En Taro, Equestria

by Saacsa

Discussions

Goddamnit I'm good. I thought to myself as I sliced a Zerglings throat, then swiftly dodged a Roach's incoming acid spray. Talandar, the other Protoss warriors, the ponies, and I were making short work of the Zerg forces. With any luck, we wouldn't even need the Terran's to push back the tide.

Of course, luck is not my virtue.

A Hydralisk decided it was high time somebody put a stop to my antics by tripping me with its tail. I managed to slice it in the face on the way down, blinding it, but that didn't stop a Zergling from pouncing onto my prone form. It's gnashing teeth bore down onto me, but in a flash of steel, it's head rolled along the ground next to mine.

Then again, with friends like mine, luck could eat a dick.

"Ya know, one day," Ty extended a hand to help me up, which I gladly took, "You're gonna bite it, doing some stupid shit like that." I gave him a smirk.

"Hey, buddy, that's what I've got you and Charlie for." I said as I got back to my feet.

"We aren't gonna be here forever, ya know." Charlie commented as she released a crossbow bolt into the maw of a Roach.

"You tell that to Zeratul and his rocks." I chuckled, flicking the blood from my blade. The Zerg seemed to be thinning out, thankfully, and the Protoss were settling to a more permanent foothold. When three Zealots rushed past us from the Gateway's, I turned away from the battlefield and to my companions. "So, things seem handled here. Should we go check on Zeratul and Luna?" A large thump sounded behind me, and I turned on a heel and extended my blade, only for it to be stopped in a glowing, golden aura.

"Please," Celestia smiled, "Save it for the Zerg." She released my blade, and I quickly sheathed it.

"Shit, sorry Sunbutt." I scratched the back of my head, "I thought you were an enemy."

"No harm done." She commented idly. I briefly pondered if she would ever mention her little nickname, but soon realized that it wasn't worth the time. Either she would tell me to stop, or I'd keep having fun. "Though, you are correct. I would very much like to go check on the deliberations." She furrowed her brow. We began the brisk trek back to the tent city, a myriad of forces rushing past us and towards the front. It wasn't long before we got to the central War Tent, however we could hear the heated voices before we entered the flaps.

"-care! Think about your foals, Stone!" Luna exclaimed as we parted the entrance. The tense silence that followed was not one cause by us. Stone, Luna, and Zeratul sat at a large, cracked, crystal roundtable. Night Stride was behind her princess, casting a glare at Ty, who returned it with blatant enthusiasm. Solar Flare merely nodded at us as we entered, his stoic mask unbreaking.

"Do not bring them into this, Luna." Stone all but growled. "They're motherless because of that wretch!"

"If Raynor and Kerrigan have the same relationship as Neighnor and Kerritsgan," Luna looked towards Zeratul, who gave a curt nod. "Then you'd be doing this alone, Stone." She heaved a great sigh, "You would perish, new form or not."

"You don't know that!" Stone Kiss protested, though he seemed to be losing a bit of his fire. "You just don't know for sure..." Celestia cleared her throat, getting Luna and Zeratul to look up at us while Stone maintained a downcast glare.

"I hate to interrupt," Celestia began, "But if I'm not mistaken, Stone Kiss wishes to hunt down the Queen of these abominations?"

"Yes." Stone replied.

"That is very brave, General. However, Luna is mistaken. You will not be alone." She stated, earning alarmed looks from everyone present.

"Sister-" Luna's protest was cut off by Celestia raising her hoof.

"You are Zerg now, correct?" She stated, more than asked.

"More or less." The infected stallion murmured.

"And you were very efficient in mind control magic as a Unicorn, correct?"

"...Where are you going with this, your majesty?" Stone peered up at the white alicorn, who merely smiled.

"I can get you close to one of the outlying Hive Clusters..." She trailed off, and realization dawned on everyone present. "However, keep in mind, we will not be able to assist you to the fullest of our abilities." The reactions were vastly varied. I smirked softly at the clever plan, Charlie looked a little worried, Stone smiled broadly, Luna remained unreadable, Stride continued to glare at Ty, Solar never broke his mask, Zeratul was not happy, if his furrowed brow was any indication, and Ty was confused.

Looks like somebody skipped out on reading his notes.

"Yes! If I had only one drone, I could fight her on a level field!" The fire rose back up from within the infected stallion.

"You mean to give this creature a Hive? I do not understand the faith you place within him." Zeratul shook his head, and Stone snorted, shooting him a dirty look.

"I don't understand the faith you place in those rocks." He scoffed, then turned back to Celestia. "This could give us the edge we need. Not only to defeat the Zerg, but this 'Dominion' as well."

"The disadvantages of an allied hive aside," Zeratul continued undeterred, with Stone rolling his eyes at the prelate's blatant sarcasm, "I believe we are more than a match for the enemy."

"It pays to be over prepared, dear Prelate." Celestia countered, her gaze unyielding.

"Alright, alright. Everyone's dick is on the table, right?" I asked, gathering scathing glares from the majority present, my friends and Zeratul excluded. I took it as a sign to continue, unabated. "I say we let him have his army. I don't know the specifics of why this 'Kerrigan' must live or die, and frankly, I don't care. I trust Stone Kiss's character." Stone smiled softly, while Zeratul raised a single eyebrow. "I also trust Zeratul’s wisdom. Whatever is written in these stones will come to pass, regardless of our actions. The only thing I am concerned with is the safety of this planet and it's populous. If that means Stone is corrupted and needs to be put down, we can do so after the immediate threat is handled. You want the shiny pile of shit, or the dull one?" I directed my last comment to Zeratul, who merely leaned back and clasped his hands together.

"Very well." He eventually spoke, "Gods damn me, I may come to regret this. However, I may be mistaken on my paranoia as a whole. Only time shall tell."

"So it's agreed?" Stone spoke eagerly, "I long to have her dead." Celestia frowned slightly at this, her head cocked to the side.

"Only one stipulation, my trusted general." She let that hang for a few seconds, "You must not kill her outright. I have some questions of my own that I shall not be denied." Stone Kiss frowned at this, contemplating something within his own head.

"Fine." He finally said, "I will do my best to show restraint, princess." Celestia smiled her warm, motherly smile.

"That is all I can ask of you." She replied.

"Good, good. I'm glad we got that settled." Ty broke in, "Now, how about we get ready for the other members of our little party?"

"Certainly, I am eager to meet this James Raynor." Luna rolled the name around her mouth, as if tasting it.

"Do not forget the enemies who tail him, Princess." Zeratul warned, "They are ruthless and underhanded. Their leader will stop at nothing to have what he desires." Celestia chewed her lip, then opened her mouth to say something. However, she was cut off by a soldier bursting through the tent flaps, panting wildly.

"Your majesty! We have a problem!" He was panicked, the whites of his eyes clearly visible.

"What is it, Corporal Candid Cheer?" Celestia asked.

Can I get one fucking break from this alliteration bullshit, ponyland?!

"It's the Zerg! They're coming at us again, with the same, if not more, forces!" He sputtered. Celestia swore and flared her nostrils. With a strong beat of her wings, she shot past us and out of the tent, Solar galloping not far behind. We moved to follow, but were stopped by Zeratul's sagely voice.

"Hold a moment." I turned back to look at his raised hand with my eyebrow mimicking the gesture. "You three must stay safe. The prophecy may be written upon stone, but it is not written in stone." I snorted, and looked over to Ty to see amusement written clearly across his face.

"You have cameras on the battlefield, right?" I asked, getting a nod in response. "Check the footage from about twenty minutes ago. Go on, I'll wait." I crossed my arms and propped myself on a structural support, a grin plastered across my face. He pulled out a small, triangular device and placed it upon the table. He pressed down on a small crystal and-

"-ENNKINNNS" Everyone present jumped, startled from the abrupt audio. A large, green hologram of the battlefield earlier appeared above the table, and showed me running haphazardly into the fray. Zeratul looked up at me, unamused, and received a cheeky wink for his trouble.

His eye actually twitched.

With that, I turned and strode out of the tent, middle finger held high at his protests.

~ ~ ~

Twilight Sparkle fidgeted in her seat, her hoof running over her Element.

"Remind me again why we are doing this?" Rarity piped up nevously, eyeing the passing landscape with longing.

"It's like Ty said," Rainbow's raspy voice sounded from inside of the bag she was rummaging around in. "We all have a place out there, even if we're not all on the battlefield itself."

"She's right, sugarcube." Applejack said, "Hay, Ah reckon y'all could do wonders for tha militaries armor. And Flutters here would be a blessin' in the medical field." The farm pony rested a foreleg over the timid Pegasus, who had been shivering in place for most of the ride. She gave Applejack a thankful smile despite herself.

"I suppose you're right, I just hope everypony comes out alright." Rarity resigned.

Twilight frowned, letting off a small sigh.

~ ~ ~

"Sir, we're approaching the planet now. Our new biotech reactors let us reach our destination early. How would you like to proceed?" Matt Horner asked over the brisk click-clacks of keys along the control console.

"Adjutant, bring up the long range scanners and let's see what shape these equines are in." Jim Raynor commanded. A holographic image expanded across the holotable, depicting Zeratul's ship and Protoss fortifications backing the native race against an onslaught of Zerg. The sight caused a smirk to tug at the corner of the commanders lips. "Good, Zeratul's already here. And he brought friends, how nice of him." He mused.

"Commander, we're picking up Terran readings on the surface!" A redshirt called from his post, causing Jim to scowl.

"What? Did the Dominion beat us here?!" Raynor raged.

"Negative, sir," Another man called, "We're only picking up two biosignatures." The commanders brow furrowed and his lips pursed.

"Give me a visual." He ordered, and the screen showed two Terrans jogging towards the Protoss defenses from inside the camp.

"Jim, they're not wearing any armor. What's going on?" Horner chimed in, his brow furrowed and his hands clasped firmly behind his back.

"I don't know." James Raynor scratched his chin, "But I intend to find out." The holotable flashed red, and the adjutant's robotic voice filled the room.

"Alert, Zerg attack wave commencing on native camp and Protoss allies." Jim opened his mouth to give an order, but the adjutant cut him off with yet another red flash. "Warning, class eleven psionic entity proximity alert! Recommend immediate disengagment!"

"Like hell..." Jim scoffed under his breath, "Helmsman, take us in. Let's give our new friends some backup."

~ ~ ~

Princess Celestia shot past the battlements her Protoss allies had erected, and used her magic to cut a large swath through the approaching mass of Zerg.

It did little to cripple the horde, but every bit counted now. She was running low on her reserves.

She summoned her age old golden halberd, and gleaming golden armor, already fastened onto herself. Just before she threw herself into the fray, her very sun was blotted out, and a deafening boom rang out far above her.

The Zerg horde was consumed in fire and explosions as pure, unadulterated death rained from the sky. Celestia, jaw agape, looked up to see a massive Battlecruiser with familiar letters emblazoned on the side.

"The Hyperion." She breathed, watching in awe as the instrument of destruction shelled the horde before her.

Not long after it had begun, the salvo ceased.

The horde was little more than craters and body parts at this point, though the acrid stench of blood and burning corpses clung to the air. Celestia obvserved the destroyed battlefield with a level glare. She then turned away, and come face to face with two awestruck humans. They seemed to catch her expression, Tom being the one to ask.

"What's wrong, Sunbutt?" Even in her discomforted state, the nickname merely rolled off her back. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, bowing her head.

"This destruction... It's honestly frightening. I worry for my little ponies." She brought her head back up and opened her eyes to meet Tom's steely grey ones. "Promise me this, Terrans. You will not let this happen to my subjects." Ty's jaw set firmly, and a flicker of uncertainty passed through Tom's eyes.

"Princess... I can't." He sagged his shoulders, "No solemn vow I make could speak for any other Terran coming to this planet. I'll do my best to make sure that this," He gestured towards the field of death, "Never happens to any of them. But that's all I can do." Celestia let out a deep, shuddering sigh, and began to walk back to the camp, breifly pausing between the two of them.

"You're right. I'm sorry for putting the two of you on the spot like that." She resumed her walk, "Let's get ready for their dropship."

~ ~ ~

Arcturus Mengsk sat upon his throne aboard his flagship, the Bucephalus, idly tapping his fingers on the sculpted lion head that made up the armrest. He was glad to have it back from the hands of his traitorous son, Valerian. I guess it runs in the family. He thought, reminiscing his strained relationship with his own father. His cold, calculating eyes fell upon his men, all bustling about the bridge in preparation for what was to come.

"Report." His voice cut through their incessant chatter.

"Sir, we are due to arrive in precisely seventeen minutes and forty two seconds." The man working his navigation array answered briskly.

"Thank you, Corporal Kane." His voice carried no warmth, only satisfaction. "Bring up images of the planet on the holotable." Two clicks later, and Mengsk was rewarded with the sight of the Hyperion in orbit over a shimmering ball of blue and green. "Zoom." He commanded.

The image changed to one of a smoldering battlefield, Zerg bodies torn asunder and flung around with little grace. A pure white Alicorn was walking away from it and past two armorless Terrans, heading towards a sea of Protoss battlements and pony tents. A soft smile graced his lips.

"My, my. Princess Celestia." He chuckled, "You haven't aged a day. A shame you won't remember me." He turned towards another man, his newly annoited acting general.

"Callus, prep an elite guard squad." His eyes drifted back towards the image of burning Zerg bodies, "I have a sneaking suspicion that somebody needs our help." He could not help the wicked smile that spread across his features.

Comments

[Lupenndawolf]

11148193
Ah, fair enough.