First Contact

by Terran117

First published 18th of June, 2013

Magic? How simple minded. Talking Ponies? What a joke. Human inventions on an alien world? Something is not right and we'll find out why.

This fic is cancelled. Do not bother me for an update. I just can't bear to continue it anymore.

For countless years humanity has debated on whether or not they were the only intelligent species in the universe. In the year 2530, the 4 members of Shadow squad are sent to the planet Epona to search for what may be signs of sentience. Complications arise however as the planet's history has come back to seek revenge on Shadow, the very nature and reasoning of whom is harmful to Equestrian society.

Is Shadow the perfect example of human chaos? Or are they a force beyond Epona's comprehension?

The Art is that of Ghost Recon Future soldier. The franchise belongs to Ubisoft.

Insignificant

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space." - Douglas Adams.

4 months before the return NightMare Moon.

"See, I told you this would be a great place to go stargazing." gloated the unicorn stallion Shining Armor.

"Well I guess I owe you 20 bits.'" laughed the alicorn princess Cadance.

"Hey it was just a joke, this outing is all I need." playfully shrugged the white stallion.

The couple was perched on a picnic blanket on a hill that had the best view of the city of Canterlot. Anypony could observe every little detail from where they were sitting. From ponies going on night outs, to musicians performing in the streets and guards marching on their day to day business.

The couple however, had no interest in the city. Instead they were turned the other way, gazing at the beautiful night sky. Celestia, the ruler of Equestria, had no doubt been making sure the marvelous night wouldn't be smothered by such trivial distractions. Especially for her niece to enjoy.

The equine couple clutched each other close, feeling the warmth of their bodies melt away all their troubles and worries. Their eyes were fixed on the sky, the large number of bright stars filling them with passion.

"The stars sure are shining bright tonight." whispered Cadance.

"Yeah but you have the most lovely stars right in your eyes." complimented Shining Armor.

"You're such a gentlecolt Shining." said Cadance to the sound of crickets.

"That's Captain Shining Armor of the royal guard to you." reminded the white unicorn. His coat glowed in the moonlight.

Cadance nuzzled her lover's neck. "Hard to believe you got promoted so far in such a short time." Before Shining was relived of the day's duty he had been approached by Starscream, the previous captain of the royal guard to be informed that Shining was going to succeed him.

"Well I'm pretty sure you had something to do with it. With you being Celestia's niece and all. I haven't even fought any battles to deserve such accommodations." noted Shining Armor.

"Shining, you got your position because you deserve it you know that. Besides, you should be glad that Equestria has never entered a war. Otherwise, merit would be based on vile things like murder and ruthlessness."

"I would never kill." shook Shining Armor. "Peace can be enforced in many ways. We shouldn't have to resort to such acts."

Cadance kissed Shining on the cheek, causing the stallion to blush. Unknown to Cadance however, Shining Armor was planning on proposing to her on her next birthday.

"You know we're going to throw you a celebration tomorrow." stated Cadance. "You, me, your friends in the guard, your parents and Twilight."

Shining chuckled. "You know Twilight's going to be busy studying with the princess or reading some book."

Cadance had a glum expression. "Ever since I stopped being Twilight's foal sitter when she turned 11, it seems like she got less and less interested in company as time went on."

"Hey I'm sure she'll lighten up." assured Shining Armor. "Let's just enjoy the night."

The couple spent another few minutes before Cadance broke the silence.

"You know," said the Alicorn as she looked at the moon. "In a few months we're going to celebrate the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration."

"Yeah, hard to believe the tradition's up for so long." nodded Shining as he gazed at the moon as well.

"They say on that night, NightMare Moon will return to wreck havoc on Equestria." remembered the Alicorn.

"You know that's just a fairy tale right?" pointed the white stallion. The cries of the crickets grew louder.

Cadance shifted her attention to the stars again. Shining Armor followed.

"There are just so many stars out there huh?" sighed Shining Armor as laid on his back.

"And those are just the stars we can observe." added the princess. "Princess Celestia told me there are billions more in the galaxy."

After a moment's pause, Shining turned to his marefriend. "Hey Cadance?"

"Yes dear?"

"You ever wonder what's up there?"

"Like what?"

"Maybe someone up there is wondering what it's like here."

"I guess. Do you think we'll ever meet them?"

"I hope so. Don't you?"

"That depends on what they'd be like." noted Cadance.

"The galaxy is full of possibilities. Maybe out there there's an Alien race made up transforming robots or intergalactic musicians." chuckled the blue maned Stallion.

"Or a group of evil conquerers bent on galactic conquest." shivered the Alicorn.

"Nah, I'm sure any aliens out there wouldn't be like that. After all, harmony and love is universal right?"

Cadance looked in the eyes of her lover. "Right." she whispered.

"And besides, you know I'd protect you to the end if such a scenario would occur."

"But why would they care about us?" muttered the Princess.

"What do you mean?" asked Shining Armor.

"I mean, ponies must be awfully small and pathetic if there are aliens out there that can travel through the stars."

"Ponies are a unique race, just like whatever might be out there in the galaxy. If aliens don't want to visit us, it's their loss they're not going to meet such a beautiful mare." Cadance smiled at that remark.

The two kissed and looked at the brightest star in the sky, known to a certain species as Gliese 667 C, admiring its glow.

_________________

To the couple's petty ignorance, orbiting that star was a planet, Miridem (Gliese 667 Cc in 21st century). On that planet laid a Mega Corp base on fire.

The installation had nearly completed its goal in capturing a city, had it not been for 4 unorthodox counter terrorists.

A Mega Corp mercenary was trying to limp away from the destruction. His left leg nearly blown off by a carbine bullet. His blue armor complimented the orange sky emitted by the red dwarf star.

The mercenary wasn't caring for his life so much that he cared for loosing a pay check. Suddenly, the insurrectionist's HUD started to scramble and his vision began to blur.

Right when the terrorist began to stumble, a figure uncloaked. It's body was entirely covered in black.

Before the Mega Corp mercenary could react, the figure drew his sidearm, and pulled the trigger.

The mercenary fell, dead. The black clad soldier that ambushed him was unmoved. His mechanical voice filled the air.

"Command, this is Overwatch. All 800 plus hostiles are KIA."

Author's Notes:

Before I continue the story, I thought about adding a small flashback.

BTW, this intro is referencing a trailer for a certain video game at one point. I hope you can guess it.

Prologue

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”-Abraham Lincoln

1400 years ago on the planet of Epona, three bickering pony tribes, the Earth Ponies who tended to crops, the warrior Pegasi who had the ability to fly and control the weather, and the wise Unicorns, whose powerful magic allowed them to accomplish the hardest of tasks, unified after a freak blizzard forced the once bitter rivals to look past each other’s differences and work together to survive.

The three tribes found a land called Equestria, where they would live in peace and harmony with each other. Or so they thought.

After a few hundred years of silence, the spirit of chaos known as Discord stole power from the two heirs of Equestria and ravaged the nation. One by one Discord turned the ponies against each other and made them forget the nature they once held true. It seemed for a while that the ponies were forever destined to be miserable under the spirit of chaos. To them, the situation seemed hopeless.

Unfortunately for Discord, he did not properly dispose the sister alicorn heirs, Celestia and Luna. After years of training, two sisters braved all odds and overthrew the Draconequus and finally gave Equestria the harmony it desired.
Soon the sister Alicorn “Goddesses” began their quest to keep ponykind from returning to the state of chaos. They and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, a peacekeeping force that could only be used by ponies of the purest heart, would make sure that pony kind would be safe from all the evils the universe offered. However, society can only go so far with pain as a driving force for evolution. The alicorns had to live under a totalitarian rule and control even the simplest parts of pony freedoms to preserve peace (even if it was nice for the common people).

Unity came to the species of humanity in different forms. It all started when WWIII ended on Earth at 2030. For what had started out as a unified Arab attack on Israel soon escalated to the bloodiest conflict humans had ever seen. NATO, the Neo USSR, the Far East Nations, and the Arab-African Alliance (AAA) fought each other for their own reasons. But why reasons and battles when war never changes and deep down the cause of war remains the same, human desire and ends the same, with death.

Eventually the conflict went nuclear and a small number of nations such as North Korea, Iran, and a couple states in America were totally decimated with no trace of life remaining. United under the suffering, humankind unified under a single, social democratic global government to lead the masses.

Not wanting to scar Earth any further, the humans decided it was time to colonize other planets to take the burden off their home planet. Using the secret plans of the former American government to evacuate their people into space in the event of extinction, the humans were able to develop tools for an age of interstellar travel such as terra-formers, space battleships and faster than light travel. As a result of the colonization of numerous worlds, the humans called their government the ‘United Terran Federation’ or UTF for short. A new extrasolar era had begun .

Unlike ponies however, humans did not believe in controlling freedoms to preserve peace. War never died and never will for humanity as not everyone accepted these ideologies. Major insurrection groups rose over the years and challenged the new government. They did anything to get power, even commit the genocide of innocents.

Set backs aside, humans felt that if they could amongst themselves, why not form alliances with other species? So while the primary reason to colonize planets was to accommodate the ever growing population, another reason why humans wanted to colonize planets was to solve the question if they were the only residents of the universe. While humans did technically find aliens, they were plants or small mammals and reptile animals, not sentient beings like them.
For a while it seemed that humans would never make their “First Contact”.

Until now…

Author's Notes:

Please don't abandon this story yet if you think the prologue was bad. The story does get progressively better according to a few pre readers.

Chapter 1: Shadow (edited version)

“Geez, all that money we waste on space exploration; just think how many bombs that would buy!”-Craig Bruce

June 15 2530
7:30 PM local time
Aboard UTF heavy frigate Blackjack
Orbiting planet Epona
Commander Sarah McFarlane

Epona was the strangest planet that she had ever looked upon, hell this might have been the strangest planet that humanity has ever looked upon.

A sort of distortion field heavily blocked any attempt for the Blackjack to observe this planet from orbit. Photos were blurry and they could record any audio or radiation coming in from the planet. But from what the crew of the Blackjack had gathered, this world defiantly was not a natural occurrence.

Its sun was only 30,000 years old, but a star that young could not have been this bright or large. In fact it’s composition was nothing like a natural star. Also, the star was too weak and small to emit any gravitational forces but Epona remained in orbit.

Sarah was so lost in thought that she forgot to prep shadow squad on their mission.

Shadow squad was an elite group of commandos from the 23rd counter terrorist division. The members of the 23rd were selected pre-enlistment.

To be a part of the 23rd however, the candidates needed to have a very specific mental condition. A disturbing disease that stripped its members of one of the most important emotion. It was this condition that made them so feared, but so efficient in combat.

Once selected would be given the best training and gear and would be often handed the most daring of assignments. They were second only to supersoldiers.

A unique assignment that the 23rd would receive was also to see what is was like to be on planets suitable for life first hand. If the planet proved bearable, it would be colonized. These missions were pretty rare as terra forming still remained the popular way to colonize a planet.

On these missions, the 23rd would also scout planets for intelligent life. Even if the hypothetical natives on the planet were not highly intelligent, humanity would not make an attempt to colonize planet because of the Columbus protocol which prevented humans from colonizing a planet if it was already inhabited.

So far though, no such event had occurred. Quickly snapping back to the real world, she looked at the dossiers of shadow squad one more time before letting them in.

Shadow 1: Johnson ***** codename: Scarecrow

Requested primary weapon: M590 LMG

Requested sidearm: AA 30 Shotgun

John is a naturally born leader leading his to be squad mates since elementary school. His tact and planning has allowed his squad to reach numerous victories some of which impossible. He is also the strongest and largest of the group. This has allowed him to also be the squad heavy and CQB expert. Sadly, he can be very controlling to his subordinates, worsened by his mental condition.

Shadow 2: Sergio ***** codename: X-ray

Requested Primary Weapon: M816 carbine

Requested Secondary weapon: MP17 SMG

Unlike the others, Sergio is only average in terms of strength and he does not often take part in tasks that involve strong labor. Instead Sergio is outfitted with an AP 30 drone that he uses to highlight enemies, scout for activity and engage the enemy from the distance. He is also the squad’s diplomat as he has a talent for being able to negotiate with the enemy and making deals. Be aware though, he has an explosive temper that can throw him off concentration.

Shadow 3 Robert “Rob” ***** codename: Scorch.

Requested Primary weapon: SCAR Z rifle

Requested Secondary weapon: AT 9 rocket launcher.

Robert has a tendency to watch the world burn, perfect for a demo man. He is controlled for the most part though. Still, it is more than advisable to keep him away from anything that is flammmable or explosive outside of combat. There have been incidents. He tends to be rather impulsive as well. He is also the group’s sportiest member so he is able to do tasks requiring great speed and strength with ease.

Shadow 4 Tyson ***** codename: Over watch

Requested Primary weapon: M90 Sniper Rifle

Requested Secondary Weapon: P80 Personal Defense weapon

Tyson is academically the group’s smartest member but is not shown to be keen on making decisions so most of the brain work is handed either to John and mostly Sergio. He is also the definition of strong and silent as he rarely talks but when he does, he is known to say something important. This attitude is not fueled by his mental condition however, and appears to be a basic personality trait considering how out going the other 3 are. He still refuses to share his thoughts so who knows what he’s planning inside.

Sarah reread the dossier one more time and ordered the guard to open the door to let the squad in. Each squad member was pretty tall, the shortest being X-ray who was around 6ft 4 and tallest being Scarecrow who was 6ft 6.

They each wore a black bandanna, glasses that had a HUD built onto it and had a hood covering their hair so Sarah couldn’t really see what each member looked like underneath their mask. Not that she was supposed to anyway. They each wore a bullet proof vest that had a magnetic plate on their back which allowed them to holster their weapons. They also carried a wrist mounted computer that allowed them to do various things like cloak, activate kinetic barriers/over shields and radio. Sarah also noticed X-ray’s drone hovering nearby.

Each member then snapped to a salute. Shadow squad could be so well disciplined at times but they were completely informal when they weren’t being ordered around.

“At Ease” replied Sarah with her light midwestern accent. “Shadow, the council of Extra Terran Colonization has requested that you four go explore and scout this planet.”

“We know. Standard Procedure?” inquired Scarecrow.

“Not quite” replied Sarah. “Gentlemen, I don’t know how to put this but, were dealing with a very obscure plant here.”

A crew member then approached the squad and lit up a holographic display of the planet. Mountains, ice caps, forests and deserts were shown on its surface.

“Planet looks normal.” pointed Scarecrow.

“This planet is only a couple ten thousand years old, and yet we are getting signs of a breathable atmosphere and what might be life.”

“That’s impossible, unless the planet was artificial.” muttered X-ray.

“Someone call the young Earth Creationists.” chuckled Scorch.

“Exactly” sighed Sarah. “There even seems to be an artificial distortion field. If this planet truly is unnatural and an alien made installation, then we may be getting signs of intelligent life. Maybe even a first contact”

One could hear a feather drop.

“So what’s the plan?” asked Scorch.

“You all have been briefed on what to do in first contact situations, if I’m not mistaken.”

The members of Shadow Squad nodded.

“Good because those lessons might finally be of use to you. First you 4 will exit the frigate via a VTOL drop-ship and touch down on the planet. Once you're there, you'll scout the planet for the usual; hostile plants or animals, and possible locations for settlements and far land. Remember if you do find intelligent life, try to go through the first contact process, but if that would be impossible, just try to observe their routines and call for evac."

"Wait, how would we call for evac if there's a distortion field?" asked Scarecrow.

"Our local scientists are trying to adjust communication frequencies to by pass it. The Blackjack will still be orbiting over Epona and besides, you still have your distress beacon. It uses level 9 radio technology so it’ll still be able to send a broadcast past the distortion field if you run into any trouble."
....
After going over more protocols, Shadow squad headed to the armory. The naval crew member in charge of the armory felt very uncomfortable with the presence of the 4 commandos. The 23rd was not a force to be reckoned with. Each squad had an abnormal body count (due to their borderline psychopathy) and high success rate.

The 23rd squads also were infamous for the ghost like, predator ways they handled missions and their ability to handle legions of soldiers. The biggest thing that made everyone afraid of the 23rd however, was that each member in the unit could not feel remorse. Such a basic feeling was stripped from them. No matter what they did, they had no regrets.

Because there was nothing to hold them back, the 23rd was known for lashing out far more often than a normal human. Coupled with their augmentations, this lead to disturbing occurrences. No one wanted the 23rd pissed off.

The bald Indian crew member tried to avoid eye contact and slowly took a sheet from the squad’s leader. Written on it was the weapons the squad requested to be equipped with for the mission. The crewman signaled the rest of the staff in the armory to fetch the weapons and equip them with the desire attachments. The squad helped themselves to some explosives in the mean time (especially Scorch).

Once they were fully equipped, the squad finally reached the drop bay. Inside were hundreds of interceptors and fighters that the local air force unit would pilot to aid the ship in combat.

After passing through the bay, the squad found found their VTOL craft. Crew members were preparing the VTOL for take off and had already loaded it with necessities for planetary recon such as food, ammo and sleeping bags. The navigation engineer had already punched in the flight codes for a point on the planet, so all the crew had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride. The members of Shadow squad entered in the ship and dismissed the crew.

The VTOL’s doors closed tight.

"X-ray turn on the auto pilot." ordered Scarecrow. X-ray nodded and turned on the auto pilot. Suddenly the VTOL flared to life and immediately exited the hanger into space.

As the the VTOL exited the ship, X-ray went over diagnostics. Being the squad’s tech expert, vehicles were his responsibility. The navigation data said that they were 2 hours from touching down on the surface of the planet. Once he knew everything was clear, X-ray turned around and looked upon his fellow squad members.

Overwatch was silent as always and was watching the view of outer space as the VTOL approached Epona. Scorch on the other hand was playing a game on his laptop while Scarecrow was busy reading some 21st century novel. X-ray sat down, got out his tablet and started browsing the web. The beauty with 26th century technology was that pretty much every electric device had a back up solar cell so electronics running out of battery was nearly impossible as long as it was pointed to the sun.

After a few minutes, Overwatch spoke up for the first time in that day. “You know, I never get tired doing planetary recon missions.”

“I agree” replied Scarecrow, face still glued to the book. “Seeing the new scenery, exploring vast biomes, meeting those weird critters that may or may not eat human, it’s all good.”

“And for once, the chances of meeting extraterrestrial life is high.” exclaimed Scorch, taking a brake from his game.

“Yeah but if we did meet other life, we’d probably spend the entire time just observing them from a distance.” chimed in X-ray. “There would be no point in interacting with them, they wouldn’t know our language and our appearance would have a huge effect on their evolution. It would disturb the natural order of things.”

After discussing some of the things they would probably see on their journey, the members of Shadow squad fell back to their silent, anti social ways.

X-ray looked out a window and saw the Blackjack getting smaller as the VTOL went further away from it.

He took a deep look at the Frigate. It's huge size was completely dwarfed with other starship classifications like Cruisers or Carriers. Since there was no drag in the vaccum if space, all weapons aboard starships were magnetically powered from cannons to atomic warheads.

There were also onboard Tesla Cannons which used powerful electric shots to disable enemy barriers and render electronics on board useless. Not to mention a series of magnetic plasma cannons were stationed on board as well that replaced the need for conventional missiles.

Each Starship was essentially a planet killer, if they weren't always busy engaging others in orbit.

June 15 2530

8:25 PM local time

Ponyville, Equestria

For the majority of ponyville, it was peaceful night in the small community. it was the point in the day where ponies would return from work and enjoy a good night with the family. They would talk about their day, have dinner and engage in any other friendly activity.

One however, an alicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle, had no interest in a relaxing night, for she was occupied at work with her astronomy kit. The alicorn was busy recording stars and writing down reports on her observations, jotting down coordinates on a huge star chart that hung on the wall.

She wasn’t always an alicorn however. She was originally a unicorn, and the personal assistant of princess Celestia herself. Then a faithful day came where she was called upon by her mentor to make friends and become the elements of harmony, so that she could defeat and reform Nightmare Moon.

Then she and her 5 best friends went on a series of adventures across equestria from Discord, to the changelings and the Crystal empire. Not only would she and her friends be heroes, but they would also learn valuable lessons on friendship and harmony.

Then the day came, where she was tested to the full of her abilities. She succeeded and even surpassed the famous mage, Star Swirl the Bearded. As a result, she was transformed into an Alicorn by Celestia, and was crowned a princess. She was given the option to move to Canterlot alongside the diarchs, but she declined. Instead she stayed at ponyville inside her tree house, which had been converted to a large study with elaborate needs for a studious princess pony like her.

She had been princess for three months now. She was happy of her accession and new powers but she was still annoyed by how everypony was treating her. Twilight wished that some pony other than her friends would talk to her like an equal instead of a goddess.

Suddenly, a little dragon, by the name of Spike who was also Twilight’s number one assistant crept into the room.
“So Twilight, got any plans for tomorrow?” asked Spike.

“Not that I know of.” replied Twilight. “If I don’t end up with any princess work I’m probably going to catch up on my spells and maybe end up helping Fluttershy with the animals with this new technique I’ve been working on.”

“Anyway, I made you dinner!” cheered the purple dragon. “It’s your favorite, hay pancakes!”.

Hearing those words was perhaps the only force in the universe that could drive Twilight away from work, as she immediately flew to the kitchen with her new wings (almost bumping into Spike) and looked at the banquet that Spike set up.

When she became a princess, she was offered high class meals and chefs even a rich pony could never dream of having. However, she didn’t feel like she could get used to such things yet and was happy to live alone with her little dragon brother.

“Thanks Spike!” said Twilight, licking her lips as she looked at her meal with utter greed.

“No problem sis.” replied the number one assistant. “I need to work hard. When you get married and have kids I’m going to have my claws full. I need to start practicing now.”

Twilight blushed at his statement. Spike could be such a charmer at times. She then turned her attention to her food and took a bite out of her meal.

“Hey Spike” said Twilight with her mouth half full. “Have you ever wondered what lies beyond our planet?”

“You mean rocks, stars and hopefully space gems.” said Spike full with glee.

“No, I mean if we’re the only things alive in this world. Have you ever wondered if there’s any life out there?”

Suddenly Spike froze with a face full of terror. Twilight looked at him with a sense of concern.

Aboard the VTOL approaching Epona

“Did you guys just feel a tingling sensation as if the universe just touched you?” asked Scorch.

“Yeah” said Scarecrow looking around the ship. “This is weird.”

But before Shadow squad could continue pondering what just happened, they immediately turned their attention back to their electronic devices.

Back in Ponyville

“Umm....Spike?” asked the alicorn.

After a moment passed, Spike snapped back to life but breathing heavily.

“Twilight.” said Spike with a sense of fear. “You did not just ask that right?”

“Ask what?”

“That if we were the only ones in the universe.”

“What is so bad if I ask a question like that?” said Twilight with a hint of annoyance.

At this point Spike was beginning to sweat and tremble. “Twilight have you read the books or seen the comics? Whenever somepony asks that question, aliens always invade the next day and everypony dies. You’ve doomed us all!”

“Spike you are being ridiculous.” sighed Twilight.

“I gotta hide or else the aliens are going to blow me up.”

“Spike..”

Before Twilight could finish her sentence her assistant ran up the stairs in total fear. Twilight could not help but face hoof.

Author's Notes:

By the way, if you can't decide how Shadow looks like, check the cover art. They look like the soldier depicted on that but with black clothes.

June 30, 2013: Edited to remove some parts that are not scientifically accurate. All comments from the previous version will likely be removed since they are no longer valid.

Chapter 2 and 3 merge: Unreality

"The best science is open to romance. The idea that anything is possible."- Ray Bradbury.

Reality is the beautiful concept that distinguishes what is true and what is not. Simply put, humanity, documented organics and the laws of physics and nature are what constitutes as reality. Concepts such as cartoon ponies that speak English are so absurd that they could only exist within the imagination of a spirited child.

To the reality based reader, the following events would be so illogical and improbable to the point where they could only be interpreted as a dream.

That night, the VTOL touched down on the planet Epona. The members of Shadow squad stepped down from their aircraft and braced themselves for a trip of discovery and adventure.

What they did not expect to find however, was the planet being animated. Everything looked like it had come off a children's cartoon. Rather than being consisted of multiple hues, all objects generally had one distinct color. Yet, everything was 3 dimensional and had a texture as if it was an object from the real world.

It was a new definition for creepy and contradicted everything they knew. Too bad the 4 humans had no one to show it to. Deciding to put the anomaly aside, the commandos continued to explore the forest and search for possible settlements.

Unfortunately, the situation had been complicated further, as the members of Shadow found that every single piece of flora that surrounded them was native to Earth as well. The plants were the same thing in every way, except animated.

Now Shadow was beginning to loose patience and started to reduce to a nervous wreck. And just when it couldn't get more absurd, the members of Shadow saw a Bat. A fucking animated fruit bat from Earth. A Raccoon quickly followed.

"What's next! Dragons?" cried a bitter Scorch.

The counter terrorist spoke too soon. Unknown to the squad, they had been surveyed by a Griffin scout the entire time.
The scout paid close attention to the humans, or whatever one could call attention as looking at a realistic human hurt the animated Griffin's eyes and mind.

At first, the scout was prepared to confront the aliens, until he noticed something rather peculiar about them. Other than the fact that they were animated of course.

The Griffin decided to retreat to Fort Everfree and relay the news to his allies. In a mere moment, the half eagle/half lion reached the outpost the empire had installed.

Making quite a fuss along the way, the Griffin finally found his superior and called for an emergency meeting.

The entire company gathered in the commons hall while the scout spoke on the platform. Normally, the Griffins would laugh off alien presence as some form of foolish belief, but the scout was not known for lying.

The scout explained his findings to his allies. He described the aliens as 'non colorful', bi-pedal, up right, masked, speaking Equestrian and fingered.

The Griffins debated the scout's findings for a few solid minutes. Suddenly a Griffin remembered something important;

Bi-pedal? Non Colorful? Fingered? And Bi-pedal?

It sounded awfully lot like the description used for humanity. The half eagles debated the subject amongst themselves, but came to the conclusion that humans had returned to Epona.

And they would no doubt finish what they started.

Without waisting time or attempting to contact the rest of the Empire, the Griffins took up arms and prepared to assault the humans and make them face retribution. They did not leave without a secret weapon however. Fort Everfree was a secret facility dedicated to the training of dragons for military use.

With their arsenal ready, the Griffins took off.

The commandos all the while had been analyzing soil contents, until they heard the cry of an eagle. Curious, the members of Shadow squad cloaked and prepared to investigate what was going on.

A minute passed and Shadow could not believe their eyes. They were staring at Griffins. GRIFFINS like the ones they read about in fantasy stories. And much to the squad's chagrin, the hybrids brought dragons with them too.

At this point, the last remaining trace of empathy from Shadow's minds vanished. It didn't help that the Griffins were speaking ancient Persian either.

Just with they were about to give up from the sheer amount ridiculousness that was occurring before them, Scarecrow theorized that they could enact a first contact with the Griffins and possibly figure out what was going on.

The commandoes worked out a plan for interacting with the Griffins as well as taking precautions in the even they were hostile.

Scarecrow readied himself and stood in front of the approaching army. The commando uncloaked and revealed himself. Before he could speak however, Scarecrow noticed the Griffins suffering from some sort of migraine. As if it hurt to look at the commando.

Scarecrow spoke in Persian and assured he was not a threat and represented the United Terran Federation.

After a moment of silence, the Griffins yelled war cries and unloaded their spears at the commando. Unfortunately, the Griffins were shocked to find the spears bounce off Scarecrow's kinetic barrier and leave nothing but a trace of transparent purple hexagons to indicate where he was hit.

Scarecrow again attempted to talk the Griffins down, but all the soldiers did was fire spears and arrows at the counter terrorist ineffectively.

Upon realizing that the Griffins declared him a threat, Scarecrow remembered the first contact rule that all threats to mankind were to be wiped out by force. Shadow's leader unslung his gauss LMG and rained hell on the attacking Griffins.

X-ray, Scorch and Overwatch uncloaked and joined the fight as well.

The Griffins attempted to stand their ground, but their spears and arrows were no match for Shadow's railguns and kinetic barriers. One by one, the Griffin army fell to gauss fire while their spears failed to penetrate Shadow's barriers.

After a few minutes of fighting, half of the Griffins laid dead. All their bodies haven been ripped open with bullets. Heads, wings and all sorts of body parts had been cut off.

The squad decided to return to the VTOL to evade the attacking creatures. Unfortunately, the dragons that belonged to the Griffins landed on top of the ship and crushed it with it's claws.

Just when the Griffins thought they won, Scorch sighed and unslung his rocket launcher. The dragon attempted to burn down the humans with its fire breath, but Shadow's recon armor was fire proof.

Scorch fired his missile at one of the dragons and ripped its mid section open with blood and organs falling out like a piniata.

The stunned Griffins were to caught up in shock, and fell easy prey to the human's railguns.

Another dragon arrived on the scene to save what remained of the contingent. For a moment, it seemed that the tide was turning in favor of the Griffins. The dragon used its brute strength to knock out Scorch, X-ray and Scarecrow before they could fire.

Unfortunately, a shot rang from Overwatch's sniper and the final dragon's eye exploded, leaking a massive pool of blood.

The other 3 members of Shadow recovered and finished off the job by either blowing off limbs with gauss rifles, cutting off heads and claws with knifes or exploding bodies in a gory mess.

Finally, all that remained was the Griffin's commander himself. Distraught by the loos of his comrades and the murder of the dragons, he charged straight at Shadow without even thinking.

X-ray simply sighed at the commander's pathetic attempt. The commando grabbed the final Griffin, fisted him to the ground and smashed his skull open with his armored foot.

Shadow had been victorious. And what did they do in response?

Laugh. For a solid minute the members of Shadow squad laughed.

An animated world? Dragons? Griffins? Their VTOL getting destroyed? It had to be some sort of dream. The events that occurred were just too illogical.

After a few moments of walking, the members of Shadow squad stopped in their tracks and fell asleep. When they woke up, they hoped to find themselves inside their VTOL, still approaching the planet. Back in the confines of reality where alien planets hosted alien life, where myths were myths and worlds weren't cartoons.

None of it could have been real.

Right?

Chapter 4 and 5 merge: Investigation

“Fear makes us feel our humanity.”- Benhamin Disraeli

June 16 2530
8:00 am local time
Ponyville

Blissfully unaware of the carnage last night, Twilight Sparkle woke up. She got up from her new silk beds that was double the size of her previous one. She hopped out of the bed sheets and gave a small yawn.

Twilight remembered to stretch her new wings. That way, they wouldn’t get stiff later on while flying. She was fairly decent at flying especially considering that she never needed to learn how to fly in the first place. However she would never beat her pegasus friend Rainbow Dash in a million years.

She walked down the stairs of her renovated treehouse and used her magic to levitate her daily schedule to her. She checked the list and made sure everything was in place; meetings, people, books, time etc.

Feeling pleased with what she was about to go through today, she head down to the kitchen to get something to eat. While she entered the kitchen, she began to feel glad that she didn’t have a full on service of butlers, maids and chefs to attend to her every need. It would have likely overwhelmed her.

She was about to go have a quiet breakfast when Spike came bursting through the kitchen, panting heavily.

“Twilight! Twilight!” yelled the dragon.

“Spike, what is it?” said Twilight, trying to calm the dragon down.

“You got a letter from Celestia.” answered Spike who tried to catch his breath.

Twilight used her telekinesis to grab the scroll from Spike’s hands. As she opened it, she began to wonder what content it would include. She was used to getting messages from Celestia detailing some important task she had to do. She REALLY hoped it was not another meeting she had to do with some stuck up Canterlot Royal. Twilight glanced and read the paper:

To my regal sister

Twilight re-read the first sentence. She remembered when it had just been “To my faithful student Twilight.”. She continued to read on:

Something strange is going on.

Last night Princess Luna had detected something strange in the space around our humble planet. Despite countless hours and hours of observation and reasoning, she has been unable to pinpoint exactly what it is without getting some sort of headache. My sister says that the closest thing she can relate the object to is some sort of chariot/bird/hot air balloon hybrid. Anyway, Luna and her night guards lost track of said object when it landed landed deep within the Everfree forest.

Sometime later we received a message from a Griffin named “Blackwing” that stated the Griffin military unit stationed within the Everfree forest was going to investigate what had fallen. Before Luna could dictate her next move, two dragons were observed to have been flying very close to where this object landed, and never came flying back up. A patrol that was a reasonable distance from the object later arrived in Canterlot at 2:00 am and reported faint sounds of some sort of quarrel. We have sent an order for all guards near or in the Everfree Forest to report back to civilization.
Me and Luna believe that we may be facing some sort of cosmic enemy in the worst case scenario. We have not been able to re-establish contact with the Griffins, so I am sending you and the elements of harmony to investigate what is going on. If you run into any trouble, which I highly doubt, feel free to use the elements as they are an unbeatable force and may be our only hope in facing an alien enemy.

The object is believed to have landed approximately 55 Kilometers north of Fluttershy’s home.

Good luck and pray for the safety of our people,

Princess Celestia

Twilight read the letter one more time. She was starting to get anxious.

Strange object? Cosmic threat? Had Spike been right? Should she have asked that cursed question last night?
She had faced Nightmare Moon, Changelings, Discord, and Sombra but if there were aliens that were out for blood and had never grasped the concept of peace, she would be facing something on a new level. Plus what Spike had said about aliens in the books was right; it never went well for Epona.

She tried to reassure herself. ‘What if these aliens were friendly and just got into a verbal argument with the Griffins. That would make perfect sense. After all, Griffins don’t know the definition of a warm welcome.’

The dragon broke the silence.

“So Twi, what does the letter say?”

Twilight blushed a bit, she didn’t want to prove Spike right about yesterday.

“Well Celestia wants me and the other elements of harmony to check something out for her in the Everfree Forest. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone but I promise you it won’t be long. A simple teleportation spell and we’ll be home”

“Can I come?” asked Spike.

“Actually, I think this assignment isn't meant for a young dragon.” said Twilight nervously.

“Can you watch the library while we’re gone?” whispered Twilight.

“Yeah of course!” insisted Spike. “You don’t need to be so nervous”
Twilight tried to hide her anxiety. “Well, remember the last time I left you alone with the pets? This entire place look like a storm hit!”

“Oh yeah!” said Spike nervously.
-
After two hours of planning and collecting her thoughts, Twilight was ready to head out. Failing her mentor was always her biggest fear. True, she had technically ‘graduated’ when she ascended but Celestia was always a teacher to her. What scared her the most though was that this time, failure included the possibility of death.

Suddenly she remembered the technique her old foal-sister princess Cadance taught her. She took a deep breath, and exhaled. Everything calmed down.

She had re-read everything about the everfree forest and books about the cosmos. However, none of them went over extra-equestrians. The only information she could get about Xenos were fictional sci-fi stories like ‘Invasion of the Pony Snatchers!’.

Her head was still pounding from anxiety. She reminded herself that she had the elements of harmony with her. If the worst case scenario was true, she could just utilize the force that she used multiple times to protect herself.
At the same time however, she was very exited and curious. If the otherworldly beings were friendly and cooperative, she could find a way to learn about a whole new species! The idea of all that knowledge would make her drool like one of Pinkie’s famous four layer chocolate cupcakes.

Twilight also hoped that by learning from aliens, Equestrian society would evolve rapidly and finally reach the cosmos! That was a much more comforting thought than a thought about group of genocidal monsters.

But the alicorn still wanted to be careful. She remembered that she had given the other elements; honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter, and kindness to their respective bearers; Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and
Fluttershy.

With no more distractions, she said good-bye to Spike and left the door.

She looked around Ponyville, everypony was on their daily business. The fillies and colts were at school getting educated, the stallions and mares were heading to work and Derpy Hooves was of course, messing up her mail delivery again.

All was quiet until everypony glimpsed at the purple alicorn. As expected, everypony got down on the ground and bowed, muttering phrases like “I am not worthy”.

Twilight tensed, she despised all the formality. She had known these ponies in Ponyville for more than a year and yet, they were treating her like a complete stranger that would banish them to the moon if she got pissed off. But no matter what she did, it was like everypony knew her as a different person. She even got rid off that ugly dress she wore and refused to wear jewelry to blend in.

Twilight used her technique to cool herself raised her voice to kill the tension.

“Um, hi everypony. Uh there’s nothing important going on, I just want to get to the other element bearers for something important”

A voice startled her.

“Well look no further!”

Twilight squeaked and quickly turned around to see a rainbow maned Pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash, you really have to cut that out!” scolded Twilight.

The pegasus was on the floor laughing her flank off and trying to fight back tears.“Sorry Twi but your face when you’re scared is priceless!”

“Dash this is serious! Princess Celestia wants us to investigate something that happened in the Everfree Forest last night and I have the feeling that there’s something huge going on right now!”

“The...Everfree Forest?” whimpered Rainbow Dash.

“Yes! Will that be a problem?” asked Twilight with an angry face.

“Oh of course not!” said Dash, regaining her pride.

“You can always count on me! I am the element of loyalty after all.”

“Great because we have to get the others. Princess Celestia is counting on us!” snarled Twilight.
Twilight started walking towards Carousel Boutique where Rarity worked and lived. Rainbow Dash was flying behind her.

“By the way, I thought you don’t have to take orders from Celestia anymore. Aren’t you her equal now?” questioned Dash.
Twilight snapped. She turned around to face her friend.

“Well first off, yes I am her equal but Celestia is still one of the most important ponies to me! Second, I still haven’t reached her level yet so there’s still plenty of tasks for me to do and I don’t intend to fail! I thought the element of loyalty would get that better thany anyone else!”

“Yeesh calm down!” yelled Rainbow Dash.
Twilight did so. “Look I’m sorry. I’m just really anxious about this mission, there’s a chance it could be something huge!”
Dash wasn’t listening.

“Hey look we’re here!” pointed Dash.

In front of the two stood an elegant building that was the center of fashion of Ponyville also known as Carousel Boutique.
Twilight politely knocked on the door and waited for her friend to open the door. Sure enough, she heard the sound of hoof-steps inside and the door opened revealing an albino Unicorn with a purple mane.

“Twilight darling!” cheered Rarity.

“Its good to see you to Rarity.” began Twilight.

“Oh Twilight, you simply must come in!” cheered the white Unicorn.

“Um..Rarity?

“I have designed for you the most perfect garment in all of Equestria, fit for a monarch like you.” Rarity.

“Rarity..”

“You must come in and see!”

Before Twilight could resist, the Unicorn grabbed Twilight’s fore hoof and dragged her inside the store. Twilights free hooves dragged on the floor while Rarity went on and on about her stupid new design. Rarity was moving so fast that the
colors of the store and dresses all faded into a single blob.

Rainbow Dash started giggling as she flew into the store.

‘This is gonna be rich’ she thought.

Rarity finally stopped in her tracks and let go of Twilight’s hoof. The alicorn stood up and tried to get Rarity’s attention. Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash was spying from the doorway, snickering.

Rarity continued her speech about her dress while getting her materials sorted.

“Oh you should have been there Twilight, Fleur’s dress was just astounding and went so well with Fancy’s graceful suit.”

“Rarity!” yelled Twilight.

“Then Photo Finish came in with some pictures of candidates of Luna’s upcoming gala dresses and Celestia’s favorite gown...”

“Rarity!”

“I was so inspired by that point that I just had to have an idea hit me.”

“Rarity!”

“I took the liberty of looking through some of the dresses the royal weavers were making. Now no offense Twilight dear, but the colors would be absolutely horrid on you. But with the right amount of contrast, it might just work.”
“Rari-ARGH!”

Rarity dashed to Twilight and began measuring every part of her body, from her horn, to her wings, to her tail. Twilight tried to get her attention but;

“Now I just need to make sure that the measurements are 100% perfect. We really don’t want anything to look small or big on you during your next big royal event now do we?”

Twilight was getting really mad at this point. Her friend was generous and nice to be around, but when it came to fashion, it was drop everything else in life for Rarity.

Twilight was about to scream when-

“And done!” cheered the Unicorn as she shoved the dress down Twilight.

“So what do you think your majesty?” asked Rarity.

Twilight looked at herself in the mirror. She looked ridiculous.
First off, her dress was all pink and in ways that did not suit her. Second, there was jewelry on every single square millimeter on the dress. Had it not been for the only part of the cloth that was not covered, she wouldn’t be able to tell it was pink in the first place.

‘At least Spike would like it’ she thought.

Third, there were multicolored feathers EVERYWHERE. Enough to rival the gems. For a second, she thought Rarity had shaved off Dash’s mane and put it on the dress.

“What do you think dear?” asked a worried Rarity.

Twilight turned around and saw Dash on the floor laughing.

She quickly faced Rarity and gave the best fake smile she could.

“Um..it’s great. Thanks.” muttered Twilight.

“Fantastic. I knew you’d like it! cheered Rarity.

“Look Rarity, forget about the dress.” said Twilight quickly.

Twilight quickly used her telekinesis to remove the flashy garment and throw it aside. Before Rarity could say something, Twilight spoke up.

“Rarity, Princess Celestia has tasked us with something very important and we can’t do it unless we’re all working together!”

“Twilight dear, you know me, I am always willing to help my friends especially when it’s something for Celestia!” insisted Rarity.

“Good” nodded Twilight.

“The princess wants us to investigate something in the Everfree Forest-”

“The Everfree Forest?” asked Rarity nervously.

“Yes.” said Twilight. “I’ll fill you up on the details when we get the other elements of harmony. Come on lets go.”
-
Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow Dash quickly exited the building. Dash was still smirking over the thought of Rarity’s new dress. Twilight noticed this and shot the Pegasus a ‘If you don’t wipe that smile off your face, Im gonna hurt you’ look.

Twilight turned to face her friends. “Ok, Pinkie is close by so I suggest we get to her-”

“I’m already here silly!” said a high pitched, friendly voice.

Twilight was caught off guard with a pink earth pony suddenly materializing right in front of her. Twilight recoiled back with a faint scream.

“Pinkie Pie, how did you know I was looking for you?” questioned Twilight.

Pinkie started blurting out her usual fast paced monologues all the while moving quickly;

“Well it all started last night when both my eyelids started blinking like super really fast and my Pinkie sense told me that something from space fell the sky. Then I woke up this morning and my hooves started twitching followed by an uncontrolled kick and my tail tieing up meaning that Celestia sent you letter. So since something fell from the sky last night, it was pretty obvious that Celestia wanted to check that thing and since you never do tasks by her alone unless she tells you to, you always go looking for us and since you weren’t at Rainbow Dash’s, Fluttershy’s, Applejack’s, mine or your home, you just had to be at Rarity’s right?”

Pinkie took a deep breath.

“And thats how I knew you were looking for me.”

“Pinkie, really? Something falling from outer space? Thats just absurd, even from you.” said Rarity with an unamused face.

“Yeah!” added Dash. “Even if something did fall from the sky, I’m pretty sure Luna would have checked it out by now.”

“Girls.” said a surprisingly calm Pinkie with a tone of sass.

“Remember the last time somepony questioned my Pinkie sense?”

Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked at Twilight. Oh how the Alicorn could not forget that memory.

Twilight spoke up. “Actually, Pinkie Pie is telling the truth.”

“What?!” yelled Dash and Rarity.

“See.” said Pinkie.
“Look, I’ll fill you all on the details but we got to get to Applejack first come on.” said Twilight, with a hint of worry.

Everfree Forest
June 16 2530
10:20 am local time

X-ray woke up after a very long sleep. He got up on his legs, eyes still closed, and gave out a barely audible yawn. He wasn’t awake enough to analyze his surroundings but he could still see three black blobs that meant his friends.

“Hey guys,” said X-ray slowly.

“I had the weirdest dream the other night. You were in.” he pointed to Scorch.

“You were in.” he pointed to Overwatch.

“And even you were in.” he pointed to Scarecrow.

“I had a dream where we were going to visit a planet. Then it turned out everything on it was animated like it is here. Then we were attacked by Persian speaking Griffins and Dragons that looked like those corpses over there....”

X-ray was fully awake now. “...and it was real.” he muttered.

Scarecrow and Scorch laughed.

“To be fair, I actually thought it was a dream to until I woke up.” laughed Scorch.

“How long have you three been awake?” asked X-ray.

“Me and Overwatch woke up only five minutes ago, and Scarecrow got up 10 minutes before us.” answered Scorch. “So given the fact we’re in fairy tale land, should we use our distress beacon to contact the Blackjack?”

“Nah,” replied Scarecrow. “We won’t be able to show any visual proof of the creatures with a distress beacon. Plus the guys on the Blackjack are really skeptical. They’ll just think we’re fucking with them.”

Scarecrow turned to around to find that Overwatch was cloaked and had set up a look out on a tree. Scarecrow then returned his attention to his other two squad mates.

“So how much ammo do you guys have left after our little skirmish?” asked Scarecrow.

“I only got one mag left for my rifle. Used up one grenade and I only used two mags for my sidearm. Still have all my pulse grenades” said X-ray. He turned to the recon drone hovering around. “I’m afraid the drones out of ammo. This thing ain’t made for combat.”

“Got no frags left,” chuckled Scorch “Used up half my rifle’s ammo. Only got one rifle grenade left and only one rocket remaining.”

Overwatch startled everyone by uncloaking. He spoke in a quiet voice.

“I used no frags. I still have half of my PDR rounds and two Sniper mags.”

Now it was Scarecrow’s turn to speak.

“Well, I only got six shot gun shells left. Have 100 shots in my LMG, two frags left and I only used up one of my pyro grenades.”

“I hardly think we have enough ammo to do our job until back up arrives.” sighed X-ray.

“Yeah.” added Scorch. “If this planet is full of billions of mythical creatures, we’re gonna need a lot of fucking ammo.”
“Well there’s no way for us to get ammo unless we use our beacons to call for a resupply....” said Scarecrow.

Overwatch was about to activate the beacon in his hand when Scarecrow stopped him.

“..unless”

“What are you getting at man?” asked X-ray.

“Lets head to the landing site.” Began Scarecrow. “I kinda remember that there’s an ammo locker we forgot to check out. With any luck..”

“Dude, there’s no way we can scavenge the VTOL, a dragon blew it to pieces.” interrupted Scorch.

“Yeah, but they tend to fuck up every now and then” said a smiling Scarecrow.

“Sounds like a good idea.” agreed X-ray. "As long as we're stranded here,"

“But before we move, I think it would be a good idea to collect a blood sample from one of those Griffins and Dragons for scientific research.” proposed Scarecrow.

“Overwatch, get a sample.” ordered the commander.

The sniper nodded and went to the site of the conflict. The Griffins lay on the floor, all mutilated by bullet fire. Overwatch took out two syringes and crept to a body of a dead Griffin. He impaled the corpse with the needle and watched as red, catoony blood seamlessly merged with the realism of his vial.

‘Interesting’ he thought.

He then ran towards a dragon corpse, the one he killed, and tried to shove another needle in. The dragon’s scales were tough to penetrate but he quickly got through. The dragon’s blood, however, was an animated violet.
Overwatch observed the two vials and sprinted back to his squad.

“Alright” said Scarecrow. “We’re Oscar Mike”

-

Pinkie Pie would not shut up.

“But what if aliens were made of cotton candy, they’d think I was one of them! You know my mane looks like it has a lot
of cotton candy so maybe they’d make me queen!”

Pinkie then materialized on top of the gliding Rainbow Dash causing her to flinch.

“Or it what if they hated Rainbows? Oh Dash you’d be in trouble!”

Next, the pink pony just popped up in front of Twilight.

“And just imagine all the super-duper facts and maths they could teach you.”

Then she started skipping in front or Rarity.

“And they’d be wearing cool space suits. I’m pretty sure they’d hate your clothes!”

Rarity cracked at the statement.

“Pinkie Pie! For the millionth time, there are no aliens. I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for what Celestia wants us to investigate”

Twilight remained silent.

“And besides, no one in the universe could ever resist one my charming garments. Even if their taste was the polar
opposite of what I design, that doesn’t mean I can change styles once in a while.”

“I don’t know Rarity” said Rainbow Dash with a sly tone. “I’m pretty sure there are ponies out there who think you make some pretty lame stuff”

“Rainbow Dash darling, I don’t mean to come off as rude, but you saw Twilight’s reaction earlier. I am certain that if I can please royalty, I can please anypony” replied the unicorn.

Rainbow Dash started laughing. Pinkie joined in even though she had no idea what was so funny in the first place.
Twilight and her friends were then caught by the site of numerous apple trees. That signaled that they were in Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack and her family worked. As their name implied, they made a living off farming the best apples on Epona.

The 4 mares walked across the field, there was no sign of Applejack.

Twilight heard a grunt and turned around to see a large, red, Earth Pony Stallion carrying a wagon loaded with apples. It was Big Macintosh, Applejack’s older brother. Him and his two sisters would keep the farm running but the younger sister, Applebloom was at school by now.

“Hi Big Mac!” cheered Twilight.

Big Mac turned around and gasped once he saw the Alicorn. Big Mac immediately dropped to the ground and bowed. Mummering in fear all the while.

“Oh not you too!” yelled Twilight. She gave a big face hoof.

“Twilight. Big Mac is just trying to be a respectful gentlecolt.” insisted Rarity.

“There is no reason why you should be so frustrated.”

Twilight ignored her and trotted to the stallion. In a sarcastic princes voice she yelled;

“You may rise young stallion.”

Big Mac did so. He still had the nervous look on his face.

“Can you tell me where your sister, Applejack is?”

The stallion nodded and spoke with his deep voice.

“She’s buckin em apples over there.”

Big Mac pointed his fore hoof to a pile of trees. Some had apples, some did not. The ones that did shook and their apples fell out.

“Thanks Big Mac” said Twilight. “Come on girls.”

Twilight’s friends followed the path of appleless trees.

Pinkie skipped alongside Big Mac.

“Bye Big Mac you silly willy.” she said before joining her friends.

Big Mac gave out a small sigh of relief before carrying on.

The group of mares had to gallop to reach Applejack. Her apple bucking had gotten so good that she could wipe a tree clean in two seconds if she was motivated to.

Applejack still had a lot of trees to go through. Her family received a large order from a juice making company in Coltifornia to supply them with enough apples for their fruit juices. Plus, she had to practice for Applebuking season. There was no way she was going to get through the huge orchid by slacking off.

Applejack got to another tree, turned around, contracted her hooves and was about to kick when-

“HI APPLEJACK!”

“AH!” screamed the cowpony. She lost control of her body and kicked back sending an object that was clearly not a tree a few meters.

The Earth Pony turned around to see Pinkie slumped against a tree. Her eyes rolling around. She quickly shook her head and popped right in front of Applejack.

“That was fun. I was all behind you saying hi and then you bucked me and I went flying as if I was a pegasus. Oh boy me having wings, that would be amazing”

Applejack spoke up with her western accent.

“Pinkie, ah’m really sorry. Ah didn’ mean ta hit ya. Ah just lost-”

“There’s no need to apologize silly.” cheered the Pink Pony. “That was fun.”

Applejack heard another voice call out.

“Applejack, Pinkie there you are.”

The cowpony turned around to see her friends Rarity, Twilight galloping with Rainbow Dash flying overhead.

“Well of course I’d be here silly.” said Pinkie.

Before Pinkie Pie could start. Applejack started talking.

“Howdy Twi, what brings y’all here?” she asked.

“We got an urgent message from Celestia telling us to investigate something in the Everfree Forest. We need all elements of harmony present.” answered Twilight.

“Um, Twi. Shouldn’t ya have them elements with ya?” asked AJ.

“Yeah where are they?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t worry everypony. I have the elements on speed-summon in case we need them” replied Twilight.

“Speed summon?” questioned Rarity.

Suddenly Twilights horn lit up and her eyes closed. She concentrated until there was a flash of light and a small box appeared in front of them.

The box burst open and there stood the 6 elements of harmony. There were 5 necklaces that represented honesty, loyalty, generosity, kindness, and laughter. Then there was a tiara that was not only Twilight’s crown that she wore during formal events but also represented the element of magic.

“Should we put them on now?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I think we should keep them out of plain sight until necessary.” answered Twilight.

“Not to mention we should still get to Fluttershy.” said Rarity.

“I know. What Celestia wants us to find out is directly north of her home anyway” groaned the Alicorn.

“Ah don’t know Twi, I got a lotta work do here.” mummered Applejack.

“Come on AJ, we’ll only be gone for a little while. Just a quick teleportation spell and we’ll be back.” Twilight paused for a moment. “I hope.”

“I hope?” whispered Rarity.

“Look I’ll fill you all in when we’re all together. Let’s just get to Fluttershy’s home first.”

“Fine, ah guess it won’t hurt as long as ah ain’t gone for more than a day. I reckon’ Big Mac and Apple Bloom will manage.”
-
After 10 minutes of walking, the group found themselves walking along side a path that led to a small hill that nested Fluttershy’s cottage. Since it was her job to take care of the animals in ponyville, the path to her home was littered with birds, rabbits, small reptiles and dozens of adorable creatures.

The equines reached the doorway and Rarity knocked on the door with her hoof. The door opened but Fluttershy was not the one who opened it. Looking down, the ponies saw a small white rabbit/bunny wearing a bib with a clearly pissed off frown.

“Hi Angel you funny bunny!” cheered Pinkie. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

Angel sighed. How he loathed Fluttershy’s friends. He turned ans pointed his nose up to signal the equines that his caretaker was upstairs.

“Thanks Partner!” yelled Applejack.

The five ponies made their way up to find Fluttershy pouring some food in bowls with multiple animals going up to enjoy their meal.

“Hey Fluttershy!” greeted Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy, taken by surprise, squeaked and hid in a sofa with her eyes peaking out.

“Fluttershy, its us!” said a high pitched voice.

Fluttershy moved her eyes to the left to meet another pair of eyes hiding with her.

The Pegasus flew out of the couch and turned to see her friends were the ones who greeted her. The yellow pony finally calmed down.
“Oh hello.” she whispered. “What brings you all here?”

“Princess Celestia asked us to investigate something in the everfree forest?” answered Twilight. “Let’s head outside so I can finally tell you all what this is about.”

“The everfree forest?” whimpered the yellow pegasus. “I don’t know Twilight I have to take care of my animals and I haven’t even fed angel yet.”

‘So thats why the bunny was mad’ thought Twilight.

“Look I know everypony is busy but we won’t be gone for very long! Why do I have to repeat this?” raged Twilight.

“Twilight, control your temper. That is no way for a lady to act especially if that lady is a princess.” scolded Rarity.
Twilight blushed.

“OK I’ll go ahead with this.” said Fluttershy. “Just give me a moment to feed Angel.”

After two minutes the Mane 6 found themselves outside the cottage. Fluttershy had asked Angel to look after the animals while she was gone. Much to the bunny’s dismay.

“So Twi, why exactly do we need the elements. Is Discord acting up again?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No. I’m afraid Fluttershy did a good job with him.” the alicorn turned and winked at the yellow pegasus. Fluttershy smiled.

Twilight took a deep breath. “OK. Last night an object landed from space and into the Everfree Forest.”

“Just like what I said!” cheered Pinkie.

“But thats not the full of it. When Luna tried to track and observe the object, she got some sort of unnatural headache so she has completely no idea what it is. Then she received word from a Griffin soldier that the a unit stationed in the Everfree forest was going to investigate what had happened and that Equestria should send aid. Before Luna could decide what could happen next. She saw, two dragons fly-”

“Dra-gons?” said Pinkie slowly

“Yes.” nodded Twilight. “Luna saw two dragons go to the same spot where the object was believed to have landed.”
Twilight paused. “And they never came flying back up. There was no other word from the Griffins either.”

“Did Luna actually send aid?” questioned Dash.

Twilight shook her head no.

Rarity broke the silence. “Twilight you don’t think that whatever came from the cosmos is some sort of monster that-”

“No. No.” insisted Twilight. “I am sure there is a logical explanation why we lost contact.”

“Even that thing was a monster, nuthin could get past a group of em Griffins right?” whispered Applejack.

“Yeah.” said Pinkie. “I’m sure it was just a pretty space rock like the one Spike likes to eat and the Griffins and Dragons are just admiring how cool it looks.”

“That actually is possible.” muttered Twilight. “I wouldn’t want to keep my eyes off of something like that until I studied it thoroughly.”

“I still say we bring the elements, just in case we run into trouble.” said Rainbow Dash.

“So where is this thing anyway?” asked Fluttershy.

“It landed north of your home by around 40 miles.” explained Twilight. “So using my teleportation spell, we’ll move around 38 miles in the direction it landed and just hoof it from there.”

“Oh Celestia, I despise the woods.” moaned Rarity. She placed her hoof on her face from the thought of all that dirt.

“Quit complaining!” yelled Dash. “I’m ready Twi.”

The mane 6 gathered together. The elements of harmony were stored safely in a container with them.
Twilight’s horned glowed and there was a purple light that surrounded the 6 mares. And in a flash, they were gone.

VTOL landing site.
10:50 am

“I can’t believe that all really happened!” exclaimed Scorch.

“The fight with Griffins and Dragons?” replied X-ray.

“Yeah, just how we totally decimated them and ripped their bodies apart. Not mention we started moving at ultrasonic speeds and doing cool flippy action hero tricks. I mean, I know we pretty much do the same things for our human enemies but we don’t move that fast nor do we not have to take cover that much.”

“Well no shit, with the planet having a lighter gravity then what were used to, were gonna be flying like superheroes. Plus we were trained in simulations with gravity 30% stonger than Earth’s to add insult to injury.”

“Yeah but don’t you think that was too easy? I know guns have come a long way, but come on, when we shoot a damn pirate or insurrectionist they don’t have their limbs blown off that quickly unless their armor sucked or were sniped.”

“Well thats the thing, I’m sure the armor they had was at pussy medieval levels and since their bodies are built for a small gravity, they’re gonna be pretty frail.”

“Yeah but isn’t dragon and Griffin hide supposed to be all powerful beyond belief?”

“I guess, but in stories like that, Griffins and Dragons were on Earth so-”

“Would the two of you cut the chatter! You’re driving me crazy!” scolded Scarecrow.

“Yes sir.” whispered Scorch and X-ray.

“Aha we’re here!” cheered Scarecrow.

Before them lay a heavily damaged VTOL. Scorch had done a good job blowing it up. Pretty much everything had been vaporized.

“Look there’s an ammo kit!” pointed Scarecrow.

There stood a half smeared crate containing bullets and grenades. Half the stuff was beyond repair and use while the other side remained untouched. The dragon has still done a number.

Shadow squad sprinted to the crate and looked at its contents. Luckily for them, the part that was smeared contained rounds for guns they weren’t currently in possession of. One by one, they scavenged the ammo.

“I can’t believe we missed this!” yelled X-ray.

“Well I’m glad we did.” said Scarecrow as he picked up a few shotgun shells.

Soon enough they were back in black. Everyone had restocked and was back to full ammo. Even Scorch had all his explosives accounted for. The remaining ammo left in the crate was for stuff they didn’t want or need. It didn’t matter if it was discarded.

“Damn” whispered Scorch. “All Semtex grenades and mines are gone.”

“As if you need more explosives attached to you.” said Scarecrow. “If you had it your way, you’d be a walking mine. Take one hit, and we’re fucked.”

Scorch gave a near silent groan. He preferred explosive combat any day.

“Hey guys.” said X-ray. “If this planet has less gravity then what we’re used to doesn’t that mean we should probably do some exercise to avoid out muscle mass from I don’t know, deteriorating?”

“Wow, I never thought I’d hear those words from you X-ray.” laughed Scarecrow.

“I guess it also means that we’re gonna have to install artificial gravity generators if we’re gonna have this planet colonized like we did with Mars and moon colonies.” said Scorch.

“I doubt this planet will be colonized.” replied Scarecrow as he started doing push ups. “The columbus protocol says we can’t live on planets already inhabited by intelligent creatures to, well, not end up likes those colonial era dicks from a thousand years ago.”

“But I guess if all races are indeed hostile, I’m sure we’re gonna end up killing them all and taking this planet for ourselves.” implied X-ray. “Conquest motherfucker.”

“You know,” began Scorch as he started doing squats. “If Dragons and Griffins are real after all, what’s gonna stop us from encountering Hydras, Pegasai, Goblins, hell even maybe even Orcs?”

“It’s all a huge possibility.” agreed Scarecrow. “Good thing we’re armed and trained to the teeth. I suggest we immediately leave this place after a few minutes. I’m pretty sure the rest of the Griffin army is coming after us.”

“I wish we had that power armor like those super soldiers.” sighed X-ray.

“There’s no way you’d fit in one.” mocked Scorch.

“Neither would you fat ass.” countered the rifleman.

“Hey.” said a calm, collected voice that belonged to Overwatch.

Scarecrow got up and looked at Overwatch. His glasses/visor was glowing blue meaning he had magnetic vision turned on. It was what Shadow squad used to see in the very dark areas and find enemies hiding from them.

Overwatch was looking through his sniper scope tensely. Something was up.

“What’s going on?” asked X-ray.

“6 contacts. A couple hundred meters from our position. I can’t make out what they are though at this distance.” answered the hooded sniper.

“Probably more Griffins.” gritted Scorch.

X-ray turned to his wrist computer. “Scarecrow, I’m getting two massive radiation counts from the same direction. I’m getting gamma, infrared, electromagnetic, hell even fucking gravitational radiation simultaneously!”

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow underneath his mask. “Damn, whatever’s out there must be powerful. You said there were two sources?”

X-ray nodded. “One has a higher radiation count from the other.”

Scarecrow started formulating a plan. “OK, whatever’s there is probably gonna discover the battle site so-”

Scarecrow noticed that Scorch immediately ran off and cloaked. The demo man was the fastest one amongst them so he had ran off a respectable distance.

“Scorch get back here.” ordered Scarecrow through the COMMS, but it was no use. The commander, X-ray and
Overwatch followed after their comrade.

Sometime earlier

The Mane 6 found themselves surrounded by trees. Twilight’s teleportation had worked and they were in the middle of the everfree forest. Once they knew they were all together they started to walk in a straight line.

“Ah swear ah hate this place. It don't even work like the rest of Equestria.” said AJ.

“Come on girls we’re only gonna see what’s going on and then we’ll leave.” assured Twilight. Even she couldn’t get the worry out of her voice.

“Are you sure we have to do this Twilight? I mean its not that I don’t want to, he he. I’m perfectly fine with doing things with my friends.” whispered Fluttershy.

“Come everypony! We faced Discord and Changelings for heaven’s sake. If there’s any monster out there, I’m sure it can’t be worse than chaos himself!” yelled Dash.

“Yeah!” cheered Pinkie. “I might not think a lot, but if there’s a big meanie out there, I don’t think there’s any reason for us not give it a big-ol-buck to the face and a-.”

Suddenly Pinkie froze in the middle of her skip. She fell to the ground and suddenly her ears started to twist, then her tail turned 360, followed by her eyes fluttering non-stop for a few seconds.

Pinkie immediately froze. Sweat was pouring down the mare. Never before had her friends seen her this frightened.

“What did yer Pinkie sense tell ya?” asked Applejack.

“I don’t think that would ever happen.” whispered Pinkie.

“What do you mean?” asked Fluttershy.

“My Pinkie sense is telling me....that whatever is out there...has a half chance of destroying Ponykind.” said the pink pony slowly.

It was safe to say Pinkie sense was never wrong. For a minute, they stood quietly.

“Half chance?” finally asked Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie began to speak fast again. “Yeah, something’s wrong with this sense. You see, whenever that happens, either my left or my right back hoof is supposed to do a kick. If its my left hoof, were safe, but if its my right......were DOOMED!”
Everypony looked at her with their eyes wide open.

“But I’m sure it would have been the left. Who would want to destroy Ponykind!” cheered Pinkie Pie. She returned to her happy demeanor.

The Mane 6 continued walking in a straight line. They were all obviously paranoid.

“So how far are we exactly from this object Twilight?” asked Rarity.

“We’ve only been walking for a few minutes.” said a slightly annoyed Twilight.

“Ugh, its so damp and humid here.” moaned the white Unicorn.

Twilight was getting angry faster than usual. Pinkie’s revelation did not calm her down. “We’ll if you stop talking, we’ll get
there faster so-”

“OH MY CELESTIA WHAT IS THAT!”

Everypony’s face nearly lost their color. Pinkie’s mane it particular, immediately deflated and her color darkened. What stood before them was a sign of pure terror and fear. It was a big miracle that Fluttershy did not faint.

What tainted their vision was essentially a mass grave. What lay there was hundreds of Griffin bodies, all forced to a painful and bloody death. Blood was spilled everywhere, turning the grass and some trees red. The Griffin corpses were unrecognizable. Wings. lion tails, stomachs and heads were missing from numerous bodies.

Against all instincts the ponies began to walk forward along the path of destruction. They were knocked out speechless by the scene and didn’t realize they were getting blood on their hooves. Fluttershy started began tearing up. Even Rainbow Dash was dropped dead frightened of what she saw.

“Wh-what could have done all this?” she began to cry.

“I-I don’t kn-kow.” replied Rarity.

“Whoever did this must be a sick meanie.” whispered Pikie.

Twilight for once wasn’t prepared to deal with something. Celestia had been right, the object that fell from the sky was a cosmic threat that was claiming the lives of many.

Pinkie got green and vomited at the sight of a Griffin covered in burn marks.

Fluttershy and Rarity lost consciousness at the sight of a Griffin corpse with its hear missing and skull crushed to pieces.

They heard a whisper.

“shadow”

They turned their heads left.

“sha.....dow”

They walked towards the source and saw a lone Griffin, his lower stomach blown off revealing his internal organs, slumped against a tree. Fluttershy regained her confidence and flew towards him. She did her best to comfort him even though they both knew it was hopeless.

“sha.....dow”

“Don’t be afraid, everything will be alright.” whispered the yellow pegasus.

Suddenly, the Griffin’s eye widened at the sight of the Mane 6. He pushed himself away from the tree and clutched a spear head.

The Mane 6 started to back away from the Griffin soldier who had a blood thirsty look on his face. He spoke in his native language. "اگر من جان ...... من مایل - نیز ممکن است 'سرفه' را از اسبان بی فایده به عنوان بسیاری از شما با من است."

(“If I die......I mi--might as well ‘cough’ take out as ma-ma-many of you useless ponies with me.” he said.)

The Griffin took a few steps towards the frightened ponies. Suddenly, his eyes lost focus and he slumped to the ground.

He was dead.

The equines didn’t know that to be more afraid of; the fact that he attacked them and wanted to kill them, or the fact they watched a creature die. They went with the former.

“You know...” gulped Rainbow Dash.

“These Griffins are jerks anyway. I kinda guess they deserve this for bullying around other races. Maybe they got what’s coming to them.”

“Ah’m sorry partner!” scolded Applejack. “No one deserves tah die as horrible like this! Even if they were a no good, bloodthirsty Griffin soldier.”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head. Half in defeat, half in agreement.

“He said something about a ‘shadow’.” inquired Twilight. “What could that mean?”

“Maybe what fell from the sky was this magical orb that made your shadow come to life and kill you!” spoke Pinkie. Her mane had reflated but she was still scared like hell. “How do we know ours didn’t come to life to?”

“Pinkie, shadows do not come to life.” said Twilight. Although she looked at hers with some suspicion and fear.
The alicorn walked over to another dead Griffin and looked down at with pity. His eyes were open with full terror, as if he had seen the the most horrific ghost in the universe. His neck was open and blood was leaking from it like a burst balloon.

“Oh my gosh.” whispered Rainbow Dash.

“That’s Gilda’s brother. When she and I were still...friends,”

Rainbow Dashed looked to his side to see Fluttershy and Pinkie giving her dirty looks.

“we would sometimes pick on her older brother for fun and now....”

Something caught Twilight’s eye. It was burrowed deep within its neck. She used her telekinesis to pick it up. The rest of the Mane 6 looked at the object that claimed the life of the Griffin. When she was grabbing it with her telekinesis, she found that the object was much heavier than it appeared to be so she redoubled her efforts.

Soon the blood dripped off the small object and when everypony got a full glimpse of it, their minds started aching before going back to focus. The object looked completely alien, as if it existed from a different plane of existence. It was cylindrical, with a pointed tip. It was dull grey and smelled of smoke, as if it was lighted by fire.

“What...is that?” asked Fluttershy.

“Don’t ask me.” said Rainbow Dash. “Twilight’s the egg head.”

“I..I don’t know what this is.” whispered Twilight as she held the object with her telekinesis, moving it around. “I guess it’s some sort of projectile like a spear or cannon. Although there’s now way it can make a wound that big if it’s that small.”
Rarity tried to look at the object carefully but every time she did, she got the same headache, as if she was solving an impossible math problem.

“I’m no smith, by I don’t think this is made from any material here on Epona.” whispered the white Unicorn. “But you’re right, this does look like a projectile.”

“Everypony look!” yelled Pinkie. The pink mare had walked ahead a few meters.

The rest of the Mane 6 galloped towards her. As Twilight looked at the bodies, she saw that most of them had the same kind of small metal pierced in various places, creating deep, bloody holes.

Finally the ponies looked at what Pinkie was pointing at. Now this was beyond comprehension.

There was a corpse of a dragon. A DRAGON. Slain.

“Wow,” gulped Applejack. “We really are dealin’ with sumthin’ dangerous.”

Twilight looked at the Dragon’s face and saw that one of it’s eyes had exploded. Like a fountainhead, violet blood had leaked from the eye socket. The dragon was clearly killed recently as some of the blood had not dried yet. All of a sudden, Twilight was glad that Spike had not come along.

“Twilight look!” yelled Pinkie Pie. Pinkie pointed to the ground with her head.

Twilight moved her head to see what she was talking about and once again, her head hurt. She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. There lay another one of those objects, only larger.

“Please, let’s go.” pleaded Fluttershy.

The Mane 6 didn’t have to think twice. They started walking ahead in a straight line and after a few minutes, passed the trail of bloodshed. They didn’t even stop to bother to look at the other dragon with its torso ripped out.

“You know,” started Pinkie. “Griffins and dragons are the biggest groups of...” Pinkie took a gulp, “..jerks in the world. I really think that whatever came from space was being bullied by them and acted in self defense.” The Pink knew she was just trying to make the best out of a horrifying situation.

“Ya know what?” responded Applejack. “ ‘Em Griffins and Dragons don’ know anythin’ when it comes ta hospitality. I reckon’ they got their just desserts.”

Suddenly everypony’s moods calmed down. They walked along the parth for a few moments, saying nothing until Twilight broke the silence.

“O.K.” said Twilight. “We’ve seen enough. We’re can can head back to equestria.”

The Mane 6 smiled in releavement. However, their smiles vanished when they heard a tree twig snap. Curious, the Mane 6 walked a bit closer to the source-

-and that’s when the being appeared out of thin air.

“DOWN MOTHERFUCKER! DOWN!”

Chapter 6 and 7: Introductions

“The most merciful thing in the world... is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.”- H.P Lovecraft

There were many reasons why Twilight and her friends couldn’t move or talk. Perhaps it was because it just appeared out of thin air like magic (Twilight knew such a feat was possible). Or because the creature was more than 6 feet tall and towered them. (The ponies didn’t even make it to its waist.) Maybe it was because it was residue shock from the dead Griffins. Or it could have been due to the fact it looked like it was pointing a weapon at them. Not one anypony could recognize, but that didn’t change the fact it was carrying one.

It could have also been the fact it just spoke in their language. Scratch that, swore the most taboo word in the their language. Maybe it was because it didn’t look anything natural and its form was so alien and incomprehensible that trying to stare at it for prolonged periods of time gave them an unpleasant headache too similar to the effect of Flutershy's stare. Trying to decipher its appearance was like trying to solve Equestria’s hardest math problem.

Speaking of its appearance. It was something the Mane 6 couldn’t describe. Large size aside, it was bi pedal and stood on its two back hooves. What were supposed to be its fore hooves ended with a claw like shape that each had 5 appendages. Said appendages were wrapped around its weapon like a squid gripping prey with its tentacles. As much as they resembled a bear’s paws or a dragon’s claws, what these creatures had were not them. There wasn’t any sign of sharp nails or talons. There were also no signs of a wing or horn.

The Mane 6 presumed that the being was wearing clothes. The outfit it wore was made up of pants as black as night with an equally black top that had a dark grey vest with a digital pattern on it. There were also grey pads half way through its long, slender hooves.

Similar to a saddle bag, the creature held some objects with a rope-like-thing around its midsection. It wore something that looked like white socks to cover its appendages. Its face, if it had a face, was obscured by a black and white cloth which judging by a bump, was supported by its nose. Twilight noticed the creature was wearing something that looked like over large sunglasses.

What felt like an eternity was really 4 seconds. The creature stopped starring at them and put its weapon on its back. The weapon did not fall but rather stuck to its vest.

The creature spoke, judging by its voice it was male. The voice wasn’t pure however and sounded somewhat distorted as if he was speaking through a paper cup.

“Hold your fire!” it yelled. “Its just a couple of a horses.”

Twilight wanted to speak and correct him, but fear had taken over her. Suddenly, three more behemoths appeared out of thin air. Each time one of them appeared, her head exploded and she started hearing screeches. They each wore the same clothes and carried similar looking weapons with variations.

They didn’t all look the same now. One was even taller then the one that ambushed the ponies and slightly chubbier. The shortest was still as tall as Celestia herself but had thinner and at the same time, longer limbs and an equally small stomach. The last to reveal itself had a similar body type to the one that stopped the Mane 6.

The three who just revealed themselves unslung their weapons and walked towards the Ponies. The way they moved were peculiar but at the same time interesting.

Twilight looked back at her friends. Rainbow had fell to the ground and made no effort to get back up. Pinkie’s mane deflated again and her pink body lost so much of its color that she looked white. Rarity was borderline fainting. Fluttershy was starting to tear. Applejack was the least disturbed but her mouth hung open and was shaking.

She knew what all of the other ponies were thinking, these were the beings that Pinky spoke about in her vision. The ones that would probably destroy ponykind. However, the fact that these creatures made no effort to kill them assured Twilight that the other possibility would be the outcome.

Oblivious to the pony’s fear, the tallest approached the equines and spoke up in a calm, yet commanding voice. “They’re too small to be horses Scorch. I’d say they’re....ponies”

When he said ponies, Twilight could tell the alien felt uncomfortable at saying the word. As if he just got humiliated. How they knew of the phrase ponies, she did not know.

The large alien bent down. Its two hind legs started to curve. The giant curved its fore legs and placed his appendages on a bump that sprung from its leg. The alien started to press its face to the Mane 6. Its mask filled them all with terror. The 6 ponies saw their sacred refection in the creature’s cold, soulless goggles.

Its voice startled them.

“A bunch of mutant, alien, animated, midget, multicolored, fucked up ponies with..tattoos on their ass?”

Twilight could not believe the alien said such things about them. Had its appearance not been the sum of all terror he would have gotten multiple bucks to the face.

“Wow. their facial expressions aren’t too different from ours. It's as if they’re sentient.”

The large one suddenly backed off as the thin Xeno started to approach the ponies. Suddenly, his glasses glowed electric blue and white lines started appearing all over them. His voice shared the same muffled, speaker affect.

“I hope I’m not the only one who is completely oblivious but that white one has a horn.”

The alien extended one of his appendages that faced Rarity. Rarity gulped and fell back.

“I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but that one’s a unicorn.”

‘What problem do they have with saying the names of our species?’ thought the purple princess pony.

Then the alien flexed another appendage and pointed both to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy respectively.

“Those two have wings, that makes them Pegasai.”

Then the alien looked straight at Twilight. The pain and screeching returned to her head.

“This one, has both. That makes her..a...uh?”

The thin giant was clearly lost in thought. The alicorn wanted to tell him that she was but could only let out a high pitched breath. The first alien they saw, probably named Scorch based on an earlier comment tried to correct him.

“An alicorn? he said

“Yeah that’s right.” replied the slender bi-ped. He looked back at the cowering ponies.

All 4 goggles immediately looked straight into the eyes of Twilight. Suddenly the Purple Alicorn got visions. Horrible visions.

Dead ponies were scattered everywhere. Blood leaking from holes in their bodies. Cities and land were on fire. On the top of the mountain of corpses sat those 4 aliens, clutching their weapons and sharpening a blade.

Suddenly the vision ended. Twilight tried to as much focus as she could and turn back to what the black clad aliens were saying.

“According to the stories I’ve read their supposed to be the ‘gods’ of the equines they rule over.”. The Xeno turned to face his allies. “Although she, I’m assuming its a she based on the fact the alicorn has eyelashes. They’re supposed to be gods, but-(his glasses glowed blue again)based on her statistics, she’s a god the same way I’m a women.”

Twilight felt as if some pony shoved a rock through her heart. Alicorns were the most powerful beings that have ever existed. They were gods. But if these creatures could see through her, analyze her powers and laugh them off, they must have a whole new definition for “gods”.

“And the other two?” asked the large one. He was probably referring to Pinkie Pie and Applejack.

“Nothing special. Just normies like the horses on Earth.”

Pinkie Pie and Applejack and opened their mouths. To any Earth pony, being insulted for a lack of wings was like being yelled at with the F-word. Normally an Earth Pony would break into a major speech by saying how special they really were to Epona, but with their behemoth form, they stood silent.

‘Earth’ thought the alicorn. ‘Maybe that was the planet they were from and based on the sound of what he just said, they have ponies too!’

Before she could loose her self in deep thought, she had her mind interrupted by the giant named Scorch. His appendages were stroking the cloth that covered the bottom of his face.

“Unicorns and Pegasi? This can’t be possible. They’re supposed to be made up myths.”

The large one crossed his fore hooves. “Oh really? After massacring an army of Griffins and two giant fucking dragons, now you decide to question everything?”

That sealed it. These four foul mouthed giant Xenos were the result of the horrible carnage behind them. These four managed to slay an army of the most celebrated Griffin soldiers and two giant, terrifying, thought-to-be-indestructible-until-now, beasts.

The 6 equines started to trot back in fear but the 4 giant bipeds just took a few steps to follow them casually. They still weren’t aware of the fear the Mane 6 felt.

“If I’m not mistaken.” started the slim Alien. “Unicorns and Alicorns should be able to perform magic and the Pegasai should have the ability to control the weather.”

“There’s no such thing as magic X-ray.” insisted the tallest one.

The ponies desperately wanted to prove them wrong but the uneasiness that they felt from the presence of the bipeds overwhelmed them. Twilight also took note of the name of the thin alien.

“We’re on an animated planet Scarecrow. Anything is possible at this point.” insisted Scorch.

The purple alicorn took a mental note that the large one was named Scarecrow. ‘And scary he was’ thought Twilight.

Twilight tried to look at the fourth alien. The pony realized that fourth one had not spoken at all at this point. His back was turned as if he was looking for something.

“Hey check it out!” yelled the alien now known as Scorch.

With speeds that surprised Rainbow Dash, the behemoth lunged at Applejack and grabbed her signature stetson before turning to his comrades. The orange Earth Pony wanted to get him back for stealing but was stopped by Rarity.

The 4 black-clad aliens turned their attention to the cowpony’s hat.

“Holy shit!” yelled Scarecrow as he grabbed the hat.

“Aren’t these the clothes cowboys and farmers are supposed to wear?” asked X-ray.

“How could they make them without hands?” questioned Scorch.

Their large friend ignored them. “If these ponies are capable of making hats, then that means they’re intelligent and have a social structure.”

“And a red-neck population!” added Scorch.

‘What the heck is a red-neck’ thought Applejack. She hoped it wasn’t an insult or these black clad aliens were gonna be taught a lesson.

“This hat is too similar to the ones we wore for hundreds of years to be a coincidence.” insisted X-ray.

“I doubt we have a similar culture.” said Scarecrow. “We’re light years apart, there’s no way they could gain such a thing from us.”

Scorch grabbed the hat and walked towards Applejack. The orange mare trembled.

The biped started to whisper.

“Its okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.” assured Scorch. He clearly didn’t look like he was expecting a response.

Applejack didn’t want to disobey it and started to calm down. She was still shaking nervously though and felt queasy. For some reason, Applejack felt a feeling deep inside of her that it was okay to obey the masked xeno.

Scorch placed the stetson on her head and then stroked the orange pony’s fur.

“Good girl.” he whispered.

Twilight felt as if the aliens saw them nothing more than childish animals even though they established that pony-kind was intelligent. She tried to raise her voice again but the sensation of casting a weary spell returned to her skull, silencing her.

“You know for an intelligent race with jobs and presumably, a class structure, they’re awfully silent.” muttered Scarecrow.

“Well no shit. I don’t think 4 giant bi-peds that aren’t built like anything on this planet are the best things for these creatures to comprehend.” said X-ray.

“Besides, it not like they understand any word that comes out of our fuckin’ mouths.” added Scorch.

‘Oh we can here every word that comes out of your potty mouth.’ thought Twilight. The purple Alicorn realized that she needed to speak to these aliens or else they were going to get nowhere. She used Cadance’s technique to calm herself. Right when she opened her mouth-

“Seriously, though this is awesome!” yelled Scarecrow in a non enthusiastic manner.

“Enlighten me.” said Scorch sarcastically.

“Guys we have revolutionized the way modern society thinks.” started Scarecrow.

“If this planet is really home to all of the fictional creatures that humans made up and can exist in an animated fashion, then imagine all the new things we can discover and the endless possibilities we can do with it. Plus, if this planet really has ‘magic’, then that means a whole new field of study we can exploit. I mean seriously, this discovery is going to take humanity even further!”

Finally, the giant alien calmed down. The ponies were too busy cowering at what the bipeds were going to do to them to focus on what Scarecrow just said.

“So, now what should we do?” asked Scorch.

“Well they don’t look like much of a threat. I don’t even think they can harm us.” started Scarecrow. His tone suddenly became sterner. “And you know the drill, we never harm civilians.”

The ponies started to calm down a bit. They were beginning to deduce that these 4 aliens belonged to some sort of military.

“I move that we go find out where these ponies come from and do some observations.” proposed Scorch. "If we're stranded here without evac or a rescue option, we might as well make the most of it."

The Mane 6 became nervous. Despite what the alien just said, having them near Ponyville was not such a good idea. They needed to find the courage to speak.

“One thing is for certain though.” muttered X-ray. "These ponies are so adorable."

The humans broke the tension with a series of laughs. Except for one anyway.

Rainbow Dash for one, did not like being called cute. With all her might, the pegasus yelled loud.

“Hey! You guys must have serious guts to come here and start doing whatever you feel like! I hate to break it to you pal, but Equestria is our home! We get to dictate what happens here. Not some two-hoofed monkey rejects like you!”

Chapter 7:

For 10 seconds, the Shadow Squad remained silent. They really hoped the ponies weren't sapient or else they would have violated 23rd protocol by revealing themselves, but the situation was already FUBAR since the Dragon attack.

Scarecrow broke the silence. “You...you can speak....English?”

Rainbow Dash flew into the bipeds face. She looked at her angered reflection in their shades. Realizing the giant could attack her any moment, she subtly flew back.

“This is....amazing.” whispered X-ray. “I swear I’m dreaming.”

SMACK!

“Ow! Damn Overwatch what was that for?” chastised X-ray

The silent biped gave a shrug.

Twilight finally spoke up as well. “I’m sorry for all the confusion but allow us to introduce ourselves.”

“You’re...intelligent?” said Scorch obliviously. Although it was more of a statement of concern as he had never revealed himself to civilians before. And to think his position would be compromised by talking horses.

“Yes partner.” piped up Applejack. “And ah would appreciate it if you didn’ go ‘round treatin’ us like toys!”

“Wow, this planet does have a redneck population after all.” laughed X-ray.

“What the heck is ah redneck?” asked the orange Earth Pony.

“Forget that!” yelled Scarecrow. He placed his hands on his head. “First contact, this would actually be amazing if we weren't stranded on a FUBAR op and it wasn't US of all people on this planet.” He paused.

“Ok, third contact considering the Griffins and Dragons. And I doubt those went well. Hey are you guys recording? I don’t want to miss a damn moment of this!”

“Would you control your language you brute?” scolded Rarity.

“Let’s try this again.” said Twilight, trying to break the tension.

She closed her eyes and spoke with dignity. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, former student of our ruler Celestia and current element of magic.”

They chuckled upon hearing Twilight’s name as if it was some kind of joke. The Alicorn felt they hadn’t listened to a word she said. She really didn’t like their attitude.

“Your land is called Equestria?” snickered Scarecrow. “How fitting.” He regained focus. “Are we in Equestria right now?”

“No” whispered Fluttershy. She wished she hadn’t answered because 4 pairs of pitch black shades were pointed at her.

“Um...you’re in the Everfree Forest. It’s what divides the nations of Epona.”

The commandos looked at each other. “Wow they call this planet Epona too. What’s next?” muttered Scorch.

Scarecrow pointed to Fluttershy. “What’s your name?” he asked.

Fluttershy didn't want to talk, but something told her inside to obey the command of the human. “I’m Flu...dirsy” squeaked the yellow mare.

“Could you repeat that?” commanded X-ray. He clearly didn’t know how to handle the timid Pegasus.

“I’m Fluttershy.” she whispered as she started crawling back. "Could you please calm down?"

"Hey, we're a little confused. We didn't expect to see english speaking ponies on a foreign planet." calmed Scorch.

“And there’s no need to be afraid. We’re not going to kill you unless we have no choice.” assured Scarecrow. "Or threaten to expel our existence to the public."

“Besides, who would dare hurt such cute ponies?” said Scorch with his fingers and hands on his cheeks.

“I find that hard to believe!” yelled Rarity.

“Seriously what is her accent?” asked Scarecrow.

“What did you say about my accent!” yelled the white unicorn.

“I believe its French, no wait British, hell maybe its Spanish.” contemplated Scorch.

X-ray raised an eyebrow underneath his shades. “And you are?”

Rarity put on a haughty expression. “I am Rarity, one Equestria’s finest fashion designers and personal dressmaker of princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight blushed.

“I thought you ponies just go around naked.” muttered Scorch.

“Most of the time we do. But on formal occasions, we put something on.” chanted the white unicorn.

“How well do you work with suits?” asked Scarecrow in a business voice.

“I say I am exceptional.” gloated Rarity. She broke her smile. “Although I’m afraid I have no experience designing for bipeds like you.”

The 4 giants nodded. Before they could ask another pony-

“HI I’M PINKIE-AH!”

Scarecrow screamed and threw the Pink mare onto the ground. Twilight and the other ponies rushed to her aid to pick her up.

“Damn it, don’t sneak up on us!” scolded Scarecrow. “Our motion trackers will count you as hostile.”

“You’re what?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Motion trackers.” began X-ray. “We use them to detect others around us based on movement. It’s how we located you ponies in the first place. They can also decipher emotions. If you’re blue, you appear yellow. If you’re hostile, you appear red.”

“That is impressive technology.” said an amazed Rarity.

“You sure it ain’t magic?” asked Applejack.

Meanwhile Scarecrow helped the pink mare up. The commander was mad at himself. He injured a civilian. That was not a good move.

Scarecrow tried to apologize. His mental condition wouldn't let him. "Oh. I thought an enemy was behind me and so-sor-sor"

Pinkie Pie quickly shook her head. “Oh it’s ok Mr. Alien! A couple hours of smiling will help out!” The squad, expect for the neutral Overwatch, couldn’t help but enjoy the mare’s positive attitude.

The party pony burst into the air. “I’m Pinkie Pie, Equestria’s favorite party planner!”

The humans were amazed on how she was suspended off the ground. Pinkie finally landed.

The humans were silent. Questions began racing in their head as they observed the pink pony’s movements. True she looked like a cartoon character, but that didn’t have to mean her movements went against reality. It was as if she was moving by magic but the squad well knew there were answers in the universe for everything strange.

“How do you even do that?” finally asked Scorch.

“Do what Mr. Alien?” replied Pinkie.

“Pop up everywhere and perform physics defying movements.” answered Scorch.

“Oh that’s jus’ Pinkie Pie bein’ Pinkie Pie.” chuckled Applejack.

X-ray crossed his arms. “Nah there’s an explanation for that. Now’s not the time though. Identify yourself orange one.”

Applejack did her best to put on a welcoming voice. “Name’s Applejack, and as y’all can tell by mah name, I work Sweet Apple Acres, growin’ apples for all of Equestria to enjoy.”

X-ray got excited. “You grow apples, as in that red, green, or yellow fruit with a stem on top and a core with seeds?”

The orange Earth Pony nodded.

“That is impressive! Believe it or not, our species grows apples too as food.” cheered the commando.

Applejack blushed. “Well, I don’ know how they grow ‘em on your planet but I promise you that ya haven’t tasted apples until you had one of ours.” She tried to smile at the xeno but had to look away once the painful sensation in her mind kicked in.

“You know Applejack is also the name of this alcohol I like.” chuckled Scarecrow.

“Damn, what is with all these cosmic coincidences?” Scorch sighed.

“I’m sure we’ll find out later.” assured Scarecrow.

Rainbow Dash flew up to Shadow squad. She hoped that the soldiers were impressed underneath their masks.

“Ah-hem.” she coughed. “I’m Rainbow Dash, Future Wonderbolt and the fastest flier in all of Equestria.”

“I’m sure.” said a sarcastic X-ray.

Rainbow Dash looked at him with one eye. “Don’t you doubt me bub. I’m the only Pegasus to ever perform a sonic rainboom.” she gloated.

“Let me guess. It’s like a sonic boom but it creates a rainbow explosion too.” said Scarecrow sarcastically.

“Actually you guessed it.” cheered Rainbow Dash. She did a twirl mid-air.

“An organic creature that can break the sound barrier? That’s impressive.” complimented Scorch.
Rainbow Dash blushed.

“Yeah but can you travel faster than faster than the speed of light amongst stars like our space ships?” mocked X-ray.

Rainbow Dash took it lightly. “You got me there.” she teased.

“Can pegasi really control the weather?” asked Scorch.

“Well duh, that’s how it’s supposed to work in nature.” answered Rainbow Dash. “Doesn’t your species do the same thing too?”

“We can do more than control the weather Rainbow Dash.” assured X-ray.

“But unlike you pegasai, we can’t fly or control the weather without technology that we developed in our later years” explained Scarecrow.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at them as if they told her an obvious lie. “Sure.” she said, unconvinced. She quickly flew away from the commandos as the closer she got to them, the pain and confusion got worse.

The squad got nervous. They really didn't want to be the ones to introduce humanity. Oh how they wish they had an evac.

Scarecrow started anyway. He didn't want the ponies to declare them enemies. “First up, you should know that we are Homo sapiens. You can call us humans if you’d like.”

The ponies tried to repeat the phrase until they got it right.

X-ray raised his hand and flexed his fingers. “You’re probably intrigued by these yes?”

The ponies nodded.

X-ray sighed under his mask. “These are called hands. We used them grab onto and point at objects. These appendages (he gave them a twirl) are called fingers.”

“They’re kind of like a bear’s paws.” whispered Fluttershy.

“Yeah except without the sharp claws.” replied X-ray.

Scorch raised his foot and placed and pointed at it. “This is called a foot; it’s kind of like a hand but not as flexible. We use it to keep balance, walk and stand straight. Like our hands, they have 5 smaller appendages too, except they’re called toes. You obviously can't see them.”

The Mane 6 failed to realize how annoyed Shadow was getting with them. They hated being casual.

“By the way, what are those marks on your flank?” asked Scarecrow.

The ponies were caught off by the use of swearing. Twilight was able to shrug off the insult from her mind and gave an explanation of their cutie mark.

“These,” began Twilight. “Symbolize a pony’s special talent. It’s not an artificial mark but rather a natural one. When a pony finds something they’re really good at, their body creates a mark to signal that pony and society their calling and destiny. My symbol represents magic.”

“They’re called cutie marks!” cheered Pinkie.

X-ray, Scorch and Scarecrow burst laughing and screeching. (Deep down in Overwatch’s black heart, he giggled. A bit).

The ponies had dumbfounded expressions on them. Cutie marks were very important to pony society and they were just laughing it off.

“Seriously, what are they called?” laughed Scorch.

“We’re not lyin’ pal. Cutie marks are really what they’re called.” assured Applejack.

“That’s rich!” joked Scarecrow.

“Seriously, it sounds so childish!” mocked X-ray.

“These cutie marks are essential to pony society! We would never be able to prosper so well had it not been for them.” defended Rarity.

“You could have at least given them a better name,” chuckled Scarecrow.

The Mane 6 waited until the soldiers calmed down.

“Hey, what are those things you’re carrying?” asked Twilight.

The bipeds unslung their devices on their backs.

“You mean these?” asked X-ray.

“Yes.” replied Twilight.

Scarecrow started off. “I won’t get into any of the technical details, but this a gun.”

“Could you repeat that?” asked Rarity.

“A gun, this is the weapon our species uses to kill.”

The atmosphere was deathly silent.

X-ray continued. “You ponies have bows and arrows, right?”

The equines nodded. The 4 black clad soldiers were beginning to deduce that the ponies came from a medieval like society. A peaceful and innocent society by the looks of it.

“Well a gun kind of works like a bow and arrow in the sense they fire projectiles. But instead of firing arrows, guns use a magnetic field to accelerate bullets. In the past we used explosions to fire them. Bullets are basically small but very dense pieces of metal, that when propelled at great speeds, cause a lot of damage. Some guns however, are outfitted to propel heavier projectiles like rockets.”

Twilight started to use her Telekinesis to lift the metal projectile she found earlier.

“You’re horn, its glowing!” yelled Scarecrow.

The 4 humans turned their attention to the piece of metal the Alicorn was levitating. They observed in awe as it started floating.

“You can perform telekinesis?” asked Scorch.

“Why, yes.” started Rarity. “But that’s just basic magic for a unicorn or in my friends’ case, an Alicorn. Like how humans have hands, we use telekinesis to grab hold of objects.”

“They’ll be plenty of time for discussing later.” said Twilight under the strain of lifting the object. The headache from her head did not help. “Can you please tell me what this is?”

The 4 bipeds took a closer look at what Twilight was holding. X-ray answered in a calm, uniform voice.

“That is 35 caliber Full Metal Jacket anti-personnel round.”

The ponies stared at him. They hadn’t understood a word he said.

X-ray looked at his rifle. “This is the type of bullet that my carbine fires.”

Rainbow Dash realized that she was looking at the killer of Gilda’s brother. Considering he helped take out two dragons, trying to get him mad would be the last thing she wanted. She decided to mask her emotions though for the sake of her reputation....and life.

“Mind showin’ us how ‘em guns work?” asked Applejack.

Scorch nodded. He held up the gun and aimed down the holo sight. “First you look through the sight to aim directly at your target.”

“Please be careful with that.” squeaked Fluttershy.

Scorch tried to assure her. “Don’t worry we’re profession-” he was caught off by the snicker of a certain mammal that the squad tagged hostile. Now was a good time to give a lesson, A VERY good time.

Scorch spoke in a casual voice. “You find your target.” the human pointed left. “Then you use your finger to pull the trigger. And-”

BANG!

The ponies watched in horror as an animal violently exploded at the chest. Its entire stomach was ripped open with blood gushing everywhere. The barrel of Scorch’s SCAR glowed red and trailed smoke.

“What did you shoot at anyway?” asked a calm Scarecrow.

“Well remember that raccoon that stole my data chip when I woke up?”

"What raccoon?" asked X-ray.

"You were asleep." muttered Scarecrow.

Scorch went up to the pool of blood at yanked a thin, blue, crystal card.

Fluttershy was starting to cry. The rest of the ponies were boiling mad. The raccoon lay dead with a hole in it like the ones in the Griffins.

Twilight started screaming; “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU KILLED THAT POOR, INNOCENT,-”

Scorch shoved his finger through the Alicorn’s forehead, knocking the purple mare back. The rest of the ponies gasped at the sight of their princess being shoved around.

“Don’t you dare call that raccoon innocent!” scolded Scorch. “That little bitch knowingly stole a highly important data storage device that I could get sent in jail for a life time if I lost it. I don’t think our CO needs to hear a raccoon stole it. Besides I asked it nicely a hundred times to give it back and just spat at me! I've already broken enough rules by talking to you all.”

“You didn’t need to slaughter it you barbarian!” scolded Rarity.

“Oh please! I did it a favor by shooting it. I originally had something worse planned for it.” responded the demo man.

“What could be worse than killing?” yelled Rainbow Dash.

“Would you rather be killed by multiple blows with a spear; slowly, painfully, uneasily. Or would you rather be killed by quickly, painlessly, quietly?” gritted Overwatch.

All yelling immediately halted. as the ponies couldn’t respond to that. They felt that nothing could justify murder. But there was some reasoning in the bi-ped’s words. Some

“The raccoon, who may we remind you, is a damn thief, didn’t feel anything. Our guns are extremely humane and guarantee that dying will be like falling asleep. That in my opinion, is preferable to agony.” explained X-ray.

“We should know, we’ve been shot as well.” added Scorch grimly.

The ponies remained silent. The fear returned. These humans were cold blooded killers, stranded on their world, who only met them by pure chance.

Fluttershy whispered, “Why....”

The four bipeds turned their heads to face the yellow Pegasus. She started trembling and sweating. Collecting all the breath she could;

“Why did you kill the Griffins?”

“It’s just.” Twilight inhaled. “I’d never thought we would have to see murder like this first hoof. Especially in the gruesome ways you committed it.”

Then something happened that nobody or no pony expected. X-ray bent down to the weeping Purple Mare and hugged her tight for a moment before letting go to comfort her. While touching the pony certainly didn’t help the migraines in her head, Twilight calmed down and felt a sense of goodness inside the counter terrorist.

“We all lose our innocence at some point Twilight.” assured X-ray in the least convincing manner ever.

The ponies tried to wipe their sad expressions of their face.

“I remember the first time the four of us had to kill.” contemplated Scorch. “I felt like such an asshole .I couldn't forgive myself after the mission.”

He wasn't telling the truth. He wasn't in the 23rd for no reason.

“We all did Scorch.” insisted Scarecrow to bulk up the lie.

Pinkie Pie tried to get everypony’s mind off the subject. She walked up to the 4 commandos and tried to ignore the pain in her head.

“The four of you said you had ponies where you come from?” she said in a slow way.

“Let’s not think about that now.” whispered Scorch. “You know we haven’t gotten introduced yet.”

Scorch stepped forward and extended his right arm. “I’m Ro-OW!”

“You’re not supposed to tell them our real names twit!” scolded Scarecrow who just hit him.

“As if ponies are capable of doing anything to us if they know our names.” argued Scorch.

The ponies felt insulted. After all they’d been through, they surely didn’t want to be called weak. Scorch took notice of their glum attitude.

Scarecrow turned to face the ponies. “As per military protocol, we can’t tell you our real names so you’ll have to go by our call signs. I’m Scarecrow, squad leader and heavy weapons handler. It’s an honor to be meeting a member of an alien race. Although considering Epona is your home planet, we’re the aliens.”

The equines giggled.

“I’m Scorch” said the commando. “I’m squad demolitions. My job is to blow shit up.”

The ponies gulped at him with wide eyes.

“I’m X-ray. Squad Intel, drone handler, diplomat, medic, rifleman and basically everything my friends didn’t choose while signing up.”

The Mane 6 nodded.

Scarecrow pointed to Overwatch and introduced him.

“This is Overwatch. He’s our squad’s marksman and recon expert. As you can tell, he doesn’t really talk much, but man you should see how he draws.”

Overwatch gave a nod. He stepped back a bit as Pinkie materialized in front of him.

“Overwatch huh?” she giggled. “That’s a silly code name.”

Overwatch spoke in an intimidating but quiet growl. “Your ACTUAL name is Pinkie Pie so shut the fuck up.”

The pink mare’s pupils decreased in size and she lost her smile. Pinkie sunk back to her friends, taken badly by the insult. She couldn't cope with someone no trying to be her friend.

“Where do you come from?” inquired Twilight.

“Well that depends on the human you ask.” trivialized X-ray. “Humans have been living on multiple planets and moons for quite a long time.”

The eyes of the ponies shot wide open and their mouths hung. All pain in their heads were all of a sudden very mundane and the screeches quieted.

“You live on more than one planet? That is so cool!” gasped Rainbow Dash.

“Has it always been like this for humans?” asked Rarity.

“500 Terran years ago,” began Scarecrow. “Humans only lived on one planet, Earth. But then we invented faster than light travel and terra formers. Using this technology, humans spread across star systems, colonizing worlds to house our population. All of us were born on these colonies. Except for Scorch, he’s an Earthborn.”

“More specifically, I was born in Vancouver.” added Scorch.

“Humanity’s shit hole if you ask me.” joked Scarecrow.

Scorch wanted to spit at Scarecrow before remembering he had a mask put on.

“I was born on the colony of Pandora.” explained Scarecrow.

“I was born on Auraxis. Overwatch was born on the moon Titan.” said X-ray. “However, our families moved to the colony of Requiem when we were kids. We met in school and we’ve been best friends ever since.”

The Mane 6 didn’t want to point out how hard it was to believe that the 4 humans could possibly be friends. Their attitude toward each other was how bitter rivals should behave, not chums. Regardless, they were excited by the idea of a space faring species.

“What’s it like, to travel across the stars and planets?” asked Twilight. She had a cute twinkle in her eye.

“You see one giant ball of flaming gas, you see them all.” chuckled Scorch. “Although the thought of something that is the equivalent of a billion hydrogen bombs going off at once is just riveting.”

“Are you soldiers?” asked Pinkie.

“Counter terrorists.” corrected X-ray.

“What’s that?” asked Applejack.

“Well a terrorist is someone who uses fear and violence to further their own goals. A counter terrorist stops them from doing so. They’ll do anything like take hostages, bomb communities, steal from and enslave people, and even hijack military space ships. It’s our job the protect the innocent from harm.” explained Scarecrow.

The ponies couldn’t believe what they heard.

“Why would somepony be a terrorist?” asked Fluttershy.

X-ray didn’t notice the pony pun in ‘somebody’. “A lot of people get messed up every now and then. It’s horrible, but it happens. I’m sure that for even a peaceful species like you, Equestria has seen such a thing at least once.”

The Mane 6 nodded. Memories of Discord and Nightmare Moon returned to their heads. Until now, individuals like them were the personification of evil to the ponies. But if humans were willing to kill, a pony could only tell what a ‘terrorist’ would do.

“We’re part of the 23rd counter terrorist division.” began Scarecrow. “It’s basically one of humanities' best armed fighting groups around.”

“We’re Shadow Squad.” added Scorch.

“So thats why the Griffin whispered ‘shadow’.” whispered Fluttershy.

“Shadow squad, that sounds ghastly, why would your unit be called that?” asked Rarity.

“The 23rd is known for scaring the shit out of all of its enemies. The way we handle missions is quite..contoversial to say the least. (The mane 6 gulped at the revelation) Our enemies never see us coming until its too late. So all squads in the 23rd are named after horror creatures like ‘zombie’ and ‘ghoul’. Also our unit is equipped with devices that let us cloak like ghosts and disappear into the shadows.” explained X-ray.

X-ray activated his cloaking module and disappeared. A few seconds later, he uncloaked and revealed himself.

There was a murmur of ‘oohs’ amongst the Mane 6.

Rainbow Dashed suddenly remembered an important fact. “Hey, I remember you guys saying you had ponies where you came from.”

“That’s right!” nodded Scarecrow. “Get ready, for a big cosmological mind fuck!”

“Don’t use that word!” scolded Pinkie.

Scarecrow ignored her. “On our home planet Earth, we have horses which are basically like ponies but at the same time aren’t.”

The equines were confused.

X-ray tried to explain. “Despite some physical and possibly, instinct similarities, horses on Earth are much larger than you, aren’t....cell shaded like you are, come in only 3 colors; white black and brown, don’t get cutie marks, can’t talk and are no where near as cute and cuddly. Hell they’re not even intelligent, they’re just...creatures. You could try talking to them if you wanted to, but you wouldn’t get a response, just a grunt.”

The Mane 6 was intrigued. The idea of ponies that were not an intelligent or dominant species was very fascinating.

“Also, there’s only one type of horse on Earth. Just normies like Pinkie and Applejack.” explained Scorch.

“We’re not called ‘normies’, we’re called Earth Ponies!” yelled Pinkie.

The squad froze.

“Earth....Pony.” said Scarecrow slowly.

“That’s interesting. The fact that the ponies on this planet that resemble the ones on Earth have ‘Earth’ in their name.” contemplated Scorch.

The ponies and humans started losing themselves in thought trying to look for an explanation. Although it was slightly hard for the Mane 6 to do so as everything about the humans seemed incomprehensible.

X-ray looked up and raised a finger. “Although, the name of our home planet ‘Earth’ originated from the Latin phrase ‘Gaia’ who was the fictional Roman and Greek goddess of the ground. You see, every planet in the solar system was named after a Roman deity. On the other hand, or other hoof in your case, I assume that the ‘Earth’ in Earth Pony probably comes from the Latin phrase ‘terra’ which just means ground. Is that correct?”

Twilight nodded. “Actually that is where the ‘Earth’ in Earth Pony comes from. And if I’m not mistaken, what you call Latin is actually called ‘old speak’ to us.”

“I swear, this planet is fucked up!” face palmed Scarecrow.

“Hey, Epona is an awesome place. Just because it’s a kinda like where you come from doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it!” insisted Rainbow Dash.

“It’s not just that our worlds are similar.” explained Scorch. “This planet can essentially be called ‘fairy tale land’ because the creatures and look of this planet resembles everything from children’s stories.”

“Wow,” whispered Twilight. “So for you, visiting Epona is like coming to the setting of a story book. And ponies, Griffins and Dragons would be like meeting the characters.”

“Next you’ll be telling me this planet has Manitcores and Minotaurs.” chuckled Scorch.

“Actually, they exist on this planet too,” squeaked Fluttershy. A certain minotaur popped in her mind.

The 4 humans burst into a high pitched laugh. It wasn’t the kind of laugh from telling a funny joke. It was the ‘please kill me, I can’t take it anymore’ laugh. The loud noises they were making certainly did not help the ponies’ migraines

After calming down, Scarecrow took a deep breath and yelled with his might.

“Seriously, once we get back to civilization, we are getting to the bottom of this!”

“By the way, what’s the nearest point of Pony civilization?” asked X-ray.

“Oh it’s around 54 kilometers down from here. It’s the town of Ponyville!” cheered Twilight.

Once again the humans burst out laughing. And as they did, they realized the definition of FUBAR was going to have a new meaning.

Author's Notes:

So as you can see, Shadow isn't going to drop the subject of an Earth like planet lightly. I believe that many HiE fics fail to capture the significance of having a planet full of mythical creatures and I don't like how the humans just blankly accept it.

We are not all skeptics, but come on, wouldn't humanity be freaked out we found a planet filled with humans?

Exactly....

Chapters 8 and 9: Highway to Hell Parts 1 and 2

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.-Franklin D. Roosevelt

The 4 humans continued to fake laugh hard, mostly because they didn't want to be in this accidental situation rather than the eccentric name. A minute passed before they finally settled down.

“How far did you say ponyville was again?” asked Scarecrow.

“Around 54 kilometers from here. I just don’t know which direction.” answered Twilight. She scolded herself for loosing track of things. “The whole meeting you thing kinda messed me up. He he”

“No need to worry.” chimed in X-ray. The counter terrorist turned on in his wrist computer and an application menu greeted him. His gloved fingers accessed the control panel of his recon drone.

The mares watched with curiosity.

“What is that?” asked Fluttershy.

X-ray faced up at them. “Oh this? It’s my wrist computer.”

“A what?” asked Rarity blankly.

“A wrist computer. I’m afraid your species isn’t technologically advanced enough for me to give an explanation without confusing you.”

The Mane 6 frowned. X-ray could tell they were desperate for answers. Besides, how could he stand seeing such cute things so sad? Even the 23rd had some limits. Not really.

“Well, we can tell you what it does but how works.”

The Mane 6 flipped their ears up gleefully.

Scorch spoke up. “A wrist computer is a machine that’s designed to be so compact that it can fit around our wrists.”

Scorch raised his to give a demonstration. “These bad boys allow us to view documents and information, listen to music, watch videos, take pictures, scan stuff and browse the internet and weather. We have a specialized military variant that allows us to control our suit functions and heads up display. They’re more expensive that way, but pretty worth it. These things are really handy, or hoofy in your language.”

Scarecrow took over the the last part. “The way it’s controlled is by a touchscreen in the sense that all commands that this device follows is through jesters with our fingers. Can you comprehend that?”

“Darling, we’re having a hard time trying to comprehend you.” said Rarity.

“That is amazing technology. With the proper spells and magic, I could replicate something for pony use all around.” cheered Twilight. Once she got back to Ponyville, she was going to waste no time in trying to find out how to reproduce one for study.

X-ray finished tapping the commands on the drones control panel. Suddenly the drone uncloaked in front of the ponies. As expected, they gave a yelp and fell back.

“What is that?” yelled Rainbow Dash.

“Recon drone.” said Scarecrow blankly.

“What?” said the ponies in unison.

“Have you ever heard of robots?” groaned Scorch.

“Yeah. I’ve read some science fiction books about them. They’re supposed to be machines that work on their own and do specific tasks.” answered Twilight.

“Alright then. A recon drone is basically a robot whose job is to assist 23rd units in gathering information, pinpointing enemies, spying on opposing bases and this bad boy is specially modified to have two twin micro rifles on it.” explained X-ray.

“How does it work?” bounced Pinkie.

“Again, your species isn’t technologically advanced enough for us to give an explanation without confusing you.” muttered Scarecrow.

Just as the other mares stared at Shadow in disappointment, Twilight suddenly remembered that the elements of harmony were still in their box tucked away behind the Mane 6. She turned around and quickly cast an invisibility spell on it to conceal it from the sight of the humans. It would be best to keep it a secret from them just in case...

“Anyway,” started X-ray. “My drone’s detected a town, around 53.87 kilometers east from here. X-ray pointed east with his index finger.

Overwatch, Scarecrow, and Scorch tapped the coordinates onto their wrist computer.

“Waypoint marked on HUD.” said Scorch.

The visors of the human glowed blue again.

“What are you doing and what’s a HUD?” asked Rainbow Dash.

The squad wan’t bothered at giving all the explantations, it would be a very interesting experience for them and the ponies.

“A HUD is a heads up display.” explained Scorch. He pointed to his glasses. “These shades aren’t just for blocking out sunlight and making us look cool.”

‘And scary.’ thought Fluttershy.

“But they also have a HUD built into it that’s connected to our armor and devices. It keeps track of thing like ammunition, shield condition, motion trackers and waypoints. We’d explain how it works but..”

“Our species isn’t technologically sufficient enough for you to give an explanation.” joked Pinkie, trying her best to imitate a mechanical voice.

The squad smiled underneath their masks.

“This pretty exciting!” burst Twilight. she spoke fast like Pinkie. “I have a whole new species to study about. I have a ton of questions I’m..”

“Once our forces meet with the rest of Equestria’s rulers, you can start asking questions on humanity. Now let’s just focus on getting back to town.” interrupted Scorch.

“You can still ask us questions about ourselves if you’d like.” proposed X-ray. Although he didn't intend to to tell the truth.

“By the way, how did the six of you get here so quickly? asked Scarecrow.

“Oh, I just teleported the 6 of us here. A lot better than trotting the extra distance if you ask me.” answered Twilight.

The squad was more amazed than shocked. “You can teleport?” half asked Scarecrow.

Twilight nodded gleefully. “Every pony has a special talent. Mine is magic so my understanding of that field is greater than that of a normal unicorn. Since I’m an Alicorn, my power increases ten fold.”

“Motherfucker you should have said so earlier!” yelled Scarecrow.

Twilight slowly trotted back. The human’s attitude towards her was the complete opposite of what she had been getting since her coronation.

“What are you waiting for? Teleport us!” yelled X-ray. “Ponyville’s that way!” The masked soldier pointed east. Twilight nodded.

“Okay, all of you form around me.” instructed Twilight.

Ponies and humans gathered around the Purple Mare. Her horn lit up and a pink light spread across everything gathered around her.

Right when she was about to give a final push, her horn ached and she collapsed.

“What was that?” asked Scarecrow. The humans were more confused than unamused.

“Twilight ya never mess up on teleportation.” stated Applejack.

“Sorry.” muttered the Alicorn. “I lost focus. Let me try again.”

Twilight tried the teleportation spell again but once the pink light engulfed the humans, she lost her ability to think.

“What’s going on? Aren’t Alicorns supposed to be powerful ‘magic’ casters?” inquired X-ray as he stroked his bandanna. Twilight noted the way he said ‘magic’.

“I have no problem teleporting ponies but there’s a limit to how much I can teleport.” explained Twilight.

Scarecrow sat down. “So you can’t teleport anything above 6, based on what you’re trying to teleport. Or maybe the distance you can teleport goes down based-”

“No its not that.” said Twilight as she rubbed her face with her hooves. “When I try to teleport ponies, everything goes seamlessly, I even teleported a dozen royal guards last week as part of an experiment.”

She looked up at them, making sure no to stare for too long. “But when I try to teleport one of you, I can’t grasp any of your forms. I have to use a lot magic just to teleport one of you and I just fail. One of you is like the equivalent of 10 royal guards to teleport.”

“Well there’s no use in us holding you back.” said Scorch. “Go teleport your friends, we’ll meet you at the village.

“I...can’t. Its really hard for me to concentrate right now with one of you guys here.” explained Twilight.
Scorch pointed to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “You three have wings, go fly ahead to ponyville, we’ll meet you there sooner or later. Hell you can probably carry your friends if you wanted.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no way we’re letting you out of our sight pal.” threatened Pinkie Pie in a stern voice. It was more of an expression than scolding however.

Scorch spoke in a faux-villain voice “Oh no, you’re messing up our plot to take over the world.” He gave a small chuckle.

“Although that is smart. In any situation you shouldn’t be too trusting of people..er ponies you just met. Hell, we don't even trust you. Consider yourself lucky that we tolerate your knowledge of our existence.”

“Fair enough, looks like we’re for a long walk or trot or gallop..whatever.” sighed X-ray.

The Mares gave out a groan.

“The sooner we move, the better. Alright follow us.” commanded Scarecrow. "Besides, this situation is infinitely worse for us anyway. We shouldn't even be here."

Rainbow Dash landed and trotted to him. “Hey who put you in charge? Why should we be taking orders from you?”

Scarecrow stood to his full hight. He towered the mare and cast a huge shadow above her. “Because I can squash you
like a bug.” he said in a joking manner.

Rainbow Dash gulped and backed away. The ponies were unsure whether they could trust the masked commandos but resisting the counter terrorists wasn’t an option the moment they saw them unsling their weapons and load them with ammo.

“Waypoint on target, let’s move.” said Scarecrow nonchalantly.

The ponies followed the humans. They observed the counter terrorists pointing their guns everywhere as if they were waiting for something just to come at them. Nopony could put their hood on it, but something made them feel compelled to follow Shadow’s orders. Like an instinct. The ponies kept quiet and huddled in a group.

A minute of silence of passed. The ponies didn’t want to mess up Shadow’s train of thought and end up making a threat. Suddenly the squad spoke in a language nopony had ever understood.

“Qu’est ce que nous faisons avec les chevaux?” asked Scarecrow.

“Je ne sais pas, mais elles sont sympa et genereux dans le moment.” responded X-ray.

“Et plus, je veux apprendre des informations sur les chevaux. Nous pouvons aller à la ville.” added Scorch.

“D’accord. Tres bien.” sighed Scarecrow.

The Mane 6 wondered the humans just said. The language was completely alien to them although Rarity felt that the words suited her for a strange reason. Applejack was suspecting that they were planning to massacre the town once they got there. Twilight believed that the humans were subtly mocking their intelligence.

Twilight noticed that the humans were struggling to move. She wasn’t an expert on bi-peds, but she felt that the humans were uncomfortable.

“Something wrong?” asked the alicorn.

“This planet has much lighter gravity than what we’re used to.” answered X-ray. “Sure it makes running and jumping easier but trying to take the slightest step seems to propel us to the distance.”

Scarecrow shot up his fist in the air. “Shadow, diamond formation.”

“Solid copy.” radioed X-ray.

The humans started to rearrange themselves around the Mane 6.

“Diamond formation?” questioned Rarity enthusiastically.

“Yeah.” responded Scarecrow “I guard you 6 in from the front, X-ray takes the left side, Scorch takes the right and
Overwatch covers our six.”

“Our what?” said the Mane 6 in near unison.

“Our back.” explained Scarecrow.

“Ohh.” exclaimed a skipping Pinkie.

“That way if any fucker tries to hurt you, they’ll have to get through us.” threatened X-ray heroically.

The Mane 6 didn’t know whether to feel safe or locked up at that statement. Being huddled close certainly wasn’t good for the psyche, the rates and way they moved were just so uncomfortable to them, they struggled to keep up with their pace.
Fluttershy tried to break out of the enclosure but once Overwatch looked back at her with his startling mask and cold attitude, she scuttled back to the group.

Scorch noticed. “I know you’re scared but it’s not safe for you to go wandering off little one. You could get lost or hurt and that’s the last thing we want.”

“Why da y’all even care what happens to us?” asked Applejack sternly.

“We promised to protect civilians and the innocent from harm.” answered X-ray. “Just because you’re ponies doesn’t mean we’re not going to do the noble thing. We’ll be damned if any of you adorable girls get hurt or lost knowing we could protect you. As long as we’re here, you’ll be alright.”

“Ah’m sure.” whispered the orange mare in a hardly audible tone.

“I heard that.” snapped Scarecrow.

The cowpony was dumbfounded. She turned to face Rarity and based on her look, she wasn’t even able to hear what Applejack despite being right next to her.

Rainbow Dash started hovering in the air. “You know we’re not helpless, we never asked four aliens like you to just come in to our planet, boss us around and act like you’re our secret service agents.”

“Dash, we’re trying to help you get out of this forest safely. I don’t think you have a reason to be this pissed. Now get down before something swats you from the sky.” sighed Scorch.

The Rainbow Maned mare didn’t stop. “And another thing, we’re not helpless! We’ve faced NightMare Moon, Discord and Sombra. We can handle ourselves!”

“That does sound tough...if I actually knew who they were.” chuckled Scarecrow.

Twilight frowned. She hoped that once they actually knew who the 6 of them really were, they’d change their attitude on them. Being treated like this was embarrassing.

Rainbow Dash flew up to Scarecrow’s face. She ignored the painful sensation in her mind. Nopony, and by extension, nobody, messed with her ego.

Twilight got worried. “Dash calm down, they’re just trying to help.”

That did not stop the pegasus. “So that’s is huh? We’re nothing but a bunch of poor, helpless, childish animals? Let me tell you something pal. You can not just go up to me and my friends, especially one that’s a ruler of Equestria, and just start ordering us around. This is our planet and you can’t tell us what to do. Keep this up and you’ll be sorry you’re race decided to set hoof...er..foot here!”

Scarecrow snorted. “Right, as if I should be afraid of a lesbian pegasus.”

Rainbow Dash froze wide eyed. “Lesbian.” she said slowly.

Dash sat there with her mouth open and failed to notice the group walking ahead of her until Overwatch nudged her to move forward.

“Yeah you got the whole rainbow thing going on.” mocked Scarecrow. The other 3 humans snickered. The Mares were red in the face.

Rainbow Dash flew back to the group. Her face was red with anger.

“I’m not a homosexual!” she insisted.

Scarecrow was amused. “So, you’re a tranny?”

The pegasus screamed at the top of her lungs. “I’M NOT A LESBIAN, I’M IN LOVE WITH SOARIN..” Suddenly she realised what she just said. The pegasus blushed a bit.

The humans laughed. The Mares stared at her with a small smile. Dash was about to burst again until X-ray stopped her.
“Rainbow Dash...Scarecrow has a unique sense of humor. It’s annoying but you’re going to have to get used to it. We have to deal with his shit everyday.”

Overwatch shook his head at that statement.

The Rainbow Maned pegasus exhaled and retreated to the cluster of Mares. Applejack nudged her on the shoulder with a grin on her face.

“Ah hate ta break it ta ya partner. But ah think Soarin is datin’ that Spitefire chick.”

Rainbow Dash gave the cowpony a dumbfounded look. “What are you talking about? I saw Braeburn making out with Spitfire behind a bush in Appolosa.”

The orange Earth pony’s mouth hung open. “Wha..how did ah..”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “And can you please tell Braeburn to think of some new moves, after an hour he got borring!”

Applejack struggled for words. Scorch’s voice interrupted her thinking. “Say is it possible for a pony to be a homosexual?”

Twilight placed her right hoof on her chin. “Well yeah, there’s Lyra and Bonbon.”

“The spa ponies are very...intimate with each other.” said Rarity slowly.

“Oh and Berry Punch and Carrot top make like the cutest couple ever. Even when Berry isn’t drunk she says the nicest things to Carrot.” cheered Pinkie.

“I also think Lily and Daisy are together too.” added Fluttershy.

Scorch nodded and turned his attention back to is surroundings. A a kilometer was walked before Twilight killed the silence.

“So, how did you all arrive here?” she asked.

“Well, we arrived to this star system via a starship, the Blackjack through FTL travel and teleportation. We set foot on this planet via VTOL dropship.” explained Scarecrow.

“What’s a vtol?” asked Pinkie.

“VTOL is an acronym.” explained X-ray. “It stand for Vertical Take Off and Landing. It’s a spaceship meant for transporting soldiers or counter terrorists from location to location, abliet on a smaller scale than a naval vessel. It’s way smaller, has less armor and has a lighter array of offensive capabilities.”

“Where is the VTOL?” whimpered Fluttershy.

“It’s gone cause a dragon blew it up.” exclaimed Scorch. The mares were bothered by the angry attitude of the statement.

“Say where is the Blackjack right now?” inquired Twilight.

“Outer space, orbiting your planet. Some sort of distortion field is blocking your planet from us contacting it until further notice.” said Scarecrow. "Long story short, we're stranded."

Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 wasn’t very keen on the fact that there was a spaceship orbiting their planet. Especially considering that it would have had more humans on board.

‘Distortion field’. Thought Twilight. ‘That’s funny, I don’t remember ever reading about something like that in my books.’

“Um..why do you where those masks?” asked Fluttershy.

“Well first, the members of the 23rd have to conceal their identity.” explained Scarecrow as he vaulted over a log blocking his way.

“Also these shades provide a HUD for us.” said Scorch.

“The bandanna also filters out viruses and bacteria native to this planet that our body cant fight off.” added X-ray.

“Finally, they make us look cool and scary.” beamed Scarecrow. "They intimidate our opponents and inspire our allies."

The group walked a couple few more kilometers before the Mane 6 started stumbling for exhaustion. Shadow decided it was time for a break as well.

“OK we can rest here for a few minutes.” proposed Scarecrow.

The ponies gave a sigh of relief and settled down in the clearing. They were surprised no monster had attacked them through all the distance they covered. The Mane 6 suspected that it had to do with Shadow squad and the negative atmosphere they brought with them.

“Finally. I’m just famished.” moaned Rarity, waving her arm around.

Overwatch rose an eyebrow underneath his mask and pointed to all the grass.

“What are you doing?” asked Rarity with suspicion.

“You’re a fucking pony eat the grass.” justified Scorch who was focused on adding a rifle grenade to his SCAR.

“We don’t eat grass like that.” explained Twilight.

“Come again?” remarked an unconvinced X-ray.

“We don’t eat grass just raw like that silly.” giggled Pinkie Pie. “We have to grow it on a farm, pluck it, disinfect it, dry it, cook it, severe it on platter and eat it.”

“If animalistic horses on Earth can eat grass from the ground just like that. Then you should be able to as well.” encouraged Scarecrow.

“Besides unless Twilight or Rarity has a food summoning spell, you have no choice.” noted X-ray. ‘Though a food summoning spell would be fucking awesome’ he implored.

The ponies agreed and went on to eat the grass. To them it felt slightly degrading. Twilight couldn’t care less but she knew for a fact that her friends were giving her the ‘oh Twilight you’re a princess how could you resort to such behavior blah blah blah’ look.

Fluttershy looked back at the humans. Overwatch was drawing something on a notepad while Scarecrow, X-ray and Scorch were speaking in that unpronounceable language.

“Hey listen!” yelled Scorch.“We need to take a blood sample for research if that’s okay.”

The ponies mouth dropped open, grass fell out. Nopony liked getting shots.

The 4 humans took out 4, very pointy and sharp serums.

“We’re dealing with Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasai and an Alicorn.” started X-ray. “That means well need 4 individual blood samples. Any volunteers?

Pinkie looked at Applejack and was about to raise her hood until Applejack startled her. “Don’t worry sugarcube, ah’ll do it.”
The cowpony trotted to Scorch, nervously glancing at the needle.

Normally Rainbow Dash would be the one volunteer in Fluttershy’s place for something dangerous, but ever since she had a nightmare about Pinkie Pie ripping her organs out and baking them into cupcakes, she grew afraid of sharp things.

“Uh, shy” said Rainbow Dash nervously with a blush. “Do you think?”

“It’s okay Dash.” assured the yellow Pegasus. She flew on over to Overwatch, deciding which of the two was scarier all the while.

Both Rarity and Twilight knew they had no other choice but to volunteer themselves. With a deep breath they walked on over to X-ray and Scarecrow respectively.

The volunteers handed their hooves to the humans. With a quick press of a button, the needles penetrated the hooves of the equines and their red blood filled the vials.

The 4 volunteers grasped their hooves. It had hurt a lot more than expected. Fluttershy and Rarity were on the brink of tears.

“We’re sorry!” apologized Scorch. “We didn’t think it would hurt that much. Hear, take this bio tissue, it will stop the bleeding instantly.”

The 4 humans took out said tissue from their pockets and wiped the hooves of the ponies. The humans turned back too the blood samples. X-ray took out his tablet and started scanning the samples.

The ponies rubbed their hooves nervously. The bleeding stopped but now they were more worried about what the humans were going to do with the blood samples. Pinkie assumed they we’re creating a bio weapon of some sorts or start a cloning project.

Twilight overheard the humans speaking.

“There’s no doubt about it.” said X-ray, scanning Twilight and Rarity’s blood sample through his tablet. “Rarity and Twilight are the sources of radiation we’ve been getting. Their anatomy is quite interesting to say the least.”

Rarity looked at the masked humans wearily, she didn’t like having her body being discussed by aliens.

“Since Twilight is an alicorn, she’s emitting higher levels of energy than Rarity.” explained X-ray. “Based on my readings though, most of their power is concentrated at their horn which is connected to their brain-”

“Cut the technobabble shithead.” yawned Scarecrow. “We’ll discuss it in town, right now get your equipment to run tests on their blood.

“Roger asshole.” acknowledged X-ray. The counter terrorist loaded a drop from each blood sample onto separate compartments onto his device.

Scarecrow turned to face the equines. “Break over. Let’s move.” he ordered.

“Don’t you need to eat? No one likes being on an empty stomach.” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Commandos can go a few days without food thanks to some medicine and surgery we took.” gloated Scarecrow

The ponies wre disgusted by the thought of surgery but more were dissapointed at the short time they had to rest but nopony in their right mind was going to aruge with a bunch of dragon slayers.

Shadow squad assumed position around the Mane 6.

“We’re 10 kilometers down, we’ll make it in no time at this rate.” motivated X-ray.

The ponies gave a sigh of annoyance but once all 4 masked soldiers stared staight at them, they decided to keep their mouths shut.

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.-” Abraham Lincoln

“So why did y’all come to our planet in the first place?” asked Applejack.

“Well before we knew this planet had inhabbited life,” began X-ray. “Our mission was to see if the planet was fit for colonization. Now that we found aliens, our job is get as much information from you as possible and determine whether or
not you’re a friends or foe.”

Twilight looked up at X-ray nervously. “Humans are going to colonize this planet?”

“Not anymore.” assured Scorch. “Now that we know this planet is well..cell shaded, I don’t think humans would want to live on it. Plus the Council of ExtraTerran Colonization ruled it illegal for humans to colonize a planet with sentient life on it. The other planets we colonized that we didn’t have to terraform held very basic and mundane life.”

“Why’s that?” twirled Rainbow Dash.

“Well for starters, it’s your homeworld.” explained X-ray. “What happens to this planet is up to you and whatever piece of shit lives here. A thousand years ago, a group of ancient explorers from the continent of Europe found the land of America. The problem though was that there were relatively primitive natives there already living on the landmass. So what did the Europeans do? They massacred them and took their land. The last thing we want to do, is repeat an act like that.”

Fluttershy’s mouth hung open. “That, that’s just mean.”

Scarecrow nodded. “Even if we chose to live on this planet, we’d have to do some serious terraforming like installing artificial gravity generators and changing landscapes for farmland and that wouldn’t be very good for the rest for population right?”

Twilight shook her head yes. A part of her felt relieved that xenos weren’t going to take this planet away from them.
Some more distance was walked and trotted. The endless forest was starting to get on the equine’s nerves.

“Gosh I jus hate da Everfree forest. Quite a shady place if ya ask me.” whispered Applejack.

“Why? It’s just a normal run of the mill forest.” muttered Scarecrow. “With lush trees, blue skies (a butterfly flew near Scarecrow who extended his right index finger and let the insect rest on it) and pretty butterflies.”

“WHY ARE THERE BUTTERFLIES ON EPONA!?”

Fluttershy covered her cutie mark with her tail.

“What do you mean? The Everfree forest is known to be one of the darkest places on the planet. It doesn’t even obey the laws of nature. Surely you should’ve noticed that!” justified Twilight.

“Doesn’t obey the laws of nature? What do you mean?” inquired Scorch.

The ponies stopped dead in their tracks with their mouths wide open. The humans formed a horizantal line and stared at them quizically.

“Nothing about this place is natural!” yelled Pinkie.

“The animals take care of themselves..” began Flutershy.

“The weather just happens..” added Rainbow Dash.

“And the crops grow..” said Applejack.

“..ALL ON THEIR OWN!” yelled the three of them.

Overwatch faceplamed and let out annoyed cry.

“THAT’s why you’re afraid of this place?” burst Scorch.

Scarecrow folded his arms at them spoke very sternly. He turned to face Twilight.

“Twilight, how do you think the universe works?” he asked slowly.

Twilight calmed herself down using Cadance’s technique. The last thing she wanted to do was look like a fool.
“Well the universe can’t opperate on its own just randomly. It needs to be opperated by intelligent creatures 24/7 or else it’ll stop working.” Twilight noticed the heavy breathing of Shadow’s members. “Don’t you humans do the same thing on your worlds?”

X-ray was amazed how he hadn’t lost his temper. “Twilight, the vast majority of the planets in our universe are uninhabited or lack a species intelligent enough to control nature. Yet, plants grow, animals take care of themselves and weather happens all on their own.”

Applejack looked at X-ray suspiciously. “You sure about dat partner?”

X-ray nodded. “Human’s weren’t always an intelligent species, nor were on Earth for a large part of its existence, yet the planet worked. Requiem had no intelligent creatures yet the planet took care of itself. Sera had no animals on it yet the weather functioned fine and plants grew before we colonized it. How do you explain that?”

The color of Applejack’s face started draining from embarrassment. Even Rarity started to look paler than usual.

“Think about it.” said Scorch. “I know for a fact that you weren’t always intelligent and could control the weather. Yet you’re here so you’ve had to come to this world naturally.”

“Not true!” countered Twilight. “Ever since our creator formed this planet thousands of years ago, we’ve had to control everything.”

“Huh creator.” snorted Scarecrow.

Twilight was getting mad. “Since our formation, we ponies controlled everything in Equestria. From the plants to the animals to the raising of our star and moon and..”

“Wait, repeat that last part.” interrupted X-ray.

“Yes, we control the sun and moon, our..”

“That explains it!” cheered Scroch.

“Come again?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“You’re star is artaficial!” answered Scarecrow.

“Well of course it is.” beamed Pinkie Pie. “Our..”

“You might think this sounds like a lie, but your planet is not the natural occurrence.” insisted X-ray.

“How so?” questioned Rarity.

“Look, your star is WAY smaller than all the other stars in the universe. A normal star counts for 99% of the mass in it’s system. As a result, your star can’t emit a strong enough gravity field to rotate your planet. So you have to use telekinesis or some shit to move keep your planet in check.” justified X-ray.

“That’s right.” nodded Twilight. “But if your right then, Equestria isn’t the place that’s normal, it’s been the haunted location all the time!”

“So we’ve been doing it wrong the whole time?” whispered Fluttershy.

“Well eventually most species develop the means to manipulate planets anyway. It goes against nature but it happens.” insisted Scarecrow.

“But we’ve been afraid for nothing the whole time!” yelled Pinkie.

“Well I wouldn’t say nothing.” said Scorch as he placed his fingers on his bandanna. “The Everfree forest does look like it has a bunch of monsters in it. I’d still stay clear of it if I were you.”

The ponies nodded and the group continued their journey. Everypony felt like an idiot in front of the humans at their
revelation but at the same time just couldn’t understand how the rest of the universe worked opposite to Equestria.

After a few minutes of walking, the squad was starting to get bored. “For such a huge forest, I’m surprised we haven’t run
into any manticores or hydras.” Pointed out X-ray.

“I think your presence brings in a negative atmosphere that makes other creatures want to stay clear of you.” insisted Twilight.

“What makes you say that?” asked Scorch.

“Well, most animals can sense danger, and when there’s a threat near them, they keep low and move along. And uh, no offense but I really think they’re aware how much of a threat you are to them.” said Fluttershy.

“You seem to know a lot about animals.” pointed Scarecrow.

“Why yes, I’m Ponyville’s animal care taker. You see, I can talk to animals-”

“You can talk to animals!” gasped Scorch.

Fluttershy cowered as Shadow looked straight at her. She struggled for words “um...yes”

“That’s awesome!” cheered X-ray. “You see, we can’t get any ammo until further notice so if we run into a monster while we’re here, it’s your job to tell them to stand down.”

Fluttershy was about to speak up until Scarecrow interrupted her.

“If you fail to stop said creatures however, we’ll be forced to take it down.”

Fluttershy got mad. She flew up and while she couldn’t giver off her ‘stare’, she was able to look the humans right in the shades. “Oh no, you are not killing any animals on my-”

“Fluttershy do you really want these humans pissed off!” burst Twilight.

Everypony looked at Twilight, eyes wide open.

“Twilight, that language is most unacceptable for a princess like you.” gasped Rarity.

The alicorn realized what she had done and blushed. “Oh, sorry everypony, it won’t happen again. I just lost track-of-things-and-can-we-please-move-on?” she said quickly.

Overwatch shrugged off her comment and walked ahead, prompting the group to follow.

After a while, the dirt was getting on Rarity’s nerves. “Ugh, natural or not I just hate the outdoors.” complained Rarity. “Am I here the only one who understands just how dirty and vile this place is? When I get home, I’m soaking in a tub for an hour.”

“I hate the woods too honestly.” assured X-ray.

“No listen here, just because a lady...wait what?”

“I hate the woods too.” repeated X-ray.

The ponies looked at him dumbfoundedly.

“You’re a soldier.” pointed out Rainbow Dash. “Aren’t you supposed to be used to fighting in places like these all the time?”

“Hey I like fucking up insurrectionists in urban combat. In the forest I have to worry about about all those damn stinging insects when I should be worrying about not getting my head blown to bits.” gritted X-ray.

“You have a fear of insects?” asked Fluttershy.

“We’re all afraid of something.” insisted Scarecrow, head still facing forward. “X-ray’s got Entomophobia, Overwatch is afraid of jellyfish and squid.”

Overwatch groaned and place his gloved hand on his forehead.

“Scorch is cryophobic.”

“Spend a week in Canada during winter without heaters and you’ll see!” yelled Scorch.

“I on the underhand, am Sociophobic. Never liked going to parties. I just hung out with these 3 assholes and played video games at my house.” explained Scarecrow.

“WHAT!” yelled a high pitch voice

Scarecrow nearly stumbled back and almost crushed Rarity with his weight had Overwatch not thrust him forward.
Pinkie materialized on top of Scarecrow and starred straight into his mask.

“How could you hate parties?” screamed Pinkie desperately.

“Crowds make me nervous, the music sucks, food tastes like shit and I hate having to talk to people I hate!” snapped the hooded human.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk!” shook Pinkie.

Pinkie crawled on Scorch’s head. “When we get back to Ponnyville, we are throwing you a super-duper welcome party!” cheered the party pony.

The pink mare found herself tugging Overwatch’s legs. “Oh my gosh, that reminds me!” she gasped in awe. “I’ve been gone for so long that I forgot to throw a bunch of parties!”

“I still have to throw a party for Berry Pinch getting her cutie mark.” said Pinkie, hanging from the sky, facing X-ray’s chest.

“I still have to throw a party for Lucky and Wildfire’s anniversary!” exclaimed the Mare after popping in front of Rainbow Dash.

“I still-”

“HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?” roared X-ray.

“Doing what?” asked Pinkie as she was hovering above the ground.

Scorch snatched her and held her high with both hands. The action was slightly painful to both Pinkie’s body and her mind, but she held.

“How do you keep popping up from place to place, levitate in the air and teleport?” inquired Scarecrow.

Twilight tensed, she didn’t like where this was going. Trying to figure out Pinkie would drive those humans to insanity.The last thing she wanted was a group of insane trigger happy commandos running around.

“I don’t know silly, since I got my cutie mark it just happens.” smiled Pinkie blankly.

“What you’re doing is fucking impossible!” insisted X-ray as he unslung his carbine. “You’re not even a damn unicorn how can just go around teleporting everywhere?”

“Oh it’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.” chuckled Rainbow Dash.

“That’s not an answer.” snarled Scorch.

“Its true, there’s no scientific reason for Pinkie to act like this, it’s just the way she is when you think about it.” insisted
Fluttershy.

“That’s just being lazy.” chastised Scarecrow.

The mares glared at the counter terrorist with boiling faces. They despised how rude Shadow could be to them.

“How dare! Ya call us lazy!” threatened Applejack. The Earth Pony gave a puff.

“Well no offense, but if something strange is going on and you make no effort to study it, that’s being a sloth.” scolded X-ray.

“Well I did try to study Pinkie Pie once!” piped up Twilight.

“And what did you get?” questioned Scarecrow. The counter terrorist crossed his arms.

Twilight shook her head down. “Inconclusive, I almost lost my sanity trying to figure her abilities out.”

Pinkie chuckled at the memory. “Yeah your mane set on fire!”

Scarecrow shoved his head into Pinkie Pie’s. “I see, we’re dealing with an Eldritch abomination here.”

“Pinkie’s no abomination.” pleaded Fluttershy.

“An eldritch abomination is something that has no desire to obey the facts and laws of the universe.” explained X-ray.

“Trying to observe one causes insanity.”

‘Heh, kinda like you.’ thought Applejack.

“I say challenge accepted “ gloated Scorch.

“No wait!” pleaded Twilight. “I really don’t think you go through this. Pinkie is literally unexplainable!”

“Yeah right.” snorted Scarecrow. “Twilight, for every reaction, there has to be an action, so there has to be some sort of reasoning behind Pinkie’s weird actions even if it doesn’t seem logical.”

“I hate to brake it to you pal, but if Twilight can’t find out something, then nopony can.” snarled Rainbow Dash.
Twilight covered her face with her wings. She knew she was smart, but she didn’t want to seem arrogant in front of a new race she knew little about.

“That’s her, this is us.” countered X-ray. Rainbow Dash glared at him before clutching her head and flying away.

The 4 black clad humans surrounded and looked down at Pinkie Pie.

The Pink mare nervously looked up at the very tall humans and gulped.

She started to mutter. “Um..don’t I get a say in-”

Pinkie never finished her sentence as Overwatch grabbed her and held her up. The next thing she knew, her mouth ballooned opened as X-ray shoved his fist and wrist computer in her mouth, using his thin and slender limbs to his advantage.

X-ray released his fist from Pinkie’s mouth, covered in enough animated drool to disgust Rarity and nearly make Fluttershy puke. The masked soldier casually wiped off the drool and turned his attention to the readings of his device.

Right when Pinkie thought it couldn’t get worse, Scorch shoved a needle into her and drew some of her blood. Scorch snatched X-ray’s tablet and slit the blood sample onto a compartment where data flowed through his visor.
Scarecrow had magnetic vision turned on and was slowly analyzing all of Pinkie’s traits. He pressed his face unto Pinkie’s muzzle and didn’t care she was feeling uncomfortable.

Twilight watched with interest as the humans were recording data. The commandos finally unglued their eyes from their devices and unto each other. Overwatch dropped Pinkie and the party pony trotted back to her friends, bothered by Shadow’s actions.

Shadow was in a huddle, whispering their results and data. Finally they turned to the ponies. X-ray calmly spoke up.

“Pinkie, how much sugar and caffeine do you consume?”

“OOO I love have a loooot of those!” cheered the pink mare, her attitude improving. “You see I work at Sugarcube corner and I bake my own cupcakes so I get delicious, treaty, sweaty stuff for free! My favorite flavor is energy drink.”

“Pinkie if somebody ate a hundredth of the sugar in your system, they’d be suffering from diabetes, or obesity...or death.” remarked Scorch.

“It’s that bad?” gasped Pinkie Pie. The other ponies were shocked as well.

X-ray held out his tablet. “Pinkie your molecules are moving rates they should not be moving at!” growled the commando.

“Isn’t sugar supposed to be bad for Ponies too?” questioned Scarecrow.

“Well of course.” proclaimed Twilight. “But Pinkie Pie’s born with a rare condition where artificial sugar is harmless to her.”

“Braebrun and Screwball have it ta some extent.” added Applejack.

“What this have to do with Pinkie's (gulp) power.” sighed Fluttershy.

“Well, other than annoying hyperactivity,” began X-ray. “It also means moving at quick speeds.” Pinkie dashed from her friends to X-ray in a blur to demonstrate.

“vibrating through matter.” Scarecrow picked Pinkie and threw her to a skinny tree. Much to everypony’s amazement, she came out the other side fine.

“and quantum levitation.” finished X-ray.

“What levitation?” asked Rarity, confused by the entire ordeal.

“It’s when an atom is so charged it refuses to come down.” explained Scorch.

Overwatch picked up Pinkie and threw her up. The party pony floated off the ground for a while, before falling back down.

“America tried to build a city once in the early 1900s using quantum levitation.” muttered Scarecrow. “It didn’t work out very well.”

“What about Pinkie sense?” questioned Rainbow Dash.

“Pinkie sense. What’s that and why does it remind me of a comic book I read as a kid?” asked Scarecrow. He placed his hand on his bandanna and looked up.

“Oh sometimes I can predict the future.” piped up Pinkie.

“Come again?”

“Sometimes my body does starts twitching. Each twitch means something different is going to happen. The cool thing is, each twitch is true!”

Suddenly Pinkie’s tail curled up and he mane poofed sideways. “Oh that means somepony’s going to get hiccup-”

“HICH!”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh my HICH, it seems I HICH, have a small HICH, case of the”

BANG!

The gunshot startled even the humans. Everybody and everypony turned to face Overwatch, the tip of his PDR smoking.

“Did that scare away your hiccups?” blankly asked the hooded marksman.

Fluttershy froze and realized she stopped hiccuping. “Um, thank you.” she whispered.

Overwatch gave a nod and holstered his PDR to the side.

“As for your Pinkie sense...” pondered Scorch. He stroked his bandanna. “By any chance, does your mind start flashing division problems before you...twitch?”

“Oh yeah!” Cheered Pinkie. “I’m super good in all kinds of maths and facts. I’m even better than Twilight.”

Twilight kept silent.

“Okay then.” calmed Scorch. “You’re just very, very, very good in probability and taking numbers into consideration...like Overwatch.”

Suddenly Overwatch pushed X-ray aside. In a heartbeat later, a tree came crashing from where the rifleman stood.

“Um..thanks.” muttered X-ray as he got back up. “You know my shields would have taken the damage right?”

Overwatch shrugged and turned to the rest of the group.

“His ‘sniper sense’ if you could call it that, is pretty handy when it comes to assassination ops.” pointed out Scarecrow.

Suddenly the atmosphere returned to its dark tones.

“Well come on, we’re not going to get to Ponyville by standing here.” exclaimed Scorch who started pacing ahead. The rest of the party followed.

Twilight couldn’t believed what just happened. She had spent nearly two YEARS trying to solve Pinkie Pie out and only received mental issues. Now these 4 humans show up, and solved the Pink pony in a matter of minutes. Part of her was scolding herself for not trying hard enough while the other half was trying to assure her that humans had a different way of solving problems.

Still, a phrase didn’t leave her. “That’s her, this is us.”

“I can’t believe this!” piped up Rainbow Dash. “You must seriously have a huge understanding of magic if you could figure Pinkie out.”

“I am mysterious after all” skipped Pinkie up and down. Overwatch was in a trans by following her movements.

“There is NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC!” snapped X-ray.

“HOW!” yelled the equines back.

“Equestria is built in the foundations of magic. We Unicorns can use arcane magic, Earth Ponies can tend to crops in a
way nopony else can and Pegasai can walk on clouds as well as control the weather.” explained Rarity.

“Rarity is magic defined in Equestria as powers that just happen for no reason?” questioned Scarecrow, slowing his walking pace.

“Well yes.” answered Rarity. “Nopony has ever found out how magic works because it doesn’t work through science, they’re separate fields. Right Twilight?”

Twilight wasn’t in the mood to be yelled at again, but Rarity did have point. “Yeah you’re right Rarity.” she said nonchalantly.

“Ponies, everything in the universe happens for a reason otherwise it’s story junk.” countered Scorch.

“You said yourself Unicorns and Pegasai were just myths, what is going to stop magic from being real too?” hissed Rainbow Dash.

“Well for starters, there has to be a reason for story book creatures to be in this place, so why shouldn't there be a reason for your powers?” questioned X-ray.

The ponies didn’t know how to respond to that. They stopped into their tracks until Overwatch bumped into them, prompting them to move forward.

“Even if the way something works doesn’t make sense to us, magic isn’t a proper answer unless you don’t like to think.” added Scarecrow.

Twilight felt like she could cry. Throughout her times as a scholar, she considered herself a skeptic and rational. Now as she looked back, she realized she never tried to figure out why something worked but instead how it worked. Even with their masks to hide their emotions, the ponies were painfully aware that humans were disappointed by their lack of relative intellectualism.

Applejack wasn’t going to go down without a fight. “Partner there aint no scientific reason fer us ta exist and have magic. Our creator hand them to ponykind-”

“Creation stories are myths and bullshit to explain the things we don’t know how to explain.” scolded Scarecrow. “The truth lies in logic and reason.”

Suddenly the atmosphere got tense, speaking trash about Equestria’s creator was the best way to set a pony off.

Fluttershy finally lost it and burst. “Why do you have to be so mean you big-”

The squad gripped their weapons tighter. As the distrust and violent thoughts increased in the minds of the humans, the minds of the ponies became weaker and weaker. They suddenly felt their vision blur and and heard nothing but a a high pitched frequency.

Rainbow Dash clutched her head and fell to the ground while Rarity stumbled. Everypony was on the verge of being knocked out or going feral.

Suddenly the pain stopped, the noises silenced and everypony’s vision cleared. The 4 hooded humans faded into Twilight's view. Overwatch helped the alicorn get up.

“Why do you keep doing that?” calmly asked Scorch.

“Ever since we met you all, you keep grabbing your heads look uneasy. At first we thought you were sick or something, but your body systems read healthy.” added X-ray.

“I don’t know.” groaned Twilight. “Whenever I look at you humans, my vision starts blurring, I get headaches and I hear high pitched voices.”

"Now I know what getting 'the stare' is like." whimpered Fluttershy.

Scarecrow looked at his squad mates. “Do any of you have your scramblers turned on?”

The other 3 shook their heads. ‘No’

“Even if we did have them turned on, it would only effect electromagnetic devices. Even if Twilight’s and Rarity’s horns
counted as such, it shouldn’t effect the Pegasai or Earth Ponies.” inferred X-ray.

“I think the 6 of you are just scared.” proposed Scarecrow. “I mean 4 advanced and heavily armed aliens that just appear is kinda freaky right?”

The ponies looked at each other. For some reason, fear didn’t feel like source for their migraines. They didn’t have time to dwell on the subject though.

“I think you might be right.” piped Pinkie. “Whenever I’m scared or nervous I just start seeing things. There was this one time where I thought my friends were ditching this party I was throwing-”

“You can tell us all about it later.” interrupted Scorch who followed his allies forward.

“Look, we’re really sorry for loosing our temper. We forgot that your species is in a Medevil time period so most modern
discoveries and reasoning will seem alien to you.” apologized Scarecrow.

“Uh thanks...ah guess.” replied Applejack with an eyebrow up.

“Back on the subject of magic,” began Twilight. “I really think there’s no explanation for why magic happens. It just does, but that doesn’t make it less true. You just have to accept it and move on.”

“Twilight we can explain everything in the universe.” insisted X-ray. “Just because you can’t solve something now doesn’t mean you never will. It took humans hundreds of years to find out how atoms work. Just because we were ignorant of such things in the past didn’t undermine its factual way of working.”

Twilight paused. She never thought of it that way. The alicorn was very jealous of human reasoning but felt that they had a point.

“So what you’re saying is, ‘it works by magic isn’t’ a correct answer?” questioned Pinkie.

“If you’re so smart then explain telekinesis!” growled Rainbow Dash.

“Exerting a gravitational or magnetic force on an object to manipulate it within a vicinity.” answered Scorch.

“Teleportation”

“To energize and propel an object a certain distance so fast to give off the illusion of disappearing or creating a wormhole to travel through rips within space time. Twilight’s teleportation seems to fall into the previous category rather then the later.”

“Walking on clouds.”

Scorch’s visor glowed blue as data filled his HUD.

“Pegasai anatomy seems to suggest that their bodies exert very light forces within the outside sections of their body with rest of it being directed inside. It also seems to be the reason why pegasai can fly despite their weight.”

“Why earth Ponies are so good with plants and animals?”

“Their bodies look like they have some natural decomposers and fertilizer chemicals built around them. I’m also getting what seems to be animal pheromones surrounding them.”

“Think about it like this.” spoke up Overwatch. “If we handed a piece of our technology to cavemen, would they, being illiterate, think it worked through some sort of mystical means despite us being aware it worked through science?”

The ponies looked at each other and quietly admitted defeat.

“I can’t believe we just got compared to caveponies” complained Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, please you’d be the Godmother all knowledge by a primitive’s standards.” chuckled X-ray. “Hey, we’d be cavemen compared to trans sentient aliens right?”

-

Meanwhile the Blackjack had been observing Shadow's events through their HUDs from afar. Unfortunately, communications were still jammed.

A crew member took a sip of coffee. "I don't believe in any deities, but if I did, I'd be praying for the ponies right now."

Author's Notes:

Finally somebody talks sense to all these ponies. Since I consider this to be a bit of a fix fic, I wanted to make sure that the humans would challenge the Ponies way of thinking rather than just accepting it like most other HiEs.

Sorry if these explanations are ruining the magic of the show for you, but part of Shadow's characteristics is that they are all rationally minded individuals who aren't going to accept illogical answers. And neither should you.

BTW there's a Bioshock Infinite reference in this. See if you can find it.

Chapter 10: Elements of Disharmony

"It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways."-Buddha

"Um, Mr. Scarecrow." whimpered Fluttershy.

"Yes." replied the masked soldier.

"How old are you and your friends?"

Scarecrow gave out a large chuckle causing Flutter shy to fall back. "That depends Fluttershy. Each planet has a different way to measure time. Humans go by seconds, followed by minutes, then days-"

"Then weeks, months and years right?" interrupted Twilight.

Scarecrow opened his eyes underneath his mask. "That's exactly..right."

X-ray was beginning to get annoyed by all the similarities of the planet. "I'm pretty sure the quantitative measure of time is different though. How many seconds are in a minute?"

"60." answered Twilight.

"Minutes in an hour?"

"60." repeated Applejack.

"Hours in a day?"

"24." replied Rainbow Dash.

"Days in a year?"

"365. Although it's a bit more for leap years." remarked Rarity.

"That is 100% percent like Earth and totally not creepy at all." gritted Scorch. "I swear a better name for your planet would be Earth 2."

"Hey why do we have to be number 2?" whined Rainbow Dash.

"Your planet is thousands of years old. Earth is billions." countered Scorch.

"As for our age." pondered Scarecrow. "I guess it's safe to say we're 24 years old."

"How old are you ponies?" asked X-ray.

"Me, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are 19." answered Twilight. "Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack are 20."

"Huh, I assumed you were way younger." implied Scorch.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "So."

"We're young adult males. What did you expect?" replied Scarecrow.

"By, the way, I take it that the four of you are stranded with no way out?" asked Rarity.

"More or less." answered X-ray. "Since a dragon took out our VTOL, we can't leave this planet and our simple recon operation has gone FUBAR. Made even worse by accidentally making contact with you ponies under the assumption you weren't intelligent."

"What's so bad if humans and ponies meet? I think this situation is a pinnacle to the development of both our species." defended Twilight.

"It's not humans meeting ponies that's bad, it's 23rd that's meeting ponies." replied Scorch. "We aren't exactly allowed to be socializing with Xenos."

A few minutes of solitude passed. Scarecrow looked up and saw that day time was passing. He staired in awe of the animated sky and admitted how beautiful it looked. Suddenly a pair of hand grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Damn it!" cursed Scarecrow, turning to face Overwatch. "What did you do that for?"

Overwatch pointed below in front of him to reveal a cliff. Scarecrow had almost fallen off.

"Oh." muttered Scarecrow. "Thanks."

Twilight looked down the cliff. It wasn't too big of a drop, but it certainly would kill a pony.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "Hmm, how are we going to get across?" Twilight noticed the 4 humans staring at her.

"You're kidding right?" said X-ray with a hint of concern.

Twilight didn't need X-ray to not be wearing his mask for her to see what he was looking at.

Twilight gave her wings a twitch and blushed. "Oh yeah." she giggled.

"But how the hay are us non flyin' ponies gonna get across?" asked Applejack.

"Don't worry everypony I can make 3 trips to carry you through." gloated Rainbow Dash who flew up.

"What about the humans?" piped up Pinkie Pie.

Scorch looked over the cliff. "It can't be more than a few yards. We'll just jump it."

"Are you kidding? That's suicide!" yelled Rarity.

"Don't worry." assured Scarecrow. "We've done jumps like these on lower gravity environments. If we fall, our shields will just take the damage, and we'll climb back up."

The ponies didn't want to argue. Twilight flew ahead followed by Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash proceeded to lift Rarity and then, Pinkie to the other side.

The humans weren't going to jump until everypony was secure. Dash grabbed Applejack and lifted the cowpony on the other side. Rainbow Dash forgot how much the orange mare weighed however. (It wasn't because she was fat mind you.)

Scorch noticed that Rainbow Dash was struggling with the orange Earth Pony.

Right when Dash was near the tip of the cliff, she lost control of her hooves and Applejack slipped.

"NO!" screamed Scorch. The commando sprinted and jumped across. He grabbed the screaming cowpony with his right arm, and with all his might, threw her up to the other side.

Applejack landed with a thud. She was mildly bruised but unhurt. The ponies desperately looked down the cliff to see if the commando had fallen. To their surprise, Scorch was alive. The demo man had his knife placed deep inside the chasm.

"I'm good." calmly remarked Scorch.

"Gangway!"

The ponies rolled across just in time as Scarecrow rolled onto the other side of the cliff. He looked down at Scorch and offered the demo man his hand.

Scorch used his free arm to grab a hold of Scarecrow's. Using his strength, Scarecrow was able to pick up his friend and secure him on the topside.

Two more 'THUDS!" were heard as Overwatch and X-ray made their jumps.

"You know, I wish I could see things in slow motion. The way you saved Applejack was awesome." chuckled X-ray.

"Thanks fer dat partner." piped up the orange pony.

"It's what we do." nodded Scorch. "You know you're pretty light." Scorch turned to his wrist computer and accessed the file on Applejack.

"Whoah." he beamed.

"Wat?" responded the weary cowpony.

"There is no way, your mass is that small. Any pony on Earth that is your size is twice how much each of you weigh." observed Scorch.

"What do you mean? Our BMIs are in good condition." protested Twilight.

"Let's not dwell on the really technical stuff." ordered Scarecrow. He motioned everybody and everypony to move. Deep down, Scarecrow knew the rest of the squad had probably calculated the answer already.

The humans and ponies continued their treck. Night had fallen upon them. Shadow re holstered their weapons and their visor glowed a bright blue. Twilight and Rarity lit up their up their horns to provide light.

"Say, why do your glasses thingies keep glowing blue?" skipped Pinkie.

"Oh, it's magnetic vision." answered X-ray. "In addition to seeing in the dark, we can also see through walls and analyze body readings. Pretty cool stuff."

"I surely wouldn't mind being able to see through walls." grinned a naughty Rainbow Dash.

Scarecrow froze and shot a fist in the air. "Hold up." he commanded.

The ponies stopped walking but this did not stop Pinkie from bumping into the commander with her skip.

X-ray, Overwatch and Scorch joined their commander and pointed their rifles forward. A series of familiar growls and roars came from the darkness. The pairs of yellow eyes appeared that made everypony step back.

"I don't see what's going on." shook Twilight.

Overwatch took out a sensor grenade, turned it on and threw it across the canopy. Suddenly the outlines of 40, rough quadrupeds became visible.

"Wolves." gritted Scarecrow.

Suddenly the creature came out of the darkness. Rather than being made up of fur and flesh like what Shadow expected. The wolf consisted of twigs, leaves and glowing yellow eyes. It gave out a menacing growl.

"Not just wolves. Fucking timberwolves. I swear I've had it with this planet." tensed Scorch.

"Fluttershy, tell the wolves to stand down." ordered X-ray.

Fluttershy, who was hiding behind a log peeked up. "I can't. I'm sorry. Timberwolves are plants, not animals."

X-ray turned to face the wooden creatures. "Looks like there's only one thing left to do."

Suddenly the wolf and the rest of the pack charged at the humans.

BANG!

Scarecrow's LMG discharged and the bullet struck the wolf, causing it to burst into a rubble of sticks.

The gunfire raged on with Shadow being very selective when firing to conserve ammo. The ponies hid back behind the log Fluttershy was taking cover behind and covered the sound of gunfire with their hooves.

After a few moments the gunfire stopped but the cries of wolves remained. The ponies looked up to see Shadow still killing the wolves, but without bullets.

X-ray slammed his foot down on a wolf charging at him then shot his hand up to break the chest of a wolf to pieces. The commando turned around and Sparta kicked a wolf coming behind him finished by a stab to the eye of a wolf to his right.

Scarecrow picked up two wolves together and slammed them into each other. Pebbles and twigs littered his feet. Scarecrow took out his LMG and used it like a club. He swung far and multiple wolves went down with one blow. He then held up his gun like an ax and slammed it onto a wolf below him. The gun didn't get a scratch.

Scorch picked up a rock and used it to bash a timberwolf's skull open. He then threw the rock like a grenade and smashed a wolf open. The rock flew on and broke down another wolf behind it. Scorch immediately drew out his combat knife and plunged it straight into a wolf leaping at him. He flexed his arm to grab another wolf in the skull and squeezed on it hard, thereby, smashing it to pieces.

The ponies were so busy watching the entire scene that they failed to notice a timberwolf behind them. Said timberwolf grave out a roar and charged straight at the ponies. The Mane 6 turned around and screamed as the wolf approached them. Suddenly, the wolf stopped moving as an invisible force picked it up. The wolf found itself being thrown across the canopy and broke down as it collided with a tree.

The force uncloaked and revealed itself to be Overwatch.

The Marksman leaped ahead of the equines and body slammed a startled wolf. The black clad sniper stood up and found his torso to be covered with wood. A wolf tried to bite the sniper with all its might only for the timberwolf to crush its own skull. Overwatch's shields merely flickered in response.

The ponies observed the humans punch, kick and crush the wooden wolves to deaths. Scarecrow finally picked up the last wolf in a choke hold, place his other hand on the wolf's skull, and ripped it off. The last thing the wolf was his own reflection in the soldier's visor.

Once the battle ended, the ponies slowly and quietly trotted to the humans.

X-ray folded his arms and spoke coldly. The radio made it sound more grim. "Let me guess, you're going to call us monsters for killing those fucked up wolves right?"

"Actually, we see timberwolves getting broken all time." responded Twilight.

"But the way you handled those wolves was incredible!" yelled Pinkie, half amazed, half disturbed.

"How could you kill them like that?" asked Dash.

"How could you not?" countered Scarecrow.

"Those timberwolves are the weakest things we've ever seen. Give them a buck to the face and they'll break open." added Scorch. "I know its our job to protect you and we're properly trained and all, but come on, some back up would have been nice."

The ponies looked down on the ground, ashamed of themselves for chickening out.

"Come on, we'll walk a couple meters before we set up camp." proposed Scarecrow.

The ponies nodded and trotted alongside the humans. Despite it being night, the temperature was relatively warm. Twilight was thinking about how she was going to introduce the humans to the ponies and by extension, Celestia. So far, every trait the humans exhibited was opposite of pony nature. Cruel, cynical, slightly arrogant and somewhat stubborn. But also bravery and rationality.

Eventually the group found themselves in a clearing.

"Alright we'll rest here." said Scarecrow.

"Finally." moaned Rarity. "I have never done so much trotting like that in my life."

"Yeah this forest is 70 kilometers wide. That's freaking huge." laughed Scorch.

"That's because the Everfree forest used to be a city that bordered Equestria." piped up Twilight. "According to legends, it was home to a thriving civilizations that once disappeared."

"Interesting!" replied Scarecrow. The squad leader was setting up a fire using the remains of a timberwolf. He lighted one of his pyro grenades so that it would only emit a small flame. Soon the remains of the wolf set on fire and a huge flame burst. Much to Shadow's surprise, the flame that came up was animated.

"So how do you know there was once a city here?" asked Scorch.

"Well, we're not certain as many ancient records have been lost over time. However, all records from any intelligent civilization on this planet mentions a country where this forest once stood." explained Twilight.

"Sounds like an interesting mystery." complimented Scarecrow.

Twilight nodded. She noticed how she was no longer getting pain in her heads or hearing high pitched frequencies. The alicorn faced Overwatch and saw the sniper was scribbling on a notebook of some sort using a stage writing tool.

"What'cha doing?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Drawing." blankly replied the sniper.

"Oh can I see!" cheered Rainbow Dash.

The marksman pulled down his book away from the prying eyes of the ponies.

"I'm sorry." laughed Scarecrow. "Overwatch won't let you see his drawing until he feels like hit. Normally he'd be drawing on his tablet, but SOME people are smart enough not to bring expensive gadgets we don't need on alien worlds."

The ponies looked at X-ray and Scorch, who had their tablet and laptop turned on respectively. X-ray was reading a book he saved on the thing while Scorch was playing the recently released Half Life 3.

"Hey we need these for research!" defended X-ray.

"Um, we have these wrist computers for a reason dipshit." Scarecrow raised his arm.

Fluttershy and Applejack turned to face Scorch playing his game. The demo man took notice and paused.

"What was dat?" asked Applejack.

"Oh it's a video game. Half Life 3."

"Oh my gosh I love games!" burst Pinkie. "I love playing pin the tail on they pony, it's so random! I really love twister too! And don't get me started on-"

"Pinkie a video game isn't like playing a physical party game. A video game is like a virtual simulation of something." interrupted Scorch.

"But that's no fun!" moaned Pinkie. "If you want to play a game, you should do it yourself."

"Could I give it a try?" asked rainbow Dash.

"Sorry Dash, but to operate this device you're going to need fingers." Scorch raised his hands and gave his fingers a twirl.

Dash crossed her forehooves and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Scorch shrugged and unpaused the game. The ponies watched as Scorch (as Gordon Freeman) drew a shotgun and gunned down a horde of Combine Overwatch soldiers came straight at him.

Fluttershy turned her head away from the violence. "You're killing them! You big meanie."

"Well that's kind of the point." pointed Scorch as he got a double kill with the SMG.

"How do you think they feel right now?" responded Fluttershy.

"They're the Combine, they're the bad guys and their soldiers are programmed not to have emotions."

"So you just kill them!"

"Fluttershy, you need to understand that none of this is real. No one is dying." Scorch re loaded last checkpoint. Much to the awe of Fluttershy, the soldiers Scorch shot in the game were back.

"I don't understand what's the point of playing a game where the only objective is killing." said Twilight.

"It's fun." muttered Scarecrow. "It provides a form of escapism."

Rarity quickly changed the subject. "Say it's pretty warm even if it is night. Why do you have to wear clothes?"

"Humans don't have fur. You might not feel it, but it's cold for what a human considers normal." answered X-ray, eyes still glued to the tablet.

"And what on Epona are you wearing? You're soldiers for crying outloud!" wailed the white Unicorn.

Scarecrow looked down at his armor and looked up. "It's just recon armor."

The unicorn looked revolted. "You call that armor? Armor is supposed to be gleaming, elegant, and heroic. Your armor is just a hood, trousers and vest! Not to mention it makes you look scary."

"Thank you." chanted each member of Shadow squad to the last part of Rarity's rant.

Rarity was taken back by the response.

"Well I'm sorry Rarity, but I'm pretty sure that this armor kicks the shit out of whatever outdated crap your knights wear or something. Plus, recon armor allows us to blend in better with civilians than normal battle wear." beamed Scarecrow.

"Hey I've seen the guards, their armor is pretty good. At least it isn't just winter clothes and shades." countered Twilight.

"Oh our armor is way more than just clothes. The fabric recon armor is made of is pretty absorbent at taking damage and can absorb a non FMJ bullet before ripping. Said material also is one of the only substances that can transfer a kinetic barrier or cloaking field around it. Our bandannas are made of the same material and our shades are bullet proof."

Scarecrow unslung his LMG and fired a round at X-ray. X-ray recoiled back as the bullet struck him and dropped his tablet. X-ray was unharmed and the ponies observed a series of purple hexagons formed where X-ray was shot.

X-ray was growling mad. "WHAT. THE. FUCK!"

The ponies tried to cover their faces. All of a sudden, the mental trauma was returning.

Scarecrow was unbothered. "Calm down X-gay I-"

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN? YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!"

"Chill out. I knew you had your barriers on and-"

"WHAT IF I DIDN'T?."

"Then you're not following protocol and your vest would have still been able to take the shot."

X-ray picked up his tablet and raised his middle finger to Scarecrow.

After a few minutes of silence, X-ray was relieved of tension and the mental trauma of the Mane 6 dimmed.

"Anyway," piped or Rarity. "I've noticed there are two symbols on your shoulder pieces. One of them says UTF. What does that mean?"

"UTF stands for United Terran Federation. It's the name of our government." answered Scarecrow. "Terran means Earth and Federation means a system of bodies that respond under one government. For us, each body is a colony."

"Oooh, and what's with the symbol of the other side?" politely questioned Pinkie.

Scarecrow turned to face his right. On that shoulder pad, was a picture of a crimson Greek Omega against a white background.

"This is the symbol of the 23rd." explained Scarecrow. "The letter is that of a greek-"

"Omega?" interrupted Twilight.

Scarecrow took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Twilight could tell his tolerance was running out.

"Yes...Omega." growled the masked soldier. "Omega is used to represent the end of things. When the 23rd marks you as a target, it will ALWAYS mean your end is near."

The ponies gave out a fake chuckle except for Fluttershy, who just wanted to start crying from terror.
"Say how did you find out about us anyway?" pondered Scorch who closed his laptop.

"Well last night, a group of ponies were able to track your space craft when it landed." explained Twilight. "Then we received a letter from a Griffin asking to send aid because they were going to investigate what was happening."

"And you were going to help them?" beamed Scarecrow.

Twilight shook her head. "No we weren't. Celestia later contacted me the next day to investigate what was going on and why the Griffins and Dragons that were sent after you never came back. Not to help them."

"Is queen Celestia your mom?" asked X-ray.

"What? No." responded Twilight. "And it's princess Celestia."

"But you're a princess." countered Scorch. "Aren't prince's and princesses the children of the King and Queen in power?"

"Well yes. But you can only be a king or queen if you're ruling by yourself or with a spouse. Celestia shares the power with her sister, her niece and me." explained Twilight.

"Is this the first time power was spread like this?" asked X-ray.

Twilight put a hoof on her chin. "Well no, there was once the twin brothers Glacios and Helios a few generations ago."

"How did you get into power if you aren't a blood relative?" questioned Scarecrow.

"Sometimes ponies who prove themselves have acess to royalty." answered Twilight.

"Twilight became princess after discovering the magic of friendship." cheered Pinkie.

Shadow burst into laughter again.

Twilight was hurt by their mockery. Alicornhood and friendship was one of the most important things to her.

X-ray stopped laughing. "But you know what's even better? Telling us what the fuck is in that box."

The eyes of the ponies burst open. They looked at each other nervously.

"Box? There ain't no box in here partner." fibbed Applejack.

"You're a shitty lier AJ." remarked Scarecrow. "We saw you turn a box invisible."

"We didn't bring anything with us." defended Rainbow Dash.

"Then why are we getting a massive energy reading that's not coming from any of you?" questioned X-ray. "Just because we can't see it, doesn't mean it ain't there."

Twilight gave up. She uncloaked the box and used her telekinesis to open it.

The humans shifted their attention to the pieces of jewelry stored within it.

"This is the source of the energy?" said an unconvinced Scarecrow. "This isn't normal jewelry right?"

"Right." responded Twilight. "These are the elements of harmony."

"Come again." said Scorch.

"The elements of harmony. They are the ultimate tool for keeping Equestria safe." explained Twilight. "Each element is represents a trait of goodness. When a pony has that certain trait, they can access the element. Applejack is honesty, Pinkie is laughter, Fluttershy is kindness, Rarity is generosity, Dash is loyalty and I'm magic. When the six elements are gathered, the element of magic will cast a spell and draw energy from the other bearers to increase its power numerous times. We used these elements to protect Equestria from threats like Nightmare Moon and Discord."

"I see it's powered by emotion." nodded Scarecrow.

"That's right." nodded Pinkie. "If stopped laughing, which-will-never-happen, I'll loose access to the element."

"Makes sense." remarks Scorch. "If you have a WMD, give it to someone who'll use it for good."

"What's a WMD?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Weapon of Mass Destruction." chanted Shadow uniformly.

The ponies were shocked at their statement.

"Now see here." began Rarity. "The elements of harmony are a force for good-"

"Twilight you said the element of magic could magnify any spell right?" interrupted Scarecrow.

The alicorn nodded.

"What's going to stop you from creating a massive firestorm or energy blast that could rip apart town?"

The ponies didn't know how to respond to that.

"Just because I can use a knife to cut my food, doesn't mean I can't cut my throat." growled Overwatch.

Before the Mane 6 could ponder this revelation, Scarecrow had an epiphany.

"Say Twilight, why not cast a teleporation spell with the elements? All the extra energy may be enough to teleport us."

"Hey that's a good idea!" cheered Twilight.

"Everypony ready?" piped up Rainbow Dash.

The Mane 6 put on their elements. After a moment of concentration, their elements started to glow and the ponies ascended to the air.

The humans watched with utter awe.

"Aww. They're so cute with they're levitating up like that." admired X-ray.

Right when Twilight could cast her teleportation spell, the elements gave off an ominous red glow. The ponies opened their eyes in shock. They did not expect that to happen at all.

The humans took note of their expressions.

Scarecrow had a bad feeling. "Twilight is something-"

Suddenly, a red blast emerged from the elements, much to the pony's horror.

Before Shadow could react, the blast split into 4 and struck each member of the squad. Once they made contact with the beam, their bodies exploded with pain.

Shadow started limping around as the beam attacked them, slowly depriving them of life. Their bodies glowed purple as their barriers clashed with the elements to repel the damage.

Suddenly there was a sound, similar to that of the power going out. Shadow's barriers failed to repel the elements. The elements got passed Shadow's primary line of defense and directly attacked the commandos.

X-ray screamed hard and fell to the floor. It was as if someone was shoving a thousand hot needles right through him. There was no sign of external damage but on the inside, every part of him was being choked.

Scorch was moaning in pain and tried to clutch his head to relieve the tension, but it was no use. He lost control of his legs and fell down to the ground on his face. His HUD was glowing red was flashing critical.

Overwatch had never been in so much pain throughout the his time in Shadow. He tried to fight back with all of his will power, but it was no use. Suddenly memories, haunting memories of his life were flashing before his eye. He desperately wanted to shoot himself dead to end it all. There was no use however as it pained him just to flex a muscle.

Scarecrow, who was the strongest was the least harmed, but that was like saying you got a D- minus on your test rather than a full F. Scarecrow struggled to stand up and tried to push himself to the accursed elements.

The ponies desperately tried to stop the elements all the while. This was not what they wanted to happen, not at all.

"Twilight what's going on?" screamed Fluttershy.

"I DON'T KNOW!" screeched Twilight. She tried changing spells at first but it only reinforced the blast. Twilight then attempted to stop casting but it did nothing.

The ponies watched in horror has Shadow was screaming for life. No matter how much of a gun crazy, cynical monster they were, nobody deserved to die like that.

"Kill me." weakly groaned X-ray.

The ponies couldn't believe it. The one tool they thought that would be used to protect all life, was also an ender of one. Shadow was going to die a painful death, and it was all their falt.

"Take them off!" yelled Pinkie.

The ponies did so and the elements were removed from their bodies and shoved into their box. Much to the Mane 6's horror, the elements did not stop.

"Darn things have a mind of their own!" awed Applejack.

"Give me that!"

Suddenly Scarecrow materialized in front of the ponies. Using the last of his strength, he picked up the box. If the elements did not stop in a minute, Shadow was as good as dead.

Twilight realized what he intended to do. "Scarecrow wait!" she pleaded.

The barely conscious Scarecrow threw the box a respectable distance. The red beam still was trailing on the squad.

Before passing out, Scarecrow drew a frag grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it. The explosive landed next to the box, facing the elements.

Suddenly the frag exploded, taking the elements with it. The red beam seized to exist before it could deliver the killing blow to Shadow.

Just before the ponies could realize what Scarecrow had done, the elements used the last of it's power to release a white aura that engulfed the critically conditioned soldiers and ponies.

Author's Notes:

Just a quick disclaimer: Half Life is the property Valve and First Contact is a non profit story.

Before I move on to the following chapters, I will edit the previous ones.

Chapter 11: Recovery

"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets."--Voltaire

X-ray was slumped on the dirt, completely unconscious. Everything felt as if it he was trapped in a void of black. There was absolute silence until the commando thought he heard someone say his call sign:

"X-ray!"

The voice was muffled but X-ray realized all of a sudden that he wasn't dead.

"X-ray!"

There was the voice again. This time it was more audible.

"Please wake up."

He couldn't tell who the voice belonged too. Then again, it sounded like the odd French and British accent that belonged to a certain white pony.

"Don't be dead, oh heavens don't be dead!"

X-ray could definitely tell it was Rarity. Now that he was awoken, he felt all of the pain in his body resurface. It was so intense that he couldn't even let out a groan.

"Twilight I think he's gone for good!"

X-ray desperately wanted to stand up, check on his friends and figure out what happened. However, it pained him even to open his eyes.

X-ray tried to overcome the torture inflicted by the elements of so-called 'harmony'. He felt like he wanted to lash out at the ponies for nearly killing him in the worst way possible, but he remembered how they were just as confused as the rest of Shadow.

In the heart of the moment, X-ray forced his eyes open. His vision was blurry however. The symbols on his HUD were a blue mess and a white blob stood in front of surrounded by green stood in front of him.

He tried to breath in for air, but could only inhale in small amounts.

It didn't take a genius to know that the white blur infront of him was Rarity. Due to his shades, the unicorn wouldn't be able to tell he was awake.

He heard a sobbing. Not just from Rarity, but the rest of the Mane 6. They really thought Shadow was dead and it was all their falt. The masked soldier wasn't about to let the ponies deal with this type of trauma. He didn't know about the rest of Shadow, but at least one getting out of the situation alive would habe been much better than none.

Suddenly his vision cleared up. His HUD was flashing critical. All of a sudden, a projection of his body played on his HUD. The projection read that there no visible external damage while almost every muscle had been sprained somehow and his bones were receiving tension as if they were bruised.

He used sensory commands to wipe the body diagram clear from his hud. Despite his vision being clear now, he still couldn't flex his arm or say anything to get the ponies attention.

He checked the rest of his HUD for anything important. Miraculously, his HUD read all of his weapons, grenades and equipment were still with him. They had hung on to the magnetic plates quite well.

He slowly felt the tension ease up on his arms, it wasn't much, but it was something. Slowly, he reached for the white sobbing unicorn and took her hoof.

Suddenly Rarity stopped crying and gasped when she felt the hand on her hoof. X-ray was able to raise his head slightly and faced the unicorn.

X-ray tried to mouth, "I'm fine" but his COM only flashed static. Rarity raised an eyebrow at him, still heavily breathing though. X-ray positioned his bandanna and used sensory commands to recalibrate his mic.

"I'm alright Rarity." assured X-ray.

Rarity hugged his head tightly in relief, despite the fact X-ray's body was exploding with hurt upon contact and Rarity getting the typical mindfuck from being near a human.

X-ray used his head to nudge Rarity aside. The rifleman turned to check up on the rest of Shadow. They couldn't be dead, not like this.

Twilight was near Scarecrow's body, trying all the spells she could think of to get the commander back on his feet. She reached over and placed a hoof on Scarecrow's bandanna-

-until a hand snapped at the alicorn's hoof and almost squeezed it to death.

Twilight screamed causing Scarecrow to shoot his head up and realize what he was doing. Scarecrow let go of the purple pony's hoof and placed a finger on her mouth.

"Twilight, please don't touch our masks." half joked Scarecrow with a hint of concern.

Twilight nodded and smiled. "Thank goodness you're alright! I thought me and the girls killed you." she cheered.

"Oh please, like a cartoon pony would claim the life a 23rd member." remarked Scarecrow.

"Scarecrow, what's you're status?" radioed X-ray.

"X-gay, I thought I'd never be glad to see you." muttered Scarecrow.

"How are your vitals?"

"There aren't any cuts on me, I'm not infected or anything, but all my muscles are sprained, my joints have been weakened and my heart is pumping slightly slower than usual. You?"

"Ditto."

The two now-awake counter terrorists turned around to face their remaining squad-mates.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were on opposite ends on Overwatch's head.

Fluttershy was trying to find various spots on Overwatch's body that would startle him awake, but so far, she got nothing. She even resorte to bucking him awake, but her hooves were weak and she couldn't breach Overwatch's shield/barrier.

"Come on Mr. Sniper! Wake up!" pleaded Pinkie. She was violently shaking Overwatch's head despite the mass of his skull and bullet proof shades compared to Pinkie's hooves. The party pony hoped she hadn't accidentally snapped his neck.

Pinkie placed her fore hoof on top of Overwatch's masked face. "How many fingers am I holding?"

".........."

"Good you're awake!"

"I don't think Overwatch was answering." insisted Fluttershy. "I also don't think getting him to talk is the best way to see if Overwatch is alright." she added.

A moment later, Pinkie and Fluttershy's vision blurred a bit and felt their brains rock back and forth.

The sniper tiled his head up and gave a groan.

"Overwatch, what's your status over?" yelled Scarecrow from across the canopy.

Overwatch gave a thumbs up despite the pain in his hand.

Rainbow Dash's voice broke the silence.

"Come on. You stupid. Bi-ped. Wake. Up!"

Rainbow Dash was hopping up and down on Scorch's chest trying to force him up. Much like Fluttershy however, all Rainbow Dash was doing was setting off sparks on his chest as his barriers flickered. It would take the rest of the day just to get his barriers to 79%.

"Come on sugarcube. This ain't yer time." whispered Applejack into Scorch's ear. 'Assuming he has an ear under that hood' she thought.

"Cold."

Rainbow Dash stopped jumping and flew up slightly above the air. With her mouth hung open.

"Cold."

"Gosh darn it, he's alive!" awed Applejack.

Suddenly Scorch started chattering and vibrating.

"I'm so cold." groaned the demo man.

"Hang on Scorch! I'm coming to save your sorry ass." assured Scarecrow.

He tried to stand upright but pushing himself up was impossible. Slowly he rose to his full height and once again towered the ponies All of a sudden, his legs shivered and he collapsed.

He tried to stand up and walk forward again, only to fall violently down on the surface, causing a small crater in the ground.

"It's no use you brainless bitch!" spoke up X-ray, still lying on the ground.

Scarecrow wasn't going to let his friend freeze to death. He forced his body to grab one of his pyro grenades and crawl towards Scorch.

The ponies watched as Scarecrow dragged all four 4 of his joints to the shivering Demo Man. Even though Scorch was only a few meters away from his commander, crawling towards Scorch felt like an eternity.

Scarecrow finally reached the demo man, and lit up his pyro grenade. The commander was extra careful not to set on 'explosion mode' but instead light it up so it could act like a match.

Scarecrow held the open flame towards the freezing demo man. Slowly, Scorch's body began to calm down as he felt the heat rays dance on him.

"Warm, so warm." whispered Scorch.

The demo man tried to reach for the pyro grenade to hold it closer, only for Scarecrow to snap his arm back and hold it behind him.

"Remember what we said about you and pyro grenades?" quizzed Scarecrow.

"I'm not allowed to use them or unless I want the 'incident' leaked and have me discharged." chanted Scorch.

"Very good." nodded Scarecrow. The commander held the flame closer to Scorch. Soon the demo man's HUD read that his body was no longer suffering from near hypothermia.

Scarecrow closed the flame on his grenade and slumped back. The 4 counter terrorists turned to face the ponies.

"Oh my gosh, this is bad." moaned Rainbow dash.

"I can't believe this happened." sobbed Fluttershy.

"Ah..Ah don' know what ta say except....wow." muttered Applejack.

"Just calm down girls, everything is going to be fine!" assured Twilight.

"How is everything going to be alright?" yelled Pinkie, struggling for breath.

"Twilight's right." beamed Scorch. "The 4 of us are fine. Sure we're messed up a bit internally, but we-"

"We're not talking about you!" interrupted Rainbow Dash. "Thanks to Scarecrow, the elements of harmony are gone!"

X-ray snapped. "That's why you're worried!" Even though he was on the ground, he still was able to scare the ponies.

"Those FUCKING elements almost killed us and had not Scarecrow destroyed those pieces of shit, we would have been done for! Now you're upset because we didn't fucking die?"

"You don't understand." pleaded Twilight. The ponies recoiled as they felt their minds exploding from stress.

"OH I UNDERSTAND! Those elements aren't preservations of harmony! They're God Damn WMDS just like-"

"X-ray." snapped Scarecrow. "What happened with the elements wasn't intentional."

X-ray remembered and chastised himself for forgetting that crucial fact.

"Fine, but seriously? We're near dead and you're worried about those hunks of junk?"

"The elements aren't junk." countered Rarity. "The elements are the most important thing to the history of Equestria!"

Scarecrow wasn't going to regret what he did in a billion years, but he listend.

"The elements weren't meant to kill you." explained Twilight. "The elements of harmony were forged by Star Swirl the Bearded before the founding of Equestria to help combat against threats-"

"Like us?" hissed Overwatch.

Twilight's eyes widened "No. No! The elements became important to Equestria because decade after decade, many discordic beings attacked the country and the ponies of the purest heart would gather them and fight off threats. They're the most efficient way to protect our country."

"You won't need the elements as long as we're here Twilight." assured Scorch. "If anyone tries to harm you and the rest of pony kind, they'll be dealing with us."

"Ah'm sorry, but shootin' things won't be enough nor should it be an option for the things we face." puffed Applejack.

"Then why did the elements decide it was valid to kill us?" questioned Scorch. "What they were doing; torturing and breaking us to death was anti harmonious to me."

"You don't get it!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "The elements were the most powerful magical things in existence. We thought they were unbeatable. They were a sign for hope! Now that Scarecrow's destroyed the elements he's-"

"Conquered harmony." nodded Scarecrow.

"Yeah!" yelled Pinkie. "If the elements aren't powerful then we don't what is."

"We always thought the elements were going to preserve peace in Equestria forever." whimpered Futtershy. "Looks like we were wrong."

"It's not just that." sighed Twilight. "The elements were important to us in a personal level. They were a bond that signaled our Friendship. As we grew closer together, so did the power of the elements."

The atmosphere was silent for a while. Shadow found themselves slumped to a rock side by side, lying on their backs.

"You don't need any pieces of jewelry to keep your friendship if we don't need masks or hood to keep ours." said X-ray.

"What's important is that you'll still care for each other and do your best to protect society even if the road to do so will seem more difficult. That's harmony." added Scorch.

"I...just don't know how I'm going to tell this to pony society." shook Twilight. "I'm an alicorn princess and the element of magic. Ponies actually worship me! If they found out what we've done, then there'll be panic. Ponies won't be able to grasp the concept that the elements are gone. My relationship with society will be ruined for ever."

"It wasn't your fault Twilight. Or any of your ponies fault. You lost control of the elements." piped up X-ray.

"I still can't understand how we lost control of the elements." remarked Rarity.

"When we were about to cast the teleportation spell, I just lost all contact with my necklace." added Fluttershy.

"The elements couldn't just act on their own!" explained Twilight as she placed a hoof on her chin. "Although I read that if some huge chaotic threat that had to be taken out no matter what was around, the elements would override the bearer's desires and stop at nothing to quell the chaos."

"Twilight." said Scarecrow slowly. "Who do you think would have more disharmony in them than a group of violent, cynical, foul mouthed assassins?"

"You're not evil." insisted Pinkie. "Chrysalis, Sombra, Discord and Nightmare moon were way worse than you."

"Have they killed? Have they swore? Have they psychologically tortured their victims whether it was intentional or not?" questioned X-ray.

The ponies didn't know how to respond to such a statement. They reflected on how their adversaries and based on their encounters with the humans, questioned if they were truly malevolent at all. Discord may have driven the Mane 6 apart but he was just a trickster, Chrysalis just wanted to take care of her population, Sombra may have been a harsh dictator, but he never did kill or torture the crystal ponies. Their enemies didn't even resort to mild controversial acts like racism, profanity and drug abuse.

And without being having bad intentions at all, Shadow surpassed the worst of Equestria in disharmony.

"But y'all are soldiers. You're supposed to do good right?" asked Applejack innocentally.

"Yes. But that doesn't change the overall taboo of our acts." explained Scorch. "Also, humans are a bit more...liberal when it comes to things that would be considered....not safe for work."

"But your not evil right?" gasped Fluttershy.

"If we were evil, we would be running to town and start hanging foals and burning the elderly." muttered X-ray.

"You know, I think violent thoughts weren't really helping your case." beamed Rainbow Dash.

"Still, how are we going to explain the elements?" said a worried Rarity.

"We'll take credit and just explain the situation honestly." proposed Scarecrow. "I'm sure everypony would understand."

"Can we focus on getting back to town?" piped up Overwatch.

The ponies and humans silently agreed.

"By the way, how long have we been knocked out?" questioned Scorch. "What time is it."

"It was around 8:35 pm by the time the elements decided to fuck us up." answered Scarecrow. He tried to hold his arm up to check his wrist computer. "Right now, it's 7:47 am and we've been up for twenty minutes or so."

"We woke up half an hour before you 4 did." said Pinkie. "We were trying to wake you up."

"By the way, this place looks different." noticed X-ray. "I don't remember this clearing nor these set of rocks to be here."

Rainbow Dash flew up in the sky. She looked closely and could see in the faint distance, where a pile homes.

"Hey I can see Ponyville from here!" pointed the rainbow maned pegasus.

"That doesn't make any sense. We were more than 20 miles away from the settlement last night." awed Scarecrow.

"Hey do any of you remember some white flash before we passed out?" asked Applejack.

"You're right." nodded Twilight. "The feeling of that blast was awfully similar to a teleportation spell as well." Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "That must mean-"

"The teleportation spell the elements of harmony were supposed to cast worked!" cheered Pinkie.

"Well at least we got something." shrugged Scorch.

"Has the pain stopped?" asked Fluttershy.

"NO!" said Shadow uniformly.

"Can you walk?"

"NO!"

"Can you get up?"

"NO!"

"Our conversation about the elements was a nice way for us to forget that the inside of our body feels like it's gotten ripped to shreds." remarked Scarecrow.

Overwatch nodded to that statement.

"Which reminds me." spoke up X-ray. "Twilight, my first aid kit fell out of my utility belt while I was crawling here. Could you get it for me?"

Twilight turned around to face a red bag (obviously non Epona origin.) with a cross on it. Twilight complied to X-ray's request and used her telekinesis to try lift the bag.

For some reason however, the bag was double the mass she estimated it to be, forcing her to double her efforts on the kit.

The bag landed on X-rays lap. The commando unzipped the bag to find a series of medical appliances inside like bio-gel that released a helpful bacteria that would detect and seal wounds, disinfectants which also rid the body of any kind of poison, universal blood transfusion kits, bio-tissue which also cauterized any type of wound.

X-ray found what he was looking for, grade A pain killers. He took 4 out of the sac and handed one of each to his squamates. The members of Shadow slipped the pill underneath their bandannas and swallowed them.

"What were those?" asked Rarity.

"Painkillers." replied Scarecrow. "They'll end inside pain on any level but our HUD is estimating another few hours of trauma before we'll be fine."

"We don't have a few hours." nagged Applejack. "Ah told my folks ah'd be home last night tops!"

The other ponies made similar remarks. Remarks the squad couldn't care less about.

"You know for a pony that's supposed to be the alicorn of the imaginary concept of magic, you don't seem to know a lot of so-called spells." stated Scorch.

Twilight snarled. "What do you mean! I might not know everything, but I sure as heck know a lot of spells like reverse gravity or duplication and-"

"So where was our healing spell?" questioned X-ray. "Or the 'wolves piss off' spell or the 'make a bridge out of kinetic energy' spell?"

"Well I could cast those." remembered Twilight. "But the thing is...I kinda forgot I had those."

"Who calls themselves the element of magic and forgets all the magic they know?" snarled Overwatch.

Twilight formed a tear in her eye. A second later, she felt another invisible knife stab her in the brain.

"Okay, I'm sorry that was mean." apologized Overwatch. He meant it.

"Must I remind you all that we can't be sitting around here all day. We need to get to Equestria!" piped up Rarity.

"Don't worry silly!"

Everybody and everypony turned to face Pinkie Pie. Behind her was a large wooden cart that was powered by 6 strong wheels.

Rainbow Dash was shocked "Pinkie how did you-"

"While Shadow was healing themselves, I used my sugar induced super speed to knock down a bunch of trees and find a group of wheel shaped rocks which I carefully crafted into a horse powered cart." giggled the party pony.

"Wow Pinkie, you can work really fast when motivated." complimented Scarecrow. The counter terrorist turned to face the Mane 6. "Can we keep her as a bio weapon?"

"NO!"

"Hold on." pointed X-ray. "Wouldn't it take the 6 of you just to drag one of us a few meters ahead before collapsing?"

"Well you are heavy." pointed out Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know why, but for some reason I feel that cart isn't strong enough to support us." added Scarecrow.

"What do you mean? The dimensions of the cart are solid to hold all 4 of us." countered Scorch.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling that cart is lighter than what it should be."

"Yeah and ah don't think we'd still be able to push you around in dat cart." nodded Applejack.

The 4 humans turned to face Twilight.

Twilight started to tremble and sweat. "Why are you 4 looking at me?"

"We're waiting for you to say you will cast a force inversion spell on us that will reduce the pressure our body is supposed to exert on external objects." answered Scorch.

Twilight blushed "Oh sorry. Guess I forgot...heh...heh."

Twilight's horn lit up and the alicorn cast a spell that she used to help her walk on clouds on each commando. She had to do it one by one because they each required a tremendous amount of energy alone. When she was done, she had gotten tired.

Soon the squad felt the force they placed on the ground was becoming less apparent. Now the hard part was getting to the vehicle.

Shadow couldn't stand up yet so they got on all fours and started to crawl to the cart. The ponies in the mean time fastend the ropes on them.

"Fucking hell, we've been reduced to quadrupeds." gritted Scorch. The commando faced the Mane 6. "No offense."

The ponies rolled their eyes or either gave out a sigh.

Finally, Shadow reached the cart and climbed on top. To their amusement, the cart did not break down.

"So this is what it must feel like to be a pegasus on clouds." stated X-ray as he noted how much more solid everything felt.

"I can't believe I'm going to do this." whined Rarity as she tied the ropes around her.

"Quit your bitching and pull like the horses you are." joked Scarecrow.

Author's Notes:

So yeah, the elements are gone. Good luck Equestria!

And yes, I'm addressing the issue of Twilight forgetting her powers.

Chapter 12: Kill one, get two free

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."- Martin Luther King Jr.

"UGH!" groaned Rainbow Dash, trying to pull the cart.

"I'm getting tired." moaned Pinkie Pie. The party pony had nearly given up.

"Come on sugarcube we're almost there!" motivated Applejack.

In order to move the nearly paralyzed Shadow squad, the equines had to pull them through a cart that Pinkie had built. Despite Twilight using a force inversion spell to help reduce Shadow's pressure on the device, pulling the contraption was still a pain in the flank.

In 1 hour, the equines only managed to cover 3 miles.

Twilight and nopony else could take it for much longer. Even Applejack, who had a ton of experience moving carts felt like she could collapse any moment. Taking a break was out of the question as the mane 6 was already overdue to get back to Ponyville. It would only be a matter of time before the town started panicking.

Twilight's forehead was trickling with sweat and the lavender mare was panting hard. She turned back to face the masked humans.

"Are you 4 enjoying yourselves?" sarcastically remarked the alicorn.

"YES!" chanted Shadow Squad nonchalantly.

While the mares were busy at work trying to haul their behemoth bodies, Shadow was quite relaxed in the kart. Scarecrow was reading a comic book, Overwatch was drawing the entire scene, X-ray was playing some open world shooter on Scorch's laptop while Scorch was watching a movie on X-ray's tablet.

While the squad didn't have to move, one thing was bringing their ride down.

"God damn it, this wood is hard." muttered X-ray.

The commando looked up to see his 3 friends staring right at him. X-ray pondered what he had said only to realize that he just made a sexual intendo.

"Ohh....uh"

As if Scarecrow ignored him; "Well sitting on this cart isn't exactly soft but come on, we put any more weight on this cart and it'll collapse to saw dust forcing us to trot like dirty animals."

The cart stopped.

"No offense! Again!"

The cart continued moving.

"We'll never make it at this rate." whimpered Fluttershy. "I still have to get to my animals, I hope they didn't miss me. I mean it's not like they can't take care of themselves-"

"Well maybe we would have gotten there sooner if someone didn't suggest using a peacekeeping force for travel!" suggested Rainbow Dash.

With his left hand still holding the comic, Scarecrow lifted his right and and flexed it up and down to give the 'blah, blah, blah' gesture.

Being handless, the ponies obviously didn't get his insult.

"I know what you mean Fluttershy!" sighed Rarity. "All those dress orders still need to be done, Sweetie Bell is probably crying and I still need to feed Opal."

"Opal?" said a voice from behing the ponies.

"Oh, Opal is the name of my cat." explained Rarity.

Scarecrow snapped his head from his comic book and onto the white unicorn. "You have CATS! As in those furry quadrupeds with claws, whiskers and are fucking lazy."

Rarity tried to wash the insult out of her mind and nodded 'yes'.

"I have a cat too." whispered Shadow's commander.

"This is impossible. Cats are from EARTH!" yelled Scorch. "Earth is a bunch of light years away."

Twilight rolled her eyes at Scorch's unnecessary cussing. 'Wow Earth and Epona are similar.' awed the mare. "First animals and than myths. But their planet came first and is much older than ours so-"

"You think cats were enough." snorted X-ray. He snatched his tablet from Scorch and turned on an app for analyzing flora. "All plant life within this vicinity are some form of oak, maple or spruce tree."

Overwatch face palmed. This information was overwhelming.

"Oh well at least we don't have to waste time gathering plant samples." shrugged Scarecrow.

"New theory!" piped up Scorch. "What if Epona was really a piece of Earth that was blasted of during the planet's formation and traveled across the galaxy, carrying life that would eventually evolve into these things like they would have on Earth?"

The other ponies looked at Twilight pleadingly.

"I don't know what to say to that but it sound ridiculous." replied the alicorn.

"Oh and a talking pink horse with wings and a horn isn't?" countered Scorch. Overwatch almost laughed. Almost.

"Na, Twilight is right." implied X-ray. "Based on the distance between Epona and Earth, it would take billions of years for said fragment to reach its current position while this planet is thousands of years old, not to mention it would have deteriorated in a vacuum over time."

"But this planet does seem artificial." reminded Scarecrow.

Rainbow tried to join in on conversation, but it was hard to think while pulling the load. "If everything on this planet is Earth like, then it would have to have built by humans."

"Nu-huh" shacked Scorch. "By the time your planet was in the process of formation, we had barely discovered the wheel. If we were ancient astronauts there should have been a monument or technological ruins of some sorts."

"He's right." added Scarecrow. "If we can find old pottery from Paleolithic times, then we should be able find something as obvious as a spaceship."

"Or it could have another race from Earth that had the technology to build worlds." proposed Rarity.

"That wouldn't be possible as well." countered X-ray. "Humans are the only species on Earth with intelligence. If there was another species that was an intelligent, again, we should have found some ruins."

Pinkie's eyes widened with an epiphany. "But if the aliens got rid of all their technology on purpose because they felt bad that you weren't so advanced and wouldn't get discouraged from discovering and let you have room to build your towns and cities?"

"That is stupid even for you." remarked Scorch.

"Hey!" responded the pink Mare.

"Any species that powerful would have probably assimilated our ancestors for slave labor." said Scarecrow.

"Why would they do that? Slavery is horrible." whispered Fluttershy.

"Didn't stop the white Englishmen from enslaving the blacks." panned Overwatch.

"My that's a dark piece of history you have there." gulped Twilight. "I couldn't imagine anything worse than that."

The humans snorted. There were way worse things about Shadow alone.

Applejack sniffed in the air. "Gosh, ah can smell 'em apples from here."

"Speaking of home, you never got to inform us about your families." panned Scorch. His voice turned blubbery. "Do they know you're in the big scary forest?"

Rainbow Dash snorted "Hey! We're not telling you-"

"My mother and father aren't in town as of now." interrupted Rarity before the humans could mistake Dash's stubbornness as a threat. "My sister Sweetie Bell lives with me and the boutique I run."

"I work at Sugarcube corner with the cake family. My real family works at a rock farm!" cheered Pinkie.

"Pinkie...why the fucking hell would your folks work at rock farm?" questioned X-ray.

Pinkie's mouth dropped. "I'll have you know you mr. meanie, that rocks are important and have many uses."

"Yeah, but you don't need to grow them. Besides working at a rock farm sounds depressing." muttered Scorch.

Pinkie knitted her eyes and continued trotting forward. Now it was Applejacks turn to speak. Her voice turned from general annoyance to depression.

"Ma folks are gone." sighed the cowpony. Her force on the roped suddenly dwindled.

Scarecrow dropped his resting position and stood up straight. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Why would' ya be?" questioned Applejack.

"Growing up without parents must be hard right?" asked Scorch.

"Na." shook the cowpony. "Ah have ma little sister Applebloom, ma Granny Smith and ma brother Big Mac. Together with the rest of the apple clan, we got quite a lovin bunch."

"My mom died a while back." explained Rainbow Dash although she didn't sound depressed. "My dad still lives in Cloudsdale. I haven't seen him for years come to think of it."

"Is he as hot headed as you?" teased Scorch as he was lying on his back.

"Nah." blurted Rainbow Dash. "He's been a solitary guy even before my mom died."

"My parents are still in the military." whimpered Fluttershy.

Shadow-minus Overwatch-laughed hard at the statement. Their laughing unknowingly put Fluttershy in a lot more pain than she already was.

Suddenly Scarecrow forced himself to stop laughing. "Um, Fluttershy, by any chance, were your parents...rough on you?"

The yellow pegasus nodded. Her friends surrounded her to comfort her, they knew how much of a sensitive topic her upbringing was.

Suddenly Shadow realized why the yellow mare had been so timid all along. Sure the entire Mane 6 was near soiling themselves because of Shadow's overall malevolence, but Fluttershy was a severe case.

"Hey we're sorry, we shouldn't have been so inconsiderate." apologized Scorch.

"No offense but you've been pretty rude the entire time we've known you." snarled Twilight.

"Well this is what happens when your government sends young adults with a ton of combat experience." shrugged X-ray.

"Well we could have been nicer had this planet not essentially be an Earth rip-off." kicked back Scarecrow.

"Anyway." sighed Twilight. "My parents are just civilians living in the capital city. My brother is captain of the royal guard and he's married to Princess Cadance."

"Is Cadance related to your diarchs?" yawned X-ray. The ride was starting to get comfortable.

"No." blurted Twilight. "Although people call her Celestia's niece for some reason."

"Now it's your turn to enlighten us about your families." ordered Rarity

"That's classified information." said Scarecrow blankly.

"Oh please! Like they're capable of doing anything to us if they know something like that!" remarked X-ray. The ponies turned to face the rifleman.

"Especially now that we got rid of their elements."

The pony's faces of confusion became scowls. They had never been so frustrated in their lives.

"All of our parents are still on Requiem." explained X-ray. "Good thing as well since its basically the planet with the lowest insurrection support. I have a brother slightly younger than me. He's training to be a cargo pilot."

"I have two younger brothers." added Scorch. "The youngest is graduating high school by now. The older is training to be a business man."

"I have an older sister." sighed Overwatch.

"A HOT OLDER sister." chirped Scarecrow.

Overwatch punched his commander in the chin. It actually did quite a number on his barrier.

Scarecrow was unharmed and spoke as if nothing just happened. "I have a younger sister. She's a veterinarian."

"Oh my, that's a wonderful job. Taking care of all those cute animals." complimented Fluttershy.

"What about your parents?" began Rarity. "Do they know about your...profession."

"Their not exactly supportive." chuckled X-ray. "We're not family guys so we haven't been in contact with our parents for quite a while other than the 'I almost died today' or 'Guess how many people I killed today?' text."

"Are they aware your that your making first contact? And a pretty bad one too?" asked Twilight.

"Nope." said Shadow in unison.

Meanwhile on Pewter city, Requiem

"Honey, where's Robert? (Scorch)" asked his mother.

"Some uncharted alien world." replied his father.

Back on Epona

"Please tell me ya'll are gonna be healed soon." wailed Applejack. The ponies couldn't continue pulling any longer.

Scarecrow checked the time on his watch. "Actually the medicine was supposed to finish taking effect 5 minutes ago."

"WHAT!" screamed the mares.

"Thanks for the ride anyway!" cheered X-ray. The rest of Shadow got up and jumped into the air. The lighter gravity allowed the squad to soar at distanced that even impressed Rainbow Dash before landing.

Scorch stood upright and faced Twilight. "Hey Twilight we won't need a force inversion anymore."

Twilight rolled her eyes and cast another force inversion spell on Shadow. Once again trying to cast on Shadow despite their apparent size required Twilight to use double the force she would use normally.

Shadow felt the ground feel less like a solid piece of titanium but instead soft, mushy dirt like it was supposed to be. Their feet were now exerting force like it was supposed to.

The squad nodded and continued walking, despite the 6 sweaty mares suggesting otherwise.

"Come on. We're less than 5 miles away!" motivated Scorch.

"Speak for yourself! You weren't the one pulling." gritted Rainbow Dash.

"Look on the bright side Dash!" skipped Pinkie. "We'll never get the chance to exercise like this again and get super duper strong muscles."

"That's something I wouldn't mind missing." shook Rarity.

Suddenly Shadow tensed and turned east. Simultaneously, the squad drew their weapons.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong? There's-"

Scarecrow shot a fist in the air to silence the mare. As Shadow started tensing, the mind fuck the mares were getting started to escalate.

"ROAR!"

The Equines eyes widened and they headed into a group huddle. Disturbed buy the monstrous cry.

"Hissss!"

Suddenly trees were knocked down and the voices became more and more apparent. Out of nowhere, a giant, black, lizard appeared, with three serpent like heads and sharp, pointy claws.

"What do you know, it's a damn Hydra." awed X-ray.

Overwatch shot up his sniper rifle and aimed at the head of the hydra. Right when the hooded sniper was about to fire at the gazing serpent, Scarecrow placed his hand on the barrel.

"Overwatch don't engage." ordered the masked soldier. Scarecrow turned to face the cowering ponies. "Twilight, Hydra heads regrow unless they are set on fire right? That way, their wounds will be cauterized and their cells can't multiply to make up for the damage."

Twilight gave a nod.

"Then we'll rip it's fucking heart out!" threatened X-ray. The hydra snarled at him.

"Hydra rounds are supposed to be bullet proof due to tight cell structure." gulped Scarecrow.

"Bullshit, our rounds are full metal jacket, that's bullet proof proof!"

Scorch looked at each of his Squad mates. "I'm not allowed to use incendiary ammunition after the "incident". Do any of you have some by any chance?"

"Don't look at me." defended X-ray, still staring at the hydra's middle head. "I'm using FMJ rounds."

"I'm using said rounds for my LMG and shotgun." said Scarecrow.

Overwatch shook his head no.

The hydra gave out a large roar with all three of its heads. The force of the shout was strong enough to flip off Shadow's hoods. Just before Twilight could analyze their 'manes', the squad flipped their hoods up with fast reflexes.

"What are you waiting for?" yelled Scorch to Scarecrow. "Throw your fucking pyro grenade at it!"

"I'm still trying get over the shock that I'm looking at a damn hydra! Not to mention it's moving it's heads fast." responded Scarecrow.

"Twilight can you set it's head on fire or some shit?" asked X-ray.

Twilight stopped nibbling on her hooves and used Cadance's technique to calm her self. "I can summon a flame at will, but to do it to burn off a hydra's head is magic I have yet to be competent in. Plus I'm not helping you kill." Twilight went back to being a coward.

"You know it hasn't attacked us for some reason." pointed Scorch. The demo man adjusted his shades "I think it wants something."

"Fluttershy." called Scarecrow.

The yellow pegasus piped up from the pile of cowering ponies.

"Can you please tell this lizard reject to fuck off?"

Fluttershy for some reason couldn't find herself to pull off her 'stare.'. It was probably the human's odd magic of somehow scrambling her mind.

The yellow pegasus flied up to the hydra. The 3 headed behemoth stopped growling and turned to face the floating mare.

Fluttershy cleared her throat and spoke in an ever sweet voice. "Um Mr. Hydra, can you please." Fluttershy blushed a bright red. "F...ffff..fuuu"

"I didn't mean it literally!" scolded Scarecrow.

The yellow mare paled at the insult. "Mr. Hydra, these 4 humans (the hydra snarled when he heard Fluttershy say 'human) don't want to hurt you unless you want to hurt them and nopony want's that. Can you just leave and enjoy your day if that's okay with you?"

The hydra gave a series of snarls and growls.

Fluttershy faced the humans. "He says he wants you to apologize for your tyranny."

The humans were dumbfounded underneath their masks. Scorch spoke up.

"Fluttershy, tell this jerk that we've never met him before so we're not apologizing for jack shit!"

Fluttershy looked at her friends first. They were all literally paralyzed with fear. Rainbow Dash and Applejack never looked so frightened and for once didn't care if they were showing it. Rarity had fainted and Pinkie was trying to wave air to the white mare. Twilight was lost in thought as well as fear. Fluttershy knew deep down however, that her friends weren't afraid of the hydra attacking them, they were afraid of what Shadow was going to do to the hydra.

Fluttershy collected her thoughts. "Mr. Hydra, there seems to be a mistake. These humans have done nothing wrong to you, yet. So they don't have to apologize for anything."

The hydra snapped all three of its heads and charged them straight at the masked humans.

Shadow's reflexes kicked in and the 4 of them vaulted, flipped and jumped aside to avoid the hydra's sharp teeth.

Overwatch drew his rifle and used his HUD to no scope a head. The hydra's left head dismembered and blue animated blood spilled from it's neck. Said blood spilled all over the Mane 6. Each one of them gave out a high pitched scream. Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack squealed.

Suddenly the now two headed hydra stood up. It's two remaining heads gave a hiss and from where the third head had been cut off, two new ones grew.

"Nice job Overwatch!" scolded Scarecrow. "Now there are 4 heads for each of us."

"On the bright side, I got a blood sample." proclaimed X-ray. He held a vial that had contents of they hydra's wound.

The hydra swiped its tail at X-ray. The rifleman jumped in the nick of time, almost loosing his blood sample.

The 4 soldiers wasted no time firing at it's chest, hoping to rip of its heart. Much to Shadow's dismay, as bullets entered the hydra's system, the wounds immediately closed, undoing any effort their bullets did.

Two hydra heads launched straight at Scarecrow and Scorch. Both masked commandos side stepped and Scarecrow gave his aggressor head a jaw shattering kick.

The hydra recoiled. It wasn't about to loose to it's prey. Much to the beast's frustration however, it seemed like the humans were having fun making it's life miserable.

Scorch readied a rifle grenade and aimed it at the hydra's chest. Suddenly there was a loud 'plop' as the explosive was launched from the rifle and hit the hydra right where its heart should have been.

The hydra roared in pain as its entire mid-section was exposed. The Mane 6 nearly vomited at the sight of the 4 headed beast's internal organs.

Right when Scarecrow and X-ray fired bullets that would have ripped the Hydra's (four) hearts, its hide regenerated.

Shadow groaned in frustration. Killing a giant insurrection mecha would have been easier. Suddenly, the beast turned to face the Mane 6 who due to being to afraid to move or think, were crowded behind a rock. The Hydra realized that the ponies were making no effort to aid him in facing his adversaries.

"Traitors." it said in its native language. Right before Scarecrow finally got a clear throw with his pyro grenade on the hydra's heads, all four faces lunged at the ponies.

Thankfully, the equines dodged the attack and scrambled.

The hydra roared (ignoring all the holes in it's body that were harmlessly regenerating) and charged at the helpless ponies.

The equines managed to cover some distance in their adrenaline like speed. However, the hydra was about to catch up to them. Splitting in different directions was not an option for the Mane 6 as the forest's trees were closely packed in this section, making crashing easy.

Unfortunately for the 4 headed lizard, Shadow was much faster. Right when they were about to catch up to the beast, X-ray had realized something.

"Guys? Is it just me or do you notice something off of the hydra's colors?"

Scorch's eye knitted. "Yeah, hydras are supposed to be green if they're male, red if they're female and if they're black...than that must mean-"

"It's the fucking hydra King!" awed Scarecrow. "That explains why its Autotomy readings are off the chart!"

"If we don't kill it, it's going to kill Twilight and the rest of the gang!" screamed Scorch.

The hydra finally caught the Mane 6 at a dead end. Right before it could lunge-

"Pulse grenade out!" yelled X-ray.

In the heart of the moment, a blue cylinder with a flashing green light and white lightning bolt landed in front of the hydra. Right when the beast looked down at the device, the green light flashed red and a huge shockwave struck the hydra.

The 4headed beast yelled in pain and was frozen still by the electric current. It was also vibrating violently.

Suddenly a small force, like a gust of humid wind struck the ponies. However, they did not go into shock like the giant black lizard.

"Twilight set its head on fire!" shrieked Pinkie.

Twilight tried to spark her horn with a flame, but for some reason felt like she couldn't absorb any infrared energy from the atmosphere. She couldn't even feel her horn.

"Twilight bash it with a rock!" screamed Applejack.

Twilight tried to yank a tree with her telekinesis but couldn't feel the essence of the tree. And once again, she couldn't connect to her horn.

"Twilight do something!" pleaded Rainbow Dash. It was only a matter of seconds before the hydra was going to overcome its electrical punishment.

"I can't. I can't feel my horn." admitted Twilight.

"What?" questioned Rarity. The white unicorn tried to grab hold of a near by boulder with telekinesis, but much to her shock, she couldn't fell her horn as well.

"My magic isn't working too!" screamed the white unicorn.

Suddenly the atmosphere had gotten hotter. The hydra was no longer covered in blue electric sparks, but instead a blazing red fire. The very look of which wasn't Eponan.

The equines covered their eyes at that gruesome image. The hydra was about to yell in pain until...

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

When the Mane 6 opened their eyes, they found all of the hydra's heads dismembered. Instead of regenerating, the sockets in the neck were covered with a black, non animated ash.

After noticing that they were covered in more blue blood, the ponies heard something coming from their right. They turned around to see Shadow uncloak and reveal themselves.

Scarecrow calmly addressed the ponies. "Is everypony alright?"

Pinkie Pie stared at the humans. "You....killed the hydra."

"Your welcome." growled X-ray. "Had we not killed it, the mutant lizard would have killed you."

"Tell us were you were when the hydra was being shocked!" demanded Twilight. "It was a good thirty seconds in before it you decided to do something. I thought you abandoned us!"

"We were waiting for you to use a god damn fire spell on that piece of shit." answered Scorch. "But once again, you seem to forget-"

"I didn't forget this time!" stood up Twilight. "I was about to set it on fire and knock it out with a tree but for some reason, after you threw that...thing, my horn stopped working."

"So did mine." added Rarity.

"What the hay did ya throw at the hydra anyway that caused 'em sparks to go flyin' around?" asked Applejack.

"It was a pulse grenade." answered X-ray. "It draws energy from solar or conventional electric outputs and stores them within its base. When I set it off, it releases an electromagnetic pulse of the stored energy, causing organics to feel a paralyzing shock but causing electronic devices to shut down."

"We don't need to worry about pulse grenades though. Our suits are EMP proof." added Scarecrow.

"Is there anything that will kill you?" asked Rainbow Dash.

Scorch folded his arms. "And why would you like to know that Ms. Dash?"

"Wait a minute." piped up Pinkie Pie. "You said that your pulse thingies switch off things right?"

"Electrically operated appliances yes." nodded X-ray.

"What if it switched off our horns?" gasped Rarity.

"That's impossible." assured Scarecrow. "X-ray's pulse grenades should only disable electromagnetic devices and......wait a minute, X-ray you said the way horns work is through electromagnetism within brain pulses so-"

"My Pulse grenades don't just disable tech, they disable magic." interrupted X-ray.

"Wow something that could turn off magic. I wish I has something like that once in a while." remarked Twilight. Twilight thought of the times she faced Discord and Trixie. Oh how easy it would have been to subdue them had they had their magic turned off.

"Traitor." Everypony and everybody turned to Fluttershy.

"It called us a traitor." whispered Fluttershy. "It said that right before it attacked us."

"You said something about it wanting an apology of some sort of tyranny." added Scarecrow.

"What could he mean by that? You said humans have never been on this planet before." reminded Twilight.

"I have no idea. I bet he just mistook us for someone else." proposed Scorch. "Although how you mistake someone for something that's clearly not of your world, I have no idea. I guess Hydra's are retarded."

"Although....human myths, human culture and Terran plants? Something isn't right here." pondered Scarecrow.

"By da way," piped up Applejack. "You do realize what's gonna happen now that you killed da Hydra king?"

X-ray snorted. "Yeah, now we have the entire Hydra species up our ass as well."

Author's Notes:

For those of you who don't get the title; when you take off a hydra's head, it will grow back with two.

Chapter 13: Black and White all Over

"It is better to be alone than in bad company."-George Washington

"For once in my lifetime, I have no idea what the fuck is going." groaned X-ray. The counter terrorist shot his arms up in the air. "We have mythical creatures that want to kill us for some reason, mythical ponies that don't want to kill us for some reason and a planet whose very nature and culture is ripping us off for some reason."

"You don't think all of this connected some how?" proposed Twilight.

"I for one know what is going!" inhaled Rarity. "We are getting this hydra blood clean off our coats."

In order to subdue the hydra, Shadow needed to dismember all 4 of its heads. However, a lot of its blood spilled all over the Mane 6, covering their bodies in splashes of dark blue in addition to their coat colors.

Scorch rolled his eyes. "Can't you just take a bath when we get back to ponyville?" The demo man turned to face X-ray. "I never thought I'd meet a bitch whiner than you."

"How dare you call me that!" shrieked the white unicorn. "Under no circumstances am I nor my friends going to walk into town covered in blood, we'll look ridiculous."

"You mean more so than usual?" mocked Scarecrow.

"It doesn't matter whether we look ridiculous or not." spoke ip Twilight. "It's blood. When ponies see us, they'll think we've killed. And ponies ARE NOT used to the subject of murder like you 4."

Shadow just shrugged.

"Hey, how come you 4 are never covered in blood?" asked Pinkie. "You meanies have done nothing but shoot your problems but there's no blood anywhere. Your armor stays a wacky blacky!"

"Well duh!" exclaimed X-ray. "When blood covers us, it doesn't come in contact with our armor, it comes in contact with the kinetic barriers."

Scarecrow made a sliding down motion. "All gunk just slips right down! You throw all the dirt you want at us and our armor remains squeaky clean."

"Oh how I wish such a concept would apply to all the garments I've made." dramatized Rarity. "I've lost count of how many times my creations have been tarnished."

"Well we're gettin' close y'all." puffed Applejack. "Check it out!" she pointed.

Across the trees lay a dirt path obviously not made by nature.

"Looks like we're making progress." nodded Scarecrow. "Move along."

Twilight flew infront of the group. "Wait. Before we get to town, there's someone I need to see."

"Don't you mean 'somepony'?" chuckled X-ray.

Twilight shook her head 'no' "You'll see."

The Mane 6 knew exactly who Twilight was talking about. The squad just decided to follow along. While traversing the dirt path, there was a fork in the road. One that lead east while the other led west.

X-ray was looking at feed his recon drone was sending him on his writ computer. "Drone says there's a lot of activity on the east side of the path."

"That's probably ponyville!" cheered Rainbow Dash.

"I'm not comfortable with everpony and my animals seeing me covered in blood." whispered Fluttershy.

"Don't worry, they won't." assured Twilight. The alicorn turned west and motioned the group to follow with her head.

"Hey Twi, doesn't this path lead ta Zecora's place?" asked Applejack.

Twilight nodded. The humans picked up their walking pace and soon outpaced the rest of the ponies. All the while, the alicorn was aware of a very important fact. She spoke in a slightly militaristic tone.

"Remember girls, there's poison joke near Zecora's hut. Be careful and pay attention. I don't want any of us repeating the same mistake like last-"

"OH MY GOSH, SHADOW GET OUT OF THERE!" screamed Pinkie.

The humans looked at the ponies with dumbfounded expressions. Once again, the equines were paralyzed with fear. It was not fear out of horror but the "oh my gosh, what have you done?" kind of fear.

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow causing his shades to flip up. "Is something wrong?" he calmly asked.

"Do you have any idea what you're standing on?" shrieked Rainbow Dash.

The squad looked down and saw themselves standing amongst a group of blue flowers. The flowers were much shorter than them and only went a quarter way up their leg. Slowly, the squad looked up.

"We're standing on pretty blue flowers?" sarcastically remarked Scorch.

"That's poison joke!" yelled Fluttershy. She started waving her fore hooves rapidly.

"Poison what?" asked X-ray.

"Poison joke is plant that causes various afflictions to the body. What it does is totally random!" explained Twilight. "It can cover you in spots, make you shrink, and give you a totally different voice."

"Ach, imagine having X-ray's bitchy voice!" mocked Scarecrow. X-ray in turn elbowed him in the jaw.

"I don't feel any different." remarked Scorch. "Any of you guys feeling messed up?"

The squad turned to their wrist computers to check their vital statistics. A schematic of their bodies appeared on their HUDs. Nothing was wrong according to the reading.

"What are you waiting for? Get out of there!" screamed Pinkie.

The squad looked at each other before walking out of the poison joke field. Scarecrow sighed and crossed his arms.

"Are you 6 sure, that these plants make you messed up?"

"Hey we don't lie partner." growled Applejack.

"The last time we were here, we made the mistake of running through those plants." began Pinkie. "Then all these weird things started happening to us like Rarity getting all puffy, Applejack shrinking, Twilight's horn getting all floppy-"

The humans burst into laughter based on Pinkie's unintended sexual reference.

"So," started Rainbow Dash with a grin. "Weird plant causes all sorts of diseases randomly. Please explain that?"

X-ray snorted. "Simple, poison joke instills a wild card virus into you."

"A wild what?" questioned Twilight.

"A wild card virus is an infectious agent that varies in its symptoms based on the DNA of the infected individual. The first strain of a wild card virus was discovered on the planet Hippocrates in the early 23rd century. While each virus strain still has a single cure regardless of its symptoms, it is often difficult to detect you have a wild card virus based on the agent's unpredictable nature."

Twilight nodded and tried to process that information while the Mane 6 stared at X-ray blankly, not caring their minds were being slightly raped for looking at him for too long.

"Do you...actually memorize all of this?" said Rarity slowly.

X-ray nodded his head rapidly.

"Those signing up for planetary recon need to be adept in at least higher learning biology." boasted Scarecrow.

"That still doesn't explain why none of you were infected." pointed Fluttershy.

"Like we said......a few minutes ago. We haven't actually come into contact with anything due to our barriers." remarked Scorch. "Besides don't we have to see your little friend?"

The ponies nodded and moved along the path. This time, Shadow made an effort to slow down and keep behind them.

"Finally, we're seeing someone new." groaned Scarecrow. "I'm getting sick of the same 6 technicolor horses."

"The feeling is mutual." growled Rainbow Dash in a low voice.

Suddenly there was the sound of magazines being loaded into a gun. Rainbow turned around to see a barrel of a gun pointing at her face. The blue pegasus screamed and fell down in shock.

"Was that a threat?" growled Scorch with his rifle pointed at the equines.

'NO! NO! NO!" shirked Rainbow Dash. The other ponies crowded next to her. Rainbow pushed them aside.

"I'll do anything you want, just don't hurt me or my friends!" nearly cried the pegasus.

The blue mare walked to the feet of the squad and started kissing their feet one by one. The other members of the Mane 6 were in shock as they had never seen their friends stooping to something so low.

Suddenly there was a snicker from Scorch, followed by a full on outburst from the rest of the squad.

"Your expression was priceless." laughed X-ray.

Scarecrow shifted his voice to sound like Rainbow Dash. "I'll do anything you want." then he made the sound of kissing noises.

Rainbow Dash blushed violently and right before she could burst, Pinkie came to her aid.

"That was a joke? Jokes should have you laugh with ponies, not at them! Thanks to you, Rainbow Dash now feels horrible, what do you have to say Mr. Meanie?"

The squad calmed down and gave a genuine apology in unison. "We're sorry Dash, we wont tell anypony about this."

Rainbow Dash flew up. "That's right you better!" she warned. Then she gave a snicker. "Although that prank was genius."

The group continued to walk for a minute. On Shadow's radar, a structure with a yellow blimp, signaling life was detected.

Right when Zecora's hut was in view, the ponies noticed, the lack of human foot steps. The 6 equines turned around to see Shadow frozen still. Underneath their bandannas, their mouths were hanging down.

Twilight flew towards the 4, unsure of their sudden shock. She flexed her hoof in front of them "Um...Epona to Shadow?"

"Is something wrong." asked Fluttershy.

"That hut....is African." gasped Scarecrow.

"Afri-what?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"Africa used to be a continent on Earth." started Scorch. "A thousand years ago, the people of Africa used to live in huts that were constructed JUST LIKE THAT!"

"Fabulous, more culture clash." face hoofed Rarity.

"I think we should have a talk with your pony friend to see where she got the idea for that design." proposed Scarecrow.

"Zecora ain't a pony." muttered Applejack. "She's a Zebra."

It was as if Shadow's brains smashed like broken glass. The 4 of them slowly snapped their necks to the ponies, who were very uncomfortable with their movements.

"Sentient ZEBRAs?" said X-ray.

"There are Zebras from Earth too?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"Yes!" screeched Scarecrow. "And they came from fucking Africa."

"Look I know it's all very confusing but once we have a chat with Zecora, you'll figure things out. She's a great potion master, honest." insisted Twilight.

"We better." gritted Scorch.

X-ray rolled his eyes under his mask. "You said she was an potion master right? Pfft, that's rich."

"Do you have to go around debunking everything you see?" asked Pinkie.

The 4 humans nodded and started marching towards the hut. Their foot steps were so strong, they were leaving holes in the ground.

Rainbow Dash flew ahead of them to stop them in their tracks. "Hold on! You can't just march into Zecora's hut like that! She'll freak out and you won't get any of the information you want."

"Just stay hidden until we can introduce you, if mean if that's okay." requested Fluttershy.

The squad sighed and cloaked, leaving them invisible. Inside the hut, faint chanting was heard.

Scarecrow's voice startled the ponies. "Guess what, her chanting is pure ancient African as well."

"Hurry up with whatever you need to do so we can start questioning this bitch." ordered X-ray.

The ponies couldn't give X-ray a dirty look because they didn't know where he was standing, so they proceeded to head inside the hut. Inside the structure, the friendly yet odd smell of potions hit their nose. All along the walls were artifacts from the land of Zebrica.

The ponies soon found themselves looking at a familiar striped equine with tattoos and jewelry all over her body, balancing perfectly on her tail while observing a potion vial. The Zebra needed to be in perfect focus or else-

"HI ZECORA!"

The Zebra gave a yelp and tumbled, dropping her potion vial on the ground. Right before the glass could shatter, Twilight used her telekinesis to pick it up and secure it on the table.

Zecora looked up to see a cheery pink pony. Speaking in her usual rhyme format; "Oh my, Pinkie Pie. I did not see you come inside and not welcoming a guest hurts my pride."

"It's okay Zecora, we know you well enough." chuckled Twilight. Other than her close friends, Zecora was the only one who didn't change her views on Twilight once she became a princess. She didn't immediately drop to the ground and start worshipping. Just the way Twilight liked it.

Suddenly Zecora's eyes grew the moment she realized the Mane 6 was covered in blood.

"Oh dear, I am filled with fear." she gapsed. "You all have blood on you, what ever did you do?" The Zebra started backing away.

"It's not what ya think partner!" assured Applejack. "We didn't kill. We got blood on us because-"

Zecora calmed down. "I'm sorry, I should have known you would never kill and never will. But come, we must clean this gore on you before somepony gets the wrong clue."

"Finally!" groaned Rarity.

Zecora went through her drawers searching for the right potion that would have easily cleared off blood on fur. Finally she found the right agent and held it up with her teeth. Using her fore hood, the striped equine motioned the blood covered Mane 6 to follow them.

Outside her hut was a small pond that she often used to heal those who were sick using her various healing agents. Slowly, Zecora tilted her head and the potion dispersed into the lake, giving it a slightly whiter color.

Once Zecora was done, she used her exceptional hearing to listen to the sound of hoofsteps coming from somewhere, even though everypony was standing still.

"I have a feeling that someone is watching us and scheming." muttered the Zebra.

Twilight's ears plopped up when she heard someone snicker to be followed by what sounded like a punch to the face and a 'shush'.

The ponies one by one entered the pond, keeping some distance to themselves to make things seem awkward. The water was cool and slowly, the hydra blood started to dissolve.

"So Ponies," started the Zebra. "While the blood stains clear, mind telling me what brings you here?"

Twilight spoke up. "Hey Zecora, have you ever wondered if there was life out there?"

Zecora looked up the sky as if she was gazing at stars despite it being early morning.

"Since I was a filly, other Zebras called me silly. I always believe the stars held another race, who were all living on a happy place. But a thought like that, is like saying the planet is flat."

"Well Zecora, looks like those other Zebras owe you an apology." snickered Rainbow Dash.

The Zebra raised her eyes.

"Before yesterday, a group of alien soldiers landed on the planet." nervously sated Twilight.

"You say like it's something bad, did these aliens do something to make you sad?" questioned Zecora.

"Well they're not evil. They're military so they don't harm innocents. They even protected us while traversing the forest." whimpered Fluttershy "They're just-"

"Foul mouthed." said Rarity.

"Mean." added Pinkie.

"Scary." added Dash.

"Agressive." remarked Applejack.

"Cynical." finalized Twilight.

"But it's not really their fault." defended Fluttershy. "They have to be mean. This planet is completely new to them, and not everything is happy with these aliens being here."

"But I thought everyone would celebrate alien life, not attack them with strife." countered Zecora.

"Well anything that isn't us wants to outright kill those 4." sighed Rainbow Dash. "They took out a legion of Griffins, a pack of timberwolves and a king hydra."

"So that's why you were covered in gunk." realized Zecora. "Do they just want to kill everything they see, those punks?"

"They might be troublesome." spat Applejack. "But every time they needed to kill, it was in defense."

"But did they have to resort to violence? Shouldn't a space faring being should have more sense?" questioned Zecora.

"Before we move on." moaned Rarity and she watched the last traces of blood disappears. "What is this made of? It cleans stains right off."

"It is an ancient Zebra cleaning aid, only the trained potion maker will know how it is made." chanted the Zebra.

"What potion?" yelled a mechanical voice. "You just mixed Ammonia and detergent."

Zecora spun around rapidly. "Who goes there? I do not see you anywhere."

Suddenly 4 hooded and masked bi-pedals uncloaked and revealed themselves to the Zebra. Zecora was taken by surprise and fell back. The moment she laid eyes on the aliens, her head exploded with pain, some of her vision, blurred and and she heard a piercing screech. It was as if she was hit by Fluttershy's stare.

The Mane 6, still dripping wet rushed to Zecora's aid. Pinkie, with he mouth filled with water, spat on the unconscious Zebra, waking Zecora up.

The striped equine looked up to see the 4 black clad behemoths staring at her. The ringing in her mind died down but still lurked in there.

"I swear." muttered Scorch. "What is it with everything on this planet looking like it got hit by a flash bang every time they look at us?"

The Zebra shook her head. "Oh my, you just appeared out of the sky."

X-ray raised an eyebrow. "Why do you rhyme? It doesn't really sound like a fun time." suddenly X-ray realized what he did.

Scorch laughed. "Ha, X-ray's doing it to! If I started rhyming I don't know what I'd do." Scorch then froze in realization.

"Man you're rhymes are really gay." mocked Scarecrow. "You keep ruining its art Scorch and X-ray." Scarecrow stopped laughing and face palmed.

Everyone was now looking at Overwatch. "I'm not doing it." shrugged the sniper.

"Rhyming is for pricks and for all I care, it can go suck our dicks." Overwatch immediately groaned.

Zecora laughed at the irony of the situation. "My name is Zecora, master of mysterious potions and the owner of an artifact emporia."

"There is nothing mystical about potions Zecora, you can explain everything from fauna to flora." explained X-ray.

"Yeah these 4 think they can debunk everything we call magic." pointed Rainbow Dash.

"We can't explain everything, only the information that our minds bring." countered Scorch.

"But magic and mystery is just an excuse, when logic and reasoning are not in use." rhymed Scarecrow.

Zecora hummed. "Could you explain how a mustache potion works, I used it once to punish some dorks." Zecora remembered how Snips and Snails had caused a lot of trouble last week while trespassing in her hut.

"Easy, that thing you call a potion was just hair growth hormones that affectes facial hair. We used similar sciences to cure baldness" informed Scorch.

The demo man's eyes shot up. "Hey I stopped rhyming and at what great timing!......ARGH!"

Zecora once again sounded uneasy. "Why is your armor black as night? It only fears me with fright."

"Our unit is meant to look scary, it makes our enemies weary. This armor also helps us hide in shadows, to attack unsuspecting fellows." rhymed Scorch.

Zecora gave a nervous chuckle. The Mane 6 were right, their presence caused only anxiety.

"And why must you where that mask? It doesn't help your face bask*" quizzed the Zebra.

"The reason why we wear these, is to hide our face from civvies, and to stop alien bacteria and viruses from entering as they please." informed Scarecrow.

"So you are the ones who defeated the Griffins and Hydra? At least those monsters caught up with their karma." chanted the Zebra. It was evident that Zebras didn't get along with the other discussed mythical creatures.

"Yeah we're pretty tough, but if your friendly, we won't be so rough." chuckled X-ray.

The squad looked over the Zebra and saw the other ponies trotting away. Scarecrow raised his hand to form a shouting gesture.

"Hey you six ponies get back here! It's our job to look after you queers!"

The ponies sighed in defeat and galloped back to the humans. Oh how they wanted some peace and quiet for once.

Zecora was getting curious. "Mind telling me about you? The 4 of you are rather new."

Scarecrow nodded. He tensed to force himself not to rhyme. "The 4 of us are humans. The latin phrase is homo sapiens. We all originate from the planet Earth but for the last half millenium, we've colonized hundreds of planets."

Zecora got a dreamy feeling in her eyes. "You live on more than one planet? Then I give your species a plaudit."

"We were sent to Epona to find intelligents beings and experience the planet first hand. Clearly we got more than what we wanted." chuckled X-ray.

"Are you military? If so that you have quite the responsibility." asked Zecora.

"We're technically counter terrorists." said Scarecrow. "My unit is called Shadow squad. You can call me Scarecrow. That's Overwatch, Scorch and X-gay."

"IT'S X-RAY. Ignore him for he is having a messed up day." roared the rifleman.

The urge to rhyme was overwhelming Scarecrow. "Zecora, what if I told you, we have Zebra's on our home world too?"

The Zebra was struck with awe. "They have Zebras on Earth. Are they intelligent or do they live amongst the dirt?"

"I'm afraid Zebra's on Earth are just creatures." shrugged Scorch. "They don't talk, they don't rhyme, they don't brew potions, they don't live in homes and their societies are graze and mate."

"The ponies of Zebrica would be intersted in hearing this, for it is not a fact I would want to miss." rhymed Zecora.

"Wait did you say Zebras came from a place called Zebrica?" questioned X-ray.

Zecora nodded.

Scarecrow placed a hand on his bandanna "On Earth, Zebras came from a place named Africa. The similarity is uncanny. Not to mention you're culture is ancient African as well."

"But we've had this language and culture for thousands of years, ever since our species' premier. Zecora noticed the past tense. "Also you said came from Africa, does that imply-"

"Um Africa hasn't existed for...quite a while now. Don't worry there are still Zebras obviously." assured Scorch.

Zecora was lost in thought. "I am not good in history as I associate with mystery, but I read book, that talked about creatures with your look."

The humans tensed and looked closely at the Zebra.

"My books talked about a bi-pedal race with hands who use to give our species commands. They were brutal and frugal, until one day came, where life would never be the same, the species disappeared, and Zebra freedom was cleared."

"Obviously those books weren't talking about actual humans right? I mean we're light years apart." stated Scorch.

"I did not learn history strictly." chanted the Zebra. "Although you are likely right, a species so far would haven not caught a historian's sight. In fact it might just be a myth, a field others are better in charge with."

Scarecrow checked the time, it was near 11:40. "Look we can't go into too many details right now since we made a commitment to see the ponies' leader first. But I suggest you contact your leaders to inform them of our presence. After we're done with Equestria we'll traverse to your nation and introduce ourselves. Sorry for the lack of explanation."

Zecora chuckled. "Don't worry it is fine, I will meet my leaders but first I will dine."

The Zebra headed inside. "Farewell, and may you spend your time in Equestria well."

The humans nodded and they turned to meet the 6 colorful ponies. While the humans were chatting with the Zebra, the ponies were enjoying their first uninterrupted conversation for the past few days.

The humans stood infront of the equines and motioned them to move towards town.

"So how was your chat with Zecora?" asked Twilight.

"It was great." shrugged Scarecrow. "She's a nice per-Zebra, we also made a promise to visit her land once we get over yours."

"Oh and Twilight?" started X-ray. All ponies looked right at him.

"No we are not going to assassinate the princesses." Twilight's mouth hung open.

"Applejack, we're not going tear down your farm."

"Fluttershy, we're not going to experiment on your animals."

"Rarity, we're not going to steal your clothes designs and sell them to human fashionistas."

"Rainbow Dash, we're not going dismember your wings."

"And Pinkie Pie, a party would be nice."

All ponies stared at the masked soldiers with confuscian.

Applejack spoke up. "How did y'all-"

"Applejack, you don't hide anything from Shadow." gloated Scarecrow, although the statement sounded better in his head.

Scorch quickly changed the subject. "Hey, I think I can hear chatter a few meters from this position."

X-ray suddenly remembered something crucial. "Guys, if our theory of ponies being similar to medieval society is true, then we may have a slight problem."

"What do you mean?" questioned Scarecrow.

"Well you see, medieval times weren't exactly the best times for left handed people."

Scarecrow brightened up. "That makes it all the better."

The group accelerated their walking pace. Shadow's HUD was reading a large quantity of sentient lifeforms were near their position.

The group brushed past a group of leaves, and right before them, laid a town. It was large, bright and welcoming. The group saw numerous installations within the settlement. Homes, a marketplace, a town hall and farmland were clearly visible."

"Gosh" said Applejack. "Ah really hope we didn't miss anythin' important."

"Don't worry." cheered Pinkie. "Everypony looks happy. I don't think they're panicking."

"Oh my, I have to get to my animals." realized Fluttershy, the yellow pony started to fly ahead until Rainbow Dash flew ahead of her.

"Your animals can wait. Now we have to focus on getting these 4 jerks introduced to town." said the blue pegasus.

"Dash is right." nodded Rarity. "Say Twilight, how will we introduce Shadow?"

"Don't worry everypony I have a plan." assured Twilight. "I say we tacklet the situation slowly, right Shadow?

Twilight got no response.

The 4 humans were staring blankly at the town. Never had they seen such a society like this. The harmony of the working ponies was starting to get to them.

"Are you having a staring contest?" squeaked Pinkie. "That sounds like fun."

Rainbow Dash flew infront of the stupefied humans. "Hey buster, what gives?"

Scarecrow spoke slowly. "This town...is so friendly."

"So colorful..." added X-ray.

"So happy." nodded Overwatch.

"So fucking cute!" yelled Scorch.

"I'm going to hug them all!"

Author's Notes:

*Bask means to expose to light.

I don't know why, but I feel as if this chapter and the one before it feel rushed and not up to my standards.

Oh yeah, Shadow squad is an example of 'bad company' the quote can be referring to.

I need to work on my rhymes.

Chapter 14 and 15 Merge: Ponyville

"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives." Teddy Roosevelt

Right when Scorch started laughing like a maniac, the demo man hit himself to knock him out of his trance.

"Is it just me, or am I being driven more insane as time goes on?" complained Scorch. "Universe damn it. This planet is getting the better of me."

"We're not going to make any allies with that kind of attitude." chastised Scarecrow. "We'll need to approach it slowly and calmly."

Twilight led the way to the town, the humans and the rest of the Mane 6 followed.

"We'll probably cause a moral panic if we just show ourselves." noted Scorch. "We should only reveal ourselves until they're ready."

Suddenly, the 4 commandos disappeared into the air.

"Scarecrow, Overwatch, X-ray, Scorch, where are you?" pleaded the alicorn. Violently looking around.

"We're right here." said X-ray's disembodied voice. "We're cloaked."

The ponies turned to their left, hopefully facing the invisible commandos.

"Listen, you've kind've blown it with us. Ya might as well not screw up anymore." snorted Applejack.

"Well sorry, when we thought about first contact, we didn't think we'd be meeting english speaking mythical equines who're plagiarizing everything about Earth." responded Scarecrow. "Besides, there's a very good reason as to why we act so relentless."

"Why's that?" asked Rainbow Dash.

The commandos paused for a minute. It was as if they had a secret they weren't proud of at all.

"We can't and don't want to tell you." growled Overwatch.

"The fact still remains is that this planet is not how humans pictured meeting with aliens." sighed Scorch.

"I forgive you." stated Fluttershy. "It must be very confusing to end up on a place that's just like your home. Right?"

Right. To be fair, had anyone else showed up in our place. All these anomalies would have gotten the better of them a while ago." noted X-ray. "Regardless, if we're going to meet your princesses, we should probably see how Ponyville functions."

"Hopefully nopony has any reason to kill us too." chuckled Scorch.

"Hey ponies would never attack a stranger!" scolded Pinkie. "Ponies are the nicest and most welcoming creatures to ever walk the face of Epona!"

"Let's hope." muttered Scarecrow.

Meanwhile, the two mares working the fields, by the name of Cherry Berry and AppleFritter respectively turned around the moment they heard the Mane 6 approach. Anxiety however, was quickly replaced by replaced by confucian. From their perspective, the Mane 6 were speaking to an invisible force.

"Who are they talking to?" asked Cherry.

"I don't know." replied Fritter. "I know Twilight's the princess and all with magic powers, but this is just weird."

"They've been at it for the last few minutes."

"They keep looking up too, but there's nothing in the sky."

Cherry started grasping her head with her hooves. "Ugh, for some reason my head just keeps hurting the more I stare at them." muttered the pink Earth Pony.

"I know what you mean." added Fritter, feeling the throbbing sensation as well. "I think we're going crazy for working in the fields too long."

"We should head inside and get water." stated Cherry.

Meanwhile, Twilight broke her conversation with the cloaked humans and noticed two Earth ponies heading inside, with the look of getting the 'Fluttershy Stare.'.

"Hey!" interrupted the alicorn. "I think you humans should head inside, ponies are eventually going to notice you."

"I think you should stay at my cottage. I mean...if that's fine." whimpered Fluttershy. "It's just a few feet from here. And it would give me the chance to check up on my animals."

"I agree." proposed Rarity. "Ponies don't normally visit her house. Besides, we all need to get back to our homes, clean up and catch up on work."

"Oh fuck no." panned X-ray. The Mare's eyes widened "You're staying on our sights the entire time, we're not going to risk you telling ponies that we're evil and have your species up our ass too."

"Please, we're smart enough not to choose enemies we know we can't win against. Especially since the elements are gone." sighed Pinkie Pie

"Twilight, while we relocate to Fluttershy's home, you gather the town for the big reveal." pointed Scarecrow, although there was no point considering he was invisible.

"Hey Twilight is an Alicorn princess, she doesn't take orders from you!" gritted Rainbow Dash.

"No it's fine Dash." insisted Twilight. For some reason, she felt compelled to follow the orders of the humans.

"Ah think we should move, ponies are startin' ta stare." stated Applejack.

Over the meadow, three ponies were staring quizzically at the Mane 6, unaware of their situation. In retaliation, the Mane 6 nervously trotted west where Fluttershy's home would be waiting. The cloaked humans followed, trying hard to slow their walking pace.

Soon Shadow's HUDs read that there were no more untagged ponies within their vicinity. Using neural controls rather than manual ones, Shadow uncloaked.

"Hey I think I should be the one to rally the town. I don't mean to brag, but I can get word out quickly. I am ponyville's fastest flier after all." gloated Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight's the damn princess, she'll have more charisma." countered Scarecrow.

Twilight shook her head down. She wasn't a very good speaker as she always ended up boring somepony, but because ponies feared her, they always gave her false applause.

The humans took awe of the sight of the cottage. When the animals gazed at the 4 masked bi-peds, they immediately started cowering fear at the new sight.

In turn, the humans dropped their jaws at the sight of all the Earth like animals. Their HUDS started clouding their vision with information and data of the creatures.

"Is something wrong." whispered Fluttershy.

"All these fucking (Fluttershy covered her self with her wings) animals are ones from Earth." gritted Scorch.

"Except they're animated and appear to be slightly more intelligent." added Scarecrow.

"Slightly more intelligent?" quizzed Twilight.

"Animals on Earth aren't as...organized as the ones we've seen on here." explained Scorch as he watched what appeared to be a squirrel and a toucan arguing with each other.

"And their expressions aren't as...sentient." concluded X-ray.

"At least it saves you the trouble of having to study them." remarked Rarity.

"Not necessarily." countered X-ray. "I still think we should get a few blood samples." from out of nowhere, Overwatch got out what appeared to be a giant container of needles.

"Tell your animals to get in line." ordered Scarecrow as he drew a threatening and sharp needle.

Fluttershy gulped. Once again, she couldn't bring herself to deny the humans. Right when she was about to fly over to her precious animals, Twilight spoke up.

"I don't think you need to be worrying about such trivial matters." shook Twilight.

"TRIVIAL?" exclaimed Scorch. Had he yelled any louder, the town would have heard him.

"We are dealing with animals that are supposed to have evolved from humanity's home planet, light years away and you expect us to stop caring?"

"Come on, I'm sure not ALL of these are Earth native." shrugged Pinkie.

"Let's see, we have beavers, ducks, squirrels, blue jay birds, eagles, falcons, rabbits, mice, dogs, cats, turtles, wasps (X-ray shivered), ferrets, weasels, chickens and even fucking platypuses." gritted Scarecrow

"Point taken." sighed the pink mare.

"What makes it more strange is that half of these animals are predators to the other, and yet they live in harmony with their environment." noted X-ray.

"Well that's because I train them well." sighed Fluttershy.

"Okay, that is fucking with mother nature big time!" scolded Scorch.

"Do you have to swear at everything?" beamed Rarity.

"Sorry, part of me is trying to get over the shock that I'm staring at multicolored ponies and animals from Earth." sarcastically stated the demo man.

"Well while you 4 wait here with the rest of the girls, I'm going to rally the town. In a hour or so, school will be over and everpony will get to see you." said Twilight, although it was painfully obvious she wasn't excited.

The purple alicorn started galloping back to town before Scarecrow's voice startled her;

"Hey, you realize you can teleport right?"

Twilight turned around and gave a faint blushed. A moment later, her horn flashed and purple mare vanished.

"Now look, ah don't want any of you'all giving ponies trouble while we're here. Is dat clear?" threatened Applejack.

"Sorry, but we can't make any promises." chuckled Scarecrow. "If it was needed, we'd clear Ponyville of the map."

The atmosphere turned dark at Scarecrow's black jokes despite the welcoming environment.

"Why you!" fumed Applejack. "Would ya seriously hurt a filly or colt?"

"If they were threatening us, well then we'd have no choice." snorted Scorch. "We're lawful, not good."

"Besides, it's not like you could do anything to us." gloated X-ray.

Applejack's face turned red. She trotted towards the slender soldier.

"Ya take that back!" growled the cowpony.

"Make me."

Applejack turned around, readied both her legs, and gave an almighty buck to X-ray.

Instead of hitting the masked human and flying a distance, X-ray remained in his position, smirking underneath his mask. Applejack turned around to see that where she bucked X-ray, were a series of transparent purple hexagons. She had only hit his kinetic barrier.

"Try again." dared X-ray.

Applejack scowled and putting more power into her legs, gave the soldier another buck. Nothing happened.

As Rarity and Rainbow Dash watched Applejack try to hurt X-ray, Fluttershy was instantly reminded of her animals that missed her.

"Oh dear, I have to get back inside and feed my animals."

"I'll help." proposed Scarecrow.

Fluttershy turned around. "Y..Y-ou?"

Scarecrow nodded. "My duty is to help civillians, human or not."

"Um..it's fine. Really."

"Nonsense. I insist. I used to help out my sister at the animal shelter."

Fluttershy gave up and lead the human in. Right after she got through the door, she heard a slam. Quickly turning around she saw Scarecrow hunched over, his face glowing purple with his barrier.

"Sorry, I hit my head. Forgot how tall I am and how short you are."

Fluttershy nodded and head inside. The animals inside the room we're awe struck at the sight of Scarecrow's structure and body formation. His non-Epona origin was clear.

The method used to take care of the animals was just like the ones used at the animal shelter. Scarecrow helped Fluttershy carry all the animal litter and pet food around. His strength was the marvel of all the creature's in the yellow mare's home. As he walked, his huge size caused some dents to appear on the floor.

In about 20 minutes or so, the chores were done and the animals inside were fed. Fluttershy was amazed how quickly she was able to get through her tasks, though she felt deep down the animals were moving quickly because they were scared of the hooded human.

Scarecrow retreated to the living room, still hunched. Suddenly he noticed something poking at his arm. Looking down, he saw a miniature white rabbit. If looks could kill. even a 23rd member would be struck down.

Scarecrow ignored the rabbit's expression. "Well aren't you just the cutest bunny ever?" The soldier reached down to stroke the rabbit only for it to hit his hand back with its paw. Much to the rabbit's dismay, Scarecrow didn't feel anything.

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what was that for?"

The rabbit puffed and pointed its hand out the door.

Scarecrow chuckled. "Yeah, like I'm gonna get kicked out of a house by a semi intelligent fur ball."

"Oh, Scarecrow, I see you've met Angel." said Fluttershy's nervous voice.

"Angel? My HUD says your rabbit is a boy." remarked Scarecrow.

In the heart of the moment, the rabbit hopped towards Fluttershy and crossed its arms. It raised its nose up to speak to the pegasus.

When Angel finished, Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Angel, how could you say that about our guest?"

Scarecrow wished he could understand rabbit.

Angel spoke again and Fluttershy gulped. "He's not a monster and I don't think it's a good idea to tell him to leave."

Scarecrow flexed his gloved palms. "Fluttershy if Angel wants me to leave I'll-"

"Don't worry Scarecrow, I think Angel is just hungry." interrupted Fluttershy.

The pegasus flew over to the table and picked up a boll of colorful vegetables using her fore hooves like a scooper. The yellow mare glided to the rabbit and offered the boll to the rabbit.

Angel inspected the bowl with his nose and gave a scowl. In the next second, the rabbit gave the bowl a kick, causing the vegetables to fly on Fluttershy's face. Scarecrow gave a fierce expression underneath his shades and bandanna.

Fluttershy wiped some lettuce off her eye. "Oh I'm sorry. I thought you'd like it. I'll make you one in a moment, just let me feed my animals outside.

Angel face palmed as the yellow mare flew out. Turning around, the rabbit pointed outside to Scarecrow. The commando had enough. Springing to action, Scarecrow dashed to the rabbit and alerted all the animals in the room.

Scarecrow looked down at the midget rabbit. Much to Angel's credit, the white rabbit was unmoved by Scarecrow's fierce size and structure.

"Listen punk." scolded Scarecrow. "You know you're rude when Scarecrow of all people is calling you out." Angel rolled his eyes. "Look here. Fluttershy is perhaps the kindest per-pony I have ever met and the fact that she puts up with you is fucking unbelievable."

The other animals started to look weary. Angel held his ground.

"I want you to stop treating Fluttershy like this. It's my job to make people's lives miserable. So quit acting like a cunt or else you are going to be very sorry."

Angel raised one of his fingers, as if he was trying to flip the bird to Scarecrow. Due to the rabbit having 4 fingers though, it was hard to tell which one he was raising.

Scarecrow snapped his hand at the bunny before it could react and pulled Angel to meet his black mask. Deep down though, Scarecrow was somewhat amazed at the Rabbit's perseverance. He knew he wasn't actually using interrogation techniques, otherwise the rabbit would have needed to go to an asylum.

Scarecrow pulled down his bandanna, not caring of the negative effects and revealed his sharp teeth to signify to the rabbit he was a meat eater.

"Normally a pony would be offended by that. But I'm not a pony. I'm a human and you're a damn animal. You will have to to a better job if you want me to fuck off."

Angel raised his legs, and slammed them onto Scarecrows teeth. Had the rabbit kicked harder, Scarecrow's mouth would have been filled with blood.

Scarecrow could not believe an animated Rabbit could do this to him. After cursing himself for lowering his mask and leaving his mouth exposed. The human returned his gaze to the Rabbit.

"I'm warning you asshole, be nice or you're going to find out your place in the animal kingdom."

The rabbit smirked and spat in the mouth of the human.

Scarecrow had it. Opening his mouth wide, Scarecrow bit and ripped off the lower section of the rabbit with his teeth. Before Angel could comprehend the horror, Scarecrow shoved the rest of the rabbit down his throat. Much to the human's surprise, the midget rabbit fit well in his mouth and its bones broke down from his bites with relative ease.

Scarecrow swallowed the rabbit down an pulled up his bandanna to hide his blood covered mouth. All the other animals were staring in shock.

Fluttershy, on the other side of the house, opened the door and saw Scarecrow hunched over and cleaning his mouth with a tooth pick underneath his bandanna.

The yellow mare was oblivious to the facial expressions of her animals. "Oh, hi Scarecrow. I just finished with my animals outside." Fluttershy looked around the room. "Hey where's Angel?"

Before any of the animals could respond-

"Long story short, Angel a found a cute girl rabbit outside your window and he fell in love instantly, but the the girl bunny would never be tamed and Angel had to answer the call of the wild to be with her so after a moment of thought, I encouraged Angel to moved on and Angel told me to tell you that he loves you and is sorry he was such an asshole."

".....RIGHT ANIMALS?" screamed Scarecrow.

The other animals started to mutter signs he hoped were them agreeing with his lie.

Fluttershy looked sorrow. "Oh...but he just left so soon without saying good-bye."

Scarecrow threw away his toothpick. "Don't worry, I know for sure he's where he belongs."

Fluttershy sighed and headed out the window.

Just before Scarecrow exited the facility, he turned to face the still horrified animals.

"By the way, Shadow hears all and knows all. If any of you speak up, I will see to it that you will be joining angel in my stomach. Oh and by the way, he was delicious. Raw, but delicious."

Fluttershy never did find out.

Scarecrow finally got back to the open fields and gave a satisfying stretch, hearing his back crack in the process. He was glad to be able to stand to his full hight.

The commando looked at the company down the hill. Applejack was still trying to buck X-ray and was getting clearly tired in the process. The scrawny soldier on the other hand, was completely relaxed and was reading a book on his tablet. Pinkie Pie was taking a nap in Scorch's lap, the demo man stroking her Pink Mane in the process. Overwatch was drawing something while Rarity was trying to take a peak.

Rainbow Dash flew in front of X-ray, still being bucked.

"Man how can you tolerate standing still for so long? I'd go insane if I wasn't flying around for at least 10 minutes an hour." stated Rainbow Dash.

Applejack finally collapsed. X-ray lowered his head to the grounded Earth Pony. "I'll give you credit AJ, your bucks are strong like a World War 1 era pistol, but at the rate you were going at, you'd only deplete 5% of my shields at the end of the day." The cowpony gave a small scowl.

X-ray looked up at Rainbow Dash. "You know Dash, you really remind of the Eagle rangers."

Dash raised an eyebrow. "The Eagle Rangers?"

"Yeah, they're the main commando group that belongs to the air force. The fly on anti gravity packs and every one of them is obsessed with speed and flight."

"Do they perform cool air shows like the Wonderbolts?"

"What's a Wonderbolt?"

Rainbow Dash gasped. "How could you not know-"

It was as if Applejack saw X-ray glaring at her underneath his mask. "Sugar cube, he ain't from here."

"Anyway, the Eagle Rangers don't perform air shows. They're soldiers. Their armor is magnetic and when in used in conjugation with their anti gravity packs, makes them the perfect candidate for intercepting enemy VTOLs and transport ships to gun down crew and hijack information and vehicles."

"Do they race!" asked the Rainbow maned Pegasus.

"They're obsessed with racing and all. They get cocky so there have been accidents, but their amour is shielded and like the one a super soldier uses, so there's nothing serious."

"They sound awesome!" awed Rainbow Dash.

"Tell that to the millions their unit has slaughtered." remarked Overwatch, doing a great job of breaking the ice.

Minutes Ago

Twilight materialized in the center of city hall. If she was going to reveal humanity to the equine race, she wanted to make sure that she could organize the event in a way for everypony could see. So, she would have to inform Mayor Mare of the announcement who would in turn get word out and see to it that town was prepared.

She thought the best way to reveal Shadow at once without making a huge scene was to make sure everpony was gathered in the town center, where the humans could wait before uncloaking.

Twilight still panicked about how Shadow was going to explain themselves. All 4 of them were foul mouthed, agressive and rude. These were traits that were not welcome in Ponyville. She'd have to make the counter terrorists swear not to go into detail about their profession of their efficiency in killing and to control their behaviour. However, she knew for a fact that Shadow would make no such promise.

Then there was the media. The moment Shadow was revealed, there would be no doubt their presence would escape the town and make it to newspapers in Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Coltifornia, The Crystal Empire and Canterlot.

Canterlot. Twilight scolded herself for not talking to the princesses about the subject. The humans were clearly messing with her train of thought. There would be no time to see the princesses however, Twilight didn't want to know what Shadow did when they were bored. After all she was a princess anyway. She could trust herself.

Twilight hadn't realized that she was awkwardly being by a group of ponies who were bowing on the floor for the last 2 minutes.

Twilight calmed herself with Cadance's technique and trotted to the reception area. Working as a receptionist was a teal blue pegasus with a yellow mane.

"Excuse me." spoke the alicorn. "I need to see Mare Mayor."

The pegasus was so absorbed in her magazine, she didn't realize who she was talking to. "The Mayor's in a meeting, you'll have to wait for a while."

"No problem." Smiled the princess. The alicorn trotted over to a table and used her telekinesis to pick up a physics magazine. Twilight sat on the share and happily read. She hoped she didn't have to wait too long however, otherwise it would have been wasted time she could have spent with the princesses.

Still, reading the magazine was a great way to clear her mind.

In a few minutes the receptionist looked up to see the princess of magic reading a magazine. Suddenly the pegasus realized who she had denied nonchalantly.

"Your majesty." said the receptionist nervously. "The mayor will see you now."

Twilight smiled and galloped to the mayor's office.

The alicorn knocked on the door with her hoof and spoke with her cheery voice. "Mayor Mare, it's me Twilight. I have something to dis-"

Suddenly the door slammed open and two ponies who the Mayor was talking to were thrown out to the other side. Before Twilight could react, the Mayor pulled her in and slammed the door closed.

"Princess Twilight!" shrieked the Mayor as she went into a deep bow. "What a pleasant surprise. What brings you here."

"Mayor, I don't know how to explain this. But I'm going to need to have the town rallied in around an hour."

The Mayor got up. "Anything for you, your majesty. What's the occasion?

"Mayor, I assume you were informed of the anomally in the sky the other night."

"Why yes." nodded the Mayor. "Many astronomers are still trying to determine its meaning. Have you figured it out? I would expect nothing less of the Princess of magic."

Twilight blushed. "Well, me and the other element bearers trekked to the Everfree forest to discover why an army of Griffins had gone missing in the woods and..."

Twilight took in a deep breath. "Mayor, do you believe aliens?"

"Why yes." cheered the Mayor. "Don't tell anypony this, but I'm part of a group that's dedicated to the discovery of alien life outside the planet."

"Well consider this your lucky day."

The Mayor's mouth hung open. "Do you mean that what came out of that cosmic object-"

"Were aliens. There are 4 of them to be exact. They call themselves humans. THey're nothing like you've ever seen."

"Humans huh? You sound disturbed by them."

"Well they're elite soldiers, and they're not exactly the most pleasant of people. Let's just say they were the reason the Grififn army went missing."

"Oh dear. Are they agressors?"

"The humans we've met are rude and very lethal in combat. However, part of their attitude is residue shock from meeting us ponies and a number of other factors you'll have to hear them explain. On the other hoof, they're pretty tolerable if we have done nothing to threaten them. Now, they want to make contact with the pony race."

"Twilight you still sound worried, do you have a guard unit we could get in touch with-"

"I don't think having guards is the best idea because it might provoke the squadron. Like I said, they might be harsh, but they still have some sense of soldier honor. The fact that I'm unhurt proves that."

"I see. Could you elaborate on their appearances for me please?"

"Well they're bi-pedal and have hands and feet. They're also all wearing a black armor that covers their body. But be warned. There's something about their appearance that doesn't seem right and staring at them for too long gives me headaches."

"I see. Have the princesses been informed of this affair?"

"Not yet. I want to be certain that the humans won't cause any conflict in small towns before getting the nation up up their throats. This also reminds me, no word can get out until I speak to the princesses."

"Don't worry Twilight, I'll see to it that everything will go smoothly."

After a few more minutes of discussion. Twilight readied her self and teleported to Fluttershy's home.

To her pleasure, the humans hadn't relocated.

Scorch was the first to notice her. "So I trust we're going to be making a fiery reveal to town?

Twilight nodded. "But first, you're going to have to follow a few certain instructions."

"You're timing could not have been more perfect Twilight!" exclaimed Rarity's voice. The white mare joined the group. Her body smelled of fragrance to the ponies. The human's only smelt in air due to their mask's filters.

"I just finished taking a bath and vanished the revolting stench."

"Oh boy!" cheered Pinkie. "After we make the big reveal, I got a super duper surprise for you!"

"Oh joy." sighed X-ray.

Before Twilight could speak, everypony was turned to Overwatch, ignoring the entire ordeal and still drawing.

"What are you drawing anyway?" remarked Rainbow Dash.

Overwatch slowly looked at the ponies. After a moment's glare;

"I'm just drawing what the 6 of you would look like has humans."

Overwatch flipped his art book and showed his design to the Mane 6. The ponies were too invested into the art to realize that they were looking at unmasked humans.

Overwatch's vision was perfect. Not only was his technique professional, but his idea of a ponified Mane 6 was as well. Each body structure of the humanized Mane 6 was spot on along with the clothes they would have been wearing had they been humans. Their hair matched the ponies' Manes and their cutie marks were on the humanized's arms.

Rarity used her telekinesis to flip the to the next page.

There was another drawing of the human Mane 6, only this time they were wearing revealing lingerie and were lying seductively on a bed with naughty expressions.

Before the ponies could realize what Overwatch's drawing meant, the marksman ripped the paper from his notebook, crumpled it up, snatched Scarecrow's pyro grenade, and set the erotic drawing on fire.

-------

Everypony was gathered at front of city hall, eagerly waiting for the revelation. Fillies and colts wasted no time trying to get a better view. The young ones climbed on their parent's heads to see what would await them or dashed to the front of the stage. The Pegasai used their ability of flight to get an ariel view of the event and to make it less crowded at the front.

There murmurs of excitement amongst the crowd. The citizens of Ponyville weren't exactly informed of what would await them, but when it was a gathering requested by princess Twilight herself, nopony would dare not show up out of a mixture of fear and respect.

Twilight finally approached on stage, the alicorn looking over the entire population of the town. In turn, her subjects motioned themselves in a faithful bow.

Raising her hoof, the purple mare signalled the town to rise. The ponies did so. The rest of the Mane 6 were faithfully positioned next to their friend, ready to support her.

Clearing her throat, the alicorn spoke into the microphone;

"Good afternoon my humble subjects. It is with a great honor that I announce that a remarkable discovery had been made a few days ago."

The eyes of the ponies widened at the statement. Cheers of excitement were growing louder and more audible.

"For a long time, we the ponies of Epona believed that the vast and infinite cosmos were a lifeless void with our planet being a tiny beacon of life. Now I am pleased to say, that we have been proved wrong."

The excitement and whispers amongst the crowd was reaching new levels.

"A few days ago, my and friends and I made a history defining discovery. At night time, an extraequestrian ship descended from the stars and landed on our planet. Today marks the day that Epona will make contact with the human race!"

Suddenly, the 4 black clad bipeds uncloaked and revealed themselves to the public. There were a mummer of "oohs" and "ahs" as the ponies were mesmerized by the humans.

Scarecrow stepped in front of the microphone, shot up his hand, and managed to silence the crowd. The other 3 members of Shadow stood behind him. With a calm demeanor, his mechanical voice spoke into the device.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman. Or should I say fillies and gentlecolts?"

The crowd laughed hard.

"I am Scarecrow, the leader of Shadow squad, one of the most renowned units amongst the human military. I am pleased to say that my squadron will act as the representatives of our race on your world."

The crowd gave a cheer.

Right before Scarecrow could speak, he froze and placed his index finger on his hood where his ear would be. The other 3 members stood uncannily still. The ponies stopped cheering all the while.

It was as if the excitement was just murdered.

"Don't worry, we'll get it done sir. Scarecrow out." growled the commando in a strange montone voice.

Scarecrow looked up to the crowd of confused ponies. Much to Twilight's confusion, Shadow was drawing their weapons and loading magazines in their gauss operated rifles. Scarecrow spoke calmly in the microphone.

"The Federation has declared you an enemy of the state. You will be terminated within 5 minutes."

Before Twilight could react, Scarecrow fired a bullet of his LMG that ripped through a confused mare's face and struck down another pony behind her.

Just as the crowd could comprehend the horror and flee, a massive explosion engulfed the entire front of the crowd. Twilight turned left and saw Scorch's grenade launcher smoking. The demo man passively fired another.

"TWILIGHT!" yelled a voice to her right that belonged to Pinkie Pie. It was off however, it sounded mechanical.

Twilight, eyes full of tears and hears nearly bleeding due to the gunfire, slowly turned around to see both Rarity and Pinkie Pie dead and slumped to the floor. Both their heads had holes in them that were leaking with blood.

Suddenly, X-ray uncloaked, his SMG clearly had been utilized. The masked soldier pointed his sidearm at the alicorn and fired two bullets at her. Just before they could strike the mare, a stroke of luck allowed the Mare to teleport aside.

Much to the princesse's horror, dozens of ponies had been slain before her, their blood mixing together.

"TWILIGHT!" shrieked another voice that should have been Rainbow Dash's, but was too masculine and robotic.

The blue pegasus was trying to lead others to safety but it was no use. Shadow simply gunned them from the distance with ease. In the heart of the moment, an invisible force pressed against Rainbow Dash's throat and broke her neck.

The force revealed itself to be Overwatch. The sniper, somehow more blank han ever, raised his sniper at a filly and pulled the trigger, the force of the bullet ripping the young one in half and another sniper bullet stuck none other than Applejack in the eye.

"TWILIGHT!" yelled a voice that she knew belonged to nopony but a certain group of humans.

Just when Twilight gained the courage to open her eyes as the screams and gunfire deafened her, Twilight saw Fluttershy leaking with blood with a knife embedded deep in her heart.

The alicorn tried to run as far as possible as her subjects called for their princess.

"TWILIGHT!"

"TWILIGHT!"

"Twilight wake up." said Overwatch.

Suddenly the purple mare's eyes shot open. As she slowly regained consciousness, the blurs of 4 black blobs slowly reconfigured to form Shadow.

"Twilight are you alright?" asked Fluttershy's tender voice.

The alicorn's head was pounding and there she was hearing a small but sharp buzz. After letting her hoofs off her head, Twilight turned to the yellow pegasus and nodded.

"What happened?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah all 4 of us just looked at you for a second and you just immediately blacked out." remarked X-ray.

"I don't know what happened, I felt darkness." lied the Alicorn, She had no heart to say what she dreamed.

"Have you been drinking fluids by any chance? I don't think you've consumed or drinken anything since morning." claimed Scorch.

Twilight shook her head no. Scarecrow's HUD glowed blue as he analyzed their bio readings.

"It seems all of you are near the stages of borderline dehydration. You'll need liquids really soon." warned Scarecrow.

"Don't worry everpony you're friend Rarity planned ahead." cheered the white unicorn.

Rarity used her telekineses to lift 6 water bottles she had brought along to her friends. Twilight and Rarity used telekinesis to hold there bottles while the others cradled them with their fore hooves.

"How do you plan on opening those bottles that without fingers?" asked Scorch.

"Who said anythin' bout fingers?" stated Applejack as she used her teeth to pry open the bottle.

The other hornless mares did the same. Twilight on the other hoof, couldn't find the strength in her to open the casing. "Ugh." she groaned. I can't seem to focus on magic right now."

"Well looks like there's only one thing left to do." shrugged Scarecrow. The commando walked towards Twilight and opened the cartoon bottle with his 'realistic' gloved hands. He then held the liquid to the purple pony who drank it all.

X-ray and Overwatch looked at the mare's bio stats on their wrist computers. "Good news everypony, your vitals are going up. Just keep yourselves hydrated and well fed."

"What about you silly?" asked Pinkie Pie as she licked the inside of her bottle with her stretched out tongue.

"Like we said, human soldiers can go days without food and water. Our bodies are well....augmented to artificially lower the ratio of minerals needed to commit bodily functions." explained Scorch.

"Darn. All the work ah could get dun' if ah didn't need ta eat or drink all da time." sighed Applejack.

"Or all the flying." added Rainbow Dash.

"Alright then, we have a town expecting our presence, let's move." pointed Scarecrow.

"Hold on!" yelled Twilight. Shadow stopped in their tracks and turned around.

"What's wrong?" asked X-ray.

Twilight took in a deep breath and used Cadance's technique. "If the Federation gave you the order, would you fire open on ponies?

The squad paused before;

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!...............................................................no." said the Shadow uniformly.

Twilight gave a sigh of relief.

"But you're soldiers, aren't you suposed to be loyal and taking orders from the government?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Our loyalty belongs to the laws of the UTF constitution." proclaimed Scarecrow. "One of those laws, specifically Law 4 of the armed forces, subsection 5 states; No soldier shall harm another sentient being without due cause or justification. Failure* to comprehend this law will result in court martial."

"So if the government just ordered us to massacre the town for no apparent reason, then by law, soldiers are expected to disregard the order as commands like that are unconstitutional." chuckled X-ray.

"Well that's a relief." sighed Rarity. Fluttershy could breathe easier.

"Although if we go to town and we find out your town is planning on lynching us or feeding us to the hydras, you better be prepared to die." threatened Scorch.

"Well what are we supposed to do if YOU try to attack us?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"Then it's your right to try to stop us." shrugged Scarecrow. "I mean, you'd be dealing with highly trained and heavily armed soldiers, combat drones, interceptors, VTOLs, tanks and Starships. But by all means, try to stop us."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "What's a combat drone, interceptor and tank?"

"I'll tell you when your older." sarcastically remarked X-ray as he stroked the pink mare's mane.

"But before we go." spoke up Twilight. "I want you 4 to promise us that you'll be nice."

"We'll try." sighed Scarecrow. "But like I said, there's a very good reason as to why we, or any other trooper of the 23rd, can't stop ourselves form lashing out at others. But still, we'll try." Really, Scarecrow had no intention to control his attitude, but if meant getting information out of the ponies...

"Pinkie promise?" hissed the party pony.

"You have no pinky fingers to promise off of." pointed X-ray.

"Not Pinkie as the finger but Pinkie as the pony." explained Twilight.

"A Pinkie promise is a solemn oath that you are to never ever go back on. Or else." stated Rarity.

"Fine we 'Pinkie Promise'." flexed Scorch.

"Now repeat after me." instructed the party pony. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." repeated Shadow. Nopony could tell how fake their statement was despite it being blatantly obvious.

"And promise you won't swear." pleaded Fluttershy "Or insu-"

"Don't push it." hissed Scarecrow. "Alright, let's head back to town so we can get to the bottom of this cosmic mystery."

"Right behind you." acknowledged Overwatch.

"Come on, those multi colored ponies aren't going to wait forever. We're probably over due anyway." exclaimed X-ray.

The group started heading to the main sections of town. "Don't worry Shadow, the reveal isn't supposed to happen until another hour and a half or so."

"Now when we get back, we're going to be swarmed by ponies who were worried about our departure." reminded Rarity. "Especially you Twilight, being the princess and all."

"I think the giant, bi-ped, masked soldiers are going to be a bigger concern." countered X-ray. "Which reminds me."

Suddenly the 4 humans vanished into the scenery as they cloaked.

Twilight really hoped they wouldn't wander off. The conversations of ponies made her ears flip up.

The town of cheery ponies filled the Mane 6's heart with warmth and hope.

"So where should we remain until the event begins?" asked Scorch's disembodied voice.

"I reckon' we should head ta ma barn. I could see ma family and get some farm work done." proposed Applejack.

"I don't think relocating to a site with fillies or colts is such a good idea." said Scarecrow's voice.

"I think should head to my home." whispered Twilight. Luckily for the Mane 6, any pony who had seen the group immediately bowed at the sight of the princess. Shadow's cloaking helped the situation tenfold.

"Our databank and HUD doesn't read the presence of a castle anywhere." noted Scorch.

"I don't live in a castle, I live in GoldenOaks Library, it's located inside a tree. And by the way, keep quiet or else ponies are going to start staring." hissed the Alicorn.

"GoldenOaks has been located an marked on our HUD." checked the invisible X-ray. "Alright mares, we're going dark. We'll meet you at the library."

The Mane 6 heard the sounds of Shadow's footsteps grow fainter and fainter into the distance. Before they could try and accelerate their pace, ponies from all over were surrounding their position.

Cries of "Where have you been all this time?", "I thought you left town.", "Why are you calling for a meeting?", "You missed a lot of work." and "What's the gathering going to be about?" flooded the their ears.

In the midst of all the questions, Twilight remembered something important. Spike. She forgot to tell Shadow that she had a dragon assistant and since the squad slew 2 dragons on their arrival of the planet, they were going to think Spike was a threat as well.

Ignoring all questions, the Alicorn teleported herself in a bright light, much to everypony's confucian.

Meanwhile

Shadow used neural controls on their HUD to switch their COMs to make sure that only certain tagged units would hear their radio chatter. The squad also diverted power to stealth capabilities to help solidify the light refraction on their cloaking devices to a point where they couldn't cast a shadow and their foot prints were silent.

The commandos were passing the town quite easily, their HUDs did good job identifying who was nearing their position as well as the overall awareness of the equines. They hadn't caused a single noise to the oblivious ponies.

"I swear cloaking makes everything too easy." radioed Scorch as he jumped over an unstartled mare reading a paper.

"I wish the same thing could have been said about the urge not to start cuddling these adorable things." joked X-ray.

Scarecrow switched to magnetics to see if they were getting close to the library. Sure enough the structure was behind a set of building, Unfortunately, it was also crowded with ponies occupying every inch of the place.

"Split up team. It's too risky to continue walking as a group." ordered Scarecrow.

"Solid copy." acknowledged the rest of Shadow.

The team split in 4 as they approached the library.

Overwatch took advantage of the lighter gravity and leaped on top of a house. Sticking to the roof tops, the cloaked sniper jumped from building to building and nopony was the wiser.

As he flipped to another building, he landed with a bit more force than expected and crashed through the concrete structure.

In less than a second, the still invisible masked commando was up and collected. He hoped nopony had heard him crash. Still though, the dimensions and material of the home indicated that the force he exerted should not have been enough to break down the building.

The sniper suddenly realized his motion tracker was flashing a yellow dot. Quickly turning around, the cloaked sniper saw a small, blue unicorn foal. His HUD red the foal was female.

Right before the foal could awaken, the hooded marksman grabbed a kitten doll and offered it to the young pony who slept soundly in the crib. For once in his lifetime he was almost caught, by a foal. Still, his tactic should have worked.

Overwatch leaped back on the rooftops, approaching the library at a more steady pace.

'It's a unicorn foal, maybe the parents will think the hole was caused by premature magic.'

Meanwhile X-ray stuck to the low ground and positioned himself behind a wall. His HUD marked that the library was just a straight dash from his position. Right before he could sprint however-

X-ray heard a buzzing that could only belong to a certain insect. Jerking his invisible head right he was startled by an abnormally large hornet with the creepiest eyes ever and a noticeable poison gland.

X-ray, the man who had fought worse mutations on extraterrestrial was beginning to loose willpower. The hornet obviously couldn't see the hooded commando but was flying straight where his body was.

Instinctively, X-ray swatted the hornet aside. Unfortunately, the insect's body landed across a stallion with a lucky clover cutie mark and a light brown pegasus mare. Both were clearly stupefied by the insect's unfeasible motion.

"Did that hornet just get swatted out of nowhere?" asked the mare.

Normally X-ray would have pulled out his suppressed side arm and shoot the two dead, but these weren't terrorists.

Charging his speed the cloaked soldier front flipped silently over the pony couple and ran in a straight line to the library. The commando skillfully sidestepped an incoming earth pony and then leaped over a bench with two sitting ponies. Right when the library was a few feet away, X-ray noticed two mares carrying what appeared to be a large couch infront of him.

'Can't go around it. Can't go over it. Let's go under it'. chanted black clad soldier, remembering his training.

X-ray built his speed and slid under the furniture, making no dent on the floor at the same time.

Scorch on the other hand, had no setback along his path to the library. Right when the building was a few meters away, the commando heard somepony, a young filly, crying.

Scorch didn't want to get involved but he remembered his oath. The filly could be seriously hurt. Turning around, the invisible demo man ducked behind a structure where the source of the crying was coming from.

Turning to magnetics to see behind the wall, Scorch saw the outline of a crouched and depresses filly with...glasses? And two others pointing at her.

'Bullies.' thought Scorch. He had to deal with a few at Pewter City high. Scorch knew such a trivial situation was above a 23rd commando, but he just couldn't bear himself to see such a young soul so traumatized.

Taking a deep sigh, the commando circled the building and laid eyes on 3 earth pony fillies. One, the victim, had a puffy red mane and the agressors were a pink earth pony with a tiara and a grey filly with glasses as well.

"Where did you even get those glasses loser?" mocked the grey filly.

"Um...my mom gave them to me. They used to be hers." replied the tearful white filly.

"So stupid is a family heirloom?" teased the pink filly.

Scorch didn't know what was worse about the two, their jokes or their attitudes. The invisible counter terrorist looked aside and a bucket of yellow paint.

Scorch knew a professional shouldn't resort to such juvenile behavior. But it was a planet of talking ponies after all. Expectations meant nothing anymore. Yellow was the color of laughter after all.

Picking up the bucket of paint, Scorch aimed it carefully so no liquid would splash him and reveal his position. With everypony in the vicinity distracted by the ordeal, nopony noticed a bucket levitate by itself and barrage the snobbish pink and grey fillies with a load of yellow liquid.

In the heart of the moment, the red maned filly with glasses started to chuckle at the sight of her yellow colored bullies.

All the while, the cloaked Scarecrow had been waiting in the front of the library. His squad was taking longer than Shadow's normal standards. This planet really was getting to them.

Luckily his HUD showed the outlines of his cloaked squad mates approaching his position.

Scarecrow rolled his eyes underneath his mask. After making sure his COMs weren't set to 'public'; "I know you're only a minute late but how is getting to a library a daunting task?"

"Never mind, you're here anyway." sighed Scarecrow.

"So, should we head inside?" asked Scorch.

"This isn't Vancouver dumb ass. People, I mean ponies actually lock their doors."stated X-ray as he tried to open the locked door to demonstrate.

Scarecrow yawned. "Looks like we'll have until Twilight-"

Suddenly there was an illuminating purple pink flash followed by the presence of a certain alicorn. The princess desperately turned left and right while trying to avoid looking strange.

"Scarecrow, Overwatch, Scorch, X-ray? Where are you?" she nervously gritted.

X-ray tapped her on the mane to signal his appearance. In turn the quine turned 180 and upon seeing nopony that could have possibly touched her, exhaled in relief.

"Come on in." whispered Twilight.

Meanwhile, a little dragon had awoken from his nap to the sound of mechanical voices. Yawning awake, Spike waddled down the staircase with his eyes still closed.

"Hey Twi-"

"DRAGON!" yelled Scarecrow.

The purple dragon shot his eyes open to see an indescribable black-clad bi ped charge straight at him with immense speed. Before Spike could react, Scarecrow grabbed the baby dragon on the neck almost choking Spike to death.

Twilight realized what Scarecrow intended to do.

As the rest of Shadow blankly watched, Scarecrow threw Spike across the room with immense force. Spike hit the wall with a near bone baking impact and struggled to get up.

To finish the job Scarecrow drew his shotgun from the magnetic place. Right when he was about to elevate the weapon however, he felt something tug his gun back.

Scarecrow looked at his gun and saw nobody was pulling back at him, rather it was a certain somepony using her telekinesis.

Scarecrow thrust his arm forward and broke Twilight's spell, freeing his arm. Right when aimed his crosshairs at the dragon, Twilight screamed desperately;

"NO. DON'T KILL SPIKE!"

"Spike?" asked Shadow uniformly.

Tears were forming down the mare's eyes. "That's Spike. He's my dragon assistant and brother."

Scarecrow's mouth opened under his mask. "Why would you have a dra-". Suddenly Scarecrow heard another person crying, this time it came from Spike.

Scarecrow lowered the weapon. "A dragon, crying?"

"Get away from me!" sobbed Spike as he ran to the bathroom and locked himself in.

The atmosphere was densely quiet with Spike's sobbing being the only source of sound.

"You never mentioned anything about a talking dragon assistant Twilight." noted X-ray.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think we'd make it this far." apologized Twilight. "With your arrival on Epona, I haven't been able to think things straight lately."

"Guys we should go apologize to Spike." insisted Scorch.

"You were crying really hard. He really means a lot to you huh?" muttered X-ray.

"I hatched him." glumly said Twilight.

The 4 humans sidestepped to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Spike. My call sign is Scarecrow and-"

"Go away you monster!" shrieked Spike from the inside.

The thought of being called a monster from a dragon got to Scarecrow. "Spike listen to me. I know you're scared but you need to understand. We are aliens from beyond Epona. When we touched down, we were attacked by an army of Grififns and two hostile dragons. After we took them down we assumed all dragons on this planet were-"

The bathroom door opened and the dragon crawled outside.

"Did you say you kiled two dragons?" asked Spike nervously.

"Yes. But they were adults." explained X-ray. "We understand if you hate us."

"No no." shook Spike. "It all makes sense now. Those other dragons are evil jerks. I'm glad I'm not one of them. In fact I kinda see why'd you attack me if you met them first."

"Well after the whole showdown, we thought you would have been one of them to. But I guess you can't judge a book by its cover huh?" muttered Scorch.

Scarecrow tried to apologize. "Again, I'm really, really....... uh."

Shadow's leader couldn't bring himself to say these words. Part of his mental condition not only prevented him from being relentless, but incapable of feeling remorse as well.

Luckily, Spike seemed to understand.

"Hey it was a misunderstanding and I'm willing to put it behind me." shrugged Spike.

Scorch curled his fingers into a fist and offered it to the dragon.

"Hey you have claws too." pointed Spike.

"These are fingers but close enough." chuckled Scorch. "Fist bump."

"Of course! I always have to bro hoof." Spike bro fisted Scorch and the other humans.

"I'm Scorch."

"I'm X-ray."

"Scarecrow."

"Overwatch."

"And we're Shadow squad. Elite counter terrorist unit of the United Terran Federation."

Twilight trotted in. "So I suggest everybody and Spike made peace?"

Shadow nodded and Twilight smiled wide in return.

In reality though, Shadow didn't really apologize. As much as they wanted to, it was not an emotion they could feel. They started to make excuses to justify their actions in their head.

"So you know Twilight?" spoke up Spike. Shadow explained the situation, although they left out the part of the elements getting destroyed.

A while later, the squad approached Twilight, who was reading a book on public speaking.

"So you live in a library huh?" questioned Scarecrow.

Twilight nodded. "The library didn't always look this elaborate though. It used to be much simpler before I became a princess."

"Man, you're one lucky pony."

"Humans read books?"

"Twilight we read stories on holograms that can store millions of virtual books. So yes we read." explained X-ray.

"Scarecrow however is still one of the few people who reads books physically." muttered Scorch.

"I'm also one of the only one in this squad who doesn't need to wear contacts." countered the leader of Shadow.

"You can help yourself to any book you like. I never get any customers anyway. I don't think ponies read."

"Well I intend to change that." snarked Scarecrow as he opened a book from the shelf.

As Shadow helped themselves, X-ray still faced Twilight. "Say Twi, my scanning of town seem to suggest that females outweigh males significantly. My data reads there are only 25 males in the surrounding area."

Twilight giggled. "Well yes, for every 10 fillies born, you get a colt. "The odds of a filly being born are especially in their favor in Ponyville."

"Then how do you keep the population in check. I mean not every male get's married and has foals right?" questioned Scorch as he read his book.

"Well most stallions who get married usually end up having more than one kid anyway. Single childs like Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are actually rare."

Twilight paused awkwardly. "For stallions who don't get married however, they are expected to offer 'services' for mares who want to be single mothers or are in a lesbian relationship."

Scarecrow couldn't help himself. The statement was serious yet vulgar. "So you mean to tell me, stallions fuck all the mares?"

Twilight blushed. "As juvenille as you put it......yes."

Shadow laughed hard. The moment after Spike entered the room with a tray of animated juice pitchers.

"Apple juice?" asked the dragon.

"We're not exactly supposed to be drinking right now." backed off Scarecrow.

"So anyway, funny you 4 showed up after Twilight asked if we were alone in the galaxy." smirked the dragon.

Twilight blushed.

"Twilight you know you're not supposed to ask that unless you want something bad to happen." sighed X-ray.

"Yeah you're lucky we showed up and not some alien mass murderers." assured Scorch. Although truth be told, he probably would have shot the ponies on sight if he knew they were intelligent and discovered his existence.

"Like you're not a murderer?" joked the alicorn.

Chapter 16: The Gathering

"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve."- Buddha

Before Shadow could react to Twilight's joke, X-ray immediately changed the subject. He didn't need the dragon to go insane.

"So Spike, is it true that the fire breath of a purple dragon is so powerful, it can rip through space time and teleport objects?"

"Is it also true Dragons eat gems since their stomachs are so strong?" added Scorch.

"And is it true that Dragons live on forever?" asked Scarecrow.

"Yes, yes and we only live up to 600 years, but a dragon can let go of his life after a hundred." answered Spike.

"Do you intend on living that long?" he questioned Spike.

The young dragon's eyes shot up. "Huh, I never really thought about that. I mean on one hoof I get to eat all the gems I want, but on the the other hoof I'd see everypony I know and love die." The dragon lost himself in thought.

"So how are the books Shadow?" asked Twilight. The alicorn could hardly remember a time when somepony just walked up to her and asked for a good book. Whenever ponies did ask her for a piece of literature it was always related to some scheme. Now that she was an Alicorn, nopony would step in her home unless asked to.

X-ray slowly brought up his masked face to Twilight and gave a small sigh of annoyance. Twilight's ears dropped in response.

"How do I put this nicely? The books we're reading are basically the same Greek Myths we grew up reading as children. No seriously, it's the exact same story, only with ponies."

Twilight's mouth hung open before she gave a small chuckle. "There's no way we've written the same stories as, I mean come on, those old pony tales have to be passed-"

"Twilight we're serious." interrupted Scarecrow. "There's Helen of Troy, The Odyssey and the story of Heracles. But instead of Aristotle, it's ArisTROTle."

"Wow, that's kind of of interesting." smiled the purple alicorn.

"KIND OF INTERESTING?" panned Scorch. "Stories written by ancient humans that have existed for thousands of years is kind of interesting?"

"Where did you ponies find these stories from in the first place?" asked Overwatch, his mask still glued on his book.

"Well obviously we couldn't just steal them from you. When we wrote those stories, the pony tribes weren't even unified as one." defended Twilight.

"Well, not only is the fact that ponies have books on Greek mythology uncanny..." stated Scorch. The demo man got up and started looking at the titles of the books that surrounded him. "Ponies seem to have written EVERY book humans wrote that predated the enlightenment era. But once again, from a pony's perspective."

X-ray started to look around as well. "It's as if you went through the same time periods as western Europe, with only a few subtle differences."

"We couldn't have possibly gone over the same history as your species." defended Twilight. "You don't have a solar princess, nor do humans have magic. Those are big differences and can effect the progress of society."

"You should be right Twilight." nodded Scarecrow as he read the back cover of a book. "But from what I'm getting, it seems ponies feel obliged to follow the foot steps of humanity. Although judging by the dates on these books, it seems that your society has been stuck within a renaissance period for thousands of years without mention of a neolithic or paleolithic time period. It's as if you started from a; let say ancient Greek era."

Twilight puffed. "I hope your not implying that ponies are related to half wits because we have always been intelligent-"

"Oh yeah, ponies believe in creationism." remembered Overwatch.

"Anyway, why should ponies have to change what's good? We've had thousands of years of peace and-"

"Thousands of years that could have been used to advance your species further. Based on the fact that these books, especially ones that are revolutionary, are published at time intervals far more apart than humanity's counterparts, I get the feeling that ponies don't like knew ideas." noted X-ray.

"That's because we ponies have a belief of 'better safe than sorry'." defended Twilight.

"As for echoing our race step by step," began Scorch "I say at the rate your species is going, you're going to inevitably evolve to follow the footsteps of humanity, but at a rate much, much slower than ours. Books published by a pony counterpart of figures such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes have yet to exist apparently."

"So, what you're saying is one day......our species will end up like yours?" questioned the alicorn.

"Well your town does resemble England in the late renaissance." muttered X-ray.

"Seriously though, how is that possible!" raged Scarecrow. "Not only does Epona have human culture, human language and human architecture, but human history as well. That last part can not be a coincidence at all!"

"Well ponies started where we were and we moved on-"

"But you didn't start out from ancient Greek-like city states. You'd have to start out from being a dirty animal, to cave ponies and so and so forth. The only way for ponies to progress the same ways as us is to have either been instructed by humans step by step on how to evolve and I know for a fact that we haven't been advanced enough to guide a species that has existed for thousands of years."

"Doesn't this bother you?" asked X-ray.

"It does actually." nodded Twilight. "But I think it's purely a coincidence since there seems to be no logical explanation for the sameness between our races."

"EVERYTHING has an explanation." beamed Overwatch.

"But if influence isn't a valid reason for our similarities, than how can ponies have numerous historical human counter parts?" wondered Scarecrow.

"Early humans progressed through influence of their environment." remarked X-ray. "Since Epona's environment is different than Earth's, then surely they should have adopted a completely separate culture."

"I am telling you, ponies have always been intelligent. Our earliest influences came from our goddess. Not, plants, rocks or dirt!" gritted Twilight

Scorch crossed his arms. "Fine. Let's assume you were created intelligently. Still, the fact that human historical counterparts exist on your planet would assume that everypony had the mind of a western European."

The 4 humans looked at Twilight's skull.

"Oh no. You are not lobotomizing anypony." beamed the purple alicorn.

The thought that ponies would be following humanity's food steps sent shivers down the alicorn's spine. She was less focused on the fact that being humanity's echo could mean space travel in the near future and was more worried about how it could mean ponies would resort to creating harsh killing machines like Shadow.

"You know," remarked Scorch. "While I don't think your species is a literal copy of ours, you get the feeling that ponies have been through everything western Europe has, with the notable exception of wars. Similar to how Zebras are like Africans and Griffins resemble Persians."

"But to suggest a theory like that would mean you'd have to look at every aspect of pony history." noted Twilight.

"Well looks like there's only one way to be certain." sighed Scarecrow.

Twilight laughed. "There's no way you could read all these book right now, you have a gathering to attend to in a few minutes."

"Who said anything about physically reading?" questioned X-ray.

The 4 members of Shadow each grabbed a book. The next thing Twilight knew, their shades started to emit a red flash, followed by Shadow immediately flipping over the all the pages of book in a second and closing it.

Shadow repeated the process book after book to Twilight's confusion.

"What are you doing?" questioned the alicorn princess.

"We're scanning these books onto our cloud storage." explained Scorch.

That didn't help the mare's situation. "What exactly is cloud stor-"

"Your species is too primitive for me to give an explanation."

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door.

Twilight flew over to the entrance in a rush. Before she opened the door she immediately turned to Shadow; "What are you 4 doing? Hide?"

"Relax it's just Pinkie, Applejack and the rest of the ponies we already know." muttered Scarecow.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "How did you know-"

"Magnetic Vision."

Twilight opened the door and let in her friends quickly before anypony could notice.

Pinkie Pie skipped over to X-ray who was scanning books onto his data banks like wildfire.

"Hey there...." Pinkie checked the notes on her hooves:

"....X-ray, how are you doing?"

"Oh we're just great!" sarcastically remarked Scarecrow before X-ray could speak. "Not only did we find out ponies rip off our language and architecture but our history too!"

"My, what a lovely coincidence." nodded Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Anyway the ponies outside-"

"Who cares what the ponies outside think?" beamed Scorch. "We just discovered that Equestria has pony counterparts of humans. Is that not strange?"

"Not really." said Applejack. "Great minds think alike."

Scorch crossed his arms and turned around. "Wow, we point out something worth an inter-species crisis and you just dismiss it. You're fucking pathetic."

Suddenly, everypony gasped. Not because of the swear, but because Scorch broke his Pinkie promise to be nice.

Pinkie was far less than pleased. The pink mare's eyes were on fire and the party pony was gritting her teeth hard. Scorch just stood in place.

"You. Broke. A. Pinkie promise." snarled the party pony.

"I'll destroy you!"

"Scorch run! for your life" warned Rarity. The demo man stood still.

The pink mare charged at the counter terrorist unleashed her wrath on him while muttering inoffensive curses all the while.
Unfortunately for Pinkie, her 'wrath' failed to penetrate Scorch's overshield.

After a minute of standing still and ignoring Pinkie's anger. Scorch sighed and picked up the party pony.

"YOU JERK. I CAN'T BELIEVE-"

"Pinkie."

"YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE."

"Calm down."

"YOU'RE A LIAR"

"How about I make it up with another Pinkie Promise?"

"YOU'RE A MEANIE!"

"I Pinkie promise to break this Pinkie Promise."

"I'LL SEE TO IT-"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"THAT YOU'LL.....wait did you Pinkie promise to break a pinkie promise?"

Scorch nodded.

"But how does that work and........." suddenly the pink mare shut down.

X-ray groaned and picked her up.

"Like I was saying." spoke up Rainbow Dash. "The ponies outside are ready for the reveal."

"I'll be the one to introduce us." proposed X-ray.

"You don't sound enthusiastic." noticed Rarity.

"I'm a nearly psychotic commando who shouldn't be exposed to the public that is going to be addressing a crowd of multi colored ponies with utmost formality. That doesn't sound ridiculous at all." shrugged the rifleman.

"You don't have to act too serious if it would make you feel comfortable." suggested Fluttershy.

"Actually, I think I should handle the introductions." said Scarecrow. "At least I have a chance of not breaking down laughing the embarrassing nature of the situation."

"We're not even meant to be a first contact team." noted Scorch. "We were just meant to scout ahead until a proper team would touch down. Then dragons came."

"Ah think y'all do fine. Ponies are a fun lovin' bunch anyway. Just be nice." insisted Applejack.

"Right. Nice. I can probably do that." sighed Scarecrow. "Let's just hope these ponies will cooperate in turn. We'll need a pretty good excuse for revealing ourselves to our officers."

"By the way. I want you to get rid of those weapons right now." ordered Twilight.

"Disarming us will be viewed as threat." glared Scorch.

Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. These humans were the stubbornness group she had met.

"All right Shadow form up on me." ordered Scarecrow. The 3 other members approached their CO and cloaked before heading outside. "The moment we're done meeting with the princesse's we're getting to the bottom of this planet right away."

"I'll wait here!" called Spike from behind. The dragon had some napping to catch up on.

The cloaked humans easily dodged the oblivious ponies as the approached the gathering site. Twilight on the other hoof, had to deal with ponies worshiping her on the way.

Celestia's sun had begun to set. Time had flied by so quickly.

Finally the Mane 6 and Shadow made made it to the town center. Everypony in the town had flocked to the event, awaiting what their princess would reveal to them. There was a magnificent stage centered in the town

Twilight and the mane 6 ascended the stair case followed by the invisible counter terrorists. The mummers of ponies died down the moment they laid eyes on their heroes.

Twilight approached the microphone and the everypony within the vicinity bowed down. Twilight rolled her eyes and gave a small cry of annoyance in response.

Shadow noticed this. Apparently Twilight didn't seem to enjoy the worship and praise. Didn't matter though, it was second to their objective of gaining information from the ponies. Scratch that, demanding information.

"Good day Everypony. You may rise."

The citizens of ponies did so and admired the glow of their princess in the sunset all the while.

"Good afternoon my humble subjects. It is with a great honor that I announce that a remarkable discovery had been made a few days ago.". Twilight paused. That sounded like her dream.

The ponies didn't cheer like they did in her vision but rather gave whispers of excitement.

"For a long time, we the ponies of Epona believed that the vast and infinite cosmos were a lifeless void with our planet being a tiny beacon of life. Now I am pleased to say, that we have been proved wrong." continued Twilight. Once again, she realized she was copying the speech of her vision.

Ponies in the crowd were not oblivious to their princesse's uneasiness.

"A few days ago, my and friends and I made a history defining discovery. At night time, an extraequestrian ship descended from the stars and landed on our planet. Today marks the day that Epona will make contact with the human race!" As the crowd cheered. Twilight lost herself in thought. Everything had been going like her vision pre mentioned.

Suddenly the microphone levitated up in the air from an unknown source. This would have been a normal sight in ponyville, but there was no magical aura to represent a telekinetic grab.

Just as the cries of the ponies died down, Scarecrow's mechanical voice spoke into the microphone;

"Everypony, prepare to meet a species like no other."

Suddenly, Scarecrow and his 3 allies uncloaked and revealed themselves to the ponies-

and the town got flash banged. Immediately after laying sights on the humans, the head everypony that had never seen Shadow before immediately exploded with pain, vision started blurring and ear piercing frequencies were heard.

The adults were the least disturbed, fillies and colts were almost fainting and all the foals began crying upon gazing and the 4 masked humans.

All the while, Scarecrow and the other humans simply stood there, disturbed and confused by the whole ordeal. All they had done was reveal themselves and ponies looked like they had been bombarded with a sonic boom.

The Mane 6 however, kind of expected it. When they first looked at Shadow, there was something about their form and presence that made them loose their minds and the sheer complexity of their structure somehow hurt them.

After a few minutes of adjusting to the humans, the ponies in the crowds started conversing about mindfuck they just received.

Scarecrow hoped he hadn't done some thing wrong. No one in his squad had scramblers turned on, no one was equipped with a flash bang and nobody emitted a sonic pulse.

"Um...if everything is alright, may I continue speaking?"

The ponies started to give mutters of approval to signal Scarecrow. The squad didn't want to go through this. 23rd soldiers making a public appearance was to a species was a big no and violated protocol. But if they wanted to get out of the situation, they would need to put on a show. Their focus was strictly finding out why Equestria was like Earth, but to do that, they needed the ponies to not be running around everywhere.

"I like to remind everypony that we are not the true first contact team, while me and the rest of Shadow are fiercely educated, we may not be able to answer all of your questions you may have considering there is a large number of you and we can not lawfully go into detail about ourselves. We were merely sent to observe this planet until we could reestablish contact with out starship orbiting Epona. Unfortunately, we were stranded by a dragon attack and we have to remain here. Until then, try to ask us questions that won't need too much of an explanation. Try to lay off questions of humanity as a whole and stick to questions about us. Although even then there isn't much we can answer, so yeah......"

The ponies looked at the commando with confused expressions. It was as if they were interviewing a member of some sort of secret government conspiracy.

A pegasus mare mustered the courage to raise her hoof. Scarecrow pointed at her to talk.

"Why do you where those clothes?" asked the shy blue pegasus. "We can't see what you look like underneath that."

Scarecrow looked down at his armor and gave a laugh. "Well you see, humans don't walk around naked like ponies do, we are clothed all the time."

The ponies in the crowd gave Shadow's leader a confused look.

"I also apologize for having to meet ponykind with my current, uninviting apparel. What we wear is called recon armor. The reason why it is pitch black is to help me and my squad hide in the....shadows." The ponies laughed a bit at the pun.

"And further more it helps us keep warm. Although you ponies might not feel it due to fur, humans are used to warmer temperatures. As for out masks," Scarecrow stroked his bandanna with his signers. "This cloth is meant to prevent us from inhaling bacteria or viruses or bodies can not fight. These shades aren't meant for blocking out the sun, but rather give us information stored on...how should I say it? Data drives. Recon armor is the standard battle wear for the 23rd."

"If you're disappointed by this unrevealing armor, we have diagrams of human bodies if you wish to know what we look like underneath."

Twilight knew what she was going to ask for once this meeting was done. The purple mare absolutely loved biology.

Another pony, this time an Earth Pony stallion raised his hoof. X-ray remembered him as the one he almost exposed himself to a dew hours ago.

"What kind of magic do humans have other than disappearing?"

This time it was X-ray's turn to speak, grabbing the mic from Scarecrow's gloved hands he spoke into the mic;

"Humans are incapable of utilizing magic. Our-"

Before X-ray could continue speaking, the crowd of ponies gave a large cry of disbelief there were mummers of;

"They can't use magic, how is that possible?"

"How do they live?"

"How could have they gotten to space?"

X-ray exhaled with annoyance and continued speaking. "I know it sounds confusing, but humans can not perform what you call 'magic' naturally so instead we have to use technological innovation. The same applies for flight."

The crowd began to look even more confused.

"I know it may confuse everypony, but magic and reasoning are not separate. What you call magic is just the utilization of technological or biological concepts done through a natural medium. (The crowd was getting more and more perplexed) After all is highly advanced technology not similar to biological magic? I don't want to go into too much detail, but the so called magic of ponies produces the same effects of human technology. The reasoning is there, the only difference is the method. As for what other 'magic' we can do, we're limited our suit's functions. Let's just say we can see through the wall, look far distances and hear what is happening, keep track of equipment and protect ourselves an energy barrier."

"What are those things on your back?" asked a blue colored unicorn whose mane looked like toothpaste.

Scorch grabbed the mic from X-ray. "These things hanging on our magnetic plates are called guns. Since we're soldiers, we obviously have to be armed with weapons. Guns fire a projectile that is propelled with the use of magnetics."

"Allow me to give you a demonstration." Scorch drew his sidearm, aimed at Overwatch and pulled the trigger. The loud noise emitted by the firearm caused some ponies to stumble back.

To the ponies' amazement, the bullet did not strike Overwatch but instead deflected off a forcefield that emitted a series of transparent purple hexagons to signal where he shot at.

"Just be glad I didn't aim at flesh." This caused the crowd to start panicking a small bit.

Twilight quickly approached the microphone. "Thank you Shadow for your introduction. I'm sorry ladies and gentlecolts, but this concludes our event."

The crowd gave cries of complaints. So many questions were left unanswered. Shadow really couldn't answer as to what the ponies wanted to know about them. They weren't fully fledged diplomats no thanks to their mental condition.

"Don't worry everypony. Shadow isn't done yet, they're due for a tour and I'm sure-"

"Actually, we're free now. May we delay the tour until tomorrow?" requested Scarecrow. The sooner he inspected everything, the sooner he could get to solving the cosmic anomaly.

Twilight nodded. "Change of plans everypony, Shadow will be around town for the rest of the day. You'll be free to ask them questions if you run into them. Dismissed."

The ponies applauded and gave their princess a bow.

Shadow and the Mane 6 made their way down stage.

"Well that went better than what I expected." remarked Rarity.

"Yeah, I was pushing myself hard not to laugh." muttered X-ray.

"Why would you be laughing? There were no jokes. I know every joke that has been told in ponyville." pointed Pinkie Pie.

"Come on, we were addressing a crowd of technicolor ponies, what's not ridiculous about that?" questioned Scorch.

"I still think we did a good job with the introductions though." stated Scarecrow.

"Yeah, I think you gave the town a great first impression." noted Rainbow Dash. "Still, you had to show them how that gun worked?"

"They were asking for it." reminded Scorch.

"Well Ah'm off to the farm well 'em ponies keep you busy." said Applejack. "Could use some quiet."

Quiet was not an option however. The moment Shadow stepped down from the stage and into the crowd, ponies from all over swarmed them.

Shadow tried really hard to keep it together. They were trained to dismantle and secure crowds, not interact with them. A simple bid for information from the ponies was turning into a publicity nightmare.

The 4 humans would have no problem answering questions if ponies weren't yelling their questions all at once. Seriously, the entire town was practically up their throats. Shadow was having a lot of trouble traversing the crowd since they're huge size meant they could easily crush a foal if they weren't careful.

"Settle down everypony!" yelled Scorch desperately to contain the curious crowd.

The Mane 6 weren't faring any better. Ponies were crowding them too in order to get answers about the humans they met. The former elements bearers tried to gently push themselves away but the crowd was too big.

Eventually, Overwatch had enough. The Marksman drew his sniper, removed the suppressor and shot a round in the air.

The loud noise was enough to silence the crowd.

"One at a time." muttered Scarecrow, turning up his speakers so everypony could hear.

Two colts by the names of Snips and Snails galloped to the humans. Each of them were holding a notebook with their mouths and holding a pen with their telekinesis.

"Can we get your autographs?" asked Snips, with his mouth full of paper. "It's always been my dram to meet cool alien ninja commandos."

Scarecrow rolled his eyes underneath his bandanna, crouched, and grabbed the animated paper and pencils from the colts mouth. He wasn't going to sign his real name however so he just printed the symbol of the 23rd.

Sure enough more and more ponies asked for autographs. Some ponies asked for autographs on body parts rather than on paper. One mare asked for a tattoo on her flank.

Just when Shadow thought they were done signing autographs-

"Can I get a picture for the Foal Free Express." yelled a small filly with a reporter hat.

Scorch dropped his pencil. "Ponies have camer-"

FLASH!

More and more cameras swarmed the hooded humans and began taking Shadow's picture.

Shadow ignored the onslaught of pictures and used neural controls to switch their radio to local.

"How do ponies have cameras?" questioned X-ray.

"I thought their society was supposed to be medieval." pointed Scorch.

"You know, I could have sworn seeing stores selling 21st century era appliances as well like microwaves and ovens." remembered Scarecrow.

"Yet they lack the literature and reform of the enlightenment and industrial revolution." noted Overwatch.

Suddenly the crowd got bigger than ever and swarmed Shadow one by one.

"What do you think of Epona?"

"Is this the first time you've visited an alien world?"

"Do stars out there really move on there own?"

"How fast do your spaceships go?"

"Are any of you in a relationship with each other?"

Shadow's already patience was getting smaller and smaller. They were used to operating in solitude and secrecy. Being a well known celebrity was not the one thing the 23rd was not supposed to do. But they weren't really on a colony were they? It was a miracle their riot control instincts had taken over earlier.

"Do you always have to wear black, why not go with blue?"

Suddenly, Scarecrow, Scorch and X-ray snapped. The 4 humans started running away from the crowd but the ponies were relentless.

Using their parkour skills and superior speed the humans managed to speed away through town and hoped to find some solitude. Their escape did not help Shadow's situation as even though ponies were mesmerized by their ability to leap over tall obstacles and jump from building to building, it only made ponies more curious and desperate for answers.

After crossing half of town, Twilight's home was in view. To Shadow's dismay, many speeding pegasai were catching up to them and still harassing them with questions.

To Shadow's horror, the front of Twilight's home awaiting another crowd of pony interviewers.

Gaining speed, X-ray managed to jump over the entire crowd and rolled skillfully into Twilight's door.

All the while, the Mane 6 was having a conversation about where Shadow would be staying. X-ray's sudden appearance was most unexpected.

"X-ray?" questioned Rainbow Dash. "What are you-"

Suddenly Overwatch power slid into the library followed by Scorch who flipped in and nearly knocked over Rarity.

Fluttershy raised whimpered back. "Is there something wrong?"

Scarecrow finally dashed into the home after shaking off a crowd. Before he could close the door;

"Could you tell me what your favorite color is?" asked an Earth Pony mare taking notes.

Scarecrow's tolerance sunk to new lows. "NO FUCK YOU!" The commando proceeded to slam the door tight.

The entire pony crowd gave a loud gasp and covered the ears of their young ones, hoping the fillies and colts hadn't heard the swear.

Scarecrow opened the door. "My favorite color is red by the way." He closed the door once more.

The red colored mares gave a moan of flattery while the red colored stallions shook their heads up in victory.

Author's Notes:

*No I am not against those who have religion. I am not an atheist.

Sorry if the part about Epona's history being similar to humanity's is boring. :(

Chapter 17: Shadow's night in Part 1

"Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days."- Benjamin Franklin

Scarecrow limped through the room, breathing heavily from the attention attack. After a moment, Shadow's commander finally caught his breath and stood high, nearly hitting the wall in the process. He reminded himself that this was all for getting answers about Equestria's existence.

"Is everything alright?" calmly asked Rarity.

"Those ponies...were fucking everywhere." exhaled Scorch.

"But I thought you were cool with answering everypony's questions." remembered Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, remind us again to never be in the middle of a big audience." stated X-ray. He was beginning to feel intel wasn't worth it anymore.

"The ponies weren't necessarily bad, it's just that we can't handle all that attention in one blow. Throughout our time in the 23rd, we've been working in full subtly and secrecy. When it came to crowds, we were always meant to disperse them." explained Scarecrow.

"The ponies are just curious." laughed Pinkie Pie. "I mean what do you think would happen if a pony just went to one of your worlds. Human paparazzi would be swarming him or her."

"Actually the pony would be shot on sight or locked up in the SCP foundation." countered X-ray, bringing the room to silence. "Come on, humans are eager to meet aliens, but english speaking technicolor pony isn't the best way to introduce that concept to us."

"But ya didn' shoot us in the Everfree Forest!" reminded Applejack.

"Hey, in this situation, we're the aliens, we have to be ready to expect everything." defended Scarecrow.

"So what do you humans intend on doing now?" asked Twilight.

"It's 7'o clock." checked Scorch. "I say we just hit the hay....get it hay?"

"...."

"You know, ponies eat hay?"

"......"

Scorch sighed. "Anyway, I suggest we just relax until the day renews. It's too late for a full town tour or anything. I guess our bid for intel will be put on hold."

"But those ponies outside don't look like they intend to leave anytime soon." said Fluttershy as she looked at the crowd outside the window.

The 4 humans looked at Twilight. As if the mare could read minds, she knew the squad expected her to tell the crowd to disperse. With a sigh, the princess head out door. The crowd was taking pictures of the front of the house and yelling questions.

"My humble subjects." announced Twilight in a fake Princess voice.

"The humans wish to be left alone for the rest of the night. Furthermore, their appearance does not excuse you all from work or school tomorrow."

The crowd gave a sigh of disappointment and trailed off. Twilight returned to her house and closed the door with telekinesis.

"So how'd it go?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Great." exhaled Twilight. "Good news Shadow, the ponies are going to be leaving you alone for the night and will be at work and school tomorrow."

"What about the ponies in the other cities?" asked Scorch. "I swear this place tomorrow is going to be packed with sight seers."

"Relax, the media is under watch not to spread the news outside of town. Not even the other princesses know of this yet." laughed Twilight.

"Thanks." nodded Scarecrow. "I freaking hate crowds if I don't have to take them down."

"Speaking of the night, where are we going to be staying?" wondered X-ray.

"We were just discussing that." pointed Rarity. "For some reason, we found it best that you 4 remain in separate homes."

"Oh I see, so you can take us down easier." joked Scorch.

"What! NO! Are you crazy, you'd beat us to a pulp if we tried that!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

"Glad to see somepony catches on." remarked Overwatch.

"Well, we immediately ruled my house since it's in the clouds." said Rainbow Dash.

"I don't think you'd enjoy staying near my animals." whispered Fluttershy. "They also seem to be scared of Scarecrow for no real reason."

Shadow's commander said nothing.

"So that just leaves Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and me." stated Twilight. "I have a small guest bedroom that was installed on the second ground floor when my home was renovated."

"I call dibs." buzzed Scarecrow. "Hey it's always been my dream to live in a library."

"I have a guest bedroom as well but it's an absolute mess." dramatized Rarity.

"Don't worry, no stain escapes X-ray." gloated the rifleman as he cleaned off a small blood stain on his chest piece.

"Oh heavens no, I wouldn't be the element of generosity if I didn't clean it my self."

"Well there aren't anymore elements are there? You're no longer held to such a pledge."

"Ma barn's gotta spare room in case any family members visit." informed Applejack.

Scorch shook his head. "I'm not one for farm work so-"

"Scorch just take the barn." ordered Scarecrow.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "So that just leaves-"

"Me and Overwatch!" cheered the pink mare as she ended up on the sniper's head.

"We are going to have the bestest, funest slumber party ever! There's going to be games and music along truth and dare and twister and pin the tail on the pony!"

Overwatch simply sighed.

"You don't laugh much do you?" giggled Pinkie who who still clutching the back of the marksman's head.

"That's Overwatch for you, never laughs, never talks, never smiles." shrugged Scorch.

Pinkie's brain shattered like glass. The pink mare proceeded to press her face on Overwatch's mask and visor.

"NEVER LAUGHS! Tsk tsk tsk. You need a case of Dr. Pinkie's happy medicine straight away. Don't worry Overwatch, once we get to Sugar cube everything will be alright, I promise!"

Overwatch gave another grunt of annoyance and peeled the mare of his face before dropping her down.

All of a sudden, Spike came bursting out of the room, clutching a vial with a purple liquid.

"Twilight, Twilight! I was cleaning the the experiment room and this purple vile started leaking so I covered it with this cork." explained the dragon.

Twilight took the vial with her telekinesis and held it up with an amazed look. Spike gave a shrug and retreated upstairs.

"Oh my gosh. It's finally done! I've been working on it for years and it's finally done!" squealed the alicorn.

"What is that?" whispered Fluttershy.

"It's my talent enhancer! You see everypony has a special talent that they're exceptionally good at, so I figured, why not make be GREAT at it?"

X-ray snatched the vial with his gloved hand and analyzed it with his tablet in the other hand.

"Impressive chemistry." complimented X-ray. "You've managed to a balance the adrenaline and brain nanites well with a great dose of liquid vitamin and protein as well."

"You have nanites but no cars or televisions?" shook Scarecrow.

"What are nanites and what does brain have to do with talent?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"You see Ms. Dash, a nanite is an artificially engineered microorganism or android that's specifically designed to positively effect a part of a body. As for the brain, well emotion is chemical and triggered by neural functions. When humans discover a talent, it means we have found an activity that the mind takes immense pleasure in doing. What these nanites do is discover the activity our minds take interest and comfort in doing and use the adrenaline within the liquid to strengthen the muscles, that work in conjugation with the mind's pleasure, needed to complete the task." lectured X-ray.

Nopony had a clue what X-ray just said.

"I'm impressed Twilight. I didn't think you could pull off something like this." complimented Scorch. "Creation of a liquid like this would require intense knowledge of nano technology and neurology."

"Actually, I didn't know why my potion worked. I just thought that what I mixed would have the right magical properties to enhance talent based on individual effects." admitted Twilight.

Rarity eyes glowed. "So with dressmaking as my natural talent-"

"The nanites would enhance the part of your brain that centered on creativity and improve hoof to hoof coordination." explained Scarecrow.

Applejack whistled. "So that also means I can buck trees at faster rate because 'em nano things will make my hooves stronger."

"It would also make me better at taking care of animals." muttered Fluttershy.

"It would make be the bestest party pony ever!" cheered Pinkie.

There was a brief pause.

"Under no circumstances is Pinkie allowed to consume talent enhancers." spoke Scarecrow in a monotone voice.

"Agreed." said everybody and everypony.

"Also, it would make me a better magic user." noted Twilight.

"And it would make me an even better flyer!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "Not only would I be the fastest flyer i Equestria, but I could also perform:

"A DOUBLE RAINBOOM!"

The house practically shook.

After a moment's pause, Scarecrow, relayed the bad news;

"Don't get your hopes up, this isn't going to be working on anypony."

The Mane 6 gave a "Huh?"

Shadow was analyzing the content of the liquid with their wrist computers. Information was flowing all over their HUD.

"Allow us to explain." offered Scorch. "We looked over the nanites in the vial and discovered that these nanites are only going to work if exposed to the neurology of a primate, like a human."

"Furthermore this adrenaline would be lethal if administered to equines." added Overwatch.

Twilight face hoofed. "All that work for nothing?"

"I wouldn't say nothing." comforted Scarecrow. "It would still work on humans. A sip would be harmless to us."

Twilight put two and two together. "But you're soldiers.....that would mean the talent would increase you're ability to k-"

"Give awesome speeches." boasted X-ray.

The Mane 6 looked at Shadow confusedly.

"Be the best hockey player ever." added Scorch.

"Enhance my ability to be inspired in story writing." gasped Scarecrow.

"Enhance my ability to be inspired in art." stated Overwatch.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But you're sadistic soldiers! The talent enhancer should improve your ability to shoot and kill."

"Should we tell them?" simply said X-ray.

The other 3 members of Shadow nodded. X-ray took a deep breath. Normally the 23rd wasn't allowed to share information about their unit, but it wasn't like the mane 6 were capable of doing anything if they knew a few secrets.

"Okay, being a counter terrorist isn't really our passion. It's is more of a volunteer work. Furthermore, all 23rd units are dismissed after all members of a squad turn 30. After that, we're free to pursue our true ambitions. I for example want to become a politician once my time this unit is due."

"I want to be an author. I have numerous ideas for books." added Scarecrow.

"You already know I have an aptitude for art." muttered Overwatch.

"And like a true man of Vancouver, I have a passion in hockey." concluded Scorch.

"I don't feel comfortable with you drinking that." whimpered Rarity.

"I haven't even tested it!" reminded Twilight.

"Well test day is today! Don't worry, Overwatch ran over the worst case scenario. It'll be fine." insisted Scarecrow.

The Mane 6 looked at each other worriedly. Twilight and Rarity used their combined telekinesis to pull over a couch for the frightened equines to hide behind.

X-ray casually slipped a drop of the talent enhancer under his bandanna before passing it on to the rest of Shadow.

Scorch was the last to take a sip. By then, the vial had been drained empty. The demo man licked his lips under his mask and noted that it tasted like a mix of orange and cherry.

The Mane 6 was panicking on the other hoof behind the couch. They didn't care what Shadow said, they were killers in the truest sense and their enhanced aggression would motivate them to commit pony genocide.

After a minute or so, the ponies realized that gun shots had not been heard. In fact Fluttershy pointed out that all of their weapons and side arms had been discarded. After calmly looking at each other for a minute, the 6 equines peeked up from the couch and their jaws dropped at what lay before them.

Scarecrow was sitting in a desk, writing down contents for a fantasy book with speed that Rainbow Dash was jealous of. Considering there were 2 more complete novellas right next to him, you could tell he was motivated.

Overwatch had found inspiration in everything. The sniper artist was drawing everything anything he laid eyes on. His notebook in one hand and a pencil in the other. Not only was his hand and eye coordination impeccable but his creativity instincts were through the roof. Since everything was animated, drawing was all the easier. Overwatch turned around and started drawing the confused mares behind the couch.

X-ray, was wearing a non animated suit that he seemed to have gotten out of nowhere. The commando was still wearing his mask and was atop a soap box giving a speech about healthcare and welfare reforms. Nopony could understand what he was saying, but his voice was so clear and pure that they just had to agree with him. Not to mention, X-ray's memorization and improv skills had been enhanced to a point where he didn't need a script at all.

Finally, Scorch was balancing a puck on silver hockey stick (where did he get that from?) which he effortlessly shot into a make shift goal of books. His hand to leg coordination had been augmented beyond relief.

"Gosh darn it Twi. Looks like your talent enhancers work!" applauded Applejack.

"Wish I could have still had my flying speed doubled." muttered Rainbow Dash.

Twilight screamed with excitement and the results she had produced. She didn't care if the talent enhancer only worked on humans. Twilight levitated a quill and sheet and began to take notes of Scorch playing hockey. Then Overwatch started drawing Twilight taking notes of Scorch, followed by Scarecrow writing about Overwatch drawing Twilight taking notes on Scorch and finally X-ray giving a speech on how people can find inspiration in anything.

Suddenly, Scorch felt a rumbling at his stomach. His HUD started flaring information on his vitals all the while. "Damn, my stomach feels funny."

X-ray walked up to him with a proud demeanor. "Well you see, Scorch, this is the result of our government's-". X-ray was cut off by a headache.

Soon all 4 members of Shadow felt dizzy and collapsed on the floor. Twilight continued to take notes as the other ponies surrounded the disoriented humans.

"Shadow, are you all right?" whispered Fluttershy.

As if nothing bad happened, Shadow nonchalantly got back on their feet.

X-ray ripped off his suit to reveal he still had his armor underneath. "Relax, adrenaline rushes aren't permanent and will normally leave a human a bit bewildered."

"Still though, I'd say your talent enhancer is a success overall. I really felt that I could have written a library there." encouraged Scarecrow.

Twilight gave a glum smile. "But I still have to rework the potion to make sure it can effect ponies. Not to mention, the process I used to create the current formula would require months of experimenting."

"Until then, could you lend us the formula for us humans to mass produce? I smell profit and innovation." remarked Scorch with a mild grin.

"I'll take care of that with Twilight before I sleep." said Scarecrow.

"Speaking of night, I'd say we're overdue. I believe we should head home now if we want our guests settled in." spoke up Rarity as she headed out the door.

"Yeah! Come on Overwatch, we're going to have a greatest night ever!" cheered Pinkie as she hugged the less than enthusiastic Overwatch at his legs.

The members of Shadow, minus Scarecrow, head out the door with their pony hosts at their side. The 3 humans cloaked and disappeared into the night.

Rainbow Dash flew up to her home while waving goodbye. Fluttershy trotted in the opposite direction to her cottage despite having the ability to fly.

Soon, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie head off in opposite directions to their respective dwellings.

After the other ponies left, Scarecrow and Twilight proceeded to go over a number of books about magical theory. Shadow's intellect had inspired Twilight to start finding out why magic worked rather than how.

Twilight would read about the foundations for a certain magical spell, followed by Scarecrow looking into data logs or using his own memorized knowledge to decipher what exactly was the reasoning behind each spell. After two hours, Twilight had managed to fill up an entire book on the reasoning of magic.

Soon enough, it was time for her and Scarerow to turn in.

Author's Notes:

Yes, hockey still exists. In Canadian cities only and has no place in the rest of the colonies. Muhahaha!

I seem to write more than expected. I'm splitting this arc into mini chapters based on Overwatch's, Scorch's and X-ray's nights with their pony hosts.

Update: I removed the second part with the talent enhancer because as a user pointed out, it didn't make much sense.

Chapter 18: Shadow's Night in Part 2

"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."- Ayn Rand

On her trip to Carousel boutique, neither Rarity nor X-ray exchanged any dialogue. The albino mare didn't know why, but for some reason she felt like a ghost was haunting her (not because X-ray was cloaked) and ready to strike despite X-ray's unusual lack of interest in combat.

Rarity suddenly felt X-rays footsteps mute, causing the white unicorn to get even more nervous. With a gulp she nervously whispered; "X-ray...."

"Yes?" answered the scrawny counter terrorist's mechanical voice.

"I was just checking to see if you were still following me."

"You're heart rate is going up at unhealthy speeds." noted the cloaked rifleman.

"Is it now?" questioned Rarity with a fake nervous voice.

"Not to mention, your vitals state that you seem to have a splitting headache and the electromagnetic pulses stored within your horn seem to have dissipated."

Rarity gulped . "Forgive me darling, but I'm just really nervous, I feel like you're going to murder me any moment."

"Well the 23rd is meant to scare enemies not only with it's noticeable sadism, but with paranoia as well."

"But I'm not an enemy, right?"

"Of course not."

Rarity suddenly remembered something terribly important. "X-ray dear, where is your drone? It seemed to have disappeared the moment we entered town."

"I cloaked the drone and directed it to the centre of Ponyville. It's keeping watch for anything suspicious." answered the invisible rifleman.

'In other words, he's spying on us.' thought the albino unicorn.

Finally, Rarity found herself in front of her home. The unicorn found some of her magic return, she slowly opened the door with telekinesis before turning to (hopefully) face the cloaked X-ray.

"Um, X-ray. I hope this won't be a problem but-"

"You have a little sister inside, I know that."

"How did-"

"Combination of Magnetic vision and motion trackers. Anyway, I don't think it would be such a great idea for me to get close with Sweetie Bell considering my controversial profession. Plus, I hate children."

"Don't worry, Sweetie Bell is a very mature filly, as long as you steer the conversation away from war, she'll be alright."

Rarity opened the door and trotted in. The cloaked X-ray closed the door behind her, causing the unicorn to flinch..

Suddenly, an adorable white unicorn filly, with a pink mane and green eyes quickly galloped to her older sister and embraced her.

"Oh, my gosh Rarity!" cheered the filly. "Can you believe it, aliens are real! They're kind of scary. But they're so cool. I can't wait to learn about them!"

Rarity swallowed hard. "Sweetie Bell, I need you to be at your best behavior tonight. We have a certain guest-"

"Is it somepony famous?"

"Our guest isn't a pony."

"Oh, is it a Zebra then like Zecora?" asked the young filly.

"Try, two legs, hooded, masked and without a muzzle." said a quiet mechanical voice.

The filly's eyes opened and she turned around to face a bi-pedal, non animated, masked soldier. The filly put two and two together before she screamed in excitement.

"OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE ONE OF THE ALIENS. Ow, my head hurts. AND YOU'RE SLEEPING OVER. I keep hearing things. THIS IS SO COOL. Rarity, my head won't stop pounding."

The thin soldier raised an eyebrow. Something told him his appearance alone equaled a concussion grenade to a pony.

Rarity trotted to her sister. "Oh, you poor thing. I'll get you some painkillers right away."

The albino unicorn rushed to a medical closet, hurriedly levitated a casket of medication and galloped straight to her sister, only to find that she was already being administered painkillers by X-ray.

The counter terrorist looked up at Rarity.

"Relax, I've already taken care of it." X-ray looked down at Sweetie Bell. "Are you feeling okay? My HUD reads that all mental trauma should dissipate within an hour."

The filly finished the last of her water. "I'm good. Thank you Mr. Alien."

"Call me X-ray."

Rarity put the basket down. "X-ray what are you thinking? Your medication surely only applies to humans, does it not? Who knows what effects it could have on Sweetie Bell."

The commando sighed. "Relax, these painkillers work fine on equestrians, canines, and avians in addition to primates."

The fashionista rolled her eyes. "Anyway, X-ray, your room is upstairs. I'll get started on you're room-"

"Don't worry, I'll handle it." nodded X-ray. Rarity was about to protest until Sweetie Bell spoke up.

"Yeah! Mr. X-ray is only trying to be a gentlecolt. Besides, I'm kind of hungry. Can you please make dinner?"

Sweetie Bell gave her sister those puppy eyes nopony could resist. Rarity grinned and started to trot into the kitchen to prepare dinner while X-ray tapped a series of commands on his tablet.

To Sweetie Bell's shock, suddenly, a light blue hologram emitted from X-ray's device. It was big enough to encompass a quarter of the room.

"Rarity, look at this! It's so cool!" cheered the unicorn feel.

Rarity placed down the ingredients of her salad and trotted back to the living room. The elder mare's mouth dropped the moment she saw what was a diaphragm of the overview of town.

"What is that?" asked the fashionista.

"It's a hologram, your species is too primitive for me to explain it properly. But in essence, it's an interactive projection."

"Whoa, how can you see all of town?" asked the curious Sweetie Bell.

"Let's just say I have a hovering robot stationed at the centre of town that has a camera that's over looking this settlement. The camera is wirelessly connected to my tablet and is streaming the footage back at me. I would explain what streaming and wireless means, but again, your species is too primitive." explained X-ray.

The filly was too invested in the hologram to pay attention to what X-ray said. "Can you see what's happening inside of houses?"

X-ray nodded. Using voice commands; "Drone switch to magnetic vision.".

Suddenly the hologram changed from relaying physical images to views of magnetic signatures. Silhouettes of ponies inside their dwellings were visible. Unicorns, who had more electromagnetic energy in them, were the most noticeable.

Rarity shook her head. "X-ray, this is spying!"

X-ray shifted his gaze to the elder mare. "Protocol dictates that in the event a unit enters an unfamiliar settlement, they must have a means of surveillance to make sure that no plots or heinous acts are going to be committed against them. This is my way of making sure that no unwanted individuals are entering town with villainous thoughts in mind whether you like it or not. Besides, I'm just doing a security check, I have no interest in the private lives of ponies."

Rarity and Sweetie Bell observed the slender commando use mesmerizing hand motions to control the hologram. The way the device operated was completely alien to the two equines.

The hologram shifted it's perspective to face a projection of Twilight's library. Sure enough, a Scarecrow was with the alicorn, reading a book apparently. X-ray turned the hologram to face Sugarcube Corner, zoomed in and saw Overwatch secure as well. Finally, the scrawny commando rotated the hologram again, and zoomed in to Sweet Apple Acres. Scorch was alright and with Applejack's family.

"Hey, Mr. X-ray, can you look at us with that holo-thingy?" asked Sweetie Bell.

X-ray simply zoomed out to once again face an overview of the town, located Carousel Boutique and zoomed in to show a picture of X-ray looking at a hologram of X-ray looking at a hologram of X-ray (paradox).

The commando zoomed out and used neural controls on his HUD to shut off the projection.

Rarity was stunned. "My dear, Twilight would have killed to seen that. She would immediately have wanted to start replicating that technology right away."

X-ray simply shook his head. "No offense, but that technology would require the use of fingers to properly use. Holograms and other motion or touch related devices need to be precise."

X-ray gave his gloved fingers a twirl much to Sweetie Bell's pleasure. Rarity got back to preparing food and X-ray headed upstairs. Sweetie Bell went to finish her homework.

The commando opened the door of the guest bedroom and found it a mess with pony mannequins and fabric littered everywhere. On the couch laid a small white cat. A persian cat like the ones on Earth although this one was animated and much more diminutive.

X-ray walked up to the feline known as Opalescence. The cat opened her eyes gently and gave a hiss. This didn't stop the commando for going in and giving it a pet on the head.

"You know, my friend Scarecrow has a cat like you back on Pewter City. Except it's a boy and not animated like you."

The cat fumed at the commando who interrupted her beauty sleep and raised her claws. X-ray was unmoved. The feline jumped at the counter terrorist to attack soldier with fury swipes, but the attack was not very effective as the cat merely struck X-ray's barrier. The amount of force inflicted was enough to shatter Opalescence's claws.

The cat looked at her shattered nails before crying pain. The feline cried and scurried out of the room.

After cracking his knuckles, the commando got to work. He used magnetic vision to find a series of cleaning aids stored in a closet to his right.

X-ray searched the databanks on his HUD and noted how the cans of the cleaning agents bore an uncanny resemblance to those being sold in the mid 20th century. Appearances aside, the formula used to make floor polish also matched formulas used in the 20th century as well.

Then X-ray turned around to face the clothes on the mannequins. Some of the garments resembled those worn by nobles of the renaissance while others resembled 19th century suits. Casual clothing of the 21st had yet to be seen.

'They're evolving like humans...selectively.' thought X-ray.

Once diplomacy was over and contact with the federation was restored, the entire UTF was going to solve the mystery of this planet once and for all. For now, the commando had a room to arrange.

After 10 minutes, X-ray had arranged his room. Not only were the mannequins and fabric disposed of properly, but he mopped the floor spotless.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!" shouted Rarity from below.

The commando laid down his carbine, his knife, explosives, magazines, tablet and wrist computer neatly. X-ray proceeded to take off his bullet proof vest and all other forms of armor padding as well. He didn't worry about somepony taking away his equipment since it was too heavy for even a human to carry without magnetic attachments.

X-ray headed down to the kitchen, his side arm still with him, to see Rarity and Sweetie Bell feasting. Rarity took note of the reduced armor and equipped materials on him.

Rarity paused a bit before muttering. "Forgive me X-ray, I don't know what humans eat so I'm afraid-"

"Relax, I don't need to eat anyway. My drugs won't wear off for another few days." interrupted the masked soldier. "All I need is water."

Rarity offered X-ray a pitcher of water. The commando slipped the pitcher under his bandanna and proceeded to drink the animated water. It tasted like water, it felt like water, and it was H20. Yet the appearance of the liquid belonged to that of a cartoon. Not only that was absurd, but the fact that the water wasn't filling.

Rarity knew X-ray was lost in thought underneath his mask. "Is there something troubling you, X-ray?"

X-ray looked up at the sisters. "It might sound ridiculous, but this water isn't exactly filling. Felt like I just drank half a pitcher. I'm not even that thirsty."

Rarity raised an eyebrow and levitated another pitcher to X-ray. What the commando drunk just have quenched the thirst of an average pony.

X-ray slipped the refilled pitcher under his bandanna and drank. Now it felt like he had drunken a pitcher.

Sweetie Bell, mouth fool of salad asked. "So Mr. X-ray, why do you look so funny? You look so rough and way less colorful. And why does my head hurt every time I look at you?"

X-ray gave a small chuckle. "Oh, I'm the one that looks funny? Not the animated unicorn that looks like a character from a little girl's show?"

Sweetie Bell knitted her eyebrows. "What do you mean? "

"I don't know how to explain this to you, but everything outside Epona looks...non cartoony like me. Life isn't as colorful nor is the appearances of everything so exact." explained the masked soldier.

Rarity took notice of her sister looking at her for an explanation. "Sorry Sweetie, but I don't even know what X-ray means by that." The filly gave a sigh off annoyance.

After eating for 2 minutes, Sweetie Bell perked up. "So, how did you and your friends come to Equestria Mr. X-ray?"

Long story short, Rarity and X-ray spent the next half hour explaining Shadow's predicaments in Epona before arrival to Ponyville. This encouraged Sweetie Bell to start asking a train of questions.

"So Mr. X-ray, where are you from?"

"Born on Auraxis, raised on Requiem."

"What city did you live on?"

"That's classified."

"How old are you?"

"24."

"When were you born?"

"That's classified."

"Is X-ray your real name?"

"No."

"Can you tell me your real name?"

"That's classified."

"How many planets have you visited before?"

"That's classified."

"Can you show me how your guns work again."

"No."

"Can I use your hologram or tablet thingy?"

"No. It has classified information on it."

"Can you tell me how your suit or technology works?"

"Your species is too primitive to provide an explanation."

Sweetie Bell gave her sad look again. "Can you please tell me something about you?"

X-ray rolled his eyes underneath his shades. "Do you have any questions on humanity?"

Rarity placed a hoof on her little sister's mouth. "Sweetie Bell, it's still a school day, it's almost 9. Have you finished your homework?"

Before Sweetie Bell could respond. "Ponies still have homework?" asked X-ray.

"Well of course we have homework!" beamed Rarity.

"How regressive. School work should be done in school and work at home gets in the way of our personal ambitions and self studies." stated X-ray.

"That's absurd." countered Rarity.

"Says the species that believed in magic."

Sweetie Bell spoke up before the argument continued. "Well, I did most of it. But there are two questions I can't figure out-"

"What exactly is your homework about?" asked X-ray.

"Oh, it's math." sighed the filly.

X-ray got up from the table. "Tell you what, I'll help Rarity with the dishes and help you figure those problems out." Overwatch was the best mathematician he knew, but X-ray was adept in all fields nonetheless.

Rarity smiled at X-ray's generosity. "No need darling. I'll clean the dishes. You help my sister right away."

Sweetie Bell directed X-ray to her room. The filly's room resembled that of any generic girl's dwelling between the ages of 6-11. X-ray noted the furniture and dolls resembling those of the 20th century despite Sweetie Bell's booking being akin to something in the 17th century.

What Sweetie Bell was learning was just simple long division. X-ray wasn't going to question fillies and colts learning math. Any sentient species should naturally be adept in number crunching and the discovery of multiplication and addition, etc. should be inevitable.

"Alright, I'm going to show you how long division works." instructed X-ray.

The rifleman picked up (to his bewilderment) a pencil form the 21st century and began writing down. Sweetie Bell's eyes widened at X-ray's hand motions.

"That is so cool." awed the filly. "The way you write with those fingers is amazing."

X-ray laughed. "Well, I question why your species has pencils anyway. I could understand writing with telekinesis, but what about pegasai or earth ponies. How do they write?"

"They use their teeth." answered the filly.

That answer only furthered Shadow's theory of ponies evolving like humans. X-ray brushed the thought aside and finally finished helping Sweetie Bell who in turn packed her bag.

The filly prepared for bed as X-ray headed outside to find Rarity. First the commando headed to his guest room, drew his wrist computer and watched as his HUD appeared on his shades. X-ray then head down. The elder sister was busy at work with a sewing machine, trying to catch up on lost work.

The ectomorphic commando tried to get her attention. "Rarity."

The unicorn screamed at the tip of her lungs. "X-ray you scared me."

"It's what the 23rd does. Listen, I just wanted to tell you something you should know. Remember how me and my friends stated ponies were evolving like humans."

Rarity nodded.

"Well there's more to that. Turns out your evolving selectively. I look at your dresses, and I see clothes from numerous eras. Some garments equate to those of the Renaissance while some equate to the 21st century. I see pencils from the 20th century but books from the 16th. I see golf shirts, but your shoes are all slippers."

"I'm afraid I don't follow darling. I'm not inept at science. I'm just not....human at it. But I still get your message. It is undeniable our species are closer than we think."

After a pause, Rarity spoke up again. "By the way, what do humans of your time wear?"

"Suits and dresses are largely unchanged. As for casual clothing, it doesn't move past shirt, jeans and sneakers. In the winter times, we wear parkas and jackets. Before I was conscripted to the 23rd, cerise, my favorite color was the 'in color'. Now all I wear is black recon armor. White in snow environments."

"Doesn't your armor need washing by the way?" asked the albino mare.

"Nah. Suit repels all dirt and stench." shrugged the commando.

After a pause. "You know, I'm surprised I'd meet somepony like you." remarked X-ray.

Rarity gave a confused smile. "How so?"

"If you were a human, you'd be a fucking asshole."

Rarity's smile melted.

"Every human girl I met that enjoyed fashion was always a greedy snob. They thought so highly of themselves just because their rich parents could afford to buy them stylized clothes. When me and the rest of Shadow were still in high school on Requiem, we weren't what you'd call popular. We often clashed with those kinds of snobs who sadly were popular. I have zero tolerance for fashion obsessed bitches."

'They make fun of us for not wearing branded clothes by designers we couldn't give two shits about. At least our parents aren't working for fucking Mega Corp. Traitorous assholes.'

Before Rarity could speak;

"Then I met you. I used to think that girls had to choose between being fashionable or being altruistic. You Rarity, are not only one of the most nicest people, human or pony, that I met, but you show you can love clothing and be generous at the same time. Almost makes me feel bad about lashing out at you. Almost."

Rarity gave a sigh of flattery. "Thank you X-ray, that must mean a lot coming from you."

The slender soldier nodded. "Sucks that you're a pony."

Rarity blushed. "Say X-ray, you and your friends are going to be left on Epona until you can reestablish communication with the federation right?"

"Right."

"Until then, may I practice making clothes for your friends by using you as a model? I never worked on bi-peds."

X-ray chuckled. "Sure, just remember, I'm the thinest and shortest amongst Shadow."

Rarity squealed in delight. For the rest of the night she started taking measurements of X-ray while making marks on her fabric. X-ray at the meantime, used neural controls on his HUD to open a video he saved on his cloud storage. He made sure the volume was adjusted so only he could hear it and not distract Rarity.

Author's Notes:

Find the Pokemon reference.

Yes I used an Ayn Rand quote on a page featuring Rarity. Suck it. No I'm not an objectivist, but Rand spoke sense sometimes. Sometimes.

Chapter 19: Shadow's Night in Part 3

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort."- Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

"Then we're going to exchange the funniest jokes we know. And after that we're going to make cupcakes that are all sorts of flavors like chocolate, coffee, vanilla, strawberry, red velvet, rainbow dash, pistachio, caramel and my favorite; energy drink. Oh boy energy drink tastes so good like a mixture of coffee and soda and gives 4 times happiness. And you know what makes me happy? GAMES! We're going to go play at a lot of games like pin the tail on the pony, monopony and blister twister! Then we'll play truth and dare, who doesn't love that? I pinkie promise to follow every dare I get!"

Overwatch simply sighed. Pinkie had gone on and on along the walk to SugarCube corner. The pink mare was still stuck to his cloaked head and talking all the while.

Overwatch hoped to have slipped to the bakery unnoticed like he normally would, but Pinkie Pie's relentlessness had attracted a lot of by standers who absorbed a floating mare hanging on to an invisible object while talking all the while. Unaware to both the reasoning behind the pink mare and who she was hanging on to, the townsfolk ignorantly dismissed it as "Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie."

"And then we're going challenge each other to a game of charades followed by karaoke!"

'I swear to the universe, I'm going to shove my sniper down your throat Johnson (Scarecrow) when I'm done with this.' thought Overwatch.

"We're here!" jumped Pinkie Pie.

The entire bakery stood before the sniper. He could almost taste the sugars and sweets right at the door way. Sadly, the sniper hated candy. HATED. Cakes and cookies were another story.

Pinkie Pie happily skipped inside while the cloaked marksman followed. Overwatch observed the number of animated cakes that were stored on the counter and shelves. As cartoony as they looked, the pastries felt very real and the sniper wished that he could sink his teeth into one. However, eating while drugged would fill him up with a simple bite.

"Oh, you just have to meet the cakes! They're the best family you could ever imagine."

Overwatch rolled his eyes under his shades. The sniper noted there were 4 more additional marks on his motion tracker.

"Pinkie Pie, is someone there?" asked a mare's voice from across the hallway.

"Yeah, who are you talking to?" This time, the voice was a stallion's.

All of a sudden, a blue Earth Pony mare that Overwatch assumed to be Mrs. Cake entered the room followed by a yellow Earth Pony stallion he guessed was Mr. Cake.

Pinkie Pie got ecstatic. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake, is it alright if I have a sleep over tonight?"

Mrs. Cake looked at her husband. "A sleepover? Wow, this day just gets crazier especially after the whole aliens thing. By all means you can have a slumber party. Who's sleeping over?"

"Is is it Rainbow Dash? No she wouldn't like slumber parties. Is it Twilight?" asked Mr. Cake

Pinkie giggled. "No silly, my guest isn't a mare."

"A stallion eh?" muttered Mrs. Cake. She looked at her husband with the 'if you know what I mean' look.

"No silly, he's not a stallion."

The cake couple looked at each other before staring at Pinkie. "By the way, where is your guest?"

Pinkie jumped in the air. "Okay Overwatch! You can come out now."

The sniper uncloaked in the middle of the room and revealed himself to the cake couple by surprise, knocking them back by surprise and giving them a mindfuck.

As the Cake couple regained their senses and finally comprehended the appearance of the human, they slowly looked up at the sniper. Overwatch simply extended his hand to help the couple up.

The earth pony couple looked at the hand before screaming. "AHHHHHHHHH!"

The two ran up the stairs to fetch their foals before running back down stairs, grabbing the still cheery Pinkie Pie, heading straight into a storage room and locking the door.

Overwatch shrugged and slumped to the wall until the cakes manned up

Inside the storage room, the panicking baker couple struggled to gain ahold of themselves. The cake twins had awoken all the while. Pinkie was remained her happy self.

"Pinkie Pie! What is the meaning of this?" questioned Mr. Cake.

"It's just Overwatch. Sniper of Shadow, a unit of the 23rd counter terrorist division." chanted Pinkie.

"So you brought this alien ponykind doesn't know anything about to sleep at our house?" beamed Mr. Cake.

"Oh I know a lot of things about Overwatch!" cheered the party pony. "Like the fact he's a soldier, sadistic, possibly suffering from depression, anti social and trigger happy."

"Pinkie Pie, you have brought a cold blooded killer into our bakery!" chastised Mrs. Cake.

"Actually, humans are warm blooded. And besides, Overwatch is a soldier. He'll only turn into a meanie if you're a meanie to him." defended Pinkie.

Slowly Mrs. Cake opened the door a quarter way through. The occupants of the storage room looked at what laid on the other side. Overwatch was staring at the ponies with an expression somehow more blank than the rest of the masked Shadow. The glacial sniper was slowly sharpening his combat knife, still covered in blood stains from the Griffin encounter, against a wall. The blade made a disturbing noise.

After a long pause, Overwatch decided to break the silence. "So how're you doing?"

The cake twins immediately burst into tears, causing the cake family plus Pinkie Pie to retreat back to the storage room.

Mr. Cake crossed his fore hooves.

"Pinkie Pie, that stallion...or should I say man, leaves right now!"

Pinkie Pie gave a series of puppy dog eyes. "Come on, he's really humble when you get to know him. I think."

"Pinkie Pie what if he plans on murdering us in the middle of night or is planning to launch an alien invasion with his squad mates?" questioned Mrs. Cake.

"Oh you silly filly. If Overwatch wanted us dead, he would have killed us by now." giggled Pinkie Pie.

"That doesn't make me feel safer." gritted Mrs. Cake.

"Pinkie Pie, tell that abomination to leave our bakery at once!" ordered Mr. Cake.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. "Did I ever tell you that Overwatch has the equipment to hear everything we're saying in this room right now?"

Mr. Cake's eye's widened. "Really?"

"Really!" answered out Overwatch's mechanical voice.

The color of the coats of the Cake couple started draining. Coming back to her senses, Mrs. Cake looked up at Pinkie;

"Pinkie Pie, that human will likely listen to you. I need you to tell him to leave immediately. There is no way I can sleep at night with an armed assassin in OUR bakery."

Pinkie Pie pleaded. "Come on!"

"No!" yelled the cake couple.

The 3 equines spent the next few minuted arguing. The party pony Pinkie promised a hundred times that she'd let nothing happen to the dwelling, but alas, she lost to the baker couple. SugarCube Corner was the property of the Cake family, after all.

"Pinkie Pie, our decision is final. He leaves now!" stammered Mrs. Cake.

Pinkie shook her head down. Suddenly, a haughty smirk formed on the mare's lips;

"Okey, Dokey, Loki." she sung in a sly voice. "Whose going to tell Overwatch to.....piss off?"

The Cake Parents gave a loud gasp. Mr. Cake hoped that the twins hadn't heard Pinkie swear. Mrs. Cake on the other hoof was fuming. "Pinkie Pie! How could you use such foul language?"

Pinkie Pie didn't drop her smile. "The fact doesn't change that somepony needs to tell Overwatch to leave. I want him to stay, so there's no way he's going to buy my dismissal."

Mr. Cake silently volunteered. Sweat was beginning to form on his fore head. "Okay, just because he dresses tough doesn't mean he is tough."

Building up courage, Mr. Cake opened the door. Overwatch had his art book out and was doing what he loved most. Scratch that, drawing was the thing he hated the least.

Confidently, the owner of SugarCube Corner trotted up to the unmoved sniper.

With a deep breath, the stallion was ready to talk down a mad, rabid dragon.

"OVERWATCH!"

--------------------------------------

Mr. Cake wouldn't stop crying. His fore hooves were burying his head furiously. His wife stood by his side trying to comfort him. His loud crying had awoken the cake twins again.

Pinkie Pie slowly trotted over to the yellow stallion. "You know what's funny? The fact that you just said Overwatch and immediately started crying."

Mr. Cake blew his nose in a tissue. "I just can't do it. He's too scary."

"Thank you." replied Overwatch to being called 'scary'.

Pinkie Pie got all excited. "Don't worry Mr. Cake. I know what will brighten everypony in the room!"

Pinkie Pie jumped up high. Before she could sing her smile song, Mrs. Cake grabbed the Pink Mare in the middle of the sky and pulled her down.

"Dear, just go upstairs with your assassin friend. Please."

Pinkie Pie used her sugar induced speed to escalate the stairs and called out to Overwatch to follow her up. The hooded sniper shot one look at the Cake family and gave a light growl, enough to give the family nightmares for the night.

Overwatch unenthusiastically walked into Pinkie Pie rooms. Expecting a sea of frilly pink and stuffed animals, Overwatch was surprised to find the room as relatively normal. 19th century, but normal.

The marksman detached his AM 90 sniper rifle from the magnetic plate on his back and set it aside along with his AP 80 PDR which he detached from from his hip plate.

Overwatch noticed the Pink Mare staring at his armaments with a quizzical look.

"Touch my weapons or any of my equipment and you'll be sorry." threatened the the marksman with utter insolence.

"Um....okay?" nervously stated Pinkie Pie as she tried to keep up her smile.

"So Overwatch, do you want a cupcake?" asked Pinkie Pie.

Before Overwatch could respond, Pinkie Pie used her sugar powered speed to sprint down the hall, grab a vanilla cupcake with blue frosting and rush back up.

"Here you go!" offered the party pony. She balanced the cupcake delicately with her hooves. And dropped it into Overwatch's reluctant palm.

The second the animated cupcake touched the human's hand, the confectionary set on fire. Leaving nothing bot black, seared, ash.

"...........So you really, really don't like cupcakes." noted Pinkie. She cheered up again. "Don't worry, there's a lot of things we can do tonight!"

Overwatch slumped back against the wall. Despite being a concrete structure the walls felt weak. Pinkie Pie meanwhile, had reached out of her eldritch closet to bring a mountain load of party activities for her and the sniper to enjoy.

Pinkie materialized in front of the cold soldier's mask.

"So are you ready for a time of excitement!"

"Meh."

"Alrighty then! What game do you wanna play first you whacky blacky soldier?"

Overwatch shrugged.

"I know what we can play then! Truth or Dare!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

After a moment pause. "I dare you not to ask me any truth questions for the reminder of the game."

Pinkie's face sunk. "Awwww. But then it will just be 'dare'! That's no fun!"

Overwatch merely crossed his arms.

"Okay then! How about a game of twister!" the Pink mare rushed to the pile of party games and pulled out the twister kit. The party pony emptied the contents of the box in a second and laid out its contents.

"Come on it will be fun!" Pinkie started playing the game by herself. She spun the dial. "Right fore hoof green." She placed her right fore hoof on a green spot. "Left hind hoof red." she placed her left hind hoof on the corresponding color.

Overwatch apathetically watched Pinkie Pie make a fool of her self and end up in a twisted mess from her own body parts. Pinkie Pie freed her self from the twisted mess and shook her head.

"Come on, don't you want to play you fumin' human?" cheerfully invited Pinkie Pie.

"This version of twister is for hooves. I have hands and feet." defended the sniper.

Pinkie Pie shook her head down in defeat.

She materialized right next to the slumped back sniper. "So Mr. Soul sucking black heart, what do you usually do in parties. All the stuff I suggest clearly aren't your thing."

"I don't get invited to fucking parties." muttered Overwatch.

Pinkie's mane dropped and she gave a loud gasp. "Oh my gosh, you've never been to parties before?"

"I have. Only if I have to disperse them or assassinate some HVT asshole in one of them." answered Overwatch.

"But what do humans do in parties? Surely you have to know even if you don't like them! I mean parties have to be pretty popular because no matter how many times somepony ditches them, they still know what's going on!"

"Drinking, dancing to shitty music and smoking weed." glumly responded the tall sniper.

"Well, we don't have any alcohol or weeds since we get rid of them in gardening, but I sure love dancing!" joyfully yelled Pinkie Pie. She proceeded to grab a record player and her favorite CD.

She used her teeth to insert the record into the player and used her muzzle to guide the needle onto the disc. In a flash, party music, composed by Vinyl Scratch her self, began playing.

Pinkie Pie started dancing wildly. "Come on Overwatch!.......................................Overwatch?"

If Overwatch had his mask removed, Pinkie Pie would have noticed his mouth hanging widely from astonishment.

Pinkie Pie shut off the music by pushing the needle away with her fore hoof.

The mare galloped to the stupefied sniper and waved her fore hoof in front of his shades.

"Epona to Overwatch? Do you read me?". The masked marksman got up and slowly walked over to the phonograph. His shades glowed blue as he scanned it's contents.

Pinkie was distracted by the blue light rays being emitted from Overwatch's HUD.

"Pinkie Pie, this is a phonograph. A perfect mid 20th century phonograph that's emitting early 21st century dance music." pointed Overwatch.

"Well duh. How else am I going to play music if I'm not the one singing you silly willy?" giggled Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie, my HUD is reading that the oldest of these objects couldn't have been manufactured more than 25 years ago." noted the marksman.

"I don't like bragging, but all my stuff is the latest in party technology!" exclaimed the pink pony.

"Doesn't it bother you that your possessions are an alignment of human inventions scattered through time? I'm reading that some of your so called 'latest part technology was made by humans throughout 19th, 20th and 21st century despite the fact your town is something from the 16th?" questioned Overwatch.

"Not to mention a lot of your objects of entertainment don't even make sense for pony culture to use considering they're meant to be operated by appendages like fingers?"

Pinkie Pie blinked and gave a light smile. "Okey, Dokey Loki. Let's pretend I'm good in history-"

Overwatch face palmed on his mask. "Fuck it, I'm better off reasoning with a wall." he affronted.

"Come on, Over, Dover, Roverwatch! This isn't the time for fancy wancy sciencey things! Just relax and let's get back to dancing!" Pinkie Pie trotted over to the record player and turned on the music again.

Pinkie Pie continued to dance while Overwatch sat on a chair. A chair he noted was clearly meant for human legs. Much to his discomfort, the chair collapsed under his weight despite the materials and dimensions of the furniture telling him otherwise.

Pinkie Pie closed her eyes began to imitate Twilight's famous pony dance. Suddenly, the next song played.

Pinkie immediately rushed over to the sniper. "Come on you fumin' human! This is a song that's meant for groups."

Overwatch gave an exhale of annoyance. "I don't do techno or party music."

The pink mare didn't take any offense. "Okey, Dokey, Loki!" The party pony skipped over to the record player and took off the CD and then turned back to Overwatch.

"So what music do you listen to?"

"Hard Rock and Metal. Especially songs from the 24th and mid 20th century." indifferently replied the sniper.

Pinkie Pie was dumbfounded. "Rock and metal? I never heard about that before. Besides, how can you listen to a rock or piece of metal? Both are just objects." Pinkie gave a loud gasp. "You don't mean to tell me that the rocks and metals outside of Equestria can talk and make music. Oh my gosh that is so cool. I wonder what they'd sing about. Do they sing about hitting people in the head or what life is like underground? I sure wonder what life would be like underground myself. It would probably be dark and scary. I sure hope I can meet a rock or metal from your planets!"

There was a small pause.

Pinkie rambled again. "Oh silly me, rocks and metals don't talk. But bashing rocks together does make music! I heard that's how the first drum kits were made. (Overwatch cringed at hearing drum kits.). I also heard that tapping on different types of metals make different sounds. If I had a set of different metal sheets, I'd make my own xylophone!" once again, Overwatch stammered upon hearing xylophone.

The sniper gave an annoyed sigh. "Pinkie. Rock and metal is a genre and has nothing to do with solid substances. Also, I question how your species could have invented techno, but not rock or metal."

Pinkie giggled. "See, ponies aren't exactly like humans! There differences when you think about it."

Overwatch shook his head. "I have yet to see something that ponies have but humans don't. Ponykind is basically a copy of human. Just selectively."

Pinkie Pie skipped over to the sniper. "I know what would make you feel happy!"

Overwatch just stared.

"A drawing contest! Let's get out your coloring book." Pinkie Pie materialized behind Overwatch and grabbed his coloring book.

Right before the equine could gaze at its contents, Overwatch's hyper fast reflexes kicked in. In a black blur, he yanked the mare up and stripped her of his art book in less than than a second.

Overwatch's enhanced annoyance caused Pinkie's mind to suffer again.

"Was it something I did?" questioned Pinkie Pie as Overwatch let her down.

"I don't care how adorable or cuddly you are. Nobody and especially, nopony looks in my art book without my approval." growled the marksman.

"What do you have that's so secret? Is it directions to a treasure chest? A secret military base? A candy stash? Because you see, I really love candy but ponies keep stealing from me so what I did was put it in a treasure chest and hide it in a royal guard base I only know about because-"

As Pinkie Pie rambled, Overwatch looked over the content of his art book. While most people now drew on tablets, holograms or computers, the glacial artist stuck to traditional pen and paper.

The books had nearly gotten full. It was chalked full of nature drawings of the the dozens of colonies he visited along with various military sketches.

But there was one thing that stood....out. He wasn't popular in high school but if there was anything he was famous for, it was his aptitude in art. In his senior year, a few dozen or so girls, taking advantage of his asexuality and creativity, asked him to sketch a few....nude drawings of them. Most of the provocative drawings had been discarded however, but some girls insisted he keep them. Not wanting to be rude, he did.

"-and that's how Equestria was made!" cheered Pinkie. Suddenly the mare snapped back to life. "So Overwatch, what do you say about the drawing game?"

"How do you intend to draw? You don't have any fucking fingers." he menacingly questioned.

Pinkie ignored the swear. "Oh it's, not a competition pal. I just tell you what to draw and you draw it! What do you say?"

The sniper shrugged. Pinkie Pie took it as a yes.

For the next few minutes, Pinkie pointed at a number of things for Overwatch to apathetically draw. Since everything was animated on Epona, drawing was just tracing.

Finally, Pinkie stopped. "Oh boy, that was pretty fun don't you think?"

"Meh."

Pinkie looked up at the sniper. "Overwatch, if there's something bothering you, Dr. Pinkie can help. Are you upset about anything? Is there something bothering you?"

Overwatch shook his head.

"Then why are you such a glum plum?" questioned the equine with genuine concern for the masked soldier's well being.

Overwatch just shrugged.

"Didn't your parents teach you the medicine of laughing?" asked Pinkie.

"My parents and older sister tried to make me happy once. It didn't work." growled the marksman.

Pinkie Pie laughed. "Oh that is hilarious. My family was a group of soulless rock farmers who tried to keep me miserable and I became the element of laughter!"

Overwatch said nothing as usual. He couldn't give two shits.

"Don't worry though. We can turn your little attitude around. Jokes are the best way to make somepony, and I'm sure, somebody laugh. Are you ready for a night comedy, fun times and laughter?" yelled Pinkie with utter eagerness.

"No."

"Alrighty then. Let's start laughing."

Pinkie Pie continuously tried to get Overwatch laughing. However, the jokes either didn't make sense to a human or were a ponified version of a joke that Overwatch already knew. The sniper went out to point out how the newly created pony jokes were human ones which were created a centuries apart.

Pinkie eventually gave up. "Well then. Why don't you tell me some of the jokes you humans know?"

Overwatch raised an eyebrow under his mask. "Are you sure?"

Pinkie Pie skipped in the air and nodded with utter joy. "Who isn't sure about jokes?"

40 racist, homophobic and sexist jokes later.

Pinkie Pie's mouth had hung open after the first joke. She quickly shook her head and tried to get the dirty thoughts out of her innocent mind.

"You call those jokes?" questioned the party pony.

Overwatch nodded.

"Jokes should involve you laughing with somepony, not at sompeony. I might not know what an 'asian' or 'red neck' is, but I sure can tell you they would like those jokes!" beamed Pinkie.

The sniper merely shrugged.

Pinkie went back to being her cheery self. "Alright then, we've tried games, dancing, drawing and jokes. But you're still a cynical wreck! You're case is worse than Cranky Doodle Donkey." Pinkie began formulating a plan.

"Looks like it's time for us to pull out the big guns!" she yelled.

"You're going to cut my cheeks to keep me smiling like the Joker the 5th or my friend Jeff?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head with anticipation. "No silly. This is the one song nopony can resist-"

"I'm not a pony." muttered Overwatch.

"-THE SMILE SONG!"

Pinkie Pie finished singing and skipped over to the sniper. "So Overwatch, what do you think? Are you feeling happy?" asked Pinkie.

There was no response from the hooded Marksman.

"Overwatch? Epona to Overwatch." Pinkie Pie waved a hoof in front of Overwatch. Suddenly, he slumped back against her bed.

"ZZZZ." lightly snored the sniper. Overwatch had been asleep the entire song.

Pinkie scowled. "I will make you smile Overwatch. I Pinkie Promise that!". The mare's attitude brightened up. "But for now, time to hit the hay......and OH MY GOSH! I finally got the joke!"

Pinkie Pie skipped on her bed, curled into a pink fluffy ball and slept next to the sniper.

Chapter 20: Shadow's Night in Part 4

"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." Dwight D Eisenhower

"Come on, there Scorch, we're almost there!" signaled Applejack.

"I know that, my HUD says we're only a few meters away!" replied the demo man.

The invisible Scorch had his rifle out and was trying to keep himself at a steady pace so he wouldn't outrun Applejack. The cowpony might have been fast, but this was a slow walk for a 23rd member.

"Are you sure you're family is going to accept housing a fucking alien for the night?" questioned Scorch.

Applejack ignored the swear gave a dry laugh. "Well of course partner! The Apple family is a hospitable bunch. Besides, Ah'm the element of honesty...well Ah used to. If Ah told em' you weren't gonna be trouble, they'd believe me in second!"

Scorch would have smelt the scent of apples if he had turned off his filter. His radar informed him that there was a massive plantation squaring kilometers right next to a barn.

The demo man found himself looking up at the night sky. It was just so, peaceful. He was used to observing the night sky being littered with starships, blowing each other apart with rail guns, tesla cannons and nukes as they raced to provide support to raging infantry. The demo man also noted how the stars were animated themselves. He had an epiphany that the atmosphere of Epona was distorting the sky to make stars appear stranger. The night sky on many colonies provided mixed results as well, with stars appearing smaller, bigger or just not showing up at all.

"So Scorch!" interrupted Applejack. "What da ya think of the barn?"

The demo man looked around the plantation and observed all the facilities. All the farm equipment was defiantly primitive compared to the terraformers, drones and structures implemented by the UTF Agriculture and Resources division. What struck him most however, was that the farm equipment wasn't Renaissance or enlightenment era. Scorch's data banks informed him the farm was akin to something of the late 19th century encountered in southern America.

"Primitive, I'll leave it at that." finally answered the cloaked Scorch.

Applejack's ears dropped in disappointment. Shadow had such high expectations.

"But defiantly ahead of your current time frame." added the Canadian demo man.

Applejack looked back up. "What da ya mean? The designs for this farm were developed around the same time as the other building in Equestria."

"That's valid, but compared to the architecture of resident homes, you're leading by a few centuries." explained Scorch. "You know, pony kind is all over the place in terms of innovation. You can't seem to stick within a current time frame. We've observed renaissance levels of literature, but with camera's of the 20th century and barns of the late 19th. The peculiar thing is however, these displaced developments were invented at the in time."

"Scorch, this is beyond ma level of thinkn'." shook Applejack. "Ah think you're worryin' yourself for nuthin'."

Scorch, still cloaked, spoke in a fake southern accent. "Speakin' of worryin' yourself for nuthin'." Applejack wanted to glare at Scorch if she knew where he was standing.

"I also think ponykind isn't consistent with culture as well. You have traces of ancient greek, traces of ancient rome, traces of England, France and in the case of you and your family, traces of Americans as well."

Applejack knitted her eyes. "What in da right mind is an American?"

The invisible Scorch inhaled. "Before we unified, Earth was divided into many nations. Each country more or less had it's own cultures as well. Pony kind seems to replicate the all of the white cultures like the ones I just mentioned. What's funny is that the cultures I listed influenced each other in order of mention. This only solidifies our theory of Ponykind evolving like humans. Just at a slower rate."

"Scorch, ya didn't answer ma question! What the hay is an American!" beamed Applejack.

"America was one of the countries that existed before the creation of the fucking United Terran Federation. Your family aligns itself with Americans. Scarecrow himself is of American decent."

"But Scarecrow doesn't have ma accent." noted the orange mare.

"That's because Scarecrow's ancestors haled from the northern region of America. Based on your nature, I'm assuming that your family is a mirror image of southern Americans who were often rural." explained the demo man.

"Well, yer not gonna find out squat if we keep standin' here yappin'. Come on, we gotta family to meet." Applejack puffed and trotted to her dwelling, trying to get all the metaphysics out of her head.

Scorch just realized something clever. In middle school he learned that Americans from the south were always armed and supported gun rights while Canadians didn't care much for firearms. In the current situation, he was armed with a rifle, rocket launcher and a shit ton of grenades while Applejack condemned the idea of killing.

The orange Earth pony used her teeth to pry open a door knob.

'Why the hell would ponies have door knobs? It's a finger operated mechanism. Unless they felt...compelled to manufacture them to follow humanity.'though Scorch.

Right before Applejack opened the door, she turned around, hoping to dace Scorch and spoke with a misaimed glare. "Now, ah want you to be nice to mah family. You owe me for letting you stay here."

"Yeah. Nice. I probably can do that." sarcastically muttered Scorch. His databanks and the VI in his suit informed him that southerners and Canadians didn't get along since the American Civil war.

Applejack entered the room, followed by the cloaked Scorch who ducked and entered the room. The orange mare quickly closed the door behind her.

"Applejack is that you?" said a squeaky young southern accent from across the hall.

"Dat's right! I'm back y'all!" yelled Applejack.

Suddenly, the cutest little filly that Scorch had ever seen scurried into the room. The filly, known as Applebloom, rushed into the fore hooves and embraced her sister.

Suddenly, two more ponies entered the room. One was a large red stallion with an orange mane. The other was was green and a fairly old pony. Scorch's HUD read that she was around 85 years old.

"Oh, Applejack, I've missed you so much. I know we haven't talked for only a few days, but it felt like a life time." cheered Granny Smith.

"Eeyup." nodded Big Mac.

Applejack stopped embracing her younger sister and hugged the rest of her family. After clearing her throat;

"Hey y'all. Ah'm really sorry Ah've been gone for so long. Ah only expected ta take a few hours, but then aliens show up. Ah'll tell you, getting back to Ponyville wasn't easy."

"It's okay Applejack. I understand, aliens are a handfull." assured Granny Smith. All of a sudden, the grand mother crossed her fore hooves. "Do any of have the feeling of a splitting headache?"

Applejack stomped her hoof to change the subject. "Look, ah've been gone for too long. All that work on the field that ah was supposed to do has ta be made up for!"

"That's okay sis, we filled in for you. Turns out it was easier than we thought!" remarked Applebloom.

"Don't ah have ta make it up to y'all?" asked Applejack nervously.

"We're family. You don't have ta make up for nuthin'!" exclaimed Granny Smith.

"Eyeup!" added Big Mac.

'Holy shit, these family values are killing me.' thought Scorch.

The invisible demo man lightly tapped the orange mare on the back to remind her not to get sidetracked.

Applejack froze at the odd sensation of being stoked by fingers before snapping back to reality.

"Listen y'all. We gotta guest tonight!" announced Applejack.

"Is it somepony we know, or is it somepony new?" asked Applebloom.

Applejack gave a weak laugh. "He's not a pony."

In the heard of the moment, Scorch uncloaked and revealed himself to the Apple family. Right before he could introduce himself to the family;

"ARGH! My heart!" screamed Granny Smith.

Taken by utter shock and overwhelmed by the complexity of the human's appearance, the gand mother felt her heart give out as she struggled to keep herself off.

Finally, the elder Apple collapsed to the floor. She disappeared off of Scorch's motion tracker. Her vitals went blank.

Applejack pressed her ear to Granny Smith's chest, desperately hoping to hear a beat. Suddenly, tears formed in the orange mare's eyes. "Granny's gone."

The other Apples were taken by shock. Scorch, being a 23rd member, was not fazed out by Granny's death.

"Everypony stand back now!" roared the demo man.

Big Mac desperately wanted to charge Scorch down, but for some reason, he felt compelled to follow the order of the human. Applejack and Applebloom did the same.

Scorch laid down his SCAR Z approached to corpse of the Grandmother. Using voice controls, "Suit. Divert all power form cloaking and barriers to form a shock burst."

WARNING. DIVERTING ALL POWER FROM KINETIC BARRIERS WILL LEAVE YOU DEFENSELESS UNTIL SOLAR RECHARGE.Flashed Scorch's HUD.

Scorch used neural controls to acknowledge he was aware of the consequences. Through their pool of tears, the 3 Apple Children observed a sphere of electric current form in Scorch's hand.

With a mighty swing, Scorch forced his charged hand onto the heart of Granny Smith. The electricity swarmed all over the elder mare's body, and jump started her heard with enough energy to reinforce cellular activity.

All of a sudden, Granny Smith woke up and breathed heavily. She found her self being hugged by her three grand children.

"Settle Down!" yelled granny smith. The elder Apple faced Scorch. "Did I die?"

"For a minute." coldly replied Scorch.

"You...you saved my life. You brought me back from the dead!" blurted Granny Smith.

"It's my job to defend the UTF constitution, which demands soldiers to protect the innocent." said Scorch.

"How did ya know that would save ma granny?" asked Applejack as she wiped her tears.

"This isn't the first time I brought back somebody, in this case somepony, back from the dead." answered Scorch.

Applebloom joyfully ran up to the demo man. "We're forever in your debt partner!"

"I just need a place to spend the night." laughed Scorch.

"Well we got our self a spare bedroom upstairs for guests, if ya don't mind!" offered Granny Smith.

Scorch paused for a minute before speaking again. "I don't think a bed is going to support my weight so-"

"Don't worry, Big Mac doesn't min' if somepony sleeps in his room right?" insisted Applejack.

"Eeyup." answered the large red stallion.

Scorch inspected the large stallion and chuckled. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"Nnnope!" shook Big Mac.

"You and Overwatch would get along perfectly." joked Scorch.

Granny Smith headed into the kitchen nervously. "Sadly ah made dinner fer four. You hungry Scorch?"

"No ma'am. I'm augmented to go days without food." replied Scorch.

Applebloom and Big Macintosh followed their grand mother into the room leaving Applejack and Scorch.

"You sure are a lot more restrained than usual. Somehtin' wrong sugar cube?" questioned the orange cowpony.

"Negative." denied Scorch. "I've gone public now so I have to start acting like a mysterious 23rd member to keep up a reputation." He pointed a finger of Applejack. "By the way, I never acted out of line."

"No problem. Ah'm trying to forget about it ma self." assured Applejack.

The human and Earth Pony entered the kitchen. Scorch noted how the chairs themselves were meant for human legs and that the entire kitchen contained 20th appliances that should be operated by fingers.

Scorch removed his rocket launcher from the magnetic plate on his back and set his rifle aside. Only his M20 rail pistol remained clipped to his magnetic belt.

The Apple family enjoyed their feast. Like the horses on Earth, their diet consisted of wheats and oats. Finally, Applebloom broke the silence with her cute voice. "So tell us about yourself, Mr. Scorch!"

"I'm male, born in Vancouver, raised on Requiem, 24 years old, conscripted in the 23rd counter terrorist division of the United Terran Federation. Period." said Scorch banally.

"Can you tell me about your job?" asked the filly.

"I stop bad guys and explore possible world to live in."

"That's not much." whimpered Applebloom.

"Well, there's only so much I can say without revealing information that's classified or information you don't want to know." defended the demo man. He placed a hand on his chin as slumped on the table.

"You said you were a demolitions. What does that mean?" piped up Applebloom, desperate for answers.

"It means I defeat my enemies by blowing them up. Can you not ask me about my job. I don't want you all to have nightmares!" beamed the demo man.

Applejack remembered something. "Say Big Mac, we don't have anythin' flammable lyin' 'round right?"

"Nnnope." shook the red stallion. "Why?"

Scorch got up excitedly. "Did somepony say flammable?"

"Scorch, there is nothin' you can burn. This place is fire proof." chastised Applejack.

Scorch held a grenade. "I can contend that. Come on."

The rest of the Apple family was taken by surprise. Applejack tried to lighten the mood as Scorch collected himself.

"Sorry y'all some men just want to watch da world burn."

"What if I were to ask you questions on farming? Would that be fine?" questioned Granny Smith.

Scorch nodded.

"Have you ever been on a farm before?"

"Not really. Me and the rest of my friends were city boys. Privately owned farms often displayed strong support for insurrectionists, particularly Mega Corp terrorists so most of the time me any my squad spent time on farms interrogating suspects. A lot of the time they were smuggling weapons or funding the insurrections directly." answered Scorch.

Granny's face fell. "Why would an honest farmer support bad guys or large evil corporations?"

"Money." chirped Scorch.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Wait. So there are no private farms on the UTF?"

"More or less. We have a libertarian social policy but a socialistic economic policy where the government controls the main means of production." replied Scorch.

"But dat ain't fair! Farmers work best when left alone. Nationalization is stealin' honestly earned profits and tyranny! Our princesses would never dream of stomping on a ponies business." snorted the orange mare.

"Well, considering there haven't been any famine strikes for.....half a millennia. Who cares about profits?" reviled Scorch. "Besides, UTF famers pretty much live a free life and agriculture is hardly ten percent of the human economy."

"Maybe if ya didn' regulate farms so harshly, there would be no terrorists!" noted Applejack.

"If farmers weren't greedy, retarded capitalists, there wouldn't need to be regulation in the first place!" countered Scorch.

"Ah, jus' can't see a farmer darin' to sell him or herself to greedy business ponies. they should keep their own land and dow what ever the heck they want with it. Besides, farmers have good intentions, you don' need ta watch 'em all the time." rambled Applejack.

The masked demo man paused before speaking again. "What were to happen if another family came around that started selling apples?"

"We can't have dat! We'd either buy 'em out or make sure we ain't got no competition." explained Big Macintosh.

"How big is the apple production of Equestria, is it limited to this farm?" questioned Scorch.

"No. The Apples are huge family spread across the country. We even own the town of Appaloosa." chirped Applebloom.

Scorch smirked under his mask. "Let's see....you believe farmers work best when left alone because they're totally not going to making nation scarring mistakes and have a monopoly on the entire production of a crop. Gee, your family sounds like a greedy corporation to me."

"We're not greedy." whimpered Applebloom. "We make apples for all of Equestria to enjoy."

"Humans sure have a lot of advanced technology. How's farming like?" asked Granny Smith who desperately tried to change the subject.

"Well we've come a long way. We have colonies just meant for agriculture like the planet Demeter." answered Scorch.

"Huh, a world meant for farming. Sounds like heaven." chirped Granny Smith.

Scorch continued. "I don't know how to explain this without confusing you, but farming...has changed. Your farming techniques equate that of human techniques utilized in the 19th century. Ours, is much more advanced. First, we terraform the inhospitable worlds."

One could hear crickets whisper. Scorch rolled his eyes and spoke in an annoyed tone.

"It means our fancy space ships change barren planets to be habitable with cool space beams. Can you comprehend that?"

Big Mac frowned at the demo man.

"After terraformation. We use robots to plant seeds on the planet and deploy livestock trough the use of cargo ships. Once everything is in place, the government creates agriculture zones which is mostly made up of framers working together with robots to produce food for the populace. Materials such as rakes and tractors have been replaced with drones and other less primitive material."

"Sounds complicated." noted Applejack.

"It is. Farmers need to have a good understanding of drone technology as well as plant biology in order for them to properly grow the best food." explained the counter terrorist.

"That's horrible. Farmin' comes from the inside. It's supposed to allow ponies to live a simple life free from government control." shook Applejack.

"Yeah because humans totally need more uneducated, conservative farmers who constantly cry secession jeopardizing the food production of our species." sarcastically remarked Scorch.

The atmosphere was dead silent until Applebloom broke it. "But ah got a B- on ma math test."

"Great!" false cheered Scorch.

"But still. Farmin' and technology don' go well together. A year ago, a bunch of con ponies showed up and tried ta run me and the family out of business. But our hoof produced sure spoke for itself. Right?" spoke up Applejack.

"Eeyup." agreed Big Mac.

"Okay. First, our technology doesn't degrade food quality since the UTF prohibits the use of harmful chemicals in crops for the sake of health. Second, since all farmers work for the government, nobody needs to worry about being run out. Third, things CHANGE! Our population grew to extreme lengths, how is hand made farming going to help a system of colonies unless we all decided to quit our jobs and work as famers? Now we have technology and intelligent people producing safe crops for the mass people. Traditional farming wouldn't have provided enough." defended Scorch.

"He's right." condescended Big Mac.

Applejack scowled. "What da ya mean?"

"Think about it. Our hoof produced cider was great and all, but it couldn't feed enough bellies." explained the stallion. "And you remember Applebuck season right? You were wasting yourself trying to plow through a simple field. Since we didn't use technology and were so insistent on being privatized, we almost couldn't accomplish squat."

"But what about the farm folk? What about their jobs? What happened to 'em when the government took over?" glared Applejack. "Were they drafted to the army?"

"No. They got educated and found higher ranking jobs. Drones took their place to produce better quality crops in higher quantities." beamed the masked commando.

"What! Humans completely desecrated the agriculture business by draggin' yer fancy mathematics and drones into it." reviled Applejack.

"Applebloom cover your ears." ordered Scorch. The filly placed her hooves on her eardrums.

"We didn't desecrate shit! We changed! Something you can't grasp the concept of." stated Scorch. "New business competitor? Run them out of business. New technology? disregard it simply because it's new and doesn't work out in the beginning and you're too lazy to adapt. You're asked to be part of a bigger community? You call the government tyrants."

Applejack sighed in defeat and unplugged Applebloom's hoofs from her ears.

"Robots that help with farming. Seems like yesterday we invented the plow." sighed the elder Apple who was lost in thought all the while.

Scorch knitted his eyebrows under his mask. "You seem to have lived here a long time."

"You betcha. I kinda found the town myself." bragged the grandmother.

"Liar." countered Scorch.

Applejack slammed her hooves on the table. "How dare you call ma grandmother a liar!"

Scorch remained unmoved. "If she's telling the truth than why is she 85 years old despite structures of the town and a history book mentioning it to be more than 200?"

Applebloom gasped. "Granny! You lied to ma class!"

The grandmother blushed. "Settle now, it was just a little white-"

"Ya broke the family code! How can ah be the element of honesty when my grand mother fibbed about her life!" chastised Applejack.

"Eeeyup." agreed Big Mac.

"Does this mean zap Apples are a lie too?" asked Applebloom.

Granny Smith shook her head. "No no. Ah was tellin' the truth 'bout zap apples."

Scorch raised an eyebrow. "Zap Apples?"

"They're a magical brand of Apple that our branch of the family is known for." winked Granny Smith.

"There's no such thing as magic." muttered the hooded human.

"Shadow squad thinks that everythin' can be explain usin' some sciency facts." chuckled Applejack.

"Wow, you must have done well at school." sarcastically beamed Scorch. Applejack frowned at him in return.

"Gee. Zap Apples were a tricky subject for me." pondered Granny Smith. "Ah never found out how they work."

"I can probably crack the case." smirked the black clad soldier. Scorch and Granny Smith spent the next half hour discussing the plant and the reasoning behind the rituals. To Scorch's surprise, the grandmother listened intuitively to his explanations and understood a lot of the concepts he brought up.

Granny Smith took in all the new information before cracking a smile. "Boy howdy! You just solved the mystery of the Zap Apples. Sure wish the kids were awake to hear that."

Scorch turned around to see Applejack, Applebloom and Big Mac sleeping. Scorch rolled his eyes under neath his mask, he gave a snap with his gloved fingers to pry them awake.

The noise caught the sleeping equines off guard.

Applebloom covered her head with her hooves. "What was that noise!"

"It was a snap." answered Scorch. He gave another one.

"Argh! That sound is just so disturbing." groaned Applejack. "And the way you move your fingers is just weird."

Scorch gave a sigh of annoyance. "While you 3 red necks were asleep. I unraveled the mystery of Zap Apples with educated rational thought."

"What's a red neck?" asked Big Mac.

"Yeah, ah heard you call me dat before." panned Applejack.

"Red neck is a derogatory term used for southern Americans." blurted the masked demo man.

"We're not southern. Nor are we Americans." pointed Applebloom.

"Scorch here has a crazy idea that our family is rippin' off human culture." announced Applejack.

"I'm not science wiz but I'm certain that we ain't copyin' nobody." insisted Granny Smith.

Scorch gave a sigh of annoyance that blew his bandanna forward. "Look, ponykind is a copy of the western Europeans and Americans. You're architecture and literature is renaissance English and the values, accent, as well as occupation of your family is souther American of the 19th century!"

Scorch accessed pictures on his wrist computer's databank and a hologram appeared over the table.

The Apple family was trapped in a state of awe by the hologram.

"Sure is a fancy way of keeping photos." admired Granny Smith.

Scorch used neural controls to shift to a picture of rural America. While the original image had been taken in black and white, modern technology allowed the pictured to reappear colored.

"This is a farm in Southern USA in 1870. notice any similarities?" questioned the demo man.

The Apple took a good look at the farm. Sure enough, the setting looked familiar.

Scorch turned off the hologram once the message sunk in.

"My Gosh. We are copyin' those humans!" realized Granny Smith.

"So those old southern folk were like us?" nervously squeaked Applebloom.

"That's right. Like you, they were farm loving, government hating and skeptical of skepticism." said the masked soldier.

"You know what's funny?" continued Scorch. "I'm from Canada and I learned that people from the Southern USA shared animosity since the American Civil War between the urban North and rural South."

"Why were the North and South fightin'?" questioned Big Mac.

"The southerners betrayed the Union because they wanted to own slaves." explained Scorch.

"Ah don't believe you! If southern folk are just like the Apple Family, than there's now way they'd hold slaves because we as sure as heck wouldn't." defended Applejack.

"Well history is history. The south wanted to own slaves, ironically thought the government was being unjust by trying to free the slaves, seceded and fought a war while those slaves to escaped to civilized Montreal." chanted Scorch.

There was a long awkward silence. Scorch needed to do something before pushed the gears further.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you based on your human counter parts. You're trying to be nice, and I'm just being callous." apologized the demo man.

"Hey you're just stressed." muttered Granny Smith. She looked up at Scorch with a grin. "I think I have a job for you."

The family and Scorch found themselves outside the house facing the barn.

"So what do you want me to do?" asked the demo man. Scorch had his rifle drawn out.

"Well, we're going to build a new barn soon since this one keeps falling." began Applejack.

"Well of course." beamed Scorch. The commando had magnetic vision turned on and was analyzing the structure. "All the nails of this barn are rusted, the wood is borderline dust and whoever built this barn has no sense of geometry."

"Can you do better?" muttered Big Mac.

"Eeeyup." insisted Scorch in a fake southern accent.

Granny Smith explained the situation. "Since we're going to build a new barn from scratch we need this one torn down-"

Before Granny Smith could finish instructing Scorch fired a rifle grenade at the barn, causing the structure to explode and catch on fire. There nothing left but a pile of ash.

The entire Apple Family had their mouths open in shock as they observed the wreckage.

Scorch who was unfazed felt the night calling. "Well, I'm going to go to sleep."

The members of the Apple Family took a hold of themselves and made similar statements. Scorch noticed that Big Mac didn't seem enthusiastic about giving up his bed.

"Hey Mac. I'll take the barn." called out Scorch.

"You sure?"

"Positive. I don't think even your bed could take my weight." muttered Scorch. With abnormally fast speed, he made it to the other barn in 2 seconds.

Applejack and her family separated from the hooded Human as they went inside their dwelling. Right when the family made it to the living room-

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" yelled Scorch's mechanical voice.

Applejack gave a weak laugh. "Ah'll go check it out."

The orange mare dashed inside the barn to investigate what was going on. The last thing she wanted was an enraged demo man running amuck.

Scorch stood next to the cows and was breathing heavily.

"Hey Applejack." greeted a cow.

"Oh, hi Mootilda." replied Applejack. "Scorch, what's da problem?"

Scorch pointed at the cows. "What is this?"

After Applejack got over Scorch's fingers; "They're just cows. What, you want to sleep in a barn and didn't expect any animals?"

"Animals? Applejack these cows are sentient." growled Scorch.

"That's right. We can talk, think and feel." noted a Cow.

"I spoke to these cows and you're treating them like...farm animals!" gritted the masked commando.

"Well that's how you're supposed to treat cows." sighed Applejack. "Don't humans raise cows too?"

"Yes! But those cows aren't sentient. They're dumb animals!" countered Scorch. "These cows are capable of free thought and you're suppressing their nature and locking them up. This is fucking slavery."

"We're not treatin' 'em like slaves. Cows are free!" defended Applejack.

"Can they leave at will?"

"Well no."

"Did they agree to have they're milk harvested?"

"Uh...no."

"Do they have a say in the way you can treat them?"

"No...again."

"Does Equestria's laws and rights apply to them."

(Gulp) "No...."

"If a cow is born into this barn, does it have to enter your service?"

".......yes." squeaked Applejack.

Scorch shook his head. "Just wow. The Apple family really is like southern USA. Right down to slavery."

"But you don't get it!" stomped Applejack. "Da cows don't mind. We provide 'em with food and shelter in return for their milk.....and freedom ah guess."

"That is exactly what those neo confederate apologists kept saying." glared Scorch. As the human grew madder, the pain in Applejack's head grew in synchronization.

"For violating law 5 of the United Terran Federation constitution which states; 'No human shall ever be a slave nor an involuntary servant to another human on Earth or her colonies.' I am placing you and your family under arrest."

Applejack started sweating. "Scorch this isn't a UTF world. Human laws can't be enforced here."

"I AM THE LAW!" growled Scorch as he readied a pair of kinetic barrier hand cuffs.

Applejack was desperate. "Come on Scorch, how isn't nationalization no different from slavery anyway."

Scorch groaned. "It's always about the government with you farmers is it? Let me tell you something horsey. Even though the UTF is tight on agriculture workers, they still have the same rights as the rest of humans, have a say in their job and government, can leave when they want to and are allowed to be a part of society like any other human."

Right before Scorch could imprison the cowpony he turned to the cows. "You know what, I have a better idea."

Scorch drew his pistol and aimed at the lock. The unsupressed gauss bullet created a loud noise that nearly woke up town and Shadow. Scorch quickly sent a message to the rest of Shadow using thought mail to explain the situation.

Finally he turned to the cows.

"What's going on?" asked Mootilda.

"You're free." stated Scorch.

"What?" gasped the cows.

Scorch pointed outside. "Go on. These ponies don't control you anymore. I'm freeing you like the Canadian I am."

"But we like being here. We have a home." said another cow.

Scorch face palmed. "You don't get it, do you? These ponies are playing you for suckers. They keep you locked in this fucking cage to harvest your milk and you can't say anything about it."

Scorch spent the next 25 minutes explaining natural rights and the injustices of capitalism to the cows while Applejack tried to get the ringing out of her head.

"Now onward! You cows have a path to be free and rule yourselves. Let no ponies stop you!" cheered Scorch.

Applejack and Scorch watched as the cows rallied into the woods to parts unknown.

30 seconds later, a group of conveniently placed animated wolves jumped out of a bush and ambushed the cows, ripping them apart one by one.

"Ah can't watch!" squealed Applejack as she looked away.

Scorch, being a psychotic 23rd member, was unfazed by the cow's death. The commando simply primed a frag grenade and threw it to the cluster of wolves.

The canines looked at the explosive the moment it detonated, sending wolf parts as well as cow corpses everywhere.

"Bad dream! Bad dream! Bad dream! Bad dream! Bad dream! Bad dream! Bad dream!" yelled Applejack as she scurried inside.

"Better to die your own man than live a slave!" exclaimed Scorch.

Scorch simply turned around, started a warm fire, and camped outside for the night.

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer: The views reflected here on farming, economics or Southerners here do not generally equate those of mine. I don't hate people from Southern USA and I'm not advocating total socialism. Also, sorry for the inconsistent capitalizations.

By the way, I've noticed that the demo man and heavy of any video game or work of fiction is always the one of the lowest intelligence. What do you think?

Honestly, why do so many HiEs ignore the fact that Equestria has southerners in it?

Chapter 21: Divergence

"The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people."- Karl Marx

Twilight breathed heavily as she flew past the once beautiful city. In a matter of an hour, the settlement had turned into a barren wasteland. Every building had more or less collapsed and everypony was slumped on the ground, with a hole in their body leaking blood or the mark of a knife.

Twilight dashed as fast as she could would her wings, cursing herself all the while for not practicing flying. Teleportation was out of the question since a pulse grenade had disabled her magic.

She didn't know whether to thank Celestia for surviving or to wish to have been spared from such a horrible burden. The princess needed to find help straight away before the rest of Ponykind was destroyed.

Just when she thought she was in the clear-

BANG!

All of a sudden, the sound of a railgun deafened the purple mare, followed by a bullet ripping through one of her wings and nearly dismembering the other.

The loss of her wings sent the Alicorn crashing down. Thankfully, she had not flown high enough for the crash to have killed her. However, the impact pained worse than inserting a hot needle through an eye.

After coughing some blood, Twilight readied herself up. All of a sudden, she stumbled forward as she realized her right fore hoof had been broken. Twilight limped across the ruins of the city, hoping to get out alive. But who was she kidding, nothing could escape the wrath of them.

After trotting a few meters, the mare felt a sharp pain in her mind. They were getting closer. The princess moved further and further, but the pain was getting worse. All the while, Twilight was trying to keep the sight of those dead ponies out of her mind.

Twilight was about to make a turn when she saw an ominous message painted with a pony's blood:

Why do you run?

The former element of magic knew this was just an attempt to break her spirit. It wasn't going to work. She moved further and further out of the city.

Then another blood written message appeared on a door step.

Your attempts to outclass us are laughable at best.

Before she burst into tears, the alicorn noted that the message may not have been intended for her. The blood was just too dry and would have had to have been written at least 45 minutes ago. When everypony else was alive.

The Alicorn limped further and further.

All of a sudden, there was the sound of hoof steps. Scratch that, foot steps. One of them was right next to her.

Twilight felt her sanity slip further and further away. What was the point in going on? All of her friends were dead and there was nothing ponykind to do to stop them. They were brilliant and indomitable.

Followed by a disturbing silence. He appeared. A black bi-pedal blur.

Twilight lost it the moment she laid eyes on him. His form, his dress, his superiority sapped her life force and mentality.

Then, he grabbed the alicorn with his gloved hand and elevated her up. Twilight resisted the urge to stare into his blank and soulless visor.

He drew a knife and traced it around the frightened mare's body. With a sadistic chuckle he spoke:

"I am going to enjoy every moment skinning your fur off your body."

"NO!"

Twilight felt her magic reappear and used her feeble stamina to teleport away from his grip. As she reappeared, Twilight drew her energy to fire a magical bolt at him, only for the blast bounce off his barrier harmlessly.

"Your weakness disgusts me." he growled. He drew his rifle and fired.

-----------------
Everypony in Ponyville had a similar dream to what Twilight envisioned. There was always the destroyed city, there was always the death of loved ones and the dreams ended the same, with the dreamer's own death at the hands of Shadow.

But what sense would it make that everypony had the same dream? For they merely shrugged it off as stress from meeting aliens.
-----------------

Scarecrow woke up and gave a small yawn. After sinking in the animated appearance of the room he was in, the commando was ready for another day.

Slowly tilting his head, the still masked soldier noticed a purple mare, curled into a ball sleeping on the far side of the bed. Twilight had her wings tucked in and she purred lightly as she slept. It was the cutest thing Scarecrow had seen, even more precious than his cat back on Pewter City.

Scarecrow put on his gloves and flipped on his hood to cover his blond hair. He could have sworn remembering Twilight wanting to sleep on the couch, only to get distracted by the comfort of the royal bed and fall asleep instantly.

Scarecrow equipped his magnetic gloves and turned on his wrist computer, allowing the kinetic barrier to shield his body. Scarecrow checked the time: 9:15 am by the local star system.

The commando softly tapped on the Alicorns head to wake her up. They had a busy day after all.

The alicorn got on her 4 hooves, gave a horse like whinny and grunt and thoughtlessly nuzzled Scarecrow's arm. Suddenly, Twilight's eyes shot open.

"Did I just do that?"

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow. "Elaborate with the class."

Twilight started panicking. "I just grunted like a wild animal. nuzzled you the same way a cat nuzzles its master."

"That's how horses are supposed to show affection." noted Scarecrow.

Twilight glared at him. "You said horses on Earth are unintelligent! I'm a pony, I'm sapient and I especially can't act like that considering I'm a princess."

Scarecrow rolled his eyes under his shades. "Digressing, were you able to get enough sleep last night?"

"Of course." nodded Twilight. "Why?"

"Because your brainwaves suggest nightmares and I heard your grunting the names of me and my friends in your sleep." panned the masked commando.

Twilight tried to explain herself but Scarecrow cut her off.

"Don't worry, this isn't the first time someone couldn't sleep in night because of the 23rd." he assured.

Twilight collected herself. She constantly tried to reassure herself that Shadow wasn't planning on murdering her. Suddenly, a little dragon crept into the room.

"Glad to see you two are awake." cheered Spike. "Oh and Twilight, I made you breakfast."

The alicorns stomach growled in response she flew down to the kitchen to feast. Shadow's abrupt arrival had damaged her eating pattern.

Spike looked guilty "Sorry Scarecrow, I don't know what humans eat so-"

"It doesn't matter. I'm augmented to go days without food." shrugged Scarecrow.

The hooded 23rd member equipped his LMG and placed his shotgun on his back. Scarecrow and Spike crept down the gilded staircase to meet the alicorn.

Despite her earlier statement on royal etiquette, Twilight was pigging out with her food. Spike went on to enjoy some gems he ate from a bucket. Scarecrow took notes on the dragons appetite.

"Excuse me Scarecrow, do you know what day it is?" moaned Twilight, mouth full of cereal.

"Well let's see, I arrived on Epona on June 15, met you on the 16th and arrived at Ponyville on the 17th. So that leaves us at June 18 2530." he chanted.

"Oh thats today? Are you ready for your pre solstice meeting with the other princesses today? asked Spike.

Twilight spat out her cereal and milk at Scarecrow. Luckily for the human, the cereal reflected off of his kinetic barriers and harmlessly slid down. Scarecrow on the other hand was less than pleased.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I forgot about the most important princess meeting ever!" shrieked Twilight. "Ever since you and your human friends decided to show you, my schedule has been totally messed up."

"Well excuse me for solving the curiosity of the UTF." growled Scarecrow. "What may I ask makes this meeting so special to others?"

Twilight calmed her self with Cadance's technique. "This is the meeting me and the three other princesses finalize what the country is going to do for the summer sun celebration on June 23rd. That is the most important festival of Equestria since it marks-"

"It marks the summer solstice?"

Twilight paused. "How did you-"

"My Virtual Intelligence informed me that based on the effects that planet and star have on space time, the summer solstice will always be at this time. I further deduced that it will always be the 23rd of June because solar motion is controlled and not natural." explained Shadow's commander.

Twilight stared at Scarecrow before shaking her head. "I'm wasting time. I haven't even mentioned to the princesses that there are aliens in Equestria! Your arrival changes everything."

"How so? Can't you merely go through the event as if we weren't here in the first place?" asked the masked soldier.

"Don't you get it? Huge event. Magic and religion is a theme. A social gathering. You're here." beamed Twilight.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Twilight flew to the entrance and used telekinesis to open the handle.

Outside, Twilight's 5 friends stood, followed by the rest of Shadow who uncloaked.

"Oh hey everypony and everybody." greeted Twilight.

"Mornin' Twi." replied Applejack. The orange mare gave a chuckle. "Ya know, ah da weirdest dream last night. Scorch somehow killed all ma cows."

"Really? I had a strange dream myself this night." nervously said Twilight.

X-ray, Overwatch and Scorch ignored the conversation and nonchalantly brushed past Twilight and the other ponies and approached Scarecrow. All 4 humans were thinking the same thing. In unison they said:

"We have a shit ton to discuss."

X-ray took the lead. "I don't know about you guys, but Equestria is definitely the capital of anachronisms. When I went to Rarity's home, I found dresses from the reinsurance, suits from the industrial revolution and furniture from the 20th century."

Scorch folded his arms. "Applejack and her family are a fully fledged copy of southern folk of the Unites States. From accents, farming techniques, economic and social beliefs to downright slavery of cows."

"Fucking confederates." spat Scarecrow in his New Yorker/Michigan ways.

Overwatch spoke coldly. "Not only that, but the logic in which pony's evolve make no sense, they have techno, but no rock or metal, that comes out record players."

"Speaking of record players," pointed Scorch. "Haven't you noticed they have technology that makes no sense for them to have in the first place?"

"Affirmative." answered Scarecrow. "They have door knobs, pencils and kitchen equipment that's clearly meant for fingers. I have yet to see something that was designed for hoof specifically in mind."

"That only solidifies our theory further." added X-ray. "If ponies were evolving naturally, than surely they would have been force to create hoof operated tools to adapt. In this scenario, it seems as if ponies were compelled to replicate human technology as an odd instinct."

"I still say the strange thing about it all is the fact that ponies claim each of these commodities was brought to public attention around the same time." noted Scarecrow.

"But what strikes me most is that nothing we've seen exceeds the 20th century and that's in furniture." remarked Scorch. "And if what the ponies say about being created to start off in an ancient greek like period is true, than surely they should have been a space faring race by now."

Suddenly Pinkie Pie bounced to the masked humans excitedly.

"Good news everybody, we got the full tour planned. Everpony is just super duper excited to meet you all!"

"They're really nervous, but at the same time really excited to check you out." exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"And while you 4 go on your tour, I'll be in Canterlot for the day discussing what we're going to be doing about the 4 of you being in Equestria and the Summer Sun celebration." said Twilight.

"Yeah, about that. Would you kindly cancel the tour." muttered Scarecrow.

"Beg your pardon?" questioned Applejack.

"There's been a change of plans." sighed X-ray.

"But everypony is getting exhilarated just to meet you. The 4 of you can't possibly cancel the tour." shook Rarity.

"Watch us." growled Overwatch.

"Why would you want to cancel the tour?" whimpered Fluttershy. "I mean it's fine if-"

"Look, you ponies might possess the rationality to comprehend this, but our theory about pony's evolving to become like humans or having a human influence is ripening." explained Scarecrow. "The 4 of us need to get to the bottom of this situation ASAP."

"Yeesh. You're canceling a fully fledged tour just because of a few coincidences." scowled Rainbow Dash.

X-ray gritted his teeth. "One! As if we need to tour a group of facilities that we humans already have on our colonies in better conditions. Two, for the sake of pony mental health and innocence, I don't think a 23rd member should be around them for too long. since all of our confrontations end in misery Third, a lot of the content we're going to be asked is going to be classified anyway. Fourth, universe shaking discoveries beet banal tours."

"Awww, but the town is just so nervouscited to meet you 4!" chocked Pinkie Pie.

"Well, why not make ponykind useful and help provide us information to further our research?" questioned Overwatch.

"No offense darling, but human works of science stretches beyond the limits of Ponykind. Besides, it would be such a stressful distraction from our day to day lives and wouldn't help us one bit." stated Rarity.

Scorch unfolded his arms. "While Rome burns, Ponies care about silly day to day activities and meaningless fun."

"Ah hate ta brake it ta ya partner. But this is Ponyville, and it ain't burning." pointed Applejack.

"It isn't burning.....yet." smirked Scorch.

Scarecrow got back on track. "This doesn't change the fact that my squad is on the verge of a breakthrough, let the real first contact team pacify the needs of your citizens. After all, what human is crazy enough to disregard a species being exactly like his?"

Twilight stomped her hoof. "Scarecrow, this is the chance for you and your friends to make or brake the human relationship with Ponykind. Besides, on the tour you could collect vital information to our cause."

X-ray exhaled. "She has a point. With any luck, we'll run into sources that would help us with our theory. Besides, how could we say no to such cute and cuddly creatures?"

"See, X-ray has the right idea." insisted Rainbow Dash.

Scarecrow gave a sigh of annoyance. "Fine, but we will disregard any questions that we're not allowed to answer, get to call quits anytime we want and spend no more than an hour in each section. Understand?"

The ponies gave remarks of validation.

"We've already semi violated a protocol by revealing our selves to the public." pointed Scorch. "The last thing we need is for ponies to know about our lives since birth."

"Don't worry, all you need to tell them that it's classified information and everypony will think it's like some cool spy thing and lay off the questioning." cheered Pinkie Pie.

"Besides, isn't mystique and fear of the unknown traits of the 23rd?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"It is. But fear of the unknown starts without actually knowing we exist." countered X-ray. "That's why we we're so successful in combat and keeping people in line. Through a threat they don't know exists."

"Right now, we're a blinking New Vegas casino in the Marshall Desert." gritted Overwatch.

"But one, you're not in combat with anypony and two, you don't need to use fear to keep ponies in line." pointed Rarity.

"Also, we demand that we be allowed to strip Ponies of anything we deem a threat to humanity or anything that we can use to further our research." ordered Scorch.

"You can't just take anything you want without permission." beamed Twilight.

"You're right, the human law says we need to address a warrant." remembered X-ray.

"But failure to comply to that warrant is a federal offense and will result in detention." warned Scarecrow.

"If that's the case, than I don't think anypony is going to give up their stuff so easily. Even if it is for science." glared Rainbow Dash.

"I swear, ponies are counterproductive when it comes to any field of knowledge." cursed X-ray.

Twilight gathered a set of things she had pre packed for a royal summit and brought them to her with telekinesis. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a summit to get to."

"No problem Twilight. Something tells me you want to get away from the attention in the first place. Besides, the sooner the princesses know, the better." encouraged X-ray. The masked human crouched down and to the ignorance of the ponies in the room, slapped on a nano recorder that transmitted voice recordings directly to their storage.

Shadow used neural controls to log into the device.

"Don't be late Twilight. I mean, if that's okay with you." whispered Fluttershy.

Twilight headed out the door. "Well I'm off to the train station!"

"Are you kidding me?" groaned Scorch.

Twilight turned around. "What do you mean?"

"Why would you waste time with taking a train?"

Twilight flapped her wings. "Oh, I see! I'll just fly there."

"Ahem." Scorch pointed to Twilight's horn.

The purple mare blushed. "Oh of course. Teleportation, why didn't I think of that?"

Twilight's horn lie up and the alicorn vanished from the vicinity.

"Alright, let's get this tour over with." growled Scarecrow.

Rainbow Dash got excited. "So we're going to start with the school. It's not too far-"

"Um, girls. I don't think it's a very good idea for a human to be interviewed by a classroom, especially if they work for the 23rd." spoke up X-ray.

"Why not?" glared Applejack.

Scarecrow dropped his mouth under his mask. He pointed his fingers to his mask. "Let's see, we're very aggressive, anti social, cynical, can't resist the urge to point out flaws, give ponies mind attacks every time they look at us and above all, our job requires us to kill!"

"Plus, I don't know how, but we're going to end up insulting them all and leaving them crying if we don't make a death threat first." finalized Scorch. "The 23rd operates on fear."

"Do you really want fillies or colts to be near us?" added X-ray.

"Come now, these fillies and colts haven't seen anything exciting since the great cutie mark mix up. Not to mention, you did a good job restraining yourself in front of Sweetie Bell." noted Rarity.

"If that doesn't float your boat, you could always go to to the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale." offered Rainbow Dash.

".............."

After the pause, X-ray burst. "First off, the last time humans went to a city in the clouds, it didn't work out. Badly. Second, how do you have, no wait, why the fuck do you have a Rainbow Factory?"

The two pegasai looked nervous.

"You do realize a Rainbow is just refracted light right?" questioned Scarecrow. The masked human took off his shades, quickly placing a palm to over his eyes as well.

Impressively, the leader of Shadow motioned his shades to the window. Suddenly, a non animated Rainbow emitted from the light rays the optics were refracting.

Scarecrow put on his shades in a fifth of a second. Much to the equine's dismay, they couldn't catch a glimpse of the human's eyes. If he had any.

The non pegasai were beginning to realize something fishy was going on.

Applejack scowled at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. "Is there something you two are hiding about the factory?"

"No." defended Fluttershy.

"Liar." muttered X-ray. He held his wrist computer that glowed red.

"If that's how Rainbows are really formed, than what did we see in Cloudsdale?" asked Rarity.

"Either they're fake or Pegasai have found a way to solidify light.....which is fucking impressive." noted Scorch.

A wild idea formed in Pinkie's head. "I bet it's a conspiracy to get rid of foals-"

Rainbow Dash couldn't take it. "Alright, it's an old town secret. The factory doesn't make Rainbows, it's just a sham to get the city money. If word got out, the city would be bankrupt."

After a 5 minutes of arguing over the morality of such a fraud and Shadow going into another rant of why capitalism sucked for another 10 minutes, the humans and ponies decided to get back on the situation of the tour.

"Like we said before we got hastily interrupted, I don't think it's a good idea for people with such a controversial profession to be speaking to young ones." said Scarecrow.

"Yeah, you don't even have to go into the really mature stuff. Just tell them you're super heroes that defeat bad guys and they'll be happy!" insisted Pinkie Pie.

"Super Hero isn't the best way to describe us honestly." shook Scarecrow. "We've had to take down a few people who ha good intentions due to them violating the constitution."

"Anti hero still works. They're too young to comprehend stuff like that." shrugged Rainbow Dash.

"And really, do ya really want those adorable Fillies and Colts to be hurt?" smirked Applejack.

Scarecrow folded his arms. "Alright, we'll go. But we'll back out the first sign things get tense. Is that valid?"

"Yes." snapped the the Mane 5.

"Alright let's move. We're wasting time here." yawned Scorch.

"Oh boy! This tour is going to be super great! I'm so nervouscited!" shrieked Pinkie Pie.

Applejack frowned at the Pink Mare. "You do realize dat's not a word right?"

"Just think, we're going to get even more famous after this as the first Ponies to make contact with humans." chanted Rarity.

"Yay." whispered Fluttershy.

X-ray cursed in Armenian.

Shadow was less than enthusiastic, even Overwatch was more apathetic than usual. The 4 of them were beginning to regret revealing themselves.

Meanwhile on the BlackJack, Orbiting Epona.

The entire frigate was in a state of anxiety and inquiry. All crew and science personnel on the ship were analyzing the content retrieved from Shadow's data banks immediately.

While the ship's surveillance devices managed to breach the disruption barrier that surrounded Epona, any attempts at extracting information outside of Equestria proved inconclusive.

Commander Sarah McFarlane nervously walked through the halls of the ship, her data tablet was overloading with mail sent to her by the various scientists and crew members.

The CO of the Blackjack had just left the conference room where a number of scientists were pitching in their theories about why the planet appeared animated and how it may have had something to do with ponies receiving mental trauma after looking at humans for too long.

To her right, an entire room had a hologram lit up of a timberwolf, with scientists debating the nature of the creature. One thing was for certain, these wolves were not animals, nor were they plants as well.

As for plants, the commander had just been to the botany room. A group of botanists had attempted to recreate the soil on Epona, and by universe they did. The soil even appeared animated as well.

The rest of the rooms were being used up to determine the nature of each pony type. A hundred or so functions formulas and possibilities for various unicorn, earth pony, pegasai and alicorn 'spell's had been devised. A good number of the crew was focusing on the creation of weapons using the anomalies, but alas, a heavy frigate did not have the industrial equipment of a carrier.

The 3 philosophers stained aboard the ship were debating the reasoning of Epona being so Earth like as well.

The ponies had become celebrities for the personnel on the ship. When the crew was on break, they would often draw Pony OCs, create pony jokes and even debate who was the best pony. Pinkie Pie was in the lead so far followed by Applejack. Sarah herself liked the Mayor.

As Sarah walked across the halls, a Spanish crew member by the name of Rojas approached her and saluted. "Ma'am you're expected in section gamma, the scientists there have uncovered information on 3 more pony inhabited cities."

"I'll be there." replied the commander without worry.

As Rojas ran off, an Ensign of Jordanian descent by the name of Alia took his place.

"Commander Sarah McFarlane, I strongly urge you to contact Shadow immediately." she urged.

The commander gave a sigh. "Shadow is doing fine, I'm surprised they haven't gunned down the village. A normal human would have lost their sanity after meeting english speaking equines."

"But they have broken numerous protocols such as the revelation of the 23rd and insulting of a leader." countered Alia.

"I'm aware of that, but First Contact protocols dictate that any human from any group should reveal themselves to Xeno society shall it be deemed necessary. Besides, Shadow is 23rd. Pretentiousness is inevitable."

"Can't we at least inform them that we are watching in order for them not to act out of line?"

"I'm afraid contacting them will interrupt they're train of thought and the 4 of them will call for immediate evac off the planet. Besides, they've gone public, that calls for them to collect themselves. Even if Shadow does go section 8, we can attack them from orbit with precision weapons."

"Has the Bureau of Terran Intelligence been informed of this predicament?" nervously asked Alia.

"We're streaming them information from Shadow's HUD." answered Sarah. "I count one day until the president himself is informed of this."

So, should I do the tour guide next, or Twilight visiting the princesses? You decide in the comment section below. Terran117 out

Author's Notes:

See if you can guess the irony of the summer solstice being on the 23rd of June.

BTW, due to political correctness, the Summer Sun celebration is no longer about the defeat of NightMare Moon in order not to offend Luna.

"After all, what human is crazy enough to disregard a species being exactly like his?" to answer your question Scarecrow, every random passive 18 year old going to Equestria.

UTF Lore (Bonus)

The following will give you insight to the backstory of the UTF's military and colonies. Topics regarding actual human customs will come later. You really don't need to read this. I kind of made it for fun myself.

Brace yourself for bad grammar.

UTF Eras.

2033-2130: Inter solar era. This was a difficult time for the UTF as a large population of humans were living in poverty from the after effects of WWIII as opposed to the rich who had benefitted. Earth was largely polluted as well. White supremacist Neo Nazis rose as well, against the idea of unification along with various Nationalists wishing to return to country based rule. Luckily, this was also a time for the colonization of the solar system. Rail gun based weapons replace conventional ones.

2131-2250: The extra solar era. Colonization of the Alpha Centauri, Tau Ceti, and Gisselle systems occurred after star ships were equipped with faster than light engines. During this time, the two planet and 3 moon colonies of Tau Ceti rebelled against UTF. The rebellion was crushed in the first extra solar war. This was also when the first power armor was created and space ships became armed for war.

2251-2370: The Orion era. Soon the original colonies were getting crowded themselves. With the the creation of wormhole teleportation, the UTF was able to traverse to far away star systems. The first of these new colonies was Auraxis. During this time, the Helghast star systems rebelled creating a massive conflict that lasted decades. Artificial intelligence was created in this time.

2390: Creation of the 23rd counter terrorist unit. A highly secretive group of assassins who also recon possible colonies.

2370-2430: The technology war. The two largest mega corporations; Crynet and Vanu go to war with each other due to increased rivalry and animosity in the economy. The UTF is forced to intervene against their former allies. All of Crynet's assets are seized but all Vanu technology is lost with the exception of cloaking and kinetic barrier technology. This new technology improves Power Armor, starships and schematics are used to create Dreadnought super ships.

2420: The 23rd goes public, but civilians are ignorant that they are a government unit and instead believe the division to be something akin to urban legend serial killers. The UTF remains silent on the issue.

2470: A Zombie like infection swarms the colony of Romero. The UTF has no choice to destroy the planet with the use of Dreadnoughts.

2430-current: The "Liberty" Era. Tired of being ignored and tired of the socialistic restrictions on the economy, a series of corporations go rogue and declare war on the UTF, forming Mega Corp and promising economic liberty despite the heads of the conglomerate wishing for an autocratic oligarchy. Anarchists gain influence as well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

For those of you who still can not picture Shadow who belong to the 23rd, here is how they look like. I'd imagine them to have more black however. I based their appearances off of ghost recon. Their recon armor is made up of a certain material that allows them to spread a light refraction technology to let them cloak and spread a kinetic barrier which is made up of concentrated energy netted in the form of transparent purple hexagons due to the shape's rigidness. Their shades provide them with a HUD and let them see through walls. Their bandanna can filter out any wastes at the cost of being unable to smell. Their suit functions can be controlled vocally, neurally, or physically through touch screens or holograms. Recon armor is solar powered with a battery reserve.

This is an image of a 23rd recon drone. Each unit has a VI and is commanded via neural and cellular communication connected to a commando's HUD. Each drone is solar powered with a back up battery. Drones are outfitted with a camera and other equipment to spy on enemies.

This is what a UTF VTOL would be like. I found the hawk from Halo Wars to suit my head canon the most. VTOLS can hold up to 20 people. The pilot fires a rail gun turret and series of missiles. The gunner operates a back turret and a coil gun.

This is how I'd imagine a UTF starship to look like. Like I said, starships use Tesla canons to disable kinetic barriers and power (electricity is powerful in space since it can travel in a vacuum). Since there is no air in space, all missiles, cannons and nukes are rail gun powered. Starships in the UTF are protected by an overshield, have artificial gravity and can teleport through the use of space-time rips. The Navy of the UTF follows a similar structure to modern day USA.

The following depicts a super soldier-the strongest ground units of the UTF. There are one thousand of them in service. Each one of them is augmented to be at least 7 ft 2.

They wear a power armor that is made up of the same material used to create starships, allowing the suit to spread a cloaking and energy shield. Neural interfaces and nano tech are used to power the armor along with a suit specific VI. In addition to the typical functions of recon armor like cloaking and energy shields, the power armor allows soldiers to carry up to 5 tons and sprint nearly impossible distances. Each suit of power armor is energized by solar energy and miniature cold fusion reactors.

Typical UTF soldiers. UTF soldiers wear red to symbolize the colors of the federation and black to symbolize might. Unlike Shadow, typical foot soldiers lack and Overshield or cloaking. They still are equipped with HUDs and their base armor is stronger than the material that makes up recon armor. The UTF Armed Forces structure equates America's.

(I found the soldiers of the Terran Republic to provide the best allusion for obvious reasons.)

The following is an example of a UTF interceptor that is used by the air force. Despite the name suggesting otherwise, the Air Force deploys interceptors in space as well. The interceptor is equipped with an overshield, gauss launcher, missile pods and rail turrets.

A UTF bomber. Unlike the interceptor, the bomber is slower and is equipped with mini nukes rather than a gauss launcher. It is equipped with an overshield as well.

Navy Orbital Vehicle Assault units. NOVA troopers are a commando group dedicated to the protection and raids of starships. They were formed in response to the creation of zero gravity war. Their armor is equipped with a kinetic barrier and an anti gravity pack to help them fly in space. Their suits provide and oxygen recycling and heating system to keep the user alive in space as long as it is powered. Since the suit is solar powered, this is not an issue.

Eagle Rangers. They are the commando division of the UTF air force. Their suits are equipped with a light overshield to protect them from incoming fire. Eagle Rangers also utilize thruster packs as well as magnetic armor to highjack enemy airships and mechs. Eagle Rangers are trained in the flight of vehicles as well.

Now on to the UTF's colonies. After the formation of the UTF, NASA surrendered its documents to the new government which detailed terraforming. Due to Earth being on the verge of collapse, all funding priorities were immediately shifted for extraterran colonization. Terraformers were finally available for use in 2040. Terra forming equipment includes artificial gravity generators, waste and radiation dispersion units, artificial ozone layer creators and ways to distribute oxygen forming bacteria and plants.

Starships are capable of using "dark matter torches" to help curve space-time to reduce the effects of time dilation between colonies. Equipment developed in the early 22nd century allows faster than light communication.

This is how a typical human city would look like in the 26th century. This is city of New Detroit on the colony of Pandora. Scarecrow's birthplace.

Colonies of the UTF:

Earth: Humanity's home world. Earth retains a population of 550 million after colonization eased the burden on this planet. Wastes and pollution have been largely expelled from Earth due to the use of terraformers. Many former countries on Earth are mostly vacant, having been either destroyed in WWIII or having it's citizens migrated to extraterran colonies. The empty space has been replaced with wild life and nature preserves. The capitals of intact countries are the only cities remaining standing. The city of Brussels is the capital of the UTF. The executive branch is housed here.

Scorch is from Earth, having been born in Vancouver; one of the 3 remaining. cities in Canada.

Mars. The second colony of the UTF which was fully colonized in 2034. It has a population 200 million. It's population is mostly mixed ethnicities. The planet has been terraformed in 2040 to make life more viable. Soil, followed by genetically modified plants were added to the planet as the photosynthesis introduced an oxygen atmosphere. Mars can accurately be likened to a cold desert. In 2150, water was taken from an inhospitable ice planet to create an artificial ocean. A few mega corp bases are a threat to the UTF.

Venus. Colonized in 2045 after waste dispersion was used to reduce the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. An artificial ozone layer was created to protect colonists from radiation. The humid and hot atmosphere widely morphed venus into a warm rainforest. Most people on Venus are from South America. Due to the lack of moon, night on venus is extremely dark so satellites provide artificial light. Artificial gravity is used to keep the artificial ocean in check. The planet has a population of 200 million and planet rights advocates are strong.

Titan. Birth Place of Overwatch. The moon was colonized in 2050 by the addition of an oxygen atmosphere which heated the planet enough to melt its frozen oceans. Safe nuclear fusion techniques were used to modify the methane lake to become normal water. Much to the UTF's surprise, patches of land that could support plants were found. The colony is mostly a cold, ocean world with a population of 50 million with people mostly being Belgian and Swiss descent. There is constant rain on the planet.

Europa. Colonized in 2048. It was colonized and is virtually identical to titan although with more land. It's larger size allows for a population of 50 million. It's population is mostly Greek, Italian and Macedonian descent. The planet is mostly an arctic. There is a strong planet's rights presence. The UTF watches this planet constantly.

Sera (Tau Ceti E). A planet colonized in 2150. It houses a population of 40 million. It's population is mostly Welsh, Scottish and Irish. The planet was near Earth Like, requiring only the introduction of animals and a few edits to the bacteria of the colony. In 2170 the planet was the head quarters of the Union of Independent Republics which was made up of Tau Ceti colonies that attempted secession from the UTF. The current president of the federation is from Sera. It is the military capital of the UTF with the disarmament and security council located here.

Mirdiem (Gliese 667 C). Colonized in 2180. Since the planet is larger than Earth, artificial gravity generators were used to make sure human colonists were not crushed by the immense force. Oxygen was also added to the atmosphere along with bacteria and plants. The triple star system creates bizarre day and night cycles. A few lakes exist as well. The population is 50 million with residents being Mexican and south American. A failed Mega Corp insurrection took place in 2528, it was stopped by 4 certain assailants. It is the manufacturing capital of the UTF.

Vekta. A mega Earth Colonized in 2140 in the Alpha Centauri system. It was the first extra solar colony. To the UTF's surprise, the planet was discovered to be completely Earth like and supported simple life. Its population totals 200 million with most of the population being far east Asian descent. The colony is mostly flatlands populated large urban cities. Mega Corp is strongly present. It is the economic hub of the UTF.

Kepler 22b, or simply Kepler. Colonized in 2370. Artificial gravity was used to make life more viable. Furthermore, a large quantity of the planet's ocean was drained to create land and give water to dry colonies. A large population of simple marine life exists on the planet; ranging from fish like aliens to crustaceans. It's people are mostly Scandinavian with a population of 90 million. It is the fishing capital of the UTF. There is a mild Mega Corp influence.

The Helghan trinity star system. Colonized in 2270 by colonists mostly of British, Australian and New Zealand descent. The large presence of Mars like worlds in each star system was considered a breakthrough of the UTF who used the worlds as a military hub. However, a fascist political group seized power in 2332.and battled the UTF until 2370. Despite the UTF's larger military force, the sheer number of Helghan colonies proved nearly detrimental. Today, neo Fascists have a lingering presence.

Auraxis. Birth Place of X-ray. Colonized in 2251, the planet was extremely Earth like with a variety of biomes, albeit slightly cooler. The population totaled 200 million with a mostly Russian, Armenian, Ukrainian and Georgian population. The planet has become a significant battle site between the UTF and Mega Corp since 2515, although there haven't been any major civilian casualties as of yet.

Requiem. Where Shadow grew up. The colony was discovered in 2330 and was Earth like in the sense that it sported plant life as well as native reptiles and aquatic creatures. The planet is mostly grass land with mountainous plains. A significant on the colony as well though. The planet is mainly consisted of Dutch, and French peoples with a total population of 100 million. It is the general innovation capital of the UTF. The planet is safe from insurrection influence.

Elysium. Colonized in 2273. The planet is completely Earth like with no terraforming required to live on the planet. As a result, the planet holds a natural beauty that makes it a popular resort location. The planet contains a varied environment from beaches to lavish mountains. It's people are French and English with a population of 180 million. It is the arts capital of the UTF.

Pandora. Colonized in 2290. Despite a poisonous atmosphere and higher gravity, the planet had a native population of animal which proved to be extremely feral. Terraformers allowed the planet to be habitable for humans although it killed off the local fauna. The people of Pandora are mostly of American descent. Many secessionist groups preside in the rural areas. The agricultural commission is based here.

Mahatma. Colonized in 2410. It's people are mostly Indian, Bangladeshi and Malaysian. The planet was discovered to be Earth like and housed a population of diminutive mammals and koi like fish. The atmosphere is much more humid, but just as cool as India as well. It's population is 200 million. Mega Corp is influential on this planet.

Bernstein (Kepler 62 E). Colonized in 2340. The distant colony is Earth Like and required only artificial gravity to be colonized as well as the removal of poison in the atmosphere. The planet maintains cold temperatures and a large ocean that was partially drained to supply colonies that lack water. The people of Bernstein are mostly German and Danish with a population of 190 million. It is the political capital of the UTF, with the central congress located here. Due to a high military presence, there is little to no terrorist support.

Sultan (Gliese 581 d) Colonized in 2194. This planet required an ocean that was extracted by water reduction in from Gliese 581g. After artificial gravity was used to restore the planet to habitability, a large concentration of Arabian immigrants settles on the planet. The planet is mostly a desert, but bearable. It's population is around 200 million. Planet's rights insurrectionists are moderately present.

Apex (Gliese 581g). Colonized in 2193. The planet was terraformed by adding additional oxygen through plants and bacteria and using artificial gravity generators. The poisonous atmosphere was removed as well. The planet is mostly a cold tundra with frozen oceans as common sight. It's population is 90 million and is mostly Canadian . Due to the fact that it resides in the center of the colonies, Apex is the location for the Council of Colonial affairs that deals with relations among planets. Mega Corp has a strong presence.

Las Masas. Colonized in in 2380. The planet is temperate with snow being common even in the summers and contains spread out forests. It's population is 300 million with its citizens being Spanish and Portuguese. It is one of the furthest colonies from Earth. It has become a minor bastion for Neo Fascist support.

Mojave. Colonized in 2298. This planet had a desert like structure before minor terraformation, although temperatures are only slightly hotter than those of Earth's. It's population generally descends from Americans who came from the western part of their region. Casinos (owned by the government and private groups) are popular on this planet, but many have ties to Mega Corp. One 23rd squad is always needed on this planet to police these conglomerates. Population is 200 million.

Warsaw. Contains a population of 220 million, majority of which are Eastern European. This planet is known for being one of the main suppliers of woods for the colonies due to the alarming rate at which trees grow. Allowing for sustainable development. Unfortunately, this also attracts occasional Mega Corp goons.

Ferdinand. Colonized in 2330. This planet is generally mountainous with sprawling forests that were added during terraforming. It's population is 180 million with those of Austrian, Hungarian and Czech descent. It's population is home to some anarchist orientated terrorist groups who may or may not be PRM affiliated.

Yankee. Colonized in 2275. The planet required mass terraformation to colonized. Its wildlife (both flora and fauna) was entirely added by human colonists and thus resembles many of the organisms on Earth. The population is mainly of North Easterm American and Canadian descent with some prevalent immigrants. Its population is 180 million. The cities of the planet are modeled after New England cities (futuristic versions anyway). Mega Corp has its sympathizers here.

Zulu. Colonized in 2315. This planet is colonized mostly from peoples from Africa. It required no terraforming form the UTF to be colonized. It's population is 100 million. The planet has a few Planet Right's Movement gangs that are frequently broken up by local security. The colony bears a diverse range of biomes (although reminiscent of Africa).

Akira. Colonized in 2145. This planet is colonized mostly of South Korean and Japanese populations. It is known for its sprawling urban metropolises. It's often referred to as the "twin" of Vekta. The planet has sprawling oceans often used for fishing, but has numerous cases of Kaiju rising from the ocean. UTF coast guard is based here. It's population is 220 million.

Demeter. Colonized in 2300. The planet has a mixed population of around 100 million. It did not require any alternations to be made in order to sustain a a human population. However, this also means that the local flora and fauna do pose a minor problem and requires the Federation to take extra steps to ensure safety of citizens. The planet is known for its production of AI and cybernetics.

Author's Notes:

So did I get all the scientific principals right?

There are subtle video game references along with a zombie movie reference, find them.

I wasted your time with trivial lore, didn't I?

Chapter 22: Royal Summit

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." John F Kennedy.

The entire city of Canterlot was booming with livelihood. In about a few days, the most important ceremony was about to take place. Naturally, hundreds and sometimes, thousands of ponies would make a pilgrimage to view the most spectacular sight of all, their leader Celestia raising the sun.

The Capital of Equestria was still ignorant however about the presence of Xenos on their world. Twilight and Mayor Mare had made a great job of keeping reports of humanity confined in Ponyville.

Despite what Ponies believed, Celestia was not omnipresent, there were secrets, scarring secrets she did not know. Especially now that Twilight was an alicorn, the solar 'Godess' no longer felt the need to constantly check up on her.

What made this day even more exquisite however, was that was the most important royal summit there was in Equestria was going to take place. There were Crystal Summits held in March in the Crystal Empire hosted by Cadance and the Lunar Summits held in December hosted by Princess Luna in Canterlot as well.

An hour before the current time, a carriage transporting Princess Cadance and her Crystal royal guards arrived in the city. Much expected fanfare arose at the sight of the Alicorn of Love. The trip was long, but she had managed to sleep early in order to avoid exhaustion form waking up early.

The 3 rulers of Equestria sat in the throne room, eagerly awaiting the fourth. Small talk passed the time until Twilight arrived. It was not like the purple alicorn to be late.

In the front of the castle laid the entrance crowded by citizens of Equestria, eager to see the 4th alicorn.

Suddenly, a bright purple light flashed and the princess of magic materialized. As usual, the crowd bowed in respect and worship at the sight of their princess.

Some confucian had run amuck however; Why was Twilight not wearing her dress or crown? Why did she just teleport? Surely she knew it was expected to take a train or carriage? And finally, why did she have such a simple carrying case?

While Twilight collected herself, two solar guards approached her and offered to escort her in to the castle. Twilight politely insisted she could handle herself and merely requested her bag be taken somewhere else.

To the surprise of everypony, Twilight immediately began galloping in an un-lady like manner into the grand entrance.

'I don't have much time until Shadow does something sadistic.' she thought.

Finally she approached the large door to the royal hall and hastily opened it.

Just when Twilight panted from exhaustion, a series of musical notes startled her enough to give a yelp. She witnessed a series of solar, lunar and crystal guards stationed in two single file lines standing proudly.

Twilight nervously walked forward, only to bump into a tan pegasus solar guard with a blue mane.

Said Pegasus Guard was unfazed and simply helped Twilight up and announced her arrival:

"Her highness, Princess Twilight Spark-"

Twilight cut him off with a hoof wave. The other alicorn princesses approached Twilight gleefully.

Cadance gave a laugh. "Twilight! I haven't seen you since the coronation!"

Celestia spoke next with her motherly tone. "We have so much to discuss-"

"We do." interrupted Twilight.

"You seem troubled Twilight." noted Luna with utter concern.

"Have you been using that technique I've been teaching you?" reminded Cadance.

"I have uncovered world shattering news." responded Twilight glumly. "I think it's best if we discuss the matter in private."

Celestia nodded.

The 4 alicorns quietly traversed their way trough the castle. A feeling of anxiety was beginning to creep the other 3 alicorns as well. Soon, the 4 made it to Celestia's private study. The room was large with thousands of books stored everywhere on shelves along with paintings of previous Alicorns.

Cadance broke the pause. "So what is it that you want to discuss?" The pink Alicorn smiled to lift Twilight's attitude.

Twilight collected her thoughts and looked up at the other Alicorns. "Do you remember the object that descended from space that you asked me and the other elements to investigate?"

Luna grinned gave a quick nod. "I myself tried to investigate what had befallen using my magic, but every time I did so, I got a splitting headache and my powers dissipated."

"When I did not hear from you for a day," began Celestia. "I began to worry horribly. However, I remembered that if one of us died, we would have sensed it through our connections. A few days later, I received a letter from Spike detailing me that you arrived to Ponyville soundly."

Twilight's ears flipped up. "Did the letter say anything else?"

Celestia shook her head no. "Did you find the elements useful in your situation?"

'The elements'. Thought Twilight. There was no way she could just lie to her mentor and the other princesses that Scarecrow destroyed them with a grenade. She would get blamed and she and her friends would get banished.

Twilight decided to tell the truth. But not the whole truth. Twilight calmed herself using Cadance's technique, much to the pink alicorn's amusement.

"The elements proved counter productive to our situation." chirped Twilight.

"So how is the object from the heavens causing you this stress?" asked Luna.

"It is not the object that is making me perplexed, it's what came from it." trivialized Twilight.

Cadance suddenly flashed back to a date with Shining Armor she had 3 years ago. The one where they stared at a brilliant star and Shining lightly brought up the idea of aliens.

The pink Alicorn inhaled. "Twilight are you saying-"

"There are aliens in Equestria." answered the alicorn of magic.

Luna on the other hoof looked somewhat excited. "Xenos? I always knew there was life amongst the stars. Does this mean what landed was a spaceship of some sorts?"

"I didn't see the object that landed." Muttered Twilight nonchalantly. When me and my friends made our way through the forest, we were ambushed by the 4 aliens."

Luna's smile was wiped off. Celestia took the lead.

"How many aliens are there?"

"4." answered Twilight. "They also claim to be male."

"They can speak equestrian?" yelled Cadance.

"They call the language english or something." shook Twilight. They accuse us of stealing the language from them."

"That absurd." snorted Luna. "This is the third incarnation of the equestrian language, to get similar results, one would have to start from phase one."

Twilight gave a nervous chuckle. "Here's the thing, they claim english is the third form of their language too, right after what they call ancient greek and roman."

"Let's keep the cultural things away from now." insisted Celestia, sweating lightly. "What do the aliens call themselves?"

"The scientific name for their race is homo sapiens, although we can call them humans." answered Twilight.

"You said there were 4 humans. Are they soldiers or scientists of some sort?" questioned Luna.

"They're soldiers alright. But elite ones, gifted with enhanced intelligence, speed and strength." said Twilight. "The unit which they descend from scouts possible planets to live on as well."

"Goodness! You mean to tell me an entire alien race is going to colonize Equestria." beamed Cadance. She calmed herself with her own technique.

"They informed me that because intelligence has already inhabited this planet, the humans will have no intention of taking this world for their own." assured Twilight.

"Define they." whispered Celestia.

"The humans refuse to tell me their real names or anything about their past. All history I know about them is....shadowy." stammered Twilight. "They have call signs however. The leader of the unit is named Scarecrow, they have a man who blows things up named Scorch, some tech expert named X-ray, and what they call a marksman named Overwatch."

"Those names sound antagonistic. Names I'd give to ponies who're complete jerks." panted Cadance.

"They think our names are silly." gritted the alicorn. "Apparently, humans don't use nouns for names. They've mentioned human names to me, but they're just so off...and unpronounceable."

"Why did you not inform us of the situation earlier?" asked Luna.

"They wouldn't let me leave their sight. Come to think of it, I'm surprised they let me see you 3 at all." remarked Twilight. The alicorn remained ignorant that Shadow was hearing everything they said.

"Can you describe the appearances of these humans to me?" requested Celestia.

"Here's the thing, they're nearly indescribable." whimpered Twilight.

"How so?" asked Cadance.

"For starters, they don't look like anything that came from Epona, something about their coloring, yes coloring, feels off." beamed Twilight.

"It's also as if they're too detailed. When I look at them, it's like I'm looking at a million more objects at once. All that detail to their appearances gives me-"

"Headaches." said Luna and Twilight in perfect coordination.

"What's scary, is that they claim everything outside our planet is design like them. They call our forms simple and animated. Whatever that last part means."

"Are sure you can't describe them at all?" asked Celestia.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "Well, I can't explain what they look on the outside, since they wear a strange, completely black outfit they call recon armor and cover their face with a white cloth and a pair of technologically advanced sunglasses."

"Are they Equestrian like us?" questioned Cadance.

Twilight shook her head. "They're bi-pedal and claim to be a subspecies of ape. They don't have hooves, instead they have these weird claw like things called fingers. Except without the sharp nails."

"Is there anything you might know about their appearances under garments? Have you seen a picture of their race that shows them bare?" piped up Celestia.

Twilight faced hoof. "The one called Overwatch drew a picture of me and the rest of my friends as humans, but I forgot how the picture looked like. But from what I remember, they have no fur, requiring them to be clothed all the time. And judging by the imprints of their masks, their eyes are tiny and they lack muzzles."

"How tall or short are they?" said Luna.

"The 4 humans I met claim to be taller than the average human, but they're huge. Each one of them is taller that you Celestia." pointed Twilight.

The princess of the sun looked rather puzzled. She took a rather guilty pride in knowing that she was tall, she thought her hight was indomitable.

"They each have a slightly different physique." noted Twilight. "X-ray is rather skinny with long limbs. Scarecrow on the other hoof, or hand in human standards, is slightly bigger. Overwatch and Scorch look the same on the outside.

"I don't mean to be rude, but the human look sounds rather frightening." mentioned Cadance.

"One can only guess what lies under masks." muttered Twilight.

"I see. But I still cannot find a reason for you to be so stressed. What are these humans like?" added Celestia.

Twilight took a deep breath. "They're hyper intelligent, hyper advanced-"

The princesses looked interested.

"-but hyper lethal, aggressive, cynical and sometimes scary."

Suddenly the princesses shared the same stress as Twilight.

The purple alicorn continued. "The unit in which these 4 come from is called Shadow squad."

"Sh....shadow squad?" squeaked Cadance.

"Yes. The technology the human race possesses, is utmost extraordinary." reviled Twilight. "They have space ships that can travel through star systems. The humans have manufactured holograms that they can operate with their minds with little to no physical action as well as robots and devices they call computers. Why, they don't even have to read books physically any more."

"My, these humans must possess a thorough understanding of magic." awed Celestia. "In all my Godhood, I never thought a race could ever break the containment of their mother planet."

Twilight gave a chuckle. "Here's another piece of interesting news, turns out there's no such thing as magic at all."

The other princesses burst into laughter.

"That's a good one Twilight." joked Cadance. "I guess you aren't the element of anything anymore."

"SERIOUSLY!" yelled Twilight. The other princesses stopped laughing.

"These humans are in possession of some of the greatest minds I've ever seen." continued Twilight. "I don't want to sound selfish, but their thought processes and methods of thinking surpass even mine. They've figured out magic."

"Twilight, surely you of all ponies should know magic is an unexplainable force." pointed Luna.

"Well tell that to them. They've debunked every single spell or magical principal I've brought up as if I told them to do math homework given to foals." shook the purple alicorn. "They've proven to me that magic can be reasoned with."

"But you've been studying magic under my wing for many years." remarked Celestia.

"Exactly, what do those humans know?" added Cadance.

"What do they know?" spat the alicorn of magic. "They know that we've completely disregarded a field of study. Rather than studying why magic works, we've only studied the things we can do with it. So far everything I've told them about pony society only makes them think we're more and more ignorant!"

"The nerve of those aliens!" gritted Luna.

"The nerve? Did you even know that all the other suns and moons in the Universe turn on their own?" mocked Twilight.

Celestia tried to catch her breath. "But that can't-"

"Be possible, have we gone into space?" sarcastically said Twilight. "Did you also know that plants and animals are supposed to take care of themselves? Of course not. Did they know that, of course they did!" she cried.

"I just can't see myself explaining some of the anomalies that have occurred in my life." shook Celestia.

"Well I said the same thing about Pinkie Pie, and they called me a lazy thinker!" teared Twilight.

"Twilight, please try to calm down." begged the alicorn of the night.

"I'm sorry." she whimpered. "I always thought of myself as an intelligent mare. Now, I'm laughable compared to the methods of rationality of a human. There are times when they start discussing concepts that I'm totally ignorant on."

Suddenly, the princess of the night began to rethink her statement. The other alicorns thought the same thing; had they really been ignorant all along.

"Don't say that, you're still the smartest pony I know." encouraged Cadance. The leader of the crystal empire placed a wing to comfort the purple alicorn.

"What of their power?" spoke up Celestia.

"Let's just say Shadow can exceed the power of the elements of pushed." said Twilight.

"I don't believe that. The elements are unbeatable. If they can conquer Discord and Nightmare Moon, surely 4 soldiers would be no trouble." shook the solar princess.

"These 4 aren't your royal guards Celestia. They represent the elite of humanity not only in terms of knowledge but in terms of sheer might." countered Twilight.

There was an awkward pause in the air.

"Do you want to know why those dragons never came flying back up, or why those Griffins never reported back to you?" trivialized Twilight.

"Because the 4 of them slaughtered them all."

The 3 princesses gasped. Color began to drain from their faces. Even Celestia looked paler than usual. The 3 alicorns could not decipher what was worse. The fact that 4 individuals took out 2 Dragons and a Griffin army or the fact that they killed at all.

Luna started stammering. "Are you sure they murdered them all?"

"I saw the corpses. The bleeding, dead, mutilated corpses." wept Twilight.

Celestia gasped and motherly nuzzled Twilight. "I'm so sorry you had to witness such a thing like that."

"How could they just...murder like that? What about the concepts of harmony?" whimpered Cadance.

Twilight wiped a tear. "They claim to have been attacked first. As for how did they kill them? One of the technological wonders of humans allows them to kill easily."

The princess of the night took a deep breath. "Surely if they were attacked...they were justified. But I don't know what type of pony could resort to murder."

"Gee, what type of human?" gritted Twilight. "Scarecrow is a control freak, X-ray has anger issues, Overwatch suffers from depression and Scorch has an affinity for blowing things up!"

"Depression." breathed Cadance. "Something must have happened to those humans. Maybe a traumatic experience of sorts. Shining Armor might be captain of the guard, but I sure know he wouldn't advocate murder."

"We're talking about colts, I mean men, who would kill a foal if ordered to and just dump its body like trash!" shrieked Twilight.

"Such frightening behavior. How could humans raise such sadists?" said a disgusted Celestia.

"That's not the scary thing," sighed Twilight. "they don't even flinch. All emotions of regret pass them like...a shadow."

"What do you mean?" asked Luna.

"I saw them kill a hydra king and a pack of timberwolves. All they did after they slaughtered something was shrug it off." answered Twilight.

"Those aren't soldiers, those are psychopaths!" blasted Celestia. "How could 4 men like them not be locked into an asylum?"

"The division were Shadow comes from is called the 23rd. They claim the others in that division behave the same way. I believe it's somehow intentional." explained Twilight.

"Why would the government want to hire people like that into the armed forces?" questioned Cadance.

"Why did we hire Discord?" countered Twilight.

Twilight slumped to the ground. "It get's worse. You so much as insult them in a light joke, they'll declare you a threat and point their weapons at you."

"And they just say anything they want about you in return?" gritted Celestia.

"Wow, it's like you were there." sarcastically remarked Twilight.

"Do they just bully you when they're not busy killing?" inquired Cadance.

Twilight faked a grin. "It's not so much as they bully me as it is them thinking our race is a joke. They refuse to take us seriously on all grounds."

"These so called humans need to be expelled at once. Discordic beings like them have no place here!" yelled Luna, it was a miracle she did not resort to the royal Canterlot voice.

"Wait, let's not get so hasty." started Twilight.

The other princesses looked at the purple Alicorn confusedly.

"Let me explain. To be fair, I can't honestly blame them for the way they're acting."

Cadance calmed herself with her technique. "What do you mean? Why would somepony let their emotions get the best of them?"

"Let's just step in their hooves, uh, feet. They're separated form their starship without any means of communication, and the similarities of our planet vs theirs is getting on their nerves." justified Twilight.

"What kind of similarities?" asked Luna.

"For starters, they claim to have ponies on their world." began Twilight.

Celestia smirked. "Well isn't that a lovely coincidence."

"To them it means the greatest conspiracy of the universe." bumbled Twilight. "Apparently, everything we have on Epona, they have on Earth."

"I don't see the reason to get so worked up over a few coincidences." pointed Cadance.

"Well, they're turning Ponyville upside down to solve their theory." grunted Twilight.

"Elaborate on this theory." requested Luna.

"Basically, they're convinced that ponies are 'evolving' like humanity. They claim our past and cultures matches theirs." explained the alicorn of magic.

"But that's absurd. Everypony knows we were created but the original alicorn herself and we progressed from there." defended the alicorn of love. "Our history can't be that similar."

"And why waste time over such a theory when they should be focusing on things such as preserving harmony?" added Celestia. "If humans need to have soldiers like our friends, Shadow, than surely their race if violent and war like."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think it's very fair to call humans war like just because of Shadow. I mean, would it be fair to judge ponies based Pinkie Pie or Derpy alone?"

"Your point...is valid." nodded Luna. "Such a stereotype would be unfair."

"But to resort to tactics like murder and violence, Is that not cruel?" asked Cadance.

"They're soldiers. I guess this is how humanity deals with threats." sighed Twilight. "The humans claim to have been like us at once point, so I suggest we rather not question their methods for now."

"Twilight is correct. If the humans visiting were poets or artisans, surely we would have received a different welcome." justified Luna.

"And while I hate their methods. I refuse to call Shadow evil, when we were traversing the Everfree Forest, they did risk their lives to protecting us. If it were to come down to it, I'd expect they give their lives for the greater good." Twilight couldn't believe she just defended them.

"Regardless, I can not tolerate such individuals like them. Equestria is a place of compassion and harmony, not ruthlessness, sadism and sheer arrogance." boasted Celestia.

"To be fair. My intuition is telling me that this branch of humans isn't popular with the rest of the species. The fact that I'm not dead or hurt physically proves that we can trust them." defended Twilight.

"I still do not see what gives them authority to run amuck making ponies feel bad about themselves." gritted Luna. Suddenly, Luna's horn, after being charged by brain pulses, began absorbing more and more energy and radiation from the atmosphere.

"Auntie Luna, try to control yourself." pleaded the alicorn of love. The princess of the night quenched her anger using Cadance's technique.

"What do you know about the history of these humans anyway?" asked Cadance.

"They've refused to tell me anything about human history or culture." shook Twilight. "On the other hand, they constantly demand answers and threaten us every time we refuse to share."

"So until then, we are dealing with a race we know nothing about?" said Luna.

"Not until they meet the three of you at once. That's when they'll talk." remarked Twilight.

"I don't think I could meet such barbarians." hissed Celestia.

"To be fair, we're the barbarians by their standards." justified Twilight. "Besides, they're not the real first contact team. They're just making sure this planet is safe until they can re establish contact."

"And when might that be?" questioned the solar princess.

"I don't know. But I wouldn't count on it being anytime soon. After all, I don't think telling them to leave would be such a great idea." noted Twilight.

"And why's that?" beamed Luna.

"They'll more than likely view it as a threat." explained the alicorn of magic.

"You forget we are Alicorns, Twilight." reminded Celestia.

"You forget that they're humans." replied Twilight What's to say they don't have a gigantic laser that will rip this planet from the universe with ease?"

"UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE WE TO MAKE THEM MAD!" screamed Twilight in the royal Canterlot voice.

"Shadow squad would have no trouble ripping us apart like wet tissue and under no circumstances are we to keep secrets from them! They're omnipresent I tell you!"

The other alicorns froze. Twilight blushed after realizing what she just did.

"So until then, we have to tolerate them?" sneered Luna.

"Well, that's what we ponies do best. Besides, I don't know why, but I feel that deep down, a natural instinct instructs me to obey them." stated Twilight.

The alicorns ignored that last part.

"So what are we going to do about them?" wondered Cadance.

"I propose that we give them what we want and meet with them they want." sighed Twilight. "It's the only way to be sure they won't get mad."

"Are the ponies out side of ponyville aware of their presence?" questioned Celestia.

"I'm afraid not. I controlled the situation so no news wouldn't be leaked." said the alicorn of magic.

"Then why not have a grand reveal of some sorts?" proposed Luna. "We reveal the arrival of aliens to the public, bring Shadow Squad here, find out about each others race, and make contact with the less....aggressive parts of humanity."

"That does sound like a good idea." complimented Twilight.

"I still refuse to associate myself with such inconsiderate assassins who can not grasp the concept of harmony." sneered Celestia.

"To be fair princess, I really am making them out to be worse than they appear." said the alicorn of magic. "I guess I'm still afraid that's all."

"You know Tia, the first contact with an alien race would provide enough stress to render somepony violent and glacial." added Luna.

"Besides, if we can reform discord or NightMare Moon, what's to say we can't reform a group of mere young adults with a case of Blueblood-ego." chuckled Cadance.

The atmosphere brightened up. Celestia returned to her cheerful manner. "Alright then. If they misbehave, I'll just blast them into our sun."

"And then get humanity distraught and have them declare war on us," muttered Twilight. "Am I the only pony who is aware of consequences of antagonizing this race?"

Celestia rolled her eyes. For the next hour the 4 princesses debated how to plan out the 'First Contact' ceremony. From media, to food to publicity.

Then, the rulers of Equestria laid out the plans for the summer sun Celebration. They hoped by then Shadow would reestablish communication with humanity. Regardless, they devised a plan to convince them to be the official security of the Solstice. They believed such an offer would make them behave during the gathering.

Finally, Twilight decided it was her time to depart.

"Well, looks like I'm off everypony."

"What! Twilight this is the most important royal meeting of all time, we have festivities to plan." pointed Cadance.

"I'm sorry Cadance, but I really should leave." said Twilight quickly.

If you didn't plan on staying so long, why bring luggage?" inquired Luna.

"Oh that? I almost forgot." In an instant Twilight used her horn to generate enough energy for her to see through space time to search for her carry on, find the desired object, energize enough energy for the bag to be able to vibrate through walls and pull it towards her with a certain type of magnetics.

The bag materialized in front the of the other three alicorns.

"Last night I took some notes about Shadow that you might want to read." warned Twilight.

The alicorn used telekinesis to open the bag. She hoped to find documents, only for the bag to be empty.

Celestia sniffed something familiar. "Does anypony smell smoke?"

Twilight gritted her teeth. "Scarecrow. Last night he must have burned my papers because 'Shadow has to be so secret'."

Celestia chuckled a bit. "I have to admit, they sure remind me of that spy story Pinkie Pie once told me about."

"Should we not send guards to help protect you?" proposed Luna.

Twilight exhaled. "Sending guards would only threaten them."

"I wish you luck in dealing with them Twilight." assured Celestia.

"Why do you have to leave so early anyway?" remarked Cadence. "It's barely the afternoon."

Twilight formed a worried look. "They've probably put Ponyville under Martial Law by now."

And with a purple flash, Twilight vanished from the castle.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the inconsistent spelling of Alicorn.

The next chapter will be a bout Shadow's tour that happened in conjugation with this chapter. :)

What would you like Shadow to see in their tour other than the school?

Terran out.

Chapter 23: The Tour

"If you enjoy living, it is not difficult to keep the sense of wonder."- Ray Bradbury

"I really don't want to fucking do this." voiced Scorch through local COOMs.

"It's a school Scorch. With any luck they'll be a library, or some research center we can take points from to further our hypothesis." justified. X-ray.

"Regardless, I don't want to do anything more than say hi to those kids. We've already violated 23rd protocol through our revelation, we don't need to traumatize those colts and fillies." muttered Scarecrow.

The cloaked Shadow squad was being accompanied by the Mane 5 to the local school. Shadow stated that they were perfectly fine without a guide since every place in town was marked on their HUD. The equines however, insisted their inclusion.

The 4 commandos had cloaked in order to avoid being detected by the masses as many ponies were skipping parts of their work to meet the counter terrorists. Shadow however, didn't have the time or desire to satisfy the curiosity of each resident. Furthermore, the 4 masked humans found themselves with their primary weapons drawn out. They didn't want any surprise assassins, mercenaries, or universe knows what coming at them.

Rarity couldn't see the humans, but she was painfully aware that they were armed.

"Must you carry your barbaric instruments of war everywhere you go?" asked the white mare.

"Disarming us will be viewed as a threat." warned Scarecrow. Overwatch seconded that.

"Follow me!" skipped Pinkie gleefully. "We're almost at Ponyville Schoolhouse! Aren't you nervouscited?"

"No." muttered Shadow at once.

"Come on! You don't want to set a negative reputation for yourselves, do you?" insisted Rainbow Dash.

After a minute of walking and trotting, the group found themselves gazing at the school building. Outside was a playground, which Shadow noticed resembled a human one, with colts and fillies playing games, which again Shadow noted were of human origin.

Suddenly, the bell rang and the students galloped into class.

"Looks like it's just an elementary school." radioed X-ray.

The cloaked Scarecrow approached Rarity and tapped her on the neck. The startled unicorn turned around.

"The 5 of you told us that Ponyville Schoolhouse was the only educational facility in town. Shouldn't there be a middle school or high school for ponies 11 and up to attend?" inquired Scarecrow.

Applejack laughed. "'Course not partner! Nopony continues goin' to school after 10 unless they were some genius. After dat we focus on our talents."

A silence rang in the air.

"That explains so much." said Overwatch.

"If it's just an elementary school, than we'll probably have no use such a simple knowledge base." remarked Scorch. "Besides, like we're going to scare those foals. Let's leave."

The invisible humans turned around and were about to walk away until-

"Wait." pleaded Fluttershy.

The humans turned back.

"Would you really disappoint those little kids?" The nervous pegasus made a sorrow expression.

"My universe, that is so cute." awed Scorch.

"Fine, we'll go. But we leave the moment we call for it." ordered Scarecrow.

The 4 humans sprinted past their guides. The Mane 5 realized what happened and tried to catch up with the humans. As they opened the door, they were greeted by a cerise Earth Pony teacher.

"Hello there." greeted Cheerilee warmly.

"Oh hey there Cheery deary!" greeted back Pinkie Pie.

"The students are going crazy about those aliens." shook the teacher. "Are the humans ready for their presentation? Where are they anyway?"

"Actually, the humans are already inside the building." pointed Rainbow Dash.

Cheerilee looked nervous. "But I didn't see them come in."

"Dat's because they're invisible Cheer." muttered Applejack.

The teacher's eyes shot up. "Goodness, we have to find theme before they do something inconsiderate. Where could they possibly be?"

Rarity placed a hoof on her chin. "I believe I may know where."

The 6 mares dashed past a series of lockers and made it to the school library. Needless to say, the entire room was a fiasco. Books were littered everywhere and being opened and tossed aside by an invisible force.

"See anything worthwhile?" asked Scarecrow's disembodied voice.

"Negative." responded the rest of Shadow.

"The books we have here are the same ones Twilight had. No textbooks or anything informative either. Just stories." pointed X-ray.

Cheerilee stepped forward. "Um, excuse me."

Suddenly the books in the air stopped moving.

"Are you the teacher?" asked Scorch's disembodied voice.

Cheerilee nodded. "The class is ready for you."

"Alright just give us a second." whispered Overwatch. Too everypony's surprise, Shadow managed to rearrange the library in 1 minute with every book arranged in the Dewey Decimal system.

The 4 humans brushed passed the mares and headed to straight to class which wasn't hard to do considering there was only one. Scarecrow opened the door and the rest of the cloaked Shadow entered the room followed by Cheerilee.

At the sight of their teacher, the students silenced. All the while, Shadow placed their weapons on the magnetic plates perched on their backs. It was a miracle the 4 of them didn't hit the roof.

"Class, we have very special guests today. They are out of this world!" announced Cheeriliee.

The filly pegasus named Scootaloo got excited. "You don't mean-"

Suddenly, Shadow uncloaked and revealed themselves to the classroom. This was no longer a surprise for the commandos, but all the fillies and colts immediately received migraines and mind fucks as they tried to sink in Shadow's incomprehensible form.

After the headaches alleviated, "So, tell us about your self." said Cheerilee.

Scarecrow "My name is Scarecrow. These are my friends X-ray, Overwatch and Scorch."

Sweetie Bell waved at X-ray while Applebloom winked at Scorch. The two humans smiled lightly after seeing their favorite fillies again.

"We are human beings." continued Scarecrow. "We're 24, male, hetrosexual and our job is to serve the United Terran Federation military amongst the ranks of the 23rd counter terrorist division."

After the insipid introduction. The colt named Rumble raised his hoof. Scarecrow pointed at him.

"Can you please explain your job?" asked the colt impatiently.

"We stop bad guys. Period." muttered a vacuous Scorch.

"That's not much." complained Snips. The other colts in the class agreed.

Overwatch himself couldn't help but give a mental laugh after he realized how none of the fillies in the class seemed to excited about Shadow. He pondered the situation had Shadow been female pop culture icons.

X-ray turned to face Cheerilee. "May I go through your study plans and textbooks?"

The teacher gulped. "Y-yes. You...may."

The rifleman sat down at the teacher's desk and looked through her memos with immense inquiry while the other 3 members of Shadow went through the class.

"I'm afraid we can't go into any detail about our jobs for the sake of your innocence." explained Scarecrow.

"Come on! You gotta tell us something." complained Snails. All of a sudden the fillies got excited too.

"Yeah, what about those mean space pirates you face?" asked Pipsqueak.

"They're insane. We'll leave it that." muttered Scorch.

"What about those cool adventures you have defeating intergalactic aliens?" yelled Scootaloo.

"Humanity has never faced intelligent empires before. Ponies are our first." answered Scarecrow.

"But don't you have to get rid of those alien animals that haunt foreign planets?" questioned Sweetie Bell.

"Sometimes." shook Scorch.

"Have you gone adventurin' on uncharted worlds before?" asked Applebloom.

"Yeah, 3 times." replied Overwatch.

"How many times do they call on you to save the day?" called out Dinky Hooves.

"A lot. Let's leave it at that. By now, we would have gone through 5 missions if we weren't exploring this place." answered Scarecrow.

"That is so cool!" cheered Scootaloo.

Scarecrow knitted his eyebrows. "Cool? Do you what our profession requires us to do?"

"Yeah, stop bad guys!" pointed Sweetie Bell.

"Did any of you colts and fillies even consider how we're supposed to stop them?" trivialized Scorch.

The class was silent. Cheerilee didn't like were this was heading.

"Out job requires us to murder. There is nothing cool about that." refuted Scarecrow. "Have you ever stopped to think about that?" Overwatch and Scorch crossed their arms.

All of a sudden, the students were beginning to form a new idea on the concept of good vs. evil. The acts of the elements of harmony were heroic, but nothing extreme.

"Let's not think about it for a moment." proposed Scorch. "Does anypony else have any questions?"

"Where do humans come from?" asked a filly named Twist.

"Humans originate from Earth, but with the exception of Scorch we were born on various planets across the galaxy." answered X-ray from Cheerilee's desk.

The idea of intergalactic colonization excited the fillies and colts again.

"What was school like for you?" asked Applebloom.

"We can't go into too much detail for legal issues." pointed Scarecrow. "We faired pretty well in school though. Me and the rest of Shadow always showed up on time, did really well on our projects, took part in extra curricular activities and we didn't give our teachers any problems."

"I don't believe that." chucked Rumble.

"Well my lie detector didn't go off." pointed Scarecrow to his wrist computer.

Cheerilee decided to take advantage of the situation. "You see class, this is the kind of behavior you're supposed to be demonstrating at school. If men like these can display excellent behavior, than you should too."

A lot of students gave Shadow a light scowl for elevating expectations in class.

"You must have been really popular if you were that good." awed Dinky.

"Not really." debunked X-ray as he was finalizing his notes. "Bullying was common for us."

"What did you do about those mean bullies?" asked Sweetie Bell.

"What do you think we did? We just told our teachers and that was that." remarked Scorch.

"Another fine example class." applauded Cheeerilee.

The snobbish filly Diamond Tiara was still bemused. "Why do you 4 look so funny? You don't even fit in to the scenery."

Scorch recognized her as the one bullying Twist the other day.

"No offense kid, but Equestria is the funny looking one. You all look like cartoon characters. Everything beyond our galaxy is built like us." countered Scarecrow.

"Can you identify yourself young miss?" ordered Scorch.

"Name's Diamond Tiara." gloated the Pink filly.

Scorch smirked. "Funny, because your tiara is plastic."

The snobbish filly looked like she got hit on the face with a bat.

Suddenly X-ray spoke up. "Ms. Cheerilee, what are you teaching these kids?"

The smile on the teacher's face vanished. "What ever do you mean?"

X-ray stood up and looked over his readings. "Well for starters, everything relating to science is completely off."

"How so." whispered Cheeirlee.

"I don't blame you for your ignorance, but the stars don't scientifically require a deity to move, there's an absence of gravity, a lack of explanation for plant growth, missing information on molecular structure, paradoxes every where and no mention of the laws of physics anywhere. In fact, your school curriculum is akin to the misguided ones of the renaissance because it attempts to explain many concepts as 'magic'." pontificated X-ray.

Cheerille started stammering. "But mag-"

"Does not exist. Everything has an explanation." interrupted X-ray. "May I see your so called science tests?"

The earth pony teacher nervously got out a folder (which she held with her teeth) detailing all past, present and future science examinations.

Scarecrow grabbed the sheets and shook his head. "Exams. How primitive. Given the fact that these students have been forced to be tested on false knowledge, these scores are no longer valid."

The commander of Shadow raised and lit his pyro grenade. To the awe of the class, all of the 'science' exams were disintegrated in a mere moment.

X-ray stepped in front of the class carrying a series of textbooks. "Now as per United Terran federation laws, we are to correct any errors in your curriculum and reinstate a satisfactory teaching program."

"That is ridiculous! There is nothing wrong with what I teach my students." countered Cheerilee.

"We're in space. What's you're excuse?" replied Scarecrow.

"OOOOOOOO!" pointed the class to their teacher.

Cheeirlee scowled. "What gives you the right to enforce your federation laws on my class and dictate what I teach?"

"Well we are the law." snickered Scorch. "Besides, our teaching programs were once primitive like yours. Don't you want the improved lesson plan for the sake of your students?"

"While we're at it, we should probably work out better designs for chairs. Those things meant for legs can't be too comfortable for equines to sit on." proposed Scarecrow.

Shadow proceeded to step outside of the classroom as the child ponies watched on, stupefied.

Just when silence was beginning to take hold of the class, Overwatch opened the door-

"By the way, the average intelligence unit of humans went up after we got rid of tests and homework in 2190."

-and closed it back.

The fillies and colts gave Cheerilee a dirty look. The teacher gulped and try to keep her smile intact.

------------------

"A fucking spa, really?" complained Scorch. All ponies in the room but Rarity stammered back at the swear.

"Why this isn't no ordinary spa my dear. This is the paragon of beauty treatment in Equestria." chanted Rarity.

Suddenly, two earth pony mares wandered into the room. One was blue with a pink mane while the other was pink with a blue mane. The pink one spoke with a clam tone.

"Hello distant travelers, I am Aloe, and this is my sister Lotus."

Scarecrow switched his mic to local. "Didn't Rarity say they were lesbian with each other?"

"Let's not think about that right now." radioed back X-ray.

"We are certainly pleased that you took the time to visit our luxurious spa." greeted Lotus. "The two of us have pleased many mares before with our treatments. We would be rude not to offer our services to you."

Scarecrow rolled his eyes. "For starters, we're human males and second, the chances of us letting you remove our masks are non existent."

Aloe was desperate. "But you will be the first bi-peds we will have worked on. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"We have many magically created products for you that would help rejuvenate skin and take the pressure of your faces." added Lotus who balanced a jar on her hooves. "I'm sure you do not have these on your many worlds."

Scorch grabbed the jar and scanned it to his hud. "For starters, there is nothing magical about this cream, it's just simple sodium and spring water. Second, we have products like this on the colonies that are of better quality. Third, when was this product put into circulation?"

"This is a new formula introduced a year back." answered Lotus gleefully.

Scarecrow looked around the room. "Me and the rest of Shadow are conducting an experiment. We would like to request that we be allowed to utilize some of your products for our research."

The two lesbian sisters looked at each other.

"Well, I'd hate to be rude, so yes." assured Aloe.

"But we still would like to perform at least a Ponyville massage on you." offered Lotus.

Shadow found Rarity looking up at him with a bright smile. "Come now Shadow, at least one of you should go through their signature masseuse."

X-ray muttered something Armenian. "I can't say no to such an adorable face. I'll go."

While Scarecrow, Overwatch and Scorch began hoarding items, X-ray was directed onto a table. The commando took off his carbine from the magnetic plate as well as his bullet proof vest.

The masked rifleman reluctantly laid himself on the table. To his surprise it did not shatter, although it was obviously stained due to his mass.

"Now just relax." whispered Aloe.

X-ray used neural controls to disable his kinetic barriers. The next thing he new, Aloe got on his thin back and immediately started prancing. To X-ray's delight he felt the tension on his back dissipate. Then Lotus started improvising with cracking his fingers.

The two mares got to work and in about 5 minutes, X-ray was as feeling as good as ever.

"Damn that felt good." moaned the counter terrorist as he placed back his armor. "I feel like I can rip the horns off a rancor with my bare hands."

The sisters looked at each other confusedly. "Umm....your welcome?"

X-ray joined his friends, who stripped half the parlor of its products in a bag and headed out.

--------------------

"So where should we head off to next?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"How about town square? There's plenty of sites to see there." proposed Fluttershy.

"Actually, I think we should head off to SugarCube corner next! I'm in the mood for a wacky snacky." piped up Pinkie Pie. "Plus, I gotta prepare for that super even this night." she winked.

"Sounds lovely to me. Are you fine with that Shadow?" asked Rarity.

"Let's see, we have an entire logical crisis and we're getting snacks. Just great." remarked the cloaked Scarecrow.

"Do you 4 honestly need to stay invisible the entire time?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"We don't want any unwanted attention." defended Scorch.

"Well, we kinda look like fools just talking to thin air. Air can't talk. I mean I learned from Overwatch that rocks and metals can sing, but air? That's just silly." skipped Pinkie.

The 4 humans simply sighed and uncloaked. As their figures became apparent, everypony within the vicinity shifted their focus to the counter terrorists.

Shadow remained unfettered and kept their weapons tight. Had the ponies been humans, the would have simply set off a flash bang and EMP to cover an escape. Now, they had to deal with attention.

The squad stopped in their tracks as more and more ponies came up to them.

The Mane 5 on the other hand, kept on moving.

"Well ah think it would be a fin' idea if we could see the Ponyville clock tower." pointed Applejack.

"Or the Joke shop! Who doesn't love jokes." laughed Pinkie. She was still determined to make Overwatch smile.

"Well it's Shadows decision." whimpered Fluttershy. "Right Shadow?.....Shadow."

The 5 former elements of harmony turned around and dropped their mouth at the sight before hoof.

"Holy Universe, you are so cute!"

X-ray held the blue unicorn named Colgate in his hands and nuzzled her coat with his mask affectionately.

"Who's a good mare? Who's a good mare?" chanted Scorch as he rubbed Roseluck's belly while the mare laughed.

"Hey pal! That's my marefriend." gritted a stallion named Golden Grape.

Scorch simply tussled his mane and the stallion chuckled. "Hey stop!"

"Who's a good stallion? Who's a good stallion?"

Scarecrow held the twins Cloudchaser and Flitter to his chest while the two whinnied in excitement.

Overwatch was slowly stroking Derpy Hooves' mane.

"So far, you're my favorite." muttered the sniper. While Derpy just chuckled.

"SHADOW!" called out Rainbow Dash.

"We really would' appreciate if if ya didn' go 'round cuddling everypony you see." beamed Applejack.

Shadow simply dropped the ponies they were embracing and followed the group, much to the crowd's displeasure who had grown fond of the sensation of fingers.

--------------

"Alright we're here!" announced Applejack as the group entered the bakery.

"By the way, how was staying here last night?" asked Scorch.

"Meh." replied Overwatch.

Mr. Cake came in the room. "Pinkie Pie is that...OH SWEET CELESTIA! THERE'S 4 OF THEM!"

The yellow earth pony ran inside kitchen followed by his wife. That left the two Cake twins who were fast asleep.

"You won't regret eating one of Pinkie's cupcakes." insisted Rainbow Dash.

"But unless you don't want to get too hyper, I'd suggest staring away from energy drink flavor. If that's okay with you." squeaked Fluttershy.

"How many times must we say it? We can't eat until further notice due to our medications." reminded Scarecrow.

"Don't be such a dopy pony!" cried out Pinkie, "We have a lot of flavors for you to try like chocolate, red velvet, vanilla, strawberry-"

"-Pinkie, we appreciate the generosity, but" X-ray paused. "Did you say red velvet?"

The party pony nodded. "Want a piece?"

Suddenly, the cake twins woke up and looked at Shadow with their beady eyes. The next thing everybody and everypony knew, the foals started crying at the sight of the frightening humans.

"Oh dear. Somepony do something before they go through a flight or magic spurt." warned Rarity.

"Don't worry everypony! I know what to do!" yelled Pinkie Pie. The pink mare grabbed a sack of flour with her sugar-
induced walk breaking skills and dumped the pile on the foals. Much to Shadows surprise, the cake twins felt ecstatic.

"What was that?" questioned Scarecrow. He got ready to take notes.

"Oh, when the twins get all sad. I just dump a pile of flour on them, it always works." responded the pink mare.

Scorch raised an eyebrow. There was nothing in flour that could make you happy by itself. He walked up to the flour sac, scraped some flour with his gloved finger and placed it under his bandanna. The demo man tasted the animated flour.

After a brief pause:

"This is cocaine."

---------------------

After a 20 minute sweep where they turned the entire bakery up side down, Scarecrow and Overwatch stepped outside of the facility. The Cake family and Pinkie was detained and restrained via kinetic barrier hand cuffs.

"Scorch, give me a sit rep." ordered Scarecrow.

"Well turns out the entire thing was misunderstanding." reported the demo man. "They're not involved in drug trade of any sorts and weren't even aware they were in possession of cocaine at all. How did the investigation go?"

"We managed to dispose all cocaine bags. Luckily, none of the baking equipment is drugged and the family seems to avoid using the fatal ones." explained Scarecrow.

"Pinkie Pie, how on Celestia did we get drugs into our bakery?" asked Mrs. Cake.

"I don't know. I might be crazy but I know better than to talk to shady ponies." responded the pink mare.

"Where do you even get our flour from?" questioned Mr. Cake.

"Oh, this funny looking old stallion comes in asking if we want some of his 'wares' which is a really funny name for flour if you ask me".

Mr. and Mrs. Cake wanted to strangle the party pony if they weren't tied up.

X-ray all the while had performed a series of drug test on the twins. "The foals are alright. Luckily they don't seem to swallow the drug and have inhaled an atomic amount. At worst, they'll grow up to be fucking Pinkie Pie."

"You're free to go." announced Scarecrow. "Just don't let Pinkie be in charge of flour anymore." He raised his hand and delivered a pulse punch to disable the kinetic barrier field.

The other mares arrived to further direct Shadow on their tour.

--------------------

"You only sell quills and sofas?" questioned Scorch.

"Why yes. That is my talent after all. You boys looking for a good old sofa or a quill to write on?" offered the store's owner Davenport.

"No offense sir, but no human has written with quills for hundreds of years. We barely use pencils as well." said Scarecrow. "And don't fillies and colts write with pencils?"

"Yeah, but many still use the good old quill. Pencils are just a fad." defended Davenport.

"Trust me, based on the path ponies are taking, they won't be. May we see your sofa collection however?" asked X-ray.

"Sure thing."

Davenport tried to open the door behind him. "Funny, it seems to be locked."

Overwatch rolled his eyes and gave the door a kick, bringing it down and splitting it in two. The store owner was left startled and stupefied.

The squad looked at the collection of couches and took not of the anachronisms.

"Some of these couches are renaissance, others are industrial era, others are 20th century." recorded Scarecrow.

"Has the design of this couch been a new creation?" pointed X-ray to a renaissance like furniture.

"Why no! We've had that design for thousands of years." laughed Davenport.

'Thousands? The renaissance was only a few centuries.' pondered X-ray.

"Davenport why do ponies want couched like these? Surely they don't suit quadrupeds well?" inquired Scorch.

"I don't know. We just thought we should invent them." responded Davenport.

"And why do ponies even have quills? Surely it is a pain to write with if you lack telekinesis." added Scarecrow.

Davenport laughed. "Not really, you just gotta hold it right in your teeth. See anything interesting boys?"

--------------

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity waited outside the store. Pinkie Pie had gone to plan for the party.

"I wonder if Shadow found anything they like." whispered Fluttershy.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and knocked all 4 mares aside. Out came Scarecrow carrying an industrial revolution era couch chair followed by Overwatch and Scorch dragging a renaissance couch that X-ray happily lied down on.

--------------

"So, I think we should head on the market next. You'll find a lot of cool things there!" cheered Rainbow Dash as she did a twirl in mid-air.

"Jus' don't go to any of the fruit stores. I swear they rip you off!" warned Applejack.

"Pfft. Privately owned stores, what a capitalist joke." laughed X-ray.

Shadow took some mental notes via their HUD on the items that they could find there. The humans and ponies walked along the road silently until:

"Oh my gosh! This is the best day ever!"

Shadow immediately turned around and pointed their weapons at.....a sea green unicorn.

Scarecrow unholstered his LMG. "You must have a good justification for sneaking up on 4 counter terrorists ma'am. "Please identify yourself."

"Oh no, not her." face hooded Rarity.

"I do have a good reason. My name is Lyra Heartstrings." the unicorn extended her hoof.

"Pleasure. What do you require?" questioned Scorch.

"Oh just your very existence." cheered the sea green unicorn.

"I beg your pardon?" muttered Overwatch.

"You see, ever since I was a filly, I was the only one amongst town to believe in the existence of aliens." started Lyra.

"Well, praise to you for being open minded." complimented X-ray.

"Yeah, but my friends thought differently. When I wanted to talk about aliens, I got dismissed as a freak. Almost nopony I knew wanted to be my friend. So much for harmony eh?" stated Lyra.

Scarecrow crossed his arms. "Ponies of all creatures did that to you? I want to have word with them."

"Growing up was hard. Because of my belief, I got name called, uninvited to parties and even BonBon herself kicked me out of the house for a while."

Scorch gave a flaming exhale. Nopony deserved to be treaded like that.

"But to pony hell with them. I get the feeling they'll be kissing my hooves for forgiveness tomorrow." chuckled Lyra. "So what does it fell like to have hands? They look so cool!"

Scarecrow gave his gloved fingers a twirl. "Grabby."

Lyra grinned. "So, if you're not doing anything tonight, how about one of you give a mare a ride she won't forget?"

That's when it got awkward.

Scorch's mouth dropped. "Pardon us?"

Lyra lowered her voice to a sly whisper. "Come now, surely you aliens need a little break from saving your species. Am I right?"

".....You're a lesbian. Fuck X-Gay." said Scarecrow quickly.

X-ray's eyes shot open. "Um, guys?" The masked soldier turned around, only to find that his 3 friends were no where behind him. He slowly turned to the horny mare. (no pun intended.)

"So what do you say?" purred Lyra dreamily.

"Aren't you supposed to be dating...you know mares?" nervously asked X-ray.

Lyra laughed and found herself hanging on X-ray's head. "Oh don't worry, I converted. Gender won't be a problem."

X-ray was about to explain how sexuality wasn't a choice and how you couldn't convert until-

The sea green unicorn hugged X-ray's leg. "Now come on. Show me your alien-"

Lyra couldn't remember how she ended up in the trash can.

--------------

Shadow and their 4 companion mares found themselves walking amongst the ponyville market. Countless sales ponies were calling at Shadow to go take a look at their merchandise.

"The laissez faire marketing, it burns." groaned Scorch.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything we might need." ordered Scarecrow as he tried not to accidentally stomp somepony.

"Seriously, I'm all for fresh air shopping, but if there are no malls, than Ponyville's market system hasn't evolved beyond the bartering of medieval England." noted Scorch.

"Yet all of this merchandise is once again, renaissance and up." added X-ray.

Rarity turned around to face the humans. "Now we can stay here for an hour maximum. If you see anything that interests you, feel free to make a purchase. Why, there are some lavish souvenirs sold here you can buy."

Scarecrow rolled his eyes under his mask. "We might have a lot of saved money, but it's in UTF credits. Not whatever you use for currency."

"Well we use bits for currency." informed Rainbow Dash.

"There should be a place you can make an exchange 'round here." said Applejack.

"Thanks, but no thanks." replied Scorch. "Let's split, we'll get a lot of work done."

The members of Shadow, divided find anything they deemed a necessity to their research.

The entire marketplace was a wonder to Shadow. Every store they visited sold different items from different time periods of humanity. Some which did not make sense for hoofed ponies to utilize. Whenever asked about the nature of the object, Shadow got the same response. It was a recent creation.

Despite the medieval style of bargaining and store structure, there were 20th century cleaning materials, 19th clocks and cameras, and music stores that sold renaissance instruments as well as records that only played classical and dubstep.

After a moment of hard interrogation, Shadow would then ask if they could borrow an item for research, which the shop keeper quickly surrendered.

Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash bemusedly watched Scorch, who moved with impressive speed, drag a series of music items with a record player back to Twilight's library.

In the heart of the moment, a purple flash appeared before the eyes of the 4 mares. Suddenly, Twilight revealed herself to the market place. In return, the shoppers stopped activity and bowed.

Twilight, full of panic galloped to her friends.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Twilight? You're back early."

The alicorn was breathing heavily and spoke quickly. "Is the town in ruined condition? Did Shadow execute somepony? Are they plotting a global invasion?"

"Relax, Twi. Everypony is jus' alright." laughed Applejack.

"I wouldn't say the same about their property though." whimpered Fluttershy.

Twilight turned around to see Scarecrow dragging a crate of medical supplies he got from the hospital.

The princess of magic turned to face her friends. "What's going on and where's Pinkie Pie?"

"Pinkie Pie is planning a surprise party for the humans." answered Rainbow Dash.

"Shadow on the other hoof, is in the midst of their research project." yawned Rarity. "I just wished they'd give it up."

Overwatch passed by the mares with a rack of multi era clothes.

Twilight fumed. "Oh for the love of Celestia."

The purple alicorn flew over to Scorch who was carrying series of artifacts he got from a souvenir shop.

"So Twilight, you're back early." noticed Scorch.

"That's right. What do you think your doing?" scolded Twilight.

"Science." replied the demo man.

"By stealing other ponies' property?"

"We're not stealing shit. We asked them if we could borrow it."

"You do realize they only said that because they were scared of you!"

"Doesn't matter. Besides, well return them. Eventually."

And without a second glance Scorch took off with his loot.

X-ray on the the other hand was transporting a crate of kitchen appliances from a home appliances store. Just as the masked rifleman was making his way-

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

An object crashed into X-ray's back. Luckily for him, his kinetic barrier had absorbed the impact. The rifleman turned around to see the object that crashed into him was a scooter. Laying on the ground next to it were 3 fazed out fillies he recognized as Applebloom, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo. A pile of newspapers was scattered as well.

X-ray placed down the crate and helped the fillies up.

"What are you 3 adorable things doing?" asked X-ray playfully.

Scootaloo got up and squealed at the sight of X-ray. The other fillies got excited at the sight of the human as well.

"Well it's simple." winked the orange filly.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DELIVERY PONIES!" cheered the trio.

The masked counter terrorist knitted his eyebrows. "Come again?"

"We're trying to get our cutie marks in delivery." responded Sweetie Bell.

The memory hit X-ray. "Oh you mean those tattoos you get when you find your talent."

"Yeah! How did you get your cutie mark X-ray?" asked Applebloom.

"Humans don't get cutie marks." laughed X-ray.

"But then what is that?" pointed Sweetie Bell to the symbol on X-ray's arm.

"That isn't a cutie mark, it is the symbol of the 23rd." informed the rifleman.

"Then how are humans supposed to know what their special talent is if you don't get cute marks?" asked Scootaloo.

"You just find something you're good at." chuckled the rifleman.

"But how are other ponies supposed to know you're not a blank flank?" inquired Applebloom.

"Humans don't have flanks and why do you care so much about talents?"

The crusaders gasped.

"Our talents are supposed to determine what we're going to be when we grow up!" yelled Scootaloo.

"Yeah, we have to find out what our talents mean pronto. We're the only blank flanks in school!" added Sweetie Bell.

"There is no need for you to find your talents right now." insisted X-ray.

"Yes there is!" yelled Applebloom. "This is the age for us to be focusing on our future."

"No this is the age for you to be enjoying your education and trying to make the most out of yourself." countered X-ray.

"Our school ends soon. We can't afford to be blank flanks any longer." stammered Sweetie Bell.

X-ray's mouth dropped. "Wait a minute, you mean society puts pressure on fillies and colts to find out their professions at this age?"

The fillies nodded. "Don't humans do the same thing?" asked Scootaloo.

The commando couldn't believed what he was hearing. "No! We humans aren't forced to decide our job callings until our late teens. Children are supposed to be given the time to discover and help themselves learn what it means to be a part of the ingenuity that is the universe."

X-ray turned to face the group of mares. Twilight was in the middle of hearing about Shadow's uncovering of drugs stored in SugarCube corner.

"Hey Twilight!" called out the rifleman.

The alicorn turned around. "What is it X-ray?"

"I heard ponies are forced to decipher their careers at a young age. Is that true?"

Twilight laughed. "Of course. How are ponies supposed to find out their careers if they don't start young?"

"What the hell does Equestria think it can do with the way it treats young children?" ranted the hooded rifleman.

Twilight looked confused. "Excuse me?"

"It's bad enough you force kids to take standardized tests, but you honestly put pressure on them to find out their job callings as well?"

The purple mare was dumbfounded. "Well, that's how pony society works."

The scrawny rifleman would have spat if it wasn't for his mask. "That's horrible, you need to change the system right away. Fillies and Colts should be enjoying their childhood and be allowed to be free from any kind restraint!"

The alicorn glared at the human. "Then how are ponies supposed to discover their careers? Don't humans-"

"No! The UTF do not force children to make life changing decisions and discoveries like that. Do you have any idea how crazy it is to make fillies and colts decide careers at that age?"

Twilight remained silent to see where this was going. The other elements of harmony were dumbfounded.

"Do you want to know why humans don't force kids to choose professions at such a young age? Because we change. As humans grow older, we begin to improve ourselves and that's when we find our true talents. Since we go to school above 11 years old we have more time to explore out true selves and find out what our strengths really are. What you're good at as a kid might not be relevant as an adult. For example, when I was young, I wanted to be an engineer."

The elements of harmony were dumbfounded.

"Wait, so if ah waited a few years and continued goin' ta school, ah would have had a different job?" pondered Applejack.

"Maybe I'm not really cut out to be an animal caretaker." worried Fluttershy.

"To be fair, I can't really debunk the whole system." continued X-ray. "I mean, you're all good at what your cutie mark says. I just hate how young children are pressured."

The elements looked relived. Rarity wiped her sweating forehead.

"But, we still want to get our cutie marks anyway." complained Sweetie Bell.

"What have you tried so far?" groaned the rifleman.

Scootaloo brightened up. "We tried all sorts of things. We tried hang gliding, para sailing, lion tamers and stunt ponies."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous trying those talents are?" scolded X-ray.

"Yeah!" cheered the orange filly. "Rainbow Dash said to always go for the cool and awesome."

"Do yourself a favor and never listen to Rainbow Dash again." instructed X-ray. "She'll get you killed."

"But you're a soldier! You're special talent is fightin'." defended Applebloom.

"This isn't my true calling." explained the counter terrorist. "I might be good at serving the armed forces. But my true passion lies in the fields of congressional debates."

"Huh?" muttered the crusaders.

"Look. Your logic is flawed." began the thin soldier. "First of all, what makes you think all 3 of you have the same talent?"

The fillies looked at each other as if they got hit by a gauss bullet. Sweetie Bell spoke up.

"Well, it can happen. I mean aren't all of your friends ninja/spies too?"

X-ray cursed in Armenian. "I told you before, this isn't our true passion. I want to be a politician, Scarecrow wants to be an author, Overwatch an artist, and Scorch a hockey player."

"So why are you in the military?" inquired Applebloom.

"Because we're good at it. But just because you're good at something, doesn't mean you should pursue it. Our time in the 23rd is limited. Soon, we'll be off to our true careers."

"That doesn't make sense. If you're good at something, that should be your job!" retorted Scootaloo.

"Colgate has a glass hour cutie mark, but she's a dentist." pointed X-ray. "Sure, you should be good at your job, but what is truly important is if you're happy."

"To be honest, I don't think I'd be happy doing all the stuff we try out for the rest of my life." confessed Applebloom.

"So why do you try something that dangerous if you're not going to be happy." questioned X-ray.

"Because they're awesome!" boasted Scootaloo."

"Just because something is awesome, doesn't mean you should pursue it." suggested the slender commando.

"So how do you plan on us getting you're cutie marks?" chimed in Sweetie Bell.

"Simple. What do you 3 like? Not as a group, but as individuals." instructed X-ray.

"I like many things!" smiled Applebloom. "I could show you all my favorite things at the clubhouse."

X-ray had an epiphany. "Clubhouse? Did any one of you build it?"

"Yeah it was Applebloom. She did a great job!" declared Scootaloo.

"Applebloom, could you build me a drawer?" requested X-ray.

"Sure thing!" cheered the yellow earth pony. To the the slender human's surprise, Applebloom masterfully gathered a selection of planks, nails and a hammer which she used to construct an elegant, Victorian era drawer.

"Now please build me a nightstand." calmly said X-ray.

Applebloom gleefully and skillfully did so. The nightstand she constructed however was more colonial times.

The skinny commando was pleased. "Applebloom, go with wood work. You're awfully good at it and you seem pretty content while doing carpentry."

The earth pony's eyes widened. "Wow, that does sound like a good idea." Suddenly in Applebloom's brain, the realization of her talent triggered a series of impulses which immediately traversed to the skin cells on her flank and reorganized the pigments in order to form an image of a log and saw based on mental images from her memories.

In other words, she got her cutie mark.

Applebloom looked at her flank and upon seeing the image, screamed loudly with joy.

"Do me next!" blurted Scootaloo.

X-ray gave a moment's thought. "I suggest you work with your scooter by entering sporting events based on the object. You seem pretty proficient at it."

"Do you think so?" chirped the pegasus filly.

"Well scoot is in your name, so it would be pretty funny." laughed X-ray.

Scootaloo gave it a moment's thought "That sounds like a cool idea. After all, scooters are awesome!"

And the orange filly got a picture of a blue scooter on her flank.

After noticing her cutie mark, Scootaloo fainted.

"What about me? I don't think I'm good at anything." sighed Sweetie Bell.

X-ray tried to think what she'd be good at. The commando didn't know why, but because he enjoyed Sweetie Bell's voice so much, he scanned her vocal cords with his visor. Remarkably, they were in pristine condition.

"My suit informed me that your voice is of genuine quality. Could you try singing for me please?"

The unicorn filly perked up. "Sure, I love singing!"

Sweetie Bell sang a few notes for X-ray, sure enough she sounded like an angel.

"You're voice is lovely. I'd suggest going with singing." proposed the scrawny counter terrorist.

In the heart of the moment, a microphone cutie mark appeared on Sweetie Bell's bottom, causing the filly to start prancing around uncontrollably.

The crusaders huddled up and cheered.

"NO MORE CRUSADING FOR US!"

As the filly's admired their cutie marks, they each made sure to thank X-ray. The hooded commando couldn't help but feel joy as he helped those young ones in their dilemma.

The former crusaders ran to the clubhouse to celebrate, catching the attention of the older mares.

Rarity was in shock. "Was that Sweetie Bell?"

So was Rainbow Dash. "And Scootaloo?

As well as Applejack. "And Applebloom?"

Twilight's mouth hung open. "With their cutie marks?"

"Affirmative." called out X-ray.

The 5 mares looked at the tall human with utter awe.

"Wow, ya got Applebloom her cutie mark! Thanks partner, ah was starting to get worried about her." thanked Applejack.

"Those fillies were at it for years!" exclaimed Rarity. "By Celestia, how long did you take to find out their talents?"

X-ray looked at the time on his HUD. "10 minutes and 13 seconds."

"Well, good job." complimented Fluttershy.

Twilight was sweating. "How could have you discovered their talents so quickly?"

X-ray pointed at his skull. "Simple, I used rationality rather than 'the awesome'. Rainbow Dash."

The Rainbow Maned pegasus gave the human a scowl.

Suddenly, the rest of Shadow arrived at the scene.

"Hey X-gay, where were you?" called out Scarecrow.

"I was having a chat with a few fillies." answered the commando.

"So now that you're done hoarding everything you lay eyes on, can we continue the tour?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"If that's okay with you." whimpered Fluttershy.

"That's a negative." denied Scorch. "We've set up our apparatus at Twilight's house. We need to get to work immediately."

"Hey, who said you could use my room as a lab?" puffed Twilight.

"Surely, you of all ponies would be interested in our experiment." crossed Scarecrow.

"I just don't think it's so necessary for you to get so worked up about a few coincidences!" defended the alicorn.

"Well excuse us for not being able to accept your world copying ours." snorted Scorch.

Rarity fixed her hair. "But you know what is inexcusable? Missing the jousting tournament!"

Shadow's brains split in two. After an awkward pause.

"Do you even know what jousting is?" questioned Overwatch.

"Of course, I once challenged Dash to a game once." whispered Fluttershy.

"Don't remind me." muttered the cyan pegasus.

Scarecrow inhaled. "During Medieval times, we humans had a sport where two men would knock each other off their transport with lances."

"Exactly. Dat's how joustin' works." revealed Applejack.

"But our transports were horses." informed X-ray. "Why would ponies find it necessary to invent a game that requires a bi-ped to ride a horse?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Well it's the most popular game in Equestria after-"

"Let me guess, soccer, basket ball, or any other primitive sport no human plays?" interrupted Scorch.

"No. I don't even know what those sports are. The most popular activity in Equestria is bowling." finished the alicorn.

Shadow's brain split in 4.

"Bowling? As in the sport where you have to roll a ball to knock down a series of pins." muttered Scarecrow.

The ponies nodded.

"It's not a sport a lady would admire, but it is certainly exciting." dramatized Rarity.

X-ray brightened up. "HOLY SHIT! THIS IS PERFECT!"

Fluttershy tried to ignore the swear. "Oh my, you must love bowling."

Scarecrow laughed like an insane man. "NO. You just helped validate our theory further. Ponies ARE the echo of humanity."

"Yeesh partner, would you let it go already?" stammered Applejack.

"SILENCE! You uneducated redneck." shrieked Scorch.

Overwatch was the only one to suppress his temporary insanity. "In bowling, does the ball have 3 holes?"

"Yeah, I don't know why we have them." shrugged Rainbow Dash

X-ray calmed down. "The holes in the ball are meant for fingers." X-ray gave his a twirls. "The reason why put them there is to evolve like humanity."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "That's just crazy."

"How long have ponies had bowling?" asked Scarecrow with a grin under his mask.

"Few decades." answered Rarity. He grandfather was a forefather of the sport.

"Well we humans have had it for centuries." claimed Scorch. "See, you're copying humanity."

"But they don't have soccer or basket ball." noted X-ray.

"We have to get research done right away!" ordered Scarecrow.

Applejack looked disappointed. "But, what about da tour?"

"Your town is beyond our consideration as of the moment." growled Scarecrow. "Alright Shadow, let's move."

Without a second glance, the 4 humans apathetically took off.

Author's Notes:

Longest chapter yet! Wish more people would appreciate it though.

Why does X-ray always get the nuts? I found this would be a good time to develop him since he has the lest defined personality of Shadow.

Next chapter, you'll be in for a smashing surprise.

Assilant

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."-The creed.

"Do you know what you're getting into?" asked the emperor.

"I am certain I know exactly how to deal with those brutes." replied a hooded mare.

"They slaughtered an army as well as two dragons. I also notice you seem to be rather disturbed at the thought of them alone. Are you absolutely-"

"I have never been more certain of anything in my life." assured the mare. "One must conquer his or her fears one day."

"You seem rather insistent to take them head on. I wish more of my soldiers were like you." smirked the emperor.

"Do not be discouraged emperor. You're troops are amongst the finest in the world. If I fail, they will no doubt be a better option. We merely need to unite the other races."

"I have spoken to the ambassadors of other nations but Equestria. While it is considered weakness to ask for allies in our nation, they will be valuable in rescuing our world from those harbingers."

"I had dreams where they would return, but I thanked my goddesses that they would allow no harm to come to us. When I saw them enter Ponyville with Twilight and the elements of harmony themselves, I realized we had been breached. Not even the element of magic herself seems to have been aware of their past misdeeds. They will no doubt attempt to convince Equestria of their false innocence and then attack." explained the mare.

"How do you plan on disposing them?" questioned the emperor.

"Knowing the....pink one. I certainly know what she will attempt to do now that those aggressors have entered town. I intend to poison them there and reveal to the crowd their deception. If my alpha plan fails. I still have 100% faith in my beta plan."

"Do you require any further assistance?" asked the emperor.

"I do not wish to create a scene. An army would draw attention. Besides, I have all I need here." The mare pointed to her amulet."

The emperor's eyes widened. "Is that the alic-"

"It is. I might be afraid of them, but the humans are going to face retribution one way or another."

Author's Notes:

The next chapter will be uploaded some time after this post. Hang around for it is more than 7500 words.

Chapter 24: The Party

"It is better to discuss things, to argue and engage in polemics than make perfidious plans of mutual destruction."- Mikhail Gorbachev

"Ah can't believe they just stormed off lak dat!" scowled Applejack.

"Honestly, we're nothing more that a mere insignificant joke to those scoundrels." hissed Rarity.

"There was just so much I wanted to show them." whimpered Fluttershy.

Twilight could no longer hold it in. "To be fair girls, I really think we should be helping the humans with their experiment. What they'll uncover might be important to ponykind too. Besides, it would show them we're just as rational minded as they are. In fact, they might even form a little respect for us."

"Aw phooey." spat Applejack. "If they can't accept the word of the creator, than why should ah help them?"

"Besides, haven't they heard of acceptance?" added Rainbow Dash. "If I found out there was pony world like ours, I'd be like 'oh cool' and move on! I wouldn't be busting my brain for some egg head stuff."

The alicorn puffed. "Rainbow Dash, this is the kind of behavior that-"

"HEY GIRLS!"

The startled Mane 5 turned to their right to find Pinkie Pie standing perfectly still with a bright smile on her face.

"Pinky Pie, you must stop doing that." complained Rarity. "You're just as unnerving as Shadow when you just appear out of nowhere."

Pinkie Pie giggled. "Yeah, now that I know the source of my powers, I'm never gonna stop." the pink mare chucked an energy drink muffin into her mouth. "So where's Shadow? Are they playing hide and seek? They'd be so hard to find because they can cloak and-"

Rainbow Dash cut Pinkie off. "They're gone solving science or some random egg head junk."

"Oh that's super good!" chirped Pinkie. "That means we can discuss the surprise party without getting caught!"

"Yeah, how 'bout we cancel dat party?" sneered Applejack.

Pinkie's eyes shot open. "But why?"

"Well, other than being kind of mean," began Fluttershy.

"They totally don't have interest in us! Why should we care about them?" ended Rainbow Dash.

"Oh they're just cranky because they think we hate them." justified Pinkie. "If we throw them a surprise party, we'd show them how wanted they really are."

"Pinkie Pie, I don't think they want to be wanted. In fact, they'd probably like it more if we left them alone." insisted Twilight.

"Don't be such a silly filly Twilight." Pinkie formed a blank smile while gritting her teeth. "Do you really want to risk getting them mad and calling for a global invasion?"

"Why must humanity be so sensitive?" groaned Rarity.

"No offense sugar cube, but ah think Shadow already knows you're throwing them a surprise party." said Applejack.

Pinkie levitated in the air. "It's a surprise party Applejack. You can't know about a surprise party unless you don't want it to be a surprise."

"A party still sounds like fun." whispered Fluttershy.

Rainbow dash shrugged. "Oh well, if Pinkie Pie is gonna throw a surprise party, you can't change her mind."

Rarity twirled her mane. "I'll attend, if only for the sake of a social gathering."

The pink mare's smile brightened. "Alright, the party's at 7 'o' clock! Twilight, I need you to get music and try to see if you can get the town hall booked. Rarity, you handle catering. Applejack, you should get your family to bring some cider. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, you spread the word."

"How many ponies are we inviting?" asked Twilight.

"Why the whole town of course!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

---------------------

Twilight and her friends reluctantly got to work setting up the party. In an hour's time, she had managed to secure the Town Hall for the party and along with Pinkie, assemble a team to prepare the building for the festivities.

Luckily, Twilight knew a couple that could provide both music and lighting. She thought about the music humans would listen too. They'd clearly debunk classical as 'primitive', so party music was the way.

The purple mare readied her wings and flew on over to the eastern section of Ponyville. It was just like any other part of town, with the notable exception of a house that was shaking due to the obnoxiously loud music.

Inside that house resided a mare named Vinyl Scratch who sometimes went by her stage name: DJ-PON3. She was quite the cheerful and energetic mare, getting along with Pinkie Pie just fine. However, she had the tendency to take matters up to elven with her music. She meant well, but her music obsession was nuisance.

Even from a respectable distance, the techno music was painfully noticeable. How this did not damage the DJ's ears with a mystery. At first, ponies tried to get Vinyl to lower the volume she played her music, but this proved to be an unachievable outcome. Instead, all homes in the area were renovated to be sound proof.

Twilight landed in front of the DJ's home and used her telekinesis to open the door.

Despite her untamable nature, Vinyl's home was in remarkable condition....other than the over abundance of speakers and musician posters of course.

As Twilight trotted to the living room, she saw Vinyl Scratch, making non hardcore love to her colt friend Neon Lights*. Like her, Neon was a DJ, but he worked primarily in Coltifornia as a lights show producer. Both ponies would be a valuable asset to the organization of the party.

Twilight tried to resist the loud dubstep and called out the DJ.

"Vinyl."

There was no response. Evidentially the music was too loud for the couple to hear her.

"Vinyl."

"Oh Neon! Buck me to next Tuesday."

"Vinyl!"

"I wub you my little DJ!"

"VINYL!" screamed the alicorn. Twilight's horn expelled an EMP that disabled the speakers.

After a few seconds of kissing, the couple realized no music was playing. The two unglued their lips and turned to see a bemused Twilight staring at them.

Vinyl squealed and slumped to her hooves, bowing as low as possible. "Please, don't hurt me you're majesty! I should have known better that to-"

"It's okay Vinyl, you don't have to be formal with me." laughed the alicorn.

The blue maned unicorn brightened up. "Oh thank goodness! I hate all that princess junk. So what's up Twi?"

The purple mare smiled. "Well, Pinkie Pie is throwing a party at 7:00 and we need music so-"

"Say no more Twi. You know I can't resist a request to play music." assured the DJ.

"Why so nervous?" noted Neon Lights.

Twilight inhaled. "Well, it's a welcome party for the humans."

Vinyl's sunglasses fell off, revealing her magenta eyes. "Oh I don't know Twi. Those aliens are scary. If I play music they don't like, I swear they're gonna feed me to their overlords."

"I don't blame them, you're delicious." beamed Neon. Vinyl blushed in return.

"First off, humans don't have overlords." began Twilight. "Second, they've made it clear that they'll only kill if you threaten them or committed a crime. Third, we really need to do this. If we show them that we care, maybe they'll stop being so critical of us."

The DJ put on her glasses. "Well, that makes sense. I can ready the music in 10 minutes."

"And I'll handle the lighting." added Neon.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Twilight. Just as she headed out the door, a music blast wave thrusted her forward and slammed the alicorn into a wall.

"Why..."

-----------------

As 6:30 approached, the sun began to set. Ponies all over the settlement, uncaring who the party was planned for, were getting ready to flock on over to town hall.

Despite the extravagant size of the facility, the hall was no where near enough to provide enough room for the entire town. As a result, many ponies would have to enjoy the celebration from outside.

"This gonna be the best party ever!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

"Ah don' think we ever had a crowd this big." remarked Applejack.

"I don't mean to be haughty, but I believe Shadow will absolutely love the catering I hired." gloated Rarity.

"Say, where is Shadow anyway?" brought up Rainbow Dash.

"I d-don't think they've left the library." whimpered Fluttershy.

"How 'bout we just have this party without 'em?" proposed Applejack.

"WHAT!" screamed Pinkie Pie. "That is the one rule of partying you can't break!"

"To be fair Pinkie, I really think they'd be happy if we just partied and left them alone." insisted Twilight. "Besides, isn't Scarecrow sociophobic or something?"

"C-can't we at least t-tell them, we're throwing a party for them? If t-they don't show up it would be their choice." said Fluttershy.

"Who's gonna go tell them to show up though?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry darling." piped up Rarity. "I'll see to it-"

Twilight interrupted her. "Actually, I'll be the one to get them to move. They're in my house after all."

------------------

Twilight teleported and reappeared right in front of her home. She didn't exactly know how she'd get Shadow out of her home, but by Celestia she was going to try.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. To her surprise, the door opened in an instant. The alicorn looked down to fin her dragon assistant smiling gleefully.

"Twilight! I thought you were never gonna show up!" greeted Spike.

"Glad to see you're in one piece." thanked Twilight. "Tell me, what is Shadow doing in OUR house?"

"It's amazing. You really, have to check it out." insisted Spike.

"I don't have time to see what they're doing, I need to get them to Pinkie's party."

Spike looked disappointed and annoyed. "Wow, their working on a huge discovery and you're planning a party. Gee, friends are necessary, but that doesn't mean you have to give up intellectual pursuit. What happened to you?"

Twilight face hoofed. "Don't tell me they've affected you."

Twilight walked into the library and her mouth dropped at the sight. For starters, there was random pony equipment and materials scattered across the room. Then there was Shadow. Scarecrow was busy at work trying to correct a school textbook of superstition and writing a series of tests to be administered to the children. Scorch was analyzing and experimenting on the blood samples they had taken while looking at a hologram of pony anatomy. X-ray was taking various notes on the artifacts they had collected on his tablet. Finally Overwatch was typing a report on the probability of each of their theories.

The primary weapons of Shadow had been discarded to the side. There were holographic posters placed everywhere detailing all the observations Shadow had recorded. Twilight could not believe how observant they had been.

Unicorn Horn Analysis:
*Absorbs electromagnetisms, infrared, ultra violet, gamma, x-ray, microwave, gravitational (?) and cryo radiation.
*Element 195(?)

Government system:
*Monarchy (X)
*Aristorcaracy (X)
*Final conclusions suggest that Equestria is a theocracy with meritocratic elements where the title of royalty are earned (based on Twilight's story)

Animation theories:
*Drawn (x)
*Intelligent Design (x)
*Semi molecular structure (?)
*Perfectly aligned (?)

Anachronisms:
*Renaissance: philosophy, scientific understanding, politics, lack of conventional electricity, architecture, instruments, traditions
*Industrial Revolution: Railroad, musical choice, factories (?), Applejack's family, farming
*20th century: Cleaning products, furniture, phonographs (1930s), medical knowledge (1990's),
*21st century: Dialect and accents, Dubstep (?)

Electrical source:
*Solar (x)
*Fossil fuel (Due to the planet merely being thousands of years old, formation of natural gasses from fossils in unfeasible.)
*Nuclear (debunked due to Equines lacking a knowledge in atoms)
*Hydro (Dam spotted, does not use orthodox methods of electrical extraction by turning of turbines. In fact, dam may only be used for water collection)
*Solar (x)
*Unicorn horn (see above)

Technology meant to be operated by bi-peds:
Chairs, pencils, doorknobs, anything with buttons, drawers and closets requiring push and pull.

Creation:
*Gods (x)
*Human creation (possibly debunked due to planet being older than human space age.)
*Human influence (x)

Timeline analysis:
*Artifacts at the museum suggest ponies did indeed start out (see creation) as an ancient greek like culture. Due to various human elements (see anachronisms) ponies are thought to be evolving culturally as humans. However, this would imply the equines being a space faring species ahead of humanity by now. The renaissance-like period appears to be bloated and there seems to have been a lack of an enlightenment, but there is the notable presence of various industrial revolution artifacts.
*Pony figures appeared further apart through the timeline (by centuries) compared to human counterparts.

Twilight tried to sink in all the information that the holograms displayed. However, the more she looked at Shadow's notes, the more she felt her mind being overwhelmed by an unthinkable amount of data. It was as if she was being persuaded instinctively to disregard anything Shadow had recorded.

The purple mare cleared her throat. "Scarecrow, Overwatch, X-ray, Scorch. I need to talk to you four."

To her surprise, the 4 humans simply turned off their holograms, switched on the lights and looked straight at her.

Twilight was less than pleased. "First off, who gave you 4 permission to use my house as a research facility?"

Scarecrow smirked under his mask. "Your previous claim is invalid. Before we began, we had Spike get over the mortgage for the facility and it is clearly stated that the library is not privately owned but publicly owned. You just happen to sleep here. Second of all, a library is meant to be the center of knowledge and discovery, so we're not violating any rules."

Scorch folded his arms. "Besides, what are you going to do about it?"

Twilight knitted her eyebrows. "The whole chastising sounded better in my head."

"Moving on, is there something you require?" inquired X-ray.

Twilight tried to hold back her laugh. "I can't tell you why, but I need you 4 to get on over to the town hall-"

"For the surprise party?" growled Overwatch.

The purple mare's eyes shot open. "How did you-"

"Twilight, with sensor grenades, magnetic vision, drones, motion trackers and advanced radio equipment, you can't hide anything from a 23rd unit." smirked X-ray.

"Speaking of secrets." Scorch moved on over to Twilight and yanked the nano recorder buried in her coat.

Twilight jumped as she felt something rip from her skin. "What was that!" she shrieked.

"Nano audio recorder. Pretty fucking stylish." answered Scorch. He flipped the device.

"How long was that on me?" questioned Twilight.

"For a while." replied Scarecrow. "Celestia has quite a motherly voice, no?"

The princess of magic boiled red. "YOU WERE SPYING ON ME! That is a violation of privacy."

X-ray placed a finger on Twilight's mouth. "While it would have been a violation of the UTF constitution to be spying on somepony's private property, you were addressing a leader which most likely would have been relevant to our presence. As a result, we were inclined to be informed. Besides, ever heard of transparent government?"

"Surely a well minded pony like you would be compelled to be aware of every government decision being made about you?" added Scarecrow.

Twilight blushed. "You think I'm rational?"

Scarecrow pinched Twilight's cheeks. "Of course. But to be spending so much time on festivities when we're uncovering a universal mystery is abnormal for you. Even Spike thinks that."

Twilight nodded. "Before I moved to Ponyville, I didn't have time for friends and festivities, but now keeping harmony in this town has been my priority."

"You shouldn't trade one for the other Twilight." shook X-ray. "For example, I do my research with my friends and have a great time as well. Really, some of the discoveries we've made are intriguing."

Scorch stroked Twilight's mane. "We appreciate the creation of a party for us, but I'd be much happier if I were left alone with my friends to further our research."

The alicorn was desperate. "You don't understand, Pinkie Pie went through a lot of trouble to plan this party for you."

"We appreciate the offer, but no thanks. Parties aren't our thing." calmly stated X-ray.

"You can't just stay locked up in here for ever!" beamed Twilight.

"Even if we wanted to go we couldn't." added Scarecrow.

"We're 23rd, we're not supposed to be making such public appearances." hissed Overwatch.

"Not mention, it's for your own good." insisted X-ray.

"How so?" glared Twilight.

Scorch sighed. "We've said this a million times. The only time we've been in parties was to either break them apart or to terminate some high value target. Our training will take over in the party and something bad will happen."

"Besides, I have sociophoiba, didn't I make that clear?" added Scarecrow. "If ponies start crowding up to me, I'll get nervous and as if I want to hurt such adorable equines."

Twilight lowered her head in defeat. "You know, you don't HAVE to talk to ponies all you really need to do is just show up."

X-ray stoked his bandanna. "That's gonna be difficult considering there's.....how many are coming?"

"Whole town." answered Twilight.

Scarecrow's eyes widened under his mask. "Whole town! Fuck, change of plans, we're going."

The alicorn ignored the swear and brightened up. "Really?"

"Only to provide security." explained Scorch. "A party that big has to get out of control sometime. You're going to need crowd control."

Shadow fetched their primary weapons, loaded a gauss magazine onto each of them and headed off to the sunset along with Twilight and Spike who followed by.

----------------

By 7:00 pm, Shadow had made it to the town hall. Before opening the door, the bemused Shadow turned on magnetic vision and sully found out the town was ignorant of their wall seeing capabilities and intended to surprise them. Scarecrow opened the door, knowing fully what was inside.

To Shadow's expectance, the lights switched on the ponies inside a gave loud yell.

"SURPRISE!"

Suddenly techno music started playing and Pinkie's party canon fired a steam of confetti at the unmoved Shadow squad.

The glacial squad kept their mystique and merely shrugged off the confetti and proceeded to move inside the town building. Thankfully, most of the ponies had been either to busy occupied by their friends or become too afraid of the commandos to start crowding up to them.

Scorch looked up the banner and read the interesting welcome title.

Welcome to Ponyville Humans! And please don't shoot us or feed us to your overlords/

"Charming." muttered X-ray.

"Do any of you notice the lack of children?" inquired Scarecrow looking around.

"The parents probably think this party would be their last." noted Scorch.

"There are you are Twilight!" greeted Rainbow Dash along with the rest of the Mane 6.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie humped up and clutched Overwatch's head.

"So, Overwatch! I surprised you didn't I? You were all walking to the town hall expecting nothing and then you open the door and everyone yells surprise at you making you so nervouscited?"

"Considering I can see through walls, it wasn't a surprise." growled the sniper.

Pinkie pressed her face closer to Overwatch's. "But you didn't expect us to say surprise didn't you?"

"Meh." the marksman peeled off the pink mare.

Scorch gave a light smile under his mask. "To be fair, nobody has ever thrown the 4 of us a party before. This really means a lot to us even if we hate them. Thanks."

The Mane 6 gave remarks of welcome.

Unfortunately, Shadow's hopes for solace did not last. Once everypony took a good look at them, the technicolor equines started crowding around them hoping to ask questions.

Had they been humans, the would have simply shot a gauss bullet up in the air. The noise would have been enough to disperse and redirect the crowd.

"Twilight, I'm getting nervous." gritted Scarecrow. He tightened the grip on his LMG.

Twilight used the gravitational radiation in her horn to levitate a microphone towards her.

"Attention everypony, Shadow is not looking for company as of now, so I'd appreciate it if you stay clear of them until they say otherwise."

The ponies simply bowed and continued partying.

"So what do you want to do first?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"How 'bout we go to the snack bar first. Can't party on an empty stomach." laughed Applejack.

"How about the dance floor. It would be super fun!" skipped Pinkie. "Right Overwatch?"

"Whatever." sighed the expressionless marksman.

"I appreciate your invitations, but we're just here to provide security." explained Scarecrow. "You ponies go on ahead, don't let us spoil you're fun."

The Mane 6 simply shrugged and went on to party.

The squad noticed how similar the celebration was to a human party. The dance moves were definitely pony origin. At least there was something original. As for the lighting and decorations, it was indistinguishable from a party one might have thrown on Earth in the early 21st century. Shadow's attention was grabbed by the fact the white unicorn DJ was playing music from speakers rather than phonographs.

Speaking of the White DJ, she, Pinkie and Neon Lights started singing a song.

When the song finished, Pinkie used her over energized molecules to vibrate past a group of ponies and appear grasping Overwatch's legs.

"So what do you think?" she squeaked.

"Meh."

"WHAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY?"

----------------

The festivities continued uninterruptedly for an hour. Ponies danced, laughed and cheered on for the night.

Twilight lost herself in the joy and chaos and started prancing around on the dance floor. Sadly her dance skills hadn't improved since the garden party. The other ponies respected their princess, but Twilight's moves were atrocious.

Panting from exhaustion, Twilight decided she needed a break. She slowly limped on over to edge of the building, where she spotted Shadow limped against a wall.

X-ray had his arms folded, waiting for the entire ordeal to be over.

Overwatch was sitting on the ground twisting a knife.

Scorch was flipping a frag grenade.

Scarecrow had his LMG out, waiting for the first sign of trouble.

"I swear." muttered Scorch's mechanical voice. "Who chose techno? I would rather listened to classical any day."

Twilight felt like the biggest tool in the world as she walked up towards them. Rarity however, got to and greeted the squad first.

"Lovely party isn't it?"

"I guess, if you liked going to them." replied Scarecrow.

Rainbow Dash flew on over. "Hey, we got something you 4 otta like!"

"Someone to assassinate?" asked X-ray.

"Better." pointed the cyan coated pegasus.

Suddenly, Applejack and Fluttershy came from the kitchen pushing a table loaded with cider and other apple products her family had made.

Pinkie Pie wasted no time helping herself to the apple cinnamon.

X-ray had to admit, the thought of drinking cider looked appealing. "Hold position, I'm getting a drink."

The masked rifleman walked on over to the concession table. A blue Earth Pony stallion by the name of Noteworthy had gotten to the cider bowl first. X-ray stared at the animated drink before grasping a cup and dunking it in.

Just before the rifleman slipped the cup under his mask, he decided to take a quick analysis at its contents. He wouldn't be surprised if the equines had prepared apple cider the same way humans did, but he still needed to be sure.

He used neural controls to order his HUD to decipher the contents of the animated liquid.

Contents:
Apple (55% Red Delicious. 20% Gala, 25% Granny Smith)
Water (H2O)
WARNING: Cyanide detected. DO NOT CONSUME!

"Cyanide?"

X-ray turned left to see Noteworthy ingesting the liquid. The moment it had run down his throat, the stallion immediately collapsed to the ground and started squirming in pain.

"SHIT!" X-ray threw away his cup and dashed straight to the blue pony.

His training kicked in and the masked commando drew a needle that contained an anti poison (universal) serum and injected it onto the dying Noteworthy.

Suddenly, Noteworthy's vitals appeared on the screen. His bio readings indicated the serum had taken effect. X-ray quickly drew a bio tissue and wiped the stallions mouth clean to remove any remaining poison.

"X-ray, sit rep!" ordered Scarecrow. The rest of Shadow rushed to the situation followed by a group of alerted ponies.

"Somepony poisoned the cider with cyanide!" gritted X-ray. "Noteworthy consumed some."

The ponies around the squad gave loud gasps.

"Is he going to be alright?" asked Twilight as she was breathing heavily.

X-ray turned around. To face the alicorn. "He'll be fine, he just needs mouth to mouth."

"I can give him that!" piped up Lyra from behind. To noponies and nobody's interest, the horny green unicorn drew the barely conscious Noteworthy off to the side for 'mouth to mouth.'

"Why do I get the feeling that poison was meant for us?" noted Scorch.

"Speaking of poison." gritted Overwatch. The sniper saw a pegasus by the name of Blossomforth attempting to get a sip of the poisoned cider. Before the ignorant mare could drink it, Overwatch drew his PDR and fired a round that shattered the cider bowl.

The noise of the gauss powered bullet was enough to grab the attention of half the party.

"What are you doing?" beamed Rainbow Dash.

"Trying to find out who's after us." answered Scarecrow.

"X-ray, surely your drone should have recorded who could have poisoned the drink." pointed Scorch.

The rifleman nodded and took out his tablet. He accessed the live feed from the drone, played back a few hours and scanned the video for anything suspicious. X-ray pointed to town hall and switched to magnetic view. Interestingly, his drone had been unable to record anything within the town hall. As if it was being scrambled.

"Guys, my drone feed isn't capable recording anything in town hall." explained X-ray.

"Can you salvage or try to unscramble the data?" asked Scorch.

"Negative."

"Looks like there's only one thing left to do." sighed the demo man.

The demo man of Shadow tapped on to his wrist computer, accessed suit functions and transmitted the energy of his kinetic barrier to form a kinetic punch. The electricity traveled through the conductive fabric of the armor and onto his gloves.

Immediately after, he slammed his powered hands onto to the floor to emit an EMP that disabled all forms of electricity (and by extension magic) with the exception of Shadow's weapons and armor. The music and lights turned off.

Now everpony's attention was grabbed. As the party goers panicked what was happening, all of the unicorns wondered why their horn stopped emitting magic.

Twilight flew on over to the side and switched on the lights, not the party lights, that had been unaffected by the EMP.

"Scorch, X-ray block the entrances. Anypony tries to escape, you give them hell. Overwatch, take high ground and watch for anything suspicious." ordered Scarecrow.

"Solid copy." radioed Shadow.

Just when a group of ponies was about to leave the door, Scorch's figure uncloaked. The demo man gave a growl and flexed his rifle at the ponies, thus scaring the escapers back into the hall.

Scarecrow turned the volume on his mic up.

"ATTENTION EVERYPONY. There has been an assassination attempt on our lives and has nearly claimed the life of one of your own. You are to co-operate with us until the situation has been sorted out."

"Scarecrow, you can't order ponies around like this!" hissed Twilight. The commando ignored her.

"In order to determine the assailant, we will call you forward for questioning. When we ask, you WILL respond. Failure to comply will-"

The leader of Shadow paused and looked at the Mane 6. "What's the punishment for resisting police brutality in Equestria?"

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "Um-"

"FAIL TO COMPLY. AND YOU WILL BE SHOT!"

The entire party, which was nearly the entire town gasped and started panicking. Many ponies attempted to exit through the doors, only to be blocked by either Scorch or X-ray.

"May the team assigned to preparation of the cider please step forward." ordered Scarecrow.

The team revealed itself to be Applejack, Big Macintosh, Apple Fritter, Red Delicious and Red Gala.

Scarecrow crossed his arms. "Please enlighten me as to why your cider was loaded with cyanide."

"Scarecrow! The apple family would never resort to such a heinous act." insisted Rarity.

"Ah don't have to answer to you chum!" hissed Applejack.

The 6ft 5 human walked closer to the 3ft 2 orange mare and instantly reminded her how much taller he was than her.

To the town's surprise, Applejack spoke. "Alright you win. We didn't poison the cider. We swear. Us apples don' lie nor do we have any reason ta hurt y'all."

"Eeyup." nodded Big Mac.

"Then why is the cider poisoned? Did any of you leave the beverage unchecked?"

Applejack placed a hoof on her chin. "Then again, 4 of us had ta leave ta get more apples. Apple Fritter was left in charge."

Scarecrow turned to the trembling mare. "Would you happen to know why your drink nearly killed somepony?"

"I didn't poison the drink. I swear." mumbled Apple Fritter. Scarecrow's lie detector didn't go off.

"Instead, all that partying was really tempting, I stepped outside, but only for a minute." admitted the mare.

"Smooth." hissed Scarecrow. "You're free. Move along next to Scorch."

The Apples did so. The rest of the crowd was starting to ponder who would have poisoned the beverage.

Scarecrow fired his shotgun in the air to get their attention.

"Alright. When I point you out, you will come here immediately to be interrogated. When you're done, you will head to the other side of the room and remain there until further notice." announced Scarecrow.

The commander of Shadow pointed at a purple pegasus and instructed her to come next to him.

"Name?"

"Wind Waker."

Scarecrows lie detector went off. "Please be honest ma'am."

"Okay, it's Cloud Kicker."

"Would you happen to know anything about the cider being poisoned?"

"Me? No. Of course not."

Scarecrows lie detector read 'valid'. "You're free to go."

The same process went on for another 2 and a half hours. Had the fear of death not lingered around, the ponies would have collapsed from exhaustion by now.

Shadow had been ruthless. Even on ponies like Fluttershy. While everypony understood the situation, they were frightened beyond all relief.

The Mane 6 thanked that nopony had gotten hurt. They wondered what was worse, this interrogation that would have strained the relationship between the equines and humans. Or the fact that somepony attempted assassination.

"Name?"

"Twinkleshine. No I did not poison the cider."

"You're telling the truth. You're free."

Finally, everypony had relocated and crowded on to the other side of the hall.

The rest of Shadow formed up on Scarecrow.

"Alright, seems nopony here is guilty of anything." announced Scorch. "We would like to thank you for your co-operation and apologize for the stress this has caused-"

"Hey you!" shouted Overwatch.

Shadow turned left to see a hooded unicorn trotting across the other side. The unicorn, evidently with a blue coat took one look at the humans and exited through an unguarded door.

Shadow sprang to action and chased after the mysterious mare. The Mane 6 followed along with a group of curious townsfolk.

The hooded mare was fast for a unicorn, but not faster than Shadow. She nervously looked to her left and found the sniper leaping from building to building like a monkey leaped from tree to tree.

Finally, Overwatch flipped off a house and landed right in front of the hooded unicorn. The rest of Shadow uncloaked behind him. Shadow noticed something about the mare. She wasn't tired, but she looked frightened.

"Ma'am please identify you're self." calmly said Scarecrow. He didn't need to ask if she was the one.

The Mane 6 finally made it to the scene and appeared behind the mysterious pony.

"Shadow, don't hurt her!" shrieked Twilight.

"Don't worry Twilight." spoke the mare. "When I'm through with them, nopony will have to deal with such nightmares."

The mare removed her brown hood. The Mane 6 evidentially knew the assailant based on their loud gasp. The mare had a blue coat and a pale blue mane.

"T-T-Trixie." whispered Fluttershy.

"You know this bitch?" growled Scorch. Shadow had yet to draw their weapons.

"Y-yes." stammered Twilight. "She used to be a rival of mine, then she tried to destroy the town and finally she apologized. But now-"

"You've attempted murder and aggression towards the human race." gritted Scarecrow.

"What choice did the Great And Powerful Trixie have?" glared the blue unicorn. She sounded as if she had been traumatized by rape.

"Are you aware your actions nearly resulted in the fucking death of one of your own?" questioned X-ray.

"It was not the Great And Powerful Trixie's intention to harm anypony. Her goal, was in disposing you 4 monsters!" beamed Trixie.

"What reason would you have in trying to get rid of them? Shadow hasn't done anything to you!" pointed Twilight.

"And to think you 6 of all ponies would associate with such horrific antagonizers!" screamed Trixie.

Pinkie gave a mild glare. "Look, we know Shadow is mean, inconsiderate, cynical, aggressive, socialists, know it alls, trigger happy, sadists-"

"She get's it sugarcube." whispered Applejack.

"-But you can't just try to kill them like that!"

"Besides, I wouldn't try to pick a fight with these guys if I were you." warned Rainbow Dash.

"Not to mention your plan was extremely flawed." noted Scarecrow. "For starters, humans have been immune to cyanide since the 2300's, we would have scanned your drink anyway and you would have killed ponies too in the process."

"Not to mention, the UTF would find out what you did and blow this fucking planet up if we died." added Scorch.

Trixie snorted. "I don't know where you came from, but what I do know is that humans won't last a chance with what I have in store for you." Trixie's comment was filled hesitation as well as anger.

"Why do you want to murder them anyway?" dramatized Rarity.

"It is not what humans are doing, it is what they did do and what they will do." explained Trixie. Her expression was that of sorrow, as if she was warning the apocalypse.

"By will do, you mean discover why this planet has human elements in it?" questioned X-ray. "If that is the case, than I guess ignorance is the norm here."

"Why would you attempt to discover the human influence on this planet?" asked Trixie. "Surely, you should be aware of the answer already."

"What are you talking about Trixie? This is the first time humans have made contact with an intelligent race." insisted Twilight.

"Is that what they told you?" puffed Trixie.

Scarecrow folded his arms. "Well that's the truth. You seem to be implying you were aware of our race for a while."

"I have read many stories about an ancient bi-ped civilizations in the texts of Griffin and Zebra religion. I read horrible stories of humans terrorizing the races to submit to their tyranny."

"What? Trixie, certainly you should know it is taboo to read the religious scrolls of other species?" pointed Rarity.

"Okay first, it's religion. It's bullshit." laughed Scarecrow. "Second, just because it mentions bi-peds, doesn't mean it was referring to humanity."

"I'm n-no history genius, b-but there was never s-something that mentioned humans in our books." whimpered Fluttershy.

"Furthermore, humans never travelled to other planets before 500 years ago." added X-ray. "You're claims for revenge are invalid."

Trixie shook of a frightened expression from her face. "I-I am trying to protect the pony race! Not seek revenge." defended Trixie. "It was said that the humans would return and seek to reclaim this world for their own. I've had NIGHTMARES of the return of your species."

"Well, I don't remember anything about that in human history books. We came here for exploration." shook Overwatch.

"Y-you l-lie." scowled Trixie.

"His lie detector didn't go off." pointed Pinkie Pie.

"Sorry partner, but ya got no reason ta kill." said Applejack. "At least Shadow doesn't kill without due cause."

"Their species is only about murder. Did you not hear what happened to the Griffin army in the Everfree Forest?" justified Trixie.

"Trixie, they're Griffins, they attack anypony on sight. Shadow was trying to defend themselves." pointed Twilight.

"And I am trying to defend you!" squealed the blue unicorn.

"You almost killed Noteworthy!" reminded Pinkie Pie.

"Trxie. By the order of the United Terran Federation, you are to be detained and face trial for attempted murder." announced Scarecrow. He readied a pair of kinetic barrier hand cuffs.

"No offense Scarecrow, but Trixie is a pony. She is to face Equestrian law." interrupted Twilight.

"Her attempts were meant to harm humans." countered Scorch. "Since we are the law, she is to face the Federation."

"I wouldn't argue with them if I were you Twi. They're getting mad." stated Rainbow Dash.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Trixie expelled the blue electromagnetic energy stored within her horn and shaped a blue kinetic barrier dome around her. Unlike Shadow's her dome was clear and blue.

Scarecrow simply drew X-ray's sidearm (much to latter's chagrin) and fired. The magnetically propelled bullet shattered the energy barrier with enough force to knock back the blue unicorn..

"Trixie, you mustn't aggravate Shadow. They will resort to murder!" screamed Rarity.

"Overwatch arrest her." ordered Scarecrow.

"NO!" Trixie fired a bolt of energy at Overwatch, only for the beam to helplessly evaporate off a force field that left a pattern of transparent purple hexagons.

Trixie continued firing on him to no avail. Her fear of humanity was taking over her.

"Let's not get hasty." whispered Fluttershy.

"She's right, this entire thing is one big understanding!" added Rainbow Dash.

"How about we forget this entire thing and remember the magic of friendship." cheered Pinkie Pie.

Suddenly, a large group of confused ponies arrived at the scene.

"Trixie knowingly attempted first degree murder on an armed officials, she is to face trial." replied X-ray.

"Besides, you do seem genuinely confused, the worst you'll get is a week in prison." assured Scorch.

"The Great and Protect full Trixie is not confused!" she spat. "I will NEVER submit to your race."

"We are not asking you to submit. We are asking you to face responsibility for your crimes. Don't push us." hissed X-ray.

Trixie used gravitational radiation to levitate a wooden bench and hurled it towards Scorch. The bench merely broke once it slammed the demo man. The right side of Scorch's body merely flickered purple. He still had 99% of his shield left.

"Oh look. Violation of public property." said the demo man.

Trixie turned around. "What are you DOING? While I distract these scoundrels, you grab the elements of harmony."

Pinkie Pie gave a nervous laugh. "Funny story, we can't exactly get them because-"

"They've deceived you!" groaned the blue unicorn.

Scarecrow folded his arms. "Trixie, I don't want to kill you. I can right now say that humans haven't done anything morally questionable to Epona before this week."

The lie detector went off. The wrist computers glowed red.

Shadow was immediately puzzled. "Wait what-"

Suddenly, Trixie reached from her hood and put on her secret weapon. The Alicorn amulet.

Twilight shrieked. "Trixie, is that-"

"The alicorn amulet. This charm will propel my skills in magic to levels the gods would fear." boasted Trixie.

"That is one fucked up radiation amplifier." corrected Scorch.

Trixie charged more and more energy from the atmosphere. Small objects started to levitate off the ground either due to the enhanced electromagnetic radiation in the air or the in versed gravitation.

"Shadow be careful!" warned Rarity.

"That charm is what allowed Trixie to take over Ponyville." added Rainbow Dash.

"And I will now use it to protect Ponyville." countered Trixie.

In response, Shadow unslung their rifles and pointed them at the blue unicorn.

"Surender now, or face execution." warned X-ray. "We don't have to do this."

Trixie's eyes glowed red and after drawing enough infrared radiation, expelled a fire bolt at Shadow.

The heat simply extinguished on contact.

"Our suits are fire proof bitch!" insulted Scorch.

Trixie then levitated a HOUSE and hurled it at the squad. She was too slow however. Shadow easily side stepped the attack.

"You leave us no choice!" beamed Scorch.

"Wait don't hurt her!" pleaded Fluttershy.

"That amulet is making her all mean and scary. You have to take it off." instructed Pinkie Pie.

Overwatch walked towards the charged unicorn to arrest her by force. Trixie continuously fired bolts of plasma at him, but each one simply dissipated.

Trixie's vision blurred as Overwatch drew closer. His form was enough to overwhelm her.

A new idea formed in Trixie's head. Suddenly, she started drawing a new source of magnetic energy.

Overwatch slowed down. He knew the noise all to well. "Shit! She's firing a gauss-"

Suddenly, the blast of a human gauss cannon emitted from her horn and struck the sniper. All human weapons were magnetic powered, but there were still the gauss slugs that dealt heavy explosive and piercing damage. Like glass shattering, Overwatch's barriers broke. The sniper himself wasn't harmed but the beam was strong enough to knock him back.

"OPEN FIRE!" blasted Scarecrow.

Scorch and Scarecrow unloaded their rifles at Trixie. However, the blue unicorn formed a shield to protect her. Unlike her previous barrier, this one was purple to signify enhanced energy and netted in a form of hexagons. The shape helped reinforced her projection.

X-ray was about to throw a pulse grenade to disable the unicorn's magic and subdue her. Somehow, Trixie knew what X-ray intended to do. She used telekinesis to unclip a frag grenade from Scorch's belt and hurled the explosive at X-ray.

The explosion did not penetrate X-ray's shield, but sent him flying to the side.

Scorch attempted to dash for the pulse grenade, but Trixie tapped farther than she ever had into the amulet and found herself able to lift the demo man.

Scorch struggled in mid air to break the gravitational grasp on him.

Trixie meanwhile struggled to keep her barrier up. She drew more and more energy from the amulet to reinforce her efforts until something remarkable happened. Trixie wasn't going to let fear conquer her. She pushed aside the thoughts of their horrifying appearances and focused on positive thoughts of protecting everypony.

The amulet caused her to grow in size, her features became more swanlike and her mane became ethereal. Not to mention she sprouted a pair of wings. She had become an alicorn.

"By Celestia!" exclaimed Twilight. Trixie had taken the power of the amulet too far.

"She looks like Luna!" pointed Rarity.

"Does this mean she's a princess now?" asked Pinkie Pie.

The entire pony crowd could not comprehend this sight.

The now alicorn Trixie hurled Scorch towards Scarecrow. The leader of Shadow side stepped the attack but Scorch plummeted and was knocked out by impact.

The alicorn Trixie tried to fire another coil gun at Scarecrow, but he managed to doge the attack.

Trixie smirked and thought of a new plan. She lowered her barrier and picked up Scarecrow's shotgun from his back.

The leader of Shadow was distracted by his second weapon suddenly coming off. He saw his AA 30 surrounded by an animated blue light. Suddenly, the shotgun fired 2 rounds at Scarecrow.

The close quarters rail weapon penetrated his barrier and knocked Scarecrow back.

X-ray meanwhile had regained consciousness. He opened his eye to a horrible sight:

Scarecrow laid unconscious on the floor, and the alicorn Trixie was readying a gauss cannon to finish him off.

The rifleman crawled to his SMG as his M816 was about of reach. His magnetic gloves allowed the weapon to snap on his hands. X-ray aimed down the holo sight, and fired 4 rounds.

The magnetic powered bullets travelled and struck Trixie. Two hit her fore hooves, one on her chest while the other blew off one of hind legs.

Just as Trixie attempted to comprehend what was going on-

"DON'T TOUCH MY FRIENDS YOU FUCKING HORSE!" yelled X-ray.

The rifleman ran with at speeds that Rainbow Dash would be jealous of towards the alicorn. He drew his combat knife and stabbed Trixie right in the neck.

Finally X-ray grabbed the dying Trixie's head with his gloved hands. Trixie was exploding with not only pain but fear. She took one last look at the dark abyss that was X-ray's shades before he smashed her head open into a wall.

The Great and Powerful Trixie was gone.

The town did not go berserk, but instead watched with horror.

The rest of Shadow regained consciousness and the 4 masked humans silently drew their scattered weapons.

Scarecrow walked up to Trixie's mutilated corpse and plucked the alicorn amulet. In his gloved hands, he grasped and shattered the cursed amulet. He let the pieces slowly drop.

The town was deathly silent. All of the ponies were focusing on X-ray who's hand were soaked in animated blood.

"Thank you for the party." muttered Scorch. Shadow had been unmoved by Trixie's death like a typical 23rd unit. "We're sorry you had to see that."

Shadow cloaked and took off.

Author's Notes:

And the plot thickens.

*I was gonna make it OctaScratch but VinylLights was more convenient for this chapter. Don't flame me because of that simple plot point.

By the way, Trixie no speaking in third person is used intentionally to signify how afraid she is.

Before Shadow meets Celestia, is there anything you would like to seem them do before they leave Ponyville?

Chapter 25: Post Carnage

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."-Einstein

The Mane 6 sat quietly at the cafe, incapable of saying anything other than ordering her food. Even the normally cheery and loquacious Pinkie Pie was traumatized to silence.

After X-ray brutally murdered Trixie, the squad cloaked and disappeared to parts unknown. After they took off, the scarred ponies retreated to their homes, unable to speak.

Parents immediately ran home to check on their children, thankful that they had not witnessed the murder. However, news of Trixie's death spread like wildfire and produced mixed results. No pony condoled the murder itself nor the method used to take her down. Some however, believed Trixie got what she had deserved by attacking Shadow and refraining from being civil with them. Others believed that Trixie needed to be taken out only for the sake of the collateral damage she would have caused. Finally, some ponies had genuinely believed she was trying to protect them and basically died a hero.

One thing was certain, under no circumstances were ponies to mess with humanity.

News did not travel past Ponyville, the only word that got out was a minor struggle had occurred. Had word gotten out that Trixie turned into an alicorn only to get butchered by Shadow, public unrest would have been through the roof.

Speaking of Alicorns, Trixie's transformation had been a massive anomaly. Nopony would have guessed that charging the amulet to immense power would have resulted in the transformation to a deity.

But then there was the killing of the alicorn. X-ray, who was a mere mortal and not to mention, Shadow's least physically adept member, had killed an all powerful being. Those in pony society who claimed alicorns to be mortal and vulnerable were often shunned. Now that one died before their very eyes, a small group of ponies started questioning the supposed divinity of their rulers. Twilight took note that some ponies stopped bowing to her.

Then there was the question of what was going to happen next. Shadow had killed one of their own and simply took off. Based on their stamina and endurance, it would have been no surprise if they had been half way across the country by now. Many ponies feared that based on Trixie's assault, Shadow had deemed the equines a threat and would waste no time attempting to contact their frigate and plan a war.

As for the blue magician's body, when the ponies returned to the sight of the carnage, they hesitantly cremated her body and gave her a funeral in the morning. Those who attended did not arrive for general respect for the mare, but only as minor condolences.

"I'm telling you, we've been duped. Alicorns aren't supreme after all." snorted Lemonhearts as she walked past the cafe with her friend Sassaflash.

"But did he really have to kill Trixie that way?" countered Sassaflash.

"I'm never gonna accept the fact he killed, but one thing's for certain. They couldn't have just stood there."

The two mares brushed past cafe without even noticing the depressed Mane 6. It was Fluttershy of all ponies to break the silence.

"I-I can't b-belive they just killed her like that."

"I for one never tolerated Trixie's self centered behavior, but even I was beginning to warm up to her." added Rarity.

"And she really seemed like she was trying to protect us." muttered Rainbow Dash.

"Ah just don' understand why they'd resort to such behavior." shook Applejack.

Twilight slowly raised her head. "I can't believe it either. What's scary is that they don't seem to be bothered."

"Yeah." sniffed Pinkie Pie. "It's like they don't understand how bad it is when somepony dies. They just left the feeling slip past them like a....shadow." Pinkie tried to smile at her pun but failed.

Rarity took a sip of her tea. "And to think, they killed an alicorn for Celestia's sake. I don't even believe they were even fighting without restraint."

"Does this mean they can kill Luna or even Celestia?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"Ah don' think so. Celestia is the sun goddess. She could give 'em a good ol buck to next monday if she wanted to." replied Applejack.

"All I know is that many ponies seemed to have lost their faith." sighed Twilight. "To be fair, I myself was growing tired of all the admiration."

"Twilight you're the princess of magic, how could you say that?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"I'm sorry, but Shadow proved in the worst way possible that alicorns might just be as mortal as you are. True we're powerful, but now I see we're just as vulnerable as any pony else. Dare I say it, Trixie would have become more powerful than Celestia herself and Shadow would have still been able to kill her." explained Twilight.

The words of X-ray still haunted the purple mare. "DON'T TOUCH MY FRIENDS YOU FUCKING HORSE!"

Friends

Twilight took a sip of her drink. "Would any of you kill to protect each other?"

"What kind of question is that?" inquired the straight maned Pinkie Pie.

"Twilight, you know we would never kill. We're not like them." assured Rainbow Dash.

"Wait, just think about it." said Twilight. "If, let's say somepony was out to kill us and the only way to stop him or her and to save each other was to kill, would you do it?"

The other members of the Mane 6 were silent.

"Are you trying to say you agree with Shadow's decision?" beamed Rainbow Dash.

"Of course not." defended Twilight. "I'm just simply asking if you would resort to such behavior to protect the ones you love."

Suddenly, a high pitched voice caught the attention of the mares.

"I can't believe she's gone!" cried Snips.

"Even after she tried to enslave us, I still found her a cool hero. So many thing left unsaid." teared Snails.

The two colts passed by gloomily. The Mane 6 felt nothing but pity for the young boys.

"I say not. There always is another way." snorted Rarity.

"I don't know about that." whispered Twilight.

"What da ya mean sugarcube?" asked Applejack.

"I think Twilight has a point." sighed Pinkie Pie. "Trixie was the one who started it after all."

"B-but would y-you really have t-to kill to subdue her?" stammered Fluttershy.

"To be honest, Shadow really was attempting to be civil with her." noted Twilight. "They tried to talk her down before things got serious but Trixie was so insistent on fighting them."

"Even after she refused to talk, Shadow did just try to restrain her." admitted Rarity.

"And then she just started attacking them." pointed Rainbow Dash.

"Even when she did attack them, they didn't resort to murder." stated Twilight. "In fact, when Overwatch was knocked out, Scorch and X-ray tried to restrain her with an EMP."

"Only to fail." sighed Pinkie Pie. "And when Scarecrow was about to be killed by Trixie's gauss thingamajig, X-ray did the only thing he could to protect his friend."

"I still don't think it was a good idea to murder." shook Rainbow dash. "X-ray could have just shot her in the hoof and knock her out."

Rarity placed a hoof on Rainbow's back. "Actually darling, Trixie was drawing quite a lot of power from the amulet. Had X-ray merely stunned her, she would have simply gathered more and more energy to shake off the effects and continue the onslaught."

"As for Trixie's motivations," sighed Pinkie Pie. "She sounded so afraid of the humans."

"She mentioned something about humanity enslaving and attacking other species thousands of years ago." remembered Twilight. "I've read all the books, so I never heard anything about that point."

"Didn't she say that she read it from Zebra and Buffalo religion books?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"Yeah. How could she get her hooves on those? I thought we weren't allowed to read books on another species' religion?" realized Rainbow Dash.

"Well maybe when Trixie was missing, she could have been staying in those areas. Since she doesn't like being told what to do, she could have easily just grabbed a book with some magic." pondered Pinkie Pie.

"Say, why aren't we allowed to read books on other's religion anyway?" asked Rarity.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "I don't know. My guess is that it would help reduce conflict based on beliefs. Although right now, I kinda wished we could just get her hooves on one. It would have all the answers."

"And apparently every book except ours mentions humanity." sighed Pinkie Pie.

"Ah'm an expert on honesty and sincerity." started Applejack. "And Trixie sure did seem convinced dat Shadow was gonna start wagin' war on Ponykind."

"And don't you remember? When Scarecrow claimed that humans never did anything to ponies in the past, his lie detector went off." pointed Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash had an epiphany. "So maybe that's why everything is trying to kill them. Humans must have done something bad on this planet thousands of years ago."

"Hold your flank there sugarcube." stopped Applejack. "Shadow themselves did seem pretty confused too."

Twilight swallowed her sandwich. "Humans don't seem like a species that would forget, and in fact they did seem honestly perplexed at the idea of their race doing something bad to our planet."

"Not to mention, whenever they said that this was the first time humanity had encountered an intelligent race, their lie detectors didn't go off." awed Rarity.

Pinkie's mane un-straightened as her displeasure seized. "I'm willing to bet that the lie detector only went off because Shadow did do some mean things in the past but Trixie took it as their race being on our planet many years ago."

"But how does their lie detector work?" inquired Applejack. "Seems ta me dat it's more den sensin' uncertainty."

"Their technology is beyond even my comprehension." shrugged Twilight. "But if what were saying is true.....then the whole thing was a massive misunderstanding. What's certain though is that Trixie shouldn't have judged Shadow based on books detailing the past."

"So it was right for them to kill?" repeated Rainbow Dash.

"Of course not!" puffed Twilight. "But even still, would have there been any other outcome?"

"What do you mean?" whispered Fluttershy.

"Trixie seemed extremely convinced that she should have killed Shadow and wage war on humanity." explained Twilight. "When Shadow tried to talk her down, she refused to be civil. When she did attack Shadow and even knock her out, all the squad wanted to do was restrain her and make her face fair trial."

"What is there problem and forcing their laws on us anyway?" asked Applejack.

"I believe that Shadow is utterly convinced of this nonsense that our race is destined to follow theirs." said Rarity. "My theory is that they're trying to be generous by supposedly informing us of our mistakes because their race may have made the same mistakes as us and they know how to correct it."

"Can't they just accept that not every race has to follow their laws? Even if isn't perfect." muttered Rainbow Dash.

"B-but what if th-they had the same laws as ours and corrected all the mistakes?" questioned Fluttershy.

"What do you mean? Our rules are made by Celestia herself. She's the nicest and fairest pony ever. If something was wrong and unfair, she'd figure it out." countered Pinkie Pie.

Twilight got everypony back on subject. "Even if Trixie went on trial for attempted murder, I believe it was Scorch who said that the worse that could happen to her was face time in prison. Humans don't seem to have the death penalty."

"But they sure did giver her da death penalty." sneered Applejack.

"It seems that once Trixie put on the amulet, detention was no longer an option for them." stated Twilight. "The amulet was clearly more powerful then what we and Shadow anticipated. Trixie's power would have surpassed all limits and would have gotten to a point that would overwhelm Celestia easily. She would have killed Shadow."

"So what you're saying is that it's okay to kill in self defense?" implied Pinkie Pie.

"I'm not implying that." defended Twilight. "I'm saying what would have happened if there were no options available."

"But X-ray could have just shot Trixie in the leg to save Scarecrow and detain her." suggested Rainbow Dash.

"Girls, Shadow's magnetic weapons are POWERFUL!" exclaimed Twilight. "Shooting Trixie anywhere would have mutilated her and she would have either died from shock or blood loss. I know Shadow is good in medicine, but the wounds that would be mundane for a human are threatening for a pony. Even still, none of them would be in a condition to resuscitate her properly. All of them were unconscious and X-ray himself was limping."

"I pray that the day where we would have to kill will never come." dramatized Rarity.

"You wonder what would have happened if Trixie was facing some other human." pondered Pinkie.

Twilight realized it. "Now I know why the Federation sends the....23rd is it?"

The Mane 6 nodded.

The purple mare continued. "We saw how efficient they were in pointing out the flaws in our lives and making some of the most rational statements ever. You wonder 'why not simply send a scientist?' I have an answer. It seems the 23rd are the only ones capable of surviving on a planet without constant aid and handling themselves on remote locations. Sending efficient soldiers like them to explore remote planets is quick and and likely inexpensive. They might have not been the real first contact team, but I reckon any other human in their place, no matter how strong in numbers would've been killed facing Trixie.

"Y-you know, maybe it w-would have been b-better for ponies too if T-trixie was taken down." admitted Fluttershy.

"How so? She was trying to defend us. Claiming our lives would be counter productive." pointed Rainbow Dash.

"Dat didn't stop her from almost killin' Noteworthy." muttered Applejack. "She was as blind as a bat."

"Besides, did you not see all that collateral damage she was causing?" stated Rarity. "Her misplaced sauss, gauss, whatever, attacks caused a lot of destruction. At least Shadow, even 'burn it all' Scorch takes precision shots."

"She resorted to levitatin' houses at them. If dat ain't excessive, ah don't know what is." shrugged Applejack.

"Assuming, Shadow didn't kill, where would have the fight gotten?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"If the 4 of them only attempted to restrain Trixie who was getting stronger with the amulet, the battle would have been elongated and the damage to the public would have be astronomical." shivered Twilight.

"And what would have happened if Trixie k-k-killed them?" squeaked Fluttershy.

"Well for starters, the humans would obviously get really mad." pointed Rainbow Dash. "Then they would bring out their big alien spaceships and blast us with their death rays and probably enslave us."

"But, would have we died before then?" asked Fluttershy.

"I hope I'm not the only pony who was observant enough to notice Trixie's eyes glowing the most violent shade of red there ever was." noted Rarity.

Twilight took a small breath. "The amulet corrupts. Since Trixie was absorbing a lot of energy, by the time she might have collected the energy necessary to kill Shadow, she would have snapped a long time ago."

"Ah fairly reckon' she was mighty angry at us too." said Applejack. "Somethin' 'bout helpin' Shadow and not helpin' her fight."

"I'm really good at probability, and the chances that Trixie wanted to kill us were a high possibility." rhymed Pinkie Pie.

"Still, I don't see what was stopping Shadow from taking off the amulet. They had a ripe chance" stated Rarity.

"They tried that, remember?" reminded Twilight. "By the time Trixie was attacking them and growing more powerful by the second, the amount of force required to subdue her wouldn't be enough and anything higher was a guaranteed kill."

Everypony was thinking the exact same thing.

"I really feel sorry for the humans." sighed Fluttershy.

"If this is what Shadow has to go through every mission, to constantly be forced to commit heinous acts because they have no choice, then I sympathize with their race." said Twilight.

"Killing is horrible, but to put somepony in a situation where they have no choice but to kill is despicable." snarled Rainbow Dash.

"If humans are trying to offer generosity by trying to propel the foundations of out institutions further, why can't we show them the true path of harmony and peace in return?" proposed Rarity.

"That's a great idea!" cheered Pinkie Pie. "It would show humans that there's always another way and it would stop all their wars. Then people like Shadow don't have to worry about killing and they can focus on their true talents!"

"Speakin' of which. Where da ya reckon Shadow headed off to?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know. They're awfully good at leaving without a trace if you ask me." replied Rainbow Dash.

"I honestly have faith that they didn't declare us a threat." assured Rarity. "If we became humanity's ally, our sky would be littered with starships."

Pinkie Pie shot up in the air. "Oh my gosh! Isn't the meeting between Shadow and Celestia today?"

Twilight spit her tea which hit Applejack's bemused face. "You're right."

While planning for the party yesterday, The ponies had managed to pack their belongings and unload them onto the train station ahead of time for departure. The meeting was supposed to be at 1:00 pm. Now it was 10:12 am. It was a two hour ride to Canterlot.

"We have to find Shadow now, before the ties between our race and theirs are severed!" shrieked Rainbow Dash.

"Ah don' know. Maybe our relationship is ruined forever after all. The other ponies don' seem lak they're toleratin' any mention of humanity." shook Applejack as she rubbed tea off her face.

"A mare has to do what a mare has to do." sighed Twilight.

------------

The princess of magic immediately called for an emergency meeting to be set up it town center. The entire town, all of them with sunken expressions looked apathetically at their princesses.

Twilight sighed and spoke into the microphone:

"My humble subjects, yesterday night a horrible tragedy had befallen. As many of you know, during our welcome party for the humans, Trixie Lulamoon had attempted to assassinate our guests and nearly succeeded in taking the life in one of our own."

Noteworthy received a lot of stairs. He was the most vocal supporter of Trixie's demise.

"Out of misplaced fear, Trixie had convinced herself that Shadow was planning to kill us and prepare an alien invasion. In retaliation and for the noble motivation to protect us, she attempted to kill them."

"The humans are monsters! Trixie was right!" yelled a pegasus mare.

"Yeah? She almost killed one of us!" countered an earth pony stallion.

Twilight tapped the microphone to get the everypony's attention. "While the killing of anypony is a heinous act that one should never resort to, you must put yourselves in the shoes of the involved parties. They are equally innocent as they are guilty."

There mummers of confusion within the crowd.

"On one hoof, Shadow really was attempting to be civil with Trixie before the situation got out of control. They were clearly confused about Trixie's claims and when she did attack, they attempted to restrain her. Trixie was the one who initiated the violence."

"But Trixie was trying to protect us!" yelled Snips from the crowd while comforting a crying Snails.

"If Trixie truly cared about us, then surely she wouldn't have put our lives in danger!" countered Twilight.

The crowd was silent. "The collateral damage she was causing was for too high. Trixie had her heart in the right place, but by no means was she justified in starting violence that would have threatened us too. Not to mention, she was drawing energy from the corrupting amulet and getting more and more corrupt to a point where she would have likely destroyed us too in the middle of their wrath."

"So you're saying Shadow is innocent?" shrieked a mare from the crowd.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Of course not! I am aware Trixie was waging war on them, but they insisted on taking the law into their own hands since they're convinced that our laws are too primitive to properly handle crime. Furthermore, they should NOT have underestimated Trixie, but they were too convinced of their indomitability as well until it was too late."

This was the chance to make it or break it.

"My humble subjects, please do not let this horrible tragedy based upon fatal misconceptions cloud your judgement of humanity. Each side did what they had to do. To kill is gruesome, but to drive somepony to kill is just as despicable."

A pegasus shot up in the sky. "Why should we listen to you? You alicorns have clearly been deceiving us ever since you convinced us of your supposed immortality!"

The purple mare gave a puff. "I am not speaking to you as the princess of magic, I am speaking to you as Twilight Sparkle! Ponies are supposed to love and tolerate, why should we deem humanity our enemy and despise them when we can help them? We reformed NightMare Moon, Discord and countless others. If the the three pony tribes could get along despite their differences, why can't we? If humans want to show us how society is supposed to function, why not show them that murder is not the answer and that there is always another way?"

The crowd gave nods of approval.

"Lets us teach humanity love and tolerance so humans like Shadow will never be forced to kill again. Let us do it for Trixie and complete her wish of protecting us from the harm of the universe!"

The ponies in the crowd gave a series of applause.

"Now, I will find Shadow squad so that we may meet with the princesses and settle all this confusion out. I beg you, do not judge humanity based on their actions and do not think they are beyond redemption. I do not want to risk creating animosity with them and allowing more to die."

----------------

"Twilight, we don't have much time before the train leaves to Canterlot. Thousands, maybe millions of ponies are expecting us to show up with the humans." warned Rainbow Dash.

"I know Rainbow, but I honestly don't know where they could be. Knowing them, they may have reestablished contact and left the planet already." sighed Twilight.

The Mane 6 was inside Twilight's house, trying to debate where Shadow could have been at this point. Spike fetched the mares some water.

Suddenly, a series of subtle probability problems subconsciously enacted within Pinkie's mind based on her knowledge of Shadow and Equestria's landscape caused her stomach to rumble, all 4 of her hooves to vibrate and her hair to fly upwards.

"Have ya figured it out sugarcube?" asked Applejack sarcastically.

"Oh my gosh! I know where they'll be!" yelled Pinkie Pie. The party pony, followed by her 5 friends burst straight out the door. This left Spike completely confused.

-----------------

Despite everypony's theories, Shadow had not moved far away from the town at all. The squad had relocated to the beautiful (even if it was animated) Whitetail Woods, enjoying the view while thinking about what had occurred last night. None of them had regretted killing Trixie. She had resisted attempts to be civil and almost claimed their lives. Instead, they were depressed about being forced to kill her and taking the innocence of the town.

In the heart of the moment, Scarecrow's wrist computer started beeping. The sound immediately grabbed the attention of the rest of the squad.

"Shit, we've reestablished contact!" exclaimed Scarecrow. He tapped on the wrist computer and suddenly, a blue hologram of commander Sarah Mcafarlene, her arms behind her back.

"Shadow." coldly greeted the commander.

The squad snapped to a salute.

"So we've established contact." pointed X-ray.

"No shit." muttered the commander of Blackjack.

"I take it that we've been watched for longer than we think." noted Scorch.

"We've been recording data from your had since the confrontation with the Griffins." sighed Sarah.

"So I guess you've been aware of everything we've gone through." said Overwatch.

The hologram nodded.

"Why did you not inform us earlier? Surely the events on this planet would have laid out differently." gritted Scarecrow.

"Had we called you, I know for a fact that you would have immediately asked to be extracted from the planet and push the burden onto somebody else." explained the commander. "We were not able to send back up for numerous reasons. For starters, sending more humans would have made the local population feel uncomfortable and we're on operating on minimum crew here."

"Has the the Federation been informed of our recent ploys?" asked Scorch.

"Affirmative." answered Sarah. "Documents and footage were have been streamed directly to the executive branch of the Federation. While they are pleased with your ability to handle yourselves in an isolated situation and attempts to improve the lifestyle of the equines, they have been very concerned and hostile towards your treatment of the populace. The ponies are trying to be nice to you and you just laugh them off as ignorant. You almost turned Ponyville into a police state for crying out loud!"

"Socialist police state." corrected Scorch.

"I suppose a court martial is in order." exhaled Scarecrow.

"While you're at it, why not just send normal human diplomates or some other soldier to this job instead of us?" requested X-ray. "We're 23rd for fucks sake."

"Shadow, the 23rd might be a lot of things, but you psychopaths are still our best option for planetary recon." encouraged Sarah. "We went over numerous scenarios and any other human who wasn't as strong minded as you are would have committed suicide from the sheer ridiculousness of an animated planet alone. Our psychologists have deciphered that you're inconsideration stems from the anomalies present in Equestria."

Shadow was somewhat relieved.

"Still though, you are more than capable in controlling your anger, you shouldn't have been so aggressive. Expect a pay deduction and a month's worth of mental parole." continued the hologram.

Shadow looked at each other.

"We're getting paid? And aren't all 100 23rd members already on mental parole since conscription?" questioned Scarecrow.

Sarah felt like an idiot. "Regardless, even if we sent normal human diplomats or scientists that could handle the the nature of this planet, the odds of them being overwhelmed are extreme. They would have died easily from the hydra attack as well as Trixie's assassination attempt."

"Is the Federation condemning me for killing her?" inquired X-ray.

Sarah's hologram raised an eyebrow. "You bashed her head in a wall in front of the entire town. Did you have to traumatize everypony?"

"With all due respect ma'am." began Overwatch. "The 23rd works on fear and the odds of another pony plotting against us are abysmal."

Sarah gave a sigh. "Putting gruesome methods aside, you are not being condemned for her murder. She attempted to assassinate armed officials with insufficient justification and nearly claimed the life of an innocent. You attempted to restrain her and even knock her out without attempting to kill her. But she elevated her power to extreme levels to exterminate you and almost succeeded. Like any situation with a human, you will not be detained for that reason."

"So what do we have to do next?" asked Scarecrow.

"You need to amend your relationship with Equestria, find the alicorn leaders and get answers." instructed the hologram. "The entire planet is after you for reasons we are ignorant of. If anybody has information, it would likely be them."

"Can't we get additional back up?" pleaded Scorch. "You know, like someone to restrain us in case we get all too aggressive?"

"Shadow, the Blackjack is operating on minimum capacity, every person counts." repeated the hologram. "Our scientists are too busy analyzing the planet to be able to help. Which reminds me, you're excused from figuring out the nature of this planet. We got it covered."

"Well that's a relief." sighed Scorch.

"Can't we the Federation send additional diplomats? We'd be more than happy to protect them." stated X-ray.

Sarah took a nervous breath. "We haven't been completely honest as to why we can't send back up. On one hand, more humans would overwhelm the populace."

"And the other reason?" growled Overwatch.

"Shadow, while you were gone, there have been attacks on 3 star systems by joint Mega Corp and members of the Planet's Rights movement." explained the worried hologram.

"Joint?" exclaimed Shadow at once.

The hologram nodded. "The UTF needs all the firepower and diplomats it can get to instill a ceasefire. The conflict should be over in less than a a day or two though."

"Civilian causalities?" asked Scarecrow.

"Remarkably low." replied Sarah. "Nothing more than a few thousand across all star systems and their respective colonies. Military casualties are starting to pile though."

"Ma'am. We're counter terrorists first. We have to go back and aid the UTF in their efforts." pleaded X-ray.

"The government has it under control." assured Sarah. "Once the battle is done, the Federation will go over methods necessary to establish a relationship with these ponies and send the actual first contact team. Although that could take a while. Until then, you must find out why this planet is like Earth and has creatures that want to kill us."

"I really don't know about this ma'am, we're bound to make enemies or scaring the shit out of the nation. It's what the 23rd does." shook Scarecrow.

"The fact that you haven't committed suicide or just quit in the middle of all the ridiculousness says a lot about the entire division." smiled Sarah. "Besides, if we want to reduce the chances of ponies sending mercs and assassins after you, I'm afraid that we need them to fear us. It sounds extreme, but that's how it works, and the 23rd's speciality is fear."

Shadow felt motivated.

"Although the Federation believes you could try to be nicer." beamed Sarah.

"What if they refuse to cooperate and force us to accept their bullshit?" asked Scorch.

"The Federation put a lot of emphasis on the word 'try'." chuckled the hologram. "Besides, we know how persuasive your unit can be. Sarah out."

The hologram vanished.

The squad stood still in the canopy for a minute until the could no longer hold it.

"You can come out now." called out X-ray.

Suddenly from the trees, the Mane 6 crawled out and trotted towards the squad. The ponies had listened to the entire conversation and Shadow had no doubt been aware of their presence since the begging.

"Were you talking to a ghost?" asked Pinkie Pie. The ponies had been too far to observe the facial features of Sarah.

Scarecrow shook his head. "That was a hologram, a projection of a shape transmitted through electronic data from a sender to a receiver."

Twilight stepped forward and took the lead. "Shadow, about Trixie. I-"

"Relax Twilight, we heard your entire conversation. We never relocated our drone." claimed Scorch.

"The entire t-town isn't mad at y-you or anything. They're just really, really scared and w-wish it didn't have to come to this." informed Fluttershy.

"I don't think that's going to be the end of it, huh?" groaned Rainbow Dash.

"Afraid not." responded X-ray. "It seems like the entire planet has something against our race. While Ponyville may fear us, the rest of Epona doesn't."

"But, ya don't have ta kill everthin' that comes at you!" pointed Applejack.

"A day doesn't go by where we wish everything could be solved through diplomacy." insisted Scorch.

Scarecrow spoke up. "However, the origin of this conflict appears to largely be religious. Human history taught us that religion can drive a person mad and commit horrible acts. I think trying to debunk said religion would only make our assailants madder."

"Surly there must be another way!" insisted Rarity.

"What will happen will happen!" yelled X-ray. "Right now, we need to see Celestia and represent our race. Maybe then we will get answers."

"I for one, am just astounded to hear about your species!" laughed Rarity.

"I gotta whole lot of questions!" chirped Pinkie Pie. "For starters-"

Twilight cut the pink mare off. "And once we've stablished a connection and got to know each others races better, we'll be able to work together to work everything out!"

"Exactly. If our races declare war on each other, then Trixie would have died in vain." nodded Scarecrow. The squad remained silent on how they were intended to prevent a conflict from escalating.

"Well we won't get anythin' done by standin' 'round here. We gotta move!" pointed Applejack.

Overwatch already started heading to town. The rest of the group followed him.

----------------

The squad and ponies returned to Ponyville. Shadow felt uncomfortable at the idea of returning to the town. Much to their surprise, the ponies didn't boo them off or anything. Instead, everypony felt pity for the fact that they had been forced to kill. Either that or were piss-your-pants scared of them.

The Mane 6 secured their items, and called for Spike to join them.

The humans as well as Twilight's group headed to the train station, cheered on by many Ponies who hoped the conference would prevent the need for murder.

The 4 humans sat in a private, but not sound proof, compartment. Twilight was offered a room used for royals, but she declined to sit with her friends and dragon assistant.

Shadow laid out the plans to organize their conversation as well as all the answers they would need to respond to the questions of curious ponies. The squad also went over all scenarios involving assassins and methods they could use to make the ponies fear, but not hate, humanity.

Twilight on the other hoof was forced to begrudgingly accept a treatment by Rarity to ready her for the ceremony. All 5 of her friends and Spike were required to hold her down.

Author's Notes:

By the way, I am thinking about starting a TVtropes page on this. Would any of you contribute?

Now that all the wham and introductions are over, we'll finally get to the highlight of this chapter which is the meeting of Celestia and Luna. We'll finally start the "Technology vs Magic", "Peace vs War" and the whole "Federation vs Monarchy" debate. There might be some delay for the next act though. Might. I'm still a quick writer.

BTW, I will no longer accept comments about people disliking Shadow's attitude. That's an opinion which you can PM me about. Legitimate errors regarding Shadow like inconsistent characterization, logical fallacies and acting out of character would be appreciated.

Chapter 26: Canterlot

"People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little."- Rousseau

The train sped straight to the capital city like there was no tomorrow. There were no passengers aboard the ship other than the Mane 6, Shadow and Spike. It was completely understandable however, as if anypony wanted to risk their lives being on the same vehicle with the humans. Shadow even deduced that the only reason why the train was moving so quickly was to get them out as fast as possible.

As Rarity applied lipstick onto herself, the train hit a bump, causing her to misplace the cosmetic on the wrong sides of her face.

"Ugh, must the train move so quickly? I got lipstick in places where it shouldn't be." complained Rarity. Pinkie Pie proceeded to pop up next to her and clean the smudge with a tissue she balanced on her hooves.

Applejack was putting on her dress with the aid of Fluttershy. "Ah still don' trust Shadow in front of the princesses."

Rainbow Dash gave a laugh. "Come on! Like they can do anything to Celestia. Besides, they got a lot of pressure on them not to mess up this meeting."

"You do know they can hear you right?" squeaked Fluttershy.

Suddenly there was a knock on the compartment door. "It's Shadow, let us in." said a mechanical voice from behind. There was no distinction amongst the voices of each member.

"Heavens no!" shrieked Rarity. "We're putting on dresses!"

Half a second later, the door came flying forwards as Overwatch kicked it down.

The commandos entered the room hastily, much to the embarrassment of Fluttershy and Rarity who tried 'covering up.'

Scarecrow shot a finger at the mares. "Okay first, you're ponies, we've seen you naked all the time. Second, when law enforcement gives you a warrant that we're coming in, you better be prepared to let us come in."

The atmosphere was dead silent until all members of Shadow gave a small laugh.

"Just messing you." chuckled Scarecrow.

"Ya didn' give us a warnin' though." beamed Applejack.

"What do you mean? We told Spike when we'd be coming in." assured X-ray.

"Wait, where is Spike?" noticed Scorch.

Suddenly, Twilight nonchalantly entered the room while levitating Spike who clearly just had too much to eat.

"Okay, that is the last time I let you help yourself to the buffet." scolded Twilight.

The dragon lazily flexed his claw in the air.

"Sorry about that." apologized the purple mare as she laid down Spike. "So, are you 4 excited or what?"

"I guess so." shrugged X-ray. "Although we're gonna be under a lot of pressure considering we know there's a war back on the colonies and that something horrible is bound to happen."

"By the way, what's with the dresses?" asked Scorch. Shadow also noticed Twilight's mane style was different. It was much more regal and polished.

Twilight looked over her royal outfit, the same one worn during the coronation. "I'm supposed to wear this dress during formal events. Do you like it?" The alicorn gave a twirl.

The masked soldiers didn't want to be rude. "Yeah."

The lie detector went off, causing the 4 black clad humans to blush underneath.

"I am just so nervouscited!" cheered Pinkie Pie. "Just think, after we meet the other princesses, there's gonna be food, dancing and-"

Overwatch shut the pink mare up by placing a hand over her muzzle.

"How many times do must you be reminded?" muttered Scarecrow. "Festivals, plus 23rd, equals someone dying."

"Relax, there won't be any parties." insisted Twilight. "Just a dinner with Celestia and maybe a quick tour of the castle."

Rainbow Dash glared at Shadow's black recon armor. "You know, you're going to look pretty out of place like that."

"We're counter terrorists, not party goers." defended X-ray as he flexed his shades.

"Shouldn't you still have some sense of class when dressing for royalty?" questioned Rarity as she admired her own reflection in a mirror.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're on an alien world with various assassins ambushing us unpredictably." beamed Scarecrow. "We have to be prepared at all times."

"Can't you just store you store your guns somewhere else? I get nervous when you have them around." pleaded Fluttershy.

"Disarming us will be viewed as a threat." growled Overwatch.

"And another thing." snapped Twilight. "Right now we're going to be meeting the rulers of Equestria, so be sure to be on your best behavior. Celestia and the other princesses are some of the nicest ponies ever. They don't deserve your snakiness and you do NOT want them on humanity's bad side."

"Intimidating her is not our intention as long as she accepts cooperation." defended Scarecrow.

Pinkie Pie looked at the humans with puppy eyes. "Pinkie promise me you won't say anything mean to Celestia and Luna while we're having fun."

"We don't make promises we know we can't keep." responded X-ray.

"Ya might want watch your language though. Canterlot is pretty uptight." warned Applejack.

"A lot of ponies there like Fancy Pants and Hoity Troity are pretty influential, you don't want to get on there wrong sides." nodded Rainbow Dash.

Scorch sighed. "Great, we're going to the city of rich assholes."

"I bet they abuse the proletariat to shit." added X-ray.

"Language!" screeched Twilight.

"So what's the schedule?" inquired Scorch.

"Well, while you guys were solving science or something, we pretty much planned the whole thing out." skipped Pinkie Pie in her regal dress.

"First we'll disembark and me and the girl's will put put our things away." began Twilight. "Then I'll meet up with the rest of the princesses, get ready a speech, and then you come in."

"Sounds simple enough." shook the demo man.

"How many ponies are there going to be in Canterlot?" asked X-ray.

"Well it's not everyday ponies hear about alien lifeforms!" exclaimed Rarity. "I'd say thousands of ponies from all over the nation are going to be flocking over to get a glimpse of you."

As the train neared the city, the cries of ponies and music became audible.

"You do remember that I'm sociophobic and that we're not supposed to be in large crowds right?" inquired Scarecrow.

"Relax you don't actually have to interact with everypony." snickered Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Pinkie. "You can just cloak and hide in the.....shadows." The party pony laughed at her own joke.

"According to the schedule, you'll be introduced by 1:30. All you need to do is simply walk in when I announce you." informed Twilight.

----------------

Soon the train was coming to a stop.

Shadow looked outside the curtains and took a full glimpse of the city of Canterlot. Humanity had built amazing cities like Rigel City, New Athens and the realizing the myth of Atlantis, but Canterlot was impressive. The way it was built into the mountain would require genius architects. The spires, the towers and waterfall that ran through the city was breathtaking. Even if it was animated, it would belong to a cartoon of the upmost quality.

However, Shadow's gazing of the city ended with them noticing an important fact.

Scarecrow turned to his wrist computer. "Blackjack, are you getting this?"

The ship radioed him from beyond. "We read you loud and clear Shadow."

"This city's architecture is Medieval. It has a definite resemblance to Camelot from Arthurian legends."

"You honestly couldn't decipher that from the city's name? I mean Camelot, Canterlot, come the fuck on." teased the man operating from the radio.

X-ray placed a finger on his bandanna. "Guys, it's already evidenced that the Pony equivalent of the renaissance lasted for a few thousand years and is still in process. What about the equivalent of the dark ages?"

"Good point." agreed Scorch. "My theory though is that they've surpassed such a time, but for how long is the question."

Finally, the train entered the grounds of the city and stopped right next to the station. Shadow had noticed that the entire platform had a much more ancient tone to the relatively 20th century station in Ponyville.

What had caught Shadow's attention was the massive amount of reporters wearing 20th century fedoras and suits who were giving off fast paced announcements of the arrival of aliens, followed by haughty business ponies that would have been the spawn of the industrial revolution. Furthermore, it seemed the town comprised mostly of unicorns as opposed to Ponyville which was relatively mixed.

"Twilight, these crowds make the ones in Ponyville diminutive." groaned Scarecrow as the voices of reporters grew louder.

The alicorn took a deep breath. "The 4 of you can cloak for now. I'll instruct you as we move on."

Meanwhile, Scorch in a stroke of infinite bad luck, had forgotten a frag grenade he left on the seats. The demo fan failed to notice a certain ignorant dragon staring at the explosive before picking it up in a state of curiosity.

-----------

The numerous ponies crowded against the train, eager to see the princess as well as the aliens. The noble ponies simply arrived to discuss possible economic deals with the aliens, the reporters battled each other to get their story published first and many out of place nerds were drooling.

The door of the vehicle opened and the crowd was silenced.

Twilight Sparkle came out of train elegantly, having been taught poise by Rarity.

With nopony noticing that she was missing her crown, everypony in the vicinity bowed respectfully to their ruler. The moment after, the rest of the dress wearing Mane 6 exited the train as well.

Suddenly, the crowd stopped bowing and many reporters started bombarding Twilight with questions:

"Your highness, are you sure we can trust these aliens?"

"For how long have you met these Xenos?"

"What magic are they capable of?"

"Where do they even come from?"

"Will this be the start of a space faring Equestrian race?"

Twilight politely used her telekinesis to grasp a microphone towards her. "Good day my fellow subjects, it is with my pleasure to announce the arrival of the human race in Equestria."

The crowd gave series of mummers and whispers, although it was concern, not excitement like it was in Ponyville.

"The humans right now do not seek company and wish to remain isolated." explained the alicorn.

The Mane 6 attempted to move on forward to the castle, but reporters kept stopping them in their tracks. Twilight had to constantly explain that information about the human race would be leaked after it was reported to the other princesses.

Shadow kept their hands on their rifles firmly. They weren't going to hesitate to use force to disperse crowds. All the while they paid attention to how much different Canterlot felt than Ponyville. For starters, it had a more aristocratic tone, the ponies were much more wealthier, all the shops sold luxury items and the prices for anything would have driven a common pony insane. What was despicable though was the sight of a noble pony yelling at a pair of city workers. It seemed Equestria had quite a gap between rich and poor.

"This place needs a marxist reformation." muttered X-ray on local coms.

The crowd continued to surround the Mane 6 until-

"HALT!" yelled a young, but commanding voice.

Shadow turned their heads forward to see a group of Big Macintosh sized stallions, who were probably the least intimidating guards they had ever seen.

For starters, each one of the stallions wore a ridiculous set of ancient Roman-eque armor. It was clear to Shadow and to the humans watching their feed that Equestria was thousands of years behind in the war complex. The blank expressions of the pony guards were, in a childish sense; retarded.

Leading those stallions was a white coated and blue maned stallion with purple ceremonial armor. He continued to address the crowd.

"The princess and her companions are to be escorted to the royal hall privately. If you wish to speak to her, you will have to relocate to the castle."

The reporters gave sighs of disappointment. The large crowd mechanically trotted past the Mane 6 and guards without even looking back. In 5 minutes, there was complete silence.

The leader looked at Twilight and gave a smile. "How're you doing Twily?"

'Twiliy?' thought the cloaked humans.

"I'm doing fine Shining Armor." answered Twilight calmly.

To Shadow's confusion, the purple alicorn embraced the leader, now known as Shining Armor in an affectionate hug.

"It's great to see you BBBFF." greeted Twilight.

Scarecrow spoke on local coms. "BBBFF?"

"Big Brother Best Friend Forever." radioed X-ray. "Didn't your little sister call you that?"

"No."

Twilight and her brother unglued. Shining Armor turned to face the rest of the elements and Spike. "Has Twilight been treating you well?"

The other mares and Spike (who was playing with the explosive) gave remarks of flattery.

"So aliens huh?" began Shining Armor. "I heard their pretty tough."

"Well not as tough as the pony who stopped the changing invasion." teased Twilight.

Suddenly, there were a series of disembodied mechanical laughs that died down before the royal guards could notice.

"What are you here for anyway?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Aren't you supposed to be with your wife in the castle?"

"I'm here as Captain of the Royal Guard, not Prince of the Crystal Empire." answered Shining Armor.

"So ah take it dat your gonna escort us to the palace?" inquired Applejack.

Shining Armor nodded. "We're also here to carry any baggage you might have to your rooms."

"Don't be a silly filly!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "The train station is taking care of that. To make their job easier, I didn't pack anything!"

The guards almost lost their stern expressions. They clearly were more vulnerable than Overwatch.

Shining Armor looked around nervously. "Anyway, where are the aliens?"

"Why, they're cloaked. That's their word for turning invisible." responded Rarity. "They despise company and attention."

"We're supposed to make sure that the aliens don't give you trouble. To do that we need to be able to see them." said the captain of the royal guard.

"Shadow, can you uncloak?" asked Fluttershy's soft voice.

The 4 humans materialized in front of the royal guard. The non animated appearances gave the guards ponies a mind fuck and staggered them for a few solid minutes.

Shining Armor steadied his helmet as he tried to comprehend the appearances of the humans.

"W-what are y-you?" he stammered.

"Humans." blankly answered Overwatch.

The captain knitted his eyebrows. "So you're the aliens I take it."

"Really? What gave you that clue?" remarked Scorch. "Was it our bi-pedal appearances? Or the fact that we don't look like cartoon characters?"

"Are you military?" questioned Shining Armor.

"Affirmative." answered Scarecrow. "My callsign is Scarecrow. Leader of Shadow squad, subdivision of the 23rd, United Terran Federation armed forces."

The guards looked more and more ready to attack the humans head on.

The other members of Shadow introduced themselves.

"Alright, I don't want any trouble form you 4 here in Canterlot! You'll have to deal with me and my guards before you can touch anypony." glared the captain.

X-ray was unintimidated. Without switching to his radio to local, he signaled the Blackjack. "Command, permission to smack some sense into these rejects."

Shining Armor's eyes widened.

Twilight's mouth dropped. "What are you-"

"Granted X-ray." radioed the frigate.

X-ray looked up at the captain. "No offense sir, you look like a respectable person and all, but whose brilliant idea was it to make you captain?"

The guards took this as a threat and (attempted to) raised their spears at the human.

Scorch laughed. "Do you even realize what weapons you're using?"

"Spears." hissed Shining Armor. "Don't you humans use them in your guard?"

"We used to. Until we switched to less primitive alternatives." mocked X-ray.

"Do you have any idea that those spears are fucking useless against us?" questioned Scorch.

Scarecrow attempted to slap Scorch to shut him up but the demo man side stepped the blow.

"You're not wearing any armor." noted Shining.

"Appearances deceive you." trivialized Overwatch. The sniper unsheathed his combat knife and attempted to stab himself, only for the blade to bounce off his barrier.

The guards were mesmerized. The mane 6 knew what Shadow was trying to do.

"Don't try to surprise me." shook Shining Armor. "That's like the energy shield I can form with my magic!"

Shining Armor's horn lit up and the electromagnetic energy stored within his horn spread and solidified to form a transparent, animated, pink barrier around him.

Scarecrow rolled his eyes and used the back of his shotgun to break the shield, much to the guard's surprise.

Shining Armor was distraught. "How did you-"

"Here's a tip. Net your energy in a hexagonal structure. The strength of the shape will reinforce the barrier." interrupted Scarecrow.

X-ray folded his arms. "Speaking of armor, you're blacksmith needs to be laid down immediately. A single rail bullet from a pistol could break through 9 sets of that golden armor."

"Shining Armor, I wouldn't recommend talking back." suggested Rarity.

The captain ignored her. "Bullets? What are those things you're carrying anyway?"

"Guns." responded Scorch. "Efficient and much more humane than those slow killing pieces of metal. A gun uses magnetic fields to accelerate a projectile known as a bullet at hypersonic speeds with a Lorenz force. Think bow and arrow, but stronger and faster."

"Furthermore, you seem awfully young to be leader of an entire armed forces." pointed X-ray. "Most human generals are well past the mid point of their life."

"That's because Shining is talented and rose ranks faster than any other guard in history." defended Twilight.

The other guards gave nods of agreement.

"You must have some combat experience." complimented Scorch.

"Equestria hasn't seen war for thousands of years." informed Fluttershy from behind.

Scarecrow smirked under his mask. "That's probably a good thing. You'd get your flank, kicked no offense. We've fought Griffins, Hydras and Dragons. They were admirably vigorous for Epona's standards."

"Hey the guards are mighty tough. Thy can handle themselves." countered Applejack.

"Please, what drove ponies to use spears anyway?" questioned X-ray. "Surely a captain such as yourself would notice that weapons like that are meant for hands." X-ray gave his fingers a twirl.

"I don't suppose you know how to utilize them." challenged Shining Armor.

Overwatch abruptly snatched the spear from the captain's hand with extremely fast reflexes. Turning around, the sniper with all his might threw the spear at rapid speeds, and killed a bird flying in the sky effortlessly.

The guards dropped their stern expressions to utter disbelief.

Fluttershy almost burst into tears had Pinkie Pie and Applejack not comforted her.

"I get it. You're trying to intimidate me." realized Shining Armor.

"Gentlecolts, let's not get hasty." said Rainbow Dash.

"Well you're job is to protect your people." noted Scarecrow. "And we're just pointing out that with spears like that, you'll do a horrible fucking job."

Shining Armor brushed the swear off and turned to a pegasus guard. "We'll need more troops. Go see if you can find any reinforcements."

The pegasus guard nodded and took off.

"Send all the guards you like. It won't be enough to finish one of us." hissed Scorch.

Shining snapped. "I don't care how tough you are-"

X-ray silenced him with a flick of his index finer. "We've been trained to take out armies of humans. Energy shielded, gauss wielding, vehicle equipped, combat experienced humans."

Overwatch crossed his arms. "Even if you do take us out, what's to say the rest of humanity won't retaliate? You might be able to perform magic, but what use will it be useless against starships, kill SATS, interceptors, tanks, combat drones and if the universe has no mercy for you, jaegers?"

"I do not know what any of those tools for war are." replied Shinning Armor.

"If you don't mess with us, you won't ever have to." pointed Scarecrow.

The squad simply made a move for the castle at a very slow pace in order to allow the Mane 6 and the royal guard to take lead.

The guards were afraid, and the Federation wouldn't have it any other way.

--------------

The royal hall was crowded with ponies from the highest prestige. Celestia wasn't one for elitism, but she knew how much of an influence the wealthy could have in Equestria's relationship with the Xenos.

There were still a few honest ponies within the crowd like the family members of the Mane 6 (minus Applejack's who were still working and seemed to decline any subject that had to do with Shadow) and cosmology enthusiasts like Comet Tail.

The 3 alicorns had already gracefully stepped into the hall, each one wearing a royal gown. They didn't want to come off as unremarkable to the humans.

With the flare of trumpets from solar, lunar and crystal guards, the door opened to reveal a set of startled solar guards led by Shining Armor in a 4 x 4 position. The captain of the royal guard winked to his wife as he led the troops.

Finally, Twilight Sparkle Materialized in the throne room, with everypony bowing on sight.

The same guard Twilight bumped into announced her appearance. "Her highness, princess Twilight Sparkle!"

The ponies in the crowd gave a cheer although many onlookers stopped upon seeing that she wasn't wearing her crown.

"The Elements of Harmony everypony!" cheered the guard known as Flash Sentry.

The rest of the Mane 6 entered the hall and gave a modest nod. Rarity in particular wasn't trying to show off, but wanted the fashion moguls in the crowd to notice her dress.

Twilight curiously trotted to the 4 thrones stationed at the end of the room. Each throne was engraved with a pattern and trim that matched the attributes of each alicorn. Luna's was blue and littered with stars, Cadance's was pink with hearts, Celestia's was white with streaks that resembled sun rays and Twilight's was purple was a star pattern that resembled her cutie mark.

The princess of magic escalated the stairs to her fellow princesses and turned to the ponies in the throne room.

"Today marks a special day." announced Twilight. "The day where Ponykind realizes it is not alone."

The crowd gave a cheer. No one had noticed the rest of the mane 6 looking awfully nervous.

"While there have been hardships on the road to diplomacy, I am faithful that we can finally accept the friendship of a race beyond our very star system once and for all." exclaimed the purple alicorn.

The ponies applauded their princess.

"We have many things to learn from the human race. Culture, technology and so much more. We also must take up a burden to teach these aliens the aspects that make life in Equestria so great. Such an honor is escalated that throughout the time they have spent in space, the humans can honestly say that we simple ponies will be the first intelligent life forms they have ever met."

Twilight turned to Celestia and the other alicorns. "By your words princesses."

Celestia nodded. "Let the two races finally meet. Humans, you may reveal yourself!"

--------------

All the while Shadow had been cloaked behind the door prepping to reveal themselves. Scarecrow was relaying final orders.

"X-ray cloak and send your drone to a position where we can listen on the entire castle. Overwatch, keep your eyes peeled for any far range assassins." The sniper had become sensitive to movements from far away distances.

"Scorch, trying not to burn anything and keep a lookout for anything suspicious in the crowd."

"Humans, you may reveal yourself!" called out the solar alicorn from behind the two doors.

Shadow unholstered their weapons on their magnetic plates. Scarecrow took a deep breath and opened the door.

--------------

The ponies were confused at first, the door had opened, but there was no one on the other side.

Shadow walked in a few steps into the throne room and when they were sure everything was alright, uncloaked.

Having not seen any glimpse of the realistic humans before, the crowd, even the princesses themselves (minus Twilight), received a painful migraine.

Shadow simply waited until the ponies could sink in their appearances and start seeing straight.

X-ray looked at the time on his watch. "3...2...1"

As predicted the ponies finally calmed down and took a proper look at the humans. As they did so, they kept muttering things to their partners, often talking at the same time.

"What is that?"

"By Celestia, their huge!"

"Why do they look so off?"

"Are they wearing a mask?"

"Is it just me, or do these things only walk on two hooves?"

The humans simply ignored the statements and fixed their attention on the alicorns. They were certainly much more unique than the other ponies. Their appearances were much taller, slimmer and swan like. The Manes of Celestia and Luna were ethereal as well. Celestia's glowed green, pink and blue while Luna's mane resembled the night sky. Similar to Trixie when she had turned into an alicorn after absorbing too much power. Rather than their eyes filling with aggression however, they were filled with friendliness and wisdom.

The alicorns in turn, stared at the approaching humans. Everything about them was alien. Their choice of outfits, the way they walked on two legs, their weapons and even the way they appeared out of context in an animated planet made them cringe. Nevertheless, they attempted to keep their smiles for the sake of their subjects.

Even though Shadow had not uttered a word to the alicorns, the princesses knew their traits would be at odds with theirs. Luna herself had faced many nightmares of many ponies. Being the princess of the night meant that (through inception) she would help ponies face their nightmares. No nightmare however, could face Shadow straight on without littering away like a helpless puppy.

Cadance started breathing heavily. As she looked at the humans, horrible visions started playing in her minds of Shadow mercilessly assaulting innocent ponies and admiring a burning Canterlot. Overwatch in particular had grabbed the attention of Cadance. She was the alicorn of love, and she sensed no love in the sniper. While this was simply due to Overwatch lacking a sex drive, Cadance thought it meant something more horrific. The pink alicorn used her technique to calm herself as the humans approached.

Celestia remained the most vigilant. While she would remain strong throughout the ordeal in order not to come off as weak minded to a whole race, a part of her felt that the humans would bring an end to ponykind if she dared challenge them.

Music continued to play until Shadow finally approached the base of the steps on the throne room. The squad desperately wanted to point out how ridiculous the alicorns looked sitting on a chair meant for bi-peds. The Mane 6 minus Twilight respectfully bowed towards the rulers behind Shadow.

Nonchalantly, the squad elevated the stairs and faced the alicorns. The difference in hight causing a sense of disbelief amongst the noble ponies.

Luna and Cadance were 5 ft at most. Celestia herself was tall at 6ft 1, but the humans, even X-ray, towered her. The hightt of Celestia was a symbol of her superiority amongst the equestrians. Now she was being dwarfed by massive, black clad bi peds.

The squad remained unconvinced of the alicorn's greatness. Scarecrow's mechanical voice startled everypony in the room. "Good day your majesties, it is an honor to be representing our race to ponykind."

Celestia smiled and spoke with her motherly voice. "It is an honor to meet the human race as well."

Scarecrow and the rest of Shadow stretched out their arms and revealed their hands to the princesses.

The mass in the room took a curious look at Shadow's appendages as they gave their fingers a twirl. The princesses looked nervously at hand, believing the humans to be making a hostile gesture.

The squad noticed the alicorns staring nervously at them with a fake grin as if they were waiting for something to happen.

"Well, aren't you going to shake our hands?" asked X-ray glacially.

"You're what?" inquired Luna.

"These." pointed Scorch as he raised his gloved hands.

Rarity gave Shadow a venomous whisper. "You're supposed to bow."

The squad's expressions underneath their mask turned hostile.

"Excuse me?" inquired Overwatch loudly.

The aristocratic ponies gave faint whispers due Shadow's refusal to bow. Certainly they should have known that this was the proper way to address royalty and deities. To not do so was heresy.

"Normally, it is customary for a pony to bow when meeting royalty to show respect." explained Luna with a giggle.

Scarecrow couldn't believe what he was being pressured to do. "That's funny, because to humans, bowing symbolizes superiority and fear while a hand shake symbolizes friendship."

Celestia gave an audible laugh. "My, I can see how different are cultures are already."

The counter terrorists proceeded to awkwardly shake the hand of each princess. The alicorns took a while to get used to the sensation of fingers wrapping around their hooves like a squid's tentacles wrapping around its prey.

"As I was saying," continued Scarecrow. "It is an honor to be meeting the other rulers of Equestria. We have already met Twilight, and she has done a considerable job hosting us."

The purple alicorn blushed.

"I look forward to learning more about your race and teaching you about ours."

Celestia nodded. "You may introduce yourselves in the manner you do to your superiors normally."

"As in the way we introduce ourselves formally to commanding officers?" checked Scorch.

"Why of course." chuckled Luna.

The eyes of the commandos widened. "Are you sure about that?" asked X-ray.

"Certainly, why would that be such a bad thing?" asked Cadance with a smile.

Scarecrow exhaled. "You asked for it." he warned.

"We are Shadow squad, subdivision of the 23rd counter terrorist division. United Terran Federation."

The public responded nervously to the phrases 'shadow squad' and 'counter terrorism'.

The masked leader of Shadow continued to address the squad in the manner the princesses asked for. "We have been active for 4 years, have participated in 834 operations, scouted 3 planets, have gained 50 + commendations each and have a grand total of 1.28 million confirmed kills."

The herd of ponies exploded with hysteria at the last statement. Many mares fainted and even the princesses themselves were startled. All of them had shocked expressions. Never had they met some one who had killed, yet alone in a number that high. The humans needed a lesson in harmony immediately.

"They're afraid of you." radioed Commander Sarah from the Blackjack. "The feds request you to keep going."

The Mane 6 backed away a little. They didn't exactly have a favorable view of Shadow. Now, they didn't know what to think.

Overwatch shot a fist in the air to silence the ponies.

"For legal reasons, we're afraid we can not tell you our real names." informed Scarecrow. "Forgive us, but you'll have to go by our call signs.

The princesses gave nods of understanding. They were incapable of saying no at the moment.

"I'm Colonel Scarecrow. Leader of Shadow. At your service." introduced the commando.

"Lieutenant X-ray, intelligence officer."

"Lieutenant Scorch, demolitions."

Scorch pointed a finger at the sniper. "This is Major Overwatch, squad marksman. He doesn't talk. Much."

The princesses gave an honest laugh.

Celestia revealed herself first. "I am princess Celestia. Alicorn of the sun."

"I am princess Luna, alicorn of the night."

X-ray raised an eyebrow. "Did you know that the moon of our home planet is named Luna as well?"

The blue alicorn blushed in flattery.

Cadance used her technique to calm herself. "I princess Mi Amore Cadenza. I'm the alicorn of love and leader of the Crystal Empire."

"In the language of Italian, your name translates to 'my love Cadance'." noted Scorch.

"I thought it was just gibberish." replied the pink alicorn.

"And of course you know me." grinned Twilight.

"So tell us, what brings humanity here to our humble world?" chanted Celestia.

"The appearance of intelligent life on Epona was surprise to us all." began Scorch. "The human race, as you probably guessed lives, on multiple worlds. Sometimes we find barren worlds for us to manipulate with our vast technologies, other times, like now, we find worlds that are already habitable."

X-ray stole the spotlight. "Due to our efficiency and ability to handle isolation, 23rd units such as Shadow are sent to explore these kinds of worlds. For reasons unknown to us, there was a distortion barrier that prevented our starships from analyzing this planet above. We had to view it manually."

Scarecrow took the lead. "After a few...difficulties, we ran into Twilight and her friends and that's when we realized that intelligent life existed beyond our world. That's when plans changed. Now we're on full diplomacy."

"How was you're stay at Ponyville?" asked Cadance.

"Unorthodox. I'll leave it at that." beamed X-ray.

"It is quite a surprise that you speak Equestrian." smiled Luna.

"The pony race and humanity shares more in common than they think." trivialized Scorch.

The multitude of ponies didn't seem to grasp the concept firmly.

"We're serious!" insisted Scarecrow. "Our cultures are similar and whatever your species invented and went through, we already did so!"

"I'm afraid I don't follow." replied Celestia.

"Will discuss it another time in that case." sighed X-ray. The squad was disappointed.

"I do not mean to be rude, but may I ask about your appearances?" proposed Luna.

"Go ahead." assured Overwatch, startling everypony by speaking.

"It is not my intention to insult you, but why must you wear such a peculiar mask? I can not see any of your faces."

"That's kind of the point your majesty." informed Scarecrow. "The units of the 23rd are required to cover their faces to conceal their identify. We mean no hostility towards you, it's just what protocol requires. Our masks also filter out harmful gases and infections."

'I wouldn't be surprised if you wore them to scare everypony. They're horrifying.' thought Luna.

"Also, why is your appearance so alien?" inquired Cadance.

X-ray faced the pink alicorn. "If by alien, you mean non animated, I would like to point out to the everypony in this room that the universe is built like us. The planet of Epona, is a cartoon."

"What is a...cartoon?" asked Luna.

Scarecrow had to admit, her accent that resembled ancient England was cute. "Basically what you are. Monotone colors and smooth, textureless designs."

"Speaking of your appearances, you humans are undoubtedly tall." complimented Celestia.

"We're taller than most humans." informed Scorch. "Humans on average, are around 3 inches or so shorter then X-ray."

The solar goddess laughed. "It's quite funny. I'm so used to looking down on so many creatures."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to looking up to us." teased Scarecrow.

"As for your voice, you all sound similar. By similar, I mean robotic." cringed Cadance.

The mass ponies nodded to this statement. The voice of the humans sounded completely inorganic.

"That's because we're speaking through a mic under our bandannas." explained X-ray who rubbed his chin under his mask. "This mask distorts our voice in order to remain anonymous. Rest assured though, we're flesh and blood.

"Moving on to other matters, will the rest of humanity make an appearance soon?" questioned Celestia.

"We're what you could call an advance team." answered X-ray. "Our government has yet to inform the public of extraterrestrial lifeforms. Until the situation is clear and our government officials can be prepared, you're stuck with us."

"Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but right now, we are broadcasting every moment of our time on this planet." brought up Scarecrow.

"What do you mean by...'broadcast'?" inquired Cadance.

"Basically, whatever we see, the humans on the starship orbiting this planet can see it too." explained Shadow's commander.

"Say Twilight, I think everypony has noticed this, but where is your crown?" asked Luna.

"And aren't you 5 supposed to be wearing your elements as well?" pointed Cadance to the Mane 6.

The herd gathered in the hall began to make remarks of concern. It was not like the Mane 6 to forget such an important requirement.

Twilight's ears dropped. "About that, I don't know how to say this-"

Scarecrow cut her off. "Forgive us your majesties. When we arrived in the Everfree Forest, the ponies were eager to send us to Ponyville as soon as possible. Twilight attempted to use teleportation, but it failed. Instead, the elements insisted that they use the artifacts to amplify the power of the spell. When they put on the elements, everything was going fine. Unfortunately, the elements seized to obey the ponies and attacked us with a life draining attack."

The crowd started to panic. They knew where this was heading.

Celestia's eyes widened. "The elements are used for peace they would never-"

Scarecrow interrupted Celestia. "My friends were dying. Twilight and the others attempted to shut off the artifacts before they wiped us out, but failed. I was the least affected. With the reminder of my strength, I snatched to the elements, threw them aside......and destroyed them with an explosive."

The ponies gave shrieks of horror and agony. Equestria had relied on the elements for so long and were thought to be unbeatable. This news was too much for them to handle.

"If you have to blame anypony for the destruction of the elements, blame us." muttered Scorch.

"I...don't know what to say to that." blurted Luna. "If you destroyed the elements, then you're above the might of harmony itself."

The mass continued to gave panicked remarks. Reporters wasted no time writing down the shocking news.

After 5 minutes of hysteria, Overwatch had enough of the panicking. He raised his PDR into the air and discharged a magnetically powered bullet.

The noise was loud enough to silence the town.

The alicorns stared nervously at the weapon.

"What is that?" inquired Cadance.

Scarecrow was getting tired of explaining his weapon. "It's a gun, the weapon we humans use to defend ourselves. Long story short, it uses magnets to accelerate a projectile. Universe willing, we won't have to use it."

"We know how important the elements are to the pony kind." yelled X-ray, amplifying his microphone to a more audible, but still mechanical tone. "Understand, that as long as we're here, we won't let any harm come to Equestria."

"The Elements of Harmony meant more to us then protection. They were the symbol of the values of our kind." nearly cried Celestia. Reporters continued to document the information with some running out the hall to tell the news.

Scarecrow exhaled heavily. "I am sorry your majesty, but I will not regret my decision. Ever. My friends were dying and I did what I had to do to save them."

The Alicorn of the sun nodded slowly. "I understand Colonel-"

"Just call me Scarecrow."

"I understand Scarecrow, I just wish it didn't have to come to this." whispered Celestia. Luna placed a wing to comfort the frightened Cadance.

The news was for too much for Ponykind to handle. With more than a million kills and being the perpetrators of the Element's destruction, Shadow was clearly a force that would give Discord a run for his bits.

"Let us not focus on such events!" exclaimed X-ray. "This should be a time for diplomacy and progress, not sorrow."

"You're right." calmed Celestia. "We can not change the past and what happened, happened. Just thank the heavens you are alright."

The squad nodded despite their atheism.

"We have prepared quite a feast for you humans." announced Luna enthusiastically.

Scorch grinned under his mask. "We appreciate your generosity ma'am, but we-"

Suddenly there was a rumble in the demo man's stomach. The rest of Shadow felt it too.

Celestia raised an eyebrow."You were saying?"

"I was about to say that we can't eat since we're drugged to go on days without food, but I guess the drugs have worn off."

"If that is the case, we may proceed to feast if you wish." offered Celestia.

"That would be lovely, your majesty." nodded Scarecrow.

"You can just refer to us by our title and names." assured Cadance.

The alicorns rose form their seats as music played and shook the hands of the humans. Each princess was still unsure, and very much frightened of Shadow. They seemed like good people at heart, but their definition of good didn't fall into the traditional sense.

The reporters continued to take pictures of the humans shaking the hands of the princesses. Much to the surprise of the journalists, whenever they printed a picture of Shadow, the counter terrorists did not show up on the picture, but rather showed as a black blur.

The aristocrats in the crowd were unsure if Shadow were the right humans to address to expand their businesses. The families of the Mane 6 on the other hoof, worried for the safety of their children.

The leaders of Equestria directed the humans to dining room of the castle, accompanied by guards who shrugged off the reporters and various on lookers.

As a guard closed the door behind the group, creating a pitch of silence.

The Mane 6 stood nervously behind their princesses. The alicorns took an expectant look at Shadow. The 4 humans stared back at the alicorns, when a venomous glare underneath their masks as if they were ready to pull out their weapons any moment.

It was going to be an interesting day.

Author's Notes:

Please make a list for everything you want Shadow to discuss with the alicorns. The next segment will be a series of mini chapters.

As you can see, Shadow intends to use fear throughout the entire ordeal. Fear is the most powerful emotion (in my opinion) and if the humans are going to be meeting Extraterrestrial life, what better way to get their own interests completed by having other races unable to intimidate them?

For those of you saying that a million plus kill count is unreasonable, note that Scarecrow could have easily turned off his lie detector to intimidate the princesses.

Chapter 27: Equineology

"Remember you are just an extra in everyone else's play." Franklin D. Roosevelt

The two groups traversed the castle. The Equestrians continuously looked back at the humans just in case they weren't doing anything sinister. As Shadow stared back with their masks obscuring their faces, the ponies became less and less convinced that they were organic.

Shadow on the other hand, was busy analyzing every piece of furniture with neural controls. For a leader to be so reviled by Ponykind, the princesses didn't even seem to notice something felt off about every piece of furniture requiring hands and a bi-pedal structure to be operated.

"Tia, we can not allow aggressors to be in possession of fire arms." whispered Luna.

"They can hear yoooooou!" playfully warned Pinkie Pie.

"Actually, what we really wanted to ask you was about the strength of your weapons." defended the white alicorn. Shadow didn't want to point out she was lying. "How much force can a single projectile inflict?"

"One rail powered bullet will rip a hole through grade A Titanium." said Scorch.

"Doesn't it mean you're armor is ineffective? There doesn't appear to be any metallic protection." noted Luna.

"That's because Shadow's recon armor is meant to disperse a barrier like the shields we can form, princess." responded Twilight. "Except their energy doesn't come from energy stored horns, it comes from their machines."

"I don't see a barrier." pointed Cadance.

"That's because the energy our barrier emits is so powerful that it is above the visible light spectrum. When some energy is transited to block projectiles, the energy weakens and is visible." explained X-ray.

"Allow me to give you a demonstration." teased Scarecrow.

"Cover your ears now!" warned Rainbow Dash.

The ponies did so without hesitation.

Scarecrow raised his LMG and fired a magnetically charged round at Overwatch. The bullet traversed at hypersonic speeds and bounced off Overwatch's barrier as the energy repulsed the bullet with it's own magnetic force. The alicorns observed a transparent purple hexagon pattern form where Overwatch was hit.

The sniper simply raised his middle finger and growled.

The princesses uncovered their ears, clearly disturbed at what humanity could produce while the Federation observing the events was pleased as the chances for the alicorns attempting to attack humanity minimized. The group continued to walk to the dining hall causally. Those working as staff in the castle dismissed the noise as something breaking for they did not know gunfire.

Twilight tried to make conversation. "So now that we're going to be learning more about each other, is there anything you'd like to know about us?"

"There was something mentioned about a Crystal Empire. Is that an enclave of Equestria or is it a separate nation entirely?" inquired Scarecrow.

Cadance worked up the courage to respond to Scarecrow. "It is a part of Equestria, me and my husband Shining Armor co-rule it together to ease the burden off of Princesses Celestia and Luna."

"You do realize that the very definition of an empire implies a conquest?" muttered Scorch. "So you mean to tell me, your kingdom has a past of brutalizing and and conquering other nations to expand its own?"

The other ponies almost stopped dead in their tracks. Twilight and her friends had visited the Empire numerous times. It was such a cheerful location that one often forgot its dark past.

"The empire wasn't always ruled by me. It used to be ruled by an evil dictator named Sombra who raised armies to quench his lust for power." defended the pink Alicorn.

"When me and Luna saw the evils that Sombra committed, we wasted no time expelling him from the throne." informed Celestia.

"However, his defeat was not permanent." continued Luna. "He sealed the Empire away for a thousand years-"

"He locked the Crystal Empire in a pocket dimension? That's impressive." complimented Scorch.

X-ray shook his head. "Not really, all you'd have to do was generate enough energy to create a rip through space time that sealed physical matter in a plane of sub space, where the ratio dividing distance traveled to time was bent in favor of time. It would be the opposite of the teleportation our star ships use. Although, I see where you're coming from as a biological creature generating enough energy without killing himself is quite news worthy."

"What did he say?" asked Applejack.

"I don't know, some egg head stuff." shrugged Rainbow Dash.

"And then the Crystal Empire came out of that wormhole thingy and we had to go save it!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

"Speaking of kingdoms, what do you humans think of our castle?" asked Twilight. "It has stood in Canterlot for thousands of years."

"Medievial." exhaled Overwatch.

"Are humanity's castles built like ours?" asked Rarity.

"Humans don't have castles anymore." shook Scarecrow. "But when we had them, they did in fact resemble structures like these. I guess you could say our equivalent of Canterlot castle is the HOH; the House of Humanity located in the city of Brussels on Earth. It's where the president and the rest of the executive branch resides."

Luna had an epiphany. "Oh, before we show you to your rooms, would any of you like to stop by our grand art hall? It details every important historical even that happened in Equestria."

Art was Overwatch's weakness. The sniper turned to his squad mates with a pleading look (under his mask).

Scarecrow exhaled. "We can do that. Sure. Dinner can wait."

Luna formed a cheerful look and led the humans to a hall decorated with stained glass paintings detailing Equestria's history from 'creation' to the saving of the Crystal Empire.

Shadow looked at all the paintings. The first one detailed an Alicorn with a white coat and red mane overlooking a world. Based on the light disk behind her head, it was clear she was thought to be a creator of some sort.

X-ray switched to local coms and shook his head. "Suckers think this is how they were created."

"Ditto." radioed back Scorch.

"Do you like the painting?" smiled Celestia. "It is a painting of our first princess and creator, Queen Faust."

Shadow said nothing and looked at the other paintings. They observed art works detailing more alicorns such as the twin brothers Glacios and Helios who Twilight mentioned earlier.

What caught their attention was an artwork detailing 6 ponies, 2 earth ponies in robes, 2 unicorns wearing a pristine cloth and 2 pegasai equipped with centurion armor standing atop of a mountain. On top of the 6 ponies stood a blazing pink heart scattering away a group of horse shaped wind creatures.

Twilight noticed the humans staring at the stained glass portrait. "That symbolizes the founding of Equestria.We weren't always united. We used to be divided amongst Earth Ponies, Pegasai and Unicorns.."

The purple alicorn explained the story of the founding of the three tribes and the conflict they were forced to endure. Twilight couldn't tell if the masked humans were interested.

Twilight started concluding the story. "The leaders of the three tribes continued to argue and ultimately, the storm froze them. The advisors however, remained tolerant of each other and avoided being encased in a shell of ice. Soon it was discovered that the source of the ice storm were Windigos which are-"

"Mist-based lifeforms whose organs can function in a gas state that often take the appearance of an equine that feed off a body being influenced by the Hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that creates anger." said X-ray really quickly.

The ponies looked at the masked soldier with a confused expression.

"Winidigos are present in human mythology too you know. Continue the story."

Twilight cleared her throat. "The three advisors did not give up their fellowship and the unicorn Clover the Clever was able to utilize the friendship of the other two advisors as a source to power her magic to disperse the insidious wind spirits and free the leaders. As a result, the tribes were able to declare peace and unite. Equestria was found as a result. While it is considered an old pony's tale, a fiery heart fueled by the friendship of the founders burns to this day as a symbol of harmony and protects us dearly."

"Thats sounds like a very child friendly version story of how humanity united." admitted Scarecrow.

"It was entraining and all, but I find it hard to believe that unification went that smoothly." remarked Scorch.

The ponies glared at the humans with venomous looks except for;

"You found it entraining?" blushed Twilight.

"Well, we ponies have always had the spirit of harmony inside us!" blurted Rainbow Dash.

"We simply needed to discover that we were capable of getting along. No need for rough housing!" exclaimed Rarity.

"Yeah, we've always been good at accepting friendships!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

"Or good at distorting history." shrugged Scarecrow. "That's a crime I could arrest you for on the colonies."

Just when the ponies were about to lash out him-

"Check it out! It's Celestia and Luna!" pointed X-ray.

The ponies shifted their gaze at what X-ray was pointing at. The artwork detailed a younger Celestia and Luna and their triumph over Discord.

"This painting has quite a story to it." whispered Celestia.

Scorch looked at the alicorn sisters. "How old are you two?"

"We are more than a thousand years old." explained Luna.

"My readings stated you couldn't have been anymore than 30." teased Scarecrow.

Celestia smiled a bit. "Alicorns are immortal, when we turn 30-"

"Your body creates a system of transdifferentiation that recycles energy to halt the rate at which organs deteriorate." interrupted X-ray.

"Are ya goin' ta be doin' that the entire time?" asked Applejack.

"It's his choice." whimpered Fluttershy.

Celestia continued to explain how Discord plunged Equestria into, well, discord and how she and Luna trained to face him and ultimately imprison him with the elements of harmony.

Scorch pointed to a mixed creature that Overwatch was starring at. "Is that Discord?"

"I'm not trying to criticize you, but when you meet the spirit of chaos himself, you probably would want to rethink your statements of magic not existing." implied Cadance.

Scarecrow nearly spat. "Show a Renaissance philosopher a hologram and he'll loose belief in reason."

The members of Shadow overlooked a painting of a snow white filly at the side of Luna and Celestia and onto a paining of Celestia and Luna vanishing King Sombra and saving the Crystal empire.

X-ray signaled the frigate. "Blackjack, are you getting this?"

"Stream is clear X-ray. Feds are taking notes as well." radioed back a crew member with a Danish accent. The commission of colonial affairs stationed on Apex were viewing a stream coming from the HUD of the masked soldiers.

What caught the human's attention detailing the fall of Luna to NightMare Moon.

The squad looked confused.

"Twilight memorized the story better than anypony else!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

The purple alicorn cleared her throat.

"After the defeat of Discord, Celestia and Luna continued to watch over Equestria living in harmony. Celestia would raise the sun, while Luna would raise the moon. As time passed however, Luna became jealous how ponies stayed awake during the day and refused to see her beautiful night. After the defeat of Sombra, Luna was ultimately corrupted by jealousy and wrath. She turned into NightMare Moon and threatened to bring about eternal night. Seeing no other choice, Celestia locked her sister in the moon where she resided for a millennium."

"........."

"YOU BANISHED YOUR SISTER IN THE MOON FOR 1 THOUSAND YEARS! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" exploded Scarecrow.

The atmosphere was a dead silent. Each pony lost the their color, twitched and manes started to split.

"That....language." whispered Celestia.

"I'm afraid they swear a lot princess." muttered Twilight.

Applejack shook off the insult. "Ya can't say dat ta the princess pal!"

"YOU. SILENT!" ordered X-ray. "I can talk to whoever I want, however I want." Overwatch attempted to restrain X-ray before he could lash out.

Pinkie's mane deflated. "You..know, I don't think the federation approves of you swearing at alicorns."

"Bitch please." countered Scorch. He lit up a hologram and amplified the receiver end of his microphone connected to the legislative building on Apex (Gliese 581 d).

The ponies listened to the feed coming from various congressmen and women:

"She locked her own sister on the moon?"

"I'm not surprised, it is a medieval society after all."

"1000 years on the moon? I'd go insane."

"She must have been real-"

Scorch shut off the mic.

The ponies couldn't believe it. They were being called monsters by humanity.

Scarecrow exhaled. "Okay fine, I'm being too hard on you. Although seriously? What kind of a punishment is that?"

"Speak for yourself! You meanies murdered more than one million people." raged Fluttershy.

"Luna, what was it like on the moon?" questioned X-ray.

The blue alicorn hesitated before speaking. "Cold, distant, lonely."

"When some one dies. They're dead. It's over. Quick and painless. They aren't forced to endure 1000 years of dehumanizing agony." chastised Scorch.

"I was trying to protect my people." cried Celestia. "I never meant to hurt Luna."

Scarecrow didn't know what motivated him to add insult to injury. "You do realize how flawed your plan was right?"

The ponies looked at Shadow's masked commander.

"For starters, did you not notice Luna went mad after you fought Sombra?"

The alicorn sisters glanced each other.

"What was the last thing Sombra did to Luna after you defeated him?" inquired Scorch.

Luna tried to recall the memory. "Sombra showed me a vision as we vanished him. The vision claimed that I was doomed to endure loneliness and forced to live in a world where no pony appreciated what I did and took my sacred duty for granted."

"So he increased the influence of the amygdala, which makes us feel fear in our minds and forced you to relive what would be your biggest nightmare." informed X-ray.

"Let me tell you something." spoke up Scarecrow. "The most powerful emotion someone can feel is not love, hatred, ambition, friendship or bravery. It's fear."

The equestrians looked at Scarecrow with uncertainty.

"Fear is what the 23rd thrives on." remarked Scorch. "That emotion can drive us to insanity and make us do things we do not want. It can destroy friendships and lives. Countless enemies have went mad because of the paranoia they suffered because of us. Luna is a victim of such an emotion. The fear took over her and turned her into NightMare Moon."

Celestia gave a sisterly nuzzle to her sister.

"When Luna went mad, surely you should have realized that it was Sombra's influence." pointed Scarecrow. "I'm not an expert on that pony, but he sounds like somepony who would operate on fear as well."

"I didn't realize it was Sombra influencing my sister until now." whispered Celestia. Cadance and Pinkie Pie went to comfort the Solar Alicorn.

"Even I thought it was a conscious decision." admitted Luna. Fluttershy wiped a tear from her eye.

"And Celestia, out of all the spells you could have cast with the element, why lock your sister in the moon?" questioned Scorch.

The solar alicorn said nothing.

"Clearly you didn't realize Sombra had anything to do with Luna's downfall." remarked X-ray. "You still should have known that locking a paranoid alicorn on the moon for 1000 years is only going to drive her even more insane. Like we said, we're experts on fear and unless you don't want forgiveness, why torment someone for a millennium?"

"But, we're all here now. Doesn't that count for anything?" squeaked Pinkie Pie.

"I suppose it does." confessed Scorch. "We shouldn't be dwelling in the past and you were caring for your subjects which is completely noble. So I guess everything did work out in the end." The ponies felt relieved as Shadow calmed down.

"But how Luna is not a foaming psychopath right now needs an explanation." added Scarecrow.

"You can thank Twilight for that." pointed the alicorn of the moon.

Overwatch turned around to see another painting. Detailing the Mane 6 wearing the elements and lifting the curse of NightMare Moon. The masked humans noted that Twilight was still a unicorn in the picture.

"Care to explain this?" voiced X-ray.

"Ohh! My turn!" cheered Pinkie Pie. "That's us defeating NightMare Moon with the Elements of Harmony."

"Being the Alicorn of the night, I was able to draw energy from starlight to help me breath and stay alive in the void." stated Luna. "After a thousand years, the effects of the elements wore off and I was able to return to Epona."

"The problem was that ponies thought Luna and NightMare Moon was just a fairy tale so no pony saw her coming." said Rainbow Dash.

"And that's when Twilight came in." added Rarity. "She was the only pony that insisted the story of NightMare Moon as fact, not fiction."

The purple alicorn blushed.

"Before Twilight became the element of magic, she was my student." versed Celestia. "I realized NightMare Moon would return on the thousandth summer sun celebration and that only the elements would be enough to stop her. I needed her to make friends and find suitable candidates for the other elements."

"And she sent her to Ponyville of all places. Why was dat?" questioned Applejack.

"It's Celestia, she probably knew all along that we were the elements from the beginning." responded Rainbow Dash.

"That is not technically why I sent Twilight there." countered Celestia. "While you are right on that one part Rainbow Dash, I figured when NightMare Moon attacked, she would choose to attack the town hosting the Summer Sun Celebration and start there to plunge Equestria into eternal night."

"You guessed right." teased Luna.

"I was less than pleased to go to Ponyville." chuckled Twilight. "I didn't care about making friends, all I cared for was solving the mystery of NightMare Moon."

"And then she met us!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

Twilight formed a dreamy look "Together, we ventured through the Everfree Forest and found the elements together. Along the journey, I discovered that the elements were in my friends all along."

The counter terrorists wanted to desperately laugh about how childish her story sounded.

"Together, we brandished the elements and cast a spell that soothed NightMare Moon's anger and released the plague that corrupted her. And after realizing the power friendship, I decided to stay in Ponyville after all."

"While it's only been a few years, I feel like we've been friends forever." chimed Fluttershy.

Shadow simply nodded.

"To be fair, plunging the world into eternal night wasn't really such an evil plan." muttered X-ray. "Ponies could have easily created artificial lighting and the unicorns and Earth Ponies could have simply found a way to grow crops without photosynthesis. Many plants can do that like the ones on Titan and Europa. Not to mention one side of the planet would be locked into eternal morning."

Luna simply gave a cheesy smile.

"And that was still no reason to lock your sister in the moon." grunted Scarecrow.

Celestia copied Luna's expression.

Overwatch's voice grabbed everyone's attention. "Ugh, that artist needs to be fired. He just copied the painting of Twilight's pals redeeming NightMare Moon and swapped the alicorn with Discord."

The masked commandos looked at a new painting of the Mane 6 entrapping Discord in stone.

Rarity fixed her mane as she spoke. "I think it would be appropriate to point out that Discord was not entrapped in stone forever. Eventually, he was able to break free from his prison and wreak havoc on us all."

"It was so weird!" skipped Pinkie Pie. "Discord stole the elements of harmony and he told us they were in a maze. Then he stole our ability to fly and use magic so we would have to cross the maze normally....but Discord was a cheater!"

Pinkie Pie found herself being cradled by Scorch. "He basically turned us into our opposites and we lost color for some reason."

"That's because emotions can trigger chemicals that alter our appearance." informed Scarecrow before X-ray could start explaining."

"And Discord wan't just a a cheater, he's a liar too!" screeched the Pink Mare. "He told us the elements weren't really in the maze. Can you believe that? Then we were all mopey and mean until Twilight got smudge of willpower to remind us of our true selves and use the elements to put Discord back in his place." Scorch finally dropped Pinkie.

"Are you going to vilify me and my sister for encasing Discord in stone by the way?" asked Celestia sarcastically.

"Nope." bluntly answered Scarecrow. "If he was mad on his own accord, he deserved imprisonment. Considering he's a manifestation of chaos, I applaud that you turned him to stone as conventional prison wouldn't contain him."

The alicorn sisters smiled. At least they got some respect from the humans.

X-ray was responding to a question being sent to him by the Feds. "The commission of colonial affairs wishes to know is Discord will be a problem to us."

"Do not worry about Discord. We released him a few months ago and Fluttershy was able to convert him to good." assured the princess of magic.

"Just goes to show you, everyone is redeemable." blushed Fluttershy.

The ponies expected the humans to be touched until-

"If only that were true." snapped X-ray.

"So where is Discord anyway?" interrogated Scorch.

"We don't know, maybe he's spreading his gift of chocolate rain all over the world." smiled Pinkie Pie.

"Say Cadance, you've been awfully quiet." noticed Scarecrow. "Care to explain what that picture is?"

The Pink Alicorn calmed herself with her technique and gazed at the portrait detailing her and Shining Armor head to head. "I'd rather wait until later to explain. My husband will be joining us for dinner. Speaking of which, didn't anypony notice that him and the guards he was with looked really depressed?"

"Let's jus' say that he met Shadow face ta mask." gritted Applejack.

Cadance knew her husband was brave and to see someone putting him in a state of cationic fear was frightening.

"And now our latest portrait details the return of the Crystal Empire." showed Twilight. "After it returned from a thousand year banishment-"

"Wait a minute." interrupted X-ray. "Does everyone notice that everything you face is from a thousand years ago?"

The ponies looked at each other in disbelief, never before had they noticed such an important fact.

"What, do all the bad guys find it convenient to attack today?" sarcastically remarked Scarecrow.

Celestia cleared her throat. "You forgot to notice that everything Twilight and her friends went up against is something I had to face as well."

"I do not know where your opinions of us lie." sneered Luna. "But, me and my sister were no fools. We did not waste time trying to purge the world of its evils through long intervals. Our campaign was swift and with the elements, efficient."

"But when that the elements chose the 6 as their new bearers, our work with the elements were undone." exhaled Celestia.

"So it's like pulling a rope. When you let go; the house comes down." condescended Scorch.

"Yeah, but now the elements are gone!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Who knows what we've released?"

"We're not regretting our decision." growled Overwatch. "You'll just have to find a way to solve your problems rather than whisking them away."

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to accuse us of something?

The sniper shook his head.

X-ray looked over the artwork and noticed how it glorified Spike.

Scorch chuckled. He forgot about the purple dragon all along. "Hey Spike your-"

Shadow turned around and froze in paranoia. The small dragon was busy playing with a frag grenade with utter joy.

Spike looked up at the counter terrorists. "Oh sorry, I wasn't listening. What is this thing anyway? It looks so cool."

Scarecrow talked to the dragon slowly. "Spike, where did you get that?"

"Oh this? I found it on the train seat." answered the small dragon.

Scorch looked at the ammo counter on his HUD and realized that he was grenade short. He always did have random bursts of bad luck.

"Is something wrong?" asked Luna wearily.

The commando focused on the dragon. "Spike. What you are holding is a frag grenade. It is a very powerful explosive."

"Explosive?" shrieked Fluttershy.

Spike was confused. Scorch continued approaching him. "What ever you do, don't pull the pin-"

Click

"FUCK!" The demo man had 7 seconds. His speed kicked in and he snatched the grenade from Spike's claws and threw it out the window. The grenade exploded in Mid-Air.

The commandos formed a wall around the equines to protect them from the blast damage.

"New rule!" beamed Scarecrow. "No pony touches our equipment without our approval or else."

"Or else what?" inquired Pinkie.

"How 'bout we just leave it at 'or else' sugarcube." gritted Applejack.

"Those monstrous weapons are to be confiscated at once." glared Celestia.

"We've seen what happens when those with no experience are in possession of Terran weapons." challenged X-ray. "They're better off in our hands."

"We will keep them locked up in a vault. Instruments of murder have no place in Equestria." spat Luna.

"Are you really going to try and disarm us?" hissed Overwatch.

As the humans started to get more aggressive, the pain inside the heads of ponies increased until it was reaching levels that were unbearable.

Luna gave up. "Fine, you may keep them. Just be careful."

"That's why we want them in our hands. So ponies don't get hurt." insisted Scarecrow.

As the humans calmed down, the headaches of the equines diminished.

Suddenly, the doors on the other side of the hall opened and revealed Shining Armor, now dressed in a suit. His wife flew towards him and planted a kiss on his muzzle.

Shining Armor mustered the courage to speak to the humans. "If it would not be any trouble, the servants have prepared a room for you humans. There have been modifications to better accommodate your needs."

Scarecrow turned to the equines. "If it's fine with you, can we go to our room and meet you in the dining hall?"

The ponies gave nervous remarks of approval.

--------------

The humans were directed to their guest room by a frightened guard. Scorch opened the door and the humans looked upon their home for the night.

Despite being animated, the room looked awfully comfortable. The beds were modified to be even larger than Celestia's to suit Shadow's behemoth size. Even the lavatory facilities were enlarged.

"I just hope they didn't do something stupid like cast a growth spell." shook Scarecrow.

"Agreed, mass isn't destroyed so the bed would still be weak as fuck." nodded X-ray.

Scorch laid down on the bed. "I don't think that's the case, although this bed does feel awfully weak."

"Gentleman, we're getting a message from the commission." announced Scarecrow. He tapped on his wrist computer and the transparent blue holograms of a few congressmen and women appeared. Each congress member wore a suit and had a pin that depicted the Federation logo.

Shadow snapped into a salute.

"At ease." said the head of the department.

"What's our status sir?" asked Scarecrow.

"You're doing a good job." remarked the HOD. "I don't blame you for lashing out at them. This race is just messed up."

"Remind us again why we have to scare the living shit out of these equines." muttered Scorch.

A congresswomen glanced at the demo man. "Had the equines been a space faring race, they would have been quite the valuable asset. Unfortunately their renaissance structure and theocracy is a detriment to the interests of the Federation. We don't mean to sound like supremacists, but there is almost nothing they can do to help us unless they see the numerous errors of their society, be frightened and find the urge to adapt."

"While we are firmly against imperialism." defended the HOD. "The equines are repeating the same mistakes of humanity during the dark to renaissance ages. It would be rude to sit idly by while we know the cure to their stagnation. Even if it hurts, they have to end this silly fantasy if they are to survive in the universe. Now that we've met them, the odds about Mega Corp and other insurrection groups discovering and attacking this planet are escalating."

An arabic official crossed his arms. "Furthermore, the entire planet is after our race for unknown reasons. The equines must be place in a state of submission to reduce the chances of them declaring war on us. They appear to be the most influential race on the planet and having them against us is making Epona our enemy."

The HOD had a final announcement. "While it is against 23rd protocol, we calmly request that the 4 of you remove your masks at some point and reveal your faces. We are aware that fear of the unknown is what makes the 23rd a fierce opponent, but we need to form some trust with the equines and it would ease up interrogation."

"Understood sir." nodded Scarecrow. "Shadow out."

The holograms disappeared.

Scorch slumped back and laid down on an animated chair. Much to his expectation, the chair broke. "Honest to universe, what are these chairs made of?"

Overwatch drank a whole bottle of animated water. "They call this one liter? Felt like I drank half the thing."

'Half'? X-ray stroked his bandana in thought until-

"EUREKA!"

"Please share with the class X-Gay." insulted Scarecrow.

"Guys think about it." jumped the masked rifleman. "The water we drink is only half filling. The chairs we sit on only take half the mass they're supposed to. Our bullets can penetrate twice objects here than on a non animated world."

Scorch crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?"

"This is only a theory but; what if animated objects only have half the molecular count of a realistic object?"

Scarecrow was skeptical. He used neural controls on his HUD to analyze the animated furniture of the room. The dimensions were logical, but when he changed to view molecular count-

------------

The Mane 6, the princesses and Shining Armor sat in the royal dining hall silently. Shadow had been gone for around 10 minutes, but waiting felt like an eternity. Spike was napping in his room.

No pony dared to speak up out of the fear Shadow was cloaked and watching them.

Rainbow Dash tried to break the silence. "So, seen any good-"

The doors of the dining room slammed open. Shadow, who the ponies noted were carrying no equipment other than their rifles and wrist computers, entered the room with uncontrollable excitement. Except for Overwatch who was still neutral.

Pinkie Pie became ecstatic. "You look happy, did somepony tell a funny joke?"

"Better!" shrieked Scarecrow. Everypony knew that he was smiling under his mask.

"We found out why you look so different." spoke up Scorch.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Beg yer pardon?"

X-ray cleared his throat. "Okay, it's clear to you that Epona looks differently then rest of the universe."

The ponies nodded.

"Also, have you noticed how everything seems to collapse under our weight?" added Scarecrow.

"What do you mean?" questioned Celestia.

The scrawny X-ray sat down on an enlarged gilded chair, only for it to collapse.

Scorch spoke in an innocent tone. "Now we know you ponies aren't the most intelligent of species-"

"HEY!" defended Twilight.

"-but surely you know that everything is made up of tiny particles that take up a space."

"We have yet to observe said particles, but we are aware that matter is made up of building blocks." nodded Celestia.

Overwatch took X-ray's tablet and drew a circle on a illustrator app.

"Pay attention." snapped Scarecrow. "This circle is a living thing."

Overwatch drew a small dots onto the circle.

"These small dots are atoms that make up the body. They are closely connected with each other to form dense structures. Do you follow."

The ponies nodded. They weren't ignorant that matter is made up of smaller particles. Overwatch drew another circle.

"This is an object on Epona." instructed Scarecrow.

The sniper filled in more dots, but in a smaller number.

"As you can see." educated Scarecrow. "The atoms that make up an object on Epona are half of that of a non Eponan counterpart. But the particles are still spread out to make the size of an Eponan object equal to a non Eponan. As a result, the lower molecular number to reinforce an object of a certain size is half of a Terran counterpart. It also means objects in Epona can burn much easier."

Scorch formed a dreamy smile under his mask.

The ponies that weren't Twilight, Celestia and Luna couldn't comprehend what Scarecrow just said.

Luna was skeptical. "So wait. That is why we're, how you say? Animated?"

"No." pointed X-ray. "It is why everything is weaker than what we expected. The reason why you are animated is because the cells in Eponan biology for a certain organ are uniform as opposed to Terran biology where each part of the body is made up of a different cell. Not to mention, the molecular structure of the objects on Epona are aligned perfectly. Thus you have an animated appearance."

Overwatch took the lead. "For example, when I use the same color to draw a picture, I get animation. When I use stokes that spreads various colors in one point, I get real life."

"It also explains why you get head aches from looking at us for too long." stated Scorch.

This got the ponies attention.

The demo man took a breath. "Your eyes are used to looking at objects with simple and perfectly aligned molecular structures. It is like a man trapped in darkness being sensitive to light, but much more at the same time. When you look at a Terran object, the sheer detail and imperfect molecular structure forms a series of confusion in the brain. This is why it hurts. Our complicated form alone overwhelms you."

One could hear crickets roar.

"I'm afraid I don't follow, nor do I care." sighed Rarity.

The humans glared under their masks.

"Of course." sighed X-ray. "I swear Equestria has a lack on intellectualism."

"We are not against finding out how the universe works." countered Celestia. "It is just that with a beautiful world around us whose mystery brings us joy, why should we become cynical and find out how the world works when we can just enjoy it without harm?"

Scarecrow laughed. "That is the funniest anti intellectual message I have ever heard. We're not trying to find out why Epona works because we have no time for fun. We're finding why it works because it is fun. Beauty of life comes from the sheer thrills you get from cracking down the universe's mysteries. Doesn't any of that excite you?"

"..........No." whispered Fluttershy. "I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Universe damn it. This is information that benefits you. The least you could do is thank us for finding out why you keep getting mind attacks." sneered Scorch.

"Well, we never asked for you to start going around solving things." glared Shining Armor.

"I swear we have to change your attitude towards rationality." cautioned X-ray.

"You can't tell us how to think." beamed Pinkie Pie.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Shadow's right. I'm sick and tired of being the only pony who wants to figure out how the world works and not fall asleep at it."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Well no offense to you 4 or something, but with crazy stuff happening in our lives, we don't really have time for all this sciency junk."

Overwatch hissed while Scarecrow grinned under his mask. "You ponies sure have gone on a lot of adventures if you don't have time for any knowledgeable pursuits."

"Well of course!" laughed Applejack. "Don' y'all have those crazy days once in a while?"

"Human life is pretty grey." shook Scorch. "Every human is special and they're lives are novels in their own right. However with so many humans out there, the odds of something news worthy and world shattering based on the acts of an individual are abysmal. Besides, what is considered a special day for us is a far cry from saving the Crystal Empire."

"What about you 4? I remember one of you saying you've been on more than 800 missions." reminded Cadance. "Surely, you of all humans have gone on violent escapades before."

Scorch laughed. "Let's just say we've been on enough operations to fill a trilogy of video games, a set of novels, a movie and comic book story line."

"Yeah, but what are the odds the rest of society is going to know?" brought up Scarecrow. "Ops of the 23 are classified."

"Come to think of it, ever noticed how everything important seems to happen to the ponies in this room?" noticed X-ray.

"What do you mean by that?" inquired Rarity.

"We looked over the paintings in the hall, and everything published within the current time frame has something to do with you 6." explained the masked rifleman.

"We are awesome, of course ponies are going to notice us." gloated Rainbow Dash.

"And they are the elements of harmony, it is their duty to be ready to face the dangers of the." assured Celestia.

"Well, I kind of find it odd that everything just happens to you." glared Scarecrow. "We humans don't have 6 people that's responsible for everything that's important. Like we said, it's the problems of the mass."

"You know, Shadow has a point." nodded Twilight. "Between our calls to duty, there is just weird stuff that happens in Ponyville almost every week."

"To be fair Twilight, another reason why I sent you to Ponyville is because the town's small size and colorful population would place you in situations where you would most likely come across lessons in friendship." revealed Celestia.

"Lessons in friendship?" chuckled Scorch. "Aren't you supposed to learn stuff like that in kindergarten?"

The Mane 6 blushed.

"Seems like you've been pulling all the strings Celestia." accused Scarecrow. "When did you know that our 6 friends would be important to the affairs of Equestria."

"Actually." piped up Cadance after calming herself. "I was kind of the first pony to know Twilight had a great life ahead of her. When I was young, I wanted to take some form of responsibility so I turned to foal sitting."

"And because she had a crush on me, she chose to foal sit Twilight." teased Shining Armor.

"Well, the first clue I had about Twilight having the potential to become an alicorn is when she demonstrated outstanding performance on her magic exam." explained Celestia. "Later that night I discovered that she had received her enhanced magical capabilities from a sonic rainboom, orchestrated by Rainbow Dash. I was also informed that the others received their cutie marks from the same source. I took it as a sign."

"I know what you mean, the first sign that we were destined to be best friends was when we were the only 4 kids to have no interest in our school's welcome part in 3rd grade." laughed Scorch.

"And ever since then, we've had a whole lot of crazy run ins." laughed Fluttershy nervously.

For the next......3 hours the ponies in the room began to explain each and every episode of the time they spent together:

"So in the end, Celestia sent me a letter with more tickets."

"And then I stared down the dragon and convinced him to leave."

"When I thought my friends were avoiding me, I went crazy and started talking to inanimate objects."

"So, I was finally able to get accepted on Nightmare Night."

"In the end, I selected Tank to be my pet."

"Finally, me and Shining Armor Cast out the Changelings and got on with our wedding."

"As a result, Spitfire made me team captain."

"So ah finally got the reunion settled down."

--------------

"And then, I mustered up the courage and flew into the distance where everypony could see me." concluded Twilight with a cheerful smile.

"Who would have thought this all came from swapped cutie marks. Right Shadow?" shook Rainbow Dash.

"......"

"Shadow?"

There was no response. The 4 masked humans simply stared at the equines with a vacant stare. Overwatch's head was down on the table.

"Epona to Shadow." waved Pinkie Pie. There was no response.

Rarity placed a hoof on her chin. "Come to think of it, they've been unresponsive ever since we started talking about winter wrap up."

Suddenly Scorch's fell over. "ZZZZZZZZ"

"They're asleep." gritted Applejack.

"Oh my, they must be tired." empathized Fluttershy.

"How rude." snorted Luna.

Twilight flew on over to X-ray. "Um, X-ray. Are you awake?"

"5 more minutes dad." whispered the masked commando in his sleep.

Rainbow Dash was about to nudge him awake-

When X-ray grabbed her fore hoof and slammed her onto the table. Just when he drew a combat knife-

"AAAAAA!" shrieked the cyan pegasus.

X-ray was wide awake. Upon realizing what happened, he sheathed his knife and sat back down. The scream woke up the other members of Shadow. Rainbow Dash quickly retreated to her seat, having nearly wet herself.

"Shit! Don't sneak up on us!" warned X-ray.

"Well, maybe we wouldn't need to have woken you up if you hadn't fallen asleep." noted Rarity.

"Relax, are eyes may have been closed, but we still listened to what you said." assured Scarecrow. "Formed a cartoon in my head."

"I'm sorry, but it is rude to be fall asleep when somepony is telling you something." said Celestia.

"Well no offense ma'am, but those stories you're supposed to tell to little girls. Not adolescent males." countered Scorch. The demo man checked his COMS. "Not to mention, you also seem to have put congress to sleep. Congress to sleep."

"I found them entertaining." implied Overwatch.

Seconds later, the other 3 humans admitted to finding the adventures of the Equestrians admirable as well.

"Although I did find many errors with your lives." accused Scarecrow.

The ponies put on confused expressions.

"Errors?" said Twilight.

X-ray nodded. "For starters, you ponies made a whole superhero identity to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson in humility, only for you ponies to end up hogging the attention and act like brats in the future."

---------------

Sunset had fallen by the time Shadow was done explaining everything wrong with the adventures of the equines.

The ponies in the room felt like idiots. The Commission of Colonial Affairs (who had woken from their hour long nap) was pleased. If Ponies were going to be part of an alliance, they didn't need them making trivial mistakes.

Shadow turned to face Shining Armor and Cadance.

"No offense, but you're victory over Chrysalis wasn't much of a victory." sighed Scarecrow.

"What do you mean?" snapped Shining Armor. "We were almost overrun by a Changeling horde and we saved the day."

"Let's begin." remarked X-ray. "What the fuck motivated you 2 to have your weeding when you knew there was a threat to Canterlot?"

Cadance almost fainted from the swear but Shining Armor hung on.

"It was a special day and weren't going to let a threat get in the way of our marriage."

The masked rifleman gave a mechanic laugh. "Because a day is more important than the safety of your ponies? You're captain of the royal guard."

"Which reminds me, if I was your CO, you would have been demoted a long time ago. Who trains an army that is overrun in moments." threatened Scarecrow.

"Are you trying to say it was a mistake for me to promote him?" accused Celestia.

Scorch sighed. "Look, you're a nice guy, but you shouldn't have been put in charge of the army. If I was the leader of the Canterlot guard, I would have wasted no time trying to crack down on this threat instead of worrying about marriage. You don't hear about a threat and make no attempt to uncover it."

"Speaking of which." continued Scarecrow. "How the hell did Chrysalis break it? I thought you placed a massive barrier around the city. After all it did block out the Changeling army."

Shining Armor shrugged, that mystery almost eluded him.

"And really, Chrysalis was retarded." sighed X-ray. "I would have killed Cadance rather than leave an alicorn alive in the caves. I would have done the same to Twilight if she had found out. Even if I were to teleport you to, it wouldn't be right next to each other."

"How nice for you." gritted Cadance, she used her calming technique, to no avail. She was frightened beyond relief."

"Speaking of which, I can understand Cadance not escaping the castle due to being weakened, but come on Twilight, you could have teleported rather than wasting your time in the mine cart." pointed Scorch.

Twilight sunk under the table, she seriously had to do something about forgetting her powers.

"Well Changelings feed off love, we're useless to them dead." defended Cadance.

"How do you feed off love anyway?" questioned Scorch. Suddenly Pinkie Pie materialized next to the demo man and whispered the answer in his ear. Despite her low voice, Shadow heard it perfectly.

Long story short, they weren't going to ever ask for that sexual position ever again.

"Fine but, rather than imprisoning you and disabling your magic like she did with Celestia when she had you captured, she sang." face palmed Overwatch.

"To make it worse, blasting a changeling army, that can fly, to parts unknown is a horrible fucking plan." insulted Scorch.

Cadance finally burst to tears as Shining Armor glared at the humans.

"Finally, Luna.....where the fuck were you?" asked X-ray.

The princess of the Night tried to hide her face with her wings.

"So no offense to everypony in this room, but you were nearly defeated by a dumbass." joked Scarecrow.

After a minute of sorrow, Applejack broke the silence.

"Ah feel lak such an idiot."

"Honestly, we've made so many bad choices in life when the right answer was in front of us the entire time." contemplated the alicorn of magic.

"It's alright my little ponies, what's important is that you learn from your mistakes." assured Celestia.

"That, and you should probably think before acting." advised X-ray.

"But hey, we've looked back at our missions, turns out there were many moments where we made the wrong decision as well, even though the right answer was in front of us." chuckled Scorch.

"I guess we're all equally guilty then." laughed Scarecrow. "At least your faults weren't life and death situations."

Shadow gave off a mechanical laugh and the ponies couldn't help but grin.

Suddenly a servant crept into the room and whispered something into Celestia's ear. The solar alicorn nodded and dismissed the butler.

"The food will be prepared any moment now." announced Celestia. "There's been a delay since the chefs don't know what humans eat. I told them to just prepare the usual."

"Sounds good." nodded Scarecrow.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "How are you going to eat with your bandanna on?"

Scorch laughed. "Simple."

The members of Shadow reached for their masks.

Author's Notes:

And tech vs magic has begun. Sorry if you think Shadow is too mean, but the feds have a point. Ponies are useless to a space faring race that has thrived for 500 years alone unless their ideologies change.

Remember to write down what you want Shadow and the Equestrians to discuss. It's going to be a long set of sub chapters.

The next chapter will most probably go into Shadow's history as well as general human facts. I could be wrong. Sorry if this chapter was too wordy. At least I write long chapters quick.

Don't forget to read my latest blog post if you already haven't:

http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/193879/side-story

Chapter 28: Unmasked

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." H.P. Lovecraft.

The ponies snapped their focus to the commandos in a heart beat. It was the moment of revelation where they would finally see a human face in the flesh.

Hesitantly, Shadow reached for their black hoods. For the first time ever, they were going to reveal their faces to non high tier personnel.

Simultaneously, the hoods came off and revealed the hair of the counter terrorists. The ponies dropped their mouths. Their minds stuttered a bit from the sheer realistic detail of the human's manes.

X-ray had medium sized hair that was either black or the darkest shade of brown that existed. It suited his dark recon armor perfectly. Rarity was no expert on human hair, but she could tell X-ray certainly kept his 'mane' in well condition.

Scorch meanwhile had pale blond hair that contrasted with his apparel. His hair was thick and curly. Twilight could have sworn that soldiers had to cut their hair short. Scorch didn't seem to get hair cuts often.

Scarecrow's hair was a darker shade of blond that was flat, but not short by any means. He evidently didn't wash his hair frequently considering it was slightly greasy.

Finally Overwatch had his chestnut brown hair cut short. It wasn't a buzz cut, but it was thin.

The Equestrians took in a moment to sink in the image of the human's hair. They realized just how detailed it looked as opposed to straight and simple manes. Twilight even noted how dull their hair colors were as opposed to the rainbow of pony manes.

The members of Shadow allowed the ponies to adjust to their appearances before reaching for their shades and bandannas. The counter terrorists took off the two items that made up their masks slowly.

And once the faces of the humans were revealed, it was as if a concussion grenade was set off.

The ponies were blinded by the sheer alien design of the human's faces. The realism and xeno nature of Shadow's facial features caused the ponies' vision to blur.

Just when Twilight's was finally clearing up, she heard a series of voices call out.

"Come on! We're not that ugly."

"They're not covering their faces because we look like trash dumb ass. It's because our faces are too foreign for them to handle."

"Should we put our masks back on?"

"They'll adjust."

At nearly the same time the ponies finally were able to take a good look at the revealed faces of Shadow. Each pony paid attention to the similar facial features all the humans had.

Alien look aside, each human had a lack of a muzzle. as their faces were relatively ovular and flat. Their noses were a small bulge and their eyes were comically small, but more detailed none the less. They each had a pair of light red lips Being males, none of them had any noticeable eye lashes and their ears were place across their heads instead of on top. Furthermore, their ears weren't triangular like the ones that belonged to equines. In addition, there seemed to be no fur on them what so ever. Just flesh. In short, one could describe humans as hairless apes.

Scarecrow had milky white skin and a slightly larger head than the rest of Shadow. His eye color was an electric blue. If pony expressions matched human ones, the commander was grinning. He had a thin beard and shaved mustache.

X-ray had a brighter smile than the rest of Shadow. His skin color was a light olive. Not deep, but still noticeable. His eye color matched his hair, either black or an extremely dark shade of brown. He had a thin beard and a shaved mustache as well. He had a smaller and thinner head than the rest of Shadow to match his scrawny structure.

Scorch by far looked the youngest, although it only seemed to be a few months difference. He had a natural tan and smaller lips than the rest of Shadow. His smile revealed a set of large front teeth. He had a set of fiery amber eyes.

Overwatch definitely appeared to be the oldest, although this wasn't saying much considering the members of Shadow were born within months of each other. He had Caucasian skin with a few noticeable freckle marks. He had a brown beard and mustache around his chiseled chin. His hazel eyes had a serious expression. Overwatch had a neutral face.

Truthfully, the equines expected different looks under Shadow's masks. Judging their faces alone, you couldn't tell they belong to the military. The equines didn't know want counted for average, but it felt like Shadow's members were just average boys wearing a costume.

After staring at the formerly faceless humans for a while, Pinkie Pie had the courage to speak.

"Sh-shadow? Is that you?"

"In the flesh." nodded Scarecrow. There was something different about his voice. It was clearer, more distinct and no longer was mechanical.

"I told you we were organic." added Scorch. His Canadian accent now showed.

"You look so weird. So alien." whispered Fluttershy.

"Oh we're the one who looks weird? Not the yellow animated pegasus with a pink mane." X-ray spoke with an Armenian accent that often clashed with his fluent english.

"I thought you weren't allowed to take off your masks." beamed Rainbow Dash.

"Well, we did a scan of the planet's atmosphere. Turns out every disease on this planet can't affect humans, or we're already immune to it." laughed Scorch. The ponies tried o get used to his new voice.

"And the Feds gave an all clear." added Scarecrow.

"Your voices." said Celestia. "They sound so much purer."

"What do you expect? We're not speaking through a microphone." glared Overwatch. The sniper's voice was low and monotonous. Not too different from speaking through a radio.

"But shouldn't you have your masks on for the government to be able to see what you're doing?" questioned Luna.

"They can still hear us, and our HUDs are still pointed at the dining room." assured X-ray.

"You're facial expressions are so pony like." awed Cadance.

"You're facial expressions are so human like." countered Scarecrow.

"Touche." whistled Rarity.

"So tell me." began Scorch. "Do you any of you feel less afraid?"

"A bit." replied Applejack. "Y'all still look kinda weird. To us at least."

"Consider yourself lucky that you can see our face." chuckled Scarecrow. "Had we been in a different situation, we would have likely shot you dead."

"And now the fear is back." muttered Cadance. Shining Armor nuzzled his wife.

Twilight realized something important. "I find it strange that you're soldiers and you have no signs of scars on you."

"Human medicine is awfully strong." trivialized Scorch.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "To be fair you don't look that threatening without your masks on."

X-ray gave off a laugh. "The most powerful fear is fear of the unknown. Now that you know what we look like, we've relieved some of your tension."

"I believe what Miss Dash is trying to point is how normal the 4 of you look." deciphered Luna. "You're indistinguishable from a civilian. Although we could be completely wrong on that part."

"It's intentional." responded Scarecrow. "The members of the 23rd intentionally resemble civilians to make appear more anonymous and withdraw suspicion. Even our recon armor looks like winter clothing if you take off the padding."

"Shouldn't soldiers like you cut your hair to clear your vision?" pondered Shining Armor. "Scorch, your hair looks way out of line for example."

The demo man looked up at his crazy blond hair. "I doesn't really matter how your hair looks in the modern day as long as it can be stored in a helmet, or in our case hood. Our heads up display does all the sight seeing for us."

"By the way, are all of you humans furless or is it just you 4?" asked Pinkie Pie. "It must get super cold without fur to keep you warm, I remember this one time when-"

X-ray cut her off. "All humans are furless which means we need to be clothed all the time. We're just flesh underneath. Unlike you ponies, humans aren't very colorful. Our skin is just shades of brown from milky white to very dark African."

"What about your manes?" questioned Rarity. "I might be ignorant of manes in human biology, but your hair colors aren't particularly exciting. They're rather dull."

"Once more, human hair colors are pretty limited." informed Scarecrow. "Red heads are virtually extinct so the only human hair colors are brown, black and blonde. When you grow old, your hair starts graying."

"Same thin' happens ta ponies unless they were born with gray manes like ma granny." replied Applejack.

"Doesn't sound very exciting." moaned Pinkie Pie. "I would tired seeing the same colors over and over and over again."

Scorch placed a gloved finger on his lips. "Actually, in the year 2470 the planet Romero was infected by a plague that gave humans technicolor skin and hair. It also gave them big eyes and overly thin bodies."

Twilight's eyes shot open. "What happened?"

"The UTF panicked and blew up the planet without further notice." muttered Overwatch.

There was long silence in the room.

"I think we humans really fucked up on that one, but I wasn't alive back then. Although it was said the Democratic Socialists never got placed in power again." shrugged Scorch.

Celestia tried to change the subject. "We ponies have pegasai, alicorns, earth ponies and unicorns. Do you humans have sub races as well?"

"The only species of human, is human." answered X-ray. "We humans aren't particularly diverse when it comes to appearance as ponies.The only thing that truly divides us is our ethnicities, and while there may be a few subtle changes in appearances, that's about it. Despite what fascists want you to believe, race has nothing to do with capabilities."

"Speaking of race, you do look a lot like monkeys." noticed Fluttershy.

"That's right, human is a sub species of ape after all. We evolved from the same ancestor." informed Scarecrow.

Celestia knitted her eyebrows. "Evolved?"

"We'll get to that later." assured Shadow's leader.

"And to be clear, humans don't have the ability to use magic?" asked Twilight.

Shadow shook their heads no

"What about the ability to fly?" continued Rainbow Dash.

"Nope."

"How do you humans cope if you have nothing to help support the survival of your species?" inquired Luna.

"Simply, we have the gift of hands." gloated Scarecrow. He gave his gloved fingers a twirl.

"How did hands help you become a space faring race?" questioned Pinkie Pie.

"Simple." said Scorch. "Hands basically propelled us further than the other animals on Earth by allowing us to grasp objects and form tools."

"And when we developed tools, we filled in the gap that you ponies filled with your special abilities. We adapted and developed means of flight, agriculture and technology so advanced that you might as well call it magic." added X-ray.

"I didn't think a race would get too far without natural magic." moaned Twilight. "I mean the Griffins and Donkeys were way behind for a while in terms of production."

"Well we humans didn't have special abilities so we worked for them." smiled Scarecrow.

"Is there a chance we could utilize technology similar to yours?" asked Luna.

"Not likely." snorted Scorch. "All of our human technologies require hands to use one way or another." the demo man flexed his gloves fingers. "From triggers on guns, to holograms and to touch screens you need to have fingers that can performs specific motions for our technology to respond.

"Furthermore, our technology usually requires us to grasp something." noted Scarecrow. "You ponies don't really have a way of picking things up efficiently without the risk of stumbling over. Besides, we developed technology for bipeds, not quadrupeds. You wouldn't fit in any of our advanced vehicles."

"Wait, what about our ability to use magic? We could operate human technology with telekinesis." pointed Cadance.

"And what about those who couldn't use magic?" trivialized Scorch

The ponies glanced at each other for a moment, particularly the non unicorns and non alicorns.

"You'd only be dividing your race which isn't healthy." continued X-ray, trying to push out his Armenian accent all the while. "You ponies need to find a way to develop technologies the mass should be able to operate."

"But haven't we seen you humans work some of your technology without moving anything?" noticed Rainbow Dash.

X-ray nodded. "Some of our human technology uses neural controls. Thoughts, brainwaves, impulses, all that."

"So can't we use human technology operated by the mind?" said Shining Armor.

"Neural controls work on human minds. Not pony minds. Equine and primate DNA is pretty divergent." debunked Scarecrow.

"But if you humans could teach us on the relationships between neurology and technology, we could develop devices on your level." proposed Twilight.

"You could be taught on how to make such innovations, but you would have to develop it yourself without human aid." glared Scorch.

"What about generosity, why keep your human technology to yourself?" scolded Rarity.

Scarecrow rolled his eyes. "Well other than the fact that none of our technology is compatible with equines, it's not appropriate for one species to rely on the other to give them for free. Instead, you should be given the opportunity to accomplish. Relying on another race would make your species rather lazy. Let's not get started on the repercussions"

"Ah'd be darned if ah started relyin' on another pony for gifts." puffed Applejack.

"You know, you humans certainly have a problem regarding personality." implied Twilight.

X-ray raised an eyebrow. "I can understand your statement applying to our squad only, but the entire race?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "I mean this one moment you're all mean and act like a bully then your all calm and passive only to end up like merciless law enforcement followed by being a total nerd."

X-ray laughed. "Well sorry, but humans aren't limited to one noticeable personality trait unlike you ponies."

Celestia knitted her eyebrows. "Excuse us?"

Scorch gave a 'seriously' face. "We humans think, laugh, love, insult, get angry, get happy and get sad. Part of the beauty of being a human is that we choose how to act however we feel like whenever we feel like."

"Are you saying we are not in control of our emotions?" scorned Luna.

"Look, you ponies are very friendly and not monotonous." assured Scarecrow. "However, no where on the colonies will you see a human that's the 'smart one' or the 'funny one'. I know Overwatch is obviously silent and anti social, but he's also the artistic one, the smart one, the voice of reason, the handy man, and I can go on."

The sniper almost smiled to that.

"So what you're saying is that we have to adopt new lifestyles if we are to gain the complexity of a human personality?" remarked Rarity.

"We're not saying that." defended X-ray. "It just seems there's only one trait that makes you distinct. True, you bring the aspects that makes each personality great, but it's still one personality trait. I mean, look at Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Don't get me wrong, they're very nice mares-"

The two ponies blushed.

"but they're still the cowpony and party pony at the end of the day. Even my job description is more than an assassin to scare our enemies into submission. I'm also quite political and a computer nerd."

"I don't think we need to change. I'm happy being the awesome pegasus that I am. I've been like this since I was a filly." gloated Rainbow Dash.

"On the other hand, we humans change our personalities since child hood and don't judge somebody when they outgrow their old ways." countered Scarecrow.

"Although, if you really are content, we can't really blame you." admitted Scorch much to the satisfaction of the equines. "Just don't think the rest of humanity is going to interact comfortably with a pony with one distinct trait that won't change based on the siutation."

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "Speaking of pony and human interactions, you never went into too much detail about ponies on Earth."

X-ray formed a bright smile. "Prepare to be flattered as horse is perhaps the most important animal in the history of humanity and the reason why we're so advanced."

The equestrians got excited. It was nice to hear something positive.

"Ever since we were simple people who lived in mud houses, we have used horses for many purposes." told Scarecrow.

Rarity's eyes shot open "Used?".

"Like we said before, ponies aren't exactly like the horses on Earth." reminded Scorch. "They're much taller and all of them generally have a similar body structure to Celestia."

The solar alicorn pondered the thought for a moment.

"Not to mention they're not animated, only come with brown, white and black manes and coats, aren't intelligent at all, can't speak, can't do magic, can't fly and aren't sapient. They're just creatures with even less intelligence than the non sapient animals on Epona."

"I find it hard to believe that there's a world with no intelligent equines." snorted Rainbow Dash.

"Hey, we're not bitching that primates aren't the smartest creatures on this planet." insulted Overwatch. The swear was enough to make Rainbow Dash withdraw.

Scarecrow cleared his throat. "As I was saying, horses had many uses for humanity. They were the earliest form of transportation and since they were larger, a primary way for carrying huge loads of baggage. Farmers also used them in helping herd animals."

"Ya were usin' them as slaves!" gritted Applejack.

"Oh shut up you cow exploiting red neck! At least horses aren't sapient." burst X-ray.

The room rang silent for a few seconds before Shadow's leader continued. "Another aspect you might controversial is that we used ponies for war."

"War!" whimpered Fluttershy. The other ponies made similar remarks.

"Back when our armies were primitive like yours, knights and other ancient warriors rode on cavalry with spears and swords to take down the enemy."

Overwatch broke the ice. "Until World War 1 where horses became useless because they got shot by gunfire too quickly. Since then, we've been using mechanical vehicles."

The ponies let out sighs of relief. Shadow was surprised they didn't even seem to notice Overwatch mentioning the first World War. First.

X-ray tried to keep the spirits up. "On a more positive note, horses also served as popular tools of entertainment, we used them for racing, jousting, polo and general horseback riding. Even today little girls still like playing with pony dolls and beg their parents to send them to Earth to ride horses. Get this, some cultures even worshiped the dumb animals."

The Equestrians gave out a small laugh. Shadow's unmasked appearance made positive emotions easier to express.

In the heart of the moment, a group of caterers crept into the room, ready to serve food. Luckily for Shadow, they had made a surplus of meals to accommodate non animated food containing half the value for a non animated human.

Celestia used her horn to emit a pulse of gravitational radiation to life the covers off of the quinine.

Shadow was about to help them selves until they realized that most of the food was grass, wheat and oat related. The ponies began feasting until they noticed Shadow wasn't touching their food.

"Is something wrong?" worried Celestia.

Scarecrow formed a sheepish grin. "Um, we can't eat any of this food or else we'll get really sick."

"No need to be nervous, it's quite alright to ask for something else if you can't eat." assured the solar alicorn.

"What do humans eat anyway?" asked Cadance.

"Ah know y'all eat apples." remembered Applejack.

"And cupcakes too!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

"Well we humans eat a lot of things." began X-ray. "We can eat bread, pasta, rice, fruits like cherries and strawberries, vegetables like tomato and potatoes, dairy products, cakes......meats."

The Equestrians gave a nervous gasp. Rarity fainted.

"You eat meat?" said Celestia slowly.

Scorch gave a nervous smile and pointed to his front teeth. The ponies started to back away after noticing the teeth of a predator. "We humans are omnivores. In addition to having teeth to crush plants, we also have sharp canines and incisors used to rip flesh."

"How could you eat innocent creatures?" cried Twilight.

"It's natural and biological. The same way lions prey on deer or the same way dragons feast on gems. Not to mention, the animals on the colonies are far less intelligent than they are here." defended X-ray.

"I thought a civilized race should be past eating others!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Biology comes first and we humans need protein." shrugged Scarecrow. "Although not all humans eat meat. Some of us are vegetarians like my sister."

"Are any of ya vegetarians?" asked Applejack.

The humans shook their heads no. The ponies started panicking all the while.

Pinkie started nibbling on a tissue. "Do you have to eat meat now? Like, have, have, have to?"

Fluttershy had enough. "I can't believe how insensitive you're being!" The yellow pegasus did not lash out at the humans but rather at the equines.

Cadance was appalled. "Fluttershy, surly you of all ponies would condemn the slaughter of innocent animals?"

The yellow pegasus rolled her eyes. "I work with animals that eat other animals like bears and I've fed fish to otters."

"Why would you do that! What about kindness to all living things?" exclaimed Twilight.

"It's the circle of life." explained Fluttershy. "Some animals eat plants, some animals eat others. It's completely natural. I wouldn't be a kind pegasus if I denied carnivores their food. Rarity, I think the reason Opal hates you is because you aren't feeding her properly."

The white mare's eyes shot open. "Opal despises me?"

"Look, Shadow can be real mean." pointed Fluttershy. "But at least they don't blame us for things that are beyond our control. We might fight eating others taboo, but this is nature."

The 4 members of Shadow applauded the pegasus.

Scorch raised an eyebrow. "To be fair we don't have to eat meat right now, but we humans need to keep a balanced diet. We'll have to eat flesh eventually. Then again, we could probably find a substitute for protein in beans and nuts."

Celestia couldn't keep the secret any longer. "Listen, whenever Diamond Dog or Griffin ambassadors visit, we have a secret supply of meats in order to appease them."

"So that's why we have a Diamond Dog chef and no wonder I'm not allowed in the kitchen." realized Shining Armor.

The solar alicorn sighed. "What meat do you humans consume? No need to hold back."

"You asked for it." warned X-ray. "We eat cow, pork, chicken, shrimp, fish and....." The rifleman blushed.

"No need to be shy." insisted Luna.

"....horse."

And that's when Fluttershy became afraid as well.

"You eat horse!" shrieked Twilight. "How could you?"

Scarecrow tried to keep the spirits up. "Like we said, biology."

The 4 humans discreetly turned off their lie detectors. "Besides, it's not like we eat horses all time."

It was a lie. Big time. Ever since goats and sheep were taken out of the human diet, horse became a popular substitution. Horse burgers, horse steaks and horse chops were just as popular as a McChicken burger or McRib from McFederation.

"But relax, we're not going to eat you." assured Scarecrow.

"Are you sure about that. How do we know that you're not preying on us now?" questioned Luna.

"Even though we're omnivores we can still control dietary habits. We didn't start consuming you ponies the moment we got hungry right?" reminded X-ray.

The ponies looked at Fluttershy. The timid pegasus collected her thoughts.

"Like they said, it's in their biology and horses on Earth aren't sapient. The humans didn't expect to meet intelligent ponies right?"

"Besides you horses taste terrible." lied Overwatch. In reality horses when prepared right were astounding.

"How do you know that?" muttered Twilight.

"We may have eaten horse once before." fibbed Scarecrow. "Don't worry though, we know better than to eat intelligent creatures." Scarecrow suddenly made a cut throat motion.

Scorch, who was busy all the while pouring spices all over the oblivious Celestia, sighed and returned to his seat.

Scarecrow glared at the demo man and spoke in French. "Tu ne peux pas manger les chevals."

"Je sais, mais ils sont vraiment savoureux." complained the demo man.

X-ray turned to the equines. "Relax, we won't eat meat now, some pasta, eggs and a cheese quiche would do."

The squad seconded that.

Celestia nodded and ordered the waiter to bring a surplus of the desired meals.

"While your main course arrives, I think we'd all like to know about you 4." stated Twilight.

The members of Shadow laughed.

"Are you kidding? Shouldn't it be clear that our lives are classified information?" laughed Scorch.

Suddenly, the ring tones signaling a call played from Shadow's wrist computers.

Scarecrow answered the call. "Command, this is Shadow actual."

The ponies observed with awe.

"Is he talking to himself?" inquired Rarity.

"No, he's answering a call from command." corrected X-ray. "Let's just say it's like talking to someone really far away. Our transmissions are so strong in energy that they can rip time space and allow communication instantaneously."

The HOD of the commission of colonial affairs radioed Scarecrow. "We're well aware that 23rd protocol requires you to be silent regarding your past, but in order for these equines to trust us, you will will have to mention some parts of your life. Just don't go into too much details like names and such. Besides, what are these Equines possibly capable of doing to you if they know about your history?"

"Understood. Scarecrow out." Shadow's commander cut the feed.

Scarecrow looked at the equines. "Alright, it's fine if we can shed some light on ourselves."

"Yipee!" cheered Pinkie. "I have so many questions."

The squad sighed at the same time.

"I think we can save ourselves the trouble by allowing me to have a quick look in your memories." proposed Luna.

"You can perform an inception organically?" asked X-ray.

The princess of the night nodded.

"That is so cool." remarked X-ray. ".....IF YOU LOOK INTO OUR MEMORIES WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION, I WILL RIP OFF YOUR WINGS WITH MY BARE HANDS AND FEED THEM TO YOU!"

The statement killed Luna's chances of hostility. The Feds observing the event were similarly relieved that Luna wouldn't be tapping into a highly confidential mind.

"Do any of you have a special somepony, er somebody in your life?" asked Cadance.

"Well Overwatch can't have a girlfriend because he's asexual." replied Scarecrow.

"Asexual?" said the ponies at once.

"I can't feel love nor do I have a sex drive." dryly answered the sniper.

"Oh my how awful!" weeped Cadance. "No wonder that explains your aggression. What happened to you for you to be unable to feel love?"

The marksman opened his mouth. "I was born this way you ignorant asshole! Just because you're the alicorn of love doesn't mean it's your job to judge the sex lives of others. I know plenty of non asexual people who couldn't give to shits about life."

The mane of the pink alicorn split. Her technique could no longer calm her.

"Me and Scorch got laid, does that count?" called out X-ray.

"Yeah, how come I'm the only one who hasn't had sex in this squad?" beamed Scarecrow.

"Cause you're a fat ass!" exclaimed Scorch.

"Fuck off, this is muscle. We humans cured obesity in 2200." snorted Scarecrow.

"Your stomach says otherwise dipshit." laughed X-ray.

"At least I'm not a nerdy toothpick like you X-Gay. You're a fucking chick repellent."

The ponies were in total shock form the vulgar nature of Shadow's conversation.

"In all due seriousness, what girl could love a man with more than 300 thousand confirmed kills." glumly stated Scorch.

"Don't say that." encouraged Cadance. "There's a special somepony for everypony so there should be a special somebody for everybody right?"

The members of Shadow tried to smile. They knew they're love lives were totally screwed forever.

"How about we focus on when you 4 first met?" insisted Twilight.
"Well, other than Scorch, the 3 of us grew up on the colonies." began X-ray. "I was born to Armenian parents on Auraxis, my parents moved to Requiem when I was 6."

"I'm of Belgian descent and was born on the moon Titan." said Overwatch slowly. "We moved to Requiem around the same time X-ray's family did."

"As for me." remarked Scarecrow. "My parents left Pandora due to a crime streak enacted within rural areas. We moved to Requiem when I was 7 to escape martial law."

"I was born in Vancouver and my folks didn't immigrate to Requiem until I was 8." told Scorch.

Scarecrow continued the story. "Other than Overwatch, none of us went to South Pewter Elementary School until 3rd grade. X-ray had gone to the same school as me, but we didn't meet each other until we both transferred to South Pewter."

"I on the other hand was the new kid in the 3rd grade." remembered Scorch.

"We were all in Ms. Rutte's class, little did we know, destiny had something in store for us." remembered X-ray.

"None of us were popular students. The Dutch natives to Requiem were really friendly, but then there were those total jerk asses who kept giving us a hard time." shook Scarecrow. "I was kinda fat as a kid, got bullied for it."

"On the other hand, I was beaten up for being so scrawny. I might have towered my bullies, but they still packed a punch. Universe knows what would have happened had I not called for teachers." chocked X-ray.

The ponies couldn't help but feel remorse for the humans. As merciless in battle as they were, no one deserved to get humiliated as a child.

"Overwatch wasn't picked on as so much as people avoided him." teased Scorch. "Had we not met him, he'd probably not have any friends."

"Why would you reject someone's friendship?" awed Twilight.

"Meh." shrugged the glacial sniper. Scorch continued on.

"I was pretty popular in sports, but my interest in typically nerdy things took over me."

"Around a month into the school year, we finally met." said Scarecrow. "Our school had a welcome party. A delayed one if you ask me, and none of us were excited."

"While the kids danced in the gym to their techno music from the 25th century, we just wanted to leave." laughed X-ray.

Pinkie Pie gave a sigh of defeat. Looks like there was no convincing Shadow to take part in festivities.

"I had enough of all the socializing so I just walked out the gym while no one was looking." chuckled Scarecrow. "I tried to make a run for it until I saw Overwatch sitting by himself."

"We didn't say much until the other guys showed up." muttered the marksman.

"I wanted to the game on my laptop which we weren't allowed to bring." added Scorch. "I ran into my future friends and they promised not to tell if they got a turn."

"A moment later I came along." smiled X-ray as he twisted a knife on the table. "I tried to force myself to party, but I couldn't get into to the mood. So I joined these 3 assholes."

"As we gamed, we found out we he had a lot in common other than being the tallest boys in elementary school." contemplated Scarecrow. "We played the same games, listened to the same music, had a fascination with early 21st century memorabilia, watched the same movies and had the same social views."

"Sounds like a great way to start off a friendship if you ask me." agreed Rainbow Dash.

"You know, I've never sensed such a strong companionship amongst individuals...since Twilight and her friends." complimented Celestia.

"I don't know about you ponies, but we humans base our friendships around interests." sneered X-ray.

"Was that an insult darling?" inquired Rarity.

"Of course not." responded X-ray. "What's important is that your friends will always be there for you and that's true amongst the ponies in this room. Truthfully though, I can't see any of you discussing your interest with each other without putting the other to sleep."

"Puttin' each other ta sleep?" echoed Applejack.

Scorch flexed a finger at the Mane 6. "No offense, but the 6 of you are all opposites. Smart Twilight and brash Rainbow Dash, fancy Rarity and rural Applejack, hyper Pinkie Pie and timid Fluttershy. No human group of friends is like that in the modern day. If you were lesbians, it would result in the worst romantic relationships ever."

"We on the other hand can talk to each other about anything and rely on each other for support. As demonstrated by our abnormal success rate." gloated X-ray.

"Come on, there are lots of things we can talk to each other about." slammed Twilight.

"To be fair Twilight, Shadow has point." shook Luna. "While it is important that you can accompany anypony you want, your personalities are too polar for any one on one discussion regarding interests."

"And while this is mostly due to the fact that you're female, one light joke at your expense will set you off and break up your friendship. We can insult each other all we want and we'll still be buds." laughed Scorch. Scarecrow proceeded to punch him the face for his sexist remark.

Scorch proceeded to slam his commander's face on the table.

As Scarecrow recovered. "And as you can see, I think no less of him."

X-ray continued on with the story. "After we met, I'll tell you we had a lot of crazy run ins as kids. Scarecrow was our leader and always got us stuck in odd situations, I was the voice of reason only to get insulted because of my ethnicity, Scorch was the everyman who just went along with what we did and Overwatch was the silent mob who we pretty much forced to do everything we were lazy to do."

"I thought you said Human life was pretty monotonous." accused Twilight.

"We said human life, not our life." corrected Scarecrow. "Our childhood was awesome. There was this one time where I made up an Armenian genocide monster to piss of X-ray, this one time Overwatch created a super hero identity and how Scorch's father totally messed up zone ball through sarcasm."

"I guess everypony's life really is a unique story of it's own." laughed Rainbow Dash.

"And what did you gain from your escapades?" questioned Celestia.

"Nothing." shrugged Shadow at once.

"How did you end up with your current careers?" asked Rarity after she mustered the courage to do so.

The members of Shadow looked at each other hesitantly. They weren't allowed to go public about the 23rd, but it seemed times were changing. The Feds listening ordered them to speak.

"Joining the 23rd was not something we ever expected to do. We didn't even think the division existed." admitted Scorch.

"I don't follow." stated Celestia.

"The 23rd is not an orthodox military unit by any means. Most conventional divisions just assault the enemy, we haunt and scare them into submission without leaving a trace. That one reason why our units are named after horror icons especially ghosts. Not just because we can cloak." trivialized Scarecrow.

The Equestrians felt more and more hesitant to continue questioning Shadow.

"What does it take to join the 23rd?" asked Shining Armor.

"The 23rd isn't interested in choosing units based on strength and discipline." began X-ray. "There is a very and we mean very specific criteria for choosing members. Commandos of the 23rd for starters have to be of the upmost intelligence. Not one of us scored below a 90 out of 100 on our colonial exams."

"I thought humans didn't have tests." pointed Applejack.

"It's not a test based on memory, math problems and spelling." replied Scarecrow. "It's based on reasoning, creativity and forming judgements. It's not a test you're meant to score high on."

"Most humans score a 70." informed Overwatch.

"Looks like we're in the presence of intellectuals as well as counter terrorists as well." snorted Luna.

"It does explain how you were able to uncover the talents of the Cutie Mark Crusaders so easily." nodded Rarity.

"Or how they can point out mistake we've made in our lives without even being there." added Twilight.

"I don't get it, what does being an egghead have to do with the military?" laughed Rainbow Dash.

"You need help." mocked Scarecrow. "If you think logic and reasoning are unnecessary to being a human soldier, you're going to have a bad time. The fact that all naval admirals who crushed massive fleets with physics as a primary weapon speaks for itself. Armies are useless when they don't know what they're doing the same way a Kill SAT is useless if you can't figure out the mechanics to operate one."

"Scarecrow's right Rainbow." agreed Twilight. "A lot of times you and the rest of the gang just heads into a problem without thinking it through only to get your flank kicked. Even I'm guilty of that sometimes."

"Insurrectionists with a haughty attitude like yours are always the first to fall." warned Scorch. This was enough to silence the cyan pegasus.

"Regardless, physical fitness is still a necessity to 23rd members." insisted Scarecrow.

Scorch continued. "One of the reasons why we don't look so ripped on the outside is to be able to blend in with civilians, our strength comes from the inside. Literally."

"And what do you mean by that?" asked Cadance.

Scarecrow smirked. "We taught you that a shield is stronger when you net it in a hexagonal pattern right?"

The ponies nodded.

"Guess what they did to our muscles."

The equestrians gasped.

"Humans are willing to experiment on bodies for war?" exhaled Celestia.

"Relax, the doctors made us unconscious. We didn't feel anything." laughed X-ray. "The study of musculus geometria is so complex that only a few scientists can perform it without messing up. The Federation reserves knowledge like that for its commandos and super soldiers."

"Hey, Scarecrow destroyed my talent enhancer because he said augmentations were cheating." growled Twilight.

"You attempted to use that enhancer for everyday use, not to defend a race for the greater good." countered Scarecrow. "Besides, these augmentations are so safeguarded that nobody outside the highest branches of the UTF can get their hands on them. Finally, they wear off after 12 years so nothing permanent."

"When our muscles were shaped to a new form, it allowed us to absorb blows and apply power easier because the strength of the shape helped reinforce our body." explained Scorch. "However, the stronger you muscles are from the beginning, the harder it becomes to net them in a stronger geometric shape. X-ray, who had weak muscles was able to get a octagonal structure rather then a hexagonal structure to keep up with us."

"We also had nanites injected into our nervous system to help implement a neural control system in our brains." mentioned Scarecrow.

"What did they train y'all in? asked Applejack.

"Gymnastics, a lot of emphasis on parkour, weight training, some lessons in boxing, karate, and jujitsu." informed X-ray.

"Sounds pretty standard." shrugged Shining Armor.

"At 125% Earth's gravity." finalized the rifleman. "Earth itself has a significantly higher gravitational pull than this planet."

"Oh dear, wouldn't you get pulverized?" empathized Fluttershy.

"It was rather crushing the first time." remembered Scarecrow. "But because we were augmented, we stood. In addition to physical fitness, we trained in firearms, demolitions, tactics and stealth. I got additional training in leadership, X-ray in diplomacy, Scorch in explosives and Overwatch in reconnaissance. After two years of augmented training, we adapted and were ready for combat."

"But what made you 4 stand out from the rest of humanity?" asked Pinkie Pie.

The 4 humans, even Overwatch gave a small laugh.

X-ray calmed down. "On a lighter note, friendship."

Celestia smiled. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"The power of friendship is an important aspect of human life as well." insisted the rifleman. "When the Feds were looking over our dossiers, they noticed that our success rate in anything was solid if the 4 of us cooperated." The squads in the 23rd are amongst the closest people you'll ever meet to a point where they don't even need to communicate to know what the other is thinking. Teamwork was essential to our success the same way it was important to Twilight."

"Truthfully, when I'm in combat, I don't really care much for assaulting the enemy as much as I care about getting the 4 of us out alive." admitted Scorch.

"Hey X-ray." called out Scarecrow. "I know I can be a total asshole to you and former Soviet people, but know this. If you died, it would be me, Scorch and Overwatch. And that would suck."

The rifleman almost shed a tear. "We're 23rd material for a reason. I'll always be here for guys whether it's video games, sports, not getting our heads blown off by gauss rounds or trying to comfort you when your imaginary girlfriends break up with you."

"And now here we are, making first contact. As pals." added Overwatch.

The 4 members of Shadow unexpectedly got up form their seats and gave a bro fist to each other. The Equestrians couldn't help but feel happy for them. At least they didn't need lessons on friendship.

Scarecrow formed a more serious look. "Truthfully, the purest reason why we're in the 23rd is because its members all suffer from a rare mental disease. Minus Obnixi."

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "That's old speak for being unable to flinch."

"Have you ever wondered why we're so quick to pull the trigger or don't suffer depression after a murder?" trivialized X-ray. "Because we don't produce any negative emotions from injury or death."

"We're not sadists, but can't feel negatively towards misfortune either." remarked Scorch.

"How is that possible?" exploded Luna.

"Genetics. Like the way I write with my left hand." answered X-ray.

Celestia was distraught. "Do you realize how dangerous such a condition could be?"

"We did. And so did the Federation." responded Scarecrow.

"You still haven't gone into any detail as to how you joined the 23rd." pointed Twilight.

Scarecrow exhaled. "When we were on summer break after graduating high school, we visited the planet of Elysium since it is a great vacation place and Overwatch was supposed to go to college there. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that there was going to be an insurrection attack."

Fluttershy blocked her ears. Pinkie started chewing on tissue.

"The terrorists were merciless. They started with a minor bombing run of a city and killed a few dozen people." remembered Scorch. "Our first clue we that were immune to the effects of death was when we stared at the burned corpses and felt nothing."

"How?" shouted Applejack.

"After the air assault was quenched, enemy infantry started rolling in." continued Scarecrow. The ponies were lucky they couldn't imagine the scenes properly. "Me and the guys hid in an apartment. Sadly, the homes on Elysium aren't too big."

X-ray braced himself. "Two soldiers attempted to cover us by shooting at the mercs from the window. However, a few bullet shot one unconscious and killed the other, leaving us and the other civvies in the diner defenseless. A moment after, two mercs walked with the intent to kill us."

The ponies didn't know why they continued listening.

"Right when they were about to shoot the unconscious soldier dead......I sprinted towards a dropped rail revolver and shot a merc dead. Scorch then grabbed the merc's pulse shotgun and killed the other."

Twilight was breathing heavily. "How did you react?"

The humans looked at each other.

"With less emotion than Overwatch." answered Scorch. "After the encounter, we were signaled that the terrorists had been repelled."

"As per protocol, the 4 of us were sent to receive a mental test to check for trauma." told Scarecrow.

"They found not the slightest clue of damage." said the sniper. "And that's when they realized death couldn't mean shit to us genetically."

"A week later, we were approached by the Feds." continued Scarecrow. "We were informed of our mental condition and were told how lethal it could be. That made us perfect for the role."

"How does having a disorder make you useful to an army?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

X-ray folded his arms "Despite what you might think, humans aren't heartless. Others still react to death and injury appropriately. Those rare few with minus obnixi don't."

"Even a hardened UTF soldier will have second thoughts about killing a man and would quit after it got to his head. Not if you're in the 23rd. The fact its members don't hold back and are willing to do anything to enforce the law make us the ultimate tool for war." sighed Scorch.

"So you're the Federation's private psychopaths?" accused Rainbow Dash.

"We're not proud of this disability, but it was either become a law enforcement psychopath or a renegade one." muttered Scarecrow.

"This isn't the only disorder the Feds exploit." revealed X-ray. "I'm easily angered which makes me perfect for direct engagements, Overwatch's near mute tendencies make him a stealth expert, Scorch's pyromania makes him the best demo man around and Scarecrow's controlling nature allows him to convince officers to stand down when they get in our way for the greater good. Part of our condition also means we tend to lash out randomly which explains why we keep insulting you discolored, mutated horses."

"So the Federation takes advantage of your conditions for their selfish needs?" puffed Rarity.

"We're not part of the 23rd to serve the needs of politicians, but to protect our race from irredeemable raiders." countered Overwatch. "Their number grows every day and you're going to need soldiers who won't hold back to take them out and keep citizens in line."

"I still don't see the need to send relentless aggressors after wrong doers." remarked Celestia.

"You don't get it do you?" shook Scarecrow. "Our enemies aren't camp bad guys from a kids stories. They are willing to destroy civilization and kill to accomplish their goals. Only the most insane sons of bitches are what's going to extinguish their numbers and not hesitate to do so again."

"But why send the 23rd to explore uncharted planets if they specialize in counter terrorism?" asked Cadance.

"Because only the 23rd can fend off huge armies and give an intelligence report at the same time. Furthermore, 23rd units are meant to be recon teams for planets, not first contact teams." corrected X-ray.

"So where are the other humans?" demanded Celestia.

"Right now, there is a minor war going on in 3 star systems. The UTF is too busy and any other human with a hair weaker in the mind than us would be overwhelmed by the anomalies of this planet." explained Scorch.

"How exactly are you accomplishing the goals of the Federation right now? If I was them, you'd be arrested for lashing out at another race for no reason." warned Rainbow Dash.

---------

The congressmen observing the events smirked. "They really haven't figured it out have they?"

--------

"I don't think your unit has a positive reputation on the colonies." shook Pinkie Pie.

"The public doesn't even know we exist." sighed Overwatch.

"What da ya mean? People like y'all should be infamous." insisted Applejack.

"Let's correct ourselves. They don't know we're party of the military or even human." trivialized Scorch.

"In 2390, the uprisings by Crynet and Vanu corporations resulted in the increased need for a black ops unit that would not hesitate to commit morally questionable acts to prevent civilians from joining the enemy and take down the corporations." began X-ray.

"Unfortunately, many soldiers, regardless of the commando training they received, could not find themselves capable of committing the acts the Federation ordered. The Federation needed people who could convince people to do the worst of acts to preserve order and justice and still ask for more."

"And that's when they started searching for people with Minus Obnixi I presume?" guessed Cadance.

"Correct." nodded Scarecrow. "The unit committed many ghastly acts that would've driven a normal human insane such as haunting, paranoia, stalking and relentless interrogation. A victim would snap the moment the phrase '23' was heard."

"However members of the 23rd could not sustain their augmentations after 30 or so years of age." explained Scorch. "They were relieved of duty as a result. Since the peak of human physical condition is around 18-20 years old, the Feds would search for humans with the disorder to request them to serve."

"Request?" repeated Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, we humans don't have draft laws." nodded Scarecrow.

"Why would you agree to joining a Black Ops unit?" cried Shining Armor.

Scorch frowned. "Because the 4 of us understand that if the going to prevent the human race from regression and fragmentation, some of us have to make a sacrifice to become merciless and inconsiderate commandos to destroy terrorist units and scare people from becoming traitors assholes to our left leaning government."

"What about your educations? You said this wasn't your true calling." reminded Twilight.

Scarecrow crossed his arms. "We were already ahead of our classes by a big time. The members of the 23rd are too good for college, although I wish that we could have still had a normal life once in a while."

"The public right now thinks we're working as freelance interns." added X-ray.

"Forgive me, but I can not hold a respectable view of your government if they resort to using glacial and apathetic soldiers to accomplish their tasks." insulted Celestia.

"Kindness won't keep humans from joining terrorists who haven no interest on peace. Like we said, fear is the most powerful emotion and we use fear to preserve order." gritted Scorch.

"Besides, it's not the government that keeps the 23rd a secret. It's the unit itself." said Scarecrow.

"But dat ain't honest!" scolded Applejack.

"There's a difference between honesty and refusing to speak the truth." defended X-ray. "The Marxian Capitalist Party that was in office during the 23rd creation intended to reveal the unit to scare off Crynet and Vanu. However, the first members of the 23rd had a different idea. When the MCP was about to leak the division, the members of the 23rd distorted the broadcast and launched a cyber virus that attacked every computer with ominous messages."

The ponies didn't know what a cyber virus was, but at this point it didn't matter.

"The MCP rapidly attempted to inform the public of the 23rd, but all messages were deleted and scrambled before the public could reach them. Fearing it's own unit, the politicians gave up. We continue the tradition today."

"But why censor ties to the government?" inquired Twilight.

"Because of the public found out that the government was creating a black ops unit to keep others in line, they would feel more and more compelled to riot and join raider groups." explained Scorch. "If people thought there was simply a group of serial killers that acted as judge, jury and executioner, self preservation instincts would kick in."

"But something tells me your actions can't possibly go unnoticed!" exclaimed Rarity.

"They do, the public is just ignorant we're acting on the interests of the Federation." chuckled X-ray. "They think we're literal ghosts due to our masks obscuring facial features, our ability to cloak, distort voices and the fact that technology scrambles whoever we're within its proximity."

"Yeah, there are thousands of 23rd creepypastas written on the internet. They're hilarious." laughed Scarecrow.

"What's the internet?" asked Pinkie Pie. Shadow ignored her.

"Humans might live very happy lives, but even the most optimistic of people fear our presence." pondered Scorch.

The equines were disgusted at Shadow's amusement of the public's fear of their unit. Perhaps it was all due to their condition. The ponies wouldn't be surprised if Shadow started talking about mutilation and not have the urge to vomit.

"Do you really have to scare and haunt people to preserve the law?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"Like we said, the most powerful emotion of all is fear, and the most powerful kind of fear is fear of the unknown. The less you know about something, the more frightened you get." reminded X-ray.

Pinkie took in a deep breath "How is fear of nothing a fear? Aren't you fearing nothing and how can you be afraid of nothing?"

Scorch raised an eyebrow. "Think about it, weren't you all scared when we had our masks on? You weren't able to tell what horrors could possibly be behind our scary bandanas and shades?"

The Equestrians silently agreed.

"Don't call me a fortune teller, but I can tell you ponies were more afraid thinking about what killed the Griffins rather than the killers themselves." predicted Overwatch. "And something tells me you right now fear ever lies beyond the planet knowing its very existence disturbs you."

"And we're all afraid of what you humans have in store for us if we go to war." cried Rainbow Dash.

"Sometimes, the less you know, the better." pitied Scorch. "Countless insurrectionists and traitors have gone insane after a little encounter with us."

"I've been going a little insane since I met you 4. What you humans know is just too much." shook Twilight.

"Just be glad we didn't mark you as our enemy." motivated Scarecrow. "When it comes to haunting various individuals, first we often hack into their devices and threaten or get them paranoid until they stand down. If not, we slowly break them down mentally and physically until we're forced to go into the kill."

"You're no better than the terrorists you face." accused Celestia.

"Are we really monsters for doing what is necessary to protect our race from chaos and discord? After all we're following orders." responded X-ray, his Armenian accent getting heavier.

"Would you harm a child if ordered to?" glared Cadance. Everypony couldn't believe how bitter she had just become.

"If it would save many more, then yes." said Scorch.

The tension in the room was getting higher.

"I don't understand how one can commit heinous acts to prevent heinous acts. That's a logical fallacy." gritted Twilight.

"By referring to the phrase can, we can commit heinous acts because our bodies are incapable of feeling remorse." hissed Scarecrow.

X-ray laughed. "Life's pretty black and white to you is it? Good guys and bad guys with no one asking about the Gray men in the middle."

Author's Notes:

So should I start a TV tropes page on this or no? Please answer.

I hope I did a good job developing Shadow.

Chapter 29: Gods and Kings

Warning: The following chapter will likely express religious and political views that are in conflict with your own. Please note that I respect everybody's views and believe we are all entitled to our own opinion. Please do not get too upset or insensitive if I had accidentally mocked your ideologies.

"The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."- Thomas Paine

The ponies scowled at X-ray's statement. The riflemen merely smirked and crossed his arms.

"How could you say that? Do you have no desire to commit acts of love and tolerance?" inquired Celestia.

"Sometimes love and tolerance isn't desirable for the greater good. It's not pretty, but that's the truth." stated Overwatch.

"Doing benevolent deeds and helping others won't help humans in the long run?" flatly said Twilight.

"There are thousands of ways we could help someone. Everyone just has their own perspective at the end of the day." trivialized Scorch.

"How? If the traits displayed by the elements of harmony don't symbolize righteousness, than what does?" beamed Cadance.

X-ray raised his eyebrows. "The issue with humans is that we don't act out of general benevolence, but rather for what we see as the greater good. Even our worst enemies can't truly be called evil, except for maybe the Neo Fascists. At times, caring acts will prove detrimental to our situation and get us no where."

"You're soldiers, your job is to do good, care for civilians and preserve harmony." scolded Shining Armor.

"The job of a soldier is to protect the law and it's citizens no matter what. Lawful doesn't mean nice." countered Scorch.

"Based on your statements, you would dare support a villain if it would mean progress." accused Luna.

"Negative." responded Scarecrow. "Evil is meant to cause harm and deconstruct progress. We'd not hesitate opening fire on corrupt officials. Than again, some form of good can hamper humanity as well and we wouldn't tolerate that."

"But if people try to do nice deeds, then why do you have to silence them?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Because sometimes good can be misguided and produce results as devastating as evil." implied X-ray. "Didn't Fluttershy's kindness with the Parasprites nearly tear down Ponyville?"

The yellow pegasus shrunk in her seat.

"If we were in your place we would have burned down those damn insects before they could reproduce." shook Scorch.

"Sometimes you need to use acts considered malevolent to put down evil." advised Overwatch.

"That doesn't make any sense whatsoever! If you resort to heinous methods, you're no better than a criminal yourself." exclaimed Rarity.

"Perhaps if you lived as a human, you'd see that while we are all good in our heart, we accidentally end up as shades of gray in a conflict." replied the demo man. "All is fair in love and war."

"Ah really wish ah didn' have ta learn all this." sighed Applejack. "Life used ta be so simple."

"Well you're the one who asked about our past, and we answered." bluntly remarked Scarecrow.

"But you know what's funny?" brought up X-ray.

"Jokes and charades?" responded Pinkie Pie.

The rifleman was beginning to break down. "The fact that we are perhaps the darkest aspect of the human race and how we are right now meeting the brightest and most positive aspects of pony kind."

The Equestrians didn't expect that.

Even Scorch was getting really tense. "Look at you all. You're kind, nice and caring while we're heartless and can't even feel any kind of remorse. Do you think we're proud that we've joined the 23rd! We could have been in college right now, but we had to sacrifice our lives to protect others."

Celestia's mouth dropped.

Scarecrow remained a calm demeanor. "You don't know how lucky you are to live...relatively normal lives. Everyday the 4 of us are forced to kill and slaughter to prevent the very same acts from being carried out. While I am incapable of feeling distraught, not a day goes by where I wish I wouldn't have to go on a mission or live under the constant fear of being struck down by enemy bombardment. What's scary is that the more I murder, the less meaning the act has."

X-ray was on the verge of tears. "While you can fight wrong doers and still be yourselves, the 4 of us have to risk giving up out ambitions and turn into monsters to fight terrorists. We've become the very thing we fear in our nightmares. We're fucking freaks!"

The members of Shadow started breathing heavily and had their heads buried in their arms.

The ponies couldn't help but feel sorry for Shadow. To have a condition that turned them into killing machines must have had a serous toll on their psyche. The ponies suddenly realized why Shadow refused to talk about their professions.

Twilight lowered her voice. "It's alright, we're the ones who brought it up."

Scarecrow picked himself up. "Sorry, sometimes we're afraid of ourselves."

"Do you still stand by your previous statements?" asked Rarity.

Scorch calmed down. "We're afraid so. The greater good is the principle that our Federation is based on and the 23rd will do anything, and we mean anything to reinforce this philosophy."

"But out of all the things we can tell you about humanity, why inform you of the negatives?" insisted X-ray. "War is a minor subject we happen to see the worst of. There are countless other things you can ask us."

"Agreed." nodded Luna.

Suddenly, a group of servants entered the room. The unicorns while the Earth ponies were pushing carts filled with food. One by one they laid down a series of dishes prepared especially for Shadow.

Lucky for them, the food was edible for the humans. Furthermore, it was produced in surplus quantities to ensure their appetites would be satisfied.

Celestia cleared her throat. "If it could make you feel better, why not look over the scriptures of your religion to seek counsel?"

The humans looked at each other and laughed.

"No gods, no masters, only man." chanted Scarecrow.

The mouths of the ponies dropped open.

"Y'all are atheists?" questioned Applejack.

Scorch helped himself to an animated quiche. "Not technically, but we can say with certainty there are no gods."

Pinkie Pie laughed. "That's funny, because right now you're in front of a sun, moon, love and magic goddess."

The 4 humans looked at the alicorns.

"Still not believing in any."

"That's a close minded statement. How could you say there are no gods?" inquired Rainbow Dash.

"Because gods and religion fabrications created by society in a state of ignorance." spat X-ray.

"Celestia and Luna aren't fabrications. They're right here." pointed Fluttershy.

"I find it hard to believe that you humans have no equivalent of the alicorns." remarked Rarity. "You can't just become a space faring race without any form of divine help."

The counter terrorists laughed. The alicorns remained silent.

"Believe it or not, divine help was the last thing we humans needed to start colonizing outer space." said Scorch.

"So throughout, you're entire existence, you never accepted the fact that there's a higher power?" inquired Rainbow Dash.

"Oh please." snapped Scarecrow. "We humans had a long series of beliefs in gods and goddesses. The earliest humans worshipped the sun, the ancient greeks believed in the Olympic Gods, and the humans before colonization believed in a single God."

"So when did y'all stop having faith?" asked Applejack.

"When prayers did nothing to stop cities form getting nuked. When they started causing more harm than good." explained Scorch.

"And when we started questioning our own beliefs." stated X-ray.

"Haven't any of you questioned the alicorns at least once in your life?" asked Scarecrow.

The ponies that weren't the alicorns gasped.

"Why would we question somepony that's da bastion of harmony an' care?" snorted Applejack.

Scorch kept his cool. "Because there are points in any belief system that are flawed and like we said, kind acts don't always help out with the greater good. In fact a lot of the kind acts in a religious system are questionable."

"But aren't traditions and religion supposed to encourage acts of benevolence?" spoke up Twilight.

X-ray stared at the purple mare. He tried to conceal his Armenian accent. "They're supposed to. I mean, the first thing every religion tells you to do is not to kill. Jesus was probably the nicest human ever. Unfortunately, we humans can't handle religion properly, twist its words and instead used them as a scape goat for violence."

"But don't humans need something to believe in? Something to give them hope and motivation?" awed Pinkie Pie.

"Nope." answered Scarecrow. "For 500 years, we humans have been living a pretty secular life and we're at the peak of progress and discovery. Religion restrained us."

"By the way, is it true ponies are forbidden to read scrolls regarding the religion of the other species on Epona?" smiled X-ray.

"Yes. The law has been in place for thousands of years in order to help avoid any form of conflict based upon religion." informed Celestia.

"Do you want to why?" trivialized X-ray.

The ponies were hesitant to listen.

"Because you would all start debating the merits of each religion as well as which one is the truest. The beliefs of one race would contradict the other and since religion supposed to be some sort of divine truth, ponies would start questioning the validity of their deities and out grow silly superstitions."

"Well maybe one belief system out there really is the true one." defended Twilight. "I'm sure out of all the beliefs you humans had, one of them is bound to be correct. All you need is a little faith."

Scorch exhaled loudly. "Well, we had a little faith and that got us no where. All the beliefs we humans have had were just fabrications."

"But without any beliefs and traditions, how can you humans possible truly judge right from wrong?" beamed Rarity. "Without the alicorns, we ponies would be in a state of eternal disharmony."

X-ray rolled his eyes. "Well the main belief system practiced by humanity is secular humanism which states explicitly that we humans can be kind, honest, loyal and generous without a holy book bossing us around."

"And when we believed in our selves, rather than a divine figure, we took our race to whole new levels." added Scarecrow.

Cadance took a deep breath. "What about the sacred act of marriage? Don't human couples make a promise to a deity to love each other forever?"

"Marriage is a state function in the UTF. We make promises to the government rather than some non existent deity who probably wouldn't even care." laughed X-ray.

"So there's no wedding ceremony?" questioned Shining Armor. He remembered his rather exciting wedding clearly.

"Not really, most humans just get a contract signed." replied Scarecrow.

"That sounds unforgivingly dull. Rather than having a choir, cake and exchanging words of commitment, you just write on a piece of paper?" scowled Rarity.

"Oh please, according to the audio logs left by our ancestors before human unification, religious weddings were boring as shit and it was difficult for couples to get a divorce." laughed Scorch.

"Why ponies want to get a divorce if they made a promise to a divine leader?" piped up Fluttershy.

"Because there is no divine leader and it is possible to stop loving some one." said Scarecrow in a matter of fact voice.

"I just can't believe how ignorant you all are being right now!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Scarecrow raised an eyebrow. "Oh, the ones who don't question a single act of a winged horse are the rational ones?"

"How could you honestly say that in a vast infinite universe that maybe there isn't one god out there? Not everything has to be completely factual!" defended the Pink mare.

"Actually it does." laughed Scorch. "Believing in a god actually takes away the wonder and excitement one can get from the universe."

"And we refuse to believe in any divine power. Why? Because they're made up." spat X-ray. "There is not Zeus, no Ares, no Ra, no Odin, no Lord and I don't give a shit what those cultists say, there is no God Emperor of Mankind!"

"I hate to smack reality into, but right now you're in the presence of alicorns that have physically led their subjects to a state of tranquility." brought up Twilight.

"To be a Goddess, one must be perfect." stated Scarecrow.

"Yeah, and nopony gets better than Celestia or Luna. Look at all the great things they've done. I know you were napping when we told you our life story, but come on, you still ought to admit their divinity." beamed Rainbow Dash.

"Perfection is impossible for it is a quantitative, not qualitative representation." muttered Overwatch.

"I don't follow." sneered Celestia.

"To be perfect, you would have to be able know everything that has and will exist." began Scorch.

"Well, since Celestia has been calling the shots throughout our lives even in situations she wasn't involved in, it's safe to say she her knowledge exceeds mortal limits." hissed Twilight.

X-ray gave a fake smile "Really? What's my name?"

Luna laughed. "X-ray. What kind of question is that?"

"That's my call sign. What is my real name? If you're a goddess, surely you'd know."

Luna's eyes shot open. She attempted to look into X-ray's memories only for him to draw his carbine at her.

"No looking into our memories."

"Are you threatening an alicorn?" burst Fluttershy.

"If the alicorns are so perfect, then why should they be afraid?" responded Scorch. "Now answer our question. What are our names?"

The 4 alicorns looked at each other anxiously.

"So much for an all knowing being." laughed Scarecrow. "I thought you ponies would've been smart enough to figure that out when Celestia couldn't notice Chrysalis disguising herself as Cadance."

"Ah wouldn' go insultin' the princesses if I were you. They'd put you right in your place." threatened Applejack.

"Then why are they afraid of us mere mortals? You're actually convinced the alicorns are infallible beings?" remarked Scarecrow.

"Well I haven't seen them mess up on anything before." shook Rainbow Dash. "Not to mention they're immortal."

"Bitch please. We humans discovered the secret to an infinite life a long time ago." chuckled Scorch. "Just because one can live forever, doesn't mean you can't be killed."

"And how are you going to figure that out?" questioned Luna.

"We don't need to. I already killed an alicorn." hissed X-ray.

The princesses dropped their mouths. The Mane 6 really hoped the subject wouldn't be brought up.

"How could have you possibly killed an alicorn? All 4 of us are standing." hissed Cadance. Shining Armor couldn't believe his wife was reduced to bitterness.

"When we were in Ponyville, a mare named Trixie attempted to assassinate us." remembered Scarecrow.

Luna knitted her eyebrows. "Trixie? You mean the magician?"

"I thought she reformed." pondered Celestia.

"Well she was convinced we were trying to overrun Ponyville or something." sighed Scarecrow. "She almost succeeded in killing Noteworthy."

"A pony would never kill!" screamed Celestia.

"It was an attack by religious motivation." explained Scorch. "We tried to reason with her, but she was so insistent on attacking us which goes to show you how retarded religion can make you."

"Trixie attempted to kill us with her magic, but she was too weak. As a result, she tapped into the power of the Alicorn Amulet." continued Scarecrow.

"The alicorn amulet?" gasped Cadance. "How could she get her hooves on it?"

"We don't know." replied Shadow's commander. "She drew far too much power from the artifact until she turned into an Alicorn."

Luna paled and Celestia looked whiter than normal.

"She couldn't have." shook Shining Armor.

"She did." gritted Overwatch. "And almost killed us."

X-ray hesitated to speak. "In order to protect my friends and prevent her from burning down Ponyville, I drew my weapon and because we were incapacitated to try out all other options, I shot her."

"I don't believe it." muttered Luna. "A pony turning into an goddess, only to be killed."

"If one of you can kill an Alicorn, in a wounded state." whimpered Celestia. She couldn't think of the horrors that awaited her.

"Why did you have to tell her that?" yelled Fluttershy.

"Sorry, but we humans get a little tense when we're encouraged to worship something." shook Scarecrow.

"Fine." hissed Luna. "If there are no true religions. Do you realize how many questions you have left open? For example, if there were no creators, how did we get here?"

"How do you believe your race was created?" challenged X-ray.

"The first Alicorn, queen Faust descended from the heavens and created the universe with her magic." told Twilight. "That is what we ponies believe."

"Are you sure about that?" responded Scarecrow.

"Yes! Why would Faust lie to us?" beamed Applejack.

"There are holes in your story. Namely, if Faust created an entire universe, why would she pay attention to just one race unless she wasn't playing favorites." said Scorch.

"Faust loved all her creations." defended Celestia. "She guided us with knowledge and morality."

"Really? Because you ponies seem to get a lot of scientific facts wrong and if Faust was really a loving Goddess, where was she when humans were worshipping rocks?" accused X-ray.

"Maybe human history s distorted. Our creator would never abandon a helpless race." responded Pinkie Pie.

"Distorting history? You're story assumes the world is a few thousand years old despite it proven to be billions." laughed Scarecrow. "I'm sure the Griffins and Zebras have a different origin story. Like we said, what makes your religion so special?"

"Then how do you humans think we got here if there was no creator?" pointed Twilight.

Scarecrow cleared his throat. "Allow us to explain in song."

The members of Shadow stood up in a dignified manner.

And the humans sat down. The ponies had to admit, Shadow sang well.

"Big Bang?" blurted Pinkie Pie.

"Exactly. Our universe was a single point that exploded and released all matter after getting denser and hotter." explained X-ray. "When the Earth was formed, tiny bacteria eventually adapted to the environment and after a gradual process that took hundreds of millions years, evolved into humans."

"And you're sure about that?" implied Twilight.

"Yes!" yelled the humans.

"How da y'all know your theory is true?" questioned Applejack.

Scorch crossed his arms "The big bang isn't a theory, it is a fact. If you look through a fucking machine that observes red and blue shifts, you'll notice that the galaxies are moving apart from each other. Logically, if they were moving apart, they would have to be in a single point in the past. Furthermore we actually found cosmological radiation from the big bang. As for evolution, we can prove it true considering that we humans resemble monkeys and share DNA with them the same way ponies share DNA with other Equines like donkeys and Zebras."

"Aw man, we're related to Donkey's." sighed Rainbow Dash.

"Racist bitch." said Overwatch quickly.

"But I am certain that your theory is flawed as well." pointed Celestia. "Like you said, nothing is perfect."

"That's true." nodded Scarecrow. "But unlike religion, science is dynamic and we change our views as time progresses. Scientists don't sit in place and just guess what happens. It's an adventure to find out the truth of the universe. I don't know what kind of anti intellectualism you ponies have created, but rationality isn't a negative trait."

"But what do gain from learning your the descendants from hairy apes?" questioned Cadance. "Our religion gives us hop and inspiration. You're constant questioning makes you cynical."

"If ignorance is bliss, then wipe that smile off my face." smirked Scorch.

"So you'd rather know everything and be depressed rather than knowing nothing and be happy?" glared Rarity.

"The truth can hurt, but you can use that knowledge to make you happy. Ignorance is the first sign of oppression." warned Scarecrow.

"And like we said a billion fucking times. Humans don't need religion to be kind and caring. Science gives us motivation and imagination to help solve the mysteries of the universe and create an amazing society." snorted X-ray.

"If science is so smart, where did the particle that became the universe come from?" challenged Shining Armor.

"We don't know, but it's a better explanation than saying some random horse came from no where and created a planet because she was high and decided to focus on one race and kept them ignorant to be happy." blasted Scorch.

"Where is Faust anyway?" challenged Scarecrow.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Alicorns are immortal right?" checked X-ray.

"That is correct. Me and my sister have been alive for more than a thousand years. Still going." assured Luna.

"And have alicorns been murdered prior to Trixie's death?" added Scorch.

The ponies shook their heads no.

"So where are they? If they're immortal they should all be here." noted Scarecrow.

The Mane 6 could realize they haven't thought of that before.

Twilight remembered an important remark. "Didn't you say humans have the access to immortality?"

Scarecrow nodded. "In the 23rd century, Crynet, before they went rogue was researching into nano technology and its relation with biology. A by product of their research were ways to render people immortal."

Rarity placed a hoof on her chin. "Could you bee a dear and elaborate on 'way's?"

X-ray swallowed some eggs and spoke. "Some applicants of Crynet's immortality program had their aging genes altered to 'age lock' them. Others were given nanites that reinforced the bodies biological functions to make sure the organs wouldn't deteriorate. Some were turned into cyborgs while others received a treatment that reverted their cells to an adolescent stage indefinitely."

"How'd it turn out?" beamed Rainbow Dash.

"At first the 30 applicants were faring well." encouraged Scorch. "The Federation was making plans with Crynet to distribute the technology to the mass people so nobody would be left behind."

"I don't want to know where this is going." squealed Pinkie Pie.

Scarecrow took a sip of water. "Unfortunately the idea of immortality became too much for the applicants. When they were well past 100 years old. They started going insane. All their friends, all their family, just died and they couldn't rest. Eventually, all of them committed suicide one by one."

"I can't believe they'd do that." awed Fluttershy.

"Sometimes, mortality is a blessing. You can just let go, and rest." encouraged Scorch.

"How could y'all say that? Death's a horrible thing." cried Applejack.

"How could you know?" challenged Cadance. "All you've done is kill. You don't know what it feels like to be your millions of victims."

X-ray cursed in Armenian. "Actually, we do know what it feels like. We're not invulnerable."

"What are you implying?" asked Twilight.

"Each of us has died. At least 10 times." bluntly said Overwatch.

The Equestrians were at a loss of words.

"But you're right here!" pointed Pinkie Pie. "Are you ghosts? Because that would be really clever considering all 23rd squads are named after the undead which could also mean; no matter how many times they kill you, they just come back."

"We're not ghosts." assured Scarecrow. "Human medical technology is just way too advanced."

"My word. You humans aren't just beyond harmony, you're beyond death." awed Luna.

"There are exceptions. For example, anyone dead after 23 hours is gone forever or if your body is beyond repair. Most of our deaths were from chest shots." explained X-ray. "But one of the reasons wars can last so long in the modern day is because a small number of our victims come back for more."

"What is it like when you die?" whispered Fluttershy.

"At first, it feels scary and horrifying." said Scorch. "But then, something extraordinary happens we humans have yet to understand."

"An afterlife?" hoped Shining Armor.

"No. Just a dream scape you're in complete control over. Like an eternal lucid dream." muttered X-ray. "There's nothing divine about it though. No place for the sinners to burn and no angels."

"I don't believe it." denied Celestia. "What becomes the point of doing good if there is no reward or doing evil if there is no punishment."

"Well maybe, you ponies should start focusing on making your mortal lives good rather than hoping to find bliss in the afterlife." responded Scorch.

"Besides, it doesn't count if you do good deeds just because some god tells you too. Ponies have to be benevolent and hope to create a greater good because they care about their race and nothing more." added Scarecrow.

"That's what our religion tells us to do!" exploded Twilight. "Be good and care for others. What is bad about that?"

"Nothing. But if you take away religion, will ponies still have the urge to do good?" challenged X-ray.

"Of course not, mortals deep down are good, but if they don't have a god to show them the way, they're easily influenced by the forces of chaos and hatred." replied Rainbow Dash.

"That's not a very respectful statement." chuckled Scorch. "At least we humans can say that we work for the greater good because we're benevolent on the inside and not because some winged unicorn told us too."

"Now answer our question, where are the other alicorns? Our Federation demands an answer." ordered Scarecrow.

Celestia and Luna looked into each others eyes. Luna was the one to explain the story.

"I do not truly know if the other alicorns suffered the same fate, but when our mother and father aged well beyond past 200 years of age, they started loosing their minds."

The Mane 6 started receiving migraines.

"We were very young at the time and while we have forgotten most of our childhood, it was said our parents took their lives after seeing so many of their subjects pass away. It was devastating news for me and my sister, and Discord tried to use the news to his advantage to usurp the throne during his first attack."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" cried Rainbow Dash.

"Because we knew how much it would negatively affect you all. Sometimes it is best to say nothing." admitted Celestia.

"That is another problem with organized religion; you find one thing wrong with it and individuals loose faith. Citizens need to be convinced of their ability to do good by themselves." hissed Scarecrow.

X-ray had to say it some time. "Cadance, are you aware by any chance that you're going to outlive your husband by centuries? And Twilight, the same goes for you and your friends."

The purple and pink alicorns gazed into each others eyes with intense worry.

"I-I didn't really think of that until now." blurted Twilight. "I knew I would live for a long time, but it didn't really concern me until now. The fact that I can only die through murder makes it worse."

Cadance hugged her husband and a tear droplet formed in her eye.

The apathetic Scorch rolled his eyes. "You weren't thinking about the long term weren't you? This is why not even the most of twisted humans consider infinite lives. When I pass away, I'll be happy to let go of this life as a serial killer."

"But what about the greater good? True, we'll miss everypony, but we'll still be around to help our citizens right?" hoped Twilight.

"Because ponies totally need depressed false gods guiding them around with regressive policies." sarcastically remarked X-ray.

"Have you two ever contemplated suicide?" inquired Scarecrow.

".............sometimes I wish I could just let go and rest." hinted Celestia.

Rarity fainted.

"Fine we give in." hissed Luna. "I hope you're happy."

"Do not believe for a moment this is an act of hostility." shook Scarecrow as he finally dug into his food. "But in an egalitarian society, we humans find it rather rude when we're told to worship something."

"But I will admit this." spoke up X-ray. The Equestrians shifted focus on the Equines.

"Humans for a long time Alicorns, Unicorns, animated worlds and dragons were myths too. Now look where we are."

"So you're saying there's still a chance for supreme beings to exist?" brightened up Pinkie Pie.

"No. I'm just saying your planet is not a natural occurrence."

"That's maybe because not everything has to follow science." pleaded Fluttershy. "Sometimes, you just have to accept divine intervention. If that's okay with you."

Scorch face palmed with his gloved hands. "For fucks sake, just because a planet seems to be an unnatural occurrence, doesn't mean we have to blame it on a God. There has to be a logical explanation even if doesn't make sense."

"Tell me, what happens when you find out this planet was indeed created by an alicorn?" trivialized Rarity.

"I would still refuse to worship your precious Faust." shook Scarecrow. "Perfection is a quantity. Like how the numbers are infinite, Faust's power would be dwarfed by another, and his power would also seem irrelevant to another."

"So how da ya think dis planet was formed mister enlightenment?" glared Applejack.

"We don't know." admitted Overwatch. "But we're not going to resort to saying god did it."

"But if we truly have no religion, how can ponies be motivated to commit acts of benevolence? Or enjoy the wonders of the world?" questioned Luna.

"Can't you enjoy a garden without wondering if there are fairies in it?" trivialized Scorch. "And don't you have any faith in your ponies to do good without a holy scripture?"

"Not to mention, our Federation is built upon the foundations of skepticism and enlightenment." shrugged X-ray. "Unless you ponies embrace an attitude like that, you're going to lag behind the human race."

The Equestrians were lost in thought. Should they relinquish their beliefs? Shadow already debunked magic. Could they debunk gods? And how could a race with no divine help achieve so much?

Deep down the 4 alicorns guiltily felt that denouncing their divinity would give them a chance at normal life. The thought of being allowed to commit mistakes felt like a paradise.

The Federation messaged Shadow. The 4 humans looked upon the text displayed on their wrist computers.

Good job Shadow. Once they give up their damn fairy tales, they can finally abandon their forever Dark Ages.

"Is something going on?" noticed Rainbow Dash.

"We just got a message from the Federation. It's classified information." muttered Scarecrow.

"Although the influence of the Federation seems, astronomical." laughed Celestia. "Since you humans clearly have no divine leaders, how does your government work?"

"Do we really have to talk about politics?" groaned Pinkie Pie.

"Brighten up, Pinkie. It might actually be interesting for once." encouraged Fluttershy.

"I see none of you enjoy speaking about government affairs." realized Scarecrow.

"The princesses make all the decisions. Why should we think about politics?" flexed Applejack.

"Because politics thinks about you." Perked up X-ray. Politics were his favorite subject. Scorch stole his thunder however.

"Well, we're called the United Terran Federation. United obviously stands for the unity of the human race. Terran represents the fact that we originate from Earth and a Federation represents a system of minor government bodies that respond to one higher power."

"Is Equestria a Federation?" asked Twilight. "All the towns act on the edicts of the princesses."

"Equestria is a nation compromised of cities. It would be a Federal Monarchy if it was made of up of regions with local governments." explained Scorch. "Although the UTF has very little emphasis on the word Federation."

"Care to explain?" inquired Luna.

"Each colony technically has its own local government, but each planet's laws are a solid copy of each other. Whatever the central state dictates, each planet forcibly complies." explained X-ray.

"But doesn't every planet have its own set of needs?" countered Twilight. "Shouldn't laws be made according to the people of each colony?"

"Such a statement should be true, but doesn't work out in the long run and hampers the greater good." shook Scorch.

"Humans are spread across light years of space! Wouldn't it be better for each planet to take care of itself?" piped up Pinkie Pie.

"With the technology we humans have developed, near instant communication is as natural as breathing." trivialized X-ray. "It's extremely easy for the executives of Earth to transmit orders and law enforcement throughout the galaxy. We don't need local powers."

"Furthermore, it would divide humanity further. As if we need our progressive laws to be distributed at random." spat Scorch. "Plus, in any Federation, the regions have the right to secede and if we legalized such a proclamation, we wouldn't be united anymore."

"At least we can agree on that." nodded Celestia. "Unity is fundamental to the premise of achieving order and harmony. Throughout my 1000 years as ruler of Equestria, I've tried to avoid anything that splits my subjects apart."

Shadow looked at each other silently, took a sip of animated water, turned around and spat.

"Who rules a nation for 1000 years other than fucking tyrants?" insulted Scarecrow.

Now Fluttershy fainted.

"How dare ya call Celestia a tyrant!" hissed Applejack.

"I'm sorry, but the fact that somepony has been in power for a thousand years seems rather messed up to me." gritted X-ray.

"Celestia isn't a tyrant! Ponies have been extremely happy under her rule." accused Twilight.

"While it's important for a nation to keep it citizens happy, they still need to be able to achieve the greater good." reminded Scorch. "Monarchies prevent that."

"How do you know? Humans don't have kings and queens." pointed Pinkie Pie.

"We used to." corrected Scarecrow. "A long time ago, the only form of government that was considered stable were monarchies with kings and queens. Unfortunately, they were often autocratic and were very slow to embrace new ideas."

"Maybe that's because the status quo is supposed to help preserve harmony. Violating it would lead to misery." chanted Rainbow Dash.

"If you believe in such a statement, you ponies are going to be stuck in this period of eternal renaissance forever." warned Overwatch.

"What's the renaissance?" asked Applejack.

"It's a time period that predated the Enlightenment and a period you are trapped in." explained X-ray. "If ponies had some sense of progression, they would have an enlightenment and realize that kings and queens don't cut it."

"So what happened when the humans decided to give up on royalty?" beamed Cadance.

"A lot of them were overthrown in revolutions." answered Scorch.

The pink alicorn's eyes shot open.

"So without kings and queens making dire decisions, how do humans govern themselves?" asked Rarity.

"Before unification, each human nation had its distinct style of governing." began Scarecrow.

"We humans are what you call a social technocracy." continued X-ray. "A social technocracy is a form of government that emphasizes a representative technocracy under a rule of law with a mixed economy."

"I did not get one bit of that." smiled Pinkie Pie.

"What's a technocracy? Rule by machines?" pondered Twilight.

"A technocracy is a form of government in which power is invested onto the hands with the highest intelligence or qualification for office." explained Scorch.

"So humans award power on intelligence?" checked Fluttershy.

"Exactly, we don't want retards making important decisions do we?" laughed Scarecrow. "Although by intelligence, we mean how qualified you are for a certain position. To work in politics, you need to be an intellectual in law, relations and political science. To be a botanist, you need to have a perfect understanding in plant life. Do you follow?"

"Dat seems like a shallow way to put humans in power." shook Applejack.

"Well it's a better method then handing power to an offspring who could be completely unqualified nor have the desire to command a nation." snorted X-ray. "The main reason why humans did away kingdoms is because the common people would have no influence or chance to have a say in how their lives should be governed."

"I agree." nodded Celestia.

Scarecrow pointed a finger. "Now listen bitc-. Wait what?"

"I agree." repeated Celestia. "Those who become princesses or prince need to earn their position. There is a royal who has refused to dine with us named Blueblood who is a relative of mine. Even though he was born with noble blood, he has no position due to his arrogance."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "And don't you remember? I wasn't born into nobility. My parents were common ponies. I earned my position after I displayed my desire to help others."

"I'm not even Celestia's niece. I rose to alicorn hood after I used the element of magic to save a village." remarked Cadance.

Shadow was dumb struck.

"Well this changes everything." voiced Overwatch.

"But doesn't that make you a meritocracy rather than a theocracy?" pointed X-ray.

"We're a combination of both, although seeing as how you've rudely shattered our religious views, I don't think theocracy is a proper term now." sighed Luna.

Rarity fixed her dress as she spoke. "Aren't humans a meritocracy too? Seeing as how you have to earn your position."

"A meritocracy is based on achievement and it's a very loose term. What defines merit is ambiguous. If we followed the classical representation of the word however, it would be based on wealth and accomplishments." shook X-ray.

"A technocracy is blind to all but intellectual credibility." boasted Scorch.

"But choosing rulers on fancy mathematics and sciences is kinda shallow." countered Applejack.

"And that is why you'd be in the bottom of human society. Technocracies don't tolerate ignorance." warned Scarecrow.

"Applejack has a point." stammered Fluttershy. "Leaders should be kind and caring."

"Leaders should be able to get the job done. Just because someone is nice and cares, doesn't mean they should be allowed to decide for the nation if they don't know shit about politics." defended Scorch.

"If humans look on intelligence alone, you do realize that your leader may not have any interest in serving the people." mentioned Twilight.

Shadow squad laughed hard, so did Overwatch.

"There are so many fail safes in human government that tyranny is impossible." laughed Scarecrow.

"We're not talking about tyranny, we're talking about rulers who care about the people." sighed Rainbow Dash.

"I don't think it would be accurate for our politicians to be called rulers." shook X-ray. "Besides, it's a representative technocracy. The government officials need to have the interests of the people in mind and we humans believe that true intellectuals choose situations that have the most favorable outcome for the most number of people."

"I could have sworn you humans would have been a representative democracy." admitted Celestia.

The mouths of the humans dropped. "You know what a democracy is?" gulped Scarecrow.

"We have mayors for each city. Duh." reminded Applejack.

The humans were thinking the same thing.

"Do any of the mayors have any power to instill laws and proclamations?" questioned Scorch.

"I'm afraid not. The only thing power they have is just to enforce the will of the monarchy." corrected Luna.

"Oh. Not too different from pre enlightenment towns then." realized Scarecrow.

"As for a democracy. We humans have realized that it's not such a great system considering all of them commit suicide at the end of the day." snorted X-ray.

"How can a democracy commit suicide?" began Pinkie. Right before she could rant-

"The problem with a democracy is that it is rule of the majority and the will of the majority will overwhelm the minority." explained Scorch.

"In a representative democracy, people have to elect officials. And voters are stupid." laughed Scarecrow.

"But what about having faith in people?" whispered Fluttershy.

"The problem with a representative democracy is that voters can easily be influenced and often don't vote based on the general skill of the candidate." informed X-ray. "A lot of times, the ones who are truly good are ignored and we won't know if a politician is truly skilled to handle the government until it is too late."

"I guess that makes sense." agreed Twilight.

"The UTF decides its leaders by going over the knowledge base of applicants for office and deciding whether or not they're fit to handle their position regardless of wealth, gender, race, or popularity. All they need to do is get the job done for the greater good." explained Scorch.

"And what if they're poor rulers?" challenged Cadance.

"They they are to be evicted from office immediately. Eviction usually occurs if the politician fails to comply to the constitution of the Federation." replied Scarecrow.

"What's a constitution?" asked Shining Armor

"A constitution is a document that expresses the fundamental rights of people and government. Basically what we can and can not do. It is the ultimate tool to limit government and guarantee people their rights." responded X-ray.

"Why would humans listen to a piece of paper rather than a ruler?" asked Rarity.

"Because power can corrupt a human. You can't just give someone the ability to dictate a country without any restraint." answered Scorch.

"Why? Celestia ruled for one thousand years and we're all happy." added Pinkie Pie.

"Just because you're happy doesn't mean any progress has been made." piped up Overwatch. "Does anypony even realize how fragile the Equestrian government system is?"

"Overwatch knows what he's talking about." contemplated Scarecrow. "If ponies have no say in the Equestrian government, then what is going to stop the of you from passing laws that would shatter the nation?"

Celestia rolled her eyes. "We told you before, rulers in Equestria are selected by benevolence and with the 4 of us in power, the chances of passing a heinous law are negligible."

"Power should be divided as far as possible. If all 4 of your alicorns turn malevolent, they'll be no possible way for Equestrians to challenge you." warned Scorch.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "So how do you humans organize power?"

"There are 3 main branches in human government. The executive, legislative and judicial branch." started X-ray. "The executive branch is compromised of the president who acts as the representative of humanity and commander of the armed forces. The legislative branch is the law making group of the humanity that is compromised up various commissions such as defense, civil rights, economy and agriculture. Each commission can have up to 50 to 100 technocratically appointed members. The judicial branch handles all the crime and punishment."

Scarecrow crossed his arms. "And since politicians can only hold power for 10 years maximum one person rising to power as a dictator is completely futile."

"Wait, humans are limited in how long they can serve office?" asked Celestia. "What about officials that are popular?"

"We're not a democracy and new ideas are necessary to ensure the greater good. Having the same ruler for a surplus amount of time creates stagnation as demonstrated by Equestria." smirked X-ray.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to have a select few making all the decisions?" yawned Rainbow Dash.

"That would be a train ticket to tyranny. Power corrupts humans." exhaled Scorch.

"Besides, rather than having 4 ponies make decisions on every single political aspect of a nation, wouldn't it be easier to leave it to a group who are professionals about a certain topic? You'd get much more done and make sure only the best laws are put into position." added Scarecrow.

"And it's safer to assume that 4 ponies are likely to be incompetent leaders rather than the thousands of politicians we utilize at once." laughed X-ray.

"Another aspect of human politics are the political parties." added Scorch.

"Party!" cheered Pinkie Pie.

"It's not what you think." calmed the demo man. "By party, we mean a political group that shares an ideology and agenda. Those applying for a career in politics such as myself need to either be independent or part of the following groups. There is the Labour party, the Liberal Socialists which I hope to join, Statism Individualists which our current president is affiliated with and the Technocentrists."

"Those sound like the same thing." noted Celestia.

"Yeah, they're all center left political ideologies. There's really no division." shrugged X-ray. "When the UTF constitution was created, it was made by officials who were from labour parties so there are no ways for conservatives or libertarians to pass laws without being rendered unconstitutional. It's not fair, but that's what happens. Barely any human supports centrist or right leaning ideologies."

"But aren't humans following the same ideology over and over again? What about stagnation?" reminded Rarity.

"The left leaning politics generally encourage social change. When something relating to progressive reform comes up, it's usually passed." assured Scarecrow.

Twilight straightened her dress. "Hold on if the president who's like your ruler can't make any laws, then what does he or she do?"

"Our current president is named Michael Thabo and he's not a ruler." moaned Scorch. "Humanity's politicians are bound to the same constitution and laws they create. They break the law or pass inhumane laws, they're out and their unconstitutional edicts are repealed."

"Another reason the 23rd was created was to act as a failsafe in the impossible event of a dictatorship was installed. We'd take out its leaders and make sure a government based on constitutional rights would be placed." brought up X-ray.

"But shouldn't soldiers be loyal to their rulers?" accused Shining Armor.

"Soldiers should be loyal to the law and the people." corrected Scarecrow. "Nobody and nopony should be above another. I get the feeling your guards refuse to question the alicorns."

"Of course! We swore loyalty to them." defended the white stallion.

"Well what if they told you to jump off a cliff or arrest somepony without due warrant?" interrogated X-ray.

"Why would I order that?" beamed Cadance.

"It's the universe damn principle." said Scorch. "By the way, why are all the guards one color and bigger than the other stallions like Davenport and Noteworthy?"

"Oh. Some stallions have the chance into growing to a more stockier build. We're called big brother stallions."

"On the other hoof, some mares like me and Fleur grow more slender builds. We're called big sister mares." added Cadance.

"Charming." muttered Overwatch.

"But what about my question? What are the duties of the president?" yelled Twilight.

"The job of the president is to enforce laws and represent the Federation to our enemies." stated Scarecrow.

"Enemies?" gapsed Fluttershy.

Scorch rolled his eyes. "Well duh. You think the Federation doesn't have any enemies?"

"Why would a single government have enemies." asked Applejack.

"There will always be dissidents." implied Overwatch.

"Anyway, you should probably know about the UTF's social and economic views." implied Scarecrow. "The UTF has a very hands off stance when it comes to social issues and is mostly focused on human rights. You know, the right not to be tortured, the right to freedom of speech, the right to private and personal property, the right not to be discriminated based race, gender and sexual preference, the right for a women to get an abortion-"

"You allow women to get abortions?" squealed Rarity.

Scorch knitted his eyebrows "Yeah. Why?"

"How could ya legalize somethin' lak dat?" scolded Applejack.

"Because sometimes women get pregnant accidentally." said X-ray in a laughing voice.

"So you'd kill a defenseless fetus?" gasped Fluttershy.

X-ray swore in Armenian. "Oh universe. Not this fucking argument."

"Look a fetus isn't scientifically a person until it is born." explained Scarecrow calmly.

Celestia scowled. "But aren't you denying a human the right to be born?"

"Some fetuses maybe shouldn't be born." implied Scorch.

"Why not? Every person has the right to live." gasped Pinkie Pie.

Overwatch stood from his seat. "What about cases of rape, incest or high infant morality? Is it not wrong to prevent an unwanted child to be born in the long run? For the sake of the greater good and to avoid any unnecessary complication, I'd go with the latter."

The ponies were at a silence.

"Look we know it's a senesitve subject and every side has its points, but we're males and we don't know shit about women's reproduction, so we're not technocratically entitled to change the UTF's stance." assured Scarecrow.

"Next you'll be telling me that you humans legalize drugs." grinned Luna.

"Actually we legalized marijuana at the cost of banning tobacco. We also legalized premarital sex because some humans like fucking for pleasure." smiled Scorch.

"Do humans have the right to own weapons to defend themselves?" asked Shining Armor.

"Of course not, how are we supposed to inflict police brutality if they can shoot us back?" laughed Scorch.

"Speaking of brutality, the Federation has also banned the death penalty." remembered X-ray.

"I thought a race like humanity would have hard on crime." revealed Luna.

Scarecrow crossed his arms. "Oh just because the UTF likes enlisting aggressive serial killers into the military? I'll have you know, we're pretty progressive in the court. Every human has the right to a trial and jury and you'll not believe how well our prisoners are treated."

"But they're dirty criminals." spat Applejack.

"The goal of the judicial branch is to avenge crimes, not punish others." defended X-ray.

Scarecrow took a bite out of his pasta. "As for the UTF's economic views, we're more or less a mixed economy of socialism and capitalism."

"What's capitalism?" asked Applejack. "Heard you 4 throw the word around a lot."

"Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production are controlled by individuals." explained Scorch.

"So it's like the system in Equestria." pointed Celestia.

"Exactly. Socialism is an economic system developed by Karl Marx in which the means of production were owned by the government. The term also relates to the idea of welfare to the common people." added X-ray.

"That isn't fair! Ponies are perfectly capable of making money government intervention!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Such a statement is true, but capitalism comes with serious draw backs if left unregulated." sighed Scarecrow.

"How so?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Because capitalism is the magical belief that if left alone, people will magically want to do good. Money is one of the main factors that corrupt individuals." warned X-ray.

"How so? We all have our own businesses and we've turned out fine." pointed Rarity. "Government never had to intervene in my business."

"The main problem with free enterprise is that it's all about profits." pointed Scorch.

"Yeah, what's the problem with making money?" smiled Pinkie Pie.

"Individuals can resort to questionable methods to make money." expressed X-ray. "For example, the Apple family controls the entire monopoly of Apple productions. It also seems every time a new business opens up in Ponyville that challenges the existing establishment, it's always run down the next day."

"Dat's because we can' risk loosing our businesses. Better 'em then us." defended Applejack.

"A main economic issue we humans had during the 2020's was corporations and businesses growing too much in power." told Scarecrow. "Because they had bought out every business that opposed them, there was no way for individuals to support themselves unless they worked in the mega conglomerates."

"What's so negative about that? At least they're being provided work." said Twilight.

"Not really. CEOs would often ship their production facilities to countries where they could exploit the lack of labour laws to minimize costs for labour and maximize their profits." countered Scorch.

"That's called playing smart." defended Rainbow Dash.

"That's called being a greedy prick!" yelled Scarecrow. "The rich grew richer and the poor grew poorer."

"Well that is the reward for hard work and the cost of laziness!" remarked Rarity.

X-ray almost spat. "What hard work? The CEOs of a company merely stood behind their fancy desks an exploited a system that relied on others doing the heavy lifting."

"Ma family does all the heavy liftin' in our business!" pointed Applejack.

"Doesn't matter. You're still depriving other farmers the chance to start their own business." shook Scorch. "And given the lack of your family's educational skills, you're conglomerate is bound to implode and take the farming community with it, The main problem with capitalism is when government has to rely on private corporations to secure a nation's economy. One influential enterprise fails, the system goes down."

"Couldn't a government just bail out the enterprise? We've had to do so many times." spoke up Luna.

"Why should a government waste money on a rich guy's incompetence when they could be helping the mass people?" replied Scarecrow. "All it would do is ensure a wide gap between rich and poor."

"You're being absurd." insulted Rarity.

"Absurd?" repeated X-ray. "Look out the fucking window! The high and mighty Canterlot nobles basically own every enterprise in Equestria and spit on the lower classes who work their flanks off for them."

"So how do you humans handle the economy? Make everyone earn the same amount of money and let the government just handle everything?" insulted Twilight.

"We're not communists dumbass." gritted Scarecrow. "The way the government avoids major economic downfalls is by controlling the means of production that are absolutely necessary for human survival like power, food and water production. Since corporations do not have an influence on those vital fields, humanity won't have to suffer in the event of a single individual's incompetence. Further more, it's not focused on profits so we can make sure costs are reasonable."

"What if the government fails?" challenged Rainbow Dash.

The members of Shadow turned red. Scorch raised his voice.

"The production the government controls is headed by technocratic experts. Not money seeking CEOs. The chances of failure are abysmal. Besides, we're spread across hundreds of planets, as if we're going to run out of resources."

"What about other industries like fashion and technology?" questioned Rarity.

X-ray flexed his gloved hands. "Those are handled by not so private enterprises. The government frequently regulates conglomerates to make sure they pay they their taxes, adhere to labour rights and often stimulate their growth. That way, corporations won't have any noticeable influence on the government and the Federation won't have to bail them out."

"And where does the government spend it's money?" asked Celestia.

Scarecrow looked at his wrist computer to gain access to the spending rates of the Federation. "Since we're a technocracy, we mostly spend money on education to a point where there's a lack of private schools. There's also free healthcare and welfare for the needy. There's also a strong on colonial efforts like space ships and terraformers."

"What about the military? You humans sure have pretty unique ways of killing." noted Cadance.

"The military receives 10% of government aid. When you focus on education, you create geniuses who know how to make Weapons of Mass Destruction for cheap." muttered Overwatch.

"Nice to know." shook Shining Armor.

"And why mostly focus on education?" beamed Luna.

"Because a productive public is an intelligent public. Focusing on education allows every human the chance to a respectable career. Hell, all the lower end jobs like janitor, taxi driver, barber, and waiter are just part time careers or college students looking to make an extra buck." laughed Scarecrow.

"But why would the government hand out free healthcare?" beamed Applejack.

"Because access to medicine is a basic human right and like hell is the private sector going to focus on actually curing people rather than making money." informed Scorch.

"But what about welfare, isn't that bailing people out?" accused Rainbow Dash.

"Not really, it's meant to help those who can't work. The government keeps a strong track of who welfare goes too. We don't tolerate free loaders." assured X-ray.

"And how does the government fund all these programs?" inquired Celestia.

Scarecrow looked at Celestia as if she asked a stupid question.

"Taxes of course. Doesn't Equestria have a tax system?"

"We do not wish to burden our civilians with such a grievance." shook Luna. "Since the government lacks any programs and just leaves it to the private sector, we do not need much funding."

"Well it's the opposite for us humans. We have a progressive income tax to help fund our economic safety net. The proletariat pays little in taxes while the rich tend to pay massive amounts. That way, we can make sure that there's a low amount of economic inequality and no tension between the classes." explained X-ray.

"But why work had if you're going to be taxed more? You wouldn't be making any more money." sated Pinkie Pie.

Scorch gave a slight yawn. "The Federation isn't retarded. While the rich are still taxed at high rates, their profits are so large that taxes only take away a pebble of their wealth."

"What about those who refuse to pay taxes?" asked Rarity. "I know the Canterlot nobles have a philosophy of keeping your own money."

"You have to pay taxes it's the law." shrugged Overwatch.

"But what if you don't?" repeated Fluttershy.

"You get jailed until you comply." stated Scarecrow.

"You look people up in horrible prisons just because they don't won't to give their money over? That's selfish and cruel." scolded Twilight.

"For starters, we use the Nordic system of jailing so in no way are our prisons anything like your inhumane dungeons. And second, isn't it greedy to not want to give up a small portion of your money to make sure that society is safe and secure for the greater good?" challenged Scorch.

"Ah still don't agree with da idea that the government forces ya ta pay for other people's well being. If people can't take care of themselves, so be it. They otta work hard and not bother you. If ah couldn't take care of ma self, I wouldn' bother others askin' ta help me." snorted Applejack.

"You'd make a shitty element of generosity." mocked X-ray. "If it were up to you, we'd all be on our own with the rich strangling the poor."

"Although I will admit that our government can go crazy with regulation." acknowledged Scarecrow.

"Sometimes the UTF will get so nervous about a corporation that has no interest in replacing them and just buy out the enterprise from the CEOs and make it's employees work for them. So many famous corporations seized to exist because of this practice."

"And what did that change for the businesses?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Absolutely nothing except satisfy the UTF's overinflated paranoia." laughed Scorch.

"Although, it does give our government a way of making money without taxation and keep prices for products under control." reminded X-ray.

"If the government controls everything, wouldn't there be no desire to innovate and make better products for profit?" inquired Luna.

Scarecrow thought about it for a moment. "That would be true under a normal socialistic government, but since we're a technocracy, businesses become about innovation than profit."

"So all of humanity is cool with these economic and political practices?" checked Cadance.

Shadow burst into laughter.

"Of course not. Otherwise we wouldn't have insurrectionists running about." chuckled X-ray.

"Who are the terrorists you face anyway?" asked Twilight.

Scarecrow cleared his throat. "Right now, there are three major threats to the Federation. Mega Corp, the Planet's Rights Movement and Neo Fascists. "

"The Planet's Rights Movement is a separatist group that seeks for their respective colony to secede from the Federation." started X-ray.

"What's so bad about wanting independence if the people want it?" accused Pinkie Pie.

"For staters the PRM might be loud, but they're minor. There aren't enough supporters on each planet for it to be considered a democratic secession. And remember, we're not democratic. It would also have an extreme negative effect on the greater good. The UTF doesn't deal kindly with treason and we would abandon a planet if it abandoned us. As a result, the planet would collapse due to the fact that all colonies rely on each other. And like we said, it would only divide humanity further, so like we need planets engaging in interstellar war with each other." explained the rifleman.

"But why would you have to kill them if all they ask for is independence?" beamed Celestia.

"How are we supposed to ignore those who bomb government buildings and commit civilian massacres to threaten the government to allow them to secede?" gritted Overwatch.

"They would do that?" whispered Fluttershy.

"They make Sombra sound like a playground bully." said Cadance.

"Oh please. The Fascists are worse!" yelled Scorch. "They're filled with racist, sexist, homophobes who in the extermination as to what they see as the inferior races. Fascists torture and lock up minorities in death camps where the worst things you could ever imagine happen."

"What! How could humans think killing and torturing based on race is right?" teared Rainbow Dash.

"Some people are just messed up like that. What's scary is that nobody becomes a Fascist. You join them willingly." exhaled the demo man. "At least they're number is negligible and lack access to technology on par with the UTF."

"Finally, we have Mega Corp. They're our most prominent enemy." introduced Scarecrow. "They're basically a mercenary group that uses terror to loosen the grip the UTF has on the economy and make laws allowing for corporate voice."

"Well maybe if you just loosened yer lasso on the economy, ya wouldn't have ta face 'em." suggested Applejack.

"Not really, Mega Corp was in fact created easily due to a lack of government supervision at the time." responded X-ray.

"But fighting to loosen the grip on the economy is a noble statement." remarked Rarity. "People should be allowed to do business without the constant fear of surveillance."

Scarecrow snickered. "Oh please if Mega Corp had they're way, we'd be living in the Industrial Revolution where we'd be ruled by greedy business men like the Canterlot nobles who'd force the proletariat to work for them in horrible conditions just so they can make money. Economic inequality would be through the roof, labour rights would be gone, and so would civil rights and the environment in the name of profit."

"Bedsides, if they want to prove the private sector is innocent, then maybe they should refrain from using obsessive violence. If anything, we need to regulate business more if we're going to stop terrorists from forming." added Scorch.

"Who funds them anyway?" asked Twilight.

"Anonymous corporations and people." revealed X-ray. "The UTF has arrested a lot of people with suspected ties to MC, but due to our progressive judicial system, it's not that bad. On the other hand, the Federation has looked into various conglomerates to make sure they aren't funding MC and while they've been successful in some cases, they don't want to risk upsetting enterprises into incidentally funding MC further."

"That makes sense, if you don't want a dog to harm you, why anger it?" nodded Luna.

"Because said dog will rip you to shreds if it doesn't know its place." growled Overwatch.

The conversation ended at that statement. The Equestrians were beginning to realize that meeting with humanity could result in the disappearance of their traditional values.

The Federation observing the event however, had no tolerance for theocracies that ignored the greater good for the sake of happiness.

Fluttershy broke the silence. "Can we please talk about something else where we won't be arguing. If that's okay with you?"

"Actually Fluttershy, I think we're in a fun night for debate." smiled Scarecrow.

-----------------

(UTF propaganda)

(No I am not convincing you to join them)

Author's Notes:

On one hand my readers wants to see ponies go down, on the other they want Shadow to be nice. Choose one.

Chapter 30: Recreation

MORE UTF PROPAGANDA: (Damn socialists. Derp.)

-----------------

"Come on there's bound to be something we can talk about without arguing." pleaded Fluttershy. "If that's okay with you."

"I don't think so." laughed Scarecrow who flexed his blond hair. "Humans and ponies are as different as Black and White."

"Nonsense." insisted Rarity. "There are numerous peaceful subjects that we can discuss civilly without one side getting too barbaric. Such as the arts or notable human celebrities."

X-ray laughed. "Celebrities? Go back to 2013. One of the reasons human society was so ignorant back then is because people paid too much attention to elitist pricks who contributed nothing to society other than reality shows."

"But wouldn't you want to know about your favorite musicians or the rich are up too just for fun?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Celebrity news is just fucking prole feed to keep the working man away from the real issues of the galaxy or things that that matter." cursed Scorch. "In technocratic societies, we humans like focusing on issues like war, awesome innovation and injustice, not what some rich bitch bought with her millions of money."

"You humans do have a distrust of the wealthy." noted Celestia.

"Sorry, I guess we're still bitter over the fact they're funding mercenaries to force the UTF to get rid of labour rights like minimum wage and safety conditions." whined Scarecrow.

"Well I agree." piped up Twilight. "We should be focusing on things that matter to a society and affects them all rather than a group of people who get everything hoofed over to them."

"To be fair, we do have a lot of artists that we're fond of, but we don't need the media constantly showering them with attention unless they do something useful." revealed X-ray.

"I on the other hoof know for a fact that I wouldn't go two days without knowing the latest dirt on somepony." laughed Rarity. "I don't find my self looking at scientific pursuits in my free time."

"And that is why you'd be vilified in human technocracy." mocked Scorch.

"Come on, I'm sure humans don't like having to think all the time. Aren't there moments where humans just want to kick back and have fun?" questioned Rainbow Dash

"Of course. We humans, or at least the Federation, doesn't encourage humanity wasting time on irrelevant subjects." defended Scarecrow. "A lot of humans enjoy using the computer to pass the time."

"Computer?" repeated Luna.

X-ray took a deep breath "A computer is a machine that is programed to process various arithmetic or logical functions. It is compromised of RAM which dictates how many operations it can do at once, a GPU which allows it to display information in a visual sense and a processor which affects the speed at which it can carry commands."

Scarecrow grinned and pointed at his wrist computer. "Basically these. Although computers can come in all sizes and some are operated by physical buttons or neural interfaces rather than touch screens which sense motion."

"I still don't get it." shook Cadance.

"Well you ponies haven't even gone through a technological revolution yet, not our fault you can't understand." shrugged Scorch. "Anyway, a computer is basically a device that lets us view and take pictures, record videos, read virtual books and go on the internet."

"What's the internet?" sighed Fluttershy.

"The internet is a system of interconnected networks that allow computer users to transmit data towards each other." ranted X-ray.

Overwatch face palmed. "Basically, we use the internet to see what others are doing. Humans spend a lot of time of on networks as source for entertainment."

"What do you do on this internet?" questioned Luna.

"One of the primary things we do on it is log onto social networks like Fedbook."

Before X-ray could speak, Scorch elbowed him in the gut and spoke. "A social network is basically a virtual place for humans to share information about each other and chat."

"Oh so it's like going to the park and having a chat." smiled Pinkie Pie.

"Kind of. But virtual and you can socialize in the comfort of your home." replied Scarecrow.

"Why wouldn't you rather do it physically?" inquired Twilight.

Scorch crossed his arms. "I don't know, maybe because we're spread apart by light years of space?"

The purple mare blushed.

"And it's generally more convenient." shrugged Scorch.

"Another recreational activity we humans do is play video games." added X-ray. "A video game uses a device to display a virtual scenario on a visual interface that requires human interaction through a control system in order for the simulation to play out."

"So it's like playing sports, puzzles and monopony?" checked Twilight.

"Except virtually." nodded Scarecrow. "Sometimes, people play games on computers or on devices dedicated entirely to the activity such as a Fedbox 630."

"But why no play the games physically?" beamed Celestia. "It's better than just sitting around behind a display."

"Because the simulations encountered in video games provide a form of escapism and allow you to play with friends far away. Not every game is something you can do in real life." defended X-ray.

"For example you can't just drive cars at high speeds without being arrested, play as a detective trying to save the world from an insane clown without any trauma, or be a knight in shining armor in real life and just slay a dragon." exemplified Scorch.

"Actually you can do the last part here." pointed Shining Armor.

"Yeah, but odds are a human kid would get his ass kicked in real life." countered Scorch.

"We on the other hand, are generally too busy to for any recreational activities, but when we have free time, we really like playing first person shooters." remarked Scarecrow. "A first person shooter generally involves the player taking the role of a person and gunning down various enemies."

"There are games based on killing?" gasped Celestia.

Overwatch nodded. "They're fun."

"Why would somebody enjoy a game based on slaughter? That's cruel!" cried Rarity.

"Because it's virtual. Nobody physcialy dies in a video game, you just come back to life. Programs aren't real." assured X-ray.

"What was somepony get out of a killing simulation?" spat Rainbow Dash.

"I swear, you speak like my mother." sighed the rifleman. "Shooters and any violent video games offer hours of entrainment like a board game. Besides, the good ones are often played for the story telling aspect rather than the killing."

"But won't games like that encourage violence?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"Of course not! Violent video games are pure fiction." insisted Scarecrow. "People aren't stupid and they're well aware that you can't take up arms and gun down a terrorist groups, corrupt politicians and evil militas and get out alive with the use of insanely advanced technology?"

The ponies stared at the humans.

"What?"

"The 4 of you do that." pointed Twilight.

"Oh yeah we do." remembered Scorch. "It doesn't change anything though. There is a huge difference between murder in a video game where death isn't traumatizing versus killing in real life which is extremely serious."

"Anyway, another thing we humans like to do when passing the time is talking to each other on phones which are mobile devices that deliver and receive wireless radio waves that send audio messages to another respective device instantaneously. In order to ensure quick communication amongst colonies, transmissions sent by phones are strong enough to rip space time and make sure the message reaches a planet in seconds without universal time dilation. This allows for communication with people in far away environments without delay." burst X-ray.

"That boy has issues." shook Applejack.

"Ya think?" responded Overwatch.

"So in the end, we humans use an application on our touch screen or neural operated tablets to allow us to talk to others without actually being there. It's a great way to catch up with relatives who live on other colonies." smiled Scorch.

"But wouldn't it take a long time for the message to be sent to another person?" muttered Twilight.

"Not really. I can do a call right now to the planet Requiem which is 80 light years away." demonstrated Scarecrow. "Watch as I talk to someone without being there."

Scarecrow took out his wrist computer and dialed a number. The Equestrians watched with great interest and listened to the beeping. Suddenly, the beeping stopped.

"Hello?" called Scarecrow. The Equestrians heard a faint reply come from the device.

"Yeah it's me."

"My situation is Victor Gamma."

--------

"Victor Gamma?" whispered Pinkie Pie.

"That's military for 'very good'." informed Scorch.

---------

"I'm afraid I'm too busy."

"Negative. I'm not engaging any enemies. I'm on planetary recon."

Suddenly Scarecrow got angry. "I apologize, but I can not comply with that order."

".......Yeah? Well FUCK YOU!"

Scarecrow hung up.

The ponies dropped their mouths. The regal manes of the mares split.

"Who were you talking to?" blurted Rainbow Dash.

"My mom." relaxed Shadow's commander. In no way were the ponies going to question him further.

"Wow, with phones, I wouldn't need to send Celestia a letter anymore." said Twilight.

"Don't say that out loud. As if Spike needs to think he'll be replaced." joked Rainbow Dash.

"What does Spike have to do with sending letters?" inquired Scorch. "Twilight can perform telekinesis."

"Spike is Twilight's assistant so he often writes Twilight's letters to Celestia and sends them to her with his fire breath." explained Rarity.

"Well that plausible considering the breath of a purple dragon is strong enough to generate heat stronger than the shade of violet which is sufficient enough to burn space time and teleport objects." nodded X-ray.

"He's not gonna stop is he?" sighed Pinkie Pie.

"Although, you ponies are unlikely to use mobile phones considering that you all live in one close nation where all of your friends are in the some town. Furthermore, our phones either require fingers or human neurology to work." warned Scarecrow.

"Moving on, what's another thing you humans do for fun?" questioned Celestia.

"Well, we really enjoy watching movies." flexed Scorch. "It's like a theatrical play, only recorded by cameras, digitally edited on computers and viewed from within a television." explained Scorch.

"What's a television? You're not making this easier." beamed Twilight.

"Well a television is an electronic device that receives and transmits data of moving pictures and sound from various sources and displays them on a screen." explained X-ray. "It's like a projector which you ponies probably have, although the modern television displays videos and pictures in a colored format rather than monochrome and can access numerous broadcast signals at once."

The ponies gave X-ray a quizzical look.

"Like we were saying, many humans enjoy watching movies to pass the time. There are many genres of film, like comedies, fantasy and action." exemplified Scarecrow.

"What do you humans enjoy watching?" asked Rarity. "I know myself that I like a good old fashioned drama play."

"We're into drama ourselves." agreed Scorch. "Although you're probably into romantic ones while we're interested in ones regarding social issues and injustice."

"I don't like those plays. Too dark and controversial for my taste." shook Pinkie Pie.

"Well films and plays like that are one of the greatest places to find true acting and experience philosophy." defended Scarecrow.

"Although there are times when we just like stupid fun and watch sci fi action although modern society is sci fi compared to the origin of the word." laughed X-ray.

"I've seen a few action plays. They're not that good." warned Shining Armor. "They aren't mean to give you an illusion of conflict and violence."

"When you watch a film, you're not seeing the actors play it live like in a play. Films are often recorded in various sets rather than a stage over a course of months. The use of computers allows movies to be edited so the scenario displayed in action movies will make you think you're actually seeing explosions and people getting shot on a battlefield." explained the counter terrorist.

"But won' dat make it look realistic?" checked Applejack.

"Kind of." shrugged Scorch as he twisted his pale blond hair.

"But wouldn't watching violent films in that case be indistinguishable form real violence? What kind of sadist would watch that?" sneered Luna.

"For starters, some action films are generally great pieces of art!" defended Scarecrow.

"How is watching a film about senseless killing art?" insulted Celestia.

X-ray crossed his arms "Senseless killing? A lot of action films have meaningful stories and themes that often aren't brought down by fake blood and gore and fictional people dying. And like we said with video games, it's a form of escapism that's totally different from the real thing."

"But don't these aggressive genres expose youths to a culture of violence?" questioned Cadance.

Overwatch groaned. "Just because entertainment has violent scenes doesn't meant it will encourage violent acts."

"You enjoy those types of entertainment and look where you 4 ended up!" squealed Fluttershy.

"For staters, if children are watching films meant for frown ups, it's the parents fault for being a retard." began Scorch. "Second films and games with violent scenes are given to adolescents at least who are perfectly capable of telling the difference between imaginary death and real death."

"Finally, we didn't join the 23rd because we watch violent films. We jointed because we're the only humans who are capable of killing without forming any negative thoughts." added Scarecrow. "We've had our condition since birth. Before we watched violent films."

"You know, you humans sure do spend a lot of time with technological ways of recreation." pointed Rainbow Dash.

"That's right. We humans always find ways to keep ourselves informed and entertained with technology." smiled Scorch.

"It certainly can't be healthy for you humans to be staring at a screen at all times." noted Rarity.

"That's why we invented medicine to take care of issues like that." countered X-ray.

Celestia took a sip of her tea. "But shouldn't you humans spend time out doors doing acts physically? You seem to be rather insistent that machines do all the entrainment for you."

"And I really, don't like the idea of sitting in a room, being distracted by technology from the wonders true art would provide. It could take away time from important tasks." glared Cadance.

"Okay, you have no right to disavow computers as a form of entertainment." stated Scarecrow. "Throughout human history, the most popular form of entertainment will always be mocked as degrading and not true art. Now it's holograms and virtual reality, before it was the internet, before it was video games, then it was television, then it was radio, then it was reading. The first thing to be mocked as false art were plays."

"Why would plays and reading be mocked?" remarked Twilight.

"Because it was new at a certain point. New forms of entertainment will always have its vilifiers so our government encourages its civilians not to give in to the hypocrisy and embrace new forms of art." muttered X-ray.

"But what about playin' outside? Don't ya humans do dat anymore?" gulped Applejack.

"During the second dark ages which was between 2000-2030, humanity had a serious problem where we started relying on technology for entertainment rather than physical activity." told Scorch.

"Humans were getting lazy and gained unhealthy bodies." growled Overwatch.

X-ray stroked his black hair. "The UTF foresaw that each generation would rely on virtual systems to provide entertainment. So as a result, the Federation encourages its citizens to dedicate 1 hour of physical activity per day or else."

"Or else what?" asked Fluttershy.

"We don't know. But or else is scary enough to get humans to do it anyway." shrugged Scarecrow. "Although I think you have to pay a fine of some sorts or your income tax increases by 0.005%"

"That's not too bad of a punishment." pointed Luna

"Well despite living in a socialistic government, people can still be rather stingy." chuckled X-ray.

Rainbow Dash got excited. "So what kind of sports do you humans like playing?"

"The 4 of us aren't really sports fans and other than Scorch, we never joined any athletic teams. To social." laughed Scarecrow.

"The problem with human sports is that all, if not most of them require hands and bi-pedal structures to be played." informed X-ray. "Although I heard you ponies have bowling."

"That's true. We told you about it the other day and you freaked out." remembered Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, because it makes no fucking sense for ponies to have a sport that requires a ball to be carried with fingers!" snorted Scorch.

"No need to resort that language!" scolded Celestia. "And it's a fun sport. I enjoy it."

"As for our sports. We have a game called Griffball that requires a team of 6 on 6 wearing cases of protective armor to plant a ball to a goal post. The team that has the ball protects the carrier while the opposition chases the carrier and knocks the ball out of his hands with anti gravity pulses that send the flier distances." explained X-ray.

"Isn't that dangerous?" awed Twilight.

"Not really. It's played by professional adults who wear protective armor. Players claim it doesn't hurt, it just like swimming in another direction." assured Scorch.

"Sports we play in school include dodgeball, which I heard existed even back in the 20th century. Apparently kids, getting loved hit with balls." joked Scarecrow.

X-ray tried to remember the sport humans played "A modern sport we have is mag ball. It requires two teams of 8 passing a metallic ball to each other with magnetized gloves. The opposing team basically has to intercept the ball by attracting it with their magnetic gloves. The catch is that you can't move with ball and to score you need to be standing in the enemy team's goal with the ball in place."

"Sounds like fun! I gotta remember that the next time I throw a party." noted Pinkie Pie.

"Good luck finding magnetic gloves for hooves." chucked Scorch. "Another sport I enjoy playing is hockey."

"Something that should have died out, but Canadians are so insistent on tradition." insulted Scarecrow. "Another thing we humans do to pass time in summer is swim in pools or go biking in parks."

"And bikin' would be?" let on Applejack.

"It's almost like riding a scooter, but don't bother asking about it considering you need to be bi-pedal with hands to operate a bike." disappointed X-ray. "By the way, why does Scootaloo ride scooters?"

"Because it's her talent. Duh." said Rainbow Dash.

"Surely you ponies should've realized that she needs to hold on a grip for safety which requires fingers?" referenced Overwatch. "To be exact, why have scooters if you can't operate them properly?"

"How about the answer of; why not? Are you 4 going to question everything we ponies posses?" stated Luna.

"Only the stuff that doesn't make sense." corrected Scorch. "We humans also like playing board games when we're board of watching movies and playing video games."

"Oh? Like picitonary, chess, scrabble and monopony?" piped up Rarity.

"How do you know what those board games are?" said X-ray.

"Oh, I see you humans have those games too? How splendid." smiled Celestia.

"More like creepy. We've had those games for hundreds of years except monopoly which was banned due to obvious redundant political reasons." stated Scorch.

"Just don't challenge me or X-ray to chess. I'm an expert and X-ray's Armenian, it's in his blood." teased Scarecrow.

"Well, I'm an exceptional chess player myself." smirked Twilight.

"I wouldn't challenge her if were you. If that was okay with you." whispered Fluttershy.

"The last thing I can think of is going to coffee shops like Fedbucks for a quick drink and just relax." finalized Scarecrow.

"So, that's all what we can think of what humans do for fun, what do ponies do for entertainment?" questioned Scorch.

"Well it really depends on the pony you ask." chirped Pinkie Pie. "Our cutie mark kinda represents the activities we do all the time. When we're not going on crazy adventures, I like baking cupcakes, pulling pranks and practical jokes. Don't you humans like pulling pranks."

"Oh man, I remember some really rich ones we pulled together." laughed Rainbow Dash.

"Not really. Pranks are far too immature for our taste. Even when we were kids, practical jokes are viewed as cheap method to gain attention." denied Scarecrow.

"So how do you humans get a laugh?" interrogated Celestia.

"Either through comedic stories or by going to cafes to watch stand up comedy." answered X-ray.

Twilight straightened her mane. "Well, when I have free time, I like to read books. Physical books. Which reminds me, are library's extinct?"

Scarecrow knitted his eyebrows. "Of course not. People still read physical books and libraries offer data pads with preloaded books on them for people to read. Rather than checking out books however, humans just buy codes from librarians to download them on their tablets temporarily or just buy them permentantly. I read myself a lot. After all, I do intend on becoming an author when I'm discharged from service."

Twilight cleared her throat. "When I'm not reading, I live up to my name as the alicorn of magic by practicing all sorts of new spells."

"To me, sewing dresses is my job and my free time." dramatized Rarity. "When I am not doing that however, I make frequent trips to the Ponyville spa. Do human ladies enjoy the same thing?"

"You could say that. Overwatch's sister went to the spa a lot when she still lived on Requiem. As well as our mothers from time to time." acknowledged Scorch.

"When Ah'm not savin' the town form some random mishap, ah'm always workin' on the field buckin' apple trees. Ain't got no time for fun. Mostly" boasted Applejack.

"Can't you get any help to lessen the amount of time you spend on work?" condescended X-ray.

"'Course not. Us Apples gotta do hard work our selves. It's a tradition." remarked the cowpony.

"Typical conservative rednecks." muttered Scarecrow. "Sometimes I wished we crushed you all in the civil war."

The commander received dirty looks from his squad mates.

"Alright, that last part was taking it too far." scolded Scorch.

The commander sincerely agreed with the demo man made an apologetic look.

The ponies, who hadn't heard the insult, continued. "I'm normally taking care of my animals or doing some other activity that involves cute critters to pass the time." whispered Fluttershy. "When I'm with my friends, I just do what they want."

"I on the other hoof practice my flying." gloated Rainbow Dash. "I gotta keep my title as fastest flier in Equestria. Plus, I have to remain trained if I'm gonna join the Wonderbolts."

"And they are?" inquired X-ray.

"They're the most famous flying group in all of Equestria. Only the best fliers are allowed to join them!" exclaimed the Rainbow Maned Pegasus. "If I keep up my current awesomeness, I'll be on their team in know time and...finally have a chance to hook up with Soarin."

As Rainbow Dash formed a dreamy look in her eye, Scarecrow checked a file on the internet.

"The Wonderbolts sound an awful lot like the Air Force's Thunderbolts. They're made up of the greatest pilots in human society and often perform air shows during festivals."

"Do they wear blue and yellow jump suits?" chuckled Twilight.

"Not really, but they have blue and yellow patterned interceptors."

"Whoa! I didn't know there was a human equivalent of the Wonderbolts!" cheered Rainbow Dash. "That is so awesome."

"More like creepy." corrected X-ray. "How long have they been around?"

"Around 100 years or so. I'm a fan too." smiled Pinkie Pie.

"Well the Thunderbolts have been active since the 20th century." informed Scarecrow. "I think it makes sense for pegasai to invent flying teams, but the fact that you share a similar name and pattern is uncanny."

"Don't any of you have those sports teams you're big fans of?" asked Shining Armor.

"We don't like watching sports physically or virtually." sighed Scorch. "We don't really have any preferences. I'm a hockey fan and I'm still unfamiliar with the teams."

"Maybe that's because they're 3 of them in existence from the only cities left in Canada." implied Scarecrow.

"What about the other humans?" brought up Twilight.

X-ray yawned before speaking. "That's a broad term, but many humans still like supporting a team. I heard we humans used to spend millions on athletes but after realizing how redundant hat sounded, we put an end to the practice. The players didn't even care."

"You can't blame them for being rewarded for their talents." whimpered FLuttershy.

"We're not a meritocracy and we don't find the urge to follow up with an athlete unless he or she does something useful." snorted Scarecrow.

Luna raised her muzzle. "That's rather shallow. As for me, I haven't much time for fun. Since I was locked in the moon for 1 thousand years, I have to get aquatinted to the new methods of entertainment."

"I on the other hoof am too preoccupied with running the country and deciphering what evil will threaten our nation next." continued Celestia. "Although I do enjoy eating cake pulling pranks secretly. They often call this part of me, Trollestia."

"Yeah, just don't pull one on us or else we'll be put in a really messed up mood. And you do not want us angry." warned Overwatch.

"Believe me, I don't." assured Celestia.

"When I'm not running the Crystal empire, I usually take strolls with my husband." said Cadance. "Since I'm the Alicorn of love, it is my duty to help out those with marital issues."

"But what we can all agree on is that we love a good old soiree!" cheered Pinkie Pie. "How come you 4 never like partying?"

"It's just our preference." defended X-ray. "The same way it's your reason want to party."

"The truth is, we're not social. In high school, it was just the 4 of us sticking together...and those 9 other guys we hung with." remembered Scorch.

"Are all members of the 23rd anti social?" asked Cadance.

"Of course not. Even when the division has its get togethers, we still hang out in the sidelines." stated Scarecrow.

"The girls of Phantom squad are party animals like Pinkie Pie. And let me tell you, they're willing to take it to really suggestive levels if you know what I mean." winked X-ray.

The Equestrians blushed awkwardly.

"The members of Dusk and Specter squad are rather popular as well when they're not working as counter terrorists." remarked Scorch. "The only the thing we truly share is our inability to feel remorse from violence."

"Also I'm sociophobic, crowds make me really nervous." shivered Scarecrow.

"Remind me to not put you anywhere near large groups of ponies." requested Celestia.

"Trust me, with our luck at parties, we're almost inclined to believe in curses." warned X-ray.

"Come on there's gotta be some stuff you can tell us about kicking it." insisted Twilight in a rough voice.

"Well first you have those really fancy parties with ballroom dancing and all. Really boring." yawned Scarecrow.

"Tell me about it." sighed Celestia.

"I remember this one time where we went to the Grand Galloping Gala and it was a disaster!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

"Well maybe if your realized there was more than one type of party, we wouldn't be in such a situation." insisted Rarity.

"As for types of parties. The kind Pinkie Pie throws is similar to what humans throw.. for children." stammered Scorch.

"Not true, sometimes I bring up dance floors and lighting to age it up." smirked the pink mare.

"Humans do parties for people our age are a lot more mature." laughed Scarecrow. "What a lot of humans our age do is go to night clubs."

"Night clubs?" brightened Luna.

"Those are places we humans go to party throughout the night. I have to admit they're quite exciting." informed Scorch.

Luna formed a dreamy look in her eye. The idea of Ponies staying up all night to celebrate was riveting.

"How are human parties more mature?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"A lot of times there are female strippers who take off their clothes for sexual entrainment."

"How is getting naked sexual?" questioned Twilight.

"Humans are clothed all the time, so it's become an instinct." answered X-ray.

"Why would humans exploit sexual acts during soiree's?" gasped Rarity.

"Humans are in general sexual beings. Unlike ponies, people often have sex for recreation not just reproduction." explained Scarecrow.

"How vulgar." snorted Celestia.

"Also, a lot of humans smoke weed during parties." added Scorch.

Applejack was disgusted. "Why would you do drugs?"

"Pot isn't exactly lethal, in fact it has medical uses. Humans are smart enough to regulate how much they take in." defended X-ray.

"Next you will be telling me you gamble too!" sneered Rainbow Dash.

"Actually we do. The 4 of us don't but other party goers enjoy it." said Scarecrow. "Most casinos are owned by the Federation though so we make sure people don't do stupid bets that could risk their life savings."

"Does the Federation own everything?" questioned Shining Armor.

"No. They just have an annoying paranoia about local businesses so they regulate them unnecessary levels." shrugged Scorch.

"Although a lot of times there are privately owned party areas. However, a large number of them sell illegal drugs, sexual slavery and are in ties with mafia." remarked X-ray.

"How horrendous!" gasped Rarity.

"We know. We often have to raid them and either arrest or take out its owners if they fail to comply to our pre mission haunting." smiled Scarecrow.

"Wow, human party goers makes me sound like a baby." frowned Pinkie Pie.

Celestia noticed the members of Shadow looking relatively worried despite their previous energetic moods.

"Something wrong?"

X-ray sighed. "It's just all the things we humans have in common with ponies. Similar sports teams, recreational ideas, languages, architecture and food recipes."

"These are just coincidences. No need to get worked up." assured Twilight.

"You might not comprehend this, but we believe it's more than similarities." countered Scorch. "We hope we don't run into any more anomalies."

Shadow didn't know what they were up for next.

Author's Notes:

Hope we can get to 200 likes. That would make me :)

Chapter 31: Anomalies

(Alright, this is the last time I'm posting UTF propaganda since I'm running out of candidates. After this I'm going back to quotes. If you have any suggestions, show me.)

(As you can see, the UTF has a red, black and white obsession.)

(Something to show how the UTF encourages innovation and creativity. More positive.)

----------------

Note: I have discontinued part of chapter 2.

"I for one, would like to know about what kind of music you humans produce." requested Celestia.

Scarecrow took the lead. "Music is perhaps one of the greatest expressions of human nature and ingenuity ever. We have a wide variety of musical genres people can listen too."

"One of the oldest and most renowned genres of music that is especially enjoyed me is the elegant orchestra." dramatized Rarity. "Nothing too bold though, I like my music soft."

"You should really listen to pony symphonies, they're quite riveting." invited Cadance.

"Save your self the trouble, they're probably way too slow for you." yawned Rainbow Dash.

"Actually, the 4 of us are really fond of symphonies and orchestra music." brought up X-ray. "It's one of the oldest forms of music and the fact that it hold up today is quite a marvel."

"Huh, another thing we have in common with humans." flexed Twilight. "Although I don't think are orchestras have the same way of producing music."

"I doubt it." shook Scorch. "We probably utilize the same techniques and instruments to create music."

"Well, we ponies have a whole bunch of instruments!" chirped Pinkie Pie. "We have tubas, drums, harmonicas, trumpets, pianos, cellos, violins-"

"And so do we humans." interrupted Scorch. "How long have you ponies had these instruments?"

"The instruments used in orchestras aren't recent creations. The oldest instruments that are in use today are around a few hundred years old. Some instruments like the saxophone are really new and were invented during the times of our great grand parents." informed Twilight.

"Well, the oldest instruments that we humans use, especially in orchestras and symphonies are at most, a thousand years old." said Scarecrow.

"What are the odds we'd manufacture the same tools for music?" laughed Luna.

"Why do you ponies even have instruments like that?" questioned Overwatch.

"So we can make music. Duh." pointed Applejack.

"No, we mean why do you have these specific kind of instruments?" questioned X-ray.

"I don't follow." frowned Cadance.

Scarecrow sighed and lit up a hologram from his wrist computer of a series on instruments such as a piano and trumpet

"What do you notice about these instruments?"

The Equestrians looked at each other for a moment.

"They're not what you call, animated?" guessed Rainbow Dash.

Scarecrow face palmed. "No. Look at how they're supposed to be played. Don't any of you realize something is off with hoofed creatures using these kinds of instruments?"

"Not really. We ponies can operate them fine. For the most part." pointed Twilight.

X-ray let it out. "The instruments you ponies have clearly are clearly meant for bi-pedal beings with 5 fingers to operate. Look at how a human would play the instrument."

The hologram changed to depict a human caricature playing a violin. The ponies were awe struck by the hologram itself as well as the method the human used to play it.

"I don't see the problem. That's how ponies play the violin." squealed Fluttershy.

Scorch sighed. "If you pay attention to all the instruments you ponies have, you should notice that all the chords that need to be struck to generate music are meant for delicate fingers."

"It doesn't have to be. We ponies can play these instruments just fine with hooves and telekinesis." countered Celestia.

"I can understand playing with telekinesis, but hooves. Really?" shrugged X-ray. "Shouldn't have ponies noticed that the chords are far too small for practical application with hooves."

"X-ray is right. I always found the notes on an instrument devilishly small." agreed Luna.

Scarecrow twirled his gloved fingers. "That's because they're meant for appendages like these. Because humans have multiple fingers, we can strike single or multiple chords and will."

The hologram display changed to depict a women playing a saxophone. No audio however. The Equestrians paid attention to how the caricature of the women used her fingers to play the saxophone in ways nopony had seen before.

"Meanwhile, a pony would probably have serious trouble trying to strike one chord at a time." implied Scorch. "On a piano, a hoof would most likely strike more notes than needed at times just to give an example. Also, a pony has no digits, they can't play multiple chords that are apart form each other. Or at least with any accuracy."

"Well we ponies have been aware of such a problem, but nonetheless we adapted and produced beautiful music. Pony musicians simply have their own tact for handling instruments with hooves." stated Rarity.

"But what about drums or any other percussion instrument? Why have that?" added X-ray.

"I don't see the problem in having drums. You can just smack the drumheads with your hooves." replied Pinkie Pie.

"That makes sense." relented Scarecrow. "But in order to use some percussion instrument properly, one would normally need a stick of some sort to strike the instrument to get a more accurate note."

"Well I don't see ponies using any instrument that requires us to carry a delicate object." defended Twilight.

"But aren't you ponies still uncomfortable when playing instruments?" inquired Overwatch.

Luna was uncomfortable. "Why would we be uncomfortable?"

"Look at the way one would need to properly play a cello." instructed X-ray. The commando tapped on his wrist computer to change the hologram to show an upright man in the position necessary to play the instrument.

"Speaking of a cello, you real should see this player named Octavia she's fabulous." invited Celestia.

"Has she ever told you how uncanny playing the instrument feels?" glared Scorch.

"Why would a pony play an instrument if it didn' feel right?" glared back Applejack.

"Observe the way the man has to play the instrument we likely had for a longer time than you." showed Scarecrow. "Notice how the man is an upright position to play correctly."

"Yeah? We ponies play instruments like that too, otherwise there would be something wrong with the music." replied Twilight.

"Why though? Ponies are quadrupeds." exhaled Scorch.

"And how does that have anything to do with music?" shook Cadance.

"Humans are bi-peds, standing up to play instruments isn't unnatural at all. Ponies are all on 4, they would have to alter their natural stance to play most symphonic devices and surely that isn't comfortable." explained X-ray.

"Ponies who play instruments get used to standing on two hooves." countered Luna.

"Furthermore, observe how some instruments like the clarinet and flute require not only an upright position and hands, but also for said appendages to be curved as well." demonstrated Scarecrow.

The ponies looked at picture after picture detailing how humans played music. Sure enough, the stances were similar to how pony bands played them, but it felt so much more natural when they played it.

"Those humans sure look a lot less tense." whispered Fluttershy.

"Exactly, why make instruments meant for humans to play?" questioned Scorch.

"So how else do you propose we make music?" asked Twilight back.

"Why not invent instruments that are meant for quadrupeds with hooves to operate and not the other way around?" proposed Scarecrow. "It would have been far more interesting to see brand new instruments meant for ponies to utilize, not devices humans already have."

"I was well alive when these instruments were created, and they just seemed like a good idea." defended Celestia. "Since my subjects played music well, there was no harm done."

"But whose brilliant idea was it to say 'hey we're ponies, let's make instruments an upright ape should be using'. Doesn't that bother you a bit?" inquired X-ray.

"From what I have read from books regarding the arts, it just happened. Ponies didn't get an epiphany to create musical instruments like humans, it just happened naturally." informed Twilight.

Shadow looked at each other. Without speaking, they knew what the other was thinking.

"We see." nodded Overwatch.

"How does knowing about musical instruments possibly contribute anything to the goals of the Federation?" asked Cadance wearily.

"It's not about instruments, it's about the overarching principle." trivialized X-ray.

The Mane 6 groaned.

"Something wrong girls?" worried Celestia.

Twilight flexed her mane. "Shadow squad has this theory that we're-"

"We'll get to that in a moment. As for types of music, you'll find that we may have a lot of common." brushed off Scorch.

"The genre preferred by us is classical. Although with a more modern spin which I'm sure you ponies haven't come across." insisted Scarecrow.

"Do you guys play any instruments?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Scorch can play percussion, Scarecrow can play trumpet. Me and Overwatch are pretty uncaring towards playing music but we did play clarinet and tenor saxophone in high school band." remembered X-ray.

"Could you play us a human symphony now? You sang pretty well an hour ago." requested Celestia.

"How about we show it to you? Our devices are capable of storing music data." proposed Overwatch. The counter terrorist snatched X-ray's tablet and found a great song written in 2295 by Don 'O' Martin.

"Listen"

The music started playing from the speakers of the tablet. From the screen a hologram showing a human orchestra playing the instruments. The mares and Shining Armor had to get closer to hear the song perfectly.

Needless to say, the ponies were mesmerized. From the video, the ponies saw how skillfully they played the instruments compared to even the most renowned musicians in Equestria as well as how natural it felt. With fingers, they didn't need to move their bodies in awkward positions.

As for the music. It was breathtaking. Despite Shadow's violent nature, they sure enjoyed beautiful music. There were some elements in the song the ponies didn't recognize however.

Even Rainbow Dash who hated classical and Applejack who didn't like listening to non country music were taken as well. Rarity recognized the style of music as the one she listened to. However, this song was slightly more aggressive in its tone and something that would be used in epic plays. Perhaps the excitement the song produced was what drew the two tomboys in.

Finally the song concluded and the ponies were left speechless.

"My word, that was amazing." complimented Celestia.

"Thanks. This song has been played for quite a while since its implementation a few centuries ago." nodded Scarecrow.

"Centuries?" gasped Twilight.

"Humans tend to have a habit of keeping music alive. Some artists such as Mozart and Bach have their music being played for nearly a millennium." laughed Scorch.

"Although it did sound slightly different to what I listen to." pointed Rarity.

"Like I care. That made orchestra fun!" cheered Rainbow Dash.

"Well we humans like experimenting with music." noted X-ray. "We've come across many genres. Some of which you may have like country music."

"Yeah we got dat." chuckled Applejack. "Do any of y'all listen ta it?"

"Nah it died out with the rest of farm folk culture." responded Scorch. "Most people of your descent still listen to songs played by people of the same ethnicity though."

Scarecrow continued the conversation. "A genre we humans enjoy when we want to calm ourselves is jazz music. It's basically using the same instruments as symphonies but with a more calming demeanor."

"Oh we have that." squeaked Fluttershy. "Noteworthy and other ponies enjoy playing it at the cafes. Really relaxing."

"How long have you had Jazz or Swing?" asked X-ray.

"Around the same time we invented instruments like the saxophone.. The earliest ponies who listened and played this kind of music were our grand parents." informed Twilight.

Scorch crossed his arms. "Well we humans have had Jazz music for nearly 600 years. Maybe more."

"Another genre we humans enjoy listening to which I'd rather not discuss is rock." brought up Scorch.

"Rock?" repeated Luna.

"Yeah apparently stones can talk. So can metal!" cheer Pinkie Pie.

X-ray face palmed. "Rock is a musical genre made popular in the 20th century that developed off of swing. It was modified with focus on guitar and made with a much more heavier sound."

"So that's why it's called rock! Because it's a hard form of music." chirped Rainbow Dash.

"And metal developed off of rock as an even heavier form with louder guitars and more aggressive singing." concluded Scarecrow.

"How clever, it's called metal because it's heavier than rock." realized Cadance.

"Most rock and metal bands are often consisted of a bass player, an electric guitarist, a drummer and singer as opposed to dozens of players in a orchestra or jazz band." explained X-ray.

"What's an electric guitar?" asked Applejack.

Right before the ponies could stop X-ray- "An electric guitar is a variation of an acoustic one that uses a transducer to register the vibration of strings into a electric impulses which is then transferred to a speaker which plays out the transmitted audio."

"Regardless, 4 people sounds like too little to make music." noticed Twilight.

"Not really, those two genres are very loud and strong. Especially since the sounds are enhance via machinery I'd rather not play any of that music with you mares around." warned Scorch.

"Why not?" questioned Celestia.

Scarecrow formed a sheepish grin. "Because, well, rock and metal music is so extreme and at times, upsetting. You all are so gentle-"

"Oh please you think we can't handle it?" gloated Rainbow Dash. "Play us the heaviest stuff you got."

"Besides, how can music be angry and make anypony feel down? Music is supposed to be fun and uplifting." smiled Cadance.

"You asked for it." warned Overwatch. The sniper found a rock song written in the 24th century and played it. Unlike the symphony, there was no hologram detailing the musicians, but rather just the music.

The song started with a soft acoustic and drum opening before taking the ponies by surprise with an electric guitar blast. It wasn't as heavy as metal but the fast pace was far too much for ponies. The lyrics also baffled the equines given its rebellious nature. Finally the song concluded with an a guitar solo and a replay of the chorus.

After a pause.

"That was even brash for me!" let out Rainbow Dash.

"It was a little loud." squealed Twilight.

"Those lyrics were just so depressing." cried Cadance.

"Well, I hate to break it to you. But government oppression was a problem on Helghan." snorted Scorch. "Back then, a coup occurred on the colony that instilled a xenophobic empire that vilified minorities. Many bands, such as Borderland who we just listened to, rebelled against this stance and expressed it through music."

"I didn't know music could be used as an outlet for ideas." said Celestia.

"What? You think music is just about fun times and working out?" trivialized Scarecrow. "A lot of times it's about tackling injustice and issues."

"But why did it have to be so aggressive in its approach?" pondered Rarity.

"Because injustice isn't anything we should be passive about. We have to get angry sometimes." glared X-ray.

"Such barbaric music has no place in a joyful place like Equestria." snorted Luna.

"Why? Because it would make people realize all the stuff that's wrong with the nation and try to fix it?" mocked Scorch.

"Ah just don' think we should be so worried or gettin' mad when listenin' ta music." insisted Applejack.

"Well, music is one of the most common things people enjoy, so it's a great excuse to find a way to expose injustice." defended Scarecrow.

"What happens when music like that exposes injustice of the Federation?" challenged Pinkie Pie.

"They're shot for treason." muttered Overwatch.

The mouths of the ponies dropped, only for Shadow squad to laugh.

"Just kidding. The UTF defends free speech even at its own expense." assured X-ray.

"But aren't there things some wouldn't want to hear?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"It's their fault for listening, not the musicians." countered Scorch. "At least it wasn't as heavy as metal."

"I don't think music like that can get heavier." shook Twilight.

Scarecrow didn't want to prove Twilight wrong. "Moving on, another genre we humans have is rap, which has basically died out and fused with rock permanently."

"What's it like?" inquired Rainbow Dash.

Scorch flexed his blond hair. "It's hard to describe, but it normally involves fast paced lyrics. Not as heavy as rock and metal at all, but quite fast. Rappers tend to cover various topics from romance to society. We don't listen to this type of music and neither to we think you ponies would."

"Another musical genre we humans have that's fairly popular is pop music." added X-ray.

"Pop? You mean like when balloons burst?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"No. Pop was developed around the same time as rock music but was generally more accessible with softer chords and and lighter attitudes. Mostly focusing on social life, especially romance." explained Scarecrow. "It's not something we listen to, but you ponies seem to produce music that's awfully close to it."

"Furthermore, pop music tends to mostly use electronic instruments rather than physical ones." added Scorch.

"By electronic music, you mean like what Vinyl Scratch plays right?" checked Twilight.

Shadow couldn't believe they forgot a crucial fact.

"Why does Vinyl Scratch and her coltfriend Neon-something play dubstep, or electronic or party?" questioned Scarecrow.

"Because it's their special talent silly. Electronic music was created a few years ago." smiled Pinkie Pie.

X-ray crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea how wrong this situation is?"

"So what you are saying is that we can't enjoy party music?" glared Celestia.

"No. Electronic music came to humanity well after we developed genres like rock and pop which you ponies haven't even heard of. How can you have dubstep without even having developed the genres developed prior?" trivialized Scorch.

"We're not humans, we don't have to have the same genres as you!" shook Rainbow Dash.

"You don't get it." pointed X-ray. "One musical genre has lead to another. Classical to jazz to swing to rock, metal and pop to techno. Each genre is the influence of the other. A chicken can't be born without an egg."

"What are you trying to imply?" stared Twilight.

"Just how odd it is that ponies have a very old human genre that somehow lead to the newest alliteration of music." explained Scarecrow. "How could the pony inventors of techno music randomly get the idea to create electronica without earlier genres to build off of? Ponies have successfully untouched hundreds of years of music."

"Was that last part supposed to be an insult or compliment?" pondered Pinkie Pie.

"Neither. We're just pointing out how anachronistic it is for Equestria to have electronic music, which is a genre made popular in the 20th century, despite the fact that they are lacking many other fields." defended X-ray.

"Like what?" questioned Cadance.

"Electronica comes from mostly synthesizers right?"checked Scarecrow.

"Correct." answered the ponies.

"Well to have turn tables or whatever is needed to create electornica, ponies need to or at least should have developed an understanding of machinery like the radio and the computer." informed Scorch. "And while ponies have speakers, the only form for you all to play music is through records."

"What do computers have to do with music?" asked Twilight.

"The way humans produce most kinds of music these days is through computer apps." explained X-ray. "Like playing a virtual instrument."

"Doesn't that mean humans don't have to actually be proficient in singing or playing instruments to make music?" awed Rarity.

"In a way, yes." nodded Scarecrow. "Unlike ponies, not all humans have perfect vocal chords nor are we that good in musical improv. We don't usually burst into song unless we're really high."

"Human machinery must be pretty sophisticated if you can produce music with only electronic skills." stated Celestia.

"When it comes to music, machinery is a blessing and a curse." growled Overwatch.

"How's it a curse?" gasped Pinkie Pie. "Does it suck the soul of-"

Scorch interrupted Pinkie. "In the past, humans became famous and earned money through musical talent since they could sing and play instruments like professionals. For two reasons having to do with machinery, such a dream is virtually nonexistent."

"The first thing that pretty much collapsed the industry is piracy." started Scarecrow.

"Humans broke into music stores and stole records?" gasped Fluttershy.

"No." responded Scarecrow. "No humans has ever needed to use a disc to listen to music for centuries. Instead, we listen to virtual sound files on our devices. By piracy, we mean humans finding the audio file on a file sharing website and basically copy the files onto our devices without paying."

"Dats stealin'!" yelled Applejack.

"Virtually." muttered Scorch.

"Shouldn't have the Federation cracked down on situations like that?" remarked Shining Armor.

"Not really." shook X-ray. "It trembles on a person's freedom to use the internet which the Federation won't regulate and is if a technocratic government is going to appreciate people getting rich from entertainment rather than ingenuity."

"Another reason why the music industry pretty much imploded is that technology basically allowed humans to compose songs in an extremely easy fashion without talent." added Scorch.

"I understand. Why work hard and learn to sing and play when you could simply recreate the same songs on machine?" condescended Twilight.

"Exactly. When everyone could make hit songs in a heart beat without ever having to work for it, people with actual talent no longer became special." informed X-ray. "And since everybody just pirates the music you create, humans can virtually no loner profit off of music."

"Virtually?" heard Celestia.

"The reason why neo classical music is so popular is because it's extremely hard to replicate an entire orchestra. As a result, most humans enjoy seeing an epic symphony perform." explained Scarecrow. "Also dance music has survived since most people go to clubs."

"What about rock or pop concerts? Don't humans see those anymore?" asked Cadance.

"Of course. We do. But since it's easier to create mainstream music on a tablet or machine, why waste time learning to sing or play an instrument?" shrugged Scorch.

"That's kinda lazy." scolded Applejack.

"We humans have flaws too." pointed Scarecrow. "Musicians still exist and all, but they don't last long due to piracy and the fact that the chances of them being noticed amongst a large quantity of humans is minimal. As a result most humans just make their own music or listen to old artists. But even if we can't profit form it, the fire of music still burns."

"But what does this have to do with electronica in Equestria?" questioned Twilight.

"We're curious as to why ponies like Vinyl Scratch are creating music on technologies that shouldn't exist unless previous alliterations have existed." explained X-ray.

"I believe the instruments that are used to create electronic music are simply piano like technologies that are amplified and altered by the artists magic. I've noticed most electronic singers are unicorns." inferred Rarity.

"Makes sense I guess." sighed Scorch. "So rather than creating that genre of music with programing, unicorns use sound waves emitted from their horns."

"Can we please abandon this discussion? It's making my head hurt." groaned Rainbow Dash.

"How about we change the discussion to human holidays? I would like to know what days humans have marked special as well as why." proposed Celestia.

"Fair enough." nodded Scarecrow. "The first holiday we have is new years day celebrated every 365 days at January 1st with the exception of leap years."

"How marveolus! We Ponies celebrate new years day at the same rate and time too!" exclaimed Rarity.

"Celestia and Luna. You two control the star and moon rotation of Epona right?" checked X-ray.

"It is true. Controlling day and night is an arbitrary tasks for us alicorns." answered Luna.

"Here's a fun fact. If your planet saw no direct interference in solar rotation, the extremely weak stellar gravity emitted by your star would send the planet flying." said Scorch.

"We are aware of that. Discord almost succeeded in doing that very same thing." remembered Celestia.

"Well since you're in charge of day and night, why make new year 365 days like Earth?" questioned Scarecrow.

"Beg your pardon?" frowned the solar alicorn.

"The reason why we celebrate new years day every 365 days is because that is how long it takes Earth to naturally complete a cycle around our sun, Sol." explained X-ray.

"Well isn't that how long a planet is supposed to do a complete cycle?" asked Twilight.

"No. Each planet takes its own time based on distance from the star and other factors." informed Overwatch before X-ray could rant. "Mars takes more than 680 days for a year around the same sun., Kepler 62 e takes 122 days and it's even more complex for moon colonies like Europa."

"Wow, it must be hard to memorize all those new years day parties for all the colonies huh?" empathized Pinkie Pie.

Scarecrow scratched his chin. "Not really, all colonies just celebrate the Terran new year in honor of our home world. And let's just say that new years day on this world be every 190 days."

The equestrians pondered the statement for a moment.

"But back to the question. The day and night alicorns are in complete control of planetary rotation, why choose 365 days for a new year?" inquired X-ray.

"It was not our decision. 365 days has always been a new year for ponies." defended Luna.

"But why did ponies choose 365 days like Earth and decide there would be leap years LIKE EARTH?" yelled Scarecrow.

Applejack shrugged. "Coincidence."

"I doubt it." hissed Overwatch.

"Another holiday we humans have that we celebrate on December 24th is Christmas." added Scorch. "It was celebrated by Christians in honor of Jesus Christ, but since the religion is virtually extinct, we remember this holiday for all the main things Christ taught us like love and tolerance."

"Well that's a beautiful holiday." complimented Celestia. Suddenly, the ponies couldn't stop laughing.

"What's so funny?" questioned Scarecrow.

"When humans celebrate Christmas, ponies celebrate Heart's Warming Eve." chuckled Twilight.

"You mean the day when ponies united as one nation?" checked X-ray.

Rarity cleared her throat. "Yes. December 24th is when the three pony tribes unified as one. We celebrate the day as a reminder to the ideals of friendship and harmony that our nation was founded on. Before that however, we celebrate the events involving the three founders and three advisors that lasted from late November to early December known as the week of Harmony."

"The Jewish celebration of Hanukah takes place from late November to early December." stammered Scarecrow.

Scorch taped into his radio to contact the Feds. "Are you getting this?"

"Loud and clear." radioed the HOD. "Shit is getting creepy. Keep interrogating."

"How long have ponies been celebrating Heart's Warming Eve?" asked X-ray.

"Around 2 thousand and 510 years." checked Pinkie Pie.

"Humans have been celebrating Christmas for 2 thousand and 530 years and even more so for Hanukah." said Scorch. "By the way, how long have the alicorns ruled if Equestria has only been unified for a fraction of Epona's existence?"

"For a while, the Alicorns merely saw a status as deities that oversaw the various pony nations. When the tribes united, we became fully fledged monarchs." explained Luna.

"What do ponies do during this holiday?" asked Scarecrow.

"Well, we set up a Heart's Warming Eve Tree and light a heart shaped candle every day during harmony weak to symbolize our ideals of friendship." revealed Pinkie Pie.

"We also give presents to kind fillies and colts." whispered Fluttershy.

X-ray face palmed. "Humans give presents to good boys and girls during Christmas and set up a tree as well. The whole burning candle thing is what is done on the Jewish holiday of Hanukah."

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. "Do you sing carols by any chance?"

Scarecrow groaned. "Yes, but we've largely altered the lyrics of Christmas carols to be secular."

"Why are you so upset?" questioned Cadance.

"Because we humans find it rather odd that we have a holiday celebrated within the same time period based on the same ideals with the exact same traditions." gritted Scorch. "It's like you copied our race 100%."

"Not exactly. Christmas has nothing to do with unification." reminded Twilight.

"That's a minor detail for what may be the exact same holiday practiced by two races that evolved separately on worlds stars apart!" exclaimed Scarecrow.

"Come now. You're getting two worked up over a coincidence." encouraged Luna.

"Coincidence!" yelled Shadow and the congressmen watching from Bernstein.

Shining Armor changed the subject. "What other holidays do you humans have?"

X-ray's patience was slipping. "Well let's see? We have labour day on May 1st to celebrate the working man and labour rights? Do you ponies happen to have plagiarized this holiday?"

Before an Equestrian could respond-

"Of course not! You probably don't even know what a union is." screeched the rifleman.

Scorch was more clam. "We humans also celebrate January 14 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. as a reminder for civil rights and equality. We've been celebrating it for nearly 600 years."

"A noble day to remember." nodded Celestia. "We ponies have no Equivalent."

"Funny, since you ponies have traits regarding times dating after Martin Luther King's era." exhaled Scarecrow.

"I doubt you humans have a Summer Sun celebration equivalent celebrated on the 23rd of June." said Celestia. "That festival is used to mark the longest day and our defeat over NightMare Moon."

"Finally. Something original." calmed Scorch. The demo man faced Luna. "And you're okay with ponies celebrating it?"

"As of now, it is used to celebrate the act of Celestia moving the sun. So I'm cool." smiled Luna.

"We humans also have this holiday on February 14 called Valentines day." added X-ray.

The ponies started tensing.

"Basically Valentines day is a day dedicated to love, romance and hearts. All that mushy stuff." blurted Scorch.

The Equestrians were getting even more nervous.

"In the end it's all about finding your special somebody and all that bullshit." muttered the asexual Overwatch.

"We're not really interested in that holiday." muttered Scorch.

Cadance tried to hide her anxiety. "Why's that? Can't get any dates?"

Shadow blushed nervously.

"Well. I guess so." admitted Scarecrow. "Like we said, we never had any girlfriends." Shadow's commander could have sworn he heard a congressmen call him a looser from the COMs. Typical politicians.

"Why's that?" whimpered Fluttershy.

"Well, we're too anti social so the odds of us meeting women on Valentines day are abysmal. Made even worse by us joining the 23rd." sighed Scorch.

"Plus girls like the idea of being a mother and we can't exactly fulfill their wish. We're sterile." revealed X-ray.

"Oh my gosh!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

"What?"