Homeworld Conflict

by Lily Lain

Costs, Questions, Risks and Outcomes

“There’s one issue I’d like to discuss, however. I’ve invited the ambassador unit’s speaker, I believe both you and him might be acquainted with it.”

“What issue is it?” Celestia asked.

The door slid open in that exact moment, and from without, the speaker walked in. His gaze directed away from Karan and his movement skittish in a violation of what he and most of the Mothership’s crew considered, if sometimes with amusement, sacred ground. Karan was the only material god of the Fleet, so to speak.

Or perhaps he was afraid of what he’d done in the past. “I come on your call, Fleet Command. Your highness.” He tipped his hat at Celestia.

“Now, I’m sure you’re both aware of the matter I’d like to address you with...”

“I can assure you that there’s no conspiracy between us,” Celestia said, her intonation implying the exact opposite. She then shamelessly winked at the speaker.

The speaker himself looked like he was about to faint. He shrank and bent a little, making himself the smallest target possible. “But... I...” he blurted. It was easy to guess what was going on in his head. He’d be left there in the land of these Equines to never reproduce, to die and rot.

“Please,” he whispered. “Please, don’t make me stay in Equestria. I only wished to...” He didn’t quite finish. Hands covering his eyes, he moved a few steps away from Karan.

Celestia’s smile died in an instant. “I’m sorry. I’m sure your Fleet Comm—“

“Calm down, speaker. You won’t be left in Equestria. I don’t know what got such bizarre notion into your head. Every living Kushan is to leave the planet.” The speaker uncovered his eyes and sighed with relief. “But let us progress to the matter at hand. You’ve provided the Equines with schematics for ship construction. Why?”

Celestia looked at the speaker, there was no trace of surprise in her eyes. She knew.

“I was afraid we’d do rash decisions. I’ve thought that if we encountered resistance, you and Fleet Intelligence would think twice before acting. Otherwise the Equines and the Griffins would be no more than slaves to us.”

“Your actions have cost the Kushan Fleet lives.”

“Us, yes. But these lives would be taken tenfold from the Griffins if I didn’t do that. They’d only have their feet to stand on, and their bows, arrows, and occasional gunpowder weaponry to use.”

Karan was silent. Celestia glanced at both, but her gaze settled on the speaker. He stood there, from a fretful, shaking prey he became a man-at-arms, standing straight, with a defiant frown on his lips.

“And all life in the universe is equal?” Karan asked.

“I believe so.”

There was a pause when Karan sighed. “You might think so, but our race – every race that I know at all – doesn’t. Far too many experiments are done with the use of animals. Far too many species are forced to kill others in order to survive. But I suppose it’s a conversation for another day. Your point stands.

“There is, however, one question regarding this matter I’d like to address to you, Celestia. You see, it’s quite hard, impossible even, for a nation to develop working ships in a month, even if they’re given the books and schematics. For us the construction of the Mothership took years, even with a reverse-engineered space drive and much more advanced technology.”

The advisor looked at Celestia with curiosity himself. He had wondered, but she was unsure of whether he gave them the credit of being able to do it. “I’m not quite sure what you’re implying. The materials and the schematics were quite a lot to be given.”

“You’ve reengineered the whole ship to suit your power source and weaponry. It requires expert knowledge on not only ship construction, but the entirety of Kushan engineering. I hardly believe we would ever be able to achieve this feat in such a short amount of time.”

“Once again, could you specify your questions, Karan? What do you exactly mean?”

“Did you receive any outside help? Who worked on the ship? There’s something I can’t quite comprehend about this situation, and I believe you might know the answer.”

“We had a team of Ponies, Griffins, one Dragon and one Minotaur working on it. I’m, well, I’m unaware of any outside influence, but on the other hoof, I’m unaware of what exactly happened there.”

“With all due respect,” the speaker started. “What do you mean ‘unaware of what exactly happened?’ Weren’t you the person financing it?”

“Financing, along with Luna, the Griffin renegades, and the Dragons – yes. The team asked for materials, we provided it. How it was possible that they created these ships—” She broke her sentence in half. “There could’ve been something.”

“Mind engineering?” suggested Karan.

Celestia confirmed. “Indeed, possible. Why and how, however, I cannot fathom. The Ponies, mostly unicorns, were certainly not tampered with. I can’t confirm that for the rest of the team.”

“Do you have any ideas as to why they’d do that? The question of how could be explained. A perfect timing had been chosen when you, speaker, have delivered them the starship schematics.”

“Perhaps...” The speaker rubbed his forehead. “Perhaps their motive was to drive us away from here, that can be devised. They were protecting this world.”

“But who could that be?” Celestia asked, looking at both Karan and the speaker for answer. “The Dragons?”

“There was an idea, among the Fleet Intelligence, implying there were some remnants of our ancestors here, on Equestria. That they’ve gone into hiding and were now interfering with this conflict somehow,” Karan said.

“Perhaps,” Celestia mused, “you had the means to reveal them that we didn’t. They wanted you away as fast as possible.”

“It’s all merely speculation. The only fact we have is the dim notion that the scientist teams probably didn’t work alone. Probably.”

“I’m afraid it’s not only that, Fleet Command,” the speaker shyly implied. “I’ve talked to the excavation team. The ‘circuits’ they’ve discovered are pretty much a similar thing to what we’ve found on the ships. They convert magic to electricity.”

Celestia’s pupils shrank. “In that case... In that case I’d rather you remained in our orbit. We might require your help in finding those beings. We don’t know who they are, we don’t know what power they hold and what their motives are, it’s—”

“I’m afraid we can’t. We must leave as soon as possible. We’re on a journey to Hiigara, and that is our main objective.”

“You’re the only ones who could know might be happening. You’re the only ones that could help us, Karan.”

“You have your magic, you have the Elements. And you have your wisdom, Celestia, one that protected you from wars for years, until the Griffins attacked.”

“What if whoever is behind the creation of those ships is also behind the attack of the Griffins?”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t speculate—”

“I think this idea could work. I think we shouldn’t—”­ the speaker started but was almost immediately cut off.

“Silence, speaker,” Karan, once again Fleet Command, said sternly. “The Griffins don’t want us here. Were it a small group of people influencing a whole nation to the point of madness or not, we have no place here. The Fleet will be leaving soon. It was good to have met you, Celestia.”

Celestia stared with hope and anger at the limp, floating body before her.

“The hyperdrive is being charged as we speak. You have twenty minutes to leave.”

“Karan, you’re able to differentiate our technology from theirs, and only you’ve advanced far enough to help us fight them. Your technology could nullify the Elements to the point of them only showing you the path to Hiigara. I ask you, in the name of whole Equestria, to help us.”

“The transmitter we’ve left you on Equestria will have our medicinal and engineering knowledge. You’ll sort this situation out yourself. It’s your world, not ours. Any further interference from us will only create further destabilisation, cause further death and destruction….”

Celestia’s eyes trailed to the ground. “Thank you.” She turned around and walked away, toward the door. Each of her steps was heavy, but she her head was kept up, keeping a semblance of dignity. She didn’t glance back, not once, instead keeping her gaze fixed firmly on the door.

“I’m sorry,” Karan said quietly.

Celestia nodded in acknowledgement. In her mind, the world was being rearranged to deal with the newly revealed threat to her nation. The door slid shut behind her, leaving anxious silence behind.

“Speaker?”

“We could’ve helped.”

“We’ve done enough evil to them.”

“We could reforge it into good.”

“No, we couldn’t. Not after all we’ve done.”

The speaker fell silent. He gazed at the shining circuits on the walls, dully following their patterns, lost in thought.

“Speaker, I’d like you to tell the advisor that I knew, and that no negative repercussions will be enforced upon him as long as the matter remains confidential.”

“I will. I’d...” The speaker’s voice broke. He turned away from Karan, afraid of eye contact, even though ever-present cameras registered his every move. “I’d like to apply for discorporation as soon as my duties for today are accomplished. I don’t think there is anything more I can do for the Fleet.” He left quickly, his breaths heavy. The door behind him once again left a complete silence.

After Celestia was escorted back to Equestria and the Corvette that escorted her was docked back with the Mothership, the starships lined up for the hyperspace jump. Frigates by Super Capital Ships, Super Capital Ships by the Mothership, Corvettes and Fighters in her hangars.

And then they were gone. Where once for Ponies, Griffins, Dragons, Minotaurs and all other races of the planet the sky was obstructed, they could see the stars again.

Over the course of the Homeworld Conflict, as it was later called:

Former presence of the Kushan on the world was confirmed
145 Griffin Starships were destroyed.
128 Kushan Fighters were destroyed.
7 Kushan Frigates were destroyed.
2 Griffin cities were destroyed by the Ion Cannon Frigates before the ceasefire took place.
12 743 Kushan have perished.
65 871 Griffins have perished.
340 Ponies have perished.
20 Minotaurs have perished.
78 964 sentient lives have perished.

Millions of lives were saved from disease, starvation, miscarriage and genetic disorders, thanks to the developments in medicine and engineering provided by the Kushan.

Comments

[Lily Lain]

7589555
7590467

Be it a Kushan-Equine corporation, or war, that's the matter of a possible sequel rather than this specific story. There's yet a short "epilogue" to be posted, after which this story is effectively concluded. Thank you all for your feedback and bearing with me for all this time! ^^

I might yet do some very minor changes to the story that'd improve clarity and such of the reading, but I don't think they'll be very noticeable. Whether a sequel will be written is yet a subject up to debate, but a lot of what you both, and other people have written of what they'd like to see fit surprisingly well into the ideas I had. There is no outline yet, however, just the bare ideas.

I may also add an "author's notes" chapter, but I still would love to receive some feedback after posting this specific chapter, to see if it doesn't clear up a lot of the interpretation problems the story had prior.

[Animefan608]

Nice cover picture.

[Lily Lain]

7591056

It was made by Conrie over here. Feel free to go give him your love! ^^

[batran]

Copy paste from last chapter

I wonder if this would help the ponies go within range of achieving space flight. Would be a comforting ending, where ponies and "Kushan" humans traveling and exploring space together within a hundred years or so.
But idk