//------------------------------// // Day 3: Time's Up // Story: A Guardian's Sacrifice // by Requiem17 //------------------------------// ---------------------------------------------------- 10 HOURS UNTIL CARDIOVASCULAR FAILURE OBJECTIVE PROGRESS: INCOMPLETE STATUS… RED ----------------------------------------------------------- A loud thud awoke Ale abruptly. He stayed still and listened closely. After a few moments another thud was heard, emanating from the libraries reading room. Ale slowly shifted onto his side, the bed creaking under his armored weight. He then pushed himself up while swinging his legs off the bed. After sitting for a few moments his stomach growled, prompting him to get up and get some food. After his fight with Luna Ale had flown to Twilights as he was always welcome there. She was more than willing to let the depressed soldier spend the night. Ale had already made his way down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. He entered the doorway to see Spike busy toiling over the stove. He could see a plate stacked with waffles sitting on the counter next to Spike. Ale stepped up behind him, gaining a clear view of the stove top. Two frying pans occupied the burners, one filled with eggs and the other had hash browns. Just then the toaster popped, startling Spike enough that he almost fell over backwards. Ale quickly steadied him; holding behind his shoulders and pushing him back up onto his feet. “Oh, thanks Ale.” “No problem,” Ale replied, reaching over Spike and pulling out the toast and setting it on a nearby plate. “I got this Spike. It’s the least I could do for dropping in on you guys so late last night.” “Thanks! But don’t worry about visiting us. We don’t get to see you often enough.” Ale paused midway in buttering the toast, silently brooding over what he had just said. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Spike looked at Ale, his eyes filled with curiosity. Ale waved him off as he continued his task. Spike shrugged, quickly stirring the shredded potatoes before they burned. The two tag-teamed the kitchen together for a few more minutes, staying silent as they focused on their duties. They soon finished and began setting the table, the sound Ale had heard earlier still occurring in the background. “Hey Spike, what is that?” Ale asked as he gestured through the doorway with a thumb. “Oh, that’s just Twilight. She’s searching for spells again, no doubt tossing books around in her search effort.” “Ah, I see. Well,” Ale set down the last few items of cutlery before standing straight, “I guess I’ll go tell her breakfast is ready.” Spike nodded and watched Ale walk away. Ale stepped into the reading room and was not surprised by the view. Books were scattered everywhere with a few dropping from the air. ‘Typical.’ Ale looked up and saw Twilight hovering by the top shelves, books encased in a purple glow circling around her. “Twilight!” The purple pony squeaked as she dropped all her books, spinning around to glare at Ale. “What is so important that you had to interrupt me?” Ale met her glare for a few seconds, his visor hiding his deadpan look. “Breakfast.” Twilight looked as if she was going to argue until a dull roar echoed around the room. A blush lit up Twilight’s cheeks as she smiled sheepishly. “I… I guess I could eat.” Ale shook his head as he walked back towards the dining room. He sat down next to Spike, watching Twilight settle in her seat across from him. “This looks really good Spike! You fail to disappoint!” Twilight praised the little dragon. “Ah, it was nothing.” Ale reached an arm out and patted him on the back, nodding his way. The three began digging in, Ale having long since gotten over his closest friends seeing him without his helmet. It didn’t take long for the table to become devoid of food. Ale, along with the others, sat back and sighed in content. After a few minutes Ale began standing up. “Well, I’ll get started on the dishes.” “Nonsense! Spike and I will take care of it. A guest is meant to relax.” Twilight insisted. Ale was hesitant, “Are you sure?” Both Twilight and Spike nodded. “Don’t worry bro. Twi and I got it.” Spike offered a fist to Ale. Ale smiled and bumped his fist with the dragons. Ale took his plate to the sink and moved out of his host’s way. He walked over to the doorway and watched them clean the dishes. He smiled gently as he listened to them talk, laugh, and splash each other with water. Spike was pushed into the sink and came out with a soap beard. Twilight laughed mirthfully, prompting Spike to give his own good natured chuckle. Ale slowly backed away, locking that memory away forever. He strolled over to a chair and sat down, closing his eyes as he began thinking deeply. He thought of Luna. Ale was… lost when it came to her. Avoiding the problem didn’t work out in the end as it had resulted in a fight. He didn’t know if Luna was regretting what she had said but Ale certainly was. Her look of betrayal and the hurt in her eyes had struck him deeply. Now here he was, spending the few hours he had without her. ‘How could I be so stupid? This is all my fault. If only I had talked to her about it earlier we could have come to terms with it.’ Ale took a moment to think about that. ‘No, she would have spent the entire time looking for help. I wouldn’t want her spending the rest of my life with her to go like that. This is for the best.’ Meanwhile, Twilight had walked into the room and, missing the tears crawling on Ale’s face behind his visor, continued her search. She flew up and ripped book after book out of the shelves. On the last book she stopped and a look of silent irritation crossed her face. ‘Of course it would be the last book.’ She flew down and set the book down on a table. After opening it to the correct page she looked under the table. Finding the saddlebag she had stored there earlier she pulled it out. She went to raise her head only to knock her head on the bottom of the table painfully. Ale sat up at the loud knock and listened to Twilight swear under her breath. She eventually rose up from the table and rubbed her head. “You alright there Twilight?” “Yeah, I’m just fine.” She reached over and picked up the saddlebag, placing it on the table. She opened the flap and rummaged around in it for a few seconds before pulling out a jar filled with a rainbow substance. Twilight gently set the jar on the table and rubbed her hooves gleefully. “What do you have there?” Ale asked. “It’s a jar of zap apple jam!” Ale remembered Applejack telling him about it. If he remembered correctly, the zap apples were magical and only stayed around for a little while. So how was the jam still magical? “Hey Twilight, how is that still zap apple jam instead of normal apple jam?” “I’m glad you asked. You see, the apples themselves are magical in nature. After it’s been processed however, it will stay as long as the jam is edible.” Twilight looked over at her book and read it over before looking back at the jar. Her horn lit up as she concentrated, a purple aura surrounding the jar. Ale watched with interest as frost seemed to cover the outside of the jar, the rainbow coloring on the inside slowly turning into a dark tan color. Twilight stopped her magic and breathed heavily, smiling in success as she viewed the results. Ale leaned forward, “What just happened?” Twilight smiled happily, “I negated the magical effects of the zap apple jam and turned it back into normal apple jam!” Ale looked at her in disbelief. “How?” “Simple! When a magical artifact is exposed to extreme cold the magic coursing through it instantly stops coursing through it. It’s still there, but it’s like the artifact is frozen in time while the magic is still active. They’re separated.” Ale stared at her for a very long time, his silence beginning to creep her out. She was about to ask what was wrong when Ale asked, “Can this work on living beings?” Twilight looked at him in confusion. “Well, if a Timberwolf was exposed to the extreme temperatures of the barren north it would cease to exist as the magic powering its wooden body would become separated from it. So I guess it could work on all living creatures.” She watched Ale intently, watching as he seemed to think incredibly hard. She jumped back when he suddenly stood up and ran towards her. He scooped her up in a bone crushing hug. “Thank you so much Twilight. I’m glad I met you. And I’m sorry at the same time.” Twilight was extremely confused as Ale dropped her. He bolted for the door before stopping, turning to face her. “Watch over Spike and keep him in line, especially around the mares as he ages.” He took a deep breath before speaking in a solemn tone. “You have a good life Twilight. See you on the other side.” Ale lurched out the door, leaving an extremely dumbfounded and concerned alicorn in his wake. She shook her head before standing up, running for the door. It was for naught as she heard the Pelicans engines boot up. By the time she made it to the window she saw Ale lifting into the air and fly away, disappearing in the infuriating blizzard. She turned around and ran through the reading room into the kitchen, intent on making Spike send a letter about Ale’s strange behavior. She never did notice the jar on the table. Water dripped down from the sides as it thawed out, a rainbow color slowly overtaking the dark tan. ---------------------------------------------------------- Luna looked into the mirror and dabbed a damp wash cloth to her face. She observed her reflection. Bloodshot eyes, runny nose, and wilting ears greeted her sight. She sniffled at her appearance and tried to clean herself up as best as she could. Ale hadn’t returned the night before, worrying the lunar princess greatly. Her night had resulted in her tossing and turning, nightmares of her beloved leaving her haunting her dreams. Using her magic she picked up her eyeliner and applied it. After freshening up she dressed in her royal regalia and took a few calming breathes. After settling down she prepared her apology to Ale as she pushed magic into her horn and teleported to Twilights. When the world came into focus Luna looked around. She was standing in the middle of the library and heard noises coming from the kitchen. She walked through the doorway. “Ale?” Her sight was greeted by Twilight talking to Spike. By the tone of their voices Luna could tell they were stressed. Twilight looked up at her. “Princess? What are you doing here? Did Celestia send you?” Luna frowned slightly, “No, she did not. Have you by chance seen Ale recently?” Twilight nodded. “He spent the night here.” “Where is he now?” Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea. He just suddenly left an hour ago. I’ve been trying to contact Celestia but she hasn’t responded.” Luna was disappointed that she had missed Ale but continued on with her questioning. “What’s wrong?” Twilight bit her lip. “Ale. He said some really strange things before he left. Almost as if he didn’t expect to come back.” Luna’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?” “His voice, his demeanor, it was very unsettling. Princess, what happened between you and him?” Luna dropped her head. “I’m afraid I might have made a grave mistake. He was just so sad and secretive that I pushed him for the truth a little too far. I’ve come to apologize, that’s why I’m looking for him.” Twilight thought for a few seconds before brightening up. “Have you tried his ship? I know he likes to go there when he wants some alone time.” Luna hit herself in the head. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” When she saw Twilight’s concerned stare Luna waved a hoof at her. “I’m fine. I just never thought about looking there. Farewell Twilight, and I hope you are able to contact my sister.” Luna lit up her horn again and poured magic into a long range teleportation spell. With a flash she found herself in the hangar of Ale’s ship. She looked around and was shocked by the sight that greeted her. The trashed hangar was no more; instead it was cleaned and looked repaired. A few of the strange vehicles seemed to be in working order, mismatched with patched parts. She strolled through the brightly lit hangar and continued down pristine hallways. After consulting a few signs she finally reached the bridge. The doors slid open for her and, to her disappointment, the room was devoid of her beloved. She had almost turned around before an idea struck her. “Cassandra?” She called out, “Can you hear me?” A blue light flickered over a circular pad before turning into the form of a human mar- er- female. Luna had remembered Ale telling her that if she ever needed anything in the ship to ask ‘Cassandra’. “How may I be of assistance?” “Yes, erm…” Luna cleared her throat, “I’m looking for Ale. Have you seen him?” “Spartan 02-05 has not been aboard since yesterday.” Luna looked crestfallen as her ears hung. “Oh, okay. I’ll be leaving then.” Before she teleported another question pushed forth in her mind. “Wait!” Cassandra looked at her expectantly. “What has Ale been doing up here?” The A.I. pulled up some records as it replied, “Spartan 02-05, or Ale as you refer to him, has done many things. He spent two years fixing the outer hull and another three patching the super structure. He then repaired the cabin areas of the ship and attempted to salvage vehicles from the hangar. His current project has been the repair of the primary slip space drive power coupling.” ‘Slip space, slip space…’ “What does slip space do again?” Luna asked. “Slip space allows for the travel of interstellar star ships,” the A.I. droned on. “Without it a star ship would take hundreds, if not thousands of years to travel to other colonies.” The color drained from Luna’s face. ‘He… he wants to leave? He wants to leave me?’ Luna fell on her rear as she struggled to digest this information. After a while she stood up, tears of anger beginning to flow down her face. “That… that bastard… will pay for toying with me!” Luna yelled. She casted another teleportation spell as she headed for Canterlot. A few seconds after a rapid beeping emitted from the navigation console. Cassandra pulled up the new notification and observed it. SECURITY BREACH SECTOR: ENGINEERING ASSAILANT: UNKNOWN DAMAGE ASSESSMENT… … PRIMARY SLIP SPACE DRIVE CONNECTION: ACTIVE AVAILABLE POWER OUTPUT: 100% Cassandra prepped a message containing the new information and sent it off to Spartan 02-05 as ordered too when she found a solution. --------------------------------------------------------- Ale approached Canterlot and settled the Pelican in the garden courtyards. He powered down the old war machine and lowered the loading ramp. He thundered down it and looked around the white gardens frantically. “Discord!” Ale yelled. “I know you can hear me! I need to speak with you!” Ale waited a few moments before beginning to call his name again, only to be interrupted by a voice. “Stop yelling! I’m here already and I can hear you just fine.” Ale whipped around and spotted the creature he had been looking for. “Discord! I think I found a solution to the curse!” Ale took a breath to begin explaining before he was again interrupted. “What? Freeze yourself? Thinking about using the cryochambers aboard your ship?” Ale simply stared at Discord before replying slowly, “Yes…” Ale shook his head. “Is there a problem with that?” “Well, you may be able to delay your death but the second you unfreeze you’ll be dead as the magic will come back.” A trillion tons of weight appeared on Ale’s shoulders as he slumped to his knees, slamming a fist into the ground in frustration. “I was so close… so close,” Ale whispered. He began shaking as the hopeful image he had created dispersed and revealed his dire situation. There wasn’t time left to do anything else. It was over. “I’m not making it out of this one am I?” Ale asked to no one. He breathed slowly, staring at the ground. “Hmm, I disagree.” Ale froze, trying to comprehend what he had just heard. He looked up to see a smirking Discord. Ale slowly felt anger rise within him as he slowly stood up. He stayed deathly still as he all but whispered out, “You better not be fucking with me, otherwise I will rip your head off and shove it up so far up your ass that you’ll be spewing shit the next time you speak.” Discord frowned at Ale’s very colorful description before shaking his head. “You need to see a doctor you know that?” Ale began walking forward, reaching for his combat knife before Discord stopped him with his hands outstretched. “Alright, alright! I may have a solution to your predicament.” “…” “What? No excitement? No hopeful cheering?” Schlink… Discord gulped, “Huh, tough crowd. Anyways, if you were to freeze yourself and get out of Equis’ magic range, you should be rid of your curse given enough time.” “Problem. I don’t have a working slip space drive.” Discord snapped his fingers. “Now you do.” Ale looked at him in disbelief before a message scrolled down his HUD, detailing the now working interstellar drive. He simply stared at Discord for a few seconds before asking, “God of chaos?” Discord rubbed the back of his neck, “Actually, I may or may not have taken a few classes in UNSC officer school before being kicked out for being clinically insane.” Ale had no response for that. Instead he decided to keep things on track. “Why didn’t you do this earlier?” “Oh, you know. Can’t play with timelines.” “Actually, I don’t know but I’m going to ignore that as I’m running short on time.” Ale began running back to his Pelican. “How long do I need to be gone?” “300 years! Good luck!” Ale stumbled when he heard that. ‘300 years!?’ Ale felt an incredible sadness well up within him as he imagined how pained Luna would be. He punched the ramp lift as he thundered towards the cockpit. He quickly strapped himself in and began firing up the engines. He throttled hard and lifted into the air. He turned and rocketed towards high orbit, missing the two bright flashes in the castle. ------------------------------------------------------ Luna appeared in the middle of her room, whipping her head around as she searched for her ‘beloved’. Failing to find him she thundered down the hallways rapidly towards the throne room. She had just burst through the throne room doors, tears of fury leaking onto the ground, said tears turning to ice as they were enchanted by her righteously glowing white eyes. “AAALLLEEE!!!” She was interrupted when another bright flash entered her field of vision. Her anger stopped and was replaced by confusion when she saw her sister; fur ragged and scuffs of blood staining her coat. She was also weeping loudly. “Sister! What happened to you?!” “I… I failed.” “Tia, whatever may have happened I have urgent business to discuss with you about Ale.” Luna felt her anger rising again. “He wants to leave sister! He’s been playing me this whole time! He never loved me.” Celestia looked at her sister in shock. She took in her appearance and realized that Luna truly believed what she was saying. “No…” she sniffled. “That is so far from the truth. Luna, Ale loves you.” “No!” Luna yelled. “He does not! Why would he treat me like he has recently if it weren’t true!?” Celestia shook her head and sighed. “Luna, do you know what I’ve been doing for the past 18 hours?” When Luna shook her head she continued. “I’ve been searching, searching the ends of Equis for a cure.” “A cure? Tia what does this have to do wi-,” “It has everything to do with Ale! Luna, ale is under a curse set upon him by Chrysalis.” Luna stopped arguing as she once again fell on her rear in shock. “This curse has been draining energy from Ale’s soul for almost a decade now. When the decade is up the curse will have absorbed every last bit of Ale’s life essence, killing him.” Luna could feel tears welling in her eyes, both of guilt and sadness. Celestia continued, “Ale was hiding it from you so that you wouldn’t worry about him and continue living your life with him to the fullest. He shouldered this burden by himself because he loves you so much,” tears were leaking out of Celestia’s eyes as well. Luna suddenly came to a dreadful conclusion. “But Tia, it’s been a decade since the destruction of the changeling hive and its queen.” Celestia only nodded, Luna feeling a very heavy wave of dread rolling down her body to her hooves, filling her up completely. She began shaking as her thoughts became incredibly jumbled, her chest painfully numb as she struggled to breath, much less speak. A terrible pain erupted within her, causing her to release a silent scream as she collapsed to the floor. It was originating from Ale’s end of the bond. She breathed rapidly as her body twitched in pain, tears and saliva streaking on the floor and smearing her face. The sharpest of pain pulsed with her throbbing heart, her brain threatening to explode as the sharp pain was too much. She coughed violently and couldn’t breathe; darkness creeping in on the edge of her vision as both the pain and lack of oxygen was getting to her. Before the black abyss could envelope her in its sweet embrace she felt a tugging on her soul. She could literally feel Ale leaving. ‘I’m sorry Luna,’ she could feel Ale’s message to her. The bond slipped, the last little threads ripping apart, thrusting Luna into unconsciousness. ------------------------------------------------- The Pelican flew into the hangar and clamped down onto its hard landing zone. The ramp door opened and settled on the ground with a dull thud. Nothing came out, the only movement and noise coming from the yellow strobe lights and gentle hum of the ship. The silence was gripping, the ship holding its breath as it waited for somebody, anybody to take charge once again. A loud slap was heard, emanating from the back of the Pelican. Security cameras zoomed in on the back of the Pelican, watching as a shadow stretched onto the ramp. A few seconds later an armored hand came into view, clutching the break between the cargo bay and the sloped ramp. The hand flexed and the Spartan came into view as he dragged himself to the edge. His other hand was clutching his chest, grunts and hisses of pain forcing out from the helmet. The Spartan dragged himself over the ledge and slid down the ramp. He yelled in pain when he contacted the grated floor. Gripping the piston that lowered the ramp, the warrior pulled himself to his feet. He began stumbling out of the hangar and into the hallways. He lurched to the side as another beat of his heart lit his whole body on fire. He fell to his knees and, with an incredible amount of will power and effort, was able to heave himself to his feet again. “Ca- Cassandra!” Ale heaved out as he struggled to remain conscious. “Yes Captain?” Ale continued to drag his feet rapidly down the corridor. “S- ssset, the ship… Ahh!!” Ale wanted to rip his armor to shreds in order to free up the amount of pain, even though that would prove to be a fruitless endeavor. “On a 3- 300 year journey…” Ale gasped out. He punched the door release into pieces as he slipped through another bulkhead and found himself in a room with a cryochamber on the other side. “Aye aye sir. Drives are spinning up.” Ale barely caught that before collapsing onto the deck. He heaved in pain and felt his eye sight twist and become unfocused. A dizzying inner pain shocked his sense, illusionary lightning arched across his vision. Ale’s extremities locked up and a creeping cold consumed him. It… it didn’t make sense. His exterior felt ice cold while flares of painful heat erupted within. All thought disappeared as he slowly began to close his eyes. ‘Luna…’ ‘Luna…’ ‘Luna?’ ‘…’ ‘NOOOO!!!’ Ale felt as if his muscles were ripping apart as he began to lift himself up to his hands and knees. He crawled across the floor in what seemed to take forever. He couldn’t feel anything but at the same time he felt as if he was being split apart atom by atom. Before he knew it his hand grasped the edge of the cryopod and he pulled himself in. He twisted his body in the most antagonizing pain as he put his back to the sloped wall. He struggled to push up with his legs, shaking in effort as he finally stood up straight against the sloped backing. His finger slipped across a button on the inside several times before he finally pushed it, watching as the glass casing came down into place, sealing the pod with a hiss. Ale felt a physical cold beginning to creep in at the same time he felt the ship stop for a mere moment. During this brief bout of silence Ale found that he could think clearly. ‘I’m sorry Luna.’ The ship lurched and Ale fell into the dark void as the cold finally took him. ‘Wait for me…’