//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: CPS Chronicles: Nightmares and Wormholes // by Largefish8 //------------------------------// MLP Chapter 14 To an outsider, it would appear that Daria was simply staring at the full moon out her starships porthole. However, if one had a more innate tuning to magic, they would be able to tell that something was going on in the moonlight. "Master please, I served you faithfully when I had the Night Princess in our thrall...and more so when I took the Sun’s protégée into my thrall. Surely that deserves some...leniency?" her mind was saying, desperate for approval. "And yet, you've let both slip through your grasp," replied a dark voice, "Why should I expect you to perform better in the body of...an ape?" "Necessity, my lord. I have a plan in motion but I need my old body back to secure the certainty of success," replied Daria, desperately. "Even if I were so inclined, such a transformation is not made so simply," said the dark voice, "This body you now wear isn't even remotely related to a pony. The best that could be produced would be one of the three lesser races and possibly not even a full transition." "I can secure the life energy needed to secure the change, my lord. I just need help," tried Daria, only to be horrified as the reply said “No, you are a failure. I don't need a failure. I already have a plan. Goodbye." "No! You can't leave me like this! Not in this prison of flesh!" cried Daria, but the moonlight was already losing its magical vigor, returning to its simple property of mere illumination. A technician that was waiting, jumped back as Daria creamed "NOOOOO!" After a minute, the tech said weakly "Ma'am, long range scanners picked up another ping, the third in a week. This one came with a transmission you should hear." "It doesn't matter now," said Daria in a dark tone. The tech however pressed a button and a voice said "This is CBC Daedalus to CBC Icarus. Respond on this channel ASAP...I repeat, CBC Icarus, respond at once. The board is ordering your immediate return to the nearest Corporate stardock," "Leave? I cannot leave this world," said Daria. She didn't even want to think about living amongst more of those bipedal weaklings. The ones she had to command where almost too much. "Ma'am, if we don’t return, the board might tell the Daedalus to force us..." began the tech only for a blue bolt of magical energy to blow his head off. "I said we AREN’T LEAVING!" Daria roared. She incinerated the rest of him to take off a little steam, but that wasn't nearly enough. She would have had this planet under her thumb by now if hadn't been for Matt. It's almost like he's always behind her back, mocking her, tripping her up, always pushing her down. She then remembered some of the military tactics that her first host, Luna had learnt: if you are hunting an enemy, make sure he has nowhere to run to first. "Ready a team. Do we know where the mercenary’s ship is?" she said. "Er, yes, but it's considerably close to the capitol and thus would there would be a rapid response if we were to go there," said an ensign. "I only need 5 minutes," said Daria, coldly. ... After the roc incident, Matt has decided to stay at his base. Mostly, it was to improve on the security and trying to get the jump engines full working. Although, a plausible reason could also be that his hair wasn't completely dye free. Oh, it looked black, but it tended to shimmer different colors in the right light. As such he was happy to have company in the form of Fluttershy and Applejack, the latter with her saddlebags full of food. "Hi girls. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Matt asked, cheerfully, jumping down from where he was fixing a damaged hull plate. "Well, it's lunchtime and we figured you could use some extra grub," said Applejack. "Great...lets go inside." said Matt, cheerfully, activating the ramp. As they walked, or trotted up, Matt asked cheerfully "So...how's public opinion back in town? Can I actually show my face?" "Well, I think they're starting to be friendly," said Fluttershy, "I mean, you did help with the drought." "Shame they couldn't know how you dealt with them overgrown buzzards," said Applejack. "True..." thought Matt, the trio walking towards the mess hall before saying "So...how many complained?" "Well, there's still complainin', mostly from the same ponies as before," said Applejack, "I figure Blueblood's still sore about those threats you and your 'sister' gave him and he's still stirrin' the pot instead of lettin' it boil away." "Ah, let him. I fixed the energy processor yesterday. It just needs a day and I will be out his hair forever...and I'll drop the hats into a sun on the way out. We're yet to make sunblock PH 7 million," said Matt, cheerfully. "Are you sure that is the best way to keep them away?" asked Fluttershy. "Only your princess can get in a sun last I checked. That nightmare’s as flimsy as I am," said Matt cheerfully before a beeping was heard. Matt looked down at his wrist-comp before turning it off. "Just a broken beacon. All this magic shorts them out like crackers. I got suited up last night for a moth," said Matt cheerfully. "What kind of moth? If it was a luna moth, it may have been enough to set off your alarm things. They have great moon magic, at least that's what I'm told," said Fluttershy. "It was big and it did turn my head into a pumpkin for 5 minutes...you may be onto something," said Matt thoughtfully. Suddenly, a door banged open, causing the two girls to scream in fright. Their screams were soon justified when a pair of troopers walked in. "Ok, Lynch, you're coming with us," said one of them. Matt’s answer took the form of an energy burst that threw one of the troopers back out the door, the other one opening fire at Matt who dived for cover. "Girls...could you be so kind as to go to room 305? I turned it into a saferoom in case the ship needed smacktard fumigation,” he said, growling a bit as he exchanged fire. The girls quickly galloped off where Matt pointed. Oddly enough, the troopers didn't even seem to notice them leaving. The remaining trooper finally noticed as Fluttershy was leaving. "An eleme-" he began before a blast took him down. "Aria? I thought we put up sights: no salesmen, Bluebloods or EGIS morons," Matt snapped, picking up the dead trooper’s gun. "The ship's sensors are still down," said Aria, "I would have repaired them sooner, but they were slotted into a lower priority." "Bring internal back on...how many on board?" said Matt, peering round a corner and sighing with relief to see the modified security center, ‘room 305' sealing. "Least they're safe," he muttered. "10 detected, troopers like what you're fighting. However, I'm detecting another who's not like the others," said Aria. "Oh? Any information other than that? Hold on," said Matt, firing a burst at the two troopers who had stopped in front of room 305. "Make that 8," he said, heading down the corridor. "Well, one of them seems to be unarmed as I'm not picking up the energy signals from typical firearms him or her." said Aria. "Ok...where are they?" asked Matt. "One group is about to open one of the bogus crates you set…” began Aria before the ship shook with a blast from the cargo bay. "There is now 4 personnel left on board...SIR, BEHIND YOU!" said Aria. Matt turned around quickly and got a face full of blue energy that sent him tumbling back. "Lynch, maybe I am lucky after all. You’re just the human I was looking for, leave us," said Daria’s voice, the 'leave us' aimed at someone else. Matt sat up and shook his head to get the world back into focus. When everything realigned, he saw Daria standing over him, her hands glowing with blue energy. "Been practicing? Uh oh," said Matt, yelping and jumping aside as Daria threw an energy bolt at him. "You've cost me everything...GIVE ME THE ARTIFACTS!" snapped Daria, before running after Matt. "I wouldn't give you a handkerchief if you had a runny nose. Aria...is there anything that could give me a fighting chance?" tried Matt, dropping a blastdoor down and running only to hear it explode as he ran round a corner. "The engine room, the reality energy bleed will water down her magi energy," said Aria. "It could also turn my insides into custard," remarked Matt, "But considering she wants to incinerate all of me, I think it's worth the chance." "Very well, be aware, my scans of the energy from the core indicate it is increasing the..." began Aria before the comm died. Matt span as Daria came into view. "Shit!" snapped Matt, diving through a door...and rolling down the several flights of stairs heading down to the engine room, Daria following his progress down. A little later, Matt's voice said, "Ow, I can't believe I did that again." "GIVE ME THOSE ARTIFACTS!" yelled Daria before hearing hoofsteps behind her. "Ah, hayseeds," she said dully before Applejack bucked her down the steps after Matt. "That'll teach her," said Applejack triumphantly with a grin. Fluttershy poked her head out of Room 305 and asked nervously, "Is it safe to come out now?" Another bang was heard before an inhuman shriek was heard, Aria's voice saying "I recommend you stay in the saferoom." ... Daria got up unsteadily from her landing before shrieking in a way that nearly bleached Matt’s hair. “Feeling better?" Matt asked before claws made of light appeared on Daria's fingers. “Oh no," whimpered Matt. Matt quickly got out of the way to avoid being sliced by the claws. He didn't really expect Nightmare to be able to do that. Of course, Nightmare's previous hosts didn't have fingers to have claws on. "Can't we talk about this?" he tried, jumping over a pipe that Daria simply sliced apart. "I know you're under a bit of stress, being a species completely foreign to you can do that," said Matt before having to avoid another swipe that left a long slash in the wall. "ARIA...VENT THE BLOODY RADIATION!" yelled Matt as another slash nearly took his head off only to get a busy signal. "Oh bugger," said Matt, weakly before another slash breached a tank attached to the reactor which immediately began venting a blue smoke. "Erm...Daria...I think you just broke something bad," said Matt, backing up as the smoke somehow reminded Matt of Balwak Station. As the amount of blue smoke in the room began to rise, Matt held his breath to keep the fumes out his lungs. That may not have been necessarily stop it, but he wasn't taking chances. Daria however realized what it was, grinning icily before resting her claws on the metal of the wall. "You wouldn't..." said Matt in horror, Daria’s grin widening. "I'll be back to pick the artifacts out of the ashes," said Daria as she started to glow blue. "Oh no you don't," said Matt before jumping forward and grabbing her. Before she could get him off, her teleportation spell zapped them both away, her vanishing claws raising sparks that easily ignited the leak... ... Applejack was slowly headed down the stairs when she heard a 'whomph' and saw a glow down below getting brighter. "That's probably not a good thing," She said nervously shuffling around to go back up the stairs. She looked back to see a blue fireball shooting up the shaft and was forced to dive into another floor before the flames shot past, the stairs falling away. ... Matt's vision came back only to see Daria just as dazed. “Gotcha, lady," he said, holding her by the collar and pointing a blaster in her face. But before Matt could pull the trigger, there was a big 'BOOM!' and a huge blue fireball shot out of the top of the ship. Daria was first up laughing. “Oh dear, did someone forget their fire insurance?" she laughed. Matt glared, getting up "Laugh it up, I still got you." he snapped. “But aren’t you forgetting someone?” laughed Daria. Matt stopped. "Oh crap," he said before running for the ramp. "This is not over, you psycho!" he snapped at Daria before running up the ramp and almost being knocked over as his armor deployed its mask due to the smoke. Daria just laughed before going on her comm. "Stage two, gentlemen," she said before vanishing. ... Applejack came too with a headache to see that the lighting had turned red, a klaxon wailing and flames roaring from several rooms and the stairway she had just been in. “Warning...core breach imminent...fire suppression failure." said a male voice. "Matt, Fluttershy!" called Applejack before coughing from the growing smoke. A figure came into view in the smoke at that, Aria's voice saying "Miss Applejack? Is that you? I'm afraid that I have soot on my optics." "It's me, we need to find Matt and Fluttershy and get out of here," said Applejack. Not a chance...we need to evacuate now...this floors cut off from the rest of the ship. I detected Matt on the same floor as 305 before I downloaded but we need to go NOW." said Aria, sternly before an explosion from a side room engulfed, her, just burning most of her faux skin off. "Aria!" cried Applejack. However, the figure walked out of the flame, mostly unharmed. However, most of Aria's skin had been burned away to reveal the skeletal robot beneath. "Can't I use this body for one day without getting the skin damaged?" complained Aria. Applejack nodded weakly, the sight being extremely creepy not helped that Aria's uncovered optics glowed a pale green. "This way, ma'am," said the machine, aiming a thumb at an airlock. ... Matt staggered through the smoke, trying to remember the way to room 305 without signs to help before falling back as another plasma conduit overheated to explosion. "Alert: Core temperature now 455% above safety levels. All personnel abandon ship." said the main computer calmly. "I'm trying to help with that," said Matt. Fortunately, his suit could filter out the smoke and ash which allowed him to breathe more easily. However, he had a feeling that the girls will soon be running out of oxygen. Room 305 quickly came into view, and as feared, Matt could see the door had been opened. "FLUTTERSHY...FLUTTERSHY, SAY SOMETHING!" he yelled as another distant explosion of another conduit going was heard. Unfortunately, the explosion drowned out all the other sound. But as it faded, Matt could hear a weak coughing inside. Matt tapped his helmet to turn on its IR vision before peering inside and spotting Fluttershy. “Hey, girl. I'm right here," he said, running over. "Matt...it's so hot...it's getting hard to breathe..." wheezed Fluttershy before coughing again. "We have to go...get up...come on." said Matt, trying to pull her too her hooves. "I'm...too weak..." said Fluttershy, her legs trembling too much to stand. Matt pulled harder "We have to move or we're toast...oh, I'm gonna regret this." he said, clicking his helmet off, setting it to auto fit and putting it on Fluttershy, the helmets nanites modifying its shape to fit. "Ok...come...cough...on." he coughed. Fluttershy took several deep breaths before saying, "Ok, I think I can move. Maybe I should fly us out." "No...just get out...I 'cough'...I'll be right behind you." said Matt, coughing from the smoke and looking over at a wall safe. "But Matt..." protested Fluttershy. "Hey, I've gotten out of worse scrapes than this...'cough'. Just fly out now," said Matt. Fluttershy hesitated for a second before flying out of the door. Matt waited for a second before running over and opening the safe, grabbing the contents. ... Aria and Applejack looked up in relief as Fluttershy, wearing Matt's suit helmet's rebreather flew down the ramp. “Miss Fluttershy, where's the sergeant?" asked Aria. "He said he'll be right out behind me," said Fluttershy. A series of explosions could be heard from the ship, just as Matt staggered down the ramp. A final explosion blew out the bridge viewport and the top most shuttlepod hatch as well as out the ramp, causing Matt to roll forward. "My ship." he wailed in horror. "That two-timin' Daria has a lot of nerve to just stomp in and blow up your home," said Applejack. "At least we're all okay," said Fluttershy. "I think it’s time I left...use the jump portal back at the camp to go to Paradiso and get the authorities...Daria's lost it to try this." said Matt, gloomily. ... "They blew up this too?" moaned Matt, looking at the fire brigade pegasi clustered over what was left of the barn. "It was either them or the fire salamander nest we found," said the fire chief, "They may have put them there, but there's no way to determine." "Fire salamanders? How?" Matt began. "Well, they are drawn to enclosed warm spots. Have you been disposing your compost correctly or have any unguarded electrical wires?" asked the fire chief. "My house is wired up like ve...neighgas." said Matt, stopping briefly to retune his head, due-Equestria. "Excuse me?" asked the fire chief. "Never mind." said Matt gloomily before noticing one of the defense guns for the house smashed and looking at Applejack. “How much you want to bet that someone has searched my house top to bottom shortly before it burnt down?" "That ain't a bet, that's a certainty," said Applejack, "Probably the same time your other place was being trashed." "Just as well I hid the hats in here then." said Mat, holding up his wrist comp and adding "Oh, she'll get something from the crate...maybe something that'll last...it just won't be very nice." he said with a grin. ... Daria laughed as the crate was put in front of her. "This was too easy..." she laughed, opening it. However, as soon as it was open, a spring-loaded pie launched out and plastered her face. "Erm...ma'am?" asked a guard, grabbing a note from the crate that said "Care to try again?" "Find...that...man..." snarled Daria under her pie mask, which was started to smoke around her eyes. "Erm...yes, ma'am," said the guard, before running away. ... News of the fires at Matt's two homes quickly spread around Ponyville. Public sympathy was turning towards Matt, but he didn't have time for that. He had three ancient artifacts containing near-godlike magic and a crazy demonically-possessed transvestite who wanted to steal them. Fortunately, the other girls were able to come as soon as he had called for them. "I gotta get rid of these...it'll be days before I can dig down to the basement and the gate...and even longer to bring it back online...these need to go." Matt said sternly, the three artifacts upon the table between the group "Just give them to Celestia so she can lock them up with the Elements," said Rainbow Dash. "Ok...I doubt even the Icarus can get past those two..." said Matt with a nod. "But Daria will still be coming after you," said Twilight, "I mean, I suppose we could ask the Princess if you could move into Canterlot, but I think somepony would object, besides Blueblood I mean." "I won't sing." said Matt in an annoyed voice to the confusion of the girls. "Well, maybe we can ask that nice Mr. Gears if he could build you a new house," said Pinkie. "Tried that...he's headed back to Manehatten last I heard." said Matt, gloomily "Maybe he could stay at my house for a while," said Fluttershy, "I mean, I'm sure I can make some room for you." "No...not gonna do that...Won't take long for the nightmare to add up two and two and realize I've got these on me...and come after me." said Matt "And she'll go through anything and anyone in her way," said Rarity, "I suppose you shouldn't go to Canterlot then." "No...She won’t be dumb enough to go against your princesses as a human. I doubt even a PC class ship could stop them," said Mat, choosing wisely to use the initials for the 'Planet Cracker' class. "Well, unless anyone has any better ideas, I say we mosse on over to Canterlot quickly," said Applejack. Matt nodded "Let’s go." ... Twilight’s prediction proved to be quite right. It only took 10 minutes and the sight of Matt’s SUV to cause Blueblood to gather some friends to 'petition' the princesses, though Matt enjoyed how the accused was allowed to be there to face his accusers...and Matt was wearing his full combat equipment. "This creature is a menace to everyone around him," protested Blueblood, putting on a show of bravado to cover the nervousness he got from Matt's armor, "If his homes were destroyed, that's his own fault. How do we know he won't bring that same bad luck here?" "Because the boss lady here could make them wish they'd never been born?" said Matt with a happy grin. "The Princess is royalty. Royal ponies should not be bodyguards," said Blueblood haughtily. Matt blew a raspberry at that, causing Blueblood to look at him in confusion as Celestia said "Matthew has done nothing but try to help, keeping dangerous magic out of the hooves of those who will use them against us. He is welcome here." "You heard her. That was an official royal proclamation," said Matt. "No it wasn't," protested Blueblood, "An official royal proclamation requires..." "Yes it was." said Celestia with a grin that made Matt want to high five her except he got the weird feeling she might actually return the high five. Since the Princess's word was law, the protesters started to file out. Blueblood just stared in horror and then fury as Matt waved at him. "You'll wear your welcome soon enough and then the Princess will see it was a bad idea to let you come," said Blueblood before walking off. Matt turned to Celestia and asked, "How are you related to that smeghead again?" "It’s a long, long story," said Celestia with a sigh. "I bet," said Matt. "I shall have to make out some official fliers so Blueblood won't be able to complain so much. But in the meantime, I'm sure Twilight can show you around the palace," said Celestia. "Great...wait...you'll want these..." said Matt, reaching to give the helms over. Celestia picked them up with her telekinesis and said, "I'll lock these away immediately. Thanks for doing such a good job with protecting them." "No problem..." said Matt before he noticed a strange green smoke wafting in. “What the he-?" he began before, with a pop it turned into a scroll and clonked him on the head. "Bleh? Air mail." he gibbered. Celestia immediately picked up the scroll, unfurled it, and read its contents. Her brow furrowed and said, "This is grave news. Las Pegasus has just been attacked. 'By some sort of flying metal ship'." Matt paled at that, running up and taking the note, reading down it before his survival instinct kicked in. “Erm...here you are." he said weakly passing it back. "If this is your enemy's ship, I'm afraid I'll have to take personal action against it. I may need Luna's help as well," said Celestia. "Nobody will cry a tear...If Exo-Gene knew what they were up to, they'd blow it up too..." said Matt, darkly. ... "He did WHAT?" snapped Zara, though the report was on her screen in black and white. “He attacked a local settlement...our scans indicated he's either killed or taken 2 thirds of the population of the target city hostage." said her second in command. Zara sighed at that "What is wrong with you, Darius? What does the board say?" "They've given you full digression to deal with Darius as you see fit," said her second, "Though I suspect they would prefer one solution over the others." "Yeah...ok...get us there ASAP. We end this...fuck Lynch and fuck that AI." Said Zara. "Speaking of which, what are we to do about them once Darius has been dealt with?" asked her second. "We'll arrest him...if he's there." said Zara, making it clear that she wanted her men to be as short sighted as possible when it came to Matt. "Aye, ma'am," said her second, a little reluctantly. ... Daria looked out the window at the smoking ruins of the city below. At least a third of them had fled but the rest had been captured...perfect blood fuel for her backup plan and even part of her primary plan. "Are the last of my devices in place?" she said into her comm. "They're in position, but we are having trouble get them to work the way you instructed," came the reply. "They'll work...get back up here and prepare for orbital drop to the next location as soon as the princesses come on the sensors." said Daria, coldly. "As you command," came the reply before signing off. "Soon...very soon." said Daria to herself as the dropships could be seen returning. ... The girls were shocked to hear as to why the princesses had gone west so quickly. "I can't believe Daria would strike out at Las Pegasus like that," said Twilight. "Well, she is possessed by Nightmare and Nightmare is pure evil, right?" asked Rarity. "Yeah...look on the bright side...the princesses are going to squash her." said Matt, a little mock cheerfully. "But if the princesses are over there, who's going to be guarding the castle?" asked Spike. "Me?" tried Matt. There was a long moment of silence before Spike said, "Uh, I hope the princesses will be back soon." "Your heartfelt support touches me," said Matt darkly. "Well, I bet the princesses will finish with Daria in a flash," said Rainbow. "And we'll gonna have a big party to celebrate when they come back," said Pinkie. "Sounds like a...plan," said Matt, noticing a pink tinge outside. "What's that?" asked Matt. Twilight looked and said, "Looks like my brother's put up a shield barrier around the town." "Hmm...wait, what?" said Matt, double taking. ... "I'm sorry, Twi. The prince insisted," said Shining Armor, glaring at Blueblood who as grinning smugly at Matt. "You haven't even heard that there's an attack coming," said Twilight, "You're just wasting energy with this." "We cannot be sure with a troublemaker inside the city." said Blueblood, Matt's temper flaring up at that. "It's just a standard security measure," said Shining, "It doesn't take too much energy to hold it up for a while." "Ok...what can it handle?" said Matt, suddenly all business. "That is classified information that shouldn't be shared with unpermitted inquirers, particularly those who might attempt to abuse the information," said Blueblood. "Oh get off your high horse already," said Matt, causing the others to give him an odd look. "The shield's pretty strong. It’s one of my best spells." said Shining Armor, ignoring Blueblood who glared. Matt nodded “It should be ok...The Icarus is an old class of ship...and...we might get to test the theory." he said, his voice trailing off. "What makes you say that?" asked Twilight. Matt pointed out a window to where it seemed a cloud was on fire and slowly headed for the city limits. "That’s trouble." whimpered Matt, his eyes wide with recognition. "Is that a dragon?" asked Shining. "No...it's re-entry vapor." said Matt weakly as a shape could be seen in the smoke and a faint 'frum frum frum' could be heard through the shield. "It couldn't be Daria, could it?" asked Twilight. "Yes and no." said Matt before the smoke cleared from the front to reveal a grey metal nose slowly flying out, the smoke peeling away to reveal a huge ship slowly working forward, its underside still glowing faintly from re-entry. "Captain, double the shield, triple it if you can," said Blueblood in a panic. "For once I agree." said Matt panicking as a dozen vapor trails shot towards the shield. Shining closed his eyes with concentration and his horn glowed. The shield seemed to become more opaque, but it was obviously a strain on him. "Let me help," said Twilight before adding her own magic to the shield. It was just in time as the incoming missiles exploded against the shield, making a brief wall of flames. "Ah...it seems I was right...WHO SAID 'FOR ONCE'?" snapped Blueblood before more explosions were heard as the Icarus let rip on the shield with everything, causing it to ripple. The two unicorn siblings nearly buckled under the assault and it seemed they were going to be within sight of their limit. "Come on, Twilight...it’s just missiles." Matt said in a desperately supportive voice, watching as dropships and gunships flew out of the Icarus...before the guns stopped firing. Shining panted before saying, "Why did they stop? They couldn't have given up that quickly." "Out of ammo? They've been around a long time." suggested Matt before squinting. “What the hell is that?" Though the shield's thickness made it harder to see through it now, it was vaguely discernible that there seemed to be someone standing on the prow of the Icarus. "Is that...that’s Daria." said Matt, using the zoom on his helmet and snorting with laughter "She's dressed like a reject from lord of the-uh oh." he said before what looked like a dragon made of light flew up above the ship. "What is that?" asked Blueblood. "My guess, a big-arse magic attack that's going to do considerable damage to the shield," said Matt. The dragon immediately shot at the shield, spreading over it and causing cracks to form quickly. "The shield is failing, do something!" shouted Blueblood. "Me? Why not you try helping, unless that horn of yours is only for polishing," said Matt. Blueblood gulped and his horn glowed...and on cue the shield smashed with the sound of the world biggest chandelier going to the great big ballroom in the sky. "That had better have been because of Daria's attack or I'm going to have commit regicide," growled Matt. "Bigger problems,” cried Dash as a missile shot overhead and hit a tower. "Ok, tell me you guys have some back-up defense systems," said Matt. The look he got told him everything he needed, the sounds of the guard mobilizing already heard, coupled with the sound of gunfire from the invaders. "This is not gonna end well," said Matt, "Twilight, you girls can get the Elements out of their vault, right?" Twilight, who looked a bit dizzy, nodded "What are you going to do?" she asked. Matt grinned "What I do best? Get their attention." "But Matt, you don't have as many weapons now," said Dash. "I have enough. Plus, I can improvise," said Matt. ... Daria walked towards the gates where she could practically smell Matt. "Blow it." she said before the gates exploded outward and a SUV shot out. "What the-" she started before it slammed into her and sent her flying into a wall, something bouncing off her head a second later. Her men fired after it as it skidded round the corner and she looked up to see a rock on her chest with a note saying 'Catch me if you can, psycho'. Daria snarled before tossing the rock away and yelling, "Get him!" She smirked as the trooper ran after the SUV, a few radioing for air support before she heard movement and turned to see the element holders sneaking out. “Well, well," she muttered, walking after them. ... "You know, I should do this kind of demolition derby type thing more often," said Matt as he turned a corner, "This is pretty fun." "Warning...pursuit detected...Model: Type 29 FAV...EGIS affiliated." chimed the computer, a rear view appearing to show an EGIS Humvee in pursuit. "Just try and keep up, you junker," taunted Matt. "Danger...incoming fire." chimed the computer before bullets echoed off the rear armor. "Cheeky...what’s this button do?" said Matt, pressing a button and causing a disk to drop into the road. As soon as the other Humvee rolled over it, an explosion tossed it high up into the air and over quite a few buildings. Matt laughed to himself as it landed the wrong way up and exploded. "Try that." he laughed before wincing as two more drove through the smoke. "Spoke too soon...I need a path outta here." The computer beeped. “Plotting escape route under combat conditions." "This had better be better than my old GPS," muttered Matt. "Turn left...now." chimed the computer, Matt turning as commanded and driving into a firing line of EGIS marines firing on their royal guard opposite numbers and scattering them like ten pins. "So far so good," commented Matt, looking back to see the remaining royal guard squad taking advantage of the scattered marines. The next hit however was a plasma burst that briefly lifted the back of the SUV. “Danger: Anti-tank weapon detected...replotting route." chimed the computer, the windscreens HUD highlighting a gunship hovering nearby. "Ok, I hope this thing's equipped with something anti-aerial," said Matt. "Negative...please contact the manufacturers and request model 6." said the computer. "This is no time for advertisement!" yelled Matt before flooring it as the gunship let out another plasma burst. "Rerouted...proceed on heading 2-mark 46." chimed the computer, Matt turning a hard right and the gunship wailing overhead as it overcompensated. "Ok, I can handle the ground forces. The girls should be able to take care of the air forces when they've gotten their Elements. I just need to hold out long enough," said Matt. "Warning...emergency reroute...hostile forces are approaching timeline specifics times 6." said the computer urgently. "Can't I get one break today?" snapped Matt. ... Daria walked calmly up the steps with some of her men in pursuit, hearing the girls trying to get the element store open. "C'mon Twilight, I though Princess Celestia modified her lockin' spell for you," said Applejack's voice. "She did, but I haven't had a chance to practice it before," said Twilight's voice. "On the count of three...and I want them alive...at least one of each of the race...and definitely Twilight sparkle." said Daria, coldly. "Guys, my knee's feeling pinchy," said Pinkie's voice, "Something scary's about to happen." Daria glared and pointed a blaster at the doors, blowing them open. “Please, please don't try anything." she said calmly as she walked in, hearing Pinkie say “Told you.” The six ponies immediately stood in front of the locked door. "You are not taking the Elements of Harmony," said Twilight. "Oh...we don’t want them...we want their owners." said Daria with a cold smile, nodding to her men. "Even if that made any sense, we're not going with you," said Rarity. "Oh, you are...shut them up." said Daria, icily, her men aiming tesla stun-rifles. ... Matt skidded his SUV round the corner, knocking a trooper off his feet as another FAV skidded in pursuit and span out. "Enemy coms cracked...outgoing transmission." said the computer before Daria's voice echoed out "All units...we have what we needed. Full retreat...but blow the exits...I don’t want anything following...am I clear?" "Crystal, ma'am," came a reply. The gunships spun around to aim at the town's gates. Matt turned away from the plasma glare as the main exit out of the city was vaporized before seeing a transport flying overhead from the direction he had been headed. “No...NO!” Matt snapped, turning the SUV round and hearing a crunch as his pursuit became one with a wall and lost the fight with it. He quickly sped back towards the castle, which wasn't so easy since the rubble made it a very bumpy ride. "Analyzing...0% chance of intercept under current conditions." said the computer. Matt swore before spotting a destroyed section of wall. "Please work." he muttered, driving for where the rubble had formed a ramp... ... Twilight and the girls slowly came too in the transport, anti-magi rings on the unicorns and guards on everyone else. "Awake I see." said Daria with a cold smile. Twilight immediately spotted the three Prima Corona on a nearby table. "When did she steal those?" she asked. "It probably happened off-screen," said Pinkie. There was a pause as everyone’s brain processed this and filed it under ‘Pinkies randomness’ after a minute…it was either that or go crazy trying to work it out. "What is the pink one talking about?" asked Daria after a minute. “I just kinda tune out the weird things she says," said Rainbow Dash. Daria shrugged before the pilot said "Ma'am...we got incoming." Daria ran up front to see a combine SUV driving at high speed towards them on the rear camera. "That fool, he's just going to smash himself against the ship," said Daria. "Er, actually, the cargo door's still open," said the pilot. She turned back to see the girls cheering on, clearly recognizing the vehicle. "Shoot it...SHOOT IT!" she gibbered, shaking a trooper. "Open fire on that vehicle!" yelled another trooper into the intercom. The troopers at the back began firing wildly, even when the rounds bounced off before the SUV hit a ramp of rubble and took off, flying straight and true....and falling short by a quarter of a meter. The girls just gaped as the SUV started to plummet. "Well, that was an interesting half a minute," said Daria, a little confused. "I think that’s crushed their wills...take us out of here." said Daria, the pilot nodding before Daria added with cruel mirth "And close that rear hatch...the smell of smoke offends me." Daria's dropship slowly steered up towards the Icarus, which was already making to fly slowly over Canterlot on its way to part unknown. The mood of the ships captives was...low to say the least. "I can't believe that Matt's gone," said Twilight. "I woulda thought he'd make that jump," said Applejack. “You thought wrong, Honesty." said Daria, sounding happy. "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to learn our actual names," said Rainbow Dash, a little annoyed. "Really? You'll be dead by the end of the day so I consider it a waste of my time." said Daria calmly as the dropship came in for a landing. "Dead, ha, we're not that easy to kill," said Pinkie, doing a passable impression of Matts usual suicidal self-confidence. "Pinkie, please don't encourage her," said Rarity. "Oh...I'll be testing the theory later. Once I offer you up to my master, I'll get the body I want...and then, who knows?" said Daria before the ship shook with a landing. "Take them to the chamber..." she ordered, before a guard asked "Not with the others from Las Pegasus?" "No, I have special preparations for them," said Daria. "Yes' ma'am," said the trooper, running down the ramp. Daria turned to smirk at the girls. "For once...I win." she said ... When the dropship landed, no one noticed the smaller thud of Matt dropping down over the louder thud of the ship. "Ow...ok...jumping off an airborne vehicle....bad idea...grabbing onto a dropship that’s in flight with a grapple gun.......worse." he winced, luckily shielded from view. However, he was able to see the troopers marching out with the girls captive. “Ok...Now I'm...uh oh." began Matt, before ducking down as another dropship, this time a troop transport landed and let a squad out. "Sneaky it is." he muttered, spotting a vent next to him and dropping down. ... Back in Canterlot, Shining Armor and Aria were assessing the damage done to the city and considering how they'll be able to rescue the girls. It wasn't easy, mainly because Blueblood wouldn't shut up about how it was everyone but his fault. Aria said "The Icarus won’t go far...I've detected radio chatter from another E.G.I.S ship...and it looks like the Icarus isn’t acting with permission anymore." "I would certainly hope this type of destruction wasn't allowed where you come from," said Shining. "No...there are rules against attacking uncontacted species." said Aria before stopping as Blueblood said 2Clearly not enough...at least that troublemakers gone." causing Aria to spin and lift Blueblood up by the neck. "You have no idea who you are talking about...the SUV wreck had no body in it, you little worm..." she said, her voice getting a rasp as the fire damage shorted her voice unit. "Aria, as much as I'd like him to shut up, the princesses will be very upset when they get back and find that you've broken his neck," said Shining Armor. Blueblood rasped "Where...are the...princesses?" "As much as I dislike admitting it, the prince has a good point," said Aria, putting him down, "Your princesses should have noticed the Icarus was no longer near Las Pegasus and would have returned immediately." Aria seemed thoughtful "Something this...nightmare left behind in the city to slow them down?" "Maybe," said Shining, "I wouldn't be surprised if she irritated an Ursa Major enough to go on a rampage there. But I think we should at least try to communicate with them." "How? If Las Pegasus is an alternate of the city I think it is, it’s on the other side of this continent..." said Aria. Shining smirked and said, "We have a rather rapid method of contacting the princesses. We just need Spike." "The dragon?" said Aria. Shining armors smirk increased "Trust me." he said. ... Matt peered out a side room and adjusted the EGIS helmet on him, the dazed trooper tied in behind him. It had been shockingly easy to ambush a trooper, all of them zoned out on whatever mental whammy that Daria had used to control them. So long as he didn't ask anyone how they were, he should be able to stroll around undetected. He looked around before spotting a dataport and running up to hack it. "Secure line established." chimed the wrist comp after what seemed like an eternity. "Finally...aria? Anyone there?" Matt tried. "This is CBC Daedalus...who is this?" said the reply. Matt hesitated at that. CBC meant 'Corporate Battle Cruiser'. That didn't necessarily mean it was a bad thing, but the only corporation he could think of that would anywhere close to this planet was Exo-Gene. Exo-Gene probably wouldn't be pleased with what Darius, or rather Daria, was doing, but that probably didn't mean they'll let him walk away. But then again, it was desperate times... "Hello? This is...CPS unit 412. I'm on board the CBC Icarus...the-" began Matt before a female voice butted in. "Lynch? I don't believe it." "Zara? What are you doing here?" asked Matt, unable to believe his luck, though where it's good or bad he couldn't tell yet. "The board sent us to see why the Icarus stopped sending reports." said Zara. "Ok, are sitting down right now? You aren't going to believe this one," said Matt. "I don't want to hear it...we picked up what that psycho did. We're firing him...literally." said Zara. "Good, good, though you might want to know that you're using the wrong pronoun," said Matt. "Like I said...I don't want to know...Ok, The Icarus is outside our weight class. I need you to take out the shields so we have a fighting chance to take the ship down." said Zara. "Just to let you know, there are hostages onboard, civilians and at least 6 timeline specifics," said Matt. "You have 20 minutes till we're in range." said Zara before turning off the comm on her end. "Ok, disable the shields, rescue who knows how many ponies Daria has captive, and live to see tomorrow. Sounds like a routine challenge," said Matt. "Uh...routine check-up, need to make sure all the systems are operational. You don't want anyone trying to make a jailbreak," said Matt. "Ok...I...wait, let me see your ID." said the left trooper, walking forward. "Uh, sure thing," said Matt, fishing around the stolen uniform's pockets until he pulled out an ID card. The trooper peered at it closely before snapping "Get down to cargo 3...you're supposed to be on guard duty. Get down there before our lady makes you wish you had." he snapped. "Uh, sure, no problem," said Matt, "Remind me, which way is it to cargo 3? Is it on the port or starboard side?" "Starboard, you idiot." snapped the second guard. "Ok...and which ways engineering...I erm...need to get something from there." "It's down that hallway, two rights, did you fall asleep during orientation or something?" snapped the first guard. "Yeah...thanks...idiot." said Matt, adding the last part under his breath. As Matt walked away, the first guard said, "Is it me, or are they getting dimmer every day?" "Depends, who's 'they'?" asked the other. A second later the troopers heard a moan from the side room but by then Matt had smartly ran round a corner … Matt quickly headed to the engine room and looked around. "Let's see, where does EGIS like to hide their shield generators?" he said to himself. He wandered into a lift and the AI asked "Floor please." "Uh, shield generator," said Matt. "Error...did you mean: Main engineering...Security...armory...main bridge...?" asked the computer. "Main engineering," said Matt. "Confirmed." said the computer before Matt was forced to the side as the lift hit full speed. About a minute later, the AI chimed, "Main engineering." Matt groaned "Thank you." from ground level and pulled himself up, walking into the bustle of the main engineering room. "Shields, shields, shields." he muttered, looking around. "Hey, are you supposed to be down here?" called one of the engineers. Matt turned around and asked, "Who? Me? I'm just here to pick something I forgot here last time." "Security...we got an intruder down here." said one of the engineers as his others pulled sting blasters out, deadly weaponry not used near reactors since Balwak. "Guys, if you're gonna start fights, things are only going to get messy," said Matt as he prepared something behind his back. An energy burst shot past his head at that, causing him to stumble and a blue orb to roll out his pack and down behind a generator. "Crap." swore Matt, reaching for it before several pairs of hands grabbed him, one pair taking his helmet off. "Well, well, Lynch," said one of the guards, "The boss was so sure you were a messy puddle. Guess she'll have to do it herself now." "Crap." said Matt darkly before being dragged away. ... A little later, Matt was thrown into through a door roughly into a somewhat dark room. "Matthew Lynch, your survival tendency's almost inhuman," said Daria's voice. "Really? The only inhuman around here's you...that sounded better in my head." said Matt before properly looking at Daria and jumping back. Asides from the medieval armor, she didn't look too much different. However, her eyes were blue with slits for pupil and glowed with unholy power. "Like what you see?" she taunted. "You're creepy." said Matt childishly. "I admit, this body is hardly suitable for a goddess. But I'm about to get a trade-up very soon," said Daria. "Going after Twilight again? That ship's sailed. She beat you once...she'll do it again...and again...and again," said Matt, nastily. Daria just smirked "Actually...you caused that when you broke the ritual half way through." "Well, your big magic rock's broken, remember? Along with the rest of your castle," said Matt. "Oh...but you were kind enough to leave the artifacts in the open." said Daria with a cruel laugh. "Princess Luna knew how to use them...so now I do." she added. "I don't know, you have a pretty faulty memory. I doubt you'll be able to remember how to do whatever it is you're supposed to," said Matt. Daria glared and said, "But I'll have a perfect memory of your agonizing demise." She held up a blue fireball only for a trooper to run and say, "Ma'am, we have a situation." "What IS IT?" she snapped before seeing the problem out her viewport. The sky on the horizon was glowing with a nullspace rip appearing, before with a sonic boom, another vessel appeared. "What the hay?" she snapped before the intercom was overridden. "CBC Icarus...this is Colonel Anya Zara of the CBC Daedalus...halt your movement and prepare to be boarded or we will fire upon you...Darius…answer me, you idiot." Daria snarled before shouting, "Darius is no longer in command!" "Who is this? Identify yourself. Theft of an EGIS vessel is a capital offense." said Zara sternly. "I am Nightmare, Queen of the Night and soon-to-be ruler of Equestria," called Daria. "Nah...you're dead..." said Zara, signing off. Daria turned to her staff. "Shields up and fire." she ordered, just in time as the Daedalus began firing. "As you can see...your help isn’t going to...what was that for?" she said, pointing at an empty clip on his belt. Matt glanced down at what she was pointing at and said, "Huh, lost one of my spare grenades. Wonder where it rolled off to." "What?" said Daria harshly before Matt said with an evil grin worthy of Nightmare Moon “Oh yeah...it’s in engineering." ... Unnoticed by anyone, the old plasmite grenade finally beeped as its failsafe kicked in before exploding, knocking out the energy to shields... ... Daria and her men were thrown off their feet from the blast, Matt immediately jumping up, punching out one of the guards and grabbing his rifle before running for it. "AFTER HIM...AND KEEP FIRING ON THE DAEDALUS!" she roared. … "Ok, time to free the captives now," said Matt to himself as he ran towards the lift. A boom was heard as the Daedalus began to land hits. "Faster before Zara shoots the wrong bit." Matt muttered, diving into the lift and yelling "Cargo bay 3." ... "We lost main drive, ma'am. Icarus is way outside this old girls weight class." called Zara's tactical officer. "I've come too far to lose everything now!" snapped Daria, "I don't care what it takes, stop that ship!" "The Icarus may have better guns, but we have better management," said Zara, "Besides, if I know Matt, and I very well do, he's given them trouble of their own." However a plasma burst from the Icarus ended that as it blew several people away from their consoles. "Reactor 2 is down, down here ma'am...we lost shields and point defense...I can’t even guarantee we'll achieve orbit. We have to go." snapped the Daedalus's engineer on the intercom. "We're not leaving until the job is done," said Zara, "Keep on his, I mean, her tail." "Ma'am...we can’t arrest that bitch if we're a nuclear cloud." snapped the engineer. One of the technicians looked up at that "Ma'am...we have 2 class 12 magi signals, closing at 100 air knots...whatever the hell that they are, they are pissed." "I wouldn't be surprised if they're locals that Darius, or Nightmare, got on the wrong side of," said Zara, "Put them up on screen." A tech nodded before complying. "The smeg?" commented Zara, looking at what looked like a blue and yellow comet closing on them. "Who are they going after?" asked Zara as another hit shook them. "Looks like the Icarus." said a technician. Zara nodded "Good...they can have him." ... The captives in cargo pod 3 were a mix, zebras, griffons and ponies, all visitors to the city when it had hit. They had no idea why there were in this metal ship or who was holding them. But the sound of explosions was probably not a good sign. "Stupid humans...first we meet one of them in Manehatten and now these guys." muttered a griffon. "Bet that guy has something to do with this," said another griffon. An announcement sounded at that "All units, level 12 starboard. Target alpha is in your area and has raided security armoury 3. Full alert. Report all sightings." "What do you think's going on out there?" asked one donkey. "I dunno...hey, someone’s coming in." said a pegasus, pointing to where the door above was opening. ... The guards on the walkway above all aimed their guns at the now open door. "Who's there?" called one. There wasn't any sound for a moment but there was a metallic tinking as something across the walkway towards them. "Grena-" yelled one of the troopers before there was a blinding flash and the troopers nearest the door were blinded, an armoured figure walking round the corner and firing an auto-rail rifle at them. The troopers were cut down quickly, though the noise had left the captives nervous. The new trooper looked around before looking down at the crowd below and opening his helmet. "Hey, that IS the jerk from Manehatten!" shouted one of the griffons. "Of all the rotten luck..." muttered Matt. With no guards, the griffon flew straight up and said, "You have a lot of nerve showing your ugly mug here. After what your friends-" CLONK! The griffon landed on the walkway, a big lump on the side of his head. "Oh shut up, you chicken...I'm actually here to save all of you..." said Matt, pulling the dazed griffon’s face up and making his wrist comp display a holopic he’d taken of the girls at Raya's resort. "Have you seen these ponies recently?" he asked. The griffon just made a stunned groaning sound. "Oh for the love of-," snapped Matt before slapping the griffon a few times. "No...they said...something...about observatory." groaned the griffon. "Good chicken...now everyone make sure you're nice and sturdy and stay seated till the ride comes to a complete halt." Matt called down, walking to the door and hitting a button next to it. "Warning...cargo pod 3 primed for deployment in 10...9...8..." Matt hopping through the door before it shut. ... To watchers it would look like part of the ship broke off from damage from the Daedalus until the part falling away deployed boosters to land safely. ... "My lady...the sacrificials...they've been ejected." panicked a technician in the observatory, the girls held in place surrounding a perfect clone of the stands that Twilight and Applejack had seen in the dam facility. "Setbacks, setbacks, always setbacks!" snapped Daria, "I suppose I’ll have to use something else for the ritual now." "I'll need to work on....ma'am?" said another technician as what looked like two comets shot past the ship to stop in front of them, ignoring the retreating Daedalus which was already vanishing under its cloak. "Oh no, not them," moaned Daria, "I thought the anti-teleportation devices would keep them longer." The comets immediately shot at the Icarus. ... Matt was stuck in a firefight when the wall between them exploded, a blue light shooting by. "Bloody hell!" snapped Matt. Fortunately, he was able to grab onto the side of a bulkhead before the air pressure sucked the other troopers out the hole. "WRONG SIDE!” he yelled for all the good it would do as another explosion indicated another hit. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out who was tearing holes in the ship. "Memo...never get on Celestia's or Luna's bad side." he said to himself before several more troopers ran into view, took aim...and fell to the floor, gripping their heads and screaming. "That's weird, I haven't started singing yet," said Matt. He headed over to see blood pooling and the troopers definitely dead as dodos. Matt gulped and began running for the observatory where a light was leaking under the doors. "That's not a good sign. But I'm not leaving my friends with that maniac, crashing ship or not," said Matt before kicking open the door. He was immediately blinded by the light that highlighted a shape between the artifacts that were shrieking. "GIRLS!" he yelled, before seeing energy limbs trying to grab Twilight, to no affect it seemed as they were repelled by something else. Daria noticed Matt had entered the room and shouted, "Stay back, you fool! You'll ruin the ritual!" "Oh shut up." called Matt, firing a pulse blast at Daria and knocking her flying. The girls were dropped by the magical restraints that were holding them in place and the three artifacts dropped out of the air as well. "That was unpleasant," said Rarity dizzily. "I hoped I wouldn't have to do that again," said Fluttershy. The ship shook again at that. "I think it’s time to land this before we crash this." said Matt, urgently. "I think we can fly everyone out, right Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I think so, if there's not too many to carry," said Fluttershy. "Yeah...I dropped the people they were holding off...they're a couple of miles back...they're fine." said Matt, adding “I however cannot fly that well...we gotta land this...this ship’s a floating bomb." "Where can we land this?" asked Twilight. "Anywhere so I can power down the engines..." said Matt before an announcement said “Emergency landing required...engine overheat in progress...containment failure in: 12 minutes and counting." "Better figure out a landing place fast," said Rainbow Dash. "Warning...100% crew termination confirmed by internal...self-destruct protocol to engage." said the computer. “After we find the override...and you lot get off the ship." said Matt sternly. "But we can't just leave you here," protested Fluttershy. "Yes you can...cause we'll explode alot faster if your bosses keep blowing holes in the Icarus." yelled Matt over another impact. "But how will you escape?" asked Twilight. "Escape pod...a drop ship...grav-chute...ships have plans for this." said Matt, assuredly while thinking 'As long as they're not in bits...ulp.' "What about the magic hats?" asked Pinkie. "Put one on and get ready to jump," said Applejack. "Come on...escape pods are this way...I vote we leave these hats here to be vaporized...they're nothing but grief." said Matt. "But they're..." started Rarity. "NOTHING BUT GRIEF," said Matt sharply. The group left at that, not noticing Daria twitching from where she was slumped. ... "Code red emergency...all remaining personnel abandon ship." chimed the computer, though luckily it appeared the Princesses had ceased their attack for now. Matt raced for the bridge, thinking frantically of a safe place to crash this ship. A distant asteroid would be preferable, but he doubted he could get it any higher than it already is. It also turned out that the ship had lost most of its escape pods, the note indicated that Captain Crazy lady, aka, Daria had ejected most of them. "Finally." snapped Matt, spotting that the captain’s lifeboat, attached to the bridge was still prepped. "Ok, now to find a good place to let this wreck explode," said Matt as he looked out the viewport. It seemed that the ship had been moving away from Canterlot since its capture of the girls and artifacts because he could see the ocean not too far away. He shrugged before turning the Icarus out to sea. Once it was safely over open water, he can bail out and let it sink. “Altitude control reestablished...plotting safe detonation zone for splashdown." said the computer, Matt sighing with relief and the girls cheering. "At least that’s-OH COME ON!" said Matt, yelling as the Princesses began their attacks again. There was so much noise from the Princesses attacking, that one couldn't notice the bangs that accompanied the lumps appearing in the door, unless you were actually looking at it. "Uh, Matt..." started Pinkie. "Not now, Pinkie...I’m trying to get the outer loudspeakers working." said Matt, typing at a control board and getting constant access denied messages. "Oh, come on, it's not like anyone else is going to be using this again," snapped Matt as he bounded on the control board, oddly coinciding with the banging on the door, which looked just about ready to cave in. "Erm...Matt?" said Twilight, who had now also noticed the bumps. "WHAT? Oh poopie." snapped, Matt turning in time for a lightning bolt to demolish the door and smash him into a far console. "Ok, now you have my attention," said Matt's muffled voice as he tried to move the door off him. “That felt so good...it’s nice to stretch ones magic after such a long time." said a familiar voice. "Oh come on," snapped Matt, "Why could you stay dead like the rest of your crew?" The sound of hooves was heard before a black alicorn without a cutie mark trotted into view, surveying the group with reptilian eyes. “You gotta be kidding..." snapped Matt, getting up unsteadily. "But, you weren't in a pony's body. You couldn't have fully returned to your Nightmare form," said Twilight. "I had a backup spell to kick start the ritual in case I was...interfered with...the crew were so helpful." said the nightmare, amused. "Crew? You mean your slaves," said Rainbow Dash fiercely, "If they had any freedom of their own, they wouldn't be anywhere near you or stand for the horrors you've done." "That’s fine...they're not exactly alive anymore...AWAKEN!" the nightmare said, yelling the last word as her horn blazed. Matt immediately jumped back as a slumped technician twitched and began to slowly rise "Not zombies again," complained Matt. One of the other technicians immediately tried to grab Matt. "GIRLS, RUN!" he yelled, fighting with the undead techie. Seeing the dead starting to rise up was plenty enough encouragement for the girls to run and they quickly galloped out the door. Matt followed after them, albeit thrown. "Run faster." he yelled, before he glowed all over and was dragged back inside. "GET OUT!" he yelled before the metal in the wall plugged the open door with the same glow. Matt was rotated around to face Nightmare. "So, why keep me here?" asked Matt with a false calmness, "The bearers of the Elements of Harmony just escaped with the Primoris Corona, so why let them go and keep me?" "Revenge." said Nightmare simply before smashing Matt into another console. Matt winced before saying, "And you prioritized vengeance on me over the Elements and the Princesses, that's quite flattering." "There is no way off this vessel...and the elements will not survive when the core breaches" said Nightmare in a matter of fact voice. "You're underestimating them, yet again," said Matt. "Maybe...but you'll still be dead." said Nightmare before throwing Matt at the makeshift door. "I know at least one of us is going to die today," said Matt as he reached for a blaster one of the crew had dropped. "Really?" said Nightmare, using her telekinesis to drag it out Matts grip, crush it...and be knocked flying as it exploded, her blockage collapsing as her kinesis failed. "And you better put some effort into it if you want that one to be me," said Matt before running out the door. "GET HIM" roared Nightmare ... Matt skidded round the corner, following the girls. "In there...IN THERE!" he called, pointing to a door. "Why there?" asked Rarity. "No time for questions!" yelled Matt. The girls ran inside and turned as the hatch sealed. "Matt, what are you doing?" yelled Twilight. "Making sure you leave." said Matt, his voice dampened by the hatch before he suddenly became a dot as the lifeboat popped off. … Matt turned to see Nightmare not too far behind. "How noble, too bad you lacked the sense to leave with them," she said sarcastically. "I just need to keep you distracted...catch me if you can." said Matt, hopping round a corner. "This game is quickly become tiresome," said Nightmare before spreading her wings and commanding, "Find him, tear his limbs off. I want to drive my horn though that soft head of his." The ex-crew snarled before pursuing Matt... ... "Alert...emergency beacon unable to link to NSC Search and Rescue...stand by for amphibious landing." chimed the lifeboat computer. "What exactly does that mean?" asked Rarity. "Sounds like we're gonna get a little wet," said Applejack. "Brace for impact and please prepare your reality plug ins on your wrist computers...class 3 field detected....impacting in 3...2...1...impact." chimed the computer before the floor briefly became a wall. "That was fun, let's do it again," said Pinkie. "Let's...not..." said Twilight as they slid back onto the floor. "Alert...life support offline...blowing airlock." said the computer before a section of the roof slid away. "It's about time," said Rainbow Dash before flying up. "Where are you going?" asked Fluttershy. "To go save Matt, are you with me?" said Rainbow Dash. "Princess Luna, am I glad to see you," said Twilight. "The feeling is quite reciprocal," said Luna. "You've got to stop hitting that ship..." said Twilight before another explosion was heard from above. "My sister and I are in the midst of dismantling that monstrosity," said Luna, "As soon as it has been smote, we shall return for thee." "But Matt’s still on board!” cried Fluttershy. Luna paused and said, "That complicates matters. But why did he not egress with you and remain upon that burning vessel?" "Daria grabbed all of us and the artifacts so she could do some sort of ritual thingy to get all her powers back but Matt had freed everyone else and interrupted so she had to substitute with the rest of the crew so while she's Nightmare again, she isn't as powerful as before and Matt stayed behind to keep her occupied while we all got away," said Pinkie quickly. Luna blinked for a second before taking a deep breath, the girls plugging their ears as Luna used her 'royal voice' to yell "SISTER!" ... Meanwhile, Matt was learning just how well zombies can shoot as he ran down the corridors. "CRAPCRAPCRAP!" he swore, lowering another blastdoor as he ran. The blastdoor slammed shut, but the undead troopers still kept firing. "Why do they never run out of ammo?" complained Matt. "Because they're what you soon will be." said a voice behind him. “Oh no," moaned Matt as a familiar glow lifted him...and began to squeeze. "Now, let's see if my power is fully back," said Nightmare as she exerted more telekinetic pressure on Matt. Matt made a gagging noise as his body was squeezed before managing to drop a device to the floor, a tazer blast shocking them both. Unfortunately for Matt, instead of letting him go, Nightmare reflexively slammed into and through a wall. Matt came too to see he was slumped in a launch bay, a furious Nightmare floating through the hole e had made. "This game has gone on long enough," snapped Nightmare, "Now you shall die!" Matt looked up before apparently panicking and dragging himself back. "I...I..." began Matt, stuttering in terror and using a console for cover. "Strangely enough, though I'll revel in your death, it is your fear that gives me the most satisfaction," said Nightmare. "You...need to know something." stuttered Matt, standing up behind the console. "And what would that be?" asked Nightmare. "Look up," said Matt, pulling a lever and disengaging the cargo grapple. Confused, Nightmare turned her head upwards. On cue a cargo container landed on her with a crunch that dented the floor. "TAKE THAT...AHAHAHA!" yelled Matt. However, starry mist started to seep out from underneath the container. "Oh COME ON...STAY SQUASHED!" snapped Matt. The container was then lifted off of the floor by the mist and Matt was pretty sure where it was about to go. "ARRGH!" Matt screamed, diving for cover before the container crushed where he had just been before. The mist swirled up before resuming the form of Nightmare. "Did you really think I can be crushed so easily?" she said, "I suppose I should have suspected you were up to something when you acting so scared." "YOU'LL NEVER GET ME!" yelled Matt, running for it again. "It seems I'll have to keep trying," said Nightmare before flying after Matt. Matt ducked down behind a dropship before peering out. “Need to burn her down somehow...hmm." he said, stopping as he got an idea. "Matt, where are you?" called Nightmare, "Haven't you grown tired of this futile game yet?" “Oh no...I hope she doesn’t find me," came a sarcastic yell from the section of the bay that held several ships and vehicles. "Well, Matt, you know you cannot hide from a creature of magic.” said Nightmare before dissolving into starry mist again and floating towards where Matt's voice came from. "Oi...cheating." snapped Matt, floating into view where he was holding onto a support girder. "All games have to end sometime," said Nightmare. "Not letting go." said Matt childishly. "I'll take the whole thing if I have to," said Nightmare as the glow of her magic spread over the girder. The girder, with Matt flew forward...only for Matt to flicker? "What in Equestria?" Nightmare began before the sticky grenade on the girder went off in her face. Nightmare was knocked back into some empty crates. As she tried to get up, she found parts of her fur were stuck to one of the crates. "You little foal...how dare you...glue me?" she snapped, before hearing footsteps running towards the vehicle section of the cargo bay. With a cry of fury, she stood up. However, she did end up ripping a large part of hair out of her side. With a flash, her 'bald spots' vanished though she was now furious. "This insolence shall not be abided," snarled Nightmare before becoming mist again and drifting towards where she last saw Matt. Matt peered out, uttering "Come on, you pain...where are you?" Suddenly, Nightmare's voice echoed, "If you wish to keep playing 'cat and mouse', I think we should make it more appropriate." "Say what?" muttered Matt, peering round a corner. Suddenly, he heard an angry growling sound. Matt slowly turned around to find himself face-to-face with a huge black panther. "KITTY!" screamed Matt, running in the opposite direction. The panther roared before charging after him. "BAD KITTY...BAAAD KITTYYYYY!" screamed Matt, skidding round a corner. The panther leapt over a pile of crates and landed in front of Matt. "This is unfair...you have more legs." moaned Matt, backing up before looking up to see a Starfury hanging overhead, ready for a launch. The panther hissed, extending all of her claws and baring her fangs. Matt gulped, trying to remember what flaw the boosters on the old E series Starfuries had suffered from that had forced them to be relegated to corporation fleets before grabbing a metal bar and throwing it desperately, Nightmare swatting it up and into the booster above her. Nightmare crouched and started to spring forward when the booster suddenly ignited and shot white hot flames down upon her. Matt winced as the nightmare shrieked, Starfury booster backwash capable of vaporizing steel. Matt peered out to see the Nightmare slumped but trying to drag her way forward. "You lose." said Matt, as several explosions were heard at the same time that the core breach alarm rang. With a surge, Nightmare resumed her equine form, but she still couldn't stand up. "I...will not...lose...alone..." she hissed. "True...but at least you go boom." said Matt, happily. "Your death...will be...swifter...and much more painful..." hissed Nightmare as her mane tried to grab at him. Matt jumped back at that before a louder crash was heard and water began to pour in through a breach. "Better be quick...our flight has landed." taunted Matt. Nightmare hissed and tried to crawl closer, her mane making more swipes at Matt. Matt dodged back again. "Erm...help?" he whimpered as he backed into a crate. "Core breach imminent...detonation in 10...9...8…" said the computer. Nightmare smiled and said, "If I must be destroyed, at least I have the satisfaction of taking you with me." Matt gulped before there was a blaze of light that blinded them both and another that left the Nightmare alone. "No...NO...NOOOO!" screamed the equine as the computer calmly said "5...4...3...2...1...thank you..." ... The Icarus was already below the waves when the core gave out, a dome of energy appearing before blasting skywards. The girls who were watching from the shore now gave a gasp of horror. The blast seemed to contract until there was one final flash and thunderclap and a ring of energy shot out in all directions harmlessly. Princess Luna materialized a second later, a blackened Matt gibbering to himself before falling face first into the surf, where he sizzled. "It was...a very narrow escape," remarked Luna, who looked rather winded. "I hurt all over." bubbled Matt from where he was laying down. The girls immediately ran over to him. "Gently, he needs to recover," said Luna. "I agree...I feel like a hot dog...barbequed." rasped Matt "Then we should take him to the hospital," said Celestia, "As soon as possible." ... 2 days later... Matt tossed one of the burnt planks aside. With the Skyraid burnt so went his last chance off Equis. However, there was a plus side in that everyone treated him nicely now. Well, except Blueblood, but he kept away from Matt, which was pretty nice. He looked up to see the girls and Aria headed his way. "Don’t want to hear it...I know you're nice but I'm not staying...maybe I'll go exploring the planet." he said. "Matt, you're not completely out of options," said Aria. "Name one." said Matt, throwing another piece of rubble aside. "The rip engine," said Aria. "There isn't any rip engine." said Matt, annoyed at that. "There is in the dropship," said Aria. Matt stopped at that "And you didn’t tell me...why?" Aria, sensing Matt losing it, said "The Icarus would have shot us down the second they detected the engine charging." "And since the Icarus is destroyed, that means you can go home now," said Twilight cheerfully. Matt sighed at that "I was actually getting used to the peace and quiet." he said to himself before turning around. "Let’s get ready then." "Do you have to leave now? Everyone was starting to really like you," said Fluttershy. Aria said "We have a trial to get too..." Matt nodding "Aria's got to testify to what Executive Genetics has done all the times I’ve met them." "Can't we at least throw you a going away party?" asked Pinkie. Aria shrugged "I don’t see why not...it'll be weeks before another EGIS ships nearby." Pinkie let out a squeal of joy before saying, "Oh, there's so much to do. I better get ready." She zoomed off so fast it was almost like teleporting. ... Matt had to admit, when Pinkie threw a party, she really threw a party. Seems like everyone in Ponyville had shown up to wish him well. He even spotted Twilights brother, out of his armor and talking to a pink alicorn. "One hell of a party." he muttered. "Yes, it is quite a festival," said a voice beside him. Matt turned and saw Princess Luna. "Uh, not that I don't appreciate it, but don't you have nightly duties to attend to?" asked Matt. "I wished to ask you...what happened to the Corona Primas?" asked Luna gravely, adding "You have seen what they can do...you know how dangerous they are." Matt shook his head "The exploding reactor would have had enough force to make Canterlot's mountain into a crater...no little crown could survive it," he said. "I wish I could be that certain, but it said that those crowns are indestructible," said Luna. "Even if they did survive, they're at the bottom of the ocean where nopony can get them," said Matt. "I hope so...now then...thou should play a game we heard of...involving pinning a tail." said Luna... ... The next day, Matt and Aria were packing stuff into the dropship. Well, Aria was doing most of the packing. Matt was recovering from the revelries from the night before. "What...did she...put...in that......punch?" rasped Matt, still not over the sheer sugar overload from it. "Analysis shows that the punch contained various types of fruit juice, a generous amount of sugar, and extravagant portions of soda pop," said Aria. "I'm glad I still keep my old diabetes kit on hand...it overloaded my medical nanites," moaned Matt. "I have a feeling it may do it to anyone, though most would end up a vibrating blur than passing out," said Aria. "True...lets go before the girls turn up...I hate goodbyes...I've said it with finality to too many people..." said Matt before stopping as he heard hoofsteps. "Sorry Matt, I just couldn't say no," said Aria. Matt sighed "Prep us for takeoff." he said before turning as the Girls walked into view with the Princesses apparently there too. "Matt, I would personally like to offer my sincere gratitude for all you have done for us," said Princess Celestia. "No...I won't accept that." said Matt, causing the girls to gasp. “If I hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened. Las Pegasus wouldn’t be one big construction site, Canterlot wouldn’t be repairing and alot of people on the Icarus and here would still be in the land of the living." "None of that was your fault," said Twilight, "It was all Darius or Nightmare's fault." "But if I hadn't come, Darius wouldn't have come either," said Matt. "I have to get out of here and to the core holes before Exo Gene sends more ships...they won’t give up till I get them arrested." he continued. "You do know that you'll always be welcome back here," said Celestia. "Maybe...but not for a while...there's alot of things I have to do first." said Matt. "Ok, don't make us come after you," said Pinkie before hugging Matt. "I won't...just...promise you won’t mess with what’s left of the Skyraid..." said Matt. "Well, it's not like there's anything in there that we could use," said Applejack. "Cool...one more thing though...cause the guys will never believe me otherwise." said Matt, pulling a device off his wrist comp and placing it on a tree stump before running over to the others and turning to it. “Say cheese." he said. ... Matt saved the holosnap to his wrist comp before looking out the viewport at the now welcome multihued sight of a rip rift. "How we doing, Aria?" he said into the com. "Rift beacon detected, Kelvin 229...core sector..." said the autopilot before the ship was flooded with light, a voice saying "This is central station control to unknown vessel...kill your engines..." ... ...and we have just received word that the entirety of the Executive Genetics board of directors has been found guilty as charged for repeated violation of the NSC charter. Newly promoted Captain M, J Lynch is considered to be responsible after retrieving the AI that presented the damning evidence to the Council tribunal. In related news, the search for the missing ship, the CBC Daedalus was called off today after rift storms cut off the uncharted sectors indefinitely... ... The self-destruct systems on the facility long buried below Ponyville dam had, at the height of the facility’s use, been inspected and mock-tested every week. As such when the facility had finally engaged the explosions, one section had failed to detonate, a room containing harmless looking devices...pne of which began to beep. ... At the bottom of the sea, there was little left of the Icarus, most of it was destroyed in the explosion. However, there was something that shown brightly. The three Prima Coronas had remained unharmed by the destruction of the ship, though they were nestled on the ocean floor far from prying eyes. Or they would have been if a shadow wasn't moving among the wreckage. The crowns weren't hard to miss and they definitely attracted its attention. After a bit of careful observation, the shadow swam forward, snatched up the hats, and swam away in a flurry of fins.