"This message is important, Chance. It's about our new mission-"

Chance's quarters were not large. Like all three of the little bedrooms on the ship, it was scarcely as wide as her body, with a bunk and a trunk that fit underneath. As a result she spent most of her time working from the bunk, stylus and tablet hovering in the grip of her magic as she went about solving some difficult technical problem. It was the same one every time, the one essential to the survival of her species and quite possibly to success in this war. Twilight Sparkle was much too busy to solve every problem and had left this challenge to her.

"Not now, Truth. I'm really onto something. Just send it to the others and I'll read it when I'm finished here." It was mildly interesting to her that the terms of their mission would be changing so soon after leaving Ponyville, but not nearly as interesting as solving this problem. Discover the answer, and she would revolutionize Equestrian thaumaturgy. Discover the answer, and she would save Earth.

The screen of the tablet danced with complex equations, a surface that at actual size could have covered most of the surfaces of the ship. Most of the work was her teacher's, her mother's. Twilight Sparkle had run out of time when the war began, and wouldn't have more until it was over. If they wanted the problem dealt with before Equestria was safe again, she would have to discover the secret herself.

There was a harsh knock on the door, and it swung open before she could speak. Only one pony aboard would dare interrupt Chance while she was in deep concentration, and only because he didn't know any better. She didn't even look up. "Pip?" Chance fiddled with the heavy calculator resting next to her on the bed, though it was really just another tablet with a more direct connection to Truth's quantum functions. "I'm busy." She flashed him a fierce look, along with her most unfriendly expression. “Go make yourself useful somewhere. I'll be done in a few hours."

The earth pony dropped a single printed page from his mouth and set it on the ground. "I am making myself useful," he said, and promptly climbed up in bed beside her, scattering her scribbled notes and papers everywhere. At least she didn't insist on using actual quills and ink like Twilight, even after it had become easy to 3D-print simple things like ballpoint pens. There would've been a nice puddle in the bed with her had that been the case.

What Chance wanted to do was shove Pip right back off the bed, but when she went to do it he only pushed back, and all that physical contact had rather a different effect than she had intended. Biting back her emotions, Chance returned her concentration to the tablet, purposefully turning away. "No you're not. I'm trying to save the world, here. Everypony knows the real war is won in the laboratory."

"What's all that?" Pip looked down at the screen without a trace of recognition. It was true the information passed too quickly for an ordinary biological brain to comprehend, without the help of the Neuroboost implants. His would take at least a day's time to fully develop, and even then they wouldn't convey an instant mastery of unicorn thaumaturgy and human mathematics.

"The way we save the world. The human world, anyway. It would also be a huge advantage in the war." Pip knew her too well. There was no way Chance would actually speak in this situation, except to explain her work. This was always how he got her out of these moods. Even when she realized he was doing it, she was powerless not to act the same way each and every time. It wasn't as though he wasn't genuinely interested! He was, and future conversations always proved he had retained everything she had explained!

"What are you trying to build this time?"

"Not a machine." She looked up from the screen. "Our ships cancel out gravity, right? They make the mass of the airship effectively zero, so it can fly. Why can't we take them as high as we want? Why not all the way into space?"

Pip grinned, and spoke with the voice of a student who knows he's got the answer right. "Because the air gets too thin, right? Even pegasi can't breathe it if you get too high up."

Chance smiled too, smugly satisfied. "Not really, Pip. We've got an air shield spell on the ship already, it's what stops you from getting blown off when we go fast. Any experienced unicorn could hold in an air-bubble. Why don't we?" At Pip's shrug, Chance happily explained. "It's all about Order. The whole universe has magic, as best we can tell with our telescopes. But most everywhere, it acts like a gas. If I pop a balloon, the air inside isn't going to do what I want, it's going to go flying away in all directions as fast as it can! That's what happens everywhere. Magic doesn't want to do any work, it just goes all over the place as fast as it can. Like every other force in the universe, it's beholden to the Laws of Thermodynamics. The second one says..."

Pip's eyes had started to glaze over, a clear sign she was getting too technical. Chance forced herself to take a deep breath and try again. "Magic wants to be as spread out as possible, and it spreads out so fast nopony can do any magic."

"Wait, I thought you needed magic for life! That's what they taught us in school... Are you saying that isn't true?"

Chance nodded. "The world I'm from doesn't have any magic, Pip, and we're just as smart as ponies are. Well, most ponies. I don't think I ever met any humans as smart as Twilight."

He shoved her. "You're only sayin' cuz' she's your mum. If she's so smart, why is she making you do this? She could do it!"

"Probably, yeah. But Twilight's got a whole country to worry about, and we don't." She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. Exactly like her mother might do when giving a lecture. "Anyway, sometimes for no reason anypony understands, magic breaks the rules and collects around something. Ponies collect magic, and so do animals. Even plants collect magic, though not much... But it's all possible because the planet collects it. For all of time, or at least a very long time, instead of letting the magic just fly by, Equus has been soaking it up like a sponge. Here magic breaks the rules. It stayed around for so long, that the life here evolved to depend on it. Life on this planet is completely dependent on magic... it's in all our tissue, every single cell. But it takes a really long time for a pony to die because they don't have magic. Spells, on the other hoof, fall apart almost instantly if you try and send them too far."

"Something about this planet stops magic from working the way it does everywhere else. Instead of just flying out of you, it sticks around, helping you to be strong and tough. Letting me cast spells. Lets Scootaloo walk on clouds and fly even though her wings are way too small for her mass. Get too far away, and magic doesn't just stop working right, it unravels. The Levitation Core holding this ship in the sky wouldn't just turn off, it would turn into a piece of useless crystal. Our air shield would be permanently dispelled. The effect increases exponentially the further away from the planet you go. That's why Equestrian Thaumaturgy never thought of satellites; the spells would've stopped working even in a low orbit."

Pip wasn't stupid, even if he lacked the years of formal human education and more years with a brilliant personal tutor like Twilight. This explanation was sufficient for recognition to finally fill his eyes. "So you're trying to get us into space? How? If magic falls apart, seems to me that even a really advanced spell like the one you're writing there would fall apart."

He was understanding. No teacher was more satisfied than one whose student understood. "That's why Equestrians have always thought they would never visit other worlds. It's a very difficult problem, and one that seems to violate the first Law of Thermo-... It's like a perpetual motion machine. A machine that powers itself, so you never have to give it anything once you get it going? It shouldn't work, because entropy's always running, and the energy you put in will always wear down. But we know it can be done!" She grinned, leaning a little closer to him. "Know why?"

He shook his head, and she was nearly shouting with her excitement now. "Because somepony already has!" She gestured at the window emphatically, down towards the ground. Pip followed her hoof with his eyes, utterly without comprehension, and she had to go on. "Equus! There's no way this could happen on its own, that's not how magic works. In its natural state, magic is just spread out everywhere, like water! A long time ago, somepony got their hooves, or claws, or tentacles, or... whatever it was back then... on the tiniest scrap of magic. They couldn't possibly have done anything big, but somehow they got that little bit to hold together and start sticking to more magic. Eventually the spell got so big it filled the whole planet and made life here possible. It must've happened hundreds of millions of years ago, probably back in the time geologists call the Cambrian. I'd put bits down that the explosion of eukaryotes came from magic being on the planet."

"Maybe it happened naturally, little magical bacterium that all worked the same little spell without realizing it, just like how we ended up with so much oxygen in the air." She stood up, the bed wobbling a little beneath her. But not much. It was mostly just a metal slab with a slice of foam and a sheet. "Maybe it was some hyper-intelligent race seeding magical life through this universe... It doesn't matter! Point is, Equestria already has a spell like the one I'm trying to figure out. Most of this..." And she gestured at the tablet screen with a hoof. "Describes how magic behaves here, and how it's different than anywhere else in the universe we see. All we really have to do is find the bits of the spell that will keep this thing running when we leave the stabilizing effect of Equus. If we can do that..."

She trailed off, almost hyperventilating with excitement. But then, getting caught up in hypotheticals and scientific musing was a bad habit she had learned after coming to Equestria.

Far from looking upset, Pip gazed up at her from the bed with intense interest. Not all intellectual, either. He probably got a pretty good view from under there. "You're really hot when you're smart," he said, leering. "Say more smart things. I'll watch."

That remark had the desired effect, and Chance hopped off the bed to glare at him, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "Did you just come in here to pester me?"

Pip got up too, though there was barely room for both of them to stand in here. "Partly. I also wanted to deliver this." He held it up in his mouth, and spoke the rest half-muffled by the lump in his mouth. "Scootaloo said I should get you to read it before we landed."

Chance rolled her eyes. Pip hadn't been here a day, and her friends were already using him against her. At least it was for her own good. She took the printed page in her magic, scanning over the message quickly.

My Little Ponies,

I have discovered a serious threat against Equestria that I believe only you are qualified to neutralize. I'm sorry to change your mission so unexpectedly, but putting Truth into a more secure position will have to wait. The information is too sensitive for remote transmission. I am sending a pony to meet you at the coordinates at the end of this message, she will tell you everything you need to know and assist you until the threat is resolved. I'm grateful to have such capable ponies to handle things while I am unable to intervene personally.

-C

Chance had no doubt what the "serious threat to Equestria" could be, since Luna had explained it in that meeting earlier today. Nuclear devices hidden throughout Equestria, a sword hanging over their head should the war go too well or they not fight exactly as the enemy wanted. Yet they weren't being forced to surrender completely. That made no sense to the little unicorn, but she knew better than to try and advise the enemy on how to fight effectively.

It didn't surprise Chance that Celestia would have discovered the solution so quickly. Trapped in exile as she was, she was sending them to meet another pony who could give them the information they needed to disarm the bombs. But who, aside from Chance herself, had any chance of disarming nuclear weapons? Twilight, maybe? She had been studying enormous portions of the human library of information.

"When are we meeting this pony?"

"We changed course a few hours ago, back when we started knocking on your door. By now... we're pretty close to landing. Any minute, really."

"And we're taking on another passenger?" Chance subconsciously combed through her mane with her magic, restoring it to its usual order. "Hope they're as knowledgeable as Celestia thinks they are." It was going to be a pain to house another pony on the ship that was already cramped with supplies. Probably it meant somepony sleeping on the floor.

Chance put the paper down on her bed and groaned. "Alright. I guess my work can wait. I wouldn't want to be rude to our new guest."

"But being rude to us is no problem, eh?" In answer, Chance flicked him with her tail as hard as she could, and continued out the door without saying a word.

By the time she reached the deck, Scootaloo was already putting the Fury down in a spacious field. She didn't cut the engines. She hadn't even begun to shout for the ramp to be lowered before the pony waiting for them on the grass had alighted with a flutter of her wings onto the deck.

She was an adult pegasus in her prime, with a faintly pink coat and bright pink mane and a cutie mark depicting a bright sun and a cloud. Still, she had a disheveled look about her, as though she had been flying for a long time. She carried nothing and wore nothing, though there was nothing inherently unusual about that.

"Welcome to the Prismatic Fury," Scootaloo said, waving her hooves through the holographic projection in the air. The ship began to rise. "I'm Captain Scootaloo. Celestia sent you with the details of our mission?"

The pony nodded. "Sunny Skies," she said, in a voice that was either exhaustion or timidity. It was hard to tell which. "I would be grateful for a place to rest, I've been flying all through the night."

Scootaloo nodded. "Of course." She gestured with a hoof at the door that led belowdecks. "Go down the stairs to your right all the way, go ahead and use my cabin. But first, could you tell us where we need to go? Celestia's message only told us we needed to pick you up here."

The pegasus ruffled her wings uncomfortably, her eyes going wide. Almost as though she had forgotten completely that she had a reason for being here. "Of course! Seaddle... As quickly as you can. The guard is already retreating, so it will be occupied territory before we arrive. It would be best if we can get there before the city is firmly in dragon control."

Scootaloo nodded and began to move her hooves rapidly through the holographic controls, her face grim.

Sweetie Belle watched from just beside her, looking between the two pegasi. "Occupied territory... Does that mean there will be ships and dragons and stuff trying to stop us?"

Their guest nodded. "More the longer we take getting there. But you are the flagship, aren't you? Celestia trusts you completely, I'm sure you can get me there." The pegasus turned and vanished belowdecks before anypony else could say anything, leaving the crew looking fearfully into each other's eyes.

"You really think we can get past the dragons?" Sweetie Belle was quiet, her voice fearful. "It was just goblins last time, and they didn't even shoot back."

"Sunny Skies is right, Celestia is trusting us with this." Chance looked pointedly in the face of each of her friends. "I know she hasn't told you yet what we're doing, but I already know — I heard in the meeting earlier." She lowered her voice, moving closer. They all leaned in to hear. "Remember how I said my whole world was poisoned, and nothing would grow anywhere? Whole cities flattened in the blink of an eye? Well smaller versions of those weapons have been hidden in Equestria. We have to find them and stop them before they can go off, or thousands of ponies could die."

There was a harsh and empty silence. Scootaloo broke it not with words, but by thrusting the ship into a rapid acceleration. The fear was gone from her friends, replaced with resolve. If they didn't dismantle the bombs, who would?

This was a stupid plan, perhaps one of the stupidest plans Lyra had ever had. It was one thing to delay returning a human artifact for a few weeks. What she was doing now was insane. Not just approaching the Human Wall. Not just asking to go inside. But claiming that she had an assignment from Princess Celestia, that she was acting in some official capacity on behalf of the Precursor Society. That was insanely bold, and she was bound to be caught.

But miracles of miracles, the guards had listened to her explanation and let her inside! Without a scroll, or magical identification or anything!

Just past the gate were what looked like the beginnings of two cities, not one.Two distinct building styles, with an invisible line between them that nopony crossed. The nearer of the two was all harsh and metal and voiceless, though machinery rung constantly through the space. On the other, a huge gathering of humans seemed to be in the middle of something, and many voices were raised in some sound she couldn't exactly resolve.

Lyra wasn't brought to either of these camps, but to the little Equestrian barracks built to house the guards that watched the wall. "Wait here." The guard that had brought her through the gate vanished into the building. As he did, Lyra's heart sank. Maybe they hadn't brought her in because they intended to let her in after all. Maybe the guard had realized, and was taking her to one of his superiors so she could get whatever consequences awaited a liar. If she had palms, they'd be sweating.

She relaxed just a little when the guard returned with his superior, since Lyra recognized the face. It was a pegasus named Amber Sands, a young pegasus who had stayed in Ponyville for several years as one of Twilight's personal guard. She had some sort of disability, and had taken remedial flying lessons with Rainbow Dash. To hear Rainbow's praise, she had apparently overcome those weaknesses completely. If this really was to punish her, a friend would go easy, right?

"Hey, Lyra." The pony didn't sound upset. If anything, she just seemed worn out, or deeply troubled by something. Normally Lyra would have asked what was troubling her, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try and get Amber thinking anymore than necessary. She might actually pull this off! "Long time no see. So Celestia sent you to see the humans, huh?" Lyra nodded, with the friendliest smile she could. Not that she thought Amber could see much of it in the dark. Except for the rare and half-rumored thestrals, pony night vision was notoriously bad, and all the light they had here outside the barracks came from a single torch.

Amber seemed to have no difficulty, though. "Do you have a preference about which?" She gestured over her shoulder at both halves of the strange camp. "You should probably visit them both eventually if it's really your plan to..." She trailed off, looking to the guard who had brought her. "What did you say she had been sent to do?"

"Act as a representative of Equestrian civilians to our military allies, ma’am," the soldier replied. "Help them understand the ponies they're saving better."

"Right." She looked back to Lyra, expectant.

The unicorn could hardly believe her luck. This insane, audacious plan was actually going to work! "Uh..." She hesitated, then gestured to the huge gathering of humans outside. Whatever they were doing, it looked more interesting than the complete lack of activity she saw from the other side of the camp. They were too far away to tell what was actually going on, but judging by the volume of the voices it must be pretty exciting. "They look like they're having fun. Probably more willing to listen."

Amber glowered. "They're doing a great job keeping everypony awake with all their noise." She waved the other guard away. "Come on." She began walking, and Lyra had to canter at first to catch up.

As they drew closer, she began having second thoughts. Was this some sort of riot? She strained to listen, struggling to hear the shouting raucous voices. The light itself was easy enough to identify; the humans in camp had lit a bonfire, bright enough to drown out the clean white light that came from the structures nearby. Granted most of what Lyra saw when she looked were the backs of soldiers, sitting on camp chairs or on logs and apparently vigorously interested in something. Only as she got closer could she finally figure out what. Their language wasn't Equestrian, but the language spell she had used on herself was apparently working perfectly.

This wasn't a riot at all! The humans were singing, and sounded pretty happy about whatever it was they were singing about. She concentrated, trying to make out as many of the words as she could.

How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree'
How ya gonna keep 'em away from Broadway
Jazzin around and paintin' the town
How ya gonna keep 'em away from harm, that's a mystery
They'll never want to see a rake or plow
And who the deuce can parleyvous a cow?
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree'

How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree'
How ya gonna keep 'em away from Broadway
Jazzin around and paintin' the town
How ya gonna keep 'em away from harm, that's a mystery
Imagine Reuben when he meets his Pa
He'll pinch his cheek and holler "OO-LA-LA!
How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm
After they've seen Paree'?

The song ended with a round of raucous laughter. Now that they were closer, Lyra could see most of the human soldiers seemed to be holding little silvery mugs, and at the end of the raucous out-of-key ballad many downed what was inside, while there seemed a general flow into and out of the big building.

There was no intimidating armor like on the other side of the camp, no faceless helmets. Instead, the humans were all wearing the same jumpsuits, with the most bizarre patterns Lyra had ever seen. It was as though someone had taken every shade of green and tan and combined them in random irregular bits and pieces all over their clothes, which had caused the whole group of them to blend together and into the background unless she already knew where to look.

Was that it, then? Some sort of strange clothes-magic? She was getting distracted. Of course showing these humans that ponies were worth saving was important, but that wasn't the reason she had come. As they walked through the crowd, every suggestion that this had been a fight or a riot vanished. No injuries, no broken furniture, nothing to suggest these humans had been doing anything other than celebrating.

The crowd seemed to notice them then, and abruptly the sound of jovial laughter and joyous conversation died. The smiles vanished, and every face became cold and watchful. 'The other is here,' said the expressions. 'We can't be ourselves anymore.' This was exactly why coming and getting to know these humans was a good idea! How were they supposed to fight for Equestria the way ponies did if they didn't think of Equestria as part of home? If ponies were just strangers to them, then they wouldn't take it seriously.

Like the way they were acting now. Cities had been taken. Towns had been burned, and thousands were dead. Did the singing and drinking and celebrating mean they were actually monstrous creatures without respect for life? That would run counter to everything Lyra had ever believed. Even if some of her theories hadn't survived the pressure of real-world knowledge, she had never turned away from the fundamental premise that humans were at least as harmonious in their relations as ponies. This could be proof of that as well, if she interpreted it correctly. Maybe they were so excited about the opportunity to help somepony in need that they had to sing about it. The words seemed to suggest they thought the war was already over. No doubt they expected their own involvement to rapidly turn things back in Equestria's favor. She did.

"Admiral Colven." They had reached the center of the huge circle, very near the fire. There was a more comfortable chair here, positioned as close to the roaring fire as anypony could sit without being singed. The woman's uniform was different than the rest of the crowd, a beautiful white and black fabric that practically glowed in the firelight. She had a glass in her hand, but whatever was inside was clear. She didn't smell of alcohol like some of the others, anyway. "I have a civilian here on Celestia's instruction. She would like permission to visit the facilities here in Normandy and socialize with your off-duty soldiers."

All eyes went to the admiral, who in turn turned to Lyra. The attention of the soldiers seemed to flow through the person in charge to her, and suddenly there were hundreds of eyes watching her. She felt suddenly afraid. "Why does Celestia want you here?" The tone was curious. She didn't sound at all like she was looking for a reason to tell her no, only to better understand what Celestia had meant. So the Solar Diarch's name meant something even to this powerful leader of humans.

Lyra wished the respect hadn't been there, since it made the lie burn that much deeper. This wasn't the first time she had done something less than upright in her obsession with humans, but it was the first time she had ever had the audacity to involve Celestia's name in things. She was going to be in so much trouble for this! Not that she didn't think Celestia would've given permission! If she still held court, Lyra would've asked! It wasn't her fault she had to lie! "So some of your soldiers can meet a regular pony."

There was stunned silence, even from the admiral. The translation spell had the desired effect, then. They were hearing her in whatever language they knew best. English, the same one that all those songs Chance had given her were in. Even better, the spell would make her sound like a native speaker, with all the right accents and inflections. It was the mind of the hearers that did the translating, really. She wondered if it would have worked on the metal-humans on the other side of the divided city.

"No offense to the Guard, but they're too busy being soldiers for any of you to get to know them, really. Just think of how great it would be if you knew what we were like normally! It'll also help the village on the other side of the wall if they hear that you're not as strange as the rumors going around say you are." The admiral seemed to have collected herself, though she remained silent. As though inviting Lyra to go on. She did. "Like... what you're doing now? Why are you celebrating? Isn't joining a war bad?"

"Nobody knows that better 'an us," a deep voice answered from somewhere near Lyra, buried in the crowd. "We'd seen what war is." Was his accent strong enough to make it through the spell? Impressive.

The admiral gestured to Lyra's escort, a vague wave toward the wall that made it clear without her having to say anything that she was allowing Lyra to stay. People around her seemed to relax, though nothing like the celebration she had interrupted. The guard seemed pretty eager to leave the camp behind, and practically ran from the circle. Lyra was sad to see her go. "You're right..." she paused. "What's your name? It would be extremely rude of us to just call you 'pony'." Her eyes weren't for Lyra at all now, but for the camp. "Like you calling all of us ‘human’ all the time."

Lyra chuckled, suddenly feeling sheepish. She'd been mentally calling them all "human" ever since she had learned the word. "Y-yeah..." She looked around. "I'm Lyra, and I'm really excited to be here!" She returned her attention to the admiral, moving a little closer to her. With the massive crowd of soldiers all around, this woman seemed like a familiar calm in the storm. There was something painfully familiar about her eyes, even if they weren't so big as a pony's. Where had Lyra seen them before? "So why then? If you think war is bad too, I mean..."

The admiral smiled. Like Celestia or Luna, emotions seemed to be something small and subdued when they were expressed at all. Just now, that sort of control was exactly what Lyra needed. "All of these good soldiers are from the moon colonies." She glanced briefly over Lyra's shoulder, at the moon glowing bright in the sky. The fire was dim enough that the moon was easy to see. "Everyone is celebrating because we're on a planet again."

"Was living on the moon that bad? It sounds amazing to me!" Universal laughter from all around her, so loud she nearly jumped in surprise. It was the attitude of before, suddenly returned. Even the calm admiral chuckled quietly. "What? What's funny?"

The admiral remained quiet this time, evidently content to allow her inferiors to answer. They didn't keep Lyra waiting long. Another woman, bigger and broader of body than the admiral, took a step forward from the crowd. "You've lived on a planet your whole life, so you couldn't understand. Try to imagine a low ceiling over your head. Imagine never having any privacy. Imagine not eating anything that isn't grown in vats, mostly algae cakes."

"But you still remember what it's like to be on a planet, since you used to live on one," another soldier added, helpfully. "And you miss it worse than anything! This place is just like Earth. Same air, same moon in the sky, and same gravity."

"Weather!"

"Real food, from real plants."

"And cider!" At that, there was a general cheer from all around, and many of the soldiers lifted their mugs enthusiastically. Lyra recognized the smell then, it was Sweet Apple Acres hard cider, and smelled like a strong batch.

She relaxed, her fear fading. So the reason they were so happy was because Equestria was so wonderful? That wasn't so bad. Actually, it probably meant they would fight harder to make sure they didn't lose it. It was hard to think of people who appreciated all the same things you did as aliens.

"Sergeant major, your chair." The admiral gestured, and in a moment he rose. "Lyra, you can sit here with me."

She smiled and obliged, passing the man called "sergeant major" on her way to the chair. He didn't seem upset to be losing his seat; if anything he looked relieved.

"And a mug for our guest," the admiral added. The huge man merely saluted and vanished into the crowd. Lyra wanted to stop him, wanting very much not to lose her wits to alcohol with such a rare opportunity as this. But it was too late, and it would be rude to refuse. She would just have to spread it out in small sips to make sure she didn't end up drunker than Berry Punch.

"Thanks, uh..." She wasn't sure what to call this woman. "Admiral" was her rank, not her name, and Lyra wasn't in the army. Of course some soldiers preferred to be called by their ranks, but it wasn't the sort of thing someone who wanted to make a new friend would do.

"Alexi," the admiral supplied, her smile broadening a little. "Do you shake hands here?" She offered, extending the fleshy appendage with its thin spidery digits. Lyra had never seen a hand up close like this, not a real one anyway. It was positively fascinating, so much so that she just stared down at it with big eyes.

It was everything she had expected from Chance's descriptions and more. Like the paw of a raccoon or a monkey, but probably a thousand times more sensitive. There was no fur on it, no pads that would take away from its ability to convey information about objects. The thumb was clearly opposable, and there were no claws at all. Yet another piece of evidence to confirm that humans had evolved from some peaceful animal species. Either that, or their society had been peaceful for so long that nature had begun to shed anything like natural weapons. Their teeth were laughably weak-looking, though the few glances she had seen of them did seem to indicate the presence of pointed canines. Not pointed enough to be used in a fight with any animals with real defenses.

The silence was what ultimately roused her. The admiral was staring, along with several of the other soldiers sitting or standing close by. This was no time for anthropology! "Y-yeah we do! Sorry, I got distracted." She extended her hoof. "I've just never seen hands before."

Alexi shrugged and took her hoof with her hand, and shook it delicately. It was strange to feel those little fingers in her fur, each one so warm and gentle, as though Alexi thought she might hurt Lyra. As if! Those little fingers must have incredibly delicate bones, not like the tough stuff hooves were made from. "So Celestia wants you to help us get to know what ponies are like?" the admiral asked, as though there had been no pause in their conversation. The way she said it and the way her eyes narrowed almost seemed as though she knew. The familiarity was screaming at her now, though still Lyra could not place it. "We were enjoying some of our world's old songs. Does your world have any songs for an event like this? Maybe you could teach us a few."

Lyra blushed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She was many things, but a vocalist wasn't one of them. Now Sweetie Belle, that filly could sing! But not her. "I'm not really all that-"

Alexi's expression silenced her. "You don't have to be a pop-star, Lyra, but a musician like you has got to know a few fun songs!"

Her embarrassment grew. "H-how did you-" she glanced briefly at her flank. "My cutie mark?"

"No." Alexi laughed. "My son told me all about you. Robert?" When Lyra's face changed to shock and then to recognition, her smile grew wider.

"Oh."

Author's Notes:

Hey everybody! Not a super-short chapter this time, which is cool. In case anyone is curious, the song is a WW1 tune that has since made its way into the public domain. Just one more piece of my "great war" theme. Guess it's pretty fitting to be writing this story in 2014, 100 years after the real great war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBj7Fky1K_U