A Mirror of Stars

by Cyberdutchman

CH 5: Discipline and Duty

"PINKIE. Please, for the last time, we do not probe, hypnotize, remote control, replace, infect, assimilate, annihilate, or eat anyone! These guys don't even have stomachs!" Liam said as he pushed a finger into Will's relatively thing midriff. He paused for a moment as his finger dug into the material. "Hey, when was the last time you had these muscles replaced?"

"We've been busy," Will grumbled. "Personal maintenance has not been high on the list of priorities."

"Will-"

"How about face hugging?"

Liam closed his eyes with a sigh. "No, Pinkie, no face- what?"

Liam went slack as Pinkie crossed her arms around his head from behind and latched on with a loud slurping sound. Rainbow Dash burst out laughing along with Will as Pinkie slowly constricted her arms tighter and tighter. Even Applejack gave out a short snarky grunt of amusement, though probably more at his discomfort than the humor of the situation.

"...Will?" Liam said, trying his best not to slur the word and failing miserably as his face was squished further by the constricting hug.

"Hehehe oh geez..."

"No no, take your time. Oh and speak up, tad hard to hear right now. Apart from the laughter anyways. That's coming through loud and clear."

"Heh. Yes?"

"Do me a favor and refresh my memory. Am I not the political leader of not only a nation but an entire race?"

"Last time I checked it was your turn."

"Have I not had to deal with any number of crises and conflicts?"

"Can't argue that."

"Am I not rapidly approaching a century old?"

"Yup. Twenty six going on a hundred now. We're running out of space for candles on your birthday cakes."

"Then why am I currently getting my personal face-space violated?" he asked as he pointed up at the pink arms blocking his vision.

Will pondered the question for a moment then began counting off on his fingers. "Hmmmmm...you make an effort to be easygoing and nonthreatening, life loves to keep you off balance, aaaaand Pinkie doesn't seem to care about rank, age, or personal boundaries?"

Liam sighed and hung his head as far as the arms around it would allow. "Yeah, that sums it up perfectly. Pinkie, you can let go now."

With a small "awww" Pinkie released his head and skipped back to her friends. They'd been keeping up the game of "Sci-Fi Tropes 20 Questions" the entire walk to the conference hall. It had paused only for a moment when they'd entered and stopped to look around. It wasn't as decorated as the entryway and was more starkly presented. A single main room with a large ring shaped table in the center and a number of smaller rooms sprouting off from the side walls. The Legion had always been utilitarian and while they had taken the time to make a display when someone first entered this space by comparison was meant for business and the least amount of distractions.

Liam turned just in time to catch her high five Rainbow Dash. Okay, I've gotta admit, that's was a funny refer- Liam's thoughts ground to a halt as Pinkie's question caught up with him. He glanced at Will to see if he'd noticed as well. Will was still smirking hugely but decades of close companionship allowed him to see the very slight nod and hint of uncertainty behind those glowing eyes. Okay then, do we chalk that up to Pinkie Pie being, well, Pinkie Pie or something else? ...I've got no idea. I really want to say someone's pulling one over us except they can actually use magic. So add that one to the list and keep going or go insane. Well, MORE insane.

"The best screen is in the briefing room over here," he said as he wandered over to a set of double doors set into the middle of one of the long side walls. Inside was a single long table with seats on each side, and a huge display panel on the far wall. "Come on in and take a seat wherever you want."

The girls chose chairs along one side of the table while he and Will took seats next to each other in the middle opposite them. Will began messing with a small screen set into the table in front of him while Liam slowly lowered himself into his own seat.

""So are we ready to start now?"

Applejack leaned forward and loudly brought a hand down on the table. "Start what? Why are we even here?"

"Like I said, this will be quicker than trying to explain-"

"Oh no, Ah get what ya want ta do. But Ah've had time to think while you were showing off your fancy spaceship and Ah'm asking why Ah should care about your damn explanations. Why should any of us care? Why shouldn't we just march right outta here right now and let the cops or better yet the Guard deal with ya? What are WE here for?!" She rapped her hand on the table once more for emphasis then sat back and glared at him.

Liam started leaning forward in aggravation and froze. She's- she's right. Why did I bring them here? They're just seven teenagers, not national leaders or anyone with the resources to help us fix up the Celestia and get home. He took in the room and its occupants, letting his gaze slowly drift around without any particular focus. He drifted back to Applejack and her angry and questioning glare.

Was I really so shocked by them I couldn't see that as well? Damn it Liam...

"I'm going to be honest with you Applejack: that was not a comfortable question for me because I honestly don't know. My gut instinct was to reduce conflict and clear things up. Not my best showing for deliberate and measured leadership. I do still feel like I owe you at least a better introduction."

Applejack seemed surprised at his answer as did the rest of the girls. All except for Sunset.

"I kind of had a feeling that might be the case. You had something of a deer in the headlights look and seemed a little off the entire time. Considering the situation I can't really blame you. We did the same when we saw Will and the others after all," she said with an awkward grin.

A LITTLE off? You have NO idea baconhors- STOP THAT.

"AJ, if it's not going to bother you I'd like to see what he was going to show us. We've had a lot of things happen around here recently but nothing like this. I'd like to know more about him and the Will and the others," continued Sunset. Liam gave her a smile half in thanks and half in surprise for the save from his awkward realization.

Applejack turned to look at her eager friends then looked at him again for a bit. She shook her head and said, "Fine, let's get it over with."

"Thank you. Both of you. I owe you a better explanation," Liam said with a grateful bow of his head in her direction. He wasn't sure what'd he have done if they hadn't let him continue. Probably just sat there awkwardly till they asked to leave or he woke up and found out this was all a dream and he'd been in a coma for years. He knew which of those sounded more likely right then and it wasn't the one with pastel pony people.

Applejack waved him off and swiveled her seat to face the screen. He chuckled once then picked up the remote in front of him and began scrolling through the saved videos in the ships records. "Let's start with the day the universe decided to break every rule I knew."

---

Fluttershy squinted and turned her away for a moment as the large monitor in the wall burst into harsh light that made her eyes water before they adjusted.

"Everything started about eight years ago. I was in High School at the time and was walking between two of the school buildings when this happened." Liam nodded towards the screen and Fluttershy looked back at it.

Four different views of the same scene were playing, and from the sounds and shaking she was sure they were cell videos. A shout played over the room's speakers and the views jerked to face the direction it came from. It made her queasy for a moment but it passed quickly, sped along by what she watched. Above the sidewalk the air shimmered and waved like it was coming from some invisible flame, then suddenly snapped into a single point of light and began speeding forward quickly in a straight line. She inhaled as she realized someone was in its way then let out a small gasp as it began to expand rapidly, small arcs of electricity shooting off it, and passed over them before they could get out of its way. A pained scream went up into the air and the people recording began muttering fearfully. Then the glowing orb passed and shrunk back into nothing, leaving the poor soul behind to crumple to the ground. The video ended and the room was left silent for about a minute while everyone looked at the figure lying on the sidewalk in each of the videos.

"That was you, wasn't it?" asked Fluttershy at length.

Liam nodded. "That was me. That was me on the worst day of my life." He frowned for a second then snorted faintly. "One of the worst days of my life. One of them..."

"What was it?" asked Twilight, her eyes huge.

Liam threw a hand up in frustration. "Not a single clue. No one- and I mean no one- that I've met or heard from has a decent explanation for it. We've been trying to recreate it for decades on our own but that hasn't worked either. It's still probably the greatest unsolved mystery on my world, particularly after what followed."

He looked at the screen and his prone body again and Fluttershy felt her heart go out to him a little. This had to be uncomfortable to revisit, especially when she'd heard the cry he'd let out when it passed over him. Rainbow Dash seemed to be thinking along the same lines since she whistled softly.

"How bad did it mess you up?" she asked.

Liam grimaced and and sucked in a hissing breath. "Bad. Really bad Dash. I was in the hospital for a couple months recovering and it was touch and go at the beginning."

"A couple months... what did it do to you?" asked Twilight in a near whisper.

Liam looked at her for a moment then back at the screen and grunted. "I can show you but it isn't pretty. If any of you are squeamish I'd say let's skip it and you can take my word that it was rather graphic and took a long time to recover from."

Fluttershy paled at the thought. She'd helped treat animals at the shelter before and had seen what could happen between accidents, territorial fights, and abuse. She wasn't in any hurry to see more, particularly on a person.

"That's probably for the best," Sunset said hurriedly.

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief then blushed when she saw Will smirking at her reaction. Something about the way he watched them made her very uncomfortable. It was like being in school again and seeing all the guys look her over out of the corners of their eyes. This was different though and felt even more disconcerting and invasive- like being under a microscope- instead of just being ogled.

"I'm glad that's your choice because I'm in no rush to relive it again. What came afterwards though... that's something I could revisit every minute of every day," Liam said wistfully with a small smile. He nodded to Will who moved to the next video. This one was less grainy but harder to take as seriously due to the opening scene. She couldn't help but giggle a little at the clownish figure centered in the shot.

<"Okay... that should -SHOULD- do it,"> a heavily padded and chemical face shield-ed Liam mumbled loudly as he messed with the camera.

Dash laughed out loud at how goofy and ungainly he looked in his getup. Fluttershy took a brief moment to look about the room he was in. Cream colored walls with a white ceiling and trim. Unfamiliar posters she guessed were of bands or games from his world. Equipment, tools, and displays that would have fit right in with Twilight's own work room at her house from what Fluttershy remembered from their first sleepover there. Nothing out of the ordinary or unfamiliar to her in any real way. It was a relief to see that after how shocking he and his companions had been otherwise.

<"So, I finished the test rig a couple days ago and checked the wiring. No problems there. All loose items in the test area have been secured just in case and I'm going to be bracing against the wall with a pile of pillows and a face shield between me and the experiment. If this kills me despite all that... well, not sure what I was expecting from a home lab. Try to sell my body and notes to whatever big science school will pay the most for it. Try CMU, they accepted me for school, maybe they'll take me as a corpse. If that's legal. No idea if it is or not. ...okay, now I'm just stalling for time. Whooo... here we go.">

Fluttershy tensed a little as he joked, or at least she hoped he'd been joking, about the danger of whatever he was about to attempt. Everyone else seemed a little off put by his grim humor as well. Twilight in particular judging by the way she gulped at the mention of selling his corpse.

Fluttershy shivered as well. She really, really hoped that it wasn't legal to do that on his world.

The video Liam breathed out nervously and stepped back over to a bunker he'd apparently built out of pillows on the opposite side of the room from the camera and the rig on the center table. He picked up a wired controller lying next to him and began twisting a dial on it a little bit then stopped. Nothing happened. He twisted it a little more and still nothing occurred. He twisted it minutely again and then further still.

Suddenly the stones began to glow faintly and a number of motes of reddish purple distortions appeared haphazardly around the box. He smiled and then laughed excitedly as he saw a tiny layer of dust on the table shoot outwards and away from the points. He spun the switch back and disconnected the wall cord for good measure before getting up and walking over to the camera. Then the footage jumped without warning to him holding the camera at his face while looking back at the table and the device on top of it.

<"-so that takes care of the how -unless issues arise and it turns out I'm dead wrong- so the question now is the 'what'. Moving on to experiment two: Time check. Rig has been realigned as best I could get it so it should be stable at the center.">

He stepped back and pulled two digital watches out of his pocket, switching both of their timers on before putting one on his wrist and the other on a small stand inside the array. He quickly stepped back over to his place by the switch and turned it until he got the same effect again, this time with all the points inside the enclosure. They weren't perfect and the stand began leaning slightly to the left but held. He waited until about a minute had passed then switched off the device. He pulled the watch out of it and compared it to his. He hadn't stopped smiling the whole time and now it was a full blown grin. He brought both back over and showed them to the camera. The watch from the device was reading about three minutes.

<"There's gotta be a Nobel for discovering and harnessing inflationary physics in the same afternoon, right?"> he asked with a cheeky grin.

As the playback ended Rainbow snickered at the frozen image of the masked and padded boy staring into the camera.

"I think you may have been going a little overboard there Liam," she said through another snicker.

Liam turned a half-lidded smirk her way and said, "I'm actually very, very lucky I took so many precautions. This form of physics is not something you should mess around with lightly."

Rainbow rolled her eyes then glanced to the side as Twilight leaned in closer over the table, squinting at the screen a bit as she did.

"Wait, isn't that the same thing you made in front of Applejack earlier?" she asked. Applejack scowled at the screen while watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, through some unpleasant accidents I learned I could make those fields myself thanks to a...'parting gift' from that anomaly that bowled me over," he said then brought his hand up and pointed it at the ceiling above the table. He grunted softly as his arms tensed visibly and a red tinted orb of light popped into existence. Fluttershy felt a faint dizziness but it passed not long after. She leaned in a little to get a closer but felt the dizziness return again and sat back quickly.

"After that I figured out how to create them artificially which is what you just watched-"

"Ohhhh! Hold it there please!" Twilight exclaimed as she began rooting through the pockets of her pants. Liam looked up at the distortion he was making then back at her uneasily. His arms was shaking mildly and Fluttershy thought he looked uncomfortable holding his position there.

"Twilight-"

"Please, I just want to- aha, found it!"

Twilight sat up straight with a small purplish disk held in her hands. Fluttershy recognized it as the scanner she'd used during the Friendship Games but looked slimmer and more compact in general.

"Isn't that... didn't I break it?" Sunset asked, pointing at the device apprehensively.

"Yes, you did. But apart from the magic absorption it worked as intended so I updated the design to be less... intrusive," replied Twilight. Fluttershy caught a motion out of the corner of her eyes and jumped in surprise when she found Liam pushing his chair back away from them while Will jumped out of his seat. For a few seconds no one spoke or moved.

"I-is there a problem?" Twilight asked nervously.

"That's- I mean, what is that?" Liam asked with open concern.

"It's a scanner. It scans- er, well more like detects anomalous energies in the area. I had another one that had less than desirable results so I redesigned it. I-is there a problem?"

Will glared at the device in her hands. "Dammit, I got so caught up in this fucking madness I forgot to check them before I led them right to you. Christ!"

Fluttershy flinched at the complete change in Will's demeanor. Where had the joking, apologetic Legionnaire she'd seen up to this point gone to? She didn't like the cursing, venomous stranger that had been left in his absence. His brow was furrowed tightly, casting deep shadows over his eyes which contrasted even more strongly with the glow surrounding their pupils. The "skin" over his face was twisted strangely and she got the impression of bared teeth and raised hackles from the rest of his posture.

"Hey, what's wrong with you two?" Rainbow Dash asked pointedly as she also rose out of her chair, arms raised and stiff by her sides.

"What's wrong is I've got no idea what that thing will do to him and-" Will began before a sharp look from Liam cut him off. They locked eyes for a second and Fluttershy had the distinct impression that an entire conversation was passing between the two without a single word being spoken. Then Will sighed and walked more calmly over to Liam's side, leaning forward in front of him and partially obscuring him from view. "What's wrong is I'm supposed to be responsible for his security. That means checking everyone that approaches him for hidden devices and the like. Can't believe I forgot," he mumbled to no one in particular.

"We all forgot. It's not been a normal day," noted Liam. Will gave him a quick glance then looked back to them.

"Oh! I didn't- I'm sorry. Do- do you want to inspect it or anything?" asked Twilight nervously. Will stared at the proffered device for a while before meeting her eyes again. Even though she wasn't his focus Fluttershy felt unnerved and fearful of the intensity behind his gaze. Twilight seemed much worse off than her and leaned away from him noticeably.

"First, how does it work? Will it be doing anything to him?"

"N-No, not this one. That's why it's more of a detector now. I just want to see what it picks up from those fields."

Liam and Will shared another long look then Liam shook his head slowly and gave Twilight an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry, but we just don't know enough about how your 'magic' would work on me and I'm unfortunately unique and irreplaceable within the Legion. More importantly, for a variety of reasons we don't let others study our technology. I'm afraid we can't allow it. Would you please surrender that to Will for now? We'll return it when we take you back outside."

"Wait, you want me to-" Twilight clutched the device to her chest in shock. "D-Do I have to?"

Will gave a very brief and simple reply. "I'm sorry, but yes."

Fluttershy was close to breaking out in a cold sweat now. Not only had Will's demeanor changed but now Liam was also the very picture of severity and intense focus. More than anything else, they both reminded her of toms warily watching a threat, not making a move or arching their back or making any actual show. Just sizing their opponent up before the first move was made. Then something would break the moment- a sound or a small motion- and the claws and teeth would come out instantly.

"Hey, she doesn't have to give you anything! Who the heck do you think you are taking her stuff from her?" Rainbow shouted angrily as she jumped out of her seat. She froze as Will bunched up his fists at his side and two long blades shot out of the armored sections of his forearms.

"I think I'm the one who makes sure nothing harms him. Ever." His reply was soft and even but spoken with a finality that Fluttershy was sure was more promise than threat. Sunset stood up and pushed herself in front of Twilight, partially blocking her from their view.

"You said you were unarmed!" she yelled at him angrily.

Will turned his eyes from Rainbow Dash to her without budging another muscle. "No, I said I had disarmed. I put my rifle down before I approached you all on the loading deck so you'd know I wasn't looking for a fight. Let me make something clear. I'm never unarmed." From where she was sitting Fluttershy could clearly see Sunset grinding her jaw. This was the calm before the claws and it was moments away from the strike. She had to try to bring it back down.

"Everyone please, that's ENOUGH!" she shouted as loud as she could while scrunching up her eyes, fearing she was about to break the teetering calm. When all she heard was silence she risked cracking an eye open a little. Liam and Will were staring at her in mild shock while her friends were doing almost the same. She breathed out shakily and tried to compose herself again.

"Can we please calm down? Please?"

"Fluttershy, he just pulled two swords out of his arms! He lied to us down below about not having those! Why are you letting him off when he just pulled a literal knife on us to take Twilight's gadget?" Dash shouted angrily.

Fluttershy turned a mild stare on her and she flinched slightly under it. "I'm not happy about that either but you weren't helping by shouting at them without giving them a chance to explain themselves."

"Oh no, I explained-" Will began roughly then froze when she turned her stare on him next. She felt her own desperation and ire up the strength behind it noticeably.

"As for you, there was no need to threaten us and you never gave a real reason why you were taking Twilight's gadget from her! You just said it was what you always did and demanded it from her, not why it was what you always did. How would you appreciate being told to give up something you made out of the blue when you were just curious about using it?" Will flinched under the heat of her glare. They stood there staring at each other for about a minute before Will suddenly deflated, his shoulders dropping and the blades retracting into his arms with an audible zinging tone.

"Forgot we're not on our own world anymore. Anyone from there would understand or at least expect it."

"Why the heck would anyone be okay with that?" asked Dash angrily.

Will looked like he was about to face off with her but held himself back and instead looked at Liam. His human counterpart looked over them all quickly then turned his eyes to meet Will. Another silent talk passed for a few seconds passed and then he nodded. Will made what Fluttershy had to assume was a click of his tongue, if he had one anyway, and gave Dash a strangely tired look.

"Because of the assassination attempts against him that used concealed devices. That's why I should have checked you all outside before I brought you in."

It was Dash's turn to flinch this time. Everyone else froze in what they were doing or were about to say.

A-assassinate as in...? thought Fluttershy as a cold chill flew down her spine at speed. Rarity added to the moment by bringing her hands up to cover her mouth as she whimpered softly and gave voice to the unspoken horror.

"You mean- you're saying people have tried to - to kill you?" Rarity asked, fumbling over the question a bit.

Liam gave a short, weak snort and looked at her with a snarky half-grin. "Six times to date-" he paused, the grin turning into a grimace. "Many times to date."

"B-but why darling?" Rarity asked in total confusion.

Liam frowned at her as if she'd just asked something with an obvious answer or better yet grown a second head. Fluttershy noticed both Sunset and Applejack perked up ever so slightly as he shook his head and looked at them again as if he were seeing them for the first time. Neither he nor Will seemed to notice their attention and each seemed lost in their thoughts for a second.

"For the reasons most leaders get assassinated: I upset a long maintained geopolitical structure overnight and and didn't play by everyone else's rule book. It also didn't help I created a race of near immortal people who all share the exact same will as me with none of the weaknesses of humans and very few of their own to balance that out. Oh, and I just generally scared the hell out of people who were convinced I had some kind of plan to take over the world or that I was some kind of abomination."

"Did you want to take over the world?" Sunset asked pointedly. Liam seemed to find the question in poor taste and looked at her with a slight squint. Fluttershy got that same feeling of being examined more closely again like she had with Will, only this time directed at her friend instead of her.

"No, I didn't want to take over the world Sunset. I wanted things to be better than they were. I only ever tried to improve the lives of the people on my world, nothing more and nothing less. Trust me wholeheartedly when I say that between staying in space and never coming within sight of the Earth again or trying to manage and dictate the affairs of the people living on it I would ALWAYS take the former."

Sunset twitched rather visibly and looked away. Fluttershy knew what she was thinking, they'd all talked about it enough after they beat the Dazzlings and Sunset started opening up to them more about parts of her past. Not all of it she was fairly certain, but enough to know that any question of world conquering was going to draw out her remaining guilt.

"Then why did you go back there?" Fluttershy asked him, giving Sunset a break to focus on something else and drawing his gaze away from her friend. A few moments passed before he looked down at the table.

"It's... home. Well, it's our old home. The place we grew up in and left behind to make our own way. And it was hurting when we did that. It didn't feel right just letting it continue that way so we returned to try to help. Even took a vote on the matter in our early days. Unanimous agreement, all five hundred of us at the time. That's harder than it sounds by the way," he said with a chuckle as he looked at Will. "I was able to carry on a full three-way argument in my head well before these guys came along and gave actual voices to those different sides. But this... this we felt we had to do. All of us."

"Your home was hurting? How?" Twilight asked having regained some of her composure.

Liam cupped his hands together on the table and leaned into them a bit, rocking back and forth every so slightly. He did this for a full minute or so. Twilight looked at Sunset next to her who shrugged then looked back at Liam. "Ummm-"

"We can talk about that another time. Home's a bit of a complicated thing for us," he said at length.

For a moment Fluttershy could have sworn the shadows around his eyes deepened immensely and she found she could believe he was a hundred years old. She'd seen that kind of look before when an elderly person brought their pet to the shelter for care when they couldn't afford a professional vet's services. They'd bring them in old and tired and nearing the end and just sit besides them while she and the the others who worked there would do what they could. Sometimes the only thing they could do though was ease the pain for good. They all had the same look up till that point, that sort of ever longing hopefulness that the one thing providing solace to them would continue to do so. Then they'd have to tell them and they'd take a moment or two for it to sink in and then they all just pulled inward, body and spirit. It crushed her every time and usually forced her to take a day off from school and work to rest emotionally.

It was the same look he'd had for just a moment before it disappeared again.

Her friends noticed as well, though probably not in the same way she had. They could tell they were encroaching on a difficult subject for both him and Will. All of them except for Applejack she discovered.

"Ah think Ah've heard enough. Ya threatened us, mah family, and our home and ya don't want ta answer our questions about why. That's fairly condemnin' in mah book."

"Applejack, there's no need to-" Sunset began before Liam held up a hand for attention.

"Sunset, I'm actually inclined to agree with her. This... our talk didn't go as I'd hoped on top of a whole day that hasn't gone as I'd hoped. As is I still need to get a status report from the others and then start working with them to put together a plan to get the ship off the ground again." He squeezed his eyes and lips shut as if he'd just tasted something sour. "Oh, and then start bashing our heads against a wall trying to find a way home. For now you should go home as well. We can talk again later. You all know where to find me," he said tiredly.

Fluttershy felt her heart go out to him again and his loss but was surprised to find she also felt a sense of immense relief that they were being sent back out of this strange ship with its strange crew and their unpredictable behavior.

At least it isn't some creature from another world or wild magic corrupting people this time she thought to herself.

The small amount of relief that thought brought her died when she also realized that they had experience with those. This was completely different, and she had no idea what she and her friends should do now. Should they help the castaways return in secret or go to the authorities or see if the other Twilight had any knowledge of the Legion? Would doing so result in some kind of political or national crisis with them at the center of it?

She moaned softly as the scope of their situation began to fully dawn on her and found herself for once wishing for the simple and familiar problem of a giant magical monster. She was grateful for the distraction Liam provided as he pointed at them all.

"Applejack also brought up a good point about your families. I'm not sure if they were expecting you to stay out this late but if not then you should get in touch with them again before they come out to find you or worse ask the police to do it. I'd still like to avoid that for now until we've had time to talk with my companions," he said as he nodded towards Will. He turned back to them only for his gaze to rise over them. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "And speaking of family..."

---

"Applejack!"

Liam chuckled to himself as Applebloom rush through the door and flung her arms around her sister. The Twilight Zone madness just kept on coming.

Applejack jumped out of her chair and hugged her younger sister tightly in return. "Applebloom! What're ya doin' here?"

"She's here because she's as stubborn as you are ya dang fool!"

Applejack looked up from holding Applebloom as Granny Smith walked in alongside Big Mac. Behind both of them another of his doubles followed them in and shut the door quietly.

"Alphonse, I see we managed to avoid another incident?" he asked before his eyes flicked to the open shotgun in Big Mac's grasp then back to Alphonse with a slight elevation of a brow. "We did, right?" Alphonse nodded and was about to say something when any chance of reply was immediately drowned out by the pair of Applejack and Granny Smith.

"What did ya think you were doin' comin' here with yer friends and not leaving a single note behind or waitin' for us ta get back? Ya scared us half to death!"

"Eyup," Big Mac added with a disappointed frown.

Applejack waved a hand around her and said, "I was tryin' to find out just what the hell trashed our farm! Besides, what could y'all have done that we couldn't have? Ya don't have magic like us and ya haven't fought things from other worlds like us!"

"Ah may not have any 'o that stuff but I got one thing yer apparently missing: a workin' brain! Ya charged off without callin' us or the police and then ya didn't call us when they brought ya in ta talk! We didn't know what happened to ya till this Alphonse feller here showed us a recordin' on his fancy hand computer of ya punchin' on of 'em clear into a wall and then followin' another of 'em inside."

"Ah was a little preoccupied after one of 'em shot me!" Applejack shot back at Granny angrily. Granny tossed a piercing look at Alphonse who shrugged and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Ah saw that too and Ah'm not happy 'bout it one bit but far as Ah can see they've been tryin' to be accommodatin' since yer little dust up earlier. Ah want ta hear more 'bout what happened but first Ah'm gonna drill just how mad Ah am with ya so deep into that thick skull 'o yours that it'll have to stick this time!"

"Accomodatin'! Granny, they shot me with an electric gun and tried to grab Pinkie Pie! Not ta mention they trashed the Fall harvest just before-"

"Applejack, that's enough!"

"Granny! It's-"

"Enough," Granny Smith said with finality. "Applejack, as far as Ah can tell these folk didn't crash into our farm on purpose and from what Ah've heard didn't mean ta be here at all in the first place. If ya would open yer eyes fer two seconds ya'd see that being angry with 'em won't fix a thing." Applejack glared at her without saying a word in reply. Granny sighed then looked around the room as the Fluttershy and her friends all rose from their seats and joined AJ and her siblings. "Speakin of fixin' things, where's this Progeniter feller I keep hearing about? I need to talk ta him about helpin' ta fix the farm up again. Alphonse promised y'all would help with the repairs and Ah'm holdin' him ta that."

"Over here ma'am."

Granny honed in on the source of the voice then scratched her head in confusion. "Don't reckon I've seen you before. You a friend of the girls?"

"No, I'm-"

"Oh, so you're one of their boyfriends?"

"What? No! I'm-"

"Hmmph, ya can't be Applejack's boyfriend, Ah told her what would happen if she brought a boy over when Ah wasn't around. Ah don't care how foolish she was with all this, she knows better than ta break THAT rule."

"GRANNY!"

"Yeah, didn't think so. And don't go interruptin' people when they're tryin' ta talk Applejack. You was raised better than that."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash had to force themselves not to giggle as Applejack wilted instantly in the face of Granny's unstoppable train of thought. Granny didn't seem to take any notice though and scratched her chin while sizing Liam up.

"So then... who are ya again?"

Liam raised an eyebrow slowly. "I am Liam Harcourt, Progenitor of the Legionnaires and the Legion, and you are standing in my ship."

Granny narrowed her eyes and puckered her lips as she looked him over more closely. She glanced at Will and Alphonse out of the corner of her eyes. Both were pointing at him with matching faint grins. She looked back at Liam for a few seconds more than clicked her tongue and crossed her arms in front of her.

"Was all that supposed ta impress me?" she asked in a bored tone.

Liam chuckled loudly and flashed a huge grin at her. "Not a chance. My ship is a wreck in your farm, and my people and nation are in a completely different universe.Anything I'd lay claim to is so much hot air here. Just wanted to see if you'd put up with my rank bullshit. You learn a lot about people from how they react to that sort of thing," he replied.

He walked over to her and extended his hand. "Alphonse's promise is my promise. We'll do whatever we can to get this place fixed up and our ship out of your yard as soon as we can."

Granny raised an eyebrow of her own and sized him up again, looking him over more thoroughly this time. When she again locked eyes with him she was sporting a huge shit eating grin. Liam's thoughts switched to mild confusion then surprise as she shot out a hand and clamped down on his. She gave it a couple firm shakes then turned her head sideways without taking her eyes of the lost leader.

"Applejack, Ah take it back! Ya can keep this one if ya want to! Anyone who's got the gumption to bullshit me and then has the smarts ta fess up and level with me it is alright in mah book. Bit plain lookin' maybe, but not bad lookin' either! Plus he's got a good handshake and ya know what Ah've always said about a man with a good handshake."

"GRANNY!"

Everyone else began snickering and giggling as Applejack cried out in embarrassment. Will and Alphonse stayed quiet and instead watched Granny and their originator like hawks while they clasped hands, though neither of them could stop the slight pull of their mouths that threatened to add them to the ongoing laugh track.

Liam looked around in confusion, his mind trying to sort what had just happened, until Granny winked at him. His eyes shot open in comprehension and he shook his head.

"She already really hates me you know. Not entirely sure why, but punishing her like this isn't going to help my case."

Granny gave him a sad smile in return and said, "I can explain that. The orchard ya crashed in? It's the Fall Orchard. Nothing too special compared to the others but... it was planted by her parents just after they got married." Liam's eyes shot open at her answer. His jaw very nearly dropped before he forced it closed with a gulp. Oh no...

"I-... I take it they're...?" he asked quietly, his whole body rigid and taut. Granny nodded.

"They've gone ta a better place than this earthly world. That was nearly ten years back but mah granddaughter's kept their memory close. The Fall Orchard was somethin' of a stand-in fer 'em to her, her favorite section to work in. Ya understand?"

Liam scrunched up his eyes tight and nodded.

"Don't worry, she'll come 'round eventually. Just give her some time." She gave him a quick pat on the shoulder then released his hand and walked over to be with her family. Applejack scowled at her then heard Big Mac say something to Applebloom and her eyes shot open. She rounded on her sister angrily and started berating her while Applebloom tried to give as good as she got. Granny shook her head and then glanced back at Liam.

"Y'all still doin' whatever it was ya were doin'?"

Liam shook his head. "No, we called an early end to the night. I'll drop by the house tomorrow morning to discuss what we can do for you if that's alright. I think everyone needs a full night to sleep all this off more than anything else right now."

Granny nodded. "Mornin' it is Mr. Harcourt. Sorry yer first visit to Sweet Apple Acres came with so much headache."

Liam chuckled and gave her a skeptical look. "Pretty sure we should be the ones apologizing for that Granny Smith."

"Yer right, ya should be. But then mah dang granddaughter had ta go and make it look like the Apple family don't have any manners so now Ah'm the one having to apologize instead! Ah'm sorry ta say it but she's probably going ta be even less thrilled with ya after I give her an earful 'bout that."

Liam waved her off with a smile then looked at Fluttershy and the rest of her friends. "So, ummmm..." he began, seemingly at a loss for words after that. Will and Alphonse came up and flanked him on either side with their hands behind their backs in a somewhat formal stance.

"So," Sunset replied. "We'll all pick up the talk again tomorrow?"

Liam sighed and nodded. "That'll be best I think. Al, Will, why don't you take everyone back to the loading bay. I need to check with the others and start figuring out a plan going forward from here."

Alphonse nodded and stepped around him. "Everyone! I'll be taking you back down to the dock so you can all head home for the night," he yelled, mostly in the direction of the Apple family. Liam watched as they all slowly filed out. A few of them cast glances back his way, some with curiosity like Twilight or happy wishes like Pinkie. Others evaluating and measured like Sunset and Granny. Rainbow Dash was too busy prodding Big Mac's shotgun in wonder to respond he noted with a faint glimmer of humor. Applejack, though, stood out for her the piercing look she shot him for the briefest moment before passing through the door.

A few seconds after the last sound of their departure dissipated the adrenaline and nerves that had been holding him up evaporated and he slumped into his chair on numb legs. His mind felt like it had been washed over by a sea of ice water and he shivered in sympathy. Sudden nausea overtook him and he cracked his eyes open to find the air around him filled with blinking expansion fields. His arms were shaking badly, the muscles sending out energy randomly. A cup fell over and the table moaned and flexed as red motes of light zoomed around and through it. He pulled his arms and legs in close to try to stop the shaking to little effect. Eventually, he simply grew too exhausted to keep shaking anymore and fell into a semi-conscious state. The only sound left in the room was the quiet tap of a few tears dropping onto the leather seat.

---

The Good Book said this was a gift to us! They were supposed to stay in their hell, not bring it here! How could this happen? Not that it matters, now we've gotta send 'em back-

"Applejack, are you doing alright now?" a voice whispered to her softly.

Applejack wheeled around to face the sudden interruption then sighed when she saw who'd been speaking to her. She patted Fluttershy on the back then pushed her along till they caught back up with the group.

"Ah'm fine sugarcube, Ah'm just glad to be leaving this cursed place finally."

"They don't seem that bad to me."

Applejack looked at her again with a dark expression. "I don't like em' one bit Fluttershy. They destroyed something dear to me, tore it up beyond repair. Ah don't know what Granny's thinkin', getting them more involved with us is only goin' ta cause trouble and won't change what they've done."

"I know the farm is important to you but they did apologize for it. They're stuck here too unless they can figure out how to get back to their own world."

"Their own world," Applejack scoffed. "Ah don't trust them either when they say they just accidentally landed here Fluttershy. Ah don't like that every one of those metal fakes seems trained like a soldier and all of 'em seem to be armed to the teeth at that. Ah still haven't forgotten about them planning to blow up this ship and mah home either. And don't even get me started on Liam. Will and the others felt really shifty half the time but Liam was even worse. Somethin' about the way he watched and talked to us just creeped me out. Like he was looking into me but through me at the same time."

Fluttershy frowned. "How so? He seemed really polite most of the time and had some moments where he was funny too. The only problems happened when you tried to punch him or when Twilight brought out her scanner," she reminded gently but firmly.

"You're just making mah point for me. They were all really jumpy and nervous the whole time. Plus Liam took me down way too fast. Ah'm not sayin' that just ta save mah pride either so don't give me that look. He said he'd never seen magic before yet he still didn't hesitate when he saw me comin' at him. Not one second. That's more than just training, that's experience in taking folks down."

Fluttershy stayed silent as she thought about AJ's analysis of their visitors.

"Maybe that's just what it's like on their world?" she answered though without much conviction and a lot more uncertainty. "We've used our magic like that before to stop monsters and other things from Equestria."

"That's exactly why Ah'm not trusting them," Applejack replied in a near whisper as she pulled out her crystal and flipped it over. She trace a finger over the gold cross she mounted to the back of it and the small blue green globe inset into its center. What Will said makes me think Ah already know exactly what world they're from and it's got no right comin' here.

---

Will slowly lowered himself into the chair opposite his life long companion's, leaned back, and then simply sat there, staring at the ceiling above them. He held that pose for a solid five or more minutes, just letting his mind wander. He'd found it could be a good way to process large amounts of seemingly unconnected and random info he'd picked up. The only problem was he had to really empty his mind for it to work, no errant thoughts about schedules or plans or concerns or hopes, just a mental blank slate with everything he needed to work out strewn across it. That was turning out to be impossible this time.

"Will... am I dreaming? Did I ever wake up after I got hit by the Anomaly? Did that even happen?"

Will sat back up and saw Liam hunched over the table, hands running over themselves again and again. Oh boy... time to break out the self deprecating humor. Always snaps him out of funks like this.

"If you are then you've got the biggest ego of all time. I think most people in comas don't dream up clone armies of themselves. Plus it requires way more imagination than I think all of us have combined."

Liam stopped rubbing his hands together and sat motionless for a bit. Then his shoulders started twitching and suddenly the floodgates were open. Maniacal laughter erupted from him, an unending shaking and wheezing laugh that left him gasping for air until it would start up again. Tears streamed from his eyes and he grabbed his sides as he finally began to slow down to no more than a chuckle broken up by the occasional deep breath or painful wince.

"I-I don't know what the fuck's going on Will. How the hell did today happen? When did everything stop making sense? We had genocide declared against us and now we're in a fucking cartoon for Christ's sake!"

Will watched him in near shock. In eighty years together he'd never seen him like this before, never this emotional. There was a thin line being walked in the room right now and he feared what would happen if Liam stepped off it. No, not afraid of what would happen. Terrified.

"Okay, bring it back down. Whatever else is going on I can promise you we're not in the show or some fever dream. Those were real people we just met. Trust me, you didn't imagine up Jax getting blown in half or Mercer getting his chest caved in. Dreams don't punch like that."

Liam stared at him for a minute or two, his eyes darting slightly one way then another. Then he inhaled and sighed explosively. "I just... let's get to work on the ship. It will give me something to focus on while all this gets processed in the background. The sooner we're up and running the sooner we can get back to reality."

Will nodded quickly. Anything was better than the manic, bloodshot eyes that had just stared him down. He'd have to see if the medical bay had made it through intact. He was going to make a point of discreetly handing out tranquilizers to everyone as soon as he could. The last thing they could afford was the single most powerful member of the crew having a mental breakdown. The ship wouldn't survive it and they might not either. It was times like these, times of emotional stress and hardship, that left him wondering just how alike their minds really were. A Legionnaire could worry, could rejoice, could sulk, usually without much overt emotion behind it, but rarely did they panic. Liam did all those, perhaps even more muted than they did. But none of them could panic like he could. The problem was Liam was undoubtedly aware of that as well. He did his best and could rein in those moments after a little self-reflective prodding from his other selves. But Will feared that was only making him more aware of the difference, not helping him get better at handling it. He had no idea where that would end but it wasn't going to end well, especially not here.

---

"Well, we're all here now. Would you please tell us what this is about Watch? It's past midnight and we still have a pressing situation in the south that needs to be managed before it flares into something much more serious."

The room sucked away any echo, leaving pure silence in the speaker's wake. Eleven sets of eyes stared through the dim shadows of the chamber at a twelfth set of amber that flickered in the faint light reflected off the table before them. That twelfth set turned to hold the gaze of each of the others for a few seconds then glanced up and beyond them. A cream white hand slid out of the shadows, a small remote held loosely in its grasp. Across the large oval table an entire wall that had been bathed in darkness burst into light. The glow it cast over the space revealed a party of men and women ranging across the full breadth of age, all with curious or concerned expressions, many with a mixture of both. Most were dressed in suits while a few wore various military uniforms and one wore a set of long robes. The amber eyed member of the group was only just lit by the glow of the screen, revealing a head closed shaved on one side and nearly hidden on the other by a wave of dark navy blue hair trimmed to just below her ear.

"I'm afraid we have higher priorities now. A new Breach was opened a little over an hour ago," she said calmly, pressing another button on the remote. The wall became a wash of various charts, readouts, and maps superimposed with graphical pointers. She was answered with various hisses and groans.

"Dammit, on top of everything else now we've got this! We're stretched thin as is! Have we located where they were brought in? Have we got a team in place to contain them?" asked one of the women in military fatigues.

"I'm afraid it's more complicated this time."

"So it pulled more than one person through this time? I thought we'd strengthened the barrier enough to prevent it from doing that again almost a century ago!" a thin, gangly man in an expertly tailored suit hissed in exasperation.

"It did, though not in any way we could have expected," she replied and clicked the remote again.

The wall was now dominated by a single video window showing a valley between rolling hills covered in forest. In the center rested a small house and barn surrounded by row after row of apple trees. A few seconds passed and then the sky tore open in a ball of inky darkness lashed by trails of bright light that swam across it. Nearby clouds raced towards it and were sucked in and the trees in the valley began rustling and shaking in the sudden wind. Then something came through the dark orb, it's image twisting and tightening to a single distinct shape. It shot out of the hole in the world and plummeted, the air around it distorting madly as it tried to change its course. The video ended not long after the thing crashed into the orchard below it. It was followed immediately by a cacophony of voices hissing and shouting.

"We need to secure the entire area, no one in or out!"

"A full military response may be required. How soon can we-"

"You saw the map, it's too close to the city-"

"Do we have a count on how many are on the thing?

She decided that was a good place to continue from and held up her hand for attention. One by one the voices were silenced as they noticed. She nodded almost imperceptibly when the last speaker coughed awkwardly and fell silent. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table and laced her fingers in front of her.

"We don't have a good count on the number of crew on the vessel or how it is operated. None of our analysts have seen anything like it in the assembled records nor did they have any predictions for the development of such a thing from the other side. None of that is immediately important due to-"

"Watch, this is hardly the time for understatement! There could be a hundred or more people on board and we have no capacity to hold them until the next adjustment!" the lanky man cried in a venomous tone.

She narrowed her eyes as she met his judging stare and continued in as even a tone as she could muster, "Due to the nature of the crew and where it landed."

"Where it landed? What do you... oh hell, is that were I think it is?"

"Yes. Sweet Apple Acres."

"Dammit! Have we confirmed the status of the Paragon there?" asked one of the men in a the dress uniform of a general.

"We have, she's unharmed. Unfortunately all of the Paragons were present when the event happened. They were unharmed in the initial crash but immediately went to investigate." This news was met with various degrees of alarm and relief. There was a great rift in the confidence of the various councilors present on the ability of the Paragons. Some looked at their victories and saw hope, others looked at them and saw chance and naivety. Her own thoughts were far in favor of the latter but she had a duty to carry out and those seven had become an integral part of it whether she liked it or not.

"Are they safe Watch?" the general asked gruffly.

She nodded. "For now."

"For now- have they been attacked?!" another of the professionally attired council members yelled out as they suddenly stood up, glaring at her.

Her face set into a featureless expanse, devoid of tells or a hint of the emotions she was feeling. She shouldn't have to put up with this, not from hazards and malcontents like them, but this duty required more than just being a good guard and the others assembled here were a key part of that mission. She couldn't afford to alienate them by putting them in the places they so greatly needed to be reminded were theirs. So instead she calmly nodded and pointed at the screen again.

"They were, though they are unharmed and appear to be safe for the moment. What's more important was who or rather what they were attacked by."

A new video began playing beginning with the same view as before zooming in on a clearing near the crashed vessel and the group approaching it. A small motion from the top of the vessel drew their eyes to a small hatch opening and a dark figure crawling out of it. It suddenly leaped from the top of the wreck to just behind the group of girls, causing many of those assembled to inhale sharply. Watch was loathe to admit it she'd had a similar reaction when she'd first seen the footage as well. The jump must have been at least two, maybe even three stories in height and they'd recovered from it like they'd hopped a short fence. The sharp intake became a muted cheer as a glowing blue wall appeared between the group and their assailant followed closely by a pink explosion. Everyone winced and as the mysterious figure was blown in two and sent flying then voiced small curses and exclamations as two more of the strange passengers stepped out of the ship carrying obvious weapons. What happened next was almost too fast to keep track of but by the end of it one of the seven girls was lying on the ground as brilliant light suddenly filled the space around them. This also gave them a clear look at the assailants and Watch paused the video and brought up another window with the same image then zoomed in on one of them. Stunned silence took the place of the various utterances that had been a staple of the viewing as the girls all followed one of the things inside after it disarmed itself.

"As I said, things are more complicated this time. The family of Honesty also arrived not long after this and were escorted inside as well. All were seen being escorted back out just shortly before this meeting began. They were unharmed physically and with everyone accounted for." That announcement was met with a nearly complete set of eleven sighs and the sound of a number of chairs squeaking as their owners leaned back in them. She tapped her finger on the table a few times until she had their full attention again.

"Yes, they are currently unharmed but we have no way of knowing whether they may have been influenced in some manner. Remember the records of the 'doctor' that thing brought here more than thirty years ago?" A few of the older members shuddered, vividly remembering the case she referred to, while the younger members all nodded with grave expressions. "Compounding that issue we have no knowledge of this new threat and that is why for now I will not be authorizing any overt action unless given more evidence of immediate action on their part. For now we will observe, we will plan, and when we are ready we will eliminate this threat just like all those before it," she almost shouted, bringing a fist down on the table. Eleven sets of eyes watched her with rapt attention, their fears and doubts at this shocking development now all focused into a weapon she could use. Now she just needed to find where she needed to strike with it.

"This world is charged with a great burden and a greater duty," she intoned.

"And we are it's Keepers," they all replied as one.