My Brave Pony: Starfleet Nemesis

by Scipio Smith

By Luna's Light: The Mane Four

The palace was burning.

Harmonius was burning, she had been able to see it from out of her bedroom window when her mama had woken her up in the middle of the night. Snowflame had been able to see the fires lighting up the night sky, see the smoke rising up to block out the moon, see the big ships firing down into the city below. It had all burned into Snowflame's mind even as Mama began to drag her away.

Ever after she'd been dragged from the room she'd been able to hear the screaming outside.

Mama had tried to get her away but...somewhere in the confusion...it was so dark, and there was so much smoke...she'd lost her. She didn't know where her mother was right now.

But she'd found Papa, and that meant things would be alright, didn't it? It did, right? It had to, right?

The palace was burning, Snowflame wasn't sure where she was. The smoke was getting into nostrils and making her eyes water - she wasn't crying, no matter what anyone said, it was the smoke that was making her eyes water - and everything was so dark that she couldn't see very well. But she'd found Papa now, and that meant things would be okay. Everything would be okay soon.

They would, they really would. They had to be.

"Papa," Snowflame said. "What's going on? I was with Mama, but I don't know what happened and-"

"Hush, hush now my sweet, and listen well," Papa said, wiping the tears from her cheeks with one hoof. Captain Summer Storm of the Harmonian Stormbringers was armoured for battle in a cuirass of dull grey metal, unadorned and unornamented, with a canon mounted to his shoulder via a metal strut. He swept off his crested helmet, and Snowflame could see that his face was filthy with sweat and soot stains. "You must go now, and I cannot go with you. Your mother will find you if she can, but...go now, through that door behind you. Do not look back. You must run, do you understand? Enemies have come to our home and the palace is not safe. Find Lightning Dawn if you can, but you must get to Princess Fairgrace. Get her out of here and keep her safe."

"Until you come for us?"

Papa looked down at her, silent for a moment. "I will come if I can but you must keep her safe. I cannot go with you. I must find His Majesty and Prince Shadow, and defend them against our enemies. You must get the princess out of here. Keep her safe, no matter what happens you must protect the princess, do you understand?"

Snowflame nodded, but when she spoke her voice trembled with fear. "I...I'm scared, Papa."

Papa smiled, and nuzzled her forehead. "You are my daughter, little Snowflame, and you are your mother's daughter, and you are the heir to all our courage. And you are a Stormbringer of Harmonius, the youngest Stormbringer that has ever been. Be brave. You must always be brave."

Snowflame. "I...I will, Papa. I'll be as brave as you and I'll find the princess and I'll keep her safe no matter what happens I promise. I swear it!"

"I know you will, for you are our daughter," Papa said. He placed his helmet back upon his head. "Now go, and whatever happens...remember this. Go!"

Snowflame turned away and began to run, her hoof-falls echoing upon the tiled floor as the bolted through the door from the southside of the room and into the darkened chamber beyond. She bumped headfirst into something. A stone plinth...a plinth! That meant she was in the Hall of Statues! She knew where she was now! She must have come from the antechamber, and if she could get to the back of this room and find the door on the left she could make it to the royal-

The crack of a door being rendered into splinters, and the splinters falling to the ground, grabbed Snowflame's attention. She turned. She could still see Papa, only now he was silhouetted against the flames from the chamber beyond. The other door, the door that led into the antechamber from the Hall of Fountains, had been broken open. The Hall of Fountains was burning. Fire was all that she could see, and the billowing inferno silhouetted her father against it.

It also silhouetted the immense two-legged figure who stepped through the flames as though they were nothing.

Snowflame couldn't see his face. He was nothing more than an immense silhouette.

He was a giant, and he made Papa seem so small...but Papa stood before him nonetheless and did not flinch.

Snowflame was frozen. She couldn't run, even though she had been told to. She couldn't turn her back on her father. She could...she could only watch.

Papa won't lose. Not to this, not to anyone or anything!

Papa said nothing. He let his cannon speak for him as it erupted once, twice, three, four times with blazing pulses of green energy aimed straight for the mountain opposed to him.

They all dissipated harmlessly off a golden shield around his enemy.

Snowflame heard her father growl with anger as he spread his wings and took flight, soaring to the top of the room, so that he was level with the head and face of his enemy. His cannon kept firing, and his horn flared as he began to summon his spears of light.

Nopony had ever beaten Papa's spears. Snowflame clung to that knowledge as she watched the spears of glowing green energy began to form, a dozen of them all around Papa and pointed at his enemy.

The monstrous figure, still silhouetted by flames, moved so swiftly that Snowflame could barely register what he'd done...and then Papa collapsed to the ground, his spears dissipated, his cannon clattering to the floor as the supporting strut was severed...and her father bled from the gaping gash that had been opened in his chest.

His armour had been cut clean through, as though it was made of paper.

"Papa!" Snowflame shrieked.

Papa opened his eyes and looked at her. "Run...Snowflame," he growled, as he got up off the floor to face his enemy again. He stood on his hind legs, wings flared apart, flapping them to steady himself as he bared his forehooves.

And his enemy cut him down again. He sliced off one of Papa's wings, he cut him again and again as Papa's blood sprayed everywhere. He butchered her father like a piece of meat. And he laughed. He did not speak but he laughed, deeply and richly as if nothing could be more amusing to him than this, the death of a brave pony who had dared to defy him.

And Snowflame ran. She turned and ran and left her Papa to die. And the laughter of his killer rang in her ears as she fled.

"But she was not working alone," the Grand Ruler declared, having just pronounced Fluttershy guilty of the murder of her husband, Rhymey. Lightning wasn't sure that he believed that. He wanted to trust in His Majesty, he wanted to believe His Majesty, he certainly did not want to believe that His Majesty would knowingly lie either to himself or to the people (of course, His Majesty was so very wise that none could decieve him even if they wished to do so) but...Fluttershy? That kind and gentle mare? She had killed Rhymey? Even leaving aside the difference in their strengths - frankly the idea that Fluttershy could overcome Rhymey in a fight was ludicrous, and he found it even harder to believe that she could take him by surprise - the fact was that it was not in her nature to do such a thing.

Unless she deceived me somehow.

No. No I was foolish, but never so much of a fool as to completely misjudge someone thus. And my foolishness was in not appreciating the virtues of Twilight's friends, not in failing to recognise any monstrous vices they possessed.

I am sorry, Your Majesty, but you are wrong. You say that Fluttershy was not working alone, but I cannot think that she was working at all. These co-conspirators, whoever they are, have sought to put the blame on her for Rhymey's death but she is innocent. I would stake my honour on it.

What honour remains to me.

"No one pegasus mare could possibly overcome a Starfleet warrior alone," the Grand Ruler said, as though he was conceding Lightning's point. "She was assisted by none other than Twilight Sparkle herself!"

Lightning gasped. His eyes widened. He lurched forward in his bed as though by getting a couple of inches closer to the screen he would correct the deficit that had led to him mishearing Rhymey's killer named as Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight?" Krysta yelled. "Did you just say...but Twilight's...I don't...huh?!"

"Yes!" the Grand Ruler cried, as though he was in dialogue with Lightning and Krysta and not giving a speech across the whole of his empire. "Twilight Sparkle, the great hero of Equestria, the mare whom we all thought so sweet, the princess whom I loved almost as a daughter, did not die a hero's death as we believed! While we were weeping bitter tears over her fate, while we mourned her gallant sacrifice, this false princess was absconding to ally herself with our enemies!"

"L-Lightning?" Fairgrace stammered. "W-what's wrong?"

Lightning's whole body trembled, He gripped his bedsheet in both hands so tightly that his knuckles paled. His breathing was ragged and agitated. It can't be true. It can't possibly be true.

And yet His Majesty was saying it, live on television to the whole nation, and displaying Twilight's picture so that were was no doubt whom he was talking about, and His Majesty's infallibility was axiomatic. It could not be doubted. If he said a thing was so then it was so.

But all the same, it could not be true.

Twilight is dead. I saw her dead body. I found her lying broken on the ground, lifeless, with Raven fled. I carried her broken body into the throne room and laid it before the feet of their majesties. I put the torch to her funeral pyre myself.

Twilight is dead. She has been dead for a year now. And if not... No, no it could not be true. The Twilight Sparkle that he had known, the Twilight whom he had come to admire, the Twilight...the Twilight he had come to love would never have allowed her friends to think her dead for a whole year, to mourn for her, to grieve, to weep tears to collapse into a morass of...she would not do it. She did not have a heart for such cruelty. She did not have it in her soul to thus hurt those she loved. If Twilight had survived then she would have returned to her friends, without a doubt.

His Majesty the Grand Ruler might be all knowing, but Lightning knew in his heart that it was not in Twilight Sparkle's nature to so decieve and in deception wound those whom she called friends.

But then what in the galaxy is going on? Why has His Majesty proclaimed Twilight to be alive? Could she...could she have returned more recently?

He wanted it to be true. He could not express in words how badly he wanted that to be true. If Twilight lived...if she had returned...

Then perhaps I am not beyond salvation.

Lightning groaned and grunted as he struggled up out of his bed and got to his feet.

"L-L-Lightning!" Fairgrace cried.

"What are you doing?" Snowflame demanded.

"I have to go," Lightning grunted. "I have to find Twilight."

"But you can barely stand up!" Snowflame snapped.

"That doesn't matter, I can't wait," Lightning declared. "I have go now, I have to find her."

Krysta rose slowly into the air, ascending closer to his face. "You don't believe this, do you? You don't really think that...I mean...we both saw-"

"I believe that Twilight died on that field against Raven," Lightning replied. "I know that for a certain fact. But...if there's even a chance that she's back...if even a part of her survived...then I have to find her. I have to do what I can to make this right!"

"Hold on for just one second," Snowflame said. With a flick of one hoof she turned off the TV, silencing His Majesty in the midst of his speech. "What's going on here? Who is Twilight Sparkle and who was she to you, our Lightning?"

"She was...Twilight was...someone I let down in more ways that I could describe," Lightning said. "I failed Twilight when she was alive. I failed her even more after she was gone. Have you ever made a mistake so monumental that you'd do anything to take it back? Twilight...I have to find her if there's anything of her to be found. I have to make amends for everything I've done."

"I understand," Krysta said. "But, Lightning, you're still injured. You've gotten better, but you still need to rest, you can't just go gallivanting off looking for Twilight when you don't even know where to start. You've been told to get some rest-"

"And I've spent half my life doing just what I was told and where has it gotten me?" Lightning demanded. He sighed. "I shouldn't shout at you, I'm sorry, but...looking back on my life it feels like the last time I made a meaningful decision for myself was when I was seven years old and we agreed to come to Unicornicopia with His Majesty together. Since then I've done nothing but obey the orders of other people. I've obeyed His Majesty, I've obeyed my superiors, I've done everything that was ever expected of me, I've been a good soldier and I've fulfilled the destiny that His Majesty laid out for me and for what? So that I could carry Twilight's body into the throne room? So that I could order her friends to their deaths? I need to do this, Krysta. I choose to do this. It may not be a smart choice, and it may not be the best choice but it is my choice. My first choice in far too long."

Krysta stared at him for a moment, as if she was gauging his resolve. "Well okay then. Where do we start?"

"We?"

"What, are you the only one who gets to make stupid decisions?" Krysta asked. "This is you and me, all the way."

"Ac-ac-actually," Fairgrace's voice was soft, but clear. She frowned momentarily, and then began to sing. "Actually, I think you'll find it's the four of us. Th-th-that is if you d-don't mind, Snowflame?"

Snowflame grinned. "If you hadn't said it, princess, I would have."

"Girls, I-"

"Don't do it," Snowflame warned him. "Don't give a long speech about choice and then try and deny us our right to choose this. I kind of want to meet this girl now, she clearly made an impression on you. And besides, we Harmonians better stick together don't you think?"

"Ahem," Krysta said.

"You're Lightning's pal, that makes you an honourary Harmonian in my book," Snowflame said without missing a beat. "And besides, we need the extra numbers."

"Girls," Lightning repeated. "I don't..." He tailed off. What would Twilight do right now? He smiled, or hoped that it came across as a smile. "Thank you all, so much. I don't deserve any of you."

"Probably not, but you're stuck with us now," said Krysta.

"So what's our next move?" Snowflame asked. "How do we find this Twilight Sparkle?"

"I don't know where to look for Twilight," Lightning confessed. "So we need to start by finding Twilight's friends."

"B-because they'll know?" Fairgrace guessed.

"Not necessarily," Lightning admitted. "But if I know them at all, then they're already looking for Twilight even as we speak."

Rainbow Dash folded her arms as she settled down on the couch. Out of the corners of her eyes she glowered at the stallion sitting on the chair opposite. "I still don't get why it's you doing these stupid grief assessments. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"I didn't think that you'd want to talk about this to a stranger," Lightning replied, his voice low. He balanced his clipboard - full of forms, no doubt, for him to quantify just how badly Rainbow was feeling as though you could boil it down to numbers or checkboxes - on his knee and let go of it. "I thought it would be best if this was kept in the family."

Rainbow's lips curled into a sneer. "Don't do that?"

Lightning's expression was blank. "Do what?"

"Talk like you’re one of us," Rainbow growled, her voice rising like a breeze that suddenly becomes a gale. "You have never stood shoulder to shoulder with us and you never stood shoulder to shoulder with Twilight! So don't give me that 'in the family' crap! You don't get to spit on Twilight while she was alive and then turn round and pretend to care that she's gone."

Lightning wiped away the flecks of Rainbow's spit from around his eye. "You may not believe this, captain, but I admired Twilight Sparkle a great deal."

Rainbow stared at him as a snort escaped her. "Yeah, you're right. I don't believe you."

Rainbow expected - Rainbow half-hoped, to be honest - that Lightning would lose his temper. She wanted him to yell at her, if only so that she could yell back. She wanted him to pull rank; she wanted him to tell the truth about how he felt. She wanted something out of him that would let her vent the rage that was building up in her like a fire without a chimney to let the smoke out.

She wanted something that would let her forget the guilt that was gnawing at her insides.

But if she was making Lightning angry he didn't show it, he kept an iron control over his temper and maintained an outward face of infuriating calm. "We aren't here to talk about me."

"Oh, yeah? Then what are we doing here?" Rainbow demanded, even though she already knew the answer.

"I have to assess your mental state and fitness for duty after..." Lightning trailed off. "After Twilight's death."

Rainbow leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her knees and bowing her head so that she didn't have to look at him any more. "Is this the part were you ask me how I feel?"

"How do you feel?" Lightning asked.

Rainbow blinked. "Was she alive when you got there?"

Lightning was silent for a moment. "Captain?"

"It's a simple question," Rainbow said. However, she repeated it more slowly, anyway, in case he had trouble keeping up. "Was Twilight alive when you got there?"

She looked up, hoping for some expression on his face: anger, disgust, sorrow, anything. But there was nothing. Just a blank, just...nothing. "No," he admitted, after a while. "No, I was too late."

"Sure you were," Rainbow said, though she found herself surprised by the lack of malice in her voice as she said it. "But I'm faster than you, so...even if I'd left after, there's a chance I could have...gotten there in time."

"Captain," Lightning began, and then paused. "Rainbow Dash-"

"I keep asking myself why," Rainbow said, looking down at her booted feet on the soft blue carpet. "I keep asking myself what in Celestia's name I was thinking. Why didn't I follow her straight away? Why did I put taking on Harkin over backing up Twilight? Why didn't I go after her once Harkin was gone? Why did I just sit around on my b*tt while Twi was...while Twi was..."

"You had your orders, like we all did," Lightning murmured.

"And that's supposed to be an excuse?" Rainbow demanded. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? Am I supposed to be able to look Shining Armour in the face and tell him that I let his sister die alone because I was following orders? When I see Twilight again am I supposed to say 'Gee, sorry about leaving you to die, Twilight, but I was following orders? I abandoned Twilight, and the fact that I got ordered to do it doesn't make it right!"

"You sound angry."

"You're damned straight I'm angry, my friend is dead!" Rainbow yelled. Her chest heaved, but she wouldn't cry. Not in front of this jerk, or any of his Starfleet pals. That would never happen, no matter how bad the tears wanted to fall. "My friend is dead," she repeated. "My friend is dead, am I supposed to ignore that? Am I supposed to just get over it? You asked me how I felt well this is how I feel! I want to throw this stupid rank insignia in your stupid face and spend my time hunting down the bitch who killed Twilight."

"If you did that you'd be as dead as Twilight is," Lightning said. "There's no way you can match Raven's power. Even if you had gone to her aid...you'd have perished alongside her."

"So what?" Rainbow demanded. "So what if I died, at least I wouldn’t have to feel like this!" She stopped, her eyes wide, her breath catching in her throat. She'd said it. She'd...admitted it. She'd known, she'd known for a while now, but...this was the first time she had said it out loud.

Rainbow found she was perversely glad to be talking to Lightning Dawn in this moment. If it had been Pinkie or Fluttershy or anypony that she actually liked...her friends didn't need to hear that. They had enough troubles of their own.

The face of Lightning Dawn was as devoid of expression as ever. "I...I won't insult you-"

Rainbow snorted. There were times, and this was definitely one of them, when it felt as though everything that Starfleet did was a calculated insult.

"I won't insult you," Lightning repeated. "By pretending to an empathy that I don't possess. But...do you really think that Twilight would want you to feel this way?"

"I don't know," Rainbow said. "And I can't very well ask her now, can I?" She smiled bitterly. "So how did I do? How is my mental state? Am I fit for duty?"

Lightning didn't reply. She was disappointed; she'd been genuinely curious as to the response.

"Is it okay if I let go of you now?" Maud asked.

Rainbow slumped in Maud's iron grip. She tried to shut her ears to the offensive garbage that the Grand Ruler was spewing about Twilight on the big screen. She was even kinda able to do so.

Fluttershy was right; they didn't have time to get angry about stuff like this. So the Grand Ruler hated Twilight, and was determined to make her look bad. What else was new? They had to find her first, they had to bring their princess back to them...and they could worry about all the other stuff later.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah, you can let me go. I won't do anything stupid."

Maud let go, and stepped away. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. There were five of them, waiting by the warehouse doors: herself, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Maud and this cat girl Kitty Snip whom they apparently needed to find Applejack out in the jungle. Rainbow didn't like having her around, but to be perfectly honest - with herself, at least - she wasn't entirely sold on bringing Maud either. Yeah, she was Pinkie's sister and it wasn't as though Rainbow didn't like her or anything but...it felt as though they should have kept this, well, in the family. The six of them.

Rainbow abruptly remembered that they would be getting on a ship with a crew of at least a hundred, and had to snigger at her own stupidity.

"Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know about that," Rainbow said. "But I'm better."

Fluttershy smiled. "I think...I think that we're all a little better, for knowing that she's back." she said. "In spite of everything that's happened, just knowing that Twilight's out there somewhere...it makes the whole world a little brighter, don't you think?"

"Uh-uh," Pinkie said with a shake of her head. "That's not right at all."

Fluttershy looked at her. "You don't think so?"

Pinkie shook her head. "The world got darker when Twilight wasn't in it, but now that she's back it's starting to get back to normal again. But we spent so long in the dark that we got used to it, and so even starting to get back to normal makes things seem like they're getting brighter, but they're not really. We're just beating the darkness back a little."

Fluttershy appeared to consider that for a moment. "But that would still means things are brightening up, wouldn't it?"

"Probably, but I like sound of beating back the darkness," Rainbow said. She grinned. "And the first thing we do once we're all together is come bck and beat-"

"The first thing we're gonna do when we're all together again is have a big Welcome Back party for Twilight," Pinkie said. "No if, no buts, no maybes."

Rainbow's smiled widened. "Yeah, that's definitely the first thing we're gonna do." Righteous retribution could wait a little while, celebrating the return of their best friend couldn't, not for anything.

"It should all be starting soon," said Cerise through her earpiece. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Rainbow said, feeling the pair of green flares clipped to her belt. Pinkie and Fluttershy each had a pair too. They'd pop them when they saw the Princess Twilight to signal Rarity when they found them.

Of course, they could also draw Starfleet forces towards them, but that was why they were going to wait until they could see the ship. And with luck, Princess Luna's distraction would keep Starfleet occupied until they were away.

"Remember," she reminded everyone, in case they hadn't been listening the first time. "We make for the top of that tower there." She pointed out of the small window set into the warehouse door, to one of the largest towers in New Canterlot, a great pillar of glass and steel rising up into the skyline. "If we get split up, we keep on going and we all make our way to the top of the tower. But we won't leave until we're all at the top." She almost said 'Or unless we have no other choice' but stopped herself. They couldn't do this without all six of them. Having to do so...it was absolutely unthinkable.

"I might not have time to say this when all the fun starts," Cerise said. "But good luck out there, Rainbow Dash. And when you find Princess Twilight, tell her I still owe her a drink for saving my life."

"One drink?" Rainbow replied. "When we find Twilight I'm gonna by every drink in the bar."

The screen on the wall flickered for a moment before the Grand Ruler's frothing countenance was replaced by the benevolent face of Princess Luna.

"Excuse me just a moment," Princess Luna said. "Pardon me for interrupting, but I have something to say and I'd like you all to hear it."

"I think that's our cue, girls," Rainbow said, as she flung open the side door out of the warehouse. "Let's go!"

Hold on Twilight, hold on Applejack, hold on Spike.

Hold on everyone. We're coming.

Rarity sat down upon the couch, with her elbows resting upon her knees. She looked down at her feet, encased in the rather ugly boots prescribed as part of the uniform. For a few moments she engaged in a detailed study of her shoe-tips.

Lightning Dawn cleared his throat. "Whenever you're ready, Captain Rarity."

Rarity took a deep breath, and then exhaled it out through her nostrils. She frowned, crinkling her white coat as she did so. "You know...Twilight had such grace. You're probably very surprised to hear me say that, but it's true. Of course, it would also be true to say that there were times - many times, in fact - when she could be an embarrassing, adorable...thoroughly precious little...I believe the vulgar word for what I'm looking for is 'dork' but of course I, being a perfect lady, would never describe a friend in such a fashion. Except that...at the moment I...I can't really find a more properly refined way of putting it.

"It's true that, when I first met her and on many occasions after, Twilight exhibited somewhat of a lack of social grace, but of course she was so young at the time."

"I understood that you were all roughly of an age," Lightning said softly.

Rarity snorted. "I'm not talking about years, darling, I'm talking about...I suppose you might call it maturity. When I first met Twilight it was...she was so intelligent, but at the same time she...it was as if she had been raised in...well, it was as if she had been raised in a palace cloistered with the leader of the land, which of course she had been. It made her wonderfully, almost childishly eager at times: to see all that there was to be seen, to do all that there was to be done. I remember how much she wanted to pitch in for Winter Wrap-up, how excited she was to run with the leaves. But of course it also meant she could be frightfully oblivious to how she appeared to others...but that was a part of her charm, in it's own way."

She paused for a moment, blinking back the tears that threatened to escape from her trembling self-control. "I sometimes...I feel as though one of the lesser gifts of being Twilight's friend was that I had the opportunity to watch her grow. Grow up, yes, but grow into herself also. Grow more confident, more comfortable in her own coat. Grow into her social presence and, as she grew, so grew her grace. By the...she could light up a whole room just by walking into it." She shook her head, even if it was ever so slightly. "Said he, 'She has a lovely face; Gods in your wisdom lend her grace'."

"A poem?" Lightning asked.

"Indeed," Rarity murmured. "One of my favourites. Very sad but, at the same time...beautiful."

Lightning coughed. "I'm not entirely sure how any of this relates to your grief-"

"Well maybe you should try listening for once and letting me finish instead of interrupting, sir, and then I might be able to come to the point!" Rarity snapped.

She looked up, nostrils flaring with anger, to behold the look of surprise on Lightning Dawn's face.

Rarity snorted. "Why the look of great astonishment, admiral? Does it confound you to learn that I have real emotions and not simply the artifice of theatrical melodrama? Does it astonish you that I can sit here and reminisce about a dear friend without falling into a swoon or a faint?"

Lightning stared at her. Then he averted his eyes away. "If it does surprise me the fault is mine, not yours."

"Indeed," Rarity declared in a voice as dry as champagne. "So, Admiral Lightning Dawn, if talking about Twilight's grace is not helpful from your perspective then what would you like me to say? Should I tell you that life goes on? Should I tell you that Twilight wouldn't want me to be sad? Should I tell you that I've over it already, so over it I can't even remember in the first place, what do you want from us?"

"I don't want anything from you, or anyone else," Lightning's reply was a little hoarse. "Except the truth."

"The truth," Rarity whispered. She put her head in her hands, and held them there for a moment. "The truth, the truth. The truth is...it's strange, you might agree, what we focus on in these situations. The things that niggle at us, the things that we remember. It doesn't bother me that I didn't get the chance to tell Twilight that I loved her, because I'm fairly confidently certain that she knew that well enough already. But it does bother me, it bothers me so very much, that I didn't have the opportunity to tell her, before the end, how very graceful she had become...and how much I admired her for it. Because I'm not at all sure that she already knew that."

Lightning said nothing. Rarity found that she wasn't surprised. He had never struck her as a stallion of great sophistication.

She closed her eyes for a moment. "You know, I remember when we all joined Starfleet."

She opened her eyes again, long enough to see by the expression on his face that Lightning remembered it too.

"Twilight led the way, of course," she said. "And we all followed, as we so often did. We were all so eager then. Twilight especially had such high hopes but all of us, I think...perhaps we were naive, to not really understand what we were getting into. At the time it seemed like nothing more than our next grand adventure."

"I think," Lightning murmured. "I think that if you were to ask all the young people who enlist in Starfleet what they think that they're getting into, most of them would tell you that they think it will be a grand adventure. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"How many of those young mares and stallions do you think look back on their past naivety with cruel mockery, under the harsh light of hindsight?" Rarity asked.

"I...I really couldn't say," Lightning said, for all that he looked in that moment as though he was doing or had done that exact same thing himself.

"Look at our grand adventure now," Rarity said. "Sitting here talking about my feelings about the death of my friend so that you can decide if I'm sufficient uncaring of it to be sent back out to fight."

"That isn't the point of this assessment."

"Isn't it?" she asked. "Well, that's very delightful to hear, I suppose. But the point is that...the point is that I look back and I think we were such fools to get involved in this.

"War is so terrible," she said. "It amazes me that you can be so fond of it."

Rarity drummed her fingers upon the arm of her chair as she waited for the appointed moment to act.

She felt so helpless. Stuck up here in space while her friends were in peril on the ground. Unable to help them. Unable to act.

Of course, if she acted precipitately then she could render herself unable to help them in a far more permanent way than her present immobilisation, but that knowledge was of precious little comfort to her right now.

She wanted to do something. She wanted to bring the Twilight roaring out of this debris field and down into the atmosphere and save her friends. She wanted to find Applejack, she wanted to give Spikey-wikey a big hug and kiss and tell him that everything would be okay from now on.

She wanted to save Twilight, and the sooner the better.

And so she waited, and fretted, and interpreted every moment of delay as a sign that something had gone wrong.

Midnight's holographic image appeared on the arm of her chair. "Cap- Miss Rarity, more Starfleet ships just dropped out of warp. Battleship Majestic and Formidable, battlecruisers Versatile and Manticore, and protected cruisers-"

"Thank you, Midnight, I don't need a complete rundown on their names," Rarity said. "How many cruisers?"

"Seven."

Rarity scowled. The more ships Starfleet assembled the harder this would be, even with Luna's distraction. Not to mention getting out of the atmosphere again to pursuit Twilight to Luminoth.

We have to do everything we can, regardless of the circumstances.

Twilight would do the same for us, and more.

"Bridge Bunny," Rarity called across to the communications station. "What's going on down there?" She had, rather shamefully perhaps, delegated to the younger unicorn the task of listening to all of the Grand Ruler's nonsense to tell her when Princess Luna made her move. Probably she should have listened herself, but she could well imagine the sort of lies and calumnies that he was about to spew about Twilight and her friends, and she had no desire whatsoever to sully her ears with it.

Judging by the expression on Bridge Bunny's face she had made the right decision, if not necessarily the most ethical one.

"Not yet, ma'am," Bridge said. "The Grand Ruler is still speaking. It's...it's not good, Miss Rarity."

"I'm blown away by shock to hear you say such a thing," Rarity declared. "Thank you, Miss Bunny. I do appreciate this."

Bridge Bunny smiled. "It's okay, ma'am, I-" she paused, leaning forward and pressing her headphones to her ear.

Rarity leaned closer in her chair. "Miss Bunny?"

"I think...Princess Luna has just interrupted the broadcast, ma'am!"

"Put it on," Rarity said.

Bridge Bunny nodded as she flipped a couple of switches on her console. Princess Luna's voice filled the bridge.

"Good afternoon, my friends. My name is Princess Luna..."

"I think that's our cue, darlings," Rarity said, as a giddy smile filled her face. Finally, she was about to act. She could practically feel the group hug already. She pressed the button on the arm of her chair to talk to engineering. "Mister Wrench, bring the engine to full power now."

"Aye aye, cap'n!"

"Fratello, raise the shields as soon as the power comes on line."

"Will do."

"Helm, lay in a course for New Canterlot."

"Course laid in, keptin."

"All hands prepare for hostile action and atmospheric entry," Rarity said. "Midnight dear, how many seconds at maximum warp would it take for us to get from here to the edge of the atmosphere." According to best sense ships should rely on impulse power when moving around planets, but she had no desire to spend a second longer than necessary under the guns of all those Starfleet capital ships."

Midnight reappeared on her holographic panel. "At maximum warp we would collide with the surface of the planet after just nought point seven seconds. This is not an outcome I recommend. However, a three point two second burst at warp one will bring us to the closest point at which we can be sure of avoiding collision with any Starfleet vessels."

"Thank you for that timely warning," Rarity said. She opened the line to engineering once more. "Mister Wrench, once the engines are ready I want a three second burst at warp one. We'll proceed the rest of the way on impulse." The loss of the additional point two seconds was a small price to pay for the added guarantee of not ploughing straight into another ship.

"Engines are ready, cap'n."

"Shields are up, Miss Rarity," Fratello said.

"Miss Rarity," Midnight said. "I believe our power signature has been detected. Battlecruiser Renown is moving on an intercept course and I cannot hypothesize any other reason for it to do so."

"Then it's a good thing we weren't planning to hand around much longer," Rarity said, as she leapt from chair and pointed sweepingly at the lush blue world of United Equestria visible in the view screen. "Engage!"

The Princess Twilight Sparkle leapt forward like a racing greyhound out of the gate, in the blink of an eye United Equestria had gone from the main object in Rarity's viewscreen to the only object in the viewscreen, filling the screen completely as the Twilight swooped down upon the planet like a mother bird returning to the nest.

"Detecting incoming fire from multiple sources," Midnight said. "It appears to be wildly inaccurate."

"Their guns won't have been in the right positions," Fratello said. "And they'll have a tough time lining us up at this speed and distance."

Rarity's smiled widened. They could never keep up with Twilight's mind, why should they be able to keep up with her ship?

Darling, when I find you I'm going to tell you that this ship is as beautiful as you are.

"We are now in amongst the Starfleet vessels," Midnight declared, as the Twilight Sparkle began to duck and dive and weave its way amongst and between and over and under the lumbering Starfleet capital ships that stood between it and the ever growing planet that lay before them. Rarity was quite glad that the ship possessed inertial dampeners or she would surely have been quite ill.

"They're going to stop firing now, right?" Bridge Bunny asked. "I mean they wouldn't risk hitting their own ships, would they?"

"You appear to be correct," Midnight said. "All firing has ceased. However, cruisers New Baltimare, New Manehattenp/i] and New Neighfolk are all pursuing us."

"Can we outrun them?" Rarity asked.

"Not at impulse power only. I estimate they will be able to commence firing without fear of hitting friendly targets in six seconds."

The view screen on the bridge became consumed with fire, starting as a yellow flickering upon the edges of the screen before gradually engulfing the entire view as the {i]Princess Twilight began to plough through United Equestria's atmosphere like a diver pushing herself down through the water.

I don't suppose there's any chance they can't or won't follow us down through the atmosphere?

"Cruisers are commencing firing," Midnight said. "Eight inch and six inch rounds incoming."

"Well, Twilight darling," Rarity murmured, as the ship shuddered very slightly under an impact. "I suppose that now we'll find out just how good your shield really is."

"I get that I'm supposed to sit here and talk about this because talking makes things better and friends shouldn't have any secrets from one another and...and we have to...we can't...I get it," Pinkie said, as she lay on the couch in the dark, sterile room. It reminded her of being in a hospital.

She'd never liked hospitals.

"Talking helps," Lightning said stiffly. "Holding it in...it only makes things worse."

"I'll talk," Pinkie murmured. She glanced at him, Lightning Dawn, sitting over her. It was weird, but he looked friendlier now than she thought she'd ever seen him looking before. He still didn't look very friendly, but...he didn't look as though he actively disliked her either. He didn't look as though he couldn't stand being around her. Maybe he pitied her. She wouldn't mind if he did. She...she felt as though...she needed to be pitied right now.

"I'll talk," she repeated. "But...but I don't want to talk about...about her being gone." She didn't even want to think about it. Twilight's...it was like something in the corner of her eye, something that she couldn't look directly at. Something that she was always aware of, even if she didn't want to be.

Something that she couldn't forget no matter how much she wanted to.

Lightning frowned. He bowed his head. "Captain...Pinkie Pie-"

"Can I talk about how she made me smile?" Pinkie asked hopefully. "Can I talk about how, when she'd walk in, I'd get this little tingle feeling in the tips of my hooves - my fingers now, I guess - and I'd get this little smile on my face because 'Hey, Twilight's here.' Can I talk about how she always had time for me, even when she was really busy or I was being really silly, she'd always listen to what I had to say and she'd never be impatient about it."

"Pinkie-"

"Can I talk about how she was strong and so brave, but the bestest thing about her was always the way that she never looked down on anypony, even if they weren't as strong or brave or smart as she was. I always liked that about her. I don't remember if I ever told her that. She probably anyway, because she was really smart that way."

"Pinkie-"

"Can I talk about how, when I'm working in the cafe and I hear the little bell ring above the door, I always think that it's going to be Twilight coming in. And so I look up, and I get ready to smile as I see the whole place light up, and I wait for the tingly feeling in the tips of my fingers because, hey, Twilight's here. But she's not. She's not here. She's gone, and she's never coming back. And I'm never going to see her again." Tears pricked at the corners of Pinkie's eyes, within seconds they were flowing down her face. "Can I talk...can I talk about how much I loved her?" she asked, as she curled up into a sobbing ball on the sofa.

"I wish...I wish that Twilight didn't die," she sobbed. "Because she was my friend."

"We all wish that, Pinkie," Lightning said, after a moment. "For what little it's worth...I really am sorry."

Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Maud and Kitty crouched near the mouth of an alleyway not too far from the big tower that they were going to climb to the top of to meet Rarity and her ship when they arrived.

It looked a long, long, long way up to the top of it, but right now what was even more worrying was that there were still a dozen Starfleet ponies standing around at the base of that big old tower on guard, or whatever they were doing.

Still, looking on the bright side (and Pinkie Pie always liked to look on the bright side because why in Equestria would you want to look on the dark side, huh?) there had been about thirty Starfleet ponies before most of them had run off somewhere else in a big old hurry. Pinkie guessed that Princess Luna had something to do with that.

She had kind of a bad feeling about what Princess Luna was about to do, a bad feeling that she hadn't shared with anypony. Not with Dashie or Fluttershy or even her sister. If they knew what Pinkie thought was going on then...Pinkie hoped that she was wrong; she really, really, really hoped that she was wrong - because there'd been enough sadness and enough hurt and enough loss hadn't there? Hadn't everypony suffered enough? Hadn't Princess Celestia suffered enough? - then it was Princess Luna's own choice, in the end. And if you went around stopping people from doing things because they didn't make sense to you, well, then...well then she, Pinkie, would never get anything done.

And you'd be just as bad as Starfleet in your own way.

Princess Luna was doing a good thing for them. A very good and very brave thing.

I'll never forget you, Princess Luna. Not ever in all my life.

But there were still a dozen Starfleet ponies that they had to get past before they could get to the top of that tower.

"I think now would be a great time to call those zebras and their giant robot," hissed Kitty, who was crouching with her arms wrapped around possessively around Pinkie's neck.

"But if we do that, it might draw even more attention back here," Fluttershy said.

"I get what you're saying, Fluttershy, and I agree that the last thing that we need to do is get caught up in kind of battle," Rainbow Dash growled. "But there are no blindspots in their patrolling pattern and even if there were there isn't any way up that tower except the elevator inside or wings, and with just the two of us we can't carry Pinkie, Maud and the kitty-cat-"

"I have a name, you know!"

"-Up to to the top at once," Rainbow finished. "We need to get rid of these guys and...and I can't take on a dozen goons all by myself."

"But if they send for more people-"

"I know!" Rainbow hissed as loudly as she could without alerting the nearby Starfleet to their presence. "But I don't see any other options. We're going to have to risk it."

"Too much is at stake here to take risks," Maud said, softly and calmly. "I'll stay here. You two fly Pinkie and Kitty up to the top of the tower and get aboard the Princess Twilight. If any of the guards down below notice you, I'll create a distraction."

"Maud, no!" Pinkie cried in a voice which was simaltaneously quiet enough not to draw attention and loud enough to deafen those nearby (don't ask Pinkie how she did that, it was a gift). "We can't leave you behind."

"Twilight's counting on you, Pinkie," Maud said. She smiled, or as close to a smile as Maud ever got, anyway. "It'll be okay."

"No, it won't," Pinkie murmured. "We can't leave you behind to fight like, like, like Twilight. No. No! It was bad enough losing my best friend but I'm not going to lose my sister too! I won't do it!"

Maud's expression was impassive. "There's no other way."

"There's always another way," Pinkie declared. She gently pried Kitty's arms from around her neck and stood up. "Wait here, everypony, you'll all see when I'm done." She turned away and began to walk out of the alleyway.

"Pinkie! Come back!" Rainbow hissed.

"Miss Pinkie, no!"

Pinkie glanced back at them, and smiled. "Aww, don't worry girls, this is gonna be as easy as Pie!"

As she walked out of the alley and strode casually towards the Starfleet guards, Pinkie was certain of no such thing. She'd never actually done this before under real life or death circumstances. Mostly it only worked when it would be funny. But Twilight was counting on her to save her, just like everypony was counting on Twilight to save them, and so she was going to have to make this work because otherwise...because otherwise they were going to have to make a tough choice, and Pinkie had had it up to here with tough choices. What was wrong with happy endings? What was wrong with love and courage triumphing over nastiness? Why did everything have to be so grim all the time?

Well this time, Pinkie swore, love and courage WOULD win out. This part of the story WOULD be happy. They were all going to get on the Princess Twilight Sparkle together and they were going to find Applejack and Spike and then they were going to find the real Princess Twilight Sparkle and everything would be okay again, like it used to be.

That was Pinkie's promise to herself. No more tough choices.

And so she walked straight towards the Starfleet guards. It didn't even take them that long to spot her, either.

"Hold it right there!" one of them yelled, as Pinkie advanced towards them.

Pinkie kept right on walking.

"Halt!" another soldier shouted, raising his hand to make sure she got the point. Starfleet ponies converged on her from all directions.

"What are you doing here?" demanded one of the space ponies. "Don't you know that there's a...hey, aren't you-"

Pinkie closed her eyes and gave them all a great big smile. "Hi there, my name's Pinkie Pie and it would really mean a lot to me if you could all just leave here and go someplace else for a while."

The starfleet troops stared at her for a second. "You're...you're asking us to leave?" One said. "You're a wanted criminal and you're asking us to go away and leave you alone?"

"That's right," Pinkie said. "You see, I don't really want to hurt anypony."

A round of chuckling and laughter, with a cruel edge that Pinkie didn't really care for, ran around the circle.

"Okay, listen love," said one of the space ponies. "First of all it's anyone, second of all we're not going nowhere-"

"I think that should be anywhere, sarge," another space pony said. "I mean, if we're correcting people's grammar."

If looks could kill the sarge would have done it already. "Thank you, son, I'll remember that," he said. "And third, why don't you worry less about hurting us and more about putting your hands up before you get yourself shot."

"Is that your final answer?" Pinkie asked.

The sarge frowned. "Yes."

And Pinkie moved.

She didn't know how she did it. Not even Twilight had been able to work out how she did it and she was the smartest of smart ponies. All Pinkie knew was that she could do it sometimes and she was doing it right now, she could move so fast that not even Rainbow Dash could keep up with her. In less than the blink of an eye she had covered the distance between the sarge and herself and punched him so hard that his visor shattered and he was thrown backwards eight feet into a moaning heap on the tarmac.

The other space ponies stared at her.

"What in the-"

"Get her!"

Pinkie moved. She flowed like water but with the speed of air...actually air flowed too so cut that out and say that she flowed like air as she danced from one spacepony, whose legs she kicked out from under him before stamping on him, to the next who she picked up and threw at two of her comrades, to the one after that who was still trying to summon one of his weapons when she tossed him over her head first into the ground.

Like she'd told them, Pinkie didn't want to hurt anypony. She really, really didn't enoy doing this. In fact every time she hurt one of them it hurt her too, like a little of their pain was being given to her. But she did it, because otherwise they'd have to make a hard choice.

She'd made her promise. And this was her sacrifice.

A few seconds later Pinkie stood in the middle of a circle of unconscious Starfleet soldiers groaning in pain upon the ground.

Pinkie forced herself to smile for her friends as they emerged out of the alley. "What did I tell you," she said, in a voice that sounded more cheery than she felt. "Easy as Pie. Easy as Pinkie Pie, even."

"Miss Pinkie, you're incredible!" cried Kitty. "You're the strongest and the bravest and the incrediblest pony ever!"

Rainbow smirked. "Pinkie, did I ever tell you that you're awesome?"

"Probably. I have a terrible memory for compliments."

"Well, you're awesome," Rainbow said. She landed in front of Pinkie, and the smirk left her face to replaced by a frown. "But not because of this. Listen, you did a good thing here...but I'm sorry that you had to do it."

"Why?" Pinkie asked. "I'm okay."

Rainbow reached out and took her hands. "Pinkie."

"It's okay," Pinkie repeated. "It's all going to be okay."

Rainbow looked unconvinced. "Well, if you ever want to talk about it...you know where to find me."

"Fluttershy!"

Pinkie whirled around to see a space pony in a suit and a tie and an earthy pony in a kimono running towards them, both carrying swords.

"Now, I'm sure you've got a perfectly good explanation for all of this," said the earth pony in a southern accent. "But you've got some questions to answer so you'd better start talking now."

Fluttershy clasped her hands together in front of her. "So how many people have you seen before me, Lightning?"

Lightning Dawn looked tired. He looked as though he was struggling to keep his eyes open, judging by the way he kept widening them as though he could let wakefulness in that way. He also looked worn, as if his shoulders were bent under the weight of everything that he had heard already.

He scratched at his ear. "You...you're the last one, Captain Fluttershy."

"Oh, was I supposed to call you admiral? I'm sorry, I-"

"It doesn't matter," Lightning said quickly. "Lightning Dawn is fine. Anything you want is fine. I...how are you?"

"I..."

Lightning sighed. "Don't worry if you can't answer that directly. After all, that's what we're here to talk about." He paused for a moment. "You...are more fortunate than any friends."

If that were somehow true then Fluttershy was not aware of it. "I am?"

"You have Rhymey," Lightning said. "I imagine that in these difficult he is a great comfort to you. A tower of strength."

It was the kind of thing that hadn't exactly endeared Lightning Dawn to, well, to anypony in Twilight's circle; it was the kind of which probably would have infuriated Rainbow Dash if she'd been around to hear it. But Fluttershy could appreciate that Lightning wasn't speaking to be cruel, or sarcastic, or to hurt her at all. He was being perfectly sincere and, in his own way, she thought he was probably trying to be kind. Just like he was trying to be kind by assessing their grief himself instead of handing the duty over to a stranger.

It was only that...it was as if he had heard of kindness, and resolved to practice it without really understanding what it was, like watching a filly try and perform a grown-up task by half-remembered and uncomprehending mimicry. It wasn't working...but at the same time it was nice of him to try.

And so even though he was absolutely wrong about Rhymey - he could be kind and he could be loving and he could be incredibly sweet, but when it came to Twilight's death it was as if he understood Fluttershy's sorrow about as well as Lightning understood kindness; he had gotten over it already and seemed somewhat irritated by her inability to do the same - nevertheless she smiled and said, "You're absolutely right. Without Rhymey I don't know what I'd do."

"I'm glad to hear it," Lightning said, again with complete sincerity. "I...I'm very glad that...I'm glad he treats you as you deserve to be treated, and that you are as happy as you look together."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said softly. "Has it been hard for you, doing this?"

"Hmm?"

"Listening to everyone," Fluttershy said. "Having them pour out their sorrows to you."

"There hasn't been as much pouring as you might think," Lightning said. "Everyone is feeling it but none of you really want to talk about it. At least not to me."

"And what about you, Lightning?" she asked. "Who do you talk to?"

Lightning stared at her, as though her question was as unexpected as her growing an extra head. "My onerous duties do not give me room for grief," he declared, his voice hoarse. "I am a soldier, and while the war goes on so shall I battle on. Sorrow is an enemy that I shall vanquish with will and steely-eyed resolve as I have put to flight all previous foes who have dared to challenge me. In any event, we aren't here to discuss me, this isn't my assessment."

"Rhymey doesn't really care," Fluttershy confessed, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "He doesn't feel anything for Twilight, or for her death."

Lightning would not meet her eyes. "I am sure that is not so. More likely you, a sweet mare with a gentle heart, have merely mistaken his manly reserve for an unnatural coldness. Thus will the expressive sex often misunderstand the stoic."

"I don't think you believe that," Fluttershy murmured.

"What I believe...I believe that Rhymey is a good soldier," Lightning said. "I believe that he is a good stallion. I believe that he is a good and loving partner to you." He looked at her. "If it is not so. If you tell me that it is not so...if you prove to me that it is not so then I shall not stand idly by, you have my word."

Fine words, but at the same time unhelpful ones. Rhymey was not so cruel. He never hurt her. What could she say to Lightning Dawn, that his coldness on Twilight's death left her with a creeping sense of unease? That were times when he made her skin crawl? Proof, he had asked her for, and she could prove nothing. She didn't know that there was anything to prove. She hoped that this mood of Rhymey's would pass and he would become once mroe the sweet, shy stallion that she had fallen in love with. The stallion she still loved. Until then...Lightning believed that Rhymey was a good stallion and he would prefer to believe that no matter what she said.

So would she, if it came to it.

"I know that you cared about Twilight," she said, changing the subject. "I know that you cared more than you showed. I...I know what she meant to you."

Lightning swallowed. "I do not think that that is true."

Fluttershy leaned forward. "If you want to talk about it...I'll listen."

Lightning stared at her as though she were mad. "How is it that in the midst of such sorrow you can bend your thoughts towards my suffering?"

"Am I hurting because of Twilight? Of course I am," Fluttershy said. "I'll always hurt from Twilight being gone. Always. I don't think it will ever go away. But there are other people who are hurting to, and if I ignore them just because I was in pain...that would be a little selfish, don't you think?"

Rainbow’s hands clenched into fists. “Who the hay are-“

“Rainbow, it’s alright,” Fluttershy said quickly. She placed one hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “It’s alright, I know who they are. And they’re right…I do have a little explaining to do.”

Rainbow frowned. “Who are they?”

Fluttershy let her hand fall from the shoulder of her old friend as she walked towards Lawrence and Chickpea. She held her hands out by her sides as the wind rose around her, blowing her long lilac mane in all directions.

“Everyone,” she murmured. “Allow me to introduce my brother in law, Lawrence Stirskewer, and his wife Chickpea. Mister Stirskewer, Miss Chickpea…I suppose you recognise Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie don’t you?”

Chickpea nodded. “Reckon I do, yeah. Not so sure about the other two, though.”

“Maud Pie and Kitty Snip,” Fluttershy said. She stopped walking, about halfway between the Stirskewers and her friends. “They don’t mean you any harm,” she said. “They don’t deserve to be harmed either.”

Lawrence’s eyes narrowed a little, but he said nothing. One of his hands moved slightly closer to the hilt of his long-handled blade. Chickpea glanced at him for a moment, her black hair dancing around her in the rising wind, before she turned her dark-eyed gaze back to Fluttershy.

“William’s dead,” Chickpea declared. “But then I guess you already knew that didn’t you?”

“I did,” Fluttershy said, as softly as she could speak and yet be heard in the wind. “I…I was there.”

Chickpea frowned. “They’re saying that you killed him. And I gotta tell you, Fluttershy, I am really hopin’ that ‘they’ are dead wrong about this, so if you’ve gotta an alternative explanation for why William’s dead and you look as though you’re about to run off somewhere, well, I can’t think of a better time for it than now.”

“We don’t have time for this!” Rainbow snapped. “We need to go right now!”

Lawrence’s sword leapt from his scabbard. “Now I see your wicked plot take shape,

But from a brother’s vengeance you shall not escape!”

“No, wait, there’s no need for anyone else to get hurt,” Fluttershy cried, before she rounded on Rainbow Dash. “And Rainbow Dash! Shame on you! Have you forgotten how much Twilight’s death left us all hurting? Have you forgotten how desperate we were, how wounded we were?”

Rainbow rocked back on her heels. “You…are you seriously asking me that? Really? Really? After everything…after what we’re doing now? Really? I remember exactly what it was like when we lost Twilight?”

“Then how can you not understand that Lawrence is hurting too, and desperate just like we were? How could you deny someone else what we wanted and needed so badly just because we don’t have time? How can you be so selfish?”

Rainbow’s mouth hung open for a moment, silent, with no words emerging, before she clammed it shut again. She folded her arms, and said nothing else.

Fluttershy smiled. “It’ll be alright,” she said. “This won’t take long. I promise.”

“Be careful,” Rainbow whispered.

“Always,” Fluttershy said. She turned once more, again facing Lawrence and Chickpea. “Please,” she said. “Please, Lawrence…may I call you Lawrence? Please put your sword away. There really is no need for it. Nobody is going to run away, and my friends are not responsible for Rhymey’s death.”

Chickpea sidled a little to the right, so that she was standing between her husband and Fluttershy, motioning him with one hand to lower his blade.

“Like I said, I’d dearly love to believe you,” Chickpea said. “Which is why you’d best start speaking some truths, if you’ve got them.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath to steady her trembling nerves. She had said that no one would run, but the truth was that she wanted nothing more than to run in this moments. To run from Lawrence Stirskewer and his sword and his anger. To run from all of this.

But she wouldn’t run. Twilight was waiting for her. Her friends were waiting for her. And Lawrence deserved to know the truth.

“Have you heard what they’re saying?” she asked. “About Twilight Sparkle.”

Chickpea hesitated for a moment. “We just heard. She’s alive or something. Doesn’t seem likely to me, but, well I guess I never met the real Twilight. I only saw some actor on TV, so what do I know?”

“Twilight is alive,” Fluttershy said, brushing some of her mane out of her face where the wind had blown it. “She died…but now she’s back. In a manner of speaking, anyway. It’s a little hard to explain. She’s travelling with five…other ponies. Not my friends and I. Others. I don’t know their names, but they came to our apartment. Twilight, she…Rhymey came home and found them…he panicked, and drew his sword. He…he only wanted to protect me. And one of those other ponies, he…he killed Rhymey.” Put like that, devoid of context of clones and secret Starfleet experiments and everything else that Fluttershy wasn’t sure that she had the eloquence to explain it seemed a very slight and threadbare story, like the sort of thing a guilty mare might make up if she were also a terrible liar. But add in the context of clones and secret Starfleet experiments and it became a tale too fantastical to be believed, or at least not one that she could sell to a grief-stricken brother at a time like this.

Chickpea glanced back towards her husband for a moment. “I’d like to believe you, Fluttershy. Can you prove it?”

“No,” Fluttershy said. “I’m afraid not.”

“So you’re asking Lawrence…you’re asking me to just take it on trust, and let you go when you’re the only link he has to all of this?” Chickpea said. “I like you Fluttershy, believe me I like you a lot…but that’s kind of a tall order don’t you think?”

“I can’t make you believe anything,” Fluttershy said. “I can’t force you to believe me. I can’t make you disbelieve the Grand Ruler when he says that Twilight is a traitor and a murderer even though it isn’t true, not at all. I can’t make you believe a word out of my mouth.” She hesitated. “There’s a ship coming for us soon. We’re going to find Twilight. You can come with us, her…her new friends will be with her. You’ll get the answers that you want there.” She blinked. “Or you can decide that I’m as guilty as the Grand Ruler says I am, and cut me down right now. It’s your choice.”

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow yelled.

“It’s your choice,” Fluttershy repeated. “But whatever you decide to do, I swear to you,” she flung her arms up as the wind sent her long mane billowing back behind her. “I will NOT let you hurt my friends! So don’t you DARE draw your sword on them again Lawrence Stirskewer!”

For a moment the howling of the wind was the only sound that could be heard. Then Chickpea let out a little chuckling giggle sound as she looked back at her husband.

“And you once told me that you couldn’t understand why she was my favourite! Do you get it now?”

Lawrence’s expression was impassive, but he sheathed his sword and, after a moment, he nodded.

“We’ll be taking you up on that offer of a berth on your ship,” Chickpea said.

Fluttershy smiled. “You won’t regret it, I promise.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “You see, Rainbow Dash, that didn’t take long at all?”

Rainbow didn’t look especially happy about more travelling companions, but she restrained herself – visibly restrained herself, but nevertheless – from giving any visible sign of her irritation. “Great. Now let’s get up onto that roof and pop the smoke before Rarity wonders where the hay we are.”

The sky was dark without as Lightning Dawn walked down the central traverse of the throne room. The darkness crept in through the windows, shadows battling against the flickering light of the torches just as the ever-present and ever-resourceful powers of evil warred constantly against the vigilant might of Starfleet.

Just as the darkness in a pony’s heart constantly battled with the light of friendship.

Lightning frowned. That didn’t sound like something he would think. That sounded…it sounded more like Twilight.

Perhaps that body-swap incident they had gone through had left a piece of her behind in him.

More likely that their conversations had left their mark more permanent than any that could be made by a magic spell gone wrong.

Lightning realised that he had stopped, and in so stopping had attracted the attention of the guards who stood, silent and statue-like, down either side of the traverse. He began to walk once more, quickening his pace to make up for the momentary lost time.

He approached the iron throne of the Grand Ruler. Despite the lateness of the hour his master was there still, devoting all his thoughts towards the greater good of all ponies and the betterment of the nation and the empire. As Lightning approached, His Majesty rose from his seat.

“Lightning, my faithful student and my son, I am right glad to see you despite the lateness of the hour,” His Majesty declared, descending from the royal dais to stand on a more equal footing with him. Despite this, he still towered over Lightning Dawn as he did everyone else who was not Queen Celestia. “In this dark night you are as a ray of sunlight to my eyes. What news? Have all the members of Friendship is Magic been evaluated for their state and condition?”

“They have, Your Majesty,” Lightning said, as he descended to one knee. “Forgive the lateness, but the interviews took me some time and the compilation of my reports took longer still, I have only just completed this task and I thought-“

“Yes, yes, that I would wish to know your findings at once, you are of course correct but tell me, Lightning,” His Majesty asked. “Why did you take this burden on yourself? Other shoulders would have born it and gladly so.”

“I…I felt I owed it to Twilight to see to this personally, majesty.”
”A generous thought, and worthy of your noble race and even nobler fosterage,” His Majesty replied. “And yet somewhat wasted upon one who is passed and was not even in life worthy of consideration from such as you, to speak nothing of those who yet remain and upon whom you have, I say this in all love for them, squandered the treasure of your time with their…however it went.”

“I fear your majesty does do great wrong to one who fell most valiantly in defence of the Queen’s honour,” Lightning murmured. “Should valour not absolve many a fault more grievous than-“

“Than what? Abject stupidity?” His Majesty demanded. “Arrogance? Overweening pride?”

“I meant to say more grievous than love,” Lightning said. “It seems to me that Twilight Sparkle loved not wisely but too well.”

His Majesty the Grand Ruler stared down at him for a moment. “Perhaps. And yet to be unwise is maybe the most grievous fault of all. It casts down the mighty and lays waste whole kingdoms if it is allowed to do so. Now rise, rise! Rise, and enough of Twilight Sparkle for the nonce. Speak of your charge. What say you of her companions and their hearts? What do they suffer in her loss?”

Lightning rose to his feet. “I fear they suffer much, Majesty, and for that suffering I pity them.” He did not mention that he envied them, somewhat, that they had loved fiercely enough that they could grieve so at love’s passing. “And I fear all the more that I must recommend that all of Friendship is Magic be suspended from active duty, forthwith and indefinitely.”
”All?” His Majesty declared. “Why? What brings this on?”

“Their poor state makes in unavoidable, Majesty,” Lightning replied. “One and all they have not mastered their feelings. Having spoken with them I fear it is impossible that they could do so even if they would. It distracts them and torments them…some I fear have been broken by it and will take patience to repair if that is even possible. In the meantime…it would be cruel and dangerous and equal measure to send them forth upon the hazards of the battlefield.

“The hazards of the battlefield, indeed,” said His Majesty, turning away and walking towards one of the windows, from which the moonlight shone down. “These are hazardous times, Lightning, as well you know. Raven remains at large, and who knows when she may once more strike at my beloved queen? Sombra, too, we must keep utmost in our thoughts, an even more deadly and more dangerous foe who will doubtless seek to strike once more against us soon, reckoning us weakened and unbalanced by the loss of Twilight. Would you prove him right in that? Would you weaken our defences by full half in this time of trial?”

“Your Majesty, I believe that Lightning Squad is more than capable of defending Her Majesty’s person against Raven and combating Sombra’s next move in the event that it should become necessary to do so,” Lightning said. “And if Your Majesty in your great wisdom disagrees then there are other formations that could serve in place of Friendship is Magic. If you would assign the Valkyries-“

“The Valkyries are needed elsewhere, to serve me in especial offices of great secrecy,” His Majesty declared.

“Of course, but then perhaps Major Wonder from Conva, or…I have prepared a list of names of skilled warriors with whom I might form a second team to support my own whilst-“

“Friendship is Magic,” every word that fell from His Majesty’s lips dripped formality. “Will remain on duty. In this time we require every soldier to do their utmost, even to the very limits of their life itself. Besides, it seems to me that the cause of their unnatural grief is due in no small part to brooding over their losses. The activity of service will do them good to distract them from what they have suffered.”

“Your Majesty this is not something that can be forgotten after half an afternoon of moping about,” Lightning replied. “This…they have lost something than can never be replaced.”

For a moment, just a moment, Lightning thought he saw His Majesty smile. “If it can never be replaced then they had best get used to its absence, hadn’t they? You may go, Lightning, we are sure that you are weary at this late hour. Leave your reports, however.”

“To what purpose, Majesty?”

“We shall peruse the details at our leisure,” he said. “And see for ourselves just what torments our soldiers endure at this saddest of times.”

The now expanded party of seven stood on the roof of the great glass tower, green smoke billowing up into the air from the flare in Rainbow’s hand as she waved it up and down in her right hand.

“Come on, come on,” Rainbow said. “Come on, Rarity, where are you?”

“There she is!” Pinkie shrieked, jumping up and down as she pointed. “There she is, I see her!”

The Princess Twilight Sparkle descended out of the clouds like the arrow whose shape she bore, emerging out of the white bank to descend upon the skyline of New Canterlot as though some enormous pegasus with a bow was sitting concealed within the clouds and loosing shafts down upon the city below them.

Unfortunately, three more ships soon followed the Princess Twilight out of the cloud bank. Three Starfleet ships. Three Starfleet ships that were shooting at the Twilight Sparkle. The guns on their forward turrets blossomed with yellow fire, the boom of their guns echoed through the skies, and Rainbow could see the sonic disruption caused by the flight of the shells as they flew past the Princess Twilight to land with splashes of earth in the fields beyond the city.

For now, anyway. How long before they started landing in the city itself? How long before they started ripping through skyscrapers, crashing into houses, causing destruction and death in their wake.

“Are they really going to fire on their own city?” Rainbow asked. “Are they really going to keep firing like that when they might hit innocent people?”

As if in answer, a shell flew past the tower of which they were perched, descending downwards to land with an impact and an explosion in the street below. Thankfully there was no one there…this time.

“Every time I think that Starfleet couldn’t possibly sink any lower,” Rainbow muttered.

Her earpiece crackled. “Rainbow Dash? Anyone? Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, Rarity, this is Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow, darling, I’m afraid I’ve got a bit of a problem.”

“Yeah, I can see it for myself,” Rainbow said. Her eyes widened as she watched a trio of shells slam into the shield at the back of the Twilight, making it ripple with turquoise energy. “Rarity, are you okay?”

“Shields are holding,” Rarity said, sounding amazingly calm in view of the circumstances. “But that isn’t really where the difficulty lies. You see, we can’t take you onboard while the shield is still up, and we can’t drop the shield right now for obvious reasons. So I’m afraid we’re in a bit of a bind right now.”

“Can you shake them?”

“Well why didn’t I think of that? Oh, yes, I did and what do you think we’ve been trying to do?”

“I was only asking, sheesh,” Rainbow said. “I mean there must be something that you can do?”

“I might be able to help with that.”

“Gah!” Rainbow leapt up into the air, wings outstretched to carry her away as she heard the voice of Lightning Dawn breathing down her neck. Sure enough, there he was, standing on the roof right behind where she had been, along with Krysta and…two four legged ponies? Neither of whom were Sunset Shimmer? What the hay?

“I’m sorry about that,” Lightning said. “I didn’t realise that I was going to end up so close to you, and then I couldn’t help but overhear-“

“Lightning Dawn, what are you doing here?” Fluttershy asked.

“Looking for you,” Lightning said, as though it should have been obvious. “We’ve been warping all over the city trying to find you.”

“Who is this we?” Krysta panted. “Please tell me that we’re done for now. You know that this gets harder the more ponies I have to carry with me, and after the sixth or seventh time.”

“You did great, Krysta,” Lightning said, looking up at his fairy companion. “You were absolute splendid. You can rest now.”

“Thanks,” Krysta gasped, descending to settle on his shoulder. “Let me know when we find Twilight okay?” She closed her eyes, and Rainbow thought that she could hear the fairy snoring.

“Twilight?” Pinkie gasped. “Did you say Twilight? Are you looking for Twilight too?”

“I’ll explain in a moment, but for now Rainbow I need you to give me your earpiece.”

“Why?” Rainbow demanded. “Why should we trust you?”

“I trust him,” Fluttershy said.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy murmured. “I…I trust him. Go on, Rainbow Dash. It isn’t as if we have anything to lose.”

Rainbow struggled mightily to keep the scowl off of her face as she descended back down to the roof, removed the earpiece from her, well, ear, and handed it to Lightning.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “Okay, Rarity? This is Lightning Dawn. Stay the course. I’m going to take care of this.” He took it away from his ear and began to play with some of the tiny buttons on the device. “Just change this frequency…standard Starfleet channels… and here we go…” He put the piece back to his ear, although not actually in his ear itself. “This is Supreme Allied Commander Lightning Dawn, authorisation code AO0C addressing the three cruisers above New Canterlot: break off your attack and stand down immediately. You are to disengage and return to station immediately, that is an order. In fact all Starfleet units in the vicinity of EchoPlaza are to stand down at once by authority of the Supreme Commander. Cruisers acknowledge.”

Lightning was silent for a moment, tilting his head a little to the left. “I don’t give a damn, captain, I gave you a direct order! Words cannot express how much I dislike having to repeat myself! Now do you want to obey me or do you want to spend the rest of your career cleaning the latrines on Conva because the latter can easily be arranged!”

Lightning took the earpiece away from his ear, and looked towards the Starfleet cruisers as they ceased firing. For a few moments they hung suspended in the air like pieces of a particularly warlike baby monitor. And then, one by one, they turned away and began to ascend back up into space.

Lightning handed back the earpiece. “There are some advantages to having a reputation as a hardass,” he observed.

“Thanks,” Rainbow said sharply. “Though you still haven’t explained why?”

Lightning said, “I know that you don’t like me, Rainbow Dash-“

“Gee, I wonder why?”

“And you have every right to dislike me, hate me even,” Lightning continued. “Believe me, there are times when I look back and I hate myself. But I’m not the pony that I was. I’ve changed. Twilight changed me. That’s why I have to find her. I need to…I owe Twilight so much, and I did so many things that I…I have to make things right with her. I have to…please, let me come with you. I know that you’re going after her, there’s no way that you’d do anything else, all of you. Please, I know that I don’t deserve this opportunity, I know that I don’t deserve anything but your scorn, I know that I don’t deserve the chance to-“

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said gently. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“I…I am?”

“Everyone deserves a chance at redemption,” Fluttershy said. “Now, aren’t you going to introduce us to your friends?”

“Snowflame of Harmonius,” one of the ponies said, the pale one with the red mane. She gestured to the one who looked kind of like a young Celestia who had stolen Twilight’s mane. “And this is Her Highness Princess Fairgrace, of that same world.”

“N-n-nice to meet you all.”

“Harmonius?” Pinkie said. “But isn’t that-“

“My home, yes,” Lightning said. “It seems we’ve both got a story to share, if we have time to share it.”

The Princess Twilight levelled out on its approach, slowing its speed down to a crawl as it approached the high rooftop on which they stood like a train slowing as it made its approach to the platform. The ship was pretty much level with the roof in height, and when it slid to a stop it was pretty level horizontally as well. It hovered in the air just above them, the waves of air being pushed down by the engines blowing into their faces.

A hatch in the side of the heart- or arrow-shaped front section of the ship popped open, and as a ladder descended down to the roof for them a familiar face in a stylish dress and a fabulous hat appeared in the doorway.

“Hurry now, darlings, we probably don’t have all day,” Rarity called.

“Rarity!” Pinkie was the first up the ladder, or rather she decided to cut out climbing the ladder and just appear on the ship with Rarity through the same magic that she had used to take out all those Starfleet goons. One moment she was down there with Rainbow Dash and the others, the next moment she was up on the ship, enveloping Rarity into a hug.

Rainbow flew up, and barely had her feet touched the deck of the ship than she too joined the growing group hug. She wrapped one arm around Rarity and held her close, relishing the feeling of the three of them pressed together like this, the warmth, the…the contentment. This was a start. This was a beginning. This was a piece of how it was meant to me.

“It’s good to see you again, Rarity,” she said. “It’s so, so good to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Rarity sighed. “You have no idea. And to think that…oh, my goodness I can still hardly believe it.”

“You’d better believe it, cause it’s real,” Rainbow said. She felt, rather than saw, Fluttershy join in the hug, felt Fluttershy’s mane brushing against her face.

“Together again,” she said.

“Not all of us,” Pinkie said.

“No, not yet, but soon.”

“Yeah, soon as soon as I work my magic!” Kitty declared as she climbed up the ladder. “Just take me to the bridge and I’ll tell you where to go.”

“Um, who are-“

“This is Kitty Snip,” Pinkie said. “She was an enemy but now she’s a friend and she’s going to lead us straight to Spike and Applejack.”

“Uh, charmed, I’m sure,” Rarity said, as the hug broke. “And, um, Supreme Commander…fancy seeing you here.”

Lightning had flown up carrying both of his Harmonian friends. “Just Lightning Dawn will do, Rarity. I don’t deserve anything more.”

“I…see,” Rarity murmured. “Well, yes…we should go to the bridge all of us, but not for working any magic. Not at first.”

“Why not?” Rainbow asked. “Rarity, what’s wrong?”

“I…” Rarity shuddered for a moment. “I’m afraid that our escape was not painlessly bought.”

They were all stood on the bridge of the Princess Twilight Sparkle, watching as the Grand Ruler killed Princess Luna. No, no he didn’t just kill her. He cut her down. He butchered her like she was meat, like she was some kind of animal and not…not one of the bravest…as though she wasn’t…

“Damn it!” Rainbow snapped, turning and slamming her fist into the wall. “How much more are they going to take from us? How much are they going to destroy before it stops, huh? What’s it going to take to finish this?”

Pinkie sniffed. “I thought…I thought that maybe…I forgot that…goodbye, Princess Luna. We’ll never forget you, I promise. I Pinkie Promise. We’ll never forget. Not ever.”

Rarity was slumped in her captain’s chair, head bowed, tears falling down her face.

Fluttershy had turned away, as though she couldn’t bear to look any more.

Lightning Dawn looked sick. He looked as though he was going to throw up at the sight of what his beloved mentor, his oh-so-awesome Grand Ruler was capable of.

“I…I don’t,” he murmured. “I can’t…I…I…”

The young unicorn on the communications station did throw up, vomiting on the floor next to her console.

“The brutality is needless, pointless,” Fratello said. “Why…why does he have to be so savage towards her?”

“Because he hates her,” Chickpea muttered. “You need to see a whole lotta hate before you’ll see something like that.”

“Where is the honour in this?” Lightning asked. His voice was quiet, but it rose rapidly as he began to shout at the screen as though he expected the Grand Ruler to answer him. “Where? Where is the honour in this? Where is the valour? Where is the warrior code you taught me? Where is your code now? Where is your honour?”

Snowflame stared, wide-eyed, at the devastation that was being visited upon Princess Luna. It was strange, she had never known the princess, she wasn’t from this world, and yet…she was watching it with such fear in her face, and in her eyes it was like she was terrified or something. She began to shake, her whole body quivering up and down like she was having a seizure or something.

“S-snowflame?” Princess Fairgrace said. “S-s-snowflame, are you okay? Lightning, something’s wrong!”

“Stop it,” Snowflame murmured.

Lightning knelt down beside her. “Snowflame, what’s wrong, what is it?”

“Stop it!” Snowflame yelled, and she began to thrash and scream and kick her hooves in all direction even while Lightning tried to hold her down, “Stop it stop it stop it! Stop it! Papa!”

“Snowflame, it’s okay!” Lightning yelled. “It’s okay, what’s going on?”

“He’s the one!” Snowflame screamed. “I remember it! He’s the one, the one who destroyed our home! He’s the one who killed my father!”