//------------------------------//
// 31. Revealing 
// Story: Exploring Equestria 
// by A_guy_from_Earth 
//------------------------------//

Late train from Crystal Empire has finally reached its final destination, Ponyville. It slowed down to minimum, and its brakes soon made the last screech before stopping. Cars’ doors opened, and few remained passengers have left the train.

“Finally! I’m home!” Spike groaned.
“Oh, Spike, it wasn’t that hard!” Twilight said.
“Speak for yourself! Unlike some purple alicorns, I’m not used to spend entire night doing something and then be satisfied with three or four hours of sleeping! I need my rightful nine hours of rest!”
“Okay, fine! You may be free until tomorrow afternoon. Thus, it leaves you more than ten hours of sleeping. You happy now?”
“Yes.”
“Well, my friends,” princess turned to researchers. “Thank you for coming with me. Get some good rest before tomorrow!”
“Um, excuse me, shouldn’t I come with you?” Max asked to clarify.
“No, mister Zicht, no. If you go now, then you’ll have only few hours of sleep in two days. It’s not good for pony’s health.”
“You know, I don’t mind it. While being a student, I have only four hours of sleep in three days before the hardest exams.”
“Don’t mention it…” Bluve, Oma and Zet’rara whispered.
“Still, I insist on proper rest. Besides, one night won’t change anything, right?” Twilight smiled.
“Well, maybe you are right, princess.”
“See you tomorrow then!”

Twilight, Spike and researchers waved to each other and left the station. Twilight put Spike on her back, and they flew to the Castle of Friendship, researchers headed to their headquarters.

Ponyville has been under the veil of the night already. Since it was quiet small town, night life in it wasn’t developed well and was usually connected with certain celebrations. Thus, there wasn’t many ponies outside at this hour, and as a result, not all the streets had lights. Small lanes and alleys, where only few living houses were situated, usually haven’t lights at all: ponies who lived there usually returned home before the nightfall, and even if they came late, there were lanterns near the house’s porch to guide them and tell whose house it is. When it happened that somepony had to stay outside at night, they usually walked the illuminated streets. However, if they knew the town well, they could go anywhere they wanted. Having spent more than half of a year in the town, researchers learned everything about it and now they were able to navigate around it just like locals. So they rushed to their house through alleys without hesitating.

“Man, I’m so tired!” Sheim said.
“No wonder. First, you did some serious work, then we all partied almost until the sunrise and left the Empire right after it!” Bluve responded.
“Yeah. It was rather eventful trip,” Affi said.

Her friends and colleagues agreed, but Kor, Karin, Oma and Zet’rar preferred to refrain from answering.

“Oh, five more minutes, and we’ll be home!” Kor said.
“You are tired too?” Oma surprised. “I though you, verekans, are steadfast guys!”
“Well, yeah, but I don’t handle well the sleep deficiency. It’s a hereditary issue in my family.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Still, it would be nice to get to the bed and have a rest in the place you are used to,” Zet’rar said.

Other agreed. There was nothing better than a good quiet rest after a long journey.

However, researchers didn’t know that they wouldn’t be able to have any rest this night.

When they were literally in one turn from their headquarters, walking down dark alley with no windows and few back entrances, five ponies blocked the way out of the ally they walked. They stood in a line without saying a word. Their faces were not visible, however their poses indicated that they were full of determination. It alerted researchers, but nevertheless they decided to act like normal pony would.

“Um… What happened? Can we help you?” Edez said.

Blockers haven’t responded.

“…do you have any business with us?” Affi guessed.
“Yes,” the earth pony stallion, who stood in the middle, said. “We have.”
“What business?”
“Confess.”
“What?” researchers surprised.
“We’ve been working on it for months… Collecting evidences, observing, analyzing… There was a lot of… strange things, connected with you. Strange behavior, strange knowledge… Well, you are not from Equestria, so all this might seem strange to us just because we aren’t used to them, but… Now we’ve seen something that proves that you are not just foreigners… something that proves that you are not from this world!..”

Researchers shuddered when they heard it. “How did they know it?” they silently asked themselves. Meanwhile the stallion continued.

“…and I hate that pony I’m going out with are among them!” he raised his head.
“Hidden?” Bluve exclaimed.

Subordinates of Hidden Path raised their heads as well.

“Grace, Cloudbreaker, Dim, Razor?” Max and Karin surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“It doesn’t matter now. Who are you?” Edez asked.
“We are agents of the Second Department of Secret Service of Equestria,” Hidden Path said. “I’m major Hidden Path, and they are my subordinates: lieutenant Grace, sergeants Dim Silhouette, Cloudbreaker and Razor Edge.”
“We investigate strange events and phenomena that started soon after your arrival,” Grace added. “There were quite a lot of evidences.”

Researchers looked at each other.

“Evidences? They might be subjective. What solid proofs do you have?” Affi asked.

This time, agents exchanged looks.

“We’ve searched your house…” Grace spelled.
“What?” researchers exclaimed.
“… and found technologies that surpass our, like creation of gravity or making things absolutely impenetrable, which you used as traps.”

Then there was silence. Agents stared at researchers, but made it clear that they are ready to undertake all kinds of measures in case of any possible threat. Researchers realized that now there was no escape for them.

“The saying was right…” Max grinned. “There are way more eyes and ears in small towns than in big cities…”
“It was a mistake…” Sheim uttered.
“Admit it. Admit that you are not from this world,” Hidden Path insisted.

Researchers didn’t hurry with the answer. Agents alerted. This act meant that they are preparing for something. They instinctively leaned closer to the ground and got ready to defend themselves.

They were ready for any offense, but what happened next was among the least things they expected.

Their suspects quickly exchanged glances, and then villainous grins crossed their faces. Intimidating lights sparkled in their eyes, and then… They released claws from their hooves and eight of them stood on hind legs. They did it quickly and easily like they were bipedal from the very beginning. Then even more terrifying things happened. scars on Max’s face opened and turned into huge gaping wounds. Scars near Bluve’s neck opened too and start to move like they were some kind of gills. Moreover, she separated each her foreleg into two. Horn-like appendages rose from Affi’s hair and start to rattle. Kor opened his mouth, and right before the eyes of the agents he changed his set on teeth on the predator ones. Oma’s mane and tail formed seven tentacles, which start to move slightly. The hump on Zet’rar’s back burst, releasing six dorsal limbs.

Agents were shocked. The truth they sought turned out to be even more terrifying than they expected. Hidden Path was the most shocked – the girl he liked turned out to be less pony-like from all the suspects.

“Well, you’ve managed to find who we really are,” Edez said. “Yes, we aren’t from Gaia, and as you may guess by our looks, we came here from different places of space. We have advanced technologies comparing to you and we don’t have your “magic”. Now you have the answer. Thus, I’d like to ask you one thing: what you are going to do with this?”
“We’ll report to the headquarters and princess…” Cloudbreaker was about to say, but Kor interrupted him:
“Oh? You think we’ll let you go like nothing happened?”
“No, we’ve expected something like this,” Hidden Path responded.
“Good,” Edez grinned again. “If so, then I highly recommend you to stay at your places and do not do anything.”
“Huh?” Grace resented. “What gives you the right to command us?”
“It’s just a wise decision. Since, well, any of us is able to kill you all in an instant.”
“What?”
“Some of us have battle experience greater than all you lives combined,” Kor said. “Consider this.”

Agents gulped. However, they didn’t move – no step forward and no step backward.

“Oh, I see you are understanding folk,” Affi said. “That’s good…”
“What you are going to do with us?” Dim silhouette asked.
“We want to clarify what you already know,” Edez said. “It’s reasonable to let the suspects know what they are accused of, don’t you think?”

Agents didn’t say anything. The alien was right about this part.

“Well?” researchers asked.
“List as the charges, please,” Affi said. “And, besides, we may provide you some explanations you want to hear…”

The last surprised the agents. “Please”? It’s a rare thing to hear from villain, especially when it’s said in such tone… And offering the explanations…

“Well…”
“Um, excuse me, but how we should address you now?” Razor Edge said. “ ‘cause, well, the names we know aren’t the real ones, right?”
“Use the ones you know,” Affi said. “We are used to them.”
“If you say so…” Grace spelled with slightly confused look on her face. “Berg, there are evidences of you demonstrating speed and strength beyond pony’s abilities…”

Edez frowned.

“My blunder,” he said. “Well, I agree with that. Great speed and strength are characteristic traces of my race.”
“Okay… Mister Erő, we have evidences of you demonstrating strength above pony’s abilities too. Also, some ponies said that you don’t like pony cuisine…”
“I belong to carnivorous species,” he said. “And, yes, we are strong.”

Grace – and other agents – gulped.

“Ehm… excuse me, but…” Razor edge uttered, “… but why you are standing like this now?”
“I am the only quadruped one from the beginning.”
“Miss Antilipsi,” Grace continued. “There are evidences suggesting that you are able to manipulate other creatures…”
“I’m a telepathist. Very strong one.”
“Okay,” Grace shuddered. “Mister Zicht, the evidences we have suggest that your senses and abilities connected with that are way above average pony’s.”
“Artificial sensor organs,” he said, pointing at his scars. “Very sensitive.”
“… how sensitive?” Cloudbreaker asked.
“You want me to tell your pulse?” physiologist looked at him. “Or you want me to tell that cereal you ate this morning were more than stale?”
“What? How?..”

Grace and some other agents looked at him.

“Don’t pay attention to that. He haven’t noticed the expiration date when he ate them,” Affi said.

Agents weren’t able to say anything. Cloudbreaked felt extremely humiliated.

“W-well…” Grace eventually managed to force herself to continue. “Miss Didinga, mister Lierre, we have evidences of you consuming non-organic matter in amounts unnatural to ponies…”
“I belong to chemosynthetic species,” Oma replied.
“And my race is plant-like,” Sheim said. “We cannot survive without mineral nutrition.”
“Okay… Miss Pippi, there are evidences that you possess some kind of controlled poltergeist…”
“I wish that it was controlled poltergeist… But what I possess is an ordinary telekinesis,” she replied.
“You want to possess poltergeist?” Razor Edge surprised.
“Yeah. It’s more powerful than average telekinesis.”
“Oh…”
“… miss Calma, we have some evidences of you diving for extremely long periods of time…”
“I was careless…” she spelled. “Well, that’s because I’m from semi-aquatic race.”
“Semi-aquatic?” Hidden Path surprised. “Then…”
“You want to learn about this?” Blive pointed to her “gills”. “Well, those are not gills, they are universal respiratory organs. They act like both lungs and gills.”
“Oh…”
“And mister Allegro… There’s practically no evidences of your extraordinary abilities except for how you made your Nightmare Night costume work, but now we see the reason… However, there is another count. You demonstrated knowledge unknown in Equestria – and as we learned later – in other parts of the world, more than anyone else.”
“Well, I’m the responsible for equipment in the team… and I’m quite altruistic guy. If I see that someone need help, I will help if I can.”
“To assist local in available ways is one of the main principles of the exoplanet researcher,” Edez said.
“Assistance in the ways that wouldn’t expose you,” Affi clarified. “Well, I guess we weren’t able to follow this rule.”

At this moment, agents felt surprise and uncertainty. Altruism? Assistance? Research? These guys are just a group of scientist who came for exploration mission and nothing else? If it is so, what’s the reason behind other incidents?

“Anything else?” Affi asked.
“Well, there’s number of other demonstrations of extraordinary abilities and knowledge…” Grace continued. “And… Oh… Well… presumably, abduction of some ponies. Including princesses Celestia and Luna. And, according by some other reports… Abduction of queen Chrysalis.”
“Um…”
“What?” Hidden Path exclaimed. The first reaction of the researchers made it obvious for him that they really did it. “You have abducted both Diarchs and Chrysalis?”
“Yes,” Edez confessed. “We did.”
“We had to explore all the sapient races that inhabit this planet,” Max said.
“But why princesses?” Dim Silhouette exclaimed.
“We needed the most characteristic representatives of the race.”
“So… During all this time… you’ve abducted more citizens of Equestria?” Cloudbreaker suggested.
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“Few more. But it doesn’t matter. The research abduction, as you may call it, last only for one night, and we make sure that the patient won’t remember anything.”
“Well, in case of princesses and Chrysalis it failed.”
“I guess they are too strong mentally, so few fragments might preserve.”
“Well, there are some more things…” Grace continued. “There was an incident in the Everfree Forest that led to formation of huge crater. The investigation showed that it was annihilation that wasn’t caused by magic.”
“Yes, we are responsible for it,” Edez admitted. “We went to the Forest in order to explore it closer, however when the night fell we were attacked by a pack of Constellation Beasts, as you call these creatures. We couldn’t teleport from there, so we used the annihilation device for extreme situations.”
“Wait, stop!” Razor Edge exclaimed. “This annihilation should have killed you too! How did you manage to survive?”
“Well, who told you that these are our real bodies?” Max said.
“Huh?”
“First, what you see now are artificial bodies, so-called avatars, created using samples of your special and ours. Second, we have technology that allow us to transplant, store and copy our minds and souls. So, as you can guess, all this makes possible survival in such situation.”
“Oh…”
“What else?”
“What about that strange meteor shower?” Cloudbreaker said.
“What meteor shower?” researchers surprised.
“The one with several radiants, which happened one moon and eighteen days ago.”
“This…”
“You are responsible for it?”
“Not exactly,” Edez said.
“We came here in order to explore the entire planet, not only your land,” Kor began to explain. “We have missions sent to each large land mass or separate region populated with specific species. It’s a large expedition, and we tried to keep it in secret. However, our opponents learned about it and organized an attack. What you had seen was a battle between ships we arrived on and their vehicles.”
“Space… battle?” agents couldn’t believe in what they’ve just heard.
“Yes.”
“Wait!” Hidden Path suddenly exclaimed. “We’ve forgotten about the most important one.”
“What?” Grace wondered.
“The murders.”
“What murders?” researchers worried.
“What? You don’t know about them?” Cloudbreaker surprised.
“Nothing!” Zet’rar said.
“Wait, what made you thought we are responsible for some murders?” Oma exclaimed.

Suddenly, Kor stomped loudly, making everyone shut up.

“Tell us who was killed, where and how,” he demanded.
“Well, there was one pony murdered near Dodge City, one adult dragon murdered near the edge of the Everfree Forest… and a group of youngsters murdered on the road from Dodge City to Canterlot…” Grace said.
“And there were few reports on ponies went missing in the area without a trace, but I don’t know if it’s connected with the case,” Razor Edge added.
“How they were killed?” researchers continued to press.
“The young ponies we’ve mentioned were slayed in the way like the murderer tried to show them the power he or she possesses,” Hidden Path clarified. “But the first victims… The most terrible thing that their heads were literally minced.”
“Minced?”
“Yes. Like something broke into their mouths, destroyed the palate and turned brains into mash.”

When they heard it, researchers froze. With expressions of unimaginable shock on their faces.

“Um… guys?” Dim Silhouette worried.
“I don’t like where it’s going…” Cloudbreaker uttered.

And then, a loud scream shook the night town.

“GHYYYYAAAAAA!” Edez, Bluve and Oma screeched.
“GRRAAAAHHHHHHH!!” Kor and Sheim roared.
“How in this fucking world it happened?” Karin yelled.
“HOIRAAAAA!” Affi and Zet’rar swore. [“SHIIIIT!”]
“Hoyra ta enaa! Hoyra ta enaaaaa!!!” Max yelled. [approximate meaning: “Shit of the universe”]
“What?” agents were terrified.
“You don’t know what you are dealing with…” Edez and Kor spelled.
“You are lucky that you are still alive…” Affi said.
“What are you talking about?” Cloudbreaker exclaimed, although he was hesitant.
“The signs you’ve mentioned… They can mean only one thing: Ga’ke are here,” Affi said.
“Ga… ke? Who are they?” Grace wondered.
“The strongest and the most terrible creatures in the Universe we know.”
“W-what?..”
“Explain!” Hidden Path demanded.
“You know, each civilization that exist in the Universe, has basically only three objectives: survive, develop, spread,” Edez said. “Some of those civilizations are ready to go to great lengths in order to achieve them… Well, Ga’Ke were a group of sapient creatures whose aim was to become invulnerable and dominant, and they managed to achieve this by depriving themselves of the life. Becoming literally Lifeless.”
“Wait, you mean, like zombies?” Cloudbreaker wondered.
“It’s not that simple,” Bluve said. “Explanation of what life actually is would take too much time, so you have to know only two things: first, life is non-material structure identical for all creatures in the Universe, second, it is one of the main pillars of the Universe, its most important part and principle, so to get rid of it while preserving your personality is incredibly difficult.”
“Nevertheless, the important thing is that they are not alive,” Max continued. “So, as you may guess, what isn’t alive, cannot be killed.”
“You mean…”
“To destroy even one of them is incredibly difficult. Since they aren’t bounded by life, they can freely and quickly transport their souls and minds to any bodies they want. However, being lifeless has one major disadvantage: Ga’Ke are unable to reproduce like ordinary creatures. They have to make artificial bodies and fill them with altered copies of minds and souls they already have. And they need a lot of raw material to do it.”
“Raw material?” Hidden Path spelled and then, when he realized it, he shuddered.
“Yes. They are going to use you as the source of their new bodies and souls.”
“No…”
“And it would be a disaster,” Oma said.
“How… serious?” Dim Silhouette forced herself to say.
“Well, now there are about 250 billion of them… If they conquer you… then in fifty years there will be about 400 billion of them,” Bluve said.
“And we don’t think that we’ll be able to confront them in this case,” Kor finished.
“Goodness, no…” uttered female agents.
“There… there has to be a way out!” Razor Edge exclaimed.

Researchers looked at each other.

“Initialize Plan seventy three,” Edez ordered.
“What?” agents surprised.
“You’ll come with us,” leader of Team One explained. “We need all information you have in order to create the plan of actions. We have to destroy that thing.”
“I’ll call them and request the teleportation,” Kor said.
“Good. Affi, implant them the language knowledge,” Edez said to telepathist.
“Yes.”
“What? Wait, what do you mean by “implant the knowledge”?” Grace worried.
“Stand still,” Affi said to them. “It’ll hurt, but just for a bit.”

The appendages on her head began to rattle, and in a moment all five agents felt piercing headache. They fainted and fell down. However, they came to their senses pretty quickly and stood up.

“So painful…” Dim Silhouette whined.
“Worse than all hangovers in my life combined…” Cloudbreaker uttered.
“I see you are ready. Good,” they heard Edez’s voice.

Ponies of the Second Department looked at him. The leader of Team One held small device in his hoof. He and other researchers were full of determination.

“Here we go,” he said and pushed small button on the device.

There was a dim flash, and in a moment all fourteen vanished from the alley.