Second Chance was more nervous now than she had been approaching a Griffon dreadnaught in an unfinished airship. She felt none of the sun on her back this bright morning, and dragged her hooves a little as she made her way through Ponyville towards the place ponies were calling the "human wall." Most of her traveling supplies had already been loaded onto the Fury, so all she brought was her tablet computer in a sling over her shoulder. Just one awful meeting to sit through, and she would be off. Her friends were making final preparations to leave, taking advantage of the Crown's generous sponsorship to be as over-prepared as possible.

She didn't make it halfway there before being stopped. This was a regular part of Chance's life ever since Twilight had gone from Princess in name to Princess in deed. Most ponies were too afraid to approach her with what they considered trivial matters, or to ask her questions they considered unimportant. Her apprentice was another story, though. Placed closely to their local princess, Chance had a few heroic deeds to her name to grant her enough respect to be worth asking. As a result, she was frequently accosted when Equestria was in any distress, even though she rarely knew more about it than anypony else did.

Though this certainly qualified as a time of distress, her look of focused concentration dissuaded any of the usual busybodies that might have bothered her for "inside" information. She welcomed the sort of bother that came to her that morning. It was Pipsqueak, dressed as though he expected to go on a long journey. Thick saddlebags and the wide-brimmed explorer's cap sent a message. He intended to come with her.

But he didn't have to say it. Instead he waited in the road in front of her as she approached, and moved himself into the way. Not that she had even considered moving past him without a conversation first. After all, this might be the last time they had a chance to speak for months. With as crazy as the war was becoming already, it was possible they would never meet again. Though it seemed that if Pipsqueak got his way what happened to one would happen to the other. Chance stopped walking when she was only a few inches from him and met his eyes.

She couldn't help what happened next. She embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder as she cried. There was something to be said for physical contact and its ability to comfort somepony. With everypony she knew so busy that there had been no time for even a moment of privacy, Chance hadn't had any relief from the awful things she had seen. But she couldn't stay like that forever. Eventually she pulled away, wiping away her tears with one leg.

"You planned on leaving me behind." It was not a question. "After all the adventures we've had. After meeting your magic cube. Exploring all those ruins..." There was no hiding the pain in his voice.

It was too much for her, but she was already crying a little so his words couldn't make that much worse. Her voice cracked as she answered, "We're going to be wandering all over Equestria during a war. It's really dangerous-"

"And a war isn't?" He looked forcefully at her. "All the young ponies are volunteering, you know. The stories coming back from Los Pegasus... Nopony wants to let that happen here. Why would staying here be any safer?" Of course, she had no answer, because of course it wasn't. In theory their mission was quite a bit safer, if they followed it exactly. The assignment had been to take Truth somewhere he wouldn't be discovered and stay there to protect him, which would almost surely guarantee they were left alone until the end of the war. It would also guarantee they couldn't do anything useful, so they already had plans to disobey.

But Pipsqueak went on. "I'm coming with you... We both know that we can do more good with the Fury than we ever could as ordinary soldiers. I don't have any magic, and I can't join the Air Corps. But if I'm with you, I can still make a difference!"

Ponies were watching them from the shops and houses now. No doubt the gossip about their relationship would be burning through town by afternoon. It wasn't as though ponies had more important things to worry about or anything. "That's not my decision," she answered, but the defense sounded weak even to herself. "Scootaloo's the captain-"

"I already talked to her, that was how I found out you would be at this meeting. She said it was fine with her so long as I got some sort of shot thing... and you said it was okay." He took a few steps toward her so their faces were only inches apart. Chance felt his hot breath on her face, but there was nothing sensual about it as a few nights ago.

"The shot's a big deal." The explanation was true, though it was mostly to stall for time. "All the Fury's crew use the Nanophage to control the ship and communicate with each other. Once you're injected you're dependent for life, it's a very serious-" In response, Pipsqueak twisted one of his legs so she could see the bulge on the underside. "Oh." Chance recognized the injection at once by the radio "ping" it gave her, along with the simple message. 'Calibrating. Integration expected in 48:25:12' Her shocked expression seemed to satisfy Pipsqueak, because he waited patiently for her to recover.

"It c-could be dangerous," she stammered. "I d-don't... the idea you could get hurt with us..." Again, it seemed Pipsqueak had anticipated her response. He was too good at reading her, too smart for his own good. Pipsqueak kissed her. Of course neither of them were very good. Chance had been married to her work back on Luna-7 and hadn't had any romantic experiences since her early teen years. Besides, the structure of pony lips were different and the same motions didn't really work. For his part, Pipsqueak was young, and she suspected had no romantic experiences at all apart from her.

It didn't matter. They were both too young and too full of hormones to notice or care that the experience was clumsy. "I don't care how dangerous it is," he whispered, when the kiss was over and she was resting her head on his. "I want to be with you through this. I know you and the other Crusaders are ready to go through Tartarus for everypony else. That rescue yesterday, that was some real hero stuff. Well, heros need help too, and you shouldn't be alone. I want to be there for you. To be there with you. Won't you let me?"

Chance thought about it, or tried to. She wasn't really thinking with her head anymore. There had been too much pain in the last few days for rational thought, and hormones were a wonderful alternative to feeling depressed. "Okay," she whispered, not wanting to break contact with him. Of course, that little voice in her head was screaming that she was going to be late, that she had to get going right now. These weren't just ordinary ponies that were waiting for her, but important generals and commanders from Equestria and beyond. She couldn't stay here with Pipsqueak even if she wanted to.

"But I have to go." She jerked herself away. "Make yourself at home on the ship. There aren't many rooms, so I guess... You'll have to share my quarters. Let Scootaloo know this meeting should only take a few hours, and I'll come galloping over as soon as I'm finished."

"You got it. I really don't mind sleeping on the floor so long as I get to be useful." Pipsqueak hugged her again, but briefly this time. "Thanks, Chance! I know you won't regret this!" With that he was off, as though he were afraid that staying behind might give her the opportunity to change her mind. He was right.

Chance heard the sounds of labor before she was close enough to really see anything over the fence. The sound of tractor engines as they chewed up huge sections of ground, the sound of motorized saws as they toppled the massive trees and turned them into lumber to build the structures. As she drew closer it seemed as though she were watching the building of two separate camps and not one large one. In just a few nights there were already nearly as many structures between the two camps as in Ponyville, save that most of the structures looked like glorified tents, nothing like the sturdy construction of Ponyville.

There were other divisions as she grew closer. The UEF camp had far more smaller structures, the tents and quarters of the individual soldiers. The Steel Tower troops had no need to eat or sleep, and so everything on their side was related in one way or another to the labor taking place. She could see a trail burned straight through the Everfree leading to a series of low hills, and heard the rumble of distant mining machinery. There was also an airfield on their side, with just over a dozen of the manned drones parked side by side.

The fence was unguarded on the human side, but a few members of the royal guard stood duty outside and watched her skeptically as she approached. They weren't locals, or else they would not have even tried to stop her. Yet they did.

"This is no place for a filly," barked a grizzled old stallion, more in her general direction than directly at her. "Guard recruiting is on the other side of town, near Sweet Apple Acres. You must've got turned around."

She couldn't blame the stallions for doing their job, though she also couldn't stop herself from feeling annoyed. "I'm expected. Princess Luna and Princess Twilight are waiting for me in there."

Chance had been through this dance before perhaps a dozen times in recent years as she traveled through Equestria with the Crusaders upgrading the defenses of each city. At first she hadn't blamed the Guard for their skepticism, since when she had started she really had been just a filly. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't take some measure of perverse glee in the absolute predictability of these encounters. Each and every time it was as though she had passed the guards a script and they politely read along. "The princesses are much too busy to be bothered," came the response, exactly on cue. "If you want to see them, you will have to put in a petition into the court at Canterlot. I’m going to have to ask you to leave."

This was the part of the dance when Chance pulled out her identification, which was a flat rectangle of metal about two hooves by one. One's "security level" was represented by the presence of seals set into the metal, which could only be engraved by the magic of one of the princesses. There were four levels, each of which could exist independently. Twilight's Cutie Mark gave one access to restricted human technology, and that was first on Chance's identification. Cadence's Cutie Mark was essentially leave to go into any of the restricted or dangerous parts of the Crystal Empire, and that was next. Luna's meant complete military access, clearance to attend any of the highest strategic councils, to learn any restricted information presented there, and requisition supplies or personnel when required. Next to that, the only symbol she had that the other Crusaders didn't have on their own similar badges, was the mark of Celestia's Cutie Mark. Bearers of this mark had the authority to represent the Crown when required, with absolute authority over local officials or military leaders of any level when they exercised it. Such a mark could get her into any part of Equestria, and access to even the most dangerous or restricted technology and information.

The mark was so rare that Chance knew of no other pony in Equestria who currently possessed it, aside from the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Of course, Chance had never exercised the authority before, as Celestia had instructed when she had added the mark to her identification.

The guard looked annoyed at first when Chance levitated the identification over, glancing warily at the cutie mark in the corner that was meant to identify the owner and comparing it to Chance's flank. His face scanned mechanically over the marks, eyes getting wider as he saw each one. No doubt they were so far above his own security clearance that it was difficult to imagine what a young mare would have done to earn them.

The next part was equally predictable. As soon as his eyes reached Celestia's mark, he immediately lowered himself into a bow. "Solar Hierophant, forgive the disrespect. The office of our princess we honor in your words."

She groaned. Scootaloo might've liked this part and Sweetie Belle always giggled, but Chance hated it. It reminded her too much of the way the Steel Tower acted, with all their pretension to medieval royalty and lordship and titles. She easily removed her ID from the guard's grip with her magic and returned it to her bag. "Just stop bowing and let me in. And if you're here next time, just let me in, don't make me show you that again. I'm expected."

The cold attitude was gone now, and if anything the guard captain seemed a little furtive and fearful. Maybe he worried that she was some noble he had just snubbed, spoiling his career. As if Chance would ever use the authority the princesses had entrusted her to wade into stupid military politics. "O-of course." The lead guard turned to one of his inferiors, who hadn't been bowing all that deeply. Chance suddenly recognized him from Twilight's personal guard. He saw her expression, and winked at her. She smiled back, stifling a giggle behind a leg. Sterling Defender had known who she was and just let it all happen! The leader of the guard did seem like he could use some help relaxing.

Her amusement lasted until she made it through the gate. Had she been late to an important meeting before, she would have expected Twilight Sparkle to be standing there, with a lecture already prepared about the importance of punctuality. Twilight was nowhere to be seen. Chance’s sister, however, was.

It was hard to get over just how big humans looked. She had spent more than twice as much time as a human than she had as a pony, yet it was hard to imagine being so far from the ground now, walking around without being able to see it in her peripheral vision all the time. Seeing the Steel Tower men hadn't been so bad, since they had been strangers to her and scarcely human anyway as she reckoned things. Her magical senses did not see them at all, like inanimate objects that the native thaumaturgical field of Equestria could pass through without being influenced even a degree to one side or another.

These living humans were different. Earth had no magic at all except for the faint fluctuations her people called the Schrodinger Effect. She stopped in her tracks, looking up at her sister and letting her eyes lose focus a little, trying to quantify what she was looking at.

The magic of Equestria flowed through everything and back again, like the entire planet was one gigantic electrical network and every living thing was an individual circuit. Most things had no resistance at all. Magic flowed into the plants and lesser animals, gave them life and some measure of thought, then passed back again. Only conscious beings could alter the flow, and ponies more than most. Magic flowed into them and the flow was weaker coming out again, like a capacitor being charged. The other races of Equestria that could not use magic, goats and donkeys and minotaurs for example, did not have much greater resistance than plants. This was what she expected from humans, but it was not the result that occurred.

Like ponies, the magic flowing into her sister was barely a trickle as it flowed out again, down through the crown of her head and back out again through her feet. She wasn't lit up like a unicorn might be, as magic stored up inside the organs meant to contain it. It was more like watching a thirsty person given water for the first time in days. She drank and drank and drank, with little sign of slowing or glowing any brighter with the magic as it grew. It wasn't a black hole, though, not inert like the Steel Tower soldiers. Very slowly, the darker blues of her flesh were lighting up. It might take days or it might take weeks, but...

The human body was doing something with the magic. It wasn't radiation, wasn't something unknown. What was happening to them? Chance found herself wishing that she had some time to talk to Twilight about this. No doubt if her ignorant apprentice had put this together then the master had figured it out long ago. What did this mean about humans? What did this imply?

Of course, she also took about that long to realize this intellectual puzzle was just a way to escape from her feelings about meeting her sister. Alexi hadn't seen her since the night before the experiment that had sent her to this world, when she had stormed out of Kimberly's quarters in rage and fear. Nearly a dozen volunteers had already been killed by the process that separated mind from body, or were at least presumed dead. Nobody believed the changes Kimberly had made would make a difference. As it turned out, they had, and the universal gulf had been bridged forever.

But it had been years before Chance had been able to establish a link to the other side. In the human world, she had been presumed dead like all the others, even if her official status was "Missing in Action." Years until Truth was able to discover a way to compress a communications signal through the molecule-wide gap between universes that the experiment had left behind. But in all the time since then, nearly seven years, Chance had never once sent a message to her sister.

She had tried. Composed several such communications, but deleted them at the last second. She had sent a few messages to her little nephew Robert, who was not quite so little anymore. But not many. Heck, her friend Lyra had sent more messages to her family than she had! But she couldn't keep running forever. She even glanced once over her shoulder, as though she thought about darting away. But her desire to escape was not so great as her desire to help Equestria. There weren't any other ponies who knew as much about technology as she did, who could prevent its rulers from being duped by ignorance. Only her.

Her sister looked down at her from that towering bipedal stature, dressed in the brilliant gray and black of the Free People's Army. There was no mistaking admiralty when she saw it, though of course she had already known to expect it. Otherwise this meeting might not have to happen in the first place. The sounds around them seemed to die, though the sparks as machines chewed great trunks to dust had not lessened, nor the groan of motors and machines. But Chance didn't hear it as she stumbled forward, perhaps a meter away.

"You're... the Equestrian ambassador, are you not?" The woman eventually asked. It was strange to hear English spoken so fluently after all this time, strange on her ears in a world that had no languages like it. But for all that the voice was familiar, the same one she had heard all her life. The same one that had comforted her every night after the disastrous evacuation of Seattle. Her closest friend, vicarious mother. Yet there was something cold about her choice of words. All business.

Chance found the strength not to cry, and she focused her mind into the clearest English words she could. It took a little relying on the Neuroboost implants in her brain to dig up the old memories, so seldom had they been used in recent years. No doubt she had an accent like all the natives. But unlike most natives, she could speak it. "I'm sorry if I have delayed our meeting. I was nervous about seeing you." Apple Bloom had taught her that there was no weapon more effective in family disputes than absolute honesty. In her time of stress, she had no reason not to trust her friend's council.

"You're really..." Alexi shuffled a step or two closer, looking at her. "They said you were, but I didn't... Guess I thought you might be in a costume or something."

Chance laughed weakly. "And I don't remember you ever being so tall."

The admiral that was also Chance's elder sister smiled very slightly, reaching out to muss her mane as she had done so many times before. In a way this felt very much as it had all those years ago, before Kimberly had hit her growth spurt. It was strange to feel a human hand in her mane, but not in a bad way. Her sister's hand was warm and alive, and the shape was familiar to her. It was like being a child all over again.

Of course, it didn't last long. Officer or not, Alexi had an image to present to her subordinates, and this wasn't a place for family bonding. "Well, we better get inside," Chance said, walking briskly toward the tent. "We can... talk a little later. When the meeting's over."

"Yeah." Alexi sounded distant, almost wistful. "After the meeting. You've got some explaining to do."

Princess Twilight Sparkle did not often have important royal duties to perform, not really. Until very recently Celestia had more or less counted on her own self-determination of responsibilities (which fairly often involved saving Equestria from one threat or another). But Celestia was gone now. Not far, granted. The Everfree might not technically be a part of Equestria, might even be a part easy to teleport or even walk to if Twilight wanted to. But Celestia had left specific instructions that she was not to be visited, and Luna was to be relied on completely for relaying her will and instructions. Not that there had been many of those so far. Celestia had always ruled primarily by putting ponies she could trust in positions of power and trusting them to govern themselves.

This might be the most important meeting of their century, might be the single meeting that decided whether this war would end in victory or defeat, but all Celestia had said about it was "I trust you, my faithful student. You will make the right choices." While such a statement was profoundly flattering, it was also unhelpful. And to add to Twilight's misgivings, her apprentice was running late.

The meeting itself was taking place in one of the temporary buildings the Earth Federation had set up, which already looked strange to her eyes. The ceiling was rows and rows of identical white rectangles, with lights set into the plain ceiling evenly placed in the foam tiles. The building itself had an atmospheric seal, and an airlock she had to stand in with Luna while the humans operating the facility determined that they carried no dangerous contamination. Of course, Twilight had half a mind to tell the young human technician operating the airlock that the atmospheric seal was doing absolutely nothing to keep out thaumatic radiation, and that already magic was saturating every living thing. Not just the humans themselves, but the little potted plants they had brought to brighten up the interiors as well. Everything seemed to be coming alive, and it frightened Twilight a great deal.

She would say nothing of it. Humans had no way to detect magic, no sensor to the invisible intangible field that flowed throughout Equestria. Something in Twilight's gut told her this information would be critical before the end of all this, and it was safest as close to her chest as possible. She glanced at the technician and back at Luna, who gave her a meaningful look and walked past her. At least she wasn't the only pony who knew.

The conference room was set around a large holographic display set into the floor, much bigger than any of the displays that had been built in Equestria. A round table was set around it, with three groups of seating arrangements. Of course the pony side didn't have chairs, per her instructions. Regal mares like herself and Luna would have looked stupid sitting in the human-built seats. Of course several of the chairs in the room were already occupied.

The chair waiting for the human admiral was empty, as she was outside waiting for her sister. There was something subtly menacing about the man sitting at what would be her right. Twilight hadn't seen many living humans yet, but this one seemed very strange. Magic seemed to bend around him rather than through him as it did the others, and something was wrong with his proportions somehow. His forehead was too high, his skull larger, and his hair was so pale it was almost transparent, like a sheet of thin glass. His eyes were fierce and dark, like burning cinders.

The other section of table was full already, where the men of the Steel Tower sat. King Richard's burns and injuries were all gone, though the royal robes he wore were still the Equestrian replacements and not new human manufactured ones. A sign of respect, perhaps? At his side was a slightly smaller but equally young-looking man, with darker skin and a very calm expression. Twilight had not met him, though only recently had any non-military people come through from the Tower. His body looked smaller and leaner than the Tower soldiers she had seen, much closer in proportion to the biological humans all around them than Richard. More realistic, perhaps?

Twilight sat at Luna's right, just as Chance would sit at hers when she arrived. She removed the tablet computer from the satchel she had been carrying and levitated it onto the table in front of her, going over the presentation her apprentice had helped her put together. Luna had given her the responsibility of directing this meeting, and ensuring that they remained on topic. She had done the same thing in many royal functions, though never in a meeting with aliens.

The automatic doors to the room slid sideways to admit the human admiral, walking calmly and cooly over to her seat. The door closed, and a few seconds later Chance came hurrying in, looking neither cool nor calm. Still, at least she had the good sense not to enter with her sister. As though the Steel Tower needed any more reason to accuse them of bias. Chance took her place at her side and gave her an encouraging smile. It might be the last smile Twilight would get from her apprentice for a long time.

"A moment of introduction," Twilight began, standing up and making her way into the center of the room. The display, she had already been told, was built to be walked on, so that its contents could be studied from all angles when required. This would be simplest when she had a way to look at everyone at once. "First, I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I'll be conducting today's meeting. Princess Luna-" she gestured, "is presiding as Equestria's master-at-arms and acting monarch. My apprentice, Second Chance-" another gesture, "my adviser." Nothing else. Those who needed to know more about any of them already knew.

She turned to the Steel Tower first. "Would you mind introducing yourselves?"

The man with the lion's beard and giant's build nodded and stood. "I am King Richard, Sovereign of the Steel Tower. This Is Tesla, Chief Seer of the Technocratic Order. The captain of my guard would be in attendance as well, but unfortunately, he remains missing in action after our first joint military action."

Twilight nodded, and directed her gaze to the other part of the table. "And you?"

The tall woman rose, muscular and confident. Well, maybe not so muscular as the male humans. There seemed to be a small measure of sexual dimorphism here. Still, Twilight suspected any contest with her would go about as well for the challenger as any stallion who challenged Applejack. "I am Fleet Admiral Colven, of the Lunar Navy. My aide is-"

"Dr. Samil," he interrupted, the only who had not risen when they were introduced. There was something subtly wrong about the way his voice reverberated through the room, as though the strange appearance of his body were reflected by an even stranger restructuring of his organs. Twilight formed a quick spell in her mind, so quick that she didn't even have to speak it. It was one of the first she had learned in the Academy, a simple charm that told you the relative health of anyone surveyed. Species was no factor, though it couldn't give very detailed information.

Of course the spell was useless when she looked at the Steel Tower people. It did see them as alive, but not "life." Like they were spells themselves, and functioning correctly. The admiral was alive with brilliant green when she saw her, in the prime of health. All the humans looked this way, thanks to those universal injections.

Not Samil, though. As she looked, she found he met her eyes immediately, though there was no way any human should have been able to tell she was casting a spell. The charm died, snuffed out like a candle. Not dispelled, either, because of course humans couldn't do that either. It simply wasn't there. Like it had floated down the currents of a river and off the edge of a waterfall, gone from sight. She looked away as he did his own introduction, his voice as much contempt for Admiral Colven as it was for her or the other occupants of the room. "-Director of Nanotech Research."

A ripple seemed to pass briefly through the other human side of the room, as both Richard and Tesla stared at the man with barely contained rage and disgust. For once, Twilight Sparkle could share a little of the sentiment. What had this man done to earn such a reaction? "Mass murderer, you mean," muttered the man named Tesla, in a thickly accented version of the human language. Perhaps he thought he could insult the humans without making his meaning clear to the ponies, or maybe he just wasn't thinking. Because, unfortunately, everyone present spoke the language well enough to understand his words.

The room got quiet, and everyone stared at him. The absolute calm that had been on his face when the meeting began was gone, and instead that dark-skinned face was practically livid with rage. He did not relent. "Or more dramatic? Author of genocide? Death-spinner?" Tesla wasn't wearing any weapons, and Twilight found herself grateful. No doubt they would have been used if they existed.

Twilight was responsible for saving this meeting, somehow. What was she supposed to do? What could she say? She was so stunned by the allegations, which used words that she only knew thanks to studying English. Equestrian had no word for "Genocide." Just like the distances between stars, her brain could hardly make sense of it.

For all the insinuations, Dr. Samil remained calmly seated in his chair. His dark eyes sparkled as he looked up. "It is not murder to cause a machine to cease to function. That is sabotage. The two are not ethically equivalent." He folded his hands across the table in front of him, and smiled.

Tesla jerked toward him a little, only to be stopped by Richard's firm grip on his shoulder. His expression was intense, but there were no words. After several tense moments, Tesla sat back down, and Richard looked back to Twilight. "Forgive the interruption. My colleague merely reacted badly to the presence of a convicted war criminal. Even I was somewhat... surprised... he was still alive."

Twilight didn't know what to say, but she knew that if she didn't say something this meeting was going to get away and she might not get it back. What enormous hubris it had been to involve both human factions in this war. As biased as her apprentice's advice had always been, at least following it would have prevented an interspecies war from spreading onto Equestrian soil.

Fortunately, Luna saved her, clearing her throat loudly and speaking over everyone. "You should see now why the participants of this meeting were chosen. Each individual here represents a person of power in your respective nations. The military and scientific authorities of both human nations, and the scientific, military, and magical authorities of Equestria. I wished to make you all aware of the enormity of the present threat so that all skills and useful disciplines might be turned to extricating us from the present danger." She gave Twilight a look then, a sign that she should continue without delay.

"Everything we know will be presented in summary. More detailed information will be made available when the meeting is over. First, the present state of the invasion." Her apprentice tapped furiously on her own little tablet, and the display below them responded, becoming a gigantic map of Equestria. Most of the cities were blue, but Los Pegasus and an increasingly wide area around it had been taken. "As you can see, the invaders have taken cities along the western coast, and will soon be close enough to siege Seaddle in the north and Appleoosa in the east. The invaders have won every battle with overwhelming numbers, though they take great casualties with each new city they capture.

"We estimate their present army contains between three to fifteen million goblins, along with 1-3 hundred thousand changelings acting as shock troops and officers. There has been no sign of the smaller, modified changelings we saw in Typhon. The invasion is being led by 5-10 thousand dragons, which we estimate to be about 80% of the present adult population. The scale of this invasion is insane, and what little we know about the enemy troops is... disturbing.

"The goblin foot soldiers appear to be somewhat smaller than Equestria's own ancient goblin population, and less intelligent as well as less independent. We have so-far been unable to capture any live specimens for study, since they..." she shivered, "kill themselves when captured, in rather gruesome ways. They eat anything, including each other, and we believe the invading army has remained free of supply demands as much by looting captured territory as by feeding the army to itself." Another shiver, this time shared by several in the room. Dr. Samil noticeably failed to react, just watching and listening with a bored expression.

"Dragon field commanders along with overwhelming numbers have proven to be the greatest disadvantage, since few ponies of any kind can expect to win a fight with a dragon."

Luna watched the map as Twilight spoke, and nodded in approval. "Explain our present strategy."

Twilight did. "We predict the present pace of opposition to be unsustainable, and have seen little sign of the establishment of conventional supply lines. Convoys of airships mostly, and not very many of them. We believe the enemy strategy to be an overwhelming invasion, taking territory and supplies and moving on. We think they intend to conquer Equestria in one rapid offensive, before the need for supplies becomes a concern. Their present rate of expansion would put them on the walls of Canterlot in sixteen days.

"Our present strategy is mass evacuation and destruction of food resources in abandoned cities. Since the Equestrian food supply is produced largely in the midwest, we have been destroying caches of food in areas in the path of the invasion and abandon them, only putting up resistance in canyons and other territorial bottlenecks capable of slowing the advance for minimal cost in ponies. We have been planning for this war for a long time, so the northern Crystal Empire has been supplied to care for the refugees being sent there. Many of the ponies who flee will be trained for our eventual counterattack or will be put to work in manufacturing centers there.

"We intend to wait for the present attack to either lose steam or draw too close to vital resources, at which point we will concentrate all the force we've gathered by evacuating the western territory, and halt the advance. Hidden thaumic mass-transit conduits in all captured cities should allow for a sizeable force to circumvent the enemy line and attack from both sides at once."

She stopped to catch her breath, looking to Luna for approval. She did see it, but also concern. "Explain the more recent threats," she said. "In detail."

Twilight didn't want to. "The enemy came forward with threats that nuclear explosives have been hidden in several Equestrian cities, and used this threat to force Celestia's temporary abdication. We hope a plan can be put together to search for and disable these devices, if they exist, as quickly as possible. Before she left, Celestia absolutely forbid nuclear weapons of any kind be brought here, regardless of what happens.

"There are also several major powers that have not yet emerged. We believe an enormous force of... historically disreputable ponies... might exist under the command of the enemy, but we haven't seen any proof of them yet. There is also good evidence to suggest the Minotaurs have or will contribute a sizeable army to the invasion. There is also an enormously powerful changeling working for the invaders, who we believe might even be able to impersonate alien species. A decade ago she attempted an assassination of both Celestia and Luna, and very nearly succeeded." Her eyes flicked briefly to her apprentice, then back to the strange forces marshaled around the table. "Lastly, the leader of the Dragon Sovereignty is a being older than anypony else on this planet and thought to be magically equal or even superior to Celestia or Luna. What few messages we have received from the invaders tell us he has crowned himself "King of Equus," though we have no other information about where he might be or what he might be doing to further the invasion."

Luna cleared her throat again. "Thank you, Princess Twilight Sparkle." She looked out to the assembled aliens. "You now know the enormity of our adversaries. Please explain how you intend to help us banish these invaders."