//------------------------------// // VIII - Building Bridges // Story: With All Its Glory, And All Its Horror // by GeoffNunchucks //------------------------------// Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder. John F. Kennedy Luna awoke to the sound of frantic knocking at her door. The ordinarily nocturnal mare yawned and checked her clock. 4:32 p.m. It is still broad daylight! Who would wake me at such an hour!? Angrily, she pulled herself out of bed and to the door, wanting to face the offending party personally. She threw the door open and came face to face with Celestia. Luna's ire faded as she saw the haunted expression on her sister's face. "Tia?" Luna managed through a yawn. "What is it? You've been stressed lately, but this is ridiculous." Celestia took a deep breath. Whatever was bothering her was enough to make her shake in her shoes. "There's... been a development. You should really be here for this." "Stop," Luna said, holding up her hoof. "Bad news first." "The bad news is these creatures we've been hearing about may prove to be a far greater problem than we expected." "How much worse?" "Global, I fear." Luna stared at her sister, looking for any sign of jest. It wasn't like her to joke about this kind of thing. "And the good news?" "We... may have found some help. That's actually what I need you for." "Oh?" "Yes. Make yourself presentable, Luna. We have guests." Luna raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Does this have anything to do with these 'soldiers' we've been hearing about?" "The very same," Celestia relented. "Seems Discord brought back a little more than a 'live one'." In a flash, Luna donned her regalia and straightened her mane and tail. She was practically bouncing up and down like a filly at the prospect. When rumors had started circulating about the "Terrans" that fought back against the creatures, she'd been especially intrigued by the idea of them being aliens. To think, that life amongst her beloved stars had come to Equestria! "I'd take this a bit more seriously if I were you, Luna. These... 'Terrans' may prove to be more trouble than they're worth." Luna tsked. "Come now, there is only five of them. How bad can they be?" Celestia couldn't resist smiling at her antics. Still, she admonished her saying, "Luna, they came from Khyrador." She froze. Old, Old memories resurfaced from when they we're just fillies. The faceless gods that had enslaved the world over, taking what they could through their warp gate to Khyrador on the other side. Few knew the full story behind the ancient tyrants, but none of what she'd heard of the Terrans matched her memories. Surely they couldn't be the same? "Don't worry too much, Luna. These certainly aren't the same people, but after all they've said, we can't rule out them being related, at least tangentially." "Still, I would like to speak with them. It has been thousands of years. Surely times have changed." "If these new aliens are anything to judge by, those changes have not been gentle." They trotted from Luna's spire down to the meeting room where they would often speak with foreign ambassadors. Entering the room was a large oval table surrounded by chairs. At one end were the two large seats reserved for the sisters. And at the other... Luna gawked at the aliens, for she was certain that was what they were. They certainly looked the part, but she was intrigued by how familiar they still looked. Though different shapes and proportions, their features were easily recognizable and where they should have been if they'd come from Equis. They all had identical black and red armor smeared with dust and dirt, as if they'd come straight from the plains. Their domed helmets lay on the table in front of each of them, revealing their faces. At the end opposite where the sisters sat was one with thick black hair, tan skin and brown eyes. As he watched them enter, Luna saw tiredness and nervousness etched on his face, despite his efforts to look composed. This was their leader? He hardly looked the type. To the leader's left and right were a young changeling queen and another Terran, this one with rich brown hair and green eyes. Further down the table was a Terran that dwarfed all the rest in bulk with a shaven head and weathered face, clearly the oldest of the bunch. The last two looked fairly young, one with an odd birthmark over the side of his pleasantly smiling face, and the other with wispy blond hair and blue eyes who looked a bit nauseous. In fact, with the exception of the obviously senior one, they all looked young. Luna had no idea how to judge age among their species, but they all looked to be in their early twenties at most. At first, she was dismayed at the revelation, but remembered that the Elements of Harmony were about the same age, and capable of much more than they appeared. "Sergeant, this is my sister, Princess Luna. Here in Equestria we rule as equals, so please regard her words as you would mine." A confused look grew on each of the Terrans' faces as Celesia spoke. As one, they all turned and faced the changeling queen. With a glance around the table, she looked like she'd suddenly remembered something, then her horn glowed as she cast a spell, the effects of which weren't readily apparent. Out of the corner of Luna's eye, she saw Celestia tense at the sight. The changeling repeated Celestia's words to the Terrans, who "Ah"ed as they understood. Changeling translation, Luna concluded. How fortuitous that they should be the first to encounter the Terrans. I suppose that is why she is in their company. "Uh, right. Of course," said the "Sergeant," their apparent leader, in a surprisingly deep voice. Celestia and Luna exchanged a look, then took their seats. "Now, 'Sergeant,' if you would be so kind as to bring me up to speed?" Luna asked as politely as she could. The Sergeant closed his eyes for a moment, and a flash of irritation crossed his face. Then he pressed a button on his wrist watch, which produced a soft beep. At a breakneck pace, "Sergeant Matthew Hobbes" proceeded to introduce himself, his troopers, the Terran Dominion, and Queen "Dorylus" before launching into a harrowing tale of them tracking the "Zerg" on a snowy planet, being the few survivors of a horrific tragedy, traveling through an ancient warp gate, marching four days through the desert, meeting the changeling queen, traveling to and defending Appleloosa, and lastly, their encounter with Discord. By the time he finished, both Luna and Celestia's heads spun from the deluge of information. As he said his last word, he pressed a button on his watch again, and made a satisfied face as if he'd beaten some time limit. "Sorry about that. I've been feeling like a broken record the past few days with how many times I've told this story." Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts. "That is... quite the tale, Sergeant Hobbes. My sincerest condolences for the loss of your comrades. And to your hive as well, Queen Dorylus." He nodded with a sullen expression. "We did what we could for them, but we still have a mission to do." "On that note," Celestia interjected with a clearly displeased tone in her voice, "Perhaps you could disclose your 'mission' in a bit more detail? While I accept it is of the utmost importance to you, I do not yet see why we should be involved in your wars." "Because," Sergeant Hobbes said, a slight glare burning in his brown eyes. "The Zerg won't give you a choice. They have the ability to assimilate traits and genetic material from those they fight, so they're here for you, not us. They said so. And stopping them from doing that is why we're here, so if you want the same, you'll join us." "Did they, now?" Celestia was incredulous. "Why would they speak to you, but completely ignore all attempts at communication with us?" "I don't know!" he exclaimed, catching the sisters by surprise. "But it did, and that's what it said." Once they got over the shock of his outburst, Celestia glared in indignation. Luna, however, processed his choice of words. "What do you mean, 'it'?" she asked. Sergeant Hobbes broke away from exchanging scowls with Celestia and met Luna's eyes. He pursed his lips, seeminugly looking for his words. "The creature that's controlling the Zerg. We spoke to it on Braxis, and again earlier today when they attacked." "'Braxis'?" "The, uh, planet we came here from. Anyway, it said it was the-" "Sister, I thought you said they came from Khyrador." "That... Was what Discord said." "That was what the Protoss used to call it. We call it Braxis." "The Protoss?" Luna asked. "One of the three species we share the sector with. Anyway-" "We never had a name to put to the Faceless Ones. You know of them?" "Will you let me finish!?" he growled angrily. Then he rubbed his temples and groaned. "Yes, we know of the Protoss. They're actually our allies now, or, at least the Daelaam are. A lot of worlds we've found in the sector used to be part of their empire, but over the past few thousand years they've been abandoned as they regressed. Braxis was one of those. You can still find ruins, but the entire planet's covered in ice. We only found the warp gate because the Zerg dug down to it and we followed." "You are allies with the Faceless!?" Celestia almost roared, planting her forehooves on the table. "Will you forget about the damn Protoss!?" He stood up. Spreading his arms wide he shouted, "They aren't here anymore!" He sighed and sat back down, folding his arms across his chest. "Look, when we found the planet, it was an uninhabited ball of ice. Then the UED took it, then the Zerg, then us again. When we went through the warp gate, it dropped us in the middle of the desert with ruins all around. I don't know what your history is with the Protoss, and quite frankly I don't fucking care, because it doesn't fucking matter! What does matter is the Zerg. They're here, right now, and if you'd let me talk, I'll tell you everything I know." The Princesses gaped at the Sergeant. Nopony, not even Commander Aegis, Discord, Tirek, or any other villain had ever spoken to them in such a tone. Even Queen Dorylus and the other Terran troopers looked shocked at his tirade. He might be young, Luna thought, But he certainly has a spine. Celestia opened her mouth to deliver a retort, but Luna cut her off. "Sister. Let him say his piece." Sergeant Hobbes gave her a small smile in gratitude as Celestia returned to her seat, frowning. "Thanks. So, when they attacked Appleloosa, they sent an... infested changeling as a messenger." That got Dorylus' attention. "An... infested changeling... ?" She sounded almost frightened. Sergeant Hobbes took on a pained, sympathetic expression as he looked at Dorylus. "Sorry, Dory, it's... probably for the best you didn't see. It's something the Zerg do, as a quick and easy way to bolster their numbers during an invasion. They infect people with hive spores that mutate them into slaves to fight for them." "That is horrible!" Luna exclaimed, disgusted at the prospect. "You don't know the half of it, ma'am. Anyway, the Zerg in control spoke through it. It... said that it was the 'Last Son of the Overmind,' and that it had returned from exile." "Right," Dorylus said, struggling to compose herself after hearing of the fate that had befallen at least some of her hive. "You said you thought it was a 'cerebrate'." "Right, yeah. I think I kinda need to explain a bit of history here, and how the Zerg work, so bear with me." "Take your time, Sergeant," Luna encouraged, intrigued. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Okay, where do I start... ? So, first of all, the Zerg are a hive mind. Each one has a psionic link to a higher power up their command chain, and each higher power is in command of those under it. The way the Zerg Swarm currently works is you have the Overqueen at the very top, and then brood mother's in control of each brood, kinda like a general I guess, then overlords that handle all the rank and file. The current Overqueen is Zagara, but before that was the Queen of Blades, who technically was an infested Terran." "I beg your pardon?" Celestia interjected, finally paying attention. "They infested one of your own, then put them in control?" Hobbes shook his head. "It's more so that she took control. Before her, the Swarm was ruled by the Overmind, and the broods were controlled by cerebrates. The Protoss actually managed to kill the Overmind, but not before the Zerg forced them into exile from their homeworld." This surprised both Princesses. "The... Zerg did that to the Faceless?" They shared a worried look. The Zerg were that powerful? "Oh, it gets better," Hobbes said with some dark humor. "See, a lot of the surviving cerebrates combined together to create a new one after that. Then the UED came in and mind-controlled the fucking thing-" "Who is the UED?" Celestia interrupted. "United Earth Directorate, government from the Terran homeworld. So then-" "Wait, hold on," Dorylus said, raising a hoof. "I thought Korhal was your homeworld?" "That's the Dominion Capitol. Earth's the homeworld." "So there are multiple Terran nations?" "Yeah, but other than the UED, none of the others really played a major part in the Great Wars. So, the UED takes control of the new Overmind and all the Zerg under it, including the other cerebrates, except for the Queen of Blades, who had originally been made by the Overmind itself. Queen of Blades goes on to manipulate the Protoss and Dominion into killing the new Overmind, thus turning all the Zerg feral and turning on the UED... I'm not going too fast, am I?" Luna's head had already begun to spin again. "Go on, please." "Then after reclaiming control over the freed Zerg, the Queen of Blades turns on all the other factions, who at this point have been weakened to the point where the only way they stand a chance is to work together against the Zerg. Make sense so far?" "So... this Queen of Blades seized control of the Zerg after the UED lost the second Overmind?" "Right." "So, you think this cerebrate is one of the survivors from that war?" "Yes, but not in the way you think. See, the Queen of Blades wasn't working alone. She led the Swarm, sure, but she wasn't commanding it. When the UED took control of the Overmind, she managed to save a single cerebrate from their control. That cerebrate was what actually commanded the Zerg through to the end of the First Great War." Now it was one of the troopers under his command that interrupted. The older one named "Sergei." "Now, hold on, Sergeant. That cerebrate was killed during the interwar period. I remember. That's why the Swarm has brood mothers and not cerebrates now." "Yeah, but who actually knows that for sure? The Swarm wasn't exactly open with their internal politics at the time." "But how would it even have survived?" Sergeant Hobbes shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe the Queen of Blades tried to kill it to clear the way for the brood mothers, but it fought back? It did say it went into exile." Sergei scratched his jaw. "I suppose it's possible... And it makes the 'Last Son' comment make sense in context. What else could even be considered a 'son' to the Zerg?" "So that's it, then," Luna asked, hoping she had the details straight. "The leader of these Zerg is the last surviving general of their original ruler?" Sergeant Hobbes nodded. "In a nutshell, yes. Or at least, that's my working theory." "Good," Celestia said, her anger somewhat tempered by the flood of information. "Let's say your theory is correct. How do we beat this 'Last Son'?" The Sergeant seemed to visibly deflate as he downcast his eyes to the table. "... I don't know..." "Excuse me?" Sergei answered for his Sergeant. "Princess... we lost the First Great War. That cerebrate, somehow, defeated the combined might of the UED, the Dominion, and the Protoss. The entire galaxy was at the Zerg's mercy, but they left us alone for four years before they came back." Luna watched Celestia's pupils shrink to pinpricks, and she couldn't help but imagine what went through her head. It was apparent she wanted nothing to do with these Terrans, the Zerg, or the war, but they'd presented her with the nature of the enemy. It was ravenous, it was ruthless, and it was smart. "And I assume then that you are here to help? Be our knight in shining armor?" Celestia asked sardonically. "Princess," Hobbes said, his tone far gentler now, "Try to see this from my point of view. My men and I have two choices: either we go it alone against the Zerg, or we make as many friends as possible. "And I would very much like to be your friend, Princess Celestia." Whether or not Sergeant Hobbes knew what he just said, Luna knew he'd struck a chord with Celestia. She could see her mouth twitch as she processed his words. "Sergeant Hobbes," she said reluctantly. "I will consider your proposal." Celestia called a stewardess to escort the Terran troopers to some of the dignitary suites. They were, technically, foreign ambassadors after all. As they left, Sergeant Hobbes stayed behind until only he and Luna were left in the meeting room. "Uh, Princess Luna? Can I have a word with you, privately?" he asked once they were alone. "Of course, Sergeant Hobbes, what is it?" "I, uh, feel like I haven't been entirely honest with you." "Oh? Was some of what you said a lie?" "No, no, everything I said was true, it's just... I might have left a few things out." "Speak then, if it will clear your conscience." He took a deep breath. "Our reasons for being here... aren't entirely altruistic. Remember what I said about the Zerg? How they assimilate traits from other species?" "Yes?" "We're more concerned about what the Zerg will do with... whatever they find here on Equis, and, uh, how they'll use it against the Dominion. If I'm being honest, saving your world is a secondary priority." Luna felt like she should have been angry, but seeing the nervousness in Hobbes kept the emotion at bay. He clearly wanted to help, but she understood that his loyalties lay elsewhere. Still, from a practical standpoint she failed to see how it would affect their actions on Equis. "I see," Luna said. "But I am afraid I do not fully understand. If what you say is true, then stopping the Zerg from succeeding here would be in the Dominion's best interest, would it not?" "Well, yeah, but..." "Then what is the issue?" "It's just..." He trailed off, trying to find his words. "It feels wrong somehow. Like we're telling people we're here to save them, but in reality we're just trying to save our own skins." "And how do you feel about it, Sergeant?" "What do you mean?" "Your loyalty lies with the Dominion and your Emperor. Such a superficial detail should not have an impact on your behavior, unless..." She smiled as she recalled how familiar Hobbes and Queen Dorylus spoke to each other. "... You have a conflict of interest?" He blinked. Then, sighing, said, "If we'd just been dropped off on an uninhabited world this wouldn't be an issue, but..." "But you've made friends here," Luna finished for him. "Yeah." Then, rubbing the back of his neck as his face turned beet red, "Well... a friend, anyway." I knew it, Luna thought, fighting back a delighted squee. Perhaps I should ask Cadence to have a word with them. "Ah. I think I understand now. Thank you for your transparency, Sergeant." "I- That's it? You're not mad?" "I am not happy but I appreciate that you felt it necessary to disclose this with me. You need not fear any sort of reprisal because of this, I assure you." "Oh, well, thanks..." "Now, with that out of the way, perhaps you should follow your troopers and get some rest." "Actually, there was one more thing..." He sounded especially nervous now. What could be a harder subject to broach than what he'd already said? Hobbes was certainly much more up front with Luna than anypony else. She wondered at that. How long had he been keeping all this in? And why discuss it with her? His jaw worked soundlessly for a moment, before eventualy he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "IhavenoideawhatthefuckI'mdoing!" Luna blinked in confusion. "... What?" "Look, I just got promoted to sergeant a couple months ago. Before that, my biggest responsibility was making sure the guys shaved and showed up on time. Now I get orders from the Emperor himself to track down and kill one of the biggest threats known to man. And now here I am, with just four guys under me, no resupply, no reinforcements, I can't even talk to my leadership, and if we fuck up here, billions of people are going to die! As if that weren't bad enough, now I have to play politician and convince an entire world to start playing nice! Dory and I practically saved Appleloosa, and they still gave her shit to try and keep her out! How the fuck am I supposed to accomplish any of that with what I've got!?" Hobbes paced back and forth as he ranted with growing spleen. By the end, he was practically shouting. At a certain point, it didn't even seem like he was speaking to Luna, just venting his frustrations for the world to hear. When he finished he slumped down in a chair and buried his face in his hands, appearing to forget Luna's presence. She watched him sit in silence. Though he had held his own in front of Celestia, and thus far had shown himself an exemplary soldier by any metric, Luna remembered that Hobbes and his troopers were still (mostly) quite young. She couldn't help but compare him to Twilight, and how she would work herself to insanity over seemingly trivial things. Granted, the scope of her responsibilities were far greater now and she had certainly risen to the challenge. But the thought of billions of lives riding on a single man's choices was a daunting one. Luna wondered what Celestia would have said, having mentored countless students over the centuries. He wasn't a pony, nor one of her subjects, but for some reason Hobbes felt like he could express his concerns to her. And for some reason, she felt like that meant something. Had he ever told anypony any of this? "You feel unprepared for the trials ahead," Luna concluded. "... Yeah." "And what makes you think you are not?" "Oh, I don't know, the fact that I can barely give an op order? Don't have a clue how politics here work? Hell, I barely understand Dominion politics!" "I should remind you that you are not alone in this now, Sergeant Hobbes. Inexperienced you may be on the world stage, I am confident my sister will be willing to help, as will I. And of course, you already have Queen Dorylus. Regardless of your own confidence in your abilities, somepony saw something in you that made them think you were ready for the responsibility of your rank. And, I think you may find that the politics of Equis are far less cutthroat than you may be used too. "Besides," Luna continued. "It may not even be necessary for you to do much negotiating anyway. The threat posed by the Zerg is self-evident, if not now then in the near future. I have a feeling your talents for warfare will not fall by the wayside." "Still means that a lot of people are gonna die if we make a mess of things." "I hate to say it," Luna said glumly, "But if what you say about the Zerg is true that may be the case regardless. Do the best you can with what you have, that is all anypony can do. And I hope you know that you will have whatever resources we can send your way should you ask for it, whether or not my sister agrees." Hoping to lift his spirits a bit, she quipped, "Though, if whatever deity you worship is listening, perhaps pray for a miracle or two." Luna could tell Hobbes tried to suppress his reaction, but he still cracked a weak smile with an amused snort. "I don't know if the Queen of Blades is listening, but she's sure as hell got a loose end to tie up. Still though, miracle or not, five troopers and a pre-spaceflight civilization against the most cunning Zerg in existence? I don't like our chances." Odd that he would consider the Queen of Blades a deity. Perhaps she was reformed, like Discord was? No matter. A question for another time. Luna hummed. His worries, though not unfounded, still plagued his mind. "Do your leaders trust you?" The question caught Hobbes off guard. "In... the sense that they trust me to do my job as a scout, yeah." "Do you think they expect a hoofful of soldiers to win a war all by themselves?" "I- ... No. Not unless they thought they'd recruited an army of fucking Hercules clones." Luna pushed past the odd name drop, assuming it was a reference to some mythic hero. "Then what makes you think they expect that from you now?" Hobbes looked between his feet and frowned. "Are you saying they expect us to fail?" "I am saying they expect you to do your job. You are a scout: you find the enemy and disrupt them where you can. You relay what you learn to your leaders so they can deploy their main forces properly. Can you do that here?" Hobbes looked up to meet Luna's gaze. Then his face hardened as a newfound steel entered his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that." He stood up and made for the door, but paused just as he reached for the handle. "And... thanks." "My pleasure, Sergeant Hobbes." If Matt thought the bed in the Appleloosa saloon was good, the one in the palace suite felt like the wings of an angel. After cleaning his equipment again and showering, be flopped down on the luxurious bed, eyes closed in bliss as he sank into the sheets. He forced his eyes open and stared at the high ceiling, considering everything that had happened over the past week. Now that he had time to finally think without the threat of the Zerg looming overhead, the sheer insanity of what he'd experienced settled in. So far he'd taken it all in stride; if there was one thing the military taught it was getting you used to weird. Still, the idea of having been thrust into a world of myth and magic was a bit much even for that conditioning. Jesus, Celestia's like a mother ursadon. I guess a virtually immortal ruler would have to be, but damn. Talk about a hard sell. At least Luna was willing to give me the time of day... I can't even imagine what it'll be like getting the other nations on board. His reminiscence was interrupted by a harsh knock on his door. When Matt opened it, he found himself looking down at a very, very angry Dorylus. Who then smacked him across the face. "The fuck was that f-" his words were cut off by an unseen force holding his mouth shut. Looking at her glowing horn, he realized Dory was doing it. His eyes widened as he started to panic, actually afraid of the changeling. "One of my changelings was corrupted by the Zerg and you didn't tell me!? I have to wait until we're already in an audience with the Princesses for you to even mention it!? WHY!?" As she spoke she walked into Matt's room, forcing him to step back from the enraged changeling queen. Despite her rage, he could see tears welling up in her eyes. He fucked up, and they both knew it. She kept holding his jaw shut as she continued. "I thought... I thought I could trust you! But you won't even tell me what's happening to my own people!" Dorylus released her telekinetic grip on his face as her tears started to flow freely. She'd backed Matt up until his feet hit the bed and he had to sit down, forcing him to eye level with her. "I- I don't know what to say..." "That's it? You don't know?" "What else is there?" "How about you start with what was going through your head at the time?" "I... I thought... you wouldn't be able to handle that knowledge. When it comes to the Zerg there are some things worse than death." "And so you said it anyway. So not only did you not tell me about what happened, you also conveniently forgot your one reason for doing so in the first place." Matt hung his head. For some reason Dory's words hurt more than anything they'd been through in the past week. He thought about why that was. They'd only known each other for barely three days, but already he felt like he had a unique reapect for her, unlike his relationship with his troopers or anyone else in the old platoon. Then it clicked in his mind. She was the only person on this planet that knew what he was going through. And likewise, he knew what she was going through. They both felt unprepared, forced into their position by fate, watched some of the people they held closest in their lives die, and now carried the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. "I'm sorry," he finally squeaked out, and he meant it. "I fucked up." Dorylus glared at him as Matt forced himself to meet her gaze. After a long moment, she closed her eyes. Then lunged forward and hugged him. "Sniff. You're lucky changelings can sense emotions, Matt." "Heh, small miracles, huh?" he quipped, remembering his discussion with Luna. "Oh don't get me wrong, you're still in the doghouse for now. But at least now I still want to see you tomorrow." "'Doghouse'?" "I was thinking about getting a meal earlier, but I think this is good enough." She released his shoulders and sauntered out the door. "'Night, Matt. See you tomorrow." "Uh... Yeah. See you." 'Doghouse'? 'Meal'? The fuck is she on abo- OH. Luna found Celestia in her study. Looking at the ancient looking scroll she read, she realized it must have been one of the few remaining texts documenting the Faceless Gods, or the "Protoss" as the Terrans knew them. "So, Luna, what do you think of our guests?" Celestia asked, looking up from the log-sized scroll. "I think they are a far cry from the little green mares in fishbowl helmets that I expected." Celestia snickered at the image. "Besides that, I mean." "I think... they are just soldiers, Tia." She raised an eyebrow at Luna's seeming non-answer. "That's all? Not even after that 'private discussion' with the Sergeant?" Undeterred, Luna continued. "Think about the average royal guard, Tia. They come from all walks of life, some join to make a difference, some want a stable career, and some just do it for the benefits. Yes, they learn discipline, follow orders, and wear a proverbial mask on duty, but underneath it all they are mostly ordinary ponies. They have their own ambitions, concerns, and lives. I believe these Terrans are no different. What is different is that they have been cast into an abyss with no map, compass, or guide and told that the only way out is to outsmart a god. "But I feel that in spite of all that, they want to help us, and not just because it serves their own interests. More than that, they cannot succeed in their task without our help, or if they can, it will come at great personal cost as it has already. I think these are good people, Tia, and it would be remiss of us to turn them away when they so eagerly wish to help. "And, remember, though through the unfortunate hoof of fate they are currently representative of a vast and powerful empire. One whom I am certain would be very grateful if we were to assist their subjects. Let us join in this alliance, sister, and show these Zerg that Equestria shall not go quietly." Celestia held her gaze for several long moments, then sighed. "Very well, Luna. Then we shall declare our support for the Terrans."