> Kaiserreich > by ObiWan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT IS THIS WORLD???? What if Germany won WWI? What if the German ideologies clash with the Equestrian ones? Second American Civil War federal poster(1937-1939) World War II Canadian Anti-Syndicalist poster German Propaganda Poster History 1936-2025 - The Russian Republic's political and social conflict was resolved after the instauration of a new constitution, creating the new Russian Republic, and ending the Soviet threat. - The United States of America won the Second American Civil War after 3 years of fighting the CSA and the AUS, with at least 4 million causalities military and civilian all combined, being the bloodiest of conflict in the history of both the United States and the Americas. - World War II began on September 10, 1939, after the French Commune invaded the German Empire for the Alsace-Lorraine, the Entente intervened on November 16, the Andean Pact entered on April 5, 1941, the Japanese entered the war in the side of the Internationale on September 6, 1941, and the USA finally intervened in the war on February 12, 1942, which finalized on December 12, 1945, with the fall of the Internationale, the end of German colonialism, the fall of the Austrian Empire, the restoration of the British Crown in the Union of Britain, the restoration the Italian Republic in the Italian nation, the split of the French Commune between the French Republic, and a French puppet monarch state-owned by the German Empire, the fall of the Japanese Empire and the restoration of the Qing Empire in the whole Chinese mainland, and it also marked the rise as global powers the nations of the Egypt Sultanate, the Republic of Colombia, the Chinese Republic, and the Republic of Yugoslavia. Global Superpowers also raised, these being The United States of America and the German Empire. COLD WAR: Entente vs Reichspakt vs Russian Sphere - The period is characterized by the attempts of the German Empire to reinstate their power on the world, as well as the rise of the new neo-syndicalist and socialist ideas around the world, and the attempts by the Entente to fight them both. -The end of colonialism is incited causing the French to lose their power in Africa. -The Nigerian Wars begin, in which the Republic of Colombia sparked a liberal republican revolution in the Nigerian nation that was being controlled by German monopolies, causing new factions being supported by the Entente, the Germans, or socialist nations in Africa. In the end, the socialist and communist rebellion in Nigeria ended up winning the war versus the Nigerian Kingdom, the Republic of Nigeria, and South Nigeria. -The Cold War reached its peak in 1952 when the Germans, the United States, the Entente, and the Russians began developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, as when in 1953 the Germans and the Colombians allied temporarily to build facilities in the Colombian department of Cuba for launching missiles towards the United States, this sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis, a confrontation that brought the world again to the brink of war, but an agreement was signed between the three nations, making the Colombians retire and never build again nuclear-launching facilities in Cuba, as the Germans retired their logistics and other specs out of the Colombian territory. -The Egyptian Sultanate announced the liberation of some minorities within the nation and give them some of their claimed lands, releasing a little bit of tension from the Middle East. -Space exploration served as another dramatic arena for Cold War competition, as in 1954, a German K-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched the Bismarck, the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Bismarck’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. In the United States and Colombia, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension in part of the U.S. of the grand American tradition of exploration, and it was crucial not to lose too much ground to the Germans. In addition, this demonstration of the overwhelming power of the R-7 missile–seemingly capable of delivering a nuclear warhead into U.S. air space–made gathering intelligence about German military activities particularly urgent. -On July 20, 1963, the United States landed the first man on the moon, that being Neil Armstrong in the Apollo 11 mission. -The Indonesia war begins a united coalition of the German Empire and the Reichspakt, the United States, and Colombia to stop the communist ideologies that were spreading all around southern Asia into Siam. The war ended with the Vietcong winning the war, driving off the united coalition of the major western world powers. -The Argentinian Dirty War began when a militaristic tyrannical dictatorship entered the Argentinean government in 1975, causing various assassinations of union workers and social workers also, as well as everyone who opposed the regime. It ended when Colombia intervened in the conflict taking Buenos Aires in 1982, reinstating the old Republic of Argentina again. -The end of the Cold War is recognized when in November 1989, the French Wall was destroyed, ending the French puppet controlled by Germany in the north, and giving the French once again after 64 years the capital of France, Paris. The Germans ended their foreign imperialistic activities retiring their troops from conflicts around the world. 21st Century -In 2000 the attack of Al-Qaeda to the World Trade Center towers in New York caused the new war in terror, declared by U.S. President Bill Clinton. -Iraq War or the Persian Gulf war began when the Saddam Hussein rule invaded Saudi Arabia, making a united coalition of various nations like the Entente nations, the United States, the Arab Pact, and Colombia, ending the tyrannical rule in Iraq. -Sudwestafrika is successfully reinstated as a state of the German Empire in 2013. -Germany testes the first interstellar engine in 2019, as well as sending the first humans around Venus, causing the Second Space race. -In 2022, U.S. President Dwayne Johnson signed the Havana Treaty, in which the German and United States relationships were restored on its totality, as any banned trade product from either Germany or the United States is accepted once again, causing great economical impacts on both nations. -In 2023, Colombia sends the first interstellar probe into Alpha Centauri b, making a commotion around the world and making the Germans work harder on their interstellar exploration program. -In 2025, the Russian Republic successfully ends the political disagreements with Ukraine and Poland, causing for the first time in more than 100 years peace in the Slavic region. To the unknown, for those who dare to search for it, after all, that is what humanity does best, inventing and exploring, curiosity is our biggest driving force, the driving force of our civilization. German Imperial soldier of the 21st century Also, My Little Pony was created by the German toy company Hasbro, and the My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic was produced by Starreich Studios, with its first chapter being set in a group of six ponies that fought Alptraum Mond, who wanted to create in Equestria an eternal Stars and Stripes Night!!!!! will our valiant heroes defeat it? ight imma head out > Chapter I > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bogotá, Colombia, 1943 The metropolis was beaming in life, the streets are crowded, and cars are roaming through the busy morning streets of the big city. Several people were in the large constructions for the new skyscrapers throughout the whole place. Even though today was a different day, as almost every single person is dressed in their daily suits were all listening to the public radios in several stores around the corners of the buildings, as an important new was being transmitted throughout the whole nation, something that would change their future apparently. "We will not let this unprovoked attacks...." a voice coming from the radios became the centre of attention of everyone all around the city, hearing closely each one of the words coming from the president of their nation, inspirational to many persons, even though, criticised for being too militaristic. A dark Packard Clipper car came to stop near the large panopticon building with a sign engraved reading National Museum. A woman with blue eyes being dressed with a grey hat and a green dress exists the car with a tall man dressed in a black suit following her. "FRANCE AND JAPAN DECLARE WAR ON COLOMBIA AND THE UNITED STATES!!!!" a short boy with several newspapers in his arm is shouting while holding one of the exemplary newspapers in his other hand, with a title written in black letters that are engraved under the El Tiempo newspaper logo, the most important one of the nation. The woman sighs with tiredness, driving one hour and a half from the airport can cause a sleepy mood in anyone. Her face is changed to one of disgust when she smells the artificial odours from the metropolis. "It smells like.... chlorine... and sweat," she says with disgust, looking at the tall man following her from behind, "it is always this way" The guard looks her with a small grin planted in his face, "you'll get used to it" She sighs again, now an angry frown appearing on her face. Passing through the large doors of the place, two guards receive them by asking the papers of the woman. Clara Barton, a Canadian historian has achieved several great recognizations throughout her life, being one of the most famous as well, since she lived to keep record of almost every single part of the First Weltkrieg, and following it, she became a very famous author for her book The Union Flag, where she described the process of the British revolution in 1925 and how Oswald Mosley and his totalist party won the British chairman elections in 1936. The two guards nod, as they proceed to check Clara's bag looking among the few things she brought for this trip. One of the guards proceeds to look at Clara with a frown, "madam, let me guide you with Mr Ramirez" A trace of rage appears inside Clara's mind, in the sense of help, "I am fully capable of getting to the place without you helping me, so if you could tell me where his office is located, that would be of much help." The guard changes his face to one of curiosity, looking at her bodyguard, he tries to find a reason of why she is acting like this. Her bodyguard replies with a shrug, which could be translated to 'not reasoning with her conclusions.' The guard looks at Clara again, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm afraid that I cannot do that right now, as the country is going through a very....... um, interesting situation, so we could suspect of spies almost everywhere, don't you think so?" "But-" "That means that," the guard continued harshly, "you will have to go with me whether you want to or not, consider them...... just as security procedures." Clara was going to answer him, but she gave up on continuing a fight that wasn't leading anybody to nowhere, so she simply gave a defeated nod while sighing. The guard proceeds to guide them towards the offices of the museum. They climb some stairs, getting to a long corridor. Passing through various wooden doors with names written on the windows of these doors. Finally getting to her destiny, the guard says goodbye and immediately goes directly towards his post again, leaving only Clara with her bodyguard outside of one of the doors. She gives a long breath, as she begins to open the door, with her bodyguard following her. A black man in a white suit smoking a cigar is writing something on a typewriter. He glanced at the frowning woman, giving her a smile in return. He stopped writing when she sat on the chair with a little bit of exasperation. The man looked at her eyes in a curious way, before speaking out loud. "Thank you, it is also a pleasure to see you Clara, how's family doing up there, " he began, setting the cigar apart. Clara remains silent momentarily before responding in a sternly, "I'm not here to mess up Mister Ramirez, so I want you to get straight to the point" An amused face appears on his face, glancing at the tall guard standing behind her, a frightening glare being accompanied in his seriousness. Jose Ramirez recuperates quickly from the trance of thoughts, as only that woman has the real capacity of shutting his mouth, being him the director of the American History Board, with its current HQ in Bogotá. Ramirez stands up in his full height, stretching a little bit and letting go a tired yawn. Clara, in her current state of disgust that she is having at the moment, becomes very impatient while seeing how the human simply forgot about her last question, well apparently if I may add. Tapping her left foot on the floor, she finally lets her exasperation to get out, "if you're here to play one of your stupid games with me, I'll better just pack off and go back to Windsor, " she stops a moment from her harsh tone, muttering afterwards, "at least there I know that I will not die from the odour of the place." Ramirez snickers, responding with a grin, "no, you want to get straight to the point, you will get straight to the point, " he taps his chin as if he is looking for the correct words for answering the flustered woman, "you will need to follow me then." Ramirez proceeds to pick up his hat that was over his desk. He glances again at Clara, who is only looking at him with a sign of rage, must be for the way that the current reunion is being developed. "Wha-" she lost her breath for a second before continuing, "this was supposed to be a short conversation Mr Ramirez... I-I don't have the whole day, " she finishes by crossing her arms in a disapproving way. Ramirez takes another cigar from a red box, putting it in his mouth and then proceeding to light it on, "you see, there are certain details about this special case that cannot be taken lightly if you want much better-detailed information, " he pauses for a second, walking near Clara who was still on the chair, "so the best decision is coming with me, I know how much information about this.... 'theory' could be taken lightly." Clara frowns for a second, before changing her face to one of curiosity and even a trace of amusement, "who said that this was a theory, Mr Ramirez" He keeps staring at Clara silently before responding with a grin on his face, "exactly....... who said that it was a theory, " he then proceeds to walk towards the door, Clara looking at him intensely as her bodyguard puts himself in front of her only for preventive protection, something that Ramirez notices which causes him to chuckle softly to himself. "So, are you coming?" Ramirez says opening the door and waiting for her to follow him. She looks at him with a relentless frown, before sighing, and jumping off the chair, walking towards Ramirez. He grinned as she passes throughout the door with her bodyguard following. Looking around his office for some seconds, he lowers his head and exits the room, closing the door in the process. "Now I like that attitude miss, you know how much scientific and historical progress we are going to make," Ramirez begins while walking close to her, as she simply keeps looking at him with a little bit of hate. Releasing a breath, she begins to walk behind Ramirez. He leads them through various corridors, the news was being transmitted from the radios with many people inside various rooms of the place hearing the important news. What happened you may ask? well then, the French Commune signed a pact three months ago with the Japanese Empire, in which they will ally in the efforts of trying to defeat the Entente. As one of the major operations coordinated by the Internationale says, that over one week ago the Japanese Empire attacked the United States military base in Hawai, Pearl Harbor, causing a massive discontent and a fever for war again in the American population, even though, they were still in the process of recuperating from the Second American Civil War. As for Colombia, the French Commune tried to launch an invasion of the Panama Canal, as it was being controlled by the Republic of Colombia, something that became a defeat for the French in the Americas. Today, the president of Colombia is announcing his intentions of joining the Entente into the war of defeating the syndicalist threat, beginning the mobilization of the Colombian army, all marching towards the same cause. They go down some stairs, getting towards a brand new sector of the building while going underground, pausing for a second when a soldier asks for identification again. Ramirez leads them through a long corridor, as she occasionally glances to the soldiers guarding various doors in the place. She looks inside one of the rooms, Clara gets to see women typing on typewriters, as people are also shouting inside of the place with various military officials looking mountains of papers on several desks. The complexity of the situation leaves dumbfounded for short seconds at the sight. "Quite of a day right?" Ramirez says while looking down at the soldier over his shoulder, the face she shot her was enough to kill a bird from one shot. "Did I ask something?" she says in an enraged manner, quite rude. Her personality can be considered as being very conservative to herself, sometimes becoming even rude with many of the people that go to talk to her, a casual thing on her, at least for the ones that really know her well. Ramirez simply ignores the question and keeps talking, "just incredible to look how the world is probably falling apart, we are all looking for that light at the end of the tunnel, don't you think that Miss Clara?" She looks at him again, but this time not with a frown, but with more of, a saddened face, like if the words he said suddenly pushed her off the way she was talking and acting, "I guess..." The three arrive at the door that they were looking for, with the words Projection Room engraved in a steel plate against the wooden door. Ramirez talks to one of the soldier guarding that place as Clara just glances all around the corridor, and agitation sentiment is felt, as in the way of a kind of anguish and fear as they crawl the concrete and metal walls. The soldier nods when Ramirez talks to him about his intentions, making him open the door of the place with his hands. The yellow lights coming from the inside of the room give a sentiment of heat to the cold corridor. Ramirez backs off from the door a bit, as he points with his arm towards the interior of the room slowly, looking at her with a grin. "Ladies first Miss Clara, " he says in a secular way, as she simply gives him a 'pistol'. She enters with tiredness, encountering a small room with various seats made of a brownish leather, with a type of soft material covering the walls of the room, and there, a man was expecting her. "Miss Clara, it is finally a pleasure to meet you," the man with a long beard said when he saw her, as she begins to get near him in a slow but cautious was, her bodyguard following her steps. "And you are..." Clara says expecting the answer. The man glances to Ramirez with amusement and then looks at her again, "my name is Jose Santacruz, the director of the operation," he stops before continuing again, "please take a seat Miss Clara." She hesitates, responding again in a harsh manner, "I want to get straight to the point Mister Santacruz, please don't play with this as others do around here, " she looks directly at Ramirez, which is smoking another cigar while leaning against the walls. "Of course Miss Clara, but remember the ones that do not wait always fail," the man says, leaving that thought inside of Clara's head. She was going to answer him, but the lights of the room suddenly turned off, as a projection appeared reflected towards a white wall. If I add more details to the room, it looks like a miniature cinema, the seats being positioned to look towards the projection. Ramirez takes a seat in one of the front chairs, smiling as he keeps smoking his cigar. Song for the projection. Upon the wall, the video starts in black and white, old hieroglyphs are the first to be shown, from the Sumerians to the Egyptians, in re-enactments of the great construction of man. Afterwards, they begin to show different drawings from books of historical arts, both paintings and sneak classifications, in which the powerful Roman Empire is shown fighting against the Carthaginian Empire, soldiers against the soldiers. Various scenes from history are also shown as well, from the union of the French legions to the declaration of the German Empire. This images suddenly when the logo of the Monarch Project appears. The American, Colombian and Imperial German flags are seen on different warships. Gas tests, doctors of death, and other appearances under the Project Monarch name are displayed. The world map is then shown with different points indicated, one of these being the Colombian Amazon, the Iranian Mesopotamian zone in the Sultanate of Egypt on their occupation of the Ottoman Empire, Southern Greece in Kalamata to be more specific, and in the north of Africa near Morocco. Evidence of different weapons is also shown, as various expeditions from the German Empire to the British are shown since the colonial ages, people entering jungles, deserts and forests looking for something, for myths, things that could be real or not. In the middle of the video, curiosity is finally seen on Clara, in which she asks the man sitting above her something in a calm voice, "what all of this supposed to be?" The man is silent for some seconds, with the video still being showed with various secret tests made for a new superweapon, the Atomic Bomb. He sighs, as he scratches his chin with his hand, thinking of what to say, "it is the future, Miss Clara, this planet is simply so confusing for everyone, don't you think so?" She gives him a confused look, "ironic don't you think so?" Ramirez finally talks again, "every singly part of our history has certain..... how could I say it, " pausing for a second, he looks back at Clara with a serious face, "confusions, parts that simply don't make any kind of sense, especially if we are talking about mythology." At that point, the video begins to show Mythological creatures in various documents of various scientists in history, in which ancient mythological creatures from Greece like pegasus and unicorns appear, and in the second part, the video shows the gods of the Ancient Greeks and the Norse one, with their supposed powers that protect the regions of the planet. Although something began to look very strange, the fact that there were scientific classifications of several of them, including the famous Godzilla monster, the Manticores, and the Leviathan, written by authors like Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, and others who supported certain ideas. "I don't get it," Clara says raising her voice, "my research, everything that was believed to be true... Monarch is real..." she says, looking at the two of them with suspicion planted on her face. Santacruz looks at her with a frown, ready for any conclusion she may give from her next words, which are a simple, "yes" She puts a hand on her mouth, her heart starts pounding, a combination of fear and curiosity goes through her body, "but ... it's just a theory" Clara gets down from her seat and begins to approach Santacruz. Ramirez and her bodyguard look at each other seriously, Ramirez giving him a nod. The bodyguard leaves the room, leaving the three of them alone. "It is not, they have been working to discover certain things... things that really interest us, such as your research, for example, a real document of the topics that have been researched and conducted by the Monarch organization, " Ramirez says as he climbs the stairs to the position where Clara and Santacruz are. "Did you read my research?" she asks, the rude tone has completely evaporated from her voice. Everything is just confusing, a conspiracy, an organization that was designed to search for mythological things, things that you could only believe in fairy tales or in magical lands like those written in the books. "They did Miss Clara, and they found it very interesting, especially the part where you showed the magnetic interruption in the Amazon," Santacruz told her, his voice soft and at the same time serious. The video finishes showing several soldiers marching through the jungle, every single one of them with advanced weapons, imagine it as a type of an advanced laser weapon. The lights inside the room turn on again, as the projector turns off. Silence becomes dominant in the room, like if everyone was waiting for someone to talk. Clara is in total confusion, even causing her to sweat a little bit. Someone in that room has connections to one of the most secretive organizations of the world. The man jumps off his seat, beginning to walk slowly, his age being noticeable. Standing in front of her, he releases a long breath before talking again, "we sent an expedition to the Amazon, based in the location you found of course, that has given.... some incredible discoveries." "You already sent an expedition?" Clara says raising an eyebrow, looking at his old brown eyes with shock. A smile cracks on his mouth, responding to her in a secular way, "indeed, the crew departed from Leticia one week ago with the help of Colombian soldiers of course, into finding what you called the supposed 'rising sun city' popularly known as-" "El Dorado, " she says while breathing heavily, in all of her years of research and going to dangerous places all around the world, Clara never believed that actually someone was going to take her work on mythology seriously. She slowly begins to the realization of something, why would they want to find that? "But, " she continued, "for what purpose, may I ask." Ramirez and Santacruz glance at each other before Ramirez responded to her question while bending down, reaching an eye to eye level. "For history, even if it turns that it isn't real," Ramirez begins with a frown in his face, slowly smoking again, "we have the reason of the doubt, the one that tells you what can be real and what cannot be real miss, and that is what we are going to find out......" KAISERREICH: A NATIONAL DRAMA The epic opera from another world Amazon Jungles, Colombia Song for the scene A group of several explorers and soldiers walk through the hot jungles. The humidity is felt on the skin of the persons as they slowly walk through the density of the forest. Leading them, a man dressed in a white shirt, an outback fedora, a long sleeve tactical shirt, some khaki Pants, an army canvas web belt, and also along with some brown lumber boots with a brown genuine leather jacket. He is using a machete to make a way between the branches of the trees. Following him there are two men with cameras, documenting the expedition, and finally, in the back, 7 soldiers from the national army are following them, dressed in a uniform that was designed to serve in the jungle. The sounds of the animals are heard loud and clear around the entire sector, from insects to birds in the trees. As they entered deeper into the hot the jungle, the sun begins to be scarcer thanks to the giant trees covering them. In a moment, the sound of a waterfall can be heard, the man makes his way towards the root of the sound, finding a long mountain of tributary stone, but with a very curious detail, the gigantic stone that is in front of them has the shape of a head, water coming out of the eyes, falling into the lake below of the rock, with some very ancient hieroglyphic writings written by the indigenous people upon the lips of the giant face, but these writings are all pointing to the mouth of the rocks, which apparently, leads to a cave inside the mountain. The man breathes deeply before speaking, "gentlemen, this is it." The sound of cameras snapping rapidly is heard, as a man with a map approaches the man. "Sir, I think it is indicated to continue inside the cave," says the man while pointing to the mouth of the place with one of his arms. The man looks carefully at the mouth of the place, "I need only a small group to accompany me, the others have to stay outside to scout just in case we get in troubles with the natives. The man nods, as he goes to the back of the group for talking with the others who were following them, trying to find who will steel themselves and accompany them inside of the cave. To the curiosity of the man, he begins to approach the stream that divides the small sandbank from the other side where the stone is located. One of the interesting things about the place are the two great lakes next to where the eyes of the stone are, it is as if someone had built all of this with magic, precision and every detail of the beautiful place, no need to hide that fact with hesitation. The man returns with three soldiers, and only one of the reporters, which makes the man turn to see the group that decided to accompany them, "gentlemen, we must be prepared for what we may find inside the darkness, we are not going to succumb to fear, we have already gone through too much to surrender at this point so .... are you with me !!!! " Those in the group scream in a sense of jubilation, which makes the man smile, and jumps the little stream to the other side, "then let's finish this once and for all" The group also jumps the stream and begins to walk behind him, going directly towards the mouth of the cave. Entering the cave, some stone stairs lead them into the interior of the earth. Lanterns are the only thing lighting the place, as they highlight the beauty of the indigenous paintings in every single rock in the cave, including the floor and ceiling, showing epic scenes of their gods and apparently, scientifical information by the indigenous people. Several are impressed by the beauty of the interior, although disgusted by the excess of cobwebs on the ceiling and in some parts of the floor, in addition to the scorpions and snakes that have quickly passed in front of them, causing a halt each time when they got to see one of these animals. Going deeper into the ground, the rare lack of oxygen is felt, since the humidity and heat combined only make them more agitated each step they take while going down, while a strange sound bounces off each wall, almost like an echo, as if some force was saying something to them in an ancient language. "WHAT THE FUCK!!!" one of the soldiers screams when he sees the size a snake that is literally crawling on the roof, as if gravity had suddenly disappeared in the area. Everyone stares attentively at the disturbing image, the body of the reptile could be described as the size of a very large dog, with red spots engraved on his long body. The man leading them gulps in fear. The snake's body disappears, a signal that causes the group to quickly descend, increasing their steps down the stairs. Fear is dissipated in them as they enter a gigantic room, maybe of the size of one of largest theatre in Europe, with the sunlight gently entering through holes on the ceiling, where drops of water are also falling. But what makes the jackpot is the ruins on the site, the damp-worn stone houses that are strewn across the long room. In the centre of the place, there is a kind of a very large tower, but something that catches everyone's attention is the floor, because it is made of a sort of metal, not of a regular old mossy stone. The reporter reaches down and touches the floor, as he begins to gently wiping it with his hand, cleaning the dirt that has settled on it, revealing a golden colour that shines on his face thanks to the sunlight. "It....it... is gold!" the man says, causing the rest of the group to start cleaning the floor, finding the same glowing material. Cheers of joy are heard as everyone become sparkling from the sight, the soldiers use their military knives on the floor, trying to cut a part of the floor for themselves. The man leading them smiles, putting his hands on his head, "El Dorado," he says, approaching the tower-like structure with a smile, although the thought of happiness above is changed by one of curiosity as he sees a kind of a gateway in the centre of the structure, not being connected by a wall or leading anywhere. The man is very curious about this, looking at it, he manages to see something strange inscribed on the high surface of the arch. "Porta ad alium se orbem terrarum, " he reads, as uncertainty rises in his head because, "this is Latin.... what the hell" He tries to guess how a European language could get so deep into the jungle, deciding to call the same person, that for your information, he is the designed cartographer of the Monarch expedition, "Jackson, come here" The man raises an eyebrow at the source of the voice, as he begins to walk towards the place where the leader of the expedition currently is. He enters the large structure and notices how the tall man is looking to a sort of inscription in the top of a lonely passageway, or the way he could recognize it. The man notices the person, addressing him with a frown, "Jackson, do you know Latin right?" The man simply nods, looking at him with a questioning face. "Then you can read this?" the man says. The man starts to read the inscription with a little bit of weight, "a.... portal.... to... ano-ther wor...ld." At the finalization of his speech, the man lowers him to the ground, looking at the inscription with pure curiosity, "a portal to another world...." He touches again the inscription, trying to search something mysterious or rare on it, well, excluding the fact that there is a Latin inscription in the middle of the Amazon jungle. "What do you think it means Jackson...." he asks the man while still studying the inscription, even though, he continues with his short speech, "what the hell is something like this doing here" The man keeps gazing at the gateway, his wonder getting to communicate something to his mind. Getting closer to see the lines engraved in the borders of the weird thing, "maybe a connection" The man looks at the man with oddity, "a connection to where?" They both remain silent as the man reads another inscription in the frame of the gateway, also being composed in Latin. "To.... Equestria" > Chapter II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIE KAISER February 29, 2028, Berlin, German Empire An old 1980s car is going through the streets of Berlin, the moon is shining bright in the sky as some stars are visible. The man driving it has already passed through the principal highways, even though he was stranded in one for at least 1 hour thanks to the traffic of Berlin that wasn't in its best condition at that hour. He arrives at one of the old sectors of the city. Identical houses on the left side of the street, as for the right side a big park is located, being divided by metal bars. The man parks the car, turning it off, he exits it and puts some coins in the parking meter, after that he finally locks it and goes to walk towards a specific house, analyzing the numbers on the front of each one. ”Peter! how are you, ” a blonde woman announces happily at the sight of the tall bulky man. ”Erika, how you've been, ” Peter says after a kiss on the cheek. ”Oh the casual just the casual you know, but in general I will say that everything is just great” ”I’m.... happy to hear that, ” Peter responds with a half-smile. ”But hey come in, ” she offers with a smile, prompting Peter to enter her house gladly. In the interior of the house, a party is being hosted for the Ares V mars landing mission, being planned and executed by the United States NASA. As he passes through one of the corridors of the house, he arrives at the principal living room of the house where most of the people are currently located, an old 1940s German architecture characterizes the old structure. ”Peter, my friend, so you survived the traffic of Berlin, ” Leon Schulz says while hugging his friend. ”I wasn't going to miss this, a historic day indeed, ” Peter responds with a smile this time. ”A historic day for those Americans, ” an old grumpy voice said from behind, changing the attention of both Peter and Leon, ”they didn't do nothing, I fought dirty socialists in Nigeria, the Germans fought those socialists in the whole world!” he finishes with a frown. ”Grandpa we are talking about space, not war, remember, ” Leon responds to the old man. ”Huh?” the old man turns back to see his 30-year-old niece, ”oh Peter, nice to see you, ” Hans Schulz, the name of the man said with a changed grin, his current age is 80 years old, he fought in the Nigeria War, caused when Mittelafrika finally ended in 1953, prompting various new nations in the continent, as in the case of Nigeria it started with a divided nation, a part wanting to create a socialist nation with the model of the defeated French Commune, and the other part wanting to make a republic with the model of the Republic of Colombia, and another part wanting to reinstall the German rule over not only Nigeria but the whole middle Africa. ”Nice to see you too Mr. Schulz, ” Peter responds before Leon presents the rest of the people in the room. There are several people, 14 located in the living room, various German military officers are also present at the scene of the place, everyone waiting for the supposed historic moment of the first humans to walk on another planet, this being Mars. ”and here Peter let me present you Anon Hofmann, one of the astronauts of the Gerechtigkeit 12, ” Leon states presenting him in the kitchen. The retired astronaut is drinking beer in the kitchen, with the refrigerator door wide open, and a German song in the background coming from an obvious old radio on the kitchen wooden table. “Wow.... it is an honour to meet you... you are a national hero, ” Peter says while shaking his hand with the astronaut, he was in his late 40s I might add. The Gerechtigkeit program, also known as the project Gerechtigkeit was the fifth human spaceflight carried out by the Reichsraumkommission (RRK), which succeeded in the first crewed flight to Venus, making a complete orbit. The missions that carried out this dangerous task were the Gerechtigkeit 12 in 2021, the 13 in 2022, and the 14 in 2024, after that the program was cancelled, even though, it originally had the vision of landing humans on Venus, but after various scientific complications, it was cancelled and changed to only doing orbits around our neighbour planet. ”Nein the honour is all mine, you know, Leon told me you are planning to join the tests for the Brüderlichkeit program, ” he responds to Peter with a grin. ”Yeah... yeah, even though, I think that program is more focused on military advancements that in space exploration, you know, maybe I'll be like... the guinea pig for the Luftwaffe, ” Peter declares jokingly. ”We are all guinea pigs, my friend, ” the retired astronaut begins saying, ”guinea pigs with the mission of making the things that were considered impossible into possible, ” he releases a dry laugh with a small frown on his features being present, ”this corrupt government.... they aren't even trying anymore” Peter raised an eyebrow at the statement. ”Trying what, ” Peter asks, with a trace of curiosity in his voice. ”Trying to make history, trying to do the things that we did 53 years ago, we don't have any focus, no mission, just see those nationalist Americans, even with all their errors they have something right, they just can't stop dreaming, ” the retired astronaut concludes, leaning a little bit on the chair’s back with crossed arms, sniffing and shaking his head lightly, in way of disapproval in his thoughts. ”Landing on the moon is no longer the gem of the space race, ” Leon states while closing the door of the refrigerator, with irritation on his face for the fact that the refrigerator’s door was wide open and no one had the initiative to close it, this house is his house after all, making him the one that pays most of the bills of the old, rusty house. ”No, but landing on Mars will probably be that next one, ” Peter remarks with a proud voice, causing an amused look on both persons present in the place ”What, now you are proud of the Americans, ” the retired astronaut proclaims somewhat flippantly. ”Nope, I’m proud of humanity, ” Peter replies while taking one cigarette from the box in his pocket and putting it on his mouth while looking for his lighter in his caramel top coat. The retired astronaut sniffs again, ”which by the way is so divided don't you think so” ”Yeah...” Peter begins, ”sometimes I think that we are in the darkest timeline of the world” ”Darkest timeline?” Leon speaks intrigued. ”Yeah, I mean, what if there was like an alternate Earth where we reached the moon first, or where the French would have won World War Two, or if we had loosed the First World War, ” he concludes, lighting up his cigarette after that. ”You know, you have described the worst possible scenarios for this planet on those cases, well the only one that would have been good is about reaching the moon first, ” Leon reasons, causing him a short laugh on the thought of that. ”Do you know what is my opinion, ” the retired astronaut talks again, ”I think that we are in the worst world possible, this planet is decaying, the people are decaying, the only reason this county survived is for the money, without it... this ohhh so great Kaiserreich would have fallen years ago.” ”Could I ask you a question, ” Peter begins while looking at the retired astronaut, with his cigarette on his fingers while blowing the inhaled smoke, ”in what country were you born?” He first responds with a curious face and then with a frown, ”what kind of question is that” Peter sniffs, ”because for me you talk like a retired French Communard.” ”Huh, maybe, but you talk like a Liberal” ”Is that good or bad, ” Peter asks rhetorically. The retired astronaut takes a drink from his beer again, it looks like if he forgot of his beverage for the conversation they were having, ”both, it's both good and bad, ” he releases another dry laugh, ”it is better than this authoritarian supposedly democratic government, the Prime Minister will always do as much garbage as they want.” ”Dad!” a 10-year-old child enters the kitchen, running while calling the attention of his father, ”they are preparing to walk on Mars!!! come on!” ”Okay okay, going going, ” Leon says while being dragged by his son, ”well gentlemen if you want to come you are gladly invited so.” ”Dad!! why are you so slow!” the kid shouts from outside the kitchen still dragging his dad by the arm, who is trying to stop the excitement of the child. “Well, I want to see this, ” the retired astronaut replies while standing up from his chair, stretching his back a little bit before proceeding to walk out of the kitchen. ”Damn, I wouldn't mind being up there, ” Peter mumbles before smoking again with a frown and a disappointed face. He sighs tiredly, taking the cigarette and putting it on water, turning it off, letting a smoke trail in the place, he stretches a little bit his arms and exited the kitchen towards the living room for contemplating the historic scene. The room, full of people, a flat tv is placed upon the wall, various photos of German lunar and space missions are all around the place, as in the tv, the logo of the NASA appears on the screen with a small picture of a radio wave. Transmission for the preparations for the mission could is heard, first in English, and then in a German translated one. The NASA logo changes for various videos of large crowds around the world, London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Bogotá, and Madrid are showcased in their principal areas. Peter Michael Bismarck, born in an Imperial Germany, his father was German, his mother was French. 24 years old is his current age, deep marine blue eyes, brown hair, 6’1 is his height. The TV image suddenly changes to showcase the ladder of the lander. A reddish background is seen, as well other features that can be compared with the Mojave desert, reddish rocks, with traces of grey, the quality of the camera is pretty good, 720p you could classify it with. Chants of silent excitement at the sight of the red planet surface, when suddenly... ”There it is!” a voice exclaims at the sight of the astronaut descending from the ladder, everyone holds their breaths, as she slowly descends to the foot of the lander, the camera following her by a sensor. The feminine voice concludes, she looks at the floor intently for a couple of seconds, like if she is scanning something when suddenly she gives a small jump on the lander’s foot. A beep sound concluded the sentence, and quietness suddenly ruled the place once again, and not only that, the car engine sounds over the whole Berlin metropolitan area were suddenly in standby, waiting for something. The German translator translates the words, with a shaky voice, excitement present on it. The astronaut raises her left leg, and planted it on the Martian floor, letting it there for some seconds before speaking again to the radio. ”Inherit this one!!” the retired astronaut yelled with disgust and amusement while pointing at a part of his body. Groans are heard after his statement, he is not sober. The astronaut begins to walk on the surface, making everyone hold their breaths solemnly, as a German commentary voice is heard. ”The first humans to walk on Mars are American, this is both a great day for humanity, but a shocking day for the whole Reich, ” the voice ended, with sadness on its voice, ”the Kaiser will make a statement shortly” Groans are once again heard at the statement of the Kaiser, we could say that the parliamentary monarchist is not the most popular ideology in Germany, it is a..... ”Death idea, ” Peter says quietly to himself, the significance of hearing the Kaiser again is not good or bad, maybe more bad than good. The American voices are silenced, and the German Imperial anthem begins to sound, on the left corner of the live transmission of the Mars mission the Imperial flag appears. ”Oh my goodness gracious, ” someone in the crows of people says disappointedly, as the prospect is not as bright as depicted. The anthem stopped, a voice is again heard. ”The great Kaiser Ferdinand II of the German Empire, Sudwestafrika, Karolinen, Bismark-Archipel, and Malta will now give his imperial statement” ”Huh? oh long live the Kaiser!!” Leon’s grandparent exclaims as he is one of the only persons that still supports the government's rule of Germany thanks to the times he lived most of his life. The Kaiser gives his first words, ”Our glorious Germany has lost many battles in the last years since the end of the Second Weltkrieg and the fall of the French Commune and the Union of Britain as the syndicalist tyranny was eradicated from the Earth’s face, as well as our national pride in the dark times, my father fought the battle of reestablishing our great Empire once again across this world, something he hoped and wished for our great Empire, as our Christian men fight the battles to accomplish this, something that let us achieved great goals in our times, like landing on the moon and orbiting Venus, now a great task awaits our county, they may have beaten us two times in a row, but we are not going to give up, a millennial discovery will be made, thus making the German Empire once again great on its full might, may God bless this nation, and may God bless our next missions into the last frontier of our curiosity, space, as the Kaiserreich will seek new discoveries on it, a legendary mark in the history of the world and of the German people, thank you for your attention, and may God be with you, ” the German Emperor finishes, making the room immediately a place full of discussion and critics to the German Emperor. “YOU ARE RUINING THE COUNTRY!!!” a voice coming from the back exclaims with rage. “What are you saying about our Kaiser!!! you stupid liberal scumbag!!!” Another voice defends. “Liberal!!! conservative of satan!!!” “Defend your own country, right!!!” Peter groans tiredly, looking at the television, he contemplates how the other astronauts are descending from the Martian Lander, going at the same velocity of his crew companion. ”Someday.....” Peter mumbles to himself, as the constant childish fight and shouts are still going on the room. He looks at his clock, seeing that it is already 10:15, he decides that it a good time to go now. The fight that is going on in the room is becoming unacceptable to him. Leaving peacefully the living room, he closes the house principal door, trying to be as cautious as he could be. The night is cold, Berlin is going through a temperature low record from the last three years, the winds enter through Peter’s coat, giving him a terrible feeling of a chilling cold on his body, the water droplets on the roofs of the houses are literally crystallized. He takes another cigarette from the box in his pocket, putting it on his mouth and lighting it out, smoking deeply, with a downcasted face. ”Peter!!!” a voice exclaims from behind. ”Leon? aren't you supposed to be with your kids and friends, plus you are losing the Martian landing, ” Peter replies to his old friend. ”Ummm yes, well actually no, ” Leon states shakily. Peter raised an eyebrow at his voice tone. ”Do you want to go for some drinks?” Leon and Peter decided to go to the local bar of that zone, that is miraculously opened judging by the circumstances that are happening at the moment, even though, the place is full of people watching the tv with the same transmission of the Martian landing Peter is smoking while drinking whiskey, and Leon only ordered a beer. ”Tell me what's happening Peter, ” Leon begins, looking at the bitter expression that Peter has remained with since he arrived at his house. ”What-what are you talking about, ” Peter asks shakily. ”Man, you can't lie to me, you look if like you were dumped from your house in a literal way, ” Leon starts. Peter releases a sigh, ”I tried Leon....” ”Try what?” Peter raised his head slightly before answering, ”I tried for the RRK....” A silence elapsed for some seconds before Leon could respond again, ”you weren't accepted” Peter answers that with a short laugh before talking, ”yeah, and guess what, it wasn't only me, there were other 10 persons from 13 that were also crossed out, ” Peter finished with a frown. ”Only 3 people entered the astronauts’ program?” Leon asks with confusion in both his face and his voice. He sniffs while shaking his head. “Yep.... and guess who these people were, sons of politics, one of them is the baby of the mayor of Nuremberg, ” Peter said in disappointment, ”what I am saying is..... it is that isn't even them, it is this corrupt German government..... even though I still incredibly respect Kaiser” Leon raises an eyebrow at his statement, almost like if someone has just said to him the craziest thing on Earth. ”Someone could kill you if you say that out loud in the street, ” Leon remarks jokingly. Peter smiles half-hearted, with regret being conveyed by his body language. “Someday......” 2 years later The place is shaking heavily, darkness fills it, various sounds of metal flashing into each other can be heard. Peter says into his helmet microphone. He is currently in a silver suit, the Iron Cross on his left shoulder, and the German flag on his right one, a helmet with a golden visor covering up completely his face, making it impossible to see it. His blue eyes are intensely focused on the controls of the panel. a controller of the mission said to Peter. He begins to lift the supersonic aircraft, the jet is shaking violently, his adrenaline is flowing throughout his body, his heart rate is incrementing dangerously, below the jet the clouds cover the surface, the supersonic speed is so high that even with special protection in his ears, the sound is ringing on them like if you are close to the speakers on a concert. Every single second the jet levitates more, and just in a blink of eyes the atmosphere is visible, the jet shakes violently to the right, as a red light activates accompanied with a loud beeping sound. The G-X3 is a new military craft with the function of travelling at supersonic speeds using plasma engines, instead of normal fuel, it was designed by various groups of engineers and scientists at both the RRK and the Luftwaffe, the latter if some people don't know what it is then you would probably know it by the name of the German Air Force. The craft also has several defence systems, designed to bombard in mid supersonic speed, as well as getting to defend itself using automatic weapons on the jet’s nose. The test of the aircraft is under the name of ’Brüderlichkeit’ in which the plasma engines will be also tested at high altitudes, and that is exactly what Peter is currently struggling to do, as the engines are new, even though he is an experienced pilot. When he was 24 he was sent to Syria in various bombing missions coordinated by the German and the Colombian Air Force. The design looks like an old USAC, or the United States Air Corps, F-15, only a little bit larger and bulkier, from behind the craft you can see 4 engines located vertically, with a blue glow from them produced by the plasma engines. Peter remarks with a trace of fear to the microphone. After a short moment of silence, the control once again replies. the control responds to Peter’s emergency. Peter strands himself on the decision for a second, and with more confidence, he answers to the microphone. He looks to the advanced screen, and after configuring with difficulty some assets on it and deactivating the alarm, he raises his arm while sighing, and flips a switch, immediately initiating the craft to travel with more velocity, rising sharply towards the heavens, a glowing cherry red appears on the nose of the craft from the heat in just a couple of seconds, the colour blue disappeared to be changed with a total jet-black at 150,000 feet. Peter repeats, watching at every single control carefully. At almost 6,500 kph, he passes the 170,000 feet and Peter cuts the engine, thrusting him against his harness... and into microgravity as for a moment, everything around him just becomes quiet. <190,000 feet, no radio reception, setting instruments to a high altitude flight response> Peter says, trying to communicate with the control down in Germany. Peter begins to press various buttons on the console, as a logbook passes near him floating, for the reason that he is currently in the suborbital of the planet, as high as the first Mercury flights for the United States and as high also as for the Wilhelm flight for the German Empire as well, so yeah, things float, and the view is pretty good too though. Peter looks out through the window of the cockpit, the Earth is barely seen. The craft slowly begins to rotate, changing its view again to the darkness that overflows the universe, and the only light that illuminates that dark space is the Moon. Peter stares at it while the craft slowly rotates, changing its view again to Earth for bare seconds. <207,000 feet, top view, looking out, you can surely see a beautiful landscape from here> Peter announces again cheerfully. Everything is quiet again, he turns his attention to the fuel limiter gauge as the G-X3 slowly falls back to earth, the altitude gauge starting spinning rapidly while the plane shakes with intensity, causing the previous alarm to sound again, alerting about the same problem in the tank, even though Peter tries to stay focused on the fuel limiter, creeping towards 2.5 in fuel, he looks right into the cockpit window and sees a liquid pouring from one of the wings, this immediately causes Peter to alert himself, steeling himself mentally for the worst-case scenario. It seems out of place, Peter tries to ignore the gravity that takes hold of him, pressing forward against his seat straps. After a moment of waiting he realizes that the radio may not be connected to the mission control, he takes a deep breath, talking again into the radio. Again, at Peter's understatement... the plane bounces violently, leaning on the left side as if it is trying to gain some sort of stability. Peter holds with extra force the control lever, trying to turn right with energy, the altitude gauge spins down past 120,000, the black sky is fading away to the blue, as he falls furiously back into the atmosphere. the radio voice finally breaks in, prompting Peter to do exactly what he was told to do, with a lot of concentration, sweating, and with partial nerves. After doing that he begins to push the control lever with difficulty, eyes fixed intensely on the fuel limiter, failing to notice that the plane isn’t turning... the altitude gauge is holding at 115,000 feet, and gradually, it begins to climb again towards the skies..... 116, 117, 118... the sky turns again from the blue to a chilling black, and the shaking stops again. Peter reviews several times the controls, pressing again one of with agility, switching and trying to stop the altitude effect, the gauge is rising. the control says nervously. Peter looks again to the gauge, it shows that his current altitude is already 200,000 feet, setting various alarms on the craft, he begins to sweat more intensely, his breathing is loud and noisy, as he can feel the supersonic speed pushing him forward, and with all of his forces trying to control it. The radio begins to sound like a static, signifying that he is alone in this one, the gauge suddenly shows 310,000 feet, toggling various new alarms, watching another gauge, the pressure in the cockpit begins to increase, toggling Peter to quickly press various buttons for controlling the rotors manually, and in a blink of eyes again, the supersonic speed ceased, making Peter release a sigh, as slowly controls aircraft again. Earth is seen on its full might, the European north coast is visible, from Wales to northern Poland, with traces of clouds covering the parts of the Old World. Peter begins to ignite the engines again, as the altitude gauge begins to descend. A green light activates on the fuel tank, making him ignite the supersonic speed again, causing the craft to again shake violently. Peter begins to become very anxious as he sees scratches from the velocity trails, meaning that the descent to Earth has just begun. Fire surrounds the craft, causing the interior to be dangerously heating up, an alarm of temperature sets off, indicating that the current temperature inside the cockpit is 41 centigrades, causing him to sweat furiously, trying to support the heat inside it. The radio enters right again, with a worried voice asking. Peter without waiting more time he responds with an affirmative, making that the controller to release a sigh. The sky turns again into the blue colour, the fire disappears, and the altitude gauge is now going at descending levels. He turns again his attention to the pressure gauge, seeing how instead of normalizing it's decreasing, causing him to swear in middle air. Wind can be heard below the craft, passing furiously by it. In a moment, Peter loses partially the control of the craft, making it flip on the air. Below the cockpit window, mountains can be seen, causing Peter to pass a gulp in fear, the craft begins to fly at incredibly fast speeds, making the craft to pass the sound barrier, creating a furious explosion behind it as the jet travels faster. Every single control tickling, Peter sweating and praying to God in the middle of his heavy breath, waiting for the lever to release itself a bit. He flips again the craft with force, slowly making his commitment with difficulty, the plane dove into the mountains, being closer and closer to the surface at every second. He passes down with full velocity under mountains and forests. Peter finally stabilizes the craft to go into a landing position, the Lieberoser desert being the chosen one to land the aircraft, the velocity increases with power as he descends the aircraft while swearing at every moment of inclination to either side of the plane, Peter changes his view to the right, seeing that a cloud of smoke is blowing from the right wind, causing agitation in his body. Peters steels himself, and turns down the engines, trying to glide the engine-less plane farther than ever, and yes, the G-X3 was built to land without power... but frequently, a pilot has a lot more altitude to work, plus one of the engines was blowing smoke, leaning to the chance of an explosion, the plane moves back and forth, wind howling at 300 knots. Peter comments into the radio with a trembling voice. His eyes dart from the distant desert landing strip to the altitude gauge, dropping 20,000 feet per minute, and in a moment, smoke suddenly enters the cockpit through the instrument panel, blinding partially his view, making it harder to land the craft. ”Fuck!” Peter says under his breath, disappointed of the whole dilemma. the radio voice breaks in. The cockpit is filled with smoke... <....Pretty hard to tell from here...> Peter hits a button, WHOOSH!, the plane dumps peroxide and the smoke clears the cabin, but the view is hardly a relief. Peter pulls the lever to hold altitude, but he keeps dropping 9,000... 8500... 8000 feet... ”Fuck, it's getting close, ” Peter repeats to himself under his breath. the radio voice states. Peter reacts, annoyed by himself, he presses the ventral button, causing the ventral fin to blow off and the plane pitches forward, Peter struggles with the stick... 4,000, 3,500, 3,000 feet... Peter punches the flaps making the plane to buck up, reaching towards the runway, gravity pushes Peter again, intensity burning as the gauge begins to slow down, 2,000, 1,000, 500 feet... the plane passes past the edge of a pine, clearing the top of the ones that were close to it. the radio voice snaps in with exasperation. Peter pulls up hard, flaring the plane, nose up, skids down... the jet slams down with a bang, it skids roughly across the desert, shaking violently and leaving a smoke trace in the right flank, and just as he thought that it might break into a million pieces, Peter hits the back fin brakes, the jet goes into a controlled side, kicking up a huge cloud of dust, and tossing Peter across the cockpit....... until at last, the plane eases to a halt. For a moment, all is still, silent, Peter sighs relentlessly, as he leans forward and takes his helmet off. Peter simply states into the comms. the controller said in clear relief. another voice breaks in from the radio. As the dust clears, Peter speaks a small prayer with a cross in his fist, and after that, he looks out towards the fire trucks and other military vehicles in the distance rolling towards him, with various sirens activated on many of the vehicles. The long fuselage, the thick dorsal wedge fin, the RRK signage, and also the Iron Cross characterized the plane from outside. Various technicians surround the Peter’s G-X3, as jeeps with the Luftwaffe and Heer insignia are parked all around the large supersonic aircraft. RRK engineers open the cockpit, beginning to take readings off the instrument panel while Peter makes notes in his logbook, and after finishing, Peters climbs out of the cockpit. ”Think you set a couple of records, ” a familiar voice, Frederick Einstein, 30s, flight gear, walks up with Peter’s boss, Joe Walker, 40, thoughtful, Frederick grins, as Peter nods stiffly as a tech with a map calls out a list of information that must be retrieved from the craft, also with the firefighters present to eliminate any threat of explosion in part of the G-X3. ”Fred, you mind walking me through the release data?” Peter asks him. Fred nods and heads off to get the requested information, as Joe turns to Peter. ”You okay?” Joe asks, concerned, seeing Peter completely red and still sweating, he looks like he has been in a furnace for several hours. ”Uh-huh..... I don’t think anyone’s experienced that kind of atmospheric velocity, maybe we should replicate it in the sim--“ ”Peter, ” Joe simply says while looking at his pilot, interrupting him in the process. “Yeah?” ”You just did what Neil Armstrong made with the X-15, you experienced an atmospheric bounce, ” Joe responds with a trace of amazement. Peter simply sniffs, being present about what just happened could have killed him, but replicated one of the things that the most famous astronaut of all time experienced. Joe looks at him concerned, but Peter’s not going there, a flight surgeon who’s been waiting by the plane intercedes in their conversation. “Hey Joe, I gotta do his workup,” the flight surgeon announces, standing in the middle of the two. Joe nods, as Peter follows the surgeon off. Berlin Palace, Berlin, German Empire Highly decorative and theatrical style domes and colonnades made it higher, grander, more decorated, and more dramatic, the interior effect was often achieved with the use of painting combined with sculpture, the eye is drawn upwards, giving the illusion that one is looking into the heavens, clusters of sculpted angels and painted figures crowd the ceiling, the light was also used for dramatic effect, it streamed down from cupolas, and was reflected from an abundance of gilding as twisted columns are also often used, to give an illusion of upward motion, and other decorative elements occupied every available space. The Imperial Palace is majestic in every way of seeing it, its presence is remarkable in the whole European continent, the giant palace is also the political house of the Reichspakt, the political power in Europe. Through one of the majestic halls, a woman is charging a medical kit, walking past various paintings depicting German victories and German heroes. She turns right into a huge hall, it looks like the hall of mirrors in Versailles, only that more prominent and flows a more powerful vibe. At the end of the hall, known as the Bismarck Hall, there are two large wooden doors washed in gold, both were centred to form an Iron Cross, she opened the large doors, revealing a large office, decorated with gold and silver, at the end a wooden desk, with an Iron cross on its centre, there it was the man, the Kaiser Ferdinand II of the German Empire, son of the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand, and also the niece of the Kaiser Wilhelm II. He is smoking cigarettes with a whisky bottle on the left side of the table, from behind him there is the German Imperial Flag, and windows with their curtains closed, the old man has already white hair, the 86 year old man is considered the second most powerful person in the world, being the supreme commander of the Heer, of the German Imperial Army in English. He is just looking down, with a sad face planted on the German Emperor’s face. After hearing that the woman was entering, a small smile appeared on his face, being her the leading nurse of the German Emperor, assigned from the Munich Hospital, considered one of the best in the whole world, of course, we are talking about the Kaiser after all. The Kaiser stands up and sits on a sofa with a small desk in the centre of the office, setting up a go board. ”It's late, I had champagne, no no no, ” Marzia, the Kaiser’s nurse says after seeing the old man setting up the game, it is 11:13 PM. ”It's my birthday, we are - you had one glass-we're not breaking tradition on my birthday, ” the Kaiser responds irritated trying to fight the young nurse. Maria puts two vials full of a transparent liquid and a pill from the medic kit on the desk. ”Take your goddamn medicine and go to bed, ” Marzia speaks to the Kaiser, trying to cooperate with him. ”If you're going to put that vile shit in me you will have to earn it, on my birthday, ” the Emperor declares while setting the pieces, even though talking in a constant calmed tone in his voice. ”Alright old man, 8x8 game, you ready?” Marzia responds to him, with irritation but still in a calm soft tone. The Kaiser had just come from a major party, the party for the birthday of the Emperor of Germany, from gifts and food, were given in that long night, many European representatives went, including the president of the French Federal Republic, and various German governors and politics from the Reichstag and other important politics from different positions within the German Empire. She sits and they start clacking white and black stones on the board. ”Why can't I beat you at this, ” the Emperor says a little bit irritated but with playfulness on his voice. ”Game?” Marzia asks with curiosity on her voice. ”Oh uh-huh, ” the Emperor says after being snapped out of his thoughts. They play fast, and Marzia is obviously winning, being her an expert on the ancient Chinese game, as for the Kaiser, he has always been an admirer of the Chinese ancient culture, for that reason he tries to maintain positive relations with the Qing Empire by talking with each new elected prime minister. ”Elder abuse, I'm calling the Imperial Guard, ” the Kaiser says while laughing a bit. ” It's over, med and bed, ” Marzia replies while looking with caution at the medicaments on the table. ”Fair, ” the Kaiser answers with a half-smile. He rolls up his sleeve from the white formal shirt, revealing a pre-inserted catheter in his arm, causing her to hook the syringe up to the catheter and slowly injects him bit by bit while he talks. ”How was tonight?” Marzia asks, getting ready to inject the medicine into the Emperor of Germany. ”Tonight was... good, ” the Kaiser says with a changed disappointed tone. ”Because I know you were not forward to it, ” she responds with a compressive tone. ”No, but I did it, for trying to get in better relations with those bloody politicians of the Reichstag, think, everything I've given my family, I've done for this country, maybe without knowing it, to keep them beneath me, I should have what... maybe, I don't know, encouraged a law reform for the economy and the judicial system, you said I should be a father, not just a provider, and like you also said once, a king that cares for his people, just like my father did and my grandfather did, I am that bad of a politician?” She looks at him with compassion, “you are one of the greatest kings this nation has ever had, you have changed the lives of millions in your beginning, now you are.... simply old” He sniffs, “sometimes I think that being old is a curse” She stares at him for some seconds before responding, “or maybe..... it is actually a gift” ”I don't fear death but God I'd like to fix some of this before I go..... close the book with a flourish, I guess we'll see, ” the Kaiser finishes. ”I guess we will, ” Marzia says with a smile, ”Hey old man, you've had a long day wanna do drugs?” She loads the second syringe from the second vial. ”You mean the good stuff?” the Kaiser questions happily. ”Yeah but just a tiny bit, ” Marzia responds with a smile. ”Send me to Lala land, why did I wait till my mid-eighties to become a morphine user, what a schmuck, what a nud-nig, this stuff's the best, ” the Kaiser says happily as Marzia injected the morphine on his catheter. Pulling out the needle, a sudden sound startles both the Kaiser and Marzia, being the one of a door opening, revealing the oldest heir to the German monarchy, the Prince Erwin Victor of Prussia, the son of the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand II. ”Father, I wish to talk with you for a moment, ” he begins, all dressed in his Imperial uniform, looking at his father with concern. ”I’m going to go to sleep Erwin, what you need to say-” the Emperor couldn't finish, as he is interrupted again by his son. ”It is urgent and private, ” he glances at Marzia, who is looking at the situation with a very fearful expression. The Emperor is thoughtful for a second, before standing up, and going towards the place were Marzia is located. ”You are.... dismissed, ” he says while looking at her, which quickly grabbed the medical equipment, and before she could exit the door, the Kaiser takes her hand and leaves a small chip on it, Marzia without thinking anything else, exits the room in a hurry for the seriousness that the prince brought to the room. She closes the two large doors, leaving the Kaiser and the prince alone. ”Did you know that half the congress has been accused of corruption scandals....” the young price begins, giving circles around his father. ”Erwin, if it is about political criticism I don't want to hear it right now, ” the Kaiser responds with seriousness. ”Hmph, you were having a party while the country is on chaos, did you know that there are already movements about doing a coup d’ etat, and all being lead by the liberal parties, ” the price finishes, playing with some stuff that is scrambled around the imperial desk. ”Who sent you son, your party, or one of those disgraces of the Reichstag, ” the Emperor says, beginning to sound exasperated. ”It was my decision father, of no one else..... and you know I'm really beginning to think that you are sometimes, ” the prince says while scratching his back, ”insane” ”Insane? son” ”Yes insane, you and the party members have thrown the German economy into the garbage, for some reason those Colombians and Americans are destroying our power, for your lack of diplomacy, because you couldn't control the members of... yes the Reichstag, by your party also, father, ” he finishes in a secular way, trying to explain with a bit of sarcasm on his voice, as the conversation is causing that a furious frown to deepen on the Emperor’s face. ”I know that I'm sane for the first time in my life, Erwin, I know what are you going to ask me really for, to divide the Imperial Bank, but for what, making your party beneficiary, I sometimes think that you being my heir isn't the right decision, ” the Kaiser responds furiously, hitting the table with his fist. ”I’m going to stop this father, I’m going too-” ”I’m warning you!” the Kaiser answers with rage while raising his voice. The prince sighs deeply before laughing momentarily, ”I’m sorry father, but if we want to eliminate the corruption of this country, there must be a new leadership.....” In a blink of eyes, the Prince takes a silenced gun out from his elegant coat, shooting the Kaiser on his left rib, making him stumble. The Prince swiftly catches him on his arms, putting a hand on his mouth for trying to stop any attempt of shouting for help. ”I love you so much, father, being sincere, you have done great things for this nation, but the bad things outweigh the good ones, plus, you are too old, ” the prince states while looking at his father, who has already bloodstain on his white shirt, bleeding at increasing rates, at that moment the door suddenly opens, but the prince wasn't startled, but instead, the Kaiser is, because the tall man that entered his office is the Prime Minister of the German Empire, looking at him with a remorseful face, not saying a word. ”The old Emperors dead, long live the new emperor, ” the prince silently whispers to his father’s ears, as the words he just said became true, the Emperor stops breathing, falling onto his son’s arms. The prince slowly puts him on the floor, leaving him looking at the roof. He then proceeds to clean the weapon with a handkerchief, and after that, he places the finger of his dad all around the weapon, leaving the gun right next to the deceases emperor. ”Wow, I never thought-” the Prime Minister begins but is interrupted by the prince. ”It was necessary, I loved.... my father, but I love my country even more, ” he says while standing up, stretching a little bit before talking again, ”that is why it was correct, a change for a death” Both the Prime Minister and the Prince stared at the dead body before the Prince looked behind him and begins to shout, ”HELP!!! MY FATHER!!!” After waiting some seconds, various guards enter through the hall running, each one wearing a Pickelhaube on their heads, with assault rifles. The Imperial Guard entering the office, saw.... that the Kaiser is death. 2 years later TV footage of the Deutschland News Channel and Adolf Himmler, the DNC science editor appears behind a launchpad in the distance, his current location is the Otto Von Bismarck Space Center, in the Halmahera Island, part of the German Empire. ”Good morning, I’m the DNC science analyzer Adolph Himmler at Halmahera Island with a late status report on the Freiheit 7, as for one of the many questions that we are going to respond today is,“ how did scientists create a propulsion system that can travel to another star system in 5 months, well, the first thing that can be noted is that this new form of propulsion travels at 75% of the light speed, using plasma and thermonuclear chargers to get the Herkules rockets on their the long journey to Janus b, the star system at 2,5 light-years from Earth as....” The television is turned off, being located in a private room at the Halmahera Island observation gantry, where various men and women in grey military uniforms are discussing several things, and outside the window, the launching pad can be seen, with the mighty Herkules rocket, which is going to carry the Freiheit 7 crew to the Naples planet. According to the latest scientific reports, it is the 9th planet of the Janus b Solar System. The previous mission, Freiheit 6 carried astronauts to the orbit one of the moons of their planet called Chia, the other is called Nova, the latter has a very similar composition and appearance of our own sun, many scientists have concluded that the reason this planet has a warm temperature (15c-54c) is for this moon. The Freiheit 7 has the aim of orbiting Naples, which has a very similar size to Mars, even though it is a little bit smaller than it. Naples is a curious planet, at night several ’lights’ can be seen from space, satellites have taken photos of this rare occurrence, which was partially concluded that the reason for this lights to appear at night is for some saline formations on its surface, just like what happens with Mercury, even though it is hard to tell for the gas formations in the atmosphere of this planet. It has a close resemblance to Earth, even though, the blue that can be seen is water but with a different composition to both the freshwater and the saltwater, being composed principally by iron components and the rest is H20 and liquid hydrogen, but that data could be incorrect. The thing that all scientists have security is about the composition of the planet's atmosphere, or its air, 40% Carbon Dioxide, 10% hydrogen, 13% nitrogen, 15% helium, 20% neon, and 2% of oxygen making the atmosphere highly toxic to humans. In the same room, three men are also located there, Peter Bismarck, Agustine Becker, and Wilhelm Weber, the three wearing formal suits, all waiting for the launch to happen, just being announced by the RRK, they were currently on the last checks for beginning the ignition. "Nuts, just nuts, huh?" Agustine says while watching the rocket on the horizon, even at those distances where they are currently located, the rocket looks huge, its powerful engines are reflected even from the outside, one of the greatest interstellar rockets in human history. The television is turned on again, the flight crew sounds off, the people in the room tense up, Peter looks down the line at Wilhelm’s jaw tensing, and Agustine scratching his neck. He is completely still, not moving or saying something. Since the death Kaiser Louis Ferdinand II, which by official reports it is claimed that it was a suicide, the German Empire has been different, his son, the new Kaiser Erwin Victor I, has reformed several things in the German Reichstag and the Reichspakt parliament. He has adopted a more, 'violent' position towards corruption in general because the German Empire in 2030 was one of the most corrupt nations in the whole world. Highways and other infrastructure buildings that the Kaiser Louis Ferdinand II stopped for the massive corruption opened new contracts with other German companies. a radio voice says out loud, belonging to one of the astronauts from the Freiheit 7 current mission. the controller responds, the room quiets as the call continues. the controller begins, everyone is waiting for the rocket to initiate its propulsors. The engines fire up before they can even hear them, the lights and the ceiling begin to shake the television in the corner of the wall doing the same. The engines roar, a tsunami of sound slams into the windows, everyone flinches at the power of the propulsors, including Peter, as the might is being reflected with the power of it, the power of the world's most powerful rocket and engines ever created by humankind, breaths are held as the Freiheit 7 lifts off the pad. Something is terrifying about the power of the big rocket, the speed at which it hurtles into the sky, it's almost supersonic, the RRK invented that in the middle of several missions with thermonuclear drivers that are activated to make a jumps 6x faster than the speed of sound. As it continues to rise, there’s scattered clapping... the launch is successful, and after a moment of silence in the room, everyone starts to cheer happily, the rocket successfully left Earth's atmosphere, yes, and that is not even the half of the power of the Herkules rocket, in just 14 seconds it can completely leave the atmosphere, even though Peter was not cheering at all, he heads to the door and exits the room, the loud cheering of the rest of the people is heard, it is an actual historic day for not only Germany but the whole world. Entering the giant space control building, he goes to the private area of it, where several loud sounds are heard. He heads to the restroom and enters it, directly going to wash his hands and face with the cold water that pours out, he looks at his reflection on the mirror, his blue eyes and facial expressions seem to be tired. "Helluva launch, " Harry Quill, one of the leading commanders at the RRK says entering the restroom. Peter looks up and shrugs, turning back to the sink, Harry stares Peter for a moment, analyzing him, like if he is seeing something in Peter's expression that just seems to be wrong. "I talked..... with Director Ernst and Horst about the schedule and........ we’d like you to command 8, " at that statement, Peter simply froze, "obviously, if 7 is successful, 8 or 9 will probably be our first attempt on a landing, " the man finishes with both of his hands in his pockets. Peter nods with a pleased expression on his face, acknowledging the potentially momentous nature of the mission he was assigned to, being the first human being to walk on an exoplanet. "Who are you thinking for the crew?" Peter asks Harry, changing his whole attention towards him. "Schneider can be one, he’s the best Befehlsmodul Pilot we have, well, you could take Weber, but he is currently in line for his own command, we are planning to send him as commander of the 9 or the 10" "Who’s the other option?" Peter asks plainly. "Well, Becker is the guy with the most experience," Harry answers him with a frown, "but in the end, it is your decision, so what do you think" Peter sighs and considers for some seconds, since the accident he had with the G-X3, several things have changed, like his assignment directly into the RRK astronauts program for various reasons, going from his engineering skills to his control ones. When the Kaiser died new reforms happened also in the RRK, and example was the imprisonment of the last RRK director for scandals of corruption, ordered directly by the prime minister. He already participated in the short Athena missions which tested the thermonuclear and plasma engines by going to mars and orbiting it in for one week. "Let me have 24 hours, " Peter responds to him in a pensive tone, already considering who will be his crew. One year later The men are led on stage to a table on it, the RRK logo is on its front, and three chairs for the astronauts can seat, these are Peter, Schneider, and Becker. A man walks behind them and begins to talk, each one in elegant suits, as the press conference for the Freiheit 8 mission is happening in that instance, "we're here today to talk a bit about the forthcoming flight, as the astronauts can talk about it because of previous flights, every flight takes new objectives, and in half of the whole German government and the Kaiser Erwin Victor, we are grateful to those people who made it possible for us to let these astronauts sit in this place this day" "We’ll take questions now, Jim?" the man says after finishing his discourse, picking one of the reporters in the crowd. "Peter, when you learned you were going to command this flight, were you surprised? overjoyed?" the reporter asks Peter while standing up. "...I was ummm surely pleased by the opportunity to command this crew into the unknown," Peter responds, no trace of emotion in his voice. Another reporter suddenly jumps up. "Peter, what do you think about the discovery of water on this planet, do you think it could have... life?" "I think that this universe is large and strange, what lies beneath the atmosphere of this planet is yet to be discovered, either by us or by the upcoming mission, " Peter answers him. "But, what if the 'lights' that have been mentioned as a discovery on what we could call the night of this planet, could be a kind of civilization, " the reporter retorts, not liking the last answer that Peter gave him. "As I said previously, we don't know what lies beneath the atmosphere, even though there is this very small chance that there is life on this planet for the conditions it is placed, " Peter responds him, trying to say as little as possible for the timer. "Do you think that the mission is going to be successful, " another reporter questions while standing up. "I’m planning on it being successful, " Peter answers harshly for the question she just gave him, "why do you say ‘think that mission will be successful?’ "...uh, I just meant, how you look at yourself as being part of history?" the lady replies, trying to remake her question. Peter hesitates... and at that moment Becker jumps into the conversation. "I think I can shed some light here, it’s a responsibility, for the Kaiserreich and what we are representing for democracy and liberty, but it’s exciting to be the first, my wife tried several times to slip her jewellery in my bags" The room is filled with laughter, Peter turns to look at Agustine slightly irritated for the interruption and the way he is saying the things. "You’re planning to take some of her jewellery to the planet, Becker?!" another reporter exclaims from behind. "Well, sure, what fella wouldn’t want to give his wife the rights to brag about having something in another solar system?" Chuckles are heard again, making Agustine smile. > Chapter III > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIE RAUM It is March 14, 2033, three days have passed since the press conference in Berlin, as the current location of the Freiheit 8 crew is the Otto Von Bismarck Space Center, back at the Halmahera Island. They are in one of the buildings inside the space centre, having breakfast at 5:00 am, steak and eggs with ham on it, as orange juice and coffee were also being served. Peter is concentrated eating his food, Agustine is reading the newspaper, and James Schneider is looking through the window at the dark skies. "Hmph, looks like Iranians are hot with everyone at this point, "Agustine remarks, reading the newspaper out loud, "I want to see them fight lonely versus the Russian, Colombian, American, Egyptian, and our armies combined" "Hopefully a war doesn't break out, especially in moments like this that the world must be united under one cause " James answers him. He sniffs, "hopefully not" Peter only cares to finish his food, eating slowly while thinking about the words that his crew member just tiudid. "Gentlemen," their attention is changed towards the entrance of the room. "It’s time," a man says waiting in the entrance, prompting Peter to quickly finish the remaining of his food, and standing up, Agustine and James doing the same thing and following him. The doors of the van are opened, revealing the enormous Herkules rocket beside them. They quickly rise up to its side on the high-speed elevator with Harry Quill besides them. Going higher, they can’t help but notice the flock of press vans below, and the number of reporters and spectators, all watching them from far away on the principal buildings, it almost seems like if a stadium would be watching them, maybe bigger than a stadium if I may add. "Guess we have a couple of fans," James says jokingly into the comms, with a trace of amazement. For James and Augustine, they just find it staggering, but for Peter it’s deeply unsetting, looking away, his eyes focused on the tactile screen on his wrist, with several indicators like his oxygen level, his supply levels, and checklists for the flight. The three men are already in their full white space suits, with golden visors covering their faces with the purpose of trying to stop radiation of the flight. The elevator comes into a halt, the electrical door swings automatically opens, they've reached swing arm 20, which leads to the white room and the command module. Peter grabs his oxygen tank with the other two doing the same thing, walking forward, eyes on the capsule, techs scurry, chatter on the comms can be heard, but it’s faint, by the eerie hiss of oxygen and Peter's intense focus on the task ahead. Peter barely notices the tech that walks up to help him with his oxygen tank, he hands his tank to the tech, who helps him to enter the command module, leaving him secure with his seatbelt while other technicians did the same thing with the other two astronauts that are accompanying him. The lights on the console flash on. Peter’s with Augustine and James beside him. Augustine announces into the comms, tension is felt within the command module, being conscious that they are going to go in some on a rocket with 8x times more powerful than the Tsar bomb, combined with plasma engines, they are driving the most powerful bomb in the world. The techs move to close the hatch but Harry leans in. “Give me a second, ” Harry says to the technician, looking at Peter with an expression of mercy in his eyes. <....We thought about a pill but we realized that if the landing goes south and you get stranded you can just.....> Harry begins into the comms, using a headset on his ear with a cable microphone going down to the front of his mouth. Peter responds utterly, even though, he thinks it through, not fazed for the of the danger of the mission, but his statement caused Harry to react surprisingly emotional. He grabs Peter’s gloved hand, leaving the Iron Cross award, the highest given to both civilian and military. Harry finishes his discourse, looking at him with apologetic brown eyes, Harry exits, as the techs move in to close the hatch, covering the front window with a protective iron shield, and then closing it, leaving the three men in the tight, claustrophobic cabin. An odd quiet, by the comms Peter can only hear the heavy breathing of his other two crew members. That silence is interrupted by an eerie sound. one of the controllers suddenly says by the comms, sounding like if you were talking in a radio. Peter states into the comms, seemingly oblivious to the stifling atmosphere, starts into checks with the others, as other several eerie sounds begin to be heard for the constant movement of hands flipping through the flight plan and the mission rules, as well as flicking switches, pressing buttons, and tapping on the console’s screens. James says while moving his hands across the console, flicking various switches. Peter announces also into the comms. Augustine declares out loud. Peter says. The final buttons are pushed, and the switches are flipped on, the only thing that now the astronauts need to do is wait for the launch, as the control and the RRK make the final check-ups on the rocket and the mission. the launch director announces through comms, beginning the final pre-launch sequence. the craft test conductor says to the comms. the test supervision of the aircraft states. the launch operations declares. At each go on the control room, the three astronauts begin to tense up, Peter could fill a drop of sweat falling through his cheek, the heavy breaths are still heard in part of the other two astronauts, in similar states, everyone knows their purpose, their mission, being the first humans to go to walk on an exoplanet. the launch director announces. Peter puts his hand on the abort lever, knowing that he can pull it if something goes wrong with the rocket on its launch, Peter begins to meditate calmly, inhaling and exhaling. "60 seconds and counting," the launch director proclaims, the nerves can be felt on the chest of the three astronauts, you can compare with going to the airport when you were a kid or not going to sleep for one night because the next day you are going to a place for vacations that you really wanted to go for a long time. All is still go, propellant tanks pressurized, oxidizer tanks are also pressurized, the plasma engines are beginning to heat up, and the thermonuclear engines can be felt from up to the command module, vibration is felt on the astronauts back. the voice says again, a flood of emotions through the whole world is happening, every single television and computer is on the live stream of the launch, from the Americas to Asia, a world is watching with emotion something that could be the biggest step on human history since the first walk on the moon by humans, led by the American astronaut Neil Armstrong. <20 seconds...> the director talks again. <3rd stage tanks pressurized, readings indicate we are go> the director says, communicating with the astronauts through comms. <2nd stage tanks pressurized, guidance is now internal...> another man begins counting, the final lapse, the final time, time to make history for a nation that has been strong to still standing today, from fighting British and French in WWI, to fighting the French Commune and the Union of Britain in WWII, defeating the syndicalist menace off the face of Earth. A loud rumble is heard from far below as the capsule begins to shake, the astronauts hold their breath at the moment they are currently living. <6, 5, 4...> The noise gets louder... the roar of thermonuclear and plasma thrust slams into the ground, sending a shockwave just like if an atomic bomb would have fallen, it drowns out the countdown... The capsule bucks violently, with force it slams the astronauts back to their seat, feeling how the rocket tilts a little bit forward, even though, that is not something to worry cause that normally happens when the rocket is about to initiate. It's far worse than any mission or simulator they have been, making the three astronauts startled by the huge power of the world's most powerful rocket, Peter tries to maintain his focus on the console as the roar goes on, the cockpit continues to shake very violently. Music is optional. Peter glances to his right... Agustine looks tense, and James looks disconcerted... no sense of whether they've lifted off... can this possibly be what it's supposed to feel like? the immense power makes it hard for any class of communications to be heard, the only thing that can be be seen at this moment is how the rocket propels them out of the atmosphere, the small square of blue seen through the window is a relief... but James smile fades as the blue sky rapidly turns into black, faster than any mission the astronauts have been before. Peter stares at it for three seconds, remembering the G-X3 accident a couple of years ago, even though it is terrifying to see how the sky is turning into black in such a short time. Peter’s eyes look down to the screen on his wrist, giving a checklist with a timer for every movement withing the spacecraft, one rolls to 15 seconds, he looks the clock and gets into action with a manoeuvre, the gravitational forces are so intense that all three men turn dizzy, but Peter pushes through, his eyes glued to the instruments as, at last, the roar fades and, faintly, they can all hear comms. the comms says in faintly, making Peter nod at Augustine, as he presses a switch and the roar quiets. Augustine says into comms, but couldn't finish for the superpower of the thrust, BOOM! the men are slammed back into their seats... but the shaking quickly fades to an unsettling quietness as the second stage propels them out of the Earth's range, it suddenly becomes surprisingly serene until BANG! Peter hits a button and the escape rocket is released from the rocket. James Schneider declares into the comms. The view of the window has no light, the command module is in complete darkness, the only source of light comes from the led lights coming from the console, the place is really tense. Augustine speaks into comms, glancing at Peter who is getting ready for the ignition, 4 breakers in, switches up, and Augustine presses a ready button... gets no response the first time, which causes him to raise an eyebrow, making him hit the button a few more times… until it finally flicks on. <5, 4, 3, 2, 1... igniti-> Augustine couldn't finish from the thrust as they pressed backs in their seats again, the power is felt even more. Peter says, communicating to Germany. The place is shaking, and even more, the dizziness on the astronauts increases with the power thrust which the spacecraft is going with, as in just a few seconds, Peter hits the stick and pop! they’re hurled against their harnesses into microgravity, the halt of the spacecraft is motioned hardly. Peter states into the comms. The three men catch their breath and pull off their helmets. Peter begins to take readings from each panel. Augustine’s helmet floats across and hits the spacecraft window, something that called the attention of the three astronauts, that turn their view to see the surface of the moon, they are orbiting the moon. James says into the comms, trying to communicate again with the Earth. After some short moments of tension, they responded, which caused a sigh in the three astronauts who were tensed up for the temporal disconnection from Halmahera. Peter, James, and Augustine paused, troubled, watching the lunar surface, there's no escaping of what is transpired, and there's no turning back. the flight director announces into the comms. The three-snap themselves from their thoughts, ready to manoeuvre. Peter says, flicking some switches. James announces also into the comms. Augustine also replies. Peter hits the beins, causing a loud crack of the bein explosion, startling the crew. From afar the explosion rips off five panels connecting the Command Service Module (CSM) to Herkules third stage, It’s quite beautiful as the CSM, knowing that what’s left. The moon is being left behind at this point, already heading into what is beyond Earth. The CSM jets fire in four directions, and in a thrilling movement, the CSM slowly rotates 180 degrees, nosing towards what's left of the Herkules rocket and the Lander Module (LM). "We need a 5 degree right, James, " Augustine says, not communicating by the comms this time. It’s a stunning space ballet, a space odyssey, the CSM shifting, inching forward towards the LM. "Capture probe, extend/release, " Peter says, not using the comms as well. A small probe extends from the CSM’s nose, scrapping the LM, James is fully concentrated as he is the one who is piloting the CSM, classic music is the sound of the imaginations inside the astronauts, and with full delicacy... the LM’s and the CSM hatch, shaking both crafts. James says into comms. Peter announces, using the comms channel again. The CSM gently pulls the LM free of the Herkules, the modern lander looks like the original Artemis mission landers, only with more technology and a more futuristic look, as its silver plates shimmer with the sunlight, like Keanu Reeve would say, it's breathtaking. James announces into the comms, and slowly, the combined craft, called Bavaria, starts rotating, speeding towards the next planet, which is mars. The moon is barely visible, from the distance where they are currently located it looks like a grey marble floating in space. James looks to the moon, he is still feeling nerves in his chest, they are already very far from the Earth's range, so far that it can't be seen at that point of the mission "It's humbling and frightening, " James says in a happy tone, still staring deeply at that grey marble in the far distance. "Wish I’d thought to bring music, " Augustine states, looking at his surroundings with a grin, but at that statement, Peter reaches into the hold, and pulls out an iPod and a speaker, sending the iPod floating to Augustine, which surprised, grabs the device, and hits play. Peter grabs a sextant and begins to check for the alignment, Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin starts playing, the purposeful, optimistic opening giving way to a new calm tone on the CSM, making Augustine to momentarily stop working, catching sight of the receding moon in the window, making both he and James to stare at it, struck by how small it looks at this point, smaller than a marble. James glances at Peter, taking readings, checking calculations, not taking even a moment to note the majesty or the grandeur. The spacecraft moves through time and space, the moon is getting smaller in the window, to the size of sunflower seed from that distance, Peter glimpses at the moon getting away, leaving a sigh and getting back to work. the mission director said to the comms. It was dark, the only two light sources that are present come from the engines which emit a blue right through the window. A lamp illuminates the interior of the CSM Bavaria, the speaker emitting another song. The moon is no longer visible, six hours have already passed since being on the side of the moon. The astronauts are making several checks before going to sleep for the next five months of their long journey. When the first two months pass, the engines are going to activate their maximum speed for one week, 70% of the light velocity is the maximum speed of the spacecraft. Giving a better description of the CSM, the central pressure vessel of the command module is the sole habitable compartment. It houses the main control panels, crew seats, guidance and navigation systems, food and equipment lockers, the waste management system, and the docking tunnel, dominating the forward section of the cabin was the crescent-shaped main display panel, as it is arranged into three panels, each emphasizing the duties of each crew member. The mission commander's panel (left side) included the indicators, the primary flight controls, the altitude, velocity, and memory of the spacecraft. The astronauts finish, each one of them places a mask on their faces, it looks like a WWI type mask, only imagine it a bit more futuristic and advanced. In the mouth section of the mask, a long tube connected itself to the input above the area of the seats, doing the work of making the astronauts go to sleep. James activates a switch below his chair, ”see ya boys in 5 months” After that, the mask releases a gas that makes him go directly into the realm of dreams, the gas stops also all metabolic functions in your body, making you sleep with a maximum of 2 years without ageing. the controller similarly responds to them. Before Augustine actives his sleeping state, he glances at Peter, ”you know, I wanted to say you thank you, Peter” Peter raised an eyebrow behind his mask as Augustine continues, ”thank you for choosing me for this man, you gave me the opportunity of doing history” Peter stares at him without saying a thing. Moving his hand and taking something out of one of the suit’s pocket, throwing the small metal towards Augustine who catches it, opening his hand he sees the Iron Cross award. ”They gave it to me on the case of us…. you know, ” Peter states seriously. Augustine watches it with attention behind his mask, nodding, he stops the music on the iPod, and activates the switch below his seat, sending him as well to the sleeping world. After seeing that Augustine is in a complete sleeping stage, Peter looks out of the window, already seeing a very very tiny dot far beyond, that being Mars. One of the dreams that he wanted to accomplish was walking on that planet someday, but he got something even better, walking on an exoplanet, thousands of light-years far from Earth. When the astronomers discovered Janus b, it became the major talk of everyone, because at our understanding we anciently believed that Alpha Centauri b was our closest star system, well, this being was replaced by Janus b. ”God... please don't let us fail in this daring mission, ” Peter mumbles, activating again his comms. Peter finishes, quickly activating his mask. Gas pours inside of his mask, his eyes felt sleepy in milliseconds, his body becomes more relaxed until.... he enters the complete state of being asleep. The journey will lead them to bee frontiers, the new frontiers of the universe, and the new frontiers of mankind 3 months later... A newspaper is slammed against the table, with a big title in the front ’Alrahul Alsharil is death’ an American airstrike on an Iranian camp on Egyptian territory ended up with the life of the famous Iranian General, leader of the Persian Land Troops, and as a response, the leader of Iran declares vengeance against the Americans and Germans if they don't retreat their troops from Egyptian territory in the next 4 weeks…... "3 months and they already forgot about the landing huh, " Chiang Lee, an RRK engineer working on the mission control room of Freiheit 8 says with the newspaper in his right hand, showing it to Elias Sydney, a computer operations controller also in the Freiheit 8 mission control. "Yeah, man, you know, " Elias began looking at his eyes, "war never changes, for some reason the eternal wars in the Middle East only looks to get worst every single moment" The flight director enters other people following him from behind, as he claps his hands dramatically in a form of calling the attention of everyone in the Control Room. "Ladies and gentlemen, time for the third stage," the mission director states, using an ear microphone, and wearing a formal shirt with little drawings of coconut palms, and a pant made of grey silk. Today is the day that the Freiheit 8 CSM will make its jump into the other planetary system, going around 70% per cent of the light speed, which has an estimated time of 1 month at that velocity, almost at the speed of light. The control room is full of people, many of them are drinking coffee or smoking like chimneys, telephones are heard, and everywhere voices begin to chat after the announcement of the director. Each station handles a specific, related group of functions, some watch over the spacecraft's hardware, or its software, or its position in space, or over the crew itself. The front of the room is dominated by five large rear-projection displays, which are topped by nine smaller displays showing chronographic information, the large centre display nicknamed the God's Eye, which is primarily used to display the spacecraft's position and the status during the current phase of the mission, using a complex system of physical slides overlaid on plots or columns of numbers, as well as a more simplistic by a map of each localization in the solar system, showing how the rockets go through the map, which by the reading on the display it is already near Uranus. The side screens display the same channels as individual console screens. "Okay, ready for the general reviews," the director says while staring at the screens with full attention. "Thermal controllers is go for jump, " the captain of that operation announces. "Operations is go for jump" "Engines is go for jump," another voice states loudly, which are the three principal operations that are going to be needed when reaching the full speed of the spacecraft. Everyone is sweating bullets in the control room, they need to get the perfect timing for activating the super propulsors, it is a hard job, the life of the three astronauts is upon their hands, the national pride of the German Empire as well. Everybody is getting ready, as the God's Eye shows a time, appearing T-minus 30 for going into the maximum speed for the CSM. "T-minus 30 and counting, " the director says, and everyone steels themselves. The place is divided between the ones that are biting their nails and the others that are relatively calm, but still with a sense of hurry and fear. "T-minus 10, 9,8....." the counting begins, the engines behind the CSM Bavaria begin to heat up, and the blue colour appears showing the force that the spacecraft will use to be sent to another planetary system, crossing the frontiers of our solar system into a new one. "3...2...1... IGNITION!" the counting ends, making the spacecraft to jump almost into light speed, an explosion is heard. Various satellites around the whole solar system captivate the explosion, billions of protons exploiting, the force of more than 5 billion thermonuclear missiles, the CSM and the attached LM begin to shake heavily, as for the sleeping astronauts they are immediately thrown into their sits with pressure and force, as for the surrounding of Bavaria everything enters into a hyperspace manner, lights flashing in the front of the spacecraft, making it send a signal towards Earth, causing a massive celebration on the control room, people are hugging and clapping, the ship successfully entered its full speed, and it will maintain like that for one month, travelling towards a new planetary system. "WE DID BABY!!!" now it is only a matter of time, as in the back of the room various generals and militants were watching the scene, also clapping and cheering for the successful status of the mission, even though, only one of them wasn't doing all of this, he simply took his telephone and called a number. "Deutschland Reichstag, I'm Fredrick, I need to talk with the prime minister, " the German colonel says in the telephone to a secretary, which after a couple of seconds responds. "One moment sir, he will attend you shortly in a private line," music begins to plat, as he waited to talk with the prime minister of the nation. "How did it go?" the minister begins in a secular voice. "It seems like they have already passed the most difficult part already, I believe, " the colonel responded to the Prime Minister of the German Empire, who is curious and in a precipitated emotion of rage. "Remember Frederick, if something happens to any of those three astronauts, I want you to begin project F-2, " the minister says darkly. The colonel stared at the mission director with a frown from behind. His name is Frederick Lutheran, one of the colonels of the Sicherheitsabteilung, in English, the Security Administrative Department, the Intelligence office of the German Empire, something like the CIA of the United States or the DAS of Colombia. "Copy that," the colonel responds, waiting for the cheering to drop off. 2 months later.... A loud BEEP sound, the masks on the astronauts face dropping automatically into Bavaria's ground, being followed by the astronauts opening their eyes and breathing heavily, spilling water from their mouths, that being various fluids, from saliva to gastrointestinal ones. After some few moments, James takes a paper bag from one of the containers below his seat and begins to vomit, the ship is moving still rapidly as it is rotating as well, causing an artificial gravity on the interior. Peter in a swift manner takes a communicator and puts it on his ear. Peter finishes and after some seconds someone by the comms responds him down in the Control Center on Earth. the controller says happily, they already crossed the interstellar sea into the new planet. "Guys, you gotta see this, " Augustine says, pointing at something outside of the window, prompting James and Peter to look. The new planet, Naples……. it looks a lot like Earth, but at the same time has huge differences, like at the bare sight from that distance purple and yellow stripes can be seen, in a way that you could only recognize as clouds moving. A large body water is seen, as well a continent with the bare colours of light green and other ones combined. They were getting closer and closer to it, already half the way, the atmosphere is beginning to be clearer, even though, the astronauts are obligated to tape the window for the brightness of one of their moons, this being Nova, it is bright, almost like the sun, it could blind a person if you look directly at it, even though it is from a long distance. The estimate of the distances between Nova and Naples is the same distances of Earth with Mars, making the orbit of this planet by far the longest in the universe. The craft is now on close to the planet’s atmosphere. Peter and Augustine get ready to land on it. The cabin lights are dim, everyone goes into different working positions around the CSM. A Naples landing site is taped to the ceiling by Augustine, being studied by Peter closely with a pencil in his mouth, thinking deeply about the way of the mission. the comms voice announces, prompting Augustine to work on that job. Peter takes two cigarette packs and puts them on his spacesuit pocket, and preps to enter the LM. "All this food and stuff up going to take it with you? gum, you want any of that?" James says in a tenuous way, almost getting to the level of concern in his expression. Peter in a formal tone denies the offer, and James in a sweaty, way wrestles a storage bin. "This is a damn three-ring circus. I got a fuel cell purge in progress, I gotta watch an AUTO manoeuvre and --" the storage bin pops open, various tools and film rolls float in all directions. "Christ! you son of a bitch, you!-" James says trying to catch the floating equipment, before being interrupted by Peter. "James, " Peter simply says calmly, looking him with apologetic eyes, James tries to settle down, clearly nervous about being left alone orbiting a foreign planet light-years from Earth. "Come back, will you?" James finishes nervously, almost in an imploring tone being both serious and nervous at the same time. Peter nods, grabs his iPod and his audiphones that were floating because of James, and floats to the open hatch at the top of Bavaria CSM, entering the LM, Augustine is standing upside down in the Landing Module named Ausdauer. Peter blinks away the Vertigo, going down to the two seats in the claustrophobic cabin. Peter glances at James looking up, as he follows then to close the hatch. Augustine asks into the comms. James responds at his companion's question. Peter is calmly stowing his gear. Augustine says, prompting Peter to look at him nervously, knowing that the RRK lied about the odds. Peter simply states, focusing back to the LM controllers. James announces with fear through the comms. Augustine looks to Peter, making Peter nod back. Augustine says. James responds. The CSM thrusters are heard repositioning the combined craft, as Naples turns slowly in the window. James states by the comms again. Peter reaches for the throttle, concentrating deeply on his tired eyes, seconds ticking by until at last the probe above them is heard retracting. James says more calmly, as Peter pushes the thruster, the LM slowly moves free from the CSM. the mission control director says into comms. "Roger, Ausdauer has wings," Peter announces in a rather calm way to the comms, as the gas jets rotate the LM, pointing the retracted landing gear forward. James speaks into the comms again. the Mission Control Director says also in the comms. James responds but having a concerned tone in his voice. Peter says shakingly, a little nervous also, but able to steel himself for the upcoming landing, getting to work. For a moment, Augustine halts, staring the planet in a very uneasy way, knowing his life is in Peter's hands. <3, 2, 1, 0... ignition> Peter announces, getting the lander to descend, as he eases the throttle forward and the landing module, ahead towards the surface. Augustine speaks into the comms. Peter's eyes tick across the console, we’ve seen it before, but now he’s pushing through the fatigue, being hit mostly by the hibernation awake, running out on adrenaline, the Ausdauer making its atmospheric entrance, fire begins to surround the lander, heating it on an increased extent. Augustine is looking closely the gauges for any warning. Peter says into the comms a little bit worried. Augustine says into the coms. Peter states while controlling the craft closely on the entry, sweat appears in the fronts of Peter and Augustine. A button on the console flashes on, and in the futuristic console an error, 1981, appears. Augustine says, beginning to sound worried, the lander shakes heavily, some things on high places begin to fall, hitting the head of Peter and Augustine a couple of times, already confused for the large atmospheric entry this planet has. Peter speaks into the comms. the controller says with hesitation. Peter finishes, controlling the craft with strength, pushing the lever with a little bit of brutality for the sake of their lives, as the beeping seems to grow louder and louder. Peter's eyes tick around the console, from the alarm to his dropping altitude gauge. The entry is over, and the craft begins to fall rapidly, prompting Peter to immediately activate the landing engines, as well as deploying the landing gear. the controller couldn't finish because the communication suddenly transformed into a static, as the alarm seems to grow louder, stressing the two astronauts in the lander. "Fuck, " Peter mumbles softly at his annoyance. Augustine says worried for the cut of communications. Germany, come in, Germany. <...we’re go on that alarm> the controller finally responds, making Augustine to be relieved, as he shuts it off, inciting Peter to check his instruments. <5000 feet, altitude control’s good> Peter says again into the comms, the surface is already visible. Another button flashes on, the same beeping sound sounds again. Augustine announces, causing Peter to react uncharacteristically annoyed, as Augustine shuts it off. the mission director announces again Peter repeats to himself, as his concentration becomes more focused, the sight of vegetation causes a momentary impression in both Peter and Augustine, but they both ignore the beautiful sight for concentrating on the landing, the craft moves forward with velocity, the German Imperial Flag is printed on the lander, as well as the name for the German Empire, Peter's eyes are ticking, looking at the surface. "Just past the Nocua plains now... pretty rocky area, " Peter says privately to Augustine, who is analyzing with depth their location, various trees and even in different colours appeared below them, blocking their view from the ground, Peter says worriedly into the comms. Augustine reaffirms. "Jesus, we can’t land there, " Augustine says nervously. Peter makes a quick decision, between aborting or continuing with the mission, he chooses the latter and pushes on the throttle. Peter announces, making the craft to release a pop sound, beginning to move forward. "Copy, do we have fuel?" Augustine asks Peter without activating the comms, even though, he doesn't respond, still concentrated watching the surface closely. "Not sure we have enough fuel to clear the area, Peter?" Augustine asks again, with more and more fear on his voice. "What’s the LPD?" Peter questions Augustine, who glances at him with a frown, but Peter ignores him and remains focused on the surface, advancing the craft with swiftness. "Did you hea-" Augustine is interrupted by Peter. "What is the fucking LPD, " Peter responds harshly, causing Augustine to hesitate, then giving Peter what he needs to hear. "47 degrees, 400 feet, down to 9" Without wasting time, Peter eases the thruster forward, they hiss as they push over the forest terrain. Augustine watches the propulsion console, the fuel gauge begins to drop rapidly, the numbers are descending. the control voice asks solemnly, but Peter doesn't say a thing, he remains focused. <300 down, 47 forward...> Austine speaks once again into the comms. James says worried into the comms, as Peter grips the throttle, eyes ticking furiously from the window to the altitude gauge, and then again to the landing console. "Fuel is getting low, " Augustine states worriedly, but Peter ignores him again, Augustine stares at Peter’s intensity... and at that moment he realizes that Peter is going to land the ship one way or another, unnerved at that point, doing nothing to do but help, Augustine continues the call. "250, down at 2, 19 forward, " Augustine says, as he sees that the fuel numbers have dropped below 5. "160 feet, 6 down" Even at the dangers, Peter keeps going. "120 feet, 3 down" James exclaims into the comms. Even when the fuel quantity light flashes on, Peter keeps going, as there’s fire in Peter’s eyes, determination, abjection to refusal and to give up on this mission. <...45 seconds to Bingo> the director says into the comms. James speaks shakingly, worried for his friends, but Peter ignores him, easing the throttle forward. "30 seconds to Bingo, Peter?" Peter's eyes tick from the gauges to the window in front of him, it’s unclear whether he’s even listening anymore, as he is filled with anxiety. The fuel gauge keeps flashing and making a beeping sound. "There it is!!!! 20 seconds to Bingo," Augustine says spotting a grassy plain, made up mostly by a purple looking grass, causing Peter to blink and refocus, leading the craft to the area, slowly descending. "90 feet, down a half" Dust begins to swirl from the ground of the Naples surface, Augustine glances at the fuel.... 3, 2..... "Fuck!!! 50 feet down..." Augustines said with anxiety at his companion, with 10 seconds being left on the fuel estimate. "20 feet, down a half, drifting" James exclaims into the comms. Forward just a little bit... and then, before they realize what's happening, a green light flashed on the console, Augustine blinks in pure disbelief. "Contact light, " Augustine announces shakily. "Shutdown, " Peter said, turning off the propulsor, causing a heavy fall thanks to the planet's gravity. Shaking a little bit Peter lets the throttle slip from his hands, he flips a switch, and the dust starts to settle, as the Naples surface appears to be stretching out in front of them, Peter stares deeply, Augustine is completely stunned, but he recovers first and starts powering down the LM. Augustine says while pressing various buttons across the console. <...copy you down, Ausdauer> the voice responds. A moment of silence, where the heavy breaths of both Peter and Augustine are released in clear relief. Peter announces into the comms, causing an enormous cheer to go up in Mission Control, Peter flinches for the heavy celebration, a small grin appearing on his face as well. Peter sits more comfortably, struggling to process it, as Augustine extends his shaky hand. "Very smooth touchdown, " Augustine says, his joking side returning, causing Peter to nod happily, sharing already the same emotion, when suddenly, they burst out in laughs. Peter snaps his helmet into place, he then proceeds to reaches for a glove, and snaps it on too, meticulous, careful, cognizant of the dangers that the Naples surface. He puts on the thermal controller and connects the oxygen tube in the back of the helmet, the spacesuit isn't bulky or heavy, but it is thin and light, designed for the mission, completely white, a golden visor covers his face and reflects the light the oxygen tank is small but contains large quantities of it. The German Imperial Flag is on his left shoulder, and the Iron cross on the right one. The RRK logo is located on the left side of his chest, as in the wrist, there is a large display, like a tablet connected directly to the suit. Peter's eyes stare at a note clipped to the wall of the small cabin, a scribbled sentence.... mankind has triumphed today..... Augustine says looking at Peter on his covered face, and nodding, a moment being transmitted to Earth. Augustine begins saying, and after a short silence, Peter continues the verse while holding a Bible that Augustine gave him before the beginning the broadcast. Peter finishes, closing the Bible and giving it back to Augustine. "Ready?" Augustine asks Peter, fully suited up also, in which Peter nods and Augustine opens the valve, the air in the LM is heard going outside of the ship, it’s nerve-wracking, all that air disappearing into the new exoplanet, as faint sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing are heard, by time, it can be recognized that Nova, one of this planet's moon, is on its sunset, as the moon works virtually as the sun for this planet because the star that they orbit is too far away from them, as their solar system is estimated to be 5x larger to the one of us. The floor is seen, green and purple grass is being gently touched by the winds of this planet, causing both Peter and Augustine to stare at it for some seconds, understanding how odd, how undeniably strange it is to be parked on the surface of another heavenly body. Peter moves forward towards the hatch, a mix of emotions flickering across his face, lowering slowly with his feet through the hatch, and climbing down the ladder, down towards the new world. He remains concentrated and cautious while going down the ladder, and in a moment, he stares out, a million things going through his mind, the oddness of it all, the desolated beauty in a faraway planet, the years of work and sacrifice, and then catches a glimpse of the sunset off on the horizon...... their moon hovering there and the majesty of it, it feels so different than a sunset on Earth, purer, more controlled, the colours are more vibrant, the glory of what his nation has done, it almost overwhelms him, a tear falling off his cheek. a voice says through the comms. Down on Earth, people are watching the historic moment, from small smartphones to large televisions in giant parks and buildings, everybody celebrating it with silence for the moment, every single city of the world, for the first time in a very long, long, time the world felt united again, for one cause, landing humans on a new planet, a planet that was supposed to be unreachable 10 years ago, and once again the human cause of exploring and fighting for crossing new limits defeated the impossibilities. Peter tries to keep it together, struggling for the temptation of sighing calmly at the beautiful sight of this planet. a short BEEP before Peter could continue talking, He stares at the ground and then gives a little hop down onto the new planet, oddly disconnected from the moment, he memorizes the line that he is going to say. Peter finishes his words with the knowledge that they aren't at all true, even though, he said them with proud, still struggling by the scene and gives a step forward, turning away from the silver and gold, glimmering landing module. In a moment, he just stops admiring the whole scene and turning his body left, the moon that represents the sun of this planet appears hovering just above the horizon, the sky becomes a deep purple with orange stripes on the skies of it, its resemblance to Earth is almost breathtaking, unable to control himself, tears began to fall freely, emotions rising to the surface, pain, joy, loss, and triumph, all swirling around until the tears come freely, raining down with all the pent up feelings, his body is anxious and sad, he looks at the ground and sees how his boot is already dirty. Augustine says into the comms while being on the foot of the ladder. Peter responds simply at first Augustine nods, taking the camera, he begins to walk off the lander towards one the compartments where the scientific equipment is located. a controller in Germany said in the comms. Peter begins to walk towards the lander again, receiving a sample collector from Augustine, Peter then proceeds to take from dirt to the grass of the place, even though, the forest near them gave somewhat chills, as the twirled trees shout danger for some reason. Peter finishes to collect the samples and places them in a box, receiving the camera from Augustine, he shows how his companion puts the German Imperial flag on live TV, stretching it a little bit, and admiring the wind blowing the grey, white, and red flag, Augustine slowly salutes the flag, trying to get the same pose that Buzz Aldrin got while saluting the American flag on the moon. They begin to place several pieces of equipment in the place. From a seismic detector to oxygen receivers, which appears to be positive, the air of the planet is toxic for humans..... but suddenly, their work was stopped by a sound of something moving in the bushes. Augustine says baffled to the comms. Peter didn’t say anything at first, staring at the bush as it begins to move harshly, until in a blink of eyes..... Augustine exclaims while watching at a creature. the mission control director asks worriedly. James shouts also to the comms, afraid for the exclamation of his friend. And what just happened you may ask, as I said earlier, a giant beast appeared before them, good news, there is life, bad news, it appears to be in an attacking mode. The beast has the head of a tiger with small horns on its face, and a tail of venomous spines similar to the one did the porcupine quills or a scorpion, it has also large wings similar to the ones of a bat, and the body of a large lion, it’s a beast in every human eye, but it has something recognizable, a manticore could it be? Augustine immediately runs, but seeing how Peter struggling to escape the giant beast jaws, he takes a futuristic-looking rifle, and points directly at the large beast, and begins to shoot. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! That is responded with a loud growl from it as it stumbles onto the ground, but with one of the forelegs the beast scratches Peter’s suit left arm, immediately releasing air as an internal alarm activated in the suit, Peter quickly takes tape from the floor and tries to roll it, when suddenly, the beast throws again his foreleg making him rubble, more furious than before. Peter exclaims desperately, making Augustine follow his orders, but this time he couldn't hit the creature as he jumped and flew directly towards Augustine, releasing the claws, making Augustine to quickly jump to one side, leaving the creature’s claws buried in the soil, as the beast quickly tries to take them off while growling. Peter decides in the short time he currently has. Peter says, Augustine quickly does the thing his captain said, taking the box where the samples are, and begins to climb the ladder with speed, Peter following him from behind. Opening the hatch, Augustine throws the box inside and then enters with quickness, and just when Peter was going to enter, the beast pushed the lander, making Peter stumble and fall to the ground, small cracks on his visor, but not enough to make the oxygen escape from it. The hatch closes with force, leaving Augustine locked on the lander, his only escape route being the upper hatch, that could only be opened when attached to the CSM. Augustine exclaims panicked through the comms. Peter is forced to decide a matter of seconds again, this time being more difficult than the other one. Peter said calmly. Leave me here. the mission director shouts in unison with James. Augustine exclaims. ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?! The manticore gives a direct hit to Peter, leaving him again coughing, even though, this time nothing is broken. Augustine nods with sadness, tears beginning to fall from his face, pressing the escape button, the upper part of the lander levitated and then activated its the engine, leaving a large wave of sound which caused the beast to growl painfully and fly away, leaving Peter alone looking at the skies, resting on the grass, he sees with sadness what just happened, he is stranded. Noticing his leg, there is also oxygen flowing out of there for a small hole that was formed from the blows, as his rib is bleeding out on the spacesuit, leaving a bloodstain on it. The console on his wrist saying that there is only 20% of the Oxygen left on his tank. Peter begins to cry relentlessly, finishing by sighing, waiting for his imminent death to occur. The German flag is being proudly blown by the wind. Peter stares at the skies, already beginning to feel the loss of oxygen from the suit, closing his eyes, and beginning to faint....... only to see one last thing, a figure that resembles..... "A pony??" > Chapter IV > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- DIE EQUESTRIA Earlier the same day... The United Kingdom of Equestria and the Hasbro Islands, it is the largest nation in the planet of Equus, its power extending across many nations in the world of these ponies, classified by the humans as planet Naples. Various reforms are being made in the nation for some economical problems that it has suffered for the recent problems with that world's second most powerful nation, known as the Griffon Reich, or the Griffon Empire to be clearer in English. The political problems began to clash with some sectors in the Royalty, the parliament of Equestria has an arrangement today with one of the rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia. Now, imagine a huge room, various seats and tables with political papers on them, and in the centre of the room, a large table is located, with the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Equestria. Various ponies are discussing various political points of the nation, waiting for their princess to begin the reunion with the Equestrian parliament and with the nobles. Suddenly, two large wooden doors with a golden frame open, revealing the white alicorn princess of the sun, causing an immediate silence inside the room as the ponies give a small now to the sight of their ruler. Her hairs flow with an imaginary wind, a crown showing might and perception, as she walks to the large table with a humble smile and a proud posture. Colloquially sitting on the royal chair, she begins to search for a document using her magic. ”Members of the royal parliament, ” Princess Celestia begins while looking around the room, ”on this special occasion we are going to discuss..... rewriting the Article 7 of the Equestrian Constitution” Several mumbles begin to sound, being completely taken by surprise for her statement, making one of the nobles to talk. ”Your Royal Highness, ” the lime pegasus begins talking first, ”I thought that the matter of importance right know is trying to stop the monopolization of the trade companies in Equestria, we all know about the threat the Griffons have been sending since the commercial war began, ” the pegasus finishes with a trace of disgust, toggling several chatters between the ponies. Celestia sighs, she is trying to not get the parliament to mention that issue. Equestria has been in a golden age of their economy, just discovering the art of sailing as the trade became the new revolutionary economic sector. Various companies entered the new playground that has just opened, violating various treaties with many nations. ”The problem of the Griffon trade war is being handled directly by my sister, ” Celestia finishes simply, choosing wisely her words, ”we have recently protested about this article, and after talking with the union leaders, I’m willing to change it for the sake of our nation, not only the corporations of it” The pegasus frowns, bothered by the answer that his ruler gave him. The other ponies in the parliament begin to debate intensely, every moment that passes the noise inside of the room increases. Celestia clears her throat, taking one of the documents and reading it, ”the royal declaration of Equestria in the Article 7 states that every pony in a higher status could acquire more economic freedoms when managing their economy and their.... taxes, ” she stops a second to breathe, ”this declaration has already given us problems with the lower classes, and if we which to keep up with the production of crops that have severely diminished since the strikes, I think that specifically this part must be changed, ” Celestia finishes, hoping to get support. Equestria is an absolute monarchy but for passing certain laws, especially when talking about the constitution she needs to have the general support of the parliament. ”But that would mean more taxation for the upper classes and the companies, and we can't allow certain... complications to the political agendas of many people here I suppose, ” a unicorn exclaims, a dark pink coat, she is one of the nobles of the most important house in Equestria. ”Certainly.... even though the Sparkle house didn't show any problem to this proposition, “ Celestia finishes, causing loud sounds of disapproval among the crowd, almost the whole parliament of Equestrian is made up if the royal houses and various political sectors among the nation. Celestia sighs relentlessly, knowing this is going to be a long, long day. The reunion finishes, nothing was set up thanks to the constant debate between the political factions and the royal houses, it almost causes a headache in Celestia. Going out of the room, she is greeted by several reporters with old cameras, others with notes and pencils, the majority of them are wearing a simple fedora. Most of the nobles that were in the reunion are being interviewed by several reporters around them, even though, the general attention at that moment is everyone is trying to ask questions to Celestia about the state of the changes. Equestrian politics have received major blows as several reforms have been recently modified and indulged by the nobles trying to gain a level of independence in the agriculture sector that is principally controlled by the Equestrian government and other important companies. Celestia gets quicker on her pace, trying to ignore the questions coming from the public. She blinks at the cameras that are flashing by taking photos. Two doors at the end of the hall are immediately opened by the royal guards of Celestia as she quickly crosses them, making the guards close the doors instantly. The castle has a feeling of loneliness, Celestia stares at the windows where great events of the history of Equestria are depicted. From warriors to great battles against enemies that had tried to destroy Equestria through its history. One of them gains her attention, the one where Celestia and Luna appear defeating the spirit of chaos many thousands of years ago. She sighs with tiredness, fighting with politicians is one of the most annoying things to do, especially when most of the parliament is made up mostly of the ancient oligarchs of Equestria. Celestia resumes her walk around the castle, a sense of curiosity appears on Celestia while seeing her sister’s room with the lights on. Celestia raises an eyebrow in curiosity, teleporting towards the entrance of Luna’s room. She decides to enter the room where her sister is located, and to the surprise of Celestia, she isn't sleeping but using the telescope located in her room. Several papers full of algebraic and mathematical operations are scattered all around the floor surrounding the telescope. Celestia begins to get close with amusement at her sister's current doings, even though, the expression on Luna’s face is serious and worried. Luna becomes aware of the presence of her sister in her room. She stares at her with no expression this time before Celestia decides to talk. ”I suppose that there is nothing wrong here, right sister” Celestia begins with an amused face, looking how a trace of bitterness begins to appear on Luna's face. ”I.... don't know, I think that I saw a strange object in the atmosphere.....” Luna responds with a frown, looking again at the skies. Celestia gets close to her with curiosity, ”a meteorite perhaps?” Luna holds the thought for a moment, but shakes her head in a symbol of rejection, ”I don't think so... it's... even releasing a kind of rare energy, it's just out of this world, plus, that is the first thing I thought when I saw it.” Celestia steps forward, trying to focus her magic on the strange object, in an effort of recognizing what it is, but after a second, she sensed... nothing, no magic on the object, but she could feel the waves her sister just talked about, they felt radioactive and powerful. Both of them silently stare at it directly, focusing their magics, when in a second... ”You felt that?” Luna asks, turning to see her sister who has a suspicious face, when suddenly.... a ball of fire is seen going down to the surface from the skies, it is not clear for either Luna or Celestia what the strange object might be, they just stare at it with sudden confusion, when they saw that the object wasn't flying in a direct position like a normal asteroid would do, but it begins to manoeuvre, changing its position. The ball of fire rapidly gets deep in the direction of what could be assumed to be the Whitetail Woods. Luna and Celestia step forward rapidly for not losing their view of the object as it begins to hide within the forest until suddenly, it just disappears. Luna and Celestia turn their heads slowly to stare to each other, changing again their view towards the direction where the rare object has landed. Luna gulps hard, ”do you think.....” Celestia doesn't say anything, immediately changing her tone to a serious and strict voice. ”Guards!!!” she shouts and in less than 5 seconds, two white pegasuses in golden armours appear entering Luna’s room, bowing down, waiting for orders. ”I need you to call Incitatus!!! It's very urgent, ” Celestia finishes, toggling the two ponies to do what they were ordered, in an immediate way, without waiting for an explanation of why or what. ”Luna?” Celestia calls her sister while looking at her again, ”what do you think it is, being completely sincere” Luna stares at the ground for some seconds before responding, ”it is certainly not from here, and it's the shape, the way it hovered..... it could be two things.... one, a meteorite that could have been entangled in the magical field of the Equus, making it hover, the problem about that theory is the way this.... object did...” Luna finishes. ”And the second....” Celestia counters, trying to make her sister complete the though. ”Aliens...” Luna barely says, leaving the room with an awkward silence. Celestia doesn't know what to believe, it is just so bizarre. The thing that alarms her more is the energy that the strange object is emitting, it is powerful, powered by something. Before they could say something else, Incitatus enters the room with a frown on his face, ready to receive orders from the princesses. ”Commander, I need a military carriage to be headed towards the Whitetail Woods, my sister and I will accompany it, and if by matters of preference, choose the best troops commander, ” Celestia speaks, looking concerned for the weird object that has just fallen from the skies. Incitatus lifts his head a little bit, looking at Celestia with concern, ”Princess Celestia, if I may ask, what emergency needs this kind of measure” he says with a raised eyebrow, not being noticeable for the Roman style military helmet. Celestia hesitates to respond to the question at first before answering, ”its a top-secret priority commander, something that could threaten our nation in many ways we believe..... a strange object has just fallen from the skies, emitting rare energy, and hovering like if something would be controlling the object” Celestia finishes seriously, and at that response, the curiosity in Incitatus raises to heavenly levels, trying to hide it by biting his lips, asking an ultimate question. ”Do you believe your Royal Highnesses, it might be..... only maybe a kind of extraterrestrial life” Incitatus finishes sheepishly, knowing how stupid that assumption may have been to the rulers' ears. ”We don't know, ” Luna says, deciding to talk again while walking towards the commander. That statement shocks him immensely, he wasn't waiting for that answer. ”Excuse me, princess?” Incitatus asks again, trying to confirm what he just heard out from Luna. ”We don't know what it is commander.... it is a matter of huge importance, we better get prepared for it.... whatever that thing is, ” Luna finishes, standing proudly on her four legs, with her blue hairs flowing in the imaginary air. “Your Majesty, ” Incitatus says before bowing and then running out of the place to tell the guards to prepare the convoy. As Incitatus is no longer present in the room Luna turns her view again to Celestia, ”thou are going to try and communicate....with it if it results being.... life?” Luna finishes, using her classic voice, even though, with a trace of excitement this time. Celestia is skeptic at first glance, even though, she isn’t buying the thing of alien life completely..... at least not yet. “We shall not fall into conclusions little sister, but we shall have some precautions, ” Celestia says with a frown, making luna to Luna nod rigidly, seeing that it is already time to lower the sun and raise the moon. “But let us not forget about or current duties, ” Luna says, positioning herself to raise the moon. Celestia responds with a smile, knowing how her sister has learned to not forget priorities even with certain circumstances, making Celestia nod, positioning herself to lower the sun. The two sisters beginning their spell to manipulate the celestial objects, as they both levitate to make their daily work, a majestic view to see. They finish the spell, seeing how the sun is hiding and the moon is rising. Celestia and Luna silently consent, Luna heading directly towards the doors of the room, as Celestia stays for some minutes to write a letter to her student. Celestia makes a quill appear using her magic, as a magical scroll accompanied it too, beginning to write the lecture down to Ponyville, My dear student, the reason that I’m writing to you this night it is for a top-secret purpose if you noticed, a strange meteorite has landed in the Whitetail Woods..... ”.... strangely, both Princess Luna and I are not sure what it might be, some theories were formed but we still don't know what this could have been, as we are going to come to Ponyville shortly with a military carriage, as I ask you to call the rest of the Elements of Harmony only if this object result being....a living thing, ” Twilight stops a second at that statement written in the Princess Celestia’s letter, it is eerie that she would write her at this hours, plus, mentioning the possibility of life coming from outer space, because at first glance, when the meteorite fell in the east of Ponyville, various ponies were afraid, but then nothing happened, there wasn't any class of sound that may indicate that it crashed.... landed? Twilight continues reading the letter, ”I hope to have your support my dear student, and I hope to see you shortly near the Whitetail Woods, signed by Princess Celestia, ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria and the minor Hasbro islands” she finishes reading the letter to Spike, who has currently an awkward face, that is the weirdest letter that Princess Celestia has ever written to Twilight even since the day of her coronation. Twilight suddenly enters to the mental realization that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are coming to Ponyville shortly, beginning to hyperventilate for the current situation, ”Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are coming.... what do I do! what I’m supposed to do, it must be very urgent!” Spike looks at her with a bored face, almost sending the message of seriously without saying any words, as he decided to make her friend remember what she just read 10 seconds ago, ”Twilight, ” Spike begins calling her, gaining her attention by the way, and by the looks on her face you could say how worried she is in the moment, ”the letter, you remember .....” Spike finishes simply while pointing at the letter with his left hand, holding it with the right one. Twilight gives him a puzzled look at first glance, before proceeding to release a sheepish laugh at her error, ”I guess I forgot...” Spike rolls his eyes in annoyance, ”yeah, you don't say” "Spike, you know the severeness of this, they could be aliens, " Twilight said excitedly to the purple dragon, whos curiosity begins to spark at those words ins special, maybe it could be an alien. "But Twilight, " Spike begins saying shakily, the thought of an alien invasion freezes his mind, "if they appear to be aliens do they thing.... they are friendly?" Spike finishes while looking at Twilight. She stares at Spike before responding, that thought didn't pass throughout her mind, what if these aliens aren't friendly, what if they have come to something like invading and slaving all of the Equus creatures just like in science fiction books, "then we are going to figure it out, " Twilight finishes more confidently, her princess characteristic accompanying it. She quickly goes upstairs to begin to pack several things, including a notepad, a mathematical tool, and food for the journey. When Twilight finishes with that she quickly gives Spike certain directions of what to do in her absence about the organization in the library and heads off to tell her friends about the letter and the task Princess Celestia has assigned them, something that Twilight still is nervous about it, as the last time she sensed an urgency in the letter was the same about Discord a long time ago. Celestia and Luna are currently flying above of the Whitetail Woods, with the military forces following their trace. A large force has been deployed, Incitatus is making a battle plan in one of the carriers been guided by several Pegasus and other air divisions. Arriving at Ponyville with secrecy, they greeted the mane 6, who were waiting for them anxiously, ready for whatever could appear ahead of the trail. Various pegasus ponies begin to scout the area to find the object, with swiftness and coordination by every single air barrack in the skies. ”Have you found a trace of it yet?” Twilight asks the captain, wearing a curious look this time after a short conversation she had a while ago with Princess Celestia. ”Apparently, not, ” Incitatus says disappointed by the current status of the search, ”there must be a way, I mean, you all saw it falls from the skies, it couldn't just disappear-” Incitatus couldn't finish the phrase as a loud sound crashed through the ears of everyone around the place, when BAM!! a second time. ”Commander, what is that sound?” Celestia says getting close to him with concern, it sounded again and again, and at that point, it is already becoming annoying to the ponies ears. ”I don't know, what animal makes that sound?” Incitatus questions, but apparently, it was answered by a large growl, belonging to a... ”Manticore!” both Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed, already beginning to prepare in the case of the event of a fight. Fluttershy glances at the way of the sound, already having confronted one of this a long time before, but after years of studying animals, she has never heard either a manticore or another animal species. ”Commander!!!” two pegasuses said hurriedly, landing on the ground with elegance, ”we have spotted a manticore fighting an.....ape we believe, 3 kilometres away from here, all next to a giant iron rock” Luna immediately without waiting for anyone opinion lifts to the sky and begins to fly towards the place where the pegasuses where, with ferocity and velocity, hearing how the voice of Celestia begins to fade, she looks to the ground and looks at that sight these pegasuses saw, and in one moment. BOOM!!!! an explosion sounds through the whole forest, making Luna fall to the ground, landing hard, it is the loudest sound she has ever heard in her whole life, and you know that it is a lot coming from her. The rock is launched to the sky, Luna stares at it with attention, seeing how it disappears amid her night. Lifting again from the ground, she spots a large iron box, with a small crater surrounding it, she lands on the spot with curiosity, looking at a mysterious flag planted on the floor, and not only that, but it is also printed on the iron box, but something caught the immediate attention of Luna when she hears something breathing. Slowly turning back she sees a body, hesitating first to get close to it for its weird and apelike form, she has never seen something like that before on her whole life, and that is a lot of time you know, boomers. The.... thing thrown in the floor is white, with a large golden eye on its head. Luna is disturbed at first for the sight of the creature at first glance. It has the form of a minotaur, only that........... smaller, and many tiny cutie marks, she thinks, are printed around the creature’s body. Luna gets too close to it, making the creature to make a sudden sound, startling Luna immensely, as she even begins to sweat above the fur while looking at it with wide eyes, her horn lights on a bit. ”Ein pony?” the creature suddenly babbles, before apparently fainting, no words said afterwards, even though it sounded mechanical, it is just very weird to Luna. She glances at a weird mirror on the creature’s wrist, she thought, appearing several strange symbols on it, with no idea of what was that, but something caught her attention even more, with caution she moves one of the creature’s forelegs, revealing blood, or well, what it is the closest thing to blood, because the one of this creature is red, not like one of the ponies that its colour is a light orange. Various alarms are immediately activated in Luna’s head, as from behind the military carriage arrives furiously into the scene, Celestia landing with ferocity at her sister’s side, and when she is about to confront Luna for her actions, she glanced at the creature, immediately backing down for some seconds, staring at it not knowing what to do, well, that was until Celestia saw the bloodstains on the creature’s body. ”Quick!!! we need a medic here, ” Celestia shouts worried for the creature's current status. Everyone in the place is watching the weird iron box and other metal things scrambled all around the floor of the place, even though, at the exclamation, the mane six-run hurriedly towards the body, making fascinated sounds when seeing the body, as two ponies dressed in white came to help the creature, one of them is a unicorn who enveloped him in a magic field. Luna stares at the supposedly giant eye of the creature, when suddenly at the moment when trying to put the creature in the carriage, Luna gets close to the body and tried to manipulate his neck causing a whoosh sound coming from it to startle everyone. "I think this is more like a protective suit, not his body, '' Luna says out loud, pulling off the creature's helmet, causing loud beep sound coming from the wrist, as the creature suddenly begins to breathe heavily while sleeping, almost like if he is asphyxiating, causing everyone to become alarmed. ''What is happening?'' one of the doctors exclaims, trying to see why the creature is breathing that way. Twilight sees the creature's mirror on the wrist, that is showing the image..... the one of a... ''Helmet!!!" Twilight says, taking in her magic the floating helmet that was being previously controlled by Luna, putting it on the neck of the creature, a whoosh sound is again heard, and the loud beep sound suddenly stopped. Everyone becomes calmer when they hear the sound of breathing again coming from the creature. "It doesn't breaths our air, that is why he wears that protective suit....." Twilight says talking fast and in a very colloquial language. Luna begins to inspect the suit, trying to describe in her mind how the creature’s face is, as its rare qualities make them look like any bipedal creature in Equestria, only smaller on its eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as she didn't saw any fur on his face. As from the lower part of the suit, a mysterious flag and some symbols in his chest that show to say, ”Bismarck, Peter?” Luna said out loud reading the tag, even though, it is difficult for the weird forms of the words on it that are being translated by magic. ”Maybe a kind of name or a symbolic form?” Twilight says puzzled by the strange combination of symbols, looking down another big combination words in the left side of his chest, reading, “Deu….tssshhccland, Deutschland, that must be his name, Deutschland,” Twilight said several times like if she has figured out the name of this creature, a slight grin appearing on her face. "Ummm what is this?... thing, an ape....? "Rainbow Dash says from behind with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack besides her. Pinkie Pie is exploring her surroundings, looking with emotion and curiosity at every small thing in the location, as Rainbow Dash released an awkward and disgusted face at the sight of the creature. "An alien..." Fluttershy delivers, but not scared or shy, but in an amazed a confident way, looking at every single feature in the current creature's state, seeing the blood and immediately running towards it, being accompanied by the appearance of several medical ponies, trying to see what to do with the creature. "Princesses, " Incitatus begins talking approaching them, as various military soldiers were just staring also with curiosity at the contraptions around the place, "how shall we proceed?" Those single words left both Celestia and Luna in a momentarily frozen state, they didn't know how to proceed in this case, this is a real alien!!! a historic event for not only Equestria but the whole Equus. "Ummmm, " Celestia glances at the various ponies surrounding the creature, waiting also for orders of what to do, "how is the.... ummm alien?" Celestia continues a little bit sheepishly but maintaining a serious frown on her face. Fluttershy gets close to the Princess with a very worried face, "it looks like it’s having a haemorrhage, but it is very hard to tell, I have never seen the qualities of this creature before, it has the characteristics of an ape and a minotaur, but nothing near of them." Celestia immediately gives the order of getting the alien towards Canterlot, and in no time various ponies begin to help to get the creature towards one of the carriages in the place. ”And what should we do with all of this….” Incitatus says, glancing at the strange things all around the place. Celestia begins to wander in her thoughts about what to do, behind the relative calmness she is showing, that by the way is just a curtain, she is feeling worried of what to do, biting her lips for some seconds before answering, ”close this sector, I will declare quarantine, ” Celestia finishes with more ferocity and stiffness on her voice, even though, sounding relatively calm. Incitatus nods formally, running to send orders to the guards around the place. Celestia turns to see her sister apologetically, even though with a frown on her face. ”We have already political problems with the trade agreements……. and now this, what will the parliament and the whole nation say, ” Luna finishes, as Celestia stares at the bright stars for some seconds before talking. ”We need to temporarily hide this, ” Celestia responds, causing Luna to look her a little bit disgusted. ”We can't lie to our citizens' sister, plus, if someone in the parliament discovers all of this there could be a political catalyst, you know that everypony in the nation wants to reform in a more flexible system, ” Luna finishes while moving her hoof in circles, trying to get her sister to understand her point of the decision, that could change not only the politics in Equestria but thousands of things more, even though, the bad ones could outbalance the good ones. ”But is unwise to just tell the general public in the nation, we should give it time, it hasn’t even wake up still, ” Celestia spoke in a consistent way and manner, as her colloquiality and professionalism came into playing the game. Before Luna could retort, a golden pony dressed in a military high command uniform gets close to the princesses, ”Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we need to go now, the creature is in a critical state, we need to transfer it to a hospital now, ” he finishes trying to maintain the professionalism. Celestia quickly responds, "send him to a room at the castle and give him any medical resource the nation could give to any political figure, we will meet there soon, " Celestia finishes, as the golden pony bows a little bit and immediately gives the order to send the carriage towards the castle with various military scouts behind them, leaving Fluttershy alone by the medics. Various military ponies already begin to surround the perimeter in a very cautious way, everypony in the place except from the mane 6 and the Princesses were either taking notes about the artefacts scattered all around or helping to begin to construct tents for hiding the place of the public, the orders being given by Incitatus who is currently in a very serious state, as he jumps in his thoughts about the severeness this event signifies to the whole world. A very classic and royal room, there is a balcony that is closed by glass doors, which golden curtains cover what is inside the room. Several paintings of different ponies in battles and epic moments in the history of Equestria, with a chandelier in the ceiling made out of pure gold and crystals that are illuminated by the magic of the castle, give light and life to this room with rugs in a Persian and Arab style, and a large bed in a medieval and very classic style, made for a king to sleep on it. The strange alien is lying with a rag on the bed, he is with a plastic cable connected with a needle directly into the area of his bleeding, in the attempt in part of the doctors to make an intravenous therapy, as they were struggling to recuperate him, he is slowly dying, with a beeping sound coming from the wrist of the alien's suit. In the room, there is also small equipment that the alien had back at the landing zone, one of them is an L shaped metal tube that is located on one of the tables in the room, as well as a small thin iron box with a dark screen in its front. In the back of it, the figure of an apple is printed within the iron surface, and there is also a long white rope with three different extremities, being divided in the centre to the end where two small circular boxes are located, and in the other single extremity, there is only a very thin and small metal extremity. As for the location of the princesses, Celestia is trying to search a way in which they can take off the alien's helmet without him dying since after analyzing the symbols in the mirror on the alien's wrist, including the reason of why it is making that beeping sound excessively, is that it is alerting of some life and death condition that the alien is currently passing through. Both Celestia and Luna are determined not to let the alien creature of the heavens to die so easily. Luna searches through various books in the Royal Canterlot Library, as her sister is searching in the secret magic files at the Canterlot Castle. Book by book, through the whole library, is when she realized that she could not find in the central library of the immense place, beginning to search in the history books in the library's cellar, re-searching for the answer to save the creature. Finding an old book with a frame made of silver with a leather fodder with the ancient symbol of magic found well tucked among other magic books on one of the shelves, Luna has to blow gently to remove the dust. Opening it, she begins to search page by page to find her answer when after just some seconds, she finds it. Luna found an ancient spell discovered by the very same Starwswirl the Bearded, in which it says that could be used with species that cannot breathe the common air of Equus, but unbelievably, the last species that could not do this died more than 20,000 years ago, older than Celestia and Luna and older than their parents. Luna quickly teleported to her sister's location in the secret files of Canterlot, immediately showing it to Celestia. "Maybe this could work," Luna began showing Celestia this spell, in which Celestia responded with a confused look upon seeing the details of this ancient spell. "Apparently it has not been done in more than 20,000 years, and the details are not as specific.... well, the only thing it specifies is that it must be made by two alicorns, " Celestia said as she looked carefully at the scriptures in the book. "But then, how we can save this creature? it can't even breathe our air and the only source of air that if she can breathe comes from that suit she is wearing and is running out," Luna finished with a frown, trying to convince her sister to do it. "But..... what happens if he ends up killing the creature, " Celestia said shakingly with a worried face, "this is the greatest discovery of our species has ever made in the whole history of the world, and we cannot risk to let it just die " she finished saying softly. Suddenly, one of the guards, wearing golden armour and a Roman-style helmet, came running to the location of the two rulers, breathing heavily, with sweat and tired of running so much sense in all of his body. Standing straight when he reached the front of the two rulers, he showed a tired bow, then spoke immediately. "The creature lost its breath again with its helmet on, we had to take it off to sustain the composition of its air in it so that it could survive a little longer," the guard ended up breathing heavily after giving that long speech. Celestia and Luna immediately teleported to the place were carried to the room where the alien is located, several medical ponies around him, and a unicorn that with his magic tries to maintain life in this bipedal creature. "We need to do it now!" Luna says immediately moving towards the alien, with her sister following her. Luna quickly leaves the book on a table next to the place where the alien is located, she opens the page of the enchantment rapidly, positioning herself with Celestia to start the magical spell over the creature, as the two steel themselves for the upcoming spell. Closing their eyes, they begin to invoke the ancient magic, which causes a very bright light to appear around them. Their magic also begins to cross between its two powers, the spell is too strong, the power is felt in an almost omnipotent sense. Celestia and Luna open their eyes, revealing how they are white and shining in bright white light, showing the power of the two leaders of Equestria when their combined rainbow magic begins to roll up the alien's body, causing the body to slowly levitate, things inside the room begin to shake, the guards and doctors in the place tried to maintain their balance when an earthquake also begins to shake them, when in an open and close their eyes, the magic enters the alien's mouth, like a snake entering a burrow, the body is twitching and moving until the last piece. Suddenly, the alien stops levitating, as it slowly lands on the bedsheets of the bed, which have several blood stains that have been filtered through the alien's suit. Luna and Celestia begin to slowly come down, almost everyone in the place feels dizzy after the event, the magic also affects the various ponies that were also in the scene, suddenly, the alien begins to breathe without the helmet on his head, making Celestia and Luna sigh in peace, as several ponies made sounds of amazement when the face of the alien is clearer, the first thought of everyone is ’it looks like a monkey’ or more specifically, a primate. obviously The doctors take off the Alien’s white suit and some of his clothes beneath it to put some rags in the areas affected by cuttings and the bleeding. The two princesses tilt their heads a little bit by alien’s body, which is covered in a single sector between the legs of the creature, the reason behind it is for the closeness between both biologies. As for the rest of the body, by the complexity of its extremities and his chest it shows muscles, it has a combination of white and black skin, with very few hairs on his body except on his head, and on other special parts. One of the medics uses her magic in the human, "he is....healthy....." Celestia and Luna glanced at each other before Luna questions the young pink medic unicorn, "he?" "Yeah... it must be a he, well, judging from one of his.... umm parts, you know, we suppose it must be a he, " she finishes. "And do you think he will wake up?" Celestia inquires while looking closely at the creature, it is surely not the way everypony imagined how aliens would end up being. The doctor looks for some seconds back at the breathing human, before sighing and responding, "he is healthy, but... it simply lost to much blood and we don't have the same type of him, judging by when we analyzed the blood, discovering that it has plasma in it, something that is toxic in most species of Equus, not even the primates have plasma on their blood, and also...... it may be breathing our air normally, but its blood must be filled with some component of the original breathable air for these ... aliens, " she stops one second to catch her breath, "that means, that the only one that can produce the major loss of blood is he...." The three looked at the alien apologetically, looking how the creature is peacefully on the bed, he didn't seem scary at all while looking it this close, it sends a weird wave when you look at him, he might be an alien, but it is a living thing. Celestia decides to walk to the table where the equipment found of the creature is, in which one called Celestia's attention, being this the rare L-shaped tube, it seems very advanced, perhaps a weapon. Celestia is struck by a series of symbols printed on the metal tube. "They are letters ...." Celestia says. Bundeswehr Eigentum, those are the words that the two sisters are trying to understand, it didn't make sense at all, why did they write because their lyrics are followed, they seem stuck to each other, but that is not their job, but someone who can work with linguistics .... maybe..... "Twilight," begins Celestia, "maybe Twilight can decipher what she says on this thing ...." "Maybe, but until we figure out what these things do, maybe we should ..." BOOM! She is interrupted by a loud sound coming out of the metal tube, in which a projectile also comes out almost at impossible speeds, which makes Luna drop the tube on the ground, causing the tube to be activated again. Everyone in the place was stunned for what just happened, smoke coming out of the tip of the tube, Celestia sees one of the walls where the tube had been pointed to and sees two small holes in it, which made her feel a kind of inner nausea. "It's a weapon ..." Celestia bluntly days, taking the tube carefully from the floor, "you activated it," Celestia asks her sister. "I… just… pull… that lever," Luna says shaky way pointing with her hoof to a specific area of ​​the apparent weapon. "Where should we leave it, " one of the guards says fearfully, already acknowledging the damage it could do. Celestia remains in her thoughts for some seconds before speaking, "we are going to leave it on the table, scouts are going to guard this room in high priority status, " Celestia says causing various disapproving faces on several guards and medics in the place. "Next to the alien?" the guard said as if he could not believe what his ruler is telling him, it is simply stupid to leave a weapon within reach of an extraterrestrial being. "We don't know-how would be his reaction if you don't have any of your belongings, maybe it's not a weapon, what if it's a machine for the creature to live?" Celestia responds to the defiant tone of the guard, although she replied relatively calm and does not bother what her subject said, after all, if it is really stupid to leave that thing to the reach of especially an alien, it is not known if it serves so he can live longer, or so he can survive. The mane six are located in the hall of the royal dining room of Equestria Castle. Irresistibly inviting, the room's collection displays the unrivalled beauty of the traditional dining and high royalty. The dining table reflects highly decorative base with oversized scrolled feet, and the upholstered and tapestried chairs with the deep button tufted and nail head trim accents add classic character and represents luxurious detailing as the windows were intercalated with banners representing the moon and the sun, the two symbols that represent the Kingdom of Equestria. Twilight is walking from one place to another, worried and at the same time excited by the news of this alien, this event can change everything that is understood about science and mathematics that are understood in Equus, even though, she is still wondering why is the creature here, what was the thing that was shot into the sky, like a blazing ball of fire disappearing in the eternal mist of the skies, could the creature be stranded..... that single thought picked Twilight's head much more, what if he is lost and stranded in Equestria, plus, they haven't known any new news about the creature after he entered the room, it has been already 8 hours since they entered the room with the creature, even with all of this thoughts, learning about a creature from outer space, that is irresistible and a dream come true for her, maybe for anypony in Equus. Rainbow Dash and Applejack are also discussing the creature, but the issue is whether it comes to invade and scald the planet, although this is what Rainbow Dash is defending, while Applejack is defending the point that perhaps he only came to visit Friendly to the place, but based on what happened in the Whitetail Woods, you couldn't say much, Pinkie Pie is eating the muffins that were left on the table for the ponies in their wait of the news, as Rarity is simply drawing designs on a notepad, even though, the ambient is tense for everypony, they can feel a type of weird insecurity feeling around them, when suddenly, the two large doors of the room are opened, revealing Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both of them with small smiles. Twilight immediately snapped out of her trance, running towards the two alicorn princesses, "how is it?" she asks, obviously referring to the alien creature. Celestia was going to respond at first, but Luna interrupts her excited, "we managed to make him breathe our air, and when he wakes up we.....can learn so many new things, completely change the story!!!!!" Luna ends while clapping her hooves. Fluttershy shows to smile and a trace of emotion, since this news also calmed her immensely, although she still wondered how her general condition was, and speaking of the rest, Rainbow Dash manages to have fear but manages to hide it, like Rarity who also looked a little worried about the news of the aliens, Pinkie didn't even notice, and Applejack also shows a smile, after all, she just presented the great opportunity to talk to an alien. Celestia approaches Twilight, taking an image through her magic, where several engraved symbols appear on something metallic. "What is this?" Twilight asks a little confused by what Princess Celestia is showing her. "They are words, " Twilight's heart-pounding louder upon hearing that, because it means that if they have a language, making the symbols engraved on the big metal box and in the chest of the creature do make sense, "and I would like you to translate them." Now yes, Twilight's emotion could not be contained, which reacted to her going and hugging Celestia, assigned her to do one of the most important jobs in history, translate alien words completely, not like back at the site. "What if by chance ... it's a form of threat," Rainbow Dash says, approaching to Twilight after the hug, seeing the letters with some confusion, they make no sense. "Darling, I don't think we have to exaggerate," Rarity says from behind, but with some fear, almost as if she is trying to get that thought out of this alien being violent and coming to maybe ... to do a massacre...... "Just think about it, why is he alone here?" Rainbow Dash retorts "And if it is stranded here, maybe she attacked them with a manticore and because of that ... she couldn't get to the flying box," Twilight says trying to get her some brightness on the subject, maybe it's alien, but it doesn't mean that it's a beast. "It is a he, " Luna says, making Twilight change her view towards the blue alicorn princess again, "I think we could decipher that after noticing ... a certain body member, " Luna finishes, causing a faint blush on her cheeks. "Do you think that it may be true?" Fluttershy says. "We don't know," Luna speaks in a low tone, we don't know if it came alone, "we only know that we have the opportunity to find something new, something that can change us all." > Chapter V > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- EIN KLEINER SCHRITT FÜR DEN MENSCHEN In a cold and dark night that has fallen fast upon the land, the evening colour has faded leaving only a purple sky with shining stars to be looked upon, the torches being carried by the guards inside the castle are the current only source of light in the place as they also make a presence in Canterlot. The moonlight enters through the windows of the room, where the human is lying on his back. He begins to move, slowly opening his eyes. The cold breeze from the coast blows and almost momentarily freezes Peter, waking him up immediately. He tries to get out of bed, but is taken by surprise by seeing the place where he currently is, I mean, that is the bed for a king, how did he arrive here? "What the fuck is this place," Peter says softly, with a trace of fear in his voice, not remembering anything that happened before. A clock makes a ticking sound as Peter analyzes his surroundings. The cold breeze crawls on his skin. He tries to warm himself with one of the bedsheets, noticing at the same time that he is half-nude, all clothes gone except for his underwear. Glancing at each corner of the place, it seems that his current location is some king of stylish German room that could be in a medieval castle, it has a sense of royalty in it. He tries to get up but is halts himself at the feeling of something sticking and hurting in his left arm, that being a needle connected to a bag of water. Somewhat of what would you see in a hospital room. This place couldn't be a clinic, it looks more like a room designed to receive the Kaiser, it's decorations and the soft bed makes him sleepy again........... He slaps himself off the trance, deciding to concentrate on his current dilemma. "This is .... a kind of clinic inside the Neuschwanstein Castle?" Peter speaks to himself again, pulling the needle out of his vein very carefully, trying to not screw himself up. He notices another thing all thanks to the help of the moonlight, something that is unnatural on Earth, by the way. It lets him see that someone has sewed his skin, with a long scar representing a cut. Peter begins to analyze the scar, leading to not only one, but several scars through the zone of his rib. He puts a hand on one of them and makes pressure on the area, immediately feeling pain while he wheezes. That was a really bad idea, but he discovers that something or someone made this injury to him, as that pointy feeling in his rib is a sign that it was injured, and it's just starting to heal. His happiness immediately rises when he sees his suit all cleaned and organized on a classy. He quickly jumps off the bed and walks barefoot on the cold marble floor. Getting close to it, he sees that under them, there are also his causal clothes, the ones used under the spacesuit. Wasting no time, he puts his grey pants, his blue stockings, and a white t-shirt with an iron cross located on the left side of his chest. When he is about to begin to put his spacesuit on, he analyzes with suspicion the scratches on it, like if something would have...... "Fuck...." a faint memory comes back to his mind, the trip of Freiheit 8 and his arrival in Naples, which leaves him more confused, maybe those events were only a dizzy dream, ”I am supposed to be on the CSM right now....” His fear begins to boil out of his mind, his breathing becomes heavier, almost at the point of hyperventilating, the sinking feeling that you are alone.... but is he alone? Peter thought, ”it is impossible, it was simply just a dream. ” He begins to smile half-heartedly, trying to find an excuse for his unexpected appearance in a castle. ”What the...” Peter mumbles, feeling something picking on his pant, he slowly puts his hand in his right pocket, revealing something that didn't give him peace, but more insecurity of the place where he currently is, the Iron Cross award. It shines gloomily thanks to the moonlight, the silver and the black obsidian brighten upon the night. Peter stares at it solemnly, his heavy breathing appears again, and hyperventilation is threatening to happen for the sake of his feelings. Peter closes his eyes, and clenches his fist with the Iron Cross inside of it, trying to meditate, calming himself down. After all, astronauts are trained to pass through highly stressing situations without losing their mind, but that doesn’t mean that magical teleportation you could say, doesn’t give fear to anyone, first, he is stranded on a planet, and then he is magically teleported to a medieval castle.... maybe he is right, everything was just a dream.... right? He puts on the spacesuit, part by part leaving only the helmet, taking it with his left hand, he then decides to go to one of the tables in the room, as this one called his attention because it is where the pistol, the iPod, and the headphones are located. One of the things Peter notices is that the safety of the weapon is deactivated, a red led light appearing on it. He quickly pulls the small lever, activating a green light. The highly technological advanced pistol has the name of the Sturmwaffe M-9, specially designed for an emergency case in outer space. Peter is freezing even with his suit on. He walks towards the source of this cold winds, that being the open window, that it is an exit towards a small balcony. Overlooking out the city and the Equestrian plains down below, Peter stares out the beauty of Equestria, seeing a small city just….. an almost floating city on the mountain, being supported by only two columns upon a tall rocky mountain. The city is quite a sight, even from that long-distance, you can see a classic style, with a similar aspect to Paris and in some areas to the imperial capital, Berlin. Beautiful houses and large palaces can be seen below of the castle, neoclassical styles, something too old for the current time. This immediately alarms Peter even more, to begin with, he is in a place that challenges the laws of physics and gravity, and this can be recognized as a compliment coming directly from an aerospace engineer like him, and also, he is in a mysterious medieval castle, Bavarian if I could add, that releases both a calm and creepy sense at the same time. The city has an apparent trace of not being in modern times, even the most desolated and old cities in Europe have modern architecture these times. He then looks down, supporting himself on the metallic fence all around the balcony, in which he sees an abyss, hearing the turbulent sounds of the water hitting the rocks in what he believes is the moat of the castle, giving him a sinking feeling. Peter gulps in fear, "who designed this..." He suddenly leaves the balcony with fear at the chatting sound coming from inside. Closing the glass doors, he steels himself for anything that could be around the place at that moment. ”Someone…” no one responds, ”who is in there! answer me," Peter exclaims. He firstly doesn't hear anything, only the one of the ventilation and the other of the wind from outside, when suddenly, the chatting voices are heard again, but not from this room, but from outside of it, more specifically, coming from behind of the wooden doors. "I'm fucking dead, or I'm just dreaming," he says, approaching the two doors, slowly opening them with the handle, sweating a little bit for the strange feeling, magical you could say. He mentalizes himself only on positive things, breathing one more time, he opens them fiercely, immediately looking side to side in the front. His confusion is diverted when a metallic sound is heard from below, making Peter look down, and…. what he sees are two very short equines, looking at him with eyes that could say fear and at the same time courage, dressed in a Roman-style armour, with sharp iron spears, and a rigid body position. "Two ponies ....." Peter says out loud, leaving a resounding silence, suddenly, he begins to laugh at the thought that occurred to him, "maybe I'm in the circus of hell or something like that, hmph, but if I always pray to God" Peter looks at the ponies with seriousness at this point, slowly moving forward to the end of the hall, which makes the two ponies point their spears at him, and at that reaction, Peter immediately shows a frown on his face, as he puts his hand on the pistol that is located on his waist, "I don't want problems .... emm ponies, so chu chu, go eat emmm leaves or whatever the circus ponies do." One of the things that largely confuses Peter is the fact that these ponies have the force to charge some spears, as well as they can bend their limbs to move them with swiftness. These ponies aren't anything like the ones on Earth, they are small, maybe the height of a golden retriever dog, their eyes are large, and they don’t have a normal body shape, well, normal body shape to a normal horse or pony. The two ponies look at each other, changing their eyes again to the human when one of them decides to finally speak, "MEV 'EJ YIJAH WITI'NISMO' PA '!!!!!" Peter stands still, he is beginning to think that all of this is just an illusion, maybe the drugs that he took for the mission are affecting him right now, because those sound that the ponies just made, they weren’t even close to the sounds of a normal animal, those sounds seemed like words, the pronunciation unites, makes phrases, making Peter raise an eyebrow after the other pony also says something, "ROQ, JE JATLH DUJA'BA'PU '!!!" "If you are trying to communicate to me, I'll say it, what a fucking horrible job you are currently doing," Peter exclaims out loudly, already being more agitated by the expressions of these ....things, since he is not sure that they are, ponies or something else, a hallucination of the drugs or a dream, just the scary thing of believing and to be aware of something that feels real, but that it can’t possibly be something of the reality, I mean, these things can't possibly be talking, it must be an illusion in his mind obviously. It can not be true, everything looks very fictitious, something that in a way terrifies him internally. The ponies become mysteriously still and quiet for some few seconds before they suddenly started to walk towards him trying to get him to enter the room again, the two with visible frowns on their faces. Peter begins to back down, as he holds tightly the pistol handle, waiting for any class of attack coming from these dream creatures, even though, he isn’t planning to make harm them. He stops and gets into a better position to start running. "I think that I have to GO!!!!" Peter's force is used to kick one of the ponies, causing the other pony to throw his spear towards him, which he quickly dodges and ends up against the wall. Peter looks with his eyes wide open at how the spear nailed that wall, before running off with great speed towards the long corridor, various paintings of ponies are also hanged all around it, which makes Peter’s curiosity and fear rise. "GHUHMOH WAB!" one of the ponies shouts. A nuclear-like siren begins to sound throughout the castle. Peter's heart is palpitating with ferocity, hearing the hoofsteps all around the castle, even if he can't see them. Upon leaving the hall, he discovers that it might have been better to try to escape through the window of the room where he previously was, somehow ... because right now Peter knows that he is lost, the windows are the only source of light by the moon, even though, he begins to become lost in the castle through its giant halls and corridors, he does not even know where he came from, and where if he is going to die, but what Peter wants to really do is leaving this strange dream that he thinks he is having at the same moment, cause' at this point, Peter doesn't know if he went to space. "What the fuck, am I in a circus of ponies that are trained to make nonsense inside a castle?" Peter says between his breaths as he runs through the halls, his eyes looking where he should go, when suddenly, several ponies appeared in front of him, which made Peter take a hard turn to his right. "RoQ mev!!!" one of the ponies in the battalion shouts, supposedly that is their commander, as the castle is in maximum alert for the fleeing creature. Hall by hall, Peter runs, confused and terrified by the meaningless military screams and orders coming from the ponies. He arrives at a large hall, the windows have the forms and images of ponies, all in a cathedratic way. His running stops as he sees a whole battalion of ponies running ahead of him. Seeing this, he begins to back down, in which he also has to stop at the sight of another battalion that is chasing him from behind. Peter begins to hyperventilate again, his eyes ticking through the place looking for an exit, in what he sees, a window right next to him, at his reach....... he just needs to run, and wait for the death to not follow him from behind. He begins to prepare the grappling hook that is attached to the suit. Before Peter could do anything, a white pony suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of him, which left him stunned and a little bit dizzy for the sudden appearance. The pony is taller than any of the other ponies, and Peter surely recognized that this is also a pony and not a horse by the form of its body in general. It is not taller than him since it reaches his foreleg more or less, its fur is white, almost as pure as a canvas before painting, its eyes are pink, they do not radiate fear, but peace and security, its composture is strong, also, this pony, in particular, left Peter even more engaged and inquisitive than the others, since it has a horn, just like the unicorns in the Greek mythology, and not only has that, but also wings, white wings with feathers well lying, and a beautiful hair that completely captivates the human, aa gentle wind moves each fibre in it, a rainbow colour almost static and beautiful at the same time. A crown made of gold with several gems that Peter could deduce to be emeralds and rubies, and her chest is covered by a golden chest plate with a purple gem on the centre of it, but it's hard to tell. By the appearance, Peter concludes that it has to be feminine, by the soft traces on her face, which is weird, and animal isn't supposed to look like that. She approaches the human, walking with a type of shoes for her hooves, made of macerated gold with an inscription on each one of them. The white pony looks at the alien for a moment, the two are staring at each other, the human with fear, and the pony with a look of compassion. "Qo' vIp, " the white pony suddenly says to the human, in a compressive and soft voice, almost as if it is some beautiful musical notes talking in her voice. Peter blinks several times at the soft tone, but something that puzzles him is.... what is she, a unicorn, or a pegasus, there are no other species of this animal in the Greek mythology. "Ha', tu'lu' pagh nIS Haj, " the white pony talks once again, in her calm and pacific voice, walking towards the human, which only caused him to back down. From the corner of his eye he is ready to jump, he ain't not going to let a literal thing.... to get close to him, closing his eyes for a second, and breathing, getting ready to jump from the window. "nuqneH... loS, " the pony talks again, this time her voice more worried than calmed, as she begins to realize what is the human planning to do. He looks with a frown at the white pony, quickly setting the case down, and taking the leap of faith, which made everyone in the room shout in a way that you could recognize in their language as STOP!! Peter falls through the abyss with speed, pressing a button on the screen of his arm, making that the grappling hook on the suit to be activated, suddenly anchoring to one of the stones that were very close to the turbulent river below. Peter feels the force of the sudden arrest, pulling his arm, and feeling and even hearing how a tendon and a bone breaks, obviously a sign of an injury. Holding the intention of screaming out of pain, he closes his eyes and pressed the same button on the screen again, which causes the cable to be deactivated, pulling him down to the bank of this river, leaving him on the other side of the mountain where this castle is located. He starts to run, the sand is grey, and that could be noticed even in the middle of the night os for the brightness of the celestial body. Peter runs and runs, trying not to look back, avoiding the thoughts that he was just literally in a castle dominated mainly by ponies. Looking ahead, something stops him immediately, the land where he currently concludes in a waterfall that is floating…. as well as the whole land where he is. His death is signed between two things, going back to the castle or entering the city where surely one of those things or another weird creature is going to take him and kill him, or throwing himself and being lucky to survive. He decides to choose the latter for obvious reasons, another leap of faith for him, which causes him to enter the turbulent waters, dragging him at once without any warning of any kind. Moving in the water, he tries to keep his sight while swimming with the current of the water. He sees the edge, the waters move faster, and in a few seconds, the water throws him at once falling directly into another abyss even higher than the last one falling through the waterfall. The helmet begins to fog up with the drops of water, because of the speed that he is falling the first thought of death comes directly into his mind but it is not so apparent, because for his bad luck if that is what we can call it, manages to stabilize and fall with a perfect technique in a very deep pond, in which after some brief minutes thanks to gravity, he begins to swim up, feeling how the water is entering through his suitmaking him realize that it must be damaged or broken. He manages to get out of the pod into the shore, taking off the helmet immediately when he touches land, looking up, watching how the moonlight perfectly goes through the crystalline waterfalls. "I'm scared..." Peter simply says. Many people might consider those words the ones of a coward, but he is telling the truth, fear is that force that you do drives us to do things we never thought we are going to do just to try to save our lives, In the case of Peter throwing himself from very high places twice plus being trapped in a dreamland. “Damn it….” Peter speaks, beginning to breathe heavily, the feeling of fear is changed to something else, to the one of rage, hate, something that burns in his chest. “DAMN IT, FUCKING WAKE UP NOW!!!!” Peter shouts, throwing a small rock into the pond, which bounces on it. Peter is wet, drops of water still fall from his hair, and his eyes have a reddish colour. Suddenly, a sound behind him alerts all of his senses, coming from a forest that is similar to those found on earth, with differences such as the trees and leaf colours. Hearing the sound again, Peter becomes in total alert, taking out his weapon with his right hand and then cleaning the visor of his helmet a little bit to defog it, he proceeds to put on his helmet again, immediately afterwards running towards the forest, but not to the direction from where the sound came, but to another one, after all, if he stayed there those dream creatures will surely kick his ass in any way of saying it. Peter has a better view of the place, the moonlight enters the forest through the leaves on the top of these trees, the place feels gothic, abandoned, and in a way makes a feeling of dread to rise in the astronaut's body. Peter manages to reach what is an open field, almost a plain surrounded by other trees. A small ravine crosses the middle of this plain, Peter calms down a bit, breathing calmly, but still alert for any threat he may face. Peter deactivates the lock on the pistol since he couldn't do it while trying to get away from the previous sound. Walking around the place already with relative peace, the pain in his arm worsened, since now he also feels frozen, as if his veins had exploded internally and then froze upon the cold of this lands, besides still being wet with the water. Suddenly, several screams begin to be heard coming from the trees, Peter's calmness goes out when he sees torches again and the undisputed sound of swords and armour, the metallic and medieval sound give Peter chills in his back, making him run straight forward, jumping over the creek, he manages to enter the other side of the forest again, to be surprised by another army running ahead of him... it's as if someone is watching him from the sky. The panic increases in him, which makes him take off his helmet and sends a punch directly to his face, trying to wake up from this supposed fantasy he thinks he is having. Seeing how the blood of his nose was becoming impregnated in the glove of the suit also how the two armies are already fully visible and ready to do something against him, Peter stops hitting himself, putting on his helmet again, opting by the other measure, using the weapon. "ONE MORE STEP AND I BLOW UP YOU FACES!!!" Peter shouts, trying to threaten these ponies with his gun. The soldiers look at each other confused, in what is followed by approaching him even more slowly. One of the ponies in armour advances even more than the rest of the formation, using a different armour than the rest, more elegant, with a different touch, perhaps like that of a commander or a general. Another thing that is very noticeable in this pony is its horn, and in exchange for the animal that I found back in that castle, it has no wings. Meaning that it must be a normal unicorn, something that is IMPOSSIBLE in every sense of the word, EVERYTHING in this place is impossible. "Chay'pen SoH Ha 'jISaHchugh!!!" the pony exclaims, trying to get a firm voice, and even gets Peter to flinch a little bit, but, the German astronaut responds by pointing his gun at him, which makes the soldiers more alert, approaching Peter faster. "I don't want to hurt anyone!!!" Peter tries to rationalize with the creatures, "BACK THE FUCK OFF!!" he exclaims once again as the pony gets close to him very slowly, like if it is trying to gain terrain. The pony shows Peter a frown, breathing for a few moments, before speaking in a firm voice, "wa '!" "The fuck ..." "cha '!" the pony interrupts him once again, you know, Peter is beginning to think that he is counting ... "WEJ !!!" the pony in the shining armour exclaims, its horn begins to lit up, something that startled Peter immensely, which makes him to immediately pull the trigger of the pistol and..... BOOM!!!!! The sound causes all of the guards to cover their ears momentarily, but their focus is changed to see how their commander screams in pain, falling on the floor, blood all over his leg after the sound, the guards look at their origin, the weapon... "GHAH JONLU'CHUGH!!!" one of the soldiers with a female voice, shouts from behind, which makes the guards to suddenly run aggressively towards him, Peter looks to his sides, realizing that he is practically trapped, which makes him raise his pistol and shoot the sky, which causes the ponies to be stunned for a few moments for the loud sound it left, giving Peter the time to leave his position by kicking these creatures as if they are soccer balls. Peter manages to get back into the forest, looking back, he can hear the cries of anger from the ponies, which makes him run faster, the area is dark, his position more and more confused, Peter's eyes try to see clearly by using the rays of the moonlight, until… From the sky, something comes in....entering the forest, Peter sees a pony ... flying, wings, and dark blue fur, a connection with the eyes of this creature, a deep and beautiful teal colour that leaves him looking at this pony for a few moments .... but for his bad luck, the pony opted to use a kamikaze measure, falling directly towards him, raising one of the creature's limbs ..... and CRASH !!!!! The pony destroys the hull glass, crashing directly into Peter's face, sending him directly into the dream world.....and his body into one of the trees. > Chapter VI > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Es gibt keinen Ort wie zu Hause "What the frick ....." Peter begins to open his eyes, feeling a strong pain on his face. "Where am I," Peter says again, looking around, he realizes that his current location is inside a wooden carriage, with some small holes where you can see very few things for the size and the position Peter currently is. He moves with difficulty towards the other side of the carriage, trying to look through the biggest hole. The bright day is seen, the houses on the sides have a neoclassical design. Suddenly his sight becomes dark, something that lets Peter stunned for some short seconds for the change of peaceful transition, into the one of entering a medieval castle, as this rings immediately something inside Peter’s head, a memory perhaps... "It was all a dream......then why do I feel pain?" Peter says to himself quietly, relaxing a little more as he leans against the wall of this carriage, his body is in a current burning pain that is being covered by the fear of what the… ”frick is happening?!” It is noteworthy that place is a mean of transport for prisoners. But something even more weird and mysterious is the constant sound of hooves walking on a concrete sidewalk. ”Huh, I was captured by a type of emm ancient people?” he questions while trying to get into a more comfortable position. The carriage suddenly stops as a resounding cold comes in and sends chills through Peter's back, making him feel even more alone. That feeling goes higher just like a drug as the sound of hooves walking towards the apparent exit of the carriage. It is closed by a padlock that its style is of colonial Spain. He tries to look at what is going on the back of the carriage, but that idea becomes null as he couldn't find any hole to look outside in that sector, changing his intentions into trying to listen to what thing is outside, or what person. Some strange voices are heard in a singing style, speaking in a weird language with notes. "Wait a freaking minute," Peter says louder as he tries to understand the situation in his mental battle. That is interrupted by the sound of the padlock opening, following at the slow opening of the old wooden door. The dim light enters the place, sun rays landing directly on Peter’s eyes. ”What in the fuck…” silence resonates as everyone outside the carriage is just staring at Peter with a frown, and ’everyone’ means those pony soldiers, the same outfit of the last soldiers, only that this time there could be at least fifty of them, well-armed with spears and sword, which reminds Peter that..... "My gun," Peter says worriedly, trying to search for it around his body, and then followed to search it on the inside of the carriage with some few glances, realizing that it has disappeared. "Go Lan GhaH DaH !!!" a voice shouts coming from behind of the battalions of these ponies. "Ummmm...hey…..umm," before Peter could even try to communicate, a class of energy suddenly levitates him. He is trying to fight anything that these ponies are doing to him, but for his new concern, he is suddenly dropped on the ground. Suddenly two chains are levitated while being surrounded in a green aura towards him, causing an agitated reaction in his part to try to get away from these magical chains while lying on the ground. Peter’s hands moved without any class of control from his part, as progressively, the muscles in his body simply go to sleep, leaving Peter without the control of his own body. The bulky iron chains begin to adjust automatically, pressing the cold iron upon his hands and his arms, worsening the injury he acquired with no class of mercy or compassion. Immediately, the astronaut begins to fight this weird energy by trying to throw kicks in the air while floating, something that is being prevented by the state of his body. The chains also tie to his left leg, with a metal ball appearing out of nowhere at the end of the heavy chains. The ponies then proceed to levitate with force and even with rage. Pure pain is felt throughout his body, as he can feel the blood in his head moving from one side to the other, making him feel dizzy. "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!!!" Peter yells into the air as he writhed, trying with all of his forces to escape the energy surrounding him, which takes his liberty of movement off him. The energy suddenly pushes Peter towards the gates of the castle. Entering the place, a cold and dark feeling suddenly consumes Peter in his chest. The pain on his body can be compared with a heart-attack, it consumes every single part of Peter's body, as his fears also rise. His injuries become worse every time that the magic makes him do an unwanted movement, being trapped in it. Peter's body becomes dizzier, the pain mixed up with fear gives a sense of loneliness and terror in his stomach. He begins to spit blood, leaving a trace of it along the way. The ponies in the place simply do not care for his current condition, or they could simply be ignorant of it. They look at Peter with several frowns, as if they had fear, respect, and hate at the same time for him. Passing through the castle's huge corridors, the light entering from the medieval windows shows themselves with the epic events of their history, making him briefly change his face to the one of curiosity. No longer even trying to get out of the whatever is the thing where he currently is, coming from the realization that it is physically impossible to get out. Compare it to a kind of deterrence that cannot be played around. His last hopes fall into praying to God, while tears are threatening to appear in his eyes with a kind of comprehension and fear. The ponies lead him to a large wooden door, that after some seconds it opens with the loud sound of the wood sliding through the concrete floor, revealing stairs and stone walls with several torches which leads to a dungeon, the worst place in any medieval castle. Peter tenses up when he is pushed again, the pain is becoming stronger and almost inhuman. Looking around at his surroundings in the attempt of diverting his attention from the pain, he catches that these ponies are different from the ones outside of the castle, wearing a dark armour with a symbol that looks like a half-moon, everyone with spears while escorting him. Peter finally finds the source of the force field, that being a unicorn that has a faint light on his horn. A kind of light and colours coming from it, the same ones I might add of the energy where Peter is currently surrounded by. Going deeper into the corridor, a wooden door is located at the end of it, with a somewhat complex and at the same time a basic engineering mechanism for prisons. Two wooden wheels are located on each side of the door as they are also tied to some ropes that go all the way up to the ceiling, making it impossible for Peter to know how far they go or what they are for. Some unicorns, judging by their form, are located in front of the wooden wheels. They glance at the human and nod, immediately energy comes from their horns and begins to cover the wheels in a blue aura each one. The wheels slowly move at a steady rate, even though something to notice is that this door leads to a real prison cell, even though the door isn't the best representation of something 'big'. It begins to open, an annoying sound accompanying it, revealing what looks like a lion’s den at a zoo, only a little bit more spacious of what you would conventionally see. Every single ummmm...soldier pony in the place has a face that shows concentration and alertness, something that paid off for the lessons they had, especially when the captain of the Equestrian guard was heavily injured by the creature. They try to put him inside the room with difficulty because Peter is holding the edge of the door with all of his strength, fighting the energy that is pulling him inside. One of the armoured ponies runs into the scene, in which he raises one of his limbs and hits Peter in the stomach, something that takes his breath away, and makes Peter take his hands off the border of the room. From the pure logic of physics and the force of this energy, he enters with directly against one of the walls of the prison. The sound of a bone-breaking injury and the immediate pain in his arms, all to improve the situation in a better way….. Right? syndicalist. He is released from the magic, falling to the ground with intensity thanks to the metal ball. The stiffness caused by the energy disappears, letting Peter control his body again with normality, well at least the parts that aren't injured. Oh, I almost forgot, he also can not move to other parts of this gigantic place all thanks to the metal ball preventing him from trying to run to the door, which is fiercely closed, leaving Peter alone in this prison. The ceiling is very high, the daylight enters through windows at the top of the place, impossible for Peter to reach, maybe impossible for any human being, including the case where Peter doesn't have that ball restricting him from jumping or walking around the prison. The cell is spacious, the perfect place to put a wild animal in every single quality, almost like the ones in a zoo. Peter begins to applaud while wearing a tired grin on his face. ”Wow! congratulations! what an incredible presentation, inspirational and everything, hahaha........" The sarcastic speech is transformed into an uncontrollable cry, the combination of pain, stress, fear, and insecurity that catches him on levels that he can't simply control, although the chest pain passed, his arm is still hurting to the soul, forcing him to leave it completely still. "WHERE AM I!!!!" Peter screams again, listening to the echo on the concrete walls of the jail. His suit is very torn, the flag of Germany on his shoulder has many scratches, removing part of it at the bottom of the imperial flag. "Heil dir im Siegerkranz .......herrscher des Vaterlands......" "Princesses what happened!!!" Twilight exclaims, running towards Celestia and Luna with the rest of the main 6 following her from behind. Before their arrival, the princesses were watching with attention the weapon lying on one of the tables in the throne room. A sentiment or a kind of wave that the alien weapon is expelling something, and it is very close to the one of chaos magic. "Twilight," Celestia says while turning and running to meet Twilight, nuzzling her afterwards with affection. "What happened ..." Twilight says more naturally while looking at Celestia to her eyes, even though the gun lying on the table diverted her attention towards it, "what is that?" Luna and Celestia look at each other, being the latter who responds to the alicorn with a faint shaky voice at the, "apparently, it the weapon of the creature, “ she pauses for some seconds, battling in her mind if she should tell Twilight about the occurrence of last night. She sighs with tiredness, “......the one which Incitatus was injured" Several gasps are heard around the room, the mares suddenly become very worried about the news they just received. Silence fills the room. "It's all right....he is going to recover," Celestia says, trying to calm the mares using the most affectionate and calm voice she could offer, “he was only injured in the leg” Rainbow Dash suddenly interrupts the conversation. "What the hay is this supposed to be?" she asks, making everyone to change their attention towards Rainbow Dash. Luna becomes impressed by the sudden velocity that the pegasus managed to get towards the other side of the throne room. Luna finally decides to speak about the subject, "it is the weapon that we found with the alien creature” Rarity decides to articulate out of her curiosity and fear, as she is remarkably nervous about the main fact that a pony was already injured by the alien. "And where ... is he right now?" Rarity inquires with a trembling voice. Celestia hesitates a bit before responding, "we sent him to one of the dungeons in the castle," Celestia replies as she looks at Rarity with a sad face, “he is… currently, in a safe location, away from anypony that he could injure” Twilight's ears move as she heard what Princess Celestia said, so the alien is in the castle right now, "and how is he?" Twilight asks. Luna raises an eyebrow, her change of voice from concern to interest is something a bit radical, considering that her brother was almost killed. "Well, they informed us that on the way to the prison the alien was spitting...blood, “ that statement from Luna makes Fluttershy’s ears to perk up, as her interest is in the health that the creature could be in that moment. "Blood!" Fluttershy says alarmed, "It means he's still hurt ... but how?" "Well..... it jumped through one of the castle windows, and then Luna left him unconscious again.." Luna glances away from her sister’s gaze, as her current mental battle is between feeling pride for stopping an alien ... or hurting the alien, considering the breaking discovery for the whole history of Equus. Rainbow Dash huffs in a way that can be translated as .... 'it is worth a damn' "And what ... I mean, that thing," Rainbow Dash spits that word as if she was referring to a plague or something, "it hurt Incitatus, it shouldn't be like a national alert or something...I mean, come on dude! It is ... an alien, and not only that, but he brings one of his weapons, " Rainbow Dash finishes with a frown while crossing her limbs. This leaves Celestia thinking silently, what should they do with this alien, although it is a bit rude what Rainbow Dash said, she is right in several things, like what could be done with the media, since suspicions have already been raised by the supposed meteorite that fell near Ponyville, besides, they already have confiscated equipment that none of the scientists has managed to decipher, and it has been two weeks since the alien arrived at Equus. Celestia sighs tiredly before speaking again with a little bit more of authority, "we don't know his stability....we don't understand his language either, and he doesn't understand ours, I tried to talk to him that night... his voice, his actions, they don't look like someone who wants to hurt anypony, they just sound like someone who is simply terrified..." Luna looks at her sister with a bit of melancholy, since in her thoughts she also wondered how they were going to get out of the crossroads they had entered with all this, what would the other nations think? they cannot make it public, especially with the decayed state of the diplomatic relations with the Griffon Empire and Stalliongrad. But something is maintaining a cheerful state on Luna, the fact that they could know about an alien, how is the planet where he came from, what are all those things he has, and how the mechanism on each one of those things work. "Tia," Luna begins, with a calmer and more subtle tone, "I think we should visit this alien since he is out of reach from his weapon, we should check if he is hurt, “ Luna pauses for a second in a thinking manner, “we just can't afford to lose a discovery like this one" Celestia is hesitant at first, but upon discovering what her sister was formulating in her head just by looking at her eyes, she deciphered what could be a good idea, or maybe a bad one, since they cannot lose this alien again, it is already in a very bad condition when he arrived at the castle for the first time, and now ... you just don't know. "Is he stable?" Applejack suddenly asks, breaking her uncommon silent state, "I usually don't agree with Rainbow," she says while glancing at her friend, who responds with a glare, "but it is true ya’ know, it hurt a pony, we don’t know if it can do it with other ones, what if he escapes again." There is one thing that doesn't feel right for Luna, having to do with the chaos magic that flows within him, as back when the alien was unconscious back in the low forest of Canterlot the princesses had to induce positive charges to the alien to be able to make simple spells on him. "We don't know…. but I think that my sister has a point, maybe he was simply afraid and now....." Luna finishes, somewhat insecure of what she just said, since it is only to conclude in a creature that has never been studied in its psychology, And what is the maximum they know about it? Well, it's very violent, but at the same time, it seems to have feelings … apparently... "Twilight, I'm going to assign you and your friends some rooms for a stay in the castle, since I'm afraid that it can become one of the biggest threats that Equestria has ever confronted, " Celestia says with the rare quality of fear within her, "I'm going to give to you the Elements of Harmony until the situation with this alien is resolved, or at least it is secure, " she finished, causing a little bit of fear in the mares for the way she ordered that, more authoritative and unusual of her way of talking. The darkest part of the castle without a doubt, Luna and Celestia descend through the stairs to the place where the alien is held, red blood is stained on the concrete ground, like a painting that ended drying. Luna stares at the floor for some seconds before gulping with a rare sense of fear in her, it is a dystopic and creepy memory at the same time, the blood of an alien all around the castle, what is worse than that…. Arriving at the door, there are several armed guards, one could say that there is even a complete division taking care of the place, giving a higher priority to this matter. Captain Cepheus, who was assigned only an hour ago that he will be in charge of handling the troops and guarding the creature. Their awareness rises when they see the two princesses pass in the middle of the soldiers, each one giving space for the leaders of the country, making their way towards the captain. "Captain," Celestia begins, speaking in a voice that showed sympathy even in the situation, "how is the creature?" Cepheus clears his throat a little, trying to eat the nerves that are threatening him from all sides. "Well, an hour ago, he was just shouting harsh sounds, and then he just stayed in complete silence " the captain concludes, which makes Luna react immediately worried. "Is he okay?!" Luna questions, the fact that he is silent is not a good sign in any way. The captain responds immediately, trying to calm the princess, "he is breathing and alive if that is what you are asking, but he has not accepted any kind of food and starts saying things in his tongue that nobody can really understand" he finishes reassuring not only Luna but also Celestia who is accentuated by the alien's state. "We're going to try to communicate with him," Celestia states with authority. "We do not know if it is stable.... plus, how are you supposed to communicate with the that-that thing if it speaks in another tongue, " the captain replies to Celestia in a challenging way, but who can judge him, one of the basic things a soldier must do is defend his nation, and by leaving an essential part of it by permitting their leaders in a room with something from outer space is not the best idea of ‘protection.’ "Captain, it's an order," Celestia replies in her royal Canterlot voice, making the captain remain immediately get silent, not wanting to fight with the princesses. He looks at those who handle the door mechanism and gives them a nod, which makes them after a little hesitation to start the process of opening the heavy door, the annoying sound is heard, the soldiers steel themselves for anything that could happen, pointing their spears towards the door. Opening, the sunlight of the afternoon inside begins to enter the area coming from the inside of the cell. The door is open, and instead of receiving an expected attack, they all see instead a body thrown away, the slow breath can be seen in the apparent area of his stomach, a symbol that he is still alive. Celestia and Luna watch him closely for a few seconds, realizing that, seeing him like that, he didn't look scary or crazy, he looked instead like weak, fallen, and a destroyed pony with no hope, as his white suit-thing is covered in a red stain combined with dirt, more or less, and its weird red-coloured blood. They look at each other, trying to decipher what to do first when getting close to it, continuing to nod. Entering the place where the alien is, blood stains are also scattered on the floor of the cell. Luna and Celestia approach him, which in a sudden move, he gets up from the position of lying on his side when he hears the hooves walking towards him. He gets backwards with a tired and shocked face, sticking himself towards the wall as if he has been cornered by an enemy. Neither Celestia or Luna ever saw him awake, well, excluding the time where Celestia found him in the castle, even though it was difficult to see his face for the darkness back there, and for Luna, well, that kick left him directly on dreamland. The eyes of the three are fixed, an awkward silence fills the room, the alien is looking at the princesses with his constant face of pure despair. Luna notices something different this time, and that being that he is hurt, noticeable by a half-open eye and purple colour around his left eye, plus several scratches and red areas on his face with the lips of the creature being covered also in the red coloured blood. His mane is disorganized, a quality of a pony that entered supreme madness as if he came directly from an asylum. Both Luna and Celestia try to be non-threatening, but the alien is scared anyway, no matter how they tried to show kindness in their expressions. He arms himself with courage and decides to speak first. "Sie werden mich endlich töten, da ich denke......das wäre eine große erleichterung" Luna and Celestia show an uncomfortable face, that being replaced when they looked at each other, neither understanding a word of what the creature said. "Nein?" the creature asks a little more desperately for the lack of speech from both of them, "du wirst nicht reden?" Luna was going to start talking but she is interrupted by the sudden laughter of the alien, which alerts the guards outside of the cell as they look inward. "GERN GESCHEHEN!!!!" the alien suddenly screams with a touch of comedy in his language, madness more visible than ever, sitting on the floor with its back against the wall. Celestia decides to speak with confidence but at the same time with a little pity, "do you have a name?" The alien raises an eyebrow while looking at them with an amused face, as he takes a rock from the floor and throws it towards the door, making some guards prepare their weapons as if they are going to charge towards him. Seeing how he got to attract and fool the guards he laughs again. "Tia, I don't think we can communicate with him.." Luna whispers Celestia in a low voice. She stares at the alien for some seconds before responding to Luna. "Wait," Celestia begins, “is he still loaded with positive magic right?" Luna gazes her briefly, as she turns her gaze back to the alien, who keeps laughing without stopping in any way while she analyzes and identifies the magic that is inside the alien. "I can still feel charges," Luna replies to Celestia, in which she realizes what Celestia is planning to do. "A language spell!" Luna says more excitedly, making Celestia and the alien flinch a little, the latter looking at her with an uncanny face. "I could...but somepony needs to lift him while the other does the spell," Celestia answers, and if you are wondering what the two leaders of Equestria are talking about, then define it by trying to change his native language to Ponish. "But, we can leave him without speaking his original language forever, since we don't have any kind of way to transfer his original language back to him," Celestia says while Luna is already preparing to begin the spell, leaving her still for a brief moment. "Then... how can we communicate with him, I don't think we can make him learn our language, the way of his pronunciation, is very close to the one of a wild animal!" Luna ends a little more discouraged by her sister's previous comment, a moral dilemma what they should do without a doubt. "Uptown Mädchen....sie hat in ihrer uptown-welt gelebt...." the alien suddenly begins to sing for no reason, moving his body in a dance while getting more comfortable, not a bad voice though…. Luna and Celestia look at him awkwardly, making Luna speak again, "I think he's going crazy, and the only way is ... to talk to him for real," she finally ends, letting Celestia think about it for a few seconds. "Okay.." Celestia starts, making a smile appear on Luna's face, "but if something comes out-" Celestia is interrupted by the alien's loud singing, irritating her a little bit. ".....if something goes wrong, guess who I'm going to blame," Celestia manages to tell Luna. Luna looks at Celestia with a bored face, as Celestia just displays an amused one. "So much for trying to discover something new, " Luna sighs silently. "I heard you!!" Celestia tells Luna, her face changes to a frown directed towards her sister, making Celestia giggle a bit. Ahhh sunbutt doesn’t stop right, not even in Kaiserreich where Chef Boyardee is a national hero of Italy and Papa Stalin couldn’t share OUR communism. Celestia levitates the alien with several protection spells, who reacts with an almost blank emotion for that situation, well, if you are excluding the annoying and childish laughter coming from the alien. Already levitated, Luna points her horn towards the mouth of the alien, concentrating silently, her horn lights and shoots dark energy getting exactly at the target, immediately causing making him spit out a cloud of smoke that whispers 'Deutsch' as ​​it goes out of the cell by the window, getting lost in the air. Luna turns her horn off, causing Celestia to gently lower him back to earth, standing a little unbalanced. He blinks momentarily, letting his back slip on the wall, sitting again on the floor. "You… are you not going to kill me at last? will you continue to make me suffer creatures from hell?" the alien states, clear and loud in the Ponish language. Luna makes a happy sound while jumping, while Celestia has a small smile on her face, but excited, some guards even look back at the place with a shocked face, mutters from behind can be heard with the conversations between the guards. "That is a yes?" the human replies with an awkward face. Luna is hesitant at first, but oh boy, IT ISN’T FUN!!! "I'm Princess Luna and she is Princess Celestia, rulers of the Kingdom of Equestria, and we...ummm...we invite you to Equestria with alien happiness," Luna says excitedly, as Celestia literally just hoofpalms herself. As soon as she talked, his mouth hanged down, his eyes widened, showing a face of shock for at least one minute before laughing again, "HOW CAN YOU FREAKING TALK!!!!" The sudden shout startled Celestia and Luna, even making them flinch slightly. "So tell me demons, why couldn’t I go to heaven?" the alien continues with a sarcastic tone of voice, although neither Celestia nor Luna knows what this is referring to. "Do you have a name?" Celestia asks the alien trying to dodge the strange question he just asked. He is a little hesitant before responding, changing his face to a more serious one. "Peter, lady of the ponies with a horn, no no no that is not right, “ he thinks what to say for some seconds while tapping his chin, “I have it! lady of the white ponies with horns….and you must lady of the edgy ponies and depressive I suppose? just like those singers...." "What?!” Celestia says looking weirdly at the alien. “Oh, they are from back home…...well not back home, America more or less, “ Peter responds to Celestia with a smile, showing his teeth. The princesses eyes widened when they saw the canine teeth. “We are the rulers of the Kingdom of Equestria, sovereign state of Equus Mr. P..et..er," Celestia says with confusion and a little annoyance, but who blames her? besides pronouncing the alien's name terrible. "Ummmm ya' know, you could be the Kaiser of my great Kaiserreich, but you gotta call me COMMANDER, commander P-E-T-E-R, learn to spell things right miss," Peter finishes jokingly, but the disrespect touches the nerves of both Celestia and Luna. "I didn't think aliens would be…..like that," Luna whispers to Celestia. "Listen, we can see that you are confused-" Celestia is interrupted again by the alien who now has a smile of pure sarcasm planted on his face. "Of course I do! I mean, why did they send me to hell when I died? besides, look, I'm not an interior designer but this place needs some arrangements for sure," the alien finishes, looking around the place. "To die?" Luna asks, getting a little closer to the alien, who doesn't care a bit, as if he is denying everything. "Of course I must be dead...I mean, I am talking to mythological creatures that do not look in any way of what I consider a normal pony, “ he stops briefly before continuing, “I mean, you are talking to me…..hahaha! and a quick question," the alien says approaching Luna while crawling on the floor, "where does Satan have Sébastien Faure and the syndicalists? just a silly question but-" The alien is interrupted by Luna, watching him with a frown, "thou are not dead commander" The little laugh Peter is suddenly extinguished by Luna's words, as a frown begins to slowly appear on his face, "what are you talking about.." "We found... a box...of metal that we assume is a class of….ummm ship, also, there was also a flag on the place," Luna says, as she suddenly brings the flag her magic, causing Peter to throw himself on the ground, out of fear, going back towards the wall again. "What...what the fuck are you talking about…." a silence reigns in place after the appearance of the German imperial flag, floating thanks to the magic of Luna towards the alien, he takes it quickly with fear. Peter looks at the flag in silence, thousands of images running in his mind, holding it in a kind of sadness that cannot be described by a simple word. Suddenly, Luna makes something else to float towards him, smaller this time, a piece of black metal, which forms a figure. Peter grabs it in the same way with his non-fractured arm, his fist clenched, feeling the cold metal in the centre of his fist, opening it, he manages to see the Iron Cross, given back on Earth. He begins to breathe rapidly, his heart beating at a thousand per hour, "this is not real...THIS CANNOT BE SIMPLY FUCKING REAL....it is not !!!! IT IS NOT !!!!!" Peter screams, moving his fractured arm and knocking it back furiously, making the wound worse by listening and feeling how his bone is buried in the flesh, giving an extra cry of pain. "You are injured!!!!" Luna shouts approaching the alien again, which causes him to shrink back from fear. "DON'T GET CLOSE...YOU-YOU THING THAT THE FRICK KNOWS WHAT ARE YOU!!!" Peter shouts with all his might, making Luna and Celestia flinch for the sudden exclamation, so much so that the guards begin to walk into the cell. "Listen, I know you are feeling confused but, " Celestia is interrupted again by the alien, who is hyperventilating, losing almost all of his air. "Freiheit.....everything was true....I'M TRAPPED ON ANOTHER PLANET!!!!" Peter shouts with even more strength, making both Celestia and Luna flinch again, a frown on his face showing anger and rage. The alien stands up and tries to run towards the door, but Celestia forces him to sit down again. Concentrating her magic on his body, she fires it directly on his chest, which causes Peter to throw a cry of pain again, only this time three times louder, so much that some guards enter the place running, but were stopped by Luna who simply looked at them with a frown, which means nothing of their incumbency. After the moment of pain passed down, Celestia breathes heavily for the amount of magical exhaustion she just released, it is almost impossible to control the alien. Peter begins to move the arm that he had fractured freely, watching it carefully, the pain completely dissipated from it. "What the hell…...some kind of black magic, " Peter says out loud, looking at Celestia with an astonished face. Celestia sigs with peace since the alien stopped screaming or behaving like a crazy pony, although the face of concern is still visible on his features. “Who the hell are you, “ Peter says, slowly standing up again, looking at the alicorns with a frown, trying to get information about these mysterious creatures in a more civilized way. "Thee didn't hath heard anything of what we just hath said to you?!" Luna replies while looking at the alien with an exasperated face, her nerves are not keeping up with the situation. Celestia tries to get close to the alien, but he reacts by slowly backing up, trying to get as far from these ponies with a frown, looking at them while holding the German flag in his left hand, and the iron cross in his right, both of his fists clenched. "No.... how the fuck could have I heard you, " Peter says while pointing at Luna, looking at her with an angry frown. Celestia groans, raising her view with comprehensive eyes, "we..." she stops for a second when the alien looks at her with a trace of fear, even though, he motioned her to continue by moving his fist, "I am Princess Celestia and she is Princess Luna, rulers of the Kingdom of Equestria, sovereign nation of Equus." Peter gulps, his eyes fixated on the pink ones of Celestia, as his face begins to soften slowly, "Equus?" he asks, "that must be the name of..." "This p-planet, commander, at least the one we gave it, " Luna says softly while catching up with her sister, standing by the side of her. Peter's eyes widen in a sudden realization of something, "how the hell do you know that, who told you the thing of commander?" Luna looks at him again awkwardly before responding again, "thee did! liketh five minutes ago!" Peter tilts his head slightly, "I don't recall having that conversation miss Luna-" "Princess Luna, " she snaps back, Celestia looks at her sister with a shocked face. Peter just stares at her before continuing, "Princess Luna, I don't remember having a conversation with you about that exactly, " Peter glances at Celestia momentarily, "neither with her" "Your name is Peter right?" Celestia says, stepping closer towards the human, this time he reacts by freezing there at the sudden mention of his name, long time since he has listened to that. "Right...." he gives a step of faith and begins to get close to Celestia, something that she was not expecting that was going to come out from the alien. Gradually, he begins to touch Celestia on her face, trying to feel the reality that he is currently living on, even though, Celestia winces slightly, but not trying to scare away the alien, as for the reaction of Luna is just staring at the scene, her mouth wide open in shock. "You, feel very real, " Peter says shocked, giving a large step back after finishing confirming his doubts, "so princesses, right? your parents must have balls of steel by sending their daughters to talk with me, a fucking piece of crap that fell from space apparently, at least for you." "Parents?" Luna says out loud, looking at Celestia, trying to find an answer of what he just said, "they didn't send us, we came here by our own, and there are no such things as king or queen, " she finishes shakily, trying to comprehend what the buck he just said. Peter looks at them with a confused face, before changing to the one of realization, "Ohhhhh right, you are the rulers, so I supposed that you must be both the queens of this place suppose, " he shows a more secure and a slightly amused face. “What? no that is our royal name!” Peter raises an eyebrow in confusion, “so... princess is the royal name of both of you” He begins to walk around both of them with his arms on his back, trying to decipher something about the ponies. Celestia is just following his face, preparing for any unexpected movement that the alien could make, Luna imitating her sister. “You don’t look like leaders, you don’t even look like....um real ponies, so tell me, what are you?” Peter says while stopping, staring directly, looking at Celestia’s eyes. Celestia jerks a little bit, a frown slowly appears on her face at his comment, “we are ponies, Commander Peter-“ “Bismarck, like the chancellor, “ he interrupts Celestia with a small smile on his face. Celestia remains silent before continuing with her previous speech, “Commander Bismarck, we are obviously ponies, even though, how do you even know that?” Peter responds firstly with a confused face before talking again, “know what?” “That we are ponies” she retorts with distrust on her voice. Peter gives a step forward, a frown on his face, as he raises his hand and points the at the ceiling, “back in my home, there are real ponies, you know-“ Luna interrupts Peter, who steps forward and begins to get close to the alien with a frown. “Tell us, what really are you, a challenging hiding in the body of an ape maybe?” Luna says defiantly, looking at the human with a lot of distrust, something that he notices, making him flinch. “I don’t fucking know what a challenging is, but for your information princess, I am what they call human, Homo sapiens if you want to talk on scientific terms, something that you might not know blue, “ Peter responds, giving one step towards her with a frown of his own, a tone that is as defiant as the one the Luna used, obviously provoking him. “What thee just said!” Luna exclaims a bit, startling Celestia who is looking at their discussion with an awkward face, as for Peter.... “You think that you can fucking raise your voice with me!!” Peter responds with the same coin, putting more wood on the fire called rage. Before Luna could say something else, Celestia quickly intervenes in their discussion, teleporting in the middle of the two. “Let’s be civilized here!!” Celestia exclaims, looking with a frown to both Luna and the human. The human sniffs, searching for something in one of his suit’s pockets as he walked back to the wall. A small red box with the name of Marlboro printed on it. He opens the Marlboro box, taking a cigarette and putting it on his mouth as he takes with his other hand a silver lighter, lighting the cigarette. “This shit still works, “ Peter mutters while he looked at the lighter on his hand while shrugging. Celestia’s curiosity turns up when she sees the small device and the stick on his mouth leaving a smoke trace, even though, she decides to go directly to the point once again. "I believe that we started with the wrong hoof, so let me ask to you our questions first, " Celestia finishes with a small frown. Peter remains quiet for some seconds, before shrugging and smoking the cigarette. A smirk appears on Celestia's muzzle, beginning to walk close to the human, leaving her sister behind, who is still looking at the alien with uncertainty and rage at the same time. "So, from where do you come from, hooman" Peter gives her an amused look, "it is human, not hooman, " he smokes and exhales, right at the face of Celestia, leaving her dizzy for some short seconds, "and answering your previous question princess, I suppose that I come from the third planet of the Solar System, Earth" Celestia quickly recovers from the last actions of the human, trying to process what he just said to her. Before she could speak again, decides to leave her appreciated opinion. "That flag, " she motions to the black, white and red flag that is currently on the knees of the human, "from what country does it comes from...... from what country thee come from human" Peter smirks, Luna's teal eyes met with Peter's deep marine blue ones. "The German Empire your highness, sovereign nation of my planet, and apparently, " he looks around the cell slowly before looking Luna again, "I guess that I am the only representative of it while being on this place, that no offence.... but I still believe that this isn't real" Luna gives a bored face, as her signs or rage are quickly changed to the ones of tiredness with exasperation, "why can't you believe that this is real?" Peter smokes again, exhaling the large smoke cloud directly to Luna's face, not like with Celestia that was kinda unintentional but with amusement this time. "Unlike many people that may be in this cursed situation, " he glances at Celestia while Luna coughs thanks to him, "it is not so easy to believe that I am currently with talking animals in another planet, maybe another person, but not me" He chuckles, getting close to Celestia again, "if someone can give me one real- FUCK!!!!" Celestia pinches him with electricity, the human immediately responds by saying nonsenses. Maybe this was a bad idea "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT, that hurt!" he says while trying to make a tragic face, "why are you doing this to me?" "Why-why, " Celestia sighs, "it is so hard to talk with anyone in your species?" He stops flopping on the floor, as he raises his view again to look at Celestia, standing up with the cigarette still on his mouth plus a small grin planted on it. "Let me think...." he taps his chin, "yes" > Chapter VII > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Das Land in einer anderen Welt "Shut up!" "No, thee shut up!" "No, you shut up!" "No, thee shut up!" "No, you shut up!" "STOP!" Celestia exclaims using her royal Canterlot voice, looking at the human and her sister with a frown, and she thought that the nobles liked to fight between them, but this..... "S-She is accusing me of things I didn't do!" Peter shouts while pointing at the angry alicorn. He steps forward to meet her glare. "Of course!" Luna says while doing circles with her hoof, "you are a bucking alien! how are we supposed to believe what thee just said!" "Luna!" Celestia exclaims to her sister for her bad vocabulary. A childish fight initiated in the room at the mention that the princesses are the ones that control the sun and the moon, and Peter here obviously doesn't believe them, he instead began to try to explain the stupidity of that fact and started to fight with Luna principally over the matter of magic. For the past 20 minutes, the two have been yelling at each other like a married couple. "Listen to me princess," Peter replies while getting close to Luna with his own frown, "you can't lie to me, maybe to those ponies, yes, but to me no!" "You calling me a liar!" "Exactly," Peter responds with a sly smirk on his face, "you are a liar moonbutt." "Commander please," Celestia says as she intercedes in the middle of the fight, trying to calm down the situation, "we are not here to fight you." "Maybe the idea of the dissection wasn't bad after all...." Luna mumbles, but with the obvious intention of Peter to hear her. His eyes widen, and his fists clench. "Luna stop at this moment!!" "What the hell did you just said to me you little!!!" Peter finally lets his rage go off, and runs towards Luna. The eyes of the princess of the night widen, as she activates her magic and uses it to levitate the human with difficulty thanks to the loss of positive magical charges that he has lost through time. "IM GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU-YOU LET ME!!!!!" Peter tries to send kicks at the alicorn while levitating. She flinches, but after waiting some seconds, she simply puts him with force against the wall, with the obvious care of not injuring the human. Silence fills the room as no one dares to talk. Celestia looks at the two disapproving glares that the human and the alicorn are sending at each other. She clears her throat and gets close to the human, making him flinch slightly, "look, Commander, I want to establish a peaceful relationship with you." The human snorts, but Celestia ignores him and keeps talking. "But I need to be sure you aren't a threat for my subjects," she glances at the door of the cell, and after some moments she turns to look back at the human who has softened his face, "and if you didn't know..... you injured one of them." Peter tilts his head slightly as he raises an eyebrow, getting close to Celestia, "what... I don't recall." "With you iron tube," Luna starts in a more moderate voice, but still with that hateful glare, "the one that you brought with you." "The pistol?" and at that moment, Peter remembers the night scene, the moment where he used it to defend himself. His eyes widen and begins to shiver as a worried and fearful face appears, "wow, ummm, yeah.... I am sorry..... I really didn't want to hurt anyone, is he or she alright?!" Celestia becomes suddenly impressed, she didn't expect the human to be worried for one of them, "he is alright Commander, but still, why did you use that thing? you have any idea how bad you did." "I was surrounded okay," Peter says, deflating a bit, "I didn't know what to do at that moment.... so I just.... you understand me," he raises his arms in exasperation, trying to get the princesses to understand his point. "But that just brings us to another point human," Luna begins defiantly, startling her sister again, "what are your intentions here? hmph, why did you bring a weapon with you, what are your plans!!" Peter is taken back momentarily, his frown slowly starts to reappear, "what.... I don't understand your question?" Celestia was going to say something but realizes what her sister is trying to ask, and even she has curiosity and fear, an alien comes into Equus and has a technologically advanced weapon with him, why? that case could be the scenario of an invasion...... just like in comics and science fiction books. "You heard me human," Luna stands in front of Peter, her eyes are straightened as her horn glows weakly, "what are your intentions here in Equestria, why did your Germ-any send you here?" He finally understands what the princess is trying to say, his eyes widen as he scoffs, crossing his arms, "it is not what you are thinking, I only came here to explore this planet." "Then why are you bringing one of your weapons with you?" Celestia asks before Luna can counter. He raises his hands defensively, "it was only for scientifical purposes, I am not in the military neither anything like that, and being sincere it is the first time that I have used a weapon in my life." "Then what are you," Luna asks this time while raising an eyebrow. "I am an astronaut," Peter stops, scratching his scruffy beard, "for being clearer you could say that I am a space explorer." "So... they send you to explore other planets?" Celestia says calmly, looking with curiosity, "interesting..." "But that doesn't respond to our question," Luna retorts, trying to keep a frown on her face, because her curiosity is winning over her rage at this moment, "w-what are your real intentions, why did you come to Equus." "As I previously said princess, I only came here to explore," Peter responds with a more relaxed face. "But why?" Peter hesitates, "t-this world was discovered by luck, Naples, is the name that we baptized ummm what is-" "Equus," Celestia bluntly responds. "Equus, right, it has some qualities that to the scientists of every nation in my world found interesting, and most of those theories have been confirmed," he finishes, crossing his arms again. "Like what theories?" Luna says sceptical, her curiosity dissipating her frown. "First of all, water, we discovered water," Peter pauses for a second to get more comfortable against the wall, "second, vegetation, and third which is the most important of all, life," he finishes, chuckling a bit. "Life?" "Life, the rarest quality in the whole universe, and here I am, talking with you that for me, you are both aliens," Peter says while pointing at the two princesses, "I am going to say it, people must be excited back on my planet, we found the impossible, another living thing that also is sapient." "There are other species in Equus that are sapient," Celestia responds to the human calmly. Peter's eyes widen as he begins to laugh, but of the combination of happiness and sadness at the same time. "T-that wow," he pauses for a second and begins to get up, "if you can simply describe, for thousands of years we thought that we were alone, looking for other things to talk with, other sapient beings." Luna raises an eyebrow, "what are you talking about?" she gets close to Peter with a much calmer face, "there are other sapient beings in your planet?" Peter shakes his head, "no.... humans are the only sapient beings, without magic or anything alike." "There isn't magic on your planet!" Celestia almost exclaims, causing both Luna and Peter to wince, "but that is impossible, there is magic everywhere..." That cracks Peter up, "nope, no magic," he takes another cigarette and puts it on his mouth, beginning to smoke again, "would be cool though." He turns his view and looks at the other wall with a blank face, "you don't have anything to worry, we aren't planning to invade you or anything like that," he pauses to smoke, "the first thing we would try to do is peace princess, my nation supports the liberty of the other nations or at least is what they say." "So that is what you want then, peace," Celestia gets close to the human, and raises one of her hooves, "then in the name of the United Kingdom of Equestria, we would like to have peaceful relations with you at least, and with your nation." Peter looks up to meet with her pink eyes, he sighs while standing up again, taking the hoof of Celestia and shaking it in the way of a handshake, we could say, would be made, "in the name of the German Empire and God, I would like to have peaceful relations with your nation." He then glances at Luna who is silently staring at the scene, "yo, blue!" a smile appears on his face, "sorry for what happened alright." Luna snorts, shaking her head. The human gets close to Luna while putting his arms on his back, the cigarette still on his mouth, "so tell me.... can I get out of this cell?" "No," the two princesses say almost in unison, making the human to recoil, changing his face to a frown. "What-" he walks towards Celestia, "I responded all of your questions, and I assure you again, I am not a threat for your nation!" "But-" Celestia interrupts him, "you injured one of our subjects, and we have a judicial system here Commander." He raises an eyebrow, "I wasn't forgiven already," the princesses didn't respond to him, giving him a bored look. Smoking again, he decides to talk, "come on, what I am supposed to do, you can't keep me here, I-I please it isn't even my fault to be here! a beast attacked us." "A manticore," Luna says while getting close to the astronaut, "that is the beast that attacked you and who else?" "Excuse me?" Peter says confused, taking his cigarette and throwing it on the floor, stepping on it with the heel of his boot. "You said us," Luna retorts with a frown. He is first hesitant, but then begins to chuckle, sitting again while cleaning his nose, "I landed with another person here, we were only going to do tests with the air, water, and take some small rocks for they could analyze them back on Earth, but then," he stops, looking at the door of the cell again with a tired face, sighing as he talks again, "this beast, umm a manticore, huh, well then, a manticore attacked us, we didn't saw him coming, and I ordered my mate to leave this shithole...." he raises his hands, like if he is showing the place to the princesses, "then, you know, I was left here alone." "So there aren't more humans on the planet?" Luna asks. He huffs, a frown appearing on his face, "nope, I am the only one, the only one cursed to being here..... hmph and talking about that, how am I breathing?" "What?" Celestia questions, and after a moment of thinking she realizes what was the human referring to, but he continues talking before she could reply. "I am supposed to be dead right now, the atmosphere of this place is more toxic than the one of Venus," he finishes, putting a hand on the back of his neck. Luna decides to answer the question of the human with a slightly amused face, "we used a spell on you, you were...... dying-" "Why?" the humans interrupts her, looking at Luna with a defeated face, "why didn't you just let me die in this hole, I would probably be remembered as a hero back home, and now, considering the state of my nation, I am trapped here." "What are you saying, letting you die! that would be a waste of everything," Luna returns, walking towards the human. "I am not a fucking object okay," he raises his view to meet Luna's eyes, that incredibly softened, "I would have preferred dying! I am now trapped in this fucking DUNGEON!" he takes a rock and throws it towards the other wall, breathing heavily. Silence is what is left resounding the walls of the place. The human is looking down at his hand, as he plays with the cross between his fingers, a tear threatening to come out, "listen..... I just want to go home," Peter says while raising his gaze to meet the eyes of the two princesses, who are now looking him with, sympathy. A moment of silence elapses again, the princesses struggling what to respond to the human. "I-I am going to see what can I do, knowing that we reached at least peaceful relations between ourselves," Celestia declares, deflating a bit. A spark of hope emerges in Peter, "but for now Commander, I can bring you the food of your choice, and then I recommend for you to rest, tomorrow will probably be a busier day for you." "I already slept," Peter says bluntly, something that causes Luna to step forward. "That is not true," Luna says to the human as her horn glows, tilting her head slightly, "and you haven't eaten anything." "W-what, and what the hell do you know princess?" he says defiantly, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "I am the princess of the night," she begins, her magic irradiating, something that leaves the human stunned for some seconds before he shrugs off his impression, "I know those things." "Huh," he scratches his beard again, stretching his back a bit, "I guess that makes sense......" Celestia clears her throat, making her the centre of attention, "excuse me commander, but I believe my sister and I have matters to attend, I implore you to take some rest, you had a long day I believe," that cracks a small smile on his tired face, "your food is coming soon, and I'm also hoping that you will eat, but for now, I will just ask you those things." Celestia and Luna turn back towards the door. The human remains silent as the princesses begin to exit the cell. He begins to sing something that Luna catches before exiting the room. "When you wish upon a star..... makes no difference who you are.....anything your heart desires will come to you....." Her ears perk up, she tilts her head slightly while watching the human sing the song, it makes her feel much more sympathy for him, like if he is trying to say something, it may be a mental confrontation or something inside of him is simply bugging him, well, excluding the part of being stranded in another planet. But even worse than that, he said that he preferred to be death, Luna hasn't heard those words coming from another pony in a long long time, but this human, he just said it so casual, so normal. Luna sighs, and completely exists the cell, the door is immediately closed afterwards, leaving Peter alone again. Celestia and Luna silently walk through the corridors of the castle. The place is quiet, some nobles simply bow at the presence of the princesses when they pass through some sectors of the castle. Luna is simply confused, she has this happiness and emotion for a millennial discovery, but at the same time is terrifying, the human, as it calls himself, was afraid of something, she could feel it. Luna laments, looking at the paintings on the walls of the castle when one of them calls her attention, and that is the one of the old family portrait, where her father and mother, King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia, the ones that ruled over the Kingdom of the Unicorns appear smiling, and below of them, little Luna and Celestia appear to be smiling as well. "What would have mother done," Celestia starts, also looking at the old painting with a frown on her face, "if she would have been in this situation, I-I don't know....." "This isn't your fault," Luna begins while nuzzling her sister, "it isn't the fault of anypony if we are being sincere." "It isn't only that," Celestia responds bluntly, deflating a bit as her ears press against her head, looking at the other paintings in the hall, "everything seems to be crumbling....." Luna stares at her sister with an apologetic face, almost deflating a bit, "what? about the human or the griffons." "It seems like everything," Celestia starts, looking at her sister with a serene face, "an alien has landed in our nation, this is something..... something that I don't have the answer, how do we know that he could call the army of his nation to our planet?" "But we know how to handle it right?" Luna replies while backing off a bit, glancing around the room, "nothing that we can't resolve, this alien is not the worst threat Equestria has confronted on its time" Luna stops, tapping her chin with her hoof, "we don't even know if he is a threat at all." "And then there are the nobles and the parliament," Celestia continues, a frown reappearing on her face, "they are constantly fighting and trying to pass corrupt laws without my supervision," Celestia stops, looking at the floor, "then we have the griffon problem, and thanks to their problems they have brought our colony in Griffonia into a state of chaos." Luna decides to remain silent this time, her sister has given valid points, this problem with the alien just sums another problem to the current situation that the nation is passing in general, but, they can't leave the alien in a prison cell until someone else comes. They need to compromise with the alien, though it is totally different to what both princesses imagined how aliens could be, because this one has real feelings, emotions, he was sad and depressed, with good reasons by the way, but that means that his species has these abilities, but still has something very different to any creature in Equestria she has seen. They begin to get close to a large wooden door with golden engraves on it, and an image on the top with the Royal Coat of Arms. Luna sighs, looking at her sister again, "before we say anything to them," Luna begins, causing Celestia to turn her attention back to her sister, "what are we going to do with him?" "I don't know," Celestia begins deflated, "I don't really know what to do with him, he could be a threat, just like you said-" Luna interrupts her in a soft voice, "but- I don't think that his intentions are bad, I tried to enter to a part of his conscious...." "And.." Celestia replies while raising an eyebrow. "He is scared, afraid of something, he is acting just like a pony would do if it would be in that same situation," she finishes, stopping near the door. "So what you are saying is what?" Celestia continues, also stopping, tilting her head slightly, "that we just let him go?" "No, we should talk with him a little bit more," she starts, "maybe we could use Twilight and her friends to ask him questions and then.... we could let him stay at least in the castle." Celestia wordlessly stares at her sister, before sighing, "we have been previously fooled lulu, and you know it, how do we know that this alien is different." "But we haven't given him a chance," Luna says softly, "let's see how will he act, and we can even learn about his species, he comes from another planet, a completely new species, new culture, new everything," Luna finishes clapping her hooves, animating the dark scene as Celestia chuckles a bit. "We are going to find that out," Celestia says as she opens the door to the room the throne room, where the main 6 are currently located. Rainbow Dash is fighting with Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy are analyzing the weapon, but none of them has dared to touch it. Rarity is reading a magazine on one of the chairs that are usually used for the Royal Courts, and Pinkie is mysteriously not in the room, but what can you expect from that pony. "Twilight, have you found something interesting," Celestia begins, getting close to the distracted alicorn. Twilight's eyes widen as she squeals, startled for the sudden interruption of the two princesses. "Oh-princess I didn't see you," she gives a sheepish smile, turning back again to look at the weapon, "ummm of what I can tell you, it is very complex engineering, I guess that we cannot decipher its secrets if we don't open it." "I see," Celestia says secularly, "but I don't think Commander Bismarck would like that." "Commander Bismarck?" Fluttershy asks before Twilight could even respond, "that is his name?" "Correct," Luna responds with a smile on her muzzle, walking forward towards Twilight, "Peter B-ism..arck I belive, Commander is used just by them the way we use it for the Royal Guard." "And from where does he come from?" Applejack asks while raising an eyebrow, Rainbow Dash following her in mid-air. "What are his evil plans," Rainbow Dash says darkly, getting close to Twilight, a frown on her face, "I bet we will kick his arse whatever thing this alien is-" "Human," Celestia says a little bit irritated for the sometimes annoying pegasus, "and yes, he is an alien coming from a planet called Earth." "Earth?" Twilight starts, looking at her former mentor with curiosity, "that is a curious name, what is the significance behind it?" "Well," Luna says with a small smile on her muzzle, "of what he told us, there is no magic in his planet-" "WHAT!" the sudden exclamation of Twilight startles everybody, "that is impossible, magic exists in every corner of the universe." "Well, it looks like from where he comes from it doesn't," Celestia says with an amused face, "is funny that their planet is called like that." "B-but he isn't planning something evil?" Rainbow talks, landing on the floor, "it is very suspicious, why would this alien just come here?" Luna decides to speak with excitement, a smirk on her muzzle, "he told us that he is an astronaut." "A what?" Applejack asks while tilting her head a bit. "An astronaut... umm it looks like their mission is to explore space, that must be the reason for that bulky suit," Luna finishes. Rarity grumbles, oh yes, forgot to mention that she is also in the current meeting? what a dumbass I am. "So he only wants to explore," the latter asks with curiosity on her face, "what nation on Equus would make him wear that horrible thing." "Talking about that.... he referred a nation," Celestia taps her chin with her hoof, looking at Rarity again, "the German Empire I believe so." "Empire?" Twilight says excited, "that means that they must have a complex political structure, did you ask him how it works?" Celestia and Luna look at each other, before looking back at Twilight as Celestia starts to speak again, "we were hoping you and your friends could do those extra questions." Twilight's eyes widen, a grin appearing on her muzzle, "so... we are going to meet him!!!" she bounces in happiness Pinkie-style, "how much we will learn, knowledge from another world!!!!" "And he ain't a threat of any kind," now is the turn for Applejack to question the intentions of this alien. "We aren't sure," Luna says, frowning a little bit, "we are inclined to believe that it was only coincidental, but for that reason, we are going to send you for questioning him." "I don't know," Rainbow Dash says, scratching her chin, "trusting an alien is the worst thing you could ever do, comics say it, everypony says it." "But everypony deserves a chance, " Fluttershy finally decides to say something, "we gave a chance to Discord, and he changed." "But we don't even know if he is evil in the first place, I mean, he attacked a pony!" "Maybe scared," Fluttershy continues, looking at Rainbow Dash nervously, "wouldn't you be scared if one day you arrive at other lands with weird creatures chasing you?!" "I-I umm," Rainbow Dash was going to say something else but is interrupted by Celestia. "He knows what ponies are," she simply says, causing everyone to look with curiosity at the princess, "he told us that there are ponies in his home planet, but he said we were different." "Different?" Twilight says while tilting her head, "in what sense." "He didn't say much about it," Celestia continues accentuating her tone, "but he was impressed that we could talk....even scared." "But why?" Celestia looks at Twilight with a smile, "that's where you enter, hopefully, tomorrow morning somepony could go to ask questions to the human." "I'll go first!" Rainbow Dash says, a sour smile on her muzzle while flying around Twilight. "Rainbow Dash, I think that is better if Twilight or Fluttershy go first, " Celestia says, trying to maintain that smile. "Really!.." Twilight squeals silently, causing Celestia to chuckle a bit. "I believe that Twilight should go first," Fluttershy silently says, making even Luna raise an eyebrow because she was worried about the human more than anyone of them. "But-" "It is decided then," Luna says, interrupting Rainbow in the process, "tomorrow in the morning, you will begin to interrogate him." ?????, ?????, Equus "Milord," a dark elf says as he gets close to the red figure, a mad titan. It is holding a golden staff with inscriptions on its side, "it looks like that turmoil in the eastern seas is settling down, we can now begin our first moves against their positions." The figure remains silent for some seconds. He clears his throat, "the seven gems are finally lining up, we can now make our entrance to Tartarus again." "We are conscious of the lining, and we know that a figure from another dimension has entered our world," the elf responds to the titan, lowering his head. The titan scratches his chin, getting up from the seat and slowly walking towards the elf with a frown on his face, "Tirek, he is the key of all of this and you know it." "We-we" the elf clears his throat, sweat falling from his forehead, "are planning to liberate the seven sins, we never talked-" The titan drops his staff, making the elf to recoil as it leaves a powerful echo around the room. He bends in one knee, looking directly at the eyes of the nervous figure, "I want Tirek out, the Storm King won't give me his support if Tirek doesn't come out first." The elf looks up, his dark eyes meeting with the violet eyes of the figure, "we need to control the power of the alicorns, not even I have the power to defeat them all, at least for now," he finishes sourly, his frown intensifying as he puts his giant finger on the chin of the elf, "you will do what I tell you to do, or I promise that I will destroy every single member of your species, and leave you the only one remaining in this cursed world." The blue eyes of the elf widen, as he gulps with fear, his body is shaking, "I-I a..m going to try to convince the-" "IT WAS A QUESTION OR AN ORDER!!!" the titan shouts, his eyes are filled with fire as he takes the elf by his throat, "this prison will crumble, and everyone is going to be there to see it, no one will fail to me, and if I need to destroy every single being with power in this world," he throws the elf against a wall, "I will not even hesitate, even if I need to massacre every species that is against my path." The elf coughs as he stands up with difficulty, looking at the titan with some tired eyes, "I will..... do what you tell me, milord Straton." Straton looks at the elf with a smile. He takes his staff and goes to his throne, "your compensation will be good, and never think that I don't compromise with my promises." Taking out a blank piece of paper from the magical staff, he throws the paper over the floor. At the moment when the paper touched the floor, it immediately expanded, a map appearing on its surface, or better saying it, a map in a third dimension, the clouds, seas, and animals are moving, giving a giant view of these lands. Using his staff, he begins to search through a desert, which quickly changes to a jungle. There he quickly begins to zoom in on a stone structure on the centre of it, surrounded by a cobblestone wall with skeletons scrambled all over the ground. "The wall is opening," Straton begins with a smile, "finally the two worlds will collide between themselves, I will finally be able to go back home." His eyes are filled with hope, almost sparkling from his internal happiness. Using the staff, three rocks begin to glow, as some scripture appears to be engraved on several of them in a cryptic language, unknown to any species that live on that planet. A cross begins to form, the letters begin to reorganize themselves, and the glow becomes stronger. He motions the elf to come near the map, which he does without even thinking about it. "When the gems align the mirror portal will open once again," he looks at the elf with a frown, "and that is the moment where no one will be protecting the entrance of Tartarus, neither Hades or any of the beasts in the underworld." "And the element of mag-" the elf begins but is interrupted by Straton. "That, my friend, I already have someone working on that, it will be a distraction, in which hopefully she will not be able to return," he finishes while signalling one of his soldiers to bring something to the room. "The greed has been liberated," he says while bending in one knee, "the student will try to retrieve the crown out of this world, and that is the moment where this is going to be your great hope." The elf looks at him confused, but then he glances at the soldier that is bringing in his hands a small emerald blade. The soldier bows and leaves the blade on the hands of Straton, the design of it is medieval and classic, with letters in red and a blue colour covering most of them, "this is the blade of Antares." The elf stares at it with his eyes wide open and his mouth hanging loose. The power it irradiates is in the form of blue energy, and its appearance cuts more than a two-edged sword. "If there is a problem with... you know what," he gives the blade to the elf, which he takes with caution and admiration, "this will cut literally the soul." > Chapter VIII > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight looks at her reflection in the mirror and sighs, this is the day, the day that she will meet this being from outer space, this human. She puts on her favourite saddlebag, the one with her cutie mark on it. She begins to take several things for the interrogation, including a notebook, a pencil, an eraser, and other things that can be useful. She is well organized, her mane is combed and she is wearing her crown. Suddenly, the door of her guestroom is opened. A night guard enters the room with a serious face, saluting before talking, "your highness, it is time." Peter's eyes shot open thanks to the sound of the iron gates opening. He slowly stands up, receiving its visitor with his eyes filled with a red colour. Princess Luna entered the cell, her features are softened, and her eyes are much bigger of what he could remember of. His fists clenched, as he watches the Lunar princess walk towards him. "Commander," Luna begins softly, "I suppose that thou rested." Peter doesn't say anything at first, but after some seconds, he sighs while rubbing his temples, "you could say that- at least of what rest is normal for you. She frowns but doesn't says anything, as her attention changes to a broken bowl on the corner of the cell, "have thou ate?" He chuckles a bit before responding, "you surely added something toxic to that," he says, pointing at the bowl, "and who in the right mind would just eat alien food." Luna frowns, "we didn't add something toxic to it, why would we do that?!" He jerks, frowning at her exclamation, "you can go to frick yourself, I won't fall for your freaking lies." She was going to continue this small bickering, but she stops herself when she glances at Twilight, who is behind of her nervously looking the two fight. Luna sighs, shaking her head, "commander, I want to present somepony to thou." Luna glances Twilight to move, and after a little bit of hesitation, she enters the room with a nervous face, halting herself at the sight of the alien. They both exchange glances, Peter's frown changes to a confused face, tilting his head. "You are purple," Peter states, something unexpected to Twilight, who raises an eyebrow. "Lavender is the correct word," she responds, beginning to walk towards the alien. "My God," Peter begins, shaking his head, "this world has the strangest horses I've ever seen in my whole freakin' life." "Why strange?" Twilight questions, ignoring how he referred to them. "Well," he begins, rubbing his palms, "you are purple and she is blue," Peter points at them respectively, "the only ones that are at least normal is ummmm Celestia? I believe, and these assholes," he finishes by pointing at the door, obviously referring to the guards. "Commander sh-" Luna is interrupted by Peter. "Who are you," Peter asks, looking at Twilight. She remains silent for some seconds before responding with a small smile, "my name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship." He snickers, what the frick is that title, but decides to eat that for himself, "what the hell do you want?" This time Luna intercedes, "commander, she is going to ask thou some questions that we still have, if it's not a nuisance." He stares at Luna and sighs, "it is a nuisance, but I don't have much of a choice right?" "You are correct, you don't have much of a choice," she responds with a smile, as Peter frowns again. He looks back at Twilight who has already taken one of her notebooks out of her saddlebag, ready to write any piece of information this alien could provide to her. "All right, what do you want to know?" Peter says defeating, causing Twilight to smile. Before she could respond to him, Luna speaks again. "I will leave you two alone," she glances at the human, "I hope we can further cooperate Commander." "Yeah, we are going to see that...." Luna exits the room, leaving the two alone. They both remain silent for some seconds before Twilight speaks again, "Ummm- I-I would like to know about your home planet." Peter snickers, "hmmm all right Princess, ummm," he puts a hand on his neck, "it is called Earth, but I suppose you know that already." She nods, motioning for him to continue. "What else ummm it is made up of 71% percent water-" he is interrupted by Twilight. "71% percent water?" she begins to write furiously on her notebook, even making Peter flinch slightly, "interesting.... continue." "Ehhhh, well there are several biomes like deserts, forests, jungles-" he is interrupted again. "How is that?" she raises an eyebrow, "our two planets have similar biomes...." He shrugs, "there is a theory that says that any planet that contains life needs to have specific requirements, and even if it is almost impossible for this planet to have." "Why?" she asks. He hesitates but responds with a sigh, "because- your atmosphere is made up of Carbon Dioxide, which means it is very toxic to humans." "But then how are you breathing?" she counters, continuing with a frown, "and what substance do you breathe." "Answering your first question, thanks to your white and blue friends," he stops to scratch his chin, "and to the second one, oxygen." "WHAT!" she exclaims, startling the astronaut momentarily, "but that is impossible, the oxygen is one of the most toxic gases in the whole planet!" "Yeah," he begins with a sarcastic tone, "and you know what shocks me even more, how the hell do you know what oxygen is or even what carbon dioxide is, hmmmm," he finishes raising a brow. Twilight tilts her head, "it is the name that our scientists gave to them hundreds of years ago," she taps her chin, "hmm, that is curious, how do our both species have the same name for those components." He shrugs, "maybe it was the language spell that your friends gave to me." "Could be..." she mutters. Twilight begins to write again on her notebook, and after some seconds of silence, she asks another question, "how the political system of your planet works?" Peter gives her an amused face, "by nations, each one of them with different types of government." Twilight begins to write again, and with her eyes fixated on her notebook she asks another question, "I heard you come from a nation called the German Empire, that is right?" Peter nods uninterested. "So that means that you have an emperor, so you have a monarchy, right?" she asks again. This time Peter decides to talk again, "you could say that, even though I wouldn't call it exactly a monarchy." She shows a confused face, "and why is that, you have an emperor right?" "Yep," he simply says while shrugging, "but, he isn't the person that is actually in charge of my nation." Now that confused Twilight, a lot you could say. She walks closer to him, "care to explain?" "We have a government that is called a parliamentary monarchy, meaning that our emperor is the head of state, but the person that rules the nation is called the prime minister." "What-" she tilts her head confused, "and this prime minister, he is elected from another royal family? if you have one of those of course." Peter chuckles, "for being emperor, yep you must come from a royal family, that being the House of Hohenzollern," his face turns to an amused one again as she begins to write again on her notebook, "but the prime minister is elected democratically." "Dem-ocratically?" she asks confused, "what does that mean?" He raises an eyebrow, "wow, and I thought that idea was universal," he frowns, "it means that the population of a nation is the one that elects the leader," he stops at the screeching sound of the pencil meeting with the paper, "in our case, it is a prime minister, in other countries, that is called a republic and the leader of those is called a president." She tilts her head, "and then, how many nations are on your planet." That causes Peter to laugh, making Twilight uncomfortable, "I think that 183 if I am not wrong." "183!" she exclaims again, her eyes almost boggling out of her head, "wait how many humans are in your world?" "Hmmm," he taps his chin, "nine billion." "W-wh," Peter puts a finger on her muzzle, startling her a bit. "Yeah, no more shouting, thank you," he slowly takes his finger off her muzzle, as a sheepish grin appears on her. "Sorry," she puts a hoof on her back, "but that is almost impossible, there are only 11 million ponies in Equus-" "Wait what?" Peter tilts his head, "that is less than Berlin or New York." "What are those," she asks again, "other nations." "Nope, they are cities," she gasps, and to the amusement of Peter, he continues with a small smile, "Berlin is the capital of my nation, it has a population of 12 million I believe......" Peter finishes, tapping his chin. Twilight looks at her notes again and glances at a question that has bugged her out, what is he supposed to be, or what is this job of being an astronaut is, "I-I would like to ask about your job." He raises an eyebrow, "your princess friends didn't tell you?" "They did, an astronaut right?" she receives a nod in response, "I would like to know more about it." "Hmph," he looks at the ceiling, "I am an explorer, and I represent my nation in that work." "An explorer of outer space...." she taps her chin, "it almost seems like fiction." That causes Peter to chuckle, "yeah, that is exactly what we used to say." "Since when did you do these, journeys," she asks with a raised eyebrow, something that makes Peter shift uncomfortably. "In my case, let's say 6 years, something that seems to have ended with Freiheit" "Freiheit?" "The name of this program," he then points at the door of the cell, "it was designed to explore this unique planet, that being serious, hasn't failed to astonish me." "You came with other hoomans right?" she questions. Peter frowns, as he silently nods. "Yes..... and how I wish I would have left with them," silence resounds until Peter breaks it again in a harsh tone, "what was the thing that attacked us?" "Excuse me?" "Yeah, a beast attacked us, that incredibly, looked a lot similar to the mythology of my world, hmph," he tilts his head, "you are all mythology in my world." "What?" Twilight asks confused, "what do you mean by mythology, y-you know what I am?" "A unicorn..... with wings?" he says hesitantly. Twilights respond firstly with a blank face, which changes to a frown. "No, I am an alicorn," her face softens afterwards, "but you know what a unicorn is... how?" "As I said, mythology," Peter stretches before continuing, "that- being more exact, came from a place called Greece." "Is that a nation in your world," she asks. "Yes," he begins with a small smile, "where the most famous tales of mythology came from, the Greek gods like Zeus and Apollo, the heroes like Hercules and Achilles, the mythological creatures," he points twilight with his finger, "like unicorns and pegasus, and also mythological places like the Olympus and Tartarus." "You said Tartarus," Twilight asks confused, her eyes wide and her mind full of curiosity. "Yep, Tartarus, ruled by Hades," he finishes with. a shrug, "if you ask me, I am an enthusiast in mythology." "But how do you know about Tartarus?" she asks very confusedly, "are we talking of the same thing?" "Peter raises an eyebrow before shrugging again," I believe that you might have a real Tartarus here," he taps his chin, "issssss your Tartarus protected by a three-headed beast called the Cerberus?" She nods enthusiastically, "yes!!!" "What did I say about no shou-" "Could our worlds be connected..... what is the meaning of all of this..... it is a-" "Coincidence?" Peter mumbles, but audible to Twilight. "Could be..... but how do your people know all about this?" A thought just crossed Peter's mind, as he scratches his chin, "let me ask you another thing, do you know what the Leviathan is?" She nods, a smile spreading on her muzzle, "there must be a connection..... and that could resolve the mystery of the minotaurs if our worlds are really connected!" "And why is that," he asks. "Well," she begins, making circles with her hoof, "for years, we have tried to figure out what is the other half of the minotaurs." "Other half?" "Yes, the head of them is the one of a bull, but the body has never been resolved......" she glances at the body of Peter, "until maybe now." He chuckles, making Twilight confused, "in our mythology, a minotaur has also the head of a bull, but the body of a man." "A man?" she says with a raised eyebrow, "meaning..." "I," he simply responds, "I am a man, and the opposite of being a man is a woman." "Woman, so I would suppose that they are the mares of the humans right?" "Ehhh yes I suppose so," he responds uncomfortably. Her magic flicks on, startling Peter momentarily. She gives him a sheepish grin before standing straighter, "commander, I believe that my time here is done." Peter doesn't say anything at first, before shrugging, "ehhh, I guess it was an interesting talk." Twilight begins to walk towards the door, glancing back at the human with an apologetic smile, "I think that your intentions are not bad, and being sincere, I never imagined aliens being like this." "And what makes you believe that?" "Well," she taps her chin with her hoof, "we have always thought that aliens were mindless species that only want to enslave others." Peter chuckles, "then we aren't too different I suppose." "No... I don't think so." > Chapter IX > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Irgendwo Über dem Regenbogen Amber Night has been up all night trying to decipher the secrets behind the iron box of the alien. She has green eyes, an orange coat, and a blue mane and tail. Most of the equipment of the creature has been transferred into a secret facility in Canterlot, where many things are being studied, but most of them simply don't make sense. There is also the fact that most of the things are written in another language, an alien language that is worse. She frowns, looking at the several papers with drawings of the equipment, "damnit," she curses under her breath. Sighing, she puts the papers away and jumps off her seat, walking to the exit of her office. The corridors are white and old, as that facility used to be a training ground for the wonderbolts, what a shame that it was taken by the Equestrian government thanks to the tax problems with some governmental organizations. She finally arrives at her destination, the place where the alien artefacts are being held, and in the centre, the major piece, the flying iron box. Recent reports say that the princesses haven't asked the alien about the functioning of any piece in that room. She glances at the structure, looking at its details with attention. Suddenly, something catches her eye, that being a glowing thing coming from one of the compartments under the ladder. She gets close to it, trying to find out what is causing that. She taps the metal, trying to see what happens. At first, silence, absolutely nothing, but then, something falls from that compartment, startling her immensely. She hides under a chair, waiting for an explosion to happen..... something that as you have guessed, never occurs. After one minute of heavy breathing and hiding, she slowly begins to get close to the fallen item. It is a small metal box, with something black covering one side of it. She touches the metal with hesitation, backing off afterwards. Some words are written on the front of it, obviously with no way for her to understand them. Her attention changes to a small button on the side of the thing. She stares at it with intensity, trying to decide what to do. She sighs, "what's the worse thing that could happen?" she surrounds the object with her magic, and slowly presses the button. Deutschland sendet eine friedensbotschaft an............ "AHHH!" she drops the metal box with her magic, backing off with fear against a desk. ..........The United States of America sends a message of peace and............ Her eyes widen in fear, thinking that this time, she will die. Her body is shaking as she grips with force the edge of the desk, breathing heavily while hearing some voices appearing out of nowhere, with no meaning to her. ..........La República de Colombia les manda un mensaje de paz y prosperidad a............ The sounds seems to come out of the metal box...... she quickly ignites her magic again and presses the button on the side again. ..........Российская Федерация посылает сообщение мира- The sound stops, as well as the images of what seems to be flags also disappear. The same jet-black colour returns to the screen. She keeps staring at the metal box with fear, her heavy breathing seems to not cease down. She gulps, "I gotta tell the princesses." Celestia and Luna were going to have a relatively calm day, Twilight was successful in questioning the human, something that only raised more questions. Now, an incident appeared to have happened back in the principal laboratory where the equipment of the human is situated. Shortly after receiving the news, Celestia cancelled the visit of Fluttershy with the human, sending the 6 of them to the throne room. After some moments of waiting, three ponies entered the room, covered in hazmat suits as they carried the object with magic. A table was situated at the centre of the place for whatever that thing could be. They place with caution the object on the table, the black display facing the ceiling. Behind them, Amber Night is watching the scene with a nervous face. The ponies retract from the table and exit the room, leaving only the princesses, the mane 6, and Amber Night. They all stare at the object with curiosity. Celestia clears her throat and gets close to Amber Night with a calm face, "so," she begins, startling the unicorn, "you are the one that caused this whole commotion." She is hesitant, looking at the Solar Princess with a nervous smile, "I-I.... umm it was an accident, the thing just- turned on!" "Turned on?" Twilight asks, also getting close to the scientist, "and tell us, how did you do it." She was going to answer, but Rainbow interrupts her as she gets close to the object with a frown, "I knew that beast was evil!" "But-" "So tell me, how do you activate this thing anyways," even before Amber could respond, Rainbow finds the button as well. A determined smile appears on her muzzle, "what dow e have here." "Wait Rainbow!" Twilight says in vain. Immediately afterwards pressing the button, the sound startles everyone again, including the princesses. Deutschland sendet eine friedensbotschaft an............ The anxiety passes quickly, as that transforms into curiosity in everyone there, Twilight most of them all. "They are words!" she says with emotion, getting close to the tablet, looking at the flags, "this is incredible! how does this works, it is showing images and producing sound!" She claps her hoofs. Celestia and Luna also get close to the tablet. They both glance at each other, nodding afterwards. "They must be foreign languages," Luna begins, "judging for the change of their tones." "But for our luck," Celestia says with a smile on her muzzle, her horn glowing as she talks, "we have a solution for that." Of course they have a solution for that Celestia fires a magic bolt at the device. It turns off for some seconds, making everyone fill with anxiety. After a minute of waiting, almost failing the hopes of everyone, the tablet starts again, this time in an understandable language for everyone. Even Rainbow Dash is silent, thanks to the message that she didn't expect that would come out of that. Germany sends a message of peace and prosperity to the beings of the universe...... The voice says while the screen shows the flag of Peter, Luna thought. Suddenly, that flag changed into another one, a weird designed one being conformed of some red and white stripes and on its corner, a blue background with stars. ..........The United States of America sends a message of peace and prosperity to our fellow friends in other planets......... Each time that a language changes, Celestia's horn glows again, translating each language into Ponish. There are simply so many of them, comparing it with Equestria where Ponish is the dominant language of Equus. The translation spell also works for the letters, as the name of the nations being showcased is immediately translated when shown. Some letters amused Twilight immensely, one of them is the representation of a dragon on a plain yellow field with a red circle. That flag confirms her theory, they do have a same way of seeing dragons in the two worlds, even though, she left those thoughts for herself. Suddenly the voices stop, and the image changes to a menu, with several categories on it. "What is now supposed to happen?" Applejack asks, raising an eyebrow. They all remain silent before Amber Night interrupts it as she gets begins to inspect the things on the screen. Sounds Of Earth Music Of Earth Art Of Earth Films Of Earth Culture Of Earth Images Of Earth "It appears to be showcasing categories of their planet!" she exclaims in happiness, a wide smile on her muzzle, "but-" her face changes to a confused one. "But what?" Twilight asks as she looks at the screen as well, reading the categories. "What is a film?" she asks raising an eyebrow. "Maybe some sort of art of them," Rarity questions, "I would love to see the designs of those humans, it would be lovely to know their concepts." "Hmph," Luna takes the tablet off the hooves of the scientist, winning a glare from her sister, "let's find out." Using her magic, she touches the screen, something that changes into a wider category, featuring several pictures of humans with written words on them. "Paintings," Celestia says confused, tilting her head as she begins to read the titles on them. The Godfather Fantasia Citizen Kane Vertigo "What are those?" Twilights questions, "why would they put giant names over the paintings." "Maybe something cultural?" Fluttershy suggests. "Or maybe they are magazines!" Rarity says as she claps her hooves, "they must have at least that." Our Fight Saving Private Reuss King Kong Toy Story They keep looking at the catalogue with curiosity and trepidation, if those are magazines, then they have weird names. Many of them depict humans and others not, others are just backgrounds with mountains or cities that could be on their planet. One category catches the eye of Twilight. The Wizard Of Oz The Great Chairman The Phantom of the Opera Mary Poppins "The Wizard of Oz?" Twilight says as she tilts her head, "they also have also wizards on that planet." "But the hooman didn't say that there isn't magic on his planet," Luna responds with hesitation. "It looks like a party!" Pinkie Pie suggests with happiness. Oh yeah, she is also there. Twilight shrugs, "maybe they mean another thing in their planet," she keeps staring at the photo, "let's find out." "Wait!" Rainbow Dash intercedes with a little bit of nervousness, "how do we know that it isn't dangerous." "It hasn't made anythin' dangerous since we used it," Applejack responds to her friend, "plus, ya' don't want to see the things of the aliens?" "Its just that-" she taps her chin with her hoof, "I mean-... he is an alien!" "But that doesn't mean its dangerous," Fluttershy responds in a very soft harsh tone, "we should at least see." "I-I" Rainbow Dash sighs, "just for caution." Twilight stares at the title again, "we will never know if we don't find out." Her magic surrounds the device, and with hesitation, she softly presses the screen. Suddenly, it becomes dark, filling Twilight with fear, thinking that she just damaged the device, that is until an adult stallion voice begins. The Following Film Commemorates the End Of the Second American Civil War and every soldier that gave his life for the nation. The words leave everyone confused for some seconds. That is until the screen changes again, showing an image with background music. "They have arts!" Twilight says happily, "that's music!" "A lion?" even with the shared interest of the arts, Celestia asks while raising an eyebrow, "they also have animals similar to the ones of Equus." Metro Goldwyn Mayer Their eyes widen, as their mouth hangs loose, including Pinkie Pie, as her usual happiness succeeded with shock, the image suddenly moved, the lion moved as it roared. "IMPOSSIBLE!" Amber Night exclaims, "it must have magic, how is the image moving!" It changes again showing a background of what looks to be clouds with some letters on them. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Presents "The clouds are moving!" Luna shouts, startling everyone again, "what class of technology is this!" "I told you!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, "let's destroy it before it explodes! or calls his alien friends!" A Victor Fleming Production Several names appear on the screen, weird names to give for a pony lets say. "Names?" Twilight asks, calming the commotion, "but what is this?" "An alien communication device!" Rainbow Dash says again. "Maybe they are just showing things," Fluttershy counters. "Why do chips are filled mostly with air?" "Who are all these ponies?" Celestia asks, raising an eyebrow, "why would they just show names-" Their eyes widen, as the image changes again, to the one of a human. A human appears to be running through what looks to be a farm. "Cows?" Applejack says as she raises an eyebrow, "there are cows in his world?!" "Shhhh," Twilight frowns, "it is like a-" Her voice halts, as the human begins to talk with other humans. They are simply too astonished to even describe what they are seeing. "Other humans!" Celestia exclaims, "incredible, this is like a." "Recorded theatre," Twilight finishes Celestia's sentence, "they are acting! that is art!" They all remain silent afterwards watching the humans talk with each other. Many of the creatures seem to be in Equus, with only one curiosity, none of them are talking, only the humans are talking. Is not a place you can get by a boat or a plane, it's far far away... behind the moon, beyond the rain..... Twilight has a smile on her muzzle, she is probably watching the most important thing in the history of Equestria since the two sisters were crowned. By her intuition, she guessed that the character that is talking must be female, judging by her voice and how she differs from a male, similar to the stallions and mares. Luna's curiosity also perks up, the fact that they referred to the moon makes her raise an eyebrow. The possibilities behind this.... are just infinite. Somewhere over the rainbow.... The sound of someone singing, that's all it needed. Everyone carefully hears the lyrics, they are delivered with such emotion, such pain and love at the same time. The human singing it does it with almost perfection, the way she says the words, with hope you could say. Fluttershy almost sheds a tear, the lyrics are truly, "beautiful....." The story moves on, the attention of everyone is focused on the ´film.´ They all take seats when this thing seemed to take longer than expected. They all gasp when the movie suddenly transforms into colour. Everything now looked so beautiful and so vibrant. Their understanding of this 'film' is well resumed, noticing every scene. In one of them, a witch appears, evil of nature, something that they did not even care for the way it's being developed, the colour, the moving images, everything seems so beautiful. It seems that the mare needs to find a way back to her home called Kansas. I should ask the human about this, Luna thinks as the film moves on. Celestia giggles several times, the silliness of it, because of every representation that they had of aliens, this isn't even near one of them, they are acting as humans would do, with the technology of capturing moments into a full moving picture, something that a camera could not do. Rainbow Dash raises an eyebrow, she recognizes this is not what she thought about them, but the evil could hide as something good. Twilight is just captivated by the beauty of it, from the obvious costumes to the settings, it looks so imaginative, it reminds her of Ponyville, the roads, the magic in the air, and the silly acts. The end finally comes by when they defeat the evil witch and finally meet this wizard of oz. She finally returns to her home to realize that everything was a dream, well, at least that is what looks like. When the film completely ends, it automatically sends them back to the catalogue of these films. It only seems emotion, true emotion coming from those words, the songs, the colours, the sets, and everything behind that motion picture. They captured something truly beautiful, this humans created a recorded play for seeing it any time. It is just.... "Breathtaking..." Are this humans aliens, or what really are they? they must feel love, emotions, something that is hard to tell from the way that Peter talks, but this, this just shows a new face of them. > Chapter X > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Endlich Freiheit "These ponies are idiots," Peter mumbles under his breath. His fingers are covered in blood and scratches, as he is trying to fix the SEH on his wrist. If you still don't understand me, then it's the tablet that is usually attached to the wrist of an astronaut. The screen is somewhat broken, but it is still working, the problem is the internal components, that were damaged when he got into the water. His plan is very basic, he only needs to send a message to Germany, that should arrive with no problems in at least one month, with the hopes that a rescue mission will save him from this hell if anything of this is real. His mind is confused and his body is jolted. Right now there is one thing partying inside his head, madness. His pupils are shrunken, his eyes are red and tears are also appearing, sweat is falling off his forehead, and his heart is beating a thousand per hour. Many of the components are small and difficult to handle, but not impossible to fix without tools as a whole. "Come on!" he shouts, his eyes ticking around the components. He has two options at this point, or he fixes that thing, or everything is falling into ending himself. Fear is looming around him, he is literally in the dungeon of some alien species, that are mysteriously equal to the ones of mythology, but that's another talk. A faint glow appears from one of the indicators, a grin appears on Peter's face, as well as a sense of hope...... but it's destroyed afterwards when it simply turns off. "Oh come on! COME ON!," he exclaims while cleaning his sweat. Stretching, he leaves his arm rested, sighing and beginning to sniff. He lowers his head and scratches his back, there is an insufferable pain in the midst, a pain the midst that is simply indescribable, like if his life suddenly became a fiction, a work of literature. What's the point of even trying, he is still trapped by some weird creatures of outer space. He has been treated like an animal, but thinking about it, that is to be expected right? if alien lands on Earth, this would probably be what they would do..... Maybe not, the most probable thing is that they would probably not even offer food to that alien, at least they are..... ummm maybe morally good people? a tough question that is playing with his mind. There are three key components to watch for, these princesses, the guards, and how viable it is for the Reichsraumkommission to actually send a rescue mission to this planet. The costs for the Freiheit missions are considered rather high compared to other space programs. He sighs, covering his face with his bloody hand. At least something is for sure, either the Americans, the Russians, or the Chinese are probably working on their space programs to reach this place as well, maybe they will give him a ride, nothing is too unprovable, or maybe yes? Why would the Kaiserreich even try this in the first place, knowing very well the probabilities of someone actually surviving, especially if you are planning to send someone to another planet. What positive odds does he have, maybe one of them could be the German satellites that are orbiting this planet, but still, more than 4 years passed before the RRK would even consider landing someone here, they wouldn't do it in those old times thanks to the corrupted state of the agency, but still achieved to make those incredible goals, incredible goals that Peter is included in. The other thing is the food, he hasn't eaten anything since he arrived at that place, but it isn't because they haven't offered him something, but thanks to his stubbornness thinking that he will surely die if he eats this extraterrestrial meals, even if many of them mysteriously look like the ones of Earth. He shakes his hands and breaths deeply, cleaning the blood afterwards against his dirty suit, after all, an infection is not the worst way he could die while being in that place. If that weird energy that is making him breathe this air wears off, then death by asphyxiation, if he can't eat the food, then by intoxication, if he falls into madness, then maybe by a heart attack. His eyes focus again on the screen, his fingers touching the components, trying to find what is wrong with it. Each component is delicate, many of them are basically small knives, "damn it!" He cuts himself again several times, the blood falling into the tablet, something that he responds by trying to clean the droplet against his suit. Trying to change one of the principal components, his finger accidentally made too much force, breaking a small part of it. His eyes widen as he immediately backs off his hand, looking at what was broken, "don't freak with me please!" And there he sees it, the one that connects the antenna. His eyes narrow and after some seconds, rage and pain fills him up, "WHY!!!" He throws his arms against the wall, breaking the tablet. He stares at the small glasses on the floor, every effort that he has done, in vain, everything is just gone to this point. He could be remembered as a hero back home if there wasn't so much manipulation by the politics, who would surely use his death only to promote their political propaganda, and the worst thing of all is that the people believe it. For one reason Germany has suffered its fall, it seems like corruption is the worst enemy of any government of Earth. He doesn't have an actual choice at this point, these princesses will surely make experiments on him, who wouldn't, he is the alien here. Suffering is what he believes is going to come. His fists clench as his eyes narrow again, looking at the small window at the top of the cell, the only source of light that is left for him. What else he can do. There is a small blanket over the rock that has been his bed for the last three days. He looks at it with intensity, if he ends his life, would that be cowardly, would anyone end his or her own life in those moments. Being trapped on another planet with a declining mental and physical state, everything just sums up to create the worst nightmare that any person could live, not being able to exit your own trap, this hell where he is without escape, thousands of light-years from home. He sighs, "may God forgive me for what I'm about to do." Using a piece of the broken glass, he begins to cut a part of his cloth. "Sh.....oot," he momentarily leaves the glass to his side, as it went right through the half of his dirty hand. He looks at it for some moments before shrugging off the pain and cutting the cloth. It was part of his white shirt, somewhat enough to write something on it, even with the small bloodstains. He takes the pen where he wrote those words that were supposed to make history, that maybe are history back on Earth better saying it, but for him, they have become a disgrace. He presses the top of the pen and begins to write with a frown on his face. My Last Will And Testament I hereby declare that this is the last will and testament of Peter Michael Bismark, born in Berlin, Germar German Empire. For whoever who finds this if anyone finds this then I wish to say leave everything of vhat what I own used to own to my brothers Fynn and Aldo, equally among them. I am of sound mind and I am totally capaz capable of determining my own affairs. Peter Michael Bismark He frowns as he puts the will in one of his pockets. Glancing to the blanket, his breath increases as he stands up and walks towards it. His fists are clenched as he prays under his breath. Taking the flimsy blanket he stares at it as tears slowly pour out of his tired eyes. It is soft, and maybe one of the only things that have really maintained a bit of his sanity. There is roughly of what looks like a pallet covering part of the walls. It is wooden and has some holes on it, perfect for what he is planning to do. He starts tying the blanket with a knot, ready to meet that final fate. How the hell was this supposed to be like He steps back, admiring what he just did. He sighs and scratches his head, as his eyes close tightly and his fists clench again with his gritted teeth, "what is the use of it, let me go into heaven Lord, because at this point....." Peter sighs again as he lowers his head. He opens his enraged eyes, full of fire and fury, they even changed colour, as the marine blue ones suddenly became much lighter. He begins to walk towards his fate, his mind fighting itself, at least there is no other way to go, that is what he thinks. "He has been mysteriously silent for some minutes now," a voice comes from outside, halting completely Peter's thoughts. He turns his head to look at the door with a confused face. "Let us in then," a feminine voice responds, immediately afterwards, the doors begin to open. The sound startles Peter, his heart beats faster than it used to do, maybe a heart attack then. He is immobilized, not daring to give one step forwards or one step back. The door completely opens and after some seconds of silence, the sound of hooves is heard, being followed by the blue alicorn princess of the night. She hesitates when she sees Peter, feeling his rage and fear inside the mind of this alien. She tilts her head, giving more steps forwards. Stopping at a distance of what are 2 meters at least, she decides to talk in a soft and caring voice, "good morning," she tries to send the best smile she could give to someone else. Peter remains quiet, tapping his leg with his fingers. He sighs before snorting while cleaning his bloody nose, "look who decided to appear," he points a finger at her, "and I was thinking that you were beginning to forget about me." She shows an amused face, "hardly commander," she gets closer to him afterwards with a soft smile on her muzzle, "especially if we are talking about an extraterrestrial being." Peter shakes his head, "whatever." Silence elapses again in the room, and that is the moment were Luna suspiciously notices the tied blanket on the pallet. She frowns as she tilts her head before turning back to look at the discouraged human again, "what is that." His view changes to Luna again, "what?" Luna deflates a bit, as she motions with her head at the blanket. Peter at first doesn't understand what she is trying to say, but then out of her annoyance, she points at it with one of her hooves. Peter backs off a bit, turning to look at the hanging blanket. That's the moment were he snaps out of it, his thoughts suddenly become clearer, and everything becomes less confused, he begins to fill fear, but that doesn't mean that the idea has disappeared from his blurry mind. It's a moment of confusion, it's like something was playing mind tricks with him, and probably is still playing, maybe at this moment. How does he know that anything of this is real, the biggest question in his mind. "That's.....nothing," he looks away, trying to ignore the Luna's judging eyes, "nothing nothing nothing," he begins to whistle, glancing the room like if he is innocent. She steps closer, "were you trying something?" Peter raises an eyebrow as he meets her glare, "maybe, but that's not your business." "It actually is commander," she says in a new harsh tone, "you see, I can not let you die." "WHY!" he exclaims, stopping himself as he sees the surprised expression on Luna's face, "why, I am nothing princess, nothing for you can find me interesting." "Thou are an alien," she points Peter with her hoof, "tell me, what's more interesting than that." "Hmph," a smirk finally appears on his face, "a couple of things if I am being sincere, but-" Peter claps his hands, startling Luna who blinks in confusion for some seconds, "why have you decided to come to my cosy......fortress," he says, raising his arms like if he is exhibiting the place. Luna smiles again as she sits on her haunches, at least his humour hasn't died, "commander, we have found out something very interesting." He raises an eyebrow, "and what would that be?" "One of our scientists discovered a small metallic contraption that was being carried on your ship," she begins softly, "it appeared to have several messages and a collection of things from your world, all displayed through a magical black surface." He tilts his head with a confused face, and that is the moment where the reasoning came back to him, "ohhhh yeah," he rubs his temples, "I think that you are talking about the silver record." "The silver record?" she raises an eyebrow, "and what is the exact function of that device." Peter taps his chin, a mischievous smile spreading on his face, "a massive destruction device, or a bomb." Her eyes widen and her mouth hangs loose. She blinks several times before responding, "a..... A WHAT!" Peter begins to laugh hysterically, tears are coming from his eyes thanks to her expression. Luna looks at him confused before frowning, "how does it feel princess," he keeps laughing at the angry expression of Luna. "Thou are not funny," Luna says as she uses her magic and slaps Peter across his face. He blinks several times before frowning, his fists clench as he cracks his neck, a sound that Luna is disgusted to hear. "Don't touch me again, ya' hear me!" he steps forwards, now meeting Luna's triumphant grin. He breathes several times, trying to ignore the looks that Luna is sending to him. He snorts again as he walks to the wall, sitting on the floor. Silence elapses again as the human begins to play with a small rock that was on the floor. Luna looks at him with an amused face, "sooo," she speaks, standing up and walking near the human, "you are going to tell us what that thing really is?" He remains silent for some seconds before sighing. He scratches his chin before talking with a tired face, "it was supposed to be the way that we were going to present ourselves if alien life existed," he pauses and meets Luna's teal eyes, "I suppose that is already confirmed." "Indeed, for both of our species commander," Luna smiles, "we saw one of those things you call films." He chuckles, "huh, I thought that the first things you would choose to see about my planet were photos or videos or something else." "We don't know what a video is," she begins, making circles with her hoof, "and that was only for our curiosity, what is the name," she taps her chin, "the wizard of oz I believe so." "Huh," he silently nods, "one of the greatest films of all time, and-" he tilts his head, "did you saw anything else?" She sighs, "no, even though that thing entertained us greatly, we didn't knew what was it." "Yeah of course," Peter stretches, as he takes the pack of cigarettes and takes one, lighting it afterwards. Luna remains looking at his odd antics. If it wasn't for this situation, he would probably be in a hospital for people with mental problems, more or less an asylum. His fingers shake as he takes the cigarette in between his fingers, emptiness noticeable in his features. Luna tilts her head and sighs, walking close to Peter, and with hesitation, she puts a hoof on his left shoulder. His first reaction is fear, but then he simply shakes his head. "This must be hard for you," she barely whispers, "but of anypony here, I'm maybe the only one who can understand you." He snickers, shaking his head in disappointment, "you have no idea of what is this feeling, being trapped without freedom in a cursed prison." She softens her features, "actually, I know exactly what is to feel that," he responds with a confused face, motioning for her to continue, "I was sentenced to live on the moon for a thousand years for......" she deflates a bit, "errors I wish I never committed." "Wait," he says with confusion, "what do you mean with a thousand years? and what do you mean with the moon." She remains silent for some seconds before sighing, "I have been living for about a thousand of years commander." His eyes widen as his mouth hands lose. He clears his throat as he forces a smile, "you are pretty old then..." he begins to cough. She gives him a frown, but that afterwards changes to an amused face, "nice to see you aren't as dead as I believed so," silence elapses, as Luna moves her hoof on the dirty floor, "but yes, maybe your prison is this planet, but the mine was my own moon." "And how did you felt?" he asks with curiosity, "being up there." She remains silent as she slightly frowns, "alone commander, at least here you have somepony else to talk to, there I didn't have nopony, nopony to talk to." He smokes again, looking the sad expression of Luna, something that quickly changes to a small smile, "but past is past commander, and you should look to the future, not to the errors you left behind, those are the only enemies that somepony really have, and maybe those are the ones you are currently confronting." Peter looks confused, as he snickers silently, "huh, wise words princess." "That's correct," she sits on her haunches again, "out lifetime has let us see many things." He remains silent, smoking again, and laughing afterwards. His face changes to the one of amusement, "and one of those words will get me out of here." "Yes," Luna responds bluntly, "and that is the thing that I came here to discuss with you." Peter's eyes widen as his fists clench. He stands up, looking at Luna with a confused face, "what-" he scratches his back, "you aren't kidding me right?" She snickers, "no commander," she proceeds to back off a bit, straightening herself, "we are actually going to offer you to accompany my sister and Princess Twilight with her friends for dinner." He tilts his head, "dinner," a smile begins to spread across his face, "so I am going to get out of this place today!" "Could be," Luna responds smugly, "if you promise to behave of course." Peter jolts back a bit confused, "you aren't trying anything funny right? like," he scratches his head, "that instead of dinner I end up in a scientific laboratory where you will open my and study my organs." Luna's eyes widen, as she stomps a hoof on the floor, "how could you even think that!" she frowns, "we shall never do such thing to another creature, neither my sister or myself." "Hmph that's weird," he makes circles with his hand, "if you land on my planet, they would have probably open you in half." Luna has barely words to say, "that's barbaric!" she throws her hoofs to the air, almost standing in a bipedal way for brief seconds, "your species sounds barbaric!" "We aren't barbaric just curious princess," he chuckles, "that's the greatest fuel of mankind, curiosity." She shakes her head, deflating a bit, "so..... I need to know if you will behave, and not act this way." He taps his chin, "I guess I can do that," Peter glances at the door, and stares at it for some seconds. He frowns and turns to look at Luna again, "will I still be here when that dinner is over." "I don't think so," Luna responds calmly, "I believe that we have already a room for you." "How charming," Peter puts a hand on his chest, acting dramatically. She rolls her eyes, something that makes Peter laugh again, "what can I say, I love annoying people." "I noticed that," she says dramatically, "well commander, I see that you aren't actually compromising, so I should simply g-" "Wait!" Peter exclaims. Luna smiles victoriously, "but I also know how to be silent." "That's what we hope for commander," she walks to the open door, and glances back at the human, "aren't you coming?" At that moment, Peter's confusion ceased, like if his eyes were suddenly opened. He remembers everything with clarity, and something leaps inside of him, something that hasn't appeared in his chest in a long time. Joy, that feeling of being happy. His smile widens, showing his white teeth. Luna notices the canines, she flinches slightly but thinking about it, that isn't as bad as it looks to be, like, half the Lunar Guard are bat ponies, most of them have canines for some strange reason, like those vampires in the northern lands beyond the Crystal Empire. It isn't that bad, he is an omnivore, something that they learned when he first arrived at the castle. He stretches and pops his head and fists. Slowly walking to the door, he glances around the room, being distracted again by the solar light. He stops at the exit, waiting for someone to suddenly close the door, but that never happens. He finally exits the cell, a sense of liberty appeared on his mind, even with the spears pointed at him. "Sorry commander," Luna says as she looks Peter with a soft smile, "formalities." "Yeah....." he breathes deeply, clapping his hands. Many of the guards are startled when he begins to laugh, "now this is a little bit of what I call liberty." "Follow me commander," Luna says happily, "we've got much to discuss." Peter walks forwards, climbing the stairs while watching the Baroque style of the ceiling. Candles adorn it, with crystals of different colours. It has an eerie but at the same time a beautiful style. Now that he isn't being dragged and treated like an animal, it is much easier to look at the beauties of that place. They reach the top of the dungeons, where the two wooden doors are wide open. He sighs, the smile disappearing a bit. Several guards are behind him, poting their weapons at the happy human. "Thank you, but I believe that I can handle him from this point on," Luna says in a formal tone, looking at the captain that is leading the ponies. "But princess don't you think that.... umm is dangerous having him.... alone," the guard says nervously. Luna maintains her blank expression. "As I said captain," she begins again, raising her voice a bit, "I am going to closely look for him." "But-" "It's an order," she bluntly states. The guard decides to back off and nod. "Of course your highness," the guards begin to retire hesitantly, every single one of them looking at the human with a frown. "Hmph," Peter says with crossed arms, "what's up with them, they were looking at me like if they wanted to hang me." "They probably want to," Luna begins as she turns to look at the human, "you've injured their captain." "Yeah...." he scratches his head, "I said it was an accident," he tilts his head, "and what's up with him." "With who?" "The captain, we are talking about the same person right?" Peters speaks nervously, winning an amused face from Luna. "Pony commander," she begins to walk forwards, motioning him to follow her, "Captain Incitatus has been transferred to the Crystal Empire, where he has received the best medical attention we could possibly offer." He remains silent, glancing at the decorations inside the hall. The walls are weird, the place by itself is weird. It is like if you combined decorations from the medieval times with the ones of early 20th century. There are several banners of different colours, each one depicting a different horse you could say. He looks back at Luna, "what did you do with my weapon?" Luna raises an eyebrow, "we locked it away commander, we don't want colts like you playing with that stuff." "Very funny princess," he rolls his eyes and crosses his arms again, "you are not going to-" "Not even think about it," she simply responds. "Yeah... yeah, of course, I was expecting that," he says while nodding. Luna looks at him with a worried face, "are you...... afraid commander?" He looks at Luna and sighs, "never been more scared in my life if I am being one hundred per cent honest." > Chapter XI > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celestia has been arranging this special dinner with the being from outer space. The plan is very basic, he is going to be questioned subtly by the rest of Twilight's friends. Sending orders to the staff of the castle has been exhausting, and also, thanks to this small inconvenience, she has been obliged to cancel several meetings with diplomats and nobles from all around the nation. What they know, well, he is an omnivore, meaning that he can eat meat and plants. Not many species in Equus are omnivore, and the documented ones are usually in the desolated parts of the world. "Yes my little pony, that would be perfect," Celestia says with a fake smile, finalizing to organize the last decorations. She has ordered the chef a very varied menu, three types of salads with different types of fruits and vegetables from Equestria, a whole selection of the finest cider in the nation, and the best booze they could possibly offer which includes a special wine made from the crystal blackberries, exclusively found in the southern mountains of the Crystal Empire. The nuisance is at least in their side........ or at least it is what her sister has declared. This problem just keeps escalating. Coverups with the parliament are becoming dirtier, and when Celestia does things like that, she always ends up hating it later. In the end, her last declaration is always 'I did it for the greater good,' something true without a doubt, it is just a disgrace that it needs to be that way. "Princess," the lavender alicorn snaps her off her thoughts. Twilight is dressed in a blue dress with stars on it, similar to the one she wore for the gala, "Luna went to talk with him right?" Celestia remains silent for some seconds, sighing afterwards with a tired face, "that's correct Twilight," she looks back at the table, "but much is to be done." "And you are telling me......" Rarity mumbles under her breath as she walks into the room with the rest of the mane 6 behind her. Each one has a dress for the special occasion, I mean, when do you have the opportunity to seat and have dinner with a being from outer space...... it sounds comical at first glance if you think about it. The room has been decorated in different ways, as stars are printed on the walls and the finest banners have been placed on the ceiling. One of the things that Celestia doesn't like about this specific location is the windows and the six doors, this is basically the perfect place where he could escape, easier for him, and worst for them... At least he doesn't have his iron weapon Celestia says quietly to herself. "Dude! that doesn't even make sense!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, looking at the glare coming from Applejack. The two have been discussing what they are going to say when they meet the alien. Rainbow is going to ask direct questions, but Applejack wants to be a bit more conservative. Well, that escalated into a fight about science fiction aliens and other irrelevant things that don't have a connection to this whole alien problem. "It sure does, why wouldn't be that way, it's you just bein' stubborn!" Applejack responds harshly. "I'm being stubborn! look who is talking," Rainbow counters. "All right!" Rarity exclaims desperate, "stop fighting now, please." "What she began," Rainbow says as she points her hoof at Applejack." "That I began'" Applejack snaps angrily, "let me show ya' who's goin' to begin this time." "Yeah that alien!!!!!" Pinkie Pie interrupts them both, startling them at the same time as she quickly enters the place and inspects the table, "ohhh I hope that he will love the cupcakes!!!!!!" "Pinkie ummm I don't" "Ohhh don't be dummy," Pinkie says as she gets close to Twilight, almost teleporting if I may add, "who wouldn't love cupcakes, I believe that a being from space!!!! will obviously love them!!!" "What Twilight may be trying to say my little pony," Celestia begins with a smile, looking amused at the antics of the pink earth pony, "is that it would be good if we are cautious with certain things." Rainbow Dash snorts as she gets close to the table as well, watching it with attention, "aaaand what would happen if the alien decides to attack us and," her eyes widen as her limbs shake slightly, "eats our brains......" "I don' think that creature would do that," Fluttershy begins, getting close to her friend. On her dress, she is carrying her saddlebags where she has a piece of medical equipment and a notebook with a pencil, "they all seem very nice." "I don't know," Rainbow taps her chin with her hoof, "what if that thing is a mind-control device that the aliens use to enslave other species." "That is a form of art," Twilight begins, looking at Rainbow Dash, "you can't say to me that it wasn't beautiful." "Ehhhh," Rainbow cringes internally, but still responds with a slight nod, "interesting would be a better word." Twilight giver her an uninterested face as she turns to look back at the table. Fluttershy tilts her head, walking to her friend's side, "why are you so worried about him, he is probably just a scared poor creature." "Poor creature!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, startling Fluttershy, "he injured Incitatus!" "You don't know his reasons," Fluttershy counters softly. At that, Celestia sighs and walks towards them with a small frown while she looks at Rainbow Dash. "Neither you!" Rainbow responds, not paying attention of whom is currently next to her. "Actually we know them," Celestia begins with a frown, startling the two mares, "it was in an act of self-defence, even though we are not justifying him, what would have you done in his place?" "Excuse me princess," Rainbow asks nervously, raising an eyebrow. "What would have you done in his place?" She hesitates, as her ears press against her head, "I-I would have probably try to," she looks at the mischievous eyes of Celestia, "escape them?" "Exactly," Celestia continues casually, "the commander acted in accordance with his situation, just like a pony or any other creature in Equus could have done as well." Rainbow deflates a bit, "I suppose so." "After all Rainbow," she continues with a small smile on her muzzle, "you can solve your doubts when you talk to him, and the same will be with us." "Oh this so exciting," Rarity says with a smile, "I will ask the dear everything about the fashions of his planet." "About the food of his planet of course!" Pinkie says with a smile on her face. "I would like to know about his biology and the ones of his planet," Fluttershy says softly. Celestia giggles, "let's remember to not drown him with questions." Peter glances at his surroundings, following Luna closely. Silence has reigned for a couple of minutes, as his heart is simply palpating at thousand per hour. He decided to be professional, as every time that this is becoming more and more real, his attitude changes to the one with his companions. They reach to a giant door. Luna opens it using her magic, which reveals a giant room, the one of a king. A king-sized bed with green silk bed sheets, the chandelier is made of crystals, the yellow walls are decorated with paintings depicting different ponies. In the back of the room, there is a small door which leads to a balcony. The ceiling is very similar to the one of the Winter Palace in Russia, as baroque paintings and gold cover the beauty of the art and the depictions of it. He is simply captivated by it at first glance, it is worthy of a Kaiser. That's when his memories ring on, "I have been here right?" Luna smiles, nodding calmly, "that's right commander, you were transferred to this room the night that we found you." "Huh," Peter says, walking around the room with admiration. He notices another door on the other side of it, making him tilt his head, "what's that." "The bathroom," Luna responds curiously, "do thee species have one of those." He turns to look at Luna with a bored face, "yes, that's the basis of our necessities, tho I like to call it the throne room." Luna giggles, "that's inconvenient and disgusting at the same time commander." "Hey you are learning," he responds with a smile. An awkward moment of silence elapses before Peter gets close to the bed, "aaaand why have you brought me here?" She raises an eyebrow, "this is your room commander," she walks close to him, "though if you want you can go back to you cell." "No thank you," he raises a hand, "this is much better." "Indeed," Luna responds with a smile, "well then commander, I recommend you to clean yourself for dinner, you don't want to enter looking like that." He snickers, "yeah, thank God," Peter tilts his head as he opens the door of the bathroom. He is startled when some candles were lit, that instead of irradiating heat, they irradiated a weird coldness, just like the ones of a public restroom. "What the hell," he steps back and glances at Luna over her shoulder, "what class of thing is this." "Magic commander," Luna responds amused, "nothing from another world." Peter narrows his eyes as he smiles, "yeah, of course, I forgot," he taps his chin, "I believe that our concepts of another world are very different." "Correct commander," Luna says as she walks towards the doors of the room, "I shall leave you alone, but," he rolls his eyes at that word, "I suppose that you are still a little colt that needs to be supervised." "So you don't trust me," Peter responds dramatically, putting a hand on his chest. "Exactly," Luna responds smugly, making him blink several times in confusion, "where did you get that idea?" "Well," he begins, raising his arms, "this cosy room can be one of them." She shakes her head with a smile as she exits the room, "you aren't going to try anything funny right?" Peter chuckles, "the same I ask you princess, the same thing," he finishes while crossing his arms. Luna raises an eyebrow but shakes her head afterwards. Her smile disappears as she adopts a more formal way of speaking, "commander, somepony will come here and announce when the dinner is going to be ready." He shrugs, "take your time, I'm not that important after all." She smiles again, closing the door with her magic. Peter waits for some seconds as he hears the sound of the hooves walking on the marble. He claps his hands when the sound faints, a smile spreading on his face as he glances to his surroundings, "I'm still not convinced this is real," he walks forwards to the bed, "but I suppose I can settle for now." He begins to take off his dirty suit. The scratches damaged several parts of it, but it can still protect someone from the dangers of outer space for at least a short time. He takes off the arm assembly and the primary life support and then continues taking off the lower torso assembly. He is left in his pants and shirt. His whole body is full of bruises and cuts, something that he doesn't even care at this point, it is more probable that he will eventually die from an infection, well, if those diseases exist in that planet, how does he even know that. He stretches, after three days of being in that thing, it is just a relief to be free to move his body. He glances to one of the tables and sighs, seeing the broken glass of his helmet, and the deplorable state of it, he chuckles, "now that was a knockout," he taps his chin, "how the hell the glass didn't hurt me?" He simply shrugs that thought off. Most of the blood on his hand has dried, leaving this horrible sensation on them. His nose scrunches as he walks to the bathroom. Opening the door again, the candles lit, something that Peter receives this time with a smile. He walks forwards and glances at the magical candles, they have the same power of a lightbulb back on Earth, it is just impressive what this thing that they call magic can do. In his mind, it is not magic, but maybe some kind of energy deriving from the magnetic fields of the planet, it must be the most logical of them all. The shower is pretty basic, and also confusing if I may add. It seems like it isn't connected to anything. It is also a very small shower, Peter surpasses the showerhead. He opens the valve, letting the cold but refreshing water to fall on his body. He hesitated at first but acceded as he felt how the combination of sweat, blood, and dirt finally fell off his body. It also hurt a lot, as the scratches were painful thanks to the deplorable state of his body. He exists the shower and takes a towel that was left for him to use. He quickly dries himself and begins to put his clothes again. He breathes deeply, now that is feeling comfortable. Glancing at his surroundings, he takes from one of the pockets of his suit the pack of cigarettes and the lighter, taking one and lighting it on. The pain suddenly dissipated, must be for the feeling of finally being comfortable and free. He jumps over the bed and hugs the bedsheets, a grin on his face as he seats on it, "this is the best thing I have ever been on in my whole life." He takes one cigarette and lights it on, smoking as tiredness finally overcomes his body and senses. He stretches again, as something catches his attention. In one of the tables, there is a giant book with the title of, 'Equus: the complete encyclopedia of the world.' A small smile appears on his face, as he opens the first page of the book. This must be their way to present themselves, he quietly thinks as he sees the prologue, well, if you can call it like that. It is a map, a map of that world. Next to it there are some words written on. The United Kingdom Of Equestria sends a warm welcome to our friend from outer space. Signed by the Royal Princesses He chuckles as he shakes his head, "yeah sure, warm welcome." Peter's interest perks up as he reads each city and country name in that world. "Griffon Empire...... hmph," he mumbles, seeing the names of the cities of that country. They all have similar names to the ones back in the German Empire. He tilts his head, reading the capital of that nation, "Griffonstone, weird..... why do these creatures like putting the names of their species as cities or towns." It is a recurring theme, he begins to look east, one of them immediately catching his attention, "Equestria," Peter looks at the window, the sun is finally setting, as the skies are turning dark. He frowns and turns his view back at the book, looking at each one of the cities, many of them causing him curiosity. "Manehattan?" he raises an eyebrow, "what the hell is this......." his eyes tick around the map, "Fillydelphia? what the hell is this, a ripoff of America?" He keeps reading each city and town of that nation, two of them causing him curiosity, "Ponyville...... Canterlot." He taps his chin, smoking again, "Canterlot..... Camelot...... hmmmm interesting, I wonder why did they put it like that." That's when he notices the drawing of a castle next to the name of that city. His eyes widen as he begins to chuckle, "yeah right" he looks around, "this must be Canterlot, the capital of this Kingdom of Equestria," Peter looks forward into the map, noticing several strange names like Stalliongrad, and the Crystal City. One of them catches his attention again, some lands being called the Challenging Lands. Next to that, there is a giant ocean were the words Unexplored World are written on. He passes the page, smoking again, "this gotta be interesting." The first thing that appears is Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. He reads each paragraph with attention. Apparently, they are the rulers of that country, and it says that they have lived more than 1000, that must be lonely life, Peter thinks as his expression softens. It also says that they actually control the sun and the moon of that planet. Peter chuckles, they must call one of their moons the sun because it haves the qualities to be one, but it orbits that planet and is smaller, so that makes it one of its two moons. Celestia controls the sun, and Luna the moon, easy huh. Yeah you must know that at least. He smokes again as he reads the story of Nightmare Moon, which retells Luna becoming an actual evil person for greed, and it says that her sister sent her for a thousand years to the moon. Only recently, this Twilight and her friends defeated this evil entity and liberated the real Luna. He shakes his head as he scratches his beard, "if I am ever going to complain about a lifetime prison sentence, just need to look at this, my goodness......." An image depicting this event is also shown. The colours on it are simply beautiful, as it was not. A printed book but made out of a different material, he could even swear that it was talking to him. Peter sighs, finishing to read the last paragraphs that describe the princesses. Apparently, in these lands, there was also a King and a Queen, but due to reasons of respect and memory Celestia and Luna decided to remain with their princess title, and it eventually became the most important title in Equestria. King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia, they were the rulers of something called the unicorn tribe. "Excuse me," a voice cuts Peter off his thoughts, not belonging to any of the princesses, but someone else. He raises an eyebrow, closing the book and leaving it on the bed. He stretches as he stands up, and gets close to the door cautiously. "Yes," Peter says with hesitation, his fists clenching as a void is beginning to be felt in his chest. "I-I was sent by the princess to guide you to the dining room," the feminine voice continues, he could even swear that the pony, he supposed, gulped, "b-by.... Princess Luna." "Ummm," Peter begins with hesitation, slowly taking the handle and opening the door. His eyes widen as he backs off a bit. Peter gulps, this is another class of Equine. She is wearing silver armour, as her eyes look like the ones of a reptile, from her mouth canines are also present, just like the ones of a vampire. Her fur is light blue, but the principal thing that makes Peter gag are her wings, they are the ones of a bat, she looks like a bat, a bat-horse? They both stare at each other without saying a word. Peter glances forwards and notices a whole battalion waiting for him. He deflates, and looks back at the nervous pony. She clears her throat before talking again, "Commander Bis-m-marck I believe?" He hesitates again, scratching his head, "ummm yeah," he straightens himself and takes a deep breath, "that's me....." Peter motions for her to say her name. She was snapped from her thoughts, arming herself with a little bit of more courage, "my name is Sargeant Ebony Aurora." "Right Sargeant Aurora," he looks again at the other guards, "you seems to have come here prepared huh." "It is just for a little bit of more security," she responds nervously, giving Peter small smile, "and please call me Sargeant Ebony." "Alright, Sargeant Ebony, " he takes another deep breath, taking his cigarette and throwing it on the floor, turning it off by using his heel, "let's get going." She smiles brightly at him, but still nervous, "okay.... so follow me." Ebony points forwards, glancing at the guards, the battalion begins to move with him behind. They pass through several corners, all in complete silence, well, excluding the sound of armour and hooves walking across the marble floor. Peter is nervous, something appearing on his throat that wants to make him vomit, feeling dizzy and nervous at the same time. They finally arrive at their destination. Two wooden doors framed with gold are in the front of them. The guards back off, giving some steps as the doors begin to open thanks to a signal coming from Ebony. She then walks next to the human, the two looking nervous and scared. When they are completely open, they walk forwards. Peters halts completely, his eyes widen as he gulps nervously. Princess Celestia and Luna exchange glances as they nod nervously. All the eyes looking at the human. The first thing he notices is the presence of the other five ponies in that room. They have already taken a seat, but they are watching the human with nervousness as well. The awkward silence elapses but is interrupted by Ebony who clears her throat and gives a slight bow, "Your Majesties, I am going to leave you alone now." "Thank you, Sargeant, you can now return to your post," Luna responds with a smile. She simply nods again, walking through the doors, which automatically close. Silence reigns again, not before it is interrupted by Celestia who clears her throat, "commander, you can take a seat." He hesitates, slowly making his way towards the table. He looks at the biggest chair of all, and sighs, taking a seat with hesitation. The food is already served. Peter notices the delicacies on the table, making his stomach to grumble. "Well then commander," Celestia speaks again with a smile on her muzzle, "T-there are some I would like to present you," she glances at the rest of the mane 6. Silence reigns again, when suddenly, Pinkie Pie appears next to him, immediately startling the human, "what the hell..." Twilight shakes her head as she glances at Celestia, her eyes wide, not believing what is happening. The pink pony has a wide smile on her muzzle, "hello!!!!" she begins moving her hoof in circles, "my name's Pinkie Pie, ohhh it makes me so happy to meet new ponies!!!!!" Peter jerks back with a confused face, she ignores this nevertheless. "Uhhh Pinkie, I believe that-" Applejack is interrupted by her friend. "When you visit Ponyville, I'll throw a party for you!!!!" out of nowhere, a tray appears on her hoofs with three vanilla cupcakes on it, "I made these especially for you!!" Peter jerks back. Neither Celestia or Luna can believe what is happening now, as the latter cringing internally. Luna hoofpalms herself, shaking her head, trying to refuse what she is seeing is real, I knew this was a bad idea. "Pinkie Pony I believe so, I don't really wan-" Peter is interrupted by Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie you silly," she responds, as she rolls her eyes. Twilight almost faints at those words, how could this possibly be worse. "Pinkie Pie...." Peter continues, breathing heavily as his fist clench, "I don't know if I want ummm the cupcakes." Pinkie's smile disappears a bit, as she takes one as begins to put it close to his mouth, "eat it." "Pinkie please, this is not a good idea," Twilight says nervously, tapping a hoof on the table. "I-I," Peter begins to frown....... until she puts those classic caricature eyes. He cringes internally, trying to back off..... but it would be too much of being a douche if he refuses to eat them. He takes the cupcake with hesitation, looking at it and then at Pinkie, who's smile has widened. He clears his throat, "t-thank you Miss Pie" "Oh please don't call me like that," she responds, looking at the human with a happy face. "Right Pinkie Pie," he sighs, and takes a bite from the cupcake. Celestia closes her eyes, waiting for a rant to come from the commander, but instead. "Mhhmmm," his eyes widen, a smile appearing on his face, "wow this is really good." "He likes it!!!" Pinkie jumps in happiness. The flavour is simply so delicious, this could be the best cupcake he has ever eaten in his entire life. "Wow," he quickly takes another cupcake and begins to eat it. After all, he hasn't eaten something in four days, his hunger is noticeable. He suddenly halts himself, and looks at his side, finding, absolutely no one there. His view changes to look for the Pink pony, who suddenly, is in front of him, sitting on her original place, "what the....." "Don't mind Pinkie dear," Rarity begins with a smile. Peter quickly looks at the white pony with a curious face, "my name is Rarity, Commander Bismarck I heard." "Ummm yeah, that's correct," he begins with hesitation, clearing his throat and talking in a formal tone, "it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Rarity," he bows slightly. This is the first pony that talks in such a formal and respectful tone you could say. "Oh a gentlecolt I see," she continues, "but please, just call me Rarity." Applejack decides to present herself this time, "howdy there, my name is Applejack," she begins, tilting her hat, "it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Peter begins to become more comfortable, they all seem friendly. He gives a slight bow, "it is a pleasure to meet you as well ma'am" "No need to be so formal," Applejack says with a nervous smile, "please just call me Applejack." These ponies seem to not like being called formally , Peter thinks as he scratches his beard. "Excuse me," a soft and musical voice begins talking, Peter turns to look at the yellow pony with a curious face, "my name is Fluttershy, Mister Bismarck." Oh buck it, Luna thinks as she puts a hoof over her head, trying to cover what she is watching, waiting for a rant to come from Peter as well. "Well hello there," he says while smiling, his fingers interlaced, "it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Fluttershy, if that is how would you wish to be called." She smiles back, "with Fluttershy is alright," she frowns slightly when she sees some injuries on his fingers, but decides to talk about it when the dinner is over. Applejack kicks her blue friends, which huffs in response as she deflates a bit, "aaaand," Peter turns to looks at the raspy voice, looking at Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow but still with the same smile. She has still reasons to not trust him, but thinking about it...... it would be pretty cool to have a friend that is a real alien, "I am Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in the whole Equus." Peter chuckles, "really Rainbow Dash," he begins, obviously submitting the formal part because of her way of talking..... just naaaa, she won't like being called that way, "I want to see that," he leans a bit on the chair, "I guess that you are a pegasus right?" "That's right," she puffs her chest victoriously, a smile on her muzzle, "the best and greatest of all!" "Interesting, would love to see that," he says returning to his previous position. "Oh sure, I wo-" she is interrupted by Celestia. "Well then commander," she begins, shifting uncomfortably on her seat, "what do you think." "Think," he begins happily, taking the last cupcake and eating it, "now this is a pretty warm welcome, looks like some people really know how to receive others," he turns and glares at Luna, who responds with the same coin, but neither one of them says something. "All right," Celestia interrupts their exchange, "now that we are all friends, why don't we begin with our food." "Yeah.... pretty good idea," Peter says with a smile, turning to look at his plate. A salad with several fruits and vegetables. They all begin to eat silently, not before Rarity interrupts this silence with her questions. "So tell me dear," she says with a small disgusted face, "do all humans use those horrible clothes." Celestia almost spits her drink, the questions were supposed to be asked ina subtle way, something that's not happening. He begins to laugh as he shakes his head, "nope," he sets the fork apart, "this is only used for space missions, back on Earth, there are millions of types of different fashions." "Really," she says dreamily, "that must be incredible! my, it would just be a dream come true if I could see them all." "Yeah," he taps his chin, "there is a city called Paris, also nicknamed the city of love by the way," Twilight's ears perk up, the sole mention that they also have an emotion like that means that there must be also romantic relationships like the ones of Equus, but they could be very different, "where the best designers of the world are, where they also design the clothes of the royalty of the monarchies across the world." "A whole city," she looks with interest, "they also give it to monarchies, that is incredible! where is this place located." He chuckles, "it is in a country called France." Celestia raises an eyebrow, she decides to ask her question, "tell me commander," she begins, gaining the attention of the human, "I heard what Twilight told us about how the monarchy works in your nation, but I would like to know more about the history about it." He tilts his head, "huh, why do you want to know about that?" "Just for..... curiosity, and of course for understanding your nation in a better way if we one day establish diplomatic relations with them," a sound startles everyone, and that is the one of Twilight taking a notebook and a pencil. Peter chuckles as he turns to look back at Celestia, who also has a smile on her face. "Ummmm," he taps his chin, "well, a long time ago there was this Kingdom called Prussia, who fought a guy that wanted to dominate the world called Napoleon Bonaparte, who lead this nation called the French Empire." "Finally something in common," Luna says, her eyes sparkling in emotion with a lot of interest in this subject. History is one of the things that Luna is more attracted to, and learning about the one of another world, now that's a one-time opportunity. "French Empire?" Celestia raises an eyebrow, "and this nation is still an empire in your planet." Peter shakes his head, "nope, that nation fell, they are today called the French Republic." "Come on continue with the story!" Twilights exclaims desperate, her eyes wide and her body shaking. "Right," he taps his chin, "after a series of wars called the Napoleonic Wars, we defeated his empire and a process of unification between the German states began." "So you were separated like in tribes?" Celestia asks, tilting her head as she takes a sip from her drink. "Yeah," Peter responds with acknowledgement, "you can call like that, but just a little bit more complex than that context," Twilight motions for him to continue, "okay so in Prussia, a guy named Otto Von Bismarck lead this hard process, which was briefly halted for another war called the Prussian-Austrian war, where we fought another empire called the Austrian Empire." "You fight a lot of wars," Fluttershy begins with a worried tone of voice, "why don't you try to do it peacefully." Peter laughs at those words, shaking his head as he scratches his head, "no one wanted that, only some nations would like to unite using other methods." "And you won that war?" Applejack asks. "Yep," he nods, "Prussia won the war, and after another war against the French, we finally united, and became the nation that today we call the German Empire." "And when did these events happened?" Twilight asks with a raised eyebrow. He taps his chin, "like 150 years ago." Celestia's eyes widen, but she calmly asks another question, "so your nation is young then." He shrugs, "relatively as a united German nation, then practically we are younger than another nation called America." "And how much time that nation has existed?" "200 years," he simply responds, at the looks they were giving him he continued, "my world constantly changes, a nation can't live more than 1000 years, it is virtually impossible," he tilts his head, "though, the two oldest and most powerful in my opinion could be the United Kingdom and the French." "Hmmmm," Twilights taps her chin, "the French seem a little bit problematic, they are like the challengings?" "The challenge what?" "A species of Equus," Celestia responds with a small frown, "they are shapeshifters, they can covert in whatever they wish to be." "Huh," he takes a sip of his drink, "interesting...... but no, the French aren't like that, and a yes to the problems, after all they were the ones that began the two world wars." "World wars!" Rainbow finally talks, the mention of those words perks her interest, "how could there be a world war." "You mean a continental war?" Luna asks with a raised eyebrow. "No a world war," he raises his hands, "a war that was fought in every single continent of the world." Celestia's mouth falls wide open, the only time that a war of that scale happened in Equus was more than 1000 years ago. She clears her throat, "and when did those two events happened?" "During the 20th century, and if you have the same system of years, then in 1914 initiated the First World War, and in 1939 the Second World War," he finishes, taking a bite of his salad. Everyone is simply shocked, in such a short period two world wars happened, but why. Fluttershy clears her throat and decides to ask this, "but, why? why so many wars in such a short time?" He shifts uncomfortably, "the first one began because my nation wasn't very popular between the other European powers, which in that time were the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the Austrians, the French, and my nation," he lowers his head, "the second one began because a group of very evil people wanted to enslave humanity, all lead by one man." "And who was this," Luna speaks softly, "who could possibly plan that?" In the minds of their sisters, that makes them remember of Discord and his reign of chaos. He remains silent for some seconds, before sighing, "Sébastien Faure," he scratches his chin, "he enslaved the French people by creating something called the Commune of France, where he took the liberties of many people and made massive genocides." "Genocides....." Celestia begins worried, "that means, that he killed syst-" "Exactly, he did that," he says in a very low voice, "with an ally named the Union of Britain which was lead by Oswald Mosley, created concentration camps for anyone who didn't like syndicalism and anarchism." "How could they be so evil!" Fluttershy sobs, "I refuse to believe it." He shakes his head, "it was the darkest period of humanity in my opinion, and not even we believed that those things happened the first time we saw them," he raises his head and looks at Fluttershy with a small smile, "but we defeated them, and today France and the United Kingdom are free nations," he stretches, "that's why wars are sometimes good, when tyrants think they can dominate others, is when soldiers must fight for liberty." "How could humans possibly think about that," Luna speaks softly, her features have been softened, "why, I just don't understand? never in history.... something like that has happened." "Hate princess," he looks at his food and sighs, "hate is what caused them to commits those horrible acts against humanity." Twilight has also stopped writing, lowering her head as she bits her lip, trying to think what to say. The mood was just destroyed, the fact that these aliens committed something so horrible and dark, who could think doing that. That's when she remembers something, the tablet, "Peter can I ask you a question?" "Yeah sure," he smiles. She clears her throat, "I wanted to know more about this," using her magic, the tablet appears, "I believe that we saw a piece of your world here." He smiles and takes it from her aura. The tablet is in a perfect state. It was built for supporting the toughest conditions that a planet could offer, though, it is obviously not indestructible. On the back, the logo of the League of Nations is printed. He begins to tap the tablet, the mares looking him with curiosity. He chuckles, "I know what will lift this mood," he presses again the table, "music." "Music?" Twilight's ears perk up. Suddenly, some violins begin to play. They are silent, it is truly beautiful, the sound is so classic, so serene. "It is like a small orchestra, in a box, just like that fil is a small theatre in a box," Twilight says with a smile. A feminine voice is heard, peaceful and full of serenity. "So this is love....." "So that is your music?" Luna asks raising an eyebrow, "does it have more?" He grins, tapping the tablet again. The music changes to a more rhythmic tone. > Chapter XII > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh, komm doch, komm zu mir Du nimmst mir den Verstand Oh, komm doch, komm zu mir Komm, gib mir deine Hand "Change it." Hail.....hail What's the matter with your head? Yeah! Hail....hail What's the matter with your mind "The next one," Luna said with a small smirk. Peter nods, tapping the screen again. There's a road I'd like to tell you about, lives in my home town Lake Shore Drive the road is called and it'll take you up or down From rags on up to riches fifteen minutes you can fly Pretty blue lights along the way, help you right on by "Another one!" Celestia sighs while shaking her head. Three hours, three hours have passed since they first began to listen to the alien's music. A wide range of things passed through her mind as well. The voices sound as if a pony would be singing these songs, but they belong to the humans. It is just incredible the change of perspective something like that could do. Rhythms she has never heard, and the characterization of emotions through them is strangely special, as most of them seem to focus in love. It must be something very special, as they even seem to adore it, a culture around an emotion. She is planning to ask Peter about this little inquiry she has, but it's not very wise doing it at that moment. Neunundneunzig Luftballons Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont Hielt man für Ufos aus dem All Darum schickte ein General "Ohhh I like that!" Pikie announces happily. "I must agree, this one seems more jolly." Peter chuckles, turning to look at Celestia. He frowns at the look she is to giving him, which is translated to 'I think it's time to stop for now.' "The variety of ins-truments...." Twilight yawns, "it sounds really ecstatic." "Yeah," Peter says while stretching. When the song ends, he quickly turns off the device, "I think it's pretty late don't you think so?" Luna smiles half-heartedly, "I believe that as well, I need to begin the night court soon," she said, looking an old wooden clock. Twilight's eyes shot open, smiling sheepishly while leaving her seat, slowly walking towards Peter, "commander, I would like to ask if....I could stay with the device." "Ummm.... I didn't catch that." "Emmmm, cou-ld I stay with the device... for scientifical exploration.... butifyousaynodon'tworry ." Peter jerks back a bit, before clearing his throat, "umm sure, you can." Twilight and the others blinked at his answer, "really," she deadpanned, "you aren't trying to prank me right?" "What, no," he said while taking the tablet, leaving his seat and crouching for being in an eye level with her, "look maybe I left a bad impression of me at first glance, but you need to know that was only because, well you know," he scratches his beard, "I was very scared." "But-" "And," he continues softly. The two sisters tense at the exchange, "this was created for you, it's a little gift of peace from my kind towards yours," he finishes with a smile, extending the tablet. She is hesitant but slowly takes the device with her aura. Twilight begins to mumble nonsense under her breathe, making some weird squee sounds. Peter stand up straight and claps, "I think we should call it a night." "Yeah, this night' surely passed fast," Applejack said while yawning. Celestia giggled. Everyone left their seats and slowly begins to walk towards the doors. Celestia stops Peter by putting her hoof on his left shoulder, "tia, please accompany them to their respective rooms, I-I need to have a small chat with the commander here." Luna raises an eyebrow but proceeds to nod nonchalantly. The mares begin to follow the princess of the night, leaving their goodnights to both Peter and Celestia. Suddenly, Twilight stops and gets close to him, smiling tiredly, "you know commander, I think somepony needs to teach you the magic of friendship." He sniffs, but smiles afterwards, "maybe, but maybe not." "I'm the princess of friendship, I know when someone needs help in that area." A small smile appears on his face, "whatever you say 'princess of friendship,' whatever you say." She shakes her head, "I will do it commander, but for now, all I can say is good night." "Yeah... good night princess," he said, making a two-finger salute. Twilight walks forward and bows at the princess of the sun, "good night princess." Celestia gives her farewells. Twilight turns and exits the room, leaving the two of them alone. Peter shifts uncomfortably, he clears his throat and gives a step back, "y-you ehhh." She sighs, "commander, I know that we started with the wrong hoof-" He huffs, "you don't say." "But you should know that we don't hold a grudge or something against you." "I suppose I know that," Peter scratches his beard, "but I don't understand, you actually have a reason to hold a grudge against me, I was- I suppose what happened is normal in any government, including the ones in my planet." She shakes her head, "we shouldn't have treated you like that anyway, we haven't use the techniques we used with you since a long-long time." "As I said," Peter begins with a smile, "I can't blame you, the shouting and the ranting..... it's just that, I never expected all of this, how could I believe that I was talking to real people, y-you are all aliens to me, living creatures from another world, do you know the weight of that." "I understand commander, my position was quite the same as yours." "Yeah," he lowers his head, "the thing is that this changes everything," he rubs his temples, sighing again, "there is this little voice in the back of my head that is still saying to me that my current, position isn't real." Peter stops, thinking that Celestia was going to say something, but she doesn't. He simply shrugs and continues. "Maybe you understand, maybe not, but if you would be in a similar position, being stranded in another planet that might be real, your mind will try to ignore it, even if your body and soul are shouting you the reality where you could be." She sighs, "I will not-" "But in the end, I just want to say I'm sorry princess, even if you are real or not, I didn't want to be the one chosen to talk with extraterrestrial creatures, and I did, no idea why, just..... it was maybe destiny or a plan of God, but I don't have an answer to that." She is taken aback for some seconds. Is he acting normal? Celestia raises an eyebrow as she takes a step back, looking directly into Peter's eyes, "that was unexpected," she taps her chin with her hoof, "but I would like to also ask for forgivance, it wasn't our best decisions, purely taken from a situation we might be inexperienced on." He nods, his eyes beginning to close. A smile appears on Celestia's muzzle, as she pokes Peter on his arm, "tomorrow will be a lousy day for you as well, my sister and I have planned..... a visit to the remains of your metal box and the contraptions that came with it." "Huh," Peter's eyes twitch, "I was thinking about that," he begins to drift towards the door, "I need some instruments from there anyway." A newspaper slams the table. Her eyes are wide, her mane is disorganized, and a creepy smile is slowly making its way on her muzzle, the reporter known as Snowy Blossom, a white unicorn with a blue and yellow mane, is ecstatic from a recent discovery. "You see this!" she exclaims, startling her workmates, Saphire Gem and Steel Stud who were lazily eating their breakfasts. Saphire Gem has bags under her eyes, the last night was rather..... memorable to her...... let's just say that really advanced magic is complicated to report. Steel Stud sighs, rubbing his eyes as his eyes lazily drift towards the newspaper. The Canterlot Post Exciting news has been released from the archaeological expedition in Appleloosa. It seems like some ancient ruins have been found beneath the sand, being recognized as some sort of subterranean temple. The beauty and grandiose of this construction are simply uncomparable and almost impossible. This discovery changes the way we looked at the past, as whatever ancient civilization that could have built something of this scale before the discovery of static magic....... He blinks, raising an eyebrow as he looks Snowy with a bored face, "aaaand...... is that supposed to be something good or bad?" "What!" Snowy startles the two again, her breathing increases rapidly as her heartbeat is going a thousand per hour, "this," she points the newspaper again with her hoof, "this changed history! do you have the idea of the implications behind this, a civilization built this mega construction in the times King Cosmos and Queen Galaxia were still foals!" "Snowy," Saphire speaks tiredly, "why are you showing this to us?" "Because," she raises a hoof, preparing to slam the table. Steel and Saphire cover their ears, waiting for the impact. Snowy's left eye twitches before she finally sighs and deflates as she lazily seats on the chair. The two look the alicorn with suspicion, her attitude changed in a blink of eyes. A soft smile appears on her muzzle before that becomes into an embarrassed face, "I suppose I wanted to share my excitement with somepony else?" "Snowy, you know, we appreciate your excitement," Steel begins, continuing to eat his food, "but you should know that's not a way to ummm react? I mean you know, you are becoming-" Saphire's eyes widen as she puts a hoof on Steel's mouth, winning a glare from him. Snowy tilts her head before sadly nodding, "yes...." she does circles with her hoof, "I suppose I'm still stressed after the whole quarantine in Ponyville." "But there's nothing to worry about," Saphire says as she slowly retracts her hoof from Steel's mouth. Using her magic, she begins to serve a cup of coffee for Snowy, "everypony believes that you will carry that story to the truth" She lazily puts her head on the table, "I think that's what is making me so nervous," Snowy mumbles. "Don't worry Snowy!" the three immediately shout and fall on the ground at the same time. The pink earth pony is happily glancing at the pieces of bread on the table. She takes one and turns to look back at Twilight, who's pupils have shrunk to the size of pinpricks as her body is shaking thanks to the shock, "everything is going to go right! perfect as always." "Sk-Sky," Steel finally chokes out, "how did you enter the castle without any of us knowing." "Well, how else," she happily jumps towards the stove, "by the door Sunny times!" "For Celestia," Saphire mumbles, slowly beginning to stand up, "how, just how," she deflates and snorts, "this city is crazy." "Soooo," Sky Bronco, a green pegasus with a brown mane, begins after drinking a glass of water, "are you excited Snowy! we are going on a train trip again!" "It is not a train trip," Snowy says shakily as she stands up, "we are going to visit a historical discovery." "We'll surely do," a yellow mare says as it walks to the meeting room. Steel facepalms as he groans. "Why do we not have security on this floor, I thought this room had a lock!" Snowy smiles awkwardly as she begins to sit on her chair again, sighing and looking her coffee with a frown, "I suppose so." The morning came by. As expected, the guards escorted Peter again to the dining room, where breakfast was served. After that, they were all escorted to a secret train that runs underground Canterlot, even if it defies the laws of physics for its location. Twilight spent all the journey answering the questions that Peter had about the city and the few landmarks that he barely saw. Celestia was worried almost the whole journey, as she knows that one day, the truth will be revealed to everyone on the planet. Something is beginning to bother her, and that is that tingling feeling that you are about to do something very wrong, the future is distorted, and the reality just seems to have duplicated itself into an eternal abyss of doom. Things have really changed, an alien, that is the greatest discovery in the history of Equestria. It's confusing, how did he knew what unicorns or pegasus are? there must be a connection. Even though they haven't seen images of his world except for Twilight, who mysteriously described some huge similarities between the two worlds. They arrive at the old station. After walking through some dark tunnels, they reach the main entrance of the complex. It looks abandoned, but it's one of the most secured areas of the entire planet. Several royal guards are the floors of the abandoned training ground. The expressions are varied, some have fear, anger, and happiness towards Peter, who is shifting uncomfortably. He accelerates his pace, and tries to whisper something to Celestia, "a welcoming ground, I didn't know you had your own B8 Bergkristall." "Excuse me?" Celestia raises an eyebrow, "what exactly is this "B8 Bergkri-s-t-a-ll." "Ummm... it's supposedly a secret military base of my nation where experimental technology is created and tested, " he chuckles, "and also, there is this conspiracy that says that it is also a prison for aliens where they open the aliens and do experiments with them." "W-what!" Celestia almost exclaims, "that is barbaric, you wouldn't do that, do you?" "If you ask me, I think that my government would not even hesitate to experiment on an alien." "Those actions are barbaric, we would never-" "Your royal highnesses," Amber Night begins as she bows at her presence, "it is a pleasure to have you here." "Ehhhh.... the pleasure is our doctor," Celestia says with a small smile on her muzzle. She nods with a smile. Her confidence falls a bit when she sees the alien. She clear her throat, "Commander Bismarck I-I pre-s-sume, my name is Amber Night, one of the leading scientists in your case." He simply nods, motioning for her to continue. Amber yelps before speaking again, "it is incredible the amount of stuff you brought here, our scientists are baffled," she smiles sheepishly, "next thing that we'd love to do is.... making.some.inoffensive.experiments.with.you." Peter's eyes widen, as he turns to look at Celestia, who is whistling innocently. He frowns, "you are part of this right?" "What me," she responds dramatically, "how could I've known..... that somepony was planning that..." "It's not a rhetorical question Princess, I don't want to die even if I think that I'm dead!" She chuckles innocently. Peter turns his head to look at the other mares who are whistling as well. He sighs, "ya' better not open me." Celestia stomps a hoof, "we shall never do something like that, the experiments they want to do are merely physical and psychological." He huffs, "I suppose that was expected," Peter begins to walk forward, ignoring the calls Amber was giving to him. He suddenly stops, his mouth immediately falls wide open. There it is, the gem of space exploration, the descent stage of the Ausdauer. "Now, please, follow me," Amber said while passing next to him. Twilight suddenly pokes Peter's leg, gaining his attention. "If I may ask.... why does it look like the upper part is missing," she taps her chin, "and what is the name of the contraption anyway." Several scientists stop working to listen to the answer from the astronaut. He sighs, "that is the descent stage of the landing module, the name of it as a whole is the Ausdauer, and you are correct, the upper part is missing, purposefully." "Why?" "It's- just," he shakes his head, "the whole lander cannot return to the command module, plus, the gravity of your planet is way too strong for it could take off as a whole." "So you created a system in which the upper body takes off by using the lower part as a base by combining fuel and gas through the vents of it, creating an explosion that can lift the upper part to the atmosphere by escaping gravity in mid-flight, leaving apart the need to use a rocket to take off in gravity that is similar to the one of your home planet." The whole place fell dead silent. Twilight shifts uncomfortably at the stares everyone is giving her, especially the one from her former mentor. Peter clears his throat while raising an eyebrow, "that- is.... actually very close to how it works." "The egghead left the alien silent," Rainbow Dash mumbles to Applejack, "that's one point for us, zero for the alien." A camera snap is heard, scientists and guards passing right next to them with confused faces. Celestia clears her throat, "doctor, we- we, would like to continue please." Amber begins to walk, "yeah-yeah, let's keep moving," she said awkwardly. Several tables surround the damaged lander, each one with a different instrument, for either analyzing or gathering information. Peter sighs, as he puts a hand on the ascent stage. Celestia tilts her head apologetically, a sense of sorrow gathers in her as well. "Long time, no see my faithful brother," Peter mumbles under his breath. He quickly begins to search for the lower hatch, "let's see if I can get your GPS." "What's that?!" "AHHHHHH!!" hitting the ground is not epic, "my goodness- gracious......" "Pinkie!" every single voice exclaims at the element of laughter. "Please, don't ever do that again," Peter says while standing up with the help of Rarity and Applejack. "Buuuuuuttttt what's a GPS, and how does it work???? could it be a localization device maybe, or maybe it is-" "Pinkie Pie, that's no way to surprise others!" She smiles sheepishly, "sorry mister alien!" His eyes dart between her and the lander, "yeah... don't worry," he turns to look the lander again, smiling afterwards. "Bingo!" "What's that-" Celetis asks, walking close to the human, "a kind of door?" "Exactly," he opens the hatch, startling almost everyone, "do you have tools?" "Tools?" Amber raises an eyebrow, "for what..." "I just need them okay," Peter replies sharply, "it's very important." She turns to see Celestia with a nervous face. The princess of the sun simply nods, "what class of tools." "What class of tools?" Peter's expression falls into a bored face, "I dunno, a screwdiver.....a wrench...a-a bradawl, you know, tools..." suddenly, his eyes turn into pinpricks, "please don't tell me you don't have those." She responds with hesitation, "we have them, we just didn't know what class of tools you aliens use, of course." He waits silently for his request to arrive. He looks at twilight amused at her excited face, "yo' princess of friendship." She tilts her head, "y-you are calling me?" He sniffs, "yeah, who else," one of the scientists arrives with the requested tools, who gives them to Peter with hesitation, "wanna come here and help me with this old thing." Her eyes turn into pinpricks, as a smile begins to crawl on her muzzle. "Uhhh Twilight?" "YES!!!" she quickly runs to the side of the astronaut, who begins to explain to her some little things about the lander. Silence elapses, everyone, confused. "Uhhh commander," Celestia begins, "Doctor Amber wanted you to explain some of the.... contraptions here." Peter stops, glancing tiredly, "I'm pretty occupied at this moment, why don't you try to figure it out." "What-" "Hey, a shiny button." "PINKIE NO!" too late, she pressed it. One of the machines suddenly starts its internal system. Green letters suddenly appear on the black screen. "What did she pressed?" Peter asks nonchalantly, still focused on Twilight who didn't even notice the scream, "pray to God for it not to explode!" "WHAT!" everyone shouts in unison, as Fluttershy and Rarity immediately hide with some scientists behind some shiny bags. Peter begins to laugh, "gotcha ya'" "AGAIN COMMANDER!" Celestia suddenly exclaims, an attitude strange on her. When she sees the stares, she backs off from the ship, clearing her throat, "I-I, can't believe that I was just manipulated by an alien." "Haven't you ever- AHHH!" "That was not funny" She sighs, as her attention changes to the screen. Orion Betriebssystem® Urheberrecht 2002-2033 Union Raumfahrtindustrie Berlin, Deutsches Kaiserreich Server 6 MES------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Forschungszentrum XCOM 95 TP-51 Kohlendioxid TP-52 Kohlendioxid TP-53 Kohlendioxid TP-54 Stickstoff TP-55 Stickstoff TP-56 Schwefel TP-57 Schwefel Bitte warten..... -Protokoll beenden- Nothing, anyone these manuscripts are just random and make no sense or logic whatsoever as there is no spell over the machines, and because Luna couldn't come this time, it was harder to employ in every single device. "What's all this stuff?" Rainbow Dash asks with suspicion, beginning to walk around the tables. It looks like a library, only that its contents are different contraptions made of metal or shiny material. She takes one of them, trying to find a use to it. "If I were ya' I wouldn't be touching those," Applejacks said harshly. Rainbow snorts, "I'm not a foal okay, and thanks to Celestia that you aren't me." They all glance back at Celestia, who is discussing something with the leading scientists of the place. After some moments of hesitation, she quickly puts the book in her saddlebag, sighing afterwards, "not doing anything here." Fluttershy separates from the group to another section, where the 'recognizable' things were located, like... "Books?" she tilts her head, "Twilight would like to see this." They all have letters and symbols on them. Fluttershy stops at the golden cover of one of them, its art and presentation are beautiful, it almost seems like if it was washed in pure gold. Osmanlı Kültür ve Din İdaresi------Ottoman Culture and Religion Administration She gives one more step forwards, tilting her head at the other book. It seems very simplistic, its design doesn't highlight anything, only a jet black cover. But it is the symbol that catches Flutershy's attention, being a weird cross, the lower part longer than the upper one. Preußische Union der Kirchen------Prussian Union of Churches "Maybe a medical book," she mumbles, cleaning the dust off the book with a single blow. It seems roguish and stiff. Twilight quickly explores many pages of it, landing on the last one which has, "a map......" "Fluttershy are you there?" the voice of Rarity comes from behind. She quickly drops the two books in her saddlebag, resuming to walk while whistling. "Yes, I'm here," she deflates a bit. It is wrong what she is doing, but considering that it could be a medical one, she could learn human biology and even maybe the ones of the animals from his world. "Did you find something of our interest," Rarity said with hesitation. Fluttershy immediately halts herself, turning to look at her former mentor with a sheepish smile. "There seem to be books of their race," she begins, straightening herself, "why would the commander bring them?" Rarity's ears press against her head, "well if he wasn't so.... ummm roguish, he could perhaps give us more information." RRK-FREIHEIT "WHOA!" The two ran back to the area where the rest of them are. Twilight seems to be helping the human with something in his ship. Another screen is displaying what they call "videos." "Commander, could you at least give us the purpose of this one," Amber asks exasperated, "you have... two welcoming devices?" He stops, turning to look at what they were exactly doing. His eyes narrow before he simply shrugs again, "entertainment, and no, that is supposed to be for us." "I GOT IT!" Twilight shouts, exiting the engine room with a small card on her aura. Peter's smile widens, as he quickly takes it and presses it against his chest. "My ticket home...." "What?" Celestia questioned, she could swear that... "Nothing," Peter quickly stands up again, clapping his hands, gaining the attention of everyone in the process, "all right, now that I'm free," he puts the card in one of his pockets, "what needs explanation." Several hoofs were raised, by every single scientist in the room. He sighs, "have you at least resolved one of them?" "Well," a new voice begins, belonging to a grey earth pony, "your alien engineering is certainly interesting, but difficult to unlock." "And who may you be?" "Oh," the pony tilts his head, "let me present myself, I'm Stride Noon, the minister of the science and technology department of Equestria." He nods, "I suppose that-" "Commander Bismarck of course," the pony steps forwards, "what I would like to know about the 'lander' as you call it." Peter frowns, "I-I don't think I can do that, in the first place, the engines are pretty damaged, and I'm not exactly the guy you should as these things," he taps his chin, "I know the technical and structural part of the system engineering inside of it, aaand that is classified information under the German imperial government." "But-" "So let's start with another thing."