//------------------------------//
// The Flying Rookery 
// Story: Lost In the Stars 
// by Crabs_of_steam 
//------------------------------//

Luna stared at the armada of flying saucers that almost blotted out the sky. She was left breathless to see such an overwhelming force. "How are we going to defeat such a force?" She thought. She looked down at Nico, who remained in full view of the flying ships. "Fool! He's going to get himself killed!" 

Nico waited for what the penguins were about to do next, He felt a chill go down his spine when he heard a familiar voice. "Pekka Pekka Pico! Pekka pop pie?" 

Nico just smiled and exclaimed, "Oh Dreadwing! How nice it is to see you! I'm glad that we have already moved past the poker incident! I'm honored to receive your invitation of death, but with a heavy heart I must decline your offer! It's not like I hate dying a violent death, I just find living more appealing! I must admit, you caught me at the most inappropriate time! I was in the middle of something! How about we meet again at a different time? How about Tues-" One of the flying saucers fired at Nico. It barely missed Nico, but the explosion it made launched Nico into the forest. 

"Nico!" Shouted Luna. Luna flew through the trees to retrieve Nico. She found him laying flat on the floor. His armor was burnt black and was steaming. "Nico?" Luna put her hooves on Nico and shook him. "Nico, please say something." 

Nico wheezed, "That.....flying sack of shit......didn't let me finish. I think.....my ribs are broken." Nico checked the status his status on his helmet. It showed that Nico is three of Nico's ribs were cracked, and his right fibula was broken. "Yup.... Broken."     

Multiple spotlights beamed on Luna and Nico. Dreadwing squawked, "Pecka pill Pico! Pecka ploom pop pop!" The flying saucers began to fire. They fired everything they had at the forest. 

Luna scooped Nico with one of her wings and ran off to avoid the oncoming onslaught. Where ever she went, flying saucers tailed her and fired bolts of plasma at every turn. "It's of no use!" Luna gasped. Sweat was beading down her face. She couldn't outrun the flying saucers. She stopped and concentrated on her horn.  The ships fired at the stationary Alicorn. In a massive blue flash, Luna was gone and in her place was a crater of hissing earth. 

The penguins in their ships celebrated amongst themselves, squawking their praise to each other for vaporizing Nico. They were all cut off by Dreadwing. He barked orders to his units. "Pekka pekka ploot pip! Pekka Poom! Pekka Plock! Pekka ploot pip!" Responding to their commander's orders, two flying saucers landed on the dirt ground. Their doors opened up and out came a squad of penguins, armed with an assortment of weaponry. One of them was operating a small tank. They all wore a forest green helmet. The squad of penguins waddled their way to Nico's ship to salvage it of parts.     

Luna teleported herself back to her original hiding and collapsed. Nico rolled over groaning from the pain in his chest. He forced himself to stand up and supported himself on a tree as well as stand on just his left leg. His breathing was ragged but it slowly recovered to a slow wheeze. 

He looked to the distance and saw his ship crawling with penguins. His blood started to boil and he armed himself with his pulse rifle. "Luna!" he gasped. Luna looked up at Nico and saw that he was already hobbling to his ship. 

Luna went over and stopped him. "Are you serious?," She silently hissed, "There are fifty flying saucers out there. You barely survived one! What makes you think you'll last?" 

"I have a plan, Luna. Remember about the molten cores I was talking about earlier? Well, they can function as a battery. I'll use that to power the ship and I will.... I...." Nico gulped. He couldn't find the words about what he was about to do. "Well, you'll find out later." He pointed to the two saucers on the ground. "I'm gonna have to extract a molten core from one of those two ships." He then pointed to the saucers in the air. "Luna, I need you to cover me and distract the saucers as best as you can. Can you handle it?" 

Luna had a look of concern on her face as she asked, "Are you still able, Nico?" 

Nico took a huge breath and clenched his gun to his chest, "I'm ready to kick some tail. let's go!" 

The two slowly walked till they were at the edge of the forest. As they readied themselves for their counter attack, Nico began to count down. "10.9.8-" Luna spread her wings and prepared to take off. She held a stern expression but couldn't help but crack a smile for was filled with excitement. "-4.3.2.1. Go!" 

Luna shot into the sky and fired her horn at one of the flying saucers. It exploded into a massive ball of ball of flame and slowly fell to the ground. The other saucers began to fire at Luna, but she was able to avoid every attack thanks to her speed. 

The falling saucer crashed on the squad of penguins. In the midst of the confusion, Nico walked in with his pulse rifle and fired it at the penguins. He was able to shoot down three, each one filled with at least ten bullets. The penguins started to turned their attention to Nico. "Pekka pop! Pekka pop!" One of them barked. They then started to fire at Nico. 

Before the bullets can even reached him, Nico brought out his Matter Manipulator and hastily made a wall of dirt, two cubes of thick. Hundreds of bullets went into the dirt wall, none of them pierced through. 

Nico sat at the base of the wall. His breathing was erratic.  He cringed from the pain in his chest and the burns under his armor. "Too many to handle," He thought to himself, "There has to be someway to get past them." As he was thinking the top right corner of the wall blew up. Nico threw a coughing fit while fanning away the dust. He quickly peeked his head around the wall and saw a small tank aimed at his direction. "Think, think, think Nico!" He screamed to himself. A memory came to Nico's mind and he had an idea. "The turrets!" he said. The top of the wall was suddenly blown off. He peeked again and was relieved that they weren't destroyed. 

The turrets surrounded the ship but were all faced the other way. If Nico could just take one or two they could provide enough covering fire for Nico to get into one of the saucers and extract the molten core. 

Nico wasted no time and went into action. He ran just as what was left of the dirt wall was blown up. Nico felt a shot of pain in his leg again and stumbled to the ground. "Argghh! Fffff...." Nico summoned a flash grenade in his hand and threw it at the penguins. He got up and hopped on one foot to one of his automated turret. With a few adjustments, Nico rotated the turret. The turret fired, making the penguins squawk in terror and run for cover. He hopped to another turret and grabbed it. He let out a cry from the pain he felt as he hugged the massive device to his chest. He carried it to one of the saucers where he set it up there.  

One of the penguins barked commands "Pekka Pun! He pointed his flipper at the penguin operating the tank. "Pekka!" He then pointed at Nico and his turret "Pekka Plip! Pekka P-" He was hit by a bullet to the head. The bullet pierced through his skull and exited out its helmet. The bullet splattered paint all over the dirt as the penguin fell to the floor. 

The automated turret shot at the other penguin, but he sealed himself in his tank. The bullets only ricocheted off the tanks armor. Seeing no progress Nico entered the flying saucer. The space inside was small, there was barely enough room for Nico just to stand. Nico saw a penguin lounging about, while smoking a cigarette. When the penguin noticed Nico's he cursed, "Pekka Puck!" and scrambled for his weapon. Nico thrown himself at the penguin and they both fell to the floor. Before the penguin could even react, Nico hit him across the face until he was unconscious.  

Nico brought himself up and rubbed his hands together. "Ok Nico, you've been in one of their ships before back in their home planet." He searched the small room for the compartment of the ship's molten core. "If my memory serves me correctly the molten core should be..... here!" He pointed to a floor panel that had penguin text inscribed as well as a voltage symbol. He carefully removed the panel, moaning from the pain in his chest. Inside was a bright glowing orange orb encapsulated in grey metal. He carefully extracted the battery and stored it in his side-pocket. 

The whole ship suddenly shook, Nico could only presume that it was the tank. He hobbled out of there just in time for an explosion to knock Nico off his feet. He was groggy from the shock and couldn't get up. He looked at the tank which was now aiming its gun at him. When It was about to finish Nico off a flying saucer suddenly crashed on top of the small tank. 

Nico's head fell to the ground. He looked up and saw Luna flying in the air. She dodged every attack the flying saucers threw at her and occasionally fired a magical bolt at one of the many flying saucers. producing destructive results. He let out light smile knowing that Luna's still okay. 

Nico picked himself up and continued on his trek to the ship. It was a struggle to keep for Nico to keep himself balanced. It hurts just to stand. He used his pulse rifle as an improvised crutch and hobbled slowly to his ship. 

Everything in front of Nico looked like hell. Nico saw penguins on fire running and screaming, smoking saucers that crashed to the ground thanks to the navy Alicorn's power, and the forest now consumed in a hellish flame. The intoxicating stench of burning fuel and fat made Nico feel sick to his stomach.

More penguins showed up to confront Nico, to which Nico brought up his gun with just one arm and sprayed them with bullets. He didn't want to bring the weapon to his chest to aim, because it hurt to feel the weapon's recoil. "I feel like shit," Nico groaned. Still, He picked up his pace despite. Nico can't afford to waste time. Even though Luna was powerful, Nico was sure that even Alicorns get tired at some point. 

When he reached his ship he ran and jumped through the doorway. When his feet landed on the metal floor, Nico went limp and rolled down the incline to the cockpit's doorway. Nico picked himself up and stumbled his way into the cockpit to the control console. 

He brought out the molten core and placed it on the control console. The whole room slowly began to light up and whir to life. What was left of the console lit up and Nico heard a familiar voice. "Welcome, Nico," said the Computer. Nico never felt so happy to hear this monotone voice. 

Nico instantly forgot about his troubles. He sat on the pilot's chair and placed both his hands on the steering wheel. "Computer," said Nico his voice filled with joy, "Give me a status report." The Computer responded, " Ship's shield offline, fuel depleted, missile system damaged, airlock door missing. Unable to exit planet's atmosphere."  

"Oh," Nico silently muttered. Those words hurt Nico worse more than every other wound he had ever received. After remembering why he was here, he laid his head on the steering wheel and buried himself in his arms. He Then beat his fists on the control the console while screaming, "No! No! No!" He kept on beating his fists until they started to bleed. He held his bleeding hand while at the same time wiping the tears coming from his eyes. He took a series of deep breaths and said, "No. I have to do this." He looked up into the metal roof. He continued to star until he mustered enough strength to say, "Computer...... initiate self destruct protocol." 

"Are you sure?" responded the computer.   

"Yes," Nico muttered. 

"Commencing self destruct in three minutes." 

Nico got up from his chair and began to walk off. When he as at the doorway Nico turned around. He didn't know what to say for he was lost for words. This has been his home for eight years and now it will be gone. "Goodbye, I'll miss you." Nico felt that it was right for him to say that. He jumped off back into open. 

Sweat was running down Luna's face as she dodged and maneuvered around the flying saucers' attacks. It was near impossible for her have a second to breath. Whenever she got the chance, she fired her horn at the saucers. The saucers began to circle around Luna. "Pekka plop purr!" Dreadwing squawked. In response, minature versions of the flying saucers detached from them. Much like their larger counterparts they were similar in shape and was operated by one penguin. They were an overwhelming force too much for Luna to handle.  

They surrounded Luna and fired their lasers at her. The lasers hit Luna at all sides. She cried from the shots of pain all over and her flying started to falter. It was when one of the saucers shot her wings that she started to plummet to the ground. The saucers started to descend as well, relentless in their assault on Luna. 

Luna was at the edge of consciousness. As she was falling, she saw a rocket fired from the ground. The rocket was heading in her direction. Her pupils shrunk to pinpricks as the rocket zipped past her head, just grazing her celestial mane. The rocket struck one of the tiny saucers causing a massive explosion. The explosion consumed all those around it. Luna could feel the intense heat of the explosion radiating on her back. 

Nico threw down the bazooka he looted from a dead penguin next to his feet and ran towards the falling the Alicorn, regardless of the pain. He gasped and cursed from the pain in each of his steps, but he still maintained his pace. He made a massive leap into air with the use of his armor and caught Luna in his arms. When he landed, Nico stumbled and fell on his back. Nico wheezed from the weight on his chest. "Aghh....shit!"

Luna looked at Nico, her pupils still shrunken. "You shot at me?" she asked. 

Nico was gasping for air and looked at Luna with a wild expression. "Y-yes..." 

Luna grew red with anger. "Are you mad!?" She screamed. 

"Ugh...." feeling completely depleted of oxygen Nico pushed Luna off his chest. He stood up and started to regain his breath. "Sorry," he gasped.  

Luna got up. Still mad, she shouted, "That doesn't excuse your reckless behavior! What have you been doing all this time?" 

He placed his fingers over Luna's lips and shushed her. "I have no time to tell you. We have to get as faraway from here as possible. We have to-" All the flying saucers were circled above both Nico and Luna. Nico brought out his Matter Manipulator and constructed dome of dirt. He hugged his arm around Luna's neck. "Luna, teleport us outta here. Quick!" 

Without question, Luna closed her eyes and focused on her horn. The dark room was filled with a flash of blue light then again with the dark. Nico and Luna were outside and stared at the dome of dirt they previously inhabited. One of the larger saucers hovered above the dome and crashed down at an intense speed. It moved so fast that half of it was submerged in the dirt. It slowly ascended back into the air leaving behind a large pit. Then, the rest of the saucers fired at the pit. Dirt and rocked were blown into the air from the firepower. They all fired until the pit looked like a fiery gateway to hell. 

Nico chuckled at the penguins for being so gullible. Nico turned around "Come on Luna, let's-" Nico found himself a few feet from the ship. His mouth dropped wide open. "Luna, Why did you teleport us back to the ship?" 

Luna shrugged. "I thought it would be a safe place to temporarily hide ourselves in. Why?"  

"Because the ship is gonna self-destruct." Nico quickly gibbered. 

Luna looked at Nico as if he were crazy. "W-what?" 

"The ship is gonna blow up! We got to get outta here!" 

Luna calmly responded with an, "Oh." Once she screamed, "Ooohh!" She spread her wings and barked an order to Nico. "Climb onto my back." Wasting no time, Nico obeyed and sat on Luna's back. He wrapped his arms around her neck. Luna grunted from Nico's weight as well as the injuries she sustained. "Hold on tight, Nico." She said. With a single flap of her wings, the two took off with great speed. 

Nico thought they will be outside the range of ship's explosion. He and Luna will be safe, while the penguins will perish in the blast. He was certain that they would both be safe. Nico's hopes were dashed when there was an explosion that sent him and Luna crashing into a tree. Nico picked his face from the ground. He saw all the flying saucers aiming their weapons at him and Luna. Nico turned his attention his ship. It started to combust and explode. 

Dreadwing saw this and ordered everyone to retreat. "Pekka pekka pern! Pekka pekka pern!" He squawked. 

Nico turned to Luna and saw that she was knocked unconcious. With escape now impossible, Nico came up with another hastily constructed plan. He brought out the Matter Manipulator and made a second dome, this time made of stone. With no other option, Nico hoped for the best. He held Luna in his arms and was wiping the blood from her forehead. 

The flying saucers began their retreat, but they were already too late. The ship exploded into a massive ball of fire that engulfed everything: the flying saucers, the dome made of stone, and everything within a five-mile radius of the ship. Nico quickly made a hole for Luna and placed her in it. He was hopeful that it would keep her cooler. When the whole dome was consumed by the wave of fire, the stone that protected Nico and Luna begun to turn red from the intense heat. 

It wasn't long for Nico to feel liked he was being baked alive. He ripped off his helmet and was stripping himself of the rest of his armor. When he felt that his own sweat was evaporating from his skin, Nico took off every article of clothing he had on left. He still felt like he was burning. He turned his head to Luna's body in the hole. He has to find someway to stay cool, that was all Nico thought of. He crawled over to Luna and touched her with his side cheek. Nico felt like he was touching cold steel, he never felt such relief in his life. 

As he was pressing his body against Luna's, Nico's senses returned to him. He blushed violently and was too horrified to think properly. "Gah..Gah.Gah..Gah.Gah..Gah..Gah." Nico forced himself up, grunting from the sores he felt allover his body. He once again felt the blistering heat all over his body. Nico cursed his misfortune. "Oh God. I'm sorry Luna." He once again pressed his body against Luna. Too tired to do anything much less think, Nico past out from exhaustion. His troubles slowly began to fade away as he rests, safe from the inferno raging outside.