//------------------------------// // High Winds // Story: En Taro, Equestria // by Saacsa //------------------------------// An urgent voice startled me from my exhaust induced slumber on the desk, my back aching from a terrible night of sleep. I couldn't make out what the voice said, but I could see Sunbutt right over the top of me. Ty was already awake and just starting to gear up, while Charlie was in a similar circumstance. "Tom, it's almost time. Zeratul will be here within the hour." Celestia told me, prompting me to get up. "Ugh, alright. Gimme a minute to wake up." I stated groggily, shaking the haze from my mind. I stood and got ready, then met my friends, old and new, outside the tent. However, Stone Kiss was nowhere to be found. "...assuming they'll land directly inside the camp, wherever Ty and Tom may be at the time of their arrival." I caught the ass end of the conversation, provided by Luna. "Yeah, that sounds about right, considering we haven't heard about where they'll be landing yet." I added anyway. "Well, I suppose it's a waiting game." Ty sighed, shaking his head. "Wish I had my peashooter-" My eyes lit up like it was fucking Christmas night, "-and a couple of bottle to blast." "Ty, you bloody brilliant bastard!" I saluted the man for reminding me of what kept slipping my mind. I turned my attention to the princesses, "So, have you Equestrians ever heard of something called gunpowder?" Their eyebrows twitched, almost simultaneously even. "Hmm. I think not. What is it?" Celestia asked, earning a smile from me. "Picture an explosive powder. It has huge potential, if used correctly. Like, say, loading it into a metal tube or casing with a lead slug on top. The idea is, you pull a trigger, and a firing mechanism ignites the powder and propels the slug at high velocities. I'm sure the Terran's have a few examples with them. I'm surprised they weren't in your game." I explained. "Why you gotta get all smart on us like that, Donnie?" Charlie shook her head. "I... Thought your name was Thomas?" Celestia pondered. Ty and I shared a look, a simultaneous sigh, and perhaps even a simultaneous thought. Fuckin' ponies, man. "You shut your cellar door!" I exclaimed, wagging a finger at Sunbutt. "Sister, the blast powder we use for fireworks could work for this." Luna continued, completely disregarding our banter. "Yes, we'll have to get a basic, hoof-compatible prototype designed and learn more when the Terran's arrive." Celestia snapped back to reality. Suddenly, a deep rumble shook the ground, startling everyone gathered. Some more ponies in the surrounding tents began to filter out, combat ready with determined looks on their faces. "Are they here already?" Ty cocked an eyebrow, "Whoa, talk about speaking of the devil." He chuckled. A gasp from a nearby Pegasus guard caught my attention, his next words making my veins run cold with dread. "There's... So many..." His fear-filled awe did little for my confidence. Almost as if he was resigned to the end. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to hear him, because everyone turned to look at the cliffs to our left. I could barely see the snowy mountain tops under the absolutey absurd tsunami of purple chitin writhing down it, and directly towards us. "By Faust..." Celestia breathed, but Luna sprung into action, throwing a rather large ball of magic directly into the shield dome. The solar diarch soon joined her, and the already glowing barrier tripled in brightness. It gained an almost solid opulence, shielding us from even the sight of the horrifying monsters. "Rally to your positions, mares and stallions! Prepare for the enemy!" Luna belted out in her stupidly loud voice. I swear, that mare has a megaphone in her chest. I thought, moving towards the nearest front. "Tom, where are you going?" Charlie asked, lifting a hoof to follow. "To war." Ty answered for me, falling in step. "Wherever we are, the Protoss show up. So we need to be on the front lines." Ty spoke with grim determination, patting the hilt of his broadsword as we walked further ahead. "We shall join you, as the Zerg seem to avoid us entirely, we will be of great help." Luna said, flapping her wings in the air beside me. A twin flap from my other side confirmed that Celestia had been thinking the same thing. I briskly strode through the camp, towards the direction we saw the horde decending. Upon reaching the edge of the camp, we found defensive battlements and shield ponies lining the entire hundred meter expanse between the tents and the protective barrier. Just beyond the aforementioned wall of light, I could see the wave of gnashing tooth and blade crash ever closer. Time seemed to stretch on forever, but eventually they reached the shield. Luna and Celestia both cringed immediately under the stress, prompting some nearby guards to join their magic to the force field. Hundreds upon hundreds of Zerglings and Hydralisks slammed into the barrier, instantly turning to ash the moment they made contact. "That's pretty wicked." Ty nodded appreciatively. "It will not hold forever." A nearby voice, one I recognized as Shining Armor, said as he trotted over. "However, we shall aid the princesses as long as we are able." He finished, earning a hoorah from his stallions as they all fired magical beams towards the roof of the dome. It had an immediately calming effect to both princesses, enough to allow them to speak once more. "Thank you, Shining, and thank all of you." She gestured to the other soldiers. "Reinforcements are coming, rest assured." She added. Not long after that, the struggle started again, only this time it affected more than just the two Princesses. Unicorns all over the field began to grit their teeth, and suddenly the ponies were worried. Their magic, it wasn't going to be enough. And that in itself, was enough to worry me. Then, our ray of hope cut through the clouds, raining bright blue photon blasts in on the horde below. The odd, dual crescent ship displayed an after-image of itself as it sailed through the air towards the barrier. "Get ready, my little ponies! The shield will soon fall!" Celestia called out to her troops. Right before the ship reached her shield, the entire dome flickered and was extinguished. Thankfully, the horde had been dramatically thinned down from nearly twenty minutes of suicidal charging. Zeratul’s ship pulled a slick 180 and dropped six friendlies on the field. Three zealots, two stalkers, and what I recognized as the Purifier Talandar. The reinforcements helped the ponies quickly purge the remaining Zerg from the front lines, but more soon poured in to take their places. Even so, the new arrivals did an absolutely brilliant job of tearing the enemy apart. Zeratul’s ship soon hovered above us, before turning directly upright and powering down. A bipedal alien with two glowing, green eyes soon phased into reality with two little robotic probes, and every single being stood in absolute awe. "It is good to finally meet you all, though I do wish it were under better circumstance." He strode forward, his probes going to warp in defensive buildings. "I would like to come to know all that are here, but I fear for now we have more pressing matters to deal with." "Agreed," Luna shook her head, then smiled brightly. "We have a large amount of minerals near the center of the camp, if you'd like to send a probe over there. We've also set up perimeters for your pylons and areas for your photon cannons." She finished, not without a small amount of glee. "Interesting," All of this seemed to make the dark prelate pause. "How do you know so much about our structures?" "As I'm sure Luna would love to explain," Celestia interjected, earning a sidelong look of pure murder from her sister, "You are correct, we do have more pressing matters at hoof." Luna let it go under the severity of the situation, which likewise brought Zeratul back from his ponderings. "Luna, was it?" He gestured a hand towards the blue Alicorn, who nodded. "Please, show me the way to your mineral fields." At her swift nod, he continued, "I will let my Executor aboard the Void Seeker know about the defensible positions you established, for now, let us depart." They began to walk away, with Luna and Celestia having a silent conversation with their eyes. I won't pretend to know how the two ancient beings did it, I just know it was done. When they finally broke eye contact, Celestia took off towards the front line, and the rest of us followed suit. I remembered the mention of Zeratul’s Executor, and looked towards the Protoss units. The probes were busy at work, setting up two large rifts in space and time per four small rifts in space and freaking time. I assumed they were Pylons and Photon Cannons, from the crash course last night. That would make the most sense. However, as the four smaller rifts opened before the bigger rifts, I was proven wrong. Photon Cannons phased in, and they immediately began providing relief for the Protoss warriors and Equestrian soldiers alike. My eyes trailed up to see two hovering warp prisms, panels extended and rotating. They were coated in a thick layer of shield that the Unicorn guards, who rotated out with the fatigued ones, had conjured. "Well, I'd say 'just like old times', or something like that, but this is a first." I smirked at my two friends. "That it is, buddy. That, it suuure is." Ty whistled, obviously impressed. The larger rifts finally opened, revealing gateways. The two masses of gleaming and golden garish garrisons granted... I inwardly sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Fuck it, I need a distraction. "So, I know this is probably reckless..." I began, receiving slightly alarmed looks. "Noooo." Charlie tried to warn. "And we're suppose to stay safe and all that pansy shit..." I continued, getting a mischievous grin from Ty, and more protest from an increasingly worried Charlie. "NO! No, no, no, no, no-!" "-Buuuuuut..." I drew my sword, my grin gleaming with it against the iridescent back lights of portals. "Thomas I sweat to Go-!" "LEEEEROOOOOOOYYYYYY" Pause for effect while the entirety of the camp, and a few of our new friends, stare at you like you're an idiot... ... "God damn it." I heard Charlie groan, but paid her little mind. ... "JEEEENNNNNKKKKIIIINNNNSSSSS!!!! I charged forth, as it was the only appropriate course of action that could follow such glory. Probably alone, but hey, that's the price you pay for doing awesome shit you never thought you'd get the chance to do. I barreled past the steadily active Gateway's and Photon Cannons, though a glance to my sides proved both of my friends were... Well. Bigger dicks than I thought they were. A glance over my shoulder revealed a groaning Charlie, head in hoof, and Ty's shaking head. That grin never left his face. My head swiveled back forward in time to nod at Talandar, who twirled around me to impale a pouncing Zergling with his wrist blade. I followed his lead, then hefted the creature off of my blade so I could begin the fray in earnest. ~ ~ ~ "-see, the Great Ones are the same as your 'Xel-Naga'." Luna rolled the word off of her tongue, as if tasting it. "Yes..." Zeratul replied, cupping his chin with a hand. "It would seem so. I wonder why your kind has been kept a secret for all this time." He mused, more to himself than anyone else. "I do not know, nor shall I try and understand the ways of the Great Ones. They are as magnificent as they were terrible." Luna bowed her head, pawing at the ground. "Terrible? The Xel-Naga?" Zeratul questioned, "They are beings of immense power. Gods, even. However, they have always been benevolent to us Protoss." Luna snorted. "Well, I suppose there is a difference in universes after all." "You mean besides the names?" The quip came from none other than Stone Kiss, his voice approaching from behind the two. Luna rolled her eyes as Zeratul looked back, too surprised to act. "Oh would you-" Zeratul snapped out of his shock, cutting Luna off by disappearing in a tuft of black smoke. The ethereal coils sent the lunar diarch into an abrupt coughing fit, right as Zeratul appeared behind Stone Kiss, blade drawn. The infected general was quick to respond, his heightened senses kicking into overdrive as he reared forward. He delivered a swift buck to the middle of the dark prelate's arm, staggering his bladed downswing. By the time Luna reopened her eyes, Zeratul was clutching his arm, and Stone Kiss was facing him, hunched in a combat stance. "GENERAL STONE KISS, STAND DOWN!" Luna had read the situation perfectly, and received both a curt nod and relieved smile from Stone. She knew that by addressing the infected stallion as a ranking soldier, one whom she had direct control, Zeratul would hesitate. In this, she was not mistaken. "Apologies, Princess." Stone Kiss bowed, his tone level, "I was merely defending myself." "The infested are not to be trusted. They are deceitful to the core, you should know this, Luna La'Moon." The Protoss warrior warned, "Why is it here?" "Friend Zeratul, please. He is not like Kerritsgan, he is a friend." Seeing the dark prelate would retaliate, Stone Kiss broke in. "It is true, my body may have been corrupted, but I am pure." Zeratul gave a skeptical glance over to Luna, that being the only time he had looked away from Stone. "Perhaps..." The Protoss remained silent for a moment, "Only time will tell of your taint, forsaken one." He added warily. "So..." Luna broke the tense silence, "Tea and strategy?" ~ ~ ~ Ty watched his brother in arms run wildly at the field as he laughed like a madman, with a smile on his face. Not your ordinary, everyday smile either. No, this was the shit eatingest of shiteating grins good ole Ty could possibly have plastered across his mug. He gave his old friend time to look back with a bewildered expression, before nudging a still groaning Charlie. "Yeah, but we should help the idiot, huh?" He remarked. "Yeah..." Charlie trailed off, looking up to see Tom decapitate another Zergling, before tripping and falling flat on his face. Normally, in a battlefield this would mean death. Normally, the soldier isn't Tom. Who could let themselves get murdered after pulling a stunt like that? Oh yeah. Leroy Jenkins. "In just a feeeew more seconds." Charlie smiled to herself, seeing Tom roll away from some Hydralisk spines. He deftly leapt to his feet, and went right back down to dodge a swinging Hydralisk claw. He slid, and turned on a damn near dime, raising his sword swiftly and slicing through the beasts back. "He's got this long enough for us to get the message across." "Which is?" Ty would not, or in this case could not wipe the grin from his face. "Don't be an idiot." She sighed. "Wait... Me or him?" "It's him or I." Charlie shook her head, then whistled loud enough to get the other ponies attentions. "Alright ponies, we've all played the game. We know what to expect, and you all likely have your orders. Move it, moooove it!" She ushered, snapping them back to reality. "That goes for us too," She glanced sideways at Ty, "Let's make sure he doesn't get himself killed." Charlie said before taking off towards their friend in a dead sprint, Ty close behind. ~ ~ ~ Celestia, the great immortal Goddess of the Sun, Princess of Equestria and one of the most powerful beings on the planet, was completely and utterly stupified. "That idiot is going to get himself killed..." She murmured to herself, flying high above the battlefield to blast incoming Mutalisks. The Pegasi were appreciating her help, along with the few Scouts and Corsairs that the Protoss had warped in. Far below the hovering Alicorn, the battle waged. Ponies fought tooth and hoof to repel the invaders, side by side with the Protoss in reasonable battle formations. Earth Ponies up front with the Zealots, Thestrals and Dark Templar tearing into the Zerg flanks with wild abandon, Unicorns hurling magical death with the Dragoon's slamming Zerg ranks with their own photon blasts. The slapdash forces had even taken the skies for their own, with the help of Celestia. Then, there was the human. "MY NAME IS INIGO MONTYOYA, YOU KILLED MY FATHER PREPARE TO DIE!" She heard him shout the obscure reference as he dove headlong into battle. Shaking her head, she thought to herself, Isn't it Ineighgo? Either way, he was surprisingly agile and ruthless, despite his admittedly comidic antics. "Luna," She spoke through her link, "The Zerg forces are dwindling. We may not need the Terran's to finish this battle. How is it going on your end?" ~ ~ ~ "Better, now that Zeratul and Stone aren't trying to kill each other." Luna rolled her eyes, "I do wish they would stop just staring though. It's rather unnerving." She suppressed a shudder. "Let's just be glad they are both alive and here, dear sister." Luna snorted. "Easy for you to say, you're not dealing with them. They've barely spoken, Tia!" "Princess?" Stone Kiss’s voice broke her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. They both were looking at her, Zeratul's face an unreadable mask, though that was mostly due to his lack of facial features. "Yes?" Luna queried. "Zeratul and I have come to an agreement." Luna nearly choked. "W-What? When? More importantly, how?" She sputtered. Stone adopted a wry smile. "Why, Princess, anypony with enough psions can perform telepathy. Kerritsgan, for example. The real life Kerrigan can as well. You and your sister aren't the only two." He closed his jaw and cocked his head at her, "See?" Luna physically jumped, alarmed that her link wasn't even a secret to the general. "How long have you known? Have you been listening in?!" The Princess was slightly indignant. "Faust, no!" He exclaimed, I've only recently... Ahem, aquired the psions required." I do not mean to intrude, but we have pressing matters at hand. Zeratul’s voice echoed in Luna's mind. "Lulu, what's going on?" Celestia just barged right back in. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Luna exclaimed, shooting dirty looks at the two present. "I see the royal Canterlot voice still works in telepathy." Stone Kiss mused upon seeing Zeratul shake his head. "Quite." Luna remarked shortly, "Can we be on to business?" "Yes," Zeratul broke in, his head finally cleared. "That would be wise. We have much to discuss." "Sorry Tia, I'll explain later. Focus on driving those abominations back." She received only an indignant huff in response. "What, praytell, have you two been 'discussing'.?" Luna queried. "The fate of the Queen of Blades." Zeratul replied, "We disagree on what must be done." "She must die." Stone Kiss's tone brokered no argument. Zeratul, however, was not intimidated. "She must live. The fate of the very universe hangs in the balance." He stated cryptically. "That bitch killed my wife, destroyed my city, and made me into an abomination!" Stone Kiss slammed his hoof on the table, a crack splitting the solid crystal. "Universe be damned, she will die." He narrowed his eyes at Zeratul, his very voice dangerous. "She has done so to countless systems and peoples. I do not mean to be insensitive, but you are far from the only one." Zeratul took a breath, "I am sorry for your loss, I truly am. However, I refuse to doom all of existence for revenge." Stone's glare never once softened, the hatred in his heart refusing to falter. "I refuse to believe in some paltry stonework telling the fate of the universe." He scoffed, "I will avenge my wife." "You would doom the entirety of existence for your own gain?" Zeratul shook his head, turning to Luna. "Your majesty, please see reason." "There is no reason in blindly following faith!" Stone exclaimed. "Nor is there any in seeking petty revenge." Zeratul replied cooly. Luna sighed. This was going to be a long discussion. ~ ~ ~ "Sir, we're being followed." Matt Horner stated, getting an alarmed look in response. "Dominion?" Jim Raynor asked warily. The captain just gave him a solemn nod. "Damn it!" His fist slammed onto the table, knocking his whiskey to the ground. It rolled away, forgotten by the commander of Raynor's Raiders in wake of the news. Matt and Jim hurried from the Cantina to the Bridge, worry creasing both of their features. "Matt, after we land, how long do we have until they get there?" Jim asked. "Not long enough, sir. Three hours, tops." Matt stated briskly. "How many of them?" "Three." Matt paused, "One is bigger than the other two. Likely Mengsk’s flagship." Raynor froze, then let a light chuckle escape despite himself. "I don't know if I should be worried, or count myself lucky. Who knows," He continued forward, "We may get to kill two birds with one stone here, Matt." "Maybe," Horner muttered under his breath, "Or maybe we'll all die..." He mused bitterly and shook his head, then followed the receeding form of his commander down the hall. ~ ~ ~ "Iisha." The dual toned voice of Kerrigan, Queen of Blades echoed through the pulsating Hive. "Yes, my queen?" A grey, serpent-esque creature slithered down from an opening atop the roof of the throne room. She hung by her tail, seemingly still connected to the ceiling, and clasped her sleek claws together. "Why is that base not part of the Hive yet?" The question was clearly rhetorical, though the beady eyed creature was compelled to answer her Queen. "The Protoss-" "Iisha." The Queens tone dipped to dangerous levels, "I want that base gone, and the Alicorns in my hands." Her eyes began to glow with cruelty. "I will have what I want, do we understand each other?" The creature known as Iisha gulped audibly. "Yes, my queen."