Terra Prime. Earth. The jewel of the Republic. The shining green-blue marble was everything Twilight had heard from the humans she had met. She had, of course, seen pictures in the Trades, but being in orbit… that was far different. The Princess of Friendship had stood on her hind legs, forehooves pressed to the viewpoint as she stared out at the human capital world.

“Incredible,” she whispered, awe coloring her voice.

“Welcome to Terra, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight Sparkle barely heard Victoria’s voice as she stared out the human warship’s main viewpoint- a large screen fixed to many camera points on the outer hull, giving a panoramic shot of the planet and its space. It was beautiful.

“Looks so much like Equus,” she muttered, eyes squinted in thought, “Maybe smaller…”

There was more water, certainly; deep azure oceans covered the surface, darker in color than the old seas of her own homeworld. ...before the invasion, at least. From Twilight’s vantage points, silvery lines criss-crossed parts of the water in concentric circles and long, thin lines heading off towards islands and continental landmasses. Her wing twitched to tap Victoria’s side- very gently. Twilight’s magic made her painfully aware of the human’s injuries.

“What are those structures, down on the oceans?” she asked, glancing up thoughtfully at her attache.

Pride brightened the young soldier’s eyes- her joy at seeing her homeworld was positively infectious, pulling a grin out of the alicorn.

“Those are the Atlantic Ocean-Roads,” she explained with a hearty grin, “They link up the Atlantic under-cities and orbital elevators with the mainland, and all the research stations. Alot of undersea research comes off Terra, so Equestria will see quite a few Terrans.”

Victoria hesitated a moment before giving a small chuckle, “Though Triton and Titania have us beat, working with a nitrogen ocean or a fully frozen one, and their ecosystems.”

It boggled the mind; Twilight was thankful for Celestia’s lessons on controlling facial expressions, because…

‘Damn.’

The galaxy was more varied than Twilight could have ever imagined. Liquid nitrogen oceans was only the start. She had eaten up every report during the Trades, especially of Solar history and the worlds within their system. The Taming of Luna, which had always (and still did) made Twilight giggle, where humanity had moved the vast majority of their industry to the Lunar surface. Or the terraforming of Venus from a poisonous pressure cooker to a foggy, alien jungle world. She could not wait to see the entirely man-made ocean on Mars…

Twilight was chuckling before she could stop herself, ear flicking as she heard Victoria shift.

“Apologies,” she spoke up quickly, physically controlling her blush response, “Just thought of all your race has accomplished. I hope we can impress you all too, in time. Where will we be landing?”

“At the main orbital dockyards, then taking the elevator down to New Atlantis, in the Atlantic Ocean near the North American coast.”

Twilight nodded and frowned; from what she remembered, eco-terrorism had caused several large tsunamis and widespread flooding of North America’s coasts during the formation of the Republic, causing the destruction of the mega-cities of New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Manehatten had drowned much in the same way on Equus, though to Seraph claws.

‘Seraph…’

Hate was a bitter pill, and a foreign one that Twilight was doing her best to control. She and her friends had fought more than their fair share of villains in the past, some of them dark or downright evil. But she had never hated them. Sombra? Twilight had pitied the formless old monarch more than anything. Chrysalis, now that she was an ally and they had time to speak one on one, she could understand as a dutiful queen and a being with little experience with others beyond her own kind. Even Tirek, she could not truly hate, despite all he had done Tirek at least had not killed anypony.

‘Unlike the damn-’

“Woah!”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders zipped past the pair of adults to press their faces up to the viewpoint, beaming widely. Warmth bloomed and brushed away the anger and melancholy thoughts in a heartbeat. The teens had seemingly passed through the stress of the war more or less no worse for wear. They were still too thin, in Twilight’s opinion, and she noticed Applebloom twitching at any loud noise, but… it was good to see them excited again.

Turning around, Twilight could let herself smile widely, tears pricking her eyes at the group coming down the hallway. Her friends. She had been so worried about them, and her heart ached at how she had forced herself to keep Canterlot alive without going out to save them. Twilight’s choice had cost them all. Pinkie Pie was not her usual pronking self, though her hair was perked up- she walked slowly, limping just slightly, her left side covered in the white of human prosthetics, along with her left shoulder. She was more sedate, her smile small but genuine as she gazed around in curiosity. Applejack was sticking close to her cousin, giving a reassuring smile to the Princess, which eased her mind. ...somewhat.

Fluttershy was in full submissive pegasus mode, nestled into Rarity’s lean side with her eyes closed, and a wing over her back. Her marefriend was, for one, standing tall, but keeping a slow pace for Fluttershy. Twilight had seen the reports, and could see the marks on all of them. Her friends…

No. Twilight mastered her emotions, keeping her smile in place as she stepped up to greet her closest friends in all the universe. She was here now; they were together, and Twilight had learned her lesson. No matter what happened, they would not be separated again. Ever.

Orbiting the Terran sister-planet of Mars were a pair of oblong, rocky moons, Phobos and Deimos. Neither had been those old shapes in the night sky of Mars for a long time, however. The Phobos Research Center had been built in the early days of the Mars Project, inventing technologies to aid the first Martian colonists in the early days of settling, and later to kickstart the terraforming project that dominated Martian society and culture for nearly a century.

It had been thanks largely to Phobos that an atmosphere now hazily protected the chilly desert world; that a light-green sea was settled across the Martian desert, spreading year after year, a few miles each time. Phobos had been intrinsically linked with Martian identity, taking a rightful place on Mars’ colonial seal. As did its brother.

Deimos. The warrior-moon of Mars, its protector. While Phobos’ many research satellites gave it a hazy gleam in the night sky, it was Deimos that shined brighter, despite its distance away. Gantries and permanently docked defense stations and vessels encircled the reinforced plating and rocky surface of the small moon, and four Deimos-class light assault carriers flew formation with the station at all times.

It was one of the most heavily defended stations in the inner system, and was the ironic home of one of the most secretive branches of the Terran Republic: the Office of Solar System Intelligence. Originally stationed as a none too subtle reminder to Mars of Terran reach, the OSSI and Martian military now enjoyed a very close relationship. Much of Martian military technology passed through OSSI hands before reaching the Republic at large.

Nathan Winters reckoned Deimos to home. He had lived and trained on the Martian moon since he was sixteen, and was now in his fifth decade, though he barely looked thirty. With OSSI implants and prosthetics, gene therapies and medical coverage, Nathan could expect to remain operational for another three. Perhaps more, depending on technologies progression, and he was willing to do so. The OSSI’s work was important to the protection of the Republic.

The OSSI had played its defining role during the formation of the Republic, and in the years after, dealing with Belter separatists and pirates. Indeed, Nathan’s first mission was the final war for Ceres, in which his strike force paved the way for Belter Loyalist forces to land and put down the rebel terrorists once and for all, and take back the capital of the Belt, sounding the death knell of any organized rebellion against the Republic. And before the Trades, the OSSI had continued on as intelligence and research operatives for the Republic- which, admittedly, had not changed much since the Trades. Simply the targets of said research.

Nathan grinned as he stood in an observation room inside the main training facility on Demos, overlooking one of its gyms. The operative was slowly becoming rather glad that he took up the transfer to the Equusian-focused branch- this was too interesting to pass up. Sunset Shimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, and Starlight Glimmer had taken only a few minutes to agree to undertake OSSI training as a form of foreign relations- with Princess Luna’s blessing of course. And honestly? They were surprisingly good.

All three mares were in good physical shape, and knocked out the obstacle courses in due order. The range, however, was taking a bit more time…

“But Trixie aims better with magic!”

“I know, but this is-”

“Observe!”

Nathan chuckled quietly and shook his head. Trixie had been… fairly grating on his ship, at least to start with, but the way she was taxing the low patience of the infamous instructors was making her grow on him. He turned to peer at another feed- and smirked. Sunset Shimmer had taken the weapon apart with magic to study, much to the arm-crossed annoyance of her trainer.

“How’re they doing, agent?”

“Very good, all things considered, Director. They’re bright. Need direction, but I think that can be said for all the Equusians.”

Director David Goddard chuckled quietly as he joined his agent at the viewscreens- Goddard was well into his nineties, though his appearance more resembled a 21st Century man in his late fifties. The director had deepened the focus of the OSSI on scientific research, giving them closer ties to the Phobos Research Center. And now, quite possibly, to the first alien world they had access to.

“Indeed they do,” Goddard replied quietly, “As do we, in many ways. The Seraph is awake.”

He waved a hand as Nathan tensed, anticipating the worry, “Partially sedated and strapped down- the power armor tested ones. It’s not getting out. But it’s not speaking either.”

“The one that attacked that Trooper spoke Equus, even basically,” Nathan muttered thoughtfully, “We still assuming it’s some kind of caste system?”

“For the moment. That armor is… not what we expected. It’s bonded to their skin. We sent samples to Phobos for analysis.”

Nathan… couldn’t help but blink questioningly. The OSSI eggheads were not always so free with information, and the Director doubly so. The older man grinned at his expression.

“Your security clearance has been updated, Agent Winters. You’re now my got-to in the field for Seraph caste leaders.”

“It’s… it’s an honor, sir.”

Nathan suppressed a grit of teeth. It certainly was an honor; a dangerous honor. His shoulder still ached in the morning.

The Director let out a breath, “Once your ponies pass the trials, and I’m sure they will, I want you to take them down to Engineering. Get the fabricators working on pony armor. I have a feeling it’s going to be needed, and soon.”

“Think there will be another push on Equus, sir?”

Nathan was not enthused by the look in the man’s eyes, or the way he did not respond…

Remote Outpost 21-PLS

Command: AI Kensington-class, serial number 1021021.

Message: Emergency Protocol. Probes Toliman and Rigil Kentaurus offline. Seeking repair flotilla.

Addendum: Emergency Protocol. Probes Proxima Centauri offline.

Addendum: Emergency Protocol. Mass signature within spatial sensors. Scan: Silicate composition.

Addendum: Emergency Protocol. Multiple mass signature within spatial sensors.

Scan: Metallic composition.

Addendum: Emergency Protocol. Emergency thrusters activated. Shields down. Damage to scanners.

Addendum: Emergency Protocol. Critical damage to station. Launching AI core. Self-destruct set to-

End of message.

Author's Notes:

Whoo, good to be back!