//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Where Shadows Dare To Tread // Story: Future Tactics - The War Games // by TheFullCrumb //------------------------------// The dropship landed rather sharply as it took to the Palace Landing Pad, its engines whining down as it was lowered into what appeared to be an underground facility, of sorts. Brightstone sat on the edge of his seat, holding his head in his hands. Over a millenium ago, he had been the sworn enemy of the Equestrian Coalition, before it had been re-designated the Kingdom of Equestria, or simply Equestria to some. It was a rather somber time for him to return, especially after the almost-fiasco at the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Star Swirl stood beside him, silent as the grave as he held up a tempered glass panel, tapping various portions as he filled out a short report. Considering everything that happened, even Brightstone could see it was not favorable for their own issues. “She did shoot at me, Star Swirl. With my own handgun.” “I’m well aware of what she did, Captain. However, keep in mind how long we kept you in cryogenic imprisonment over what you did. And keep in mind as well that we can put you right back,” Star Swirl stated without even looking up. Brightstone went silent, only releasing his seat restraints when he could feel the dropship elevator touch the bottom floor. He snatched his helmet back up from the floor and secured it to his belt, holstering his sidearm as he stepped down the boarding ramp, watching the bustling Cradle Security Forces scampering around like chickens without heads. Sleek corners met his eyes at each corner as he glanced around, the unfinished nature of the underground facility evident in the lack of refinement he knew the equines possessed. Chuckling, he looked over to see a large group part to let two rather angry regents pass. Or at least, one very angry regent, and her very terrified sister who definitely remembered him. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling the scars on his bald head. A side effect of the cryogenic process, he had opted to have it all simply removed, instead of worrying about cutting or keeping it in order. Star Swirl bowed before the diarchy in front of them, Brightstone throwing up a quick human-style salute before the two spoke. “Captain Brightstone, Star Swirl. Walk with us.” Brightstone silently complied, not very willing to push the point that, yes, he had done his job, and while there had been a cock-up at the end, it had not been entirely his fault. Considering the angry glares he was getting from Celestia, he believed it to be a rather unimportant point, considering that he had failed to keep his presence a secret. “C-Captain. I-I remember w-what you did to me,” Luna stammered as she looked back, her fear evident, as well as the exact same injury she had almost died from before – the broken wing that had not healed during her imprisonment on the lunar surface. He was still not apologizing for defending himself, and while Celestia understood his point of view on the matter, he had not actually been forgiven for accidentally unleashing the nightmare on all of them. He lifted his helmet from his belt, rubbing each piece he had recovered and rebuilt, from the old UEC Navy radio headset to the tinted faceplate designed to hide his face behind a swirling pattern. He tossed it over in his hands, rolling it from one to the other while deciding what to say to Luna, his expression saying far more than he expected when Celestia coughed. “Sister, the human isn’t as… concise with words when it comes to ponykind than when it came to his own crew. However, his machine, designation Unit 27, was instrumental in making sure we didn’t do anything too… crazy.” Luna smiled, but faltered when she looked back at the human. His eyes were shadowed as he looked away. “I’m not going to fully be able to explain what I did. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to ever. But where to start? I was a Captain in the Union of Earth’s Colonies, or UEC. I was fighting for my life when I arrived near this world. Originally, I had thought our drift charts had been corrupted, and that we had floated too far off-course after Emergence into Realspace-” “E-Emergence..? Reals-space?” Some of her fear was gone, as when he had started to talk about terms she was unfamiliar with, she started to pay attention, letting down some of her apprehension. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Princess, you’ve got a thousand years of technology and history to catch up on,” Brightstone answered, rummaging around in a pouch on his opposite side before retrieving his own dataslate, letting her grip it gingerly in her etheric field. “Starting with the fact that my vessel, the Indomitable, was a Void-Striker ship. A Void-Striker is using the STRYKE-5 Void Drive, a Faster than Light device capable of cutting through the interstellar void at immense speeds. Far faster than the Warp Gate travel used by most Messier-83 species. Most of the information you want is on the database on that slate I gave you. It’s not much, but hopefully you can at least not be so damn scared of me.” He matched his pace to theirs, keeping his hands clenched in a trained memory of the time he lost over a millennium before. Marching was still almost second-nature to him, but everything around him still screamed out to run and take cover. Every single nook and cranny could contain- “T-Thank you, Captain. I-I’m not sure I can f-forgive you, but we might be able to at least w-work together.” Brightstone silently nodded and followed. Crates and metal storage boxes were stacked as Cradle agents swarmed everywhere, Changelings, Gryphons and Ponies all cooperating in the old spirit of the Coalition. It made him hurt deep when he saw it, as it reminded him that he had almost ended all of that. He stopped as he realized he had slowed to a crawl before halting, and he could feel a single tear fall down his cheek as he remembered incredibly vividly the enemy the UEC had faced. He sniffed, taking a seat on a nearby crate as he looked down. As he let the tears fall, he saw a pink-colored hoof offer itself to him. Lifting his head, he brought his gaze into the eyes of Agent Pinkamena, her eyes full of understanding. “The Princesses are waiting for you at the rail network. We’ve all got a job to do, remember? I’m sorry, Captain. We get the job done, and we do what we have to, and afterwards, if we have the time, we can grieve quietly for those we lost. Come on.” He nodded, standing and almost stumbling after her as the weight of everything he had ignored crashed down on him once more. --------//|0|\\-------- “The train was built here only about fifty years ago, Luna. It’s a more protected and efficient way to get around than the dropship the human favours so much, and we can ride in relative comfort. It’s a technology from the archives known as a ‘Bullet Train’…” Brightstone listened to Celestia prattle on about the train they sat on, realizing he had barely thought about anything since the mission had ended. Since it was not actually his mission, he realized that Star Swirl had been accountable, and he did not want the cyber pony to take the heat for the issues he had caused himself. Looking around, he nodded at several Cradle soldiers who sullenly nodded back. He understood they were the descendants of the ones who had been accidentally baked to bone by the landing thrusters from the Indomitable. There was the second item on his list of ‘Things I Will Never Be Forgiven For.’ “Captain, you seem pensive. Penny for your thoughts?” Brightstone looked up to see Unit 27, his ship’s former SIP android, taking a seat and tapping various symbols on its own dataslate. “Equestrian history. The amount of historical sanitation that was precipitated by our own arrival is rather extensive. I am working on repairing actual events to allow for Sentient Luna to integrate the information more appropriately into her organic memory matrix.” It lifted its head, the single set of 3 red cameras glowing as they acknowledged her, tapping a few symbols as it returned to its study. ‘NOW ARRIVING – EQUESTRIAN BORDER, HUNTER’S FALL STATION.’ He sighed. In the time it had taken to acknowledge Unit 27’s statement, they were almost a third of the way through their journey. Leaning back, he looked up at the ceiling, wishing he could sleep, but he knew he would see everyone’s faces again if he did. Conversations melted together until one piqued his interest. “’The War Games were an interstellar competition designed to remove the need for war from the warring species of the Milky Way galaxy, the birthplace of the human species known as Terrans. The Martians, the offshoot species of humans descended from the first colonists, are more effective traders, brokers and scientists than their Terran counterparts.’ The history of these War Games intersects almost directly with our own, does it not, dear sister?” The War Games? During his time, when his ship had arrived on Equus, he had heard rumours of a galaxy-wide competition, but he had never come across any of the ships supposedly a part of it. Not even the Osiris, which an ancestor of his had apparently commanded. A dataslate was slid into his hands, with Unit 27 standing up to walk away. “You will find the data on the War Games most interesting, Captain.” With that, the android walked away down the bullet train’s length, leaving Brightstone to familiarize himself with the history he knew he was missing. --------//|0|\\-------- 4308 AD – Luna’s Cradle, Equus ‘NOW ARRIVING AT LUNA’S CRADLE STATION – TERMINUS.’ Brightstone jolted awake, not even realizing he had fallen asleep as he lifted his head from where he had been drooling on the armrest. Celestia, Luna, and Unit 27 had already disembarked from the train, leaving him the sole occupant of the cabin. Stretching, he stood, staring at the door as it hissed open. Considering everything that had happened, he felt a sort of camaraderie with them, their ingenuity only limited by their limited grasp on scientific theory and advanced metallurgy, among other things. He stepped out to a simple ramp with an elevator, the whispers of the wind barely felt at the depth he assumed he stood at. He slowly made his way forward, checking for anyone else. Discovering that he was, in fact, alone, he sighed, and seated himself on a nearby metal crate, looking at the bare-bones scaffolding across each gap he saw. The metal was rough, sand-worn, and the desert above, the one he had become rather familiar with, after he had been retrieved from his stasis chamber and forced to confront what he had done. While it had hurt, it made enough sense. Force a guilty party to acknowledge the act they had committed, and in most cases, if their mind had no other choice except to accept that they had committed such a heinous act. Its simplicity was only withheld by the simple fact that it often was not very effective if the person believed the act they had committed was the only correct choice to make, or if they were a tried-and-true sociopath. Considering he had never tested positive on Sociopath examinations, he was more certain that he had learned from his mistake. Mistakes in war often end in mass bloodshed, and he knew that better than anyone. “Captain Brightstone, sir!” Brightstone looked over to see a rather shadowy-coloured equine approaching him. The badge on its uniform marked it as a “Corporal, Grade 2,” while the name-tag stated its name as Flintlock. As it – he, he corrected himself, as the voice appeared to be male – came to a stop, he threw up a hasty salute at Brightstone, who returned it, nodding. “I’m going to guess you’re here to lead me to the meeting hall?” Flintlock motioned for him to follow, not responding as he led Brightstone to the elevator, sliding a keycard into an awaiting slot. With a rumble and a shake, the resistant platform shifted upwards, the slow climb punctuated by occasional creaking as the sand-blasted metal grew in shade from its dark gray counterparts below to a much more polished, shining metal near the top. The sun peaked over the distant metal Auto-Walls, the defenses in permanent ‘Activation’ after a bad test of the Kepler’s matter-antimatter reactor had, unfortunately, shorted out the activation-response system for the Auto-Wall defensive circuits. He was about to ask a question when a loud rumbling started to vibrate the ground. Brightstone flashed a quick smile, as he could discern, along with any human familiar with the sounds of heavy vehicles, the tones of caterpillar tracks on packed ground. It was a soothing sound for the human, and even more so when Flintlock looked down at his foreleg, scrolling through a dataslate that flipped up from a gauntlet he was wearing. “Ah, they’re testing the Manticore AMR-X1 Tank-” Brightstone had to stop him to ask a quick question, looking up at the vehicle that was rumbling past. “That’s the-” “The Manticore Assault Mobile Reaction Tank. The name’s still in the works, but everypony thinks it looks like a Manticore, so the name stuck.” Brightstone gazed upon the vehicle, and he immediately understood why the name had stuck. Twin cannons resting on the rear of the vehicle were attached to a spine-mounted turret with a good 360 degrees of coverage, from what Brightstone could tell. Sloped armor covered each wide track, the vehicle sitting shoulders above the ponies, but around twice the height of himself. As the elevator ground to a halt, he stepped forward to the parked vehicle, letting his hand run along the rough metal. As an experimental vehicle, it had not had the time of the Cradle Security Forces’ other vehicles, like their Outrider, a vehicle known for being almost impervious to the sandstorms that plagued the area. The twin cannons resting on top – he noted they appeared to be either a large-barreled tank cannon, or small-barreled howitzer – brought forth memories of the UEC Grizzly, a tank based on a similar design. The cannon was fixed on the Grizzly, a fact he had reminded his second-in-command multiple times aboard the Indomitable. A hatch opened on the rear, and smoke poured out, engineers coughing and dragging each other out before they waved at Brightstone, ponies with extinguishers spraying foam deep inside. “Guess it’s experimental for a reason, Flintlock,” Brighstone remarked. It was a fine piece of engineering, but it was definitely not ready for full field-testing, no matter what the ponies decided. Flintlock shrugged, using a more human-style gesture rather than the odd head-bob he had normally seen as their ‘shrug.’ “Meeting Hall’s on the far side of the testing grounds. Might want to keep your head down, just in case of stray rounds.” Nodding silently, Brightstone kept pace with Flintlock, the smaller Corporal leading him quickly through the area. --------//|0|\\-------- “… and the fusion reaction is still too far below our needs. The main fusion plants we devised, of course, before the introduction of the Magicite compound created by the Development Sector. Magical crystal mined from underneath the Canterlot Bullet Terminus has allowed for a more stable fusion reaction. We are not even close to the technology level required for a stable matter-antimatter exchange, but in short, we have the ability to power some new vehicles we are designing. Basing our estimates off of the data on power distribution contained inside the Kelper’s databanks, we estimate that the power production capabilities of the new Magicite Fusion Generators we are currently prototyping will exceed the registered power output of a Zaitsev Class 5 Fusion Drive. The Gryphons have expertly agreed to our proposal to install it on their prototype vessel, the Bastion. They are waiting to unveil it until after we’ve decided, and I quote, ‘to get off our pony asses and get the damn Battle Fortress flying again.’” The meeting was in full swing by the time Brightstone entered. Star Swirl was already having one of his research team explain some new tech they were developing – despite everything that he had seen, and some of the more… warring cultures that existed, the ponies were more focused on energy distribution and medical technologies rather than on any of the weapons or vehicles he knew the database contained. It spoke to their altruism that they considered those two things their priority, as the advanced medicine of the Battle Fortress – the database had determined the Kepler as a Wyvern-class Battle Fortress, essentially a converted Colony Conveyor/Bioship – had kept a lot of the CSF alive during their training exercises in the deep desert. Despite their less-than-warlike appearance, the ponies were nothing short of impressive when it came to adapting their strategies to their new technologies. One such technology had been the caterpillar track, or tank tread. Equipping a majority of vehicles with it – minus the buggy-like Outrider – had made their vehicle technology skyrocket in terms of capability. Most of their vehicles, of course, were troop or medical transports, but the Manticore had been something of a welcome surprise as more Gryphon and Minotaur scientists and engineers entered into the Cradle’s employ. Officially, of course, they had simply taken high-paying government jobs within the Equestrian ruling body to further their own nations’ aims; in truth, they had accepted without hesitation, as it put them at the true cutting edge of development and application. Star Swirl had a Research Sector of almost 1000 scientists as well, which Brightstone mentally noted. The Sector was separated out by project, with multiple teams often working on the prototyping of multiple projects at once. Staring out the window from the meeting hall, he could see several starting their testing phase, including what appeared to be a more advanced automatic weapon compared to the semi-automatic weapons the CSF had been using since Luna’s banishment. The magazine on it, of course, was rather boxy, and was attached, in fact, to a heavy vest secured tightly onto the back of a Minotaur. It functionally resembled an ancient weapon he remembered as the Maschinegewehr 1942, or MG42, an Earth weapon from the long-since collapsed Germany, during one of that planet’s 7 world wars. A belt-feed wound around the Minotaur’s arm and locked underneath an impressively robust slide. With a heavy-handed yank of the cocking handle, they pulled the trigger, tracers spitting out in purple flashes coinciding with the slight magical contamination present in all of the Equestrian’s gunpowder. However, unlike previous weapons tests where the firearm in question detonated the rounds down the chain after overheating, the weapon appeared to not even get close to warm, minus the barrel glowing orange. He had to stop himself from clapping before he turned and came face-to-face with Celestia and Luna, who both had eyebrows cocked in an inquisitive expression. Brightstone motioned to the research floor, moving his arms wide. “I’m still impressed by the work all of you are doing here. Humanity learned all of this over a longer period of time, sure – we had to learn how to not kill each other, of course – but the speed at which your species has not just learned, but improved a majority of the technology – if only because the materials to improve said technology are only naturally occurring on this planet – it’s almost mind-boggling. The Iiaynsin are the only other race I have ever seen to be even close to being able to match your prowess, and they’re a bunch of cold, calculating bastards. Sure, as soldiers, they can shoot an enemy without even looking due to their impressive battlefield knowledge, but as people? I’d rather be shot in the back than socialize with them.” Brightstone looked out at the floor before holding up his hands in a gesture of mirth. “Sorry, forgot a lot of you don’t get human humour still. A lot is paralleled, but stuff like that, well, you have to be in those wars for the joke to make sense.” He shrugged his shoulders, grimacing as he watched the two sisters glance at each other. He turned away and started to walk before he felt something tugging on his uniform’s synthmesh outer layer. Shifting around, he looked to see Luna tugging tightly with her hooves, her wings balancing her weight as she pulled him back. “Please, don’t l-leave. I do have to apologize for mine own actions during the encounter we had so long ago, though they're p-partially due to you. You’ve a-already apologized for y-yours, and a grudge w-would only make a working relationship impossible,” Luna stammered, her fear still evident at the human who did, in fact shoot her, but he could read an understanding in her eyes that he had never fully seen within his Commodore’s eyes. Celestia could be pretty cold at times, he had discovered, and when it came to apologies, she was far from perfect. Luna, however, seemed to understand why, even if she did not want to accept it for now. It was progress, and he was willing to accept. “Commander, I have nowhere else to go. The Union, even if it still exists today, would not even recognize me or my ship. Too many years have passed since then, which renders me a non-entity in their eyes. I quite literally don’t exist as far as they are concerned. There is something we’ve been working on, though, that might interest you. Especially seeing as that wing is still...” He trailed off as he bit his lip, trying to think of the best way to approach the subject before Celestia cut him off, pressing her wing over her sister as she moved towards the door, shooting a dirty look at Brightstone before he could gather his thoughts. “The Engineering Sector has made some impressive progress in regards to a newer technology we have been able to access in the database. I’m sure you will find it of due interest, sister...” Their voices faded away as Brightstone returned his attention to the proving grounds below, watching a pony strapped into a new harness device – a large company in the Cradle, Coltfield, had been instrumental in the evolution and adaptation of the weapons harness program for their firearms – and locked a much more robust rifle than he had expected into the control casing hooked to one side. A magazine was loaded into the top, with a Minotaur slapping the top to engage the magazine catch. The trigger mechanism was wired to the bit-grip, and with a nod, the other scientists disengaged from around the pony testing the weapon, covering their faces in case of any accidents. With a heavy burst of shells, the target dummy was destroyed, and the recoil had forced the pony backwards a good 2 meters. Smiling, he turned to see a large Minotaur waiting for him at the doorway. “Iron Will, I presume? Your work with the new weapon harnesses has been instrumental to their adaptation to more improved materials. Did you get the geological survey data I requested?” “Iron Will has the documents for you, Captain! Someone as assertive as yourself would not be happy if it were not done within the appropriate time table-” Brightstone put his hand up before covering his face. From Iron Will’s perspective, it looked like he was exasperated, but in truth, Brightstone was concealing the need to giggle at the ridiculousness of Iron Will’s speech. Sure, the Minotaur had his quirks and his failings, but he was a damn good engineer, and one of their most prized associates. Putting aside his esoteric eccentricities, Iron Will had redesigned the Coltfield Weapon Harness that had been in use for almost 1000 years – even Brightstone was surprised by the amount of time the harness had existed. The harness’ new iteration, the Coltfield Multi-Weapon Harness, had been devised from a few technologies many others had simply lost interest in, technologies which suited Iron Will’s purposes perfectly. Non-standard methods aside, Brightstone had a decent camaraderie with Iron Will, with the few times he had interacted with the Minotaur. He had met the Minotaur’s extended clan during one of those times, which did include a rather robust Minotaur by the name of Wreck. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he tried to mentally delete that particular memory. Taking the documents from Iron Will, he held out his hand, shaking the Minotaur’s outstretched paw in a gesture of goodwill, nodding as the large mammal lumbered his way out of the room. As he opened the folder to flip through the pages within, the building began to shake and rumble, a loud droning noise seemingly disrupting his own thoughts. Sighing, he closed the folder, slid it underneath his left arm, and drew his sidearm, checking the magazine out of habit. --------//|0|\\-------- Brightstone let his eyes readjust to the blinding light outside as he exited the main Research and Development building – the eponymous Meeting Hall he had been told about was simply just a boardroom, he mused to himself – and looked skyward to see something more akin to the technology of his fellow man rather than that of the equine nation. Far above his head, a massive aircraft lowered itself until four dropships disconnected from the underside, landing in hastily-designated landing zones that were still being erected when they touched down. Small amounts of sand were rendered into glass by the heat from the VTOL engines, thrown like molten bullets at anyone around as the turbines whined to a stop. Holstering his sidearm, Brightstone called over a Gryphon assistant who was milling around, and handed off the folder. “I’ve got to take care of this, but make sure you get this folder to Star Swirl. Make certain he is aware of everything, and alert the local- forget the second part, but those documents need to be delivered to him post-haste. Seen?” Brightstone stared at the Gryphon with a questioning gaze before they nodded quickly and quietly, and took to the sky. Turning his attention back to the landed aircraft, he stared as the ramps descended, and a group of six ponies tentatively left the vehicle, their bodies wrapped in the khaki uniform common to those first visiting the Cradle. He sighed, coming to attention when Celestia and Luna both exited from the Meeting Hall, laughing and giggling. Saluting his commanding officers, he stood to the side, making sure that the new group of beings present were aware just who was in charge. “P-Princess C-Celestia?” A purple unicorn – Brightstone remembered her, he and Star Swirl had been assigned to make sure that Luna’s purification went off properly; he recalled the first part of her name, ‘Twilight’ - stepped carefully down the dropship’s landing ramp, staring wide-eyed at everything around her. Her friends were just as skittish, letting their unfortunate, erstwhile leader take the first steps into a world which, according to the expressions he saw on their faces, might as well have been an alien planet. Coming from a world powered by magic and simple technologies, the Cradle must have seemed almost completely unnatural. But she stared at the CSF soldiers marching on drill, Gryphon and Minotaur engineers working on various equipment, from the Outrider Scout Buggy to the prototype Manticore – she swore she saw smoke pouring out of the rear of the latter, and a strange metal canister being used to dissipate the fire inside – and she quietly stared, wide-eyed in shock, at her mentor. “Commodore, I believe a round of explanations are in order… as well as maybe getting them in out of the sun. I sincerely doubt they have ever seen something quite like this in their entire lives.” Celestia turned to Brightstone, about to reprimand him, when Luna piped up, stepping forward. “Sister, as is my right, I am assuming command of the Cradle once more. Simply put, you were always better at keeping the royal court in check, while I have been more focused on our advancement.” Brightstone and Twilight both stared at Luna, her smile belying the true nature of why she was taking the reins back. Sure, her sister had managed it in her absence – an absence which had partially been caused by her sister, and partially due to Brightstone’s actions during a war – but there were many items on her docket, and she seemed to feel she was ready to take on the mantle once more. “I will take them to the Meeting Hall and give them the explanation… as well as an offer.” “An offer, Luna?” “Since there are multiple accounts of a strange device in my possession – I do apologize for that, but you did force my hand, dear sister – I think we need to figure out a plan of action. Also, did you not have an assignment for your dear protege here?” Celestia stumbled over her words as Luna stuck her tongue out, reinforcing the point that they were not just the diarchy, they were also siblings. Giving her sister the dirtiest ‘I-will-make-your-life-a-nightmare’ look she could muster, Celestia withdrew a dataslate from her uniform, Twilight’s eyes bugging out from her head as she watched her mentor tap on a seemingly thin plane of glass, and pull up a document. “There, sister. You’ve been reinstated as the Commander of the Cradle-” “Luna’s Cradle, sister. It was named after me, if you remember?” Leaving her sister’s side, Celestia trotted over to one of the dropships, stepping inside and taking a seat. As the ramp raised and locked into place, Luna could have sworn that she saw her sister smile in pride at her younger sibling, as if she was impressed that she could allow her sister to do the job she had agreed to all those years ago. Luna smiled thinly, remembering that there certainly was plenty of explanations, including why she was the head of an installation that produced and researched advanced technology. --------//|0|\\-------- After six hours, two meal breaks, and a host of powerpoints, lectures and documents, coupled with the commandeering of a windowless conference room, Luna collapsed backwards into a chair that had been originally from the Kepler’s command center, but had been refitted for her personal use. Exhaustion crept at the outer edges of her vision as she looked at Twilight, her sister’s dear student, with pleading eyes that she and her friends understand what was happening in front of them. One stared at her with knowing eyes, keeping the steady gaze of a career soldier focused on Luna- “You, pink one. Service number and rank!” Twilight and her other friends jumped as Pinkie Pie stood at attention and saluted Luna, her reactions seemingly second-nature. “Ma’am! A71461, Specialist Grade 2, Cradle Special Forces, Pinkamena Diane Pie. On loan to Celestia from the Cradle’s main training program for-” She stopped quickly, realizing what was going on, and glaring at Luna. Luna bit her lip in thought as Twilight and the others stared down Pinkie, their eyes a mix of anger, confusion and disappointment. As they all regained their composure, one of the others – the orange one, Luna reminded herself, that was named Applejack – spoke slowly, as if she was re-learning how to sound out her words. “Sugarcube… ya mean t’ say that you were fixin’ on keepin’ this here place from us, and you were just gonna keep on lyin’ to us?!” Her voice’s volume increased with each word, until she was nearly shouting down the pink pony. Luna knew anger like it was an old friend, and while Applejack was angry, she was not one to hold a grudge – as far as the information she had was concerned. Considering that it had realistically only been a couple of days since the incident in what remained of the Everfree Forest, near the sisters’ old castle, she did not expect Twilight to have much of a reaction, but Twilight pulled in a breath, breathed out slowly, and screamed. Not a scream of anger, or of terror, it was simply an animalistic screech of confusion, rage, and a confluence of multiple emotions occurring all at once. Everyone present simply dropped their jaws at the sheer volume of the noise, wincing in pain until she stopped. “Twilight, darling...” “Rarity, don’t. Just don’t. We’ve been fed a lie, almost our entire lives! The history of Equestria, the history of Nightmare Moon, and even the random goings on in this world, all of it can be tied to this place! All of it! I’m not sure whether to pass out or scream again! Gah!” Twilight slammed her head on the table, mumbling and intermittently sobbing as the information processed. Luna winced again at her reaction, glancing around for anything that might let her out of the situation. Pinkie was being grilled for information by the cerulean pegasus – Rainbow Dash, Luna recalled - Applejack was trying to get Twilight to snap out of her funk, and Rarity seemed more interested in the uniform she had been given rather than the current situation. The only one that had been continuously reading had been the pegasus with the cream-yellow coat – Fluttershy, if Luna’s memory served correctly; her sister had given her an unfortunately quick briefing before they all landed. Pushing herself out from the comfort of her chair, she slowly made her way around the table, standing next to Fluttershy and trying to figure out what she was most interested in. Luna was about to speak when Fluttershy turned and planted a hoof on the table, pointing at a specific entry in the documents she had been given. Out of everything, from hydroponics, to massive power generators running on the energy that made stars work, and even advanced transportation, the one thing that the pegasus had focused one was something that made Luna smile, because from all the information she had been given, Fluttershy had homed in on the one thing that her talent – Nurturing, as far as Celestia had been able to discern and tell Luna – most resonated with. “P-Princess? Advanced medicine? W-what does that entail… unless it’s too much of a problem, I can just go and-” Luna wrapped her working wing around the pegasus, beaming in pride as she felt her own apprehension somewhat dissipate as she smiled down at Fluttershy. “My dear subject, while this installation may be considered a place where shadows dare to tread, I do believe that our pharmaceutical researchers would very much like to give you a tour-” The doors to the conference room opened, revealing Unit 3 and Star Swirl holding multiple documents. Star Swirl looked around and slowly began to back out, but unfortunately, he was not fast enough, as a certain purple unicorn raised her head at that moment, and took in his form. In all of his years as the mind behind the Cradle, in each small skirmish, and even during the Seven Day War, he had never witnessed any pony move quite as fast as Twilight had. Her eyes checked every detail, cataloged every single servo, wire and coil that made up his cybernetics, and sat down quickly, her jaw seeming to want to defy physics and slam into the ground. “S-Star Swirl t-the Bearded?” Star Swirl’s eyes went wide as he realized the predicament he had arrived in, and started to backpedal quickly, but not fast enough. He was quickly pushed to the table as Twilight snatched a notebook from the table in an etheric field, flipping through it quickly to make sure that it was empty. Satisfied that it was, she levitated a pencil to the page she was on, and grinned with an increasingly predatory expression. “Miss…?” “Tell. Me. Everything.” While Star Swirl stammered through Twilight’s questions, the others – Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity, mostly – silently made their way out through the doorway, stepping into the corridor as Luna nodded to Pinkie, closing the doors as she retreated as well. “That was… intense.” Luna’s eyes met with the human’s, watching as he stood there tapping away on a dataslate. He had traded out his synthmesh camouflage uniform for a thicker combat suit, the armor plates visible through the tightly woven fabric. “I was given prior warning that her student could be… unhinged and rather one-track-minded when it came to her biggest hero. Ma’am, I watched the entirety of it through the cameras, don’t worry. However, now that I am standing here, I think I need to introduce myself, and give some background on what you are seeing here.” “My name is Captain Jeremy Brightstone of the Union of Earth’s Colonies cruiser Indomitable. I’ve been here far less time than this massive wreck, but the ship is not as damaged as it appears. This vessel – a Battle Fortress known as the Kepler – crashed here during her last Conquest Battle almost 1600 years ago. That time frame is… more or less accurate, seeing as Unit 3 has conveniently extricated itself from this group. Anyways, the Kepler was forced to crash-land into this desert, its creation which I believe Luna here can explain far better than I am able to. Shielded pylons still remain at the outer edges, but that’s not the most important part of this entire explanation.” He sighed, placing a small disk on the ground, and tapping a few icons on his dataslate. The disk sprang to life, creating a massive holographic display, detailing out various chemical compounds and alloys. Rainbow Dash swept her hoof through the light, watching it distort slightly as she continued. Brightstone sighed, pulling out two badges. “The Janus Planetary Accord was the major player 1000 years ago – no, I’m not actually that old, I spent most of a criminal sentence during that time in cryogenic suspension. The UEC sent myself and a dozen cruisers to at least make contact here in M83, coming from a distant galaxy. My crew commandeered the JPA cruiser Indomitable – the very ship I mentioned earlier. But I can explain my own personal history at a later date. This-” he brought up a large diagram of a plate of metal, the metallurgical information detailing out each part, “is selenium alloy. Almost all of the current space-faring vessels are reinforced with this material. It is essentially a titanium-tungsten alloy compounded with selenium-strengthened steel, but the selenium used in the process has to be of such a pure concentration that only M83 – that’s your galaxy, by the way – has the purest veins of selenium. The metal sulfides that contain this element, when refined, allow for a metal plating that is lighter than Dura-Tanium, the main titanium-tungsten alloy used in most warships, but far stronger and resilient. This alloy can only be produced in M83, and that’s where your world, and planets like yours, come in-” Luna coughed, signaling Brightstone to finish his explanation before he got too into it. Even though he was a soldier, Celestia had mentioned that Brightstone’s mind was one of the most impressive she had ever seen, comparable to Star Swirl’s, in a way. However, like most brilliant beings, his own explanations did tend to get away from him, but she did have another reason to stop him when she did. Walking away, she heard him quickly finish up. “All of that being correct, I believe we had something to show you all. Considering today is most likely going to either go one of two ways, Luna may be willing to wait in the underground shelter we have constructed-” Luna stopped walking, flipping around quickly. Her mane flowed quickly, her eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. “Brightstone, what is going on?” Luna could swear she felt the human’s smile even though he was straight-faced, as he announced to her information that was a long time coming, according to himself and the ones who had told him. The Gryphon assistant from earlier came speeding down the corridor, quickly handing off the folder Brightstone had given them before to Luna before continuing quickly. Opening the folder, Luna glanced quickly at the information contained within, her eyes widening as she realized what each data point entailed. “You’re serious. You are actually being serious, Captain.” “Well, you’ve got all the data there, and while she’s not fully spaceworthy – what with the several hundred holes to vacuum from the crash, the new Magitech Fusion Plants that need to be fully integrated, and the fact that we’re just getting access to the manufacturing sections – I think you’ll be pleased with the results, ma’am.” Luna snapped the folder shut, staring at Brightstone. “What do you mean, Captain? What will I be pleased with?” “The Kepler is ready to launch into low orbit whenever you command.”