//------------------------------// // 25. The Crystal Empire // Story: Metroid Equis // by Flammenwerfer //------------------------------// Metroid Equis Chapter 25 The Crystal Empire [Ponyville] The new day in southern Equestria brought with it torrential rainfall. Thick, white clouds obscured any form of Celestia's sun in any direction, the relentless precipitation restricting potential vision to no more than about twenty feet in front. The constant pattering of water on the treehouse and in particular, on the window leading into Samus's room was more than enough encouragement to keep laying in bed and resting... exactly what the blonde-haired girl had planned on doing in the first place. Hey, orders were orders, after all. As much as her body begged to be lethargic, Samus's mind continued to force her eyes open. With a final, irritated sigh, she opened her eyes fully and stretched her arms out over her head. However, being able to do that comfortably, she realized something was amiss once more. Finally deciding to sit up and slouch somewhat, she confirmed that her bed was empty... devoid of the ponies that once occupied respective positions around her. They had probably gone off to do their normal stuff... or whatever constituted to "normal stuff" in trying times such as these. The most subtle pangs of disappointment at said revelation left as quickly as they came. Samus really had no idea why that was. Nevertheless, it was time to get up. There was plenty of work to be done today, after all. Remembering that she was already clad in her Zero Suit, Samus opted to stand up off the side of the bed and stretch herself out from the lingering sleepiness. As she rid herself of the residual tension in her aching muscles, she heard chatter coming from outside her door and in the common room. Only then did she open the door and emerge from her hibernation. "Hey, sleepin' beauty is finally awake!" a familiar farmer-pony's drawl sounded out. Samus's attention finally turned to the Elements plus Spike (now known to Samus on paper as "Harmony+1") who were eating lunch in the middle of the common room. "Hi everypony." "You know, you've taken to Equestrian language quirks quite well," Twilight pointed out. Samus decided to join them, so Fluttershy and Rarity made room and she took the invitation, sitting between them in a lotus position. "We speak essentially the same language. It really isn't that hard... a bit weird but not difficult." "Still..." Twilight said, motioning her head in a way that said 'oh well.' "What did I miss?" Samus asked, grabbing some fruit that was in a large bowl in the middle of them all. "And where's Luna and or Celestia?" "The Princesses returned to Canterlot soon after you went to bed," Fluttershy softly spoke. "And other than the Federation increasing their foothold, not much. The Space Battle above is still somewhat stagnant," Twilight answered Samus's first question. The Hunter was a tad surprised that nothing of enormous interest happened... though she quickly reasoned if that was the case, then she would have been promptly awoken to help deal with whatever chose to go down at that particular time. At that moment she decided to space out, if only for a moment too long. "Samus you do look as if you've seen better days. Would you like to rest some more?" Rarity asked concernedly. "The previous day is always better than the present day for me. And believe me, I've tried. My body refuses to let me sleep anymore." "Don't say that, Samus! Your day is only as good as you make it!" Pinkie jumped in with her over-excitable personality. Samus let out the subtlest huffs of amusement. "I suppose you're right, Pinkie." The Hunter took a few more bites of her apple before speaking again, deciding (for reasons that even eluded her) to humor the pink mare: "And just how would you suggest I go about that?" she asked with a slightly exaggerated inflection of curiosity. Pinkie Pie jumped at the opportunity. "Simple! It all starts with a genuine smile." "Oh really?" "Yeah really!" Pinkie nodded with a smile that expanded past the width of her face. Samus found her antics, as always, quirky yet amusing. She couldn't help but raise the right corner of her mouth in a coy half-grin while looking down at her food. "See?! Just like that!" "Come on, Samus... now ya gotta go all the way or she'll never leave ya alone!" Applejack joked. Samus rolled her eyes and, feeling that there was nothing better to do at the moment, decided to humor her company. She raised her head and put on a full grin... not a smile but a genuine grin. It was a start, right? However, the ponies' reactions were quite the opposite of what Samus expected. In front of her were Pinkie, Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Their smiles and grins of humor all suddenly dropped to one of seriousness and inquiry... as for Twilight, her expression regressed into fear. "Okay I know my smile isn't that bad..." Samus thought out loud. "Samus... your eyes..." Rainbow pointed out with her hoof. Rarity and Fluttershy fancied a look and immediately recoiled in shock. "Woah..." Spike's eyes widened. "What are you guys... give me a mirror!" the Hunter grew more irritated by the minute and she had to find out what was wrong. Twilight raced to her room and had a small mirror in tow with her magic. Samus took it out of her grasp and set it in front of her face. Other than her quite unkempt hair, Samus's attention was instantly drawn to both of her eyes: Her natural blues were more brilliant and were... unmistakably cat-like. She blinked a couple of times and rubbed her eyes but alas, her vision remained perfect and nothing changed. "...well then. That can't be good..." Samus remarked, recalling the telltale signs of the Nightmare. "Twilight we should contact the Princesses..." Spike pointed out, a piece of darker (urgent status) paper in his hand as well as a quill. "Good idea! Send to both of them the discovery and that we need them here ASAP." Spike nodded as he scribbled before sending the message away in his green flame. Samus, however, was preoccupied with gazing at herself in the mirror and figuring out how this came about. "This is unbelievable..." Luna spoke softly with great surprise as she manipulated Samus's head with her hoof under the former's chin. Samus was keen on letting her do what she wanted if it meant getting to the bottom of this, so she sat still and let the Night Princess examine her. Celestia was off to the side observing, as were the Elements plus Spike. "And you're certain you've been feeling none of the symptoms I spoke with you about...?" Luna asked once more. Samus nodded her head. "Positive. I woke up beautifully rested, no headache, no cold sweats, no pain aside from my omnipresent muscle soreness, no odd bouts of emotions or violent mood swings... nothing. Although I'll say... I think my vision has improved a tad." "Most interesting... I have never in my life seen such a thing." Luna then addressed Celestia: "I did not acquire eyes like these until I turned... yes?" "I don't recall seeing anything weird about you apart form your overall demeanor," the Sun Princess answered. "Hmmm... perhaps the induction of another element..." Luna pondered, looking off to the side with a thoughtful gaze. "Am I able to take on another so soon?" Samus asked, slightly uncertain. "You're taking to magic abnormally well... possibly from your inherent upbringing from the Chozo. You should be able to absorb another," Celestia inferred. The Mane Six plus Spike had kept their distance while the Princesses went about their business but only then did Twilight pipe up: "If the Nightmare has found a way to circumvent the Elemental barriers, albeit slowly, the induction of another should slow it down if not place it in a dormant state, at least temporarily." "While the elements are not all present, I do not believe the Nightmare has been able to counteract their pacifying nature... but the lack of any other symptoms associated with the corruption is what has me perturbed." Luna then gave an indifferent sigh, not sure where to go from there. "Very well... do we have an element available?" Celestia produced a familiar enchanted box. "I brought one, expecting the worst," she stated before opening the box and letting the magic within filter out. Said anomaly coalesced into a sky-blue entity, which when, upon 'purifying' itself, took on the form of a single blue balloon... gently oscillating and subtly bouncing in the air. "So that's what they look like in their magical forms..." Twilight spoke out loud. The rest of the mares were entranced by the display's beauty. The way the excess magic sparkled and in some sense 'orbited' around the representation of Pinkie's cutie mark was hypnotizing. Samus wasted no time in 'grasping' the magic and letting it travel up her arm, all over her body, and then finally, like always, combining somewhere in her chest before it was completely absorbed by her form; only difference this time is she was still sitting down during the process. The others watched the process closely and, as was expected by Samus and the princesses, the former's eyes pulsed sky-blue for several seconds... and the moment of truth came. "Well...?" Samus asked everyone, not really wanting to pick up the mirror and see for herself. Luna and Celestia had a look of disbelief. "The elemental induction removed the extra brilliance from your eyes... so they appear to be normal color. Nevertheless, your pupils are still elongated," Luna commented. Samus then picked up the mirror and saw for herself. Natural color is back... it's something. "Well, until someone finds out what's causing this, I guess I'll be getting used to it," Samus conceded, more indifferent on the matter than she'd expect herself to be. "Not gonna lie... it's kinda creepy to look you in the eyes now..." Rainbow Dash commented bluntly. In response to her comment, Samus moved some of her hair out of her face and threw an exaggerated glare at Rainbow Dash, eyes wide and everything. The moment the prismatic-maned pony locked eyes with the Hunter, she recoiled with a shiver up her spine. "Eeechh!!" Applejack and Pinkie, as well as Samus, could not help but giggle. Hard. It was only then that Samus fully processed her own actions. Where did that come from?? "It appears this particular Element already had some effect on you..." Celestia commented with a small inflection of humor in her voice. Samus then decided to check her wrist-console. [Element of Harmony Acquired!] [This is the Element of Laughter, the fourth of six. Acquisition of all six will unlock presently unknown abilities. Pursuit of remaining elements highly recommended.] "Well, that's four down, two more to-" "Data Received." "Eh?" Samus looked down to her console. The others looked on curiously. [Equip Suit and bring up Suit Diagnostic view for more information.] Samus stood up and in a bright flash of light, her (again, damaged) Astral Suit was equipped. Pressing a specific button near her visor, her vision was assaulted with a silhouette display of her Suit, with several pointers jutting out from specific modules of her armor which highlighted abilities contained within a particular module's purview. For example, her Arm Cannon contained the abilities (with descriptions) of the Power Beam, Night Beam, and missile variations. The entire list was populated but a new ability was added under Arm Cannon, Visors, Magic, and Miscellaneous. Like her time on Zebes, each was in a garbled, gibberish language and was unable to be deciphered for more information, as they were not compatible with her current suit. She unequipped her armor and stretched once more. "What happened?" Luna questioned. "It appears more is happening when I obtain an element than merely just holding on to it..." "Like what?" Celestia asked, cocking her head. "My suit is telling me that these elements have provided me with hidden abilities... but they're not compatible with my current suit and as such, I have no idea what they are," Samus explained. "So you mean the elements are acting almost as... weapons?" Rarity spoke up. "So it seems, but I won't truly know until I get these unlocked... if I get them unlocked." "Most interesting... we'll have to see what these developments yield. If it wouldn't kill you instantly, I'd give you the last two Elements immediately!" Luna perked up. "So you'd sacrifice my life for scientific research?" Samus responded, jesting easily heard through her stoic and level voice. "Repeatedly!" the Lunar Princess replied a bit too eagerly. Snickering erupted from the Spike and Pinkie. "That's comforting to know, Luna. You'll always be in my heart." Samus ran both of her hands through her hair, removing her hair-band and re-tying it on. Before more conversation could continue, the door to the Library opened, a Magickakorps soldier standing in its place. "Your Highnesses... they're moving," the faceless pony spoke in a husky voice. "Then let us observe," Luna replied and moved to exit, along with Celestia. "Wait... what did I miss?" Samus asked, still unsure of what was going on. "Your Army is ready to march northward." "Stay here for now," Celestia softly ordered the Elements, who nodded with gentle smiles. This was an interesting development... considering Federation High Command had told her that there were only a few thousand troops on standby... a far cry from an 'army.' So, naturally the best way to satiate her curiosity was to follow the crowd outside. All in all, Samus really was not prepared for what she saw... and somehow the torrential rain, though restricting her vision, added some majesty to the sights: The Federation foothold was not just restricted to Ponyville, which by this point had become a de facto military installation... rather, the Federation had effectively occupied several square miles of Ponyville Fields. Samus trusted the Princesses to lead the way, so she blindly followed as she gazed around. There were thousands beyond thousands of troops in the area... probably upwards of seven thousand if she had to make an educated assessment. It would make sense, considering the large warship that was currently sitting peacefully in the distance on the fields, still continuing to disembark the last of the soldiers and supplies. Turning towards Luna and Celestia, the two had very different expressions on their faces. The latter had a look of intimidation... one which spoke of not having seen such an enormous concentration of combat-ready forces well above her technological expertise. Luna, on the other hand, was eating it all up. She had almost a giddy expression being surrounded by unknown technology and all things military. After wading through the endless columns of Marines, it appeared the trio had arrived at their destination at the outskirts of Ponyville. "Colonel Borsig..." Luna spoke up, finding exactly who she was looking for. The middle-aged Federation officer perked up and turned around, a pleasantly surprised smile adorning his features and not seeming to care about the rain in the slightest since he was dressed in a rain coat. "Princesses Celestia and Luna, a pleasure to see you both again." He then found the Hunter in tow. "And to you, Samus... welcome back to the land of the living! Hope we didn't make too much noise out here." "No... actually you guys did well. Damn! You all were efficient. Gotta say, this definitely looks like more than the original few thousand troops maximum I was promised," she articulated her observations. "When you first contacted us quite early through your arrival, we did not expect an invasion-capable fleet from the Space Pirates. We had to adapt accordingly." He then recoiled lightly while looking at Samus, blinked a few times, and leaned in more. "Samus... is there something wrong with your eyes?" Aaaand so it begins... "No... well technically yes. It's a long story and one I don't want to speak of at the moment," she replied stoically. "As you wish. Either way, you're looking very well rested, which is good since we'll need you in top shape for the operations in the north." With that, he removed a holo-projector from his coat pocket and activated it. Upon activation, the blue-hued hologram displayed a 3D map of Equestria. "Incredible..." Luna spoke out at the perfect cartographical representation of her nation. Even Celestia, while less inclined technologically, had to give credit where credit was due. "You haven't seen anything yet, Your Highness..." Borsig alluded with suspense as to what was to come in the near future. "Anyway, here's what's going on." Several markers lit up on the 3D map. "The Light Blue Federation Insignia indicates our positions... the larger they are, the more concentrated and numerous. So, here we are in Ponyville. Since the Space Pirates have operational control over central and part of northern Equestria, this is where we're concentrated. Our forces are going to move northward along this main 'highway.' On the way, we're going to assist in retaking the city of Trottingham, as per Celestia's request." "As per both of our requests, actually. My troops will approach from the opposite direction and we shall squeeze the invaders between our two battle groups, meeting up in the city center," Luna added in. "Quite so," Borsig continued, adding the Magickakorps symbols to the map to signify Equine elite-troop positions. "Trottingham is the largest and most important obstacle in our path. Once taken, we can ensure any civilians still within the city are tended to. As well, the area shall serve as a forward supply center." "My troops will take care in liberating the rest of the minor cities and towns," Luna was sure to add. "I'll ensure the regular army and Guards Force are mobilized and combat-ready to take up defensive positions in recaptured areas," Celestia contributed. Samus continued to watch the interactive hologram as she listened intently, observing the arrows of various colors moving to tentative positions regarding future movements. "The heaviest fight will be once we reach the western part of the 'Frozen North.' We'll deal with the Pirate's main forces there," Borsig pointed out. "And Samus, you'll assist the Crystal Empire directly," Luna cut in. "Sounds like a plan to me." "We can adapt if at all necessary, but for now, that's what we'll go by." Borsig deactivated the holo-projector and placed it back in his coat pocket. "Now, were you here to observe the movement north?" "Indeed we are," Luna affirmed, taking her place next to Celestia. Samus stood next to Luna and decided to equip her suit, as she was getting a bit cold from the rainfall. "I'm also curious about all of this equipment and technology you are in possession of. Would you care to elaborate more if I have questions?" "Sure thing! Our army should be good to go any-" Several squadrons of Stiletto fighters screamed overhead (though were unseen by the cloud and rain coverage), followed by simultaneous commands through dozens of bullhorns. Soldiers lined up in perfect columns and turned on their feet in perfect synchronization. "Speak of the devil..." The four lined up on the outskirts, having a perfect view of the Federation's forces departing immediately. Luna's first question was about the trooper's armor, as she wanted to draw comparisons between her own soldiers' equipment. Borsig answered what he could and Luna, as stated before, was just eating it all up. Samus was just diligently and silently observing, while Celestia on the other hand, had different thoughts running through her head. "FORWARD... MARCH!" And just like that, a tidal wave of pure force was launched northward. Celestia observed Federation Marines in perfect columns, rifles slung on their sides, marching forward wordlessly. They all looked the same to her through their armor, and said armor of hundreds combined in the first wave generated a rhythmic sound of metal and boots hitting the ground. Row after row passed her and she could only wonder how young these humans were, marching off to war and fighting for complete strangers. The rows thinned out a bit and what marched in front of her, she could only guess were more specialized units. These soldiers carried larger weapons, many taking the form of the rifles she saw but much longer. Others were these enormous tube-like 'things' that had to be shoulder mounted. The Sun Princess wondered how these troops could carry all this weight, in addition to what they were carrying. All she knew was that they could probably cause more damage than the common soldier. The specialized units were soon mixed with what looked like (to her) extremely fast carriages with weapons mounted on them. She did not grasp the idea of a fast-attack vehicle, so Celestia could only guess that they were supposed to be armored, yet mobile units. Peering over to her sister, Borsig was incessantly explaining everything that came into view, and all Celestia was able to pick up was 'Light Recon-Assault Vehicle'... whatever that meant. Several minutes of soldiers and vehicles (and soldiers on vehicles) passed by her, but she was not prepared for what was next. Her eyes widened as she gazed upon the rows of what looked like, to her, beasts composed of metal and machine, which possessed what looked like rotating cannons. Soldiers marched alongside these weapons of war like nothing, but to her, these armored beasts filled her with a sense of dread, as she was certain they could carry out destruction on an unprecedented scale. Again, all she was able to pick out of the conversation between Luna and Borsig was 'Jackknife Main Battle-Tank.' Celestia was not sure how much time passed after that, but soon enough, a loud roaring was heard from the mighty engines of the Federation warship that had touched down. Having finished its duty of dropping troops and supplies, it was needed to assist in the battle above. The earth shook as it lifted slowly off the ground, any ponies in the vicinity staring with unadulterated awe as it quickly climbed through the cloud layer and headed back to space, the sound of its engines slowly being eclipsed by that of the rain. "Well, that was most interesting!" Luna commented, having learned a great deal. She was eager to see what she could apply to her own troops, and hopefully develop new equipment to expand her military's capabilities. "Glad you thought so." "Samus," Celestia addressed the Hunter. "We're going to need to depart for Crystal Empire as soon as possible. How soon are you prepared to leave?" "Once I can get back to my ship, repair my suit, and recharge my ammunition, I'll be ready to leave immediately." "That reminds me," Luna cut in. "While you were out on the downed enemy warship, my soldiers as well as the Federation went to recover your ship. Unfortunately it's completely totaled." Samus pursed her lips behind her helmet, looking quite irritated. "Anything else?" "Not all was lost though. We were able to salvage important parts of your ship which were not heavily damaged or destroyed, and we brought them to you, installing them as you slept," Borsig explained. "Ummm, what?" Samus asked, completely confused as to what they meant. Installed? Installed where? "Take her back to the Library. I must remain here and oversee logistics and deployment before I move out as well. I'll see you around," Borsig said his goodbyes for now and went off about his business. "Let's go back and we'll show you," Celestia added with a gentle smirk of anticipation. Samus complied wordlessly, now eager to see what they meant. Upon arriving and greeting the Elements on their return, Luna gestured with a hoof to the basement. "Go on... I'm hoping you enjoy what you find," Luna said softly. Samus gazed back at her but wordlessly turned and walked towards the basement entrance. The door hadn't been repaired yet so it was a gaping doorway leading to a flight of stairs downward. Gently traversing down with a metallic clink in each of the Hunter's steps, a light slowly filtered into her vision. When she reached the floor proper and laid eyes upon the devices, she was a bit surprised to say the least. Her suit confirmed everything immediately: [Save Station Detected] Lo and behold, the repair bay that was in her ship now stood fully functional and ready to use. Was she happy? Yeah, she was definitely in higher spirits now that she could get her suit back to full integrity. Still, she looked back up to the two alicorns looking down on her from the doorway. "Just a little way in the sense of... 'thank you, for everything,'" Luna affirmed with a grateful grin. Celestia sported a similar look of admiration. Samus did not respond. Being completely honest with herself, she did not really know how to respond. So, her words would come later. Now was the time to repair her Astral Suit. So, like many times in the past, she stepped into the chamber and let the machine do its work, and it worked as flawlessly as it did within the confines of her ship. When the process was completed, the arms canopy of the station shot beams of bright-blue light over Samus's entire armored form, effectively replenishing her energy tanks and sterilizing her suit. She then stepped out of the well. "Such an intricate process... it was almost hypnotizing to watch," Celestia commented. "I guess the ammunition factories of my ship were beyond salvage?" Samus asked, still in desperate need of missile ammunition. "Unfortunately so. Borsig had reported that they had been severely damaged. You were lucky that they were not ruptured during the crash," Luna conceded. "Well, shit..." "However... that is where the quirks of magic come into play," Celestia spoke with a sense of smugness as she descended the stairs, meeting Samus's gaze nearly eye to eye. "If you trust me enough, present your cannon and allow me," she gave the Hunter a choice. Samus cocked her head about fifteen degrees. "I let Luna alter my cannon and suit makeup... I think things should be fine. Knock yourself out," Samus said with little inflection in her usual voice, holding her cannon out passively. Celestia smiled at the Hunter but wasted no time, as she quickly lowered her head and inserted her horn into the barrel of Samus's arm cannon. The Solar Alicorn promptly charged her horn and let her magic filter out within the barrel. At first, Samus noticed nothing different, but that changed within a few seconds as she noticed her missile-reserve meter instantaneously hit one-hundred percent. At that point, Celestia's magic ceased and she removed her horn from the barrel. [Missile Ammunition fully replenished.] That was just like a recharge station. "Thanks, Princess." "Don't thank me yet, Samus. I gave you a little... something extra," Celestia added, gesturing for her to check. [Scanning...] . . . [Anti-Magic Missiles Acquired!] [Your standard concussion-missiles have been altered through magical manipulation to carry Anti-Magic warheads. The concussive blasts of your missiles will now be charged with anti-magic, extremely effective against magical shields and unicorns in particular. Enchanted metals and crystals may now also be destroyed with ease.] IIIIIIInteresting... "I'm sure that'll come in handy. Thanks again." "My pleasure! Now, are you ready to leave?" Celestia asked Samus, her gaze hardening into one of seriousness and business. Samus, in return, did the same under her visor. "Let's go." [Trottingham] Federation fighters were already engaged with the Space Pirate airforce by the time the main army arrived at Trottingham. The city was surprisingly still intact from the outside, considering it was nigh laid to waste from street to street. About a dozen Recon Units and APCs had sped ahead of the main force and quickly took positions amongst the lush, green hills surrounding the Equestrian city. Their job was to take the first few city streets and blocks to secure a foothold for the army to grasp onto. The lead vehicle held the mission commander, who quickly opened radio comms: "Alright, welcome to Trottingham, ladies and gents. Princess Luna's troops are ready to move in on the opposite end of the city and it's our job to get a foothold here, making it easier for the main force to flush the Pirates out. First, we take the first two blocks lining Mane Street. Then, we spread out horizontally until we reach the city limits perpendicular to where we enter. Let's do this by the books and we'll hopefully get out of this in one piece. Our new Marine-Pony joint task force is gonna take point. You know your objectives... now let's move out!" The doors to the lead APC were thrown open, and two lines filed out side by side, one of four Marines, and the other of four Magickakorps troopers. All had their rifles in their hands (or magical grasps) as they filed out of their carrier and met up in front, getting an eyeful of Trottingham on fire. There were mixed reactions amongst the newly-named Crusader-Vector Squad, or simply CV Squad. "My home..." Starry muttered softly as she took in the sights. She was not able to get word from her parents when the Pirates struck and she did not know whether or not they were safe. "And we're taking it back," Nathan spoke up, clutching his rifle a bit tighter. Starry looked up at him, armored face to armored face, and new determination ran through her veins. She was so ready for this. "Everyone's equipment good?" Constance asked once. Everyone responded with their own affirmations. "Who's got the machine gun?" Arianna took a turn to ask a question. Sydney lifted the massive Light Machine Gun, strapping her usual rifle to her back. "Right here." "Let's do this..." Windfire spoke up, ready for a fight. "Don't have all the fun," Radiance chimed in, taking her place next to her stallion brother in arms. "Then prepare for combat... let's move!!" Jacob ordered with a hand gesture forward, and with that, the eight took off jogging down the hill towards their first objective, arming their weapons while more troops backed them up. The Liberation of Trottingham had begun. [Crystal Empire] The sky was ablaze over the majestic ranges of the Crystal Empire. While the crystals themselves provided outstanding color shows with sunlight reflection, the areal battle overhead between Pirate and Federation Forces carried a different sense of intimidating beauty. Despite warnings to stay inside and safe, many of the Crystal Ponies could not turn away from the dangerous firestorm of lights presented to them. Explosions of energy charges, aircraft going up in flames, and the like were awe-inspiring even moreso due to the fact that nopony really understood what these flying beasts actually were. Although the shield erected over the Crystal City had taken a beating in recent days, pressure was taken off when Federation forces finally arrived, engaging the Space Pirate air and ground forces with their own fleets of fighters and bombers. This had been a norm for the last twelve hours, but what was different this time was the new squadron of aircraft approaching the heart of the Crystal Empire, bearing the Federation insignia. Two Federation dropships escorted by a squadron of Stiletto Fighters made itself known in the airspace. Samus, clad in her armor, sat in the left rear-most seat closest to the rear exit of the dropship, looking down at the scenery below. Next to her sat Princess Luna and a squad of Magickakorps soldiers, while Celestia rode in the second dropship. In the parallel row sat three Marines, on board for logistics purposes. The pilot of the craft called back into the carriage, addressing Luna. "We're on an approach vector to the Crystal City now. The shield's still up, Ma'am!" "As it should be. Just continue flying, Pilot, and worry not about the shields. I'll take care of that," the Lunar Alicorn responded in kind. While the pilot was hesitant to fly straight into what looked like a city-sized energy shield, she followed orders and pressed onward. As they got closer and closer, their fighter escort broke off to rejoin the battle. Luna's horn began to glow, encasing the entire craft in her teal-hued magic. The second Federation dropship experienced a similar anomaly, save the magical hue was Celestia's golden aura. True to her word, the two ships effortlessly passed through the powerful shield with nothing greater than minor turbulence. "Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Samus." The Hunter's vision craned downward once more to notice the beautiful structures and streets... the city in general was pristine and radiant... literally. The name "Crystal Empire" was now perfectly apt in Samus's mind. She had little time to dwell on her thoughts when the dropships touched down in front of the Royal Crystal Palace. "Thank you for your services, Pilot," Luna thanked the pilot, to which the latter saluted. "No problem, Ma'am. Good luck over here!" Samus wasted no time in exiting the dropship and setting foot for the first time in the Crystal City, the capital of the Empire. Her boots sounded audibly against the glass-like streets as she took in the sights around her. She did not outwardly admit it, but this would be a place she'd love to explore more. "A marvelous sight, is it not?" Celestia asked rhetorically, taking a place next to Samus. "It's nice." "Indeed. Come, it's time to meet Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. Then, we discuss what must be done over the coming days." With that, the duo joined up with Luna and her troops before proceeding straight to the entrance of the Palace, ready to formulate the defense of the Crystal Empire and the inevitable counterattack that would stem from within its borders. Edited by Random_Dragon