//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Captured // Story: Galactic Gamble // by JesterOfDestiny //------------------------------// All lifepods have been deployed, but the main ship was still going. Twilight Sparkle was the only one on it and she piloted it as clumsily as one would expect. Clumsiness was a death sentence in a situation like this, but she had to eject everypony else to save them from the menace. It was still after Twilight, patiently chasing her at a steady pace, waiting for her to drop from exhaustion. It was bound to end at some point. Twilight’s pursuer was going just fast enough to not exert itself, but still be way too quick for Twilight. Her thrusters went from bright red to white and even blue. And in that moment they overheated and broke down. The enemy ship sped up slightly and flew over Twilight’s drifting ship. It deployed several flexible grabbing arms and attached itself to the ship and the attackers were inside in no time. Twilight launched her own lifepod as a last ditch attempt to save herself, but the enemy was quick. With one of its arms, the enemy ship reached out and ripped up the lifepod’s backside with a single strike, turning it into space debris. Another arm hurried to collect the helpless capsule. A squad of alien warriors were waiting for Twilight in the hangar. Silent tension fell on them once the grabber arm pulled the lifepod inside. They slowly and cautiously took their steps towards it, with shields held up and electric staffs ready. They approached the lifepod’s door and waited. After a long minute of no response, one of them ran up to the door and cut it open with a large mechanical saw. From the fountain of sparks, a purple laserbeam tore through the metal and knocked back everyone standing in its way. A few more fired out, so the aliens raised their shields and stood in a tactical formation, allowing the engineers to remove the door. Twilight tried to hold them all back, but they knew what to do. They only needed to land one strike and all muscles in Twilight’s body tensed up and threw her on the ground. She tried to buck them back, but a few more shocks of electricity prevented her from doing so. The next time she got up from the ground, she has been all chained up, from hooves to horn, with the end of the fetters in the hands of a strong alien. It dragged her violently out of the ruins of the lifepod, into the middle of the hangar. A seemingly very high-ranking alien approached the now chained-up Twilight. It was using a long staff with a bright gem embedded in it, to walk and wore no helmet, letting its hair-like tendrils reach into the air like gangly claws. It growled something to Twilight’s captors, through its horrible toothy maw and they all put away their weapons. It then turned to Twilight and pushed a button on a device on its neck. “Forgive me princess for the rough treatment we have inflicted upon you,” it spoke with a surprisingly dignified voice, most likely a product of its translator, “but we can never be too careful with that biological plasma discharger of yours.” “What do you want from us?” Twilight asked between two painful gasps for air. “Now, now princess, let’s talk this over somewhere more fit for your rank. Come along now; let me escort you to your residence.” The strong alien holding the fetters was now far more reluctant to pull on Twilight’s chains, but it did hiss at her commandingly. Twilight got to her hooves slowly and followed the presumed leader of the aliens. They arrived in a room that was well decorated with vibrant colours, contrasting the oppressive dark metallic reds of the rest of the ship. It almost looked like something Twilight would see back at home, but built by somebody who clearly doesn’t belong there. And the air was way colder than comfortable; the sweat that poured during her struggles, clinged to her fur like it was all tiny icicles. In the middle of the room was a large table full of unidentifiable food. “Please, feel free to spend your last dinner as you want, princess!” The alien declared as it walked into the room, knocking on the ground with its staff. It was clearly a symbol of power, because it didn’t need any support for its upright posture. It then turned off its elegant voice and made a few disgusting slurping noises at the one holding the chains. The guard removed the chains from Twilight’s hooves and left the room, leaving the horn-restraint on and left the two of them alone. “I must apologize for the low temperature, but we don’t have the privilege of sweating, lest we lose our skin.” It emitted a weird sound that probably served as a chuckle. “Further apologies if the food doesn’t taste right; making plant-based food for such an unfamiliar herbivorous organism such as yourself was not a simple task. Not even for our highly skilled cooks.” Twilight sat down in front of the table, already shivering because of the cold air. The shivering was definitely not because of the food, because that smelled nice and looked appetizing in its own bizarre way. There were large cabbage-looking balls covered in an orange sauce, strips of purple vegetables, a still steaming stew and many other assorted delectables made of plants that she probably wouldn’t even be able to pronounce the name of. The alien leader sat down at the other end of the table. “My name is nigh unpronounceable with your tongue, you can just call me Oolkom. I am the captain of this ship and we are the species you may know as the trealitt. I shall accompany your meal, by answering all questions you have, as it is proper for the soon to be dead.” Its voice was friendly, but what it said was ominous. “Why?” Twilight reiterated her sentiments. “What do you have against us?” “We have nothing against your species, princess, nor you for that matter...” “Then what do you want from me?!” “That is simple. We want your power, princess. According to our scientists, your magic might be just enough to bring our master back to the physical world.” “Just enough?” She reiterated, but realized that asking for an explanation would lead to a far more complicated set of questions and answers. And it’s not like she didn’t read the database anyway; she knows just enough about the trealitt, to know who this “master” was. So she moved onto far more important matters. “What did you do to my friends?” “We let them go.” The alien said dismissively. “It would not have been honourable to harm them, for they cannot harm us.” Twilight had an idea. “You said you want my magic, is that correct?” “That is correct.” “Then you made a terrible mistake by letting my friends go.” “What do you mean?” “You might find great raw power in me, but it is nothing without the magic of friendship.” The alien stared in silence for a moment. “Was that your attempt at misleading me?” “No. In my world, the bonds that we form between each-other strengthen the magic inside us and make us capable of things alone we would never be able to do. That is the magic of friendship! And I know this power will set me free as well!” The alien stared for a moment. It was thinking. “So you managed to turn your animalistic herding instinct into a source of power?” “That is one way to say it, yes. Consider it a psychic bond of sorts. I know you’re not unfamiliar with that.” The alien stared at her for a second. “I see.” It said and walked over to a panel on the wall. It pushed a button, then commandingly slurped and growled into it, then turned back to Twilight. “We still have the coordinates of where your friends’ lifepods have been last detected. Perhaps we can calculate their trajectory and deliver them to you post-haste.” Twilight sighed with relief. For a moment it seemed like she wouldn’t live for too long. The creature then stepped over to her and leaned in very close. “And when we do, I will make sure to slaughter each and every one of them right in front your eyes. I’m sure the sorrow will make this power of friendship grow stronger.” It took its time to see the relief turn to fear in Twilight’s eyes. After savouring that moment, it left the room. “Enjoy your last meal, princess.” Its voice completely changed from its previous friendly manner of speaking, to a sinister, even hateful one. Those last things it said have killed all sense of hope, but Twilight did not intend to give up. She made sure that nobody was in the room and no camera could see what she was looking at under her wing. It was a small device designed for situations just like this. It was constantly sending out a distress signal, without being detected by her captors. “Not if they find me first...” She grumbled back to the alien who was no longer there.