//------------------------------//
// The Skies Are Meeker 
// Story: Bonds of Harmony 
// by FoxTheFirebird 
//------------------------------//

"...And that's what happened before you came here." No sooner did Twilight finish her tale that she bowed low in submission to her mentor, expecting backlash for her actions. Only Spike remained standing in worry.

But Celestia's response was not what Twilight anticipated.

"Oh Luna... "

She opened her eyes to find Celestia gazing away from her student and into the distance at a wall, as if recalling some distance memory. Her melancholic eyes reached out to find their light.

The other ponies, still peeking from the doorway, held their breaths. What was their beloved leader thinking?

"...Princess?" Twilight slowly crawled out of her passive bow as she watched her mentor. Her mentor's eyes remained lost in the search.

But only after a few minutes did Celestia break her silence then. She turned off her somber gaze and looked at Twilight. "Twilight, may I see the book you were using to cast the spell?"

Oh, no…the book! Where was it?

Initially surprised by how quickly Celestia retained her cool, Twilight nodded just as fast. "Yes, of course."
She looked around the room. Goodness... that vortex certainly did a number on her home.
But she persisted and began picking up the books with her horn all over the floor, one by one, from their hurled positions.

While her student was off finding the book, Celestia turned to her other anxious subjects near the door.

"It's alright, everypony. There's nothing more to see here. You all may return to your homes now. Go and sleep well."

The other ponies gave each other confused glances at how calm Celestia became in a short matter of time. Nonetheless, they wouldn't disobey her orders. Instead, they all gave a collective, 'Yes, Princess', and took off to their homes.

Now it was just Celestia, Twilight and Spike.

Ugh...where was that book?!

"Uh...Twilight?"

Hearing her name called, she looked up to see Spike holding the book in his claws.

"I found it."

She gave him a nod of thanks as she pried it out of his claws with her magic. She then flew the book forward to Celestia, who in turn levitated it herself. Her horn cast a bright gold in the darkness as magenta eyes rapidly read through text.

Twilight and Spike looked on and waited.

Celestia looked so collected as she read through page after page, lost in her own research.

Her eyes told otherwise.

Eternally, she searched and searched for answers through the book.

Finally, after she was done, she closed the book and heaved a sad sigh. The gravity of the situation weighed her down, weighed her down enough to take shelter behind her rainbow-colored mane.

Her subjects' worry grew. This was the first time they ever saw Celestia looking so broken like this... it was unnerving. Any attempts to comfort her failed their lips.

She was a still and crumbling statue.

But the worry was gone when Celestia came out of her mane and stood straight and tall after some time. Worry was replaced by surprise.

"Right. Twilight, Spike, I need you to come with me back to Canterlot. We must go to Starswirl's library. We have a lot of work to do."

"Huh?"

But Celestia was already on her way out, with the book floating by her side. The regal and determined princess was back.

"But Princess..."

Said figure turned to face her student, all sadness gone.

"Aren't you going to punish me for what I did?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, my faithful student. I will not punish you. But I will need your help; we must find my sister by any means necessary. So gather up any supplies you'll need and meet me outside."

And then she was out the door before any more words could be exchanged.

The two stood there alone in the middle of the dark, staring after their leader.

What has gotten into Celestia? It was as if someone flicked on a light switch with her emotions. One minute she was stern, the next she was sad, and then she was determined. And she didn't punish Twilight.

Spike was the first to break the silence. "Well, uh...I guess we'd better get packing then... right, Twilight?"

"...Right." Twilight looked at her friend, with an equal amount of determination as their princess. Their questions about Celestia's attitude would have to come later. "Right, Spike. Let's get to it."

And they searched through the library to find their necessary tools.




Luna bit her lower lip at how fast the blizzard came. Now what was she going to do? Turn back? Find shelter even though she didn't know which way to go? Fight against it?

The scathing wind tore through her and it bit her broken wing. A horrible pain it was, so horrible that it caused her to whimper softly. She was so focused on the pain's intensity that she failed to notice a couple of wing feathers break free and fly off into the bitter winds towards the battlefield.

The battlefield. Luna looked up and back to where she ran away from. Her rescuer was still out there...

"If I don't get out of this blizzard, he might not be able to see me. And I might not be able to see a way out of here. I MUST go back. He might need me... whoever, and whatever, he is."

Her mind made up, she summoned up whatever magic she could conjure up and created a blue shield around her.
The shield burst forth from her horn and, like a flower, bloomed over her. The cold was gone. She was warm and safe from the harsh weather conditions...for now.

She pushed her way back.



"Give it up, Zurg! You're losing your edge. Your hornets are dropping like flies!"

Buzz narrowly avoided Zurg's wrathful ion blasts.

"WHY WON'T YOU BLASTED RANGERS HOLD STILL?!"

"Because we don't take orders from you, Zurg! We take our orders from Star Command only!"

Zurg just fired on, his temper rising. This pest was giving him a hard time; he was dying to shut Lightyear up and break his wings.

The two continued fighting against and dodging around each other.

Ty was occupied with his own mission of blasting down the army of Hornets that threatened to overwhelm him. So far, he was holding his own. These yellow tin cans dropped dead and were blown to smithereens.
If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation, Ty might have been happy that he was getting a piece of the action. Taking his frustration on these stupid drones was giving him such an energetic boost after the events of this morning.

But even then... it wasn't enough.

He knew this mission would come to an end. Sooner or later, it would have to end, whether Zurg was captured here, or in another time and place. And he and Buzz would need to go back to Star Command.

And he'd have to go back to his troubles.

But his troubles were only just beginning.

Out of nowhere, an invisible and cold whip snapped behind his legs.
The sudden burst of air grew in power. It whipped across his back and arms, threatening to topple him over.

He stood his ground, but the Hornets were not so lucky. The wind pushed them backwards and sent them flailing and flying towards several directions.

This caught the attention of the Rangers and Zurg, and the fighting ceased.

Now they had a new opponent in the arena: the gale and its followers, hail and clouds. The sun was gone, buried underneath grey and white and bleakness.

The blizzard was coming.

"Oh craters..."

Even Zurg couldn't help but internally agree with Buzz. This was NOT good.
He needed to leave. Now.

"LIGHTYEAR! For now, I will spare your, and Parsec's, lives. Mother Nature obviously isn't in the mood for us to quarrel like we usually do. So for now...FAREWELL, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!"

Zurg pressed a few buttons into his device, commanding it to jet away from the snowstorm. It took Zurg with it and away from the battle.

"HEY! Come back here!"
But before Buzz could fly away, he felt something pull his shoulder back. He turned to find that it was Ty holding him back in the air.

"No, Buzz! If we stay out here, we won't have much of a chance for anything, even chasing after Zurg. We've gotta bail now before we get stuck in the storm!"

Buzz regarded his friend for a minute, pondering his words. He looked back at the emperor's retreating form, and sighed in angry defeat. "I understand. Okay." He looked at his partner again. "Let's get out of here...wait a minute. What about that little pony?"

Ty frowned in horror. "Oh no... Buzz, she's out in that blizzard!"

"What?! How do you know?"

"Uh...well...I, uh...unknowingly sent her running into the blizzard."

"WHAT?!"

Ty sprung his hands up in defense. "Hey, don't start blaming me! How was I to know that it would be coming this way?! It must have changed direction to come here instead of where we parked our ship!"

That reason reached Buzz; the burst of angry shock was gone.

But he was not feeling at ease. Worry dug into Ty's brow. "We have to find her. She might be strong enough to take on a blast from Zurg, but I don't know how she'll fare against something like the blizzard. And with that broken wing..."

Buzz held up a hand. "You don't need to say it. Let's just get going with the mission. Search and rescue, go!"

With Lightyear leading the way, Ty trailed right by his friend as they dived into the snowy threshold.



Luna persisted as ice and show pelted against her shield.

There were moments that the white beast around her threatened to crack and bury her underneath its pressure.
Luckily, all of that training to be a princess was paying off. She was able to endure. Endure as any strong Earth pony or pegasus who had to put up with nature's wildest tantrums.

But her strength would not last for much longer. Even if her physical abilities and will exceeded other ponies, she was not indestructible. Eventually, she would need to drop her shield and tend to her wing someplace where she didn't have to worry about the cold. And then there was that matter with that two-legged armored figure who sent her away. Would he be able to come back?...would he come back at all?

He did seem trustworthy enough. But how could she know? She didn't even know him.

But he saved her.

Wasn't that all that mattered?

It had to be. It was enough for her to place some amount of faith that he'd come back.

"Buzz, there she is!"

Luna paused in her tracks, her ears flicking upwards. That voice... it was him. He came back! Just as he said he would!

She grinned at him, happy to see that he came through for her. Now they could get out of here and-

The wind shrieked and howled louder than before. Luna closed her eyes in pain in reaction to its power. It was as if it was determined to break her spirit, just as that Zurg creature was when he broke her wing. She looked up to see if the two guardians were still there and unfazed by nature's white demon.
They were still there. But they struggled to stay in flight, so they took the next step to safety.

They lowered themselves down and...folded their strange wings away?

She was going to have to ask about their method of flying later.

The two men gingerly walked over to Luna, taking great care to avoid any surprise pitfalls the snowstorm might have created for them.
They reached her, a bit surprised by the blue shield.

They looked at each other with curious glances, but didn't seem to consider it too much.

Ty himself knelt down in front of her to her level to talk. "I'm guessing you created a shield to protect yourself against the snow, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, I told you we'd come back for you. We'll get you out of here, ok?"

He smiled a little as she nodded again.
The smile faded as he looked up to Buzz. "How do you think we should get her back? Should I take shelter with her and wait for you to come back?"

Buzz shook his head. "Nah, you don't need to. I'll call the ship right over."

Luna tilted her head at the other creature. Ship? They had a ship? She didn't see how that would help them. Ships were created to sail oceans, not snowstorms.

But this didn't seem to bother Buzz or Ty. He opened up a white compartment in his sleeve and tapped some buttons in his left wrist.
Ty stood up as Buzz summoned the Star Cruiser over. Now all they needed to do was wait.

While they waited, Ty looked at the pony again. "Don't worry. We'll soon have you out of here in two shakes."

Now it was Luna's turn to smile. She was satisfied with his firm answer and in his trustworthiness.
She considered speaking up and thanking him when she heard the sound of...oh no. MORE whirring?

The relief she was feeling disappeared.
Were those Hornets back again?!
She started looking around, eyes wide-eyed and on the alert despite her waning power.

Buzz and Ty took a step back in alarm. What was going on with her?!

Ty held up his arms to try and quell her. "Hey! Hey! Calm down! Stop it, it's alright! It's just our ship! It's coming in to pick us up!"

But the pony was still wary. Those Hornets had to be around here somewhere. Even if she could not outright fight them, she wouldn't run away from them. Not again.

Ty continued to try and calm her down.

But Buzz came to Ty's aid. "Hey, it's here!"

Both Rangers felt the warmth of the ship's exhaust and air breathing down upon them. They looked up and there she was.

Good ol' 42.

Even Luna had to pause in her frantic daze to glance up at the giant bullet-shaped thing floating above them.
She was quite shocked by its entrance that she nearly let her shield loose.
A slip up like that and she was quickly overcome with cold.

But she snapped back into action and put up the shield again.

Ty was quick to notice the pony's fading strength and growing wariness.
With a patient tone, he assured, "It's okay. That's our ship. It's what we'll use to get out of here. The only thing you gotta do, is just trust us."

"And let us help you. We'll carry you up there."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"We've got no other option here, Ranger. Besides, with the two of us, I'm sure we can get her out." Buzz turned to the pony. "What do you think?"

Luna looked into the eyes of both men. Both of them seem so sure and confident in the floating ship above them. And they showed no fear... it must be on their side. It had to be, given that Buzz was the one who called it forth to them. And if they had to carry her with their own bouts of strength, with only her magic and other wing to assist them, then...
So be it.

She breathed deeply, releasing her tenseness through her nostrils in a resigned snort...

And released her shield.

The snow tore into her fur and wings again, seeming to scorch her very core.

"Okay, Ranger, let's get this little pony up into 42!"

Ty didn't need to be told twice. He dashed to Luna's side and knelt down again. "Now this is what we'll do. Buzz and I are going to lift you up from underneath. Save your wings and just hang in there."

Luna nodded once more.

With both Rangers standing by her, they were ready for take off.

"Ready, Ty?"

"Ready."

"Then let's jet."

And both of them released their wings again. Their jetpacks somehow managed to lift them off the ground, taking the pony with them.



The wind shoved them.

It was a struggle at first.

The wind seemed bound to destroy them and their hopes of escaping. But the two men wouldn't give up that easily.
And neither did Luna.

They growled in fury, grunted in stubbornness. They would soon be rewarded for their efforts.

As they slowly toiled through the snow, Luna somehow managed to find the last ounce of strength reserved somewhere and bring it out in one more blue shield.

The two men were, needless to say, grateful.

Now it was merely a matter of holding on until they reached their destination.

As they held onto hopes, they said nothing on the way back.

Instead, they each echoed their own thoughts about the situation in silence, with only the screeching winds for noise and company.

Luna couldn't help but look and ponder more closely about her saviors. Both of them seemed to be aging, but one looked more older than the other.
Buzz appeared to be a man stuck in eternal youth, with joy and pride written all over his face and blue eyes. She sensed he was a highly respected Ranger, with the way he held himself even in flight against the odds. He seemed to believe in the impossible.

A trait she couldn't help but admire...and remind her of Celestia.

Ty, on the other hand, looked more exhausted and worn out by age. His face was carved by a quiet pain, and he wouldn't dare show it to anyone else. But his eyes, his large and brown eyes, showed a sign of goodness to him. The goodness she was sure that he was proud to carry on in spite of his pain. He seemed to be a scarred veteran of sorts, with the way he carried himself through these times. But apparently, it was not enough to make him quit his job of serving and protecting despite what he may have to put up with.

A trait she couldn't help but reflect...and remind her of herself.

She was in the presence of two opposite men. But good men at that.

And her shield would protect them as they stretched closer to their goals.

Likewise, the two men couldn't help but be curious about the pony they were lifting in their arms.
She was no ordinary pony, that much was certain. She was extraordinary in more ways than one-her ability to conjure shields, her mystical appearance, her mysterious crescent moon symbol. It was as if she appeared right out of a fantasy book for girls.

Buzz didn't know what kind of pony she was, but she certainly seemed to be a well-trained and properly kept type, with her equine build and regalia.

Who placed the strange crown, neck garment and shoes on her? And why?

For showcasing purposes? For love? For some sort of cultural custom?

Whatever the reason was, he was going to have to look into it, along with many other questions zooming in his head about this creature.

Ty, on the other hand, thought that the pony seemed to have some sort of sentience. Granted, it was previously established that she could understand him, given that she listened to him when he ordered her to retreat away from their battle with Zurg. But she was also seeming to be sentient when she defended herself against Zurg's cannon with that shield of hers.

He also thought her to be retaining some sort of emotional range. The way she looked at the two of them, in curiosity and awe with those bright eyes of hers, spoke out to him. She never saw anybody like them before...so she had every reason to be afraid of them. And yet she wasn't.

All because Ty assured her that she could trust them and she did by letting them help her flee from danger.

She was a unique pony. But where did she come from? Another uncharted planet that Star Command has yet to explore? What kind of world was it? How did she know to trust them?

He would definitely be doing his own part to know more about her as soon as he got the chance.

But for now...

They were in the present moment of surviving and that was all they could do with each other.




By the time, they reached the ship, Luna was quite overwhelmed with shock.

The large ship was roomy on the inside. Everything was clean, pristine and orderly.
Walls were lined with white and purple. The white extended to walls and wide entryways.
One of which they would all be going through.

And it was a good thing too.

Once they were inside... she shivered.

Even if the blue shield was no longer surrounding everyone, she was shivering down to her bones.

Buzz and Ty looked at her in concern. The poor thing...
They gently lowered her to the floor, but they didn't let go of her. They steadied her to make sure she was able to stand before they glanced at each other.

"Get her to the medical bay and do what you can for her. I'll fly 42 out of here."

"Right."

Luna looked at them, awaiting the next course of action. But they were already standing up and off to work.

Buzz disappeared into one of the hallways while Ty stayed behind with Luna.
He motioned with her to follow him and she listened.
With slow and less-than-energized hoof steps, she trailed after him.

He took his time in escorting her to received medical attention.
"Hang tight. You'll be fine."

His gentle voice encouraged her to go about her steps with the greatest of cares as she could maintain.

They passed a long hallway of white walls, with only their steps echoing.

Every so often, when they were on their way to the medical bay, he would look at her to see how she was doing.
The exhausted and drained eyes and lack of defiance made themselves known to Ty. Known to him in a deeper way than he thought possible.
Those same bags underneath her eyes, the slow-as-sludge steps, the out-of-it state of mind?...

Now he understood what Buzz was worried about when he looked into Ty's eyes and face earlier that day.

It was like looking into a mirror.

He sighed in great patience again and continued mentoring Luna. "Easy... we're almost there."

Oh thank the heavens... she was slowly losing her strength. The cold was more than she could bear. It dived into her cells and slowly froze every bit of energy, every bit of metabolism down.
She was grateful that Ty was understanding enough to put up with her sluggish movements.

So grateful she managed to muster up a small but genuine smile at his kindness.

Ty smiled a little back. It was good to see her smile, at least even for a second.

And then when he came across the location he was looking for, he waved a hand for her to follow. She followed him with no hesitation.
She was led into a door in the hallway, and the door opened up to a large room. The room contained a fair number of medical beds, cardiac monitors and other equipment nearby needed in case of emergencies.

Luckily, the only thing that Luna wanted to use more than anything was a bed.

Ty was one step ahead of her desire. He went over to the nearest bed and patted to it.

The pony went over to the bed the Ranger selected. After she placed her front hooves onto the bed, she used her back legs to propel her to climb up onto it. With great success, she got into a comfortable position and cradled her legs underneath her. She then laid her head down on the pillow.

When she felt comfortable enough, she turned her head to see Ty with his back turned to her and already rummaging through some counters, looking for something.

..."What is he looking for?"

He took out various items from the counters-jars, gauze tape, towels, bottled water, flashlights-

"Well, here it is."

What was "it"?

"It" turned out to be a giant yellow blanket, all neatly folded up. It was big enough to cover three or four ponies.

"This blanket should be enough to warm you up."

He set it off to his side as he reached around the counter shelves for another item. He had an easier time finding this one.
It was a large first-aid kit, compacted into a ready-to-be-used box.

Once he found these two items, he put away the rest of the supplies and closed the counter doors.
Ty then brought the kit and blanket over to the bed.

He unfolded the blanket and gradually draped it over Luna.

Needless to say, she was so glad to have that blanket. She grabbed the edge of it with her teeth and wrapped the blanket tightly around her.
The warmth now rising, it tempted her to fall asleep right there on the bed.

But she sleepily watched Ty as he opened the first aid kit.

Ty himself was already working in Ranger mode. All emotions turned off, all logic turned on. Focused on doing what he could to take care of her and make sure she got better at a steady pace.
Warm her up? Done.

Now he would have to do what he could to fix her wing until they reached Star Command.

He spotted her casually observing him, as if she were a sleepy cat. "You just take it easy. I'm not a doctor, but I'll do what I can to patch up your wing until we need to see the LGMs. They'll take care of your wing in no time."

...The what?

The LGMs?...who were they?

But even if she did want to ask more about these 'LGMs', she didn't care about staying awake or even thinking anymore. The temptation was too great to resist.
She drifted off to sleep.

Ty took this as the initiative to start his healing.




The stray blue feathers danced in the wintery air currents. They lost their sheen and beauty thanks to the snow and ice.

But they still kept flying. Flying.

A claw trapped them in mid-air.

"Hmm...what's this?"

The claw brought the feathers closer to his purple face for inspection.

"Interesting... these feathers feel different than the feathers of a puffer. Soft yet filled with some sort of energy. I can FEEL the energy in my grasp!..."

He turned his head to the horizon.

"No doubt that Star Command has that horse face safe underneath their watch, but what's not to say I can't study her feathers? These feathers look...intriguing."

Zurg chuckled darkly. A plan may be on the way if he learned more about that little pony and what she was capable of...