Bonds of Harmony

by FoxTheFirebird

The Sting, Part II

Luna held on tightly onto the human until a series of beeps tickled her ears.

One-two. One-two. One-two.

"Ty Parsec." Luna took a step back and released him from her hug. "What's that noise?"

Ty held up a hand. "It's okay, it's just my communicator. It's how I can talk to other Rangers from other places. Er, hang on a minute." He opened his compartment, where sure enough, Buzz's face was on the screen. "We there at Star Command, Buzz?"

"Yep, we'll soon be home! Better strap yourself and that pony in. By the way, how is she?"

Ty looked at Luna as she waited for him to explain what was going on before looking back at the screen. "She's up and around. I'll go into further detail about her later once we land. It's... gonna have to be said in person."

Buzz raised a brow at the reserved response. "Huh. Ooookay. Whatever you say, Ty. Just get ready for the landing sequence."

"Roger. Over and out."

After the conversation ended, Ty advised, "Alright, here's what's what. We're gonna be landing at Star Command. That's our headquarters; we'll get our leader, Commander Nebula, and the LGMs, to help you out. We'd better get to the cockpit, strap in and be ready. The landings aren't always fun and I don't wanna take any chances with your broken wing by staying here."

Luna wasn't sure she was comfortable with the idea, but she didn't protest. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter. "Very well then. But who are these LGMs? Are they helpers of some sort?"

"In a word, yes. They're what keep Star Command running; they work as scientists, mechanics, and medics. They'll help you with your wing in no time. Although..." He stood up from his place on the floor and gestured with a hand to Luna, signaling her to follow him. "They, and my commander, probably won't believe that you can talk and use magic."

Luna sighed out of her nostrils as she walked besides him. "Obviously not." She found that out with his reaction. "But yes, we must convince them. But what about your friend Buzz Lightyear? Surely he'll believe his eyes, ears and us when we tell him?"

They left the medical room and were now in the wide hallway. Footsteps and hoof steps echoed in the spacious hall.

"There's no doubt of that, yeah. But there's something I should know to help me explain things better to him and our boss: how come you didn't talk before when we were on Zenway Nine? Were you scared or...?"

A shrug was followed by, "Yes. I have never seen your kind before, and I did not know how to react to everything. I'm in a new world far from my home and I only relied on what I knew from my surroundings and instincts."

"I get you. But what about your magic?"

"What about it?"

"Well, er..."

Luna tilted her head as the Ranger rubbed the back of his head and trying to find the right words to ask. What was he so embarrassed about? What did her magic have to do with it?

Ty himself wasn't sure if what he would ask was deemed appropriate. But given he didn't know how magic actually worked, it was a good idea to ask about it despite his lack of knowledge about it. "I know I'm new to this whole magic thing, but if you can make shields, what else can you do with it? How does it really work?"

It delighted Luna to know that he was interested in her magic. She smiled and, as if she were talking to a student, proudly explained her magic. "Well, I can do all sorts of things with my magic. But my specialty is raising the moon and stars."

Ty nearly braked on his heels at what he just heard. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You can raise the MOON?"

"And stars, yes."

If the man hadn't had enough surprises for one day, this was to top them all. "Sweet Mother of Venus." He nursed a temple at this revelation.

Luna squinted at him in confusion. "What? You've never heard of anypony raising the moon and stars?"

Much to her surprise, he shook his head. "No. We don't exactly have anypony..." AnyPONY?...he never heard anyone referring to a body of people as anyPONY. This was certainly a first. "Er, anyBODY, to do the job for us. The moon and stars, and sun, all do the job themselves."

Now it was Luna's turn to share the shock. "Really? There's nopony who is responsible for raising ALL of those?" It was so strange-the celestial bodies moving themselves? It was so unnatural! And yet, it was fascinating.

"No. They move because... well, they just move on their own accord. They always have here."

"Oh my. I've never heard anything like that before. If there's ever a free moment of time in our task, may I able to see a moon rise and fall for myself sometime?"

"Sure, if you let me know how you raise the moon and stars. That's something I've never heard anyone do."

She agreed keenly, "So shall be it, Ty Parsec. And thank you."

"No problem. So, uh, would that explain the moon on your flank?"

Luna was thrown off by the random question. "I'm sorry?"

Ty pointed to her marked flank, to which she herself looked at and regarded. "Oh! That. Well, yes. Raising the moon is my main calling in life, just as it's symbolized by my cutie mark."

"...Your what now?"

---

By now, they reached the area where he was taking her.

And by the same token, Ty received all the information he needed to relay to Buzz, Commander Nebula and the LGMs about their pony guest. Of course the information Luna gave the Ranger was quite a handful. In less than a few minutes, he managed to learn more of her cutie mark, magic and bits of her world. Luna's magic itself was part of her biological makeup. Apparently all ponies from her world were bestowed with magic, but each of the pony races-pegasi, unicorns, Earth ponies and alicorns-put their magical abilities to different usages. Alicorns were apparently the most powerful-and rare-of the lot, given that, according to Luna, there was only her, her older sister and a niece of theirs.

And even they had some obstacles of their own in spite of their awe-inspiring presences within the world of Equestria. Magic couldn't fix all problems, as proved by Luna's inability to summon up a portal to return to her world, or using magic to fix her broken wing. So it would have to be up to the Rangers to rely on their science and technology to aid the pony in getting back home.

"And here we are."

Before Luna could comment on the spacious cockpit she was brought to, she was interrupted by a foghorn.

"Oh, hey! I see you've brought along the pony, Ranger. She's looking a lot better." Buzz spared a glance over his shoulder to cheerfully greet them.

Ty shared a quick knowing glance with Luna before answering his superior officer. "Yeah, she is. Buzz, we'd better strap her in for the landing."

"Well, naturally, but why did you bring her here? You coulda strapped her in the medical bay."

Luna held her tongue as she let her representative speak on her behalf.

"It's important that she's here. It's like I said earlier; once we land, you'll know about her. She's more than meets the eye. Besides, that wing of hers was heavily damaged in the fight with Zurg. She'll be safer up here in central control."

Ty went on ahead into the front of the ship with Luna behind his heels. As she followed behind him, she took in everything she set her eyes on. The shiny controls, the large purple seats, and the view of-

Luna's eyes widened at the vast canvas speckled with beautiful stars and celestial spheres appearing in the large window of the ship. Although she couldn't get too close to the window, as she had a feeling Buzz might not like the idea, she already felt her insides set alight with joy and wonder. The sight of those stars and everything out there touched her heart so much that a wide smile was planted and grew. It nearly made her forget what she set out to do with Ty.

A spark was ignited in her.

Buzz momentarily regarded the pony over his shoulder. She looked so different than the last time he saw her. Rather than looking defiant or helpless, she now appeared completely carefree and doe-eyed. He then looked up at his partner, waiting for an answer. He had to hand it to Ty; he was sure bonding with that creature, even going as far to say she's more than she seems. Whatever that meant, Buzz didn't know, but he was sure to get an answer from his friend after they landed. "Well, alright, if it'll make you feel better, I'll make an exception to the rule of non personnel sitting in the cockpit. Strap her in the seat, Ranger."

"Yes sir." He got Luna's attention. "Hey."

When she snapped out of her wondrous state, he responded, "Go ahead and sit in the seat here." He led her to the empty seat that was usually held for the navigator of the star cruiser. Luckily, it was large enough to accompany her size given that the seat was normally used for Buzz's large-sized teammate.

She climbed up onto the seat and sat down on her haunches. Once she was comfortable, she waited for whatever the next step was to come from Ty.

Ty reached over to the other side and pulled on the seatbelt connected to the seat, pulling it over the pony and into its buckle. "This'll protect you and keep you from falling off. Like I said, the landings can be bumpy at times."

He got a high brow in return for his warning, but nothing was said back. Whatever he told her, she would do it.

Once she was safely secured, Ty nodded and went to the co-pilot's seat to help Buzz steer the ship into their headquarters. After taking one more look at Luna to make sure she was alright, he set his sights forward to the stars.

Both pilots controlled the ship with such ease that Luna couldn't help but take the time to watch over them as they steered this giant vehicle into the reaches of outer space. It was simply a lot for her to see-both of them seemed like naturals when taking the helm of this ship. However, she noticed the way Buzz moved his hands when pushing on levers and other gears. It almost was as if he was one with the ship itself. Ty was just as proficient at the controls, but he was serving as second-in-command, acting as another set of steady hands and eyes.

The ride was so smooth so far. What would Ty have meant about the rough landings? There was nothing to fear out there. There was only the cluster of stars to marvel over. Whoever was in charge of the cosmos here was quite a master in their work.

And despite the fact she was stuck here in this universe for some time, that didn't mean she couldn't take the time to at least take her mind off her predicament by absorbing all of the new things she would see and learn from Ty.

She learned from him that this world, this galaxy, was home to so many diverse creatures. Not just humans, like him and Buzz, but to all sorts of sentient races and species. Most of them were willing to work together to create harmony within the universe and to defend against that Zurg monster. Others wanted to be left alone to their own agendas. The Space Ranger Corps, much like the royal guards of Equestria, assembled to protect and defend against the forces of evil. They were also apparently sent to perform other tasks, such as exploring new worlds, building and bringing new technologies to the public, handle international-er, intergalactic-relations, take on reconnaissance missions, train new recruits, issue parking tickets, solve cases, the whole works!

They were certainly the Swiss Army knives of this world. However, according to Ty, they didn't possess any magical properties or deities they could use to help her since her own magic was nowhere else to be found. So they would have to improvise. But how?

As they passed by some flying asteroids...

"Star Command, this is Star Cruiser 42. We've finished our assignment on Zenway 9."

A nasally voice would respond to Buzz, "Acknowledged, 42."

Luna was brought out of her thoughts by that strange monotone. Who was that on the other line?

"Alright, let's bring 'er home."

Just as Luna was about to ask about the mysterious greeter, she was left speechless when Star Command came into the windows.

Her eyes widened.

Star Command was huge! The headquarters reminded the pony of two tea saucers piled on top of each other. The station's colors was primarily white, but it also shone in vibrant greens and purples. There was a clear dome on top of the whole structure with windows built into it to give all viewers a chance to look within the station. Near the dome were wide holes, with models similar to the ship flying in and out of them. On one side of the station was a large and blue emblem similar to the emblem on Buzz's Ranger armor, only a ring was circling the ship and wings. It was the official symbol of Star Command.

She only heard about the station from her new friend, but to see it for herself? It was incredible.

"Star Command, this is Star Cruiser 42, on final approach."

"Roger, 42."

They closed in on the station and went inside.

---

Much to her surprise, the landing wasn't so much rough as it was confusing. The pilots landed the ship onto an upright position instead of landing horizontally. Thus, they sat face up in their seats, which reminded Luna of a roller coaster ride preparing to go up the tracks. Luna was so puzzled that she blurted out, "Is this the normal procedure for landings, Ty Parsec?"

Ty froze at the moment Luna spoke.

But Buzz was slow on the uptake as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Well, naturally. This is how all Star Cruisers are docked at the Docking Bay, ma-uh...uh...uhhhh..." He trailed off in a disturbed silence.

"Ty... did... did you hear that?"

"Well, of course he heard it, Buzz Lightyear. I was the one who asked."

'Asked'?

"..." Buzz slowly turned his head around to look down at the guest currently seated in the large navigator's seat. Unless he was going deaf, he could have sworn that the pony, the one who fought off Zurg and aided them in the storm, who was becoming so close to Ty...was TALKING.

Luna frowned innocently at the gawking Buzz. "What?"

"Uh... Princess Luna. You talked."

"'Luna?' PRINCESS Luna?!" Buzz whipped his head back to meet Ty's eyes. HE knew about this?! "...Ranger, you've got some 'splainin' to do! And so do YOU, Princess Luna or whatever your name is. What's going on?!"

The pony finally understood what why Ty was looking like he had his hand caught in the cookie jar. "Oh. Oops." She grinned sheepishly.

Author's Note:

Be sure to leave a comment! Thanks to everyone who's been reading and keeping up! I highly appreciate it. Enjoy and have happy days. :)

Comments

[DiscountDiscord]

Hah! It's fun to confuse Buzz.