Fifty-six
Two days pass, in which Derpy is introduced to, and begins to become familiar with, the crew of the Prospitan ship bound for the Green Sun. Rose and Roxy, Dirk and Dave, John and Jade, Jake and Jane. Then there were the trolls, Karkat, Aradia, Sollux, Kanaya and Terezi. She learned of the group’s previous struggles; of a man named Jack Noir, a character who had appeared in Derpy’s session as well, but had attained far more power in the human’s session, wreaking havoc in both theirs and the trolls’ session; and of the demon called Lord English, an entity who would have destroyed all of existence had he not been stopped. The group faced hardship and loss through the long fight, but they had survived to settle a new world, until Discord arrived.
Derpy walks through the mid decks, munching on a muffin from the kitchen. It hadn’t taken her long to realize that Jane makes the best muffins she’s had since Equestria. She continues through the mid decks for a time, wandering aimlessly. The ship is a well-oiled machine, but it requires the maintenance and participation of all its passengers, and Derpy has been doing what she can to keep it functioning. Derpy hopes to find something to do, to keep her hooves busy, and sees someone walking down the next hallway to the right, a bag of something in hand.
Derpy quickens her pace slightly to catch up, and she quickly sees that it is Kanaya, elegant and sharp-tongued troll. Her figure matched her demeanor well; she was somewhat taller and more slender than the others around her, with asymmetrical horns that ended in sharp points, and a fashionable yet functional wardrobe of a black shirt and red skirt.
KANAYA: Oh, Hello Derpy
KANAYA: I See You’re Becoming Acclimated Well
DERPY: yeah!
DERPY: it’s nice having a professional cook now, too. i missed having muffins this good.
KANAYA: I Agree. Our Previous Journey Did Not Offer Much In The Way Of Dining
KANAYA: Pre-packaged Things And What We Could Alchemize, Mostly
KANAYA: Rose And I Did Our Best, But Neither Of Us Had Much Experience
DERPY: heh, yeah. i’ve had to try and do some cooking myself.
DERPY: fancy pants only ever used a microwave for his food.
DERPY: and doc tries, he really does. but i’m just better at that kinda stuff than he is.
KANAYA: Hmhm~ Well, Everyone Has Their Talents
KANAYA: And Speaking Of Food, I Was Just On My Way To Bring These To Rose And Terezi
KANAYA: I Find That In Plotting Our Course, They Often Forget To Listen To Their Own Stomachs
DERPY: man, you’re telling me.
DERPY: i’ve had to remind doc to eat more than a few times.
The two enter into one of the control rooms near the center of the ship. At the table in the center of the room sit two more girls, the Seers of Light and Mind. Rose, dressed in the orange garb of a hero of Light, sister to Dave, is deep in thought and doesn’t notice the two’s approach at first. Terezi on the other hand- simply dressed troll with black shirt and pants, shoulder length hair and short, conical horns- notices them immediately. Normally she wears a pair of slanted red shades, but they are currently on the table.
“Hey gals.” Terezi greeted. “What’s up?”
“We thought you two could use something to eat.” Kanaya answers. “It must be tiring work plotting this course. We were never meant to go back to the Green Sun from our new world, and it’s far from a straight shot like last time.”
Terezi sighs. “It’s more or less a straight shot now. It was busy work for the first leg of the journey, adjusting our course for the shifting space out in the furthest ring. But we’ve pretty much figured out our plot, and carrying on in this direction should see us most of the way there. Still… Gotta be aware of complications.”
“Have you had many complications so far?” Derpy asks.
Terezi shakes her head. “Nah. A few false alarms, one or two slight adjustments, nothing too terribly difficult to fix.” She reaches into the bag Kanaya and Derpy had brought and retrieves a piece of fruit Derpy doesn’t recognize.
Kanaya turns to Rose happily. “How are you holding up, Rose?”
She doesn’t answer at first, but seems to be focusing on something intently, eyes shut. Kanaya waits a few seconds, then attempts to get her attention again. Rose holds up a finger, clearly trying to work out something important.
Finally, she releases a nervous breath. “Alright, it is in the Alpha timeline.” she states. “Something’s coming. I had to be sure it wasn’t an offshoot I was sensing.”
“What is it?” Kanaya asks. By the tone in her voice, Derpy gets the feeling that she already knows, and Derpy has a sudden jolt of worry that she knows as well.
The look Rose gives the three confirms it all. All four in the room know what’s coming. “I’ll get on the intercom and sound the alarm.” Terezi says. “You guys get to the decks, but stay safe.”
The three swiftly make their way through the halls to the outer deck. Over the intercom, Terezi announces the approaching danger, and as Derpy, Kanaya and Rose move through the ship, they are soon joined by others, first by the Striders, fresh from a sparring session, then by John and Roxy. All weapons are at the ready.
When they reach the upper decks, Jade and Karkat are already standing at the starboard balcony. Jade stands slightly taller than Karkat, with long black hair flowing alongside her black Witch of Space ensemble. There is a fluffy white tail at her back and pair of ears on her head, and while the story of how those came to be was explained to Derpy, she had a hard time wrapping her head around it. Something about their world’s First Guardian, Jade’s deceased dream self, and obtaining God Tier.
“He’s definitely coming.” Jade says. “I estimate we have thirty seconds before arrival. Karkat, I know what your answer is going to be anyway, but will you please try and stick to the rear lines? If he gets you, you’re not coming back.”
“And if he gets to you, it’ll be a pretty damn heroic death, won’t it? You won’t come back either. I’m not leaving you without your wingman.”
Jade nods, both in somber understanding and affection. She leans over and gives him a quick kiss, before the two ready themselves at the balcony again. The scope of Jade’s rifle glistens slightly in the golden light of the ship, and the scattered light of distant worlds.
A familiar flash of green and yellow light fills the space before the ship. It fades just as quickly, leaving the shape of Discord in its wake.
“Ah, glad I caught you all before you got too close to that accursed ball of fire.” Discord taunts. “You wouldn’t want to leave me out in the cold without saying goodbye first, would you?”
“Were we only so lucky.” Kanaya retorts. “Between the good Doctor Scratch, the renegade Jack Noir and the God Cat, I find myself quite wary of your kind.”
“You wound me.” Discord says in mock hurt. “We spend our whole existences watching over our worlds, making sure things are safe and going the way they should, and that’s the attitude we get. Happens time and again.”
“I know what it’s like to want to protect something.” Kanaya says. “But sometimes, your influence is unwanted. Sometimes, you just can’t do anything to help. And there comes a time for you to let go. Your time to let go has come. The children of the world you served have created their new world, and need to spread their wings. And you’ve not only tried to keep them in a stranglehold, but have harmed countless other worlds in the process. Your time has come to leave this existence.”
“Not COUNTLESS worlds.” Discord says. “You can count them. Sixteen worlds that I had a little fun with before finding the one I wanted. Pretty small in the grand scheme of things. But while wandering, while doing a bit of damage here and there, I’ve found things. Secrets. Things no one should ever have seen. Even a First Guardian wasn’t supposed to know this stuff, but I’ve learned some VERY interesting facts about our existence.”
“Like what…?” John asks warily.
Discord laughs. “Suffice to say, there is a reason First Guardians are prohibited from approaching the Green Sun. There is an untold amount of damage we could wreak otherwise. We could break the game, so to speak.”
“Is that what you want?” Rose demands. “To throw existence into disarray?”
Discord chuckles happily. “Disarray, disorder… Chaos. Yes, that is what I want. I want to shake paradox space to its core, remind it who’s really in charge here. Us. ME. And I will rule over the broken worlds, foster a new reality.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Dirk states. “Twice in our session, people wanted that outcome for themselves. They’re both dead now.”
“I’m willing to bet that they didn’t have the kind of power at their disposal that I do.” Discord taunts.
“Perhaps not, but Lord English did.” Rose adds. “Even more so than you have, and he has been dealt with as well.”
“I’m not familiar with this ‘English’ person.” Discord admitted. “Doesn’t sound too bright though. Probably left his one weakness lying all over the place. I’m much smarter than that.”
Rose looks down slightly, confirming what he is saying. However, something sounds off in Derpy’s mind. Does Discord have a weakness that he is protecting? She doesn’t know what it is, but Discord may have just let slip that there is a way to kill him.
“Enough of this.” Dirk says. “You’re not coming with us to the Green Sun. We’re nearing it now, and you won’t be able to follow.”
“Exactly! I thought I’d give you a farewell present before you go, and meet you again when you leave. Don’t want you getting too full before supper.” With that, Discord readies his weapon.
Dirk is faster, almost too fast to follow with a naked eye, and his sword collides with Discords’ and instant later. Discord is thrown off at first, not expecting such a swift attack, but the grin grows back on his face a moment later. He welcomes the challenge. He swings his blade horizontally, throwing Dirk back for just a moment, before the boy charges again. Derpy can scarcely follow the action, as both are moving incredibly fast, the area soon filled with the sound of clashing metal.
Roxy and Jade ready their rifles, fingers on triggers, waiting for a clear shot. Rose’s wands glow with energy, but due to the intense blast they bring, she needs to wait until Dirk has stepped back to attack Discord.
John and Dave both leap into the air, sword and hammer at the ready. Derpy hesitates for only a split second before equipping her boomerang and flying after them. Dave waits until just after one of Dirk’s attacks, then dives in, his sword striking home at Discord’s shoulder. The demon flinches slightly and swats him aside, but this leaves Dirk an opening for several more swift attacks, which he takes without hesitation. Discord is quickly becoming enraged, knowing that no matter whom he decides to defend against or attack, someone else will have an opening to attack him.
He dashes forward, centering himself over the Prospitan ship and buying himself a minute to breathe, or so his thought process went. As soon as he was clear of the other fighters, however, those standing on deck opened fire. Jade, Roxy, Rose and- from the doorway to the lower decks- Jake and his dual pistols. Jake has achieved God Tier as well, but he has elected not to wear his outfit, instead opting for a simple shirt, pair of shorts and sturdy green jacket.
Discord growls in frustration, preparing to charge at the fighters below, but John’s hammer smashes into his head, effectively drawing his attention again. He grits his teeth, containing his anger, and unleashes a flurry of strikes, dealing damage to most of the fighters in the area. Derpy takes a hit, but is not seriously wounded, and drifts backwards to regain her balance.
Her communicator clicks on, and she quickly views the message from Terezi.
gallowsCalibrator entered the chat
GC: 3T4 4T GR33N SUN 1N S3V3NT33N M1NUT3S.
GC: K33P H1M BUSY UNT1L TH3N, 4ND W3 C4N JUST SH4K3 H1M.
Derpy frowns, the text quite difficult to read. Apparently it is common practice among trolls to personalize their typing styles with ‘quirks’ such as these, but Derpy can’t help but find it annoying and distracting. Still, she gets what Terezi wants to tell her: keep Discord busy for a bit longer, and he soon won’t be able to follow them any further.
She dashes forward, striking Discord at his exposed back, then dodges out of the way as he swings to retaliate. There are simply too many fighters attacking him at once, and he can’t seem to catch any of them. At last, he roars in anger and releases a burst of energy that sends everyone reeling back, stunned for a few precious seconds. He hefts his sword and slices across, wounding John and Dirk and spilling blood across the space.
Derpy struggles to her senses and takes a moment to observe the battlefield. The two hit by Discord are injured, but the energies of God Tier are already working at their bodies, healing them. Another reason the others would need to buy more time.
Discord readies his sword again, but hesitated. Derpy sees a small blue light on its surface, pulsing slightly. Discord observes it, confused as anyone. After a moment, it suddenly grows in size, encompassing the width of the blade, now larger around than a person or pony. The blue light stays at the edges of the circle, but disappear in the center, leaving a field of stars. It almost looks like a hole in the sword, but the stars framed by blue do not match the stars zipping by behind Discord; they are static.
Something flies through the hole, wings flaring. A portal gun is stored, and a rifle aims right at Discord’s head and fires a blob of plasma, against which he cannot defend. Discord flinches immediately, the plasma searing at his face, while the shape finishes its trip and lands standing on its back legs on the deck of the ship.
“Thought you could lose me, did you?” Fancy Pants taunts. “I’ve fought mid-bosses that were better at shaking me than you are!”
“Fancy Pants!” Derpy yells in relief. He’s alive after all. Maybe he even knows where Doc is.
“Hey there Derpy! I see you’re still standing. We’ll catch up after we deal with this guy again!”
Derpy nods in determination, and the two ponies charge at Discord. He has nearly recovered from his plasma burns, and swings his sword blindly, missing both. Derpy delivers two slices to his arm, while Fancy Pants zips around to his back, firing a point-blank burst of bullets from an assault rifle. He twists around to swat at Fancy Pants again, but Dave is ready, and swords collide again. Jake is in the air and gets close enough to deliver a series of point-blank shots from his pistols before needing to dodge.
This game of cat-and-mouse continues for several more minutes, Discord growing more and more infuriated, but even his shockwave attack unable to hit the fighters now. Fancy Pants prepares to open fire again, but all of a sudden, Discord stops moving, while the ship continues. He merely watches in fury as they leave him behind.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, humans, trolls and ponies, we’ve hit Green Sun space.” Terezi announces jovially over the intercom. “You’ll be able to see our destination ahead shortly.”
Derpy sighs in relief and drifts back to the deck of the ship. At last, they’ve found a moment of true safety.