Author's Notes:

Does chapter seem shorter to you? Lol, jk. I know it is, but I'm going back to trying to making shorter chapters to put them out sooner. Hopefully this strategy works well enough, plus the ideas for the next scenes may benefit from the breaks. Still, hope you all enjoy.

Still gotta thank my editor, Regreme, for the grammar nazi repellent. Just wish I would learn my lesson already so I can save that money for something else.

‘Peaceful First Contact, or Alien Invasion?’

Princess Celestia read the headline for the Canterlot Gazette and couldn’t help but frown. The photographer had also snapped a rather misleading photo of Sam in action for the cover. The photo in question set right underneath the headline was of him in action just as he narrowly missed one of the out of frame assailants with a wire whip and instead fracturing a sizeable chunk off the building in front of him. The rest of the article, which took up a significant portion of the front page of the newspaper, went on to chronicle Sam’s actions from the day before the last. Most of it was accurate, except the reporter took a few artistic liberties to play up Sam’s perceived danger to the community.

Celestia also had a small stack of other newspapers just off to her side from the dining table, much of them having similar headline news of the conduit’s reveal to the world at large. At least some of them actually spun the story to make the conduit sound more amiable, but they were few and far between. Their first encounter with foreign life from beyond their world, and her subjects almost outright reject him. It saddened the princess greatly to hear such outbursts when she has strived to instill a sense of respect and to avoid prejudice. Day court from the previous day had been a similar ordeal with nothing but ponies, from nobles to shopkeeps, asking questions on what she was planning to do with such a dangerous creature. She would have to correct this mentality as soon as possible, before it got out of hoof.

In the meantime, with a heavy sigh, Princess Celestia set the Canterlot Gazette on top of her stack of newspapers and went back to staring at her untouched breakfast of a now cold omelette. Not only was there the public’s opinion to deal with, but the investigation of the assailants’ motives, and her normal duties as a diarch of Equestria was there to deal with as well. It was always an uphill battle somewhere. It just made it even harder when that incline was raised a few more notches.

From the dining chamber’s entrance, the princess of the night entered with a regal flare of her wings. Although the gesture was made less regal once she paused to let out an impressively long yawn.

“Good evening, sister,” Princess Celestia said with a good natured smile.

Princess Luna had to yawn once more before she could reply, “And may this morning find you in better spirits, sister.”

The princess of the night plopped herself down at a seat across from her sister, her eyes half closed in fatigue. Princess Celestia pushed her untouched breakfast aside to worriedly watch her sister from across the table. She already knew why Luna seemed to lack her usual energy during their meal time, but that did not stop her from worrying.

“So...” Celestia began, “...has there been any developments?”

Luna reached across the table for the still warm coffee pot with her magic and drug everything else she needed to make her morning brew before her. As she poured the lukewarm contents of the pot into her cup, she added her usual mix of three sugars and as much milk as it would take to fill the rest to the brim. Out of the many things she had come to appreciate in this present day, coffee was one of the better advancements that society has made. Although... there was the incident where she had first tried the brew and accidentally scorched her tongue after not letting it cool enough. Thus, she was dubbed Princess Lisp for the entire week after the ordeal until her tongue healed. She had since learned the fine art of brewing the perfect blend of coffee, along with the proper time one should allow the mixture to cool before drinking. Now, she was one of the most avid coffee drinkers in Canterlot, to the point that the tabloids secretly referred to her as the Coffee Queen.

In any case, once Luna had had her first sip of coffee, she was in a much better mood to discuss the important matters that her sister was alluding to.

“Unfortunately, not as much as we had hoped,” Luna said as she idly stirred her cup of coffee, “Examination and autopsy of the assailant’s body has revealed little on what gave the pony, named Jet Stream, his abilities. We are still looking into his records for anything that can help, but there is still much to sift through about his history. The armor that he wore is as you predicted. No protection runes, but they still repel magic to a degree. I fear that they may also have come from Samuel’s world, if our theory is correct.”

All this gave Celestia more than enough of a reason to frown, yet Luna was not quite done talking.

“Captain Aegis Flare’s investigation into the assailants whereabouts is still underway, but he has assured me that they are closer than they have ever been before. He has my full confidence in his words, so I believe we may be able to put an end to this soon. As for our resident ambassador of his world; the public’s opinion is skewed at best for him.”

Luna’s eyes wandered to the stack of newspapers beside her sister and frowned at the headlines she was able to see. She knew all too well the bitter taste of disapproval from her people and how it could lead to darker judgements. She would have gone to each and every one of the newspapers’ editors in chief to 'give them a piece of her mind’, but the last time she did that when wild speculations from local tabloids said she was in an illicit relationship with one of the nobles in Canterlot led to even more embarrassing and wildly untrue stories being published about her. It was only thanks to her sister, and a new scoop of a story about the theft of forty cakes, that reporters stopped hounding her at every chance they could get.

Celestia sighed deeply, “Thank you, Luna. I know I’ve asked much of you this last week, and I know that you are tired.”

“Tis alright, my sister,” Luna said with a raised hoof, “It is my duty after all, and you needn’t have to shoulder the weight of the kingdom’s problems alone anymore. I only wish that we could, as you say, ‘put these criminals behind bars’ as soon as possible.”

“Yes, it’s very disturbing to know that even a small group of assailants could wield such devastating powers and use it against ourselves and our subjects without prejudice,” Celestia agreed, “Though until Captain Aegis Flare’s investigation turns up something, we have to stay vigilant. In the meantime; how is Sam doing?”

Luna was in the middle of pouring her third cup of coffee as she spoke, “I have not received any word from his guards of any more outbursts for the past couple of nights. Though, I am still keeping watch over his dreams when I can. Aside from that, I do believe he is recovering much better than he has before. However, his antics are still a problem.”

Celestia giggled, “I’m sure he is just using them as a means of coping.”

“Yes, but the guards, and even myself, are finding it very difficult to justify such actions to the public as non-hostile. Especially when he continues to forgo our warnings of staying within the castle’s walls,” Luna replied with a huff.

“Alright. You’ve made your point. I will speak with Twilight on possibly curbing his antics. Now, why don’t we try to enjoy a meal together in peace? I’m sure we can come up with a few ideas to dissuade the public’s panic of the last few days, and particularly Sam’s appearance, after a nice meal.”

Just then, an almost inaudible knock came from the dining chamber’s door, and a nervous looking guard made his entrance. He bowed to each of the princesses in turn and made his way up to them on shaky hooves. The princesses could already recognize the guard as one of Sam’s usual escorts, which already concerned them.

Through a bit of stuttering and a clearing of his throat, he reported to the princesses, “I-I’m sorry, your highnesses, but I have some news on Sam.”

Celestia let out another deep sigh, as she already knew what was coming, “He got out again, didn’t he?”

The guard gulped and nodded as sweat poured from his brow.

Sam walked with his hands in his pockets and a very satisfied grin on his face next to a very perturbed looking Twilight next to him. His escort walked along with them with annoyed looks on them as well, but Sam didn’t care. Twilight threw a glower at Sam every so often, to which he only smiled a little more when he saw it out of the corner of his eye.

Just to make it better, Sam leaned down next to the unicorn with a shit eating grin and asked, “What’s up, Sparks? You seem a little mad.”

Twilight huffed, “Mad, me? I’m not mad. Why would I be mad? I just can’t believe that after all that’s happened, you run off without your escort to do Celestia knows what in Canterlot for everypony to see.”

“Oh come on, Sparks,” Sam mockingly pouted, “I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

Twilight rounded on him, looking cross, “Maybe, but have you seen what the papers are saying about you?”

Sam crossed his arms and tsked, “Meh, they probably just can’t take how much of a handsome guy I am every time I walk down the street.”

“As much as I hate their journalistic integrity, some of those papers are writing that you’re some kind of alien, here to take over the nation! Even when somepony sees you just talking with the princesses!”

“Welp, at least you can always count on the paparazzi to blow everything out of proportion, no matter what world you’re in. You should have seen what they wrote about me and the gang back on my world.”

“What about those assailants that attacked? What if they come back when your escort isn’t around?” Twilight countered.

Sam only slightly flinched, but kept his smile up, “I kicked their asses once. I bet I can do it again. I’ve even got a few more one-liners saved up for if they do come back.”

Twilight groaned and ground her teeth before taking a deep breath to calm herself, “Sam, this is serious!”

“I know!” Sam hollered back while throwing his arms up in the air, “I barely had any material ready to come up with some awesome quips last time! I must really be off my game.”

Twilight stared, slack-jawed at the conduit’s response and could only think of one thing to do at a time like this. After her brain rebooted, her hoof wavered out in front of her before making perfect contact with her face for a resounding facehoof. With another deep breath to calm her nerves, she gathered her composure to glare at the infuriating conduit.

“Sam, please,” Twilight said, “This world isn’t exactly used to seeing somepony like you. The princesses are trying to do everything they can to dissuade everypony’s concerns not just about you, but about everything else that is going on. They could really use your help, even if it’s just you not running around the city, evading the guards every time they notice you’ve gone missing.”

Sam thought about it some more. Twilight had a point, but he didn’t like being cooped up in the castle all day. His little treks around town were his only source of entertainment since the ponies found out about him. Though, like Twilight said, even if some of the ponies weren’t outright gawking or fleeing at the sight of him in the streets, there were still plenty who looked more than uncomfortable by his presence.

“Alright, fine,” Sam relented, but suddenly got another smirk on his face, “but I reserve the right to shout ‘You’ll never take me alive!’ every time one of them yells ‘Halt!’.”

It was at least a little more than she hoped for, but Twilight couldn’t help but bemoan Sam’s compromise in exchange. At least they could continue on to her lab, after having wasted a good portion of the morning have to search for the lost conduit in the city. Once they were to her lab, the two began to discuss what was supposed to be on the agenda for that day.

Twilight reached for the door with her magic, and it squealed loudly as it opened to let the two in. However, something was different about the lab today, and before Twilight could figure out that it was far darker than it usually was since she would leave the curtains over the windows drawn open, it was also too late to see somepony ignite their horn to do just that.

In a whirlwind of sound and bright lights, Sam reacted first. There was a series of loud pops and bangs as the light from the windows temporarily blinded them. Someone shouted out something in a high pitched voice before a crash rang out, which was followed by another voice’s screaming. By the time it was all over, Twilight did not expect the scene now before her.

“My-my mane! This is a disaster! I need conditioner, STAT!”

“Ah, come on, Rares. A little frosting behind your ears doesn’t hurt you. I use it all the time!”

Twilight stared with a stunned expression on her face, as her lab had been hit by one of Pinkie Pie’s ‘Instant Party Setup Cannons’(TM). Said pony was rolling around on one side of the room whilst giggling up a storm at her other friend’s expense. Rarity looked like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown as she pranced in place. Her mane and half her face was covered in a mixer of chocolate and vanilla swirl cake and multicolored frosting. Sam was just as stunned as she was, as he was frozen in a pose and a wire whip extended out from his left wrist to a now destroyed table, the epicenter of where the cake explosion happened. As Rarity continued to run around the room hysterically crying and Pinkie Pie just laughed some more, Twilight knew this was going to be a long day.

After half an hour of cleanup and Rarity getting to wash the frosting out of her mane and coat while hiding her less styled mane behind a sunhat, the two ponies known as Twilight’s friends stood before the unicorn as she questioned them.

“I’m glad to see you girls, and I know I haven’t sent any letters in the past week, but what are you two doing here?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie Pie was the first to speak up, though only after she inhaled a giant, audible breath of air, “Well, the girls and I, oh, and also Spike, were getting really, really worried about you! You know, on account of not getting any letters for the last week. At first Applejack was all like ‘She’s just probably busy o'er there, Sugarcube.’ and then I was like ‘Maybe she was so busy that she might have forgotten all about her friends in Ponyville!’, but then Dashy was like ‘That egghead is just probably having too much fun nerding it up with the bigwigs again’! So we were gonna send you a care package in case you just didn’t have time to write back to us and was missing your Ponyville friends. But then we got the news that there was a real live ALIEN in Canterlot, and we were all like ‘oh my gosh! Alien invasion!’. Well, I thought that until Applejack roped me back to finish the article and we found out that this alien was actually kinda friendly! So I was like ‘We need to go throw it a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party!', but Applejack had to stay on the farm, Dashy was busy covering for a few of the pegasi on the weather team that got sick, and Fluttershy, well you know how Fluttershy is with new ponies. Anyways, Rarity said she’d go since she wanted to pick up a shipment in Canterlot personally, but I already knew she was totally into meeting an alien for herself.”

If Twilight didn’t already know her friend so well, she would have questioned how she was able to say all that in one breath. Unfortunately, Sam wasn’t quite as prepared and just eyed the pink, hyper-active pony with a confused and curious eye. As he was doing that, said pink pony looked directly at him with the biggest, ear splitting smile he could ever see on one pony’s face. He blinked, and suddenly he was face to face with the pink terror and jumped back to avoid accidentally headbutting her.

“Hi, Mister Alien!” she waved enthusiastically in Sam’s face, “My name is Pinkie Pie. Party pony planner extraordinaire! I wasn’t sure what kind of cake aliens liked, so I just made one of the two classics and swirled them together. Cause everypony I know says you can’t go wrong with the classics! Oh, silly me. I never asked you what your name is, I mean unless your name is ‘Mister Alien’. Also, do aliens like parties? Do aliens prefer chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry flavored cake? How come you’re wearing so much clothing? Also, do aliens use those probes like the ones in the movies?”

Before Pinkie could get another question in, Twilight clamped her muzzle closed with her telekinetic grasp and dragged the still mumbling pony away from Sam. Sam thanked the purple unicorn silently as she drug her friend back beside Rarity to continue her questioning.

“Sorry darling, but you know how Pinkie gets when she goes off on a tangent,” Rarity also held Pinkie in place while she apologized to Twilight, “But she is right about one thing. When we heard the news about Canterlot being attacked by a group of rogues, we were ever so worried!”

Twilight nodded in understanding, “It’s fine. I would have wondered the same thing. Though, how is it that you two got into the castle? The whole place is supposed to be on high alert.” Twilight’s eyes lit up before she pointedly stared at Pinkie Pie, “Pinkie bribed the guards again, didn’t she.”

With Twilight’s magic no longer sealing her muzzle shut, Pinkie snorted in laughter, “It’s not my fault they love my double chimicherrychanga recipe so much.”

Pinkie reached into her mane to pull out a fresh and still steaming hot concoction of a pastry that she just mentioned and took an abnormally large bite out it. Surprisingly, especially for Sam, Pinkie’s mane remained free of gooey cherry filling while the pastry had not even a single hair stuck in it.

Pinkie’s content smile turned to Sam as she offered the pastry up to him, “Wanna try some?”

Sam just shook his head as he tried to process what he just saw. Pinkie, on the other hand, just shrugged and tossed the rest of the pastry up into the air, only for it to land down her gullet in a single gulp. In another universe, Newton, Einstein, and Galileo were rolling in their graves.

“Pardon me, where are my manners?” Rarity drew the stunned conduit’s attention back to her, “My name is Rarity. Might I inquire as to yours?”

Happy to rid his mind of even more headache inducing pony logic, Sam composed himself to reply with a smile and an open hand, “Samuel, but everyone just calls me Sam. Also, sorry about the cake.”

Rarity accepted the handshake, “My, he’s more polite than I would have expected. Eh, no offense darling.”

“Believe me, it would take way more than that to offend me,” Sam shrugged and stuffed his hands back in his pockets.

Rarity cleared her throat, “Yes, well. It was still impolite for a lady such as myself to assume such a thing from a complete stranger. For that, I offer my most sincerest apologies. If I may, I could not help but notice your attire.”

Sam looked down at his clothes, looking for any blemishes or stains he might have missed, “These? Is there anything wrong with them?”

“Oh, no no no no! Perish the thought,” Rarity quickly replied, “I was just curious as to whom had made them. The style is a little rugged, but it suits you well. It’s bold, and absolutely screams charisma, even without too much flare. Plus, the stitch work is simply marvelous!”

As Rarity trotted around the conduit to inspect every inch she could of his clothes, Sam couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed by the impromptu inspection.

“Um, I think his name was something like... Silk Trim? I could be wrong though,” Sam said in thought.

Rarity gasped, “The Silk Trim?! Founder of the new age classical revival?!”

Sam just stared at the excited pony blankly, “Sure, why not?”

At this, Rarity squealed with even more excitement and went off on her own tangent on everything fashion that Sam could hardly even begin to understand.

“Rarity,” Twilight called out, “Rarity! RARITY!”

Stopping in her tracks abruptly, Rarity smiled nervously and backed herself up and away from Sam in embarrassment, “Ahem, my apologies.”

Twilight cut off everyone else, so she could finally talk herself, “Girls, I’m really glad you’re both here, but it’s far too dangerous to be here right now.”

“Which is why we came here to check up on you,” Rarity replied, “Twilight, when everypony heard about the attack, we couldn’t stop thinking about you. Spike especially. He was so worried that he couldn’t even bring himself to send a letter to Princess Celestia for fear of what she would have said. We had to promise him that we would come to check up on you personally to keep him from breaking down.”

When Twilight heard this, she was stunned into silence. She should have known that they would have been worried like this. She knows she would have, just like her parents who all but demanded to see their daughter at the front gates to know that she was safe.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight quietly said, “I should have at least had Princess Celestia send a letter to Spike. You all didn’t need to go through that.”

Her two friends came to her and embraced her from both sides. Friendly nuzzles were shared and even a few tears were shed, but it looked like they all made up in the end.

“Well, this isn’t awkward or anything,” Sam interrupted from the middle of the room.

Pinkie Pie giggled and waved for the conduit over, “Come on. Get that silly flank over here.”

“Thanks, but I think I can enjoy this romcom from over here,” Sam smirked.

The impossible pink mare pulled another feat of impossibility by lifting both of her friends up, nearly skipping across the room, and throwing them all at Sam to entangle him in the group hug.

Sam barely caught them all with a grunt and rolled his eyes, “Alright, but if the live studio audience starts cheering, I’m out.”

“Don’t worry Sammy. They’re only here on Thursdays,” Pinkie Pie said.