//------------------------------//
// Stowaway 
// Story: Total Conversion Bureau - Divine Salvation 
// by Dropbear 
//------------------------------//


A cool wind ruffled the leaves of the forest, gloomy save for the thin slivers of moonlight and the flickering glow of a small fire. An old ruined castle sat within a clearing, and a single black ear from a shape within lifted up. 

Double frowned while he looked up from his spot among the others, ears standing up at attention. 

‘I could have sworn…’

He glanced around the courtyard, the ample moonlight in addition to his race’s excellent low-light vision making it easy to spot everything. It was their third night spent at the old castle and they were yet to encounter any forest denizens save for a few birds and small mammals, but he could still recall the desert scorpion attack with clarity and was thusly on his guard. 

Double’s ears twitched again, and he looked back towards the castle. An odd rumbling sound, one he’d never heard before in his life, seemed to be coming from within. Straining his ears, he shook his head after a reassessment. 

‘No, it’s coming from behind it.’

Standing up, he hesitantly trotted around the others’ sleeping forms and reversed towards the edge of the clearing. Making sure to not be taken by surprise if a forest gribbly chose this inopportune time to attack, he tried to look around the top of the castle to see if anything was there. 

“Nothing,” he muttered, the rumbling having grown louder. Glancing over to where Dietrich sat, asleep, Double considered waking him. After all, if it was something with nefarious aims then the armoured priest was their best defence. He soon dismissed the thought, he hardly knew if the sound was even a threat after all. 

‘Besides, Celestia did say that this castle was warded against monsters.’ He glanced back behind him. ‘Not that she can be trusted, but I can feel the magic here.’

He decided to wait and see before alarming anyone. It had been peaceful and they finally had a break from fear, and Double did not want to be the one to see the smiles gone. 
The rumbling grew until it seemed right on top of them. Next to the fire he could see the others stir as they were roused by the noise, all save for Dietrich. Looking up, Double’s eyes widened before he narrowed them to get a better look. 

The two shapes were almost invisible against the black night sky, and it was only the slight blue glows at the ends that gave them away. They were angled and jagged, but that was all he was able to make out before they crossed the sky and were once again hidden by the treetops. 

The rumbling followed them, Double starting to rush back towards the fire once he had torn his gaze away. 

It was probably time to wake up Dietrich.





“No notable energy signatures detected, no orbital activity, and images from the probe indicate a feudal level of architecture.” The Senior Sensors Officer looked over from his team’s stations. “Captain, it appears as if the planet contains at least three pre-to-early industrial societies. There is nothing out of the ordinary, nor anything that would explain the navigational error.” 

Takei tore his gaze away from the lush terran planet on the main viewscreen to glance at the Sensors Officer.  The man in question had evidently shot a look over towards the Navigator and his junior officers, and it had been met with an unamused glare.

“The anomaly with the navigational computers disappeared as soon as we reached these co-ordinates,” the Navigator stated flatly. “We can find no trace of it remaining.” 

“We can leave?” Takei inquired with one eyebrow raised. 

“Yes Captain. However, I am hesitant to do so until we can determine just what caused it in the first place. If we can remain here for a few hours, my team and I will run all of the diagnostic tests we can.”

Takei drummed his fingers on his chair. “Hmm, that point is a fine one. Still, that Archdeacon was in quite a hurry.” His mouth twitched into a grin at the memory of the loud man storming onto his bridge and making demands. “However, there are a few things that we must consider.”

Leaning back, he shrugged while his officers awaited a decision. “The anomaly certainly is a cause for concern, who knows what issues it may cause if it pops up again? It is our duty to ensure that such a threat does not remain unexplained. In addition, we are faced with a new world that appears to be the focus of said anomaly. It would unprofessional of us to ignore this information.”

He thought to himself, pondering what action to take next.

“Would you like me to assemble a ground team of marines? We can surely pinpoint a capitol and gather some more information.” 

Takei looked towards the officer in charge of the bridge security team. The woman was fully enclosed in the ash-grey armour of the shipborne assault troops, with her face hidden by a dull black visor. 

“I would prefer for us to not sour any relations by landing an invasion force without need,” he smiled. “While I too am rather tired of playing space taxi, we must exercise some degree of caution at least. After all, while they appear primitive we must remember that our navigation computers brought us to this point. Discounting that would be rather foolish.”

‘Still, that gives me an idea…’

“However,” Takei raised a finger. “I believe it would be best if we announced our presence with less… hostility. Organise a flight of Scalpels on a standard flyover pattern, perhaps they will be able to spot anything out of the ordinary and get the attention of the locals.”

He turned his attention back to the main viewport while numerous affirmatives were stated in reply to his order. Staring at the planet and the associated data readouts, he shifted in his seat with a slight frown.

‘Something about this whole affair seems off. I can feel it in my gut.’






‘You seen anything yet?’

“Not really, just trees and fields. Onto the city next?”

‘Yar, Control wants us to give them a buzz after all. Just don’t go shattering any windows. Out.’

Lieutenant Kopf shook his head at his wingman’s reminder, before angling his flight stick ever-so-slightly to the left. The agile SA-55 ‘Scalpel’ fighter responded immediately, the course adjusted for the planned route overflying the largest city in the area. 

Kopf didn’t mind the rather dull recon mission he’d been sent on. While slightly put out that he and Williams, his wingman, were essentially nothing but glorified bait, the chance to fly in-atmosphere was one he rarely passed up. 

The SA-55 ‘Space\Atmospheric’ fighter lived up to its name well, able to handle both combat environments with the graceful precision that had earned it its designation, but even it required a pilot that was well versed in both conditions. 

Kopf loved the added challenge of atmospheric flight, even when he wasn’t widely jinking to avoid an enemy lock. 

The forward-swept wings and sharp angles cut through the air while the duel engines could reach an impressive Mach nine. A black signal-dampening coating with deep blue highlights coated the long spear-head body of the craft, while the numerous vectoring thrusters and inertial dampeners ensured that the ride was as turbulence-free as a walk in the park. 

All-in-all it was an ideal fighter for the job, and suitably imposing enough to grab the attention of even the most primitive local. 

Speaking of grabbing attention…

“Control, Vulture One seeking confirmation of flight plan Three-Seven-A, Over?”

“Confirmed Vulture One, start with a high pass and circle until further instructions. Keep an eye out for any activity and report as such. Standard engagement doctrines apply.”

“Received Command, preparing for pass. Out.” 

Kopf slowed his speed to just under one-thousand kph, and glanced towards the left of his view screen. William’s fighter was just off to his left wing, his wingman likely having heard the conversation with Control. 

“Ready to do this?” Kopf inquired.

“Of course, let’s give them an introduction.”

The city in question was fast approaching, the sensors on the ship showing it clearly despite the night sky. Stone and marble buildings made up the majority of it, with a large and sturdy surrounding wall standing out easily thanks to its gleaming white material. A large palace-like castle stole the spotlight however, its gold-capped spiral towers quite the eye-catcher. 

Kopf marvelled at the architecture, having always found the castles from ancient Terran fascinating. 

‘Still, no time for sightseeing,’ he mentally sighed, and prepared to make his run. 






‘What, it can’t be…’

Celestia jolted awake at the approaching roar, bare hooves hitting the floor of her bedroom before she raced over towards her window. With a magical glow she flung open the glass doors and rushed out onto the balcony, while the sound grew ever louder. 

A cool night breeze ruffled her feathers, but that wasn’t the cause for the chill that ran down her spine. 

“Princess!” 

Celestia glanced backwards to spot the five guards rush to her. Four of them were glancing out with confusion, while the fifth one stood with a frown on his face. She knew that he had likewise heard the sound before, and without acknowledging the guards she faced out into the night once more.

“Jets,” she stated with a cold frown, right as the roaring sound reached its apex. The fearsome human machines were easy to remember from her time spent examining the aftermath of bombing raids conducted by the more stubborn bipeds. 

The two distinctive war-machines were difficult to spot at first. Thundering out from the clouds with the moonlight only just picking out their pitch-black forms, she had to rely on the blue glow of their engines as a reference. 

The guards all ducked as the sharp silhouettes passed over the castle with a roar, Celestia bracing herself for the impact of explosives. 

There was none.

Staring back out, she watched as the two jets circled around above the city, before zooming back the way they had arrived from. 

“That’s odd,” she muttered to herself. 

“I thought that all the humans were gone,” a mare whispered, her helmet shaking along with her. Celestia glanced down towards her guards while disguising her own opinion on the matter.

“They were. However, it seems that some are still around. Those jets were out to get our attention.” She narrowed her eyes, more concerned than angered. “Or, more likely, they were trying to get the attention of someone else…”






“So, the shapes in the sky, you said that there was a glow behind them?”

Dietrich watched Double nod, their entire party awake and listening as the changeling recounted his story. 

“There was, two blue ones. I woke up and heard this rumbling, and then two of them flew right over the top of us.”

“And did you see any insignia?” At the perplexed look he got in response, Dietrich repeated his question with easier terms to understand. “Pictures or icons, or distinctive shapes that may give a hint as to their allegiance.”

“No,” Double shook his head. “I’m sorry but it was too dark to see them properly. Both were pretty high up as well.”

“I see.”

Dietrich pondered the information that he had received. Going off the reaction of his friend, he highly doubted that the local population would have anything resembling a military jet. Double had also described the glow of the engines as a bright blue, and Dietrich knew that the description matched standard UIP engines. Going off the admittedly limited info, he decided to take a hopeful course of action. 

“Double,” he began, the changelings listening to every word. “That beacon I gave you, cold you please fetch it for me?”

Obeying without pause, Double trotted over towards the smouldering fire and shifted through a few bags, before returning with the grey beacon in mouth. Gently taking from him with a nod, Dietrich flicked off the bottom cap and pushed the red button.

A steady blue light began to flash, and with beacon still in hand Dietrich looked up towards the night sky.

“What’s going to happen?” 

Dietrich didn’t look down at Cipher’s query, still preoccupied with scanning the heavens. “Well, if the shapes that Double saw are what I suspect they are, then we should hopefully receive an answer shortly.” Unseen to them, he frowned under his helmet before muttering to himself. “If I am right, then our troubles have only just begun.”

“Did you say something?” asked Double, Dietrich immediately covering up his slip. 

“Yes, I was just saying a brief prayer of hope.”

That seemed to satisfy his companions, all of the changelings sitting down to scour the skies with him. It didn’t feel right to deceive them so, but at the current time he doubted that informing them of his people’s… rather dubious chances of just accepting them on his word would boost the morale. Besides, he could see the excited curiosity in their eyes and it would have been a crime to spoil it.

That excitement only increased when, with a more subdued rumbling than before, the two shapes made their second appearance. 

Dietrich was easily able to identify the two craft circling in the sky above them, their slowed speed and his prior experience making the task simple. They were certainly property of his Empire, the sleek and agile fighters a staple on the majority of the military ships he’d been posted on. He glanced down towards the flashing beacon in his hand, pondering to himself on the stroke of luck. 

“So, Dietrich,” Seraph asked, with her eyes fixed right on the circling craft. “What are those things?”

“Military fighter craft,” he answered her. “They are used for aerial warfare, and these ones I believe are also capable of operating in the void of space.”

She furrowed her eyes at the explanation. “Warfare? They are… friendly ‘fighter craft’, right?” 

Dietrich rested his free hand on her head. “Fear not, they will not fire upon us.”

“So what now?” Double followed up. “Can your beacon-thing get them to send help?” The unofficial leader of the group brightened somewhat. “Would it be possible for them to maybe get us out of Equestria? Not that I don’t mind this spot, it’s just that I don’t really trust the ponies to keep their word.”

“It’s possible,” Dietrich replied with a hidden grimace. “Certainly possible.”

However, fate decreed that it wouldn’t be up to him to make that choice. 

“Dietrich, look!” He followed Chitter’s pointed hoof with his eyes, the sight that he found proving to be quite a curious one.

Apparently there was much notice being taken with them, and he stepped back towards the inside of the castle as the two fighters began to slow and approach. “Everyone, back with me please.”

The changelings did as requested, all of them getting to their hooves and retreating inside. They all moved with him through a hole in a crumbled stone wall, and once in they all turned and strained to watch the no-doubt fascinating sight. 

The sound of manoeuvring engines filled the night air, blue glows dotting the underside of the two fighters as they came in to land. Grey metal landing struts extended from their housings while the wings folded upwards, the craft easily fitting within the generous clearing. Gracefully they settled down, the glows of their landing thrusters dying out as soon as the landing struts touched the soft grass of the courtyard. 

“Wow…” Double muttered while continuing to watch in awe. 

His reaction was understandable. Sleek and pointed, with a colouration that was quite at home amongst the usual black of space, the fighters certainly looked like vehicles designed to cut through the void. The only objects that broke up the smooth angled surface were the pilot’s canopy and the fat gun turret that sat underneath the nose. The long, three-barrelled weapon jutted out from its ball housing, and warily he noted that it was angling from side-to-side in a sweep of the area. 

“Stay here and do not move,” he warned, not wishing to see what would happen if one of his charges startled the pilots in their excitement. “A soldier is always taught to be watchful of his surroundings, and any rash actions may be seen as hostile.”

“So what do we do?” Seraph whispered, far less enthused about the landing than Double. 

“Wait for them to contact us,” Dietrich advised, eyeing the two war-machines. “I am in plain sight, so  just stay behind me until I assure my comrades of the situation.”

As the last word left his lips, the two black-tinted canopies slid back into their housings. Dietrich remained still as two figures climbed out of the cockpits and slid down the side of their crafts after a brief glance around. 

Two pairs of black boots hit the grass of the clearing, the owners cautiously advancing forwards. 

Dietrich took in their appearance and equipment while he waited, his companions likewise ogling the approaching soldiers from behind him. 

Both were what he expected from two naval pilots. Their dark-grey flight suits were generously covered with black armour padding over the vital areas, and their enclosed flight helmets gave no expression away thanks to the reflective full-facial visors. The under-nose turret of both fighters tracked their progress, Dietrich figuring that they had set the guns to manual control via their headgear. Also of concern was the short and squat pulse-carbines held in the gloved hands, the barrels of the weapons currently pointing at the ground but ready to be raised at a moment’s notice.

“Greetings,” Dietrich finally decided to say while not making any moves. “And many blessings upon you, my comrades. I am most eager to see that the Lord has guided you towards my position without incident, as I believe that my mission from him has been completed.” 

The two pilots stopped a few metres away and looked him over, their weapons lowering slightly as they relaxed. Then, they must have noticed the changelings behind him as the carbines were raised up to their shoulders in a flash. 

Acting quickly before anyone was shot, Dietrich raised his hands. 

“Do not be wary of them, friends, they are quite peaceful and are with me.”

He was aware of at least two changelings pressed up against the back of his armoured legs, his attempt to calm the situation down applying to both parties. Thankfully the Lord must have been smiling down upon him, as the pilots slowly lowered their weapons at his words. The next few moments passed in silence, as both groups examined the other carefully.

“You know,” one of the pilots finally said, Dietrich recognising the male’s accent as being similar to his own. “When I left the hanger today, this was probably the last thing I expected to see.”






“I must admit, I can say the same thing myself. The sight is not unwelcome, however.”

Seraph ensured that the two nymphs were safely behind her before refocusing her attention on the newcomers that Dietrich was talking with. 

One might have found it odd that they unsettled her so, but despite both being familiar with Dietrich and slightly relieved that he seemed to have the situation under control, the two new humans were a different matter. 

Despite their fairly plain looks compared to the priest’s fetish-adorned armour, they excreted a aura of menace. Seraph had taken in the way they had approached, and the speed that they had lifted their weapons up at them. The two were obviously part of a soldier-caste, reflective helmets not giving away one hint of emotion so she had to go off what she could sense. 

And so far, they’d been fairly difficult to read.

It was the first time that she’d seen a human without bulky armour on, and even without it they both towered over a standard changeling. While not as muscled as a minotaur, or at least what the minotaurs used to be like before they were all converted, they were still fairly bulky all around. And while the weapons that were now pointed at the ground lacked all sign of sharp and pointy bits, their alien design was more than enough to cause concern. 

Likewise, the craft that the pair had arrived in looked equally as menacing. The best object to liken them to that Seraph could think of was a spear-head, save for the two metal wings that were now pointing up towards the sky. The strange things that jutted out from the bottom of the front were still moving, and upon closer comparison to the weapons the new humans held she realised that it was probably the same kind of alien weapon.

Only gigantic.

Suppressing a shiver, she returned her attention to the conversation. After all, it was likely their own future at stake. 

“We were doing a meet-and-greet near this city when Control picked up your beacon,” the second human explained to Dietrich, and surprisingly his voice wouldn’t have seemed out-of-place in the town of Appaloosa. “They told us to check it out, so Kopf decided to go a step further and land.”

“Lieutenant Kopf,” the other human reminded with a glance towards his partner.

“Sheesh, all right,” the second human replied. “My apologies, Lieutenant.”

The human evidently known as ‘Kopf’ turned back towards Dietrich, before he tilted his head. 

“Haben Sie die Muttersprache zu sprechen?“

The sudden change in language was quite jarring, especially when the guttural tone was taken into account. Even more surprising to Seraph was when Dietrich replied in the same. 

“Ja , mein Vater hat mich gelehrt.”

” Und die Außerirdischen ?

“They mean no harm, Lieutenant. In fact, I am proud to call them my friends.” Dietrich looked back towards them, and despite his helmet Seraph knew that he was smiling at them. Her concerns were lifted somewhat, and with great effort she managed to give a small smile back. 

“Do they talk?” Williams inquired. “And not in babble, like you two just did.”

Taking a brief glance around, Seraph didn’t see anyone else rush to answer the question. Set at ease by the surprisingly laid-back conversation so far, she took it upon herself and stepped forwards. 

“Yes, we can talk,” she answered, all attention turning to her. “Hello, I’m Seraph.”

There was a brief moment of silence while the two pilots examined her before she received any replies back. 

“Hello, Fräulein Seraph.”

“Hi.”

There was yet another moment of uncomfortable silence, before it was broken by Dietrich clapping his armoured hands together. 

“Well, while I appreciate the politeness of introductions, I do believe that we have some more pressing matters to attend so they will unfortunately have to wait.” Dietrich gestured back towards them. “Unfortunately, brave pilots, I’m afraid that my companions and myself are on thin ice with the current rulers of this planet. While they most graciously allowed us to stay here unharmed, your arrival certainly has attracted undesirable attention.”

Dietrich paused. “You said before that you were conducting a ‘Meet and greet?'"

“Flyer’s slang for a noticeable flight pattern,” Kopf answered with a nod. “Command couldn’t pick up any comms chatter and wanted to try and provoke communication without making it look like an invasion.

“Ah. Well then, I must then humbly request to use your communicator so I may procure transport. I assume that you have arrived via ship, no?”

Kopf nodded. “The Mandez, a Lewis-class.” He must have noticed her confused look. “A light cruiser.”

Her stare didn’t change. 

“A spaceship,” he sighed. Seraph could have sworn that she heard a brief chuckle from Dietrich, but when she glanced over at him was as motionless as before. “As for the communicator, I can do one better,” Kopf continued, before gesturing back towards his fighter. “I have enough room for you in the cockpit in the secondary seat, if you wish to be gone as soon as possible.”

Dietrich looked down towards her. 

“My companions?”

Seraph kept her eyes on the two pilots, and noticed them shift on their footing. She managed to pick up a trace amount of uneasiness while they both glanced at each other. 

“Ah, with all due respect,” Willems started to reply. “That may not be, well, possible. You know how tetchy the Brass can be about just bringing aboard unregistered natives…”

“They are more than registered, I assure you.” Dietrich spread his arms wide. “They were blessed by the Lord, and it was his will that guided me to them.”

“Yeah, well the Lord may have guided you, but the Captain will likely have a different opinion,” explained Kopf with a small snort. “I heard from one of the security officers that a Archdeacon and his retinue are aboard.”

“An Archdeacon?” Seraph immediately picked up on the surprise in Dietrich’s voice. “Of which name?”

“I wouldn’t know, all that I heard was that he’s been repeatedly harassing the Captain. So I would advise you to possibly tone down the religious talk around him.”

Dietrich clapped his hands together, happiness evident in his tone. “Ah, but surely an Archdeacon will understand the circumstances of this joyous occasion. If I were to contact him, then he would surely be more than willing to negotiate with the Captain on my behalf.” Seraph didn’t miss the two pilots share a hasty glance. “I’m sure that the two of you would also receive just recognition of your efforts in assisting me and my companions.”

Kopf and Williams both looked back towards Dietrich, everyone silent for a few moments. 

“And I thought Priests were supposed to be nice,” Williams muttered, before cupping a hand to the left of his helmet and turning away slightly. “Control, we’re going to need a transport down here…”

Looking back up at Dietrich as the two pilots began to walk back to their fighters, she couldn’t help but show her befuddlement while the Priest chuckled once more.
Somehow, she doubted that it was completely genuine.






Dietrich turned around and faced the rest of the group, everyone gazing at him with varied expressions of confusion, curiosity, and even a little fear. 

“Well, our passage to safety shall hopefully soon arrive,” he told them all. “Please do not be afraid, friends. While my Empire’s actions are more often than not morally questionable, no harm shall befall you. All that I ask is that you follow the directions of my comrades without complaint, once aboard you will find that my devotion will mean little compared to protocol.”

This seemed to calm, somewhat, but it still didn’t slay all of the unease. 

“Is… is this really a good idea?” Chitter spoke up. “While I don’t trust those Princesses one bit, this place isn’t so bad.”

“It’s quite nice,” Swift agreed with a glance to his still-bandaged side. “But, if Dietrich has to leave…”

“He’s right,” Nodding her head, Haze glanced up at him. “If you go, Dietrich, what will we do for food?  Our supplies will run out, then we’ll have to try and find some in the forest. We can’t risk going into the nearby towns and getting caught, so we can’t get any energy from ponies either.”

They all noticed Cion shudder, and watched while she glanced out towards the trees. “And I heard stories about this place when I was an infiltrator in Hoofsburg. They say that there’s things even bigger than manticores that live in here.” She looked back towards the castle that had provided them shelter. “Remember when Celestia said that there were enchantments here to keep beasts away? Well, if you live in a castle then you’re hardly going to be afraid of stuff like wolves and snakes…” 

Dietrich had to give her that point.

“I… I still don’t know,” Cion continued. “Everything has just been so strange. What would we do?”

Double trotted towards Cion, and looked her in the eyes. 

“We rebuild,” he answered solemnly. “I’m just as worried as you, and nervous, but we can’t stay here forever. I don’t know about you, but in my opinion the further we are away from Equestria we are, the better.” He moved closer and rested a foreleg on her shoulder. “It’s a scary option, but it’s one that I think we should try.”

Cion was silent for a few moments, before she sighed and nodded. Moving in, Seraph cleared her throat. 

“Whatever happens, we’ll get through it,” she reassured them, or at least tried. With a gesture towards the two nymphs, she continued. “We are, as far as we know, the last of our entire species. The Queen is gone, our hive is gone, and so that makes us responsible for the future of the changelings. It will take us a long time, but with Dietrich’s help I’m sure we can do it.”

Her rather unpractised speech was interrupted when the human she had just mentioned stepped forwards with his hands raised. 

“While it is joyous that you are all full of hope, even after what happened, I’m afraid that it is not that simple.”

‘Oh no,’ Seraph wondered while they all stared at him. ‘What does he mean?’

“My friends, I am certain that I will be able to secure passage for you to a safe place. However, my words and faith in you alone will not so easily sway my fellows.” The priest knelt down on one knee, his armour hissing as he did so. “I must warn you, there will likely be questions on how you could be of use and value. It is unlikely that a plea of compassion alone will sway the ones in charge.”

Seraph gulped. “What do you mean? We don’t really have anything of value.”

“You do, in a way,” Dietrich explained. “Seraph, I believe that your species is unknown to my Empire. Changelings are very interesting, and my Empire… likes to study interesting things.”

“Study?”

It was Cion that had spoken up, Dietrich acting quickly.

“It is not as bad as it sounds,” he told them all. Even with his armour on, they could see him sigh. “The fact of the matter is, it is rather unavoidable if you accompany me. Rest assured, I see you all as the great friends that you are, but my Empire will see something different.”

Seraph gulped. “What?”

“They will see your shape shifting, they will see your ability to survive off emotion, and there will be some people who will be very eager to find out everything about you. I must make it very clear; I will not be able to stop them if you wish to leave.”

She was able to hear the sadness in his tone, and her ears folded back while she considered his words. 

In the distance, a rumbling sound akin to the arrival of the two fighters grew louder in volume. 

‘Did he always know?’ Seraph wondered, looking down at her hooves before back at the priest. ‘There was talk, but does he really think that it would be as bad as that?’

“Dietrich…” It was Madeline who broke the silence. The young changeling was staring up at Dietrich with wide eyes. “Will they hurt us?”

At that, Dietrich sighed and extended a hand. Madeline permitted him to gently rub her head with the armoured limb, the priest taking a few more moments to reply. 

“Not while there is still breathe in my lungs,” he told her. “I will permit none to harm you. You have my word, and I swear unto the Lord not to break that promise.”

At that, Madeline managed a small smile. Trotting forwards, Dietrich’s hand left her head while she jumped up onto her hind hooves and wrapped her forelegs around his armoured neck. 

“I trust you, Dietrich,” she told the motionless priest while she nuzzled his helmet. “You’re my friend, after all.” 

“I… I do not know what to say.” It was a surprise to hear the normally composed human at a loss for words. Slowly, Dietrich rested a hand on Madeline’s back. “Thank you, Miss Madeline.” 

Behind them all, the wind whipped up as a loud roar approached. Seraph looked away from the admittedly touching moment to spot a large craft descend into the clearing. It was a dull grey and possessed a pair of squat stubby wings, and with a loud thump it settled down onto the grass as its glowing engines died out. 

“I think it’s safe to say that we all trust you,” Double reassured, glancing around to all of them. “I say that we do what we know is the best choice. “ 

“I agree,” Seraph found herself saying. Keeping her eyes on the newly arrived flying machine, she watched while a door in the side slid away and a ramp extended. Managing to look away and towards her friends, she tried hard to let out the tiniest of chuckles. “After all, we already trotted into Canterlot and met the Princesses face-to-face. An alien spaceship can’t be that much crazier, right?”






Greenleaf watched while the monster-ponies and the two-legger moved towards the big grey metal bird-thing that had landed next to the smaller black ones. Her trembling was now mostly under control, and having regained a small amount of courage back after cowering under her hooves for the last ten minutes, she managed to remain watching while a long piece of metal slid out from behind the big metal thing.

‘What is it?’ she wondered, before her attention turned back towards the monsters she had been following. The two-legger was still talking to the others, his hands moving around as he seemed to try and calm them down. Even though they themselves were scary, Greenleaf could certainly agree with the black hole-riddled ones. After all, she was perfectly happy staying up in the hiding space and away from anymore monsters. 

“I should be down there with them, the biped might possess enough power to take my revenge on those infuriating Equestrians!”

Greenleaf clamped her forehooves over her mouth at the outburst, her shakes starting up again.

‘No, bad pony!’ she mentally scolded, shuddering at what wicked words had come from he own mouth. ‘Nice thoughts only, nice thoughts only…’

‘Still weak…’ a new set of thoughts began to drown out the nice ones. ‘I need… more control.’

‘More control…’ 

‘More control!’

‘I need more, more control!’

“More control!” 

This time, Greenleaf wasn’t able to fight her own body. With rough, jerky movements, she struggled to her hooves and stumbled down the crumbled wall that now functioned as a makeshift set of stairs. Halfway down, her movements caused her to trip and tumble down onto the hard ground of the courtyard.

“Ouch!” 

Wincing at the growing bruise on her side, she got her hoofing back and stood up again. Lurching towards the others, a fear quickly grew in her as she realised that she was heading right towards them!

‘No, no no no!’ she silently pleaded with herself. ‘Scary!’

A bare ten body lengths away from the rearmost monster-pony, and her pleas were answered. 

Wrenching back control from herself, Greenleaf dived down behind a crumbled slab of outer wall. Breathing heavily, she peeked out to see if she had been spotted. 
A single monster-pony, one of the smaller ones, was looking back in her direction. Quickly, Greenleaf pulled her head back and hoped to Celestia that she hadn’t been seen. 

When a few moments passed with no cry of alarm, she slowly peaked out once more. 

The monster-ponies were all standing behind the huge two-legger, all of them facing the metal bird. Greenleaf felt a shiver run down her spine when she heard the sound of many clanging footsteps, and it was only the paralytic fear of being seen by the monsters that kept her from bolting when more two-leggers ran down the metal ramp to confront the others. 

They were all grey with blank black faces, and while smaller than the black two-legger it wasn’t by much. There were six of them, and Greenleaf gulped when she saw the black things they held in their armoured hands. She didn’t know exactly why, but a vague and indecipherable memory gave her a brief second of realisation.

‘Weapons.’ 

Said weapons were soon quickly raised up, the black two-legger raising his hands up while the monster-ponies cowered behind him. 

“No need for that, they are with me. Please, allow myself and my companions audience with your Captain so that I may explain the situation. I swear on my faith that they will cause no trouble.”

“Your Holiness,” one of the grey two-leggers replied with a pretty scary voice. “Allowing unregistered-“

“My good marine, please. I have already talked to them about obeying every direction asked of them. Now, our time is short, so I feel I must stress the urgency of the situation. I will fully take all responsibility for any disruption cause, fear not.”

While she couldn’t actually see any face, Greenleaf got the odd feeling that the grey two-legger was still unconvinced. 

“They will not be allowed onto the bridge without a screening first and checks.”

“My companions understand those conditions, completely. Now please, may we depart this place?”

The other two-legger didn’t say anything for a while, before he stepped aside and made a waving motion with his hand. 

“Fine. Keep in mind that we will be watching for any signs of hostility.” The black weapon in his hands was shifted, almost as to make the point clear. 

“Naturally.”

With that, the others began to all move back towards their flying bird. Greenleaf watched as both the monster-ponies and the two-leggers walked and trotted away from her, and she sighed with relief. 

All that was left to do was wait for them to leave, and then she could make her way back to the Princess she adored.

‘No. No!’

A horrible dread seized her mind, as once more she found herself unable to control her movements. Against her better judgement and will, Greenleaf found herself standing up and…

Quickly trotting right over to follow the monster-ponies!

‘No, no no no no no!’

It was no use, her actions not her own. It was a miracle that she wasn’t spotted right away, all of the monsters and the two-leggers focused on their current task.
Greenleaf found herself swinging around the side of the bird along with the others, unable to gulp when she faced what was to be her destination. 

There was a large hole in the side of the metal bird, the ramp leading up into it like a tongue flopped out of a monstrous mouth. Despite the ample light inside, Greenleaf shuddered at the sheer unnaturalness of it all. Even the others seemed unsure, the monster-ponies stopping just short of the ramp’s base.

“So, are we sure this is a good idea?” It was a mare that had asked the question, the black two-legger not turning around when he answered. 

“It is perfectly safe for you all, although it may prove to be a tad crowded.”

With that, he stomped up the ramp with his massive metal feet making a ringing clang sound every time he took a step. The grey two-leggers were already inside, and with hesitant steps the monster-ponies began to follow. 

Summoning up enough strength to at least close her eyes, Greenleaf felt her trotting body give a tiny quiver of fear despite her lack of control.






‘I swear, this entire situation is just messed up.’

Corporal Uzu resisted the urge to shake his head at the odd procession that was approaching up the ramp. He and his squad of marines had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time, the Sergeant having taken them into an empty bomber hanger in order to practice their hostile entry techniques. As such, they had been the closest and thus the first marine team to receive the call for the landing. 

They had been expecting something exciting, like invading a palace on the new planet and impressing the local maidens. 

Instead, they were simple playing taxi for a lost Mortisum priest and a gaggle of aliens. 

‘They’re not even hot aliens,’ he silently lamented as they came into better view. The priest wasn’t the first he had seen in his life, so his attention went straight to the aliens as soon as they passed. 

They were black and chitinous, the largest came up to his hip, and all-in-all weren’t particularly exciting compared to some of the other species he’d seen. The smallest four, two not even coming up to his knee, gazed up at him in wonder when they passed whereas the adults adverted their eyes. Uzu couldn’t help giving them a small smile that went unseen thanks to his helmet. 

‘Well, they are pretty cute I guess.’

Refocusing on the task at hand, he looked at the last alien in the group.

This one was different to the others. 

It was taller than the others, and instead of chitin it instead was covered with a layer of green fur. Still, it looked more like a normal horse than the bug things, so it was hardly worth a rating on the weird factor. It was far more hesitant than the others, and when it finally passed him it skirted right to the other side of the entrance. 

‘Going to be a long ride back,’ he mentally sighed. Confirming that there was no more equine-like creatures, he slammed the button the close the ramp to the landing craft.





Trotting up behind the others, a lone nymph brought up the rear of the group that was slowly making their way deeper into the transport. A gasping noise caused it to stop and look back, the young changeling only spotting a single grey biped and a closing door. 

Puzzled, but with young mind occupied with other matters, it turned back and resumed its following of the remainder of its race with all concerns dismissed.
It had however missed the quick flash of teal-coloured tail that had briefly poked out from a crawlspace in the wall…