Chapter 17: Return
Twenty eight hours...
Twenty eight hours of sitting in one seat, unmoving. It was hell. She knew a sleep spell that would knock her out for a predetermined amount of time, but she didn’t know how long it would take when she took off. She couldn’t force sleep, she couldn’t move around, if not for her datapad she would have gone completely nuts. Thankfully though, she was able to get some sleep. Unfortunately, her sleep was interrupted by the arrival alert.
“Destination approaching” Came the computer's voice, “Arrival in two minutes. Please prepare for deceleration.”
“Alright, Alri~ight” Twilight said between a yawn, “Thank Celestia. Now I know why Rainbow hates hospitals so much.”
Twilight prepared to open a com channel to the White Wolf the moment she arrived. If entering FTL space felt like being turned into spaghetti, coming out of it was like being made into pizza. Debby once told her what could happen if the inertial dampeners failed. The thought made her shudder. Even the ship seemed to shudder from the gory image, or maybe it was the Dratali fighter that exploded nearby...
“Uh...” Twilight’s half asleep mind tried to catch up with what was going on.
“Oh shit!” The battle raging before her finally registered. The White Wolf was under attack by three Dratali warships. It looked like the battle had been underway for some time based on the wreckage of a fourth enemy ship. Working fast, Twilight disconnected the sled and opened the comm.
“White Wolf, this is Second Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle. I just arrived from FTL flight. What's going on?”
“Twilight?” Admiral Gibson's voice came over her earpiece, “What the hell are you doing here? You should be training!”
“It's a long story, sir,” Twilight replied, “And I think there's more pressing matters.”
“I'll expect a report when you get back. Right now link up with Firefly and Sonic.” Gibson ordered, “Mongoose, Fool, Hammer, watch her back.”
“Copy that, sir,” Seth's voice was like music, “Welcome back, Twilight.”
“Yeah, we missed you, Pony Girl.” added Debby.
“Good to hear your voice, Mongoose, Firefly.” Twilight never actually used their call signs before. It felt kinda weird.
Twilight put the Ax in tactical mode; the canopy lit up with targeting data, friendly positions, enemy positions, and various other pieces of information. The hum of the particle cannons, and the shimmer of the shields assured her that she was ready. She gunned the engines and headed directly for Debby and Aden. A red warning light came to life. She was being targeted.
“Oh-goddess-oh-goddess-oh-goddess!” Twilight began to panic, “Someone help!”
“I have him,” Raak's voice came over the comm.
A flash of light erupted behind Twilight and the alert light was dormant once again.
“It's alright, Twilight,” Raak tried to relax the unicorn, “You have all the skills needed. Just breathe, relax, and trust your instincts.”
“Right,” Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming her nerves. She took the controls in her magic and scanned the information displayed. They were vastly outnumbered, leaving few ways to get to her wingmates. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she locked on to the nearest enemy fighter. Her magical 'finger' was ready at the trigger. The moment she was in range, she fired. The bolts struck the Dratali fighter, causing it to bloom into a beautiful flower of fiery death. It made Twilight sick to her stomach. The first time, she didn't even know what was happening until it did. The second time, she just reacted to seeing what happened to those kids. This, though, was different, premeditated. These Dratali were only threatening people who could defend themselves, not helpless civilians. She didn't really know why that made it so bad, but it did. Despite her misgivings, she pressed on and destroyed three more before finally finding herself just behind and to the left of Debby.
“You ready, Pony Girl?” Debby asked excitedly.
“Y-yeah, still a little nervous, but I'm good,” responded the mare.
The three of them waded through the enemy space craft. Their main focus was taking out the enemy bombers, while Mongoose protected their own. Another one of the enemy ships was badly damaged. Fires and explosions could be seen across. After shooting down another two fighters, Twilight watched as two of their bombers unloaded their deadly payload at the dying vessel. Something vital was hit, as a massive series of explosions ripped the warship to pieces.
“That's another down,” Admiral Gibson said over the comm, “Two more to go. Keep up the pace.”
No sooner did he say that did the shields on the ship the White Wolf was focusing on flash and disappear. The White Wolf slowly turned to aim its main cannons, two massive Mass Driver weapons, at the defenseless machine. Dual soundless shockwaves erupted from the cannons as the two massive warheads rocketed out. They buried themselves deep within the superstructure before detonating and destroying their target.
“One more,” said a voice Twilight didn't know, “Don't let up!”
A flashing blue light alerted Twilight to a new contact.
“Alert, alert! Incoming Dratali Phoenix class battleship!” said another voice, one Twilight recognized as a comms officer she had spoken with on occasion, “All fighter squads proceed with caution.”
Twilight recalled that the Phoenix class was a capital ship noted as having large hangar bays for combat spacecraft. Though that wasn't the most dangerous feature they possessed. They almost always had at least one Hellfire fighter, a modified fighter craft for adept pilots. They have systems meant to channel magic energy throughout the ship and project it outward. Unfortunately for Twilight, This one had two, and one of them set its sights on her. If not for her ability to sense magic, her journey would have ended right then and there. The unicorn pilot pushed the throttle to its max. She couldn't escape it. She could feel the connection of the tracking spell latched to her ship. Thinking as fast as she could, she activated the ejection sequence. The two halves of her custom fitting helmet enclosed her head, creating an airtight seal. Instead of waiting for the ejection, she teleported. It was a good thing she did as the chair was engulfed in flames before it even left the doomed craft.
“Twilight? Are you okay? Answer me?” Debby was calling frantically.
“I'm alright,” Twilight answered. An idea popped in her head. It was crazy, so crazy it just might work, “Firefly, I'm hitching a ride.” Before Debby could respond, Twilight flashed onto the back of her fighter and locked herself on with an ice spell. “The helmet's thin enough that I can cast spells through it. Now let's go take out those Hellfires.”
“You're crazy, Pony Girl. I like that,” Debby chuckled, “Let's kick some ass.”
As they approached the one that shot down Twilight, her horn flashed and a lavender bubble appeared around the fighter. A pair of magical bolts hurtled toward them only to be deflected harmlessly off the orb. It pulled away moments before impacting the shield itself only to have its undercarriage peppered by four magic bolts. They weren't powerful enough to destroy it, but they left some severe damage. The enemy turned tail and tried to retreat back to the ship, but found itself trapped in Twilight's magical grip. Debby lined up the easy shot and let off three volleys from the particle cannons. The first two impacted the shields, but the third breached and reduced the mage and his fighter to scrap.
“Nice work up there, Twi,” Debby said, “Think you can keep that up?”
“I can do this all day,” Twilight replied.
“Then hold on tight, we have one more little lizard to fry, ” Debby said with glee, “Sonic, link up with Vector and his team. Their getting hammered and need the backup.”
“Yes ma'am,” Aden responded.
Debby battled her way to the other adept fighter and engaged. This one noticed what happened to his comrade and was being much more cautious. He didn't charge at them, but stayed at a small distance.
“Damn, he's being a pain in the ass,” Debby muttered.
The Dratali adept dodged or deflected everything Debby threw at her. Twilight's magic didn't have the aid of a targeting computer, so her shots were far from accurate. His shots, however, were punishing Twilight's mana reserves. Every hit on her shield drained more and more of her energy. Another idea formed, and she dropped the shield.
“Twilight? What's wrong?” Debby asked.
“Nothing,” she replied, “That shield's too taxing to keep up. If I try, it'll drain my magic reserves and we'll be defenseless. I have another plan.”
In a flash, Twilight teleported from the back of Debby's fighter. She reappeared on the nose of the Dratali fighter. She could see the shock fear in the adept's eyes and hesitated. The enemy mage took the opportunity quickly weave a spell, but Twilight's training wasn't in vain. She forced out a storm of small magic bolts that tore through the cockpit and pilot. Her job done, she returned to her perch on Debby's fighter.
“That was awesome!” Debby cheered.
“Thanks, but what are we going to do about that?” Twilight nodded toward the massive Dratali warship currently duking it out with the White Wolf. At some point during the fight the last of the smaller ships was destroyed.
“Let the White Wolf handle it. We’re not... oh, shit.” Worry seeped into Debby's voice when the Massive Allied vessel's shields flashed and fell, “It took too much from the cruisers!”
Twilight watched as the Capital Ship began to turn it's mass driver on them. Twilight's mind raced, trying to think of something. The mass drivers used by the Dratali were stolen tech. That meant they were identical to the Alliance version. Schematics, studies, and reports flew through her head until...
“Fly in front of it!” Twilight said, “Don't ask, just trust me!”
Debby did as Twilight asked, flying toward the massive ship. Twilight snagged a small piece of debris as they flew and poured her magic into it until a distinct pattern emerged. Has-Ka told her it was harder to use an unprepared canvas, but it wasn't enough to deter her. She placed the rune on the vessel and froze it in place.
“I put a teleport rune on your ship. When I teleport away, get that in the hangar as fast as you can,” Twilight instructed.
The teleport rune was one of many new spells in her arsenal. It's the same one the Dratali use to launch their raids. They're placed on unsuspecting stations by non-Dratali and then adepts lock on and flash soldiers in. Now Twilight was going to use it against its creators.
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Debby tried to get an answer, but Twilight already flashed right into the barrel of the enemy mass driver, “God damn it, Twilight! You better not get yourself killed.”
Debby let out a few more curses directed at the lavender unicorn as she turned and gunned it toward the safety of the hanger. Twilight ran as fast as she could. Being within the containment barrier of the ship meant there was gravity, making the way a little easier. The whole way down, she charged the biggest bolt she could. The vast amount of raw magic energy was painful. The truth was, she wasn't entirely sure she would have enough energy after this to teleport back, and she still hadn't figured out how to pull in magic like the Dratali do. Twilight knew she might not survive this, but if it meant saving the thousands of souls on the White Wolf, it would be worth it.
Twilight came to a stop about two-thirds the way down. She was going to have to wait until the moment the cannon fires or else the warhead wouldn't be active and it wouldn't detonate. She only waited about one second before the fur on her neck stood on end. She released the build up magic down the tube, shattering her helmet. It slammed into the warhead and erupted in a massive ball of fire. Twilight quickly summoned every ounce she had as her unprotected face felt the immense heat. She cast the teleport spell just as the first tongue of fire reached her. Her world spun and twisted as she was pulled through space to the rune. Everything stopped in an instant.
“Oh my god, Twilight!” said a red headed blur.
Twilight's vision swirled and spun. Before her and consciousness parted ways she managed to say, “Spike, take a letter...”
Stats
Page generated in 0.037 seconds
Total duration
1,073 users online
1,868,131 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Blowing up aliens...LIKE A BAWS! Seriously, Master Chief himself would wipe tears of joy from his shiny visor after seeing such an insane bout of suicidal heroism.
WittleTwily learned some new tricks. AND DESTEOYED A BATTLESHIP!!!!!! like it was a annoying bug
EPIC!!!!
1909046 Nooooo.... He'd be emotionlessly offering her, her own personal set of Mjolnir armor.
*yay*
Awesome story so far! I'm really enjoying it.
Damn girl, you crazy
"spike take a letter" becusei jsut beat the crap out of some aliens bastards!
This is very entertaining to read, thank you truly and utterly for making this.
Gentle breeze guide you home, a warm smile to welcome you home.
Nice, I feel like playing an old PS2 game now. Guess right, win a moustache and maybe a cookie
Ahem:
"Peow! Peow! Pow pow pow pow pow! Peow!"
Full stop.
1909046
i must disagree, the ordo xenos would be giving twilight sanctified thunder hammers before master chief ever had a chance to find her.
1909196 Provided that they dont purge her first for beeing an immensly powerfull psykic xeno.
1909265 You mean try to purge her. Cause Twilie will tear them to pieces.
WOW that just crazy right there off the bat.
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6934045952/h6BBB0FF8/
The rest of this story. I AM ON MY SEAT!
Well Twilight just destroyed a Capital Ship... How are you going to top this?
1909365 You obviously don't know me very well
Wait, you realize that a Mass Driver is basically a giant Railgun? The entire barrel is lined with super-charged magnets that launchs projectiles at incredibly high velocities through linear induction.
-Twilight would probably be incinerated inside the barrel as the cannon charges for a shot
-The reaction time for Twilight to destroy the warhead and simultaneously teleport is insanely tiny, like literally zero. She would have to be supernatural to have such reflexes (then again, she probably is).
Just some stuff that I question. But the story is good, keep it up
I would agree about the Mass Driver thing, I did help edit it after all, but then again we're talking about dog fighting in SPACE. There's almost no point in nit picking the minor details.
1909403 The best part of science fiction in the fiction part. You can play with physics a bit and people usually don't really care (Star Trek anyone). It's the reason it's so fun to write. Although I guess she does have to be supernatural or mythical or something, like a unicorn...
Wait a minute...
God, I wish I could write this well...
1909485 Practice and you'll do better eventually. The first story I ever wrote was garbage. I kept it only as a reminder of where I started, and no I'm not going to post it or anything. That would be criminal.
1909098 hell, he would talk halsey into making it.
1909500Wynaut? We could see how far you've come and how not to make those mistakes.
1909513 Good point. Still, after a few tests for magic, a personal recomendation from the Chief, and one look in those too-freaking-adorable-it-should-be-weaponized eyes, I think she'd be waking up one day with a case of the suit for herself.
1909526 Remember, Halsey can be heartless when she wants to!
1909279
twilie may be damn powerful, but she is no match for a sanctioned imperial psyker
1909533 You really think even the most heartless person in the world is going to be able to resist this?
cdn.derpiboo.ru/thumbs/1300/700/4f1dbb0d945b702cac000001
1909543 i can -barely- so the most heartless person in the universe should with ease.
1909563 I think there are hidden pathways into those spaces that are supposed to hold their hearts. The cute wittle sciwintist Twilight might be able to find one of those paths.
I love this!
1909464
firefly and sonic....i see what you did there
1909584 Oh really? and what's that?
1909596 Sonic the Hedgehog probably, personally, I prefer you replacing Sonic with Serenity, then it'd be Firefly and Serenity
1909568 yeah, it's called a really sharp knife or other object that has a very sharp wedge incline, plus chest area.
Badass Twilight for the win!
1909596
like someone pointed out just now, sonic the hedgehog and Gen1 pegasus named Firefly aka RD protype in the early stage of FiM
1909464 lol true :P
It's just a little thing that bothers me, but as long as the story is awesome, which it is
1909279
Oh, well indeed!
First they will try to purge her, and fail miserably.
Then they will see how she rips apart chaos, ork, tyrannid, necron and dark eldar forces alike they will invite her to the Deathwatch.
Then in the final battle of Terra, where mankind will have its last stand against all evil, she will be the one to rush to the imperial palace, save the Emperor from Horus' strike and quick-fix the golden throne causing the Emperors final ascension to godhood who will then purge the galaxy of the unclean with a single strike of his mighty fist.
And then, when the dust has finally settled, he will send home a bio-augmented, more-implants-then-living-tissue, battleworn, psycological nerv wreck that was once a unicorn pony.
I hope I havent exaggerated this a bit to much.
One tiny thing I noticed:
First of all, it's a little ambiguous. Both ships are massive. Maybe change it to "flying toward the enemy's massive ship" or "flying toward the massive Dratali warship"
Second, it wasn't very clear which ship she placed the rune on. I honestly thought she had attached it to the Dratali ship, right up until she teleported.
Essentially, you have three ships in this scene, but only ever use words like "ship" and "vessel". Adjectives would be appreciated.
As for the rest of the chapter...
Holy fuck! That was badass, awesome, and even radical! Twilight really tears shit up when she sets her mind to it.
Loved it.
1909757 Wow
What. I'm sorry if I get something wrong here, but didn't this take place in space? Cuz I'm pretty sure that teleporting out of a speeding spacecraft in SPACE would be a bit lethal.
As in dramatic decompression of bodily fluids.
Even in atmosphere it would have been pretty much lethal.
As in spontaneous combustion from friction.
Although that rule might not apply here...
Woh, Twilight just wrecked an entire Battleship, she had better get a medal.
Trust your feelings Twilight.
If I were a military leader for the Human+ alliance, I'd use this newly gain asset to my advantage. Launch a blitzkrieg campaign to destroy as many Dratali spacecrafts as possible focusing primarily on battleships and battlecruisers. Furthermore I would plan to seize control of any spacedock/ craft building site building platform possible and either destroy it or capture and secure it. Could we get a general sense of the galactic map?
King Radical would be proud of you, Twilight.
This story continues to impress.
Teleporting a whole cruiser. BADASS!
Why didn't she complete her training? It would've been useful.
1910176 she has a flight suit on and sealed air-tight, so no explosive decompression.
1910392 the type of railgun round could be an armor piercing nuclear warhead using the kinetic energy from the impact of the railgun round to ignite a nuclear blast. though this is just a theory of a fan of the very good story written here.
Wait till she tries to pull the magic from her surroundings in Equestria...
1910462
Sorry to rain on your parade here, but she only teleported herself.
And she completed the training. She's just being Twilight Sparkle and finishing a half-year long training in two months.
1910745
Hopefully Dratali will not try this first...
1910812 Suddenly Dratalicorns!
1910885
GOODNESS, NO!
Oh... too loud?
So let me get this straight...
She still has not learned to draw magic from her suroundings so she achieved ALL THIS with her own magical energy?
Damn she is strong. e621.net/data/sample/8b/26/8b26cd9582e4b3f4bea587f1de0350f1.jpg?1348116847
Put a scythe in her hooves and she is Death incarnate... e621.net/data/4a/8a/4a8a41853bb908211d55ff36c32c70a3.gif?1355885534
Or give her one of these baddies ^^
e621.net/data/sample/44/4f/444ff4979f64e8c843cfcfef081541d8.jpg?1338706404
Overall: Great chapter. Twilight's Callsign should be Bad Flank then?
