//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Best // Story: Star Wars: The Blockade Runner // by Barrobroadcaster //------------------------------// The hardest part about setting up the next mission wasn't convincing Spitfire- it was convincing Derpy to wait for them. Fortunately, they were able to get a green light for another supply run, though Spitfire made it clear she wasn't going to make the same risk as last time. She only sent them one transport to escort, and made it clear that it this would be their last chance. Dice Squadron formed up with their last shot transport and waited on Derpy. To their surprise, she did not fly out of the hangar, but simply walked out of the hangar doors and onto the moon's surface. "Is she...?" "I don't think she's going to walk to Equestria, no," Gary said, having a bit of trouble believing what he was seeing as well. Derpy hopped along the surface of the moon in a space suit with her mail saddlebag strapped to her back. She emerged from the dark side of Equestria, still hopping merrily all the way. Coming around to the side of the moon facing Equestria, she adjusted her saddlebags and prepared to leap off the moon. "Is she...?" "Okay, this time, I have no idea," Gary replied. Derpy ducked down and leapt up from the moon, a big leap. At the height of her leap, she activated a pair of jets from on her mailbags and accelerated from the moon. She was aimed right for Equestria and right at the blockade. Brett, Gary and the rest of Dice Squadron watched Derpy as she jetted away from the moon. She flew with a decent speed- not as fast as their Y-Wings but faster than the transport. Derpy soared through space between Equestria and the moon with all the grace and elegance of a pegasus flying through the clouds. And she was flying right towards Imperial warships. "What kind of odds do you give her?" Brett asked. "Eighty-twenty?" Gary gulped. "I dunno. Million to one, maybe. We could ask Weaver to calculate it." "No, no... let's just watch," Brett said. "Be ready with the transport in case it's that one, whatever the against is." Derpy came into range of the blockade. Against the backdrop of space, she seemed incredibly small, like one of the stars twinkling in the distance. And that star grew as it approached Equestria. Just as before, a wave of TIE Fighters swarmed in and around the warships and banked towards her. They formed a huge wave, a massive approaching net of dark metal. They came into range of Derpy Hooves and fired. But... their lasers didn't hit her. For at the very moment, Derpy reached into her mailbag to check one of the letters and examine the first address she'd be visiting. The small act of reaching into her own saddlebag was enough to alter her course, causing her flight path to spin and dance as she reached into her bag. The green lasers came close to her, but not a single one struck her or her mail. Did she even know she was being shot at? Before she had finished reading the address and put the letter back in her bag, she was already past the TIEs. Dice Squadron stared in awe of the feat unfurling before their eyes. Now, the Imperial cruisers were vectoring towards her and the TIEs were realizing the small pony had simply bypassed their net formation and slipped through them. They spun around as best they could and gave pursuit. The cruisers opened fire. And that was when Derpy's mane drooped in front of her eye. It was difficult to adjust her mane inside her own spacesuit and she shook her head and blew her bangs to try to clear her view. Doing so, she twisted and turned, barreling and spinning and actually dodged every turbo laser blast fired at her. The barrage from the cruisers would have hit Derpy if she hadn't been trying to fix her hair. Instead, the lasers blasted the TIEs chasing her. Brett was stunned. They were all stunned; their jaws hung open in silence. "I... I think her odds just improved." "Yeah," Gary agreed. "She still has to get through the cruisers, though. Alone." Brett shook his head. "She's not alone. She's got us." He gunned his Y-Wing with his wing mates in tow and arced right towards the blockade. Four cruisers were now aiming their guns at Derpy. Miraculously, not a single one hit her. With her mane finally adjusted though, her flight path straightened out again. The cruisers' cannons tracked her. And that was when Derpy decided to stop for a break. She flew down to the closest object she could stand on: an Imperial cruiser. She landing on the hull and took a moment to open her mailbag and check to make sure she didn't lose anything. The guns on the opposite cruiser aimed right at her and fired. That was when Derpy kicked off again. Breaks for mail ponies were usually short, as deliveries had to be timely. She jumped off the deck of the cruiser and headed right towards Equestria. Behind her, the gun batteries on the cruiser she'd been on and the one facing it fired. The third cruiser on the other side also fired at her... or where she had been. Their lasers, instead ripped into the cruiser's hull. Shots from the cruisers on the outside hit each other and the one in the middle. All three of them were destroyed in a brief flash of green. And Derpy soared down towards Ponyville. Her silver spacesuit burned hot with the heat of reentry but the mare inside was protected, as was her mail in her specially-lined saddlebags. But behind her, one last object advanced upon her. The fourth and final cruiser, unscathed was now pursuing her. Derpy saw its enormous shadow stretch over her, blocking out the light above. She gasped as she finally realized it was upon her. But it wasn't for long. Explosions of blue electricity hit the sides of the craft. Dice Squadron hit it from both the back and the sides, blasting the cruiser into pieces with heavy ordinance. It fell apart in mid-flight, spiraling down and crashing on the shield over Ponyville. The impacts the debris made were harmless. Derpy was the first to land in the center of Ponyville, followed by Dice Squadron and the supply transport. The crowd of ponies returned as if the celebration from just a few hours ago was still going on. Brett and Gary climbed out of their Y-Wing amid cheering ponies. Some of them were cheering for Dice Squadron but the vast majority, from the pegasi high above to the earth ponies and unicorns assembled around them below, they were cheering Derpy. Gary was surprised to see his squadron leader still waving at everypony, the brightest of smiles plastered on his face. "You really do love this, don't you?" "Haha, I do," Brett said. "Let's hear it for Derpy Hooves- the greatest blockade runner in the galaxy!!" And they all cheered at that response. Derpy, bashfully accepted all their praise. Pegasi flew down to present Brett with a wreath... which he in turn presented to Derpy. An earth pony and a unicorn each offered Gary a drink and a muffin and Gary, in turn, passed them to Derpy. Which she delightfully accepted, eating the muffin first. "It's just like you said," Gary remarked. Brett smiled back, he and Gary holding Derpy up on their shoulders. "We do it for them."