The battle was winding down. Or at least, Trixie Lulamoon prayed it was. The magician-turned-battlemage was down to the last of her strength; days of fighting with only to barest of rests had worn her down to nothing, and she was dangerously low on mana reserves. Already she could feel the worrisome sharp pains of strain in her horn- hence why she was currently resting inside one of the human’s Aegis safe zones.

It was quieter now; the horde had shifted away from this part of the battlefield, and the rapidfire weapons of humanity had stopped firing; they sounded like buzzing bees tearing cloth, and it grated on sensitive pony ears. The devastation they had left behind had been worth it though.

The short, thin unicorn laid curled up just inside the human ship, breathing in slow, deep breaths to relax herself. The coolness of the metal was nice against her overheated fur, reminding her of winters in Hoofington. Trixie’s jaw clenched.

Hoofington…

Someone outside screamed. Not the low, long scream of emotional agony Trixie had, horrifically, grown almost used to. This was the sharp, edgey scream of pure panic. As Trixie scrambled to her hooves, the scream was cut short by a sharp whine, and a too familiar snarl, and the clattering roar of human small-arms.

“No, no, no,” Trixie muttered to herself, galloping down out of the starship and reflexively casting a shielding spell.

That spell saved her life. A bronze-armored Seraph slammed into her side with a snarl, a knife skrring off her shield and into the muddy earth. A reflexive buck didn’t move him an inch, but kicked Trixie several feet away into the mud. If she still had her cloak and hat, they would have been soaked through. Wild eyed, Trixie looked around frantically as she got back to all fours.

A squirming earth pony mare was covered by the limp body of a human medic, who's back sizzled from a blackened circle over the spine. Six human soldiers were viciously fighting three bronze-armored Seraphs in close quarters, knives and fists and claws flashing. One human went down with a gurgle as a Seraph weapon flashed green, their armor plates warped and cracked. The human’s battle-partner grabbed at the weapon, struggling frantically as it began to charge-

Only to disappear from the Seraph’s hand, reappearing with a blue flash in Trixie’s magical grasp. She couldn’t figure out the technology in a hurry, but triggers were, thankfully, rather easy to find. Squeezing with her magic, the weapon hummed ominously- and unleashed the green bolt of superheated plasma half a second later. The Seraph’s head disappeared with a flash of red mist, the body limply toppling in front of the stunned human.

Turning the weapon, bolts slammed into the two other Seraphs, sending them sprawling back through the shields of the Aegis into the blood-soaked mud outside, with the bodies of their unarmored fellows. Ragged panting and coughs replaced the sounds of violence, one of the humans collapsing onto their backs. Trixie gulped thickly and rushed to the shot soldier, tucking the weapon into her belt.

But he was gone. The plasma had punched right through his armor and into his chest; the human’s eyes were dull and lifeless, and a quick spell… From what she knew of humans, he had been young, possibly in close to the same stage of life as Trixie herself.

“Damnit,” she whispered, looking over at the somber soldiers; tears pricked at the edges of her eyes, “I’m so s-sorry… this…”

“Is war, ma’am,” a female soldier spoke up quietly, shaking her head, “Richards knew that when he came here. We all did. ...and at least those fuckers are dead.”

Indeed, they were. But they weren’t a type Trixie had seen. They had somehow breached an Aegis shield; a human-tech and class A2 pony defensive shield, and had attached with… weapons. Not a mass lasering, or a horde-charge, but...

“Those… were not like the others,” Trixie whispered, frowning as she looked the pistol over, “Just… what is going on…”

A rhythmic beeping slowly drew Victoria out of her dark, dreamless sleep. Victoria knew a drugged sleep when she had it, and was grateful for it. Without those painkillers, she was sure that her body would have been in a world of hurt. That Seraph... commando, commander, something... whatever it was, Victoria had underestimated it, badly. That would not happen again; as soon as she got the chance, she would watch the fight from the suit's housed camera. Victoria would not lose like that again, no way.

Blinking her eyes open slowly, Victoria gazed around in surprise at the darkened, white-tiled room. There was a large window close by, but the blinds were drawn closed. It was a surprisingly human-like hospital room, just missing a TV or a big monitoring station. In its place rested a little stand with a glowing green ball floating atop it. Flexing her body, Victoria hissed at a wave of pain from her chest and stomach, though her left arm was oddly stiff and still; glancing towards it, she saw that her arm was wrapped firmly in a strange vat of opaque green goo, immobilized. She... would have to ask a doctor about that.

Warmth that she had assumed was a blanket shifted slightly, and she gave a squeak, peering down quickly.

Wha...

Four sets of large, luminous eyes opened and peered up at the human. Spitfire had draped herself over Victoria's legs, her incredible body heat travelling up Victoria's body like a space heater. When their eyes met, Spitfire gave Victoria a wide, warm grin, amber eyes shining in the dark. Soarin' had laid himself over her waist, wings perked just lightly in a take-off position, eyeing the door protectively. His long, dark-blue tail was draped over Victoria's free hand, and she couldn't help but stroke the soft, long hairs. Blinking, he turned to grin over at her, chuckling quietly.

"Good morning," he whispered, ears perking forward as he leaned over to nudge Rainbow Dash behind one ear.

Rainbow and Fleetfoot had draped themselves on either side of Victoria's chest, most of their bodies covered by Soarin's' bulk, but their snouts were lightly pressed against their human's neck. Their eyes blinked open nearly at the same time, practically like flashlights in the dark room as they peered up at a rapidly blushing Victoria.

"H-hi," she whispered to them, trying to will her blush away.

Showing off a wide orange-ish tongue, Rainbow yawned loudly, stretching out and pressing herself firmly into her friend.

"Mornin'," she whispered back, smiling softly, "Good to see you up."

"Is she coherent this time?" Fleetfoot asked quietly, lightly stroking along Victoria's free arm with a surprisingly soft and pliable hoof.

"I-I think I am," Victoria managed shakily, a chuckle to the end of the response, "W-what happened? Where are w-we?"

"We got you out of the battle," Soarin' replied, smiling warmly, "Brought you to Ponyville General. Can't believe the place was still operational..."

"Humans had gotten here before us, bolstered the defenses," Spitfire added, "So they were doing triage. We made sure the medics got to you."

"What's with the, uh... goo?" Victoria asked curiously, peering back at her immobilized arm.

In the corner of the human's eye, she saw Rainbow Dash make a slight face, but it was Soarin' who responded, his wing stroking down Rainbow's back.

"It's Changeling healing gel. We found that it is the best natural healing agent in the known world, especially for broken bones."

Changelings, huh?

"I th-thought you guys fight them?" she asked curiously, remembering well the reports about the Battle of Canterlot that had been sent on one of the Trades.

In fact, information on changelings had been included in their mission briefing, in case they were a part of the attack on Equus. Victoria had not looked forward to fighting a creature that could change their physical body at will. Or both fly AND use magic.

Thank God for small blessings...

It was Rainbow Dash who responded this time, though she seemed very much less than enthused, "Nah, there is an armi... armater... a peace treaty going on, right now. The Seraph were kicking their asses just as hard as they were ours, so we all joined forces. I don't trust 'em, but Twilight apparently does, so..."

She gave a little shrug (which Victoria found adorable), and laid her head back on her human pillow's shoulder. Fleetfoot gave a quiet chuckle, nosing Rainbow's ear fondly before turning her gaze up at Victoria, shooting her a wink.

"Don't mind Dashie, she tends to hold grudges against those she fights," she faux-whispered, snickering as Rainbow lightly bapped her nose with a wing tip.

Dashie, huh?

Clearing her throat, and hoping she wasn't crossing some kind of line, Victoria grinned down at Fleetfoot, a tinge of pink covering her cheeks.

"Sooo..." she started sheepishly, "Are uh... you two...?"

"Herdmates, yep," Rainbow replied quickly, grinning faintly, "Remember those, right? Pretty sure I went over some of that in the letters..."

Victoria smiled softly and nodded, “Y-yeah, you did. Several females typically courting, then living with one or two males. But in your modern culture, that has been somewhat muddled. Right?”

“Very good,” Soarin’ piped up with a smile, “But yeah, I mean, it’s not always about stallions and mares now, not with all the magic. I’ve seen the complete opposite of that in Clou-”

He paused, visibly stricken as his ears and wings lowered; the powerful pegasus seemed to droop in place. All three females winced in turn, Rainbow and Fleet carefully lifting off Victoria and maneuvering about to nuzzle against Soarin’s sides, while Spitfire draped her broad wing carefully over his back. Victoria gulped and bit her lip as she stared at the shaking pegasus.

So that’s why we didn’t see it on the scans…

Hesitating a moment, Victoria reached out to grip and gently squeeze Soarin’s shoulder in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture. To her surprise, the pony pile turned on her in an instant, four pegasus ponies piling atop Victoria warmly and cuddling her back down into the bed. Soarin’ nuzzled his cold nose to her shoulder, snuffling quietly.

“Thank you,” he whispered quietly, and she could feel his muzzle curling slightly in a little smile.

Okay Victoria, keep it calm. They’re emotional, you’re emotional… a-and they’re ponies!

The door to the room creaked open, the sounds of a busy hospital flooding in as another pony stumbled inside. She was taller than the pegasi by at least a head, and was a light purple color, her shimmering mane blowing with a nonexistent wind. She turned her horned head towards the bed, a tired smile appearing on a slim, feminine muzzle.

“There you all are,” she murmured sleepily.

“Twilight!” Spitfire was off the pile and bed in an instant, nuzzling Twilight Sparkle’s cheek before nudging her over to the bed.

The Princess?!

Twilight Sparkle lifted herself onto the bed with a grunt, flopping on top of them, making most of the ponies oof or giggle. She was /warm,/ and sweaty, her head laying lightly on Victoria’s shoulder, careful of her injuries.

“Gonna… knight you, and hug you…” she murmured blearily, yawning widely beside Victoria’s blushing ear, “M-might kiss you… s-saving my herd… gonna sleep now though...”

Trying to control her wildly thumping heart, Victoria glanced sheepishly over at Rainbow Dash; the flyer gave her a small grin and laid her head beside Twilight’s, nose nuzzling Victoria’s chin.

“Welcome to Equestria.”

The battle was over. The Seraph hordes had broken and scattered with the destruction of the capital ship, and the repulsion of its back-up forces. Over a hundred of the vessels had jumped out of system, leaving a devastated outer ring of hulks in the far corners of the Equusian system. Both Seraph and human. Seventy-five frigates had been lost in the knife-fight of close quarters combat in space; the Seraph craft had matched the humans’ in maneuverability, if not quite in strength. Tenders were hunting down escape craft, but casualties from the frigate line were climbing close to seventy-five hundred souls…

Marcus Tanbor stared out at the savaged human fleet from the bridge of the Venusian battlecruiser Qianshan, having transferred over from the stricken Yamato, which was still setting down planet-side. The Qianshan had been in the thick of the fighting with the Yamato, its battleplates scorched and shield system fried. The bridge was quiet but for the clacking of keys and soft whispers between crew. The mood was joyful, for Venusians, but… tense.

“Mr. President?”

Marcus glanced over and nodded acknowledgement to Admiral Zhou, a Venusian-born man in his late sixties, black hair crested with white. He looked exhausted, despite his stiff backed demeanor and freshly re-cleaned uniform. He saluted smartly, a fist over his heart.

“The Equusian nobility have arrived. Where shall you see them?”

“Here,” Marcus replied quietly, “Where we can see their world, and our fleet.”

The leadership of all the surviving races had been brought up by well-protected frigates, with full security details- more for the emotional well-being of their people, than any lack of trust in humanity. Seraph were still in the wilds, and some had launched small raids on the surface. When the doors opened, every Republic sailor stood in unison, saluting to the nobility.

The old-fashioned monarchies of Equus had seemed strange to the fiercely democratic Republic, at first, but had grown on them- most of the kingdoms had strong parliaments as well, and laws restraining their monarchy- unless under emergency. It made some nervous, but others had enjoyed seeing the old world traditions, and monarchs that truly cared for their people. As these did, which was plain to any that could see them.

Celestia of Equestria led the party, with her sister Luna close behind her. Neither were dressed in any sort of royal regalia- adornments Marcus had seen in videos and photos in past trades. Their fur did, however, shine, and it was only through careful observance that the president could seen the recent strain and its effects- lost weight, bags under the hollow, pained eyes… Both sets of which stared into Marcus, holding his gaze for several moments. Marcus swallowed a lump in his throat, emotions threatening to rise to the surface from sheer respect for the beings.

Stepping to the side allowed the beings behind them to step through: three male Diamond Dogs, hulking canine-humanoids, all of the same coal-black coloration. Their leader, just slightly taller and more armored than his compatriots, nodded to the human leader before stepping to stand opposite of the Pony Sisters. Crown Prince Roughstone, Marcus recalled; reports from the surface were saying that he led a pack of his people in an assault alongside a company of Primary troopers, showing fearlessness. He could respect that.

The sole Griffon in the party limped after the Dogs; from what Marcus knew of their people from those on the ground, the Griffons had suffered heavy losses, and their mountain homeland had been devastated by Seraph fliers. This Griffon was young, with golden feathers and dusky fur. He had cleaned himself up, but the injuries and scars were still fresh across his face and chest. Amber eyes met Marcus’, and he nodded slightly.

The rest of the commanders, nobles, and princes marched in after their fellows- some, like an old Donkey matriarch, needed to be supported by human sailors that had volunteered. Very few of the Equusians were uninjured, and many were quiet, eyes hollow and staring. Marcus reminded himself to assign psychology experts to the next caravan through the portal. Among the terraformers, farmers, construction companies, medical personnel…

Marcus let out a breath and removed his glasses to rub at his eyes. They had quite alot to do. Preparations, rebuilding… not how he wanted to spend his first trip to Equus, but.

“Sit, my friends, and relax. Let’s get to work.”

Author's Notes:

Whoo! Glad to be back!