//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Easy Come, Easy Go // Story: The Pony Lisa // by Hi World //------------------------------// OCTOBER 2552 [EXACT DATE CLASSIFIED] SOELL SYSTEM, INSTALLATION 04 DEBRIS FIELD, “HALO” >Luna 0610 hours Sergeant Luna, or if you wanted to rub it in, Sergeant Princess Luna, stood before an object in the cargo bay of the UPSC Red Horse. UPSC stood for; United Ponies Space Command. Darn, Ponies were patriotic about being Ponies. As for being a Sergeant; her sister, Celestia, had requested she join the military with her, and since Luna was the princess of the night as oppose to day, she didn’t get the same density of treatment that Celestia got. “We may be the rulers of our race…” she’d told her, "But we should keep ourselves open to the same amount of danger as our subjects. We are all equal after all." Makes sense, she guessed, even if it didn’t make sense. She stopped trying to understand Celestia sometimes. Celestia was kind and gentle and all that stuff, though her absurdities often came at the expense of others. Especially her. And now here they were. Both of them, and some others, on a UPSC Prowler. A Stealth ship. At a far, dark corner of the galaxy. The only difference between Luna and Celestia, apart from appearance, voice and persona of course, was that Celestia was a Commander and she was a Sergeant. Why? Because Celestia’s the Princess of the sun of course! Everypony loves the sun and day time, unlike her and her dark and scary night. The object in front of her was either an escape pod from some other Pony ship, or a uniquely shaped piece of debris. She knew it was really an escape pod, but it was so smashed up it looked like a piece of debris. Must have come from thy Philly of Autumn, she thought. Around the pod; Medic Corporal Rarity, Tech Officer Applejack, the ever silent Big Macintosh, and "the best pilot in all of Equestria;” Rainbow Dash. “I’m here Luna!” Came a familiar voice. Derpy. Rookie. Grey Pegasus with bubbles for a cutie mark. Derped eyes. Ugh, Luna couldn’t understand how or why she was in the UPSC. Before she could turn round and say; “That is Sergeant Luna to you,” Derpy bumped into the back of her and fell. Luna kept her self bolted down, like a lamp post or something. “Oops, sorry Luna,” Derpy giggled nervously. Luna just rolled her eyes. “Princess?” It came from Rarity. Luna liked being called Luna more than she liked been called Princess, but in the military she had to be called Sergeant. She always let Princess slide though. “May we open the pod? Oh I do wonder what is inside,” Rarity smiled. “Simmer down, Rarity,” Applejack spoke up, “T’aint gonna be full o’ diamonds if that’s what yer thinkin’.” “Don’t say that, you’ll jinx it! There could be for all you know.” Luna replied to Rarity, “Yes, fair Rarity, we shall open thy pod now. See if there really are any jewels inside. Applejack, would thou kindly open thy pod for us?” “Sure thing Princess,” the orange Earth Pony whipped a gadget out of a saddlebag on the floor with her mouth and plugged it into an exterior slot on the pod. Then she looked at it confused. “Um…uhh…” What is this farm pony doing here, being a Tech Officer on a star ship? “Move over Apple-snack,” Rainbow Dash said as she whizzed over in a rainbow coloured blur, knocking Applejack off her hooves. Maybe the pilot knew what to do. There was a bleeping as Rainbow used the tip of her hoof to push the buttons. Then a hiss as the pod’s door opened. >Rarity 0623 hours The first thing Rarity saw was Rainbow Dash rocketing up into the air, saying “Woah,” and hovering just below the ceiling. Funnily enough, the first thing she sensed at all was a stench so powerful, she would’ve copied Rainbow Dash were she a Pegasus. It was rank. It was moist. It was blood, but she could smell more than blood. Didn’t know what though. Mixed reactions throughout the cargo bay: The Princess held her ground as usual, wrinkled her nose and looked disgusted. Big Mac, who usually didn’t react to anything, simply backed up. Derpy was facing the wrong way. Applejack covered her muzzle. “Whoowee! Smells worse than a Timber Wolf’s toenail.” “Oh Applejack. Everything smells worse than a Timber Wolf’s toenail according to you,” said a deep pink Earth Pony called Cheerlie. “I’m willing to bet that Timber Wolves’ toenails don’t smell all that bad.” Some other Ponies that were playing cards across the room coughed and complained. Then the smell brought Rarity to its source. “Oh my...” she gasped, “that… is gross.” She caught an annoyed glance from the Princess at that. As for the pod, well, it was like some sort of portable pond. Almost expected to see frogs hopping around on lilly pads. In the blood however, lay a Pony. Pegasus. Mare. Red, with a red mane. Nah, she wasn’t red, but she sure did look like it. Kinda looked like she had dozed of whilst bathing. Applejack; “Is she-” “Don’t let them get me!” A scream, a splash, a hoof reaching out. The Pegasus rose up from her casket, still sat in it. The back of her was encrusted with blood. She wearily looked around. Checked every corner. Every edge too. Everypony that gathered around her. “Good heavens. Get her out of there Ponies!” Ordered Rarity. Little time passed as Luna used her Alicorn magic to lift the Pony out of the pod and set her gently on the floor, against the pod. As medic, it was Rarity’s job to fix this Mare, but this Mare wasn’t going to make it, she could tell. So instead, she just bandaged her up and gave her an injection to keep her alive and conscious, if only for a short while. She cringed and moaned when she wrapped a bandage around the Mare’s chest. She had wiped as much blood off of her as she could, but it just kept coming back. The hole in this Mare’s chest was huge and would need stitches. No, scratch that: Not all the stitches in the world could save her now. On closer inspection, Rarity realised she had a very light blue coat with a two tone orange mane. Would’ve looked formidable if it weren’t for all that red. She was scruffy though; her mane and tail were a mess, and the feathers of her wings were ruffled. Poor pony. Rarity wiped a cloth over her cutie mark, saw it was a lightning bolt with three stars at the bottom, then it was covered again as more blood leaked down. “My gosh,” Rarity started, “How did you ever get in such bad condition?” Before the unfortunate one could answer, or try to answer, the Princess stepped in. “Can she speaketh, Rarity?” “She can,” she glanced back. The unfortunate one coughed, her mouth a red fountain for a second. “Ew… I tried my best, but she can only talk for however long she has left. I do hope you understand, Princess.” Luna nodded once, then turned to face the new arrival who might leave at any moment. “What is your name, subject?” The Princess was world champion of intimidation, even when she wasn’t trying to be intimidating. The injured Pony tried to speak up, but her voice was broken with post trauma. “Um… no. I dunno… where… we are.” Another wet cough and gargle. “Thou art safe aboard thy UPSC Red Horse, fair subject.” Rarity wished Luna would stop calling her “subject.” “Now what is your name? We wish to knoweth your name.” Oh Luna, why can’t you use that nice, soothing voice you use when you’re on dream duty? The injured Pony wheezed, “… Lightning… Dust…” “Well, Lightning Dust, tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Didn’t sound like it. “I am Sergeant Luna, Princess of the night.” A pause, and then, “Why art thou here?” Nopony on the Red Horse knew why they were at the ruins of a gargantuan, alien ring-world. This “Lightning Dust” was from a different ship however. Maybe she could shed some “lightning dust” on the situation. Commander Princess Celestia and the ship’s AI kept trying to avoid telling them why they were here. Rarity hoped they knew what they were doing. Applejack paced over and lifted Lightning’s left front fore leg. “Well look ‘a here, we rustled ourselves a prisoner,” she announced. Rarity; “Why whatever do you mean, Applejack?” AJ gestured with her muzzle at a bar code around the circumference of Lightning’s fore leg, and an indentation where a tracking chip had been implanted. “Oh, I see.” Applejack seemed less apologetic, as did the Princess. “P… p… please. Nng… don’t huurt…” deep breaths, saying “hurt” hurt. “… Me.” Rarity never thought she’d feel sorry for a prisoner, yet hear she was. She wasn’t the only one; a crowd had gathered around Lightning Dust. “We are not going to hurteth you. Just answer our questions and we shall take thou to thy infirmary, and you can sleep… What ship art thou from?” “Ugh… leesugh.” Poor, poor Pony, she appeared to be holding back tears as well. Derpy; “The Ugh Leesugh? That’s a silly name.” “Derpy, be quiet. Repeat yourself, fair subject.” Luna smiled to reassure Lightning, but it was one of her least reassuring smiles: The intimidation factor just went up a little. Derpy looked down at her hooves. “The… Pony… Lisa-aha-aha-ahaa…” More coughs and blood from Lighning Dust. Rarity wiped Lightning’s mouth clean… ish. “And what is thy Pony Lisa doing hear, fair subject?” Luna’s fair subject began to stall. “Huh… I’d… tell you… all… kinds of…things.” Splutter. “I know… I’m dying… I know, but… argh… that’s ok.” Another splutter, then a whimper. “Gurgh… it’s ok… because I won’t… come back. Hargh… I’m clean… hehehe… I… can’t… come back.” Rarity thought she detected a hint of smugness behind her relief. “What does that mean?” She questioned. Luna kneeled down and wrapped her royal, silver shoe clad hoof around Lightning’s filthy, blood-soaked hoof. What is this Princess? Compassion? Luna asked; “What do thou mean “thou won’t come back?-”” An ultra-bright flash from the terminal by the pod, to Rarity’s right. The ship’s AI appeared. The oddest looking holographic projection of a creature she’d ever seen… so far. Antlers, each from a Dear and a Goat. Lion paw, Dragon wing and Lizard foot on the right. Eagle talon, Pegasus wing and Goat hoof on the left. And a looong, serpentine body. This was Discord. “What do you mean you won’t come back?! Come back from what?! Come, back, from, what?!” He desperately implored with over-the-top urgency. Paw and talon held out like he was carrying a dog, only he had formed claws with his “fingers”. Neck stretching out towards Lightning, his facial expression said; Tell me! Tell me! Oh please for the love of Celestia tell meee! Lightning turned her head slowly towards Discord. Her eyes widened as she gasped; must’ve been the first time she’d seen a Draconequus. Last time too, for at that moment, Lightning Dust let out one last cough and closed her eyes. Lightning Dust to dust. Rarity looked irritated at Discord, who snickered with mischief before straightening himself and snapping the fingers of his Eagle talon. He vanished in another flash. Rarity sighed and brushed her hoof on the ground. “Oh no! Is she gone now?” Whimpered Derpy. Rarity donned her stethoscope and used her magic to levitate the end over Lightning Dust’s heart. She was indeed, dead, which she knew already. She wiped the end of her stethoscope with a cloth, only to make it more bloody. “Yuck...” Facing Big Mac, and Snowflake who had come to watch the show, she said, “Come on you big, strong Stallions. Let’s get her to forensics,” with a false, flattering smile. “Eeyup,” from Big Mac. Private Twilight Sparkle had joined them, and wasted little time using her rather impressive Unicorn magic to place Lightning Dust on a stretcher. At each side of the stretcher stood Big Mac and Snowflake, harnessed up and ready to lift. Effortlessly, Big Mac hoisted her up. Snowflake however, was struggling to lift her off the floor. He huffed and panted, until Applejack suggested she try. An embarrassed squee from the huge white Pegasus as AJ trotted by her brother’s side, Lighning Dust between them. Everypony else exited the cargo bay in separate directions, save for four who continued their card game as if nothing had happened. Just as Rarity was about to leave to assist Pinkie Pie with Lightning’s autopsy, she realised that Princess Luna hadn’t moved. She just stood there by the pod and the large red puddle, staring at the space Discord had occupied, like she could still see him. Like she had been trying to see into him… Then Derpy returned with a mop in her mouth and a bucket of water clutched in her hooves, lost grip, and dropped it on the Princess. “DERRPYYY!” Luna bellowed in royal Canterlot just as the mop came down, forming dread locks over her eyes. “Oops! Sorry Luna!” Giggling, Rarity trotted off.