My Little Xeno 2 - Equinox Knights

The Thunderhawk entered the atmosphere, Antonius, Luna, Calgar and Tigurius on board. The princess had shown them where the capital - and the royal palace - of Saddle Arabia was, and now they headed there to acquire as much silversteel as possible.
Antonius wondered if they had restocked their supply after giving everything they had to Equestria, and how they would feel about doing the same again - but with a substantial difference this time.

The dropship approached the capital and descended.

“Pilot, touch down on this plaza,” Calgar commanded, indicating a spot on the hololithic model of the city.

The pilot acknowledged the order and slowed down the Thudnerhawk.

“I guess we will cause quite a ruckus,” Luna grinned.

“Probably,” Calgar answered,
“but landing beyond the city limits would be too impractical, and since I’ve gotten to know that we are bargaining for material of considerable value, showing off a little will probably be advantageous.”

“Not to mention the fact that the dead have come to conduct the negotiations,” Tigurius smiled.

“I’m not dead,” Antonius deadpanned,
“I’m feeling much better.”

The Thunderhawk closed in on the plaza in the slowly setting sun, sending Saddle Arabians running. Soon, a big enough landing site was cleared and the dropship touched down. Almost immediately, armed and armored ponies were running towards them, forming a cordon around them.

“Dutiful,” Calgar commented.

“Let’s open the ramp and say hello,” Antonius suggested.

“Do you want some spooky music? You know, for ambience?” Luna asked with a smile.

“We don’t even know if they take the stories about my death and resurrection that seriously. It’s actually pretty hard to believe, after all.”

The ramp was lowered and the four of them left the Tunderhawk. One of the Saddle Arabians, probably the leader of the troops surrounding them, judged by his more elaborate helmet, approached them and shouted:

“Halt! You have set hoof on Saddle Arabian territory! Explain your…”

At that moment, his eyes fell upon Antonius, and he went silent for a few seconds. Then, he whispered:

“The revenant…”

“The what?” Antonius asked in confusion.

“I will inform the royal couple, you just wait here… please.”

He darted towards the palace. His fellow soldiers also looked somewhat less determined now.

“Well, seems you did not need any spooky music,” Luna commented.

“They are obviously familiar with your story,” Calgar stated,
“and they do take it seriously.”

“Guess so,” Antonius replied.

It only took a few minutes, then Price Haakim and Princess Amira left their palace, a little faster than you would expect from such dignitaries.

“Lord Antonius Varus!” the prince greeted as they passed the soldiers surrounding the Thunderhawk,
“it truly is a pleasure seeing you again!”

“Of course, we also greet your companions,” Princess Amira added,
“as well as princess Luna of Equestria!”

“Greetings, Prince Haakim, greetings, Princess Amira,” Antonius replied with a small courtesy bow,
“I’m also happy to see you again. You can just call me ‘Antonius’ from now on, since I’ve dropped my last name. This is Marneus Augustus Calgar, former chapter master of the Ultramarines.”

Calgar nodded, but since the royal couple apparently had some problems bringing the tile into line with their knowledge, Antonius added:

“He’s basically my commander.”

According to their change of expression, they understood that, and he continued:

“And this is Varro Tigurius, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines… something like the court wizard… or rather court battle mage.”

Tigurius nodded with a small grin. He obviously found the description amusing.

“Now, let me greet you in the name of Equestria,” Luna said,
“I am glad that I get the chance to visit your great and beautiful country.”

“The pleasure is all ours,” Amira replied,
“now, please follow us inside. We cordially invite you to have dinner with us.”

So they all entered the palace and were lead to a large, palatial dining room. The Saddle Arabians had even more of a predilection for gold than Celestia; wherever you looked, you could see something golden or at least gold plated.
Dinner was dished up soon, and the prince and princess refrained from asking the questions they undoubtedly had until they all were done and coffee was served. Then Haakim began to talk:

“I am well aware that you shouldn’t bother your august guest with questions, but would you still allow it?”

“I’ll allow it,” Antonius replied,
“especially since we are friends.”

“Thank you. We heard stories of your death, and recently we were also told about your return. Could you please tell us what happened?”

Well, that question was somewhat obvious, and Antonius told them what they had asked about.

“Incredible,” Amira mumbled, and quickly added
“but undoubtedly true.”

“It was hard to believe for us, too,” Calgar admitted friendlily,
“but we were able to verify it.”

The princess nodded, and the prince said:

“Your story will certainly go down in history. Even in centuries, the Saddle Arabians will still tell the tale of the warrior of mankind who died and was reborn to save all of us.”

Seriously, those two ponies really were very friendly… they almost overdid it a bit. Perhaps the Thunderhawk had been a bit much ‘showing off’…

“Apropos,” Antonius replied,
“I heard one of your guards call me ‘revenant’. Is that my nickname here?”

“Yes,” Haakim answered,
“as far as we know, it’s the term for a northern being that comes back from the dead. Is that correct?”

“Well, I think a revenant is more of a zombie, but even though I hope you don’t think of me as an animated corpse, I don’t mind you calling me that.”

“You are too generous,” Amira said with a small bow,
“talking about ‘generous’: is this just a courtesy visit to officially tell us about your return, or can we help you somehow?”

Since they probably already knew what he wanted, Antonius just said:

“We really could use some silversteel. Do you have any?”

“Well, yes. As you know, we have already given you a fortune’s worth of this rare and valuable material in exchange for your promise to protect us. While we certainly don’t regret making this deal with you, I’d like to ask you how the compensation is going to look like this time. See, we can’t always give away our silversteel without a tangible payment we can show to our subjects.”

“What quantities can you offer?”

“Enough for about a dozen pony-sized armors. That’s our standard stock.”

“That’s a beginning, but it won’t be enough.”

“Well, we can mine more. That will take quite some time though, as it is not an easy process.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if it were an easy process?” Antonius smiled.

“What do you mean?” Amira inquired.

“I’m talking about using human mining technology to mine the silversteel. That way, you could get much larger quantities.”

“Wouldn’t that ruin the price?” Haakim asked,
“next to its quality, it’s its rarity that makes silversteel so valuable.”

“Well, I see a lot of gold in this room,” Antonius noted,
“does this mean that gold has lost its worth to you?”

“No,” Amira answered.

“See? Furthermore, we can assure you that you will be the only publicly available source of silversteel, since we’ll use our share of the mining operation exclusively for ourselves. So, you’ll still control the supply and the prices, you’ll just not have to worry about mining the silversteel anymore. That also means that your subjects won’t have to take the risk of mining the material once we’ve taken over.”

“Well, that does not sound too bad. Perhaps you could throw some of this technology of yours into the bargain? You know, something we can actually show to our subjects?”

Antonius though about that. He could understand their request, he just had to think of something that was harmless enough, but still a marvel for the Saddle Arabians.

“What about a vox and data net?” he finally asked.

“A what?” Haakim wanted to know.

“You can use it to talk to each other and share information over long distances. It’s really useful, and it’s something your subjects could use, too. We’d have to produce the necessary equipment first, though, and our production facilities are still under development. So, the payment might be slightly deferred, but I guarantee we’ll get to setting up the net as soon as we can.”

“Hmm,” Amira said,
“that is an interesting proposal. So, we’d get this ‘vox and data net’ as well as our share of the mining operation you’d be responsible for… what share are we talking about?”

“That depends on the mine’s output,” Antonius replied.

“How so? I was not talking about absolute numbers, but about percentages. Let’s say 50-50?”

“If the mine is as rich as I hope, that’d mean that we have a constant lack of silversteel while you are downright overwhelmed with it, as we need much lager quantities than your dozen-armors-stock.”

“So, you want to take the lion’s share?”

“Actually, yes. I know that this is a bold demand, but we need the silversteel not because of vanity, but for the sake of the entire galaxy.”

“If so much is at stake,” Haakim interjected,
“could we deny your request at all? Back then, you assured us that you would not take our silversteel by force.”

“Well, if you’d really reject our proposal, we would try to find another silversteel vein somewhere else.”

“That would take a lot of time. Silversteel veins are very rare.”

“I am aware of that, but what else should I do? I wouldn’t like to go to war with you over this resource, no matter how important it is. You are my friends, after all.”

“And as your friends,” Amira stated,
“we can assure you that you won’t need to take such drastic measures. You will get our silversteel and the right to mine as much as you please, in return we’ll get the ‘vox and data net’. Since our subjects are going to profit directly from it, they will probably not mind you taking the silversteel too much.”

“If they do,” Calgar now interjected,
“let us know. We’ll help you crush any possible revolt.”

“Oh goodness, I’m sure that won’t be necessary.”

“I hope so, too, but if it comes to the worst we won’t sit idle while a coup is staged against you just because you decided to help us.”

“Well… we have a deal, do you agree, Haakim?”

“Yes, I do agree,” Haakim confirmed, then he added with a smile:
“since the galaxy is at stake, we have to help. It would be sad if the last entry in the books of history would tell about our refusal to aid you.”

“Nobody would be able to read that,” Antonius grinned.

“True, but the idea of so many beings hating us before dying is somewhat unsettling, and since you’ve proven that death is not necessarily the end, I think we should play it safe.”

They shared a laugh to defuse the last bits of tension, then Amira asked:

“Is there anything else we can help you with, now that you’re here?”

“Actually, yes,” Antonius answered,
“do you have darksteel?”

“Yes, of course. It’s always found together silversteel, albeit in larger quantities. We’ll give you some.”

“And the price?”

“Let’s see… it’s for the benefit of the galaxy again, I presume?”

“Yes.”

“Then just take it. Compared to the silversteel, its worth is negligible.”

“Oh, thank you very much,” Antonius said and the negotiations were over.

“Well, I would say those negotiations have been successful,” Luna said as she, Antonius and the Ultramarines had entered her and Antonius’ quarters.

“Indeed,” Calgar said,
“the Saddle Arabians were quite forthcoming. They’re either excited about the data net you want to establish here or intimidated by our capabilities.”

“It’s probably both,” Tigurius commented,
“furthermore, I think they actually realize the importance of our request.”

“True. Seems we have encountered another friendly and helpful alien species.”

“Yeah, on this planet, that’s rather the rule than the exception,” Antonius added with a grin,
“some may be a bit reluctant or stubborn, but most of them can at least be reasoned with - as far as I know.”

“You are right,” Luna confirmed,
“the Saddle Arabians, the Gryphons, the Hippogryphs, the Abyssinians… they are all reasonable. I have to admit, though, that there are more species on this planet we do not know a lot about.”

“What about the dragons?” Tigurius inquired,
“one of them lives with your Element of Magic, after all.”

“Spike? He is just a baby. As far as I know, his egg was found somewhere and he was hatched by Twilight. There is also a dragon community in Fillydelphia, but they have adapted to a more pony-like lifestyle. We do not know much about the culture of the dragons of the Dragon Lands. They usually keep to themselves. Encounters are rare, but due to their tendency towards greed and aggression often rather… unpleasant.”

“So, most dragons are rather ‘unpleasant’, as you call it, and those who are friendlier have turned their backs on their kin and live in a separate community in a pony town. Do you think the ‘Dragon Lands’ dragons pose a threat?”

“Not really, since they do not care much about anything outside their realm.”

“Good,” Calgar said,
“in time, we should be briefed regarding the sapient and non-sapient species we could encounter on this planet, since we will show a little more presence here - at Antonius’ suggestion. Now, I guess you’d like to retire for the night.”

“Well,” Luna replied,
“now that you mention it… resting might be prudent… what about our pilots, though?”

“They’ll guard the Thunderhawk. While I don’t expect any trouble, being found wanting would be inexcusable.”

The next morning, Antonius, Luna and the Ultramarines were provided a sumptuous breakfast by courtesy of Prince Haakim and Princess Amira, who also joined them.
The conversations they had were not too deep, mostly small talk about living in Saddle Arabia respectively the Realm of Ultramar.

When they had finished the meal, they got ready to leave.

“The silversteel and darksteel will be delivered to your… umm…” Haakim started.

“Thunderhawk,” Antonius added helpfully.

“Yes… well, it will be there within the next 15 minutes. Would you mind showing us this conveyance of yours? It is very different from the means we use to travel.”

“Be our guests,” Calgar replied,
“I just have to ask you to refrain from touching anything.”

So, they all went to the waiting Thunderhawk and the royal couple got a small tour and a short explanation of how the dropship worked. While this clearly went over their heads, they were in awe of the machine.

Then, the ingots arrived and were stored away.

Antonius, Luna and the Ultramarines bid goodbye and the Thunderhawk started, heading for the new base that was being constructed.

When they approached their destination, Antonius took a look at the hololith to get an idea of the progress that Al had made. It was pretty impressive, to be honest:
The whole valley was mostly filled with various buildings, and a multitude of drones was buzzing around. The site even attracted a few ponies who were curious about what was going on here.

“Astounding,” Luna mumbled,
“Al has not been idle.”

“Not at all,” Antonius agreed.

The Thunderhawk landed on a platform that had obviously been built for exactly that purpose. When they opened the ramp, they were already expected by a drone which’s display showed Al’s head.

“Hello everybody!” he greeted,
“I hope you are satisfied with the progress I made while you were gone.”

“More than that,” Antonius answered, looking at bustling activity in the valley.

He now could see that the buildings he had seen on the hololith were production facilities, connected by conveyor belts and wiring.

“You know,” he joked,
“I’m just surprised you’re using normal conveyors instead of something like anti-grav transport tubes.”

“At the moment, I don’t have the capacity to produce anti-grav units in sufficient quantities. Once this changes, I’ll replace the conveyor belts.”

“Umm… really? I was just joking, actually… but do as you seem fit. As a little help, we’ve brought you some silversteel and darksteel.”

“Perfect! I’ll send a drone to retrieve it.”

“Leave a few bars for Magos Gearhart,” Calgar interjected,
“I’d like him to test the untreated materials for their properties.”

“Of course, Lord Calgar.”

“Where is Aleksa?” Antonius inquired,
“she was supposed to monitor the construction of our new base.”

“At the moment,” Al replied,
“she is in Canterlot and having a look at the Stormbird. She is still surveilling my progress via drone. I set one aside for that purpose. In fact, you can see it hovering above the site.”

Antonius took a look and said:

“I guess just standing around here and keeping an eye in things was a little boring for her. I certainly won’t hold that against her. She is much more useful if she spends her time doing something more productive.”

“She certainly was productive. She helped Twilight come up with a crystal-based, non-invasive neural interface.”

“Ah, for my armor. Good, then I guess you can start producing it soon.”

“Just a few tests with the silversteel and darksteel, then I will get to it.”

“Thanks. You know, while this primitive armor was sufficient as of yet, I kinda miss actual power armor.”

In the meantime, a drone had come and had collected the ingots they had brought (except two of each which were meant for Gearhart).

With their shipment discharged, Antonius, Luna and the Ultramarines boarded the Thunderhawk again.

“Pilot,” Calgar commanded,
“drop us off in the base beneath Canterlot. Then, return to the Gloriana so that Magos Gearhart gets the samples for analysis.”

The journey to the city only took a few minutes. In the hangar, now with a permeating smell of incense, they encountered Aleksa. She had removed one of the Stormbird’s engines and was now hunched over it. As they approached, she straightened herself and said:

“Greetings. I took the liberty to watch the construction of the new base remotely and invest my time into the maintenance of the old Stormbird.”

“No objections,” Antonius answered.

“Neither have I,” Calgar added,
“just don’t forget to check in on the construction from time to time.”

“Of course,” Aleksa answered.

“Now, you may continue the maintenance,” Antonius told her,
“what exactly are you doing at the moment?”

“Fan service,” Aleksa answered and bent forward again.

As they left the hangar, they could hear the Thunderhawk start and depart. Antonius wondered what Gearhart’s examination of the ingots would reveal. While he already knew how useful silversteel - or darksteel, for that matter - was, he was curious how it achieved its durability while staying so light.

They all went to the throne room where they met Celestia.
After greeting each other, Calgar said:

“Princess Celestia, Antonius suggested that it would be advantageous if we spent some time here among you ponies to get to know you better, and I agree. Do you have accommodations for Chief Librarian Tigurius and me?”

“Why, of course!” Celestia answered,
“it is with great pleasure that I extend our hospitality to you.”

“No need to be so formal, sister,” Luna grinned,
“the Ultramarines I got to know are actually very nice ponies - I mean people - once you get to know them.”

“Oh? So you prefer a more… casual approach?”

Calgar looked somewhat surprised by that, and Tigurius replied:

“Quite.”

Calgar took a look at his smiling brother, then he turned to Celestia:

“Well, while it is unusual for Ultramarines to be ‘casual’ in public, this whole situation we are in is definitely unusual already, so we may as well give it a try.”

“I am happy to hear that,” Celestia answered,
“please call me ‘Celestia’ from now on. No need to refer to me by title. And maybe you will even start seeing the company of me and my sister as private rather than public and feel more at easy with the casual approach.”

“So, if I’m allowed to use your given name, I guess you should be allowed to use mine, too. I’m Marneus.”

Antonius could see in Calgar’s face that the idea of a pony referring to him in such a way was a rather strange one - to put it mildly. Tigurius, on the other hand, seemed to have less doubts about being called ‘Varro’.

“See?” Antonius smiled,
“that’s how fast you make friends around here.”

“Astounding,” Calgar answered flatly.

Celestia ordered some ponies to take care that quarters for Calgar and Tigurius were prepared, then she turned to her guests:

“It will take a while for your accommodations to be ready. In the meantime, you might have some questions about us ponies I could answer?”

“Actually,” Tigurius said,
“I do have a question - many questions, to be honest - but the most urging one is a favor as well as it is a question.”

“A favor? Ask, and I will try to help you.”

“To my knowledge, you are one of the most capable ponies when it comes to magic, is that correct?”

“Well, yes.”

“Would you teach me how your magic works?”

As she heard the word ‘teach’, Celestia’s face lit up with glee:

“You want me to teach you magic? With pleasure! I’m curious how that’s going to work out. I already know that you are a powerful psyker, but our magic is quite different from the energies of the warp. Perhaps Antonius can help us, he knows both kinds of psychic powers, after all… Well, we best start and find out.”

So the Princess of the Sun started her first magic lesson for the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines, aided by Antonius and Luna, with Calgar as attentive spectator.

While Tigurius lacked Antonius’ genetic disposition towards magic, he made up for that with his vast knowledge and experience. By the time their rooms were ready, he was already able to use telekinesis with little to no effort.

“Outstanding,” Celestia smiled (although she seemed a little concerned by how fast her newest pupil was learning),
“you are a very gifted individual. In fact, you even remind me a bit of Twilight.”

“High praise,” Tigurius replied with a small bow.

“Let’s end the lesson for now. I’ll show you to your quarters.”

When they entered Calgar’s room, Celestia turned to them:

“I’m sorry that it’s somewhat austere at the moment, I guess you are used to more stately accommodations.”

“We are also used to being knee-deep in mud and blood,” Calgar replied,
“so a room with an appropriately sized bed, table and chair is actually a more than sufficient abode. Everything beyond that is luxury. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Varro’s quarters are next door. If you don’t mind, I’ll return to my duties now. Should you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I will also take leave,” Luna told them,
“I want to be well rested for my nightly duties.”

So, the princesses left, leaving the Space Marines among themselves.

“Well, they certainly are hospitable,” Calgar stated as he took another look around,
“but we already knew that. Now, Varro, Antonius, what do you think about the magic the ponies use?”

“Peculiar,” Tigurius summarized,
“I estimate that it’s about as potent as warp energy, but different in many aspects.”

“I agree,” Antonius said,
“while you have to wrest power from the warp, for example, the magic here comes to your aid voluntarily and you can focus on the task at hand.”

“Yes, and that’s just the application. It’s like a - for lack of a better word - nicer variant of the energies of the warp, different enough that I think a witch or daemon would have serious trouble using it at all.”

“That circumstance saved this planet.”

“True. I will continue my magic studies with Celestia as my mentor in order to fathom its mysteries.”

“No objections,” Calgar told him,
“Antonius, about your new base…”

“Yes, Lord Calgar?” Antonius responded.

“Antonius, even Celestia calls me ‘Marneus’, so you may to that, too. What I wanted to talk about is a way of guarding the construction site.”

“To be honest, I think Al has already taken care of that. Even his worker drones should be suitable guards.”

“Maybe, but I’d like some humans to be involved… and the Hastings brothers asked me for permission to come down to the surface. Back then, I denied it to be easy on the ponies, but since the base is rising that consideration is no longer necessary.”

“Two knights as guards? Well, our base can be considered to be very well guarded, then. We should tell them to deploy once they’re ready. The ponies will be quite impressed I bet.”

That night, Antonius was awoken by an incoming call.

“Ugh, who dares to interrupt our slumber?” Luna grumbled.

“We’ll know in a second,” Antonius replied,
“if you hover the PDA over to me, that is.”

She did so and he answered the call. It was Gearhart.

“Greetings, Antonius,” the magos said,
“can you confirm that the silversteel and darksteel samples are indeed untreated?”

“Why, yes. You got them as we received them. Is something wrong?”

“Examinations and tests show unusual results. This prevents me from comprehending the materials’ properties. I thought the samples might have been treated in some way.”

“Not that I know of… do you suspect a magic treatment?”

“Affirmative.”

“Then, we should talk to Celestia or Twilight. Perhaps they can help us figuring out the truth.”

“While an explanation by a pony will be of use, I need actual measurement results to appropriately describe the materials. To my knowledge, we are not able to quantify the ponies magic.”

“No,” Antonius admitted, then he had an idea:
“Gearhart, Aleksa and Twilight have come up with a crystal-based, non-invasive neural interface. That means that they’ve found a way to make magic interact with technology. Maybe this could be further developed into a measuring tool for magic?”

“Has the ponies magic already been approved by Chief Librarian Tigurius?”

“Not officially, but unofficially… almost. It’s best you talk to him directly.”

“Acknowledged. Should I get his approval, I will reach out to Aleksa and Twilight.”

“Maybe you should wait until morning to call Twilight.”

“Prudent,” Gearhart answered,
“I will keep you updated. Gearhart, out.”