My Little Starcraft: Friendly Fire is Magic

by DuncanR

Prologue

~ Once upon a time, in a galaxy called Equestria ~

“Executor Rarity?”

The glittering, crystal-clear pony offered no response. She simply gazed out of the curved observation window at the planet far below: a patchwork sphere of emerald forests and sapphire oceans, all teeming with natural life.

Blueblood, an elite high-templar of the Crytoss armada, walked across the flagship’s arboretum—a magnificently cultivated jungle of silicon and gemstone designed to assist in the meditative needs of the crew. He stood beside the executor and gently cleared his throat, and her eyes darted to him at last.

“The planetary surveyance is complete, Executor.” His eyes shimmered with psionic energy and a crystal data-core hovered between them. “The archivists were quite thorough in their initial assessment.”

Executor Rarity took the crystal and touched her mind to it: an array of three dimensional images appeared in the air around them, displaying many close up views of the planet’s steel grey fortresses and smog-choked industrial factories. She turned back to the planet below and looked at the shadowy crescent of night that obscured the far side: a spiderweb of tiny lights flickered through the darkness, frail and fragile compared to the monolithic structures depicted in the images.

“An industrial-military world,” she whispered, “divided between three indigenous species. How long have they been locked in war?”

“Impossible to discern,” said Blueblood. “Most planetary civilizations advance to a higher degree of enlightenment after only a few centuries, but a cursory search of their public records revealed no pre-war datums. Their lifespans are so brief that the current generation has never known peace.”

Executor Rarity set the data-core crystal aside and turned to the planet once more. “So much hatred... so much violence.”

Blueblood straightened his stance. “I know the Crystal Empire is in need of allies, Executor... especially those with the military strength to combat our great enemy. But surely these primitive beings are too savage for—”

Rarity whirled about and fixed him with a burning gaze. “It is not our place to judge other races as worthy or unworthy, nor to choose whether ponies must live or die!”

He straightened up. “Forgive me, Executor, I meant no offence! But even if these ponies can assist in bringing about galactic peace... what then? Have they any relevance in a galaxy bereft of war?”

Rarity turned back to the window, but her gaze remained stern. “We once viewed ourselves as superior because of our intelligence and enlightenment... but we must never forget that it was our own conceited arrogance that allowed the great devourer to rise to power in the first place.”

“But these ponies fight each other!” he said. “How can we condone such senseless violence?”

She turned from the window and marched towards the command deck. “It was not so long ago that we, ourselves, were locked in civil war. Had our fleets not been sundered by decades of inner strife, perhaps we could have stopped the great devourer in its tracks.”

Templar Blueblood followed alongside her. “We know, Executor. We’ve all read the historical records a hundred times.”

She stopped and set a gentle hoof on his chest. “Then you will know that our great power does not make us kings or tyrants, but teachers. We must be patient and humble. And above all else, we must be generous.”

He nodded and let out a slight sigh. “Generous. As you say, Executor... frequently.”

She smiled back at him. “If I say it often, it is because it is worth remembering.”

They walked across the arboretum, passed through a shimmering portal of energy, and arrived at the flagship’s bridge at the numbing speed of thought. The Templar officers on deck all stood at attention as she approached. “En taro Starswirl!” they called out in perfect unison.

Rarity approached the central command post and regarded the vast array of holographic displays. Her bridge crew remained at attention.

“My disciples,” she said at last, “we go forth this day not with the banner of war, but of peace. Our sisters struggle across the galaxy even now, sacrificing their lives to hold back the darkness. Our fleets, though scattered and weakened, patrol the far reaches of the cosmos in search of infested planets. Our homeworld, once a shining bastion of culture and philosophy, has turned its great temples and workshops to the production of deadly weapons. But we must never forget that the Crytoss empire was not built upon the fires of war, nor the wreckage of destruction! The Crytoss did not become strong through conquest or plundering! We are a race of peace!”

She gestured grandly to the planet below. “Soon, we will make contact with a fledgling young race poised on the verge of enlightenment. We will share with them our great wisdom and give them the tools they need to enrich their culture and reach for the stars. We will not sway them to our cause with threats or ultimatums, but by embracing them as friends and allies! We must stand beside them, as equals, or we all will fall. No matter how savage and primitive they may seem to us, there lies a seed of peace in all living things... for it is the spirit of loving friendship that makes us strong!”

The bridge officers all raised their heads high and let out a cheer. Their crystalline bodies gleamed with the light of harmony, and their psionic voices resonated as one.

Executor Rarity gestured to the main console. “Bring us into low orbit, my sisters, and prepare a transport for me.”

One of the officers looked up at her. “What manner of escort do you require, Executor? A squadron of Crusaders? A pair of heavy carriers, perhaps?”

Rarity lifted her head slightly. “A single Warp Prism will suffice.”

The templar gasped. “No combat escort at all!?”

“I must act as a diplomat,” she said, “in the spirit of utmost trust. To bring weapons of war—even for self-defence—will increase the risk of deadly misunderstanding.”

Templar Blueblood nodded to her. “I will go with you, to serve as a bodyguard.”

“Please no,” she said, “the danger is mine to accept. Where I go, I go alone.”

He lifted his chin. “Do not think to dissuade me, Executor: if you are to risk death in the name of the Crystal Empire, then I shall die alongside you. My honor demands nothing less.”

After a moment, she nodded.

“Executor!” one of the bridge ponies called out. “A Warp Prism is prepared for launch.”

Rarity nodded to Blueblood. They turned and exited the bridge, side by side.

Comments

[Majk]

Welp, Rarity would definitely feel at home as a Protoss what with all them glowing and shining doodads they have.