In the week following Rolland Hallman’s death, the Pure Hearts launched an attack on the Augtech Tower, the headquarters of the Bio-Augtech Corporation on Korgólo. The extremists took advantage of the protests that were taking place outside the tower to infiltrate it.

Their original objective was to track down Jeanette Cain, Bio-Augtech’s owner and director. Unfortunately for the infiltrators, they were caught by the building’s security system just one floor below Jeanette’s office. This alerted the guards that were currently handling the protests. They closed the building and took the elevators towards the floor in which the Pure Hearts were trapped, where both sides engaged in combat.

The following is a recording of the Pure Hearts’ radio transmissions during the firefight:

“Red, this is Blue. The guards just sealed the building and went inside. Is everything going alright?

“Red? Red, do you copy?”

“Taking heavy fire! Alarm went—fucking guards and turrets every—”

“Shit... Red? Kelly, answer me, dammit!”

“... Kelly’s dead, Cole. I’m all that’s—gonna use... -omb.”

“She... the bomb? Len, you can’t—what about the people!”

“Agh!... It’s what we have to do... I’m sorry.”

“I—alright... let’s make those mutants pay.”

The last infiltrator then detonated a small thermonuclear device, causing the death of every worker between floors 405 and 700, including Jeanette Cain. Roughly half of the tower was destroyed, resulting in the death of several protesters due to the debris that fell down after the explosion. Many of the workers on the remaining floors were injured, and the Colonial Guard was forced to evacuate every citizen within five kilometers of the building. Barely ten minutes after the evacuation was complete, the building collapsed upon itself, spreading even more debris across the colony.

During the same week, a group of heavily armed and psychotic, heavy augmentees tracked down the location of the Pure Heart’s headquarters on Irtal and launched an all-out assault. Thanks to their ability to effortlessly handle heavy weaponry, the augmentees massacred the entire union of extremists.

The attack drew the attention of the CG, which in order to bring a stop to the augmentees’ rampage, made the use of a legion of “MechCore-Android-Troopers”, or MAT’s, in order to avoid significant casualties.

After one-and-a-half Terran hours of continuous combat, the MAT’s managed to overwhelm the augmentees by outnumbering them. The MAT’s then captured said augmentees and brought them to the headquarters of Life Central on the same colony, where a large protest was taking place.

Councilman Gerard Barrett then made a public appearance in the same location, announcing that strict restrictions were going to be placed over augmentations in order to avoid further conflicts. Any individual who was augmented beyond the permitted levels either had to pay a large fee or be banished to planets such as “DI-1372”.

That day, January 6, 3010, is recognized as the end of the Human Augmentation Crisis.

Standing in the courtyard of Canterlot’s palace was a large conglomeration of both Humans and ponies. Every single individual was frozen in place, no one daring to make the first move. Becker looked down at the spear that had found its target with little effect other than a minor annoyance for the Human. The tip had half-melted as it made contact with his suit’s energy shielding and then lodged itself between the fibers of the Syntex layer, doing absolutely no damage at all.

Just as he expected.

It was a discreet display of power, to show that he was unaffected by their weapons. It was part of the USC’s ‘First Contact’ protocols, after all.

Remaining with a stoic expression, he moved his hand away from the Princess and wrapped his fingers around the spear. With a minimal use of force, he pried the tip of the spear from his suit and then slowly bent it back towards the guard.

The pony that had made an attempt against the man was breaking out in a cold sweat, eyes wide and jaw tightly locked. Both Princesses turned to him in a calm manner, and the blue one spoke up, “Corporal Golden Shine, your armor please.”

The guard nodded, and began to undo his armor. Becker could see the tears streaming down his face and falling onto the courtyard’s grass, soaking into the ground. Once the pony undid all of his armor, the blue Princess telekinetically took a hold of all the pieces and instantly crushed them together, turning them into a ball of bronze which promptly fell to the ground.

“You have two hours to leave the castle,” she said, “Farewell.”

The guard nodded once again and walked away from the group, looking down at his forelegs.

Becker huffed, crouching down and wrapping his fingers around the metallic ball. He then stood back up, placing the orb on his hip and looking the the alicorns, smiling. “I figured you would have more experienced guards for a situation like this.”

“Yes, but I am afraid that nopony else was available at the time,” Celestia said.

“I understand,” said Becker, “So, where were we before our little ‘interruption’? Ah, yes. Princess Celestia, I am Admiral Adam Becker of the United Systems And Colonies, Colonial Guard. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He looked at the blue pony of similar size, “And it is a pleasure to meet you, as well.”

“I can say the same,” she said, “I am Princess Luna of Equestria.” She lifted her right foreleg , offering it to the Admiral. He smiled at her gesture and gently wrapped his hand around her hoof, shaking it.

“Would it be possible for us three to speak in a more private location?” Becker asked while letting go of Luna’s leg.

“Of course,” said Celestia, “We have a meeting room available.” She gestured towards the castle.

“I'm not much for formalities; perhaps we could go somewhere more casual?” the Admiral asked.

“Certainly,” said Celestia, “We could always head to my reading room.”

Becker nodded. “Lead the way,” he said, and then turned towards the rest of the humans, “Zone-Green, I want you both to stay here and watch the ships.” He looked up at Atlas, who had been standing behind him. “Atlas, you and your team are with me.”

“Yes sir.”

Luna trotted by Celestia’s side, leading the group of Humans through the palace’s corridors, accompanied by several members of the Royal Guard. She slowed her pace in order to get closer to the humans, discreetly eyeing them as they walked through the halls.

It was a pleasant coincidence that the palace had a very high ceiling, seeing that one of the humans was easily three times her size. Heavy plates of armor covered almost every section of his body, leaving only small spots that left a strange fibre that resembled muscle visible to the casual observer. She assumed it was part of the armor, since the Admiral’s facial structure was not at all alien. “Atlas”, as called by Becker, left cracks on the floor with each step he took, but Luna chose not to worry, as there were more important things to attend to.

Two of the humans were of the same size, the only difference being the colours of their armor. The one with the white and red armor had a red cross on his right shoulder, a typical symbol when it came to all things medical, at least in Equestria. On the left shoulder was a logo of a shield with what seemed to be two weapons crossed together, and the initials “CG” on the middle. The other one, while clad in the same design of armor, had a different colour scheme, his armor being mainly blue with a few parts highlighted in yellow. Both of his shoulder pads bore the same logo, except that a vertical, yellow stripe was behind it.

The group rounded a corner in complete silence, and Luna took the opportunity to analyse the two remaining humans.

She focused on the shorter, slimmer one, possibly a female if the body type mattered on these humans. A set of metallic wings was on her back, both of them folded. Even with a quick look one could tell that they were as sharp, if not sharper, than a razor. On her hips were two weapons that roughly had the basic shape of an “L”, both of them holding themselves by an invisible force. Her helmet was nothing more than a featureless, orange dome, perhaps meant to maintain an appropriate field of view while flying.

They were close to Celestia’s reading room now, perhaps no more than a few doors away, so she had to be quick. She cast a quick glance at the last human, the one with silver armor and blue eyes, only to discover that he had been staring at her. She quickly looked ahead, continuing her walk towards the reading room.

Finally, they reached a large, ceremonial looking door adorned with deeply intricate designs and decorations etched onto it. The Royal Guards immediately flanked the sides of the door, while the humans just looked at Celestia.

“Here we are,” said Celestia, “Do you wish to enter with your guards or...?”

“I would prefer to speak privately with both of you,” Becker answered.

“Very well.” Celestia pushed the door open with her magic, allowing the Admiral to walk in. Both Luna and Celestia walked into the room after him, closing the door behind them, leaving both the Royal Guards and the rest of the humans outside.

Luna rarely ever entered Celestia’s reading room; she much preferred to read while lying on her bed, not sitting by a fireplace in a room as large as this one. Bookshelves, filled with books of all kinds including even those that were often read aloud for foals to fall asleep, covered the walls all the way up to the ceiling. On the far side of the room between two bookshelves was a fireplace filled with enchanted logs that could burn for years on end.

“Please, do take a seat.” Celestia gestured towards one of the many cushions placed near the fireplace. The Admiral looked at her and nodded, walking over to the cushion and sitting down, which caused a few seams to rip open.

Both Luna and Celestia sat down on their own cushions. Between them and the Admiral was a small table with a vase containing several roses.

“Anything to drink or eat?” Luna asked.

The Admiral remained stagnant for a second, then raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t happen to have any alcoholic beverages, would you?”

“Why, yes,” said Celestia, “We have the finest of wines in storage-”

“Whiskey?” Becker interrupted.

“Most certainly,” Luna said. She levitated a small bell that was sitting on one of the bookshelves and rang it before she placed it back into its resting place.

Almost immediately, one of the doors to the room was opened, followed by a waiter. The pony seemed to completely ignore the presence of the human, regarding the Admiral just as any other pony instead.

“Yes, my Princesses, and your honored guest,” the waiter said, “What is your request?”

“A glass of your best whiskey, please.” said the Admiral.

“A cup of tea, please.” Celestia then looked at Luna, “Do you want anything, sister?”

“Oh, yes,” said Luna, “Just a cup of coffee, please.”

The waiter nodded, “Very well. Your orders will arrive most shortly.” He then turned around, and walked back out of the room.

The Admiral smirked, “He’s better trained than your guards, I see.”

Becker’s comment struck Luna with surprise, yet she simply chuckled along with her sister. Any gesture of anger could be catastrophic, after all.

“We are sorry for that,” said Celestia, the same warm smile she always bore still in place, “But we did not have any experienced guards in that moment.”

“I see... Why not?” Becker asked.

“We... have a war on our hooves,” Luna said.

“Oh, I’m sorry, then.” Becker said.

The door to the room opened, followed by the same waiter as before, except he was now carrying a tray upon his back. He swiftly yet carefully made his way towards the table, then grabbed the tray with his teeth and gently placed it on the table near the fireplace. He then bowed, and walked out of the room, just as before.

On the tray were two steaming cups, one of tea and the other filled with coffee, and a glass of whiskey with several pieces of ice in it.

The Admiral gently wrapped his fingers around the glass of whiskey, lifting it up from the tray. A hatch opened on his armor, more specifically, on his chest. He reached in and brought out a pencil-like device, which was then dipped into the whiskey.

A small light on the device glowed green, and the man placed it back into the hatch, before taking a gulp of whiskey.

“Pardon me for asking,” Luna said, looking at the Admiral, “but what was the purpose of that?”

“I was scanning it for any bacteria or any other thing that could be toxic for us humans,” he said, then took another gulp of whiskey.

“I see...” Celestia said. “Tell me, what exactly is the ‘United Systems And Colonies, Colonial Guard’?”

Becker placed the glass back on the tray and rested his elbows on his knees. “The USC is an interstellar government, which spans across more than half of the galaxy. The Colonial Guard is our military, charged with the protection of the USC’s interests.” Another hatch on his chest opened, from which he produced a rectangular, flat device that glowed blue.

“This is what we call a ‘book’.” He held it in front of the Princesses, offering it to them. Luna tried to grab it with her magic but only managed to encase it in a blue aura. The Admiral appeared to notice this, and placed the strange book on the table, right in front of the two Princesses.

“Having trouble?” he asked, remaining completely stoic.

“Oh, no,” Luna said, “I am just exhausted after all that has happened. Your appearance has caused quite a scandal.”

Becker smiled. “Then, again, I’m sorry.”

Celestia picked up the book with her hooves. “And why are you giving this to us?”

“The answers you seek are most likely to be found within it.” Becker adjusted his position on the cushion. “It should be quite intuitive to use, and it’s already translated to your language”

Celestia nodded. “Thank you.”

“Anyways,” the Admiral picked up the glass of whiskey and took a sip from it, “tell me about this ‘war’ of yours.”

Luna magically picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip from it. She noticed the Admiral was looking at her, so she placed it back on the tray.

“Weren’t you exhausted?”

“Oh, I—” Luna said, but was cut off by Celestia.

“Most common items are enchanted in order for them to be easier to pick up; there is quite a number of ponies that are not exactly adept when it comes to magic.” Celestia said. Of course, it was a lie, but both Luna and Celestia knew that they could show no weakness.

The man looked at her and nodded. “I see. Anyways, the war?”

Luna sighed. “We are at war with the Gryphon Kingdom, or simply ‘Gryphos’. We have had a... long history with them. My sister and the Gryphon ambassador were in the middle of negotiations when your ‘starship’ appeared. The ambassador believed it was some sort of monster that we had summoned, which broke the tension and caused their nation to declare war on us.”

“In that case, I am truly sorry,” Becker said.

Luna waved a hoof dismissively. “There is nothing that can be done now... or perhaps you could try and defuse this conflict?”

The Admiral closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, this is not our war, it’s yours.”

Celestia sighed. “We understand.”

Luna looked to the side, sighing as well. She was aware that the Admiral would most likely refuse to lend his help, but the question itself did no harm. The Humans were yet to show any real display of power, aside from the incident with the spear. She still had to be careful with what she asked and answered, since nopony really knew what they were capable of nor why they were here... Hmm...

Luna took a sip from her cup of coffee. “Admiral, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” the man said.

“Why exactly are you here? And how do you know our language?” she asked. “I do not mean to be so abrupt, however my curiosity has very much been piqued.”

It was subtle, but she saw the Admiral freeze for less than a second. He then calmly grabbed the glass of whiskey and finished it, sighing afterwards. “We came across your planet a few months ago and have been studying you ever since. Once we learned how to speak your language and some of your customs, they sent us in order to initiate ‘First Contact’.”

“Ah, I see,” said Luna, “My apologies for asking.”

The admiral showed but the faintest of smiles. "There is no need to apologize princess, the question was begging to be asked. After all, it is not everyday we get to discuss first contact amongst equals."

Luna wondered why they had decided to visit Ponyville first, perhaps it was to get in touch with the elements of harmony. Either way, there was still much that she did not know about the humans. She would have to take a look at the “book” the Admiral gave her, but that could wait.

Both of the Princesses’ ears flickered as they heard a sound emanate from the Admiral’s head. It sounded distorted, reminding Luna of the supposed human that was in the vaults. Once the sound ceased, the man looked at both of the Alicorns.

His demeanor however appeared to shift suddenly and the relaxed look returned to the stoic glare of a man of command. “It seems you have something that belongs to us,” he said, “Care to tell me what it is?”

The two sisters froze; they were not expecting the Admiral to say such a thing. Was he talking about the flying machine they had found? Or was it the creature? They looked at each other and nodded without saying a word.

“Yes,” Celestia answered, “Roughly three days ago, a machine similar to the ones you landed on the courtyard came crashing down upon our lands. We moved it to a special room here in the castle.”

“What did you find inside of it?” he asked once again.

Luna looked at the floor and then back up at the Admiral, “Several corpses, and one survivor.”

Becker frowned. “Take me to this room of yours. Now.”

“Very well,” said Celestia.

The three stood up, leaving the tray with the cups, the glass and the book on top of the small table, and walked towards the main door, the two alicorns leading the way. Celestia pushed the door open with her magic, surprising both the humans and the ponies that were standing outside of the reading room.

The Admiral looked up at Atlas, “Did you receive the transmission?”

“Yes sir,” the giant said, “Atran Type Two, travelling vessel.” Luna looked up at him, the man’s expression hidden behind a faceplate with an orange visor. She noticed the difference between his shoulder pads and those of most of the other humans; orange, just as those belonging to the winged human.

“Let’s get moving then.” The Admiral gestured towards the Princesses.

The entire group then resumed following the two alicorns through the castle, towards the hidden door that led to the vault. It appeared that the Royal Guards were far less nervous than before, possibly having talked to the other humans while Luna and her sister were with the Admiral.

They soon reached a dead end, where a single bookshelf stood, flanked by two bright torches. The humans and the ponies halted their advance, while Celestia magically took one of the torches and slowly slid her horn into the hole where the torch was. With a single spark of magic, the bookshelf began to slide outwards, revealing the long staircase that lead to the vaults.

Luna turned to her guards. “Assume guarding positions,” she said, and the guards immediately stood next to the walls, moving as much as a statue would.

The Admiral looked at the entrance to the vaults, then turned to his own group of guards. “Atlas, I want you and Torres to stay here. The rest of you, on me.”

“Yes sir,” they said, and the selected humans stood next to him.

Becker turned to the Princesses and nodded, “Let’s go.” The three then began walking down the stairs, the Admiral followed by the human with blue armor, the one with white armor and the silver one. She realized that they had trouble fitting inside the staircase, as the ceiling was now barely high enough for them.

Once they reached the end of their descent, the two unicorn guards that stood guard next to the door saluted the two ponies, and discreetly eyed the humans, though managing to keep their stoic demeanor. Afterwards, they inserted their horns into the holes by the walls and, just as Celestia did, sent a spark of magic into it. The thick, metal door began to open, allowing the two alicorns and the four humans to walk further inside.

They were now at the main hallway which showcased all of the different vaults built under the castle, from the oldest to the newest. The Princesses stopped nearly at the end of the corridor, directly in front of a vault with the number eighty-six etched on its metallic door. This time it was Luna who placed her horn into the wall in order to open the door. After a spark of magic, the large metallic door slowly slid upwards.

Inside was the flying machine that crashed near the Everfree. It had similar characteristics as the ones that had landed in the courtyard, but it was larger. Its wings were bent and most of its main body was littered with dents, scratches, and cuts. Nearby, lying on medical tables were four skeletons, two belonged to humans as large as the Admiral, another one was about two or one and a half hooflengths shorter, while the last one was about as tall as a filly.

The humans approached the skeletons, looking them over. They stood there in silence, until the one wearing white armor spoke up.

“Shit.... Must’ve been around five years old,” he said, looking over the smaller skeleton.

“Judgin’ by the size and the bone structure... this guy didn’t even get to the ‘CG’...” the one with blue armor said.

The Admiral sighed, looking back at the Princesses, “Did you find them like this or...?” he trailed off, waiting for an answer.

“All that was left were skeletons,” Luna said, “They looked like they had... melted.”

“Melted?” the white-armored one asked, “And you say there was a survivor? Was it the pilot?”

“We are not entirely sure as of yet,” Celestia said, “There is a door inside the machine that we were incapable of opening.”

“Must’ve been the cabin,” said the one with blue armor.

The Admiral nodded, “Let’s take a look inside.”

The humans walked towards the machine, with the alicorns following suit. Luna was thankful that the inside of the machine had been cleaned beforehoof. Once they stepped into the inside of the contraption, the humans walked towards the door near the dark, image-less glass. The Admiral looked at the silver human.

“Mac,” he said, “hook yourself up to the ship and get this door open.”

“Affirmative,” said the human, his voice distorted and monotone. Mac then approached the table which the guard, Shield Soul, had used to pull himself after slipping in the pool of blood that was originally covering the floor. Mac looked over the many buttons that the table had, then grabbed its sides and ripped it open, revealing an intricate net of cables that twirled around each other and then disappeared within the insides of the machine. Mac then took a hold of two cables, one in each hand, and then ripped them off of whatever they were connected to. Following that, a small hatch in his chest opened, revealing a set of small holes. He placed each of the cables into a separate hole and then stood still.

Luna raised an eyebrow, looking on as the silver-armored human’s glowing eyes flickered.

“Establishing connection. Complete. Deviating power.” His blue eyes began to glow in a slightly dimmer shade. “Complete. Overriding lockdown.” The previously unopenable door began to slide into the wall, but got stuck midway. The Admiral stepped forwards and forced it open. “Complete.”

The humans, asides from Mac, looked into the cabin, followed by Celestia and Luna. They all stopped moving once they saw what was inside.

A single seat was in the middle of the cabin, surrounded by several panels filled with buttons and more of the same, dark glass that was on the walls of the adjacent room. On the seat was the body of a human, wearing a helmet on his head and slumped over one of the many panels.

The human with the white armor approached the awkwardly positioned body, carefully examining it. “His neck’s broken, probably due to the crash. Ribs cracked... pierced the heart.” He sighed and stood straight, looking at the Admiral, “The medchip says he died about three days ago, so it’s safe to assume it was the crash.”

The Admiral nodded, “That still doesn’t explain why the others ‘melted’, as the Princesses say.” He shot Luna a questioning look, then turned back to Mac. “This vessel has a camera on the passenger’s cabin, hasn’t it? Mac, light up the main display and show the footage from three days ago.”

Mac nodded, and the dark glass in what the Admiral referred to as the “Passenger’s cabin” suddenly lit up. Luna and Celestia walked out of the main cabin, followed by the other three humans. They were now all standing on the same room, looking at the images displayed by the glass.

It was indeed some form of recording, as stated by the Admiral. At first, the same scene that Luna had seen was being displayed: the same human with his daughter speaking into the glass. Luna allowed a sigh of relief escape from her lungs, thankful that the small human was not referring to her as “Mommy”, the footage seemed to be meant for somepony, or rather, somehuman else.

All four of the humans inside the ship were sitting quietly in their seats when a loud bang came from the ceiling. They looked up to see a hatch fall down onto the floor, followed by a strange creature.

Both Luna’s and Celestia’s eyes went wide. The creature that had fallen from the opening was the same one they were keeping in the vaults, except that it had both of its arms and both of the legs were intact. They remained quiet, watching as past events unfolded.

All three of the adult humans undid the straps that kept them tied to their seats, while the young one screamed in terror. One of the bigger humans threw a punch at, only to have it severed by the creature’s sharp claws. It then brought its other arm to the human’s neck, stabbing it with the syringe it had for a hand. The human then dropped to the floor and began convulsing as the other three watched in horror, the screams of the little human still far too loud to hear anything else.

Slowly, the creature turned to the other humans. It took a step forwards and brought its syringe to the other large human, stabbing him right in the chest with it, and just like the other human, he shortly dropped to the floor and began convulsing. The monstrous mix of metal and flesh then turned to the last adult human, who took a defensive stance near the corner in which his daughter was curled up, still screaming and crying so loudly that it overwhelmed any other sounds.

Luna and Celestia watched with their mouths agape as the creature began to repeatedly slice the man’s head to the point of severing it from the rest of the body. The little human went silent as she watched her father’s head roll across the floor.

Casually, the creature picked the severed head and looked at it, letting out a distorted laugh as it began to approach the defenseless human.

“Turn it off, please!” Luna exclaimed. Just as the creature was about to inject the human with its needle, the glass went dark again. Both of the Princesses sighed in relief, then looked at the Admiral.

“A survivor, you say?” he asked, remaining completely stoic.

Luna slowly nodded at him, “I’m afraid... It appears it is the same creature... We did not know— We assumed it was human!”

“Where is it?” the human with the red shoulder pads asked, taking a step forwards.

“We have been keeping it in a separate vault,” Celestia said, “Please, follow us.”

The humans nodded. Mac took the cables off of his chest and followed them.

Trotting at a fast pace, the two Princesses led the humans to a vault not too far from the one with the wrecked ship. The group soon reached said vault, and Luna opened it via the hole on the adjacent wall. Once the door opened completely, the whole group walked into the vault that had been turned into a small hospital. Luna and Celestia both grabbed a set of overalls and antiseptic masks, while the admiral clipped his armour’s faceplate off of his hip and placed it over his face, uniting it with the rest of his gear.

Once they were suited up, the alicorns resumed leading the humans through the hallways of the underground clinic. Several ponies gasped at the appearance of the humans, and every single one of them moved to the side in order to make way for them. A few seconds went by before they reached the large, one-way window that allowed one to look into the room that contained the creature.

Luna looked through the glass, thankful that the creature’s remaining limbs were strapped to the metallic table it was lying on top of. She looked up at the human Admiral, but was interrupted by Sharp Scalpel, who walked up behind her and spoke up.

“My Princess,” he said, “I see that our guest is being visited by his fellow humans. Rest assured, we did everything we could—”

Luna frowned, “Doctor, be quiet please.”

“I-I’m sorry.” He bowed, “I shouldn’t have interrupted.”

Luna looked back at the Admiral, sighing, “What do we do now?”

“Simple,” said the Admiral, “We kill it.”

The lunar Princess craned her neck back in surprise. “Kill it?” she asked, receiving a nod by part of the Admiral. She glanced over to the window, gulping. “I think that would be the most appropriate solution... sister?” She looked over to Celestia, who remained in doubt for a second.

“I... yes,” Celestia sighed, “we both saw what it did to those other humans; there is no other alternative.”

“Come on,” Becker said, turning to his three guards, “let’s put that thing out of its misery.”

Both Luna and Celestia gestured for the four guards near the room’s door to open it. They did as told, inserting their horns on the magical locks and making the door slide open, allowing the humans to walk inside. As soon as they entered, the creature looked up, muttering, “Human...”

Becker walked over to the creature, looking down at it. “Are you a mindless drone like the others?”

“No,” the creature coughed out, “not anymore. The signal is gone. It is silent now...” It looked up at the man, who remained stoic even as the red eyes stared into his soul. “You know what I did... end my existence.”

“Admiral, are you sure—” Luna began, but was interrupted by the Ubor.

“Yes... This is mercy... not murder.”

The nightmarish creature looked up at the ceiling, releasing a content sigh, “Do it.” Becker reached to his hip and wrapped his fingers around the “L” shaped object he was carrying. He then pressed one of the ends against the monster’s head.

“Sweet dreams.”

A bright flash and a loud bang came from the object the Admiral had, causing Luna and the nearby ponies to close their eyes and leaving their ears ringing. She opened her eyes to see a hole going right through the monster’s skull and a mixture of both metallic bits and grey matter spread across the floor. The Admiral placed the weapon next to his hip, and it stayed in place, then he looked at Celestia.

“How did you get the ship and this thing in here without anybody noticing?”

“There is a secret passage that goes all the way from the start of the mountain to the vaults,” said Celestia.

“Right then.” The Admiral pressed a finger into one of his ears and spoke, “This is Admiral Becker, requesting heavy lifting equipment to be ready to depart on my signal.”

Celestia sighed and looked over to her sister. “I will leave you in charge of this, I have some issues to attend to.”

“Very well,” said Luna, “See you soon, sister.”

Twilight slowly walked through the corridors of Canterlot’s castle, constantly looking down at the floor. She had tried to find Celestia, at first, but neither her nor the guards knew where she was. Even more, Shining Armor was in Manehattan managing the recruitments. And the lack of sleep was starting to get to her.

She and her friends had opted to stay in the castle’s parlour room; where they all, with the exception of Twilight, fell asleep. The river of questions and thoughts flowing through her head was unstoppable, and they were all related to the humans. Every now and then, though, she thought back to the war, but such things were quickly overwhelmed by other ideas.

While moving through the castle, she noticed that parts of the marble floor were cracked. She recognized the form of these as the footsteps of the large human she had met in Ponyville, “Atlas”.

Her train of thought immediately came to a halt and reeled back, remembering the meeting with Atlas.

“He was going to meet the Princess!” she said to herself, and began following the footsteps towards whatever place the human was currently in. The marks stopped right in front of Celestia’s reading room, but there was no sign that the human that left them had even stepped into the room, and instead began to lead towards some other area.

She stopped moving as she heard the familiar sound of Atlas’ footsteps nearing her location. The unicorn was about to follow the sound when she saw the man round a corner and walk towards her, followed by Torres.

“Twilight?” Atlas asked, walking towards her and kneeling down, “Hey.”

“What’s up?” said Torres.

Twilight smiled at them, “I’m just a little bit sleepy is all... Have you seen Princess Celestia?”

“I think she’s in this room.” Torres pointed at the door that lead to the Princess’ reading room. “Anyways, we have to leave.”

“Leave? Why?” Twilight asked.

“Orders are orders, Twi.” Atlas stood up, towering over the pony. “Maybe we’ll see each other again, who knows.” He and Torres continued walking along the hallway, waving their goodbyes.

Twilight sighed and looked at the door leading to Celestia’s reading room. She knocked on it a couple times, but received no response. She gently placed her right hoof on the door and slowly slid it open. Inside, she found Princess Celestia sitting by the room’s fireplace, looking at a flat device that dimly glowed blue.

“P-Princess?” Twilight asked, concerned that she may have interrupted her while doing something important.

Celestia craned her neck to look at her, “Oh, Twilight!” she said, putting on a warm smile, “It’s nice to see you, come and take a seat, if you will.”

Twilight did as told and sat down on one of the cushions that surrounded the small table next to the fireplace. On the table was a tray with an empty glass, two half-filled cups of both tea and coffee, and the strange device that the Princess was looking at.

“What is that?” Twilight asked, examining the blue object.

“It was a gift given to us by the humans. It is one of their ‘books’,” the Princess said, and slid the book closer to the unicorn with her hoof. “I’m afraid that you will have to refrain from using magic with it, it is almost completely resistant to it.”

Twilight focused her magic around the book, straining herself only to have a purple aura encompass it and nothing else. She released it with a groan and rubbed her head. Indeed, the human book was resistant to magic, so resistant, in fact, that even trying to lift it gave her a headache. She sighed, looking at the floor. Her mind was far too worn out to even think about reading, let alone figuring how the strange book worked.

“Princess....” Twilight looked up at Celestia, her eyes baggy due to the sleep deprivation, giving the unicorn an almost deplorable air to her.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Do I really... do I really have to go to war?”

Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise, certainly not expecting such a question to come from her student. “No... why do you ask such a thing?”

“I mean, well, the Royal Guard in Ponyville called the names of my friends and I.” Twilight sighed, looking away from the Princess.

“Oh, good heavens! No, Twilight, the guard was supposed to tell you that you and your friends were to go to Canterlot, not to enlist you.” Celestia took a deep breath and sighed it out, “Don’t worry, my student, it was just a misunderstanding.”

“It was?” Twilight piped up, “Phew... But, what will I do, then?”

“Well,” Celestia said, looking at the human book, “you could start by figuring out how this book works... After you sleep, that is.”

Luna walked out into the courtyard, catching a glimpse of the three human ships as they flew towards the Vector. They had already taken the wrecked ship, both the remains of their dead and those of their enemies, and everything else that had any sort of relation to them, except for the book.

She was left with a sense of dissatisfaction, like an empty space within her heart. The humans were both mysterious and familiar, powerful yet subtle. They most likely possessed magic far stronger and advanced than she and her ponies, or perhaps it was something else entirely. Like the Admiral said about the book, “The answers you seek are most likely to be found within it.”

A deep growl shook the ground below her hooves as the Vector began to move. The windows nearby all resonated as the wave swept across Equestria.

They were leaving now; returning to wherever they came from. Maybe they would come back, maybe not, but the events caused by their mere presence would leave an eternal scar in Equestria.

Luna watched as the Vector became smaller and smaller, until it became lost amongst the stars, her stars. She sighed and began to walk back into the castle. There was a war she needed to attend to, after all.