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Time line and prologue747 words
It Begins2,636 words
A lay of the land2,372 words
What dreams may come2,557 words
Fighting monsters and making friends2,467 words
Enter Deathwatch2,472 words
The calm3,235 words
Meet the neighbors3,117 words
One wild party3,863 words
The long night, Part 13,292 words
The long night, Part 24,678 words
Marching on3,422 words
At the crossroads3,025 words
A hard choice3,452 words
Training day4,448 words
Lighting the fuse4,232 words
Waiting for the drop6,264 words
Cards on the table7,264 words
Tolik's Lament5,185 words
The Ponyville Skirmish5,259 words
Another long night7,250 words
Catching our breath6,557 words
Best Laid Plans and Intentions4,468 words
Breaking in is the easy part7,376 words
Are we there yet?6,558 words
Now it's a party6,065 words
In case you were wondering6,557 words
Aim to misbehave5,702 words
The devil's due5,445 words
A brave new world9,070 words
Loose Ends7,631 words
Epilogue1,981 words

Epilogue

Far to the north of the Equestrian border, deep within the snow-capped mountains, sat an ancient fortress carved into the living stone itself. In centuries long past, it had been a key military outpost during aggressions with the Gryphons to the north. During these brutal exchanges, the ancient fortress had changed ‘hands’ several times. Now it served as neutral ground and an ideal location for peace talks and summits between the various nations.

Celestia paced back and forth along the stone balcony overlooking the sprawling mountain range. Her eyes scanned the skies with an impatient glare as her hooves clacked against the stonework. It had been several days since her world had learned it was not alone in the universe. In this time their new allies, the Mandalorians, had extended a hand in friendship towards the various nations bringing about the talks today.

Finally, upon the horizon, she saw what she had been waiting for as a small shuttle craft made its way across the mid-day sky towards her. With a few choice words, she eyed the craft as it made its descent. A strong wind kicked up from the engine blowback, rippling through her long, bright pink mane and tail. A small pang of sadness teased at her as she was reminded of the power she no longer possessed since that fateful encounter with Teth. Granted, her magical prowess was still far beyond any being alive, though barely a fraction of what she once could wield.

As the craft hovered in place over the edge of the balcony, its gangway lowered to allow the important passengers to disembark. Celestia recognized the humanoid forms and the distinct armor of Shaysa Fett. One key figure stood out to her, a tall Equestrian standing close to half the size of Celestia. She was clad in alien armor hued as the night sky that had been fit to her unique form. A deep blue aura surrounded her helmet before it was lifted off, letting Luna’s sky blue, short-kempt mane spill out.

“Sister, Mandalore Fett, how nice of you both to finally show up.” Despite centuries of honing her diplomatic skills, Celestia could do little to drain the venom from her tone.

“I apologize Celestia, completely my fault,” Shaysa stated cheerfully, “I insisted we share a glass of Corellian Blue, calm the nerves before such an important talk. You really should consider joining us, next time.”

Celestia fought as hard as she could to withhold the urge to verbally tear into the alien warlord. Keeping a vice-like grip on her emotions, “Perhaps at a later date. For now though, I would like a moment to speak with my sister before we address the others.”

Shaysa gave a bow of acknowledgment before leaving the pair. The white Alicorn waited until she was satisfied their off world guests were no longer in ear shot before turning a critical eye to her sibling. Her growing ire now clearly reflected in her face.

Luna let Celestia stew a moment in her anger before finally losing patience, “If thou doth have something of which to speak-”

“Indeed I do Luna,” Celestia quickly cut her off, “What exactly were you thinking when you forced us into this alliance?”

“That I was acting in Equestria’s best interests!” Luna barked at her sister.

“Be that as it may, you did this without any discussion with me or any consideration of the allies Equestria already had!”

Luna snorted indignantly at the mention of allies, “Yes, let us take a moment to look at those whom think themselves our equals, the feathered cats or perhaps the cave mutts.” She spit out each term.

“Luna, it’s been centuries, when will you let these old hatreds die?”

Luna quickly spun around to meet her sister eye to eye, “Centuries, perhaps for thee dearest sister, but not for I. The treacheries and vile acts our people suffered at claw and talon are but distant memories for thee, tis not but a long dreamless sleep that separates me from those dark days. As for our new alliance, I was led to believe my crown still held power and authority, perhaps that hath changed as well with the political shifts whilst I slumbered those many years away.”

Celestia visibly fought to keep her growing anger from getting away from her, “How dare you throw that back in my face! Not a day has gone by in all these years that I don’t regret what I did to you.”

Luna let out a sigh as she brought herself into check as well, “I am sorry my dearest sister… I doth speak out of turn and with little thought of how my words may wound.” Her head lowered in sadness as she moved closer to her sister, “When I stood upon the vessel of Mandalore Fett, I was witness to hordes of ships spread out across the endless night. Twas an act of desperation and a choice born of little consideration, but I shall stand by it.” Her shimmering eyes desperately stared into Celestia’s, “I ask thee sister, please, stand with me and see this choice to its end, if not for I then our people.”

Celestia let out a tired sigh as she broke under her sister’s pleading eyes, “Alright, I will trust your judgment Luna, I only hope we can defuse the situation waiting for us inside.”

Behind the visor of the helmet under Luna’s wing, a small icon had been flashing the entire time this conversation had gone on. A similar icon was active in the far corner of Shaysa’s HUD as well. With a knowing smile, she ignored the untrusting glares of the beings assembled. The massive hall, like the rest of the fortress had been carved into the living rock and was formed to accommodate the majority of this planet’s species. Shaysa’s gaze drifted over the ornate carvings that decorated the walls and the spiraling pillars that lined the room. At the center of the room, a much welcomed roaring fire pit crackled and cast a dim light upon the hall while at the furthest end of the room a wide open balcony allowed a breathtaking view of the mountain ranges.

Fett’s attention was drawn away from the wonderful craftsmanship when the double doors behind her swung open to allow the entry of the Equestrian Princesses. The Mand’alor took note of the glaring stares they received from the assembled beings all clad in what she assumed they viewed as finery in their borders.

One creature in particular took this moment to let them know just how displeased he was with this meeting, “Celestia, what exactly is the meaning of all of this?” Fett took apart what she could recognize about this creature’s build. It appeared to be a mix of feline and avian wrapped in finely-sewn garb. His large, powerful wings flared out in anger, “All of our courts have received envoys from these… These things, and now you leverage archaic treaties to force a meeting of our countries.”

The white Alicorn raised a hoof, “Please, try to calm yourself, Prime Minister,” She spoke smoothly, “I am sure you have all had a moment to at least hear what these beings have to say.”

A tall, brutish-looking creature snorted in retort. Its body was strongly built and bipedal, wide shoulders and thick muscles rippled beneath thickly plated armor that gleamed brightly. Atop its head sat a pair of long, sharpened horns jutting out from either side of the beast’s head, “They speak nonsense about being travelers from the stars.”

“Because we are,” Shaysa stated flatly as she reclined against a randomly chosen pillar.

Celestia shot a biting glare at both Fett and then towards Luna who snorted back the urge to break into a fit of giggles. Her mind briefly mused on how nice it would be to magically silence the pair of them; at least until this whole affair was over. She returned her attention to the rest of the delegates assembled, “Yes, as hard as it is to believe, they have been telling you the truth. They do in fact come from far beyond our own solar system.”

“I believe it to be true,” A stocky figure dressed in a pressed, blue uniform with a chest adorned with medals spoke up. The canine creature with short stubby back legs and long muscular arms padded its way towards the center of the room, “I have seen their technology at work, no nation on this planet can possibly boast such advancements.”

“And what exactly do our visitors from the stars want from us?” The bird cat questioned as it looked over Fett in a predatory manner.

Behind her visor, she couldn’t help but smirk at the ever-thickening air of unease around her. Pushing herself from the pillar, she began a casual stroll towards the opened end of the hall, “All we want is cooperation,” Shaysa stated as she leaned her elbows and back against the stone railing, “To that extent, I have a simple message for you all.”

“What message would that be, off-worlder?” The horned hulk questioned.

She assured them in a pleasant tone as she took in the view, “You see, we Mandalorians are a very welcoming group. All are welcome, and all are equal under our banner. We have allied ourselves first with the nation of Equestria, but we can just as easily extend the same courtesies to all of you, as well.”

To this, the already very vocal half-bird half-cat couldn’t help but laugh, “Hah, you sound exactly like Celestia and all her talk of friendship and peace. It is a tempting offer, but spies within the white gold city have heard whispers that the goddesses of the sun and moon have fallen from grace. What would stop us from simply attacking Equestria in their time of weakness?”

From one of the pouches on her belt she produced a small device as she turned to face the room, “This.”

With a press of the button, the sky behind her lit a bright crimson before massive bolts slammed into the jagged mountain visage on the horizon. The deafening roar of explosions and smothering heat drowned out the shouts and screams of fear and surprise. Mand’alor Fett stood her ground, back lit by the barrage from far above the planet, her visor reflecting the uncaring bonfire of the fire at the center of the room.

As the shock began to wear off, all eyes were on Shaysa, “Now, just in case anything was lost in translation allow me to rephrase that little statement,” Her voice rang out clear and bristling with authority, “Equestria is now under the protection of the Mandalorians, her people and her land are considered a vital part of our nation. As such, any acts of aggression taken upon the Equestrian people or attacks made on her holdings will be seen as a declaration of war against the Mandalorians. Now, I’m sure a few of you are considering testing this for yourselves. So let me offer you a little bit of advice.” With a motion, she pointed out the smoldering heap of rock that once was a mighty, snow-capped peak, “Remember what you saw here today, remember what we are capable of, and then ask yourself: is extinction truly worth saving face?”

In the throes of the chaos, Celestia beheld this show of force and aggression in mingled shock and disgust. A chill ran down her spine as she began to realize the extremes her new allies were capable of going to. Her gaze quickly shifted to her sister, only to find her heart being gripped tightly in fear and sadness by what she saw. Upon Luna’s face was a smile of satisfaction.

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