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From Skies Above – Eye of the Storm
“So Twilight, what was he like?”
“Who?” The lavender unicorn trotted calmly alongside her brother through one of Canterlot Castle’s many corridors. To their left, light cascaded through huge stained glass windows, bathing the hall in multiple shades of colour.
Shining Armour’s face remained impassive as he spoke, refusing to show any feelings on the subject. “You know who. Your ‘student’. The one who charged through the halls of this Castle with a hostage.”
Twilight shrank back slightly under her brother’s sudden switch of mood. Mere minutes ago they had been discussing his recent marriage and honeymoon. The sudden seriousness of the conversation caught the younger pony off guard. Twilight went silent for a moment, trying to pull together an answer. What do I say? What am I allowed to say? The Princesses didn’t tell me that he was involved. The lavender unicorn mentally slapped herself. Of course he is involved. He’s the Captain of the Royal Guard. He’d have to know... wouldn’t he?
“You can talk to me Twilight. I know all about the alien. Who do you think cleaned up after him when he led that little chase?” Shining raised an eyebrow.
“He was fine, and quite eager to learn.” Twilight smiled at the stallion, but still his expression remained the same.
“He wasn’t violent, was he?”
Ah, so that’s what this is about. Twilight shook her head. “Not in the slightest.” Twilight held the smile, and after a slight pause added “You don’t trust him do you?”
“Of course not.” Shining frowned, looking away from his sister. “Ever since he came here he’s been nothing but trouble. All we know about his kind is that they’re not from this planet, and they’re dangerous.”
“Human.” They younger unicorn said, and after seeing the confused expression on Shining’s face added “They’re called humans.”
“Where did you find that out?”
“He told me. He told me his name too. He’s called Ryan.”
Shining looked surprised. “Really? How did you get-”
“Captain, sir!” A pegasus guard skidded to a halt in front of Twilight and Shining, offering a salute to the latter. “I have an important message for you, sir!”
“Alright. Twilight, if you’ll excuse us for a moment.”
Twilight nodded, but said nothing, slightly annoyed that their conversation had been cut short. She strolled over to a nearby window, just out of hearing range. Once satisfied she was far enough away, she turned back to watch the two.
While she couldn’t hear what they were saying, Twilight could see from her brother’s expression that the topic of the message wasn’t good. Shining made no effort to disguise his displeasure, his face slowly sinking into a frown as the other guard spoke. With a nod, Shining Armour dismissed the pegasus with a nod, then walked over to Twilight.
“What was that about?” she asked. She knew it probably wasn’t her place to know, but her curiosity was too great to ignore.
Shining paused for a moment, deliberating whether or not to tell her. He quickly came to a decision. “The alien was poisoned. He’s dead.”
*
Commander Balik sat upon a high flying cloud, looking down over his warriors as they regrouped high above the ground on platforms of fluffy white. Many of them bore injuries, from mere cuts to broken bones to a rare few of the crippling wounds inflicted by the alien weapons. It wasn’t likely they would survive.
A small commotion caught the gryphon commander’s attention. He searched through the groups of warriors for its source, following his ears and a trail of curious glances from other gryphons. It wasn’t long before Balik saw what had happened.
A large gryphon strode proudly amongst his comrades, showing off the struggling alien slung across his back. The alien lacked much of the armour its brothers had wore, and showed no signs of weapons. Green coloured cloth covered most of its body, only leaving its stubby claws, head and neck bare. Two small eyes darted from gryphon to gryphon as they cheered and praised the alien’s captor. Balik’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t good.
The gryphon commander leapt off his perch, gliding down toward the commotion. With a soft pomf his talons and paws made contact with the cloud surface. Gryphons nearby saluted his presence, but this went unnoticed. Balik’s full attention was focused on the gryphon who caught the alien. “What is this?” his voice was firm.
The gryphon was draw away from his praise by the sound of Balik’s voice. He was somewhat surprised that his commander had suddenly appeared before him, but recovered quickly. Saluting, the grin returned to his face. “I caught one, sir!”
Balik’s expression didn’t change, his features remaining locked in a hard frown. “I can see that. Now take it to ground and release it.”
A sudden silence fell over the surrounding warriors. Balik could feel all eyes fixated on him, but with a little effort he retained his composure. The warrior before him seemed to be struggling to understand what his commander had just ordered him to do.
“Release it, sir?”
“You heard me. Take it to ground and let it go.”
The alien stopped struggling, noticing something was amiss. Its head swivelled to face Balik, eyes sometimes darting off to others nearby, but always returning.
“But the elder’s orders-”
“The elder’s be damned!” Balik snapped. He felt unease building up in him. He was crossing into uncharted territory. “They did not chase us. They had every chance, but they didn’t. They got what they wanted. But now? Now you’ve given them a reason to follow us.” He waved a claw at the captive, “I will not lose any more of my warriors in a senseless slaughter, so take it back and let it go.”
The warrior stood firm, fighting an internal conflict about which of his superior’s orders to follow. Balik knew it would be a difficult choice for the gryphon to make. The elders were second only to the clan’s head, but the commander’s words struck home, and the warrior nodded.
“Yes, sir.” He muttered before turning around and taking to the air, carrying the confused biped that proceeded to resume its struggles.
*
Emerald Haze heard a shout. He didn’t understand what it meant. He could barely even hear it over the ringing in his ears. He tried to move, but his efforts only brought pain. It was much better just to lay still, the laboured rising and falling of his chest being his only movements.
There it was something nearby. He couldn’t see it, but he knew it was there, drawing closer. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel its presence, or rather, not feel it. Everything else was there. The snow, his sword, the dead pegasus just metres from him. He could feel them all with his magic. If he tried hard enough, he could touch them as well. But the presence was different. It was empty. There was no magic there, just... nothing. He tried to reach out to it, but his concentration slipped. It was hard to concentrate on nothing.
Even though closed eyes he could see the change in light. It was right on top of him. He cracked his eyes open, taking in the sight of the towering figure that loomed over him. From his position on the ground it seemed taller than a minotaur, but the proportions were wrong. He knew what it was, and his heart began to race faster at the thought. There was no point in pretending to be dead. His quick and ragged breaths would give him away. He couldn’t hide from them.
He forced his eyes to open wider. A monster stood over him. The thing was different from the others. It looked even bigger that the ones that had come before it. A single look dispelled any belief that the others were soldiers. This thing was the fighter, there was no doubt about it. Its appearance resembled that of a nightmare. From top to bottom dark armour encased its body. A single sheet of reflective material covered the beast’s eyes. Emerald could see his reflection, and however distorted the image was he could still see the crimson blood that stained his coat.
So much blood.
*
With a bright flash of pink light, a pair of unicorns blinked into existence in the castle dungeon, just at the entrance. The guards snapped to attention, standing ready should the newcomers prove to be hostile, but stiffened and saluted when they realised that it was their commanding officer. Shining shook his head, still slightly dizzy from the hasty teleportation. He paused when an odd smell reached his nose. Sniffing the air lightly, his eyes widened when he realised what it was. It had been a long time since he had smelt it, but the odour had been burned in his memory. Burnt flesh.
He took a quick glance at Twilight, and was shocked to find that she not only registered the smell, but by the look of revulsion on her face recognised it too. He made a mental note to ask her about it when there were less pressing matters at hoof.
“Twilight, Shining Armour.”
The voice was unmistakable. He turned to face Princess Luna, bowing before her. She stood in the hallway that led to the cell block where the alien was kept. Thankfully, crime rates were rather low, so the dungeons never saw much activity beyond the occasional patrol. The biped was probably the first guest this particular block had housed in years.
“We came as soon as we heard, Princess.” Twilight said, “That smell, that’s not what I think it is, is it?”
The princess nodded. “We are afraid it is, Twilight Sparkle. Our sister has seen fit to dispose of the body at the earliest convenience. With luck, the odour should disperse quickly.”
“If I might ask, your majesty, why are you cremating the body?” Shining asked, cutting off his sister who opened her mouth to ask a similar thing.
“Our sister fears there may be a way for the creatures to locate lost individuals. If such a thing is true, we believe it would not be wise to allow them so find us with the deceased in our hooves, lest they believe we were the cause of his death.”
Twilight gulped audibly, and Luna continued. “Captain Shining Armour, it is thy... your duty to protect Canterlot and its inhabitants, is it not?”
Now it was Shining’s turn to gulp. “Yes, your majesty. I’m sorry I allowed this to happen. I will find who is responsible.”
“Do not let it burden you, Captain. We are aware that much has happened over such a small span of time, and your effort to make the best of this situation is commendable. But for now, you must return to your duties.”
“Of course, your majesty.” Shining saluted and nodded a goodbye to Twilight before turning around and setting off. Twilight watched he brother leave, cringing as she took in another breath. Luna took notice of her discomfort. “Perhaps you should take your leave as well, Twilight Sparkle. This is not something you should bear witness to.”
Twilight couldn’t agree more. Ryan’s death has shocked and saddened her, but the smell and the idea of witnessing his body burn was too much. She felt somewhat ashamed that she was going to walk out on Ryan’s cremation, but all it took was another breath to convince her to take Luna’s advice. With heavy steps she turned to follow her brother, unsure of what to do.
*
Hailen Strongclaw touched down in the snow as softly as he could, even then leaving a decent sized trail in the snow when he skidded to a halt. In the horizon he could see the bulk of the alien ship, its immense black shape peppered with snow stood out from all of its surroundings. Like tiny insects, the alien airships buzzed about in the distance, and dark specks in the snow marked the fallen of the battle.
Smoke rose through the air in massive black pillars, reaching up to the sky from the still burning remains of the airships. Their defeat played back in the gryphon's mind as he took in the sight. Ear-splitting explosions and thunderous booms echoed in the warrior’s thoughts.
Hailen’s concern for his own safety snapped him out of his memories. The dots in the sky confirmed that more of the alien airships had arrived. He had no idea whether or not he could outfly one of the beasts, but he had no intention on finding out. The gryphon glanced over his shoulder at the alien slung over his back. The biped met his eyes and they pair stared at each other for a moment.
Without warning, Hailen rolled the creature down his side and onto the snow. The alien grunted and seemed to swear at him in its language. It struggled against its bonds, freezing when its eyes came back to Hailen.
The gryphon had drawn a short blade, its silvery surface gleaming under the smears of blood that Hailen hadn’t had the time to wipe off. Eyes furrowed, he stared down at the creature, uncertain that he was doing the right thing. Balik’s orders made sense, but he was going against the elder council. Exhaling loudly, Hailen decided that dwelling on the matter wasn’t the best thing to do in his current situation.
The alien began to thrash and struggle again, screaming out loud in hope that the others might hear it. Hailen grabbed one of the creature’s arms, holding it steady in his grip. He found it strange that such weak bodied creatures were capable of wreaking such chaos and destruction on the battlefield. No, not strange. It made sense that they would pursue any alternatives ferociously in a hostile environment if they could not rely on their natural strengths to protect them. He wondered what kind of hell these creatures had come from to warrant the creation of their weapons. Maybe they were at war with themselves? There was no way he could know.
The biped struggled and cried louder as the blade came closer. With his own superior strength he was able to hold its arm still enough to begin cutting its bonds. Within moments the blade cut through, and Hailen stepped back.
The alien stared bewildered at its now freed hands, and then at Hailen. The gryphon stayed silent, taking another step forward. The alien scrambled back, still unsure of the feathered warrior. Hailen sighed. He looked at the blade, blood from the battle still clinging to its length. In the excitement he hadn’t had a chance to clean it. It was a good sword, but there were many more like it back home. With a grunt he tossed the weapon at the alien’s feet.
“Cut yourself loose.” He muttered before turning around and taking off, eager to put as much distance between himself and the aliens as possible.
The biped remained frozen on the ground, eyes trailing the shrinking figure of the gryphon. It looked hesitantly at the sword that lay in the snow, before lunging forward and taking the blade in its hands. Hailen was already gone by the time it sawed through the rest of its bonds.
*
The wind howled as Glade flew, whipping past his body as he kept his speed. The snow covered mountain ranges below him began to level out into tiny hills that flashed past in a stream of shadows. The sights went unnoticed to the great green dragon as he flew, eyes fixed on his destination.
In the distance, dark plumes of smoke rose into the clouds like blackened trees reaching for the sun. Nearby to their sources, a massive black shape lay unmoving on the ground. At first Glade had assumed the shape to be a small plateau, but it lacked the natural design of the terrain. No, it was clear crafted by something other than nature. Perhaps Sappharon had been telling the truth.
The blue dragon flew ahead of Glade, taking point on the expedition. Pyrite remained behind, almost level with Glade in the rough wedge formation. Glade took a moment to analyse the sapphire dragon’s body language. He was tense, his wing beats more forced than the relaxed movements Glade’s own appendages made. Was Sappharon scared? No. Glade had known the dragon for decades. While he may be on edge, it would take a lot to scare the sapphire giant.
But the mere fact he was ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice disturbed Glade. It was as if he was expecting a fight. Glade chuckled silently, the sound coming out as a jittery rumble barely audible over the wind. There were very few creatures that would be willing to attack dragons. Even a wyvern would think twice before taking on a dragon, let alone three at once.
The dark mass was closer now, and the dragons could make out tiny shapes circling in the air around it. Glade frowned. They flew quite rigidly, not as fast as most airborne creatures, but with much more control. Where a gryphon or dragon would have to slow down and bank around to turn, the odd shapes were simple able to stop and turn in a much tighter circle. He also noticed that they were a great deal larger than gryphons or ponies.
As the dragons drew closer, the dark mass began to form details across its surface. Glade’s eyes widened when he realised that it was not part of the terrain, but a huge metal structure. No, not a structure. The object was on a slight angle, and bent out of shape towards its midsection. It couldn’t have been designed to rest that way, not to mention the poor choice of location. More theories formed in the dragon’s mind, but the deep trench stretching away from the rear of the metal beast was enough to confirm one in particular.
Sappharon was right, it was a ship. A massive, alien ship.
The blue dragon slowed, allowing Pyrite and Glade to catch up. “Do you believe me now, Glade?” Sappharon grinned smugly at his green friend.
“In the name of harmony...” Pyrite stared in awe at the ship.
Glade ignored the blue dragon, instead sweeping his eyes over the crash site. The ship was huge, and how it had managed to fly, let alone get off the ground entirely was beyond him. Movement caught his attention as he found his gaze drawn to the creatures flying around the ship. From his closer position, the emerald dragon could now see that they were not creatures at all, but vehicles bigger than wagons. And they definitely knew of the dragon’s presence.
“Those things,” Glade started, “They are watching us.”
Sappharon’s smug demeanour was replaced by one of concern. There were at least five of them, each about the size of Glade’s chest, and all of them had turned to face the trio.
“I don’t like this.” Pyrite growled.
The metal flyers were threatening them, giving a silent warning to stay away. Glade's eyes narrowed and he opened his maw, letting loose a deafening roar. The sound was audible for miles across the snowfields.
Sappharon snarled at the emerald dragon. “Don’t provoke them! You have no idea what they are capable of.”
“I will not be threatened by these puny creatures and their metal birds.” Glade growled back.
“Your pride is going to get you killed!”
Their argument was cut short when a streak of fire launched itself from one of the ships, leaving a trail of dark smoke as it shot through the air.
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