Chapter Four: Takeover
A/N: To bump up emersion, a short sentence will be linked (Some will have multiple links in the chapter) to a song on Youtube to create a more immersive environment. It feels better if you play the song, so please do, and please enjoy!
Ridley was surprised, a whole city, or what he thought was a whole city, evacuated and packed into a small train, and moved away. All in under 10 minutes. But he was curious about the other pony mentioned in that letter, “Luna”.
He turned around to the deserted palace, and laughed. He slowly began walking to the front of it, and observed the massive, wooden gates. He pushed on it, opening it with ease. He walked in, and roared a prolonged call. It echoed quickly through the halls of the building. He smiled, and continued walking through.
He stared almost in awe of the inside of the building, it was stunning. Clean, well-decorated, and fragrant. But he quickly strayed away from the beauty of the thing, and continued walking. Everypony seemed to have evacuated, and then he noticed something catch his eye.
It was a midnight-blue alicorn, her sparkly, sapphire mane flowing elegantly, walking casually down the hallway, her hoofsteps creating an obnoxiously loud clopping noise, humming some kind of tune to herself.
He was about to jump at the pony when he thought against it immediately. The element of surprise was far too great at the moment. He slowed his step to a tiptoe, and began walking stealthily towards her.
He approached the spot where the two pathways intersected, he slowly backed himself against the wall, and peaked his head out to get a better look. She looked very similar to her bigger sister, the only difference was the colors of her body, mane, and wear, and her smaller stature.
He continued stalking her, making sure to keep a safe distance away as he followed her every move. She seemed to turn at every intersecting hallway, with no straight or defined path. She also seemed to swerve and move in a zigzag pattern as she continued walking.
What is wrong with this thing? Ridley asked himself. She kept her erratic pattern until she reached another, massive set of double-doors. She threw the door open, enough to allow the Pirate to easily slip in undetected. He looked around, the pony still walking straight ahead. It was a massive ballroom, two large statues of alicorns, one larger and one smaller, were standing across from each other on their hindlegs.
Curious why this pony is going into an empty ballroom after an entire community has been removed, he slowly crept up behind her. He stopped as her horn began to grow a dark blue, and a soft chair and a small book levitated to her. The title said something like “Daring Do and the Catatonic Crypt.” But he didn’t care about the piece of literature, he looked at the real prize that was sitting in front of him.
He slowly hovered over her, the regal equine seemed to be completely oblivious to his presence. After what felt like a half an hour, her sighed in annoyance, a costly problem.
Luna stopped in her tracks, her eyes went wide, and she locked up. Inhaling sharply, she began nervously speaking in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Wh-who dare disturb thou at this hour?”
“Take a wild guess...” Ridley hissed.
She gasped, and turned around. The Zebesian arched up and roared at her.
The moon goddess shrieked in terror as he began swatting at her. Barely managing to escape each swipe of the claws. He stopped for a moment, and she quickly exploited her window of opportunity to escape.
She began running towards the doorway of the ballroom. But the alien just laughed as he pivoted on his feet to face his target. But she had already ran out of the door.
Luna stopped to take a breath, resting herself against the wall, trying to understand what had just happened. But she had no time to think as the door was smashed open. The oak panelling instantly turned into shrapnel as it flew in her direction. She frantically used a teleportation spell, and disappeared. appearing in the hallway next to the corridor.
She began running, but turned around to see that Ridley was dangerously behind. She kept on running and quickly dodged into an unlit hallway. It was eerily dark, she quickly darted her eyes to the left and right, trying to get a bearing as she tried navigating the dark room.
But the darkness was pierced as a beam of plasma soared through. Incinerating anything that had come in its path. She squealed in fright as another beam came flying through, quickly lighting the room and giving herself away to the Space Pirate leader.
He rushed at her again, this time catching her under his weight. Luna then noticed the golden crown at the top of his head.
“Wait...that’s-...that’s ‘Tia’s crown! How did you get that?!” she shouted.
“Wow...you must either be deaf or just really oblivious to everything. Your pathetic sister could not stand up to me. And now this crown gives me limitless amounts of power. You ponies really are weak!” he laughed.
“Y-you...MONSTER!” the regal mare screamed.
Her horn began to grow a vicious blue. When Ridley put his claw on it, and began pushing on it with all his might. Luna’s screams of agony didn’t faze him.
“Look, if you are in charge of the moon...you can reach into space past this planet’s atmosphere, no?”
“Y-yes...why?”
“Alright, I will take you to a more comfortable area, and I will introduce myself...are we clear?”
“Yes...fine...”
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Luna sat down nervously in her quarters, the massive creature standing against the ceiling. The first thing she noticed about him was his sheer size, he was massive. But he began speaking.
“‘Luna’...that is your name, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good...let me introduce myself...I am Ridley, commander of an intergalactic faction known as the Space Pirates, we are sworn enemies of the Galactic Federation. And I was defeated by a bounty hunter clad in metal named Samus Aran on the planet Zebes. I was about to leave and get to my flagship, when an ominous white orb of energy sent me...here...”
He lowered himself to meet her eye level. “So...what do you want with me?” the dark-blue pony asked.
“Two things, actually. The first thing I need is a tangible link to my flagship. If I am correct, it should still be in orbit above Zebes. Second of all, I can’t let you go anywhere. I have taken over this city, and anyone as or more powerful than I am cannot leave.”
“Wait...so...you want me to develop a steady link to a ‘flagship’ that is orbiting a planet in Celestia-knows-where, and you also are going to keep me from leaving. I do not mind this second demand. Not only in fear of the consequences, but mainly because I do not leave the palace very often. But I don’t know how I can follow your first demand...”
“For every two hours you do not do what I say, another one of your precious ‘ponies’ will die. And I am completely in my ability to do that, are we clear with each other?”
“O-okay...I will try my b-...wait...another?”
“Yes! One...I believe an enforcer of the law. One named ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’. And that purple equine’s mother. And every reaction is just hilarious!” Ridley began laughing, Luna, like her older sister, was horrified.
“You sick, twisted...monster!”
Ridley stared at her, disinterested, “Well, do what I say, or more are going to pay in blood!”
“F-fine...but nighttime is dawning upon us, I musts lower the sun and raise the m-” She couldn’t finish as she was thrown to the ground by a swipe of Ridley’s claw.
“YOU INSOLENT MORON! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU PATHETIC EQUINES RAISE AND LOWER THE SUN AND MOON?!” he screeched.
She stumbled back up, tears running down her cheeks. She felt the side of her face, it was covered in welts and bruises.
“Th-things work d-differently here in Equestria...R-Ridley...” Luna choked.
“Hmph! Whatever...” Ridley puffed.
He moved out of the doorway to let her pass through, then began following her. They walked for a bit until they reached a massive spiral staircase.
“This was only built for a pony to use. So you will have to wait down here, is that okay?” Luna asked.
“Do you really think I’m that stupid? I’m not going to let you fly away and alert the others. I’ll just back out and fly to the top to meet you.”
She sighed, then flatly replied, “Very well.”
She nodded him off, and he turned around and walked out. Sighing in grief and annoyance, she walked inside and continued up the staircase. She finally reached the top, where Ridley sat impatiently on the edge of the tower.
“Well? Get on with it! I don’t have all damn day!” he demanded coldly.
She faced the sun, drifting lazily as it slowly sunk into the ground. After a mere couple of minutes, it was gone. And darkness began to quickly consume Equestria.
Luna planted her feet and spread her legs. Focusing her energy to her horn, she began concentrating magical energy to her horn. After a few moments, it began to glow a dark, sapphire colour.
The glow was dim at first, then it became a large, bright, violent mass. Lowering her head and aiming he cusp out into the open sky. She fired. The swirling mass of energy quickly left and went into the open. Holding her pose like that, the moon slowly rose from the sky.
Ridley turned to her, impressed, but nothing more.
“Now, my first demand, and, like I said, I will begin killing more of your precious citizens if you do not do what I say.”
“I will try, so we must go to my astronomy chamber...”
“Very well.”
She trotted over to the edge, and spread her wings. The Zebesian Dragon turning around and doing the same. Almost simultaneously, they took off. Leaping from the building and flapping their wings to stay airborne.
They flew for a couple of seconds. Ridley looked at the alicorn, and asked, “Where is this ‘astronomy chamber?’”
“Not too far ahead, in fact, we should probably land now.” Luna nodded, she slowly changed her position into a dive, the alien following suit. They remained in that position until they reached a large, observatory-like building.
They reached the front of it. A massive pair of mahogany double-doors, unguarded, of course. They walked in, and a massive, open space lay in front of them, a couple of nodes which Ridley assumed channeled magic, and a large, open roof that gave way to the endless cosmos.
Princess Luna turned to the monstrous creature, and asked, “Do you know where this...’Zebes’...is?”
“Try ‘Federation-Marked Grophar Galaxy’, if that doesn’t work, bring up a list of ‘Federation-Marked Class XIX planets’.”
“O-...okay...”
She used her magic to lower one of the nodes, and inserted her horn in it. Trying to use what Ridley had just told her to get any information. She was lucky, nopony would die that day. A layout of planets slowly materialized in the middle of the room, each one having a name, but was in a different language.
“Um...I can’t...read...this...” Luna muttered.
Ridley scanned his eyes through the plethora of planets that slowly swirled around, then he saw something. An elongated purple speck with a shorter black one traveling around. But it wasn’t by Zebes like he thought.
“Am I able to communicate to my flagship...that purple speck?”
“You should be able to.”
“Good...”
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The black Zebesian Pirate sat hunched over the computer. It was a diagram of the mothership, and a smaller mass of metal and other materials. A monotonous, female voice then came through an overhead speaker.
“Airlocks equalized, docking ports even. Commencing connection with Discovery-class frigate ‘Orpheon’ in three minutes.”
He opened up his claw-like hand for a weapon-like appendage to swivel out. A small node was sitting in front of the layout. He inserted it into the tool, and twisted it. After a few organized boops and bleeps. A hologram of a much different Pirate appeared, standing in a Parade-Rest position.
“We should be docking with your ship in a couple of minutes, is the batch of troops and...precious cargo...ready to be transferred?” the Zebesian asked firmly.
“Yes, do you want me to do an inventory check to see if we have everything in order?” the hologram replied.
"Yes, please do."
“Alright...” he mumbled as he pulled out a touch-screen device.
“Three shadow troopers, three Aerotroopers, three aquatic troopers, two plasma, two ice, two power, and two wave beam troopers. And...four 250-kilogram containers of liquid Phazon...”
“I think that is what we had in order...be sure that the Phazon is moved and placed as safely as possible. You know what kind of damage it can cause.”
“Yes, I am completely aware. Let’s just make sure th-...we c-...it sh-”
The Space Pirate looked in shock, he had no idea what was going on. A bright blue flash appeared before him. He shielded his eyes, the staff in the control-bridge doing the same. After a while, it dimmed down, and two figures appeared in a strange mist. After it cleared slightly, everyone in the room cheered, and the commander of the flagship looked in awe.
“Lord Ridley! We had thought that we lost you in that mass of energy! And...What’s standing next to you?”
He laughed slightly, the blue mare just stared in horror at the creatures. Jokingly, he pointed at her. “This? This is some pathetic creature that’s giving me a link to the ship!” before laughing. Luna turned her head and glared at him. He stopped, and looked at the Pirate, though. “However, I have some questions of my own...”
“Anything, My Lord, what’s the issue?”
“Why are you not by Zebes, and why are you docked with another spaceship doing God-knows-what without my authorization?”
“My Lord, we had deployed soldiers onto the surface, we had sent scouts out to explore, everything in a vain attempt to find you. After a while, we gave up, and we continued from Zebes. We then were caught in a transmission with a fleet from the planet Tallon IV. This black ship docked with us is a scientific vessel named the Orpheon. But we were low on soldiers and ammunition in our search for you, and so they are giving us fresh troops and a...material...to assist in our effort.”
“Material?”
“Phazon, a research team on said planet has classified it as a V-Index mutagen. They’re having limited success with it, and are giving us a half-metric-ton quantity of liquid Phazon to see what we can do with it.”
“Very well, but, that might be helpful here on this planet...what is it called...Equestria?”
“‘Equestria’? I will try to find it in the ship’s navigation computer. But it may take some time. Please try not to have anything happen to you in that time.” Both of them laughed, then the black Pirate moved into a bowing position. Ridley nodded him off, then Luna. With a flash of her horn, the mist disappeared.
The hologram came back into picture, and the Tallon Pirate stared at the Zebesian with confusion. “What happened?”
“Nothing, but I think you should come with us on a short trip...”
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He turned to Luna, and began laughing maniacally. Worried, she asked, “W-what is it?”
The cold expression he wore earlier turned into one of a madman. Luna walked around him, and saw a crazed smile on his face.
“R-Ridley...what’s...going on?” she asked nervously. He turned to face her completely. He laughed, then proudly bellowed, “My army is coming! And when they arrive, this pathetic planet will follow under my complete control! There is nothing anybody can do! ANYBODY!”
She was horrified, “Not if there’s anything I can do about it!” she shouted.
“Hah! What can you do?!” he yelled at her. He quickly turned around, coiling his tail around her and around her horn.
“Your ‘precious’ planet and their denizens have thought that I am just some monster! But, now, the Space Pirates will destroy your pathetic citizens. This, ‘Luna’, is the takeover of Equestria!”
A/N:
I hope the music is good, the second link was probably not so great to put at the very end. But Corruption and Fusion are two of my favorite games from the series, Other M, Prime, and Super Metroid follow close (I always enjoy giving a big middle finger to Mogenar, though, fighting that thing was such a bucking chore in my opinion. Yakuza, too, that freaking spider...).
I’m sorry for this being one of the really short chapters. And I hope that involving Tallon IV Pirates and Phazon doesn’t cause much of a problem.
Brohoof for the praise and support, guys, you’re great :P