//------------------------------// // Headquarters // Story: Champion of the Sun // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// The tram cars were created to be able to hold nearly twenty four people in a single section, allowing as much comfort for as many passengers as possible even when they were crammed side by side. But despite the accommodations, Celestia and Luna sat alone on one of the benches. Luna was leaning against her sister while sleeping soundly, while Celestia's eyes flashed bloody murder to any that dared get close to them Seeing as they were intelligent beings, the Satella Police Officers sat as far away from the pony as they were able to while also keeping an eye on her. But none of them dared get close to the being that had decimated their cars and broken the ribs of one of the toughest Captains that they knew. So despite being able to fit eighteen people on the seats, Celestia and Luna sat alone. Except for the teen in blue who sat across from the two, arms crossed and eyes narrowed as he stared at the two during the entire tram ride. Twice during the ride Celestia had tried to warn him off with a glow of her horn, but every time she tried it his left hand transformed into a cannon and he aimed it right at her head. And with no idea what he was or how he so easily avoided her magic, Celestia figured that keeping calm was the best option as long as he was around. "So I've met a Pegasus before, but you look somewhat different from the one I know," Megaman said after twenty minutes or riding in silence, trying to break the monotony of the ride. Celestia's response was to narrow her eyes and snort once, before she glanced down at her little sister to make sure she was okay. "You're not from this planet, are you?" Megaman asked again, but this time his words couldn't even turn Celestia's eyes towards him. "Because if you were, you wouldn't have access to whatever power it is you're using. It isn't EM based and it isn't scientific based. As far as I can tell...it's either a technology that I've never seen before, or it's magic. Care to give me an answer to that?" Once again Celestia chose to answer with silence, but Megaman was aware from the moving of her eyes that she was occasionally looking out the window at the buildings that they passed by. Figuring that his words weren't going to get anything out of her, Megaman lifted his left arm and transformed the cannon back into his left hand. "So what do you think, Mega?" Megaman whispered to the AM alien in his left hand. "I can't seem to get a read on her. Aside from being the fiercest older sister that I've ever seen, she hasn't revealed anything else about herself. You figure out anything?" "All I know is that she has a power that I've never seen before, a power that is incredibly strong," Mega replied with a growl that was loud enough to cause Celestia's eyes to glance over in Megaman's direction. "It's the little sister that I can't get a figure out. What happened to her to put her in such a state?" "Hopefully we'll find out soon enough," Megaman said to his cannon before he glanced out the window behind him to see that their tram had entered into a rocky canyon, a smile crossing his face as the tram came to a stop in front of a pair of massive, metal doors. Megaman and the officers rose to their feet while Celestia nudged Luna with her shoulder, waking the younger of the two. Luna groaned as she struggled to see in the bright light, while Celestia had already stood up and was glaring at the humans, daring them to get close to the both of them. "Come this way please. We'll get this all sorted out," Megaman said calmly as he reached out and grabbed hold of Celestia's leg, realizing for the first time that she was at least a full foot taller than him. The moment his hand touched her leg, Celestia glared at him with her horn blazing. Megaman's left hand returned to its buster state and he aimed at her once more, the two of them glaring into the others eyes before Celestia sneered and headed towards the exit of the tram. "Sister, where are we?" Luna asked in a slightly delirious tone as she leaned against her sister for support. Celestia gave Megaman a menacing glare before the two of them stepped off of the tram and stared up at the colossal doors that awaited them. The police officers gave the two ponies plenty of room as they walked up to the door, with Megaman being the only person brave enough to stand by the two ponies. He placed his hand upon a scanner and a second later the doors lid back, allowing Celestia and Luna to see what was on the other side. Massive walls composed of the strongest metal. Radar and satellite dishes that were in constant motion. Dozens of officers who were running drills in the dirt filled courtyard that stood between the ponies and the huge building that both of them had their eyes glued to. "Welcome to WAZA headquarters," Megaman said to the both of them as he walked in front of Celestia and Luna, motioning for the both of them to start moving. Celestia glared down at the teen, but without another word she and her sister walked towards the main entrance. She narrowed her eyes when she saw a strange orange gate made of hexagons sitting in front of the building, but she glanced around as the officers stopped training to star at the ponies. "Do not worry sister, nopony here will lay a hand on you," Celestia promised Luna as she made sure to make eye contact with each and every person in the courtyard, making sure that none of them had any thoughts about messing with them. Megaman walked to the side of the front gate, where he placed his hand upon another scanner. The orange hexagons vanished into thin air, causing Celestia to narrow her eyes at the strange gate that had vanished. 'That wasn't magic. Yet it was far beyond anything that the human world should be capable of. What world are we in?' Megaman stood before the two and made another motion for them to enter the building, before he held out a hand to stop the police officers that were trying to follow them in. "No, it's probably best if I do this alone. If they try anything, I don't want you caught in close quarters with them." "How wise of you. You already know that I'm going to try something," Celestia whispered to Megaman as she passed by him, getting the teen to narrow his eyes before he followed after the both of them. The main doors slid open and Celestia and Luna walked inside, both of their eyes going wide and for a moment they were so in awe that they forgot about the situation they were in. Hundreds of screens were placed around the entire area, each of them showing a different part of the Earth and what was going on in them. People were racing around with screens that followed them, showing them information and recording what they were saying. Beings that looked similar to the ones that Celestia and Luna had fought patrolled the corridors, each of them giving the two ponies hard glares before they moved to the side. "Come on. The sooner we get you to see Ace the sooner we can get everything settled," Megaman instructed the two. Celestia paused for a moment, trying to think of a plan of attack if she was forced to blast her way out of the building, but Luna staggered forward with amazement in her eyes. Celestia let out a sigh as she followed after her sister, completely aware of the fact that Megaman had his eyes on them the entire time. Megaman led the two of them passed multiple stations where officers were hard at work and down a flight of stairs, where they were brought into a room where there was only a desk and a screen so large that it put all the other ones to shame. But Celestia wasn't as fascinated with the screen as her sister was. Instead she was glaring at the human that was sitting in a swivel chair with his feet up on the table. "Yo. So you're the two that caused that commotion downtown," he said with a smile as he studied the two ponies, who did the same to him. He had black hair, a smile on his face, and a white outfit with streaks of black in it that made him look "cool". But what made Celestia brace herself slightly was his eyes, eyes that were incredibly friendly while also incredibly dangerous. "Good job stopping them, Megaman. I can tell that they're both incredibly powerful." "Yeah, I got the same feeling," Megaman replied as he walked over beside the desk, giving Celestia a cold stare that she mirrored perfectly back at him. "Okay, so this room just got a whole lot colder and I don't think that's how we should be introducing ourselves," the man in the chair said as he stood up and walked to the front of his desk, which he then sat on the front of before he extended a hand towards Celestia. "Nice to meet you...Celestia. That's what you said your name was? I'm A.C. Eos, but everyone calls me Ace for short." Celestia glanced down at the extended hand for a long moment before she slowly lifted her head, glaring into Ace's eyes until he placed his hand back onto the desk. Ace then glanced over at the other pony, who was breathing heavily and was having problems standing. "I see that you're little sister over there really took a beating. If you would let us, we've got a really good medical staff here that could probably help her. I mean, she looks really bad." Celestia glanced down at her sister, gritting her teeth when she saw that the burns looked even worse than they had done on her world. Celestia didn't want to give any leverage to the people of the world she knew little about, but one look into her sisters eyes told her that she couldn't risk her sisters life any longer. "...very well," Celestia said in a whisper eventually, causing Ace's smile to grow even large as he clapped his hands and took a step towards the two. But in a flash Celestia's horn glowed and Ace was hoisted into the air, before she spun her head and fired a blast of magic into Megaman's chest. Megaman was flung into the large screen, which cracked from his impact. "But allow me to make this perfectly clear to you human, so that if I am forced to end you you will know it is your own fault," Celestia whispered with a rage so terrible that even Ace's smile was torn from his face. "If anypony...anyone in this building inflicts pain upon my sister in anyway except to help her heal, I will consume this building in a fire so intense that they will still be able to hear the screams of those trapped within for the next millennia. Are we clear?" "Yeah...I think I got it," Ace muttered. Celestia let him go and moved to the side, flicking her head to indicate for Ace to move. Ace rubbed his neck as he glanced over at Megaman, who was picking himself off the floor with rage flashing in his own eyes. He held out a hand to stop Megaman from doing anything stupid before nodding to Celestia, leading her and her sister out of the room. "So, she's got quite the temper," Ace said with a small chuckle to Megaman once the Blue Bomber joined up beside him, both of them glancing over their shoulders at the two ponies. "Yeah, I saw that back at the park. Celestia is really dangerous, way more dangerous than most that I've fought," Megaman agreed. "So why are they still walking free? We should take em down and throw them in a cell until she learns how to cool off," Mega snarled as the Mega Buster roared to life. "That thought cross my mind, but I know that look in her eyes. Those threats, the destruction she's caused...even the way she glares at everyone. She's not doing it because she's evil or something like that. She's doing it because her little sister is hurt and she thinks everyone around her is an enemy," Ace said with a shake of his head as he pushed open the doors to the medical wing, motioning for some doctors as Celestia and Luna walked in after them. " Yeah, figured that out myself. She's trying to protect her sister. That would explain her shoot first ask questions never mentality," Megaman agreed after a moment once he had the chance to think over the pony's actions. "And with all those horrible injuries that her sister has, it's clear now that she needed protection in the past and Celestia wasn't able to do it." "Yeah. So for the time being, be nice to her and don't do anything that might tick her off," Ace instructed the two before a group of doctors reached the group. The doctors took one look at Luna and immediately began to shout instructions to one another. Some of them tried to move Luna from Celestia's side, but with a glare of rage Celestia stopped their attempts. "They can't help her if you don't let them. And she needs help," Megaman reminded Celestia, who snarled at the teen in response. But he knew his words were true, so with all the strength that she could muster she allowed the doctors to take her sister from her side. "Don't worry, I promise you that they won't do anything without you by her side. Nothing will happen to your sister under our care. I promise." For a long moment the pony stared at Megaman, with a look upon her face that was impossible to read. She then hung her head with a sigh. "Thank you." [{EM}] For the first time in what felt like a lifetime Celestia felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. The doctors had managed to ease Luna's pain and deal with the infection that had plagued her body, freeing the princess from the weakness that had followed her. As Celestia stared down at the sleeping face of her sister, who was resting comfortably on a bed with her right side bandaged carefully, for the first time in weeks she allowed herself to let go of the rage and drive that had managed to keep her going for so long. She collapsed into the nearest chair as she felt exhaustion begin to overtake her, yet before she teased the idea of closing her eyes the door opened and two humans walked in. "Hey there," Megaman said with another friendly smile as he entered, Celestia noticing that he carried a plate of carrots with a glass of water off to the side. "Figured that since you've been watching over your sister for three hours that you might be hungry." "I...am, actually. Thank you," Celestia replied softly as Megaman set the tray on the small table beside her. Despite her hunger, she didn't touch anything as Megaman and Ace sat in a pair of chairs across from her. "I owe the both of you an apology. I have been...I am sorry for my actions since I have arrived here. This last month...has been soul destroying. I needed to make sure my sister was safe." "Hey, you don't need to talk to me about keeping family safe. I've done similar things to protect mine," Ace said with a nod of sympathy. "But if you really want to make up for what you did, then maybe you can tell us about who you are and why you suddenly showed up in a small park downtown," Megaman put forward. Celestia lowered her head onto her chest as she thought over Megaman's words, a smirk crossing her face when she knew he was right. "Very well. After what I've done, it is only right that I reveal as much to you as I can," Celestia agreed before her face darkened and hatred flashed in her eyes again. "But in order to understand our pain, you must understand Equestria. The ponies that lived their, the magic that we held there...and the monster that all took it away from us. The Maestro."