//------------------------------// // Conflict // Story: Cosmic Lotus // by Goldfur //------------------------------// Long Path hastened out of the council chambers after consulting with Gisela. They had agreed that it was time to put their contingency plans into action, but he only had about two hours to ensure that everything went as planned. He pulled out his comm even as he hurried down the corridor, placing call after call to key personnel. He met up with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart along his way to the exit from the GEC’s headquarters. One look at his expression told them everything. “They’re going to do it, aren’t they?” Shining Armor asked. Path nodded. “They called for a vote a few minutes ago. It’s going to be close, but even with Destined’s support, both Gisela and I believe that we’re going to lose. We’ve seen it coming for a long time, but this latest scare has shifted the balance of opinion too far.” Flurry looked downhearted. “Even so, I always hoped that it wouldn’t come to this. It’s going to create a huge schism between Equians. Even our House will be forced to walk two different paths.” “You don’t have to join us, you know?” Path pointed out. The beautiful alicorn drew herself up and firmed her resolve. “No – it’s time I played a part in defending our world. I can’t be just a pretty princess for my entire life.” “You never were,” Shining assured his daughter. “Just because Equus has been at peace for a long time does not mean that you haven’t done your part to keep it so.” “Thanks, Dad. At least Crystal will be able to keep Mom company in the meantime.” “Your sister knows that she can do more for our cause by sending her well-trained drones and her daughter to coordinate them. Speaking of which, that’s one more thing we need to get underway,” Path said as they stepped out of the council building. “Shining – will you do the honours?” The alicorn stallion lit up his horn with the well-practised spell that created a hypervelocity tube, and a moment later, all three were hurtling towards the Crystal Kingdom. Although it was not as fast as a teleport, it needed less power to take passengers. It still required alicorn-level magic to operate, so it had never been adapted for common use. With all but one alicorn being part of House Path, the worldwide organisation found the tubes to be an invaluable aid to getting anything done quickly on a global scale. The trio emerged from the hypervelocity tube in the courtyard of the Crystal Palace and headed immediately to what they had come to call their Situation Room. Screens lining one wall faced the table at which Cadance and Crystal Path were already seated, and the three quickly joined the princesses. Several of the screens had ‘Standby’ displayed on them, but a few had familiar faces. Glide Path, the youngest child of Lucida, appeared with his mother on one screen, the head office of House Path’s Lunar Operations seen in the background. The elderly hippogriff enjoyed the low-gravity conditions on the moon, but that was not her main purpose in being there. Glide had been appointed Head of Operations after showing his mother’s aptitude for the job, but she remained nearby to give advice if requested, even though she was still officially retired. Recent events had necessitated putting her retirement plans with Hype on hold, but she seemed to relish getting back into the game. “Hello, father,” Lucida said with a smile. “I see that you seem to be as fit and healthy as ever.” Path shrugged. “Can’t help good genes, I suppose.” Indeed, the earth pony seemed ageless, even though he should have been in his twilight years by now. More screens were lighting up even as they chatted. Queen Carpacia was on one, but her daughter Fidelitas was on a separate monitor. Crystal Path’s daughter Calliope was on the next, although she was in her preferred pony form just as Crystal was, unlike the other changeling mother and child. Blue Streak sat beside the younger Cinder. King Trask Silverquill appeared with his eldest daughter Sanguis. Pif and Citrine tuned in next from the lunar research laboratories. Shadowcry, an Old World thestral who was the current leader of the Grand Colony cut a grave figure on his screen. Wandering and Starry appeared to be attending from their stateroom on the Cosmic Lotus. Admiral Kline soon joined them, and next to appear was Chakat Sunflare. The Chakonan Prime Minister looked worried. Long Path said, “It looks like everyone is here. Thanks for attending this meeting so promptly.” He was interrupted by a tube suddenly emerging from the floor and a door opening in it. Flix emerged from what seemed to be an elevator… if the palace actually had possessed one. The chimera gave everyone a cheery wave. “I hope I’m not late to the party?” “Take a seat, son,” Path said as the elevator disappeared back into the floor, faintly amused that even at times like these, Flix had to make an unusual entrance. “As I was saying, events here on Equus are reaching a critical turning point. The GEC is due to vote in less than two hours on whether to close its borders to the Stellar Federation and shut down the portal. We have foreseen this possibility coming, but while we still hope that the motion will be rejected, Gisela and I agree that it’s more likely to pass. As Head of House Path, Gisela has officially given the green light to all our contingency plans which I am passing on to you.” Path looked directly at the screen with Glide Path and Lucida. “Glide – are preparations complete?” The hippogriff nodded. “Everything is ready, grandfather. It’s going to be tight for a while, but we will cope.” “Good.” Path then turned to Carpacia’s image. “Your Highness – how goes the troop transfer?” “The first battalion of soldier drones is already on the moon with Fidelitas. The second is en route,” the Red Changeling Queen replied. Fidelitas added, “The drones are being put into hibernation pods to conserve our love supplies until they can be transferred to the battlefront.” “Considering the number of changelings there will be on the moon for a while, that’s a wise move,” Path replied. “Speaking of which – Crystal, how goes your end of this?” “I’ve withdrawn the remainder of Chrysalis’ hibernating shock troops from the Crystal Kingdom’s tunnels and transferred them to shipping pods. Those are being delivered to the moon even as we speak.” “Are you sure that Calliope can control them?” “Queen Gossamer made sure that I was properly linked to them when she gave me command of the Blue Hive troops,” Calliope replied. Path was reasonably satisfied with that. The near-mindless drones that Chrysalis had used to invade the Crystal Kingdom so long ago were the perfect frontline fighters because they knew only one purpose – to attack their Queen’s enemies. However, with virtually no ability to think things through, they could react to even a surge of annoyance from their controller. Calliope was a disciplined House Path warrior though, and Free Agent’s hive queen alter ego Gossamer held absolute sway over their loyalty. Shadowcry’s image was directly next to Calliope’s, so Path addressed him next. “Senator Shadowcry – you have sent a company of thestrals, I believe?” “By Empress Luna’s command, we have sent our finest warriors to fight her enemies,” the proud bat-pony replied fiercely. Despite a century and a half of attempts to ease the Old World thestrals into mainstream Equus, they remained absolutely loyal to Luna as their empress. The alicorn left their governance to their senators as much as possible, mindful of her first responsibility to Equestria. As the Alicorn of the Night though, the nocturnal thestrals held her in the highest esteem and would answer to no other unless Luna directed them to do so. “Let me pass on your Empress’ thanks for your service, Senator.” The next person to get Path’s attention was the griffon king. “Your Majesty, how go your troop movements?” King Glimfeather replied, “Two battalions of our warriors have already established a brigade on Chakona. Two more are on their way in Federation ships, and the final one will depart with General Sanguis within the hour.” The king’s eldest daughter and military leader added, “We will be ready for deployment as soon as I arrive on Chakona, but as we don’t expect the Swarm to reach a populated world that will need defending for some time yet, we will spend the intervening time in training. Additional intel on how the Swarm undertakes an invasion would be most useful so that we can modify our strategies accordingly.” “That will be up to Star Fleet to provide. Admiral Kline – that is your responsibility, I believe?” Boyce replied, “As Star Fleet Command’s designated liaison to the Equian forces, I will indeed be supplying everyone with the most up-to-date intelligence about our interactions with the Swarm. I have ordered more troop transport ships to go to Equus to pick up your soldiers. I assume that they will now report to your lunar command base?” “Correct,” Path replied. “General Sanguis is in charge of the griffon troops, Fidelitas will be responsible for all changeling soldiers, while Warmaster Blue Streak and Cinder will oversee all House Path warriors. If the vote goes against us as we believe, the Equus-based command base will be severed from House Path’s lunar headquarters. Queens Carpacia, Crystal, and Gossamer will have no more responsibility for their drones, Gisela will have no official contact with the future Lunar Federation, and King Glimfeather…” The griffon king interrupted, “Griffonia is and always be Equus’ mighty defender and ally to House Path. Any decision by the GEC will not change this! Our troops under the command of General Sanguis will continue doing their duty!” Path allowed himself a small smile. The Griffonians were as proud and fiercely loyal as the day that he and the current king’s father had formally signed an alliance. Equestria’s former enemy was now its staunchest ally in maintaining the security of their world, even though that responsibility now extended far into the galaxy. He only needed to ensure that they got the support that they deserved. Path turned to look at the chakat on an adjacent screen. “Prime Minister Sunflare – how go the supply lines?” “The basic infrastructure has already been established on Emu Island, and work progresses rapidly to extend that to accommodate all the troops that you will be sending, as well as the support personnel that we are supplying. Chakona will not let you down, Lord Path.” Blue Streak spoke up. “Destined teleported Cinder and me to Emu Island already, Father. I am impressed with the facilities in place so far. So is Mama Twilight.” Path was startled. “What is Twilight doing there?” The Alicorn of Magic sheepishly moved into view on the screen. “I told you to keep quiet about that,” she murmured to the two before facing Path. “I figured that I would be of most use continuing my studies of the portal, and put my abilities at the disposal of House Path’s war efforts. Besides, as the Princess of Friendship, I don’t actually represent a nation, unlike Celestia, Luna, and Destined, and pressure might be put on me try to stop House Path’s defence program or prevent my work if I remained on Equus.” Path slowly nodded. “I understand. Stay safe, hon – Free would never forgive me if you get hurt.” “I’ll try, but we all do what we must.” Path turned his attention back to Blue Streak. “What about the Matriarch? Is she there with you too?” The earth pony shook his head. “She said that she could better serve as my replacement back home while I am occupied with the war here. That said, she ordered that I return safe and well because she was not ready to lose me again yet.” Path could well understand the ancient dragon’s viewpoint. She had lost her mate while still young, and only a change in the timeline had given her the chance to reunite with him two and a half thousand years later. That powerful bond between them had helped win the Time War, but it also meant that she could never go back. Not that she wanted to because she, at last, was getting the opportunity to live the life with Blue that she had dreamed of centuries ago. “I think you had better win the war quickly and go home because I don’t want to face the wrath of the Matriarch otherwise.” Young Cinder chuckled and said, “Yeah – future me doesn’t accept excuses.” Path shared the laugh briefly before turning his attention to Wandering and Starry. “Any word yet on Techbird’s whereabouts? We badly need her expertise.” Wandering shook his head. “Still nothing since they were seen disappearing at Stonehenge.” “Damn. If she does show up, prioritise getting her back to the moon to help with R&D. Meanwhile, keep doing what you’re doing.” Path then looked to his first daughter. “Pif – what’s the situation with magitek production?” Epiphany looked and sounded a little tired. “We’re all working as fast and hard as we can. Everyone is putting extra time into the war effort, but Citrine is a bit worried about our supply of suitable crystals for her crystallomancy. We have an overdue shipment, and we absolutely need them to continue production of certain magitek items.” “I’ll look into it after this meeting and make sure that you get them. What about other materials?” “The Federation Council has been keeping up the supply of raw material and equipment, so that’s not currently a problem. It’s only the items unique to Equus that are our concern, and you would not believe how much gemstones cost in the Federation.” “Send me a list and I’ll see if I can rush some aboard the last freighter.” His gaze swept over the bank of screens. “Everyone – this applies to you all. We have only about an hour and a half before the GEC makes its decision, and if it goes against us, all traffic will soon be ordered to stop between Equus and the Federation. All your personnel, equipment, and other resources must be off-planet before then. Those of us here will be complying with the Council’s orders while you on the moon and in the Federation can disassociate from us.” “And what about you, Father?” Lucida asked. “I will be staying here with Free to give Gisela support. House Path is going to take a huge hit for defying the GEC, and she is going to need all the help that she can get. As the senior members of the House, it’s our responsibility to do so, and we’re tough enough to endure whatever slings and arrows they send our way. Luna too. She’ll just sneer at them and send them on their way.” “I still think you’re going to have a tougher job than us.” “Nobody ever told me that this job was going to be easy, Lucy. I’ve gotten a lot more experience since the time that you had to relieve me of the leadership of the House; I think I can manage.” “What about me, Dad?” Flix asked. Path lifted one eyebrow as he looked at his son. “What about you? It’s not as if I can command a student of Chaos. I can do nothing if you choose to keep travelling between here and the moon or Chakona, can I? For example, I can’t stop you from taking Shining Armor and Flurry Heart to join the others on Emu Island.” A grin slowly grew on the chimera’s face and he raised his draconic arm. The talons started to glow as he said, “No – Chaos commands you, not the other way around.” He snapped his talons and all three disappeared. Path turned his attention back to the others. “Okay – time is wasting. Good fortune to everyone.” There were various responses and the monitors all started to go blank. Eventually, the earth pony was left with just Cadance and Crystal, and he gave them a tired smile. “You two better get ready too. There’s going to be a backlash on the Crystal Kingdom as well.” “We know,” Cadance replied, “but Crystal and I are more concerned about being separated from Shining.” “I understand. Nevertheless, you should prepare for the bad news.” “You really are that sure that the vote is going to go against us?” I’ve spent a century and a half learning to judge how the wind blows, and it’s an ill wind right now.” The two got up and gave Path a hug before they headed out of the Situation Room, leaving him its sole occupant. He sat alone with his thoughts for a while before he suddenly spoke to the empty room. “Discord!” The Lord of Chaos materialised in the chair next to Path, a monocle in both eyes and a steaming cup of tea in his hand. He took a bite out of his cup, chewed and swallowed with a sigh of satisfaction. The liquid within the cup, however, remained undisturbed. “It’s been a long while since you last called me, Path. I do hope it’s for something juicy.” “How does pissing off half the seats of power in Equus sound?” Both monocles fell into Discord’s tea with twin ‘BLOOP’ sounds. “You have my attention.” As they feared, the vote went in favour of cutting ties with the Stellar Federation. Some of the councillors who were enraged by the new Lunar Federation’s defiance and House Path’s complicity issued orders to stop all shipments on their way to the moon. While House Path owned more than half of the freighters that regularly plied the route between Equus and its satellite, several big businesses had their own vessels to profit from the sale of materials not readily available there. While these businesses vehemently protested the orders due to the massive losses that they would incur, they complied nevertheless. Or at least they tried. Inexplicably, every message sent to their ships failed to stop them from delivering their cargo. Meanwhile, the captains of the ships were wondering why they were being sent joke videos, unabridged encyclopaedias, birthday cards for every crewmember (except that one mare whose birthday it actually was), or bills for a hundred gross whoopee cushions. Over the course of the next few days, construction and manufacturing on the moon ramped up to its greatest capacity. There was soon a constant flow of equipment and fighter craft headed to Chakona to outfit the troops that had preceded them, and to boost the Federations forces. They were sorely needed. Every couple of weeks now, new incursions were detected and resources were being stretched to meet them. The unicorn-shielded fighters were a huge asset as well as the pegasus and griffon-piloted ones that seemed nearly untouchable. Inevitably though, a Swarm fleet reached a colony world after nearby incursions drew away too many defenders. Bonterra was a mining colony rich in rare resources. Radiating from the spaceport were several small townships that served the needs of the mining companies. Several Swarm ships landed, at least one at each town, and despite initial resistance from the people there, they were soon taken over. The Federation forces were quick to regroup and respond to the invasion. For the first time, ground troops were sent in. Fighters cleared the airspace above the towns but left the grounded ships alone for good reason: each was surrounded by a large number of the colonists who were obviously under mind-control. General Sanguis landed in the first troop carrier full of griffon warriors. They were outfitted in a mixture of traditional and modern armour and weapons, and every one of them was eager to put them to good use. Sanguis stood at the bay door of the troop carrier and addressed her warriors. “Today we fight for our allies in the Stellar Federation. We fight to free the innocent and to punish the enemy. But most of all we fight to uphold the honour and the privilege of being the protectors of Equians and their friends, for we are the strong wings and talons of righteousness! We will show the Swarm that this world and its people do not belong to them, and they have awakened an implacable foe!” The griffons cawed and screeched loudly, rattling swords and spears and waving phaser pistols. When the ruckus died down, Sanguis continued. “Do not take off your enchanted helmets under any circumstances! They are your only protection against mind-control. If a comrade’s helmet is removed for any reason, they must be assumed to be the enemy’s puppet until the helmet is replaced. Phaser pistols must be set on heavy stun for use against the colonists. All other enemies may be attacked in whatever method is most suitable for that situation. Remember that the Swarm can control animals as well as people, so do not ignore any that you see. Now go and show them why Griffonian warriors are to be feared and respected!” The griffons roared as the bay door opened, and they poured out. Some took to the air while others advanced on the ground. Weapon fire from the Swarm’s defenders quickly began. Although the colony did not have much in the way of armament, that did not stop the Swarm from supplying them with artillery. The troop carrier came under fire, but its force field coped until it was able to withdraw from the action. The warriors on the ground soon found themselves besieged by vicious animals, only some of them recognisable as pet species. The ones in the air fared little better as birds of prey dive-bombed them, but although the griffons could easily deal with those, they had to do so while under fire without cover. These were crack troops though, and they pushed forward unrelentingly, their battle armour coping with any attacks upon them that got through. Fires were started to flush the griffons out from ground cover, but these birds had no fear of them. They used the walls of flames to hide their positions and surprised the enemy by coordinating their movements to emerge from a new direction. Sanguis herself led the charge that took a squad into the heart of the Swarm ship’s defenders. This close to the mind-controlled colonists, the griffons could not be stopped. Some of the hapless puppets were stunned by phasers while others were knocked down and restrained while the warriors pulled special crystals from a pouch attached to their belts and slapped them on the heads of their foe. The self-adhesive gems stuck firmly irrespective of whether it was on fur, skin, or scales and they started glowing. The colonists who were still conscious suddenly stopped struggling as the link to the controllers was broken. The griffons did not stop to chat. “Stay out of the way!” was the most that was snarled as the warriors moved off to their next target. The ship’s defenders were soon all neutralised and the invasion of the living vessel began. Sanguis led two specially chosen griffons into the ship, and all restraints were off. If something was seen, it was killed without compunction. Even though some of the creatures were probably normally harmless, they were potentially deadly while under Swarm control. The closer that they got to where Wandering’s expedition had determined that the controller should be, the denser were the waves of drones sent to stop them. It did not matter; even the corpses filling the passageway could be flown over. They sliced their way through the door to the controller’s room with an industrial beam cutter that took mere seconds to make a sufficiently large hole to pass through. They found the controller surrounded by drones so thickly packed that it was difficult to see their target, but the team was unfazed. As the two others defended against attacks, Sanguis pulled out a comm unit. “Sanguis to Harkness – are the civilians clear?” “All clear, General,” came the prompt reply. “Standby!” She lifted the phaser rifle, took aim at the controller, and fired. Despite two drones interposing themselves, the heavy-duty artillery drilled right through them both and found its target. The controller’s head was ruined, and the drones immediately stopped moving. “Get us out of here!” Sanguis yelled into the comm. A hum filled the air and the three seemed to dissolve into a shower of sparkles. Seconds later, the ship exploded. Safely beamed back aboard the troop carrier, Sanguis said, “Township Alpha is clear. One objective down, five to go.” The spaceport was more difficult to clear than the remaining townships, but the concentrated griffon forces were able to overcome the enemy despite there being six Swarm ships there. While the griffon troops suffered some injuries, there were no fatalities. The same could not be said for the civilian population. While the griffons had only injured some at worst, the majority of the deaths were incurred when the Swarm ships arrived and the colonists had tried to resist. This young world would be licking its wounds and mourning its dead for many years. Sanguis was well satisfied with the operation. Sadly, she knew that this was only the beginning. Where one or more Swarm ships came, many more would always follow, and the Federation and its allies would be stretched that much further to constantly defend Bonterra or evacuate it as the case may be. That was not Sanguis’ problem though. The next invaded world was, and she and her warriors had post-mission assessments to review and preparations to make. Bonterra was merely the first Federation colony world to be invaded. New incursions, each many light-years further away from the original blockade, continued to threaten the alliance. General Sanguis’ forces were kept busy as were Fidelitas and Calliope’s changeling battalions, but some newly discovered but unexplored worlds were sacrificed to the Swarm in order to concentrate efforts on defending inhabited ones. The forces sent to meet the Swarm continued to grow with every member world contributing a major portion of its production facilities to the effort. The portal saw constant traffic of raw materials going to the Lunar Federation and magitek equipment being sent back. Unfortunately, the GEC stubbornly maintained its isolationist policy which meant that no more magical troops could be sent to join the war effort. More and more fighters had to go into battle without the benefit of a unicorn to shield it, or a pegasus to fly it. The casualty list started to grow faster, and still there showed no signs of the Swarm letting up. Ten months since General Sanguis’ first battle, the latest meeting of the Stellar Federation Council with Star Fleet Command and its Equian allies was a pessimistic affair, and Grand Admiral Tirarsk was just finishing summing up the status of the war. “We have come to the conclusion that the Swarm has spent the years since establishing the blockade enacting an englobing maneuver about the entire Stellar Federation. Even the worlds that were most distant from our initial contact with the Swarm are under threat. While we initially blamed Captain Wandering Path for accidentally disclosing the exact locations of these worlds, it has become clear that it made very little difference. The planets that were first invaded and lost to the Swarm most likely provided them with all the information that they needed to plan a long-term attack on our civilisation. We have seriously underestimated the enemy from day one.” He paused as he took a deep breath before continuing. “The sole factor that they did not allow for was the Equians with their magic-based technology. Without their contributions, the Stellar Federation would have been conquered by now. Without Captain Path’s fact-finding expedition, we would not have been able to achieve as much as we have so far. I would like to formally extend Star Fleet’s apology to Captain Path and our sincere thanks to him and House Path for their support.” There were murmurs of agreement and applause. Wandering was present along with Twilight Sparkle as liaisons for the Lunar Federation and House Path, and he waved a hoof in acknowledgement before Tirarsk continued. “However, as I have just explained in my report, we are starting to lose ground and we cannot see a way of reversing this trend. Our war efforts are already at maximum and the Equians have no means to expand their operations without the support of their homeworld. Gentlebeings, unless we determine new methods of attack and defence, we are going to lose this war.” Tirarsk sat down and the President of the Stellar Federation spoke up next. “Thank you for your report, Grand Admiral. Princess Twilight Sparkle, so many miracles have already come from your world – is it possible that we can ask just one more of you?” Twilight bit her lip and thought hard for a long moment. “Madame President, while we know how to stop the Swarm, we have no means of accomplishing it. The key is their instantaneous communications between all their controller caste and what we suspect to be a central mind that coordinates their efforts. Destroy that and everything changes. However, there is no spell that we know or can create that can do that for us.” “I see. We can’t ask the impossible of you, but I hope that you will keep trying, as must we do too. We can’t give up hope or else we will have already lost. I trust that you will maintain your support up until the last?” “I give you my word that I will not allow the portal to be closed until the Swarm is on its doorstep. Loyalty is one of the pillars of friendship, and we will not let our friends down.” “Thank you, Princess Sparkle. Now, in the absence of any further ideas to aid in our defence, I suggest we all go back and urge a 110% effort from everyone. May your deities bless your efforts. This session is now closed.” The holograms of the Federation Council members and Star Fleet personnel flickered off, leaving the Chakonan Prime Minister and hir senators alone with Twilight and Wandering. The two alicorns made their farewells and as they headed out of the meeting room, the stallion said, “You know, Mom, I think I have half of the solution.” Twilight gave her son a curious look. “Then why haven’t you mentioned it before?” “I brought it up ages ago with Starry, and she shot me down. You’re going to hate it just as much.” “Let me be the judge of that,” she replied with more bite than she had intended. “I can shape-change into a Swarm controller. I have the pattern now and I can connect to all of them. There must be a way we can use that.” Twilight stopped walking and glared at Wandering. “And I know as well as you do that you don’t just mimic forms like changelings – you become them. You would be part of the problem, not the solution!” Wandering’s ears drooped. “I told you that you would hate it.” Twilight closed her eyes and calmed her thoughts. Then she sighed. “No, you’re right – it is half of a solution, but I have no idea what the other half could be.” “Whatever it is, we will need to discover it soon. I’m afraid that the Elements of Harmony aren’t going to get us out of this one.” “No, the President was right – we do need a miracle.” As if on cue, her comm rang. Lifting it out of her saddlebag with her magic, she quickly answered it. “Twilight Sparkle here.” Wandering clearly overheard the excited voice on the other end. “Twilight! Doctor Harding here. The portal has suddenly activated by itself. We’ve confirmed that there is no one at the other end to do so.” “That’s very strange,” Twilight replied. “But that’s not all. It’s growing huge! You know how the moonlets increase the distance between them in proportion to the mass of the object passing through? It’s now fifty percent bigger than any time previously!” “What?! I’ll be right there!” Twilight turned off her comm and lit up her horn with a teleport spell. Locking onto the mana beacon aboard the research ship that was her and Doctor Zara Harding’s home away from home, she teleported herself and Wandering there. They quickly hastened to the portal observation platform where they found the skunktaur scientist intently watching a monitor. A view of the portal in operation was filling the screen, the relative smallness of the moonlets an indication of how much bigger than usual it was. “What happened?” Twilight demanded. “I don’t know! The instruments recorded a surge of magic from an unknown source, and the portal suddenly activated. Nothing has happened sin… oh… my… god…” Sensors suddenly started going wild as an object burst upon the screen. It was a roughly spherical mass of crystals and it was clearly headed for the portal. Every mana-powered measuring device on the platform maxed out and failed spectacularly with smoke and sparks flying. The non-magical video screen continued to display the object’s approach to the portal as the moonlet’s finally stopped moving apart, leaving a gateway over a kilometre wide. Then the crystal craft plunged into the wormhole. Twilight and Zara were left gaping in astonishment, but Wandering shook it off and grabbed his mother with a hoof. “Come on! We have to follow it!” He teleported them both to the bridge of the Cosmic Lotus which was stationed nearby, startling the changeling crewperson on watch. “Sir! Did you just see that?” “I did. Follow it, Klikbik!” “But sir, several crewm–” “I said – follow it now!” “Aye, sir! Bridge to Engineering – emergency start-up!” “What the…? Emergency start-up, aye. This better be good!” “Point is going to have words with me after this,” Wandering muttered, not at all contrite but still dreading it. The Cosmic Lotus’ warp engines powered up and the ship leapt in pursuit of the crystal craft. The portal had already started contracting by this time, but due to its expanded size, the Equian craft still made it through comfortably. After re-entering normal space, scans showed that their quarry was already hurtling in the direction of Equus. Klikbik did not wait to be told to chase after it. However, he had bad news for his captain. “Sir – it’s faster than us.” “Just do your best, Klikbik.” “Aye, sir.” After a few seconds, the chrome changeling spoke up again. “Captain – it has slowed down a bit.” “How fast is it now?” Klikbik consulted his instruments. “They’re going at exactly our top speed, sir.” Wandering blinked and looked at Twilight who seemed equally puzzled. “It would seem somebody wants us to be there when they arrive at Equus.” Twilight nodded. “We better let everyone know that it’s coming.” “Yeah – but what is coming?” None of them could answer that. Throughout the years, even as technology marched forward, the gently rolling hills of the English countryside seemed to be frozen in time. For millennia, there were shepherds and farmers using the land, and now even in this modern era the same was true. One such farmer was staring out of his cottage at the rolling hills when the ground shook violently. Even as the earth quaked around him, he ran out to tend to his flock. They all seem fine having huddled together on the near end of the fenced-off area, so he went to see what damage may have been caused by the quake. He found remarkably little until he reached the very edge of his land where several of his corner fence posts were missing. With a frown on his face, he walked up to where they should be only to go slack-jawed in amazement. He was standing on the edge of a massive sinkhole that went down impossibly deep and was wider than he could fathom. Of the fields and forest that once stood there, no sign could be seen. Luna was visiting House Path’s research laboratories on the moon, checking for herself how the Lunar Federation was coping. As a Triarch of Equestria, she should have been banned from any association with it, but as the moon was her dominion as well – a fact that that the Lunar Federation not only accepted but also endorsed – no one could prevent her from visiting anytime she chose to do so. She skimmed down the hallway, her coffee floating in her grasp. Gravity was a lot less at the lunar colonies and nobody ever galloped. If you tried, you would just spin your hooves around in the air and get nowhere. Likewise, nobody really flew quickly within the confines of the domes. Pick up too much speed and you would ping-pong around until you crashed to a halt. There were only the slow canter and the lazy flap. Right now, Luna was lazy flapping to the observation hub – that was until her comm lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree and alarms started sounding. After recovering from surprise, she teleported to the hub where Pif and Hype were already stationed, barking out orders as all of the observation cameras were aimed at one point of the seemingly empty sky. “What’s the situation?!” Luna demanded, concerned that something was tripping so many alarms. “We have an intense mana source approaching Equus,” Pif replied. “That must be the crystal vessel that Wandering warned us about. Projections suggest that it’s going to go into orbit high above Equestria, perhaps directly over Canterlot!” “It’s a few minutes early, isn’t it?” Luna asked. “Yes, it is, but I don’t know why. I had no idea that it held so much power. It rivals Celestia’s sun!” “Twilight Sparkle reported that their observation instruments all burned out. There was no way that they could measure it.” “I have it on optical!” Hype exclaimed. A large monitor lit up to reveal a glittering object centred on the screen. It rapidly grew to fill the view and Hype kept having to dial back the magnification. “It’s just as huge as they said it was,” Pif commented. “Let’s hope it’s friendly because I don’t think we could do anything about it if it’s not.” “There’s the Cosmic Lotus,” Hype pointed out. It’s decelerating still. Maybe that’s why the crystal thing is early – it didn’t slow down when the Lotus had to.” Luna was trembling. She could feel the immense power even from this distance. “I must go join my sister.” “Be careful, Mama Luna!” Pif said even as the alicorn lit up her horn and teleported back to Canterlot. Cadance shivered as she felt the approach of a massive power. She stood up from the dining table and lit up her horn. “What’s wrong, Mother?” asked Crystal. “I have to go to Canterlot!” was all she said before a hypervelocity tube engulfed her and sent her speeding on the way to Equestria. “Oho! What’s this?” Discord said, pausing in his house-disorganising chores. “Do I sense some incipient chaos? Time to visit my favourite alicorn, I think. I wonder if I should take Celestia a bunch of flowers or perhaps haddocks this time?” The draconequus snapped his talons and was gone. Wandering was frustrated. The crystal ship seemed oblivious to the need to slow down and drop out of warp well before hitting the gravity well of Equus and its moon and sun. Twilight and Starry stood beside him, both more worried than frustrated. They’d gotten no response from the ship on either Equian or Federation equipment during the entire journey from the portal, and they still had no idea of its motivation. Now though, they watched it abruptly come to a halt in orbit above Canterlot, helpless to do anything about it. “We should go down there,” Starry said. “You know we can’t. Not while the GEC has banned us,” Twilight replied. “Does it really matter anymore? As you’ve explained, we’re losing the war and we’ll inevitably have to close the portal. Then there will be no reason for the isolationist policy to continue.” Wandering said, “But we’re still legally… oh, buck it! Let’s go! You have the bridge, Commander.” The three alicorns teleported to Canterlot with no further delay. Twilight, Starry and Wandering joined the growing crowd of alicorns and one draconequus on the balcony of Canterlot Castle. Celestia stood there, glowing nearly as brightly as the sun as she drew on its power to meet the possible threat to her world. Below her, the citizens were starting to panic as they witnessed the object in the sky and the reaction of their princess to it. One by one, the other alicorns emulated her, even as they wondered if their combined might could deal with this mysterious intruder. Nothing happened for several minutes, but then the glittering crystal vessel started descending. Maybe two miles from the ground, it stopped, much to the relief of those underneath it. Then, without any visible opening being made, six objects emerged from it. They were huge which enabled the watchers to quickly identify what they looked like despite the glow of power surrounding all of them. There was a grey unicorn with a long white beard, a red-eyed dragon with a hide like the night sky, a red-maned white alicorn, a magnificent golden-maned unicorn, and a violet changeling queen, all led by a glorious crystal griffon. Despite probably being able to see most of Equestria from their viewpoint, their gaze seemed to settle on the gathered alicorns. The griffoness smiled and spoke with a voice that everyone in the nation could hear without sound. “You seem to have a bit of a problem. Perhaps we can help?” Wandering’s eyes widened in recognition. “Techbird?” The distant avatar of his chief scientist appeared to hear him. “I found my Answer, Captain. Let’s see if we can find yours.” # # # # # # # # #