Ponyville retained somewhat of its quaint characteristics of a small country town unlike other Equestrian locations. The only difference being the inhabitants and the technology that coexisted between the two, as well as a major highway connecting the town with Canterlot and other places.
Humans and ponies swarmed on foot and in vehicles congesting the streets or flying in the air. It was a major contrast to the natural beauty that surrounded the location.
Rainbow Dash cruised one of the Ponyville bystreets in her Sunchaser Transports Model 92 convertible aerocar, wearing a vintage bomber jacket and aviator sunglasses. Her stereo was on, blasting a local station of human music that could be heard over the wind blowing in her hair as the roof lay folded to the rear of the vehicle.
She arrived at her destination, the Castle of Friendship, home of her friend and Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle. Upon exiting the vehicle she looked over the structure before approaching. The crystalline tree that made up the castle's form was merged into a web of machines and conduits linking to various things, its whimsical nature corrupted by a tight grasp of technology.
She remembered how it looked before, regal and enchanting, not unlike the Crystal Empire or even Canterlot itself. A positive representation of harmony. She reminded herself that it still was, but the feeling that once radiated from it was not the same.
Dash pushed a button near a small CRT display next to the door and waited for a response.
"Hello?" Twilight answered, her image fading onto the screen. "Rainbow! Long time no see!"
"Hey, Twi, what's up?"
"Come on in! I'll be down in a sec." Her image flashed to a frame of static before the screen shut off.
A loud buzz came from the door as it opened, the result of a security system that had been installed into the castle's network. Rainbow entered with the door automatically closing behind.
Twilight Sparkle descended down a large staircase to the side of the smooth, luminescent lobby, eyes wide with glee as she approached her old friend.
"It's so good to see you!" Twilight exclaimed merrily, pulling Dash into a hug that was reciprocated with equal delight.
"You too."
They finally parted and headed for a table with a couple of chairs near a large window, giving them a breathtaking view of the Equestrian plains and Ponyville.
"Sorry," Twilight started, "I was reorganizing the upstairs library. I had to dodge a lot of clutter to get down here."
Dash snorted. Typical Twilight, always organizing and reorganizing. "It's alright."
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Nah, I filled up on Racecolt on the way here. Thanks, though."
Twilight tsked with a shake of her head in disapproval. "You should really stop drinking that stuff. I read a study that said equine energy drinks like that can cause anxiety, irritability, bladder infections, and a lot of other health problems."
Dash shrugged, finally taking off her glasses and clipping them to her jacket. "I'll be fine."
"If you say so. So, hey, how've you been? I heard there was an attack on Orion! I was so worried."
"Yeah, it was... Interesting, to say the least."
Twilight furrowed her brow. "'Interesting?'"
"It was just another suicide squad showing off their micro-nads again, like all the others. But I dunno... something about these ones just-..." She shrugged again, at a loss of how to describe the feeling she had when referring to the mysterious CRAI spacecraft. "Gilda's ship was eaten alive before she punched out. Even I almost bought the farm until I ditched my auxiliaries. These guys were aces."
Twilight put her hoof on Rainbow's across the table for reassurance. "Well, not nearly as much as you two. You were the ones that made it out, after all... Right?"
"I guess that's one way of looking at it."
"You'll be fine. Don't let a rough experience bring you down."
"I'm not that upset about it, honestly. It could've been worse." She sank into a frown as she glanced through the window.
"What else is bothering you?"
She hesitated before turning back to answer. "I was assigned to the 125th today, Twi."
Twilight gasped exuberantly, reaffirming her hold on Rainbow's hoof. "Battlewings? That's great news! Congratulations!" She was about to say something else but held back, her cheerful expression fading to concern as she noticed her friend's indifference. "You don't seem very enthused."
Dash retracted her hoof away from the table. "I am, it's just... I don't know how long I'll be gone. I don't even know where I'm going to be stationed. Probably somewhere off in Vega Sector or something. I don't know when I'll see you guys again. I don't know when I'll be back, you know?"
Twilight responded with a comforting smile. "Oh, Dash, you don't have to worry about that. It's not like we'll forget each other. Just think of us no matter where you go. We'll always be there for you. And besides, there's a such thing as a videophone."
Dash grinned at her playful sarcasm.
"Even if it does take days to send transmissions across, but still. Speaking of which, it would've been nice for you to respond to some of my messages I sent you last month."
She remembered the messages that she was referring to, feeling guilty for leaving them unviewed on her terminal back at Orion. "Yeah, sorry about that. Lunar Security's been rough lately, so I kinda forgot."
"It's okay, don't worry about it. You're here now and that's even better."
"Yeah, definitely."
"So when do you ship out?"
"Oh-six-hundred tomorrow I have to report to Gateway."
"Gosh, so soon? Well, hey, you're more than welcome to stay the night here until then."
"Thanks, but there's some things I've got to do at the flat. Packing and all that. I already got my stuff from Orion but there's some things left in Canterlot."
"Okay. Well, can you at least stick around evening time? Me and the girls are having a movie night. I'm sure they'd love to see you again."
"Sure. I'd love that too. What's playing?"
"Some old human movie about a guy that hunts androids and falls in love with one. I heard that the version I have is considered a masterpiece."
"That sounds awesome. Count me in."
"Great! I'll let everypony know you're here."
The evening sunset was almost nonexistent as thick storm clouds had rolled in from the west, most likely originating from Canterlot. Light rains had slickened the paved streets to reflect streetlights and residential windows. Traffic on the ground and in the sky had decreased to individuals with important destinations, as most drivers had little desire to be caught in a potential storm.
Rainbow Dash was one of the unlucky few to not have much of a choice in the matter as she pressed onward to Canterlot, her roof now sealing the vehicle's interior from the dreary weather. Her windshield wipers engaged automatically, repeatedly clearing away the droplets that distorted her perspective of the darkened highway.
The weather perfectly matched her emotion as she thought back to the movie screening with her friends. It was a slow movie, a kind of film that rarely piqued her interest, but this one struck a chord with her. She basked in the memory of it with brooding revalation of its message. She was reminded of the lamenting monologue by the android at the end of the movie, how it conveyed to her the preciousness of life itself.
Even stronger in her memory were the goodbyes of her friends as she left the small social gathering. She had to remind herself that they were not truly goodbyes, as she had promised for them to see each other soon, but it still did not make it any less difficult for her. She was part of an important mission now, to protect her friends and loved ones here on Equestria, and she would make sure that every moment that she was away be worth it in the end.
Dash was so lost in thought that she had forgotten to activate the glare sensors for her windshield, almost becoming blinded by the bright highbeams of a vehicle on the opposite lane. Upon flipping the appropriate switch, several bright light sources were reduced by darkened color gradients that tracked their motion relative to the driver's line of sight, but without obstructing view of anything else under the intensity limit programmed into the software.
Similar "smart glass" sensor packages were also integrated into the polyglass windows on most spacecraft, though with added ultraviolet protection filters to block radiation, as the lack of atmosphere in the vacuum intensified the risk of exposure.
A vectored terrain map on her dashboard indicated that she was close to the city, but she dreaded the idea of confronting the congested city traffic. Her usual remedy for the situation was converting to aerial mode, which she did with a swift click of the controls on her steering wheel.
Small thrusters spewed bright jets of clouds from the undercarriage, generating lift for the sleek aerocar as fender panels covered the wheels retracting inside. Engine outlets to the rear blasted to life, emitting a bright blue glow as they propelled the craft towards its destination. Dash was sure to turn on the anti-collision lights per safety requirements for piloting at night.
She ascended over a hill beyond a curve in the highway, revealing to her the vast metropolis that was Canterlot, a city of cybernetic and industrial sustenance that spread further than the iconic hillside castle that accomodated the rulers of their land. Tall smoke stacks towered over the machine-laden megastructures of businesses and residential skyscrapers, erupting flaming black clouds into the already darkened atmosphere.
To her surprise there was very little air traffic around the city, unlike the convoluted streets below that shimmered like phosphorescent cells swimming in a network of veins. Only a few anti-collision lights of other aerocars could be seen flashing through the torrents of rainfall and smog.
A flashing red light on her dashboard control panel indicated that she was within range of the homing beacon for her apartment building, which she activated to allow her vehicle's autopilot to guide her straight to the upper garage level.
The door to Rainbow's apartment slid open with a loud, pressurized hiss that startled her out of a deep course of thought. Her musings were forced aside as she entered, heading straight for the kitchen, with the door closing automatically behind. She threw her keycard into a pile of papers on the table and flung her refrigerator door open, fetching a bottle of hard liquor.
Automated lights guided her journey towards the living room, though the bulbs inside were dimming with age, casting the messy room in an eerie tinge. She edged closer to a window overlooking the gothic cityscape, watching the droplets drizzle down the glazed pane, imposing themselves over her perspective of several animated advertisements situated on a distant structure.
An aerocar hightailed past her building with its stereo on full blast, being pursued by a police interceptor with its lights flashing and siren blaring. She snickered with amusement at the random sight, taking a drink and looking down at the people and ground vehicles below. Ponies and humans alike all protected themselves from the rain as they held umbrellas and newspapers over their heads, with some unfortunate characters being splashed by carefree drivers.
Her idle entertainment dissolved as she looked down at her belongings spread about the top of a dresser situated in front of the window. She spotted a grayscale photograph behind her digital clock, worn and faded. Picking it up, she realized that it was of her and her friends in Ponyville. She smiled with nostalgia as she remembered when it was taken. It was a time that felt so long ago to her now, a time long before the humans. A happier time when harmony showed its true colors no matter what threats Equestria faced.
Once again her peace of mind returned to present time reality, matching the gloom of her surroundings as she took another drink. It was already ten o'clock and she had lots of packing to do before retiring to her disheveled bed for the night.
The Arsenberg-destined starships of the 125th and other naval vessels were woefully behind schedule upon arrival to the Gateway station drydocks, with only half of them fully prepared for travel to Sirius-68. The Lunar Guard Royal Trials Division spacecraft were the only ones close to being ready, having been refurbished to a point that would get them to their destination without hostile confrontation.
READ maintained a readiness level of three, despite other confrontations that had arisen since the proposal was made to recommission the old trials spacecraft. They were still no indicators of a full on invasion force, however the surface defense networks remained on standby for when that possibility materializes.
Orion's companion station Grue was attacked just like the former, with a small squad of LARs attempting to penetrate the Lunar defenses, but were quickly defeated by the early warning systems incorporated into the orbital base as it relayed target information straight to REQ-NORTHCOM in real-time.
Other incidents included CRAI fast-attack corvettes posing as civilian starliners jamming the early warning networks at other offworld locations, while others attempted to raid ore transport vessels departing mineral-rich sectors in the Gmork Asteroid Belt.
More and more of these mysterious robotic craft were surfacing wherever CRAI was present, and little information had been gathered from the captured units so far. Much of the data on the onboard computers were individually encrypted, consuming valuable time for the research divisions of the Royal Aerospace Factory to study the advanced systems and relay findings to the Fort Arsenberg branch.
What had been learned so far was enough to retrofit Sirius-68 spacecraft in such a way that their FTL journey to the secret base would be unmolested until they received proper modification, or so everyone hoped.