//------------------------------// // Episode 2: Light up my Firefly // Story: My Brave Pony Starfleet Magic: Season V // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// EPISODE TWO *Mykan’s POV* Over the past few days, the ponies and other inhabitants of United Equestria were all pitching together to clean up the big messes caused by the shelling from the armada. Children helped with light and easy stuff, while adults and stronger creatures took care of the big jobs, and what a mess it was…! Broken lampposts, frayed and sparking wires, crashed carriages and vehicles, dilapidated market places, torn up streets, craters in the ground, many fallen and scorched trees. Buddy Rose, Applejack, and many other farmers took care of the trees. Some were able to be saved, but others had to be chopped down and have new trees planted. Fortunately, as trees were important to the environment, Starfleet keep fully grown trees in storage and in good care, ready to be properly planted wherever they were needed. Dyno and Myte were helping to break down falling apart structures, which they replaced by building brand new ones. The brothers worked very fast to get all the lampposts and benches and things back into place, but the job wasn’t too hard for them. Spike had one of the fun jobs. With his dragon strength, he got to break up the garbage into smaller bits and pieces, and then, all the garbage was thrown into a pile, and with his mighty dragon breath, he set it all to burn, and thanks to his dragon strength “I never thought I’d have fun doing a cleanup before.” said Spike. Applejack and I came along lifting huge piled of broken wood for the fire. “Well, I sure hope this job doesn’t last too much longer.” said Applejack. “Ah, come on, Applejack, I thought you loved hard work like this.” Said Spike “Especially since it’s a good cause.” I shrugged softly and said “Oh, what are you talking about? We’re just sick of listening to Rarity whine a lot.” Rarity then came along, all covered in grime and had twigs and leaves in her dirty mane. She had been complaining a lot more than working. “Oh, this is dreadful!” she groaned “It’ll take me ages to scrub all this filth out.” Spike couldn’t help but giggle. His fiancée gave him a snarling look. “Sorry.” Applejack and I sighed and then went off to clean up some more. It was a long job, and not just for us cleaning the mess. The hospitals were full of injured ponies being treated. Some had recently been dismissed, only having minor injuries, but others had to stay would be hospitalized for several days, some for weeks. Honey Dew was just dismissed, for her injuries were minor, and she had every intention to help out in the cleanup… but still, her heart was utterly broken for her dear Colin Flower. Nothing would ever heal her from that, just as the same for many other who lost their friends and loved ones who also perished in the attack. She wiped a few tears from her eyes. I saw her, and knew she was downhearted. “Hey… you okay, Hon…?” I asked. She looked up at me and nodded “I’m trying.” “Hey, listen, I know how you feel.” I told her about how I lost my love, Michelle, when she was killed by Titan’s henchmen on Earth. “If you don’t feel like it, you don’t have to keep working.” “No, no, really, I’m okay.” She said, and the smiled at me “But thanks for being understanding.” I nodded at her, and saw her get back to work, helping me and others clear up the broken pieces of things in the streets. “Oh, what a mess.” I groaned as I continued to sweep up garbage. I then looked up at the sky and could see the armada over the planet. Thank goodness Professor Brain’s barrier would protect us from further shelling, but we still had to be prepared for any other attacks from the Insectos. *POV Ends* On the royal mothership, Stag and Slick came before their king and bowed to him, and with them was one of the Mega Insectos called Flame. He was red firefly-like insect creature, with four arms, wings, but not like the ordinary fireflies many knew of. “O’ mighty Pinsar, allow me to be the first to launch an assault against our enemies.” he begged. Pinsar grunted softly “You’re quite certain you can take this task?” “Sire, we assure you, Flame has been preparing for such a chance for a long time.” said Stage. Princess Phoebe stared grimly at Flame “Really doesn’t look like much to me. How can we be so sure he won’t botch it up?” Flame looked as if he was heating up with anger. “Why you insolent maggot!” growled Slick. “Silence!” snapped Pinsar “My daughter has every right to be as skeptical of this as I am. We know nothing of how stronger or resourceful our enemies are in the present.” “That may be so, darling…” said Queen Ladybird “But stand around and doing nothing about it can’t tell us anything either.” “All the more reason for me to try, if your majesty shall permit Me…” added Flame “Win or lose, I will supply you with much needed information, and should I perish, I will gladly give my life for the success of this mission.” Pinsar was convinced “Very well, you may proceed.” Flame bowed to his king and left to prepare for his mission. Pheobe was still not convinced. “Father, are you sure you can trust him?” “Now, that will do, Pheobe.” her father said “I have been around much longer than you have, and I’ve had more experience. Perhaps someday you will understand my views as well.” Pheobe said nothing else, but she felt annoyed with her father treating her like a larva. In a-thousand years, she never got her real chance to prove how successful she could be to her parents, they always kept her very sheltered and often refused to hear her out, unless they fully agreed with her, which was also not always. Pinsar just ignored his daughter’s brooding and gazed down at the planet. “Now it… begins!” From the Royal Palace, Goldwin was looking at the many thousands of spaceships in the armada through his telescope. “Gee! I’ve never seen so many ships at once. It’s really scary.” Celestia understood how Goldwin felt “Don’t worry, we’re safe as long as the barrier holds up, and it can only be disarmed if we disarm it.” “Yes…” said Grand Ruler “But we are still not safe. Who knows what Pinsar may decide to throw at us through the hole in the shield?” The others noticed he seemed rather tense, and almost lost in a memory of something, and that he kept gazing up at the armada, preferable the royal mothership. That’s when his features hardened. “Darling, is everything alright?” asked Celestia, but her husband didn’t respond, almost as if he hadn’t heard her. Lightning, Starla and Krysta entered the throne room to deliver their status reports on the cleanup, having been helping in it for some time. “Your majesties…” Lightning said as he bowed “I’m pleased to report the cleanup is nearly complete. We should be through by sundown.” “That’s wonderful news.” said Celestia. Grand Ruler still did not respond. “Master…?” Lightning said to him. “Sire, what’s the matter?” asked Starla. No response. Krysta flew up to Grand Ruler’s face and softly poked at him “Your majesty?” She poked him again, and again, and finally “Snap out of it!” she softly began to slap him with her little hands. “Huh? What? Oh… oh! I must have zoned out.” “Yeah, you were really far off there.” said Goldwin. “What troubles you, my love?” asked Celestia. Grand Ruler felt a little down, and then gazed back up at the armada “Pinsar…” he said softly “I despise him a lot more than most enemies I have ever faced, but not simply for his ruthlessness, nor his constant murdering other species and wiping out planets.” He began to tell them a story, one that he didn’t like to talk about much, but felt it would help clear the air. “One-thousand years ago, while Unicornicopia was young and Starfleet was just forming, I already had established a fine race of space alicorns. They were more than just my subjects, they were my friends… pretty much even my family, and among them was a very special friend… His name was Starlight Braveheart. He was a very kind and very polite pony. He was always willing to lend a hand, and help other ponies when they were feeling downhearted. He also worshipped me, before and after my coronation as Grand Ruler. He would often give me his thanks for every beautiful day there was, and even after I became royalty, he still regarded me more as good teacher and a good friend, not as a superior. He joined Starfleet out of his desire to repay me for all the wonderful I did, as well as protect innocent beings from evil forces. Even when he was badly hurt in battle, he would still fight on with every bit of courage and determination he possessed; to protect others and serve well. I dubbed as a commander of units in almost no time for his efforts and bravery, and yet, with his promotion, he still maintained his understanding and heart-filled ways. He even taught his wife and children of how thankful he felt towards me and how thanks should be given, for helping to try and keep our world safe, and for giving them all life and shelter, and for teaching them many things that made them grow. Then, Titan came and attacked Unicornicopia, with Pinsar and his massive armada by his side. The entire force prepared for battle, with Starlight in command of several units. Before departing, he gave me one of his medals. He told me “I want you to have this, for being my good friend and teacher, and just know that I fight for what is right, and to help us all as you do.” So, I accepted his gift. However, the battle proved to be merciless, and the force seemed hopelessly outnumbered. We tried our very best but it wouldn’t do, with the armada of spaceships overhead and blasting at us. Even I was starting to run low on options, but I remembered the medal Starlight had given me, and I realized I had to keep going, and when Pinsar had demanded I surrender myself to the Insectos at once, I remained in hiding, and created the bomb-dummy of myself which blasted Pinsar into space, subsequently destroying his entire armada. This allowed the force to deal with Titan, and I finally sealed him off on the Dark Planet, but alas… the battle resulted in many of my fighters being struck down, and among them was Starlight. I found him laying badly injured, with several stings from the Stingars stuck into him. It was already too late to help him. In his final moments, he gazed up at me and said “It was an honor to serve, and fight for you. To protect our world, and help others.” “Please” I said “Conserve your strength.” “Goodbye… my… friend…” “Starlight… NO!!!” The others had looks of shock, and a small tear rolled down Celestia’s face. “Oh, Celesto...” Her husband nodded “Though we had won the battle, it felt more as if we had lost. So many ponies had died that day. As a leader, I feel responsible for their deaths, and not a day or night has gone by that I don’t keep wondering if they could have been saved.” The others all felt bad for him, and Lightning approached him, "You know you did all that you could, just like they did, risking your life to help the survival of the innocent, and you always teach me that sometimes things just can't be helped." The others all nodded in agreement, and even his majesty couldn't deny that. "Still..." he said "Knowing all this and understanding it... does not stop my nightmares." He gazed back up at the royal mothership “Now, Pinsar has returned, and I swear, if it the last thing I do, I shall get him for what he did then!” Now everyone was starting to feel a bit worried. They all knew exactly how he felt, and having had experienced these feeling before, they feared his emotions would start to affect his attitude and daily life. “I know what you’re all thinking…” he said “Just so you know; I’m going to try my best to keep calm about this. I always taught that getting revenge will ultimately solve nothing for anyone.” That felt a little comforting… …but the moment was cut off by the sound of the alarms! “Hey!” cried Goldwin as he gazed through his telescope “Something’s coming through the hole in the barrier.” Everyone could see it without the aid of the telescope, and whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. “Go.” Grand Ruler said to Lightning. Lightning and the others nodded and soared out through the window, and their majesties raised the shields around the homes and buildings once the civilians had all been evacuated from the streets. The other friends in New Canterlot also heard the alarm and met up with Lightning’s party. That’s when Flame appeared before them all in a huge burst of flames. “Anybody see anything?” asked Dyno. “No, but maybe should transform, then we can find it better.” suggested Myte. “Right, let’s go!” said Lightning. “STARFLEET MAGIC!!” “HARMONY HOUR, FRIENDSHIP POWER!!” “Dragon Power!” Once they were all transformed, they used their visors to scout for any energy source, and Spike sniffed the air. “I’ve got something.” said Buddy Rose “Follow me.” He led them all to a clearing in the village square, and that’s where Flame appeared in a magical burst of flames. “Ugh’ll…!” groaned Rarity “What in United Equestria are you supposed to be?” Flame snickered softly, “To pus simply. I am Insecto Commander Flame, and I am the one who shall destroy you all right here and now on behalf of King Pinsar.” The ponies scanned him with their visors. His physical strength and speed were already pretty impressive, and the readout shown that he had fire-based attacks. Yet, the probability of capture was above eighty-five percent, meaning they didn’t have to destroy him, but just capture him and send him to prison. It also meant that Lightning wouldn’t have to change into an Enticorn, unless it was really necessary. “You think you can destroy us, and then you’ve got another thing coming to you.” said Lightning. Flame snickered and said “Tell that to my friends.” and a swarm of Stingars appeared, itching for a fight. “Get them!” shouted Flame, and the Stingars charged forth. “Get ‘em!” shouted Lightning, and the team rushed forth into action. Lightning leapt over one Stingar, jump-kicking into another. Two more than tried to get him from behind, but he grabbed their arms, swung them into one another and flipped them over. Starla swerved and dodged each oncoming attack, and even pirouetted gracefully before kicking and punching each enemy in her path. Three more Stingars came at her. “PULSAR LASER!” Kapow!! Those nasty bugs fell over and vanished into tiny bits and pieces they were partially made of. Rarity really hated bugs, and was seriously grossed out by the Stingars. She wasted no effort in punching, kicking, and blasting them with magic from her horn. “Disgusting!” she groaned “Ugly Creatures! Get away from me.” “VINE WHIP!” shouted Buddy Rose. Gripping his whip tight he lashed and struck all the nasty bugs that came his way. Applejack did the same with her lasso; she rounded up a few Stingars in one bundle and then began to whirl them round, and round “Have a nice flight!” she said as she yanked on the rope, and sent the bugs soaring off and hitting a wall where they vanished as well. “YE-HAW!!” hollered Applejack. Krysta was suddenly surrounded by five Stingars at once. “Uh-oh!” she peeped, and then, throwing off her crown and her queen’s cloak, she shrieked a karate battle cry, and swiftly punched, kicked, and even head-butted those nasty insects out of her way. “I love being stronger than a look.” she joked. More Stingars rushed towards Spike and the Twins. “How about we turn up the heat a bit?” suggested Spike. The twins nodded and held hands to strengthen their powers. “BOOM-BOOM FIREBALLS!” “DRAGON FLAME!” All that fire and small explosions, the Stingars fell like trees. Suddenly, the entire area was shrouded in a ring of flames, caused by Flame. The gang regrouped and stared the evil bug down. “You fight well, for a bunch of weaklings.” he scoffed “Now let me have at you.” Applejack felt her head throbbing with rage “You callin’ us weak?” she snarled “I’ll show you!” and she charged forth. “Applejack, wait!” cried Lightning, but she just kept rushing forth, and leapt up high for a strong kick, but Flame swerved out of the way, and punched her hard to the side. Her armor had a few burn marks on the front. Flame glared at her sneering sinisterly, and his claws glowed with small flames. “Careful, everyone…” said Starla “Even those smallest of flames can really do some damage.” “Right, everyone stay focussed.” said Lightning “Go!” They all charged forth, and Flame just bashed and knocked them all away from him. Sparks flew everywhere as they got hit. “Ay’ Ay’ Ay! Eso quemaduras; That burns!” groaned Dyno. “Let’s try fighting fire with fire!” suggested Myte. The twins got up, and joined their hands together; “BOOM-BOOM FIREBALLS!!” “Ha! Is that your best…?” hissed Flame “FLAMING DISCS!” He conjured two very large burning disks and flung them like Frisbees, straight through the fireballs. “Look out!” shouted Krysta. The twins ducked, causing the discs to miss a strike two large trees, bursting them into flames. “Hey! I just planted those!” shouted Buddy Rose. He, Lightning and Starla all charged forth, but Flame used three of his arms to halt them in their tracks. “Looks like you’re all tied up, and I still have one free arm.” Using his free arm, he bashed them all across the face, sending them skidding along the ground, right into a cart in the road. Just near the edge of the ring where the flames were. The others all ran to help them up, and Spike was growing angry, and drew out his sword “I’ll get you…!” and he dashed forth. “I’ll help you!” said Rarity, and she dashed forth with him. The two fought valiantly-- Spike swung his sword, and Rarity throwing her punches and kicks. Flame swerved and dodged to attacks as best he could, and finally, he felt Rarity’s punch just barely hit him, distracting him enough so Spike could slash at him hard, sending him soaring high and then hitting ground hard. He got up almost instantly, growling and snarling “Now try this…” and he extended his insect wings “BURNING WIND!” and fluttering his wings, he unleashed a gust of wind which was loaded with burning spores. The wind blew across at all the fighters, and the spores caused sparks and small explosions, making everyone fall off their feet. “Galloping Galaxies; what a hot-head.” groaned Lightning. Rarity screeched in horror for the ends of her mane and tail had gotten scorched in the blast. “You defaced me!!” she roared at Flame “Do you have any idea what this will do for my image?!” “Spare me your bleating! It’s the least of your problems.” sneered Flame “We insects have spent the past millennium strengthening our forces. We’ve done nothing but train to fight and smite our enemies; making us stronger than you ever will be.” Lightning clenched his fists “I don’t think so.” he said deeply “How strong you are when you fight doesn’t always compare to what you’re fighting for.” Starla stood by his side “You insects fight to destroy for cold cruel pleasure, and we fight to protect. That’s what will always separate us.” The others stood at nodded fiercely in agreement, making Flame sneer and hiss at them “Pretty big words deserves a just reward. Take this! FLAMING DISCS!” The others all jumped away as the discs hit the fire wall, making it heat up and the flames became more violent. “It’s getting a little warm here.” said Spike. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” sneered Flame, and waving his arms, the firewall began to shoot small fireballs at the team, which they had a very difficult time dodging, and got hit many times. “What’s wrong, can’t take the heat?” Flame mocked. “That does it!” growled Lightning “Time for some Uniforce!” but as he prepared to concentrate and unleash the power… “Not so fast…” snarled Flame and he made the firewall blast at Lightning from all ends, knocking him over. “Lightning!” cried Starla. Lightning wasn’t hurt too badly, but this wouldn’t work at all. He needed more time to charge up. “Guys, try to keep him busy while I charge up.” The others agreed, and dashed forth, fighting against Flame with all they had. “FLAMING DISCS!” “Oh, no you don’t…” snapped Starla as she got out her bow “STARLIGHT ARROW!” Her two arrows pierced right through the flames, wiping them out, but Flame was far from beaten. “BURNING WIND!” Everyone got hit in the searing winds, even Lightning, but he still stood tall continuing to focus. “Now I’ve got you!” snarled Flame, and he made the firewall shoot at him again. “STAR SHOWER!” “LEAF SWARM!” “BOOM-BOOM ROCKETS!!” The space ponies bombarded at the fireballs, keeping them at bay, Krysta even conjured small warp portals to redirect the shots back into the wall. Flame was about to fire up more of them, when Applejack quickly lassoed his arms together. “I think you need to cool down a bit.” she said. That’s when Rarity blasted him with magical pulses from her horn, and Spike leapt in and hacked him all over. “You’re beginning to burn me up!” Flame shouted. Suddenly, Lightning began to glow. “Speaking of burning up…” Flame snarled and charged forth, and Lightning let him have it “UNIFORCE!” “Huh? What… No… AAAH!!” Flame screamed and roared as the light consumed him, but the Uniforce could not be used to capture monsters. Lightning was merely using it to weaken Flame for one of the others to capture him “Get him now, while he’s in there!” shouted Lightning. Starla nodded and set her bow on “Capture” then super-charged her finisher; “GALACTIC PROJECTILE!” she fired, and Flame got his full force. “This… cannot… Be…!” Flame groaned as fell over backwards, and exploded, but really it was just a magical transformation that shrunk him down, and imprisoned him in a clear sphere of liquid, keeping him preserved, and virtually powerless. With Flame incarcerated, his flame-wall disappeared. The gang all cheered and slapped high-fives, and even hugged one another. Lightning picked up the sphere containing Flame, gazing down at him smirking smugly. “You’re under arrest.” With Flame now captured, they could take him to prison and maybe get some valuable information on him on the Insectos, and get a huge advantage over the armada. Stag and Slick reported to Pinsar. “Sad news, my lord.” said Stag “It seems that Flame has failed and has been captured.” Pinsar gripped his staff tightly and growled softly. “This is terrible.” cried Ladybird “He was such a good fighter too.” “I told you it wouldn’t work.” Phoebe scoffed as she filed her nails on her human-like hands. “Never mind.” said Pinsar “This was after all, anticipated.” Slick was impressed by his attitude “You seem to be taking this rather lightly, sire. Supposing our enemies gain information from this ordeal? Even your power cannot break the seal of Starfleet” Pinsar snickered “How quickly you forget, Slick. I’m very sneaky as well.” he laughed wickedly as he raised his staff that bean to glow. Stag and Slick gazed in awe, and the ladies felt joyful shivers rundown their backs whenever Pinsar did this. Flame began to flare up inside his prison sphere. “What’s happening?” cried Lightning, and then he and the others saw as Flame was vaporized into ashes, leaving the sphere empty. “I thought we just captured him?” asked Dyno. Myte gazed at Starla “You sure you set your bow right?” Starla nodded and held up her bow for all to see. “I’ll bet Pinsar did this.” she sneered softly “He preferred to destroy his own solider to prevent information being leaked.” Many of the others felt sick to their stomachs “That is just overkill!” said Buddy Rose. “How can someone be so incredibly ruthless?” groaned Rarity. “Well, I guess we’ve just learned a little bit anyway.” said Applejack “These guys ain’t playin’ for a sack of apples.” It was then agreed that Starfleet would have to work smarter and harder than ever to face their enemy now. In the meantime, the imminent danger was over, and all the remained now was to resume the cleanup, and make inquires to their majesties of what to do in future. Buddy Rose couldn’t save the trees that were destroyed, so he just planted new ones from the great storage, and everyone else got back to work, and by sundown, all was fine again. “Whew… what a job.” said Spike “At least that’s one huge thing off the list.” “And how…” groaned Rarity. She looked as awful as she sounded. She was so filthy and tired she looked as if she had crawled out of dumpster. “I am going home for a very LONG… AND SOOTHING… BATH!!” she shouted, and then she flew off. “Huh… touchy…” Krysta joked. “Ya know, was may be facin’ new enemies, but we still got the same old Rarity.” said Applejack. The others, even Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. (Promo) In our next episode, Spike suddenly finds that he is public enemy number-one when many creatures run afraid of him, or come after him like an angry mob. It then believed that Spike has been terrorizing the citizens, and making a mess of things around town, but will Spike be able to prove his innocence? Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!” (Next Episode: “A Dragon’s Tall Tale”)