Twilight exhaled a cloud of smoke. She, Spike, Shining, Cadence, and her parents had made their way to the palace so Twilight could continue telling the story to everypony at once. They decided to use the private gardens as to have a beautiful setting and so Twilight didn't bother anypony with her habit (though her parents hated it regardless).
Twilight was concerned for Spike, though. He hadn’t left her side since they woke up. He even sat outside the bathroom door while she was in the shower. It was expected, after what he went trough, to be rather clingy, but it still wasn’t good. Twilight planned to let it go on for the day and try to help him recover the next morning. Right now, he needed this.
“OK,” Twilight spoke up, “So I got blown up, woke up half furless and sans one limb, and decided that if I couldn't come home I'd be of use and join the fight. Am I missing anything? Oh yeah, being bald is freaking cold. So I told the admiral about my desire to fight and everyone else just looked at me like I lost it...”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“Twilight, you can't be serious,” Curt said in disbelief.
“I am,” Twilight stated, “I won't stand by and do nothing while the Dratali kill innocent people.”
“Do you know what you’re asking Ms. Sparkle?” Admiral Gibson betrayed no emotion with his question.
“I'm asking that you let me help you kill.” Twilight's determination was obvious.
“Very well,” Gibson agreed, “You'll be put through a specialized training program. It won't be as long as most, but It'll be effective regardless. Meet me in the training room in one hour. That goes for you four as well.”
Just like that, the Admiral walked out of the hangar. The others watched him leave with suspicion.
“Something’s not right here,” Debby said, “He knows practically nothing about Twilight here and yet he's been treating her like an old friend.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, “What's wrong with being friendly?”
“For an Admiral in command of one of the best ships in existence? Everything,” Seth answered, “I've never known him to be this willing to trust anyone. No offense Twilight, but he shouldn't trust you so easily. He's spoken to you once. That's not enough to know you're not a threat. For all he knows you could be working for the Dratali to infiltrate us. Again, I know you’re a good mare, Twilight, but he can't afford to think like that.”
“I understand what you mean,” Twilight reassured him, “Do you think something's wrong?”
“I think he knows something we don't,” Seth stated, “Am I the only one who thought his answer sounded rehearsed?”
“Regardless, we need to get going,” Debby interrupted.
“Right,” Curt replied, “Twilight, be at the training room in half an hour.”
“But the Admiral said an hour?” Twilight queried.
“That translates to half an hour in the military.” Curt chuckled.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
The training room was in actuality several rooms connected to a central room. This room was very spartan, having only a few benches, a water cooler, and a first aid station.
Twilight waited for the Admiral while reading from the archives on a tablet Aden got for her, and calibrated to better read her magic. She found a love for human fiction. The creativity they show astounded her.
“You like fiction?” Curt asked, “I took you for a non-fiction kinda girl.”
“I usually am, but some fiction is really good.” Twilight explained, “I like the old Daring Do novels back home. It's about a pegasus archaeologist's adventures. My friend Rainbow Dash is a huge fan of fiction. She even wrote her own novel, The Traveler. It's the number one science fiction novel in the Canterlot Times best sellers list. It's about a filly that's struck by lightning during a lightning storm caused by Discord and is transported to another dimension.”
“Sounds awesome. I wish I could read it.” Curt looked over at Debby and tried picturing her writing a book and laughed.
Twilight was about to ask what was funny when the door opened and the Admiral walked in.
“Attention on deck!” Seth called as he and the others stood rigid.
“As you were,” The Admiral waved a hand, “Ms. Sparkle, as Admiral I have the right to conscript willing souls into the Alliance military. Are you, Twilight Sparkle of the nation of Equestria on the planet Avol, Willing to abide by the laws and regulations of the Alliance military, and obey the orders of those appointed over you?”
“Yes.” Twilight stated without delay.
“As commanding officer of the White Wolf, I have the authority to conscript those willing that I see fit. You Twilight Sparkle can provide a service no other can. You can fight the Dratali on equal ground. Their shield technology was stolen from us, so it shares the same weakness to magic as ours. That's why you were able to take out that Titan. I take it though you don't know much combat magic though.”
“I know spells that could be adapted for combat, but the only real spell I know is the one I learned from the Dratali in the Titan.” Twilight explained. Upon seeing his curious and slightly suspicious gaze she continued. “I watched how he cast his destruction spell and copied it.”
“That can be very useful, but unless you fight an Archon, you won't see anything special,” The Admiral reasoned, “That's OK, for now we'll focus on your training. That's what these four are here for. I take it they haven't told you much of what they really do?” Twilight shook her head, “Good, they shouldn't have. Just like you never will.” His glare told the unicorn what he meant. “They are a special type of special forces unit that combines both land and air elements. Each is skilled in both land and air combat, but specialize in one. Major Vasiliev and Captain Dupree are land specialists while Major Verdan and Lieutenant Rane are air specialists. You are to be instated as a Second Lieutenant and are going to be working along side them as an air specialist. Welcome to the Griffins, Lt. Sparkle.”
By this time, every one of them couldn't believe what they were hearing. For him to not only accept Twilight's request, but to assign her to one of the most elite units in the Alliance was ridiculous. Twilight couldn't imagine her brother trusting somepony that had so much in common with an enemy, and the Admiral's position was far more sensitive.
“Oh, by the way,” The admiral continued, “I also secured your sixth member. Captain Raak Torba. He'll be here within the hour.”
With that, the Admiral headed out the door. The others watched for a moment, until Curt let out a victory cry.
“I can't believe it!” he cheered, “Not only are we getting a bad ass adept in our squad, but the Raak Attack is coming back. Hey, that rhymed.”
“I still don't trust the Admiral right now. He's planning something,” Seth said.
“Regardless, we need to get pony girl here trained up,” Debby sounded a little too excited, “I got first dibs on her.”
“That a quote from a porno, Chicken Wing?” Curt teased.
“You would know, Cunt,” Debby countered.
“They make a cute couple, don't they, Seth?” Aden quipped.
“Shut up, dweeb!” Debby shouted.
“What do you think their kids would look like?” Seth asked with a grin.
“Don't make me hurt...” Curt stopped when he remembered that Seth was huge. “... someone else, hehe.”
“Come on, Twilight,” Debby waved her over, “I'm gonna teach you how to fly.”
“This should be easy,” Twilight smiled as she followed the pilot, “I read that book cover to cover ten times.”
Debby gave a wicked grin. She was going to enjoy this.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“No no no no!” Twilight panicked as she once again slammed into the carrier.
“How many times you plan on dyin' Lieutenant?” Debby's voice came through the headset.
“Hopefully only 31 times.” Replied the unicorn.
“OK, reloading program. Try not to die please.”
Twilight's sight altered as the scene shifted to the hangar once again. After getting the 'all clear' from Debby, Twilight turned on the engines and raised the skids. She wasn't quite as good as Rarity with this kind of fine tuned multitasking, but she was good enough to easily do what needed to be done. The simulated launch arm brought the simulated craft to the simulated launch platform. She watched the light above the opening with the throttle in her magical grasp. As soon as the light went green, she thrust the throttle forward and launched the fighter out of the carrier and into space.
“I think I know what your problem is, Twilight,” Debby said from the control room, “You're over thinking things. You have to go with your instincts a little. Don't just do what's logical, do what feels right.”
“OK.” Twilight flew around a few asteroids that were floating nearby and swung back toward the ship. Habitually, equations and vectors flooded her mind. She shook her head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. It went against everything she was, but Debby was the veteran pilot here and Twilight was going to take her advice. Keeping her logical mind under wraps, she lined herself up with the receiving port. This was difficult, because the receiving port was only twice the size of the craft. Under normal circumstances that would be plenty, but when going over 100 miles per hour, it was like threading a needle... a needle that'll kill you if you miss. She flew straight at the opening, ready to cut the engines the moment the magnetic field grabs hold. Too early and she won’t make it to the ship, too late and... number 32. She hit the kill switch the moment before the craft shuddered in the grip of the magnetic guide. The ship was guided into the receiving bay and placed on a maintenance skid.
“Congratulations, Pony Girl. You're not dead this time. It only took you 32 tries and over four hours. Come on, Raak should be here by now.”
The side of the simulator opened up and Twilight was once again greeted with the dimly lit room. She climbed down from the conical contraption as Debby came down from the elevated control room behind the machine. The unicorn had a smile on her face as she approached her new teacher.
“That was actually impressive Twilight,” Debby's pride for her student was apparent in her voice. “Most take at least a day to land properly, but that last one was a textbook landing.”
Twilight blushed a little at the praise, “I was just following your advice.”
“You pulled it off, advice or not.” Debby said with a grin, “Don't sell yourself short. You’ve got talent, Twilight.”
The pair opened the door to the main room and found the others waiting plus one. A Korg at that Twilight assumed was Raak. The Korg are a warrior race that closely resemble a cross between a monkey and a cat. They have feline faces (sans fur) and claws, but primate like fingers, upper body, and prehensile tail. They are quick, agile, and precise. Honor is a very important aspect of their culture.
This particular Korg was a little shorter than Seth. He had pale blue skin the color of a clear, cloudless sky, and his fur was the silver of a full moon. His eyes were a deep piercing blue that could bore into your soul. His well toned muscles flexing and rippling with every movement. His scent like sweet blueberries...
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
The other ponies were looking at Twilight with either confusion or barely contained amusement. Twilight herself had a far off, dreamy look plastered on her face.
Rarity was the first to find her voice, “Twilight, darling, It sounds almost like you fancy this... Raak was it?”
“You could say that,” Twilight smiled sheepishly with a deep red blush.
“Twilight, did you finally find a boyfriend?” Cadence asked hopefully.
“No, We were just... friends.” Twilight said the last part with a bit of sadness in her voice.
Shining, Nightlight, and Velvet let out a sigh of relief. They weren't sure if they wanted her dating.
Twilight cleared her throat and took another drag on her cigarette before continuing.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“Twilight,” Curt snapped his fingers in front of the purple mare, bringing her back to reality. “Thought we lost you for a second there.”
“Oh, sorry,” Twilight apologized, “I was... thinking?”
“Yeah...” Curt said skeptically, “Anyway, this is Captain Raak Torba. He's an old friend of mine and Seth's, and now he's our sixth member. Raak, this is Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle. We found her on a data recovery mission on Klimese. As of a few hours ago, she's the Alliance's first adept.”
“I-it's a p-p-pl-pleasure to m-meet you, Captain Torba.” Twilight stuttered, a blush showing slightly.
“Likewise,” said the deep, smooth voice of the Korg.
Oh, Celestia, I need a shower. Twilight thought to herself, A long, ice cold shower.
Awww...
Epic stuff, keep it up
This was a nice chapter. I was surprised by a new chapter being uploaded right after i finished the last one
>>> The Korg are a warrior race that closely resemble a cross between a monkey and a cat. They have feline faces (sans fur) and claws, but primate like fingers, upper body, and prehensile tail.>>>
A prehensile tail... WITH A HAND ON IT!!! IT'S AHUIZOTL!!
Think about the resemblence in that basic description.
1781771 I thought the same thing.
That ending...
And suspicious Admiral is suspicious... hmmm... this wouldn't be probably connected to that white box and it's mysterious giver, would it?
1781771>>1781800
Agreed.
1781771>>1781800>>1781806 There will be hilarity, though
1781795
americanmonsters.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ahuizotl3.jpg
Not really
1781816
Good enough for me!
1781771that was already pointed out!
I ship pony's with pony's or others that they've known for some time.
cheers
Aww....I hoped Twilight's 'crush' might be expanded into something more.
I mean, when you describe his voice as deep and smooth and him like, "He had pale blue skin the color of a clear, cloudless sky, and his fur was the silver of a full moon. His eyes were a deep piercing blue that could bore into your soul. His well toned muscles flexing and rippling with every movement. His scent like sweet blueberries..."(even if only from Twilight's view) you have to go somewhere with it. Please, at least make things awkward for her later on.
Also, who thinks that Gibson is planning something against Twilight?
1781816So things WILL get awkward for her? Yay!!
Good. You would have lost points with me had there been. Even this little puppy crush is pushing it.
What's the point?
hmm, Korg, a cat-primate race, warriors with a code of honor, with a K...
I wonder if this Captain Torba ever met a guy named Blair?
No Twi ship , we still get to read about her going all dreamy and drooling from time to time.
And then... SHE CAME!
1781993 ...to the mess hall and got some lunch
I don't know why, but your description of Raak makes me think of a cross between a Khajiit from The Elder Scrolls and a Turian from Mass Effect
Which is not bad, really Keep it up!
1782009
And later... SHE CAME!... to the ship´s library to read more fiction
And some time after... SHE CAME!... to the ship´s hangars to see what will it be her star-fighter
And right after that... SHE CAME!... To the GYM to do some canter and galop in the treadmill
And finally after all of that... SHE CAME!... to her quarters and getting a long cold shower
And Lastly... SHE CAME!...to her bed to finally sleep and dream about many things like her return to Aviol, her friends, her family, the princesess, and a certain alien she just finally got acquaintance just a few hours ago...AND THEN SHE CAME!
*Reads Author's Note*
If you're so worried about a hinted romance between Twilight and Raak that you have to outright tell us that there will not be a romance, then why not just remove it from the story altogether? Now we know, point-blank, that any feelings that Twilight has for Raak will never pan out and, in the end, the whole thing is a waste of time.
Love your story, but what a way to ruin the mystery.
1782087 I know. The only reason I did was because I've seen simple disagreements over shipping devolve into full blown arguments and I'm not having that.
1782130
I can understand that, I've seen such disagreements on other stories before. That still brings us back to my original point; if you're so worried about it why not remove it?
Do what you think is best. I'm just sharing my opinion here. Personally, I find your story to be well-written, exciting, and fresh. I eagerly gobble up every chapter as soon as its posted and I can't wait to see what happens next. All I'm saying is that when a mystery is solved, its never quite as interesting.
1781902
Twi is best at adorkable crushes, not that the aloof catman will ever reciprocate.
I'm still a bit surprised at Twilight being assigned to the air force. She herself admits Rarity would be better suited at the juggling of many delicate items which would suit a pilot better. Twilight's TK ability seems more akin to the heavy grunt, brute force of ground forces. (Who wouldn't crap their pants if faced off with a cute, and snarling, little magic pony armed with several frightfully large caliber weapons and a launcher or two?)
hormones
I BET its hormones making her feel like that
1782231 The crush is going to be mostly for awkward comedy and the such.
1782243 You'll find out why eventually
"Before anyone asks, there will NOT be a romance between Twilight and Raak."
Good.
Why would Twilight even try, I mean, if they had the sex then they would make mutant ponycatmonk---
cdn.memegenerator.net/images/300x/2049464.jpg
1782329 That might be kinda cool
just because there is no romance doesnt mean twilight can't fantasize about it
Interesting chapter.
Raak strikes me as a take on the elf Blodhgarm from the Inheritance trilogy. Often described in the books as having a rather stunning appearance and a scent that attracted only females. He had a cat-like pelt of blue fur, the fangs of a wolf, and the eyes of an eagle. An extremely adept warrior and spellcaster, even by elf standards.
I liked how you slipped the Griffins thing in there. A unicorn is now a griffin...Made me laugh a little.
I'm sad you never answered my other comments a ways back...I feel unloved now
1782407 Which comment was that?
1782464
I was just messing with you. All I really did was make a couple small comments. One being about a small swipe at vegetarians...intended or not, I found it amusing. And another about how you should have included my name after the comment about author's that don't update on a regular schedule. I need to be shamed into finishing that chapter...but it's finals week too so I don't think it'll happen haha
1781816 Wait so what's the actually "mythical creature" name of this Monkline...Cankey...Primline... -.-
I LOVE this fic. Cant wait to see more dark Twi moments
1782493 Ahuizotl the one from Aztec myth
1782542 the species name was actually Ahuizotl? I thought the show just made it up XD Clever stuff. Thanks.
1782047
That is actually probably what it looks like
This story takes place 8 or 9 years after Twilight comes to Ponyville right? That would put Twilight in about her late twenties, and her parents and brother still don't want her dating? Most parents would be begging their daughter to get a boyfriend by that age.
Please don't tell me you're making the Admiral evil or some stupid bullshit like that. Also Seth and the others are a bit too fast to condemn him. Yes, he likely up to something giving Twilight a Lieutenant rank and allowing the one member of a new species of magic wielders into an elite squad. I'm just praying it's an actual well thought out plot thread and not some half-assed attempt to keep Twilght with the group. Also tone down the Kzinti fellow. One line in and I was already starting to gag from his stu-ishness. I mean really? He's so awesome Twilight develops a crush on him at first glance? Shit he even smells like blueberries! Too much too soon. Draw stuff like that out.
I worried briefly; I have no interest in seeing a cat monkey and a unicorn pony reproduce.
So now she's a diplomat and a soldier simultaniously seeing as she's the sole pony. Use the Force Twilight......
This is epic!
I gotta admit, I had read the prologue and first chapter a few weeks ago, and kinda dismissed this as being a clone of On the Wings of Angels. and really, based on only the prologue and first chapter, it kinda is. But I felt bad about dismissing a story with otherwise great writing like that, so I decided to give it another go.
Well, I'm glad I did! They may start out exactly the same, but you've done a good job differentiating this from OtWoA and making it its own story! It's a neat verse you're building. You're taking some interesting liberties with canon(ponies are omnivores?), but I can live with that kind of stuff.
I'm eager to see where this goes!
this is an awesome fan fic.
it's so different from all the other fan fics, yet it still has that equestrian feel to it.
this is possibly the BEST POSSIBLE THING!!!
1782130
Alright, I have to ask: What is "shipping"?
I've never seen that term used outside of transportation and logistics.
Add on question after re-reading the chapter: If The griffins are top secret, why is Twilight telling other ponies?
No romance? Damn it all!
1781892
I assume you mention Ralghar nar Hhallas, aka Hobbes here.
As on this chapter:
Ok, that she is assigned to the Air department was kinda expected. Hey, she came back to equestria via the axe.
BUT that she will become a Lieutenant right away was kinda unexpected. But I seriously doubt this Gibson guy will have any true ill intent. But I think he might hold back on information he got.
Otherwise, there are many example of Sleepers in many other series. I remember the Admiral in the series Area 51, who turned into the alien invader boss at the end of the series.
For now, I see this Gibson somelike like Admiral Tolwyn, before he got insane. Hell in the Wing Commander Novels Tolwyn was a guy who could be respected. Only the loss of his nephew in the end has broken something within him.
I'm looking forward to further chapters.
dies 31 times in a flight simulator in four hours.
Still easier than Sierra Entertainment's games.
Awkward Twiligt is awkward=) but her family's reaction to her not dating was funny
1781868 This person gets it.
1783353 Shipping is a term used to refer to relationships between two characters in a fanfiction. For example, if someone made a Dash x Twilight fanfiction then that would mean Dash and Twilight are in a romantic relationship in that story.