Starshot: Bats of the High Wilderness

by Tums Festival

Tyrant's End

"Hull breach! Deck Three, Section B!"

Near the edge of the galaxy...

“Seal it! All spare power to the MSA cannon! Bloody now, ya’ shan doaty schooners!”

Around a massive, dying star…

“We can’t, miss! Circuit control for that system’s out!”

With weapons of incalculable destructive capabilities…

“Then get down to Deck Two and reroute power manually, night damnit!”

Two starships fought to the death.

“Hang on, let me just-- AAAAAAGH!”

On the circular bridge of one of them, the Tyrant’s End, a console exploded in a shower of sparks, throwing the unfortunate unicorn operator almost across the room. Fire suppression systems kicked on almost immediately after, showering the console with foam.

“Oh hell!” Captain Crescent Moon shouted, more out of rage than anything. And if the tone of her voice wasn’t an indication of her mood, her bat-like wings involuntarily spreading certainly was. “Mince addlin’ Empire and their bloomin’ shoddy-arse designs! Couldn’t even put combat-grade circuit breakers in the bridge consoles?!”

She pointed at one of the waiting medics, a bat pony with a red cross for a Shadow Mark. “Get em’ to sick bay, stat, sis!”

Her sister, Waning Moon, gave a silent nod, before lifting the fallen pony onto a stretcher.

Crescent then pointed at a nearby young dragon, Broiler. Somepony she knew wasn’t operating a critical system. “You!”

“M-Me?”

“Take over his position!”

Her eyes widened. “B-But… but I don’t know--”

“Ya’ took the training! Just do it!”

“A-Aye, miss,” she said, flying over an undamaged console dangerously close to the one still sparkling.

“Shield status?!”

“Um, um,” Broiler winced, desperately fiddling with the controls. “Forty percent?! Wait, no… that’s weapon power… erm...”

“It’s the one on the far left!” Crescent barked.

“Oh, got it!” Broiler cried. “Wait… the icon… it’s empty!”

“That means no shields!” Crescent roared, pounding the armrest of her chair.

“Miss, enemy ship’s charging main weapon systems!” another crewmember, a crystal pony shouted. She was her sensor operator, Amethyst.

“Yes, I can see that!” Crescent growled, glaring at the enemy ship sitting in her viewscreen. “We thestrals aren’t blind, ya’ know.”

“Sorry, miss!”

Like her own ship, it was triangular in shape; a hallmark of Oblivion Empire vessels. However, unlike her own, it was still controlled by them. And despite being the same size as hers - a meager Void Frigate - it had still managed to outmaneuver and pummel them at every turn.

Whoever the captain was at the helm knew more than she did about what they were doing, and because of that, the fight was just about over. For at the moment, the frontal coils of its Magnetic Shard Accelerator Cannon were glowing a hot red. A sure sign it was about to fire another round.

A round that would almost certainly end them if it hit.

Crescent couldn’t help but curse at her predicament. ‘“Just a simple trip to gather Star Shed,” they said. “It’ll be easy,” they said. Easy my arse.’

“Guess they aren’t in the mood for prisoners," Crescent's communications officer, another fellow threstral, growled.

“Not that they ever are,” her Diamond Dog First Officer, Snoopy, said remorsefully.

“Like we’d accept that,” Crescent snorted. “No gods, no masters, remember?! Death before slavery!”

“So we’re just going to sit here and die, then?!” a hippogriff eeped.

“On yer’ trolly with that!” Crescent snapped. “Today is a piss day ta’ die as any. We’re gettin’ out of here. Forget the bloomin’ Star Shed. All power to the impulse engines! Get us to the edge of the system!”

“M-Miss,” Broiler eeped, glancing over her console. “We can’t! Impulse engines are gone!”

“What do ya’ mean they’re ‘gone’?” Crescent hissed.

“Gone means gone!” her grumpy Abyssian Cat pilot, Clea, snapped. “As in physically destroyed! I told you that three minutes ago!”

Crescent glared at her. “Oi! Don’t get snippy with me, ya’ jobby-headed walloper! We still got the hyperdrive, right?”

“Yes, m’am!” Broiler announced.

“Then power it up! Gravity well or no gravity well, we’re jumpin’!”

“You should have gave that order earlier, you idiot!” Clea snarled. “We don’t have time to charge it up!”

Crescent’s eyes widened. He was right. It only took sixty seconds for MSA cannons to fully power up, and they had wasted nearly all of them. There wouldn’t be enough time to jump. And even if there was, doing so in a gravity well risked tearing the ship apart.

‘Damnit,’ she cried to herself. ‘I knew I wasn’t cut out for the captain’s chair. Why did I have to volunteer?’

“O-Orders, captain?” Broiler squeaked.

She froze, trying to think of anything that could get them out of the situation. However, absolutely nothing came to mind. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but the only thing they could do now was…

“Incoming transmission!” her CO suddenly announced.

Every creature on the bridge, all of whom had been holding their breaths, exhaled.

“On screen!” Crescent barked. “And start spinning up the--”

“That would be ill-advised.”

Crescent gasped. She had expected to see an Umbral pop up the screen, but instead, against all likelihood, a pair of cold, red, vampiric eyes gazed at her. Ones belonging to an um-merged thestral. He sat stoically upon a surprisingly expressive, onyx captain's chair. His white, well-kept uniform contrasted nicely with it.

It also gave her no doubt about who they were dealing with.

“Grand Admiral Warp Song?” Crescent said, trying to hide her fear the best she could. ‘T-This would explain why we got our clocks cleaned.’

“Oh no oh no oh no oh no…” she heard Broiler’ squeak.

The Grand Admiral either didn’t hear her or didn’t care. Instead, he continued to gaze at Crescent. “I have given orders to fire upon you the moment you attempt to power your hyperdrive. Not that you should attempt a jump in such a gravity well in the first place.”

“G-Grand Admiral,” Crescent said, trying to steady her fear at the legend before her. “F-Fancy meeting you out here without yer’ fleet. And in such a tiny ship, too! What, did your flagship finally get blown up?”

“Banter is not the reason for my hail,” Song said, his baritone-deep voice as calm as an ocean breeze. “It is simply to ask you for your complete and unconditional surrender.”

Crescent raised her eyebrows. Most Oblivion captains wouldn’t bother with such a thing. Song was supposedly the exception, but she never believed it until now.

“I…” Crescent said. “I’d need to discuss that with--”

“Discuss?” Song said, raising an eyebrow. “I realize that your people have… different ideas of how hierarchy should work, but this is not the time. I require an answer now.”

Crescent gulped. Her idealism and responsibilities to her crew were currently having an epic battle in her mind. She began to open her mouth to say something, not even sure which side would win by the time she began to speak.

However, fate had another curveball to throw them first. This was in the form of an umbralified shog leaning towards Song, tendrils of black smoke licking the air from its form.

“I see,” Song said, a hint of intrigue in his voice.

“Miss! Miss!” Amethyst whispered. “Another hyperspace window’s opening up! Edge of the system!”

‘So that’s what has the admiral’s attention.’

“Very well,” Song said, turning back towards Crescent. “My apologies, but I’m afraid I no longer have the time now to complete this process.”

Crescent wanted to shout, ‘We weren’t going to do it anyway!’, but held her tongue at the last moment. “So, yer’ just gonna blow us up then? Is that it?!”

A hint of a smile came to Song’s face. “Not today. You have two options: attempt to jump to hyperspace and, more than likely, rip yourself apart. Or wait here for my return. The choice is yours. Personally, I hope you choose the latter. Seeing such art and its canvass go to waste would be disappointing.”

And without any ceremony, the image of Grand Admiral Song flicked off, the viewscreen instead showing his frigate once-more.

“By the night,” Crescent exhaled. “That was… I’m right fair puckled!”

“What was he talking about?” Snoopy asked. “Canvas? Art? Is that some sort of metaphor? What do you think, Woodstock?”

He glanced at one of the apprentice engineers; a distinct, yellow griffin, who merely shrugged.

“N-No, it’s literal,” Broiler said. “He’s talking about our hull art.”

Crescent nodded. Their ship pretty much was a giant canvas of sorts. Most NLR ships were. Everything from images of the old legend, Nightmare Moon, to beautiful nebula, to more… abstract ideas were expressed on its hull. She never minded it, but she also never thought it would help save their lives before.

“Enemy ship’s moving towards the interloper!” Amethyst said, interrupting her thought. “But… their weapons are still active?!”

Crescent wouldn’t believe it if not for her own eyes. Whoever this was didn’t seem to be a friend of Song’s.

“We weren’t…” Broiler blinked. “We weren’t expecting company, right? Friendly company?”

“No, no we were not,” Crescent said. "But if it was an Oblivion ship, Song wouldn't be flashin' their bow at it."

“Maybe Big Blue got the final word? Sent a heavy?” Shadow asked, hope returning to her voice.

“I don’t know,” Crescent said, shaking her head. “But whoever these bloody legends are, I wanna kiss em’!”

“S-Should we charge the hyperdrive?” Broiler asked.

“Charge it, but do not engage until I give the signal,” Crescent said.

“B-But…”

“I was an engineer for almost a decade, lass,” Crescent said, trying to calm herself down. “Song's a sneaky bastard, but he wasn't lying. There’s a ninety percent chance we’d get ripped apart if we tried it this far in.”

“Aye, captain.”

“Miss, the other ship’s exiting hyperspace,” Amethyst declared, eagerly glancing at her console. Apparently, it wasn’t good news, however, for her face was grim when she turned back to the Crescent. “It’s… it’s an Oblivion ship.”

“Don’t panic yet,” Crescent stated. “Half of our ships are. What’s its signature?”

“Unknown,” Amethyst blinked.

“That don’t make a lick of sense,” Crescent grumbled. “How could it be unknown? What’s it a pirate ship or somethin’? Or are those UFP scunners finally comin’ down to our level?”

“Sorry, miss, I don’t know,” Amethyst said. “It’s not matching any signatures we know of.”

“Fine, whatever,” Crescent grumbled. “Then what’s its profile?”

“It’s…” Amethyst blinked. “It uh, seems to be a very old type of Oblivion super-dreadnought. Void Inquisitor class.”

“Never heard o’ that,” Crescent puzzled. “Empire stopped usin' super-dreadnaughts centuries ago, though. More practical to just have a bigger fleet of smaller ships.”

“I definitely don’t remember us having one,” Snoopy said.

“That’s cus we don’t have one,” Crescent continued. “Last Oblivion SD was scrapped long before the NLR formed. Whoever this is, it’s a third party. Let’s just hope they’re a friendly one. We’ve been pretty fortunate so far, but there’s an ole thestral saying:

Luck never gives, it only lends.”

--

THREE HOURS PRIOR

“So… thestrals were basically a fourth pony tribe, is what you’re saying?” Spike said, raising an eyebrow.

Luna nodded, taking another bite out of her apple and peanut butter sandwich. “Mhm. They came to Equestria not long after the Great Winter, before even Tia and I were born. Legends had it they came from a distant land; one which befell a great cataclysm that ‘turned the land grey from green.’ They were led by a prophet, apparently under the impression a ‘goddess’ would be waiting for them. They found no such deity, but they did find a home.”

Her and a group of a few other eager listeners sat together at one of the cafeteria tables. They were right next to a long window; one which showed the odd, blue ripples of hyperspace cascading by them.

“Did they… integrate with the others well?” Dr. Whooves asked, raising an eyebrow.

“At first, yes,” Luna nodded. “With it happening so soon after the Great Winter, where ponies learned the importance of harmony, many hearts were open to them. For centuries, this unity held - even prospered. By the time I was born, many were even serving in the Equestrian military. Even my personal guard was home to a good number of them in time.”

“So what happened?” Derpy said. “Why didn’t anyone notice when they were, er, abducted?”

Luna sighed sorrowfully. “Their disappearance, from what my sister told me, was not until after I myself ‘disappeared’. This was many cycles later, mind you. And the reason nopony noticed? I’ve pondered that for some time. While I cannot be certain, I believe it was the culmination of centuries of mistrust and isolation.”

“Mistrust and isolation?” Spike said, furrowing his brow.

"As most cultural shifts do, it happened over a long period of time," Luna said. "I believe many factors were involved. None of them an excuse or even the thestrals’ faults, mind you. These included everything from the thestrals' preference for keeping to themselves, to their worship of the moon, to even rumors of a… strange role some played in the dead's affairs."

"Huh?" Derpy said.

"It is difficult to explain. And it wasn't what many feared the most." She closed her eyes. "That would be their physical character. Thestrals had a unique ability; one which chilled ponies to the bone. That being they could cloak themselves to anyone who had never seen death before. Become completely invisible to them at will."

"Ah, I've heard of that legend," Doctor Whooves said. "Had trouble believing it, but…”

"I saw it for myself,” Luna said.

"Even I gotta admit, it's a little creepy," Grubber commented from the cafeteria kitchen, mixing together a massive pot of soup. "No offense to em'."

"Grubber…" Tempest said, rolling her eyes.

"What?" Grubber said. "I'd still grab a bite to eat with one. I can just see why ponies thought it was a lil… ya know… squick?"

"Many shared that view," Luna said. "That sort of ability, along with what I mentioned before, connected them with death, a universal fear. And that in turn, combined with everything else, led to their inevitable shunning. Even with both myself and my sister advocating for them, it did not stop their ostracization. Their confinement to the fridges of civilization; in the deepest woods or mountain caves."

Derpy looked almost heartbroken at that point. "And because of that, nopony noticed when they disappeared."

Luna glanced away from her. There was more to it than just that, but it shamed her to say more. This was as far as she'd be willing to go.

"So that's it then?" Spike asked. "They get crapped on by society and then abducted by aliens? Damn…"

"You wished to hear the tale," Luna said bluntly. "And I provided."

"It was a sad one," Tempest said. "But thank you for telling it to us. I feel like it wasn't easy."

"It wasn't," Luna said. "But honestly? It's something I wish I could have told ponies years ago. They didn't deserve to be forgotten."

"D-Do you think there's more of them?" Derpy asked. "Maybe some that aren't, um, umbralified?"

"I do not know," Luna sighed, standing from her seat. "I hope so… but... “ She shook her head, as if to throw off her bad thoughts. “My apologies, but I… I think I need some rest. I feel… quite tired all of a sudden."

"No worries, captain," Tempest said. "Sweet dreams."

Luna gave the group a polite nod, before sauntering towards a nearby corridor.

She didn’t actually intend to nap. How could she? Explaining the thestrals was harder than she thought, especially with long buried memories popping into her mind.

Memories that would be her’s alone to keep.

“My children of the night,” she said to herself sorrowfully, images of the shadowy Steward’s glowing grin flashing in her mind. “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

She hung her head low in shame.

“And… and I share the blame.”

Comments

[Jade Dawn]

Don't mean to start off on a sour note, but you misspelled "wilderness".

'aight, on to the story proper.

...a Thrawn expy. Oh yes.

[Scyphi]

Oh! It's continuing on as a separate fic! Good to know! Guess I had a misunderstanding somewhere. Well, I'm here now, that's what's important.

However, unlike her own, it was still controlled by them.

Ah. Civil war, then. Actually had a hunch if that might be at play. It sort of explains some of the Steward's reminiscing about things...

Everything from images of the old legend, Nightmare Moon...

Ooh, another puzzle piece falls into place now!

“It uh, seems to be a very old type of Oblivion super-dreadnought."

Wait, no...super-dreadnought? I'd figured Starshot was no bigger or powerful than a cruiser, heavy cruiser at most. That sure changes my views on that ship's original purpose--she's purely a warship, short and simple.

“Empire stopped usin' super-dreadnaughts centuries ago, though. More practical to just have a bigger fleet of smaller ships.”

Now if only a certain Empire from Star Wars had figured that out themselves...

Also, it just clicked! NLR! Ha-ha, nicely done.

[FridayPie]

NLR... New Lunar Republic?

[CommanderApplejack]

“It’s…” Amethyst blinked. “It uh, seems to be a very old type of Oblivion super-dreadnought. Void Inquisitor class.”

So essentially it's capable of tearing anything apart in a one on one... Good to know.

[Zubric]

Crescent nodded. Their ship pretty much was a giant canvas of sorts. Most NLR ships were. Everything from images of the old legend, Nightmare Moon, to beautiful nebula, to more… abstract ideas were expressed on its hull. She never minded it, but she also never thought it would help save their lives before.

Wait a minute, how can they have legends of nightmare moon if Luna was there for the banishment of sombra and crystal empire itself ? Gueee that will be e plained later Derp