5. All the Lights in the Sky
Tempest was filled with regret. ...It would have been difficult to tell from the look of restrained glee on her face.
“All these years…” Her hoof smashed into the face of the elite again, cause him to stagger across the cell.
...Into Garken’s waiting fists. “‘All these years’?” he asked, pummeling their hapless, would-have-been tormentor. A particularly brutal right hook unhinged a jaw, knocked out several teeth, and sent the poor soul reeling. He bounced off the wall before Tempest swept his legs and followed up with a vicious strike to his gut, knocking the wind and whatever he’d eaten for his last meal out of him.
She dodged the vomit while nodding. “I thought I had real strength because I was on my own, forged my own path. I never knew the joy of beating the tar out of someone who really deserved it, alongside a friend.” She grinned up evilly at him.
He chuckled. “Yes, the simplest pleasures are even better when shared. I too took a long time in learning that truth.”
She sighed, rolling her eyes with a grimace as Garken finally put an end to their victim, crushing his skull under a bare foot. “I already knew I’d underestimated Twilight Sparkle… but I owe her another apology. Also… given what we’re looking for here, wasn’t that risky?”
“Hmph… you mean the risk of lodging corrupted aetheryte in my foot?”
Tempest raised an eyebrow. “I can’t decide if I’m impressed or not, knowing that you knew that and did it anyway.”
“If that horn of yours wasn’t broken, you’d have sensed that he didn’t have one, since we have the emanations from mine to compare to." As if to illustrate, he held up the dark shard of crystal she'd dug from his skull. She could feel a sort of resonance from it, almost a buzzing, but it was very faint to her senses. "...It concerns me," he continued, "I would have thought an elite would be intelligent enough to see through our king’s manipulations. But this one was loyal to him without any obvious magical coercion.”
Tempest shook her head. “Which leaves any number of possibilities,” she glanced up at the broken horn ruefully. “Any number of promises he could have made, that they’d believe because they want to, not because they’re really believable.”
“Speaking from experience?”
She snorted. “Obviously. So now what? As cathartic as that was, where does it leave us?”
Garken hummed thoughtfully. “It leaves me not knowing who I can trust.”
Tempest tilted her head, raising the same eyebrow again.
He chuckled. “Other than you, though we can both admit that’s as much necessity as anything.”
She shook her head. “You really do have a ways to go, don’t you? How do we get out of here?”
“We sneak out through the cargo bay. There’s a teleporter there I can access to take us to the planet’s surface. But we’ll want a diversion first. Any ideas?”
Tempest blinked. “Wait, we’re not on Equus?”
“No, we’re hidden behind your world’s moon. As I recall, my king did not know what to expect, and still doesn’t, of your alicorn princesses.”
Tempest grimaced. She hated to admit it under the circumstances, but… “They have a lot of magic, but they’re hardly warriors. I’ve always believed they were squandering their power.”
“In that case, all the more reason to get to the surface quickly. We’ll need to mount a defense against whatever he’s planning.” He flexed his scarred arm, smiling wanly as the blue energy glowed around the poorly healed wound. “I owe your people a debt, and I intend to repay it in full. So, diversions?”
“Why not just take him down ourselves? We’d have the element of surprise…”
Garken shook his head. “I don’t know that we would, and I don’t entirely know what he is. And we now know he has willing allies among my people. ...I suspect that’s how he beat me the first time. Something blindsided me while I was distracted by… whatever he is. ...He used a term for it… ‘Last of the draconequii…’ Does that mean anything to you?”
Tempest’s eyes had gone wide. “It means we need to get out of here. You wanted diversions… anything around that would respond poorly to electrical surges or massive pyrotechnics?”
Garken’s head tilted slightly as a grin formed.
------------------------------------------
The cargo bay was huge, and largely empty. Several vessels in various states of disrepair were strewn about, alongside four large towers that Tempest wasn’t sure about. “What are those for?” She winced, and then grinned, as a massive explosion rocked the entire Oni-koru mothership. Garken had certainly had some lovely suggestions for where to shoot giant fireworks. If she hadn’t been beaten and tortured she’d be a bit worried about destroying the place.
Garken was more subdued, looking to the large structures with disgust. “Spires, my king’s favorite trump cards. They can vary in function, but their ultimate purpose is to draw our enemies into combat in a manner of our choosing. I don’t doubt he’ll use them against your world at some point.”
“So should we destroy them now?”
“That would be quite the noble sacrifice, little pony!” A new voice spoke up.
Stepping around a pillar near their destination was another Oni. She was as tall as Garken, slender, and holding a massive axe someone of her build had no business carrying as negligently as she did. The grin on her face exposed elongated canines, and they and her golden eyes reminded Tempest of a batpony. Dark hair, tied up in a tight bun, sat between two short, crystalline horns.
Garken returned her grin, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hello, General Ferrana. Have you come to join us, or stop us?”
She chuckled. “I wonder…” She charged forward, moving like a blur… and hitting a sweeping hind leg as Tempest spun low, through and away from her. She stumbled, clearly surprised, and Garken stepped into her intended strike, catching the axe before she’d built proper momentum.
And yet…
Ferrana laughed, grabbing his wrist with her free hand and pulling it away. She twisted, and a distinct crack of snapping bone could be heard. Garken jabbed at her throat with his other hand, staggering her and breaking her hold. She swiped at him with the axe but he’d already backstepped. She stiffened as a massive jolt of aetheric lightning coursed through her. Then went down hard as Garken’s foot smashed into her face.
Despite that, his eyes were wide. “She was… stronger than me…”
Tempest snorted. “Do you need a moment to cry in the corner?”
“We don’t have one… but you don’t understand,” Garken replied, shaking his head. “I’ll explain it later.”
“It doesn’t have to do with the crystals stuck in her head, does it? The horns there? I never thought of trying that, but it looks painful.”
He froze. “What?” He turned to look at their unconscious opponent. “Those are… how can I not see them?!”
Tempest shrugged. “Maybe I’ve got a good eye for broken horns.”
“Those are corrupted aetheryte. We could-”
A massive explosion rocked the vessel. Tempest blinked. “I think my distraction is getting out of control.”
“Agreed. The power grid could crash any moment; we need to go now.”
Tempest pointed a hoof at the woman, who was already stirring. “And her?”
“We know how to beat her next time, if needed. I don’t want to kill her now and there’s no time to extract those things. An Oni General isn’t so fragile as our friend back in the cell.” As he said this he stepped past her, his fingers flying over the terminal that apparently controlled the teleporter. It powered up with a glowing hum.
“Where to?”
“Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. I have no time to properly encrypt our location without randomizing it. The computer won’t erase our passage if I log a specific destination. Randomized, it will log like a power surge, and be untraceable. I can put us on Equus’ surface, and not over water, but that’s all.”
“Hmph. Back to my walkabout then. Fine, let’s go.”
“Ladies first,” Garken said, gesturing to the teleporter pad.
Tempest snorted in amusement, and stepped up. In an instant, the cargo bay vanished in a flash of white.
------------------------------------------
*
...A blast of power from her horn crushed the last of their opponents. She breathed a sigh of relief, directing it up to blow the smoke from the tip of said horn.
“General! We’ve won!” West Wind, her lieutenant, cried triumphantly. That cry that was echoed through the ranks of the troops all over the field.
Celestia smiled. It was finally over. “Synnove! Send word to our people in the south! Reinforcements will be on their way soon!”
Her human friend and fellow General just smiled as she held one hand to the device attached to her ear. “On the contrary, Celestia… Meghan and your sister contacted me moments ago. They too are victorious. The Oni-koru have been vanquished. The Demondim wraiths have fled above the air, the Angels have called upon us to finish this war once and for all. We’ll be taking to the sky, to destroy the last of their fleet.”
Celestia grinned. “I’d love to come with you… I may not know the technology, but I can stand on the ship’s hull and fire at them. May as well get use out this new magic they’ve given me.”
Synnove chuckled. “That you’ve earned, my friend. And I would dearly love to see that, but I believe Solise and Sidera have other plans. Meghan says they’ve called for Luna to come to the Canterhorn, and you as well, once this battle was complete.”
“A shame. I’ll see if I can’t catch up later.” Celestia looked to the horizon. Even at this distance, Canterhorn was clearly visible. She could gallop there in less than a day, a couple hours if she used the land shrinking steps. Despite the long battle she felt energized… a run would be nice.
“Ah, and Meghan wanted me to remind you to use your wings.”
Celestia nearly faceplanted. One day I’ll be used to these silly things... she thought ruefully as she took to the sky with only moderate clumsiness.
*
Aiden smiled at the conclusion of the story. They’d swapped several now, since retiring to Celestia’s study after brief pleasantries in the throne room. It was a bit odd sitting on a cushion on the floor, but surprisingly comfortable. Further, the coffee and tea Raven had brought in (before sitting at Celestia’s side per her request) was some of the best he’d ever had.
The five of them had now wiled away a few hours, and he couldn’t help but feel completely at ease. The princesses, after their almost (unintentionally) overpowering introduction, were quite personable. Celestia reminded him more of a warm, devoted teacher than a centuries old monarch. Luna was very much an actress, delivering her own tales with touches of high drama that added wonderful depth to the experience. He couldn’t help feeling a bit blessed and humbled to be in their presence.
Rarity, too, seemed to shine a bit more brightly before them. As he was thinking so, she took up her turn in their stories, retelling their raid on Veritech labs in a first attempt to obtain a ship to reach Equus. At the point of explaining how she’d purged the corrupted aether from Aiden’s wound, she blinked as though remembering something.
“I should have mentioned this sooner…” Aiden felt the slightest tug on his inner verse as Rarity took Joyeuse from their spot in the park. “This is what I used to purge the dark magic. It’s called Joyeuse, and…”
Luna had leaned forward, examining the crystal embedded rapier with a fond, reminiscent look. “Yes… it has grown well. Pure aetheryte reflects the souls of its bearers over time. It would seem its owners have been good ones, which does not surprise me.”
Rarity nodded in agreement. “I cannot speak for all of them. But Albert Grumman, who passed it on to me, is a fine man. Without him…”
Aiden chuckled. “Without him, Earth would have been in no shape for visitors, never mind where that Command Crystal would have been when you activated it.”
“I… haven’t even thought that far back, but yes. In any case, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna-”
“-Rarity,” Celestia interjected. “This is my private study. Please, no titles here.” Luna nodded her agreement.
Rarity blushed. Aiden didn’t blame her. To call these two by just their names felt… almost wrongly familiar, even after speaking with them casually as they had. And yet… “Ah… yes, ...Celestia,” Rarity said.
“Good… now get Twilight to do it.”
Luna snickered. Rarity giggled before clapping a hoof over her own muzzle. Aiden missed the joke.
“Oh my… I’m not sure she’d manage it, the poor dear! Oh, but you keep distracting me, and I-”
“Want to return the sword to us,” Luna supplied, interrupting again. “And we refuse.” Celestia nodded this time. “It is yours now, though we accept the spirit with which you intended to return it to us.” The night princess smiled. “We would not deny a knight her weapon.”
Aiden smiled, patting Rarity’s shoulders as she bit her lip, clearly unsure how to respond. Those big, beautiful blue eyes seemed brighter, shining with gratitude at the princesses’ gesture.
“Thank you,” she replied simply. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that was Grumman’s intent all along… but I,” she smiled, and Aiden felt a tug in his chest. In that moment Joyeuse returned to Aiden’s verse with a tiny twist of magic. “Somehow I didn’t expect it to come to mean so much to me. It’s saved us both more than once, and it almost feels alive to me. But I told him I would return it to you, and I found myself not truly wanting to… so thank you… Celestia, Luna.”
“Think nothing of it,” Luna continued. “Although I must ask… the connection forged between the two of you thanks to its magic… it did allow you to share dreams, did it not?”
Aiden nodded. “The effect was temporary, but yes?”
Rarity chuckled. “You may recall that dreams are Luna’s domain. It’s only natural she’d be interested in that. We shared a dream here once as well,” she cocked an eyebrow at Luna with a smug little smirk. “Helping our beloved night princess let go of her guilt.”
There is something remarkable and utterly unforgettable about watching a demigoddess blush. Aiden would forever treasure the experience.
“Ahem,” Luna cleared her throat in a ladylike fashion. “My point is that sharing a dream in the manner that you did allowed me to reach beyond Sidera’s veil. The magic shared between the two of you, with Joyeuse as intermediary, was such that it acted as a beacon. I could not make myself heard, even with the Royal Canterlot Voice, but I saw the two of you seated before a campfire. You seemed content, and I was most pleased to see it so. Thanks to that, I was able to at least reduce the desperate worry of your loved ones.”
The two smiled. “Glad we could help there,” Aiden said. “And I remember that dream, and the ones before it. Definite bonding experience, though really we got along from the beginning.” He frowned slightly, thoughtful. “Actually I wanted to ask about that. Even my coworker, who has no magic, felt inclined towards helping Rarity as opposed to harming her. Given humanity’s recent experience with aliens, that was surprising. I mean, setting aside her adorability-”
“We needn’t set that aside, darling,” Rarity chimed in, fluffing her mane and grinning innocently at him.
“Heh… I wouldn’t normally… Err… right, what I’m saying is,” Rarity giggled at him as he floundered a bit, “why is that? Is it some pony thing… like your people just engender trust in some instinctual level? Or…”
Rarity, despite still wearing that charmingly (and falsely) innocent grin, stayed quiet. Aiden suspected she wanted a real answer, too.
“It is, in a sense, a ‘pony thing’ as you say,” Celestia answered with a calm smile. “But it is also a human thing.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Not to disagree, but I’m hardly the sort to engender any sort of-”
“Oh please, darling, you have a fan club back on Earth.”
He blinked. “...Wat?”
“Sorry, your… err… Celestia,” Rarity said, looking sheepish. “Briefly though… I found it online. While it was bigger during the war on Earth, most First Generation Espers still have fans to this day. You were heroes who gave everything and walked forward through it all without complaint. Aiden, you donated your inheritance to orphanages! Of course plenty of people love you; why would they not?”
Aiden was smirking, and looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “As I was saying… I am hardly the sort to engender trust and affection at first sight… minor celebrity notwithstanding. But… do go on,” he continued, waving his hand in a ‘keep it coming’ gesture. “Please, my dear and beloved friend, tell him how great I am.”
It was Rarity’s turn to blush, but she stuck her tongue out at him almost on instinct. ...And then reddened further realizing the sort of behavior she was engaging in in front of the princesses.
Celestia, for her part, wore the sort of shit-eating grin Aiden had only seen on Cooper after a particularly good prank. On a being that could control the sun, had more magic than two Oni Generals combined, and was ancient enough to know every trick in the book… it was downright terrifying. I'm starting to suspect that each princess is scary, in her way.
In a deceptively casual voice, she asked, “...If I may continue?”
Rarity made a strange squeaking noise that diffused what little tension there was, and Aiden chuckled and put an arm around her. She hid her face against his shoulder. It felt far warmer than usual. “Please do,” he said.
The solar diarch nodded. “It was no coincidence that the Angels… specifically Solise and Sidera, as you now know, chose humanity to help us, even crossing the vast void between galaxies to reach your people. Even educating the volunteers beyond the primitive ways of your world at the time… not that ours was any further along, of course. No, the reason they chose your people is because we do share a bond. Ponykind and humankind have uncanny similarities in our physiology, mentality, and even spirituality, that made you the perfect choice of allies for us, and vice versa. Solise had gone among your people many times over the centuries before her calling of you, and knew this to be true to a remarkable degree. It was all the more so given how relatively few civilized races there were, and still are, in existence through the vast cosmos. I don’t doubt there are many parallels still between us, and I’ve already seen many in you. They did not influence either of our races towards cooperation; they didn’t need to. What we see in each other comes from our very souls, bringing us together in friendship. One that I believe we can build on from this day forward.”
Aiden smiled, raising his coffee cup as Rarity (having recovered her bout of embarrassment) did the same with her tea. “I’ll drink to that.”
------------------------------------------
Aiden looked up at the familiar (bizarrely so) night sky from the balcony of their guest room. The train to Ponyville would leave in the morning, but he was grateful for this day and privileged to have experienced it. It was quite the view of the city below, but that wasn’t what drew his eye. “Ya know… looking up at familiar constellations is not helping the surreal nature of the last couple days, but… given how it happened, I hope Grumman sees it too, one day soon.”
Rarity leaned up on her forehooves next to him, and nodded. “Agreed, darling.” They looked up together in quiet comfort, enjoying the perfect night.
It had been the last story they’d heard that evening…
*
“Luna… this is amazing!” Meghan cried ecstatically as she looked up at the stars. “How did you do it?!”
The young alicorn chuckled softly. “Twould ne’er have been possible without thee, my dear friend. In thy dreams I saw the beauteous night of thy world, all the lights in the sky. Sidera’s Veil must forever hide us from the stars as they were… but I can remember them. And now… they need not be the stars that brought us such horrors as the Demondim Windigos with their deadly winter, nor their foul minions and their bloodlust. No, those days are over… but the time when we can remember the friends we made during those dark trials... That time is now, and shall continue forward, as shall we all.”
“It definitely will,” Meghan said, smiling up at Luna’s beautiful night.
Luna did the same, though the stars were blurring to her sight. “When… when must thou leave?”
“A few more days… I’m sorry, Luna. Part of me, of many of us, wants to stay, but…”
Luna shook her head. “Nay. Thine own world needs thee as well. And I know, only too well, that our work is far from over. One day, our worlds will meet again. We must both do our part to make sure they’re ready. Would that that time was now.”
Meghan chuckled wryly. “Yeah, if only… not looking forward to going back, in some ways.”
“It astounds me that thy worth would be deemed less because of thy gender. Tis preposterous.”
“I won’t argue… but on the upside, I do look forward to being a mother. It may be awhile before we can come back… but I fully intend to do my part to make sure my descendants play a role in it. The book you two provided will make it back through them.” She smiled, and turned to hug Luna. “Think of me, when you see it again.”
Luna returned the hug, wrapping both wings tightly around her dear friend. “I will. I promise you that.”
*
In the throne room, holding a pleasantly quiet night court, Luna sighed softly. The small smile on her face belied the tears running down her cheeks. The tome of Equus' history was beside her, open to a small margin note left from fifteen hundred years ago. 'Until we meet again!~Meghan'
Falling Leaf’s muzzle was trembling; she couldn’t bear seeing her princess in any distress. “...Y-your highness? Is everything alright?”
Luna’s smile widened a bit as she regarded her lieutenant. “Everything is fine, my friend.” She rose from her throne, and walked down to embrace her guard, who squeaked in surprise before melding into and returning the embrace. “Everything is fine.”
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Meghan? heh, I see what you did there. I like it!
9094530
It's practically obligatory... not to mention a good answer to anyone who balks at HiE fics. Gen 1 started it all, lest we forget. I even looked up the name to see if it was around 1500 years ago amongst the Anglo-Saxons. Sure enough...
I'll be honest, I half expected Garken and Tempest to teleport in the midst of the group having tea time.
9094923
Me too. Hell, I'm still kind of half expecting it.
Hilarity aside, they realistically have 2 options: attempt to go into hiding permanently, or reveal themselves and fight against the Oni by cooperating with authorities. And if they're going to do the latter, they might as well take it to the highest authorities they possibly can.
aww yes Megan, Danny, and Molly from G1.
Megan Moly Danny
a awesome chapter and i am happy to see a author bring back a little bit of G1.
Didn't Rarity convert Joyeuse into a lightsaber? You referred to it as a rapier here. Or maybe the previous chapter.
9791383
She didn't convert it per se, more like she envelopes it in a magical aura when in combat which gives it an exact resemblance (and similar function). She didn't change the blade itself, so when she's not empowering it it's still a metal rapier with a solid piece of aetheryte running through the hilt, crosspiece, and forte.
Well, what do you know? Meghan is Grumman's ancestor.