//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: ... And the Horse You Rode In On 
// Story: The Pony Lisa 
// by Hi World 
//------------------------------//

>Luna 1304 hours

Gazing out the Pelican’s windscreen, Luna saw various pieces of Halo’s debris slowly tumbling in the void of space. The planet Threshold provided an illusion of orange sky. ‘Twas beautiful, even if it was all garbage now. 

Griffins hadn’t built it. It was something new and entirely alien. Luna hoped to meet its creators some day and congratulate them on their work. Make friends with them. Team up against the Griffins and force them to surrender. Then, possibly, make friends with the Griffins. Darn Griffins, from what she heard about the origins of the war, they were totally in the wrong. However, she felt like she was still on the need-to-know basis. 

Speaking of Basis, Threshold’s moon could be seen peeping out from behind the gas giant. 
Hmm… could I raise and lower Basis too? 

“I see the Pony Lisa now,” announced Rainbow Dash as she piloted the Pelican over an upside-down piece of sea bed. “Hehehe, pretty ugly huh?” 
“Yes, quite,” Luna replied, distracted by the very thing they were talking about. 
She must’ve sounded gloomy. 
“Hey, lighten up Princess. I’m sure it won’t be too bad.” 
“I don’t know, fair Rainbow Dash. These are suspicious times.” 
“Yeah, well, what can ya do? At least now we’re actually doing something instead of just waiting around on that boring old Red Horse. And who knows, maybe all those pesky mysteries will finally get solved out here.” 
She thought about that for a second. “Hmm, you make a good point, fair Rainbow Dash.” 
“Of course I do, Princess.”

Out of the cock-pit and into the soldier's quarters, were fifteen Ponies, well, fourteen Ponies and one Zebra, lay along each side. They lay on their bellies with their front hooves tucked in. Each Pony diagonally faced the rear hatch, like an arrow pointing to the exit. 

They had all been equipped with weapons too. Most had standard, fully automatic, MA5D Assault Rifles. Corporal Zebra Zecora and Corporal Rarity had much more accurate, three round burst, BR85 Battle Rifles that featured scopes, cos they were special or something. Still, Luna was there to steal their thunder, for she had a DMR: Single shot, longer range, even more accurate, and also equipped with a scope. And then there was the pilot, Rainbow Dash, who had nothing more than an M6H Magnum. A pistol. Wouldn’t save her in a fire fight. Then again, she was a pilot. And if she ever needed a weapon, she could just help herself to the spare MA5D secured by the door to the cock-pit. 

All of the Ponies, except Rainbow, wore “Soldier Saddles” on their backs. One saddle bag that hung on the left, full of MREs, ammo, grenades, and in Rarity’s case; medical supplies. On the right, was a mechanical arm powered by Celestia’s very own permanent magic, so it could extend and retract whenever the wearer wanted it to, like it was a part of them. This arm is what handled the Ponies' weapons.

Rainbow Dash's voice came over the speaker, "Uh, Princess? She aint answering on any frequency.” 
One of the Privates Luna didn’t know grunted, “Huh. Rude much?” 
Yeah, it is quite obvious they cannot respondeth. Either that or there is nopony there to respondeth. 

RD continued, “And her engines are coming up cold on the thermal. You think maybe it’s a ghost ship?” 
Derpy stuttered, “Oh, oh no!” 
“A ghost!” Private Pinkie Pie squealed at the top of her lungs. 
Really Pinkie Pie? You giggle through autopsies and then scream when “ghost” is mentioned? 
“It is not a ghost ship!” Luna yelled whilst Rainbow laughed over the speaker. “Rainbow!” 
“Doh, err… sorry Princess.” 

Luna then towered over Derpy, who lay shivering on the floor. It wasn’t that cold in the Pelican. She must still be shook up from that whole “ghost” thing. 

Silly Mare, spilling water on her, twice. One time, fair enough, mistakes happen… but twice?! 

Most of the Ponies here were poor soldiers, save for Zecora, Big Mac and herself. Some Ponies she didn’t know. But Derpy had to be the clumsiest Pony she’d ever met. All there was to admire about her was that she did at least try her hardest; something she felt Rainbow and Rarity didn’t do. Poor Derpy was just prone to derpin’. 

“Sorry about dropping the water on you, Luna.” 
Princess! 
“I just don’t know what went wrong.” 
She had apologised twice before, and Luna knew she meant it. Never responded to her though. Hoped maybe she would prove she’s sorry by not goofing up. 

“Please take this muffin as a token of apology.” 
What is this? 
The blonde maned Pegasus produced a fresh, choc-chip muffin, seemingly from nowhere, and offered it to her. 
Nightmare Night came early! 
We are pleased with your offering. Smirking, she took the muffin with her magic, dropped it in her saddle bag, and turned to face Rarity. 
Still didn’t speak to Derpy, but thought the words; Thank you.

“So, fair Rarity. How did thy post-mortem go?” Luna implored with her more quiet speaking voice that she rarely used. 
Puzzlement from the white Unicorn. “You’d be better off asking Pinkie Pie over there. She was in charge of the autopsy.” 
She nodded her horn towards said Earth Pony, who beamed and waved ecstatically. 
Awkwardness entered Luna’s temporarily soft voice, “… Nooo… I would rather hear it from you.” 

Rarity was reluctant. “If you insist, Princess. Lighning Dust had ghastly wounds. It was most disgusting. That hole in her chest… it wasn’t caused by a blade, that much is certain. It took way way way more force to…” she began to cringe, “… pry… her open, like that.” 
“Pry? Sounds delightful,” Luna responded dryly.
“Yes, well, I took the liberty of packing extra blood bags. After whatever happened to Lightning, we may need them.” 

Using her more frequent tone of voice, Luna playfully showed up Rarity, “Do thou doubt thy UPSC, Corporal?” 
“Oh, not at all, Princess. It’s just-” 
“Do thou expect some senseless jail Pony to get a “shiv” in one of us?” Better tone it down now; she was starting to sound like Discord. 
“Saaaarrge, you know me. I don’t let anypony get too close.” Her tone implied the opposite. 

The speaker cracked to life again.
“Princess Luna! Come in! Do you read?! Do, you, read?!” It was Discord. 
“I’m hear Discord, what is thy problem?” She replied worryingly into a microphone by the cock-pit's door. 
He chuckled. 
Fooled us? 
“Problem? Who said there was a problem? I was simply asking you if you read.” 
Ugh, yep, fooled us. 

“Because I’m reading a charming little story right now. It’s about a Sergeant Princess, like you, who must investigate the Pony Lisa. If it be a prison riot, it is up to her to get control of the situation. If the ship be compromised by Griffins or some other hostile force, she must destroy the nav systems." 
Well that was subtle. It made Luna inquisitive. 

"Pray tell; what other hostile forces could we possibly face?" 
"Hm, what? Oh, er... I dunno. Hm-hm-hm-hm." He chuckled, knowing he didn't convince her.
"There's something thou art not telling us, isn't there? What is thy secret, Discord? What peril do we face?" 
Answering back, the AI raised, "Do you honestly think I'm just going to dish out spoilers willy-nilly? No! You are either up against prisoners or Griffins or both, and that's all you need to know... for now."
"For now?"

Changing the subject, Discord informed, "Also there is an enormous Griffin capitol ship nearby. Just thought you’d like to know." 
Using a hoof to face-palm, Luna sighed, “Understood."
“Goood. And you also understand that we won’t be able to communicate with you without risking our position to that big, mean capital ship, right?” 
Oh great, now they were alone. 
Still, she understood, and breathed, “Yes, Discord. We may be on our own for a while.” 

“I know, I know, it’s tragic. I am as sad as you are. I’m going to miss your charming voice, almost as much as you’ll miss mine.” 
“I don’t think so, Discord.” 
“Meh, whatever, I’ve got Celestia to keep me company. Adieu Luna!” 
“Be careful sist-” That last line came from Celestia. 
Be careful? As oppose to what? Don’t be careful? With Derpy on board; not being careful would be a synch! 
“Sure sister, I’ll be careful,” she spoke sombrely to nopony.

Gazing down her troops, she noticed they were all a little disheartened about having minimal contact with the Red Horse, or “home” as some called it. Even Pinkie Pie, the happiest Pony in the universe, frowned and looked at the floor. 

“Luna?” Never fear, Derpy is here! With an idea that will solve everything! 
“Derpy, for the last time, call us- … me… Princess. Thou can call me Luna when we are on leave.” 
“... Luna?” 
“Ugh, what?” 
“If all we have to do is stop the Griffins from taking the navi… gavi… nation… muffin… uh, then why don’t we just go back and destroy the Pony Lisa from the Red Horse?” 
Almost as if she expected her to say “you’re right Derpy” and turn the Pelican around. 
"It is a Pony ship, Derpy. We are not firing on our own kind." 
"They're only prisoners." 

Well that was dark. Luna wasn't too sure if Derpy understood the controversy of what she was saying. Her derped eyes and goofy smile implied that she didn't have a clue. Thank Celestia Derpy wasn't in Celestia's position.

“Do not maketh decisions, Derpy. It is not what thou art paid for.” 
Rarity joined in happily, “No, they pay us to be fabulous! Right Princess?” 
“Really, Rarity?” Luna gave her one of those smiles that Rarity kept complaining about for being grim. 
“No. Teehee.” 
Way’da lift our spirits though, Rarity. 

She’d worked with Rarity for a fair bit of time, and still didn’t know what to make of her. Thought she should take things more seriously, and quit fussing over every little mess, something Applejack definitely agreed with. She also had a tendency to put herself and others at risk for the sake of  “fabulosity.” Just another Pony who didn’t belong here. 

Despite all this however, Luna knew she wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Rarity. The posh, white Unicorn had performed a life saving operation on her that involved extracting a crystal shard from her thorax. A Griffin armed with a Needle Rifle had been the culprit. Gosh, those things were lethal. Accurate, long range, DMR type thing, only instead of bullets, it fired glowing, pink, crystal needles, that exploded when there were three combined in a target's body. Luna could think of a certain evil king who would crave those things.

“Oh and Princess?” Rarity piped up. “When we’re next on leave, be sure to get us some ice cream again, won’t you.” She motioned her hoof. 

The Pelican's troop bay came to life as the Ponies muttered to each other about the last time they were on leave. 
"You remember the ice cream?" Applejack asked Pinkie Pie.
"Boy do I!" 
Even Fluttershy joined in, "Oh, I don't think I could ever forget a leave as fun as that." 
Cheerlie; "I know, me neither. Could you, Big Mac?"
"Nope" 
"Will you be getting some more ice cream next time, Pinkie Pastry?" Interviewed Derpy, full of hope. 
The Pink one laughed and snorted, "Of course I will!" 
On came the speaker as Rainbow contributed, "Aw sweet! I loved that ice cream! Will we be at the same beach as before?" 
"I sure hope so," Twilight happily responded. 

Ah, the ice cream. Something they had eaten far too much of the last time they were on leave. 
Luna announced, “We may not be at the same beach as before. And as for the ice cream, well, I am sure Pinkie Pie will pull through once again. At least we hope so. It wouldn't be a proper leave without ice cream now, would it!”

Prior to the war, prior to the time before the war in fact, Luna had spent a real long time wondering her planet’s moon alone as a result of her sister banishing her there when her evil alter-ego, Nightmare Moon, had taken over. Space travel hadn’t been invented yet, and with nothing to do, she lay on her back and gazed up at the stars. 
One. Two. Three. Four. Fi… 
… Ten thousand and seventy three. Ten thousand and seventy four. Ten thou… 
… Twenty six million nine hundred and fifty six thousand three hundred and eighteen. Twenty six million nine hundred and fifty six thousand three hundred and nineteen. Twe… 
... Ninety nine million nine hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine. One hundred million! 
She’d counted one hundred million stars during the time she spent on the moon. She never double counted any of them, never left any out. She counted all of them. But she saw one disappear, right before her eyes. Now there were only ninety nine million nine hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine stars. It made her stomach feel funny, like she’d lost something dear to her. They were her stars. 

She counted the troops in the Pelican: Rarity, Big Macintosh, Derpy, Fluttershy, Fleur De Lis, Zecora, Bon Bon, Lyra, Twilight Sparkle, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Applejack, Snowflake, Cheerlie, Thunderlane, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in the cock-pit. Seventeen in total. They were all her stars now, even if she didn’t know or like some of them. They were her subjects all the same. 

“Princess, we’re coming up on the Pony Lisa now,” Rainbow’s voice leaked out of the speaker. 
That was her queue: “Ok everypony… lock and load. Be prepared for anything, and I mean anything.” 
Then it dawned on her; her squad consisted of everypony who had come into contact with Lighning Dust.

>Rarity 1315 hours

Lurching and shuddering, the Pelican entered a hanger in the Pony Lisa. The soft seal locked on and they had compression. The scraping noise of the hanger door closing outside the Pelican. 

Unlike civilian air and space craft, Pelicans had no windows, apart from the one up front of course. But she could feel the drop ship spin round so the ramp would face into the Pony Lisa. 

Another shudder as the hatch disengaged and was ready to open at the pilot’s will, then a gentle bump as they finally touched down. 
We’re here. 

Derpy and Big Mac stood to either side of the gangplank, front legs bent, ready for action.
Rainbow Dash announced over the speaker, “Everything looks clear on the monitors Princess. A little dark though. Oh well, the door is ready to open. Just say the word and I’ll set you free.” 
Hmm… whatever did Lighning mean when she said, “she won’t come back?” 
Over her shoulder, the Princess spoke, “Yes, fair Rainbow Dash. We are prepared.” 
“Go forth and plunder!” And with that, the gangplank lowered like a draw-bridge. 

A stench, both dusty and moist, poured into the troop bay. Rarity felt like she was drowning. Everypony in the troop bay coughed and gagged. 
“Hehehe. Oh my, somepony’s been eating a lot of beans.” 
“Do be quiet Rainbow Dash. You can’t even smell this dreadfulness from in there,” Rarity spoke up. 
Rainbow squeaked, “Hahaha, yeah! Lucky me.” She was certainly happy to be staying in the Pelican. 
Couldn’t blame her. 

The gangplank finally hit the deck with a muted bang that echoed throughout the hanger. Shapes and silhouettes were visible in the red glow of emergency lighting in the passing corridor beyond. Squares and rectangles, indicating containers. 

The Ponies paced down the ramp with their weapons pointing forward in two by two formation, and fanned out until the Princess, the last one, had disembarked. 

Rarity; “Hmph. No less than three weeks ago, I was walking down a red carpet-” 
“Ssssshhhhh!” Everypony shushed her. 
“… Well I was-”
“Ssssshhhhh!!” 
She caught a glance from Big Mac, who made his annoyance very clear on his face. 

Didn’t like upsetting Big Mac. He was a farm Stallion, raised alongside Applejack, but he was an excellent soldier, and had saved her rump many times.  It was all that muscle he packed. Very strong Stallion. He always wore a harness for some reason. 
She’d asked him about it before; “Why do you wear that grimy old thing Big Mac? Doesn’t it weigh you down?” 
His only reply had been; “Nope.” 
A Stallion of few words. She liked that. Knew the Princess, who also wore a harness, liked it too. He just kept his head down and did his job.

The hanger was shrouded in darkness. The Princess had requested they all turn the flash lights on on their weapons. Sixteen beams of light cut the darkness into crazy shapes. Pools of light scanned the area, picking out cargo containers, crates, boxes and a forklift. Oh, and a ton of blood. 

“Good heavens!” That time she spent on the red carpet seemed to be repeating itself, only in a much more disturbing way. “Eeew, it’s on my hoof!” 
“Rarity! Be silent!” The Princess yelled in a louder voice. 
Fleur De Lis moaned something in her fancy language that nopony else understood. 

Vinyl Scratch got snarky, “Big deal. I’m pretty sure that if anypony was here, we would’ve met 'em by now. But since we havn’t, then everything must be safe. Duh.” 
Wow! You are an amazing soldier! 
The UPSC may be the wrong-est place for Rarity, but at least she had the common sense to know that an empty room wasn’t safe by default. 
At least she didn’t wear vulgar purple tinted glasses. 
At least she didn’t start food fights in the mess hall. 
At lea- 

-A red, banged up fire extinguisher stained with something green rolled out of the darkness, seemingly on it's own accord. It came to gentle stop under Thunderlane's hoof. 
Pinkie Pie jumped up with excitement. “Alright! Let’s get this party started!”