Meanwhile, aboard the other aircraft, Mio slowly opens her eyes.
“What… happened?”
She suddenly bolts upright.
“The Hero!”
Looking around frantically, she frowns.
“He’s gone. And he must’ve taken my staff with him!”
With great difficulty Mio stands and staggers toward the pilot’s seat.
“Let’s see where I am…”
Looking over her gauges, she gasps.
“How long was I out?! I’ve got to get back to the others!”
Switching off the auto-pilot, Mio turns the plane in a tight arc and grips the controls. A look of worry on her face.
“Don’t worry sisters. I’m coming to help.”
Meanwhile, Stingray locks onto the Landmaster and fires. The shell explodes, knocking Arc and his companions to the ground. However the ORB deflects the damage, rocking the vehicle slightly but protecting the occupants. Auriel calls out.
“Shields holding.”
Celestia gasps. “Twilight!”
Ember pats her head. “We’re okay. Trust me.”
Celestia shudders and buries her face in Ember’s chest fearfully. She gently strokes the mare’s pastel mane.
“They won’t lose easily.”
Max jumps up and charges forward with Viktor. Together they dive past the cannon’s aim and each lob a magical grenade under the tank as they pass. They explode with great force, but the tank does not so much as budge.
“What the…?”
“That should’ve been enough to…!”
The cannon turns 180 degrees toward the pair as Stingray grins.
“Gotcha.”
As she pulls the trigger an invisible force raises the cannon just enough to allow the shell to fly over Xenos and Max’s heads. Sereb rushes forward and slows just enough to allow the pair to dive onto his back before running away. Rose attacks from the other side as she pummels the tank with her R-Cannon.
“We’re not going to make any headway like this!”
Arc grimaces as he fires his Hand Cannons at the tank. “I’m open to ideas!”
Xenos hops off Sereb next to Arc. “Remember, we just need to hold out until our ride shows up!”
Max frowns. “But they have reinforcements coming too!”
Viktor clutches his spear tightly as he dives out of the way of yet another shot. “That may be! But who’s to say our evac will get here first!”
Arc grimaces. “Or that they won’t just shoot it down altogether!”
Sereb shakes his head. “They don’t have the firepower to take on The Equinox’s ORB system!”
Rose sighs. “True. But the captain will have to lower the shields long enough for us get aboard. The ship will be vulnerable during that time.”
“Quite the battle down there, Minerva!”
“Agreed, Tom. The Hero seems to have his hands full at the moment.”
“That and he doesn’t seem to be making so much as a dent in that tank’s armor. I hope he has sense enough to give up and be taken peacefully soon.”
“So do I, Tom. As it stands he and those with him don’t have much hope of walking away from this.”
“Why do you suppose he’s still resisting?”
“No idea. His vehicle can’t get past that tank without being rammed, and that bridge isn’t scheduled to be completed for another six months.”
“Can’t go forward, but refuses to go back.”
“Our town’s hero sure is a stubborn one.”
Meanwhile, Xenos and Viktor huddle behind a large rock. They peek out to see Sereb fly back as a shell explodes nearby.
“Sure glad Sereb’s wearing his armor.”
Viktor shudders. “Me too. Otherwise he’d be down for the count from that one.”
Xenos looks over the boulder again. “We need to do something to shut that thing down.”
Viktor chuckles. “You have an idea?”
“I do.”
Pointing to an overhead power line, he grins.
“Let’s see how well that tank conducts electricity.”
“Good idea. But how do we…?”
Xenos waves to Rose. She hurries over to them.
“What is it?!”
Viktor turns to her. “Can you get the tank to follow you this way?”
“Sure. But why?”
Xenos points to the lines. “We’re going to try and fry its systems with the powerline up above.”
Rose nods. “That might just work. But how were you planning on cutting the line?”
Xenos grins. “I got that figured out. You just get it over here.”
Nodding, Rose dives over the rock and runs toward the tank. She fires at it numerous times before Stingray turns the turret and fires. Rose slashes at the shell, nearly cutting it in half. The blast is much smaller, but is still enough to knock the brave android off her feet. Hammer grins as she turns the vehicle.
“I’ll take their little tin can out with my treads!”
Driving toward Rose, Viktor stands and looks over the rock as Xenos readies his spear.
“Let me know when, Viktor.”
“Just a bit more…”
Rose gets shakily to her feet as Arc calls over to her.
“You okay?!”
“F-fine!”
Sereb growls. “Get out of there!”
“Trust me!”
Arc frowns. “But…!”
“Please, get clear!”
Sighing, Arc and Sereb do as they are told. Viktor calls out just as the tank rolls into a sizable puddle of water on the ground.
“NOW!”
Xenos throws his spear at the lines overheard. His blade deftly pierces the wires allowing the lines to fall on top of the tank. The transformer overhead explodes as the vehicle is charged with its entire load. A few seconds later Xenos and Viktor peek out.
“I think we did it!”
Arc gives them a thumbs up. “Good work you two!”
Running out from his own cover, Arc hurries over to Rose as Max joins him. Her clothing and synthetic skin are torn in numerous places and large amounts of red liquid seep through it. Minerva gasps.
“It looks like one of the Hero’s allies has been badly wounded!”
Tom clears his throat. “I’d like to apologize to our viewers if this is a bit graphic. But please remember that we’re coming to you live. Hopefully the Hero realizes the severe nature of the situation and will soon surrender.”
“Yes, Tom. I’d hate to see anyone else here get hurt.”
Arc kneels down next to Rose and takes her in his arms.
“Rose… are you…?”
“I’ll… be… okay.”
Max turn to him. “We need to get her back to Twilight as soon as possible.”
“Right!”
“Finish… mission. Complete… it. I… will… repair… in… time.”
Sereb turns to the motionless tank. “It would appear there is nothing left to do but wait for extraction.”
Viktor and Xenos cautiously approach the tank with Max.
“It’s not so scary now.”
“But it was a fearsome opponent nonetheless. We should probably…”
Suddenly the tank’s turret swings around and blasts them with flak. They fly back into Arc and Rose. As Arc rises he sees the pair lying motionless on the ground. Several jagged bits of metal stick out of their armor as blood oozes out around them.
“Viktor! Xenos! Max”
Sereb calls out. “Their hearts yet beat! However, they will require immediate medical attention!”
Hammer sticks her head out of the hatch and shakes her head.
“Nice try, but the Charger’s insulated against stuff like electricity. Now then, I suggest you surrender before anyone else gets hurt.”
She looks down at the injured trio before her.
“We have medical facilities that can certainly patch up your friends.”
Arc shakes his head angrily. “Never!”
Hammer shrugs. “Have it your way.”
She drops back down into the tank as Stingray aims the cannon at Arc. He calls forth his Magic Blades and charges forward. Squeezing the trigger the cannon fires. The shell hits Arc squarely in the chest, knocking his back. Several small chunks of his armor fly off, exposing his tunic underneath. Hammer frowns.
“What the heck is that thing MADE of?!”
Stingray shrugs. “No idea. But we’ll have to recover it for study.”
“That we will. It’s tough stuff.”
“So is the man inside it. Look.”
Hammer looks at her screen just in time to see Arc slowly stand. Minerva gasps.
“He… he GOT UP!”
“That’s impossible! Can we get a replay?!”
The anchor watches the footage with their viewers again in slow motion. He nods, clearly impressed.
“The shot definitely hit him! Even if his armor protected him from the explosion and shrapnel itself, that much force should have caused severe trauma to his body!”
Minerva grins. “He’s clearly exceptional! Armor or not!”
Hammer pokes her head out of the hatch yet again.
“Will you just stay down?!”
Sereb runs over to stand with Arc. “We fight to the end!”
Arc nods, breathing heavily. “Right! I won’t give up!”
Hammer shakes her head. “Look, it’s obvious you can’t beat us. Just surrender and we can call it a day.”
Stingray frowns as she pops through her own hatch. “That and your friends appear to be in pretty bad shape.”
The sound of buzzer goes off. Hammer grins as she and Stingray drop back into the Charger.
“Sounds like Mio’s back!”
Stingray grunts. “Yes. I do wonder where she’s been though.”
“Taking a nap is my guess.”
Meanwhile, Mio looks through her scope. Pressing a few buttons she grits her teeth.
“Only one missile left. I have to make this count!”
She fires. Sereb turns and sees the missile streaking through the sky toward them.
“NO!”
Turning, the wolf bucks Arc hard with his hind legs as he charges up his magic. Letting loose a powerful Telekinesis Spell he aims it at the missile. It explodes, throwing the wolf violently against the tank. He falls to the ground and does not rise. Hammer chuckles as she backs up for a better view.
“Looks like he’s down AND out!”
Stingray nods. “Yeah. Let’s finish this up and report back.”
Hammer sighs. “Fine.”
“Something wrong?”
“I just… nothing.”
Meanwhile, Minerva gasps.
“The Hero’s faithful steed may have just made the ultimate sacrifice for his master!”
Tom grimaces. “He’s the only one left standing!”
Dave speaks into his headset. Minerva turns her camera to look down the road.
“It appears the military has sent reinforcements to take the Hero into custody.”
She focuses the camera to show hundreds of strange looking vehicles from earlier heading toward the bridge at high speed. Tom gasps.
“More of those machines?”
Minerva nods. “A lot more, yes.”
“It looks as if the Hero has finally met his match.”
“I have to agree with you, Tom. This fight is over.”
Minerva bites her lip as she thinks to herself.
“Just give up. Don’t throw your life away over this.”
Hammer chuckles as she looks over to a small screen on her left.
“The drones will be here in five minutes.”
Stingray chuckles. “Looks like we beat him.”
They look at the main viewscreen before them at Arc standing there alone. His armor cracked in numerous places along with several streams of blood running down it. Hammer turns to her sister.
“What do we do now?”
“Just hold him here. He has to know there’s nowhere left for him to run.”
Arc looks around at his friends lying on the ground motionless. He clenches his fists angrily as he grits his teeth. Hammer and Stingray again poke their heads out of the tank.
“Uh… this is the part where you put your hands up.”
“…why?”
Stingray rolls her eyes. “Because it’s over. You lost.”
Arc shakes his head.
“No. Why did you…? Why did you want her so bad?”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? Who’s ‘her’?”
“Why did you hurt so many people to get what you want?! Huh?! WHY?!”
Stingray points at Arc. “You could’ve ended this anytime you wanted. Their blood is on YOUR hands!”
Arc looks to Stingray.
“Not my friends! I’m talking about the townspeople of Angel Grove, the Shards, and The Riders! TELL ME WHY?!”
“For the greater good, I assure you. By their sacrifice…”
“Shut up! You’re fools, all of you! General Mustang will sacrifice ANYONE he feels necessary to achieve his goals! You included!”
Arc clenches his fists tightly as he points to the Landmaster.
“You’re fighting to take back the one we rescued without even knowing ANYTHING about her!”
Arc seethes as he continues his tirade.
“But you thinks it’s fine because what you’re doing will make the world a better place! Make everything nicer for everyone!”
Hammer frowns. “It will! You have to look at the larger picture, Hero! This is bigger than you and us!”
“Bigger than everyone you used too?!”
Stingray nods, exacerbated. “YES!”
Arc’s fingers dig into his gauntlets, denting the palms as his anger rises.
“It’s people like you…!”
A beeping sound can be heard inside the tank. Hammer drops down and looks over her monitor. She frowns and smacks it.
“This can’t be right.”
Stingray drops back inside and looks over her shoulder.
“What is it.”
“There’s some kind of energy reaction coming from the Hero.”
“Magic?”
Hammer shakes her head. “No. It’s MUCH more powerful.”
Arc levitates a foot above the ground as his crystals glow brightly. Minerva gasps.
“He isn’t giving up!”
“I can’t believe the Hero is still resisting!”
“Me either, Tom. But that strange glow tells me he’s been holding something back.”
“Well, it had better be something special if he hopes to stop that tank, the plane circling them, and the military’s reinforcements.”
The air is suddenly thick with magical energy as golden wings sprout forth from Arc’s back. He channels for several moments before turning his attention to Mio’s craft flying overhead and reaches out a hand toward the vessel. Mio’s voice comes over the Crusader’s radio.
“What’s going on down there?!”
Hammer grins. “Us wining!”
Stingray frowns as she keeps her gaze focused on her instruments. “Yes. But these readings are off the scale! Stay sharp!”
Mio calls out. “I still have my turrets. Should I… what the…?”
Hammer frowns. “Mio? Is everything alright up there?”
“Um… I… don’t know. The controls are getting a bit… sluggish.”
Stingray looks worried. “Damage to your ship?”
“They were working fine up until now. Do you suppose this is the Hero’s doing?”
Hammer shrugs. “No idea how. But remember, both your plane and my tank are warded against magical attacks. We should be able to take anything he can dish out at this point.”
Arc closes his gauntlet slowly. Mio gasps.
“Something’s wrong! I…!”
Mio cries out as the windshield explodes outward. She dives to the side as the ship makes a sickening lurch. Stingray yells into her headset.
“Mio! Talk to us! What’s going on up there?!”
“I… I don’t know! The windshield just…!”
A low groan reverberates through the ship as the walls buckle. Hammer shouts into the radio.
“MIO!”
“Everything’s distorting! The floor… the walls… even the main supports overhead!”
Returning to an upright position, Mio grabs the flight stick in an attempt to regain her heading.
“I’ve lost all helm control! Both engines just failed! Every warning light is going crazy! M-mayday, mayday!”
Stingray gasps. “Abandon the craft!”
Hammer nods fervently. “BAIL!”
Mio grabs a parachute and runs over to the door. However, it does not open.
“I can’t! The door’s jammed!”
Stingray winces. “Can you go out through the front?!”
Mio shields her eyes from the wind. “No! There’s just too much pressure!”
Suddenly the door is ripped from its hinges and an invisible force grabs Mio. It drags her out screaming as it rips her parachute off and drops it to the ground. Hammer points at Arc, clearly furious.
“He’s doing this!”
Stingray grabs her controls. “I got him!”
Aiming the cannon, she fires. Arc holds up a hand and casts a Barrier Spell. The shell explodes but does not penetrate it. Stingray fires several more times with no effect. Hammer gasps.
“How is he DOING that?!”
Tom calls out frantically. “Minerva! What’s going on over there?!”
“The… the Hero is… I think he’s tearing that craft apart!”
She zooms in on Mio as she flails helplessly and cries out.
“He’s… holding the pilot up… somehow!”
“But… why?”
“No clue, Tom. All we can do is see what comes next.”
Arc turns back to the Charger. His voice reverberates through the otherwise still night air.
“STINGRAY… HAMMER… WE’RE ABOUT TO ANSWER AN AGE OLD QUESTION!”
He looks up at the craft and smiles angrily.
“WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE… MEETS SOMETHING IMMOVABLE?!”
Thrusting his fist toward the tank, Mio’s plane careens toward the Charger. The two vehicles smash together with sickening force as Mio screams.
“STINGRAY! HAMMER!”
Floating toward the wreckage, Arc pulls Mio down from overhead. She stops a few feet in front of him.
“Still think I should surrender?”
Mio’s eyes are wide and she can barely speak. “Stingray… Hammer… please… please spare them.”
He turns toward the Charger. Smoke pours from several fist sized holes in the hull. The sound of coughing can be heard within as she looks at the mangled hatches.
“They’ll suffocate in there! Please… please don’t let them die like that!”
Arc nods angrily. Reaching out a hand he rips the hatches off the tank. Stingray and Hammer climb out and tumble to the ground. Both are bleeding heavily. Wasting no time, Arc grabs them with his magic and pulls the pair to float next to Mio.
“Now then… what should I do with you three?”
Stingray grimaces. “Let Hammer and Mio go! I’m the one you want!”
Hammer shakes her head. “NO! I drove the Charger out here! It should be me!”
Mio gasps. “But I took down your mount! Take out your anger on me!”
Arc shakes his head and laughs wickedly.
“Oh, don’t worry! There’s plenty for all three of you! I’m planning to…!”
Arc stops talking as he feels something take hold of his foot. Looking down he sees Rose’s hand on his boot. She looks up at him pleadingly.
“Let… let them… go.”
“But…!”
Cherry calls out to him. “Arc… listen to her. This isn’t you.”
Sighing, Arc drops slowly to the ground as his crystals dim and the wings vanish. He releases the three women and sighs.
“I’m… giving you three a pass… this time.”
Mio’s eyes grow wide. “Wha-what?!”
Hammer breathes heavily as she gasps in pain. “You’ll… never get away… with this!”
Stingray grits her teeth. “Right. Our reinforcements… are nearly… here.”
Rose struggles to speak. “She’s… correct. I’m detecting… more drones… inbound.”
Arc frowns. “How many?”
“Innumerable.”
Dave calls out. “Miss Moore! Something’s heading toward the bridge!”
Minerva rolls her eyes as she hits the ‘mute’ button. “I’ve already covered the military’s reinforcements.”
“No, no! From the bridge side! Some kind of UFO!”
“What?!”
She turns to see a large vessel approaching the unfinished end of the bridge. The first rays of dawn shine over its sleek surface. Tom gasps.
“Minerva, what IS that?!”
“Ladies and gentlemen at home. I… I don’t know how to say this, but… this may just be a legitimate UFO!”
“Aliens?!”
“It very well may be! The ship is like nothing I’ve ever seen before!”
“It appears to be making its way to the end of the bridge! Any idea why?”
“I think it may be here to pick up the Hero and his allies!”
Tom puts a hand to his forehead. “This story is just out of control! If I hadn’t seen your footage with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it!”
Minerva nods. “I’m here on the scene and I still question whether or not this is all really happening, Tom!”
As the ship takes its place at the end of the bridge, Sereb slowly gets up along with Rose. Arc limps over to them.
“Take it easy, you two.”
Sereb winces as he looks over Arc’s badly damaged armor. “You’re… one to talk.”
Rose coughs. “Agreed. But… we can still… help… get the others… to safety.”
Arc looks to Rose. “Are they…?”
“Everyone is… injured… but none… critically.”
Arc turns to Sereb as he puts an arm around his own midsection. “Get everyone aboard the Landmaster.”
“Very well. As soon as I escort you there.”
“I’ll be along shortly. First… I… um… need to take care of something.”
Sereb does as he is told. Rose helps put the injured on his back as Arc walks over to the Charger. Raising a gauntlet he casts the Matter Compacting Spell. Shrinking the vehicle down he turns to the three women with it in his palm. Hammer seethes.
“What… are you…?!”
“I’m taking this, Hammer.”
“You… ugh… you can’t!”
Arc sighs as he puts the tank in his ring and turns back to Hammer.
“I… I left something back at your apartment.”
“What are you…?”
Arc interrupts her. “It’ll explain everything. I just…”
He sighs and shakes his head.
“…s-sorry. Goodbye… Hammer.”
The young woman looks to Arc, confused, as he turns and walks toward the Landmaster. Entering, he sees Rose lying next to his squad. Ember and Auriel do their best to tend to them. Ember looks over her shoulder at him.
“They’re hurt pretty bad!”
Rose shakes her head. “Wounds… superficial. Be… fine.”
Auriel helps Rose over to a chair and straps her in. “You’re one to talk. The essence within is barely keeping you running, as it’s going into internal repairs almost as fast as you can generate it.”
“Help… others.”
Arc nods. “Everyone’s aboard, Rose.”
“I… pilot…?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. I’ll get us back to the ship.”
Heading over to the driver’s seat, Arc sits down and starts the vehicle. He looks in the side mirror at Hammer for a moment before shaking his head and sighing.
“It was… a mistake.”
Cherry calls out to him. “Arc… you have to go.”
“Yeah… I know.”
Stepping on the gas, the Landmaster accelerates as it drives across the bridge. Rose turn to him.
“Incoming… enemy… reinforcements.”
Auriel keeps her eyes on her station. “I can protect us! But we don’t have any way to fight them off at the moment!”
Arc frowns. “I’ll get us some cover fire.”
Ember frowns. “The Equinox’s cannons will tear the bridge to pieces!”
“Twilight!”
Arc grins. “Trust me, Ember.”
He presses a button on the dashboard.
“Arc to Equinox.”
“Lemon Hearts here. Go ahead, sir.”
“We’re about to be attacked by enemy reinforcements. Deploy my forces to the deck.”
“Yes sir.”
“We’re counting on you. Arc out.”
He grips the steering wheel as the enemy drones cross onto the bridge behind them.
“This is it!”
Meanwhile, Shining Armor nods as the message is relayed to him.
“Everypony out on deck! GO, GO, GO!!!”
The main hatch flies open as Arc’s troops rush through.
“Staggered formation!”
As one, the stallions line up. The Unicorns’ horns glow as the Earth Ponies and Pegasi guards pull rifles from their backs and take up firing positions. Overhead Minerva gasps.
“I… Tom, it appears a great number of… armed and armored… horses have emerged from the ship!”
“We’re seeing that too! Are those… unicorns?!”
“It looks like it, yes.”
She zooms in.
“And I’m seeing what appear to be pegasi as well!”
“Are those guns?!”
“That they are, Tom! This situation has most certainly escalated beyond what any of us thought possible!”
“The Hero must be desperate if he’s calling in forces such as this.”
“Either that or whatever’s in that vehicle he’s riding in is REALLY important to him.”
Shining Armor frowns as he watches the drones begin to close the gap between them and the Landmaster.
“Steady, everypony! We need to wait for them to come into range!”
He talks into his radio.
“Bridge!”
“Lemon Hearts here, sir. Awaiting your orders.”
“Prepare to disengage the ORB system on my command.”
“Yes sir.”
He watches the scene before them carefully. Beads of sweat form on his brow as he waits. Trixie calls out.
“Everypony pick a target!”
The drones accelerate.
“Wait for it…”
Within moments they are a stone’s throw from the Landmaster. Shining Armor yells into his radio.
“DISENGAGE ORB!”
The protective shield drops, exposing the Equinox as Shining Armor yells at the top of his lungs.
“FIRE!!!”
The troops obey, firing blasts of magical energies as well as bullets. A literal hailstorm of projectiles swarms past the Landmaster and bounce off its ORB system. The approaching enemy reinforcements are brought low as they speed on toward relative safety. However the drones continue toward them as their numbers appear endless. Wrangler turns to Tight Ship.
“Sir, permission to fire on the enemy with extreme prejudice!”
Soarin frowns. “Negative, Wrangler. You could destabilize the entire bridge that way!”
Tight Ship nods. “Right. And there appear to be non-mechanical combatants nearby.”
Moon Dancer gasps. “Three human mares?!”
Thunderlane grits his teeth. “What are they DOING there?!”
Tight Ship sighs. “No clue. But let’s focus on getting the job done. Wrangler, I want you to target the bridge’s supports nearest the ship and prepare to fire.
“Sir? But I thought…?”
Moon Dancer turns to the captain. “Is this to cut off the enemy’s advance or retreat, sir?”
“Both.”
Meanwhile, fresh drones continue the pursuit. Smashing past their destroyed companions they again attempt to close the distance. Shining Armor frowns.
“FIRE AT WILL!”
Tom is on the edge of his seat. “They’re not giving up!”
“Neither side is it seems.”
“At this point, I don’t really know who to cheer for.”
“While he most certainly broke the law, I believe in the Hero. If he felt the need to infiltrate that military base he must have had a good reason.”
“Agreed, Minerva. I only wish we could get an interview.”
“Me too, Tom.”
Meanwhile, the Landmaster approaches the cargo bay doors. They slide open at their approach. The vehicle rockets inside and skids to a stop as the doors slide shut behind them. Tight Ship jumps up.
“Wrangler, FIRE!”
She presses a button and the ship’s cannons come to life. Blasting several of the main supports, the bridge collapses. As if in slow motion the drones fall into the valley below. Soarin turns to Thunderlane.
“Set a course back toward our egress portal at one-quarter speed.”
“Why so slow, sir?”
Tight Ship turns to the helm. “Remember, our forces are still out on deck. We can’t risk anypony falling off while we retreat.”
Shining Armor calls out to the troops.
“EVERYPONY BACK INSIDE! DOUBLE TIME!”
The troops hurry to carry out his orders. Shining Armor casts a barrier to shield his forces as they retreat inside. As the last soldier passes he rushes inside. Trixie smacks the door control as she shouts into her radio.
“All are aboard, captain!”
“Good. Full speed ahead, Thunderlane!”
“Aye, sir!”
Tom grins. “They made it!”
Minerva sighs with relief as The Equinox pulls away from the crumbling bridge. “That they did, Tom.”
“Hopefully next time the Hero makes an appearance he’ll comment on what exactly happened here tonight.”
“Agreed.”
“Where do you suppose he’s going? I don’t believe there’s anything nearby.”
“We’ll follow them and attempt to find out. But I’m also wondering where such a massive ship could have been launched from.”
“I’m certain it’s not registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. Such a vessel would have made the headlines!”
“Perhaps the Hero has some kind of secret base out here.”
“Be careful, Minerva. I doubt he’d just let someone follow him back there.”
“We’ll hold back and give his ship plenty of room.”
Sighing, Minerva grimaces as she cuts the audio feed momentarily and grabs a bottle of water.
“What could his motive have been?! Cherry wouldn’t have gone along with such a reckless plan willingly. At least not unless there was no choice.”
She puts a hand to her forehead.
“I guess all I can do it trust them to do what’s best.”
Meanwhile, Doctor Whooves along with Redheart and a number of additional medical staff wait patiently inside the Cargo Hold. A few moments later Arc opens the back door and motions to them.
“I need help over here!”
As they run over, Ember walks out carrying Princess Celestia in her claws. The doctor nods to a nurse whom rushes over with an oversized gurney. He points a hoof.
“Put her here, miss!”
Ember does so as Doctor Whooves begins looking her over. Arc turns to the rest of the medical staff.
“There are more wounded in here! Line up and we’ll carry them out!”
He turns back to Sereb who is casting the Transmogrification counter spell. The squad slowly turns back into their true forms. One by one Arc picks them up and carries them out of the Landmaster to the waiting medical teams. Returning, Arc kneels down in front of Rose.
“Hey, we made it! Rose?”
The android does not respond. Arc’s eyes grow wide.
“Auriel… help!”
Auriel sighs. “Rose lost too much of her internal fluids. Remember, they carry energy from her heart to the subsystems spread throughout her body.”
Cherry calls out nervously. “Is she… dead?”
Auriel shakes her head. “No. However her body lacked energy to continue operation and shut down.”
“Will she recover?!”
“Oh, yes. But it looks like Rose here will need quite a few repairs before she’s fully functional again.”
Arc breathes a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”
Sereb grunts. “Indeed. She really gave it her all back there.”
“And you, Sereb. Are you alright?”
“A bit tired and sore. But otherwise, yes.”
Auriel turns to him. “We should get you checked out as well, Arc.”
“But I’m…”
Cherry fumes. “You are not! Look at yourself!”
Arc does so. He sees chunks of armor missing and blood seeping through the holes.
“I… wow.”
Sereb walks over to him. “Lean on me, my friend.”
“Thanks.”
Arc does so as he and Sereb walk out of the Landmaster and over to the medical staff. Redheart is issuing orders frantically.
“Get the wounded to the Infirmary! Remove their armor very carefully and prep them for x-rays!”
The nurses nod and hurry down the corridor with their patients as Arc approaches.
“Redheart? Are they going to be okay?”
“I think so, sir.”
Auriel appears worried. “Then why the x-rays?”
“It’s standard procedure to order them for injuries as serious as what they appear to have sustained.”
Arc sighs. “Take good care of them.”
“I will, sir.”
She smiles and heads toward the teleporter pad. Arc turns to the doctor and walks toward the gurney. He spots Ember sitting on the bed with Celestia in her lap.
“Give me good news.”
Doctor Whooves speaks as he continues his examination of Celestia. “She appears to be very… agitated. There’s evidence of prolonged physical abuse as well as the tell-tale signs of severe mental scars.”
Ember groans. “What did they DO to her?!”
“That’s not important right now, miss. Helping the princess physically should be our top priority!”
Arc nods. “Agreed. Can we help in any way?”
The doctor looks Arc up and down. “Methinks you don’t have much more to give, sir.”
Auriel takes his arm. “We should get you to the Infirmary too, Arc.”
Doctor Whooves turns to Arc. “Sir?”
“Yes?”
“I hate to ask this of you, but I really need the patient back at her normal size to properly treat her.”
“Sure. One moment.”
Ember carefully slips off the bed. Celestia writhes violently as she looks around frantically.
“TWILIGHT!!!”
“Shh… I’m right here.”
Holding out a hand, Arc casts the Matter Compacting counter spell on Celestia. In a few moments she returns to her normal size. Doctor Whooves motions to the nurses.
“We have to restrain her! Hurry!”
Arc calls out. “Wait!”
“Sir, it’s imperative…!”
Auriel shakes her head. “She was chained up when we found her! Restraining her is the last thing she wants!”
Arc nods. “Right. Ember, could you…?!”
“Sure!”
Hopping back up onto the gurney, she puts her claws on Celestia’s shoulders and pushes her down onto the pillow.
“It’s going to be okay, princess. I’m here.”
Celestia calms and sighs contentedly as she lays her head on the pillow.
“Twilight…”
Doctor Whooves turns to the nurses. “Let’s go.”
They make the short walk to the teleporter pad. Reappearing at their destination, Arc looks around. Two nurses are busy examining each member of his squad as the doctor points a hoof at a corner of the room. A myriad of machines stand ready.
“Get her over there and hooked up!”
The nurses nod and hurry to carry out his orders. Arc turns to Sereb.
“Why don’t you stay here and get yourself looked at? After all that’s happened you might need some medical assistance yourself.”
“And you?”
“I need to see the captain. Make sure we’re in the clear.”
Ember calls over from Celestia’s bed. “You’re hurt too, Arc!”
“I’ll get checked out back in Canterlot. The staff here are already quite busy.”
Ember glares at him. “If you don’t get into a bed right now, I’ll…!”
Celestia shrinks back, clearly terrified. Doctor Whooves puts a hoof to Ember’s mouth.
“Miss, stop! You’re making the princess’ heart rate skyrocket!”
Arc turns toward the door. “Stay with her, Ember. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“But…!”
Auriel hurries after Arc. “I’ll stay with him. You just keep Princess Celestia calm.”
“…fine.”
She lays down next to Celestia who immediately snuggles up to Ember despite regaining her original size. Meanwhile, Auriel puts an arm around Arc’s back and helps him out of the room.
“Just lean on me, okay?”
“Thanks.”
Auriel sighs as they walk down the corridor together. “Ember isn’t wrong. You really should be resting, Arc.”
He winces in pain. “Believe me, I will. Just as soon as the ship is out of Earth’s airspace.”
Entering the Bridge, he looks to the captain.
“Tight Ship! Did we get away?!”
Tight Ship nods. “So it would seem.”
Moon Dancer looks over. “There’s nothing on radar, sir.”
Wrangler grins. “I’m still keeping the weapons charged and the ORB system online just in case though.”
Arc grins as he walks over to the comms. “Good. Lemon Hearts, open a channel to Canterlot Castle. Use the emergency frequency.”
“Yes sir.”
Pressing several buttons, she speaks into her headset.
“Equinox to Canterlot. Priority one.”
“This is Canterlot Castle operations. Go ahead, Equinox.”
“We require a secure line directly to the princesses. Emergency code five.”
“One moment.”
Ten seconds later Twilight’s voice rings out over the speakers.
“ARC!!!”
“Woah! Twilight?! Where are the princesses?!”
Cadance sounds nervous. “We’re right here, Arc.”
Luna speaks frantically. “Yes! Now then, were you successful?! Did you find my sister?!”
“I did, Princess Luna. She’s safely aboard my ship.”
Twilight breathes a sigh of relief. “How is she?!”
“Admittedly, not the greatest. Doctor Whooves is examining her now. We’ll know more soon… I hope.”
Cadance chimes in. “Did she say anything?”
“Not really. At least not coherently.”
Luna stomps the floor angrily. “What did they DO to her?!”
“No idea. But our first priority is to get her back to Canterlot.”
Twilight smiles. “Good!”
Cadance clears her throat. “Any… casualties?”
“My entire squad was wounded along with Sereb and Rose. But I’m told it isn’t anything life threatening.”
“And you, Arc?”
“I’m… mostly fine, Princess Luna.”
Auriel shakes her head. “Arc, that isn’t true and you know it.”
“But…”
Auriel points. “You’re bleeding on the console!”
“Only a little.”
Cadance forces a smile and sighs. “Please get yourself checked out as soon as possible, Arc.”
Twilight nods. “Yes! I… we all need you here!”
“Sure. We’ll be back before you…”
Moon Dancer looks over to the captain. “Sir! Incoming contacts!”
“Air or land!”
Wrangler calls out. “Air!”
Luna gasps. “What’s going on over there?!”
Arc groans. “We’re going to have to cut this short. Looks like we’re not quite out of the woods just yet.”
Cadance grimaces. “Be careful, Arc!”
“I will, Princess Cadance. Arc out.”
He motions to Lemon Hearts and she cuts the feed. Twilight turns to Cadance.
“We should get to the Hanger!”
Luna furrows her brow. “Agreed. I need to see his success with my own eyes.”
Cadance nods as they head for the door. “It has been awhile.”
Luna sighs. “Too long, yes. But I have faith that Arc will overcome this final hurdle and return my sister to us safely.”
Twilight grins. “So do I, Princess Luna. He’s quite capable, after all.”
Meanwhile, Arc rushes over to Moon Dancer’s console.
“What are we dealing with?!”
“Hundreds of some kind of small aerial craft!”
Wrangler looks over her instruments. “They look really similar to those things chasing you on the ground, sir!”
Arc sighs. “So our enemy has drones for both land and air.”
Soarin looks to Tight Ship. “We should engage them with all due haste!”
“Agreed. They must be destroyed before we reach the portal location, lest they be allowed to attack Canterlot.”
Arc turns to the comms. “Are they manned, Lemon Hearts?”
“Sir?”
Auriel clears her throat. “I believe he means to ask if they are piloted or autonomous.”
“Oh. Well, they’re not responding to my hails.”
Moon Dancer calls out. “And I don’t detect life signs aboard any of them.”
Wrangler grins. “Good! Then we can take them out with extreme prejudice!”
Arc looks to the Tactical Station. “How’s the ORB power level holding up?”
Wrangler smiles. “It has the energy to stay active for twenty more minutes.”
Thunderlane turns around. “We’ll reach the portal location in ten, sir.”
Tight Ship sighs. “Yes. However, if the enemy attacks, our shield will be drained significantly faster.”
Arc walks toward the ORB console. “Let’s see if we can’t give it a bit of a boost.”
Auriel grabs his arm. “That’s not a good idea, Arc. You’re already weakened from the activities of this evening.”
Soarin nods. “I agree. In fact, you really should be resting, sir.”
“What about you, Auriel?”
“Huh?”
“After all, you’ve been keeping the Landmaster’s ORB system running for quite some time.”
“Yes. But that was with the energy from the Bloodstone. Not my own mana pool.”
Thunderlane turns to the captain. “Could she supercharge our own ORB system, sir?”
“I don’t believe so. Moon Dancer?”
“Afraid not, sir. The system aboard your vehicle was specifically modified to use Dark Magic as a power source.”
Auriel frowns. “And even that took days of calibration and testing.”
Arc grits his teeth. “How long until the drones reach us, Moon Dancer?”
“At their current rate of speed, five minutes!”
“Wrangler, how about our ship’s cannons?”
“We can certainly return fire. But that would require shutting down the ORB system to do so.”
Auriel thinks for a moment. “Could we modulate the ORB’s field to allow us to fire through it?”
Tight Ship shakes his head. “The royal engineers were trying to discover a way to do that before this mission. However, they were unsuccessful.”
Soarin shrugs. “Perhaps with time such a thing would be possible. But not today.”
Thunderlane grimaces. “What do we do?”
Moon Dancer calls. “Enemy will be within range of our cannons in two minutes.”
Arc clenches his fist. “We have no choice. Power up the weapons and prepare for battle!”
Soarin turns to the Comms Station. “Lemon Hearts, notify the crew.”
“Yes sir.”
She presses a button on her console and speaks into her headset as Arc turns to Wrangler.
“As soon as they come in range, let ‘em have it!”
Wrangler grins. “Aye, sir!”
Soarin frowns. “Will it be enough though?”
Thunderlane clutches his controls tightly. “It has to be. We don’t have anything else.”
Arc grins. “That’s not entirely true.”
Tight Ship looks to him. “Sir?”
Arc turns and heads for the door. “Keep me posted if anything changes. I need to check on something.”
He leaves the Bridge. Auriel shrugs and runs after him as Wrangler calls out.
“Get ready, Thunderlane! This is gonna be a bumpy ride!”
“Let’s do it!”
Minerva frowns as she looks to the horizon.
“Tom, I’m not sure exactly what’s coming. But I think the military is sending a force to continue the pursuit of the Hero!”
“They aren’t giving up?”
“It doesn’t look like it, no. Whatever the Hero did back there, it angered them to quite a degree.”
“But he isn’t throwing in the towel either.”
“Not in the least. He appears to be keeping his shields up though.”
“Those can’t last forever, I would assume.”
“Maybe not. But I’m sure he has some kind of a backup plan.”
Meanwhile, Auriel catches up to Arc.
“What are you up to?”
Arc does not slow down. “Plan B.”
“To what end?”
“Equestria is counting on us. At this point, we have to be willing to take big risks to finish this.”
A short time later Arc and Auriel arrive at the Cafeteria. Shining Armor and Trixie, along with their soldiers, are sitting around drinking coffee and talking happily. They straighten up at Arc’s approach and salute as Shining Armor greets him.
“Sir!”
“Captain Shining Armor, we have quite a problem on our hands.”
Trixie appears confused. “Sir?”
“There are a large number of drones incoming.”
Shining Armor raises an eyebrow. “Won’t they be stopped by our barrier though?”
Arc shakes his head. “Sadly, no. We have to disable it to fire on them.”
“But even Trixie knows that will leave us vulnerable!”
“We don’t have a choice. If we just fly back to Equestria via portal they’ll be able to do a lot of damage.”
Auriel nods soberly. “They really need to be stopped here.”
Shining Armor stand resolutely. “What are your orders, sir?”
“All of us are going to return to the deck and defend the ship.”
Trixie gasps. “Won’t that be dangerous, sir?”
“Probably. But we don’t have a choice. Captain, have your troops been told about our mission?”
Shining Armor shakes his head. “No, sir. It’s still regarded as top secret.”
He turns to the soldiers.
“All of you listen to me. I’m sure everyone’s wondering what it is we’re doing here on Earth. Why we’re fighting this fight. It’s not for fame, glory, or riches. Instead, we’re doing this for honor and justice. As you all know, Princess Celestia is currently off on a diplomatic mission of greatest secrecy. However, that isn’t the case.”
The soldiers look to one another confused as Arc continues.
“The truth of the matter is that Princess Celestia was being held captive here on Earth. My squad and I rescued and were able to transport her back to the ship via my new vehicle. Right now she’s in very bad shape down in the Infirmary.”
Arc gestures out a window.
“At the moment there are hundreds of drones heading right for us that are looking for her. They’ll stop at nothing to recapture the princess and continue her imprisonment. We can’t let that happen. Every one of them MUST be destroyed prior to opening a portal back to Equestria. If not, they’ll most certainly follow us back and wreak havoc on the innocent ponies back home. These machines have to be stopped here and now by US! Understand that if we fail to stop them, not one of us will be returning home to Equestria. We stand together now, or we fall one by one. Now let’s go!”
The troops cheer loudly as a voice comes over Arc’s earring.
“Sir, the enemy has nearly overtaken us.”
“Disable the ORB system and fire at will.”
“Yes sir. But there are far too many for our cannons to take on.”
“Leave that to us. Arc out.”
He severs the connection before turning back to the troops.
“Everyone follow me! Let’s get this plan underway!”
Arc leads them out the door and to the Upper Deck toward the Main Hatch as Auriel turns to him.
“This is really dangerous, Arc!”
“I know. But we don’t have any other options.”
Auriel sighs “We really don’t. But…”
“Auriel, I want you to head back to the Infirmary and stay with the others.”
“Arc?”
“Like you said, this will be dangerous.”
Nodding, Auriel stops and steps aside. She watches the troops march by silently as the barrier around the ship falls. The sound of the cannons firing can be heard.
“Good luck… all of you.”
Arc and company reach the Main Hatch. They peer out as the drones begin firing on the ship. He touches his earring.
“Arc to Lemon Hearts.”
“Lemon Hearts here.”
“Tell the captain that we’re in position outside the Main Hatch. I need the ship to slow down to a safe cruising speed before we head out to the deck.”
“Yes sir. One moment.”
Tight Ship turns to Thunderlane. “Slow to quarter speed.”
“But sir, I thought we were trying to get home.”
“We are. However first we need to deal with this last problem.”
Thunderlane sighs and pushes the throttle forward to the desired position. “Quarter speed, sir.”
Tight Ship turns to the Science Station. “Moon Dancer, notify the Hero of Light when we’ve slowed enough.”
“Aye sir.”
A short time later Arc gets the word over his earring. Turning to the others, he speaks.
“I’ll go out first and draw their fire. When I give the word everyone follow and return fire.”
Shining Armor and Trixie nod soberly as Arc reaches out with his magic and presses a button. The hatch flies open as the drones let loose a barrage of what appears to be laser fire. Minerva gasps.
“Our military’s forces have engaged the Hero’s ship!”
“But his ship’s shield fell a few moments ago! Does this bode poorly for our hero?!”
“Not a chance. I’m sure he merely lowered his defenses to return fire.”
“I hope he has some kind of a plan. For his sake.”
Minerva mutters under her breath. “So do I.”
Meanwhile, Arc turns back to the captain.
“Shield me, Shining Armor!”
“But sir…!”
“That’s an order!”
Shining Armor casts a Barrier Spell as Arc runs out the hatch. The drones immediately turn their attention to Arc and target him. Running across the deck, he comes to the nose of the ship and turns around to face the hatch.
“ADVANCE!”
Shining Armor and his troops swarm out of the ship and take up positions around the perimeter.
“FIRE AT WILL!”
The troops do so. A multitude of bullets and magical blasts are launched at their opponents. As quickly as they fall however reinforcements take their places. Arc calls out.
“Drop my shield, Shining Armor!”
“Sir, your armor…!”
“DO IT!!!”
Shining Armor nods and does so Arc puts up a gauntlet and casts a Barrier Spell. He reaches around it with the other to fire his Hand Cannon. Trixie yells to the soldiers.
“KEEP FIRING! DON’T LET UP!”
Arc grits his teeth. “WE CAN’T LET THEM GET ANY CLOSER TO EQUESTRIA!”
He looks to Trixie and pulls Hammer’s gun from his ring.
“Try using this. I think it has more range than your horn does.”
Trixie nods and takes the weapon with her magic. Turning back to the drones she begins firing, grinning as she hits several targets.
“Trixie likes this weapon very much!”
Several drones break through and fire on the troops. Their armor takes most of the damage, but not all. Arc calls out.
“EARTH PONIES, FIRE EVERY BULLET YOU HAVE!”
Shining Armor nods. “FALL BACK ONCE YOU RUN OUT! ASSIST ANY WOUNDED ALLIES AS YOU DO SO!”
Trixie looks over as she continues firing. “UNICORNS DO THE SAME! DEPLETE YOUR MANA AND RETREAT BACK TO THE SHIP!”
Arc grimaces as he sees more drones approaches from another direction.
“REINFORCEMENTS!”
Shining Armor groans. “PICK TARGETS WISELY! CONSERVE AMMO AND MANA!”
Trixie cries out as she continues firing. “WE CAN’T GIVE UP!”
Minerva gasps. “The Hero himself is leading his forces in a desperate attempt to return fire and defend his vessel!”
“He’s not looking too good.”
“That last fight at the base of the bridge really did a number on his armor.”
“He’s also certainly injured at this point.”
“True. But there’s no time to rest at the moment. I can only assume that’s every soldier he has at his disposal.”
“I wonder if it will be enough.”
“So do I, Tom.”
Lemon Hearts calls out over his earring. “Sir, I’m detecting enemy drones incoming from all directions!”
“What?!”
Moon Dancer looks over her instruments. “They’re pretty far out, but at our current speed, will be on us before we reach our destination.”
“Bring us back up to full speed!”
Tight Ship frowns. “That’s not advisable, sir. After all, you and the others are still outside.”
“If we don’t speed up, we’ll never make it!”
Moon Dancer turns to the captain. “The best thing to do would be to accelerate slowly. It would take about one minute to get back to full throttle.”
Tight Ship looks to Thunderlane. “Do it.”
Thunderlane nods and slowly accelerates. In a short time the ship is at maximum velocity. Arc and the others stand their ground as best they are able.
“Any way the ship could go faster?!”
Thunderlane shakes his head. “This is our top speed, sir. That is, unless we divert power from other core systems.”
“Fine! Do that!”
Wrangler sighs. “He means the weapon systems, sir.”
“Great! Anything else?!”
Tight Ship frowns. “No sir. I’ve already ordered everything not essential shut down. All power is currently going to the weapons and propulsion.”
Soarin nods soberly. “There’s really nothing more we can do, sir.”
Moon Dancer nods. “What we have is all there is.”
Arc grits his teeth. “There has to be SOMETHING we can do!”
A voice rings out behind him.
“I have an idea!”
Auriel runs toward him. Arc dives on top of her as several shots whiz past. He casts a barrier over them and frowns.
“I thought I told you to…!”
“There’s just too many for you and the others to take on alone! I have a plan, but I need all of you to buy me some time!”
“But…!”
Auriel grabs his hand. “Trust me!”
Arc sighs. “Fine. What do you need?”
“Just wait for my signal.”
“What will it be?”
“You’ll know it when you see it!”
Arc nods soberly. “Just be careful, okay?”
“You too.”
She turns as Arc drops the barrier. Running back toward the ship Auriel dives through the hatch as a barrage of shots fly past her. Heading down the corridor she mutters to herself.
“This is it! I have to make this work!”
Meanwhile, Arc calls out as he touches his earring.
“Bridge! How’s the ship holding up!”
Soarin frowns. “Not very well, sir.”
Moon Dancer grits her teeth. “Stellar Flare reports the engines are already red lining! We can’t keep this up much longer!”
Thunderlane grunts. “It’s also getting harder to steer!”
Wrangler calls out nervously. “The stress to the superstructure is increasing! If this keeps up, we’ll start losing structural integrity!”
Tight Ship grips his chair. “If that happens we’ll have no choice but to crash land and make a run for it, sir!”
Lemon Hearts sighs. “Most of our forces wouldn’t make it though!”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Auriel’s working on something to help us as we speak.”
Soarin appears confused. “What is it, sir?”
“No idea! But we don’t have any choice but to trust in her right now! Arc out!”
He looks to his dwindling forces.
“KEEP FIRING! WE HAVE TO KEEP GOING!”
One by one Arc’s troops retreat to the relative safety of the ship. Several have to be dragged away due to their wounds. Eventually Arc, Shining Armor, and Trixie are all that remain. Minerva watches nervously as she calls out.
“It appears the Hero’s forces have run out of both ammunition and energy to continue their fight.”
“That it does. But I’m sure he has another plan.”
“Yes. I can’t see him not having a contingency plan.”
“Well, if nothing changes pretty soon, they won’t be in the air.”
“Only one way to find out.”
Shining Armor turns to Arc. “This isn’t working, sir!”
“Trixie agrees!”
“I know, but…!”
Lemon Heart’s voice rings out in his ear.
“Sir! I’m detecting some very strange readings coming from the Cargo Hold!
“WHAT?! HOW…?!”
Moon Dancer frowns. “No clue, sir! It should be sealed by the red alert!”
Wrangler gasps. “Looks like somepony hit the manual override! We can’t stop them from here!”
“Connect me to the intercom down there!”
“Go ahead, sir.”
“Hey! Who’s down there?!”
Auriel’s voice comes over the airwaves.
“Get ready, Arc. I’m about to do something crazy.”
“But…!”
“You said you’d trust me.”
Arc sighs. “I… did.”
“Then get out of there!”
Arc nods and turns to his officers.
“SHINING ARMOR! TRIXIE! FALL BACK!”
They do so as Arc covers their retreat with blasts from his Hand Cannons. As they reach the ship Shining Armor casts a Telekinesis Spell. Grabbing Arc with it he pulls him back. As he reaches the hatch Trixie presses the button, closing it. Arc groans as he claws at his armor.
“SIR?!”
Cherry cries out. “Help him!”
Removing the tatters of Arc’s armor, Shining Armor pulls off the helmet and tosses it aside as Trixie rips off his tunic revealing several nasty looking wounds. She gasps.
“Oh no!”
Shining Armor turns and calls out. “Medic!”
A stallion runs forward and opens his med-kit. Applying ointment to the wounds, he looks Arc over.
“We should get you to the Infirmary as soon as possible, sir.”
Arc sits up and winces. “I… I need to…!”
Shining Armor puts a hoof on his shoulder. “Sir, you’re in no condition to continue fighting.”
“Trixie believes this is true.”
Arc lies back. “What… what do we have left to throw at them?”
Shining Armor shakes his head. “Nothing. Everypony’s exhausted and out of ammo.”
Arc looks up at a window.
“Help me up.”
Trixie frowns. “But sir…!”
“That’s an order!”
Shining Armor and Trixie sigh as they do so. Arc gestures down the corridor.
“Help me to the Observation Deck. I need to see what’s going on!”
The pair do so as the rest of the soldiers rest on the floor as they are tended to by medics. Arriving at their destination Arc looks all around at the advancing drones surrounding the ship. He mutters nervously to himself.
“Come on, Auriel. You’re our last chance here.”
Meanwhile in the Cargo Hold, Auriel walks over to an outer wall with the Bloodstone in her palm. Sighing she closes her eyes and forces a small smile.
“Everyone else is giving it everything. Risking it all. I need to be prepared to do the same.”
Channeling her magic, she Blinks through the hull and spreads her wings. Taking flight she looks at the item in her palm before closing her claws around it and channeling. He entire body becomes as dark as night as her eyes begin to glow with a strange and eerie green light. Turning toward the advancing drones, she grins.
“Let’s see how you do against ME!”
Minerva gasps. “Another strange looking… creature has just appeared in the wake of the Hero’s ship!”
“Are they friend of foe?!”
“I can’t tell. But then again, it’s unlike anything that’s been seen thus far.”
“You’re saying it could be another military secret?”
“I don’t think so, Tom. It appears to be preparing to attack the military forces!”
Stretching out a claw, dark magics fly forth and smash into the drones. Three dozen fall from Auriel’s first attack. She continues her assault as she mused to herself.
“Come on, Arc. Do what needs to be done.”
Meanwhile, Arc gasps as he watches the scene unfolding before him. Moon Dancer’s voice comes over his earring.
“Sir! The enemy has completely stopped attacking us and is focusing completely on… whatever that is out there!”
Tight Ship calls out. “This is our chance, sir!”
Arc gasps. “Get me Stellar Flare!”
“Right here, sir!”
“What would happen if we redirected power from the weapons to propulsion?!”
“How much of it?”
“EVERYTHING!”
“That would give us a huge boost to our speed! But the engines couldn’t take it for very long!”
Wrangler grimaces. “It would also be really hard on the already damaged hull.”
“Will the ship and engines hold up long enough for us to get to the portal?”
Moon Dancer sighs. “My calculations say they should, yes.”
“Do it! I don’t care if the engines MELT! We have to get the princess out of here!”
“Yes sir. Lemon Hearts, tell everypony to hold on to something!”
Wrangler takes a deep breath as the word echoes throughout the ship. “Shutting down all weapons!”
“Redirecting power now!”
Tight Ship turns to the helm. “THUNDERLANE, GIVE IT EVERYTHING!!!”
Gritting his teeth, Thunderlane pushes a lever all the way forward. The ship lunges ahead at a sickening pace. Auriel smiles as she sees the ship pulling away. Concentrating, she Blinks to stand on the deck. Pressing her body against a railing for stability, Auriel continues launching massive dark waves at the foes attacking from the sides. Minerva calls out over her headset.
“The Hero’s ship just displayed a massive speed boost!”
“That was impressive! I wonder how he did that!”
Minerva grins. “He’s just full of surprises.”
“I’ll say! He may yet get out of this mess.”
Wrangler looks to the helm. “Can we go any faster?!”
Thunderlane grips his controls. “We’re at 130% maximum speed now!”
Soarin nods. “The Equinox is giving us everything it has, and more!”
Tight Ship calls out. “We’ll make it! Just keep going!”
Wrangler grunts. “Hull pressure rising!”
Moon Dancer screams. “Structural integrity dropping!”
Lemon Hearts grimaces. “Fires reported on the Lower Deck, sir!”
Soarin speaks into the microphone. “The engines are far beyond what we thought they were capable of, sir!”
Arc nods, not taking his eyes off the windows. “Stay on target! Don’t stop!”
Stellar Flare coughs. “My gauges and equipment are literally melting, sir!”
Tight Ship speaks into the radio. “Evacuate your crew from Engineering at once!”
“But sir…!”
“Get out of there!”
Thunderlane nods. “We can coast the rest of the way if need be at this speed!”
Stellar Flare sighs. “Yes sir! I’ll make sure everypony gets out!”
Lemon Hearts grins and points a hoof. “I can see the coordinates!”
Ahead of the ship lies the serene field Wiseman showed Max. Wrangler frowns.
“The enemy is still too close to safely open a portal though!”
Auriel looks toward their destination before turning her head and looking back at their pursuers.
“All or nothing, now.”
Throwing herself over the railing, Auriel steadies herself with her wings as she ship careens past her. Charging up the Bloodstone’s power, she holds out a claw toward them. Bolts of dark magical electricity fly from her claws toward the drones. As they make contact, the electricity jumps from one machine to the next destroying much of their forces in but a few seconds. The surviving models lose momentum and fall as they short out from the electricity. Auriel turns and flies after the ship in an attempt to keep up. Moon Dancer breathes a sigh of relief.
“All targets in range have been eliminated, sir!”
“Arc to Sunburst!”
“Sunburst here.”
“Open the portal, NOW!”
Pressing a few buttons, the S.P.E.A.R. back in Equestria begins to hum. A portal forms and stabilizes, connecting the two dimensions. It grows in size as Minerva gasps. Tom stands up to look at the monitor, his mouth agape.
“What IS that thing?!”
“I… think it might be some kind of wormhole, Tom!”
“But where does it lead?!”
“Probably the Hero’s homeworld.”
“You mean he’s an alien?!”
“I don’t know. But that’s the only thing that makes sense at this point. We’re going to hold back and continue filming though.”
“Be careful, Minerva! We don’t need you getting lost in… wherever that thing leads!”
Meanwhile, Auriel does her best to fly after them, but appears to be quickly tiring. Trixie sighs.
“Trixie does not think she will be able to return to us.”
Arc clenches a fist. “We have to slow down so she can catch up then!”
Shining Armor shakes his head. “But then we wouldn’t reach our portal before the enemy reinforcements overtake us, sir!”
Looking out the window as Auriel begins to falter and fall from sheer exhaustion, Arc gasps.
“No! We’re not leaving her behind!”
Pushing the pair away, Arc pulls his mask over his face, charges up his magic, and vanishes. Trixie and Shining Armor look around.
“Where did he…?”
Trixie points a hoof. “Trixie sees him!”
Looking out the window they see Arc freefalling toward Auriel. Catching up to her, he wraps his arms around her midsection. Tom frowns.
“Who is that?!”
“I can only assume it’s the Hero, Tom!”
“Without his armor?!”
“Well, it did take quite the beating during the several skirmishes he’s been through tonight.”
“Looks like he’s still sporting the mask though.”
“Right. Even now he’s keeping a secret identity.”
“Who knows how long that will last with the military after him though.”
“Yes, they have ways of tracking people down. Even those with unknown alias.”
Auriel gasps as she feels Arc’s body press up against hers.
“It’s okay, Auriel. I got you.”
Charging up, Arc casts another Blink spell. The pair reappear back in the Observation Deck and slam to the floor. Shining Armor and Trixie rush over to them.
“Miss! Are you hurt?!”
Auriel shakes her head as she breathes heavily. “I… I think I’m… okay. Just a little… sore.”
Arc takes her claw. “You did great out there.”
Auriel smiles weakly. “Are you… proud of me?”
Arc nods. “I’ve always been.”
Lemon Hearts’ voice rings out over the intercom.
“One minute to contact with the portal. All personnel should strap in and prepare themselves for transdimensional jump.”
Arc turns to Shining Armor and Trixie as he moves to pick up Auriel. “Buckle up, you two.”
They nod and hurry over to seats in front of the windows. Grabbing their seatbelts they look to Arc as he sets Auriel down and fastens her restraints before doing the same for himself. Shining Armor looks to him.
“What are our chances, sir?!”
“With the ship in this condition, admittedly not the best! Sorry!”
“Trixie was proud to have stood by you two in the past, and even now would not have it any other way!”
“Agreed, sir! We’re with you to the end!”
They salute as Arc forces a smile.
“Well, that may be much sooner than you think.”
Auriel shudders. Arc turns to her.
“Scared?”
She nods. Looking down, Arc takes her claw in his hands. Auriel turns to him happily as she extends her other claw to him weakly.
“Take… this.”
Auriel carefully places the Bloodstone in Arc’s palm. He looks to her, confused.
“Is this really the time to…?”
“Princesses… would be upset… if this was… lost. Keep… safe.”
Nodding, Arc puts the Bloodstone into his ring as Lemon Hearts’ voice again reverberates through the intercom.
“Ten seconds to interdimensional jump! Hang on, everypony!”
Auriel throws her arms around Arc’s midsection and presses her face against his chest as she squeezes her eyes shut.
“Auriel?!”
“Please! Don’t let go of me!”
Nodding, Arc puts his arms around the trembling demon. A moment later the ship is rocked and jolted as they enter the portal. It slows significantly as if fighting its way upstream. The drones continue their pursuit and loom thick in the distance. As they approach, Arc turns and clenches a fist as he charges up his magic. Trixie cries out.
“ARC, NO!”
Shining Armor nods. “You can’t do that, sir! We’re too close the portal!”
“Well, someone has to do…!”
He is cut off as a flash of light momentarily covers the countryside, blinding them. Shining Armor gasps.
“What in Celestia’s name…?”
Trixie points a hoof. “Look!”
Auriel raises her head and gazes out the window. “What’s… going on?”
Arc sighs. “Wiseman…”
The blue-cloaked figure levitates behind The Equinox. He surveys the scene in front of him before looking down at the vast number of destroyed drones lying on the ground. Stretching out a gloved hand, he picks several dozen up. Turning his gaze toward the approaching drones he uses his magic to tear apart the drones before hurling the pieces at the newcomers. They strike their marks as over half the drones fall. Concentrating, he holds out a hand again as a mighty wind comes out of nowhere to assail the remaining drones. The other hand he points toward The Equinox. The occupants feel the ship accelerating. Trixie gasps.
“What is that human DOING?!”
Shining Armor calls out. “I think he’s helping push the ship through!”
Arc nods. “Yeah. While holding off the drones.”
The Equinox accelerates. Entering the portal faster it leaves only the Observation Deck sticking out the other end. Wiseman turns and looks at Arc, giving him a friendly wave before giving the ship a final push. It vanishes from sight as Minerva, Dave, and Tom can only watch, dumbfounded as Wiseman nods to them before vanishing from sight.
“Did he… get away?”
“Yes, Tom. The Hero of Light was successful in evading our forces and has escaped along with his forces and ship.”
“Who was that blue cloaked individual?”
“The Hero claims his name is ‘Wiseman’. Some of our viewers may remember him from a story I did a while back at an apartment fire.”
“That man whom jumped onto the roof from across the street?!”
“Yes, Tom. The Hero isn’t quite sure what to make of him though.”
“But he’s on his side though, right?”
“He wasn’t so sure about that, going so far as to criticize him for not acting on information he had.”
“Well, I don’t suppose that matters now, as both of them are gone.”
“That’s true, Tom. This has been Minerva Moore reporting to you live.”
She presses a button on the camera, closes the door, and falls to lay on her back.
“Take us back to the station, Dave.”
“Y-yeah, sure.”
The helicopter banks and flies back toward Angel Grove.
“Miss Moore?”
“Yes?”
“What the heck did we just witness?!”
“No idea. But the Hero was very insistent that we broadcast it.”
“He wanted you to report on him committing various crimes?!”
Minerva shrugs. “I don’t get it either.”
Meanwhile, The Equinox flies out the other side of the portal. A low klaxon reverberates through the ship. Shining Armor frowns.
“That… isn’t good.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Uh…”
“Even Trixie knows that sound means the ship’s going down!”
Auriel gasps. “Arc, what do we do?!”
“Let’s get to the Bridge!”
They hurry down the corridor together. Blood flows freely from Arc’s wounds and leaves a trail on the deck. Shining Armor grimaces.
“Sir, we really need to get you some medical attention!”
Arc nods, but does not look back. “Yeah, we’ll do that when the ship isn’t about to blow up!”
Entering the Bridge, Arc finds the crew working at their stations feverishly.
“Captain, what’s our status?!”
“The ship took quite a bit of damage during the battle and is barely holding together!”
Soarin grits his teeth. “That and the engines were pretty much destroyed to get us this far!”
Trixie gasps. “What?! How are we still in the air then?!”
Moon Dancer calls out. “Stellar Flare and her crew and doing their best to keep us going!”
Lemon Hearts winces. “I’ve already warned Canterlot Castle to clear the Hanger for our crash landing!”
Shining Armor cries out. “CRASH?!”
Thunderlane keeps his eyes glued to the windshield. “I’ll try to keep us upright! But no promises at this point!”
Arc turns to Wrangler. “How about the ORB system?!”
“It’s about the only thing still working right now. But that won’t help keep the ship from breaking up upon landing!”
Moon Dancer grits her teeth. “One minute to the castle!”
Arc hurries over to the ORB. Placing both hands on the console, he takes a deep breath as his crystals begin to glow.
“Sir?! What are you…?!”
“We only have one chance at this! Power up the ORB system and prepare to activate it on my mark!”
“Yes sir.”
Thirty seconds later Wrangler turns to him.
“Ninety percent capacity, sir!”
“That should do it! Everyone strapped in?!”
Auriel nods. “Everyone but you, Arc!”
He hurries over to a seat next to Auriel and straps in. She grabs his hand and leans in close to him.
“Are you scared?”
She shakes her head and forces a small smile.
“No, Arc. If you say things will be okay, I believe you. After all, you’ve never let me down before.”
“Thanks.”
He looks to the castle hanger through the main window as it looms ever so closely. Frowning he turns to Wrangler.
“ACTIVATE ORB, NOW!!! FULL POWER!!!”
Wrangler presses a button and the ORB comes to life. A shield forms around the ship mere moments before it makes contact with the floor. An ear piercing screech is heard as the barrier slides across the hanger. Their pace greatly slows, bringing them to a crawl.
“DISENGAGE!!!”
Pressing another button the barrier pops. The ship drops down onto the floor hard as the hull embeds itself into the solid concrete but stays upright as it settles into place. Arc and company sit there motionless as the ship is suddenly filled with deafening silence. Tight Ship is the first to speak.
“Did we… make it?”
Moon Dance nods weakly. “Yes sir. The ship is intact.”
Thunderlane slumps back in his seat, breathing heavily. “That… was a flight and a HALF!”
Wrangler leans back in her seat. “I’ll say. No idea how we pulled it off, but…”
A voice comes over Lemon Hearts’ headset. She turns to Arc.
“Sir. The princesses are calling to ask if we’re all okay.”
Shining Armor chuckles. “Somehow, yes.”
“Trixie would like to never have to do that again though.”
Arc pats Auriel’s hand. She lets it go and allows him to stand. Walking over to the comm’s station Arc takes the microphone.
“This is Arc.”
Luna calls out. “That was quite a landing!”
Cadance gasps. “Are all of you okay?!”
“We have quite a few wounded here.”
Auriel frowns. “Including you, Arc!”
“Yes, well…”
Twilight yells into the microphone. “What about Princess Celestia?! Is she…?!”
Arc smiles and nods. “Yes, Twilight. At long last, Princess Celestia is back home in Equestria.”