//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: War Between Gods // by Verathuum //------------------------------// Some citizens of Equestria awoke during the middle of the night when the sky seemingly tore open, allowing sunlight to flood in. Those who did see this strange phenomenon simply assumed they were dreaming or hallucinating from a lack of sleep as the sky quickly closed and returned to normal. Besides, Luna could surely fix whatever was going on, even if they were really seeing daylight above the obsidian night. Few got a good enough look to see the black objects before the sky closed and they disappeared, camouflaged against the black night; those who did see them assumed they were part of the night and that the sky, or Luna, simply was going through some temporary change. As the morning came, the entire populace of Equestria awoke to something they did not expect: an entire fleet of massive black ships silently hovering over their country. Those who just assumed they were dreaming during the night could not come to terms that the ships were real at first, but after an hour or so, most of the citizens came to accept that something was going on. Anyone with any ounce of magical capabilities, or at least knowledge of the arcane, was storming the libraries searching for whatever kind of magic was keeping those ships aloft; but alas it was not magic at play, rather science. “Well,” Jolterix said to Luna as they watched the sun come up over the horizon, “Do you think Discordia will want to attack after seeing a Florian fleet protecting your country?” “I’m not sure they will try even if they got help from the Chitin Lands,” Luna replied. “I can’t say I know the Chitin Lands,” Jolterix told her. Luna smiled and silently relished this moment: finally, she could teach this know-it-all Florian something. “They’re a group of dependent kingdoms south of here in the deserts. They use chitin as their armor instead of metal.” “They sound like an interesting bunch,” Jolterix said as he took his gaze from the Gluhwurmchen, the fleet’s carrier and flagship, and looked at Luna, “We should get your sister and Tenner, those Florians up there will want to speak with you.” “Right, we should,” Luna said. She turned around and led Jolterix, who raised his helmet upon entering the castle, towards the breakfast room where she knew Celestia always is after she awakens. This time was no different, and they found Celestia munching on a pancake with Tennerac. “Good morning, sister,” Celestia said happily as she bit into a banana. Even though it was the early morning and it was obvious both Tennerac and Celestia had just awoken, she showed no signs of it. Her hair was waving in some nonexistent breeze as it usually did; her eye liner and eye shadow were perfect as usual. It was a mystery how she was so perfect even at this hour, especially since she didn’t have her crown and she was dressed in some nightgown that should not have been as appealing on her. Tennerac, like most males, was as he normally looked, save for his slightly stirred hair and groggy look. He wore a simple shirt and a pair of shorts for the sake of comfort despite the quickly approaching winter. He had his disc with him and operable, but it was neither activated nor on his back. “Celestia, I trust you’ve noticed the Florian Fleet in our skies?” Luna asked her. “Of course,” Celestia said like it was no big deal, “They’re hard to miss. When did they arrive?” “Around midnight,” Tennerac said. “Jolterix and I summoned them here.” Jolterix nodded at the mention of his name, and glanced at Tennerac. Although his face was hidden, everyone could tell he was glaring harshly at Tennerac for not wearing his helmet in the castle. “Oh, please,” Celestia said knowing exactly what Jolterix was up to, “it’s not like we’ll take your identities or anything.” “It’s not about that,” he told her and then silently thought to himself, “It’s about power and authority, though, I guess the last few days assert our power well enough.” He thought back to the flintlock pistols and how they were harmless to Tennerac and him. He let his helmet down which no one seemed to notice, exactly as Celestia probably implied; but he might have been reading too deeply into her comment. “So what’s going to happen now?” Celestia asked. “We keep our ships here until Discordia decides not to attack. We don’t think there will be a single shot fired, or a single swipe of a sword,” Tennerac told her. “Oh, good,” Celestia perked up and grinned slightly at that, “I love winning with no costs. Well sit down, eat you two. I’m sure you’re starved after putting the moon down, Luna.” “Well I guess I could eat something,” Luna said as she sat down. Jolterix sat next to her and began grabbing at some food on the table as well. He dissolved his robes and combat skin, and ultimately removed his disc to he could eat more comfortably. They managed to get fairly far into their breakfast before a castle guard interrupted them. “Your highnesses,” he said between breaths, “Someone from the, er, ships requests your company. You Florians, as well.” “Very well,” Celestia said, “But we must get ready first.” “Of course,” the guard said and he left the room, taking post at the door just outside. “Luna and I are ready,” Jolterix said, “We will wait for you two at the grand doors in the foyer.” Tennerac and Celestia nodded in agreement as they left. Jolterix placed his disc on his back and it activated, spawning his robes over his leisure clothes, but not his combat skin; he knew there would be no fighting in his own peoples’ warships. Luna was still dressed in her military uniform as she never had the chance to change. This didn’t bother her as she liked the power and authority it let her feel when she wore it, and she thought it the best outfit to wear when meeting Florian military officials. Several minutes later Tennerac and Celestia arrived at the foyer doors where Jolterix and Luna awaited. Celestia was back in her military uniform like Luna, but it was clear she missed having her sword at her side; she still didn’t know which Florian had cut it in half the day they met, lucky for them. As for Tennerac, he had activated his disc spawning his robes as well. Whether he wore his combat skin under it was impossible to tell. Neither Florians wore his helmet. “Let’s go,” Celestia said as the doors opened and she walked through them with Tennerac, Luna, and Jolterix in tow.