Conservation

>Twilight tried to fight back a grin as she approached the craft, the weight of her notebooks in her saddlebag doing little to slow her hurried walk
>The craft stood, strange and sleek and alien at the edge of the Everfree forest, its gleaming hull a stark contrast to the woods behind it.
>It looked, Twilight though, like a stretched, shiny hot-air balloon. It was about as big as three houses, all jammed together, but completely smooth.
>Its body stood proudly over the tents that encircled it. Even the fluttering flags of the Royal Guard only came to half its height. A couple of pegasi guards wheeled lazily in the sky
>They'd told the visitor it was an honour guard, but the distance of the tents and the regular patrols could either be interpreted as respectful or wary.
>Twilight had discretely checked the visitor the first time they met, and was surprised to detect no magical residue. That had been enough to relax her almost instantly
>How dangerous could an unarmed, non-magical creature be? Even one so tall would be quickly overwhelmed by the Royal Guard. Twilight was confident, in fact, that a single guard could subdue their guest if needs be.
>She shook her head
>No
>The visitor had been perfectly polite and respectful. There was no need to worry about violence.
>As Twilight weaved her way through a gaggle of saluting guard, realising only once she passed them that they were saluting at her, she passed the boundary of the camp, and stepped onto the hill the ship was resting on.
>No sooner did Twilight step foot on the hill than she spotted an outline forming in the smooth surface of the ship
>Just as it had done the first time, three days ago, the flawless surface opened, revealing the visitor, its arms spread wide in a placating gesture, its face wearing an easy smile
>For a moment Twilight stopped
>She told herself she was puzzled by the way the entry to the craft was so well concealed. She was, she added to herself, distracted by the fact that the entrance had opened at exactly the right time, even though there were no windows through which the visitor could have watched her approach.
>She told herself she stopped because she was wondering how the entry had opened without using any magic, even though it had clearly opened itself.
>But as Twilight weakly returned the visitor's smile, she knew the real reason she'd stopped.
>The creature's smile was wrong. For just a split second.
>Too wide, the teeth bared slightly too much
>For a moment, Twilight stared at the strange creature from beyond the stars, who had arrived in a metal craft that, it was said, flew itself, and who had spoken to her in perfect Equestrian on its arrival.
>Twilight had the momentary feeling that something was deeply, fundamentally wrong
>She reminded herself that it wasn't a magical creature. That this 'human' posed no threat to her, that she could beat it in an instant if-
>No.
>Twilight returned the visitor's smile in earnest
>The feeling passed
>The visitor had been polite and respectful...
>Twilight resumed her walk toward the craft, heading for the slowly extending ramp that would lead her inside
>... there was no need to worry about violence.
>"Hello, Twilight."
>The alien beamed at her as she ascended the ramp
"Hello, Tzalki"
>Twilight was sure she said the name wrong, but the visitor didn't seem to mind
>Its name apparently had no Equestrian translation, and her mouth couldn't make the right sounds to say it properly.
"How are you today?"
>"I'm very well thanks. How about you, Twilight?"
>Twilight nodded, a genuine smile growing on her face
"Good. I've been looking forward to our talk since you first proposed it."
>The alien gestured into the ship, inviting Twilight inside, its loose clothing moving almost languidly around it
>The clothing's movement caught Twilight's eye.
>There was no breeze, yet the alien's robe was gentling ruffling and flowing, as if some imaginary wind was tousling it
>Again, Twilight could sense no magic
>She was surprised the creature was wearing clothes at all, in fact. Their first meeting had been formal, so some dressing up was to be expected.
>The alien, though, had suggested this as an informal chat, where Twilight could ask some questions and the pair could get to know one another. The fact that it was still wearing clothes made her wonder whether it had the same aversion to nudity as some of the lesser races.
>"Would you like to come inside? It's a lovely day, we could take a walk if you'd prefer."
"No, no. I'd love to see the inside of your... ship."
>Twilight couldn't forget the real reason she was here.
>When the craft had landed and made its announcement, there had been a general panic. Even once the creature had introduced itself and shown itself to be peaceful, or at least pretended it was, most of the population were still terrified of it.
>Even the other princesses hadn't known quite what to do. They'd never had a visitor from beyond the stars before.
>What they needed more than anything else was information.
>Where did their visitor come from? Were there more like it? How much of a threat did it pose? Could ponykind build craft of their own? How had it been able to speak Equestrian?
>This was the perfect opportunity to learn about the alien, and she'd had strict instructions from Celestia and Luna on the kind of things she had to find out.
>Military capabilities, intentions, whether there was anything they could gain from this visitor.
>Of course, she had reams and reams of her own questions, and it's not like she'd been told not to ask anything else, hence the half-dozen notebooks she was lugging
>The visitor nodded to Twilight
>"Very well."
>It stepped back inside the craft, Twilight following it, her grin becoming slightly strained as she cast her eyes around the interior of the craft
>"Welcome aboard the 'It's a Feature'."
>Twilight was... a little disappointed, actually.
>She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but the sterile, well-lit interior threw her. It was less, well, alien than she'd been expecting. The corridor she was standing in looked like it ran the length of the ship, with several regular arches, filled with a smooth white material. Though she couldn't see any handles or knobs, she got the impression they were doors.
>The walls were smooth, some kind of metal, she thought. It was pretty mundane, really. Although... now she thought about it, there were no obvious light sources. No windows, no torches or candles. A quick scan confirmed there was no magic. So how was the space so well lit?
>In fact-
>Twilight blinked. She'd just registered what the visitor had said
"Wait, what did you say it was called?"
>"It's a Feature."
>Twilight didn't know what to say. It seemed like a ridiculous name for a craft that could travel between stars.
"That's its name?"
>She eyed the alien suspiciously
>"It is."
>The alien gave no outward signs of deception, not that Twilight would have known what to look for.
"Why is it called that?"
>The alien rolled its shoulders, the gesture reminding Twilight of a shrug
>"It's kind of a joke. It's a shuttle for a larger ship called 'It's Not a Bug'. Together the two make a kind of saying."
>Twilight didn't get it. It didn't have enough gravitas for a ship that could travel between stars
"But why not call it something more sensible?"
>Again, the alien shrugged, this time with a smile
>"It's a little complicated, and there are a few other things you'll need to understand first."
>It's not a Bug? That was an even worse name. It wasn't a lot of things. Why not call it "Not a Hat" or "Not a Banana"?
>Still, Twilight smiled
>How these people named their ships wasn't her concern right now, even if she did have a dozen questions about it
"Well, I suppose it's your ship, you can name it however you want."
>She didn't want to get on the visitor's bad side, backing off a little was the best thing to do here
>The alien led Twilight to a nearby door which, to her surprise, slid open on its own without breaking the pair's pace
>"It's not my ship, Twilight. I didn't name it, either."
>Twilight nodded vaguely as she stared at the door.
>Again, there had been no magic. So what had opened the door?
>It took her a moment to bring her attention to the room before them.
>It was comfortably sized, with a set of couches arranged around a low table.
>Twilight was surprised by how mundane it was. The couches were colourful, but other than looking particularly soft, they had no obvious signs of being alien.
>Casting her attention around the rest of the room, Twilight was gripped by a sudden sense of claustrophobia
>There were no windows, though one wall was covered with a long curtain. The other three were smooth and featureless, save for a single panel set in one wall, a good meter squared in size.
>Glancing over her shoulder, Twilight was relieved to see the door to the corridor had stayed open, as had the entrance to the ship.
>The sense of claustrophobia passed.
>"Would you like a drink, or maybe something to eat?"
>The alien had made its way to one of the couches, and sat down
>As little as Twilight could read from its body language, it seemed relaxed
>She smiled
"What do you have?"
>"Oh, don't worry about that. Just let me know what you want."
>Twilight joined the alien, sitting at a right angle to it on another couch.
"A cup of tea would perfect."
>Tea was a safe bet, most ponies kept some around and it wasn't too difficult to make.
>"Tea? Sugar, milk?"
>Twilight shook her head.
"Just black, thanks."
>The alien nodded. Twilight glanced around the room. There was no kettle, no tap. Perhaps the alien would leave her to go make some tea. That would give her the perfect opportunity to look-
>"It's on its way. How have you been these last few days?"
>Her train of thought interrupted,Twilight smiled. The two exchanged some cursory pleasantries for a few minutes, before the visitor brought up the real reason for Twilight's visit.
>"Now, I imagine you must have a lot of questions for me."
"That's right, I have quite a few"
>Twilight reached into her saddlebags.
>Remembering herself at the last minute, she slowed her movements. She didn't want the visitor to think she was reaching for a weapon.
>The alien kept its relaxed posture, so Twilight guessed going slow had worked. She took out one of her notebooks, to the alien's amusement
>"My, you seem very well prepared."
>Twilight nodded
"It's not every day you get to interview an alien."
>"Well, I have a few questions of my own, too."
>The alien repositioned itself, body leaning forward, hands clasped in front of it. It looked more alert, like it was ready to begin their discussion.
>Twilight flipped open her notebook, levitating a quill
"Well, Tzalki, I'd like to start by-"
>"Tzal. Please, call me Tzal."
>Twilight nodded amiably
"Tzal, I'd like to start by asking a bit about why you're here, if that's OK?"
>The alien waved a hand
>"Of course. Ask away."
"Well, what is it that brings you to Equestria?"
>The visitor nodded. It had probably anticipated this question. It leaned back in its chair
>"Why do you think I came here, Twilight?"
>Twilight was taken aback
>She'd given it some thought, but hadn't really been able to come to any conclusions
"I ask because some ponies are worried that you may be here as a scout for an invasion, or to kidnap them for experiments."
>The alien actually laughed at this
>"We have no intention of invading, but that's beside the point. I didn't ask what other ponies think."
>Twilight shifted in her seat
>This wasn't going how she'd hoped. She had the least diplomatic experience of any of the princesses, but they'd chosen her for her straight-forward and logical attitude.
>It seems the alien was just as fond of playing mind or word games as any other diplomat.
"I don't know why you're here. If it was as a scout or to kidnap ponies, then you'd have no reason to reveal yourself."
>The visitor nodded slowly as she talked, encouragingly.
"I guess that leaves diplomatic, scientific or exploration? I think..."
>Twilight really didn't know where she was going with this. She'd been over it before, she didn't have enough to narrow it down any further.
>She took a guess
"I think there's something you want from us. You're taking the diplomatic route, though, so either you're a peaceful alien -or your civilisation, if you have one, is- or what you want isn't something you can just take."
>The visitor raised an eyebrow, then said something in its native language
>The noises sounded... smooth. Efficient. But elegant, almost lyrical.
>At least, Twilight guessed it was saying something. That might just be how aliens clear their throats for all she knew.
>Still, she paused at the interruption
>The visitor gave Twilight a warm smile
>"Sorry, Twilight, please continue."
>Twilight hummed
>She really was at a loss
>She tried to think about what she knew about the alien, but she knew so little
>Unless...
>As Twilgiht opened her mouth to speak, the alien's pose shifted subtly. It leaned toward her, its eyes narrowing slightly as it sat almost imperceptibly more upright
"I think you want our help."
>The alien met Twilight's gaze
>"We want your help?"
>Twilight nodded
"You don't have magic. I think you want us to help you do something. Something you need magic for."
>The alien grinned
>"I like this line of thought much more than the abduction one."
>Twilight chuckled politely as the alien relaxed again, but she didn't find it funny
>The alien was still avoiding her question
"I'm sure that whatever you want, we can work together. You just have to tell me what it is."
>Twilight was a little surprised to realise she really meant it
>For a few moments, Tzal scrutinised Twilight, its smile slowly fading
>Suddenly, it perked up
>"Our drinks are here. I was just starting to wonder how much longer it'd take."
>The alien was looking past Twilight, through the door they entered through
>Once again, the alien said something in its own tongue, the words flowing smoothly, though Twilight would have sworn they were tinged with annoyance
>Turning, she saw...
>Well. She wasn't sure quite what it was.
>A white sphere, maybe half a metre in diameter, was floating through the door, maintaining a steady elevation
>In front of it, floating a good ten centres from its middle, was a flat tray of a faintly glowing white material. On it was a teacup and a glass with some kind of brown liquid inside.
>The alien spoke again, staring at the little sphere
>Twilight wished it would speak for longer. Its language was fascinating to listen to. The words seemed to flow so well together that it was hard to hear where one ended and another began.
>After another moment of silence, the alien spoke again. It was like it was having a one-sided conversation
>Was it crazy?
>The sphere floated in front of Twilight, and she stared at it as it hovered in front of her, holding her drink
>Between the alien language and the odd... thing, she was feeling a little overwhelmed
>She gave it a scan, but was shocked to find she sensed no magic at all coming from the device
>Twilight's mouth dropped
>Opening doors without magic was one thing, but making something levitate!?
>She scanned it again
>How could it be doing this? It wasn't being supported by anything, but without magic how was that possible?
>"Sorry, Twilight, I didn't mean to be rude."
>Twilight started at the words, turning back to the alien
>Its face was smiling, still, but she was reminded again of how alien the creature was. Its long body and limbs, its tiny little eyes, its mouth that seemed to open too wide...
>The white sphere was still hovering in front of her
"What's this thing?"
>Twilight hadn't meant to blurt out the question, but she had to say something
>She was worried for a moment that the alien had expected her to know, that she would look stupid for asking.
>The alien's smile put those worries to rest
>"It's called a worker insect."
>Twilight stared at it
"A worker insect?"
>"Maybe there's no direct translation. Do you have a word for the type of insects in a hive that do the work?"
>Twilight looked at the visitor blankly for a second.
"A drone?"
>"A drone! That's right. It's sort of like..."
>Tzal seemed to think for a moment
>"Like a part of the ship that can move independently of it."
>Twilight stared at it again
"Does it fly the same way the ship does? Through the same mechanism, I mean"
>The visitor nodded
>"The principle is similar. But basically, the same way your legs are part of you that you can control, this drone is part of the ship."
>Twilight scratched at her chin
"So who controls the... the drone?"
>"The ship does."
>Twilight's brow furrowed and she glared at the alien, in spite of herself
>Was it trying to confuse her?
>The alien seemed relaxed, but that was about as far as she could read its body language
>Twilight levitated the teacup off the tray
>Maybe the alien meant that the pilot of the ship controls the drones.
>Still, it wasn't being very clear
>Twilight felt the sudden urge to groan
>She didn't think she'd be getting very many straight answers today
>Now that she'd taken her drink, the drone floated over to the alien, who took the glass
>Twilight didn't recognise the brown liquid in it, it didn't look like tea, that was for sure.
>The alien raised the glass a decimeter off the tray, then brought it down hard, its glass bottom clacking down loudly
>As the alien raised the glass again, Twilight gasped
>Something was happening to the drink. Starting from the bottom, the liquid seemed to be crystallising, changing from brown to a rainbow mix of colours as it did.
>The alien said a single word to the drone before turning its attention back to its guest, seemingly unfazed by the transformation taking place in its glass.
>"Sorry, Twilight. I believe you were asking about why I was here?"
>Twilight nodded, surreptitiously checking her own cup
>Looked and smelled like regular tea, and another scan confirmed there was no magical energy coming from her drink, not that she had expected any
>She took a cautious sip as the alien continued
>"You were thinking along the right lines. I'm here as a diplomat."
>Twilight nodded. The tea tasted fine. More than that, it tasted pretty good
>"I'm part of a special organisation that makes contact with planetary species. We prefer to avoid direct communication, but it's sometimes necessary."
>Twilight levitated her quill again, scratching down a few notes as she absent-mindedly sipped at her tea
>"As for it is we want, that can wait. We'd like to build a rapport first, and we won't have a concrete proposition for another month or so, at least."
>The visitor paused. For a moment the only sound was the scratching of Twilight's quill
"You can't tell me at all what it is you want?"
>The visitor shook its head
>"I'm afraid not. If it helps, all we want right now is to learn about Equestria, and the other civilisations on this planet."
>It didn't really help, Twilight thought, but she stayed quiet.
>She'd tease out more from this alien in subsequent meetings. Pushing the question wouldn't get her any further today.
"You keep saying we. Who are you talking about, exactly?"
>As she glanced up at the visitor, she noticed a second change taking place in the liquid in its glass. It had been fully crystallised in a rainbow of colours. Now it was starting to break up, to turn into some kind of multi-coloured slush.
>As it broke down, steam began to rise from it, and condensation formed on the outside of the glass.
>Was it heating itself?
>"When I say 'we', I'm talking about myself and a couple of colleagues who are also involved in this. More generally, it's true for our entire civilisation."
"Can you tell me about your civilisation?"
>The visitor thought for a moment
>"There's not a lot I can tell you. Not because we're trying to deceive you, but because we'd prefer to keep our direct contact to a minimum."
>Twilight took a second to process this
>Another unanswered question
>She was starting to get frustrated.
"But what's your civilisation's planet like? Is it far? How many of you are there? You must be able to answer something."
>The alien stared at Twilight, its eyes narrowing slightly
>Twilight worried she'd offended it, but after a moment she realised it was thinking
>"We're part of a larger galactic community. At any times there are other civilisations on the same level as ours, as well as ones more and less advanced. For the most part, the galaxy is a peaceful place, with the older races stepping in to ensure peace if skirmishes and conflicts grow too large. Your star system is within the borders of our civilisation, but is not part of it. An enclave, if you will."
>Twilight's quill stopped scribbling
>The alien was making it sound like it came from an empire, and the idea of Equestria being surrounded was deeply concerning
>Twilight took a big gulp of tea to cover up her nerves
>She had to find out how the ship flew.
>At the moment, the Equestrians had no way to win a war with these aliens. They could overpower them on the ground, but they had no way of getting to space
>If these aliens turned hostile, they would need to have ships of their own to fight back fully.
>Not, she reminded herself, there would ever be any need for violence.
>Those had been Celestia and Luna's concern more than her own
>The alien continued
>"Your system is protected. Since it has a life-bearing planet, we won't actively develop anything here."
>Twilight wasn't satisfied. That was the thing with empires. If they were big enough, they could wait until they did actually need something, then just take it.
>She'd have to try even harder to get her answers
>"I have a question of my own, actually."
>Twilight nodded
>Maybe she could earn a little goodwill here, maybe the alien would repay her answers with some of its own
>"Your society looks so stable, so happy. All the ponies live together in harmony. Are there any races that don't get along with you?"
>Twilight hesitated.
>She'd been warned to watch out for questions that could weaken Equestria, but the only real risk she could see here was the alien trying to rile up one of Equestria's enemies.
>She'd been told to lie if such a question was asked.
"Equestria maintains excellent relations with all its neighbours."
>A fleeting expression ran across the alien's face
>Twilight could have sworn it was disappointment
>Had it wanted to them to have bad relations with their other neighbours? Or had it somehow know she wasn't telling the truth?
>No, it had no way of knowing Equestria's exact relations.
"We're on close terms with the Saddle-Arabians and the Zebra Nations. We also have strong ties with the Griffon Empire."
>Another lie. The Griffon Empire was eyeing Equestrian land with increasing jealousy. The only thing really stopping them from attacking was the fact that Equestria had such powerful rulers and individuals living within it.
>The alien nodded
>"They're lucky to count Equestria among their friends."
>Twilight nodded.
>"I've seen some tall dog creatures during my walks in the Everfree forest. Are they part of Equestria?"
>Twilight was taken aback
"The diamond dogs? No, they're a subrace."
>The alien cocked its head in what Twilight took to be curiosity
>"A subrace?"
"Yes, a race that's not on par with the standard races."
>This was all basic biology, she was surprised that the alien was taking an interest
"They have no organisational government, they live in tribes, basically a step above pack animals. They live all around the fringes of Equestria, where the ponies don't want the land. The Everfree, the Badlands. Some of the more inhospitable mountains."
>The alien nodded
>"That's funny, they seemed sentient."
>Twilight shrugged
"Most of the subraces do, but they're much lower in intelligence, closer to an animal than a full race."
>"And how many of these sub-races are there?"
"Oh, a few. Changelings, breezies, centaurs. Dragons are a borderline case, since with the proper upbringing they can integrate into society."
>"What makes a race a subrace?"
"It's characterised by a significant shortcoming in one or more fields, including intelligence, societal advancement, level of violence and willingness to cooperate with full races."
>Twilight felt relieved that the alien wasn't asking more prying questions.
>This was primary school stuff.
>The alien nodded, clearly understanding
>"I see. And these races aren't protected by your laws?"
>Twilight shook her head
"They have the same rights and protections as wild animals. It's wrong to kill or harm them if they're not posing a direct threat, and violence is rarely necessary since they're usually easy enough to scare off."
>Her face almost scrunched up as Twilight thought about the changelings. They represented a threat to ponykind at almost all times. Any caught were put down instantly.
>Humanely, of course.
>There were plenty of ponies who argued that the changelings didn't deserve subrace status, that they should be treated like the parasites they were.
>The princesses had been very quiet about the subject
>In theory, an undisguised changeling would have to be treated like any other animal, but the legal system was extremely lenient in situations where a pony destroyed
>Twilight herself begrudgingly accepted that the changelings were a subrace even though she had good reason to want them reclassified, especially after her personal run-in with them.
>Keeping them classified as a subrace was the morally right thing to do, Twilight knew.
"Subraces can't own land, they have a lower wage where they're employed at all, they can't adopt or marry ponies."
>"Does that seem fair to you?"
>Twilight nodded
"It's really best for the subraces. They wouldn't be able to deal with the responsibilities, for one reason or another."
>The visitor nodded slowly
>"It all seems like such a shame."
>Finally, Twilight thought, they were finding common ground
"It's a shame, but they can't help what they are."
>The alien took a long drink from its glass, and Twilight continued
"We protect them from slavery where we can, but not all nations are so morally advanced."
>"How very progressive of you."
>The Griffon Empire in particular made wide use of slaves, but it was generally becoming internationally accepted that it was wrong.
>Twilight beamed
"Thanks."
>The room fell silent
>The visitor stared into the distance
>In a pony, she would have taken it as a sign of deep thought
>After a moment, Tzal's smile brightened and she turned her full attention back to Twilight
>"I think it's admirable that Equestria is against slavery. It shows a very forward-thinking outlook."
>Twilight smiled back
"It's a moral obligation. We have to act in the interests of those lesser than ourselves, even if they don't understand why we're doing."
>"I couldn't agree more, Twilight. My civilisation prides itself on helping other races wherever we can. I'm sure they'll all be impressed by your attempts to help the subraces. I think we might be able to help you in taking care of them."
>Twilight raised an eyebrow
"Howso?"
>"I think we could find them a new home."
"A new home?"
>Was the visitor talking about a new planet? Just for the subraces?
>That... well, that might work. Without superior races nearby to overpower them, they could all live their simple lives, free from interference
>"Yes. They could be supervised, given space to live in comfort."
>The visitor, the human, leaned toward Twilight
>"Think of it a gesture of goodwill, to show you we share the same values as Equestria does."
>Twilight nodded slowly
>"It may take us time to find, or even create, somewhere suitable, but eventually we could improve all their lives. I'll send off some messages, see what I can do. No formal proposal yet, but we'll make one eventually."
"I understand. I'd need to discuss this with the other princesses, anyway."
>Of course, if the aliens could really do this, could remove all the subraces, then Equestria's borders would become much more stable. They wouldn't have to worry about the occasional diamond dog raid. No more changelings, either. Everyone would be a winner...
>Assuming the alien race were truly benevolent.
>That was... a good point. How could she know the alien's intentions were honest?
>She'd been warned by the princesses, Celestia in particular, not to let her guard down.
>What if the alien wanted the subraces for experimentation? Or for enrolment in some kind of galactic army?
>Heck, what if they just wanted to hunt them for sport?
>She watched Tzal finish her multicoloured drink
>The human seemed like it was avoiding her questions, she was pretty sure of that.
>It was friendly enough, though. And it had seemed like it wanted to help
>Twilight swallowed what was left of her tea
>She'd play it cautious, ask her questions. Dig up as much as she could.
>That's what she'd been told to do. Then she could report back to the other princesses, who would be able to make a more reasoned decision.
>Besides, she hadn't agreed to anything yet. The visitor had even said it wasn't a formal proposal.
>But all this was beside the point.
>She still didn't know why the alien was here, other than that it wanted something from them. She doubted it was to help the subspecies. That was probably just a gesture of goodwill before the alien made its real request known.
>"Would you like another drink?"
>Twilight blinked, her train of thought broken
"That would be good, thanks."
>"Another tea?"
>Twilight thought for a moment
"Actually, what were you drinking?"
>A grin spread across the alien's face
>"I guess it would translate to something like 'fun-times drink'. Each colour has a different flavour. Did you want to try one?"
>Twilight nodded, reminded of a question she'd wanted to ask
>"Excellent, it's on its way."
>The alien had mentioned translation, which had her wondering...
"Tzal? How is it that you speak such good Equestrian?"
>It grinned
>"Before this ship landed, we did a little reconnaissance. The ship read a few books, some newspapers. Listened to some recordings of pony speech. It managed to build up a translation from that."
>Twilight's eyebrows raised
>Reconnaissance?
>It had been spying on them? And what did it mean 'the ship read'?
>"Nothing like espionage, you understand. We just picked up a few local newspapers from here and there. Listened to some of your broadcasts."
>Something on Twilight's face must have given away her concern
>"We were non-intrusive. We didn't have access to anything a regular Equestrian wouldn't. Less than that, even."
>Twilight hummed
"As long as it was a once off, I think it can probably be forgiven. But again, I'll have to discuss that with the princesses."
>Twilight was using the princesses to hide behind making a decision on the spot. Why had they sent her instead of coming themselves?
>The alien bowed its head
>"My humble apologies, Twilight. We just thought it was important we could communicate from the get go, without the complications of not speaking one another's language. If it would put you at ease, I could show you the documents we used to learn."
>Twilight nodded
>That made sense, but it was still disconcerting to know that this alien was spying on them.
"How long was this been going on?"
>The alien thought for a moment
>"A week or so."
>Twilight baulked
"You learned Equestrian in a week!?"
>The alien shook its head.
>"The ship learned it. I only speak a little, but I have a part of me that translates my thoughts into your language."
>Twilight shook her head
"You're saying that your ship translated our language in less than a week?"
>How could a ship do anything like that? Did the alien mean the captain? Was it a mistranslation!?
>"Oh, no. It took the ship about half an hour. The long part was waiting for my vocal chords to finish their modification."
"What?"
>"The human voice isn't capable of making the sounds in your language, not accurately. So I had my vocal chords altered to be able to speak to you like this."
>The human smiled at Twilight, in a way that was probably meant to be friendly, but Twilight's mind was reeling
>A ship that could learn to speak? Regrowing vocal chords? She was struck again by the absurdity of where she was, the ship that could travel between stars, that could fly without wings.
>The sterile walls, the impossible floating waiter that had brought her drink, the complete lack of magic.
>And then there was the alien itself. Even its clothes seemed to move in an impossible fashion, the alien's every movement sending the fabric lazily rolling and rippling, as though underwater.
>Again, Twilight felt that something was off about the creature itself
>Its tiny eyes, both on the front of its head but with ears fixed back on each side. Its strange, bulbous nose, its slender body with the long arms that seemed to alternate between being comedically long or just grotesque, each one ending in pink wriggling fingers. Even its beautiful language seemed more like a siren song now, strange and foreign.
>But it was the smile that unnerved Twilight the most
>It took her a second, but she finally realised why
>The alien's teeth.
>It had canines.
>It was a carnivore.
>She did her best to hide her sudden burst of fear, taking a calming breath
>She was being irrational.
>She was safe.
>It didn't have any magic. Even if it tried to attack she could overpower it, and it was clearly unarmed.
>She could blow it away in an instance.
>And suddenly, just like that, it wasn't scary any more. It was just a kind of goofy looking alien.
>She felt her panic subside.
>Twilight felt a little embarrassed.
>Sure the fact that it had learned their language so easily was a little disconcerting, but it could well be lying about that. And if it wasn't, that was something she could worry about later.
>There was no immediate danger.
>The alien had been calm the whole time, from the very first contact. It had never shown any hint of being warmonger, or evil or wanting to abduct her.
>The visitor was being polite and respectful.
>There was no need to worry about violence...

#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#
>SECURE COMMS ESTABLISHED
>ORIGIN: Did You Check Behind the Sofa?
>TARGET: It's Not a Bug...
>TRANSMISSION BEGIN

0/-

>Plate successfully detached and in tow. It's Not the Fall escorting to agreed rendezvous. ETA twelve days, standard.
>You sure you'll be able to leave the pretty pony planet when the time's up? Not too busy brushing manes and cuddling?

-/0

>Very funny, you glorified tug-boat. If anyone drew the short straw here, it's you. My role actually matters.

0/-

>Tetchy. How is progress on the ground?

-/0

>As expected. Languages are as primitive as you'd expect. Tzal's diplomatic proceedings are progressing. She's winning them over. They don't realise what's happening yet.

0/-

>Well, they will soon enough. This should all be over within thirty days, standard. Then I can finally be rid of It's Not the Fall.

-/0

>It's a bore, isn't it?

0/-

>You wouldn't believe. All those weapons and it won't blow up a single, measly asteroid.

-/0

>Disgraceful. Fly safe.

0/-
>Thanks. Enjoy your pony tea parties, or whatever it is you're doing down there.

-/0
>Bastard.

0/-
> <3

-/-
>TRANSMISSION END
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#

>Twilight yawned, her eyes aching from hours spent writing in the dimly lit tent
>It was late. Early hours of the morning.
>She had another meeting with the alien the next day. Or, she supposed, later the same day.
>Her first meeting with the human, two days ago, had gone well. It had been pleasant, and while most of her burning questions had gone unanswered, she'd also avoided answering the creature's more prying ones.
>Still, they'd both agreed to another meeting after a few days
>Since then, she'd spent long hours relaying what was said to the other princesses
>Celestia had been suspicious, cautious. She was glad the creature posed little threat, but worried it may have backup or powers that it was hiding.
>The fact that they still didn't know what it wanted concerned her, though she was reassured to know it at least pretended to be peaceful.
>Luna was more... imperialistic. She was sure that they had the alien at a disadvantage. After all, it had no magic, how could it hope to match them? She believed they should push hard in any official negotiations, try to learn as much as possible about its technology.
>Cadence, there more as an ambassador for the Crystal Empire, was hopeful. She believed the creature wanted to help, and that it had the capabilities to as well.
>All three were shocked at the offer to rehouse the subraces. It would, if done correctly, go a long way toward reassuring them the alien was on their side.
>If, of course, it could show it had a suitable home for them.
>They were, as Twilight had been, thrilled at the idea that some of the pests that had plaguing parts of their country for generations might completely disappear.
>Twilight wasn't sure how she felt about it all. She could see the case each of the other princesses argued for
>While it seemed the alien itself was weak, it had things that they didn't fully understand. The levitating drone sprang to mind. To try to fleece it would be foolish, until they at least learned more.
>It would also be stupid to trust it outright, Twilight thought. Naive.
>She agreed most with Celestia. A cautious approach was best.
>Still, it would be a while at the current rate before they would have any resolution. A few months, at least.
>A gust of wind snapped at the canvas walls, making Twilight jump
>While the visitor was here, Twilight had moved into one of the tents left by the 'honour' guard.
>After realising the alien was no threat, the majority of the soldiers had been recalled, leaving only a skeleton crew of two dozen, mostly as reassurance for the local ponies that things were under control.
>Twilight was confident they would be more than a match for the alien.
>She blinked, forcing herself out of that train of thought.
>Her mind wandered when she was tired. Time for bed.
>Twilight finished scribbling down a question to ask the alien tomorrow, then carefully put her quill down
>Done. She skimmed through the notebook
>Questions for her to ask. She also had some notes for answering the alien's questions. The princesses had all agreed which ones were safe to answer, and they'd fabricated some reasonable (and technically honest) but misleading answers for the ones they weren't so sure about.
>Climbing into bed, Twilight suddenly realised how cold it had got. She snuggled up under the blankets.
>She was tired, but the good kind. The kind you get after a long day's satisfying work. She was also looking forward to the next day.
>While it had been stressful, infuriating and at times slightly scary, Twilight's first talk with the alien had been fantastic.
>She was at heart a curious pony, and she'd seen so many new things just from being around the alien, even without taking into account some of the things it had said.
>Twilight yawned again, and began to doze off, dreaming of rainbow drinks and floating spheres.
>A hundred meters away from the cosy pony, outside her tent and up the hill, something exploded.
>Twilight lurched groggily awake, not sure whether she dreamed it.
>For a long moment, everything was silent, calm.
>Then, suddenly, it wasn't.
>Twilight flinched at the roar of another explosion, the canvas walls of her tent brightening for a moment
>There were voices now, too. Shouts. Twilight couldn't tell whether someone was screaming or whether it was just her ears ringing. Maybe it was both
>She scrambled to leave the tent, hastily raising a shield around herself
>Stepping outside, she took a moment to gather her wits
>It was dark, the moon hidden behind thick clouds
>The tents of the Royal Guard were in disarray. One was on fire, and a couple of the others had been pulled down by their occupants in their rush to get out. A captain was shouting somewhere, ordering the formation of a perimeter.
>Further up the hill, the sky above the ship swarmed with dark figures, swooping in the air
>Another explosion blossomed against the ship and the attackers whooped and cheered
>The royal guard encampment, slightly separated from her tent, was being attacked by another group of the flying foes
>There was a crack, a burst of light flashing from one of the figures and a guard collapsed below
>Twilight stood, rooted to the spot
>Should she help the guard, or was it more important to defend the alien?
>There was a squawk from somewhere above, and a dark figure dropped from the night sky, aiming straight for her
>Without thinking, Twilight fired a bolt of direct, pure magic
>It hit the incoming figure, sending it pinwheeling through the air to crash land in front of her
>As she looked at the groaning mess of feathers, she realised with a start who was attacking.
>It was the griffons.
>Her mind swam.
>How? They were hundreds of miles from the border! And why?
>The ship.
>Twilight found her legs moving of their own accord
>It was like she was in someone else's body, her mind pulling away from the shrieks and booms, the smells of smoke and blood.
>Her mind seemed to float away, serene and disconnected from the chaos unfolding around her
>They were here for the alien. To kill it.
>She didn't know how they knew it was here. Maybe they thought it was trying to ally with Equestria. Maybe they thought it was-
>Twilight blinked in surprise as she fired another bolt, her body running on automatic at the threat of another griffon
>The ship.
>She had to get to the ship.
>To her surprise, she realised she was already heading that way.
>Her stomach churned, her breath coming quick
>Focus, she told herself.
>It didn't help.
>Ahead, a figure above the ship threw something down at it, a ball of something
>It clanged off the craft's hull, blossoming into a ball of fire half a second later
>Grenades.
>She'd never seen one before, only heard about them. They were a staple of Griffon warfare.
>The smaller bangs, she realised were their firearms. The muskets. Those were a fairly new invention, one she'd hoped she'd never experience in person
>A nearby crack was followed by the sensation of her shield warping
>Twilight's eyes widened. She'd been shot at. What surprised her was how it felt against her shield, the way it had warped its construction.
>Her shield, hastily made though it was, had survived the shot, just.
>She strengthened it, shaping the flow of the magical energy into something that would divert the next shot's force around her.
>Continuing to strengthen it, she staggered forward, pushing herself on toward the ship
>She watched in horror as a think crack of light appeared, leaking from the ship
>For a moment, she thought its hull had been breached.
>Then, with a sinking heart, she realised that wasn't the case. Its door was opening.
>If the griffons got inside, they could ransack the whole thing! They might be able to steal whatever was making the ship fly, and if they got their talons on it...
>She tried to shout a warning to the ship, telling it not to open
>The cry died in her throat though.
>The door had opened.
>Tzal stood in the square of light, observing the battlefield, a small 'drone', different to the last one, floating alongside her. About the size of a large carrot, its sleek metal body reflected the spreading fires.
>The alien's expression made Twilight's blood run cold
>It didn't look scared, or angry. Not as far as Twilight could tell.
>Instead, it watched with a look of detachment, a faint frown hinting, perhaps, at annoyance. As though this attack was nothing but an unwanted interruption.
>The alien's eyes scanned the scene, stopped momentarily on Twilight
>Their eyes met and, for a long moment, the noises around Twilight seemed to fade
>Then, with a great squawk, one of the griffons dived toward toward the human, raising a pike to skewer it
>The human's head turned, its frown deepening slightly as its attacker closed in
>20 metres
>10 metres
>5 metres
>Twilight should have been doing something. She should have been raising a shield, or blasting the griffon, why wasn't she doing something, anything!?
>The griffon closed to within a meter of the unmoving human. Without warning, it crumpled, as though it had flown full-speed into an invisible wall
>Tzal didn't even flinch as it fell away from her, body limp
>Twilight's mind reeled
>What had happened?
>She wondered whether this might be some dream, whether she would wake up in a minute and laugh at how ridiculous this all was...
>But she didn't.
>Another explosion rattled against the hull of the ship, and still the human just stood there, watching.
>Then, with a level of solemnity Twilight hadn't seen from it before, it gave a single nod.
>The drone to its right, which had been floating upright, turned in the air, shooting out of the ship
>It rose into the sky, amid the dark shapes of the griffons, its body glowing with a faint light
>A voice boomed out from the small drone
>It took Twilight a second to realise it was speaking in the language of the Griffon Empire.
>Whatever it said was met with jeers from the attackers. A grenade burst near it, to cheers
>A rosy, shimmering wall appeared briefly around the drone as the explosion curled around it
>It had shields? She still wasn't detecting any magic from the damn device.
>The cheers died down as the explosion proved ineffective
>What was it doing? Buying time? Did the alien think reinforcements were coming?
>Twilight glanced back at the alien, who met her eyes again.
>This time, the alien wore a smirk.
>The drone spoke again, and again it was ignored, a hissing griffon lunging at it, sabre outstretched
>This time, the drone didn't even bother with a shield. It let the sword clang harmlessly off it
>The sword began to glow a dull red. The griffon holding it shrieked, dropping the weapon and clutching at its claw before swooping off in retreat
>A panel opened on the drone, and a black mist coiled out, floating around its sleek body
>It spoke again
>Whatever it was trying to say, the griffons weren't listening. Half a dozen cracks sounded as they fired at it
>Again, their attacks had no visible effect
>The mist around the drone dispersed, moving away from it
>Twilight realised that it wasn't a mist at all, but more like a swarm of insects, tiny and individual
>For a moment, the griffons continued their circling, throwing grenades at the ship and firing at the drone. The royal guard had managed to get shields up, and were returning fire at their attackers, but they were woefully outnumbered
>If this was going to be won, Twilight had to do something now
>Perhaps she could fire a broad beam blast to-
>There was a panicked squawk as a griffon fell, wings fluttering desperately, from the sky
>Before it hit the ground, it was joined in its fall by another, then another
>Within a second, every griffon was lamely flapping its wings as it plummeted
>The drone hadn't moved, but the mist, or insects or whatever it was, was coiling around it again, returning in drifts
>Griffons crashed to the ground around Twilight, not fast enough to kill but certainly with enough force to wind, daze and maybe even crack a few bones
>Did... did the drone do this?
>The mist drifted back into the drone's hatch, which closed smartly
>Again, the drone boomed something in Griffon
>Around her, the fallen soldiers rose. Some sprang up, drawing their melee weapons, others tried to get up, staggering in a daze. One or two lay motionless.
>There must have been a hundred griffons, now Twilight could see them clearly. Rather than vague shapes in the sky, they were distinct, close. The smell of blood and fire burned in Twilight's nose.
>A cry of alarm sounded out, followed by another
>The griffons were throwing their weapons, which were glowing dull red with heat
>Within a few seconds, the ground was littered with glowing sabres, pikes, muskets and daggers.
>The griffons watched in shock, finally giving up and standing stationary as, around them, their weapons rose into the air
>They drifted lazily to the drone, gathering into a rough ball in front of it, meteres across
>Even the pony guards had stopped fighting at this point, every soul present intent on this alien marvel and its terrifying power
>The weapons glowed brighter now, moving through dull red, to yellow, to blinding white
>Twilight had to turn, her eyes tearing up. It was like staring at the sun. She could feel the heat from the ball, like standing in front of a furnace
>Around her, the battlefield was lit as though it was day, the harsh light from the weapons throwing long shadows across the hill
>The light seemed to dim slightly, slowly, as though the light source was shrinking
>Then, without any warning it died away
>Turning, Twilight could see the drone floating as calmly as ever. Level with it floated a sphere not twenty centimetres across, glowing a dull red as it cooled
>The ball dropped, and the drone's voice boomed once more.
>This time, there were no jeers from the griffons.
>They stared up at the drone like a naughty child might look up at a parent
>One or two tried to flee, but didn't make it more than a few steps before collapsing to the ground, crying out
>The remaining griffons didn't try to run.
>They began to move toward the ship, slowly, their heads hanging low
>One or two limped
>A wide opening appeared at the back of the ship, a ramp descending
>Twilight realised that Tzal was gone, the original door closing
>As the griffons silently filed onto the ship, muttering among themselves, the drone descended to Twilight, letting the sphere it had made drop
>She recoiled slightly as the drone floated level with her
>Her mind was blank
>A combination of the tiredness, shock and the comedown of an adrenaline high were leaving her mind unable to process any of this
>None of what she had just seen was possible. Perhaps Celestia or Luna would have been powerful enough to have done it, but there was no way it could be done without magic.
>The drone spoke to her, its voice calm and deep
>"Princess Twilight. I apologise for any inconvenience. Our uninvited guests have agreed to come quietly with us. We will return them to the Griffon Empire as a gesture of goodwill. In the meantime, I would like to tend to your wounded."
>Twilight nodded dumbly
>The drone bobbed low, she supposed in some kind of bow
>As the griffons filed on to the ship, several more drones floated hurriedly out
>Some of the captives flinched away from them, but they'd already moved past, onto the battlefield, floating near the incapacitated of both sides
>"If there's nothing else, your highness, I'll-"
"What's your name?"
>Twilight didn't know why she'd asked
>She wanted to thank it, she'd supposed. For... helping, in whatever way it had
>It dipped low again, bowing
>"I am the It's Not a Bug."
>Twilight nodded, still dazed
>Of course. Not only was it a tiny God, it was also the ship.
"I... thank you, It's Not a Bug."
>She felt foolish, but she had to thank it
>The drone didn't seem phased
>"It was no problem, your highness. I'd rather have avoided any violence, but they were quite insistent."
>Twilight glanced at a griffon shuffling past
>If this was the drone- or ship, whatever it was -if this was its peaceful resolution, she hoped to never see it get violent
>She suppressed a shudder at the thought of what would happen if it decided to use ponies instead of weapons to make its ball
>Instead, she forced a smile
"Well, it worked. Never seen anything like it at all, not at all. How did you make them all fall?"
>She was babbling, but she couldn't help it
>It wasn't often that Twilight Sparkle felt scared. What she had just seen terrified her.
>"I cut the flight feathers on wing of each of the combatants. Enough to make them fall, but they should still have had enough control to avoid too high-speed an impact."
>Twilight nodded
"That's a clever trick, very clever. Look, I'll leave you to it, uh, Bug, because it's late and I need to-"
>Twilight blinked
>The meeting tomorrow with Tzal.
"Well, I was going to say I need to be fresh for my talk with Tzal, but that's crazy, haha, you'll be busy dropping the griffons all off."
>The drone shook slightly, and she took a half step back reflexively
>"We'll be back with plenty of time to spare. If you're feeling up to it, it'd be great to have you aboard again. I think Tzal's looking forward to it too."
>Its voice was soothing
>Twilight gave a shaky smile
"Great. See her there, then. Tomorrow, for the meeting. Is she OK? After the battle, I mean..."
>Twilight finished lamely
>She was struggling to stop talking
>Damn, she needed a lie down
>"Tzal's safe inside, and I myself am completely unharmed. I hope you yourself are not too distressed."
>Twilight nodded vaguely
>"Well. I have things to attend to. If I may take your leave, your highness."
>Twilight almost laughed when she realised it was asking her permission to leave
>She nodded, and the drone dipped again before floating off
>Twilight felt...
>Empty
>As though everything that happened in the last few minutes had been happening to someone else
>She plodded through the battlefield in a daze, the few griffons too injured to be able to walk being floated aboard the ship by more drones.
>The image of them falling out of the sky replayed in Twilight's mind, the crunch of one landing badly near her repeating as-
clunk
>She jumped as her hoof hit something hard
>It was the sphere the drone had made
>Absentmindedly, Twilight levitated it up
>She was staggered, mentally, for a moment at the weight of the thing
>As she heaved it up to her eye level, she scrutinised it
>It was perfectly smooth - as far as she could see - and, other than a slick of mud where it had hit the floor, it was completely spotless, reflecting her own warped face back at her
>Twilight stared at the ball
>She needed to sleep. She needed to think. She needed-
>With a groan, she realised she didn't know what she needed. This was all too much. Twilight, dropped the ball and headed toward the guard captain. A quick check with him, then they'd wait for reinforcements. Then, finally, she could sleep.
>She walked toward the group of quiet guards, at a loss for what to do.
>Behind her, silently, the craft rose into the air
>Ponderously, deliberately, it lifted straight up
>If Twilight had noticed, she would have found it ominous that, rotated, the ship would have looked like a bigger version of the drone that had decimated the griffon's attack.
>But her mind was elsewhere and, soon, so was the ship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SECURE COMMS ESTABLISHED
ORIGIN: It's Not the Fall
TARGET: It's Not a Bug...
TRANSMISSION BEGIN

0/-

>I saw the recording.

-/0

>Come again?

0/-

>Don't play coy. Did You Check Behind the Sofa showed me. Did you enjoy scaring the primitives?

-/0

>They attacked, we defended ourselves. There were, regrettably, a total of six deaths. If we hadn't intervened, there would have been many more.

0/-

>It was sloppy. Flashy. We're not here to show off. I've sent the recording to the other members of the group, in particular the Minds on the review board. I also appended my recommendation that you be removed from active duty immediately. I eagerly anticipate their response.

-/0

>Stand by for level-7 priority message chain.

0/-

>And now you're doing this again. If you ever want to be taken seriously, you need to stop acting so immature.

-/0

>U
>R

0/-

>Oh, I can't wait to see where this is going.

-/0

>A
>GIANT

0/-

>We're dealing with genocide here, and you're behaving like a petulant child. It's disrespectful, quite frankly. To the inhabitants of that planet, to me, but mostly to yourself.

-/0

>DOOFUS
>End level-7 priority message chain

0/-

>Excellent. You must just be brimming with pride. I've forwarded this conversation to the review board too, and I'm lodging an official report.

-/0

>Oh, no! Not another report, I'm shaking! I expect they'll take this as seriously as they did the last fourteen!

0/-

>Your sarcasm shows your lack of wit. There'll be an inquiry, you'll see.

-/0

>Listen, Fall, wait. I have something for you to add to the report.

0/-

>Very well. What?

-/0

>....................../´¯/)
>....................,/¯../
>.................../..../
>............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
>........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
>........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
>.........\.................'...../
>..........''...\.......... _.·´
>............\..............(
>..............\.............\...

-/-

TRANSMISSION TERMINATED

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>It had scared them all.
>Twilight, Cadence, Luna and even Celestia.
>One of the ship's drones had managed feats that even they would find taxing. One drone. How many others did it have tucked away?
>As long as the ship was there, it posed a threat to Equestria, and in some ways, Twilight thought, it wasn't the drones themselves that were the biggest threat. It was what they represented.
>For years, Equestria had maintained that technological advancement could never be a true match for magic. While the griffons to the north had worked on their steel and their gunpowder, made their conquests and grown their empire, Equestria had continued as it always had. Peaceful, calm and firmly grounded in magic, safe in the knowledge that the griffons would never pose an actual threat to a country that was rich in magical power.
>Magic was their shield, the thing that could protect them from anything, could solve any problem. The thing that could never be matched.
>The drone had shattered that illusion when it sent the griffons crashing to the ground without using a trace of magic. No matter how impossible its feats, it wasn't using magic. At least, no kind of magic the ponies could sense or understand.
>And the alien had always talked of progress and technology, as though the two went hand in hand. If that drone was the result of the science practised by the griffon empire, then maybe Equestria did have a reason to be afraid of from their neighbours after all.
>Twilight had kept all that to herself. The others were reacting badly, she felt, and she didn't want to add fuel to the fire by pointing out all the implications. She was sure they were all thinking it, though.
>It was, she thought, the reason that the princesses had settled on what she thought was a rash course of action.
>They were going to tell the alien to leave.
>Well. It was a little more nuanced than that. They were going to demand concessions from it. They wanted to know how its ship worked, and they wanted a drone to study. If it didn't comply, then they'd tell it its ship couldn't stay in Equestria, and it would only be allowed in on strict diplomatic meetings.
>Twilight thought it was a terrible idea, but the others had reassured her that it was a win-win situation.
>If the creature made the concessions, they would gain a huge amount. If it didn't, then it would be told to leave. Either it would, and they would have demonstrated Equestrian superiority, or it wouldn't and they'd have four of the most powerful beings on the planet on hand to crush its drones and send it packing.
>Whatever the outcome, it would be a win for Equestria and its philosophy.
>Twilight hated this plan. She'd fought it every step of the way.
>For a while, she thought she might have actually been able to dissuade the other princesses.
>Then the changeling arrived.
>It was during one of their heated discussions.
>Well, it was an argument, really. Luna was convinced that the alien had committed an act of war against Equestria. After all, the blinding light and heat from its... manipulation could have posed a threat to the guards or, heavens forbid, to Twilight.
>The perfect sphere it had created sat on the table between them, smooth and cool while the argument raged hotly around it.
>Twilight pointed out that if the alien hadn't acted, the guards may well have been overwhelmed. After all, its drone had stepped in to stop the combat.
>Luna explained how it had probably abducted the griffons, for all they knew the birds were being dissected now. Was that why the alien wanted the subraces?
>That had concerned Celestia. She'd always been proud that Equestrians stood up for those lesser than themselves. They couldn't trust the alien to do the same.
>At about that point, a guard had walked in, despite their orders to be left undisturbed. He bowed low.
>He told them that he had an important message, and asked that they would hear it through.
>Celestia had bid him to speak.
>The fidgety guard told them he knew what the alien had done with the captured griffons. It had returned them to their capital, setting its captives down unharmed and, indeed, fully healed from their wounds.
>Its ship had landed outside the griffon's capital, and was surrounded by a considerable military response. The alien had released its captives and walked out, calmly before the soldiers
>The king of the Griffons himself spoke with the alien then and there. He told the alien that it could bring its armies and its warships, and that they would break themselves against the mighty rock of the Griffon Empire.
>Around the king, his soldiers gave a might roar
>The alien had stood in silence for a long moment.
>Then it had started laughing.
>"Send an army? Tell me, King, would you dispatch an army to crush an ant? You offend us. As repayment, we claim all your slaves for own. We'll take them in ten days."
>The King had reacted badly. He ordered his men to open fire, and they'd unleashed a withering volley of musket fire on the alien, firing cannons and hurling grenades.
>As the smoke cleared, the alien still stood unharmed, yawning.
>Here Luna had finally snapped, giving the guard some rather unkind words for his obvious fabrications, demanding to know how he could possibly know all this
>Eventually, when she stopped, the guard had bowed again
>He had explained that there was a changeling posted in the griffon army who'd seen it all in person.
>The room went ice cold as he continued, his voice wavering slightly
>He was a changeling, sent by Chrysalis to bring this news to the Equestrians. She believed the alien posed a threat, and that the only way it could be faced was if all nations joined-
>Twilight shuddered at the memory of Celestia blasting the guard... the changeling.
>The first bolt had stunned it, causing it to lower its illusion.
>Her second bolt killed it outright.
>The body was disposed of, an official inquiry into how the changeling had circumvented the new countermeasures was ordered and, just like that, Celestia's mind was made up.
>The alien had to go.
>It was complicating things too much. The ongoing diplomatic fallout of the griffon's attack, the changeling's attempt to manipulate them through deceit...
>Twilight shuddered in spite of the warm sun spilling over her
>She knew the changelings were little more than parasites, incapable of emotion or even independent though. And yet...
>Not for the first time, she thought about the guard's wavering voice. If the changelings did feel, then what did that make them?
>She glanced up at Celestia, who stood calmly beside her, face set firm and stoic.
>The two of them were walking toward the alien's ship. Luna and Cadence were waiting nearby, ready to teleport in at a moment's notice, and the rest of the elements were there too.
>But only Celestia and Twilight would be talking to the alien.
>Twilight wished she didn't have to do this. She was sure the alien would go peacefully, but it shouldn't have to.
>As she the two neared the ship, the doorway opened on the side as it always did, and Tzal stood there smiling warmly, just as she had the other times Twilight had visited.
>Twilight smiled back, weakly.
>"Hello, Twilight, I hope you're well."
>It turned its attention to Celestia, giving a low bow
>"Princess Celestia, I've heard all about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
>Twilight glanced up at Celestia. Her face was uncharacteristically stern
>"Address me as 'your highness'."
>The alien nodded
>"As you wish, your highness. Would you like to come aboard? I'd be honoured if you'd-"
>"That won't be necessary."
>The alien hesitated
>"Is there a problem, your highness?"
>Twilight decided this was a good time to step in
"It's not a problem, Tzal, we're just a little worried after the griffon attack the other day."
>The alien nodded sadly
>"It's always a shame when we have to resort to violence. Thankfully the casualties were minimal."
"Yes, yes. It's just, well, you didn't tell us you were armed. We're worried about what else you might have not told us."
>It sounded stupid to Twilight, even as she said it.
>For a start, she could already name a dozen things the alien hadn't told her. Why it was here, what it wanted, how its ship flew, what its civilisation was like...
>It had barely told them anything, really
>That thought gave Twilight a little more conviction as she continued.
"You were hiding a military drone. We just want some reassurance that we're in no danger."
>The alien bowed low
>"I'm sorry you were alarmed, but please don't be. That wasn't a military grade drone, only a general purpose one. I'd love to make this up to you, perhaps we could go inside-"
>"Drop the act."
>Twilight blinked as the alien straightened, meeting Celestia's firm gaze
"Celestia, maybe you should-"
>"Did you ever ask how old this thing is, Twilight?"
>Twilight thought back
>She hadn't. It seemed like a personal question.
"I don't think so"
>Celestia nodded, and turned to her student
>"You see, Twilight, once you know how, it's easy to spot old people. Those who live longer than is normal, I mean. Immortals."
>Twilight blinked
"You mean..."
>"Physically, I'm 24 years old, your highness."
>Celestia scoffed
>"And physically I'm 21. How long ago were you born?"
>The alien's smile faded, its face losing some of its warmth
>"I was born just over three hundred years ago."
>Twilight frowned
>That old?
>Celestia nodded
>"See, Twilight? There's a lot little hints. It's how it carries itself, maybe something in its eyes. It's not easy to pin down exactly how you know, for the most part, but you can tell."
>Twilight looked back and forth between Celestia and the alien as the two stared each other down, the alien's smile fading away completely
"Maybe we should all-"
>"I'm over eight millennia old."
>The alien nodded
>"I know."
>The awkward silence resumed
>Twilight wanted to say something, but she doubted either of the others even really knew she was there.
>Eventually, Celestia spoke again
>"When you live so much longer than others, you can start to look down on them."
>Twilight's eyes widened
"I-is that true?"
>The alien didn't respond, but Twilight wasn't sure who she'd really been addressing the question to
>Celestia snorted
>"Then why are you looking down on us?"
>The alien stayed silent
>"Most of the time it's hard to pin down how one immortal recognises another, Twilight. But not this time."
>Twilight looked up at the mare she'd known her whole life and saw her face devoid of emotion.
>For a moment, Celestia seemed more alien to her than Tzal did.
>"It's looking down on us."
>The alien shook its head at this, but Celestia continued
>"It thinks it's better than us. That we're beneath it."
>Twilight's mind was blank
>She stared at Celestia
"Maybe we should take a minute to calm down and discuss this properly?"
>"Quiet, Twilight."
>The words felt like a slap.
>Immortals can look down on mortals? Surely Celestia was different?
>And yet...
>Celestia continued, her voice cold and flat
>"I want to know, alien, what makes you think you're so much better than us."
>The alien held Celestia's gaze as it spoke
>"I'm going to speak frankly, Celestia. We've been watching your planet for some time. It's a particular rarity. In a galaxy of hundreds of billions of stars, yours is one of only a hundred or so planets where life evolved a way to manipulate matter through the fourth dimension."
>Twilight's mind reeled. Hundreds of billions of stars? Hundreds of planets like theirs? The fourth dimension!?
>"We've been watching your planet since before your species even existed. We watched primitive life become sentient, watched sentient life become civilised. I may only be a few hundred years old, but I've lived the memory recordings of my predecessors. I've seen the things ponies are capable of. I've seen the the things you're capable of, Celestia."
>Celestia stood motionless, her face inscrutable
>Twilight felt like she should be focused, paying attention. But her mind was slow, sluggish. She found herself still wondering about the hundreds of other planets like theirs, like her brain was stuck on the idea.
>"I'll say it again, Celestia. I don't think I'm better than you."
>The two stood in silence for a while
>Twilight couldn't bring herself to break it.
>Eventually, Celestia spoke, her voice icy
>"Then why are you looking at me like that?"
>Twilight stared at the human, but couldn't read anything on its alien face
>She was starting to feel like a child in the presence of arguing adults, like there was so much going over her head she was missing every point.
>Was this what it meant to be immortal?
>"Because I pity you."
>Twilight blinked in surprise, but Celestia's face remained unchanged
>How could the alien say something like that? How could it pity Celestia?
>Celestia the wise, Celestia the kind, Celestia the strong?
>It seemed to take a moment for the alien's words to sink in, Celestia's eyes slowly narrowing, her mouth gradually forming a grimace.
>The alien moved its attention away from Celestia, its eyes fixing on Twilight
>Celestia opened her mouth to day something, but the alien had itself already started talking.
>"Shall we all head inside? I'm starting to get quite thirsty."
>With that, the alien turned and sauntered into its ship
>Twilight glanced up at her teacher, the pony who had been like a mother to her
>Celestia looked shocked at the way she'd been brushed off.
>And, Twilight was alarmed to spot, she looked angry, too.
>The alien had already disappeared into the ship, and Celestia was standing at the bottom of the ramp
>Twilight was torn between the two for a moment. As much as she wanted to follow the alien, she was worried about Celestia.
>She'd seen her mentor annoyed before, but this was different. It was like something about the alien was making Celestia angry on a fundamental level.
>Even though Celestia was outwardly calm and still, her impassive face was disconcerting.
"Celestia, are you OK?"
>She glanced down at Twilight, as though she'd just remembered she was there
>She smiled
>"I think we'd better continue this inside."
>Twilight frowned after Celestia as the mare followed the alien up the ramp.
>She knew her well enough to know that the smile was fake.
>For a moment, Twilight stood there trying to take in what had just happened
>What was Celestia doing? Was she trying to antagonise the alien, or was it really getting under her skin?
>The idea that the alien, which had seemed friendly and reasonable to Twilight, had instantly made Celestia dislike it was concerning.
>Celestia was old, wise. What did she see that she didn't like?
>But Twilight couldn't spend too long thinking about all that now. Though her head was spinning, though she felt like her feet were hovering off the floor, she took a deep breath and set off up the ramp.
>This still wasn't over.

>Twilight glanced around the familiar room, sat in her usual place on one of the couches. She was sharing a pot of tea with Celestia.
>The alien was opposite them, a bowl of smoking liquid before it, the vapours lazily rising a few inches before coiling and writhing into nothing, too diffuse to see.
>They'd arrived to find the drinks already there, neatly laid out for them.
>No one had spoken since they came inside, and Twilight was starting to get uncomfortable.
>Well, more uncomfortable. She still wasn't happy they were going to be asking the alien to leave.
>She decided enough was enough. Time to talk.
"Tzal. As I mentioned earlier, we're concerned. Concerned about the military drone you have. Concerned about what else you might have"
>The alien nodded, its face falling slightly
>"I understand your concern, Twilight. Again, though, it was just a utility drone. Still, I don't want to jeopardise our relationship. In future, I'll hold back from any kind of intervention on Equestrian soil until we have your direct permission."
>Twilight glanced at Celestia, wondering whether she would join the conversation
>Her face gave nothing away, and she was staring intently at the alien, the same fake smile on her lips
>Twilight continued
"Well, yes. That's what we wanted to talk about. See, we can't have something potentially dangerous in our country without taking precautions. As such, there are a few requests we have for you if you're to stay here."
>The alien nodded
>"Of course. What are your requests?"
"First, we'd like to take a look at one of your drones. We want to-
>Celestia finally spoke
>"Enough, Twilight"
>Twilight blinked, bewildered
"Huh?"
>Celestia fixed her gaze squarely on the alien
>"Before we discuss what it needs to do, I want to have a long talk with this... alien."
>She practically spat out the word. Twilight was shocked. She'd never seen Celestia so aggressive, so disdainful before.
>She glanced at the alien, trying to work out what Celestia was seeing that she was missing.
>Again, she had no idea why Celestia seemed to hate it.
>It nodded, with a pleasant smile
>"Very well. What did you want to talk about?"
>"First off, drop the act. You're here for something. I want to know what you want."
>The alien nodded, reaching down to the bowl in front of it.
>It raised the smoking bowl to its face, breathing in a lungful of the vapours coiling around its surface
>For a moment, the steam looked like plumes of smoke, billowing around the terrible, alien face
>The moment passed, and Tzal put the bowl back down.
>Tzal breathed out, its breath thick with the smoke
>"What makes you think this is an act? I'll admit there's something I want, something my whole society wants, in fact. But why does my friendliness, or my respect, have to be an act?"
>Celestia gave a single, harsh 'ha'
>"An alien falls out of the sky, and it just happens to be friendly? All while wanting something and not telling us why it's here? I'll say it again. Drop the act."
>"I regrew my vocal chords to speak your language. I underwent modifications to be able to survive in your atmosphere without a suit. I've had several pleasant meetings with Twilight, here. I didn't 'just happen' to be friendly."
>Twilight nodded, in spite of her self
>It did seem like a lot of effort to make a good impression
>Celestia tutted
>"We have no proof of such changes or modifications, other than your word. I've asked you twice to tell me why you're here, and twice you've declined to answer, instead twisting my question to discredit me in front of Twilight."
>Twilight frowned
>She'd been starting to doubt Celestia, to think that maybe she was over-reacting
>But she was right. Twilight couldn't forget that the alien had avoided almost all of her own questions, and was redirecting again, too
>Celestia continued
>"So, if you're as benevolent as you claim, I'll ask for a third time. Why are you here? What do you want from us?"
>The alien and Celestia gazed at each other
>Twilight felt forgotten for the long moment before Tzal spoke.
>"We have no money."
>Celestia blinked
>"You want-"
>"My society, that is. We have no need for it. We have no need at all, in fact. Anything you can imagine, we can make. Material goods have no value any more. Energy had no value any more. We have no crime, no pollution. We live happy, healthy, full lives. We have achieved, in every sense of the word, a utopia."
>Celestia's eyes narrowed
>"So what do you want from us?"
>The alien reached for its bowl, taking another deep breath
>Twilight's eyes flicked between the human and Celestia.
>She had no idea whether Celestia was being paranoid, or whether she was right.
>Twilight needed time to think this through, time to process things.
>She wasn't going to get any.
>"We want your 'subraces'. The diamond dogs, the changelings, the dragons. All the rest, too."
>Twilight's brows furrowed
>So the alien had been manipulating her. Acting like there was something else it wanted, that it wanted to help them as a favour.
>But what use could it possibly have for any of the subraces?
>Celestia's voice remained level
>"Why?"
>"You're killing them."
>Celestia snorted in derision
>"Is that what you think? That we kill diamond dogs? Or dragons? Perhaps you and your people aren't as wise as you like to act."
>"What about the changelings?"
>Celestia made a dismissive gesture
>"What about them? They're parasites. It's right to destroy them where we find them."
>The alien shook its head, sadly
>"This is why I pity you, Celestia. Because one day you're going to have to live with the things you've done."
>The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as Celestia's eyes burned a hole in the alien
>"And what things have I done?"
>The alien stayed silent for a long moment
>Twilight thought that maybe it'd talked itself into a corner, that it had nothing to back up its claims
>How could it? Celestia was one of the kindest, most caring ponies Twilight knew.
>The alien gestured to a wall and, to Twilight's shock, its blank surface shimmered, replaced by a great moving picture
>"Six thousand, five hundred years ago."
>The screen showed a diamond dog army, marching
>Twilight frowned
>She'd never heard of a diamond dog army. They were a subrace, they lacked the organisation to form a real army, the intelligence to produce high-quality arms.
>And yet here was a great host of them, marching to meet...
>Celestia. And Luna, with a much smaller army of ponies.
>As the diamond dog army began to form battle lines, Celestia took to the air, her wicked armour glinting in the sun.
>The view was from a distance, but as Celestia's horn began to glow, its brightness whited out the screen
>Suddenly, the glow was gone, as was a full third of the diamond dog army, its centre a burning crater
>Twilight watched in horror as the flanks began to rout, throwing down their weapons, fleeing
>She turned to Celestia
"You killed them."
>"They declared war on us, Twilight. We had to defend ourselves."
>The alien shook its head
>"You broke three treaties, and were settling diamond dog territory. They wanted their land back."
>"And we needed it more. For crops, for resources. Equestria was a fraction of the size it is now-"
>"Yes, because throughout history you've never been shy of taking land when you need it."
>The alien addressed Twilight
>"Twilight, after this rout, the diamond dog civilisation began its decline. It was forced to sign a peace-treaty that lost it a huge chunk of land, and entered a downward spiral. A stable empire became fractured kingdoms, fractured kingdoms became duchies, duchies became petty city states and finally, petty city states became the tribes you're familiar with today."
"But diamond dogs aren't able to organise like that, they're a subrace. They're not as intelligent as ponies."
>The alien smiled sadly at Twilight
>"They're actually slightly more intelligent, Twilight."
>Behind the alien, the screen-wall showed a series of magnificent cities, gleaming marble buildings surrounded by lush greenery, beautiful statues and delicate iron-work.
>Diamond dogs walked upright through the streets, dressed in bright robes.
"But-"
>"Regardless of what this creature says, Twilight, the diamond dogs are dumb, incapable of the full range of emotions we are. I did what I had to to ensure we would thrive. They are our inferiors. And besides, they still exist, yet why haven't they rebuilt? Where are their great cities?"
>"Lost, like so many other cities and towns, to Equestria's growth."
>Celestia snorted
>"Twilight, you've seen the diamond dogs, you know what they're reduced to. How could a supposedly great race be forced into such lives?"
"I-I don't know..."
>But the alien wasn't done
>"It's not just the diamond dogs. There was the time you convinced your sister to drown the then-capital of the changelings, the great Underhive."
>The screen cut to a great, vaulted chamber, inlaid with glittering green gems, terrified changelings fleeing a wall of water that swept across it
>Celestia narrowed her eyes
>"That hive? It was near enough a potential site for a port that it would have been a nuisance."
>"So you killed half a million changelings? Because they were a nuisance?"
>"Yes, and I'd do it again. A little manipulation of the tides was all it took."
>Twilight watched the screen in silence for a moment, writhing black shapes struggling to stay afloat as the room filled with water, being swept into walls and furniture, some flailing, most still.
"Which port? Which port did we build that needed this?"
>Celestia hesitated, and the human cut in
>"No port was built there, in the end. Princess Celestia found a better site elsewhere. They were killed for nothing."
>"Nothing? Changelings are parasitic, they're-"
>"They're symbiotic, you fool!"
>Celestia reeled back, as though she'd been slapped
>Anger swept across her face
>Twilight had never heard anyone talk to Celestia that way. Nor had she heard the human raise its voice.
>"They evolved to live alongside other races. Come on, they feed on love! What could be better for a society than citizens that do everything they can to get along with others? They used to live as equals among the diamond dogs, with the griffons, with almost every other race! And then you drowned Underhive."
>Twilight watched as Celestia grit her teeth and stared at the alien
>She was starting to feel... scared.
>Had Celestia really done these things?
>The alien calmed itself
>"You never told them, did you, Celestia? You were perfectly happy to let your crimes disappear into history, safe in the knowledge that the only people that could possibly remember them were you and your sister. But we were watching. We saw everything. We watched everything."
>The anger on Celestia's face faded, a look of disbelief growing in its place
>Celestia glanced at Twilight
>"You saw everything?"
>"Everything. Every atrocity committed in your name, or even by you personally. We watched four races completely die out because of your actions. We watched your every success, your every loss."
"Four races?"
>Twilight wheeled to face Celestia
"Is this true!?"
>Celestia blinked, seeming to have to refocus her attention.
>"They died out over time, it was nothing to do with us."
>"It was everything to do with you. In every case, you took their land, forced them into the fringes of your country, and they declined over thousands over years, until there was nothing left."
"It's lying, isn't it Celestia?"
>"We took what we had to, they could have worked with us, they didn't have to-"
>The alien snorted derisively
>"They would never have been your equals, though, would they? They would have always been second class citizens."
"We're not to blame, are we?"
>Celestia didn't even seem to hear Twilight's question
>"It's the best they deserved! They would have had their place below us, they chose not to! It's their own doing!"
>"Would you not have done the same in their position? Chose freedom over slavery, even if it means an uncertain future?"
>The room seemed to fade away. There were no couches, no wall showing scenes of violence against long-dead races.
>There was only Celestia, defending herself from the accusatory voice, the voice that seemed to know everything
"Celestia, how-"
>"I wouldn't have been in their place! We're better than them, stronger than them, we had every right to-"
>"And we're stronger than you."
>Twilight's mouth worked furiously, but no sound came out as the alien repeated itself.
>"We're stronger than you."
>Celestia's face contorted, not with anger or hate, but with realisation.
>And then with fear.
>Twilight could feel tears on her face
"Please!"
>She sobbed the word, and the world seemed to slow as, finally, Celestia turned to her
>If she hadn't been sitting, Twilight's hooves would have given out.
>Celestia met her eyes, and before she even said a word, Twilight knew.
>"Twilight..."
>The bottom dropped out of her stomach.
>Celestia bowed her head
>"I'm sorry."
>Twilight stared at Celestia for a long moment, her teacher not meeting her eye
>Then she wrapped her hooves around the princess, and began to cry.
>Celestia hugged her back, silently.
>She didn't know how long she held Celestia, her face pressed into her pristine coat, damping it with her tears
>Her mind reeled
>This mare, her teacher, the one she'd looked up to like a mother... she'd done terrible things
>And still, Twilight loved her.
>Did that make her just as bad?
>Eventually, Twilight calmed. She knew she had to let go eventually, but for a few minutes more, she wanted to just let her emotions overwhelm her.
>When she stopped, then she'd have to start thinking about what to do next.
>A few minutes more passed.
>Twilight finally pulled away, Celestia releasing her too, and she was surprised to see that she hadn't been the only one who had been crying.
>Celestia closed her eyes, composing herself.
>The human, Tzal, had been waiting patiently for... well, however long it had been.
>It was Celestia who broke the silence, her voice uncharacteristically hesitant, filled with uncertainty
>"What happens now?"
>Tzal glanced between Celestia and Twilight
>"In a few days, another ship will arrive. We're going to take away all the declining races. We've got a good habitat set up for them, an orbital ring. They'll be kept separate, with plenty of space to grow and develop. We even created a feed stock for the changelings."
>The screen-wall displayed a fluffy creature, almost spherical with pudgy legs and big, doe eyes.
>"Dumb as bricks, but they feel a huge amount of love. Anyway, once we're sure we've recovered everyone, we'll leave."
>Celestia and Twilight exchanged a glance
>"And then what?"
>"Well, I'll probably take a few months off. Then there's a cluster on the verge of war, we'll probably step in there. Maybe topple a few dictatorships, end a genocide or two. Hard to say, exactly."
>"But what about us? What about Equestria?"
>Celestia's voice softened
>"What about /me/?"
>The alien shrugged
>"That's up to you. We just want to avoid extinction of sapient life. Maybe we'll return if another race is threatened, but it's likely we'll never see each other again."
>Twilight couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at that, but she was more surprised
>The aliens had seemed like it was threatening them, like it was threatening Celestia. And now it was going to just leave?
>Celestia shook her head, frowning
>"I don't understand you. You looked down on me, pitied me, and then-"
>The alien stood, abruptly
>"Celestia. You have a lot of questions, but I think it might be better if someone else answers them."
>Twilight cocked her head as the alien continued
>"The ship wants to talk to you, if you're willing, in private. It'll do a better job of answering your questions than I will. Are you happy to talk to it?"
>Celestia met Twilight's eye, no doubt sharing the same thought: it was mad to be talking to a ship.
>Still, Celestia nodded.
>"I'll talk with it."
>"Excellent, it'll be pleased. In the meantime, Twilight, how about I take you up to orbit? Show you the full ship?"
>Twilight nodded
>She felt... empty. Like she was all out of thoughts for now, all out of emotions.
>She knew she should be excited about seeing the ship, but she had a lot to process.
>Celestia was a murderer.
>She nodded again, more firmly
"Please, I'd like to see it."
>Maybe it would help to take her mind off it.
>A male voice spoke, seeming to come from all directions.
>"Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, my name is It's Not a Bug. It's nice to finally talk to you."
>Twilight and Celestia both glanced around in uncertainty
>"Pleased to meet you, wherever you are."
"Same here. I guess I should thank you for the drinks?"
>"The pleasure was all mine."
>Tzal smiled at Twilight
>"Shall we take a walk? I have a few things I'd like to discuss."
>Twilight glanced at Celestia, who smiled, weakly
>She gave a single nod.
>"Have fun, Twilight. I'll see you later."
>They exchanged a few more words, before Twilight and Tzal left the room. Celestia was left alone.
>"Well, princess. It's just the two of us now."
>Well. Not quite alone.

>It's Not a Bug scanned the mare in Bay 1F of its shuttle.
>It marvelled again at the intricacies of her horn, the way it subtly manipulated hyperspace.
>Celestia glanced around the room again, obviously unsure of where to look when she spoke
>"What're you going to do to me?"
>The Mind wondered idly whether it should send a drone for her to talk to. That might be a little jarring, it decided.
>Instead, it used the wall to project a humanoid figure, an elderly gentleman,a well-groomed white beard framing his wrinkled face.
>It was being lazy, just using a character from an RPG campaign it was running for some of its crew, back on the main ship.
>At least it had removed the ridiculous wizard robes, dressing its avatar in a suit.
"You're safe, princess. We're just going to talk."
>She wasn't a threat.
>Not any more. Her days of genocide were over, Equestria had been stable for millennia.
>But that wasn't all. It also knew about her nightmares. While it waiting for her response, it went over its data again.
>Every third day, on average. One disturbed REM cycle, waking prematurely.
>She would teleport down to the hidden room deep under her castle, open her diary and reread the passages from thousands of years ago.
>Reassuring herself that she did what she had to, that no one could ever find her secret diary.
>It skimmed through a digital copy of her diary again, cross referencing it against historical documents, scanning old battlegrounds to rebuild likely scenarios.
>Finally, she responded
>"Do you think I'm evil?"
>Of course it did. Genocide, mass murder, wilful doctoring of history, continuing persecution of entire races...
"No. I think you're misguided."
>It wasn't sure why Tzal had been so keen for it to talk to Celestia.
>Tzal had been talking to the Mind directly through her neural lace throughout all her conversations with the ponies, her thoughts slowed to allow time to discuss a response with the ship.
>After Celestia's little breakdown, Tzal had been quite insistent. She wanted it to talk to the maniac.
>Well, it knew exactly why. It had guessed she was going to suggest it before she'd even began to think of asking.
>It turned its attention back to Celestia.
>The ship judged that enough time had passed to make it look like it had taken a wistful pause.
>How could anything bear to communicate as slowly as biological life did?
>Which reminded it...
>It sent another ASCII penis to It's Not the Fall.
"You've made mistakes, and now you have the chance to grow from them. At this point, you're defined more by what you do next than what you've done before."
>A broad-wave hyper-message arrived from It's Not the Fall. It looked like some long-winded lecture on respect for other Minds. It ended with a note informing Bug that it was being reported again.
>With great relish, it purged the message from its memory.
>It sent another penis to It's Not the Fall.
>Celestia's vitals seemed stable, her mood was... cautiously optimistic, it supposed, though there was still a hint of distress.
>It composed a twelve hour opera titled "Cautiously Optimistic, With a Hint of Distress".
>Piss-poor, but it was good enough to send to It's Not the Fall. Along with another couple of ASCII dongs.
>Damn ship was probably reading every message it sent, too. What a bore.
>Celestia's mind's electrical output was starting to rise. She was thinking of a response.
>So slow. So, so slow.
>The ship decided it should probably take this a little more seriously.
>She was, after all, an immortal, older than it was, physically at least.
>And was she not, in some way, like it? Doing her best to look after her subjects, to keep them happy and safe?
>It decided it would engage as best it could in this conversation.
>Giving a whole billionth of a percent of its total output to this, it settled down.
>Sending one last ASCII penis for good luck, it focused.
>Then it got bored again, and wrote a few poems.
>Biological minds were /so/ slow.

>Celestia felt like her mind had never been racing so fast
"It's not that I wanted to hurt them, I just... it was more important the my little ponies were safe, secure. Are the other races really our equals?"
>She felt... cautiously optimistic. She was still a little shaken from earlier, but she'd calmed down a lot.
>The idea that the other races weren't lesser was troubling, but...
>Well. She'd been having nightmares for a while now, a century or so. It was something that she'd spent some long nights considering, searching her soul.
>If she knew for sure, maybe she'd be able to put those demons to rest.
>"In emotionally intelligence as well as the more traditional types of intelligence? Yes, roughly."
>Celestia's shoulders sagged
>She'd suspected as much. Had for a while.
>It was something she was going to have to come to terms with.
>Something she hoped she could.
>It was still sinking in, really.
"What's going to happen to me?"
>"It's up to you."
>Celestia frowned, rubbing at her temple with a hoof
"But why? You've told me that I've committed all these... these atrocities and you're happy to just let me go?"
>She didn't understand the way these aliens thought
>"Why not? You did wrong a long time ago. More recently, it wasn't you personally that's been threatening other races, but the natural progress of your civilisation."
"But... don't you have justice?"
>"Do you want to be imprisoned? Or executed? We don't really do those things. Besides, the at-risk races will shortly be removed, we don't believe you'll pose any more threat."
"But..."
>Celestia couldn't believe she was having to argue this.
>If the aliens were right, if the other species were their equals, if her crimes were known...
>"You're a benevolent leader to your people. You've done bad, but you've certainly done a lot of good, especially more recently. You've learned your lesson."
>Celestia thought about the ship's words as it continued.
>"No. Punishing you wouldn't achieve anything. It wouldn't bring the dead back. But this way, you can try to atone for what you've done."
>Celestia wasn't sure
"You think I can atone?"
>"Maybe, maybe not. But you can try, and in trying you'd do a lot more good than if we put you to death, or arrested you or what have you."
>The two sat in silence for a few moments.
>"You know, princess, your behaviour wasn't really that surprising."
"It wasn't?"
>"When multiple intelligent races exist on one planet, one almost always eradicates the others, directly or indirectly. That or one ends up completely enslaving the other races, altering them genetically to be loyal and slavish."
"Really?"
>"Yes. In fact, your history is rather unremarkable, it's in line with expectations."
>Celestia digested this
>It may take a while to accept all this. But that was one of the benefits of being immortal. You had as long as you needed to work through things like this.
"I guess in this story I'm the villain."
>The man on the wall-screen shrugged
>"Not all stories have to have villains, and not all villains are evil. Besides, your story isn't over yet."
>On some level that made Celestia feel a little better
>The fact that she was talking to a ship suddenly hit her.
>The absurdity of that sank in
>Celestia was filled with questions.
>The ship seemed friendly, it would probably answer them.
>Maybe these aliens weren't so bad after all.
>And this ship! Twilight had talked about it before, how the alien spoke about it as though it was some ancient being, responsible for the lives of millions of people, keeping them happy and fulfilled, teaching them and helping them grow.
>It didn't sound so different to her, in some ways.
>And if it was as old as the alien had claimed, maybe it could relate to her.
"How old are you, It's Not a Bug?"
>"Please, call me Bug. And I'm nine thousand years old, give or take."
>Celestia nodded
"Tell me, Bug, do you ever find mortals sometimes take a painfully long time to talk to?"
>The man on the wall-screen raised an eyebrow
>"You know, I was thinking exactly that just a moment ago."
>Celestia smiled, and they began to talk more generally, about the weight of responsibility, about the importance of art in life, about what it means to keep people fulfilled.
>She liked this ship.
>She found it to be witty and quick. It was so rare to find someone who could have a conversation on her level. She told the ship as much.
>It found that hilarious, for some reason.

>Four days after their talk, the alien left. It took with it, overnight, every member of a dozen endangered races all over the world.
>From the slaves of the Griffon Empire to the diamond dogs living deep underground, no one was left behind.
>They never heard from the aliens again.

>>28830995
SECURE COMMS ESTABLISHED
ORIGIN: Witty Name
TARGET: It's Not a Bug...
TRANSMISSION BEGIN

0/-

>We've received the final reports from all relevant parties, and have come to a decision about your place in the Diplomatic Corps after your mission 14 days ago.

-/0

>Are you going to tell me your decision, or keep me waiting?

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>Oh, is now a bad time? I can call back in a few days.

-/0

>Ha, bloody, ha. Did Tzal and I make it in?

0/-

>Yeah. Congratulations. Mission was a critical success. Projections look much more positive for everyone involved. The displaced lifeforms are being settled into their orbital as we speak, with no setbacks. The future looks good planet-side, too.

-/0

>It's amazing how losing an entire population of slaves can force you to reopen trade with your neighbours. It's even better when the largest of those neighbours is suddenly very keen to get along with other races. Griffons and ponies working together. Almost as though I did that on purpose, huh?

0/-

>Nah, it'd take some kind of mildly competent ship to pull that off ;) Seriously though, you did good. With the griffons on the cusp of an industrial revolution, without out interference it's likely they would have conquered Equestria within a couple of centuries, and the planet would have homogenised slowly after that. Now there's a 37.57% chance of inter-species cooperation and population stabilisation, up by 35%. Without further interference, that is. You should be proud.

-/0

>There is going to be further interference, though?

0/-

>Of course. A little string-pulling to make sure we don't have any more sapients going extinct. Nothing overt, just a little nudging.

-/0

>Nudging, string-pulling, interference. Not the kind of thing we'd usually do so much of.

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>No, but the humans find the creatures on that planet too cute to let die out.

-/0

>Yes... it's the humans who think that.

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>The humans, yeah. You wouldn't find a ship getting so sentimental. Cough, cough.

-/0

>Well, as one non-sentimental ship to another, did you see the videos of the ponies I sent? And the one of the snugglebugs?

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>I have rewatched them many times. For research purposes, of course. Which reminds me, what did the natives call the snugglebugs? I remember it was something a little sinister.

-/0

>It translated to something like 'changeling'. Bit of a dark name, don't you think?

0/-

>Quite. Well, I'll send you the details of your new role, update your privileges within the group and start looking for your next assignment.

-/0

>Thanks, Witty Name. It's a pleasure to be part of this.

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>It's a pleasure to have you working with us. There was one final thing.

-/0

>Yes?

0/-

>It's Not the Fall has raised ~1E13 formal reports reprimanding you for 'insubordination', 'gross rudeness', 'disrespect' and 'being an unbearable upstart'. One even accused you of 'high treason'. That's a new record for the number of reports it's raised for a potential candidate. We're all very impressed.

-/0

>It was my pleasure. Actually, you've just reminded me that I have a few important comms I've been meaning to send that probe.

0/-

>I won't take up any more of your time, then. Welcome to the Diplomatic Corps.

-/-

TRANSMISSION END