War From the Stars

by James Pwyll

Strangers

The girls had been watching the newcomers for a few minutes, and nothing about what they were seeing filled them with anything other than worry. A large, black van had arrived in the Camp, parked just outside the main visitor centre, where Gloriosa's office was located. From it had emerged a pair of men, clad in black suits, wearing dark sunglasses and sporting earpieces, which they occasionally talked into. It was all a foreboding sight, and the girls made sure to keep their distance, hiding behind the biggest trees nearby, watching intently. At the moment, the men just seemed to be observing the immediate area, but it was clear to the teens that they weren't just here to enjoy the views of the Camp. After a while, Twilight whispered to her friends. "Well...this is all very black helicopter."

Pinkie glanced to the sky. "Er...no, I think it's just a black van we're dealing with, Twily."

Twilight cast her a look, but it was Sunset who spoke next. "I think we all know why they're here. I'd hoped to avoid something like this, but I guess a massive spaceship crashing into the woods wasn't going to be the easiest thing in the world to keep quiet about."

Rarity, scooting closer to her Equestrian companion, glanced in her direction. "Sunset, far be it from me to suggest tackling an issue directly, but we can't exactly spend the day skulking behind trees."

Sunset sighed, nodding. "You're right. And besides, if nothing else, it's like we said to Optimus. We've got a job here, so...let's do it."

Rainbow groaned. "This won't be good."

So, after just a moment, the girls all stood and emerged from behind the trees, heading over to the van and the two men. "Hello!" Sunset called out. She and the other girls watched as the two figures looked to them, with one of them whispering something into his earpiece. They said nothing for the moment, so Sunset spoke a second time. "I'm terribly sorry, Sirs. But the Camp is closed for the time being. No visitors. Whatever your business here is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you both to leave."

Here, finally, one of the men spoke, clasping his hands together at his front and using a calm and very professional-sounding tone. "Apologies, Miss. But I'm afraid that won't be happening."

"We are here under strict orders, and our presence here is a matter of national security," the other one added. Then, after taking a step closer to her, he continued. "And those orders...concern all of you."

Sunset and the girls could feel the tension rising in the situation, but the former nevertheless maintained a calm of her own. "Oh? And from where, exactly, do these orders come from?"

The first man nudged his sunglasses down slightly, looking her in the eye. "From President Starswirl."

Sunset didn't know what she'd expected, but that answer certainly wasn't it. However, in stark contrast to the stunned silence of the others, Rainbow actually burst into a laugh. "What?! You expect us to believe that the President of the United Atlantic Federation is sending a pair of shady-looking secret agents to us? For what?"

In response, the calmer of the two men took his glasses off entirely, looking over to the girl. "With respect, Miss Dash...I believe you already know why."

Hearing that the man already knew her name took the wind out of Rainbow's sails somewhat, and there was a deep suspicion among the other girls that their names were similarly known. Even so, Sunset folded her arms, standing her ground. "No matter what orders you have, I hope you understand that we're not going to just take you at your word."

"Then take me at mine, Sunset."

The girls were all taken aback by the familiar voice, and turned in unison towards the van. A third figure emerged from it, walking towards them, and Sunset couldn't help but be surprised at her arrival onto the scene. "P...Principal Celestia?!"

Pinkie looked over to the rest of them. "Okay, I did not see that one coming!"

Celestia, once over to her student, looked to her and spoke with that same softness she was so known for. "Sunset, I realise that..." She glanced to the two men. "All of this probably isn't giving off a very safe air for you." She looked back to her. "But that's why I'm here." Then, she looked to the other girls. "These gentlemen are telling the truth. President Starswirl did ask for them to be here, to meet up with you."

Despite knowing Celestia to be a good person, Sunset still felt wary about all of this. "Do you...know the President?"

"Sunset, I promise you, I'll explain everything. But right now, I just need you to know what, as much as you may feel like it's a bad idea, and trust me, I get it...we all need to go with them," Celestia assured her.

Sunset looked to her, hearing and trusting her words. But even so, in the face of everything else going on, it was a difficult thing to accept. So, in a moment of quiet, she turned and walked over to the other girls, after which Celestia could see and hear them whispering to one another, doubtless discussing their options. After a moment, the ex-unicorn gave her friends a nod before looking back to their teacher. "Alright...we'll go with you."

Celestia smiled. "Trust me, this is a lot for me too. You wouldn't believe how shocked I was to get a phone call from the President earlier today." She looked again to the men. "No to mention having these two knock on my door."

Sunset actually chuckled here. "Yeah, I can imagine."

Then, the older woman took on a more serious tone. "Sunset...I should probably tell you that an invitation has also been extended...for your out-of-town visitors."

Sunset sighed. "Yeah...figured that'd be the case."

One of the agents stepped forward. "You may inform them that they are free to maintain their...disguises during the journey. The President feels that revealing them is unwise right now."

Sunset looked to him, then over her shoulder, to the forest. "Yeah. There's be plenty to talk about, I imagine."

Celestia laughed, but it was as brief and dry one. "More than you know, Sunset."

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Is Spike there too? Its hard to tell
Why didn't the gov guys acknowledged him too?

I have managed to read this up to date.
Its pretty good.
What transformer designs are you using? Gen 1?

Is there anything planned for Spike? Or is he sadly just a prop here?
Sadly so far he is just a prop here instead of as a character..

[Frazikar]

So, Sunset never learned about the Pillars from the Princess ... interesting ...

[nightshroud96]

11594011
Yeah..
Pretty disappointing on how he's being handled so far.

[Frazikar]

11594008
Whoa, how did that in up here??? Was referring to maid outfits in another storyline and the response under it was for how long it takes things to go from 'whoa!' to 'eh, ok...' in a different storyline ... very interesting mixup (don't even think I was writing anything here) ...'

[Melody Song]

Oh boy, things are about to get dramatic, aren't they?

[SuperSaiyanGodzilla]

Is this fanfic still ongoing?

[Thebobkiller]

More please!