“Dear Princess Celestia, I feel you are something of a burden in combat.”
The princess in question glared at Mir across the hotel lounge. At her side, Luna raised her head from the couch quizzically. Rainbow Dash, laying on the opposite couch with the sleeping Rarity, perked her ears up and lifted her head to offer her opinion. “I hate to say it, but I think Mir might be right on that one.”
Celestia’s head whipped toward Rainbow, eyes seeming to burn with irritation. “Care to explain that comment?” Her voice was paradoxically frosty in equal and opposite measure to the burning annoyance in her eyes.
Rainbow leaned back, but gulped. “I’m just saying. Mir and Croix had to bail you out against me, but Rarity had the same amount of dark mojo powering her and she lost to fillies, one of who didn’t start the fight with a cutie mark.”
Mir snickered. “Yes, that’s an accurate assessment.”
Celestia’s head whipped back once more. “I seem to recall defeating you and your husband.”
“Ah yes, that.” Mir’s gaze was neither fiery nor frosty, instead thoughtful. Croix, sitting in the center of the room, found it far more worrisome than an emotional reaction. “I’m afraid you simply took advantage of my husband’s lack of desire to kill you. While you did find a way to attack in an unblockable manner, which is certainly praiseworthy, if he was serious about the fight he had ample opportunity to stab or shoot you in your abdomen. With the willingness to kill reversed you became a mere punching bag.”
Luna smirked and bopped her sister on the flank with a hoof. “We have always told you, your flexibility in battle is poor. You lack focus and will.”
“Oh, and don’t think I’m leaving you alone.” Mir shook her head at Luna. “I didn’t see you finding any way to take the pressure off her or handle Alexander’s Dark Band.”
“I thought we agreed not to call my evil alternate form that,” the indignant, scratchy voice of Rainbow Dash broke in. She folded her legs and huffed at Mir. “I liked how the townsponies called me the Rainbow of Darkness.”
“Fool!” Luna raised her volume, thankfully not to Royal Canterlot proportions. “Thou knowest not what thou speaketh of!”
“Yes yes ancient evil blah blah.” Mir shook her head. “If it’s not coming after us or at least threatening to I’m not going to waste time on it. But the issue here is that out of everypony in this room, Croix and I are the only ones who aren’t rusty or drained.”
“Rusty? Tis…” Luna paused mid-indignation to consider. “I suppose I may be somewhat out of practice. I’ve had three different heights in the past few subjective years. My time on the Moon cannot have helped either.”
“I’m sure Croix and I can knock you into shape. Rainbow, want to help?”
“Ugh.” Rainbow shook her head. “I’d love to, but I’m kinda feeling more drained than I ever have in my life. This is worse than when I hurt my wing and was in the hospital.”
“Well, you did get the crap knocked out of you.”
“Yeah. That means I’m 0 for 3.” Rainbow paused for a moment to glare at Croix before turning his attention back to Mir. “I’ll deal with that later. I’ll see how I feel after a good night’s sleep.”
“I shall remain in the hall outside.” Luna stood from the couch and stretched. “As Princess of the Night, I shall safeguard your sleep.”
“Haven’t you been awake for over twenty-four hours now?” Croix interjected.
“We – by which I mean my sister and myself – can go without sleep for periods of a few days.”
“Awfully convenient. I can do the same thing, but I think Croix would appreciate some company.” Mir smirked as she ran her tail across the tip of Croix’s snout. Celestia blushed fiercely as Luna chuckled.
Celestia sighed. “I hate to rest with eight or more of my dearest subjects potentially under the control of King Sombra, but I require time to rejuvenate myself. Applebloom has been directed to spend the night away from her family’s farm for the evening, and thus should remain safe from the command imperatives.”
Finnel looked down, even though she knew she shouldn’t. Akane grabbed her as she cringed away from the edge of the high-altitude airship and pulled her towards the center. “You will be all right. We can do this.”
“Thanks.” Finnel’s nervousness had her stomach doing flip-flops. A Clustanian Reyvateil was supposed to be as serene as the sky viewed from the top of the Third Tower, but said tower wasn’t really a thing anymore.
“It will be time soon.” Akane handed Finnel a small, flat case. “Your changing room is at the rear of the airship.”
Ten minutes later the two of them reconvened in the central deck. Each had traded in their normal outfit for a set of purple and gold metallic armor that Sasha had assured them would provide all the protection they needed for their new wormhole, preventing their bodies from being altered. It covered everything from the neck down and came with a helmet that looked like a crown (apparently it used force fields to fully enclose the head) and a short metal plate skirt.
Raki, as a machine, would be fine anywhere. Kokuro, the teddy-bear-like antibody, had presented a slightly larger challenge and had been provided with an insulated box to contain him; it wasn’t like he needed to breathe. Raki would carry the box and the two Reyvateils down from the wormhole until they landed.
“We’re really doing this.” Finnel looked down at the deck of the ship as Raki gripped her.
“Passengers secured.”
Finnel was really glad she went to the bathroom right beforehand.
“Begin.” With Akane’s command, the maid-droid roared forward into the wormhole on its energy wings.
Finnel could feel the swirling colors pulling gently at her exposed skin, but the armor seemed to provide perfect insulation and she wasn’t experiencing anything weird yet. A quick mental runthrough indicated she was still thinking clearly as far as she could tell. A glance over to the side indicated that Akane was still with her and seemed confident in the proceedings. Raki’s face remained stoic and unmoving, fixed forward. Finnel reached behind Raki’s back and patted the box containing Kokuro and heard a muffled, mental “Hey!” from within.
After what felt like forever but was less than a minute, the unusual quartet exited the wormhole and began to descend into the atmosphere. Below stretched a vast forest. Off to her left, Finnel could see a city built in terraces along the upper slopes of a mountain. Far to her right, she could see a great horseshoe-shaped bay with a port city at the midpoint of its coast, and the afternoon sun behind it. She turned to Akane. “Where to now?”
“I have received a briefing about the geography of this area. I felt that the large port city is most likely to be the capital. Most of the capital cities of the First Era nations were located at river conjunctions or where rivers meet the coast. We shall go there, although first we must land in that forest. Raki’s systems are not designed for continuous flight of such a long duration.”
They descended towards the Everfree Forest.
Guarding a hallway wasn’t very difficult. With the chaos in Ponyville (recently, but also generally) the inn was nearly deserted and no other guests were present. A cushion had been pushed to the middle of the floor and Luna lay on it with her head raised, scanning the windows. The sun was setting, but it could do so without major work on her part for a bit. Her horn lit slightly to nudge the night along but nothing near her normal power. From within the room she could feel Celestia match her despite her tiredness.
She wasn’t sure if Sombra would send more of their possessed friends at them or merely force them to chase them. Luna had tried to locate Twilight with her magic, but was unable to get anything more specific than “far away” and “North.” That could mean Manehatten, or it could mean the Crystal Empire. Twilight had taken two of the song magic cores, it seemed likely that in her uninhibited and maniacal state she might use one on herself to study the new magic. Or, possibly, use it against her and her sister.
After contemplating the possible implications for a long time, noise and movement drew her attention behind her. The door to Mir and Croix’s room opened and the former stepped out, clad in a sheer translucent nightgown.
Luna quirked an eyebrow. “I had assumed that you and your husband would be spending the entire night together.”
Mir shook her head. “He’d been hiding how tired he was from us. His head hit the pillow and it was instantly lights out. Can’t say I really blame him. He’s only hu–, err, pony. Does that saying work? Anyway the last time he rested was when he came back from the dead so I won’t complain.”
The princess stretched her wings, then stood up on her front legs and stretched like a cat, repeating the process for her hindlegs. “You seem fully awake.”
“Like I said, I don’t need as much sleep as a human. Or a pony.”
“Perhaps you wish to pass the time in conversation, then?” Luna shuffled herself on the cushion to make a spot for Mir.
“I suppose I do.” She lay down carefully next to the larger mare. She’d known intellectually that Luna was larger and taller than Croix, but with contact it became overwhelming. I wonder if this was what having a mother felt like. She’d simulated it a few times, but humans considered it such a universal experience they never bothered to actually recreate what makes it special. Luna probably didn’t have any unconditional love for her, but not being bothered by her crimes certainly could be twisted to fit.
“I believe it is customary to talk about colts when mares engage in the sleep-over.”
Well, that broke the motherly feeling. ‘Sisterly’ could still work, though. “Hah. So, what are you looking for in a stallion?”
“I…” Luna paused, her eyes widening. “I have not thought about it in some time. My preoccupation with my duties and the lack of respect I received for them occupied my adulthood before the Nightmare, and after it I have been preoccupied with recovery, duties again, and my efforts at repentance for my actions.”
“So you’re married to your job, then?”
“Hah! Is that how the humans would put it?”
“It’s an expression that was popular back in the First Era, where a specialized technical career was much more common.”
“I see. I suppose that having many people who lived like the Wizards of old would lead to the need for such a phrase. One moment.” Luna’s horn lit up.
Mir looked around to see what had happened, but nothing appeared to be different. Then the door at the end of the hall opened. Mir tensed momentarily before noticing Luna wasn’t reacting, and realized that Luna had somehow summoned one of the inn’s staff.
“A coffee for myself. And if she wishes it, my companion.”
“I suppose so.”
“All right.” The cream earth pony mare at the other end of the hallway nodded and turned her attention to Mir. “I know the Princess prefers it black, but how about you?”
Mir shrugged. “Black is fine. I don’t have any real preference.”
The mare departed, closing the door behind her. Luna looked down at her. “There is no need to make yourself look tough to me.”
“Hmmph.” Mir pouted and looked away from Luna. “I said I had no preference and I meant it. Black is simply easier for her to make than anything else.”
Luna nodded. “I suppose you aren’t much of a sweets fan. You seem more the type to enjoy savory food. Cheese, meat in your humanoid form?”
Mir shrugged “Eh, I’ll eat anything good. Although most of my favorite foods are protein so you’re probably right.”
“So, now that you have asked about me, I shall turn the eye of discussion upon you. What attracted you to Croix?”
“Well, availability was a nice start.”
Luna stared unamusedly at Mir.
“There’s a difference between being willing to forgive me for what I did and being willing to go to sleep next to someone who’d done… that.” Mir looked away, as Luna looked down parentally. “I’m fearsome. Even when I went to his homeland, I used fear and mystery as a shield to hide any weakness.”
“I have been in that place. Although I do not seek to cultivate fear, I will use it if it is present in my enemies.”
“Croix just doesn’t get scared when he should sometimes. It’s like the part of his brain that controls fear has a glitch and isn’t working at full strength. You know what, I’m okay with that. He’s not stupid or prideful, he’s just not willing to let fear control him.”
Luna smiled. “That is an admirable quality. Far too many ponies cannot control their fear.”
“Also,” Mir grinned, “I’m not going to deny he’s pretty hot.”
“Of course.” Luna narrowed her eyes slightly.
“He’s considerate. When I showed him the inside of my mind, he immediately saw the cracks in what I wanted to show him and figured out what I really wanted, needed.” Mir looked down. “I wanted someone who liked me without any preconceptions or pity. Just someone who liked me for me, as the saying goes.”
“I understand that feeling all too well.”
Mir shook her head. “But it’s better now. So now that we’ve both had a turn, how about your sister? What’s she looking for?”
Luna laughed, a gut busting riotous laughed that pinned Mir’s ears back as the Princess stamped her front hoof on the floor.
“Don’t wake everyone!” Mir seized Luna’s mouth in her aura and held it closed.
“Sorry!” the princess gurgled through closed lips. Mir dropped the hold and Luna shook her head to clear it. “We–I simply cannot avoid laughing at her frustration. My sister’s preference has always tended towards the taller stallions.”
“Oh.” Mir blinked as she realized the implications.
“Yes! Now at her height there is no stallion she can look in the eyes without leaning down! And she cannot find, anywhere, a pony that appeals to her in that way!”
“Oh wow.” Mir looked down. “I’d imagine after a thousand years it stops being funny.”
Luna considered, then looked ashamed. “Sister had become the tallest pony in the land only a few decades before our… conflict.”
Mir patted her on the shoulder. “It’s all right. Sometimes sisters get on each others’ nerves.”
“This is more walking than I signed up for!” Finnel panted as she leaned against a tree. Overhead, the sun was lowering towards the horizon. It seemed like it would set in just a few moments.
“Finnel, you’ve walked up and down the Tower with Aoto. You should be in much better shape than this. As a Clustanian Reyvateil, you shouldn’t even be able to get out of shape.”
“It is probable this exhaustion is psychological.” The tall maid-droid with them did not look at either of them as it spoke, its face expressionless.
“Whoa, I think she just developed sarcasm.” Kokuro hovered nearby, trying to appear innocuous and cute.
“Kokuro, shut up.” Finnel took a deep breath.
“Aww, you’re…” Kokuro suddenly jolted up in the air, and his skin flickered papery-brown as if he might transform into his true Antibody form. In the distance, the sun set. “Did you feel that?”
“No?” Akane had drawn her sword and assumed her combat stance, as had Raki. Both of them stared around, trying to discern any movement in the trees.
“Not like that. It’s not nearby.”
“Are you saying it’s safe?”
“Well, it’s not getting any less safe.”
Akane didn’t sheath her sword. “So what did you sense?”
Kokuro resumed his normal bluish color. “It was power. Like a Will of the Planet singing something. But I could tell it was a mortal of some kind, it wasn’t quite pure enough.”
Putting the sword away, Akane turned to her friend. “What did this song do?”
Kokuro shook his head. “I’m not sure. I think it just adjusted the rotation of the planet a little.”
Finnel blinked, then her eyes widened. “Adjust the planet’s rotation? Why? How?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. I’m not an antibody of this planet. All I heard was that it made the planet spin a tiny bit faster, and that there were two parts with a singer each. They were pretty near each other though.”
“Fascinating.” Akane considered the implications. Two singers of such power in close proximity implied some sort of central facility for powerful song magic. It was possible that Mir would be there. On the other hand, holding a prisoner like Mir in a facility for critical infrastructure was an invitation for things to go bad, hard. In any case, such a facility would likely be isolated from any population centers.
She would hold on course, hoping that the large coastal city she was moving towards was the capital or could provide her with sufficient intelligence. Checking her telecell, the orbital map Sasha had built showed her position to be slightly south of a railway stop on the way to said coastal city. If they camped here for the night, they might be able to bluff their way onto the early train and get into the city. They’d have to eventually make contact with the locals, and trying it with fewer people around seemed prudent.
“It’s getting too dark to continue without artificial light. We’ll stop here and camp until just before dawn. Raki, Kokuro, monitor the situation while we sleep. Wake us if anything comes up.” With that, Akane drew a roll of cloth from her pack. Taking a deep breath, the slim woman blew into a concealed nozzle on the cloth, inflating it into a rough triangular prism. After a few more blows, she set the completed two-person tent down and drove a stake through each corner to anchor it.
Finnel removed a set of blankets from her pack, and placed them inside as Akane stretched herself in preparation for rest.
“...and that was the point where I realized I’d forgotten how to fight by myself.” Mir sighed and shook her head. “Croix made me do a basics refresher with the new cadets. If I hadn’t almost died I’d have smacked him for humiliating me like that.”
Luna sighed. “I suppose you understand my sister better than I expected. Still, one would think raw strength would be enough to overcome a rodent and flower.”
Mir pouted up at her. “Those things are more difficult than you’d think. Many of what we call ‘monsters’ are the remains of first-age bioweapons programs. They likely would be a substantial danger to the average pony.”
“Perhaps you are right. However…” Luna’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Foreleg wrestle?”
“No thank you. I’m a lot stronger than I look, but so are you, and you’re a fair bit bigger than me.”
“Wake up!” Akane was on her feet in an instant, which was unfortunate since their tent wasn’t designed to accommodate that. Her kip-up had bounced her off the top of the tent back onto the blankets.
“What’s the situation?” Akane was still buckling her armor on over her nightgown as she scrambled outside. At least there was moonlight, making it possible to see what was going on.
“Large animals moving this way, 120 meters.” Raki had drawn the hilt of her plasma sword from its compartment, but it wasn’t lit yet.
“No, it’s not animals. It’s Antibodies. This planet’s Antibodies. We camped out in a sensitive area.”
“Great.” Akane finished buckling the last strap of the armor. Let us leave here as fast as we can.
“I’m up I’m up!” Finnel emerged from the tent as well, buckling her armor on as well.
“Finnel, we need to move now. I’m afraid we don’t have time to repack the tent.”
“But–”
“They are here.”
Dozens of brown creatures began to emerge from the undergrowth.
“It’s… wolves made of wood?” Finnel clutched her hands to herself as she looked around at the sea of enemies.
“Finnel. Hold it together and sing. We’re here for you.”
The woman nodded and began to chant sub-audibly, as a shimmering field overlaid itself around her.
Akane turned to Kokuro. “Are these sapient?”
Kokuro shook his head. “No, they seem to be only capable of following instructions. They’re here to devour any animal that threatens the… something. It’s not clear. They’re not attacking yet because they’re confused by us being from another world. Many of their senses can’t actually perceive us. They can see the air we displace though, so they’ll be able to attack us just fine once they get over it.”
“Finnel, use Aretia. We’re going to bust through.”
“Right!” An image of a girl with dark skin, white hair, and a comparatively large t-rex skull and feather headdress appeared over her head.
The first of the wolf-things began to edge forward. Finnel didn’t hesitate, launching her own song magic as a beam-shaped rain of swords into the densest concentration of monsters. Shredded vegetation flew out from the impact site, but the narrow beam could only hit so many, and the remainder were undeterred.
Raki ignited her plasma sword and began to spin it in wide arcs through charging timberwolves, cutting down swaths of them.
Kokuro, in the meantime, had transformed into his own antibody form, a vague fibrous-skinned outline of a human form. Although he did not possess the brutal energy attacks of his peers, he was still a powerful antibody, and training with Akane had made him even stronger. His slams and spins likewise sent the enemy flying.
Finnel stood in the center of their triangular formation, concentrating totally on the song. She could no longer purge or call upon a Will of the Planet directly, but they had left behind their song magics to aid her, and Aretia was an incredible piece of work. Flipsphere was still available to her in an extreme emergency, but that would take a long time to charge.
Akane swung her sword through the head of another enemy, splitting it in half. At least wood is softer than bone. The wolves made another rush at her, but she was able to knock all of them away. Wait, there’s one missing! She looked up. It launched itself off its comrades! They’re not smart on their own, but they’re following a battleplan!
The timberwolf soared over her and landed, rushing for Finnel. As it entered the central field around the singer, Finnel began to flinch, anticipating an attack she could neither avoid nor block.
Akane beat the monster to her wife, disappearing and reappearing between them. The force of the rematerialization flung the timberwolf back, but as it was still accelerating away Akane’s blade was able to bite into it. The force drug the timberwolf along the blade, cutting a huge gash along the length of the wolf as it was flung back into its fellows, lifeless.
With almost no time before the wolves would surge through the gap she’d made in their defensive triangle, Akane rushed back out. “Almost ready?”
“Sorry! I lost focus for a bit there!" Finnel panted. "One more minute!”
The wolves drew back, preparing for a coordinated rush from all sides. This cost them precious time in which they weren’t attacking.
“Now!” Akane commanded.
“Releasing!” Finnel thrust her hands into the air. The girl-construct hovering over her shouted, blasting a cone of sound forward, sending shredded chunks of timberwolves hurtling into the sky.
“Let’s go!” With Akane’s shout, Kokuro grabbed Finnel and dashed as Raki served as a rearguard with her gigantic sword and ability to slash while gliding backwards. The surviving timberwolves continued to chase.
“Just a little farther, we’re almost to the edge of the area they guard!” Kokuro telepathically shouted to Akane. Behind him, Raki skated backwards on her thrusters as the wolves formed a wall of wood chasing them.
“Right.” Akane redoubled her efforts, not sparing a glance back at what she knew was following.
Sure enough, they cleared the treeline and the wolves stopped behind them, a writhing mass of wooden bodies glaring at them from the night’s shadows.
“Well. That was… scary.” Finnel dismounted from the antibody and stood staring at the now-diminishing mass of timberwolves. “Why’d they attack us?”
Kokuro resumed his normal form. “They’re programmed to attack anything that’s not authorized to approach… something. An area in the forest that this planet wants protected.”
“As intriguing as this mystery is, I propose we keep moving. I can see the railroad tracks here.”
Mir pounded on the door as Celestia blearily shook herself awake. Cycle looks good, I can skip it this morning. I’ll be needing my energy today I think.
“Rise and shine everypony. We’ve got a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Yesterday two foals learned how to fight Metafalss style in about a minute each. I think two great Princesses of the heavens can learn in a morning. Then we’re going to get things done.”
The trip to the station didn’t take long, merely requiring them to walk alongside the tracks in the predawn hours. Most of their food had been left behind with their tent, along with their changes of clothing. Akane wondered what they’d encounter at the train stop.
They now had no money, even if by some massive coincidence the currency here was the same as on a different planet. They didn’t even really have things they could trade for currency.
As they entered, Akane was surprised at the citizens of the outpost. Intelligent quadrupeds weren’t a thing she’d been expecting. Fortunately the translator built into her helmet was working just fine on the signs. The inhabitants didn’t seem particularly threatening, just like the normal people that she’d seen in her world.
They seemed somewhat wary of them, neither approaching them nor seeming to rush off to report them. She’d settle for that easily.
We cannot avoid the ticket-taker. I might as well take this head-on. Akane stepped forward. The pony behind the counter had a rounded appearance that Akane thought might indicate a female gender, and a single horn on her head. “Greetings.”
“Well hello deary. Wherever have you come from? I’ve never seen your kind.” At least the translator was working. The voice sounded female as well.
“We are from quite a ways away. I am afraid we landed in the forest to the south and lost our supplies, including our money.”
“The Everfree? Oh good grief. I’m terribly sorry you crashed there. I’m assuming you need a ticket to a port to meet up with someone?”
“Something like that. We need to get to the coast.” Akane didn’t like to outright lie, but thankfully this pony seemed to supply her with a convincing alibi.
“It’s alright. Tickets to Baltimare from here aren’t too expensive. I’ll just write you in as a comped ticket. It happens sometimes, that Starlight mare came through here a while back.” Akane watched as a glow lit up on the pony’s horn, dragging a quill pen into the air and towards a ledger.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Tickets in hand, their wait for the train was brief. The conductor didn’t seem to react to them beyond checking the tickets. They took their seats on an empty car at the back of the train.
Akane sighed as she settled into the too-small back of the bench in the train car. Things seem to be almost too easy.
That was when a loud crashing sound came from the car ahead of them. As they stood to attention, a pink pony slammed open the door into the car.
She had no horn, nor the wings they’d seen on a few in the town. Her hue seemed subtly darkened, and her mane and tail were spiky and streaked with black.
“More holes in space? I can’t take it! I’ve got to squish you closed!” The pony’s eyes were unfocused, looking past them as her eyelids twitched wildly.
“I knew it,” Akane sighed as she drew her katana.