“I used that teleporter after I set the HAVOK to a two second delay. From what I've seen, it looks like the teleporter is only good for one use. Also, we saw our first Changeling over Ponyville, so it is safe to assume that they are still there. We need to head over there and make sure it is safe,” the Rookie said.
“Good point. Squad, meet up at the Victory, you've all earned some rest. Rookie, you're with me. We're taking back Ponyville!” Joe ordered. The squad, despite the protests, went onto the awaiting Pelican. En route to the Victory, the squad was stuck hoping that the two that stayed would make it. Ground-side, Joe and the Rookie started running to the contested town. Joe called out, “Rookie, we have a P-47 Thunderbolt equipped with full wartime payload sitting in the Victory's hangar. You need to fly air cover on this op. I've already radioed the ship's AI, Sikorsky, to send it down.”
“Alright, sir. Heading to the drop point now,” the Rookie complied.
Joe continued the run, with a few strategies flowing through his mind. It was like his brain was on WEP; flanking routes, air strafe patterns, hostile combat routines, everything. He had to stop for a second to reorganize his thoughts... only a second. He continued to run, Ponyville just few hundred yards away.
He entered the town, carnage visible everywhere. He shouldered his rifle, a MA5C Green gave him, and continued his pace. The Changelings were not visible, no matter where he looked. On a hunch, Joe activated the thermal vision on his visor. He saw thermal residue in what looked like a trail, and followed it. The eery quietness prevalent in this endeavor. Joe made sure that a round was chambered as he came around the corner. He still saw nothing, but this time, he heard some rustling behind him. He spun around, rifle aimed just below head level. Nothing was there. Joe, realizing his surroundings, noticed he was in the middle of a possible ambush point. Just as he turned to leave, the trap had sprung.
The Changelings quickly disarmed the lone ODST, and proceeded to overwhelm him. Joe, stripped of his rifle, reached for his sidearm. It, too, was gone. Joe instinctively pulled out his final weapon, his Ka-Bar. Grasping the primitive knife in his off-hand, Joe pushed past the swarming Changelings with his right. Once he breached the ambush perimeter, he turned around, only to be swarmed again. Just when all hope seemed lost, a distinctive roar came from the horizon...
The lone P-47 stormed overhead, strafing the Changeling crowd with its eight fifty caliber guns. The Changelings quickly dispersed, and miraculously, Joe was unharmed. Joe quickly reoriented himself into a combat stance, bringing his knife to bear. One Changeling in the dispersed crowd fired an explosive spell at Joe. Joe dodged to the side, but was still hit. The armor on his right arm was torn completely free, revealing the robotic prosthetic he received after Reach. Joe removed the safety locks on his robotic arm and overpressured the hydraulics in it, all from his HMD. A brave, or stupid, Changeling charged at the monolithic soldier. Joe hit him with an uppercut, launching the would-be attacker skywards. Joe didn't let the other Changelings act before he, himself, charged. Joe stabbed one with his Ka-Bar, and with a sweep of his prosthetic arm, launched the rest away. Another Changeling attempted something similar to the explosive magic from before, but Joe activated his Hardlight Shield, sending it back. The Changelings, scattered and bloodied, promptly retreated. As they flew away, Joe got on the radio, “Rookie, I need you to pursue the Changelings that are evacuating Ponyville. We need to know where they live.”
“Solid copy, beginning pursuit of hostile exfiltrators,” the Rookie said.
Joe turned around, with a sigh, and reset the safety locks on his arm. He looked up, only to see a blinding yellow light strike him with the force of a freight train.
Much later
Joe awoke, and promptly activated his emergency transponder. When he looked around, he saw nothing but stone walls. He looked himself over, his body feeling very numb. He noticed he still had legs, that was good. He looked left and saw his arm in one piece, also good. He looked right and saw his arm in a dozen pieces, not so good. He also noticed he was still in his armor, which made sense seeing how it took a team of engineers to equip him with it when it first came out. Joe took another glance around the cell, and made note of him being shackled by the wrists and ankles. He tried to move his prosthetic arm, but it failed to respond. As the chamber door creaked open, something entered Joe's mind, something very insignificant. He couldn't recognize where it came from, but it just may save his life, so he kept it to himself until he could figure out where he was. His mind still distraught, Joe couldn't quite make out colors, but greyscale was all he needed. A certain white alicorn approached the shackled ODST, decisive anger in her eyes. Joe started first, “Good evening, gorgeous.” Celestia didn't acknowledge his greeting.
“Do you know why I brought you here?” she demanded.
“Frankly, last thing I remember is losing my temper on some of those deceptive devils we so fondly refer to as Changelings,” Joe responded, regaining the color in his vision.
“You have been brought here for your trial,” Celestia said.
“I don't remember being read my rights, nor the charges. Care to fill me in?” Joe retorted.
“You are being charged with the high crime of waging war, something that all the nations of this world have outlawed five hundred years ago,” Celestia said, almost as if to a third party.
“Seeing as there is no jury, this is either a martial court, or an interrogation,” Joe said, rapidly recovering from his unconsciousness.
“Both yes. This is an interrogation, and I know how to make you talk. After the confession, you'll be brought before the martial court, seeing as you are a soldier,” Celestia informed.
“You know, my emergency beacon was activated as soon as I awoke. The Victory will send a rescue team to liberate me from my confinement,” Joe warned.
“Then we will make this quick.”
“I still haven't been read my rights.”
“You aren't a pony, so we will not treat you as one.”
“But I am sentient. That has to count for something.”
“Oh, but it does. That is the one reason we're having this trial.”
“More like a logistical formality, than equal rights.”
“Enough stalling. Let's get on with this.”
“Specificly, I still do not know what I am being charged with. Was it the Battle for Canterlot, or the Liberation of Ponyville?”
“It is the events that happened in Ponyville.”
“I would assume that the pursuit of a non-immediate threat to my own well-being was what caught your attention.”
“That is correct.”
“And why not the Battle for Canterlot?”
“You were defending your squad, and later yourself.”
“So why doesn't that apply to Ponyville?”
“You attacked when no life was clearly in danger. You emerged from the ambush unscathed, that should have told you something.”
“It told me that the enemy was getting smarter, and could tactically operate at my own level.”
“You did give orders to pursue a fleeing threat, what have you got to say for that?”
“I didn't want the enemy to regroup after I saw what they were capable of. I despise deception more than most other things.” Joe's radio crackled a little.
“What was that?” Celestia asked.
“My throat's getting a little soar,” Joe improvised, as he slowly started straining the metal shackles.
“I have a feeling that is the least of your concerns.”
“That is correct. Now, what is you motive? To make an example of me?” Joe said, taking the initiative.
“No, it is to serve justice.”
“Last I checked, being shackled in a cold damp dungeon would be classified as 'cruel and unusual punishment' and I have not been granted a lawyer as of yet.”
“One is en route.”
“ETA?”
“15 minutes”
“What about the maximum punishment for the crimes I am being charged with,” Joe said, being as thorough as possible.
“That is to be determined by the jury.”
“You just said there will be no jury, and I am certain that whoever is on the other side of that wall can read that back to you.”
“How do you this is being monitored?”
“Your questions are too broad, as though they are intended to be read by another individual.”
“That's preposterous!”
“And I can safely assume that whoever is writing this down is either Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, or Spike. The latter two are inseparable and would most likely accompany one another for this documentation. The former would be chosen due to convenience and trust, though it makes you biased.”
“This interrogation is over!”
“Does that mean I may leave now?”
“NO!”
“I still haven't received my lawyer!”
The door slammed shut. “I think I got more information out of them than they did me...” Joe uttered quietly, so that the recorder could not hear. Joe thought for a moment: Seeing as Twilight put in a good word for me when I helped establish the embassy, it probably wasn't her back there. Spike would have a hard time alone, and with any higher-vocabulary words. That would leave Luna as the only practical option, seeing as the palace guards are easy to fool, and that Shining armor would most likely be on the martial board and Cadence being in the Crystal Empire... That's it!
Joe thought, since the Crystal Empire is a separate nation, it may buy him sometime if he can get there in time. Calling upon the tiny, life-saving tidbit from before, Joe remembered that metal is susceptible to fatigue over time. Knowing he was out for a while, and how much he weighed in his armor, Joe figured that the shackles would be fairly stressed. In one fell swoop, Joe stretched as far as he could go, them slammed his limbs together. The restraints shattered, except for the ones securing his unresponsive prosthetic arm. Joe painfully tore the arm out of its socket, apparently the only thing that worked on it was the pain receptors. After the wincing and the regret, Joe tried for an escape. Seeing as the prison cell door was not dead-bolted, and no guards came to investigate the shattering sound from before, Joe kicked the door down. The hallway was empty, “It has been fifteen minutes, so where is my lawyer...” Joe uttered with a chuckle.
Realizing the difficulty of his escape, Joe opted for an out-of-sight route instead of the front-door approach. If anypony saw him, he was busted. He quickly wrote down a poem to puzzle his pursuers. It was Rudyard Kipling's Prelude:
I have eaten your bread and salt.
I have drunk your water and wine.
The death ye died I have watched beside,
And the lives ye led were mine.
Was there aught that I did not share
In vigil or toil or ease, -
One joy or woe that I did not know,
Dear hearts across the seas?
I have written the tale of our life
For a sheltered people’s mirth,
In jesting guise - but ye are wise,
And ye know what the jest is worth.
Afterward, Joe added his own note: Once you understand this, you may then judge me.
Joe leaped through a nearby, unbarred window. Upon landing, he found himself sliding down a rock face. On the ground, he noticed the Rookie's crater from the HAVOK, though it was being repaired by a squadron of earth ponies. Once Joe got to ground level, he switched his radio to channel seven, “This is Sgt. Joe of the UNSC Victory, any and all local forces respond immediately. I am currently en route from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire. I need an evac ASAP! I am wounded, and on the lamb. Rendezvous points are at 20, 50, 100, and 150 Km to the aforementioned destination. ETA: two hours. Awaiting pickup,” Joe said. He set it to loop every 15 seconds. As he charged forth, entering what was left of the decimated forest in the north, the Rookie streaked over in a P-47. “Joe, I've got a visual on you. The Victory dropped a battleship in the waters off the Equestrian coast, it's an Iowa-class. The ship's guns are poised at Canterlot, and the Navy is currently negotiating for your release. You've been gone for some time, a few days last I checked. The Changeling base has been found, and we are currently prepping for an assault scheduled for a few days from now,” the Rookie informed.
“Tell that battleship to lower her guns, I'll negotiate for my peaceful return,” Joe said, turning back.
“Copy that,” the Rookie switched to the Naval channels, “All warships, stand down. The VIP is going to negotiate the terms himself. He wants this done without bloodshed,”
“Understood. All ships, stand down. I know what this man can do,” said a familiar sounding Captain.
Joe sprinted back to the place that moments before was his prison. Ignoring the working crews, he ran through the crater. This time, a footprint was not going to need to be minimal.
Joe reached the gates of Canterlot once more. Knowing he wouldn't get the audience he wanted otherwise, Joe climbed over the retaining walls and entered the city. Due to his negligence prior, Joe started noticing increased guard patrols throughout the city. Between the gaps in the patrols, Joe moved out. He got to the steps of the castle unnoticed. Needing a stealthy way in, he carefully placed a low-velocity explosive a good distance from the door; he didn't want to hurt anypony. He pulled the 15 second fuse and ran to an exterior wall, and without hesitation, started placing high-velocity charges on the wall. Joe synced the explosions. The low-velocity charge, generating more noise, and thus drawing more attention, would distract the guards from the quieter explosion several feet away. Joe carefully climbed through the circular hole the C-12 had made. Arriving in an abandoned room, some sort of storage closet, Joe carefully opened the door. Through the slight crack, he saw the royal kitchen, which was being rapidly evacuated due to the prior explosion at the front door. Once deserted, Joe crept out. He snuck his way to an exterior balcony. Once there, and several stories up, Joe launched a rappelling line upwards. The line attached to another balcony near the top of the tower. Taking note of the telescope on the balcony above, Joe started climbing the tower. His armor's built-in EVA pack was aiding his ascent. Once at the top, a few hundred stories above the ground, Joe noticed he had arrived in the royal bedchambers. Seeing as night was falling, Joe expected to see one of the princesses soon.
Deciding not to waste the spare time, Joe sat down for some rest, placing his head against the guardrail. His helmet felt heavy and stifling, so Joe abruptly took it off. Looking in his own visor's reflection, Joe saw the wartorn face of his own looking back. Deep down inside, Joe was scared of what he saw in his own eyes. He saw the never ending remorse that pursued him through the Human-Covenant war. He saw all the faces of the lost, knowing he couldn't bring them back. He saw Mars. The Martian Insurrection happened so shortly after the war ended, it seemed almost heartless that the rebels would attack a crippled humanity in a failed attempt to gain power. Lastly, he saw his squad. The squad that stayed with him through Harvest, Reach, and even the Arc. They were all he had left, that and a few personal effects. He smiled a little at this warm thought, only to feel cold stares gazing upon him. As he looked up, he saw that Celestia had called the guards into the bedchambers after finding the sergeant lost in his thoughts. One last thought entered the old sergeant's mind, this time he spoke it out loud. “I was a Language Composition teacher before the war, I also spent some time teaching History. Even tutored on the side for a few friends who needed it. Not once did the thought of enlisting cross my mind, until I saw the world burn. I was teaching on a place that seems so far from here, a place called Harvest. A few of my friends were there because of a roadtrip we had planned for later that day. When the war reached us, everything changed. Cities burned, people died, and there was nothing I could do. I fought as best I could, aiding the evacuees. After that, I decided to enlist in the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. My friends ended up doing so as well, though we never mentioned it. Several weeks later, I... had changed. I no longer viewed standard morals I held close to heart in the same light. In an effort to distance myself from the enemy, I had distanced myself from who I am. Now I am seeking redemption. Humanity treated me like a hero after what happened only one world away. I can't stand that kind of attention, I always knew the real heroes never make it back. I volunteered for the reenactment we were headed to before this happened. I wanted to make sure I was far away from any fans or journalists. Flying was the only solution. The eggheads wanted us to try some new sort of jump, and we ended up here. Celestia... I would like to talk to you in private, at the negotiating table. Let's not make this an interrogation, nor a reverse interrogation like before. What do you say? Diplomacy over war?”
The guards closed in, getting ready to drag Joe back to his cell. “Leave him,” Celestia responded. The guards abruptly set Joe down. “Give us some privacy,” the white monarch ordered. The guards quickly obliged.
“Thank you,” a weakened Joe said, exhaustion creeping into his voice.
“I didn't know one could be so...”
“Human. Human is our word for it. Equestrian may be a valid replacement for it” Joe finished.
“Human...” Celestia echoed.
“I think we got off on the wrong side here, can we start again?” Joe asked.
“I think we all deserve at least a second chance,” Celestia responded.
“I am Sergeant Joe of the UNSC, 105th ODST, and you are?” Joe reintroduced himself.
“I am Princess Celestia of Equestria. I rule alongside my sister, Luna, and together we raise the Sun and the Moon,” Celestia did as Joe did.
“Glad to meet you. We, the men on the Victory, are lost and have no way to get home as of now. Will you care to give us a place to stay? A small town near the forest to the South shows some promise,” Joe said.
“You may stay there, but first, you should understand our laws,” Celestia said, producing a scroll with various legal notes on it.
“Thank you. I guess I should be honest with you. Back where I come from, there is this television series, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. My Little Pony is almost identical to this world here. The names, places, history, and occupations are the same. The show itself is several hundred years old, but knowing how 11th dimensional space works, I would say that the gravity of the planet, the technology the eggheads had, and the ancient aircraft on the Victory launched us back in time. The aircraft would provide an anchoring-point for any time fluctuations that may have occurred. Which means that some of us are very familiar with this place. Although, there are not that many viewers of the show on the Victory. The only ones that I know of are myself and the Rookie. We are honored, though, to be here,” Joe informed, making sure he was recording his words. Twilight would also want an explanation in the future.
“I see, so you know everything that has happened here?” Celestia responded.
“Far from it. I only know some of what happened after you sent Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville,” Joe responded, “Most of that knowledge consists of a majority of Twilight's endeavors, a few of Spike's, and a notable collection of other challenges that Twilight's friends have been through.”
“Care to tell me the events that surround those times?” Celestia asked.
“The rise and fall of Nightmare Moon, to Twilight's coronation is a decent frame of reference,” Joe responded. The discussion continued for some time in this manner. Later, Twilight and Luna joined in, and Joe informed them of everything that he told Celestia.
Back on the Victory. “Sir, the star patterns don't make any sense here,” the navigation officer said.
“What do you mean, can you tell us where we are or not?” the Captain responded.
“Sir, according to these star maps, we ended up almost exactly where we needed to go,” the officer responded.
“Care to educate me?” the Captain countered.
“Sir, these maps say that we are above Earth, but if you try to find the continents, they are not there. I would say that the Forerunner technology the Infinity gave us to transport back to Earth may have caused some sort of multiversal shift. In other words, sir, we are not in the same universe as Earth. I don't think we may be able to return home. Even if we get the engines repaired, where will we go?” the officer explained.
“Get some of those ONI spooks up here to explain this. Also, bring up the science teams,” the Captain ordered. Moments later, the requested teams arrived.
“What have we been brought up here for?” a spook demanded.
“I called you here, because we are exactly where we need to be, above Earth. The only problem is that the rock below us is not Earth. The stars are telling us that everything is in order, but the continents are telling us a different story. You need to explain this, now,” the Captain ordered.
“Perhaps it was a problem with the Forerunner technology we were transporting?” a scientist said.
“Captain Evans, I think there may be some truth to that statement. Just before the gravity-augmented slip-space jump, we started seeing some unusual readings from the artifacts. In addition to those readings, it seemed to correlate with some of the aircraft we were also transporting. Specificly, the F/A-18E Super Hornets. The electronics on them started running without warning. When we pulled the power supplies, it persevered. After the jump, a surge of energy came from the artifacts. Tracing the energy surge, it pointed directly at the engines, hence their destruction. I believe that the Forerunners want us to be here. I don't know their motives, but it's too much of a coincidence otherwise,” an ONI officer said.
“Get the ground team up here, the one that recently returned,” Capt. Evans said, gesturing towards his liaison officer. The squad returned, headed by Moose.
“You wanted to see us, sir?” Moose asked.
“Yes, the science team has got us caught up in some sort of impossible scenario. I need to know what it was like on the ground. The stars are saying we're at Earth, but the planet's telling us we've got the wrong address,” Evans said.
“Sir, the atmosphere is identical to that of Earth's. The physics say that the gravity is the same. The Terra-firma tells us that it is Earth. Despite this, however, the people we've met tell a different story. First off, they are sentient ponies who speak English flawlessly. Second, they call the land 'Equestria'. Third, they were shocked to see us, almost as though they've never seen a human before. Finally, only one of the individuals we met seemed to recognize us, I can't recall what she looked like, but she got all wide-eyed and ran home, presumably,” Moose responded.
“Can you back up these ridiculous accusations with any evidence?” the Captain replied.
“Yes, sir,” Kraut said, pulling, then handing, his neural implant to Evans. Evans plugged the chip into his command chair, and displayed it on the big screen toward the front of the bridge. It showed the perspective of Kraut as the ODST prepped. Joe walked into the room and said, “Squad leaders, on me,” and left. Moose and the other NCOs followed. The captain fast forwarded through most of the following footage. He stopped when he saw green streaks going through the sky, and hit play. Kraut looked up at the mysterious new foes, and said, “The city is under attack!” after he heard some screaming from the local town. The squad charged into the town, leaving the recently-established embassy behind. Moose took point with his M240B, Kraut followed close behind. Once in town, they saw ponies running like there would be no tomorrow.
They were being chased by grotesque, insect-like, counterparts. Beams of a sickly-green color streaked throughout the streets. A brown stallion with what looked like an hour glass on his flank approached the squad. He said, “Help us, we won't last forever!” and was quickly driven away by the invaders. Some stray bolts of the sickly-green projectiles hit Green. The bolts dissipated on impact, but succeeded in knocking the soldier off his feet. As he climbed up, Kraut noticed a F-51 Mustang streak overhead, with a F-18 trailing behind. What shocked him though was that a rainbow was flying alongside the Mustang, matching its speed. The Mustang, judging from the boom, broke the speed of sound moments earlier, with the Hornet flying at a subsonic speed close behind it. A green bolt hit Kraut, bringing him back to the situation at hand. As he was knocked down, he unholstered his sidearm. Just as he started taking aim, he saw the green bolt had not fully dissipated. It had left a sticky green substance behind, and judging from the wince of pain Kraut gave, it was mildly acidic. Opening up his canteen, Bookworm quickly poured the contents out onto the patch of the painful substance. “Thanks,” Kraut said. Noticing a black figure moving with shocking agility behind Bookworm, Kraut raised his pistol, and fired. The creature fell out of the sky after the loud report was heard. The town was dead quiet for a split moment. “Open fire!” Pizza yelled, and Snafu quickly obliged. Moose let loose with the 240 Bravo. Almost immediately, the invaders began to retreat in response to the torrential and unyielding power of the squad's arms. “Blitzkrieg!” Kraut yelled as he got up, pushing off Bookworm. Kraut made sure not to broadcast his remark. Grabbing his shotgun, Kraut charged toward the retreating hostiles. Captain Evans seemed captivated by this.
Kraut, with the squad behind him, slid a round into the chamber on his AA-12. Unloading the buckshot on the out-of-range targets, Kraut suppressed the enemy and encouraged their retreat. Without breaking step, Kraut dropped the emptied magazine and slid a new one home in one fluid motion. The retreating hostiles fled over a hill, and Kraut relentlessly pursued, but paused as he crested the mound. The enemy had organized a counterattack. Kraut, referencing his World War Two dialogue, yelled out, “Stormtroopers!” He opened up on the charging enemy, holding his ground. As the squad caught up, it seemed as though Kraut would be overrun. Moose quickly cleared off the hostiles that were dog-piling on Kraut. Pizza encountered a jam on his rifle, but when he tried to draw his sidearm, it was knocked loose. In response, he drew his sword and charged like a madman. Kraut followed suit, Snafu covering him with air-burst rockets streaking overhead. The hostiles started to withdraw from the battle waged by the veterans of war. A castle came into view as the sea of enemies parted. Kraut gave his warning from earlier, but now it seemed like it was so long ago, “The city is being overrun...”. The squad ran forth, seeing that the regal city was also under siege. Shortly thereafter, two Broadsword fighters provided a low flyby over the city. The ODSTs took the initiative, charging into the fray as the resulting sonic boom reverberated throughout the city. The enemy showed their faces, but only before giving chase to the two fly-boys. Kraut watched in awe as one Broadsword zoom-climbed into the atmosphere, trying to force a stall. The other banked hard-right and burst into a fireball. The squad saw the explosive bolts along the cockpit detonate, as the enemy tore the Broadsword to pieces. The squad continued to run, making it to the center of the city before seeing a bright flash, followed by a tremendous roar. The thermal sensors on their armor spiked. “Was that a nuke?” Green asked. There was a long pause as the team tried to figure out what happened. “Guys, I think that was a HAVOK!” Green continued. The squad started to settle down after a few minutes, they were clearly daunted after seeing one of their brothers-in-arms fall. Bookworm decided to start practicing medicine, getting the squad patched-up before the hostiles returned. He was the squad's corpsman. Kraut gazed skyward, trying to figure out who that brave soldier was. He noticed a small orange light descending from above. He tried to put his concerns to words, but nothing came out. Shortly later, he saw the light land just over the mountain. He waited for a long time, trying to collect his thoughts. Several minutes later, Kraut saw Joe approaching at a fast jog. Joe snapped a salute to the regal pony that Kraut didn't see arrive. Joe continued his approach to the squad. The Captain stopped the recording.
“So that is what those people are like?” Evans asked.
“Hardly, sir, we only had a few minutes worth of interaction before we were cut off again,” Moose said.
“Continue the clip if you want, either way, we don't know what happened to the sergeant,” Snafu said.
“Sgt. Joe went MIA in a foreign, and apparently hostile, area. We assumed the worst, and are currently using 'aggressive negotiation' to try to 'convince' the locals to find him,” Capt. Evans responded.
A radio call prevented Moose's response, “This is the UNSC BB-761 Tempest, we have made indirect contact with the VIP. He is wanting to negotiate the terms of his release on his own, and I trust him on this point,” a different Captain said.
“What are saying, Bill? Was Joe taken prisoner?” Evans replied.
“I am not certain on that, but it is inferred,” Capt. Bill responded.
“Any additional intel you can give us on this?” Evans requested.
“Situation developing,” Bill responded.
In the bedchambers, Joe had finished his reintroduction. “I hope that we can forget the hardships of the past, so that we may look forward to the future. We must remember our mistakes, both of us, so that we can learn from them,” Joe said.
“I still have my project on foreign organisms to do, and I can think of no better example,” Twilight urged.
“Fair enough, I believe I reacted a little too harshly to you. You are pardoned of all crimes you may have committed,” Celestia arbitrated.
“Thank you,” Joe and Twilight said simultaneously.
“Princess Luna, I must thank you for your efforts pertaining to the moon. The moon has inspired me and mankind from time to time. We actually set foot on the moon almost 600 years ago, and since then spaceflight has always captivated humanity. Thank you... for your perseverance when the appreciation of your labor was doubted. I never have gotten tired of stargazing, something that would be impossible without the night.” Joe said.
“Thank you for your appreciation of the night,” Luna responded.
“I have to report in to the Victory, I've been missing for several days now. I'll see you later,” Joe gave his departing words, and started rappelling down the castle again. On the ground, Joe radioed for the Rookie, “Rookie, care to give me directions to the battleship that the Victory dropped?”
“Head to the Northwest, they're in the harbor nearby,” the Rookie responded, nearing bingo fuel, “Bingo fuel, headed for home,” he added.
“Get some rest, you've earned it,” Joe said as he headed toward the nearby harbor.