There were only a few Royal Guards along for the ride to Canterlot, far less than the number who were staying in Ponyville to keep an eye on the newcomers and reassure the populace that life was going to continue as normal. It was a good idea, but that didn't mean Princess Twilight trusted herself and her friends alone to protect their important guests.
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Amber Sands was one of the few that had been assigned to come along for the journey, and from the outside she was almost exactly what might be expected from one of the pegasi of the Royal Guard. Her coat was light brown, her mane and tail brilliant yellow, and her armor light and strong with openings for her wings. As she supervised the loading of the train, she could practically feel the furtive eyes of ponies on her. The ponies were plainly immensely grateful for her and the other guards. It was a reminder that however strange things might seem, the established order was still in control. They were safe.
She could taste the warmth of their love and appreciation for her presence as delicious ambrosia trickling slowly down her throat. It wasn't much of course; none of them knew her by name. Sergeant Sands was the last to climb onto the last car of the train, giving the conductor a gesture with a hoof as she slammed the door closed. The train began to move at once, the steam engine roaring as it pulled the impressive steel mass along rusty iron tracks.
There were only six ponies in Equestria that knew what Sands really was, and half of them were on this train. Even then, she hardly expected any but Rainbow Dash to give her even a second glance in the armor she was wearing. That was part of the enchantment: making each and every guard look as similar as possible. The effect was powerful: it meant that no matter how many of their number fell in battle, enemies and allies alike would see the same ponies returning again and again to the field. It was a powerful psychological effect, and it meant Sands could count on at least a trickle of love anywhere in Equestria where ponies loved the royal sisters and the guards that represented them. That was why Celestia had suggested this position for her in the first place.
Granted, for all that Celestia's trust in her seemed to be growing, she had never allowed her to be assigned any further than Ponyville. Sands did not mind the suspicion, not really. It had been much worse (and better justified) when she had first arrived in Equestria, a nearly perfect copy of Twilight Sparkle's apprentice. The ruse had been discovered on the very day it had been attempted, and the then nameless young changeling had expected brutal torture and an ignominious death.
That wasn't what happened. The first pony to show her compassion was the one she had been sent to replace, Princess Twilight's apprentice. She was not the last, and Amber survived for years on a steady diet of love from Equestria's ruling sisters. Shame at failing and then betraying her hive was gradually replaced with resentment that Mother had so callously used her, imprinting her with the memories of the pony Second Chance and sending her off on what amounted to a suicide mission. Her own kin had abandoned her, but the ponies that had every reason to hate and fear her had instead shown her love that she had not deserved.
Amber did not know the true language of her kind, which was hardly strange since she knew almost nothing about them. She had taken a pony name, adopted a pony persona, and wore it almost constantly. In truth, Amber Sands was more truly her than the nameless changeling she was underneath the illusion. It was her almost constant prayer that one day she would wake up and find the illusion was reality and her changeling nature would be a faint and distant nightmare.
Sergeant Sands passed through the caboose, where four ponies her age conversed in harsh whispers. None of them, not even the one whose memories had created her, spared her more than a glance. Ponies were so easy to fool, so easy that effort was rarely required on her part. Even one that knew what she was paid her no mind. No wonder the Hive had been so successful infiltrating their nation all those years ago.
Then again, maybe it was just that Second Chance knew her now, and trusted her. "You can tell us what'cha really thinkin', Chance. Who are ya' supposed ta' talk to if not your friends?"
Sands listened as she walked slowly though the caboose, which is usually as far as things went. There was no telling when something she overheard might be useful. Besides, more than half of Amber's memories were copies of those Chance carried. She couldn't help but be curious, even though the mission of impersonation was over and so many years had gone by that she probably would not have done a very good job imitating her anyway. "You shouldn't have come," Chance said, looking sternly at her friends. "Equestria doesn't need all its human experts in one place, where they could all be taken out at once."
"We weren't safer in Ponyville, dummy," said the pegasus named Scootaloo. "There are way more of them back there than on this train."
"Why are you so upset, anyway?" That was the other unicorn, the younger sister of the one sitting with the Princess in the compartment with the human ambassador. "They didn't do anything bad, unless you count squishing some grass."
"You don't know them like I know them," said the one with the green coat. Her eyes went to each of the ponies around her in turn. "The things they did... there aren't even Equestrian words for some of them. And tonight, in the lab-"
Amber felt a powerful desire to leave the room, a desire she promptly followed. Even so, she was not fast enough to prevent some of those old memories from bubbling back. She saw whole cities turned to ash, millions of innocent lives snuffed out in seconds. She looked down from a high place and watched as her family trapped on the surface of the Earth burned before her eyes. Except they were not really her family, because of true family Amber had none. Not the swarm that had abandoned her, not the ponies who did not know what she really was. Not even Celestia and Luna, who were so kind to her but still treated her subtly like an outsider. Not the original whose memories she held, the pony that for her had only pity.
That did not make it hurt any less when these memories came to the surface.
How did the real Second Chance deal with them, knowing that for her they were reality? What had stopped her from completely losing her mind after all these years? Amber thought of that very little as she shut the door to the caboose and began making her way through empty cars.
Maybe she ought to pick one of them and sit out the rest of the trip, hide somewhere safe from any reminder of those things she would rather forget. But she wouldn't be much of a guard if she left a potentially dangerous enemy alone with some of the most important ponies in Equestria, would she? So she kept walking, knowing full well that she would soon pass through occupied cars and be forced to be in proximity to the fiersome-looking invaders.
These trains were not long, and there were not many empty cars to buffer the young ponies in the back from the aliens sitting further up. First Amber passed through a baggage car, with two alien soldiers and a plain-looking plastic crate. They said nothing to her as she passed, and she said nothing in reply.
Then into a passenger car, where the tall being in a white cloak conversed with several ponies of the guard including Captain Rainbow Dash. "That was some seriously impressive flying," he was saying, sitting with an erect back in one of the seats and looking like an adult using furniture built for foals. "I didn't think flesh wings could do directional changes that fast without shearing."
There were several other guards, but it seemed Rainbow Dash was the only one who dared actually talk directly to the alien interlopers. "Real wings are the only way to fly," she said, as though even considering an alternative would have been ludicrous. "Ponies have airships with metal wings, but they're nothing like the real thing. Flaps instead of feathers? Please! I fly circles around those things without even trying."
"Maybe that works at low speeds," answered the strange creature with pale skin and short mane, helmet resting beside him on the seat. Yet at the same time the alien did not seem so strange to her. Even now there were days when the Equine natives were the aliens to her. Yet how could that be, when the pony she was based on seemed almost no different from any other pony? "As fast as we fly, the air resistance alone would shatter bones."
Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves, glaring up at the alien. "Are you sayin' you're faster than me? Anyplace, anytime. I'll take you down! I don't care if you're a big lemur with fancy armor, nopony calls me slow!"
"Yeah?" The alien in his white robes only smiled wider. "Maybe when these negotiations are over, we'll get the chance for a race." Amber shut the door to that car, passing into the last of the passenger areas. It was like walking out of a rainstorm into a warm house, the environment dramatically different from the chest-thumping of the previous rooms. The quiet was almost oppressive, and Amber sat at once near the door, as though she were simply on some imaginary patrol duty. Of course there was no such duty, but not even Princess Twilight knew that. Attention slipped away from her and she was able to fade back into the background, where she felt the most comfortable.
"Admirable progress in so short a time," said the tall and powerful alien, evidently returning to whatever the conversation had been before she opened the door. "Your civilization seems poised on the eve of an industrial revolution. I can assure you that with our help that revolution can be made a swift transition, and your nation into this world's undisputed superpower."
Twilight Sparkle was not the only other pony in the room. Several of her friends were here, whose names Amber knew only from inherited memory. There were also several guards, with lesser positions than her own and singular duties. They looked at nothing and said nothing, though Amber knew they must be as interested in what was being said as Amber herself.
It wasn't Twilight who answered. "I reckon we could always use a new friend," said the farmer named Applejack. "But I don' see how you figure we wanna be whatever the hay a 'superpower' is. Most ponies ah' know are right content with the power they got." Sands could not miss Twilight's pointed glance at the speaker, who stopped at once. But then, Applejack was the element of honesty. Perhaps excessive honesty would do more harm than good in a delicate negotiation.
"We are aware of the advantages you could bring to Equestria," Twilight said delicately. "However, we also know that changes and improvements can be dangerous too. Anything you contribute will have to be weighed carefully against its potential cost."
The alien was equal to the task of the diplomatic game, and as Amber watched his face she saw none of the emotional tells she could see in Twilight Sparkle. No signs of anxious fear, no barely suppressed desire to flee. No sense that he was speaking slowly or guarding his words, even if the words he spoke were carefully guarded indeed. In all of Equestria there was perhaps only one diplomat that was his equal. Amber found herself glad that she was the one he had come to see.
"Of course," he said, inclining his head in a delicate nod. "We can assist with every step of the process. Make no mistake, we don't promise not to bring change to your world. Change is exactly what we promise, in exchange for modest generosity on your part. I do not doubt ponies as wise and powerful as the royal sisters will see the advantages of an alliance."
Amber frowned, even though she knew the memories that created that emotion were not her own. She knew full well what had happened the day before, with the apparent escape from Tartarus. She knew about the increasing number of border-skirmishes, and the ever-increasing danger Equestria was in. Yes, Celestia and Luna would probably see the wisdom in an alliance. But could Equestria survive it?
* * *
The throne room of the great castle had seen many prestigious parties over its long history. Many diplomats, emissaries, and envoys had been received at the thrones of Celestia and Luna. Yet in all that time, none was as strange as the one that visited now. For those waiting to be received were not gryphons, minotaurs, dragons or goats. They were not diamond dogs or trolls or spirit animals of the Everfree. Indeed, these beings had not come from anywhere in Equestria. They hadn't even come from the stars.
Yet here they were, following behind Twilight into a chamber their height would make far less imposing than it had been built to be. Armor clicked on stone more softly than hooves, yet there was still something heavier about their steps than a pony. There was something subtly unnatural about the way they moved that unnerved her. They were machines, and this reality could not be totally concealed even if they might wish to. They were not fleshly beings assisted by prosthetics, as she had thought at first. Rather, they were unnatural beings pretending to be alive. Yet though they moved and twitched as livings things, it was more a rehearsal than true motion. She had the feeling watching them that it was a show put on to make her feel better, and were they on their own they might scarcely move at all.
Was it wrong to be unnerved by a type of life just because it was different from her own? She wanted to ask Celestia now, but knew she couldn't. So instead she did what she knew was expected of her, and took her place at the base of the throne.
She had to admire the crier's resolve. Despite the strangeness of the situation, her voice did not falter or crack as she repeated the titles and information she had been given to recite. "I present King Richard Morgan, Protector of Mankind, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Steel Tower." Down the aisle came the towering figure, followed by his reduced entourage and the plastic cargo crate they had carried all this way. He closed the distance with long, confident strides, then bowed very slightly.
Twilight watched, gauging every inflection and nuance for hints of what his true emotions might be. What did this large and powerful creature think of the native rulers who only called themselves princesses? Without a living body of his own, could he feel the magical power radiating off them like sparks from a fire? Twilight found herself wishing suddenly that her apprentice were here. Chance would be able to explain what these humans were thinking.
"Princess Celestia," said the king's voice like the rumble of a distant glacier. "Princess Luna. And Princess Twilight Sparkle." Twilight nodded politely, as Celestia and Luna had done above her. Richard was nearly at eye level with her, despite the significant height advantage the throne conveyed to her. Yet meeting his eyes did not carry the same impact that other encounters with important figures had. It was hard to describe exactly what made her feel that way, but it felt as though something was somehow missing. If there was a soul in there, she couldn't see it through the eyes.
"It is an honor to stand in your presence and address you on behalf of the human species." It was hard to keep her face impassive as he spoke. He didn't represent the whole species! Could he really think that they didn't know about the biological humans that Second Chance represented? Or was it that he just didn't think of them as human? "As a king, my time is as limited and precious as yours, so I will not waste it with empty words and flattery. Rather, I will place my petition before you, answer any questions you may have, and leave the matter of specifics to diplomats and negotiators who will arrive at a later date should they be needed."
It was hard to tell, but it seemed as though the princesses were listening more intently. Twilight had little court experience, but this was highly irregular for the usual pattern here. Normally, flowery prose was exchanged for quite some time before anything of significance was discussed. Certainly if actual rulers from other nations arrived they would not have been so direct with what they wanted. Whatever their thoughts they did not stop him, and Richard clearly interpreted their silence as permission to proceed.
"I understand our information about your world is out of date. If you have relied on what Clover brought back, then I must admit that it is unfortunately no longer true. In the time since her brief visit less than fifty of our years ago, our planet has been rendered almost uninhabitable by catastrophic war. The war is over, but the damage is so severe that rebuilding will take thousands of years. Even with our best technology, the ecology might never fully recover. Our request therefore would be simple: a new home. As many or as few miles as you can afford to spare, in order that a small population might be established here. It would not have to be what you would consider productive land: we have no farming and little need for water. Even an impassable mountainous region or a desert wasteland would be sufficient to fill our needs, so long as we're granted full permission to use the land as we see fit."
"In exchange-" Richard snapped his fingers, and the men advanced with the crate. Only when they were beside him did they lower its considerable bulk to the ground with a thump. One, whom Twilight only then realized had vaguely feminine suggestions about her, flipped the lid open to reveal the contents of the chest.
Machines, all tightly packed into neat rows and nestled snugly into foam padding. Twilight probably knew far more about human technology than any other pony in the room, and she did not recognize any of what was there. Richard smiled broadly. "we offer our technology, freely and completely. This first shipment we offer as a gift, proof of our goodwill and the utility of a partnership."
Luna leaned forward then, gazing intensely down at the open crate. "Please explain the contents of that container to us. What gifts have you brought?"
Richard nodded gracefully, as though he had been waiting for that exact question. He reached inside, removing one of a dozen large rods. With a flick of his hands, he extended the strange fins. "This is a solar-powered pest-repellent device, meant for agricultural use. This device protects all the crops within a radius of several miles from microbial, fungal, and insectiod pests." He slid the device back into place and hefted a layer of foam and machines as though it were utterly weightless. It was frightening to see arms so small move metal as though it were cloth. King Richard was stronger than a minotaur. Maybe even as strong as an earth pony.
Beneath the first layer was another, and judging from the volume of the crate, probably another few layers below that. Richard removed another device, this one roughly resembling a syringe with a plastic bladder of orange fluid behind it. "This is a medicine we created using genetic samples provided by Clover. It's an artificial virus. After a brief infection period resembling a mild fever, it will render the pony immune to most diseases. At least those our worlds share in common."
He replaced the injection device and displayed the remaining two layers of machines, each with their own technological wonders. The choice was careful; not only did all of the machines he had brought have direct practical use to pony society right now, they were also so far advanced of present technology that reverse engineering would be completely impossible. It was a gift, but a gift calculated to have limited repercussions. Not without further such gifts in the future, at any rate.
Twilight wondered if Celestia and Luna had noticed this hollow generosity from the invaders as quickly as she had. But then, why was she so determined to see the worst? Was everything Chance said rubbing off on her? Eventually Richard had explained the contents of the crate. "And all this is only the beginning of what we can offer to our allies. Sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and freedom to the invalid. All in exchange for the least valuable territory in your kingdom."
She had remained quiet and almost still during the brief demonstration, and only now did Celestia move. Twilight's heart began to pound in her chest, eager to hear what her mentor and teacher of a lifetime might say. Regardless of how experienced and powerful this Richard might be, the Princess of the Sun was older and wiser by far. She would not be easily manipulated or deceived. "Equestria thanks you for your gift," She said, indicating the crate with a delicate nod of her head. "Your terms are generous, asking so little in exchange for your knowledge."
"But you aren't the only travelers from your world to court an alliance with Equestria." There was no immediate change in Richard's appearance, no twitches or obvious tells for Twilight to gage his reaction to this news. Perhaps she was simply imagining what seemed to be a brief charge in the air around him, like the ozone of a thunderstorm. Or perhaps he had a soul after all. "And our agreement with them was different than the one you're proposing. I think you would like to hear it."
Ever graceful, it was all Richard could do simply to nod in reply, his eyes more blank and emotionless than ever.
* * *
It had been hours since the human king and his entourage had entered the great hall, so long in fact that Celestia had lowered the sun and the moon was well up. Occasionally Chance heard snatches of heated conversation from that part of the castle, though she wasn't close enough to make out many coherent phrases. No doubt this was very much the idea, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. Her friends the Crusaders had joined her in the gardens as close to the throne room as it was possible to be, but as the day wore on each had grown too bored to remain listening with her when they could catch so little of what was being said.
Only one person cared enough to wait with Chance even as night fell and Luna lifted the moon, and he wasn't a pony at all. It was Spike. They had now shared two meals together in the garden, watching the flicker of light in the throne room as figures passed in front of windows in what was apparently animated conversation. "How much longer can they take?" Spike sat beside her on the dirt beside a little pond, drawing shapes in the dirt with one claw even as he made gestures on Chance's tablet with another. They were playing a card game on the screen, and he passed it towards the young unicorn when his move was complete.
"Dunno. Alicorns and androids. Could keep going forever." Chance took the tablet in her magic, grinning at the sour response on Spike's face. Dragons seemed to age even slower than ponies, and she was now decidedly bigger than he was. He wasn't still a baby dragon, but he wasn't quite an adolescent either. She could relate to the frustration he felt, considering this was her second time going through puberty. Of course she had no fingers for the screen, but a plastic stylus served well enough as a substitute, and she flicked the virtual playing cards into the positions she desired before passing the tablet back to Spike.
"We're not either," Spike pointed out, before yawning exaggeratedly. "Are you really going to watch them all night?"
She was a little more forceful than she had to be jerking the tablet from his claws with her magic. Chance could tell herself all she wanted that she didn't really need sleep, but here in Equestria she didn't even have the aid of time-release stimulant patches to keep her awake. She had tried that about a year ago, but as it turned out human stimulants had strange effects on ponies, particularly unicorns. "If I have to. Why, are you too tired to stay up all night?" She stuck her tongue out, which was more infantile than she usually acted.
“Dragons sleep for centuries!” Spike replied defensively. “But I would settle for a few hours. You can pretend you don’t need rest like Twilight used to do, but she never fooled me either.”
Chance groaned in protest, but was eventually forced to nod. She cleared the screen with a flick of the stylus, saving their unfinished game for when they were both in better shape. It wasn’t as though Twilight wouldn’t tell them everything worth knowing in the morning. As her personal apprentice and number one assistant, both could (correctly) count on hearing any interesting news Twilight learned almost the moment she learned it. Besides, Chance wouldn’t be any use to anypony if she was exhausted.
Her muscles were a little stiff as she rose slowly from the ground, shaking the dirt off that was clinging to her coat and stretching her legs one by one. There was a little bit of an evening chill in the autumn air, and she was grateful she hadn’t fallen asleep out here. That could have made for some painful cramps. There was little to distract her from sliding the tablet into its normal protective case, and heading with Spike up the path towards one of the castle’s many entrances.
“Thanks for coming along, Spike,” she said as they walked. “Nopony else made it this long, even though they all said they would.”
The dragon smiled in reply, looking as though he were about to reply with something flattering. Chance never heard it. At that moment she turned the whole of her attention on a strange sound gathering in the distance. Spike noticed it too, and they stared off into the sky to the north. It was hard to describe, a deep thrum combined with a buzz that grew gradually louder like the beating of many distant wings.
That was when the explosions began.