//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Starcraft: Wings of Friendship // by Lord Frigus //------------------------------// Chapter Two Twilight and Raynor were studying the astral map when the doors to the bridge opened up. A man wearing a uniform with short, black hair stepped into the room, followed closely by a white unicorn and a yellow pegasus. Twilight perked up at the sight of Rarity and Fluttershy, immediately went over to them and pulled them into a group hug. Meanwhile, Raynor walked over to the new man, whom he greeted as an old friend. "Matt, I see you've found two of our stowaways." Raynor said, smiling at the ponies' glee at being together again as Twilight began to tell them what had happened to her. "Truth be told, it was more like they found me." Matt chuckled. "I was on my way back from the reactor when they ran into me. To be honest, sir, I thought you had lost it when you made that announcement. Now I see you were being completely serious." "I still find it hard to believe myself." Raynor said, turning to Twilight and the two of her friends who had been found. She was just finishing up her side of the story. "... so I explained that you all must have been on board." Twilight was saying. "I gave him your names and a basic description of what you looked like and he agreed to send a message through the ship. We waited for a while, studying the ships astral map to try and find our home, but we haven't really had any luck yet." She got depressed after saying that. "I'm sorry for this, girls." "You've go nothing to be sorry for, Twilight" Rarity said. "I'm sure it was just a mistake." Fluttershy said quietly. "She's right." Rarity confirmed. "Whatever happened, at least we are back together. Well... some of us anyway." Twilight gave a sheepish smile. "Thanks for forgiving me, girls. I just wish I knew what happened with the others..." She looked down, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "It's just... I-I want to go home. I don't know where we are and nothing makes sense..." Fluttershy and Rarity looked to each other, each wearing an expression of pain as they saw their typically strong leader break into sobs, broken by her lack of understanding. They nodded and both went to comfort her, reassuring her that it wasn't her fault and that she would find a way out of the mess they were in. Meanwhile, Matt pulled Raynor aside. "Sir..." Matt began. Raynor shook his head. "I know, Matt. These girls are so innocent and confused. I know we can't afford to send anyone to find their planet, so I think our best course of action would be to find the rest of their friends so they at least have each other." Raynor turned over to the astral map and began to stare into it. He could notice the sobs of despair quieting into sniffles and, eventually, nothing. "Jim?" He turned around to see Twilight looking up at him. He stooped down to be able to look her in her eyes. "Yes, Twilight?" "I wanted to thank you for all that you've done. I know it hasn't been much, but it means a lot to me." the lavender mare said quietly. "Trust me, it was the least I could do. And believe me when I say I'm going to do everything in my power to help get you home. You have my word." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rarity was fussing over her mane, despite it looking as pristine as ever, though she was shortly interrupted by a noise. There was a loud crackle over the PA system as someone spoke over the loudspeakers. "Raynor, it's Swann. We've got a bit of a situation here down in the Armory. I think you ought to come down and have a look." "What kind of situation?" Jim asked. "I think it's best you come and see for yourself." Swann replied. "Hang on a sec." They could hear Swann yelling away from the microphone. "HEY! GET DOWN FROM THERE! YOU'RE GONNA BREAK-" there was a resounding crash as the sound of tons of metal falling to the ground assaulted their ears. "-it..." The line was cut and Jim looked to Matt. "I want you to look after these three until I get back, okay?" Jim ordered. "Yes sir." was Matt's response. Jim nodded to Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy and headed out the doorway. "So... Rarity," Twilight began. "what happened to you?" "Well, if you insist I would be happy to tell you of our little... adventure." Rarity said. "I found myself in a corridor made of metal, of all things. I was reminded of the caves of the diamond dogs, but without the dirt and gemstones, of course. I guess it wasn't very much like the diamond dogs' caves..." "Rarity, you're getting sidetracked..." Twilight muttered. "What? Oh, yes, of course. Anyway, I was fortunate enough to find Fluttershy fairly quickly, hiding behind some crates. Truth be told I only found her because I heard her whimpering. The poor mare was terrified, and for good reason too. We saw these creatures, but we didn't know what they were. Although, now we do know. They clearly resembled Mr. Horner and Mr. Raynor. I was quick to comfort her and we waited for a while. After some time, Fluttershy fell asleep and I watched over her, though I must admit I started to doze off myself. "We were awakened by the announcement by your friend, Mr. Raynor, that we were to be found. Fluttershy was worried that it was a trap, but I assured her otherwise as I could hear your voice in the background. Not long after we set out, we came across Mr. Horner over there. He seemed as surprised about us as were about him, and he was so well dressed, I decided he must be a respectable... creature to be as sharp as he was. Well, he led us here and we were reunited. I just wish our other friends would hurry, this stress has most certainly NOT been helpful to my mane." Twilight and Fluttershy chuckled at the familiarity of it all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jim made his way towards the Armory, all the while the sounds of crashing machinery and the shouts of Swann were getting louder. As he reached the Armory, it became strangely quiet. Cautiously, Jim opened the door and stepped inside. What struck him first was the low level of light. He could vaguely make out the shapes of the various crates and tech on the ground. Looking around, Jim continued his advance into the room. He stepped up to the main podium and activated it. In a flash, all of the lights turned on and temporarily blinded Jim, who covered his face with his arms. When he lowered them, he found himself face to face with a bright pink pony with blue eyes. "SURPRISE!"