“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” – J. Robert Oppenheimer (quoting from the Bhagavad Gita)

The Council Meeting Chamber had an oppressive, heavy feeling to it. The air, hot and muggy. Or at least it felt that way. It was no wonder, given the magnitude of the decision the Council was facing after what James had just finished telling them about his plan to deal with the Beyond. Besides the councilors themselves, Twilight, Luna and the captains of the Lunar Guard, Celestial Guard, and Unicorn Guard were present. Notably missing, was the captain of the entire Royal Guard, given that Captain Swordstorm was on Earth, and Captain Skydart, as far as anypony in the room knew, was still MIA.

“Does this project even have a name? It’s difficult to discuss it without a name to call it by,” Councilor River Rock said. James could hear the tension in his voice. Perhaps even a slight note of hostility. He could hardly blame the earth pony stallion. Not given the enormity of what he had just dumped on the Council. James recalled that when Harry Truman had taken office and learned about the atomic bomb project, he had said that he felt like the moon, stars, and all of the planets had fallen on him. And he was talking about a weapon that could only destroy a city. How much worse must the Council feel with what he had laid on them? A weapon that could potentially destroy the entire Universe?

“A name?” River Rock asked again, bringing James out of his thoughts.

“I had thought of calling it the Genesis Spell,” James answered.

“The Genesis Spell?” River Rock asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s certainly trying to put a positive spin on things isn’t it? Given you are talking about creating the mother of all weapons of mass destruction?”

“It will, in theory, create the building blocks for new life in the process of splitting the god particles.” James felt timid, small. How many more times were these ponies going to one-up the things he had previously thought were the most challenging and frightening experiences of his life? He recalled a time when life had been simple and easy. When the most nerve-wracking experience he had ever faced was defending his PhD dissertation in front of the university nuclear physics faculty. But that had been a walk through the park on a spring day compared to the grueling interview of the Royal Equestrian Academy faculty before he’d started working there. Now, both of them felt like they had been nothing more than a casual conversation where nothing at all had been on the line. This was like standing in front of some grand inquisition. In a way, he supposed it was. The outcome of this meeting might determine the fate of the universe.

“It will create the primitive building blocks for new life, maybe. But how much will it destroy in the process? How much already established advanced life? By your own admission, Councilor, you can offer no guarantees that this Genesis spell won’t destroy the entire Universe.” It was Twilight who responded.

“Councilor Peterson and I both understand and share your concerns. However, neither one of us sees a viable alternative.” James was glad that Twilight had come to his rescue. He was beginning to feel like an ant under a microscope. He supposed he should feel that way, though. Given the enormity of what he was proposing.

“Do you?” Storm Runner asked, the blue-green Pegasus flaring her wings a bit, her strong hostility to the idea evident in the way her ears were pinned to her head. “Despite pressure by some in the Royal Guard to do otherwise,” James thought she cast a slightly accusing glance at Star Flash, “Equestria’s long-standing policy has been that we will not pursue the development of weapons of mass destruction using magic or any other means, because we don’t want to start an arms race. And changing that policy now, when changelings, griffons, and ponies are all starting to come together, could be disastrous to future relations.” James opened his mouth to respond, but Luna spoke first.

“Let us hear the input of some of the others before we engage in further discussion. After all, right now, all we have is James’ opinion, knowledgeable thought it may be, that this will work at all. Councilor Moon Song?” Luna asked, turning her head toward the unicorn stallion who was considered the Council’s leading authority on magic. James was glad Luna had intervened. The discussion with Storm Runner had been dangerously close to degrading into trench warfare, with both sides dug in, neither making any progress. Moon Song’s horn was glowing slightly as he scribbled calculations frantically on the piece of paper in front of him. For a moment, James wasn’t sure he’d heard Luna address him. But then he put down the quill and looked up.”

“My opinion? It’s not gonna work. They’ll be able to split a god particle, but after that, nothing will happen. They won’t get the chain reaction Councilor Peterson thinks they will get. That’s what I think is most likely to happen.” He took a deep breath, his ears drooping slightly on his head. “But if I’m wrong and he does get the chain reaction he thinks he will? I don’t think it will stop with the Beyond. I think the chain reaction will emanate outward from the source at the speed of light, continuing until it has split every piece of matter in the Universe, causing a nuclear detonation of unfathomable power. We literally don’t have a unit of measure large enough to describe the amount of energy that would be released.” He added, almost as an afterthought, “Of course, I hope I am wrong on both counts.”

“Then you agree with the plan?” Luna asked.

“I think it’s a terrible plan. But sometimes there are no good plans. Only plans that are less bad than others.”

Luna nodded in response, then looked to Captain Star Flash of the Unicorn Guard.

“And you, Captain?”

“I think we have no other choice than to go ahead with Councilor Peterson’s plan, as distasteful as it may be to some.” The unicorn seemed to cast his own glare at Storm Runner for a moment.

James resisted the urge to frown. Although he was grateful for Star Flash’s support, the fact that the unicorn had responded with no hesitation at all made him think he had ulterior motives, such as simply wanting an extremely powerful new weapon for the Unicorn Guard. He was more certain now that Storm Runner really had cast that accusing glance at Star Flash earlier. It was Storm Runner who spoke again.

“Councilor Moon Song raises what I think is the heart of the concern here.” The pegasus seemed to have calmed down, and the possibility of an argument erupting to have receded somewhat. “A question we have to ask is this: Do we even have the ethical or moral right to pursue a project like this? If the only world we stood to destroy was our own – the only species we might wipe out ourselves – then this would be an easier question. But we’re talking about the entire Universe here. And we aren’t just talking about wiping out our own species. We are talking about the possibility of wiping out humans from James’ world, and every other species on every other planet we haven’t even discovered yet. What gives us the right to force them to incur this risk along with us?”

Moon Song said, “If we were doing this just to satisfy our own curiosity about deep magic, then yes, it would obviously be insanity. If we were doing it to prevent our own nation from falling to the changelings, then we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. There would be no question that it would be unethical for us to place the entire Universe at a twenty percent risk of destruction just to stop ourselves from coming under the rule of Queen Chrysalis … or whoever it is that’s ruling their empire now. In that scenario, it might be acceptable to take a risk that would destroy ourselves, but not one that threatened to destroy every species in the Universe.

“But the Beyond isn’t Chrysalis. It’s not a being who just wants to conquer and rule. It’s a being who wants to destroy everything. And if Princess Celestia is right, and I believe she is, The Beyond will not stop at destroying Equestria. It will plunge to the center of the macro-pattern and destroy every other species and every other world as well. That’s an absolute certainty if the Beyond wins this war. Believe me, I would not be supporting this if I thought there were any possibility at all of winning this war using conventional methods. But I don’t. Our forces, the changeling forces, the griffons, the dragons, and the humans combined cannot win this war using conventional tactics. At least James’ plan gives the Universe a chance to survive. It gives ponies, changelings, griffons, dragons, humans, and every other species that might be out there who currently has no clue what’s going on, a chance. If we don’t try James’ plan, then none of them have any chance.”

The room was silent for several long moments, although the tension was still thick. James still felt as if he were naked, having every single detail about himself scrutinized down to the strands of hair on his arms. Storm Runner’s ears were laid back slightly, and she was gazing at the table. She gave no further objections. Did that mean she had reluctantly accepted Moon Song’s argument? James wasn’t sure. After a few moments, Luna turned towards the Captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guards.

“Would either of you like to add anything?”

“Nothing, Your Majesty,” Captain Stardust said. “My focus is only on protecting you.”

Captain Sunflare of the Celestial Guard only shook his head in the negative. At least it’s good to see the two of them agreeing on something, even if all they are agreeing on is to do and say nothing, James thought to himself. The rift between the Celestial and Lunar guards that had been caused by the disagreements and subsequent fallout between the two Royal Sisters had never seemed to fully close.

“Very well,” Luna said. “Then I shall leave the room while the Council discusses and votes on the issue. Luna turned towards the door and two thestral guards pulled it open. James stood and bowed slightly as he addressed the Council.

“With all due respect to the Council, since this is my proposal, I feel that I should recuse myself from the discussion and voting. If you need me for questions, I’ll be in the hallway.” He bowed slightly again – respectfully and diplomatically, not the deep bow he would have given to one of the Princesses – then followed Princess Luna out of the room. Twilight, not being part of the Council, also stepped out of the room, as did the guard captains. The two thestrals standing guard closed the doors with an echoing boom that sounded ominously loud to his ears.

Once in the hallway, it was all James could do not to pace back and forth in front of the doors. He felt as if he were a defendant on trial who had just rested his case. Now, it was completely out of his hands and in the hooves of the rest of the Council. All he could do was wait while they deliberated his fate. He glanced at Captain Stardust and Captain Sunflare. The two of them had moved off on their own and were discussing something in quiet tones. His ears burned to know what was on their mind, because he couldn’t make out their whispers. For whatever reason, they seemed to have intentionally excluded Captain Star Flash from their huddle.

He tried to turn his mind from the decision that was being discussed behind the closed doors, but when he did, he found himself thinking of the tension that had existed between Storm Runner and himself in the room. He tried to tell himself it wasn’t personal, and the rational part of his mind knew that it wasn’t. He could hardly blame her for her reaction to the radical plan he had dumped on them. And in truth, he had been so excited about the possibility of finding a way to defeat the Beyond, that he really hadn’t thought through any of the political issues involved, such as starting an arms race, or straining relations between the various species of the world, given that traditionally, those relations had already been stretched. Only in the past couple of weeks, had tensions between the various nations softened as they came together to battle a common enemy that threatened them all. Pointing out things like that was, of course, why the Council existed in the first place. It wasn’t possible for one individual to always see all of the ramifications of a potential course of action; especially not when that individual was the one responsible for creating the potential action. He was glad that Storm Runner had had the presence of mind to bring up issues that hadn’t occurred to him.

He let his mind wander to other things. There was no sense dwelling on the fate of the Genesis Spell or what had happened in the meeting room. The outcome was completely out of his hands now. He thought of his relationship with Twilight Sparkle and the fact that he wouldn’t have to hide it from Celestia and Luna. That made him smile a bit. The thought lead him to think of Celestia herself. Where was she right now? What was she doing? Had Swordstorm been able to find her and deliver the information that would be so critical to getting her home? If so, had Eric been able to figure out a way to do it? There was no way to know right now. They wouldn’t know until they attempted to open the portal here to bring her back. Either they’d see her through the portal, or they wouldn’t.

James cast his eyes over Luna, then Twilight, as if hoping one of them would have all of the answers. But both of them had expressions of uncertainly on their muzzles as well, as if they were lost in their own ponderings. He returned to his own thoughts for an indeterminate amount of time before the clanging of the opening doors jolted him out of them. Storm Runner stuck her head out.

“The Council has voted,” was all she said. James attempted to read their decision from her tone of voice or garner something from her expression and appearance. But she was completely poker faced and unreadable. Her head disappeared back into the meeting room and Twilight, Luna, and James followed her in, all taking their places around the table again. If the atmosphere of the room had felt heavy before, now it felt crushing. Storm Runner waited for the thestrals to close the doors before speaking.

“The Council has voted unanimously to recommend that Councilor Peterson and Twilight Sparkle be granted authority to begin development of the Genesis Spell.” Storm Runner had said it with no emotion in her voice, no visible indication of her mood. James could glean nothing about how she felt regarding the decision, but the unanimous yes vote meant she had supported him in the end, even if she’d done so reluctantly.

James turned his attention to Luna, who nodded, but gave no other visible signal as to how she felt. Everything came down to her now. More often than not, the Princesses went along with a unanimous decision on the part of the Council, but Luna did have the power to veto any Council decision. She could still shut down this project. He wondered what must be going through her mind. One thing he knew for sure: He didn’t envy her at all. She was silent, looking at the floor, scraping her forehoof along it a couple of times, as she’d done so long ago in the early stages of their tense relationship when she’d kidnapped him and taken him out to the hill to stargaze. Minutes passed, which seemed like hours. Finally, she looked up, cast her gaze over the entire Council and the guard captains, and then began to speak.

“There were several reasons I turned into Nightmare Moon. One of them was simply because I wanted power and authority. I envied the fact that my sister was one step above me. That she could veto my own decisions, even though she rarely did so. But now, with the decision that has been placed before my hooves, I wonder why I ever wanted power at all. I wonder why I was ever jealous of my sister instead of pitying her. My sister should be the one making this decision. Not me. ‘Twould be better for me if I were a poor common farmer with no power at all.”

The midnight-blue alicorn looked at the floor, again scraping her hoof along it as if trying to dig a groove into it. She took a deep breath before continuing.

“Authorization is granted for Councilor Peterson and Twilight Sparkle to begin development of the Genesis Spell. And may the Sun and Moon help us … or forgive us as the case may be.”

Silence dominated as the weight of Luna’s words sank in, the unprecedented enormity of the decision they had just made pressing down and crushing the entire room, as if the ceiling were coming down and slowly flattening everyone and everything in the chamber. When James had been in the hallway, he’d found himself half wishing that the Council would shoot him down. Now, a part of himself wished that Luna would have vetoed the Council’s decision to support him. It was Moon Song who finally interrupted the silence.

“It goes without saying that the research required to develop this thing is going to be extremely dangerous, with risks ranging from radiation accidents that could poison entire blocks, to nuclear chain reactions that could vaporize the better part of a city. It cannot be conducted anywhere near a populated area.”

“And yet, the army of scientists who will work on this project is going to need the support of a small town. Food, transportation, medical services, and so on,” River Rock added.

“White Pony seems like the obvious choice,” Captain Star Flash said. “It’s far away from any other inhabited areas, and the population of the town is small enough that evacuating them to temporary housing is doable without creating a logistical nightmare.”

“They won’t be happy. Not given those ponies’ dislike of Canterlot intervention in their affairs. Now Canterlot is going to swoop in and tell them they all have to leave their town?”

James added, “Also, the evacuation could be for a fairly extended period of time. After the research is finished, they won’t be able to just go home right away. We’ll have to decommission the labs, perform radiation surveys of the town to make sure it’s safe for them to return, and so on. And I don’t have the training to do a proper radiation survey of a town, so there will be a learning and research period involved there.”

“You’re a nuclear physicist and you don’t know how to do a radiation survey?” Captain Star Flash asked, an incredulous note in his voice that caused James to bristle slightly.

“No, I don’t. I’m not an emergency worker now am I? Normally, radiation assessments are the kind of thing the military would handle,” James shot back accusingly at the Unicorn Guard commander. Fortunately, Luna intervened before the argument could escalate any further.

“There is no sense in squabbling over who should know how to do what, or whose responsibility it is to do what. And as far as the citizens of White Pony, they’ll just have to deal. The Crown will compensate them well for their trouble.”

James and Captain Star Flash both nodded in apology before Storm Runner spoke again.

“We still have another issue. Remember that Councilor Peterson and Twilight have to go into the heart of the Beyond itself to cast this spell. I doubt the Beyond is simply going to let them march right in. And we already know that only the two of them can go in, so we can’t simply send an army with them to protect them against aislings.”

“No, we cannot,” Luna said with a shake of her head. She frowned, laying her ears back. “I had hoped that we would be able to stop the Beyond before the barriers were breached and the invasion began. But it is apparent that we are not going to be able to do that. We are going to have to let the invasion happen. Our forces, and the human forces, will have to battle the aislings. Our goal, and the goal of the humans, must be to stop the aislings from getting back into the Beyond. Twilight and James will still face some resistance, but it will be far less than they would otherwise have to deal with.”

“That’s gonna be a tough one to sell to the humans, Your Majesty,” Captain Stardust said. “If we can even open the portal –”

“There’s no if involved. We will open the portal. We will bring my sister home,” Luna interrupted, her eyes narrowed slightly, her tail flicking once in anger. Captain Stardust nodded his head in apology.

“As you say, Your Majesty. When we open the portal, we can send all of this information through to Eric. But basically, we are going to tell the humans a massive invasion of extremely powerful supernatural beings is approaching their world, but that they must do nothing to stop the invasion. And then, once the aislings are in their land, rather than try to drive them out, they must do everything in their power to keep them there? Even if they are trying to flee back into the Beyond? It’d be easier to sell a rock to an earth pony who lived on a rock farm.” Luna’s expression softened as she responded, as if in apology for her momentary flash of anger over the suggestion that they might not be able to successfully open the portal to bring Celestia back.

“A difficult sell indeed. But it is what we must sell them. I will attempt to contact my sister in the dreamworld tonight and communicate the general idea to her. We will send details when we open the portal.” She looked at James now, her eyes softening in compassion. “And to put your mind at ease, I was able to contact my sister the other day. She has been warned of the impending invasion, and I suspect she has told Eric.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” James responded, bowing his head in gratitude. But with this new talk of trying to convince the humans that they must let the invasion happen and then, if need be, try to keep the aislings from getting back into the Beyond, the knowledge that Celestia knew of the impending attack brought little comfort.

Luna nodded in acknowledgment before turning and walking to the side of the room, staring at the wall as if she wished they weren’t deep underground and there were a window to look through. Her ears dropped against her head as she spoke quietly, seemingly to herself.

“I fear a sacrifice will need to be made in the human world. Only one will return …”

“Your Majesty?” Captain Stardust asked. But Luna only turned around and gave a forced smile.

“All of you have a lot of work to do. Captain Star Flash, contact the Earth Pony Guard and coordinate with them to send a squadron of guards to White Pony to begin the evacuation. Have someone notify the innkeepers in Canterlot that they will be receiving the evacuees. Let them know they will be compensated their normal rate for their rooms. If any inns are still closed due to the extended night and winter, tell them it’s time to reopen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Star Flash responded. Luna turned her attention to James and Twilight.

“I suggest the two of you scour the Academy labs. I will send an order to the Academy commander informing him that you are authorized to commandeer any equipment you need. I’ll also send a logistics officer from Pegasus Guard Airlift Command to arrange for transporting the equipment, as well as any support ponies you need to White Pony. You will have as many transport chariots at your disposal as you need.” She turned her gaze towards Moon Song. “You go with them, Councilor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” all three of them responded at the same time.

Luna nodded, smiling briefly before her expression became grim again. “Good. You all have your tasks. The Council is dismissed.”

As the thestral guards opened the doors, a rush of cool air flowed into the chamber, but it provided little relief from the oppressive atmosphere that dominated. James filed out of the meeting room along with the rest of the councilors and guard captains, except for Captain Stardust, who James noticed stayed behind with Luna. Curiosity picked at James like an itch he couldn’t scratch, but it was obvious Luna wanted to be alone with her Commander. And besides, Luna was right. He and Twilight had a lot of work to do before they could leave for White Pony, and not much time to do it in. If the spell wasn’t ready by the time the aislings invaded, than Equestria, Earth, and probably the entire Universe itself would be lost.

Luna stared at the wall again, absently listening to the councilors and other guard captains leaving the room. The thestrals posted outside closed the doors and she heard the lock click into place. She swiveled her ears toward the doors, listening to the fading sound of hoofsteps. When she could no longer hear them, she spoke, still facing the wall.

“You and your Celestial counterpart are not happy with my decision. But you both chose not to say anything during the discussion.”

“Was it that obvious, Your Majesty?” Captain Stardust raised an eyebrow. Luna turned around and faced him now.

“To James? Probably not. To any pony who was more than a few meters away from you? Not likely. But to me? And to any other pony close to you? The disagreement of you both was prevalent in your scent. And there was an underlying smell of anger to it. Like sulfur rising from the crater of a volcano.”

Captain Stardust sighed, looking at the floor as he flicked his tail and lowered his ears. “The two of us discussed it in the hall while the Council was deliberating. We don’t like the prophecy. Especially that part about the Sun swallowing the Sun and the Moon swallowing the Moon. As Captains of the Celestial and Lunar Guard, our only job is to protect and serve you and your sister.” He flicked his tail again and pinned his ears to his head. “The Sun shall swallow the Sun and the Moon shall swallow the Moon? What does it mean? It sounds too ominous. We fear that you and your sister are in grave danger.”

Luna shook her head once. “I would be lying if I said that part of the prophecy does not frighten me. I do not know what it means. The whole prophecy is terrifying and I do not know what most of it means.” Luna forced a small smile. “It is good to see the two of you talking and discussing things, though.” Stardust’s averted eyes suggested he didn’t see the humor in it and only found it awkward. The smile faded from Luna’s face and she turned to face the wall again before continuing.

“I fear that the greatest threat Equestria has ever faced is not the Beyond. It’s the physics knowledge inside his brain, combined with her knowledge and skill at magic.”

“And what are we to do about it, Your Majesty?” Captain Stardust asked. Luna shook her head in response.

“We are going to let him do what he must. What he came here to do.” Luna took a deep breath, feeling as if the weight of the entire Universe were pressing on her, crushing her. In a way, it was. What if she had made the wrong decision in letting James go forward with this project? But there was no sense dwelling on it. She would be second-guessing herself until this was all over. She may as well focus on the other problem she still had to deal with. She turned around to face Captain Stardust again.

“But there’s no sense worrying about what we can’t control, Captain. We have other things that need to be dealt with. I have another assignment for Bat Team Alpha …”

Celestia stood in an open field, staring up into the night sky. It was a New Moon, making it completely dark. It appeared to be a clear night, but oddly enough, there were no stars visible. She sensed she was dreaming again and that Luna was probably involved. Her sister often placed little oddities in dreams, like a clear night with no stars, in order to let Celestia know that she was caught up in Luna’s dreamworld. There was only one light in the sky: A great, churning, glowing fog in the distance. In some ways, it looked like an aurora, dancing and twinkling like a bright green blanket spread across the sky. But this entity was much more sinister than any aurora. Lightning flashed inside of it so it was like looking at a distant thunderstorm that covered almost the entire horizon.

A particularly blinding flash radiated out from the center of the fog. Cracks began to spider web out from the source. A hole began to open in the middle that was like looking into nothing. Like staring into whatever non-existence there was before the universe had been birthed. The hole spiraled outward, growing larger, like the iris in some giant malevolent and all-seeing pupil opening up to allow in more light. Then, the cloud changed from green to a rolling lava like color. Aislings came pouring out into the field as if they were mounting a charge on a city. Celestia looked around, but other than the aislings, she seemed to still be alone. There were no human armies to stop the invasion. The aislings glided along on their legless forms, moving further away from the hole in the sky they had come from.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a human army arose from the ground between the boiling lava colored cloud and the aislings. The aislings turned around, facing the point they had come from. The two armies charged towards each other. Lightning flashed from the limbless openings where the aislings’ arms would have been. Bright flashes and loud cracks split the night from the human weapons. The two armies collided like freight trains, the open field exploding into a chaotic battleground, the humans doing their best to keep the aislings from returning to the hole they had crawled out of.

Celestia opened her eyes, finding herself in her bed in the cabin She quickly committed the dream to memory before she forgot it, as often happens in that half-state between sleep and wakefulness. She widened her eyes in confusion. Had the humans intentionally allowed the invasion to happen? Had they intentionally been trying to prevent the aislings from getting back into the Beyond? She shook her head slightly, bewilderment filling her mind. Luna, what is it you are trying to show me?

She climbed out of bed, shaking her long, flowing mane out of her face and stepping lightly as she made her way out of her room and to the front door. No sense waking any of the others. She channeled an ever so slight amount of magic into her horn, opening the door and stepping outside. The cool air felt good on her fur, the smell of the mountain air fresh to her nostrils. As expected, she found Captain Swordstorm standing guard beside the door.

“Can’t sleep, Your Majesty?” he asked, giving a respectful bow of his head. She bowed to the stallion in return.

“I had another dream.”

“From Luna?”

She nodded. “Walk with me.”

Captain Swordstorm fell in beside her as the two of them walked a short distance from the cabin, then turned on to one of the many mountain paths. The Moon was full and filled Celestia with warmth as it made her think of her sister. Its silver light sparkled off the snow-capped mountains, creating a fantasy-like scene that would have been breathtaking if not for the disturbing and confusing dream Luna had given her. As they walked, she explained the dream to Swordstorm. When she finished, she turned her head to look at the stallion. He wore an expression that was as confused as hers had been when she’d woken up.

“You say the humans appeared to intentionally let the invasion happen? And that they looked like they were trying to block the aislings from retreating back into the Beyond?” Celestia nodded her head.

“Yes. But retreat might not be the right word. I’m don’t know if the aislings were trying to retreat back into the Beyond, or if they suddenly realized there was a more important target they needed to engage behind them rather than in front of them. But the humans were definitely more concerned about keeping them from going back towards the opening than about preventing their continued march inland.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Captain Swordstorm shook his head. “It seems as if Luna is trying to tell us that we need to convince the humans to let the invasion happen. And that if it comes to it, they need to prevent the aislings from getting back into the Beyond. But why would she want them to do that? What sense is there in trying to keep the enemy in your own territory instead of trying to drive them out?” But Celestia had no answers to give. She was as confused as he was.

“I must admit I don’t understand what Luna was trying to tell me, Captain. I hope future dreams will clear things up.”

She looked away from him now, casting her eyes on the moonlit trail in front of her. Neither she or her Captain spoke. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. Crickets sang, as if they were a Royal Court serenading her. Somewhere above them, an owl hooted. It was an idyllic night scene that would have been peaceful and enchanting but for the burning and unsaid knowledge in Celestia’s heart. No, she would not order Swordstorm. She would not broach the subject with him. She was certain the stallion had already come to the same conclusion she had. She would let him bring it up. After a few more moments, Swordstorm pierced the silence.

“We may as well not beat around the bush, Your Majesty. We both know that when Eric opens the portal to Equestria, I won’t be going through it with you.”

Yes, he was right. She had known. But hearing him say it pierced her heart as surely as his words had pierced the silence between them. She felt her heart sinking into an ocean of turmoil, as if it had been sliced open by an iceberg and was taking on water. She nodded her head in acknowledgment, but what she said was, “I won’t order you to do this, Captain.”

“You have my thanks, Your Majesty. But you and I both know that we cannot leave the humans alone to fight an enemy they know nothing about, and who uses combat tactics they have never encountered.”

Celestia only nodded. Yes, she did know. But that didn’t make it any easier. And it didn’t stop a tear from overflowing the banks of her eyelids, catching the moonlight like a drop of crystal as it fell to the ground and shattered.