//------------------------------// // Chapter 45: Eyes of Blight // Story: A Rift Between Worlds // by Cinders of War //------------------------------// “Princess Celestia? Can you hear us?” The alicorn opened her one good eye, a blurry image filling its vision. After a few seconds of staring blankly at whoever was speaking, her vision finally adjusted, allowing her to see the relieved faces of Sunset Shimmer and Home Run. “Sun... set, Home Run…” she said, but it felt like she had swallowed molten lava. Her throat burned when she tried to speak. “I’m sorry… The Grineer… Second portal…” “Don’t speak so much,” Sunset placed a hand on her muzzle. “You’re hurt. We’ll get you back to Equestria.” Celestia looked between both of them and nodded. She trusted them. “Can you carry her?” The fiery haired girl turned to her companion. “Sure,” Home Run answered and shifted to pick Celestia up. Portions of her fur had been burnt or caked with dried blood and she had a few bruises along her body. “Whoever did this to you, princess, I’m gonna make them regret it.” Hoisting the alicorn over one shoulder, Home Run looked back, making sure the Grineer heavygunners still hadn’t noticed their escaped prisoner. When he was sure they were still doing their rounds, he nodded to Sunset, who lead the way out. They still had their archwings over their backs, but Princess Celestia didn’t have a suit. Space wasn’t an option for her. “We need to commandeer a ship,” the baseball player said. “Vauban, do you know how to fly one of those Grineer things?” “Their spacecrafts?” the Tenno asked. “I’ve never flown one, but I’m sure I can figure it out.” “Good enough,” Home Run nodded. Holding on tightly to the pony princess, Home Run sprinted after Sunset, keeping up with her as they leapt up to a second floor, then to a platform on the opposite end of a large room, following the coordinates on his minimap to the galleon’s hangar. More Grineer ran out at them from various doorways, but Sunset kept them down with waves of her blue magic. “Here, Sunset, some added defense,” Home Run turned around and tossed three tesla grenades at her, sticking them to her Warframe. As they passed down the halls, the grenade sensors picked up approaching Grineer and arced electricity out at them, taking them down before they could even start firing. “Not bad, Home Run. Good idea,” Sunset told him. “How’s the princess.” They stopped in another large room with two ramps on the left and right, putting Princess Celestia down for a moment. She was unconscious again, but at least she was still breathing. Whoever had done this to her was surely going to get it from them. “Grineer.” Vauban took over and picked the white alicorn up. “A whole assault force. Get ready.” “We’re ready for them,” Ember replied. Home Run quickly pulled out an array of different grenades, ranging from teslas to bounce pads, and trip lasers, tossing them down the ramps as far as he could. At the bottom, from both sides, Grineer troops began pouring in, spotting Sunset and Home Run almost immediately. “Here they come.” Home Run watched in anticipation. The first grenade they triggered was a trip laser, sending a long line across their feet, causing a bunch of them to fall into a cluster of bounce grenades, sending the Grineer flying up into the air. “Got them,” the blue haired boy smiled. “Come on. We better make our move.” “Right,” Sunset nodded. Without warning, Sunset had whipped up a magical storm around them, which picked them up and launched them halfway across the vast room, landing them behind the Grineer and Vauban’s traps. They sprinted on again, heading towards the hangar, the area marked out on their map. Home Run radioed Rarity and Velvet Breeze in, letting them know of their plans, just in case they were still looking out for them. “Roger,” Rarity answered on his visor, giving a nod of her head. “Sorry for the wait. Velvet and I were being held up by an unnecessarily slow-speaking Grineer. It was dreadful, but we’re on our way now.” “Got it,” Sunset said for both of them as Home Run ran ahead, looking up a slope they were supposed to ascend. “We’ll see you at the hangar, or sooner.” Two Grineer shield lancers stood at the top, but with a simple swish of her magic, Sunset had them both against the wall, their shields clattering uselessly to the floor. Then they were flung down the ramp, rolling to a stop against a row of consoles as the pilots and their Tenno made their way up. Home Run smiled at the friend by his side. With those new magical powers of hers, things weren’t even a little bit tough anymore. All Sunset had to do was move the Grineer around like they were toys and they were through. “Man, I love your new powers,” he laughed, throwing a few tesla grenades behind them, just in case. “Me too.” “Yes,” Vauban agreed as well. “Your magic increases our survivability to more than the average number. It also keeps Ember and I from expending too much energy. Effective indeed.” At the top of another ramp, a Grineer ballista flew across the hall, going past Home Run as he stopped to avoid the body. “Sunset! Home Run!” Velvet and Rarity exited from a smaller room on the right. The two girls threw their arms around Sunset, while Home Run simply got a nod of acknowledgement from them both. He didn’t mind. After all, he was still carrying Princess Celestia over one shoulder. “Is she okay?” Rarity inspected the alicorn’s face. “For now. Some Grineer had really wounded her badly, but when we find out who did it, they’ll pay, don’t worry.” “Oh, you won’t have to worry about that nasty Grineer anymore,” Rarity said with a swish of her hair. “We found him on the way here. He was a tough fight, but in the end, we got the better of him, didn’t we, Velvet?” “We did,” she confirmed. “That’ll teach him to mess with the princess.” “Nice.” Home Run gave them a thumbs up. “Then come on, let’s get out of here. The hangar’s close now.” As usual, more Grineer began pouring in from the entrance Velvet and Rarity had come from, and from below the ramp, the bullets already directed at them. Sunset brought up a barrier, protecting Princess Celestia. “Go. I’ll keep them back. Get Princess Celestia out of here!” “Right, let’s go.” Home Run led the way. Rarity nocked an arrow, firing it at a butcher who got close, pinning him against the wall by the arm. Velvet finished him as they passed. The next two corridors contained a few more Grineer troopers, but Rarity and Velvet made swift work of them. Just in the next room, a bombard had fired a rocket at them from a second floor, but it suddenly stopped in midair, contained in a bubble by blue magic. Walking out from behind, Sunset turned the rocket around and sent it back to the bombard. A small explosion rocked the room, sending pipes and wires falling from the ceiling, scattering sparks across the metallic flooring and blocking that path completely. “That’s one exit dealt with,” Home Run looked to the side where a group of Grineer space vehicles were docked. There were all sorts of vehicles, but they all looked like they could only fit one person at a time, except for a big yellow coloured one with two arms. “Ogma,” Vauban explained. “Grineer combat pod. This’ll do. Get in, everyone.” “Are you sure you can pilot this thing, Vauban?” Home Run opened the door and placed Princess Celestia down at the back, with Rarity moving to watch over her while the baseball player got into the front seat. Sunset and Velvet stood behind him, looking at the various buttons on the dashboard and consoles. “I can learn. Strap in, everyone. We’re heading home.” “If you need any help, I’m sure I can figure something out with my magic,” Sunset assured the boy, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll keep that in mind, Sunset. Alright, it’s all yours, Vauban.” Home Run’s Tenno partner took over the Warframe, pushing a few buttons before pulling back a lever. The boy felt the spacecraft begin to move as Vauban pushed another button before grabbing the controls. “Here we go,” Velvet said and buckled in at the back. Vauban tilted the stick down, sending the Ogma speeding out of the hangar through a barrier and out into the vacuum of space. Home Run watched his hands move as his Tenno partner tilted the controls to the left, turning the Ogma so that Earth was visible through the front window. “We’ve got some friends behind us,” Vauban said as a radar on the console began beeping, displaying six yellow blips. “Grineer Dargyns.” “Can we outrun them?” Sunset looked at the radar. “Negative. We’ll have to fight. Hold on.” Vauban maneuvered the ogma around, lifting one arm and pointing it at the nearest Grineer spacecraft. The dargyns were strange pod-like crafts, standing vertically with a gun underneath it. They were small and likely less armored than the vehicle they had, but there were six of them. “Here goes nothing,” Vauban said as he pushed a button on the flight control. A missile launched from its arm, heading straight for the group of dargyns. They swerved out of the way, but the last one was hit right at the top, disappearing in explosion as the other Grineer boosted away from it. “One down.” Sunset patted Home Run on the shoulder. “Good work, Vauban.” Then the ogma buckled to one side as bullets began raining down on its hull from the right. “It’s not over yet…” Rarity looked out one of the portholes. Ash appeared on Home Run’s visor. “Velvet Breeze and I will use the archwing to fight them off. You keep going, Vauban. Get the Lotus home. We shall follow alongside and keep them off you.” “Affirmative. Good luck, Ash,” the analytical Tenno replied. “I’ll go with Velvet,” Sunset said. “Two’s better than one.” “In our case, four, Sunset Shimmer,” Ember spoke. “Let’s see if the Grineer like a little fire.” “Fire doesn’t work out in space, does it?” Rarity asked, putting a hand on Princess Celestia to steady her as the ogma did a quick turn to avoid the gunfire. “These questions are irrelevant,” was all Ember said. “Let us go.” “Keep them safe, Home Run. Vauban.” Sunset waved to them. “Sure thing, Sunset. I’ll do my best.” The fire Tenno jammed her fist on a button, opening the ogma’s hatch. Sunset and Velvet flew out, activating their archwings and disappearing behind the ogma’s chassis. Home Run and Vauban kept the ogma on a steady course for Earth, hoping to get back without anymore interruptions. They still didn’t know how badly injured Princess Celestia was, but once they were back in Equestria, magic should be able to take care of her. “Sunset, Velvet,” Home Run said on the comms. “How are you doing out there?” He watched the radar, seeing two new blips, which were likely his two friends, coloured in green. There were still five dargyns out there, tailing behind the ogma, but spinning and swerving around, likely dodging Sunset’s and Velvet’s attacks. “They’re quick, I’ll give them that.” Sunset’s face appeared on the boy’s visor. “Our archwing weapons are strong, but if we can just get a good hit on them…” “Then it will be over for them,” Ash finished. “What about your fancy magic?” Home Run asked. “Can’t you used any of that out there?” “The archwing takes up the conduit slot, Home Run,” Ember explained, appearing on his HUD. “If Sunset Shimmer wishes to use magic, then my Warframe cannot power the archwing. It’s one or the other.” “Well, that’s… okay.” “Don’t worry, Home Run,” Sunset assured. “We’ve got this, with or without magic.” “Alright,” Home Run nodded. “I’ll leave the Grineer to you. We’ll get Princess Celestia home safely. Kick it, Vauban.” “What would you like me to kick, Home Run?” “Right…” The baseball player wanted to smack his face. “Just… full throttle away, buddy.” “The Lotus has escaped!” the Worm yelled at a squad of Kuva Grineer. “You let her escape, you lumbering beasts!” The Grineer before the queens shuffled anxiously. “Worst of all, Sargas Ruk and Tyl Regor are now dead! How can you Grineer be so incompetent! Now my sister doesn’t have a suitable host!” “Enough, Worm.” The older queen thudded her staff’s end on the metallic floor. “If they don’t want to give me a new body, then so be it! They can burn with the rest of their world!” “But sister-” “Hush! Bring in the Balor Fomorian! Their planet will burn! My body can wait. If they want to resist us, then they will all die! After we destroy this planet, the Lotus’ will be next. Then all will fall under the might of the Grineer armada and its Twin Queens!” “As you say, sister.” The Worm turned back to the Grineer. “You heard her. Get the Balor Fomorian ready! Let’s wrap things up.”