The little group composed of ten ponies and one bipedal orange fox walked to the front doors, which were protected by two guards. The guard on the left side of the door looked at his colleagues in front of him. The leader of the squad nodded and the guard did the same before allowing entrance by opening the door.
"Fancy place, isn't it?" said Fox to himself, slightly chuckling.
The interior of the castle was just as magnificent as the exterior. The tiles, walls and pillars were colored in white and gold. A large and red carpet was covering a large part of the ground. Two banners, one representing a crescent moon and the other the sun, were hanging from the ceiling. The architectural style of the castle corresponded to the medieval age, the vulpine was completely certain of this.
On the left side of the corridor, the vulpine could see the windows which were colored in different colors and represented a few ponies. Two of them had horns and wings and they were fighting something which looked like a mix of a few creatures. In another one, the duo was against a black colored unicorn with a red horn and smoking purple eyes. Whoever were those two ponies with horn/wings, they were indeed very important in the history of this country.
In all honesty, Fox was in awe and there wasn't a single word which could describe this place except 'beautiful' for him.
"So, you guys are like Royal Guards or something?"
"You could say that." replied one of them before receiving the glares of his co-workers.
"Mmmmmmh, I see. I suppose you don't know anything about the Lyl-"
Before the pilot could finish his sentence, he was cut off by the same one who talked to him just after he landed.
"All your questions will be answered by her Majesty. So, I suggest you to stop talking and continue to walk. Am I clear?"
Fox rolled his eyes and decided to stay silent; the white stallion took this as a 'yes'. Despite the fact those ponies were a little snappy, he admired them for their professionalism. For now, they didn't treat him as if he was something dangerous, even if his arrival was completely sudden and unexpected.
On Corneria, appearing in the sky like this could be considered as a threat and the pilot who did it could end dead or seriously injured without any warning from the local forces. So far, these guards were well organized.
The orange fox also looked at the right side of the hallway and saw a few doors and corridors, leading to some unknown parts of the castle. He also saw a few candlesticks on his path, clearly for the purpose of illuminating the corridors at night.
Whoever imagined the design of this building was made for this job. Finally, the group stopped in front of two golden doors with markings of the sun and the moon on it. Fox couldn't help but whistle at their height.
"Wow, not bad. I bet they're made of iron or platinum."
The leader of the ten guards ignored him and pressed his hoof against the massive door before opened it, revealing a grand throne room on the other side. More stain glass windows adorned the walls, and the threading in the carpet was composed of what Fox could have only guessed was pure silk. At the far end of the room, he could see one seated figure and deduced it was their ruler.
"Well, it's time to meet the big chief."
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The famous ace pilot and leader of Star Falco, Falco Lombardi, was walking in the corridors of the HQ of the Cornerian Defense Forces, in direction of the General's office. His mind was filled with sorrow and anger. One of his best friends was dead because of Oikonny. If Fox hadn't decided to play solo, none of this would have happened.
Yet, it was the vulpine's job to kill that bastard and he perfectly knew the risks but still…for the avian, it wasn't fair to see your ex-leader and friend disappear into nothingness in front of you. The feeling of uselessness was still haunting Falco when he stopped his walk in front of a dark brown door with Peppy's name on it. How would the old hare react to the death of his former apprentice? Knowing the old-timer, he would be devastated, at least. And Slippy? God, he didn't want to know the toad's reaction when he'll learn the bad news. The frog and the fox were friends since their childhood.
He knocked three times.
"Come in!" replied a voice.
Opening the door, Falco saw the old-timer sitting on his leather seat, looking at some paperwork. He raised his head to look at the newcomer and smiled. His office was wide enough to fit twenty people, had a light brown carpet and grey walls/ceiling. Falco could also see Corneria City behind his friend and superior, thanks to the large window.
"Ah Falco, good to see you! How was your mission?"
"Pretty good, all the members of this terrorist cell are now in jail."
The General nodded, still smiling despite the sadness in his friend's voice. "I'm happy to hear that. What about Fox? I don't have any news from him since the briefing and when I try to contact him, he won't answer. This is rather strange because I've seen the Great Fox landing in one of the hangars."
At this moment, Falco's body was trembling in apprehension and sorrow. He could feel a knot in the pit of his stomach, preventing him from saying anything. The rate of his heart had quickened. Peppy deserved to know the truth; he was like a second father to Fox, especially after the death of James McCloud. Tears began to fall from the avian's eyes.
Seeing this, the General frowned.
"It was me who piloted the Great Fox. I'm sorry Peppy. I tried to save him but I was too late. I shouldn't have let him fight that son of a bitch alone!"
Seeing the gravity of the situation, the hare stood up from his seat and quickly walked at Falco's side. The expression on his face was one full of worry. The ace pilot always was the strongest of the four members of the team. He rarely expressed those kinds of feelings.
"Falco, what happened?!"
"What happened?" repeated the avian, lowering his head and clenching his fists in frustration. "Fox is dead, that's what happened! And all of this is my fault!"
The blue bird continued to silently cry and sob for a few seconds before talking again.
"Fox was fighting a group of Battleships and Carriers who were standing between him and Oikonny's flagship when the three of us arrived. We distracted the ships from Fox to us and he was able to directly confront Oikonny. Said bastard who deployed a black hole generator and… I'm sorry Peppy, I'm so sorry."
Peppy didn't need to hear anymore to know what Andrew did. A few tears appeared in the corner of his eyes and fell down his face. Just like Falco, he felt guilty for Fox's death. Maybe even more than his bird friend because without James' presence, it was his duty to take care of the orange vulpine. He shouldn't have sent him on this mission, even if he was the only one available at this moment. He felt like he had failed his promise to James to protect the young McCloud. He had made this promise just before the fox with sunglasses was killed and tried to keep it, even if it nearly cost him his life more than he could count.
The two of them stayed in the middle of the room, in a hug and trying to comfort each other. Finally, after a few minutes, they broke the hug. Peppy's expression darkened.
"Falco, could you contact Slippy to tell him about it? I need to be alone."
"No problem." replied Falco in a sad tone, walking towards the door and opening it. "See you later, old-timer."
When he closed the door, the blue bird released a breath he didn't know he was holding. His eyes were slightly red and his throat was dry. He raised his left arm to the level of his chest and composed a few numbers on the communication device strapped to his wrist. After a few seconds, the hologram of a light green toad with blue eyes and a red/white cap on his head appeared.
"Hey, Falco! What's up?"
The avian sniffled before answering.
"Yo, Slip'. I'm not disturbing you, I hope?"
"Nah, I finished feeding the childrens. Why?" replied his friend, with a small smile.
"I have some very bad news for you, pal…Fox's dead."
--------------------------------
The orange vulpine stopped a few meters away from the throne and knelt. Even if he wasn't one of her subjects, it was always wise to make a first good impression. Fox could feel the sun's warmth on the left part of his face and smiled. He always preferred the summer to the winter, even if he loved when the nights were longer during that time of the year.
"Your Highness, this creature was found in front of the strange device which flew around Canterlot and landed in the Royal Gardens. He seems to be the pilot of this 'metallic carriage'. He told us his name was Fox McCloud."
A heavy silence settled in the room before the ruler spoke.
"You can rise."
Fox did as the feminine, but commanding voice, said and his green eyes met her magenta ones. In front of him was a tall and white pony. Her mane was made of four different colors and was moving despite the fact there was no wind in the room. She had golden regalia and a picture of the sun on her flanks. She had a long horn and wings. Fox knew about mythical creatures like unicorns or pegasus but not both of them in the same creature.
"Is it true? Does this 'carriage' belong to you?"
"Yes, the Arwing is my ship. But, I forgot to introduce myself correctly: my name is Fox, Fox McCloud and I'm the leader of the StarFox Team."
"StarFox Team?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of job your team do?"
"We're mercenaries ma'am…but the good kind of mercenaries, we only work for the government."
Slowly, a smile grew on her face.
"Interesting… as you could have guessed, I'm the co-ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Sun. Everypony knows me as Princess Celestia. May I learn where are the others members of your team?"
"They don't work with me anymore. They left two years ago." said Fox, a slight tone of sadness in his voice. "But today, after two years of doing nothing, the Cornerian Army, my employer, wanted me to get rid of someone very dangerous. I did it, well… I suppose I did, but as a result, I was engulfed in vortex which leads me here."
"Can't you go back to your homeworld?"
He shook his head.
"Unfortunately, no. My Arwing is far too damaged to try the hyperspace. He can barely fly, the only hope I have is to send a distress signal and pray they receive it. And even if it's the case, I don't know how much time it will take me to go back at the hyperspace's speed."
"I see. What if I told you that we, Equestrians, need the services of somepony like you. Are you interested?"
"Maybe, everything depends on what you have to offer me."
"You stay at the Castle as our guest, the best blacksmiths, scientists and magicians will be at your service to help you to repair your ship and we'll give you money or even gems when you'll be done with the job."
Now, Fox was interested. If the gems were not fake, he could sell them at a very good price and live comfortably for a few years. And honestly, it was his only option. He wasn't as skilled as Slippy to keep the Arwing in good shape.
"It's a deal Princess. Whatever is your problem, I'm in."
"Perfect. Come with me, it'll be better to talk about it in a safer place."
The two of them left the throne room and began to walk in the corridors of the castle. They stayed silent for a few seconds before Celestia spoke first.
"Are you hungry, Mr. McCloud? I suppose you must be after what happened."
A growl coming from Fox's stomach was the answer the white alicorn received.
"To tell you the truth, yes," began Fox, chuckling. "My superior sent me in this mission before I could have breakfast."
The princess slightly giggled. "If we are lucky, my sister still should be in the dinner room. It would the perfect occasion for you to meet her and eat at the same time."
"I'd love to."
Then, they stopped in front of another golden door and the Goddess of the Sun opened it with her magic. Fox nodded in thanks and entered the room. In front of him was a long wooden table with a few chairs. And on one of those chairs was a very gorgeous creature: a tall pony with wings, a horn, dark blue coat, teal eyes and a crescent moon on the flanks. The similarity with Krystal, his old love interest, was quite disturbing for him.
"This, Fox McCloud, is my little sister: Luna. She's the Princess of the Night."
"What do you mean by 'Princess of the Night'?"
"Simple. She controls the moon."
Fox looked at Celestia, stunned.
"I beg your pardon? Did I hear right?"
"Yes, the moon is under my watch and the dreams are my domain. But....who are you?"
The vulpine with green eyes blinked a few times, walked to one of the wooden chairs and sat on it. All of this before looking at the two princesses and crossing his arms, still dumfounded by the information. Then, he put a serious look on his face.
"Okay, let's put that aside for the moment and talk business."