//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: Ursae Majoris: Eternal Knight // by Draconaes //------------------------------// Chapter 28 ****** Reynolds threw his arms in the air and loosed a stream of curses. "Those lizards took down Reepicheep!" Anderson looked up from the Rubik's Cube that Reynolds had lent him. "You named your UAV Reepicheep? That doesn't even make any sense." "Shut up! Reepicheep is the best name for a flying robot and you know it! Damn, how are we gonna take them out now? All our UGV's are still scouring the forest with U." "Frankly, I think it's best that we don't lob any more bombs into heavily populated cities." Reynolds returned to hammering at his console. "Bah, what's a few alien lives. We've got to worry about ourselves first." Anderson shook his head. "Oh, the irony." "Huh? Oh hey, we got Kuthrine. I'm half tempted to just kill both the mages. I mean, there's the whole return trip we gotta think about, and spending it with those two-" Reynolds was cut off by a bullet ventilating his head. Anderson lowered his gun and wearily got to his feet. "Damned terrorists..." He dragged the body away from the console and took control of the UGV nearest to Urika. "Sorry, I need Kuthrine alive." ****** Trixie glanced back and forth between the two star dragons nervously. Tyr had told her that Nyx was the de facto leader of The Escape. 'What is she doing here? I hope Tyr doesn't do anything stupid! We need Luna on our side for this!' Tyr took a step forward. "I am curious as to how you knew it was me." Nyx's grin widened. She tapped her helmet. "A gift from the late Thanatos. He managed to translate photons for me. It's crude, but it is a vast improvement over being blind." Nyx turned her attention back to Luna. "It would appear that I have been preempted. I sought audience with your highness to retrieve my wayward knight here. Though he was acting outside of my authority, I shall still take responsibility for any and all problems he has caused you." Luna narrowed her eyes. "We wonder why thou would confess so readily. Thou- you have not arrived under ideal conditions." "Precisely. Though I seek your friendship, I shall not distort the truth to achieve it. And if honesty requires I taint our first meeting, then it shall be so. I imagine that you are yet suspicious of me. Yes, you heard right: I seek friendship with your nation. You have knowledge that we could only dream of. Believe me when I say that you have us at your power at the moment." Tyr flared his wings. "Nyx! What are you doing!?" "What I've always done, my little traitor. I'm working towards a better future. Aether, go secure him." Aether nodded and summoned a blade. "Hold! We shall not allow violence in our court! If you truly wish to establish relations between our nations, I advise you to follow our rules while you remain our guests!" Aether stopped in his tracks. Nyx nodded at him and he fell back behind her. Luna turned to Twilight. "If thou would?" Twilight nodded and started casting a spell. A moment later, Trixie and Tyr were teleported next to the throne, and a bubble surrounded the four of them. "We needs must interrogate this creature now. I don't know when you slipped off and retrieved him, Trixie, but you did so against my wishes. Nevertheless, it would appear to have been the right decision. You, creature, give us your name and any information we can use in these proceedings." Tyr tilted his head. "Surely you can't trust anything I tell you?" "Obviously. Your answers would be appreciated either way. Lies can be just as helpful as truths in the art of diplomacy." "Fine. My name is Tyr. As you know, the one with the helmet is Nyx, and the is Aether. Nyx is the leader of my people. Her intention is to... "annex" your nation into ours. You would probably consider it more akin to conquest. She's never been so openly... diplomatic about it before, though. My goal was to overthrow her, which is why she calls me traitor. I do not know how she discovered this." Luna nodded. "Very well. Twilight?" The shield lowered. "I trust my wayward knight has incriminated me to gain favor with you?" "He has. But as you imply, We have no reason to trust him. What is your plan for our... friendship?" "Simple, your highness. The Escape has the power and resources to defend Equestria from outside forces. Do you recall the explosions earlier? A human golem attacked your city. We destroyed it for our mutual protection. In exchange, we would very much appreciate your collaboration in advancing our knowledge of the arcane." "You presume that we cannot defend ourselves, and putting our lives in your hands does not seem like a wise decision, ignoring the fact that you are already under suspicion." Nyx sighed. "I fear you would be unreasonable, though I had hoped otherwise, your highness." Shell pulled a small object from her waist and held it up. "I have here a device that will level this entire city. Tyr, take me to what you had hoped to find on this planet. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself." Twilight's and Trixie's eyes widened in panic. They glanced nervously at Luna, whose face remained impassive. "I believe I can be of more help. The Elements of Harmony, yes? I would rather not surrender them to you, but if this means peace for our nation, so be it." She looked around the room , addressing the guards. "Do not follow us. Remain here and ensure that no others enter the palace." Nyx smiled again. "Excellent. Lead on, your highness." In a few minutes, the six of them stood before the vault. Luna carefully approached the elements. "We are still unsure as to how you defeated the lock so easily, Tyr. Twilight Sparkle, inform Shining Armor of what has transpired. He shall know what to do. Stay in Canterlot and assist him. Trixie, be ready to teleport 20 feet straight down." "Princess, what do you-" "Wait, there's not a floor beneath-" "Are you calling off our truce your high-" Luna shot a spark of energy through the Elements and a flash of light filled the hall. When Twilight opened her eyes, she saw that everypony else was gone. "Princess?!" She looked around, but saw nothing. Remembering Luna's orders, she ran off to find her brother. "I hope she knows what she's doing!" ****** Kuthrine looked down at Urika's body. She had watched one of the UGV's turn on her before shutting down not long ago. She had a feeling that the operator was going to show up soon and... well, what would happen after that was less clear. "Hey." She looked up to see Anderson approaching. "I'm under the impression here that you ain't really pleased with Umbra. I don't think appealing to your sense of honor or duty would help much, but personally I'm working towards improving the Empire. Opaque is gonna make a lot of changes in response to what we learned on this trip. I think we can work together to make sure that mages benefit from it somehow." Kuthrine laughed. "Oh really? How?" "That horse showed you how to deactivate the focusing helmets right?" Kuthrine tensed. "I'm a spy, don't act so surprised that I bugged you. I'll give you a chance to disable to focusers. If you play by Opaques rules. We don't want bloodshed over this." "... I guess I really don't have much choice. Fine. We gonna steal their ship then?" She gestured at Urika's body. "Well, there is that Dras ship in orbit. We're gonna have to-" A sudden flash of light in the distance interrupted him. "What was that?" "I think it came from that castle we were in. I have a feeling that the dras are involved somehow." Anderson shouldered his rifle. "Let's go check it out then. ****** Trixie stumbled as reality once again became solid. She felt a wing drape over her and looked up to see Luna. "Teleport now Trixie!" She shook her head and blind teleported downward 20 feet. Blind teleporting was an incredibly dangerous thing to attempt, but if she trusted anyone, if was the Princesses. She built up power in her horn and felt another pop. She opened her eyes and found herself in a dark, empty room. She lit her horn and began looking for an exit. A moment later, Luna appeared next to her, along with the Elements of Harmony. She quickly dropped them on the ground. "We apologize for this, Trixie. We are willing to place our trust in you at this point. Keep the Elements safe. We are going to deal with Nyx." Luna promptly teleported away again. "Wait- argh! By all of Celestia's illegitimate children!" Trixie stomped in place a few times. "Fine! I guess this is the closest I'm going to get to playing hero, anyway." She levitated the Elements and resumed her search for the exit. ''Might as well return to Ponyville if I can. Better than waiting to be found by one of those star dragons. ****** Nyx mentally recalibrated her helmet to its low-light setting and looked around. She was inside an ancient stone structure that had not seen use for a long time. "Hello? Are you there? Does this means you want to do things the old-fashioned way, where I take your nation by force?" "Not quite." Nyx spun around to see a midnight black alicorn dressed in blue armor. She was levitating a magic sword in the form of a scimitar at her side. "This means that I take up my role as the Shield of Equestria. I would rather not slay thee, but I will if I needs must." "Good. I do not enjoy playing emissary to lesser species." She raised her own blade. "Testing myself against a god, however, is an opportunity I do not wish to waste." "Indeed. Thou shall not have a second chance." Sparks flew as their blades met. Notes: Trixie's little oath is a reference to Cadence, fyi. Headcanon: Cadence and any other "alicorns" (I think there should be more so that Cadence is less unique and important.) are not godlike beings like Celestia and Luna. I count them as mutants that end up being both unicorn and pegasus. (This, coincidentally, allows for pegasus/earth and unicorn/earth mutants as well. Maybe Fluttershy is actually pegasus/earth?) Maybe "alicorns" like this aren't necessarily recognized as just being mutants, so they might find it easy to get pushed into royalty. Alternatively (or maybe additionally), and as implied by Trixie, the other alicorns are a result of Celestia or Luna (cmon it would obviously be Celestia) being a little free occasionally, if you know what I mean. They still don't have god powers though. Just unicorns with wings.