The Eyes of Discord

by Pelicandude

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure, Human
Length: 29476

Convergence sequel Two years after the destruction of the portal, chaos starts brewing in Equestria.

Sequel to the story Convergence.

Two years have past since the portal between Earth and Equestria was destroyed. With the complete cut off of all interaction between the two worlds, it seems that all would be well with Equestria. The war has long since stopped, and the interactions with humanity, short though they may have been, have brought a great leap in technology. However, something is brewing behind all of these peaceful happenings. Something that will definitely make things a little… chaotic.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-17 02:10:23 UTC

Chapter one - Terror in the Night

The Eyes of Discord

CHAPTER ONE

Pony, Pray the maker keep you from sleep,

When eyes of Discord begin to weep,

For all your dreams be dreams that creep,

And in the Blackness haunt you.

When open wide the eyes become,

What a foe you must overcome,

For from the eyes great evil runs,

And in the Blackness taunts you.

Across the worlds, the evil spans,

You’ll scream to think your fears began,

Not because of the twisted one’s hand…

But because the Blackness wants you.

TWO YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL “CONVERGENCE” INCIDENT.

(The War of Shattered Space)

<(^)>

Rainbow Dash shouted as she was thrown into a cloud pillar, propelled by a nearby blast of heat.

“Ugh!”

She rubbed her head, looking around, confusion clouding her mind.  Above her, dozens of other pegasi were flying away from the area as fast as they could, retreating into the wild blue sky above.

“What the hay?”

She looked up, a sense of dread creeping over her.  Up above her, an ominous black cloud hung, where once a beautiful cloud building had been.  A few fragments drifted down from the cloud.  Ash, a few pieces of wood, and much to her horror, charred feathers.  While she was staring at the gruesome scene, a faint thundering sound could be heard, growing nearer, and louder.

As the sound grew closer, the few ponies that were still in the area cleared away, screaming.  Rainbow heard a series of short, rapid pops, and watched as one pegasi suddenly slumped, and fell towards the ground, trailing blood behind it.  She felt the cold presence of fear enter her heart.

“Oh no…”

Her eyes shifted, following her ears to the source of the noise.  The metal beast hung in the air, its blades spinning wickedly.  The thing seemed to glare at her, almost freezing her in her spot.  Almost.  Rainbow Dash threw herself off the cloud, just as the beast fired one of its fiery projectiles forward.  The cloud exploded behind her, singing her tail, and flinging her forward, screaming the whole way.

She spread her wings, catching herself, just before she hit another cloud building.

She heard a faint voice, as if coming to her from across a great distance.

“It’s ok Dashie…”

“Huh?”

She quickly glanced around, and saw that the only other ponies in the area were fleeing as fast as they could.  The distant metal behemoth was turning now, coming to face Rainbow once again.

With a start, Rainbow Dash realized that the lumbering craft before her was not the only source of the large, throbbing noise.  She dove downward, yelling as the cloud bank behind her exploded.  The clouds parted rapidly, revealing another of the metal monstrosities.  She dove underneath of a nearby cloud, stopping briefly to catch her breath.

“What in the world are those things?” She asked nopony in particular.  Slowly, she realized she was shaking.  Above her, she could still here the screams of fleeing ponies, and the sounds of the metal beasts, mixed in with the occasional explosion.  Despite her usual confidence, she felt a cold finger of terror scrape across her back.  This was bad… very, very bad.

“It’s ok…”

Rainbow dared to peek around the cloud, afraid of what she might see.  Slowly, the hideous sight came into view.  The two things were circling through the city, sending flaming objects into the cloud structures, and any ponies unlucky enough to be in them.

“Sweet Celestia…”

Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head, transfixed by the carnage.  It was a harrowing sight.  She felt herself tremble, unsure of what to do.  Her heart thundered away in her chest, almost matching the sound of the beasts.  Suddenly, she heard that awful sound again, though this time, it came from directly below her.  She spun downward, adjusting her view.  Yet another of the wicked monsters was facing her, its wings covered with weapons.

“I’ve got you, it’s all right…”

Rainbow Dash screamed as a small projectile whizzed past her, chopping through the cloud at her back.  Furiously beating her wings, she zipped off in between two rows of buildings, afraid to look back.  She had no need to:  her ears confirmed her suspicions.  The metal giant was following her.

Around her, the buildings burst into flames.  She could feel the heat singe her fur, and her mane.  Ahead of her, she could see the massive Cloudaseum.  She flew towards the structure, hoping that its great walls would shield her.

“Dashie, it’s all ok…”

Zipping through the open archways, Rainbow entered to middle of the arena, and stopped cold.  In front of her, barely a hundred feet away, one of the beasts hovered, its cool metal surface gleaming in the sunlight.  Quickly, she jerked to the right, but stopped dead in her tracks.  Another of the monsters was hovering there as well, creeping slowly towards her.  She gulped, and then swung to face her old left.  She groaned as she saw another of the things slide into place.

Rainbow didn’t even bother to look behind her, she could see the reflection glinting on the monstrosity before her.  She was totally surrounded.  She felt like her heart was bursting out of her chest, as she was completely transfixed in fear.  She tried to climb, get up above the things, but she felt as though her wings were made of lead.

“Oh no!”

The things got closer to her.

“It’s alright Dashie…”

Small flaming projectiles separated themselves from the accursed metal creations, all flying towards her.

“NO!” She screamed, her heart pounding, her entire body shaking with terror.  Still, her wings were frozen, refusing to beat.

The little demons closed in on her.

“It’s ok…”

With a huge, searing heat, they exploded around her, burning her fur, nocking loose dozens of her feathers, and sending her plummeting to the ground, far, far below.  He mouth was curled open in a scream of pain, a trail of fire behind her.  The ground rushed up to meet her.

“NOOOO!!!”

“It’s all going to be ok…”

<(^)>

Rainbow’s eyes snapped open, her chest heaving, her entire body shaking.  A soft voice was whispering in her ear, its source half an inch from the side of her head.

“It’s ok Dashie, I’ve got you.”

Rainbow suddenly realized that she was wrapped in strong forelegs, and soft wings.  She glanced around herself for a moment, still afraid for her life.

         She was in her bed, the sheets covering all of her body except for her head.  The room was dark, and the clock on the wall read three in the morning.  As far as she could tell, she was uninjured.  The voice came again, though this time from beneath her.

“It’s ok… it’s ok.”

She looked down, locking on to the source of the voice.  Slowly, she stopped trembling.  Her breath caught for a second, and then she felt a few tears escape her eyes, running down her face.  She dove her head down, snuggling against the stallion that held her in his strong embrace.  She reached down around him, wrapping him in her forehooves.  Slowly, she unfurled her wings, feeling the feathers brush against the bed sheets, and then wrapped them around the pony that she lay on.  Though she was now completely awake, he continued to whisper.

“It’s alright, you’re safe, I’ve got you…”

Tenderly, he stroked her mane, comforting the disturbed mare.  Little by little, she regained her composure, and raised her head, looking into her husband’s eyes.

“Thanks Swifty.”

Swiftwing smiled, and then hugged her more tightly against himself. “Are you alright Dashie?  That was one heck of a nightmare.”

She inhaled quickly, remembering the dream. “Yeah… yeah, I’m fine.  Sorry I woke you.”

He shook his head.

“Are you kidding me?  I’m glad you woke me.  You’re lucky I was here.  You were shaking so bad, and you nearly rolled off the bed.  I barely managed to grab you, I mean, I was still half asleep and all.”

“I… I guess.”

Rainbow was frustrated with herself for having the repeated nightmares, and even more annoying, they were getting worse, and more common, not sparser.  She felt like a filly, still traumatized by the event that had happened two years ago.  Still… she had to admit, waking up in Swiftwing’s gentle embrace sure beat the crap out of waking up alone, and finding that she’d managed to roll off the bed, taking the sheets with her.

“I’m just glad that I can repay the favor…”

Swiftwing’s voice sounded in her ears once more.  Rainbow groaned, thinking back over the past few weeks.  They had been exceptionally good, with Swiftwing getting a promotion in the royal guard, and Rainbow receiving more and more interest from the Wonderbolts.  It almost seemed as though the entire world had turned in their favor, ever since their wedding, six weeks earlier.  Well, the entire world, except for one, tiny detail:  The fact that they were both plagued by their old memories, haunted by the ghosts of the past.

Some nights were blissfully calm, but that scarcely happened.  More often than not, one of the two woke up in the others strong embrace, screaming loud enough to raise the dead.  She was glad that Tank slept outside, otherwise the tortoise would probably have gone deaf by now.

Rainbow Dash sighed, and then carefully pulled herself up, heaving herself over to lie beside the pegasus stallion.  He turned with her, maintaining his embrace.  She snuggled against him, afraid to go back to sleep, not wanting the monsters of her own imagination to return.

“Swifty… I’m scared.  I feel like I can’t even sleep anymore.  Why does this keep happening to us?  It’s making me feel so stupid…”

“I don’t know Dashie… I don’t know.”

Gently, Swiftwing pressed his lips against hers.  After a few moments, he was about to pull back, when he felt her pull herself closer, pressing against him.  He moaned softly, and tightened his grip on her body.  The two ponies snuggled against each other, enjoying the other’s presence.

<(^)>

“Blueblood… your request is ridiculous.  The Northern province gets more than enough hay.  Your citizens already receive an excess amount of food.  Also, about this loan that you want… it is completely unneeded.  You’ve had an economic boom for the past five years!”

Princess Luna was displeased with the annoying unicorn noble, who had been acting even more frustrating than normal for the past several months.

“Well, of course, the Nordlands have been doing mighty fine as of late, with no small thanks to my own brilliant leadership.” Prince Blueblood smiled, as if flattered by his own statement. “But I find your lack of assistance odd.  I mean, the royal treasury is stuffed with gold.  It seems ridiculous that you would withhold any from your loyal subjects.”

“Stuffed with Gold!” The princess of the night stared at the arrogant unicorn, incredulous. “Are you jesting?  The royal treasury is not so illustrious as most of our subjects seem to think.  We don’t have unlimited funding, if we did, it would mean unlimited taxes, which would annoy you quite a bit!” The Alicorn snorted. “For the last two years, most of our currency has been going to Cloudsdale, aiding the reconstruction effort.”

“Ah!  But that’s just it!  You’re showing the pegasi favoritism!  Really, it’s not fair, we unicorns could use some help up north too!  Don’t you think that we should get an equal share of the royal funds?” The prince smiled, thinking he’d finally cornered the midnight colored Alicorn into helping him.

The princess’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and she could feel anger building towards the pony.  Luna suppressed the shouts she was going to unleash upon the unfortunate stallion, instead trading them for a low growl.

“The pegasi did not choose to be attacked by the humans, Blueblood.  I can assure you, if your people had had their entire city demolished, and a quarter of their population wiped out, then we would be more than happy to give you all the bits that you needed.  For now, however, I do not believe that the humans ever made it farther North-East than Canterlot, so therefore, I must ask that you leave.” She raised an eyebrow at the Unicorn. “That is, unless you have other matters to discuss?”

She waited a few moments, seeing if he would reply.  Blueblood remained mute.  Her eyes gradually returned to their previous, un-angered state, now showing curiosity. “What are you playing at, coming here at six A.M anyway?  Its unlike you, Celestia isn’t even up yet, and I wouldn’t have been either if it weren’t for hoofy’s comet flying past earlier this morning.”

The unicorn backed off, clearly startled by her angry remarks. “Well, I dare say, I was just here to try and get an early start on things, that’s all.  I have a very busy schedule for the rest of the day, and wanted to try and get this taken care of.”

The steward of the moon snorted, amused. “Busy schedule?  What, busy getting your mane beautified and your cloak tailored?  You do realize that your guards report your whereabouts back to the main security center here, don’t you?”

Blueblood halted, unsure of how to respond to the dark Alicorn.  He felt embarrassed at his daily activities suddenly becoming public information.  He shook his head quickly, warding off thoughts of the potentially bad PR.

“I will be back later your highness!” He said the last bit with a sneer, “Perhaps your sister will be more understanding!  She never allowed herself to be possessed be a demon anyway-”

“ENOUGH, BLUEBLOOD!” She had quickly adopted the royal canterlot voice, drawing smirks from some of the guards in the area.  She rose up from her throne, eyes crackling with magical energy. “REMOVE THYSELF FROM OUR PRESENCE AT ONCE!  AND IN THE FUTURE, YOU WILL REFRAIN FROM INSULTING THINE RULERS!”

“Hmph!” The stallion snorted, and then, head raised, he turned and stormed out of the throne room.  A unicorn guard trotted up to the Princess, bowing.  Lifting his head, he began to speak.

“Shall we file a reprimand for the prince’s actions, milady?”

The Princess sighed, shaking her head.

“THAT…” Luna blushed, unintentionally blasting the guard with the royal Canterlot voice. “That won’t be necessary, Lieutenant.” Her horn glowed, and the guard’s armor shifted back into the positions it had been in before the vocal outburst. “I apologize, it’s just that that particular stallion has a habit of driving me insane every time he walks in here.”

The soldier chuckled. “It is perfectly alright, your highness, he’s good at doing that to all of us…  Are you sure there isn’t a way to temporarily reopen the portal?  It would be far too easy just to shove him through, and let the humans deal with him.”

“Sadly, no, there isn’t, though that is a rather wonderful idea.” The princess of the night slowly shook her head, causing her mane to sparkle like the night sky. “I don’t know what’s gotten into the stallion lately… for the past month or so, he’s been uncharacteristically reckless.  Annoying he may be, but he has never done anything to risk his political power in the past… it’s entirely unlike him.”

“I don’t know milady, do you think perhaps the griffons have been pressuring him?” The unicorn Lieutenant looked at her, awaiting the princess’s answer.  Luna shook her head slowly. “I doubt it… Blueblood would be more likely to come running to us for help than give in to any potential threats or blackmail… he may be a jerk, but he’s certainly not stupid.”

The guard slowly shook his head, and then started to open his mouth.  Hesitating, he closed it once more.

“You were going to say something, Lieutenant?” The dark princess eyed him, curious.

“Well… pardon me, your highness, but the whole political landscape recently has been… troubling, to say the least.  I may not know much about politics… but from what I do know, the way that things have been acting lately… it doesn’t look good.”  The unicorn looked troubled.  Luna was silent for a moment.

“It isn’t good, Lieutenant… it isn’t good in the least.” She sighed. “The last time we had to deal with this much unrest… what with the griffons, internal matters, the zebras, and increasing trouble in the everfree forest…” She slowly shook her head, her eyes lifting to a stained glass window in the corner of the throne room. “Well… that was a long, long time ago.”

Saberspark followed her gaze to the distant window. “I see…” The two ponies stood next to each, staring at the scene depicted on the glass.

An Alicorn stallion stood, blood flowing from a dozen wounds on his body.  All around him, dozens of creatures, from ponies to griffons to manticores, all stood, raising their claws and weapons against him.  To defend himself, the stallion had but a dented sword, missing the last foot off the end.

A single tear silently fell from Luna’s left eye, leaving a silvery trail behind it.  Saberspark turned back to her.

“All you alright milady?”

The night princess turned away, regaining her composure.  Quickly she nodded. “I’m fine Saberspark… I’m fine.”

<(^)>

“Good…  good… just a little bit more heat.” Alex stared intently at the crucible levitating over the fire.  A chestnut colored unicorn shoved some coal into the flames, causing them to shoot up around the container.  “All right, good, that’s the ticket… and… now!”

He spun, the crucible floating out of the fire, going between the two unicorns.  The object halted in midair, and then poured out its molten contents into a mold.  Alex waited for the molten metal to settle, and then gently levitated the crucible down on a rock slab, careful not to touch the burning hot object.

He turned back to the mold, focusing intently on the glowing metal within.  The other unicorn trotted closer, carefully looking at the dangerously hot object.

“Do you think that this one is going to be strong enough?”

Alex chuckled, thinking of the previous times they had tried to make this particular component.

“I believe so Metalspark  though I guess we can’t be certain.  It doesn’t seem like it’s too much of a stretch to say it will hold up.”

Metalspark rolled his eyes.

“I’m pretty sure that’s what you said before each of… well… these.” He gestured behind them, motioning at a pile of twisted and charred metal.

“Yeah well, this time, I’ve got some reinforcements that we’re going to wrap around the barrel.  If it doesn’t work, nothing will.  Besides, that last one was able to withstand eleven test fires before it gave out… so, we are making progress.”

Metalspark merely shook his head, scowling.

“I just don’t like the idea of it blowing up in my face again.  When you cram explosives and metal balls down a tube, it just doesn’t ever seem to work out.”

Alex nodded, smiling.

“Yeah… I know it’s a hard concept to get down.  Just trust me though, it works just fine.  You just have to be careful, that’s all.”

“If you say so.”

The other unicorn slowly shook his head.

Alex grinned as he watched the metal cool off.  For the last two years, ever since he had officially been inducted into the Equestrian military, he had been assigned to work on reinventing human technology.  After all, He was the best pony for the job, as a result of his... special knowledge of humanity.

The greater majority of his “inventions” were being kept behind closed doors, at least until they could find more practical ways of supplying them. However, in some royal and military buildings, electric lights and basic radios were beginning to make an appearance.  The only reason why the lights weren’t more common, was that Princess Celestia was still trying to find a practical way to set up a large scale power grid.  Alex chuckled as he thought of the rapid advances that Equestria was making.

“How long do you think that this’ll take to cool off?” Metalspark eyed the molten metal, curios.  Alex’s eyes darted over to a clock hanging on the wall.

“Hmm… it’s already four thirty, so we probably won’t be able to do anything with it until tomorrow.  Besides, I’ve got to leave in another half hour, I’ve got dinner plans.  We should probably start cleaning everything up.” Alex warily glanced at the absolute mess of tools, ingots, and canisters that lay around the large room.

Metalspark held up a hoof, as if signaling Alex to halt.

“Wait… let me guess… you’ve got plans with a certain female unicorn?”

Alex laughed, starting to levitate the first of the strewed items back to their shelves and bins.

“Maybe… and she might happen to be one of the princess’s students… I just can’t seem to remember right now.” Alex

winked at his friend.

Metalspark shook his head, beginning to put his own equipment away.

“Alright buddy, have fun.  You should try that new seaweed place in town… it’s pretty exotic, but I think it serves great food.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Alex continued his work, watching the clock run down to the time when he could leave.

Chapter two - Research

Luna sighed, rubbing her eyes with her forehooves.  She pushed aside the mountain of scrolls that had corrupted her desk, letting the paperwork fall lightly to the ground.  She watched as the scrolls rolled across the floor, secretly hoping that some would make it all the way to her fireplace.  None did.  She sighed again.

She knew of course, that it would be a nightmare if any of the scrolls did get burnt, but it would still save her some work, for now.

Procrastination is a wonderful thing…

She looked down at the small mirror on her desk, noting her features, worn from a long day of work.

Why does politics have to be so… dry?

She smiled, realizing what an inaccurate comment it was.  Though it was true that the legislation got incredibly dull, dealing with various lords, ladies, foreign countries, and the petitions of the populance… that got rather interesting.

Luna stood, and trotted over to the nearest scroll, scooping it up.  She was immensely annoyed at the seal it bore.  It was the seal of the Northern Province, a curled dragon with shards of ice spewing from its mouth.  More specifically, it was the seal of Prince Blueblood.

What has gotten into that stallion, I wonder?

The strange thing was; it wasn’t just him.  The griffons were threatening war, although their threat seemed hollow, and the zebras were reporting increased division in their own kingdom.  Even among the nobles that still followed Canterlot’s lead, the negotiations and discussions were growing increasingly tricky, and more frustrating.  She set the scroll in a bin labeled; “to read.”

Luna turned to the two dozen other scrolls that littered her floor, igniting her horn.  They all drifted towards her, and then neatly dropped into the bin.  More work for the next day.  She glanced at a small golden clock that sat on a shelf to her right.  It was five o’clock, and she had been up for most of the previous night.  The rest of the legislation could wait until morning.

Luna smiled.

At least paperwork doesn’t complain when you ignore it.

Then again… I’ve never had paperwork leave of its own accord either.

Carefully, the princess of the night eased herself back in behind her desk, sitting on the plush chair.  She opened her mouth, speaking in a clear, commanding tone.

“Guard!”

The door swung open, and an armored pegasus saluted in the doorway.

“What is your command, your highness?”

“I’d like you to tell my sister that I will be unable to attend dinner tonight, and then have the kitchen staff send up a meal for me.”

The pegasus saluted again.

“Of course, your highness, I’ll get right on that.”

He closed the door behind him, and Luna could make out the sound of retreating hoof steps as he marched away.

Her horn flashed, and Luna knit her brow in concentration, casting a spell that would alert her if anyone came within fifty feet of her door.  Once she had finished this task, she reached down, grabbing a hold of a small piece of woodwork on her desk.  She gave a small tug, and a panel popped from the side of her desk, revealing a small compartment within.

The dark Alicorn would normally just use her magical abilities to open a compartment of her desk, but this particular one was special.  It had been constructed to evade magical detection, and to resist any magical activity in the area.  It was immune to arcane measures.

Luna frowned.

Of course, the greatest problem with any defense is that no matter how much you defend against, it only takes the one thing that you didn’t think of to take it all down.

Slowly, Luna reached into the dark compartment.  She felt a light, papery object brush against her hoof.  Careful not to damage it, she pulled the little thing from its hiding place. Looking over her obsession or at least, what had been part of her obsession for the past fourteen months.  She gently unrolled it.

The object of her attention was an ancient scroll, the worn paper yellowed with age.  There were several more pieces of old Equestrian literature inside the desk.  The Princess of the night examined the upper right corner of the scroll.

To King Platinum, High ruler of the Unicorns of Arcanlin, concerning recent revelations that have come to my attention.

Starswirl the Bearded

It always sent shivers down Luna’s spine to read the words of ponies that had lived even before she and her sister had been born.  It was a rare privilege to have access to the ancient library of the immortal sisters.  Even they rarely read the scrolls of the ancients; some knowledge was best left forgotten.  Luna scoured every line, making sure that not a letter escaped her notice.

After ten minutes, she set the paper down, frustrated.  She had read the scrolls from their ancient library for fourteen months, and spent ten months hunting through the Canterlot archives before that.  Not a single thing had mentioned the portal, or even vaguely hinted at it.  The closest she had come was Starswirl’s hypothesis on the existence of other universes.  That paper had sent her heart thundering away, only to end without any mention of a way to get to the theoretical other worlds.

Tragically, even Starswirl the Bearded’s work grew dull after a while.  Though occasionally, she would find some remarkable report or theory, most of his work had become public knowledge centuries ago.  The greater majority of it seemed vastly outdated now.  Her memories drifted back to the old wizard, deceased long, long ago.  She had actually met him a few times, though she had been in her teens, and he was older and more bearded than ever.  Despite that fact, the old unicorn had seemed spry and fit until his last few months, probably thanks to his vast magical ability.

She quietly rolled up the old letter, placing the yellow scroll back into the secret opening.  Carefully, she removed the next scroll, unfurling the ancient paper.  The wording at the top caught her eye.

To Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria.

She had made a large jump through history, it seemed.  Starswirl had died before her parents had, and therefore, never lived beneath the rule of the immortal sisters.  This particular letter must have been written by somepony else, and significantly later.  The princess of the night began to scan the first words.

My Princess, I fear that this letter will never reach you.  It is currently day thirty seven after the appearance of the beast.

The beast…  Luna knew what this unfortunate writer spoke of.  The first time that Discord had appeared, no one had known what to call him.  When Discord first appeared… that was almost immediately after he had been killed.  She pushed the thought from her mind.  She continued to read.

I have left provisions with my apprentice, Dawn Sparkle, to find a way to keep this letter safe, somehow.  If she succeeds, I ask that you take utmost care of her, as she has done much for me this past month.

Dawn Sparkle…  Luna knew that name.  She had struggled into the old castle, more than a thousand years ago, where the two sisters had taken refuge from Discord.  Her cloak was in tatters and her body no better off.  The guards had rushed her into the medical room, and both the sisters themselves had tried to cast spells of healing on her, but the damage had already been done.  She lived for but an hour after entering the castle, and then she died.

One hour of life, fading between sleep and consciousness.  Just long enough to say her name.  Or at least, that was the main thing she said.  She had also muttered the same line, over and over.  Something about eyes.  The eyes of the beast.

Luna looked down, beginning to read once more.

This however, brings me to the point of my letter.  I am afraid of my own writings, but I must convey it to you.

Luna read faster, her anticipation growing.

It is a terrible discovery that I’ve made… these things… I know not where to begin… they are called the eyes of Dis-

A buzzer exploded in Luna’s skull, driving all thoughts from her mind.  She hastily silenced the nuisance, and then rolled up the paper, slipping it back into her desk.  She sealed the panel over it, and then pulled out a page of legislation, beginning to read it.  A few seconds later, there was a knock on her door.

“Your Highness?  Your food’s all here.  Can I come in please?”

Luna smiled broadly, glad that her meal had finally arrived.

“Of course, please come in, I can’t wait to see what you all have made in the kitchen this evening.”

The door swung open, and two serving ponies walked in, one carrying her food, and the other, a tray of ice, glasses, and a diamond pitcher of water.

“Here you go your highness, just let us know when ya’ll are done in here, and we’ll be right on by ta’ pick it up.”

“Thank you very much, you may go now.”

As Luna started to eat, she realized how tired she was.  What with the all night and morning comet observation, and the discussion with Blueblood, it was practically a miracle that she was awake at all.  She glanced up at the clock.  Five thirty.  Yawning, she resumed chewing the salad the cooks had brought her.

I suppose that everything else can wait until tomorrow… I desperately need some sleep.

She looked out the window, and then frowned.  The sun was still fairly high in the sky, and the moon still needed raising.  She groaned, and then casted an elaborate spell to raise to start raising the moon slowly, so as not to interfere with normal celestial scheduling.  She turned back to her dinner, slowly biting off a chunk of bread.

Being an Alicorn certainly does have its draw backs…

Worn out, she placed the empty serving platter on a small stool outside of her door, and then locked her door.  Her horn blinked, and all the lights in the room flickered out, and her teeth were liberated from any food particles that had built up during her meal.

And then again, it also has its benefits…

Smiling, she walked through another door, moving deeper into her chambers.  She closed this door behind her, and then slipped into the massive four poster bed in the center of the room, her regalia floating away, dropping into a large chest.  The pony princess smiled, and closed her eyes.  She was asleep almost instantly.

<(^)>

Twilight Sparkle stepped off the train at Canterlot station, looking around at the city of her birth.  The buildings gleamed, and the towers seemed to sparkle in the setting sunlight.  She glanced up at the large clock in the train station tower.  She had to meet Alex in fifteen minutes, and she would never forgive herself if she missed something that SHE had scheduled.

Quickly, she trotted through the streets of the large Cliffside city, avoiding collisions with other pedestrians.  All around her, masses of ponies strolled to their respective destinations, whether going home from a day’s work, going shopping, or simply going for a walk.  Twilight merely sidled through, blending in with the rest of the crowd, despite her lofty reputation.  She could see the gleaming structure of Canterlot castle looming up before her.

The lavender unicorn smiled as she walked through the gates of her old home, entering the castle courtyard.  Her horn glowed, and a small copper pocket watch drifted out of her saddlebags, flipping open a few inches before her nose.  Twilight smiled, seeing that she still had four minutes to spare.  She trotted over to the nearest bench, and took a seat, her eyes on the main door of the palace.  Around her, several statues stood, resolute against the wear of time.

Her eyes drifted to the newest addition to the monument garden.  A human soldier kneeled in the mud next to an armored unicorn, his strange weapon pointed at an unseen enemy.  The small plaque at the bottom of the stone work read;

To all who fought for Equestria, both human and equine, during the war of Shattered Space.  May they never be forgotten.

Twilight’s head swiveled back to the castle entrance as one of the double doors cracked open, and a light gray unicorn trotted out, whistling a tune.  She quickly stood, and walked towards the young stallion.  Her mouth opened, preparing to speak.

“Alex!  You should really hurry next time.  You were almost late!”

The gray unicorn checked his own timepiece, concerned.  Upon further review of the time, Alex smiled.

“I believe that almost is the key word there…  I’m exactly on time.”

He shut the pocket watch, winking at Twilight.

“I think that somepony was just anxious to see me.”

Twilight blushed slightly.

“Well… maybe.  Though mostly, I’ve just been anxious this whole past month.  You see, I accidently made my schedule without taking into account the time it takes to travel from one location to the next.  It was a nightmare to get everything back in order.”

Alex started to laugh.

“Only you Twilight… only you.”

“Hey, it’s not funny!”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Do you know how hard it is to schedule something with Pinkie pie?  It’s hard enough to figure out what she’s saying most of the time!”

Alex slowly stopped laughing.

“Hehheh… yeah, I’m sorry Twilight, it’s just that you’re the only pony that I know that ever tries to precisely schedule their entire life.  You’ll probably never even die, because it would completely throw off one of your appointments or something.”

“Maybe I do get a little carried away sometimes…”

Twilight thought back to the times when her absolute refusal to deviate from her schedule almost resulted in disaster.  She still got nightmares every time she thought about that smartypants doll.  She quickly shook her head.

“Anyway, where do you plan on going?  Did you have someplace in mind?”

She eyed the Alex, curious at his plans.

“Actually, yes, have you ever heard of a place called Alga?”

Twilight grimaced.

“Yes, yes I have… seaweed.”

“Oh come on, have you ever even tried seaweed?”

Alex teased her.

“No… but I’m not sure that I have to.  It’s seaweed, for pony’s sake.  Even if you can eat something, that doesn’t always mean that you should.”

Alex merely grinned.

“Oh come on, trust me, it’s good.  If you don’t like it, we can always stop by Pony Joe’s later.”

“Hmm…”

Twilight spent a few moments in contemplation.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.  Seriously though, it had better be good.  I’m not sure who was the first pony to try it anyway; ‘Here, let’s take plants from the bottom of the ocean and shove it in our mouths.’ You have to admit, it does sound pretty bad.”

Alex nodded, understanding her apprehension.

“Back where I come from, we had this thing called sushi.  For some reason, that always seemed to turn people off too.  Trust me though, it’s really good, you just have to give it a whirl.”

Twilight smiled; always interested in any tidbits that Alex shared about the human’s world.

“Well, I’ll take your word for it then.  Can we get going now?”

The gray unicorn nodded.

“Of course, it’s a pretty decent walk.  We should probably hit the road.”

The two unicorns set off, traveling out of the castle, and into the city beyond.

<(^)>

“… And I would like the Dragon roll, please.” Twilight smiled at the server, dressed in the garb of the ponies that inhabit the Far East Islands.

“Of course, I will bring both of your orders out shortly.”

The server bowed, and then walked away from the table.  Alex smiled, sitting across the table from Twilight.

“Wow, just think, when you get home, you’ll be able to tell Spike that you ate a dragon!  I think it’s perfectly reasonable to forget the “roll” part.”

Twilight chuckled, folding up her menu.

“I don’t think that he would be fooled for very long, and, if somehow I did convince him, he would probably run away screaming.”

Alex joined in her mirth, trying to imagine the young dragon’s response.

“Speaking of Spike how is the little guy?  I haven’t seen him in two or three months.”

Twilight frowned.

“Yeah, I feel bad that all of us have been so busy lately.  You know, Spike really looks up to you Alex.  We should try and get you down to Ponyville sometime.”

She thought carefully for a moment.

“Actually, I think I can fit in time for that next Saturday.  I’ll have to see.  Anyway, Spike has been doing pretty well.  He went through a little growth spurt, so I had to check and see if he wasn’t hoarding anything again.  Turns out that this one was perfectly natural though, he is only about two inches taller, but his wings are just starting to develop.”

“Really?”

Alex was suddenly much more interested in the conversation.

“So, has he been buzzing around the library at all then?”

Twilight laughed, shaking her head.

“Just on his feet.  His wings are one and a half inches long, so he isn’t going anywhere with them for quite some time.”

“Hmm, still, that has to be interesting.  How has he been acting with them?”

Twilight shook her head, groaning.

“He reminds me of Scootaloo before her wings were large

enough to get lift…  He’s already broken a book shelf.  That is, after he tried to jump off of it.”

Alex laughed.

“He was probably just trying to get a head start on re-shelving day.”

Twilight just rolled her eyes, disregarding the sarcastic comment.  They were silent for a few moments, before she changed the subject.

“So, Alex, what have you been up to lately?  Has anything interesting happened in your little laboratory?”

The gray unicorn hesitated for a few moments, not sure whether he should tell her about some of the things he worked on.

Well… she is Princess Celestia’s personal student… she probably knows more national secrets than I do.

“Actually,” Alex began, “I almost got blown up yesterday.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide.

“What?  Really?”

“Yup, and the day before that… and the day before that… and that.”

Twilight looked concerned.

“Um… is almost getting killed a daily part of your work?”

Alex scratched his head, appearing nonchalant.

“Well, not really.  It’s just that these last few days we have been working on a project that involves high explosives.  In all honesty, it should have been completed last year, but our top priority has been stuff that improves ponies’ lives, not destroys them.”

Alex was going to continue, when he noticed Twilight peering off behind him, a look of annoyance on her face.

“Twilight?  Is something wrong?”

She shook her head, returning her gaze to Alex, doing her best to smile.

“It’s not much really.  It’s just… well.”

She raised a forehoof off of the table, pointing at something behind Alex.  He swiveled in his chair, following the limb.  His eyes came to rest on a gleaming white unicorn stallion.  He studied the pony for a moment, and then turned back to Twilight.

“I’ve seen him around the castle before.  Isn’t he some kind of Lord or something like that?”

Twilight snorted, her eyes tracking the white pony.

“His name is Prince Blueblood.  He’s an absolute jerk.  You should have seen the way he treated Rarity at the grand galloping gala a few years ago.  It was rather depressing.”

Alex could tell that Twilight was upset.  He looked back at Blueblood, watching him take a seat in the restaurant.  Two stone faced guards stood around his table.  Alex turned back to Twilight.

“Anyway… I’m sorry to hear that.  We’ll just do our best to ignore him, ok?”

Twilight nodded, hesitantly looking back to Alex.

“Right… so, you were talking about high explosives?”

Alex grinned, happy to know that she had gotten her mind off of the irritating subject.

“So, like I was saying, we were recently given the go ahead on a project that was for military purposes, not civilian.  Remember that black powder that Jonathan told you guys how to make?  Well, when you cram it into a metal tube, it can send a projectile flying for miles.  Pretty useful in sticky situations, if I do say so myself.”

“Wow.” Twilight was intrigued by the idea. “Is that the same basic mechanism that your… the human’s weapons operated off of?”

“Yup.  Of course, that’s much more advanced.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to make something of that level within a few years, but not right now.”

Alex shifted uncomfortably.

“Um… anyway, I have to go use the colt’s room…  I’ll be back in a minute.”

The gray unicorn stood, and walked away from the table.  As he walked through the restaurant, he passed Blueblood’s table.  The white unicorn’s eyes tracked him.  Thoughts began to race through the Prince’s mind.

Hmm… what an interesting conversation.

The Prince grinned wickedly, a new scheme already coming to mind.

Four - Assassination

Dark Flare crept through the dimly lit stone hallways of Canterlot castle, far below the levels that most ponies ever saw.  She hadn’t encountered any guards as of yet, though she had been forced to dash down several side halls at the sound of patrolling hooves.  Each time, her heart had exploded with fear of discovery.  Each time, she had gone unnoticed.

Flare confidently strode forward, her eyes now focused solely on a door directly ahead of her.  From behind the door, the faint clanking of metallic objects could be heard.  She glanced around one final time, making certain that nopony would interfere.  All she saw was the gray stone of the castle, and the dull glow of torches.  Flare placed a hoof on the door of interest, a wooden construct.  She felt a surge of adrenaline run through her, though she tried to be cautious.  Many operations had failed for lack of attention to detail.

Flare’s right forehoof slid forward, and came to rest upon the door handle.

Was this really going to be this easy?

She applied pressure to the handle, its copper structure out of place among the rest of the door’s wood.  It slid down, and the door pushed half an inch inward. It typical Canterlot security.  Flare slowly pushed the door open, trying hard not to make a sound.  Thankfully, it appeared that what the Canterlot crew lacked in security, they made up for in maintenance;  The hinges were well oiled.

The interior of the room glowed with a strange, artificial light.  Flare eyed the light sources with curiosity.  The glowing glass bulbs dangled from the ceiling, casting light around the entire area.  She ignited her horn for a moment, trying to magically inspect the devices.  Though they gave off a fair amount of energy, none of it seemed to shout ‘magic’ at her.

How intriguing… I may have to… acquire one of these devices.

Flare shook her head, annoyed that she had allowed herself to get too focused on one object.  Stuff like that gets you killed.  She scanned the room, panicking, as the light’s imprint slowly faded from her eyes.  Around her, tables stood, bearing all sorts of fascinating glass and metal gadgetry.  Flare finished her survey of the room, and let out a faint sigh of relief.  The room was barren of life, except for the assassin herself.

Her eyes flicked to another door at the far end of the room, this one slightly ajar.  She heard the sounds of more than one ponies working behind it.  Wordlessly, Flare reached into her saddle bags, removing her armament.  She felt her heart began to beat faster.  The black object slid from her side without a sound, cradled in her gentle aura.  She looked the unfamiliar weapon over once more.

Flare had been instructed in its use, but still, the object seemed foreign to her.  Which, she supposed, it was.  The side of the weapon bore an interesting engraving; several numbers and letters, and then the single word.  Berretta.  Her magical grip flicked the small switch that adorned the black piece of machinery.  Flare took a confident step towards the door.  It would all be over soon.

<(^)>

Alex looked over his work.  It was, of course, a cannon.  Not one that would stand a chance back on Earth, but a cannon none the less.  The barrel inside had been rifled, by Alex’s own hooves, and the large metallic tube was now secured onto a wooden cart.

Technically, even though the weapon was incredibly basic, it would still serve its lethal purpose.  Interest in military affairs had spiked through the roof after Equestria had nearly been demolished two years previously.

“So, you really think that this one is going to work?” Metalspark rubbed the metal surface with a rag, earning a shine from the metal.

“I already told you,” Alex carefully scooped some black powder out of a nearby container. “We’ve put so many reinforcements into this stupid thing, if it blows up in our faces again, I will personally eat the remains.”

“I’m going to hold you to that you know.” Metalspark grinned at his friend.

“I know you will.” Alex said, “That’s why I really hope that this one is going to work.”

Alex glanced to the right of the cannon, taking inventory on the table that held the equipment for firing it.

Let’s see, black powder, ramrod, cleaning rags, fuses…

If he’d still possessed fingers, he would have snapped them.

“Shells!”

Alex turned his gaze over to a crate on a distant shelf.  It was simply marked; ‘MUNITIONS.’ He set down the scoop he had been using to transfer black powder from the larger storage container into the smaller travel pouch.

“Here, Metalspark, can you get the rest of the powder?  I’m gonna go grab some ammo.”

The other unicorn nodded, and took a step towards the container of black powder.  Meanwhile, Alex strode over to the shelf that held the needed projectiles.  He carefully slid the shell laden box from its place, watching as it floated lightly before him.

If only I’d always been able to do this…

BANG

Alex jumped, dropping the box of shells, startled at the sudden noise.

Oh crap, the black powder!

Alex whirled around, preparing to extinguish a burning pile of explosives.

“Metalspark!  You ok buddy?”

He stopped.  The other unicorn’s horn slowly stopped glowing, and the scoop of black powder crashed to the ground.  A plume of dark dust rose from the impact zone, staining the air.  Alex stared at Metalspark.  A trickle of blood ran down the side of the pony’s head, and then he collapsed.

As Metalspark’s body crumpled to the floor, it revealed the dark figure standing behind him.  Alex stared at the deep black pony, frozen in place.  Fear had not yet set in for Alex, merely confusion, and concern.  The new pony turned its attention from the fallen worker, focusing now on Alex.  Alex broke free of his shocked state, and threw himself behind a nearby workbench.  As he did, another loud crack rent the air.

A few feet above him, a beaker of liquid shattered, spraying a red fluid out across the room.  Alex flinched as a few drops landed on his hide, and felt his heart sink as the smell of cherries filled his nostrils.

It took me so long to get all the ingredients right too…

Perhaps thoughts of experimental energy drinks were inappropriate in life threatening situations, but weird things tended to happen when under…

Wait… is that a…

BANG

Alex reflexively pressed himself up against a stone cooling slab, glancing around for anything that might be used as a weapon.

Great, so now ponies have guns.  I wonder when that happened?

Alex fixed his eyes on a nearby jug, his horn beginning to emit energy.  The jug glowed softly, and then levitated a few centimeters off its shelf.  Alex could hear the hoof steps of the other equine, treading across the room, trying to get a line of sight on the cowering unicorn.

Alex took a deep breath, and then sprung from his hiding spot, flinging himself across the room.  Mid flight, the gray unicorn’s eyes found his assailant.  He twisted his mouth in a shout, releasing the pent up energy in his horn.  The magic channeled through the air, dragging the jug with it.  The jug shot across the expanse of the room, gleaming with a wicked magical glow.  As Alex skidded to a stop next to a stone furnace, the jug impacted the black unicorn, sending her crashing to the floor.

Alex tensed to throw himself behind the furnace, but paused.  The other pony did not move.  Cautiously, keeping a careful eye on the fallen assassin, Alex crept up to Metalspark, grabbing the other ponies foreleg.  He held it for several seconds, before allowing it to flop back to the floor.

Alex sat back, defeated.  Slowly, he shook his head, and then left the dead pony where he lay.  A resolute yet weary look on his face, he continued over to the black unicorn.  He could now clearly see that it was a mare.  Alex watched as her chest faintly rose and fell.  He strode up to her and noted the weapon that lay beside her.

He grimaced, looking at the piece of black steel.

And where did you come from, eh?

He presumed that it must have been left on the battlefield, after the war, two years ago.  They had actually assumed that not all human technology was found.  A rather large amount of guns, ammo, different electronics, and even a working armored personal carrier had all been recovered from the battlefield.  The items had been inventoried, and then locked up, hidden from the rest of the world.  This one must have fallen through the cracks… along with who knows what else.

Alex leaned in, taking a closer look at the unconscious unicorn.

I suppose that I should get something to tie her up with… wait.

He hadn’t noticed it up until then, but it almost looked like her horn was still…

“Ugh!”

He was slammed into the ground, the black unicorn suddenly pivoting over him, pushing the gun into the back of his head.

“Where are the blueprints, colonel.  I would prefer to get this over with as quickly as possible.”

The voice sounded like a snake hissing in his ears, laced with menace, and able to bring dread to the strongest of hearts.  Also, she was well informed, he wasn’t wearing his uniform, she had known his rank in advance.  Alex grunted a curse in reply, drawing a knock on the side of his head.

“I’m not messing around here, buddy.  Where are the plans?  You know what I’m talking about.  How does all of your crazy crap work?”

Alex turned his head to the side, allowing him to speak more freely.

“What are you going to do if I don’t tell you?  Shoot me?  Then what, are you going to dig through the entire room, trying to find the right paperwork, even though the royal guards will probably be here within three minutes?”  The other unicorn hesitated, and Alex cast about the room, looking for something to use against his captor.  His eyes settled on a small pouch, just five feet to his left.  He instantly recognized it as a powder horn.  It must have fallen when Metalspark… he couldn’t think about him.

The mare got over her brief mental stupor.

“I don’t need you.  The guards probably just think that the shots were normal parts of your work.”

Alex’s mind began to race, drawing on the spell that Twilight had taught him, more than a year before.  He had done it once before then… but that had been an accident.

“Goodbye, Mr. Alex.”

The world seemed to move in slow motion.  Alex’s horn glowed brilliantly, while the assassin manipulated her own magical grip on the gun.  The trigger slid smoothly backwards, sending the hammer crashing down on the shell casing.  The powder within ignited, and propelled the projectile down the barrel, straight into… the empty space where Alex had been a split second earlier.

“Wha…?”

The black unicorn spun wildly, searching for the new location of her target.  Alex appeared in a flash of light on the far end of the room.  She focused in on him, bringing the gun to bear.  Alex merely raised a forehoof, waving.  She hesitated for a moment, confused by his friendly gesture.  Then, the small pouch of black powder exploded.  The explosion knocked her to the ground, and sent the handgun to soar through the air.  Alex caught the weapon neatly in his magical hold, levitating it over to himself.

Now comforted that the weapon was under his control, he turned to face his assailant.  He saw nothing.  Alex frantically glanced about the room, afraid that he was about to be ambushed.

No… not there… then where the… There!

He pointed the small firearm at the unicorn, just as she scampered out the door.  Instinctively, he fired a shot anyway, chipping the door frame.  Frusterated, he charged out after the unicorn, trying to draw a bead on her.  As he entered the second room of his work area, Alex was just in time to see the door slam, and a few papers flutter to the floor.

Wait… papers… Crap!

Alex saw a wooden box lying sideways on the floor, papers scattered around it.  Far less papers than there should have been.  It was no setback to him, as he had most of the designs committed to memory.  On the other hoof, what a misguided pony might do with some of those designs, that was a disturbing thought.

Alex dashed out of his offices, into the hallway.  The assassin was nowhere to be seen.

“Guards!”

Alex shouted, “Guards, intruder in the castle, intruder in the castle!”

As armored stallions charged down the hallway, no one stopped to notice the small black shadow slip into one of the side passageways.

<(^)>

The nondescript delivery truck drove up the pentagon, its headlights cutting through the darkness of the early night.  A small entourage of two marines, two secret service agents, and a man in a four star general’s uniform were waiting for the truck.  The plain white vehicle slid to a stop, and opened its large rear door.  Two men slid down from the vehicle, while two secret service agents remained inside.  They nodded at the other pair of agents, who acknowledged them.

The general shook hands with the first man out of the truck.

“Mr. President!  Let’s get you inside shall we?”

“Whatever you say Quentin.” President Anderson smiled, walking alongside his hold RIO from long past years.

Daniel quickly fell in stride with them, while the secret service and marines trailed behind them.  Quentin chuckled, looking at the other two high ranking men.

“Well, we certainly have moved up in the world since two years ago, haven’t we?”

“Don’t you forget it!”

Anderson shook his head, smiling.

“If it wasn’t for me working myself half dead in front of congress, we may have never gotten Nickelson impeached… and behind bars.  At least, relatively.”

The corrupt old president was kept under house arrest, not allowed to leave the premises unless ordered to.

“What do you mean, working yourself half dead?”

Quentin scoffed.

“If you hadn’t spent so much time getting popular along the way, half my annual salary says you wouldn’t be president.”

“So like, twenty bucks then?”

The three men laughed lightly, now entering the huge five sided military command center.  The doors were held open by additional marines.  Daniel took the lead of the group, leading them through several hallways, and finally to a large metal door.

“I’m afraid I’m not allowed past this point.” Quentin nodded at the door.

“Don’t you sort of… run this place?” Anderson pointed out.

“So?  Just because I keep giving everyone permission to order takeout and make sure the floors stay clean doesn’t mean I get to do anything cool.  I’ll see you in an hour or two.”

Anderson shook hands with the general, and then waited while Daniel let a small panel near the door scan his eye.  The door slid open soundlessly, and Daniel motioned Anderson through.  Anderson walked through the open portal, followed closely by the two secret service agents, while Daniel closed the door behind them.  Anderson watched as the door slid shut, blocking Quentin and the two marines from view.  Then he turned, looking at the only other notable object in the dimly lit room.  An elevator.

Daniel calmly walked up to the elevator controls, and entered a complex combination into the number pad.  The doors of the elevator opened, this time with significantly more whirring and hissing than the earlier door.  To Anderson’s surprise, he saw that the doors were a full foot thick.  Daniel entered the elevator, and then motioned for him to do the same.  Anderson quickly traversed the short distance to the elevator, flanked by the secret service personal.  Upon entrance, the think metal blast doors ground shut behind them.

Daniel sighed, and then placed his hand on a button marked “twenty three.” It was the last button on the elevator control panel.

“You have to understand,” The head of the CIA stated quietly, “that what you are about to see is top secret, completely confidential.  That especially goes for you two.” He nodded at the secret service personal. “There are only 126 people who know about what you will soon see.  Sixty nine of them are dead.  One of them was the designer of the pentagon, George Bergstrom.  The rest is made up of every president since the twenties, about sixteen secret service agents, every head of the CIA, since the agency was founded in forty seven, eight government construction workers sworn to secrecy, a bunch of scientists, and a handful of military officers chosen to oversee this, and other shady operations.  One of the saddest things is… we didn’t even know what it was until a couple years back.  That being said… enjoy.”

His hand pushed the elevator button, and the little room began to sink downwards.  After a little over a minute spent in silence, the doors opened once again.  This time, into a well lit room, filled with computers, a couple microwaves, a fridge or two, and some more doorways.  Anderson glanced into one of the side doors.  Living quarters, rather nice ones too.

“Good evening Mr. President.” Anderson quickly focused in on the source of the voice.  It was a man in a captain’s uniform.  Other than the mark of his rank, he bore no recognizable emblems or identification.

“Good evening, Captain…”

Anderson waited for the captain’s name.  He merely smiled.

“Did Dan there tell you how many people know about this here facility?”

“Yes…” Anderson eyed the man curiously.

“Well, let me just put it this way, the amount of people who know my name is substantially less than that.  The amount of people who know my name and are now dead is substantially more.  So, for convenience’s sake, let’s just call me Captain Scriptorium, alright?”

Anderson looked over than man, who looked to be in his early forties, and finally held out his hand.

“It’s good to meet you Mr.Scriptorium.”

Scriptorium smiled wider, shaking the president’s hand.

“It’s good to meet you too, Mr. President.”

Scriptorium then reached into one of his pockets, removing a key.

“Now, I do believe that you came here to see something,” he spun the key lazily around his hand.

Scriptorium grinned at him.  “Correct?”

Anderson nodded, his curiosity now growing to a huge gnawing sensation.

“Correct.”

Five - Hint of a Storm

Princess Celestia neatly sorted through the scrolls on her desk, gathering together the ones she had completed the previous night.  She carefully bound them all with red twine, and then went over to the chest at the foot of her bed.  The Solar overlord donned her regalia, as she had done almost every morning for the past three thousand years.  After she had finished the reverse procedure of what she had done last night, Celestia slid the chest’s lid close.  Surprisingly, given enough time, even the task of ruling a country could simply become routine.

She was just beginning to gather the scrolls together, when a faint sound struck her ears.  The sound of a set of hooves dashing across a marble floor.  The same marble floor that was right outside the door to her rooms.  Mildly interested, Celestia glanced upwards, looking at the broad wooden double doors.  She was just in time to see them burst open with a faint streak of dark purple.

“Wha-” She was cut off as the previously mentioned streak slammed into her, sending her crashing to the ground.  Annoyed as she was, at least the princess remained unhurt, as her room’s floor was covered in a plush rug.  Picking herself up, Celestia examined the source of her sudden displacement.

“Luna?  Dare I ask why your entrance was so theatric?  In fact, I might be so bold as to say, it had me floored.”

“Sorry Tia.” The darker Alicorn slowly rose, as she had come to land next to her sister. “I was distracted and did not realize your door was so near… I must say, you provided an excellent cushion for my stop.”

“That still does not excuse the fact that you were barreling through the castle faster than any sane pony ought to.  What has gotten you into such a… speedy mood?”

Luna grinned sheepishly. “Well, you see, my research has finally paid off… sorry, by the way.”

Celestia rubbed her neck, easing away the discomfort that the collision had caused.  Although the intrusion was odd, the steward of the sun was intrigued.

“It has?  So does this mean that your obsession with studying the portal is at an end?  What did you find?”

“Well, I did find a scroll that describes it in detail, actually.  It’s a letter.  It’s addressed to you.”

Celestia raised her eyebrows.

“When exactly, was this letter written?”

And why did I never receive it?  She wanted to add.

“It was written shortly after Discord began his little reign of terror.” Luna spoke darkly.

Even though it had been more than a thousand years since the incident, the memory still hung over the Pony princesses.  It had been one of their darkest hours… and at least for Celestia, their greatest failure.

“I see…” Celestia pondered the new information for a few moments. “What exactly does this letter say?”

“It contains information on the portal… very in depth information, I may add.  It appears that Discord was involved with it.  So much so that it bears his name.”

Celestia was beginning to realize why Luna was so eager to get in her room.

“It bears his name… in what way?”

Luna sighed, and then trotted over to an open window, looking out over the horizon.  Far over the horizon, past visible range, Mount Ragnon stood, resolute against the wear of time.  The dark Alicorn turned back to her sister.

“The Eye of Discord.”

        <(^)>

Scriptorium slipped the keys that he had previously been playing with back into his pocket.

“All right then.” He glanced at Anderson. “Please follow me.”

He quickly turned around heading through the underground facility.  Without looking back, he began speak to Anderson, who was following shortly behind him.

“Mr. President, do you know why the pentagon was built here?”

Anderson was slightly put off by his question.

“The military needed a centralized command and control center.”

Blackhawk slowly shook his head.

“That’s certainly WHY the pentagon was built, but not why it was built HERE.  Arguably, it was close to the capitol, but there are really quite a few other locations that could have been better.  For instance, it could have been constructed somewhere where it had its own airfield, or something along those lines.  Why do you think it would get dropped here of all places?”

They were now nearing a large metal door at the end of the facility.

“I had always thought that they just wanted it in with the rest of the main government structures.  Was I wrong?”

“Yes, actually.”

Scriptorium had stopped just short of the door.

“In truth, the pentagon was built here to kill two birds with one stone… We needed a command center, and we needed to make sure that no one else found this.  Although, we had absolutely no clue what it was, or what it might do, until two years ago…”

Scriptorium slid the keys from his pocket once more… and then used them to poke in the correct code on a number pad.  Once he had finished, he returned the keys to their holder.  Anderson looked at Daniel, who was standing beside him.  He merely shrugged.

“I think, Mr. President…” Scriptorium was speaking again, “That you may recognize what you are about to see.”

The door slid open with a hiss, revealing an inky black space.  Scriptorium leaned forward, flicking a switch.  The cavern was suddenly illuminated by a three dozen high powered lights.  Anderson was blinded for a moment, as the space had instantly gone from pitch dark to light as day.  As his eyes adjusted, he felt his heart beat quicken.  He took a step into the cavern, looking up at the huge stone ring before him.

“You wondered why the scientists were able to arrive on scene so fast when you discovered you little portal in the Nevada desert, Mr. President.  It was because we already had the right kind of scientists.”

Scriptorium leaned nonchalantly against the door frame.  Anderson gazed through the middle of the ring.  The ring that was identical to another great stone ring, only that one had been located in Nevada.  It merely showed the continuation of the cavern, heading upwards through the rocks and dirt.

“Where does it…”

“Where does it lead?” Scriptorium finished the question for him. “Tragically, nowhere exciting, that cavern narrows down and leads up to just underneath the helipad.  To clear up any confusion, this particular portal appears to be idle.  Although we have reason to believe it is related to the one that was more recently found in Nevada, it has never, at any point during our observation of it, been active.  The only reason to believe that it may lead to the same place would be the carvings.”

Anderson hesitated, and then extended his hand, touching the unnatural rock creation.  Carefully, he ran his hand over the stone, feeling the small indentations and lines that made up the various carvings.  With his pointer finger, he traced the outline of a unicorn on the rock.  A sense of awe had fallen over him.  Suddenly, Anderson stopped.

A question had forced its way into his mind.  Slowly, he turned to face Scriptorium.

“I believe that I may have just had an interesting idea, Mr. Scriptorium.”

The man in question continued to lean against the door frame, obviously very relaxed in the president’s company.  Perhaps working with an alien artifact for God knows how long had numbed his sense of respect.

“I’m free to answer everything that you ask, Mr. President.  Except what I had for dinner last night.  I’m afraid that’s a matter of national security.”

Anderson was beginning to realize just how eccentric - not to mention weird - Scriptorium was.

“I can assure you, Mr. Scriptorium, that I will not inquire after your dinner.” Anderson paused, “What I would like to know is… if this portal was never active, how did anyone ever find out that it wasn’t just a Native American temple or Aztec ruin or some other ancient civilization?  It seems odd to me that anyone would immediately think of this as… other worldly.”

Scriptorium smiled. “Well, about this portal never being active.  That’s true… in a general sense.”

       <(^)>

“He made the portal.  Well, had it made at least.  Your idea about some zebra cult actually has some grounds to it.  Discord was assisted by several deceived magicians and a few zebras with advanced knowledge of enchanting.”

“Of course,” Luna continued, “As interesting as all of this is, it still begs the more interesting question; why did he make the portal?  The author of the letter, a descendant of Starswirl the bearded, didn’t even have an inkling.”

“I actually have a much more interesting question than that.” Celestia said thoughtfully. “What I would like to know, is how Discord knew of the other world in the first place.  More importantly, he also seemed to possess a rudimentary knowledge of how to get there.” She paused, a new idea suddenly occurring to her. “When was the letter actually written?”

Luna inhaled, suddenly seeing what her sister was inquiring after. “It was from little over a month after Discord’s first appearance, thirty seven days later, to be exact.” Luna mentally kicked herself for not connecting that fact any sooner.

“So,” Celestia continued, “Discord not only knew about the other world, and knew roughly how to get there, but he also managed to accomplish all this in less than thirty seven days?”

Luna blushed, realizing that she hadn’t pondered the letter as much as she should have.  Then again, she had charged in to tell Tia within three minutes of actually finishing the read…

“I… I suppose that he did.  It is rather extra-ordinary, now that I’m thinking of it.  It seems like he would still be to occupied with squashing the last pockets of resistance to bother with something as trivial and potentially useless as a portal that might not even work.”

Celestia chuckled, slowly shaking her head.

“I think that time may have distorted your recollection of him.  Discord is exactly the kind of creature to ignore the more pressing matters and focus on such small matters.  After all, why would Discord do anything if he couldn’t find amusement in it?  The sad thing is, I doubt he even sees it the same way.  From all that I’ve seen of Discord, all he really wants to do is have fun; it’s just that his idea of fun is tragically twisted.  He probably thinks that he’s making everypony else’s lives more fun too, which is why he takes annoyance when somepony fails to take notice of his ‘glorious chaos’.”

“Perhaps I have forgotten him.  Then again, perhaps that is for the better.  I wish that I had never dealt with that beast.”

“Well I certainly hope not.” Celestia snorted, “Without your help, I would never have been able to defeat him, and the world would still be engulfed in eternal chaos.” She paused “Which would be a very bad thing, despite the fact that it comes with chocolate rain.”

“If only we could convince him to run a daycare or some family restaurant… every foal that set foot in the building would instantly be in love with him.”

“Indeed.  He would be far better at that than trying to steal our jobs…”

The princesses laughed lightly at the thought of Discord operating a foal care center.  Celestia allowed herself to enjoy the moment for a tad longer, and then returned to more vital topics.

“Yes… Anyway, is there anything else that you’ve uncovered about the portal, or Discord, or is that all?”

Luna suddenly grew still.  The dark Alicorn carefully cleared her throat.

“There is one more thing that I must say about the Eye of Discord.  I believe that it is also the most important find of the day.”

Celestia wondered why she hadn’t brought it up before, if it was so serious.

“Tia… Even… Even Discord, as wretched and twisted as he may have been… Even Discord had two eyes.”

“But…”

Celestia had frozen in her place, confused.

“Do you merely speculate, or can you be sure?”

“The letter seemed to indicate it.” She paused for a moment, before murmuring; “The chaos has been doubled.”

“Then perhaps all our troubles are not as finished as they may have seemed.” Celestia said quietly.

“It is uncertain.  We have no idea of the whereabouts of the second portal, and we have no reason to believe that the humans are any better off.  Also, we have no reason to believe that the humans who were in power at the time would still be in power.  We don’t even know if time correlates between the two worlds.  For all we know, the second portal may have even been destroyed long ago.”

Luna waited for her sister to reply.  Celestia sighed.

“Still, we should – quietly – initiate a search for it.  Did the letter say anything about location?”

Luna shook her head.

“Nothing, we’ll have to do some more digging.”

Celestia sighed once more.

“Thank you for sharing this with me, my sister.  I am now very glad that you insisted on researching this whole affair.  I apologize if I ever discouraged you.”

“It’s quite all right Tia.” Luna smiled. “Now it’s just a question of –”

They were interrupted as Starblink and twelve royal guards slid to a stop outside the still open door.  In their fascination with the conversation, Luna and Celestia had forgotten to close it.  Distantly, bells began to clang, and the sound of dozens of hooves striking the ground could be heard.  Starblink strode forward, while the rest of the guards fanned out around the entrance, making a defensive perimeter.  Behind him, two unicorn guards closed the double doors, securing the three ponies in Celestia’s chambers with a resounding thud.

“Sorry if we gave you a bit of a fright.” He looked over the two of them. “But I’m afraid that the two of you already gave one to us.  There’s an intruder in the castle, and neither of you are where you were scheduled to be.  I practically had a heart attack, especially since this is no bandit.  There is one confirmed fatality on the lower levels, and a report of an attempted killing of another pony.”

His eyes had locked on Celestia, as if he was unable to make certain she was still alright.  Finally, he leaned in, and nuzzled her.

“The two of us are completely fine, thank you.”

Both Princesses looked concerned, and Luna piped up;

“Who… Who was killed?”

“I don’t know yet.  As soon as I heard, I grabbed the nearest platoon and started looking for you.  There hasn’t been much news other than what I already told you.  I didn’t think that you two were the target, because if you were, then there was no reason for the assassin to be in the lower levels.  Still, I needed to make sure that you were safe.”

Though he spoke to both of them, it was fairly clear that most of his concern was directed to the older of immortal sisters.

“Thank you Starblink.” His wife smiled at him. “I’m glad that you’re alright too.  However, I am concerned for the poor slain creature down below.  Are you sure that the intruder hasn’t been found yet?”

Starblink shook his head.

“I’ve instructed a runner to come tell me as soon as it is found… We will know almost immediately.”

         <(^)>

“I can only say I’m sorry sir; I’m afraid that he is quite dead.”

The graying medical pony tucked away his tools, tipping his top hat onto his head.

“I honestly wish that I could do something more for you lad, but I’m afraid that I can’t.  Unfortunately, no amount of medicine is going to bring him back.” He paused for a few moments, observing the depressed unicorn.  Alex sat stock still, staring at the pale corpse of Metalspark.  The doctor leaned down, trying to give some degree of comfort. “I’m quite aware that it is an overused statement, but I can assure you that the poor lad died instantly.  Never even knew that anything was wrong.”

Alex continued to stare in a rather bleak fashion, before finally turning to the doctor.

“Thank you for all your work sir… you can go now.”

Alex watched quietly as the doctor walked out of the room, followed shortly thereafter by two royal guards carrying a stretcher.  The stretcher that carried Metalspark’s dead body.  The door clanged shut behind them with a great Thud of finality, and then they were gone.  Alex continued to sit, still staring, even though he now looked only at empty space.

Just when I thought that my luck was looking up…

He was bitter.  It was easy to understand the reasons.  It’s a strange feeling, to loose someone that you know.  To have the knowledge that you would never see them again, or be able to talk with them.  To hear their voice once more.  Alex glanced around the room, looking at all of the chemicals and compounds that could have blown up in his face at any given moment.

“Well Spark… I nearly managed to kill myself a hundred times in here, yet you’re the one to go first.”

The words drifted through the lonely room, and gradually dissipated.  And still Alex stared.

He continued to stare as the door opened, casting a shadow across the floor.  He continued to stare as the shadow closed the door behind it, and then trotted across the room.  He continued to stare as it sat beside him, and he continued to stare as it rapped a hoof around him in a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry Alex.”

The voice was soft, and slightly pained.  Twilight sat beside the unicorn stallion, doing her best to comfort him, even if he didn’t want words.  She was content to sit with him until he indicated otherwise.  He had already experienced enough pain for one lifetime, and to add this on top of it was like kicking a dying man.  The minutes ticked by, the clock’s hands content to tick away eternity, never pausing to note any event, pleasant or plague.

Finally, Alex mumbled a few quite words.

“Quo vadis dominus?”

Twilight looked at him, puzzled.

“What does that mean?”

Alex was silent for a few moments, before he slowly replied.

“Where are you going, master?”

Twilight thought for a few moments, still not understanding the stallion’s strange words.

“I’m sorry Alex, but I don’t know what that means.”

“That’s why I was asking.” He said softly. “Look around at my life.  At my friends.  Two years ago, I was robbed.  Virtually every person, place, and thing that I had ever known was swept away.  Forever.  Was it terrible?  Yes.  Do I still feel horrible from time to time?  Yes.  But after a few months, I worked past it.  I met some new friends.  They can never replace the old ones, but they can soothe the loneliness.  You soothe the loneliness.” He said the last sentence more quietly. “Now… after all that, what happens?  One of my friends gets torn away from me again.  Shot, right in front of me.  I watched as his blood…”

Alex trailed off, not finishing the thought.

“Why would this happen?” His voice was strained, and Twilight could tell that he held back tears.  His heart was like a burning lump of coal in his chest, and it felt like he carried a great burden. “Why would this happen?  Why here, in the land of freaking magic ponies, would something like this happen?  What do you want from me?  Why has the world abandoned me?  Where are you going master?  Quo vadis dominus…”

Alex turned to face Twilight, staring into her big eyes.  They were racked with concern.  Finally, he gave in.  He didn’t care if she saw.  He knew that she wouldn’t care either, or more accurately, she cared quite a bit.  That’s why it would be alright.

Painfully, he allowed the tears to flow.  He extended his own forehoof, and tightly embraced her.

“I don’t know why bad things happen.  I don’t know if any of us do.”

Twilight hugged him back, glad that he was talking to her.

“All I know, is that through it all, we can hang on to hope.  Sometimes, it seems like the most horrible things lead to a good.  Alex, you have to remember, no matter what, I’ll be here for you.  Swiftwing is there for you.  Spike, Rainbow, AJ, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Bluebolt, even the princess Celestia.  All of us are here.  If you ever need anything, just let me know.”

She nuzzled him, hoping that he would be able to overcome this tragedy, just as he had overcome the separation from his world.

“I know Twilight…  I’m sorry.  Thank you so much.”

“Shh… its ok.  You don’t have to be sorry for anything.”

“But… Twilight… it’s my fault.  I… I could have locked the door… or something.  I don’t know.  What am I?  I feel useless.  Everyone else does everything, and what do I do?  Tinker with my exploding toys?  I’ve never been a leader…” He paused for a moment, and then mumbled, “James was always good at that…”

Twilight was silent.  After all, there was a faint ring of truth in his words, even if he was just beating himself up with them.

“I…” She began, then she stopped.  She continued the sentence in her mind.  I don’t know…

“I guess that not all of us can be heroes.” Alex said darkly.  Then, he stood up, trotting away from the other pony. “I’m going to my rooms… I think that I’ll just be alone for a little while.  Thanks.” Without another word, he left the room, and the bloodstains, behind.

Twilight sat quite for a little while, before she too, stood, and departed from the room.  As she left, she couldn't help but wonder, what had caused Alex's rapid mood swing?

*****

Someone, go write a oneshot where Discord opens a daycare, now.  Anyway, I'm sorry that it takes so long between updates.  School/school/school just take up a lot of time.  Though, it may interest you to know, part of this chapter was written in a tree.  Like, legitly, written twenty feet high in a tree.  Just thought that you may find that interesting.  Hope you enjoyed!  - Pelicandude

Six - Cold as Ice

“True in a general sense?” Anderson stared at Scriptorium as if he had just revealed that he kept a great white shark as a pet.  His amusement with the eccentric man had quickly turned to annoyance, and anger. “Captain Scriptorium, I am the President of the United States of America.  Your president, to be more exact.  I need to know exactly what happens, when it happens, and how it happens.  I do not need to be lied to.  Do I make myself clear?”

“Of course, Mr. President.” Scriptorium sounded serious enough, although his rather unique personality made it difficult to know whether or not he was actually sincere. “Won’t happen again.” He stopped leaning up against the door frame, throwing a salute.

“Good.” Anderson took two steps closer to the man. “Now, you said that at some point, it was doing some at least somewhat active.  What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Enter the year 1923.” Scriptorium began rather rapidly, taking a seat on the stone floor of the cavern. “It is the time between the great depression and the micro depression that preceded it.  The country is in a wonderful state… no pun intended.” Scriptorium smiled. “We’ve just won the First World War five years previously, the automobile is becoming available to more and more Americans, flight is just starting to become more than an unhealthy hobby, and the economy is booming.”

“Now, in the midst of all this, a young scientist decides to set up a laboratory, just a few hundred yards above and to the west of us.  His initial hypothesis?  That radio waves may have a detrimental effect on the populations of river dwelling fish.  Despite this obviously…” Scriptorium took a second to yawn. “Ah, terribly sorry about that.  Where was I?  Oh yes…  Despite this obviously compelling purpose, the man, who was named Clint Garson, actually managed to go about his business very efficiently and practically.”

“He set up multiple receivers, that would monitor the level of various radio waves in the area, and then he would periodically take samples of the fish population, more science stuff, blah blah blah, science, science, science, the end.”

The way Scriptorium said ‘the end’, for a moment, Anderson thought that his entire narrative had been pointless.  He was about to object to the waste of time, when the mysterious man continued.

“However, he kept having some problems with a couple of his receiving radios.  Strange stuff.  There was so much electronic noise coming up in two of the areas he placed them, which he was sure they were malfunctioning.  To make sure he was correct, he swapped out the two receivers with two new ones.  Interestingly enough, they had the same problem.  At first Clint assumed that there was some magnetic foolery going on, but after closer examination, he realized that didn’t make any sense at all.”

Scriptorium stopped, taking a look at Anderson.

“Now Mr. President, out of curiosity, do you remember anything in particular about the other portal?”

Anderson thought for a few moments.

“There are several things that I remember about the portal.  It isn’t something that I’ll soon be forgetting.”

“Yes… but can you remember anything about the portal that was a particular inconvenience?”

“The fact that it existed?” Anderson snorted. “That was rather upsetting, as you might imagine.”

“I suppose.” Scriptorium sighed. “Do you remember having to run a direct wire through the portal?  I believe that the setup was one antenna on each side, connected by a wire.  Correct?”

The president recalled the incident.

“Yes, that was the case.  Our communications seemed to be affected by the portal.  Once you got

within a few hundred yards of it, calls started to have a bit of static in them.  Of course, it was impossible to actually send a signal through the portal itself.  If I recall correctly, it was much worse for the first hour or two after it was open.  You couldn’t get a transmission through if you were within five miles of the darn thing.”

Scriptorium smiled, showing off a row of gleaming white clackers.

“The portals are rather fickle creatures.  They seem to do as they please, within a certain extent.  However, yes, that was what I was looking for.  The portals seem to cast off energy when active, and that in turn messes with our communications.  Direct wires seem to overcome the problem, but you need an awfully large antenna to punch through wirelessly.”

Scriptorium held up an Iphone 9S.

“As you can see, this portal is completely idle right now.”

Anderson stared at the small device, which was boldly displaying NO SIGNAL at the top of the screen.

“Mr. Scriptorium… we’re more than a hundred feet below ground.”

Scriptorium tapped the upper left of the screen, holding out the device for Anderson to see.  The president could barely make out the three small bars that displayed wifi connection.  From what he could tell, all of them were filled.  Scriptorium motioned back into the room from whence they had come.

“There is a ten gigabit router in there, which means that I can download the latest patch for angry vegetable slayer as fast as this things two hundred and fifty six gig solid state drive will let me.  If that was acting up;” he motioned to the large stone ring that dominated the center of the room. “Then you can be sure that would never happen.”

Scriptorium paused, returning his electronic toy to his pocket.

“I think that you are beginning to see why Mr. Clint Garson was having trouble with his radios.  Now, concluding that it was a problem with area, and not his machinery, he began to explore what exactly was causing the problems.  After about one week of no results, he discovered that there was a cave beneath the second radio site.  It was rather small, as you had to crawl through the first ten feet, but after that, it widened out.”

“Ever the explorer, he tied a string to a rock at the mouth of the cave, and then went in, unwinding the spool behind him.  Though his safety standard was commendable, he had no need for the string.  It was only one straight line from the surface… all the way to here.”

Scriptorium paused, looking around.

“Something wrong?” Anderson questioned.

“Well, no, no.  I just felt…” The codenamed captain glanced about for a seconds more, before he returned his gaze to Anderson. “Never mind, it’s nothing.”

“Anyway, this was the only thing in the cave.  At the time, he thought that it was a great discovery.  Perhaps not as glorious as proving his fish theory, but still, a great tribute to science.  Needless to say, he dashed up to the surface a grabbed the first couple archeologists he found.  He apparently came to the same conclusion that you did.  Clint immediately assumed it was an Mayan artifact, or some other ancient civilization.”

“So it was that Clint and a team of five archeologists quickly returned to this site, and that was when we got the first hint of something supernatural.”

Scriptorium grinned.

“To be honest, this portal solves a lot of mysteries, even if it also creates some.  After all, we had no reason to give the Greeks any credibility at all.  What with their bizarre stories of the great Pegasus and Centaurs and what not.  Tales of dragon slayers…” Scriptorium shook his head, eyes sparkling.

“Anyway, back to the story.  Clint and the other men all descended to the portal, amazed at their discovery.  All were still convinced it was a human creation.  There were some odd feelings when they started to examine the carvings though.  They don’t have many unicorns and Pegasi in Mayan mythology.  Certainly not enough to justify the sheer number of them depicted on this rock.  Also, a small debate has sprung up around the kind of rock that this ring actually was.  No one could really figure it out.  They could tell enough to know it wasn’t the same rock that this cavern was made of.”

“That of course, begged the question of why anyone would ever bother hauling all this rock here anyway.  Also, how could they get it down here?  It seemed a waste when there was already so much rock in the cavern.  Indians weren’t the kind of people to waste their time, or resources on anything.  If they figured out a use for virtually every part of the deer, then it seemed odd that they wouldn’t use the preexisting rock strata.”

“Anyway, the trouble that initiated the government’s involvement in this rock ring occurred as a direct result of the rock mystery.  One of the archeologists pulled out a chisel and a hammer, determined to get a small sample of the rock in the ring.  So, as his friends all watched him, he put the chisel to stone and hammers to chisel, and disappeared in a flash of green lightning.”

“Obviously, this generated a fair amount of concern, and so the rest of the men deemed it necessary to run screaming out of the cave.  Within twelve hours, the first government agents were on scene, ensuring that no one else would find out about this rock.  Finally, Clint reported that immediately the first time he checked his radios after the disappearance of the archeologist, he found them all in working order.  The strange activity had resided.  The next time something touched the portal, it did not vanish.  It was as if it had never happened in the first place.”

Anderson was quite for a few moments.

“The archeologist who disappeared, what was his name?”

“I can’t remember for certain at the moment, but I’m fairly sure that it was Henry Heartstrings.”

Scriptorium cleared his throat.

“Thankfully, he hadn’t made much of a name for himself as an archeologist, and so his disappearance was relatively easy to explain away.”

Anderson nodded, motioning for Scriptorium to continue.

“Several months after the incident, the portal started giving off interference again, but this time only for a few hours.  It has followed that basic cycle for as long as we’ve been studying it.  Though we’ve never had a person touch it during one of its energy cycles, we had multiple machines go through.  They were nothing more than devices designed to touch the rock surface with a significant amount of force, and we’ve never had one come back.  It’s a rather amusing thought that there may be a large pile of basic robotic devices wherever this thing lets out.”

<(^)>

Meanwhile…

“Aaawww… what’s with all this junk blocking the cave?”

Applebloom tapped the pile of rusty metal that had blocked off the cavern that she was crawling through.  She tried to push on it, but the obstacle wouldn’t even budge.

“Oh well girls, I guess that we aren’t cutie mark crusaders cave divers either!”

“Darn it!” Came the voice of a purple maned filly behind her. “Come on Sweetie belle, I guess we’ll just have to try plan B…”

“Yeah!” squeaked a high pitch voice from the back of the group, “I’ve always wanted to have a radioactive cutie mark!”

The three of the jumped out of the smaller offshoot of the cave, coming back into the main cavern, where a large supply of pick axes and buckets had been dumped.

“Cutie mark crusaders Uranium miners YAY!”

<(^)>

“Do you have any more questions about the portal – s – at this time sir?”

“No, I think that I’ve had enough for now.  Thank you.”

Anderson strode through the metal doorway, coming into the well lit room of computers and technology once again.

“Amusing, that we still have so little information, despite all this work.”

Scriptorium motioned to the lab around them.

“Yeah, well from what I know of the portal, it isn’t enough.”

Anderson replied, rather crossly.

“It would have been better if we’d never found these things at all…”

<(^)>

Dark Flare crept quietly through the sleeping castle.  Even though the night guard had been doubled, they were still pitifully unprepared.  Still, she wasn’t one to complain about the faults of her enemies.  The misguided unicorn slunk from shadow to shadow, before finally arriving in a side hallway.  Her horn glowed, and the black dye fell from her hair, disintegrating.  She smiled, glad to see it return to its natural red color.  She sighed, for even as one color returned to normal; she knew that another must change.

She produced a small jar from her saddle bags, and promptly applied several large swathes of white coloring to her legs, body, neck, and face.  Flare’s horn glowed again, and this time, the dye spread itself out, evenly covering her entire form, except her mane and tail.  She looked back, comparing the contrast of the white with the blood red color of her mane.  She would be lying to say it didn’t look intriguing.  This, of course, was the whole point.

Flare returned all of her equipment to her saddle bags, and then checked a side pocket.  She smiled.  The scrolls were still there.  Even if that blasted Colonel had managed to outwit her, she still had what she wanted.  Or, more accurately, what her employer wanted.  She would miss the bonus for the elimination of the unicorn, but at least the main prize was now hers.  She progressed down the side hall, turned down a corridor, and then stood face to face with two Pegasus guards ponies.  Their wings immediately snapped out, blocking the door that was between them.  After a few seconds, they recognized her.

One of them quickly leaned in, opening the door for her.  Graciously, Flare bowed her head, and then rushed into the room.  Behind her, the door closed.

“The princess still hasn’t complained that you use your own guards?”

The other unicorn, who was already waiting in the room, laughed lightly.

“The incident earlier this week worked perfectly.  Of course the Princesses guards reported on what I was doing, and of course I acted enraged.  She was perfectly happy when I dismissed them and started using my own.  More guards for her and more guards for me.  It was a win-win situation… for me.”

Blueblood smiled at his hired ally.

“It allows me to more easily outsource my dirty work.  Tell me, you do have the papers, correct?  I already heard that you failed to kill the important one.”

“I would have if you let me use a real weapon.”

Flare grabbed the papers out of her saddle bags, tossing them at the stallion.

“You mean a weapon that could have been traceable to one of the VERY few arms foundries in the country?  Yes, that would have been a splendid idea.  Next time I should leave the planning up to you, shouldn’t I?”

“Just take your stupid papers.” Flare mumbled.

She began to walk through Blueblood’s chambers, heading towards his guest room.  It wouldn’t be the first time she had slept here.  Blueblood had employed her as a hidden guard and information gatherer for quite some time.  It wasn’t until recently that he had started asking her to perform bloody assignments though.

“What did you want with them anyway?”

“I don’t want much too much.” Blueblood examined the papers, smiling. “However, I know somepony who does.”

Flare sighed, and then continued to the guest room.  Ever since he had started working with the mysterious ‘somepony’ or ‘he’ Flare had been getting rather annoyed.  Especially since she couldn’t quite figure out whom exactly, ‘he’ was.  All that she could tell was that he was a jerk, and a rather bad influence on her master… employer.  She corrected herself.  For the first couple of years, she really had enjoyed working under him.  He payed wonderfully, and he had never demanded that she do anything vulgar.  To be honest, he had started to grow on her, in a weird, politically snobbish way.

Then the mysterious ‘he’ started coming up, and she suddenly found herself thrust into increasingly sketchier assignments.  Snatching a diary off a rival’s desk, or standing at his side incognito, scanning a ball room for potential dangers was one thing.  Assassination… she hadn’t done that since her first employer.  Still, she reasoned, he wasn’t really any worse than the others.  And his clean freakishness was actually somewhat nice.  Cleaning wiped away dirt, both physical and political.  To the normal observer, Blueblood was one of the cleanest Lords in the country.

Flare smiled.  Hopefully, that would never change.

<(^)>

The battalion marched slowly through the snow covered lands, weary after braving the biting cold and frozen roads.

“Company, halt!”

The moon shone high in the sky above them, and the group of weary unicorn soldiers ground to a halt.  The captain of the group, wearing a brown cloak and an eye patch, glanced around.

“We rest here tonight!  Get off the road, cook your dinners, and then conceal yourselves before daybreak!  We march again at sunset.  Understood?”

“Sir yes sir!”

The battalion dispersed, padding off to the right side of the road, climbing over the large hill that lay there.  The captain had been here before.  He knew that there was a second hill beside this one, and that the squad could hide in the small valley between.  He followed after his troops, making sure there were no stragglers.  Stragglers might prove deadly.  This battalion was no normal force.

Of the four battalions that the Northern Province employed, this one was comprised of chosen ponies from the other three, with a few platoons of mercenaries thrown in the middle.  Only those that were least likely to question orders, and most likely to obey them.  The captain stopped at the top of the hill, observing the first tents being flung up.

“Lieutenant!”

“Yes sir!”

Another unicorn quickly ran up the snowy slope, sliding and slipping several times.  When he had actually reached the captain, his normally green coat was closer to white in color.  The popsic-icorn gave a shaky salute, teeth chattering in the night.

“I want four sentries up on these hills, making sure that nopony discovers us.  They need to be switched out every three hours.  Ensure that all of them have white coats, or at least have white cloaks.  They’ll be invisible in this weather.  Make the arrangements.  Do so now.”

“Of…. Cc.. course… sss… iirr.”

The pony managed to shiver out, before hastily turning and half running, half sledding down the frozen hill.  Though the tough old stallion would never admit it, it was viciously cold out.  The captain tightened his cloak around him, wishing for the warmth of his mate.  This was no place for her though.

He carefully surveyed the surrounding countryside, eyeing each flake of snow, as if it might be a potential spy for their enemies.  Which he knew, they were soon going to have quite a lot of.  He smiled, his icy lips cracking slightly.  Though their enemies would soon number in the thousands… he couldn’t help but laugh.  Their allies would soon number in the tens of thousands.

He stared off into the distance, where a black line lay against the white contrast of the snowy terrain, barely visible in the poor weather.  The farthest northern reach of the Everfree forest.  He smiled broader.  Soon.

Seven - Start thinking with Portals

Ok so the chapter name is fairly comedic compared to the rest of them, but since its been so long since I've updated this, I hope you won't mind.  And with that my friends, enjoy!

<(^)>

“Still no leads?” Starblink paced impatiently.  The sound of his hooves marching back and forth across the room was actually providing a nice rhythm to Celestia’s thoughts.

“Leads on what?  The portal, or the murder?”

Starblink stopped pacing.

“Either!  Both!  I don’t care!  They’re both far too important to not have leads on.  There was a murderer, a MURDERER, in this castle Tia!  Right under our noses.  Not to mention the portal.  That’s just delightful to hear about.  I was very happy when the thought of war with the humans was just a bad memory.  Now it’s a looming premonition.  I really don’t need to remind you that BOTH of us almost got killed.  We need answers, and we need them fast.”

Celestia laughed softly from where she lay on the bed, gently brushing her hair.  Despite its magical qualities, she still had to straighten it every once in a while.  Doing everything by magic took the fun out of life.  Thus, she still owned a hair brush.

Starblink looked at her, slightly hurt by her apparent disregard of his concern.  She shook her head.  Even though she loved him, he still had some things that he needed to work on.  Then again, he hadn’t had three thousand years to straighten out his personality.  No wonder so many ponies thought she was perfect.

“I don’t mean to insult you Blink, but it’s been one day.  One.  Technically, a little more than twenty four hours, if you want to be absolutely precise about it.  Do you really expect the results to start gushing in after one day?  The assassin was very adept in covering her tracks, and we are still selecting which ponies should be asked to even look for the other portal, if it even exists.  You should try patience, sweetheart.  Maybe it’s because I’ve had a lot of practice, waiting a millennia for my sister,” Celestia paused for a moment, her thoughts temporarily darkened by the memory, “but it’s a wonderful virtue to possess.  You're immortal now Starblink.  As long as I draw breath, so will you.  You have to realize, that since you will be living for a very, very long time, there are just some things that you need to wait for.”

Starblink understood Celestia, but still, he felt discouraged.

“It’s just... the thought of somepony in our castle… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

The princess of the sun laughed on the inside.  She appreciated the concern, but she somehow doubted that any normal earth, Pegasus, or unicorn pony could really kill her.  Deciding to take the conversation down a less serious route, she put a look of mock horror on her face, staring at Starblink.

“You mean my big strong pegasus general wouldn’t be able to protect me from the evil ponies?”

Starblink smiled slightly, letting off a little bit of stress.

“Of course I could.  I’m just… concerned.”

He shook his head, not wanting to drop the topic, but clearly seeing that Celestia did.  With a great mental effort, he picked a new subject.

“Why are you brushing your mane anyway?”

He glanced out the window, as if to assure himself that the sun was setting, not rising.

“Isn’t it more practical to do that in the morning?  When your hair is only ninety nine percent magical and glowy, as opposed to the rest of the day?”

The sun princess chuckled.

“I think that you already know the answer.  You’ve managed to discover most of my interesting quirks.  It calms me down, and I enjoy it.  I’m three thousand years old.  I’m supposed to be crazy.  Besides, why do you complain about my frequent grooming?  You know how much I love preening too.  That’s something that you can understand at least.”

She looked over his large wings, neatly folded upon his back.

“I’ll probably end up doing that later tonight too.”

Starblink had been walking closer to her ever since the conversation had started.  Slowly, he settled beside her.  He reached forward, gently grabbing one of her wings.

“Or I can just do it for you.”

Celestia smiled at him, as he began to nuzzle at her feathers.

“All the better.”

Starblink began to groom the wing, carefully arranging each feather.  After a few minutes, he playfully knocked her onto her back.  Celestia smiled up at him, glad that her duties for the day were over.  The sun was already setting, and all of her paperwork sat complete.  He began to nuzzle at her neck, his wings slowly unfolding.  Celestia’s heart beat faster as his feathery appendages began to wrap around her.  She started to reach her own wings upward -

Knock knock knock

Both ponies froze, their heads immediately swiveling towards the door.  A voice called from behind the wooden barrier.

“Princess Celestia!  Your sister would like to speak with you.  It is important.”

Celestia’s wings slowly returned to their normal position.  Her eyes shifted back towards Starblink, who was staring at her, awaiting her answer.  Silently, she mouthed;

“Later, I promise.”

He smiled, although slightly disappointed, and slunk off to sit behind her desk.  Celestia herself quickly stood up, trotting over to stand before the door.

“Please, send her in.”

Almost instantly, the double doors swung inwards, revealing the princess of the night.  Standing behind her was Alex.  She briefly pondered whether or not it would be a good idea to put her regalia back on, but then decided against it.  Celestia’s horn sparkled for an instant, barely noticeable, and behind her, the lid of her trunk closed, concealing the hourglass inside.  Luna knew… but Alex…  Not much could be gleaned merely from the hourglass itself, but it wasn’t worth taking any chances.

“Luna, what is it that you would like to speak about?  I can see that you’ve brought our scientific friend with you.”

Princess Luna smiled, and then walked into through the open doors, entering the room.  Behind her, Alex walked forward, slightly timid.  The doors shut with a resounding boom behind them.  Alex flinched.  Luna opened her mouth, beginning to speak.

“We have a volunteer for our search team.”

She motioned back to Alex.  Celestia’s gaze shifted, coming to rest upon the gray unicorn stallion.

“I see.  I presume this would be the search team for the second portal?”

Starblink, who had previously been attempting to make an origami phoenix with the spare papers on Celestia’s desk (although he had only succeeded in creating an origami mess) perked up, suddenly interested.

“Yes.” Replied Luna, “I decided that it would be safe to share the secret of the second portal with him, being that he knows the most about where it likely leads than any of us.  He was very interested in the development, and requested to be a member of the team, whenever we finished assembling it.”

Celestia looked from her sister to Alex, and then back again.  Finally, she asked the question that was pressing at her mind.

“Are you sure that you would be able to perform properly on this expedition, Alex?  I know that you recently suffered another rather crushing experience.”

The grey unicorn flinched as she spoke.  Hesitantly, he spoke up. “I understand why you might think that princess.” He paused briefly, taking a breath. “But… I am perfectly capable of performing my duty.  For my… adoptive country.” He stared at the Celestia. “I will work, and work hard.  I can do this, my princess.”

A pang of emotions shot through his chest.

"I have to do this… or something… anything… but I can’t just lie around… I can’t be useless."

“Hmmm.” The Sun princess contemplated his words, wondering whether or not he would be able to deliver on his commitments. “I think you will make a fine addition to the team.”

She stated. "If anything, your knowledge will prove key if we do reopen the passage to the human’s world…"

Alex grinned, pleased with the decision.

“Now, my sister,” Celestia turned back to Luna. “Is he the only reason why you came here, or is there anything else?”

“One more thing.” Luna went on, “I already have a list of several other candidates for the team.” She produced a scroll from behind her. “I would like your thoughts on them, and for you to add a few choices of your own.”

Celestia briefly looked over the scroll.

“I think that I will finish studying this in the morning.”

She rolled the scroll back up, and then flicked it over towards her desk.  Starblink neatly caught the roll, laying it down in the center of the finely crafted wood.  The white alicorn turned back to Luna.

“Out of curiosity, when would you want this expedition to depart?”

“Two days from now.” Came the quick reply, “The sooner the better.”

Celestia nodded.

“Agreed.  Begin asking the other ponies on the list if they would be interested in an… important service to the country.  I trust your judgement.  I will add my own selection before tomorrow night.”

“Thank you.” Said the princess of the night. “With that, I will leave you in peace.  She looked between her sister and Starblink, who was still toying with various scrap papers at Celestia’s desk.

“Goodnight.”

With those final words, she turned away, and exited the room.  Alex glanced around, quickly bowed, and scurried after her.  The door swung shut behind them, leaving the princess and the general alone once again.

<(^)>

“So this is the place…”  The griffon muttered, glancing at the small cave.  Burried about a mile deep in the Everfree forest, and concealed by a tight grove of trees, it was the perfect place to go completely unnoticed.

The griffon cocked his head to one side, as if listening to something.

“Alright alright, sheesh, I’ve got it... you have no patience.”

The half eagle half lion pawed his way into the small cavern.  He quickly lit a torch that he’d been carrying with him.

“So why did you decide that a guy with wings was a good choice to go spelunking?” He muttered darkly.  The winged creature quickly made his way into the cavern, never hesitating, even when he faced a fork in the cave.  It was as if he knew exactly where he was going, even though he had never even been in the Everfree forest before.  It was not a common place to go.

He quickly descended into the ground, going ever deeper.  The griffon couldn’t help but stare up at the cave’s ceiling above.  It felt… wrong, to be trapped indoors, or underground.  His wings shuffled uneasily.  He would relish the completion of his task, when he could finally get off the ground again.  Finally, he came to a small section of the cavern, just tall enough to crawl through.

“You failed to mention this part of the trip…”

He muttered as he got down on his stomach, still talking to the unseen companion.  He pushed and shoved his way into the tight space, until finally, he reached a rusty metal sheet.

“What’s up with this crap?”

He stood still for a few seconds.

“What do ya’ mean, you don’t know?  Look, let’s just get it out of the way, alright?”

He held out a claw, and pressed it against the old metal.  One flash of green light later, and the metal came free, revealing a large cavern littered with tons of different metallic mechanisms.

“So you still say you don’t know where all this junk came from?  Sure...”

The griffon glanced across the creepy unlit space, before lighting a second torch.

“There you are…”

He smiled triumphantly.  In the space before him, a huge stone ring stood, its features resolute against the wear of time.

“To think, nobody found you, after all these years…”

The griffon laughed.

“Now, just to start making these caves big enough to fit stuff through…”

<(^)>

The door creaked softly open, its hinges making small sounds in the dark of the night.  The shadowy figure slowly slunk into the room, closing the door behind it.  Carefully, it maneuvered its way through the interior of the structure, knowing every move it would make in advance.  Stealthily, it extended a hoof to open the next door – “Ommpphh!”

Swiftwing exclaimed as he was knocked to the floor.

“Take that you sneaky… oh.”

Rainbow Dash stared down at her prisoner.  She blushed slightly, before chuckling.

“Why were you sneaking around the house like that?”

Swiftwing rubbed his side.

“Why did you decide to go all ninja on me?” He winced as his hoof felt a particularly tender rib. “You knew I was supposed to be home tonight, right?”

“Well… yeah.  But try and remember that when you hear somepony bumbling around in your kitchen!  I figured that I’d come on out here and show ‘em whose boss!”

Rainbow jumped up in the air, making punches at an imaginary assailant.

“Well you managed that excellently,” groaned Swiftwing, pulling himself off the ground.

“Anyway… how’ve you been?”

“Good, and how has the royalist of the guards been?” Rainbow lowered herself back to the ground.

“Chasing an assassin that we never actually saw, getting embarrassed out of the pants that I never wear, good stuff like that.” Swiftwing smiled now, glad to be back home.

“Woah woah woah… an assassin?”  Dashie was staring at the stallion, not quite believing him.

“Back up a little there boss, what assassin are we talking about?”

“So now I’m the boss?” Swiftwing grinned.

“Yeah, but don’t expect to retain the title for very long.  Tell me what’s going on in that castle exactly?”

“Not much good, I’m afraid.  Somepony snuck into the castle, murdered some guy, and then apparently got out.  Of course, it wasn’t on my watch.”

Swiftwing shrugged.  Dashie looked at him with wide eyes, clearly startled.

“That’s… terrible.”

“Yeah…” Swiftwing looked around the dark room, and then started walking through the house, towards their bedroom.

“And that’s not the half of it.  Unfortunately, being that I’m kind of married to you, and you’re an element of harmony and all that jazz, I got to find something else out.”

He sighed, and then stopped in the hall way.  Rainbow halted, close  behind him.

“What?”

Swiftwing turned back to her, looking depressed.

“I’d rather it wait until the morning, to be honest.  I don’t think that I’m going to sleep very well tonight knowing about it, so I figure that you won’t fair any better.”

Rainbow looked like she was about to protest, before she finally accepted it.

“Alright…  I’ll wait.  But if I wake you up at six a.m., it’s totally not my fault ok?”

Swiftwing forced a smile.

“Of course not… let’s just go to sleep.”

As Rainbow slept in his embrace, just a few minutes later, Swiftwing couldn’t help but wonder;

How in the world am I supposed to tell her that the war that almost wiped us all out may not be over?

<(^)>

“Nightingale team, this is Overlord, we have just received word of a possible airline hijacking, please stand by.”

Captain James Thalin glanced at the radar screen of his F-22 Raptor.  Multiple dimly lit green triangles slowly marched their way across it, moving from one side to the other.  Some stayed long enough to make the full trek, while others merely cut across the edges.  He glanced out the right side of his cockpit, where another of the American super fighters glided, its gleaming airframe slicing through the blue sky.

“Nightingale team, you are ordered to shadow a 767 passenger aircraft, please proceed sixty miles North East of your current position.”

James’ pulse slowly began to quicken as he thought about the orders.  Another transmission split the airwaves.

“Copy that Overlord, this is Nightingale one, heading there now, over.”

The other fighter banked off in the stated direction, its afterburners kicking on as it did so, illuminating the rear of the plane with a fiery glow.  James pulled his own aircraft around, following after the flight leader.

Far below, the ground blew past, the miniscule structures and vehicles reminding him of when he used to play war with hot wheels and plastic army men.  And Alex.  A faint pang rent through his heart, but was gone in a flash.  That was a long time ago now.

The lead raptor was starting to put distance between itself and James’ fighter.  Almost without thought, he pushed the throttle forward, forcing the aircraft to accelerate.  The minutes slowly ticked by, as more thoughts began to crowd into James’ mind.  Hijacking?  Really?  By who?  And what was the plan when they caught up with this plane anyway?  Shoot it down?  A civilian aircraft?

He shuddered at that thought.

Being ordered to fire on a plane carrying more than a hundred civilians… a fighter pilot’s worst nightmare.

“Nightingale team, you are three miles from the possible HJK, take up a tale position on the 767, over.”

“Copy that Overlord, this is Nightingale one.  Preparing to shadow the target.”

James could see the silvery form of the 767 against the clear blue sky, quickly growing larger as the fighters approached it.

“Nightingale, this is Overlord, confirm possible HJK as being United Airlines flight 915, you are ordered to try and make contact with the aircraft.  No radio responses have been received as of yet.”

“Copy Overlord, complying with orders.”

The twin Raptors banked in behind the 767, following just a few hundred meters behind it.  James listened intently as the lead jet tried to contact the other aircraft.

“United 915, this is F-22 two sixty seven of the United States Airforce, please respond.”

The radio hissed static.

“United 915, you are currently being trailed by two fully armed fighter aircraft, you are ordered to respond immediately.  If you can hear me, please turn twenty degrees East.”

The passenger aircraft remained on its current course.  Overlord, privy to all that was being said between the planes in the local airspace, offered some new advice.

“Nightingale team, split up and flank on either side of the aircraft.  See if you can see anything going on through the windows.”

The two F-22s split apart, each flying to a different side of the plane.  James studied his side of the aircraft, searching the passenger windows while keeping his fighter from bumping the larger plane’s wing.  All were slammed ominously shut.  James tried to swallow his growing sense of uneasiness.

“Nightingale one, all windows are closed on my end, over.”

“Confirm on that two, all hatches are sealed tight over here… I don’t like this.”

“Overlord, we have a negative on all windows.  Can’t see into the cockpit as a result of sun flare either, over.”

“Copy all Nightingale, be advised, you are now less than seventy miles from D.C.”

James nervously tapped out a wild rhythm on the throttle, though he was careful not to cause any unwanted change of speed.  The two flight of fighters quickly tried a number of other methods to gain the planes attention, including flying directly in front of it, dropping flares in front of its nose, and even firing their machine guns while sticking dangerously close to the larger craft’s cockpit.  After every attempt, the 767 refused to acknowledge the American fighters.

“Overlord, we still have no response from the airliner, do you have any suggestions?”

The silence was deafening.  James sat on the edge of his ejector seat, or at least as far forward as

his harness allowed him too, waiting for an answer.  Sweat crept down his brow, slinking down his face, before being trapped by his clothing.  The only sound was the whine of jet engines.  Finally, Overlord broke the silence.

“Nightingale, you are now less than thirty miles from the capitol, please lose speed and assume position behind the hostile aircraft.”

Hostile aircraft?

James wondered at the change in vocabulary.  Potential hijacking and hostile aircraft held two very different meanings.  Slowly, he obeyed his orders, and pulled back on the throttle.  The two raptors dipped back, coming into formation  behind the gleaming passenger aircraft.  The aircraft were now just twenty seven miles from the capitol, and closing at over four hundred miles an hour.

“Nightingale team, we are out of options.” The voice of the aircraft controller known as “Overlord” was strained.

“Nightingale, weapons free.  Take it down.”

“What?!”

“Take down the freaking plane!”

The voice of Overlord was frantic now.  The planes drew closer to the capitol.  James quietly armed his weapons system.

“Nightingale one, take the shot!  Take the shot before ten thousand people Die!”

There was no response from the first fighter.  The planes were thirteen miles from the capitol.

“Dang it… Nightingale two, do you have a shot?  Repeat, do you have a shot?!”

James swallowed.

“Yes.”

“Take it down son!”

James suppressed the trigger.  On the side of the aircraft, a hatch almost instantly popped open, ejecting a white tube of doom.  Within seconds, the missile had fired its engine, and was burning its way towards the passenger plane.  A heartbeat later, a massive explosion lit the sky.  The wreckage of the liner plummeted to Earth.

James carefully watched the high definition image.  As it crashed into the ground, his screen flickered gray.  Above his head, the canopy opened, releasing him from the flight simulator.  He wiped the sweat from his brow.  Even though he knew it was all fake… still, it was nerve racking.  Left you wondering that annoying question of, what if?

James glanced up at the screen of D.C., on the wall showing the simulated smoking  wreckage of the aircraft lying outside.  He glared at the wreck, even if a fake.  No one was going to take away any of his people.  Any of his friends.  Not ever.  He turned away from the screen.  Not again.

Eight - Traitor

The sound of fine leather shoes smacking against the solid stone floor marched quickly through the capitol building.

“Sir, I understand your concern, but I don’t see any reason to continue forward in a way that’s any different from how we’ve handled the site in the past.”

President Anderson was frustrated by the Captain Jackson.  And a frustrated President was typically someone that you wanted to avoid.  He began to open his mouth, and then bit back his words.  He reconstructed the sentence in his mind, making it less obvious that he was seriously ticked off.

“The portal’s existence is not something to take lightly, captain.”

The officer following him looked around nervously at the mention of the long kept secret.  Anderson ignored him, as far as he was concerned, after the incident two years ago, the world deserved to know all about it.  Anderson spun on a dime, catching Jackson off guard.

“We fought a war with the people on the other side of that thing Captain.”

The man stumbled back, surprised.

“Sir, with all due respect, shouldn’t we talk about this somewhere-”

“Shut up, and listen to me.”

Captain Jackson paled, regretting his words.  Anderson took a step closer to him.

“There is a nation on the other side of that portal.  Now, we did help them out, I’ll give you that.  But as far as I’m concerned, and as far as they are concerned, we are singularly responsible for wiping out at least two thousand of them.”

Anderson paused, letting his words sink in.

“They have every right to consider us an enemy.  We can all hope and pray that they’ll understand what happened, but if they don’t, then we have a serious problem.  We had every sci fi writers fantasy come true right in front of us.  As seriously screwed up of a first contact as possible.  Now, we’ve already found out that in general, they are weaker than us.  But they abilities that we are eons from even coming to understand.  As long as a doorway exists that might let us re-establish contact with them, then we need to be prepared to offer them our hand of greeting, ask forgiveness, and unfortunately, if it comes down to it, repel an assault.”

The President shook his head, taking a moment to clear his thoughts.

“We haven’t told the public everything, but we told them enough.  They know that their president ordered troops into another world intent on violence.  Half the world doubts its true, but they have the information.  We couldn’t have nailed Nickelson into the ground if they didn’t.  And we lost people in there too.  So as of right now, you could say that the relationship that exists between our worlds is rather uncomfortable.  You cut off contact, that’s fine and good, nothing you could do anyway.  But you make re-entry an option, and suddenly, you can have angry people on both sides ready to take shots at each other.  And I don’t like that idea one bit.”

Anderson turned around, and started moving again.

“Walk with me.”

The Captain obediently followed.  They strode through the corridors quickly.

“There was a reason that I invited you here though, Captain Jackson, other than to get angry with you.”

The President turned off, coming to stand in front of a large wooden door.

“Besides having worked in the… facility, beneath the pentagon for the past several years, you also are one of the most accomplished tacticians to graduate from West Point, and happen to be a brilliant operator and programmer in the line of unmanned vehicles.”

He pushed open the door, revealing a room containing Director Daniel Huston, General Quentin, and several other officers.

“If you don’t mind,” Anderson stated in a way that made it perfectly clear that if he in fact did mind, he should keep it to himself, “We would all love to talk to you about what’s been going on down there.”

“Of course, Mr. President.” The Captain said weakly.  As they strode into the room, Anderson locked the door behind them.

<(^)>

Princess Luna hummed to herself as she walked into the throne room.  It was still early in the morning, so the only other ponies there were a few resolute members of the Royal guard.  The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, indicating that her sister must have roused herself.  Hopefully today would turn out to be uneventful.  That would make a nice respite from the last several days.

The sunlight peeked through the stained glass windows, casting beautiful colors all across the interior of the castle.  Luna sighed, content with the peace of the scene around her.  Her appreciation was interrupted by the sound of hooves on the stone floor.  From the way the noise sounded, there had to be quite a few of them.  Luna glanced down the hallway from which the sound was originating.

Blueblood’s entourage was rapidly making its way to the throne room.  From the amount of bags the servants were carrying, Luna imagined that he would be leaving Canterlot for home very shortly.  She glanced over her shoulder, checking a clock.  It has half past six.  Interesting that Blueblood had roused himself so early.  Luna stood waiting for the other ponies, which were now very close.

Once they were within fifteen feet or so, she spoke.

“You’re up rather early Blueblood.  Intending to get a good start on the day?”

He smiled, almost mischievously.

“Yes, I intend to be on the first train home.  Which leaves at seven fifteen, so we had really best be on our way.  Thank you as always, for the banquets and what not.  I suppose that I’ll be seeing you again within the month.  Good bye.”

“Farewell then.” Luna said as she stepped to the side, letting him pass.

She watched as he walked by, his small platoon of servants and guards in tow.  As she watched, one of the ponies in the rear stumbled, nearly falling face first on the ground.  Shaking himself off, he quickly recovered, and started to follow after the others.  As he did so, a single paper popped from his overstuffed pack, floating gently to the floor.  Seeing as he didn’t notice Luna snatched the paper up, waving it at the group.

“Blueblood!  You’ve…”

Her voice trailed off as her eyes fell upon the markings on the page.  She stood stock still for a moment unable to accept the image.  Her gaze gradually moved back to the unicorn noble who stood looking back at her, a look of concern on his face.

“Blueblood…” She began. “What is the meaning of this?”

“I can assure you,” he hastily started, “It’s merely a note of mine, nothing import-”

“Oh, apparently it was important.” Her gaze was icy, “Important enough to cost a pony his life!”

She threw the page to the ground, and the room held its collective breath as it half floated half slid across the floor.  It came to rest on the red carpet in the centre of the room.  A full diagram for an experimental firearm.  Signed by Colonel Alex Williams.

“SEIZE HIM!” The enraged princess barked, her hoof jutting out towards the noble.  A pair of guards sprang from where they had been standing at attention, bent on capturing the wayward unicorn.  As quickly as they had jumped, the froze, slowly backing away from the white colored mare that had leapt in front of Blueblood, a large dagger in each hoof.  The look on her face immediately conveyed that she probably knew how to use them better than both of the guards put together.

“SURRENDER YOURSELF, LORD BLUEBLOOD, PERHAPS THEN YOU CAN EXPLAIN ALL THAT HATH BEEN OCCURING HERE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS.”

The Royal Canterlot voice echoed throughout the castle, alerting nearby guards to the presence of a danger.  Almost immediately, two more pairs of pegasi troops burst through the main doors, their mouths clutched tightly on their swords and spears.

“As kind as you’ve been to me throughout all these years,” Blueblood let out, beginning to run towards the exit, surrounded by his crew, “I’m afraid that I’m going to have to refuse that offer!”

The four guards braced themselves, but were caught off guard as the red haired mare threw a small glass jar towards them.  The container broke on the floor, releasing a puff of blue fumes into the air.  Five seconds later, the smoke had cleared, and the guards lay coughing on the floor, wiping blue powder from their faces.  As for Blueblood and his lot, they were already past, barrelling out into the courtyard.

Luna spread her large Alicorn wings, flapping them as hard as she could.  She shot out into the courtyard, where the escapees where going not unnoticed, but unheeded, as none of the guards out here knew what had just been committed.

“STOP THEM!”

She roared, her own horn beginning to glow, preparing to release a magical salvo on the fleeing ponies.  Nothing to injure, but she wouldn’t mind knocking most of them out of their senses.  The half dozen guards around the perimeter of the courtyard hesitated for a brief second, confused, before charging down towards the fleeing party.  Luna fired a glowing magical projectile, intent on stunning the fleeing noble.  To her frustration, the shot missed, and hit one of his guards.  The pony stumbled, and skidded across the ground, knocked out.

By now, the first of the Canterlot guards had reached the dissidents.  The armoured Pegasus soldier stuck his hoof straight out in front of him, resolved to stop the advancing group.  The white mare from before sprang out of the pack, rolling to the guards side.  The Pegasus, surprised by the sudden move, swivelled to face her.  There was a flash of sun light, reflected off a swinging blade.  And then red spattered the courtyard.

The mare flicked her dagger back to her side, continuing on with the rest of the group.  Luna stared at the blood that ran from the fallen soldier.  Another murder, another act of violence that would not be undone.  That could never be undone.  What sentient creatures would do to members of their own race never ceased to shock her.

“BLUEBLOOD!” Came, her cry, “STOP THIS MADNESS!  NO SCHEME FOR POWER IS WORTH THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD!”

The royal voice boomed throughout the courtyard, resonating and echoing.  It seemed as though two dozen voices had all laid out the same demand.  And for but a second, the noblecolt hesitated.  One hoof wavered in its resolve to continue forward.  And then, he was gone, out the gate with the rest of his followers.

Luna alighted on the ground, standing before the open gate.  Security was rarely a major priority at the castle.  The main gate was almost always left open.  A platoon of guards rushed up behind her.  Its captain stared at the princess, searching her for reasons.

“What is your command, my Princess?”

Luna sighed.  So much for the hope of a peaceful day.

“I want you to send word to the Northern Province to arrest Lord Blueblood if he sets foot within its boundaries.”

She paused for a moment, thinking.

“Actually, send word to all the provinces that he is to be arrested on sight, and that he may use violent force if confronted.”

She watched as the group continued to run through the city, drawing bewildered glances from the citizens of Canterlot.

“We can’t risk a conflict in the city streets; more ponies may be injured.  Get me as many pegasi as you can muster, and put all soldiers in Canterlot on high alert.  Send word to the station to hold all trains until ordered otherwise.  You three;”

She motioned at three of the pegasi.

“Track them from above; don’t let them out of your sight.  I will send more to join you.”

The three winged ponies rocketed skyward, quickly vanishing from sight behind a bank of clouds.

“That will be all for now captain.”

“Yes your majesty.”

He bowed, and quickly ran to carry out his orders.  Luna surveyed the remainder of the platoon.

“Has the fallen member of Bluebloods company been secured?”

“Yes, but he is still unconscious for the time being.” The guards looked at her, their confusion from minutes earlier now gone, replaced with resolve and discipline.

“Good, perhaps he will be able to enlighten us about a few valuable pieces of information.”

Her eyes drifted to farther back in the courtyard, where a team was loading the body of the slain guard onto a stretcher.  As he was taken away, one of his hooves slid over the side, dangling lifeless from the body.

“How old was he?”

The Princess of the night asked quietly.  The guards where quiet.  Finally, one of the older stallions edged forward.

“Nineteen, your highness.”

The Princess slowly nodded.  Another young life, full of opportunities, gone.

“What a shame.”

Without another word, she strode into the castle.  As the main door to the massive structure closed behind her, the first alarm bells began to sound.

<(^)>

“Tower, this is Foxtrot leader, requesting permission to land on runway one nine, over.”

“Copy that Foxtrot Leader, this is tower, you are cleared to land on runway one nine, welcome to Andrews.”

The formation of F-16 falcons descended upon the Andrews air force base, a few miles away from the capitol city of Washington D.C.  A soft drizzle spattered the tarmac, giving the place a somewhat gray appearance.  As the planes touched down on the runway, small puffs of steam rose from their tires.

The leader of the squadron turned his plane off of the runway and started to make his way to the hangers.

“Foxtrot four this is Foxtrot leader, you still awake back there rookie?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the newest member of Foxtrot squadron piped back.

“Sorry sir, I was conked out and only caught the last couple words.  Can you repeat that please?”

The captain of the squadron smiled slightly, glad that the team still seemed to have a good sense of humor.  It had been a long flight from California.  Technically, the supersonic F-16s could have made the flight in less than two hours, but sonic booms had a tendency to annoy everyone within forty miles of the source, and hence, travel at or above Mach 1 were used sparingly.

Across the base, James Thalin watched as the new fighters drew nearer.  They were part of the plan to reallocate and downsize the nation’s military.  The pilots of the old F-16s would soon begin the transition to flying F-35s.  All of the older generations of fighter aircraft would be scrapped or sold within the year.

James sat underneath of his F-22 raptor, safely tucked in its hanger, out of the rain.  He could see the “fighting falcons” through the half open hanger doors.  Aaron Lizon, one of the base’s colonels, hurried into the building, escaping the falling droplets of water.  Aaron’s own fighter, another raptor, was parked behind James.

As he drew nearer to the relaxing pilot, Aaron greeted him.

“Having a nice day there James?”

James glanced at Aaron, dampened by the drizzle.

“Nice as I can on a day like today.  Don’t have much to do.”

“Well, I don’t know, you can check by Peter’s room later.  Heard that he just picked up the new Xbox or something, and a bunch of guys are all screwing around with it.”

“I might swing by.” James leaned back, still interested in the F-16s. “New squadron finally got here, by the looks of it.”

Aaron glanced out behind him, looking over the new F-16s.

“Yeah, I haven’t had much time to look over all their info yet.  Foxtrot squad I think… Captain Timothy Sgrader, Arthur Davis… I think… there’s one named Anthony Williams too, I can’t remember the rest.”

“Anthony Williams?”

James’ head rotated faster than an owl, locking onto Aaron.

“You sure about that?”

“Pretty darn sure.” Aaron scratched his head. “I’ve got the list somewhere.  Why are you so surprised?”

“No reason just…  Didn’t expect him to be in the air force.  Probably isn’t even the same guy.  Talk to you later Aaron!”

James stood up, and started running towards the hanger where the F-16s where starting to park.

“Ok.” Aaron called after him, confused. “But you had better show up at Peter’s later, I can’t wait to kick your butt in Half Life T-”

The James was out of the hanger before he could finish the sentence, running headlong for the new arrivals.

Nine - The Beast

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.

- Revelations 13:1-2

General Starblink had just pulled himself out of bed when the bells started to ring.

“Fantastic.” He muttered, rather annoyed with the turn of events.  He glanced over at Celestia, who was now tensed, the sudden noise raising her concerns.

“Drill gone wrong?” he offered hopefully, knowing that he was just making up excuses.

“Though I wish that were so, I doubt it.” The sun princess regretfully replied.

Starblink sighed, and then slid into his uniform, the generals jacket neatly fitting over his chest.  He slid his sword into the sheath that he wore at his side, and trotted towards the door.  Celestia briefly glanced over at the engraved chest where her ceremonial battle armor from years long past rested, but resolved to avoid such precautions unless drastic measures were needed.  She quickly joined Starblink, and together they pushed open the large double doors that marked the entrance and exit to the royal chambers.  The two unicorn guards that stood guard outside of the door stood alert, their horns glowing brightly, forming a glowing force field half way down the hallway.

The two ponies briefly glanced at their ruler, before returning their focus to maintaining the field.  At the far end of the hallway, a messenger rounded the corner, galloping as fast as his hooves would carry him.  The pony skidded to a halt just short of the flowing field, avoiding the unwanted impact.

He breathlessly panted;

“May… I… enter?”

He stood shaking, it was clear he had exerted himself in his mad dash through the palace.  The Unicorn guards looked to their princess, who nodded.  Their horns ceased to glow, and the field flickered for a moment, and then dissipated.  The messenger staggered through, and the force field sprang to life once more, blocking off the passageway behind him.

As quickly as he could manage, the messenger trotted towards the regal sun princess.  Seeing that he was exhausted,

the Princess walked towards him, shortening his distant.  Starblink walked next to her, his wary eyes watching for signs of danger.

“Rest, my good soldier.  What trouble is afoot in the castle?” The Princess calmly asked, maintaining her composure, despite the clamor of the alarm bells.

“Lord… Blueblood.” The messenger took in a deep breath, recovering.

“He and his aides have fled the castle… and killed a guard.”

“What!”

Princess Celestia and General Starblink stared at the messenger, incredulous.

“Are you sure?”

Celestia couldn’t believe that the Lord of the northern province, or any of the lords and ladies of the court for that matter, would ever commit such a foul act.

“Completely, your highness.”

Starblink scowled, “What is that blasted son of burnt barley up to?”

“I don’t know sir, all I know is what I’ve already told you.”

Celestia sighed, briefly closing her eyes.  Was her kingdom falling apart all over again?

The monarch opened her eyes, looking at the young messenger pony.

“Thank you for telling me this.  You are dismissed.”

The messenger bowed, and then hastily trotted away.  Celestia looked back over her shoulder, where the guards still stood, sustaining the force field.

“Let the shield down gentlecolts.  We need to leave.”

The unicorns quickly released the spell.  Starblink glanced back at them, as his wife started to walk away.

“Stay here and guard the royal chambers.  Who knows what else might happen today.”

The two unicorns saluted the general, and Starblink quickly turned to follow Celestia, trotting to catch up.

“Where are we going?”  He asked once he had gotten abreast of her.

“To get some more details on the situation.  Blueblood isn’t one to act rashly.  As much as it pains me to say this, he has probably been plotting his betrayal for quite some time.”

“Hmm… I’d always that that guy could work on his manors, but I never would have thought about him doing something like this.”

Starblink’s mind was already going into high speed.  The events of the day may have been a shock, but he was still a general.  The general, technically.  His thoughts were streaming into motion, plotting contingencies, outcomes, and counters.  There was a reason that Celestia had appointed him the supreme commander of all Equestrian forces, and it wasn’t for his looks.

However, as formidable of a military mind as he was, Starblink could only formulate so much based off of almost nothing.  His gaze swept to his right, falling upon the beautiful white mare that he adored.  She was right of course.  They were going to need more information.  A lot more information.

Perhaps his thoughts had been spoken aloud, for at that moment, another pony had entered the hallway, this one trailed by four more castle guards.  Celestia smiled briefly, acknowledging her sister, and then her face returned to its previous grim state, calm, but upset.

“Tia,” Luna said, as soon as she had gotten close enough to her, “I take it that you’ve already heard the news?”

“Yes.” The white alicorn replied, grave. “It is unfortunate that such troubles have befallen us.  All I heard is that

Blueblood struck down a guard and fled the palace.  Do you know any more?”

“Tragically, yes.” Luna said darkly, “I was there.”

Celestia didn’t make a comment, waiting for Luna to continue.  After taking a deep breath, the younger of the two sisters began her short narrative.

“I’m afraid that he is the reason for the murder of Alex’s assistant as well.  Blueblood was carrying some of his blueprints with him.  They would probably not have resorted to violence if I had not discovered this.  He would have left the palace as usual…”

Her voice trailed off slightly, and her eyes became sad.

“It is not your fault that the guard was killed.”

Celestia jumped in, realizing that Luna felt remorseful.

“If you had not discovered those documents, Blueblood’s mischief might not have been discovered until many more ponies were at risk.”

Luna nodded, “I know sister…  To continue onwards though, I decided not to engage him while he is in the city.  There are several Pegasus scouts tracking his position from above.  The castle is on high alert.  A force is gathering in the courtyard, and I have sent word to the train station that nothing is allowed to leave until I say so.”

“I find it shocking that he would ever dare to even dream of something like this…”

Celestia slowly shook her head, trying to make as much sense of the morning as she could.

“There is something else sister…”  Luna said hesitantly, “I can’t fathom Blueblood committing such a crime either.  I feel…  I feel that there is something darker going on, something that is happening behind the scenes.  There is something afoot.  I feel like there is a great evil bearing down on us, preparing to make its self known…”

She sighed, shaking her head rapidly, as if to clear it.

“With all due respect to both of you…” Starblink entered the conversation, “I’m going to fly out and join the troops in the courtyard.  I’ll take as many pegasi as I can muster and fly to the station.  I’d like to request that both of you either stay here or get in your armor before joining me.”

“You should make haste to the train station, but I’m not sure about the armor.” Celestia cautioned, “If we are seen in our full battle regalia, the citizens may panic.”

“Fine, but be careful.  Preferably wait here, and keep yourselves guarded.”

Without another word, the general beat his wings, zipping through the castle’s interior with impressive speed and agility.

Celestia and Luna watched him fly off, knowing that he would soon be making an encounter with Blueblood, and

hopefully, making an arrest.  Celestia thought of the small gem hidden in his knives sheath, laced with protective magic.  He would be fine.  As for all the other soldiers though…  Such defenses were not easy.  She could only pray for the best.

“What ideas do you have now?” Luna asked her older sibling.  Celestia looked back to her sister.

“I think an investigation of Blueblood’s quarters are in order…”

“This is a good point, we can dispatch a team there immediately… what’s that?”

The sound of several beating wings filled the air.  As the two princesses looked around, the four guards around them tensed.  As fast as a team of wonderbolts, a full platoon of guards zipped into view, and skidded to a halt just short of the Pony Princesses.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” The captain of the platoon bowed. “We need to take you to the secure command room, Now.”

The captain said the last part so forcefully, Celestia had to question him.

“I know that Blueblood and his lot have fled the castle, but I hardly think that warrants a trip to that particular room.  Any particular reasons?”

“One, your highness.” The guard paused a moment, still catching his breath, “an army.”

“An army?!” Both sisters asked in unison.

“Yes, an army.”  The captain said, beginning to lead them towards a spiral staircase, taking them to the command room, nestled in the heart of the castle.

“An army the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”

<(^)>

Starblink now wore his full armor, an impressive suit, engraved on each side with a golden flag of Equestria.  Around him, several dozen pegasi sat in the clouds, tensed for action.  Technically, their main objective had been to make an arrest on the former Lord Blueblood.  However Starblink’s eyes were now focused on the dark shape that rested outside of the city.

And here I was, thinking that this day couldn’t possibly get any worse than it already was…

An army?  Where did that come from?  Word was already being relayed via morse code to all of the outposts in the country.

Prep for immediate combat action.  Full alert until further notice.

More interesting, this was not an ordinary army.  It was a formidable force, but it was… unique.  Ponies, some griffons, manticores, serpents, diamond dogs, it was like some kind of population diagram.  And Blueblood was just a minute away from the train station.

“What are the stats on our forces?” The general turned to one of his lieutenants, standing nearby.

“Everything in the city is on alert sir, and the people are getting curious too.  They heard the alarm bells at the castle.  Everypony knows something’s up.”

“Hmm… We’ll move to confront Blueblood.  See if we can make a peaceful arrest.  In the meantime, we need reinforcements.  If that force attacks, we don’t have the troops to deal with it.  I need platoons manning the walls, and pegasi ready to fly top cover.  We can at least try and keep them out of the city.”

Starblink glanced back at the army, still crouched ominously in the distance.

“And lieutenant…  make sure we have as many reinforcements on the way as possible.”

The Pegasus saluted, “Yes sir!”  Before turning to relay Starblink’s instructions.

Starblink watched as he left the cloud, ready to relay the orders.  His eyes then turned to Blueblood.  He was still coming.  What was his plan?  Did he think that the trains were still going without interruption?  Did he intend to force his way on to one and ride away to freedom?  And how did this army come into play?  It seemed coincidental that it was all happening on the same day with out being connected.

“Bluebolt!  Sandstorm!” Starblink summoned some of his troops to himself.

As the requested soldiers arrived, he began to issue his orders.

“Take your squads down and arrest Lord Blueblood.  Sandstorm from the front, Bluebolt from the rear.  Make a request that he come peacefully.  If it doesn’t…”  Starblinks gaze drifted to all the other pegasi, ready to confront their foes.  “We’ll be a few seconds behind you, dropping in from above.  Go now.”

The pair of pegasi saluted the general, and grabbed their respective squads.  Within a few seconds, they were winging their way toward Blueblood, who was now entering the train station.  Starblink cast one final glance at the force that was lingering outside of Canterlot, and then he signaled for all his troops to follow him.

The great formation of aerial troops was a magnificent sight to behold, the morning sun glinting off of their armor.  They waited, just a hundred meters above the street, ready to dive down should the need arise.  Starblink watched carefully, as Sandstorm confronted the rogues with his squad of troopers.

The light brown Pegasus captain came to a halt ten feet in front of the Noblepony.

“Lord Blueblood,” he spoke, “I have been ordered by Supreme General Starblink to take you under arrest.  Do you intend to resist me?”

Blueblood halted, glancing up at the large formation overhead, weighing his options.  His companions looked around nervously, not certain of their fates.

“I suppose that you haven’t left me much choice this time around, have you?”

The Nordland pony inquired, hoping to buy a little extra time.

“No, we have not.” Sandstorm agreed.

Blueblood glanced behind him, but saw only more royal guards waiting to cut him off.  On one side, there was an idling train, and on the other, the station itself.  For a second, the noble seemed like he was about to give himself over to the Equestrian officials.  Then, his eyes flicked to the right.  For half a second, Sandstorm saw a small green glint in them.  Blueblood’s eyes locked on to Sandstorm.  The Pony lord smiled, and coolly said;

“I’m afraid that I must refuse.”

And all Hell broke loose.

<(^)>

“More of them!  Coming in from the north!”

Starblink grunted in acknowledgement, shoving away the body of a griphon fighter, impaled upon his blade.

Clang!  Ding!  “AAaagggghhh!”

The sounds of war surrounded the General, and what troops he had.

Why must this have happened again?  And so soon at that?

Just two years previously, the streets of Canterlot had been the scene of warfare, and now, they were again.  A cloud of griphons and, unthinkably, pegasi, had descended from above, coming to tangle with the defenders of the city.

Starblink slowly spun in a circle, surveying the carnage.  They were losing, though at least the invading army wasn’t making an attempt to destroy any civilian structures, or kill the population itself.  He watched another one of his soldiers fall.  This would have to end soon.

“Fall back!  Fall back to the castle!”

The general shouted to his troops.  From a fortified position, they would stand a far better chance of repelling the assault.

“Fall back I say!  Is there hay stuffed up your ears!  Fall back!”

The general grabbed a falling guard, his armor heavily dented.

“To the castle!  We can still win this!”

He dove forward, his powerful wings carrying him swiftly through the battle, back towards the fortress.  Around him, many of royal guards and equestrian soldiers disengaged from combat, and followed after the General.

Much to his surprise, not as many of the enemy troops tried to give chase as Starblink would have expected.

They had something else in mind.  Something far worse.

<(^)>

“We’re under attack!  Everything you’ve got, grab it, we’re heading out!”

Alex gawked up at the scene above him, eyes wide.  He had never been witness to a truly Equestrian battle before, just a mix match of technology and small equines.  This however, was different.  Creatures of every kind and color clashed in the sky above.  The pounding of metal on metal sounded as swords clanged upon each other.  Occasionally, a screaming warrior fell from above, followed by a sickening crunch.

And they were losing.  Slowly but surely, the Equestrians were being beaten back, losing ground, or air.  Even as he watched, a large formation led by General Starblink himself half landed half crashed into the courtyard.  Alex slowly turned away, walking back towards the castle doors.  As he walked, his speed increased, going to a trot, and then a full on gallop.

He had an idea.  Something that he could Do.

As he swung into the castle’s interior, he saw a squad of guards, recently decked out in their armor, trotting towards the door.  This was a platoon of unicorns.

“Captain!” Alex called out to the leader, “follow me!”

“Yes colonel!” Though his voice seemed steady enough, the young soldier was confused and quite honestly, terrified of the commotion outside.

Without another thought, the platoon of guards followed after Alex as fast as their hooves would carry them.  The grey unicorn counted off the turns along the way.

Two to the left, one right, one left, down the stairs…

There was room under the castle.  Well, technically, there were many rooms, but Alex had one specifically in mind.  A room that had been locked for two years.

“Sir, where are we going?” The captain of the guard questioned.

Alex slowed quickly, and then halted before a large, plain wooden double door, a heavy metal latch through the middle.

“Right here.”

Alex eyed the latch, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to make it budge.  He looked back, seeing if any of the guards might be able to make a dent in it.

Swords, spears… Axe!

Alex motioned to the soldier with the axe.

“Can you get this door open?”

The pony stepped forward, whipping out his axe.  He eyed the latch, determined to keep them out.  He chuckled.

“Oh, I think that I can manage.”

<(^)>

“Get me a squad on the left flank, now!” Starblink shouted, desperately trying to defend Canterlot.

“Sir!  We don’t have anyone available!”

“Then somepony had better tell me that our reinforcements are almost here!”

The defenders of the castle were desperately trying to hold out, but to no avail.  They were being overrun.  One of Starblink’s subordinates rushed over to where he was standing in the middle of the courtyard, blood trickling from a foreleg.

“Sir, I think that it may be time…”  He looked around, making sure none of the troops where within earshot, “it may be time to fall back inside the castle, sir.”

Starblink watched as another formation of gryphons dropped down, joining the fight.

“Is everyone not ready to fight in safe rooms?” The general asked quietly.

“I don’t know sir.” Came the pony’s reply.

“Tell them to get there… as fast as they can.  You have five minutes before we’re coming in.  Warn everyone.  And tell my wife to please, stay in the command room.”

“Yes sir!” The pony saluted, and then made a mad dash into the castle, carrying Starblink’s message with him.

“Colonel!” Starblink shouted, summoning a different stallion to his side.

“Yes General?” The earth pony asked, out of breath.

“Tell…” Starblink shook his head, starting to feel a hint of fear. “Tell the troops, prepare to fall back.  We’re going to take this fight inside.”

“As you wish sir.”

Starblink nodded, and then looked out over the courtyard.  Blood.  So much blood.  Why?  What was the meaning behind all of this?  The creatures of Equestria hadn’t risen against each other in war since the battles with Discord.  Why now?  What was going on?

The general was distraught.  When the  army fell back, he would make sure everypony was assigned a position, and then he would head for the command room.  He could hopefully orchestrate the battle from there anyway.  And… He could personally make certain that she was safe.  He had lost his entire family with the destruction of cloudsdale.  He certainly wasn’t going to lose Celestia.

A loud burst of quick crackles rent the air.  Starblink instinctively threw himself to the ground, his mind spinning.

What the?!  I haven’t heard that sound in two years…

He glanced around rapidly, looking for the source of the noises.

The cracks and banging continued, the constant chatter of bangs and cracks was bringing back some unpleasant memories.  All around the courtyard, the ponies of the Royal Guard had taken cover, equally frightened.  A griphon suddenly crashed to the ground in front of him.  Starblink stared at the body, riddled with wounds.

Starblink gawked as a unicorn stepped past him, dressed in the armor of a royal guard soldier, levitating an assault rifle in front of him.  As he watched, the pony squeezed off another burst, sending a hail of burning hot shell casings to the ground in front of Starblink.  The griphons and pegasi in the air above wheeled in uncertainty, as hundreds of tiny projectiles zipped through the air around them, knocking their comrades from the sky.

Starblink slowly hauled himself back to his hooves, and looked back at the castle’s entrance.  A full squad of royal guards stood resolute, arrayed in a standard battle formation.  Each of them was firing one of the human weapons into the air above, slicing the enemy to ribbons.

The sight was so foreign, so unexpected and removed from anything that Starblink would have expected, it took him a few seconds to realize that one of the fire arm bearing stallions was approaching him.  The pony threw him a crisp salute, and then stood at attention, though his face was split by a massive smile.

“Colonel Alex Williams, reporting for duty, sir!”

Starblink just smiled, and shook his head, patting Alex on his shoulder.  He laughed a little, as the sounds of cheering slowly began to come from the Equestrian troops, realizing what was happening.

“At ease soldier.” He shook his head in admiration, “At ease.”

<(^)>

Breathe.  The battered Stallion slowly regained consciousness.  Breathe.  Breathing was good.  Breathing was life.  Breathe.  The weary soldier sucked air through his mouth, allowing it to fill his lungs.  He stretched out his foreleg- “Ugh!” Maybe not such a good idea.  Slowly, painfully, he opened his eyes.  The sun glimmered overhead.  The sound of… the sound of what?  He listened intently, prying to here, something, anything.  Silence.  He rolled over, finding his footing, body protesting the whole way.

A brief surveillance of the Canterlot gardens that surrounded him revealed ground covered with spatters of blood, fallen weapons, and occasional bodies.  One of the swords lay just a few feet away.  Groaning, the wounded warrior scooped it up.  He glared around, showing disapproval towards all the surrounding chaos.

A faint movement caught the stallions eye.  He stared at its source a fallen Pegasus, a large wound marring its side.  Carefully, he moved towards it.  The other pony did not wear the uniform of the Equestrian guard.  He stared at it, thoughts of compassion and pity mixing with disgust.

“Help… me.” The poor Pegasus moaned, finally noticing the other equine.

“Why?” The soldier answered bitterly.

The Pegasus stared back at him, its breathing ragged.  “Please.”

My God… it’s a Mare…

The soldier slowly drew nearer, bending down next to it.

“No, not that.  Why did you come here?  Why did you do this.”

The other pony stared back, not making a reply.  Slowly, the Stallion kneeled down next to her, examining the wound on her side.

“It doesn’t even make any sense…”

A chilling laugh came from behind him.  He froze, not believing the sound that he heard.  A deep, rich voice filled his ears.

“Oh, but my dear little pony…  What fun is there in making sense?”

Three -Soldiers, Statesmen, and Scoundrels

Princess Celestia gently set her crown on the desk before her, pushing aside various economic reports and other papers awaiting her approval.  She studied the gem studded headpiece, unsure what to think of it.  Celestia was more than happy to serve the nation, of course.  No matter what, Equestria would always need rulers, and Luna and herself would always be willing to fulfill that role.  On the other hoof, the position came with many unfortunate complications.

Celestia was tired of being treated like more than just a mere authority.  She wished that her nation would stop elevating her to some kind of godlike status, and just treated her like they would the other nobles and authorities in the land.  Still, she supposed that it was inevitable, as technically, the entire lives of everything on the planet depended upon her and her sister.

The regal white Alicorn carefully scooped up the crown, walking over to a small chest at the end of her and Starblink’s bed.  She opened the chest, finely carved out of redwood, and deposited the crown into it.  Slowly, she eased out of the rest of her regalia, freeing her skin of the loathsome metals.  She felt cool air wash over the now bare patches on her coat, enjoying the pleasant sensation.  She quickly levitated the items into the chest, careful to arrange them in their designated places.

Then she turned to the other device that was enclosed in the redwood container.  A large hour glass slowly ran down, as it had for the past twenty four months.  There was now very little sand left in the top section.  She watched as a few more grains slowly trickled through, waiting for all of it to accumulate into the bottom of the glass.  The princess knew that it wouldn’t happen for a couple more weeks, but still, it was far too monumental to ignore completely.

Celestia could have continued her observation of the timepiece for hours, but she was interrupted.  Behind her, the door creaked open, letting in the sound of hooves clacking against the floor.  The ruler of the sun turned, watching as the newly arrived pony gently closed the door behind him, careful not to make much noise.  Celestia stood, and started to walk towards the pegasus stallion, a smile on her face.

He slid out of his General’s uniform, hanging it on the wall beside the door, and then turned towards the Alicorn.  Celestia was already beside him.

“Why, you were out late Starblink, did the inspections take longer than scheduled?” She inquired of the stallion.  Starblink sighed, and scratched the back of his head.

“There was a thunderstorm between here and Cloudsdale, so I was delayed for quite a while.  Thankfully, the weather team has it all under control now.”

Celestia admired the muscled form of her partner, pleased with his growth since their marriage.  As his soul and been bonded with hers, so had the immense power that was stored within.  As a result, he now shared her stature, and thankfully, her longevity.

“Well, it is rather late.  Have you eaten yet?”

The pegasus smiled.

“I caught a bite to eat at once I arrived back in the city.” He yawned, worn out from a day of traveling back and forth to Cloudsdale. “I think I’m just going to go to sleep.”

Celestia nodded, and then strode back across the room, setting a hoof on the raised lid of the chest, sliding it shut.  From behind her, Starblink could just barely catch a glance of the hourglass as the lid of the chest sealed close.  The pegasus general smiled.

“So they still don’t know?”

“No, they don’t.” Celestia eased herself onto the bed, covering herself with the various blankets and sheets. “And I think that is for the best.  If I were to tell them now… well, I know that it would drive Twilight mad with worry, and as for the rest, I won’t take a chance on.  Unfortunately, I only know them through our few meetings and Twilight’s letters, so I don’t know how they’d react.”

“I guess that we’ll find out soon enough.” Starblink slid himself into the other side of the bed, enjoying the feeling of the soft fabric against his weary body.  Celestia thought of the hour glass, still counting down in the chest.

“We certainly will, in just a couple short weeks.  I’m beginning to get excited.”

Starblink snorted, finding the comment amusing.

“You mean that you weren’t already excited?”

Celestia chuckled.

“I should have said… even more excited.  It will be hard on them, but it is all for the best.”

She felt Starblink’s wings slowly wrap around her body, and pull her closer to the stallion.  She smiled as he locked her in his warm embrace.

“It’s definitely going to be interesting…  Good night, Tia.”

She closed her eyes, releasing her grip on consciousness.

“Good night, Starblink.”

The master of the sun quickly fell asleep, relishing her hard earned rest after a long day of work.

<(^)>

Swiftwing whistled a tune to himself, keeping his mind occupied as he marched along the wall top of Canterlot castle.  His golden royal guard armor gleamed like the sun in the early morning light.  Up above, a large red and gold bird flew, spiraling around the castle, little jets of flame shooting from its wing tips.  Swiftwing looked up at the phoenix, admiring the magical creature.  He wished that he could join it in the skies above, but his duty came first.  Taking his eyes off of the aviary acrobatics, Swiftwing continued his patrol.

As he carried on marching, he passed another guard, going the opposite direction on the wall top.  He nodded at the soldier, another pegasus.

“Anything out of the ordinary, Bluebolt?”

The other pony halted momentarily.

Nothing worth reporting, Swiftwing.”

Swiftwing chuckled, “What a surprise.”

Without another word, the two soldiers continued their routes, armored hoofs clopping against the stonework of the walltop.  Swiftwing continued marching, his eyes scanning both the sky above and the city below for signs of trouble.  The first passerby were just beginning to go about their business in the City beyond the walls, while most of the population was still waking up.  A loud bell suddenly reverberated in Swiftwing’s ears.  The pegasus immediately tensed.  He waited a few moments, and then relaxed.

Just one strike… it’s only the changing of the guard.

He turned to look at the castle’s courtyard, and waited.  The great double doors swung open, and eight pegasi troops marched out into the morning light.  They halted once they reached the center of the courtyard, and then all turned to various points on the wall.  As one, the group spread their wings, and flew the short distance to the wall tops.

Swiftwing watched as a familiar pony arced through the air towards him.  A dark blue pegasus alighted on the wall top just a few feet in front of Swiftwing.  They both saluted, and then the newcomer spoke.

“Major Swiftwing sir, may I assume your post sir!”

Swiftwing kept his face solemn, though inwardly, he felt happy.  For some reason, these ridiculous formalities always made him feel better about himself.

“Lieutenant Clouddancer, I give you permission to assume command of this position.”

Clouddancer saluted again, “Thank you sir!  Anything to report, sir!”

“All clear, nothing out of the ordinary.” Swiftwing saluted, and then spread his wings, feeling the cool wind whip through his feathers.

Anticipating his imminent release from duty, Swiftwing launched himself from the wall top, leaving Clouddancer to his fate.  His feathers rustled as he glided down to the courtyard, joining the other guards below.  The eight pegasi formed up, and then marched into the castle, the wide doors swinging shut behind them.  A unicorn in a colonel’s uniform was waiting for them.

“Dismissed!”

The formation quickly fragmented, as the soldiers went their separate ways.  Swiftwing fell in beside his old squad mate, Bluebolt.  Swiftwing smiled, thinking back to a few moments ago.

“I swear man, every time that I hear that bell, I freak out until I know that it’s only going to sound off one toll.”

Bluebolt shook his head, suppressing laughter.

“What… that incident from your first day on duty here still haunting you?”

“Hey, dude, that was your first day too you know.”

Bluebolt just glanced over at Swiftwing, looking bored.

“So?  I didn’t freak out nearly as much as you did.”

“The bells were ringing for like five minutes!” Swiftwing was dismayed. “I thought that we were freaking under attack!  What was I supposed to do?”

Bluebolt snickered.

“Probably something other than waking up the Princess.”

Swiftwing was about to make his retort, when a timid voice from behind cut him off.

“Um, excuse me, but… what are you guys talking about?”

Both Bluebolt and Swiftwing swiveled to face the newcomer.  It was a green earth pony, decked out in a light blue uniform, indicating his lowly rank of private.  The two more experienced guards glanced at each other, before returning their gaze to the earth pony.

“I’m sorry,” Bluebolt took a step forward, “But, um… who exactly are you?”

“Um… my name is Firm Blade.  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you guys.  I’m kind of new around here.”

“Kind of new?” Swiftwing examined the earth pony. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before.  Just how ‘kind of new’ are you?”

Firm Blade blushed.

“Well… it’s my first day.” The earth pony smiled a little. “That’s sort of why I wanted to hear more about what you guys were saying.  Something about your first time on duty here?”

Bluebolt chuckled.

“Yeah, that is a very fascinating story.  I would be more than happy to enlighten you…”

“Now hold on a second!” Swiftwing interrupted. “There’s no need to go telling everypony that comes randomly walking along what happened more than a year ago!”

Swiftwing could feel the heat rising in his ears, embarrassed at the thought of reliving the experience.

“Oh, but this isn’t just some random pony!” Bluebolt walked over to stand beside Firm Blade. “It’s his first day on the job!  I think that we could impart several valuable lessons on exactly what not to do when confronted with a malfunctioning alarm bell.”

Swiftwing facehoofed, slowly shaking his head back and forth.  Bluebolt grinned, and then began talking to Firm Blade.

“Well, you see, it all started when some traveling salesponies where trying to get into the castle…”

<(^)>

The shadow crept through the shrubbery, hardly visible, even in the morning light.

It’s a good thing that the royal sisters decided to put landscaping around the walls… makes it so much easier for ponies like me to do their job.

The shadow had a name.  Dark Flare, practitioner of trades that most would like to forget about.  However, to the few that couldn’t go without ponies like Dark Flare… that’s where there was money to be made.  She was a unicorn, with a black coat, and dark red mane.  She frightened most ponies, due to her sinister appearance.

Flare continued forward, crawling through the bushes, drawing nearer to the wall.  The problem of her red mane sticking out had been corrected with some simple dye.  She reached the wall, pressing her back against the cool, smooth stone surface, glancing about.  All clear.  Flare scampered to the left, careful not to make any noise.  Just a couple of meters away, a small door was recessed into the stone wall.  It was the little known side entrance, facing away from the city.

Most thieves, assassins, and other unwanted ruffians tended to avoid being seen by the royal guard.  However, in order for Flare’s plan to work, she needed to be seen by at least one, at least for a moment.  Flare moved up, pressing herself against the door.  She placed a panicked expression on her face, and then adopted her most troubled sounding voice.

“Guard!  Oh, please, anypony!  Help me!”  She beat on the door.  Although she made a fair amount of noise, she made sure to only be loud enough to attract the attention of the nearest guard.  More than one might prove fatal.  A set of hooves could be heard rushing up to the other side of the gate, along with the jangling of keys.

“Hold on, I’m coming!” The door flung inwards, pulled by a concerned guard and pushed by a devious intruder.

“Are you alright?” He was cut off as Flare collapsed onto him, pulling him down to the grass underhoof.  One of Flares forehooves slid between his plates of armor.

“What… What are you…”

The guard sighed, and then slipped from consciousness in Flare’s grip.  She gently released him, dragging him under a bush.  While she dragged him, she plucked a small needle from his side.

He’ll be awake in four hours… but they’ll figure out he’s missing before that.

Flare could only give herself, at best, twenty minutes to infiltrate the castle, and then get down to work.  She grimaced when she thought of her ‘work.’ Still, her employer paid well… and money doesn’t grow on trees.  Flare made a quick dash across the courtyard, her hooves not making a single noise.  She herself darted from cover to cover, glad for all the monuments and foliage that populated the surrounding area.

Quickly, Dark Flare entered the castle itself.  Her target was on the lower levels, hidden down several passageways.  She had been in the castle before, while traveling in the company of her sponsor.  It would be no trouble at all for her to find a way down to it.

She quickly checked the weapon concealed within her black saddle bag, tucked against her right side.  It was in perfect functioning order.  She grinned as she slid it back into the bag.  Despite the fact that her task ahead was going to be brutal, she couldn’t help but take some twisted pleasure in it.  The more adrenaline, the better… and nothing gave her a bigger rush than assassination.

<(^)>

“I do solemnly swear.”

Camera flashes sparkled throughout the large outdoor area, illuminating the scene in the setting sun.

“I do solemnly swear.”

“That I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States.”

“That I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States.”

The second voice repeated.  The area around the speakers was surrounded by more than one million men, women, and children, crowding the streets, parks, and sidewalks of Washington D.C.

“And will to the best of my ability.”

“And will to the best of my ability.”

Millions more, perhaps a billion, watched worldwide by way of television and livestreams.

“Preserve, protect, and defend, the constitution of the United States of America.”

“Preserve, protect, and defend, the constitution of the United States of America.”

“So help me God.”

“So help me God.”

The man that had been stating the lines first reached up to shake the other’s hand.

“Congratulations Mr. President.”

The crowd, which had previously been hushed, broke into thunderous applause, heralding in the new leader.  Benjamin Anderson, President of the United States of America, smiled, and waved his hand and the cheering masses.  Anderson looked out over the assembled people, his people.  A surge of pride twanged through Anderson, lost in unbelief of the moment.  After a few seconds, he collected himself.

“Thank you all so much for choosing me as our next leader in these tumultuous times.”

He spoke into the microphone, his voice blasted out over the entire landscape.

“I know, probably better than most, just how much controversy this office has fallen under in recent years.”

The crowd lost part of its enthusiasm.  Anderson continued.

“I also know, that despite the celebrations and excitement surrounding this inauguration, not many of you have any reason to trust us anymore.”

The crowd grew quite, unsure of where the president was going with his address.

“But, I tell you right now, no matter what happens, I will do what is best for this country.  I will do what is best for America, and all who dwell within it.  I hope that I will do this with all of your help.  Together, we can make this country great again, as it once was.  A symbol of peace, prosperity, and liberty, for the whole world to look at.  Thank you all.”

The crowd, after several moments silence, broke into thunderous applause.  Anderson waved, smiling ear to ear, and then walked down from the podium.  Behind him, several others were waiting to take their own turn at the stand, ready to speak about how wonderful things were going to be now.  Fluff.  Anderson sat politely, listening through the speakers, clapping when necessary.  Finally, they were at an end.  Anderson stood, said a few more words, and then strode away, several secret service agents in tow.  He walked into a large hallway, secured against the public’s peeping eyes, and began to traverse the distance.

Another man strode up to Anderson, the recent head of the CIA, as of four months earlier.  He reached out his hand, shaking the president’s.  After a brief confirmation of identity, the secret service agents surrounding Anderson reluctantly let him through.

“Well, look who’s suddenly important!”

He was smiling.

“Daniel, it is good to see you again my friend.  How has the CIA been treating you?”

Daniel Huston started to walk with Anderson, continuing down the hallway.

“Very good, how is it being president?”

Anderson chuckled.

"I've been President for less than two hours, I'm still trying to figure it out."

Dan laughed.

“So anyway Dan,” Anderson continued, “What are you doing here?”

The CIA man grew somber.

“I’m here to give you your first briefing as President of the United States of America.  The role falls to me, as a result of being

in charge of the good old central intelligence agency.”

“I’ve already attended a number of briefings, Dan.  How is this one supposed to be any different?”

Daniel halted, forcing the entire group to come to a standstill.  He stared at Anderson.

“This is the one that the public never gets to hear about.  Actually, this is the one that less than two dozen people get to hear about.  It’s a liability to know that it exists, actually.”

“I see…”

Anderson glanced around at the expressionless secret service agents.

“So, where are we headed?”

Daniel smiled.

“We have a vehicle waiting for us.  We’re going to the pentagon.”

“The pentagon?” Anderson eyed the CIA head warily. “This doesn’t have anything to do with military troubles, does it?”

“Not at all, Mr. President.”

The group began to walk again.

“This concerns something on the Twenty third level.”

Anderson glanced around the hallway, lowering his voice.

“Daniel, the pentagon is only supposed to have two basement levels, you do know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

Daniel turned off down a side hallway, walking towards a nondescript, all white delivery truck.

“But I also know that you have personally been down past those two floors before now.”

He popped open a door on the side of the truck, revealing a luxurious interior.

“However, I don’t think that you’ve ever been as deep as we’re going.”