The Stars Our Destination, Part II
Previously, on My Little Pony …
As the smoke thinned, Fluttershy gasped, “Goodness!”—for what lay in the center of the crater was nothing she’d seen before.
[ … ]
“It’s a message,” Twilight Sparkle’s enormously magnified eye declared.
[ … ]
Princess Luna said, “It’s a chart of the stars … as seen from outside.”
[ … ]
“That’s where he lives,” Fluttershy said, drawing attention to herself again. She seemed unaware of this. “He’s showing us how to reach him.”
[ … ]
Rainbow Dash had gone from awestruck silence to a full-on sulk. “Well, how’re we supposed to do that if he’s so far away?”
[ … ]
Twilight’s eyes widened in wonder. “It’s a star chariot.”
[ … ]
Twilight Sparkle said, “If I’m reading this part right, it could make the entire trip in less than a year!”
[ … ]
Fireworks went off behind the stage as Twilight Sparkle strode forward to make it official.
“Everypony, Harmony City is ready for takeoff!”
[ … ]
Twilight trailed off, noticing and looking up herself. A half-dozen dark specks had appeared in the sky, rapidly getting larger, more appearing behind them. “What are those?” she murmured to herself.
Then a beam of darkness reached from the largest—the nearest—and punched a hole in the stage right next to her.
Inside the tower, Rainbow Dash fell out of her chair as, simultaneously, the purple dots turned red and a strident alarm began to sound.
[ … ]
It only took Rainbow Dash a few seconds to reach the nearest of the stars, which on closer inspection was covered in lines of blue energy, giving it a sort of bruised look. Even as she approached, though, it turned its attention to her, lancing out with a ray of darkness—
[ … ]
Rarity worked some controls, but more and more of the diagram turned red. “We’re going to lose the shield in less than a minute.”
[ … ]
“Fire …” Twilight paused, choking on the words. “… fire the main beam.”
[ … ]
High over Equestria, the ship that had launched its attack hovered, a flattened disc similar in shape to Harmony City’s shield, though a solid piece of material rather than the ephemeral shield around a flying city. Its surface was covered in seams that glowed dark blue, as did various orbs and projections and cavities of alien design. It was great and strong and ominous, and already it prepared a third wave of fighters.
Then the beam hit it, and it was consumed from the inside out by light and magic, evaporating into nothingness in less than ten seconds.
[ … ]
“Target is … completely destroyed,” Spike said, looking at a now-empty screen.
[ … ]
Twilight Sparkle gazed up at the ceiling. She couldn’t see what had just happened, but she bore its weight nonetheless.
“What have I done?” she murmured.
Darkness.
Silence.
An oppressive stillness in the air.
All three were broken as hooves began to shift the pile of stone and wood that had formed when the building partially collapsed. Light began to filter into the basement as the ponies searching for those who might be trapped under rubble pulled the debris away.
“Hang on in there,” Applejack called, coming into view a second later as she widened the hole, light from behind her throwing her face into shadow and forming a halo around her Stetson. She needed a moment for her eyes to adjust before she could be sure anyone was actually in the basement, but kind words to empty space didn’t hurt anyone. “We’ll have you out quicker than three shakes of a—”
Then she gaped, recoiling from the sight she saw.
“Apple Bloom!”
Nestled among various supplies that had been packed for the journey into space, unharmed save for a bit of dust from the collapse, were three fillies Applejack knew all too well. Sweetie Belle looked relieved to be freed from the basement, while Scootaloo scowled, already anticipating the punishment for getting caught. Apple Bloom, for her part, offered a nervous smile to her sister, who was rapidly transitioning from shock to anger.
“Surprise?” Apple Bloom said.
M Y L I T T L E P O N Y
W O R L D S B E Y O N D
The Stars Our Destination Part II
Written by Fred M. Sloniker
“Apple Bloom, what in the hay are you doing here? Ah thought Ah told you to stay on the farm where you’d be safe!” Applejack was filled with the peculiar mix of anger and fear that came of a loved one having put herself in danger, and she used that passion to help widen the hole even faster. Apple Bloom could see other ponies now, ponies who were helping Applejack clear the building.
“Aw, Applejack—” Apple Bloom began.
Applejack would have none of it. “Don’t you ‘aw, Applejack’ me! Don’t you know what happened here today?” The Cutie Mark Crusaders, who’d been hiding in the basement the whole time, shook their heads, looking confused. “Some sorta star critters came down and started shooting up the place! Ponies’ve been hurt, some of ’em bad! Y’all coulda been killed!”
“But, Applejack, we just wanted—” Sweetie Belle tried as Apple Bloom looked away, shamed.
“‘But’ nothing,” Applejack said, glaring at Sweetie Belle as she continued to push rubble aside. “Ah know for a fact you promised Rarity you’d stay outta trouble, and right now yer in it up to yer neck.”
Scootaloo, resigned to her fate, muttered, “Guess we have to go home now.”
She wasn’t prepared for Applejack’s response, which was to stop shifting debris, gaze sadly at the three fillies, and sink heavily onto one of the few bits of stone that remained, closing her eyes.
“Oh, Apple Bloom,” she sighed. Apple Bloom looked up, confused.
“What’s wrong, Applejack?”
Applejack opened her eyes again, weariness on her face that even the heavy work of searching buildings for survivors hadn’t been able to put there. “We don’t know where the star critters came from. And Twilight’s pretty sure they’re gonna come back. If’n they attack somewhere other than here …”
She fell silent, and Apple Bloom gulped. She didn’t know what the attackers were or what they could do, but she knew Applejack wasn’t the sort to worry about nothing. The image of shadowy figures descending on Sweet Apple Acres entered her thoughts.
“Right now, Harmony City’s the safest place for the three of you,” Applejack said. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle brightened at that, though Apple Bloom remained worried. “So Ah want you to getcher selves down to the big hospital quick as you can, make yerselves useful.”
“You can count on us, miss Applejack!” Scootaloo said, offering a sloppy salute in imitation of her hero, Rainbow Dash.
Applejack just sighed. “That’s what Ah’m afraid of.”
Twilight Sparkle and Rarity were already at the hospital, one of the larger buildings in Harmony City and centrally located. One of its largest rooms was filled with injured ponies, some with minor scrapes and cuts, some with more serious ailments like bandaged wings or legs in casts. Fluttershy was there too, moving from one injured pony to the next with soft words of comfort and a little cart of medical supplies.
Twilight was in a melancholy mood, and even Nurse Redheart’s good news wasn’t helping. “Everypony’s present and accounted for; we’ve got a lot of bumps and bruises, but nothing we can’t fix. We’ll all be fit as a fiddle before you know it!” She offered her sunniest smile, but Twilight was unaffected, and the smile faded after a moment.
“Twilight,” Rarity offered, “you did everything you could to keep these ponies safe. You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”
Twilight rounded on Rarity, shifting from sorrow to anger. “Well, who else am I supposed to blame?” she said. “These ponies were counting on me, and I let them down before we even got off the ground!” She turned away, the brief burst of anger fading. “I should have had somepony watching the sensors. If we’d known they were coming—”
“—we’d have done just what we did,” Rarity said, a touch of fire entering her own voice. “We had no way of knowing they were going to attack us. Besides, as I recall, we did have somepony watching the sensors.” She frowned. “In theory.”
Twilight said nothing.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Rarity offered, “the things that attacked us don’t seem to be alive. They look rather like the star capsule, in fact. We have one of the more intact ones if you’d like to take a look.” That brightened Twilight’s mood, or at least got her to stop sulking. The prospect of knowledge tended to do that.
Rarity’s horn began to glow. “Oh, and we’ve finished these,” she added, levitating a small golden ear clip over to Twilight and setting it in place. “We’ll have everypony in the city wearing one by nightfall. I do wish I had time to accessorize them properly, but I have to get back to the repairs; those crystals won’t align themselves!” She offered another smile to Twilight, and this time Twilight at least attempted to return it.
“Thanks, Rarity,” she said. “I appreciate it.” She paused, then looked distant. “Call Pinkie Pie.”
The ear clip let out a short series of low buzzes. Rarity shrugged. “I haven’t been able to find her to give her one,” she explained.
Twilight’s eyebrows went up. “That’s strange. I wonder where she could be?”
Like Ponyville, Harmony City had a market square, and like Ponyville, that square had a confection-shaped building. There were differences—instead of Sugarcube Corner’s gingerbread house motif, Pinkie’s Pies looked more like a chocolate layer cake with white icing and strawberries on top—but both served as a place where ponies could spend their bits on all manner of sugary sweets.
Another similarity between the two was the upper floor, living space above the store front. Pinkie Pie’s room was here, along with the room of the pony who was currently handling customers downstairs, and it looked much like her room in Sugarcube Corner, even if the fine details had been completely rearranged.
At the moment, the room was almost completely dark.
Tall, thin candles flickered, casting small pools of light in a ring around the center of the room, leaving its inhabitant cast in shadow. Said inhabitant had, with her typical unnatural flexibility, folded herself into the lotus position, hind legs folded into a pretzel shape, forehooves resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed, her expression solemn.
She was also upside down, standing on her head, for reasons known only to her.
Somewhere, a bamboo flute played.
“I must not gloom,” Pinkie Pie pronounced.
“Gloom is the fun-killer.
“Gloom is the little-sad that brings total un-party-cation.
“I will face my gloom.
“I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
“And when it has gone past I will turn the inner smile to it and laugh.
“Where the gloom has gone there will be nothing.
“Only I will remain.”
Seconds passed in silence. Then, in the darkness, two eyes opened.
“I’m ready,” she said, a fierce smile forming on her face.
Night had fallen over Equestria long ago, but Twilight Sparkle was still hard at work in her own personal research facility-cum-house on one of Harmony City’s larger avenues. It, too, bore some resemblance to her home in Ponyville, but where the library was an open, airy structure full of books on every topic under the sun, the circular, squat, sturdy design of this building called to mind the world’s largest mushroom.
At the moment, she was standing next to one of several tables in the basement—furnished with all the latest magical analysis equipment by royal decree—and poring over the interior of one of the dark objects that had attacked the city. Its interior was remarkably, and disturbingly, similar to the star capsule that had started their journey, mostly hollow with engraved lines and sigils connecting to a central crystal (though this one was cracked and dark). There were differences—this capsule had leaner, more predatory lines, and a detached portion of its shell had another crystal set in it, the emitter for its beam weapon—but the likelihood that the two were at the very least related in origin had put a frown on her face.
Intent as she was on studying and documenting the interior of the object, she wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings. This changed when a foreign object was abruptly dumped into the hollow cavity.
“What’s this?” Rainbow Dash demanded, eyes narrowed, pointing at the object in question, a golden chestplate with a gem set in its center.
Startled, Twilight looked up from her work, then back down, looking confused. “It’s part of one of the Personal Protection Modules.”
“Stormguards,” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Stormguards,” she echoed. “It’s the manipulator beam. It’s a variation of the original design’s beam, actually; it can move objects around, make delicate repairs, that sort of thing. It amplifies a unicorn’s powers and gives ponies who aren’t unicorns a way to fix problems with Harmony City without having to touch dangerous conduits. Don’t you know all this already?” She looked to Rainbow Dash, who’d taken a keen interest in the project since its inception.
Rainbow Dash ignored the question, adopting a casual air. “Yeah, that all sounds pretty cool. Patching up broken stuff, moving heavy things around … pret-ty cool. Real useful.” She paused. “You know what would make it even more useful?”
Twilight blinked. “What?”
She wasn’t expecting Rainbow Dash to slam a hoof onto her workbench, suddenly leaning right into her face and glaring at her.
“If it could actually shoot something!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “I’ve got three ponies hurt because they tried to take those things on without having my moves. One of them’s in traction! The Stormguards are supposed to be able to protect us from anything, and that includes crazy space stars!”
Twilight had recoiled at first, but she rallied in the face of Rainbow Dash’s anger, putting her hoof on the workbench and forcing Dash’s head back with her own. “The Personal Protection Module is meant to protect. Not to shoot holes in whatever you feel like shooting!”
“The Stormguards,” Rainbow Dash insisted, pushing Twilight back in turn, “would be a lot better at protecting if they could do more than sit there and take it when space creeps show up!”
“If you weren’t careful, somepony could get seriously hurt!”
“Somepony did get seriously hurt!”
“It’s too dangerous to use the beam against other ponies!”
“These things are just machines, Twilight!”
“Well, I didn’t know that!”
Silence. Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight, who’d banged her hoof on the table with those last words; her eyes were fierce, but she didn’t seem to actually be looking at Dash.
“I didn’t know that,” Twilight echoed, the anger ebbing from her face, replaced with despair. “I still don’t. Maybe these are machines, but that thing … for all I know, there were ponies in it, controlling them. Ponies like us.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her friend for a long moment, then reached out with a hoof, turning Twilight’s chin up and meeting her gaze. “You gave them a chance to talk things over, and they turned it down. You did what you had to do to save all of us. You don’t have to like it, but don’t you dare think we weren’t worth it.”
Twilight looked into Rainbow Dash’s eyes for a moment, then looked away. Dash removed her hoof, edging backward as she did.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said. “This hasn’t been easy for anypony. I forgot that.”
Twilight didn’t answer, and Rainbow Dash, sighing faintly, headed toward the stairs.
“I’ll send Rarity the plans,” Twilight said; Rainbow Dash paused. “It shouldn’t take long to put beams on the Stormguards.”
Rainbow Dash nodded slightly, then left Twilight to look at the partially disassembled weapon in front of her and the piece of Stormguard armor inside its open cavity.
After a moment, she pulled the armor out of the cavity with her magic … then flung it across the room.
The meeting took place in Harmony City’s control tower, the six gathered around the star capsule at its center. Twilight Sparkle was the first to speak.
“I’ve finished analyzing the things that attacked us.” She used her magic to activate the capsule, projecting a three-dimensional image of one of the attack craft in the center of the room. “They’re simple attackers, with only the bare necessities to fill that role: basic sensors, the ability to fly, a shield, and a powerful beam. They can track targets on their own, but they’re remotely controlled for anything more complicated. If they lose their connection with the controller, they’re designed to destroy themselves; fortunately, we were able to disable some before the launching craft was destroyed.” If she still bore regret over that decision, she hid it well.
“We really must think of some names for these things,” Rarity commented. “I’m tired of calling them ‘things’ and ‘craft’ and ‘stars’.”
Fluttershy suggested, “Maybe we could call the little ones ‘Bees’? They’re kind of like bees.”
“More like hornets if you ask me,” Applejack replied. “Ain’t nothing friendly or cheerful about the lot of ’em.”
“Works for me,” Rainbow Dash said. “And the big ship can be the ‘Hive’.”
Twilight nodded. “I’ll let everypony know when we’re done here. Unfortunately, we know very little about the ‘Hive’. Who they were, why they came here …”
“How come they look just like that,” Spike, who was monitoring the consoles during the meeting, added, gesturing at the star capsule. Twilight nodded again.
“The one thing we do know is where they came from. The tower recorded the direction they came from to get here, and I’ve traced it back to a nearby star.”
Rainbow Dash perked up at that. “Well, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go over there and get some answers!”
“Hold yer horses, Rainbow,” Applejack said. “Ah ain’t going nowhere unless Ah can be sure those star critters aren’t gonna sneak around behind us and start tearing up the joint!”
Rarity added, “Besides, we’re still not finished with repairs. Most of the work is complete, but we need at least another day to be sure we can even power the shield properly, much less finish repairing all the buildings that were damaged in the attack.”
Twilight nodded. “Much as I want to know why this happened, the safety of Equestria has to be our top priority. It’s too big a risk for us to leave right now.”
“Well, when will it not be too big a risk?” Rainbow Dash retorted. “You know they didn’t pop out of nowhere. What happens when whoever sent them notices they’re not back yet?”
Twilight groaned softly, massaging her face with a hoof as she tried to think. “Can we focus on finishing the repairs to Harmony City right now?” She paused, then looked over at Pinkie Pie. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
“Yup!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at Pinkie’s cheery, yet minimal response. “Is there anything you’d care to share?”
“Nope!”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head, peering at Pinkie. “Well, how come?”
“It’s a surprise!”
“Of course it is,” Twilight muttered, rubbing her face some more. “Okay. If there’s nothing else, I think we should get back to work on the repairs.”
Applejack looked up. “Ah’ve got one more thing. Ah caught Apple Bloom and her little friends hiding in one of the storage sheds after the attack.” Rarity nodded; she’d already given Sweetie Belle an earful on the topic. “Ah was gonna send them packing, but Ah got to thinking. If those things come back, and we’re still sitting here like a lump on a log... well, ain’t no place but here gonna be safe. We gotta do something to protect Ponyville while we still have the chance.”
Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack. “I thought you didn’t wanna go chasing after those things!”
“Ah’m not talking about leaving Equestria,” Applejack replied. “Ah just think it’d be a good idea to get a little bit closer to where those things’re gonna pop out again.”
Twilight considered this. “Rarity, will the shield hold if we go into space proper?” Rarity looked thoughtful.
“We won’t be able to power it,” she said, “but it should hold air in, even if we’re attacked again.”
After a moment’s silence, Twilight spoke again. “All right. Call all ponies.” Her ear clip offered a two-tone confirmation chirp, and a tiny light lit up on the ear clips of everyone else in the room, accompanied by soft warning beeps. “This is Twilight Sparkle,” she continued, now addressing the entirety of the city. “We’re going to be taking Harmony City into space. If you notice any problems, contact Pinkie Pie immediately. Thank you.” After a few seconds of silence, the lights went out.
“All right,” Rainbow Dash grinned, flying to one of the chairs on the walls; the other ponies, save for Twilight, moved to chairs of their own, taking their positions. “It’s about time this big bird flew.”
All over Harmony City, ponies who’d been busy clearing the streets, repairing houses, shopping in the marketplace, or just relaxing in the park looked around them, anxiously awaiting what was about to happen. They didn’t have to wait long.
A specific sigil, repeated over and over again across Harmony City, began to glow, gently at first, then more and more brightly, then beginning to pulse like a heartbeat. As it did, the city began to rise … inch by inch, foot by foot, yard by yard, rising away from the spiral ramps left over from its construction.
The ponies of Ponyville went about their daily routine, unaware of what was happening until one of them, a pale yellow pegasus with a silvery mane, pointed and cried, “Look!” Heads turned at her cry, first a few, then a dozen, then hundreds, as the murmuring began.
Harmony City was rising ever faster, its motion ever more obvious. The shadow it cast slid up the nearby mountain, passing over Canterlot. Ponies paused in the street, looked up, and began to marvel.
In the royal chambers, a shadow passed over the sun. The guards were too well-trained to react, but Princess Celestia looked up, and a tiny smile snuck onto her face.
Higher and higher the city flew, faster and faster. The city was beginning to vibrate now, and ponies stumbled, bracing themselves against the vibration. Dishes rattled in their cabinets, but nothing fell, save a few bits of rubble that hadn’t quite detached from their structures.
Then the ponies of Harmony City saw something no pony had ever seen before.
The stars came out during the day.
The sky faded, its blue draining away, replaced by the black of night. As it faded, so too did the vibration, and ponies who’d left their homes out of fear now gazed up in wonder as the sun held court over thousands of stars—stars that, if Princess Luna was right, were suns just like their own, so distant that only the star city would ever get them there.
Then the sky turned … the sun sliding slowly and gracefully out of sight, replaced in their view by Equestria, rising above them like a jewel, green and blue and tan and white all swirled together, hanging high in the sky like the moon, big as a dozen moons and yet so very small.
One pony, a pearl-colored unicorn with a golden mane, summed it up for everyone with a single word.
“Whoa.”
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood in front of a remote communicator, a device resembling a vanity mirror with gold trim and silver tracings, that had been set up in Luna’s private chambers. In the mirror, they could see the interior of Harmony City’s control tower, with Twilight Sparkle front and center and the rest of the Element-bearers arranged behind her.
“Is everything all right, my little ponies?” Celestia asked, head tilted ever so slightly. Twilight smiled.
“We’re just fine, Princess Celestia. Everypony’s a little shaken up, but the shield is holding. It’s a wonderful view up here. I wish you could be here to see it.”
Princess Celestia inclined her head graciously. Princess Luna, on the other hand, grinned giddily. “You must take as many photographs and measurements as possible. Your princess commands it!” The tone of her voice suggested she was joking, but nonetheless Twilight nodded eagerly.
“Equestria looks amazing from this high up,” she said. “It’s just … we can see everything. All of it, all at once. I …” She groped for words. “I never knew. We’ve saved Equestria, but I never thought about just what that meant. I don’t think I could have understood it before. I’m not sure I understand it now.”
Princess Celestia nodded slightly. “All of you have taken your first step where no pony has been before. I commend you for your bravery, and I look forward to the lessons of friendship you will—”
An alarm went off in the control tower, and Celestia fell silent.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Spike called from somewhere out of view, “but if I’m reading this right, something’s headed this way, and it’s gonna be here any second!”
The ponies immediately dove for their controls, talking over each other as they hurried to make the city ready. Only Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle stood their ground, and Rainbow Dash only for a moment.
“Twilight—!”
Twilight nodded, knowing Rainbow Dash needed to be in the air. “Go,” she said, and Dash was gone.
“This is Pinkie Pie to everypony. We’ve got big meanies coming in fast. Get to your posts or to an Emergency Party Shelter. This is not a drill! This is a drill …”
Rarity tried to ignore the sound effects Pinkie began to provide. “Power conduits are stable, but we haven’t finished repairs to the shield. All other systems are ready.”
“Only work left on my end’s prettying up,” Applejack said. “Work crews’re getting ready.”
“I’m ready to move the city when you need me to,” Fluttershy murmured, scared but refusing to let the fear master her.
Twilight turned her attention to Spike. “What can you tell me about what’s coming?”
Spike studied his screen, reading the symbols next to the purple shape near the gold dot of Harmony City. “It’s maybe … three times the size of the last one. Five seconds to arrival.”
Twilight took a deep breath, closing her eyes, her body going tense. “This is it!”
The space near Harmony City was much the same as space anywhere: empty and dark.
Then, suddenly, it wasn’t.
A single strand of material shot out of infinity and fixed one end in the black sky. Like water being poured into an invisible bowl,the material continued to flow incredibly quickly, filling in the shape of a great, threatening-looking starship, larger than the one that had appeared before, glossy black and glowing blue. The flow of material was so fast that any detail of the ship appeared as an infinitely long stripe of color before pouring into place, and yet the process was taking real time, seconds passing as the ship slowed from impossible speed to a dead stop.
A few seconds into the process, two more lines lashed out, beginning to form into ships identical in design to the previous attacker. Being smaller than the lead ship, their arrival finished sooner as well, the last line of material from the back of the ship snapping instantly into place. A few seconds after that, the lead ship’s materialization was complete.
Almost immediately, the ‘Hive’ ships launched a dozen ‘Hornets’ each … but they did not attack. Not yet.
“Princess,” Twilight said, “I’m gonna have to call you back—”
The display that showed Princess Luna’s private chamber went black, save for a white, lidless, almond-shaped eye.
“We are the Nirasha Empire.” A deep, male voice filled the control tower. “Surrender or die.”
Twilight Sparkle turned to Pinkie Pie. “Can I talk to them?” Pinkie turned to her controls and pushed a few buttons, looked at the resulting display, then nodded to Twilight. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she said, feeling the weight of responsibility on her shoulders once again. “We mean you no harm. Why did you attack us?”
The faceless voice replied immediately. “You have the ability to travel among the stars. You have attacked ships of the Nirasha Empire. Both are sins against our rule.”
“Your ‘ships’ attacked us first!” Twilight protested. “If we hadn’t defended ourselves—”
“This does not matter,” the voice replied. “Space belongs to the Nirasha Empire. Surrender or die.”
Spike turned from his console, gesturing urgently at Twilight. “The ‘Hornets’ are headed this way, and I think the other ships are getting ready to fight too!” The dots on his display were already red, the tower’s systems learning from experience.
Twilight turned to Pinkie. “Get rid of that,” she said, gesturing at the display of the lidless eye; Pinkie pushed a few buttons, and the display went blank. “Call Rainbow Dash.” Her earpiece chirped. “Dash, the Hornets are coming after us. Keep them away from the city.”
“Got it,” Dash’s voice replied in her ear.
On his display, Spike could see the dots representing Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi trained in the use of the Stormguards rising into the air over Harmony City. “It’s no good, Twilight,” he said. “They’re too fast!”
“They’re inside the shield,” Rarity added, seeing the brief disruptions in power flow on her display.
“Rainbow Dash and the others are attacking the—” Spike began.
Rarity, however, wasn’t quite finished. “What in Celestia’s name?” All eyes moved to look at Rarity, but she peered instead at her diagram of power flow through the city … a diagram that was suddenly lighting up with pink dots everywhere. “Where is all this power going?”
Pinkie Pie was the next to speak, a single word that dragged attention back to her.
“Surpriiiiise!”
As the star-shaped Hornets punched through Harmony City’s shields, they left only the faintest ripples in their wake, the shield sealing itself behind them, keeping the city’s precious atmosphere intact. Not that this mattered to them. Already they were selecting targets based on maximum threat, preparing to engage the incoming Stormguard armor, flying into attack runs.
They weren’t expecting every rooftop in the city to erupt in the most colorful point defense ever.
Fireworks and streamers and puffs of confetti went off, blinding and disorienting the Hornets. A few of them, the fastest and foremost of the attackers, found themselves slamming into streets or buildings. Those that had been more cautious in their approach still found themselves briefly confounded, tangled in streamers or blinded by sprays of punch. By the time they recovered, the Stormguards were among them, and the battle began in earnest.
Rainbow Dash grinned as she swept past one of the Hornets, her wake, combined with the effects of Pinkie’s distractions, leaving it to wobble as it tried to swing around. “Shoulda known you’d find a way to prank these suckers,” she said, coming around in a tight turn—only to have to jink as the Hornet fired its beam blindly in her direction, burning the streamers away. “Looks like it’s up to me to finish the job!”
She flew past the Hornet again, but this time she turned as sharply as she was able, spinning around it again and again. It tried to hit her with its beam several times, but each time she simply wasn’t where it had expected her to be, and after a few seconds, she’d wrapped it in a miniature tornado, leaving it to spin helplessly, unable to aim its beam.
Flying a short distance away, Rainbow Dash turned to face the Hornet, concentrating on the band around her brow. As she did, the Stormguard responded, her shield flickering into view, then draining of color as the rainbow light flowed to a point just in front of her chest. It took just a second to gather a ball of light like that which had vaporized the first Hive, then fire a beam of its own—but where Harmony City’s beam had been pure, blinding white, hers was all the colors of the rainbow.
The beam struck true; the Hornet’s shields held up for a second, but then they fell, and the beam punched through it, causing it to explode, debris scattered by the miniature tornado.
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash cried, pumping a hoof. Then she squawked as another dark beam nearly hit her, forcing her to sidestep in mid-air. Scowling at the Hornet that had so rudely interrupted her moment of triumph, she launched herself into the fray again.
All across Harmony City, brave ponies clashed with the Hornets, beams of darkness splashing over shields of rainbow, beams of light cutting into dark cores. Not all of the Stormguards were being worn by pegasi, and though the earth ponies and unicorns kept to the ground, letting those more comfortable in the air guard it, they still used their armor to effect. Earth ponies used their shields to block the attacks of the Hornets that decided to attack Harmony City directly, then lashed out with beams of their own; unicorns used the armor’s power to magnify their magical might, throwing rubble created either in this fight or the last one at the Hornets or simply grabbing them and slamming them into the nearest hard surface.
Spike’s tactical display confirmed it: bit by bit, the Hornets were being taken out. Which was why Twilight was looking increasingly nervous.
When a new light appeared on his display, she almost felt relieved.
“The main ship is … I think it’s powering its main beam!” he cried.
Twilight spun to face Rarity. “Rarity, we need to power the shield now!”
Rarity gaped at her. “We haven’t finished the repairs! If something goes wrong, the shield could fail completely!”
“That won’t matter if they hit us with that shot!” Twilight retorted; Rarity hesitated, nodded, then turned back to her controls, pushing buttons rapidly.
Spike watched his own display, the meter going up and up and up—until it stopped rising, and a warning light blinked. “They’re firing!”
Twilight closed her eyes and braced herself for death.
A lance of darkness that was somehow visible even in the blackness of space reached out from the lead ship, striking the shield around Harmony City—
—and stopping as the shield suddenly flared into full, rainbow-swirled life. It pressed against the shield for a few seconds, causing the air in the city to thrum, then faded, spent without effect.
“The shield is holding!” Rarity announced, radiant in her triumph. The others in the control room cheered.
Spike had more good news. “We’ve taken out the last of the Hornets inside the shield! The Hives are launching more, but they aren’t coming at us yet.”
“Call Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “Dash, I need you and the others to stand by. Pinkie, let’s try talking to them again. Maybe they’ll listen now that they know we can defend ourselves.”
“They’re powering the main beam again,” Spike warned.
Twilight looked to Rarity. “Will the shield hold against another blast?”
“I don’t see why not, as long as Pinkie Pie hasn’t made any more unauthorized alterations,” Rarity replied haughtily.
Spike frowned, looking at the display. “Something’s different this time. I don’t …” He trailed off, tapped a few of his controls … then went pale. “Twilight!”
Twilight turned to look at Spike, her eyes going wide at his next words.
“They’re not shooting at us!”
A ray of darkness reached down from the sky, washing the world in gray and aimed unerringly at a single point: the city of Canterlot.
Fortunately for all concerned, it didn’t make it all the way.
Just as it was about to strike the royal palace, a magical bubble flared into view, holding the darkness back. The dark beam hissed and sizzled, biting at the bubble, spilling off around it, causing the very foundations of Canterlot to tremble from the force being exerted. All across the city, ponies looked into the sky and panicked, running into homes and businesses as if that would help them if the bubble failed.
In Luna’s private chambers, the source of the bubble became apparent. Luna and Celestia stood stock still, their horns flaring with powerful magic, their bodies rigid with the strain. They were powerful beings, and they were fighting to defend not only themselves but their people, but they were not the Elements of Harmony, and the effort was telling.
At last, the dark beam faded … just as Princess Luna collapsed, spent from the effort of holding the bubble in place. Princess Celestia didn’t look much better.
“Get us between them and Equestria!” Twilight yelled, horrified at what she’d just seen. Fluttershy hurried to comply, jabbing at her controls. “Rarity, can we power the main beam?”
Rarity looked worriedly at her display. “Yes, but we can’t maintain the shield and charge the main beam. If they shoot at us while we’re charging up—”
“They’re getting ready to fire again!” Spike called.
“I … I can’t get under them!” Fluttershy gasped, staring at her display with eyes wide as saucers. “They’re faster than we are!”
“Can we shoot them down?” Twilight demanded. It was a measure of the urgency of the situation that she didn’t even hesitate to ask.
“Not before they fire,” Spike said grimly.
Twilight stared at a vision of Equestria burning and said nothing.
Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up. “They’re talking again.” Twilight turned to Pinkie, looking like she didn’t understand the words, but Pinkie reacted anyway, touching a few buttons and causing a screen to light up with the lidless eye once more.
“This is your final warning,” the voice said. “Surrender or die.”
Twilight Sparkle found herself unable to speak.
Then another screen lit up.
“On behalf of all the people of Equestria,” a startlingly weary Princess Celestia said, “we surrender.”
Silence hung heavily inside the control tower.
“Your planet is now under the protection of the Nirasha Empire,” the voice replied. “You will lower all planetary defenses and prepare for occupation by our forces. We will control all military, government, and religious facilities. Any acts of resistance will be met with retribution. Your starship will—”
The voice continued, but the ponies in the control room were distracted by a belch of green flame that curled into a scroll, dropping into Spike’s startled hands. Before he could say anything, Twilight snatched the scroll away with her magic, unrolled it, and began to read.
“‘To my beloved Twilight Sparkle:
“‘I have done and will do what I must to save Equestria. Now you must do the same.
“‘Take Harmony City and run. Run, and do not stop no matter how they threaten us. If they believe that they cannot control you with threats, it is my hope that they will not carry them out.
“‘There must be more out there than darkness. People who will stand with you against the Empire. Answers to the questions that we ask now more urgently than ever. Find them.
“‘I hope that one day you can return, but I would rather you spend the rest of your life among the stars than return to Equestria only to die. Do as I say, no matter how it hurts you.
“‘You will always be in my heart.
“‘Princess Celestia.’”
Twilight looked at the scroll a moment more, then let it drop onto the floor. The others in the control room watched her, waiting for the word.
“Fluttershy.”
“Yes, Twilight?”
“Activate the linear drive. Set a course for …” She turned to the star capsule, concentrated, and made the map of the galaxy’s spiral arm appear. Three stars were marked now, the third being the direction the Nirasha Empire had attacked from.
Twilight highlighted a fourth star with her magic. “… here. Do it now.” Suddenly, she sounded very tired.
Fluttershy nodded silently, turning to her controls.
Harmony City hung in space, its shield swirling around it like oil on water, lazy waves of rainbow hiding the city within. Above it in one direction, two Hives sat with Hornets at the ready; below it in the other, the lead ship held its fire, a ball of dark energy swirling beneath it.
The city’s shield suddenly faded, becoming invisible in the darkness of space. Then a tiny bit of Harmony City leapt into infinity, stretching into a spaghetti noodle of color.
The lead ship sensed this immediately, beginning to turn to aim the main beam its way, but the star city was being consumed by the power of the linear drive, thin slice after thin slice being stretched to seemingly infinite length and hurled out of sight faster than the ship could complete its turn. By the time it reached out with its lance of darkness, the last bit of Harmony City was already stretching away.
Far away from Equestria, an infinite line came to a sudden halt, the rest of Harmony City fetching up behind it in short order.
The ride hadn’t been a pleasant one; the ponies in the control tower found themselves distracted from anxiety by nausea, and Pinkie Pie, in particular, looked ready to puke. Only Twilight Sparkle, who had some experience with teleportation magic, looked anything like normal, and she was too busy staring at the map in the center of the room to pay much mind to anyone else.
“The linear drive is … ooh … shutting down,” Fluttershy reported. “We made it to our destination.”
“Uh, I don’t see anything on my screen,” Spike added, looking at his tactical display.
Rarity said, “Power flows are stable. I’ll need a moment to be sure we didn’t break anything, though.”
“Less’n ya need me,” Applejack said, looking a touch frustrated by how little she’d been able to contribute to the fight, “I’m gonna go help the repair teams out.”
Twilight said nothing.
Rainbow Dash burst into the control tower just as Applejack was about to leave it; if she was affected by the nausea at all, she didn’t show it.
“Guys, you have to see this!” She flung both forelegs to point out the door behind her. Curious, the ponies left their stations and began heading toward the door—all but Twilight, who was still staring at the map.
Rainbow Dash wouldn’t have any of that; she flew over to Twilight’s other side and began pushing her bodily out of the tower. “C’mon, seriously, you gotta see this!” she said, with even more intensity than she usually displayed. Twilight, for her part, said and did nothing, even as Rainbow Dash pushed her completely out of the tower, even as Rainbow Dash physically turned her in place.
It was only when Rainbow Dash forced her to look up that she understood.
It was a planet like none of them had ever seen: a huge ball of gas, dark except for a fat crescent of light along one edge, the curve of a ring hanging in space beside it. Though it was visible largely by the way it hid the stars behind it, it was not dark the way the Empire’s ships had been, but a great and solemn thing, something no pony had ever seen before.
Far in the distance, off to one side, a blue-white star shone.
Twilight Sparkle continued to say nothing, but her body began to relax, a tiny smile forming, as the others cheered and made awestruck comments and just stood there looking. In her mind, she heard the letter that, some day soon, she hoped to be able to write.
Dear Princess Celestia:
It’s easy to hope when your life is going well, but it’s when everything has gone wrong that hope is most important. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find somepony out there that can help us, or if we’ll even be able to survive with ponies like the Empire out here. But with my friends by my side, I’m going to do my best. I’m holding on to the hope that, someday soon, we’ll be able to save Equestria once more.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
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All I can say is, "wow". Another great installment of this fantastic story. Kudos.
I enjoy this story, hope the next chapter won't take a month like some other fanfics I follow.... and I find your choice for a FTL drive kinda neat, I think it's the first or second time that I read about a drive that works by stretching indiviual molecules to FTL speeds and I can see how it may affect future escape attempts..... one of the non-written rules of space based science-fiction is that ALL escape attempts through light-speed require some time where the vessel is highly vulnerable and.... lets just say that your drive concept seems vulnerable as if some matter is destroyed before it transits, it would probably have a massive effect on the remainder of the ship.... why is the sci-fi geek in me still rambling..
Good story bro, keep it up.
304010
So am I. Nice to meet you.
Excepts from my email:
Milo wrote:
PS. Craterfist and Bronymaster are bragging about being prereaders for your story in the comment thread, and I'm feeling kinda left out. Mind letting 'em know I exist?
I wrote:
In what way? Like, posting to the thread saying 'a prereader named Milo who doesn't have an account on FIMFiction is feeling left out of the ego-boost brigade', or...?
Milo wrote:
Yeah, pretty much ;)
So... okay then. Hope that helps!
The description makes me think I know the premise of the story... but no matter what, I'm gonna read it. Lots of great comments and not a single thumbs down! (Trolls obviously haven't found it yet. Lets take a moment to give thanks...) XD
Can't wait to read it, but what I do is download the txt file to read later, so I'll get back to you with a... I'm not sure if I can call it a "review" or a "comment". It might be both... sort of... depending on my mood...
Keep writing!
And so the ponies flee their Homeworld seeking help to liberate lost world the ponies travel All alone in the night
For does one add something to favioties on this site
Why do I get Prometheus vibes from this?
I'm getting some Homeworld vibes from this myself! And they're AWESOME.
This is an interesting story. First ponies and sci fi one I've seen that caught my interesting, and one I will gladly keep an eye on it.
Lots of parallels with Robotech/Macross, Space Battleship Yamato... And let's not forget Pinkie's "Dune" reference!
This is awesome in *so many ways*.
And the "underside of Equestria"?!
I don't know if that's a Discworld reference or not, but either way it's great for a story to not just assume that the magical land of Equestria is a normal planet, even in something SF-based!