As they were escorted through the crowd towards the Crystal Palace, Excalibur Umbra and the other Tenno were silent. They could hear the whispers of the populace that were directed towards them. Some were, of course, fearful, but others were words of astonishment or even admiration towards their appearance.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Volt Prime asked the group, communicating through telepathy. “I believed at first that we would be facing a far more dangerous first meeting. Now, it seems they place much of their faith into their leaders. I expected there to be more of an uproar regarding our arrival.”

“I agree that it is unusual.” Oberon added. “The soldiers here seem to be in more of a peacekeeping role, rather than that of a true warrior. I can sense their trepidation about us, yet they stay silent.”

“Maybe they don’t know what to say, or don’t wish to say something out of fear.” Zephyr mused. “Perhaps they are more fearful than we realize.”

“That could be it, Zephyr.” Excalibur nodded. “Yet they refuse to give way to that fear and show it openly. There is much we can learn here, from both this world and from the Equestrians. Let’s not provoke or offend them, as we also don’t know how they will respond.”

Each of the Tenno nodded, and as the Equestrians brought them into the palace, and then into a large conference room, the Guards stepped outside and closed the doors behind them.

“So…Excalibur, what exactly are you? What does “Tenno” even mean?” Shining Armor asked.

“That…is a long story.” Excalibur replied. “In order for you to be able to understand who we are, you must know how we came to be. Allow me to start from the beginning.”

Excalibur Umbra held out his hand, and from his armored palm, projected a star-map of the Origin System for all to see.

“In an age long past, on the planet Earth, humanity was ruled by a caste known as the Orokin. The Orokin were masters of biotechnology and genetic tinkering, and through their efforts the race now known as the Grineer came to be. During this era, when the Void was discovered, the advancements of the Orokin rose leagues higher than ever before, transforming the once impossible…to possible."

"These Orokin sound quite impressive." Shining Armor mused.

"I would not be so quick to praise them." Excalibur said in a sharp and immediate tone of rebuke, causing the ponies to flinch. "The Orokin were not the paragons they would seem to be to an outsider at first glance."

"The Orokin were tyrannical in their ways, as their rigid hierarchy kept those at the top firmly in power and bathed in luxury…and the vast majority were left to suffer under the lashes of their cruel masters. Those who served the Orokin were exploited and often used as fodder for cruel experiments with no compensation."

"This structure would later give prevalence to the teachings of Parvos Granum, whose teachings would later form the backbone of the faction known as the Corpus."

"The Orokin ruled through extravagance, and perpetually sought youth to avoid their impending deaths. However, when the Orokin first discovered the Tau System, they sought to colonize it. They had long polluted and consumed their worlds in Origin, and they wanted everything in Tau to fuel their empire."

"This is around the time when the Zariman Ten-Zero incident occurred, and thus instigated the beginning of the end of the Orokin Empire."

The Tenno looked at each other in a strange manner as Excalibur finished speaking, causing the Equestrians to gaze at them in a confused manner. Princess Cadance, though, managed to gather that whatever transpired in this incident, that it would not be pleasant to hear.

"One day, the a military colony ship, named the Zariman Ten-Zero, was sent into the Void in order to travel to the Tau System. It was soon declared to have been lost, but it reappeared some years later."

"Well, that's good, right?' Rainbow Dash asked. "Wait…did something happen aboard that ship?"

"Yes, and we still today bear the scars of what happened." Excalibur said, confirming Princess Cadance's mental worries. "While the ship was trapped in the Void, the adults aboard the ship descended into madness, becoming little more than feral animals."

"The children on the other hand, became something else, something that still haunts us to this day."

"The children developed uncontrollable powers through the Void, and were able to stave off and…kill their deranged parents. Their minds were forever scarred as a result of their actions."

The jaws of every Equestrian dropped to the floor. Fluttershy began to cry quietly, Pinkie's mane and tail deflated, and Applejack hid her face behind her hat. Everypony else was simply too horrified to speak.

"It doesn't end there." Excalibur continued. "When these children were rescued, the Orokin fearfully called them dangerous, and they were kept imprisoned and in hiding. The Orokin called them the "Void Demons". They would later become known as the first Tenno, from the ship's designation of Ten-Zero."

"But when an Orokin Archimedean named Margulis discovered the children, she took pity on them, sympathizing with their struggle and the scars they bore, it seemed things would be better. She took them in as her own children, and sought a way to allow them a normal life."

Those words made the Equestrians perk up a bit, and Fluttershy stopped crying upon hearing this.

"Her lover, Ballas, pleaded with her to stop her research, but she continued. Margulis created what are known as reservoirs, a gateway into the Dream. The Dream is a state of consciousness where the children's powers were far more controllable. Margulis was blinded during this time, but she never gave up hope."

"During this time, the Orokin plan to colonize the Tau system was spearheaded by a race of synthetic beings that would later become known as the Sentients. They were made to terraform entire planets, and could develop-near instantaneous resistance to any injury or harm. They were perfect for this task, as their adaptability knew no bounds."

"I take it that something went wrong with them?" Shining Armor asked, remembering how he had been mistaken in his first view of the Orokin.

"You are correct." Excalibur nodded. "There was a great risk that the Sentients, with their adaptive traits and reproductive capabilities, would rise against the Orokin. Imbuing the Sentients with true thought was against Orokin law, however. There was also the fact that the Void was poisonous to the Sentients, and thus, the Orokin felt safe."

"They could not have been more wrong."

"The Sentients realized that Tau would eventually be destroyed by the Orokin, and they traveled through the Void to Origin. They made the journey successfully, and the Void did not kill the Sentients as the Orokin hoped, it only sterilized them.

"Now united under the Sentient leader, Hunhow, the Sentients began a system-wide rebellion that would become known as the Old War."

"So…how bad was it?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"It was Indescribably horrific." Volt replied. "The Orokin's attempts to fight back failed in nearly every way, from their outpaced technology to militarizing their Grineer slaves. The Corpus then rose to prominence at this time, developing and selling everything needed for the war effort."

"From the autonomous war machines called Necramechs, to unleashing the Technocyte virus that later developed into the Infested, it seemed the Orokin were running out of ideas."

"Then Ballas, the lover of Margulis, used a version of the infestation to develop Helminth, which was instrumental in the development of the first Warframes. However, though their initial use was successful, these Warframes were unpredictable and just as eager to turn against the Orokin." Volt finished. "They needed a way to control them."

"Thus, the once-exiled Tenno, through the power of Transference, became the wielders of the Warframes."

"Transference?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Transference is the ability to merge and synchronize one surrogate body with another mind." Zephyr replied. "Margulis, with the help of Silvana, another Orokin Archimedean, were able to develop Transference therapy for the children of the Zariman."

"The Warfarmes bonded with the children through their shared trauma, becoming the Operators. The Orokin pressured Margulis and Silvana to further develop the Operators as living weapons to use against the Sentients. Margulis refused, commiting the crime of Apostasy in the process. She was tried, found guilty, and to Ballas's horror, Margulis was executed by the Jade Light." Volt added.

The Equestrians again dropped their jaws, and Fluttershy began to cry once again. Excalibur waited for her to settle down before continuing.

"Ballas, bereft with grief, betrayed the Orokin, siding with Hunhow to bring down the Orokin Empire. While the Tenno, as they were now properly known, managed to turn the tide, Ballas's eventual betrayal would stop this advance cold."

"Ballas knew of the Reservoir, the hiding place of the Operators, and how they were unprotected and vulnerable while in Transference. Thus, the Sentient Natah adopted the likeness of Margulis, and infiltrated the Orokin backlines."

"She used the Tenno against the other Sentients, and Hunhow was apparently destroyed over the waters of the planet Uranus. Hunhow's son, Erra, pleaded with Natah to return, Natah refused, and was imprisoned, but she soon retaliated." Excalibur said.

"How so?" Princess Cadance asked cautiously.

"When the high-ranking Orokin gathered on Pluto to celebrate, the Tenno struck them down, one by one, as revenge for Margulis. Thus, the Collapse of the Orokin Empire began." Excalibur replied.

"Natah was ordered to destroy the Tenno, but she refused and took up Marguli's mantle and became the Lotus, the Tenno's matron and guide. She hid Lua and the reservoir in the Void, and thus, ordered the Tenno to enter cryogenic sleep. The Old War may have ended, but some Warframes took part in missions to kill the remaining Orokin."

"Attempts to recreate the empire would fail, as the Grineer militarized and became a new force, powered by the cloning technology of their ancestors. The Corpus also militarized, and fighting between them continues to this day. There is still more to our story, if you wish to hear it"

Excalibur paused, sensing clearly that the Equestrians were in need of time to process what they had just learned. Eventually, Shining Armor spoke up.

"I think it would be wise if we could discuss your tale amongst ourselves. It's not that we don't believe you, it was just so much to take in."

"We understand completely." Excalibur replied. "We also would like to return to our ship, and report what has happened to the Lotus. We will return at dawn tomorrow, if that is something we can agree on."

"Absolutely." Twilight Sparkle replied. "We'll see you then."

As the Equestrians and the Tenno exchanged goodbyes, and two Crystal Guards escorted the Tenno to the entrance hall, Shining Armor turned to his wife, sister, and the other Element Bearers.

"We need to tell Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about this." he said in a steady tone of voice. "Also, I think I could use some rest. I feel rather dizzy after hearing all that."

"I wholeheartedly agree." Cadance added, and the other Element Bearers nodded. Twilight volunteered to handle writing the letter to both Princesses in Canterlot, and all were soon shown to guest bedchambers to rest. At the same time, the Tenno boarded their Railjack, and after deciding that returning to their Orbiter would take too long, they began to meditate. While Ordis and Cephalon Cy began sending their message to the Lotus, the Tenno soon turned still, and lowered their heads to sleep, awaiting what the next day would bring.

Author's Note

Update!

EDIT - 12-4-2022 - Completely rewrote the chapter, including information that I did not previously know about the story of Warframe. Should be much more lore-accurate now.