The Green Angel

by LordOfCringe

Chapter 7 - Apple Bloom

Several hours later me and Big Mac are walking as part of a crowd through the halls of the Navigator making our way to the so-called Gathering Area. We’re going to hear a speech from one of the higher-ups from the Crew, though I don’t know the full details myself. It is within this crowd that I fully realize just how many people the Navigator was able to save from my world. Hundreds of them surround us, so much so that they lightly press up against us as we try and push our way through the ship.

Many faces I don’t recognize, they are almost certainly from other areas of the planet. However, among the sea of people, I do recognize a few of them. Several kids from my school other than me survived as well. I already knew Diamond Tiara made it out, but I see others did as well, including a few members of my sister’s friend group. Other than Rarity, I spotted Fluttershy along with her brother earlier when we were exiting the Habitation area. I also saw Rainbow Dash soon after that. All three of them looked as sullen as the rest of our people.

Then as I walk down the hall beside my brother I spot, poking out of the crowd, the distinctive fiery orange and yellow hair of Sunset Shimmer. Out of all the survivors from my world, she is the one that might know the most about multiverses and magic. Seeing as she was from another world herself.

I haven’t been able to fully process what had happened earlier. Not quite yet. The feeling of raw power coursing its way through me. The storm inside begging to break out, the fact t had let it, to destructive results. It had felt powerful, empowering, intoxicating even. And that scared me to the bone. I know that Sunset had experience with that kind of thing in the past. Perhaps she could help me before I hurt anyone. This wasn’t something I could keep hidden forever.

No one from the Crew had appeared to notice my feat. Or they didn’t say anything if they did. None of them approached me or even announced that something had been broken in the Recreation area, even though it had been hours since the incident. That gave me time, for now at least.

At that moment a prod on my shoulder rouses me from my thoughts and I turn my head to see my brother trying to get my attention.

“Apple Bloom, did you hear anything of what I just said?” he asks me with an amused expression. He had apparently been trying to talk to me for a little while now.

“Sorry, Big Mac,” embarrassed, I run my hand through my hair “I was just thinking as all, about what this meeting could be about,” I wasn’t. But I’m not about to let anyone in on my secret. Not yet.

“Well, as a matter of fact, that’s what I was just asking you,” a grin spreads across his face. It’s nice to see him try and act like this, even if it was only a front for me. I smile in return.

“Well, I imagine it will be about the Crew finally telling us what happened to us and what they’re going to do with us when the Navigator, well, navigates us to our destination,” I keep my tone light hearted though I don’t really feel it. If it helps him help me, then that works.

“Well, I imagine you’re right. About time too. We can’t stay on this ship forever,” The mask slips for a moment and for a second I can see that my brother is still very much worried about our future. But then the crowd moves forward and he smiles at me again. “But, I suppose we’re about to find out right?”

“Right,” The crowd keeps moving until we eventually move through two large red doors. The entrance to the Gathering area I presume.

When I set eyes on the Gathering area my jaw drops in shock. It is far different from the other areas on the ship I have been to so far. It is larger by far than both the Habitation area and the Recreation area, and the architecture is far more extravagant than the plain whites and greys everywhere else. The floor is carpeted red, the walls are made of carved wood with depictions of space travel and other scenes of places I don’t recognize. A large window adorns one side and I can see the black ink of space outside. The ceiling stretches up easily a dozen or more feet above my head and from it hangs several chandeliers. And, on the far side from me, is a stage like the one my school gym had, curtains and all.

This is a place for parties and social events I realize. The Gathering area, it makes sense.

After several minutes everyone arrives in the room. There is much more breathing room for everyone since the room is so big. I lose sight of Sunset in the reshuffling, I’ll have to see if I can talk to her later. Sound reverberates around the room as everyone chatters among themselves. They all feel anxious and scared, as they had been since I woke up. I turn to Big Mac to comment on this, but then I feel something else. Something familiar, a warm happy feeling inside.

It gets stronger and I can almost pinpoint the source of it when the big furled red curtains part to reveal it. A tall man with the pale tan skin of the Crew members and with slightly ragged yellow hair and almost playful blue eyes. He wears a strange uniform, very unlike the others. It’s black with a high white collar that fits snuggly around his neck. But most strangely of all, a long yellow cape flows down from his shoulders and stops at his heels.

He emanates power, and the Crew members in the room look at him with reverence. This is no mere higher up on the ship, he is something else entirely.

The murmurs from the crowd extinguish the moment he enters and the room becomes stone silent. He scans the crowd. I swear he lingers on me for a few moments before he stops to begin his address.

“Gathered refugees of the Navigator,” his voice booms out across the room. He needs no microphone to be heard. “It is a tragedy that brings me here today to speak with you all. A tragedy to your Planet and your people. And I know you all have a thousand questions about where this ship is taking all of you. I speak here today to put those questions to rest.” He pauses to let that sink in. Me and the crowd are drawn to his words like a moth to a flame. The man is good at this. “My name is Callum Shields, High Arbiter of the Seventh Storm Bearers Legion.” He pauses again, he must know we don’t know what that means but he figures we’ll know eventually.

“I know you have heard rumours and snippets of the truth. I will tell you now that they are true. Your world was destroyed. Your home is gone.” He takes a breath before continuing “Your Planet was, tragically, caught in the crossfire of a battle in the space around it.”

He steps back and a Holoprojector on the floor displays an image of my homeworld. Depictions of a fleet action above it appear, above Africa. I would not have been able to see it from where I was. “The enemy had made a random jump to your Verse in the hopes of escape, but they were defeated,” The Holoimage changes to show one fleet surrounding the other on three sides, pressed against the planet.

“But then,” He takes another breath, his expression remains stoic and calm, but I can’t help but sense a hint of something else. Guilt? “Rather than surrendering and ending the fight. They decided to throw themselves against your world,” The image changes again to show the surrounded fleet doing exactly that. Instead of anguish at the sight, I feel white-hot rage. Before my world’s destruction was an abstract thing of nightmares. Now I knew someone was responsible. This enemy, whoever it was.

The simulation ends after the crash. But I know what would have happened next. I have to breathe in and out deeply several times to calm myself down. The rest of my people have a similar reaction.

“This enemy is one all under Congress face. And you will get to know them well. But for now, it suffices to say where we are going, you will be more than safe from them,” A new image projects itself into view. It is Earth, but different. For one thing, a giant ring-like space station surrounds it. And I can see several cities from orbit, they are many times bigger than any city on my world.

“Fortunately for all of you, the Verse of Albion has accepted you for resettlement. This is where the Navigator will take you,” Albion. I recognize the name. My nurse mentioned the name after I woke up. My anger fades into the background. Dimed but not gone, instead my interest is instead on where we were going. What was this Albion like?

“I’m sure you all have lots of questions. So in the interest of efficiency and transparency, I will be opening up the Hypernet to you all starting right now. This will be a hard transition for all of you and I hope the best for you,” He looks like he wants to say more, but can’t find the words. It’s an odd look for someone so dignified “That will be all for now, thank you.”

Callum turns and walks off leaving my people unsure of what to do now. Slowly, but by but, they begin to file out of the Gathering area. The atmosphere seems different somehow. As if seeing where we were going somehow gave them hope. But I was just confused. Many questions circle around my brain, but none of them have answers yet.

“Well. That was something,” Big Mac mutters to himself. He turns to leave and I follow. But before we make our exit I spot a person I didn’t want to see again. Diamond Tiara. She is looking at me with a strange almost guilty expression, but she turns away and leaves with her Butler.

Whatever she wanted appears to be something I have to deal with later. So I leave the Gathering area, my mind heavy with questions. I take them with me all the way back to the Habitation area. All the way to sleep.