"We can well afford to pay the price of peace. Our only alternative is to pay the terrible cost of war."

- Harry S. Truman

Canterlot, Central Equestria. June 25th, 2038.

The doors to the infirmary swung open, and the sight before Twilight and her friends froze them in place. The once orderly room was filled with rows of cots and beds, each occupied by a soldier lying motionless, their faces twisted in pain or pale and cold. The sounds of groans and muffled cries echoed through the air, punctuated by frantic shouts from doctors and nurses as they scrambled from one wounded pony to the next, hooves coated in red and tools gleaming under the harsh, sterile lights. The smell of antiseptics and blood thickened the air, mingling into an atmosphere of battle-worn despair.

As the friends took in the sight, their gazes settled on the injuries—wounds unlike any they had ever seen. Horrifyingly deep punctures and ragged tears marred the soldiers’ bodies, wounds that oozed blood through thick layers of hastily wrapped bandages. In some cases, the bandages had soaked through, painting the white cloth a dark crimson. Near one of the beds, a nurse carefully extracted a strange, jagged metal pellet from a soldier’s shoulder. The soldier's body jerked involuntarily, and he let out a hoarse scream, causing Fluttershy to bury her face in her mane, trembling uncontrollably.

Rarity clutched her chest, her knees weakening as the macabre scene unfolded before her. She turned a shade paler and stumbled, barely able to hold herself up. “Oh… oh dear Celestia…” she whispered, struggling to look away but unable to, as if frozen in place.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood side by side, expressions of hardened horror spreading across their faces. They were used to seeing hardship, but this was something different—a level of suffering they had never imagined. Rainbow’s wings tensed and flexed, while Applejack’s mouth hung open, her usual steadfast composure shattered.

Pinkie Pie’s entire demeanor had changed. She stood silently, her once joyful, bouncy curls falling limply around her face. Her bright blue eyes had dulled, hollow, as if some vital spark had been snuffed out, and she stared at the sight before her with a thousand-yard stare, lost somewhere deep in the horror of it all.

Twilight’s mind spun, a storm of emotions raging within her. She felt nauseous, horrified, and utterly helpless. How? she thought desperately. How could this happen? Who could do such a thing? What kind of power do these creatures wield to do this injuries? The questions spiraled in her mind, colliding and crashing into one another, each one intensifying her dread.

Noticing their distress, Celestia motioned to one of the doctors. “Please, bring a curtain around them,” she ordered softly. The doctor nodded, pulling a set of privacy curtains around the ponies, shielding them from the worst of the wounded soldiers’ suffering. Only the muted sounds of agony remained, seeping through the thin barrier as a constant reminder of the grim scene behind them.

Celestia turned back to her friends, her face shadowed with sorrow. “I’m deeply sorry you had to see that,” she said, her voice weighted with grief. “But I needed you to understand what we’re dealing with… and why we must act with the utmost seriousness.” She gestured further down the hall, indicating they should follow her. “Please, there’s one more you must see.”

As they reached the far end of the infirmary, a heavy silence settled over the group. At the end, hidden behind another curtain, was a single bed. Next to it stood Princess Luna, her horn glowing softly as she cast an intricate spell over the patient. When Luna noticed their approach, she gave a somber nod, withdrawing her magic as she finished her spell.

The ponies’ breath caught as they recognized the figure lying on the bed—Bon Bon, the unassuming candy shop owner from Ponyville. Her body was swathed in bandages, stained in places with dried blood, while her head was wrapped, concealing an injured eye and a large, ugly wound near her temple.

Applejack was the first to break the silence, her voice strained. “B-Bon Bon? What’s she doin’ here?”

Rainbow Dash, equally stunned, turned to Celestia. “Yeah… she’s just a candy maker! What… what happened to her?”

Celestia sighed deeply, her gaze resting on the injured mare. “Bon Bon, as you know her, is indeed from Ponyville. But that’s only part of the truth.” She paused, then continued, her voice calm yet firm. “She is also known as Agent Sweetie Drops, an operative in Equestria’s Anti-Monster Agency. She was sent to monitor monster activities across Equestria while maintaining her cover in Ponyville.”

Twilight and her friends stared, their shock deepening. Bon Bon… a secret agent? The idea was almost inconceivable. She’d been just an ordinary pony, a friendly face around town. The revelation made the danger of this new enemy feel all the more tangible and immediate.

Celestia turned to Luna, her expression somber. “Sister, what have you found?”

Luna looked to the group, her eyes filled with a mixture of frustration and sorrow. “Sweetie Drops sustained severe injuries during the encounter, primarily to her head,” she explained. “A strange metal pellet pierced her skull just above her eye, and while I have managed to heal much of the physical damage… her eye remains lost.” She gestured to the bandages around Bon Bon’s head. “I have also worked to reconstruct her mind as best as I could, but she is still recovering. I am confident she will awaken soon… but her mind will need time to heal.”

Rarity placed a hoof to her mouth, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Will… will she really wake up?” she whispered, barely able to voice the question, dreading the answer.

“Yes, she will,” Luna replied, her voice resolute. “She is strong, and I have stabilized her mind with my magic. We must give her a few moments more.”

The ponies nodded, falling silent as they waited, the heavy atmosphere of the infirmary pressing down on them. From the other side of the curtain came the muffled cries and sounds of pain, a constant reminder of the battle they’d yet to fully comprehend. Their hearts pounded in unison, minds racing with uncertainty, as they awaited the words of the one pony who had survived the encounter with this fearsome new threat.

A faint stir came from the bed, drawing the group’s attention. Sweetie Drops’ eyes fluttered open, blinking in confusion as her gaze struggled to focus in the dim light of the infirmary. She groaned softly, and her face twisted with pain, one eye still covered by the thick bandage. Slowly, she looked around, her remaining eye widening with bewilderment as she took in her surroundings—the walls of the castle infirmary, the concerned faces of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and the familiar figures of Twilight and her friends.

“W-Where… where am I?” she rasped, her voice hoarse and fragile. “What… what happened?”

Luna moved closer, her voice calm yet gentle. “Agent Sweetie Drops, you are in the castle infirmary. You were injured in the line of duty,” she explained carefully. “We are here to help.”

Sweetie Drops’ gaze clouded with shock and confusion, her mind racing as fragmented memories began to surface. “The last thing I remember…” Her voice trailed off, her face paling as she recalled the blood-soaked scene. “The village… Whinnypool. We… we barely made it there, the guards… the villagers… they tried to help us…”

Sweetie Drops’ face shifted from confusion to horror as she began to piece things together. Her hoof reached up instinctively toward her head, brushing against the bandages covering her right eye. Her lips trembled, and a flicker of panic appeared in her one good eye. “I… I can’t see out of my right eye…” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “What… what’s happened to me?”

Luna’s expression softened with empathy. “You sustained a grievous wound to your head. I did all I could to save your vision, but I am sorry… you have lost your eye.”

Sweetie Drops' heart sank, a wave of sorrow washing over her. Thoughts of her life, her career, and the pony she shared her home with flooded her mind. How could she ever explain this to Lyra? Would she still be the same? Would Lyra even look at her the same way again? Her heart ached with a sadness she couldn’t put into words.

Celestia nodded, her eyes heavy with sympathy. “I’m deeply sorry, Sweetie Drops. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal. But we are here because we need your account—your perspective. The Royal Guard’s reports were… incomplete, and we need to understand what happened from somepony who experienced it firsthoof. Can you tell us everything you remember?”

Taking a shuddering breath, Sweetie Drops closed her eye, gathering her thoughts. After a moment, she nodded, accepting the weight of her duty. She opened her eye again, glancing at the faces around her before she began.

“It all started with the river,” she began, her voice low and tense. “A local river near Whinnypool… it was reeked of something vile and unnatural. The locals spoke of a strange… structure,” Sweetie Drops continued. “It was like nothing we seen before. Made of stone and steel, larger than any building I’d ever seen. Smoke poured from a giant chimney that stabbed the sky, blackening the clouds. And there was noise… a constant, harsh grinding sound that seemed to come from within. We could hear it even from a distance, like the angry growls of a monstrous beast.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me that thing was built just to spew filth into the river?”

Sweetie Drops nodded grimly. “It was a desecration of the land, that much was clear. But it wasn’t until we moved closer that we saw… them.”

Her eye grew distant, recalling the first time she’d seen the strange creatures at the facility. “They stood on two legs, with no fur, except on their heads. And they wore strange, bright orange clothing and these odd, round helmets made of a hard material… some of them didn’t even notice us at first. They were carrying brown sack, iron tools, going about their work with strange, wheeled machines.”

The friends exchanged puzzled glances. “So… they looked like Minotaurs?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not quite,” Sweetie Drops replied. “They didn’t have horns or tails. Their faces… they were almost flat, with eyes that were small and intense. Their voices—when they spoke—were unlike anything we’d heard before. They made strange, harsh sounds. Some of them sounded melodious and rhythmic, but the words…” She shook her head, trying to find the right description. “It was like the chittering of squirrels mixed with the clanging of metal… harsh and alien.”

(Author's note: Yes, I met Indians in college, I get this info personally from her.)

Pinkie Pie leaned forward, intrigued. “Did you try talking to them?”

“Yes,” Sweetie Drops answered, her voice heavy with regret. “Commander Steelhoof himself approached them, slowly and with care. But as he got close and try to open a dialogue with them, one of the creatures pulled out a small, strange object from their belt. I saw the glint of metal and thought it was a tool or a piece of equipment.” She paused, her voice growing shakier. “But then… then it made a sound. A deafening crack. And before I knew it, Steelhoof… he was on the ground.”

Her voice faltered as she remembered the sight. “That small, strange tool shot something… some sort of slugthrower. It tore through his armor like paper and hit him right here—” She tapped her forehead, just above her eye. “There was no time to scream, no chance to react. He… he was just gone.”

The room filled with shocked gasps. Fluttershy hid her face, and Rarity’s hoof flew to her mouth in horror. Twilight’s brows furrowed, her mind trying to process the concept of a weapon small enough to fit in one’s hoof yet powerful enough to kill instantly.

“What happened after that?” Celestia asked quietly, her expression solemn.

Sweetie Drops took another steadying breath. “Chaos broke out. The guards charged the facility, and laid siege on it. But there was a problem...” Her voice grew tense. “We had unicorn mages with us, skilled ones, and we thought we could break through the steel door with magic. But no matter how much power they poured into their spells to bend the metal, the door wouldn’t budge. It was made of some kind of metal that didn’t respond to magic.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “That… that’s impossible. Every material in the world has some kind of magic within it! How could—” She stopped herself as she felt Luna’s gentle hoof on her shoulder, grounding her.

Sweetie Drops continued, her voice growing hoarse as the memories flooded back. “After hours of trying to breach the gates, then we heard it… a strange, loud flapping sound coming from above. We looked up, and… we saw it. This… black, flying contraption. It had no wings, but it floated in the air like a giant beetle, hovering above us.”

“It flew without wings?” Rainbow Dash repeated, her tone incredulous.

“Yes,” Sweetie Drops nodded. “And as it approached, we realized it was observing us, like a predator watching its prey. Some of the pegasi in our squadron tried to approach it, thinking they could bring it down. They swarmed around it, but… one of them… her body was struck by its strange, spinning blade, and they fell to the ground. It was… horrible.”

The friends exchanged horrified glances, their minds struggling to comprehend what they were hearing. These creatures didn’t just look strange; they fought in ways that defied everything they knew.

“After that, we thought we were safe,” Sweetie Drops said. “But then, the ground began to tremble, and out of the forest came another… thing. It was huge, rolling over the ground on massive wheels. It was a machine, like a giant cart, made of metal and covered in armor.”

“A cart?” Applejack echoed.

“Not like any cart we know,” Sweetie Drops replied, her voice low. “It was like a beast, moving effortlessly over the terrain. When it finally stopped, more of those creatures emerged, dressed in green and brown clothes, with strange blue helmets that shone in the sunlight. They held larger versions of those weapons… and when they saw us, they didn’t hesitate. They lifted those weapons and…”

Her voice faltered, filled with sorrow. “They attacked...”

The room grew deathly silent as Sweetie Drops described the onslaught that followed. “Their weapons unleashed a hail of metal, a storm of pellets that rained down on us like thunder. Our magic shields barely held against them, and our armor… it was useless. Each shot punched through as if it were nothing. Unicorns fell, pegasi were shot out of the sky, and earth ponies… even the strongest among us couldn’t withstand it.”

Tears welled in Fluttershy’s eyes, and even Rainbow Dash looked shaken.

“We tried to fight back,” Sweetie Drops continued, her voice barely a whisper. “Lieutenant Winter Gust rallied what was left of the guard, leading a final charge. But it was futile. Their weapons… they didn’t give us a chance. We were forced to retreat, what few of us were left. They watched us go, their faces… calm. Cold.”

Celestia’s face was unreadable as she processed everything Sweetie Drops had shared. The others sat in stunned silence, their minds reeling from the horrific account of this new enemy’s power.

It was clear to all of them: this was no ordinary foe. Equestria faced a threat unlike any they had ever known—a threat that defied their understanding and shattered the safety they had once taken for granted.

The silence hung thick as they filed out of the infirmary, each pony wrestling with Sweetie Drops' terrifying testimony. Twilight and her friends, normally so confident and full of hope, wore expressions of shock and dismay. Twilight especially, who had faced countless challenges and learned so much about friendship and harmony, found herself grappling with a fear unlike any she had ever known.

Luna’s worried voice broke the silence first as they reached the end of the hall. “So… sister, what should we do next with this… new development?”

Celestia remained quiet for a moment, her usual calm demeanor clouded with uncertainty. Her mind raced with Sweetie Drops' harrowing descriptions—the strange, relentless creatures with their powerful weapons, the black, floating machines. They hadn’t come across anything like this before. These creatures defied every conventional threat Equestria had faced in its long history, and her thoughts churned with questions. Who were they, really? Where had they come from? Why had they come to Equestria?

“I… don’t know,” Celestia replied softly, her voice tinged with a rare hint of uncertainty. “We know so little about them, who are they, where do they come from, and we still don’t understand their intentions. Are they hostile invaders, or are they simply… lost?”

The question lingered uneasily in the air, but Rainbow Dash quickly shattered the hesitation with her usual bravado. “Why don’t we just use the Elements of Harmony on them?” she said, her wings flaring with confidence. “I mean, if they’re as dangerous as Sweetie Drops says, we can just blast them like we did with Discord or Nightmare Moon and turn them to stone or something.”

Celestia shook her head slowly, her gaze thoughtful but resolute. “The Elements are not a weapon in that way, Rainbow Dash,” she explained. “They work against dark magic, creatures imbued with powers that twist their hearts and intentions—beings like Discord, who thrives on chaos, or Nightmare Moon, who was consumed by her darkness. They don’t have the same effect on mortal creatures, or beings who lack magic entirely.”

“Think of the griffons,” she continued. “They possess passive magic, yet the Elements wouldn’t affect them. They might feel something, a… tingle perhaps, but nothing more.”

“So, they’re really… totally magicless?” Fluttershy asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Celestia nodded. “Based on Sweetie Drops’ account, that seems likely.”

Twilight frowned, deep in thought. “If they’re magicless… then perhaps there’s another way,” she murmured, her mind already racing with ideas. “Maybe they could still understand reason.” Her eyes sparkled with a small glimmer of hope as she looked at Celestia. “Princess, maybe we could try learning their language and communicate with them! If we can reach out to them, perhaps we could make them understand our ways. We could try for peace.”

Luna’s expression hardened, a sharp contrast to Twilight’s optimism. “Twilight, while your faith in harmony is admirable, I fear these creatures may not come to Equestria with peaceful intentions. We are in our homeland; we know the paths and terrain better than they ever could. If they mean to harm our citizens, then we must be prepared to defend Equestria. Mobilize our armies, surround them, and drive them out!”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but the weight of Luna’s words dampened her spirit. She had always believed in diplomacy, in resolving conflict with kindness, but Luna’s strategy made sense. Equestria had the advantage of numbers, and if the creatures truly intended to conquer them, Twilight knew they had no choice but to defend their land.

Celestia listened to them both, her gaze distant as she considered each perspective, weighed the risks. But before she could respond, the sound of hurried hoofsteps echoed down the hall, a Royal Guard skidding to a halt before them, breathing heavily from his sprint.

“Your Highness!” he gasped, his voice laced with urgency. “There’s… there’s something you must know!”

Celestia’s brow furrowed as she looked at him, her heart quickening. “What has happened?”

The guard took a moment to catch his breath, his face pale with anxiety. “Reports… reports are coming in from all over Equestria. This new species, these… beings… they’re not only in the southwest. Sightings have been confirmed in the southern deserts, the Capricorn Reef, east of the Appaloosan mountains, Central Amarezonia, and even north of Neighagra Falls. And they… they appear to be constructing strange structures in each region.”

Celestia’s eyes widened, and a chill ran through her, her mind reeling with the implications. The mysterious creatures had spread far beyond the borders of the Whinnypool region. They were in the heart of Equestria now, establishing footholds in regions both remote and near. How had they managed this so quickly?

The others were equally stunned, their faces a mixture of fear and disbelief. Fluttershy’s face had paled, and Rarity held a hoof to her mouth in horror. Pinkie Pie, usually filled with boundless energy and optimism, was uncharacteristically silent.

“B-but… that’s impossible!” Applejack stammered. “They were only spotted in the southwest! How could they spread across Equestria like that? How can they move so fast?”

Twilight’s eyes were wide, her voice trembling as she asked, “Princess… what does this mean?”

Celestia took a long, unsteady breath, her gaze drifting to the throne room’s towering windows, where golden sunlight streamed over Equestria’s lush, green fields. The land they had kept safe for centuries, the peace they had cherished, was now teetering on the brink of war. For the first time in her long life, Celestia felt the weight of true uncertainty.

“It means…” Celestia said, her voice distant, “they are here… to stay.”

Humanity has arrived in Equestria, not as simple visitors but as a force that intends to carve out a future, their resolve is unyielding—they are here to stay, even if it means reshaping Equestria's destiny forever.

Author's Note

I'm really tired this week, probably won't upload again until Sunday or Monday. I'm busy with university and I have a Essay to do, I almost never eat breakfast and I almost always go to bed at 2am and wake up at 5am.