Big Blue
“Primary transmitter online annnnnd… here we go, lil’ dude,” Snoopy grinned.
The two of them stood in the communications center of Firefall Station, Snoopy operating one of the larger consoles that sat underneath an even larger viewscreen. One that dwarfed even the bridge of the Starshot’s.
“So… now what?” Spike asked.
“We sent a ping out to Big Blue,” Snoopy said. “If he’s available, he’ll call to chat any sec now.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “I mean, that’s great and all, but why couldn’t we do this on the Starshot again?”
“Starshot doesn’t have the codes to tap into that part of our relay network, dog,” Snoopy said. “And we ain’t cool enough yet to start pawing those out. Sorry.” He then smirked slightly. “Could change if Big Blue likes you, though.”
“Any advice on that?” Spike asked.
“Don’t be a dick,” Snoopy chuckled. “Really about it. Pretty damned hard to piss him off.” Snoopy tapped his chin for a second, before giving Spike a coy look. “Oh, and did I mention he’s from Equis?”
Spike did a double take. “Wah?”
Before he could ask anything further, a beeping sound came from the console. “That’s him. Bringin’ him on screen.”
Spike raised a claw. “Wait a minute, what about--”
Snoopy tapped a few more buttons on the console, and suddenly, a surprisingly short, blue hedgehog appeared on screen. He looked a little bit like Grubber in body shape, though with much longer quills stretching from the back of his head. He seemed to be in a ship of sorts, though the bridge looked much smaller than anything Spike had seen so far. Much more like the cockpit of one of the Starshot’s dropships. He appeared to be the only one there.
“Ugh, what is it now?” he growled. “Can’t you plebs ever leave me alone?!”
Spike blinked. This was their diplomatic guru?
Snoopy gave him a blank look. “Really?”
Suddenly, the hedgehog pulled a one-eighty, laughing heartily. “Sorry, just wanted to switch things up for once. Keep you all on your toes.”
Spike sighed in relief. At least he wouldn’t be dealing with someone like Strong Voice. Though he did notice Big Blue had a very fast manner of speaking. If he wasn’t used to Twilight doing the same thing at times, it would be hard to keep up with him.
“Afraid I haven’t had the pleasure,” Big Blue continued. “What’s your name, comrade?”
“Captain Snoopy of the Tyrant’s End,” he said formally. “Newly elected. Shame the title didn’t come with the ship, though.”
Big Blue raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t sound good.”
“Naw,” Snoopy said, shaking his head. “We ran into Grand Admiral Warp Song while trying to grab some Star Shed at HG-23. Kicked our butts across the system and back. Crippled our ship. We had to leave it drifting.”
“Warp Song, eh?” Big Blue nodded. “Hasn’t been any signs of him for a while. Thought the Empire had that stick in the mud dealing with the UFP?”
“Bit behind on the news there, man,” Snoopy said. “We think he’s taken command of the campaign against us.”
“I gotta keep up with the news broadcasts,” Big Blue said. “Been less depressing now that they’re doing the puppet thing. Sorry to hear about your ship..”
“Yeah… she was a piece of junk, but she was our piece of junk,” Snoopy sighed. “Might still be salvageable, though. And luckily, everyone got off alright.”
“Good,” Big Blue smiled. “You can rebuild a ship - make it a spitting image of what was lost. But you can never do that with people. Got too many experiences up in the ole noggins, ya’ know?”
“Word,” Snoopy said, nodding.
Big Blue cleared his throat. “Anyway, after listening to my pseudo-intellectual ramblings, least I can do is ask: can I help with anything?”
“Diplomacy, actually,” Snoopy said. “When we got crippled, we ran into some new frends. Saved our bacon. Dunno how new they are to you, though. See uh, these dudes ain’t from around here. Like, really, really not. You get me?”
Big Blue gazed at him quizically, then at Spike. “Kind of vague there, man.”
For whatever reason, his sight practically triggered a eureka for Spike. ‘Blue hedgehog, chaotic good, from Equis, wait a minute…”
“You!” Spike suddenly cried. “You’re Sonic Flash, aren’t you?! The speedy hedgehog guy!”
Big Blue’s eyes widened. He looked off-guard for a brief few seconds, but then slowly, but surely, a smile came to his face. “Sonic Flash…” he chuckled. “Now that is a name I haven’t heard for a long time. And more importantly, most others haven’t heard for even longer. And that means...” His smile grew wider. “How’s ole Equis these days?”
“Hah! I knew it!” Spike grinned. “Man oh man, I bet Luna’s going to be surprised to see you! How did you even--”
“Woah, woah, time out,” Flash said, shocked once more. “Luna’s with you?
Snoopy gazed between the two of them, bemused but confused. “Uh, so, I’m a little out of the loop here and…”
“Sorry, Snoopy, don’t mean to sideline ya’,” Big Blue nodded. “Just woah… Princess Luna. Hah! Surprises on top of surprises. You know what? Hang on, I’m flyin’ over. Firefall Station, right?”
“Well, yeah, but…” Snoopy gazed at him worriedly. “Big Blue, I dunno if that’s a good idea. We’re right next to the front lines. Well, if you count a few lightyears away as ‘right next to’.”
“Pffft, no big deal,” Big Blue laughed. “Been exploring lately. Solo exploring. This’ll be a vacation compared to that. Heck, just ran into a Star Dragon in the last system. Love a good chase, but that was almost too close.”
Spike raised his eyebrows. “A wah?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon,” Big Blue winked. “Can talk about it there. I can’t wait! What’s your name by the way, dude?”
“Spike.”
“Well, Spike, pleased to meet you,” he grinned. “Can you and Snoopy do me a solid and send over an info package? Let me know what’s going on? I wanna hit hyperspace ASAP. Gotta go fast!”
Spike gazed at him with wonder. “Hey, you said the thing!”
Big Blue looked at him, confused. “What thing?”
“Uh, nevermind,” Spike said.
“We can shoot you over one,” Snoopy nodded. “Station already has their story documented.”
“Awesome,” Big Blue beamed. “I’ll be there before you can say ‘no gods, no masters!’ Peace!”
The screen flicked off, leaving both Snoopy and Spike standing there, dumbfounded. They glanced at each other, then back at the black screen, then back at each other.
“So, I think he likes you,” Snoopy finally said. “Which means we might be workin’ together after all.”
“Yeah…” Spike said, smiling slightly. “Just surprising how easy it was. Thanks for taking time to do this, by the way. You know, you’re pretty much a one-eighty from the Diamond Dogs I’ve met before.”
Snoopy gave him a sarcastic look. “What, you think all Diamond Dogs act the same or something?”
Spike felt panic rising in him. He quickly shook his head. “Well, no, just--” He sighed. “Well, alright. I guess I implied it a little. Sorry, it was a dickheaded thing to say. Just kind of used to different species on my planet having following certain… what’s the word? Tropes? Like for instance, my people: dragons. They’re kind of sort of… not very nice. Or, at least they weren’t..”
Snoopy smiled slightly. “Oh, and what happened?”
“It’s um, complicated,” Spike said. “Guess there was kind of a… cultural shift? Though then again… some of the dragons who I thought weren’t very nice turned out to be better than they appeared. Maybe they just needed well… permission, to be their real selves? Maybe it was less of a cultural shift and more like a cultural… awakening?”
“So like you said,,” Snoopy chuckled. “They’re ‘complicated’. I like that word. ‘Complicated’. That’s nations, cultures, hell, sapient life in general, lil’ dude. And I’m glad you’re already on the road to figurin’ it out.”
“Just ‘challenging my pre-conceptions’ a little,” Spike grinned.
“Hah!” Snoopy beamed. “Good callback. Come on, let’s get some food. Station’s cook can whip up a gem pie I know dragons dig.”
“B-But I need to tell Luna about…”
Snoopy’s smirk widened. “Ain’t no rush. Celebrations first, business later, right? Big Blue knowin’ your captain may have helped a bit, but you still made this all happen. And after all: no gods, no masters.”
Smike thought for a second, then nodded. “Well… it has been a while since I had a good gem pie. But we make it to go, okay?”
“That’s the spirit!” Snoopy laughed, slapping him heartily on the back.
The latter couldn’t help but smile. That was two big wins in less than two days. Yet still, it made him alll the more frustrated with the nagging thought on the back of his mind. One that was saying something was wrong. Why was that? He may have put on a snarky demeanor, but he wasn’t usually a half is glass full kind of dragon; optimism usually prevailed.
Perhaps he was just becoming jaded. Or perhaps there was something more. Time would tell.
--
…
…
…
Twenty light years away, a triangular ship similar to the Starshot, the Chimera, fired another salvo from its twin MSA cannons. It wasn’t met with much fanfare - the nature of the weapon yielded no muzzle flashes, though the projectiles themselves glowed a bright blue.
On the bridge of the vessel, Grand Admiral Warp Song watched them with intrigue as they sailed into the darkness of space, curved slightly, then struck the portside of another ship. It was one almost identical to his, only with artwork plastered about its hull. One in particular had caught Song’s eye earlier in the battle: an impressionist painting of a massive, pink dragon. One who held the familiar scepter of a dragon lord.
Unfortunately, it along with the rest of the ship it was on were quickly no more, as the twin projectiles had ripped right through a critical portion of the latter. This triggered thundering secondary explosions, which quickly ripped the entire thing to pieces. The only sign of the once impressive painting was a pink-coated piece of debris flying off into the distance.
Despite the spectacle, its destruction wasn’t the prize of this particular battle. That would be the three, rotating space habitats it should have been guarding. Habitats that made up one of the thousands orbiting the Red Dwarf star of this particular system, The Web.
Despite having no habitable planets, this was one of the most populated systems on this side of the galaxy. And now, another small fraction of it belonged to the Oblivion Empire. Something that wouldn’t have happened if the ship in question hadn’t broken ranks with its two lighter escorts.
“Another flawless sortie,” Song’s aide, an amorphous blob-like being, whispered via three of its many orifices. Their dissonance made them sound as if they came from a trio of lonely ghosts. “Without a single scratch on the Chimera. The Deep Ones will be pleased.”
“That is all I wish for, Gilad,” Song said coolly. It wasn’t usual for a shog to give praise, let alone one merged with an umbral, but results were results, and Song wasn’t one to leave the Deep Ones wanting.
“Questions still linger, however,” Gilad said. “How did you know the enemy cruiser would break formation?”
“Their hull artwork gave a hint to their crew’s disposition,” Song noted. “A depiction of the ancient Dragon Lord, Scales. One still praised by her kin in songs and story for her ruthless, opportunistic nature. Faking a weapons malfunction wouldn’t fool everyone, but letting them believe we were hapless prey was all it took. I made it seem as if there was blood in the water, and they simply couldn’t help themselves.”
“Using their own aggression against them,” Gilad said.
“And their lack of uniformity,” Song noted, gazing at one of his monitors. “Though perhaps that isn’t completely to their disadvantage. Their two remaining vessels are now retreating.’”
“Cowards,” Gilad hissed.
“No,” Song said, shaking his head. “They are making the best of a bad situation. Without their cruiser, their two frigates know they cannot hope to defeat us. So they’re choosing to turn this from a total defeat to a minor one. They’re living to fight another day.”
“Yet they’ve given up thousands of souls!” Gilad growled. “At least the cruiser died with honor.”
“There is a fine line between honor and pointless sacrifice,” Song said calmly. “Something I shall teach you in time, Gilad. And as for their ideology: like I was saying, their retreat may not have been possible without a lack of uniformity. Suppose they had a singular commander who leaned more towards an ‘honorable’ disposition? This battle may have ended far worse for them.”
Gilad pulsed slightly, his form expanding and contracting a few times. Song knew that this was a sign of agitation. Nonetheless, eventually, the creature calmed itself. “As you say, Grand Admiral.”
“Good,” Song nodded. “Now, let’s draw closer to the habitats. Hopefully they will choose to surrender. I would rather not expend troops on another ‘ground’ fight.” He then licked his lips, his vampiric fangs showing for a second. “Or any sustenance. It has been a long while since I’ve fed… Prepare to send--”
“Admiral, more pressing matters demand your attention: we’re receiving a data package from our spy probe,” Gilad stated, a pair of tendrils extending from its form looking over its monitor, two eyes at the end of it.
“Very well,” Song said, though with a hint of reluctance in his tone. “Please give me a summary of the contents.”
“It appears things played out exactly as you expected. ‘Captain Luna’ rescued the crew from the Tyrant’s End, and it appears that said crew figured out a way around the Starshot’s lockdowns.”
“A testament to Captain Crescent Moon’s talents,” Song said, smiling. “Making the necessary ‘repairs’ would not have been easy. There was once a time when I wished to make her my flagship’s chief engineer, you know. I make it a point to keep track of rising talent. What a shame such it is now being wasted in the NLR.”
“If you were anyone else, I would question your admiration for her, Grand Admiral,” Gilad grumbled. “She is a heretic.”
“Oh, believe me, this hasn’t escaped my notice,” Song said. “It is, after all, why we are here. The rest of the contents?”
“It appears the probe remained completely undetected during the whole affair,” Gilad continued to read. “And was able to successfully calculate the trajectory of the Starshot when it left the system. The probe pursued, as was programmed.” Gilad paused. “Mmm… it appears the Starshot dropped out of hyperspace at several points in interstellar space.”
“Standard NLR protocol,” Song nodded. “To out pursuers. It’s easier to detect anyone following them without interference from stellar bodies. Crescent, or more likely, whoever took her place as captain after the affair, must have advised Luna on this.”
“You believe she was demoted?” Gilad asked.
“Almost certainly,” Song said. “She’s a talented engineer, but her captaining skills were… lacking. Her actions during our sortie were even more reckless than that of the cruiser’s we’ve just destroyed. Criticism of and distrust of authority is encouraged in the NLR, and every one of their crews is capable of doing a ‘people’s demotion’. I doubt Crescent escaped such a lashing.”
“A heretic among heretics,” Gilad said, amused. “Fitting.”
“Indeed,” Song said. “Now, what is the next part of our little probe’s tale? I’m assuming it was never discovered.”
“The probe continued to remain undetected even in interstellar space,” Gilad continued.
“As I suspected,” Song nodded. “The Starshot’s somewhat antiquated sensors were not able to find the newer model. Thus, it was able to follow the Starshot to its final destination… which was…?”
Gilad’s tone was almost palpable when he announced: “Firefall Station.”
Song narrowed his eyes. “Ah, the mythical forward operating base for the NLR in this sector. Destroying it would neuter their operations for light years upon light years. It was risky for the NLR to bring an unknown party to such a place. I wonder why they would do such a thing?”
“They’ve been arrogant so far,” Gilad noted. “Perhaps this is just another extension of it.”
“Perhaps,” Song admitted, tapping his hooves together in thought. “Have flotillas five and six rendezvous with us at our current position. Have the rest of the fleet enter a defensive stance - lock down our gains and stand by.”
“You plan to sail to Firefall?” Gilad asked eagerly.
“Yes,” Song said, now gazing at his monitor, a diagram of the cylindrical station upon it. “Though first, I wish to study the station to find out exactly what it’s capable of.”
“What? Why waste time with that?” Gilad growled. “It is a communication station, is it not? It’s unlikely to have anything that could stand against us.”.
“As I’ve told you time and time again, Gilad: to defeat one’s enemy, you must know them,” Song said. “I have a theory. A theory that if correct could make attacking it may be an even greater boon to us than we could ever imagine. One which could send ripples of despair through the entire NLR…”
He sat back in his chair, clasping his hooves and leaning his chin upon them in deep thought.
“Hmph. How drastic my perspective has shifted,” he mused, more to himself than anyone. “Catching him before would have been meaningless to the bigger picture. But capturing him now…"
"Grand Admiral?" Gilad questioned.
"Just reminiscing, Gilad," Song said. "On how a defeat, both in war and life in general, are often merely preludes to a far greater victory."
--
1200 Years Prior
Across the wide, open plains beneath the shadow of Canterlot, a trail of dust was kicked into the air. Its origin was obscured by it, but it appeared to be running at incredible speeds; faster than even most pegasi could reach. Luna watched the sight from a distant hill through a telescope, a look of satisfaction on her face. After a moment, she set down the device, before turning towards her companion, Grand Admiral Warp Song.
“He’s heading right into the trap,” Luna said. “Just like you said he would.”
“Like a true personification of speed, he is prone to taking the shortest route,” Song said, stoically as always. “He has tread upon nearly the exact same path from Canterlot to Everfree over three times now. His precision is almost supernatural.”
“Thank you again for your help in this matter, Grand Admiral,” Luna smiled. “I’m impressed by how quickly you’ve regained your footing: it has been many moons since your Night Guard days, yes?”
“Too many,” he nodded. “Though thanks are not needed. I am honored that you came to me personally for this.”
At that, Luna picked up her telescope and gazed at the high-speed dustball once more.
Song began to count. “Three, two, one…”
Suddenly, the dustball halted before beginning to dissipate. A large, deep hole in the ground appeared where it once was.
“Huzzah!” Luna cheered, setting her telescope down and clapping her hooves. “We’ve got him!”
“Indeed?” Song said, uncertainty in his tone. “Very well. Let’s not keep such a free spirit waiting. With your permission, princess, let us have a talk with this ‘Sonic Flash’.”
***
“You gotta be friggin’ kidding me,” the hyperactive blue hedgehog growled, desperately trying to free his shoe’d feet from the hardened goop he was stuck in. Luna, in the meantime, was levitatated both him and the goop out of the hole, before setting them before her and Song. “Gak? You made a bunch of Gak Gloop just to stop me?! Who are you, King Sombra!?”
“I don’t understand that reference,” Song said solemnly.
“Neither do I,” Luna said, raising an eyebrow, before taking a step before Sonic, looming over him. “What I do know is you’ve stolen many items from the Royal Vaults, Sonic Flash. Including several shards of the dangerous substance known as Tiberiun.”
“That’s not it’s actual name, you know,” he grumbled.
Luna sighed. “Flash, we’ve played this game many times now…”
“And I thought we had a deal,” he spat. “I trusted you!”
“Not anymore!” Luna growled. “You’ve gone too far, this time! Stealing trinkets is one thing, stealing powerful magical materials is another!”
“What sort of deal have you struck?” Song said, raising his eyebrows.
“None of your business,” the hedgehog snapped.
“Sonic!” Luna hissed, before turning back towards Song. “Can I trust you to be discreet, Grand Admiral?”
“I will follow orders to forget anything said here, if you so desire.”
Luna took a deep breath. “Very well. You’d probably figure it out for yourself eventually. The truth is I’ve been… looking the other way when it comes to Flash for quite a while now.”
Luna half expected for Song to look disappointed. Instead, he seemed more curious than anything.
“You already know why, don’t you?” Luna said, almost in an annoyed tone.
Song shrugged. “I know a… limited amount. You stated you approved his theft of various trinkets. None of which held much in the way of practical value, from what I recall, other than their obvious worth. Given the wealth that comes with someone in your position, I assume letting him do so wasn’t for any sort of personal gain on your part. But why allow this hedgehog to enrich himself?”
“Because I wasn’t ‘enriching myself’,” Flash said, narrowing his eyes. “I’ve been giving the money to those who need it! Those who Equestria turned their backs on! Or at least Celestia has. And the ironic thing is, some of them looked like you.”
He pointed at Song. His expression remained completely stoic.
“And I was fine with allowing this until you broke my trust,” Luna grunted. “I thought I made it perfectly clear the first time I caught you that you were not to steal anything that could be dangerous in the wrong hooves!”
“I swear to you, Luna, that’s not what’s going on here,” Sonic said. “The Tiberiun’s not for anyone dangerous. And trust me, we owe him this much.”
“Owe whom that much?” Luna asked.
“It would take too long to explain,” Sonic grunted, wiggling frantically to escape the gak. “He needs it sooner than later. They're coming back!”
Song raised an eyebrow at the last part, though Luna was more focused on Flash's escape attempts to pay it much mind.
“You’re not getting out of there, Sonic,” Luna said. “Be still.” She began charging her horn with magical energies, her inner voice whispering the ancient incantation for a stun spell. However, before she could fire it--
"Sorry princess, not my style!" Flash proclaimed. And with one last burst of speed, he managed to shred his lower half of the now-hardened goop.
"Stop!" Luna shouted, firing a blue stunning beam at him.
Despite the incredible speed of the magical bolt, it was not fast enough to catch him. By the time the energies swirling about Luna’s horn dissipated, the hedgehog had zipped off into the distance, leaving both herself and the Grand Admiral standing in stunned silence.
It was the Grand Admiral who finally broke it. "My apologies, princess. I should have requested a stronger adhesive. I clearly underestimated his abilities."
"You and me both," Luna sighed. "Though credit where it's due: this is the closest anyone's come to catching him. Perhaps next time--"
"Unfortunately, there may not be a next time," Song interrupted.. "His behavioral profile shows him to be arrogant, but not suicidally so. He will likely lay low for some time."
Luna reluctantly nodded. "You are correct. I suppose for now we can only hope whoever the Tiberiun is intended for is a friend, not a foe."
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:D YAY NEW UPDATE
It's actually a secret scheme between the dragons and cherngelerngs to trick the ponies into letting down their guard... SO THEY CAN GOBBLE THEM ALL UP!!!
I think I read a fanfic about that or something... SO IT MUST BE TRUE!!! 
The NLR have neglected their ENERGY TRAINING!!
If there's one thing anime has taught me... aside from how to get a harem of huge-bewbed tsunderes.... it's that you ALWAYS focus on mindless strength training 24/7 ABOVE ALL ELSE!!! There's NO OTHER WAY to get a power level OVER 9,000, you know!
Also, you want to find an old man. Preferably drunk. He'll destroy your enemies with no problems, unless it's the main villain. Then you have to hope he implanted a mini-nuke in his own chest! Yep, one rule in anime: DO NOT FIGHT THE FEEBLE-LOOKING OLD PEOPLE. You will die.
Giant muscle-bound psycho assistant villain (Only the Sub-Boss), crackling with energy as the young heroes lay defeated, "HO HO HO HO! Your last attempt failed, fools! Now nothing can stop me from doing all my evil plans! I'll start by tearing all the tags off all the mattresses in the world!"
Bloodied hero coughs, "You-you monster!" Also bleeds, like, 5,000 gallons of blood.
Tiny old man with a huge gourd strapped to his back, wading through the sea of hero blood that has flooded the canyon they were fighting in, "Ehhh? What's all this? Can't a little old man enjoy his 20 gallons of sake in peace anymore without you whippersnappers stirring up a ruckus?"
Villain, "B-bakana!"
Old man hiccups and takes off the gourds, going to take a swig. He shakes it, "Whoops! Whaddya know! I'm all outta booze! Well, I guess I'll fight this pesky villain, then."
Villain gulps, "I'm doomed..." He's defeated in 10 second flat.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure at this point who "Big Blue" is.
Knew it!
I mean, it's all relative and everything...
Man, Song's a real roller coaster for me, as I keep finding myself swinging back and froth from being impressed and agreeing with his viewpoints of things to being reminded why he's currently still the bad guy here.
In all seriousness though, nice to see this back. I was actually thinking it was due for an update not that long ago, so that worked out nicely.
10928791
Somebody's been binge-watching a few animes lately...
Loved seeing the new update.
Spike sure handled well there and such.
And interested in seeing more of what connections Luna has there.
More like forced changed.
With how Ember is handling stuff in the show for the dragons, it comes off as she is forcing change onto them.
With the whole "sensitive" sides for ones like Garble and Smolder, its hard to tell if they had them already or its due to the changes Ember forced onto the dragons in the first place.
With how the writers handled it, it comes off as Ember forcing change onto them which makes the dragons look worse by basically saying "Dragons are so bad they need someone to come by and FORCE them to change" with how they iffy they portrayed the dragons there as just greedy brutes/jerks pretty much.
GOTTA GO FAST!!!