“An unprecedented scene occurred at a US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, where three US warships suddenly disappeared in a flash of green light five days prior during a violent storm. Spectators say they witnessed a large spiked sea monster emerging from the water, and took three of the US Navy’s ship bound to join aircraft carrier USS Nimitz after President Obama ordered a large strike force to Afghanistan. The entire base and everything within a one mile radius experienced a loss of all electrical equipment after the strange object unleashed what witnesses said an EMP shockwave, or electromagnetic pulse—”
Admiral Shane stares endlessly at the TV screen, watching the news about the incident in Yokosuka Naval Base while sipping his coffee and looking at several documents and files on his desk. The topic then changes to what he witnessed not four days ago, as the screen switches to the next footage of the tall structure of crystals taken from footage from one of the sailors. The admiral sees his own aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, get struck by a falling jet, swarms of these tiny insect-like creatures bombard the other ships like bees on a hive, while the news reporter explains of the situation. He even notices the crystal is taller than the Nimitz by several meters or more. Several seconds later, the island of crystals shoots out a wave of light, and the screen changes back to the news reporter.
“Several hours after the intense and unknown fight, four ships of the US Navy went missing as well as the unknown structure of what sailors claim to be are crystals. The Navy believed that the same happened to the other three ships back at Yokosuka Naval Base the day before. The Nimitz strike group returned to Naval Base Pearl Harbor two days ago, where scientists are taking samples from these crystals and—”
Shane grabs the remote control and turns off the TV, leaving the admiral rubbing his eyes in frustration and defeat. He stops when two knocks on the door catch his attention.
“Enter,” he calls. The door opens and Petty Officer Third Class Corey steps in with another file.
“Admiral,” the young officer speaks, giving Shane a quick salute.
“Have a seat, son.” Corey takes a couple brief steps and sits down.
“Here’s the damage report on the Nimitz, sir.” The admiral grabs the file he is handed, and takes a moment look at the contents. It’s not as bad as he thought, with only two pages of what needs to be fixed, but it still worries him. “Both catapult launchers need to be replaced after, uh, our jet crashed. Asphalt needs some changes as well, plus some pipes, a few monitors and electronics from the shockwave. Also, our main reactors need replacement.” The admiral closes up the folder and drops it in the stack standing next to him, an intense shiver shooting up his back after hearing about the twin A4W nuclear reactors of the 39-year-old aircraft carrier. With another glance, the admiral notices the young officer all tensed up, and his face almost pale.
“How long until the repairs are done?” the admiral asks. Corey shrugs, having no clue what to say.
“Th-they didn’t tell me, sir. They only gave me the report and that’s it.” Shane nods his head slowly. “Uh, sir?”
“Yes?”
“Um, about th-the crystal. D-do you think… they might be aliens?”
“I don’t know, son. But I have a feeling about it. We’ll be sending out search parties around the Pacific in a few days. When the Nimitz is repaired, we’ll jump straight in.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Anything else?” Corey shakes his head, still keeping his eyes glued to the admiral’s nametag resting on the edge of his desk. “Very well. You’re dismissed, son.” The petty officer stands back up, salutes, and walks out of his office the same way he came in.
Now alone once again, Admiral Shane turns back on the TV, and sits back in his old seat, which creaks loudly.
“…The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force, along with a search group lead by aircraft carrier USS George Washington, will be set sailing in a couple days in search for the lost ships. The US government issued this incident as a military threat level. Though, sailors who witnessed the crystal, and scientists believe it is not of our world when they examined the crystal fragments and small alien-like creatures—” He rubs his eyes again, the image of the towering crystal island never leaving his mind. He is again interrupted by knockings on his door.
“Enter.” The door opens, and a different officer steps in.
“Admiral,” the officer salutes, and Shane returns the favor. “Washington is on the phone.” The admiral did have a feeling this might happen since he came back. Without a second to lose, he gets up from his seat and follows the petty officer out of his officer.
*****
“ScanEagle in position.”
“Roger. Tracking.” A thermal imaging screen turns on after a flash of static on a Boeing Insitu ScanEagle, revealing the entire city of Canterlot. “Search for a tracking beacon for our birds to land.”
“Roger.” At over three thousand meters high in the sky, the unmanned aerial vehicle scans the ivory-towered town, switching to two different images from thermal to regular camera. The drone then veers off to the far left, where it finally meets an open area with the castle wall. “Castle located. Scanning area for Blackjack Bravo Two-one.”
“Copy. White Knight Three-two and Three-three is seven mike out from radio signal location.” The camera zooms towards the main door of the castle.
“Movement on the castle door.” Through the processing pixels, the door opens and out marches a whole crowd of shiny golden armor. After the crowd moves to the sides, out steps two large horses, a group of figures, and several colored blurs. The camera switches to thermal, where flashing dots appear on the figures in the center. “Confirmation on our marines. They’re being escorted out of the castle.”
“Solid copy. Got an ID who’s escorting them?”
“Negative. Can’t get a good reading. Looks like they’re horses.”
“Heh. Looks like Two-one wasn’t joking after all.”
The UAV continues to follow the group casually walking through the immense garden to the main gate. Once the hefty doors are open, they move on to the large open area where a small river lays at least fifty meters or more from the castle wall.
“White Knight Three-two, this is Blackjack Two-one. How copy, over?”
“Blackjack Bravo Two-one, White Knight Three-two. We read you, over.”
“Roger, be advised we’re marking your LZ with the beacon and purple smoke, over.”
“Solid copy, Two-one.”
The ScanEagle watches from above like a hawk spying on its prey, eyeing on one of the marines planting the beacon in the center of the field through its thermal imaging camera, while the rest of the group stay behind close to the wall. On the other side of the small river, a crowd slowly starts to develop with many other multi-colored horses when the camera switches back to normal.
“We got a crowd developing down there. Opposite end of the river, approximately sixty meters east.”
“Roger, I see it.” Seconds later, a small plume of purple smoke poofs out close to the beacon’s signature, and quickly expands.
“Sights on the purple smoke. White Knight Three-two, you’re clear for landing.”
“Solid copy, command. ETA, forty-five seconds.”
“Keep a hawk’s eye on our marines. Don’t want this trade fall south.”
“Roger.”
LCpl. Kevin Brooke
2nd Battalion 1st Marines
Canterlot Castle, August 27th Day 5 12:55:38 PM
“Blackjack Two-one, this is White Knight Three-two. We have visual on the purple smoke. Approaching LZ in thirty seconds, over.”
“Solid copy, Three-two. We’re waiting for ya’. Expect for a little surprise as well when you arrive.”
Cutup returns back to us after doing both simple tasks; planting the beacon and tossing a purple colored smoke grenade to show our location.
“So,” Rainbow Dash begins, gazing her eyes across the sky. “Where are these so-called ‘Osprays’?” With a groan under our breaths, we didn’t bother to correct the cyan Pegasus.
“Should be a few seconds,” Carter replies checking his radio. After a few seconds, the faint sound of spinning blades fills our ears. The ‘whup-whup’ vibrations of two MV-22 Ospreys quickly increases, catching all of the ponies’ attentions.
“Is that them?” Twilight asks moving up and taps me on the leg. Before I could answer, Rainbow Dash shouts and points to our right.
“Woah! Look at that!” Emerging from the cliff, the two MV-22s ascend over our heads before circling around the town, leaving a soft gust of wind from their turboprop engines. Almost all of the ponies have their mouths agape at the sight as the tilt rotor aircrafts circle around over the town. Most of the citizens and guards across the river start screaming and pointing.
A whole crowd starts to gather from the opposite end of the small river as the Ospreys descend close to the purple smoke being blown by the fierce rotor blades, both ramps wide open with crew chiefs hanging out manning M240 machine guns. All of us cover our eyes from the dust and dirt flying in all directions produced by the spinning blades. I turn my head to have a look at the ponies’ expression the moment the aircrafts touch the ground, and not to my surprise, they all have dropped mouths. However, Fluttershy seems to cower behind Princess Celestia, while the Royal Sisters and the guards have their eyes wide at the actual size of our air transportation.
The moment our birds touch the ground about twenty meters away and their engines powering down, the crew chiefs unhook themselves from the mounted turrets and move to the sides, screaming out commands that are inaudible due to the spinning rotor blades now slowing down. A group of marines rush out from one on the left, racing over to the other without bothering to look at their surroundings, when I recognize some of the faces that belong to our squad.
“Move, move, move!” The marines race over to the next Osprey and line up. That’s when they notice the ponies standing behind us.
After a moment, the rotor blades continue to slow down. Stepping out first is Second Lieutenant Martins, followed by Private Pelayo with the last Royal Guard walking beside him. The Pegasus seems nervous, but looks well maintained due to the fresh bandages and clean coat, compared to what we did last night with the other three. Finally, the four commanders of our small fleet emerge from inside as the sound of the rotor blades finally subsides and the flying debris settles, one of them carrying a messenger bag.
It feels like it takes an hour for the marines and sailors to process their minds of what they see behind us, only the commanders have a straightforward look on their faces. Or so I think it is.
“Move up, marines!” Lieutenant Martins commands, and our squad moves up to about five meters in front of us, with the sailor commanders following behind.
After a brief moment, total silence. Kicker is the first to move up to the center, followed by our lieutenant, and the first sergeant salutes.
“Lieutenant.”
“First Sarge.” Martins leans over to us, noticing Princess Celestia approaching them. Kicker moves to the side, allowing the princess to scan the rest of our squad and the commanders. All of them have perplexed faces at her, except for the Pegasus standing next to Pelayo.
“Greetings,” she announces calmly. “My name is Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the land Equestria. I believe… you are all the leaders?”
“Not necessarily, ma’am,” Lieutenant Martins replies stepping forward. “Second Lieutenant Joe Martins, acting commander of Two-one Bravo, First Platoon, Second Squad.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Second Lieutenant.” The princess bows her head softly. “Now, I was informed that you brought our last guard to complete the trade, and to further strengthening our alliance.” The lieutenant turns his head to the commanders, who all take a step forward.
“That’s what we would like to discuss, but also something else,” Commander Gaines replies. “Commander Gaines of the USS Anchorage. This is Commander Harbort of the USS Michael Murphy. Commander Cullens of the USS Spruance. And Commander Ketcher of the USS Princeton.” Until she realizes she has a confused look on her face for too long, Princess Celestia changes back to a welcoming smile. From my point of view, she is has no clue of what the commanders are talking about.
“O-of course,” the princess finally speaks, her mind still figuring out the names. “N-now, if it is alright, may we complete the trade?”
“Of course, Your Highness,” First Sergeant replies stepping next to her.
I twist my head left and right, noticing Royal Guards moving up forward and surround us with spears pointed upward as the marines and commanders clear a path for Pelayo and the Pegasus. Not to my surprise, even the Pegasus guard we met last night, Lieutenant Wind Strike is present, with his usual snarly glare at them.
Lieutenant Martins nods his head towards Private Pelayo, who kneels down beside the Pegasus.
“Alright Lightning,” he whispers into the Pegasus’ ear. “You can go.” The Pegasus turns his head to Pelayo with a look like a child that refuses to leave after a play date. The private nods his head, and motions him to go. The Pegasus takes his time strutting down the short seven-meter manmade path, taking a quick glance at almost all the marines before finally resting his eyes on the Celestia.
“Welcome back, young guard,” she says with a warm smile.
“I-it’s good to be back, Your Highness,” the Pegasus replies and bows his head. He turns around again, eyes pointing at Pelayo and waves. “I’ll see you later, Paul!” Pelayo merely returns the wave, a little embarrassed from the Pegasus’ cheery call. I turn back to Lieutenant Wind Strike, who is completely thrown. He and two other guards rush over to the bandaged Pegasus.
“Lightning Rod, are you okay?” Wind Strike hastily asks.
“I’m actually quite fine,” the Pegasus replies with a smile.
“Come. Let’s take you to the infirmary to get checked.”
“Bu-but…” Lightning Rod tries to protest, but is quickly taken away by the lieutenant and the two guards.
Silence falls again between us along with the princesses, and the rest of our squad with the commanders. The only sound we hear is the background noise of chattering ponies and guards across the small river behind the parked Ospreys. For just a few seconds after the guard was escorted away, it feels as though we were having a staring contest between each other. Princess Celestia clears her throat a bit before making an announcement.
“I now hereby declare the trade complete.” I feel a smile pressing against my cheeks. I take a look at the others, all having a grateful smile on their faces and eyeing on Michaels behind me. Before I know it, Michaels slams himself into me, wrapping his free arm over my shoulders and rubbing his knuckles on the side of my helmet. Without saying a word, he just smiles as brightly as ever, the same smile he gave when we finally graduated recruit training.
“Woo!!” Pinkie cries out, startling everyone as they veer their eyes to the pink pony waving her hooves in the air. “Let’s cele—!”
“Not now, Pinkie!!” her friends retort. Slowly as ever, Pinkie Pie drops down with an embarrassed look.
“Hehe… sorry. Maybe later?” she says with a nervous smile.
“Sure, why not?” Michaels replies still leaning his full weight against me.
“Now then,” Princess begins once again, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Now that our trade is complete, shall we discuss more about our negotiations?”
“That is what we were about to say, princess,” Commander Gains replies.
“Very well,” Celestia says with a nod. “Follow me, please.” The princess starts moving back to the main doors, with the commanders following behind. Before doing the same, Lieutenant Martins turns back to us with the six ponies just as Michaels releases himself from me.
“You boys did a great job,” he compliments proudly. “I never had great marines like you. Even you, SEAL team.”
“Thank you, sir,” First Sergeant replies.
“First Sarge, you’re with me. The rest of you, stay with our birds. Don’t want any of these…” He looks down at Twilight and her friends for a brief second. “…Ponies getting too close.”
“D-don’t worry, sir,” Twilight replies stammering a bit.
“Alright,” the lieutenant nods, though still having a perplexed look on his face. “Glad to have you back, marine.” He pats Michaels on the shoulder, and light jogs to catch up with the commanders with First Sergeant Keane.
“So,” Rainbow breaks the silence after the escort disappears behind the doors. “Can you show us those cool contraptions?”
“Michaels!” a voice shouts. I turn my head to see Sergeant Mendez walking up to me. “There you are you little ruck-sucker!” He slaps the marine on the shoulder before giving him a tight embrace in his arms. “Jesus Christ, man! I thought you were gone for good on your first day!” After a long minute of their ‘manly’ hug, Sergeant Mendez breaks himself from Michaels, his eyes slowly starting to water. “Boy, it’s just good to see ya’, buddy!”
“Missed you too, my abbreviating friend,” Michaels remarks, causing me to chuckle a little. That’s when the sergeant veers his eyes on the ponies.
“Who’re these?”
“O-oh!” Twilight speaks out rather startled. “S-so sorry.” She clears her throat and takes a deep breath. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike.”
“Hey! Why am I last?” the baby dragon whines.
“It’s always the ladies who go first, darling,” Rarity replies with her fore hoof raised slightly, as if she is a fashion model even though she really is.
“Talking horses, and a lizard,” Mendez mumbles, when Spike smacks himself in the forehead.
Each of the marines in our squad introduces themselves, including two crew chiefs, Staff Sergeant Barnes and Gunnery Sergeant Hughes. Very few of our squad mates immediately start having conversations with Twilight and her friends, especially Pelayo, who has been doing the talking for a lot of the time. Most of us feel uncomfortable about talking to horses, even I do. Still, we got Michaels back and made a somewhat allegiance, but some part of me tells otherwise. Most of the Royal Guards still hold a grudge against us, I know for a fact, and probably most of the country Equestria after the incident on the beach.
I place my ILBE assault backpack on the metal flooring as I sit in a foldable seat inside the MV-22 close to the open ramp, stretching out my legs. I can still hear the chattering from outside, most of the squad is sitting in the other Osprey. Luckily, some of the squad mates are keeping Twilight and her friends occupied while I finally get a moment of R&R. I turn my head in the direction towards the cockpit, eyeing on another crew chief leaning on a fifty-cal looking out through the turret window and two pilots checking on their controls. I turn back and rub my eyes, feeling tired for no apparent reason.
“ ‘Ey, Brooke.” I turn my head to see Corporal West standing outside. “What ya’ doing?”
“Nothing really,” I reply groggily. “Didn’t expect a mission like that to be a hassle.” The corporal walks inside, taking a seat across from me.
“But you got ya’ frien’ back. At leas’ it’s well worth it.”
“True to that.” We both sit in silence for a while with nothing else to continue our short conversation. When I veer my eyes back outside, they stop right at the familiar Pegasus guard standing right on the edge of the ramp. Corporal West and the crew chief hanging by next to the cockpit quick turn their attention to the guard. “Can I help you?” Lieutenant Wind Strike squints his eyes and huffs through his nostrils, before taking a step on the ramp without hesitation. He stops about a couple feet away from me with the same expression he has ever since we made first met.
“Just so you know,” he growls. “I’m keeping a watchful eye on you ‘humans’.”
“Who ar’ you?” West asks moving his M249 between his legs. The Pegasus turns his head to the Jamaican.
“None of your concern, human.” He turns back to me. “Even though the princess says we’re allies, I’m not forgiving you, nor do I trust ‘any’ of you after what you did to my guards. Especially, the captain.”
“Even though you’re the one who attack us first?” I ask mockingly.
“I don’t care what you or the princess says, I’m not forgiving you for what you menacing beasts did!” The lieutenant stomps his foot on the floor.
“Hey!” the crew chief calls walking over to us. “If you mind, this is a sixty-nine million-dollar piece of US military property. If you wanna continue this argument, go outside. Otherwise, leave.” Wind Strike growls internally, and turns around.
“Military property my flank,” he grumbles as he steps outside, and kicks the edge of the fuselage with his hind leg purposely.
“Hey! That’s property damage you did there!” the crew chief yells angrily, and chases after the Pegasus before West and I could even catch him.
“Volper! Wait!” West calls after the crew chief, but already he is just a meter away from the Pegasus.
“Hey! You!” crew chief Sergeant Volper shouts, catching the attention of the other marines and Royal Guards. “You stupid horse, you listening?! That’s military property you just—!” Before he could say more, he is met with a hoof to the face from the lieutenant. Within a split second, the two engage in a violent wrestle. The crew chief throws a punch at Wind Strike’s head, before the Pegasus tackles him to the ground. Everything happens for a split moment, as hell breaks loose. West and I rush over to the wrestling scene; both of us prying Volper free while the Royal Guards do the same.
“Break it up! Break it up!”
“Get your filthy claws off of me!”
“Come on! Break it up!”
“Lieutenant! Lieutenant!”
West and I finally break up the fight, with the crew chief receiving a final kick to the helmet from the lieutenant.
“That’s for killing my mates!” Wind Strike screams as he is lifted from four guards. “You menacing monsters, ya’ hear?! That’s for killing them all! Thunder Bolt, every single one! I hope you all burn in Tartarus after touching the captain with your filthy claws! You hear?! Twilight’s brother you nearly killed!”
“You asked for it!” Volper shouts back. “You’re the one who asked to get your ass kicked!”
“Break it up! Now!!” Staff Sergeant intervenes, stepping in the center with his M4 raised. Immediately, Royal Guards rush to the lieutenant’s aid with their swords and spears pointed at him, West and I, and the rest of the squad huddled by the Osprey. We all hold positions. Clamoring continues from the background ponies, as they take photos of the scene, but it doesn’t bother us a bit. Cautiously lowering his rifle, Staff Sergeant Alcatraz turns to West and I grabbing hold of Volper. “You two, take him back to the bird.”
“Aye, Staff Sarge.” West and I prepare to take the battered crew chief back to the Osprey behind us, when a flash of light followed by a loud ‘crack’ interrupts us all. When I turn my head, my eyes meet Princess Celestia standing five meters away with a scared Twilight Sparkle beside her. Judging by her sudden change in expression to frustration, my gut tells me it will not be pretty.
“Guards,” she commands. “Lower your weapons this instant.” Without even having second thoughts, all the guards retract their weapons from us and stand at attention. Our squad did the same, but keep their rifles close to their chests. The princess slowly steps in between Staff Sergeant Alcatraz and Lieutenant Wind Strike, mostly eyeing on the Pegasus. She then turns her head towards us, staring at Volper.
“Y-Your Highness,” Wind Strike mutters bowing his head, but stops when the princess steps towards him, her eyes glued on the battered Pegasus like a warrior reigning over its enemy.
“I shall not speak how this ruckus was caused,” she says bitterly. “And I do not plan on keeping it going for all of eternity, Lieutenant. Understand?”
“Y-yes, Your Highness.” She turns her head back to the developing crowd across the river, most of the ponies still snapping pictures.
“You have drawn quite the crowd.” She turns to the rest of the guards, who all have a slight look of fear in their eyes. “I will speak to the crowd to settle this cause. You are all to keep the civilians away from the castle and the humans, and you are to stay away from them. Is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am!” all guards reply simultaneously. The princess then returns back to Wind Strike.
“Until our meeting is done, Lieutenant, we shall speak of your actions.” The lieutenant bows his head without replying. Celestia turns to Twilight. “Twilight, you and your friends can stay here to keep the humans occupied until our negotiations are complete.”
“Y-yes, princess,” Twilight bows.
*****
Inside the Royal Conference Room, on one side of a long oval table, sits seven ponies in their respectable seats with their nametags placed in front of them. The room is a well-sized oval shape, with the walls white marble and a high ceiling with a chandelier hanging in the center over the table. The carpet is an ice-blue color, whilst the eight meter long table is a creole marble.
The seven ponies sit patiently, though eager and nervous to await the princesses to discuss about the unknown events in Manehatten and in Ponyville. One pony, Mayor Mare of Ponyville, checks her pocket watch for perhaps the tenth time since she arrived.
“They’re a few minutes late,” a mare Pegasus, Clyde Cloud, mayor of Cloudsdale, says looking at the clock opposite from them. “Not likely for the princesses to be late.”
“Maybe something got them caught up,” a stallion earth pony, Greyor Robin, mayor of Yanhoover, suggests while snacking on a small plate of nuts. “You know how much stress this is to the princesses after what happened in Ponyville and Manehatten.”
“Do not remind me about it,” another stallion earth pony, Blooms, mayor of Manehatten, replies rubbing his forehead. “I already have my hooves full from this, and I plan on knowing what these things are.”
“Well, judging by the photos they do look like boats by their shape,” Nutter, an earth pony stallion and mayor of Filly Delphia says. Mayor Mare ignores the group conversations as she grabs a pot of tea and a cup.
A second later, the double door located to the far right corner of the room behind the group knocks three times, and opens. Stepping inside is Princess Luna, with Princess Cadance following close behind.
“Greetings,” the night princess greets. “My deepest apologies for being late. My sister had to attend to some ‘certain’ things. She’ll be joining us later, though.”
“Well, I guess that’s acceptable,” Blake Flake, an earth pony mare and mayor of Baltimare says with a hint of disappointment in her voice. “It has been a stressful couple days since these weird things start appearing out of nowhere.” The two princesses take their valued seats; Luna beside her sister’s empty seat close to the door at one end of the table, and Cadance at the opposite end.
“I believe you know the reason why my sister and I had called you all here,” Luna says looking at the seven ponies, who all nod in return.
“Yes,” a Pegasus mare, Boreal Goodmare, mayor of Las Pegasus replies raising her hoof like a filly in school. “You did mention in the letter about something occurring at White Tail Forest.”
Hopefully they didn’t notice, Luna feels a shiver running down her back, causing her to shift in her seat. She refocuses on her main point she went over in her head a dozen times, though she didn’t expect to do it alone after Twilight told her sister of an emergency situation developing between the humans and the Royal Guards. She turns her head to the open door, takes a deep breath, and returns to facing the mayors.
“Indeed,” she replies to Boreal Goodmare. “Also, I would like to inform you all that we have… some guests coming in as well.”
“Well,” Nutter says rubbing his black beard. “That does explain why Princess Celestia wanted us to sit on one side. Who are they?”
“That’s what I am about to show you. But please, be in mind…” She takes a deep breath, and looks over at Princess Cadance with a nervous look. The mayors have a concerned look on what the night princess means. Before they could ask, Luna turns her head to the door. “Commanders, you may enter.”
The seven mayors turn their heads when they hear an unfamiliar sound emerging from outside the door. As if they are seeing the most terrifying monster in all of Equestria, they freeze in position when their eyes meet six bi-pedaled creatures entering the conference room. Four of them have what appears to be clothing with tiny pixelated shades of blue. The other two have large hats, both having a light brown colored rectangle cover in the front, one with a black attachment above. Their appendages are covered with a pixelated mix of green, brown and black, while another thick layer of light brown pouches covers their center body, making them look bulky.
Still staring with awe, the mayors follow the creatures making their way over to the other side of the table, but stop in front of their seats. Like competing in a staring contest, both sides scan each other silently, when one of the creatures points to Mayor Mare, who has her teacup overflowing and liquid pouring on the tabletop.
“This’ll be a while,” Commander Cullens whispers to Commander Gaines.
*****
“I don’t like it,” Rainbow says with her hooves crossed. She takes another glance at the two grey aircrafts resting in the heating sun as the marines surround them, while the mares sit under a shady tree about thirty meters from the main gate, and twenty-five meters from the humans. “Did you see what that fella’ did to the lieutenant?”
“Well, who didn’t?” Applejack replies with a sarcastic tone. “And what’s gotten into ya’, Rainbow? You were cheerful as a fresh apple pie durin’ breakfast.”
“Did you see how violent they are?”
“Remember what they told ya’. They are soldiers.”
“B-but, it was the lieutenant who attacked him first,” Fluttershy points out.
“Fluttershy does have a point,” Rarity agrees, tilting her sunhat in the direction of the sun. “I even saw the lieutenant kicking one of those…” She turns around to look at the MV-22s, then back to the group in a moment’s flash. “Almost sleek-looking contraptions with somewhat dull coloring.”
“Get to the point, sugarcube,” Applejack says with a hint of annoyance and desperation.
“My point is, Lieutenant Wind Strike tempted them first by kicking their contraptions. And that’s where the human chased after him, and the lieutenant struck him first.” Crossing her hooves, Rarity feels pleased about her explanation when she hears clapping from Pinkie and Spike.
“Ooh, Rarity’s a detective now,” Pinkie remarks cheerfully. Rarity turns around again back at the marines fanned out around the flying contraptions.
“Still, they do look rather… beastly-looking,” she admits.
“What’d you mean?” Rainbow asks turning around as well. “Well, from far away, they don’t look ‘that’ menacing. From close-up, maybe.”
“I think the baby-looking one looks ‘so’ friendly!” Pinkie says pressing her cheeks together as she wriggles around in her spot.
“What baby-looking one?” Rarity asks with an eyebrow arched.
“The one that, uh… has that baby-looking face! You know, uh, what was his name? Pen- no… Pent’a-lay? No, no. Pel-something.”
“Oh, him,” Rainbow says. “Pel-um… Pelly? No. Pelay?”
“Yes! Pelayo!” Pinkie springs on to Rainbow’s face, literally floating in midair. The rest of the mares have a puzzled look on how she manages to pull that off, but shrug it off, as it is Pinkie just being Pinkie.
“W-well,” Rarity clears her throat, “he does look a bit like Mister Brooke, but not as nice as that other human lady… or, mare… Ugh.” She face hoofs herself when she forgot something rather important, and the group chuckles lightly. “It’s not even funny. She obviously knows how to be a lady.”
“Who? Hens, or uh, Smith was it?” Applejack asks, trying to remember the names.
“I think her name’s ‘Hends’. She did have a nametag,” Rainbow points out.
“I think it was Smith,” Rarity says. “She certainly knows how to take care of a beautiful mane under that hat.” The fashion mare starts patting her curly silk purple mane, leaving the other mares with a bored look on their faces.
Except for Twilight who has been silently reading at her book since Princess Celestia ordered her guards to keep the civilians away from the humans not fifteen minutes ago. “Twilight, are you okay darling?” It takes more than five seconds for Twilight to come out of her reading concentration when Rarity calls her again. Finally, the lavender unicorn comes to her senses and turns to the fashion mare.
“O-oh yeah. I’m fine,” she says putting on a fake smile. The rest of her friends look at her with concern.
“You haven’t been yourself lately, darling.”
“Wh-what?! No, really. I’m fine.”
“Come on, Twi,” Rainbow intervenes. “We know there’s something wrong. You’ve been staring at that page for the past ten minutes. Even we know you would read about twenty pages in that amount of time.” Twilight winces internally before breaking out a sigh.
“It’s that fight, isn’t it?” Rarity asks, her voice changing to worrisome and her ears droop.
“It’s not that!” Twilight yells out unexpectedly, causing Fluttershy to pull back her head in fright. “I-it’s how he said it. About my brother.” Twilight rubs her forehead with stress building up as much as the tears that are begging to burst from her eyes. How could she ever forget about her brother? She was so caught up in her own world of discovering a new intelligent race, up until that one word from Wind Strike screamed out, nearly split her heart in two.
Just as Twilight tries to hold back her tears, the images of Michaels pulling out the black object known as a weapon, and nearly killing her only sibling, she feels the warmth of her friends huddling around her in a group hug.
“We’re here for ya’, sugarcube,” Applejack says.
“Yeah!” Pinkie agrees standing on top. “You know what the princess said. We nearly caused a major conflict between two nations.”
“That’s not even related to the subject, Pinkie,” Rainbow says.
“I know. I just wanna point it out.”
“Still,” Rarity butts in, “we’re all in this together, Twilight. And hopefully, these humans will come to an agreement.”
“Y-you guys are the best,” Twilight sniffles. Never in her life, has she ever doubted anything of her friends since the first day she met them.
As the mares break themselves apart from the group hug, they spot Celestia walking over to them along with two other guards, but no sight of Lieutenant Wind Strike.
“Princess,” Twilight calls after settling down for a quick moment, and all of them bow.
“I’m glad to see you all holding together,” the princess smiles gratefully. “Even after such drastic events, you all seem to exceed my expectations on you all till this day.” The mares’ all return a warm smile, feeling glad and proud that they were by the princess’ side no matter the cost.
“Um, princess?” Twilight asks.
“Yes?”
“I-is it okay for me to see my brother?” Celestia takes a moment to look down at her personal student, then back at the group of humans by their technologic contraptions.
“Of course, my dear student.” She turns to Twilight’s friends. “Can you stay here and keep an eye on them?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Pinkie salutes with her chest puffed out.
*****
“So let me get this straight,” Mayor Blooms of Manehattan says rubbing his hoof on his forehead after the commanders explain about their ships in his city’s harbor. “You are saying that those giant things in my harbor, are ‘your’ ships?” The four US Navy commanders and two marines nod their heads lazily.
“Yes,” Commander Harbort replies leaning his head on his arm. “A few days ago, our fleet got a report from one of our naval bases saying they lost three ships.”
“And… what are their purposes again?” Mayor Mare asks scrutinizing her glasses, keeping as calm as possible after embarrassing herself from the spilling tea.
“Two of our ships are destroyers, and one is a troop transport,” Commander Gaines explains. The seven mayors all freeze when they hear those words; words related to war.
“And why do you have ships that are used for destruction?” Mayor Greyor Robin asks, now becoming a little furious.
“We were sent out for deployment,” Harbort explains with a bored tone. “We will not discuss the details since this is part of national security and the United States Military.” The stallion grumbles in his throat, and jots down notes with a pencil in his mouth.
“Then, why are you sent here?” Mayor Clyde Cloud asks; her voice filled with more curiosity than the rest.
“That’s what they too intend to find out,” Princess Luna answers before the commanders could have a chance. Commander Gaines takes out his black messenger bag, pulling out a used newspaper wrapped object and places it in the center table. After turning to her, Luna nods for him to continue.
“A few days ago,” Gaines begins, “we were on escort with our fleet, when we hit a storm on the first day at sea. The next day, we discovered an unknown signature on one of our instruments.” The commander pauses to see if the ponies are following him. They seem to understand most of his story. “We didn’t know what it was until we saw it with our very own eyes.” Gaines leans forward, and starts unwrapping the clumps of newspaper. The mayors lift their heads to get a better look at different angles. It’s not long until the commander finally reveals the object hidden under the many layers of paper. The ponies’ eyes, including the two princesses, widen in shock, and their pupils shrink to dots when they see the dark green crystal shard.
“We encountered a large crystal structure,” Gaines continues, but stops when the green shard is surrounded by a pink aurora, and floats towards Princess Cadance. “We didn’t know what it was until it blew up one of our ships. It was then the crystal started releasing these insect-like creatures at us. Most of our defenses were disabled from a blast the structure created, and took down our planes and helos.”
“Those are the things down in Ponyville, correct?” Blooms asks, and Gaines nods immediately.
“And next thing we know, the crystal fired a bright light, and now we’re here.”
“What we want is do you know anything about that crystal, and how do we get back home,” Commander Cullens says, almost demanding.
Princess Cadance inspects the crystal shard thoroughly. Through her small studies in crystals while living in the Crystal Kingdom, she nearly feels her heart about to explode when she recognizes the features. But, there is something completely off about it.
“I-it can’t be,” she mutters.
“Do you know something about it?” Cullens asks to the princess, causing her to almost jump.
“I… I thought he was defeated.”
“Who?” Cadance hovers the crystal to Luna, who too inspects it. Commander Cullens asks again more urgently. “Who is it?”
“I recognize some of the features that belong to an arch nemesis,” the crystal princess replies after taking a breath. “The crystal belongs to King Sombra, but I’m not sure since this crystal is completely different to the ones I studied.”
“You mean the King is still alive?!” Mayor Boreal Goodmare shouts.
“No,” Cadance shakes her head. “I witnessed with my own eyes of him getting defeated when we finally placed the Crystal Heart. Though from the looks of it, this crystal looks more… modified.”
The door opens up regularly, diverting all of the members’ attention to see Princess Celestia entering.
“My deepest apologies,” she says as she walks over beside her younger sister and takes a seat. “I was attending to an important situation with my loyal student.”
“A-ah, it’s no trouble, Your Highness,” Clyde Cloud stutters.
“Very well. What have we found out?” Still grasped in her magic, Luna passes the crystal to her sister silently. Similar to the mayors, Celestia has the same shocked face when she looks at the shard for a brief moment. “This crystal…”
“We all know who it belongs to,” Cadance says. “But, I’m unsure if it’s really him.” Celestia turns back to the humans, who all stare at her as if waiting for an answer they want to hear. She settles the crystal back on the crumpled newspaper and turns to the commanders and marines.
“If we are to know who is responsible for transporting you here, we must conduct tests on the crystal shard.”
“How long will that take?” Commander Harbort asks.
“The crystal still has some magic remnants, but very faint. It will be a while.” Commanders Harbort and Cullens let out a frustrated sigh through their noses. They did expect an answer like that from her.
“And, what about the incident at White Tail Beach?” Boreal Goodmare asks looking at her paper scribbled with notes.
“Mister Keane, my sister and I discussed about that,” Celestia explains. “We have come to an agreement that one of our guards attacked his, men, first.”
“Are you sure that the public will be okay about that?” Clyde Cloud asks worriedly. “Equestria had rarely, or never, done any wrongdoing.”
“What about that time when that giant dragon nearly demolished my town?” Mayor Mare turns to the Cloudsdale mayor. “The Royal Guards were unable to arrive during the incident.”
Slightly confused, the commanders and marines turn their heads at each other, then back at the complaining mayor. “Not to mention that time during the Canterlot Wedd—” Mayor Mare is cut off by Celestia’s fake cough, followed by a stare that eventually silences her for good. The sun princess turns back to the humans.
“My apologies. But, we must inform the public with the upmost truth. We shall discuss more to the papers later.”
“This’ll be a pain,” Commander Ketcher whispers close to Commander Cullens.
“We would also like our helicopters returned as well,” Commander Gaines raises his hand.
“Of course,” Celestia replies after what the humans thought they see is a hesitant look for a brief moment. “Might I ask why? They are permanently damaged the way we see it.”
“Damaged or not, they are property of the United States Military. And you have them in your possession,” Gaines points out, forcing the princess to nod her head in agreement.
“Very well. In the meantime, we shall study the crystal until we find a way to bring you home. But be mindful, this will take months for the results to come in, and it may not be as you hope.”
“We understand, princess.” Lieutenant Martins taps the Gaines’ shoulder, and leans close to his ear to whisper something. Gaines passes down the silent message to the rest of the commanders, who all nod after a minute. “Your Highness, we would like to ask permission to set up a forward operating base while we wait.” The three princesses glance at each other back and forth, then to the mayors who also have the same expression.
“What makes you think you can just build a base like willy-nilly on our land?” Mayor Nutter asks almost offended.
“I have over seven-hundred men on my ship,” Gaines explains. “And I will not allow to have my troops caged up for months while we wait for the princesses to come back with results.” Nutty snarls at the commander, while Princess Celestia starts chatting quietly with her sister.
“Well, it depends on where you want your ‘base’ to be,” Boreal Goodmare says suspiciously.
“Anywhere that is safely away from your towns and cities. We would also like to head over to our three missing ships to inform them.” The seven mayors glance at each other for a few seconds, before diverting to the Royal Sisters. Once finished, Celestia turns to the humans.
“If it is alright with the mayors and Princess Cadance, my sister and I will allow you to build your base. As long as you do not interfere with our citizens.”
“Very well, ma’am,” Gaines replies, giving a couple of the other commanders and Lieutenant Martins a contented sigh.
“I guess it’s fine,” Mayor Blake Flake says. “But we still need to know where you will be settling yourselves.”
“Do not worry,” Luna says. “I know a perfect place.” The commanders and marines turn their heads to Princess Cadance, who remained silent before she spoke about the crystal shard, and after.
“Cadance? What do you think?” Celestia asks.
“I-I think I’ll agree to that,” she replies shakily, leaving the humans looking at each other before settling on the mayors.
“Well, like Blake Flake said,” Clyde Cloud says, “as long as the princesses allow it, I’ll follow. Just don’t cause any harm.” The rest of the mayors nod their heads in agreement.
“Then it is settled then,” Celestia says. Her horn lights up in a sparkly white glow, and a scroll hovers over the center and unravels by its own. “Under the order of the Royal Sisters, I hereby declare a peace agreement between the humans of the Unite Sta'es and the ponies of Equestria.” The princess lifts up her head to see if she pronounced their country correct. Turns out she almost said it correctly when she notices a puzzled look on the humans' faces.