Chapter 6: Rage and Revelations
Celestia flashed into existence in front of Twilight’s castle, just as Starlight was closing the gate. Starlight turned around and, upon seeing Celestia’s flowing mane, cried out in fright and stumbled to the ground. Reacting quickly, Celestia gently caught her with her magic aura and placed her back on her hooves.
“P-P-Princess!” Starlight stammered, quickly bowing. “I didn’t know you were coming!”
“It’s alright, Starlight Glimmer,” Celestia assured her with a smile. “It would’ve been highly suspicious if anypony knew I was coming in the first place, seeing as how last-minute this was.” She looked up at the castle and frowned. “Is Twilight inside?”
Starlight shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Your Highness. Twilight and her friends are currently at the town square, celebrating a party with our newest guests. I just finished preparing a few rooms in the castle for their stay and was headed there, myself.”
Celestia’s ears swivelled back, and she did indeed pick up the sounds of celebration and happy laughter coming from further inside Ponyville. How interesting. “Well then, it would be rude of me to not show myself,” Celestia said. “Do you mind if I tag along?”
“Of course not, princess! You’re always welcome anytime,” Starlight replied with a smile as she led Celestia down the hill towards the town. As they trotted, Starlight looked up to the princess and said, “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you here? Is it about that map that Twilight found?”
Celestia hummed, wondering how much information she should divulge. Knowledge about the Guardian and Captain Flint could be dangerous if spread willy-nilly, but Starlight Glimmer was a trusted friend, confidant, and former student of Twilight’s. Perhaps she could be trusted. “Yes, it is. There are some things she must know about that map, but they aren’t exactly for all ears. I wish to gather the Element Bearers together in private to tell them everything. You are welcome to join us, of course. Twilight trusts you, and that’s good enough for me.”
“I understand completely, Your Highness,” Starlight nodded. “Actually, on a similar note, I think you’ll find our latest guests most...intriguing.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Why’s that?”
Starlight chuckled and slowed her pace, just as the town square came into view. She pointed with a hoof towards the center of the commotion. “See for yourself.”
Celestia followed her directions and reared her head back, stunned at what she saw. Her jaw dropped comically, and Starlight smirked at her, closing the princess’s jaw with a subtle telekinesis spell.
Two humans and a strange, cephalopod-like creature were in the middle of a cider-drinking contest between them, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash (who, along with Fluttershy, had returned shortly after the party began). The townsfolk were mostly cheering for their reigning hometown champions, but a fair amount of them were also cheering for the opposing team. Bits were flying left and right as they made their rounds across many different hooves, and several betting stations had been set up, their owners trying frantically to keep up with the competitors.
The elder of the two humans seemed to be also be the most competitive of the three strangers, easily draining mug after mug of the addictive liquid, while Rainbow Dash eagerly matched his current record with a smug smirk and a “bring-it-on” look in her eyes. Neither of them said a word, but both of them were determined to win.
Spike, who was officiating the contest, had a microphone in his hand he had borrowed from the town DJ, Vinyl Scratch, and was currently standing on a barrel and doing commentary. “And that’s another mug for Pinkie! Pinkie now leads eight-to-seven in her everlasting battle against the newcomer, Tucker!”
“I have not yet begun to fight!” Tucker cried, shaking a tentacle in the air and slamming his mug onto the table in front of him.
“I have not yet begun to drink!” Pinkie yelled back, grabbing two mugs of fresh cider with her fore-hooves and a third with her tail. She raised her head up and opened her mouth, draining all three mugs into her mouth as the crowd roared their approval. Smacking her lips, she leaned against the table and said, “Beat that, Tucky!”
“HA! Rookie numbers!” Tucker laughed, grabbing a mug in all of his upper tentacles and downing them one after another. “Go back to baking!”
“Oooooh, good one!” Pinkie admitted with a giggle.
“Wow, what an upset!” Spike exclaimed. “Tucker now leads thirteen-to-eleven as he beats Pinkie at her own cider-drinking trick! I’ve never seen anything this bizarre, and I’ve been teleported into a comic book once. Boy, that was strange.”
The younger human, meanwhile, was far calmer against his opponent, Applejack. Like Rainbow and the older human, they didn’t say a word, but they downed their drinks with purpose and with vigor. Applejack smirked. The human grinned back. They both toasted each other and then downed another mug, and the crowd cheered. The human’s grin grew wider, and Applejack laughed. Pushing herself away from the table, she tipped her hat his way and forfeited. She wasn’t as competitive as the others were, and she knew she had met her match. He had put up an admirable fight, and she wasn’t about to take that from him.
“Congratulations, partner,” she said. “Haven’t had that much fun since mah sister an’ her friends challenged me an’ mah brother to a lassoin’ contest.”
The human tilted his head towards her gratefully. “Gonna be honest, you nearly had me beat there. Hadn’t drank that much in a while, not since my academy days.”
“They trained ya well, then,” Applejack laughed, bumping her hoof into his fist. The crowds behind her moaned in disappointment but congratulated the human and his victory, passing more bits between them.
Celestia, meanwhile, stood transfixed on the spot, staring at the newcomers in shock and, to Starlight’s confusion, horror. Starlight glanced between the contestants and Celestia, then back again. “Um, princess? Is something wrong?”
YES! Celestia’s mind screamed. Something was very, very wrong. Humans were not supposed to be here, and this “Tucker”...she recognized his species now: a Zirrelian. Flint had a few Zirrelians in his crew, and all of them were as blackhearted as the vilest villains she and her sister used to fight in their early years of ruling Equestria.
It was happening all over again. This changed everything.
“What are...they...” Celestia whispered.
Starlight, misunderstanding what she meant, answered, “Two of them are humans: Hendricks and Jim. The third is Tucker, and he’s a...um, what did he call himself again?”
“Zirrelian,” Celestia hissed.
“Yeah, that!” Starlight finished. Then she paused and looked up at Celestia. “How did you know that?”
Before Celestia could reply, Twilight noticed the two of them and gasped, teleporting in front of Celestia and beaming at her. “Princess Celestia, I’m so glad to see you! We’ve got visitors, and get this, they’re not from the Mirror, but from outer space! All three of them come from different planets, and they travel in large ships that can literally sail using star power, and, and, and...GAH! Princess, it’s all just so amazing! You have to meet them!”
“Twilight,” Celestia said slowly. “I want you and your friends to gather in the Castle of Friendship, and I want these...visitors to join us. There are some things we need to discuss.”
Twilight tilted her head in puzzlement and looked back at the party. “But princess, what about--”
“Now, Twilight.” Celestia’s voice was stern and surprisingly cold. She never took on a tone like that unless things were serious.
Twilight wilted a little under Celestia’s gaze, wondering what she did wrong, and nodded. She quickly flew over to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Tempest and explained the situation to them. The three mares glanced at each other in worry before nodding in agreement. Twilight then flew over to Spike and motioned for him to give her the microphone. Spike, wondering what was going on, complied, and Twilight held it up to her mouth. “May I have your attention, please?” she said over the microphone, causing everypony to swivel their heads towards her. “I’m sorry to have to do this, but our new friends and I have to convene at the castle for a moment to discuss something that has come up. Don’t worry, we will return shortly to continue the party. Please, don’t wait for us, and enjoy yourselves! There’s no use in wasting a good party, am I right?”
At the crowd’s nods of understanding, Twilight handed the microphone to Vinyl Scratch. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Hendricks, and Tucker all looked at their half-finished mugs in disappointment, before setting them down to join Twilight as she led her friends and the three Legacy crewmen over to Celestia.
When the group reached the princess, Celestia closed her eyes and her horn shone briefly, before the entire group disappeared in a flash of light.
Spanner stood on the bow of the longboat, staring suspiciously at the forest around him with his musket raised, and having a loaded plasma pistol and a second musket close by just in case. After witnessing what happened in the castle ruins only moments earlier, he wasn’t taking any more chances. Powerful creatures roamed these lands, possibly having powers beyond his scope of imagination. That, plus the screams he had heard a few hours before, as well as the rumbling noises, had put put the Flatulan on high alert.
He wanted to go out and investigate, but that would mean leaving the camp, and Jim had ordered him to stay here. Spanner may not have been the brightest naval officer the fleet had, but he knew better than to disobey an order from an officer, even if all his instincts were telling him to find his missing comrades.
And so, he waited. Patiently, but cautiously.
A beeping noise interrupted his thoughts, and he nearly fired off an errant shot in panic until he realized it was coming from the longboat’s nav computer. With a sigh, he looked over to the screen and raised an eyebrow when he saw that it wasn’t a proximity alert, but a communique from the Legacy. With one final look around at the forest, he pressed the button and listened to the message as it played:
”This is Captain Amelia Doppler to Surface Exploration Team 1. We have been attacked. An unknown vessel appeared from behind the planet’s moon and disabled us, and is now heading towards the planet. You should be picking them up on your scanners momentarily, if navigator BEN’s assessments are correct. Be advised, we are not able to offer support at this time, and are coming in for an emergency landing for repairs at the coordinates we’ve provided your computer. If you can, find a defensible position and await for our signal so that we may pick you up. Amelia out.”
Spanner blinked as the message ended, and his musket dropped to his side. This...wasn’t good. And he had no way of contacting Jim or the others. He had to think of something, and he had to do it fast.
Nearby, several hungry pairs of yellowish-green, wolfish eyes gazed at him from the shadows, and soft growls emanated from the underbrush.
Luna leaned over the parapets of the castle walls, staring into the sky and watching for any sight of the Guardian’s vessel. She knew it was coming, but from where? The scholars and observatories couldn’t follow it, nor could they predict its next movements. As such, she had prepared accordingly. Scores of Pegasi guards swarmed the skies, wielding crossbows and javelins in their hooves, while Unicorns and Earth ponies covered the walls and manned the ballistae and cannons. The plan was the pepper the ship’s sides with roped harpoons and forcefully hold it in place or pull it down, where the cannons would then finish it off before it could even get a proper shot off. If all else failed, the Pegasi would swoop in for the kill and skewer the Guardian.
And if that failed, four entire legions of Thestrals armed with every weapon imaginable stood ready to send a message to the stars: Equus was protected, and unwelcome visitors would be turned away.
It was a good plan, Luna decided, and it had worked brilliantly against the Griffons during Continental Wars in Equestria’s early years. But this wasn’t a Griffon they were facing, nor were they dodging cannonballs, but highly energized plasma bolts.
Luna shivered. From her scrying pool on the moon, she had seen the aftermath of Flint’s arrival on Equestria centuries ago, and the attack was devastating. She had never seen such terrible burn wounds on her little ponies. If the technology of the stars had only advanced since then...
She shook her head and growled. Thoughts such as those were dangerous for morale, and would only hinder her leadership. No, this was a good plan, and it would work.
All they needed now was the guest of honor to arrive. It seemed he was a bit shy today.
A Thestral stallion in heavy plate armor fluttered to a stop and landed carefully next to her, somehow not making a sound. “My Lady,” he hissed through his helmet’s visor. “The Fourth Lunar Legion is in position. We are ready for orders.”
She cast a glance at him. “Commander Solar Eclipse, have your Watchers seen any sign of the enemy?”
The Thestral shook his head. “Unfortunately no, My Lady. They continue to be elusive.”
Luna nodded. This was to be expected, she supposed. The Guardian wouldn’t just announce his arrival like Flint had done. The Guardian was designed to be swift, deadly, and precise in his attacks --- an assassin, everything Flint wasn’t. “And the evacuations?”
“The Canterlot populace has been notified of the danger and the evacuations are almost complete. The bunkers within the Canterhorn Mountain are fully stocked for a siege, should it come to that,” the commander reported.
“With any luck, this should be over swiftly,” Luna remarked, once more staring into the sky. “Return to your post, and fire a signal flare should any of the Watchers report a contact. Do not engage until I give the signal.”
“What will the signal be, My Lady?”
Luna’s eyes narrowed and twinkled in dark delight. “When you see your namesake appear in the sky, then you will know when to strike.”
Solar Eclipse nodded in understanding, saluted, and flew into the air, gliding towards his legion.
From the depths of the Etherium, a small, one-man vessel approached Equus from the shadows of its moon. Its lone Mantavor pilot growled in disdain as he stared at the planet below. It bore a passing resemblance to the Imperial Homeworld, only much more blue than green. He hated oceans.
It didn’t matter; he wasn’t going near any water anyway. Rather, he followed the trail of smoke leading from the upper atmosphere to the one of the continents below. The tell-tale signs of a battle clued him in to what had caused the smoke, and judging by the torn bits of solar sail floating about, as well as its make-up, it was an Imperial vessel. Clearly the RLS Legacy had been here, which means that stupid boy was here too.
He tapped at his nav computer with a claw, scanning for any signs of civilization. He spotted several large cities and towns across the continent, but some were too far away for the damaged Legacy to reach, he knew. They would head to a flat plain, where they could safely set down and do repairs.
Based on the trajectory they were taking, his estimation was correct. They were headed towards a large flat area near a massive mountain in the center of the continent. According to his scans, there seemed to be two major cities near that area, which narrowed down his search area considerably. At the very least, it was as good as any place to start.
What surprised him, however, was the second energy signature of another ship, this one much less damaged and far smaller than the Legacy. Perhaps this was the other combatant in the battle? Whoever it was, they seemed to be heading to the same general area as the Legacy. He didn’t care, however --- it wasn’t his target.
He angled his descent and followed the Legacy’s trail.
Twilight, her friends, the visitors, and Celestia all appeared in the Castle of Friendship’s throne room, and before Twilight could say anything, all doors to the throne room slammed shut from Celestia’s magic, and several ethereal chains latched onto them from every direction. A bubble shield encased the room, and then the lights darkened somewhat. Then the doors locked themselves.
“Yeesh,” Pinkie remarked. “I haven’t seen this much magical protection on a room since Twilight locked herself in the Golden Oaks Library on April 1st years ago.”
“Somehow you still got in and switched every book on the shelves backwards. Twilight was catatonic for a week...” Spike muttered.
“Celestia,” Twilight interjected, eager to move on to the subject at hoof. “What’s going on? What’s with all the secrecy?”
“Twilight, do you know with whom you and your friends are consorting with?” Celestia said, eyeing the three Legacy crew members warily.
“Um...” Twilight looked back at the three of them and shrugged sheepishly. “Two humans named Hendricks and Jim Hawkins, and a Zirrelian named Tucker?”
“Under normal circumstances, it would be a pleasure to meet them, but them being here is a great danger to us all,” Celestia continued. “If they’re here, the Guardian is sure to be close behind, and he is a danger unlike anything you’ve faced before.”
“The...Guardian?” Starlight asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“I’m so lost...” Tucker said.
“Welcome to the club,” Tempest snarked.
“Where is the map, Twilight?” Celestia asked, realizing she was going to have to explain a lot shortly. Faust, she didn’t want to have to do this so soon!
Twilight blinked, then her horn lit up. A moment later, the sphere appeared in a flash of light, summoned from the castle vaults. “It’s here, princess, but I don’t--”
Celestia grabbed the map from the air with her own magic, depositing it onto her hoof. Noticing Twilight’s flinch, Celestia’s features softened and she lifted Twilight’s chin up with a wing. “I will explain everything, Twilight, but I need you to trust me, just like you have always trusted me in the past.” She looked at the rest of the group. “That goes for all of you. Promise me that nothing you hear in this room will be spread outside.”
Spike and most of the mares present knew what that meant, and immediately did the motions of the Pinkie Promise, which seemed to satisfy Celestia. The three Legacy crewmen and Tempest, however, looked more lost than ever. Nevertheless, the four of them nodded in agreement.
Celestia sighed and motioned towards the thrones. “Please, everypony, sit.”
The Mane Six and Spike sat down on their thrones, and several wooden chairs appeared out of thin air via teleportation for the others. As the group got comfortable, Celestia held the map aloft and placed it down on the table for all to see.
Jim, finally getting a good look at the sphere, opened his mouth in shock and leaned forward. “It...can’t be...”
One of Tucker’s tentacles flew to his mouth. “That’s...!”
“A map,” Celestia replied. “A map that leads to Flint’s Trove.”
“But Treasure Planet was destroyed years ago,” Hendricks protested. “The map is useless now.”
Celestia shook her head. “Treasure Planet was but a drop in the bucket. I know for a fact that Flint had many more treasures and secrets he wished others to never find, so he created the story of Treasure Planet to fool the rest, and planted a fake map to lure others away from his real treasure horde.”
“But I was there!” Jim exclaimed. “The treasure was real. I saw the portal, I saw how he stole the Loot of a Thousand Worlds. I saw the planet explode.”
“Mere child’s play,” Celestia countered. “The planet was artificial, as you no doubt saw if you had seen the treasure. The treasure was as real as you or I, but it was but a fraction of what he stole. Before he became Dread Pirate Flint...he was just a simple pirate, hardly known to the Empire. But he had a plan, and when he discovered Equus, he put that plan into motion.”
“How do you know so much about Flint, Treasure Planet, and the rest of us?” Tucker asked. Twilight and the others nodded and looked at Celestia expectantly.
Celestia sighed. This was the moment she revealed everything. “Flint visited Equus centuries ago, long before Treasure Planet was constructed. He...attacked Canterlot, and slaughtered hundreds of my little ponies, all to make a point: that he was stronger than we were, and that he required our complete cooperation.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in horror, and many of the other mares gasped. Tempest only frowned and narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
“But...but that can’t be!” Twilight cried, leaning over the Cutie Map and planting her fore hooves on it. “There’s nothing in Equestria’s history that mentions such an encounter, nor such a terrible loss of life from an attack.”
Celestia nodded. “And you’d be right. There isn’t any record of it in history, because officially, it never happened. Could you imagine just how much chaos would occur if word actually got out that Equus had been visited by aliens, and that it had nearly destroyed the planet? It would destabilize Equestria beyond repair. I couldn’t take that risk, so after Flint left, I wiped all memory of the event, and blamed the damage to Canterlot on a severe earthquake. The lives lost were the ones lost in the earthquake, and nopony was the wiser. Everypony mourned, and then life went on. But I remembered everything, and I will now tell you what really happened.”
Everyone waited patiently as Celestia took a deep breath before continuing. “Flint saw my little ponies’ magic, and he saw my power to move the sun. He wanted both for his purposes, and so he attacked, knowing that I would do anything to save them from more death...even work with him.
“He told me of his plans to steal from one thousand worlds, and make a name for himself that would last for millennia. At first I refused, but when he told me that until I relented he would keep killing twenty of my ponies at random, I gave in.”
“Why?” Tempest asked suddenly. “Why not just blast him to kingdom come and be done with it, and then repair the damage?”
Celestia shook her head. “Flint was a genius, and he had studied me and my ponies for several months, and had planned accordingly. He had a second ship in orbit, this one armed with a powerful super-weapon aimed directly at the moon. If I killed him, they would destroy the moon, which would not only kill my sister who was stranded up there at the time, but it would also doom all of Equestria. If I tried to destroy that ship, he would detonate a bomb he wore around himself and kill me, which would also doom Equestria. If I tried to do both, the ship circling the city would reduce it to cinders. I could not let any of that happen, so I agreed to his terms. In exchange for letting my ponies and all of Equus live...I would create Treasure Planet for him, as well as the map that led to it.”
Tucker gasped and Jim’s eyes widened in shock. “You made Treasure Planet?!”
Celestia nodded with a small frown. “Flint knew that if he were to build it, it would take most of his life, which, long as it was, he couldn’t wait for. He saw me handling the sun with ease, so he figured that I would be of great use to him. He was right, of course. From the confines of Canterlot, I used my magic to assemble the pieces of Treasure Planet to his specifications within a week, only pausing to eat and to raise the sun and moon each day. I even included the booby trap he had planned.” At this, she looked pained and sent Jim a worried glance. “I am sorry that you had to experience it. Had I known that you were the one who destroyed that infernal machine, I would not have been so quick to judge you and your companions.”
At everyone’s silence, she continued. “Once the planet was complete, he ordered me to create a map that would lead to it. I, of course, had no idea of how to accomplish this, and told him as such. I had never been beyond the confines of our Equus, so I had to resort to...alternative means.” She sighed, and looked at Twilight in shame. “I summoned the Shadow Court.”
The reaction was instant. Pinkie and Fluttershy immediately hid behind their thrones, Rarity fainted and slid off hers, Rainbow growled, Applejack tipped the rim of her stetson over her eyes and frowned, Starlight took on a worried expression, Tempest’s horn sparked in anger, and Twilight...
Twilight burst into flames.
“YOU SUMMONED THE UMBRUM?!” Twilight shrieked in the Canterlot Voice, both in fear and anger. Normally she wouldn’t dare dream of screaming at her friend, former mentor, and fellow princess, but the subject of her anger was more than enough to override her usual convictions. “Undead abominations! Creatures of shadow, death, and Eldritch horror! Princess Celestia, you yourself outlawed even speaking their names! The last time ponies encountered them, th-th-they nearly destroyed the entire world!! Even Grogar of ancient times, the Father of All Monsters, was appalled, and vowed to destroy them if he ever saw them again. How could you?!”
“TWILIGHT SPARKLE,” Celestia bellowed, flaring her wings out. A blinding light began shining in her eyes, and the room’s temperature instantly went up about twenty degrees, and was steadily rising even higher. “YOU WILL CALM DOWN THIS INSTANT, OR I SHALL HAVE YOU REMOVED FROM THIS ROOM. REFRAIN FROM YOUR ANGER, AND LET ME EXPLAIN.”
Most of the mares (even Tempest and Starlight) had already shrank back and lay prostrated on the floor, their eyes clamped shut in fear. The flames around Twilight were doused immediately and she slumped back in her chair, breathing heavily. A single tear fell down her cheek. Celestia returned the room to normal and looked back at Twilight with sorrowful and deeply apologetic eyes. The three crewmen and Spike peeked out from underneath their arms, wondering if it was over.
“I’m sorry, princess...” Twilight whispered fearfully, trembling in her throne and sobbing. “I don’t know what came over me...”
Instantly she was enveloped in a warm embrace from Celestia, who looked mortified at what she had just done. “Shhh, it’s alright, Twilight. You have nothing to be sorry about, for it is I who should be sorry. You and your friends deserve better, and I promise you, I am not angry at you. Please...don’t be afraid of me...”
Jim knew that tone. Celestia’s words were spoken in a way that reminded Jim of his mother. He remembered when he was young that he used to argue with his mom, and moments later both of them would be holding each other close and telling each other how much they loved each other. They had experienced enough pain already, so there wasn’t a reason to add to it.
This wasn’t just one ruler consoling another, nor even a friend being comforted. This bond went much deeper than that, almost as much as a mother and daughter. Both Celestia and Twilight were terrified, and needed to be reminded of that bond.
The two Alicorns were silent for a long time, simply trembling in each other’s embrace. Spike and the rest of the mares had picked themselves up and slowly returned to their seats, while the Legacy crewmen discreetly moved off to the side to give them some room.
After a while, Twilight sniffed and whispered something into Celestia’s ear. Celestia nodded and let her go, and both took a moment to breathe before turning their attention back to the sphere on the table.
“...Yes...” Celestia said, her voice cracking slightly. “I-I summoned the Shadow Court of the Umbrum. I knew from our dealings with them in the past that they had more knowledge of the stars beyond our world than even Luna or I had. With their help, I was able to construct the map that led to Treasure Planet. But that wasn’t the end of it.” She looked at each mare in turn. “There was another reason why I summoned the Shadow Court besides to make Flint’s map. Do you remember Nightmare Moon?”
“You mean old Black Snooty?” Pinkie asked.
Celestia snorted in amusement. “I’ll have to remember that one, but yes. I’m sure you have all heard the story, about how my sister became jealous of me, and upon transforming into Nightmare Moon, attempted to create a world of eternal night. Well, have you ever wondered where those thoughts of jealousy came from? Granted she was annoyed that our little ponies fawned over the day while not appreciating the work she put into her precious night, but it was never really enough to make her do what she did. No, something pushed her over the edge. That something, or rather, someone, was Sylidus, a powerful Umbrum of the Shadow Court who escaped from his bonds. He met Luna one night, and poisoned her mind with thoughts of jealousy, knowing just how to prey upon her and knowing that we would clash. After Luna was banished to the moon, he fled Equestria, and I had been hunting him ever since.
“When I finally summoned the Shadow Court, I discreetly asked if they knew of his whereabouts. They were hesitant to betray one of their own, but when they learned about what he did, and that I was ready and very willing to destroy them all as compensation if they didn’t give me his location, they relented. Using a scrying pool, I found his hidden lair, and teleported him straight to me.”
Celestia sighed, taking a deep breath before continuing. “There was so much I wanted to do to him for what he did. I wanted to make him suffer like Luna had. But I had more pressing issues to deal with, so I made him a deal: he would be my spy. In return for his wretched life, he would find the other locations to Flint’s trove, and create a second map for me, which now sits before you.” She pointed lazily at the sphere with a wing. “I had intended it to be a final stab of vengeance against Flint for killing my subjects, for if someone knew about his trove, then someone could steal from him, and he would know how it feels to be the one attacked. But Flint discovered my ploy. He realized I was up to something, and laid a trap on the second map. Whoever activated it would summon a powerful entity, who would then be drawn to whoever held the map and destroy them and all those they loved --- an assassin of the highest caliber.”
“The Guardian?” Starlight guessed.
Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Flint had not been idle while he waited for Treasure Planet and the map to be completed. He grabbed my court wizard at the time, Desert Iris, and had her enchant a powerful mechanical golem, which he then programmed to act in his stead against me should I ever activate the second map. He then took the map and buried it in the Everfree Forest.”
Twilight groaned and face-hoofed. “Which I then opened...”
“Don’t blame yourself, Twilight, you had no way of knowing what you were releasing,” Celestia reassured her with a small smile. “Besides, Flint may have beaten me at my own game, but I beat him at his.”
Jim leaned forward. “How so?”
Celestia reached up with a hoof, and with a flash of light, a second sphere appeared on it. She smirked. “I made a backup map, one that wasn’t trapped, and that he didn’t know about. I then captured Sylidus and forced him to guard it within my old castle in the Everfree, until I felt for sure that ponies were ready to venture out into the stars. If nopony else was to find Flint’s Trove, then we would, and would give back what he stole from others. Unfortunately, the second map was found first, so my plan had to be scrapped and I had to dig out the third map early in case the second map was destroyed.”
Twilight almost hesitated to ask, “And Sylidus?”
Celestia looked at her grimly. “He is now in Tartarus, where he belongs.”
“So what now?” asked Applejack, speaking at last. “We’ve got two maps, and a big bad guy on the way. What do we do?”
“Simple,” Tempest replied, her horn sparking. “We send him back.”
“And we,” said Hendricks, reaching for the sphere on the table. “Will take these maps off of your hands, er, hooves. We have the resources necessary to--”
“No.”
Everyone turned to Celestia. “What?” Jim asked.
Celestia shook her head. “No,” she repeated. “I will not allow these maps to leave Equus, not yet. There is...something else you must know about Flint’s Trove. He was building something on each of the six planets, something terrible--”
There was an explosion that shook the castle, and screams erupted from outside.
(Minutes before...)
A red signal flare shot into the sky over Canterlot, and Luna immediately took to the air.
“Contact west!” somepony roared. “Unknown craft, heading south!”
South? Luna hovered in the air, her eyes widening. It isn’t heading towards Canterlot? “CONFIRM REPORT!” she yelled in the Canterlot Voice.
“Confirmed!” a Pegasi officer shouted. “Contact is heading south towards Ponyville!”
A second flare shot up into the air, followed by a cry of “Two contacts east! Unknown crafts heading south!”
STUPID! Fool! Thrice an idiot! Luna roared mentally as she whirled around to face the city. She had been duped! Of course the Guardian wouldn’t come to Canterlot, it would head straight to the holder of the map --- Twilight.
And now her little ponies were in danger because of her stupidity.
“ALL UNITS, STAND DOWN, REPEAT, STAND DOWN!” she roared. “COMMANDER ECLIPSE, CAPTAIN BRIGHT STAR, TO ME!”
Moments later, the Pegasus captain and the Thestral commander were at her side, panting at the speed at which they flew. “You called, Your Highness?” Bright Star said when he was close enough.
“Take four battalions and make haste to Ponyville!” Luna ordered. “We’ve been deceived. The enemy is not heading to Canterlot, it’s here for a different target. FLY!”
Eclipse had already bolted away as the last syllable left Luna’s mouth, and Bright Star took to the air and began bellowing commands at the Pegasi squadrons and Unicorns on the wall. Luna looked south towards Ponyville, noting the three ships that began to converge on it, two from the east, and one from the west.
She only hoped that the Royal Guard wouldn’t be too late to stop the carnage to follow.
Twilight, Celestia, and the others burst out of the Castle of Friendship and gasped at what they saw.
A floating ship loomed over the town, its cannons smoking from recent firings, and several homes were in flames. Most of the townsfolk were scurrying about in a panic (as was instinctual for them at this point), while some of the braver ponies remained behind to douse the flames as best as they could.
Jim, Hendricks, and Tucker glared up at the ship. They knew the flag that was flying over the mast: Flint’s Jolly Rodger. All three of them pulled their weapons out of their holsters.
Rainbow immediately took to the air and tried to assess the damage to the town. From her vantage point, she couldn’t see any bodies, so that was a relief. However, the ship’s cannons seemed to be charging for another shot, so she quickly dove low and rejoined the group. “Welp, we’re not attacking from the air, that’s for sure.”
“Then how?!” Applejack cried.
Celestia spread her wings protectively and stepped forward. “Stay behind me, everypony. I shall handle the Guardian, the rest of you will focus on evacuating the townsfolk.”
“You’re gonna need some more firepower against that thing,” Tempest said, joining her side. “I’m at your disposal, princess.”
“Same here,” said Jim, holding up his plasma pistol. “It ain’t much, but we’ve dealt with Flint’s goons before.” Hendricks and Tucker nodded solemnly.
Celestia nodded. “Very well. The rest of you will move away when the battle begins.”
Pinkie sharply saluted, a camouflaged military helmet inexplicably on her head. “Yes, ma’am!”
The others nodded. “You can count on us, princess,” Twilight declared.
Somewhere in the distance, a mare screamed, bringing their attention to the western side of the town. “That’s Roseluck!” Spike cried. “I’d recognize that scream of horror anywhere.”
“W-w-what is t-that?” Fluttershy stammered, pointing out into the distance.
A large shape was coming in for a landing to the west in the plains, shaped like a galleon. Jim squinted at it, trying to determine its origin. “Is that what I think it is?” he murmured.
“It’s an alien invasion!” Pinkie screamed, grabbing Fluttershy and hoofing her a red crowbar. “Take this, you’ll need it for the crabs, trust me!”
“It’s the Legacy!” Tucker said, smiling and raising his musket in the air. “Reinforcements!”
“She’s damaged,” Hendricks noted glumly. " See the smoke? I don’t think we’ll be getting many reinforcements from her.”
“Uh, guys?” Twilight spoke up, pointing at the ship. “It’s opening up.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes and her horn lit up with a magic bolt spell, just as a gangplank lowered from the ship to the roof of one of the intact houses. A large, mechanical foot stepped off the ship, followed by another, both attached to a huge golem made of solid black plate metal. Piercing yellow eyes shown from underneath its helmeted head, and its gaze passed over each member of the group, before finally pausing on Twilight.
Spike gulped. “We’re screwed, aren’t we?”
The eyes flashed red.
The final wolf blew apart in a spectacular display of sap and wood splinters, and Spanner finally let his arms fall to his sides and he let out a long sigh of relief.
First shadowy demons, then horses with wings that could talk and use magic, and now wolves made of wood that regenerated after being killed the first few times. This world was messed up.
He had originally planned to meet up with the rest of the crew from the Legacy at the pre-determined landing coordinates, but then the wolves had attacked, and he had no time to prepare the boat, set a course, and defend himself all at once, so instead he hunkered down and let the wolves have it. Thankfully, the pack was small, so once they were down the first time, he was able to pick them off one by one until finally the green glow in their eyes flickered out. He took that to mean that they were dead at last.
He hoped.
Plans had changed, however. Just as the captain had predicted, he saw the enemy ship fly overhead and head towards the village on the outskirts of the forest. Now, Spanner wasn’t exactly the bravest member of His Majesty’s Navy, but he wasn’t about to let some innocents be killed by no-good pirates. Besides, he had a duty to his team, and he wasn’t going to leave them behind. If they hadn’t seen the ship, they would have definitely heard the sounds of the plasma cannon-fire.
Within moments, he had boarded the longboat and punched in the coordinates for the town. As the nav computer performed its calculations, he checked his plasma musket’s charge: fifty percent. It was good enough for now, but his other weapons didn’t have any charge left in them. He’d have to be sparing in his shots.
Once the computer was finished, he tapped at his destination on the map and pulled the joystick forward and down, launching the ship out of the clearing and into the sky.
The golem crouched low and then leapt off the roof, slamming into the ground in front of Celestia and sending a shock wave through the ground, knocking everyone off their feet.
Pinkie pinballed through the air and slammed into the castle’s doorbell button, making a “ding-dong” sound. With a groan, she raised a hoof and squeaked out, “Fight!”
Jim regained his footing first and fired a salvo of plasma bolts at the Guardian, which bounced harmlessly off its armor. The Guardian didn’t even look at him, and instead lumbered closer to Twilight.
“Oh, no ya don’t!” Applejack growled, throwing a lasso around the Guardian’s neck and yanking back as hard as she could. To her credit, it did stop the large golem for a moment, but it quickly grabbed at the lasso with one of its massive claws and pulled it off of its neck, with Applejack still attached to the other end by her teeth.
The Guardian glared at her, and Applejack gave it a half-hearted wave. “Um, howdy?” she chuckled nervously, before the Guardian swung her around twice and flung her towards Ponyville.
Rainbow cried out in alarm and raced after the screaming mare, catching her in mid-air and setting her back down on the ground.
“Face me!” Celestia roared, blasting the golem with a beam of holy light. “I’m the strongest one here! Face me!”
The golem did face her, only to let out a booming laugh. “But you’re not my target.” Without another word, it shrugged off several more magical bolts from both Starlight and Tempest and broke into a very alarming sprint towards Twilight, its sharpened claws outstretched.
Twilight teleported out of the way, only to panic when the golem suddenly reversed course and rammed into her, as if it predicted where she would go. Twilight cried out in pain as she flew backwards and rolled through the dirt. Fluttershy and Rarity ran towards her, Fluttershy grabbing her and pulling her to safety and Rarity erecting a shield to block incoming attacks.
Spike flew at top speed towards the golem and latched onto one of its arms, before biting into it with his teeth. After all, if dragons could eat gems and rocks, why not metal? Several chipped teeth later, he found the answer to that question, and the Guardian threw him off as if he was but a simple gnat.
Celestia raged and flew at the golem, intent on tearing it limb from limb. Hendricks and Tucker joined her, firing their muskets and pistols at the golem, while Jim helped Fluttershy and Rarity with Twilight.
Tempest looked over the golem, noting the greenish gleam coming off its armor. She knew that old charm, some of the Storm King’s other lieutenants had it too. “It’s been enchanted with Stoneskin!” she yelled over the din. “We can’t break through that unless we have more firepower. A lot more.”
Rainbow blinked and looked up at the ship, before looking back at her with a grin. “Are you pondering what I’m pondering?”
“Silly Dashie!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing towards her and dodging a laser beam from the golem’s fight with Celestia, looking none the worse for wear. “Where are we going to find a baker’s dozen of gunpowder-laced blueberry cupcakes in this economy, and at such a late hour?”
“No, Pinkie...” Rainbow face-hoofed. “The cannons! We can use them against that thing!”
Tempest nodded. “That could work.”
Pinkie raised a hoof. “Ooh, ooh! I can go get my party cannon and help distract the meanie while you two play pirate!”
“Yeah, you do that,” Rainbow said. Just as Pinkie galloped away, Rainbow called back after her, “And we’re not pirates!”
“Sure thing, Dashiiiieeeee...” Pinkie yelled back as she disappeared into the town.
Tempest looked at Rainbow, ducking as a beam of light fired past her head. “So, how should we do this? You fly me up and I figure out how to use the cannons?”
“Yeah, something like that,” Rainbow agreed, grabbing onto Tempest’s barrel. “You ready?”
“Yes, go already!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes but complied, flying up towards the ship.
Pinkie ran through the town, humming a tune to herself. Sure, her friends were in danger, but they were holding their own, and she was about to bring them a little useful present, so why not be cheerful while doing so?
Then again, the town was in flames. That did deflate her mane a bit.
But hey, nopony had been hurt!
But the party was also ruined.
But hey, it was still a success, so that counted for something, right? Right.
She looked up and saw the roof of Sugarcube Corner sticking up over the other roofs of the town, and she let out a happy giggle and surged forward.
Then she turned a corner and slammed face-first into somepony’s leg, sending them both tumbling to the ground. She quickly bounced up and exclaimed, “Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh, I’m so sorry! I’m in a real big hurry right now, and there’s this big meanie machine attacking Twilight because she activated a map, and I need to get my party cannon, and--” She froze, and looked up, seeing just who it was she was apologizing to. Her jaw dropped. “W-wow, you’re definitely n-not from around here, are ya...?”
He smiled and leered at her. “What’s this about a map?”
Tempest rolled to a stop on the deck with a groan, and then glared at Rainbow, who, despite herself and the situation, was laughing her fool head off. “It’s not funny!” Tempest hissed.
“Oh come on, you gotta admit, it’s a little funny,” Rainbow replied, landing on the deck with a final chuckle of amusement.
Tempest’s still-smoking rump begged to differ. “You try laughing when a errant magic bolt singes your rear end!”
“Okay, okay, fair point,” Rainbow conceded, looking around. “Now then, where to next?”
“The lower deck, that’s where the cannons were,” Tempest replied, standing up. “Let’s go, they won’t last that long against that thing.”
“Right behind ya.”
The two mares ran down the stairs to the second deck, where their luck held and they found the cannons immediately. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what they were expecting either.
“That’s...a lot of wires. And batteries,” Tempest remarked, carefully stepping over a pile of rope.
Rainbow flew over to one of the cannons and tilted her head, looking over the firing mechanism. And the dozens of buttons, levers, and glass screens. “Yeeeeah, this is way outta my league, and I trained on the cannons in Canterlot when I became a Wonderbolt. What do you think?”
“I think,” said Tempest, lifting up two wires with her fore-hooves and watching a spark jump between them. “That we may need to start thinking like Pinkie, and just stop thinking and start doing.”
“...Weeeelp, I’ll be topside. Let me know once you’ve figured it out,” Rainbow said, spinning on her hooves and walking back up the stairs.
With some slight strain, Tempest yanked her back with telekinesis. “You’re staying right there, and you’re going to follow my directions exactly, you hear me?”
Rainbow groaned and nodded.
The battle wasn’t going well, Jim quickly decided as he looked over at Celestia.
Celestia was holding her own admirably enough, to be sure, and so were the others (most of whom had quickly abandoned the original plan and were instead joining in on the fight), but the problem wasn’t so much the fact that they couldn’t fight the Guardian, but rather that they couldn’t keep it down. No matter what they threw at it, it kept rising back up and moving towards Twilight at a steady pace.
Fluttershy and Rarity were currently holed up with Twilight in the castle, while he and Spike stood guard at the gates. Twilight had fallen into unconsciousness from the blow, so her being out in the open was too risky. Rarity and Fluttershy reasoned that the castle would provide a suitable barrier between her and the Guardian, and Jim hoped they were right. With each brawl with Celestia, it had made its way closer to the gates.
“STAY. DOWN!” Celestia bellowed, bucking the golem in the chest and sending it stumbling backwards a few meters. It responded with grabbing her back legs and flinging her away. She quickly recovered and flew at him again with renewed anger.
“It’s not stayin’ down!” Applejack yelled from atop its helmeted head, punching it with a hoof.
“ENOUGH!” the Guardian roared, sending lasers out of its eyes and scorching the ground around everyone’s feet, sending them stumbling backwards. He reached up and grabbed Applejack, throwing her to the side. “You miserable lot have wasted my time. I won’t be denied! I will complete my mission! Captain Flint has commanded it!”
“Over my dead body!” Celestia proclaimed. “You will not harm one hair on my little ponies’ heads!”
“The Keystone was found and opened, and the price for doing so must be paid in full!”
“I’m here! Take me in her stead!” Celestia retorted, spreading her wings wide and stamping on the ground with a snort.
“If you’re so willing to die for her, then so be it, but I will complete my mission. You are inconsequential. The Great Trove will never be found!”
“Hey, ugly!” a voice yelled from above.
The Guardian, Celestia, and the others looked up and saw Rainbow waving from his ship with a smug grin. “Hope you like fried food, ‘cause you’re about to know what it feels like. Badda-bing, badda-BOOM, baby!”
As the last word left her mouth, a large ball of plasma shot out of one of the cannons on the ship and slammed into the Guardian’s chest, melting through the armor plating instantly. The Guardian looked down and held its claws to its chest, then looked back up at the Pegasus, dumbfounded.
“Hey, that worked! Did we get him?” Tempest called from below-deck.
“He’s still standing!”
“Fire two!”
The second plasma ball was another direct hit, this time to the Guardian’s face. The Guardian swayed on his feet for a moment before falling forward and landing on the ground in a heap of molten metal and sparking electronics.
“Ha! Smile, you son of a mule!” Rainbow laughed, flying down from the ship.
“Your one-liners suck!” Tempest yelled after her. Rainbow laughed harder.
The group gathered around the remains of the Guardian and stared in silence at it, just as Rainbow touched down in front of them. Applejack tipped her hat to the Pegasus and grinned. “Nice work there, partner.”
“Yeah, that was awesome!” Tucker agreed. Hendricks nodded and flashed a thumbs-up.
“Thank you, thank you, I deserve every praise,” Rainbow boasted, puffing her chest up in pride.
“I did all the work!” Tempest yelled angrily from the ship, shaking a hoof at the rainbow-maned Pegasus from a porthole. “I got my rump roasted because of you!”
“Pay no attention to the angry mare inside the ship,” Rainbow said, smirking.
Celestia teleported Tempest to the ground and swept both of them into a hug. “Tempest, Rainbow, you have both earned yourselves medals today. You’ve just saved Twilight’s life, and ended another great threat to Equestria. What few weapons we had would not have made much of a difference, if your guess was correct about it being enchanted with a Stoneskin barrier. You have my eternal gratitude.”
Tempest blushed and looked away, smiling a little. “It...it was nothing, princess. We both saw what we needed to do, so we did it. That’s all.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Girl, you need to learn to take some pride in your work.”
Tempest couldn’t resist the opening. “Like how I took pride in locating you and your friends after you performed a Sonic Rainboom to give away your position?”
Applejack let out a guffaw. “She’s got ya there, sugarcube!”
Rainbow coughed. “Yeah, yeah...okay, fine! Ya did good, Tempest.”
“You both did,” Celestia said, looking down at the with pride. “And now that the town’s been saved, we can repair the damages and meet our new friends properly.” She turned towards Jim, Tucker, and Hendricks. “I am most grateful for your assistance in dealing with the Guardian, and for helping to protect Twilight.”
“Begging your pardon, lady, but we didn’t really do much,” Tucker pointed out with a frown.
Celestia shook her head. “You did your best with what you had available to distract the Guardian long enough for Tempest and Rainbow to succeed in their mission, and Mr. Hawkins helped get Twilight to safety. As far as I’m concerned, that’s more than enough to be worthy of praise and respect.” She bowed her head towards them. “Thank you, roamers of the stars.”
“Heheh,” Hendricks chuckled. “’Roamers of the Stars’. Has a nice ring to it, I suppose.”
Rarity opened up the gates to the castle and poked her head outside. “Is it safe to come out now?”
Jim laughed. “Yes Rarity, the big bad bot is dead.”
“Oh, thank heavens,” Rarity sighed, stepping out. “I must say, that was quite an impressive fight. I’m sorry I wasn’t much use, but Fluttershy needed somepony to guard her while she treated Twilight.”
“Nah, it’s all good, Rares,” Rainbow replied. “We had it covered.”
The group once again descended into silence as they looked at the Guardian’s remains. Finally, Starlight cleared her throat and asked, “Well, what do we do now?”
“Now,” said a deep, raspy voice. “You give me that map of yours, and I don’t kill your little friend here.”
Everyone whirled around to see a tall, spider-legged creature walk out from Ponyville, holding a plasma musket in one of his claws and Pinkie by the throat in the other. Pinkie was pulling at the pincers around her throat, her face one of terror. The creature’s yellow eyes gleamed with malice, and his sickening smirk was aimed at one person and one person alone.
Jim Hawkins.
Jim gasped and raised his plasma pistol. “I saw you die!”
Scroop raised his musket and pressed it against Pinkie’s head. “Ah-ah-ah, none of that. Put down your weapon, or I pop her head like a balloon.”
Reluctantly, Jim lowered his weapon and motioned for Tucker and Hendricks to do the same. The mares all looked ready to charge, but they held their ground. They knew that if they moved, Pinkie died.
Scroop cackled. “Good, you understand me perfectly.”
“How are you alive?” Jim growled. “I saw you die. You floated up into the Etherium, and the planet exploded. There’s no possible way you could have survived.”
“You’d be surprised to know what Mantavors can live through. We’re a hard race to kill,” Scroop answered. “I latched onto one of the pieces of the planet and let it carry me until a trader found me. They were more than willing to help a ’poor, innocent Mantavor’ stranded in the Etherium.” He pointed his musket at Jim. “But enough about me, cabin boy. A little pony told me that you have a map in your possession. Hand it over. Now.”
“What map?” Jim asked.
“Don’t play dumb with me, cabin boy!” Scroop roared. “Your little friend here squealed like a pig the moment I caught her.”
“I’m sorry!” Pinkie cried, tears welling up in her eyes. “I broke my own Pinkie Promise! I’m a horrible frie-he-hend...!”
“Shut up,” Scroop hissed in her ear.
“We will do no such thing!” Celestia declared. “You do not know what Flint has done with his trove! He built a--”
BAM!
Celestia gasped, and Starlight and Tempest immediately rushed to her aid as she slumped to the ground, her side bleeding from a fresh wound. Rainbow screamed in rage and leapt into the air, only for Applejack to yank her back by the tail and anchor herself into the ground.
“Damn it, Scroop!” Jim yelled, raising his weapon once more.
“I’m not screwing around, boy!” Scroop roared. “Give me the map, or I’ll do much worse!”
“Okay, okay, fine! Just...calm down, for the love of God,” Jim relented. He turned to Tucker. “Get the map from the table. Go!”
Tucker hesitated, but when he saw how serious his boss was, he nodded and quickly disappeared into the castle. Moments later, he returned holding the sphere in one of his tentacles. Jim grabbed it and looked at it for a moment, as if reconsidering what he was about to do. Celestia had tried to warn them that there was something more to Flint’s Trove, but at the moment, he didn’t care. One of his new friends was in trouble, and Celestia was hurt. So what if Scroop got a bit richer? He’d be a dead man anyway once Jim reported today’s events to Captain Amelia.
Without a word, he tossed the map to Scroop, who let it roll on the ground in front of him. Scroop smirked and swung his musket over his shoulder, and bent down to pick up the map, spinning it around in his claws in satisfaction. “Good boy. And now that our business is concluded, I’ll take my leave.” He placed the map in a satchel on his side and grabbed his musket once more. He then placed the muzzle against Pinkie’s head and began to walk away.
“Scroop!” Jim yelled. “Let her go.”
“Sorry,” Scroop shouted back. “You never asked for her back, and I could use a hostage. Don’t follow me, boy, or she dies, and then you will follow her.”
“Jimmy!” Pinkie cried, only for Scroop to squeeze a little harder. She yelped and swung her fore-hooves at him, but his arms were too long for her to reach him.
A plasma blast rang out, and Scroop cried out in pain as he slumped to the ground, one of his legs scorched. Jim, Hendricks, and Tucker looked around in shock. None of them had shot him. Scroop stood up once more and glared daggers at them, but then looked up and narrowed his gaze at what he saw.
A Legacy longboat floated above the Castle of Friendship, and a Flatulan in Imperial Navy garb was holding a musket and pointing it at him with a rather angry look on his face. He let out a few snorts and honks of air and fired his musket again, missing Scroop’s legs by inches.
Scroop immediately booked it, pulling Pinkie alongside him and climbing the walls of the buildings to get to the Guardian’s ship.
“Don’t let him escape!” Jim yelled, and he, Tucker, and Hendricks took off in a sprint after the Mantavor pirate. Rainbow blasted off past them, her eyes filled with rage and single-minded determination.
Scroop swung his legs over the side of the Guardian’s ship and threw Pinkie into the captain’s cabin, sealing the door shut with his musket’s laser. He then ran up to the quarterdeck and grabbed hold of the steering wheel, spinning it around just as Rainbow slammed into his side.
Scroop kicked her off of him and aimed his musket at her, only for him to flinch as it was shot out of his hands from Spanner in his longboat. Rainbow tackled him again, punching him repeatedly before being kicked off once more. Scroop grabbed the wheel and spun it hard, spinning the ship a hundred and eighty degrees and causing Rainbow to lose her balance and fall off the side of the ship. He then grabbed the ship’s launching lever and slammed it down, putting the ship into full throttle and blasting off into the sky.
Spanner’s longboat followed in pursuit, but it soon fell away. The Guardian’s ship was just too fast for it to keep up.
But it wasn’t fast enough to escape a Sonic Rainboom.
Rainbow rammed into the hull at full speed, grabbing onto the edge of the ship as it began to skirt the outer atmosphere of the planet and pulling herself up onto the ship with great difficulty. Scroop noticed her out of the corner of his eye and smirked at her determination to catch him. It was rather cute. Pointless, but cute. Leaning over, he kicked her off one last time and sent her tumbling through the air with a malicious cackle.
Rainbow could only watch in despair as the Guardian’s ship escaped the planet’s atmosphere and flew off into the Etherium at speeds she couldn’t hope to match.
Scroop, and Pinkie, were gone.
Hello guys! Sorry for the long wait, it's been several busy weeks for me. But I told you that a new chapter would come, and lo and behold.
Anyway, one of Disney's coolest villains (imho) is back, and now the adventure can really begin. Bet you didn't expect the Guardian to be a red herring, now did ya?
Bit of a longer, more serious chapter this time, but don't worry, there's gonna be some fun times ahead. This is about as "dark" as the story will get (which really isn't that much, considering what stories we have on this site), and you're probably not going to see a chapter this long again either. And don't worry, Celestia's perfectly fine. 'Tis but a scratch for an immortal such as her!
I'll try not to make you guys wait so long next time.
Next chapter, Silver offers the gang a ride so that they can go after Scroop, and for the first time ever, ponies go into outer SPAAAAACE! I wonder what will happen to them? Eh, probably nothing much. Certainly nothing dangerous.
Right?
Anyway, God bless! Hope to see y'all soon. 
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Will any of the future chapters be as long as the sixth one?
10933831
Nope! This is most likely going to be the longest (and darkest) chapter in the story, mainly because there was so much to unpack and I didn't feel like splitting it up.
After this it goes back to the normal length the first five chapters had.
Yeah, no surprise tia is behind things in the end. That's her schtick after all.
Cause the big bad and then "Nope never happened." Only for it to come back for Twilight to clean up
10933974
Well, to be fair to her, she didn't really "cause the big bad", since Flint is the real big bad behind the scenes (but he's also dead now), and he just saw her moving the sun one day and decided "I want that power". She did everything within her power to minimize the damage as much as possible, and only really messed up when Flint found out about the second map. Things just spiralled out of her control from there, but she was at least able to prepare for it a bit better this time. She upgraded Canterlot's defenses, increased the standing army, and, if anything, become overprotective of her ponies.
Lotsa action in this one! Very dramatic!
Still, very good plot twists, and excellent characterization! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Heh, methinks Celestia more than fibbed alittle when she said the Umbra was sent to Tartarus.
Chants HOOKED, HOOKED, HOOKED-
Ah the age old strategy of using the bad guys own weapons against them
What a bombshell and a cliff hanger!!!
Things are definitely tense right now!!!
Cant wait to see what's next!!!
10934004
Yeah, she literally disintegrated that Umbrum.
Then again, he actually deserves it in the end, considering that he is responsible for corrupting Luna into Nightmare Moon in the first place!!
I was just surprised Celestia of all ponies is willing to KILL a enemy/villain in this supposed Rated-E story from the previous chapter.
Then again, the original Treasure Planet movie has death, action, and gun violence from the pirates.
So, yeah.
And when you say it like that? You mean that the Guardian WASN'T the main villain the whole time?! Seriously?! He is really dead??!!
I thought I find it fishy that they easily killed/destroyed him by his own ship's cannons, just like that. *Snaps fingers*
And I thought that he can magically heal/repair himself, and be like:
My interpretation of the Guardian himself: "HA! You fools, you can't defeat me that easily. Captain Flint made ANOTHER 'trump card move' ( but in a trolling kind of way. ) to build me a OP repairing module inside me, and it is unremovable and unbreakable. Thus, I'm 'semi-immortal' and effectively 'indestructible' at the same time. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Just like Cell, Maijn Buu, or Zamasu in the Dragon Ball Series, with their Healing/Regeneration Ability. Thus, making them nearly "unkillible", due to their OP Healing factor.
Or more specifically, the Golden Clockwork Army from Hellboy 2: The Golden Army ( Ironically ).
https://hellboy.fandom.com/wiki/The_Golden_Army
10935817
She didn't lie though. Sylidus isn't "dead" dead, he was banished to Tartarus. Remember what she said in the previous chapter?
Maybe I should edit it a bit to make that clearer. Sorry for the mix-up.
And as for this:
Must...resist...
10935866
Oh! Didn't notice that? Well, at least he deserves to rot in there.
Well, it's kinda your own fault to begin with. For depicting Captain Flint ( despite being a greedy, bloodthirsty pirate ) as THE smartest and also a trolling son of the ***** pirate out there.
Sure he did steal money and riches, from a lot of innocent people, and steal from so many planets. And "somehow" create a artificial and mechanical planet to hide his stolen riches.
Has also have a highly advanced space portal to literally go anywhere and everywhere in the galaxy/universe. And kept a special map to find his treasure. And to add some measure, he set up a crazy booty trap to self destruct the entire planet to smithereens!
That's a very insane feat for a space pirate in Disney's standards.
But, pulling out a Xanatos gambit against Celestia of all ponies. Blackmail her to even create the original treasure planet ( that was the decoy the whole time. ), and possibly create the real six ones.
And with having Flint keep pulling out so many "High IQ" moves, Pro Gamer" moves, even being a total troll to deceive everyone that the original Treasure Planet itself was a "fake", and a decoy to fool everyone!
Sure, there is some treasure. But, that was probably over 5-10% of Captain Flint's REAL booty??!!
And now, he has OVER SIX Treasure Planets as the real treasure?! And Celestia even tried to warned us that he probably set up another booty trap, or more guardians, or even super weapons, more dangerous than the decoy one??!!
Wow, just WOW!!!! Way to over-hyped or hyperbolize on a rather "minor" villain ( That is long dead in the original story ) in a old Disney Sci-Fi Pirate movie.
Edit: My tablet is fixed. I'm finally done.
To be fair, 'Equus' is something of a treasure trove itself. With the right tracking spell, an afternoon or so of digging and you'd be RICH!
Welp, it's official, I am absolutely hooked on this story!
The level of thought and detail you've put into this world is absolutely amazing!
Add to that this is a crossover with one of my childhood favorites, and you have one happy guy!
Tracking, faving, and following!
Aah, I see now.
Jim and Hendricks.
Like Jimi Hendrix, famous electric guitarist.
Nice.
You REALLY like references and cameos, don't you? X3
I really don't think Pinkie would be careless enough to talk about the map on a whim when she already promised to Princess Celestia that she wouldn't. She's far too attentive to let herself do that, even if she doesn't seem like it. Similarly, I feel like Scroop wouldn't be able to take her hostage and shoot Celestia right in the presence of multiple other superbeings and get away without being vaporized or somehow beaten to death, especially with Pinkie and Rainbow directly involved.
Loving this story so far, and I intend to keep following it. I just feel like maybe you're making too many things happen all at once, and breaking a few character traits to make it work.
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I...honestly have no idea who you're talking about. I can assure you this was a coincidence.
As for your other comment, what would you do if you were kidnapped and ordered to give away a secret you had only just learned to a guy who can easily rip you in half with giant claws? Pinkie isn't some hardened warrior with resistance to mind games or torture, she's a baker who likes to make people smile. That's about it. Remember, Applejack broke a Pinkie Promise too, and the most she got was a slap on the proverbial wrist, and she apologized about it and Pinkie said that was okay, just don't do it again.
In this one, Pinkie broke her promise under threat of death and she was on the verge of tears in doing so. I don't think she's that out-of-character here. Besides, she only off-handedly mentioned the map, thinking that she had knocked into a pony, who would've just passed it off as "Pinkie being Pinkie". It's only until after she realized who she was talking to that she knew she messed up.
And as for Scroop, well, he had a gun to Pinkie's head. Even if Celestia or one of the Unicorns were to zap him with magic, he'd still have enough time to fire. Having fired a weapon myself, I can assure you, it's much faster than a bolt of magic in the show, which takes a considerably longer amount of time to travel. Scroop had everything to gain and nothing to lose, and when he walked away, he still had Pinkie at gunpoint. And have you seen him run? He can dodge magic/plasma bolts quite easily, as seen by his nimbleness in the movie.
All that being said, I'll admit that writing Pinkie isn't exactly my strong suit, so I'll work on making her characterization a little better in future chapters. I do have a plan for her throughout the story.
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I agree, Equestria has more valuable stuff than they know what to do with them. Dragon even eat half the stuff!