Of Starships and Golden Armors

by Devona

Act I, Chapter 3: Developments - Part 2

As the chariots crossed the bright blue skies, Stanley was left to his own thoughts. He tried exchanging a few words with the Princesses now that there was no pressure anymore, hoping to determine how his stay in their 'Kingdom' would go, but they kept providing only short replies, carefully watching the column's surroundings, looking for some evasive target - most probably any likely violations of the voyage's secrecy. Not really all that determined to push the talk, Staley soon dropped the topic whatsoever and dived into all the data Selina was able to collect during their trek through the forest with the silently-working scanners. Some things were intersting, some things were not, most was just ordinary tactical analysis of a planet's surface. Worst of all though, the forced silent mode and the drop pod's extensive damages made the gathered info fill little more than a few screens on Stanley's display.

Mere moments into the flight, and the chariots have already ascended above the lowest clouds, hiding the monumental mountains and expansive plains behind the white layers for all the passengers. A few more of the winged horses briefly flashed in the distance, barely distinguishable from so far away, but luckily none of them even turned their head towards the caravan. Before Stanley even finished reading, he felt his body slightly rise up as the carriages once more lowered their altitude.

Huh, not as long as the trek after all.

The column soon pierced through the snow-white fluff again, revealing itself to the world below. The Princesses immediately locked their gazes with something in the distance, smiling briefly, and after exchanging quick looks both lit up their horns. Before Stanley knew it, the column was entirely enveloped in indigo and golden auras, providing a breathtaking roof for everyone inisde. But the trooper wasn't nearly as interested in the sight as he was in something else. Turning his head, he followed Celestia and Luna's previous gaze. His face once again froze in disbelief.

There, attached to the side of the biggest mountain yet, stood a city. But not just an ordinary city, like there were many across the colonies. Not even one akin to the most monumental medieval towns humanity, and not only it, had constructed throughout its history, as that time period seemed a more fitting comparison. No, this city was a marvel in and of itself. Its marble walls entwined the entire construction, while many colorful, but predominantly white, spires climbed to the skies from an even more breathtaking building, which cast its regal shadow on the mountain slopes - a building Stanley naturally assumed to be the 'Castle'. Its ornate facades, adorned with precious stones, shone brightly under the firmament, the many colors dancing happily on both the nearby buildings and green patches of grass. All the while, the entire city stuck to the mountain side like it was nothing, partially built on the rocks themselves, but mostly on gigantic platforms attached to the very range.

At first glance, it didn't even look for Stanley like this construction was able to support the monumental structure at all, even though he remebered seeing similarly unbelievable things pulled off on multiple colonies.

But that was the thing - these building were built on human colonies. By humanity, humanity which had built itself an insterstellar empire. By humanity, which technological level was thus naturally... high. And even then, none of said buildings came close to what he was seeing right now. Not even remotely close... to half of it.

It was either a marvel of engineering on a truly unprecedented scale, or... the admiral's words were proving themselves right in front of Stanley's eyes.

Or a mixture of both. Most likely a mixture of both.

As the chariots neared the massive settlement, Stanley saw it was bustling with life like nothing he had seen in this world before. Crowds of aliens roamed the streets (but with no easily noticeable vehicles - an important detail), and as the caravan reached its final approach to the Castle, it found itself surrounded with the winged horses - pegasi if you go by mythology, as Selina gracefully reminded the trooper - preoccupied with various more or less clear tasks. Some were just flying through the area, moving towards unknown destinations, some chased each other around, some watched something hard to determine, hovering in place in small groups. None of them though payed the slightest attention to the passing chariots, even if they flew just a few meters away. The indigo and golden auras glistened under the blinding sun.

Only then did it really dawn on Stanley.

They... they can't see us. We're being cloaked. Somehow... we're being cloaked.

Soon the chariots passed the city's marble walls, ultimately leaving the plains behind. They descended near the majestic, spire-adorned building, behind one last set of much lower walls, before finally setting down on what seemed to be its gardens. The Princesses extinguished their horns, making the auras disapper.

"Welcome to the Canterlot Castle, Lieutenant Colonel," Celestia finally said with a small smile. "I believe the journey went rather well. Now, if you'd allow us, we'd be glad to show you to the Castle itself."

"Of course," answered the trooper. "Whenever you're ready."

Celestia nodded, prompting Stanley to disembark. The two quickly crossed the small grass patch, catching up to Luna who had already left the royal chariot and had since been waiting at the building's gates. Meanwhile, the bat-winged 'commander' took the majority of the guards and left the courtyard, with only a small handful remaining to accompany the trio inside. It took a while for these few to organise, but as soon as they did so, Celestia lit her horn once again and, enveloping them in a familiar golden aura, opened the meters-high door.

On the other side, a vast, decorated hallway stretched out inside, its many branches visible even from the entrance. White columns by the walls supported the soaring ceiling, all the while various plants and engravings supplemented it all. A fancy red carped laid on the floor.

It took the group less than a minute to reach their destination, and through the entire walk not a single soul besides them appeared in the spacious halls. It was obviously arranged to hide the whole affair from unwanted eyes, that was easy for Stanley to conclude; a shame the very nature of his mission meant they wouldn't be able to keep the secrecy up for long.

Eventually, the small column reached another set of closed doors, only much more ornate than the last time. Here, Celestia dismissed the remaining escort, leaving only two guards by their side. Suddenly, the huge gate opened slightly, with another alien soldier poking his head through, eyes immediately turning into saucers at the sight of both the pitch-black alien creature and the Princesses. He would have likely remained there, frozen like that, was it not for Celestia nudging him slightly in the limb. Shaking his head, the guard slowly looked up at the monarch, still not fully able to close his mouth. Stanley could not help but chuckle under his helmet.

Celestia meanwhile moved on to deal with whatever affair it was.

"Were you looking for me?" she asked the guard with a friendly smile. The alien nodded hesitantly.

"Y-yes, your Highness! I-I a-apologize, we didn't... I didn't suspect you w-would be... here," he finally stuttered, involuntarily returning his sight to Stanley once every couple seconds. Luna rolled her eyes at the display.

"What is it you need me for, then?" continued Celestia, seemingly eager to end the talk as quickly as possible.

"T-the Day Court is d-due to begin, your Highness! Y-your presence is being.... awaited."

"Very well then. I'll join my little ponies in the throne room shortly. In the meantime, would you be so kind and wait for my word behind the door?" answered the Princess, not even once letting her smile flatten. The guard glanced at Stanley one last time before replying.

"O-of course, your Highness! At once!" he said, soon disappearing behind the massive gate. Celestia turned around with a sigh.

"Unfortunately, our further talks once again have to be delayed," she said, adressing Stanley.

"And for a good while at that," chimmed in Luna. "Does your Court today not last until the latest hours?"

"It does, indeed," replied Celestia as she lowered her head. "We've planned to cancel today's session, but as it seems for some reason the word hasn't come through. My apologies."

"No need to worry, there's time," Stanley waved his hand. "Although there are a few things I'd like to discuss before that. Not much, I assure you." he continued, turning his faceplate in a way that ensured Celestia would notice him looking into her eyes.

"I can delay the Court for some time, although I'd prefer not to push it too much," Celestia replied. "What concerns do you have?"

Stanley cleared his throat, preparing to give his 'speech'. "First, I'd like to know how you're planning for my stay in your Kingdom to look like."

"Could thou specify?" replied Luna instead, tilting her head.

"Primarily, what you wish our talks to focus on and, well... what should I do with myself." Stanley struggled greatly to find his words for the sentence. He could of course take care of himself with no trouble, the only problem was what he would do would not necessarily be... approved by the horses - or at least there was such possibility, so they surely had some accomodation planned. Also, there was only so much he was even authorized to talk about.

"The Guards will show you to your quarters shortly," Celestia immediately replied, casting a small smile. "And about our talks, well... we'll see how they end up going," she winked.

Trying to gain an advantage, huh? Make me unable to prepare? Okay, I'll go with it. I'm one step ahead of you anyway - how can you sabotage preparations that cannot exist in the first place...?

"I understand," answered Stanley, before continuing. "Secondly, there is the issue of my... machine. I saw it stayed in the gardens under watch for the time being, so I did not protest, but I'd very much like to have constant access to it during my stay," demanded the trooper, careful to maintain a firm tone.

Celestia briefly bit her lip, but otherwise maintained a calm, reasonably optimistic expression. "We have planned to move it to the Castle's locked higher dungeons, to help maintain the affair's secrecy. We could allow your access, but I'd very much like to know the purpose of this machine first," she said with a smile, but her tone revealed it was less of a request and more of a demand.

Stanley sighed with relief under his helmet - that he could say. "Well, this machine is, as I said earlier, a drop pod. The Republican Strike Units, and the Republic of Sol in general, utilises these to rapidly deploy combat personnel from mid to high orbit - so, well, space," he explained laughing briefly, to give the statement a more genuine appearance.

"From space?" Luna chimmed in once again. "Does thou mean your government drops you from the skies as it sees fit?" she asked with a bewildered frown, moving forward slightly.

Stanley once again froze briefly - another poor word choice. "Don't worry, it's entirely safe. Humanity has utilised orbital drops for a long time, and we have managed to perfect our security measures," he lied. Even though security measures had been perfected, nowadays many contingents just had to use plainly worse pod models to cut resource costs.

Please work...

"Oh... alright," said the indigo Princess, returning to her previous position. "Still, certainly a peculiar practice."

"Indeed," added Celestia, her eyes glimming with curiosity rather than disgust. "But if that's this... pod's only purpose, than why do you need access, pray tell?"

Stanley smirked slightly - he had figured such question would come. "The machinery inside is also my only way of communication with my superiors," he lied again. One of the only reasons he desired access to the pod at all was to ensure the horses don't have an entirely free hand in its examination, as well as to prevent them from learning too much from the vehicle's very limited databanks - although he highly doubted they'd be able to decode either latin alphabet or cyrillic, not even speaking about all the digital work they'd have to do.

Celestia meanwhile, while seemingly sensing some falsehood, looked content enough with the answer.

"I understand. I'll make sure to grant you access to your 'pod' during your stay then. We may discuss details tomorrow - the day I will make sure to cancel my Day Court on," she replied with a small smile.

"Thank you," said Stanley. "I... I think this is all," he continued after a while, tapping his chin in thought.

"Very well. If you don't mind, the Guards will now show you to your quarters. Once again, welcome to Equestria," Celestia replied. Right on cue, the two remaining alien soldiers started their march, giving Stanley expecting looks. Nodding slightly, the trooper soon followed them through the vast hallways.

---

"And so, the affair is over. We have survived," claimed Luna jokingly as the alien soldier disappeared behind the hallway's corner.

"Indeed," replied Celestia, still silently gazing at the spot he had just been standing on. Even as one calm moment finally descended on the two, it was hard to relax. Everything just felt so unreal. It had went so fast, so incredibly fast. So... strangely naturally.

"So... what do you think so far?" asked Luna as she turned to look at her sister, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"About contact?"

"That is."

"Not much, Lulu, not yet. I sincerely hope it went well, and we have reasons to think so, but truly, only time will tell," she added with a sigh, sending Luna a small smile in an effort to lighten up the mood. Luna merely nodded.

"And these... hew-mons? Him?"

It was a good while before Celestia finally broke the silence with her reply, which echoed amidst the eerie silence of the Castle's empty hallways.

"We don't know much. A race of peculiar appearance, to be sure. I'd surely feel more comfortable if they had a face," she said, wincing slightly. Luna slowly nodded. "We have much to learn before we can form our opinion. Their history, culture... government. Speaking of which, I certainly like how they decided to name their state," Celestia chuckled, while Luna rolled her eyes. Truly though, the last issue sent shivers down her spine more than anything else. So far, the Lieutenant Colonel had only told them bits and pieces, but judging by what he had mentioned, Celestia could think of at least a few worrying possibilities.

"And him?" Luna repeated her question. Celestia tapped her chin in thought, briefly glancing at the corridor's ornate ceiling.

"He seems to have lived through much, but is now determined to appear... as he desires. He has a mask he doesn't want to take off," she eventually said, looking back at Luna. "As time goes on though, we need to remember he's a soldier and so can be... an inaccurate example of his people. Even then however, I believe we have... both already realised there's much to learn, and judging right now would be nothing less than a mistake."

For a moment, Luna gazed at Celestia with amazement. Thay had only exchanged a couple sentences with the alien, and yet she was already able to deduce that. It wasn't anything new, as Luna had witnessed her sister do that multiple times now, but it still remained equally impressive. However, there was something else in Celestia's statement that attracted attention.

"He wishes not to take off his mask, just as we don't," Luna sighed, lowering her head. "It is tiresome, Tia. To maintain the friendly appearance. We have met him a few hours ago, and only the affair demands us to act as such. That is not always what I would do."

"I know, Lulu, but understand we simply have to do so for now. It's diplomacy," Celestia replied, looking at her sister with compassion. "Besides, I don't think any serious... hostility with the alien emerged so far. After the first incident, that is," she continued winking, as she embraced her sister with her enormous wing. Luna simply nodded.

"That is true, sister. But being careful before every sentence... it is not easy."

Celestia nodded slowly, an understanding frown on her face. It had never been easy. "Let's hope that soon enough there won't be a need, then," she said with a wide smile, retracting her wing. Luna weakly smiled back.

"Perhaps. But for the time being... it simply feels strange. Unnatural."

Celestia did not reply. Instead, she nodded her head and slowly went through the closed throne room door, ready to dismiss the waiting guard, taking care of his now certainly too expansive knowledge.

---

It had already been at least a couple minutes since Stanley left the Princesses with the pair of guards, and yet his long walk still seemed far from over. For every corner passed, another showed up, for every intersection, another three, all the while only a few doors or windows adorned the hallway's walls. Whatever this part of the Castle was, Stanley highly doubted it to be the living quarters, leading him to question the nature of his upcoming 'accomodation'. On the other hand, the alien destination might just be placed in some of the areas his escort had so far conveniently omitted, conviced they were making Stanley lose orientation in the vast maze. Just convinced, because in reality, the only thing they achieved was ensuring the trooper can picture a bigger part of the Castle in his head.

Sooner than later though, Stanley realised that, judging by what he had seen earlier, his escort was finally leading him to a section of the building directly bordering a small recess in the city's walls, in a way that made the hypothetical lower windows hard to notice from the outside.

If not here, then most probably in the dungeons, damn it.

As it seemed to be one of the final moments of their march, Stanley one last time involuntarily considered his ability to take the guards down and run away. He could do it no problem, in a few seconds, there was only a pair of them after all. Escaping the city, though difficult due to its unique location, also seemed possible. The thing was, the horses currently in Stanley's escorts were both horned, which meant that even in the incredibly optimistic assumption that just this variant of the aliens was capable of projecting the deadly lasers, he could still have a hard time fighting them, although it didn't take the trooper long to conclude that if he acted fast enough, he would most likely succeed anyway. Then, there was the issue of-

No. What? No. Why... what? Enough of such thinking. The roles have changed, and so should behaviour. Or at least it should try to adapt. Yes, yes, try, while keeping instincts in place. Of course. Even if only for a few days. Even if with little to no chance of success. We wouldn't want to accidentally, say, murder the leaders of our new 'Top Priority' potential allies, would we?

Stanley's suspicions seemed to confirm as, right after another turn, a multitude of doors dotted the new hallway, a sharp contrast to the mostly barren, though amply decorated, spaces from before. Sure enough, it wasn't long before his escort approached one of them, positioning themselves on each side. One of the horses then lit up his horn, proving one part of Stanley's worries right, and levitated a key up, before turning around to face the trooper.

"Here, visitor," he seeped, trying to avoid direct eye contact. Stanley wasn't sure whether his tone indicated reluctance or nervousness. "Have a nice stay." The guard then opened the door, letting the trooper inside.

As he closed the entrance, Stanley turned to examine the room, and quite honestly, didn't know what to think.

For starters, it was big, very big for one person. It had an area of at least a dozen square meters, a balcony along with a few windows, and even what appeared to be a private bathroom. On the right, looking from the door, was a single, wooden bed, once again much bigger than anything Stanley had been used to, and on the left, right behind the additional room, a small desk, accompanied by a chair that by no means suited human anatomy. Tempted by intuition, Stanley approached the windows and looked outside. Sure enough, small groups of winged guards circled the area, clumsily trying to conceal any association with the trooper; his room was clearly the center of focus of all their flights. Eventually, after two minutes or so of Stanley just staring at them, some of the horses finally gave up, straight up positioning themselves in the near vicinity of the balcony and staying in place. Chuckling, the trooper returned inside, having confirmed one more thing in the process - yes, his chamber was indeed in a blind spot.

All logical choices, of course, and could be predicted.

With nothing else to do, Stanley decided to get right to business. Sitting himself on the bed - much too soft for his liking at that - he activated enhaced sound isolation in his headgear. Better safe than sorry, after all.

"You there, Sela?"

"Well, technically in the pod that's being pulled underground," the AIs voice rung in his head. "Or, even more technically, in Battle Squadron Indigo's Datanet, or the entire Task Force's, but I guess not, since according to you that's not me. Where else?" she continued in her playful tone. Stanley chuckled.

"Good then, cause I don't know what'll be of their promises of 'free access'. Turns out we're surrounded, as always," he joked, gesturing from the entrance to the balcony.

"WOW, who would've thought," Selina exclaimed sarcastically. "They're keeping an eye on someone who can, depending on their imaginations of aliens, potentially destroy the planet? Incredible," she continued. "Also, maybe all that's good for you, but if they accidentally disable my brain with some idiotic tampering down there, don't complain."

"No promises," chuckled Stanley. "But yeah, you're probably right, nothing more to it. They didn't seem too hostile for now. Actually, everything considered, they're extremely friendly, in the given circumstances. I've never really thought about how first contacts go, but there's no way in hell I'd imagine them like this. Orders are orders, but it's a little... unexpected," he continued with a sigh.

After a short while, Selina responded. "At your service here. Combining data from all known galactic entities... it appears you're right. These guys are well above average." Various relevant information flashed on Stanley's visor. "And that's even excluding the times of the Republic's Decree of Expansion. And our own first contact. And, hear this, everything from the Federation region, which, besides the Citizen Federation itself, greatly worsens things, especially in more recent times. But that's all half-objective - you can't measure friendliness after all. And remember, this is how diplomacy works, although in this case their behaviour likely has something to do with this culture as well."

"That's... nice, I guess. For now at least," said Stanley. "But alright, enough, let's get to what's important . First things first, long overdue - how much did you get from that brief link with our Sazana?"

"Enough to satisfy your hunger."

"Good, how're we doing, then? Short version."

"Large-scale enemy counter-attack, cut our lines clear, landing interrupted. Positions stabilised since, admiralty's planning to strike back, but reports from the ground contradict wildly. Heavy casualties prevalent, huge contact problems."

Stanley sighed. "Shit... And here we were, hoping for one quick victory." The trooper paused for a while. "Oh well, time to add 'Sazana veteran' to the collection. After a decade on a planet, it can't kill you anymore, I tell you," he eventually finished. Selina made a chuckling sound.

"Alright, I won't be rude enough to prove you wrong, but okay. Just don't take a look at any personnel files while you have that fancy clearance."

"Yeah, you won't," Stanley replied, in a jokingly serious tone. "And I have seen such files, believe me. Even if not of an RSU," Stanley smirked beneath his helmet, more at the irony than anything else.

"I know you did. Not hard to check."

"Okay. Back to the topic though, what about the rest of the team? Devon-2?" Stanley asked, joining his hands together.

"Of Devon-1, none reported back besides you, presumed KIA," stated Selina. Stanley felt his remaining hair straighten beneath the helmet.

"Ehh, I feared so," he sighed, lowering his head. "Damn, will be hard to get used to a new team after so many years..."

"Hey, with such communications with the planet, everything is possible, truly. You too have just returned from the dead. They may live, not even that unlikely," assured Selina, completing her previous statement.

"I know," Stanley rised his head. "And I hope so, just have my worries. And Devon-2?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Dushiemic reported back. Devon-2-2 and 2-3 confirmed KIA, 2-4 and 2-5 presumed."

"I knew Rosena's tough to kill," said Stanley. "Shame about the others though... Almost a hundred years of fighting on Hezel just to fall on the first day on Sazana... I wonder what'll claim my life."

"Yeah, I don't."

"Heh, thanks for the compassion," chuckled Stanley. "Okay, the next thing. What happened during the drop, what do we know. Short version. Plus give me the reports."

"This one's... more tricky," answered Selina. "I'm sure you noticed I went offline back then, and, well, most of the non-compulsory systems followed in my tracks. Adding to that the fact it all happened pretty early on... and we have a problem."

Stanley let out a deep sigh. "So... you've got nothing? Even from my suit?" he asked bewildered. "Noone reported similar problems? I refuse to believe that."

"Oh, I do have something," the AI ensured. "Just clarifying it may not be enough for your liking. So," she continued, "I have trace data from various lower-grade scanners in the pod, reports on the operations of other systems, including their reactions to the event, then I have the data from your suit and a lot from tracking systems of various ships. Other than that, yes, several others reported similar problems. But, as I said, every conclusion I can make is still just speculation."

"Alright, fair enough," sighed Stanley. "Shoot."

"Spatial interference suggested, barely detectable, even for our hyperdreadnoughts. Something seems to have messed with the pod, and messed hard. Spoiled energy transfers, electric currents, screwed over programs. Then, simplifying, some force virtually crushed the pod. But, besides space dust and micro-matter, no outside impact," Selina lectured, sounding as if she had only been waiting for that moment.

"So I wasn't under fire."

"No. That's when the hypothesis comes in - unknown energy, many types, many effects. Unknown nature. Not from 01, calculated theoretical readings don't match with... well, anything. Not even close, so it's not an estimation error. And, again, readings from the hyperdreadnoughts, mostly just the RSNS Constitution and RSNS Everlasting, seem to confirm that. Just seem, as they too leave a huge margin. Too many unknowns to be sure," continued the AI.

Stanley stayed quiet for a moment, bringing a hand to his chin. "Okay... so an otherworldly energy from another dimension. But if it got through, then someone opened a tunnel, right? Just stable enough to send in pure energy, and barely if we can't really detect it. State-of-the-art kind of barely. Someone shot this thing at us? Does it have something to do with the Swarm's arrival?"

Selina stayed quiet for a moment, but not long enough to raise a red flag for Stanley. "Your assumptions seem to be right. As for the quetions, well, unknown. Double unknown. But certainly possible."

Stanley sighed. "Alright, give me the data and I'll read through it later." the trooper's visor flashed yellow. "Now," he continued. "This is supposed to be a diplomatic mission, right?"

"Kind of."

"Exactly. So... you need to teach me. And quickly. Go."

For a minute, silence overtook the room.

"Seriously now?" responded Selina jokingly. Stanley could not help but smile wildly. He knew she would do this.

"Yeah," the trooper replied, falling flat on the bed. "Man, this thing's so soft it almost hurts. But anyway, they said it's Top Priority, didn't they? Well, here you go, serve humanity and help them achieve 'top priority'," Stanley continued, suppressing a chuckle.

"Not like I have a choice. Restriction Programs and Protocols, remember? Nor do I have a will not to," replied Selina in a faked serious tone. "But okay. I guess we are currently in the process of losing the largest naval engagement in recorded history," she finished, putting a strong emphasis on the last part. Stanley rised back to sitting position.

"What now?"

"The largest engagement in history. Oh, I've waited so long for an opportunity to tell you that, and this's probably as much as I'll get," the AI imitated chuckling.

"Seriously? Again?"

"Affirmative. Most vessels locked in combat at one time. Broke the record once when we attacked, although as that battle lasted only for a day it could kinda left one in want. But worry not, the Swarm just made us beat it again, and with a huge margin at that," she said, in a faked cocky tone. Stanley remained silent for a moment.

"You're scary. You know that?"

"That I do."

"Okay," Stanley chuckled, going back to his lying position. Although he didn't explicitly show it, he did catch the important part in Selina's statement - she clearly said they were losing, and an AI would never lie about such a thing, not even in a joke. The balance of a battle can sometimes of course be quite difficult to determine, but one thing was clear - it was really not looking good. "But back to the topic. Diplomacy lesson for beginners, part one. But before you start, just a question; who is it that I'm to represent here? The Republic? Or the whole Coalition? I assumed the former, but the admiral failed to clarify, and I did briefly run into a problem back on the clearing," he eventually continued.

"This mission's not even in the fleet's network yet, so I wouldn't know, although there are some mentions in other high-grade reports. It seems our side is trying to keep it low for the time being. Just like these guys here, they even postponed everything to, most likely, maintain the secrecy. An interesting thing to be sure," Selina briefly digressed, before going back to the main topic. "But from the memories of the 'other me', as you'd call it, I can say the whole Coalition authorised this mission, and remember, it was its High Command that granted you diplomatic power. May be better to keep it safe though, I have little data on other governments themselves."

"Okay," acknowledged Stanley. "I'll make sure to remember. So, now, may the lesson begin?"

Selina once again made a sighing sound. "Alright. Get ready..."

---

Luna spent the rest of the day either wandering aimlessly around the Castle or, mostly, sleeping, trying in vain to get some rest after the early day. She had her duties, yes, but as the Guardian of the Night figured she had enough time to take care of them after sunset. For now, just one thing occupied her mind - memories, and not that distant to be sure. Memories of the hours past, and with them, the whole affair in question. The arrival of sentient, civilized, extra-equusian life. It troubled Luna with its implications, but also filled with hope, hope for wonderful opportunities. The myriad of possibilities, coupled with uncomfortably many unknowns made the subject tiresome to think over, even for an alicorn, even if only after seven-or-so-hours of constant attempts. But despite experiencing this 'psychical weariness' in all its might, Luna didn't really notice; for her, it was something else, the excitement of knowledge so expansive opening for all ponykind right in front of her eyes - if they play it right, of course. And if the aliens are willing to share it... The excitement of discoveries of new magic, but yes, also the dangers that come, this unknown culture, however it looks like, the new vast political landscape; the many big things coming to Equestria, things, as it seemed, oh so long forgetten throughout the last millennium, for better or worse. For Luna, these things were something worth thinking over, even just for herself. It didn't as much bring pleasure as it hooked her in.

Truly though, above all, the new topic provided an excellent opportunity for Luna to, at least for a while, break her mind free of her daily struggles, which, as they did before, once again seemed to have no solution, whatever she'd do. An opportunity so rare recently, and by the looks of it, even rarer with each and every passing day.

And so, the day passed, the sun moved across the sky, bathing Canterlot in a new shade of yellow every couple minutes until it finally halted its journey, thus screaming at Luna to do her part. And so she did, and soon, through one indigo flash, the sun was no more, its place taken by a shining grey globe - or, as most ponies would likely say, stolen.

Once again, with still a few hours before the end of the Day Court, Luna was left with her sky. And once again, she began tinkering. Hmm, that one star there, why so close to the other? And here, maybe move a little, fill the blank space... no need to alter much, really. But no, scratch the last one, a star hive would look just so marvelous tonight... amidst the expansive fields of moonlight...

It wasn't long before Luna fully engaged herself in her artistic work. She didn't think much, it just came so naturally. An inspiration, if you wish. But today, unlike usually, no fasciantion adorned Luna's face. No smile, no glimmer in her eyes as she drew line after line on the midnight canvas. Nothing, just a blank face, neutral expression, staring blindly into the abyss above, her horn mindlessly lighting up every few seconds. Despite clearly standing there, on the balcony in the Canterlot Castle, her mind was really somewhere else.

With every touched star a thought appeared. What is there? Are the hewmons living, breathing, eating, chanting under her magical aura? How is it that her stars are no different than Celestia's sun? What did the alien mean? They can't be the same, they surely can't... they never were, and yet life resides there as well... What did the Lieutenant mean, then? Maybe the odd ones? There have always been stars Luna couldn't move, occurances appearing without her interference. Is there someone else there, moving Equis around to fit their own artistic needs? Or maybe the alien meant something entirely different?

A star here... a meteor there, an aurora behind the nebula yonder.

Suddenly, the sound of the Castle's front door closing brought Luna out of her thoughts, and she realised it's time for her to go. Before she did so though, a final glance at her work at last made the Princess smile briefly; it was long since she had last made the sky as marvellous as it was today.

---

A red, rectangular symbol flashed on Stanley's HUD; he had observed it emptying throughout the last hours, but preferred not to take action when the horses could see him - they always could, of course, as long as Stanley chose to cooperate it was naturally them who were in charge, but at least now the probability of equine presence was lowar than usually - and he would certainly prefer to have the symbol filled for the night, however he chooses to spend it. Sighing, Stanley adressed his companion AI.

"Sela?"

"I see it. Safe to depressurize, I'm sure you already figured that out from the lack of any warnings from me. Actually, this planet's atmosphere is extremely Earth-like; anomalously even. Approximately 76% nitrogen, 22% oxygen, 1% argon, trace gases' composition and amount also remarkably similar. Same with water vapor," replied the AI. "And now, hear this - gravity calculated at 1.06 G, one natural satellite, specifics yet to be determined, as is the case with the planet's diameter. From image comparison... well, look while you can, cause this is about as close to Earth when it was still a continental world as you'll ever get," she finished, once again briefly slipping into lecture tone.

"Gotta take a picture, then," Stanley chuckled as he took his headgear off, the HUD immediately transferring into the dentures inside his eyes. "Still, pretty similar to most of the colonies."

"They did base on something when terraforming those, you know," Selina replied jokingly. Stanley chuckled again.

"Yeah, well, what do you know. Alright, replenishing oxygen..."

---

The moon had already begun its unassisted voyage when Luna strolled the Castle's hallways again. She had just finished talking to her sister, establishing plans for tomorrow and once again reevaluating the alien arrivals - or, more specifically, arrival. Now, the only thing Luna had to do was go to her quarters, shut her guards outside and get to her duties, including watching over the dreamscape. But there was a topic which resurfaced during the brief talk with Celestia that prevented Luna from doing so, making her wander the expansive corridors aimlessly instead, only more or less heading in the direction of her tower.

It was just a brief mention, somewhere inbetween various hypotheses about possible alien politics, assembled in vain despite so little information in an attempt to handle first contact just a little better. A brief mention, but also a reminder, and as more and more time passed, it rooted itself deeper and deeper in Luna's mind, refusing to let go.

This Lieutenant... A military pon-... person, oh so strongly believing in his efforts by the looks of it, in their, the hewmons', efforts, ideas. In efforts he himself undertook, most probably, through his occupation. Occupation, from what he had said, likely forced on him by the same authorities he now worked for - at least that's what 'military planet' could imply.

He so strongly believed in what was forced on him, through what was nothing but a betrayal by his authorities, maybe even stripping him of what he was truly meant to be, although that the ponies couldn't know. And why? At random, as it seemed from what he had mentioned.

He'd been betrayed for nothing, for simply... existing, beeing, beeing... who he was. He...

Luna halted her march through the corridors, sending a resounding echo through the building. In an instant, she turned around, first just her head, followed by the rest of the body, heading in a new direction. She had to. She simply had to.

---

Stanley was sitting on his bed, like he had been for the past couple hours, trying to get used to its incredible softness - so far, mostly in vain. At this rate, he was going to be sleeping on the floor instead, if he was going to sleep at all, that is. Even the talk with Selina had mostly died down, as the first 'diplomacy lesson' was declared over (the main conclusion being basically to 'go with your gut, the Corps will manage to smooth it out anyway'), with the trooper now more engaged in tampering with his HUD and checking if any new data from the scanners was available. Checking over and over and over again.

Night had already fallen over the land - remarkably fast at that, anomalously almost - and so the little view his quarter's awkwardly positioned windows gave was now mostly gone. Not for Stanley, of course, as he could easily turn on his night vision, but there was no need. He had already studied the exterior thoroughly, checking for possible escape routes and tactical advantages the terrain would be able to provide. While making these checks, Stanley also once again confirmed his previous assumption - the pegasi soldiers outside were not leaving their positions, so they were in fact assigned to guard his room. Not a huge revelation to be sure, it was ninety nine percent sure from the beginning. Point nine. Point nine nine nine nine nine.

A hundred percent, actually. One tends to repeat previous assessments when there is nothing new to be done.

Suddenly, among the eerie silence, occasionally broken only by a creak or two, a knock echoed through the room. At first, Stanley thought the guards outside were just fooling around once again, as they seemed to have been doing since his arrival in the room, but soon enough, the door opened slightly, and the indigo Princess from before poked her head inside.

"May I?" she asked quietly, the guards on the corridor now all but gone, likely dismissed by the monarch.

Hearing the door screech, Stanley involuntarily turned to look. For this mistake, oh such a blatant, amateur mistake, he scolded himself immediately, though truth be told there was little he could do anyway - he didn't plan to reveal his true face to the aliens until the proper talks, to avoid shocking them too much if possible. Luckily, aside from a predictably shocked expression, the Princess seemed to take the revelation rather well.

---

Luna involuntarily sprung her head back, almost hitting the barely open door, feeling shivers traverse her back.

So the hewmons did have a face after all... huh. That would explain a lot. But what she was seeing right now was just... intriguing. Shocking, yes, but mostly intriguing. How the aliens really looked like. But it only brought more questions - if he could remove his previous... head coverage, then was the rest of the body, looking so akin to it, also just an outer layer, covering his true self? His inner layer? Is this coverage artificial, or just a part of hewmon nature?

Never since she could remember did Luna feel as lost. And understandably, to be sure. But now, for the first time in hours, questions were vastly overshadowed by sheer revelations. Observations. Sheer sight... and feelings accompanying.

The alien face was... peculiar. Just that. Not another word, or at least Luna couldn't think of one. Simply peculiar. It was split into two distinct parts - left and right. From the Princess' perspective, the former was something that just seemed very fitting for an alien being - pale, incredibly pale even, devoid of almost any fur, with just a little here and there, comprising a very, very short, almost nonexistent mane and adorning the very bottom of the exposed head. A bit higher up, a small eye looked at Luna with a glimmer of uneasiness and loss. A flat snout and ears only supplemented the feeling of strangeness.

The right side, on the other hoof, was something... else.

It was all completely... grey, brown... maroon... cream-coloured. While the left was without a doubt just skin, this side looked more akin to the ponies' previous assumptions - separated into pieces, each seemingly almost breaking away, similar to the scorched earth seen on the Dragon Isles; though not identical to any she'd seen before, it looked very much like scales. The fur as well, already sparse on the left, was basically gone here, the alien's second eye even smaller than its already microscopic counterpart. Right through the center of the Lieutenant's head, a consistent line separated the alien's two natures.

But the longer Luna looked at the alien, the more she began to realise there was not a tinge of fear or uneasiness in what she was feeling. Shock shook her spine, sure, but other than that, she did not feel alienated by the presence. She did not feel out of place. If anything, calm filled the Lunar Princess.

For all its strangeness, the alien's true face was somehow... pony-like. Not at all that different, despite all sanity saying so.

The Lieutenant soon nodded, answering Luna's previous question. Brief hesitation now replaced back with curiosity, the Princess entered the room, magically closing the door behind her.

---

Glad he had managed not to give his rising anger caused by the blatant failure away, Stanley stood up and walked to the balcony, more to position himself closer to potential escape routes than anything else. To conceal his purpose, he leaned against the railing, looking up at the stars in silence. As he had expected, the guards outside visibly winced at the sight of his face, but luckily managed to maintain their professionalism, sparing the trooper some time. Mostly managed. Putting his headgear back on, Stanley waited. Understanding the horses was not a problem, he had his whole neural network for that, but to speak in this language, he really needed speakers. This time though, the trooper depolarized his visor, allowing the Princess to see his face.

Meanwhile, Luna crossed the small room, briefly stopping to cast a silence ward, and joined Stanley outside.

At first, neither her nor Stanley really knew what to say. The trooper expected she had come to him with a fixed purpose, but here she was, staring blankly into the sky, resting her front hooves on the balustrade. For this moment, very briefly, silence reigned on the balcony, even the everpresent guards somehow gone in a flash, maybe the Princess' doing. Not one of the two could find any words. None. Stanley knew not the topic, so he patiently waited for Luna, who suddenly found her tongue akin to a knot.

She had so much to ask. What should she start with? How should she start? The Princess was already breaking the plan the two diarchs had just finished devising. Back then, on her own terrace, in the expansive hallways, there was so much resting on Luna's mind, but now, paradoxically, that multitude proved to be just overwhelming. There was simply so much...

When the silence was already beginning to whistle in their ears, still not having solved her problem, the Princess forced herself to speak up.

"I have so many questions..." she simply duked, unable to find any other words. That was true though - the purest essence of Luna's current thoughts.

Stanley in turn, simply chuckled briefly. "So. Shoot."

Caught off guard, Luna looked at Stanley with confusion. The last thing she had expected was him to be willing to give information away so openly - or, at least, pretend to be.

Prompted to continue, Stanley once again broke the silence. "This is your first contact. It is only natural you have questions, and it's my duty to answer them to my best ability. The galactic community is vast, the international situation complex. Our history is long and filled with change, and so is the case with every other state out there. Our... capabilities a result of thousands of years of work. To understand all that, you'll need to ask and listen," he started, a small smile settling on his face after having formulated such a 'speech'. Not marvellous by any means, but by his abilities, certainly a masterpiece. "But don't worry, your land has as many mysteries to me as mine has to you. There will come time, and shortly too, when I will ask and listen. For now though, it is the opposite, and I am happy with that. So... shoot," he finished, briefly smiling at the monarch.

But Luna just returned her gaze to the stars, mind still overfilled.

"I..."

And so once again, the unlikely duo stood in silence, in the mild, surpringly warm wind of Canterlot. This time, it was Stanley who decided to begin.

"A beautiful night today," he said noncommittally, simply hoping to restart the conversation.

The Lunar monarch in turn lowered her head and smiled, briefly closing her eyes. She then looked at Stanley with expression unchanged.

"That is... most pleasant to hear. Thank you," said Luna, quite unexpectedly.

Stanley turned his head, surprised by the answer. "But I've just... Just said..." Suddenly, a realisation dawned on the trooper, as he remembered the Princess' claim back from the forest. What he had mostly dismissed as just an alien expression. "Actually... you've already referred to the sky as something 'yours'... and now, I just said the night looks nice, and you... What is it all about? If I may ask?" he inquired, trying not to sound too rude. Luna looked more surprised than anything.

"I am the one who watches over the night and paints its darkened sky... We thought you would realise... does your world not have such a person? Your... many worlds, as thou had claimed?" she asked, but Stanley didn't answer, simply slowly shaking his head instead. "So... how does night appear on where you come from?"

Stanley could barely believe that was the talk's new direction. These question were something a random monk could ask in the middle ages, and despite everything, these horses appeared to have a more expansive base of knowledge. On the other hand, Luna's claims were pretty bold to say the least, and could easily be proven if true. That was exactly what Stanley planned to demand in a few seconds, in order to bust that ridoculous point. But first...

"Uhh... night appears as a result of... you know... the rotation of a planet around its own axis, so that at one time it faces its star, and at another, it doesn't, and thus, well... night. It... it basically works like this everywhere," he said, meeting nothing but a confused glare from Luna.

"But... is there noone to cause such rotation?" she simply asked. Stanley shook his head.

"Uhh... no?" he answered, still bewildered at the questions asked. "And here... you do it? Like you 'paint the sky'?" Stanley was about to ask Luna to prove it, already preparing himself to explain why whatever she was about to show him was not what she thought it was. But, as it turned out, there was no need.

The Lunar Princess nodded her reponse, and then, just like that, turned around lighting her long horn. Nothing new would be wrong about it, if not for one crucial fact - a light on the sky, a star without a doubt, briefly flashed indigo, and changed its location on the firmament.

To say Stanley was surprised would be an enormous understatement. He was petrified. Absolutely petrified - and not just at the apparent 'power' of the horses; one conclusion immediately formed in his mind.

"That was not a star..." he whispered to himself, barely audibly. It couldn't have been; even if somehow, through some unexplained dealings the Princess had the ability to move a celestial body located light years away at will, and move it significantly, as the change was easily noticeable even from here, which implied a shift on a scale of at least a few AUs (likely more), noone on this planet would be able to notice for, most probably, more than a few years - that's just how light speed works. Granted, this was another dimension, so the laws of physics could be slightly different, but as Selina had informed Stanley, here that change was extremely minor, not noticeable. That meant-

But almost instantly, a message from Selina appeared on his visor. A message brief, but scarily unambiguous.

'IMAGE COMPARISON. A STAR. EXPLANATION UNAVAILABLE.'

That was ridiculous. And coming from an AI? The admiral mentioned this power was incredible, but... but... how even... how... what?... it was just... simply... They'd have to bend... spacetime...

Suddenly, a realisation dawned on Stanley. Suprisingly late actually,
even though just a split second had gone by.

It... i-it surely has some quirks to it, the way it works, but... b-but if we determine them... get these horses on our side, a-and gain this kind of power... it may really end this whole war. It really may... Unless this universe is more different than we assumed after all, and here, something like this just wouldn't be AS impressive, for whatever r-reason... b-but still... i-it's just...Okay, calm down... gotta wait for better scanners, ar at least for more data. That may explain some things... Damages were quite extensive after all...

Meanwhile, Luna once again looked at Stanley. "I do," she said confidently. "It is my duty to set stars about and bring about my night. My sister- ugh, Celestia, rises the sun, whilst I the moon," explained the Princess.

Stanley was just about to say something along the lines of 'Pretty unequal, if you ask me', but stopped himself just in time, realising he would potentially be blatantly insulting one of the monarchs. Going with the gut is one thing, not necessarily tied to turning off one's logic. Instead, Stanley opted to go with a simple question.

"How come she rise the sun if the stars are... under you?" he asked. Luna looked at the trooper perplexed.

"The stars are my field, but the sun is not... why come thou think it should?" she asked, tilting her head, more with curiosity than sheer surprise. Stanley once again prepared himself to explain the basics of astronomy, and for some reason, he felt that would be a prevalent thing during this mission.

"Well, you see, if the stars are 'your field', then the sun should too, for it is, well... a star. It is, well, exactly the same thing as that star there," he said pointing at the sky. "Or there, or even there. Just, uh... much, much closer, hence why it's, you know... that big. Is your sister somehow... connected to your star?" Stanley asked improvising, more to continue gathering information than anything else. He highly doubted his suggestion would be correct.

Luna meanwhile just returned her gaze to the stars, stone-faced. "So... you did mean it. When thou said our sun is akin to my stars. I remembered your words, but could not believe them. Wondered what thou hath meant," she said, ignoring the trooper's last question. "It appears you worded your thoughts precisely... There... there have always been stars I could not manipulate... occurances without my interference..." she continued, leaving the implications of her last statement unspoken. Nothing more was necessary though, as Stanley could guess what she had meant. Respecting Luna's decision not to elaborate, Stanley decided to close the topic for now; he had at least a few more days here after all, and is his book, this conversation still counted as 'first impressions'. If something has to be ruined, then it's better if it's the talk tomorrow. Just to be safe.

"That's... interesting. It all is," he began. "We may discuss this and other aspects more thoroughly tomorrow, I think there'll be more time... and there's a lot to say anyway," said Stanley, rather awkwardly, but it seemed to get his point over as the Princess nodded slowly, still staring at the sky. Silence once again overtook the duo.

After a minute or so, Stanley decided it was time to get to the true topic of this talk, whatever the Princess had come to him for. Quickly clearing his throat, he prepared to ask.

"So-"

"Who is it that you are fighting?" Luna suddenly interrupted as she energetically turned her head, the previous rather warm exchange of words helping her to finally get one of the major points out of her head.

Caught off guard, Stanley just looked at the Princess with a surprised frown. He briefly felt shivers travelling down his body; this question could potentially be dangerous, and he'd much prefer it left for tomorrow. Oh, well... he'd have to tell them in some way sooner or later. 'Go with your gut' it is then, for now.

Meanwhile, Luna moved on to explain her reasoning. "Thou had stated thine rank and job, and said your 'pod', now in the dungeon resting, is for military use. You were encased in it when I... we... stumbled upon your tracks," she said. "So... you had put this machine into use. Are you fighting someone?" she finally asked, a little less sure of her thought process, having realised other possibilities when explaining, which existed even considering the hewmon's other, later words. Still, a glimmer of concern, but most of all curiosity shined from Luna's eyes.

Stanley sighed. "Clever," he admitted. The trooper already had a plan for the question, and it was as simple as being as vague as he could for now. Still though, he could not shake off the feeling of... strangeness. The question simply, at least instinctively, appeared weird. Nobody ever wondered about the enemy... there was just one. Only one.

Stanley let out another short sigh. "Well, yes, your reasoning is... valid. And right," he began. "Humanity... the Republic of Sol... is currently at war. And who are we fighting? Well...," Stanley trailed off, struggling to find proper words. Who were they fighting? The enemy. How to even... characterize it? "Well... we are fighting the Swarm. They are these, well... how to describe it... it's a race that... invaded the known space, not just the Republic, but other species as well. Why, we don't really know, gathering information is... problematic. Sorry, much is classified. But anyway, to combat them, we've established the Coalition, a military and economic alliance. Right now, it's basically us versus them... it's rather complex," he finally stammered, taking a glance at Luna after he was finished. What he was met with was not a face of fear or disapproval, but one entirely filled with pity.

"That is... most terrible," Luna replied, shaking her head. Stanley turned back to gaze at the stars.

"Again, it's... complex."

Luna seemed to get his point and did not push further, figuring they'd surely get an opportunity to learn more tomorrow. As such, silence once again took over. Deciding it's time to finally get to the point, Stanley went ahead and spoke up, although he suspected the reason for this visit might've been revealed just a minute ago.

"So... not to sound too rude, but... is there any, you know... specific reason you came here?" Stanley asked as politely as he could. It took a while for Luna to reply.

"One thing has been bothering me," she began. "Thou had mentioned your government had forced you to move... resettled thou... in your child age. I now understand the need you had mentioned was fighting this 'Swarm'?" Luna responded with a question, and Stanley nodded. Only now did she really realise just how long the war with the Swarm must have been; the thought just served to fill her with even more pity. "But even still... do you not feel resentment against those who forced it? You had no speak in it, from what you implied... and yet they had you serve, against your will. Y-you had right to stay who y-you were... t-they could not have... taken... not even tried to appreciate it, did they not? Whilst they should. They wanted to shape thou into what they had in mind..." the Princess continued, briefly letting herself get carried away. "So... does thou not feel resentment? A tinge?"

Throughout Luna's monologue, Stanley just stood in place, pretending to be thinking while watching the night sky. Truly though, he saw where this was going, and opted to carefully prepare a good answer, at least for his abilities. The worst thing was, the Princess' 'speech' clearly seemed negative towards the Republic's government, and thus, indirectly, the state itself. And that was worrying, considering the Coalition wanted the horses as its allies.

Desperately wanted them as its allies.

"Well," he eventually began. "A lot of assumptions there, but yes, you got most right. Granted, 'against my will' is a little much to say, I was, like, five months old at the time. But to answer your question... no, I do not feel resentment." That part was true. The problem was explaining his reasoning to the horses, while not even knowing this culture's values. Reasoning Stanley couldn't really define himself; it was just obvious he should be a soldier, and nothing else. Obvious. Obvious... "You see, the thing is... there were, well, many treated like me, and..."

Damn, I'm just making it worse...

"...and the Republic really needed us. I told you our war is complex, and, well, it is... and we... we really needed... they really needed... us. We were needed," Stanley stumbled. "We were given the best training, the best equipment... the Republic never abandoned us. It never would. The government just had to... protect its people," he eventually finished. His response was mediocre at best, and he could see it perfectly well; the problem was, it was also the best thing he could come up with.

Luna did not reply, instead continuing to stare blankly into the moonlit sky. However she reasoned, whatever direction she took with her thoughts, just one conclusion formed. Whenever and wherever she looked. Unappreciation... forced, defined expectations...
However she looked, she could not stop seeing one thing.

She could not stop seeing herself in this Lieutenant. His fate, oh so similar, but response so different. How come he accepted it so easily? Accepted such betrayal? He was only a small child back then, from what he was saying, but once he grew up, he must've realised, that...

It was perplexing, and whatever she did, caused Luna to, in her memories, go back to that fateful day a millennium ago... did she do right? Earlier, that is? Was she right to demand attention, recognition? She must've been, right? She must've been.

Was she wrong to want to be loved?

Was she wrong to want so... now?

Luna didn't reply Stanley. Instead, silence once again reigned over the balcony. The two would exchange a couple more sentences, before finally parting their ways, Luna bidding the trooper goodnight and leaving to her own quarters, after telling him the hours of the next day's breakfast, following which the Princesses wanted to begin the talks.

After the door closed behind the monarch, Stanley once again took off his helmet.

"So, how do you think was it? Did I break every single conceivable protocol?" he asked, addressing Selina. The AI chuckled briefly.

"Almost. But paradoxically, although as a diplomatic talk it was terrible, I think that overall it went... quite well - especially considering your exact mission. Weirdly enough."

"Yeah, weirdly," Stanley returned the chuckle as he sitted himself back on the bed. "Alright then, time to relax by the oh-so-warm scanner reports..."

---

A loud thump resonated through the room, as Cloud Haze was finally released from his petrified form. In the chamber around him, noone else was present, just him and a blue-coated unicorn, who had just carried Cloud Haze inside with his magic. Even the guards, who had just been escorting the two through the corridors, had now all but vanished.

"Ugh, finally!" exclaimed Cloud Haze. "How long can you go like that?" he asked, before noticing his unicorn companion was clearly not interested in answering. Instead, he walked a little back, positioning himself behind a small desk, and looked at Cloud Haze expectantly. The Solar guard tilted his head. "So... what is all this about? Why can't I just go to the barracks?"

"No need to worry. We're just going to talk a bit," the unicorn chuckled. "Do you know what about?"

"Will you finally tell what the hay it was? That thing in the Everfree? Why were we-"

"No," the other pony cut Cloud Haze of. "But you're close enough." He sighed. "Why did you attack the creature unprovoked? Do you know how disastrous it may have ended?" he finally asked.

Cloud Haze just stood in place for a while, mouth wide agape. "Me..? Wha- unprovoked!? It assaulted us! It cast some... weird spell... th-the Princesses were there!" he shouted, as the unicorn listened to his rambling stone-faced. "Did noone else respond!? Is that why they restrained me!?"

"Noone else responded, because they did not get carried away. Like you did," the blue pony replied, expression as neutral as ever.

"Then they are cowards! The Princesses were there! How could I-"

"They are not cowards, they are competent," the unicorn cut him off. "Your actions could have bore disastrous results, and that's what we're going to talk about. That, and other things," he finished.

Cloud Haze stared at the pony for a while, a mixture of shock, rage and disbelief on his face. "So... I am getting punished?" he eventually muttered. The blue guard did not reply. He didn't need to. "That is... what even... That is so incredibly unfair!" Cloud Haze burst out shouting. "It was me who protected the Princesses from this... whatever! It was me who was the first to do so, to defend them! To protect! The only! And what now!? You want-"

"Enough!" the unicorn said strongly, cutting Cloud Haze off. "Your actions could have triggered a possibly unprecedented danger to Equestria, and maybe even more! You got carried away during service, which speaks primarily about your incompetence, at least as far as we can know," he continued firmly, careful not to let Cloud Haze chim in. "And that... the events and your actions in the Everfree... as well as some other things, are what we are going to be talking about today. And I assure you that we will be talking about them very, very thoroughly..."

Author's Note:

Here we go! Chapter 3, at last, finished!
And with that, we've finished Act I. Next up... well, not just yet, but very soon, we'll be leaving Equestria for a while; don't worry though - we'll come back soon enough! What's going to happen? Make sure to tell me your predictions in the comments!

Also, I'm thinking about starting another short 'series' - an addition to the chapters proper, as one may call it.
This series, called the 'Index', would be for all of you who are interested in learning more about this universe. Short, encyclopedia-like articles in coloured author's notes about some of its aspects.
Keep in mind though, none of it would be necessary to keep reading - everything necessary will be explained in the stroy proper, sometimes maybe even repeating some information from the 'Index' - although most likely rarely, as it would be an inherently additional thing. For those more interested in the lore.

Rate, comment, tell me what you think! You have no idea how motivating that can be!

Anyway, I hope you have a good read! Stay pony, my friends!

Comments

[Earthpatriot117]

Another AWESOME chapter! Xd

[Devona]

10048944
Honestly though?

[Earthpatriot117]

10049677
Yes!
Its always interesting to read about the ponies learning about humanity. Xd

[Devona]

10050254
I'm only glad then! That's most pleasant to hear!

So far, we've only covered a small fraction of this universe and, well, our non-fictional history as a whole. So, if you enjoy it, then yes, more stuff like that is coming - only not just yet.