//------------------------------// // Chapter 4- Welcome to the Show // Story: When The Bass Drops // by BlakeCorman //------------------------------// Chapter 4- Welcome To The Show Howling winds blew past Amelia as she struggled against it and the deep snow in front of her. She stopped for just a moment to readjust the sleeping mare on her back. At least, she hoped Amber Leaf was just asleep. A quick look over her shoulder and a scan of the pony allowed the NetNavi to breathe a bit easier as the scan revealed that the mare’s vitals were normal. Guess the HeatAura is working, the young woman thought to herself before she began to trudge on. She didn’t know exactly how long they’d been out there, but it was starting to feel like quite a while. The sun had set and risen at least, though she remembered that the sun at the Northern and Southernmost parts of the world was not exactly a reliable way to tell time. “Damn tilt of the globe,” Amelia muttered as she once again shifted Amber on her back to a more comfortable position. The crystal pony groaned and shifted a bit before her eyes opened. “Amelia?” She questioned groggily. “Where are we?” “I don’t know,” the Navi replied with an irritated shrug. “Maybe if you took a look around you’d be able to tell me the difference between one patch of ice and another.” “Oh, haha,” Amber laughed sarcastically. “Very funny. ...How long have you been carrying me?” “Since we left the Empire,” Amelia replied simply as she continued through the snow. “Why, getting tired?” “No, but you must be.” “I’m a digital being, I don’t get tired.” “What does that even-” “HALT!” Amber was cut off as several figures leaped from the snow, perfectly camouflaged by their white fur and silver armor. “Identify yourself!” One of them said an earth pony stallion with a star on his shoulder. Amelia put one foot back in a ready stance as her eyes went from one of the ponies to another, her mind racing as she contemplated what to do next. “Amelia.” The soft voice rocked the human out of her fighting instincts and she looked back at the pale blue pony on her back. “I think I have an idea about who these ponies are.” Amelia looked at Amber for several moments as she processed this, the look on her face apprehensive. After a few seconds, she nodded and relaxed her stance, turning to face the pony she assumed was in charge. “My name is Amelia Jaeger and this is Amber Leaf. We escaped the Crystal Empire a day or so ago and have been on the run ever since.” The soldier stood where he was for a moment before nodding to one of the others on his right. “Cuff 'em,” he said curtly, causing the young woman’s eyes to narrow. “Do not put chains on us,” she growled in warning, throwing an angry look at the unicorn who was walking forward with two sets of shackles. Said soldier gulped and backed away. The commanding officer eyed Amelia in annoyance. “Pull that again and we’ll take you in by force,” he warned, turning a gaze of steel on the NetNavi Amelia snarled her face up as her eyes, unbeknownst to her, began to change to red. “Why don’t you just try-” “Amelia, please.” The soft voice combined with a small bit of pressure on her shoulder brought the Navi down from her rage. She once again looked towards Amber, seeing a look of fear and worry on the mare’s face. The look shook Amelia, probably more than it should have, but it worked to clear away the rest of her negative emotions. “Amber, I-” Amber stopped her with a little more pressure and an unexpected, yet soft, smile. “You don’t have to keep protecting me,” the crystal pony said. “If I must wear chains for a few moments more in exchange for my freedom, then so be it.” The young woman kept eye contact with the mare for several moments before she sighed and turned back to the armored stallion. “Alright,” she relented. “But you’ll have to work around our current position. Amber’s hoof is hurt.” The stallion in charge eyed her, searching her for any signs of treachery. Eventually, he nodded. “Do as she says,” the officer ordered the lower ranking pony, who nodded nervously before once again stepping forward. The nervous soldier walked to the front of Amelia, who lowered herself down as Amber spread her forelegs out to be restrained. The armored unicorn tentatively levitated the shackles forward and clicked them into place, taking extra care with Amber’s still bruised ankle. As Amber moved her legs back to their previous position, the pony turned his gaze to Amelia. “Um-” “Just move the cloak,” Amelia muttered irritably. “And get a bigger set of chains while you’re at it.” The unicorn’s expression turned to one of confusion as he started to go back behind Amelia, dragging a bit of the cloak in his magic as he walked. His confusion turned to shock as he saw the young woman’s arms. “Uh, sir?” He said, tilting his head over his shoulder a bit without taking his eyes off the NetNavi. “What is it, private?” The officer questioned with a bit more annoyance as he strode up beside the lower ranking soldier. The pony didn’t answer, simply lifted the pony-sized chains up to compare them to Amelia’s oversized gauntlets. The older pony’s eyes widened. “There a problem, boys?” Amelia asked snidely without looking back at them, a smirk on her face. The officer shot a look of irritation before clearing his throat. “Do you know an expansion spell, private?” He questioned, looking at the younger pony out of the corner of his eye. “I do, sir,” the unicorn answered hesitantly. “Though, it’s not-” “Do it,” the earth pony ordered, interrupting his subordinate. The younger pony opened and closed his mouth a few times as if to argue. Finally, he chose to remain silent and turned his eyes back to the shackles. He closed his eyes and his horn began to flare as the aura surrounding the manacles began to intensify. After a moment, there was a flash and the sound of crunching snow as the irons, now too big, hit the ground. As the officer and his private stared at the oversized chains, the sound of barely contained snickering could be heard. The older pony’s eyes narrowed and he looked up at Amelia, who was shaking as she tried to hold back her laughter. The earth pony’s face began to change to bright red as his temper rose. “What. Is. So. Funny?” He asked, his rage barely contained. It took some time, but Amelia finally got herself back together. “Seriously?” She questioned, looking back at the two soldiers, a grin on her face. “And I actually thought you guys were threatening.” The older officer’s face contorted to show the rage growing inside him while the subordinates around him began to look offended, angry, or some combination of the two. “How dare you!” The older earth pony said, his temper boiling over. Amelia looked towards the ground a bit before closing her eyes and giving a huff of laughter. She then straightened up to her full height and opened her eyes to stare at the commanding officer. “You understand I could have just ended all of you and kept walking, right?” She asked, her tone cold. While the young unicorn who had been holding the shackles looked intimidated, the other armored ponies looked like they were ready to jump the NetNavi. “You dare insult the royal guard!?!” The officer practically roared as he took a step forward, drawing the blade that was at his side. Amelia narrowed her eyes. “Listen, buddy,” she growled. “Neither of us wants to do this. You’ve already put chains on the only friend I have in this world and that already has me pissed off. So, do not, I repeat, do not get on my bad side!” As the angered Navi had been speaking she had been activating ATK+ battle chips, making pulses of power shoot away from her to punctuate her more important points. The intimidation tactic worked and had most of the ponies backing away wide-eyed, all except the private and the officer, who scurried away and tried to stand resolute respectfully. The last pulse died down and the older earth pony lowered his hoof away from his face, his eyes wide. Amelia took a few deep breaths to get her anger back under control before returning the officer’s wide-eyed stare with a dull look. “Now that we’re down measuring each other,” the young woman said, her voice sounding a bit bored. “Can we please get somewhere warmer, and maybe find someone to look at Amber? I wasn’t kidding about her ankle.” The stallion took a moment to respond, shaking his head to clear the confusion. “You really expect us to trust you after that?” He questioned, his eyes becoming hard once more. “Nope,” Amelia replied simply, adding a shrug. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we need shelter and medical attention. If you can provide that to Amber, I’ll sit in the most uncomfortable hole you’ve got.” “Amelia!” Amber exclaimed, worry forming in her voice. “What happened to not having to protect me?” Amelia shrugged again. “Just because I don’t have to doesn’t mean I won’t,” she pointed out. “...You’re not letting this go, are you?” “Nope.” The officer clearing his throat caught the two’s attention, cutting off their antics. “I… will take you to the princesses,” he said, giving the two an odd look. “They will decide what to do with you. But if you so much as think-” “I get it, I get it,” Amelia said, rolling her eyes a bit. “If I hurt anybody, you’ll stick me with those lovely little pig-stickers of yours.” Most of the ponies present gained a look of confusion and started to murmur to one another. The officer’s eye ticked before he sighed and shook his head. “Move out,” he said in a tired tone. “All eyes on our guest.” The armored ponies moved into place around the young woman and her charge before they all started to march forward in a direction Amelia hadn’t thought about going. They moved in silence, giving Amelia more than enough time to scan their weapons and armor. The armor was nothing really special except for some strange signature she was detecting from the metal. The weapons were much the same, all of the spears just being that. However, the officer had a pair of swords, one strapped to either side, both giving off a strange signature similar but not the same as the group’s armor. She stopped her scans as she walked, trying to think over what these readings could mean. After several long minutes, a thought occurred to her and she took out the jeweled necklace she had ripped from Amber’s neck. The action didn’t go unnoticed by the crystal pony. “Amelia, what are you doing with that thing?” Amber asked worriedly, her eyes staying locked on the trinket and ears going back. “Sorry, Amber,” the Navi replied, glancing over her shoulder. “I’ve just got this really weird feeling….” The young woman paused for a moment and looked around her, searching for something. Her eyes landed on the young unicorn from before, trailing at the back of the entourage. Amelia slowed her pace until she was walking beside the white pony. “Hey,” she said, making the private just about jump out of his armor. When the terrified pony finally got himself back under control, he turned his wide eyes to the slightly smirking woman. “Wh-what?” He stuttered out. Amelia let out a short chuckle before answering. “First off, sorry about that,” she said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I keep forgetting how skittish you ponies are.” This earned her a soft thump from Amber Leaf as the mare’s ear flicked in indignation. “Second,” she continued, undeterred by the soft hit, “I’d like you to take a look at this for me.” The unicorn glanced at the jewel that was held out to him before he turned his head forward again with a huff. “Why should I do any favors for you?” He asked, a bit of indignation coming to his tone. “Beeecause, uh…,” the Navi trailed off and swept her gaze away for a moment before an idea struck her. “What if I say ‘please’?” She asked innocently. The sudden change in attitude had the armored stallion doing a double take. “Wh-what?” He stammered as he looked up at the young woman. “Would you please take a look at this for me?” Amelia asked again, holding out the trinket a bit further. The soldier glanced between the jewel and the NetNavi’s face before he let out a sigh. “Sure,” he muttered before taking the gem in his golden aura. He concentrated hard on the gem for several long moments before his eyes shot open with a gasp, dropping the jewel. Amelia’s hand shot out and snatched the trinket out of the air. “What’s the deal with this thing?” She asked, looking between it and the stallion. “We’re being tracked!” The unicorn suddenly shouted out, shocking everyone present. “I knew this thing was bad news,” Amelia muttered before squeezing her hand together, a crunch echoing out to signify the end of the jewel. She reached up with her hands and grabbed the chains holding Amber’s hooves together. She yanked hard and shattered the shackles before letting the mare slide gently off her back. “What in Tartarus are you doing!?!” The officer shouted, having turned at the sound of the chains shattering. “Giving you the chance to get away,” Amelia replied as she took her cloak off and threw it over Amber Leaf. She straightened up and looked into the earth pony’s eyes. “It is my fault that they’re coming.” “We don’t even know if-” Amber was cut off by the sound of hooves crunching loudly in the snow. Amelia’s eyes widened and she spun around to see three crystal pegasi walking towards them, spears ready. “No more arguing!” Amelia shouted, looking over her shoulder slightly. “RUN!” Amber stared wide-eyed at the NetNavi for a moment before she turned and started to run as fast as she could through the snow in the direction the group had been going. As Amelia activated a CyberSword, the officer came to a stop beside her, drawing one of his swords. “I told you to run,” the young woman stated, not bothering to glance at the pony. “You can’t take them all on your own,” the stallion replied, readying himself for battle as his subordinates came to the ready around them. Amelia’s “tsk’d” and looked at him. “You obviously have no idea what I can do,” she told him before looking back at the approaching enemies. “Besides, Amber’s not going to able to make it on her own. Now, go!” The shout shook several of the ponies around her, all of which looked to their commanding officer. The stallion looked up at the young woman, seeing the look of fierce determination written on her face. He stared for a moment before sighing. “Do as she says,” he ordered, looking over his shoulder. “Get out of here and take that mare back to safety.” The soldiers hesitated before most of them saluted and retreated, quickly catching up with Amber Leaf. Soon, only two remained; the officer and the young unicorn. “What’re you still doing here, kid?” The officer asked, brandishing his sword as the darkly armored pegasi started on the last stretch. “Thought I’d keep the odds fair, sir,” the younger pony replied his horn levitating his spear. Amelia couldn’t help but let out a breath of laughter at the pony’s words. “Just so long as you two don’t get caught in the crossfire, this’ll be over quickly,” she said, raising her sword and tensing up. The dark ponies saw this and began to run forward, their spears held in their wings as they charged. The NetNavi ran forward as well, her purple blade raised horizontally across her chest. As the distance between the two parties closed, the pegasi thrust their lances forward. The NetNavi leaped into the air, avoiding the thrusts as her body twisted and spun above them. She came down behind them, brandishing her sword as one of the ponies turned to face her and the others continued forward. Amelia rushed forward, bringing the tip of her blade down and parrying the next thrust away from her. To her amazement, the metallic weapon took no damage from her pure energy blade. A loud clang rang out as the weapons rebounded against one another. The armored pony quickly switched his grip to hold the spear in his hooves before taking off into the sky. Amelia followed him with her eyes, leaning her head back to watch his progress. She let out a gasp and jumped back as the pegasi dove towards her, a furrow being dug out of the snow as he thrust his spear towards her yet again. “Damn it,” the young woman muttered as she landed awkwardly, her boot slipping on the snow beneath her. She looked up just in time to see the stallion turning in midair once again, getting ready for another pass. However, as she watched him perform a loop, his armor separated slightly, a glint of red catching her eye. “So that’s where it is,” she muttered as her eyes narrowed. As the pegasus continued maneuvering into position, Amelia lifted her left arm, her hand folding up and forming something akin to her buster, except the barrel was inverted into the rest of the blaster. “Here goes.” She lifted her eyes to the sky and let a purple aura burst forth around her before she leaped into the air, bringing her buster forward as the two combatants raced towards one another. If the pony looked surprised or scared, he didn’t show it beneath the dark visor of his helmet as he raced towards the NetNavi. The young woman didn’t flinch as she raced forward, her eyes narrowing. “AirShot,” she said quietly, aiming her blaster and letting loose with a single shot. A bullet of condensed air slammed into the stallion’s chest, rocketing him back and throwing his limbs out. Amelia smirked and folded her right hand back out from the Cyber Sword as she rushed forward with increased speed. Within moments, she closed the distance and thrust her hand forward, feeling the crunch of metal under her fingers as she crashed into his chest piece. The Navi’s smirk grew a bit as she closed her fingers around the red gem before lurching her hand back. The metal crumbled and shattered under her grip, leaving the gem in her hand where she quickly crushed it to dust. The pegasus, now free from the mind control he had been under, gave a groan and went limp, forcing Amelia to catch him as they descended back to the frosty ground below. “One down, two-” The young woman was interrupted and almost lost her footing as the sound of glass shattering and a shout of pain sounded out. She quickly lifted her gaze and looked to the side in time to see one of the pegasi pull their spear from the earth pony officer as he stood in front of the unicorn, the younger’s eyes wide in disbelief. Blood stained the pure snow as the spearhead came free, leaving behind a vicious hole in armor and flesh. Amelia let the pony in her arms slide to the ground as the officer fell, blood beginning to trail from his lips. The single second dragged on for what felt like an hour, a look of horror stretching across the NetNavi’s face. Then time seemed to go back to normal as she closed her eyes, her face contorting into rage. She dashed forward, her now red eyes flaring open as she gave a blood-curdling cry. The two dark pegasi started at the sound, their primal instincts temporarily taking over their brainwashing. The split second hesitance is all it took for Amelia to close the distance, her hands folding out into twin blades, the CyberSword in her right and WideSword in her left. She swung out her left sword towards the mare that had stabbed the officer, forcing the pony to jump back as the blade split her armor, leaving a gash across her shoulder and chest. The other pegasus, another stallion, finally came around and thrust his spear at the Navi, forgetting the shuddering unicorn in front of him. Amelia swung her CyberSword up without skipping, blocking the stab and knocking the spearhead up. The stallion reacted quickly, throwing himself back so that he was standing on his hind legs, dodging the back swing of the Navi’s WideSword. He then shot into the air, trying to gain some distance from the NetNavi. The young woman’s red eyes followed the fleeing pegasus as he performed a loop to once again fly towards her. With her eyes locked on the pegasus rocketing towards her, she began raising her two swords over her head, activating the LongSword battle chip as she did so. Purple energy began to pool off the blades and collect in between them, forming a blazing sphere of power. Her swords melted away into the energy, leaving her fingertips to be licked by the unstable purple mass between her hands. With expert fluidity, she grasped the energy and pulled it down to her side as the energy burned itself into the shape of a sword in preparation. As the dark pegasus closed half the distance between them, Amelia let out a roar, her dark purple aura flaring as she swung the Program Advance up in a dynamic upswing. The stallion’s eyes widened underneath the helmet, but it was too late for the unfortunate pony to do anything as the wave of burning energy raced towards him. He swerved a tiny bit out of the way but still, the burning wave hit him, severing his wing and shearing away the armor on his side and back. The pegasus seemed to stop in midair, his body going into shock from the sudden pain and blood loss. Red eyes watched as the body fall to the ground with a soft thud. There was a sudden whistling and thud, causing the Navi’s body to shift forward as a spear shoved its way through her left shoulder. Amelia turned slowly, reaching up to the spear head sticking out of her body, snapping it off as she caught sight of the darkly armored pegasus. The mare in question started to back away, her fear and natural instincts wrestling control away from the crystal as the metal spear shaft hit the ground behind the approaching young woman. A burst of power radiated out as a Recover150 chip activated, sealing the wound in her shoulder as she raised the mechanical sword in her hand, yet another program advance bursting forth and forming a burning purple blade. The mare backed away until she stumbled, her rear legs giving way and landing her on her back while Amelia strode forward, her red eyes full of rage. The NetNavi came to a stop, towering over the pony and, without skipping a beat, started to raise her blade up for a stab. Blood poured onto the snow from the mares open wound as the slits stared up at Amelia’s unbreaking gaze. For several seconds, nothing happened as the two stared at each other. The tension built up and broke as the Navi thrust her blade down. “STOP!!!” The purple energy stopped less than an inch away from the armor on the mare’s chest. The young woman’s angry eyes slowly turned towards the unicorn that was staring at her with wide eyes as he cradled his superior’s head. “Please,” the young soldier pleaded. “We need to go… he needs help.” Amelia kept her gaze on the two silver armored ponies for a few seconds before her gaze dropped back down to the mare at her feet… and twitched her wrist. There was a brief sizzle as the red jewel was cut in two, the mare’s eyes fluttering closed inside her helmet. Amelia stayed where she was for several moments, her eyes fading back to green before she dispersed her LifeSword and made her way over to the two soldiers. She collapsed to her knees when she came up beside them. “How bad is he?” She asked, beginning to lean over the wounded stallion. “Pr-pretty bad,” the younger stallion answered, his voice stuttering. “I-I can’t stop the bleeding.” Amelia inspected the wound and winced when she saw it gurgle out more blood with each of the pony’s fading breaths. The young woman let her mind race around itself, searching for some solution… any solution… but found herself coming up short. “I… there’s nothing I can do…,” she murmured quietly. “Then there’s really no need to worry about me,” the officer suddenly gasped out, opening his eyes a bit to look at them, a sad sort of smile coming over his blood stained lips. “B-but sir-” The young unicorn was stopped by a pressure on his shoulder. He looked up at Amelia as the young woman stared at him with sad, knowing eyes. The unicorn stared at for several moments before he simply closed his mouth and looked away sorrowfully. Amelia gave the younger pony a dismal gaze before looking to the earth pony. “What are your final orders?” She asked, her voice a bit tight. The dying veteran looked up at her, a few tears building in his eyes as he took in a shuddering breath to answer. “Take my helmet... to my son,” he said weakly, gulping in a few more moments of air. The Navi and unicorn glanced at each other, the young woman nodding to the private. The young stallion nodded in return and used his magic to undo the clasp on the helmet and pull it off gently. The moment the helmet left his head, the stallion’s mane changed a darker shade of blue, dark purple running through some of it, while his eyes turned into a sharp gold and his fur stayed the same white. “You know,” Amelia said, trying to hold back her tears. “I never even got your name.” The older stallion gave another weak grin as he looked up at her through half-lidded eyes. “Shining Blade,” he replied quietly before a fit of coughing racked his body painfully. Both Navi and unicorn leaned forward in concern but were waved off by the fading pony as he looked at Amelia one last time. “Promise me something, kid,” he said weakly, his chest rising and falling slower and slower. “Anything,” she replied without a second thought drawing another smile to his face. “Make sure my private gets back safe and sound,” the stallion requested breathily before looking up at the unicorn who was desperately holding back tears. “You’ll do just fine, lad….” The younger stallion gulped and nodded sadly. “Thanks, captain,” he replied, his voice shaky at best. Shining Blade nodded his head in return, a soft smile on his face as he looked up at them his eyes beginning to drift shut. “Tell… my colt… I love him,” the armored stallion said quietly as his eyes slowly closed. His breathing slowed until the stallion gave one final breath and laid still. For several moments, the young woman and pony knelt with their fallen comrade. Eventually, Amelia took a deep breath and stood to her feet. “Come on,” she said, her tone melancholy at best. “We need to get you back….” The unicorn looked up and nodded, sadness deep in his eyes. He got to his hooves, once again looking down at his lost captain. “We can’t just leave him here….” Amelia looked down at the fallen pony as well, tears forming in her eyes. “No, we can’t,” she said before looking at the three other fallen ponies around them. “...We can’t leave any of them.” With that said, she started to make her way towards the pegasus stallion she had cut out of the sky. She looked down at the twisted armor and neck that bent at all the wrong angles. She sighed and didn’t even bother to scan him as she knew what the result would be… especially seeing the ocean of blood around the body and the missing wing not far off. Amelia sighed sadly and picked the limp body off the ground, a sorrowful look in her eyes as she brought him back and laid him beside Shining Blade. “Start taking their armor off,” she told the unicorn before beginning to turn to check on the other two. The young stallion looked at with some indignancy. “Since when do I take orders from you?” He questioned, fresh tear stains running down his face. “It’s not an order,” Amelia answered, turning to face him irritably. “It’s a request. One you might want to follow through on if you want to get your captain back where he belongs.” “And how is taking their armor off going to help us with that?” The unicorn asked, his eyes still a bit angry and sad. “I’m going to make a sled,” Amelia answered simply before turning away and ignoring the confused look she got as she went towards the mare’s still form as it was the closest,. She knelt down when she was close enough, scanning the crystal pegasus’ body for her vital signs. The scan showed that the mare’s breathing was a bit shallow, although there was no fear of the pony passing from this life to the next, drawing a breath of relief from the NetNavi. The young woman put her arms beneath the armored pegasus and stood up gently before taking her over to the unicorn who had already stripped the other two of their armaments. “This one’s alive, so be gentle with her,” the Navi said, setting her down gently before the young unicorn, who looked up at her with a disapproving look. After a few moments, Amelia’d had enough. “Okay, what’s got you into a bunch?” She asked, an irritable tone creeping into her voice. “You don’t even know my name,” he replied, some anger in his voice. Amelia sighed. “You’re going to make a big deal out of this now?” She questioned. When the stallion did nothing more than stare at her, she rolled her eyes. “Alright, what’s your name?” She asked, annoyance deep in her voice. The unicorn stared at her for a moment before he gave a huff. “The name’s Twilight Comet,” the stallion answered in an irritated voice. “Twilight, huh?” The young woman questioned before she shrugged. “Guess we gotta have those guys that like flowers.” The unicorn looked at her with a confused look. “What do flowers have to do-” Amelia’s head suddenly jerked up and she turned to see over her left shoulder, her eyes squinting. After a few moments, her eyes widened. “Get that armor off her now!” Amelia yelled over her shoulder as she started to race toward the last of the fallen ponies, leaving the young stallion with a confused and shocked look. “Wh-what’s going on!?!” He called after her, his voice stuttering just before the sound of thunder echoed out over the icy plains. “DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION!?!” Amelia yelled back angrily as she ran. She stomped her foot forward and twisted her body so that she slid backwards in the position of a runner at the start. She slid to a stop just behind the unconscious stallion and didn’t waste a moment in activating a Dash chip. In a single fluid moment, the Navi drifted around the stallion, scooped him up, and started to sprint back towards Twilight Comet and the others. She came sliding to a halt seconds later in front of the unicorn, who had just finished taking the armor off of the mare she had recovered. “You may want to stay back,” she said, gently putting down the stallion before scooping up the discarded armor pieces and activating several more chips; another Dash, an ElecSword, and a Hammer. She raced around as quickly as she could, tearing the pieces apart, hammering them flat, and welding them together. She finished the makeshift sled before racing around the battleground, grabbing first the spear the mare had stabbed her with then another, breaking the head off of it before running back to her sled. She quickly bent and attached the spear shafts to it, creating handles. She got up and quickly ran over to the unicorn as he stared wide-eyed at her work. “Come on, get them loaded!” Amelia shouted, scooping up the two crystal stallions even as another crash of thunder sounded out around them. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. “We’ll never outrun that storm,” he stated, fear piercing his voice as he stared at the approaching mass of dark clouds. “Would you snap out of it, damn it!” Amelia shouted, causing the terrified pony to turn his frightened gaze onto her. “We don’t have time for doubt or fear! If we hesitate, all six of us could end up dead, do you understand!?!” The sudden shock of the statement shook the stallion out of his head and got him into action. With his eyes once again filled with the determination they’d had when he’d stayed behind, he picked up his captain and the mare in his magic and started to run towards the sled, Amelia not far behind him. Together, they secured the four limp ponies to the sled, the unicorn climbing up next to them and holding them in place even as the Navi went around to the handles of the sled. The area around them began to darken as the dark cloud cover began to hide the sun away, gusts of wind picking up around the group as snow began to swirl. “Hang on!” Amelia yelled over the roaring winds, activating yet another Dash chip. With every ounce of energy left in her body, she rocketed forward, hefting the heavy load of ponies along with her. Within moments, they left the storm far behind, the Dash chip still working its magic as she continued to run. Twilight was forced to hunker down on the sled, guarding his face against the wind and ice that rushed passed them. “How do you know where we’re going?” He shouted over the wind. “Remember my cloak?” She shouted back rhetorically. “I gave it to Amber because it’s a part of me. I can track it to her current location.” The unicorn fell silent at this, wondering just what this being was…. Thirty minutes later, Amelia’s boots crunched the snow at the top of a hill, huffing for air as the rest of her body trembled. Twilight walked up beside her, having gotten off the sled when the Navi’s Dash had run out. Together they stared down at a sea of tents, a flag with two winged and horned ponies flying around each other and the visage of the side on one side and the moon on the other flew over every tent. “We made it,” the young unicorn breathed. “Y-yeah,” the Navi replied, her voice shaking as much as her body. “Go us.” Twilight glanced at the young woman that had literally carried him through the storm. “Come on, Amelia, just a little further,” he pressed, worry creeping into his voice. Amelia nodded her head weakly. “R-right,” she said, lifting her boot. The moment her foot touched the ground, the worn out NetNavi toppled forward, Twilight gasping and barely able to catch her before she hit the ground. “Okay, okay,” the unicorn said softly, bringing her up and laying her on the small amount of empty space left on the sled. “You just rest up. I’ll take care of the rest.” Amelia was unable to answer as her breathing came heavily, her eyes staring unfocused up into the sky. Twilight position himself between the handles and grabbed hold of them with his magic before beginning to trudge forward down the hill. Within a few minutes, he plodded up to the edge of the camp, two guards rushing to meet him, one unicorn and a pegasus, their armor gold instead of the camouflaged whitish-silver. “Halt and identify,” one of them said, coming to a stop a few paces away from him. “Private Twilight Comet,” the unicorn answered, lifting his head up. “And what’s that?” The other guard asked, motioning a hoof towards the sled and bodies behind him. “Captain Shining Blade,” Twilight began to answer, hesitant to add the next portion of his sentence. “D-deceased. Three enemy soldiers, one deceased, two unconscious with one wounded. And Amelia Jaeger, self-proclaimed NetNavi, exhausted.” The two guards exchanged a glance as they processed this information. Finally, one of them spoke. “Go get Captain Heel,” the pegasus said to the unicorn, who quickly nodded his head and raced away. “W-we don’t have time to w-waste,” a weak voice said from the sled. The pegasus and Twilight both turned towards the sled in time to see Amelia raising her hand over the side and try to pull herself up weakly. “Amelia!” Twilight exclaimed, running over to the Navi and trying to push her back down onto the sled. “Stop, you’re too worn out to keep going. Just rest.” Amelia huffed as she looked up into the unicorn’s eyes. “We c-can’t wait,” she stuttered. “The mare… she’s fading and… needs help… now.” The last word finally took the fight out of the NetNavi and she laid back on the sled. Twilight hesitated for a moment before his eyes hardened and turned to face the pegasus. “What she says is true,” he said, his voice matching his eyes. “If she says the mare needs help, then she needs it now.” The pegasus was taken aback by the unicorn’s suddenly authoritative tone. “I’m sure that Private Core will be back short-” “We don’t have time to waste!” Twilight stated harshly, stamping a hoof on the ground. “Or do you want to be the one to explain that we lost valuable information because the mare didn’t get the attention she needed?” The pegasus gulped a bit. “I-I’ll show you to the med tents and have the Captain directed to you,” he stammered before turning and starting to lead them through the maze of tents. “Thank you,” the armored unicorn said with a nod before beginning to follow the guard, dragging the sled behind him. The walk only lasted a few moments, but to the sled’s only conscious passenger, the trip was agonizingly slow, seeming to take hours. Amelia felt the sled come to a stop, jerking her body a bit. The feeling of bodies bustling about around her filled the atmosphere and, at some point, she felt weightlessness followed by the feeling of being pulled. After just a few short moments, both feelings disappeared, replaced by the feeling of something giving on her back. She didn’t exactly know what was going on and couldn’t find the energy to care. She felt someone or something mess with her arm before the sound of muffled voices could be heard. She closed her eyes as they seemed to be arguing about something. The moment her eyelids met, the voices raised even further. ...Wish they would stop that…. The thought was barely noticeable within the young woman’s mind, but it was the only real thing going through her mind at the moment. She felt something jostle her arm once more, although this time, it seemed to be focusing on her hand and not arm. Then there was a sudden prick in said hand. The NetNavi barely registered the feeling, simply blowing it off along with the rest of what was happening to her. Ignored it that is, until a surge of unbelievable power raced through her body, jolting it with what felt like a million volts of electricity. Amelia’s eyes flew open, along with her mouth as she arched her back and let out a pain filled cry. The cry continued as the feeling of bustling bodies returned, although the energy in the air seemed more panicked than before. This lasted several seconds until Amelia felt something get yanked from her hand. The pain subsided and the NetNavi’s screaming started to fade while her back came back down. After all that, it was safe to say that Amelia was awake again, her breathing coming heavy after the painful experience. The first thing she noticed was the tannish canvas above her. Her gaze slowly started to shift to her side where she found Amber Leaf holding a glowing IV, a smirk on her face even though her eyes were filled with worry. “Amber?” Amelia questioned, groaning a bit as she sat up and swung her legs over the cot she had been laid on. “What happened?” “You were on the brink of total shut down,” the crystal mare explained. “The medics didn’t really know what else to do with your… unique physiology, so they thought restoring your magic reserves would restore you.” “No wonder that hurt like a bitch,” the Navi commented, rubbing her head a bit to rid her of the throbbing behind her eyes. “I don’t have any magic reserves. I don’t have magic period.” “That’s what I thought,” Amber said with a frown, throwing an extremely irritated look over her shoulder at the sheepish physicians behind her. A pegasus stallion that seemed to be in charge gulped before giving a short nervous laugh and shrug, his eyes shifting from one side to the other as he looked for an escape route. Amelia raised an eyebrow at the doctor before she sighed. Her grip tightened on the edge of the bunk before she stood to her feet. She swayed a bit and had to take a step forward to keep her balance. Amber’s features finally changed to match the worry in her eyes and she took a few steps forward to help the NetNavi, only to be stopped as said Navi raised her hand and shook her head. “I’m fine, Amber,” the young woman assured. “Just a bit off-balance. I’ll get it back soon enough.” “We desire thee doth,” a new voice ringing out. Amelia looked up in time to see the ponies around her back up a bit and bow as two much taller beings walked passed them and towards her. The young NetNavi took them both in quickly, absorbing almost every detail and shred of data she could in a matter of moments. They both had horns, wings, and ethereal manes, but the similarities stopped there. The taller of the two was an alabaster white, her mane matching her pink eyes. She wore gold adornments on her hooves and neck, a purple jewel set in the center of the neck piece so that it matched the tiara sitting on the mare’s head. The shorter of them was dark blue with cyan eyes, her mane being a bit of a sapphire blue surrounded in a more grayish blue. Her ornaments were a bit different in that her tiara and neck piece were black with now gems while the semblance of the moon was embedded in the neck ornament. However, the mare’s shoes, for lack of a better term, were silver. Amelia wasn’t sure why, but the two gave her an odd feeling. “Am I in trouble or something?” She asked, her eyes shifting from one to another, though her voice and eyes showed off a feeling of cold indifference rather than fear or worry. “No,” the alabaster mare replied, shaking her head a bit before she turned hardened eyes on the young woman. “However, we wouldst like to ask thee a few questions.” The Navi froze under the pony’s gaze. She tentatively looked towards Amber who gave her a reassuring smile and nod. Amelia looked back to the two royals before she nodded her head as well. “Sounds good to me,” she answered. “So long as I get to ask a few questions of my own.” “That is fair,” the white mare said, bowing slightly in return before turning to face the direction they had come from. “Though, we should taketh this conversation elsewhere. if 't be true thee would please followeth us.” Amelia exchanged another look with Amber before following the two, the crystal mare walking along beside her. None of them spoke during the short trek that led them to a large tent, multiple banners hanging off of it. A couple of guards stood to either side of the entrance, some with gold armor like that of the white mare while the others were gray with slitted amber eyes, there armor a mixture of dark blue and silver with bat wings sprouting from the back. The guards bowed as the royals approached and entered. However, as Amelia and Amber passed, their eyes narrowed and they seemed to tense up a bit. Amelia noticed this and smirked, giving a huff of laughter as she shook her head. “Gee, make a girl feel at home why don’t you?” She said sarcastically as she threw one of the flaps out of the way and entered the large tent. It was fairly simple, multiple candlesticks taking up the perimeter while two thrones occupied its center, the one to her right bearing the emblem of the moon, the left bearing the sun. The white mare took the sun throne while her partner took the other. “Now that we has't some privacy,” the sun diarch began. “We believeth introductions art in order. We art Princess Celestia, Diarch of the Sun.” “And we art Princess Luna,” the blue mare finally spoke up. “Diarch of the Moon.” Amelia blinked a bit before she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, drawing shared looks of concern from the princesses. “Art thou alright?” Luna asked, looking to the Navi before she shared another look with her sister and back to the woman again. “Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” the Navi answered, raising her eyes once more. “It’s just… your dialects… they’re just… grating!” The diarchs blinked at this explanation. Then, Celestia turned to Luna. “Do you see now, Luna?” She questioned her sister. “Even this stranger believes the old dialects are a forgotten art!” “Forgive us if we wish to keepeth up a more pois'd demeanor than everypony else!” The younger sister exclaimed in return before she sighed and put her hoof to her face. Celestia kept her her gaze on her sister for several moments before clearing her throat and looking back towards the, now somewhat confused, NetNavi. “Forgive our banter, stranger,” the white mare said. “Please, introduce yourself.” Amelia only raised an eyebrow for a moment before glancing at Amber, who had her eyes closed and was smiling embarrassedly as her hoof rubbed the back of her head. “Oookaaay,” she said slowly before she turned her gaze back to the royal mares, her confident smirk returning. “Amelia Jaeger’s the name, kicking ass is the game…. At least now anyway.” The solar diarch raised a brow and glanced at Luna before returning her focus to the woman before her. “What do you mean by ‘now’?” She questioned. Amelia’s expression turned a bit sad and she looked to the ground at her feet. “I, uh… I’m not from here,” she said in a low tone before looking up at the princesses, a desperate look in her eyes. “I don’t even know where ‘here’ really is….” Amelia sat alone in the candle-lit tent that had been provided by the diarchs, her PET in her hand as her thoughts wandered. She and the princesses had spoken for a long time, sharing information with each other as questions bounced around the private tent. She had shared her age, what she was, what she could do. In return the princesses had told her where she really was, the conflict between themselves and Sombra, what they were, and what they were capable of. A dry huff of laughter escaped her lips. “Alicorns that can raise the sun and moon,” she scoffed quietly to herself as she turned her hand, causing the small light of the candle to reflect off the screen of the device. The little glimmer caught the NetNavi’s eye and she stared at it. “...How did this happen?” She questioned quietly, her sight distant. The young woman stayed that way for quite a long while, her thoughts drifting from one to another until the sudden sound of something hard cracking against wood snapped her out of her trance. Amelia looked up to the flaps of her tent where a center poll stood. As the blowing wind shifted the fabric, Amelia could spot light blue hooves against the white snowy ground. A soft smile played on her lips. “Come on in, Amber,” she called out to the mare. “You of all pe- ponies should know I don’t bite.” The crunch of snow under hoof followed her words and one of the tent flaps moved to the side to reveal the purple maned pony, a look of hesitance on her face. Seeing this, the young Navi frowned a little. “What’s wrong, Amber?” The mare paused half-way inside the tent, her front hoof frozen in midair. She looked to the ground with a frown. “I, um... I can’t….” Amelia raised her hand up, stopping the mare’s struggle to find the right words to say. “Come on,” she said, giving a soft smile as she waved the crystal mare over. Amber raised her eyes in surprise before a look of peace came to her features. Without another word, she made her way over to the cot and climbed up, settling in Amelia’s lap. She pressed her side into the young woman’s torso as the Navi crossed her legs around the mare. The NetNavi then wrapped her arms around her, bringing her that much closer. They sat like that for a while, the wind picking up outside and causing a whistling sound to play through the air. Amber suddenly shivered, catching the Navi’s attention once more. “You cold?” Amelia asked, drawing a slow nod from the pony. With that confirmation, the woman reached over to the rack that sat right next to the bunk. She grabbed her slightly tattered cloak and put it around Amber. “Thanks,” the pony said quietly, shifting a bit as she pressed yet closer to the Navi. “No problem,” Amelia replied, a smile never fading. The two fell into silence once more, but a nervous shifting from Amber suggested that the conversation wasn’t over. “...Amelia,” the mare finally spoke up. “About earlier today… when I said I didn’t need you to protect me…thank you for doing so anyway….” The NetNavi simply smiled a bit wider. “As long as you need me, I’ll be around,” she said, the look in her eyes leaving no room for doubt as Amber looked up at her. After a moment, the mare brought her eyes down, closing her eyes as she smiled and rested her head against the Navi. The mare took a long, deep breath, her body relaxing as she fell to sleep. Amelia simply watched her for a few more moments before leaning her head back against canvas of the tent and closing her own eyes. Neither of them noticed the little shine that ran over the screen of the PET that still rested in Amelia’s hand.