//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Five: Settling In // Story: Heroes and Allies // by LewisClarke //------------------------------// Chapter Twenty-Five: Settling In The faint light of the early morning began to rise over the horizon, shining through the windows of the sky scrapers like polished crystal. What had been a caravan of Equestrian refugees was now more of an ongoing parade, slowly carving its way through downtown Atlanta. Some of the city’s inhabitants made their presence known on the street corners and cheered, while others ran to their houses and apartments to watch from afar. As the procession made its way through the wide streets and intersections, police officers redirected traffic around them. “What are all these metal vehicles everypony seems to be riding around in?” Twilight inquired. “Cars,” Kaiser answered wearily. Twilight shook her head. “Care to be more specific? I’m beginning my studies now.” “Look. I’ve devoted the vast majority of my brain power into staying conscious, so don't take offense when I say: ask somebody else!” The violet unicorn turned to Steven Mace. “Pass.” The solider mumbled. She looked over to Gerri. “Try again.” Lieutenant Reed sarcastically chirped. “Okay.” Twilight turned to Captain Greene. “Can you explain?” Lenard walked just behind hunched over and with his arms practically dragging the ground. “Thass a shtop sign. Thass over t’er is a manhole co’er. And look, a tree! Wisth leaves!” “Okay.” Twilight nodded. “Similar to equines, humans display a near drunken behavior when reaching dangerous levels of sleep deprivation.” “Ee-yesiree!” Greene suddenly exclaimed. Kaiser sighed. “Can somebody take care of that?” Fluttershy doused the practically crawling captain with a bucket of water. “Eeyow! Cold! Cold! Okay! Sorry about that,” Lenard sheepishly spoke. “You've been like that most of the trip,” Gerri added. “We’re almost there, actually.” “Good for me.” Greene answered. “Oh, and for you guys too,” He corrected. “Is somepony going to answer my question?” Twilight interjected. Greene shrugged. “No idea what you’re talking about, but I really wish I had my car. This walk is ridiculous.” Twilight’s face nearly tied itself in a knot. Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Are ya feelin' okay, Twilight? Ya seem mighty peeved.” “Fine,” she gritted her teeth. “Just fine.” “No, seriously. Why couldn’t we have roped in some buses for this?” Greene wondered aloud. “Where were we going to find enough free buses to shuttle seventy-nine thousand ponies?” Kaiser quietly questioned. Greene took a misstep. “79,000?! That can’t be right! I don’t remember that many at zero!” “Sounds like a lot, but the city made the count as we left the base. It’s not an exact figure, but it’s close enough.” Gerri answered. “Wow. That’s a sizable amount,” Mace thought aloud. “How many of them are actually here with this group?” “I'd say only approximately one-sixth of us went to other facilities after arriving here," Twilight answered. “That’s a lotta ponies,” Applejack thought out loud. “There weren’t that many ponies in Ponyville before, they musta come from all over th’ place!” “Yes, from many of the surrounding territories I would think.” Twilight added. “I was thinking. You said that the weather here is self-regulating like in the Everfree Forest. We always thought that was some bizarre anomaly against the normal workings of our world, but it’s normal for you, right?” “Yeah,” Greene answered. “Self-regulating weather and the Sun and Moon rising by themselves is the norm, it would seem you guys are the exception.” Kaiser answered. “Fascinating,” Twilight mumbled through the quill in her mouth as she attempted to walk on three legs while holding up a notepad with the other one, and balancing a sleeping Spike on her back. “So do animals take care of themselves?” Fluttershy quietly inquired. “I just wanted to know, no offense or anything.” Gerri shrugged. “Yes, and no. Most of them go about their business just like we do, living their lives without any need of help from us, but there are plenty of domesticated creatures that are just fine with being taken care of. My family has a dog at home named Gomer, and Mace has this chicken that he and the others in his platoon call-“ “Story for another time,” Steven interrupted. “Oh, okay,” Fluttershy nodded. “That’s not suspicious or anything,” Lime Tree commented as he trotted up to the front of the parade of ponies. “That’s what I was thinking too,” Lenard added. Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash. “I notice you’re usin’ yer legs. Why aren’t you pointlessly hoverin’ a couple hooves off the ground like ya usually do?” “Hey, I can! It’s just that I’m too tired right now, and flying after the big red comet came down is a lot harder than normal! Heck, flying now, is like flying through water. My wings are gonna be so strong after this! It’s like a flight trainer’s dream!” She then demonstrated by pointlessly hovering a foot or so in the air. “See?” Rainbow boasted proudly. “Yep.” Applejack shook her head. Twilight did the same. “Okay, back to what we were talking about before. These "karze" zooming by, what are they?” Greene nodded. “Think of them like metal carriages, without the ponies, and not made of wood, and with closed cabins, and a lot faster, and a lot more technically complicated, and-“ “Hold on, let me get all of this down,” Twilight spoke with the quill whirling away in her teeth.” “I could just show you.” Greene commented. “Later on, after things settle down, I could demonstrate a lot of stuff to all of you. Kinda like-" "Like a Worlds Fair?" Gerri suggested. Greene nodded excitedly. "Yeah, like a worlds fair! It beats having to sit here and explain internal combustion.” Twilight fumbled with the quill, barely holding on to it with her lips until she finally dropped it. Forgetting the sleeping dragon on her back, she leaned over to pick up the quill. Spike tumbled over her head and landed on ground in front of her in a heap. “Spike! Are you okay?!” Twilight asked her lifetime roommate. The dragon remained fast asleep, snoring all the while. "Rarity," He mumbled unconsciously. “I guess he’s fine then.” Twilight rolled her eyes.. "I'm sure he is, if he's dreaming of me." Rarity added with just a slight hint of arrogance. "Wait! That little rapscallion is dreaming of me!" Rarity's face went red once more with embarrassment. Pinkie couldn't hold back a snicker fit. "Give the little guy a break, he's seen a lot," Sergeant Sky Blade commented from the front of the caravan. "Oh I bet he's seeing a lot right now, Rarity!" Pinkie exploded into a full on eruption of laughter, deepening the shade of red that already inhabited the white unicorn's face. Rarity didn't even answer as the pink earth pony rolled about on the asphalt, laughing uncontrollably. "Not going to lie, that's pretty hilarious," Mace spoke as he undid some of the velcro on his sleeves, making a sharp tearing sound. “Whah!” Spike gasped, suddenly launched into consciousness by the subtle noise. “Why does it feel like I’ve been sleeping on rocks?” The young dragon wondered as he rubbed his back with a claw. “Are we there yet?” “Yep, he’s alright.” Applejack rolled her eyes. Mace nodded. “We’re close. You’ll see it any moment now.” “Awesome.” Spike popped a ruby into his mouth, climbed back onto Twilight's back and fell asleep once more. Gerri raised an eyebrow. “Are those gems he keeps eating worth anything? Seems strange to just let him chow down on precious stones.” Twilight's face bore curiosity. “Usually not, but I swear these look a lot more expensive than the ones we normally get. That might explain the large hole in my savings.” Twilight shrugged. “What can you do? He did save the money I guess.” “It’s just, well, gems are really valuable here. I’d watch myself. Some unsavory character might decide that he can put them to better use, especially if Spike keeps eating them in front of everyone.” Gerri explained. “I know, even the common ones can fetch some big bits on the Manehatten black market. That’s why we kept them locked in a magic-proof safe in the Library basement. I bet there are still some down ther-" Twilight stopped. “None of you heard that.” “Heard what?” Kaiser asked innocently. “Exactly.” Twilight answered. “Woah! There it is!” Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom suddenly emerged from whatever section of the caravan they’d previously been playing in. “It looks like an upside down bowl with snow on top!” Sweetie Belle stated. “No, no, no. It looks like one of those round cooking pan thingies without the hole in the middle.” Scootaloo argued. “Yer both wrong! It looks like th’ top of an almost finished vanilla ice cream cone, ya know, without the cone?” Applebloom explained. "Horse feathers, now ah want some ice cream." “I say it looks like a large round building with a white dome on top,” Green commented. "And I'm sure someone in there will be more than happy to give you some ice cream." "Yay!" The three crusaders cheered in unison. “Is that the dome? It’s bigger than I thought it would be.” Twilight thought aloud. “Yep. The Georgia Dome, where sporting legends have been made for over 25 years, or something knowledgeable sounding like that.” Kaiser nodded. “It can seat well over 70,000 during a football game, but I guess with the open field and the seats, you ponies should have some relative comfort. I’m sure they’ve cleared most of the space.” “Neat.” Rainbow added. “As long as it’s got some food and a nice high-up place to nap, I’m fine with that.” Greene swatted a fly, which had obviously been awakened by some random rise in temperature earlier, just to be met with the cold once more. "Yeah, I'm sure that won't be a problem." *************** Celestia and Luna stood before a large door, each wearing stylized dress suits, which had been quickly cobbled together from existing clothes that a female dignitary would typically wear. The soldiers leading them stopped, spoke to the soldiers guarding the entrance, then turned around. "The dignitaries have already assembled inside. You can go ahead in." Celestia nodded. "Thank you." The soldiers opened the doors, revealing large room which was dominated by a large black table in the center, and by the multitude of chairs taking up its perimeter. In each of the seats, a dignitary from various human nations spoke back and forth. "I say it's madness, all of it," An ambassador from the U.K. spoke. "-But it is still quite a fascinating account, none the less." A representative from Australia put a hand to his head. "He's right. An alien war? It's the stuff of my worst apocalyptic nightmares. We need to get a handle on this." "Nightmare or not, we are now involved." France's ambassador added. "The damage has already been done." "Be that as it may, I'm not entirely convinced we can trust a nation we have only known existed for a few hours," China's representative stated. The president of the United States nodded. "I agree, but I believe we have a responsibility to-" The arguing leaders stopped as they all began to notice the two alicorn princesses. Each began a quiet golf clap in recognition of their esteemed guests. An Equestrian royal guard stood at attention. "I present to you, Princesses Celestia and Luna of The Sovereign Kingdom of Equestria." A gentleman stood at the end of the table. "On behalf of the various national representatives in attendance, we welcome to this emergency assembly. We reserved a pair of seats for you," The speaker of the meeting spoke. "We ask that you be seated so we can begin to settle this debate." "Thank you," Celestia spoke as she and Luna took their reserved seats. "May I question as to the nature of the discussion?" The princess of the Equestrian daylight calmly asked. "Most certainly." The speaker answered. "The representatives were stating their personal opinions regarding humanity's role in this new found conflict between your kingdom and the Liberation Alliance." "Indeed. What are thy contested stances?" Luna asked the assembly. "Most agree that we should give you aid, but the representatives have been arguing as to how or in what way we should assist. Some suggest full military support. Another stance is that we should act as negotiators between the warring nations. Others suggest humanity remain a neutral party entirely." "Are you considering pulling out of the military aspect of the conflict?" Celestia asked. "I cannot even begin to describe what that would entail, for both of our kind." Luna nodded. "My sister speaks truth. If the bastion of our nation's forces remained a solid entity, perhaps we could wage a winning war against the enemy alliance by ourselves. Unfortunately, our enemy has uprooted our defenses and sabotaged our strongest weapons of war. Though we are not beaten, we have become severely crippled, and are in dire need of assistance." Celestia sighed. "I agree. Though I will not beg, I do come to you as a fellow leader. I ask you to aid us in our time of need, and in return, we will rush to your side when you would need us to do the same." The U.K. ambassador nodded. "It is not my intention that any innocents burn because of this assembly's stagnation. I will return to my country with the intention of joining you." "We will wait until the official meeting of the United Nations to make any final decisions," The Chinese representative spoke. "I'm on board. If extraterrestrials are coming to us for help, I see no reason why we can't. I'll see what I can do back home." Australia answered. "I concur," U.K. added. "You will have our support." "I want to hear the full story," France's representative stated. "I can't agree in good conscience until we have been given the facts." The president put a hand to his chin. "I agree. The loss of the anomaly control system has given us plenty of time to become acquainted with the history of this engagement and the events that led to it. According to Dr. Harrison, the arch system on our side can be repaired, but we will have to wait until the next natural anomaly before we even have a shot at getting back to your planet, let alone repairing the second arch. Seeing as that's weeks away, we have plenty of time to clear things up." Celestia rolled up her dress shirt sleeves and loosened her tie. "I see. Let us begin then." ************** Up close, the dome was much larger now. Multiple entrances had now been cleared, and a line of soldiers kept any overly curious civilians from standing in the way. A police sergeant hustled up to the approaching caravan, a megaphone grasped tightly in his fist. "OKAY NOW. IN ORDER TO PASS OUT THE SUPPLIES WE COLLECTED, AND TO GET YOU IN THERE SAFELY, WE'LL NEED YOU ALL TO FORM YOURSELVES INTO ABOUT TWENTY LINES OF FOOT TRAFFIC- ER- HOOF TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF THE GATES. WE HAVE FOOD, WATER, AND BASIC NECESSITIES." The police sergeant put the megaphone down and pointed to a group of ponies near the front of the caravan. "You! In the purple fur!" Twilight froze and pointed a hoof towards herself if as to ask, "Me?" "Yeah! You with the curly horn thing! Are you Ms. Spar- Sparr-kel?" "Twilight Sparkle, yes," The purple unicorn answered. The sergeant appeared to be trying to keep his lunch down with that answer. "Y- yes. *omph* Yes, I have a shipping container delivery for you from a- Ms. Cell-es-tea-uh, waiting for you inside." "The Princess sent you mail? Why didn't she give it to you in person?" Greene thought out loud. "He said it's a shipping container. Must be to big to carry I would think."Gerri answered. "She's probably up to 'er ears in work right now anyways." Applejack suggested. "Ya know, with all that's goin' on right now?" "Does Celestia usually send you stuff in large crates?" Kaiser asked. "No, but now I really want to know what it is. May we go in now?" Twilight asked the police sergeant. "Not until we process you and give you your provisions," The guard answered. "Process? That doesn't sound too good." Greene commented. "Calm down. We're just going to be adding their names and basic info into the ID system. That way, we don't have to find someone with just their color to go on." Greene nodded. "Oh." "Begin your line at that first table over there." The police sergeant lifted and set his cap. "Have a peachy day." The group moved up to the table. A government worker walked over with a stack of identity forms and stamps. The government worker sat down behind one of the many tables set up in front of the dome entrance and began to scrawl on a identification form. "Okay. Name?" He pointed to a white unicorn. "Rarity," The white unicorn answered. "Okay. Rare-et-ty. Got it. Color scheme?" "Scheme?! I'll have you know my coat and mane are not some cheap paint job!" "Sorry! Sorry! I'll put you down as white and purple." "No-no-no-no. I believe you mean alabaster and violet." "Of course." The government worker nodded. "White and purple it is." He looked back up. "Age?" Rarity's mouth dropped. "Well I never-!" Greene facepalmed and sighed. "We're going to be here a while." **************** A small group of lab coat-wearing humans and ponies quietly conversed inside a small office room. "Ah, Dr. Harrison. Come in," An Equestrian physician asked the man standing at the door. "Thank you. I don't believe we've met," Harrison answered. "Oh, yes. My name is Winter Willow, Doctor Winter Willow, and we need your help." The human doctor shook the mare's hoof. "I'm more of a physicist, but I'll do what I can. How can I help?" A human doctor walked up to Harrison. "The Equestrian Ministry of Magic and Sciences has teamed up with the CDC, that's Center For Disease Control, on a most important subject." "Whether or not we are at risk of a major decease outbreak," Willow Wisp stated. "You mean between planets?" Harrison asked. "Yes," Willow answered. "I would think that there would be a few illnesses both sides would have that the other wouldn't, and that could cause some major problems." Harrison nodded. "I see, but I'm not sure what help an astrophysicist could give you." Willow took out a clipboard. "Ah, yes. We need you, because the bulk of Equestrian diseases are linked with the magic that binds our planet, and there are few that have become more knowledgeable about that subject than you." "What she's saying," The human doctor added, "-is that we may have a problem, and we need you to help us to make a determination." The physicist shrugged. "Okay, let me see," Willow hoofed over the clipboard to Harrison, who cocked his head to the side upon looking at it. "Oh, that's certainly... Interesting." *************** The elements, and the humans that had helped save them, stood at the entrance to the main stadium inside the Georgia Dome. Mike outstretched his arms. "Welcome to the Georgia Dome." "That's a lot to take in!" Twilight thought aloud, as the group entered the main floor. The entering ponies stared at the massive digital displays and all manner of advanced human technology that now lay before them. Thousands of construction workers went about their duties, most cleaning up and leaving. The event seating, which had taken up the majority of the dome's interior space, had been repositioned to form makeshift couches and beds, and had also been used to divide up the dome into several living sections. In the center, a large four-sided screen dominated the scene. "What does all this do?" Rainbow questioned. Kaiser looked around the small town that had been quickly constructed inside the dome. "Looks like hundreds of TV's, refrigerators, portable stoves, you name it. I'd say someone wants you all to be very comfortable." Gerri held up a large fold-out diagram. "Let's see. Looks like they decided the place up into a grid. Twenty-six columns, thirty-two rows, with several tents and appliances set up per grid space. Someone reserved one large space for all of you... A-29." The group climbed up the stairs until the corresponding grid block came into view. Several sleeping bags, a couch, and a recliner had been built using the sporting center's readily available furnishings. Hundreds, if not thousands of similar living spaces now filled the stadium. Many of Equestrian refugees had already begun to settle in. Nearby, Lyra merrily trotted over to one of the recliners and plopped down into the seat. After a moment to enjoy the recliner's plushy goodness, she instinctively grabbed for a small black rectangle with buttons, sitting on one of the armrests. Though she wasn't sure of what the device was or what it did, she felt a strange need to press the red button near the top. She shrugged and pressed it, making a nearby black box flicker to life. "Ohhh!" Lyra cooed. A nearby technician, who had been assigned the task of demonstrating the new appliances to the new guest, threw up his hands. "Let it be known that Lyra Heartstrings was the first Equestrian to ever turn on a TV! Didn't even have to show you that one." "Jake? That you?" Lenard called out to the technician. "If it isn't Gang Greene! Long time no see," The technician answered. Lyra broke her focus away from the screen. "You know Captain Greene? The legendary savior of Ponyville, sorta?" Greene nodded. "Yep. Jake Baxton and I went to college together- well, the few months I was there." Lenard spotted a young boy hiding behind his college friend. "Is he your-" "-son? Yeah, I guess I settled down, if you can believe that. Introduce yourself little dude," Baxton spoke to the kid. "Hi, uh, my name's Brandon," The little boy mumbled. "Wow. Jake "The snake" Baxton finally settled down." Greene shook his head. "Who's the lucky lady?" "Maria. You remember her?" Greene's eyes wind wide. "You married Maria Fayst?! Man, she was way out of you league! She didn't even acknowledge your existence if I remember correctly." "Yeah, I got lucky. By the way, I was just introducing some of the aliens to the set up. Harder than you might think, by the way. Well, there was that weird guy that seemed to figure it out almost instantly." Greene put his hands to his chin. "Let me guess. Grey fur, mismatching horns, wings, a paw on one hand, talons on the other, dragon scales-" "That was him," Baxton answered. "Said his name was Disco, or was it Destro? Something like that." Twilight nodded. "That was Discord. You wouldn't happen to know where he is now, would you?" "Over there," Baxton answered. Unbelievably, Discord had been sitting right next to the group the whole time, watching the same TV Lyra was. "But how did we not see y- Forget it." Twilight sighed. A small group of guards walked up to the draconequus. "You are Discord? We've been given explicit orders to keep an eye on you." Discord didn't answer. "Mr. Discord?" The lord of chaos had his eyes glued to the screen. "What's he watching?" Gerri questioned. On the screen, a particularly large human male wearing red gym shorts was demonstrating his preferred brand of body spray. The man declared to another man that his brand was capable of giving one the feeling of near supernatural ability. The man then demonstrated this by casting forth the body spray from his lungs, instantly exploding the second man's clothes and replacing said clothes with that of an ancient king's. After admitting that this getup did indeed make him feel more powerful, the second man watched as the first man declared, "Potato chips!" instantly turning the second man into a vending machine in one massive explosion. The first man then punched through the vending machine glass, and retrieved his aforementioned snacking material. After eating one of the chips, the first man stood there and shrugged. A picture of the body wash then appeared then, of course, exploded. Discord rose to his feet and pointed the TV remote toward the heavens. "I have seen the promised land-" He wiped away a tear. "-and it is good!" Discord then broke down into joyful weeping. Greene could have sworn he saw a shaft of heavenly light illuminate the draconequus and the TV set. "Figured he'd like that," Baxton remarked. "What is that thing?" Applejack wondered. "How did they 'git tha tiny people in there?" "That is called television. I'm sure you will all become quite accompanied with it. All of the new equipment will be explained in time." Greene explained. Discord wiped his face and put his feet up on a ottoman. The sated draconequus reached into a small cooler, picked up an oddly beer-like bottle of chocolate milk, popped the cap off, downed half of it in one gulp, and began excitedly changing channels. "I truly have come home. I do not wish to ever leave this place!" ___________ Somewhere in low Earth orbit, an astronaut servicing a satellite could have sworn he heard someone scream, "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!" echoing from far below. He shook his head and got back to work. ___________ "Was that really necessary?" Gerri asked a nearby human soldier. "You weren't part of the task force Celestia and Highlander charged with keeping up with him before," The soldier answered. Rainbow shrugged and leaped onto one of the makeshift couches. Within seconds, she had already fallen asleep. "Well she made herself at home real quick," Kaiser commented. "I suggest all of you do the same," Greene added. "I'm not sure how long you all will be here. I wish we could give you the same hospitality you gave us, but there's a lot more of you here then there were of us back on your world." Twilight smiled contently and sat down on a purple sleeping bag. "It will do fine. I'm just happy to be safe." "Me too," Kaiser muttered. Nearby, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and a small team of other familiar fillies and colts were busy building a second crusader club house, which they'd named " The Cutie Mark Crusader Castle of Doom!" The title was no doubt a compromise between the male and female members of the group. Greene brought a hand to his chin. "Someone here knows who you all are. There's a bunch of your stuff from the other side over here. Someone even color coded your sleeping bags." "And left me a sowing machine!" Rarity added. Applejack nodded. "And a crate of "as-sort-ed" apples products." Kaiser scratched his head. "I'm guessing that hammock attached to the rafters is for Dash." "I got a box of supplies to take care of the animals that came with us," Fluttershy added. "They even made a small bed for Spike." Spike had already joined Rainbow Dash in the land of slumber, having curled himself into a ball in the small round bed left for him. "What did you get Pinkie?" Greene wondered. "I got a weird oven thingie!" Pinkie Pie declared. "Good lord, they gave her a microwave!" Kaiser recoiled in shock. "Who's idea was that?!" Greene rubbed the sides of his head, preparing for the immanent stress that clearly was to come. "I don't know, but I'm guessing Twilight's gift has something to do with that package from the princess." Baxton slapped his forehead."Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that! I've got to show you "The Crate." Greene looked unsure. "The Crate?" "The Crate," Baxton answered. "Ooh! Ooh! Let's go see!" Pinkie put a banana into the microwave and began randomly pressing buttons. "Yeah. Ah think we should go check it out," Applejack commented. "You watch the camp, Dash." Rainbow's answer came in the form of a loud snore. *************** Baxton, Greene, Kaiser, Gerri, Mace, five of the elements bearers, and Lime Tree Hill gathered in front of a large shipping container. That same police sergeant from before took off the lock. "Alright, go ahead." "This is a little somethin' the boys back at the AEE were planning on sending through the portal, but it's a pretty big help here too," Baxton explained. The group entered the dark shipping container. "You just flip this switch and..." "Welcome," A synthesized computer voice spoke. Fluttershy began to tremble. "Uh, who said that?" Baxton put his hand to a small scanner, and the makeshift room lit up with several large 3D screens and back-lit keyboards, which emerged from multiple hidden compartments. On the largest screen, mounted in the middle, words began to appear. [User "Jacob Baxton" verified. Full feature access granted.] Celestia's face then appeared on the largest screen. ..."Greetings, my students.".... Twilight bowed her head. "Good to see you princess." She paused. "How exactly are we seeing you?" ...."My image is being captured using a motion picture camera, and being relayed to you via a wireless radio link."... Twilight was clearly impressed. "That's incredible! How far away are you?" ...."I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Luna and I regret we can't see you in person right now, as we are conducting business in a facility of which the location of cannot be revealed. But enough about us, how are you? I trust you and your friends like your gifts?"... "Yes. We are fine, and the gifts were very thoughtful," Twilight answered. ..."Not all of it was my idea. Mr. Highlander helped me select some of them."... "I'll make him a thank you cake in my new portable oven!" Pinkie cheered. "About that..." Kaiser started. "So princess, what is all of this?" Twilight wondered. ..."Since we can no longer communicate using magic, our human allies have set up this "Secure wireless video connection" for us to speak in private.".... "Excuse me, princess, but wouldn't a cell phone be more efficient?" Kaiser asked. ..."I was told this was set up to prevent any kind of eavesdropping. The container is sound proof as well."... Greene walked up to one of the control panels. "This is pretty advanced stuff. There's three dimensional geographic displays, thousands of volumes of resource material, what looks like science equipment, and of course, access to the internet." ...."Yes. This resource station is for anypony that needs it. It was originally intended to be sent to Canterlot as a gift, but it will be just as useful to you here.".... "Wait, what's the internet?" Lime Tree asked. "Everything." Kaiser answered. "He means- well-" Greene stopped. "Yeah. The internet is everything. The sum of all human knowledge, all accessible from any device capable of connecting to it." "The sum of all human knowledge? I would very much like to see that," Twilight spoke. "It would take about a few thousand lifetimes to see all of it." Gerri commented. "But hey, don't let that discourage you." ...."Do try to share, Twilight.".... Luna appeared next to Celestia on the screen. ...."Sister, the session has begun anew. Our attention is required."... ...."I see. Time for me to go. Twilight, Captain Greene, bring your friends back here tomorrow at precisely eight-thirty. It is time we continue our story."... "Very good, princess. I will try to remember that," Twilight answered. "I was wondering when we would hear the rest of that dramatic tale," Greene added. ...."Indeed."... Luna spoke. ..."Yes." The white alicorn began. "We are working to bridge the gap between our peoples. Try to enjoy yourselves in the mean time. Celestia out.".... The screen dimmed to black. "I guess we should go on home now," Greene spoke. Gerri stood back up. "Yeah, but before we do, I happen to have a few gifts of my own for all of you." **************** Back at Ponyblock A-29, Gerri pulled out a box. "I managed to get the government to foot the bill for these. They're mobile phones. They work just like those old fashioned two-piece phones you have back home. This particular type is usually used by older folks, but I figured the big buttons would be more useful for those with hooves." Gerri passed out the cell phones to each of the elements. "Sorry Lime, I only got six." Greene dug into his pocket and tossed his phone at the green stallion. "Here, you can have mine. I picked it up back at the base." Lime Tree fiddled with the device. "Thanks!" Greene nodded. "We're going home now, but none of us live too much farther than thirty minutes away, so it's not a big deal. If you need us, or I guess if you just want to hang out, just call." "The phones already have our contact information stored inside," Gerri added. "Excuse me, but how does this fancy do-dad work?" Applejack wondered, holding her phone upside-down in one hoof, scratching her chin with the other. "Well-" Gerri started. "No." Twilight stopped her. "I want to figure it out by myself. That's the fun of it." "You're a mare after my own heart," Greene chuckled. "Between Twilight and Lime Tree, someone will figure out how to use those. If you give up, I'm sure Baxton will help you." Baxton performed an elegant bow. "Yep. My team and I will be here at the dome if anyone needs us." Rainbow yawned. "Sure. Sure." "Just remember to come back on time," Twilight reminded them. "We can't leave this place yet, so you have to come here. Try not to be late." Greene grinned. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it." The overhead lights of the dome dimmed, and Princess Celestia and Luna's faces appeared on the massive set of LCD screens hanging over the center of the dome. ..."My little ponies," Celestia began, "I'm so proud of all of you for being so brave in these tough times..."... "I thought she had to go," Kaiser commented. Greene nodded. "Must be a prerecorded message." ...."We wished for all you to know this, for we have had little time to converse," Luna started. "As you witness the images before you, know that thy princesses continue to work on your behalf, and are working with human government establishments to further our cause, and are seeking out ways to end this plight.".... ...."All Luna and I require of you at this time, is that you stay close to this facility, in order to prevent any awkward situations that may occur otherwise. When the time comes, you will become the first of our world to explore this new one. Stay strong. We will get through this, together. I promise that we will not fail our subjects again, and we know you won't fail us. Good fortune, my subjects, my friends.".... Every Equestrian face stuck on the screen until the image of the princesses faded. Some faces bore the weight of the losses they'd all felt. Others bore the indisputable look of hope, seeing a bright future ahead. Others still felt only pride, pride in their nation, its leaders, and themselves. The pony population returned to its previous tasks, all except one. Twilight sparkle continued to stare at the blank screen. "Friends," She thought to herself. "So wise, so powerful, yet she considers us- me, her friend. Her equal." Twilight's friends, old and new, human and pony, stood by her side. "Very inspirational," Rarity started, "-Though the outfits need a bit of work." Greene crouched down next to Twilight. "Chin up, Twi. I don't know what the future has in store for us, but they were right about one thing." Twilight snapped out her her internal thoughts. "What?" Greene stood back up. "We will get through this." ************** From one of the many spires of Canterlot Castle, Praetor Phalanx watched as a torrent of storm clouds gathered over Ponyville. As one massive bolt struck from the town, Gilda entered the chamber, wearing the elegant trappings of a Canterlot noble. Phalanx turned away from the grand window of the royal quarters. "It's time, my dear. Come watch with me?" Gilda snuggled up next to the griffin grand praetor. "We worked so hard. We've all waited so long for this." Phalanx sighed. "If only our ancestors could see this. I- I just wonder what they would think. You know Gilda, what we had to do to get here. All those we hurt.. I keep trying to tell myself it was worth it." Gilda frowned. "I'd be a liar if I said I didn't have that moment too, but every time I think like that, I remember that they didn't have a problem doing it to us." Phalanx's mood improved. "You're right. Odd, you usually come to me for advice. I'm happy to see you have some for me." Gilda gave him a playful nudge. "Well, I guess you chose your mate well. Now cheer up, the boss is on the way. We got front row seats to see what rams and griffins have waited centuries to see." Phalanx held his head high. "Yes. It is a great honor." Out of the great energy sphere came a chariot of onyx, to which two black pandragon mounts were yoked, driven by two black pandragon minors. The chariot, as well as those who pulled it, were both bathed in a bright blue glow. "Incredible! I wasn't aware that anything other than him had been inside the void all this time! " Phalanx exclaimed. Gilda shook her head vigorously. "Guess he's been busy." *************** Anomalous Energy Event Team, Research and Development Department Factoid #43: Magma Orbs. Though we managed to bring one back with us, we still know very little of how these things work. What we do know, is that Magma Orbs are quite possibly the most lethal weapon that an alliance solider would carry, and could represent the extent of Liberation Alliance weapons science. Essentially a highly engineered glass sphere filled with what we would call liquidized thermate, this weapon is extreme dangerous to anything it touches. The orb itself appears to be made by combining several different types of glass, minerals, and gems, some of which supposedly can only be found in alliance territory. An unarmed magma orb looks like nothing more than a round glass snow globe filled with a sticky orange paste, and are quite hard to break, having been designed to withstand great physical and heat damage to protect the users from unintended thermate leakage. However, slide the metal ring that encompasses the orb, and you will have adjusted it in such a way that will allow the orb to separate under even a slight impact. When broken apart, these orbs release their deadly payload, the liquidized thermate, a compound that burns hot enough to melt its way through solid titanium in seconds, and is almost instantly lethal to a living tissue. Very little is known about the process involved in making this "liquidized thermate," or the orbs themselves, but it's no secret that every soldier and citizen in Griffin, Caprastian, and Pandragon territory knows that you don’t fool around with one, because even when they’re not armed, magma orbs are truly terrifying weapons.