"... You are asking me a lot, McGillis Fareed. Gjallarhorn has protected the Earth Sphere for over three hundred years," Starlight Glimmer said, her fingers laced in front of her face. "If I had not seen it myself, I would say you are lying to me."

McGillis nodded, conceding the point. "I understand that, Lady Starlight. But we both know that Gjallarhorn is a shadow of what it was once was. The Seven Stars..."

Gaelio Bauduin could see his friend couldn't bring himself to say what was on both of their minds. His respect for the ruling elite of Gjallarhorn was still strong. But Gaelio had no trouble saying it for him. "The Seven Stars are a disgrace to their family names and legacies." He bowed his in defference. "I mean no offense to you, Starlight."

Starlight sighed. She knew he was right, as much it pained her to say. "No offense was taken, Gaelio. I have always valued your ability to not hold back on what you feel and think. I only wish more were like that."

Gaelio smiled slightly. "And the Dainsleifs? Only you or Rustal Elion have access to them and can authorize their use."

Starlight frowned. She and Rustal had butted heads over this more times than she cared to count. The weapons were illegal, and she had tried for years to get them all destroyed. But Rustal had talked her out of it every time, saying they were useful as a very last resort if it ever came to it. Which was true, as much as she did not like the idea.

Maybe it was time for her to stop playing nice. "I will personally see to it that each and every one of them is destroyed. Those who do not like it, or try to stop me? They can burn with those things."

McGillis was taken aback by the venom in the woman's voice. He had no love for them either. "Can that be done? Rustal Elion is a very powerful man. The Arianrhod Fleet is fiercely loyal to him. And whatever his faults, he is no fool."

Starlight smirked. "Leave that to me. When it comes down to hierarchy, I ultimately outrank him. The Sparkle Family name still means something to the others. I do not know where they will stand when the time comes. But I believe in what you are trying to do, Mcgillis."

Mcgillis began to smile, but he had to know for sure. "Then?"

Starlight nodded. "When the time comes, I give you full sanction to provide whatever aid and help you can. To Tekkadan. Any who wish to join you, have my full blessing. But it must be their choice. Gjallarhorn will change, and all of us must choose a side in this."

McGillis and Gaelio nodded their ascent, as Starlight disconnected on her end. Gaelio let out a breath he had not known he had been holding. "Well. That went much better than I thought it would. I still find it hard to believe everything we've seen."

McGillis nodded. He too had trouble believing all that Cosmos had shown them. But it felt too real to have been made up. And speaking of Cosmos. He turned to look at the young woman who sat to the side of the room. "Why not show all of this to those on Mars? Why us? And I assume, First Lieutenant Crank Zent, and Second Lieutenant Ein Dalton?"

Cosmos opened her eyes and looked at the two older men. "Because. Even if I had gone to Mars, I know that they would not believe me. They must choose this path themselves. Without my prodding."

Gaelio shook his head. "And of what of Lieutenant Zent and Lieutenant Dalton?"

Cosmos smiled. "If they are as smart as I believe and hope they are, then they will be more than happy to help. You saw how Crank reacted when he learned he was fighting children. It will be even more so knowing what blood will not be on his hands."

McGillis could not argue that, but there remained one thing. "And Lieutenant Dalton? He wasted his life on a pointless vendetta. Some kind of crusade in the name of a dead god. If there even is a god in this universe."

Cosmos chuckled. "There is no god here, Specialist Major McGillis. All religion is based on a false god of some kind. But that is beside the point, I feel."

McGillis and Gaelio shared a look. She had a point, they felt and decided not to press the issue for the moment. They had other things to think about, as the door opened and in walked First Lieutenant Crank Zent and Second Lieutenant Ein Dalton.

As the screen faded away, Starlight rubbed her forehead irritably as she looked over at the other woman in the room. The resemblance between her and Twilight Sparkle was astounding. Almost perfect in fact. "You are asking a lot of me, Cosmos. Not all will see the truth."

Cosmos only smiled as she opened her eyes. "Then they are fools of the highest order. An insult to what was lost in the war. If this is what humanity's protector has become? Then Operation Cleansing Flame and Operation Damocles should have succeeded."

Starlight blanched. Very few even knew those names, let alone what they were assigned to. "Do you think I enjoy watching this? I grew up on stories of the Calamity War. Not everyone believed them. But I did."

"Then where did it go wrong?" Cosmos retorted, though her voice never rose in anger. But it did not need to.

Starlight wanted to say something, anything. But there was not anything as she slumped in defeat. "I. I don't know. The Seven Stars are a joke. Only Gaelio and I try to be what they were. Rustal uses his connection to Sunset Shimmer as leverage against the others. All because of what happened at the Battle of Olympus Mons."

She sighed. "And I can't do anything about Lok Kujan and Juelieta Juris. As reckless and stupid as he is, Lok is still one of the Seven Stars. I would need more than this to do something. Julieta's only crime is being so devoted to Rustal. I will not punish her for that. She gets enough as it is."

Cosmos felt her heart drop in sympathy. Starlight was a woman at the end of her rope, fighting against the tide. But that was why she was here. "What of the Gundam Frames? You still have many of them."

Starlight smiled a little, as she brought up camera views of the hangars that held the remaining Gundams. Only twenty-six had survived the war, and Gjallarhorn had lost track of several of those in all the years since. "For all the good they can do us. The Alaya-Vijnana is a lost science. The Six made sure of that. All we have is a bastardized version of it."

She paused as her smile grew. "And thank you for pointing out where Barbatos, Guision, and Flauros were. I would hardly call the Brewers the best to get Guision. But Barbatos is exactly where it should be If I am being honest."

Cosmos nodded. "So you will not take them back if given a chance?"

Starlight shook her head. "No. What is the point? They deserve better than to be locked away like the others." She sighed wistfully. "I used to dream of piloting Bael. To feel that kind of power. If only for a little while at least."

Cosmos's smile only grew wider. And there it was. Bingo. "What if I told you I can help you live out that dream? Unless you plan to give Bael to McGillis?"

Starlight snorted. "As if. Maybe one of the others. But not my family's heritage. It is not like it matters either way. The Alaya-Vijnana is lost as it used to be. They will never be what they once were." She gave Cosmos a hard look. "Unless you are not telling me something?"

Cosmos only grinned.

Author's Note

Time for building up more of the sequel. Which, again, will not be on this site. Starlight Glimmer is the only My Little Pony character in the story. And she's not around enough to satisfy the site rules for Publishing the story.

I didn't show Zent's and Ein's reactions or their choices for a reason. You'll just have to read the sequel to find out where they will stand in what's to come. And those names Cosmos mentioned? Those will play an important part in this story going forward. But they will have to wait.