//------------------------------// // Act 4: What can be done // Story: My Brave Pony Starfleet Magic: THE MOVIE // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// ACT FOUR Down in the village, the battle was still going on. Artie whipped out his Super Staff and downed five more of the strengthors that dared to cross his path. Rainbow came soaring from the skies and actually used her powerful strength to lift one of brutes up high into the air and spin him around and around and around super-fast making it dizzy and then letting him drop down to the ground and shatter like the hollow shell he was made of. “And they wonder how I got into the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow teased. Pinke Pie dodged and evaded every single attack thrown at her. “Missed me.” she teased “Try again…” “I’m over here.” “Too slow…” She poked her head out from a hole in the ground and blew a raspberry at the monsters. The big brutes glared angrily and charged at her. That’s when she ducked down in the hole and Dyno and Myte popped up and fired their “BOOM-BOOM ROCKETS” blowing the monsters to dust. “ARIBA!!” they both shouted and slapped high fives with each other and Pinkie. Even Spike and the fairies managed to beat a few of the monsters. They waited for Krysta’s signal. “Now!” and Spike and the fairies used their strength and magic to push a whole load of rocks down a hill burying the monsters in an avalanche. “We did it!” cried Spike and all the fairies cheered along with him. Fluttershy found herself surrounded by a gang of brutes and at first she felt shaky with fear, but she quickly snapped herself out of it and showed of her serious kung-Fu skills she had learned and mastered from when she wrestled angry bears. She smashed, booted and knocked those ugly brutes out of her sight. Even knocking one of them up high allowing Rhymey to leap up and slash it with his “WARD SWORD” slicing the creature to dust and landing near his mare-friend. “That’s one point for Fluttershy, And another point for I.” he said, making Fluttershy giggle. There was still a whole full lineup of creatures left, but Lightning decided it was time to wrap things up. “Teams fall-in!” he shouted. The teams did as they were told by their captain, and Krysta and Topaz instructed her fairies to prepare for final attack. Lightning’s team charged up their weapons, and Twilight and friends all stood together and began to concentrate the power of the Elements of Harmony that lived in them. “We’re ready!” Twilight said “So are we.” Added Starla “We’re ready too.” Said Krysta as all her fairies began to glow brightly. “NOW!” shouted Lightning, and his friends fired their finisher moves. "GALACTIC PROJECTILE” "WHIPLASH STRIKE" "SUPER STAFF-SPIN” "THRASH SLASH" "BOOM-BOOM FLARE!" Twilight and friends fired their powerful magical energy they called “HARMONY BEAM” to destroy the evil. Krysta and her fairies transferred their magic to Krysta’s tiny scepter, and Topaz’s crown and they fired a big beam of light, and finally there was Lightning, his golden horn and his whole body glowing in a mystical glow, and he unleashed the power of the "UNIFORCE!!” Such force and such power, all the strengthors were blown into ash that was swept away in the winds. No damage, no harm to anything else, no foul. The teams cheered for their victory, and many of the civilians still outside cheered for joy as well… But suddenly…Lightning, Twilight and all the other ponies-- their suits glowed irregularly and began fading, and the force-fields protecting the buildings during the battle vanished in an irregular way.  “What is this?” asked Rarity. “What’s going on…?” asked Fluttershy. “Our suits; they’re losing power.” said Buddy Rose, and before long everyone was wearing their casual uniforms again. They tried to reactivate their super suits but nothing happened. “What just happened?” asked Pinkie. “Whoa! Guys, look there.” cried Spike. The others all turned and could see smoke coming from the part of the mountain where the palace was built. Twilight and Lightning felt shivers run up their spines. “We better get back.” said Lightning. The others agreed and they headed off. They made it to the front gates of the palace, but the sentries wouldn’t let them in at first, not even at Lightning’s orders, until Princess Luna came and ordered the guards to step aside, but she looked really upset about something. “Princess, what’s going on?” asked Lightning. Luna gazed at Twilight and Lightning and didn’t have the heart to tell them, so she thought it best they all come in and see for themselves, and when they did, they found what had to be one of the most horrifying sights ever. “Queen Celestia!” cried Twilight. “Grand Ruler!” cried Lightning.  Their mentors were lying on stretchers to and being taken to their room. They looked in very bad shape, but the court physicians as well as Penny said they were attacked, and obviously by extremely powerful forces. They were both lying in comas, but still alive. It didn’t take anybody two guesses to figure out who was behind all this! Professor Brain was also there to, and the gang was also shocked to discover what had happened to the generators. “Can they be repaired?” asked Buddy Rose. “I fear that will be quite impossible.” said Brain and he showed them all grains of dust that were once crystals that helped the generators along with bits and pieces of scrap metal. “The generator has been severely damaged; possibly beyond repair. To repair it could very well take centuries.”  “Professor, we don’t have centuries.” Twilight said. Cadance heard about everything and both she and Shining Armor just had to come over. It wasn’t long before their royal majesties were in their room and softly floating just above their bed. “Gosh, they look so silent, so lifeless.” Goldwin said “It’s like they’re trapped in their sleep.” “They’re healing themselves.” Penny said. “For now, it’s best for them to rest and recover, but it will take some time. I’m not exactly sure when they’ll wake up.” It was huge relief for everyone to hear that they would be fine, but just seeing the two of them in the state they were in really hurt their hearts, especially Twilight and Lightning. Their mentors meant so much to them, and worse beyond that, with the generators destroyed, Starfleet and their allies could no longer enhance their powers and skills with their super armor anymore, and without their majesties the buildings could no longer be shielded with the force-fields in time of extreme danger, at least not that way. Lightning clenched his fists angrily and grumbled under his breath, “I’ll get Distraught for this. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get him!” Starla placed her hand his shoulder comforting him, and he softly placed his hand over hers. “I’m just as upset as you are.” Starla said “There has to be a way through this, I know there is.” “Well, there could be some hope.” Brain said. “Well, what is it then?” asked Applejack sounding impatient, and Brain explained that perhaps the best solution was to find a new energy source. “It may, only may mind you, help us to restore that which we have lost, and undo the damage that has been done.” “Any chance is better than none at all.” Shining Armor said “We can’t just sit and do nothing, not with Distraught still out there. We’ll have to take the battle to him.” The others agreed, but they still had their doubts, since Distraught still had that red orb of his, which was obviously making him super strong or how else would he had been able to beat the royals ones so easily. “Wait…” Lightning said “Don’t you all remember something about the orb?” The others all felt lost and Lightning reminded them “He said that that orb was one of two magic orbs.” The others caught on immediately. If Distraught’s orb gave him power, if they could find the second orb maybe it would help them. “But where should we even start looking?” asked Fluttershy “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to” “No, you’re right, Fluttershy. No one knows, not even I.” said Rhymey. We searched and we searched in every book, But it gave us no clue on where to look.” “And with the Grand Ruler and the Queen out of action, they can’t help sus either.” said Artie. Spike then suggested “Maybe Zecora might know. She’s been right many times before.” “Yes, of course!” Rarity said with her eyes glistening with hope “Oh, Spike, how clever of you.” and she pecked his little head casing Spike to feel all squishy and dopey as hearts danced around his head. Luna agreed to look after the palace, and Cadance and Shining Armor agreed to help protect the planet with all the magic they had but it would mean having to hop back and forth from the New Crystal Empire to keep it safe as well. Goldwin promised to help out as much as he could as well, even though he couldn’t leave the palace. So he would help Luna, Cadance and Shining armor look after the babies. With that settled, the gang jumped through a warp portal all the way to New Everfree Forest… …Only to discover to their dismay that Zecora was not home and a note on her door said she in New Ponyville. “Ay’! Yo no lo creo.  Of all the times for her to be out!” groaned Dyno. “Well, we better find her.” Myte said. So the gang spread out across town to find her, or ask if anyone had seen her. Pinkie even searched in unlikely places-- under hay loafs, inside barrels, even in garbage cans. “Hey, you never know, she could be there.”  It was a long search, but soon they found her…!  She was with Abra Kadabra and performing a magic show in New Ponyville square. To help keep everyone’s spirits alive and give their minds other, happier things to think about besides worrying about Distraught’s threat. Obviously the news hadn’t reached New Ponyville yet about what happened at the palace, which was a good thing for it meant no one would be running about in panic or become even more worried than ever. By the time the magic show was over, the crowd cheered for Abra and his guest assistant, Zecora. Soon the crowds departed and Abra didn’t know how to thank Zecora “You are with no doubt, the most honorable one I have ever had the privilege of performing with.” Zecora smiled and said “And Abra, you are just as honorable to me too.” That’s when they saw their many friends coming towards the stage. “Oh, my…” Abra said “Why you all seem as if you have swallowed insects.” They quietly explained what was wrong, and both Abra and Zecora were shocked. “Can you help us, Zecora?” Twilight asked. Zecora agreed to do whatever she could, and she invited everyone backstage where they couldn’t be seen so as not to arouse suspicion. Even though she wasn’t at home, Zecora was prepared for anything and had all that she needed in her traveling pack. Soon everyone had gathered and sat in a circle on the ground forming a ring around a small fire. Of which Zecora threw a powder of the flames, and hummed long and long to communicate with the spirits for answers. “Da treasure dat you seek today It rests on a planet far away Where many dangers are lurking around To keep da object from bein’ found.” The smoke of the fire actually showed a map of the galaxy, from United Equestria’s location all the way to the other planet far, far away near the northernmost corner of the galaxy. “Hey, that planet…” Lightning said “I think I recognize It.” and it turned out both he and Krysta recognized it…! …The planet Brogan! After the destruction of Lightning’s home planet, Harmonious, Young Lightning wandered through space, struggling to survive on his own, eventually meeting and saving the life of the amnesic Krysta. Eventually their travels took them to Brogan where they found themselves surrounded by many fierce beasts and other sorts of dangers, but they didn’t know why… They would have surely been destroyed had the not met Grand Ruler Celesto who found them and brought them to Unicornicopia and their new lives began. Just the very mention of those creatures and dangers made Fluttershy quiver in fear. “We can’t go there.” she cried. Some of the others slightly agreed with Fluttershy, not knowing what sort of dangers there would be waiting for them there. Not to mention the planet was so far away, they would probably be gone for a couple of days at the most, that is if they would be fortunate enough to survive to make it back…! But Zecora had more distressing news, as the spirits gave her a warning about Distraught’s evil, and how it would only get worse as the days went by, and without Starfleet at full power, all hope seemed grim for the future of United Equestria, and everyone one and everything on it. Lightning stood tall and proud “I’m going! I owe that planet a revisit.” “I’m going too.” Twilight said “We have to get that orb. The fate of United Equestria depends on it.” All of Lightning’s friends agreed to come too. Super Armor or not, they all still had their magic and could use their weapons, and were still trained well. One-by-one, Twilight’s friends agreed to come too, even Spike wanted to come. “I’ll give those guys one-two, GRR!” The only one who wouldn’t be joining was Krysta. Even though she and Lightning were normally inseparable at times like this, Lightning talked things over with her. “Krysta… you’re my friend, and I really love you for it.” “I know. I care about you too, Lightning. You’ve done so much for me over the years, and I’ve always been there for you too.” Krysta said “But sometimes I worry about you. Without me there, you guys may not be able to make it back, and no one knows who or what you’ll find on Brogan this time around.” She had a point. It had been a long, long time since she and Lightning were there, and had only sampled a small part of the hostilities there. “But Krysta, we also have to think about what’s best for United Equestria too.” Lightning, although confident they would succeed, Grand Ruler always taught him what he taught all his Starfleet fighters, “Never be overconfident, and be prepared for the worst as well as the best.” He remembered the time that Unicornicopia and Equestria were destroyed. The planets themselves couldn’t be saved, but thanks to Krysta and her fairies warping both populaces to safety, they lived on to rebuild. “I’m not saying it will happen again, but just in case we fail, at least everyone else can have a chance. Promise me you’ll do it?” Krysta gave her solemn word, both as the fairy queen and Lightning’s lifelong friend she would. She hugged Lightning warmly on his shoulder and he gently hugged her back, being careful because other small size. It was all settled, once they all had royal permission and clearance from Princess Luna, who was now in charge of things with her sister and her brother-in-law down, the friends all packed what little supplies they could, and bid farewell to their families. Rarity almost cried herself to death hugging Sweetie Bell goodbye and made her promise to take care of Opal for her should she fail to return. Applejack and Buddy Rose had a small farewell feast with Applejack’s family and Buddy Rose’s cousin Daphne Dill. “Do you really gotta go, sis?” asked Apple Bloom. “Of course they do.” DD said sounding excited “They’re going to go across the galaxy and save the day just like they always do.” Buddy Rose chuckled “Settle down, DD.” but he liked it how his little cousin had the fighter’s spirit and courage, but she did also know the full seriousness of it all, and told her cousin to come back home safely. “Tell you what…” he said “You behave yourself, and when and if I comeback, I’ll bring you back something cool.” DD liked the idea of that and promised she would. Twilight was really nervous, but her big brother was very proud of her, and he brought up the times when they used to play soldier and bad guy, and Shining Armor usually let Twilight win, and Cadance reminded her of the times she and her friends saved her and Shining Armor at their wedding, the Crystal Empire, and then when Starfleet came, it was they along with Lightning and friends who ultimately helped everyone rebuild. “Twily, I know you’re going to make it. You and your friends don’t know how to fail, and if Celestia and Celesto were awake now, I know they’d be proud.” “We know we are.” Cadance said and she pecked Twilight softly on the head. Twilight hugged them both, and promised she’d be back, and everything would be okay again. The next morning, it was all set up. The thirteen ponies along with Spike came marching into the palace like brave astronauts ready for takeoff, which was practically what was really happening. While Krysta and some of her fairies created a strong enough portal to take the team to Brogan in one trip, they all had just enough time to go over their equipment and supply checklists one last time, because once they left, there would be no turning back. Lightning was in command. Princess Luna also gave them final instructions and warnings. “Remember, the distance will affect your powers immensely, and you will not be able to transform. You must proceed with extreme caution.” They all promised, and Goldwin wished them all good luck, and Brain, he never felt so envious of anything before in his life. “I find this exciting. Most exciting.” he said. He had gone on many experimental expeditions before, but almost wished to be going on one as great like this. Of course the dangers and circumstances, not to mention he wasn't even a fighter and little old, made him see otherwise but he expressed his concern and gratitude for everyone with a song “Adventure is a wonderful thing” By the time his song was over, the team dashed at the portal waving goodbye to everyone as they vanished and the last thing they heard was Brain giving them his final farewell. “I salute you! And those of who may be doomed to never return, I salute you twice!”