//------------------------------// // Chapter 41: A New Plan // Story: A Forgotten Trooper // by TheIronPone035 //------------------------------// Princess Celestia set the tea cup she was holding in her magic down on a coaster on a table, before glancing over at Fluttershy, who was sitting in silence on the green couch in the living room. "So, that is what awaits us beyond the stars?" Princess Celestia asked, returning her gaze to Strider, who was sitting on a wooden stool on the other side of the small table. "Correct, the only option the galactic senate had left was war." Strider proclaimed. Princess Celestia glanced out the window and towards the blue sky, wondering just how close this war was. The second Strider had said war, the Alicorn knew that the peaceful days of Equus were now possibly numbered. "I guess she had fought for nothing..." Princess Celestia mumbled, still staring out the window. "She?" Princess Celestia broke her gaze from the window and levitated something from under her left wing. She set down a very old piece of paper with several faded symbols scattered about. But one symbol instantly caught Strider's eye. The trooper picked up the piece of paper and looked at the symbol closely. The symbol showed two large wings surrounding a line in the middle which curved slightly at the top, all within a small black circle. "That's the symbol of the Old Republic..." Strider stated. "This is a signed agreement between Ancient Equus and your Old Republic. All I could figure out was that some sort of stalemate happened between us and you which led to Equus being shielded off from the galaxy. The final parts claim that a spell like no other had been casted, making Equus vanish from any forms of radar or visual sight." Princess Celestia Exclaimed. "Must be one crazy cloaking spell, this should be impossible. Yet again, I didn't exactly believe in magic but I'm surrounded by-" Strider's words stopped in their tracks when a realization suddenly flashed into his mind. How would the Republic be able to find him if the planet he was on was basically invisible to everything. Even though his expression was hidden behind his helmet, Princess Celestia seemed to notice the shock flowing through the trooper. "Strider?" What was he gonna do? The only way for him to notify the Republic on where he was would be by telling them, but he didn't have any type of communicator that would be able to reach them. He didn't have a ship either to break through the atmosphere. Wait... Strider looked down at the paper, the Old Republic symbol sticking out from the others. If this planet had been a war zone for the Republic, then they should have built a base somewhere. Maybe they left a ship behind! Even if they didn't then surely they would have equipment in the base that he could use to make a new communicator! "Princess Celestia, do you know about any sort of Old Republic bases that might have been built here?" Strider questioned. Princess Celestia put a hoof to her chin, going deep into thought. When she was done, she just shook her head. "Sorry Strider, but this whole war was completely ghosted from any of our history records." Princess Celestia stated. Hmm, guess he'll have to go with plan B. The rest of the conversation was mainly about the Republic, the Separatists, and the Clone Wars. Princess Celestia was very good at hiding it, but after each battle Strider listed, the more worry came to her mind. Fluttershy had departed from the room, not wanting to hear about the horrific actions going on right above the planet. Once the seemingly hour long conversation finally came to an end, Princess Celestia stood up, locking eyes with Strider through his helmet's visor. "Thank you for your answers. I believe Equestria is going to have a lot to think about." Princess Celestia proclaimed. The Alicorn trotted over to the front door, opened it, and exited the cottage. She gave a nod to the guards standing next to the door and they followed her towards the chariot she had arrived on. As the pegasus guards hooked themselves up to the front of the chariot, Princess Celestia looked back at Strider who had approached her. "I'm going to bring this up with my sister and the Equestrian Counsel. I trust my faithful student on her word that you will not attack any of my little ponies." Princess Celestia stated. Strider simply gave the Alicorn a salute, before standing back from the chariot. Princess Celestia waited until he was far enough away before turning to face the Pegasus captain that had accompanied her on this trip. "Make sure to keep a hoof full of guards on watch. I know I should trust my student with her claim, but I also still have my suspicions on him." Princess Celestia whispered to the Captain, who nodded before trotting over to the group of guards standing by for his command. It didn't take long after before the guards took off with the chariot and passenger and began the trip back to Canterlot. Several of the other guards followed the chariot, but a few broke off and went towards Ponyville. Strider paid no mind to them, instead focusing on the pile of rubble that used to be the Gunship. The Trooper went over to the broken ship and began pushing chunks of metal out of the way as he approached the remains of the cockpit. He climbed up into the pilot's seat and began flipping switches, seeing if any sort of power had survived. After a few minutes of button pressing and flipping switches, a faint green glow emerged from the center monitor. The monitor was flickering badly and half of it was darker than the other, but it was still on, and that was enough for Strider to grin. With a few pulled switches, the monitor displayed a faint outline of Equus. A single yellow line slowly moved across the screen, passing over the image and causing a few yellow spots to appear around the planet. Once the yellow line reached the other end of the monitor, Strider pressed a button which shut off the monitor and transported the scan to a control panel. Strider reached into his pocket and retrieved the holoprojector and used a set of wires to attach it to the control panel. He flipped a switch and watched as a faint glow flew through the control panel, through the wires, and into the holoprojector. Once it was done, he retrieved the holoprojector and allowed the rest of the power in the cockpit to drain out. "Alright, i've got a map of possible locations for a G.A.R. base," Strider told himself as he activated the holoprojector, showing the hologram of Equus and the highlighted spots that had been marked by the Gunship. "now how do I get there..."