En Taro, Equestria

by Saacsa

Chocolate Skies

I awoke with a start, the first thing catching my eyes being a rather colorful tree. The second thing was a four foot tall, bewildered, light brown horse with a curly black and red mane. And the third was another knocked out human that I recognized as Ty.

"What the hell?" Was my dazed reply. I broke her little state of confusion and she let out a small smile.

"I wind up halfway across the god damn universe, and I still can't manage to get away from you two." She said with a light giggle. My mind was still a little loopy, so I asked another question.

"The fuck are you?" I was met with a hoof to the head and an annoyed growl.

"It's Charlie." She said with irritation. Now, however, I was fully awake. A multitude of emotions ran through my head, but one topped them all. Relief. I jumped off of the ground and tackled my late friend with an enormous hug and tears in my eyes.

"Tom... I can't... breathe!" She struggled out. I realized what I was doing and quickly hopped back as my own confusion kicked in.

"I thought you were dead! We held the funeral and everything! And why the hell are you a horse?" I asked, then noticed a small appendage protruding from her forehead.

"I'm a Unicorn. Difference. And you guys buried me without a body? What the hell?!" She asked, outraged.

"You're a Unicorn! Holy shit, this is awesome! I'll have to take you to Scotland sometime." I mused with a laugh. She gave me a deadpan expression before chuckling herself. "And for the whole funeral thing, we needed some sort of closure." I said. The human beside me began to stir.

"Ugh, five more minutes..." He groaned out. Charlie deadpanned and gave me a sideways glance.

"I got this." She said and walked... Trotted over to him. "Wake," She raised her hoof in the air, "Up!" She commanded before bringing it down on his head. He shot awake, reaching for where his knife would normally be, but couldn't find it (for obvious reasons) and decided to put interest in the offending mare. He almost took a lunge at her, but was stopped by calming, yet unsettling, onyx eyes. And the fact that she was a Unicorn. He gave her a look of confusion, squinted his eyes, then shook his head before turning to me.

"What did you slip in my drink?" He asked, inciting a growl from Charlie and a laugh from me.

"Nothing, buddy. And you mean to tell me that Zeratul didn't explain things to ya?" I asked. He gave me a questioning look, then poked Charlie in the cheek with curiosity, causing her a fair amount of annoyance.

"So... This is real?" He asked.

"As real as my hoof up your ass if you don't quit poking me!" Charlie threatened. He cringed and then got a curious look in his eyes. He got closer to Charlie, squinting his eyes and searching for something. His face lit up and his mouth creased outward into a massive smile.

"CHARLIE!" He exclaimed with joy, tackling her to the ground in a hug very similar to mine.

"Twice... In... One... Day!" Charlie had the words nearly squeezed out of her. Ty dropped her and quickly backed away with a sheepish grin.

"Sorry." He nervously chuckled, then looked over to me. "But seriously, the fuck's a 'Zeratul'?" He asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off by Charlie.

"A name. A Protoss name." She said.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"He didn't just drop me off in the middle of nowhere without at least a half-assed explanation on what he is and where I'm going." She laughed.

"So he brought you here and made you a Unicorn?" Ty asked, receiving a nod. "And, uh, Protoss? As in some of those things Dugalle ran into in the Koprulu?"

"Well, yes and no." Charlie answered, "The other alien beings were called the Zerg. They were the particularly nasty ones, however that doesn't mean it's okay to piss the Protoss off. Their tech is way more advanced than even our most sophisticated prototypes."

"I see you didn't cut class at the Academy." I chuckled.

"Hey! Why'd he drop me in the middle of bum-fuck Egypt without tellin' me anything!?" Ty's southern accent kicked in, which happens whenever he gets pissed.

"I dunno." I shrugged, "Apparently, we're part of some ancient alien prophecy." Charlie's eyebrow cocked.

"What does that even mean?" The light brown mare queried.

"What did that Protoss explain to you?" I asked Charlie.

"Not a thing. You two being here was a surprise, for example. The only things he told me were his race and where I was going. Along with some information about the planet." She said. I nodded.

"Well, here is another surprise, we're are suppose to save his race as well as the race of the 'Equins', whatever that means, and be personal warrior's to an ancient race of aliens called the Xel' Naga." I explained. Charlie's expression grew dark.

"The ponies are in trouble?" She asked.

"Ponies?" Ty questioned, but was ignored.

"Apparently." I responded. She steeled her jaw and I caught a flash of defiance in her eyes.

"So, why didn't he explain anything to you?" She asked Ty.

"Hell if I know." He grumbled

"We'll just have to ask him when he gets here." I stated, earning a confused glance from Charlie.

"He never told me he was coming here." She said.

"Why?" I asked, getting the deadpan stare.

"Like I know that too." She laced sarcasm into her voice.

"Good point." I said.

"Hey, guys. How about we focus on priorities? Why the hell is Charlie a Unicorn, and where the fuck are we?!" Ty stated.

"Because my body was to damaged to be saved, only my soul was able to be kept. Zeratul saved my soul and crafted me a body to fit in with this planet. My only question is why he didn't do the same with you two." She thought the last part aloud. "Oh, and we are in a place called Equestria."

"The Prophecy Stone did contain the image of two humans and a pony." I said. She gave me another confused look.

"He had a stone and everything? According to known Protoss lore, certain prophecies can even be a threat to the very universe." She said.

"Okay, enough about all of this weird prophecy shit. Charlie, how about you give us a tour of this new world?" Ty asked. Charlie brightened, happy to be off the subject of our predicament. But one thing itched at the back of my mind once before surfacing. My face went pale. That dream... It was reality.

"Guys... I have some bad news." I said, earning two raised eyebrows.

"Out with it." Ty said.

"It's gone." I stated blankly.

"What?" Charlie asked.

"Earth... Our planet. It's gone." I clarified.

"What do you mean 'gone'?" Ty asked.

"Destroyed. Blown up. Obliterated. Or as that protoss liked to put it, Purified." I farther clarified. Ty's face went as pale as mine and Charlie's eyes misted over slightly. Our knees hit the ground, almost collectively, as I began to retch.

"You better be fucking with us..." Ty said the empty threat.

"I... I don't think that he is." Charlie said, trying to absorb the shock from the massive bombshell. Ty straightened up and took a deep breathe.

"Well, this is ass, but we're still together. The three of us." He pulled us in a hug. I don't know how long we stayed like that, softly crying amongst ourselves at the loss of all our friends and family. So much death... I intend to find out why.

"He's right. It's gone and there is nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to adjust on this one. After we save it, of course." I stated. Both Charlie and Ty nodded, then Ty reverted to his previous question.

"So, Charlie. How about that tour?" He asked. A smile spread across the mares' face.

"Sounds good to me. I have made a few friends in the week I have been here and even found a place to stay." She said and got up, beginning to walk towards a small town in the distance. We followed in suit.

"How did you find us?" I asked. She lightly chuckled.

"A friend of mine told me that two strange creatures had appeared at the edge of the outskirts of town. Naturally, I decided to check it out." She said.

"Without any weapons?" I asked. She reached over and unzipped a saddle bag. From it, she drew a mini crossbow that looked like it could be strapped to her hoof and a knife. The curious thing about the crossbow was that it had no trigger, but rather some small tubular device ending in a small ball. I assumed that it was the firing mechanism.

"What do you take me for?" She rhetorically asked before putting her weapons away. "The more I think about it, the more I think that you guys should meet Fluttershy first... She is the one who told me about you, after all." She said, reasoning with herself before changing course to a nearby cottage that was surrounded by nature

"What kinda name is 'Fluttershy'?" Ty asked with genuine confusion. To this, Charlie let out a hearty laugh.

"You'll find out soon enough. I just need to get introductions out of the way so she doesn't freak out as soon as she sees you." She explained. Ty gave a questioning look, but left it at that.

"Also, a little forewarning, my name here is Chocolate Skies." She said. Ty and I both exchanged glances, but decided it wasn't worth pursuing. We soon came up to a bridge that led to the quaint little place and crossed it, walking up to the door. Charlie gave a light knock that was followed by a soft 'eep' from inside. The door slowly creaked open and one aqua-green eye peeked out.

"C-Can I help- Oh! Chocolate Skies!" The timid mare exclaimed and opened her door, jumping to hug Charlie. When she caught sight of us, however, she immediately let out a small 'eep' of terror and tried to flee back into the house. But she was stopped by the door, which had been suddenly slammed shut by Charlie.

"Fluttershy, I would like you to calm down and say hello to my friends." Charlie calmly stated to the now cowering buttery Pegasus. Ty and I exchanged unsure glances again, but then took turns introducing ourselves. I was first, kneeling down to her level and extending my hand.

"Hey there. It's okay, I won't hurt you." I tried. She simply whimpered and curled into an even denser ball.

Is it horrible that I find this completely adorable?

I sat down and began to gently stroke her mane, letting my fingers flow through the pink strands with ease. At first, she tensed and even stopped trembling, completely frozen in fear. I began to let out soft 'shhhh's' as I did my work. The small mare slowly began to relax, and even lifted her head to look at my face, which had adopted a calming look with slow blinks.

"We won't hurt you. My name is Tom, and this is Ty." I said, indicating both of us with my hands. Ty bent down and waved lightly.

"Hey there." He said softly.

"H-H-Hi..." She said, her voice barely audible. It was a start, at least. Now I get why her name is Fluttershy. She really stayed true to it. Now that introductions were out of the way, we got all got up and Fluttershy opened the door to her home.

"W-Would you c-come in?" She asked, still rather quiet. We grinned and nodded, entering her quaint little cottage with Charlie trailing behind Fluttershy, presumably to block any escape attempts. I was met with two odd combinations when I entered the small place. Firstly, it was full, and I mean FULL, of animals. Ranging from birds to frogs to rodents and even a bear. A freaking bear! Secondly, it smelled clean. As in, no poop or filthy animal smells. It actually had an air of lavender to it. Ty's favorite scent.

Okay, back to the bear. I froze mid-step.

"Um... Fluttershy? Are you aware of the bear in your home?" I asked in a hushed, but urgent tone. Fluttershy let out a light giggle and walked passed me and, to my horror, straight at the bear.

"Well, of course!" She said and leapt into the air. She was going to land on the bears face, but she was caught in mid-air by a flap of her wings and instead landed on top of its head. She nuzzled him and began to scratch behind its ear, inciting, of all things, a purr. The massive animal then began to thump his foot until the attention was taken away. "Don't worry! Harry is a friendly bear." She said sweetly and got down from his shoulders. I felt a light tap on my foot before looking down to find a rather pissed off looking bunny glaring at me.

"Angel Bunny," Fluttershy chided, "Be nice to Chocolate Skies' friends.'' The rabbit gave all of us one last glare before hopping away to do something wicked.

Probably plot our murders. A friendly bear and an evil rabbit... What the actual fuck is this place?

We all took seats on the couch and chairs, making ourselves comfortable.

"So, um, Chocolate? Are you going to tell me about your friends? That is, if you're okay with it." She asked, hiding behind her mane again. Charlie let out a small laugh.

"It's why we're here, 'Shy." She said and began her explanation. She told her about us, our old lives, our planet, our culture, and even gave up her true identity. She did manage to omit the little factoid that we would need to save the planet in the near future. We didn't want a full blown panic, after all.

"Whoa. So, after the, um, government of your people subdued the threat, it wasn't nearly their biggest problem." Fluttershy said, appalled at the aspect. We merely nodded. "Twilight would be in love with a chance to learn about your species." She said, more of a suggestion than anything else. "But something sounds familiar about those 'Protoss' and 'Zerg' beings. I think I've heard Rainbow Dash mention them before." She scratched her chin with a fetlock. I gave Ty and Charlie both a sidelong look.

That could mean so many things... I just hope we didn't land in the middle of the aliens home system.

"I was going to take them to the library first, but I figured I should introduce them to you beforehand, so you wouldn't freak out when Twilight calls everypony to the library." Charlie said.

"How do you know she will call everypony to the library?" Fluttershy asked. To this, Charlie deadpanned.

"She's kinda predictable, 'Shy. She'll probably send a letter to the Princess, informing her of the situation, and then we'll all go to Canterlot." Charlie predicted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. This planet has a Monarchy?" I asked.

"Diarchy, actually. There are two Princesses, Celestia and Luna who... Actually, I'll let Twilight handle that one. She loves teaching almost as much as learning." Charlie laughed.

"Sounds like an egghead." Ty commented with a smirk, earning a chuckle from each of us, though Fluttershy's was more of a soft giggle.

"Chocola- Charlie?" Fluttershy corrected herself, "Why did you lie when you got here?" She asked.

"Everypony would think I was nuts if I told them what I told you without any proof. I'd wind up like Screwball. Minus the barking." She said, "It was easier to just lie, besides, I thought of it to be a new start. I could pursue my real talent, art, instead of getting mauled by random aliens." She laughed. Fluttershy nodded in understanding.

"But still, Applejack won't be proud." She remarked.

"Yeah, I know, but she'll understand." Charlie sighed, then brightened. "Alright! How about I take you guys to go meet Twilight?" She said, changing the subject. We nodded and got up, exiting the room.

~~~

The Lunar Diarch was suddenly disturbed by the impact of a door against a wall.

"Dusty Tome? Where is she?" A familiar, posh voice, albeit laced with irritation, sounded. Luna peeked out from behind the bookshelf in front of her, taking in the scene. Prince Blueblood, who's face was etched with fatigue, was questioning the older librarian. The old stallion simply pointed a hoof in her direction.

"She's been there all night." The stallion said in a voice that reminded her of Deckherd Cain's, a character in one of her favorite video games, Ponablo. Her sister always said that the antics were a waste of time, but she never tried to stop Luna. They made her happy.

Blueblood just growled before turning and heading in Luna's direction. She internally groaned, hating the arrogant stallion's very existence. And that was rare, for the Princess of the Night loved almost everything. Luna composed herself before stepping out from behind the bookshelf, only to be met with Blueblood's irritated face in hers.

"I hope you have a good explanation for the meteor last night." He growled, "It has caused nothing but paperwork for myself and the other royals!"

"It was out of my control." She stated simply.

"A lot of things are. Including your other half." He spoke venomously, inciting a pang of anger and a ruffling of feathers from the Lunar Princess. A soft, but hateful voice spoke in the back of her head.

Let me handle this... I will end him and all like him. The malevolent voice spoke.

No. You will not take hold again. Luna thought back, getting only an amused snort in response.

"I'll have you know, that thing is quite under control." She said and then glared down at the large stallion, making him seem so much smaller. This intimidated the rude royal as well as she hoped.

"G-Good! Or else I'll see that Auntie banishes you back to the moon!" He stated heatedly before running off. Luna shook her head in disgust.

"The world would be a lot better off if stallions like him didn't exist." Dusty Tome's voice said from the side. Luna was caught off guard by this statement, for she always thought the librarian to be humble and gentle. Although, she did nod in response.

"Yes, I agree." She said.

"A scroll came in for you." He mentioned, peaking the Diarch's interest and levitating it over to her.

"Why did you not tell me before?" Luna asked, grabbing the scroll with her own magic.

"I noticed you were in the battle magic section. The letter was marked for top priority, but was sealed with the seal of a war major." He said, "I got the feeling that you would need what you learned." He added.

"Thank you." She said and removed the seal. She opened the envelop and began to read the letter.

Dear Princess Luna,

It saddens me to say that we require your expertise on the battlefield once more. A meteor struck down in the Northern Ice Plains late last night, but it carried an alien substance and, I dare say, race to our planet. They are NOT friendly. They are ferocious and do not care for their own well being (much like Changelings), nor that of others. As I write this letter, we are preparing for another attack. Wish us luck.

Signed, General Stone Kiss.

PS, I sent this to you, and not Celestia, because I know your skills in combat dwarf that of your sisters'.

The princess frowned and set off on a walk to the throne room, but not before bidding the librarian adieu and telling him to prepare. This new revelation has confirmed her terrible gut feeling from the night before.

~~~

"So, when are we suppose to get to this new planet?" Jim Raynor asked the well dressed individual to his right.

"Three days time, the same time you asked four hours ago." Matt said with a swirl of his drink. Raynor nodded and went back to studying his own. "Why are you so interested in this anyway? Is it because the Protoss hacked us?" Horner asked.

"There's only one Protoss that I know who can hack the Hyperion's controls and put those coordinates in without triggering any alarms. If it's who I think it is, there is more to this than we know." He said.

"Jim, we don't know anything. Why do you feel obligated to do this?" Horner asked, causing Raynor to tighten his grip on his glass.

"I don't. I just don't want the old fool doing anything alone." Jim said with finality and knocked back his drink.

Author's Note:

Mega edit is done for this chapter.
Sorry for the forever without an update thing, but I bring you another chapter at last! Please let me know if I messed up or anything. As always, Stay Brony, my friends.

Comments

[djponyfl]

very good story so far.

can't wait to read the next chapter.

[Saacsa]

3219325 Thanks much