What Came Before

by Lynwood

XIX

Canterlot was the shining jewel of Equestria. Perched on the side of Mt. Canterlot, its shining marble towers could be seen for miles around. From the serene valleys below, one could never guess that the city was in chaos. Ponies dashed back and forth in the streets, paper-foals called out that they had the latest on the new arrivals, and the most paranoid barricaded their homes. The Royal Guard was scrambling left and right, controlling riots and preventing looting. Pegasi flew through the air, and the shipyards were crowded with zeppelins and airships. Rumors were spreading like wildfire. Hospitals were overloaded. Ponies screamed that the end had come, running back and forth in the streets. Above it all sat the Human ship, like a dark, silent observer.

Prince Blueblood scoffed at the chaos around him. Not only were the lower ponies running about and screaming as if they were on fire, he had even seen some of his fellow unicorns doing it too! He turned his snout up a little more, keeping up his calm and collected pace. There was no need to rush. These things took time, after all.

Behind him strode about twenty other ponies, all of them unicorns. They were dressed in fine clothing, and all of them carried a formal air around them. They, too, scoffed at the panicking ponies around them. Sure, the fear of the dirt ponies and those rats with wings were understandable, but unicorns? Ridiculous. They kept up their calm, but quick pace towards the Castle. They did have a mission, after all.

Canterlot Castle was the complete opposite of the city. Hiding behind its thick walls and its magical wards, it was a tense, quiet space. Maids and servants scurried about, keeping their heads low and eyes forward. Guards stood at every doorway, facing straight forward. There was an air of fear. The whole castle had been quiet, except for one room: the war room.

The war room was a long, spacious room used more often as a dining hall or ballroom than for actual planning of anything. Today, however, was an exception. A long, rounded table sat in the center of the room, with a dozen or so chairs around it. Two larger chairs sat next to each other at the head of the table. Velvet cushions sat on each chair, adorned with golden tassels. Two chairs appeared to be missing, with their cushions sitting of the floor instead. Tall, wide windows covered the walls and two glass doors sat at the end of the room. Beyond the doors lay a large open courtyard. Opposite the glass doors were two large, oaken doors, with thick iron handles. There was a thick smell of dust, and the golden evening sunbeams lit up the air, casting great, long shadows across the cold marble floor.

The war room currently had seven inhabitants. Celestia and Luna stood near the doors, conversing quietly with Twilight Sparkle. Shining Armor and Cadance stood together, discussing current events in the Crystal Empire. Two royal guards stood by the door, both unicorns their golden armor catching and throwing reflections from the two ethereal manes in the room.

"It will be fine, Twilight. I promise." Celestia nuzzled Twilight, who wore a nervous frown on her face.

"But what will they think of me? What will they say?" The purple unicorn looked up expectantly at the solar princess.

"I suspect that their minds will be on other things." Muttered Luna. Floating in front of her, suspended by her signature deep blue magic was a small, silver clock. "They should be here any minute."

"Well, then, we'd best be seated," Said Celestia, turning towards the table. The others followed her, save for the guards.

Twilight took a seat at the dark wood table, glancing about as Celestia and Luna took theirs at the head of the table. Twilight sat on Celestia's right, and on Luna's left were Shining Armor and Cadance. Nopony spoke a word. Someone coughed. Suddenly, a knock rang out from the great oaken doors. The guards' horns promptly lit and the passage was opened, revealing a large gathering of some very important people. They began to file into the room, their names and titles being read aloud by the unicorn servant that accompanied them. At the forefront of the group was a sextet of griffons

"His highness, King Grigori of the Griffon homelands," The griffon in question wore a great red crown adorned with gold and silver atop his balding, withered head. He had large bags under his eyes and walked slowly. His wings hung loosely at his sides and his claws scraped at the ground.

"Governor Makar of the Eastern Islands" This griffon was much younger, and had a strong brown and black plumage, with flecks of white up his breast, that traveled down to his claws and up to his neck, giving the impression he had just lain in a pile of flour. He wore a fine leather coat across his back, with his protruding wings pressed against his flanks.

"Governor Nikolai of the Colonies" He was a stark, white griffon with piercing pink eyes. He wore ornate black and gold leather armor on his back and legs, with a small dagger on his right foreleg. He walked with a smooth, calculating step. The three rulers and their guards traveled to their seats. Nikolai sat right next to Twilight, who cowered down a little when he glanced at her.

"King Minos, of the Home Islands," The minotaur had no escort. His coat was a dim brown, and in his great hand he carried an onyx war hammer, bound with bands of silver on a white wooden staff. He wore nothing but a gray loincloth, and his horns curled up and around his head. He took a seat next to King Grigori.

"Runner of Eve, High priestess of the Wandering Horses," A large jet black mare followed Minos. She wore only a small headdress and had sparkling green eyes. She sat upon one of the lone pillows on the ground.

"Enlightened one of the Hills and Brother of the Sands," Two camels strode in, one Dromedary and one Bactrian. They wore intricate rugs inlaid with gold with bright orange tassels across their backs and wore royal blue headdresses. They hobbled over to their places.

"Emissary of the dragon clans," A relatively small wingless dragon wobbled through the doorway. His scales were a pure turquoise, and two short ivory horns stuck out of the side of his head. His underbelly was a shade of sky blue and looked a great deal softer than the rest of his scales, which were jagged and reminded Twilight of sharks' teeth. His deep blue eyes gleamed in the evening sun. He took a seat on the remaining lone cushion.

"Her highness Mayazteca, Queen of the Everlasting Jungle," The zebra who walked into the room was adorned with polished wooden jewelry, and in the middle of her forehead hung a glowing emerald. Around her ankles were dark wooden bracelets, and her mane and tail were woven into many intricate braids. Her deep brown eyes found Twilight and seemed to pierce her soul even though it was a mere glance. She claimed a chair along with the other leaders.

"Princess Maasulu of the Far Shores," This zebra mare was dressed nearly identical to Mayazteca, the only differences being that the princess had a shining topaz instead of an emerald, and her eyes were a stunning violet. She followed Mayazteca, taking her place with a regal, and possibly haughty, look.

"Queen Nara of Gobi," To Twilight's uttermost surprise a changeling was the next to step through the door. Like Chrysalis, she had a crooked horn and holes all over her, but instead of the greenish-blue mane and tail that symbolized membership of Chrysalis' hive, there were crimson red ones. Her eyes were an even deeper shade of red. When she saw that Twilight was staring, she gave the shocked unicorn a questionable grin before striding to her seat.

"And finally, Queen Chrysalis of the Badlands." Twilight's jaw hit the ground. There she was, the tyrant and warmonger who had tried to capture Canterlot, walking around looking no worse for wear. Twilight turned to Cadence to see her reaction and saw that the two enemies had locked eyes with each other. Both bore completely even faces. The room was silent as the two continued their impromptu staring contest. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of tension, Chrysalis looked away and strode to the one remaining seat, which was, coincidentally, directly across from Celestia and Luna. Even now, with all the leaders seated, three seats still remained open.

The announcer scurried out of the room, and the two Royal Guards closed the door behind him. Silence reigned for a few tense moments before Celestia rose, and cleared her throat.

"As per formalities, I shall begin the assembly." She paused a moment before going on. "I, Princess Celestia of Equestria have called this Twelfth Great Gathering to discuss an issue I believe will have a lasting effect on our lands, and possibly all of Equus. As you all know, a week ago, a great foreign object appeared in the sky. It's tenants are strange people, who call themselves humans. Little is known about them and their ways, and have made little contact aside from their first appearance." Another pause. "They will be joining this assembly."

For a brief moment, there was complete and utter silence. Governor Nikolai was the first to speak.

"When will they be arriving?" He said in rough Equestrian, looking at Celestia expectantly and shuffling his wings against his back.

"They will be here in no less than two minutes," Celestia replied with an even face. More silence.

"What do we know of their government system?" asked Emissary, his deep voice rumbling throughout the room. Celestia turned her head towards him.

"We know that they function as a republic, and elect their leaders, with one high ruler, the 'president' looking over them all. The president and some of his elected officials will be with us today." Celestia spoke in a clear, even voice.

"What sorts of magic do they possess?" A voice that seemed as if it was two reverberated through the air. All heads turned towards Nara, and she met the looks with an equally even face. "Transformation magic, Transmutation magic, Energetic magic, what?"

Celestia cleared her throat. "As far as I know, they have no magic." A third pause. Minos was the next to speak.

"Well, then, what is stopping them from being destroyed? How do they defend themselves? How on Equus do they keep that floating metal island up?" Celestia didn't get a chance to answer. All heads were drawn towards the glass doors when a loud roaring was heard. Lo and behold, a human 'dropship' appeared, its strange metallic legs extending carefully down from its tough belly to lightly touch the ground before all of the dropship's weight was transferred onto them. A loud hiss of air escaping the machine could be heard even through the doors before the human vehicle opened up like a flower and extended its ramp down to the ground. Out of the vehicle strode five humans. Three were dressed in suits of shimmering cloth and helmets with clear faceplates while the remaining two carried those strange boxy tools and were dressed in suits of armor similar to the ones Twilight had seen before. One of the less scary looking humans carried a simple black case.

The guard humans walked ahead of the other three to the doors and opened them. They waited until the three well-dressed humans were through the doorway before carefully shutting the doors behind them. One of the humans walked to the three remaining empty chairs and took a seat in the middle one, before clearing her throat. The other two took their places on either side of her.

"Hello," she began in that strange accent. A couple of whispers came from leaders who were wondering why the alien was speaking Equestrian. "My name is President Jane Hunters." She gestured to the human on her left, then her right. "This is Erik Spaskovsky and General Matthew Briggs. We are human beings from the Spirit of Hope," She gestured to the great metal behemoth in the sky. "It has been our only home for many generations. As you already know, we have no 'magic'. We possess no earthly home; This is the primary reason for this meeting. However, our solution to this problem requires significant explanation. Spaskovsky?" She nodded at the other human before sitting down. "Spaskovsky" stood u, opened the case he held, and retrieved a map of Equestria before laying it on the table.

"A long time ago," he began in an accent that, while being very different from Hunters', was still Equestrian. "many things were taken from us." It reminded Twilight a little bit of Eastern Griffonian. "Our homes, our culture, out very way of life was nearly extinguished. I am the descendant of the few who managed to escape..."

The Canterlot Castle gardens were a beautiful place. They were known all around the world for their beauty. The air smelled of pollen and nectar, and the tweeting of birds could almost always be heard. Small ponds and streams were scattered around, magically agitated to swirl and flow in magnificent patterns. Small stone statues stood here and there, more often than not they were tangled in creeping vines or used as a perch for the many types of avians that inhabited the gardens. Blueblood could spend hours sitting and taking it all in. However, now was not the time for dilly-dallying. He had a country to save.

Blueblood currently stood in a small, peaceful clearing in the garden. The evening sun shone and a soft summer breeze drifted lazily through the air. In front of him were fifteen of Canterlot's most talented and powerful spellcasters. They all wore looks of determination. This was the most important event among the Canterlot nobility in years. Blood feuds and debts had been put aside for the time being in order to stop the steel menace that hung behind Blueblood.

"My fellow unicorns," Blueblood began. "Behind me is the one greatest threat to our way of life! The monsters on that ship seek to destroy and enslave us! To put us to work, to harvest us for food, to sell away our children! Not just Equestria, all of Equus is at stake! We are the only thing that stand between our nation and total annihilation!" He spoke with a vigor, which had been drilled into him since he was a foal. This was it. This was the turning point in history. The Blueblood name would be known across the world. "Fathers! Mothers! Sons and Daughters! Heroes of Canterlot! Lend your power to me! Let us drive out the invaders!"

The unicorns dug their hooves in and shot brilliantly colored beams of light through the air. Blueblood spun around, his horn gaining first two layers, then three, then four. He conjured a clean, simple destruction spell, and carefully tended it as it grew and grew. In a blinding flash of light, a small white ball of energy shot off towards the ship.

The sixteen unicorns promptly cried out in pain and dropped to the ground.

Meanwhile, aboard the Spirit of Hope a blip appeared on a computer screen. The sound it gave off was drowned out by the hungover snoring of the engineer who was supposed to be watching it.

The war room was silent. The dying light shone through the great glass windows, effectively shrouding the events that were happening in the garden. All eyes were on the lone standing human, who had marked out an area on his sprawling map.

"We understand that this crosses one of your borders and that it encompasses a couple of sizable pony settlements. This is the amount of land that we need, and that encompasses all resources vital to us. It also has easy-to-develop geography. We hope that with your help, we can peacefully make a home for ourselves and our descendants and a new population solution would not have to be reached for at least six or seven decades. If your ponies wished to leave, we would let them and over time provide funding for them to start a new life; If they refused, we would build around them. Once we had settled in we would openly trade with both countries should conditions allow it. We humbly await your decision." Spaskovsky sat back down.

Twilight was shocked. The human had circled a huge area on his map! at least fifty thousand ponies would have to move! It also covered lots of farmland. Where would those ponies get food? How could the humans hope to pay for it? There was no way Celestia would let that happen.

Celestia was dead-set in her decision the moment the human had stopped outlining. It wouldn't happen. Sure, she would pretend to consider it, but then she would make a counter offer. She was already imaging a great place, in the north. Still, it wouldn't hurt to discuss it with the other princesses before going through.

Luna knew it would never work. She knew that Celestia had already come up with a counteroffer that the humans would be downright stupid to refuse. She inwardly sighed. She had not expected this to be so boring.

Chrysalis sat in her seat, perfectly still save for the rising and falling of her chest. She was brooding over the humans. She and Nara had discussed it over and over again using a temporary hive link, but neither of them could figure out why they couldn't feel the humans. It was like they were emotionally invisible. No magic, no emotions, nothing. There was far more to these humans then met the eye.

Celestia rose from her seat. "In order to properly discuss this decision, I officially call a rest period. We will return here in one-half of an hour. Thank you." She turned to leave, her golden shoes clacking against the smooth stone floor.

"With all due respect, your highness, we prefer to stay here, if that's all right with you." Celestia merely gave President Hunters a nod before making for the doorway. The other princesses followed her lead, and the various leaders stood, discussing the situation quietly with their respective advisors.

Celestia led the three other princesses through the twisting halls of Canterlot Castle to a little-known room near her private bedchambers. Celestia turned into the inconspicuous doorway, followed by Cadance and Luna, with Twilight bringing up the rear.

The inside of the room had no windows and was illuminated by magically powered golden candles. Nestled against one wall were several bookshelves, and opposite them was a small hearth. Celestia lit it with a shimmer of her horn, and the fireplace was soon casting shadows across the room. In the center of the room sat a small wooden table, surrounded by four ornate chairs, topped with red cushions. The princesses took a seat. Celestia, as usual was the first to speak.

"I have no plans to agree to their suggestion. It is far too foreign to our little ponies, not to mention dangerous."

Luna nodded. "True. We know not of their ways and customs. We fear they may be violent."

"I suspect you have an alternative, auntie?" Candance asked. Celestia nodded.

"The great tundra north of the Five Seas. It has plenty of space for them to expand, even if the soil there is a bit less healthy than the southern farming lands. It can be very cold, but I suppose that they will have to make do. I don't think they have any alternatives. Most of the other races are simply too hostile, too powerful, or too xenophobic." The princesses all nodded and spoke their agreement, save for Twilight. Celestia turned to her.

"Twilight? What do you think?" Twilight jerked out of her stupor at the mention of her name. She saw her fellow princesses looking at her expectantly and blushed. "Uh, sorry, what?" she squeaked sheepishly.

"Perhaps you need some time to think?" Celestia gave one of her trademark motherly grins. Twilight nodded, blushing furiously and quietly excused herself before leaving the room. She needed time to think, and she knew the perfect place to do it: The Canterlot Gardens.

All the leaders and their various escorts all shuffled out of the room, save for one. Chrysalis stayed behind, and quietly shut the giant oaken doors before turning around and looking at the humans. Nobody said a word until Hunters spoke up.

"Can we help you..ma'am?" She asked hesitantly. Chrysalis gave a toothy smile.

"I am Queen Chrysalis of the Badlands, and I have an offer for you." She strolled over to the map. Near the doors, the human guards tensed up.

"Celestia plans to deny your plea. She will likely give you a dry, dead piece of land north of the land you refer to as 'The Great Lakes'. I have a better offer." Spaskovsky realized what she was planning to do and tapped the corner of his map a couple times, clearing his previous offer. Chrysalis took up the marker and drew a new site.

"This land is currently controlled by myself alone. It is too humid for my kind to live comfortably but has a much coastal territory, is rich in iron and coal, and contains a minor leyline flowing straight through it. I realize that it is smaller than you had hoped, but it is completely uninhabited. It's the only price would be an alliance." Chrysalis smiled and put down the marker. Hunters spoke.

"Thank you, your highness. We will consider it after we receive Equestria's offer." Her voice was stern, and Chrysalis got the message loud and clear, spinning towards the doors and swiftly exiting the room.

The Canterlot Gardens looked best this time of year. Twilight imagined sitting in the garden at her favorite bench, the one that looked over the great Equestrian plains. The view would be spoiled now, though... That thing hanging in the sky would ruin it.

As Twilight made her way to the gardens her mind wandered to Spazkovsky. Something was... off about him. Maybe it was the scraggly beard. Maybe it was the way his body seemed so out of proportion. Maybe it was the way his too-small eyes darted around. Twilight shivered as she remembered locking eyes with him for a split second. She had seen something in them... she just couldn't tell what.

The purple alicorn sighed as she entered the gardens, stepping through the marble archway leading to them. Her hooves relaxed as she felt the transition from cold stone to soft grass. She even began to hum as she trotted through the gardens, admiring everything they had to offer It would have been a day. She shook her head. She didn't need to think about that right now. She was almost at her spot, anyway.

Twilight turned the last twist in the path and came upon a sight she would never have expected: Blueblood and several other unicorns all stood in a half-circle, with Blueblood at the center. They were quietly discussing something with an unseen fervor. They all looked very worried and some seemed on the verge of a breakdown. Twilight watched hesitantly for a moment before clearing her throat.

"A-hem" At the noise all heads turned towards Twilight. Blueblood stepped forward almost immediately.

"Princess Twilight! Thank goodness you're here! We could definitely use your help!" He wore a tired-looking grin. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You won't believe it! We got a chance to study the Human machines! We were doing a general scan of the ship but even with all these talented casters we just don't have enough magical strength! Will you help us?" Twilight hesitated. She didn't entirely trust Blueblood, but if he was lying surely one of the other unicorns would speak up. He did say it was for science, too. Twilight inwardly frowned. Here she was, about to turn down a chance to study a completely foreign tech evolution! It was completely magicless too!

"Alright, but only if I get a copy of the data afterward." She said. Blueblood squealed with apparent glee, before composing himself and getting down to business.

"We planned to begin with a simple scan spell. If you would stand over there, please." He looked down his snout at her. Twilight decided to take it in pursuit of knowledge. She turned around and faced the ship, beginning a standard scan spell, but placing a much larger than normal amount of raw magical energy behind it. Unbeknownst to her, Blueblood and his unicorns were preparing a spell of their own. She was oblivious to them, focusing her energy into the spell.

The second before she cast the spell, Blueblood released his own. IT hit Twilights horn, passing through it and continuing on its way. Just like before, all the unicorns fell to the ground, unconscious, except this time the spell rammed right through the Spirit of Hope's defences and sped towards its steel hull. It punched through it, and for a second nothing happened. A computer somewhere blared in alarm. Then, a flash of light could be seen. Inside the ship, the fiery explosion ripped through steel, filling hallways with fire. The technician didn't even get the chance to wake up before he was vaporized.

The resulting boom could be heard all through the Ponyville valley. Everyone rushed outside to look at the sky. There were screams, fear and anger. Riots happened all over both Canterlot and Ponyville and the guard was simply overrun by the panicking ponies. Above it all, the Spirit of Hope burned.

In the tea room, the floor shook a bit. All three princesses' heads shot up, their ears perking towards the sound, before looking at each other with dread.

In the War Room, the humans' radios went crazy. Speskovsky made a grab for the map but was pulled away by one of the soldiers. President Hunters practically screamed into her radio as the other soldier tried to usher the other two politicians towards the door. As the humans went towards the waiting dropship chrysalis burst into the room. The soldiers spun around but before they could fire a shot Chrysalis spoke.

"My deal is still open humans! I need to come with you! We haven't much time!" She was in a panic and rushed towards the humans. The soldiers stopped her before Hunters waved them off. She looked at Chrysalis for a second and nodded quickly before turning her attention to the radio again. The soldiers ushered the group onto the dropship, and with a roar it took off, escaping a Canterlot in chaos.

Celestia burst into the War Room, followed by a swarm of guards, nobles, and scared servants only to see that the humans had gone. The map remained on the table, and Celestia rushed over, only to see the slice of Chrysalis's land outlined. She nearly burst into tears at the thought of an alliance. Luna and Cadance followed her, and upon seeing her distraught face knew something was very, very wrong.

Aboard the Spirit of Hope, it was chaos. Announcements blared over the speakers for residents to return to their homes. Police rushed through the cramped hallways. The tram system was quickly overloaded. Families were separated and people were trampled in the mad dash to safety. Firefighters ran against the flowing tide of people and crawled through burning events to rescue the doomed people trapped in the burning hull of the ship. Some five minutes later someone labeled the ship as under attack and dispatched a counterattack order. Soon soldiers were boarding dropships everywhere, and they swarmed out of the ship like a hive of angry bees, flying down towards Ponyville. That was all it took: one fear-inspired order. It was enough to start the biggest war Equestria had ever seen.