In the past, and not so long ago, when people looked upon the city of Griffonstone, they would often feel let down, or, even worse, a sense of pity towards those who lived in it. It was a dirty, run-down, neglected and crumbling place that looked as though nobody who lived there gave two thoughts about the state it was in. Thankfully, that was no longer the case, as backing from the Lunar Kingdom had allowed a great many repairs and fortifications to be had. Unfortunately, this had the side-effect of making the city look not only fixed, but formidable as well. Now, whenever one looked at that place, they saw something more akin to a fortress than a city, at least from the outside. For one Equestrian Guard, it was enough to cause him to narrow his eyes. It was risky, being out here, so close to Lunar-held lands, but he had to keep watch, to make sure their "neighbours" weren't up to something. But, after a time, the grey unicorn stallion exhaled deeply.

"Almost a whole day out here...and still nothing."

Every once in a while, he would see squadrons of Lunar soldiers flying overhead, and he would duck down behind his hiding spot, never making a move until he was absolutely sure that they were gone. It was dangerous, but he had a duty to perform, and he was determined to see it through. But, he also had another responsibility out here, and as this second task came to mind for him, he turned, looking upon his partner in this scouting mission. It was a much younger stallion, an earth pony, barely out of his colt years, with largely green colouring. He was sitting quietly to the side, looking more than a little nervous over all this, and the older Guard, softening his expression, whispered over to him.

"Hey, Sandbar. You okay?"

The question jolted the younger guard from his thoughtfulness, and he gave a salute to his commander.

"Sir! Yes! I was...um...just doing some thinking."

The older stallion chuckled.

"Well, there's certainly plenty of opportunity for us to do that out here."

He turned, focusing his gaze once more upon the walls of Griffonstone, seeing the combination of Griffons and Lunar soldiers walk along its top. Minutes passed, but eventually, the older stallion's eyes drifted again to his younger colleague.

"Tell me about yourself, Cadet."

Sandbar, slightly taken aback by that, nevertheless tried to answer, clearing his throat before doing so.

"Well...um...I was born in Ponyville, Sir."

A smile crept onto the Commander's lips.

"Oh, country lad, eh?"

Sandbar nodded, prompting the Commander to continue.

"So...why'd you join the Guard?"

Sandbar, in response to that question, started to assume a more upright stance, trying to look as professional as possible.

"I want to do my part for my country, Sir!"

But the Commander merely rolled his eyes to that.

"Come on, kid...the recruiters aren't here."

Sandbar paused, and then, ever so slowly, started to relax.

"I'm...worried, Sir. All this stuff we hear about the Lunars and what they do...I...I wanted to just...you know...help."

Slowly, the other stallion nodded to him, understanding.

"And believe me, kid, you are helping."

Sandbar smiled to that, but then, the two of them immediately turned. For something strange was happening in the skies above Griffonstone. Some sort of shimmering, causing the two of them to narrow their eyes in the hopes of getting a better look at it. Then, to their shock, that shimmering became some sort of magical display. A torrent of swirling shades of blue, from light to dark, creating a circular shape of some sort that just hung there in the area above the city. From this distance, it appeared relatively small, about the same height as two stallions standing on each other's shoulders, but even so, it was cause for concern.

"Wha...what is that, Sir?" Sandbar rightfully asked.

The older pony shook his head.

"I...I don't know!"

Then, as if to answer them, something actually started to come through that circle. It appeared to be a pair of pegasus stallions, but bearing the armour of the Lunar Guard, and in their hooves, they seemed to be carrying some large supply crate. As soon as they'd exited that circle, it immediately disappeared, creating nothing but normal sky behind them. As those new pegasus soldiers made their way to the city, Sandbar looked on with confusion.

"Er...what?"

But his Commander was far more concerned.

"No...it can't be!"

Sandbar turned to him.

"What is it?"

The Commander shook his head, then whispered under his breath.

"It's...a teleport gate!"

Sandbar blinked to that, then realised that he was probably supposed to react, and so did as good a one as he could under the circumstances.

"Oh! Wow! A teleport gate? Phew! I mean...yeah, that's definitely something...right?"

Slowly, the other stallion turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Cadet...I'll spare you the embarrassment of having to admit that you don't know what a teleport gate is."

Sandbar sighed.

"Thank you, Sir."

The Commander, shaking his head to this, soon looked back to the patch of sky where the gate had been, narrowing his eyes.

"Basically, you know those fancy teleport spells some unicorns can do? You know, big flash of light and they appear somewhere else?"

Sandbar nodded to him, prompting him to continue.

"Well, teleport gates were this whole theoretical thing. You know, the kind of spell the eggheads would debate with each other over notes and stuff? Never put it into practice, but..."

Slowly, he sighed.

"Basically...it's the idea that, if you got enough good unicorns together, they could open a sustained doorway between two points, allowing many things through at once. And..."

He frowned.

"...it looks like the Lunars have had that trick up their sleeves for a while now."

Then, his eyes widened.

"Oh...my stars!"

He snapped his head, looking straight at Sandbar.

"Do you know what this means, kid?"

Sandbar, after thinking on that for a moment, tried to give him an answer.

"Well...it probably mean that that's how the Lunars are getting supplies to Griffonstone without flying over Equestria. I hear the top brass have been scratching their heads over that one for a while now."

But the Commander shook his head.

"No, I mean do you know what it really means?!"

Sandbar did not reply, and so the Commander simply spelled it out.

"If they can do this, then how far can they go?! What if they decide they want to put ten thousand soldiers right in the heart of Manehattan? Or Baltimare?"

Horror crossed his face.

"...Or Canterlot?"

Here, Sandbar finally understood, but while he was indeed shocked, he seemed to be trying to restrain his fears more than his Commander.

"But...maybe they can't. We don't know what they can do with this spell, so...maybe they have limits? Like...maybe they can only send a few guys through at a time? Or maybe they can only do it in lands they actually control?"

The Commander, thinking on those questions, seemed to clam down, albeit only a little bit, but nevertheless sighed deeply.

"You may be right...and I hope you're right. But whatever the case, we can't let this go unreported.

He raised a hoof, pointing to the dusty path they'd taken to get to this point.

"Let's go! We need to get this info back to HQ at once!"

Sandbar nodded, and together, the two of them made their way swiftly back towards their home territory, always doing their best to avoid being spotted. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to them, they were being watched, and by none other than Captain Lighting Dust herself. The green pegasus mare smirked a little as she stood stop her cloud high above, seeing the two Equestrians retreat from the area. But, she was not solitary up here, as she was being accompanied by a young Griffon, blue in his feathers, who wore a distinct breastplate marked with the crescent moon of the Lunar Kingdom. This young recruit looked to his Captain with scepticism.

"And we're just letting them walk away because...?"

Lightning chuckled, reaching over and giving her companion a pat on the shoulder.

"Remember this lesson, Gallus. When negotiating from a position of strength..."

She turned, looking down to the still-leaving Equestrians, and slowly narrowing her eyes.

"...make sure the other side knows just how strong you can be."