The group of soldiers moved through the forest swiftly, but not recklessly. It was surprisingly easy to find a path to follow, one large enough even for Rhys. The group reasoned that this was likely a path taken by large animals through the forest, so it was best to remain on guard. Unless any altercations occurred, they would follow this path to the fringe of the forest and hopefully exit near the settlement they had seen to the northwest. The group was currently travelling in pairs, with the Lunars in the front and the Solars bringing up the rear. The Lunars, being light and agile due to their lightweight equipment, scouted ahead to identify possible threats up the road. The Solars, being less stealthy, lagged approximately 30 meters behind the Lunars, so that their noisier equipment would not alert any potential hostiles before the Lunars could identify them. If need be, the two Solars could close the distance within seconds and aid in combat with their impressive firepower. The other unspoken reason for this splitting of the party was so that the respective sides could take a much needed break from each other. Solars and Lunars were not known to get along well, due to contrasting and clashing ideologies.

Because Rhys walked as fast as Colette jogged, she was riding on the shoulders of her captain, his battlesuit being more than sturdy enough to support her despite her and her equipment weighing in at nearly 500 kilograms. The highly advanced hydraulic musculature of his Goliath suit could carry a dozen of her and still have carrying capacity to spare. This made for relaxing travel for both of them, as neither of them were really using their legs at the moment. Even better, thanks to the shade provided by the treeline, the two of them could comfortably lower their helmets and enjoy the fresh air while keeping their radios open for any calls from their darker associates. While the trip was so far pleasant, several questions weighed on her mind, and so she turned to her commander to question him.

“What’s the deal between you and Claire? You act like you two have history, and not good history either.” Rhys’s brow furrowed, and he sighed deeply before answering her.

“Claire is my sister-in-law. She used to be a Solar, but then her husband… My brother died.” Colette’s eyes widened in shock, struggling to swallow the information. Not allowing her to interrupt him, he continued with his story. “He and I fought in the same battle. I’m sure you heard of it. The Battle of City Seven.” Colette’s shocked expression turned to deep sadness.

“I heard about that one. A hundred thousand Celestial Guard fought and died there. One of the worst losses in the history of the UDE.” Rhys shook his head, his brow dipping deeper as his lips curled back in anger.

“Not just the Guard. The entire city was destroyed. Five million people, killed because we couldn’t hold the line. No one could have. I don’t know what they told you in your classes, but I can tell you first hand that it wasn’t even a battle. It was a massacre. The First Fear was there.” Colette’s hair stood on end just hearing the name. She had only ever heard of the bane of Earth from stories, but she didn’t know he was present at the Battle of City Seven. It would explain why it was such a crushing failure.

“I… I don’t doubt you. But how did you survive that? I’ve heard that the First Fear leaves no survivors.” Rhys stopped moving, his suit lurching to a halt. Colette was thrown off his shoulders by the momentum, landing on her back in the dirt. She looked up at him in confusion, but saw that he had a large smile on his face again, his sullen expression suddenly and completely gone.

“By the gods, this conversation is gloomy. Much too gloomy for my tastes, especially considering that we’re exploring a new world, eh? We should be excited for such a task, not thinking back on old tragedies.” Colette immediately sensed that Rhys was deflecting, and rather poorly at that. However, she decided to leave it be. While she worried for him, it was ultimately his decision to open up, and if he wasn’t ready for that, she would be the last person to force him to. She returned his smile, trying her best to look as enthusiastic while pushing her doubts from her mind.

“Yeah, sure!” Colette quickly tried to think of anything else to talk about. “How about music? Do you have any music you like?” Rhys continued beaming at her, almost to an uncomfortable extent. Slowly her smile started to falter and fade, becoming more of a grimace as she became increasingly guilty over reopening an old wound of his. Suddenly, he grabbed her in his enormous hand, and lifted her back onto his shoulders, settling her down gently. He began moving again before finally answering her.

“I for one absolutely love the classics that were written millenia ago. Humanity really seemed different back then. So lively and naive. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and see it for myself, but I don’t think I could stand to live in a world with money or segregated countries. Seems so senseless to me.” Rhys flicked on his suit’s PA system, and began to play one such ancient song. It began with the gentle strumming of a guitar, and Colette immediately recognized the chords. A feeling of comfort washed over her, filling her with a nostalgia for a world she had never seen.

“This song… I know this one. It's the song of the Kind Soul, right? She’s a god, isn’t she? I’ve heard it somewhere before.” Rhys nodded, smiling warmly at her, his faux smile now gone for good, which only made her feel more at ease.

“You have a good ear. Many temples perform this song during public services. I used to go with my mother, as a child. This song always gave me the strength of hope to look to a better tomorrow, to not dwell on the past.” The canid nodded, returning his smile in earnest now. “Do you have a favourite god, Colette?” She placed a finger to her snout for a few seconds in contemplation, before shaking her head.

“No, I never got too much into the pantheon. We had gods in the tribes, but when I came to the city and learned that gods aren’t real, I abandoned the concept.” She frowned for a second, thinking about her childhood. “I kept the cool helmet though. It looks nice.” Rhys nodded knowingly, giving a chuckle.

“Of course, that is understandable. Many also spurn the pantheon, and I do not blame them. I of course know that they aren’t real, living beings, and they likely never were. They are, however, ideas. Concepts to guide us. When the King asked me to be his ambassador to another world, I couldn’t help but think of the Kind Soul again. It is said that she was the first ambassador between humans and daemons. Without her, the UDE likely would have never been formed centuries later. Of course, that is assuming she was ever real.” He gave Colette a wink, to which she snickered in response.

“I never thought about it that way. Sounds comforting. Maybe when we get home, I’ll read up on the gods. And hey, if all of them have music that’s this nice, I might start visiting the temple more often.” Rhys said nothing in response, choosing to let the music play as they continued together down the forest path.

—

The two Lunars were moving quietly and gracefully through the forest near the path, being sure to remain out of sight, but with clear vision of their surroundings. They took advantage of the shade provided by the thick canopy to blend into the environment, with the only sign of their presence being the occasional glimpse of their faintly glowing visors as they passed. Most animals gave them a wide berth, which Ignatius took note of, but did not pay much mind to. Small critters were of no concern to him, only large creatures that may prove to be threats. Unfortunately for the pair, all of their perimeter scanning equipment was malfunctioning, likely due to some sort of atmospheric conditions that he couldn't identify. This meant that the two of them were limited to what they could see and hear, which was less than ideal. Regardless, there were few forces on Earth that could escape the attention of a Lunar, let alone two. Especially not when one of them could see living auras like Claire. He followed her through some underbrush, being sure not to step on any twigs or let his longcoat get caught on the bushes as they passed, but most of his attention was on his captain. She had not spoken since she split the team, but he could tell something was bothering her. Being a synth, he lacked many of the biological ticks that other races had. As a result, he learned to study the mannerisms of others, not only to appear more approachable himself, but also to better understand those around him. After twenty-two years of life, he could easily sniff out such minute changes in behavior to signify that someone is hiding something. Finally, he decided to speak up through a private line to his captain’s headgear, as opposed to speaking aloud.

“Captain. You seem unusually irritable. What is wrong?” She hissed back at him through the com-line immediately.

“Why are you breaking silence? We must stay alert. Now is not the time to discuss this.” Ignatius frowned, not that she could see it.

“Now you’re deflecting. There is definitely something wrong. What are you hiding?” He heard an audible growl come from her, signaling that his intuition was correct.

“It is not your place to pry, Lieutenant. I am the commanding officer here. Remember that.” They swiftly slid down a short ditch and leapt back up into the cover of foliage, like a pair of predators on the hunt.

“Do not attempt to pull rank on me, Claire. You may have once been a Solar, but you know as well as I do that such titles are all but meaningless in the Lunar Guard. I have full authority to question your leadership if you are hiding important information.” Claire went silent for several seconds, even halting her movement. The pair sat crouched as Ignatius waited patiently. Finally, she turned to face him, her violet visor hiding whatever expression she might have been making.

“Very well. I have been hiding something from the team. Not out of malice, but for the sake of the team’s composure. When I was scouting from that tree, I saw in full the life energy of this world. It is beyond anything I have ever seen before.” She leaned in close, grabbing his shoulder. Her grip was firm, and betrayed her anxiety. “Not only was this forest teeming with energy equal to a battalion of Lunar Mages, but that town was brimming with magical potential unlike anything I have ever seen before. As of right now, I cannot say for sure if the creatures of this world are capable of magic, but if they are, then they may be a terrible threat to us if they are hostile.” She tightened her grip on him, her voice shaking. “I have been trained to know no fear, Ignatius. I would face my own death without hesitation if our king demanded it of me. But this world terrifies me.”

He stared at her for a moment, at a loss for words. Fear was not commonplace in the Lunar Guard, and seeing his senior so shaken almost affected him as well. Thankfully, she breathed deeply and regained her composure, dispelling his concern for her. “I think we should tell the others, Captain. This is important information.” She shook her head, finally releasing his shoulder and turning back around, finally moving again.

“No, they do not need to know yet. It is disturbing information, and is not yet relevant. I do not want their judgement clouded with this knowledge. With any luck, nothing will come to pass.” He nodded in acknowledgement, following after her. He did not necessarily agree, nor did he like keeping secrets, but he did understand that scaring his teammates for no reason did them no good. If the subject comes up, he will debrief them in full. But unless he sees the wildlife casting magic, it should be of no concern.

They continued moving together along the path, with Claire leading and Ignatius following. He couldn’t help but take notes of the various plants and animals he encountered. He was constantly taking pictures of his surroundings using his optics, hoping to aid in research of this world later on when he returned home. He caught pictures of various beautiful flowers of every colour, scurrying rodents of various sizes, and even a few plants that seemed to try and bite him. For the first time in the last two decades, he felt a feeling of curious joy, wanting to explore this new land to its fullest. He was, however, brought back to reality by Claire halting him with her hand on his chest. He looked around, not seeing anything immediately out of place, but followed her other hand to where she was silently pointing. That’s when he realized why they had stopped.

In the middle of a small clearing, was the remains of a massive tree that seemed to have been felled many years ago, with jagged bark sticking from the top. What was particularly interesting was that the remains had been converted into a primitive hut, with various colourful masks adorning the outside. On the few low-hanging branches were what appeared to be dozens of glass bottles hanging on strings. Each bottle was full of a different liquid, each glowing a different colour. Even more alarming was that they could see lights inside, along with at least one shadow moving around behind closed curtains. If Ignatius had eyebrows, they would surely be raised in surprise at this sight before him. Claire opened a channel for the whole team, being sure that her mask was still muted so that anyone nearby wouldn’t hear them.

“Attention, team. I have confirmation of intelligent life. Ignatius and I have discovered a hut along the path with various signs of life, including movement inside. We will approach and try to make first contact. Rhys, Colette. Hold your position. I will keep you posted, but until then, don’t come lumbering down the path.” Rhys’ voice came through the headset clearly, as if he were just beside them.

“Affirmative. We will stay right here until you’re sure that they’re not going to try and kill us. Just try not to scare them too terribly, Claire. First impressions matter.” The Lunar captain snorted at the comment, closing the line. She gestured at Ignatius to follow her as they made their way up a tree, using the branches to cross the open dirt path unseen. They dropped down quietly behind the hut, using the trees and bushes as cover to get closer. Creeping forward, they both heard the voices inside at the same time. Ducking beneath a covered window, they waited and listened through the thin walls.

“So it’s just you out here? No one else? If you were alone out here, why would the map send me?” Claire and Ignatius both noted that whoever lived here spoke Common Terran, the universal language of Earth. This was a massive boon to them, as it would make communications easier. They continued listening.

“It is just me all alone out here, and I have no problems to solve, I fear. Perhaps there is a newcomer in Everfree, though I do not know who or where they would be.” Ignatius cocked his head in confusion while listening. At least two individuals, one of whom appears to speak in rhymes, which was odd. He had never before met someone who spoke like that, but it was a new world so anything goes, he reasoned. Both of the Lunars snapped to attention as they heard a door around the other side of the hut open, and what appeared to be… four pairs of footsteps?

“Alright, well thanks for helping me anyway. I guess I should head back out again and look for these mysterious newcomers before they get eaten by a manticore or something. That would probably not help their Friendship Problem, whatever it is.” The two Lunars looked at each other at the casual mention of a manticore. Apparently this forest was much more dangerous than their eventless trip had made it seem.

“Remember to keep yourself safe, Sunset Shimmer. Would be a shame if you instead became a monster's dinner!” With that final verse, the pair heard the door shut, and listened carefully as the pair of footsteps move towards the back of the hut, presumably following the trail south, where Rhys and Colette were waiting. Claire decided to peek around the corner carefully, to get a better look at the approaching alien. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw walking along the path.

She saw what appeared to be a creature of equine descent, but nothing like the horses of Earth. It was about half the size, but with a massively disproportionate head, with equally enormous eyes. Not only that, but they were forward-facing, implying that this was no prey. Atop the head was a horn that was the same colour as its coat, implying it was more similar to an antler, with living skin and blood vessels than just solid bone. Even stranger still, was the pigmentation. Bright orange across the body, with even more striking reds and yellows in the mane and tail. The eyes were bright blue, and it appeared to have some sort of strange marking on its flank, that appeared to be a bright red and yellow sun. Despite all of this, what was most striking about this creature in front of her, was the magical aura it radiated. It looked like a bonfire of power radiating from such a small thing, easily equal in power to Ignatius or herself. Claire ducked back into cover, and opened the com-link with Ignatius again.

“That thing is a mage. No doubt about it. No mere animal could contain such magical potential. What do you think we should do, Lieutenant?” Ignatius thought for a moment, before shrugging indifferently.

“These creatures speak our language, have a concept of friendship, and are equals in strength to us. Might as well just talk to it, and see if we can make a good first impression.” His captain stared at him, surprised by his forwardness. It was unusual for a Lunar to be so direct, but she ultimately nodded in agreement despite her reservations. He has always been more social than she was, so she trusted his judgement in this matter. The two stood up from their position and made their way over to the creature, with Ignatius in the lead this time. It was muttering to itself quietly, eyes forward and oblivious to the pair approaching from behind. When they were far enough from the hut to avoid a scene, the lieutenant spoke up.

—

“Hello there, little one.” Sunset immediately jumped with a yelp at the sudden voice behind her, spinning around to see who it could possibly be. In front of her stood two humans, or at least what looked to be humans. The one in front seemed to be a man, and his visor glowed an ominous orange colour, like fire was just behind the glass. He wore a long overcoat that hung down to his knees, and she could see that he was also wearing a relatively plain outfit underneath it, with a pair of slacks and a durable looking high-collar shirt underneath. Finishing his ensemble was a pair of knee-high boots and elbow length gloves worn on top of his coat sleeves, both made of either leather or some kind of synthetic material. His partner was even stranger still, looking like a slim, shorter woman, but wearing comparatively heavy armor. She had dark metal armor covering her torso, shoulders, and parts of her limbs, similar to half-plate armor. The difference being that she could see that this armor was far more technologically advanced and probably machine-made. Underneath that seemed to be an undersuit that was made of similar material to the man’s boots and gloves, covering all but her hands, which were peeking out from a pair of fingerless gloves. They both appeared to be prosthetics, made from lavender-coloured metal, but far more intricate and advanced than anything Sunset had ever seen on Equestria or Earth. Her helmet glowed a subtle purple, and had a pair of horns sprouting from the top. Either they were decorative, or these were in fact not humans. Lastly, she realized that both of them wore identical colour schemes, black with violet trim, implying that they were both from some sort of organization.

Once the initial shock of being surprised in the middle of the forest by strangers wore off, Sunset began to wonder how in the world could there be two humans in front of her. She knew that anyone who came through the portal were turned into ponies just like her and Twilight. Did that mean that they were from somewhere on Equestria that she had never heard of or seen before? That seemed even less likely. She looked them up and down, trying to figure it out, before she realized they had actually spoken to her in Equestrian.

“Wait… Did you just speak my language?” The tall man nodded politely, having just waited several seconds for Sunset’s answer. He stood relaxed, with his hands open and at his sides. The woman, however, stood very impatiently with her arms crossed.

“So it would seem. I am Knight Lieutenant Ignatius. This,” he gestured behind him to his partner, “Is Bishop Captain Claire. We are members of the Lunar Guard, a subdivision of the Celestial Guard. We are not of this world, and are seeking allies. I take it that you are of the dominant species?” He spoke with a strangely metallic and echoey voice, like he was standing in a manhole. Sunset nodded, being extremely weirded out by this entire situation. They looked potentially dangerous, so she decided to play along.

“I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to uh… Meet you both. I guess you could say I’m a part of the dominant species? I’m a pony, and you’re in Equestria right now. Where did you say you were from?” With each of them standing at least two feet above her, Sunset was suddenly wishing that she was in human form herself, so that she could at least speak eye-to-eye with them. She felt mildly uncomfortable having two strangers tower over her. He turned away from her for a moment, looking back at his companion. They exchanged a nod, and if they said anything, she didn’t hear, but he turned back to her again just as quickly again.

“I have a pair of friends that would like to meet you. They’re further in the forest, but I can call them over if you’re interested, Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset nodded slowly, trying to keep herself from panicking. This whole situation was moving way too fast, and she had no idea what to do. She was expecting to find some lost campers or something, not aliens from another world.

“Uhhh… Yeah, sure. Why not? The more the merrier, right?” Sunset audibly gulped, trying to not say anything antagonistic. She wasn’t sure what they were capable of, and wanted to play it safe. Ignatius nodded again to Claire, who nodded back. They stood silently for a moment, and Sunset looked back and forth between them, wondering what just happened. Suddenly, she could hear it. What sounded like large footsteps started making their way to her. She felt very worried now, because she didn’t think their friend was a giant. These aliens were becoming stranger and more terrifying by the minute. She was really hoping that they were her friendship problem, just so she could get as far away from them as possible as soon as possible.

The stomping got closer and closer, and she watched the treeline with apprehension, and was horrified to see a giant medieval knight step out from the shadows, shining white armor with gold trim and with glowing blue eyes. The tremors were coming from it, and she quickly realized that riding on its shoulder was another bipedal, who appeared to be similarly dressed in white and gold plate, but with a blue surcoat and a jackal head instead of a helmet, complete with glowing blue eyes of their own. The mountain of metal was easily 10 feet tall, and looked down at her inquisitively. The smaller figure jumped down from its shoulder, and landed with a heavy thud beside it. Sunset was now surrounded on all sides by bipedal aliens, one of which was large enough to step on her. She considered teleporting away, but wasn’t sure what would happen if she left them alone, especially so close to Zecora’s house. She had to figure out what these aliens wanted with Equestria.

Suddenly, the metal giant’s head popped open, and inside was a perfectly normal looking human man. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and pale white skin with a bushy mustache and beard. Maybe not perfectly normal, as the facial balance was not the same as the humans she had seen before, but he was definitely some kind of human. He wore a huge smile, which actually slightly relieved Sunset, as it implied friendship instead of hostilities. She then realized that his head was very small compared to the rest of his body, and he was likely wearing some sort of mechanized suit, like she had seen before in sci-fi movies on Earth. He crouched down, the sound of mechanical whirring and whining as he did so, which helped support her theory.

“Hello there, little pony! Sunset Shimmer, was it? I see you’ve already met the Lunars, I hope they didn’t scare you too much.” Sunset nervously chuckled, seemingly confirming his suspicions. In reality, they all scared the daylights out of her. They were unlike anything she had ever encountered before. “Ah, of course they did. Lunars are terrible with first impressions. I’m Rook Captain Rhys, of the Solar Guard. We’re much more sociable, I assure you.” Beside him, the jackal-headed knight stepped forward, leaning on his knee. Sunset realized now that the head was actually a helmet, intricate in design that closely resembled the head of Anubis, the Egyptian god of the Dead, which was another Earth thing she learned in high school. What caught her off guard was that when the helmet retracted like Rhys’, there was in fact an actual dog head underneath. With black fur across the face and ears and brown hair on the mouth and neck, this one actually looked like some kind of bipedal german shepherd, with a fauxhawk on top. Unlike the dogs of Earth, however, this one’s pale blue eyes gleamed with intelligence.

“Wow! When Ignatius said that he met a talking pony over comms, I couldn’t believe it, yet here you are in the flesh! My name is Colette! Solar Knight Lieutenant Colette, at your service, miss Sunset Shimmer.” The dog-woman named Colette bowed noblely with a big smile to match her partner. Reeling from information overload, Sunset turned back to the two dressed in black, and was met with two more faces, both entirely inhuman like Colette. Claire was some sort of strange lizard-like creature, with an elongated face and leathery, black skin. Unlike Rhys or Colette, her eyes were an intense orange with slit pupils, and she had a pair of short, bent horns sprouting from the sides of her forehead, just above the eyes. Also unlike Rhys or Colette, she had a large frown on her face, clearly unhappy with the situation she found herself in.

Most surprisingly, was that Ignatius did not appear to be organic at all, with his face being almost entirely a skull-like visage of white metal. Thankfully, he lacked any nose or teeth, which toned down the eeriness of his face, if only a little. What Sunset found particularly interesting was that his eyes had black sclera with pinprick pupils, and what would have served as an iris seemed to be brimming with a swirling inferno just behind the lens. They very literally glowed with the ferocity of a raging fire, quite the contrary to the polite and soft spoken man she had so far experienced. He wore a deadpan expression, either because he chose to, or because his metallic face could not emote.

“What… Are you people? You’re not humans. Not like humans I know, at least. Where did you all come from?” Sunset was feeling incredibly overwhelmed at this point, but her curiosity was overriding her panic, at least for the time being.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m a human,” said the Solar Rook, giving her an amused expression. “As for the others; Colette is a canid, Claire is a daemonkin, and Ignatius is a synth. We all came through a portal in the forest back there, one that was linked to our world, although it’s closed for now. We’re on a reconnaissance mission to determine if this world is hostile or not, and if you’re any indication, it seems like a fine world to live on.” Sunset now had her confirmation that these people were definitely not from Equestria, and also not from the Earth she’d been living in for the last few years. There were definitely no androids or dog people and especially not scary demon people. She was feeling somewhat glad to hear that the portal was closed.

“Well, if I’m gonna be honest here, I’m completely out of my depth here. Can I bring you four to town? So that I can get in contact with the princess, and maybe she can talk to you all? This seems like a little bit bigger than just a Friendship Problem to me. You’re talking about interplanetary relations, and I don’t think I’m exactly the mare for the job” The four soldiers exchanged glances, and nodded to each other, quickly agreeing on the sentiment.

“Meeting the local regent would definitely make our job easier. And I for one am quite interested in seeing your culture.” Ignatius stroked his chin at the thought of seeing a society developed by equines, his mind buzzing at the possibilities.

“It’s settled then!” Rhys shouted, his helmet snapping shut as he stood back up to his full height, “Off to the pony town to meet the princess!” Sunset watched as the rest of his team replaced their own helmets, which extended from somewhere on their backs to quickly envelop their heads, technology that she had never seen before. As Sunset started to walk forward, a large hand stopped her, and she looked up at Rhys in confusion.

“Want a ride, Sunset Shimmer? Your legs are tiny, and I don’t want you getting left behind.” She contemplated the offer for a moment, and then shrugged, completely giving into the insanity that her day has become. Riding on the back of an alien mech suit seemed perfectly normal at this point.

“Sure, why not. I’ve been on my hooves all day, so I’ll take a break.” He scooped her up and sat her down on top of the large rectangular device on his back, with her forelegs hanging down on either side of his head. Not the most comfortable position for a pony, but Sunset wasn’t about to complain. She pointed ahead, signalling for the team to start moving. “I’ll give you directions. The road splits a few times up ahead, so just turn where I say, and we should make it to Ponyville pretty soon.” Sunset heard an excited laugh from below her, and saw Colette practically jumping with anticipation.

“The town is called Ponyville? That’s so cute! I can’t wait to see it!” Ignatius nodded in agreement, and Claire just groaned aloud.

“If anyone is having a Friendship Problem, it’s that Claire woman,” Sunset thought to herself, “I just need to figure out who she’s having it with. Then once it’s settled, I can let Princess Twilight handle the rest and get back to my anniversary.”

Author's Note

Wow, it took me three chapters to actually describe the faces of my characters. Hope y'all are still enjoying this! I'm definitely having fun making it. Be sure to give me feedback if you have any! I'm always looking to better my writing, for your sake as much as my own. See y'all next week!