//------------------------------//
// Failures 
// Story: Among Luna's Stars 
// by LadyofSorrows 
//------------------------------//


“So you never intentionally came here?” Twilight asked as they neared the edge of the forest.

Cecilia shook her head; “I made the jump with a half functioning IMMT system. Well, as I walk here now it seems that was a not such a good idea.”

"What is an IMMT System?" 

Cecilia answered the unicorn guard; "IMMT stands for Improvised Magical Mirror Transport. The basic concept is based off the Interstellar dragon mirror network, using large fixed mirrors, a crystal control system to choose the destination, and a spell to connect the two sides. An IMMT has an unlimited range, no need for fixed mirrors, and utilizes electrical power to power the transfer rather than magic. The IMMT system is very new technology that has not been thoroughly tested as to what all it does differently than the original fixed mirror system."

"So there are dragons where you come from too, are you friends with them?"

Cecilia shrugged; "I don't know about friends, everyone that has come across my path has tried to kill me, and Interstellar Dragons are the oldest species of dragon. So my opinion on dragons is a little biased at the moment."

“So how will you get back?” Cecilia glanced at the pegasus guard that asked the question.

“Well that will depend on Yulee, I’m waiting on her to hatch. Then it is a simple matter of the inputting a few coordinates into the system and I’m off.” Cecilia slowed a bit allowing the guards to take the lead.

Twilight kept pace with Cecilia; “So in effect it’s like teleportation?”

Cecilia nodded; “In a matter of speaking, but unlike teleportation this system requires specific destination inputs. Without them you end up sliding through time as well.”

Twilight stopped in her tracks and Cecilia a few steps further turning to look at the wide eyed mare.

“Something wrong Miss Sparkle?”

“What if you did slide through time? This is some prehistory or future of your destination?”

Cecilia shook her head; “Impossible, Yulee didn’t have the energy at the time to go either way. If I did slide at all, which I didn’t, I would be surrounded by Interstellars. An IMMT system is not a time machine Miss Sparkle. The worst slide possible is a day either way of your destination, but you still arrive at your destination.”

Twilight smiled; "If it is so accurate, then explain how you got here." 

Cecilia gave Twilight a deadpan look and Twilight giggled a bit.

"Sorry Cecilia, sore subject, but I couldn't resist."

Cecilia looked at the ruined cottage a few paces beyond the edge of the forest. “Was someone living there at the time of my crash?”

Twilight nodded; “My friend, Fluttershy, she takes care of the animals. The shockwave of you impact knocked her out and singed her side… She is in the hospital right now for observation.”

“Have you gone to see her yet?” Twilight was caught off guard by the concerned tone of Cecilia’s voice.

“Yes, why are you concerned about that?”

“Miss Sparkle, I about killed your friend this morning, and I would have been upset if you were poking around that crater having not seen to your friend first.”

“Twilight…” 

Cecilia cocked her head left somewhat; “Excuse me?”

“My friends just call me Twilight or Twi for short. Miss Sparkle makes me sound like an official.” Twilight looked at the cottage; “Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Rarity should be coming by later to help fix her place up.”

Cecilia nodded; “I would like them to be compensated for their time. Gold is a form of currency here correct?”

Twilight gestured towards the guards with a hoof; “With a few other uses as well, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it Cecilia.”

“Cecy…”

Twilight smiled; “touche…who gave that nickname?”

“My mother, the bullies enjoyed making fun of it taking the shine off it.” Cecilia made no effort to hide the bitterness that crept into her tone at the end of her statement.

Twilight bit back the need to ask why considering Cecilia had been in what she thought a decent mood to that point. Twilight was guessing at this point with what she knew. It was clear that upsetting Cecilia was not a good course of action if she wanted to get the promised story.

Ponyville was pretty much having a normal day; shops were still open despite the groups of ponies moving about repairing the minor cosmetic damage. However work began to stop, discussions changed topic, hooves pointed, and foals moved behind their parents. The three guards were still in the lead, turning the corner to head down the correct street with the Library at the end.

Cecilia began to smile at the comments ponies were making about her. Oh sure Twilight couldn’t hear them, or maybe she was ignoring it. Cecilia stopped walking leaving Twilight to keep going towards their destination. 
Cecilia turned to face the ponies staring back at her from both sides of the street.

“Those who judge without knowledge are monsters, those who know and judge hastily are fools, but those who know without judgment are friends in waiting. Think hard on this lesson, for you never know who will come through these streets. If your princesses were to don a stranger’s appearance, would they see what my eyes see? Would they hear what I have heard, and would they be pleased or ashamed to be your leaders? Would you feel shame, if they were to reveal themselves after such a shameful display?”

Cecilia turned back around and caught up to Twilight. Twilight had her head down slightly and her ears back; “I’m sorry Cecy…” Cecilia flicked Twilight in the ear causing a surprised yelp of pain, and a hoof to rub it. “What did you do that for?”

“Do not carry guilt that is meant for others to bear.”

Twilight put her hoof back down and with a flick of her ear she started back towards the library; “You seem rather full of good advice all of a sudden, and where did you learn that lesson from? I would love to send it to the princess as a lesson in friendship.”

“You can send it to her, I’m sure my father won’t mind, and you’re learning friendship?”

Twilight almost instinctively opened her door with magic while answering Cecy’s question. “Well before moving to Ponyville I had no real friends. The assignment I was given was to merely oversee preparations for a yearly festival. It was on that year that a prophecy was going to come true. When it came to pass I met some wonderful ponies, and they helped me discover things about myself I never would have learned on my own. They also helped save the day.”

Cecilia nodded and stooping a bit she made it through the door. Thankfully the inside was bigger and she stood back up.
In the main room seated throughout were the rest of Twilight’s friends, nurse Red Heart sitting close to Fluttershy who seemed to be looking better, and both Princesses.

Cecilia shook her head; “Well at least two familiar faces are present, it’s good to see you again Celestia, Luna…”

“Why did you send us back, we were profusely sorry for our actions to thy sister?”

All eyes shifted to Princess Luna, before moving back to look at Cecilia. It was clear to the six other ponies in the room that the princesses and Cecilia had met at some point.

Cecilia sighed; “Mistakes have consequences, you made a mistake that disrupted the flow of life around you, and despite my sister’s concern we invited all that were cursed. Their mistakes shouldn’t bar them from knowing who ruled above them. I made it clear then that I was not going to change the sentences of those who were punished before my rule. 

You were not the only cursed being to appeal when that party came to an end. It was the first taste of heartache my new position brought. It is time that brings the positive outcome, and time is what you needed Luna. Too thoroughly drive home the necessity of balance, and to appreciate and cherish what stands beside you now. Family…”

Cecilia settled onto the floor undoing the sleeves of her jacket and moving the improvised pack around to sit in front of her.

“I find it hard, your majesty, that you would crash or come here willingly knowing my younger sister's bitterness towards you.”

Cecilia looked at Celestia; “How I got here is a mystery even for me, because I refuse to embrace my power to find out. I’ll try to find out from what Yulee was able to capture, but we are getting off track. I promised Twilight an explanation, and she promised me a glass of water that I’m sadly wishing was pitcher by now. The rest of you were not expected, so you’re along for the ride at this point.”

A glass popped into existence within arm reach, and Cecilia picked it up to down half of it in a single setting.

“Much better, now to begin…”

Cecilia stood back up still holding the glass.

“To understand fully I have to give background on certain parties. The first, being infamously known as The Masters. There was nothing more than a group of five very gifted scientists. They are the source of many wars, and numerous violations of ethics. They were genetic engineers, and had but one goal. To either create or modify a living being to become capable of defeating an Interstellar Dragon. They came from various worlds and were different species, but they had constant funding from species fearing Interstellars. They also turned a blind eye to the violations in ethics, and at times assisted in the kidnapping and disposal of beings used in The Masters research.

Interstellar Dragons are the second party you need to be familiar with in this story. Massive dragons, that get their name from being able to survive the harshness of space, and they possess powerful magic. Normally a passive race that records and stores advancements in their own species as well as others. They still remain the most powerful mortal race in my universe since the near extinction of Hybrid Nekos at their claws.

The pirate guilds are another party in this story. They are also my current enemy, a space faring group of misfits that steal, murder, and do whatever they desire at the expense of innocent hard working folk. Their strength comes from the numbers, and currently they are led by Braxus. Braxus is ruthless and maintains his leadership with fear, and stolen power.

The Lady of Sorrows is another party to this story, but she is also another victim of The Masters’ research. She was their downfall; the executioner chosen by the ruling gods and goddess of the time. Her given name is SalSane Celfus, born an Interstellar Dragon, her mother was SalSoon Celfus, and SalSoon was the sister of Ilyssa. Ilyssa is the mate of King Toleranth, and I don’t think I need to explain further on what that makes SalSane. She has vowed to kill anyone who takes up the research of The Masters, and I support that cause.

Lastly we have Hybrid Nekos, a species born of The Masters research. The genetic cross of Interstellar, human, and the anthro feline species known as nekos; gives this species devastating abilities as warriors. Yet they also possess the overwhelming ability to learn and improve. They are the first species to deal a severe blow to Interstellars. The way I look is precisely how any of them would look; they were made to be the same, the curse of perfection."

Cecilia paused to finish her glass of water, and was surprised when it magically refilled itself. She took a moment to look at her audience. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy was napping. Twilight was attentive, Applejack looked bored, Pinkie was eating popcorn, and Rarity was eating a cupcake in small pieces. 

Luna and Celestia were now sitting comfortably sipping tea.

“In 3056 Dr. Niklus Perfection and four other set out to create or modify a living being for the sole purpose of combating or destroying Interstellar dragons. In the summer of 3058 Interstellar spies learn of the research and publically ask for it to cease least there be further consequences. The fall of the same year SalSane Celfus goes missing from the cliffs of Six Day Canyon. Queen Ilyssa orders the armies of the Interstellar Empire to tear it apart looking for her sisters child. Toleranth offers a reward that would make anyone wealthy beyond their dreams for information of her whereabouts.

The search is finalized in 3059 on the eve of the new year, it is clear that SalSane is nowhere in the empire, squadrons of dragons were sent out to search, and outrage among the Interstellars continues to put pressure on Toleranth.

3061 brings about a lead as to where SalSane might be. A pirate commander blinded by greed boldly travels to, and tells Toleranth and Ilyssa that SalSane was sold to a group of scientists for research purposes. Ilyssa, in her rage kills the pirate commander before he could tell more, and squadrons were sent to the research facility used by The Masters. The facility was abandoned, but evidence found proved they had not ceased their research.

3062 Dr. Niklus Perfection and his team create the Perfection Chain. This strain of DNA in their projections was what they were hoping for. They issue their first public statement boldly telling the interstellars that they had taken, and killed SalSane Celfus. A statement that was not true, but did what they wanted. That was to start a war. The winter of 3062 the first batch of Hybrid Nekos is finished, and they were precisely to expectations. Mass production begins as the third army of the Interstellars searches for them, and to control the possibility of their creations breeding. All Hybrids were female in gender.This first batch was immune to most magic.

What exceeded The Master’s expectations was the cutting arc magic that all Hybrid Nekos had. It could cut through anything but an Interstellars strongest defense shield. They were extremely aggressive as survival became an issue. With the form, speed, sense of smell, and hearing of a Nekos, The Masters were confident they had found their weapon against the Interstellars.

The Masters sign an agreement with Pirate guild leader Traxium, and he supplies hundreds of outdated ships. The interstellar army had finally discovered their hidden location due to a leak. SalSane was moved to another location while the army of Hybrid Nekos was loaded aboard the ships and sent to the next planet the army of Interstellars would land at before coming to the production facility.

The fight at Tri Star proved how wrong The Masters were. The dragons slaughtered with few casualties, and panic took over. Fighting began among the ranks of Hybrid Nekos only helping the dragons, and on the dawn of the forth day a new leadership rose up. Those fueled by the will to survive banded behind a strong leader, and the Interstellars began to take losses. On the seventh day the dragons retreated back to the safety of the stars. 5.1 million Hybrid Nekos celebrated as they marched back to their ships.

The victory was bittersweet, the beaten dragons were ordered to destroy them by any means. The leader of that army having some honor refused to carry out the order, and left it to be done by her subordinates.  Those subordinates magically pushed the parent star of that system to explode, in doing so the bulk of the surviving armies were killed. A lone ship of hybrids, two squadrons of dragons is what lived out of that fight.

The masters refused to accept the returning hybrids deeming them failures. So they began to split up trying to find places to hide from the coming tide of dragons. The surviving dragons recanted their tale to the council, and the fear swept across the empire. Toleranth wanted to side with his army leader in letting them live, having earned it, but with the pressure from all sides he gave in a signed the act. We are to be hunted to extinction.

The Masters were forgotten about in the hysteria brought about by their first creations. They continued to improve the perfection chain, and their latest subject would be SalSane. This drew attention of those unseen, other gods and goddess, and seeing what the end product would be they lent support to SalSane. 3067 was the year of their demise, as SalSane killed every last scientist who worked at the facility along with their research.

The next forty years were a fight for survival, the survivors of Tri Star were hunted down and destroyed until only two remained. SalSane had returned to the scene under the name The Lady of Sorrows, but she was fighting those that were responsible for her kidnapping and torment at the hands of The Masters. She took in those that suffered at the hands of pirates, and in return they gave her loyalty.

Divinity argued for those decades until they woke the one. The one merely called for his children to be quiet, and was disappointed in what had transpired in his slumber. He listened to each of his children, and in the end he dismissed them all. They had lost his vision, his leadership had failed them. In doing so the mortals were falling into conflicts. He approached my father in a dream, and told her that her mate would have two children. They would be his successors, and possess in equal share the whole of his power.

My father told my mother what had transpired in the dream. My mother knew that station hopping would be no life for raising a family, and that they would need to find their goal soon. They needed to find the Lady of Sorrows, and hopefully she would allow them residency aboard her ship. It would be the only safe place if the tales were true.

The Lady of Sorrows was not a fool either; she was seeking out any of the survivors from Tri Star. They were part of The Master’s research. Braxus had long since come to power having murdered Traxium. He needed an edge against the Lady of Sorrows. A hybrid neko would be that edge. The crossing of paths would take place at Trinity Station as pirates searched the station. The Lady of Sorrows did as well killing any pirates she came across.

The matter was complicated by the arrival of Interstellars, but it was The Lady of Sorrows that won the search. The agreement was made, and they were brought aboard Glaxia. Two months later my sister and I were born.”

Cecilia sipped her water glass again noticing she had everyone’s attention now. An owl and a hatchling dragon that perched on and sat beside Twilight had joined the audience. Pinkie pulled out a tray of cupcakes from a saddle bag; “Hey everypony, would you like a cupcake while we take a break?”

“I would love one Pinkie, but if we are taking a small break I’d like to use the bathroom.” Rarity got to her hooves and shuffled up the steps to use the bathroom.

Cecilia facepalmed; “You could have stopped me at any point you know.”

Fluttershy spoke softly; “It is rude to interrupt…I’m sorry for falling asleep…I didn’t mean to…it’s just the medications…” The rest dissolved into tiny squeaks as Cecilia approached her. 

Cecilia knelt down in front of the now trembling Fluttershy. Cecilia looked down and reaching out she took Fluttershy’s hoof with both hands. 

“You don’t need to apologize to me; it should be me apologizing to you. I about killed you Fluttershy. I should be curing your injuries yet here I kneel before you giving only words. I crashed because I was afraid to grasp my power to stop it. To fix my ship, to go home, to finish what the doctors started on you is a mere thought away for me, but I fear it so much I lock it away.”

Fluttershy stopped trembling; “Why…why would you do that?”

Cecilia dropped the hoof and stood up to walk to the window.

“Glaxia is a ship of war, meaning at any given moment she can enter into combat. Combat means the potential that people get hurt, and those people are not always soldiers or crew members. The protocols during combat for civilians is what protects them from possible injury.

During a particular nasty conflict, the lucky double shot punched a hole in the side of the aft starboard residential block, no big deal considering those areas are evacuated during combat. However, they are also the least armored given their non critical status, so that second shot that got through tore deep to where evacuees were waiting out the fight.

My class was near the centerline of the ship, far enough away that we were pretty much just knocked around, but as we picked ourselves up we knew others were not so lucky. The older students like me went with the instructor to possibly help the crew with moving injured or helping the trapped. I was quickly snatched up by a crew search party given my talents to cut through metal faster than tools could.

It was first time I saw a real dead body, I left my lunch at the door I just cut open. The smell…was not pleasant… I felt better when we started finding injured, I did what I was told to get them loose, and I found out that two in that party were medics. I watched them work so that when we came across our first group I helped out treating injured.

I felt as if I could do more, like I just said, a mere thought and all the injured and trapped could be taken care of. However, my identity as a goddess was a secret kept in my family, and by the Lady of Sorrows. I made those in my party me never to tell a soul other than the Lady of Sorrows. I had them ask where to put each group, and it was done. I thought if a destroyed the ships outside then no one else would get hurt. So I did that too, but then I thought that they would only send more ships. So I reached out my power, sought out where, and destroyed the shipyard planets. So selfish and caught up in my own thoughts to rid my pain, I was actually destroying the innocent, the families on those planets who had no ties to piracy, never crossed my mind, until I felt my sisters hand smack me in the face. 206 people died in the shot that struck Glaxia, in five minutes I killed billions, and affected whole star systems for eons to come.

When Jez told my parents what I did, they were understanding considering the circumstances. They told us about Tri Star and what they went through, and how they had to learn to cope with what they had done. I could undo what I did, but the fear was setting in. What if’s swirled around my head, and I just couldn’t chance it anymore. I haven’t put my crown on since then.

Two months after that I got my parents to sign, and I entered officer’s school. If I wanted the fighting to stop I was going to learn who my enemy really was. I excelled as a soldier, the discipline helped along with the support of family, and even though I didn’t ask her to. Jez joined with me, someone had to keep an eye on me was her excuse.

Together our record of success earned us tougher assignments. We pushed the technology available to us, and eventually outgrew it. I never advanced beyond a Lieutenant Commander in rank, I was happy there, and let Jez take the commander bars. The Lady of Sorrows gave us Yulee and Shion as gifts about a year ago. That brings us to the present when Cecilia Barnum fell out of the Equestrian sky."

Cecilia turned back around to face the group.

“Under mandate 34 in the squadron handbook I’m moved to inactive status, and to cooperate with the government until such time as my recovery or I find my own way home. However, I am not permitted to travel more than a day out from the crash site in case search parties are sent to locate me.

If the government becomes hostile or my well being is threatened; I am permitted to take appropriate action to ensure my survival. That leaves me under you wing for a little while, and Ponyville with its first alien tourist.”

“Never thought I would see the day I get to boss the Goddess of Life.”

Cecilia shook her head sipping on the glass of water, irony of such words was kind of funny.





Authors notes:
I will reread this tomorrow and check for mistakes. I was trying to get it done for 2 days now and just wouldn't happen with work. I hope you enjoy it, and as always comments are welcome