//------------------------------// // Episode 4: Warm Welcome, Cold Rejection // Story: My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic Season XII // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// EPISODE FOUR Grand Ruler Celesto, Queen Celestia, and Princess Luna made official announcements in welcoming Pyron and Glaceia into the community. Grand Ruler announced, “They come to us as escapers of war from the Planets Moltic and Iceinia, both of which have made enemies of us, but rest assured that these two are peaceful and mean us no harm.” Celestia then declared, “As they have no place to go, and will no doubt be of great asset in our upcoming battles, it is proper that we bid them welcome, and it is expected for them to be treated with respect and dignity, while they, also, are expected to treat our race with the same courtesy.” Luna then concluded, “As such we must, once again, instill the laws of war. There is no telling when and how our enemies will strike. Our planet has been littered with many invisible warps that can allow them to appear and strike at any moment. We shall do our best to learn about these ports and if we can dispel them, but no one, absolutely no one is to go near them. If you know where one is, report it immediately. Do not attempt to transport through it.” The populace was extremely worried by this, but the majority was more than welcoming of Pyron and Glaceia-- as was hinted by their thunderous applause. Pyron and Glaceia, were given a special suite in the royal palace, courtesy of their majesties. They were also given new outfits, like casual Starfleet uniforms-- spandex suit, and armored vests. They could not transform, but it was better than wearing those burlap robes. “We are truly grateful to your hospitality.” said Pyron. “We don’t know how we can ever repay you for all this alone.” added Glaceia. Their majesties had already thought of a way, and that’s where Lightning came in. He led them both through New Ponyville. “Okay, you two… if you’re going to be living with us, you may as well pull some weight. So, we’re assigning you two as community workers, just like I used to be. I’ll show you to your first jobs.” Meanwhile, the war was still waging on between Moltic and Iceinia; the soldiers continued to open fire upon the opposing planets, resulting in more meteors and chunks of misfire to head on out into space. Keltar was showing Flareous magical images of his great discovery on United Equestria. Flareous watched the battles of the Flame-Guards and the Lava-Gator, which Keltar had created using a magical monster badge. Flareous seemed impressed by the actions and resourcefulness of Starfleet. “That’s enough.” he said, and Keltar cast out the images. “So, my son has taken refuge on this planet which we can access through the invisiports?” “Yes, your majesty.” replied Keltar. “I’m positive that your son and Princess Glaceia are on that planet.” Flareous grinned wickedly. “This Starfleet… They seem to be quite skilled in the art of combat. Imagine what it would be like if they worked for me. Blizzord wouldn’t stand a chance, and I will conquer Iceinia and win my revenge with ease.” The thought of having so much power and a massive army of fighters at his command, Flareous burst out laughing maniacally before catching hold of himself. “I must convince them to work for me, as well as to give Pyron back. We must hurry before Blizzord finds out.” Keltar nearly hesitated to say, “…I’m afraid he already knows, my king.” “What?!” shouted Flareous. At that very moment, Smark had told Blizzord the same things about United Equestria and Starfleet. “So Flareous knows about this as well.” huffed Blizzord. “Well, we’ll show him won’t we.” “Yeah, we’ll show them!” agreed Smark, but then he felt confused. “Um… how are we going to do that?” Blizzord palmed his head and groaned. “It’s simple… We’ll go to United Equestria first. We’ll demand they turn Glaceia over to me and convince Starfleet to fight for our side before Flareous does.” He glared down threateningly, “…Do you understand that now?” Smark whimpered and stammer, “Sure… Sure I understand.” Blizzord growled softly. “But sire, what if they refuse?” Blizzord turned to face him as if to shout, but he spoke calmly. “Then we’ll just have to persuade them… by any means necessary.” Pyron and Glaceia were brought to Ponyvile, and their first assignment as helpers. Pyron was to assist Buddy Rose and Lightning in replanting all the trees, plants and soil that were burned up in the last battle. “Glad you could make it.” said Buddy. “You ready to get started?” “I believe so.” said Pyron. Soon they were busy pulling up weeds and removing all scorched and damaged soil and grass patches. Pyron found this relaxing, and rather thrilling-- building up instead of destroying like he used to do. “I’ve never felt like this before. All my life I was trained for combat and to take over my father’s command.” “That’s all you ever did?” Buddy asked in shock. “You never had any hobbies? You never did other activities or jobs. You just trained?” Pyron nodded. “As a Prince, my father always had the servants do all the menial tasks. Everyone from cooking, to cleaning, to preparing things.” Buddy and Lightning looked at one another feeling that Pyron had a worse upbringing than they thought. “I wonder how Glaceia’s doing.” said Lightning. Glaceia was at New Sugar Cube Corners, assigned to helping Pinkie Pie and the Cakes with the baking. As artistic as she was, she had never cooked before, at least not regular foods. She had never seen things like Flour, sugar, or even chocolate and vanilla. She was struggling to open a flour bag, resulting in her getting puffed in the face by a big flour cloud, making her cough, as well as abig mess. “I’m ever so sorry.” Carrot Cake came over with a broom, “That’s alright, your highness. You’ll get the hang of it.” “Of course, she will.” chirped Pinkie, “After all, I’m here to help her, and that’s what friends do best.” Glaceia blushed, but soon, under Pinkie’s guidance they were baking all kinds of goodies in no time. “Because of my planet’s environment, we never had such things. Most of our meals were made from the snow and ice, and always served cold.” “Oh, you, poor, dear.” said Cup Cake. “Well, now that you’re here, I’m sure you’ll learn and see many new things.” The front bell chimed. “Whoops. Customer calling.” and she left the kitchen with her husband just as Apple Spice came in. “Just got Biscuit down for his nap.” He grabbed his apron and walked over to Pinkie. “Hi, honey.” and softly pecked his wife. “Aww, sweetheart, not in front of company?” Pinkie cooed. “How are you coming on, Princess?” Spice asked as he prepared to cook. Glaceia gazed down at a tray of cupcakes she had made. “To be perfectly honest, I’m feeling strange. I always lived so sheltered, and I never really got the chance to do things for others… until I met Pyron and tended to him.” Spice felt sorry for her. “That doesn’t mean you can’t start now.” he said. “You’ll find that making other people happy can bring on great joy to you as well as to them.” “No joke,” agreed Pinkie “That’s why I love to spread happiness and joy to everyone around, and the best place to start is with a smile.” “Uh, oh… I know where this is going.” said Spice, and right as he was, his wife broke out singing her signature Smile Song as she served all the customers in the café. All the patrons in the café began to sing and dance with her as the song got deeper and more cheerful. There wasn’t a corner of the shop you could look at without seeing someone smile. “Come on and Smile!” Glaceia had never seen such love and happiness among all the customers. She couldn’t help but smile at herself. Pyron was also smiling when the big tree was planted into the ground and the job was finished. “Good job.” Buddy said while offering his hand to the fire prince. Pyron shook his hand graciously. “I usually only shook hands when my soldiers did a fine job attacking the enemy.” Lightning placed his hand over his shoulder, “You’re in a new world now. Violence isn’t always the answer. It only is when you have no other alternative-- when you’ve done everything you can to resolve the situation without fighting. But sometimes those you are fighting won’t listen and can’t be reasoned with.” Pyron thought back to his father and how he wouldn’t be reasoned with, nor King Blizzord. Suddenly, the alarms went off. “What’s that?” The people began to run for shelter, and Lightning explained, “The Red Alarm… There’s trouble.” Pyron was not permitted to enter the danger zones, as were orders, nor was Glaceia. “You better stay here.” Pinkie said as she tossed off her apron and dashed out of the shop. “What’s happening?” Glaceia asked. “It’s okay. There’s nothing to fear.” said Spice “…I hope.” The barriers were soon activated, and while many civilians had made it inside safely, those still outside were being escorted by sentries to places far away from the danger. “You better go with them.” Buddy said to Pyron. At first, Pyron was a bit hesitant, but then he agreed and was off. “Let’s go!” said Lightning, and he and Buddy flew towards where the danger was, and they were soon joined by Pinkie, and Starla, or rather her remote droid. “Didn’t think you were going to keep me out of things this time, did you?” she teased. Lightning smirked at his wife through the droid’s eyes, and she smirked at him back from at home on the sofa. Shining Lightning sat next to Twinkle trying to keep her safe. “Don’t worry. Mommy and Daddy are going to make the bad guys go away.” Twinkle just sucked on her little fingers without a care in the world. Starla was proud of her son trying to comfort his little sister, but now she had to focus. A swarm of artificial Flame-Guards were marching through town, having arrived through an invisiport. “Let’s take them!” said Lightning, but just as he and the others were about to go wild, another invisiport opened and a swarm of artificial Ice-Guards came marching out. They took one look at the Flame-Guards and didn’t like the sight of them, nor did the Flame-Gaurds take kind to their presence. They looked as if they were about to brawl with each other, when two more ports open, and in a fiery explosion and an icy whirlwind, their respective masters both appeared. Pyron and Glaceia both gawked in shock. “Father!!” They both felt this was really going to get bad! The two kings took one look at each other, “YOU!!” they both bellowed. They growled fiercely and looked ready to attack when someone shouted, “Stop!” In magical glows, All, three of their majesties appeared as holographic images. “Your majesties!” cried Pinkie. The two kings looked onward. Grand Ruler glared at them. “Are you King Flareous and King Blizzord that we have been told of?” “I am!” both kings replied, and then growled at each other, but they resisted the urge to battle. “Why have you come here?” Celestia demanded to know. “As if it weren’t obvious enough.” said Flareous. “I have been told that my son, Prince Pyron, is here on this planet, and I demand that you turn him over to me at once.” Blizzord then spoke, “If Pyron is here, then so is my daughter, Glaceia. Where is she? What have you done with her? Answer me at once!” Their majesties were already starting to detest their unvented guests. “Your children are safe.” said Princess Luna, “But we have also learned of the war between your two worlds, and we urge you to cease immediately.” The two kings chuckled. “Stop the war? Not a chance.” hissed Flareous. “For once, we appear to agree on something.” added Flareous, and then he pointed straight at him. “This overheated monster needs to pay for what he did to me!” “No! It is you who will pay, you Frozen Freak!” They looked ready to brawl again when Lightning demanded, “Both of you, stop, now! All this fighting is pointless. You’re not only causing suffering amongst your own people, but your misfires are harming other races throughout the galaxy.” “The commander speaks the truth.” said Grand Ruler, and his own image warped into images of meteors of misfire causing harm to other planets, hoping the kings would realize the severity of their actions… But they both just brushed it off. “Oh, well, it isn’t like we can stop the meteors anyway.” said Flareous. Everyone else gasped at his heartlessness. Blizzord showed the same remorselessness. “This is war; things happen, even if it is by accident.” Starla felt all choked up. “You mean you’re willing to let other races suffer just to satisfy your own thirsts for victory?!” It was plain now for everyone to see that the kings were nothing but heartless warmongers--exactly as their respective children had said they were. “Aside from wanting my son,” said Flareous “I’ve also come with a proposition for you, Starfleet.” “What a coincidence… so have I.” added Blizzord. “What sort of proposition?” asked Celestia. “Join forces with me.” said Flareous. “And together we will crush the Iceinians, and end this war all the faster.” The fighters and the royals all felt disgusted. “He’s joking, right?” whispered Buddy. “Forget him!” sneered Blizzord. “Best you join up with me instead. Together, we’ll be unstoppable, and crush the Molticeans and any other force that dares to interfere.” Flareous heated up in anger. “The answer is “No!” said Lightning. “Your offers are not only absurd, but it goes against everything we stand for.” Starla agreed and added, “Starleet only fights defensively and to save other worlds, not for conquest and glory.” “I wouldn’t refuse if I were you.” said Flareous. “I’m offering you a chance at great power and dominance. Just give me my son and join up with me.” “No!” bellowed Blizzord. “Join up with me… that is after you hand over my daughter.” Their majesties glared furiously at the two kings. “Gentlemen, I submit to you this,” said Grand Ruler “We are not going to give you back your children, and we will not join forces with either of you.” Celestia then added, “We again demand that you cease all hostilities and warfare with each other at once, otherwise we will be forced to take drastic actions against both of you.” The two kings let out furious roars at being rejected. “You dare reject King Flareous?!” “How dare you refuse me!” bellowed Blizzord. “If you won’t hand Glaceia over to me nor join my forces, I’ll just have to force your hand!” “My thoughts exactly!” growled Flareous. Lightning could see this was going to get ugly. “Let’s go!” he called to his friends. “Starfleet Magic!” He and Buddy transformed. Then Pinkie did the same, “Harmony Hour! Friendship Power!” “Good luck!” Luna said to the fighters, and she and the other images vanished. “ATTACK!!” the two kings shouted, and their army of guards rushed forth. “Take them!” said Lightning. The team rushed forth. Lightning jump kicked a Flame-Guard, right in the chest, and sent him crashing into two others, knocking them down, and giving him a clear opening towards Flareous. The flame king raised his huge sword, blocking Lightning’s fist. Starla’s droid kicked and punched down all the Ice-Guards that came at it, and then she eyed Blizzord. “You’re mine…!” and she lunged right for him, but Blizzord held up his trident, and zapped her head, encasing it in solid ice. “Oh, no!” Starla cried as her control visor went blank. “Activate laser-eyes!” Her droid eyes glowed a bright red, and the heat melted the ice, and the beams shot straight at Blizzord, who defended himself by whirling his trident like a propeller while laughing at her. “I haven’t lost my touch.” Starla was furious. Buddy backflipped and proceeded to punch and kick all the guards coming his way, but more surrounded him, charging up their swords and spears. “Not this time!” he shouted “I just replanted around here. I don’t want it messed up again!” He leapt a few inches off the ground and then spun in super-fast circles while firing magical blasts from his horn, hitting all the guards hard and they all shattered into the bits of rock and ice they were made of. “Take that!” Pinkie yelled as she punched an Ice-Guard. “And that!” as she kicked a Flame-Guard. “AND THESE!!” she wailed on the other guards with a fury of fast and swift punches, knocking them all down. She and Buddy shot each other a thumb up, but the fight was far from done. From inside the Bakeshop, Glaceia had never seen such battling before. Pyron saw the same thing from afar and remembered what Lightning had told him. “…They only fight if they must.” Lightning punched and kicked hard, but Flareous managed to block and dodge his every attack and slashed him hard with his sword making sparks fly. “Make it easier on yourself and join me!” Flareous demanded. “Never!” shouted Lightning. Flareous raised his sword high-- its blade enveloped with flames-- but then Lightning noticed on his forehead “A monster badge?” Starla struggled against Blizzord, and she noticed the same thing. “He has one too.” The two kings bashed the two fighters off and sent them skidding along the ground. Pinkie and Buddy helped them up. The two kings snickered wickedly. “You didn’t think our kings would foolish enough to send their real selves, did you?” hissed Flareous. Blizzord pointed up at his badge, “These badges were left behind by the Great Hero. The people of Motlic and Iceinia kept an equal amount of the collection in honor of him. The hero slayed many fierce opponents, and sealed their essence within these relics which allowed him to combine their powers and strengths with his own upon wearing them.” “So, you two are just ordinary guards.” balked Pinkie. The two imposters nodded. “Our kings are quite busy; it’s a big war and all.” said Fake Flareous. It was obvious now that the real Flareous and Blizzord used these badges to give two of their guards’ portions of their strength and power. “You may look like your kings, but that doesn’t mean you can outmatch us.” said Buddy. “We beg to differ!” snarled Fake Blizzord. Both he and Fake Flareous held up their weapons and unleashed powerful icy and flaming waves. Lightning defended the team with a Uniforce wall, causing the blasts to explode upon contact, and knock everyone back hard. “I’ve had just about enough of these two fakers.” said Starla. “Let’s send them both where they belong-- Jail!” suggested Buddy. “I couldn’t agree more.” said Lightning. Pinkie nodded while cracking her knuckles and her neck. The two imposters rushed forth. The fighters rushed in, attacking with all they had. The fake kings still put up a valiant effort and managed to strike all the fighters a few times. “Like we said…” growled Fake Flareous. “We’re just like our kings…” added Fake Blizzord. Lightning thrusted upward calling his fists into the ice trident, in a huge struggle. “And we told you; it’s not good enough!!” His eyes, horn, and hands glowed brightly with the strength of the Uniforce, and with a mighty shove he sent his opponent back hard, smashing him right into the other faker. “Hey! You clumsy Iceberg!” shouted. “Who are you calling “Iceberg”, Ember-Head!” The two foolish monsters began to brawl with each other, which completely distracted them from their opponents. “I think now’s as good a time as ever.” said Starla. “Right.” Lightning agreed, and he held up his Capture Blaster, while Starla’s droid, though it could not use Starla’s actual weapons or magic, was equipped with a magical-powered, technological Capture-Function. Lightning and the droid both charged up, Lightning’s gun fired, and the droid fired beams from its hands. The two monsters were struck hard, and both yelled “THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” as they fell over and exploded-- the magic died out-- and the two reappeared as a normal Ice or Flame-Guard, trapped in spheres while the monster badges shattered. Buddy and Pinkie slapped each other several high-fives. While Pyron and Glaceia, who had seen everything from where they stood, were astounded. When the two monsters failed to return to Moltic and Iceinia, and without either Pyron, Glaceia, or an army of Starfleet fighters to join their forces, the two kings could only assume the worst. “They dare to refuse me?!” bellowed Flareous. “I’ll show them! I’ll show them and Blizzord!” He didn’t know that Keltar was hiding around the corner and heard him, and he muttered softly under his breath, “You’re only fooling yourself.” Blizzord felt the same and was just as mad. “It seems I now have a common enemy with my own enemy. I’ll get Glaceia back and destroy Starfleet and Flareous if it takes every bit of power I have.” He laughed wickedly. “That’s right, sire, you will.” cheered Smark, but he secretly thought “…Or so you think you will, you big sucker.” Meanwhile, with the danger gone, and the civilians let out, Pyron and Glaceia met up with the team at the café. The real Starla came along bringing the kids with her after setting her droid back on its charging station at home. The imprisoned guards were already magically transferred to New Cantelot to be processed before being sent off to prison. “You could have destroyed those guards any time, and yet you didn’t.” said Pyron. “They wouldn’t have thought twice about destroying you.” added Glaciea. “It’s like we’ve been telling you;” said Lightning “We only do what we have to do, and only if it’s totally necessary.” Starla nodded, “And right now, we have a lot to think about. I don’t think your fathers are going to give up so easily.” The couple agreed. “Those two goons only had samples of their powers.” said Buddy. “The real Flareous and Blizzord must be way tougher than that, and they’re bound to send more goons after us.” Glaceia and Pyron felt ashamed, not just of their fathers, but of themselves. “We’ve put you all through enough trouble already.” said Glaceia.” “Perhaps it would be best if we left United Equestria.” suggested Pyron. Lightning immediately disallowed such a thing. “But our fathers will keep attack you until they find us.” said Glaceia. Lightning assured them, “They’ll attack us even if you leave. They’ve probably already declared us their new enemy.” Starla agreed and added, “It’s more than that. Your fathers are causing much trouble and suffering all over the galaxy with this stupid war of theirs. Not only are you safer with us, but we can continue to help each other, and we will bring both your fathers down. We’ll do all we can.” The couple were indeed grateful and thankful to their wonderful new allies and friends. There was so much they could learn, so much they could discover, and find new ways to live instead of under the cape of war. “In the meantime,” Pinkie said as she came out with a beautifully decorated cake with sparkling sticks on it. “…How about a little celebration?” And she blew a party horn and threw confetti about, everyone shared a good laugh. (Promo) In our next episode: After Blitzy fails in her attempt to get Lightning out of Starfleet, Lightning assigns Swift Star to take her on a tour of the kingdom, hoping to convince her that Starfleet is not all that bad, but Swift is already struggling with his studies and his job, and things get worse as he seems to develop a crush on Blitzy herself. How will this tour affect both Blitzy and Swift? Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!” (Next Episode: “Tour De La Paces”)