The quiet journey was interrupted by harsh beeping and a flashing red light on one of the consoles. Star glared at a screen on the console which depicted a green dot in the center and currently, three red dots approaching it from behind. Luna could tell the situation was no good and Star confirmed it.
"We've got followers. Probably soldiers sent to capture us." Star said as she glanced at the aforementioned console before looking at another display, one that that showed heir speed. "I might be able to shake them off but it's going to be hard to do at this speed."
'You can fight.' Nightmare Moon said, giving her a suggestion.
"I could fig-" Luna tried saying but was cut off by Star.
"The magic power required to breach their armour would be enough to let her know where we are." Star said, watching the red dots come closer on the screen. "We can outrun the-"
The ship rocked as something hit it from behind. It was clear that they could not outrun them.
"Is there any other way we can fight?" Luna asked as the ship was hit once more. Star thought for a moment before answering.
"There is a gun on the backside but it will be to dangerous to use it." Star answered but it seemed that Luna had not cared to let her finish as she exited the cabin and started for the weapon. Star grumbled as she closed the door and focused on piloting the ship. Her princess was brave but not patient, it seemed.
Outside, Luna gripped the railing as she started making her way to the back end of the ship. Wind and sand hit her back but she continued. Her hair was thankfully unaffected and continued moving as if there were only a pleasant breeze. She quickly passed by the cabin and another room before she spotted the gun, that was fixed to a swivelling stand on the railing. It was pointing downwards and seemed like an oversized musket to her.
She left the railing and grabbed the end of the gun and inspected it. It was simple in design with a long barrel attached to a block with a rotating cylinder under it, a trigger to the right side, clearly made for a pony's hoof and a button the left side. The cylinder seemed to hold the shots for the gun, seven in total.
A bolt of magic whizzed past the ship and she looked up to see the enemy. One of the three craft was closing on the ship. It was armoured and coloured a dull yellow with symbols of the sun on it. Instead of hovering over the ground, it used wheels. The stability on the rough terrain and accuracy surprised Luna a bit but deter her. She aimed the gun with her magic and pulled the trigger back with her hoof.
The gun fired, leaving a small cloud of smoke as a kinetic shot made it way to the enemy. It ricocheted off the armour of the enemy.
'That isn't good.'' Nightmare pointed out the obvious. The enemy continued getting closer as Luna tried looking for any weaknesses. 'Let me try.'
Luna's eyes widened a bit at what she said but she knew that Nightmare Moon was a better fighter than her. She nodded and said "Keep in mind what Star said about magic use."
At that, her body started moving under Nightmare's control. Nightmare let the enemy come closer before scanning it for any weakness. The vehicle had four wheels, was armoured heavily and had a cylindrical turret that shot magic bolts sitting on top of it. She saw as a hatch on the side of the the turret opened and the barrel of a gun similar to the one she was using came out. The vehicle came closer and was at the ship's left. The turret turned and aimed for her.
Without hesitation, Nightmare aimed the gun at the small space in the hatch not blocked by the gun and fired a shot. Her aim was impeccable and the shot went directly into the enemy's turret. There was an explosion of magic and the turret blew off the vehicle and went into the sky. The vehicle was still driving alongside them, however.
She turned to see the other two vehicles closing the distance between them and the ship. The one that was closer was of similar make to the one she attacked while the other was taller and had heavier armour and a bigger gun.
The lighter one increased its speed suddenly, as if to ram the ship from behind. Quickly thinking, she shot the front wheel of the one without the turret. The wheel exploded as if under high pressure and the vehicle swerved to the right, grazing the ship and came in the path of the one that was about to ram them. They collided, flipping each other over many times and kicking up a cloud of sand and dust. Nightmare whooped at her victory but it was short lived.
The large vehicle that was left shot at her. Nightmare braced for impact as the shot came straight for the backside for the ship but the impact never came. Instead the shot exploded mid air just as it was going to impact the ship. A spray of shrapnel hit the ship and Nightmare Moon. The ship's armour brushed off the shrapnel easily but Nightmare Moon didn't. The shrapnel tore through her, particularly at her legs, causing her to fall. She screamed at the pain as blood came out of the wounds.
Despite this, she got up and leaned on the railing to reduce the pressure on her injured legs. She was more angry than she was in pain. She used her magic to aim the gun and fire it at the enemy's wheels but to little effect. They were covered by the armour, offering no direct way to hit them. The trigger was pulled once more but she only heard a click. She checked the cylinder and saw that it held seven empty casings.
Quickly looking around, she spotted a metal box labelled 'ammunition' close by. She removed the lid and found several cylinders similar to the one in the gun. She picked one up and looked back to the enemy. It was getting closer and firing at the ship with smaller guns. She turned back and tried to guess how to reload the gun. It was foolish of her to come out here and use a weapon she didn't know how to reload but she could chastise herself for that later.
She pressed the button and the cylinder in the gun fell out. Quickly, she put the new cylinder in and one she heard it click into place, she aimed at the enemy once again. She aimed at the turret hoping that the shot would penetrate the armour and fired but it simply bounced off, leaving only a scratch. She fired at the small slots at the sides of the vehicles that were used for aiming the smaller guns but it didn't seem to affect the vehicle much. She tried the wheels but it didn't work.
The gun clicked once more and she replaced the cylinder again. The vehicle was much closer and now and the main gun was aiming at them. She aimed at a hatch on the front of the vehicle, prayed that it would do something and fired.
It seemed that her prayers were answered as the shot penetrated and the vehicle slowed down a bit and veered to the left, getting further from the ship. The smaller guns were still firing at the ship until the vehicles blew up in an enormous explosion, sending scrap flying in all directions.
Nightmare Moon smiled at her victory until the pain from her injuries showed up again. She lied down on the floor trying to take steady breaths as she cast a healing spell. It wasn't very effective in her current state but it helped. The ship started slowed down and she heard rapid hoofsteps approaching her.
"Princess!" she heard Star shout, her voice full of worry. "Wait here, I'll get something!"
'Its not like we can go anywhere really.' Luna said. 'I'll be taking control now.'
Nightmare Moon allowed Luna to take the reigns one again as she slipped back into the mind. Star came back with bandages that she wrapped around Luna's wounds to stop the bleeding before lifting her on her back and taking her below deck into a room with a bed, which she laid the princess on gently.
"What you did there was reckless, princess. Please don't try that again." she said as she tended to other wounds on Luna. Luna nodded.
"I wont but it was necessary." she said "I hope we don't come across more foes."
"We won't, for some time at least but we should be at a town by then." Star said as she finished. "Please take some rest. I'll be in the control room if you need anything." She continued before leaving the room.
Soon, Luna felt the ship start moving again, shaking her gently as she drifted to sleep.