Even with the Atlas armor wrapped around me, moving the satellite was slow going. They were easy to handle in space where you could turn off artificial gravity and then manhandle, but on a planet, these fuckers were heavy. Thankfully the powered suit was up to the challenge so long as I took my time.

Readouts flickered data in the corner of my vision as I plodded back to the ship. Every step make the armored suit sink into the loamy soil slightly from the literal tons of weight, leaving obvious footprints behind me. At least SAC-009 didn’t look worse for wear. With a tuneup, it might even be able to get put back up in orbit.

The strange note the equanoids left attached to the satellite was certainly different to say the least. It looked like a bunch of squiggles to me, but I’m a pilot not a linguist. Hopefully Rose would be able to figure something out, because I certainly don’t have the skill set for it. Speaking of which, I can’t say I’ve ever seen a horse… thing that was radiant alabaster, nor deep blue, pink, or purple like the ones stepping cautiously out of the woods.

“Um… Rose, you are seeing this right? Multicolored horses coming out of the woods.”

Even though she was chuckling softly at my comment, I could see the seriousness under it. Readouts were scrolling in a corner of my visor showing power being routed to weapons and shields. They weren’t being brought online yet, but could be in a millisecond if needed. With a moment of consideration, I brought the suit’s generators online as well, despite hoping we wouldn’t need the mobile cover provided by it.

Despite hiding it well, the Equestrian delegation was beyond apprehensive about meeting their newest neighbors and possible new residents. As Twilight had found out, it can be the smallest things that can make or break relationships with different species. Thankfully her challenges were largely found to be amusing by the other party when they came up.

Even though it wasn’t practiced, all four alicorns fell into step and smoothly moving as one. Unplanned as it was, it did give their advance a kind of fluidity of movement that carried over to the Princess’ royal visage. Princess Cadance seemed to be the jumpiest of the bunch, almost imperceptibly flinching every time one of the approaching giant’s armored feet hit the ground with a dull thud.

Stopping at the middle ground where they had lain the pillar a short time ago, the ponies stopped. Silently the quartet watched the aliens approach, with the much smaller flame maned one slightly in the lead. From the shape, Twilight safely assumed it was a she, but the giant one was still a mystery. Small piercing eyes peered out of a somewhat squat face, only with a slight nose poking out. Ironically enough, the female looked similar to the Marmosi people across the great Eastern Sea.

It was only after the alien duo stopped that Twilight truly understood the size difference. Even the petite female stood a few hooves over Princess Luna if you ignored her horn. The armored behemoth towered above all of the royals by several hooves at least. To say the glassy black surface where a face should be was unsettling to Twilight was an understatement. She could feel whatever was behind the glass watching her, yet not see it in return.

All of the ponies stepped back when the small one spoke, a warbling series of howls coming from her lips that made no sense. Then again, they were an alien species. On the off chance that something could carry over, The moment became even stranger as the two looked as if they were communicating without speaking, the giant animatedly moving his armored hands to a beat that he could only hear. It only took a moment before the smaller biped nodded. Without a spoken word, movement came from within their craft.

Two metal contructs came out of the massive doorway carrying a heavy looking table between them. As they approached, all of the Equestrians took in the intricacy of the robot’s construction. Armor plating covered what would be vital areas, yet thin sheathing was lain over cables and mechanical joints. It was something wholly unseen by pony eyes to that point.

In turn, Princess Celestia spoke, welcoming the creatures in hopeful peace to Equestria as the mechanical beings set the table between both parties. The small smile on the petite one’s face fell as the only thing she heard was a mixture of whinnies and whistles. Only for a moment though before she noticed the larger one’s armor shaking. From the body language they all understood he was laughing at the situation. A few heartbeats later, both delegations were laughing in their own ways from the absurdity of the situation.

Several minutes of stress relief later, all of them realized this was going to be a difficult process. Everybeing present watched in curiosity as Princess Twilight pulled out a quill, parchment, and inkwell, to set them down on the metal table with a soft rustle before starting to write. Seconds turned to long minutes as Twilight and Rose would write, then pass the quill back and forth as if trying to figure out the answer to an unknown question. Finally, she looked up with a soft “oooooooh, I get it.”

“She’s trying to show me their math so we can find a mutual starting point.”

Every Equestrian understood the motion the redhead’s partner made as the open palm of his armor lightly struck the armored glass in front of his face. This was going to take a lot longer than they thought. Next Chapter: 15. Due Process Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 3 Minutes