//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: Refactor // Story: The Last Migration // by Starscribe //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer could feel the gradual press of acceleration, sliding her backwards along the deck plating. She didn’t have the natural instincts of other lifetime crew, who could walk about even on the top deck without being blown off. But the princess didn’t seem to mind that she looked a little silly. “I think you must have more information than we do,” she said, keeping her tone flat only through lots of practice with Twilight. “What’s going on in Accipio? Why are the griffons attacking… each other? They basically just declared war on us…” “You would think so,” Luna said. “But you’re not thinking like one of them. Perhaps Velar would be able to see…” But Velar had gone into another room to struggle into the armor. He had insisted that no one be there to watch. It was a religious ritual, and only birds could see. Starlight no longer had the energy to protest. “I’ll tell you what we know.” And she did. Explained how the ship meant to evacuate the rebellious priests had turned on the inspection crew, massacred a few, captured the rest, and stolen their ships. But a few survivors had been discovered by the Heart’s Shadow, where they had gotten in touch with her through radio. At her order, the Heart’s Shadow had continued into Accipio to let the emperor know what his subjects had done and demand capitulation. She was a little surprised to learn that Gaius had given it. He had consented to altering the treaty when it was done and sworn his help at quashing the rebellious birds of house Vengeance and Victory. “But they must have discovered the change, or maybe they discovered they’d been defeated in Equestria. It appears Vengeance is attempting to consolidate power. First by deceiving the leader of house Victory, now this.” “And when he is complete control of Accipio, he will march across Equestria,” said a voice from an open doorway. Velar strode in, armor clanking with each step. His voice sounded stronger somehow, more mature. His stature too was more powerful, if that were even possible. He looks more like a king wearing that. It was strange to see just how the spell had adapted to him, taking on some of his feather-colors, and changing shape to fit his frame. He wasn’t an elderly bird, but a youth, and there was now obvious power in everything he did. “Santiago probably expects his illegal guns will give him a decisive advantage over Virtue and Valor. He is probably right.” I guess this is how they think they’re the equals of Alicorns. Wear that armor for long enough, and they feel like they can do anything. “Yes,” Luna said, stepping slightly to one side so Velar could take up his place beside the map. The other crewmen of the Stalwart Stratus kept well back from his armor, more afraid than angry with his presence now. “The Heart’s Shadow is assisting the defense, but it is not going well for your clan. The enemy has two dozen ships in their fleet with working guns, and you have only the Shadow.” She raised a wing, interrupting Velar. “No, it does not have a Sunbeam. The Lunar Fleet is equipped with a different innovation than those my sister commissioned. Sadly it will not turn the tide of the conflict by itself.” “Let me guess,” Velar supplied, his voice grave. “Rather than preserve the fleet at the cost of the city, my father is fighting anyway. Suffering terrible losses and placing his birds with Voidsteel in great risk.” Luna nodded. “Yes. That’s exactly what he’s doing.” “That’s Gaius,” Velar said, voice quiet and solemn. “We used to… wonder to each other which of us would get ourselves killed the soonest. But he was always the better warrior. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” Luna nodded. “I always knew we were wise to trust him. Unfortunately, the same has not been true for many of your brothers and sisters. If we do not reach New Scythia within the next hour or so, the battle will be lost.” “Can we arrive that quickly?” Velar asked, glancing briefly over his shoulder towards the rest of the bridge. The ponies there were rushing about their stations, calling out commands and instructions and doing everything they could to accelerate. “The Stratus cannot,” Princess Luna said. “I might have been able to open a gateway wide enough for all three of these destroyers, but unfortunately the conflict with Giovanni has taken much of my strength.” Starlight Glimmer made the connection before Velar did. “Princess, you can’t. You already fought them, you don’t have the energy for another battle. There are other Alicorns! Twilight, and Cadance, and… okay, Flurry Heart isn’t old enough. But they should go! You need time to rest.” “Cadance is no warrior,” Luna answered, “and Twilight has not yet returned from her…” She glanced briefly at Velar. “Her expedition. I could search for her, but that would be time and magic not spent resisting the enemy. I have left instructions to send her onward to New Scythia if she is discovered. That leaves me… and the heir. Are you ready to fight birds again, Velar?” “I’ve spent my life fighting the enemies of Accipio,” Velar answered, without hesitation. Starlight tensed—this bird was probably the one she should really be worried about. Luna had escaped from the conflict with Giovanni unscathed, even when Celestia had been too hurt to fight on. Velar, on the other hoof, had been shot multiple times and stitched up less than an hour ago. “Explain the nature of this relationship to me. Are we on the same side, or are you expecting me to fight against my father?” “Captain Caliginous has struck a temporary accord of peace with Gaius, and through him clans Virtue and Valor. You are those who remain true to the treaty—as true as any bird has ever been. Defeating Lord Santiago has become an essential task—he has stated in no uncertain terms what he plans for the relationship between our two nations. He has demonstrated the contempt to which he holds the treaties we signed together. How little respect he will give even to his own kind. We fight together against Vengeance and Victory. As we have already done today.” “Then I’m ready,” Velar said, though there was still a little skepticism to his tone. “Do you really have a spell that can take us hundreds of miles faster than the engines of this great machine? I know ponies can perform simple teleports, but that… won’t my armor destroy the magic before we can use it?” “Not if you don’t want it to,” Princess Luna said matter-of-factly. “I suppose you aren’t trained to do that anymore. We haven’t fought on the same side in a long time, so any magic was unfriendly. Have you ever used that aspect of the armor before?” When Velar shook his head, she went on. “Well, practice on simple levitation with Starlight. It will take five minutes for me to prepare a long-range teleport for the two of us. If she can lift you by then, we will go together. Otherwise… alone.” Starlight didn’t want to help him learn. The thought of Velar in so much danger so soon after nearly getting himself killed the first time—she almost flubbed the casting intentionally. But Princess Luna was important to all Equestria, and she was putting her own life at risk to protect a nation that wasn’t even theirs. Velar had been a powerful warrior—he would be much more now that he was armored. She couldn’t watch an already-exhausted Luna flight herself into battle without the single advantage they still had. Velar took all the time they had to practice before he managed to let her pick him up. The effort obviously cost him greatly in terms of concentration, and his expression was still worn out when he settled back on the ground. Like he’d just taken one of Twilight’s tests. “That was it!” he said, striding over to where the princess stood outside a circle of runes she had traced on the ground. He knew enough about magic not to go near them while she worked, particularly while wearing the armor. “I can do it, Princess. I’ll be joining you. I’ll fight beside you to protect New Scythia.” “That is good.” Luna settled the bit of borrowed charcoal back onto the map table. “I have just finished.” She raised her voice, looking around the room at them all. “To everypony who has fought today, continue fighting a little longer. We have before us a chance to end this war while it is in its early stages. Our enemy has committed most of his irreplaceable resources all in one place. Ships from all over Equestria are racing across hostile terrain to be there in time. You must join them. I am counting on Captain Blason and every pony of the Stalwart Stratus to arrive among the first.” She saluted, and the whole room shook around them as the ponies returned her salute. “Fly swift and well,” Blason said. “We’ll be there.” “And you.” Princess Luna glanced over her shoulder at him. “Velar, I hope you’ll forgive me if I use this spell first. If your skills fail you, the worst that will happen is I will fight alone. You, on the other hand…” She shook her head. “I’ve heard the death is gruesome. Do not let your mind falter.” Her horn flashed bright blue, and the space in front of her opened with a terrible thunderclap that rattled all the windows in their mounts. It was a single line, like the one they’d used to cross onto the bird ship last time. Only through it, Starlight Glimmer could see war. The air was thick with smoke, and dozens of ships hovered in the sky like islands in a sea. Many of those islands were burning, and birds zoomed around them on angry wings. It looked like parts of the city were burning too. Princess Luna didn’t even look back, just passed through the portal ahead of them. It flickered briefly at her passing, then Starlight Glimmer saw the princess appear on the other side. Velar strode forward to join her, and probably wouldn’t have looked back either if Starlight hadn’t clutched briefly onto his foreleg. “Wait, Velar!” He did, though he kept glancing back at the portal. Looking for any sign that it might be about to collapse, maybe. “What is it, Starlight?” What could she say? “What if you need me again?” she found herself asking, though the words sounded incredibly cheesy as she said them. But she didn’t care, clinging a little tighter to the strange black metal. “Then I’ll have to rely on someone else. My father is there, as well as several others with armor. Birds who have been fighting all this time and waiting for me. We’ll speak again soon.” He pulled away, crossing the short distance to the portal. “Wait!” she shouted again. She didn’t hold onto him this time—just timed her approach so she would pass through the opening at the exact second that Velar did. Her voice had been enough to make him hesitate—she felt the terrible pressure against her chest, and the crushing weight of the void. Long-range transport like this could kill the elderly or the weak, but for a prepared unicorn like her it only made her sick. Then she emerged on the other side, onto the deck of a ship beside so many others like it. The portal lasted for one more second before collapsing with another harsh crack, leaving the two of them stranded on the deck surrounded by birds. Wearing Virtue purple and gold, they didn’t attack, just pointed up at the sky to where Luna had apparently gone. “No!” Velar turned, and the helmet pulled back from around his face. He looked more afraid than angry. “You shouldn’t have come, Starlight! You’re not a warrior! This is…” He pointed up with a hoof, and Starlight saw what he meant. Ships met in the air, cannons firing into masses of birds as they struggled desperately to board the decks of their enemy. It was clear in seconds that their side was losing badly—the fleet had been separated into several enclaves, with only the Heart’s Shadow and the Impervious Triumph and a few others still moving under their own power. From the wreckage on the ground below it looked like Vengeance had been outnumbered before—that was over. If things kept going this way for much longer, they would soon mop up the last few pockets of resistance. “This is war,” Velar finished. “And a losing war at that. You were safe on the Stalwart Stratus! I don’t want…” He stiffened, and the helmet secured itself over his face again. “I don’t want you to be hurt.” “Too bad.” Starlight’s horn lit up. “I don’t think you have any conception of just how dangerous I am. Let’s find Santiago. We need to stop this before anypony else dies.”