//------------------------------// // Episode 17: For whom the wedding bells tolls // Story: My Brave Pony Starfleet Magic: Season VI // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// “Previously on Starfleet Magic…” Princess Avaynna had returned armed with a powerful tractor beam, which she had used to capture a large amount of escaped prisoners and threatened to unleash the army on United Equestria, unless Mykan Stevens would agree to become her husband. Meanwhile, Lippy Sync discovers the mutiny his wicked mother, Mayor Windy Bag, is plotting against the planet, but how can either situation be dealt with now? EPISODE SEVENTEEN (Play this music) Pony Mykan Stevens raced across the fields with the angry mob on his tail. It was really him, not a puppet clone, as he was in desperate need of food and had to try and fetch it himself! “You won’t get away this time!” shouted Windy Bag as she and her mob continued to chase him down, and she ordered the mob to spread out and try to corner him. Poor Mykan was finding it really hard to escape, as he was weak from starvation as well as his years of bad eating and malnourishment. “I’ve… got to… get home again!” he groaned softly, and he held his aching stomach as he gurgling painfully. He continued to run straight for a clearing, but a small gaggle of the mob blocked him off forcing him to turn back and try to sneak into an alley, only to find it also was blocked off. Everywhere he ran he was stopped by more of the mob, even when he tried to take to the rooftops there were more mobsters. One of the mobsters grabbed onto his tattered rags, but Mykan broke free and leapt down to the ground. He barely managed to keep his balance in his weary condition, but things only got way worse as he realized he was completely surrounded with no place to run, and he couldn’t use his smoke powder this time, there were just too many ponies surrounding him, and he was nearly totally exhausted and starving that he finally collapsed in the road. In the midst of things, he had dropped a small pouch from within his rags. Windy Bag walked right up to him and glared at him fiercely, “I have a little score to settle with you!” Mykan finally passed out. Lippy saw everything from the window, saw the mob taking poor Mykan into bondage, and many more of them were headed towards town-hall. “I have to get out of here!” he cried, and he ran out of the room in such a hurry he almost bumped into the wall near the door. Windy Bag came into her office feeling very content. “How lucky can I be?” she said to herself “Not only am I going to fix the world, I’m finally going to get what should rightfully be mine; the great fortune on the mansion of Sephia Stevens.” Suddenly, she gazed at her desk and noticed her letter was still there, but not the way when she left it… turned upside down and tilted instead of being straight and right side up. …Someone had been reading her letters, but whom? She had no time to worry about that now, especially seeing as she had enough to prepare for. Meanwhile, Tree Hugger had sent the girls to bed after a good evening with them, doing yoga, having snacks, she even helped them brainstorm ideas for their diorama project; even though she had no idea what Planet Earth was supposed to look like. Still, as she checked on the girls and saw them sleeping like angels, it really gave her a good feeling deep down; almost like a mother putting her children to bed. She began to imagine the crusaders like her own children, and then her husband, Buddy Rose, would stand behind her and take her softly into his arms, giving her an even greater feeling. She sighed softly, still wishing she could find a way to get Buddy to realize how much she wanted him. She went downstairs, and began to worry about Buddy Rose. He was very late in coming home, and that’s when a letter magically appeared on the coffee table addressed to her from Buddy Rose. “What is this…?” she wondered as she sat down to read the letter. Tree Hugger… How are things going with the girls? I hope they’re all having a great time with you and I hope you’re having fun with them. Listen, I know this may seem on such short notice, but something really big has come up and neither Applejack nor I will be able to come home. I can’t say why as it’s strictly circulated to Starfleet personal. So, I’m asking… would you mind staying with the girls a little longer? I know it’s short notice, but both Applejack and I wouldn’t be requesting this if we weren’t desperate and in need. If you agree, can you use the reply function of this magic letter and send it back to us at once? Love…Yours Truly: Buddy Rose. PS: Just ignore that little cross-out. Tree Hugger couldn’t help but giggle at the way the letter ended, but she took the crossed-out “Love” as a great sign. She wrote her reply… Hey, Handsome… It’s totally cool. I can handle the girls longer, and we are having a great time. You don’t have to worry about us, just take care of yourself. In all seriousness… if anything was to happen to you, I seriously wouldn’t know how to like get over it, but I have faith in you and in all your friends. All my love to you: XXX-- Tree Hugger. She activated the return command on the letter and sent it back before stretching down on the sofa in a loving daze. *Mykan’s POV* After the gathering, their majesties called an immediate emergency meeting to discuss what was to be done about Avyanna’s ultimatum. “I still can’t believe she actually wants me.” I joked “I guess I haven’t lost my touch.” None of the others found what I said very amusing, nevertheless Grand Ruler stated “Mykan, I think it’s already more than agreeable among us all that we have no intention of you surrendering to the Kallanians.” Everyone nodded in a unanimous agreement. “Even if I were to give myself up, I doubt Avyanna would keep her word anyway. I’ve dealt with her before, and she’s pretty sneaky.” Celestia agreed with me, “We anticipate this as well. However, we cannot ignore the impeding threat of all those monsters Avyanna has captured either. If she does so, all those creatures unleashed will do unthinkable but certain damage.” Fluttershy shuddered fearfully at such scary thoughts. Rhymey held her hand softly trying to calm her. Pinkie suddenly put her hand up going, “Ooh-Ooh-ooh, I have an idea! I have an idea.” Then she took a huge breath and rambled very fast of her idea, “We could just sneak onboard the mothership, and capture all the monsters ourselves, and while we’re there we could find their tractor beam and maybe put it out of commission. So the aliens will have nothing to threaten us with anymore and you won’t have to marry the princess, Mykan.” Every one of us in the room gawked awkwardly at her, for her fast talking. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Pinkie.” Lightning said “That ship is two miles wide, and it’s a newer model than the one we destroyed back then. No, without an up-to-date blueprint we wouldn’t have a chance of finding anything in time.” It was really starting to look bleak for everything. The Kallanium II was also impervious to x-ray, or scanning just as the aliens were, whichever that was had yet to be unfurled as well. Suddenly, Artie had thought of something, “I think I know of a way to get what we need.” He explained his idea to everyone, and although everyone was skeptical about the whole ordeal, “It’s a longshot… but it may be just the breakthrough we need.” said Grand Ruler. With that settled we all began to make up a mission plan, and it involved lots of risks and very tight timing. *POV Ends* Early the next day, Pony Mykan Stevens hadn’t eaten a thing all night, and he was very weak and weary, but he could hear someone calling to him, slowly snapping him out of his weariness. “Wake up, Mykan. No, you’re not dead.” Mykan finally found strength enough to find he was tied firmly to a chair in a small and empty shed, and saw Windy Bag and her husband staring at him. “You…” he growled softly at Windy Bag. “You remember me, I see.” Windy asked. “How could I forget? You were one of those brokers who wanted to pawn my family’s mansion and collect the money it was worth; the single greediest, most despicable one of them all!” “Hey!” snarled Chump as he grabbed his ropes “Don’t you talk about my wife that way!” Windy gestured for him to let him go and then spoke deeply to Mykan. “I’ll get right to the point. I want your mansion, but its way up there on the mountain. So, you’re going to get it down here, and then you’re going to give it to me!” “…Never!” Mykan snarled “I hid my house to protect the memory of my mother and father. I’ll never let a snake like you have it!” Chump wanted nothing more than to lunge at the weak pony and beat him to the ground, but again, his wife held him back. “Let’s get one thing straight, Stevens… I want your house, and I will have it, and you will give it to me! But I don’t have time to deal with you now. I’ll leave you here to think about it over, and if you want to survive, I suggest you comply. It’ll make your life so much better.” Then she and Chimp left the poor starving pony in the shed, and locked the door up good, keeping the key in her pocket. “I just don’t get why they always want to do things the hard way.” As she and Chump walked off, Lippy was walking to school, a bit slower than usual as he couldn’t seem to take his mind off of what he had discovered the other night. All he could picture was so many bad things happening… and all this because of his mother’s, and everyone else’s miserable attitudes and ridiculous resentments. Unfortunately, he was still struggling with himself and his fears over what he could do, or even if he should get involved anyway, still fearing of his mother… or the whole town unleashing their wrath on him if he so much as dared. If only something would give him a sign…! Just then, his foot hit something soft in the ground. He looked down and saw a small pouch by his foot, very light and full of some kind of powder. Through his studies, Lippy concluded it was a special kind of teleportation powder, if used just right it would take him anywhere in the whole town, or maybe clear across the country. He heard the school bell ringing and didn’t want to be late or his nasty teacher would be furious with him… more than ever. So he stowed the pouch in his knapsack not wanting to tell anyone about it, and would study into it later. Back at the palace, Krysta and her husband, Topaz had rounded up a large swarm of their best warping fairies for the mission that. “Very good…” said Topaz, “Now we needn’t explain the importance of this mission. Missing a single step can very mean danger to the whole galaxy.” The fairies felt nervous with all that pressure on their shoulders, but they bowed in agreement. Then Krysta had to prepare for her side-mission. *Mykan’s POV* Later that day… Krysta flew off to find me, Artie and Lightning, planning to take us on a trip to the planet Xandra, home of the Starfleet Mental Institutions, where there lied the key to Artie’s plan. Lightning was going along to supervise and they both advised me to come along, which I agreed to. “Well, you said you have no intention of surrendering me, at least for the moment.” I said. “If Avyanna wants me, she’s going to have to come and find me.” Starla shrugged, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were running scared… with cold feet.” she teased. “Cute.” I said smugly. Starla then pecked Lightning deeply to wish him luck, “Just don’t take too long. We don’t trust Avyanna to accept our counter-terms.” Lightning pecked his wife back and said “At least if it fails, this scheme of ours stands a better chance.” I shuddered softly at the thought of having to carrying that part of the plan out. “You okay?” asked Artie. “Yeah, I’m alright.” I said. “Come on, we better hurry.” said Krysta. With that, we prepared to shove of, teleporting from the other side of the planet so as not to be spotted by the Kallanians from space. Soon, we were zooming across the cosmos on a dimensional pathway, which I found most enjoyable like a fun slide ride, “WHOO-HOO-HOO… ALL RIGHT…!!” I exclaimed. The boys and Krysta couldn’t help but chuckle at me. *POV Ends* Meanwhile, Lippy’s school was on a lunchbreak, and the children were all playing in the playground, while Lippy sat by himself and was examining the pouch of powder he had found. Naturally, being in a school like his, those who favored Starfleet were often teased and bullied a lot by those whom detested the force, and Lippy looked up, and saw three big burly ponies looking at him. “Well, well… Lippy Sync.” said the leader, “What’cha got there?” he made a grab for the punch but Lippy backed away. “Leave me alone!” he snapped. The three bullies were livid. “What did you just say to me?” the leader asked in a threatening tone, and Lippy started to feel his nerves shaking “I-I-I said…” The three bullies started to stomp towards him, socking their fists into their hands ready for trouble. “That’s what I thought…” said the leader, and he made another grab for the pouch, but Lippy ran for it causing the bully to fall to the ground. Lippy ran for it! “Get him!” shouted the leader, and he and his goons began to chase after the poor little pony. Some of the other students helped as they were afraid of the bullies, and others also being Starfleet detesters found it too entertaining to do anything but watch. Lippy raced behind the building, but he knew the bullies would be after him, and of course going to his teacher about it wouldn’t help matters at all as his teacher was just as bad as those ponies. Desperate for a way out he suddenly realized what he could try as he gazed down at the pouch. “It’s risky, but it’s better than being here.” The three bullies, thinking they had Lippy cornered, planned to jump out at him from around the corner. Yet when they actually jumped out for him…! “Where’d he go?” “I was sure he was here!” “Split up and look for the runt.” One dash of that powder transported Lippy straight to the mansion on top the mountain. “Wow! What a ride!” he exclaimed. He took a while to look around the dark and spooky mansion, and he felt his knees quaking. He also found it hard to believe this is where the Pony Mykan Stevens had been living. …he knew of his mother’s overly obsession with the mansion, as he was only three years old when the entire incident happened, but he remembered it well, how his mother acted so greedy and ruthless to get the house, back when they lived in Canterlot on Equestria of Old, and well before she became Mayor of White Tail Villiage. He even remembered how he once thought he had caught his mother talking with the mail-pony, not just once, but on separate occasions… even handing him large amounts of cash. He was starting to put it all together, and he fell to his knees in shame. “Mom… how could you!” he groaned, and now she had that poor pony locked up in the shed, and torturing him by letting him starve. For the first time in his life, he had completely forgotten fear and felt his determination peak at its finest. “No, I’m not going to be afraid anymore. Someone has to put a stop to this… and as their supreme majesties as my witnesses, I WILL BE THAT SOMEONE!!” That’s what he wanted to do… except he was trapped in the mansion, on top of the mountain. He couldn’t just leave and climb down, he’d never make it, and the powder he used only teleported him to the mansion itself. Even with his study of magic, he didn’t know too much about it and how it worked. He also had no idea of Mykan’s secret exits and hidden resources of power. Worse than that, he remembered his mother’s plan of mutiny was going to take place that night, and it was already after midday! “Oh, no…! What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of here?” Meanwhile… the council had gathered at the royal palace, and Avyanna had sent another holo-image of herself to make contact. “Where is Mykan Stevens?” she asked rather sharply. Grand Ruler cleared his throat, “I’m afraid he has chosen to decline your invitation, Princess.” Avyanna seemed non-to-pleased, “It was hardly an invitation. It was a direct ultimatum.” “Princess, try to understand…” said Celestia “Mykan comes from a different world; he isn’t like many of the creatures you’ve known. He wouldn’t make you a very good spouse.” Princess Luna stepped forth “However, if you are willing to agree, we will be more than willing to aid you in seeking out another potential candidate whom you could take by your side.” As was expected, Avyanna immediately rejected the offer, “I will settle for no less than what I have demanded. I want Mykan Stevens.” Mantaining his cool, Grand Ruler gave it to her calmly but plainly, “Princess, I regret to inform you that we have no intention of handing Mykan over to you.” Avyanna glared at him furiously, and spoke calmly but firmly, “Then you leave me no choice.” With that, her image vanished… followed by the alarms going off. Pinkie raced to the window and looked out. “Monsters…!” she cried “There’s one! Ooh, there’s another! There’s two more!” One-by-one, several monsters were being beamed down to the planet via the tractor beam from the mothership. About ten different creatures were sent down, but that was it. “Where’s the rest of them?” asked Dyno. “I don’t know, but we better get down there.” said Myte. “Right, let’s go!” shouted Starla, and she and her team headed out the windows. Cadance and Shining Armor went with them while their Aunt and Uncle raised the barriers. “Perhaps we should adjourn to help them as well?” suggest Princess Luna. “Yes, we shall.” said Grand Ruler, and he and his family rushed out the window as well. Meanwhile, Avyanna and Mayne were watching the battle from their monitors. “You only sent a dozen creatures.” said Mayne. “I am perfectly capable of counting, Mayne.” she snapped at him “I am merely giving them a taste of what is yet to come… when I unleash the entire army upon their planet. With their best fighters already exhausted, they won’t have anything left to fight off the rest with.” Mayne sighed softly, but he couldn’t help but ask “And what if the force was suddenly give into your demands and hand over Mykan Stevens?” Avyanna gave him a straight look “Then the attack will be called off. Once we leave here, and return to Kallan with Mykan, once we are wed… we can always send the army back here. Mykan need not know that United Equestria had been destroyed.” Mayne smiled, “You are very clever your highness, it sometimes frightens me.” She took that as a compliment. *Mykan’s POV* The others and I had already arrived at the institution on Xandra, and were being escorted by one of the doctors down the hallways. It was rather creepy passing all the rooms of all the psychos and crazed creatures. Some were role playing with themselves, others were pounding on their doors demanding to be released as they claimed to be sane. The worst of them all was Ace Ray. I had been told stories about him, and he looked just as bad as ever, still refusing to get help. The second he saw us coming he rived and thrashed about “YOU!!!” he shouted “YOU FREAKS!!! YOU PUT ME IN HERE!!! I’LL GET YOU… I GET EVERYONE WHO SO MUCH AS EVEN SMILES AT STARFLEET!!!” He was detained by the medical staff and sedated. “Just ignore him, gentlemen” the doctor said, and he continued to lead us all the way to a room in the back. Once inside, one of the patients was laying strapped to a table. He was a dwarf type humanoid with a long shaggy beard, and red rimmed eyes due to lack of sleep. He seemed to be very twitchy too. “We got your letter last night, Colonel.” the doctor said to Artie “We got him here following your instructions, but we wanted to wait for your arrival before we began.” Artie was grateful, but the rest of us wanted details. “It all started on Unicornicopia, when I was in the academy.” he explained, “While I was on a break and painting a landscape in the yard, I noticed someone rustling about in the bushes. His name was Lavix, and he looked as if he had been on the run for some time. He was dishevelled, weak, exhausted. He looked as if he hadn’t slept for months. I tried to approach him and ask what was wrong, but all he did was grab me and cry, “Help me! They’re after me! I don’t want them to find me!” I notified my superiors and Lavis was taken in, and it turned out he was a defector, and an old contracting engineer for vehicles, including starships. Unfortunately, we had no idea where he came from as the data wasn’t available to us then, and our mind reading devices hadn’t been perfected yet.” Poor Lavix twitched on his bed “I don’t want to go back! You can’t make me! Please don’t go back!” The rest of us could pretty much guess that he was brought to the asylum in hopes of making him better with treatment, which obviously wasn’t working. “And what does this have to do with things again?” I asked. Artie then pointed to a marking on Lavix’s hand: A black rhombus with a white serpent around it. “That’s the mark of the Kallanium Empire.” said Lightning “PLEASE, KEEP THEM AWAY FROM ME!!” cried Lavix! Just the mention of the empire made him fuss and cry in pain. The doctor and his nurse calmed him down. “The poor guy.” said Krysta “Whatever happened to him must’ve been really bad.” After Lavix had calmed down, Artie approached him. “Lavix… do you remember me?” Lavix gazed up Artie, but shook his head softly “All I remember is… being tortured, threatened, and harmed by my former comrades. I can’t go back there! Don’t let them take me.” “Calm down, we aren’t going to hurt you. We just need something from you, it won’t hurt at all. Just relax…” Artie then motioned to the doctor to begin, and a mind probing device was aimed at Lavix’s head and switched on. “What’s that!” cried Lavix “What’s happening to me?” “It’s alright, just relax.” said the nurse. Lightning Krysta and I gawked at one another wondering what was going to come out from all this. *POV Ends* Meanwhile, the battle was rough. The monsters sent were much stronger and more dangerous than most others, and the team had to fight harder than ever. “GALACTIC PROJECTILE!” “WHIPLASH STRIKE!” “THRASH SLASH!” “BOOM-BOOM FLARE!!” Several monsters were knocked out and imprisoned. Cadance, as the Silent Ninja, focussed her powers and send a ground shockwave knocking two more monsters of their feet. Then, Shining Armor, or rather Saber, held his sword up high, “STRIDENT SABER SHOCK!” Zapping the beasts hard, they exploded and were imprisoned. Six monsters down, and only four to go. Five of the six Valkyries of Harmony combined their swords together and bound the remaining beasts in a bundle, allowed the three royal alicorns to combine their powers and imprison the beasts. “Is everyone alright?” Grand Ruler called out, though a little tired everyone was alright, but that’s when Avyanna sent another holo-message. “You have had but a sample of the power I possess. Unless Mykan Stevens is delivered to me by sundown, I will unleash the entire army upon your planet!” Before anyone could say anything, the image had vanished. “I don’t think she’s kidding.” said Rainbow. “What was your first guess?” Spike said. Starla gazed up at the sky hoping for Lightning and the others to return soon! Grand Ruler was infuriated by the Princess’ threat, and what he would give to have her clapped into irons and tossed into solitary confinement. He was so furious he socked his fist right through the ground. His wife and sister-in-law calmed him down. “Easy, my love…” said Celestia “We’ll think of something.” “Yes, we can think of something…” her husband said “But time…! That’s the one thing we haven’t much of.” “It isn’t over yet.” said Luna “Once Lightning returns, if Artie’s plan is successful, we might have a chance.” *Mykan’s POV* When the others and I finally got back, we all headed straight for the labs and analyzed the information Artie had obtained from Lavix’s mind. Everyone gazed at the computer screens. “Perfect!” cried Artie “An exact layout of a Kallanian star cruiser. I figured Lavix had the information.” Everyone gazed in awe at the layouts. “I’ve never seen anything like It.” said Fluttershy. “A ship so massive in size, Just looking at this hurts my eyes.” said Rhymey. Rarity felt almost like fainting, “Why even the royal palace… all the palaces on the planet don’t compare to this.” Putting all the exclamations aside, this was vital information needed. “We should be able to find the prisoners with ease in the holding areas.” said Lightning, “But unfortunately, the tractor beam they used is so new its power-source could be anywhere.” Grand Ruler looked at the prints, “Well… if only we could isolate its power signals, we could come up with a few possible locations, but the ship still remains immune to our scanning. We still have no way of knowing where to look.” “And we don’t have time to keep doddling like this…” said Celestia “The Princess is expecting Mykan to be on her ship within the hour.” Everyone gazed at me with deep concern, and even I could see no other alternative. “Well then… if you’ll contact the princess. I’m ready.” Soon afterwards, once Avyanna had gotten the message. I stepped outside, dressed in my finest clothes, and stripped my weapons, my cape and teleporter, as was requested by the Princess. Everyone wished me good luck, especially their majesties. “Mykan, believe us, we didn’t want it to come to this.” Grand Ruler said, but I simply smirked and said “Hey, millions of lives on the line… it’s understandable.” Then I looked ahead at the beam of light. “Well… here comes the groom.” Then I stepped forth into the light, and was beamed way up, up, up into the sky, out into space, heading straight for the mothership. To Be Continued...! (Promo) In our next episode: Human Mykan finds himself fighting not only to escape his forced marriage, but for his life and the sake of all of United Equestria as well. Meanwhile, Lippy finally manages to get help from the Cutiemark Crusaders and Tree Hugger, only for them to wind up as hostages alongside of Pony Mykan in Windy Bag’s wicked clasp as she reveals her sinister plot for the planet. Can Mykan escape from the dangers that surround him, and what is Windy Bag’s sinister plot? Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!” (Next Episode: “Part 3: The Bride and Gloom!”)