//------------------------------// // Act III, Chapter 11: Touchdown // Story: Of Starships and Golden Armors // by Devona //------------------------------// "Bring them out! Bring them out!" Cloud Haze has never felt more happy in his life. "Bring them out! Bring bipeds out!" No, not happy. More... fulfilled. "What do we demand?" "Publicity of actions!" A roaring crowd responded, and Canterlot's streets rumbled. "What do we ask for!?" "Transparency of the government!" The mass of ponies cried, shaking the very air, the massive sea of heads covering all the streets and spaces surrounding the glistening spires of Canterlot's Royal Castle. Cloud Haze smirked. Never before had he felt such accomplishment. Such energy! Neither he, nor anyone from the Lair of Knowledge, and yet, it was him whose skills from the time in the EUP made him the protest leader. "Now, everyone! Repeat after me!" he shouted, his megaphone shaking in his magical grip. "Gather up the rubble burning with white radience! We all know all too well, that you're holding aliens!" Celestia's trek through the Castle was an... intriguing one. Shaken by the protests outside, the first in centuries, all throughout the building EUP Guards were running and regrouping in a hurry. Soon enough, the spatious halls became nearly deserted, and quiet like a squirrel's hollow in winter. Only once in a while did a Guard run here or there maybe, trying to find their way to the putside, none even paying attention to the majestic figure stepping forth through the Castle yards. Nor did she really mind the Guards, currently organised by Captain Shining. No, now, a vastly more important matter awaited her; as Stanley notified, the hour was nearing. The hour of human diplomats finally setting their feet upon Equestrian lands. Not Griffon, not Zebrican, no... Equestrian. Haveing deemed the ponies as the prime power on the planet, it was precisely them the humans would be talking with. The fate of a billion beings now rested in Celestia's hooves, and her alone. Never before did she feel the gravity of her situation as clearly as now, but at the same time... Celestia was strangely, weirdly calm. She knew what awaited her, and it was nearly time... yes. Now... now, all that remained was trotting to the gardens and awaiting the arrival. As simple and as complicated as that might be. Celestia grimaced at the various thoughts forming inside her head. Was she really to help the humans...? Was she ready? Were the ponies... could she really-- No she thought to herself. Stop these thoughts, Tia! You cannot leave innocent creatures alone for demise! You swore and oath before yourself! Celestia shook her head, trying to cast the thoughts away, and continued to instinctively navigate the Castle's halls. This was no ordinary matter, no simple one indeed. It was somethig as complex as she was going to face... and now, indeed, she face it had to. She trotted, and trotted, and trotted, and with each step, a new idea was born, a new thought regarding the future, regarding her beloved Kingdom and subjects, regarding those sworn to protect her and not them only. And so, drowning in thoughts, he Princess walked forward... Suddenly, a big, brown shape painted itself in front of Celestia, just in time for the Princess to stop dead in her tracks before hitting it with her nuzzle. The door. The door to the Royal Gardens, right at the back of the Castle. The place of descent for the humans... the first extraterrestrial visitors Equis has ever had. In her imaginings, the Princess saw a secret garden, a place of idylls and universes away from what she knew; that place however, was only yet to arrive. And it was to be formed from the very Royal Gardens themselves, turned oh so alien with the aliens' arrival... hopefully, that is. Hopefully. Celestia blinked a few times, before finally pushing the door open. On the other side, the many bushes and hedges painted thmselves into exquisite shapes, surrounding the waiting delegation. Two regiments of Guards, one Solar and one Lunar, fidgeting slightly in glimmering light of the sun as they all faced North, awaiting something, anyhing, that could signal the humans arriving. On their left stood Stanley, clad in his black armor as usual, casually chatting with Princess Luna, who every so often took a while to reprimand a Guard or another. Celestia was the last to arrive. The silence was only broken by the rustling of trees; even the birds had disappeared. It was as if everything was awaiting the one moment. The crpwds on the streets, just on the other side of the high Garden walls, cried out ever louder, but not now; no, now, ironically so, their cries mixed so much with the eerie silence around that they seemed almost like just background noise. Approaching the talking pair, Celestia caught a glimpse from Stanley, who soon turned to fully face her. "Greetings, Princess," he bowed his head slightly, while Luna only nodded at her sister with a smile. "It seems our press conference will have to wait for a bit." "Are you glad, if I may ask?" the Princess responded with a question. "About the conference" "Oh, no, forgive me," Celestia began, but before she had a chance to finish, Luna interrupted. "I believe my sister means the arrival of thine kin," she said, sending the soldier a wink which meaning eluded Celestia. "Ah, of course," Stanley responded. "That I am, to be sure. You see, their arrival means more than simply a growth of our mutual relations. It-" "May I?" Selina interrupted, seemingly from thin air. "Oh, uh... of course, Sela" "Selina, dear friend of mine. You are not the Admiral yet, remember?" She said playfully, to which Stanley responded with a chuckle. Yet still, while she couldn't quite put a hoof on the reason, Celestia felt some tensation between the two... a tensation that had not been present before. Meanwhile, the AI continued. "Human arrival means the success of at least part of our offensive operations around the planet of Sazana. Our stronghold. Not to complicate things... otherwose, they couldn't have jumped into this system," Selina concluded, letting out a low satisfied groan, as if she felt proud of her demonstrated knowledge. "Yes, that was... useful, indeed," replied Stanley with a lightly annoyed grimace. "What, you think you could have done it better?" "Oh no, miss all-knowing computer. That for sure not. I do not deny," replied Stanley playfully, nodding his head to noone. Celestia however felt the the soldier's response held a double meaning. Selina meanwhile, simply chuckled. "You better not." Stanley sighed, shaking his head with a small smile while Luna evidently could not help but hold back a chuckle herself. Blinking a few times, Celestia finally interrupted the exchange. "I... see," she began simply. "Well, I think now we may-" "There!" A Guard suddenly exclaimed, drawing the attention of everypony and not minding how she interrupted the speaking Princess, which only betrayed how important the notice must've been. Shielding her eyes from blinding light, Celestia glanced upwards, follwing the Guard's hoof. Dot. Two dots. Three. Five. Bigger. Bigger and bigger. Squares. Shapes. Shapes, constantly realigning themselves on the night skies in a beautiful dance of harmony, without trying to stay hidden. Suddenly, a low hum filled the air as the shapes became more and more clear. Big squares, with triangles of sorts at the front and four big protrusions, one at each corner. Machines. In the middle of Celestia's frozen stare, only Stanley's laughter of joy could be heard, They have arrived. The transporters grew larger and larger, until finally, before the gathered knew it, they hovered above the Garden grounds. One after another, they gracefully landed, their four engines twisting and tilting with each smallest shift. Some parts gave a light grumble as they touched down on the soil, as if an older grandparent has finished a long walk. Finally, all vehicles gently sat on the ground. With a low hiss, without any fuss, a hatch of the middle machine gently swung open. After a few seconds of silently waiting, weird, untransparent smoke rose above the ponies' heads as three small figures jumped out of the machine. Without any warning though, with quick hand genstures, they spread out around the transporters, more silhouettes following suit, their rifles steady at the ready, each black head to toe in armor akin to Stanley's. Before the Princess knew it it, the whole perimeter was secured - not by hers, but human troops. The smoke cover gently flew, up and up again, to the clouds as more failed to be produced. Dispersing among the heavens, it gave light to two new figures, those ones different. Without armor, or at least any to be seen, and gentle in appearance. One small, puny even, with a wild smile and a warm cap on top, the other bigger, more muscular, with hair shredded as with a lawnmower and a posture of utter majesty. In unison, the two figures took a few steps forward, casting a small shadow on the pony horde. Stopping just in front of the Solar regiment, the bigger one, a man as Celestia assumed, cleared his throat. "May I?" he inquired, extending his hand to the Guard captain in an asking gesture. What took Celestia by surprise though, was something else. Yes, something else entirely... it was the man's lips that surprised her. Lips, which movements matched the words he was speaking. This figure was not using the tranlator tool she grew accustomed to with Stanley... no. This one... this one was acually speaking fluent Equestrian. The guard captain grimaced a bit with confusion, before ordering his regiment to line up behind him, making space for the human to cross and catching uncertain glimpses from the Lunar force in the process... a price to be paid for decisions in times such as this. The human however, minded not. With small, steady steps, he moved forward, his more energetic companion right behind him. Every step of his was regal, every with a purpose and a message as if sent. His grimace changed not from his platonic expression besides a few glances sideways and so, ears perked up at the sounds of the protests outside, undoubtedly already analyzing what they could mean for the whole endeavor. His companion though, she was a sharp opposite. Her steps were those of a careless girl, each a dance move of a gentle, smooth polonaise of its own. Glancing at her, one could feel the cheer and unspoken rhythm take them over as she raced forward with an expression of undying excitement. Finally, she stopped right after who Celestia assumed might've been her mentor as the bigger human grunted a few times once again. "Princess Celestia, I assume?" he pronounced carefully, extending his hand in a gesture similar to Stanley's ones. "William Moreson, Republic of Sol Diplomatic Corps," he grunted once again, before uttering a sentence which practically froze the blood in Celestia's veins. "By the Decree of the High Command, we are here now standing to negotiate an alliance with the Kingdom of Equestria." Huh. So they weren't going to be playing games. That... changed things, yes, it... They weren't going at all, huh...? ... Huh. Outside, cries of protest grew louder and louder, drowning out Celestia's hoofsteps echoing through the Castle's halls. Trotting forward, the Princess could not help but lose herself in thought. There was no possible way for her to outnegotiate the humans, those who sailed across the stars and fought a tide of world devourers to a painful, bloody standstill. No way to outtalk the gods, to outpoint the sovereigns of the midnight canvas itself. No purpose was there for her, none. Only bloodshed and death for her ponies while she lends help to those in need... To let die or to die herself, that is the question. To kill millions or let just her subjects die. Such is the nature of a game in which the only winning move is not to play. Such is the nature of defense, maybe even not as much against the Swarm as against the humans themselves... Celestia sook her head. No. Not them, they... were friendly... like Stanley... The Princess gazed forwards, briefly stopping in her tracks before resuming the trot. Why was she correcting herself? She still knew little about the situation, relatively little, that is... so why... was she already manipulated? If so, which thought are her own, and which implanted by forces malicious? Celestia's brow furled into a mild pout as she looked down towards the ground. What could she do...? Nothing... nothing. How to comsider if thine thoughts are not thine own? How to analyse when nothing is to be done about thine own state? Celestia shut her eyes, trying deeply to reorganise her thoughts... If the humans needed her help, she had some cards she could play. But not anymore if, as they did, they could take such help themselves should they so decide. And if their sitiation is as dire as it is... Help us, oh dear Sun, in this time of need. Celestia felt nothing, just freezing breeze as her blood ran cold, and the Princess mindlessly stepped forward, step after step. She felt nothing anymore, just cold, small resignation, overtaking and permeating her completely. What will be, will be. There was nothing she could do. "There are so many cards they can play..." Moreson grunted, putting down his suitcase in his temporary Castle quarters. Reaching out to his coat's pockets, he brought out a cigar, soon lighting it aflame, taking in the blissful smoke. "Oh? How so?" Jess' voice echoed through the spatious room as she tended to her own corner. "As far as I'm concerned, we are the interstellar empire which can blow up planets here. Unless..." she stopped for a second, glancing back at Moreson, her eyes growing wider. "Exactly," responded the man with a small, slightly satisfied grimace. "As far as we know, their capabilities can be however strong, they can!" Jess continued, to Moreson's continued nods. "But... there is a solution. Oh, despair not, my companion," she mimicked the man coming closer to him, with a grimace arrogant and full of self-satisfaction. "This facility we're in," she sat down on the floor, next to his body, facing him. Bending down slightly, she pounded on the room's floor a few times. Moreson stared blankly, his eyebrows turning into an impatient expression. "This whole Castle... none of them, probably none of the entire race, none of them know they could potentially checkmate us in negotiations. How desperate we are, and what we need. Their destruction suits nothing, we need their help. And for that... we need agreement. We need them to see our strength," she finished, looking back at her companion again, or rather, at the clouds of smoke he had just released. Moreson remained quiet, before chuckling quietly. "Oh, that much is obvious, Miss Kovertsson," he replied calmly, taking in more and more of the smoke. "That much is obvious indeed..." Negotiations began in earnest, in the very heart of the Kingdom of Equestria. The stained glass which normally shone with the light and magic of ten thousand stars was now dim and hollow, watching over the dreaded talks that commenced. And so, history was being written. For the humans, the history of but a pinprick, for the ponies, of their whole world. For the humans, the history of all the galaxy, for the ponies - the end of history. And yet, despite all the efforts at stealth, deception and cunning strategy, driving the talking parties furter apart, the outcome of the negotiations was clear all along. There was no other way this could end, besides a complete and total subjugation. ...or maybe, only the ponies thought so? After three days, the parties retreated back to their dorms with frustration, after four, they refused to rekindle their talks until the other showed proper honours. After five, little trust and good will was left between the two... Using the detailed data Stanley Martin had gathered allowed the humans to predict evey move the ponies would make... up to a point where more and more things started to be anomalies, proving the calculations wrong here and there; a precedent to be sure, and not a welcome one. And even still... what use would a strategy be if it was allowed to be discovered? "Listen up ladies, I need your magic. Give it up nicely, please... or we make things difficult," seeped Moreson through clenched teeth as his fist shook the table in the middle of the oh-so-royal throne room. Over the days, despite Jess' objections, he had developed a strategy of to-the-point threats, which only served to draw the parties even further apart. ...except for one, age old indigo Princess. A Princess who, despite all, still held trust in humanity... and somehow, felt she would do the same, behave like they do... be like them. Were they not threatened with total annihilation? Were they not on the brink of ended existence itself? No, there must be a way... a way to rekindle the sides, to have understanding take roots and blossom. But neither Princess Celestia, Mi Amore Candenza, or Princess Twilight agreed with her point. For them, despite fascination... the humans were becoming more and more of an enemy. Which only drove home another point... this was not beneficial for humanity, and they must've known it well. So... what had happened? Desperation must've taken roots, permeated humanity's hearts and minds. Desperation in the face of an enemy so powerful they stood no chance against it... and Luna saw it clearly. But was it not just because of how much she knew...? Of all the time she had spent with Stanley...? Was it just too much for her to bear? Should she abandon her fellow Princesses at the negotiating table...? Such thoughts occupied the Princess' mind as she trotted down the Castle halls, soon entering the Royal Gardens. A dusky route through the majestic fields served little to calm her mind, and yet it felt, in a way, relaxing for both muscles and memory. It helped sustain herself in a time when little there was to help so... now, now that her stande so different was to all the ponies, where every day was marked by mass protests on the streets of the mountainous capital, when even Stanley had been, to her internal tears immense, taken away by the humans onto high orbit, for what they called "reeducation"... loneliness took roots and blossomed fully in Luna's heart, as if in the gentle winds of full spring. It was the seventh day since the humans arrived in force, and yet, so much has chenged in that one short week... so deprived of sleep Luna was that even her sharp battle instincts wereall but frozen nowadays, as if suspended in midair by some unknown, powerful force. And yet, she pushed through. She had to. For her ponies... ..who had always neglected her. Who always hated and wanted her gone. Who had never done anything to help her... feel. A single tear flowed down Luna's right cheek as she slowly clenched her teeth and eyes, momentarily stopping dead in her tracks. No. She had her duties. She had to cast the thoughts away, or else, no better would she be than the nightmare that hauted her. The nightmare... Luna collapsed where she stood, bursting into tears as her mind was no longer able to contain the emotions. No longer indeed... Rustling. Hoofsteps. Hushes. What... what? What now, I... is it...? Just as Celestia's graceful sun slipped below the horizon, Princess Luna was caught in the middle of a cannonade of light rays all shot within a muting bubble. As well as caught in a yellow aura of an acolyte so familiar to her. "Eternal Flame..." A dark, shadowy figure pushed aside the nearby bushes just as the sun finished its daily trek. Her hood blended in well with the pitch-dark coat and horn which adorned her body. Slowly, yet with steps as graceful as menacing, she neared the now trapped Princess. Her horn glowed with the same colour as the aura around Luna. "Long time no see, my master... or shall I as yet say... we will see each other when the ceremonies are complete..." she seeped, with a tinge of easily detectable hope in her voice. Facing the bushes that had just constituted her hiding place, she turned to the ones still concealed beneath their darkened shadows. "Come, my acolytes. Only together will we succeed in escape. A new era of Nightmare... shall begin." From the shadows, a new silhouette proudly emerged, this time avian. Light from the few lanterns around slowly shone on his face, revealing a griffon's beak. "Good, Eternal..." he whispered. "Good indeed... we shall bring about an end to the pony tyranny. There is nothing within this state we don't see, Princess," he seeped through clenched teeth, nearing the trapped Luna who eyed the two newcomers with half-closed eyes, pure in her pupils. The griffon's green, regal uniform reflected several rays of light dorectly into her eyes, foring the Orincess more and more pain. The griffon turned around slowly, eyjng the entire palace with his possesive gaze. "Equestria wanted to seize the aliens for themselves, huh...? Secure their advantages, gain power...? And do you not already have enough, pray tell, my dear? No..." he turned on his heel once again, slowly retreating back into the bushes. "Equestria's hegemony... shall end soon," And just as seasons pass and give way to new ones, to the accompaniment of Eternal Flame's soul-piercing, dim laugh, Princess Luna vanished from the Royal Gardens around Canterlot, giving way to absolute darkness. Dimension 000-000-001a "Oh-One" Sazana, Ckarflox system, Defense Line Epsilon; more precise location [UNKNOWN] - roughly 80 klicks north-west of Devon One-Two's dropsite. Capital Universal Time (CUT) - June 18th, 6193; 1012 hours Local Operational Time - 1120 hours, day cycle 214/601 59th day of the Defense of Sazana 7th day of the counteroffensive Four days after deployment. Jasvant was lying in the collapsed building, staring at the bottom of the barrel that was about to spew oit his own death. Thinking through plans of escape, of action, any action, while there was still time, still a chance to live, to fight on and be of use. Only milliseconds left, only a few. A dozen, maybe five, one or two, three, fourteen. What? No, no... stop! Stop wasting time, need to- click boom Jasvant clenched his eyes, but pain did not come, instead, a terrible shriek echoed through the darkness in his sight. Slowly, the soldier opened his eyes. The Swarm brute was right there, lying on the floor without motion, as streaks of light zoomed past the small opening between the only two walls left standing. A figure. Another. A few, moving like shadows, appearing and disappearing, coming through left and right, stabbing the Swarm troopers in the mids of a cannonade unheard of, a gunfight shattering the few buildings around that still stood uncollapsed. And when silence overtook those all that in the area, when the last streaks of light ceased their flight and stopped in their speed, when Jasvant tried to muster the last of his strength to try and get up... the shadowy figures appeared before him, like out of thin air. Slim, bipedal, clad head to toe in dark blue armor with a shape of crescent carved in at every opportunity. On the top of their heads, red plumes stood, now that their motion had stopped, even though before they were all but hidden. Extending one of its hands, the leading figure of the swuad aimed at the bloodied soldier. "Not so quick, human," it asked with a tone as gentle as suspicious. "The Cyanosian Empire would be pleased to... inquire a few questions about your..." the figure hesitated, tapping its chin a few times. "...teammate." Jasvant sighed with resignation, as another drop of blood danced gracefully on his chin before dropping down onto the bruised, tattered lap. But on the other hand... this was all getting very, very interesting... "The... the C-Cyanosians...?" Jasvant uttered, unbelieving. "I can... where the hell were you...? About time you... arrived..." the soldier continued to speak amidst everpresent pain. He tried lifting himself up, but one of the new arrivals wouldn't allow that, beating Jasvant right back down where he stood. The RSU only slowly looked up with confusion, as his vision became more and more bloodily blurred The leading figure nodded to his compatriots, before gesturing at them a few times giving orders here and there. "I apologise, but I'm afraid it's us who are asking questions now, human," he uttered, a small smirk felt even through his covering, elongated faceplate. "What...? I..." "Your mission's commander, designation Devon 1-Prime, Stanley Martin. What was your last contact with him?" The Cyanosian soldier uttered, still aiming right at Javant's tiresome face. The human took a few breaths before finally answering. "He... we dropped... the pod, our pod... it separated..." Jasvant felt the world coming down onto him, an i visible weight crushing all his bones as the last full shapes disintegrated into blurry blobs. He desperately searched for some Youn pills, until it finally clicked in his mind that icucine couldn't have been the cause... but old habits die hard. "Please, I... need a medic... neither of us has seen him since..." Evidently surprised, the Cyanosian lowered the gun for a while, before pointing it right back up. Turning his head, he uttered a few commands, before slowly saying... "No...?" The leading figure stood, as if frozen in time, in the center of all there was in Jasvant's sight. And time passed, and passed, and passed... until all dissipated and went away, and another bang was heard in the distance... or perhaps here, or perhaps there, a loud explosion of something like so many here now... And the Cyanosians stood. And the human laid... And the Cyanosian pressed down on the trigger, keeping the gun at the very verge of firing, one bullet, right through Jasvant's blurry mind... And yet, the bullet flew not. Not now. "It seems the Breach might've occured after all. Oh, no..." the commandos whispered, as if Jasvant's presence was all but a memory, lost somewhere in the aether, as their thoughts wandered about the vast plains of imagination regarding an issue as alien as... terrifyingly unknown.