CHAPTER 11
Twilight Sparkle’s chariot landed on the paved stone floor of the Canterlot castle courtyard, sliding along the surface for a few meters before skidding to a halt. Next to hers, a second chariot came in for a landing, this one occupied by Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. In Twilight’s chariot with her were Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, each of whom jumped from the comfortable leather seats onto the surface below. Dash immediately stretched her wings and did a few squats, then turned and watched as Twilight carefully stepped out of the chariot. The young princess took a look around, noticing an increase in guard activity along the walls of the castle.
No doubt a result of the reveal, she thought.
It had gone better than she had expected. While apprehension was evident, most ponies seemed to be fine with the presence of aliens. Twilight liked to think that her novel was responsible for that feeling, but she knew that most of the credit went to Celestia and Luna for pulling off the reveal so well. Because of their attitudes while introducing the aliens, most ponies did not see their new friends as a threat.
That did not mean that Equestria was without its dissenters. There were quite a few groups of ponies – some numbering in the thousands – who were completely against an alliance of any kind. They believed that the aliens intended to take advantage of Equestria, and would lead to the downfall of the ponies. It was all baseless conjecture, of course. The aliens of the galaxy had shown nothing but kindness to the ponies thus far. Twilight knew they had no reason to mistrust them.
Twilight stepped up to the entrance of the castle, which right now was a simple checkpoint guarded by eight stoic-faced royal guards. They parted their spears to let her and her friends pass through, and Twilight took a moment to look at the damage. The thick castle doors were completely gone, as were the large marble columns that supported the entryway. All that was left of the entry hall was the burned up remains of the supports. Everything else had simply ceased to exist.
“Sweet Celestia…” Rainbow Dash said, mouth agape, as she hovered around the ruins of the entry hall. “When Joker told us a bomb had gone off, I wasn’t expecting anything like this!”
“Neither was I…” Twilight agreed, her careful eyes scrutinizing every detail of the damage. She lit her horn and concentrated on a small section of the hall, looking over it for any sort of magic residue. There was none. Whatever had caused this explosion, it had no ties to magic. At the sound of hooves approaching, Twilight looked up and found Princess Celestia casually walking up to her. A smile broke out on her face, and the young princess trotted up to embrace her former mentor.
“Twilight, it is good to see that you have arrived safely,” the elder princess said affectionately. “You had a good flight, I trust?”
“Clear skies the whole way,” Twilight replied, grinning. “How have you been? I imagine the past few days must have been stressful.”
“Oh, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t partially worried. Pony reactions are mostly positive, and for that I am grateful, but the long-term reaction remains to be seen.” Celestia motioned for Twilight and her friends to follow her, and she began walking down the long marble hallway further into the castle. Twilight sped up to keep pace with the princess of the sun and looked to her while she walked.
“Is he here?” she asked.
“I assume you mean Legion,” Celestia correctly guessed. “Not now, no. We have sent him up to Gryphonia to perform some… stealth operations.”
“Spying?” Twilight was surprised. She had not realized the situation had deteriorated to the point that spying was necessary.
“Partly spying,” Celestia admitted. “But mostly searching. Prime Minister Sharptooth is missing. We are hoping that Legion will be able to find him and bring him here, where he will be safe. We have reason to believe that the insurrectionists may be a greater threat than we initially expected…”
“Why is that?” Celestia shook her head and stopped by an unassuming wooden door. Quirking an eyebrow, Twilight pushed it open and stepped into the room beyond, finding it to be a meeting room. Sitting around a long marble table were the aliens from the Normandy, as well as three other beings: a griffon, a zebra, and a changeling. Twilight felt her blood begin to boil at the sight of the changeling; all of her encounters with their kind had been negative.
“What’s he doing here?” she spat, glaring at the creature. The changeling looked back at her, not giving off any obvious emotions.
“Please, Twilight,” Celestia said, placing a hoof on her back. “Erebus is here at our request. He is a guest, and he will be treated as such.” Scoffing, Twilight stalked further into the room, taking her seat in an unoccupied chair. Her friends followed suit, taking seats next to her. Celestia sat down last, looking out over the group.
“Well, I suppose the first thing I can say is that the reveal went fairly well,” she began. “However, this only means that we now have time to address the next issue… As per the defense pact, our new alien allies have been invited to sit in. Now, as many of you have likely already guessed, the issue to which I am referring is the explosion at the castle from two days ago.”
“This was not the only explosion,” Luna said, taking over for her sister. “Eleven other explosions were reported as well; five in Manehattan, two in Fillydelphia, three in Cloudsdale, and one in Trottingham. All twelve explosions happened within an hour of one another on the same day. This cannot be mere coincidence. What’s more, my sister and I have reason to suspect that Gryphonia may have been involved.” All eyes turned to the griffon senator, who shrunk at the attention.
“What makes you think my nation carried out these attacks?” he asked defensively.
“Not necessarily the government you work for, Senator,” Celestia comforted. “But according to the report of one guard who was wounded in this attack, Ambassador Silver Pen arrived at the castle only moments before the explosion. He was not due back in Equestria until December – close to four months from now. Additionally, he did not say anything. He just arrived, and then there was the explosion.” Proudwing stroked beneath his beak thoughtfully, nodding.
“It is quite odd that your ambassador would return at such a time…” he said. “And given that the capital fell not long after… Hmm… This is troubling…”
“That doesn’t answer the question of what caused the explosion, though,” Garrus spoke up. “I mean, there’s no way he could’ve just been carrying a bomb with him. Your guards would have noticed, right?”
“One would hope…” Luna sighed. “No, a bomb would never have gotten through. Especially one large enough to create an explosion of such a high yield. Unless it was small enough for him to keep hidden, of course, but griffons cannot manufacture bombs of that size.”
“And it couldn’t have been magic,” Twilight added. “I scanned the area for any sort of residue when I first arrived. There was nothing.”
“Was the guard certain that he saw your ambassador?” Malkia asked. “He was badly wounded. Perhaps he is mistaken?”
“That is a possibility,” Celestia admitted. “There is nothing there to suggest that anypony besides the two guards were present; no remains, no burn marks… nothing.” Twilight lowered her head in thought, and everyone else did the same. Her deep purple eyes darted around as she considered the evidence available to her; it was alarmingly little. Assuming the griffon insurgents were behind the attack, Twilight was also having difficulty coming up with a motive. Could it be a show of force? That was not likely. Bombing the capital of a more powerful nation typically was not a good idea.
“Hmm…” One of the aliens that Twilight did not recognize leaned forward, blinking his large black eyes.
“Do you have something to add, Mister Polban?” Celestia asked.
“I believe I have reached a conclusion,” he said. “Your guards were standing by the door, doing their duty. Your ambassador arrives, unexpected, and a moment later there is an explosion. Despite this, you can find no evidence of the ambassador ever being present, nor are there any clues pointing to a bomb.”
“Yes, how does this help us any?” Luna urged.
“Because, your ambassador was the bomb.” The ponies around the table gasped, shocked that the alien could even suggest such a thing. The imagery was… unpleasant.
“That’s… not a bad explanation, actually,” Garrus said, nodding.
“How would the ambassador have been a bomb!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “That makes no sense!”
“STG uses ocular nerve flashbangs to prevent information from falling into the wrong hands,” the salarian continued. “A small explosive implanted in the head of an agent, rigged to explode if they are captured. Effective. Could also be used with regular explosives, of a much higher yield.” Twilight gaped at the alien ambassador, shocked that such a seemingly civilized culture would resort to such methods.
“Even if that is the case, the griffons cannot manufacture a bomb with such a high yield,” Luna said. “At least… not one small enough to fit inside a pony…”
“Well, perhaps griffon bomb manufacturing is more advanced than you think,” Polban countered. “And perhaps Senator Proudwing would like to share such information, given the circumstances?” Once again all eyes were on the griffon, who shook his head.
“To my knowledge, we cannot manufacture such a bomb…” he sighed. “I do not understand this… It… It makes no sense!”
“No, it does not,” Celestia agreed. “We will break for now. When Legion returns, perhaps he will have some information that could help with this whole situation… You are all free to do what you wish, though I ask that you please remain within the walls of the castle. I do not feel confident allowing you free reign of Canterlot, not just yet…”
“Understood, princess,” Liara said, standing. “We’ll probably be waiting in the lounge if you need us.” The remaining aliens stood and joined Liara as she left the room. Senator Proudwing, President Malkia, and Erebus lingered for a moment before they left as well. When Twilight was alone with her friends and the other princesses, she let out a sigh.
“Nothing is ever easy, is it?” she wondered aloud.
“No, Twilight, it is not,” Celestia answered. “But we will make it through this. Of that I am sure.” The elder princess stood up and draped a wing over her student, smiling warmly. “You and your friends go on ahead. I will call you back when Legion returns.” Twilight nodded and stood up, her friends mirroring her. She nodded farewell and stepped out of the room, the corners of her mouth turned down slightly.
“Everything okay, sugarcube?”Applejack asked, stepping in front of her friend. Twilight stopped and shook her head.
“No,” she said. “But we’ll get to the bottom of this, and then it will be.” She stepped past Applejack and continued down the hall, headed for the one place she could think of that may be able to help: the library.
Foster stepped through the open doorway and into the holding cells of his facility, walking with purpose down the line of cells to the very end. A single soldier was standing guard, his assault rifle trained on the ceiling. He snapped a salute as the doctor came to a stop by the cell and looked through the metal bars at the prisoner inside.
This one had been difficult to catch. He eluded the indoctrinated griffons for hours after the attack on the capital, using many hidden passages in his castle to get away. Once he had been found, he had killed over a dozen other griffons, and eventually Cerberus forces had to step in to deal with the problem personally. But now he was under their control. The Prime Minister of the griffons was at Foster’s mercy. The doctor gestured to the guard, and he pressed the release on the door. It slid open, and Foster took a step inside.
The large griffon did not move. He remained huddled in the corner, the light gray and black coloration of his feathers contrasting against the solid white walls of the cell. Foster stepped up behind the griffon, his hands clasped calmly behind his back. He noticed the griffon’s rate of breathing increase with proximity. His soldiers had not been gentle.
“You are Sharptooth?” he asked, kneeling down. The griffon did not answer. His gaze remained fixated on the corner of the room, trying not to focus on the human behind him. Foster retrieved a small baton from his belt and held it by the griffon’s side.
“Speak!” he demanded, jamming the baton into the griffon. A crackling sound filled the air, and Sharptooth spasmed as electricity coursed through him.
“Yes!” he screamed in pain as his body convulsed. “I am… Sharptooth!” Grinning, Foster pulled the baton away and stood back up.
“Good,” the doctor said. He activated his omni-tool and ran a scan of the griffon. Indoctrination had begun, but the Prime Minister was alarmingly strong-willed. It would take more than simple exposure to break his mind. “Do you know who I am?”
The griffon coughed, smoke rising from his feathers. “No…”
The doctor smiled. “Good. You will get to know me. Quite well, in fact. You are mine now. Do you understand?” The griffon grunted, and shook his head.
“I… am… nobody's…”
Foster frowned. He brought up the baton and once again jammed it into the side of the Prime Minister. He convulsed around on the floor, screaming in agony. Smoke began to rise from his feathers once again, and the doctor pulled the baton away.
“I will ask again. Do you understand?” The griffon did not answer. Foster made to shock him again, before finally the griffon nodded, breathing heavily. The doctor smiled and he stepped away from Sharptooth. He placed the baton back on his belt, turned around, and exited the cell. The door closed shut behind him, and Foster activated his omni-tool, sending a message to a team of his scientists. Indoctrination of the Prime Minister would begin now that the first barriers around his mind were down. If the griffon gave them any more trouble, Foster was not against using the shock baton again. He would break the griffon entirely if he had to, it was worth it. As long as communications with the rest of Cerberus remained down, his goal had not changed. He would finish his task, whatever the cost.
Legion snuck quietly through the abandoned stone corridors of the griffon castle, taking care not to step on anything that could give away its position. Shards of broken glass littered the floor, and knocked over candelabra created a maze through the hallway. In the three hours that Legion had been searching, it had found nobody alive in the castle. There were plenty of dead, however. Guards, nobles, servants, all had been slain where they stood in the various rooms of the castle. They lay in pools of their own blood, and some of the bodies had been burnt beyond recognition. Despite all of the bodies, Legion had found no evidence of the Prime Minister still being in the castle. The geth had received a quick description of the griffon before leaving Canterlot, and no recognizable griffons in the castle matched the features. Either he had escaped, or he had been taken by the insurrectionists. While the latter seemed far more likely, Legion hoped that the former was true. If it was true, however, that made Legion’s task of finding the Prime Minister far more difficult. Griffon territory was large, it would take months to search the entire region.
Small flakes of snow fell through holes in the stone ceiling, settling like dust on the ruined floors of the corridor. Legion continued stalking through the hall, leaving light footprints in the newly fallen piles of snow. As it ventured further into the castle, the geth began detecting sound. This sound was different from the roaring winds outside. From this distance, they sounded like voices. Beginning to speed up, Legion deployed its pistol and hugged the walls as it neared the end of the corridor. At the end was a set of tall wooden doors, one of which was cracked open. A small amount of light filtered through the crack, and occasionally a shadow passed in front of it. Legion was certain; there was someone inside.
Legion cautiously stacked against the door and leaned its photoreceptor into the crack. From this angle it could not see much – only flashes of movement. However, it appeared as though the organics inside were facing away from the door. Quietly, Legion pushed the door open just enough to slip inside, holding its Predator at the ready. Despite its tactical cloak still being active, Legion did not want to risk discovery.
It entered the room and immediately retreated to one of the corners, constantly keeping its optic on the two griffons at the opposite end of the room. Legion was not certain, but they appeared to be insurrectionists. The previous soldiers he had seen had all worn the same armor, and had a matching crest on their chests. These griffons wore no such armor, and held rusted spears in their talons. They were facing away from the geth, and one held a torch, illuminating the otherwise dark room. They spoke to each other in hushed whispers, just barely audible for the geth to make out.
“Has it been set up?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“We will await further orders.”
They fell silent. Legion watched them, reviewing their dialogue for clues. Their style of speech was not what it expected from insurrectionists. It suggested order and discipline within the insurrection. Their actions thus far were contrary to this conclusion. Burning and pillaging were not signs of order and discipline. They were quite the opposite, in fact.
“… Orders received. Commencing.” The two griffons hefted their spears and exited the room, leaving Legion alone. The geth looked around curiously, wondering from where they had received their orders. Griffons possessed no long-range communications tools, they could not have been ordered remotely. The only way for them to receive orders was by being physically given them. However, if they were being indoctrinated, they could be having orders fed to them from elsewhere.
Legion lingered in the corner for a moment longer, before finally it stepped out of the room and looked down the hallway. The two griffons were at the end, rounding a corner and disappearing from sight. Legion silently followed them, only occasionally stopping to allow its tactical cloak to recharge. The geth kept its distance, but remained just close enough to make out any sort of conversation. They were not speaking now, but any more data could help.
After following the griffons through the castle for several minutes, Legion realized that they were headed back to the front entrance. Whatever task these griffons had been assigned, it had been completed.
“… Have you heard about Sharptooth?” one griffon asked, breaking the silence that had lingered for most of the walk. Legion immediately got closer and focused entirely on the griffons.
“Yes. From what I hear he put up a fight.”
“The others had to intervene, our own soldiers could not stop him.”
“The others are powerful. None can face them.”
Their conversation ended as they approached the front door of the castle and opened it, stepping out into the snow-covered courtyard. Legion remained inside, reviewing the dialogue. Its suspicions had been confirmed: Sharptooth had been captured or killed. However, it had not been by the insurrectionists. Legion was not certain, but it seemed as though these “others” were likely the ones indoctrinating the griffons. However, there was no way of determining just what these “others” were. They could have been Leviathans, if Creator Tali’Zorah was correct. Or they could be some other species. Legion did not know.
Figuring that it had completed its objective, Legion decided now was a good time for exfiltration. It stealthily exited the castle and crossed the courtyard to the gap in the outer wall, making its way to the isolated landing zone. Legion did not know if the data it had collected would be useful, but they now knew that the griffons were working with someone else. Hopefully this data had some application.
Stepping up to the small Alliance shuttle, Legion jumped inside and entered the cockpit. It spun up the engines, using the noise of the winds outside to mask its escape. Then, with the press of a button, it took off for Canterlot.
Tali slumped down on the lounge couch, sinking into the plush fabric as she let out a sigh. This morning’s meeting had been uneventful, and had shed no light on the situation at hand. She found it odd, but she was actually worried. She had served on the Normandy, she had faced down Saren, the collectors, and the Reapers. But those had been known threats. She knew what she would be facing, and she knew the danger. This was unknown, and it frightened her.
She was torn from her thoughts as the door to the lounge opened, and Admiral Hackett stepped inside. Tali had not noticed him leave the room, but the presence of an Alliance officer behind the Admiral made her assume that he had received a message. The Admiral began crossing the room to Tali, and the quarian briefly hoped that he had news about Shepard.
“Tali, I have an update on Shepard’s condition,” Hackett reported, confirming the quarian’s hopes. “It’s… not good.” Tali frowned, and slowly nodded her head.
“Tell me.”
“He’s in bad shape. He’s alive, but barely. Injuries all over his body, third-degree burns, and oxygen deprivation were at the top of the report. I have the best doctors in the Alliance working on him, but I can’t guarantee anything.” Tali sighed, feeling her eyes begin to water. She quickly blinked the tears away, and nodded.
“I understand,” she said. “I… I understand.”
“Shepard’s a fighter, Tali,” Hackett said. “If anyone can pull through this, it’s him. Don’t give up hope.” The admiral turned and walked to the other ambassadors at the other end of the room. Tali stood up from the comfortable couch and joined her friends from the Normandy, all of whom were standing around a low wooden table, quietly talking amongst themselves. As Tali joined the group the conversation stopped, and the quarian found all eyes on her.
“Hey Tali,” Garrus greeted. “We were just talking about the bombing… What are your thoughts?”
“I’m sure we’ll get it all sorted out,” she answered. “I’m more alarmed about the device Legion found. If it’s what we think it is…”
“Then we have a problem,” Kaidan finished. “But like you said, we’ll get it sorted out.”
“Yeah…”
There was silence, and Tali slipped into thoughts of worst-case scenarios. If it was Leviathans… She knew what they were capable of. They could kill a Reaper with a single thought. The havoc they could cause on a planet like Equis was untold. Images of Canterlot burning as Leviathans descended over it flashed in her mind, and Tali felt true fear. She closed her eyes and shook her head, willing the images to disappear. She knew ignoring the prospect of a Leviathan invasion would be counterproductive, but lingering on the thoughts for too long would only increase her stress level.
The silence remained for a few more moments, only ending when Princesses Celestia and Luna cantered into the room, a smile on each of their faces. Senator Proudwing and President Malkia were not far behind, and they entered the lounge looking not as satisfied. The Normandy crew moved from their position around the table to a position closer to the princesses, and the ambassadors did the same.
“We just spotted Legion’s ship returning from Gryphonia,” Celestia said, smiling. “He will be here in a few minutes.”
“Do you think he was successful, Princess?” Matriarch Lidanya asked.
“There is no way of telling,” Luna answered. “At least not until he arrives.” Silence once again filled the room, until it was broken by the door swinging open and Legion stepping inside. Unthawed snowflakes rested upon the metallic outer shell of his platform, and beneath them was a layer of black soot. He entered the room alone, and Tali noticed the corners of Proudwing’s beak turning down.
“I assume you were unsuccessful in finding Prime Minister Sharptooth?” Celestia said sadly.
“Correct,” Legion answered with a nod. “However, we did uncover critical information: Sharptooth has been captured by the insurrectionists. His current location is unknown.”
“Damn it…” Proudwing whispered, closing his eyes.
“Do not worry, Senator,” Luna comforted, draping a wing over the back of the griffon. “We will recover him. He will be fine, and the insurrection will be stopped.”
“Additional information was discovered,” Legion continued, attracting all eyes to him. “We have confirmed that the griffons are working for another entity. Exactly who is unknown, they were simply referred to as ‘the others’.”
“Do you have any guesses on who it could be?” Primarch Victus asked.
“We lack the required information to formulate a guess.”
“Hmm…”
“So we’re back where we started, then,” Garrus said. “We just confirmed what we were expecting.”
“This information could prove useful, Garrus,” Celestia countered. “The griffons are serving another, and they use alien technology. I believe this confirms that the ones controlling the griffons are aliens. As for who… I do not believe I am qualified to guess.”
“Whoever they are, they are skilled in subterfuge…” Polban observed. “They have left no clues regarding their identity. Even when they controlled the capital, they still ordered their indoctrination devices to be buried. They are paranoid. They do not want to fail.”
“So it’s someone good at being stealthy,” Kaidan nodded. “That doesn’t tell us a whole lot. Plenty of aliens are good at stealth. What we need to consider is who would benefit from something like this. Who would benefit from controlling an army of griffons?”
“Militarily speaking, the griffons are the strongest species on the planet,” Luna added. “They could hardly achieve world domination, but they are very powerful.”
“But compared to the krogan, or even the turians, I doubt they would fare well in battle,” Tali said.
“That is likely…” Proudwing admitted.
“Whoever is controlling the griffons is probably using them for some greater purpose,” Kaidan suggested. “The griffons themselves are just… a means to an end.”
Garrus shook his head. “That still doesn’t answer who would benefit from having a griffon army. Who would need that, and for what purpose?” Liara, continuing to remain quiet, lowered her head in thought.
“So, nobody has any ideas, then?” Proudwing asked, frowning. His brow furrowed, and he looked at his reflection in the marble floor. “This whole thing is a mess…”
“Do not give up hope, Senator,” Luna comforted, crossing to the griffon. “Whoever is in charge will slip up soon. They have to.” There was a pause, during which Tali looked around to see who might speak up next. When nobody made a move, she took a step forward.
“Regardless of who is controlling the griffons, I think we need to consider that they may know about us,” she said. “They may know that more aliens have made contact with Equis, and that we have developed a friendship with one another. They could perceive this as a threat. We should be careful.”
“I agree,” Matriarch Lidanya said, beginning to walk toward the door. “The other ambassadors and I will return to our ships. We will continue coordinating with you from there, and we will see about taking one of you with us once the temporary capital is established.”
“Very well,” Celestia said, turning to face the older asari. “We will keep you up to date on everything down here.” The other ambassadors joined Lidanya as she exited the door. Admiral Hackett stopped just before exiting and turned back around.
“Tali, I’ll continue forwarding you information about Shepard as it becomes available,” he stated. “And Legion, I’ll have another shuttle sent down for you to use, should you choose to go back to Gryphonia.”
“Thank you, Admiral.”
“Acknowledged.” Hackett stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him. There was silence for a moment as everyone was left to their own thoughts.
“… I will return to the Normandy,” Liara decided, stepping towards the door. “I am going to consult some of my… resources… and see if I can find anything regarding who might be operating here on Equis.”
“Good luck, Liara,” Kaidan said knowingly. “If you need anything, contact us.”
“I will,” the asari said as she slipped through the door. There was silence again, until Luna and Celestia looked to the Normandy crew, confused.
“What resources does she have?” Luna asked.
“Uh… Information resources,” Garrus explained. “I won’t say more than that, for her sake.”
“Very well…” The princess turned and began to walk for the door.
“We must take our leave,” Celestia stated. “I have a Day Court to attend. Luna will be available if you need her, just ask one of the guards.” The sisters exited, and Malkia and Proudwing followed them a moment later. Garrus, Kaidan, Legion, and Tali now stood alone in the lounge, and silence once again took hold of the room. After a few moments of silence Tali crossed back to the couch and sat down, letting out a sigh. Garrus joined her a moment later, and Kaidan sat down in a chair across from them. Legion remained standing, his single eye fixated on a point across the room. Kaidan rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn, then tiredly looked around the room.
“This is going to get worse, isn’t it?” he asked to no one in particular. Tali and Garrus nodded grimly, knowing the human was right.
“Based on our track record, yeah, it’ll get worse,” Garrus said.
There was silence yet again, and Tali turned her gaze to the large window, looking out at the peaceful Equestrian landscape. A few hundred miles north of them lay Gryphonia, where an entire species was being subjugated by an unknown enemy. She shook her head and closed her eyes, wishing that, for once, there could simply be peace. Tali was young, and in her lifetime she had faced down threats the likes of which she never imagined. Saren, the collectors, the Reapers… Was it too much to ask for some peace?
She shook her head again and stood up from the couch. She moved to the door and opened it, pausing for a moment to look back at her friends.
“I’ll be in my room,” she stated. “Come get me if I am needed.”
“Will do,” Garrus said as Tali exited the room. Letting out a yawn, she began jogging down the castle hallway, heading for her room.
Twilight sighed, exasperated, and slammed the book in front of her shut, casting it off into a quickly-growing pile of discarded books. She placed another one in front of her and began skimming through it, though by now her hopes for finding anything were almost gone. As she skimmed, her friends moved quietly through the library, looking for any book that might have something to do with combatting the effects of indoctrination. So far she had found very little. There were a few spells, but they were meant for breaking ponies from simple trances. Indoctrination on this scale had never been seen before on Equis.
Regardless, Twilight kept reading. If there was anything in here that could help, she would find it. She just had to keep searching…
“Twilight…” a meek voice said from behind the princess.
“Hmm?” Twilight did not turn around. Instead she kept her amethyst eyes trained on the book, skimming through paragraphs at an unnatural pace.
“Don’t you think we should maybe take a break…?” Fluttershy asked. “We’ve been here for hours and we haven’t found a thing…”
“There’s got to be something,” the princess stated. “There has to be…”
“Give it a rest, Twi’,” Rainbow Dash said, floating down to the alicorn. “This is alien technology. None of these books are going to have anything.” Twilight turned to face her friend, annoyed.
“You don’t know that,” she argued, glaring. “Magic is a powerful tool. In the right hooves, it can do anything.”
“Twilight, your friends are right.” Twilight turned her head to the newcomer and found Princess Luna regally entering the library, looking at the pile of books that had accumulated by her.
“While you are right that magic is very powerful, you have no leads,” the princess of the night continued. “Without more information, looking through all of the books in here could take months.” Twilight paused for a moment, then lowered her head and let out a sigh.
“Right…” she whispered. She stood from her chair and circled the table, coming to stand in front of Luna. “Okay. But I cannot do nothing! Is there anything I can do to help?”
Luna smiled and nodded. “There is.”
“You can help Celestia and me with matters here. If the situation in Gryphonia gets worse – and it very likely will – Equestria will be pulled into it. We need to ensure that we are ready before such a time comes.”
“I understand, Luna…” Twilight looked to her friends, her eyebrows turned up. “I’m sorry I forced you all to keep helping me.”
“No worries, sugarcube,” Applejack said with a smile. “Always happy to help.” The rest of her friends nodded in agreement and smiled.
“Rooms have been prepared for all of you,” Luna said. “You may retire to them at any time. Guards are waiting outside to escort you. Should you need me, I will be with Celestia in the throne room.” The princess quickly spun and walked out of the library, the sound of her hooves echoing back into the room as she left. Twilight’s friends began to walk for the door as well, but stopped when she did not join them.
“Aren’t you joining us, Twilight?” Rarity asked, concerned.
“… No,” Twilight decided after a quick pause. “I’ll stay here, read a few more books. You never know what you mind find.” She smiled, and her friends shrugged as they left the room. The door closed behind them, and Twilight embraced the ever-present silence of the library. It had been temporarily disturbed, but as it returned the princess focused her attention on the next book. With a quick burst of magic she lifted the cover and began to read…
David Foster leaned back in his office’s comfortable leather chair, his face an expressionless slate. The bright white lights on the ceiling illuminated every inch of the room, displaying its pristine condition. Not a speck of dust rested on his dark oak desk, and even his Cerberus uniform was without wrinkles. An analog clock on the adjacent wall ticked with each passing second, counting down to the event for which Foster was waiting.
The door across from his desk opened, shattering the silence of the office. Right on time, Foster thought. He sat up straight in his chair and watched as a technician entered, a newspaper folded under his arm. The newspaper was deposited on his desk, and the technician took a few steps back, waiting for further orders. Foster picked up the newspaper and unfolded it, then scanned over the front page. A pair of contacts in his eyes recognized the foreign alphabet and began translating it to English. As soon as the headline was revealed, Foster sucked in his breath and closed his eyes. It was as he had feared…
ALIEN LIFE CONFIRMED! A NEW ALLIANCE IS BORN!
The doctor let out his breath and began scanning over the page. As soon as the front page was read, he flipped to the next. On this page was a picture, depicting the two princesses standing by several aliens. There was a human, an asari, a turian, a quarian, and even a geth. They all (with the exception of the geth) wore calm and happy expressions, standing in front of a sea of reporters and other ponies. Foster moved his gaze to the text beneath the image, which had listed the names of the aliens standing with the princesses.
Legion, Garrus Vakarian, Liara T’Soni, Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, Kaidan Alenko.
Foster’s eyes widened, and for once he allowed alarm to show on his face. Quickly regaining his composure, the doctor folded the newspaper and pushed it away, motioning for the technician to pick it up. As the technician followed the command, Foster activated his terminal and checked over the status of the indoctrination. When the number flashed across his screen, he shook his head and looked to the technician.
“Tell manufacturing to produce more devices,” he ordered. “We are expediting the project. I want Gryphonia subjugated in two days, and I want Sharptooth under our control by tomorrow morning. Understood?”
The technician nodded and stepped away from the desk. “Yes, sir.” He turned and exited the office, on his way to fulfill his orders. Foster leaned back in his chair and sighed, closing his eyes. He had not expected the Normandy to be here. They represented a serious threat to his operations. They had the power to stop him, and Foster knew it. However, Cerberus likely had the upper hand. The aliens were likely not aware of Cerberus’s presence on Equis, which gave them an advantage. Grinning, Foster leaned over his terminal and sent an order to his military commander. It was time for some infiltration…