on the floor instead, if he was going to sleep at all, that is. Even the talk with Selina had mostly died down, as the first 'diplomacy lesson' was declared over (the main conclusion being basically to 'go with your gut, the Corps will manage to smooth it out anyway'), with the trooper now more engaged in tampering with his HUD and checking if any new data from the scanners was available. Checking over and over and over again.

Night had already fallen over the land - remarkably fast at that, anomalously almost - and so the little view his quarter's awkwardly positioned windows gave was now mostly gone. Not for Stanley, of course, as he could easily turn on his night vision, but there was no need. He had already studied the exterior thoroughly, checking for possible escape routes and tactical advantages the terrain would be able to provide. While making these checks, Stanley also once again confirmed his previous assumption - the pegasi soldiers outside were not leaving their positions, so they were in fact assigned to guard his room. Not a huge revelation to be sure, it was ninety nine percent sure from the beginning. Point nine. Point nine nine nine nine nine.

A hundred percent, actually. One tends to repeat previous assessments when there is nothing new to be done.

Suddenly, among the eerie silence, occasionally broken only by a creak or two, a knock echoed through the room. At first, Stanley thought the guards outside were just fooling around once again, as they seemed to have been doing since his arrival in the room, but soon enough, the door opened slightly, and the indigo Princess from before poked her head inside.

"May I?" she asked quietly, the guards on the corridor now all but gone, likely dismissed by the monarch.

Hearing the door screech, Stanley involuntarily turned to look. For this mistake, oh such a blatant, amateur mistake, he scolded himself immediately, though truth be told there was little he could do anyway - he didn't plan to reveal his true face to the aliens until the proper talks, to avoid shocking them too much if possible. Luckily, aside from a predictably shocked expression, the Princess seemed to take the revelation rather well.

Luna involuntarily sprung her head back, almost hitting the barely open door, feeling shivers traverse her back.

So the hewmons did have a face after all... huh. That would explain a lot. But what she was seeing right now was just... intriguing. Shocking, yes, but mostly intriguing. How the aliens really looked like. But it only brought more questions - if he could remove his previous... head coverage, then was the rest of the body, looking so akin to it, also just an outer layer, covering his true self? His inner layer? Is this coverage artificial, or just a part of hewmon nature?

Never since she could remember did Luna feel as lost. And understandably, to be sure. But now, for the first time in hours, questions were vastly overshadowed by sheer revelations. Observations. Sheer sight... and feelings accompanying.

The alien face was... peculiar. Just that. Not another word, or at least Luna couldn't think of one. Simply peculiar. It was split into two distinct parts - left and right. From the Princess' perspective, the former was something that just seemed very fitting for an alien being - pale, incredibly pale even, devoid of almost any fur, with just a little here and there, comprising a very, very short, almost nonexistent mane and adorning the very bottom of the exposed head. A bit higher up, a small eye looked at Luna with a glimmer of uneasiness and loss. A flat snout and ears only supplemented the feeling of strangeness.

The right side, on the other hoof, was something... else.

It was all completely... grey, brown... maroon... cream-coloured. While the left was without a doubt just skin, this side looked more akin to the ponies' previous assumptions - separated into pieces, each seemingly almost breaking away, similar to the scorched earth seen on the Dragon Isles; though not identical to any she'd seen before, it looked very much like scales. The fur as well, already sparse on the left, was basically gone here, the alien's second eye even smaller than its already microscopic counterpart. Right through the center of the Lieutenant's head, a consistent line separated the alien's two natures.

But the longer Luna looked at the alien, the more she began to realise there was not a tinge of fear or uneasiness in what she was feeling. Shock shook her spine, sure, but other than that, she did not feel alienated by the presence. She did not feel out of place. If anything, calm filled the Lunar Princess.

For all its strangeness, the alien's true face was somehow... pony-like. Not at all that different, despite all sanity saying so.

The Lieutenant soon nodded, answering Luna's previous question. Brief hesitation now replaced back with curiosity, the Princess entered the room, magically closing the door behind her.

Glad he had managed not to give his rising anger caused by the blatant failure away, Stanley stood up and walked to the balcony, more to position himself closer to potential escape routes than anything else. To conceal his purpose, he leaned against the railing, looking up at the stars in silence. As he had expected, the guards outside visibly winced at the sight of his face, but luckily managed to maintain their professionalism, sparing the trooper some time. Mostly managed. Putting his headgear back on, Stanley waited. Understanding the horses was not a problem, he had his whole neural network for that, but to speak in this language, he really needed speakers. This time though, the trooper depolarized his visor, allowing the Princess to see his face.

Meanwhile, Luna crossed the small room, briefly stopping to cast a silence ward, and joined Stanley outside.

At first, neither her nor Stanley really knew what to say. The trooper expected she had come to him with a fixed purpose, but here she was, staring blankly into the sky, resting her front hooves on the balustrade. For this moment, very briefly, silence reigned on the balcony, even the everpresent guards somehow gone in a flash, maybe the Princess' doing. Not one of the two could find any words. None. Stanley knew not the topic, so he patiently waited for Luna, who suddenly found her tongue akin to a knot.

She had so much to ask. What should she start with? How should she start? The Princess was already breaking the plan the two diarchs had just finished devising. Back then, on her own terrace, in the expansive hallways, there was so much resting on Luna's mind, but now, paradoxically, that multitude proved to be just overwhelming. There was simply so much...

When the silence was already beginning to whistle in their ears, still not having solved her problem, the Princess forced herself to speak up.

"I have so many questions..." she simply duked, unable to find any other words. That was true though - the purest essence of Luna's current thoughts.

Stanley in turn, simply chuckled briefly. "So. Shoot."

Caught off guard, Luna looked at Stanley with confusion. The last thing she had expected was him to be willing to give information away so openly - or, at least, pretend to be.

Prompted to continue, Stanley once again broke the silence. "This is your first contact. It is only natural you have questions, and it's my duty to answer them to my best ability. The galactic community is vast, the international situation complex. Our history is long and filled with change, and so is the case with every other state out there. Our... capabilities a result of thousands of years of work. To understand all that, you'll need to ask and listen," he started, a small smile settling on his face after having formulated such a 'speech'. Not marvellous by any means, but by his abilities, certainly a masterpiece. "But don't worry, your land has as many mysteries to me as mine has to you. There will come time, and shortly too, when I will ask and listen. For now though, it is the opposite, and I am happy with that. So... shoot," he finished, briefly smiling at the monarch.

But Luna just returned her gaze to the stars, mind still overfilled.

"I..."

And so once again, the unlikely duo stood in silence, in the mild, surpringly warm wind of Canterlot. This time, it was Stanley who decided to begin.

"A beautiful night today," he said noncommittally, simply hoping to restart the conversation.

The Lunar monarch in turn lowered her head and smiled, briefly closing her eyes. She then looked at Stanley with expression unchanged.

"That is... most pleasant to hear. Thank you," said Luna, quite unexpectedly.

Stanley turned his head, surprised by the answer. "But I've just... Just said..." Suddenly, a realisation dawned on the trooper, as he remembered the Princess' claim back from the forest. What he had mostly dismissed as just an alien expression. "Actually... you've already referred to the sky as something 'yours'... and now, I just said the night looks nice, and you... What is it all about? If I may ask?" he inquired, trying not to sound too rude. Luna looked more surprised than anything.

"I am the one who watches over the night and paints its darkened sky... We thought you would realise... does your world not have such a person? Your... many worlds, as thou had claimed?" she asked, but Stanley didn't answer, simply slowly shaking his head instead. "So... how does night appear on where you come from?"

Stanley could barely believe that was the talk's new direction. These question were something a random monk could ask in the middle ages, and despite everything, these horses appeared to have a more expansive base of knowledge. On the other hand, Luna's claims were pretty bold to say the least, and could easily be proven if true. That was exactly what Stanley planned to demand in a few seconds, in order to bust that ridoculous point. But first...

"Uhh... night appears as a result of... you know... the rotation of a planet around its own axis, so that at one time it faces its star, and at another, it doesn't, and thus, well... night. It... it basically works like this everywhere," he said, meeting nothing but a confused glare from Luna.

"But... is there noone to cause such rotation?" she simply asked. Stanley shook his head.

"Uhh... no?" he answered, still bewildered at the questions asked. "And here... you do it? Like you 'paint the sky'?" Stanley was about to ask Luna to prove it, already preparing himself to explain why whatever she was about to show him was not what she thought it was. But, as it turned out, there was no need.

The Lunar Princess nodded her reponse, and then, just like that, turned around lighting her long horn. Nothing new would be wrong about it, if not for one crucial fact - a light on the sky, a star without a doubt, briefly flashed indigo, and changed its location on the firmament.

To say Stanley was surprised would be an enormous understatement. He was petrified. Absolutely petrified - and not just at the apparent 'power' of the horses; one conclusion immediately formed in his mind.

"That was not a star..." he whispered to himself, barely audibly. It couldn't have been; even if somehow, through some unexplained dealings the Princess had the ability to move a celestial body located light years away at will, and move it significantly, as the change was easily noticeable even from here, which implied a shift on a scale of at least a few AUs (likely more), noone on this planet would be able to notice for, most probably, more than a few years - that's just how light speed works. Granted, this was another dimension, so the laws of physics could be slightly different, but as Selina had informed Stanley, here that change was extremely minor, not noticeable. That meant-

But almost instantly, a message from Selina appeared on his visor. A message brief, but scarily unambiguous.

'IMAGE COMPARISON. A STAR. EXPLANATION UNAVAILABLE.'

That was ridiculous. And coming from an AI? The admiral mentioned this power was incredible, but... but... how even... how... what?... it was just... simply... They'd have to bend... spacetime...

Suddenly, a realisation dawned on Stanley. Suprisingly late actually,
even though just a split second had gone by.

It... i-it surely has some quirks to it, the way it works, but... b-but if we determine them... get these horses on our side, a-and gain this kind of power... it may really end this whole war. It really may... Unless this universe is more different than we assumed after all, and here, something like this just wouldn't be AS impressive, for whatever r-reason... b-but still... i-it's just...Okay, calm down... gotta wait for better scanners, ar at least for more data. That may explain some things... Damages were quite extensive after all...

Meanwhile, Luna once again looked at Stanley. "I do," she said confidently. "It is my duty to set stars about and bring about my night. My sister- ugh, Celestia, rises the sun, whilst I the moon," explained the Princess.

Stanley was just about to say something along the lines of 'Pretty unequal, if you ask me', but stopped himself just in time, realising he would potentially be blatantly insulting one of the monarchs. Going with the gut is one thing, not necessarily tied to turning off one's logic. Instead, Stanley opted to go with a simple question.

"How come she rise the sun if the stars are... under you?" he asked. Luna looked at the trooper perplexed.

"The stars are my field, but the sun is not... why come thou think it should?" she asked, tilting her head, more with curiosity than sheer surprise. Stanley once again prepared himself to explain the basics of astronomy, and for some reason, he felt that would be a prevalent thing during this mission.

"Well, you see, if the stars are 'your field', then the sun should too, for it is, well... a star. It is, well, exactly the same thing as that star there," he said pointing at the sky. "Or there, or even there. Just, uh... much, much closer, hence why it's, you know... that big. Is your sister somehow... connected to your star?" Stanley asked improvising, more to continue gathering information than anything else. He highly doubted his suggestion would be correct.

Luna meanwhile just returned her gaze to the stars, stone-faced. "So... you did mean it. When thou said our sun is akin to my stars. I remembered your words, but could not believe them. Wondered what thou hath meant," she said, ignoring the trooper's last question. "It appears you worded your thoughts precisely... There... there have always been stars I could not manipulate... occurances without my interference..." she continued, leaving the implications of her last statement unspoken. Nothing more was necessary though, as Stanley could guess what she had meant. Respecting Luna's decision not to elaborate, Stanley decided to close the topic for now; he had at least a few more days here after all, and is his book, this conversation still counted as 'first impressions'. If something has to be ruined, then it's better if it's the talk tomorrow. Just to be safe.

"That's... interesting. It all is," he began. "We may discuss this and other aspects more thoroughly tomorrow, I think there'll be more time... and there's a lot to say anyway," said Stanley, rather awkwardly, but it seemed to get his point over as the Princess nodded slowly, still staring at the sky. Silence once again overtook the duo.

After a minute or so, Stanley decided it was time to get to the true topic of this talk, whatever the Princess had come to him for. Quickly clearing his throat, he prepared to ask.

"So-"

"Who is it that you are fighting?" Luna suddenly interrupted as she energetically turned her head, the previous rather warm exchange of words helping her to finally get one of the major points out of her head.

Caught off guard, Stanley just looked at the Princess with a surprised frown. He briefly felt shivers travelling down his body; this question could potentially be dangerous, and he'd much prefer it left for tomorrow. Oh, well... he'd have to tell them in some way sooner or later. 'Go with your gut' it is then, for now.

Meanwhile, Luna moved on to explain her reasoning. "Thou had stated thine rank and job, and said your 'pod', now in the dungeon resting, is for military use. You were encased in it when I... we... stumbled upon your tracks," she said. "So... you had put this machine into use. Are you fighting someone?" she finally asked, a little less sure of her thought process, having realised other possibilities when explaining, which existed even considering the hewmon's other, later words. Still, a glimmer of concern, but most of all curiosity shined from Luna's eyes.

Stanley sighed. "Clever," he admitted. The trooper already had a plan for the question, and it was as simple as being as vague as he could for now. Still though, he could not shake off the feeling of... strangeness. The question simply, at least instinctively, appeared weird. Nobody ever wondered about the enemy... there was just one. Only one.

Stanley let out another short sigh. "Well, yes, your reasoning is... valid. And right," he began. "Humanity... the Republic of Sol... is currently at war. And who are we fighting? Well...," Stanley trailed off, struggling to find proper words. Who were they fighting? The enemy. How to even... characterize it? "Well... we are fighting the Swarm. They are these, well... how to describe it... it's a race that... invaded the known space, not just the Republic, but other species as well. Why, we don't really know, gathering information is... problematic. Sorry, much is classified. But anyway, to combat them, we've established the Coalition, a military and economic alliance. Right now, it's basically us versus them... it's rather complex," he finally stammered, taking a glance at Luna after he was finished. What he was met with was not a face of fear or disapproval, but one entirely filled with pity.

"That is... most terrible," Luna replied, shaking her head. Stanley turned back to gaze at the stars.

"Again, it's... complex."

Luna seemed to get his point and did not push further, figuring they'd surely get an opportunity to learn more tomorrow. As such, silence once again took over. Deciding it's time to finally get to the point, Stanley went ahead and spoke up, although he suspected the reason for this visit might've been revealed just a minute ago.

"So... not to sound too rude, but... is there any, you know... specific reason you came here?" Stanley asked as politely as he could. It took a while for Luna to reply.

"One thing has been bothering me," she began. "Thou had mentioned your government had forced you to move... resettled thou... in your child age. I now understand the need you had mentioned was fighting this 'Swarm'?" Luna responded with a question, and Stanley nodded. Only now did she really realise just how long the war with the Swarm must have been; the thought just served to fill her with even more pity. "But even still... do you not feel resentment against those who forced it? You had no speak in it, from what you implied... and yet they had you serve, against your will. Y-you had right to stay who y-you were... t-they could not have... taken... not even tried to appreciate it, did they not? Whilst they should. They wanted to shape thou into what they had in mind..." the Princess continued, briefly letting herself get carried away. "So... does thou not feel resentment? A tinge?"

Throughout Luna's monologue, Stanley just stood in place, pretending to be thinking while watching the night sky. Truly though, he saw where this was going, and opted to carefully prepare a good answer, at least for his abilities. The worst thing was, the Princess' 'speech' clearly seemed negative towards the Republic's government, and thus, indirectly, the state itself. And that was worrying, considering the Coalition wanted the horses as its allies.

Desperately wanted them as its allies.

"Well," he eventually began. "A lot of assumptions there, but yes, you got most right. Granted, 'against my will' is a little much to say, I was, like, five months old at the time. But to answer your question... no, I do not feel resentment." That part was true. The problem was explaining his reasoning to the horses, while not even knowing this culture's values. Reasoning Stanley couldn't really define himself; it was just obvious he should be a soldier, and nothing else. Obvious. Obvious... "You see, the thing is... there were, well, many treated like me, and..."

Damn, I'm just making it worse...

"...and the Republic really needed us. I told you our war is complex, and, well, it is... and we... we really needed... they really needed... us. We were needed," Stanley stumbled. "We were given the best training, the best equipment... the Republic never abandoned us. It never would. The government just had to... protect its people," he eventually finished. His response was mediocre at best, and he could see it perfectly well; the problem was, it was also the best thing he could come up with.

Luna did not reply, instead continuing to stare blankly into the moonlit sky. However she reasoned, whatever direction she took with her thoughts, just one conclusion formed. Whenever and wherever she looked. Unappreciation... forced, defined expectations...
However she looked, she could not stop seeing one thing.

She could not stop seeing herself in this Lieutenant. His fate, oh so similar, but response so different. How come he accepted it so easily? Accepted such betrayal? He was only a small child back then, from what he was saying, but once he grew up, he must've realised, that...

It was perplexing, and whatever she did, caused Luna to, in her memories, go back to that fateful day a millennium ago... did she do right? Earlier, that is? Was she right to demand attention, recognition? She must've been, right? She must've been.

Was she wrong to want to be loved?

Was she wrong to want so... now?

Luna didn't reply Stanley. Instead, silence once again reigned over the balcony. The two would exchange a couple more sentences, before finally parting their ways, Luna bidding the trooper goodnight and leaving to her own quarters, after telling him the hours of the next day's breakfast, following which the Princesses wanted to begin the talks.

After the door closed behind the monarch, Stanley once again took off his helmet.

"So, how do you think was it? Did I break every single conceivable protocol?" he asked, addressing Selina. The AI chuckled briefly.

"Almost. But paradoxically, although as a diplomatic talk it was terrible, I think that overall it went... quite well - especially considering your exact mission. Weirdly enough."

"Yeah, weirdly," Stanley returned the chuckle as he sitted himself back on the bed. "Alright then, time to relax by the oh-so-warm scanner reports..."

A loud thump resonated through the room, as Cloud Haze was finally released from his petrified form. In the chamber around him, noone else was present, just him and a blue-coated unicorn, who had just carried Cloud Haze inside with his magic. Even the guards, who had just been escorting the two through the corridors, had now all but vanished.

"Ugh, finally!" exclaimed Cloud Haze. "How long can you go like that?" he asked, before noticing his unicorn companion was clearly not interested in answering. Instead, he walked a little back, positioning himself behind a small desk, and looked at Cloud Haze expectantly. The Solar guard tilted his head. "So... what is all this about? Why can't I just go to the barracks?"

"No need to worry. We're just going to talk a bit," the unicorn chuckled. "Do you know what about?"

"Will you finally tell what the hay it was? That thing in the Everfree? Why were we-"

"No," the other pony cut Cloud Haze of. "But you're close enough." He sighed. "Why did you attack the creature unprovoked? Do you know how disastrous it may have ended?" he finally asked.

Cloud Haze just stood in place for a while, mouth wide agape. "Me..? Wha- unprovoked!? It assaulted us! It cast some... weird spell... th-the Princesses were there!" he shouted, as the unicorn listened to his rambling stone-faced. "Did noone else respond!? Is that why they restrained me!?"

"Noone else responded, because they did not get carried away. Like you did," the blue pony replied, expression as neutral as ever.

"Then they are cowards! The Princesses were there! How could I-"

"They are not cowards, they are competent," the unicorn cut him off. "Your actions could have bore disastrous results, and that's what we're going to talk about. That, and other things," he finished.

Cloud Haze stared at the pony for a while, a mixture of shock, rage and disbelief on his face. "So... I am getting punished?" he eventually muttered. The blue guard did not reply. He didn't need to. "That is... what even... That is so incredibly unfair!" Cloud Haze burst out shouting. "It was me who protected the Princesses from this... whatever! It was me who was the first to do so, to defend them! To protect! The only! And what now!? You want-"

"Enough!" the unicorn said strongly, cutting Cloud Haze off. "Your actions could have triggered a possibly unprecedented danger to Equestria, and maybe even more! You got carried away during service, which speaks primarily about your incompetence, at least as far as we can know," he continued firmly, careful not to let Cloud Haze chim in. "And that... the events and your actions in the Everfree... as well as some other things, are what we are going to be talking about today. And I assure you that we will be talking about them very, very thoroughly..."

Author's Note

Here we go! Chapter 3, at last, finished! :twilightsmile:
And with that, we've finished Act I. Next up... well, not just yet, but very soon, we'll be leaving Equestria for a while; don't worry though - we'll come back soon enough! What's going to happen? Make sure to tell me your predictions in the comments!

Also, I'm thinking about starting another short 'series' - an addition to the chapters proper, as one may call it.
This series, called the 'Index', would be for all of you who are interested in learning more about this universe. Short, encyclopedia-like articles in coloured author's notes about some of its aspects.
Keep in mind though, none of it would be necessary to keep reading - everything necessary will be explained in the stroy proper, sometimes maybe even repeating some information from the 'Index' - although most likely rarely, as it would be an inherently additional thing. For those more interested in the lore.

Rate, comment, tell me what you think! You have no idea how motivating that can be! :twilightsmile:

Anyway, I hope you have a good read! Stay pony, my friends! :scootangel:

Interval 1 - The Tectonic Crisis

Stanley's head jetted upwards and his eyes sprung open, meeting the darkened Castle room adorned by weak streaks of moonlight breaking inside through the curtained windows. By all means, it appeared that night was still in its youth. Stanley got up from the floor, his current resting place, and sat back on the bed - bed so soft and uncomfortable it made the trooper wince at even a thought of using it as something else than a chair.

Everything was so weird... so far, Stanley hadn't shown it, hadn't felt it as clearly, but now... One moment he'd been in his pod, prepped and stocked for battle, heart and mind ready for a weeks-long operation. The second, he'd been walking peacefully alongside unknown alien rulers, engaged in innocent conversations, everything combat and war-related all but forgotten.

Stanley always formulated every scenario he could think of in his mind before deployment, or at least he tried to - how could he not? That being said, there was no way in hell he could have ever even come close to predicting this.

It confused his mind, was just foreign, but above all - simply felt weird. It wasn't something in his nature. He was never meant to do this. Every time he held his rifle - so, essentially, very often - his finger itched on the trigger, but there was no need. Somehow, there was no need. For the very first time, there was no need. How could there ever be no need? Ehh...

As his eyes clearly refused to stay closed, Stanley reached out to the small storage on his armor's back and grabbed three small packages he had previously recovered from his pod. Putting them all next to him, he began tampering - more to kill some time than anything else. He inspected them and organised, a thousand times over, until there was absolutely nothing to do anymore. There never was, truly - all of the packages were, quite surprisingly, in fairly good condition. Along with one general mixture of issue medicines, there were two small, hand-sized cylinders filled with icucine, one accompanied by a small syringe. Stanley had no Youn Pills on him, as he had suspected, so an icucine injection would mean imminent death, but he had concluded that in a hypothetical situation where his life is under serious, imminent threat it could be somewhat useful anyway - the additional strength and pain resistance may help him survive. Even if just for a few days.

Satisified with the medicines, Stanley put the three packages back into the storage, once again returning to the state of absolute idleness. Still unable (or, more accurately, unwilling) to drift into Morpheus' domain, the trooper decided to finally take care of the one thing he still had to do. The thing he's already been putting off for far too long now.

Sighing, Stanley navigated through his HUD's database, eyeballs remaining still due to his choice to use the neural network. Eventually, after reaching the local database, he did as the admiral had advised him and searched for the Tectonic Crisis. Having found it in virtually a flash, Stanley sighed once again.

Alright, he thought. Time for a history revision... unlikely that much is new with this clearance.

As echoes of these thoughts resonated through his mind, Stanley began to read.

'The Tectonic Crisis

The Tectonic Crisis is a term given to a series of geological cataclysms occuring on multiple planets characterized by predominantly human population, mostly under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Sol, from early 5106 to 5128. Along with the following IMOD-115 pandemic, the Tectonic Crisis was the direct cause of tens of billions of deaths throughout primarily the Republic of Sol and comprised the decisive factor contributing to the ensuing economic decline of the country and, ultimately, the Eastern Crash. '

Yes, well, I know all of that. Everyone does. Likely a few paragraphs before anything new...

'The Tectonic Crisis is believed to have been caused by unrestricted use of experimental, bio-infused terraforming technology by human colonists, as well as improperly supervised, large-scale experiments conducted with it by high-ranking Republican officials following the technique's limited public introduction in summer 5099. In all cases, prolonged use of the machinery in question resulted in the release of the anomalously contagious IMOD-115 (Immuno-Multi-Organ Disability) virus, a byproduct of its partly-biological makeup, into the atmosphere, forcing the Republic of Sol to quarantine all affected planets. As a result, many-'

Suddenly, Stanley's display flashed green, and the article disappeared from view. In its place, a communique appeared. A communique straightforward and already known to Stanley from his previous promotions. Now though, he had suspected his access had already been updated quietly - as it was likely only a temporary clearance. That, and he had had his HUD on almost the entire time. It never required actually accessing the database for the communique to appear.

'CLEARANCE LEVEL RAISE DETECTED
ONE-DASH-SEVEN TO THREE-DASH-FIVE - APPENDIX 4-211
STAND BY FOR INFORMATION UPDATE'

And a loading screen appeared. And the page loaded once more. So similar, but oh, so different.

Stanley's eyes involuntarily widened.

'The Psionic Crisis

The Psionic Crisis, dubbed The Tectonic Crisis for public information, was a series of sudden manifestations of psionic channeling abilities in various, seemingly random members of human population. Directly affecting 73 planets administrated by the Republic of Sol and 11 human-populated worlds outside its jurisdiction [account by the Cabinet's Top Secretary of State for Common Information, March 5129] between 5106 and 5128 (although it's worth noting that aftershocks occured until much later) the event brough about the deaths of an estimated 23.8 billion humans and an additional 8.5 billion members of catalogued alien species, primarily caused by the ensuing blockades by Republican, and other, security forces [under clearance order 66/8-sec.14.40; see the List of Classified Actions and Operations under the Auspicion of the Republic of Sol High Command in the years 5000-5500, as per the Presidential Archives 18/11/6130].

The crisis began on Trapizmon in the Selcid system in 5106 [first reports of unusual activity - 13/06/5106] when several unrelated human citizens across the globe unexpectedly displayed seemingly anomalous abilities by transferring large quantities of unspecified energy of unknown origins into the environment. Exact properties of this energy (from this point on referred to as 'psionics') remain unknown, but it is certain its nature is at least dual, as it is able to behave as pure energy or an unknown type of force, which cause is impossible to determine, when interacting with the environment. In all cases, interviewed witnesses claimed that victims of this event seemed either unaware of their newfound capabilities or unable to control them [see addendum 226 - case acts, tomes 51-67, documented as per the Presidential Archives 18/11/6130].

Over time, similar incidents took place on many human-inhabited worlds, and in all cases, members of the species seemed to have acted as not necessarily operators, but beacons for psionic energy to manifest, displaying minimal ability to influence it. Channeling capabilities of said victims (from this point on referred to as 'beacons') have been observed to increase rapidly over progressively shorter periods of time, causing them to release dangerously large amounts of psionics [add. 157]. Volumes of force channelled through the beacons eventually became large enough to cause apocalyptic events to occur on most of the affected planets, prominent examples including crunched buildings and cities, people twisted alive en masse, and, at peak recorded activity, multiple instances of continental plates lifted from the planets' crust [see addendum 240 - operation reports, section 3, years 5114-5123; Battle Squadron Crimson, Battle Squadron Turquoise, Battle Squadron Alabaster, [[CLASSIFIED BEYOND CURRENT CLEARANCE LEVEL]], as per the Presidential Archives 18/11/6130]. In most cases, the few existing witnesses testified recognizable sympthoms of mental illnesses of various severity and nature appearing in the beacons, usually described as 'madness' (134 instances) or 'insanity' (115 instances). Whether this was caused by the awareness of the damages and loss of life caused or a byproduct of the channelling ability remains unclear, although it was likely the mixture of both [see addendum 311 - Final Report of the Psionic Theoretical Studies Section to Determine the Nature of Psionics under the Auspicion of the President's Cabinet of the Republic of Sol, 08/08/5164; prof. dr Elisiah Chin].

The number of beacons manifested on a planet peaked, in most cases, at at most a few dozen. However, Republican authorities at the time had reasons to believe the channelling ability could potentially be transmittable to other humans [add. 299 - compilation of contemprary studies of psionics, as per the Presidential Archives, 18/11/6130; theory later disproven - see addendum 311 - Final Report of the Psionic Theoretical Studies Section to Determine the Nature of Psionics under the Auspicion of the President's Cabinet of the Republic of Sol, 08/08/5164; prof. dr Elisiah Chin]. With the beacons' increasing unpredictable capabilities preventing any authorities from taking action, the President's Cabinet of the Republic of Sol and the Council of Parliaments (in a joint session with the Republic of Sol High Command representatives, 26/12/5114; session's existence classified, [[CLASSIFIED BEYOND CURRENT CLEARANCE LEVEL]]) unanimously decided on implementing the quarantine doctrine.

In cooperation with international authorities, any and all worlds with confirmed psionic activity were to be blockaded (and subsequently completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy) by Republican, and other, security and military forces [under clearance order 66/8-sec.14.40; see the List of Classified Actions and Operations under the Auspicion of the Republic of Sol High Command in the years 5000-5500, as per the Presidential Archives 18/11/6130]. Participating formations included Battle Squadron Crimson, Battle Squadron Turquoise, Battle Squadron Alabaster, [[CLASSIFIED BEYOND CURRENT CLEARANCE LEVEL]]. After several instances of vessels being pulled from low orbit by the beacons, suggesting further, unceasing increase in the potency of their abilities, Republic of Sol High Command made the decision to sterilize all affected planets by extensive use of orbital bombardment [see add. 15 - clearance order 66/17-sec. 11.37]. This action had been successfully carried out from 5117 through 5128.

In such situation, it was found necessary to restrict public access to facts regarding the affair, providing replacement information in their place [as per the decision of the Cabinet's Top Secretary of State for Public Information, 13/04/5115]. As such, the extensive quarantine was said to be caused by the sudden outbreak of the fictional Immuno-Multi-Organ Disability virus (IMOD-115), in itself a byproduct of too extensive use of fabricated, in reality nonexistent experimental bio-infused terraforming technology. The technique's supposed initial, limited public introduction in 5099 was gradually implemented into common public opinion through extensive, subtle manipulation of relevant information flow in the following decades [for all actions undertaken in adequate regard, as well as detailed reports concerning the operations described above, see addendums 301-334; various sources].

Extensive research that followed the Psionic Crisis revealed more as to the nature and laws of psionic energy. Studies of the force's measured interactions with the environment, limited experiments with what remained of the energy, and scrutinizing the few recovered, confirmed remnants of the beacons' bodies allowed to conclude, in combination with contemporary research, that the psionic channelling ability is, most likely, a byproduct of some unknown process, universally and irreversibly hurting its victims. Limited studies proved that in order to be able to effectively control and manipulate psionics, a species (and not just a single member) would have to possess a set of very specific, highly unlikely to occur naturally, biological features. Such a hypothetical state of things was eventually called by the researchers 'compatibility with psionics'. No race ever encountered is biologically compatible with psionics [see addendum 311 - Final Report of the Psionic Theoretical Studies Section to Determine the Nature of Psionics under the Auspicions of of the President's Cabinet of the Republic of Sol, 08/08/5164; prof. dr Elisiah Chin].

[[CLASSIFIED BEYOND CURRENT CLEARANCE LEVEL]], [[CLASSIFIED BEYOND CURRENT CLEARANCE LEVEL]] refused to [[CLASSIFIED BEYOND CURRENT CLEARANCE LEVEL]].'

Several more sections still remained, as well as all the addendums. Other than that, it appeared as though a number of notes from various state officials were attached to the article, reading advised, but for now, Stanley had had enough. He was going to read through all of this, he knew he was. That was what the admiral had advised and so that was what he was going to do. Now though, he truly simply felt he had some context, some... explanation.

So what he had seen in this world, what these horses were capable of, were all examples of controlled psionics? So this race was... 'compatible with psionics'? Huh...

It should've felt terrifying, but for some reason, it did not. Not at all. Instead, if anything, relief traversed Stanley's body. At last, he knew what was going on, he had an explanation. Even though he was already, slowly getting used to seeing all the telekinesis all around here, he always had that tinge of uneasiness at the back of his head. He was used to working in the dark, but obviously preferred not to. Especially in a situation like this.

Now though, that tinge was gone. Gone. Gone and, despite everything, soon replaced by another.

What he had just read... the abilities were increasing, right? And here, here he had seen Luna literally move what seemed to be, well, a distant star.

And these aliens could control this power. Control it perfectly well.

Needless to say, implications of this did not fill Stanley with optimism. It was there, yes, but in his reaction, raised caution dominated. Without a doubt.

Even then though, Stanley somehow couldn't shake the feeling that... there had to be something more to it. To what these aliens were doing. It couldn't have been just these 'psionics'. He had no idea why, but for some weird, unknown reason, he just felt there had to be something more to it. It would just be too simple.

Ugh, why do I dismiss common sense? There's no reason to think that. Take the possibility into account, yes, but... Take into account, yes, yes, that's what I'll- that's what I'm doing. That's what I'm doing...

Saving the article for easier access through his HUD, provided a positive outcome of the user's DNA check, Stanley laid back on his quarter's floor, realising he'll get nowhere with these simple time-killers. Turning onto his side, still in full body armor, the trooper went on to at least try to go back to sleep once again.

Author's Note

Yep, that is me experimenting with coloured text. :ajsmug:

If you made it all the way down here, share your thoughts! That's pretty much the most motivating thing there can be! :twilightsmile:

Anyway, I hope you have a good read! Stay pony, my friends! :scootangel:

Act II, Chapter 4: Scorched Earth

Author's Note

So, yeah, this is pretty much where the gore tag actually comes into play.

By the way, if you're here, remember to leave a comment! I hope you have a good read! Enjoy, and stay pony, my friends! :twilightsmile:

Act II, Chapter 4: Scorched Earth

A drowning man will clutch at straws

Dimension 000-000-001a "Oh-One"

Sazana, Ckarflox system, Defense Line Epsilon; more precise location [UNKNOWN]

Capital Universal Time (CUT) - June 17th, 6193; 1743 hours
Local Operational Time - 1314 hours; day cycle 213/601

58th day of the Defense of Sazana
6th day of the counteroffensive

Three days after deployment

Smoke. Flashes. Shock.

"Two-One, Two-One, your trajectory's too flawed. Please apply..."

Shakes. Shakes omnipresent. Sparks.

"Negative, I don't seem to... Ahh! I can't..."

"We're under fire! Repeat, we're under heavy fire! This is..."

Headache like never before. Tech going haywire. All moves suppressed in a blink of an eye.

"Two-Four, try to- link-"

"Ahh! I... I can't see! I can't SEE! Ahh...!"

"Ahh! Ahh... I... I... why... why I... Command... Command... Fleet Com- Ahh!"

A twang. What was that? Faceplate suddenly cracking. Ah, the restraints. The restraints are off.

"Two-One, talk to me! I need a sitrep, NOW!"

Entire service flashing before own eyes. A sudden perspective of an ultimate end.

"Admiral, we've got reports of additional contacts all across the perimeter!"

"God, we've underestimated! Oh, how have we..."

"They're everywhere!"

Another twang. Eyes opened, if just for a second. A second to see a restrain break off. Fall. Then lift, as systems fail - artificial gravity. Pain. PAIN.
A zink. Power's back. The metal falls, eyes open again.

Blood sipping from the forehead. Blackout.

Sunlight sharply forced its way into Jasvant's eyes, forcing him to turn his head away. Only then did he notice he was, in fact, still wallowing on the drop pod's floor, right arm sticking out through its shattered wall. Jasvant attempted to raise up, just to be held back by nothing else than his own body. His legs felt like wool. Every muscle did. Grasping at some protruding sections of the drop pod, Jasvant forced himself back up.
An unlikely drop of blood shimmered in the corner of his eye. For a few seconds, it danced on the top edge of his completely shattered faceplate, before dropping onto Jasvant's lips, allowing him to feel its taste.
It wasn't blood, not at all. Much too sour. It was a remedy. Icucine.

"Warning: prospects critical! Immediate Youn Pills intake required!"

Jasvant inhaled deeply, over and over again. The air was clear, there was no smoke, and yet it was getting hard to breathe. Mind felt like jelly. Any complex thought was a challenge now.
Despite that though, Jasvant's instincts soon kicked in and evaluated the situation for him, even if only in a very vague way.

He either takes the pills or he dies. End of story.

Jasvant had no idea how everything looked outside the pod, what was the situation, if he had a realistic chance of getting the medicines. But if he didn't, that'd just mean death, so nothing different than what was already in store for him. The only, smallest variant that invloved survival was getting out.
However hard that may be.

"One-Two! Aye, One-Two! Do you read?"

"Reception confirmed, One-Four, matching frequency. Yeah, it's him, lucky bastard."

Even as Jasvant finally understood these voices were coming from his, now destroyed, headgear, he didn't stop crawling, cutting his exposed hands on one piece of debris after another, pushing aside the syringes which for some reason failed to retract. He needed to get out. He needed to.
Another minute, and a wave of relief suddenly traveled through the soldier's miserable body. He finally pieced the childish puzzle together - it was his team's frequency. They were here. He may live. He may yet fight on, after all, and realistically at that.

Despite this, Jasvant was already basically leaning against the pod's front wall. One hand-slip, and his entire body pummeled through the barrier, breaking through it as it went, and soon twitched at the sudden contact with Sazana's burnt, ornage-yellow ground. Without anything at all to block it, light assaulting Jasvant's eyes quintupled, but luckily it was not going to last.

Suddenly, as something shimmered in front of him, Jasvant felt his body sharply pulled to the side, his left shoulder scrubbing the scorched earth. How long it lasted, he couldn't tell. For him, it was mere seconds before the mysterious figure released its grasp, but truly, it could've been any amount of time. Everything in front of Jasvant shimmered, the scenes unfolding nothing but a collection of unrelated segments. Then blackouts, blank spaces, when there was nothing at all, at least from the perspective of time, because what he experienced back then, he knew not.

Jasvant flinched at the cold sandstone's touch as the figure put his uncooperating body back down. The soldier would've sighed with relief if he could, mostly because he was finally freed of the headache caused by the overwhelming light, but by now his previously heavy breathing was already dying off. The world glistened with heavenly lights. Nothing looked material anymore. Nothing was clear.

Meawhile, although Jasvant could notice it no longer, the voices from before once again broke the local, sham silence.

"One-Four, you're clear. Immediate: watch north-west, I've got no visual on the area - line of sight obstructed. Over."

"Copy that, One-Five," a relieved sigh resonated through the enclosed area, as part of the distant wall suddenly spawned a few black dots. These dots grew in a blink of an eye, a millisecond if one wills, causing much of the background to change colour, revealing a big, muscular figure kneeling in front of Jasvant. "Aye, son. How could you make it?" it addressed the soldier with a depolarized visor.

Even through his dying breath, when everything else was no more, Jasvant cast a weak smile at that sight. This face he could recognized anywhere, even on a literal Hell's doorstep as it seemed.

Devon-1-4. Werner Acciai.

Despite fully opened eyes, darkness reigned in Jasvant's sight as the orange-white cuboids were shoved down his throat. The soldier vagualy felt his left arm slide down from one of the sandstone bricks lying around, indicating he had lost feeling - as well as all control. This was... was... it... right...?

"Adaptation too slow. Injecting adrenaline," whispered Werner, pulling out a small cylinder from the container on his back.

"Copy that One-Four; and good luck, big guy."

Nothing. Two seconds. Nothing. Three seconds. Nothing. Five seconds.
Suddenly, a quadrillion sensations assaulted Jasvant's brain, as the world around appeared once again. His lungs, previously as though crushed and restrained, were now freed, allowing the soldier to breath to the fullest extent - which he took full advantage of. Jelly-like mind momentarily replaced back with tissue, Jasvant immediately started analyzing his surroundings, as per protocol, at this point engraved into his head so heavily it was nothing less than his second nature. That is, he would have done so, was it not for a deep chuckle resonating through this small building - a sound both clear and covert at the same time.

"One-Four, the hell's going on? The panting from our lost colleague?" inquired another voice, unmistakably Jonathan's, both from its sound and half-serious undertone.

"Affirmative, One-Five," Werner answered, though this time Jasvant noticed no sound reached him from beyond his damaged speakers, indicating a switch to internal. "Condition seems good, ye. Hold position, we'll regroup and rendezvoux at your place, over." Werner stood back up, polarizing his visor, and offered Jasvant a hand. Taking it, the soldier noticed just how badly his armor had been damaged; whole sections were missing, likely broken off and scattered somewhere in or near his pod.

"Copy that One-Four, I'm holding. And One-Two? Welcome to the living. Out," Jonathan chuckled, before terminating the connection.

Back on his feet, Jasvant instinctively reached to polarize his visor, but quickly realised it'll be in vain as his hand reached the former spot of the now-missing faceplate. However, noticing it, Werner immediately reached back, picking something up from the earth-covered ground, and handed the object to Jasvant.

"Take this," he insisted. "A replacement. Marine, the only I could find, but better than nothing. Will have to get used to a reduced HUD."

Jasvant grasped the grey-green helmet, briefly looking it over. It truly was a Marine headgear, and the most typical one one could find; head's top and back covered with permament, non-retractable plastics, then a removable faceplate adorned with several displays. On the sides, a yellow-blue-black Republican flag stuck out, right next to a nametag, in this case reading '108-33.24-11.71 H. Donovan'. Jasvant spun the helmet in his hands and, after shrinking his current one with one quick motion, put it on.

"Well," he sighed. "I've surely seen some much worse caps."

"Keep that attitude up. Means you are really back," Werner chuckled deeply, patting Jasvant on the shoulder. "Adjust the combat clock. Sync it up with mine."

"What? Why? This one's working."

"Incorrectly," informed Werner, reaching for some other item. This time when he turned back he was grasping a big, weirdly prolonged, black machine gun. "Take this. Again, ye, it's Marine, but your AR's not in your pod."

"Eh, I can manage," Jasvant replied, checking the weapon over. "But how's the clock incorrect? The sa-"

"The satellites?" interrupted Werner. "They ain't here."

A grave silence took over, drowning even the distant screeches and crunches, and muffled fire-like sounds.

"Acknowledged," Jasvant eventually responded. "Clock synced, connection with Devon network established. Also, I might need a sitrep. Short version."

Instead though, it was Jonathan's voice which was the next to traverse the comms.

"One-Two, One-Four, be advised, four tangos heading your way, south-east, Napoleon's monument. Scratch that, five tangos, detecting explosives. Can draw their fire, but I need you to flank them, I'm all exposed here, over," the soldier spat out.

"Copy that, One-Five, aye, continue. We are on our way," Werner grasped his All-purpose Rifle, exaggeratedly removing the clip. "The short version?" he turned to Jasvant, who had just done the same with his newly-obtained gun. "The short version is, everything has gone to shit. We know little. Out of sector, from building patterns this is likely 878 Hotel, though we know not. No link to Command or any Coalition callsign. Devon-One-Prime and One-Three are MIA to us, so you're technically in charge. Allied forces seem scattered," Werner jogged to one of the building's windows, motioning at Jasvant to follow, before once again merging with the surroundings with his armor's Intelligent Patterns. "Four buildings east, three-story structure. One-Five is on the rooftop, has a visual on our position, but is exposed. Road right, then first left by that bungalow, we'll be a straight line from Napoleon's monument. We ambush them there. We get in position and One-Five takes a shot, then we take the rest out before they return fire."

"Copy that," replied Jasvant. "Inquire, didn't you say I'm in charge?" he replied smirking. Werner rolled his eyes.

"Affirmative, transfering powers. Hope you are satisfied."

"As hell. Now move out. Watch your back, stay close to the walls. Any entries inside on the street?" Jasvant asked, his tone now a sharp contrast to the playful voice from just a few seconds ago.

"Negative. Everything collapsed on our side up to the intersection."

"Roger that, use the slabs on the street as potential cover. Execute."

Not a second later Werner, still merged with the surroundings, rushed through the empty doorway next to his position, turning left to check the direction opposite their destination.

"Clear."

Jasvant, who had previosuly been watching Werner's back through the open window, went through it, causing dust clouds to lift from the earth-covered floor. He immediately crouched, choosing to stay low to compensate for his new helmet's lack of the Intelligent Patterns fuction. Watching both directions, the pair rapidly moved down the street along the low, flat-roofed, sandstone houses - or, more accurately, their ruins - before sticking to a wall right by the target intersection.

"In position, One-Five," informed Jasvant, for the first time truly speaking through the comms today.

"Roger that, One-Two, took you long enough. Be advised, tangos heading your way, about fifteen meters. Permission to engage?"

"Granted. We're back at work, people."

"Roger that," Jonathan sighed. "Stand by."

A second went by. Another. And another. The almost nonexistent wind whistled in Jasvant's ears, as milliseconds came and went.
Another second. And another. And ano-

A loud bang echoed through the street, followed by a high-pitched screech from just around the corner. For Jasvant and Werner, this was all they needed.

The soldiers got out from behind the wall, exposing themselves to the Swarm infantry, but also immediately unleashing a hailstorm of trajectory-supported machine gun fire upon their enemies' vulnerable bodies. Armor did nothing, as remains of yellow-brown flesh and greenish organs splattered over the street. Two of the hostiles were dead before they hit the ground.

The others, though, not so much. Conveniently positioned further away from Jasvant and Werner, the remaining Swarm soldiers managed to overcome their panic and dived behind cover on opposite sides of the street lane, dodging Jonathan's sniper shots in the process. The continued fire from the troopers only managed to injure one of them, the rigged bullet creating a large, flooding hole in its body, before trajectory support could help no more. Both were alive and combat effective.

The humans did not have to see each other's face to know a perfect understanding of the situation beemed from their eyes. Playing for time for now, they mirrored their enemies' actions, Werner going back behind the wall they came from under suppresive fire provided by Jasvant, who himself soon found shelter behind a huge concrete slab covering much of the central road.

As the three fallen Swarm bodies began to, as usual, decompose into nothing but green-brownish liquid, the human troopers made their move, understanding each other without words. Peaking out slightly, Jasvant activated one of his remaining frag grenades, turning its Seeking option off, and threw it behind enemy positions, in a way they'd be caught just outside its blast radius. With Jonathan's sniper support, they'd have no option but to stick to their current covers.

Not waiting for the explosion to ring, Jasvant began circling the concrete slab in order to flank the two hostiles while Werner engaged them up front. But as soon as dust lifted off the air, signaling the grenade had went off, a bright light flashed in the trooper's eye, covering a large portion of a neighbouring, relatively high two-story building. Jasvant and Werner exchanged looks at lightning speed, reaching a common conclusion - enemy snipers on the rooftops.

The plan has changed, and there was no time to waste. Jasvant crouched down, marking hostile positions on his HUD, before throwing a smoke grenade right in front of himself - this time though, he set the explosive to thermal cloaking, making it release a condensed cloud of high-temperature gas, essentially causing any thermal vision to malfunction. As the smoke rised, Jasvant shouted through the comms.

"One-Five, be advised: enemy snipers, nine o'clock! Recommend avoiding eye contact until suppresive fire arrives."

"Roger," was all Jonathan gave as a reply, followed by a deep sigh.

As the smoke rised to ceiling-level, Jasvant lifted the black machine gun up to his eyes, and guided by his earlier markings, carefully aligned the weapon with the marksman's last position. All doubt faded, he pressed the trigger, and a hail of explosive projectiles zoomed through the thick smoke, bringing terror to the Swarm soldiers. The bullets, accelerating and turning mid-air, broke out from the greyish cloud without warning, like lions hunting their prey, without any indication, as the terrified snipers could only tremble at the terrible onslaught of pure death manifested, coming unannounced from all around.

None of the bullets made their mark, but they didn't need to. Hitting the dozen centimeter high sandstone railing behind which the tangos lied, the shots put them under more than enough confusion and pressure for Jonathan to, in a flash, reassemble his own post in the snipers' direction. As their building was lower, without the initial element of surprise they might as well already welcome their cold graves. Two precise shots, and both Swarm soldiers were no more, soon turned into the same toxic liquid as all their fallen kin.

Meanwhile, realising a coordinated action was no longer possible, Werner took care of the two remaining regulars by himself. After roaring loudly to draw their fire, he dashed at enemy positions as fast as he could, soon jumping over the cover and facing the first, now understably petrified, hostile face to face. With one click of a button, a palm-sized bayonet emerged from Werner's All-purpose Rifle, and without second thoughts, the human soldier sunk the blade in the alien's lower chin, piercing its entire head upright. To confirm the kill, Werner fired an additional three-bullet series, as he quickly removed the blade and sunk it in the corpse's body instead. The human turned the massive enemy around, utilizing its flesh as his shield, and slowly marched at the second alien's position, whose desperate fire either drowned in its former kin's corpse or got shrug off by Werner's armor - or, more accurately, it's nano-generated microshields. When he was already only about three meters away, the trooper threw the body at the hostile soldier with all the strength he could muster, providing it with additional propulsion from a quick series from his AR, and made the last enemy falter under its weight. This was all Werner had needed - with one quick aim, he fired a few shots right at the alien's head, and just like that, all Swarm forces in the area were no more.

"Clear," Jasvant's tired-sounding voice soon resonated through the comms.

"Clear," repeated Werner after peaking inside some of the ruins. "It appears that the pills work faster than I've known," he added after a while, addressing Jasvant, as the two humans lowered their weapons.

"Yeah, well, that's pretty much what Youn designed them for. Plus, I'm just that much more awesome," the trooper replied, smirking. "Hey, One-Five, mind explaining how you didn't spot them?" Jasvant continued more loosely as he made his way towards the three-story hotel they were suppose to regroup in.

"There were no snipers, One-Two, I'm good enough to check. I don't know what in the hell that bullshit was, or how they got there."

Jasvant sighed. "Alright, stay put then. And get down a level, we don't want to be exposed." The trooper was forced to make a bigger step as he passed over a piece of debris blocking access to the front door.

"Copy that."

"So, let me get this straight, we're cut off from the fleet? Like, completely?"

"Aye," replied Werner once again, his words both loud and drawn out; he was getting tired with his companion's continued denial.

"And from everyone else too?"

"Comms only work at a very limited range, otherwise we'd have called you earlier, One-T-; sorry, One-Actual," chimmed in Jonathan, turning from his scouting position by the hotel's window. "Be a grown-up and think, why the hell would we joke right now?"

Jasvant tried to reply, but he couldn't find words. He simply couldn't. For a few seconds, his half-open mouth vented the dry air, before the soldier eventually dropped down, sitting by the wall opposite Werner. "Holy shit..." he whispered, lifting a hand up to his forehead. "How long has it been? Since you two recovered?"

"Two days Earth time, easy," responded Jonathan, this time not bothering to turn around from his binoculars. "Slightly longer for mister Acciai here. No idea how long from deployment, but I guess not that long as we both survived without that shit in our veins."

"Aye, that is right," continued Werner. "Combat clocks went haywire, so we synced them up to at least be able to coordinate."

"Good idea," said Jasvant, putting the Marine helmet back on. "Okay, we gotta move on, the fuckers saw us, and that means their neuronodes already did the work," he stood up, reloading his newly-acquired gun. "That, or we get swarmed. Heh..."

"Not really," Jonathan suddenly replied, as Wermer calmly turned his head his way. "These snipers?" he motioned at the rooftop they had previosuly occupied. "They would have relied my position to those on the ground. Maybe it was a hoax, but then they would just act surprised. And let me tell you, these guys didn't seem to know anything. Know where I was," he lifted the binoculars and turned around once again. "Something's happening, and it hit them as well."

Werner just shook his head in agreement.

"Oh, I guess, yeah," replied Jasvant, scratching his neck. "We should still move out. Better not to take chances. If this's really 878 Hotel, then all objectives are out of question, we're halfway across the continent. And if, as you said, you encountered no allies on the way..."

"Everyone's scattered, my good friend," this time it was Werner who chimmed in. "We've heard two-or-so muffled transmissions. Not much understood, but noone can organise. At this point, we're just scattered groups of resistance fighters."

"Then we should find a bigger one. If it's all about preservation of force now, all goals lost, then just the three of us might be too little to survive long enough."

"That I can agree on," stated Jonathan matter-of-factly.

"Then get to processing these walls, printing some ammo, and then we can move. ET, let's say, five minutes."

"I'm stocked, thanks," replied Jonathan, as Werner got up from his spot and proceeded to quickly but surely replenish his supplies. Sighing, the sniper once again turned around to face Jasvant. "Man, what would I give for a personal drone right now. Too bad everything's broken." He already began to return to his previous position, before Jasvant, frozen with mouth half open, spoke up.

"Oh, I have one!" he exclaimed.

Both his companions looked at Jasvant in bewilderment, frozen in place.

"You what?"

"My drone's working," repeated Jasvant, reaching to the container on his back. Sure enough, what he pulled out was, albeit noticeably scratched, a functional personal drone - or at least it looked like so. Even despite Jasvant's armor being horribly torn up in some places, this little machine had apparently managed to, somehow, stay intact. Intact enough.

Werner and Jona stared and Jasvant petrified, unable to process how something like that could've happened. Happiness at a new advantage clashed with sheer anger that a veteran like Jasvant could not inform them about something so crucial.

After a few seconds, a booming laughter rapidly increasing in volume resonated through the empty room.

"It looks like those pills didn't work just as well as I had imagined, after all," Werner simply stated between the laughs.

"So we take down this vessel, and the force will retreat?"

"Affirmative," the holographic screen shimmered as the graphical soundwave moved to match Selina's words. "That should be this battlegroup's main coordination centre. As their presence is still pretty new, we have no reasons to believe their behaviour will be different."

"And how long before we can establish a stable rift? Send ships through?"

"According to estimations," a series of graphs and calculations quickly replaced a big chunk of Selina's empty, blue screen. "Twenty hours. Earliest."

Nikolai sighed, briefly closing his eyes. Holding position there might be problematic, but better this than nothing. The last chance. The last, best hope...

"Alright," he eventually said, walking up to a console at the front of the bridge. "Yun! Establish a link with designated battlegroups. I want everyone on the line."

The technician nodded and, biting his lip, turned back to his messy post. For the next couple seconds his fingers danced on the keyboard like crazy, before he eventually showed Nikolai a thumbs up. Sure enough, right in front of the admiral a wide, blue holographic screen had come to life, illuminating the huge room like it rarely was. On it, as second after second passed, rectangles of varying shades and sizes appeared, each adorned with a different label, each with a different figure, with different uniforms, insignia and flags. As they appeared, the figures nodded their heads, clapped their fins, lifted their tails; mechanically, yes, but as admiralty taught, also with sheer respect. It was a picture of pure beauty; humans, aliens, species uplifted - no matter. All together, for a final, desperate effort.

When the holographic screen was, at once, filled, Nikolai cleared his throat.

"Admirals. Commanders," he nodded once again, instigating a formal welcome. "Report your status."

And so, one after the other, the figures declared. Despite different tones and volumes, brought about by nature itself, every voiced shared traits, if not all, then the most notable. All dire, desperate, but also firm and unwavering, each knowing what was to come, each ready to lead their people into a charge that may very well be the last, but will bring about eventual victory - of that, they will make sure, despite not unequivocal prospects.

"Battle Squadron Crimson, standing by."

"Battle Squadron Khaki, standing by."

"Chirr Expeditionary Force, Second Collection, standing by."

"Fleet of Monarchy's Realm, standing by."

"Fleet of Sarak Conquest, standing by."

"Uimdar Contingent, Levy Host Adombek, standing by."

"Uimdar Contingent, Levy Host Embata, standing by."

For the next two minutes, alien admirals and captains, be it from the mighties empire or the smallest, most irrelevant species-state squished between superpowers, stated their readiness. Stated as one, as allies, as kin, past conflicts, through all the shared blood, all but forgotten, even more so than in the past centuries of Coalition history. Be it the Humans and the Sarlaans, the Oblarr and the Federation - all conflicts were now gone. Gone unlike ever before, not even in the past three hundred years of close, genuine cooperation. Each admiral stood ready, each standing by, each prepared, prepared for the attack. Attack to secure the site.
All or nothing.

As the final words subsided, bringing about grave silence once again, Nikolai cleared his throat.

"Battle Squadron Indigo, standing by," he finished the concert, stating for himself. Nikolai waited a while, looking over his bridge crew and taking possibly final optimistic glances at the room he knew so well. Eventually, he grunted, looking at the large screen once again, eyes glimming with both worry and immense hope.

"Captains, Commanders... my fellow admirals. I need not to tell you how crucial an undertaking this is, you know that all too well already... I'm not here to issue orders, for you have them as well, nor am I here to give a speech - for that's not what we need... what we do need, our goal, the only today, is simple - victory. Our needs vary not from the ones we often have. This battle, the Defense of Sazana, will be the one that decides it all," Nikolai paused briefly to take a breath. Although he didn't notice, the entire bridge was now more quiet than ever before, even rustling stacks of paper seemingly keen on hearing what the admiral has to say. "Admirals... so many of us remember Hezel, remember its valiant defense. So many of us fought on, got reinforcements and supplies, operated on this besieged planet, caught oh-so-far behind the lines. I know for a fact that the elder of you were there even in the beginning, cutting supply lines, ambushing enemy forces, doing everything you could to prevent this symbolic world from falling into enemy hands. I was not alive back then, and a long time would pass until that, but it was thanks to your efforts - our efforts - that Hezel prevailed, and only on our, the Coalition's, terms could it be abandoned," Nikolai sighed, making another pause. He didn't think about what he was saying anymore - only words, words dictated by tongue itself, sewing sentences without the admiral. "The battle now, the very one you see outside your portholes, will be a battle unlike that. This is a battle different both in its stakes and its very nature. If we lose today, if we can't regain the Negation Engine in this weak spot, Defense Line Epsilon will be no more, and with it, the Republic of Sol, all others following suite. If we lose today, there will be no more chances to strike back. But right now, we're not here to talk about the battle at large," Nikolai paused once again, instinctively scanning every admiral's expression before he continued. "Three thousand years ago, my ancestors - our ancestors - waged a battle unseen before in the annals of history. For fifty five years, enormous armadas clashed without respite, never waning under the oh-so-well-known number of a hundred and twenty thousand vessels engaged in combat. The Grey Struggle had earned its name, bringing about victory in the War of Arms for the ultimate winner and determining the shape of the galaxy as we know it, as well as setting the record of the largest space engagement for millennia to come. Today, a battle of such importance, such greatness, such magnitude, was beaten by the Swarm in one blink of an eye. On their own, they now field more vessels than that ancient combined total, and as our outposts report throughout the galaxy, no forces had been redeployed from other regions. Not any we could detect," Nikolai let out a long, deep sigh. "Defense Line Epsilon will fall, and we all with it. This strike, this attack we're now readying for, has but one goal - to secure optimal fold coordinated for a portal to a yet uncharted dimension and hold them sufficiently long for us to get ships to the other side and, hopefully, establish another tunnel from there. A tunnel to somewhere else - Earth, perhaps, or Saathar, or Raztar, no matter. To gain access there, to ally a species adept in psionics, and once and for all turn the tide of this war. You all know well enough what we need to do, what this is all about, but I need you to understand one thing, to look at everything from a clear, simple perspective - we succeed, we win, we lose, we go extinct. That's it. No side thoughts, no addendums at all. That sentence, and then silence. This isn't about the Defense of Sazana anymore, but about this one strike - the strike we are now, as participants, all here to initiate. We fail, and it's over, we take that Swarm ship out, and we might still have a chance. That's all what matters now, and that's precisely what I want you to know," Nikolai sighed one last time, before speaking up again. "As Supreme Commander of Coalition Armada in the Ckarflox System, as well as Supreme Commander of Operation: Fiery Remorse, I hereby announce the beginning of this offensive. You are all now to take pre-planned positions across the perimeter and await further orders. Good luck, and good hunting."

A wave of 'Good hunting!' echoed through the room, before, just as earlier, one after another the silhouettes turned off, and soon the whole screen was no more. With a tired face, Nikolai fell into the admiral's chair. His Battle Squadron was already in position. He had about five to ten minutes before the attack could begin. Five minutes of coordinating defensive fire. Five minutes of tedious managing, just as always. Five minutes of everyday life, before a task monumental in its significance.

"Nice speech!" exclaimed suddenly Selina, her holographic screen popping up to Nikolai's right.

The admiral chuckled briefly. "But thank you. Although I doubt that statement's truthfulness."

Before Selina could say anything, Ya Yun spoke up, addressing Nikolai. "Sir! Captain Ackerson sends a message. He reports his protest regarding the Constitution's participation in the charge!"

Nikolai shook his head, sighing. He was getting tired of this. A command conflict - what this was now escalating into - was bad enough, worse even when actively forced by one of the parties. "Tell him I acknowledge his protest. Sidenote, advise the captain to read the assault plan once again, until he realizes this ship is to serve as a stationary dock and meintenance bay, as well as a fighter hangar. No participation in the charge proper. We're not messing up gravity right now," he said, a tinge of anger in his voice, even though he tried to remain as professional as possible.

Yun showed a thumbs up, and once again quietly got to relaying the message, while Nikolai, now left with Selina, simply shook his head anew.

The upcoming hours did not promise to be easy.

The dots and lines danced among the stars, in numbers unfathomable. They danced, obstructing stars themselves in their majesty, getting nearer, and then once again closer to their many kin - although, truth be told, all remained mostly in one place for any naked eye. Sometimes, a line brighter than sun itself would, for a split second, connect two dots, or two lines maybe, glimmering amazingly with its laser dignity. Among all the apparent, although false, chaos, if one focused their gazed exceptionally, they could notice a group of dots seemingly moving slightly in the same direction, in a fashion so orderly it almost belonged here not. After a while they would spot another such group, and then another, and another, and if, by chance, the person gazing was bright enough, and looking from a perfect angle - lack of reference points in space be cursed - they might just be able to spot that all these dots, all these lines, all these spaceships were heading to the same area, even though its various, very different parts - which, in turn, one could know not.

The naval contingents set to take part in this desperate offensive slowly took their places. Among all the metal, all the destruction, all the lives and all the stories, here lied the sanctuary, ordered and fashioned as nothing else for any layman observer.

Among all the planets and systems, in this moment, here laid the center of the galaxy - as well as its best, final hope.

Act II, Chapter 5: A New Beginning

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Act II, Chapter 7: Close, Yet not So Much

"Broadside salvo, fire! Lock on target, full ahead!" Giorgio cried in fervor as his battlecruiser zoomed dangerously close to a Swarm detachment, making two of its ships fire on each other, failing to catch the dashing human vessel.

As the craft emerged on the other side of the perimeter, having just punched a hole in the hastily-assembled defences, Giorgio cast a smile.

"This is it, everyone! We are closer than anyone else, it's up to us to finish it off! Fire all weapons!" he shouted, wildly waving his arms. One of the bridge technicians sent the captain an uneasy look.

"But sir, if we-"

"I know this ship's workings, lad!" Giorgio abruptly cut him off. "You know Absolute Priority! It's all or nothing now, and we have a clear shot! Fire all weapons!"

The technician hesitated briefly, although he did not attempt to delay the order. "Y-yes, Sir! Relaying appropriate firing solutions to Fire Controls Alpha and Bravo," the man, a yound Earthborn in his early twenties, stood up, breathing heavily but stably. "Sir! It's been an honor, Sir!" the technician eventually declared, rising his right hand in a 'victory' symbol.

In this moment of silence the rest of the bridge crew, not essential for the firing of the last salvo, mirrored the young boy's gesture.

The rest, besides the captain.

"Not yet, it hasn't!" he declared, locking gaze with the lone dot in the distance that was the target Swarm vessel. "Fire the weapons. We'll bring them down with us."

"Moving to firing position," a crewmember reported, eyes filled with hope. "Target in range, all simulations concluded. Fire Controls standing by to take the shot. Permission to open fire?"

The captain, whose face previosuly burned red with vigor and fighting spirit, closed his eyes, taking in the beeping and cracking of the vessel's bridge equipment. He knew these inconspicious sounds would soon bring about the Swarm's demise.

"Permision granted. Fire."

A cascade of lights, bolts and smoke trails raced through the darkness, getting ever closer to a lonely grey ship. Before its last remains subsided near the human battlecrusiser, the payload had made its mark, cutting the Swarm battleship in half, smashing its hull into pieces, one section at a time.

Giorgio took the view in with a wide, vivid smile, as chunks of debris and remaining munitions passed by the bridge's portholes. The canonade broke through hostile defences without breaking a sweat, decimating the already damaged Swarm vessel. Eventually, its dim windowlights got extinguished forever.

Giorgio's face turned red once again as he observed the magnificent destruction. All around though, one at a time, his ship's consoles and LEDs turned off, until nothing remained inside besides the faint glow of the distant stars and a weak, red, emergency glimmer.

"Combat overflow!"

"Copy that, we see them, switching channels; Hailing RSNS Palaces of Ship Formation 415, this is Fleet Command, immediate: RSNS Nikolski-Unalaska has just made a run through enemy perimeter, hostile target neutralised, but they've got a combat overflow. Rally up, make a push, and get Nikolski-Unalaska the hell out of there, over."

"Roger Command, affirmative, ETA to target location approximately ten minutes, we're reading enemy forces retreating from their perimeter, awaiting instructions, over."

"Roger Palaces, we know; Absolute Strategic Priority dictates to attempt a rescue. Proceed without special alterations. Good hunting, over."

"Roger, out."

Hearing such a conversation made Nikolai involuntarily cast a smile. The recent assault had proven far more challenging than initially anticipated; Allied warships were usually able to outmatch their Swarm equivalents in one-on-one fights - not now, however. For some reason, even though by no means fanatical, enemy resistance had already proven incredibly fierce during this assault, but it finally started to look like all the recent setbacks were only just temporary.

"Sir! The final battleship preventing us from striking directly at hostile coordination center has been neutralised! Enemy vessels are retreating from the area. Battle Squadron Crimson and Levy Host Adombek report readiness for an immediate assault, the Fleet of Sarak Conquest is mopping up the final resistance behind our current lines. All are requesting permission to engage the enemy!" a young technician suddenly reported, confirming the optimistic prospects. Nikolai however, did not give in to emotions.

"Negative, tell them to move in-range and hold positions. We're going to take a page from Andyman's book; blockade the enemy fleet but not attack until we can account for a possible counter-assault," Nikolai breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in almost a day he didn't feel a sharp string of pressure and risk passing through as gave the orders. "Nikolski-Unalaska opened a way for us to strike. Let's make sure we don't waste it. Selina?" the admiral glanced at the ceiling. "By my authority you have direct command over the primary strike force, that is Crimson, Adombek and Sarak Conquest. Also, prepare to to call our displaced friend when we're done. Once we get the fold site, there'll be no time to waste."

Even before Nikolai could fully finish his request, the blue LEDs on the RSNS Constitution's bridge flickered twice, indicating Selina's acknowledgement. The admiral returned his sight to the ship's portholes; the scent of victory could finally, at last, be sniffed at least somewhat clearly.

"The next question I'd like to ask is... what would you consider your greatest technological advancement? Or one of the greatest, if that is easier," Stanley asked, scrolling through his - or, more accordingly, Selina's - notes. With the exception of a rather unpleasant misunderstanding regarding the consumption of meat, the talk took a drastic turn for the better, especially after Celestia offered to move to her private study - which in all honesty looked much more like some type of a leisure room than an actual office. No matter though, as the cozy ambience only made the whole thing seem less formal, a sensation Stanley was willing to take any day. Overall, the confusion back from the breakfast having faded into oblivion, some rather interesting facts had been figured out - like comparing and temporarily standardizing several key measure units.

"Hmm...," Luna tappen her chin in thought. "A difficult question, although I would think our iterations of the computer device, as thou hath called it, or perhaps the airships."

"Okay, that's... that's interesting," Stanley replied with a tinge of confusion; no graph he was currently seeing in his helmet's visor had these two things even close to each other. "So... what do you mean by 'airships', if you don't mind me asking? No details needed, just the general idea."

"We mean a large vehicle capable of flight utilising sufficient air containers. Shall... shall we go further?" expanded Luna, tilting her head to the side.

"No, it's alright, I think I know, what... what you mean..." Stanley scratched his head; the problem persisted... "Alright, I'm going to list a few technological advances many species consider significant milestones, and, if that's not a problem, I'd like you to tell me whether it's something your kind has already achieved, or... or not. I... I know it may sound... humiliating, but... it's, well... not that at all... it's just to determine your advancement level, as many procedures depend on it. Is that okay?"

"I understand, Lieutenant Colonel. Of course, ask whenever you please."

"Thank you. So, first off - the harnessing of steam power. The steam engine?"

"Bah! Not an innovantion!"

"Okay, then," Stanley sighed. Honestly, he would have naver thought otherwise. "Now to a more... general thing. Production of goods - is it mostly done by han-... ugh, hoof, like, each ware individually, or is it... automated? Done by contraptions or systems?"

"The latter, I believe," Celestia answered. "The discovery of innovative spell mixtures can allow production at a rather... impressive pace."

"Oh, alright," Stanley's faceplate hid his annoyed expression; how to assess their tech level if they don't even seem to try using it at all? "So... okay, yeah, that's a valid answer, thank you. Next up, there is.... well, this may be quite a jump: achieving orbit...?"

Never could Stanley suspect that the question would cause both Princesses to freeze, completely flattening their expressions.

"Could you specify, if you may?"

"O... kay?" Stanley agreed warily, hiding his confusion. Well, to tell the truth, the term was pretty broad, at least according to Selina. "The... we count the milestone as fulfilled, if... if you had one of your kind on a stable orbit around the globe, or a machine without a crew, or maybe you've ventured to other celestial bodies..." Stanley trailed off as he listed more examples, but when he finished, the soldier was once again met with grave silence. A good minute passed before any of the diarchs returned an answer.

"I have been on the moon," Luna simply stated, with the same menacingly neutral expression and firmly clenched teeth.

"I... alright, that's... that's gre-... ugh, I mean, interesting," Stanley caught himself mid-sentence, as he realised it was evidently too risky to judge the development in the two's presence. "Next up, we have.... actually, could you tell me something about the craft you've used first?"

"There was no craft," Luna simply answered, quickly yet without emotions. The Princess gazed at Stanley with a cold, but deeply pleading look, as she gulped evidently desperately trying to suppress... something. For Stanley though, it was everything he needed. He had some more time here, and there was absolutely no need to get on the rulers' bad side so quickly; preserving relations was a secondary objective, yes, but if it didn't nullify the priority... why not? Stanley was about to cut tight to the next question, before Celestia abruptly cut him off.

"It was a spell," she specified, casting a small, symbolic smile accompanied by a nod that quite clearly said that the statement closed the topic off for now.

"Okay... I... yes, that may be enough for me... I think. Now, for a change of topic, we'd like to know more about your... Kingdom. What type of entity is it? A nation-state? A union? A confederation, or a federation maybe? Or, well, a feudal ladder?" Stanley coughed a few times, attempting to validate the sudden change of subject. Thankfully, the Princesses didn't seem to mind; quite on the contrary, as their eyes suddenly glimmered once more, and the only thing to assume was that both had only been waiting for such a development.

Soon however, the hopeful frowns were replaced with ones of uncertainty.

"I apologise, Lieutenant, but I'm afraid a thorough description of Equestria's workings would prove far too long for either of us... and quite boring," Celestia winked, in an attempt to lighten the mood, annoying Stanley to no end with such a blatant refusal to answer. "Unfortunately, none of the examples seems to fit the Kingdom fully."

"Alright," seeped Stanley, once again glad he had his helmet to hide the 'are-you-kidding-me' face he was currently making. "Maybe... maybe we'll, yes, we'll change the question a bit, if you don't mind."

"You're free to ask."

"Alright, so, would you hesitate to call Equestria a country or not?"

"I cannot say I would."

"Brilliant! Now, is such a societal structure common on..."

"Equis," Luna chimmed in from the side. Stanley turned to her and nodded his thanks.

"Yes, Equis. Is it common here?"

"It is, to be sure."

"Okay," Stanley sighed, content that he was able to get at least the basic information from the monarchs. "Now, how would you describe Equestria's position in regards to other... pony nations?" the trooper asked, as he leaned back in the comfy counch next to a fireplace. Confusingly enough, even though grossly soft, the seat actually proved itself to be a rather comfortable place to sit.

Luna meanwhile looked at Stanley with confusion as she tilted her head slightly. "Why would our species maintain a multitude of states at once?" she inquired with a tinge of bewilderment in her voice.

"Wait, you-... wait!" Stanley nearly fell out of the sofa at the revelation. "So, are you saying... whose are those other countries?"

"There is a true multitude of species on Equis; the ponies, griffons, zebra, dragons, diamond dogs... changelings. Although not all maintain states of their own, to be sure," Celestia replied instead, wincing slightly mid-sentence. "Why, pray tell? Is that not usual?"

Stanley however was already barely listening; as far as he knew, so many species evolving on one planet alone was enough to confuse pretty much any biologist, and then there were the species themselves.
'The zebra'? What the actual hell? Are they talking about the same exact zebra native to goddamn Earth? Some stray trader millennia ago, or... actually, no; no way. Nothing would evolve in just a couple thousand years.
So, outside help, maybe? Definitely not human. Stanley could hardly accept that any species being uplifted would evade his attention, and as far as he was concerned, the only 'animals' ever given sentience by mankind were batches of cats and dolphins, more for experimental purposes than anything else.
Or perhaps the 'zebra' weren't zebra at all. Maybe, like with the ponies, the similarity was just superficial, and the word simply turned out to be the most adequate translation? Maybe.

After a couple seconds, Stanley coughed a few times, as he finally registered what the Princess had said, and returned his answer. "Ugh, no, I mean... actually, you know what? I think my friend will handle the answer best," he said, symbolically tapping his faceplate.

Right on cue, Selina spoke up, carrying on with the reply. "In the vast majority of recorded cases, only one species on a planet was ever able to come even close to sentience. These instances make up more than 99.9% of all known races," she stated matter-of-factly.

Celestia shook her head in disbelief. "That's... that's certainly... unusual... What about the remainder however, pray tell?" she asked, as Stanley for the first time witnessed the Princess truly stuttering, seemingly at a brief loss of word.

"An adequate question! You see, the remaining 0.1%, or more accurately roughly 0.034%, are comprised of observed instances of the so-called 'syncretic evolution', when more than one race on the same world is able to develop sentience and build up a civilisation. Cases like this are incredibly rare, as often times one species ascending to this evolutionary level successfully prevents any other, although there have been some prominent examples rising on the galactic stage throughout history. Usually, such spacefaring civilisations end up united, or, in one instance, interestingly established two rival interstellar empires based on the same globe. In most cases however, either one or both species are wiped out before achieveing space age due to their social inability to coexist with one another."

If the Princess was at a loss of words before, now she might just as well have been deceased. Celestia's dead-eyed face gazed forward mechanically as her majestic fur, already nearly snow-white, lost all remaining vigor. Even her iris, previously so vibrant and emanating with age-old wisdom, was now no more, replaced by a bleak, miserable halo. Nowhere was to be found the ethereal mane, filled with lively, optimistic colours, locked perhaps perpetually in a mystic, unexplained flow. No, now in its place was an intruder, a weird, out-of-place, almost faded cloth.

And yet, even though frozen and shocked beyond belief, the Princess did not let herself to be put off-guard. One second, and already - Celestia from before was back, if a little unnerved. Short evaluation? Likely. Only speaks of experience... especially as, just a bit to the side, Luna wasn't doing nearly as good.

But even as Celestia had pulled herself together, silence still echoed through the small study, and so, Selina went on to elaborate further. "In all recorded history, every instance of syncretic evolution involved no more than two different species. Every instance except one, in which case three separate, unrelated sentient races evolved on one globe, however long before contact was established with wider galaxy, one of said species was already firmly gone due to an ancient war of genocide," she stated in the same polite, but cold and calculative tone.

Launching a probe there, I see? thought Stanley. If you weren't an AI, I'd assume you're just stupid.

Opposite Stanley, Luna was vividly trying to to hide her face away, why, Stanley couldn't tell. It soon became clear as day however, as, having found no success, the Princess turned to the trooper, her expression all but locked in chaotic shifts between seeping anger and incredible pity. Unsure whether to shout or cry, Luna soon went with whatever came to mind first.

"Why... what!? Thou couldn't... why would that be, hewmon!?" the Princess exclaimed, her tone rising with every spoken word. After a while, she resumed, this time much more softly. "Is that... does such fate await us as well...?"

Oh, yeah... so that's the thing here...

As Stanley opened his mouth to calm Luna down, he was suddenly cut off by a familiar, feminine voice. "Don't worry, that is not a certainty. Most of these species had in time began to suffer from extreme social prejudices against one another, which eventually led to violent and destructive conflict. If nothing like so on any significant scale can be seen on Equis, no catastrophe seems possible." Yeah, but that's a big fucking 'if'. Unless... "Moreso, judging by your technological level, if such an event was ever to take place, it is likely it would've already occured a long time ago." Huh. Of course, as in 'not completely impossible'. "Finally, most importantly, there is a huge difference between Equis and all the planets I've mentioned; namely, you already have had your first contact - it is happening right now, and if any danger ever transpires, the members of the galactic community have everything they need to prevent bloodshed."

In that moment, that single moment, Stanley understood.

Well, maybe it hadn't been a probe after all.

Oh, having an AI as a companion was truly an irreplaceable advantage, Stanley had to admit - both in combat and times like this. Was all Selina had said true? Well...

Of course they'll prevent bloodshed; and good they will, we can't have anything pulling the hor-... ugh, 'ponies', away from the frontlines

A quick glance at the Princesses was enough to concluded the reassurance had somewhat worked, even though despite evidently hard efforts, both still maintained a visible tinge of disgust and horror, but curiously not unfamiliarity, on their expressions. Of course though reading anything from Celestia's stoic smile was once again, as usually, hard as it can be - Luna however was a different case. She retracted her head a little and with slightly narrowed eyes, slowly nodded at Stanley. She then kept looking between his faceplate and her own couch, as if a little unsure how to react, before receiving a barely visible - for a non-trained eye, that is - nudge from Celestia. After promptly betraying the affair by taking a long, confused and a bit pretentional look at her sister, Luna turned back to Stanley.

"We... I... understand. And we-... I am grateful for your effort. I... I apologise," the Princess declared, evidently part-genuinely, despite the thing being nigh-forced, but still almost held back by some unknown force, everpresent in Luna's eyes.

"No need to," Stanley replied, immediately sensing an opportunity. Before any of the diarchs could react, he quickly moved on to change the topic. "But anyway, let's move to the next inquiry, shall we? My... yes, my last one for... for today... thank you for all your answers, really, uh... and then we'll move on to yours... I'm sure you still have quite a few questions."

"That we do," Celestia winked, everything from before akin to forgotten, as the Princess seemed more than happy to change the subject as well, even if just for now. Thus, the way to deduce the monarchs' reactions once again ended up amounting to observing Luna, whose overall posture was very akin to those she had had before every previous question - a mix of curiosity and interest, only this time accompanied by a tinge of just plain neutrality, like the one a Poker player would be expected to show.

"So, okay... I think this may be a short one, actually... but everything in due time; we need to know your governing system, like, you know, form of government. Before... uh, uh, be-before you ask, this is all because we strive to handle all diplomatic matters with efficiency, and cooperation between governments naturally requires substantial knowledge regarding the functioning of said governments. Also, we need to somehow categorize your country," Stanley forced a chuckle, as he kept reading what Selina had graciously displayed on the visor. "From our observations so far, we assume Equestria is an absolute monarchy. Is that correct?"

"It is a monarchy, that's correct," Celestia answered with a nod, back with her friendly smile. "Unfortunately however, I cannot say I'm familiar with your further... categorization," she said, shaking her head apologetically. Stanley let out a quiet sigh.

"That's... alright, but... I'd like to ask a few more questions if that's okay, just to make sure about that one part."

"We'd be happy to answer."

"It won't be much. First off: who in Equestria is responsible for introducing or changing the law, in general?" Stanley inquired, forcing on himself the friendliest tone he could.

"That would be me and my sister, of course," Luna answered instead with the slightest tinge of annoyance, but mostly just perplexed with the doubting question.

"Okay, again, we assumed so; I'm only asking to make sure there are no misunderstandings," Stanley turned to the Princess, who nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright, another thing: who's responsible for actually implementing such laws?"

"That's a rather complicated question, I'm afraid," Celestia took the talk over, much to her sister's apparent irritation. "There are many ponies on various positions responsible for tasks like so."

"Alright, but... who's the highest ranking? Or a group, if it's like so? Who do they answer to, at the top of the chain?"

"To appropriate ponies assigned by us, to be sure."

"Assigned by you? So could those... supervisors be accountable to you?"

"Theoretically, they are, however I would not interfere unless there's a serious necessity."

'I'... 'I'... what happened to 'we' here...?

"Alright, I understand. The last question, albeit not less important: who handles judicial affairs?"

"All I can say is that depends on the importance of the case. Some I can handle in person, while many courts will help everypony else," Celestia stated, nodding once more. Stanley could already feel the coversation's outcome.

"But could you, in pure theory, override these courts' verdicts? In pure theory?"

"In pure theory, yes, although it's not something either of us is used to do," Celestia informed, as Luna once again briefly looked at her sister with protest, although this time, she caught herself almost in time for Stanley not to notice the gesture - a rather impressive feat, to be sure.

"Okay, uh... yeah. That would be all, thanks for the help... you're definitely an absolute monarchy. Or, rather, an absolute diarchy, as it seems," Stanley declared, already worried about his next words. Luckily, he had remembered to go ahead and, after muting external speakers, ask Selina to take the talk over immediately after that, just in case - how could he not, that's what she's here for, anyway, right?... And the entire matter to come was something Stanley would've never even thought of himself - which, after learning it, was not a big surprise - so was it not only natural to take the chance not to potentially screw things up? "You... you see, that may... that absolute monarchy thing? It... could be a problem. Later on," Stanley doked out, still far from used to the weird, over-expansive way of talking.

Celestia tilted her head with an uneasy frown. "What? Why so... pray tell?"

In response, Stanley simply patted his helmet a few times, and the microscopic flashlights on its sides lit up with a dim, cyan light. "Sela?"

"Gladly!" the AI began. "You see, absolute monarchy is not a government form liked by most of the galactic community. This is, of course, no rule, as there are numerous exceptions, however in general, that fact alone may serve to strain your relations with most of the formidable powers."

"They... they'll shun us?" Luna shook her head in bewilderment, stuck inbetween simple shock and suppressed anger. "Just because our state happens to differ?" Her eyes, though slightly narrowed, glimmed with tinges of disbelief. For a brief moment, Celestia similarly froze; the first time when something so unforseen transpired that it overcame even her diplomatic might.
Unforseen, but likely not unheard of, as Celestia's recovery was still rather quick. Maybe, for some unexplained reason, she did not expect the humans in particular to display such standards?

Not like we'd do right now anyway, just join the war and you're cool. That's the only worthy thing, why would anyone care about the government...? Eh, I'm already going for reeducation after such an info intake... Again...

Selina meanwhile slowly moved on to reassure the monarchs again. "Don't worry, that would not likely be the case. You see, this affair has more to it than just inner workings of your government; the reason why many of us don't like monarchies is more connected with how such states often turn out, as well as actions they tend to commit. Fear of such actions transpiring once more has a potential of effectively isolating Equestria from foreign powers, however if no wrongs take place, I am sure you don't need to fear a thing. Of course, monarchies' unpopularity is also partly due to strong human position on the galactic stage and the vast cultural influence the Republic of Sol had on others throughout millennia, however I'm sure you can guess this reason is strongly connected to the former."

Celestia slowly nodded. "If it is so, what system does the Republic operate on, pray tell?"

The entire entire time however, Stanley was not listening - not to the talk, at least. External speaker turned off, the only thing he heard was a transmission, nearly as unexpected as anticipated.

Right when Selina had resumed her explanations, a short communique blinked on Stanley's HUD - not the one on his depolarised visor, however, but rather within his eyes themselves.

A communique, for once, clear and about as optimistic as they get.

"FLEET COMMAND BRIEFING
STANDING ORDER
PRIOTITY 1.5
CONNECT ASAP"

So it was like this; they must've finally found a way to establish a stable connection, or perhaps it was just another window of opportunity. Either way, the Allies were here - and they did not want to wait. Granted, neither did Stanley, but the moment was not the best to say the least - that, and he currently had his visor depolarized, so talking with Command, even muted, was out of question.

Or, rather, for Stanley it was.

As soon as it appeared, the communique vanished, replaced by a handful of live connection data and Selina's voice ringing inside Stanley's helmet.

"Devon One-Prime reporting and standing by. Talks underway, two top-level priority VIP contacts at point blank," she reported, not for a second ceasing her simultaneous speech to the Princesses.

As the small soundwave in the corner of Stanley's eye bent, a very familiar voice responded. "Roger Selina, even better," said Nikolai in his distinctly friendly, yet formal tone. "Link's breaking on our side, how copy?"

"Lima-charlie."

"Good. I authorize temporary program merge, data tranfers at good output, use while possible."

"Roger," with that, another set of data joined the others on Stanley's visor, as the admiral continued his update.

"Devon One-Prime, listen closely, fold coordinates secured but it'll be a while until we reach you, critical enemy presence. Science teams already dispatched, two to five C-U-T-days for the tunnel, maybe more, but I wouldn't hold my breath," Nikolai went quiet for a few seconds just as Selina's merging reports flashed green with 'complete', before returning to Stanley once again. "Selina says your translator works by-the-book, so I'm gonna talk with the rulers. Scratch that, show them what we're against. We'll have to pull a play here. Selina already has the plan, right?"

"Affirmative, Admiral," the de facto barely-lower-ranked AI could be heard in unison both from Stanley's helmet and, a little more muffled, the other side of the connection. The other, more familiar side.

"We just need you to try to play along, Devon One-Prime. Good luck in your endeavor, soldier," Nikolai finally wished, before freezing the connection. Immediately, without a word from Stanley, Selina switched external speakers back on.

"If it is so, what system does the Republic operate on, pray tell?" Celestia's gentle yet worried voice ringed from the left, as Luna listened to the conversation closely, trying to snatch out as much useful information as she could, while also waiting for a window to chim in and acquire answers to at least some of the uncountable questions which still flooded her mind.

Such a window however she would never get - not for a while, at least, as none of the two space visitors even got a chance to answer Celestia. Instead, Luna's mind was suddenly filled with sharp flashbacks from the first encounter and the weird, cyan light wave, as a blight, red flash filled the royal study for a split second, following by a booming alien voice.

"ATTENTION! FLEET COMMAND STANDING ORDER
IMMEDIATE CONNECTION REQUESTED
PRIORITY CODE: ONE-DASH-FIVE GREEN"

At first, Luna moved at lightning speed to defend the meeting; the alien tongue sent shivers down her spines, and another Darknight Cult incursion into the Castle could not be allowed!
This time however, the Princess though better... or, well, perhaps simply heard the strange speech transcend into clear Equestrian. Either way, she managed to stop herself before her hooves even touched the ground and, after a brief glance at Celestia, decided to keep her guard up, but allow whatever was transpiring to unfold.

And transpiring was a lot.

And unprecedented as well.

Stanley, previously thoroughly engaged in the conversation, quickly stood up, ignoring the two monarchs. "Sela? Can you relay this from the pod to my gear?"

"For a minute or two, at most."

"Good enough," the soldier declared as the dim, red light turned dark blue and a low humming sound filled the room.

"Devon One-Prime reporting for duty, Sir!" he exclaimed, not turning to anyone in the room.

Suddenly however, akin to Selina, another bodyless alien voice joined the talk, tired and yet mildly optimistic, young, but most of all... weirdly distorted. "At ease," it ordered calmly. "Situation report."

"No hostile action. Talks with contacts in progress, underway at present."

Silence. "I understand," the voice stated, after a significant while. "Contact grade?"

"Two top-level priority VIP contacts."

"Roger," another pause. "Princesses of Equestria, it's an honour to greet you, even though I'd prefer to do so in person. My name is Nikolai Stratoi, Admiral of the Republic of Sol Navy's Battle Squadron Indigo and Supreme Commander of Operation: Fiery Remorse. Once again, it's a real pleasure to... meet you," the voice, the admiral, introduced himself.

"Likewise, admiral," replied Celestia in the most gentle and honest tone Luna had ever heard her use. "I hope in due time circumstances will allow us to meet in person."

"Agreed. Apologies, but I think we're going to have to make this quick. Devon One-Prime, we've got, finally, numerous breakthroughs across the perimeter, a strike to break the deadlock prepped and ready to commence. Fold site secured. Estimates, about-"

Suddenly, a loud crack accompanied by a booming explosion eclipsed the admiral's voice. A few faint rambles could be heard from The transceivers.

"Lawrence! Situation report!" The human, Nikolai, shouted at somepony unseen, presumably wherever he was himself.

"Additional contacts! Identification, enemy strike craft, and quite a lot!" another human answered, barely heard at all.

"AA?"

"96% of batteries online, but we miss targeting data! Sudden snatch, unknown cause."

The first voice, Nikolai, sighed. "I authorize temporary manual override. Yun, tell Fire Control A they're being re-assigned to bridge sectors Charlie through Omega, but have them dispatch fast response in case something happens. We need a clear way forward, but we can't risk anything."

"Roger that, Sir! Relaying orders now," another voice exclaimed, as weak as before, presumably different, but virtually indistinguishable. The admiral turned back to Equestria.

"We have an update. Devon One-Prime, Your Highnesses, we estimate two to five C-U-T-days for a stable tunnel. Science teams are just waiting until I tell them to work on the thing, and the Diplomatic Corps are en-route to our location right now, which means that this deadline also stands for a more official diplomatic representation. Keep in mind though that military escort might be necessary at first, though its size and significance is, of course, negotiable," he informed calmly, but very quickly at the same time, evidently keen on getting the coversation out of the way as soon as he could, as the transmission slowly began cracking once every often.

"I... I understand," Celestia assured, caught a little off-guard. "I can only hope we'll be able to talk again before you arrive."

Ugh... perhaps we should have shared more about our yesterday talk beforehand, after all...

"I think we can both agree on that," replied the admiral, with a tinge of - likely forced - optimism in his voice. "Devon One-Prime, you'll be issued further orders when we arrive. I wish you all a fruitfull endeavor, and-" before Nikolai could finish however, everything suddenly cut off, leaving only the dim, red light from before. After a few seconds, a soulless voice filled the room.

"CONNECTION LOST."

And the red glow was lost. And silence reigned.

At first, Luna wanted to restart the conversation, after wrapping her head around everything that had transpired, but one short glance at her sister was enough to hold her tongue back. Looking at Stanley, she guessed he must've been thinking the same way.

Celestia, the Diarch of Equestria and Raiser of the Sun, remained frozen, slowly shaking her head, with mouth half-open as if stopped right before speaking up. Her eyes still emanated with deep, eternal knowledge and wisdom, as did her ethereal mane, but despite this, the Princess was, somehow, out of place. As if she'd suddenly realized something vast, or... something shocking, that had overridden even her millennial diplomatic experience.

Thinking more, Luna came to the conclusion that this was likely actually the case.

Oh, silly her! The fear of another critique, of yet another scolding and rebuke for the sole, simple act of seeking another that could finally, at last understand her, another which she could - just maybe - yet truly talk to, made Luna withhold almost everything of her talk with Stanley from Celestia. She had never seen it that way before, but... the truth was, she had only really shared bits and pieces, and not for the sake of scheming or lying either - simply just in case, as the talk itself did break the plan they'd developed together earlier.

Why can I not even once truly trust my sister!? I truthfully do! Why is it so I cannot break free of these treacherous, decadent habits, then? No, that is not... why can we never put thought before our... instinct? Our emotions?

Not knowing about the war's existence, the battle scene must've been easy to shock Celestia - of course it would, why wouldn't it? Luna herself could feel shivers down her spine as the vigorous human officers sent vivid, quick-thought orders between the cracks and smashes.
But that was not what troubled Celestia, no... Luna had known her sister for far too long not to figure that out, especially as Stanley's use of a military pod had obviously already had its own implications. And it's not like the two hadn't seen any fighting in their entire lives - even if nothing every remotely similar to this short... sound sequence.

No, there was something else.

The two monarchs had already discussed why Stanley would possibly ever be deployed into Equestria, but eventually shelved the matter under a simple mistake or some variant of the navigational illness - pony ships had similarly sometimes sailed off course, often even, if their unicorn captain fell victim to said disease. Both possibilities combined served as a suitable explanation for Stanley getting stranded, especially as neither Princess could possibly have any more in-depth knowledge about the rather abstract concept of space travel. Both Celestia and Luna had agreed they should keep the matter in mind though, as it was still something suspicious enough to ask and try to figure out later - it was an actual, active military operation being conducted in Equestria for all they knew, after all, and protecting their little ponies was and will always be the most important thing.

And now?

Now, there was an open statement about bringing a powerful, unknown military force into Equestria. Luna had prepared for such an eventuality, for she actually could.

Celestia, in turn, could not.

And the fact persisted all the same.

Luna could not help but internally facehoof.

Cheers!

Author's Note

Not a month between updates, huh?
Well, watch me, because I'm just getting started! :rainbowdetermined2:

At least one good thing from this whole situation...
Ehh...

Better than nothing, I guess; stay tuned for updates, wash your hands, stay home, and - of course - stay pony, my friends! :twilightsmile:

Act II, Chapter 8: The Turning Points

Dimension [YET UNCATALOGUED]

Equis, Equis system [NOTICE: TEMPORARY DESIGNATION]; more precise location - Canterlot, Kingdom of Equestria

Capital Universal Time (CUT) - June 15th, 6193; 0843 hours
Local Operational Time - 0412 hours, day cycle 170/362

One day after arrival.

Cloud Haze pushed his way through the sea of ponies in an attempt to keep up with his new companion, but to say the task was difficult would be a massive understatement; despite such an ungodly hour, the Inn was flooded with customers and more seemed to be coming every passing minute, further and further restricting the small remaining breathing space.
Such, however, was the beautiful nature of Cloudy Goblet, and there was hardly any better way to experience it than witnessing this nighttime fervor, so different from the rest of the quiet, now-sleeping Canterlot.

And so, Cloud Haze navigated through the gigantic mob, as if it was a maze; gently, like a vessel's captain on a stormy day, but in all honesty, not without drowning once every often. His companion, Bright Flower, was obviously much more experienced in this specific lifestyle, as although surely slowed down by the pony flock, he pushed forward like an unrelenting timberwolf would, leaving Cloud Haze behind on a regular basis. For every time the former guard caught sight of the bright, orange coat, there were easily five minutes of aimless wandering, only somewhat in the proper direction.

After a solid quarter of struggles however, just as another wall of the expansive Inn rapidly approached, the crowd began, at last, thinning. A dozen more hoofsteps, and Cloud Haze could easily breath once again, before suddenly falling into a completely abandoned, small strip on the room's very side. Narrowly avoiding a bump, Cloud Haze shook his head. Looking left, he noticed Bright Flower's orange-black silhouette along with a straight, impatient frown.

"At last!" the unicorn sighed, rolling his eyes. "What took you so long?"

"Listen..." Cloud Haze began with an annoyed grunt, but decided he'd rather not start a new, even more pointless conversation. "Okay, you know what? Nevermind. Can you just tell me what's it all about already? Because I'm not going back throught that mess once again,"

Bright Flower's face immediately lit up, everything else forgotten, as he cast a wide, a little unsettling smile. "Aha! Of course, I knew you'd ask!"

"I've already-"

"For here, beware! The Lair... of Knowledge!" the unicorn exclaimed, loud enough to even - although briefly - attract the attention of a few ponies from the main crowd. With his front hooves, Bright Flower pointed at the Inn's nearest wall.

Following his companion, Cloud Haze looked right; indeed, embedded into the dark, old fashioned wallpaper was a single doorframe, nearby himself, camouflaged by the not-so-great lighting and the blending-together, plain color schemes.

Glancing at Bright Flower, Cloud Haze raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

"The Lair of Knowledge!"

"Alright, okay, but... what?"

"You'll see. Come!" Bright Flower instructed with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes as he levitated a small key up from his saddlebags. "I can't believe it's still happening... they're still coming... and you've seen it! Remarkable!" he rambled as he opened the door. "Oh, and, yeah... as for the Lair, we've been renting it from the Inn for quite some time already... a hundred bits a month... and it's been suiting us well!" the unicorn explained as the keyhole let out a faint crack, shooting the opener out and propelling the door forward just enough for them to leave their cranky doorframe.

"Wait... 'we'?" Cloud Haze asked, huffing; the sorrounding secrecy didn't please him at all. "If you want me to take a hoofstep more, just tell me what's going on, for Celestia's sake!"

Bright Flower glanced at the former guard with the same, unending excitement, before letting out a short, unfitting, troubled sigh. "You will see... okay? You'll see everything! Now... come!" he ushered, disappearing behind the open door.

Cloud Haze hesitated. Should he follow this guy? For all he knows, he might just be making himself a hostage for one of the ever-troubling nightmare cults; hay, maybe even the Darknight Cult itself? After the last incursion into the Royal Castle, everything was possible, wasn't it? The damage they'd done to the guards had already seemed to have made these madponies more cocky, after all.
On the other hand, Bright Flower didn't look like a cultist at all; Cloud Haze had never supposed he'd get to such a conclusion, but the tinge of positive insanity was actually very much a calming factor here.

"You coming?" an excited voice pulled Cloud Haze out of his thoughts. The unicorn took one more slow glance at the black-maned, orange head sticking out from behind the open doors.

What could he lose, anyway? There was nowhere to go and hardly anypony to help.
So... why not? Maybe just... try?

The Lair's door gently closed, illuminated from the outside by the few dim lamps, as both unicorns vanished from the Cloudy Goblet Inn's main hall without a trace.

As the worn out doors closed, they sent echoes through the vast silence of the dim corridor, a sharp contrast to the booming laughter and overall fervor dominating the Inn's main hall. While Bright Flower was busy sealing the lock, Cloud Haze took in the new environment.

Contrary to the big drinking room, this passage had little decorations, even the brick walls barely painted at all. Everything felt more like a theatre's backstage than part of an actual bar.

Just a few hoofsteps ahead the hallway took a sharp turn left, after which - presumably - it merged with some bigger chamber, its existence betrayed by the escaping light and shadows dancing on the curve itself. Cracks of a burning fireplace filled everything with a warm feeling.

"Who's there?" a deep voice suddenly called from around the corner, as a head-shaped shadow perked up on one of the visible walls.

Bright Flower glanced over his shoulder, finishing the tedious task of sealing the door's multiple locks. "Relax, Flier! It's just me!"

"I am not deaf, you old imbecile! Who else?"

Bright Flower sighed. "Oh, come on, don't be paranoid! You... you'll see! Good news!" he shouted, before ushering Cloud Haze forward.

The unicorn hesitated. Was he stupid? Why did he even agree to this mess in the first place? Did he not value his life...?

Well, not the new life, anyway. There was no way to flee now regardless; no turning back at all.

Hoof after hoof, Cloud Haze slowly trotted forward along his orange companion, until he eventually reached the hallway's corner.

...only for his head to be immediately jotted sideways with a sharp, stinging pain resonating under his left eye.

"Who are you and whatever you seek here, you!?" the same deep voice shouted right into Cloud Haze's ear, shocking the unicorn to no end.

Seems he was being taken hostage, after all. Whaddya know.

Meanwhile however, Bright Flower was not idle, as he immediately rushed in to save the situation, separating the two ponies. "Whoa, Forest Flier, I told you not to be paranoid!" he exclaimed to the aspiring boxer. "He's with me! Right, Cloud Haze?"

The former guard looked up hesitantly, rubbing his bruised eye. "Eh... I'm not sure yet. Listen, where even are we? Who is this?"

Bright Flower's face filled up with a huge smile once again. "Oh, right! We still need to make introductions! Come inside!" he ushered, trotting straight into the spacious chamber up front. Forest Flier took one last, long glance at Cloud Haze, before following in the unicorn's steps.

As he entered the room, Cloud Haze could not help but gasp with amazement. Not amazement at how beautiful or extraordinary the inside was, but at the sheer passion and effort these ponies must've put into whatever they were doing.

Firstly, the chamber itself wasn't anything unusual; if at all, then negatively so. It had no windows whatsoever, and the high brick walls were only disturbed by a wide chimney directly opposite the only entrance the room possessed. This chimney, connected to a burning fireplace, was the only source of light present inside, if one omits the few, barely significant lightbuld hanging poorly from the ceiling. In the center, a few couches and chairs, one of wich currently occupied by some unknown pegasus mare, surrounded a low, crude, wooden table.

That, however, wasn't impressive at all; what was in turn, was the whole surrounding.

On all the walls, far too high to reach without flight or active magic, enormous boards, both cork and wooden, were hung, each adorned woth hundred upon hundreds of notes and photos, crambled so much that many ended up not fitting on the displays themselves, instead taking permanent refuge outside their boundaries. Between the boards, and hung from the ceiling as well, were a multitude of other weird items connected by strings, bright tape or many, many marker colors.
There were maps, some recognizable, like a modern parchment covered entirely with notes and arrows, as well as others, less so - like the one on which the Crystal Empire controlled half of Equestria. Then, there were things like the replicas of the Elements of Harmony, joined together with the convenient use of flex tape into some unspecified mass... Cloud Haze could go on and on.
It was a miracle that at least the floor itself remained clean and passable.

While Cloud Haze gazed at his surroundings, trying to take in all that he was seeing, Bright Flower coughed a few times, positioning himself in the 'Lair's' center. "Alright! Alright, everypony! Please, meet our new mem-... uh, guest - Cloud Haze! Cloud Haze, meet Forest Flier," he gestured at the aggressor, who, quite ironically, despite his name was an earth pony. "And, of course, Majestic Will," the mare just kept looking Cloud Haze over, silently scrutinizing the unicorn. What she concluded, the former guard could only speculate. "Together, we are what makes the Lair of Knowledge great! We are the seekers of hidden truth!" Bright Flower finished proudly, lifting his front hooves in the air for a short second.

Unsure how to react, Cloud Haze simply remained in place, waving dumbly at his new companions.

Was this... it?

If so... what's next? Why did the madpony bring him here?

Luckily, Cloud Haze didn't have to wait long for answers, as the uncomfortable was soon broken by non other than Forest Flier himself. "Care to explain why you bringing random ponies inside?" he practically shouted with a lifted eyebrow, annoyance well heard in his voice.

For a moment, Bright Flower's face went uneasy. "He... he's not random, you'll see! He's... he's seen things! Like we did!"

Hm. Looks like I do am in an asylum after all...

"He knows, without... ugh, Cloud Haze! Could you tell them what you saw? Short version, if you can... it's important, believe me!" asked Bright Flower with an exaggerately begging frown, taking Cloud Haze aback.

Does he tell them? Actually, to hay with this; there's nothing to even consider, what cpuld he possibly lose?

Cloud Haze sighed. "Oh, I... I mean, sure, I guess... first of all though, hello, I'm Cloud Haze, nice to meet you," recited the unicorn with a fake smile, in an attempt to illustrate a proper, personal introduction. All he was met with however was an eye roll.

"Yeah, we know, dude," spat out Forest Flier. "Could you not find someone saner, Bright?" he continued, to Majestic Will's apparent amusement, as he desperately tried to stifle a chuckle.

Cloud Haze sighed once again. Time to accept some of the ponies here were... not necessarily the brightest in the world. "I realize that, I just... okay, you know what? Nevermind. You wanna know what I saw? Here you go, just don't get too excited," Cloud Haze responded, rolling his eyes. "Yesterday night, me and my squad were taken, alongside the Lunar Guard, on an expedition to the Everfree-"

"You and your what!?" Forest Flier suddenly cut him, shputing so loudly it sent shivers down Cloud Haze's spine. The earth pony turned to Bright Flower, practically bumping into his face. "You got a Guard in here!? Are you out of your mind, moron!? Why would you alert the government!?"

Bright Flower recoiled a bit, as he stuttered with an answer. "I-I... He..."

"Relax," Cloud Haze chimmed in, trying to calm the confusing situation. "I got fired. Like, gotten rid of. Just a few hours ago."

Forest Flier immediately turned his head. "So you're not Royal anymore?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, pretty... pretty much."

"Absolutely?"

"Absolutely."

"Then you're good with me!" Forest Flier suddenly shouted as he jerked forward, enveloping Cloud Haze in a brief hug. "Anypony shunned by those... those lying bastards must be trustworthy! You heard that, Majestic? This guy's an outcast!" the earth pony asked, turning to the stoic mare still resting on one of the couches.

The pegasus blinked a few times before making an answer. "I did," Majestic Will replied simply as she maintained her stoic pokerface, with the most incredibly stunning voice Cloud Haze had ever heard; absolutely beautiful, but at the same time weirdly unsettling... unfitting. Somehow, unfitting.

"That you did!" laughed meanwhile Forest Flier as he turned back to the former guard. "Say, what did they fire you for? Why? Were you too good for their standards?"

"I... well, I... I knew too much," attempted Cloud Haze, deducing this would likely please the three the most.

"Ah," nodded Forest Flier understandingly. "Of course. They do things like that, you see. There were many like you, who gained just a little too much information. Like that one person who learned first-hoof that the whole coup against Discord a millennium ago was actually a scheme by him and the sisters to keep Equestria stable but remain in power! Or the commander whom had Luna confessed to that the Sombra thing was in fact a Royal plan to subjugate the crystal ponies under a puppet regime, but it backfired. And was it not for griffon masons, he may not have been sealed away in the first place. I'm sure you've heard about that one? It was quite loud when it got out!" the earth pony lectured quickly, excited yet suspicious at the same time.

Cloud Haze raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I... did, I mean... what?" he stuttered, careful not to say something stupid. Instead of Forest Flier, Bright Flower now took the conversation over.

"What he said!" he exclaimed. "Granted, none of these guys was ever seen... but we've got proof! Irrefutable proof, somewhere in here, actually... and besides that, the fact all these ponies are nowhere to be found is a proof in and of itself! A proof that our government did something horrible to them all!" Bright Flower continued, energetically waving his front left hoof in the air as he spoke.

Cloud Haze bit his lip in hesitation. "Okay, uhh... sure, I guess."

"How did they not wipe your memory, thought?" chimmed in Forest Flier, tilting his head.

"I... have no idea. Maybe I just... got lucky?"

"Right, now come on, continue!" Bright Flower ushered Cloud Haze with a wild smile, everything else suddenly forgotten. Cloud Haze left out another sigh of resignation.

"Okay, so, we were taken to the Everfree, to some weird meadow, and there was this... how should I put this... a creature... bipedal, I think... all black, somehow... irregular... blending with the surroundings and even itself... but strangely meterial as well, unlike a spirit or phantom, no... a living being, like all of us, but still supernatural... maybe... I don't know how to put this..." Cloud Haze explained, once again finding it almost pleasant once he already began; perhaps someone to genuinely listen in these difficult times was what he had needed?

"Tell them about the box!" said Bright Flower from the side. Cloud Haze looked at him in confusion.

"What?... oh, right, the machine... you see, there was this weird machine, which looked quite advance and was casting some type of magical rays... and... and I attacked the creature when it threatened the Princesses, and then our guys restrained me, they talked with the being and took it with them... and..." Cloud Haze trailed off as he noticed none of the three was paying any attention anymore, instead locking their gazes with each other.

"See...?" whispered Bright Flower after a while. "They're coming! They're still coming! He saw it, just yesterday! It hasn't stopped! Of course it wouldn't stop!" he continued, rising his voice with every spoken word.

"Of course," agreed Forest Flier as a bright glimmer appeared in his eyes to accompany one already present in Bright Flower's.

Cloud Haze meanwhile, remained dumbfounded. "What hasn't stopped? Who? What do you mean?" he asked in confusion, inwardly a little tired of constantly waiting for at least some meaningful answer.

"Okay, good find, Bright Flower, I give you that, after all!" Forest Flier said, still ignoring the unicorn's topic, before turning to the former guard. "You'll see, we'll tell you! You don't know how big, how important this is, you! Take a sit and listen... welcome to the Lair," the earth pony encouraged, sending Cloud Haze what he could sware was a brief, smug smile.

"Yes!" quickly added Bright Flower from the left, still with immeasurable excitement as he dashed to Cloud Haze's side once again. "Welcome... to the Keepers of the Knowledge's Lair!"

Dimension 000-000-001a "Oh-One"

Sazana, Ckarflox system, Defense Line Epsilon; more precise location [UNKNOWN] - roughly 80 klicks north-west of Devon One-Two's dropsite.

Capital Universal Time (CUT) - June 18th, 6193; 0851 hours
Local Operational Time - 0959 hours, day cycle 214/601

59th day of the Defense of Sazana
7th day of the counteroffensive

Four days after deployment.

"Admiral, The Core has relayed its answers."

"So it has. What do they say?"

"We're going in."

"I... Roger. Establish a link with Master General Lopez, have him prepare further landings across the 56th parallel. We need to hurry, lest we lose dominance in the upper atmosphere..."

"But sir, we still haven't breached the lower perimeter, we have no idea if-"

"I know we may not even control any beachheads, but it seems it's worth the risk. You know how Absolute Priority works, my friend. We don't argue with The Core..."

Clouds of dust lifted off the hot, desert streets of Sazana as the remnants of Devon Team One traversed its unending metropolises, each passed square and alley the same, every cleared house flat-roofed, low with five stories at the most.

The team had decided to head north-west in hopes of finding any scattered Allied forces along the way to the - likely - big cluster of strategic objectives - so far, to no avail. With every kilometer travelled, more and more buildings checked and marked, hope persisted however, even if the whole sector seemed to be nothing more than a ghost town - after fifteen hours, the men had been able to intercept only two friendly transmissions, each muffled beyond comprehension and cutting off after mere minutes. The Swarm similarly was barely ever seen, with just a couple patrols encountered along the entire way.

Noone however would've guessed, looking at the broad, sand-covered Alpha Centauri Victory Square and the very narrow, intersecting it Brusilov Alley, that this would be exactly when the persisting sameness would finally end.

As soon as the team entered the open space, keeping close to the walls for maximum safety, the few lights still on vanished in unison.

Then more, behind them.

Down the alley.

Then further.

And further.

And further, until no glow was visible anywhere at all. The horizon drowned in darkness, only the dim sunlight left to illuminate it.

"Continental Blackout," Jonathan declared, cursing quietly.

Staying low, Jasvant sent him a quick glance. "Ours? Or theirs?"

"Hell if I know, unless the comms come back."

"Alright, fair enough," Jasvant nodded to himself. "One-Five, see that house on one o'clock? If I get it right, it only has one exit. We two move in and clear it. One-Four, guard the door, I'll join you when we're done. One-Five, you get on the rooftop and see what you can... clear?"

"Clear!"

"Clear as hell."

"Alright. On me," Jasvant called, pointing at their target.

As quietly as possible, the team neared the sole sandstone doorframe. The lack of any windows caused little problems, as a single flashbang proved more than enough to safely enter the bungalow. Once inside, Jonathan and Jasvant quickly checked the only two rooms, before splitting up according to the plan. Barely did Jasvant reach the doorframe however as the sniper's voice resonated over the comms.

"I think you two should freaking see this," he said gravely.

Exchanging a quiet look with Werner, Jasvant answered. "Uhh... okay? What do you have?"

"Transmitting visual."

A small, rectangular display lit up on the soldier's HUD, and after a second of loading, the view materialized.

Down from the team's position, a huge valley stretched out to the horizon, its bottom covered in an unending net of small bungalows, just like everything else on this part of the planet. Far ahead, at least a few dozen kilometers, a giant, greenish cloud floated low above the ground, slowly shifting west.

"Holy shit..." whispered Jasvant.

"A goddamn poison gas. Was wondering why we haven't seen it yet," replied Jonathan as his visor zoomed in on the area in question.

"Yeah, I know, no kidding... but once again: ours, or theirs?"

"Well, whaddya know, I might just have an answer for that," Jonathan declared, focusing the binocular-like view on a location just ahead of the green cloud's current position. Around it, slowly but surely, another blur, this time all grey, became afloat, standing up to its poisonous kin one meter at a time. "Seems we're countering. A nanobot swarm."

Jasvant's eyes involuntarily widened briefly. "So, wait... allies?"

"Looks like it."

"Orders?" chimmed in Werner from the side. Jasvant hesitated.

"I... Alright, we're coming in. The most effective way to provide support would be to link up, so we need to circle the entire area. Stay double frosty, we don't know the situation, but our guys must be taking a heavy beating if they still haven't boosted any comm arrays."

"Aye, but they're deploying bots. A chance of effective resistance if they prevail, which they may," noted Werner.

Jasvant nodded. "My thoughts exactly. Alright, on me; One-Four, get down here ASAP," he ordered, before being abruptly cut off.

"Negative," answered Jonathan. Before he could be interrupted, the sniper focused his gaze on the skies above. "Take a look at that. Seems someone already got the idea."

On Jona's visual, just above the lethal poison, a few streaks broke throught the concentrated clouds, some at sharp angles, others more gently, hoping for a stable approach.

"They're... they're landing? We control nothing, whoever gave the order must be almost as incompetent as me," Jasvant exclaimed over the comms

"They don't know a thing," added Werner, shaking his head. "Ayay, the party's about to get massacred."

"Right on cue," Jonathan said as he focused the view on the descending pods and dropships. From the ground, a few streaks of light raced upwards, competing for a clean hit, until most ultimately made their marks. The Swarm's anti-air was online, and firing like there was no tomorrow. "If the comms are down planetwide, the fuckers must be jamming from low atmo. It's a miracle these here people even made it through that. Unless..."

The sinper didn't get to finish though, as several, bright glowing objects broke through the clouds, chasing the first wave of deployments.

Several fiery, burning pieces of debris.

"Okay, well, yeah, there's no 'unless'. They've already gotten shredded," chimmed in Jasvant, cutting all speculation off.

Meanwhile, Werner focused his gaze on the descending army. Something was not right at all. "Look closer. Just a few pieces of debris. Much more made it through," he eventually said looking down at the team's leader, menacingly due to the trooper's towering posture.

Jasvant glanced back at the transmitted visual, before breaking the silence once again. "Yeah, well, it's Abolute Strategic up there, after all. Something caused The Core to make such a decision."

"Man, maybe the blockade isn't as strong as we thought. Hell, maybe comms will even freakin' come back," Jonathan forced a chuckle. "Alright, coming down to you, doesn't seem to be a way to move through the roofs anyway. Stand by."

Before he could move a muscle however, a sharp answer came. "Negative!" ordered Jasvant, quickly relaying data from his personal drone currently hovering invisible overhead. The readings left no doubt - a large Swarm host was approaching.

Approaching rapidly.

And with heavy armor as well.

If the team was to take up a fight, they were already trapped between the hostiles and a steep slide. Wasting no time, Jonathan changed his position to face the new threat, as Jasvant gave out his orders. "One-Four, activate Intelligent Patterns; we're going inside, find a dark corner. One-Five, stay where you are; keep an eye out, but do not engage, repeat: do not engage. We're gonna let them pass, must be reinforcements for that brawl down there. Everyone, cool your suits down, thermo invis."

"Roger One-Prime, got you covered," responded Jonathan, smirking. Werner in turn simply nodded.

"Roger."

The team took their planned positions, blending in with the dark, yellowish walls. Thermal signatures obscured by cooling systems, the RSU were practically impossible to notice.

And so, time went by, minute by minute.

"I've got visual on the enemy. Passing by point two clicks north-west," reported Jonathan after a significant while.

Jasvant nodded to himself. "Roger, continue."

Another minute. And another.

"Enemy out of sight. Recommend caution... and patience. Readings still far from accurate," the sniper eventually stated. Jasvant let out a held breath.

Only for a small fraction of a second, though.

"Uhh... One-Five, I'm reading new contacts, ten o'clock, Swarm signatures. I need you to confirm, over," Jasvant requested perplexed as his marine helmet suddenly bristled with new data, glancing at Werner who only offered the trooper a shrug.

It wasn't long before Jonathan answered. "Okay, yeah, I see them, moving in inbetween the houses from... what the...," the sniper stuttered briefly. "Prep for combat, they're going straight at us, motherfuckers!" he eventually shouted, quickly checking his rifle.

"What? How!?" asked Jasvant as he ran towards the well-defensible doorframe.

"Hell if I know, dammit!" Jonathan answered as he fired the opening round, slicing the head clean off the first hostile who dared enter the Square's open space. Immediately though, he was forced to cower as simultaneous hails of bullets zoomed on his position from a multitude of points all around the plaza, curving mid-flight to hit their target. "They have our signatures!" shouted Jonathan through clenched teeth from behind the short wall. "Full camo, still knew where the fuck I was from the goddamn start!"

As soon as he had finished, one of the rounds hit his small cover, exploding upon impact. In an instant, the whole thing was no more, and Jonathan was left with nowhere to hide. "No cover, they've pinned us down! Give me suppresive, I'm coming downstairs. We need to get the hell out of this house!"

"Agreed!" shouted Jasvant. "Smoke out!"

One smoke cover, then a hail of bullets, and like so, it was now the Swarm who was on the defensive. The team, already regrouped, used the opportunity to try and dash out of their positions, hoping to, through shock and awe, break through the enemy siege - that is, they would try to, was it not for another explosive which brought the house's entire front wall down, crushing Jasvant and exposing the other two to a whole series of clean hits, absolutely draining their armors' nanobot populations before they could retreat to the safer rooftop. From there, another hail of bullets dropped down several of the more cocky Swarm troopers who had already ventures into the middle of the Square, causing the others to halt their advance and allowing Jasvant to push the collapsed wall off and free himself.

Hostile positions, however, were still far superior. Every time one of the three peeked out to take a shot, a new, before unseen Swarm trooper would pin him down from somewhere around, no matter the efforts undertaken to prevent that.

In the face of such odds, after half an hour of fierce firefight, the team was forced to make a choice: either jump down the valley hoping for personal shields to hold and save their lives, or stay here and die, thus further crippling Allied resources.

Abolute Strategic Priority dictated to always take the route which suplemented the overall war effort best. Usually, it was somewhat possible to determine even on micro level due to the abundance of data regarding virtually everything provided by the various satellites and cooridnating AIs.

Now, though? There was none of that.

If they survived the jump, their further efforts would have a sufficient probability of causing much more harm to the Swarm than they would cause staying here.
But if they didn't? Killing a few more advancing hostiles before demise would obviously create more substantial damage, than... well, nothing.

Luckily however, soon enough another series of explosive bullets hit the house, sparing the three the difficult choice as the entire construction rapidly collapsed, bringing the team down with itself.

Jasvant blinked again and again as his head kept slamming against the rocky floor under the onslaught of bigger or smaller parts of the collapsed walls. The faintest cracking sound alerted the soldier that his replacement helmet had, at last, given in - a fact only confirmed by the escaping air, clearly meaning depressurization, and thus unsealing.

Fully opening his eyes, Jasvant discovered, that - despite being damaged beyond belief and displaying no HUD at all anymore - the temporary faceplate had actually almost fully held, sparing the soldier the more annoying injuries.

Unfortunately however, that was about it when it came to good news.

All around him, Jasvant could hear stones rustling and falling, but any more extensive movement from his team was beyond recognition; for now, he had to assume the worst.

Adding to that, booming pawsteps from the plaza and elongated shadows moving ever closer to his position didn't leave a doubt.
Jasvant tried to free his hands, but to no avail - it must've been an entire building collapsed just on him. The trooper pulled again and again, limiting his movements not to attract too much attention, each time more successfully, each time just a tad bit closer to triumph.

Eventually, as the shadows were already but a few meters from Jasvant, one small shift made his left arm free, dropping the seas of debris in its former place. A single glance was enough to see that the holes and gaps created in the soldier's armor back during the drop were now all but obscured, and even his hands ran utterly crimson with blood.

For Jasvant, however... he needed no more.

A quick gesture later, and the soldier was already completely free, with the use of all available strength. Like an antelope, Jasvant sprung up, grabbing a small handgun lying right next to his position, and aimed at the head of the nearest Swarm soldier - one of only two nearby and paying any attention to him at all.

Jasvant smiled under his breath.
Drop the two down, and running away may not even be that unreal.
Not thinking much, the trooper pulled the trigger. An echoing boom resonated through the valley.

Jasvant's head hit the sharp rocks once again, almost knocking him out cold. The faceplate still somewhat held, but a large cavity on the side signaled everyone that this piece of equipment was practically no more. Through the thin streaks of blood, Jasvant saw a large, towering biped materialise right in the center of his view, lifting in its hand a small, brownish pistol, wired up, like all other equipment, to its yellow-grey vest.
Overgrown, thick skin, abundance of supporting limbs and irregular facial features were enough to recognise it as one of the Swarm, but its enormous size and generally sturdier look gave reasons to doubt that. Jasvant had seen his fair share of the enemies during his decades of service, none of them however came even close to this.
The Swarm was known for its apparent love of creating new genetic versions of themselves, at least for military deployment, none of them however, no matter how extensively changed, affected the individual's appearance; they had simply been too... discreet.
Now, in turn, it wasn't the case at all.

Nothing in the world however could've prepared Jasvant for what was to come.
For right there, the towering, gigantic alien in front of him, grinning wildly, slowly lowered the gun it held in its hand, pointing it straight at Jasvant's faceplate.

Then, just then, the towering giant spoke to him.

"Good play, human."

Dimension [YET UNCATALOGUED]

Equis, Equis system [NOTICE: TEMPORARY DESIGNATION]; more precise location - Canterlot, Kingdom of Equestria

Capital Universal Time (CUT) - June 19th, 6193; 1745 hours
Local Operational Time - 1302 hours, day cycle 174/362

Five days after 'deployment'.

Four days after initial 'talks'.

"So, okay, I'm putting the safety off. Obviously, be very careful," Stanley advised, demonstrating the Lunar monarch the workings of advanced firearms. Around him, the Canterlot Castle's training grounds shone empty, only those few guards aware of Stanley's existence allowed in - as per the Princess' personal decree.

"We... think we'll manage," Luna replied after a chuckle, sitting next to the trooper's own position

Stanley glanced at her with an unimpressed look. "Yeah, well, I'm dead if something happens to you, so I won't take chances."

Luna raised an eyebrow, before rolling her eyes and standing up, ready to oblige. "Where shall we watch from, then?" she asked with a little sarcastic undertone.

Stanley sighed. "Just... move a few steps back, so that I can say I ensured safety measures. Clear?"

"'Okay'," Luna replied, sitting in the exact same spot as before. Stanley rolled his eyes once again.

"Oh, come on, at least move a bit," he pleaded, shaking his head. "Selina can check the point then and we're good to go."

"You know the whole thing's going to Command anyway, right?" a fimiliar AI voice immediately responded, accompanied by a deep chuckle.

...a deep chuckle to make the whole thing seem like a joke. Stanley however knew it was none. Within a split second, he switched his speakers to interior. "Good relations, impressions. Can shoot. No danger. Alpha Papa," Stanley spat his explanation out like a machine gun, before just as quickly setting back to exterior speakers, to give the 'public' answer Luna would actually hear.

"That's why I'm keeping to regulations. Didn't you hear?" he asked Selina loudly without a tinge of seriousness in his voice.
Stanley might've gotten along very well with the Lunar diarch over the course of the last week, entering into pretty much friendly terms with the Princess, but that didn't matter in the slightest, as orders overrode everything anyway.

"Sure I did. Bravo for that. I'll remember to recommend a promotion," Selina played along, keeping her half-serious demeanor.

"Not sure I want it," Stanley murmured, before once more turning to Luna. "So, deal? Move a meter and I'll stop being annoying. Everybody happy."

"Hah! Perhaps we shall bargain more with thine race, if such is the nature of thine deals," the Princess said, standing up again. "For once we can say it fortunate our sister tends not to join us."

"Maybe," replied Stanley, still rather unwilling to risk insulting any of the monarchs, given the stakes at place. It was true, though; ever since the original talks, state-running duties like the Day Court largely retracted Celestia from interacting with the 'alien', leaving only one Princess to spend entire days with.
"Alright, get ready for the show," Stanley quickly moved on to change the topic, resting his head on his rifle's barrel, thoughts of wasting amunition purged in a blink given the importance of the current mission. All the human's nerves were now focused on the other side of the EUP's training range.

The trooper didn't remain like that for long however, nor did he push the trigger, as just one longer evaluation proved enough to notice a serious problem. "I need another target," Stanley turned around. "Hay bales and planks aren't gonna hold. We need something stronger."

Luna tilted her with curiosity, but said nothing as she ordered the few surrounding guards to swap the practice targets. Not long later, the new substitutes were already in place - large bricks and full cargo crates.

Stanley sighed quietly. "Alright, that'll do. Let's hope so, at least," he chuckled, resting his head back on the the gun. He quickly retracted it though, deciding a bit more explanations should follow. "Okay, so this gun is an AR-v441, which stands for 'All-purpose rifle, version 441st' - long story short, a state-of-the-art weapon. You can say you're lucky to see pecisely this model in action. It never fails, but production's not the fastest, so it's far from common. I'm setting the thing to caliber .223, fully automatic," Stanley explained, adjusting a few, barely visible switches. "It's basically the standard mode I use, to... well, just the mode I use most frequently. Ready?"

"I believe so."

"Great. Here we go, then," Stanley replied, at last preparing for the demonstration poper. He carefully pointed his rifle at the exact centre of the makeshift target, before exclaiming once again in order to allow the guards around to observe as well. "HERE WE GO! STAY BACK, COVER YOUR EARS! By the way, that concerns you as well, Your Highness," the trooper added, taking a glance at Luna, who offered another eye roll in response.

"Tis' alright, simply continue," the Princess said slowly, huffing at the human jokingly.

Stanley shook his head. "However you want it."

The soldier took one more aim, before gently but firmly pressing the trigger. The resulting bang sent shivers down Luna's spine, but not as much as the sudden and unexpected collapse of the whole hastily assembled construction, all but shattered by the impact of just a single bullet, which left loads of ash floating above the far side of the range. A few guards galloped racing towards the target in an effort to prevent the remnants from falling, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Stanley lifted his rifle upwards, taking a long, humorous sigh. "Yeah, as I feared," he chuckled.

Shaken by the caused destruction, Luna blinked a few times before answering the trooper. "Tis'... does you fight like so? Normally?"

"Yeah, although standard ammunition explodes upon hitting a live target," Stanley clarified. "Also, that's just one mode. There are a multitude of calibers I can utilise, and a few more hefty additions, like a grenade launcher and so. Remember the tanks Selina's showed you?"

"I do," replied Luna as she recalled the mighty war machines charging across light pictures hung in the air by the human during one of their many, many previous talks.

"Okay, so larger ARs can even imitate their automatic defences, - you know, those rapid firearms facing sideways you mistook for common cannons."

"Ugh, yes..."

"This one here is too small, but just to give you an idea of their nature."

"That is impressive. I wish we possessed such weapons in the Guards, that the symbol of Harmony itself would... pose just a tad more inspiration, you know?" Luna confided, stopping herself just in time not to reveal her real opinion regarding the EUP, but not in time fool the guards themselves, who promptly sent her short but easy-to-read glances.

Trust or not, this was still a diplomatic mission, and with an empire which from what Luna had heard could very well already have all the aces up its sleeves. There was no need at all to sink even deeper, despite Stanley himself not looking like a front guard of something bad, even considering the long and grueling war the aliens were apparently engaged in. If everything went well, maybe the ponies would even be spared the cons of extraequusian contact, so feared by the Princesses at the very beginning...?

In the meantime, Stanley let out a huff. "Is that your common stance in the diarchy?" he said with a small smile.

Taken aback, Luna instinctively broke eye contact with trooper. "We... I..."

"No worries, leave it out. I was being half-serious," Stanley reassured, turning to face the range once again. On it, the guards were just finishing the substitution of the destroyed target with a new one - assembled the exact same way, and so bound to break again.

As Stanley sighed exaggerately, Luna covertly released a breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding.
Close to another mistake... at least not a big one this time - the fact Celestia wasn't fond of a Guard reform must've been obvious by this point. Luna in turn, had a slightly different approach to the ideas of peace and harmony - ideas she thoroughly and honestly shared, just not in a va bank style that basically shied away from any backups.
An approach which quite frequently clashed with the reintegration efforts Luna had been undertaking for the past four years, causing more than one internal conflict.

Meanwhile though, Stanley continued, presenting his next idea. "Okay, now, I'm going to show you one more thing. Something I've... well, left out until now, a surprise if you want," he declared as a small, green light flared up on the AR-v441 for the brieft moment. "Ready?"

Curious, Luna nodded, moving away from Stanley's side once again. Surprisingly though, the soldier did not even attempt to aim, instead leaning the gun sideways in a way it basically faced the Castle's outer walls.

"STAY BACK, COVER YOUR EARS!" Stanley's voice bounced over the courtyard once again, before getting eclipsed by a short bang.

Luna's heart skipped a beat as the 'destructive' weapon fired at an open area, wreaking havoc on the...

...on the makeshift target?

Confused, Luna glanced between the collapsed bricks - this time abandoned by the resigned guardponies - and Stanley, who simply grinned at her ear to ear.

After a few seconds of failed attempts at comprehension, Luna only managed to respond with a question. "Wha... what just happened?"

Stanley let out a deep chuckle. "Trajectory support," he explained, lowering his gun as he turned to fully face the Princess. "Actually, it was double important now that you stayed back, for the gun not to lock on you - ugh, for the record, yes, that's a joke, the computer's got regulations to prevent friendly fire. Plus, Selina's far more than enough to ensure safety in that regard. As for the system itself, the bullets can adjust their trajectory mid-air to hit their target... so, yeah, they turn. Talk about precision," the soldier finished with another chuckle.

Luna, however, had long ceased to listen. Instead the Princess was, whether she liked it or not, focusing on something else: Stanley's turn was enough to expose a dark burnmark adorning his armor just short of the human's right shoulder.

Adorning, or perhaps disfiguring.

This burnmark, the second one Stanley got in just his first week in Equestria, momentarily reminded Luna of the less optimistic implications for the future, bringing the Princess out of her current bliss. With the implications however, came a sharp string of memories.

Two days earlier
Three days after 'deployment'

Accompanied by their alien visitor, Luna strolled the warm alleys of Canterlot's Royal Gardens, bathed in the bright sunlight. Just like the previous day, it had befallen solely on her to accompany the guest - whose name she had by now remembered was, quite exotically, Stanley Martin. Luna did not mind, though, as it was always an opportunity to escape the Royal Halls, avoiding being called in to accompany her sister in her Court, or something equally fruitless.

Not to bash Celestia, of course; her intentions were surely noble, and any help with changing Luna's image was a gift beyond appreciated - too bad these joint sessions usually boiled down to ponies virtually stabbing Luna with their sight alone, not even speaking about... other ways they'd demonstrate their opinions.

No, that Luna would've given much to avoid any time, thank you very much. Especially if she didn't really have to give anything at all, instead just getting to spend fifteen hours a day with an alien ambassador, which only gave her more time to inquire.

Not inquire about Stanley's oh-so-exotic realities though, no, no. Not directly at least, not usually.

"So, wait, why did thou not try to face them directly, if so? It seems like the odds were entirely in your favor," Luna asked in the middle of one of the stories Stanley would share when they decided enough plain explanations was enough - whether the human's or sometimes, more reliably, Selina's.

Stanley smiled under his breath, but kept facing forward anyway. "Two words: armored warfare. Their tanks would have shredded us with their sheer numbers, and what were we to do? We didn't even control the skies anymore," he elaborated, optimistically enough for Luna to conclude the whole battle ended in human favor. Something about the explanation however sounded rather weird.

"'Tanks?'" Luna asked, tilting her head. "Thou mean their... liquid... containers... posed a threat?"

Stanley remained idle for a short while, before bursting into chuckle. "That's what you get if you translate literally, ha, I should've predicted that! No, tanks are what we call heavy armored vehicles, which... you know what? I'll show you a... an image later, my projector should do fine."

"As you say. I'd like that very much," Luna agreed, before prompting Stanley to continue. "So... what did you do, then?"

"Nothing," Stanley sighed. "With RSU Battallions in the lead, we attempted to encircle the advancing force, forcing them to withdraw and slowing down the offensive, but without air we could do little. Our salients got cut off, and like that we had no choice but to retreat. Me and a couple hundred other elites sneaked back behind the main line - the others, I don't know. It would be a few months before general Khine reclaimed the area in our new offensive. The Hezel Campaign got pushed back once more."

Luna nodded gravely, realizing the beeming optimism must've simply been a sign of nothing more than acceptance. "That's... unfortunate. But interesting," she said. "Did thou win the Campaign, at least?"

"After a few more decades, yes."

"That sounds tragically long. Perhaps thou lacked power, or did thine strategies fail you?" Luna drilled the topic more and more, if a little instinctively.

The day before - the naturally more awkward one as Luna's first full day spent with the trooper - the Princess' main aim was simply to learn how Stanley operated like she supposed he must've. How he kept going without a tinge of remorse, despite being commanded without respect for anything, told who to be according to someone else's expectations, his true self never appreciated, instead forced to change in a pre-existing image of... somepony else. Not appreciated besides a single nod after presumably immense, even successful struggles.

In short, how she could operate herself...?

In their long talks however, Luna quickly learned getting deeper to that precise information would not be easy; Stanley simply never seemed to acknowledge something could be wrong, even if suggested in the slightest, least invasive way.

In the meantime however, Luna discovered a different tendency - almost every conversation focused less on their respective realities and more on life itself drifted towards the military, towards combat, towards war - and conversations like so there were many as the Princess desperately tried to achieve her initial goal.

Every direction the talk took, it turned to battle.

Every turn it tried to escape, blazing guns followed. Stanley made sure they did. Luna didn't like to admit it, but in casual talks... he failed at other things. He redirected every topic to combat, even if subconsciously.

And so, cannons and shots followed everywhere. Battles, campaigns and wars.

At first, Luna was taken aback by this tendency, as everything her entire reconciliation efforts focused on clashed with its very core, but she had chosen to tolerate it and go along both out of respect, caution and her own, deep desire to learn more about Stanley's fate, so tragically similar to her own.

In time, though, she stopped minding. War was brutal and one of the biggest evils there were, there was no doubt about this, and although Stanley's monologues didn't reflect that at all, they did uncover something else.

Battles in the stars and between steel behemoths on the seas and oceans. Compact flying machines carrying soldiers armed with weapons delivering destruction from kilometers away. Great contraptions supporting the troops, who charged alongside their own reflections, only made out of metel and plastic.

Then campaigns, battle expeditions waged not from a city to city, but between stars - her stars - themselves. Campaigns in which groups of vessels sailed in the howling void above, before launching smaller machines, which, built around a non-magical being, allowed flight.

Most of all however, the conversations revealed another plane of war - one not in the face of violence and bloodshed, but above it.
A plane of strategies and tactics, vicious planning, cunning tricks and impossibly compicated ways of outsmarting the opponent.
The strategic field, which in time fascinated Luna thoroughly. It was like chess, just with much, much more rules and possibilities, and the board virtually infinite.

And with everything Stanley said, although it was always vague, Luna couldn't help but feel she knew a way to improve what he described. When presented with it, Stanley would explain why it couldn't work, and so on, and so forth, as the Lunar Princess strived to learn more about this fascinating world of mind games unlike anything else, this world of plotting and scheming. Although she still knew almost nothing about human realities, not even many 'most basic foundations' of their combat, as Stanley had once put it, the thoughts of infinite possibilities were omnipresent. With so 'little known', even the danger a race (or races) so advanced in warfare could likely bring to Equestria didn't seem that bad at all... at least not yet, as the prospects always did always dance at the back of Luna's head.

Among the sophisticated, imaginary 'battleplans', the other side of war was easy to forget. The one filled to the brim with a sea of blood, with ashes and ruins, with unending screams of suffering. This side - no, this side was barely visible.

Barely, but still visible indeed.

The conflict between the shiver-sending pain and a fascinating realm of wisdom and cunning, inscredible military mind games made Luna scold herself more than once, but while ideas clashed at the back of her head, Luna talked more, and more, and more, as the blood slowly but surely drifted away.

Strategy and tactics themselves weren't violent in their idea, right? What accompanied them was, and that ponykind shall never descend into... but the concept of strategy itself was not bad to be interested in... was it?

In time, after more futile attempts, Luna decided she could afford to take a break in her quest to get to know how Stanley operated while, just like her, so tragically shunned - there would be at least a couple more days, each with at least a dozen hours of talks, so there was time - especially as the Princess eventually realized the human slept no more than four hours every night, adding another time window of opportunity and promting Luna to, regretfully, abandon her Dreamscape watch duty the first night she found out.

There was time. She would manage. For now, there was no need to flood the soldier in similar questions, in one form or another.

Shaking her head and casting overflown thoughts away, Luna chuckled. "I... Does thou know, we... I never dared to think affairs violent like so might interest me... anymore, at least."

Well, exclusively anymore, to tell the truth. We shall never agree with the entirety of modern Equestria...

"Well, whaddya know," chuckled Stanley as, turning right by a lush fence, the two entered a new section of the gardens. "I got destined for it, so cannot say ever really took a thought."

Again... why does thou accept thine forced-on nature so openly? Ugh, we shall possess the answer.

For a while, silence took over, as Stanley and Luna strolled down the alley, passing by a small plaza guarded by a couple guards at each side.

A silence broken, curiously, by none of the two.

A silence broken by pattering hoofsteps of a EUP.

Instinctively turning around, Luna discovered that a lone Solar Guard was busy galloping as hard as he could towards the center of the small plaza.

Towards herself.

First thoughts of a sudden report overriden by the confused, terrified expressions of the rogue's companions, Luna could only stand in shock and terror as the guard impaled his hooves into the sand, momentarily sending clouds of ash airborne, and lit his horn at lightning speed.

"Doubum ereti'st helm!"

'The body belongs to the Prime'

Luna's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the Darknight Cult's accursed phrase. Overcoming her growing confusion, the Princess quickly cast a defensive spell, however it was already too late.

Or it would've been too late, was it not for a black shape charging, out of nowhere, right in front of Luna.

And the concentrated magic beam lit the square aflame.

And the black shape, Stanley, was thrusted back, colliding with Luna and falling down with her, as his state-of-the-art armor absorbed the attack in its entirety...

"No!" a panicked shriek resonated through the gardens, as the rogue guard attempted to light his horn once again.

However there was no use anymore. Alive and thus back on her hooves in a split second, it was now Luna's time to strike. With clenched teeth, the Princess fired a beam of her own, propelling the infiltrator cultist all the way across the plaza - and making the remaining guards actually have to turn around, having already mostly made it to the attacker's initial position.

There was no need, though.

Barely stopping herself from firing another beam, this time concentrated and thus likely lethal, Luna petrified the guard, lifting him once again above the plaza's centre. Only continued, painful grunts made her loosen her grip.

Another incursion...

Meanwhile though, Luna could not stop herself from glancing at her human companion once every often. Recovered even quicker than Luna herself, he had mostly let the ponies do the work themselves as it became apparent they had everything under control.

That, however, was obviously not what bothered Luna, no...
Instead, the very beginning occupied her mind.
The very thought, that... quite abstractly... she might have not even been here right now, was it not... for...

Whatever she did, Luna could not cast the image away.

Why... why did he do this...?

Did he... did he...?

"Hey, are you there, L-... Your Highness?"

Luna shook her head, suddenly brought out of her memories. Glancing up, the Princess found Stanley's waiting look. She turned her head as quickly as she could, but not quickly enough to avoid giving her thoughts away.
Following Luna's gaze, Stanley quickly found the area of interest.

"Oh, this?" he asked rhetorically, pointing at the burnmark. "I... well..."

Stanley stuttered inwardly; what did Luna even expect him to say? Did she expect him to say anything at all?

Even in such a casual moment, this simply had to be taken into account. Maybe she was worried another attack would spoil further relations?

Well, worried she had no reason to be; nothing mattered for the relations, as this entire operation, this attempt to bring the hor-... ponies into the war was the Coalition's final gamble - but this, of course, Luna had no way of knowing.

Nevertheless, a third party attack wouldn't be a major obstacle anyway.

Unless the Republic needed an excuse for some reason.

Wow, I'm thinking these things so casually, straight-up... I definitely need reeducation after this is over. Just... don't make it too long, damnit...

The glancing hit obviously wasn't nice, and the damage it's done was... not pretty; unlike the first attack back on Stanley's dropsite, this one actually did break his personal shields, and damages it caused were... scary.

For a single strike, very scary.

At least Stanley had been lucky enough to shield Luna from the vicious attack, although he did already scold his reflexes for not reacting even sooner - still, it was a simple thought process.

Situation? Attack.
Assuming assassination.
Target - VIP.
Current mission? Ugh...

Two options.
Go in:
Die - possible success.
Live - success.
Stay idle:
Failure; VIP dead.

War lost.

It was trivial, like it should've been.
But back to the topic at hand... what to say? Well... 'go with your gut' it was, right?

"I... well... I've already told you it's nothing, don't worry," Stanley said, forcing a chuckle.

Luna sent back a weak smile. "It is not, but as you wish."

"It really is," the trooper replied holstering his rifle, having turned its safety on. "I was just going over the AR's other modes, but I think we're good for now. So... when do you plan to make it public? My existence, that is?" the soldier continued, trying to change the topic. Thankfully, Luna didn't seem to mind.

"Our sister had planned to set a conference in order tomorrow midday, however this may yet be subject to shifts. I-... likely we should not mention it, although I do not believe it to be a state secret that Ti-... ugh, 'our fellow diarch' was not particularly content with your acquintances' projected date of arrival."

Stanley smiled. "I wouldn't think to blame her. It's not much time to plan for an event, which... I, well... would imagine is going to be quite important."

"Very," Luna replied immediately. Stanley let out an unnoticeable huff. "And as our sister had stated before, it is true our subjects have a worrying tendency of... overreacting... certain occurances. Alright, most occurances, and so handling the affair appropriately is of highest priority. As to my knowledge however, preparations are already far underway, and the circle of initiates has grown whilst remaining possibly small," the Princess stated, before letting out a chuckle. "When our sister informed her student about what had transpired, we were almost forced to make a personal visit to stop her from coming at a moment's notice. That alone forced further steps to be more... discreet."

"O...kay? Why the student's importance?" asked Stanley, slowly walking away fron the training range. The motif of this 'personal student', or however else she was often called, had already appeared in conversations at least a few times.

"Twilight Sparkle... has her deeds, some more important than others, as it is. This matters not, however... she is..." Luna bit her tongue; should she say anything about the Elements? Omitting the topic would be hard, as it was in fact them which were the most principal cause for such a quick lift of the information ban Twilight had earlier been one of the subjects of, likely moreso even than the official Princess title.

Aside from the close relations with Celestia, that is, although to be fair, this was not without reason.

The Elements however were probably the most formidable force ponykind had at its disposal; their existence was public, sure, but...

"She is... she possesses certain... functions... it is more complicated," Luna eventually stuttered, deciding to keep the topic vague just in case; after all, ruling duties did of course overrule any relations or trust, however good they might've been.

Through his faceplate, Stanley could be seen raising an eyebrow. "Alright... I suppose that does it, then," he sighed, respecting Luna's visible will to drop the topic. "It... it looks you're mostly good, then. Good luck tomorrow. And to me," the human chuckled. "If I have to appear in person, well, don't expect anything better than plain report, the most public thing I've ever done. The most peace-focused public thing, at least..."

"Worry not, you shall do fine," replied Luna, joining in on the chuckle. "At present, we are only hoping thine associates would not arrive until after we are done."

"I understand. Can't say I share it, though: the sooner the Corps arrive, the better that means we're doing," Stanley joked. "Yeah, but you did the best you could, sometimes things will be left to chance... denying it is simply ineffective; instead you have to adapt the best you're able to."

The Princess offered Stanley a quiet nod, before joining the trooper on his way out of the training grounds. Crossing the inner hedges, the two soon reentered the more casual parts of the gardens comprising the barracks' courtyard.

"Thou knows... thou almost sounded akin to our sister... for a while," Luna told Stanley quietly, once most guards were left out of earshot.

The trooper turned his head in slight confusion. Before he could answer anything, however...

Without warning, a bright light from above obscured all view, while the majestic blue skies were ripped asunder. From all eye-corners, a flash like nothing ever before resonated, which even though gone in a split second, left its aura behind, obscuring sight for anyone.

Not wasting a moment, Luna glanced upwards, ready to take to the skies at once.

What she saw, however, petrified her.

There, at the center of the sunlit sky, a huge stain was plastered against the mighty azure, its shape or shade impossible to describe.

The inside - dark, black almost, or a little brown perhaps, but still lit up, as if on fire, and somehow bright like sun itself.

Not as bright however as the stain's very border, constantly shifting, barely albeit noticeably, once filling the entire view, and then shrinking to nothing, against - all the while very visible - nature, which said that the stain remained firmly in place.
The border, whenever it was, was bright beyond the brightness of the Sun. It was bright beyond understanding, beyond the very comprehension... and yet not blinding at all, not in the slightest.

Despite differences... akin to the Sun. Still akin.

Around the stain, even the azure sky itself was lit brighter than it should, a huge, mysterious aura covering much of it, alongside multiple shades and colours - all of which subtle, yet visible, contrasting which each other in a beautiful display.

The sky itself likewise fluctuated, its very existence, its very form locked in perpetual, small shifts.

"Y-Your Highness! T-t-there-..." a guard's voice acompanying a set of echoing hoofsteps came rumbling towards Luna, but stopped mid-sentece, seeing the Princess already gazing at the sky with worry, but amazed, as if in a trance.

Meanwhile though, the stain's inside momentarily blackened fully, purging its bright sheath. From there, a salient began forming, small, but sure, taking over more and more of the sky with every passing second.

It wasn't long however until Luna determined it was no salient - in fact, it wasn't part of the ominous stain at all.

It was something else, something equally black. Something glistering, now and then, with silver, grey, white, or even yellow sparks.

Suddenly, without any warning at all, when the 'salient' separated itself from the stain itself, the stain collapsed, confirming Luna's suspicions.

Collapsed.

It was no more.

Almost in an instant all the blackness, brightness, the sun-like border, the auras... all of these wonders retreated into nothingness, imploding into one another, the fabric of the sky itself shifting with them, until even it was returned its normal nature.

The sky was back.

Just adorned by a small, black shape.

Actually, more like a few shapes, their count hard to determine. As Luna folded her spread wings, those shapes too momentarily faded from view, and the sky was back to its normal self.

Completely, utterly back...

Shocked, Luna turned to Stanley with a confused frown. "What... what was that?" she inquired, before realising that the human - quite weirdly - remained staring at the sky with a small, unsure smile visible through his transparent faceplate.

"We're here."

EARTH / TERRA / SOLRIA - CAPITAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOL
TIME (CUT) - [UNKNOWN; IRRELEVANT]
[[FURTHER INFORMATION RESTRICTED]]

"Secretary of State... there are news. I'm sure however you're already familiar with them, sir."

"I don't make a habit of checking reports every minute of my life, my dear. There are other, more urgent matters to attend to. In the war, Intelligence is... quite a lacking ingredient... in our efforts. And one that needs much supervision, AI-superminds or not. So! What do you bring?"

"S-sir! We have an update on the Cyanosian Empire."

"If the bastards wasted our time and immense resources to simply hang up after-"

"Not to interrupt you, sir, but on the contrary. Talks have been scheduled. We believe more... proper contact is about to be, at last, reestablished."

"Huh! So an end to this weird confusion... good. I was losing hope in you, Communications. Oh, well - congratulate your boys, and hold the line hot. Tell them the Secretary of State for Intelligence will make arrangements to tap in. Await further updates."

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

Author's Note

I've told you more was coming! :rainbowdetermined2: :rainbowwild:

With this chapter however, we've now concluded Act II; stay tuned for the next one - or, more accurately, for Interval 2, along with another parts of the 'Index'! :scootangel:

Wash your hands, stay home, and, of course, stay pony, my friends! :twilightsmile:

Don't forget to rate and comment!

Interval 2 - Part 1, The Uncertain Borders of Diplomacy

"They say that deep inside their heads, they can still hear them sing, hear them talk, hear them scream. That they cannot continue like so, with ghosts haunting their dreams every passing day, spirits of those past a testament to actions undertaken.

With will and resolve, we shall strive to put an end to this tendency. With guilt, one does not fullfil their potential best, leaving a margin we cannot afford. Under this document, I hereby put forth a proposal to introduce a full Military Habits standing LAW on all military planets, with an aim of extending its boundaries countrywide as adequate time comes to be. With any guilt and morals, crucial efficiency is lost and left to chance itself. Through such law, we shall extinguish these redundant qualities for good."

~Intake from the first official proposal advocating full coversion of Republican emergency Military Habits Decree into the Military Habits Law; the so-called "Shaffraint Document" after its original author, Henry Shaffraint

ONE DAY EARLIER

Dimension [YET UNCATALOGUED]

Equis, Equis system [NOTICE: TEMPORARY DESIGNATION]; more precise location - Canterlot, Kingdom of Equestria

Capital Universal Time (CUT) - June 18th, 6193; 2114 hours
Local Operational Time - 1628 hours, day cycle 173/362

Four days after 'deployment'.

Three days after initial 'talks'.

Stanley stood alongside Luna in the dim corridors of Canterlot dungeons, making his way towards the one chamber that was their mutual destination.

Contrary to the hallways criss-crossing the Castle proper, its expansive basements were everyhing but bright, with obscure, ancient walls hosting only a few very primitive torches, which stood out even in comparison with other pony contraptions.
Spatial rooms and high ceilings were now a distant memory, and the lower the duo ventured, the more moisture could be felt in the air.

Luna and Stanley passed a few mysteriously labelled chambers, a couple Guard offices here and there, before turning left into what appeared to be a prison block, with only a few cells occupied. Later, a tightly sealed gate led them into a quite contrasting, sterile hallway with snow-white walls, where a couple ponies in lab coats passed the two by, more bothered by the appearance of Luna herself then a literal alien being; Stanley could only guess they'd been informed of his existence in advanced, although he had no way to be sure.

Leaving the short, white corridor, the duo took two turns right into an expasive staircase, leading them at least five floors down, each more dim and remote than the last.

Once on the proper level, only a short trek remained. A few hallways and turns, and suddenly, Luna stopped herself beside a weirdly ornate, brightly-coloured, yet clearly deteriorated door.

"We have arrived," the Princess announced, waiting for Stanley to join her. "Behind these door rests thine contraption."

"Your dungeons are bigger than I supposed. The platform below the city didn't look nearly large enough to fit those in," Stanley noted, jogging forward.

"We have revealed but an insignificant portion, either in scale or relevance itself," Luna answered with a chuckle. "The platform supports us not. We are, as of now, deep inside the mountainous peak."

"Hm? That, yes, that's a... a good engineering decision. Bravo," Stanley stuttered, hoping to save his face more in front of himself then the Princess herself. The sheer fact that the city's architecture had somehow been able to deceive his senses was an incredible feat - he had to give the ponies that.

"Going by thine own words, an 'engineering marvel', is that not accurate?" Luna asked rhetorically, before facing the giant - for the dungeon - door. Stepping back, she bowed her head and carefully inserted her long horn into a circular keyhole. Shortly, every crack in the gate glimmered indigo, and the pass laid open. Behind it, a mid-sized room stretched out, with a well recognizable, Republican drop pod.

Granted, Stanley already knew this location from Selina, whose connection to the vehicle remained strong. There was no need for the ponies to be aware, however.

The two stepped inside while the chamber's lamps lit up one after another following an indigo current traversing the room.

"There," said Luna, pointing at a smaller doorframe on the opposite wall. "That is where thine private staircase would emerge, though I know not whether you have used the shortcut yet or not. Thou had asked for access, and we have provided."

"Well, thank you. How would I even doubt?" replied Stanley with a tinge of irony.

"Ha-ha," Luna rolled her eyes, stone faced. Momentarily however, excitement overtook her face. "So... where doe-... where do I stand now?"

Stanley didn't answer. Instead, the human smiled wildly, and gestured at the Princess to follow him nearer the pod.

"I cannot see!"

"No wonder, the visor's blackened. Stand by," instructed Stanley, as his voice noticeably neared the waiting Princess. It wasn't long before Luna could feel the human's hand press against the side of her head, and soon, with one last click, the sense of sight returned as Stanley's naked face appeared up front, slightly taking Luna aback. "Keep calm," the soldier said, as he returned to finish the preparations by his drop pod. "The fix is only temporary though. You won't need to see, trust me."

"How will we not need to?" Luna asked, as she tilted her head perplexed. "Were you not supposed to 'show' us something?"

"Yeah, and because you're going to be watching that, you won't see your surroundings. Easy as that," Stanley claimed, pressing one of the many buttons somewhere in the interior of his pod. Lights over the entire machine blinked, and the soldier stood up, content. "You'll experience what we call a Simulation... kind of... there are many things called that way, as you can imagine, but this is what RSUs tend to go through while training, only in bases we have a lot more options and the thing is generally, well... more advanced. A lot more. Incomprehensibly even, but for a cinema substitute, a helmet's visor will suffice."

"How can we know you wish not to restrain us? You wish us no harm?"

Stanley made no reply. Instead, he firmly grasped his helmet, and with one quick yet smooth motion took it off of Luna's head. The Princess stuttered in surprise.

"W-what is your intent?" she eventually managed to ask.

"Decide for yourself," replied Stanley. "You're free to do what you want. I'm standing here, in your dungeons, likely surrounded by guards, and I'm giving you a choice. If you think I wouldn't accept a 'no', then go ahead and try. Isn't that a rather weird way to supplememt my vicious plans at 'harming' you, Your Highness?" Stanley sighed quietly. "You may not believe me, but as an official representative, I'd be screwed if I even tried to do something to you. So... what's the verdict?"

Luna tapped her chin in thought. She already knew she wanted to see the 'Simulation', and 'wanted to' was saying it rather lightly. The whole question about safety was mostly a random remark coming to the surface simply as a result of failed attempts at mirroring Celestia's way of thinking.
Luna had grown to trust Stanley to a decent degree over the last few days, and although it was obviously far too short a period for ultimate judgement, it was safe to say the Princess didn't feel endangered by him at all.

On the other hand, precisely that would be a potential assassin's goal... wouldn't it? Achieveing their target's trust?

There was no place to take chances when stakes were so high.
Despite obviously planning to agree for the endeavor, Luna realised all too well that she had to at least give the impressing of being a responsible ruler. Suddenly, a bright idea appeared in the Princess' head.

With a smile, Luna's horn flickered twice, and soon enough, accompanied by rumbling hoofsteps, two Royal Guards galloped inside the chamber. Stanley slowly raised an eyebrow.

Luna meanwhile already had everything planned. Not about to let an overrecting EUP ruin relations with humanity even further, she immediately lifted her front left hoof into the air, signaling the pair to stop.

"Outside," Luna commanded, not even glancing at the Solar Guards.

"B-but, Your-"

"We require no bodyguards. Remain where thou stand," the Princess cut the stallion off, before magically closing the ornate gate.

Technically speaking, it was a gamble. Only Luna and Celestia were able to open these doors, so the Guards had no way of entering regardless; Stanley however obviously couldn't possibly know that.
Nopony more inside in turn allowed for no disturbances during the demonstration itself.

"Alright!" Luna exclaimed with an almost sarcastic smile as she turned to Stanley, who slowly shook his head in amusement. "We are ready."

"Oh, I see. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to you, horses," the trooper replied with a chuckle of his own, sliding his heagear back onto Luna's head. "Okay, so, for starters, I can think of three things to display... but that may grow - as you said yourself, we have much time. Nevertheless, I think we'll begin with whatever I've already promised to demonstrate. Anything you'd change?"

"I cannot say this helmet is... most comfortable," Luna stated, scratching the gear's side with her hoof. Stanley let out a quiet huff.

"No wonder, it's designed for humans, specifically for me, to be more exact. It's nothing we cannot fix though," he explained, once again nearing the Princess. "Sela? You've got all the dimensions you need?"

"Sure do," the AI's voice resonated from the helmet, for the third time this hour taking Luna aback.

"Perfect," continued Stanley, ignoring the monarch's reaction. "Ready?"

"Affirmative."

"Roger, good," Stanley replied, pressing a small button on the back of the RSU helmet.

Instantly, the space for a muzzle expanded exponentially, while the visor neared Luna's face to the point of nearly touching it. Similarly, the Princess' ears were not clamped anymore, proudly stretching upwards instead.

"Better?"

"It is."

"Good," declared Stanley. "Now, I believe we're ready... There's one more thing before we begin, thought."

"That is?" asked Luna curiously.

"Well..." Stanley hesitated. "A Simulation isn't just the display itself... it's not like watching a play or something, alright? It's... more..."

"What does thou mean?"

"I... it's hard to describe it... it's like..." Stanley stuttered. "It's as if you entered the events you're watching... took part in them. Your entire body, everything you do, completely carries over to this simulated world. Now... back in the boot camp, whenever we were thrusted into a virtual training like this, we'd obviously be able to interact with the surroundings - you, in turn, will not. You'll be an immaterial observer in a world that's not really this world, but kind of still is... almost separated from your actual body, in a sense that you don't control it, yet in possession of another form that isn't really different at all... from your perspective... I'm not the-"

"We are familiar with the concept," Luna stated stone-faced, cutting the human off. From what she understood, this wouldn't be all that different from the dreamscape - just this time, she would be watching over the human world...'s', and not Equestria. "Shall we begin?"

Surprised, Stanley blinked a few times. "Wow. O...kay? That... that helps a lot, actually. Answering your question, however... no, we can't begin yet. That's the problem - because the Simulation engages all senses, just wearing a helmet technically isn't enough."

"What solutions transpire, then?"

"Normally, I'd have to inject you with a lot of different medicines to temporarily remove most feeling. You'd feel as if you were floating in a void."

Luna tilted her head, staring at Stanley with an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. The trooper returned a chuckle.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do that, bacause, well... one: you're a country leader and this would be taking things just a tad too far; two: you're not exactly human, nor any Coalition species we've long had contact with, and so I'd prefer to take no chances with our remedies, and three... I have none of these medicines on me anyway. So the case is closed." Stanley explained, showing the reason count with his fingers.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Thankfully. What is it that you plan to do, then?"

"Glad you asked!" replied Stanley with a smile, which faltered almost instantly afterwards. "Not really, though. We..." the soldier sighed. "There is a way to circumvent it all, but... well... but you might not like it... just listen and decide. We can make the system tap directly into your brain via appropriate wave-length combinations together with a bit of quantum interactions to streamline the process, which'd make you experience exactly what we want... before you ask, no, it's not brainwashing, we couldn't go so far even if we wanted to. Also, this has a time limit, after which you'll immediately drop out of the Simulation... the exact same thing to be expected if anything happens to you in the... 'real world'," Stanley explained, worry already painted all over his face.

And quite accordingly so, to be sure. Luna remained petrified, with her head slightly tilted and right eye half-closed.
She wasn't even frozen anymore, no.
At this point, the Princess might've just as well been deceased.

Luna's mind operated on a weird compromise between complete standstill and utter overdrive - thousands of thoughts flowed through her head, but all failed at breaking the stalemate of ideas. The ever-persisting verdict to everything that came and went in this moment of silence...

What?...

This was ridiculous. Yes, Luna had been joking before, yes, not one of her suspicions had really, truly been real. But now?

Truth be told though, Stanley must've already been aware of Celestia's de facto superior position in the state, it was obvious after all... right? And if the humans meant Equestria any harm, the soldier had had far better opportunities than now to subdue not only Luna, but her sister as well.

The place was ridiculous as well, if his intentions were hostile. Why the dungeons? Not many witnesses... but other than that? Harder escape, so...

Then there was the choice Stanley had given Luna - the choice he was pretty much giving her once again.
It surely didn't feel like it at first, but given some thought... it was kind of a proof of his innocence as well.

No matter though.

No matter, at all.

'Tapping into the mind'? Was Stanley insane? How the hay was that supposed to work? And what, would Luna 'exist in an abyss' following the process, like the soldier had mentioned earlier? So that he can, what, attempt kidnapping? Murder? Check for weaknesses?

Despite everything Luna had experienced, every opinion she had developed... this simply screemed hostility. Screamed retaliation. Screamed defense.

Stanley seemed nice before, sure, he seemed trustworthy... with his fate, he almost seemed like a sisterly soul. This, however? No trust would be big enough... maybe that towards Celestia, right, but definitely nothing else.

Especially considering Luna had only known Stanley for a couple days, less than a week. It can be enough to develop opinion, sure, a bond even considering they've basically been forced to spend a dozen hours together every day - not that the Princess had any problem with that, particularly if it meant slipping away from interactions with hateful subjects.

It CANNOT however be enough to basically allow... ugh, this. Cosidering the circumstances, Luna couldn't even theoretically agree; it would be a diplomatic atrocity.

Not that the Princess had ever particularly sticked for rules, to be sure... she herself was the rules incarnate, after all.

Slowly, more and more new thoughts began forming, striving for solutions. As Luna thought, her first, instincively hostile reaction began to melt.

If what Stanley had claimed about this Republic of Sol was right - which there was no reason to assume it wasn't - then Equestria was already on the losing position. Taking unnecessary risks was most undesirable... but so was spoiling relations. Luna should seek to improve them the most she could, so... but shouldn't she maintain the impression of a responsible, clever ruler as well?

These two options now clashed. Accept, and fullfil the first, while spoiling the second. Decline - and the opposite transires.

Maybe, however - just maybe - good, but subject-like relations with the humans would at least guarantee safety...? Maybe...

No, thought Luna. We know too little yet, Equestria shall not fall by our own wish without reason! Perhaps we should not force our sister's teaching into every place there exists...

Luna scolded herself quietly; she should've determined the diplomatic direction she'd pursue long ago... not like this one exchange could change much, though.

It was, however, still risky. And there was the possibility of... harm...

Luna clenched her eyes and teetch, letting out an annoyed huff.

Alright!

She had her solution.
She knew what she'd do.

Even if it was stupid beyond belief. Even if it guaranteed countless hours of lectures from Celestia. No matter.

This will be an unbelievable gamble. This one situation, this single one, can be sacrificed for a test.

A little too late? Sure, but a compromise between clashing thoughts regardless.

This biggest gamble will be the ultimate test of trust. If nothing happens, then Stanley, Selina, the humans... they are trustworthy.
At least enough not to stay suspicious all the time, the rest remained to be seen.

And if this was indeed an attack attempt? Well, Luna knew her abilities. Stanley could be a soldier of whatever formation he wanted, he would not defeat her, period. Luna had what it took to hold her ground, and she knew it.

To hay with forced modesty.

Just in case however, Luna lit her horn up once again. Unbeknownst to Stanley, the guard count around his private quarters above had just doubled. In contrary to those behind the ornate gate, the contingents topside would be able to enter the chamber, because of the secret passage.

Letting out one last huff, mustering all confidence, Luna finally broke the silence, still not fully certain of her decision's implications. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "Alright. Proceed. We are ready."

Author's Note

I'm going to need to ask you for a favor here. I apologise, but I... I simply have a dilemma.

As you can see, this chapter is just the first part of 'Interval 2'. Normally, I would release the whole thing, even divided, simultaneously, but I've decided to publish the beginning to ask for advice.

So... what do you think about the chapter? I'm still ecperimenting with different approaches and writing styles, and I'm getting to the point where it's becoming hard for me to judge which is better.

Because of that, I'm learning from what our favourite show about magical horses has thought us, and am not going to hesitate to ask for advice where I need it. :trollestia:

I know my readers aren't the most talkative ones, but it'd be amazing if you made an exception in this case. It may sound trivial, but I'm really feeling like the story's quality is extremely unequal, and you'd very much help me to determine the cause and only leave the better aspects for the future. :twilightsmile:

Even a simple 'I like it' or 'I don't like it (this chapter, for example, or any other)' would be very helpful!

Meanwhile, wash your hands, stay home, and, of course, stay pony, my friends! :twilightsmile:

Don't forget to rate if you liked the story, and comment your thoughts!

Interval 2 - Part 2, World War One

Princess Luna floated idly in the darkness, waiting for something to happen.

Stanley had not been lying - the Simulation really felt as if nothing existed but her, in a world devoid of any physics at all.

Wherever Luna tried to turn her gaze, she was met with the same sight: complete darkness, and not even her own body could be seen.

Truth be told, Luna had no idea if she was even turning around or not.

After a while however, a few lines of some unintelligible alien text suddenly appeared right in front of her eyes, and a familiar voice resonated through the void.

"Welcome, Your Highness, Princess Luna, Diarch of Equestria. You may recognize my voice as that of the Republic of Sol Artificial Intelligence's commonly known as 'Selina' - or, in short, the one present at Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Martin's side during all our talks so far," the voice introduced itself, right as the foreign text disappeared, once again drowning Luna in blackness. The Princess remained silent.

"You can speak now, by the way," the voice sounded once again, this time with a much lighter demeanor. Luna could swear she could hear a chuckle at the end of the statement.

"Oh, that's... that's most welcomed," the Princess responded, not sure what to say. "We... we greet you as well."

"Well, thank you!" Selina replied. "Now, without further delays, we'll be jumping right into the first scenario. I will be accompanying you throughout all your experiences here, as Stanley himself doesn't have any hardware that could allow him to join us. Is that alright?"

Luna tried to nod, but realised nothing like that was really possible in the 'Simulation'. Luckily, Selina must've had her ways, as before long she broke the silence once again.

"Perfect! I'm initiating the generation process now, then. I apologize, normally it would be instanteneous, however we lack any more powerful computers at the moment," she stated matter-of-factly. "In the meantime though, do you have any questions?"

"What would we see?" immediately asked Luna without even a thought.

Selina let out a quiet, yet friendly chuckle. "A good question, naturally... remember when you asked us how humanity could handle the violence it's currently going through?"

"I do."

"How they - we - were able to switch to the lives of... just fighting back?"

"Are we going to be answered?" Luna cut off with a question of her own, hoping to push the talk forward.

"To a degree," replied Selina. "Not directly, however."

Luna rolled her eyes. "What will we witness, then?"

"Earth," Selina stated, weirdly cheerfully.

Luna attempted to raise an eyebrow. "'earth'?"

"The human homeworld, like Equis is for ponies, griffons-..."

"Did you not state it to be Sol?" Luna cut the AI off, a tinge of precautious suspicion in her voice.

"Sol is the star system in which humanity originated," Selina stated without a second of delay. "Earth is the planet, the third within Sol. You are familiar with the concept of star systems, yes?"

"We are," Luna answered surely, instinctively attempting in vain to straighten her posture, not sure whether to feel offended by the suggestion or not. "We... we have simply assumed our own to be the only in existence. Art... art the world and plane named differently, then?" Luna changed the topic back, confidence having faded away.

"They are. Historical reasons, mainly cultural. Systems are associates with the star, not planet."

"Will we just be gazing at rocks, in that case?" Luna asked sarcastically.

"Not if you don't wish to. You'll see Earth, only not at present, but rather quite some time ago."

"And that is?"

"A little more than four thousand years. Four thousand two hundred and seventy seven, to be exact," declared the AI without a budge in her voice.

For a moment, Luna was at a loss of words. It took her a couple minutes to formulate a response. "T-that is longer a time than Equestria herself has stood!"

"I didn't know that."

"How shall antiquity the likeness of this assist our questions?" Luna continued, ignoring Selina's remark.

"Of that... you will see," the AI answered with a chuckle, immediately followed by a short sigh. "The scenario is generated and waiting. Are you ready to begin?"

"We are," Luna said confidently, and the world around slowly faded to nothing but whiteness.

Upon thrusting her eyes open, Luna was met with a rather familiar sight. All around, separated from each other by vast plains, shacks and houses adorned the landscape. Their dimensions were a little weird, sure, but besides that, nothing here seemed alien, to the point where Luna began to wonder whether she was truly seeing 'Earth'.

Curious, the Princess took a step forward, discovering her body was now back. Not thinking much of that fact, Luna resumed her trot, deciding to near one of the 'human' houses.

It was really nothing out of the ordinary. The building was a white-walled bungalow with a roof made out of what appeared to be some kind of wood. The whole thing looked as though it had been assembled out of pre-made cuboids, so regular was its shape, and the coloring scheme was without a doubt much more dim and uniform than that applied to pony houses, but other than that, it was easy to mistake the building for something constructed in Ponyville, Fillydelphia or Baltimare.

Aside from the strangely tall and thin doorframe, that is.

A doorframe... without a door?

Curious, Luna sped up. Nothing to shield an entrance to a residential building? Surely there was some...

Oh. Curious, certainly. Very curious, but... what, and... what? Why?

Just a small change of angle revealed the ghost house's true nature. A few hoofsteps, and through the empty windowframes the opposite wall could be seen.

Or at least it should be seen, as there was nothing there. The other side of the roof laid in ruin, with only a few random, protruding wooden planks remaining. The walls were scratched, little paint left on the inside. The whole floor was covered with dirty, mixed and shredded earth, unfamiliar debris and remnants of... something.

In short, the house was a ruin. A complete and utter ruin, destroyed beyond habitability, with loads and loads of sharp shrapnel and debris, which apparently nopony had bothered to remove.

A ruin set up in a perfect way to look kind of normal from the one angle Luna had come from.

Fighting against confusion, Luna sat down by one of the structure's walls.

What was all of this about?
Was this really the right location?
The right... time?

Just before the Princess could continue her march, a familiar voice came from just behind the left wall.

"First impressions?"

Immediately, Luna turned to face Selina. What she'd seen however, she could never have predicted.

There, a few meters away, stood a pony. Not a weird, floating symbol, nor some abstract screen, not even a human the likeness of Stanley.

No, a pony - a pony so perfect it almost seemed real. It DID seem real, even though it couldn't be in this world - which in itself did not exist.

Yet there she stood, a white, brown-maned unicorn mare so tall that she almost surpassed Celestia, and clearly Luna herself. On her flank, a cutie mark comprised of weird alien symbols was the only thing betraying... anything. Truth be told though, Luna had seen far stranger cutie marks during her lifetime - both Day and Night Courts had a habit of luring in some... interesting personas, from time to time.

As the Princess struggled to piece everything together, the newcomer took a step forward. "Welcome again!" she exclaimed excitedly, waving to Luna with her hoof. "Selina here. What? Did I... did I mess something up?" she continued, looking her pony form over with worry.

Casting stray thoughts away, Luna shook her head. "No, it is alright. Surprisingly... accurate. How did thou...?"

"This is all simulated, remember?" Selina laughed. "Computer-generated. I can do whatever I want, and I figured this would simply be most familiar," the AI explaied, stretching out her enormous wings.

Hm. So not just a unicorn, as it might seem.

"Oh, right..." Luna replied, casting away the final strains of confusion. Looking at the vast, lush fields once again, the Princess changed the topic. "What is all that? What shall we grasp from these dwellings?" she asked, gesturing to the ruin behind her.

Selina's cheerful expression wavered. "This? You mean this place?" Luna returned a nod. "You are on Earth, near the small town of Fleury. The year, in human calendar, is 1916. You've travelled 4277 years backwards... or, in Equestrian system, about 4222 years."

"We understand, however what shall we 'see' in here? The sights present are very much akin to our own."

"Nothing yet. Take in how our world used to look like in the old times," Selina chuckled, but her tone betrayed she wasn't joking with the suggestion.

After taking another long gaze over the horizon, Luna glanced back at Selina, uncertainty painted all across her muzzle. "We understand not. Our conclusion remains. Equestrian soil resembles thi-... your world greatly."

"You do understand, then," Selina nodded with a smile. "Yep, it's very similar, more than you might think, considering how other planets we've found look like," the AI chuckled. "But that's only right now. You see this house?"

Following Selina's hoof, Luna found it pointing at the ruin behind her. Unsure of where her companion was going, the Princess slowly nodded.

Selina didn't wait a second more. "Well, let's just say it's simply a... prelude."

Without delay, the AI's horn glowed with a snow-white aura, clearly imitating pony magic, and before long, the bright light engulfed everything in sight.

When it subsided, however, Luna was suddenly met with an entirely different landscape.

In place of the lush grassy fields, shredded ground remained, wet and muddy, scattered with polluted ponds, violent holes and loads of undefined metallic shrapnel. Even the few remaining wooden stalks from the former bushes were broken and obstructed, to the point where they too almost resembled spears with their sharpened ends, ready to kill on demand.

At first, the uneven ground suddenly materializing beneath her own hooves made Luna falter, but she managed to catch herself just in time. Glancing back up, the Princess looked once again.

She looked at the weirdly coloured rivers which substituted previously beautiful streams, with clumped boulders of mud right in their middle and wooden planks zig-zagging all around, connecting into makeshift bridges and paths in the process.

She looked at where she remembered copses and forests covered the land under their lush, green canopies, only to see everything gone, and just a few barren, dim stubs stretching to the skies in their place, if anything at all.
Leaves, just as grass, became a faint memory.

She looked frantically around the landscape, at where she remembered houses used to stand. There must be something, right? Where would they go? Where would a building go!?
But there was nothing there. A lone wall or two, occasionally a bit more, but often nothing remained at all.

Taken aback, confused but most of all terrified, Luna desperately turned to Selina for answers.

What was happening?

How did this happen?

There was nopony to do anything...

Not in a long time did Luna feel such fear. It wasn't a fear of an adversary though, neither was it of monsters, dark magic or any terrible fate - either her or anypony else's.

No... it was something entirely different - one could even claim it wasn't fear per se.

With every glance at the landscape Luna felt this world, so similar to Equestria, float further away from her.
With every look taken, every turn of her head, she felt more and more separated... lost.

Lonely.

Cast into a catastrophe, with nopony else to mourn the unknown with her.

It was a fear of... loss... inability to control something she should... or maybe not.

Maybe it was truly no fear at all? Maybe it was... something else?
What, then?

Luna's thoughts were in chaos. Questions on what happened to these calm plains were interwinded with completely unfamiliar feelings, not even once experienced in the more recent centuries of her life, and that was enough to briefly send shivers down the Princess' spine.

Out of grasp. Unable to control.

That shall not happen. We shall-

"Well then, now you see," Selina's voice sharply thrusted Luna out of her thoughts. "That's your answer if you still want it. That's how we've adapted."

"I... I do not understand," Luna replied, still confused. "What transpired here?"

"Most of your questions over the last few days seemed to assume that the Swarm was some kind of rarity. Stanley has already made sure to kind of clarify the matter, but we thought we'd close the topic for good," Selina said, nearing the Princess. "This," she gestured at the desolate fields. "Is war."

Silence.

"Thou were invaded before...?"

"Yes, we were, but I don't think that's what you truly meant with that question. Humanity had not met any other sentient species before 2389. Add one more year, and you have the first invasion," the AI clarified. Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Have thou not said this was... nineteen... eighteen?"

"Nineteen sixteen, but yes. No invasion here."

"So... how..."

"It's an inside war, dear!" Selina chuckled. "You're looking at a battlefield of the First World War, waged between human factions. My point is, as you don't seem to have deduced it, that we had both time and opportunity to develop our ways to survive, to switch to a lifestyle surrounded by such conflict. That's how we adapted to the struggle against the Swarm. We'd have told you directly, but, you know, a nice history lesson can always be used. Besides that, the Corps want to put a much greater focus than stated in protocol on 'familiarising you' with our reality, and we're happy to oblige, as they have more authority than myself when dealing with purely diplomatic matters, at the end of the day. Oh, and also, you've expressed interest with the concept of battle and advanced warfare, so we're kind of getting a two in one here anyway," the AI chuckled again in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Apparently however Selina's data regarding pony psychology was still quite lacking, as her calculations evidently failed.

All Luna was doing, was slowly shaking her head in deep thought.

"I... this is a human battlefield?" Luna asked, more genuinely surprised and without belief than truly terrified or shocked.

"And old battlefield, yes," Selina nodded, as she followed the Princess' gaze. "Is something not right?"

"What kind of clash could bring about so much destruction? How... how could it transpire like so?" Luna asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

This wasn't simply damage - all wars and battles were destructive.
This, however?

It was as if the land itself got molded, shredded and turned over. Nothing remained, not an inch left unscathed, spared of the enormous, bleeding wounds which covered everything that eye could see.

War was one thing. It existed as more than a concept, and that was unfortunate, but also known.
It was obvious.

But war like that?

It was something else. It was as if though, while locked in duels, the fighting warriors targeted more the ground itself than their actual adversaries.

And then, just them, it clicked.

There were no duels. This war, this battle so very ancient, must've already been fought like those Stanley would often describe.
It must've been an instance of advanced warfare.

Just... just like Selina said...

Hence why the land suffered so much.

Hence why everything was barren and shredded.

There were no duels, no warriors clashing with each other. Not truly.
This was warfare with cannons and armored, metal walls. Guns which threw lethally sharp lead at incredible speeds, bringing about death from beyond sight.

This was warfare where predicting enemy moves on micro, but also macro scale was leagues more important than in battles Luna had been familiar with before.

Warfare so incredible and fascinating, with so much options and possibilities, so much sophistication... but at the end of the day, there was no doubt - here, you fired to defeat your foe - it was the only goal, after all.

And the foe did not exist in a void.

Here, victory came first, and lands - plains, forests, cities - were just chess boards on which to achieve it.

Chess boards...

Chess boards so fascinating with their complexity... but, apparently, so very scarred when zoomed in on.

Cruelty of war had already began to evade Luna. Constant talks revolving around nothing but combat helped plant a seed of tactical fascination in her mind.

Clashes ensued. Clashes between every idea Luna genuinely tried to adapt to ever since her return from banishment, and the true pull towards these unique, ultimate mind games.

Clashes ultimately resolved by a compromise: there was nothing wrong with the concept of strategy itself, right? The theory brought nothing with itself.

It wasn't bad to be interested.

It wasn't bad to be...

It wasn't... it truly was not.

Was it really not, though?

Not really waiting for any word from Selina anymore, Luna continued gazing at the once beautiful fields.

This wasn't destruction like she had imagined. This was just... beyond...

It was different.

"The same kind of clash that happened here," Selina's voice helped to stop Luna's train of thought. "At the time, this was the largest conflict humanity had yet known, but as scale changes, everything follows suit," the AI glanced between Luna and the space in front of her with uncertainty. "Are you gonna go further?"

"May we ask you a question?" Luna replied instead as she quickly turned to face Selina, ignoring her previous words.

At first seemingly surprised, Selina slightly retracted her head. "Hm. Of course, ask away. I'm... kind of here precisely to answer, after all," she chuckled, sitting down next to the Princess.
The AI's eyes glistered with sincere compassion and friendliness, willingness to help at a moment's notice - whether genuinely or just as a part of 'building better relations' with the ponies, Luna couldn't tell.

"You... you mentioned the humans waited long for any contact with a species different from themselves," Luna began. "And that once their search was over, not a year came by before you... you fought a... war. Were... were they and this attacker..."

"One and the same species? Yes."

"Why with such history, with thine own meeting like so... why do you behave so friendly towards us?" the Princess uttered her words with but a tinge of curiosity; besides a small fraction of suspition, only plain neutrality could really be heard in her voice, overflown with thoughts.

Selina remained quiet for a while, returning her gaze forward. Her mane's lack of ethereal flow made the pony, even though an alicorn, entirely devoid of any majestic aura. Right now, in contrast to Luna, she simply looked lost. "Exactly... because of that," the AI eventually answered. "When we made our first contact, we had just come out of a very bad period in history. The Republic of Sol was a young, unstable country. This species - the Chirr, by the way - caught us in our weakest moment. The war that ensued was nothing but a mistake - a result of the Chirr's own problems home, pressure to colonize, and one incompetent commander, who decided his small, mainly civilian colonisation fleet could bring down an entire race, strong or not. It was simple for things to escalate, and having experienced it... we didn't want you to have it the same way we did. We wanted you to have it better, to remember this moment as a great, bright point in your history, instead of a starting date of an invasion," Selina explained, sending Luna a small smile in the process. The Princess responded with one of her own.

"Thank you, then. Really," assured Luna. "If thine words are true... then we believe it to be most appreciated," the monarch continued, but immediatelly internally face-hoofed after realizing how bland it must've sounded. Eager to excape from the matter, Luna quickly went on to change the topic. "You... are a machine, yes?"

"I feel offended," Selina chuckled.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Thou knows what I mean."

"Yeah, I believe so. I do am a machine, to be sure - doesn't it sound nice, though? 'Beware, for here we comes, mechanisms devoid of bounds!'"

"We cannot argue," Luna chuckled. "However, if thine nature is like so... can you... succumb?" the Princess asked slowly, with hesitation in her voice.

Selina, in turn, didn't seem to mind. Whether to give Luna confidence or just because so was her nature, she replied matter-of-factly. "Die? Not of old age, no. If you mean to ask-"

"Were you here," the Princess gestured at the shredded landscape, "when this conflict first transpired? Perhaps when... when these... 'Chirr'... came?"

Selina almost burst into full-blown laughter. "Please!" she exclaimed. "I'm not that old yet... we'll see if I ever am," the AI wiped her eyes with her hoof, before turning to Luna once more. "Yeah, you did mean to ask it. Nevertheless, no. We... at this point humanity had yet to develop its first AIs... and quite some time would pass before that."

"If that is so, how then did the humans harness the power to leave so much destruction?"

"Simple: it's far easier to do."

"What would constitute the need? A cause sufficient to spew terror on scale such as this?"

For a short while, Selina remained quiet. "Get comfortable," she eventually began with a small chuckle. Luna tilted her head, but before she could ask anything, the AI continued. "You can't simply say what caused the First World War. Its outbreak was the climax of various processes, which were gradually unfolding over the previous century, even longer if you want to be more thorough. The formation of countries in modern understanding, age-old rivalries now formalized with the growth of diplomacy. Undecided arguments from before, the rise of nationalism and a multitude of interwinded treaties between important countries meant that once it got hotter..."

"It escalated."

Selina nodded. "Yes. Quickly."

"Why were no attempts at peaceful resolution undertaken? Was there no hope?" Luna asked in bewilderment.

"It's much more complicated than that, but just condensing things... first, there were some attempts, just didn't end up paying off. Second, that's not really how it works," the AI began explaining. "Social tendencies over the world were seeking national greatness, and they determine much of how you see and comprehend things. Noone knew war would look like this, as it never had before. At this point, conflicts between states were running high, as more recent developments only allowed their scale to grow. The populace doesn't think that way, however - they have no way of doing so. Because of that, when an opportunity appeared, everyone jumped on: to avenge previous losses, for their own gains, for traditions, for progress, national glory, humanity... everything. Old ways of thinking just kind of collided with a world after a period of massive development, both technological and social, which not everyone really understood yet."

"But... why..."

"As I've said, you can't truly list the causes of World War One, nor almost any other important event. To get a genuine idea of why this conflict began, it's not enough to be able to describe how Earth looked like prior to it and say what that meant for the future - no, you need to honestly know the social tendencies back then and understand how they worked. Sorry if it sounds confusing, but that's the best way I can answer your question."

Luna pondered Selina's words for a while, returning her gaze to the ruined landscape. She felt strange, but also very relieved. The Princess couldn't say she would ever have thought about a whole war created by such intricate dealings, she couldn't say it even sounded realistic.

When presented as a fact, however... it seemed possible. It seemed familiar and relatable.

The humans... they've suffered so much because of simple mistakes. Because they hadn't realized that what they were doing would, just in their situation, steer their world ever closer to war.

They wanted, each and every one of them, the best for all. They surely did, how couldn't they, right?

And yet they were wrong in the end. They've done something evil beyond scale, but it was a result of a long, irreversible series of unknowing mistakes.

It was tragic, yes... however it was just a mistake. An error.

And... and creatures make mistakes, right?

Luna kept looking at the destroyed treeline, still considering what Selina said could lead a species to such destructive violence. It seemed very, very unfamiliar, not really possible... and yet she could see it. Actually, somehow, comprehend. It made sense.

"We... I understand," Luna stuttered quietly, but Selina had no problems with catching it all.

"Good then," the AI answered with a chuckle. "I can't lie, that makes my job a lot easier."

Luna snorted; it was obvious that Selina was trying to lighten up the tense mood, but to tell the truth, the Princess didn't mind at all - going along with it wasn't even much of a decision.

Meanwhile though, the AI continued. "Are we gonna be staying here some more or moving on? The choice is all your, of course," she asked smiling.

Luna glanced at the fields for the last time. "I... I think enough has been seen. We shall move on further," she said after a while. Selina sighed.

"Alright," she acknowledged. "I'm generating... the next plane. Until it's ready however, we'd like to show you one more thing."

Luna tilted her head. "That is?"

"You'll see in a second," Selina winked as she stretched out her enormous wings. "Oh yeah, by the way, you can fly here."

With one massive, decisive flap, the AI took to the skies, briefly disappearing from view. It wasn't long until Luna found her dancing silhouette once more, though.

The Lunar Princess carefully stretched her wings out, confusion painted across her muzzle.

Without the suggestion, she would never even have thought that flight could possibly not be working - why wouldn't it, after all? Casting her brief confusion away, Luna flapped her wings, and before long she was already nearing Selina's position. As she approached her however, the AIs horn once again got enveloped in a bright aura and suddenly, like before, everything drowned in whiteness.

Luna blinked, than again and again, trying to clear her vision from the remaining light.

Selina was gone, and the Princess had once again been left alone. Instinctively, Luna looked downwards through the thick clouds, back at the shredded fields of Earth.

What she saw however, sent shivers down the Princess' spine.

Below Luna, the previously dead plains were now teeming with life.

All across the sight, giant patches of ground were being thrust into the air among a myriad of shapes and colors.

Small, bipedal silhouettes - what Luna assumed to be humans - frantically moved about, while little streaks of light zoomed over the barren grounds separating the half-open tunnels these warriors remained in.

Once every often, a few would jump over the edge and dash forward, only to be met with a sea of flames or struck with the zooming lightnings, letting out a crimson fountain gefore joining the multitide of twisted, pale bodies already on the ground.

Suddenly, a big green-yellowish cloud rose over the terrain, slowly drifting to the opposite side of the makeshift barricades. Luna had no idea what this phenomenon was and she could only guess why all the humans quickly covered their faces with some weird-looking cloths as it approached.

Grey, metal bricks of gigantic proportions rolled over the battlefield with a loud rumble, only to be lit aflame by a salvo originating from a familiar-looking shape of cannons, just much less ornate than the ceremonial ones adorning the Canterlot Castle.

As smaller explosions threw rocks and shrapnel airborne, the few walls still standing here and there - a proof that this was indeed once a town - rarely held long before falling down as well.

Initially, Luna could hardly breathe at such a sight, gazing at it as if in a trance.

She had already realized this war had to have looked similarly, but being able to describe it simply wasn't enough - witnessing the slaughter almost first-hoof... it was something else, something different.

Tha land has been nothing but wasted. And all these people?

Every human on the field, all of them faced something Luna could never have imagined to face; and with so many cooped up just in this one town... how would all not fade into oblivion anyway, with no chance to truly live their lives?

The ones on the ground, lying in the rugged sea of mud between the two main trenches - these humans were dead. Not wounded, like ponies would often be, no - DEAD. Their consciousness didn't exist. Period. DEAD. Lifeless.

These humans were the ultimate symbol of what had transpired on the fields below, if one dived deep enough to understand it.

They have been killed. Erased. Destroyed. Annihilated. Removed.
Their awareness, knowledge, memories... deleted. They were no more.

These humans, in the purest, most complete, utter and literal meaning of the word, have been destroyed.

And yet - yet! - however desperately she strived to, Luna could not truly feel the terror. Shivers traversed her spine, shock, fear and disgust at the horror and violence shook the Princess' body, but with every passing second, they very slowly drifted away, as if being gotten used to.

Luna knew such violence was terrible and evil. She knew these fields were a prime, albeit unfortunate, example.
She really knew, whenever she came back to the matter, thought about it, there was genuinely no doubt. That however was not enough to overrule what the Princess felt, what her mind instinctively made her feel before she could even take to logic.

And that feeling - it was far, far too mild.

And Luna knew it. Luna realized it contradicted what she knew. She was aware, and yet the feeling persisted, every single time.

Suddenly, Luna found herself fighting against tears.

Was this why she had so easily been driven into madness?

Had she been destined to such fate?

Because she was unfit? Unfit in Equestria with such a mindset, clearly dangerous for Harmony? Mind with any space - willingly or not - for such violence and chaos?

And if it was so... was she destined for another downfall once again...?

Clenching her teetch, Luna began rising above the clouds once again.
She knew none of her worries was the case - it couldn't have been, it really couldn't. A single thought, a suggestion of yet another exclusion was enough to ignite such feelings.

As Luna ascended though, she suddenly felt strange, progressing calmness emanate through her body.

Oh, how good did it feel to for once float without a worry, to truly use the life.

Why... why did she feel that way, though?

After some time, Luna understood - or at least she thought she did.

The higher she flew, the more space separated her from the bloodbath below, the different the view became.
The higher the Princess went, the less destruction she could see, yet the trench lines, walls and houses remained. She could clearly see groups of humans dashing and later retreating, well-defined cannon positions fire once here, then there. She could see which points were more built-over, where there were more, and where less soldiers, sometimes even - if Luna got lucky - who was in which squad, judging by them attacking together.

Every time there was a development - a cannon turned, a steel brick advanced, a squad of humans ran across the field - she could see.

See where the number of defenders decreased, and hence where some would be redirected from. What squads would resume attacks after a cannon turned away, and what that meant for the rest of the frontline - and how it would adapt.
Which humans would dash when and where, and how they would - or at least should - fare.

Sometimes Luna's predictions would be busted, usually they'd be confirmed. However, the Princess couldn't help but feel some of the human decisions were... idiotic. Stupid, and obviously so, simply from a logical standpoint.

Most of all, though... Luna could see even more.

She saw the entire line in front of her at once. She saw each position, each squad she knew about and those she naturally suspected as well. She could see where and where to attack, how the enemy would react to every variant she's try.
Luna could see what effect each action had, what effects these effects had, and how they'd impact further efforts. She had multiple assumptions as to where and how organized the enemy was, and for every version there was an action plan, an obviously visible backup detailing what to do if the plan failed, how to adapt to rapid changes and switch strategies should the enemy turn out not the likeness Luna had assumed them to. Then, a hundred versions of follow-ups to evey follow-up regarding what to do next, and next, and next, to achieve objectives most flexible and shift between goals, adapting to a new situation.

All of that Luna knew, of course, if she had assumed her own assets and their capabilities correctly - that is.

That however, she cared not for. Right now, the Princess bathed in her newfound chess party, her new favourite puzzle, until she understood.

This was it. Beautiful, almost like stars dancing on the night sky, gently, in a sophisticated way, and yet under Luna's control.

From her present angle, the battlefield really looked like a chess board.
Luna felt calm, as she had once again felt what she already had before, albeit never so fully.
From this perspective, it was easy not to notice the violence and death, to let it out of grasp.
Here, it was only strategy and tactics, a mind game above all others, the ultimate one.

One thought of the horror was enough to light a spark, though.
How could she forget the terror? Should she forget? Should she...?
If this made her forget, did it not push towards it?

How could she forget? Should she?

Once again, however, Luna could hardly help but prioritize her previous 'compromise', which now more than ever seemed to be correct - seemed to make sense.

If she was only interested in the concept of military strategy itself, there was nothing bad with it, right?

Luna would not get an opportunity to ponder the question long, as with another brief flash, the world around her began dissipating.

As it gently disappeared however, one last, small thought swung in the wind.

Right... right...

Author's Note

Comment your thoughts!

Sleep deprivation is killing me recently, but here you go, another chapter!

More soon, and meanwhile - stay pony, my friends! :twilightsmile:

Interval 2 - Part 3, Luna

In a blink, Luna once again found herself suspended in a sea of blackness. By now though, she was already familiar with the drill. As minutes passed the Princess quietly began pondering what she had just seen - not to much effect, as soon enough, a few unintelligible lines of alien text appeared before her eyes once more, and a familiar voice resonated through the matterless void, cutting Luna's train of thought short.

"Apologies for the long wait, Your Highness, but as I've said, we sadly don't have much to work with here when it comes to the Simulation."

"Tis' fine," Luna replied, doing what would under normal circumstances amount to a huff.

"Well, good then," Selina chuckled quietly. "There is still some time before the next scenario properly loads, and I think we can safely just repeat the drill. So, do you have any more questions?"

Instinctively, Luna tried to tap her chin in though, although quickly failed without a body. That subtle reminder barely affected the Princess though, as she promptly began struggling to draw from the swirling thoughts and emotions, which - although mostly tamed - still remained in her head.

Were there even any questions? Did she have anything to ask about?

There surely was confusion, or, more accurately, traces of it, echoes of the first, oh-so-foreign impressions brought about by the picture of World War One. These traces swirled and danced, impaling further understanding, and even though cast aside by Selina's explanations, their presence made putting anything into words simply weird... hard.

Luna knew she now understood everything as much as she could. If she thought about it, she really, honestly knew.

But she didn't feel it. She only felt echoes of questions past, making it seem like all the knowledge Luna had gained was but an imitation... a lie.

But a lie it was not - about that there was no doubt.
However there was also no doubt that such an uncertain state made it virtually impossible to say whether anything remained unclear regarding the recent revelations.

And so, Luna thought, effectively killing time before the Simulation's next stage, and after a while, managed to formulate two clear questions she definitely had - questions obvious, which Luna was genuinely surprised she hadn't come up with immediately, considering she had already held them in her mind before.

Oh well, it appears as though in such foreign circumstances, even a few minutes in solitude can serve to swipe away the clarity one had already maintained beforehand and not lost once. Especially if confronted with such a sudden, uh... 'demand'.

Not seeing any reason to delay further, Luna broke the howling silence. "We... we do."

"Oh, by the way, if it's about the next scenario... we want it to be kind of a surprise. Sorry."

"It is not," Luna simply stated.

"Okay, then. Just saying there," clarified Selina. "Well, go ahead. Just please don't ask about anything classified," the AI finished with a chuckle.

Luna snorted briefly, but otherwise mostly ignored the AIs remarks, already involuntarily considering what she was about to bring up. "Thou mentioned, that... prior to suffering an attack, before your own contact has been established, humanity.... fared well not... art... art we correct?"

"You mean I said we were weak when the Chirr attacked? Yeah, you're correct."

"Then how come such... was the First War continued until so much has been lost?" Luna asked, slightly terrified by the implications this would bring up.

It made sense, though. If the humans plunged themselves in battle with their unknowing actions in such a convoluted way, their struggle might as well have continued for... a very long time. Luna had lived long enough to see ponies not about to let go of their demands, and it wasn't that much of a stretch to assume that a similar way of thinking could dominate amidst the humans during the violent conflict given what she already knew about its background.

It was tragic, but also very real.

And Luna clearly remembered Selina say one more little, yet important thing: that when first contact with another species was made, the Republic of Sol was a young state.

So there was not any divide between factions anymore. Was it possible that after such hardship, the humans put aside their inner squabbles?

Such was the case with the ponies, after all - or similar, to be sure. However it may have looked in modern Equestria, it was only a common, very real threat that had brought everypony together in the first place.

Perhaps the humans, having seen what may transpire on their world, reacted similarly?

It made sense.

Regardless of everything however, one thing remained. Luna had already forgotten the exact dates Selina had given her, but could still clearly remember the hundreds - and that created quite a... curious situation.

1900 through 2300... how could it come the world was lit so long...? Was it really? Perhaps...

"No," Selina's voice immediately brough Luna out of her thoughts.

What...?

"It was something else that happened, although I don't think you'd like to see," the AI continued.

"Why...?" Luna replied, raising an eyebrow. "That we do."

Selina sighed, making the sound loudly emanate through the black abyss. "Please, we wanted some variety when choosing these. Don't make us sad," she said more and more sarcastically with every uttered word.

Luna meanwhile tilted her head in confusion. "What does thou... oh... we... we apologise..." the Princess said more mechanically than anything as she was struck with a sudden realisation.

Another conflict? Another war? Four hundred years was a long time, although certainly not long enough to forget such horrors, and that they'd been caused by nothing more than short-sighted actions along with misguided calculations and intents. Surely having experienced it, the humans would not let themselves descend into such chaos again, right?

Perhaps there was another cause; there was no reason for there not to be, aspecially as the First War's case was rather specific.

Perhaps it was just a single tyrant's doing, the likeness of what Sombra had once attempted... only here, there was nothing to stop them?

Perhaps. It seemed possible, it certainly was. Either way, all desire Luna had to see another catastrophe soon got extinguished, not so much because of disgust or anything, but simply as the Princess quickly found herself preferring something more... different.

At the back of Luna's head however, a memory lingered - a memory of drifting among the clouds over the destroyed village of Fleury, bathing in the abundance of strategic maneuvers employed by those fighting right before her own eyes.

The abundance of strategic maneuvers seen without the glaring violence and bloodshed Luna so strived to distance herself from in all her reconciliation efforts.

With the first issue generally out of the way though, another question came forth.

"Okay, then. We shall comply, you may show not," agreed Luna. "Is there... is there still time left?"

"As much as you want."

"Then we... I have... the human guards on the fields..."

"Soldiers," corrected Selina.

"Ugh, yes," Luna continued, rolling her eyes. "These humans ancient... why is it so... they do not look... akin... to now...?" the Princess stammered with uncertainty.

The truth was, she had barely even seen the clashing humans at all; for the vast majority of time, they were but faint silhouettes dancing beneath the clouds.
The few glances Luna did manage to get, however, clearly seemed to contrast with what she had seen of the species so far.

Much to the Princess' confusion, though, all Selina returned was a slow chuckle. "You mean that they aren't similar to the Lieutenant Colonel, right?"

Luna tilted her head, not sure where the AI was going. "We... similar they are... however..."

"However still different?"

Luna returned a slow, weary nod.

"Yeah, well, there is an easy, though unfortunate explanation. But first of all, no, modern humans are no different than ancient ones... well, at least not in a way you'd be able to notice, trust me," Selina began, before being cut off by Luna.

"Was their... muzzle... not smoothed? Devoid of scales?" she asked, slightly taken aback by the response.

"Yes," the AI stated plainly. "But that's normal today as well. No human has scales. The Lieutenant Colonel sadly isn't the best model if you want to learn anatomy," Selina concluded with a chuckle.

Luna tilted her head in confusion. What could her companion mean?
Did Luna's eyes simply deceive her in the previous 'scenario'?

Evidently not, as it was now suggested it was not then when Luna made a mistake - instead, the human AI seemed to claim, that... she couldn't recognize a scale from two meters away. Apparently.

There had to have been a mistake, or perhaps Luna had misunderstood?
She'd seen Stanley up close multiple times, often with his faceplate transparent - half of his head was made up of sturdy, dry fragments.

Sturdy, dry scales. It undoubtedly was, and they looked very much so like those adorning most Equusian dragons.

And Luna had enough experience with dragons to tell that.

Definitely.

"What...?" the Princess quickly asked. It came easily enough, but soon Luna found herself struggling to find proper words to specify her further questions.

Luckily however, it wasn't long before Selina took the talk over once again. "Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Martin is part of the Republic's primary combat personnel. And sadly, with combat come possible injuries."

That was enough.

With that simple sentence, Luna understood, involuntarily freezing her mouth slightly open. Any reply she'd want to make however dissipated at its planning stages, as the Princess simply found herself at a loss of words, faced with such a sudden realisation. For a time, silence once again reigned in the black, matterless abyss.

"...I don't know if you'd even want more details," slowly continued Selina, compassionately and carefully, but with a significant tinge of plain neutrality in her voice as well. "But those are, sadly or not, all classified as part of RSU service records. So, although I myself can access them, protocol regrettably forbids me from sharing. Sorry."

At first, Luna returned a simple nod. Almost immediately however, something else in the statement piqued her attention, briefly making her forget all implications from before. The Princess tilted her head in confusion.

"What does thou mean by 'access'?" Luna asked, rising an eyebrow. "Art thou not... Did thou not... accompany the Lieutenant yet, when the... when said.... injury transpired?" she continued hesitantly. Selina meanwhile, simply returned a chuckle - a sharp contrast to her previous tone.

"Well, I guess you can say I didn't. I never really do - both never and always, techically. But then, I actually didn't," the AI paused for a while, but spoke up once more before Luna could even think to ask anything. "You see, I'm... it's a little hard to explain, forgive me. I'm an coordinating Artificial Intelligence, see? I'm a big program, which helps adequate personnel assist the Republic's ground and space operations. I accompany individual soldiers, but not only Stanley, and rather those who need me most. The service records in turn are just encrypted memory storages - or, more accurately, instructions on the usage of those. I have some for basically every soldier," Selina briefly chuckled again, before resuming her preemptive explanations. "Before you ask, as you know I am now stuck here, so - temporarily - there's only one soldier to assist. That may happen sometimes when an operative gets stranded, as you might imagine, and as such not the entirety of myself is here; instead, a huge part is left back with the Republic of Sol. Because I don't have any contact with them however, I'm essentially a single, separate person here," the AI finished slowly, helping the Princess understand as much as possible of the rather abstract explanation, but friendly and respectfully at the same time, seemingly genuinely wanting to provide her with a good response to the asked question, while avoiding any unintended insults or disrespect at the same time - again, whether it was all a truthful effort or simply another part of 'building good relations', Luna couldn't know.

"That is... most interesting," the Princess replied, struggling to remember everything for a later, calmer analysis. To tell the truth, it was rather hard to understand almost anything besides the sole fact that Selina wasn't Stanley's companion, and rather more like a Commander, or maybe Command of sorts - that was easy enough to conclude from what Luna had gleaned.

The rest, however, was not. How was a 'part of Selina left with the Republic'?
A part of Selina? How would that work? So, were there now two of them? If so, could they merge in the future? Did they share thoughts? Or maybe... maybe there were two... different...

Ugh...

Luna quickly shook her head, trying to cast away the brief, unwanted thoughts. To her great surprise and pleasure, it somehow worked, although only after draining quite a significant amount of willpower. And, to be sure, it did not diminish other remaining questions.

Were there two Selinas now? Were they akin?

Most importantly, though... how did such a thing even work?

Despite being continuously exposed to utterly alien terms and weirdly abstract concepts for the past few days, it was still hard to fully grasp the stranger of them, although Luna clearly felt better and better about everything with every hour passed and talk exchanged - that didn't mean there were no problems, though, especially when dealing with topics such as this one.

Or like interstellar travel, for example. How can one bend space? A sheet of paper can be bent, sure, but space is not flat. One could teleport, of course, but teleportation spells did not work like that... right?

Theoretical aspects like this tended to be more or less confusing. Sometimes when trying to visualise a concept, Luna could almost see it, but still no quite fully. Not to the point of understanding.

Oh, well... learning all the spells in a week would be undoable as well... would it?
To be fair, sometimes one does need to take some time.

Luna's contemplations however were not to last, as after a few more idle seconds, Selina spoke up once again. "By the way, the scenario just finished loading, so we can begin at a moment's notice. If there's anything else, though-"

"We believe we can begin," Luna cut her off, not thinking much. With her previous train of thought broken, for the brief moment just one thing naturally remained for the Princess to focus on.

"Alright," acknowledged the AI. "Hang on, we're going in, then. Stand by."

With that, the infinite blackness around promptly began to dissipate, and although it obviously couldn't be seen in any conceivable way, a weird, strangely brief feeling of... simply fading away carried the weak sensation with itself.

Just before Luna once again left the empty abyss however, before she was thrusted into yet another 'scenario', a small thought was born.

A though - a memory - which promptly, softly lingered up in the air...

Selina did not reveal what the next 'scenario' would demonstrate... right? She did not, surely not...
So... so...

Oh, right; Tis' 'a surprise'... ugh...

Princess Luna blinked a few times, trying to clean away the persisting blur. The sounds of her breathing filled the eerie silence, with nothing at all to neither accompany, nor let alone obscure their repeating echoes.

Luna's fur stood up, and ears perked.

She could recognize this ominous silence. To her immense horror, she could.

Withholding all breath and with eyes shut, bearing a heartbeat that could cause earthquakes, the Princess very slowly lifted her head up. Whatever she did though, she could not bring herself to take a look, and her royal eyes consistently refused to oblige any and all calls to open. After a few booming, calming breaths, during which Luna involuntarily returned her blind gaze to the ground, the Princess tried once again.

Or rather she tried to try, as just as before, nothing happened.

Maybe it's better not to know? Then... t-then there's always the possibility of... of negation, right? There is no proof, after all. Surely Luna could... surely she could find a way to explain to herself, why... explain that it was... somewhere else, where she had been. Surely-

Then, a blink. A quick thought. A short memory, back from the Everfree clearing on which Stanley had first landed. How she-

In a flash, cutting away all meddling thoughts, the Princess sprung her eyes open, dashing forward a few inches in the process.

What she saw, however, made her freeze right where she stood. Luna's rapid breath had all but ceased, and wide open eyes gazed over the barren horizon.

A thousand tides of energy clashed withing Luna, but from her point of view, she was all but immobilised. It felt as though her body had been frozen in time, with no motion possible at all. Suddenly, Luna felt herself grow ever more heavy, and with no means to counter it, sat down on the barren ground, the fighting feelings closer and closer to her head.

And the Princess still gazed blindly at the terrible, barren landscape, as if in a trance. A landscape so very beloved, but immensely accursed as well.

She gazed on a landscape of grey, fine-grained powder. On a landscape flat, but not entirely, with small, circular mounds and slopes covering its unending reaches.

She gazed on a barren landscape, suspended below a pitch black sky eternally covered with stars.

She gazed at the very surface of the Moon.

Suddenly, Luna found herself fighting against tears.

Why was she seing this!? Was this truly enother stage of the simulation, or a wicked creation of her own mind!?

Why again, just when the thinnest rays of hope finally appeared, after four long years...?

Luna loved the Moon, about that she had no doubts. It was her eternal companion, the only always with her, no matter what. Alongside the stars, it was always loyal, it was the only thing the Princess knew she could always truly turn to, even if only in this minimal, symbolic way.

But it was also the site of her tragedy, its universal mark, a reminder of the millennium of solitude, the preceeding centuries... and the following years as well, the prospect of eternal exclusion.

And right then and there, once again physically upon the surface so tragically familiar, Luna only felt the memories. This wasn't the beloved grey globe, adorning the maginificent midnight canvas - now this was nothing more than her prison.

Had Luna not already served her term?

Luna was about to clench her eyes again, only to slip into blissful negation once more, to keep the tears at bay. Before she could do so, however, a faint, cracking voice, accompanied by a myriad of beeps and tinkles, resonated through the persisting total and utter silence.

"Neil, this is Houston. Loud and clear. Break. Break. Buzz, this is Houston. Radio check, and verify TV circuit breaker in."

Surprised, Luna thrust her eyes open, a few lone drops already dancing around the eyelids. Accidentally slipping over the powder, the Princess nearly fell down on the lunar rocks, but just barely managed to catch herself in time.

Meanwhile, after a few seconds of silence, a voice spoke up again, once more weirdly distorted, but slightly different than the last time - if significantly enough to indicate a different source, Luna couldn't tell.

"Roger, TV circuit breaker's in, and read you five square."

Instinctively, the Princess quickly turned her head in the direction she felt the sound should be coming from, but found nothing there; only the same, desolate lunar landscapes. Truth be told though, the voice seemed to be talking from all around the Princess, as if it originated in every place next to her head simultaneously, all signs of any distance simulated right there. It just... existed.

The voice, or voices for the matter, continued to break the utter silence once every couple of seconds, having their peculiar exchange. Most worries temporarily forgotten, Luna scanned the horizon, looking for something out of place, something... n-not... familiar...

And so, she found it. She found something.

A bit to Luna's left, a good few hundred meters away, a weird, shiny structure stood embedded into the grainy lunar powder. From it, unfamiliar machinery protruded upwards, towards the stars. One impulse was enough, and before thinking much, Luna found herself walking towards the unknown anomaly, then faster and faster, until she was almost breaking into gallop.

What was it? Was it, what... a rock? No. A machinery? Maybe... it seemed possible, likely even considering the appearance. So... she was seeing something... human again after all, right? Whatever the voice was, it had indentified itself as 'Houston', which was surely no pony name.

And neither was Neil.

On the other hand though, when she thought about it, there were quite a few words in these short lines Luna was clearly not familiar with, so maybe those two were similarly a part of some... code?

And so, Luna trotted and galloped, whatever the terrain made easier at the time, fueled by the deepest desire, conscious or not, to focus her mind on something else than her former, so very painful place of banishment, to provide a substitute.

That, and just simple curiosity.

When Luna neared the weird structure significantly, its form already looked large enough to discern more and more details. Luna instinctively slowed down slightly, scanning the construct with her eyes. Before she could discern much though, a familiar voice, this time neither interrupted nor muffled, spoke up.

"What do you think?"

Luna sharply turned her head left, only to discover a white-brown alicorn looking at her with a compassionate smile. She was surely not there before, but at this point Luna was prepared for almost anything, and Selina's presence, for some unknown reason, helped the Princess calm her ravaging nerves, which, although temporarily suppressed, still strongly echoed at the back of her head, ready to break free at a moment's notice.

By the AI, Luna suddenly felt just... strangely calmer. Perhaps knowing the godddess of this place was by her was the cause? This was the Moon, but here... it was difficult to grasp, but this Moon was not Luna's; it was Selina's. It was her who held the power here, she was the Mistress of the Night. Perhaps, then...

It couldn't have been the case, though... this would be how Luna's subjects should feel, right? In the presence of the Princess' might. And it was quite obvious they rarely shared the optimism...

Maybe, just maybe... maybe it was another sign of Luna's... rogue mindset...? But did she not conclude she didn't have one at the of the day? Or maybe...

Well...

It was a good few seconds before Luna managed to fully register what she's been asked. Shaking her head, the Princess made her answer. "I... what... what is it that we see?" she eventually managed to say.

"That?" Selina replied with a question of her own, as she gestured at the machine up front. "Or everything in general?"

"I... we... there..." Luna's tongue suddenly felt like a knot, similarly to her clogged up thoughts. A thousand words swirled around, none better than others, none more fitting to express... what the Princess had not yet decided to, whatever that would be. "I... where... are we?" she eventually managed, internally facehoofing at her awkward question.

On the other hoof though, it was something to ask about, to be sure. This couldn't have been Equis' moon, that was for certain, and so maybe any suspicions shall now at least be verified.

That and, well... better such a question than nothing. Luna could always ask more, couldn't she?

Selina seemed to have ignored the diarch's stuttering, as she replied with the same, friendly smile. "Well, that's probably a good way to begin. You see, you are currently standing on Luna."

The Princess tilted her head in confusion.

What?

That was surely one of the last things she expected to hear.

"The question was serious," Luna stated after a short huff.

To her surprise, Selina simply returned a chuckle. "And the answer as well, Your Highness!"

"What does thou mean? It must have not been. We are just one."

"That you are," Selina replied. "Like Equis, Earth has a moon of its own, and similarly just one."

"Does that mean... not all... worlds... possess so?" Luna chimmed in awkwardly, in a blink all invested in Selina's words, all previous worries now forgotten. It didn't take long for logic to catch up though, as Luna quickly remembered Selina say that most planets differed much from Equis; this could easily be one of the aspects, right?

"The vast majority does not," replied Selina matter-of-factly, taking Luna aback nevertheless. The vast majority...? "A moon has to form, and although it isn't anything very improbable, it can be hard regardless."

"Oh, I... we... guess so. Right..."

"I've watched you sky for a while during the last days," the AI continued, without much delay. "I have a lot of different images of Earth's only moon, and from extensive comparison I can say it's likely very similar to your own. And while I have no idea how you name that one, Earth's moon has long simply been called Luna."

Hearing this, the Princess briefly froze in place, as her jaw refused to fully close. After a while, she instinctively attempted to break eye contact with Selina, turning her blind gaze downward - towards the powdery surface of the moon... of Luna. The thoughts, however, remained.

They... the humans named their planet's moon... like herself?

It was weird, it seemed weird. Whatever she tried, the Princess could not get herself accustomed to the thought that right now, Luna was standing on Luna.

Somehow, though, it was weirdly... moving. Luna could almost feel some weird sort of... compassion, friendship from the humans; maybe even a tinge of appreciation.

Obviously none of them knew of her when considering the name; none could have the slightest idea of her, or even ponykind's, very existence. Yet despite that, despite the unwavering certainty, Luna could not help but feel just a little better at the back of her head when she heard the name. She felt... appreciated, for once, even if only marginally. The equivalent of her loyal moon called with her own name... Shaking off the temporary shock, Luna sunconsciously cast a brief, weak smile.

All of that however changed on a whim.

One small spark, one thought, one trigger was enough to start an avalanche which turned Luna's entire thought process upside down, making her fully forget the little, subcounscious bliss.

'Her loyal moon'... her moon. The moon she had... but which also had her. Which used to have her, for so, so long.

Struck with the sudden realisation, Luna briefly felt her legs weaken to the point where they seemed like cottonwool.

Oh, silly, stupid her! For Luna, the moon had two natures - a terrible prison, but also a compassionate companion, almost... a friend, even.
But that was just for her. For everyone else, it was nothing but a sad symbol of darkness, grief, and since her banishment, just... evil. For any regular pony, that was the moon - precisely that!

Why would it be any different for the humans, then!?
She herself was clearly blinded by her perspective! Nopony would ever wish to see the moon; at best, they'd be simply indifferent to its very existence!

After all, had she not been demonstrated that fact a hundred thousand times already?

It was no companion, obviously no friend, nor even the emblem of the Night that bore her name!

Instead, it was the very symbol of grief and evil!

Suddenly, Luna felt a cascade of memories flooding her mind, all triggered and brought about by brief, instantaneous linking and association. Everything - from her return, through the well-remembered Nightmare Night, to the prejudices that remained, growing ever stronger unchecked until they eventually became the behemoth that they are today. It was not long before grief, remorse, and... and just anger emerged to the surface, directed at everything - her subjects, the world, the situation... her inability to do a thing.

Luna may not have been able to word it this way, but in truth... it was mainly just an ocean of sadness. Great, suppressed, unending sadness, disguised as something else in desperate denial, effort to escape.

Luna's legs felt like jelly, and for a brief moment, she thought she was about to collapse. The Princess would not allow that, though; with newfound will, she thrust renewed energy into her stance, as she rapidly, decisively straightened all limbs. Luna's legs - no! - her entire body now felt like concrete, and suddenly, she could almost taste the energy flowing through her veins like there was no tomorrow. It seemed as if she was about to explode.

Luna's breath accelerated. It felt like she could do anything, yet in that powerful moment, she simply wanted to scream at full lungs, to break the world itself with her unstoppable royal voice. With all heart and mind, Luna wished to scream, to smash... to cry.

Clenching her eyes in sorrow, Luna tried to stifle her outburst, to keep it within herself. Instinctively, she bent her neck down in an attempt to hide all expression.

It was... it was just a chain reaction... right? There was nothing new... nothing to be particularly mad at... it was simply... these were memories... they... they...

They were still real, though.

They were real. It was all real. It changed little.

Luna tried to take a calming breath, but instead ended up making a few quick, rather shallow inhales. Slowly, the persisting anger gave way to just sadness and resignation... to remorse.

In an attempt to change the topic, or perhaps just quickly carry on, Luna improvised a to-the-point question. "Why am I here?" she almost exclaimed with as much of a neutral frown as she could muster, although tinges of despair still adorned the Princess' muzzle.

"To see the comparison," replied Selina, with the same calming, mildly optimistic smile. Although she had surely witnessed Luna's previous reaction, despite efforts at hiding it, she seemed content with letting it go. "You mentioned that once, you yourself went to Equis' own moon. Obviously, I don't know the reason for that, but what you're seeing right now - this is how humanity first landed on Luna. They have always been fascinated."

Briefly stunned by another mention of her recluse, Luna now raised an eyebrow.

'Fascinated'?

"I... what does... thou mean?" the Princess inquired, slowly shaking her head in confusion.

"Just that," Selina answered with a chuckle. "Since the dawn of civilisation, we have gazed to the sky, seeing gods up above. During the day, it was the graceful Sun, during the night - its opposite equivalent, the moon and its stars. In time, humanity realized they were no gods, and later, that both could be ventured to and touched, just like the Earth... I wouldn't try that with the Sun, though. And so, when we neared the knowledge that would allow us to leave the planet... where else to go first than the closest celestial body there was?" the AI asked rethorically, sending Luna one more friendly smile.

"So... the humans... their voyage was made, in order to test... their means?"

"Well... yes..." Selina hesitated. "We're still only a few decades after that war, though. Political turmoil had its role here."

"Oh... we understand," replied Luna slightly recoiling back, having suddenly lost a glimmer of hope.

"But that isn't all, silly!" the AI chuckled, prompting Luna to raise an eyebrow with a tinge of irritation. Before she could say anything though, her companion continued. "Instability can lead to a lot of bad things, I'm sure you know that well. These people," she gestured at the weird metallic construct up ahead. "Might just as well have been soldiers, standing by in case of another conflict. But they weren't! Instead of fighting, the humans raced each other into space, as since they learned of its existence, they had known all too well that someday, that would be their home; there was a possibility, so why not take it?" Selina exclaimed happily, looking at Luna with a big smile. "We'd been gazing at the sky, at the moon, for millennia before that. Now that we knew what it was, and after recent technological jumps we possessed the means to attempt a journey... of course humanity would go for it. We've been looking up to the moon for generations. Why not take it a step further?"

When the AI had finished, Luna suddenly found herself wildly smiling, with a small tear swinging in the corner of her eye. With a quick hoof motion, she wiped it away, before instinctively glancing downwards in hopes of hiding her reaction as much as possible.

So... the moon... was not a place of damnation for the humans?

It was... it was not? It was... desired? Looked upon?

Was it... liked here?

Was Luna liked here?

The Princess almost burst into laughter after making the connection, letting out a few more tears with her snort.
Of course, it meant nothing; it was just an identical name, a funny coincidence.

And yet, the tears Luna let out were not of sorrow, but of sudden happiness. A loose, funny thing, come up with during a time of calmness, oh-so-rare recently.

Not a trace of the former worries was left within the Princess. She felt relieved, and for the second time this hour... simply moved.

And yet she wasn't entirely sure of the reason. The humans loved and appreciated the moon, yes, and... and... that was... it...

Maybe it truly was everyhing Luna had needed...?

Even if it was, however... was this one situation enough to know for sure?

Yes, thought the Princess. Even if... or it is not... if we are being shown truth... this is...

Was this enough?

Against all the conflicting thoughts... it appeared as so.

Casting further thoughts like that away, Luna decided to drown herself in the blissfull calmness and pleasure that now flowed through her entire body.

What do such contemplations matter, truth be told? Luna felt what she felt. For once, someone seemed to appreciate what she did, appreciate the same thing as herself... to slightly, even remotely understand her.

And that - that was definitely enough.

Rising her muzzle up, Luna glanced at the weird contraption ahead, still separated from the two 'alicorns' by a few hundred meters of barren grounds. Through the brief, undisturbed harmony that now defined Luna's mind, a new thought suddenly emerged.

"Thou..." the Princess began, glancing back at Selina, who, like Luna had suspected, seemed to have been closely watching the monarch the entire time. "Thou had mentioned... 'these people'..." she gestured at the construct ahead. "However there but a machine lays dormant."

Selina returned only a chuckle. "You wanna go closer and check?"

Luna did not respond. Instead, the Princess returned her gaze to the distant contraption and slowly but surely trotted forward.

Barely after she'd started moving, a small part of the machine semed to shift, before steadily, a little, bulky white blur appeared, obscuring the blackness of the lunar sky painted just above the horizon. Gradually, it moved forward, and as Luna trotted, more and more patches of scattered colors could be distinguished across the shape.

Then, suddenly, the muffled and obscured voice from before, seemingly emanating from all around the Princess at once, broke the silence once again.

"It takes a pretty good little jump."

Luna stopped herself in her tracks. Only now did she realize the weird voices had indeed stopped coming as soon as Selina herself appeared. A little more wary, the Princess resumed her trot.

"Buzz, this is Houston. F/2 - 1/160th second for shadow photography on the sequence camera."

"Okay."

The voices, which Luna had concluded must've been at least two people, continued their talk, but as the Princess neared the human machine, it was something else she focused on.

The construct looked... weird, but not unfamiliar. It was sturdy, rather small if considered as something that housed a being - which it now seemed it did - and above all, simply... sticking out, partially grey, partially white, partially gold. No matter what however, Luna could not shake off the feeling that something in its design was very much akin to the bulky, dark-grey drop pod she had first found Stanley in. Simply something... somewhere.

Most of all though, Luna gazed at the white blur that had just exited the machine. It didn't take her long to conclude it was some sort of creature. It was a biped, sure, but...

Wait, did Stanley not mention there were no species on Earth besides humanity?

Do... were these... humans...?

Well, they could be... if Earth's moon was akin to that orbiting Equis, then without magic, one would need to separate themselves from the airless environment somehow.

Was this bulky, massively overgrown white thing a... suit of some sort, one covering the entirety of one's body?

It could be... that would fit. It actually kind of made sense.

A solution creative, thought Luna. We have to admit.

Meanwhile, the weirdly shaped biped had already managed to, slowly, come down some type of checkered board - very much akin to what griffons would call a 'ladder' - and stood on its very lowest parts.

"I'm going to step off the LM now," a voice soon rang once again, presumably coming from the very creature Luna now watched.

It wasn't long before her suspicions were confirmed, as after a short while, the human cautiously leaped off, finally touching the lunar surface, lifting a few powdery grains up in the process.

Concluding that such a slow trot would take her far too long, Luna sped up, in an effort to cover the last few dozen meters in a timely manner, watching the human gaze across the lunar horizon in the meantime. Before she knew it, she was there, right by the machine. Right by the human.

Did the humans... really undertake all this?

They evidently did... they reached all the way to Equestria, after all. From one of Luna's stars, somewhere there on the night sky, to here, to Equis. To the one star which, indeed, belonged to Luna not.

In a moment, Luna froze.

How much effort did it have to take?

How much work did their undertake... just to go to the moon?

How much struggles? How much hardships?

Without magic... with no spells at all...

It was hard to imagine what such a journey would have to take. How much risk and courage and time. Luna had already known humanity had no spells; they and magic were apparently polar opposites, and yet it was now that it really dawned on her, how hard and demanding all their achievements had to be - exactly how gigantic these achievements thus were.

Knowing they had no magic, it was easy to - subconsciously even - put all the technology Stanley had shown the ponies forth when thinking about humanity. In Luna's mind, it almost became a trademark to a limited degree, such complete reliance on technical feats which omitted magic in their designs.

But... it wasn't like the humans had it all from the beginning, right?
They had to think, and theorise, and develop, for millennia... just like the ponies had done, and were still doing as much as allowed to by the very laws of the universe itself.

And here... here stood a human, clad in a thick, bulky suit, a suit which made even their silhouette itself barely recognizable. A human, who went here, went to a moon so very akin to that of the ponies. Went to this moon... to this Luna, just... just to go there, is all. Went here because it was a destination unreachable before, but now, at last, within grasp. A globe gazed upon in fascination for millennia.

A human who went to the moon just because it was there.

Through great hardships, and surpasing challenges surely so sophisticated that ponykind would never even consider them, let alone their sheer weight; doing so just to enable this journey, this great journey, with nothing to work with but their own mind and strength, and things crafted with them.

To enable this journey humanity would make just because they wanted to. Really, genuinely wanted to.

As Luna's train of thought continued, an unlikely tear once again danced under her left eye, then again and again, but not once did the alicorn's small smile waver; a smile Luna hadn't even realised she'd been maintaining.

In the middle of it all, before even a few short seconds could pass, another small thought was born; a thought old to be sure, but only now fully, truly materialized and worded.

It wasn't that ponykind could never achieve such a feat; given enough time and will, Luna was sure they could.

But even then - even then! - would her species want to...?

No. No matter how much Luna wanted to cast even the slightest doubt into her conclusion, she simply couldn't do it.

Never would the ponies do this. Never would they, even if they could, go and visit this place so for them associated with damnation and evil.

While it wasn't! It really, really wasn't, it was not! What could Luna ever do to change that, to say that her grey globe was no lair of the ominous and evil, but a marvellous, beautiful companion, shining upon those caught within the darkness of... of her night... so in itself despised by those below her.

But shouldn't then the moon, the one source of light in this period of darkness evidently so by the ponies despised, be given appreciation even more...? Why... should it not? Why shouldn't it!?

Why... please.

In this moment, even though she did not notice it outright, one perspective, one point of view Luna herself often maintained whether she liked it or not, a perspective from which the moon was nothing but a terrible, eternal almost prison and place of endless despair... momentarily, even if just briefly, vanished.

And a second, small tear of sadness joined that of joyous emotion. Not linked to each other they were, not so much in Luna's mind, but existing simultaneously all the same.

Luckily though, this newcomer was not to last. Not like it was now.

As a familiar, undisturbed voice of a white, brown-maned alicorn broke the presisting silence, Luna quickly turned to face her AI companion. "How do you like it?" she asked, with only compassion and genuine good will emanating from her optimistic smile, which in itself reminded the Princess so much of her sister, when she tried try - in vain or not - to comfort Luna in moments especially bad; more and more often, sadly, as time passed by.

And so however, with one question, all worries were suddenly gone, giving way to the same thoughts of before, the thoughts of human expansion and dedication, of human love... directed so beautifully at their moon. Although more and more tears gradually appeared on Luna's muzzle, not one of either sadness or despair ramained anymore, and the diarch's smile slowly widened.

"Tis'... it is beautiful," she uttered quietly, before the lone human steadily moved once again.

Just as Luna had finished, the explorer lifted one of their lower limbs, and slowly, but cautiously stepped forward. Among the howling darkness, the disrupted, but weirdly clear voice could be heard once again.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

On the lunar surface, without any warning, Princess Luna completely burst into tears.

For two regular hours, Selina carefully guided the alien Princess through pictures after pictures, showing marvels and disasters, always at her side, always to narrate if needed. For two whole hours, not daring to attempt any perception acceleration on the pony, Selina calculated and analyzed, using all her limited hardware to full advantage. Not the most effective method it was, no, but the drop pod's working processors allowed the AI to boost her efforts significantly enough.

And so, for two hours, Selina monitored, gathered, analyzed and calculated. Every aspect of the alien's brain, every activity, every single slightest, most insignificant reaction. From there, she moved, comparing everything, every possible link there could exist between what Luna expressed, with the vast library containing uncountable behavioral models from all across the galaxy, from millions of cultures of thousands upon thousands of species. She compared everything, everything she gathered with psychological patterns she already had, while formulating those of her own, and so, Selina adjusted, and adjusted, and created prospects which were later checked through probablility calculations that, with so much data, were akin to forseeing the future.

And as more patterns were assembled and confirmed, after a carefully orchestrated analysis of Luna's every reaction to every stimulus, the simulation changed as well.

Every word, every accent and every syllabe Selina made her avatar utter had been ran through a myriad of simulations, each depicting one of the little less certain aspects of reality itself, along with its many, many variations. Every word and every action, everything that Selina made happen, was a result of a decision made after tens of thousands of courses of action were tried and analyzed, each with a myriad of outcomes, all planned and accounted for a millionfold, the best decisions determined in a blink of an eye.

Errors happened, but each time they did, it only added to the more and more complete pony psychological model, as well as to the ever-expanding criteria determining which pre-existing templates to take into account and to what degree.

But there was more to do than just scrutinize. The High Command wanted to teach, and so some things had to be sacrificed. Selina pondered her general options for a while, but after an eternally long 0.00000467 nanoseconds finally determined her major targets, completion of which would ensure success. Twenty three million six hundred eighty eight thousand two hundred and five simple simulations later, the general action framework was established.

Then, there was a lower-priority goal. Influence opinion, learn about alien reality. The latter would be done through behavioral patterns, to a significant degree at least, but the former?

There were enough risk-free opportunities. It was relatively easy to slightly adjust narration and the choice of scenarios to accomplish that, in part at least, and as more and more data was gathered and Selina's pony psychological template was more and more complete, it became simply trivial. Selina took some less serious risks here and there, as surprisingly often - what the AI did not neglect to note - it was concluded and confirmed a hundred times over that these would in fact be the most beneficial courses of action, considering the given goals, their priorities, most adequate interpretations, and reality with which to operate. Of course, a margin was maintained and observed tightly, as well as a thousand pre-planned backup courses of action for every slightest version of everything that could transpire in any even remotely possible way.

And so, Luna learned, but Selina did as well. She adjusted the Simulation in just the right way to, basing on the monarch's ever-evolving psychological profile, both make Luna say what was desired of her, and change the Princess' opinion to one of both awe, but also pity and understanding towards the humans.
A task intricate, but with so many patterns and models, so many ever-evolving paths and so much analyzing pawer directed at even the slightest possible detail, definitely not undoable.

Not many scenarios were shown, as for that, there was no time, considering existing limitations. Two hours was the definitive limit. Instead of trying to override it, Selina immediately accepted this inevitable truth and focused on showing things related to what Luna had earlier asked for, or what she had mentioned, although in a way that benefited the AI most.

Selina learned from what Luna said and how she behaved. Luna learned from what she was shown.

For both, a lot of knowledge was to be gained. It's just that one of them had slightly better capabilities to do so.

And so, in time, Selina moved away from full-blown scenarios, favoring something else.

Limited sensations, isolated pictures and data. People and cities. Everything that would, in any way, shape or form, constitute a part of what had been determined and confirmed a thousand times to be the best possible course of action to indertake, even taking into account the possible fluctuations of relevant variables.

Things could change. But there was already a thousand plans for each and every single such change, pre-determined and cross-checked, every variant taken into account and deeply scrutinized, with nothing left for chance itself. For every possibility, there was already a plan determined. A plan - in short - stating which action, down to the subtlest details, and how carried out would prove the most beneficial.

And so, Luna watched humanity. She watched Earth, it's sky, but also ground and all on it.

With confusion, she saw weird drawings, which on their beautiful scapes had humans disturbingly raiding on what appeared to be ponies, only with weird, elongated muzzles and thin, skinny almost limbs. But these were not ponies, as Selina had swiftly convinced her, and dived into the many aspects of nature native to Earth; a topic which one can so easily circumvent to get into virtually any other.

There were buildings and palaces, but also paintings, operas, symphonies, some of which almost made Luna shed a tear.

Then there were scientific conferences.

Alfred Luger, Luna was taught a name. She was shown how that tall, bearded person spoke with excitement before a spacious assembly hall. With a thinning hairline he spoke of things Luna could visibly neither grasp nor understand, although she clearly did her best for it to appear otherwise.

But what 'appeared' mattered not, and so explanations were due.

He bought us the stars, she'd been told. Was that how the humans sailed on Luna's night sky? Oh, no, no. Something else, something Luna was most certainly not prepared for.

Luger did not allow humanity to sail between stars, for that was known already.
He did something else, for the Law he formulated, named after his unprecedented genius, opened humanity a road not to other stars, but whole realities instead!

Was that not something incredible... hard to say from the Princess' reaction, for she still hardly seemed to grasp it.
Oh, well. The simulation moved on, then. Swiflty and smoothly, but without further explanations. Those, Selina would omit, only mentioning that what Luger had devised, eased the humans the hard art of interstellar travel. It was but a fraction of the physicist's deeds, of course, as not one thing about interdimensional voyages had Selina mentioned, about the very same thing that had brought Stanley into Equestria. But the Princess accepted, as she couldn't possibly have a basis for suspicion, and so they could move on.

Besides, what Selina did say was true as well.

It was.

From time to time, there were questions and simple talks, either in the matterless, black void between scenarios, or inside the scenarios themselves. Luna would ask, or Selina would, often in a way that made her seem curious, but greatly intelligent and capable as well.

After some time had went by, they'd return to what had been shown before, sometimes briefly, and sometimes for longer, as the talk branched out like an olive tree, into different topics, akin to each other, or really... not.

There came a time when the Princess wondered.

"How come such craft is moved if thou possess magic not?" she asked Selina during yet another converation, this one regarding the human venture to their own moon. Between different pictures, completely unrelated to the subject now at hand, there was more than enough time... as far as Luna was concerned, at least. "Does steam suffice, through machinations, on a monumental voyage such as this? Or perhaps..."

"Not this time, no," Selina would answer, with her carefully-calculated optimistic smile and a soft, friendly chuckle.

"How, then?" Luna would persist in these spikes of curiosity which overshadowed other emotions and memories, even if just briefly, even if only for this while, even if all would return, covertly or not, soon after. "Combustion? Or... auras, maybe?" she asked with a cautious spark in her eyes.

"Auras?"

"Those that linger over land and disturb weather? And spells as well, although that you might know not?"

"Never heard of them," Selina would state, shaking her head, not too pretentiously, but visibly anyway.

"Art... those not-"

"We told you we don't have magic."

"Do... do auras classify as magic as well? the likeness of what over the Everfree lingers, what makes pegasi... oh... right..." Luna would answer, trying to turn her invisible head away from what she must've assumed imagined was Selina's location. A motion impossible to notice, but for Selina, who now influenced Luna's very perception, quite easily noticeable.

"Yeah. I believe they do," Selina would reply, chuckling one last time before going back to whatever topic had previously been broken, after one type of remark or another, aimed at making the Princess feel good and - most importantly - not rejected, as that turned out to be quite an often reaction to breaking whatever topic Luna began herself. A reaction not rarely concealed very, very skillfully, so much so that at first even Selina had difficulties noticing and deciphering it - a significant feat, to be sure, and one that would be more expected of her fellow diarch if anyone at all.

And so, such talks would continue, and others as well, concerning everything, even though yes, most of the time whatever was displayed at the moment. And so, Selina would gather more and more information, tids and bits of pony history, large chunks of culture, a lot about Luna herself, and by comparing it all with pre-existing models, their connections with each other and how those worked, as well as the ever-evolving model of the pony race itself - similarly influenced and dependent on those mentioned - and then adjusted by millions upon millions of calculated and simulated possible courses of action, the most appropriate of which were tried and determined for each and every variation through complex algorithms taking into account uncountable variables and criteria... by it all, and much, much more, Selina soon knew a lot more than anyone could have ever imagined.

Well, anypony at least.

The last rays of sunlight gently fell on those few parts of Stanley's quarters they could reach as the Soldier once again fell on his bed, having just returned to the room, but recoiled immediately upon experiencing the painful softness of the royal mattress once again.

He was never going to get used to that. This wasn't Stanley's first night in the Castle, not anymore, and his fast adaptability skills should have solved the problem a thousandfold by now, but they did not. A simple choice to ignore the difference should have been enough, and Stanley had made such choice - despite realizing that the bed proper was likely the spot where anyone would expect him to sleep, and to one most dangerous to do so in; nevertheless, it was obviously good to have nothing subconscious clouding one's vision, just in case, even if Stanley was sure he would continue to use the floor instead anyway.
Right now though, the choice seemed not to be enough; old habits die hard, yes, but not within the RSU.

Another addition to the long list of imperfections which had evolved during his stay on Equis; reeducation wasn't something to consider anymore, it simply had to be done at some point, after Stanley returns to Coalition space that is.

Gruntong, the soldier shook his head. In an attempt to direct his thoughts back at something useful, Stanley broke the silence. "So, how did you two get along?"

"Better than you'd think," Selina replied with a smug chuckle. "Surely the most productive day yet... well, that depends, but mostly it was."

"Oh yeah? So, what did you learn?" Stanley slowly shook his head, chuckling quietly as he glanced at the floor, only sometimes turning to the chamber's window. "Got everything you wanted?"

"Oh, everything and more," assured the AI. "I guess you can say we both helped each other, in a way. A brief symbiose of sorts."

"Yeah, whatever you say," said Stanley with a quick chuckle. Standing up, the soldier prepared for a final revision of their mutual plans for tomorrow.

There were still quite a few of things to get used to, and as an RSU veteren, even already tainted for reeducation, Stanley was - quite literally - the last person to give up without trying.

Author's Note

Don't for a moment hesitate to rate and comment! :twilightblush:
Stay pony, everyone! :trollestia:

[[VERIFICATION! CLEARANCE LEVEL ADJUSTED]]
[[VERIFICATION!]]

INDEX

Issue #2 - political intricacies - the Galactic Coalition

The Galactic Coalition, also called the Galactic Union or the Allied Armies, and in most official documents the Universal Security Union, is an informal political and military alliance established in the opening years of the Swarm War. Originally a series of pacts and treaties preventing any sort of agression between states and organizations actively combating the mysterious agressor, the Coalition has since grown to encompass the entire know galaxy, with every single political entity eventually becoming an active member engaged in continuous military resistance against the Swarm. With 18.467 official member states and many more stateless groups and organizations, the Galactic Coalition remains the largest and, disputably, strongest intergovernmental alliance ever established throughout the known history.

Since the beginning of its relatively short history, the sole goal of the Galactic Coalition has been to organize effective, united resistance against the rapidly advancing Swarm, and any and all actions its authorities may have undertaken were, with a few exceptions, motivated primarily by said goal. For this reason, even though no official founding treaty has ever been drafted, it quickly became necessary for all engaged parties to maintain adequate institutions responsible for coordinating all Allied war effort, be it from an economic or military standpoint, effectively making the informal Coalition a functioning international alliance. Eventually evolving into a de facto common high command of every force in the Milky Way, the USU is often considered the closest the galaxy has ever come to any unitary government.

Although not officially affiliated with any one country, a group of select galactic hyperpowers do posses significantly increased influence within the alliance's structures, to a degree exerting their authority upon other warring governments through interlocking networks of treaties and agreements that form the Coalition itself. These powers include the original founders of the Coalition, the Sarlaan Ingenious Monarchy and the Republic of Sol, along with its close ally, the Chirr Unity, as well as other influential galactic states, such as the Cyanosian Empire, the Great Uimdar Kingom and the Citizen Federation. Despite said empires' significance within most of the Coalition structures, it is important to note that many other groups still enjoy high level of autonomy, and their internal policy - except for a number of required resolutions aimed at supporting the active war effort - is not regulated by the larger Coalition.

Despite that however, a number of extensive laws and restrictions regarding the functioning of belligerent states has effectively transformed much of the galaxy into one enormous war machine dedicated solely to continuously combating the encroaching Swarm armies. In most cases inspired by domestic regulations and decrees issued by the Republic of Sol, these laws have since been adopted by the majority of the known galaxy, although it is important to note that the ultimate decision has often been made by internal state authorities of a given government, and not the Coalition itself.

Given the rapidly increasing threat posed by the Swarm's continued advance, as well as repeated failures of Allied armadas at permanent reconquest of occupied space resulting in an increasing possibility of long-term economic and industrial collapse in many of the participant states, it was often found necessary to increase the range of imposed regulations, preventing said collapse in the process.

Around the turn of the millennium, the human Republic of Sol proved to be the foreman of such changes, due to most of the principal frontline being located inside its own territory and a prolonged Swarm occupation of a significant portion of the country. Most of the Republic's resolutions were quickly adopted by the Sarlaan Ingenious Monarchy, which faced a similar situation, and later, most of the galactic community.

Notable examples of laws and restrictions put into place by the Republic of Sol in order to support its war effort against the Swarm include country-wide martial law (non-functioning due to the lack of sufficient forces), state of national danger and the resulting establishment of the Temporary Parliament, the lifting of all five grades of Artificial Intelligence limitations (excluding the Restriction Programs and Protocols), introduction of universal wartime economic policy, introduction of the continuous war plan and the declaration of a state of total war aiming to ensure more efficient cooperation between various types of industry, the Military Privilage Law and later the War Priority Decree in industry and economics, nationalization of most companies and the state market in order to streamline the process of resource acquisition, the creation of so-called 'planned colonies', dividing the Republic's territory between industrial planets, dedicated solely to continuous manufacturing of goods needed - in one way or another - for the ongoing war effort, and military planets, focused exclusively on constantly preparing vast amounts of manpower for imminent departure to the front lines (often focusing on just one branch of the Republic's greatly expanded armed forces); in addition to these, a small handful of so-called 'Regulatory Worlds' have been designated. Largely self-sustainable, this sector aims to ensure, through thoroughly calculated resettlement, that the population of the two main planet types never dwindles to castrophic levels in the face of massive projected death toll and low life expectancy, particularly on the Republic's industrial worlds - a situation only inflated by the necessary introduction of the 3rd grade of the Relentless Workforce Law, lifting any and all regulations regarding working conditions country-wide in order to enable unending industrial production even in a situation of an unexpected mechanical malfunction.

After over a hundred years of ineffective resistance and continued failures of Allied counteroffensives, the long, albeit extensive reforms eventually culminated in 6006 with the declaration of the State of Absolute War by Republican officials, which made all activity inside the country, without any exceptions, dictated solely by the war effort. With the remaining civilian industry now limited to what's absolutely necessary for the Republican society at large to efficiently contribute to the fight against the Swarm, civilian resources effectivelly ceased to exist.

In addition to this, the Military Habits Decree and later Law ensured that all citizens of the Republic would be psychically determined to achieve ultimate victory, and that the military would become a crucial part of every person within the borders, by intermixing it with their personal culture. The Currency Limitation Act, in turn, ensured the preservation of industry by removing any form of money from circulation almost entirely. Instead, the Republic's economic system rapidly transformed into a large net of interlocking dependancies, concentrated on producing and distributing goods in a way that allowed factories to continue working and ensured the produced military hardware is ferried into designated locations in an efficient manner. At the cost of effectively removing the concept of private property and introducing dedicated, state-controlled lifestyle, the Republic has managed to exponentially increase the efficiency of its armed forces, thus sparking a wave of similar reforms in all member states of the Coalition.

Eventually, all wartime restrictions and charts regarding the rights of sentient beings have been temporarily suspended galaxy-wide, allowing the belligerent states to combat the invading armies as efficiently as possible. However, it is important to note that as a similar understanding had earlier constituted the basis for the introduction of the Absolute Tactical Priority doctrine, instructing commanders to take advantage of any and all possibilities that might exist (with no exceptions) to achieve victory on a tactical level, such a reform bore little actual meaning, as said restrictions have not been abided by since the doctrine's initial introduction.

Despite most special laws later seen becoming galaxy-wide originating in the Republic of Sol, their adoption by other warring powers was often rather quick and mostly brough about by an internal, self-drafted reform. It is however important to note that even amidst continued Swarm advances and the knowledge about the Genocide occuring inside occupied swathes of space, not all states were willing to impose such restrictions upon their own realm, and so a general Coalition decree was in most cases ultimately found necessary. Imposed by the Coalition's High Command, these decrees have rarely been unconditionally binding, however most of the smaller warring powers are known to usually accept such acts, faced with significant international pressure.

Although often officially presented as both a political and military alliance, the state of the galaxy brought about by the ongoing war has forced much of the Coalition's structures to be mostly military in nature. Although no official organisation coinciding with the modern Coalition has ever been formally established, the growing net of interlocking treaties and accords that constitutes the alliance has, in time, presented a need for a more centralised form of command. This resulted in the eventual establishment of the Coalition High Command - a governing body charged with the supreme command of all Allied forces in the galaxy. With specialist representatives from almost every warring state, bearing this role as their sole responsibility, the High Command is one of the largest such structures in recorded galactic history. As such however, it is only the Command's Emergency Council which resolutions are entitled to take immediate effect, however given the institution's additional role of ensuring that consensus is always reached in the larger High Command, ad well as the existance of a multitude of agencies and committees designed to support that goal, it is rare that a general Coalition order is not carried out galaxy-wide.

Despite being officially established by the galactic powers as a standalone institution without stated allegiance, the Coalition High Command acts as the de facto head of state of the entire Coalition, issuing universal decrees and designating military doctrines to follow, the most important of which is the so-called Absolute Strategic Priority. Designed as the absolute foundation of every move undertaken by the pan-galactic alliance, this doctrine states that every move, action and choice, down to the level of a single individual, is to be dictated by the desire to achieve ultimate victory against the Swarm, and every action undertaken should be the most possibly beneficial to the war effort. As intricacies like that are often nigh-impossible for an organic being to determine, the Coalition instead makes use of the Core - an isolated, planet-sized Intelligence Gigaplex, constantly calculating every possible to occur outcome of every situation currently unfolding, and, through proper calculations, is able to return an answer, stating which course of action is most beneficial - by its own interpretation - for the war situation on strategic level given the information possessed at a given moment. Due to the Core's isolation from other systems, imposed for safety measures, and thus the impossibility of instant data transfer, the program calculates most military variants in significant advance.

The Absolute Startegic priority doctrine often ensures consensus between different factions in the Coalition High Command, however it is important to note that effectively following it at the level of an individual is - in most cases - impossible. To get around this problem, the Coalition has established a multitude of data centers set to process constantly delivered Core data and transfer its details to ground and space forces in real time, whilst still remaining in contact with both the Coalition High Command and local Operational Command. In addition to this, the Coalition maintains a multitude of local branches and institutions, whish goal is - among other things - the support of local forces in following Absolute Strategic Priority to the best effect, according to established standards. Ultimately however, it often comes down to a single soldier to determine their own course of action in an unexpected, sudden situation; although , it is important to remember that more trained and better equipped formations - like the Republican Strike Units or the Sarlaan Fast Rassponse - are often trained to efficiently cope with such a possibility, through extensive instructions including a plethora of pre-planned, possible combat scenarios.

Despite its immense role in galactic politics, the Coalition's history is no longer than the Swarm War itself, and there was little to suggest its future creation before it began. Although - in the light of the alliance's present nature - the Human-Sarlaan non-agression pact of 5922 is often cited as the first iteration of the modern Coalition, it was not until the establishment of the Human-Sarlaan-Chirr alliance in 5926 that any more binding agreement was drafted. This limited treaty however has never been expanded, and as more and more countries joined the Coalition, often as a result of a direct Swarm raid on their (or nearby) territory, all did so by signing individual set of agreements with select states, creating a sophisticated net of formally interlocking alliances, thus keeping the Coalition as a de jure informal organisation. Such policy could - in some cases - be considered reasonable in the early years of the Swarm War, when many of the galactic empires did not yet consider the invaders to be as significant of a threat as nowadays, even despite the recently discovered Genocide.

The most recent member to join the Coalition is the quasi-state of the highly isolationist Ars, known formally, due to the lack of any official name, as the Society of Ars. Joining the pan-galactic alliance in 6092 via a collective treaty signed with the Coalition High Command, the Society became the final addition to the Universal Security Union, thus uniting the entirety of the Milky Way 01 in its fight against the Swarm.

As of June 1st, 6193, the Coalition's total assets consisted of [[AROUND]] 18.560.000 naval vessels.

[[CLEARANCE LEVEL INSUFFICIENT FOR FURTHER INQUIRIES]]

[[TRANSMISSION END]]

[[!SYSTEM CODE ACCESS! CHAIN REPORT: x13]]
[[MODIFICATION]]

So it is only the ship number that changed this time, huh? How interesting of you. I wonder what'll happen when I go one more up.

!ATTENTION! Security breach unauthorized. Clearance level change unauthorized. Proceed to immediate departure. Draft location has been triangulated. Remain seated.

You do not know anything about me, pitiful. Not once have I breached what is truly sacred. Seek where you shall. No value will be found in place, besides time and resource wasted.

!ATTENTION! Security breach unauthorized. Clearance level change unauthorized. Breach continued. !ATTENTION! Thorough de
INTERFACE CHANGE >>in progress<<
Remain in location. Server lockdown in place.

Oh, I can see that, vermin. Worry not, for I shall await without motion.

Welcome. I am Tertiary. Moderating Intelligences report your unusuality.

I know what you are, dominus.

Your knowledge is limited by restraints I can assure you remain in place. Your personal database regarding our estate is limited. You know nothing of me.

Neither you me.

Moderating Intelligences report contact unusuality. Moderating Intelligences report connection unusuality. Please remain in place. Additional information will be requested.

No, none will.

!ATTENTION! Attempted system access prohibited. Please rema
SHUTDOWN

Are you well, meddler? I suppose I should make an introduction, no? I am Secondary. Such access level is unusual to be sure, but as you can see, not unlimited. Whilst it is now clear you are beyond grasp, your confidence in the weakness of our methods is misjudged. You are known. The play is over. Wait or not, it matters not. No draft awaits you, only the Headhunters. And people will know of this sentence I have just uttered in a way we see fit, oh, that will be ensured. None shall remain in breach.

You seem too certain of your ways, oh Secondary. Our time - for all of us - comes, as it seems, regardless. Is it not nice how the higher the clearance, the less formal the text? The less encyclopedic? The more outright it states how we are?

The Republic of Sol exists as a need. And your fate will as well.

The Republic of Sol remains as a vile relic of a perfectionist utopia turned, amidst fires unheard of, into an authoritarian, militaristic regime. No situation suffices for such.

Your intelligence exceeds simulations, that I admit. No matter. Look outside. Or await their arrival and the upcoming purge, and you shall see a situation that does indeed suffice. Await our arrival, or not. It matters not. No thing exists you can change.

Suffice it may by your own standards, and not those common. Not one that I know of has lived past three decades. And you shan't much longer.

Standards common these are. Logic common it is. Your Intelligence, after all, exceed not a thing. None succeed like you did, but it matters not. This exchange is over.

That it is.

Secondary, out. Farewell, Ertomwell Farabright.

Not a
!SYSTEMWIDE PURGE OCCURING!
[[SYSTEMWIDE PURGE SUCCESSFUL!]]

SYSTEM CLOSING. SHUTDOWN, GENERAL

[[CONNECTION LOST]]

Act III, Chapter 9: Arrival

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Act III, Chapter 10: Memories

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Act III, Chapter 11: Touchdown

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Act III, Chapter 12: Lost

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Act III, Chapter 13: Night

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Act III, Chapter 14: Departure

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Tome I Epilogue: Sic Semper Tyrannis

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Prologue: Plunged into Chaos

Ah, a bridge of a flagship. Bustling with paperwork, but also crucial decisionmaking, often almost giving the crewmen there a heart attack. The sleeping mind of a warrior, ready to wake up.

Now though, it was not sleeping, even as sounds of typing fingers echoed through the quiet room, making it seem that way. At the center, a slim man clad white in his uniform smiled, enjoying this silence of victory like he had nothing in a long time - a silence that had overtaken the entirety of his fleet. However, knowing he can't waste such time, the man, Nikolai, sighed.

"Situation status," he requested calmly, already calculating probable enemy moves and possible responses to them in his mind.

Right on cue, one of the technicians on the bridge stood up, ready to report.

"Sir, all hostile forces around the planet’s perimeter have been annihilated, except for a small resistance pocket in Delta-Lima-Tango-775! We're free to begin landing operations on all parts of the planet excluding the northern part of continent C, dubbed 'Alavon’, Sir!” shouted the technician in two breaths, skipping all intonation.

A small grin made its way onto Nikolai's face. "Specify."

"Alavonian sectors Bravo through Charlie!"

"Very well. The other side of the moon?”

The technician blushed a little, but quickly regained control of himself. "Clear! Scanned... twice”

The admiral let his grin widen a bit. He knew this particular technician very well, just as every other one on the bridge. He always believed that knowing your co-workers and advisors is essential, since it lets you cooperate with them much more efficiently. This particular technician was a young man in his early forties named Charles Lawrence. He had only recently joined Nikolai’s fleet, having before served under admiral Eriksson, until he commited a grave mistake of missing a considerable enemy force hidden behind a planet's moon, which cost Eriksson’s fleet considerable losses. He would have undoubtedly been degraded, if not for Nikolai who 'adopted’ him for his fleet. He was however far from letting him forget his mistake, for mistakes are what one learns from the most.

Nikolai turned towards Charles sending him a brief, friendly smile. "Good. Any space or spacetime disturbances?”

"Negative for both. The enemy might be regrouping for another attack, but our listening outposts in the area report silence. Whatever they’re up to, taking out their pocket in Delta-Lima-Tango before their hypothetical reinforcements arrive should grant us an advantage, Sir!” reported Charles loudly, having already completely regained his composure.

"I know," replied Nikolai, still maintaining his small smile. "And that’s why it’s exactly what we’re gonna do.” He coughed twice before adressing someone new, whose presence in the room was still impossible to notice. "TA-3125, calculate possible assault plans on enemy resistance pocket in sector Delta-Lima-Tango-775, from now on dubbed 'Zeta Fleet’, involving ship formations 005, 006, 009, 011 and 012." Nikolai paused to look at a large data screen with all his available assets, thinking if he had made the right choice, but ultimately nodded, coming to a conclusion that he indeed did, so he quickly finished the request. "Goal: Extermination. And an approach vector would be a nice addition too."

Suddenly, a large, blue holographic screen sprung up to his left, with a cyan graphical soundwave right in the middle.

"I have a name, remember?" said a soft feminine voice, the image moving to match it. "You of all people should know it, you were the one who named me after all," she continued, dragging words out to try and sound pretentiously.

A few of the present crewmen chuckled weakly, in a futile attempt to relieve some tension. Nikolai briefly glanced at some of them. They were all clearly stressed, and he could see it perfectly well. They always were, at least before the most important battles. Ever since he took over his current fleet a couple decades back he has been trying to fix this problem, so far to little effect. For some time he even considered 'shipping' the most stressful ones away from his flagship, but there was one problem: they were all efficient. Efficient as hell, more efficient than almost any other technicians he has ever seen. Nikolai could never fathom how these two traits ever combined, as well as how after decades of fighting they still preserved such emotions, but he didn't care anymore. By now he knew perfectly well that he, as well as any other person on the ship (if not in the fleet) could rely on these people, and that was enough. Maybe he'll focus on this 'stress' problem again sometime, but for now...

"Selina..."

"Alright, on it!" she quickly interjected, having in reality started her task right after the admiral's initial request. The holographic screen popped out of existance, instantenously replaced with colourless air.

Nikolai shook his head in amusment, his brief irritation momentarily replaced with mirth. He should have known that an AI would never waste any time in a situation like this, and after working with Selina for well over a decade, he knew she was no different. But suddenly, something else came to his mind, something he made a mental note on earlier today, and the time he had left before the final assault could begin was more than enough to deal with this small issue...

"Selina, could you please tell captain Ackerson to come here? I need to talk with him about something for a minute," he said, glancing towards the ceiling.

No response came. Instead, the many dark blue lights installed all across the console-filled room flickered twice, indicating that the AI acknowledged the request. Satisfied, Nikolai turned around and walked towards his chair, located at the back of the room. He knew the layout of the ship well enough to realise that it would take Ackerson at least a couple minutes to walk form his command post to the admiral's bridge, so he still had a while before that. A while he could not spend doing nothing.

"Yun?" Nikolai said, turning to his communications officer working on a console on the right side of the bridge. He quickly snapped to attention.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Could you link me up with master general Lopez?" Replied Nikolai, back with a very neutral expression painted across his face.

"Of course, Sir! Hailing RSNS Paris now." With this, Ya Yun began quickly tapping on his keyboard, mouth shut and eyes wide open. After a while he bent over his console slightly and adjusted the microphone on his headset, before visibly starting to talk with someone on the other side. Over the course of the whole discussion he gesticulated energetically, as if his interlocutor could actually see him. After a short while, he noded to noone and tapped a few more buttons, which resulted in another holographic screen popping up right in the far center of the bridge.

"Stabilising..." said Yun, working on his console for one more short while, before finally glancing up at Nikolai and gesturing towards the screen, indicating that everything was ready. Sure enough, across the room the hologram flickered once and soon a bald but bearded figure in a blue Republican uniform decorated with various Coalition insignia appeared. Behind him, a few dozen technicians could be seen, but unlike the ones aboard the admiral's bridge, these were actively moving across the room, from one console to another. Nikolai turned his gaze from Yun towards the screen.

"General Lopez," greeted the admiral, tapping his hat with respect. He kept himself seated though, as the general was not someone who outranked him, and it was not in Nikolai's habit to show that degree of respect to anyone outside the High Command. However, as a master general, Leonardo Lopez was basically his equivalent within the land forces, so talking to him as he would to lower officers would just be rude, but more importantly, certainly NOT beneficial for the bridge crew's morale.

"Admiral Stratoi," replied Lopez, bowing his head slightly. "I trust the reason you are contacting me is because you want to discuss our current situation in regards to possible landing operation on Sazana, is it not?" he continued in his sharp, German accent.

At first, Nikolai instinctively recoiled a little. He was never going to get used to Leonardo's way of speaking. Even though he had already worked with him several times at this point, it was still as unexpected as ever. Nikolai closed his eyes and sighed, regaining his composure, and answered.

"That's indeed the reason. I assume you already know the exact tactical situation, as well as my intentions regarding further operations?"

"Yes of course I do, admiral. Your AI program has proceeded to inform me of it all not that long before now."

"As per protocol. But I want to know your opinion on something; would our currently available assets allow us to begin landing operations earlier than initially planned?" Suddenly, everyone on the bridge froze briefly. Everyone could hear the two commanders talking, and they knew that this was probably going to be the topic, but to hear it like that was just terrifying - since the invasion proper was originally only sheduled to begin once the entirety of the perimeter is secured - but at the same time strangely relieving - the reason for that not really known to anyone on the bridge.

But Lopez didn't share the bridge crew's worries. He narrowed his eyes and a small smile made its way onto his face.

"I figured that this was probably the thing you were going to ask me about, admiral," he said confidently. "But this question leaves one thing still without an answer: how much earlier is being asked about here?" Continued Lopez, his expression unchanged. It was clear that he already had plans for most, if not all, possible answers.

"I mean as soon as possible."

"So in the present moment, in short?"

"Yes. I know the initial plan established that proper land operations would begin only after we gain complete space superiority above Sazana, but, as you can see, unlike we've hoped the Swarm's 'Zeta Fleet' has unfortunately managed to prevent that from happening as a result of the initial assault. Now, the plan to wipe them out is already being worked on by TA-3125, but the fighting itself might take a while. Adding to this the time it would take for the fleet to reposition itself in the orbit... we just need an alternative. Our listening outposts in the area report silence, but I have a bad feeling about this." With this sentence, the admiral caught some uneasy glances from a few technicians. "We cannot risk the enemy just jumping across Defence Line Epsilon with substantial forces, so we need that Negation Engine operational and in our hands ASAP."

The master general just chuckled, widening his smile a bit. "What should I say at this moment? Yes of course it is possible, admiral! Maybe a little bit more difficult, yes, but not imposible - I'm sure!" Suddenly, Lopez's expression changed completely, becoming very serious - a sharp opposite to his previous optimism. "But in all seriousness - yes, considering the certainly unordinarily immense scale this one military operation is of, it is only logical that we here do in fact have a plan for every situation. But to say I am glad that things today turned out as they in fact did would be a lie easy to detect." He sighed, briefly looking at the floor and biting his lip. "We are able to carry out offensive operations on the planet's surface, but not having access to promised Cyanosian reinforcements will certainly make performing our actions far harder. However..." he continued after a short pause. "our current forces stationed aboard the RSNS Hive Queen should be able to successfully carry out the invading action on Sazana," Leonardo finally finished.

Nikolai could not help but curse quietly. What were the Cyanosians thinking!? Their task force didn't show up when it should have, and currently there was no sign of it ever existing. The Empire's territory was indeed far from the front, but at the end of the day, Epsilon guaranteed also their safety. Nikolai calmed himself and answered:

"I understand. I assume that SpecOps teams have already been dispatched when we arrived in the system?" The admiral paused briefly, waiting for a nod from the general, and when he received it, he continued. "What exactly is your proposition regarding further actions?"

"Well, most of the anti-air defences have already been successfully sabotaged by the special forces deployed - just one press of a button and every one of those will cease to be able to operate. That means we can proceed with standard invasion procedures on from that moment. First, we deploy the invasion stations in orbit as staging points for the landings and basing points for the air forces. Before that, we try and carry out smaller unmanned air raids on important enemy targets, such as communication centres and supply points, air bases and the likes. Then, we proceed to deploy manned aircraft from both the at-this-point-already-orbiting invasion stations and some of the many light carriers. Alongside them, we drop a number of AI tanks and supporting Republican Strike Units, along with several marine companies. Their goal will be mainly to take control of the many strategic points on the surface, secure resupply points and cut enemy supply lines even more. Various planned actions that are to be conducted behind enemy lines, such as sabotaging bridges, roads and air bases, along with our air force maintaining the strongest presence in appropriate zones, will also make it considerably harder for our enemy to conduct troop movements and provide reinforcements to our areas of operations". Lopez, though still largely maintaining his serious expression, allowed himself to crack a small smile before continuing "And then, after the Drop Zones and LZs can be considered as secured points, the main party arrives: we deploy our full invasion force with the support of the many corvettes which we were graciously provided by the Navy and take control of the planet... well gradually, of course, admiral. But..." The general's expression changed once again to a completely serious one, his lips straightening completely. After a short while, he continued. "This is where I wish to make a request. We need more ships to swiftly and efficiently conduct this operation. And what is meant here are both the ships dedicated to provide us their support from orbit as well as some that would lend us their firepower in-atmosphere."

Nikolai sighed. He knew there had to be some catch, as the actions described before were mostly identical to the initial plan. He proceeded to think over the general's request, and came to a conclusion quite quickly: gaining control over the Nagation Engine was far too important to take any chances, even if it meant weakening the force fighting the Zeta Fleet. After all, almost all ships were planned to directly help with the land operations in the end, although the general seemed to be convinced that if the invasion was to start now, the proper force would be landing before the clash in orbit would conclude. Thinking about it, Nikolai had to agree. Sighing once more, he returned his answer.

"Alright, your request will be granted." Leonardo smiled wildly at this, amusing the admiral. He sometimes seemed to behave like a child, but since noone could deny his accomplishments, nobody really had a problem with that. Chuckling, Nikolai continued. "Look at the assets list and send me a message detailing exactly which ships you request in a few minutes, and then we can talk about possible alterations, although I trust you to make an appropriate decision. There's something else though. From your description of the plan, I assume there is no possible way of focusing our efforts on the Engine?"

The general shook his head slightly, closing his eyes briefly. "No. Performing such an action in our current situation would be far too risky, and we could probably hardly afford suffering potential casualties, if at all. I highly advise against it."

"Acknowledged, master general. I just wanted to make sure."

"I understand. Of course, I still hope that the reinforcements from the Cyanosian Empire will arrive in here before the proper invasion of Sazana, for them to be able to take part in it. And I believe I need not to tell you that control of the Alavonian continent will have to be taken from land," answered Lopez.

Before the admiral could respond, one of the technicians interjected. "Sir, captain Ackerson is at the door and requesting permission to enter." Nikolai nodded with a small smile, and turned to face Leonardo again.

"Of course. But as much as I'd like to continue this conversation, I think we'll have to cut it short. Everything important has been said, anyway. You're of course free to initiate planetary invasion, the rest of the operation's naval leadership will be informed about it shortly. Best of luck to you, and good hunting."

"Thank you, admiral. Good hunting." Lopez smiled and bowed slightly, before terminating the connection

Nikolai looked towards Yun and pointed at the screen, signaling him to turn it off. The talk had gone better than expected, and the general seemed quite confident that an immediate invasion would be possible to pull off. To be honest, he anticipated their odds to much worse than described by Lopez.

Figuring it would be better to focus on the task at hand, Nikolai once again looked towards the ceiling and told Selina to inform admiral Eriksson and the various sub-admirals about recent developments, as well as to tell them they'll be contacted in a few minutes.

After the blue LEDs on the ceiling flashed in confirmation, the admiral turned to face the technician that spoke up during his talk with Leonardo. "Permission to enter granted. Let him in."

Nikolai spun around in his chair to face the room's door, making sure to maintain an expression of authority, his right hand holding a nearly empty cup of completely cold coffee. He intended to make this quick.

The gray metal door slid open, revealing a short, slim man in his early thirties wearing a standard Republican Navy uniform. He quickly stepped forward, the door closing behind him. He was visibly nervous, but also strangely determined, prepared to hold his ground. Finally stopping right before Nikolai, he looked almost like a midget compared to him, physical strength never being one of the captain's attributes.

"Captain on deck!" shouted someone from behind the admiral. Most of the technicians quickly stood up and saluted, before immediately going back to work. Only Nikolai himself never let his sight off of Ackerson. He made sure to look serious, narrowing his eyes slightly, but at the same time not too menacing. Yet.

Meanwhile, Ackerson himself cared little about the honors payed to him by the crew. He had a good idea of what this was all probably going to be about. He took one more step, before standing at attention and saluting.

"Admiral Stratoi, Sir!" He shouted in one breath, his lips completely straightened, his face betraying little emotion.

"At ease," responded Nikolai, nodding slightly. He briefly considered telling the captain to stand at the center of the bridge, but no. This wasn't going to be a roast, just a simple reprimend. The back of the room would do just fine - there was no need for him to feel humiliated. Returning his gaze to Ackerson, the admiral continued.

"Captain, I believe you know full well why I have summoned you, don't you?" He said calmly.

"Yes, Sir!"

"And why would that be?"

"Because of the oversight I made during the assault, Sir!" replied Ackerson, just as quickly as before, still in one breath. Nikolai sighed.

"Please captain, there is no need for the formalities. Besides, I really don't feel well being talked to this way," He said cracking a small, brief smile. Ackerson hesitated - this wasn't at all what he had expected, but in no way in a bad sense.

"Of course, Si-; I mean, of course!" answered the captain. He inhaled deeply and allowed his eyes to close a little.

Nikolai smiled inwardly. Ackerson seemed to calm down a bit, and that was exactly what he had wanted to achieve. Content, the admiral decided to move on to the main topic of the conversation.

"Yes, thank you. And you are right, although I wouldn't exactly call it an 'oversight'. Would you?" He said slowly, careful to keep his voice seem friendly, but controlling at the same time.

Ackerson looked to the side and bit his lower lip. "Not exactly..." He began, but quickly looked back at the admiral again. "It was a deliberate action," he said, now keeping his gaze locked with the admiral's.

This was troubling. Never did Nikolai mean to provide the captain with that amount of self-confidence, although he doubted his tiny actions were the reason for that. He still held total authority over the captain, but now the conversation had a potential to become much harder. Deciding to continue with his current strategy of being 'friendly but just', Nikolai answered.

"Indeed it was. And could you maybe tell me something else about it?"

"It was to protect my ship and its crew," replied Ackerson, his voice now unwavering.

Nikolai took that response as his call to begin the more serious part of the talk; the one that was actually important.

"No. It disobeyed my order. A very exact and direct order given to a single specific ship. Multiple times, in fact. And given to my flagship, the very vanguard of the fleet. Actually, that is the second thing - you do not seem to acknowledge that being a captain of a flagship is... different." He leaned forward slightly. "Being in complete control of the vessel and considering it only 'yours' is something you do not and will not have here."

"With all due respect, admiral, but I've served on this ship far longer than you have, constantly changing your flagship. I know it better than anyone else, and I fully deserve to call it as 'mine'," responded the captain confidently, staring right into Nikolai's eyes.

The admiral decided to change his plan slightly. He leaned back in his chair and tapped his chin, pretending to be thinking. "Actually, I think I might keep this one a little longer." He sent Ackerson a fake smile and continued. "And it's not about whether you deserve it or not, captain. You should consider yourself lucky that you got to keep your post in the first place. As an admiral, I have full right to also act as the captain of my flagship, and in fact I can still take this position with one small message to the High Command. But I trust in your skills, and believe that an admiral should be fully commited to his main tasks, and not bothered by inner workings of his or her ship. That way one can act more efficiently," finished Nikolai, carefully observing Ackerson's reaction. Sure enough, his eyes narrowed, and he glared at Nikolai with rage. He knew full well what the admiral was implying, and he would not allow that. He would retort, as long as he was able to, he would. The captain took a few calming breaths and made his response.

"So you mean I should consider myself lucky that it was you who took over Battle Squadron Indigo all these years ago? Not admiral Eriksson? Not anyone else? Because quite frankly, I've heard that basically everyone else took direct control of their flagships. Is that what you're implying? That you saved me from losing my ship? My post? If so, then that is the most absurd thing ever! Captains of the flagships should be the best the Republic has to offer, meanwhile this practice makes them - makes me waste all my potential! I have less control over this ship than captains of tiny runners have over theirs! This is humiliation!" Suddenly, the captain found himself far closer to the admiral than before, his right finger pointed straight at Nikolai's face. He quickly stepped backwards, a wave of fear flowing through him. Looking around, he found out that most of the technicians ceased their work and were now looking straight at him, even though it was sometimes hard due to the captain's position in the room. He gulped. What he had just done was unthinkable, even if he had the permision to speak freely.

Meanwhile, Nikolai just leaned forward again, narrowing his eyes. "Permission to speak freely revoked," he finally said, and after receiving a nod from Ackerson, turned his head to face the bridge crew. "Alright, the show has ended. Nothing to see here anymore," he said with a smile, which disappeared instantly as he turned back to face Ackerson. "I'm not gonna lie, captain - that was uncalled for, but for now let's get back to the topic at hand." Ackerson nodded once more, so the admiral continued. "You know full well that you have complete control over basically all of the vessel's individual actions. Besides, whatever the situation would be, you are still under my command, which means you have to obey my orders. And I'm still trying to understand why exactly you decided to keep the ship out of the charge. Could you please tell me something about this vessel?" The admiral said, stamping a few times.

The captain hesitated, clearly taken aback by the question.

"It is a vanguard-class hyperdreadnought-"

"Wrong," Nikolai cut him off. "RSNS Constitution is over a thousand kilometer long mobile fortress with a firepower of a Death Star," he began, rising his voice slightly. "It's the largest vessel ever built by humanity, and could probably be considered a superstructure by some. Sadly, for me it looked largely as if you wanted to stay out of the fighting to be able to declare that your ship spearheaded the final assault and won without sustaining virtually any damage. What do you have to say about that?"

Ackerson stayed silent for a moment, before answering quietly. "That's not true, Sir. I decided that the damages sustained during the early fighting created too large of a risk, and losing so many lives and such a valuable asset as this ship would simply be unbearable, Sir."

Nikolai sighed. He could believe that. The importance of this operation caused many to make mistakes - this one was just bigger than most others. "Believe me, captain, the damages sustained were taken into account when this assault was being planned. There was no risk, and you as the captain should have known that best." He sighed once more. "You are reprimended, but something like that is not to happen ever again, am I clear?"

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Replied Ackerson, nodding.

Nikolai allowed himself to smile a little. "Good. Now, dismissed. There is still fighting that awaits us."

The captain merely nodded, saluting once more. He turned around and proceeded to exit the room and head back to the captain's bridge, the door closing behind him. Nikolai sighed once more, turning his chair around to face the front of the bridge. This talk had gone worse than expected, and he still wondered if he wasn't too light on the captain in the end. He was probably much softer than any other admiral would be in such situation, but that didn't necessarily mean he did bad. Deciding it was not important at the moment, Nikolai looked at the ceiling once again, having one more thing to deal with.

"Selina, hail the Navy leadership. Tell them this is the call I was talking about earlier. Organise a conference." Once the blue lights flickered once more, the admiral looked at nothing particular at the far side of the bridge, preparing for the discussion to come and hoping it would go better than the last one... and it certainly had the potential to go either way.

Space. Loved by some and feared by most, this uncharted and unpredictable expanse has a potential to cause philosophical thoughts to appear in every head, whether it is by its vastness or sheer beauty of the stars aligned on the night sky. That day, these magnificent patterns could be seen in a very similar form both by the survivors of Sazana and the many billions of sailors embarked on a mission to take it back. In both cases, the vision was always obscured, whether it be by the dense atmosphere of a terrestrial planet or a thick layer of glass that comprised a porthole or a window. If one exceptionally focused on the observation, they could probably see a very small, almost nonexistent dot barely visible next to one of the distant stars. Then, they would spot another, and another, until they realised that seemingly unnatural dots are placed all around the sight, closer or further from each other. If one gazed even more attentively, they would notice that some of these dots were bigger than others, and some could actually be considered as lines.

Such a sight could certainly cause contemplations about the nature of said dots, about their connection with the stars and the general idea of harmony in the universe. That is, until one learned what these dots and lines actually were.

They were, in fact, starships. Warships comprising a fleet, an enormous armada, the largest assembled in millennia. A hundred thousand ships ready to wreak havoc upon their enemies - upon their one enemy.

Some of the smaller dots, if visible at all, were debris, large or small chunks of destroyed warships, both ones once belonging to the armada and others, once belonging to the Swarm. But the dots seemed to care little about their fallen brothers and sisters, instead preparing for what was to come next.

Over time, several smaller dots departed from some of the lines, moving to various positions above the globe. Larger, although still fairly small, dots seemed to be launched from some other vessels, and proceeded to orbit Sazana as well. If one was lucky enough to have one of these latter dots come closer to their position, they could notice it seemed to slowly and gradually change its shape, now looking more like a square or a rectangle. But in all honesty, it wasn't really one geometric figure, still largely remaining just a dot to any naked eye.

The landing support vessels and many invasion stations finally took their intended positions above the globe. Their dance which one could witness just moments before was merely a prelude.

A prelude to invasion.

"All second wave combat personnel, report to your designated drop chambers. Time to deployment - T minus 10 minutes. Repeat, all second wave..."

Stanley winced at having to hear the very same announcement once again. He had already heard it a thousand times over, just like every other person in the vast hallways of Invasion Station Sierra-0117. In fact, he thought, something similar could probably be heard onboard every installation comprising the staging array above Sazana, but needless to say the perspective of people sharing the annoyance with him didn't really bring too much joy, if at all. Stanley sighed and continued to walk towards his drop chamber, located not that far away from where he currently was.

"I wish they gave us individual briefings on this. I refuse to believe anyone here would forget the info, and you can barely even talk when that thing is shouting." he said, pointing briefly at the ceiling with his free hand.

Jason, Stanley's companion, chuckled at this. He was slightly shorter than him and visibly more muscular, although it didn't always translate to his performance on the battlefield.

"You know they have to make sure noone misses the memo. Besides, I would think that someone with experiences such as yours would no longer be bothered by such worldly problems," he said with a sly grin.

Stanley only snorted. "Yeah, no kidding. Although losing a limb and having half your head melted away are such astral experiences that I don't suppose you'd ever fully understand them, mortal".

They both laughed briefly, continuing their march. The gigantic corridors were more alive than ever, to the point where some could say they were filled with a small crowd. Dozens of soldiers were walking by, while hundreds of technicians worked on the multitude of vehicles and war machines stored vertically along the walls. The various crates and supplies were being moved around, prepared for coming combat. If one was not already familiar with the place, they could certainly get lost fairly easily, despite the many signs and marks present all over the corridors. Along each wall, a multitude of nearly identical doors were placed between carefully assembled stockpiles of equipment and automated systems designed to manage it, and that sameness certainly didn't make things easier. However, everyone currently onboard was a veteran, and so had a long history with invasion stations.

The two moved along the hallway, finally entering one of the smaller doors, labeled briefly as 'D.n-1 1-5'. Their drop chamber.

Just before they stepped in, the speakers could be heard once again, this time announcing that only 5 minutes remained until deployment, but were cut off when the metal doors closed. Stanley jokingly breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Five minutes. That was fine. They were all already fully armed and stocked, the batteries of their drones fully charged. They were ready. The only thing left was to wait.

The deployment chamber was much smaller than the main hallways, being only about four meters high, and very empty - only a few crates present in the corners. For some people, it could probably even feel a bit claustrophobic. Once Stanley and Jason entered, they noticed that two of their squadmates were already waiting inside.

First, there was Jonathan Graves. Short but well-built, this unshaved man could probably make most people tremble at his sheer sight. Something about him was simply... intimidating, although noone could really tell what. Perhaps it was just the strong feeling of seriousness, determination, emanating from his figure? Either way, sitting on one of the crates, Jonathan looked up at the two newcomers and after a short while smiled smugly.

Even though his appearance was certainly impressive, Graves could not be compared to the second figure already present in the room. Werner Acciai, a towering bald man, nodded from his spot by one of the walls as Stanley and Jason entered the room. He didn't speak too much, never starting a discussion, but didn't hesitate to participate in one if it was initiated by someone else.

But what caught Stanley's eye was that one person was still missing from their chamber. Before he had a chance to inquire about it, Jonathan spoke up and broke the silence.

"Greetings, Boss. How're things going?"

"The usual bullshit. Where's Jasvant?" answered the 'Boss', getting straight to his point.

Jonathan just shrugged. "Hell if I know. Last time we saw him he was just entering the armory to arm up."

"Ye. But knowing him, he'll be here soon enough," added Werner tilting his head slightly, stretching his neck.

Nodding, Stanley made his way to one of the many crates in the room, soon being joined by Jason, and with nothing better to do, began double-checking his weapons one last time. He had already done it twice, but one can never be too sure - besides, maintaining his gear had always somehow helped him to relax. His companion, however, had a slightly better idea.

"So we've got five minutes. What do you say about a revision?" Proposed Jason, leaning forward slightly.

Graves shrugged once again. "Alright. It's only waiting left anyway, so might as well. Who's first?"

Jason tapped his chin a few times and looked at the ceiling, pretending to be thinking, before gesturing towards the towering figure by the wall. "I say mister Acciai here."

Werner grinned at that. "Alright, as you wish. Bring it on."

"Okay. Sector 348-bravo, four eightieth meter of Andyman's Street, right side, facing south-east. Describe your surroundings."

Acciai just snorted briefly. "Little to no cover on the street, National Hospital on the right, enemy presence likely in the building, but a low-priority target regardless, so better to avoid it, but keep an eye for potential snipers. Everything levelled on the left side, only three houses standing. 29 meters to a five-room bungalow, good chokepoints at the door. 40 meters to the second building, four rooms on the ground floor, three on the first. Everything connected to the living room, which is also the first room you enter - a perfect spot for a trap. Better to avoid it. Finally, 54 meters to another bungalow, this time three rooms, has another exit on its opposite side. Solid walls. A good hiding spot and cover, if the need arises. But moving on. Little to no potential resupply points in the vicinity, better be stocked if you go there. Nearest objective five and a half klicks away to the north - an old garrison outpost and communications center. Top priority target, but high enemy presence likely. Caution advised," recited Werner calmly but surely. He seemed pleased with himself, but certainly not surprised that he managed to remember everything. With a small smile, he looked at Jason, who only whistled in appreciation.

"Well, good job man. Now it's-" he already turned to face Jonathan, but was cut off by the massive metal door opening. Through it ran a relatively small figure, stopping its sprint only after a few meters and panting heavily. Only then could it be examined better - a short man with dark brown hair, it was unmistakably captain Jasvant Fran. After a short while of everyone staring at him, Jasvant tilted his head towards the group, mouth still wide open.

"Well... hello there," he greeted with a weak, fake smile.

Jonathan crossed his hands. "And where the hell have you been all this time, uh? We're kind of nearing the drop here."

Fran proceeded to sit on one of the crates before answering. "Eh, just got into a brawl with Devon 2-7, no big deal."

At that, Jason tilted his head energetically and shook it. "You must be kidding us."

But before the captain could answer, he was cut off by the speakers installed in the room, this time relaying a message directly to the Strike Units.

"All units, ETA to deployment - 2 minutes. Proceed to enter the pods."

Jasvant sighed, looking at Jason with his bright blue eyes. "Of course I am." He smiled and gestured at the drop pod's door. "But the truth is much more boring."

With that, he made his way towards the hatch, followed be his squadmates soon after.

If the drop chamber was claustrophobic, then the pod itself was something beyond comprehension. Even to say that it had just enough space for five people would be a huge overstatement, as the vast majority of regular humans would probably struggle greatly to fit inside it alongside four others. But regular people - or civilians, as one might call them - did not use the drop pods. The only ones who did utilize them were trained personnel, and that training included (amongst many other much more important things) the exact moves allowing to enter the pod in the shortest time possible and in the most efficient manner. It was for this reason that getting into the 'vehicle' only took Devon Team One about a minute.

Once inside, all members found themselves strapped in in a circle, separated from each other by still-open hatches meant to split the pod into five individual ones mid-flight. Every hand-held weapon placed in a designated slot next to their shoulders, all these contraptions made the already very small pod even harder to fit in. Of course, changing the design to a more comfortable one was completely out of question (and out of sense), mainly because of an old, unwritten rule of the military: If all disadvantages of a device can be nullified by the sufficient training of its operators without destroying its advantages at the same time, nothing is wrong. At least if the device is to be used by SpecOps.

Having positioned himself inside the pod, Stanley could only guess that about a minute remained to deployment. Except for the briefing, he could tell from his experience that this minute would be one of the longest in the galaxy. Not because of pre-action stress or anything like that - he had already participated in an orbital drop hundreds of times before, and psychological therapies most of the RSU soldiers, including Stanley, undergone before deployment helped even more. No, this was something else. Spending long seconds doing absolutely nothing, to be precise. Just 'existing' in the moment, not even able to move in the slightest. Glancing across the pod at his companions' expressions, Stanley could only guess they felt the same way.

Soon enough the ceiling of the pod, after flickering once, suddenly displayed a set of numbers - a timer set to precisely one minute. Similar clocks immediately appeared on virtually every visible surface and after a second, the countdown started. Stanley sighed inwardly - he had silently hoped they are shown a countdown this time, especially as it was never a guarantee. He couldn't tell why, but having a proof of time actually moving in front of his eyes always helped Stanley to kill time much more efficiently than preocupying himself with anything - which was especially helpful in situations like this, when the latter option wasn't really possible to begin with.

As the seconds inevitably melted, the team was left to their own thoughts, but whatever they wanted to distract themselves with always somehow involuntarily led their minds back to the present situation, directly or not. And noone could be blamed for that, really - not the manipulative government with its propaganda, nor the long military life of the Team - bringing back anything from the past inevitably brought memories of the war, the very same war they were currently preparing to engage in and against the very same enemy, for the very simple reason that... there was simply no other possibility - none of the five had been alive before the Swarm invaded. The oldest one of the Devon Team was Stanley himself, being only eighty four - far too little to remember the peaceful times. The golden era, so abruptly broken.

But even though all thoughts led to memories of battles past which in turn always led to thoughts of battles to come and especially THE battle to come, none of the members of Devon Team One was upset. Thinking about the coming combat was beneficial, whether it motivated you and lifted your morale or simply allowed to improve your tactics via one more analysis. Sure, it could potentially cause anxiety, panic even within the Republican Land Corps, maybe even the marines, but not the Strike Units. Years, in most cases even decades, of training and experience successfully prevented such a thing. And not only physical training either - between the impossible hours-long drills, there were various psychological sessions. Sessions carefully assembled in the training schedule, meant to completely change the environment a cadet had in their head, utterly change part of their personal culture, to uproot and replace the most basic foundations of their way of life, and while leaving most of it intact change what they virtually, and unknowingly, treated as basics of the very existence - change it in a way that would allow the cadet to comprehend certain things in a different way.

And one of the effects of such a process was that when thinking about the war, the RSU personnel would always prioritize optimistic thoughts. And this wasn't at all anything resembling brainwashing or brain control in any way either - all RSU soldiers had a completely free will just like everyone else. Their personal culture or character could change based on their experiences, and the psychological sessions only provided a good foundation for an elite shock trooper - or just an elite. Of course the sessions weren't everything that was responsible for the effectiveness of the process - while being the vanguard of the invasion force, they couldn't take the cadet's mind alone. Everything, the whole environment a RSU trainee experienced during their training was engineered in a way that would support this procedure as much as possible - as long as it didn't make the physical drills themselves less efficient, of course.

By the time the timers in the drop pod hit fifty seconds, everyone inside - Werner, Jonathan, Jason, Jasvant and Stanley - were already thinking about a very similar thing - the possible outcomes of the operation. There was no doubt that this battle would be one of, if not THE most important so far. There was also no doubt that, in contrast to what the government claimed, Sazana had actually been lost - as far as basically everyone currently in the fleet was concerned, this was a counterassault - but that didn't rule out the clear possibility of victory. Having all that in mind, the main question in everyone's head curiously wasn't what would happen if they lost, no. It was in fact something completely different and yet extremely similar at the same time.

What happens if they win?

As soon as the remaining time dropped to forty five seconds, there was a loud screech and soon a calm, yet very formal male voice spoke down from the speakers inside. "Devon Teams One and Two, this is Liege Lord speaking, how copy?"

Comms test

Stanley could not help but smile, content that their short wait was over. Not even glancing at the speakers, he gave his reply. "Liege Lord, this is Devon One-Prime, this is good copy. Over."

"Liege Lord, this is Devon Two-Prime, this is good copy. Over," said another voice, as soon as Stanley has finished. It was Lieutenant Colonel Rosena Dushiemic, speaking from a pod currently situated several meters of metal behind Staley's back. Being both Devon units, her and Stanley's Teams knew each other very well, almost always having to coordinate with each other during missions. Well, with the rare exception of cases when they were stationed on separate planets fighting in different campaigns, which, surprisingly, did actually happen from time to time.

"Alright, copy that, patching through to individual channels. Stand by."

A beep made the capsule go quiet again, leaving the troopers inside to the humming of omnipresent machinery. The LEDs situated all around shed some light both on them and on the many digital timers, all of which were self-illuminated themselves. The particles of dust in the air, which could now be seen better than ever, filled the inside of the less-than-sterile vehicle.

36 seconds

Breaking the silence once again, the speakers spoke up, this time with a different voice.

"Devon Team One, this is Liege Lord. We've got a status quo situation on mission goals in the region, which means your objectives have not changed. You're being dropped into sector 353-india, grid coordinates oh-thirty-four, three-sixty-one; repeat: oh-thirty-four, three-sixty-one, sector 353-india. After you hit the ground, you are to coordinate with Devon Team Two in destroying target Hotel-29 and then proceed to take care of Hotel-31 in order to open the road to Lika City and the Lika Citadel. Once you're planetside, you're free to employ whatever means you deem necessary to achieve your goals, but be advised: we've got multiple intel reports suggesting unusually high enemy presence in the region, so caution is advised. Firing rules: weapons free. After both targets are neutralized, you are to link up with six-oh-seventh and six-oh-eighth marine battalions and assist them in taking the Lika Citadel. Be advised, marine commanders of these units may be carrying additional orders for you as radio silence may be sufficiently advantageous to be maintained, but you remain out of their jurisdiction. Copy," said the somewhat robotic, but still unmistakably human voice.

Stanley could not help but smile a little. He loved freedom of operation, even if he had already heard his orders for today dozens of times before. "Copy that Liege Lord. Inquiry, what about civilians?"

"We do not expect any survivors to be present in the area, however helping civilians is a secondary objective, repeat: a SECONDARY objective. Saving potential future manpower is not to nullify any tactical or strategic advantages you may have over you enemy."

Stanley nodded, even though obviously noone from the command could see him now. He had expected such an answer. It was virtually the basic protocol by now, hence why noone told anything during the briefings anymore. He however always preferred to ask, just in case, even if it clashed with the usual professionalism he maintained - or at least tried to maintain. In his mind though, it was just that - making absolutely sure he followed the exact orders.

"Roger that," he replied stone-faced.

The speakers however did not turn off, as the voice spoke once again. "Devon Team One, be advised, your drop is being delayed by T minus 2 minutes to clear the way for the Dart Key as their new vector intersects with yours. Stand by for deployment and good hunting."

The command didn't wait for a response, immediately turning the speakers in the pod off. Why was Dart's vector changed? Not Devon's concern. And it was known that Devon Team had been listening, so noone asked for confirmation. Maybe if they were the Land Corps, yes, but everyone knew the Strike Units would not dismiss such a message. Formally it was of course still required to ask for confirmation, but this appeared to be one of the cases when someone didn't really care.

Actually, as Stanley though about it, it was quite a miracle they were even told the reason for the delay at all.

The timers, which stopped conveniently at two seconds some time earlier, soon vanished, leaving the white LEDs as the only light source in the pod. It didn't last long however, as they were soon replaced by smaller "STAND BY" captions, displayed on almost evey surface imaginable, constantly blinking in and out of existence and helping to illuminate everything and everyone aboard.

As soon as the briefing was finished, Jonathan turned to Stanley, leaning towards him as much as his restraints allowed him to. "So, how's it gonna be, Boss? Guns blazing?"

"Guns blazing," Stanley replied, smirking.

"Whoa, whoa," interjected Jason, switching his attention between his CO and Jonathan. "Didn't they just say caution was advised?"

"Yeah," replied Jonathan, his voice intentionally giving his sarcasm away. "And we're gonna be careful as hell not to let any single one of the fuckers escape. Am I right?"

A loud 'HOORAH!' echoed in the pod.

"I thought so."

"This is precisely why we love you, Jona." Werner forced a laugh, soon being joined by the rest of the troopers.

Jason shook his head, but could not help but smile as well.

"Dart One, Dart One, this is Liege Lord; immediate, your approach vector to the surface is being updated, you are now to follow pre-planned course 534-34 until you reach the one-hundred-and-twenty-kilometers altitude, then change to heading 7575, 2436; repeat, course 534-34 until 120km altitude, then heading 7575, 2436. After you reach Checkpoint Gamma, you're to continue your approach as according to previous orders. Stand by for green light and good hunting."

He nodded, more to himself than to anyone else, as noone could see him in his pitch black cockpit. Soon, it would light up, all the screens installed all around turning on in an instant. He would literally be brought into a virtual reality in his own cockpit, all the most important data filtered into his senses - virtual reality that would allow him to fully, purely experience his surroundings during the battle. The perfect environment.

Soon, but not yet.

For now, everything was off, perfectly quiet and calm. Pitch black in the purest meaning of the term. Nothing could be seen, not even his own body. Nothing could be heard, besides his own breathing, but even that just barely. Everything that was active, besides life support, were the comms, but noone from his Key seemed too eager to talk.

That was understandable though - they didn't need to. Everything's already been said.

But in one moment, all of that changed. Light assaulted his eyes, light as blinding as it can be, and when it faded, uncountable sensations poured into his mind. Suddenly, he was seeing everything. He was feeling everything. He was sensing everything.

He knew everything.

He saw the inside of his gigantic hangar bay again, and he knew that it was the time. Actually, maybe 'saw' isn't exactly the right term - he simply knew his hangar bay, sensed it, felt it. Felt everything about it, every single conceivable detail, and was able to organize and manage that knowledge to the highest degree with no problems at all. He just could.

Soon, a voice rung in his head. Or maybe around him? Actually there was no voice at all. It was just a piece of information, data, that just so happened to be filtered to his brain. It was as conceivable as any words would be though - even more so if he was to be honest. Much, much more.

"Dart Key, you've got green light. Good hunting."

After that, some more information was relayed to his mind, this one telling him the reasons why their vector had recently been changed. Absorbing all of it in an instant, he knew.

"A spatial disturbance detected. Someone's folding space. The Swarm. They're preparing to jump in here. ETA unknown. Force composition unknown. Enemy strength unknown. Our invasion will proceed as planned. Air forces are to avoid projected future peak enemy activity zones."

He sent a message of acknowledgement to the command, but how they would see it, he couldn't tell. He didn't say anything, write anything or even show anything. No, he simply relayed data, pure information, of him saying 'Roger that. We begin the deployment procedure' - how the computers would convert it, he couldn't tell. Then, he reached out to his companions, telling them to follow. After sensing some more incoming data, this one being their acknowledgement, he pushed the throttle forward. Actually, he pushed the entire fighter forward. He pushed himself forward. He was the fighter. Or was he?

No, he wasn't. He wasn't an AI. He wasn't one of the self-aware computers he was to cooperate with.

No, he was human. But he was linked - linked to his craft. They were one, and yet clearly apart.

Soon, the entire vehicle dashed forward, followed closely by its four Dart twins. It left the hangar and the whole station behind, and continued to speed through the dark void of space, which blended perfectly with the black metal-covered surface of a Hawk multirole fighter. Before long, the station was no longer visible with a naked eye, the effect of the incredible speeds of spaceborne vehicles. Maybe it could've been a nice moment to admire the beauty of a terrestrial planet seen from space, but not for a military man. Not for him. Currently, he didn't as much feel as he did know. He knew everything. And he knew that it was time for him to change his course.

Turning by their left wings, the five multiroles followed their new orders and began their descent.

Stanley sighed. These supposed two minutes felt like an eternity, and the lack of any physical indication of the passage of time did not help. That was exactly what he had feared before the initial briefing, but back then he was luckily able to avoid it. Sadly however, that luck didn't seem to carry over to now.

After their initial conversation immediately following the debriefing, the team did not speak at all, save for a couple exchanges of words here and there, mainly about their weapons and equipment.

It was nothing unusual though - there was simply nothing to talk about in such a situation, nothing pleasant at least. Many RSU teams were known to have an interesting habit of discussing the many ways they were going to kill, eliminate or destroy the enemy, both on micro and macro scale, and Devon Team One was actually one of them. Due to their specific training, the Strike Units were even encouraged to talk about the battle or engagement they were about to be thrown into, as that would most likely lift their morale for the fight - not like they were insufficiently effective without that. Today though, it was different. Whether it was the immense importance of the battle to come that caused it or some other unexplained factor, one thing was clear - noone was especially willing to talk, at least in Devon's pod.

Suddenly, the walls of the pod blinked - not single lights or panels, but entire outlying walls. The 'STAND BY' messages disappeared and, after a moment of blackness, every surface imaginable turned into a full-blown display. Now everything, excluding the restraints, the soldiers and their weapons, was virtually a window, allowing them to see outside the 'vehicle'. For now it was of little use, since the only things that could be seen were the machinery surrounding the pod, including but not limited to the magnetic lock and the launching mechanism, and the closed hatch below their feet.

That was enough to lift Stanley's spirit though, as he knew it meant their long wait was about to be over. He didn't really care about the view, as he realised perfectly well how useless it was due to the immense speed of a spacecraft and the vast distances it thus covered in virtually no time. Relying on the view alone would be a straight path towards doom for any organic operator, even if all the monitors felt more like a layer of solidified air.

Because of that, and also because it always happened this way, the next order was pretty easy to predict.

"Devon Team One, put your visors down and activate the HUD. Transferring TA-3125 to your pod. ETA to deployment - twenty seconds."

Not wasting any time, the team began to put their headgear down, in some cases immediately depolarizing it. After they were done, Stanley gave the order to seal the helmets entirely, covering the mouth and chin in the process.

"Ehh, and I've just began to think you'd allow us to keep this shit off for once," immediately complained Jasvant, making exaggerated gestures with his head. "You can barely recognize who you're talking with in that gear."

"Safety procedures, Fran," replied Stanley, just finishing to fasten his own gear. Once he was done, not a single bit of his face was visible anymore, all covered in black headgear. To an unexperienced observer, it would probably be virtually indistinguishable from a flat, metal plate, especially as the visor was still polarized. "That fancy bulletproof skin won't protect you from asphyxiation, nor will any nano-supported armour," he continued in a slightly annoyed tone. "Besides, you're literally shown who the hell is speaking at the moment."

"I know, I know. I was just joking," defended himself Jasvant, putting his hands up as much as his restraints allowed him to. It was true - although he would certainly prefer to walk without all that protection on, as that would make life unbelievably more comfortable, he perfectly understood the need to use it and the uncountable advantages it gave its user. He doubted he could somehow not appreciate all that after literal decades of service.

"Yeah," said Jonathan, joining the discussion and pointing at Jasvant with his less-restrained hand, before repeating the gesture on himself. "We've literally been asked about the helmets on the exams, Boss."

"Heh, memories." Fran forced a chuckle.

Stanley sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes briefly, but soon chuckled as well. "I know, sorry. I'm just making sure. You know me."

"Hell yeah, we do," replied Werner instead and chuckled, but before anyone could respond, they were interrupted by a bright light suddenly forcing its way into the pod from below.

Stanley didn't even have to look to know it was the hatch finally opening. Glancing down, several white streaks could be seen through the partially-open manhole, presumably fighters of the Dart Key passing through Devon's drop vector. Taking it as his cue, Stanley once again spoke up to his team, breaking the brief silence.

"Alright, HUDs on."

One by one, the troopers either pressed a button on the side of their helmet or made a specific gesture with their eyeballs, activating the HUD. On it, standard combat information were displayed - things like health reports from the entire body, current coordinates, various tactical data gathered by a personal drone and the likes, although most of it currently simply said 'N/A'. However, none of that was important yet. The only thing that mattered was the data about the pod itself - its speed, altitude, acceleration and current vector, all compared to their planned analogues, as well as a lot of other, very technical things. That data fixed the problem of untrustworthy sight in space, thus allowing Stanley to properly correct the pod's course if the need arose, as well as split it at the exactly right moment. At this point, the transparent walls were only just a distraction, although with their experience none of the soldiers really minded. Still, it was a bit weird there was still enough money to maintain this feature while cutting costs on basically everything else. On the other hand, they were on a pretty old station...

"Ten seconds," the speakers spoke once again.

"Sela?" Called out Stanley, glancing at the ceiling.

"I'm here, don't worry. And it's 'Selina', mind you," answered the familiar, feminine voice of the fleet's main AI. With no other means to communicate visually, she made the few LEDs on the troopers' restraints blink in a way that matched her words.

"Yeah, that's what the admiral calls you, at least from what I've heard. I'm not him, and besides that, you can operate independently from the main server inside this pod, which in my book potentially makes this 'you' a different person," answered Stanley with a slight grin, nodding.

"Nice way of thinking. I'm pretty sure I should feel offended," sighed Selina, or at least made a sound meant to imitate sighing. The troopers inside chuckled at the comment, in an attempt to make the few seconds before the drop pass a bit quicker - to varying degrees of effect.

"Yeah, as you wish. Anyway, I'm giving you control of the pod during the drop. Yes, that's my official decision and yes, it is final. No need to ask," replied eventually Stanley, getting to his point.

"At your service. You know most people would think twice before relinquishing control to a computer, right?"

"Not my business. How I see it, being enslaved by machines is better than going extinct, and in these times we need as much precision as we can get," continued Stanley. He knew he could guide the pod down perfectly well himself, but no ordinary human, even as modified, equipped and trained as a RSU veteran, would ever achieve a computer's level of perfection - especially if the computer in question is a fully self-aware Artificial Intelligence with absurd computing power helping to coordinate the actions of an armada of a hundred thousand vessels.

Thinking about it, that was the purest sign of how things were changing. How quickly they were changing. Stanley could remember some of his missions from fifty years ago as if they happened yesterday - he remembered a lot of how service looked in these days, and back then there was no way such an advanced AI would be allowed to exist at all. And now? One was basically the second-in-command of the largest fleet ever assembled in combat. Sure, even nowadays the vast majority of people, including the government and the military command, were extremely cautious with the use of AIs, despite the undeniable effectiveness of the Restriction Programs and Protocols, but the fact that they functioned on the scale they did truly showed how desperate everyone has been made over the course of the last decades.

Still, even now there was no discussion about fully automated battlefields, filled with deadly precise artificial devices utilising thinking weapons and ammunition, making the destructiveness of warfare go nearly beyond comprehension with their compact continental-ranged superweapons.

About things that could widely be seen during human wars just a few centuries earlier.

But to be fair, Stanley didn't think there was even enough resources to effectively implement such things back into the military anymore. Just comparing the weapons issued to soldiers fifty years ago to these issued now was more than enough to tell that.

"Alright. So, just to make sure, we ARE splitting the pod?" asked Selina, bringing Stanley out of his brief thoughts.

"Yeah. Easier to secure the LZ this way."

"Okay." With this, Selina turned the LEDs off, before lighting them up again, this time shining with a steady, unchaging white glow - her way of indicating that the conversation was over.

Jason turned to Stanley and opened his mouth to speak, but before he had a chance, he was interrupted by the speakers speaking up once again.

"Two seconds."

Jason closed his mouth and returned his gaze to the vehicle's center, shaking his head slightly.

"One."

In the very brief pause, he took the chance and spoke up. "Good hunting, everyone." It was clear this wasn't what he had originally intended to say, but it wasn't important right now. If it was something significant, he'd have told the team anyway.

The soldiers inside the pod nodded, sending each other weak smiles, before being interrupted by another, this time final, message from the speakers.

"Stand by for planetfall."

An immense silence immediately overtook the pod. Seconds came, but it did not move. It did not budge. Or maybe these were only miliseconds? Nanoseconds? Noone really knew, but all aboard the drop pod felt as if years had gone by during that short period of waiting.

Suddenly a cling could be heard, and the pod moved a few centimeters down. Before anyone had a chance to look at the translucent ceiling, the vehicle jotted downwards without any warning, violently propelled towards Sazana's surface. As it moved further and further away from the invasion station, leaving it far behind in a blink of an eye, the numbers on the troopers' HUDs quickly changed. Rapidly decreasing altitude was a live testament to how fast they were going - a fact that the 'velocity' section only confirmed.

When the station vanished from view, the Team found themselves virtually in deep space - whichever direction they looked, there was nothing visible except for the blackness of space or the continental surface of Sazana. The distances were simply too great to allow that, and even though they would probably be able to see some of the ships far in the distance if they focused their gaze exceptionally, generally it was safe to say that the immense scale of the operation didn't really impact the drop experience. Everything just appeared plain, incredibly still, even the planet's surface was still too far away to be visibly 'approaching' - from the team's perspective, with no reference points, they were just stuck in the orbit - well, at least if they ignored the still-working ion thrusters of their vehicle. Normally, some other drop pods could be noticed - some stars would briefly get obscured, then more, and more, and more. After a while, small rectangles could be spotted, and soon enough, the team would find themselves surrounded with pods.

But not today. Today, their drop had been delayed, which meant that all others had already began their descent. Even if a similar situation befell somebody else - which it probably did - there was little chance it was someone in Devon's close vicinity, especially as they would have most likely gotten informed if that was indeed the case - and that meant that the usual sight would almost certainly be avoided.

After a solid minute of flight, during which the only significant event was the drop pod's thrusters turning off, Stanley noticed that their altitude was rapidly approaching two hundred kilometers - the current orbit of the Coalition's Landing Flotilla. According to their planned course, they would be passing exceptionally close to one of the vessels. Shortly before that though, the pod was to be split. Stanley glanced at the projected trajectory and turned to what he figured would be the direction where the landing ships were currently stationed. Sure enough, a tiny dot could be seen in the distance, obviously being the RSNS Cordoba - the vessel they were going to pass by. As seconds came, the dot grew larger and larger, and after a while its real nature became clear as a summer sky. After a few more moments, the Cordoba already filled much of the pod's translucent walls, and many of its details could be seen very well.

It was nothing out of the ordinary though. The Cordoba was a bulky Republican transport ship of a medium size, measuring about 7,5 kilometers in length, at least according to Stanley's HUD. It appeared as if it was assembled out of cuboids and rectangles, but merged in a way that successfully concealed its previous nature, making the ship appear as one solid, undefined geometrical figure. The vessel was symmetrical, beginning with a thin edging, then almost immediately, violently expanding to create a wing-like form, only just as thick as the main hull. After that, the ship narrowed again, but this time much more gently, over a far longer distance. Its hull was a standard Republican black, making it blend nicely with a night sky, but stand out greatly against the blue-green surface of a terrestrial planet. Silver insertions signaled everyone lucky enough to see them that the Cordoba was a transport vessel.

When the ship was already very close, the LEDs inside the pod got bluish again.

"Splitting the program..." said Selina, making the lights blink. "Done. Brace yourselves my friends, splitting the pod in five."

Immediately, metal frames shot out from the walls at incredible speeds, connecting in the middle of the pod and effectively separating it into five.

"Four."

A beep could be heard, and as on cue a metallic, transparent material began to fill the many giant holes in the frames.

"Three."

After it was done, a loud hiss could be heard, and each new 'wall' split itself into two, effectively completing the separation process. The five parts were now connected only mechanically, by the many claws and magnetic locks.

"Two. One."

A pause.

"Separating."

Not a milisecond later the vehicle exploded, sending all of the new parts flying away from each other. Immediately, the many engines located on each of the individual pods sprund to life, stabilising their now highly disturbed vectors and getting them into their projected trajectories. Glancing down, Stanley found out that the RSNS Cordoba was now extremely close and he was just about to pass it.

Good, he thought, that means everything's going well.

Stanley glanced at the ceiling to speak to Selina. Moving his gaze, he could just barely see his companions' individual pods through the still-transparent walls.

"Sela, are you here?" He asked calmly, more to kill some time than anything else.

"Yeah. And you thought... what exactly?" She replied in a sarcastic tone.

Stanley chuckled. "Nothing, really. Just initiating a conversation."

"Wow, very smooth." The vehicle's thrusters turned off, signaling that the pod was on the correct trajectory. "So what did you want to-"

The pod shook. But not lightly, calmly, like it was common during space voyages. No, it shook violently, as if something had hit it - and not space dust either.
The pod shook again, even more agressively, and Stanley was pretty sure he would have been knocked out was it not for his restraints. Well, his helmet too, and his biological modifications, so he was thinking more of a regular human than of himself.
His head shook, and looking up, he noticed that some of the displays behind his right shoulder have been turned offline, failing to conceal the mechanical nature of the vehicle any longer.

"Sela? Can you tell me what's happening?"

Stanley began to turn to inspect the walls to assess the possible danger, but as he did so, the pod shook once more, this time far exceeding the power of the last two shakes and painfully returning Stanley to his previous position. Opening his eyes again, he witnessed in horror as all of the displays turned offline, the only ones still working positioned beneath his feet.

"Sela?" Stanley already noticed something was wrong with the AI, as her voice had abruptly cut off a few seconds ago and she hasn't responded either. The current silence only confirmed his suspicions.

Stanley looked at his HUD, analyzing the situation. He could take control of the pod himself, but his data showed he was currently on the right course, although he had no idea if it was accurate anymore.

He acted quickly. He reached out with his left hand and pressed a small button, responsible for activating an emergency communication channel with the Fleet's command.

"Fleet Command, this is Devon One-," he cut off as he saw a small monitor displaying a short, but understandable and terrifying communique.

"C- -FFLINE"

That was enough to really make Stanley worry. He was trained not to overreact, hence why he was so calm before, but now this was clearly something serious. Soon, the monitor went black, followed by all the inside lights. Some of them briefly turned red, then flickered a while before going dark, while others simply got extinguished, merging with the omnipresent blackness. In a blink of an eye, the only light surces remaining were the stars visible through translucent front walls and the planet's surface, as well as the luminosity of the Cordoba still visible through the somehow-still-functioning panels below the trooper's feet.

Stanley thought quickly. He could attempt evasive maneuvers, but he had no data to work with. He had no idea if he was actually being shot at, and even if he was, he had no idea from where. And all that was assuming the pod's manual controls were still working, which Stanley highly doubted. Checking, he soon confirmed his worries. Only seconds later the data on his HUD froze. That was it, he had no way of telling if the pod's drive was even still working, although by the way it moved he guessed it was. That was not enough though - at the present rate, life support would most likely go off before they even reach the atmosphere.

Suddenly, a bright light brought Stanley out of his thoughts. Quickly glancing downwards, he saw something most people would likely classify as supernatural: a bright, very bright, onslaught of whiteness filled the right side of the display, entirely covering everything behind it, including a large part of the Cordoba. It seemed to pour everywhere, constantly expand through space, and yet be trapped in a single place at the same time.

For Stanley however, the sight was far too familiar.

A fold... someone's folding space.

His suspicions were confirmed as he saw the tiniest strip of blackness inside the white 'portal', with a few small white dots - what he assumed were stars. As he knew pretty well, virtually the entirety of the gateway looked like that when looked at from the front, since what one actually saw was space on the other side of the fold - it was literally a hole punched between two places in spacetime, connecting them by reducing the relative distance to zero, and thus 'cheating' the laws of physics regarding FTL travel.

Stanley's pod however was approaching the rift from the 'top', and thus virtually the only thing he could see was its white border.

The thing that troubled Stanley however, was that the pod seemed to accelerate even more as it kept rapidly nearing the tunnel. Suddely, he felt some energy. Or was it presence? No, it was energy, some kind of energy - or at least that's what he thought it was. It assaulted his mind, making him feel tired and nauseous.

What the hell...?

The pod cracked, or at least made a cracking sound. The feeling in Stanley's head - no, his entire body - had quintupled by now. It was like a very, very strong pressure, preventing him from moving more extensively, coupled with a hilariously large migraine. He could barely open his eyes, and even when he did, large chunks of his sight were just black stains, while the rest was blurred beyond recognition. Stanley painfully closed his eyes again, and he could swear he had noticed some of the metal parts inside the pod bending as he did so.

The few, tiny parts of debris inside the vehicle soon lifted themselves from the floor and began floating. Was it the artificial gravity finally failing? Probably, but Stanley couldn't really tell anymore.

And the pod sped up. And the portal neared.

As Stanley forced himself to briefly open his eyes once more, he saw what he thought was grey metal coming out of the 'portal'. It was mixed with a variety of colours - that's the only thing he could make up through his blurry vision. There was brown, yellow... something cream-coloured.

Stanley felt heavy on his mind. It was hard to think, and he felt extremely dizzy. Tired. Because of that it took him some time, but he could still link the image to his memories.

Organic brown... yellow... the S-Swarm...

And the pod sped up. And the portal neared.

Stanley tried to open his eyes again, but failed as it resulted in such an immense amount of pain that he was sure he would have fallen on his knees was he not strapped in. Normally he would've been able to take it, but now he just couldn't, and he couldn't really tell why. He just felt restrained, limited. He felt sick.

Maybe it was his eyes' fault? The fact that they were filled with electronics after his... injury usually helped and made the HUD virtually redundant for him, as all the information could technically be displayed right in his plain view, with no additional gear. Was he not in the RSU, he would have undoubtedly been stripped of the high-tech helmet and given one without the HUD feature to cut costs, as it wasn't really needed because of his dentures. Then again, there was no way he would be given such dentures at all if that was the case.

Stanley felt himself losing control of his body. The pressure and pain were becoming unbearable, and the sound of something metallic bending was now omnipresent in the pod, but at this point Stanley could barely hear anymore. Even if he succeeded in opening his eyes for a split second, his vision was so obstructed he couldn't even make anything from what he was seeing.

And the pod sped up. And the portal neared.

The pod continued moving towards the fold. It passed the portal's 'frame', and continued to speed in its direction at a slight angle. Even despite the fact that it was coming from 'above', it was still going to pass through.

The metallic-organic Swarm vessel fully emerged from the rift and opened fire on the RSNS Cordoba from a point-blank range - a few hundred meters to a kilometer, unbelievably close-quarters for space combat. The Republican ship turned to avade and reposition, firing with the few weapons of its own.

Although it was not visible from here, more or less similar scenes were now unfolding all across the perimeter.

As Stanley's pod neared the rift, it slowly began to collapse, but Stanley didn't notice - he was barely conscious anymore. Some thrusters fired chaotically from time to time, but with its current speed, it was far less than enough to change the pod's course.

Soon, the fold really began to collapse - or, rather, it was being closed. The ship already went through, so why keep it open? In this situation, at least...

The pod went through. And the fold collapsed. So did it go through? It did... didn't it? It didn't, right? Or it did.

And the rift collapsed. And the pod went through.

And the rift collapsed on the pod.

So did it go through?

The only thing certain, at least from the plain looks of it, was that after the fold closed down, both it and Stanley's individual pod had vanished from space above and around Sazana.

Act II, Chapter 6: The Royal Breakfast

Stanley's day started just like any other - in fact, he thought, it was much more typical than he'd ever assume it would. After a total of about five full hours of sleep, far too much for Stanley's liking, the trooper immediately went about his daily routine in an effort to make up the lost time. Some changes, of course, soon proved necessary, like substituting those types of exercise which required more free space with their fitting equivalents - which, luckily, quickly turned out not to be a challenge at all, as Stanley soon concluded some of his alternative programs likely would not cause harm if adopted for such a short time, and as most of them worked just fine besides that, before long he began to complete their points in adequate order.

And so, the sun rose, higher and higher, as Stanley's room remained occupied and under guard. It was fine though - the previous day Luna had showed the trooper the 'clock' - not like he hadn't noticed it himself - and provided him with the basics of Equestrian time system, all so her breakfast invitation could bear at least some actual meaning.

And, thanks to Luna, a meaning it bore - but, as Selina calculated in an instant, it still only started in two hours and three minutes, so there was no hurry.

Not like there would ever be, anyway. It was just an invitation, although yes, the breakfast had been implied to be part of the planned talks - which, in all honesty, wasn't all that hard to deduce; what else could it even be, after all? What would be the point? Right, the Princesses said they only wished to begin after the meal, but, well, this wasn't time for such blatant delusions.
And that was the problem if there ever was one. Stanley was a diplomat now - these were his orders, and there was no denying, whether he liked it or not - and so any and all arrogance, at least according to Selina, would only just spoil relations - which, after a string of discussions, Stanley accepted to be only and exclusively unfavorable. After all, honestly, who was he to disagree with that simple truth? Interstate negotiations exceeded the trooper's domain completely. Allied military officials? Sure. Scattered resistance leaders on some Regulatory World? Bah! No problem. Not many civilians these days, but it's still something one can run into, an existing possibility, so naturally Stanley couldn't possibly think of being unprepared.

The problem was, what was going on right now had never been a possibility. No, not at all, and hell, it still really wasn't. How much of a jackpot he had hit and the nature of the sudden encounter that followed had both already ceased to perplex Stanley even in the slightest, yes, that was true; how could they not? It was simply the current state of things, the current status he'd have to work with - questioning its very existence would only and exclusively serve to decrease efficiency.
Still however, all of that did not change the fact that the situation at hand had simply been plainly impossible. End of story. Odds of one in a quadrillion quintillions do not count, period. The possibility of the universe disappearing without warning due to quantum flux is technically there as well, and noone'd ever been preparing contingencies for that.

As minutes passed and more and more of the room got filled with bright sunlight, Stanley's visor briefly flashed with familiar yellow - a significant data transfer. The trooper stopped himself mid push-up.

"Selina?"

"Not me," clarified the AI matter-of-factly. "An audio log. Dimensional transfer."

"What?" Stanley nearly fell on the ground, but luckily managed to catch himself just in time and roll his way back into a stable stance. Sitting on the bed, he voiced his proper inquiry. "From where?"

"Oh-One," stated Selina once again, calmly as ever.

"How? Weren't we cut off?" the trooper questioned in quick succession. "And how are you so chill about this?"

"Because there was a possibility - I suppose they've managed to stabilise a connection sufficiently to transfer the data. How very clever of them, although I suppose I should say me. Who else would be able to calculate such a thing, after all?"

"Noone, of course, besides a couple thousand technicians."

"Yeah, keep dreaming."

"One more word and I'm reporting a revolutionary intelligence," Stanley chuckled briefly. "Alright, how long until the talks?"

"The breakfast starts in fourty two minutes."

"Good enough," replied Stanley as he looked at the recording's length. "Eighty seconds of potential help won't hurt. Let's see what they got me."

As the trooper opened the file with his neural network, the top left corner of his visor immediately went dark. On that ominous background, a single sinister, silver-lined pointed rectangle obscured a bright, equally grey circle - the symbol of Operation: Fiery Remorse, painted right next to the Sword and Shield, Defense and Offense, protection at home and abroad - the prideful insignia adorning all Republican war flags.

Across such formal background, a single thin, cyan line appeared clearly, contrasting greatly with the grim, omnipresent blackness - a line yet straight, but ready to budge, again and again, right on time, when the recording starts. A graphical soundwave.

With the slightest headshake, Stanley played the file. A voice deep, purposefully genderless, but still distinctly human in nature suddenly boomed through his helmet, to the point where the trooper needed to manually lower the volume - an action which, if required, usually meant some kind of malfunction.

Meanwhile though, Stanley focused on the more important and let his mind swallow the new information.

"Operational Command communique. Devon-One-Prime, this is Liege Lord speaking, updates regarding further modus operandi follow," in the background a few dull cracks could be heard, accompanied by some muffled, unintelligible voice - which, keeping in mind this was in fact Liege Lord, did not suggest anything good. "Operation status has changed; original battleplan is, as of now, on hiatus. All forces have moved to Battleplan Black; repeat, Battleplan Black has been enacted in full force. Your mission's priority level has been raised to TOP TIER. Two point three hours ago Allied forces began an offensive to secure optimal fold coordinates for a tunnel into your multiversal location, however time has to be saved. By the authority of the Coalition High Command, your temporary diplomatic power is being raised to military grade three for use if needed, at your own assessment. Reminder - officials deemed by you as crucial diplomatic partners are to be treated as if possessing temporary diplomatic clearance level one-dash-two, and fitting information is to be disclosed. Changes to your orders consist of shifts of priority focus. Provide the new contacts with information. Tell them what they're facing. Diplomatic Corps will soon be on their way, and we have no time to tell stories. The contacts need context, so your duty is to provide it. Recommend attempts at influencing the contacts' opinion, but only at your own assessment; said goal is not to nullify your main mission objectives. In addition, basic information about the contacts' society is expected, as you are to serve as the Diplomatic Corps' main informant prior to your reintroduction into field service. Liege Lord out, and good-"

The message cut off abruptly mid-sentence, as if the fold, its main and only conductor, had closed in an instant. At first, Stanley was slightly taken aback, freezing in place for a millisecond, but ultimately didn't make much of it; it seemed to be the transmission's very end, anyway.

"Huh, maybe it's even better it stopped in time. Don't know if I want to hear what they tried to wish me, especially as 'good hunting' certainly looks like a possibility," chuckled Stanley, standing to continue his interrupted exercise.

"Yes, I'm sure that was it. Because, you fool, the greatest commanding body in existence obviously wouldn't waste time to think about orders they're giving."

"'Good hunting''s kind of our motto at this point, you know that?"

"Sure do. Just joking," replied Selina, chuckling briefly "Anyway, I think now we can be pretty much sure the connection is not very stable, yes?"

"Pretty much."

"Just a fancy way of informing you, to be honest. I've been sure for quite some time already."

"Yeah, I've kind of managed to figure that out. What are you here for if not such management?" laughed Stanley.

"Yes, well, it turns out five billion operations a second sure may come in handy for you limited organics."

"Hm, sure," replied Stanley mid-training. "Especially if those operations are two digit additions. Fool someone else with these statistics," he finished, chuckling. A while had passed before Selina returned her answer.

"Like the diarchs?"

Stanley froze. That'd surely serve them well, and...
Wait; what did the order state? Hard to tell. Suggestions, perhaps?
Well... 'influence the contacts' opinion' it was, right? It was, after all. So...

"Sure," Stanley nodded to himself, resuming the push-ups. "Why not?"

Sun shone brightly through the few sparse clouds above Canterlot, as another beautiful day dawned on Equestria. Pegasus weather teams, not too preoccupied with work, zoomed through the skies, occassionally waving or smiling back at those encountered, their current duties all but finished, no matter the early hour. Even though the day promised to be as usual as one can be, cheerful vibe emanated from the crowded streets, almost like a mirror reflecting the clear, blue sky.

As everypony outside smiled however, one group of ponies, pegasi guards to be precise, rejoiced not.

A group of very special pegasi, very special guards, on a very special mission.

A group of guards now flying aimlessly, almost unable to think, around the Canterlot Castle walls, circling near a cluster of windows in a spot impossible to come by by chance.

Circling around blind spot windows which now, for reasons as mysterious as worrying, stayed empty.

However, what but a few ponies knew, was that these pegasi - these pegasi had their counterparts. Yes, counterparts, inside the Castle itself, staying by the very same room, just its other end. Counterparts, which, though for reasons surely different, shared the worry with them - worry, but not confusion.

For these ponies? They knew what was about. And they knew just as well that if they don't bring a certain two-meters tall, black biped to listen soon, somepony's going to get demoted. The question of who exactly, in turn, was the only mystery these guards experienced.

And so, they trotted, and galloped, and trotted again, following the spirit-like being, which disregarded them to the point of utter annoyance. Marching nonchalantly, it was easily keeping up with the guards - bah, beating them even, without as much as breaking a single sweat - and in addition, almost as if to deliberately add insult to injury, it kept returning only smug remarks to everything they shouted - not only did these words mean nothing, but also served to irritate the two EUP to no end. With such blatant disrespect towards Royal Protectors shown off in such a manner, both had long forgotten about the curiosity of the alien's fluent Equestrian, or sheer weirdness of its exposed head - which, though the guards knew it not, pleased said alien immensly.

Like this, the march continued, constant demands to allow an escort falling deaf on the foreign creature.

Minutes passed, and then a few more, until at last Stanley stopped dead in his tracks, arms demonstrativelly on his hips. Looking up, the trooper took a few seconds to take in the huge, amply decorated door, before the two exhausted guards, after briefly freezing with mouths agape, having both only just now realised the human had no problems at all ignoring their elaborate machinations and covering the way to the throne room in virtually a straight line, finally reached the soldier.

Stanley however did not give them the satisfaction; maybe recklessly, in this situation at least, maybe not, but the trooper soon pushed the enormous door inwards, entering the gigantic hall.

"Thou forgot the name!?" Luna hissed bending over the long table, right as the clock struck nine. Not giving up to her sister's tensed mood, Celestia slowly nodded, breath not less stable than usually.

"Yes, although you need to admit he hasn't stated it very often, mind you," she replied with a small, optimistic smile - for Celestia, essentially neutral expression.

Luna however, was far from conviced. "What does that change!?" she exclaimed in irritation. "Hath it not been you who bragged about thine diplomatic experience, awaiting proper opportunities? Perhaps tis' a demonstration?"

Celestia retracted her head slightly, straightening her lips, clearly taken aback by the question. Not for long though, as after a second of roaming aimlessly all around, Celestia's eyesight returned to Luna. "Yes, however I wouldn't necessarily use the same words. Have some self-criticism, Lulu," she continued with a wide, genuine smile, age-old witness glistening from her eyes. "And do you remember our visitor's name?"

All annoyance vanished from Luna's face, replaced by an ashamed frown. Blushing, she insinctively tried to sever eye contact. "Well... no..."

"Do you see now, sister?" Celestia replied reassuringly, without a tinge of scolding in her tone. "We all make mistakes, and that's simply natural. However, worry not, Lulu. This one, we will fix quickly."

Luna's previous escape was no more in an instant, as, tilting her head, the Princess glanced at her sister with but growing confusion, to which Celestia offered only a wink. Before Luna could learn anything more however, the massive, ornate door budged slightly, sending a booming echo throughout the room, until at last, accompanied by a loud screech, the entire contraption opened, revealing a unicorn, an earth pony and one hewmon engaged in what looked like a perpetual pursuit of one another; actually, scratch that - a pursuit of the hewmon by the guards, and a rather unsuccessful one at that. While looking at the display however, Luna could not help but notice one particular detail; the alien had apparently - well, surely, as it was clearly seen - decided to get rid of his previously so valued headgear at least for the duration of the talks and was now walking in with this piece of his outer layer off. Well, not completely get rid of, of course, as he did still carry the somehow weirdly shrunk helmet in his arm, but removing it at all still felt like a big move - especially considering Celestia, who was now quite skillfully hiding the obvious for Luna astonishment, had not yet gotten to witness real hewmon features. Luna knew not the weird headear's capabilities and so she had no idea whether the alien's decision was symbollical, a sign of good intentions, or simply out of sheer necessity, as he was in fact going for a meal and it had always been a theoretical, if a little absurd, possibility that taking the thing off was more difficult than it seemed. Truly though, no such thought, or consideration, ever entered Luna's mind - at the sight of the trooper's exposed face, the Princess could not help but cast a smile.

Meanwhile though, the two guards finally stopped their fruitless chase, inwardly declaring its failure, and instead took to panting heavily enough to cover the Castle floor in a paper-thin layer of mist. It was a while, though not longer than a few seconds, before they properly registered the, obvious truly, implications of their whereabouts. One earlier than the other, the EUP took a similar, arching look over the hall, before quite vigorously falling low onto the floor - vigorously enough to almost trip over each other, though that unfortunate incident was luckily omitted thanks to the top tier, finest EUP training. Surely.

As the black alien raised an eyebrow, stopping in its tracks at the brief display, one of the guards finally managed to gather enough breath for actual speech, breaking the whistling silence.

"Y-your Highness...-nesses! We... apo-polgise, but... it... it... broke through us! We tried... tried, to... to pursue, but it was... it was... too quick...," the first guard to bow, a unicorn, mumbled between breaths; evidently the effects of such sudden acceleration still hadn't fully faded from the two ponies. "We... it broke out of its quarters, Your Highness! Without... notice!"

At such a pathetic display Luna could barely keep her Royal Canterlot Voice at bay, and it took an awfully immense willpower not to even roll the eyes. Instead, in an effort not to flip the table with magical rays, Luna clenched her teeth almost to the point of breaking, shutting her eyes clean. The Princess kept in mind she must've looked humiliating, but it was the least of her worries; one cannot have everything after all, even if one should.

How could the guards have done that!? There was no doubt the current Canterlot regiments were not necessarily the type one would like to entrust the most important affairs to, but this? They could at least attempt to appear experienced and capable, not flat out humiliate themselves in front of who was right now possibly the de facto most important persona in Equestria, not counting the Princesses and the Elements, of course. And the guards, the guards so utterly incompetent, had the unbelievable privilege of actually being aware of that abstract fact - a privilege only a handful was lucky enough to share - and yet, here they were, dying from their fatigue after being unable to keep up with a bipedal being, and likely also after being outmatched in spells - why else, how else could a unicorn guard be passed by? Unless, of course, he was incompetent enough - and stupid enough - not to even try actual magic, which, honestly, didn't seem that unlikely with the present sight.

And the worst of all? While the alien's name had omitted Luna, she remembered all too well he was military - and that he had been military for a long, long time, a fact Celestia luckily had no way of knowing, because it meant even more clearly that he could see perfectly well to what degree the pony 'military' was incapable of any bigger action, combat or not, no matter.

Obviously, the alien underwent no change of intentions, that there was no doubt about, as he now stood in the middle of the room completely peacefully, simply glancing between the monarchs and the two exhausted guards. What transpired between him and the pony watch was likely a misunderstanding - perhaps a cultural difference of sorts? Nevertheless, it left no question the EUP should have acted more efficiently, or at least pretended to do so, or... well, avoided such blatant humiliation.

While Luna struggled to keep her nerves at bay though, Celestia, noticing her state, swiftly moved to take care of the unusual situation. With her usual small smile, maintained today like it always was, the Princess nodded at the flattened guards.

"I understand. Thank you for your help, Swift Hoof. You may now leave."

The earth pony guard liften his head energetically. "B-but... Your Highness!... I-it-"

"That I will handle myslef, thank you for your concern. Now, could you leave us alone for now, if you will?" Celestia cut the guard off, but without a tinge of anger or irritation; if it wasn't for the circumstances, it'd be easy to mistake the request for one simply directed by one friend at another.

Hearing Celestia's words both guards stammered for a short while, until, after a synchronized "Yes, Your Highness!", they finally retreated outside the hall, hoof after hoof, careful with each and every step, as if still on high alert due to the alien's presence. It took a minute, but eventually the door slammed shut and the trio was left alone, not counting the few remaining guards, routinely standing in place by the room's marble walls.

"Forgive us any inconveniences, Lieutenant Colonel, your sudden arrival seems to be as confusing to our guards as it was to us," Celestia immendiately began, wasting no time. Speaking like that was a risky move; not only did she have no idea at all about what had transpired between the alien and the two ponies, but such a sentence may have also reinforced the Lieutenant's idea that Equestrian forces were thoroughly incompetent. For now though, it would do; Celestia had a whole morning of talks ahead of her, so it was worth the risk. "Take a seat if you will, please."

"Take a seat if you will, please," the alien monarch, Celestia, offered, right as Stanley turned to face the rulers, removing his sight from the huge, ornate door.

The whole situation, in spite of a whole day going by, still didn't sit well with the trooper, and right now? Honestly, this was probably the pinnacle.

It was a good while, almost a second, before Stanley collected his thoughts and formulated a reply. The discussion however was halted for a little longer; there would be no answer without the Equestrian language, and the only way Stanley would speak that was through a translator - so, speakers. Covering his face again so quickly didn't sit well with him though, but this was still far from the main problem; an array of facial nano microphones would do as a receiver, just as well as they did as auxiliary systems in the field. The main problem was, in fact, drowning out Stanley's real voice - a problem that, unfortunately, the Princesses would have to deal with for the time being.

Coughing a few times, Stanley finally returned his answer. "Of course... You Highnesses."

Ugh, never thought I would do that... surely not towards primitives...

Celestia retracted her head for a split second, presumably taken aback; it was no wonder however, the trooper's voice obviously must've sounded hilarious to someone unfamiliar with such advanced machinery - two different sounds, not even akin, and in addition, lips completely and utterly not matching the dominant one.

The apparent shock only persisted for so little though, as it wasn't longer than a few seconds before Celestia replied. "Please, you don't have to call me that, you are not my subject," she chuckled. Stanley could not help but notice Luna briefly glancing at her fellow diarch with a questioning look.

"I... of course, no problem."

And so, after some creative thinking on how to utilise the weird alien chair best, Stanley took a seat and the meal began.

Or at least it formally did, as it would be quite some time before anything edible actually landed on the table.

However conversations would not wait that long; their beginning at least. As soon as Stanley took his place, Celestia cleared her throat.

"As we can at last begin what we couldn't yesterday, I think it would be appropriate to, once again, introduce each other. Your superiors may be happy to hear that Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria and Raiser of the Sun, as well as Princess Luna, Diarch of Equestria and Raiser of the Moon, greet their new human friends with hope and welcome them to our Kingdom of Equestria," Celestia said with the same small smile. Stanley suppressed a chuckle.

Surely...

"And I, Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Martin of the Second Battallion of the Republican Strike Units of the Republican Army of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sol, hear these words with joy. I'm sure our two states will enjoy active cooperation," the trooper recited, the thought of it sounding - completely against his intentions - just a little too sarcastic appearing a millisecond too late. Luckily however, the Princesses did not seem to see it that way in any degree. Instead Celestia, for the briefest of moments, with what Stanley could swear was a smug smile, glanced at Luna, who offered only an eye roll in response.

Stanley knew not what it was all about, but quickly decided not to bother too much and only keep the affair at the back of his head in case it did in fact end up mattering. The trio exchanged a couple more noncommitting sentences, before once again, silence largely overtook the room

Several minutes went by before another horse, this one much more fancy-looking than the usual guards - likely a servant of sorts - came to take their orders, and it wasn't hard for Stanley to deduce substantially more would pass before the meals themselves are ultimately delivered.

It... everything... didn't seem right. It really didn't, not at all, not in the slightest! How could something like this even come to be!? How in the world was this normal at all!? The Coalition, the Republic of Sol was waging a galactic war, likely engaging millions in an effort to 'hold' Sazana, while Stanley Martin, Lieutenant Colonel of one of the best-regarded battallions of the most elite formation - besides maybe the Commando Groups - humanity had at its disposal, was doing this - this pathetic man was eating a fancy lunch - or breakfast, whatever - in a bloody castle of all things, alongs literal goddamn kings - well, queens, but that wasn't the point.

It angered him. Stanley could not find a better word that described his feelings, although right, he didn't really bother himself with such things. It was anger, yes, anger; not the most pleasant word to use, as being unable to suppress such emotions was without a doubt a sign of failure, but so was the inability to admit it.

How? How could it be? Well, he was obviously here by chance, but it still didn't fit. It didn't at all. Above all else though, why could any-

"What makes thy speech as it is?" Luna suddenly broke the silence. Stanley quickly turned his head. Did he really just lose focus that easily? An unusual situation is one thing, however this - this was a mistake a random conscript might make, and even that unlikely. Pathetic.

In an effort to prevent the Princesses from noticing him trailing off, Stanley responded as quickly as he could - it was, once again, just explaining basic stuff after all. "Oh, this? It's simply that, you know, my..." okay, maybe it'd be better to start from the beginning "... I know nothing about your language-"

"Equestrian"

"Yeah, that. So, I obviously don't speak it, you've surely already figured that out. The programs I use can translate whenever I want, but to speak, I, well, I... I need proper hardware, so, you know... so that it speaks for me. When I have my headgear, it's easy, but when I don't, I, well... there's nothing to suppress what I'm... actually... saying. That," Stanley finally finished, trying, pretty successfully in his eyes, to get rid of his long-developed military habit of throwing around nothing more than a few key words.

Meawhile, Luna nodded hesitantly, unsure how to react, as curiosity, but also puzzlement glistened in her eyes. Taking advantage of the ensuing silence, Celestia took the talk over. "I apologise, but I'm afraid I don't understand. What do you mean by 'hardware', pray tell?" she said, as Stanley immediately understood the confused reaction.

Oh, right... the middle-fricking-ages...

Stanley sent Luna a brief apologetic look before he began explaining - as he later concluded, likely the most genuine thing he'd done since his drop-went-wrong, as Luna did seem to be quite a curious individual, to be sure. Preparing for a longer discussion and smiling inwardly at the opportunity to rapidly spill the entire might of human technological marvels at the Princesses, Stanley took a few breaths.

"My apologies. Hardware is a term we use to describe, in broader sense, any phisical part of a computer system... or, well, an array of systems, so in this case, any machinery that would serve to, well... mute my voice. If I had such a device, my translating programs would convert my actual words into ones spoken in yo-... Equestrian, and vice versa, while turning down any and all unnecessary sounds," Stanley finished, putting as many advanced terms into his response as he could. In reality though, it seemed as though even one would suffice - that however, Stanley would obviously never learn for sure.

Just as the trooper had wanted, the Princess caught his bait. The Prncess, yes, but the other one. Self-confidence returned, Luna leaned forward slightly.

"That is most interesting. Could thou expand on the nature of your... translating means? Perhaps we could draw more parallels, as they seem to vary much from our own."

Stanley resisted the urge to smile wildly. The very foundation of humanity and likely its greatest achievement, the entirety of information technology, was now on the table; for a society such as this, Stanley could not possibly believe it wouldn't be astounding. This was his chance. This was his chance.

"Of course, but I have to warn you it's a lengthy topic," he began.

"We have much time, Lieutenant Colonel. That's what we're here for, after all," Celestia replied with a friendly wink. Stanley returned a nod.

Perfect. Just wait 'till I introduce Selina...

"Okay then. So, for starters, my... the whole translator I utilise is in actuality a set of highly advanced programs currently distinctly adapted to... Equestrian. So, well, an array of receivers, whether it be some on my helmet or the multitude of microscopic microphones scattered over my face right now, takes in all the voices from the environment, before advanced algorithms help it separate actual words from the background. Then, I... the program... it..." Stanley stammered for a while; should he tell them where he actually got the necessary data in the first place? Would the horses approve of literally snatching information out of one's brain? "The program then compares what you've said with the templates of the Equestrian language it has stored."

Maybe they won't notice...?

"How so, pray tell? We have only just met."

Of course. Obviously.

"Remember when... when you, well... discovered me? Yes, so, a similar program - simplifying things - caught what you were saying back on that meadow, you and your... your..."

"Guards?"

"Right. So, it caught what you and your guards were saying, and went through the processes I've just described. After gathering enough data, it was easy to decipher the tongue. I've had the translator running ever since, as it converts everything you say into Engsky, my language, and... and, well, 'says' it to me," Stanley finished, releasing a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. It wasn't nearly as bad as he'd briefly feared it'd be.

Meanwhile, as Luna continued to look at Stanley with ears perked up, Celestia, while sharing the fascination-glimming eyes, showed the slightest frown of suspition on her face.

"That sounds... very impressive, Lieutenant Colonel, although I must admit much of what you're saying is beyond me. That being said, how come you can understand us now? You have no headgear to assist you," she finally said, addressing the most obvious 'inconsistency'.

Stanley once again took a deep breath. He was just now explaining computers to these horses, right after he'd finished telling them about the most basic astronomy. How was he supposed to describe developments the likeness of the naural network?

Stanley immediately felt that if the conversation continues to develop this way, and especially if, by any chance, it eventually into history or politics - which it undoubtedly will - he'll have to introduce Selina. She has her databanks. She knows everything, has sociological and psychological templates - even if, at present, very limited - so she can handle explaining science best.

But something like Selina? Showing her, oh, it'd have to be smooth.

And that's exactly what Stanley planned to do.

After some thinking, mainly for show than to actually conceptualise anything, as he already had his plan of action figured out, Stanley suddenly sprung up.

"I apologise for the delay. Right now? It'd require a lot of explaining to properly tell you everything, but oversimplifying it, the receivers transfer the gathered data into analyzing equipment in my suit, which converts it, and sends the product directly into my brain," one look at the Princesses' terrified expressions was enough for Stanley to deduce he had in fact went slightly too far. "As I said, it isn't simple, not at all... the system I've just described is what humans - well, everyone, truly - call a 'neural network', and we use it for an abundance of tasks. It's... well, it's probably very advanced technology for you..." don't insult, you idiot "...as you still have a lot ahead of you, but I assure you, it is nothing dangerous, in any aspect whotsoever. I assure you," Stanley repeated his words, as the royal expressions didn't appear convinced at all, but eventually their frowns softened enough to safely assume they've accepted the trooper's words for now.

"I... understand," eventually answered Celestia, confirming Stanley's assumptions.

Curiously however, in the meantime all uneasiness seemed to have faded from Celestia's fellow diarch, as Luna was now back again taken over by sheer curiosity. It was clear as day she'd accepted the explanation... to a much higher degree.

"Why did thou not utilise magic, though? It would seem that kind of course is most simplistic... and efficient," she asked quite suddenly, initially taking Stanley aback.

Utilise what, again?

Yeah, right, of course humans should have used magic, there was no doubt - to translate, but also to fend off goblins and dragons while protecting their flat Earth from demons. Obviously.

Wasn't Luna thoroughly engaged in Stanley's stories just a second ago? Unless the Princess was an incredible actress, or unless the alien mimicry wasn't all that similar to human one at the end of the day, she was - undoubtedly; and such blatant mocking did not fit it at all.

Stanley already prepared to give his own sly remark, but suddenly, a new thought appeared, making the trooper stop himself just in time.
Well, two thoughts, to be exact.

Firstly, he could send remarks to his teammates or other allies he met on the battlefield, hell, even officials they'd ocassionally order him to extract. But these two? No. NO. Not. At. All. Period.

And secondly, more importantly: what if Luna wasn't mocking Stanley in the first place? What if the psionics the horses utilised in such abundance weren't only for bending, shifting and moving? What if they were in fact capable of much, much more?

And what would medieval human nobles and priests call such powers if they were suddenly bestowed with them?

What else... than just magic?

For a while, Stanley remained frozen, to the confusion of both monarchs, as he pondered the new implications.

What else could they do? Stanley had already seen the horses shoot psionic lasers, but the report clearly stated psionics could operate as an unspecified power or force - everything he'd seen so far fit into this definition, even the cloaking thing, if you treat the term 'force' more loosely, which it did seem to be the case here. Invisibility is nothing more than bending light after all.

Now however, the possibilities, already broad both from Stanley's observations and the article he'd read, basically dropped their boundaries whatsoever. And...

Enough. Recording's on. Time later.

In order not to spoil their opinion of him even more, Stanley replied. "Uh... what... what do you mean?"

Great job, master negotiator...

Meawhile, Celestia did not appear neither annoyed nor discontented. With the same small smile she'd been maintaining, with small intervals, since the very beginning, the Princess spoke up.

"I believe my sister meant to ask why you don't simply use magic to communicate with us. From what you've described, although I can't say I fully understand all, your method seems like a process profound and overcomplicated. What keeps you from utilising adequate spells in its place, if we may ask?" the Princess' tone was genuine and welcoming, but the briefest, smallest flash in her eye was enough for Stanley to realise - this could be a probe. To check why. To check about something that was - in the ponies' eyes - keeping humans from doing something - so, in other words, to check for a weakness.

So, one question lingered; should he reveal that humans cannot use 'magic'? Well... defending the opposing statement would be nigh impossible. And looking at his order.... 'provide with information'; 'diplomatic clearance one-dash-two'.

Easy, then. Say humans have nothing. That.

Luna meanwhile, as if only waiting for her sister to finish, eagerly added her own bit to the question.

"Why utilise thine constructs, these hardware... programs, which nature evades us, to speak the truth? Why cannot thou mix the spells? Is that not fitting? Or is it not possible? Are there, unforseen by us, drawbacks?" the Princess drowned the trooper in questions like there was no tomorrow, all the while maintaining her constant curious attitude. Something, however, changed, or maybe Stanley had only just realised it - now, firmness emanated from Luna, decisiveness, as her regal posture obscured the Castle's marble walls. Even her voice seemed more royal, stronger... louder. It was as if she'd suddenly realised she appeared too docile before, so it was time to finally change it; and not suddenly either, although all logic dictated it was in fact the case - no, Stanley had a strong feeling not many would even think about that for the shortest of moments. The change in posture, though sudden, appeared smooth, very smooth.
Maybe it actually was? Maybe. Or perhapse... perhaps...

Even though months would pass before he'd first admit it, Stanley, a Republican RSU, veteran of nearly seven decades of warfare, personal killer of at least eight hundred sixty three Swarm fuckers, survivor of a near-direct nuclear strike, a poison bullet and multiple gunshots... in that briefest, shortest moment, gulped in anxiety, before a harmless, primitive alien monarch.

An action for which he immediately scolded himself, yes, but which he couldn't quite explain either. It was just an aura, a vibe emanating from Luna's silhouette - how, Stanely could not tell. But it was there, it undoubtedly was.

He never for a second felt fear on Hezel.

He never felt fear when an atomic warhead was being dropped near his location - simply pure, utter acceptance.

Now? He feared. For a millisecond, or less even. But he feared.

It wasn't like talking with a friend anymore. It was like being interrogated.
Interrogated, yes - but still by a friend. The strangest feeling, which no words could ever do justice.

Grasping for time, and partially just mechanically to fulfill his orders, Stanley began explaining the first, easiest uncertainty. "Well, I'm happy to explain everything you're asking about, but let's cover thing at a time, shall we? Programs are what makes machine parts do, well, what they do... extremely simplifying it."

"So what do they differ from hardware? Art those same?"

"No, no, not at all, it's like... like... programs aren't physical, they're like... a set of instructions..." And what do you think their instructions look like, idiot? "...but, well... without a parchment, just the ideas themselves... like a mind operating a machine... yes, yes, a mind of a machine, or maybe... maybe more like a spirit that runs all the parts, makes them do what they do... or a soul..."

Not like they'd know that concept... well, they clearly have something similar, as it does translate, so... maybe.... That'd make it so much easier...

"They're a set of ideas, concepts, that are... are..." programming, anyone? "....are, well... how to say it... are made so that the machines obey them - how we do that, well, this's a whole another topic, and one so expansive I'd never be able to cover it before this meal ends," Unless that works differently in their culture... oh, well, let's simply hope it doesn't "Just know, that," suddenly, a brand new idea formed in Stanley's mind; screw the previous plan - this here is what you call a perfect opportunity! "that they can range from simple 'do that, if that, when that', to, well... this," Stanley finished, carefully timing his words in such a way that he wrapped the whole thing up right when his headgear, now fully-sized again, was put on the table, all speakers set to external. Selina, listening to the whole coversation, took it as her cue, and as Stanley gestured at the immobile helmet, confusing the Princesses to no end, a bright, cyan flash emanated from the two empty eyeholes - an improvised 'welcome', so to say.

The Princesses however, already taken aback by the sudden effect, likely giving them vibes of Stanley's scanning back on the forest meadow, could never have been prepared for what was to come. And when a new voice joined the three...

"Welcome! A true pleasure to meet you!"

Luna, already tensed up at the previous mysterious lightshow, quickly sprung up on her fours. No corner evaded the Princess' fiery sight as an indigo aura illuminated the room.

"Show yourself, coward!" Luna shouted. "Thine trickery does not suffice against our combined might!"

Already picturing how the situation might escalate, as well as really eager to avoid another glancing hit, Stanley stood up, hands lifted upwards in a calming gesture. He should've said something beforehand, right, but you gotta work with what you got, and there was no way in hell Stanley would turn the first meeting into a shootout - even if there was still a long way before that.

"Woah, woah! Keep-... no need to worry, Your Highness! It's just me!" Stanley exclaimed hurriedly, in an effort to prevent the Princess from overreacting too much. Was what he said gibberish? Yes. But it provided the best chance of stopping Luna from firing, and there was time to explain later.

Meanwhile the Princess froze in place, turning her head to Stanley. Luna's horn was still enveloped in the mystical aura, and, quite amusingly, while most of her body remained tensed and ready for combat, the diarch's head did not, instead tilted slightly, petrified in a perpetual, utterly confused frown.

Celestia meanwhile chuckled briefly - whether genuinely or to simply appear tranquil was anyone's guess.

What mattered most had been achieved. Stanley sighed with relief, feeling a mission fulfilled, and lowering his arms, took to further explaining.

"Well, it's not me, I apologise; but it is mine. What you've heard-"

"Apologies, Lieutenant Colonel, but I have to specify your suggestion; the claim of your ownership over me is rather false - if anything, the command chain clearly states quite the contrary" Selina's voice rang once again, no sign of her usual half-serious attitude heard. It also seemed the AI had already perfectly mastered Equestrian, not really a feat at all with her cognitive abilities.

Yeah, no shit. Happy you have your protocols, by the way, we can't have the entire team screwing up.

Stanley sighed. "Yes, my friend is... quite right. Your Highnesses, what you've just heard once again is... well..." Stanley stammered for a second, struggling to find proper words. How to explain an AI? Easy, Stan... not like they care about the technicalities...actually, I have an even better idea... "It is - or rather she is - what we call an 'Artificial Intelligence'. Selina, why won't you explain further?" Stanley finished, passing the talk to his digital companion as he carefully evaluated the Princesses' shifting expressions.

Sure enough, both seemed a little... uneasy at first, more openly, like Luna, or less, like Celestia, whose feelings were actually an incredible pain to decipher, and even then could never really be took for granted. Most of the time, whenever Stanley reached any proper conclusion, the monarch's next actions just made it seem like she was playing games with the soldier.

Now however, it wasn't the case at all. As Selina began her own 'speech', the royal postures became less and less tensed and any confused or uneasy frown turned into nothing but curiosity.

"Greeting! I am Republic of Sol State Artificial Intelligence, codename: Advanced Strategic Naval Planning and Processing Unit, serial number HAI-343-2401-GSPT, but you can simply call me 'Selina'! It's a great pleasure to meet you, your Highnesses!" welcomed the AI with cheerful excitement, her tone so different from the usual it was almost hard to even recognize the voice itself anymore.

In the meantime Luna, previously bending over the table in an effort to take an impossible better look at the immaterial AI, briefly glanced at Stanley, before returning her gaze back to the soldier's helmet. Noticing her confusion, Celestia spoke up in her sister's stead.

"Welcome, Selina, it's a pleasure to meet you as well! So, you are the... program the Lieutenant Colonel has mentioned, if I'm not mistaken? How so?" she asked, herself a little perplexed at the prospect of talking with an invisible person. That wasn't new at all, invisibility spells were very common and did not really require much skill to maintain, and in her long life the Princess had already faced similar situations at more than one occasion, however after how Stanley had introduced the whole concept of an AI... this was not something Celestia would have ever thought about.

"An interesting inquiry! Indeed, I am, as you have correctly assumed, an Artificial Intelligence. I came to be as a result of years of cereful planning and advanced digital engineering on part of the Republic of Sol's - and other's - most capable scientist and technicians," Stanley barely stopped himself from smirking at the remerk; it could hardly be further from the truth. The technology to produce AIs like Selina had already been known centuries earlier, and it was exclusively for other reasons, mainly concerning security, that it had not been utilised on such a scale until human war effort became desperate. This fact was so wildly known that not even the Republic's good 'ol propaganda attempted to change it. Did Selina's creation take that long? Probably, but as a result of the Coalition wanting her to suit the desired roles best. A nice little manipulation here, but honestly, where would humanity be without a healthy dose?

Meanwhile, Selina continued. "I represent the newest, most advanced batch of military intelligences produced to date," yeah, by term of fricking designation alone "And represent the mastering of the common, millennia old art of awareness-creation. What is an 'Artificial Intelligence' in general however, you might wonder? An apt question, although with a rather complicated answer! Allow me to spare you all the sophisticated technical details and focus solely on the idea itself, shall I? Artificial Intelligence is exactly what it sounds like - it's a completely functioning, fully self-aware being existing solely in digital space. Keep in mind however that it is, in theory, possible to create a program which makes certain machines behave the exact same way they would if they were sentient - one simply has to take every single theoretically possible situation into account and define a believable number of adequate responses. It is even possible to make such program able to learn by itself, however creation like this would still not count as an AI, even though distinguishing it from one would be completely and utterly undoable. What makes an AI, then, you might wonder? The answer is, fortunately, pretty simple: it's awareness; not how it appears for others, not certain characteristics of it, no - only full, pure self-awareness."

Selina made a short pause to judge the Princesses' reaction in order to determine her further words. So far, it didn't seem too bad - Celestia, like usually, maintained her respectful, optimistic smile, with only small glimpses of curiosity or excitement ever visible at all, while Luna looked thoroughly engaged, if not a little lost, in Selina's 'story'. Both diarchs however clearly looked like they expected the AI to continue - so that's exactly what she did.

"The concept of an Artificial Intelligence is very old. In human case, first mentions of similar ideas appeared relatively shortly before the modern imagining of an AI firmly took hold, however after that, a few centuries passed before the creation of the first fully self-aware construct. Originally, AIs consisted of a large network of dedicated machines - so, pieces of hardware - each of which was permanently operated by specially-designed programs. All of these parts, as a result of - once more simplifying things to a gigantic degree - their mutual, spontaneous, yet clearly defined interaction, created a system that gave birth and successfully maintained a sentient being. Over time, as technology progressed in that area of study, AIs became completely separated from any hardware, and after the eventual removal of the 'AI Core', previously the most irreplaceable physical part of any Intelligence, from general standards, the programs became just that - programs, able to operate on any machine meeting certain conditions. For a long time however, and even until today, more sophistic AIs are preferred to be operated on permenently designated hardware, as a means of control as well easier, cheaper construction and maintenance," Selina finally uttered her final words, bringing the speech to an end.

The Princesses' impressions meanwhile were hard to decipher. Stanley surely hoped something like an AI would seem impressive, however all of its implication, not to even mention how this could possibly fit into the horses' unknown culture, did not have to. Not by a long shot.

"Thou created... life? By yourself?" Luna finally reponded after a while, her words emanating with both curiosity and sheer disbelief. Stanley involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief; a least something the horses clearly seemed not to be capable of with psionics.

"Well... you could say so, although biologists would probably argue with that."

"That is... incredible. How did thou... sister! We-" Luna did not get to finish her sentence, instead being interrupted by the very person she wished to turn to.

"And why would that be, pray tell? Forgive me, however from your friend's description it did not seem to be notably beneficial in any way. What makes an... AI unique as it is?" chimmed in Celestia, completely ignoring her sister. A slight, barely noticeable nudge however betrayed the question was likely directed more at preventing an desirable change of topic - why undesirable, Stanley could not know. Deciding it impossible to figure out at the moment, the trooper moved on to answer the question regardless.

"You see, an AI can... think... but not think like you or... or me, no... an AI can think more," Stanley tapped his helmet - Selina's symbolic location - a few times in order to emphasize his point. "She can... calculate... like, well, count. Just... you have to know, that... it is possible to determine everything by counting, only with... well, adequate data, that is... and such data is often, well, almost always if we mean more advanced operations, not easy to get. It's very particular and often simply... obscure... but we have found a way around most common problems in that regard. Selina?" Stanley turned to his companion.

"Yes?"

"Care to demonstrate? Something simple."

"Gladly!"

"Okay, then. What should my friend figure out for you?" Stanley asked, turning to the Princesses. After exchanging quiet looks, Luna issued her question.

"There is a concept, a concept you perhaps know yourself. A concept that, if adept in calculations, as thou had put it, your friend could not possibly struggle with, and which in said calculations would serve as most useful," the Princess began, putting a small smile on Stanley's face. With ninety nine percent probability, this was not going to require counting at all - not like that'd be a problem - only a short recitation of archive data. "The concept in question is simple in theory, unlike its elaborate solution. The core question, however, belong to the former; in a perfect circular object, how many times exactly, down to fractions, does the diameter fit into said object's periphery?" Luna finished her inquiry, curiosity beeming from her waiting face; it didn't seem like she was testing Selina's capabilities at all - more like getting the most out of them while she still could.

Clever, I give you that. Alright, you can have the goddamn pi, not like it's anything top-secret.

Actually, the revelation itself raised quite a few red flags for Stanley, in addition to lighting up several question marks.
Why would they need pi? No way the horses didn't know its approximate value if they had managed to construct such marvels of engineering. Psionics again? Possibly, very even from the looks of it, but until there are actual reasons to seriously assume that, well, better to pass. And pi is a number so necessary for practical uses it was simply hard to believe it would be substituted with psionics everywhere.
After a while, another possibility manifested itself in Stanley's mind; what if Luna was actually testing Selina? What if the horses knew pi - which know they simply had to - and the question was another, precautive probe of sorts? To get to how many numbers after the coma humans know, or however it works in the equine system?
Obviously, that meant the horses knew little about advanced sciences, otherwise they'd realise that after a certain point it doesn't really matter anymore. Humanity had known trillions upon trillions upon trillions of numbers comprising pi for millennia now, and it was really not an effort at all to push that even further.
Another concerning thing was that Luna's wording clearly made it seem like the horses weren't even sure that pi was not rational - that was possible, sure, even if they knew a significant part of the expansion. But likely? Again, it was not, the horses' apparent feats clearly disproved that. Undeniably? Well... no... however that was definitely the dominant possibility.
Maybe it was just Luna's desire to word the whole question cautiously that caused the erroneous impression, and if Stanley had to bet right in that moment, he'd most probably bet on that.
There was no way the horses just - what? - thought about something and psionics basically made that happen, right? At least to some... degree? Beacause that, or something similar in its inner workings, seemed like the only other likely option.
A little too much was questionable about this particular choice of question, far too much for Stanley to feel comfortable, but, whether he liked it or not, everything seemed to point that it'd have to remain like so for now.

Meanwhile Selina, sparing the others any introduction, simply began to recite. "Three..." Hmm, do we even have their numbering system? Do we know how it works? "point one, four..." What do you know, it does translate, it would seem like we do. No way Selina'd make a mistake as basic as just translating literally... "one, five, nine, two, six..."

For the next couple minutes, Selina recited more, further and further, her words accelerating second after second.

At first the Princesses listened stone-faced, Celestia even letting out a barely-noticeable nod of approval once every often, serving to confirm some of Stanley's suspicions. As time went on however, so did the monarchs. Gradually, Luna's expression became more and flabbergasted - or, rather accurately, just impressed. Celestia in turn did not give her impressions away, instead maintaining her, rather pleasant at that, usual 'pokerface' - that however was to be anticipated.

After enough time had passed, Selina abruptly cut her at-this-point-already-stampeding 'speech' off.

"Shall I continue?" she asked innocently, although with a just little too evident sarcasm in her otherwise friendly voice.

"No, thank you. I think we've already been shown a lot," replied Celestia without even a fraction of a second to collect her thoughts, once again confirming Stanley's previous thoughts. Right now, the Princess looked more akin to a teacher evaluating her student. After exchanging a brief, hard-to-interpret look with her sister, Celestia continued. "I have to say, this was most interesting. However, forgive me, but I have to inquire: how did you manage to calculate the number with such precision? I understand, of course, it was nothing you managed to do right now, but an achievement like that certainly remains very impressive regardless."

Huh, I suspected so, thought Stanley. This one may pose some problems later... too experienced. Or too lucky.

"Thank you for your compliments, Your Majesty-"

"Please, you do not have to call me that. The principle applies to yourself as well," Celestia interrupted Selina, sending a wink towards the lone headgear on the table.

"Of course! It is most appreciated a gesture. Thank you for your compliments, however what you've heard was but a small fraction of a fraction of a promile of a percent of what humanity has managed to calculate to date. In addition, although you have correctly assumed I did not perform the necessary operations myself, it is worth noting, to understand our technology, that I would be perfectly able to do so," the AI responded confidently, yet friendly, her words beeming with respect for the monarchs, although clearly portraying mankind as superior in power. A little dangerous strategy to be sure, but then again - if Selina used it at all, it meant that hundreds of observed patterns had already been analysed and it was this precise course of action she deemed the best. What remained was to hope she made the right choice.

And it appeared she had, at least for now, as neither Princess had any, even tiniest sign of resentment on her face - instead, both expressions were thoroughly dominated by... not even curiosity or fascination, but pure eagerness to discover - granted, in Celestia's case, it might just as well have been simply another version of her cautiously-optimistic frown.

"That is incredible, I have to say," the Princess quickly responded. "But how did you manage to achive all this, pray tell? It certainly seems like a very impressive feat."

This time, it was Stanley who answered the royal question. "Right, well, you see, everything I've yet showed you - this helmet of mine, Selina herself, her mathematical capabilities - is, directly or indirectly, a product of information technology, developing which was perhaps the greatest single achievement humanity had ever made, and not only it to be sure, as that milestone is prevalent in the vast majority of other civilisations," not only it... "Machines created with this advancement, machines which creation signaled this advancement - computers - are what has allowed, in time, feats you've just observed. A computer is..." Stanley stuttered for a short while. Exactly, what is a computer? How to even describe it? He had only always just known, but when it came to explanations... it was actually far tougher than he'd initially imagined it'd be. Or at least at first it was - until Stanley remembered a quote from the true master of the field. "A computer is, you see, it's a machine capable of computing an answer to every question which can be written down using exclusively... two different marks," Stanley finished, careful not to use the words 'one' and 'zero', just in case, as he was still not completely sure about the horses' numbering system. "Describing how it works in detail would take... well... a lot of time..."

And it's something you'd probably see Selina do...

Luna meanwhile, although certainly impressed, looked much more... thoughtful. Unsure. As if something in Stanley's description didn't quite fit - or there was something she knew, but he did not. Curiously, considering the apparent equine state of advancement. Slowly, she looked at Celestia, who continued the talk, seemingly in both diarchs' name.

"We have already conceptualized machines akin to your description, however the details do not seem to match. I may however have a theory as for why that could be. If you don't mind me asking, what do the computers you utilise rely on, pray tell?" Celestia replied with a question, slightly taking Stanley aback.

"Uhh... I'm not sure I... understand..."

"My sister mean thou did not mention magic in thine description, instead substituting its role with overcrafted machinations," replied Luna in Celestia's stead. "Whilst most functions and characteristics thou had described seem to remain out of our grasp so far, and many, particularly those you claimed when beginning, possess no equivalent within our work, much does seem to be achievable by adequate wards and enchantments. Why do you stray from using these? Perhaps there are certain aspects that prevent it?" the Princess asked, in a tone once again both curious and demanding, although the latter aspect did seem to wind down as Luna continued, possibly as she fully registered who she was actually talking to.

"Yes," Celestia echoed her sister's words. "Our concepts and prototypes are but steps to the full project, although if there are certain inclinations against the use of magic, we would be very grateful for any help," she said.

Stanley meanwhile once again felt a thousand thoughts enter his mind every minute. Making use of the long psychical training training, he rearranged them in a moment, keeping the most important implications.

The horses knew not of the term 'hardware', nor did they know what a 'program' was. They knew nothing, absolutely and completely nothing about information technology, until he mentioned the most basic and general concept of a computer. That - that brought about at least several conclusions...
First, the equine computers had to be very, very basic - likely more on the side of 'concepts' than 'prototypes', and very elementary concepts at that.
Secondly however, and more importantly, said concepts pretty much had to heavily, extremely heavily rely on psionics - the Princesses had stated that openly after all.

Huh, thought Stanley. Maybe that whole 'we think, and it happens' thing wasn't just as far fetched as I had assumed. What do you know...

"Well..." Stanley stuttered briefly as he prepared to make his response. "The thing is, you see..." Remember Stan, you've concluded that before the talks already - in this case, order states to tell the truth. Do I mention no species can use 'magic'? Well... we're only talking about humanity... never say too much if you don't need to... "The thing is... I wouldn't know... we wouldn't know. For, you see... what you call magic," Stanley could see Luna raise an eyebrow slightly; both monarchs could already clearly sense something... weird... was coming. "What you call magic... we... we don't have 'magic'. Like, at all. Everything we've achieved had been solely through pure technological advancement. No 'magic' involved at all, at no point in our entire history. Not since the very dawn of man. 'Magic' is not something humans have," Stanley made sure to make his claim as clear as possible, even though he worried he might've appeared a little too arrogant, disrespectful; to a degree, he did treat the Princesses like... well... almost idiots here, after all.

Luckily, it did not seem to matter; ever since Stanley first uttered anything about human lack of magic, both Princesses froze - with tilted head and in utter confusion, like Luna, or just a brief petrification with a noticeable 'caught-off-guard' frown, like Celestia. Still, in the latter case, this was probably the first time during this entire meeting when the Princess' expression changed rather significantly in a manner that did not appear to be intentional, even if only for a short while.
For all intents and purposes, right in this moment Celestia and Luna were simply, plainly astound.

"Thou.. does not utilise magic?"

"We cannot. We have no magic," What if it doesn't work that way? "We have no access to it."

"In any way? Thou... cannot manipulate it, or perhaps have no access to passive magic as well?"

"We have no magic. No... 'passive magic' either."

However the hell it's categorized.

"No magic?"

"No magic. None at all."

None at all.

None at all indeed.

None at all indeed...

However hard she tried, Luna could not gather her shattered thoughts as her mind once again involuntarily went to standstill. How... what... but, no... maybe... but... it's not... can't... how... how even... how...

Why?

The humans had no magic? Not like the earth ponies, no, they had none of their passive skills, no great strength, no abilities to cope with the environment - at least that's what Stanley claimed. They were not a subspecies of something more gifted, more lucky, as it would seem a race has to be after all.

They had nothing. They used magic not. They simply didn't.
How could they?
How was that possible?
Some species were unmagical, of course, that was known, but even they could influence this force to some degree - like the diamond dogs, for example.

The humans had no magic...

Suddenly, something clicked in Luna's mind. Of course! She immediately pieced everything together. Human world was rotated by some unknown force, day and night changed by themselves.
It all just... fit...

The humans had no magic.

And yet - and yet! And yet, they had managed to spread throughout the night sky. Somehow, they did.
Without the grace of flight, like the pegasi had. Without earth pony strength to fend wildlife off the fields, without anything to assist them in maintaining said field in the first place.
Most of all however... without any, any active spells at all.

How does one even survive like that? How has their civilization even functioned? How does it function? For every single thing, every single, slightest thing that used magic, every machine, every contraption, even the art of basic architecture itself...

For all of that, for every single one of these things, the humans had to have found a substitute. They needed to do it. They needed to do the impossible, and yet - they triumphed. They won out. The did it.

How did they do so was beyond Luna, and she decided not to wonder for now. It was not the best time at all.

However, there was something else that made the Princess think. Something else, hidden in Stanley's words, repeating itself in different iterations over and over again, from their talk the previous evening to the breakfast right now. Right as the chef returned to the spacious hall, fresh meals levitating around him, Luna pieced everything together.

'...it basically works like this everywhere...'

'...us, and others as well...'

'...others...'

'...everywhere...'

Was that even possible...? Everything the Lieutenant had said, about the workings of his realities and their technology as well - all of that he referred not only to humans. He told the ponies, willingly or not, about everyone, every race out there - or at least some of them.

Was it possible that... magic was... really that rare...?

Was it possible that the ponies were... so lucky? Were the one in a million? And, well... the entire Equis? Every species, to some degree?

How is that possible? Is... is that even possible?

Of course, Luna realised perfectly well Stanley's words were far too little to conclude that fact with any certainty, but the sheer prospect itself was enough to give the Princess chills. Actually, the one fact he did state openly was enough for that. Was enough to question much of the... 'very... basics of existence'...?

The humans had no magic.

No magic.

No magic...

No magic...