"A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be." - Albert Einstein

Cadance starred at her cutie mark and gave a disappointing sigh. "So all this time, my cutie mark and destiny was really an ancient human artifact?"

"Technically, it could go both ways. It could be an artifact made by humans AND represent your destiny to protect the empire." encouraged X-ray. "Although it probably only refers to the later."

"So whatever the Crystal Heart is, it serves two purposes. One is to create a massive barrier that protects the empire through positive emotions, and it's somehow linked to an inter dimensional library." noted Scarecrow.

"Said inter dimensional library is the most important in the current situation!" pointed Rainbow Dash.

"Right. This is finally our chance to get behind the secret surrounding ancient humanity and the world of Equestria." noted Scorch.

"Any thoughts on how you're going to make the heart function in the first place?" muttered Twilight.

"Honestly no." shrugged X-ray. "But we aren't going to get anything done standing here. The sooner we move, the better."

"I don't like the sound of this." shook Rarity. The unicorn looked outside and witnessed the falling sun. The day was passing by far faster then previous ones.

"If we do manage to get into this library, data storage, archive, whatever, we'll be provided with the necessary information to win this conflict. Whether it be lore on our race on simple plans to develop technology. If not, the UTF will have to find a way on its own to reinforce us." said Scarecrow.

"But we don't have enough time for the UTF to figure out something!" yelled Pinkie Pie.

"Exactly." nodded X-ray. Shadow limped to the halls. The ponies were still too busy getting used to the news to the point where they were frozen in place.

"Let's move." called out Scorch.

The Equestrians snapped back to life and joined the commandos on their trail.

"So, when we get there, we're going to be treated by some sort of ghost lady right?" squeaked Fluttershy.

"There are no such things as ghosts Fluttershy." sighed Twilight.

"Twilight's right. As said before, this transparent women is some sort of Artificial Intelligence that runs the facility. Like most human constructs in the modern day, a central program is needed to tend and watch over a facility." informed Scarecrow.

"So, like a care taker or butler?" muttered Applejack.

"Precisely. Although I don't understand as to why a technologically advanced race would use such inappropriate terminology to address a construct they constructed." noted X-ray.

"Maybe it's just slang." mused Pinkie Pie. "Like the way I call my predictions doozies!"

"But that intelligence thingy didn't give any information to Sombra other than a few dusty old papers!" whined Rainbow Dash. "What makes us think she'll talk to us?"

"Sombra is a pony. We are humans." simply stated Overwatch.

"But how do we know that the library is still functional?" pointed Rarity. "My word, such a room as dormant as the archives must have likely been contaminated with all sorts of filthy messes if left for thousands of years unchecked. None of the machines might be working anyway."

"Considering it was operable after the few thousand years gap between Sombra's use the ancient humans, there is no reason as to why a mere one thousand years should reduce it of functionality." debunked Scorch.

The group was nearing the entrance to the castle halls. Cadance, who had been quiet for a while, finally found the nerve to speak up.

"So now that humanity has found out that the Crystal Empire is a human creation, will the Federation want to take it back as its own?"

The limping Scarecrow looked at Cadance and shook his head. "Of course not, the Crystal Empire is home to ponies, not humans. We may have built it, but it was under another banner that we have long abandoned. You can continue being the Crystal Princess. Besides, we have a hell lot of other colonies."

Cadance and Shining Armor gave a sigh of relief, knowing that their kingdom was going to be safe and in their hooves.

The group finally made it out the doors and glimpsed the Crystal Empire back in its state of bliss. Shadow couldn't believe how they were living so happily when they knew what the Empire really was. Would the Crystal Ponies think the same way about their home if they knew who really created it?

That was a question to be asked later.

Scorch turned to his wrist computer. "Command, can you locate the Crystal Heart?"

"There's no need to get all technical silly, we'll just lead you to it." skipped Pinkie Pie.

The flock of ponies led the four commandos to the monument. As Shadow got further and further into plain sight, they began to notice the lack of conversation being made by the Crystal ponies who were staring right at them.

To the ponies, the silence was a sign of worry and discontent. To Shadow, it was a sigh of relief and a much welcomed break from screams of panic.

Shadow also noticed how the ponies were still afraid of them but weren't yelling like they did the last time. Perhaps they were beginning to have a little faith in them. Or were frozen in place. Either way worked.

"Could you please cloak?" asked Shining Armor after an era of silence.

"Doesn't matter, they know we're out here anyway." shrugged X-ray.

-

A few minutes of uninterrupted walking passed and the convoy finally reached its destination. The heart stood in its place and glowed vibrantly in the sunlight. A huge crowd of tourists visiting the empire surrounded the artifact while taking pictures of it.

When the former element bearers and Crystal princess entered the park, the Crystal Ponies directed their attention at the famous figures. They knew seeing the Mane 6 was serious business, especially in terms of current events.

The group trotted past the crowd and stared directly at the Crystal Heart. Memories of their victory over Sombra flashed before their very eyes. If you told their past selves that what they really risked their lives for was an ancient human constuct, the six of them would have dismissed you as crazy.

It was even more conflicting when the ponies remembered that the positive emotion meant to power the heart was pride, not love.

"Alright y'all, we're here. Time for you to whip out your tech skills." sighed Applejack.

There was no response.

"Shadow?"

The element bearers turned around and looked from side to side. The counter terrorists were no where to be found.

The second later, the crowd of tourists began to suffer and collapse from migraines. That meant Shadow was indeed within their presence.

Rainbow Dash flew up and gazed at the hooded humans. Their state of being was not so ideal. With the exception of Scorch, it had appeared Shadow's wounds and condition had clearly gotten worse. Had their medicine worn off?

X-ray felt like his arm was going to fall off any minute, Scarecrow felt like his stomach was about to explode while Scorch was beginning to feel fatigue after supporting Overwatch for so long.

"Are you feeling alright?" gasped Rarity.

"We'll be fine." assured Scarecrow.

The ponies did NOT need Shadow squad to be injured. In the current moment, they were the only ones capable of figuring out and deciphering the complicated motives of the ancient human civilization.

That and the fact they seemed to be the only ones capable of taking out significant threats with little damage. They were the only force standing in between Equestria's destruction and the alliance now that the elements were gone.

The wounded humans continued to march towards the crystal heart as the Crystal Ponies began to recover.

Unaware of their intentions, the Crystal ponies began murmuring amongst themselves.

A few oblivious Crystal Guards stepped forward and blocked Shadow's path to the heart.

The wounded members of the counter terrorist unit continued to press on until they were merely an inch apart from the guards, who they stared down mercilessly with their masks. Even though the guards were painfully reminded of their relatively diminutive size, they stood.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" said Scarecrow bemusedly.

"I should be saying the exact same thing about you Xeno scum." spat the Crystal Royal Guard.

"We are to use the Crystal Heart, if wish you wish to know." trivialized Scorch. "Now get out of our way."

The tourists overheard Scarecrow's comment and began to mummer amongst themselves. What could the humans possibly want with their beloved artifact?

The Crystal Guards stood their ground. "And for what reason, could you 4 possibly need the Crystal Heart for? It is a sacred construct that has protected the Empire-"

"The matters do not concern you, all you need to know is that we need it whether you like it or not!" yelled X-ray.

"Guards! Stand down!" called out Shining Armor from behind.

The royal guards looked startled at their captain.

"It's all right guys. We need to let the humans use the Crystal Heart." assured Shining Armor.

For once, the royal guards didn't submit so easily to their captain.

"Sir, with all due respect, we can barely trust these monstrosities. What's to say they aren't going to destroy the Crystal Heart and leave us vulnerable to attack?" complained a guard.

"Believe us, destroying the Crystal Heart is the LAST thing we want to do right now." hissed Overwatch.

"If you can't trust them, trust me." called out Twilight. "It's very important the HUMANS interact with the Crystal Heart as soon as possible."

A guard crossed his eyes. "You can sense the deception in their-"

"Let them go." said Shining Armor flatly. Finally, the guards relented and cleared the way to the still patient Crystal Heart.

"With all due respect, you could have just avoided that confrontation if you allowed us to explain the situation to the guards." advised Rarity.

"Never mind. Let's focus on the Heart now." shook Scorch.

For a moment, nothing happened with Shadow squad blankly staring at the Crystal Heart while everypony within the facility watched them aimlessly.

Applejack finally spoke. "Something on yer mind?"

Scarecrow placed a finger on his bandanna. "Do any of you actually have an idea as to how we're exactly going to use this thing?"

The ponies dropped their mouths. It was unusual to see Shadow squad not on the top of things.

"It's powered by positivity, that's a start." muttered Scorch.

"It doesn't function by positivity, that's only how the protection function works." corrected Twilight.

"I'm at a loss." gave up X-ray.

Scarecrow turned to his wrist computer. "Blackjack, any solutions from above?"

"Negative." radioed a crewman. "We're just as clueless as you are about the heart. We have a hologram readied on the bridge of the ship, but whenever we analyze its components, all we get are endless streams of lines saying 'data unavailable'. The Crystal Heart is basically one whole chunk of uncatalogued information. If we're going to analyze it, we'll have to start from the ground-up."

"That could take hours." sighed Scarecrow. He switched signals. "Command, any advice from the colonies?"

"We can't even piece together how it's emitting the shield. Whatever our ancestors were, they were generations ahead of us." radioed an observer from Apex.

Scarecrow continued to hear sounds of negativity coming from the congressmen. The commando finally switched his wrist computer off and got back to analyzing his options.

X-ray sighed. "From the looks of it, the Crystal Heart is essentially one chunk of animated nothingness. If we had a proper science team and lab, we could-"

X-ray took one step forward from his current position, and his speech trailed off.

The moment his foot moved a single step, the heart began to glow. It glowed a strange red color and started to buzz, a buzzing similar to a computer starting.

X-ray frowned under his mask as the ponies started to mummer amongst themselves. Such a sight was something nopony was used to.

"It's glowing!" cried Pinkie Pie.

"I've never seen it to that before." gasped Cadance as she looked at her cutie mark.

"I can here it humming to!" pointed Twilight.

The pony tourists started to crowd amongst the Crystal Heart, only to be pulled back by the royal guards, advising the civilians to stay clear.

"Command, are you reading this?" radioed Scorch.

"Affirmative." responded the crew of the Blackjack. "The data we're from the heart is changing. It's still a dry well of information, but it's now reading 'activated' in the same way we know if a computer is turned on or not."

"Computer? There doesn't seem to be an interface of some sort." muttered Scorch.

X-ray hesitated for a moment and took a step back.

While admirably expected it, the Crystal Heart stopped glowing and 'turned off'. The humming stopped as well.

"What just happened?" awed Overwatch.

"I don't know." shrugged X-ray. "I just took a step forward and the heart started acting like this."

Scarecrow placed a finger on his bandanna. "I wonder."

Shadow's commander took a step forward. Sure enough, the heart stared to glow red and hummed as it 'turned on.'

Scarecrow then took a step back to line up with the rest of Shadow and the heart 'turned off.'

Right before Shadow could contemplate on the situation, Rainbow Dash stepped forward and moved towards the Crystal Heart. But rather than glowing, the heart remained in it's relatively inactive state.

This time, Scorch stepped forward and the Crystal Heart turned on. The counter terrorists stepped forward and plotted their next decision.

"Apparently, it only activates when a human steps forward." noted Scarecrow.

"That only confirms its creation as a human construct." realized X-ray.

The tourists and Crystal Ponies continued their worrying discussion, getting more and more anxious as seconds passed on.

Realizing Shadow wasn't going to think straight in the midst of the panicking Twilight flew in the sky and spoke with vigor that rivaled the royal Canterlot voice.

"Attention everypony! Right now we have a delicate situation at hoof that is completely under control, but requires your absolute patience."

"What's going on princes!" yelled a cautious Crystal Pony.

Scarecrow paused for a moment and turned to his friends. "Should we explain it to them or not?"

"Negative." muttered X-ray. "They'll find out soon enough."

The rest of the Mane 6 trotted forward to join the group.

"If I were to make a suggestion, I'd suggest touching it or something. Maybe you have to do some sort of weird finger trick or say some sort of secret password for it to work." said Pinkie Pie.

"Actually, the way the Crystal Heart is behaving is awfully familiar." stated Scorch. "Like we said, it's humming like a device that just turned on."

"More like a device that's on stand by." corrected X-ray. "And normally, when a device is on stand by, you have to push the button one more time for it to power on."

X-ray walked to the Crystal Heart until he was only an inch apart from it. Although he moved closer to it, the Heart wasn't changing its state.

Ignoring the pain in his injured arm, X-ray reach with is left hand, and touched it.

And when he touched it, a soothing jingle played. A jingle that sounded completely alien to his ears, but one that he knew sounded like a phone turning on.

Right before anypony could react to what was happening, the heart started to glow a light shade of green and a light red hologram flashed right before X-ray's eyes.

The commando stepped back and nearly tripped had it not been for Scorch catching him on time.

"The Heart, now it's glowing green." pointed Scarecrow. "Right after you touched it."

"Not unlike a computer signal flashing green after its been turned on." implied Overwatch.

"So if the Heart follows the same sort of logic, that means it's like an ancient computer of some sort." awed X-ray. "And that light red hologram the Heart is emitting, must be the control panel."

On the hologram, there was a display of an object that resembled a gear, turning and turning all the while.

Twilight inspected the device. "What do you four think the rotating gear supposed to mean?"

"I believe the turning gears meant to symbolize that it's loading." guessed Scarecrow. "It's booting up, so it will take a while for the Heart to process all internal data before it can be ready for usage. The humming you hear is the sound of the construct activating all its components."

A few more seconds passed, and the gears on the hologram vanished, and a sound was emitted from the Heart.

Even Shadow was startled.

"It talked!" gasped Fluttershy.

"What did it say?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"I was caught off guard." admitted Scarecrow. He turned to his wrist computer. "Blackjack, what did you pick up."

"The voice that came from the Crystal Heart was in ancient Greek." answered a crewman on the star ship. "As in the language spoken by the people during it's early incarnations before the classical era it was known for, which is odd considering there was no speaker for the voice to-"

"What did it say!" repeated Scarecrow.

"The Heart said Welcome Terraformer according to the translator." radioed the Blackjack.

"Terraformer?" muttered Rarity. "What on Equestria does the Crystal Heart have to do with Terraforming?"

"Don't you remember? The ancient humans were going to colonize the Epona after they destroyed the other races, and the Crystal Empire would be their home." explained X-ray.

"I'd imagine they would use the Heart as a central operating device in order to direct their attacks and plan construction. After all, the Crystal Heart is shielding the Empire from a snow storm and provides a barrier as evidence of its true purpose."

"Guys!" called out Rainbow Dash. "They Crystal Heart changed again."

Shadow squad shifted their attention and noticed that the hologram display had been altered. Now there was text written in ancient greek all over it.

The mummers of ponies suddenly turned into gasps and cries of disbelief.

"Can somepony please explain what is going on?" demanded a Crystal Pony. "What are those alien monstrosities doing with our artifact?"

Twilight sighed and flew up to get everpony's attention.

She sighed. "I don't know how to tell you all this, but it turns out the Crystal Heart is not what you all think it is."

The ponies muttered to themselves.

Rainbow flew up too. "Yeah turns out the heart you all love is really a human artifact. That's kinda why it started to glow and emit that hologram thing."

"And by extension, your entire Crystal Empire is a human construct as well. After all, it did seem illogical that a city would just appear in the middle of nowhere. However, this information has been lost over time. From both human and pony records." concluded Twilight.

"WHAT!" shrieked the Crystal Ponies.

"How could this be possible!" cried out one mare.

Scarecrow upped the volume on his speaker. "Everypony please calm down!"

The ponies did so.

"We are just as confused as you are. We barely found out about this information an hour ago, but we will able to reap the answers as soon possible as long as you remain calm and allow us to operate." assured Shadow's commander.

Once the ponies were settled, X-ray immediately got back to work.

"Scorch, can you come over here for a minute?" asked X-ray.

"Affirmative." responded the commando. He walked towards the rifleman. "What do you need?"

X-ray shifted his head to his right arm. The injured arm. The one without his wrist computer.

"My arm is injured so I can't type of my tablet. I need you to alter the settings to divert all commands to neural controls." explained the commando.

"Understood." nodded Scorch. He picked up X-ray's arm toward himself and made the necessary adjustments. In turn, X-ray felt his mind take over the functions of his suit.

To the ponies, he was standing aimlessly, but to Shadow, he was reading all sorts of data that was flowing from his HUD. He used neural controls in order for his VI to run a thorough diagnostic of the heart and its contents. To make sure that it would analyze that data correctly, X-ray altered the settings on his HUD so it would analyze the Heart the same way it would analyze a computer.

The commando received mixed results. 90% of the data he received was corrupted beyond any form of recognition and his VI could do nothing to repair it. However, it was able to record the processing power of the heart as tens of thousands of times higher than a Level 10 ExtraFed Computer.

From the data he received, the closest thing the Crystal Heart was to him was a standard holographic computer he operated with motion controls. It seemed odd as to why the ancient humans lacked neural controls in their tech.

Finally, there was translation. The holographic controls that were laid out in the Crystal Heart were all written in ancient Greek. Luckily, X-ray turn on his translator, and as it took effect, the annotations of the meaning of the script appeared right next to the words.

There were four options on the display. X-ray noted that these weren't literal translations, but rather extremely close estimates to normal Terran English.

Power Off

Direct Shield Settings

Archival Access

Terraforming Controls

The other members of Shadow crowded around the hologram, waiting for X-ray to plan his next move.

"Command, which option do I select?" radioed X-ray.

"Obviously what we need is the data archive, so select 'Archival Access'." commanded the crew on the Blackjack.

X-ray nodded and extended his uninjured arm to select the hologram. However, his curiosity and wounded state got the better of him, and he decided to select the option "Terraforming Controls".

"What the hell are you doing!" yelled a crewman from the Blackjack.

"Hold on, I need to see this." muttered the rifleman.

The hologram began to load and flashed a blinking sentence in ancient greek.

"What does it say?" muttered Overwatch.

"It's saying error." whispered X-ray.

"Error? What could possibly be wrong with this thing?" asked Scorch.

"Is everything all right?" called out Twilight from behind.

"Yeah, just give us a moment." assured Scarecrow. He turned around to face his team. "X-ray, what's going on."

"I just pressed the Terrfaroming option and it's telling me that there's an error." explained the rifleman.

He looked down on the hologram and saw there was an option that was labeled and roughly translated to 'assess'.

So it would be just like running a maintenance program. thought X-ray. It would be simple enough. The commando tapped the button and it revealed a new wall of text.

"Now what does it say?" asked Scorch.

There was a hint of anxiety in X-ray's voice. He was beginning to sweat. "Hold on, give me a moment to read and figure this shit out."

"My goodness." whimpered Fluttershy. "Are you alright?"

X-ray wiped his forehead with his gloved hand. "I'm fine."

Two solid minutes passed. X-ray nodded and spoke in an audible manner.

"According to the passage, it's stating that there is a glitch in Equestira."

The crowd was silent.

Twilight broke said silence with a little giggle. "What do you ever mean by glitch?"

"Before the user continues to utilize the creation program, the system has detected an incomplete organic rendering of the planetary body as well as its lifeforms. Do you wish to fix?"

"What does incomplete rendering mean?" muttered Pinkie Pie.

Scorch cleared his throat. "Well, when you render an a three dimensional object in a computer you have to go through a variety of steps like laying out the base, adding coloring, depth, textures, and finally-"

The demo man immediately stopped talking and the entire Crystal Empire was silent. One could hear the wind blowing.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Did they just break or something?"

"Beats me sugarcube." sighed Applejack.

Cadance waved her hood in front of Scarecrow's face to get him to respond. It failed.

Suddenly, crackles from Scorch's mic could be heard.

"Of course." realized the commando. "It all makes perfect sense now."

"What on Equestria do you mean darling?" said Rarity.

"Incomplete. Rendering." remarked X-ray slowly. He picked up Twilight and looked her straight in the eye. "OF COURSE! We finally found the answer to Equestria."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yup, they've broke."

"What answer to Equestria!" yelled Twilight. "What is going on?"

"The answer to it's appearance! Why it looks the way it does." cheered Scarecrow. "Twilight, the reason why Equestria looks so different from the rest of the universe is because it is an incomplete terraforming rendering!"

Twilight squinted her eyes."How are we an incomplete rendering and what does this have to do with anything?"

X-ray took a deep breath. "Look, the reason why Equestria looks differently from the rest of the universe, the reason why you are all animated is because this entire planet was not completed in its formatting of objects while being Terraformed. Thus without the proper additions, Equestria looks like a cartoon rather than a realistic object and accounts for every object containing only half the matter that it should have. And the reason why ponies look uncomfortable looking at us is because we have basically more complex models than you all do. You're diminutive form doesn't have the ability to process ours!"

"..............."

"That makes sense right?" muttered Overwatch nervously.

"Well, you supposedly are the experts in the field." shrugged Twilight.

"The congressmen and scientists on the Blackjack seem to agree." checked Scorch. "They believe it's the most logical outcome."

Scarecrow placed a finger on his bandana. "But I don't get it. If the Heart is stating there was a Terraforming error, it means that the entire planet of Epona had to be created from orbit by an alien race. And if the heart ITSELF is detecting a terraforming error, that means-"

"CAN WE JUST GET TO THE LIBRARY ALREADY SO WE CAN ANSWER OUR DARN QUESTIONS!" yelled a high pitched voice.

The humans turned around to face the source of the voice. It came from none other than Fluttershy.

The yellow Pegasus panted angrily until she realized what she had done. Fluttershy noticed the shocked expressions of the Crystal Ponies and blushed in return.

"Alright, we'll go the library already." face palmed Scarecrow.

"Can we at least see what will happen if I select 'fix error' first?" asked X-ray.

"That sounds pretty risky." warned Twilight.

"My Pinkie sense is telling me it's pretty safe." contested Pinkie Pie.

Normally, X-ray would question such a statement, but his VI ran over the worse case scenario a moment before; nothing too serious. He hastily tapped 'Fix Error'.

More text appeared and detailed what was about to occur. Most of the text did not translate properly and formed incoherent sentences, but it mentioned that it would provide a quick solution to the 'deformity' of the planet and restore it to working condition.

X-ray tapped enter.

And everything flashed white.

The commandos felt no pain, their kinetic barriers weren't even detecting any signs of damage. There wasn't even any form of distortion in their hearing. However, they heard the cries of ponies. They hoped they weren't in any sort of trouble.

Finally, the blinding light seized and Scorch found himself on the ground. The sudden blinding light startled him and thrust him to the ground.

The demo man's vision focused itself back into clarity. The first thing Scorch did was check his HUD for any signs of possible damage. He hoped the Heart didn't do anything detrimental.

Luckily he was fine. Just as he got up, he heard chatter coming from his radio.

"Shadow! Are you alright?" yelled a crew member from the Blackjack. "A white aura just flashed past the entire damn planet!"

Scorch shook his head and turned to his wrist computer. "Relax. Situation is alright. I just-"

The commando stopped talking the moment he took note of his surroundings. Everything in Equestria all of a sudden looked like.........

Him. Earth. The Universe. Not Eponan.

In other words, everything looked like this:

Almost nothing was animated anymore. Every object was as realistic as it could have been. The grass, the Crystal Buildings and the Sky itself no longer looked like it came from a cartoon anymore.

Scorch turned to the left and noticed his comrades. He could tell their mouths were dropped behind their masks.

All of a sudden, he began to hear the outcries coming from the congressmen on Apex through his radio as they voiced their disbelief as well.

"My universe." gasped X-ray.

Scarecrow couldn't control his speech, "What? Just? Why? But? How?"

Overwatch. "This keeps getting weirder."

The ponies meanwhile were gasping and moaning at the sight of their new surroundings. The realism of their environment began to take fill their minds with wonder and joy.

Shadow noted however, that the ponies themselves were still animated despite the change of environment.

Rainbow Dash did a twirl in mid air. "Woah! Everything looks so....so?"

"Realistic? Or highly rendered?" smiled Pinkie Pie.

"So this is what the universe is supposed to look like, right?" smiled Rarity.

There was no response from Shadow.

Applejack kept waving her hoof in front of their masks and giggled. "We aren't going to get anywhere if you four guys keep locking up on us like that!"

"I don't understand." finally said X-ray after swearing in Armenian. "How did the Heart just change the landscape of a planet in the push of a button? I mean, I know I tapped the hologram and all, but the way the Heart completed the act should be impossible. Changing an entire planet's landscape in an instant flash would have SERIOUS repercussions. It felt just like-"

"Magic?" concluded Twilight.

"Come again?" muttered Scorch.

"Look, there might not be any magic, but didn't you four say that any form of highly advanced technology or scientific process is indistinguishable from magic?" reminded Twilight.

The members of Shadow looked at each and shrugged. They couldn't believe they almost forgot their own mantra.

"You're right Twilight." nodded Scarecrow. "I'm sure there's an explanation for this, unorthodox technology once we head to the archives."

An idea hit Scorch's head. "Wait, now that everything is not animated, does that mean-"

The demo man cut his sentence as he reached down to the ground (ignoring the chatter of the confused Crystal Ponies) and scooped a pile of soil in his hands.

Sure enough, the weight of the soil was no longer too light. It felt just like picking up a non animated chunk of dirt on Earth. The demo man let the dirt sink through his gloved hands.

"Now that the planet has officially been fully terraformed, it means that every object now attains a normal mass." remarked Scarecrow. "No more crushing chairs or benches for us."

"Wait, so does that technically make us stronger?" called out Cadance from the back.

"In a way." confirmed Scorch. "Now this planet isn't a half completed terraforming project. Now the planet is truly like the others in the universe."

"That's awesome!" cried Rainbow Dash. "Now we actually have a fighting chance against the alliance."

"I wouldn't bet on that Dash." debunked Overwatch. "If you've been improved through terraformation, so have the Griffins, Dragons, and the rest of the planet."

"It also makes it WORSE for us, considering that it will theoretically require us to DOUBLE our normal combat output to be successful, exacerbated by the fact that we're all injured." added Scarecrow.

The ponies formed solemn expressions.

"How do you think everyone else feels now the planet has been altered?" questioned Rarity.

X-ray crossed his arms "I'd assumed the alliance has been startled by the sudden change. They'll rightfully blame it on us. Although I don't think anyone is hurt in some form. With any luck, it'll put a delay on the alliance's attack."

"So this is what if felt like for you four?" pointed Shining Armor. "To be non animated objects within an uncompleted world?"

"More or less." shrugged Scorch. "Although the situation has been inverted. Instead of normal entities present in a barely rendered world, you're now animated in a relatively normal planet."

"One question though." squeaked Fluttershy. "Why does everything else look so funny, but we still look the same?"

"Yeah, and why aren't we getting pain in our heads for seeing the world like this?" added Pinkie Pie.

X-ray's eyes shot open under his bandanna and turned to the heart. There was a wall of text being emitted on the hologram which he read closely. It was a summary of the effects the Heart enacted on the environment.

"Huh, it turns out I only set the Heart to alter the terrain and inanimate objects of Epona rather than the lifeforms." realized X-ray. "The hologram reads 'Base components of organic lifeforms now altered. Do you wish to complete aesthetic changes?'"

"Meaning?" checked Applejack.

"Meaning that while you have the qualities of a non animated object such as increased mass, you still look like something from a little girl's cartoon." clarified Scarecrow.

"And the reason why you aren't going insane anymore is because your no longer an incomplete terraformation. You're all now capable of comprehending higher rendered objects." added Scorch.

X-ray looked back at the console. "So, should I complete the aesthetic rendering or what?"

"Well, I for one have grown accustomed to their animated looks. Besides, them look like real life midget horses is probably going to look uncanny valley as hell." hinted Scorch.

"Regardless, none of this make any sense." complained X-ray. "I know the ancient humans are advanced and all, but if the races claim we didn't create them, why is Equestria regarded as an incomplete terraformation, indicating that it was supposed to be terraformed in the first place?"

"Let's just push to the library already. Enough distractions." ordered Scarecrow.

X-ray nodded and shifted his attention to the console. He tapped the exit button and was returned to the main menu, where all the options were displayed in front of him.

He finally selected 'Archival Access'.

A new message appeared, displaying the phrase 'Do you wish to keep the gate open or closed during stay?'

"What's it saying?" asked Twilight.

"Something about a gate." frowned X-ray. "Odd, as I don't see one."

"It's a translation error." guessed Scorch. "The phrase gate probably is referring to an inter dimensional portal of some sort. After all, the archives are located within sub space."

X-ray nodded. "I'll just order the machine to leave it open to make sure it doesn't close up on us permanently."

The rifleman tapped the command and the Hologram flashed its loading symbol once more.

After a relatively uneventful moment where ponies continued to express awe at the change of environment, the ground begin to slightly shake. Not like an earthquake, but vibrations were felt.

"WWWWWWHHHHHATTTSSSS HHHHAAAAPPPEEEENNNIIIINGGGG?" shivered Pinkie Pie as she bounced up and down.

Shadow stood their ground.

"Everypony stay calm!" yelled Scarecrow.

The order had little effect as ponies started to panic. Thankfully, the disturbance only lasted a brief moment and the mild tremors ceased.

Before anyone could say anything, a portal suddenly lit up.

A bright violet portal that swirled like a warm hole. The hole was essentially a rip in the very fabric of time and space, with dark energy accelerating the movement of molecules the same way the universe expanded.

As the portal was a cut in space time, it would lead to sub space where it would normally send the object to the other side of the universe, like falling through a hole. This one however, would simply lead them to a fixed location in sub space. Or at least that's what Shadow assumed it would do.

The Mane 6 huddled together as they witnessed the portal swirl in position. Although the Mane 6 were now capable of seeing realistic objects without any drawbacks, the portal still frightened them for some reason. The sound of swirling matter did not help their situation.

"Is this the portal that will lead us to the archives?" gulped Fluttershy.

"Most likely." nodded Scorch.

X-ray swore in Armenian once more. "One thing strikes me odd though. It should be impossible for a portal to just appear out of thin air without proper equipment necessary to implement a space time rip. Nor should we able to see the portal since dark energy is far above the visible light spectrum. I mean, I know our ancestors were advanced and all, but-"

"Shut up." gritted Overwatch.

Scarecrow cleared his throat "Alright Shadow. Right now, we're going to pass by an archive that hasn't been active for a thousand years. Keep yourself alert at all times when we are there."

"Wait a minute, is it safe to pass through?" muttered Scorch.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow "Aren't you guys supposed to be experts in these things?"

"We don't know everything Rainbow Dash." debunked X-ray. "Besides, we're usually inside massive star ships that are built to withstand the cruel and unforgiving eldritch nature of subspace. We're not supposed to pass through without any protection."

"But I teleport all the time." defended Twilight.

"I thought we mentioned that your teleportation is the variant that requires no sub space rip." noted Scarecrow.

Shadow's commander proceeded to turn to his wrist computer. "Command, what's your status on our entry?"

"Four fifths of the house have voted in favor of passing through." radioed a the head of the COC.

"Overwatch, you're far better at math and physics than me or whatever is on the Blackjack, should we make a move?" questioned X-ray.

The sniper paused for a minute as calculations appeared all over his HUD. He nodded and spoke. Although being Overwatch, it felt more like a series of growls.

"From what I'm getting, the portal will indeed take us to an area locked in space time. It's unit time as well, meaning that the same amount of times passed in the archives is the equivalent to the amount of time being passed here in Equestria. It won't collapse in on its own unless it remains open for overly long periods of time which should be an issue for us."

"You calculated all that in your head?" frowned Shining Armor.

"Of course not." sighed Overwatch. "My HUD's a damn super computer. I just put the formula into effect."

Shadow turned around to the portal and each nodded.

"We don't know what's on the other side Shadow. I suggest you prep yourselves for hostiles." radioed a Blackjack crew member.

Twilight watched how the four commandos began to arm themselves.

Scarecrow finally took his gloved hands off his chest and revealed a scathing site. His hands were covered in blood that was pouring from the cut in his chest piece. Granted it wasn't a lot and he was capable of surviving it, but it still disturbed the ponies nonetheless.

Shadow's commander reached for the shotgun on his chest piece and loaded 5 rail rounds into it.

X-ray, who's right arm was still in a battered condition, reached for his rail pistol. A gauss magazine had been loaded onto it, but the commando would be in deep trouble if he ran out, considering he couldn't reload.

Overwatch was able to stand, but walking was a different problem entirely. Scorch took note and once again helped balance him.

Overwatch held Scorch's pistol with one hand while Scorch was strong enough to carry his rifle with his.

"We're Oscar Mike." gritted Scarecrow.

Shadow slowly stepped forward to the portal until-

"WAIT!" cried Pinkie Pie.

Shadow turned around with surprised expressions under their mask.

The Mane 6 galloped towards the commandos.

"You almost left without us!" scolded Rainbow Dash.

"Well, that was kind of the point." said Scorch.

"We can't just let you go alone like that!" insisted Rarity. "Who knows what could be in there."

"Exactly! That's why we don't want you to come. The last thing we want is for you six to be killed!" replied Scarecrow.

"That won't happen! We have you four for crying out loud!" countered Applejack.

"Besides, things are less scary when there is more of you around." added Fluttershy.

Scarecrow looked at his wounds. "Actually, I think the situation is more akin to you making sure we get out alive. Plus, I guess you have the right to see what lays beyond as well."

"What about me?" asked Cadance.

"You need to stay here." advised Scorch. "In case anything happens to us, you'll still be around. The Crystal Ponies need you."

"With all due respect, it is my domain and the Crystal Heart is my cutie mark."

"You are right that it is your domain, but that is why we need you to protect it." replied Scarecrow. "And the heart may be your cutie mark, but it its NOT in the context of it being an ancient human artifact."

Cadance sighed. "Just be safe."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine." assured Twilight. There wasn't much sincerity in her voice.

"Come on girls, an ancient alien library located in trans dimensional space with information that will make our mind rot can't be that scary. Right?" chirped Pinkie Pie.

The group hesitantly made their way to the portal as the onlookers of the Crystal Empire remained silent.

"Be warned Shadow." radioed command. "Once you enter the portal, we'll effectively be cut off from your signal. Make sure you take note and record everything you see. Until you get out, you're on your own."

"Understood. We're oscar mike." complied Scarecrow.

One by one, the humans and former elements entered the portal and disappeared to the other side.

Author's Notes:

Yes, I'm alive. I've been working some other stuff which will be released soon. In other news, class is overwhelming. Easy for me, but overwhelming.

Part 2 will be out soon. Hopefully it won't take me that long.

Besides, 7000 plus words is far more than what the average chapter is on fimfiction.