• Published 17th Nov 2015
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The Ones From Beyond - Lordvessel



When Equestria is invaded by humanity, it's not out of greed or conquest, but out of desperation.

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Chapter 37: Conferences Both Private and Public

As senators across Equestria prepare for their congress and the Princesses discuss the last stages of their role in it, the last bastion of Humanity is about to learn the circumstances they find themselves in, awaiting the answers they desperately need in this time of turmoil. As they do, a fringe of scouts are sent into the brave new world, to seek out the resources that their world is incapable of providing........................


Even in the middle of the day, the ghillie suits were proving very effective for the two marksmen turned impromptu scouts. Through Bradford's findings, the Coalition could now control where the portal would open. However, given the limited geographical data at their disposal, the operational range was limited to where the initial fireteams had traversed during the botched rescue mission. This gave them ample opportunity however, as the two were tasked with finding sources of water for Colonel Pan and his company to pool from, and it just so happened Ahab knew where one was. The two departed the patch of shrubbery that had helped conceal them from the passing patrol, Brooks noting just how effective they had been hidden away.

"They didn't even know we were here." Brooks said astounded.

"And Sarge said these bushwookie suits would never come in handy." Ahab boasted.

"Well, if you think about it, was she wrong? Not a lot of foliage left in our world. Give it 200 years then maybe, but..." Brooks noted before looking up.

He immediately saw Ahab's unamused expression, his discontent made evident from the fact that he really didn't need to address the specifics of Ahab's joke.

"But I guess you already knew that-"

"Just plant the damn beacon captain obvious." Ahab griped at him.

As Brooks carried out his task with feelings of regret, Ahab shook his head as he reached his hand to transmit a call via his headset.

"Gateway, this is Reaper 1, we're planting the first beacon now." Ahab announced.

"*Copy that, Reaper 1.*" said the voice of Lieutenant Bakowski. "*We're picking it up now on the read-map. What's your sitrep, over?*"

"We've confirmed visual on multiple small-man patrols out here, just ran across one but we weren't seen. Recommend we stick deeper in the forest if we're to avoid contact with the enemy."

"*They're not our enemies, Corporal. Not yet, and if it can be avoided altogether, that would be advantageous.*" Bakowski clarified.

"Understood sir, but I doubt they see it that way."

"*Regardless, Corporal, your mission is to survey and recon any possible sites for resource acquisition. You're only authorized to use your weapons for self defense in the event you come across any dangerous fauna. You are not to engage the local populace under any circumstances.*"

"Even if fired upon." Ahab confirmed. "Don't worry, sir, we knew what we were signing up for when you issued the assignment."

"*Good, glad we have that sorted out. As for your recommendation, I feel the same. Putting as much distance between you and the natives is undoubtedly the best course of action at this time. Proceed with caution, Reaper 1, and keep us up-to-date with your progress using this frequency. I want reports on the hour with regular updates on your status. You have three days to complete your task. After that, you're to report back to your POE for extraction.*"

"Wilco."

"*Then I'll see you in a few days. Good luck, gentleman. Gateway out.*"

As Ahab signed off and turned to Brooks, the man had just entered the code that would activate the beacon, which rested on the base of a nearby tree with several wild ferns concealing it from view.

"You hear all, that?" Ahab asked.

"Course." Brooks said, tapping his own comms set. "First beacon's fired up. Which way now?"

"We go deeper into the woods. Safeties off, don't know what we'll run into." Ahab said, flipping the safety off on his PSL, which was now outfitted with a wrap of fake foliage and a greenish gray spray-camo.

Brooks did the same with his similarly outfitted SVU, and the two proceeded further into the forest, the ones the locals referred to as the Everfree.

"Isn't this the place where you found those tree dog things?" Brooks asked.

"Yep, and I got a hunch that that's not the only surprise it has in store." Ahab admitted.

"Shit, well, here's hoping we avoid em', rather these three days go by smoothly."

"We can only hope, Brooks." Ahab stated. "But then again, when does anything go smoothly?"

"Given your stroke of recent encounters, I'd say.....never." Brooks quipped.

"Oh, so you do know what a joke is?" Ahab remarked. "Wiseass."


After 3 hours, the greeting ceremony had finally ended, as the last pony to see them had been some chair pony of the Royal Transportation Network. The three alicorns had remained composed, considerate and patient throughout the whole ordeal. But the minute the last pony was out of earshot, all three relented, as if a great burden had finally been relieved.

"Well, glad that's finally over." Luna admitted.

"So many influential ponies. And all of them can propose a solution?" Twilight asked.

"I'm afraid so, Twilight. But that doesn't mean all of them will." Celestia said confidently. "In fact, I suspect very few would, given the years since the last congress."

"A fair argument, but not entirely certain at a time like this, or with certain ponies now on the playing field." Luna added. "Your former pupil seemed to have other motives on her mind, ones that could very well pose a challenge to our own proposal."

Twilight was suddenly wide-eyed in reaction to Luna's statement, with her practically darting her attention to Celestia the moment the subject was brought up.

"Wait, Former pupil?" Twilight asked in earnest, wondering who Luna was referring to.

Celestia would have rather brought that particular subject up on her own terms, a notion further reinforced by the stink eye she immediately gave her sister, Luna. Alas, this subject was going to come back up eventually, knowing Twilight's burning curiosity for things outside her realm of knowledge. Celestia sighed, and in turn, faced her student and fellow princess.

"Perhaps we should have this discussion on the way to the private dining hall. I took the liberty of arranging a private lunch with Cadence and Shining Armor."

Twilight nodded and the three proceeded to stand up and make their way to the private dining hall, as the guards who had been stationed as security detail within the throne room followed behind. It was when they had left the throne room that the question came up again.

"So about your former pupil, who was it?" Twilight asked.

"Do you remember the mare we met shortly after our conversation with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence?"

"I do, Sunset Shimmer, wasn't it?" Twilight inquired.

"Indeed. She and I have a rather extensive history, not all good I'm afraid. She was also my pupil before you."

Twilight felt a twinge of shock. She knew the Princess had taken pupils before, but the fact that she took that kind of pony under her wing was surprising.

"Wait, that smarmy mare was your student?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, that she was." Celestia replied rather bluntly. "But that was some time ago all things considered."

"So if she was your student, what exactly happened?"

"Simply put, she overstepped her bounds, demanded what she had not earned. What you now possess."

"That's putting it mildly." Luna quipped.

"Luna." Celestia snapped.

"Wait, she knew what was to come at the end of her studies? The ascension to becoming an Alicorn?" Twilight inquired.

"Yes, but not by the means she was supposed to. I made the mistake of revealing to her an artifact that I had hoped would provide the sense of self-reflection and humility she so desperately needed, one that showed her a glimpse of a future where she had adopted such qualities. That glimpse just so happened to be one where she achieved ascension."

This artifact in question was intriguing to Twilight, but she knew well enough of what this story was going to entail than to inquire further about it.

"So what happened then?" Twilight asked.

"I'm afraid my pupil had been too entrenched in her strive for perfection that she mistook the artifact's meaning. To her, it was an inevitability rather than a possibility. She became so obsessed with the artifact, to the point where she would bring it up daily in her conversations with me, almost as if it were a constant need for her to see it again. One day, enough was enough. I outright told her that she would not set sights on it again until she was ready. But I had come to know her too well, as that night she proceeded to go behind my back and seek out the artifact herself. It was a move I had predicted would happen as I and the guards were ready to catch her in the act."

"I take it that didn't go well?" Twilight asked.

Being forced to relive a memory can go either one of two ways, fondly or regretfully, and with Celestia's numerous years, this particular moment is one she regretted.

"No, in fact it went horribly. Sunset immediately accused me of holding her potential back. I gave her one last chance for self-reflection, but she immediately cut me off, demanding that becoming the next alicorn princess was her right. I thought I had saw sincerity and compassion in her at one point, but it turned out only to be blind ambition. That accusation was the last straw. I told her that such a gift wasn't a title, and that it could only be achieved through the abilities only friendship could give, abilities she would never be able to obtain. I stripped her of her place as my pupil, and warned her that if she could not get past this, that her studies would end. I then told her she was no longer welcome on castle grounds."

This story was certainly an eye-opener for Twilight, as the thought of anyone taking Celestia's patience for granted was rather shocking. However what was even more shocking were the circumstances regarding their recent reunion.

"If that's how you two departed, then how in Equestria did she become a senator?" Twilight inquired.

"Time passed, and despite the terms in which teacher and student were separated, Sunset persevered in her studies at the University, ultimately achieving the top marks across all her classes and achieving status of valedictorian. She continued on with her graduates in magical sciences and ultimately achieved a level of degree few ponies do. Given her achievements, the honorary title of senator was bestowed upon her by a.........pony acting in my stead. That was just days after your coronation ceremony."

Twilight was beginning to form the mental picture of this shattered relationship.

"Were you not ready to forgive her?"

"No. I've been ready to forgive her for a long time now, but Sunset isn't ready to admit her faults, she may never be. The thought of our departure from each other's lives still saddens me, but I doubt Sunset feels the same. She's achieved much without me, effectively reaching the higher echelons of Equestria society on her own. As you saw yourself, it seems she hasn't changed much in our time apart. If anything she more than likely feels accomplished by the merits she achieved without my help. And more than likely bitter about you."

"Wait, me?"

"Yes, Twilight. You're the one who achieved the ascension to becoming an alicorn princess, our equal. That feat was earned in a way Sunset could and will never achieve. She had that chance and it slipped her by."

"Sister we don't know for certain if she's still fixated on that." Luna argued.

"You may be right, but it would provide proper incentive to undermine our efforts." Celestia countered.

"Even if it were to put the rest of Equestria at risk? Would she really be that petty at a time like this?" Twilight inquired.

Celestia took on a look that accurately reflected her uncertainty, as she pondered that query.

"I honestly don't know, Twilight, but only time will tell what her true intentions are."

"A topic for another time." Luna said. "We're here."

As Celestia opened the doors, they could see that a bountiful lunch had been prepared, with Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence already present.

"Finally." Shining said, as he immediately got up to embrace his sister in one of the tightest hugs he'd ever given her, one she graciously accepted.

"We were so worried, Twily. I heard rumors, were you hurt?" He asked.

"No, I'm not hurt, at least not in any physical sense. But I'm alive, which that itself is a miracle." Twilight stated.

"No doubt about it. What about Spike?"

"He's perfectly fine." Twilight assured him. "He's with Rarity right now checking in on some things we brought to the university."

While Shining could finally breathe a much awaited sigh of relief verifying that both his siblings were safe, Cadence approached her Aunts.

"Aunt Tia, Auntie Luna, what exactly are we facing?" She asked. "Twilight was vague in her description of events, only that they were dire. What do these humans want, why are they here?"

The two sisters looked to one another before Celestia answered for the two of them.

"It's a long story, one better shared when not on an empty stomach." Celestia insisted.

The group were all willing to accept that offer, and took their seats respectively, where the three alicorns shared their long and detailed recollection of events to their co-regents to the North.


Achmed was still up, even at the crack of dawn, a habit he had picked up since basic, but to neglect the luxury of sleeping in now that he was in his home truly attested to his nerves being on edge. He had barely slept that night after Suha went to bed, maybe two hours off and on before deciding to just stay up. So much on his mind ate away at him, and by extension his ability to sleep was affected. And so he listened in to the radio most of the night, tuning into the same program Suha listened to on a near nightly basis. Achmed didn't care too much for the radio jockey, thought he was a little too bombastic in a few areas, the complete opposite of his son who happened to be in Achmed's unit. But his choice in music for his variety show was more or less close to Achmed's liking, songs that give off a funk and even relaxing vibe at times. But despite their harmonic rhythms, they did little to ease Achmed's thoughts.

Suddenly, he heard the door to Suha's room open, and the frazzled-haired and groggy looking visage of his sister came out. The sight of her at this hour finally brought a smile to his face. Despite the positive effect that had on him, it immediately turned to dire once again, as the revelation that he wouldn't be seeing his sister much at all if conflict were to be declared, the very thing he was hoping for. Achmed did his best to shake these thoughts and live in the moment, as brooding in silence did little to remedy his concerns.

"Finally awake, huh?" He said.

His sister, half-awake just shot him a befuddled look.

"Achmed. It's like, before 7." She revealed to him. "What are you doing up already?"

Turning to the clock hanging on the wall over him, he indeed looked and saw that the time was at 6:23 AM, a good two hours before Suha needed to be up for school.

"Oh, sorry. I uh.......didn't really get a whole lot of sleep." Achmed said, sounding much like that awkward brother Suha knew before.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She said, clearly unable to come up with any substantial response to comfort her brother's dilemma.

It was around that time that the current song in the rotation ended, followed by none other than the charismatic radio host himself.

"*And that was Wishlist by Pearl Jam. Funny how lead singer, Eddie Vedder, outlived all the other OG Seattle Grunge vocalists, only to go out in a bang when the nuke hit Seattle where he lived. Legend says as everyone was runnin' for cover, he stayed home to jam out Do The Evolution one last time, which funnily enough comes from the same album as this song. A tune about man's hubris and how it'll inevitably kill us? Bad taste now, but I guess you could say it was Eddie's way of telling everyone I told you so.*"

"Can't believe you like this guy." Achmed jabbed at his sister.

"Hey! Bloodhound's cool!" Suha said defensively, feathers successfully ruffled. "If he's so lame, why are you listening to him?"

"His taste in music choice ain't bad, just wish he'd talk less, that's all."

"*Speaking of I told you so!*" The disk jockey continued. "*Today's morning sign-off comes with an immediate announcement from none other than the Council themselves. All you kiddies half-dead and desperately fightin' off sleep to get ready for school can take a breather, as all classes have been postponed to noon today.*"

Suha silently simply raised her arms in joy, mouthful of cereal and as still recuperating to being awake. It was enough to make her brother chuckle.

"*Now before you go dragging yourselves back into your crypts, hear me out, only reason this is happening is because of the recently announced press conference, where I have it on good authority that Ol' Bill's claims from the other night are gonna be verified by the Big 5 themselves. I'd love to stick around and gloat, but I'm afraid my time on the air is coming to a close, but don't worry, I leave you in capable hands. You got Terry & Tanya Morning Show coming up next, and after that at 9, you got the press conference everyone's on the edge of their seats about. You ladies and gentlemen have a good day, and I'll see ya'll again at 8:30 pm pronto. AWOOOOOOOH!!! This is Bill "Bloodhound" Barkley, signing off!*"

Suha's expression went from groggy to excited in the span of a few seconds.

"Did you hear that!? They're gonna talk about the rumors going around town." Suha claimed. "Finally some answers."

"Yeah." was all Achmed muttered.

"Yeah? Is that seriously all you can say?" Suha said with an eyebrow raised. "You said yourself last night that you'd tell me everything in due time. Guess that time came sooner than you realized?"

"Yeah, I guess it did." Achmed admitted. "But if you think you're gonna get the whole rundown before the broadcast you can think again."

Suha groaned, but was ultimately expecting that kind of answer. Achmed was suddenly a bit more reserved at the announcement. Although Suha didn't realize it yet, He knew they'd release a statement on events in Berlin and soon. As the thought of the announcement crossed his mind, that sense of unease lit a flame under him so to speak, as the thought of his goal ultimately failing put a pit in his stomach. He wondered if they would even mention the business in Berlin, maybe they'd just see to the water situation. But alas, Achmed knew better. They'd have to address the rumors, it had been circulated too many times for it to be ignored.

"Well, looks like I have some free time before I go to school, and the press conference doesn't broadcast for another two hours. Wanna watch something?"

"Sure, I guess I could use the distraction. What are my choices?"

Suha walked around the kitchen island and over towards him, opening the drawer to one of the end tables next to the couch he was sitting on and withdrawing a stack of three DVD jewel cases. She then stood before him, flipping through and showcasing his options.

"Your choices are Mean Girls, Princess Bride, and Mamma Mia!"

"Alright, none of those sound particularly appealing." Achmed deadpanned.

"Okay granted for a guy I can understand that, but I wasn't exactly expecting my brother to be home either, otherwise I would've picked something out for the both of us to watch. But these are all I checked out recently, so y'know, just pick one."

"Whatever one is the least chick flicky." Achmed decided.

"Princess Bride it is then. Don't let the title fool you, it's more of a adventure movie than anything." Suha explained.

"I'll take your word for it." Achmed said.

Perhaps he was worrying over nothing, perhaps not. Regardless, there was this unshakable feeling his mind was unwilling to let go, one where he wouldn't like what details and decisions were going to be announced at the conference. The feeling that no matter what he had tried to do, the opportunity to avenge his friend had faded, and that he himself had been condemned to die for the lies he told. For the first time in several days, that uneasy and scared nature returned, and there was nothing Achmed could do to stop it.


"They destroyed each other? Their world?" Cadence said in disbelief. "How is that even possible?"

"What in Equestria did they do to each other?" Shining asked, just as shocked as his dearly beloved.

"Tim never got around to that detail, and we had the feeling it was very troubling for him to discuss." Celestia relented.

"The only thing he told me was that his people in the past were abhorrent in mind and intent." Twilight explained. "And that the things they made reflected those qualities."

"It sounds like his people are paying the price now." Cadence said in earnest.

"Their situation sounds dire, maybe even more than ours. That could mean they're desperate." Shining suggested.

"Desperate for what though?" Twilight asked. "Vengeance, peace, land, resources. We hardly know anything about their societal structure other than the brief rundown Tim gave us. They're led by a five person Council. If there is a way to contact them, those would be the humans to speak with."

"Truly though, the humans will undoubtedly play the first move, and from what I learned from my talks with Tim, humanity has taken up a harsh mentality to any threat it faces." Celestia explained.

"Threats that have the inability to reason." Luna clarified. "Up until now this sect of humanity has had to deal with unprecedented danger on a daily basis. But they must know there is rationality in us and vice versa. Their handling of our civilian populace during their escape, while condemnable, was restrained all things considering."

"As much as I'd like to argue against that, Luna is right." Celestia concurred. "They could have wiped out the majority of Ponyville right there in one swift stroke, but they didn't. They only attacked targets that were threats, meaning guards and any civilian that took action against them. Instead of indiscriminate slaughter, they were selective with their attack, that alone is why their lives were spared when we managed to contain them."

"But they attacked over the accidental death of one of their own." Cadence argued. "Lethal action against any sapient creature is not something to ignore. These humans are violent, shaped by the world they live in. No offense, Aunt Celestia, but they hardly scream reasonable to me."

"Achmed attacked." Luna clarified. "The others undoubtedly did so because of him. They couldn't have had any idea of what transpired between us and him."

"Sticking with your own, watching your buddy's back, a tried and true tactic." Shining commented. "When things get dodgy you run on instinct, don't start asking the questions till after the fact."

"The experience of a soldier." Celestia commented. "If my former Commander can come to that conclusion, then I can say the humans can too."

Cadence and Shining exchanged looks. A conflict of opinion was certainly there, but it hadn't reached a level of animosity, only consideration for the other's side of the argument.

"But what if they don't?" Twilight asked, breaking the brief silence. "What if they take the word of Achmed's testimony and openly attack in retaliation?"

Nobody had an immediate answer. In reality, Twilight understood, how could they? They were dealing with a potential enemy who's technological prowess surpassed anything they could conceive of. The worst part of that was what was unknown. It would be foolish to state that they had seen the full extent of human technology, what truly terrified them all was what they hadn't seen, more specifically, what managed to reduce the human homeworld into the barren wasteland it was now.

"I suppose then we would have no choice but to amass an army capable of maintaining Equestria's defense." Celestia admitted. "We do have a few advantages. Numbers are certainly on our side."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but massive amounts of conscripts won't make a dent, Princess." Shining stated. "From what I've learned, these humans aren't just more technologically advanced, they're trained, hardened by their environment. In short, we're dealing with professional soldiers who've practically been fighting a war their whole lives."

"But our magic is lethal to them. If we focus on unicorn conscripts as our deterrent maybe?" Cadence began.

"An admirable thought, my dear, but not one that holds up to scrutiny." Celestia sadly revealed.

"What do you mean?" Cadence asked.

"Most unicorns in Equestria aren't magically adept, they know a levitation spell or two at most." Twilight explained. "Maybe less than 1/8 of the population even knows the most basic offensive spell, which takes a year to get the hang of for most."

"Offensive spells are challenging to take on, defensive ones even more so." Luna added. "It would take a year at least to train a sufficient amount of battlemages to face a human attack."

"Time we don't have. Which is why it is imperative that a peaceful resolution be pursued." Celestia stated.

"Agreed, but in the off chance it doesn't, we need a contingency plan. What about the elements of harmony?" Shining suggested. "They've saved Equestria in times of need numerous times before."

"Will the elements even provide aid?" Twilight questioned. "Threats with evil intent are one thing, but humans are far from evil, Tim showed us that."

Celestia herself wondered about that too. Who could say, the elements were the embodiment of friendship and pure good in the world, and could banish threats of dark intent without impediment. While humans certainly carried a mountain of crimes, there was good in them, it just so happened they were victims of their time.

"I don't know Twilight, but all options need to be considered." Celestia said. "I'll have a contingent of guards sent out to the old castle ruins to secure it for your arrival should the need for them be necessary."

Heads around the room silently agreed to that notion. But Twilight wondered if she would have the resolve to utilize them if needed. Somehow, she doubted it, praying that the humans were in the same predicament, wishing to avert the war that laid before them.


The Press conference room had never looked busier than it did on this particular morning, much to the shock of Andrew, who currently took a moment to peer into the bustling scene happening behind the heavy curtains.

"What's taking Patel and Schafer so long? It was at their behest that everyone be here on time." Bradford fretted, displaying a clear sense of nervousness that was honestly surprising given his normally eccentric behavior.

"They said they were applying some last minute touches on that statement you wrote up last night, Sawyer." Yeong said, doing his best to remain calm himself.

"Jesus, I admit my grammar may not be the best, but is it really worth taking up all this time?"

"What I think Yeong meant to say is that they're changing some of the rhetoric you used. Quite frankly, I saw nothing wrong with it when I gave it a glance, you practically giving the whole truth. But it figures Patel and Schafer would want to sugar coat some of the details, you know, damage control."

"You don't know if that's what they're doing." Yeong said defensively. "It may very well be grammar. No offense Sawyer, but you do often neglect to proof-read anything."

"Oh, bollocks!" Bradford objected.

"Will you two get a grip!" Sawyer chided. "Look, a few minutes isn't a setback, and it won't be the death of us, we know that for a fact now, so what's got you two so jittery?"

"Kind of hard to keep composure with societal stability on the line Sawyer." Bradford said. "Your statement needs to address everything. The water situation, plans for resource acquisition, the fact we found an entirely new world!"

"AND the fact that we pissed off the native population, with the possibility of war looming overhead!" Yeong added. "Sabbag may have embellished details, but if there's a chance that what he said was true, war is an inevitability."

"Not if we pursue a peaceful resolution, and trust me, we will." Andrew affirmed. "But you two are acting like there's an angry mob behind that curtain. People just want answers and we're going to give them, you have nothing to be afraid of!"

"We're not afraid of anyone Sawyer." Bradford clarified. "But you can't honestly tell me that you're not the slightest bit nervous on what the public reaction to all of this will be?"

Andrew wanted to object, say everything would be fine, but that would be an outright lie given the circumstances.

"I don't know how'll they'll react, Bradford. But we have solutions ready, and explaining them to the people is what's going to buy the confidence we need for folks to wade this out."

Yeong and Bradford, while still having their reservations and concerns, certainly saw the logic in his statement. Going up there and announcing for everyone to remain calm pretty much never worked, especially if the resolve of the people was weak. Whether that was the case remained to be seen, but Andrew knew that this particular hour would be the deciding factor on that status. Just as one conversation ended, another was about to begin, as an escort arrived with Councilor's Schafer and Patel in tow, the latter of which holding the pamphlet detailing the official statement Andrew would be giving to the public.

"Apologies for being late." Schafer said in earnest. "The final briefing took longer than anticipated."

"What all did you change?" Bradford asked, a tone clearly divisive and implying some level of hostility.

"Oh quit bellyacheing, Bradford." Patel snapped. "We spent all that time fixing grammatical mistakes, all of the original talking points are unaltered."

"See, told you so." Yeong stated.

"Sawyer you really need to get a proofreader at this point, your writing is quite frankly atrocious."

"Okay, I get it! I was trained to be a soldier not a professional writer." Andrew vented. "I'll see to it I have someone qualified to do the job later. Now can we please attend to the task at hand?"

The others silently agreed, and proceeded towards the heavy curtain, currently being drawn back by the escort of Peace Branch Personnel that had accompanied them. Their place for the press conference would be at a long table draped with a black tablecloth, with a series of microphones, one of each seat hooked up to a PA system and the others giving audio feedback to every radio station in the city. The crowd that had gathered consisted of many parties, high ranking officials of the various branches; Viktor being among their number, press reporters for both herald and radio outlets, and a wide variety of community leaders representing the various districts and neighborhoods of New Damascus. All in all it was a crowd of around 120 people, all dressed in the everyday attire their job required, however there was a certain level of formality to address for such events, albeit brief.

The Councilors took to standing by their seats, with Andrew taking the center given he would be the one conveying the majority of the official statement. Before anyone sat down however, Andrew unhitched the microphone from its stand, raising it a decent distance away from his mouth.

"Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the 319th public conference of the Survivor Coalition Council. Let's start this off with the pledge, shall we? All arise."

Those who had been sitting down stood up, looking towards the forged brass centerpiece of the Survivor Coalition symbol that hung above the wall parallel with the table at which the Council sat. Deeming that all were ready, Andrew began.

"Let's begin." he announced, and as soon as he did everyone in the room recited the pledge in unison, one they had known by heart for many years.

"United we stand, divided we fall. Placing my fellow man before all."
"God as our witness, may this peace last. May war stay buried in the past."
"Ad illustrius futurum."

"Please be seated." Andrew said.

As everyone took their seats, Andrew decided to test the waters so to speak.

"So, I take it you all slept well too?" Andrew jested with obvious sarcasm.

A slight chuckle took over the room, not an outright uproar, but enough to set some of the edge off.

"Alright good, if they're laughing I guess that means folks aren't desperate yet." Andrew pondered to himself.

Andrew proceeded to grab the sheet that was handed to him, flipping to the first page and reading off of it while still maintaining a visual with the crowd. Andrew's grammar skills were certainly rusty, but public speaking came naturally to him.

"Getting to the matter at hand, you're all wondering what steps are being taken to ensure stability and resource management. And no doubt many others are looking for the validity of certain...rumors circulating around the city. We'll address everything in due time, and I ask that all questions wait until the open forum has commenced. With that out of the way, let me begin on the measures that will be enacted. They are as follows. First off, in light of the recent tunneler incident at the reservoir, I am afraid water rationing will need to be increased for a limited time."

Naturally, this didn't bode too well as some disruptive murmurs began to overtake the crowd.

"Settle down. I do stress the word limited."

Surprisingly, the crowd went almost silent upon hearing that, as if eager or surprised to hear something other than damage control.

"This ration extensional period is expected to last no more than a month at best. As an incentive for the people's patience during this crisis, all water requisition cards dated past 9/14/87 will have their expiration date extended by a total of three weeks. As a precaution however, Militia personnel will be doubling security measures at the reservoir at this time, both to safeguard the location from external threats, as well as internal thefts. Leading into that latter half, there will be a crackdown on any unauthorized water withdrawals. With shortages at the levels they are, all volumes of water will need to be accounted for until new sources are obtained, anyone caught and found guilty of the act can expect 2 months in their local district jail. Repeat offenders can expect harsher punishments."

Another murmur traveled across the crowd, and while the general unease and discontent were there, this one expressed more confusion than grievance, with statements such as "Have they gone insane?" or "Do they expect water to pop outta nowhere?" and "Where do they expect to get it?" being thrown around. Others were somewhat skeptical, but more than a few looked on in anticipation, undoubtedly waiting for some rumors to be verified. Andrew then looked down at his speech, hesitant to continue onto the next announcement, one that would flip society on its head.

"Moment of truth." Andrew mentally muttered.

"Now onto the second matter at hand. This Council is aware of the rumors being circulated to the Militia's recent activities near Fort Bismarck in the ruins of Berlin. Many claims have been made, but we wish to clarify what had been confirmed at this point. Many a claim has been made, but we'll address the ones that most closely reflect the actual reality of it. Did we find another world? And is it teeming with life that can sustain the resources we need?" Andrew said in rhetoric.

The room was dead silent now, with not so much as a peep as everyone waited with bated breath. The moment of truth had come at last, as Andrew sighed in anxiety, he blatantly stated the answer everyone was waiting for.

"Yes."


It had been a couple minutes since the movie involving the escapades of a thief and a princess ended, and in the nick of time as Suha was eager to tune into the broadcast, just managing to catch it after the pledge had been said. While she listened to every word with bated breath, Achmed could feel the pit form in his stomach the minute the rumors were addressed, surprised that the Council would do so so deliberately and so soon. But alas, the time was now.

"*Did we find another world? And is it teeming with life that can sustain the resources we need? Yes.*"

At that split second a commotion came over the crowd, one that needed to be quelled quickly if this press conference was to resume or even be heard by those tuning in from home. Suha however was stunned. The rumors she heard from Bloodhound Barkley on the radio, the thing the Lieutenant at the reservoir had alluded to, the very thing her brother had kept from her the night prior. This was it, this is what they found. A paradise that could save them, another world, a new hope for everyone on Earth to begin again. She was at a loss for words, only able to enthrall herself into what the Commander had to share next.

"*Please! PLEASE SETTLE DOWN!" Andrew urged assertively. "I will answer everything I can, but please, let me finish!*"

Through his raised voice and the coercive shushing of many within the crowd who wished to hear the rest, the noise returned to an acceptable level, for both the Council and those listeners at home.

"*Thank you, as I was saying, I can confirm that Militia forces in conjunction with members of the Science Branch did in fact find a garden world capable of providing both food and water at not just sustainable, but excessive quantities. No doubt it sounds too good to be true. And you'd be right*"

Achmed and Suha immediately noticed that the somewhat joyous ambience was immediately quelled upon his last statement. A similar effect had happened as Suha's joy had also quickly subsided. Achmed however was tense, unresponsive emotionally, as he practically stared down the radio in the living room.

"*While many of you might see this as a sigh of relief, I do unfortunately bear some bad news. Precisely one week ago, a Militia Scouting Team under the command of the 3rd Motorized Infantry Company was conducting a search of nearby clinics in the Berlin area. One potential spot yielded the discovery of a pre-war CIA research facility, one whose purpose was to conduct and expand upon interdimensional travel devices. Code named "Gateway" this two man scouting team came across one of these "gates" and inadvertently activated one. One of the two men, Private Timothy Berfield, was pulled into the device by accident and vanished. It wasn't until later that we knew he had been transported and was unable to return to our world by his own devices.*"

"Wait?" Suha cried out. "Wait a minute? TIM? You mean our Tim-"

"Be quiet Suha." Achmed ordered. "Just listen."

Her brother was using that tone of voice that was so unfamiliar. Her burning curiosity to what her brother and his best friend got caught up in ate away at her mind, but whatever was about to be shared must have hurt her brother, as she could see tears of anger and pain trickle down his eyes. She stayed silent, doing as told and listening in to the broadcast once more.

"*His unit was immediately dispatched to the area and secured the site. The Council was informed of the circumstances surrounding this event and in response, I and Councilor Bradford with a team of some of his best scientists and researchers boarded a plane to Germany to see this facility ourselves. Upon arrival, research on the facility and devices immediately commenced, and through the combined efforts of the Militia and Science Branches, we were able to divulge the location he had been sent, an unexplored plane codenamed "Echo". With this knowledge in hand, I...personally...oversaw the staging and commencement stages of a rescue operation, in the field no less.*"

The crowd wasn't quite clear on how they felt from such a revelation, as voices came back in a mix of disapproval and admiration. Derision for his irresponsibility, and respect for seeing this mission out himself, even more so when it involved humanity's last salvation.

"*I would like to apologize for this reckless action, and those that I put in danger in doing so. But more so, I take full responsibility for the events that happened, and once this crisis has subsided, I will stand down if asked of me. There are more things to discuss, and I will divulge my mistakes as they come up. But getting back to the subject, Private Berfield had not been killed upon entry to this other world, and had opted to find his own way home. In an attempt to find help, he had inexplicably made history.*"

This whole time Suha had been listening and correlating this new information with the info from Bloodhound's broadcast a few nights ago. Thus it was almost as if she had expected what was to come next, yet was still shocked to her core to hear it from the Commander's mouth.

"*At an unknown time and date, Private Berfield somehow managed to make successful first contact with an extraterrestrial species native to Echo.*"

Achmed and Suha could hear the gasp fall over the room, the crowd enthralled with his recounting of events. Suha herself had her jaw dropped, looking to her brother instinctively. But instead of a surprised reaction, his expression went unchanged, as did his gaze.

"*Before I continue further, I would like to give Councilor Bradford the time to share a brief rundown of our findings about this newly discovered race. Councilor.*"

Though they couldn't see it, Achmed and Suha could tell that Bradford took over at this point, as the sound of a microphone being switched emanated from the sound waves.

"*Thank you, Commander.*" Bradford said before continuing. "*For the sake of time, I will make this public description brief. These creatures are equine in nature, though they vary heavily from any specimens that were known to inhabit Earth. They're short in stature, with the average height suspected to be somewhere around 3-4 feet. They possess vastly superior intellect for equines, akin to that of a human, as well as possessing the concepts of rationality and sentience. They're vibrantly colored, and technologically they seem to be experiencing the beginnings of an industrial revolution. However these creatures vary in several subspecies, some of which possess abilities that humans do not. One is flight, as several specimens were observed to possess wings capable of flight. Others have a strange horn protruding from the forehead of the creatures. This, appendage gives them an innate ability of high level energy manipulation. The extent and capabilities of this ability are still speculative, but know that they can be and are used for offensive and defensive means. For anyone wishing for a more detailed list of queries concerning the subject, I ask you to save the questions for the public forum. I return the floor back to you, Commander.*"

"*At exactly 1900 hours CET, a rescue operation carried out by two First Reconnaissance fireteams, Osaka and Wolfpack, traversed into the world in an attempt to locate our missing soldier, who was found in the supposed custody of these native inhabitants. Under my command, I issued a nighttime infiltration of the facility he was relegated to. Once inside, members of Fireteam Wolfpack and Osaka found both evidence of a reconstructed device in a similar shape and function of the ones at the Berlin facility, as well as the decapitated remains of a mutant native to our world, indicating they've already achieved interdimensional travel themselves. Unfortunately, in the midst of our infiltration, visual feed from on-site drones inexplicably cut out, leaving one member of Fireteam Osaka cut off. I will not be revealing his identity for security and privacy concerns. This separation in turn led to him becoming compromised, but not before he made contact with Berfield. Berfield claimed his stay was humane, and that his hosts had peaceful intentions, even beneficial ones. However the forces who discovered this operator happened to be none other than the leader's of this native populace. This member of Osaka claimed they were angered by his presence, however it was not only from our trespassing, but supposedly our presence interfered with ulterior motives related to Earth, maybe even humanity. Regardless, events quickly deteriorated, and by means and reasons that still remain inconclusive, Private Berfield was killed during an altercation between him, the operator, and the native leadership.*"

"INCONCLUSIVE!?" Achmed seethed, getting up from his seat and looming over the radio as if he were to destroy it.

This sudden outburst made Suha recoil. Rage filled every fiber of his being, for that word alone was all he needed to hear to know he had failed to sway their minds. All was lost, the chance the Equestrians would settle for conflict was minimal after the bloody nose they were dealt, they'd have to be suicidal to refuse a peace deal. Soon enough he would be called out as a lair, and soon enough he'd reap the punishment that came with it. Tim's death would go unavenged. Achmed turned around and proceeded to vacate the living room, silently leaving his sister to listen to the remainder of the conference alone, though her attention was barely focused on it now.

Everything made sense now, the change in her brother's character gave her some suspicions, but his outburst just now outright confirmed them. Achmed wasn't just angered by Tim's untimely death, he had to have seen it in person to be this angry, he had to. Though the identity of the operator who fired the first shot had yet to be identified, somehow, someway, Suha knew it was her brother.


"Following this sudden aggression, the operator returned fire but was ultimately unable to do harm as the leadership summoned a barrier in their defense. We luckily were able to link back up, and by using non-lethal means, subdued the leadership momentarily to both escape and recover Berfield's belongings. Things quickly deteriorated further, as me and the fireteams were beginning to be cut off, native forces attacked in pursuit, and as standard operating procedure dictates, they forced our hand, and we had no choice but to return fire. I gave the order for a strategical retreat, as well as the destruction of the native's device using explosive charges. We were pursued, and en route to our exfiltration point, we were subdued by the abilities inherent in this species. Additional reinforcements of the 3rd Motorized Company were called in to provide support for our escape, a move that proved successful. As of now, our casualties only numbered 5. One confirmed KIA in the case of Private Berfield, with four others sustaining non-critical injuries in the battle that followed our temporary capture. Casualties inflicted on the native populace are inconclusive, though speculation paints their number of losses above at least a hundred."

The crowd let out a series of sharp gasps of shock and slight disgust, immediately followed by viscous reprimands of some of those in the crowd who saw these actions as a betrayal of everything humanity now stood for, something Andrew was expecting and ready to address.

"I know many of you are angry!" He admitted. "What I've done can be seen as a blatant disregard for our ideals, ones that go back to our founding 22 years ago. But things played out the way they did, and it boiled down to two choices in the end, saving my men and escaping by any means necessary or jeopardizing the security of the Survivor Coalition as a whole by our capture. I regret how things played out, but I stand by my choices, and will bear the consequences that come with them, as I've said once already."

While many a glare still could be seen on a fair number of faces, his answer was enough to stop the heckling and verbal attacks for now.

"Now I know what many of you are thinking, are we at war? Truth is, I don't know. Considering the native populace have yet to reply by any means at their disposal, I suppose it's safe to assume we play the next move. I, and by extension the rest of this Council, would prefer to avoid a conflict if we can. Despite the testimony of the operator in question, and even the death of Private Berfield at the hands of this native leadership, this Council determined that his sole testimony leaves too many holes and does not provide enough evidence to conclusively determine any foul play. Even if what he says is true, we will not enter a conflict unless given no other choice. We all suffered from the last war, all of us. It's scars are all around us, daily reminders of the hell left in its wake, one we've had to endure almost all our lives. With that in mind, let me make this abundantly clear. We will not start another war, until we've expended every option for peace first."

The room was yet again taken aback with silence, one that lasted a fair second before a faint clap could be heard. With heads turning to see who had started it, it turned out to be none other than Colonel Viktor Antonov. While Andrew appreciated the gesture, he doubted it would gain him anything, a mindset shattered almost immediately when others began to join. Eventually the room echoed with applause. Andrew was taken aback. He was expecting resentment, contempt for his actions, and yet here he was being treated with the kind of reverence fit for someone who was more qualified than him. Maybe Patel was right, despite his shortcomings, he did what needed to be done, even if it put him holding the short stick. Maybe those in the crowd saw that, maybe they were just happy that a competent solution was being carried out with confidence, maybe it even just boiled down to Vik's peer pressure being contagious at unprecedented levels. It didn't matter, the response was far from the worst he was expecting, and that alone was a blessing he could most certainly live with.

"Thank you. I hope I can live up to the faith you have in me and in this Council." He said when the applause finally died down. "As of last night, this Council drafted a correspondence expressing desires for a peaceful settlement. Given the constraints of time, this exchange of correspondence will be handled by an on-site senior staff member of the research team dispatched by the Science Branch, accompanied by one enlisted member of the Militia. At the same time, Militia forces under the command of Colonel Panjaitan are en route to Berlin to begin resource acquisitions, codenamed Operation Hydra Wood. They are under strict orders not to engage the local populace, and to acquire the water we need to reclaim that which we lost. Now, onto less pressing matters."

Andrew then proceeded with a few minor announcements that needed to be addressed anyway, before the crisis hit. After about twenty minutes, the stream of announcements finally concluded, and the forum could begin. This is where the bulk of the press conference was going to occur, the part where he and the other Councilors would have to answer query after query.

The majority of questions asked were reasonable. Capabilities of the local populace and their technological advancement, geographic descriptions, hours in a day and so forth. But towards the end of the open forum is when the more ludicrous questions came out. Do the aliens shoot lasers out of their eyes? How soon can we expect an invasion and which variety of saucer would they be using? Some were jokes, others were unfortunately more genuine. These particular questions had no doubt been stirred up by the rumors and Andrew couldn't help but think about the man who had perpetuated them in the first place. As his fellow Councilors professionally handled these ludicrous inquiries, Andrew couldn't help but think how he really wished he could just throw "Bloodhound" off a roof. While an exaggeration for his anger, Andrew wasn't necessarily livid either. Him leaking knowledge of the new world and those who inhabited it ahead of time was certainly an annoyance, and no doubt played into the problems that plagued New Damascus on Andrew's arrival.

But they were going to be announced regardless. In fact, his leaking of the situation might have even softened the blow of the people's response, not to mention the official statement. However, he was curious who leaked it to Bill in the first place, and Andrew would be hell bent on finding out. One way or another, it had to have been someone from the Science branch or his own militia, and if it happened to be the latter, there was certainly a conversation to be had, and a demotion to be carried out.


"Dammit Dad! I knew you'd do me dirty like this!" Nick practically hollered through the video call.

The on-site comms room had been set up relatively quickly, he had to hand it to those science guys, they knew their craft and knew it well. Linking up connection literally hundreds of miles away in the public call rooms of the Council building was certainly an achievement of its own in this day and age, and one that allowed militiamen to speak with family members on a semi-regular basis. However at this time, one of Nick's family had taken advantage of his trust, his own father, renowned radio jockey, Bill "Bloodhound" Barkley.

"Son, if you wanted this hush-hush you should've told anyone but me." Claimed his father.

"That's because you guilt tripped me into saying it!" Nick barked before transitioning into an impersonation of his father. "Your momma and Tanya are worried sick, they just wanna know if you're safe, if everything's gonna be alright for us back home. You can tell me anything, son. I can keep a secret. They should call you Bill "Bullshit" Barkley."

"Now son, you wound me." Bill said mockingly, stifling an urge to laugh. "You didn't have to tell me everything, you could just said I'm fine and been done with it. It's on you for leaking the whole alien tidbit, and you know I've always been terrible at keeping a secret when it's too good to pass up. Remember the time you told me to keep that little incident where you fell face-first into some dogshit a secret. Shit, son, everybody we knew was laughing their ass off that day."

Nick flustered at the reminder of that and held back the urge to swear at his father again.

"Look dad, my day's been stressful enough, by sheer luck I managed to wriggle my way out of going' back to that alien world to find resources, and now I get word that it was you who spilled everything to the public! Did you think that maybe leaking that to the public incited some of the unrest in New Damascus?" Nick suggested.

"Now you know that's not true." His father shot back with a little more serious intent in his voice. "I didn't even mention a thing about the reservoir, you can blame the big five and all them other stations for that. Making things sound worse than they are, feeding off the negativity, portion sizing the facts they want you to hear! Not me! I give people hope, every time I speak, it's about fighting that good fight. I have told you about that, right boy?"

"...Not the damn good fight again..." Nick hissed in the midst of his father's spiel.

"Keeping the people informed and givin' it to em' like it is! People deserve the truth, no matter how bad it hurts!"

"Yeah well, it hurt your son most of all." Nick condemned.

His dad proceeded to raise an eyebrow almost immediately, taken aback by the melodramatic voice his son adopted.

"Oh don't give me that crap, drama queen! You'll be fine." Bill proclaimed. "You act like I do it to make ya' miserable, believe it or not things were primed for an all-out riot over here! But I just so happened to announce things in the nick of time, and what happened. No deaths, less than two dozen arrests, and only one clash with militia forces. Folks were primed for a fight, but they opted to hear the Council out. I don't think that's coincidence."

"Oh sure, pop, you're just a public hero for everyone." Nick said sarcastically.

"I'm glad you think so. Hell they should open a sixth Councilor seat just for me!" Bill said in equal jest.

"Yeah sure, Councilor Barkley, head of the Ego Branch."

"I like to think of it more as a Branch of Personality myself."

At that moment Corporal Richards who was manning the comms room at that time, received on-site call via his headset from elsewhere in the facility.

"Yes sir?............Yes sir he's here..................Of course, sir, I'll send him right up." Richards said before hanging up and turning to Nick. "Barkley, wrap it up pronto, Lieutenant Bakowski wants to see you, he's on level 7."

"Copy that." Nick replied. "Sorry Dad, love to continue this talk, really, but duty calls."

Before Nick walked away, Bill had one more thing to say.

"Hey son. You take care of yourself."

Nick nodded before the screen cut feed and went black. As Nick made his way down to the seventh level of the pre-war facility, thoughts of what the Lieutenant needed him for raced through his head. It certainly wasn't a promotion, he'd only been in active duty for less than two months, and even a scrape with aliens wasn't going to get him up the ranks that quickly. When he reached his destination and asked for Lieutenant's whereabouts, he saw three of his fellow compatriots standing outside the LT's temporary quarters, sporting big-shit-eating grins across their faces. This was enough for Nick to know something was up, and he'd be dead before he'd not inquire what exactly that was.

"Why are you all smiling?" Nick asked.

"Oh nothing, just envious of the emissary's newest security detail." Francis smirked.

"Security detail?" Nick questioned. "For what?"

"Y'know, for the emissary? The one the Council just announced they're sending?" Nazif explained. "Weren't you listening to the broadcast just a half hour ago?"

"No I was talking with-"

It took Nick a few seconds to comprehend what they were implying, and when it finally did hit, Nick could only feel the sense of distilled hatred return once more, one made evident by his lifeless and scrunched up expression, much to the amusement of Francis Vanhart and those who .

"Did you sign me up?" Nick worded slowly before Vanhart interjected.

"Technically, as acting NCO, I gave the LT the recommendation to assign you this task. So in short, yeah, I did." Vanhart beamed, unable to hold back his laughter.

Nick only stared at his comrades in arms, the rage only intensifying.

"WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYY."Nick hissed with clenched teeth.

"Given how much effort you put in not to be selected for the scouting mission, we thought the only rational thing to do was to make you face your fears head on. It's only healthy for you, dude." Delp explained. "But hey, no sweat Nick, it's only war on the line."

Nick's death stare didn't falter in the slightest as he returned with a response.

"For the record. I hate you all." Nick stated in a grated voice.

"For the record, we don't give a shit." Francis smiled before gesturing for him to make his way through the door. "Good luck!"

Nick stepped forward, starting to wish he had been picked for the resource scouting, at least the aim of that mission was to avoid contact with the laser shooting aliens. As he stepped towards his inevitable doom, he wondered if Brooks and Ahab were experiencing the same level of anxiety he was.


"I cannot believe we scored on this hideout!" Brooks chimed. "Who else can say they've bunked in an old castle in the woods during an op?"

"Fucking nobody, that's who!" Ahab chimed back.

The two exchanged a quick high five, clearly happy to have stumbled across their temporary shelter for the night.

"Hey, so if this is a castle then that means-" Ahab wondered before gasping at his conclusion. "DIBS ON THE THRONE ROOM!"

"HEY NO FAIR! I WANNA BE KING!" Brooks yelled back.

As the two raced towards the giant decrepit archway that led further into the ruins, it took little time for the two men to find the room in question, finding the remnants of two thrones that stood at the edge of the giant room. While neglecting basic doctrine on clearing structures, the two men had hardly run into anything dangerous throughout the whole day. It was nighttime now, and after a day of tagging well over a dozen or so sights for resource acquisition with little to no contact with the native populace, there attentiveness was relatively relaxed. Add the fact Sarge was out of the picture, and the two were due a little room for goofing off.

"Hey look! One for each of us!" Brooks chimed.

"But there can only be one ruler!" Ahab yelled.

Ahab stood upon the more intact of the two, placing one foot on the armrest and sporting a regal stance.

"I hereby pronounce myself, SULTAN of these woods." Ahab proclaimed in a bad British accent.

"Fuck you!" Brooks yelled in mock protest. "I pronounce myself KING of the Forest. Bow to your king!"

"I shalleth not!" Ahab quipped, maintaining his accent.

"You shalleth so!" Brook shot back in an equally bad accent.

"USURPER! This slight will not go unpunished." Ahab stated, picking up an old rusty sword that fell off one of the many suits of rusty horse armor that dotted the walls and raising it towards Brooks. "I demand you honorably duel me!"

Brooks did the same, fining a sword and taking up a stance of his own before shouting, "En Garde you wretch!"

The mock battle commenced, as Ahab started to badly sing out the tune to Duel of the Fates, with Brooks joining in. However the duel was short lived, as when the two blades made contact the seventh consecutive time they shattered to pieces, leaving the two men in a state uncontrollable laughter.

"That wasn't much of a fight." Brooks managed to wheeze out.

Ahab was about to return with a comment of his own when his ear picked a series of voices being carried on the wind.

"Hey, wait a-" Ahab started to say before cut off.

"C'mon man." Brooks interjected. "We must finish-"

"No! Dude, shh. Hear that?"

As silence overtook the throne room, the sound of voices was becoming more and more audible, and worse, closer.

"Shit." Ahab said. "Hide. Now."

The two wasted no time, taking advantage of the overgrown patches of flora that had made its way inside over the centuries. With the ghillie suits, they were practically one with the scenery. A minute past, and the orange light of a torch being levitated by magic illuminated the stone walls of the ruins, followed by no less than six native guardsmen.

Brooks and Ahab were still as corpses, watching like hawks for the slightest hint of recognition that they had been seen. Alas it never came, as the night's darkness helped conceal them and the guards were too preoccupied in conversation to actively look for anything out of the ordinary.

"Where did they say the tree was?" A tall unicorn mare asked, the one who held the torch in the air.

"Commander Spark said it was deep underground, we'll have to make our way through the old tunnels." said the steel colored pegasus stallion leading them.

"We shouldn't be here, they say it's haunted. In fact I think that's what the weird chanting we heard a moment ago was. Ghosts!" Said a timid looking earth pony stallion.

"A local like you would believe in such nonsense." The unicorn quipped.

"Ghosts are a foal's tale sure, but the tree of harmony is very real, and so are its powers. It might be leading us the right way for all we know, it might even save us from the humans." said the other unicorn mare.

"Somehow I doubt that." Said the other pegasus, a mare of green coloration.

The voices gradually faded and eventually went silent entirely as they left out the line of sight and out of earshot. Giving it a minute to verify the coast was clear, Ahab and Brooks finally vacated their hiding spot.

"So much for the castle." Brook griped. "We need to find a new spot, this place is compromised."

"What were they going on about? Tree of harmony?" Ahab questioned.

"Who knows man." Brooks said.

"Maybe we should find out. Any intel we an get can be vital for the folks back home. C'mon, let's follow them. See where it leads us."

"That wasn't our directive, Ahab." Brooks argued.

"No, but whatever they're talking about seems important, could even be a threat to the mission at hand. We need to see what this tree really is."

Brooks sighed and begrudgingly nodded. Content they were both on the same page, the two proceeded in the same direction as the native patrol, eager to find out just what purpose this Tree of Harmony served, and if could be used against their planned operations. If so, there'd be only one choice. Neutralize it.

Author's Note:

This year can kiss my ass......
Anyways, I hope you like it, I certainly didn't like the days longer it took me to write it. Gonna use fimfic' built in text-to-speech to proof read from now on, as I painstakingly managed to correct I think pretty much every error by being able to hear it. (LET ME KNOW IF I'M WRONG ON THAT PLEASE!!!) No new chapter for awhile, gonna take the time to clean up my older chapters using this strategy, might even condense some of the more unnecessarily wordier chapters, and gonna give some love over to Fireteam Storm. Anyways, it's 4:00 AM as of writing this, I'm gonna go to bed. Like, critique, and comment and I'll see you guys next time.

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