“A month,” Luna mused while lying in bed. “Nothing but a single month.”

She was angry. Only a few hours had passed since notice had arrived from the north: The Gryphons had launched an overwhelming attack on the city and had occupied it. The message indicated that they had seized the city's vital industries and enslaved the populous. All of this took place in just over a month.

Luna’s thoughts were jumbled. How were the Gryphons able to attack in such a short time? They obliterated what little of the Equestrian army had been stationed near the city, and subsequently took control of the heavily industrialized settlement. Factories, farms, those were all working for them. She knew the city was a valuable asset, and hence they had placed as much effort as they could into making sure it was well defended, an effort which consisted of assigning ponies from the Royal Guard with protecting it. They were the best that was available at the moment, but that did not stop them, no.

The Princess got off of the bed, stretching before walking out onto her balcony. She looked down, watching as the smoke rose up from the training camp set at the foot of Canterlot Mountain.

Was there a chance of defeating them? “Yes,” she said to herself. “Of course there is. We will prevail.” Yet, there was a nagging feeling on the back of her mind. The Equestrian army was not ready, not by a long shot. She knew that much, and had to fight herself to admit it. The loss of Trottingham was inevitable, but that did not make her feel any better.

What had happened during the thousand years of her exile? She remembered a beautiful country, much like it was on her return, but there was a distinct lack of warriors and, most noticeably, other species amongst the ponies. They had grown soft, unaware of what was beyond their borders. Yes, it was almost a sort of eden. Almost.

Could she blame them? Those which are ignorant are usually those who are the happiest.

“Ignorance,” she thought. Her mind flashed with images of her time as Nightmare Moon, causing her to frown. The ponies had forgotten about that incident, only remembered one day each year, which usually involved candy. “How childish,” she scoffed. Even if she had enjoyed her first Nightmare Night, there was no denying of the fact that it was a celebration born of ignorance.

“And ‘Eternal Night’? Really?” she said aloud. She had a long talk with Celestia in the first day of her return. The white alicorn had explained that it was for the best that the ponies never knew of Nightmare Moon’s true purpose. Luna disagreed, of course. For the temperature to descend to such a level that would cause the crops to die and wipe the planet of most forms of life was “Too unnerving” for the ponies to know, according to Celestia. The moon Princess did not abide by that, instead arguing that the ponies should have been more prepared for Nightmare’s return. Even if Celestia’s plan worked, Luna could never agree with her sister’s ways.

“They were scared of eternal night, and now they have to fight a war...” Luna said as she stepped back into her room. “How did Celestia let this happen? I understand that she wanted the best for our ponies, but she went too far...”

Luna pushed her current thoughts to the side, reminding herself of what she had been meaning to do at first. She sat by her desk and retrieved both a piece of paper and a quill, dipping the latter on an inkpot before setting to work.

“The Homo Evolutis, Part Two”

“For a month, I have been studying the humans as much as I have been able to, learning much about the pad along the way as well. It has been hard to find enough time for it, since I partake heavily in almost every aspect of this war.”

“I have focused on their society: the ‘United Systems And Colonies’. There are two more ‘Main’ races in their government, this being the Lakuran and the Gektar, of which I have been unable to find much information. Each race has a ‘Chancellor’, which implies that they are a democratic society. This is not completely correct, not on the case of the humans. They function on a mix of meritocracy and democracy, choosing their representative out of a selection of Admirals and other high-ranking individuals who must earn their place on this selection.”

“All of that points to a very militarized system, at least for the humans. Their history is marked by conflict, between themselves and others. I am glad to say that they have surpassed that, and have become the ‘Defenders’ of the USC. They range from great warriors to illuminated scientists, rich to poor, etc.”

“I can honestly say that I am scared of them. They are capable of feats beyond my comprehension. I came across an article on mining, which explained how they literally tear planets apart, using every resource that the doomed world has to offer. What is stopping them from doing that to us?”

“Of course, they value all forms of organic life. When they are not cracking planets open, they settle down and ‘terraform’ them, molding them to how they see fit. The pad even makes mention of cities that cover the entire surface of planets and buildings that reach the stars.”

“I had underestimated just how far above they are from us. We barely have even scratched the surface of the universe. We have not even planted our hooves on any place outside of this planet. They have reached far beyond their stars and have defeated enemies that use limbs as spare parts. They manipulate their surroundings in ways that I am yet to understand. Only with their hands have they managed all of this. I can only draw one conclusion at the moment.”

“We are primitive.”