//------------------------------//
// 65 - Touching Bases 
// Story: Fading Suns: A New World 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

Gregor walked amiably. Walking was not typically something someone did in a welcoming fashion, but he managed. He wore a smile and his hands swung freely. He nodded to each strange alien that he passed with a kind expression. Many of them returned the favor, watching him curiously a moment as he passed.

They were all curious, but not a single soul had made a move against him, even subtly. A few had been outright friendly. He still had an apple tucked in his robes. It had been offered by a larger red pony. Their relation to the pancreator...

He left the town, crossing the small distance with his guard in tow towards the landing dock. "I'll be reporting in." He didn't target the sudden statement towards any of them in particular, nor did he have to. They stopped just shy of the boarding ramp of the ship.

They would wait until he returned to them. The words of divine men were not for their ears. He boarded the ship with a more determined stride, his expression becoming far more pensive and less welcoming. His role as an ambassador was put on pause, for a little while.

He nodded towards the guards before the communication room. Both raised their hands in prayer as he passed. All appeared to be well on the ship.

Gregor strode towards the terminal and swept a hand over the console, quickly keying in the code of his superior. A light flashed softly in red before snapping to green. A head appeared, floating just in front of the console. He recognized the head of his superior and bowed towards it, raising his own hands much as the guards had just before.

"Gregor, good to see you, my child. I trust you come with news?" The other man wore robes much like his, with subtle hints that spoke of his rank sewn in, with pauldrons that were as impractical as they were significant. "I will return that favor."

Gregor raised his head, permission given implicitly to begin speaking. "I do. The natives are both friendly and open to the proper way. They are also inherently magic to an alarming degree. They weave it without thought, but with a child's innocence. It is as if Satan himself simply never noticed this world in his scheming."

"Dangerous... Satan has found this place." The other man leaned closer, resulting in his floating head angling forward a bit. "The covert unit ran into heavy resistance by literal demons. Breathing fire with great leathery wings and razor sharp claws. They howled for blood and spilled a many good brother's last to the ground."

Gregor winced and drew back a step. "How terrible..." Still, he had met Spike... "Are we certain they are demons?"

"What else would they be?"

"Dragons."

The other man's brows fell in a furrow. "One fantastical suggestion for another?"

"One is a force of evil itself, another is a primeval force. To be scattered by dragons is more akin to being struck by lightning." Gregor spread his hands, palms up. "I met one. I know they live here. The one I met was quite young and friendly, but I should imagine an elder of the species could be... different."

"Save your platitudes." He righted himself, eyeing Gregor. "If they are demons, they must be fought to the last. If they are not, then it may, in some ways, be worse."

"Worse?"

His head turned to the left, then the right, then back at Gregor. "If they are strange citizens of this world, this world claimed by the Hawkwoods, then we have casually murdered Hawkwoods, and that invites retribution."

Gregor took a slow breath. What his superior spoke was truth. "Regrettable, but an easy mistake to make..." He touched his fingers together lightly. "But not one that cannot be addressed."

"And it will be," agreed his superior. "That ship landed because of an emergency. In the meanwhile, keep an ear to the ground. If they speak of the incident, be a kind mouth and smooth things. We most certainly did not fire first."

That last sentence, Gregor swiftly determined, was the official stance. It was not the truth. It was not a lie. The truth did not matter in this situation. It would be what they would say. "Of course not. Why would men of faith?" They shared a nod, in agreement with this simple truth.

"Now then, tell me more. Are they psychic? Are they sorcerers? Do they practice some strange innate theurgy?"

Gregor spread his hands. "I could not speak with certainty. It appears biological. They do not speak magic words. They do not pray. The horned ones, unicorns, concentrate and things happen, but they are not as restricted in effects as a proper 'psychic', making me slow to assign that label."

"Only they practice this magic then?"

Gregor inclined his head towards the image. "This is not entirely true. The winged ones fly with wings far too small for their body. The dragons breath fire and also fly with wings too small for their size and weight. I witnessed at least one with neither wings or horn perform strange tricks, though she was more interested in 'making friends' than any malign purpose."

"A land of cherubs."

Gregor smiled at that. "You have stolen the words from my mind, Father."

"Forbid the notion." A brow raised lightly. "Surely they are not completely innocent?"

"They are not." He crossed his arms. "As children, they have their squabbles and issues, but some among them have accepted the role of intermediaries. They are called by powerful artifacts to sources of strife to mediate and resolve them as quickly as they can, to restore what they consider the highest virtue among others."

"Now we're getting somewhere." The other man smiled thinly. "What virtues do they praise? What sins do they whisper of?"

"Harmony." Gregor made a grand gesture, slowly extending fingers. "Comprised of Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, and Magic."

The frown returned. "They uphold magic as one of their cornerstones?"

"Is that surprising?" He lifted his shoulders. "By their words, it is by magic's use that their sun rises. Can we put truth or lie to that?"

"We will study it. It shouldn't be hard, one hopes..."

"One prays," Gregor agreed with a nod.

"That is no sun." He sighed gently. "A ball of fire that defies order, darting erratically around an equally mad world." He brought his hands together in view, just under his chin. "We have much work before us. Gregor, continue preaching His good word."

"That reminds me." Gregor waved a hand around aimlessly. "I will be permitting a few of them aboard, young ones. They are curious of humanity and our faith."

The dour expression lightened faintly. "Watch them carefully, most carefully... but proceed. If even one can be turned towards proper faith, that will be valuable."

Gregor raised a lone finger. "That will require one decision be made, Father. Are their souls pure enough to stand as we do before the pancreator and receive his blessings, or are they impure others, to watch from a distance?"

That was a weighty decision, and things grew quiet. Once a stance was said and spread, turning it around would be perilous, and the one speaking it would be the one to bear the weight of it. Gregor had passed that responsibility on, but it was not within his rank to make it to begin with.





Bon Bon touched noses with the sleeping Lyra. "Wake up, you."

Lyra blinked her eyes open, focusing on Bon Bon sleepily before gasping. She grabbed the earth pony mare close. "There you are! Where were you hiding last night? I can't sleep without my Bonnie pillow."

"You were just asleep," pointed out Bon Bon with a little smile, returning the hug gently. "Good morning to you too though."

Lyra rolled off the bed onto her hooves, her magic snatching up a brush. "We both need to get ready for the day. You look... like you didn't sleep all that much last night. Everything alright? Was it secret stuff?" She raised her brows as one. "It's alright if it was secret stuff. We are secret mares. You know how it is."

Bon Bon rolled her eyes softly. "It was secret stuff." It had less to do with 'official' secret stuff, but that was close enough to get the questions to stop. "I'm closing the shop for a little while." She slid from the bed and went to get a brush of her own, clenching it in her teeth and working on her pelt casually.

"You?" Lyra arched a brow. "You don't close the shop easily, especially for 'a little while' rather than, like, maybe a day, after I beg you to go somewhere." She floated her brush over and worked on Bon Bon's mane gently. "More secret stuff?"

"More secret stuff." Bon Bon stood still, allowing Lyra to groom her. It was always nice when she did that. Reaching one's own mane with a mouth-held brush was not... the most feasible thing in the world. There were ways around it for clever mares in need of style. Or you could let your wife tend to your hair and just enjoy it. She opted for that. "I have a wife," she suddenly giggled out.

Lyra burst into laughter. "Me too! What are the odds?!" She leaned in and touched noses. "And she's so super pretty I don't even know what to do. Any advice?"

Bon Bon gently rubbed noses as she gazed into Lyra's eyes. "That's a tough problem. I've been facing it too... Maybe you should just kiss her and tell her how much you love her?"

"Ooo, the direct approach!" Lyra grabbed Bon Bon's cheeks suddenly with her hooves. "I love you."

Their lips met and the kissing began. It would be a good day if the morning was any hint of it.





Twilight waved down Laud as he strode through the halls. "One moment, please. The children of the school will be visiting the priests on their ship."

He could barely contain how many ways that could go wrong played in his mind. "Are you certain that's a good idea?"

"If I don't arrange a proper meeting, they'll arrange it for me, and then we'll have to clean up the mess." She rolled a hoof. "They are very clever, and inquisitive, and will figure out a way to get in there, or get very hurt trying to figure it out. I think this is a far better way of handling it, with the priests' approval and in a way that won't end with injured students."

"I can't argue that basic logic." He dusted at his pants lightly. "How can I help? I should think you would ask the priest, Gregor."

"Way ahead of you." She smiled triumphantly. "He's working to arrange it. I just wanted to see if you could come with us when we did it. I'd feel more comfortable having a human around that I can talk to without mechanical assistance, and that I actually know. I mean, Gregor seems perfectly friendly, but how well do I know him?"

Was that a little doubt? He was glad to see she had a scrap of it. "I will stand by your side." He struck his chest with a closed fist. "We'll keep the children safe, from them, and themselves."

"Exactly what I was hoping for." Twilight tossed her head towards the dining room. "For now, let's have breakfast and enjoy the day. I'll introduce you to the students later. Meeting you properly should tame their curiosity until the official visit happens."