Sunset Precedes The Dark

Chapters

Chapter I: A Call to Action
Chapter II: One Small Step
Chapter III: A Return to Her Roots
Chapter IV: Departing for a Departed Home
Chapter V: Shining, Shimmering, Splenid
Chapter VI: Uncertain, Unforeseen, Unforgiving
Chapter VII: Shaping Fate

Chapter I: A Call to Action

Colette was equal parts perturbed and annoyed. Just fifteen minutes ago, she had been happily enjoying her breakfast in the mess hall when she received a direct summons to the personal chambers of the Solar Queen herself; Archangel. It wasn’t meeting the Queen that bothered her, either. Colette had heard from many of her friends in the Guard that the Queen was exceptionally friendly and down-to-Earth. It was the fact that this was clearly all business, and from the very top of the chain no less. A part of her wished that it could have come after she was done eating, however.

Colette made her way swiftly out of the mess hall, through the barracks, and down the busy street to the Royal Watchtower, where the Kings and Queens lived. She had never been inside before, but every time she passed the tower, she couldn’t help but give it a sideways glance. She could never tell if the paint on the building was white and gold, or black and violet. Depending on the angle and the time of day, the colours seemed to shift and distort, giving her a mild headache if she stared too long, though the headache might just be from looking up at the artificial sky. Even years after immigrating from her subterranean birthplace, the “daylight” of the city still hurt her eyes, if only slightly.

Entering the building for the first time ever, the bustling sounds of the crowded streets were silenced by the pneumatic doors and she was immediately stopped by the guards stationed just inside. A pair of Solar and Lunar knights seemed to glower at her behind their helmets, each geared with some of the most high-tech armor and weapons she had ever seen. Their powered suits were of a make she wasn’t familiar with, painted with the traditional colours of the Solar and Lunar Guard, and the rifles that they held looked to be some sort of energy weapon far beyond the likes of any gun she’d ever held.

As much as she wanted to take a moment to admire the craftsmanship, she was on the Queen’s time, and didn’t want to leave her highness waiting. Thankfully, passing through the security was easy enough, as the guards only needed to give her a glance before she was ID’d by their helmet’s Heads-Up-Display and given a pass through. As she walked by, one of the Solars helpfully directed Colette to the lift that would take her to the top floor, where she could meet with the Queen. Giving him her thanks, she moved on to the back of the lobby towards the indicated lift.

As she walked, she admired the beautiful architecture of the building, specifically the recurring motif of light and dark in the design. The walls were plated with large geometric shapes made of gold and silver that interlocked and alternated all the way up to the top of the enormous lobby. The tall ceiling was held up with criss-crossing white and black beams and pillars that were majestically engraved to look like angels and devils, respectively. The checkerboard floor appeared to be white marble and black granite, both polished to a shine with only the smallest amount of wear from the armoured boots that walked the halls every day. Just above the lift she was walking towards was an enormous tapestry of the sun and moon together in a partial eclipse, the symbol of the Celestial Guard. All in all, the elegance of the room was breathtaking, and managed to outstrip her expectations for what to expect within the hallowed walls of the tower.

Suppressing her awe, Colette stepped into the metallic capsule-shaped elevator, which instantly snapped shut behind her and began a smooth ascent. It seemed that it was intended for single occupants, but was clearly large enough for multiple. Colette mused over the design choice on the way up, but realized that it was likely intended to be spacious enough to accommodate even the bulkiest of the UDE’s citizens.

The ride up was quick and quiet, without even a jostle as it slowed to a halt. The doors opened up again, and Colette was greeted by a perfectly pristine, circular corridor that seemed to wrap around the elevator. To her left, the corridor was painted completely black, and to the right, it was completely white.

Assuming that she would find the Queen in the appropriately bright side of the hall, Colette turned right and began to walk. Only a few seconds of walking later, she came to a door that was plainly labelled “Archangel” on a golden plaque that was attached to the door. It had no handle, and leaning in, Colette could almost hear a muffled cacophony of sound on the other side. Seeing no other options, she raised a fist to knock on the door, unsure of the potential effectiveness of the gesture.

Before she could make contact however, the door slid open suddenly and without prompt, blasting Colette’s body with a deafening wave of music. Her ears reflexively flattened on her head as she doubled over in shock, and she was left wishing that she was wearing the earplugs that she had forgotten in the barracks. Just as quickly as it came however, the offending sound disappeared with a massive gust of air that nearly knocked her over. Colette slowly blinked a few times, and looked up at the door to see Archangel standing in front of her, smiling apologetically.

“Really sorry about that, Captain. I totally forgot that you canids have more sensitive ears than humans. Silly me!” The Solar Queen gave herself a light slap on the forehead, rolling her eyes playfully. “I turned off my tunes for you. Come on inside, and don’t mind the mess.” As Colette straightened back up to follow Archangel into her quarters, she took a moment to study her superior before her surroundings.

It was the first time that she had ever seen the Queen out of her armor, and it felt extremely bizarre to see such a living legend in civilian clothing. Whereas Colette herself was dressed in her white and blue solar uniform, Archangel was dressed in a pair of grey capris and a pink T-shirt, complete with matching fluffy slippers. What felt even stranger still was the fact that Colette actually stood approximately twenty centimeters over the Queen, like some sort of satire of power dynamics. Though by far the most striking part of the Queen’s appearance were her bright green irises that almost seemed to glow even in the well-lit living quarters. While her fair skin and dark hair were fairly typical, her eyes were in stark contrast to the muddy brown that Colette had come to expect from humans.

Colette had heard stories of the Queen mingling with the troops off-duty, and even hosting wild parties at her club, but she had never seen such debauchery herself. The room only further cemented the dichotomy between the Archangel that Colette had known on the battlefield, and the one that stood before her now. White and red mottled flower petals were scattered around the floor, with seemingly no flora in the room to source from. Large wooden shelves along the right wall were filled with ancient human artifacts, such as broken toys and rusted weapons from millenia ago, along with a stereo system that Colette assumed was the source of the music.

Piled haphazardly on a workbench near that were the Queen’s personal weapons, a pair of barely-portable rail guns that she was known to wield in each hand. Perhaps most odd was the smell of the room. A fruity alcoholic smell hung in the air, but that was easily rooted in the dozen or so wine bottles near the bed in the far left corner of the room. What was strange was the distinct smell of rust, like spilled blood that had been left to dry.

“So you must be wondering why I called you here, huh?” Colette snapped out of her daze, refocusing on Archangel who was sitting on her bed. She seemed to have procured a snack bar while Colette was distracted, munching on it happily with her ever-present smile. “The truth is that you’re a very special woman, and I have a very special job that needs doing.”

Colette raised an eyebrow as her ears twitched, suddenly feeling intrigued. And here she thought she was in trouble. “I never considered myself very special.”

“Well, that’s the thing isn’t it,” Archangel said as she spoke around a mouthful of her nondescript nutrient bar, “The special ones never consider themselves very special.”

"With all due respect, your highness… I'm just a Knight Captain. I guess I'm a bit young for my rank, but besides that I'm pretty ordinary." Colette felt a little weird standing while Archangel sat on her bed, but ignored the awkward feeling.

"Well, you're the only Solar I'm aware of besides myself who is friends with a Lunar. And I need a soldier who's good at making friends for this mission."

Colette couldn’t help but chuckle. "You need someone who's good at making friends? That doesn't sound like a special assignment to me. What kind of mission is this?"

Archangel giggled playfully, waving a hand. “Oh, you! You don’t have to take it, but I’ll need you to be certain before I give you any details. The most I can tell you is that it’s an expedition into unknown territory. Hopefully nothing too serious, but the possibility of no return is still significant.” The seriousness of her tone was directly contrasted by her beaming expression, making it almost eerie instead of reassuring.

Colette’s expression hardened, thinking about the likelihood of death. “So it’s a suicide mission? Is that why you need volunteers?” She wasn’t a young pup, but she wasn’t very old either, and the implication of throwing the rest of her life away wasn’t terribly appealing.

The Queen’s smile didn’t fade, even as she slowly chewed and swallowed the rest of her bar. She chose her next words carefully, and something seemed to flicker behind her shining green eyes, if only for a split second. “I certainly hope I won't be sending you to your death. But even if I was, it’s for a good cause.”

Colette narrowed her eyes at the Queen, feeling the pull of curiosity overwhelm her sense of self-preservation. “A good cause? What reward could possibly warrant throwing away the lives of your soldiers?”

Archangel’s smile widened as an infectious excitement began to swell. “The chance to save the world, of course.”

Colette blinked a few times, taken aback by the bold proclamation. A chance to save this world? This blasted, barren hellscape called Terra? It was so utterly outlandish and obscenely absurd that she couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh out loud.

The Queen’s smile didn’t waver at all as she leaned in slightly, pressing for an answer. “So, what do you say, Captain? A chance at making history only comes once in a lifetime.” By the time Colette stopped laughing, she too wore a borderline manic, wolfish grin.

“How can I possibly say no to something like that? Forget the briefing, when do I deploy?”

“Just as soon as the rest of the team is ready.”

It was unheard of for the Lunar Queen to speak to anyone in person, let alone invite them up into the tower to meet with her. It was rare for her even to meet with the other Royals, and so Claire couldn’t help but feel some shred of apprehension. Even amongst the Lunar Guard, Queen Acrimony was as her title suggested; supremely unapproachable.

Claire was quick to leave her home after receiving her summons as she typically found herself wearing her gear even when off duty. Because her armor was a lightweight and maneuverable scout model, she found it comfortable enough to wear at all times, even when sleeping. After all, it was little more than a sealed suit with a series of armored plates to cover her vitals. More than enough for her, considering her limbs were all prosthesis nowadays.

Once she was sure that her door was locked, she took to the street at a brisk pace. Walking through the city was a daily reminder for Claire that to the general populace, the reputation of her Queen carried to all of the Lunars. The average civilian didn’t care who you were under the faceless helmet, the black and violet colours branded you a pariah just by association. This was of course by design, even if only the members of the Lunar guard realize it anymore. If you are feared and loathed by all, there will be no one to grieve you when you inevitably die.

Not that Claire minded, of course. She had volunteered to join the Lunar Guard ten years ago and with the explicit desire to be left alone and forgotten. She had not been left wanting.

When she passed through the large, reinforced doors of the tower, she was met by a group of four guards, two of which were clad in Lunar armor like herself, but of a far more sophisticated design than her own lightweight model. Where hers favoured mobility over protection, she couldn’t see a single gap in their tightly interlocked plates of alloyed adamantine.

The taller Lunar Knight spoke first, his voice even and low. “Knight Captain Moreno. Our Queen is waiting for you upstairs. Take the lift behind us to see her.” With a quiet nod, Claire stepped between the Lunars and Solars, making her way towards the back of the room. While all four of them stood at least a head over her, she couldn’t help but feel amused. Despite their intimidating stature and equipment, the guards at the front door were likely little more than a formality. The notion that the Celestial Royalty needed guards was nothing short of laughable, as they themselves were the most dangerous people in the world.

On her way up, Claire's mind wandered, considering the possibilities of the summons. By the time she reached the top of the lift, she decided it was likely an assignment, but she had no idea what it could be. Missions should be passed down through the chain of command to her, not handed piecemeal directly by the Royalty. There was something special about this circumstance.

When the doors finally opened, Claire found herself in a circular hallway, split in two sections. One black, one white. The choice was obvious, and she turned left towards the darker half, quickly finding herself in front of a door with a silver plaque that simply read "Acrimony." Claire raised her hand and gave the door a single, sharp knock before waiting patiently.

Only a moment later, the door slid open to reveal the Lunar Queen in the flesh. With golden hair and icy blue eyes, she could be easily mistaken for the sister of the Solar King, if it were not for the intense scowl on her face. Claire was somewhat surprised to see Acrimony's bare face, having been so used to the iconic visage of the wailing obsidian mask she typically wore. Thankfully, it was the Lunar Queen's distinctively flashy black and silver armoured dress that reminded Claire of whom she stood in the presence of.

"My Queen, I have answered your summons." Claire clicked her heels together as she stood in salute, placing her left hand behind her back, and her right hand over her heart. "What do you require of me?" She couldn't help but steal a glance behind the queen into the room, but found that it was simply too dark to see anything of note.

Acrimony rolled her eyes with contempt, crossing her arms. "Drop the formality, it's meaningless. I have a mission for you, Captain. Officially you have the choice to decline, but I don't think you will." Claire allowed herself to relax by a degree, listening as the Queen continued, "What very well may be a suicide mission requires some specially talented individuals. You'll be cut off from any aid, reinforcements, or even communication for the duration. Your record says you have a knack for surviving impossible scenarios… a good candidate, I'd say."

Claire stiffened slightly, understanding immediately what scenario the Queen was referring to. She felt pangs of phantom aches in her limbs for just a second, along the seams where flesh met metal, but the feeling passed as quickly as it came.

"Yes, I suppose I do. I would be honored to represent the Lunar Guard on such a mission. Will I be operating alone, or will I have a team with me?" Acrimony let out a sigh, rolling her eyes again.

"Of course you won’t be working alone.” Acrimony’s words dripped with irritation as she continued, “The team will be of four individuals each hand-picked by me and my peers. You'll be working with Solars, so I expect you to make up for their ineptitude."

Claire considered saying something, but decided against it. A second later, she decided on a reply. "I assume that I'll be sent the details on my way to the rendezvous?"

The Lunar Queen's response was curt as she closed the door between them. "Indeed."

Claire frowned under her helmet, feeling mildly discouraged by Acrimony’s foul mood, but she dismissed the feeling quickly, knowing that this type of behavior is exactly what her Queen is known for. Instead, Claire began to make her way back to the elevator as a notification appeared on her helmet’s HUD. Her suit’s neural link allowed her to open the message with just a thought, and the attached documentation appeared on the edge of her vision, letting her read it without obstructing her view.

Once inside the elevator, Claire began to read her assignment and intel more closely. She was surprised to find that the team had not yet been filled, with two slots open. However, the name of the first Solar volunteer made her bite her lip in frustration. Knight Captain Colette Longfang, a name that Claire had not thought about in several years.

“So the pup is a captain now, is she? I suppose it has been ten years… I can't believe she's still alive.” With a sigh, Claire scrolled past the canid’s profile, averting her gaze from the smiling face in the record. “For the sake of the mission, I hope she doesn’t remember me.”

Rhys stumbled drunkenly out of the bar, waving a goodbye to his friends for the evening. He had spent the better part of his day off drinking and celebrating life with others at his favourite bar in the city. Living with the reality that any day could be your last made it important to enjoy every moment to its fullest, and Rhys was by no means one to turn down good drinks with good company. However, he had patrol tomorrow, and he wanted to wind down and relax to avoid a hangover.

With his mind full of fog, the Solar walked down the street, giving each person he saw a large smile and a friendly wave. He seldom ever recognized the faces that passed him by, but he still felt obligated to spread whatever mirth he could manage, because he was never sure who might need it at the moment. Most would return the friendly gesture, and some would just ignore him, but it never dampened his spirits. He would smile and wave at the next person all the same.

It wasn’t long until he had managed to drag himself to his home. It was a cramped apartment complex, much like all the other living spaces in the city, but it was the one place he could rest his head in quiet solitude. It was his own private space that he had grown to cherish over the years.

He started making his way down the entrance hallway, his footsteps echoing slightly against the cold, grey concrete of the structure. Although he appreciated the excellent soundproofing for the sake of privacy, it did make the building feel abandoned, even when he knew that there were other people home. This illusion of loneliness was compounded by the equally quiet elevator ride to his floor, but shattered when he exited the elevator to see a figure leaning against the wall next to his door.

The figure was garbed in a beautifully crafted suit of armor that glistened with gold intertwined with radiant blues, both a work of art as much as genuine protection. Like an ancient knight of heroic legend, the iconic suit of plated armor unmistakably denoted the wearer as the Solar King himself. In Rhys' apartment, standing at his door. The helmeted head of the king looked up silently, before raising a hand in greeting, giving a quick wave.

Blinking in disbelief, Rhys found his voice as he passed by his neighbors' doors to reach his own. Thankfully, the shock of the confrontation had sobered him up enough to avoid slurring. "Blueblood, my liege, whatever are you doing here? Were you waiting for me?"

Rhys could hear a muffled chuckle from beneath the golden visor as the king nodded in confirmation. "Indeed I am, Captain Steele. Please forgive my trespass, but this visitation has a dual purpose. I have an urgent matter that I wish to speak with you about… and I also wanted to get out of the tower for a while." Blueblood straightened up off the wall, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms. "It can become quite stifling up there, so I like to find excuses to leave for a time. I hope you don't mind."

Rhys was dumbly shaking his head, still utterly starstruck by meeting the Solar King in person. "But of course, my King! By all means come inside, the hallway is no place to discuss matters of importance. Can I offer you a drink?" Blueblood politely shook his head as Rhys led them inside.

As the door to his apartment opened up for the two of them, Rhys suddenly felt a wave of gratitude that his mother had always taught him to keep tidy. The small one-room apartment was hardly a place for a man of such immeasurable prestige as Blueblood, but it was at the very least clean and orderly. Rhys felt a small cringe of ineptitude as he realized he only had one chair in his home, but decided the King should take the chair while he sat on his cot across the room.

After being directed to the stout armchair, Blueblood took a seat across from his host, and removed his helmet. Unlike most modern power armor, his helmet was a separate piece that interlocked with the suit, instead of retracting into it. The armor's years were only surpassed by the man wearing it, and to Rhys' surprise, the king only looked to be in his mid-thirties.

"I must say, my liege, for someone who is supposedly older than the Black Hound, you look quite good for your age. You look younger than I do." Rhys brushed his fingers through his beard, which as of last year was beginning to show silver strands amongst the brown. He had then blamed the stress of his profession, but now would be willing to admit that he just isn't aging as gracefully as he would have liked.

"You flatter me, Captain. It's not easy keeping this complexion for as long as I have. It's nothing short of a miracle I haven't lost my good looks during this war." He flashed Rhys a toothy grin which was as well-practiced as it was captivating. With his perfect fair skin, glistening azure eyes, and flowing golden locks, it was no wonder that he was the leader of the Solar Guard. His charisma and charm were truly peerless.

In such an alluring presence, Rhys momentarily questioned his orientation before brushing the thought away, focusing on the purpose for the meeting. "You said you had something of importance to discuss with me, sir? Do you have an assignment for me?"

Nodding, Blueblood explained the situation. "Why yes I do, actually. You see, my colleagues and I are assembling a team of the UDE's finest to embark on an expedition into the unknown. While we are hoping that force will not be required… a heavy weapons specialist is desired, just in case." The Solar King gave a knowing smirk as he continued, "I had looked through some files on potential candidates, and you had stood out amongst the rest. A stalwart survivor of City Seven, one of few. Naturally, I had to meet you in person to gauge the type of individual that takes."

Rhys stiffened at the mention of City Seven, his breath caught in his chest. Blueblood noticed this, and his gaze softened sympathetically. “City Seven was a tragedy, Rhys. I know that as well as anyone. Even if I wasn’t there to defend it myself, I too lost friends in the massacre. But I came to you specifically because unlike many others, you did not fall victim to your grief. You still stand tall and proud, as a Solar. And I need someone strong for this mission. That’s why I am here, asking you now.”

Rhys breathed slowly, thinking hard. After a moment of quiet dilberation, he nodded. "So… This mission… I assume this is a matter of more lives than just my own?" Blueblood answered with a quiet nod of affirmation, studying the captain’s face. "Then I have no right to say no, do I? It is my duty to put the masses before myself. What kind of Solar would I be if I refused?"

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “Even if it possibly meant your death?”

“Even if my death was a certainty. If giving my life meant saving others, I would make that decision without hesitation.” Rhys’ voice was even and his expression hardened. After a few seconds, it softened as a cocky grin spread across his face. “Of course, if songs were made in memory of my noble sacrifice, that would be a bonus.”

The Solar King chuckled, nodding approvingly. “Well spoken, Captain Steele. You truly embody all of the finest virtues of the Solar Guard… A proud spirit tempered with humility. Exactly what I was hoping to find.” He stood up, putting his helmet back on as he made for the door. “You shall receive your orders momentarily, so be ready to leave in a few hours.”

Rhys sat up in surprise, head cocked to the side in confusion. “Wait, I’m leaving tonight? So soon?”

Blueblood stopped in the doorway, looking over his shoulder to respond. “Well presumably, yes. Assuming the final member of your team is found soon, which I’m sure they will be. So I recommend you hurry to the rendezvous point, lest you be the last one to arrive.” With another muffled chuckle, the Solar King left, his cerulean cape trailing behind him as the door slid shut.

Rhys was left alone in his home, and he afforded himself a moment to finally slump backwards onto his cot, utterly exhausted. He sighed aloud, staring up at his ceiling as he spoke to himself, "Of course it had to be on my night off. So much for catching up on sleep."

A Lunar sat quietly alone in a corner booth as dozens of people of every shape, size, and species enjoyed themselves around him. Everyone present was dressed in various formal attire of various colours, as was tonight’s dress code. Even the Lunar was out of uniform, instead wearing a tailored black suit that starkly contrasted the white of his plastic face. Despite dressing up, he was not an active part of the festivities, although he still was enjoying his evening. He would often frequent The Angel's Vice, as a means to observe the shameless behavior on display amongst the flashing lights and thumping music. His study of organics however, was not his reason for being here tonight. Tonight, he was meeting a friend.

"There you are, Ignatius! I should have known you'd be hiding in the corner." The Lunar's eyes snapped to the owner of the voice, the woman he had been waiting for.

"Ah, Colette. It really has been too long. Wonderful to see you again, how are you?" Ignatius' voice was just loud enough to hear over the din of the music and through the canid's precious ear plugs.

The Solar Knight sat down across from her Lunar friend, setting down her tall glass of liquor on the table in front of her. She wore both a yellow sundress and an expression of barely-contained excitement, her muzzle split in a massive grin. "You won't believe what happened to me today! I got to meet Archangel! And she even gave me a special mission!"

Ignatius tilted his head in curiosity, his face otherwise giving no emotion. “Is that so? Well, I must congratulate you, Colette. I would ask for details on the mission, but I am assuming it is classified if it came directly from the Queen.”

Colette nodded in response, slumping slightly, “Yeah, I’m not allowed to tell anyone about it…” only to spring back up again, just as excited as a moment ago. “It’s still really cool though! I’m just waiting to be deployed, but I’m too excited to just sit around. That’s why I called you out here tonight, Ignatius. I want to celebrate while I still can!”

“I have to ask, why me in particular?” The Lunar leaned forward, propping his head up on his hands as his fiery, lidless eyes bored their way into Colette, not that he could help it. “Why not anyone else? I thought you had lots of friends, Colette. Has something happened to change that?” His monotone voice didn’t properly carry his mixture of curiosity and concern, but the Solar had known him long enough to catch it.

“Nah, that’s not the issue. I just haven’t seen you in a while, and I know you don’t really get along with others.” She paused to take a long sip of her drink through a novelty straw shaped like a heart as Ignatius gave an amused titter.

“I’m flattered to hear you say that, Colette. I’m glad to be of such importance that you’d choose me over your other friends.”

Colette smirked as she reached across the table to lightly rap him atop the head. “You’d best get that ego in check, mister. I only hang out with you because you’re mature for your age.” She giggled aloud as he playfully swatted away her hand. Suddenly, both of them sat upright, simultaneously feeling the same sensation wash over them.

Everyone in the club stopped moving at once as a blanket of dread settled on the building. Some slowly turned to face the source, while others stood perfectly still, hoping that it would pass on its own. Colette’s instincts told her to run, that something enormously dangerous was approaching, but she was trapped in the corner of the room with Ignatius. Her fur bristled with fear as whatever that thing was, it was getting closer. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes became hours as the music continued pounding, as though it was oblivious to the mood of the room.

Then, footsteps. Slowly approaching Colette. Even though they should have been barely audible through the music and her earplugs, her heightened senses made each footfall sound like thunder. She managed to look away from the frozen crowd to Ignatius, who was now somehow completely relaxed, despite the expressions of fear from all of the bystanders surrounding them.

Finally, the footsteps stopped directly behind Colette, just out of her cone of vision. She desperately tried to turn her head to face the source, but her animal instincts won out against her. All she could do is stare at Ignatius in utter terror. Then, a deep voice spoke from over her shoulder.

“Good evening, Lieutenant Ford, Captain Longfang. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Colette, recognizing the voice from old recordings, finally managed to turn her head to face the Lunar King; the infamous Black Hound. He was dressed in a coal-black suit of powered armor, the only colour being a crimson cape that hung down to his feet, with a matching thin red visor that glowed an ominous red. Two long, grey horns protruded from the top of his helmet and curved to the back of his head, as if to complete the already intimidating ensemble with a devilish flare. He stood, towering over the pair with his hands behind his back, waiting for a response.

Ignatius bowed his head slightly in reference to his King before responding, “Good evening to you too, sir. I’m just spending some time with a friend tonight.” Ignatius spoke calmly, despite the crushing presence before him. “However, I do believe you have forgotten to activate your suppressor again, sir.”

The Black Hound raised a hand, and Colette almost feared for her life as she half expected to be incinerated by the Lunar King’s legendary anger, but instead he simply tapped himself on the forehead, realizing his blunder.

“That I have. I had disabled it earlier for armor maintenance. I so rarely turn it off that I forget to turn it back on. Thank you for reminding me, Lieutenant.” A second later the weight was lifted from the building, with all of those present gasping out a held breath, some even falling to their knees in relief. Everyone in the club took this opportunity to leave, with those who had collapsed being the last to flee only after they regained their faculties. Witnessing this mass abscondence, the Black Hound gave a small harrumph. "I was wondering why no one was dancing when I walked in. Here I thought it was just the terrible music."

For the second time today, Colette was left reeling as her preconceived perception of a living legend was shattered. "Did… did you just make a joke?" He looked down at her, his visor hiding whatever expression he was making. She was hoping it was not an expression of offense.

After only a few seconds that felt like an eternity, he answered very matter-of-factly, “Yes, I sometimes do. Everyone always seems surprised at that.” He paused for another achingly long second before speaking again. “Do you mind at all if I sit down? I came to speak with my Lieutenant.”

Colette numbly shook her head, scooting over in the booth to make room for the King. As he sat down beside her, she realized properly just how considerable of a man he was. While not as huge as a demon, he was noticeably larger than her or Ignatius, and certainly a few heads above the average human.

“You said you came here to speak to me directly, sir. What of?” Ignatius seemed familiar enough with the Black Hound to be completely unaffected by his presence, which only added to the mental reeling that Colette was suffering from. At this point, she had abandoned her straw and was taking large gulps from her glass, spilling some from the sides of her muzzle, which neither members of her company seemed to notice.

“I’m here to give you an assignment, Ignatius. To be blunt, you are my first and only candidate for this mission. I can trust no one else. Do you accept this request?” Colette realized that this was similar to the pitch she had received this morning, but chose to not say anything, instead being interested in watching it play out.

Ignatius leaned back, putting a hand to his chin, as if he was thinking about it. “Your only candidate? What if I were to say no?”

The King’s head tilted slightly. “Then I’ll have to send Boetius.”

Ignatius recoiled in mock-shock. “That idiot? Well then, I must go, for the sake of the mission integrity if nothing else.”

The Black Hound crossed his arms and nodded approvingly. “Glad to hear. If this were a combat mission, I could pick anyone. But I need your… superb people skills.”

Ignatius again leaned back in his seat, cocking his head to the side. “People skills? I don’t understand.”

“You have more than zero friends. That’s more than most Lunars can say.” Ignatius opened his mouth to retort, but closed it again, realizing the brutal truth of the words. “Come with me, I’ll give you two a ride to the rendezvous point.” The King stood up from his seat and started making his way to the entrance, gesturing with his hand for the pair to follow him. Colette and Ignatius exchange a glance before sliding out of the booth together.

As they followed the Black Hound, Ignatius read the documents on his ocular HUD. “So this is the secret assignment you received from Archangel.”

Colette gave a small nod and a smile. “Yep, the very same. I guess we’re teammates now. A Solar canid and a Lunar synth. All we need is a demonkin and we’ll have the setup for a bad joke.”

“Haven’t you read the addendum to the dossier? The other two candidates were already chosen earlier today, after you. One of them is in fact a demonkin, the other a human.”

Colette’s ears twitched in excitement. “Wait, really? This I have to see.” Reaching to the small of her back, she slid her personal tablet out from a hidden pocket of her dress. Ignatius gave her a sideways glance, to which she shrugged and said simply, “I don’t like leaving home without it. I feel naked without my tech.”

As the three of them walked outside, Colette switched on her device and re-opened the files again, checking for the new information on her teammates. A small crowd formed around the trio, murmuring about the sudden public appearance of the Black Hound. The King paid them no mind as he stepped over to a large, black, armoured personnel carrier and opened the back hatch with a pneumatic hiss. He gestured for the pair to enter, and Colette was about to until she saw the name of the other Lunar on her team.

She shouted out in alarm, much louder than she intended, “Wait, hold on, Claire Moreno is on the team? Is this right?” She directed her question to the King, who tilted his head in curiosity.

“There is no mistake, she was chosen by Acrimony. Is there a problem with that? You sound perturbed by this revelation.” After a few seconds, Colette shook her head.

“No, I suppose not.” She climbed into the APC with Ignatius sitting down beside her. The Black hound sat on the bench across from the two, closing the door behind him. With all of the occupants on board, the vehicle lurched forward towards the flight hanger, their assigned rendezvous point. In the dim light of the carrier, Colette stared at the picture of Claire, the two of them frowning at each other.

“Do you two have history?” Colette tore herself away from the picture to look at Ignatius, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, ancient history. It’s been ten years since I last saw her, and we didn’t exactly part ways on good terms.” She paused, and he put an empathetic hand on her shoulder. “I always wondered what happened to her. Turns out she became a Lunar. Not sure if I should be angry or relieved.” Closing her eyes, she let out a long sigh, as if to maintain her composure.

Ignatius wasn’t good with complex emotions like this, but he wanted to at least try to comfort his friend. Without any words for her, he gently reached over and pulled the tablet out of her hands, to which she gave no resistance. He thumbed the power button, turning off the screen and setting it aside. They sat in silence, listening to the hum of the engine as they rode the carrier to their destination. If the Black Hound had any input, he too chose to stay quiet, sitting perfectly still for the rest of the ride.

Chapter II: One Small Step

Claire was the first to arrive at the rendezvous, a staging facility at the foot of the City Barrier. It was one of the many motor pools in the wall, with a wide variety of both ground and air vehicles ready and waiting for a team to take them on an excursion beyond the comfort of the city, and into the wastes beyond.

She was currently the only person in the whole bay, the only other sounds besides her echoing footsteps being the hum of the lights above, and the distant reverberations of activity elsewhere in the Barrier. It was strange to her that there was absolutely no one else present, not even guards or a maintenance crew of any kind. Then again, if this were intended to be a mission of utmost secrecy, it only made sense for their deployment zone to be free of prying eyes.

Realizing that she was early, Claire chose to sit down on a chair left beside one of the armoured troop transport trucks, going over the details of the mission over and over on her helmet’s HUD. Each time she reached the bottom of the document, she would immediately scroll the back to the top and begin reading it over again. Every time she did, she was careful to skip over her teammates entirely, not wanting to see the disconcertingly cheery face of Colette Longfang staring back at her again.

After waiting approximately twenty minutes, the next to arrive was Solar Rook Captain Rhys, and she could have heard his approach from a hundred meters away. The heavy scraping of metal on concrete clearly announced his arrival, and as his massive form lumbered toward her, she gave a silent prayer to the Gods that he wouldn't attempt awkward conversation.

As the stomping stopped behind her, she sighed, knowing what to expect. She stood up from the chair, turning on her heel to face him, and saw his bearded face peeking out from atop the four-meter-tall mechanized frame of his Solar Rook battlesuit. Showing what civility she could muster, she retracted her helmet in kind.

"It's… nice to see you, Claire. Been a good long while, hasn’t it?" He gave her a somewhat forced smile, trying to maintain an air of approachability.

She looked up at him, her contempt clearly visible scrawled across her face. “Rhys. It’s not been long enough. It seems fate has brought us together again, for yet another mission.”

“So it would seem. And I can see that the years have not weathered that cold exterior of yours.” He chuckled half-heartedly before realizing that she was not amused by his joke.

Unable to bear the intensity of her glare anymore, he turned away, looking around the large chamber that they were waiting in. Choosing a Solar dropship at random, he pretended to be carefully examining the hull, looking it up and down and running his suit’s hands along its polished surface. Although he couldn’t feel it through the metal fingers, he liked to pretend that he could.

“You know, seeing these shuttles up close reminds me of how I once longed to be a pilot, soaring above the battlefield high in the sky.” His expression grew dour at the distant memory of his youth. “That was until of course, I saw the wastes firsthand. I don’t believe I could stomach such a sight from above.”

Sensing his poorly disguised discomfort, Claire decided to take some pity on him and change the subject. “So Rhys, have you actually read the entirety of the briefing?” He turned back to her, expecting to see that scowl again. Surprisingly, she seemed to look concerned instead. “This plan sounds absolutely mad.”

The Solar nodded, his brow furrowed with shared worry. “Indeed. I see plainly now why they needed volunteers. Not only is it a suicide mission, but the intel we have on the destination sounds like something out of a children’s storybook. If there was any kind of public announcement, the people would think that the Royals have lost their mind.”

"While it is hard to question their judgment, it is obvious that this is a desperate play." She paused for several seconds, considering her next words before continuing, "Not that I blame them, of course. The UDE has been on the losing end of this war since it began. I suppose this mission just feels… surreal."

Rhys gave a solemn nod as he spoke, "I suppose the idea is to save what is left. Though I can't help but wonder where this intel even came from. A world of magical horses, free of conflict or ruin. It sounds impossible."

"The intel was provided by a reliable source, I assure you." The pair turned to the owner of the voice, who was none other than the Black Hound. He came through the same door that Claire did, with the sealed pneumatic door muffling his approach until he opened it. "Also, they're ponies. Not horses. An important distinction."

It was at that moment that he had happened to arrive with Colette and Ignatius in tow, both of whom had abandoned their civilian clothing for their more appropriate combat uniforms. Colette wore her plated Solar power armor of white and gold, with a blue surcoat on top of that. Ignatius on the other hand, wore no armor at all, instead dressed in simple but practical black and violet clothing complete with a matching long coat.

The three of them walked toward the waiting pair as the deep, rumbling voice of the Black Hound continued to fill the room. "I hope you two were not waiting long. Captain Longfang and Lieutenant Ford needed to properly equip themselves for this mission."

Claire stood and gave her salute as she greeted her king, "No, not at all, sir. It's a pleasure to see you." Her eyes flicked to Colette for a split second before returning to focus on the Black Hound.

He put up a hand, shaking his head in disapproval. "Please, there is no need for that, Captain. Be at ease." He turned to face Rhys, who was frozen in fear. He raised a hand, pointing a finger at the Solar who flinched in response. "And you, please calm yourself. I do not bite."

Rhys briefly considered fleeing for his life, but decided that for the moment, he would put aside his preconceived fear and try to remain calm in the presence of the man who he knew as a walking holocaust. Considering that the other three members of his team were maintaining their composure, he would do his best to follow their lead. Taking a deep breath, Rhys allowed himself to relax and nod his head slowly. He refused to come across as cowardly, especially now.

Colette wasn't paying attention to that, however. She was staring straight ahead at Claire, who was trying very hard not to make eye contact. Colette's mind was awash with numerous emotions at the sight of the demonkin before her. One part wanted to hug Claire, and another wanted to punch her. Another still wanted to scream out in frustration, but in the end Colette could only continue to stare as a choking numbness took hold of her.

As the weight began to settle in her heart, she discreetly thumbed a button on her belt, commanding her armor to administer a dose of nerve-soothing chemicals into her bloodstream. She sighed as the tightness in her chest unwound, and she refocused back on the present moment. She tuned back into the discussion just as the Black Hound addressed the team.

“Now that you are all here, we can begin the operation. You have all read your orders in full?" Everyone quietly nodded in agreement. Colette was the only one who hadn't actually read the full documentation, but she decided she could figure it out as they went.

With that affirmation, the Black Hound spun on his heel and headed for the door again. "Good. I wish you all luck. I must depart and join my colleagues. We will be retaking City Seven tonight." All eyes snapped to the Lunar King as he walked away, unable to believe what he had just said. Ignatius reached out with his jaw hanging open in shock, but before he said anything he pulled back his hand, clenching it into a fist. Turning away, he didn’t watch as the Black Hound left. Instead, he looked back at his teammates, his resolve redoubled.

“You heard the King. Let us do our part. The dossier mentioned that there would be a large-scale operation to draw attention away from the site. This must be it.” He paused for a few seconds, considering everything that entailed before continuing, “Every moment we waste, will be wasted blood of our comrades. I shall pilot the transport. Claire, come help me prepare that Lunar carrier. It is smaller and faster. Colette, please help Rhys get seated.” The two Lunars started towards the jet-black transport craft as Colette made her way to Rhys.

She glanced sideways up at the sullen-looking Solar, and decided to try and snap him out of his stupor. “Hey, Captain Rhys. We’ve met before, haven’t we? Didn’t we meet when I first came to City Five?”

Rhys studied her face for a moment before his eyes lit up with recognition, his smile quickly returning. “You’re right! I do remember you now. You were the canid recruit that was pulled in during a patrol through the Longfang territory back in 1126, weren’t you? I thought your name was familiar.”

She nodded, allowing herself to share the smile. "Yeah, I thought so too. You were my instructor back when I first joined the guard. I heard you got shipped off to City Seven for that battle, and when I never saw you again, I thought you'd gone and gotten yourself killed. Glad to see you're still kicking."

He started lumbering towards the dropship, intending to get situated before one of the Lunars became impatient. “Thankfully not dead yet. It was pure luck that I survived when so many did not…” The somber expression returned for just a second, only to be replaced with another smile immediately after. “Still, I am happy to see you again, Colette. It’ll be nice to have an old friend on this journey.”

“Especially if you’re still as fun as you were back then. Don’t get me wrong, I love Igantius to death, but he’s totally a stick in the mud. Can’t even go drinking with him… He doesn’t have a digestive system to soak alcohol.” She paused mid-step, a sudden realization striking her. “Wait, what are we going to do about food and drink? I only have a few days worth.”

Rhys looked down at her, giving a small wink as he pointed a mechanical thumb at a large, blocky device mounted on the back of his suit. “Don’t worry about field supplies. I requisitioned a fabricator for us to use.”

Colette’s eyes lit up with awe and excitement, like a child receiving a new toy on their birthday. “Really? A genuine fabricator! I’ve never gotten the chance to use one before. Aren’t there only a few hundred in existence or something? How did you get one?”

Rhys waved a hand dismissively, smiling with pride. “When you get an assignment like this, it’s pretty easy to waive some red tape in the name of the Solar King. Let’s just make sure that we don’t break or lose it. They can’t exactly make these anymore.”

“Would the two of you hurry the hell up?” Claire shouted at her two teammates from the front of the dropship, her words dripping with disdain. “Ignatius and I have prepared for takeoff, we’re just waiting for you. You can banter like children when you’re strapped in.”

As the two Solars scrambled to get situated, the Lunar returned to her seat beside Ignatius in the cockpit. Securing herself with the seatbelts, she looked over at her co-pilot and saw his emotionless yet somehow still distinctly disapproving stare.

“No need to be hostile, Captain Moreno. We are a team now. Your past with those two does not matter now.” Claire recoiled slightly, unconsciously grimacing.

“Do not speak about things you know nothing about, Lieutenant. You may be a bishop, but do not think that means you can speak down to me. I am still your senior in years.” Ignoring her venomous tone, Ignatius simply turned his eyes to the console in front of him, doing one last system check as he spoke.

“I mean no offense Claire, nor do I intend to lecture you, but you should know better than to let your emotions get the better of you. I suggest that you put your feelings for them aside, at least until this mission is over.”

She knew he was right, but she couldn't help but suck her teeth at him in frustration. Instead of wasting further breath, Claire closed her helmet, the interlocking plates sliding out from her collar to cover her head.

Ignatius took this as a not-so-subtle sign that he wasn’t going to get any more conversation out of her. Instead, he closed his own helmet and opened the channel to the other two in the hold. The lining of his helmet ensured that the rumbling of the transport became a faint hum as he spoke through the helmet's radio.

"Testing. This is Ignatius. Can you three hear me? We're about to take off."

The familiar bark of Colette came through, as clear as though she were right beside him despite the thick metal that separated them. "I'm reading you loud and clear, Ignatius. We're strapped in and secure back here."

The second voice to respond was that of Rhys, as bassy as ever. "I would not call this 'secure,' but these Lunar transports were hardly made to accommodate Goliath-class battlesuits. I'm holding onto the seats here, but it'll have to do. Just try not to make any hard turns, lest I roll over and crush the captain."

Claire did not speak, but Ignatius did not expect her to. Satisfied with their responses, Ignatius switched on the thrusters of the dropship as Claire pressed a button to open the massive gates outside. Gripping the handles of the yolk tightly, he began carefully steering the transport out of the hangar and beyond the city limits and into the wastes of Earth's scorched surface.

Back in the hold, Colette was taking their travel time to carefully look over the mission information on her helmet's HUD. It was only now that she managed to scroll past the team roster and read just exactly what they were supposed to do.

"Wait, hold on for a moment. Am I reading this right, or are we seriously going to another planet?" Colette tried and failed to contain her surprise, which her teammates heard.

Rhys' voice once again came through her radio as his battlesuit's head turned to look at her. "Indeed. Did you not read the documentation yet? I thought you were chosen first for the mission. Haven't you had hours to prepare?"

"Knowing her, she was likely stuffing her muzzle with liquor or women. Perhaps both. I don't think she had time to read." Claire's sharp tongue sliced through the channel, cutting deep with venomous words. The canid was quick to defend herself, however.

"Actually, no. I spent most of today getting my gear together for this trip. I only had a drink with Ignatius an hour ago." She paused for a few seconds before finally adding, "And I’m celibate. Have been for years."

Both Rhys and Ignatius could sense the tension between the two women, and although the latter of them chose to keep quiet for now, Rhys couldn't help but try and change the subject.

"Is anyone else excited to see this exotic new environment? I for one am hoping that the air there doesn’t burn my skin off, but that may be wishful thinking. The reports say it is breathable… But according to the timestamps, these reports are over four hundred years old.”

Colette, happy for the new line of conversation, quickly joined in. “As much fun as fresh air sounds, a lot can happen in four hundred years. How do we know any of this intel is accurate anymore? For all we know, this world could be in ruins.”

“We don’t know,” interjected Ignatius. “That’s why we’re the reconnaissance team. I suggest you look over our mission objectives before asking any more questions, Colette.”

She opened her muzzle for a second, before deciding to take his advice. Scrolling more, she found that their mission was indeed mostly observation and study. Checking for life, testing the atmosphere, and making first contact with any civilized life were all mission objectives that Colette could have assumed by default. What she found strange was the final bullet point on the list.

“Anyone know what ‘locate and secure notable strategic assets’ means?” It was odd because although the other points on the list had linked information on file, the last one did not.

Claire growled in Colette’s ear through the transceiver. “It means we need to be on the lookout for anything valuable to steal for the war effort. This is not a vacation, it’s a mission to save our planet. Don’t forget that.” Colette frowned under her helmet, but said nothing else as she continued to study the documentation.

A few minutes of silence later, a private channel was opened with her from Rhys. Without moving to look at her, he whispered in her ear. “Colette. Don’t you think something feels off about this operation? Something isn’t right.”

She checked that she was muted in the group channel before responding, “What makes you say that? And you don’t have to be so quiet, they can’t hear us if we’re just muted.”

Clearing his throat, he raised his voice a notch as he spoke, “I think this whole operation feels strange. I’ve been serving in the Guard since you were a pup, and I’ve gotten good at sniffing out rot. A gut feeling is a soldier’s best friend, and if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.”

She turned her head to him, looking at the glowing blue eyes of his helmet. “I know what you mean about gut feelings. I just don’t know what you mean in this context. This whole operation is completely insane. What about it feels ‘rotten’ to you?”

“First of all, don’t you find it strange how we all were previously acquainted with each other despite being supposedly hand-picked by the Royals on an individual basis? I can tell that you know Ignatius and my sister, and-”

“Wait hold on,” interrupted Colette, “Claire is your sister? The demonkin?” She couldn’t help but sit up in her seat, a mix of curiosity and shock stiffening her spine.

“Oh, well I mean, she’s my sister in law. We’re not actually related by blood. She is- was my brother’s wife.” Rhys couldn’t help but hitch when thinking about the past, but Colette mercifully noticed and decided to steer clear of that subject for the moment.

“Ok, that makes sense. And I didn’t think about it until now, but you’re right. Even we know each other from when I first joined the guard. Out of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that could have been chosen, the odds of us all knowing each other is pretty slim.” She paused, thinking back to her morning. “The Queen did say I was special. She said it was because I was friends with a Lunar… Do you think Ignatius was picked because I was?”

Finally, Rhys turned his head to face her. “I think we were lied to, Colette. I think the Royals all chose us as a group specifically due to our shared history. Claire and I were both at City Seven. I trained you, and you’re friends with Ignatius. Clearly there is something more between you and my sister as well.” He paused, narrowing his eyes at the canid from beneath his helmet. “To what end, I am unsure. I’d like to believe that their intentions were benign, but I’ll be frank with you. I don’t trust anything that Lunars have their hands in.”

Colette skeptically cocked her head to the side, folding her arms across her chest. “Wind it back for a second there Rhys, I’m not sure I like what you’re implying. My business with Claire is my own. And I trust Ignatius. If you’re trying to convince me of some sort of Lunar conspiracy, you can stuff it.”

After a few seconds, Rhys shook his head, chuckling. “No, no. I’m not telling you to believe in anything, I’m just speaking my mind. Whether or not you agree is your decision… But I’m quite certain that this mission smells rotten. They’re not telling us something important.” Rhys sighed, and lowered his head, finally going quiet.

Once again, Colette was left alone in silence. While she didn’t believe that there was something wrong with the mission, she did agree that there was something odd about it. That suspicion quickly grew into malcontent as she realized that if they really were chosen based on their prior relationships, then the Royals really did set her up with Claire on purpose.

Soon, feelings of anger and confusion began to well up again, and before they could overwhelm her, Colette once again thumbed the button on her belt. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she felt the cool wave of relaxation wash over her, and she felt so relaxed that she couldn’t help but slip into slumber.

“Wake up you two, we’re here!” Rhys was jolted awake by the voice of Claire barking at him through his helmet's comms. This surprised him, because he didn't remember falling asleep, but he decided it was for the best. He hadn't been sleeping well as of late, and any extra shut-eye was welcome.

Blinking away his drowsiness, he looked up at Colette, who was sitting slumped over, apparently unfazed by the demonkin’s shouting over the comms. Lifting one of his massive hands, he gently prodded the canid’s head, trying to wake her up. Unfortunately, before he could nudge Colette awake, the bay door opened up with a loud, metallic groan. A gust of hot, arid wind blew into through the opening, scattering sand and dust throughout the cabin.

Claire stepped forward through the haze up the ramp, stopping in front of the Solars. Rhys bit his cheek as she looked over the two of them, the faceless, glowing violet visor of her helmet illuminating them through the swirling cloud of dirt. Without warning, she punched Colette in the head with a clang, her metallic hand ringing off of the canid’s helmet.

Colette bolted up, shouting in surprise as she took a wild reactionary swing at the Lunar. With finesse that was expected of her position, Claire expertly batted the punch aside with her hand before grabbing Colette’s wrist, twisting her body, and flinging the Solar Knight over her shoulder and out onto the ground at the bottom of the ramp. From the dirt, Colette groaned in pain as Claire turned her gaze back to Rhys.

“Don’t make me throw you out too. Get moving.” Even knowing that there was no way she could physically do such a thing to him, he had known his sister-in-law for long enough to know that her threats were not to be taken lightly. Using the benches for leverage, Rhys began the task of pulling his mechanized battlesuit out of the dropship that was far too small to properly accommodate his size. It was harder getting out of the ship than getting on, especially without help, but he managed to worm his way out in no time at all. By the time he had slipped down the ramp, Claire had already left to scout ahead and Ignatius was helping Colette to her feet.

As she brushed some of the rusty red dirt from her armor and surcoat, Colette spoke to her two teammates. “What the hell has gotten into her? I don’t remember her being so damn surly.”

Ignatius shook his head as he brushed some of the dust off her back with a hand. “I couldn’t tell you. I’ve only worked with her a few times before, but she is typically more even tempered than… this. I will not pretend to know what sort of dynamic you three share, but it certainly seems to be irritating her.”

Rhys frowned under his helmet, knowing that Ignatius was right. He didn’t see her too often anymore, but when he did, Claire was never this vitriolic. The fact that it was directed at his former pupil also left a sour taste in his mouth. It was something he’d have to discuss with her later, if she’d even talk about it.

“I’m sorry that my sister is giving you a hard time, Colette. Hopefully she’ll warm up to you as the mission progresses.”

With an annoyed huff, Colette gave up on dusting her armor. With the wind constantly coating her in more dirt and grime, it was a losing battle that she didn’t care to continue. Looking around to try and figure out where they were, she could only see the looming shadows of monolithic skyscrapers through the thick dust clouds. She suddenly realized that they stood in the middle of an ancient city street, the skeletal remains of civilization reaching up to the sky like grasping hands rising from a shallow grave.

“Wait, where are we right now? How long were we in the air?” Before either of the men could answer her, Claire’s voice came through the team comms channel again.

“We’re in Sector Four, right in the middle of Asia. It was an eight hour trip, and hostiles definitely saw our descent, so hurry up. We're going to scuttle the dropship, leave them a little present. Sync up and meet me at the waypoint."

Without further prompting, the rest of the team switched on their helmet HUDs and began to make their way to the marked location, hurrying away from the Lunar dropship that was due to explode any moment.

Rhys saw several shapes highlighted by his targeting systems in the dust clouds around him, but thankfully his heavy footfalls were muted by the sand and dust that was piled high on the street. The creatures were clearly more interested in the much louder engines of the transport, and while he always enjoyed a good fight, he was wise enough to know better than take this one. They were deep in enemy territory, and couldn’t risk more attention than they already have.

Colette’s hushed voice came through the team comms again as they made their way between the ruined remains of the buildings. “These things really aren’t that smart when they don’t have a leader around to order them, are they? First time I’ve seen them just wandering aimlessly like this.”

“Without a leader, they are little more than violent automatons,” answered Ignatius, “I doubt they can even see us. They’re probably following vibrations like worms in the dirt.”

Seconds later, there was a massive explosion from where the three of them had come from, the light of the detonation momentarily cutting through the din and haze of the sandstorm.

Rhys, ever-excited to see explosions couldn’t help but laugh aloud as he looked over his shoulder. “Ha! That will certainly give them a vibration to follow! I would have loved to witness their bits fly with that one!”

His celebratory guffaw was cut short by the voice of Claire in his ear. “Stay focused and keep moving. If anything with half a brain heard that, we’ll be up to our necks in mannequins in no time. I can’t have you all dying yet.”

Taking her word, the three picked up their pace. Navigating the narrow alleys and collapsed husks of old-world society was tense and tedious, being careful not to disrupt the mountains of debris or run into any stray monstrosities. Ignatius had taken the lead, scouting a dozen or so meters ahead while Colette and Rhys carefully followed him. Only a few minutes later, they managed to reach their destination without detection or attack thanks to the dense cover of swirling dust.

While it was impossible to tell what exactly the building used to look like, the three of them could at least see its massive silhouette with the light of the rising morning sun hanging overhead. Although only a few stories tall, its length seemed to stretch on as far as they could see down either direction. Nearing the entrance, the building seemed almost untouched by the centuries since its abandonment, save for the shattered windows that left gaping holes along the face of the megastructure.

“Finally, you’re all here. Let’s get inside, our contact is probably waiting.” Claire jumped down from the second story window, landing in front of the trio. Rhys and Ignatius both merely nodded in agreement, but Colette spoke out in shock.

“Wait, we’re meeting someone here? Someone’s been out here this whole time alone?” Claire pressed two fingers to her forehead, sighing in exasperation.

“Yes, Colette. We’re to meet an Artificer here. If you read the briefing, you’d know that. Who else could get a Golden Age transuniversal teleporter working?”

The canid put up a finger to argue, but stopped herself. She had plenty of time to read the documents during the flight, but fell asleep instead. The Lunar may have been unjustly hostile so far, but Colette had to agree with her teammate here. Her ignorance was her fault alone.

“Come then, let us not leave this Artificer waiting.” Ignatius stood at the threshold of the entrance, the doors having long since gone missing. “I’ve only met one before, but if they’re all like they were, then making them wait is a… bad idea.”

Before any of them could be discovered, they made their way into the marbled halls of the ruined old world facility. The once pristine walls had been thoroughly begrimed with dirt and dust over the centuries, completely obscuring their original colours. However, the deeper the team delved, the cleaner the interior became. Eventually, the dust became thin enough that they could even tell that the walls were once white, but by then all natural light eluded them and they had to rely on their helmet lights to see.

The team, including Colette after a brief explanation, knew that they needed to reach the sub-level of the facility. Ancient signs that once hung from the ceilings and walls to direct visitors and workers alike had long ago been scarred and faded to complete illegibility, making finding their next destination more difficult, but not impossible.

No soldier strayed too far from the others, each being careful of any possible threats lurking in the shadowy hallways and connected rooms. Each chamber they passed was filled with rotten and ruined furniture and technology, long forgotten and rendered unsalvageable by time.

Rhys broke the silence that had hung over the team for the past half hour of searching. “It does make me wonder what life was like, back then... places like this. So familiar and yet so alien.”

Colette waved a hand dismissively at him as she peeked down a broken elevator shaft. “They don’t think about me, so I don’t think about them. If you find some working tech, let me know. Otherwise, leave the past in the past.” She paused as she picked up a piece of rubble and tossed it down the chute. A few seconds later, there was an audible clang as it struck the bottom. Nodding in approval, she spoke back into the team’s comms. “Found an old elevator shaft that looks to go all the way down. No cables or ladders… gonna have to take gravity.”

Rhys reached out to stop her, but because his suit was so cramped in the tight hallways of the ancient structure, he was too slow. He watched as Colette stepped off the edge and plunged into darkness, leaving the rook alone. Over the next several seconds, he could hear several loud clangs reverberate along the walls of the shaft before a single, much louder clamour rang out from the bottom.

“Did she just seriously jump down there?” Claire and Ignatius emerged together from the shadows nearby, their violet and orange helmet visors being their only markers in the darkness. Rhys couldn’t tell if Claire was worried or annoyed with the canid’s actions.

“That sounds like her,” commented Ignatius. “You would think her recklessness would have gotten her killed by now. But I suppose canids were built to be sturdy if nothing else.”

To Rhys’ relief, Colette’s voice once again came through his radio. “Hey, I’m fine down here, thanks for asking! Also, this is definitely the place. Come on down.”

“Are you certain?” Ignatius peered down the shaft as he spoke, looking at the small dot of light from the bottom of the shaft. “What is down there that makes you think that?”

“Maybe you should just come down here and check it out for yourself. Call it a hunch, but I think we have a winner.”

Claire stepped up beside Ignatius, and with a shared nod, they both silently stepped off the edge of the platform into the darkness below. When Rhys didn’t hear them land, he shuffled forward to look down the elevator shaft, but thankfully spotted two more light sources at the bottom with Colette.

Claire’s voice next rang through his helmet, addressing him. “Looks like this is the place. We’ll make you some room, Rhys. Jump down.”

Using the girders along the sides of the shaft as handholds, he carefully pulled himself inside and readied to drop. Without a ceiling over his head, he finally had enough room to stretch out his limbs for the first time since entering the building, and felt some relief from the mild claustrophobia that his massive mechanized suit had been plaguing him with. Taking a small breath, Rhys let go of the girders and let gravity take him.

He felt his blood rush to his head as he flew down several dozen floors before crash-landing at the bottom, the inertia of his battlesuit pulling him down into the ground with a deafening slam, sending dust and debris up in the air as he destroyed what remained of the elevator at the bottom. The sound of his impact echoed throughout the large stone chamber he now found himself in, causing a muffled ringing even through his helmet.

“Holy shit, that was awesome!” Once again, Colette’s voice greeted him through his comms while he tried to get his bearings. “Are you ok? That looked pretty damn rough.”

Rhys sucked in a breath through his teeth as his HUD lit up red with warnings. He received several injuries in the fall, even with his suit’s compensation systems. Both of the suit’s legs also received damage, not being meant to fall so far. Luckily, neither issue was beyond the on board auto-repair or life support systems which had already activated. Although his breathing was strained, he was thankfully unable to feel any pain that would come from a broken bone or ruptured organ. He actually couldn’t feel anything below his neck, but that was perfectly normal for him.

“I’ll be fine. Nothing a little medigel can’t fix, though I’ll need a moment to catch my breath.” The servos in his suit’s legs whined in defiance as he stood up, looking around the nearly pitch-black room. At the moment, he couldn’t see much due to his helmet’s light reflecting off of the falling dust, obscuring his vision.

Tasting blood in his mouth, he looked around until he found his Solar comrade, her armor’s blue marker lights and headlamp allowing him to identify her in the thinning haze. “I have to ask, Colette, how on Earth did you not kill yourself in the fall?”

She put her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side playfully. He could somehow sense that she was sticking out her tongue underneath her helmet at him. “Obviously I slowed my fall with the walls and rolled when I hit the ground. Did you seriously think I just fell straight down?”

Rhys opened his mouth, and closed it again. Of course she wasn’t so stupid as to do what he just did. In hindsight, it seemed so obvious to slow his descent that he mentally kicked himself for his foolish injuries. Turning his gaze to the pair of approaching Lunars, he was about to ask how they landed so silently, when Ignatius answered preemptively.

“Lunar training.” Rhys assumed that was shorthand for: “Advanced technologies and/or magic that I’m not allowed to disclose to you.”

As soon as the dust cleared enough to see properly, Rhys noticed two things. The first was that the chamber they all stood in was enormous, nearly ten meters tall and just as wide. The black stone of the cavern was cut with impressive precision, being a perfect cube. The elevator shaft that they had all dropped down was dead-center in the ceiling, creating an appropriately square hole in the stone.

The second thing he noticed was that on one side, the chamber seemed to have another hole in the wall, leading deeper into the darkness. Much like the one on the ceiling, it was perfectly square and cut into the stone, except this one appeared to be a hallway to another chamber. At about five meters in height and diameter, even Rhys could easily walk though.

“Spooky, ain’t it?” Rhys looked down at Colette who was also staring at the opening in the wall as she spoke. “Though to be honest, this reminds me of my birthplace. The tunnels back there weren’t this nice, but this definitely has a similar feeling to it.”

Claire roughly shouldered past the canid, receiving an annoyed growl as she walked toward the passage. “We should keep moving. The Artificer should be just ahead. Do not dawdle, you two.”

Colette looked to be reaching for her pistol when Ignatius put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head slowly. Colette sighed, and simply walked with him in silence, leaving Rhys to follow behind.

The four of them moved quickly, the sound of their footfalls echoing rhythmically along the surrounding black stone. The click-clack of the Lunar boots contrasted the harsher scraping sound of metal-on-stone from the Solar armor. Each member of the team scanned the interior of the tunnel with their headlamps, looking for anything noteworthy. Finally, it was Colette who broke the silence.

“Anyone noticed that the stone is engraved? It looks like runes.” Sure enough, when Rhys looked at the wall to his right, he noticed that the imperfections along the cut stone were in fact not random, but a series of small symbols and patterns.

He ran a large, metal hand along the surface, tracing his fingers along the etchings in a futile attempt to discern any meaning to them. He knew perfectly well that whoever made the runes were long dead and gone, and only they could possibly know what they were there for. If it weren’t for the precision of the construction of the subterranean structure, he would even be tempted to merely write them off as nonsense, but surely no one would spend such time and effort on something so fruitless.

“I did notice, actually,” responded Ignatius, “I was wondering myself what they could be here for. It almost looks like a magical ward of some sort. Ancient and powerful. Perhaps this structure was some sort of prison?”

“I suppose it must have been a rather poor prison if it’s empty now, eh?” Rhys chuckled at his own joke, with Colette offering a small laugh as well.

“Well, there was a gaping hole in the ceiling, last I checked.” Claire’s cold voice silenced the pair quickly with the implication that came with it. Rhys did not want to think about what might have escaped through the elevator shaft that they entered through.

It was not long after that they stumbled on a truly bizarre sight; A massive mirror that stretched from wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. Surrounding the mirror was a complex series of wires and machinery that hummed faintly, all of which was connected to a large set of computers along the right wall, small lights and nodes flickering in the dark.

“LATE.”

Rhys nearly jumped out his skin when he heard a voice speak from above him, and he was further shocked when he was blinded by a dozen lights switching on all at once. At the same time, he heard Colette yelp out in surprise, but when his eyes adjusted, he was somewhat impressed to see that the sudden flash had garnered no response from the Lunars, who were staring at the source of the voice.

Looking up, he was once again shocked to see what appeared to be a mechanical spider looking down at him. Six of its legs ended in a three-fingered claw, with the two in front being tipped with bizarre-looking multitools of indiscernible function. The dozen eyes on the head flicked independently between the four soldiers, the red lenses refocusing with each movement. It hung upside-down from the ceiling on a crossbeam that had been used to hang the lights that had blinded Rhys just seconds ago.

The surprise turned to disgust when he realized that the “spider” was in fact a person who had been modified beyond recognition with cybernetics. The only indication that they were once flesh and blood was that Rhys’ HUD identified the thing as “Artificer Jordan,” with “Human” underneath that. While he knew that the information was accurate, there was no way he could possibly refer to the technological abomination before him as “human.”

“GATEWAY READY. INJECT SOLUTION. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.” Beside Colette, a sealed metal container opened up to reveal four ampoules, each glittering with the silvery fluid that they contained. She was too busy gagging in horror to notice.

“Artificer Jordan,” spoke Ignatius, “Firstoff, I apologize for our tardiness. Secondly, this is in fact the teleporter we came here for, correct?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.” The Artificer’s voice was even more jarringly robotic and metallic than Ignatius’, which only further deepened Rhys’ loathing of the thing in front of him.

“What is the solution for?” As the Lunar spoke, Colette finally had managed to tear herself away from the Artificer and swallow her nausea to look at the small, glass vials beside her, picking one up and eyeing it cautiously.

“SOLUTION IS STABILIZER. TRANSUNIVERSAL TRAVEL KNOWN TO CAUSE ADVERSE EFFECTS IN SENTIENT LIFEFORMS.”

“Including inorganic life forms such as myself?” Ignatius put a hand to his chin, genuinely curious now.

“INSUFFICIENT DATA. OUTCOME: UNCERTAIN. CONCLUSION: BETTER. SAFE. THAN. SORRY.”

Satisfied, Ignatius nodded, walking over to the vials to collect one. Colette stopped him, putting an arm across his chest.

“Hold on. We have no idea what this stuff is. I’m not about to inject something that looks suspiciously like quicksilver into my veins without knowing exactly what it is.”

Once again, the Artificer responded in the least comforting way possible. “SOLUTION IS A SPECIALLY DESIGNED MIXTURE DEVISED BY LUNAR QUEEN ACRIMONY TO NEGATE NEGATIVE EFFECTS. INJECT NOW. THEN ENTER GATEWAY.”

“Wow. Now I definitely don’t want to take it.” Colette held the vial with her fingertips at the end of an outstretched arm, her revulsion apparent. Rhys could empathize, considering the Lunar Queen’s reputation for creating less than pleasant concoctions.

Without warning, Claire snatched the vial out of the canid’s hand, pressing it to an injection port on her hip without hesitation. The Solars gawked at the demonkin as she shuddered for a moment, the solution rapidly making its way through her body. After a moment more, she took a deep breath, and tossed the ampoule aside.

“That settles that. It’s safe to use… Now take your damn medicine so we can leave.” While convinced, Rhys couldn’t help but feel like for just a single instance, Claire’s voice lost its harshness, but he discarded the thought as soon as it came.

Nodding slowly, Colette injected her dose, before turning to help Rhys with his, as his hands were too large to handle the fragile glass. Ignatius silently injected the fluid into his wrist, letting it mingle with the artificial fluids that served as his own blood.

“SOLUTION INJECTED.” With that, the hum of the machines began to build until they were all resonating together at a high-pitched wail. The glass of the mirror began to glow faintly as a combination of magical and electrical energy forcefully activated its ancient enchantment. “GATEWAY READY. LEAVE NOW.”

Rhys chuckled as he watched the portal come alive. “Well, I guess this is it, isn’t it? Everyone made peace with their respective gods? There’s always the chance we get atomized.”

Claire snorted aloud. “I don’t pray anymore.” Those were her last words before she stepped through the portal, disappearing through the shimmering glass.

“Colette and I are both atheists, Captain Steele. I will see you both on the other side.” Following his fellow Lunar, Ignatius stepped into the rippling glass and was consumed.

Rhys just shrugged as he moved toward the portal, stopping beside Colette. He gave her a sideways glance, before speaking to her. “Scared, Captain?”

“Is it that obvious?” She stood rigid, staring into her own reflection as it distorted from the waves left by Ignatius.

“Fear not, my friend. We carry the light of hope with us. We shall not fail.” She shook her head, before looking up at him, her forced smile hidden under her helmet’s steely visage.

“Right… Of course. After you, then. Let’s light the path to a better tomorrow, and all that.”

Rhys nodded one last time before stepping through, leaving Colette alone. She stood motionless for several more seconds, her mind buzzing with second thoughts and concerns. Her sulking was interrupted, however, by the Artificer screeching again.

“GO. NOW. POWER FAILING.”

She yelled back over her shoulder, “Alright, fine! I’m going! Damn it all!” And so she plunged into the portal, leaving everything she had ever known behind.

Chapter III: A Return to Her Roots

Sunset Shimmer walked along the busy streets of Canterlot, her hooves rhythmically clip-clopping along the cobblestone roads that she remembered so clearly from her childhood. It had been so long since she had seen the towering buildings and ponies of the capital of Equestria, and it felt strange to be on four hooves instead of two legs.

All around her were the sights, smells, and sounds of her homeland. The beautifully vibrant colours and stunning architecture was unlike anything she could see in the competitively drab human realm. The wafting scent of freshly baked pastries and robust aroma of vintage liquors mixed together between the restaurants, threatening to overwhelm her senses as she trotted along. The cheerful chatter of ponies living their lives rang all around her, intermingled with the harmonic melodies of music that was playing through a nearby radio.

Everything and everyone was so full of life, brimming with the unique charm and magic that only Equestria could ever truly have. She felt so much more alive in Equestria than she ever did on Earth. Of course she did, it was her birthplace, where she belonged. It was a longing that had been aching in her heart so long and so deeply that she had almost thought it was just a part of her. She didn’t belong amongst humans. She belonged here.

Sunset’s dream was cut short by the blindingly bright light of the morning sun suddenly engulfing her face, jolting her awake with a surprised yelp. With squinted eyes, she could barely see the silhouetted figure of her girlfriend standing beside the window, pulling open the blinds to wake her in the least subtle way possible. Whatever Sunset had been so blissfully dreaming about just now, the memory of it was quickly melting away.

“Good morning, Shim-Shim. Time to get up, sleepy head.” Twilight giggled to herself as she watched Sunset struggle to remember how to exist so early in the day. “It’s eight-thirty, and I already made breakfast.”

Holding up a hand to block out the sun in her eyes, Sunset glared at Twilight through her lingering sleepiness, half-heartedly pouting. “You’re a demon, you know that? I don’t know how or why you wake up so early on weekends.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, amusedly smiling down at Sunset. “Waking up early means you get more done. Come on, you’ll feel better with some coffee in you.” Without giving Sunset a chance to retort again, she moved to the door and out of the room, leaving the still-groggy woman at the mercy of the daylight.

Sighing in defeat, Sunset decided that she might as well get up now that she was at least partially awake. Rubbing the sleep crust from her eyes with one hand, she threw the covers off of herself with the other. Swivelling off the bed, Sunset stood up and staggered, her sense of balance still swimming with her other senses. I hate mornings, she bitterly thought to herself, That’s definitely one thing Twi and I will never agree on.

As she made her way to the door, she stopped to steal a glance of herself from the vanity mirror in their bedroom. Her hair was, as it usually was in the morning, a complete mess. The normally flowing streaks of red and yellow were currently tangled and jutting out in random directions, making it almost look like she had just been struck by lightning. Her violet pajamas were similarly disheveled, and after a few seconds of contemplation, she shrugged and stepped out.

As she crossed the threshold, Sunset caught a whiff of the promised breakfast, or more specifically, the fresh pot of coffee that was made with it. Rubbing her eyes again, she stepped up beside Twilight who was pouring a mug of the heavenly mixture and gave bespectacled beauty a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, babe. Can you pour me one too? I’m definitely going to need it if I’m going to stay any kind of conscious today.”

Twilight snickered, and passed the mug to Sunset as she returned the kiss. “I was actually pouring this one for you, I already have a cup. Pancakes and sausages are on the island when you’re ready to eat.”

Holding the warm mug delicately in her hands, Sunset took a mouthful of the coffee and relished the hot bitter brew for a moment before swallowing. As the warmth spread through her body, she immediately felt more awake and alive, ready to face the day.

“I told you you’d feel better with some coffee,” quipped Twilight as she moved past Sunset, sitting down on a stool at the kitchen island that doubled as their dining table. “How did you sleep, anyway? You looked like you were having a pretty nice dream.”

As Sunset sat down beside her beloved, she searched her memory for traces of the dream that had all but completely faded away. “Yeah… It was nice. I think I was dreaming of Equestria again. I can’t remember exactly what it was about, but I was on four legs at least.”

“Another Equestria dream, huh?” Twilight gave a snort of amusement, shaking her head. “I still sometimes forget that you’re actually a magical pony from another dimension. You make a very convincing human at this point.”

Sunset rolled her eyes as she poured syrup on her steaming stack of flapjacks. “Oh, I guess I missed my true calling as a changeling infiltrator. I’m glad I’ve instilled an illusion of normalcy in our lives.”

As if to challenge Sunset’s jest, Spike padded his way into the kitchen, announcing his presence with a loud greeting. “Morning, ladies! I smell pancakes, and I’m hoping that there’s still some for me.”

The two women exchanged a sideways glance with one another before breaking out into a fit of giggles together. As she recovered from laughing, Sunset sputtered out to Twilight, “I take it back, normalcy is completely beyond us at this point.”

Hopping up onto the stool next to Sunset, Spike just looked between his housemates, frowning in annoyance. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m the butt of a joke right now.”

“It’s nothing like that, dude,” answered Sunset, “You just had some pretty good timing just now is all.” Twilight nodded in agreement as she stacked up some pancakes on a plate and pushed them across the counter to Spike. The dog gave the two women suspicious glances before shrugging and digging into the fluffy pile in front of him, deciding that he didn’t care enough to pry further.

Likewise, Sunset started to use her knife and fork to cut up her pancakes and eat them slowly, savouring the sweet flavour of the buttermilk mixing with the syrup. Twilight sat idly by, watching the two enjoy her cooking. The two lovers exchanged the occasional glance, but sat in undisturbed silence for several moments as Sunset ate. That was until she took a moment to sip her coffee again, in which Twilight spoke up again.

“Sunset,” She asked with an even, subdued voice, “Do you want to go back to Equestria?”

The question caught her by surprise, nearly causing her to choke on her coffee. Setting down her mug, Sunset scanned her girlfriend’s face carefully, looking for any signs of concern. Unfortunately, Twilight was very good at hiding her emotions when she wanted to, and her stony expression was giving away nothing.

“Where’s this coming from? What makes you think I want to leave?”

“I never said that, I was just asking if you wanted to go home. You’re the one who said leave.” Somehow, the perfectly calm words cut deeper than if they were anything but.

Sunset was far less skilled in the art of disguising her feelings, and her expression quickly soured at the implication being posed to her. “Are you saying that this isn’t my home? I’ve been living here for nearly a decade, why would I leave now?”

Spike, sensing an incoming argument, swiftly decided that he wanted no part in it. “You know what? I think I’m gonna take this pancake with me to my room. Let me know when you two are done fighting.” Before either of them could stop him, Spike grabbed a pancake in his mouth, hopped down from his seat, and padded away back to his room. The two women could hear the ‘click’ of his door being pushed shut, leaving them alone together.

Sunset looked back at Twilight, frowning. “Great, now Spike thinks we’ve got relationship issues.” Sunset was only being half-serious as she said it, but suddenly regretted her words when she saw that Twilight’s stony facade had cracked to show worry hidden in her eyes.

“Is there an issue, Sunset? Because… I can’t tell. And that scares me.”

Sunset reached out to Twilight to comfort her, and hesitated. She wasn’t even sure if there was something wrong either. She certainly liked living here, and she loved Twilight. If it were that simple though, why would she still be dreaming of Equestria, all these years later?

“I don’t want to see you go,” said Twilight, interrupting Sunset’s thoughts, “But if you really do want to go back home that badly, I could never stop you.” Unflinchingly, Twilight reached out to Sunset’s still outstretched hand and grasped it tenderly in both of her own. “If you’ll be happier in Equestria, then I’m ok with that. I just need to know.”

Sunset’s heart was pounding, and she wasn’t even sure why. She felt it in her throat, and she couldn’t find the words to say. She wanted to reassure Twilight that didn’t want to go back and that she was perfectly happy living here, but even now, those reassurances felt like lies. She couldn’t promise any of it, and that realization felt like a lead ball in her gut. She did know one thing for certain, however, and she swallowed hard before finally responding.

“Twilight. I love you, more than anything in this world, or any other. You are the best thing to ever happen to me, and I wouldn’t ever want to leave you.” No matter what, she would never leave the side of the woman she loved. That much was true.

Twilight’s expression didn’t shift for several seconds, her furrowed brow showing just how deep this worry ran for her. Then she took a deep breath, exhaled and smiled.

“Ok, I’ll trust you. I just wanted to check, that’s all. To be perfectly honest, I’ve always worried about you needing to move back to Equestria for one reason or another.”

Relaxing a little, Sunset allowed herself an amused chuckle. “I can’t imagine any reason why I’d have to move back. It’s not like I have family waiting, and I pretty much cut all ties when I was originally banished in the first place.” She paused, considering the times where she had to return for emergencies over the years, before adding, “I mean, occasional visits are probably going to happen, but not too often.”

Twilight blinked curiously as she tilted her head slightly. “Wait, you don’t have any family in Equestria? What about your parents?”

Sunset just shook her head grimly. “Nope. Both of my parents died when I was younger. We were really poor before I got into the School for Gifted Unicorns, and my mother worked herself to death to help provide for us. My father was crippled in an accident before I was born, and later died of illness right after I got accepted into the school. Haven’t I told you all of this before?”

“No, you never have,” responded Twilight as she gently squeezed Sunset’s hand. “Whenever I asked about your family in the past, you’d deflect the question. I didn’t know you were an… orphan.”

Sunset shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not a big deal. I was really young, and barely remember them. I remember my dad being really uptight, and I remember my mother even less. I was mostly just glad to have a home with Celestia in Canterlot. Ancient history by now.”

Twilight wore a skeptical frown, clearly unconvinced or satisfied with the answer. Before she could pry any further though, Sunset abruptly changed the subject.

“Hey, that reminds me, Twilight. What did you want to do for our anniversary tomorrow?” Sunset flashed an innocently positive smile, shifting her attitude away from the glum expression she wore only a moment ago.

Deciding to abandon the subject instead of risking any other conflict this morning, Twilight played along for the moment. “I haven’t actually given it any thought. I’ve been so busy at the lab that I completely forgot that our anniversary was coming up.”

“I guessed as much,” said Sunset with a smirk. “So does that mean it’s up to me to save the day with a date plan?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, unable to help herself from smiling at her partner’s enthusiasm. “Sure, of course Sunset. I totally trust you with your track record. Which restaurant are you planning on burning down this time?”

Sunset crossed her arms defensively, wearing an exaggerated pout. “Hey! You don’t get to blame that on me. It’s not my fault that restaurants seem to burn down every time I plan a date night for us. It always turns out for the best anyway, doesn’t it?”

“If by ‘turns out for the best’ you mean ‘we order fast food and then come home to make love until we pass out,’ then yes it always turns out perfectly.” Twilight was laughing now, having seemingly already forgotten about the awkwardness from a moment ago.

Sunset couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her girlfriend laughing, but ultimately couldn’t help but agree with her. They’ve been on lots of dates together over the course of the year, and it always seems to invite disaster when she tries to be fancy or romantic.

“Jokes aside, you might have a point, babe. I tend to have pretty terrible luck when trying to take you out around here. Maybe we could try something different?”

Twilight stifled her giggles long enough to hear Sunset out. “Different? Like what?”

“I don’t know… Maybe we could go on a trip somewhere? Get away from everything for a little while? Maybe we can take a romantic vacation to Europe or something like that.”

Twilight gave a tentative smile, shaking her head. “Sunset, we both know that we’re too busy for that. I work at the university lab, and you’re a manager at that sushi bar now. Even if we had the time, I don’t think we have the money for it.”

“Oh, yeah… I guess you’re right about that too. Damn.” Sunset frowned as she stuck another forkful of pancake in her mouth. By now, they had grown soggy and cold, but she still enjoyed them regardless. It was still Twilight’s cooking.

The two of them sat together, not speaking for the next few minutes as Sunset finished eating, the clicking of her cutlery being interspaced with occasional sips from her still-warm coffee. Finally, as she finished chewing her last bite, Sunset spoke again.

“So I guess tomorrow we’re just going to stay in and watch a movie or something?”

Twilight gave a half-smile and a shrug. “Seems like it. That’s not so bad, right?”

“I guess not,” replied Sunset, with a small frown, “But it still feels like a wasted opportunity. Our first anniversary should be something special. Or at least I thought so.”

Twilight took Sunset’s empty plate and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she got up and placed the dish in the sink. “That’s just reality, unfortunately. We may have magical superpowers, but at the end of the day, we’re just people with jobs and responsibilities. Maybe next year, Shim-Shim.” She gave her girlfriend one last smile before beginning to wash the dishes.

Sunset bit her cheek in annoyance, but chose not to say anything. As much as she hated to admit it, Twilight was right. Between their time and finances, there were really no good options for them right now. Sighing in defeat, she stood up and started for the bathroom to finally take her morning shower.

As she waited for the water to warm up, Sunset looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink. It wasn’t the first nor last time that she found herself staring into her own eyes, thinking of her past, and of her future. She thought about the lies she’s told over the years, and the regrets she’s worked to bury. She thought about the retribution she’ll inevitably face for her past mistakes. She thought about the happiness she has shared with Twilight, and the joys they have yet to explore together. She thought about the world she had to leave behind, and everything in it, and the dreams she keeps having of the life she could have led there.

Sunset snapped out of her daze long enough to test the water with a hand. Finding the temperature suitable, she stripped out of her clothes and left them on the tiled floor, stepping into the shower to let the steaming hot water wash over her. Breathing slowly, she let the feelings weighing on her shoulders roll off her body, at least for now.

Sunset’s primary concern right now was figuring out what to do for their anniversary. Although she outwardly agreed with Twilight, it doesn’t mean she accepted that reality. She was determined to figure out a way to give them both a magical experience that they would never forget. Something to make up for all of the failed date nights up to this point.

She knew that time and money was an issue. She could probably take a vacation from the sushi bar that she worked at, but Twilight’s lab was less likely to excuse her for an extended period. It was obvious that they didn’t like her taking weekends off in the first place, but she couldn’t blame them either. Twilight was easily the brightest mind there, and losing her for a vacation would be like losing an arm.

Sunset sighed deeply as she began to wash her hair. Am I trying too hard? Maybe Twilight is right. It doesn’t feel right, though. She means the world to me, and there’s just something wrong about not doing anything special for tomorrow.

Despite the flurry of thoughts spinning in her mind, Sunset managed to finish washing herself within a reasonable time frame. Still, she stood in the shower for a minute longer than needed, just taking in the feeling of hot water on her body. She enjoyed feeling warm like this, because it reminded her of nights spent together intertwined with Twilight. Still, she needed to get out eventually, and so she begrudgingly shut off the water and clambered out before Twilight got worried about the holdup.

Going through the motions, Sunset dried off her body, then soaked up as much water as possible from her hair. Then she slowly began to brush and blow dry it until it began to look somewhat normal. When she was finally satisfied, Sunset took another look at herself in the mirror. She wore a tired expression, her corners of her mouth turned down in a sad frown. Taking a deep breath, Sunset puffed out her chest, and put on a brave face, hoping that if she smiled hard enough, she might actually feel like she earned it for once. Were it so easy…

Sunset wrapped herself in her towel and stepped out of the bathroom with her clothes bundled up in her hands, feeling at least cleaner than she did when she entered. So far, her morning was proving emotionally exhausting, and neither coffee nor a hot shower was helping her much. Of course, much of the stress was self-imposed, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go of it yet.

She dumped her dirty laundry in the hamper that she shared with Twilight, and began to look in their closet for something clean to wear. She collected a fresh pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and proper undergarments. As she dressed herself, however, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye that she may have missed had she not already drank her morning coffee. A small glimmer of a reflection from some of the early morning light still coming in through the open window.

Curious, Sunset knelt down and pushed aside a small stack of old clothes to see that resting just behind them was the all-but-forgotten journal that was gifted to her by her old friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The light was glinting off the surface of the gemstone embedded in the journal’s cover, which showed both Sunset and Twilight’s cutie marks merged together as one, a symbol of their friendship and entwined destinies.

“Oh, hey. It’s my old journal. Heh.” Sunset picked it up and turned it over in her hands, gently brushing the dust off of its surface. For a moment, she lost herself in the old memories attached to the red book, remembering the adventures of her high school years. Skimming through the pages, she looked over the conversations she had with Princess Twilight, nostalgia warming her. It wasn’t until she reached the end of the conversations that the feelings of warmth began to evaporate.

“Wait, this last message was during the Starswirled Music Festival. When was that again?” Sunset began counting on one hand, trying to remember just exactly when that took place. She paled slightly when she realized that it was the summer between her junior and senior years of high school, just over three years ago.

Sunset’s breath caught in her throat. Has it really been that long? Did I really never speak to her since then? Not once? Did I actually forget the first friend I ever made? She swallowed loudly, her ears burning in shame as she stared at the thing in her hands, the bound journal suddenly feeling much heavier in her grip. She never messaged me either. Did something happen to her? Is she just too busy to bother? Or did… Did she forget me too?

Through the closed bedroom door, Sunset heard Twilight talking with someone in the kitchen, and assumed it was probably Spike. She considered bringing the journal out to show her girlfriend and ask her opinion, but stopped herself. After breakfast, it felt like a bad idea to start another discussion about Equestria and her past. Still, Sunset felt like she couldn’t just ignore this now that she had rediscovered it.

Stepping over to the nightstand on her side of the bed, she retrieved a pen from its drawer. She opened the book back up, and stared for a moment at the blank page, wondering what to write. She felt like if nothing else, she owed the Princess an apology. And so, Sunset began to write slowly and carefully.

“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? I’m sorry for not keeping in touch all this time, life here on Earth has been pretty crazy these last few years. I finished High School, and now I’m a manager at my favourite restaurant. I’ve fallen in love, and moved in with the girl of my dreams.” Probably not a good idea to mention that it’s Twilight, at least not yet. My life is better than I probably ever deserved, and it’s really all thanks to you. If you never showed me the Magic of Friendship, I probably never would have gotten this far. No, I definitely wouldn’t have. I owe my happiness to you, Princess, and I’m so sorry for not keeping in better contact. I hope you can forgive me for falling out of touch for so long, and I hope that we can start speaking more regularly, going forward.”

Looking over her words cautiously, Sunset nodded to herself and closed the journal to send the message. Then she waited. She waited for a minute, then two. When she didn’t receive an answer, she sighed loudly and set the book aside. Although Princess Twilight tended to respond immediately, it was perhaps just a little too hopeful to expect that to be the case now. It would likely be several more hours before the Princess had an opportunity to see, read, and respond to Sunset.

For the time being, she decided to take the book back into the closet, wrap it in a few layers of old clothes, and place it back where she found it. She didn't want Twilight to accidentally discover it if it randomly started buzzing and glowing, but she also wanted it out of her own sight for the time being. She still wasn't sure if she ever wanted a response or not. For years now, Sunset had been content with leaving Equestria behind, and now she officially put one foot back into it again for better or worse.

“Shim-Shim?” Sunset jerked up at the sound of Twilight speaking to her from the door. “I just got a call from the lab. Apparently something came up and they need me there today. I’m going to get going, and I’ll try to be back in a few hours, ok?”

Sunset responded as cheerily as possible: “Alright, babe. Be safe. I’ll see you later.” As soon as Twilight's face disappeared back around the corner, Sunset breathed a sigh of relief that the journal wasn’t discovered.

When Sunset left the bedroom, Twilight was already gone, and Spike was sitting on their couch, watching something on the TV. It looked like one of the cartoons that Fluttershy was fond of, specifically the one with the creepy-looking giant robots. At the moment though, the name of the show was escaping her.

“Hey, Spike. Watching that DVD that Fluttershy lent us? How is it?”

Spike peeled his eyes away from the screen to face her, an unusually thoughtful look on his face. “The show is actually really good, but not at all what I expected from Fluttershy. A lot of extreme violence, heavy topics, and disturbing imagery. I’m definitely going to have to talk to her about it next time I see her though, because to be honest, I don’t understand half of what’s going on. I can’t tell if it’s my short-term memory at fault, or if this show actually makes no sense.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow, now slightly more curious about the show that she previously had next to no interest in. “You don’t say? That is pretty weird for her. Maybe there’s a side to her that I haven’t seen. I might have to check this out now.”

Spike shuffled over on the couch, making room for her. “Did you want to watch some with me? I’m only a few episodes in, and I wouldn’t mind restarting.”

Sunset considered it for a moment, before shaking her head. “Nah, I probably shouldn’t. Gotta go to fencing practice soon. Don’t want to miss my lesson.”

Spike gave her an amused grin. “Did you forget that you woke up early today? Your lesson isn’t for another three hours, Sunset.”

“Oh. Right.” She frowned in annoyance, looking at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. It was only just past nine-thirty, still far too early for her to leave. While she was up, she might as well spend some time with Spike. “Yeah alright, why not? Let’s see what’s so great about this show.” Sunset took a seat next to Spike on the couch, getting cozy as he restarted the DVD from the beginning.

As they sat and watched, they bantered back and forth over the next two hours to each other about the impressive visuals, the baffling storytelling, and the unsettling themes that were depicted. Sunset felt more at ease now than she had all morning, despite the difficult to swallow content of the show in front of her. Waking up early was never easy for her, nor was Twilight’s earlier line of questioning.

Sunset found that it was easiest to live on Earth when she completely shut out Equestria from her mind, and focused on the day-by-day moments of human life. Whether that be stressful days at work or blissful nights with Twilight, it was focusing on the experiences unique to this world that helped her ignore all that she was missing from her birthplace. Although she couldn’t help her subconscious occasionally reminding her of Equestria, she wished that Twilight wouldn’t ask so many questions about it.

“Hey Sunset,” Spike said abruptly, during a particularly quiet moment in the show. “Ever consider taking Twi to Equestria?”

Sunset looked at him sideways, her confusion clear. “What are you talking about? I’ve taken her to Equestria before.”

He gave her a skeptical raise of his eyebrow before pawing the remote to pause the show. “C’mon, don’t play coy. You know what I mean, Sunset. As far as I’m aware, you’ve been to Equestria together once, for like an hour, by accident. I’m talking about an actual trip where you can show her the sights.”

Sunset crossed her arms defensively, glaring at the dog next to her. “Why would I? We’ve got everything we need right here on Earth.”

Spike however, looked completely unimpressed. “Why? I don’t know, maybe to show her some of your homeland’s culture? Let her get to know you better? You’re literally an alien, and Twi is a massive nerd. I don’t think you realize how much fun she had there, and how much she wants to go back.”

It was Sunset’s turn to look skeptical. “What are you talking about? She’s never mentioned wanting to go back before. I feel like if she really cared that much, she would have brought it up at some point in the last few years.”

Spike face-pawlmed and sighed, shaking his head. “You can be real thick sometimes, you know that Sunset?” He looked up at her, narrowing his eyes at her as he continued, “Twilight hasn’t asked because every time she tries to talk to you about Equestria, you shoot her down. She’s been trying to get you to open up, and you’re so wrapped up in yourself to notice. This is probably why it took you two so long to hook up in the first place. You two suck at communicating your feelings.”

Sunset recoiled slightly, taken aback by Spike’s harsh words. She couldn’t help but agree, either; he was completely right. It had never even occurred to her in all this time that Twilight’s interest in Equestria was an attempt to get to know her better. The fact that she confided this in her dog instead of telling Sunset directly was just proof that their communication skills were severely lacking, even after a year of dating.

“Crap… I guess you’re right, Spike. I’m starting to think we need couple’s therapy.”

Spike rolled his eyes with as much sass as he could muster from his tiny body. “No, you need to learn to open up and be honest with each other. Heck, maybe you can bring her to Equestria for your anniversary. That’d be a vacation to remember.”

Sunset raised a finger to retort, but couldn’t think of any counterargument. “That… is actually a good idea, Spike. I didn’t consider that.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty obvious at this point. Need any more relationship advice from a dog today?” Sunset shook her head slowly, prompting Spike to finally smile and paw the remote again. “Good! Then let’s keep watching. You’ll have plenty of time to talk things through with Twilight when she gets home. I want to see how these two use coordinated dance to win this fight.”

“You know what, Spike? You keep watching. I need to check something real quick. Don’t wait up on me.” He just shrugged in response, his eyes glued to the screen.

Sunset got up from the couch, and walked back into the bedroom, curiosity guiding her movements. She found that her decision to check on the journal was immediately rewarded, as when she opened the closet again, she discovered that the book was obviously glowing and vibrating in the back of the shelf that she left it despite her attempts to disguise it.

Pulling it out of its nook and unwrapping it from a few old shirts, she opened it and quickly turned it to the most recent page that contained fresh words, happy to see that although it took a few hours, Princess Twilight did in fact answer her:

“Dear Sunset Shimmer. It’s wonderful to hear from you again after all these years! I don’t blame you for not keeping in touch, in fact I’ve been very busy as well! A lot has happened in Equestria since we last spoke, and I’m glad to hear that you’ve been doing well for yourself on your own. Even better, you’ve found a special someone to live together with! I hope to someday meet them, if you ever decide to visit again. And Sunset… Please try to give yourself more credit. You’re a wonderful pony who deserves all you’ve earned. I only showed you the way, but you’ve worked hard to get where you are today. I hope to hear from you again soon.”

Sunset smiled, looking down at the freshly-inked page for a moment to drink in the words from her long-lost teacher. Feeling better already, Sunset made her way to her nightstand and collected her pen again, quickly jotting down a response:

“I’m happy to hear you say that, Princess. I’m glad you’re doing well, even if you’re busy. It’s also funny that you are interested in meeting my girlfriend, because today I was actually considering just that. What do you say to me and her coming to visit you in Equestria sometime soon?”

Chapter IV: Departing for a Departed Home

Sunset kept her breath steady as she focused, inhaling slowly through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Her movements were swift and light, with every step and flick of the wrist harboring steely intent. Not a single twitch of the muscle was wasted as she pressed into her opponent, the two flashing blades filling the air between them. Sunset had the advantage, and they both knew it. Despite that, she was careful not to grow confident or careless. Even if this was only practice, Sunset treated every fight like a real fight, and receiving even a single wound was unacceptable.

Keeping her left hand close to her body, Sunset carefully maneuvered her right with quick and calculated parries and strikes. While holding a strong defense was imperative, Sunset knew that pressing the offensive was just as important. No battle was won without attacking the opponent, and with every step forward, Sunset placed even more pressure on the rapidly retreating woman in front of her. With cold calculation, Sunset waited for the perfect moment. A single mistake that she could use to settle the fight, and with a hawk-like gaze, she spotted one such opportunity.

Her opponent made a sloppy lunge forward, and overextended, leaving her side vulnerable. With finesse, Sunset twisted her torso to parry the incoming thrust aside, and in one single swift motion, guided her own rapier down along the length of the blade to not only ensure a successful riposte, but to prevent her opponent from defending herself properly. Surely enough, in the blink of an eye, Sunset's sword had found its mark in the ribs of her opponent, the blade bending slightly against the thick padded armor. Between the surprise of the jab and her already weak footing, Sunset’s opponent finally toppled to the ground in defeat.

"Match point to Sunset Shimmer,” announced the nearby trainer who was overseeing the duel, “That’s five to zero, in favour of Sunset Shimmer. Perfectly executed as always.”

Pulling off her mask, Sunset sheepishly smiled at the compliment from her teacher, her face flushed equally from exertion and embarrassment. “Thank you, sir, though I wouldn’t call it perfect.”

“I don’t know, Sunset,” replied Blossomforth between heavy breaths as she looked up from the padded floor, “I couldn’t find a single opening that whole match. You’re scary to go against as it is, so if that wasn’t perfect, I don’t want to see what is.” Although Sunset had managed to avoid exhausting herself too much, it was clear that her sparring partner was practically gasping for breath.

Sunset offered a hand to Blossomforth and helped her to her feet with a friendly smile. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Blossomforth. You definitely made me work for the win, even if you don’t realize it. Your aggressive style really keeps me on my toes.”

Blossomforth pulled off her own mask before giving Sunset a skeptical look. “I feel like you’re giving me too much credit. I was practically flailing around at the end there. Trying to land a hit on you is like trying to stab a fly out of the air.”

Their instructor shook his head with a chuckle as he interjected on their banter. “Either way, that was one hell of a bout. Made for a great demonstration for the rest of the class. You two can go get cleaned up and head home, great work today.” As they left, he turned back to the class announcing to the dozen sitting onlookers, “Now that was a real duel! Who here can give five reasons why Sunset came out on top?”

The two women hung up their swords and protective gear along the back wall of the salle before making their way into the women’s locker room. Once inside, they started stripping out of their athletic clothing and getting back into their streetwear, a line of lockers separating them as they changed.

“I don’t know why the coach pairs us together. It’s like he’s trying to humiliate me. I know it’s good to have a friendly rivalry, but we’re totally on different levels, it’s not even fair.”

Sunset perked up at the voice of Blossomforth, shocked to hear her speaking like that. “Wait, are you talking about me? I didn’t know I made you feel that way.”

Blossomforth poked her head around the line of lockers, a confused look on her face. “I didn’t say anything. Who are you-” She paused, her eyes going wide. “Woah. Uh, Sunset? Is that pendant you’re wearing supposed to glow like that?”

Glancing down at the geode fragment around her neck, Sunset could see that it was indeed glittering with an ethereal light. Remembering the last time this happened in high school, Sunset realized with guilt that she had unintentionally read Blossomforth’s thoughts. Even if it was an accident, she couldn’t help but feel bad for the intrusion on her peer’s privacy.

It was at that moment that Sunset noticed that the geode wasn’t just glowing, it was getting brighter by the second. As it grew brighter, the range of influence of her empathic powers grew, and soon she was listening to the thoughts of everyone in the building, a swarm of voices now invading her mind. The geode only grew brighter still as a dozen voices became a hundred, and there was nothing but a shrill cacophony of commotion in Sunset’s skull, doubling her over in pain. So loud were the voices in her head that she couldn’t even hear Blossomforth’s voice as she called out to Sunset in alarm.

Then, it was all gone. Her geode stopped glowing as suddenly as it began, and as the magic left her, so did the clamour in her head. Sunset blinked a few times, the pressure behind her eyes slowly abating as she took several deep breaths.

“Holy crap, what was that? Are you ok?” Blossomforth was crouching beside Sunset with a hand on her back, the woman’s face plastered with concern and fear.

Sunset took one more deep breath before climbing back to her feet, pushing her hair back with a hand. She tried to keep her expression steely and cool, but her heart was racing. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m ok. Sorry for freaking you out, there. I think everything is alright now. But what the hell caused that magical influx? Did something happen to one of the girls? To Twilight? I need to get dressed and call her.

“You’re sure everything is ok? I heard from some of the other girls that you have some sort of magic powers… You’re not going to explode or something, right?”

Sunset couldn’t help but scoff at the notion. By now, most of the people of Canterlot were familiar with the notion that magic was real, especially with how public some of the events of her high school years were. It was still hotly debated beyond the borders of Canterlot, with many people online regarding the magical anomalies of the region as elaborate hoaxes to boost tourism. Even though most people in the city accepted that magic was real, many still hadn’t seen any first hand.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, I’m ok now. My little pendant here has got some magic in it, but I haven’t used it in years. It kinda just flared up for some reason, and it caught me by surprise.” She paused, giving Blossomforth a reassuring smile before adding, “This has happened before. I’m not gonna explode.”

Clearly unconvinced, Blossomforth shrugged and started moving back towards her locker. “Alright, if you say so, I’ll trust you. I’m going to finish getting dressed and go. My girlfriend is picking me up, so I don’t want to keep her waiting. I’ll see you next week, Sunset. Take care of yourself, ok?”

“Yeah, totally. Sorry for freaking you out there. See you next week.” As much as she felt bad for accidentally reading Blossomforth’s mind, Sunset made a mental note to address the thoughts she overheard. She really didn’t want her sparring partner loathing her like that, especially when they use swords.

Turning her attention back to her own locker, Sunset pulled on her jeans, t-shirt, and riding jacket as fast as possible before slinging her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her helmet. Slamming the locker shut, she hurried through the locker room and outside through the studio’s back door. Once she was standing in the parking lot behind the building, Sunset fished out her cell phone and speed dialed Twilight. As the phone rang, she spotted a blonde woman leaning up against a car nearby, who Sunset assumed was Blossomforth’s waiting girlfriend.

There was a beep in her ear as Twilight picked up finally. She coughed loudly into the receiver before speaking, her voice raspy. “Sunset? Is everything alright? Did something happen to you?”

Sunset’s brow furrowed, her concerns feeling validated by her girlfriend’s seemingly injured voice. “I should be asking you that. I had a flare-up with my geode. What’s happening at the lab? Why are you coughing?” She overheard some muffled shouting from Twilight’s end and patiently waited for a response, trying her best not to jump to conclusions. Finally, she heard Twilight’s voice come through again along with the sound of a rapidly ringing bell.

“I’m really sorry about that, Sunset. We were running a test on my geode, and I forgot to call to warn you first. I know you wear yours all the time, and I hope you weren’t hurt.”

“Besides getting blasted by the thoughts of everyone within a square mile for a few seconds, I’m fine. What happened with your test? Why do I hear shouting and a fire alarm?” There was no response for a full minute before she heard Twilight again, thankfully without any more background noise.

“Sorry Sunset, I had to go outside to get away from all of that. Long story short, we hooked up my geode to a machine to try and draw power from it, with the idea being that we could maybe measure the magic and quantify it. Using that data, we would be able to find other sources of magic and maybe find a way to start to use it industrially, like a power source for other things.” Twilight stopped to breathe, which reminded Sunset of all the times that Twilight ran out of breath explaining nerdy stuff back in school. That enthusiasm was one of the reasons she loved her girlfriend so much.

“Alright, so I’m guessing this machine went out of control and blew up, huh?” There was a hint of sarcasm in Sunset’s voice, but Twilight didn’t seem to notice.

“More or less, yes. I managed to get my geode out of there before the whole lab went up in smoke, but right now they’re evacuating the building to deal with the fires. We got a lot of really useful data from this experiment though, so I don’t think it was a loss. The computers should have uploaded the readings to the backup cloud before shorting out, so I hope we don’t have to restart from scratch… Whenever we can start again, that is. We’re going to have to replace a lot of equipment.”

“Not out of your paycheck, I hope?” Right now, the two of them were perfectly financially stable between Twilight’s research grants and Sunset’s day job at the sushi bar, but replacing thousands of dollars of equipment would definitely put them in the red.

“No, no. Don’t worry about that. The lead researcher took full responsibility. This whole thing was her idea, so she offered to pay for the damages herself. We’re honestly lucky no one got hurt.”

Sunset breathed a small sigh of relief, when an idea occurred to her. “Wait, so the lab is totally ruined, right? Does that mean you’re going to be off from work for the foreseeable future?”

“I suppose so, why? I’m guessing you’re about to propose a silver lining to this situation.”

Sunset started subconsciously smiling, her excitement palpable. “Maaaaybe. But first, meet me at home, because I want to talk about this in person. You’re ok to drive, right?”

“A little smokey, but I can drive. I’ll have to clean my glasses first, though. I guess I’ll see you then?”

“Sounds great, babe. Love you lots, I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you too, Sunset. I’ll see you at home.”

And with that, the call ended, leaving Sunset standing in the parking lot with a big, goofy smile on her face. Pulling on her helmet, Sunset climbed onto her motorcycle and started it up, giving a glance at the car in the parking lot. Sure enough, Blossomforth was now chatting with the woman beside the car. Sunset gave a wave, and got one back from the pair before she peeled away from the parking lot and out onto the Canterlot streets, headed for home.

Sunset arrived home at four o’clock, judging by the time on the clock hanging in the kitchen, and before Twilight based on the lack of a second pair of shoes by the door. Kicking off hers, Sunset immediately started for the bedroom, but stopped by the couch, to see Spike transfixed by the TV, which was still playing the anime he started this morning.

“Hey Spike, I’m back… How’s the show been treating you?”

He pawed at the remote to pause the DVD before peeling his eyes away to look at Sunset, his eyes glassy and staring far past her. “It has simultaneously been enlightening and maddening, like staring into the depths of the abyss. I feel like the more I watch, the more I lose myself. Yet I cannot bring myself to stop, an instinctual compulsion driving me to see it through to the end, even at the cost of my sanity.”

Sunset gawked at him before glancing at the paused frame of the show, to see what appeared to be a human brain connected to a computer with a woman apparently trying to hack it from a laptop. She recoiled in abject horror and looked away from the disturbing sight back at the small dog in front of her.

“Maybe you should stop watching this show, Spike. I don’t think it’s healthy for a cartoon to make you feel that way.”

He blinked twice, the blank stare disappearing in an instant, replaced with an amused expression. “Wait, what? This show is great. I can totally see why Fluttershy recommended it.”

Stealing another glance at the screen, Sunset grimaced again before nodding and deciding to change the subject. “Yeah, ok. I’ll take your word for it. I couldn’t really get into it earlier anyway, so at least one of us can enjoy it. Though before you start it up again, can I talk to you real quick?”

“Yeah, totally. What’s up?”

“Well, long story short, Twilight’s lab burned down-”

“Of course it did,” Interrupted Spike with a sarcastic eye roll, “You were planning a special occasion with her. Something has to burn down.”

Sunset paused to glare at Spike before continuing. “Like I was saying. Her lab burned down because of reasons completely unrelated to me, and so it seems like the vacation I was planning just got pushed forward. Because I wanted to take her out for at least a week, we’re going to have to get you a sitter. Have any preferences?”

Spike put a thoughtful paw to his chin, debating his options. “Well I definitely don’t want some random person looking after me for a week, and although Fluttershy is always a first pick, I know she’s super busy with running the animal shelter nowadays.”

Sunset pulled out her phone from her jeans pocket and started scrolling through her options, before stopping on one such potential candidate. “How about Flash Sentry? You get along with him, right?”

Spike gave a small huff, but waved a paw dismissively. “Yeah, sure. We get along fine. At this point, you might as well invite him to move in with how often you call him over these days.”

Sunset could feel her cheeks heat up at Spike’s low jab. “Hey, Twilight and I are adults. What we choose to do with whom is our business. Don’t make it seem like he comes over that often.” She tried and failed to hide her redness behind her hair as she turned away to look at the nearest and most interesting wall.

“Call him up then. Not like you two are gonna be around to jump his bones or anything. Maybe I can convince him to play O&O with me and Mac sometime.”

Without giving Spike an annoyed glance, Sunset thumbed the speed dial for Flash Sentry. After a few rings, she was greeted by the somewhat surprised sound of his voice.

“Hey, Sunset! What’s up? Haven’t heard from you in a bit, how are you doin?” She couldn’t help but smile at his upbeat attitude. He always seemed to have his head on straight.

“Hi, Flash. I actually wanted to call you up for a favour, if you’re available for the next week or so.”

“No offense, but I’m hoping you’re not asking me to uh… join you and Twilight again. Because I’m pretty sure I can’t go for days on end, even if it’s for you two.”

Sunset audibly groaned aloud in frustration, earning a stifled chortle from Spike. She glared daggers in his direction before answering Flash. “No, it’s nothing like that. I was hoping to take Twilight out on a trip, and I was looking for someone to watch Spike and the apartment while we’re away.”

“Oh! Well in that case, yeah, I’m totally free. I’m in-between jobs right now, so I’m flush with time to kill. I can totally look after Spike while you two are away, he’s cool.”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Spike’s cool,” Sunset said, emphasizing the word with a snarky sneer at the dog, who stuck out his tongue in response, “I really do appreciate the help, though, especially last-minute like this.”

“Hey, it’s no problem, really. I’m always happy to help out, Sunset. When should I be there?”

Sunset stopped to think. If all went according to plan, they would leave at eight and return in a week’s time. Of course, there was always the possibility that something comes up and forces them home sooner or later than that, but she wasn’t going to worry about those kinds of hypotheticals right now.

“Let’s aim for eight o’clock, how about that? Twilight’s out right now, but she should be home soon. Do you want us to make you something to eat?”

“Don’t worry about that, I can eat something before I come over. I’ve gotta pack a bag and get a few things together before then, but I’ll see you later, Sunset!”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later!” With a small beep, the end called, and Sunset sighed in relief. Glancing at Spike, she smiled brightly. “Alright! That’s one loose end tied!”

He couldn’t help but smirk in response to her optimism. “Maybe call your job next? You still need those days off.”

“...Right. Can’t celebrate just yet.” She sighed again, flipping back through her contacts to call up her boss. After a few rings, she heard the familiarly monotone voice of her employer.

“Sunset Shimmer. Is something the matter?”

She chewed on her lip for a second, and took a steady breath before speaking. “Good afternoon, Flashy Fillet, sir. I was wondering if I could maybe get this week off? I know it’s short notice, but-”

“This week, you say,” he interrupted, “What for?”

Leaning against the counter to steady herself, Sunset tried her best not to sound nervous. Although he was always a fair man, she couldn’t help but always feel intimidated by his deadly serious demeanor, especially after seeing his knife work in the kitchen.

“I wanted to take my girlfriend out on a surprise vacation. I know it’s very sudden, but the opportunity only arose today, and-”

“Alright, fine. You get the week. Do you need anything else?”

Sunet blinked twice before she realized what he said. “Wait, just like that? Shouldn’t I find someone to cover for me or-”

“I’ll take the shifts. I’ll just subtract it from your vacation days.”

“I don’t know what to say, sir.” Sunset allowed the tension to roll off of her as she gave Spike a thumbs-up and a wink. “Thank you so much for this, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

“I know what it’s like to be young and in love. Always make sure to enjoy it while you can.” He paused for a second, and without a change in his voice, added, “You never know if something might happen to tear you two apart.”

Sunset paused for a second to swallow his words and the weight that they carried. She felt a ball of sadness settle in her stomach as she properly digested his meaning. After several seconds of silence, Sunset nodded to herself and responded finally.

“Thank you again, sir. I’ll remember that.” The beep she heard told her that the conversation was over. She wanted to feel happy that she got her vacation days, that last, grim note left her feeling uncomfortably numb.

“What’s wrong, Sunset? What did he say?” Spike recaptured her attention, and was looking at her with worry. Waving her hand, she dismissed his concern.

“It’s nothing Spike. I got the vacation days sorted. My boss just said something sad is all.”

“Alright, then. Last person you should probably check with is the Pony Princess. I know you spoke with her earlier today, but you should definitely double-check that she’s ready to receive you and Twilight.”

Sunset allowed an amused grin to cross her face. “I can really see why Twilight calls you her number one assistant. Keeping to-do lists is second nature to you by now, isn’t it?”

Spike raised an eyebrow, clearly unamused. “Yeah, that tends to happen when your owner is an OCD nerd with social anxiety. So excuse me for trying to make sure we tick off all the boxes on the ‘Making sure Sunset and Twilight’s anniversary goes well’ list.”

“Alright, alright, point taken. I’ll go message her now.”

Sunset made her way past the couch where Spike was sitting and into the bedroom. Right where she left it was her journal, resting on her nightstand. Sitting down on the bed like before, she picked up the journal and flipped it open to the most recently inked pages from their discussion earlier today. Written there was a full vacation agenda proposed by Princess Twilight this morning, carefully planned for maximum enjoyment in the smallest allotted time. Three different possible schedules based on a single day, a week, and a month scrawled hastily but diligently across three pages.

Sunset traced the magically inked words with a finger delicately, smiling at the thought of finally seeing her mentor again after so many years. Not just that, but finally being able to return to Equestria and see how much has changed since she was away. Taking a pen in hand, she began to write out another message on the next blank page.

“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle. I know we were just talking earlier this morning, but there have been a few lucky developments today, and I think that I can come by for a visit sooner than we thought. Would it be alright if we pushed the vacation plan forward to tonight? I know it’s very last-minute, but I’m not sure when I’ll have another opportunity like this to visit Equestria with my girlfriend. Please respond as soon as possible, and let me know when it’s ok to cross through the portal.”

Sunset took a deep breath and exhaled, hoping for a response before Twilight got home. Just as she closed the book to set it aside, it immediately began to vibrate and glow, nearly making her drop it. Flipping it back open to the newest page, she saw that the Princess had already replied with a short, but concise message.

“Dear Sunset Shimmer. I already took the initiative and made sure to have everything on standby and ready for your arrival. Because I’m still busy in Canterlot, Starlight will greet you in Ponyville. I’m going to send her this journal, so that when you’re ready, you can just message her and she’ll open the portal for you. I look forward to seeing you and your special someone soon!”

Sunset was impressed by the swiftness of the Princess’ action, but was pleased nonetheless. Everything seemed to be going her way tonight. The last thing she needed to do was convince Twilight to come with her to Equestria, which may be either the easiest part of the plan, or the hardest. That was unfortunately a reality she would have to immediately deal with, considering that she heard the apartment’s front door opening followed by the voice of Twilight calling in.

“Spike! I’m home! Is Sunset back yet?” Sunset opened her mouth to answer, but Spike beat her to it.

“Hey, Twilight. We’re both home. Sunset’s in the bedroom, but she’ll be back out in a moment I think.”

Sunset closed the journal and set it back on her nightstand before rising from the bed and out into the living room to greet her girlfriend. As expected of someone who escaped a large fire, she was absolutely covered in soot, but that didn’t stop Sunset from giving Twilight a big, happy hug. Twilight tried to fight it at first, not wanting to get Sunset dirty, but quickly gave into the affection and hugged back just as tight.

“Welcome home, Twilight. I’m glad to see you’re alright, and you’re just in time too. I wanted to tell you something exciting-”

Twilight peeled herself away from the hug in order to kiss Sunset on the lips, effectively silencing her mid-sentence. She held the kiss for several seconds before taking a step back, leaving the latter looking rather dazed.

“How about you tell me after I’ve had a shower and a fresh change of clothes?” She paused, looking up and down at the now similarly soot-ridden Sunset in front of her. “And maybe you should change too, while we’re at it.”

Sunset shrugged playfully, before giving a wink at Twilight. “Hey, I don’t mind getting dirty with you, especially if it ends up with us both losing clothes.”

From across the room, Spike groaned in frustration, hiding his head in his paws. “I think I preferred it when you two were arguing, hearing you two flirt is so much worse.” Rising to his feet, he hopped down from the couch and headed for his room. “Just let me know when you two are going to leave, I’m going to take a nap.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side, looking at Sunset. “Leave? We’re going somewhere together?”

Sunset gave an exasperated sigh, her initial surprise ruined by Spike. She turned back to Twilight, with a small smile on her face. “Yeah, I figured that since you’ll be out of work for a while, we can take that anniversary vacation we talked about this morning. I already got my days off, a housesitter lined up, and the whole trip planned for. I just needed you to agree.”

Twilight blinked a few times in shock. Her expression quickly changed to one of sheer joy as she pulled Sunset into another hug. “Of course! How could I say no? I knew you had something planned!” She loosened her hug enough to face Sunset again, her dirty glasses failing to hide the excitement glittering in her eyes. “You never fail to make the most of a bad situation, do you know that, Sunset? That’s one of the many reasons I love you.”

Sunset’s small smile broadened as she beamed in response to her girlfriend’s own glee. “I love you too, Twilight.” They continued hugging for several more moments before Twilight managed to pry herself away from Sunset, adjusting her glasses and finally beginning to take off her jacket.

“So don’t leave me hanging here, tell me where we’re going. How did you afford this last minute vacation of yours?” She shot Sunset an incredulous glance, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. “You didn’t plan out a super expensive trip, did you? Did you take out a loan or something?”

Sunset put up her hands defensively, shaking her head. “No, no! Nothing like that! I just had to get in touch with an old friend and ask for a favour, that’s all. In fact, this whole trip is going to be totally free.”

Twilight’s skeptical expression didn’t improve hearing this. “A favour? From an old friend? You do realize that sounds even worse than you just taking a loan, right? What aren’t you telling me?”

Sunset sighed in defeat before smirking at her girlfriend’s intuition. “Alright, Twilight. I’ll come clean. I spoke with Spike about possible vacation ideas, and he convinced me to take you to Equestria. I found my old Journal that I used back in high school to keep in touch with Princess Twilight, and I used it to message her. Turns out she’s super excited to see us both again, and she offered to pay for the whole trip, no strings attached. A castle to stay in, fancy food, and tours of all the most important historical landmarks. One full week in Equestria as royal VIPs.”

Twilight’s face had lost all trace of suspicion, replaced entirely by shock and awe. “Wow. I’m not sure what to say. That’s… Wow.”

Sunset bit her lip, unsure of what to say next. “You’re not mad, are you? I know maybe suggesting a trip to Equestria may be in poor taste after this morning, but Spike told me that-”

For the second time now, Twilight interrupted Sunset with a kiss, grabbing her by the face and pressing their lips together hard. This time she held it for even longer, and when she finally did pull away, Sunset looked to be about ready to topple over, with a dumb look on her face.

“I don’t know what world you’ve been living in, Sunset Shimmer, but a fully-paid trip to an alien world full of magic to study and history to learn is pretty much the perfect vacation for me. This morning’s spat wasn’t about you physically leaving me alone, I’ve been worried about you ending the relationship because you’re obviously homesick. You’ve always been free to visit Equestria whenever you want, Sunset. Though I would prefer it if you took me with you when you did, I also don’t mind if you just take some time away for yourself.”

Sunset shook the stars out of her eyes, leaning on the kitchen counter to steady her shaking legs. Smiling apologetically, she nodded her head. “Ok, I get it, I’m a big dumb idiot who totally misread your feelings on the matter. And you’re right, I’ve been really itching to visit Equestria for a while, I just thought you didn’t want me to leave you alone. Again, totally just me being stupid.” Here’s hoping that’s all this is. Homesickness.

Twilight gently tapped Sunset on the head as she moved past, making her way towards the bathroom for her shower. “You’re not stupid, Sunset, you’re just a little too selfless at times. Next time, just talk to me about it, ok? We’re adults.”

Sunset gave one more affirmative nod before moving to the couch and sitting down to take a moment’s rest. It had been a long day for her, and a lot had happened. That said, she felt quite satisfied with how things turned out. She was going over the plan in her head, making sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. Time off, check. Housesitter, check. Don’t really need to pack for the trip seeing as everything will be provided, and there’s not really a need to worry about clothes in Equestria… Is there anything I’m forgetting?

Her mental monologue was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Turning around to see what else Twilight needed, Sunset was blindsided by the naked body of her girlfriend in front of her. Her face immediately turned a bright red as her breath caught in her throat, unable to speak. It certainly wasn’t the first time seeing this sight, but it never ceased to stun her.

Twilight’s eyes glistened playfully behind her glasses as she spoke, “I was wondering, do you want to join me in the shower, Shim-Shim? I did get some ash on you, after all.” Without hesitation, Sunset stood up and started to pull off her clothes.

“If I ever say no to that question I want you to shoot me, because only my evil doppelganger would ever refuse that offer. Hell yes I want to shower with you.”

Once the two women washed themselves, dirtied themselves, and washed themselves again, they got dressed and worked on dinner together. Sunset spent much of the time explaining the details of the vacation to Twilight. They would be meeting Starlight Glimmer on the other side of the portal and spending time in the Ponyville Castle of Friendship before going to Canterlot for tours and meeting Princess Twilight. There, they would spend a few nights in Canterlot Castle, before returning to Ponyville and coming home. Flash Sentry would be watching Spike and the apartment while they were away, and they would be back one week from now.

With it likely being their last opportunity to eat meat before they spend a week in Equestria, they decided to have chicken parmesan, and by the time they sat down to eat their food, it was already seven o’clock. With rumbling bellies, they happily dug into their food, with Spike joining them for dinner. At first, the only sounds at the table were the sounds of satisfied munching, but as Twilight was plating her second serving, she finally spoke up with a question posed to her girlfriend.

“Hey, Sunset, I was wondering something that I forgot to ask earlier. You said that the Princess was excited to see us, but you did tell her that you were dating me specifically, right? Because I feel like that would be a bit of a bombshell to drop on her without warning.”

Sunset nearly choked on her chicken in surprise, having hoped to avoid this line of questioning. As usual, she couldn’t slip anything past Twilight, and she couldn’t bear lying to her love either. Taking a moment to properly chew and swallow her food, she managed to come up with a believable enough excuse that wasn’t exactly lying either.

“Well you see, I might have kinda sorta never mentioned you by name. To be fair, she never asked, and I totally love calling you ‘the love of my life’ to anyone who will listen to me gush about you.”

Twilight shook her head in disappointment. “Listen here, flatterer. If the Princess kicks us out of her castle because you forgot to mention that you’re sleeping with her alternate universe’s counterpart, I’m gonna be pretty peeved myself.” Despite the warning, she couldn’t help but giggle at the absurdity of it. She couldn’t blame Sunset for hiding that fact, though, because it’s definitely a hard topic to discuss.

Grabbing another piece for herself, Sunset waved a hand dismissively. “I’m pretty sure she’ll be alright with it. Hopefully she’ll just crack a joke or two and leave it at that. She’s never really been the type to overreact, at least as far as I’ve known her.”

“Well if this magical pony goddess is anything like our Twilight, I can definitely imagine that any freak-outs she’s ever had would be pretty legendary.” The two women frowned at Spike, who continued chewing on his chicken, ignoring their looks. Still, they couldn’t help but giggle.

“Alright then, Sunset. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I’m sure you’re right and I’m just a little anxious. She seemed really nice the last time I met her, so I guess it’s no stretch to believe she would be ok with us dating.”

“Don’t worry about it, babe. We’re gonna have an awesome time, you’ll see. I even already packed a bag with some essentials, so don’t worry about that. Toothbrushes, notepad and pencils for you, spare glasses, our geodes, and some room to spare for souvenirs. We don’t need clothes or anything like that since we’ll be ponies, so we get to pack light.”

“Good point. Well let’s finish eating so we can get going then. Last time I was in Equestria, I spent a good portion of that time hiding from the townsfolk, so it’ll be nice to finally walk around and enjoy the scenery.”

“Yeah, we’ll do it right this time.” Sunset reached over to Twilight and gave her hand a small squeeze, paired with a loving smile. Twilight smiled back, and then they refocused on eating.

While they were doing the dishes, Flash arrived, and they welcomed him in while they finished final preparations. After sending a heads-up message to Starlight, Sunset left the journal in Flash’s care, instructing him on its use in case he or Spike needed to get in touch with them while they were in Equestria, as well as to let them know when they were returning. With a few final goodbyes, the two women left their apartment and rode the elevator downstairs before leaving the building.

Once outside, they took a bus to Canterlot High, and with it being long after school hours, they found it pleasantly empty. Although it was Summer, the cool evening air was beginning to chill them both, so they hastily made their way to the large monument in front of the school, not wanting to be any colder than they already were.

The large equine statue had been replaced last year after Sunset and her friends had all graduated (likely to avoid it being destroyed again by them), and it was nice to see it back after spending so much time in school with it missing. The front of the school always felt slightly naked without it to her. She reached out to the glassy surface of the portal, and found that her hand sunk into its surface like water. It was already open and waiting for them.

“Are you ready, Sunset?” Twilight held out her hand towards her girlfriend, who took it in her own without hesitation.

“Of course I am. Let’s go, Twilight.” With one final nod, the pair stepped through the portal together. Their vision went white as Sunset finally returned home, and Twilight left hers behind.

“Welcome back to Equestria, Sunset! And you must be- Woah. No way.”

Sunset’s vision returned to her just in time to see Starlight’s expression of disbelief. She realized a second later that she wasn’t holding Twilight’s hand anymore. Then, in a flash of relief, it occurred to her that it wasn’t because Twilight was missing, it was simply because they didn’t have hands anymore.

Scrambling to remember how to stand as a pony, Sunset’s forehooves thankfully fell forward and landed strong, some long-lost muscle memory returning to her after several years away. Unfortunately for Twilight, she lacked such experience, and tumbled down onto her face. Fortunately, Sunset was fast to react and helped her girlfriend back to her feet… Or hooves, as it were the current case.

Once she was standing, Twilight reached up to massage her snout while looking around the room. Following her gaze, Sunset let her eyes wander, and it suddenly struck her that they were standing in the Ponyville Castle, specifically the library. A sensation of nostalgia swept over Sunset as she took in the crystalline architecture, but her thoughts were interrupted by Starlight noisily clearing her throat, drawing the attention of the two lovers.

“So Sunset, I take it this is your marefriend, huh?” Her eyes scanned Twilight up and down a few times, still wide with surprise.

Sunset similarly cleared her throat with a cough, blushing profusely. “Yeah, this is Twilight Sparkle. My… Girlfriend. Remember Twilight?”

Starlight’s puzzled expression slowly shifted into amusement as she stifled a snicker. Looking back and forth between the two unicorns in front of her, Starlight’s laughter began to build until she couldn’t contain it anymore, finally bursting out with a loud howl of hilarity.

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she watched Starlight’s reaction, trading a glance with Sunset who only offered a confused shrug. Finally, Starlight’s cackling died down to a point where she could speak again.

“Sweet Celestia, that is the funniest thing I’ve seen in years. I can’t believe you're dating Twilight Sparkle. Not our Twilight, of course, but still. That’s gold.” As she wiped a tear from her eye, the pair continued to wait for an explanation for the uproar. Finally realizing that this situation isn’t nearly as funny to them as it was to her, Starlight explained further.

“Sorry, I was just imagining the Princess’ reaction to this. I’m not sure how it’s going to go down, but I definitely want to be there to see her face. It’ll be totally priceless.”

Finally, Twilight spoke up, asking, “You don’t think that she’ll be upset, do you? I really don’t want to cause a tizzy.”

Starlight waved a hoof dismissively as she started walking towards the door. “Nah, it’ll be fine. She’s seen stranger things by now. I just bet that her jaw is gonna hit the floor when she realizes the implications. That’s later though, let me show you two your room. I’m sure you want to get settled in, it’s really late.”

Shrugging at Twilight again, Sunset started after Starlight, with Twilight in tow. While they walked down the hall however, Sunset couldn’t help but ask about something. “Just for clarification, Starlight. When you said ‘implications,’ what did you mean by that?” She narrowed her eyes at the unicorn, wondering if Starlight meant what she thought she meant.

Starlight glanced at the pair and blushed, before averting her eyes straight forward. “Oh uh… Just a little joke, don’t mind me. Nothing important.”

Trotting forward, Twilight placed herself between the pair, and smirked at Starlight. “I think you were implying that Sunset knows how the Princess tastes now, weren’t you? You’d be right.”

Both Starlight and Sunset halted dead in their tracks as they toppled over in embarrassment, their faces beet red. Twilight tittered at them, impishly swishing her tail at them as she continued ahead. Starlight looked away from the sight while Sunset stared straight ahead, mesmerized.

In her daze, all Starlight could sputter out was, “I’m not used to such a… confident Twilight. I’m not sure if I should congratulate you, or pray for you.”

All Sunset could do was dumbly nod in response. For the last few years, she had been questioning whether or not she was actually capable of being attracted to other ponies, because she only ever had eyes for Twilight, a human. Now the answer was fairly clear to her. She could be attracted to anything as long as it was still her Twilight.

“Hey Starlight, I don’t mind if you sleep in the hallway, but I still don’t know where the guest room is.” The pair scrambled back to their hooves as Twilight called over her shoulder, snapping them out of their shared stupor.

“Right, sorry! Please follow me, you two.” Retaking the lead, Starlight led the couple to their room, a few doors down from her own. Along the way, she pointed out the bathroom as well as the locations to the dining room and main hall. She avoided Twilight’s gaze as she ushered them inside their quarters, and excused herself for the night.

With one final goodnight and goodbye, Sunset closed and locked the door, turning back towards her girlfriend who had already flopped onto the king-sized bed, sprawling out across it.

“Shim-Shim! You have got to lay on this! It’s so soft! I didn’t know beds could be this comfortable!” Twilight rolled around on the bed, enjoying the feeling of her new coat against the plush sheets.

Dropping her saddlebag by the door, Sunset laid her geode down on the nightstand beside the bed before she laid herself next to Twilight, smiling at her girlfriend. “Trust me, everything is comfier in Equestria. Just wait until you try some of the food. You’re a great cook, don’t get me wrong, Twi. But even your culinary skills can’t match up to anything made with Earth Pony grown ingredients.”

“I’ll just have to wait and see for myself.” Putting on her best pompous voice, Twilight rolled onto her back and waved her hooves around melodramatically as she spoke, “I fully expect you to lavish me with the finest cuisine in Equestria. ‘Royal VIP treatment,’ right?” She added a wink at the end, before snorting dorkily at her own joke.

Sunset giggled and tilted her head at Twilight with a smirk. “We’ll see, your highness. Though I’m curious where all this confidence is coming from. You’re not usually so… Bold.”

Twilight paused to look up at Sunset, smiling apologetically. “I guess I’m just really excited to be taking some time off from work to finally see your homeland. The fact that it’s an entirely alien world full of magic is a pretty big bonus too. I almost feel like Daring Do on some epic adventure, seeing uncharted lands.” Blushing sheepishly, she tried to hide behind her hooves as the weight of her previous actions in the hallways finally caught up with her. “I suppose some bravado comes with the territory. Sorry if I embarrassed you earlier.”

Sunset waved a hoof before nuzzling past Twilight’s hooves and tenderly kissing her on the nose. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re having fun with this. If nothing else, you’ve ensured that Starlight is going to be giving us plenty of space going forward.”

Feeling relieved, Twilight’s courage swelled back up as she smiled mischievously at Sunset, bringing their muzzles close enough that they could feel each other’s breath. “Well then, if we’re going to be left alone, why don’t you help me ‘study up’ on my Equestrian anatomy tonight? I’m thinking of pulling an all-nighter.”

Sunset’s eyes went wide at the realization that Twilight didn’t seem to care what species she was either. As their lips met, she mentally resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to be getting much sleep tonight.

Chapter V: Shining, Shimmering, Splenid

The first thing that Ignatius saw when his optics rebooted was not what he expected at all. It was not a chaotic landscape full of non-euclidean geometry, flaring wild magicks, and bizarre colours splotched around like a splatter painting as was described in the documentation. No, the first thing that he saw was a dark, damp cave with an opening ahead that was streaming in bright white light through what appeared to be a roaring waterfall.

The second thing he saw was slightly more predictable, however. Curled up on the floor of the cave just in front of him was Captain Moreno, who appeared to be dry-heaving, likely a result of the elixir brewed by the Lunar Queen. Looking her over quickly, her body seemed completely unchanged by the trip, which meant that the potion worked as intended, albeit with unforeseen side-effects. Ignatius added the current circumstance to his mental list of reasons to be happy being inorganic.

Thankfully, his helmet’s systems had already rebooted by now, and he reconnected to Claire’s own radio to speak to her directly through the din of the waterfall. “Are you alright, Captain? We seem to be safe for the moment, if you need to catch your breath.”

Before he could get an answer, the giant mirror behind him began to loudly shimmer and warp, forewarning him of the arrival of the next members of his team. Hooking his hands under Claire’s arms, he yanked her up and over his shoulder, and leap out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by the mountain of metal that fell through the portal next.

Crashing down loudly onto the wet stone of the cave, Rhys’ battlesuit scraped loudly as he struggled to rise to his feet before collapsing again. Setting Claire down in a sitting position against the wall to let her rest, Ignatius walked over to Rhys and opened the channel to his radio as well.

“Captain Steele, can you hear me? Are you alright?” Ignatius bent over to try and look the Solar in the eyes, but at the moment he was face-down in a small pool.

When he answered, Rhys’ voice was a slurred groan, “I can hear you fine, Lieutenant. I just… emptied my stomach into my suit. Give me a moment, will you?”

Nodding, Ignatius looked back at the large mirror, waiting for the final member of his team. While staring at its surface, he noticed an odd detail about this side of the portal. Much like the one on Terra, this mirror was encircled with engravings, but they were not runic like the ones he saw earlier. They appeared to be pictographic, depicting a story of some sort, revolving around what appeared to be a large ram.

Ignatius didn’t have time to closely examine the engravings however, when the glassy surface of the portal began to warp again. With only a second of warning, Ignatius had just enough time to leap backwards before Colette came barrelling through the mirror, straight past where Ignatius had been standing into the still-crumpled body of Rhys.

Tripping over his leg, the canid went heels-up as she tumbled to the ground face-first, the sound of metal on stone reverberating loudly through the cave for the second time in a minute. Ignatius took a moment to thank the roaring cascade at the entrance for muffling the sound of his companions, because if not for that, they likely would have alerted every creature within a kilometer of their presence by now.

“Colette. How do you feel?” asked Ignatius, after having connected to her helmet as well, “You haven’t vomited yet, which is a good sign.”

Shaking, Colette rolled over onto her stomach, struggling to get to her feet. As she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, she shuddered suddenly, silently wretching.

Finally, she spoke between choking gags. “I think that has to be the third worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m not looking forward to doing that again.”

Ignatius crouched beside her, patting the canid on the back. “What, pray tell, takes second and first then?”

Colette chuckled weakly, appreciating his effort to distract her from her churning stomach. “Second worst thing was having my arm ripped from its socket by a Death Knight.” She paused, choosing her next words carefully. “The absolute worst was having my heart torn out.”

Ignatius cocked his head slightly. “I always wondered how you got your prosthetic. But how did you survive cardiectomy? I would think that is normally fatal.”

Rhys gave a throaty laugh as he finally picked himself up, his mechanized suit whining as stood, with his head nearly hitting the ceiling. “I believe she is speaking metaphorically, Lieutenant. No one physically removed her heart from her chest.”

“Now is not the time to be looking back on old wounds,” interrupted Claire as she rose to her feet, “We need to secure this area and begin preliminary scans of the environment. Colette, how soon can you have your equipment ready?”

The canid sighed as she glared at Claire. With Ignatius’ help, she stood up and gave a weak cough before answering, “I know my job, don’t worry. Just give me ten minutes in some open air, and you’ll have your readings. I’m still catching my breath though.”

“Allow me to go first, then,” spoke Ignatius, walking towards the entrance of the cave, “I can check our surroundings and make sure there is no immediate danger. The three of you can rest a moment more.”

His teammates exchanged quick glances before all sharing a nod. Each of them slowly sat back down as Ignatius experimentally stepped up to the downpour, letting the mist gently coat him. When the moisture didn’t begin to eat through his suit, he took one more step forwards, into the rapids themselves. Besides getting a bit damp, Ignatius suffered no ill effect from what he was now almost certain was merely water. Thankfully, his coat and uniform were all treated against the elements, and most of the water harmlessly rolled right off of him. Satisfied, he pushed the rest of the way through the waterfall out into the brightest light he had ever seen.

Even through the tinted visor of his helmet, his eyes needed a moment to adjust to the blindingly bright light, but what met his view was unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. He stood in a river that was surrounded on all sides by colour. The knee-high water itself was clear and pure, revealing beneath its shimmering surface a bank of colourful stones and sparkling sand, as though the stars of the night sky had been planted beneath him.

Looking along the sides of the channel, Ignatius saw life growing wildly in a way he had only ever observed in ancient data logs. Flora of every hue grew unchecked and free by the water that fed them life, blooming into various shapes and patterns completely contrary to the carefully maintained and organized orchards of the cities that he was so used to.

Completely enthralled, his eyes followed the growth of the plants up along their stalks before moving to the tall, dark, and sturdy trees that grew just beyond the lines of brush. Reaching as high as Rhys’ suit and even higher than that, the noble trunks of these ancient woods stood anywhere between four to eight meters tall, as though they were competing to see who would touch the sky first. Their limbs and branches were covered in rustling leaves that fluttered in the wind that cut through the crevasse he stood in, hypnotizing him with a dance that had millions of participants.

Looking even higher still, Ignatius saw the blue sky that hung above it all, with a ball of light so bright he dared not look directly at it. The richness of the blue was beyond words that he could conjure, making the hue artificial skies of the cities feel like a cheap imitation by comparison. Indeed, he couldn’t help but ponder for a moment what kind of indescribable violations upon his home planet could have resulted in the dark red skies its people now knew as “natural.” To even call the skies of Terra “skies” at all felt like a blasphemous mockery of what blessed his eyes now.

So lost in thought and wonder was he that the voice of his fellow Lunar in his ear nearly went unnoticed. “Ignatius? What is your status? What does it look like out there?”

“Beautiful beyond words,” answered Ignatius quietly, still enraptured by his surroundings.

Colette asked next, sounding slightly concerned. “Is the area secured, Ignatius? Is it safe to meet you outside and see this ‘beauty’ you’re talking about?” The worry in her voice was cut with curiosity, as she had never known Ignatius to refer to anything as “beautiful” in the six years she had known him.

Tearing his eyes away from the heavenly azure hanging above his head, quickly reevaluating his surroundings. Not looking at the wondrous colours this time, but more carefully observing for movements or strange shapes, he saw nothing amongst the flora nor the stony cliffs that surrounded him. Only splendor.

“My apologies. The area appears to be secure, feel free to make your way out of the cave whenever you are ready.”

Ignatius wasn’t sure why, but he felt confident in his casual observation of the surroundings. Normally when ordered to scout an area, he would scan the entire breadth of it with scrutiny, but this place was different, somehow. Something carried in the breeze that told him with certainty that there was nothing to be feared here, that this was a place to be at peace.

He continued gazing at the world around him in a trance as his teammates pushed through the waterfall, one-by-one. Claire came first, her stature tense with apprehension of the new world that awaited her. Despite her readiness for conflict, nothing could have prepared her for the shock that came with the surroundings that had so easily ensnared Ignatius in a stupor.

She had expected anything and everything except for the sheer, palpable serenity that was all around her now. Much like her Lunar comrade, she felt enamoured by the sights she beheld now. For the first time in a decade, she felt a calmness wash over her that had been so deeply longed for that she had forgotten what it felt like to be fulfilled. She almost forgot all of the pain of that last decade in just a moment, before it all came crashing back down, reminding her of her mission, and turning the small smile that nearly graced her lips back into a sullen frown.

She looked behind her in time to see the massive form of Rhys stepping through the waterfall, blocking it entirely and leaving a gap of open air under his shoulders that flooded the cave behind him with warm sunshine for the first time in uncountable years. As the water splashed off his armor, it misted into the air to diffuse the daylight into a halo of rainbow colours that drifted slowly down around him.

Despite the reek of bile that clung to the inside of his battlesuit and stung his nostrils, Rhys did not at all regret the trip here. Instead of thinking about how difficult it would be to scrub the stench from his suit, he thought about how such a frivolous thing was a pittance of admission to pay to have his life blessed by the sight before him. In that moment, he considered himself the luckiest man in the Solar Guard, and felt his breast swell with pride and triumph that he was able to live to witness this after everything he had suffered through back home. He had lived to see it, and promised himself to live to see the day that home looked like this too.

Last of the group to leave the darkness of the cave was Colette, who slipped out between Rhy’s legs into the blazing daylight. At first she was blinded by the light of the brilliantly blazing sun overhead, having to hold up a hand to protect her sensitive eyes. Squinting, she quickly adjusted the settings on her helmet’s lenses until she felt comfortable enough to get a good look at her new environment.

The first thing she noticed was the abundance of colour that surrounded her on all sides. An abundance of colour from plants meant an abundance of animals to eat and pollinate them. On Terra, most plants were nearly identical as a result of cloning or poor biodiversity, but at a glance, no two species were the same. Vast biodiversity meant a thriving ecosystem, which meant that the environmental horrors that had befallen her homeworld were likely not present here.

The next thing she noticed was that along with the rich life, the air and water on this planet appeared to be free of any and all pollution. The river she stood in was so clear she could see individual pebbles along its bed, and there was no visible smog nor dust in the air, unlike the Terran surface beyond the cities or the tunnels she was born in. Looking towards the end of the crevasse they stood in, she saw where the river poured off another cliff as another waterfall, and beyond that was a stretching forest and landscape that she could clearly observe for kilometers, each tree and mountain as clear as the stones beneath her boots. Clean, clear atmosphere and plentiful life boded very well for this planet, and for the mission.

Excited to begin her tests, Colette caught the attention of her team by clearing her throat into their shared radio channel. “Alright everyone! It was hell to get here, but it’s time to get to work, right? I don’t know about you three, but I’m pretty anxious to see if this air is breathable for us. Let’s get onto dry land so I can set up shop and start taking samples!”

Ignatius and Claire were hesitant to move from where they were standing, each wanting to take more time to appreciate their surroundings, but silently deciding in unison to follow Colette’s lead. Rhys had already begun stomping his way over to the shore, detaching the invaluable block of ancient machinery from his back to deploy it on a dry, stable surface so that the curious canid could begin to print out her necessary materials.

“Ignatius,” said Claire, grabbing his attention, “We should probably find some high ground to get our bearings. Check for any landmarks, or perhaps signs of civilization. Let the Solars set up here.” The synth nodded in affirmation before turning away, headed for the bank opposite of the rest of the team.

Claire made her way to shore and moved past the two Solars as they began to set up a camp of sorts, with Rhys dropping large quantities of stone and flora into the top of the fabricator and Colette producing various pieces of equipment from the bottom of it. As interesting as the process was, and as curious as she was about how the fabricator functioned, Claire decided against asking the canid about it. Instead, she refocused on the task ahead of her.

Gracefully and silently weaving through the trees, she made her way to the rocky cliff that rose high above them, and once at its base, she began to swiftly scale its face. Scrambling along the stone incline, Claire made good use of her cybernetic arms, with the clawed fingers ensuring that she had solid handholds all the way up. Halfway up, she took a moment to turn and look for Ignatius on the cliff opposite of her. Sure enough, he had managed to climb even further, despite not having the same advantage of clawed hands. Redoubling her efforts, it took her only a few minutes more to reach the ledge above her.

Claire’s fingers hooked deep into the grass at the top as she struggled to pull herself over the edge, the weight of her armor and prosthetic legs not helping in the slightest. As soon as her whole body was on solid ground again, she did a quick survey of her new surroundings, and her eyes went wide at what she saw.

No more than a hundred meters ahead of her was a stone structure clearly made by intelligent beings, with walls of stone brick and once elegant archways now reduced to crumbling ruins. Ancient dilapidated ruins were half-expected however, with what little intel the team had on this world. There was civilization at least four-hundred years ago, so seeing the structure wasn’t entirely surprising. What Claire was not expecting to see was a large, shimmering tree of crystal sprouting up from the center of the ruins, emanating an aura of light around the surrounding area. While it was unlike anything back on Terra, she could tell from a glance that what she was looking at was magic.

The demonkin made sure she was still connected to her team’s radio channel before announcing her find, the tension clear in her voice. “I found some old ruins up here, which means we have confirmation on some sort of intelligent civilization. Additionally, I have eyes on what appears to be some sort of magical tree made of crystal. I’m going to take a closer look.”

“Did you say magic tree?” Colette responded, her curiosity piqued. “If you can, try and bring me a leaf or something, just a small sample. If it really is magic, I can run some tests and it can give us a lot of insight into this world… Which reminds me,” she added quickly, “Ignatius, can you still perform spells?”

It only took a few seconds for the synth’s tinny voice to reply. “It would appear that yes, our magic is compatible with this world. Which means that either that tree is naturally creating incantations by some unknown means…”

“Or this world has a new type of undiscovered magic for us to study and learn,” Colette finished with a gleeful tone in her voice. “I really hope it’s the second option here.”

As much as it pained her, Claire couldn’t help but smile at Colette’s enthusiasm, which was undeniably infectious. She was just glad that no one could see it right now.

“Also, I should mention while I’m up here,” announced Ignatius, “That while I can confirm what Claire sees, I also have eyes on a few other interesting landmarks. Just further up the crevasse seems to be a wooden bridge that we missed that is connecting my side to Claire’s, and it doesn’t look very old either. More interestingly, to the north-west, I can see another large crystalline structure. It almost looks like a castle of sorts… Approximately five kilometers out. Perhaps a settlement?”

“As interesting as that sounds, let’s focus on one thing at a time, shall we?” joined Rhys. “We can investigate that later once Colette has gotten her readings. We’re going to be here for a few days, after all. No need to rush.”

Disregarding Rhys, Claire moved forward towards the gleaming crystal tree, keeping low and as hidden as possible amongst the foliage. Although she was trained to maneuver through urban and arid environments, many of the techniques Lunars were taught to keep swift and quiet were still viable enough in this new environment. Deafening herself to her squadmates for the moment, Claire disabled her helmet’s noise cancelling to better gauge her surroundings and be mindful of possible movements around her.

It only took her another minute to reach the ruins proper, but instead of approaching the main gate, Claire elected to climb up the side of the structure along a pile of collapsed bricks to get a better look inside through an empty window frame. Peering in from above, she could see now that the glowing crystal tree was in fact a treehouse, complete with its own windows and door. Due to the glow of it, she had difficulty seeing inside the tree through its tinted windows, but she did definitely see something inside. More specifically, she saw several figures moving around the interior, which piqued her curiosity. Still, wanting to remain hidden took priority, and Claire elected to simply take a sample for Colette before any of the tree’s inhabitants could notice her, or come outside.

With a careful leap, Claire jumped through the ruined window frame and landed beside the tree without a sound, as her hiding spot was too far away to collect a leaf from any of the branches. With grace befitting one of her position, Claire leapt straight up and grabbed a hold of one of the lower branches, being certain not to jostle any of the smaller crystals that hung from the limb. For all she knew, they could either be windchimes or a security system, and she did not intend to alert those inside of her position.

Making sure that she was still out of sight of any of the windows, Claire delicately swung herself up atop the branch she hung from, and began to shuffle along the narrow, perfectly smooth surface to the nearest limb with leaves within reach. Under most circumstances, Claire was perfectly content with her below-average stature. It made for a smaller target, and made her lighter than her colleagues. This was unfortunately one such situation in which she wished she had the height of Ignatius or Colette, because she presently found herself standing on her toes to reach a leaf.

After two attempts, Claire managed to pluck it from the tree as easily as a leaf from any other non-crystalline subject. It was only when she turned back to begin her climb down that she saw a face in a nearby window looking straight at her, its mouth hanging open in shock. The creature seemed to match the descriptions of the native “ponies” that the team was intended to make contact with, with this one in particular having a green mane and a lighter hued coat.

Over the next second, Claire debated whether or not she should kill this one to remove traces of her discovery, considering the ramifications of their first contact being a murder. Another second passed as she reasoned that it would be foolish, as it would be all-too easy to trace the kill back to her and her squad once they did make formal contact, ruining any chances of diplomacy before they even arose. By the third second, she had come to a very simple and easy decision. Flee.

With leaf in hand, Claire leapt down from the branch she stood on and landed silently on the soft dirt and grass that surrounded the tree. Not daring to look back, she dashed for the nearest opening in the wall of the ruins, diving through a hole left by some missing bricks. Claire rolled with her momentum and carried herself back up onto her feet with finesse that only came with years of practice, and she continued running towards the ledge she climbed up from. Finding some cover behind a tree, Claire slid to a crouched halt behind the trunk and some bushes, only finally daring to check if she was being pursued.

She waited, motionless for a minute, then two. When no creatures came looking for her, she finally let her shoulders relax. Confident that they were not coming after her, Claire looked down at the crystal leaf in her hand that she was careful not to crush as she fled. Even apart from the whole and in the shade of the tree, it still glittered with inexplicable light, unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was almost hypnotically beautiful, but she stifled the thought as she walked towards the edge of the cliff.

“I got your leaf, Colette. I was spotted by a local, but they don’t seem to have followed me. They didn’t react with hostilities, at least, so diplomacy is still on the table for the time being. I’m on my way down, and then we can decide what to do next.”

“Great to hear, Claire,” replied Colette, “Though I’m a little surprised to hear you were seen, I’m also glad it didn’t escalate. I took some samples from the environment and they’re being processed now, but we should know in a moment how toxic or safe this world is. Rhys and I will be waiting near the cave entrance for you two.”

Taking another glance at the leaf, Claire sighed. Despite everything that has happened so far, the most surreal part of the mission for her was working alongside Colette again. She was prepared to face new dangers in an alien world, with certain death staring her down at every turn. The last thing she was ready to face was the past that she had spent ten years trying to bury, exhumed by fate like an angry, restless spirit to haunt her. The only solace she felt was knowing that after five days, the mission would be over, and she could rebury her guilt where it belonged.

Stepping off the ledge, Claire plummeted straight down, her stomach rising to her throat as gravity took her in its grip. She closed her eyes, mentally bracing herself for the landing. A fraction of a second before she hit the ground, her suit detected the incoming impact, and automatically activated a pre-programmed spell that was built into every set of Lunar armor.

As her feet hit the ground, it felt like she turned into a giant pillow, everything going soft and numb for just long enough to negate the impact of the fall. Immediately after, she felt as she always did, solid and strong. It was a curious sensation, one that she did not particularly enjoy, but one she found far preferable to the pain of her bones and organs being turned to pulp.

With one more deep breath, Claire gathered herself, and began to make her way back through the foliage to the camp by the river to deliver the sample that Colette was so excited for.

When Claire arrived at the camp, she saw that Ignatius had already beaten her back and was standing next to Colette, looking over her shoulder as she sat on a rock. Behind them both was a crouching Rhys, who seemed to be staring off into the distance, paying no one any mind. The canid was busy pouring over an electronic tablet, presumably going over the readings of her equipment. Claire could only assume that the various unfamiliar machines resting on a nearby table were the tools she used to scan the environment, but once again, she couldn’t be bothered to ask.

As Claire approached, Ignatius tapped Colette on the shoulder, drawing her attention away from the tablet. She looked up, and was simultaneously glad to see the crystalline leaf, and slightly less so to be reminded of who held it. Holding out a hand, Colette gestured for the Lunar Captain to pass the sample over, who instead tossed it at her with an underhand throw. Ignatius snatched it out of the air and gently passed it to Colette as Claire turned away again, stepping back into the shade of the trees and leaning up against one.

Not keen on starting a fight over the mishandling of the sample, Colette turned her attention back to her data tablet as she reviewed the data she had so far collected. She kept getting an error about an unknown element in the environment, so for the time being she decided to stand up and bring the crystal sample over to one of her machines, placing it gently inside of a sealed metal box.

“What does this one do?” asked a curious Ignatius who had followed her back over to the table. Colette was happy that he was at least curious about her work, instead of dismissive like the other Lunar she was stuck with.

“Basically, it’s a scanner to determine what kind of energy the sample is giving off, and how much. It’s either really magical or really radioactive, and that is important to know whether or not this planet is actually habitable.”

“Habitable almost implies colonization, Colette,” interjected Rhys, who finally moved his head to look at them. “At the very least, my orders said no such thing about that.”

Colette waved a dismissive hand at the Rook as she turned on the device with her datapad. “It’s mostly just a formality. I honestly just want to know if we can take our suits off, because I really would rather not be stuck in this armor for five days. I get that we can technically ‘go in the suits,’ but I’d really rather not if the choice is available, you know?”

Rhys nodded his head empathetically, while Ignatius shook his in disbelief. “Did you know that some of my people actually choose to install synthetic organs? I cannot imagine why anyone would want to worry about soiling themselves.”

Colette playfully elbowed him with a giggle. “It’s a part of the experience! Always on the lookout for something to eat and someplace to shit, that’s organic life for ya.” Rhys gave her a hearty laugh as Ignatius simply crossed his arms, clearly unamused. Despite that, she imagined him smiling under his helmet, regardless of the fact that she wasn’t sure if he even could.

A moment later, her datapad updated with the results from the scanned leaf, and a flurry of updates immediately followed from her environmental scans. Taken aback, Colette started quickly swiping through the new data with a finger, trying to make sense of it. The excitement of discovering a new form of magic evaporated in an instant as she realized what exactly she was looking at.

“Ignatius, take a look at this for me. You’re a mage, tell me if I’m reading this correctly, because I must be reading this wrong.” Holding out the tablet for him to see, he glanced down at the readings. He wasn’t familiar with much of the terminology, but judging by the flashing diagrams and symbols, he was able to understand enough.

“I’m no technician, Colette… Half of this makes no sense to me. So correct me if I am wrong in my interpretation, but this reads to me as though that leaf has a tiny little soul, and that same energy is permeating the entire environment. But surely that cannot be correct… That would defy everything we know about magic.”

She stared hard at the tablet, chewing her lip nervously for several seconds unsure how to respond. She looked up at Rhys, who just shrugged his massive shoulders, equally at a loss for words, though mostly for a lack of understanding. Glancing back at Ignatius, he too was silent, still glaring at the tablet. For just a second, she glimpsed at Claire, who hadn’t moved from the tree she was leaning against. She wasn’t sure why, but Colette could feel the demonkin’s gaze resting on her through the opaque violet visor of her helmet. She knew that Claire was staring at her, she just didn’t know why.

Looking back down at the tablet in her hands, Colette felt pressure rising in her chest. Ever since she was a pup, she loved learning new things, experimenting and studying new sciences and environments. She left her tribe for this, and yet for the first time ever, Colette felt like this was something she didn't want to learn. Her mind was doing backflips trying to rationalize the information in front of her. It couldn't be true, but the numbers don’t lie. Between the cognitive dissonance wrestling with her mind, the deafening silence of her teammates, and the judging glare of Claire, she felt like collapsing.

Her hand moved on its own, moving from the datapad to her belt. It knew where the switch was, she didn’t need to think about it. Panic was squeezing her chest, and she couldn’t think now. She needed relief, and it was just a thumb press away. Staying calm was important during a mission, that’s what the drugs are for. To stay calm. A small click, and the panic washed away from her as coolness flooded her veins. Her mind slowed, and the doubt melted away. She let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding, and she felt reason return to her. She could work now.

“Colette,” Ignatius’ voice snapped her back to reality, her eyes wide at the realization of what she just did. Her eyes darted to look at him, and he was staring back at her now. He spoke low and slowly, the concern clear in his enunciation. “Are you… Alright?”

She swallowed hard, immediately understanding that he saw what she just did. Despite the calming chemicals in her blood, she felt her fur prickle with fear. Her eyes darted around to find something, anything to deflect with. Then she noticed the blinking notification on her datapad, and smiled.

“Hey, look at this,” she announced, pointing at the small screen and stepping away from him, “That unknown element in the environment was the same magical signature that was in the leaf, which means the scans are done! Considering that the energy seems to be inert, and the rest of the atmosphere is safe, we can take off our helmets!”

Ignatius stared at her for a few seconds more before turning and walking away towards Claire, understanding the unspoken words of “Not now.” Colette allowed herself some relief, having narrowly dodged a subject she wasn’t ready to discuss just yet, and giving herself some time to mentally prepare for the inevitable confrontation. Now, however, was the time to revel in fresh air and sunlight, and without a second thought, Colette retracted her helmet back into her armor and looked up at the sky.

The team recoiled in horror at Colette’s bloodcurdling scream as she fell backwards into the dirt, her hands covering her face in agony. Rhys was petrified, uncertain of what to do. He couldn’t help her in his suit, and he wasn’t about to exit it to help after seeing Colette toppled instantly like that.

Ignatius on the other hand, did not hesitate, and was already running to her before she hit the ground, pulling off his overcoat as he moved. Sliding to a stop next to the downed canid, he threw the garment over her to help cover her face from the light, the completely opaque black material blocking out all rays from the offending sun. As Colette’s screams turned to pained whimpers, Ignatius looked over his shoulder at Claire, who was standing mid-stride, her hand outstretched. The demonkin lowered her arm, and slowly moved back to her spot in the shade, leaning on the same tree again as if she hadn’t moved at all.

“Colette,” asked Rhys quietly, his voice coming through the speaker in his helmet, “Are you alright? You gave us quite a fright just now.”

Ignatius didn’t dare to lift the coat to examine her injuries, lest he blind her again. After a moment of silence, a weak laugh could be heard from underneath the heavy Lunar fabric, followed by Colette’s hoarse voice.

“That was pretty dumb of me, wasn’t it?”

Rhys gave a relieved chuckle as Ignatius just shook his head in disappointment. The Lunar’s helmet split open and retracted into the collar of his vest, allowing him to speak freely as he rested a comforting hand on his friend. He was disappointed in her on several levels right now, but she was still his friend.

“Yes, Colette,” said the synth gently but firmly, like a parent scolding a child, “That was very dumb of you. Are you going to be alright?”

She sensed the double meaning in his words, and bit her lip, thinking for a few seconds before responding. “I think I’ll be alright… I just got excited. I’ve never breathed fresh, clean air before, you know?”

Ignatius shook his head again. “No, I don’t. Like your fondness for bowel movements, the organic appeal is lost on me, I’m afraid.” Despite the monotone delivery of the joke, the synth still earned a pair of small chuckles from the two Solars.

“I guess I should probably get back up, huh? Can’t stay under this thing all day.”

Claire finally decided to join the conversation by silently stepping up beside Ignatius, her arms crossed and her voice harsh. “Please, by all means, waste more of our time. It’s not like we have a tight schedule to-”

“ALRIGHT!” Colette sat up quickly, throwing the coat off of herself and onto Ignatius. Her eyes were scrunched tight and her lips were curled back in a hostile snarl, directed in Claire’s general direction. She then took a deep breath, and the anger fell from her face, but was immediately replaced with a look of curiosity. Sniffing the air more carefully now, her ears perked up in delight as the scents on the wind finally properly settled in her snout.

“Woah, hold on. You two need to get a whiff of this. This place smells amazing.” Rhys and Claire exchanged glances before shrugging at each other and opening their helmets. Rhys first turned away from the sun, putting it to his back whereas Claire seemed to look directly at the sun before opening hers.

The three of them spent the next several seconds breathing deeply and slowly as Ignatius watched curiously. He had never seen three people so excited to just breathe before, but he accepted that these were particularly unique circumstances.

“The air here smells so nice,” said Rhys as he stood up straight from the crouch he had been holding this whole time, “It’s completely unlike the recycled air in the city, as though it has minute… flavours. I think I’m smelling the river right now.”

Claire on the other hand, seemed to be busy bathing in the light of the sun, her head tilted back to better catch the rays on her face. “So this is sunlight. It’s so… warm.”

Glancing down at Colette, he saw that she was still on the ground and struggling to open her eyes, squinting hard to avoid hurting herself again. She noticed Ignatius’ gaze and turned to him, giving a somewhat forced smile.

“I should probably just give up and close my helmet again, huh?”

“Probably, if you cannot see in this light. You do know that if you turn off your suit’s closed circulation, you can still breathe the air without being blind?”

Colette nodded before shrugging, standing up finally. “Yeah, I know. But it’s not quite the same as just enjoying the breeze on my face. I think I’d like to do that for a moment longer before we get moving again.”

Ignatius nodded again, slower. He still didn’t understand the appeal of a breeze on the face or the warmth of the sun, or even a breath of fresh air, but he could at least appreciate that his teammates did. Ultimately, the synth decided to let his teammates enjoy themselves a little longer as he walked over to a patch of colourful flowers he saw earlier. Examining them closely, he knew that although he could not stop and smell them, he could at least admire how pretty they were.

Chapter VI: Uncertain, Unforeseen, Unforgiving

The Goliath-class Solar battlesuit could do nearly anything with ease. It could take enormous amounts of punishment and bring to bear some of the most powerful weapons that the Celestial Armies have to offer. A single Rook well-trained in the use of such battlesuits can easily make the difference between a glorious victory and a devastating loss. There were few things that Rhys feared while he was situated in the adamantine casket of his mighty war machine, and there was little he could not accomplish with the brawn and firepower it provided. Climbing a sheer cliff was unfortunately one such exception.

He looked up at the pair of Lunars above him as they looked down, everyone present trying to decide the best course of action moving forward. They had found a path that seemed to cut straight through the forest to the township ahead, but in order to take that path, Rhys would need to scale the side of the cliff he currently found himself facing. High above their heads, he spotted a pair of large birds flying gracefully north across the ravine, and for the first time in years, he wished that he had wings instead of his suit... Or at least a way for his suit to fly. Pushing the wistful thoughts aside, he returned to the current problem.

“Call it intuition, my friends,” he said through his helmet’s radio, “But something tells me that I am not going to be able to climb this. I will have to find another way up in order to join you.”

He looked down at Colette, who was standing beside him and thinking hard, a gauntleted hand stroking the chin of her helmeted muzzle. After everyone had some time enjoying the fresh air, Rhys suggested it would be best to wear their helmets going forward. He had assured them it was to prevent any unfortunate head injuries that may come with exploring unknown territory, but more than that he was worried for the canid’s eyesight. He also didn’t want her feeling left out, but thankfully the whole team quickly agreed.

Suddenly Colette spoke into the radio channel, breaking Rhys’ train of thought. “I’ve got an idea. A bit stupid, a bit crazy, but if it works out then I guess it’s not really either.” She looked up at him, sizing him up a bit before walking towards the cliff and putting a hand to the rocky wall, studying it carefully. “I think I can use my sword to carve out some handholds for you, Rhys. Think your suit can carry its own weight?”

He raised an eyebrow, not that she could see it. “Of course it can. My concern is whether or not this stone can carry my weight. This suit is nearly ten tonnes, Colette.”

She crossed her arms indignantly as she nodded her head at the rockface. “This looks like limestone. You’d have to be at least twice as heavy to have any chance of crushing this stuff as long as you move slowly and keep in three handholds at a time.”

Rhys wasn’t quite convinced yet, and didn’t like the idea of falling from such a height again. Still, knowing that she was a canid Rhys had to admit to himself that she likely knew more about stone and mining than most people he would ever meet. After another few seconds of internal deliberation, he finally caved.

“Very well, Colette. Let’s try this plan of yours. Although… Surely you cannot climb and cut at the same time. Perhaps you should ride on my shoulders and make the handholds as I go up?”

“I was just about to suggest the same thing, actually. Glad that we’re on the same page here.”

Rhys knelt down and outstretched his arm to let Colette scramble up atop him, with her being careful not to kick the fabricator that was once again securely attached to his back. Turning his head upwards to look at her as she stood over him, he watched as she drew her weapon from her hip. Materializing from the digital holster on her belt, Rhys observed in silent awe as the canid unsheathed an utterly enormous blade that would look more at home in the hands of a demon than a woman of her size.

Massive, thick, and obviously far too heavy for a mere human to wield, her sword was as long as she was tall, and he could feel her adjusting her footing slightly as she brought it to bear. He could tell from a glance that it required all of the strength from her own muscles as well as the servos of her suit to wield it the way she did, and he couldn’t help but feel a small bit of pride for his former pupil. She had truly become a fearsome warrior since he had last seen her.

Colette readied her sword to strike the stone, and as she did, it began to glow and crackle with electric blue energy, the signature mark of a Solar power sword. Thrusting forward, she stabbed into the limestone and cut through it as easily as she would flesh and bone, her blade effortlessly carving out a hole large enough for the battlesuit’s huge hands and feet to reach into. Molten slag oozed from the new steaming wound in the stone, rapidly cooling and hardening into a usable slot for Rhys' huge hands and feet.

Rhys felt Colette tap the top of his helmet, and took that as a signal to stand up slowly, with her tapping again to signal his stop. She then began working away again, gouging out more of the cliff for the next handhold. Slowly and steadily, the pair repeated the process as they made their way up the cliff, with Rhys only taking the next step when signalled to. It felt slightly strange to take orders from his junior, but he dismissed the notion as nothing more than a team building exercise, with her in the lead as the expert in the task at hand.

The two Lunars watched from above as their Solar comrades crawled their way up the side of the cliff, working together as a well-oiled machine. While Ignatius was more concerned with watching the surrounding area for possible threats, Claire couldn’t help but watch the struggle of the pair as they made their ascent. Although she felt it was a rudimentary and brutish solution to the dilemma, she couldn’t help but admire their tenacity.

Eventually, Rhys’ metallic hand found some purchase on the edge of the cliff. Colette leapt from his shoulders and landed with a dull thud back on solid ground. She took a moment to sheath her sword back into the small box on her hip before taking several extra steps away from the ledge, making sure that Rhys had plenty of room to climb up.

The servos and metallic muscle fibers of his armour whirred and whined as he slowly pulled himself up and over the edge, careful not to slip and fall back down. The two Lunars watched quietly as the mountain of metal dragged itself along the ground on all fours until the Rook felt confident that he wasn’t about to slip off and plummet twenty meters to a very painful landing.

“I have never been more acutely aware of this suit’s shortcomings than I am right now,” sighed Rhys, thankful to be back on solid ground once again.

Colette nodded as she responded, her own voice carrying obvious relief, “I didn’t want to say it while we were coming up, but there were a couple of moments there where I was kinda worried you were gonna fall. Glad that your Goliath held up though.”

Taking a knee before rising to his full height once again, Rhys crossed his arms proudly, puffing out the metallic chest of the battlesuit he rode in. “Ha! Only natural that it was able to scale the cliff, ye of little faith! This is some of the finest in Solar engineering! As if a mere steep incline would be able to stop it!”

Claire sighed, shaking her head disapprovingly. “That being said, let’s avoid climbing for the foreseeable future, shall we? That was time-consuming and left us very vulnerable.”

“Now that we’re all here, we should begin moving immediately,” said Ignatius. Pointing a finger, he drew the team’s attention to the nearby bridge and the connected dirt trail that led into the forest. “We should be able to make it to the town to the north-west within an hour if the path is clear and we move quickly.”

As Ignatius turned towards the path, Colette turned to follow him, speaking to Rhys and Claire over her shoulder. “I’m going to take point with Ignatius, if you two don’t mind. I want to be the first to meet a local, in case we meet any on the trail. Plus, I want to make sure Ignatius doesn’t burn down the forest if any angry wildlife crosses his path.”

“I resent that statement,” responded the synth, with the faintest hint of displeasure.

“Besides,” continued Colette, “Rhys is way too loud to be up front. Keep back about a hundred meters, and we’ll holler for you two on the radio if we need any help.”

Claire sighed loudly in displeasure, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned towards Rhys, opening a private channel with him. “Let me up, I’m not going to walk if you’re not going to.” Rhys frowned but complied, knowing that she was technically right. The Goliath’s legs were not his own, and strictly speaking, he had been sitting inside the suit this whole time. He begrudgingly leaned over to allow the Lunar to leap up atop his shoulders, where she sat comfortably on his left pauldron.

As he stood back up, Rhys realized that now would be a good time to ask Claire about her behavior during the mission. Without Colette around to listen in, his sister might be more open to discussing the situation. Though he still needed to approach the topic delicately, lest he anger her.

“You know, Claire, this is the first time I’ve seen you in nearly a decade. You never write to me, no matter how often I send you letters. They were always digital, so I knew you at least received them. I’ve wondered how you’ve been.”

She cocked her head slightly before stating plainly, “I’ve been in the Lunar Guard. Fighting. Little else.”

“Ah, but surely there’s more to it than that. I refuse to believe that Lunars only war without rest, no mortal can do that. There must be something to fill the time between battles.” Rhys was always cautious of the Lunar Guard, and still is, but knowing that his last remaining family is among their ranks helps to humanize them, if only slightly.

“You’re not going to stop asking until I give you a real answer, are you Rhys?”

“I shall continue to pester you until my curiosity is stated… Nor shall I move. You will either have to walk on your own, or indulge me.”

She sighed again, but without any edge to it. She gave a small chuckle, playfully rapping his helmet with a fist. “You’re as incorrigible as ever, little brother. I suppose I’ve missed that from you.”

Rhys smiled under his helmet, surprised and glad to see some semblance of the Claire he remembered under the tough exterior. “I’ve been told that my stubbornness is a valuable trait in the Solar Guard. But please, do not leave me waiting with bated breath. Tell me of your time in the Lunar Guard. Is it as bad as the rumors say?”

Claire shook her head as she looked skyward, seemingly reminiscing. “It is… peaceful, yet somber in the halls of the Lunar Guard barracks. Never quiet, of course. There is always the sound of either sparring or music… We are expected to practice a form of art alongside physical training in equal measure.”

“Art? Music? Surely you jest,” interrupted Rhys, the disbelief clear in his voice, “What purpose is there to that? How does playing an instrument make you a better soldier? There must be something more to it than that.”

“I am no liar, Rhys, and do not ever accuse me of being one again,” responded Claire with venom dripping from her words. The Solar recoiled slightly, and decided to allow her to speak. “That aside, even the Lunar Guard finds value in creative outlets. To make our pain palpable through compositions or paintings is a way of making those immaterial scars real. To hear or see something tangible allows one to better reflect on those emotions and regrets, and find meaning or purpose in them.”

Rhys’ brow furrowed in thought as he attempted to understand her words. “So you use the arts as a means to meditate… Like a form of prayer? At the temple, they play songs about the gods, and we take guidance from the sermons. Something like that?”

Claire shook her head slowly. “Not exactly. To pray is to seek wisdom, strength, or conviction in a greater power. We Lunars find those things in our own mortality. We bind ourselves to those feelings of guilt so that we may have the focus and power to prevent the failures that we weigh on ourselves. To pray, one must have faith that something is watching over you. I have long abandoned the notion, as have many others.”

Rhys was walking now, thinking that he had given Ignatius and Colette enough time to get their lead. As he moved slowly into the dark forest ahead, the steady thumping of his battlesuit’s colossal soles gave rhythm to his thoughts. “So the secret to the prowess of Lunars is… self-condemnation? I still do not understand.”

Claire couldn’t help but laugh aloud at that, which made Rhys smile. “I do not expect you to understand, little brother. There is no 'secret' to the efficacy of the Lunar Guard. We simply train harder and are better equipped.” Her sudden outburst of mirth disappeared just as quickly as it came, with her voice suddenly becoming somber once again, “What truly separates the two halves of the Celestial Armies is a difference in ideology. When I was a Solar, I believed in hope for the future. One without strife or needless death. Now, as a Lunar, I understand that the path unto tomorrow must always be paved in blood and bones. Who better to die for the future, than those who have none of their own?”

Rhys took a moment to digest the words. He still didn’t understand what drove Lunars to such an extreme, but he at least now understood their values in some capacity. Ever since he was a child, he had believed that Lunars were some sort of boogeyman of the UDE, a force to be feared and awed. Now knowing that they were in such a sad state left a terrible taste in his mouth. He regretted saying the things he did before, and almost wanted to apologize to his teammates, despite never having directly offended them. Still, this revelation did not make any more clear a question that had been in the back of his mind for hours now.

“I think I understand now. At least as much as I can, without knowing that pain you speak of. That being said, Claire, I must ask… Why do you act so cold now? Just a moment ago, you laughed and called me ‘brother’ like you did when we served together. You have not changed so much that you have forgotten yourself, yet you hide that side. Why?”

Claire’s gaze seemed to be glued to a distant place as Rhys patiently awaited her response. When she finally did speak, her voice was low and calm. “It is easier to march to your death when there is no one left to grieve for you. If you push everyone away, there will be none to miss you when you’re gone.”

Hearing her say those words, Rhys bit the inside of his cheek. He thought of his parents, of his brother, and of every other dead Solar he had ever served with. He thought of every joking jab from friends, asking when he would find a wife and settle down with a family. He thought of every time he jokingly responded that ‘he hadn’t found the right one yet,’ knowing full well that it was a lie.

Finally, he spoke. “I understand what you mean, Claire. If I am to not understand any of your other Lunar philosophies, I understand that one in particular.”

She looked at him, and he knew what she was going to ask before she opened her mouth. “Is that why you never married?”

He nodded slowly. “I cannot bear the thought of leaving behind a widow, like my brother did. I saw what it did to you, and I promised to never let that come to pass, even if that meant being alone.”

“Then perhaps you understand us Lunars better than you think you do.” She paused for a moment, plucking a flower from a low-hanging branch as it passed. Rolling its stem in her clawed, metal fingertips, she murmured just barely loud enough to hear, “We’re not so different, you and I.”

Something about the way she said that piqued his interest, drawing his gaze back to her. He watched quietly for a moment, still stomping along the path at a steady pace, but keeping his eyes on her as she continued to fidget with the flower, her mind clearly somewhere else now. Rhys carefully considered his next question, and after another minute of walking, decided that there was no easy way to ask it.

The mech lurched to a halt, accidentally tossing Claire off of Rhys’ shoulder and down to the dirt path below. Ever graceful, the Lunar easily was able to roll off the ground and into a standing position, glaring up at the huge figure of the looming Solar in front of her. The dim light that managed to creep through the trees above him silhouetted his form, giving his normally noble armour an almost menacing appearance. They stared at each other for a moment, before Rhys finally asked her outright.

“Claire. You said you do not lie, so I must ask that you answer me with utmost transparency, because I must know as both your brother and for the sake of this mission.” He paused, taking a deep breath to ready himself for whatever came next. “What happened between you and Colette? Why do you hate her so? I know that isn’t like you.”

Claire visibly recoiled from the question, as though Rhys had just struck her with anything more than mere words. Still, she quickly recovered, and straightened her back to look up at him with indignation so fierce that even her opaque, violet visor could not hide it.

“You forget yourself, Rhys. You have no right to ask me such a thing. My business with the canid is mine alone.”

He sighed, taking a deep breath to steady himself once again. With a chuckle, he said, “You know, Colette said almost the exact same thing when I asked her earlier.”

“Then she has some semblance of wisdom tucked away in that thick skull of hers,” the Lunar spat in response, “You should not meddle in other people’s lives, Rhys. I am perfectly justified in my contempt for that hound.”

His eyes narrowed in his helmet, closely watching her as he spoke. “You say that as if she had wronged you, Claire. I know you are prone to grudges, but your behavior as of late is extreme, even for you. I never knew you to openly strike another out of mere spite.”

“Clearly you do not know me as well as you think you do, Rhys. I was clearly wrong about your understanding.” With that, she turned away from him and began making her way along the trail, closing their channel to make it clear that she was through discussing this. Still, he was unconvinced of her convictions.

“To the contrary, Claire,” he mused to himself, his voice being only audible in his own helmet, “I reckon you were quite spot on before. Like it or not, we truly are more similar than you believe.” With one last hearty chuckle, he began stomping along after her, intending to keep a close eye on her from now on.

Colette and Ignatius walked side-by-side, closely observing their surroundings as they treaded up the winding path to the north. Colette had disabled her suit’s closed-respiratory systems and was enjoying the various scents of the forest, many of which she had never experienced before on Terra. She had justified her constant sniffing to the synth as a means of tracking potential threats on the wind, but in reality, she was just having fun.

Ignatius on the other hand, was taking his role as vanguard more seriously. His mechanical eyes scanned the trees for movement, and he made careful note of each unique species of flora or fauna that they encountered. While the vast majority of plants and animals that they encountered were completely foreign and alien, he found a curious trend amongst his observations.

Approximately thirty percent of all species he surveyed were identical to some Terran variety, at least in appearance. Squirrels, daisies, bees, oaks, and numerous other examples which had been extinct on Terra for generations appeared to be alive and well on this planet, which when considered alongside the portal that they had come through, brought to mind several equally maddening possibilities.

“Hey, Ignatius.” The voice of his teammate snapped him out of his contemplative haze as he turned toward her, alert.

“Is something wrong, Colette? I haven’t seen anything unusual yet, but do you smell something?”

Shaking her head, she answered, “No, it’s not the forest. I haven’t seen anything more than random critters while we’ve been walking. Nothing dangerous so far. No, I wanted to ask your opinion on something.”

“My opinion? In regards to what specifically?” Why she ever asked for his opinion was beyond him, because he wasn’t the type to have strong feelings on most matters. Still, he couldn’t help but feel grateful that he had a friend who bothered to ask at all, even if he seldom had any opinions to actually offer.

“About the mission, actually. Do you really think there’s anything in this world that can really help us save ours?” Oh good, a topic he did actually have an opinion on.

“I would think that the Royals wouldn’t waste the time, effort, and resources on this operation if they didn’t believe there was merit in it. Do keep in mind that as we speak, our brothers and sisters are fighting and dying at City Seven.” Ignatius silently hoped that the battle fared well back on Terra, but he couldn’t help but feel pessimistic.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten that. Hell, if I wasn’t here, I’d be there fighting.” She paused, taking a few more sniffs through her helmet, before sighing. “Still, I can’t deny that this place is worth missing out on the biggest scrap in history. To think that a place like this really exists is surreal… I mean, we’re literally walking through an enchanted forest, Ignatius. It’s like the old fairy tales that my mother told me as a pup.”

Ignatius couldn’t help but give a single chuckle at that. “I’m glad that at the very least, you’re enjoying yourself, Colette. I for one have no attachment to the notions of enchanted forests, but I will admit that this whole experience so far has been quite interesting, if nothing else. Even if it turns out that our mission here was for naught, there is still much to be learned from this place, and that is something I can be excited for.”

Colette playfully punched Ignatius in the shoulder with a laugh, staggering him slightly. “You always were a total nerd, you know that? Maybe if you put down your data tablets for a while, you could make more friends than just me.”

Straightening back up again, the synth shook his head in amusement. “I don’t recall ever intending on making friends to begin with, Colette. If my memory still serves me, you intruded upon my personal space one evening and refused to leave until I added you to my contact whitelist. Then you proceeded to message me incessantly until I agreed to join you on some of your outings.”

“C’mon, don’t act like you didn’t have fun, Ignatius. You were all too happy to have someone to talk to about hippos and eggplants and crap like that. I mean, who else but you would bother memorizing extinct animals and dead languages that no one speaks anymore?”

Ignatius felt a twinge of embarrassment at that. “You know, Colette, there is value in learning about our past. Just because they are from a bygone age, doesn’t mean they should be forgotten. After all, if I hadn’t learned what a venus flytrap was, I wouldn’t have been able to identify it here.” Emphasizing his point, he stopped to point a finger at an example of the plant growing just beyond the path among some bushes.

Colette stopped and stared for a moment, before the realization hit her. “Wait, are you saying that thing is a Terran species? What the hell is it doing here?”

Ignatius shrugged, before stroking the chin of his helmet with a hand. “That’s what I’d like to know. I’d ask you to take a sample of it and check its DNA to determine whether or not it's truly Terran, but that would require a sample from our own world to compare to… Which is impossible, on account of that particular flora being extinct for over a thousand years.”

“Is it possible that the portal was used before? Do you think some ancient civilization made contact with this world before us, maybe traded seeds or something?”

“That is one possibility. Another is that by some extraordinary coincidence, this world is parallel to our own, developing in similar but distinct ways. It’s possible these plants are completely native, and this is some sort of mirror to our own Terra.”

Colette crossed her arms, cocking her head to the side thoughtfully as she spoke, “Do you really think that’s possible? A world developing completely separate from ours, with species nearly identical to our own evolving by mere chance? That seems way too unlikely to be just a coincidence.”

“That may be, but I still like to think about how these plants evolved, especially with magic so prevalent in the environment. Just look at these flowers here, for instance,” he said, crouching down beside a patch of bright blue blooms growing just beyond the path. “I wonder what sort of properties they may hold within. They seem to practically glow with energy… Do you suppose they could be potent alchemical ingredients? Perhaps we should harvest samples and bring them home with us.”

Colette grabbed Ignatius by the collar and hoisted him back up to his feet and away from the patch of flowers, clicking her teeth disapprovingly. “Tsk-tsk-tsk. Hold it there, don’t touch the weird magical alien flowers without knowing what they do. As far as we know, those things could peel our skin off or turn us into trees or something. You’re a mage, you should know better than that.”

Ignatius opened his mouth to retort, but realized that she was completely right. He had let his curiosity get the better of him, and had nearly put himself at risk. He reminded himself that this was a hostile environment, and refocused himself. He took a moment to scan their surroundings, listening and watching carefully for anything that was comparatively unusual with their walk up to this point. It was only at that moment that he noticed something was wrong.

“Wait, Colette… Do you hear anything?” His voice was low and even, and carried an edge of concern that the canid immediately picked up on.

She slowly turned her head, the metal ears on her helmet flicking back and forth with her own as she listened in on their surroundings. “No, I don’t… Which is weird, considering we’re in the middle of a forest.” Wordlessly, the two began to take a defensive stance, slowly reaching for their belts.

Before either of them could even draw a weapon, however, Ignatius was rammed from behind, sending him sprawling into the flowers, crushing them under his weighty frame. Quickly rolling onto his back, he managed to just see Colette barely bring up her arms in time to block a blow from an enormous beast, which sent her hurdling several meters backwards into a tree on the other side of the path.

The Solar’s heavily armoured body crashed into the huge tree with enough force to splinter and fracture the trunk, and as Colette lay at its foot, moaning in pain, the tree began to groan and fold in on itself. She noticed it too, and tried to crawl out from underneath it, but she only barely rose to her feet before it fell down atop her with a resounding crunch, reverberating with enough force that Ignatius could feel it in his metal skeleton. A flash of rage and frustration shot through him, but just as quickly as it came, he suppressed the feeling. He wasn’t sure if she was yet dead, and didn’t allow himself to be distracted by the possibility. Leaping to his feet, Ignatius attempted to put some distance between himself and his assailant by backpedalling, while simultaneously working to identify the monstrous creature in front of him now.

It was unlike any sort of Terran animal he had ever studied, but seemed to have distinct qualities of multiple at once, as those it were born from a horrific experiment joining the face of a man, the body of a lion, the wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. It was huge, taller than him and could probably stand as tall as Rhys on its hind legs, all complete with equally oversized teeth and claws that he had no doubt could tear him apart despite his armoured body. Ignatius had vague recollections of reading about monsters like this in ancient human history, but he couldn’t focus enough to remember exactly what it was right now. All he could think about now was fighting to survive.

In the few seconds it took for him to discern what he was up against, the creature had already recovered from its initial pounce and lunged forward again at Ignatius, massive claw-tipped paws outstretched to rend him to pieces. This time however, he saw it coming and managed to swiftly dodge to the side, watching as the creature overshot and slammed into a tree behind where he was standing just an instant ago. It spun around to face him again and roared with mindless fury, gnashing its jaws and sending spittle flying in his direction. Ignatius was faced with a difficult situation that he wasn’t entirely prepared for.

His pistol would be a sure and easy kill, but the noise might alert other creatures of his position, and he had limited ammunition that he needed to be sparing with. The fabricator could make more, but if Colette was in fact dead, then that was out of the question. He couldn’t use his pyromancy either, as he was currently surrounded by flammable material, and it would be all but impossible to prevent a forest fire with so many trees so close to one another. It was vital that their first encounter with the locals went well, and torching what could very well be holy land was inexcusably negligent.

While he continued to think, the beast dove at him once more, and this time it managed to slice through the sleeve of his coat with a razor-sharp claw as he attempted to side-step it again. Another flash of frustration at the damage to his favourite coat, but like the first he pushed it down and refocused. He considered using his sword, but dismissed the notion of slaying the creature altogether with a second thought. Much like the importance of maintaining the forest itself, he had no idea if his attacker was just another animal, or an important figure. He cursed the lack of practical information that his team had at the moment, because it meant that during situations like this, he had to take the most difficult route to ensure the safest outcomes.

As he decided on his next move, Ignatius suddenly remembered that the monstrosity in front of him was called a ‘manticore,’ just in time for it to barrel at him on all fours, clearly intending to tackle him with a charge. Thankfully, this was exactly what he was waiting for. Bracing himself with a defensive stance, Ignatius put out his fists in front of him and widened his feet, fully focused on the task at hand.

With all of his brain’s processing power focused on his next few moves, time slowed to a crawl so that he could wait until just before the manticore’s massive paws hit him, before he ducked down underneath the beast, allowing its own momentum to carry it over his head. He waited a fraction of a second, until the manticore’s soft underbelly was just passing overhead, before he let loose a powerful blow into its stomach.

He was not as strong as Rhys’ battlesuit, nor even Colette in her powered armour, as he wasn’t built for raw physical strength. Even still, his fists were made of the same metal that comprised their armour, and his synthetic muscles were still stronger than any human. This was thankfully enough, as by the time the manticore landed behind him, it had tumbled onto its back, whimpering in pain from its bruised guts. Slowly, it tried to rise to its feet, weakly growling at Ignatius, and it was only now that his temper began to boil to the surface.

The manticore tried to crawl away and retreat as he approached, recognizing him as a superior predator, but he wasn’t satisfied with that. It had attacked him and Colette, injuring or killing his best friend. It had torn his favourite coat. And if it was intelligent enough to know fear, he intended to capitalize on that to ensure it never makes that mistake again. He grabbed it by the scruff of its mane, pulling it back to face him again, and in the same movement he struck it across the face again. And then again. And again.

It was as he was raising his fist to hit it again that a hand stopped him, grabbing him by the wrist. Twisting around to see who would dare to get in the way of his vengeance, he came face-to-face with Colette who was standing behind him. He saw that her right arm was hanging lamely at her side, and scarlet was staining her bright blue surcoat. He realized that like her arm, his gloved fist was also stained red, but he knew it was not his own. Looking down at the manticore, he saw that its face was bloody and misshapen, with rapid, ragged breaths escaping from between its broken teeth.

“It’s alright, Ignatius,” said Colette calmly, a slight tremble in her voice betraying the pain she was hiding, “I’m alright. Let the poor thing go. You’ve done enough.”

He hesitated, but complied, letting go of its mane and stepping backwards as the manticore slumped limply back to the ground. Its breath began to slow as it lay unmoving, but it did not stop. It continued to breathe slowly as he watched silently. For a moment, he considered if it was better to have just killed it than do this. Interrupting the thought, Colette let go of his wrist, and put her good arm around his shoulder, turning him away from the sight of his own viscous handiwork.

“C’mon, let’s get back to the path. We’ll wait up for Rhys and Claire while I catch my breath. Auto-repair is already working its magic.”

Shifting his attention away from the manticore and to his friend, Ignatius nodded slowly. He considered calling for them over the radio, but discarded the idea, considering the situation was now well under control. Instead, he focused on the pressing matter of the canid’s injuries.

“You also need medical attention. Do you have any medigel?”

She gave a pained chortle as he sat her down on the fallen tree, cradling her broken arm. “Yeah, I’m fine. The medigel is patching me up now, and I lucked out with the tree. I managed to roll out from under it before it crushed me, but my arm got caught underneath. Good thing it was my metal arm, and not my meat arm, huh? Definitely would have sucked if I had to get this one replaced too.” She topped off the statement by wiggling the fingers of her left hand at him, proving that it was completely unharmed.

He might have offered a pity-laugh if her joke wasn’t immediately followed by another pained gasp. With growing concern, he shook his head slowly as he realized that his friend badly needed painkillers and proper care. Her ribs were probably broken, and her suit didn’t have the specialized life support systems that Rhys’ battlesuit did. After a few seconds of deliberation, he finally spoke.

“Colette, you should use your injector. You’re obviously in pain, so there’s no point in abstaining if you’re truly in need of it.”

Even through her helmet, he could feel her eyeing him carefully. Slowly, she reached across her body with her good arm, and pressed the switch on her hip. He felt a measure of relief as her shoulders relaxed from the soothing drugs, but at the same time, he mentally admonished her then himself. Even though the situation called for it, he was enabling her, and although now wasn’t the time for it, he fully intended to discuss the matter with her later. As her friend, he felt obligated to confront her about what he saw.

Interrupting his thoughts was a minute rumbling in the ground that only took him a few seconds to recognize as the distant footsteps of Rhys, with each quake growing slightly stronger as he approached. Still, knowing that his other two teammates were close did not help to calm his nerves, as Ignatius continued to scan the surrounding area for any signs of additional attackers. He hadn’t seen any other animals since the manticore attacked, but he wasn’t about to forgive himself for letting his guard down like he did. The knowledge that Colette was injured for his negligence would stay firmly cemented in his memory indefinitely, even long after the wounds were mended.

It didn’t take long for Rhys and Claire to come around the bend and see the mess on the road. A fallen tree, an injured Solar, and a blood-spattered Lunar standing over her did not look good. As soon as they realized what they were looking at, Rhys and Claire stopped in their tracks.

“Lieutenant…” began Rhys, apprehension in his voice, “What happened here? Is everything all right?”

Ignatius nodded slowly before responding. “To an extent. We were attacked by a manticore, or at least what I believe was a manticore. Colette was injured and I… I managed to disable the beast without killing it. It’s unconscious in the brush beside the road over there.” He finished his explanation by pointing to where the downed manticore was, just visible behind some trees.

Upon hearing this, Claire immediately moved closer to examine her teammates’ condition. “You said Colette is injured. Are you? I know that blood isn’t yours, but-”

“I am fine,” interrupted the synth, “But I believe Colette has broken ribs. The manticore threw her into this tree, which is what felled it.”

“I told you, I’m fine, I just need to catch my breath,” responded Colette, who was audibly wheezing under her helmet. Claire shook her head disapprovingly at the sound of it.

“You’re useless to us if you can’t stand on your own two feet, and medigel won’t set your bones properly either. Just tell me what’s broken, and I’ll fix it for you.”

Rhys finally stepped closer, casting the trio in his shadow as he looked over them. “That’s right, you know contramancy, don’t you Claire? You were our squad medic, back when you were a Solar. Are you still capable of healing magic after all this time?”

She nodded, impatiently crossing her arms at Collette. “Contrary to popular belief, Lunar Guard do have medics among their ranks. I am still practiced enough to mend your bones, and unless you want to re-break them later to set them properly, you’ll want me to fix them now, you stubborn mutt.”

Colette tried to snarl at the Lunar, but wound up having a coughing fit instead, with her teammates patiently waiting for her cooperation in silence. Realizing none of them were going to let her avoid treatment, she finally nodded in defeat.

“Alright, fine. Fix me up, doc. I’m already doped up on painkillers, so have at it. I don’t need to get naked, do I? My armor already fixed itself.”

Claire shook her head again before kneeling down and placing a hand on the canid’s chest. “No, you do not need to take off your armor. If it were irreparably broken, that would be a different matter, but I can just fix your ribs like this. Be warned, even with painkillers, this will be uncomfortable.”

“Fixing them can’t be worse than breaking them.” Without responding, Claire began to work her magic on Colette's broken body, with a lavender glow emanating from her arm into the Solar’s body. Colette grunted in discomfort, but said nothing else as she worked.

“Ignatius, are you sure you’re alright? I see your coat is torn. You took on that beasty all by yourself, eh?” Ignatius looked up from the two women to see Rhys looking down at him, the mountain of metal still managing to seem friendly despite the otherwise imposing size difference between them.

“I appreciate your concern, but I am perfectly fine. As for the manticore… It was strong and swift, but ultimately just an animal. I let my guard down, which is why Colette was injured. It will not happen again.”

Rhys nodded before standing up to his full height again. “That’s good to hear. I don’t blame you, of course. We have no idea what we’re dealing with on this planet. I’m just glad neither of you were killed. Let’s wait until Colette is fixed up, then we can continue to the town together, alright?” He gave Ignatius a huge thumbs-up before turning to watch the other direction.

Deciding not to argue with the Rook, Ignatius chose to instead focus back on watching the road to the north, scanning the surrounding area for any other possible threats. Thankfully, it seemed that with the incapacitation of the manticore, no other predators were on the approach, or at least nearby. Small critters such as squirrels and birds were returning to their places in the tree branches, watching with curiosity at the strange newcomers in their forest. Ignatius mused that they probably found him just as fascinating as he found them to be.

It was while watching the woodland fauna scamper about that he noticed a small notification in the corner of his HUD, blinking urgently. He wasn’t sure how long it was there, but he opened up the notification now, curious what it could be. He was stricken with confusion upon seeing that his medical diagnostic system was reporting a malicious spell affecting his body. It couldn't, however, determine what that effect was.

At first, he assumed that the system was damaged in the attack, but when he ran a check to determine any errors, it came back negative. Something was almost definitely affecting him at the moment, but neither he nor his medical systems could determine what. Finally, he decided that it was likely a mere glitch in the system due to the exorbitant amount of magic permeating the environment, and he dismissed the alert, more worried about actual, physical threats to the lives of himself and his comrades.

“Alright, that should do. How do you feel, Colette?” Claire had finished her procedure and stood back up, stepping back from the canid. “I obviously can’t fix your arm, but you’re a technician. That should be well within your own capabilities.”

Colette rose to her own feet, rolling her shoulders and doing some light stretching before nodding with satisfaction. “Looks like all the lights are green. I feel as good as new, besides my busted arm.” She paused, before adding, “Thanks though, really. You didn’t have to do that for me, Claire.”

The Lunar turned away, walking over to Ignatius as she spoke, “Don’t thank me, I did what needed to be done. Now fix your damn arm so we can get moving again. I don’t want to be stuck in this forsaken place past nightfall, because if that thing attacked you two in broad daylight, who knows what nocturnal predators stalk this forest in the dark?”

“I agree with Claire,” said Rhys affirmatively, “Just because we together are a formidable force, does not mean we should invite trouble. Let us move swiftly to avoid it if we can.”

“Alright, alright. Give me ten minutes to fix my arm, then we leave. While I do that, you should probably move this tree, Rhys. Don’t want the path blocked for other travellers.”

Rhys gave another thumbs-up before grabbing the tree in his giant hands and pulling it up and over his head with the ease of a child hoisting a toy aloft. Even though it was over twice his height, the tree’s weight meant little to the mechanized muscle that drove the Rook’s battlesuit. Then, without any visible effort, he bent and snapped the trunk of the tree in half, leaving the top where it was, and dropping the lower half on the side of the road.

“Easier to break it into smaller pieces, than to try and move the whole thing,” he explained to his teammates with a glance, “That way nothing else gets crushed by accident.”

Colette shrugged, and turned her attention to the matter of her broken arm. The right sleeve of her power armor split into innumerable tiny plates before sliding up her arm and into the cuirass, revealing the smashed mess of her prosthetic limb underneath. Sighing, she disconnected it at the bicep with a twist, and laid it on the ground to begin her repairs using a multitool procured from her digital holster. Ignatius knew from experience that although repair nanites could fix the damage done to the individual parts, it took a practiced hand to reassemble them into working order.

Ignatius glanced at Claire, who seemed entirely focused on watching the trees around them. Content to wait, and not interested in further conversation with his team, Ignatius took a moment to examine the tear in his coat’s sleeve to determine how to later mend it. As he stared at it, another small flash of anger washed over him, but it went as fast as it came, bottled and shelved in the back of his mind like a vengeful vintage to be aged for another time.

Chapter VII: Shaping Fate

Sunset Shimmer awoke, and the very first thing she noticed was how natural it felt. No blaring alarms, no blazing sunlight in her eyes, and no playful prodding from her girlfriend to get her out of bed. For the first time in years, she woke up on her own feeling rested and calm. The second thing she noticed that was even more surprising was that Twilight was still beside her, sleeping soundly. Sunset was always a late riser, and couldn’t remember a time where she woke up before Twilight. Something about the situation felt cathartic, and she considered waking up her girlfriend, but decided against it. If she was still tired, there was no reason not to let her sleep.

Sunset took a moment to admire Twilight as she slept, observing a more serene side of her girlfriend that she never before had an opportunity to witness in the waking hours. Little details, like way her side rose and fell peacefully with only the faintest sound of her breathing, or how there was just a small, happy smile on her muzzle as she blissfully dreamt, came together to create a version of Twilight that was somehow even more beautiful than Sunset could have imagined.

When she had her fill of fawning over her lover, Sunset carefully untangled her limbs from Twilight and turned over in the bed, looking at the nightstand beside the bed. The alarm clock sitting on top of it read that it was currently seven thirty-five, a far cry from her normal wake-up hour. Despite the fact that she should feel exhausted, Sunset was eager to rise and move around. Must be something about beds in Equestria; I can’t remember the last time I felt so rested!

Being sure not to awaken her beloved, Sunset Shimmer slipped her way out of bed and quietly snuck her way out of the bedroom and into the hall, being sure to pick up her geode off of the nightstand as she left. As soon as she opened the bedroom door, she was met with the pleasant wafting scent of a freshly cooked breakfast elsewhere in the castle. Once the door was gently shut behind her, Sunset began to happily trot through the crystal halls, the clip-clop of her hooves echoing as she went.

It seemed like the years that she had been away did nothing to dull her muscle memory, as she was able to keep a brisk pace all the way to the kitchen. Rather, she wound up in the library first, then had to backtrack and go over the directions that Starlight had given her the day before in order to actually arrive at the dining room. Along the way, she marveled at the size and complexity of the castle, feeling slightly envious of Starlight and the fact that she inherited the castle from Princess Twilight.

Finally arriving at the dining hall, Sunset opened the door to find that Starlight was already seated and eating in front of a massive spread of food that went end-to-end on the table. Upon hearing Sunset walk in, she looked up and greeted her with a smile.

“Oh! Good morning, Sunset,” she said, “You look like you slept well. How are you feeling?”

“I feel great, actually,” replied Sunset with a beaming smile of her own. “I can’t remember the last time I felt so good. I had completely forgotten how nice the beds are in Equestria. Makes my bed at home feel like a plank of wood by comparison.”

Starlight shrugged, waving a dismissive hoof. “Well I’m pretty sure part of it is the fact that this is a magical castle furnished with the finest materials in Equestria, but hey, I’ll take the compliment.” Glancing past Sunset, Starlight added quickly, “Hey, where’s your Twilight? Is she still asleep?”

Nodding, Sunset closed the door and moved towards the large table, seating herself across from Starlight. “Yeah, normally she wakes up before me, so she must be pretty tired from the trip. I didn’t wake her up, because I want her to be well rested for all the things I’ve got planned for this week.” She couldn’t help but cast a glance down at the numerous platters of hot food tantalizingly laying in front of her, which Starlight noticed.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ve got plenty planned, but don’t just sit there staring at all this food, help yourself. I’ve got some guests coming over in a bit, which is why there’s so much, but I’m sure you’re hungry, so feel free to load up a plate for yourself.”

“Thanks, I was worried about imposing more than I already have.” As Sunset levitated a plate over to herself, she looked over the table, she felt so spoiled for choice that she had no idea where to start. Fried eggs, muffins, toast, juice, fresh fruit, waffles, apple fritters, doughnuts, and… sausages? She stared at the meaty links towards the end of the table, puzzled. Starlight again followed her gaze until she realized what caught her attention.

“Oh, those! Those are fish sausages. I’m sure you know that some ponies eat fish, but sausages are actually a pretty new thing that we imported from the griffins,” explained Starlight as Sunset tenuously nibbled on one of the links. “When Princess Twilight opened up Equestria’s borders to other species for her School of Friendship, we had to change a lot of infrastructure to support other creatures, but the biggest change was making meat a staple food. In the end, the fishing industry wound up with a huge subsidy to account for all the new demand for fish, but I think it’s been pretty worth it. Dragons, griffins, hippogriffs, and abyssinians that moved to Equestria finally have reliable sources of meat, and all of the surplus can be exported out of the country to help pay for Twilight’s other reformation projects around the country.”

Sunset sat wide-eyed, gawking at Starlight Glimmer with a fish sausage hanging from her lips. She couldn’t believe so much had happened since she had last visited her homeland. She didn’t even know who the hippogriffs or abyssinians were, but clearly they were allies of Equestria now. If nothing else, it all proved to her how incredibly efficient of a ruler Twilight Sparkle was.

Blinking away her awe, Sunset set down the half-eaten sausage as she began to add other items to her plate. “I gotta say, I’m pretty blown away by how much things have changed. Here I thought Princess Twilight being the ruling monarch was the biggest news, but it sounds like she’s been pretty busy since she was crowned. Gonna have to add that School of Friendship to the list of places to visit with Twi… Where is it, anyway?”

Starlight tilted her head slightly, confused, before smirking in understanding. “The school is just around the bend. You can actually see it when you walk out the front door of the castle. I guess it wasn’t there last time you visited, huh?”

Shaking her head as she took a bite of waffle, Sunset chuckled to herself. “Well at least we won’t have to walk far. So those guests you’re expecting aren’t ponies then? Is it a formal thing, or are they friends of yours?”

Waving her hoof again, Starlight shook her head in return. “Yes and no. I’m expecting three other ponies, but the rest are other creatures. They’re all friends, but the meeting is business. We’re going to have our weekly meeting about next week’s curriculum, discuss upcoming trips, that sorta thing. We meet here because I’m the Headmaster, and I have the most room to seat everyone.”

“Oh wow, that’s cool. I didn’t take you for the type to run a school, but it sounds like you’re managing just fine.” Sunset began to nosh on one of the fluffy, fresh waffles as Starlight explained further.

“I was actually just the school counselor at first, but Twilight promoted me when she had to take over the country. It’s definitely been hectic, and a ton of work, but I’m honestly pretty happy with how things have turned out. I’ve been running the school with my husband and wife, and the rest of the staff are former students these days.”

Sunset happened to be taking a sip of coffee at that moment, and audibly choked when Starlight mentioned being married. After a short bout of coughing, she politely dabbed at her mouth with a napkin while smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry about that. You kinda caught me off guard there when you mentioned being married. I wasn’t expecting you to get hitched so soon, let alone to two ponies at once. Er… Are they ponies? Not that I’d judge, but-”

Starlight laughed aloud at the notion before dismissing it entirely. “No, no, my spouses are both ponies. Can’t say I’ve ever been attracted to anything besides ponies, for that matter, but I’ve heard that interspecies relationships are a thing in some places. I don’t think you’ve met either of them, but you’ll get the chance when they arrive.” She paused for a second, pursing her lips in thought before quickly adding, “Wait, what do you mean ‘so soon?’ I’m only a few years older than you. Aren’t you thirty?”

Before Sunset could answer, the doors to the dining room flew open again, this time with a new pair of ponies striding in. A familiar blue mare walked in alongside an unfamiliar orange stallion, with the former of the two loudly announcing her presence.

“Behold! Trixie has arrived to greet my beloved wife, and to eat her delicious cooking!” When she noticed Sunset sitting across from Starlight, her eyes locked onto the mysterious mare with suspicion. “Wait, I don’t know you. Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Sunset raised her hooves defensively, but then the stallion stepped between them, flashing Sunset a friendly smile. “I’m sure she’s a pony with a perfectly good reason to be here. How about you introduce us, Starlight?” Turning back to her hostess, Sunset breathed a sigh of relief that at least the stallion seemed to be reasonable.

Starlight stood up from her seat, and spoke as she trotted around to the other side of the table. “Sunset, these are my husband and wife, Sunburst and Trixie. Sunburst, Trixie, this is my friend Sunset. She’s visiting with her mare- er, girlfriend from the Human Realm for a week, and Princess Twilight asked me to look after them for today until she can have them transported to Canterlot for the rest of their stay.” She stopped in front of her spouses and pulled them both into a loving hug, before letting them go to give each a loving kiss on the lips.

Blushing lightly as she stood up, Sunset realized that this is probably how her own friends felt whenever she and Twilight engaged in PDA. Offering a hoof, she greeted each of the two newcomers with a little more confidence, seeing as Starlight thankfully broke the ice.

“Nice to meet you both. Right now my girlfriend is sleeping in, but I’m sure you’ll get the chance to meet her in a bit… You know, I thought you looked familiar, Trixie,” she said, turning to the blue mare. “I’m good friends with your human counterpart. She’s a pretty successful magician over there… Probably because she seems to know real magic.”

Trixie turned up her nose with a pleased grin. “Of course Trixie is famous in the Human Realm! The only reason Trixie is not a household name in Equestria is because I gave up my performances to become a Great and Powerful Student Counselor!” She struck a pose, proudly standing up on her hindlegs until she noticed her lovers snickering at her. Sheepishly, she blushed and set her hooves back down again. “I mean… Good for her. I’m happy to hear she’s doing well for herself.”

“Yeah, you two definitely take after each other,” tittered Sunset, “Never thought I’d meet another Trixie, but I can’t say it’s a bad thing.”

Sunburst leaned over to kiss his flamboyant wife on the cheek with a smile. “Though I’m not sure if my life could handle two Trixies. As much as I love her, one is enough.” Everyone managed to share a laugh at that, and as Sunset was turning to sit back down again, Starlight turned back to her spouses with a concerned edge in her voice.

“Hey speaking of extra company, did either of you run into the others on the way here? I was hoping they’d arrive with you, because it’s already past our agreed time.”

Sunburst and Trixie exchanged a glance before the stallion shook his head. “No, we haven’t seen or heard from them since yesterday… Though Ocellus said they were having a private meeting at their treehouse, so they might still be there. Do you think something is wrong?”

Starlight pursed her lips slightly, shaking her head. “No, I suppose they might just still be on their way. In that case, let’s sit down and eat. I’m sure you two are hungry.”

Nodding, Sunburst quickly took a seat next to Sunset, while Trixie followed Starlight back to the other side of the table. “So Sunset, how are you acclimating to the new Equestria? I bet it must be pretty confusing with how much things have changed since you were last here.” He filled his plate with food as he spoke, digging in as she replied.

“Yeah, Starlight has been filling me in on the broad strokes. I can’t believe how much Princess Twilight has gotten done since I last saw her. A school of friendship, mass immigration from other countries, and socioeconomic reforms… It’s not at all the same country I grew up in. I’m not sure if I’m excited or afraid to see Canterlot.”

“I’m sure Twilight will be more than happy to see you again,” offered Starlight. “She was so excited when you messaged her the other day that she cancelled Day Court to make arrangements for you. Your stay with um… your Twilight is going to be awesome, you can count on that.”

Trixie nearly choked on her waffle as her eyes bulged from their sockets. “Wait, are you saying that Sunset’s marefriend is the Princess’ human copy? Of all the ponies you could have dated, it was Twilight Sparkle. I hope you know this lowers my opinion of you, Sunset.”

Sunset rolled her eyes dismissively as Starlight intervened on her behalf. “I for one think they’re a precious couple. Plus it comes with the bonus of freaking out Princess Twilight when she finds out.”

“Wait, you haven’t told her yet?” asked Sunburst, raising an eyebrow at Sunset. “I feel like dating your friend’s doppelganger is an important detail to discuss before asking to sleep over at their house.”

Fidgeting at her mane with a hoof, Sunset smiled bashfully. “Yeah, I know it’s in bad taste, but it just never came up. Besides, I feel like that’s a discussion that is better had in person rather than through a book.”

“Whenever that is, I want to be there to see the Princess’ face when she realizes the implication!” Trixie howled with delight at the prospect of seeing Princess Twilight caught in an awkward social situation, with Starlight joining in the laughter after trying and failing to resist the urge for a few seconds.

Diverting the conversation away from her own relationship, Sunset said to Sunburst, “Starlight actually said the same thing last night. Those two really are a lot alike, huh? I can see why they ended up together, but do you ever feel like the odd one out?”

Sunburst shook his head, smiling lovingly at his wives as he adjusted his glasses. “We may have less in common with each other than a typical partnership, yes. Although, I think our differences are really what make it work. There’s never a dull day with these two, and I always love to see new sides of them. Life is an adventure where we get to learn more about each other every day, and I wouldn’t trade that for all the magical artifacts in the world.”

Hearing that, Sunset managed a genuine smile. Admiring the love the three felt for each other made her feel more confident in her own relationship. At the very least, it inspired her to work hard to ensure that her relationship with Twi was as strong and adorable as the three ponies in front of her now.

Interrupting the mirthful moment, however, was the strangest feeling that Sunset had ever before experienced. It felt like her rump was vibrating, as though she were sitting on a ringing phone. At first, she thought it was the seat itself, but looking down at her flank, she realized that her cutie mark was vibrating and glowing with a gentle, audible chime along with it.

Jumping up in surprise, she startled the others as she yelped aloud with equal parts confusion and fright. “AHH! What the hell is this? What’s happening to my cutie mark?” With her outburst, Starlight and Trixie stopped laughing to look on in amazement. Sunburst’s mouth hung open dumbly for a second before he snapped out of his daze.

“Sunset! You’re being summoned by the Cutie Map! I don’t believe this!” His shock turned to fascination as he stared at her glowing and buzzing flank. “No one has received a summons in years, this is incredible!”

“The what? What do you mean I’m being summoned? Is this some sort of crazy friendship magic that I don’t know about?”

Rising from her seat, Starlight made her way back around the table again as she explained, “The Cutie Map is a magical artifact here in the castle that directs specific ponies to friendship problems across Equestria that need their particular skills to solve. Sometimes, it even sends us beyond its borders into foreign lands, but it's been completely inactive for years, ever since Twilight ascended to the throne.”

Sunset frowned in frustration, realizing that if this really is a magical call to action, it’s not something she can exactly ignore. Figures that I get roped into a magical quest the one time I get a vacation with Twi. With a disgruntled sigh, she stomped a hoof, before forcing a smile.

“Alright then, Starlight. Lead me to this map so I can get this over with. Here’s hoping it’s not sending me a million miles away. I really don’t want this vacation to be spent doing a friendship quest, because who knows when I’m going to get another week off with Twilight?”

“I’m sure the Cutie Map wouldn’t summon you unless it was absolutely vital, Sunset. I don’t think it intends to ruin your vacation with Twilight. Come on, follow me and let’s figure out if anyone else got called.” She turned to her spouses, quickly adding, “You two can stay here and keep eating. Let me know if the others arrive, ok?” When they both nodded affirmations, Starlight led Sunset out of the dining room and into the hallway, setting a brisk trot towards the map.

“So what can I expect from this sort of thing? Have you ever been called?” Sunset was hoping for an assurance from her friend that this was a simple task and wouldn’t take long, but was disappointed with her response.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell you. The map has summoned creatures for everything between clearing a misunderstanding all the way to preventing wars. The two times I was summoned by the map, the first time was to prevent a falling out between Celesita and Luna, and the second time was to reconnect with my parents. A task can take days or even weeks to complete, so I have no idea what to expect for your quest.”

Sunset gave a defeated sigh, saying “Well I don’t have any parents left to reconnect with, so I guess I’m off to save the world.” When Starlight raised an eyebrow at her, Sunset clarified with a weak chuckle, “I’m joking, obviously. Not about the dead parents, but I’m really hoping this isn’t a big deal that is about to ruin my vacation.”

Just as they were turning a corner, Starlight ran face-first into Twilight, knocking them both to the floor with a pained grunt. Sunset reached out with a hoof to help her girlfriend up, but then gasped in surprise when she saw that Twilight too, had a glowing cutie mark.

Smiling, Twilight stood back up with her girlfriend’s help as she fixed her skewed glasses with a hoof. “Sorry for bumping into you, Starlight. I was just looking for you two. I woke up a moment ago thanks to whatever this is,” she said, gesturing to her flank, “so I came looking for you. Though uh… it looks like you’ve got the same problem as me.”

Sunset looked back at her own rump, and allowed herself a chuckle. “Yep, looks like we’ve both been roped into this, but at least we get to face it together. I was worried it was just going to be me.”

Starlight got back to her hooves and waved for the two to follow her. “Well, at least the Map is nice enough to pair you two together for this. Though, if you want your flanks to stop glowing, you’re going to actually check the Map itself to see exactly where it wants you to go. C’mon, follow me.”

Sunset and Twilight nuzzled each other affectionately before turning to follow Starlight deeper into the castle. It didn’t take them long to come to a large pair of doors that Starlight pushed open with her magic, leading the trio into a massive room with the Cutie Map in the center. Sunset and Twilight had been here before during the last time they visited, but this was their first time witnessing the Map active, with a holographic display of all of Equestria and beyond. Hovering over just the center of the map were their cutie marks, flittingly circling each other, as if they were impatiently performing a small dance while they waited for their owners to arrive.

The three of them stepped up to the map, and even though Twilight didn’t know anything about the lands of Equestria, she was still rendered to breathless awe, closely studying the numerous minutiae of the map, which appeared to be detailed down to the individual buildings of each settlement. Starlight and Sunset, however, were focused much more on where the cutie marks were floating. The two stars continued their binary orbit over the spot on the map that was simultaneously close by, but also one of the last places Sunset wanted to go to with her girlfriend.

“The Everfree Forest,” said Starlight, her voice just barely a whisper through pursed lips.

Sunset nodded, her brow furrowed in thought. “I’ve only been there once before, but it was along the outskirts when Twilight and I wound up here by accident a few years ago. I remember hearing horror stories about that place as a filly. I considered it lucky that we were close to town last time, but it looks like the Map is directing us deeper. Right into the center of the forest.”

Twilight’s ears pricked up in curiosity as she gave the two other unicorns a confused look. “Wait, what’s so bad about the Everfree Forest? It seemed pretty tame last time.”

Starlight shook her head sympathetically. “The Everfree Forest is anything but tame. Where most of Equestria runs harmonically with each other, the Everfree is full of wild, uncontrollable magic that affects both flora and fauna of the area. That wild magic is probably the reason why there was a naturally-formed portal to your world there. No one is sure why it is the way it is, but it’s one of the most dangerous places in Equestria. You two got lucky last time.”

Taking a step back, Twilight struggled to digest the information. “So this magical map is calling us on a quest into one of the most dangerous places in Equestria? Why?”

“Like I told Sunset, this map is a powerful artifact that directs creatures to places of great importance to solve issues across the world. If you’ve been summoned, it's because you were deemed to be the best choice for the job. You two have unique skills and perspectives that are required to solve this problem in particular.” Starlight somberly placed a hoof on the map, near a small town on the edge of the country. “I know from experience that the summons made by this map can save lives, or even alter the course of fate itself. If it wasn’t important, it wouldn’t have called for you.”

At first, Sunset wanted to slam her hooves down in anger, shatter the crystal table, take this “destiny” and shove it sideways up fate’s ass. With a defeated sigh, Sunset instead slumped forward onto the map, face planting into a mountain range with a dull thump. She groaned in frustration, the weight of the situation finally dawning on her in full. She wanted to be mad, but couldn't find the energy to be at this point, instead choosing to implement her finest blobfish impression.

A tender hoof came to rest on her shoulder, and Sunset turned her head to see Twilight smiling at her encouragingly. “Come on, Shim-Shim. It’s not all bad, right?”

Pushing herself off the table, Sunset turned fully to face her girlfriend, a dour frown on her face. “I’m not sure what’s good about this situation. Our vacation plans are getting totally screwed right now, and as if being sent to some random spot in Equestria for a quest wasn’t bad enough, it turns out to be one of the most inhospitable locations on the planet. What exactly is the silver lining?”

Twilight leaned forward and placed a loving kiss on Sunset’s lips, which rather surprised her. Keeping only a few inches apart, Twilight looked deep into Sunset’s eyes, and she into hers. Sunset saw a familiar glitter of enthusiasm and determination in the violet pools of her lover’s eyes that told her all she needed to know.

“You’re really into this, aren’t you Twi?” An amused smirk crossed her lips as she leaned back onto the map, quickly forgetting her worries as Twilight’s infectious excitement got to her.

“I told you I wanted to learn more about your homeland, and although museums and libraries are great and all, I think firsthand experience exploring the perilous unknown sounds a lot more interesting.” She playfully fluttered her eyes at Sunset, earning a giggle out of the amber mare. “After all, I’m going to have my badass biker girlfriend to protect me. I’m pretty sure we’ll be fine.”

Sunset furrowed her brow at that, pursing her lips for a moment before retorting. “Maybe back on Earth I’d be better equipped to protect you, but it’s been years since I was in Equestria, and even longer since I last sparred with my hooves and magic. Nowadays I’m better with a sword than my horn, so I’m not actually sure if I’d be able to fend off anything that would want to attack us.”

“I think you’re not giving yourself enough credit, Sunset,” remarked Starlight, as she stepped forward. “You used to be Celestia’s old pupil, right? I’m willing to bet you’re still pretty handy with your magic, you just need to shake some of the rust off. If you want, we can spar a little while Twilight grabs breakfast. I’m willing to bet that your quest revolves around Zecora, a zebra living in the forest. Considering she knows the place better than anyone, she’s probably fine on her own for the time being, so I’d say there’s no immediate rush.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” replied Twilight, “As much as I’d like to join you two, I can barely hold a fork with my magic as it is. I don’t think learning combat magic is in the cards for me during this stay, so I’ll stay out of your hair for the time being. Besides, adventuring on an empty stomach is never a good idea.”

Sunset put up a hoof of resignation. “Alright, alright. First, we’ll show you the way to the dining room, then Starlight and I will practice some spells. This place is pretty confusing, so I don’t want you to get lost on the way there. Sound fair?”

Twilight and Starlight both gave affirmative nods, satisfied with the current plan. With everyone in agreement, the three set off out of the room, with Sunset casting one last glancing glare at the map before closing the doors behind her.

The doors to the room flew open with a bang as Sunset was concentrating on maintaining her barrier against Starlight’s barrage of magical bolts. The sudden ruckus snapped them both out of their focus, causing their magic to fizzle out simultaneously, and leaving them both huffing with exhaustion and staring at the source of the intrusion to their spar.

Standing in the doorway was a blue griffon and a bizarre-looking pink creature that Sunset didn’t recognize at all. Behind them was Trixie, Sunburst, and Twilight, with all five of them looking extremely frazzled.

“Headmaster Starlight! We need your help! Something crazy is going on in the Everfree Forest!” announced the griffin, his feathers puffed out in fear.

“Gallus, Silverstream, what’s going on? Where’s everyone else?” Starlight approached the pair as Sunburst cautiously approached. She didn’t know what was going on, but had a terrible feeling it was about to involve her.

The one known as Silverstream grabbed Starlight by the shoulders, shaking her about madly as she screamed in a panic, “THERE ARE HORRIFYING MONSTERS IN THE EVERFREE AND THEY’RE GOING TO KILL OUR FRIENDS!”

Sunburst quickly intervened, prying the two apart with his magic as he steadied a dazed Starlight with his hooves. “Sorry, she’s been like this since they arrived. They burst into the dining room demanding to know where you were, and didn’t stop to explain.”

“There’s no time to explain!” shouted Gallus in frustration, “What part of monsters that are going to kill our friends don’t you understand? We need your help now!”

Curious about whatever was happening in the Everfree, Sunset stepped forward to speak to the frantic pair. “We can’t help you if you don’t take a breath and tell us what happened. Where are your friends? What kind of monsters were there?”

Clasping the sides of his head with taloned fingers, Gallus took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. “Alright, fine! We were at our treehouse in the Castle of the Two Sisters, when Sandbar saw a monster watching us from the window. When the rest of us went to check, all we saw was it running away, back into the forest. It didn’t move like any creature we had ever seen, and when Silverstream and I flew outside to get a better look, we saw that there were four of them waiting down in the gorge by the castle. Because Silverstream and I are the fastest fliers, we came here to get you for help, and on our way over, we saw those things climbing up the cliff!”

When her eyes stopped rolling in their sockets, Starlight asked the pair, “Can you give us a better description? What did these monsters look like? Are you sure they weren’t just wild animals?”

Silverstream went to grab Starlight again, but was thankfully held back by Trixie this time. “They’re the most TERRIFYING things I’ve ever seen! They were made of metal and stood on TWO LEGS like a dragon, but didn’t have FACES! The one we saw at the window had one big, GLOWING EYE right in the middle of its head, and was totally black all over! What’s worse, is that it was the SMALLEST of the bunch! The biggest one was as big as a TREE!”

Listening carefully to the descriptions, a realization slowly dawned on Sunset. With wide eyes, she glanced at Twilight, who returned her expression of revelation, their suspicions silently clarified between each other by gaze alone. It had dawned on them both that what Silverstream was describing sounded too much like futuristic human soldiers, and it was definitely that and not Zecora that they needed to investigate in the Everfree.

As Sunburst and Trixie led the two flustered avians away, Starlight turned to the remaining two and addressed them directly, interrupting their meeting of the minds. “Judging by the look on your faces, you’ve got something figured out that I’m missing, and I’m guessing it’s about these mystery monsters in the Everfree.”

Twilight nodded, before explaining, “The monsters that Gallus and Silverstream described are a near exact match for something Sunset and I have seen on Earth. It’s not a stretch to say that this is what the map was summoning us for, considering it’s not something any ponies would have any experience in.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow skeptically, eyeing the two in front of her. “You’re telling me these monsters are from the human realm? Did they follow you or something?”

“It’s hard to explain,” answered Sunset as she shook her head. “I’m not completely certain, but if my hunch is right, things just got really complicated. Whatever these things are, they couldn’t have followed us from Earth. If they came through one of our portals, they would have been turned into ponies. That still doesn’t change the fact that Silverstream was definitely describing humans.”

Starlight looked even more confused now, scrunching her muzzle with scrutiny. “Humans? Sunset, I’ve been to the human realm. People there aren’t the size of trees, or made of metal. And you all have faces.”

“That’s why this is concerning,” interrupted Twilight, a serious frown written across her face. “Gallus and Silverstream described human soldiers, and not just any kind of soldier. They described human soldiers ripped straight out of a science fiction setting. Full-body powered armour complete with visored face masks and what very well could have been some sort of mech suit.”

“Those sorts of things don’t exist on Earth yet,” continued Sunset, “But they’ve been written about by science fiction authors for years. Wherever these soldiers are from, it’s not our Earth, but it could be yet another world connected to Equestria through a portal. Equestria is decades behind Earth on a technological level, so maybe it’s not a stretch to say that this parallel world is decades, or even centuries ahead of either of us?”

Taking a slow breath, Starlight massaged her temple with a hoof. “Ok, clearly you two have a better grasp on this situation than I do, so I'm going to trust you to handle this while I go rescue my staff. If your hunch is right, then this is exactly what the map would call on you two for.”

Turning away, Starlight headed for the door, but paused, looking back over her shoulder. “Look after yourselves. If anything, anything goes wrong, you come back here. We’ll figure things out together if it calls for it, but whatever happens, put your safety first. If they really are soldiers, there’s no telling if they’re here peacefully or not.”

Sunset hadn’t even considered that as a possibility yet, and she swallowed hard at the idea of sci-fi soldiers arriving in Equestria with hostile intent. She suddenly was a lot less comfortable with the idea of bringing her girlfriend along for this “quest,” even if the map demanded equal participation from them both. Turning to Twilight, Sunset saw that her face still carried the same steely resolve as before. Knowing that at least one of them was ready to face the unknown was reassuring.

Without another word, Starlight disappeared with a flash of teal light, leaving the two alone. Twilight looked to Sunset, and smiled confidently, her eyes twinkling with excitement from behind her glasses. To think that when she had fallen in love with those violet pools four years ago, it would lead her to this spot, this moment.

“Are you ready to venture into the unknown, Sunset?”

Every day with Twilight led her to new places, new feelings, new experiences that she would never have gotten to have if she had just stayed in Equestria. In a weird way, losing everything in this world gave her so much more amongst humans, with Twilight. She owed everything to the nerdy purple girl in front of her, and there was no way in hell that she was going to give up on what they had together now.

Leaning over, she kissed her girlfriend on the cheek, earning a pleased giggle. “Yeah, I’m ready. Let's go make history together, babe.”