Magi Chronicles: Fires of Equestria

by Xeadin

Chapter 13 -- Adaptation

The morning sun rose high in the sky, radiating its magnificent glow against the mountainside and the castle that nestled against its side. For the moment, the air stood quiet—not a single breeze drew near. Contemplation and question stung Canterlot at the sudden arrival and apprehension of a strange object in the middle of the night. It drove many of the commoners inside its walls towards their breaking point, as things kept unfolding without a mere explanation.

Inside the throne room, the air was calm, yet the bitterness of confusion and frustration was tense. Perched before the princess’s thrones was the metallic object that flew around the base of the valley last night. It was a remarkable construction, crafted in a way that even the most understanding blacksmiths couldn’t comprehend. Twilight and her friends stood next to Celestia’s throne, while Shining Armor and Cadence sat next to Luna’s, whose throne was vacant. Celestia had an idea of where her sister had gone off to, but, during a time of need, it seemed somewhat out of place.

The object before them was supported by a large red velvet cushion—the same kind as was seen from her quarters.

“What is it?” Shining Armor asked diligently.

Celestia shook her head. “We still have no idea. Perhaps Luna is going to wake up Asura so that he can answer that question.” She looked up to see a procession of guards, along with stallions and mares that came from Manehattan to study the object.

One of the mares bowed. She was a jet blue pegasus with a curly brown and red mane and wore a white coat over most of her body. “Your highness.” She spoke in a whimsical tone, almost as if she was in surprise after being summoned here on such short notice.

Celestia nodded. “I know this might be an inconvenience for you, as it is for all of us. We’ve just had this ‘thing’ flying around the lowlands of Equestria. We were curious to know if you could figure out what it is?”

The mare stared at the object, almost in disbelief. “I, uh…”

An earth stallion stood forward and took a short bow. “Your highness. We do not know off the top of our hooves.”

Shining Armor studied the group inquisitively. “You’re going to try and find out beforehand?”

“The more information we can acquire about it, the greater understanding we have of its origin.”

~~~~~~

The sun’s rays dazzled past Asura’s face from the window, creating a delicate golden glow on his skin. He steadily opened his eyes and let out an invigorating sigh. He stretched his arms up as he pulled himself from the hugging confines of the soft bed. It was the best sleep he’s ever had in a long time. Luna’s delicate nature, certainly, worked wonders on his wracked physique. Nothing in the world could feel any better, and he could appreciate no less at this point.

He sat on the bed, with his feet touching the linen carpet. The fibrous strands tickled the bottoms of his feet, as he began to lift himself up. As he did so, he felt a looming pain creep in to his chest. It felt odd—out of place, even. He had a good rest, and he hadn’t put himself into any compromising positions. Still, he proceeded to stand up. The pain worsened, and it felt as if his insides were beginning to burn. It got to the point where it became excruciatingly unbearable, and he fell back onto his knees.

He braced his lower waist with his hand, reeling on the immense pain that crippled his body to the ground. He panted and grunted with every breath. The pain started to overcome much of his abdominal area, and could be felt starting to creep up his arms, legs and neck. He attempted to reach into his pocket, only to find the absence of the stone. Worried, he looked up to find it resting on the edge of the table next to the bed. He crawled over to the foot of the table, and attempted to reach the stone. His efforts proving futile, he slid back down to the ground, shifting the table and causing a flower vase to crash on the carpet. Dirt and water littered the carpet underneath the table, and broken masonry made its way to Asura’s hand. Unfortunately, the shifting weight did not force the stone to budge.

His mind went wild. The reality of his underlying fears was catching up to him. Something deep inside was changing. His power started to fade, and it began to affect his mind. The pain was agonizingly intense, as his short grunts turned to long moans, and occasionally screams. The magic of Equestria had taken a delayed effect, and was beginning to dissect his spirit. Without a tenuous grasp on the elements, he did not know whether the magic that invaded him would eventually cleanse him or kill him. He did not want to know the outcome—he had to get the stone before the rogue magic caused irreversible damage.

The door blew wide open, and two guards came rushing in to find him on the floor, heaving in massive pain. One of them stood by, while the other knelt down to him, supporting him with the guard's hoof. “Sir! Are you alright?”

“What is the matter with him?” Luna rushed through the threshold, hearing the cries of pain from within the lower confines of the halls. An expression of worry crossed her face.

The guard dragged Asura around and looked towards Luna. “I have no idea, your majesty. We heard him fall to the ground and yelp in pain.” Asura continued to breathe heavily. His body began to convulse slightly.

Luna summoned her magic, and brought him close to her. She grasped his neck and stroked his cheek to try and comfort him. His frantic breathing began to slow down, and his focus started to return. The pain continued to linger, and he struggled to regain his own strength. He muttered a few words, softly. “The… the stone…”

Luna looked toward the desk to find the stone lying on the corner. She noticed the broken vase on the floor. She summoned the rock over to her and placed it in his hand.

The pain, almost, immediately subsided. He took in a heavy breath and sighed in relief. It took him a few minutes to recover, but he was able to stand on his feet again.

“What was that all about?” she asked, in worry.

Asura, still slightly traumatized by the experience, drew his attention to her. “When I first came here, the effects of your planet’s power did not take effect on me, nor could they when I had the stone in my possession. Frankly, the effects of Equestria’s magic had a profound delay.” He tilted his head down in earnest. “In short, I am starting to adjust to Equestria’s climate, but, unfortunately, that reaction is… slightly volatile.”

‘The Elements of Harmony nearly killed him?’ The thought rang through her head—it frightened her. “Art thou going to be okay?”

Asura nodded. “For the time being, yes. As long as I have the stone in my hand, the effects of the change won’t be as intense.”

Luna dismissed the guards back to their stations. She turned back to him. “My sister requires thee to come to the throne room for a matter of… grave importance.”

Asura looked up. Were his allies brought before the princess and expecting his arrival? There was only one way to find out. “Okay. I’ll come with.”

~~~~~~

The analyst ponies continued to survey the strange object that sat before the princess’ thrones. It was an odd sight for the scientists from Manehattan to approach such royalty in sudden circumstances. They were, incredulously, the greatest technologically adept minds of Equestria. This object, however, proved to bust their own minds instead. Nothing on Equestria was this technologically advanced, and nothing like this had ever been built. They were curious on how it got its power, its intellect and its propulsion.

The lead mare tapped one end of the object’s vent case on the main body. In a moment’s notice, the internal compartment whirred to life, and lights on the front part of it flashed for a brief moment. The round dome on the front turned a full three hundred sixty degrees. The analysts backed up almost immediately. The glass lens on the dome seemed to move in and out, as though it were adjusting its eyesight. The lens focused itself upon the thrones.

---

The morning atmosphere was tense. The crew of the Atlas vessel conversed amongst each other and prepared an external outpost outside of the vessel. They had lost one of their most advanced recon drones, and the other was still on watch for the other. Skyhawk One, precariously, circled around the mountain, where Skyhawk Two was taken to the structure that was built on the side. Something told the coordinators that they would not be able to get the drone back without, physically, going to the settlement. If some powerful force was able to drag the drone towards that settlement, they’d probably have to expect the worst. Getting caught out here would mean serious trouble.

The generals and group coordinators stood amongst one another in the command deck. The screens were littered with live feeds from the Skyhawk One drone, as it continued to survey the mountainside and its residency. Randan stood with his hand below his chin—he sighed. “What should we try and do at this point? From Skyhawk One’s vantage point, the grounds look to be heavily guarded. Someone of grave importance must be living there for that much security to be warranted.”

Otan nodded. “That ‘someone’ seems to have a plethora of powers to their disposal. Being able to snatch a drone right out from the sky means that they could, easily, pick us off without hesitation.” He began to study the feeds closely. “They seem to have remarkable artistry and architectural abilities to be able to pull off something so grand. At this point, we should, probably, hope for the best and that they don’t pull the drone apart.”

Randan wrinkled his nose. “I highly doubt that it’ll be spared. Seeing that they have it in their possession, it won’t be long before they start spying on us with their drones…”

The screen before them flashed with a new feed next to Skyhawk One. The footage was white at first, but then it came in to focus. It was, undeniably, Skyhawk Two, and it was showing a green light on all statuses—save for its turbines. Randan shouted to the rest of the crew and brought the feed up on all of the other monitors. He could not believe his eyes at what the screen was showing.

---

Celestia got up on all fours and proceeded to approach the strange object with a slow and steady pace. The ‘eye’ of the object followed her incoming approach, and she stopped just a few feet away from it. The analysts stood by, awaiting further instruction.

She cleared her throat. “Hello, stranger. As princess and ruler of Equestria, I demand to know who, or what, you are.”

The object did not share a response. The dome tilted its optical lens back and forth to get a sense of its surroundings. When it, finally, came back to her focus, she continued to hold the same, flat expression.

She tapped her hoof on the ground a few times. “I’m certain that you might be frightened or confused of your current circumstances, but I can assure you that you are in safe hooves.” She smiled. “There is no need to fear. No one can judge your opinions, and no one will come to harm’s way. Enlighten us with who you are and where you came from.”

A voice crackled from the object. “Under my superior’s orders of Executive ARD-1510, I am unauthorized to converse with inhabitants not of our own society.”

She wrinkled her nose. “What can you converse of then?”

Luna stood if front of the doorway, with Asura behind. She eyed the object that had been presented before the thrones. Asura took notice, and was bewilderingly shocked to find the Skyhawk drone in the room. ‘Impressive. How did she get that in here, and why aren’t ‘they’ here?’

Luna stood next to Celestia, eyeing the object rather precariously. "What a 'strange' creature this is. Never, in our lifetime, have we seen such remarkable individual." Luna sat on her throne. "Would thou care to enlighten us about thyself?"

The drone spoke once again. “Under my superior’s orders of Executive ARD-1510, I am unauthorized to converse with inhabitants not of our own society.”

‘Executive ARD-1510… What a good, little robot you are.’ He realized what that order was. He stood tall, and cleared his throat. “As your ranking commander of the Magi Civil Defense Force, I am authorizing the dismissal of Executive ARD-1510.”

Everyone in the room was shocked to hear his words. Even Luna and Celestia were at a loss of words as they stood, blankly, on their thrones. Shining Armor was, simply, dumbfounded.

The drone’s gimbal unit turned around to see the spectacle that was the commander—standing valiantly in the middle of the throne room.

---

The entire command room was in shock and disbelief. One moment, they were listening to the words of the strange beings that loomed over the drone, and they listened to the drone’s replies—which was a part of its response to take orders from their superiors. The next moment, they heard ‘his’ voice. The feed flashed to the back of the room, of which where it was held. In the middle of the footage stood Asura.

Renee and Cassandra drew heavy breaths, trying to catch up on their own thoughts. Randan, simply, stood still as a statue in front of the screen—his eyes widening at the sight of the commander himself, who was in, presumably, excellent condition. Whoever these inhabitants were, they had taken extremely gentle care of him.

“Oh my god,” Renee said, as she was almost at a loss of words. “It’s him.”

---

The throne room fell silent—all but the wind that blew gently outside. Asura stepped forth to arm’s length of the drone. He felt the need to assure his allies that he wasn’t just a mirage. He did not know what the princesses were capable of—in fact, he barely knew anything about them at this rate—but he knew that they could have attempted to coax his fellow crew with an image of himself. He laid his hand flat on top of the drone. He could feel the cool metal on the palm of his hand and fingertips. He slid his hand back, allowing the drone’s touch receptors to fully sense his movement across its body.

The drone responded with a few audible tones. “Yes, sir. Commencing dismissal of Executive ARD-1510, to allow communications with native inhabitants—at your discretion.”

Another voice emanated from the drone—a familiar voice. Randan, his closest colleague in the Civil Defense Corps, and an invaluable leader in his assignments. It was Randan that encouraged Asura to take leadership as the commander of the Civil Defense Force, as any guardian should. Protecting the civilization was at utmost priority for, both, the civilization itself and to the Precursors. Having a small specialized unit of the larger military force meant that they could offer humanitarian needs to struggling societies, or offer strategic reinforcements to grueling battle zones falling behind in objectives. They were trained under the guise of ex-military corporals and lieutenants.

“As leading officer of the Civil Defense Corps A-197, Randan Weninger, it is my honor to accept and welcome all communications with the local inhabitants.” There was a moment’s pause. “It’s good to hear and see from you again, commander.”

Asura nodded. “The same to you, Randan.”

The drone fell silent for another few moments. Celestia’s eyes sparkled in the sunlight. To meet with others from his world was a blessing. Her gaping maw melted away into a passionate grin.

“This is the commanding officer aboard the Atlas Command Vessel. Objective secured.”

As soon as those last two words were muttered from the drone, the loudspeaker erupted into exuberant cheering and applause. There were a few hoof claps amongst some of the bystanders. Asura was surprised. He had heard of the Atlas command vessel, but he did not realize that they’d be getting their hands on it so soon—let alone deploy it in active duty.

Celestia spread her wings out before the drone, letting the light shine bright inside the throne room. The drone’s gimbal swerved to her direction, where she acknowledged its sight. Her gleaming smile could be seen on the reflection of the outer lens. “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree, henceforth, that you are welcome to step forth onto our land. We humbly welcome you all to Equestria.”

The cheering from the loudspeaker subsided, leaving only several others to converse with each other. “It is our honor to accept your invite, Princess.”

“HOORAY!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “New friends to party with! This is the BEST REUNION EVER!!!”

~~~~~~

The hangars within the command vessel flooded with excitement and charm. Progress of the outdoor command outpost came to a halt. Fears of apprehension and impending failure were replaced with joyous cheers and welcoming pleasures. Inside the command deck, the coordinators conversed upon themselves in celebratory cheers. They did not expect a sudden turnout such as this, but they were glad to see and hear the familiar face and voice of their commander—the leader of the stars.

Randan and Cassandra embraced each other in a warm hug, tears of joy flowing out from her eyes. “We did it.”

Randan gently brushed on her feathery head. “Yes, we did. Granted, it was in the most unlikely circumstance, but at least he’s okay.”

Cassandra looked up at him and giggled slightly.

Otan patted Randan on the back. “Let’s go say hello to our hosts.”