The entire crew of the USS Archer sat idle in the U-shaped bridge. Each officer was practically lounging in their respective seats. Chase sat with his head propped up on his left hand and elbow resting on the currently unpowered control interface in front of him, the contacts in his eyes visibly displaying a movie. Roger was leaning up against the front left wall of the bridge, looking through the same window as Dahlia. Dahlia sat in front of her console with her legs crossed, staring forward to the various space elevators that dotted the Earth's surface, including the one connected to the station that the Archer was docked at. Usher was down in the cargo bay of the ship, doing what he could to help the drones load what was left of the new machinery they needed for the trip. For the past two hours since the crew returned to their ship, they were hailed by High Command and told to delay their journey until all of their supplies were loaded.
Even among the heavy clanking that could be heard and the occasional whirring of new tech being installed both above and below them, Admiral Brantley was able to remain completely focused on what was in his hand. Sitting in his left hand was a holographic projector displaying a full-body 3D model of the young Precursor specialist they were to pick up as their next stop.
There, the young man assumed a formal stance, his arms flush with his sides and back arched in a militaristic posture. Brantley was never one to obsess over looks but if this kid was going to be spending the next couple of months with him and those he was closest with, he wanted to know all he could, even more than his Union database file could tell him. Samuel's rotating figure was clad in a white nano-fiber shirt paired with matching white nano-fiber pants. His shirt contained a small blue circle over his left breast that indicated the wardrobe was powered. From this alone, the captain could tell that this was a reserved man. The nano-fiber, aside from being a good insulator, provided for custom designs since the fabric itself was able to alter its weaving pattern and color to show anything the user wanted. This fashionable ambiguity showed Brantley that the tech specialist was rather reserved, choosing the public and atmosphere to dictate what he wore rather than wear a set wardrobe. Brantley thought that made sense considering the boy's academic background and rather petite stature.
Dahlia looked over and noticed what her captain was spending so much of his energy looking at. She stood up, stretched and approached the Admiral. "Sir, I understand we don't have much to do but I don't think pedophilia is a good pastime in any case."
"Haha, very funny, lieutenant. I'll have you know that he is 19 years old." the Admiral confidently replied. Dahlia simply smirked and raised an eyebrow. "A-and! And I wasn't looking at him in that way either!" Brantley quickly saved when he realized that he had left half of Dahlia's statement unaddressed. Light snickering could be heard from everybody else in the room except Chase, who was still engrossed in his movie.
"You are too easy, sir." Roger chimed in.
"Yeah, well, you try leaving service for years, only to be welcomed back by, perhaps, the most important call-to-arms in the history of anybody's military career!" the Admiral whined in defense. This only served to cause the entire crew to burst out laughing as their high-and-mighty captain fell further and further down a hole he dug. "Well, keep on laughing. I... I can request to have your citizenship tiers reduced!" the Fleet Admiral threatened to no avail.
The laughter of the crew members only stopped when the bridge doors phased out to reveal none other than Usher Mulligan, standing in the doorway dirtied and with a dreamy look on his face, clearly distinguishable even from his normal stoic expression. As he walked through the bridge, everybody stared at the hulking figure sagged his way to the weapons console. Brantley and those who had been laughing were now completely silent as they became overwhelmed by why Usher was, for the first time to any of the crew's knowledge, tired. The seat groaned in protest as Usher's frame slumped down into it with a groan of his own. Silence consumed the bridge and the only noise that could be heard was the whirring of the generators and digital jingles of the ship's AI integrating and running diagnostics on the newly-installed machinery. Speaking of which, the clanking of the installation was over.
"So... Usher?" The weapons officer slowly raised his head to look at the Admiral. "Are, uh, you done loading the machinery?" Usher slowly nodded. "So... we can depart?" Usher nodded again. "Coolio..." Dahlia raised her eyebrow once again at the odd word choice. Usher merely sunk his head.
The Fleet Admiral altered his stature to assume that of a captain. He looked towards Roger. "Roger, are we ready to leave?"
"Well, I suppose, sir. Isn't there some sort of permission we need from the station or High Command before we actually depart?" Roger asked, breaking character and following protocol.
"Wow. I see you're as shaken up by this mission as I am. Or perhaps just by Usher." Usher turned to look at the Admiral. "I suppose it would be courteous. Chase, hail North American Commissariat High Command. Chase?" Chase was still watching his movie. "Chase!" The comms officer snapped out of his little movie world and turned to face the captain.
"What is it, sir?" Chase asked in a nonchalant tone. "Oh! Hey, Usher! You're looking up..." Chase paused as he looked around the room to all of the shaking heads and hands urging him to think about his next words wisely, "... unique." he finished. Brantley simply rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Chase, hail NACHC," Brantley asked again, calmly.
"The NAC- Oh! Got it." Brantley rolled his eyes as his comms officer powered on his console and used the holographic display to enter the caller ID of High Command. After a few seconds, the bridges holographic projector flickered to life and displayed a large, empty blue rectangle front and center in the bridge. "Establishing visual, sir." Soon, the rectangle flickered to reveal a close-up portrait of a man in a navy-blue High Command berrett in front of a dark background illuminated by the array of lights formed by other holo-screens and servers.
"North American Commissariat High Command. USS Archer, greetings. You have questions?" the man bluntly inquired.
"Ah, well, yes. So, we have all of the supplies that you guys sent over so... can we go?" Brantley asked with the eloquence of a 12-year-old. Dahlia simply rolled her eyes.
"Yes, sir. Your mission file states that you are to depart ASAP."
"Right. We got that from the ball... thingy. What did you call it again, Roger?" Roger shook his head. "Besides the point, you're right. Well then, I suppose we'll be on our way." Brantley finished.
"Very well, Admiral. Oh, and one more thing. What you're doing from the Union... is no small feat. I want to personally thank you for your efforts." the High Command officer stated while taking his berrett off in respect.
"Thank you for this opportunity. Serving the Union is all I ever wanted to do. Long live the Union!" the Admiral stated, bringing up a patriotic side of him that few people ever saw. The sheer magnitude of what they were about to undertake was unsettling, to say the least. However, as soldiers of the GTU Space Force, they were to do anything given to them with dignity.
"Glory to the Union, Ad-" the operator paused as a smirk spread across his face and he looked up from the camera in front of him. "Admiral, there is something else you should probably see." The image on screen rotated as the operator flipped his web-cam around to reveal the entire control room standing with their right arms across their hearts and left arms in a salute. They were all performing a Union salute. In front of the large monitor at the front of the control room, dozens of operator cubicles dotted the view as the operators themselves looked onward with determination. Then, in unison, they declared, "Glory to the Union! Terra Invicta! Long live Terra and the Union!" With that, the entire room erupted in cheers and the speakers on board the bridge began to vibrate the entire cabin. Brantley returned a salute, as did everybody on the crew. The Admiral then took a seat and terminated the connection using his neural interface.
"Roger! Get this baby online!" Brantley declared.
"It would be my pleasure, sir!" Roger complied. His console came to life and, with a few drags, twists, and taps, the whirring of the electromagnetic drives booted up. The lights in the cabin flickered as the generators, being idle for so long, struggled to provide sufficient current. However, once the fusion generators' humming rose in pitch to a sufficient degree and they were at maximum output, the floor in the cabin opened to reveal a glass slate. It rose and moved to arch over the captain's lap. When the floor beneath the captain's chair shut again, the glass powered up and a holographic display surrounded it, displaying the ship's vitals, current trajectory, and the ship AI's icon. Once the captain had familiarized himself with the summary tool by flicking around a few icons and exploding a couple of views to see what everybody was doing, he gave the go-ahead. "Roger, disengage magnetic locks and get us to safe warping distance. Chase, run diagnostics and prime the tachyon arrays for long-range communications with Mars Prime. Tell them of our arrival. Usher," Usher looked up from his console which was lighting up his empty face. "... get some rest, will ya? We won't disturb you with the whole Precursor techy pickup." Usher nodded and set off for his quarters. "Dahlia, prep the lab for a new scientist. I have the staff working on fashioning up another quarter. Oh, and while you're on it, put some more micro-polymer in the 3D-printer." Dahlia simply nodded and set off the accomplish her task, The other crew members did the same and began quickly typing on their holo-interfaces.
Among the beeps and whirs that made up the atmosphere of a busy bridge, Admiral Brantley was glad to be back in his chair. He knew that this was going to be the start of something wonderful, even without the amount of pomp and circumstance that might come with potentially saving humanity. Granted, they were just one of 53 vessels tasked with this mission. However, the Admiral knew that there was something particularly intriguing about the planet they were visiting as he pulled up a 3D-model on his summary display.
Outside the ship, the USS Archer sat idle with its rear illuminated in a fluorescent blue from its ion propulsion system. Soon, the terminal that it sat in began to glow as well with the lights of the mag-lock arms which kept the 412-meter research vessel docked. A small wedge of the NAC Station became outlined in red as the terminal's arms moved to position the ship facing away from Earth. With a click and whirring sound which descended in tone, the mag-locks powered down and the arms folded back, awaiting another vessel. Looking to the right, one would be able to see the splendor of the North American Commissariat station. It was as if somebody had taken the Beijing International Airport from the 21st century, sized it up by a factor of 4, and thrown it up 120 kilometers. The thing was a floating fortress, to say the least.
"Captain, we're ready to leave," Roger stated.
"Good. Main ion thrusters at 60% until we get to warping distance." Brantley responded. After a few digital beeps and rings, the whirring of the engines intensified, shaking the cabin as the ship accelerated. The curvature of the earth became fully visible as the planet became a moon-sized ball in a matter of minutes. The purple and yellow glow of the cosmos was all that surrounded them now.
"Sir, ready to engage quantum drive." Roger again stated.
"Not yet, lieutenant. Chase, have you sent the message?" Brantley returned.
"I'm about to, Captain. The tachyon arrays haven't been activated for a while so the diagnostics took a little longer than expected." Chase replied as he was vigorously typing away at his console.
"Understandable, officer. Notify me when they are online." Brantley calmly replied. Chase returned an od and went back to dealing with the various notifications and yellow warning triangles his console was throwing at him. The muffled rattling of the bridge door phasing out filled the bridge as the Admiral turned to see who was entering. The tritium-carbide gave way to Dahlia, looking as pristine and bored as she did when she left the bridge. She could be heard muffling something under her breath.
"Goddamn "precursor" specialist. What the hell do you even need to do for a degree in Precursors? Sit around and dig in the ground for broken shit?" Dahlia continued as she made her way and angrily thwomped into her seat. Brantley took notice of her mood.
"Hey, uh, Dahlia. You... doin' alright?" Brantley cautiously asked. Dahlia slowly turned to face the Captain in her chair, her eyes now wide with fury. Her left eyelid was even twitching.
"Yes... sir. I am..." Dahlia worked to suppress an outburst by breathing deeply, "I am fine." WIth that, she slowly resumed facing forward, doing nothing with her hands in her lap. Brantley glanced around the cabin and saw that the other officers were more engrossed in their work and ship preparations than before, most likely not wanting to provoke Dahlia. Brantley would agree that angering her was a mistake in any case especially this one. Thankfully, chase chimed in with his status report.
"Uh, sir! The tachyon array has been successfully primed and is ready for transmission to Mars Prime."
"Alright, finally! Tell them that the USS Archer is there to retrieve Precursor tech specialist Samuel Wolfe, Martian capital ID 0261653, under mission order..." the Captain drew out as he searched for the mission file number in his contact and neural interface, "234-D45-768-8786." Brantley concluded.
"Will that be all, sir?" Chase inquired.
"Yes. Send it and we can get on our way." Brantley finished by rubbing his hands together and giggling a little bit in anticipation. Thankfully, this went unnoticed by the rest of the crew.
"Right away, sir." With that, Chase resumed vigorously typing on his console. After a few seconds, he turned around and nodded. Roger brought up several throttle controllers that resembled those of 21st-century airplanes on his holographic console.
"Sir, the quantum drive have been spooked and is ready for hyperspace travel," Roger said on queue. The Captain let out a chuckle in anticipation for what he knew Roger was about to do.
"Alright, Roger. Do your thing," he said almost reluctantly. With a child-like grin on his face, roger turned around and began prepping the ship for FTL travel. In an instant, the ambient lighting of the bridge was replaced by solid blue. The edges of the room became illuminated by fluorescent green strips of light that ran along the perimeter of every room and corridor of the ship, further serving as a warning to brace all belongings for entering hyperspace. Back on the bridge, the crew observed the entire ship become encased in a shield as synth-alloy phased out of nothing around the ship hexagon by hexagon until the viewports across the ship were sealed from any harmful radiation that the FTL travel presented. The hsip lurched forward as the ion thrusters behind slowly increased to maximum thrust. Brantley looked down at his summary console which displayed the gradually increasing speed of the ship. The metal that surrounded the ship de-tinted to become a translucent orange hexagonal pattern. With the stars in sight, Roger moved his hands over to the throttles and pushed both of them forward simultaneously.
The whirring of the ion thrusters dropped out and was replaced with an oscillating warble. As the throttle approached its maximum, the warble increased in both frequency and tone. The cosmos that surrounded the ship on all sides began to stretch towards the aft of the vessel and soon became mere parallel streaks of white. The speedometer on Brantley's console now read 12C. Wait, at 12 times the speed of light, it should only take us like... 180... divide by 3... carry the 2.... Before Brantley could finish his mental math, the green strips of light around the ship turned red and the streaks of light that surrounded the ship returned to tiny white specks. Only now, in front of the USS Archer, sat the behemoth trading station and spaceport of Mars Prime.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luna paced back and forth in her chambers amongst the sun piercing through her curtain-covered windows. The sound of her hooves clicking on the marble floor was occasionally interrupted by the parchment that she would accidentally step on. Her otherwise dark bedroom doors were locked shut and their handles were held together with a bent coat hanger that Luna had found in her closet.
"Lulu! Please, I merely wish to talk!" Princess Celestia called out from the other side of the doors, muffled.
"No, sister! I do not wish to repeat thyself again!" Princess Luna fired back. She steamed as she unfurled her wings and retracted them as she regained control of her blood pressure. Just a few minutes earlier, Luna's chambers were 100% quieter as Celestia crept around and inspected the hours of Luna's work scattered around the room. It was when the white alicorn attempted to wake the ink-covered Luna that problems arose. The dreary navy alicorn rose and, upon seeing that her sanctuary had been breached, immediately worked to push her sister out along with any guards that came in upon hearing the ruckus. She barricaded the entrance to ensure that this never happened in the foreseeable future and, thus, we are here.
"I mean no harm, Luna. I am simply concerned!" Celestia shouted through the doors again.
"You are concerned with business that does not concern you!" Luna replied.
"This is unbelievable," Celestia muttered so that only the guards directly outside the doorway could hear. "I hope to see you at dinner." she finished. Celestia decided that it was probably not the best idea to continue praying on a topic that caused her sister this much discomfort. It was best to let Luna come to terms with how she was going to talk to her sister.
Later, 7:05 pm
Celestia sat at the end of the royal dining table, once again in her own presence. The stoic faces of her solar guard also kept her company, which was saying a lot about the state of loneliness she was in for the most unemotional ponies in all of Equestria to be of comfort to her. The fire in the middle of the large dining room crackled as its amber waves were reflected by the pristinely polished marble floor. Celestia turned her attention to the open windows leading onto the veranda. The curtains were moving ever so slightly as the breeze whistled through them among the chirping of the crickets. what is going on with her? Celestia thought to herself. I have never seen her this engrossed in anything before. Why was this happening? she finished. Celestia was genuinely concerned for her sister's wellbeing. If they weren't even on talking grounds, then how was she supposed to get through to her?
Her mind flashed back to the drawings she saw scattered on parchment through the entirety of Luna's bedchambers. That has something to do with it. But, what could they mean? Even though the drawings numbered in the hundreds, they were all of the same simple symbol: segmented triangles within a striped rectangle. Such a simple shape could not have any meaning to anypony... unless it wasn't just a character of some sort.
"Say, Heatstreak, have you much knowledge with regards to new flags or the sort?" Celestia inquired of one of the two solar guards standing next to the dining room doors. The red-maned earth-pony turned to look at the princess, who was still quietly sipping her tea with a warm expression on her face, as always. He searched his repository of information before replying.
"I suppose I know the basics. Geography was never my strong suit but I will try my best for you, your Highness." he humbly replied.
"Thank you. Now, is there any faction or nation on Equis with a flag resembling a triangle within a rectangle?" the princess continued. The guards broke his stoic expression as he raised one eyebrow for a second, then proceeded to lower both in an attempt to concentrate. After a moment of silence, he responded with a tinge of regret.
"I'm sorry, Princess Celestia. Not to my knowledge." he bowed his head. The princess simply dismissed it.
"It is truly alright. I was merely wondering. By the way, there is no need for such formalities all the time. It is evening time. I would love to know that you both are comfortable around me, considering you are part of my castle patrol this week." she stated in a motherly tone, eyeing the both of them over. Heatstreak relaxed his haunches and a blissful expression came across his face.
"Oh, thank you, your Highness. Having to carry around that set of armor all day really does a number on one's back," he replied. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to know about flags all of a sudden?"
Celestia was caught off guard. She knew that this family topic, even though it should be kept on a need-to-know and personal basis, was already revealed to enough of her personal guard that revealing it to another member would not make too much of a difference. "Guards, have either of you seen Luna around the castle recently?" Both of the guards shook their heads. "And I assume that you do not know the reason behind her complete absence, correct?" They both nodded, Heatstreak beginning to regret asking his question as Celestia's replies became more and more personal. Celestia's posture shifted as she placed her teacup down on the table with her magic. She began approaching both guards, her horn glowing brighter and brighter as she got closer to the doorway.
She stopped a couple of hoof-lengths in front of the guards. Her horn began to glow more brightly as a yellow and orange line manifested in between her and Heatstreak. The line slithered around for a moment before Celestia closed her eyes and began focusing. The line stopped moving, now appearing as a single point in space. It slowly resumed movement as its path remained illuminated by a thin, but a still visible, stream of light. It traveled in a rectangle, then in horizontal lines, and, finally, in a triangle. In a matter of seconds, the symbol that had been stuck in Celestia's head for the past several hours.
The two guards glanced at each other, raised an eyebrow in unison, and looked back at the glowing figure in front of them. Heatstreak spoke up, "You're kidding, right Princess?" Celestia gave him a slight scowl.
"I would never joke about personal matters, Heatstreak," she stated sternly.
"R-right, I apologize, your Highness. It's just... I have seen that in my dreams." Heatstreak sheepishly continued. The guard standing on the other side of the doorway nodded and stated, "We all have. The entire guard was discussing a recurring dream of that symbol in the mess hall this morning."
Celestia's expression became concerned. She turned to face the guards again and resumed questioning. "Do you, by any chance, remember what happened in these dreams?" Heatstreak opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the doors of the dining room creaking. Celestia, entrenched in thought about the extent to which her domain was already infested by this image, jumped at the sound. "Ahem," she regained her composure as she used her magic to tip her tiara back into place, "excuse me. I hope to resume this conversation another time. This seems to be a very urgent matter."
"Of course, your Highness," Heatstreak concluded. With that, Celestia turned to head back towards her seat at the dining table. The doors opened, revealing a rather refreshed Princess Luna. She saw her sister sitting down at the dining table and followed suit. Luna made her way over to the opposite end of the long-table, her hooves' clattering against the marble reverberating throughout the entire room. Luna took a seat and simply stared at her sister, expecting her to break the ice during this rather tense "family feud."
"Thank you for accompanying me this evening, Lulu." Celestia began with a cold tone, still sipping her tea and staring into the fireplace.
"Y-yes, sister. I..." Luna struggled for a response. She obviously felt awkward about this whole situation. Just as Celestia was about to interrupt, the kitchen doors swung open and chef Gourmand walked in, followed by an entourage of waiters and waitresses. The work ponies flanked the table and intricately displayed the dozen of dishes that had been prepared. It was a ballet of service and Luna was a bit dumbfounded. The last time anything like this had been prepared was when they had established stable trade relations with the Griffon Kingdom.
"Sister, what is-" Luna was interrupted by a waiter reaching in front of her to place a bowl of soup down, "-what is the meaning of all this?"
"I believe you would be better suited to answer that," Celestia replied. She placed her tea down and assumed a more authoritative stature. "Please, Luna. What has been troubling you lately? I mean, you have missed night court on multiple accounts, you have locked yourself in your chambers late at night, not to mention how you-"
"Humans." Luna bluntly stated as she stared stoically down at the empty plate in front of her. The crackling of the fire retook the room as everypony was silent. The guards remained in their positions but were wide-eyed as Celestia's expression remained as warm and regal as always.
"Humans," Celestia repeated, her expression now shifting from one of calmness to one of anger. "Humans?! You are threatening to tear our relationship and domain apart because of a myth?!" she finished now fuming with rage, having stood up form her seat and began her approach to Luna.
"Sister, please-" Luna began but was interrupted as her sister continued to rant.
"Do you realize how much trouble you've caused me and our subjects?! Countless complaints having gone ignored simply because of your.. your... your childish ignorance!"
"If you'll please just hear me out for-"
"For what? A second? Well, listen very carefully, Luna, I have waited thousands of seconds to resolve this plague that you have started. I don't think you-"
"ENOUGH!!!" Luna shot up from her seat, meeting her sister face-to-face just a couple of inches apart. "Come with me." Luna started making her way towards the doorway the guards were at. Celestia, her rage having been extinguished by LUna's own outbreak, rolled her eyes and followed suit. The guards did not even bat an eyelash at the two passing princesses. However, they could both be seen visibly moist with sweat.
The two princesses proceeded down the dark corridor in front of their dining room, lit only by the occasional wall-mounted torch scattering light in a rather small radius. The sisters' muffled hoofsteps against the red carpet made up the only noise for the first few seconds of the journey, both siblings coming to terms with what they were doing.
"Lulu, it seems you have come to terms with whatever was keeping you up these past few days." Celestia started, attempting to break the ice after their falling out.
"Yes, I suppose. Pray tell, sister, dost thou recall the meteor shower that occurred a few days ago?" Luna inquired, not turning to look back at her sister.
"Of course, it was beautiful. However, I fail to see the signif-"
"And dost thou recall the meteor that collided with our planet and landed right outside of Ponyville?" Luna continued over Celestia, rounding a corner to another strip of red carpet that led to a darker hallway. Celestia began to fall behind as her expression became one of suspicion. Luna, however, carried on until they were a good 12 hoof-lengths apart. Celestia had come to a complete stop.
"Luna, where exactly are we going?" Celestia cautiously asked.
"Please, sister. Come with me and everything will be explained." Luna replied. Celestia gave her a "seriously" look.
"You realize that this area of the castle has been shut down, right? The dungeon underneath collapsed and the foundation has been too unstable for several months now."
"I am fully aware of the complications this area has experienced recently. However, I assure you," Luna made her way over to her sister and put her wing around her back in an attempt to push her forward, "what you are about to see will make everything you think you know about-"
"Alright, alright. Cut the cheesiness and I will see whatever it is you want me to." Celestia finished. Luna began walking forward once again when another thought crossed Celestia's mind. "Just as long as you promise this is what has actually been bothering you." Luna paused and looked back.
"Oh, I would not say 'bothering' is the correct term, per se. But, yes, this is what has been... occupying me. Now come!" Luna motioned with her wing to follow, abandoning all attempts to get Celestia to answer her guiding questions. This would explain all of it, after all. She resumed her trek down the unlit corridor, the moonlight pouring through the stained glass near the ceiling on either side of the hallway is the only thing to provide illumination. The two princesses walked in silence until Luna came to a stop in front of a wooden closet door. "Hold on," she stated as she lit her horn and knocked on the door with her forehoof three times.
For the next ten seconds, there was only silence as Luna simply stood in front of a closet door in an abandoned corridor. "Well, Lulu, this is certainly some way to spend a Wednesday ni-" Celestia began but was interrupted by the sound of creaking and wood banging on wood. The noises were coming from behind the door. But, what could be happening in a 20-cubic-hoof storage closet?
All of a sudden, the door handle on the outside became encased in a glowing purple aura and the door itself swung open to reveal a familiar purple unicorn clad in a white lab coat. Upon seeing her, Celestia went wide-eyed. "There you are, Luna. I thought you were never going to- Princess Celestia?! Princess Luna, I thought you said you were simply coming tonight to perform a progress check." Twilight exclaimed, almost as wide-eyed as her mentor. She leaned into Luna's ears and whispered, "I thought I told you to keep this on a strictly need-to-know basis!"
"I know, I know, Twilight, but... well, long story short, it's best for her to know, too." Luna fumbled for a response. Celestia simply stood in place as her mentor and her sister conversed in private about something that had to do with Luna's depression, the meteor, and now her favorite student. Her expression slowly turned into a scowl as she felt another wave of rage boil up inside of her.
"Will somebody please tell me what the hay is going on here?!" Celestia bellowed. Luna and Twilight both jumped upon hearing Celestia's royal Canterlot voice at such close range. Once the echoes throughout the dark marble corridor had dissipated, the three were left standing in a rather awkward situation in the middle of the walkway.
"Hehe... Of course, Princess. Erm," she gave Princess Luna a confirmatory glance to Luna to which she nodded, "then, uh, right this way, your Highnesses." Twilight finished. Celestia wanted to once again correct her student on calling the princesses "you Highnesses" since they were all equal now. But, what awaited her just a few hoof-lengths ahead required all of her focus. The three all filled into the storage closet and closed the door. The dark corridor returned to its usual lack of activity as the reverberation of the wooden door slamming shut died out. The glimmering of the residual light from the moon and torches did no justice for the monumental activities taking place just several stories below.
There, in possibly what was the most secure room in Equestria, sat something that would alter the fate of ponykind forever.