> My Little Pony: Event Horizons
>  by IGAF-kun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue - Falling From Heaven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



My Little Pony: Event Horizons





Prologue - Falling From Heaven



Princess Luna nickered excitedly as she trotted towards the tower of the sun. She moved through the castle without a thought about her destination, allowing her hooves and senses to guide her around every corner. Her ethereal mane fluttered more aggressively than normal and she could feel excess energy literally scorching the smooth stone floor with every clack of her hooves. 

Tiny arcs of lightning darted across her back and wings, ruffling her feathers and generating a quiet but noticeable crackling sound that echoed through the halls. Every pore of her body, from the beat of her heart to the tip of her horn pulsed with the steady thrum of harmony. Even her Earth Pony magic, as subtle as it could be, had ascended into the visible realm, flooding her muscles and tendons to the point that it leaked out of her body as a sparkling blue haze around her, creating a profile more akin to a spectre than a flesh and blood pony. It had been a long time since she had felt this charged. Not since before her descent into Nightmare Moon had she felt her powers so viscerally.

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply as she basked in the sensation. It was a strange comfort, she thought. Almost as though Faust herself had reached out and remade her from the inside out. For the first time in a millennia, she felt... whole. 

Had she not been focusing on her euphoria and had been paying attention to the blind corner she just took, she probably wouldn't have bowled over her niece.

Cadence staggered several steps to the side with a loud yelp, nearly knocking over a flower vase atop a small ornate pillar. The avatar of love shook her head for a moment, her senses overwhelmed from the impact and a heavy saturation of residual magic in the air. "I'm so sorry I didn't see you there. I'm looking for the princesses, have you seen th-AHYEEEEEEEEEEAWA!!!" *fwap* Her apology devolved into a long winded shriek of terror as she came face to face with a living wraith in blue mist.

Luna regarded her niece flatly.

With a resigned sigh, she clamped down on her errant magic, forcing it deep into her reserves. The electric display ceased almost immediately and the miasma slowly dispersed revealing the alicorn form beneath.

"Auntie Luna!" Cadence exclaimed, wings still open defensively as she attempted to regain her breathing to a more manageable level. "You scared the life out of me!"

"Indeed." Luna said, and resumed her trot, not breaking her stride for even a moment. "I was informed by the castle guard you had already departed for the Crystal Empire."

Cadence flushed deeply and folded her wings with a flutter. "By the Sun and Moon I am so sorry! I didn't recognize you for a moment there." 

"I am well aware."

Cadence, realizing she was being left behind, cantered up to match pace with her elder. "I, uh -- got an invitation from Auntie Celestia before Shiny and I boarded the train." She trailed off before asking hesitantly. "Mind if I join you for a moment?"

Luna's eyes narrowed imperceptibly, but she motioned with a head nod to follow. "We would be honored for you to join us."

The two walked side by side with only the sound of their hoofsteps echoing quietly through the halls. Her face a hard line, Luna ignored her company and kept her focus on maintaining control. 

Cadence's head and ears drooped slightly, the silence putting her on edge. She was certain she had felt her aunt's exuberance just a few moments prior to their collision. Now all she could feel was annoyance and mild frustration creating a tension between the two that could be cut with a knife. She began to regret asking to come along. After a few more minutes, she couldn't take the stillness any longer and spoke up. "I didn't mean to scream in your face like that." She said quietly, glancing away.

"Not to worry. All is forgiven." Despite her statement to the contrary, Luna made no further effort for conversation, causing the statement to permeate in the air. 

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Soooo...." Cadence almost drawled in an attempt to not sound desperate for conversation, "I noticed that we're heading towards Auntie Celestia's tower. Is something wrong with yours?"

Luna's lips twitched upward slightly. "You are keenly observant. Tonight's moonrise will take place at the solar Observatory. Due to recent events, the wards in my Chambers are no longer strong enough to deal with the backlash."

The pink alicorn silently cheered at her success before her eyebrows furrowed in thought after processing the response. "I didn't know the wards could be damaged by Twilight and her friends from so far away. I know it was a powerful blast, but its epicenter was just outside of Ponyville."

The twitch developed into a smirk. "It is not the protection spells on the tower that have changed."

Cadence paused mid-step for a moment, one foreleg still in the air as her eyes widened slightly. "Oh... So you too?" she said somewhat dejectedly. "I didn't really get much of a boost."

Luna glanced at her niece, a pang of guilt lancing through her at the sight of the somewhat deflated looking pony. "Do not feel ashamed." She said reassuringly, turning away. "Your lack of physical power comes not from any inadequacy on your part, but from the fact that your special talent itself is a physically weak ability." She paused as she processed her own words. "That... came out wrong."

To her relief, Cadence simply chuckled good-naturedly, smiling gently. "I know what you meant." She returned to her auntie's side and leaned against her affectionately. "I don't exactly need the power to level a mountain in order to nurture love." her expression shifted and became somewhat wily, "Besides, out of the three of us, you're the one with the title 'Warrior Princess'. So I guess it makes sense."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "And where did you learn of this?"

"Auntie Celestia." came the terse reply.

Luna couldn't help but chuckle herself. "Yes, while that may be true, it was a long time ago. From an age that has long since passed by the wayside." She took a deep breath and sighed while looking upward at nothing in particular. "The olde days of battle for survival are few and far between, as they should be. Similarly, the many wonderful days we now spend with friends and family were once as rare and precious as the most coveted of riches."

"Sounds like you miss those days a little." Cadence said.

"Perhaps."

"But you know," Cadence reassured her, "this could be a great opportunity to talk to Twilight about what happened and see how she's doing. She is, after all, the closest thing Equestria has to a Warrior Princess in modern times." 

Her words struck a chord with Luna. Her eyes widened in realization and the excitement she had been holding back began leaking through her mask. "It has been over a thousand years since we have last spoken to anyone about the thrill of combat... It's not often that we get to trade war stories with a true veteran of such high caliber."

The blue Alicorn suddenly let out a loud "Aha!" causing her niece to yelp from a combination of her sudden declaration and a somewhat significant discharge of magic zapping her side at their point of contact.

The said bolt of lightning traveled up her body and departed her crown with a crack, blasting a small hole in the ceiling, leaving behind a frazzled mane of pink and yellow sticking out in all directions.

Luna continued oblivious, "Shall I tell her of the battle against the windigo’s and their incarceration in the Frozen North? No, too simple. Mayhaps the war against Sombra and his brainwashed army? She had confronted him at the Crystal Empire before, but did not lay siege to the castle such as we." She paused as a brilliant thought came to mind. "Of course! she had fought Tirek in a retaliatory but head on method in much a similar fashion as we! Dear niece you are a fountain of knowledge!"

Cadence replied with a quiet whimper and a cough of blue smoke. "... That's not quite what I meant-"

"Good evening your Majesty's."

The beep baritone of the head of two Solar guards, one unicorn and one earth pony, bowing in greeting brought their attention back to their surroundings. "Princess Luna," The large earth pony continued as the pair rose to their hooves. "The---" he paused for a moment his eyes met the two and took in the smaller alicorn's appearance. "---uh... the observatory has been prepared for the moonrise. All enchantments are in place and Princess Celestia is waiting inside." 

The pair glanced up at the golden arch of the tower entrance before them. It had appeared they had finally reached their destination. 

Princess Luna flared her wings in approval, pelting the Soldiers in a quick but heavy gust of wind, sliding them back a few paces. "Thank you, dear guards. When we depart, please accompany us to the throne room in preparation for the night's festivities." 

"O-of course, your highness." The Unicorn replied, both bowing again, their helmets slightly kilter from the gust.

Luna turned to her niece, who was still rubbing the tiny scorch mark on her right side and attempting to reign in her mane. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

Cadence jumped and turned slightly to obscure the mark. "Oh, uh-- I'm fine! Totally fine!" She said with a somewhat nervous giggle.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Shall we continue?"

The emotions of the princess of the night washed over Cadence like a wave and her heart skipped a beat at the intensity. It was similar to the feelings she herself felt when her duties would keep her from spending a quiet moment with Shining or Twilight. She closed her eyes before simpering and waving a hoof in front of her dismissively, "I wouldn't want to intrude. Thank you. I'm just happy that I was able to talk to you before the party. You know how these celebrations usually go. Please let Auntie Celestia know that I will see her at the dining hall."

Luna beamed with sincere gratitude as she folded her wings and gave her niece a quick nuzzle. She then nodded to the guards and the unicorn's horn lit up in a teal aura. The doors behind them began to glow in a similar manner and slowly creaked open. The princess of the night resumed her trot, not noticing her shoes momentarily sticking in place with a 'tcht'.

- - - - - -

"Good evening sister," Luna said cheerily upon entering, her trot becoming much more prancy after the doors closed. The mare in question looked up from her musings from the center of the room. A small scroll floated in front of her muzzle, a bright golden aura surrounding it. Upon hearing the greeting, Celestia's eyes shifted to her counterpart, and her expression from contemplative to delighted. She gently rolled the paper and tucked it away on the desk in the far corner. 

Luna trotted over to the larger white mare and draped her head over her sister's neck in a hug. Celestia returned the hug and added a wing for good measure. "And good morning to you," she said warmly. The pair held the hug for several moments longer than necessary, but neither seemed eager to separate.

When they did, Luna took a deep breath and flexed her magic. Flames of blue erupted to life around her and the walls of the room lit up in fiery golden runes, the air shimmering as though everything was underwater. Despite the close proximity, Celestia's mane continued to flow lazily in a direction contrary to the output of her little sister. The magical wards that were put in place, however, creaked and groaned under the strain, but they did not falter. Luna arched her back --not unlike a cat-- and stretched her wings, the tips shuddering from her exertion. "Urohhgh. That hits the spot." She said as she allowed the energy to dissipate.

Unable to hide the laughter in her voice, Celestia circled around her sister, falling back into old traditions long forgotten by the modern pony, nipping her affectionately behind the ear as the two begin to slowly walk towards the balcony side by side. "You seem energetic." She said, her voice jingling with amusement.

"As is everypony in the Kingdom. And for good reason." Luna returned the nip in kind. "The rebound effect from Tirek's assault has empowered everypony in Equestria far more then we ever could have imagined. Though it is no small surprise, with Tirek’s assault and Discord’s betrayal off balancing the world's magic such as they had done."

She gave her sister a sidelong glance. "Then again, t'would not be surprising if you did see this outcome in one of your visions."

"You give me too much credit. You know better than anypony that I only see into an ocean of possibilities." Celestia's serine smile never changed, "But in light of this event it might be prudent to inform our citizens that they may be a little overcharged over the next few moons. I recently received a letter from Twilight informing me that Applejack's little sister nearly uprooted a tree while working the field today."

“I concur.” Luna nodded. "I would also recommend that we declare a day of celebration throughout the kingdom for the Elements' latest victory. It is not often that one survives an encounter with the Lord of Darkness, let alone a direct confrontation."

"Our newest princess is certainly full of surprises." Celestia agreed.

"Which reminds me, I encountered young Cadence on my journey here." Luna began, eyeing her somewhat suspiciously, "She seems to have been made privy to a certain title of mine to which she claims came from you."

"Oh? And what title would that be?" Celestia asked.

"Warrior Princess." Luna replied. "Which I believe is a far too simplified interpretation of the name bestowed by the Old Ones during the first war. The Blood Splattered Immortal."

Celestia humorously rested her head atop her sister's. "What can I say? It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to brag about your accomplishments."

Luna gave a snort of mock irritation and shook her head to dislodge her sister. "And did you mention to her any of your accomplishments oh great Flame of Annihilation? And how in-depth did you delve into your story? Should I be worried?"

"No more in depth than normal. Besides, you were the topic of conversation, not me. Cadence was desperate to find a way to connect with you after your return and didn't know where to begin." Celestia paused a moment and raised her hoof to her muzzle in thought, smoothly redirecting the conversation to a less --sensitive-- subject. "Which, begs the question; Where is Cadence? I invited her to join us for sunset."

"She has decided to meet us in the Great Hall. Perhaps she wishes to see Twilight before the feast takes place. Once the celebration begins, it is unlikely she will have much time to spend with her once the guests arrive."

"True. And Twilight would appreciate the support. She still hasn't quite gotten used to being a savior of Equestria, let alone one of its princesses. I don't believe she would be comfortable being fawned over again without somepony to back her. You remember the celebration after Discord's second Sealing?"

Luna let out a single haughty laugh. "Let the nobles come! Their pathetic courting rituals to young Twilight amuse me." She glanced at her sister. "Please don't tell her I said that."

Celestia merely chuckled in response.

The moment both alicorns stepped on to the balcony Celestia immediately set to work by grasping the ethereal ley-lines that connected her to the sun in a firm magical grip. The massive tethers visible only to gods snapped taut, and what could constitute only as a heavy growl reverberated through the connection. While her visage never changed, her horn pulsed in raw power sending bolts of pure arcane energy rippling across her body shooting out in every direction. 

The tower wards flared to life again, attracting the errant magic like a lightning rod, breaking down the magic at its base level, allowing each bolt to dissipate harmlessly into the air. The sun eventually gave up and slowly drifted below the horizon with no fanfare. Just a single light fading beneath the landscape, darkening the sky to a lackluster black. 

"Such a brute." Luna tisked as Celestia finished, stepping forward and establishing her own connection to the currently out of sight moon, allowing its full 'weight' to settle on her 'shoulders'. "It is no wonder the sun always tries to wiggle its way out of your grip." The air grew cold and heavy around the balcony and her starry mane expanded outward, flickering wildly like a flag in a windstorm. "It takes a more delicate touch to coax out the night." Luna closed her eyes and relaxed, almost releasing her 'grip' entirely in the process, even going so far as to pull a sizable portion of the residual magic away from its base before releasing it like a rubber band. 

If Celestia's session was akin to a heavy pull, Luna's could only be described as a hearty slap. A few moments later, the blue-white of Luna's charge rose into the sky, a visible ripple of energy flowing across the surface from bottom to top. She released her hold with a flourish. "And voila! With nothing more than a lover's caress."

"You caress like a battering ram. Keep doing that and you'll flatten the bottom." Celestia chided as she stepped back into the observatory, playfully bumping her flank against her sister's on the way. "And the Sun doesn't 'wiggle'. It's simply stubborn, which is probably one reason why you two don't get along."

Luna harrumphed, her head raised haughtily in the air, "Jealousy will get you nowhere."

"You also set the floor on fire."

"Indeed I di-wait what?" Luna glanced down. "Well... that's new." She said smartly, stepping backwards out of the small pools of molten rock with a 'tcht'. "I take it the wards didn't cover the ground?"

Celestia grabbed a nearby vase in her magic, removed the flowers and poured the remaining contents on the floor. The water hissed upon contact, quickly cooling the rock to an uneven charred mess. "Not not quite to the extent of the balcony." She quipped, stating the obvious.

Luna meanwhile was inspecting her shoes for damage. "I certainly hope that didn't happen anywhere else."

---

Cadence and the two guards continued staring at the place the lunar diarch once stood. For a full two minutes nothing was heard except for the quiet crackling of the four small fires burning merrily on the floor in front of them where the Princess of the Night once stood. Finally, the Earth Pony guard spoke up. "So... You going to put that out?" He asked his horned companion.

"In a minute. It doesn't seem to be spreading." Came the terse reply. 

He gave his colleague a half-lidded glare, "Is your pyromania setting in again?

"What? I've never seen marble burn before."

Cadence simply shook her head in disbelief.

---

"I doubt it." Celestia said. "Oh and don't forget the stars. Feel free to finish at anytime. Just don't burn down the tower."

Luna eloquently blew her sister a raspberry before both alicorns erupted into foalish laughter. The telltale jingle of magic later and a multitude of pinpricks of light began to decorate the sky. Luna sighed. "We haven't had banter like that in ages."

"Over five thousand seasons I believe." Celestia replied. "Not since we shared a single observatory. If-- you're not opposed to the idea, I would love to continue these--"

An icy cold feeling swept across the two and a pulse of blue and gold magic involuntarily flared to life on their respective horns. It took a millennia of discipline to keep Luna from releasing a massive shudder. A slight widening of her eyes and tensing of her jaw were the only indicators that something was wrong. 

A glance at her sister showed that she was faring no better. A dead calm had settled on Celestia's face. She was looking up at the sky towards one of the brighter stars closest to the moon. "Something has arrived." She said.

Luna settled alongside her sister mirroring her expression. "Another of them I presume?"

Celestia shook her head, "I'm not certain. The feeling is distorted. Almost like an echo. They might be too close to the moon for me to see." 

"Then leave it to me." Needing no more encouragement, Luna set to work. She closed her eyes and opened her senses, tapping deep into her connection with her namesake. Immediately her mind lit up with screams and voices in a language she'd never heard before.

---

"--It's no good! The engines are trashed, and even if they were, power is at 2% efficiency! Escape pods are offline and I can't--

"-- God. Doc P you've got to get out of there!The hull's about to breach in cabin 2! We gotta evac--!"

"-- let us secure the data! We can't lose this information! The human race needs to know--!"

"Are you crazy! This ain't worth yer life!"

"Get out of there now! It's gonna--!"

A massive explosion ripped through the area and the voices devolved into a cacophony of screams before being drowned out by a raging wind. Eventually that wind calmed and all that was left was the silence of the void.
---

She forcibly severed her connection with a frantic gasp, a wave of nausea nearly overtaking her. Her legs buckled beneath her, and would have collapsed to the ground if it weren't for her sister catching her tightly in a panicked embrace. "It's okay." Celestia consoled her while running a wing across her back. "Just breathe. Deep breaths."

Luna' s breaths came forcefully as she stared straight ahead over her sister's shoulder at nothing in particular. She inhaled deeply through her nose and closed her eyes, finding comfort in her sister's heartbeat. "I'm alright." She said finally. "I was not expecting to touch them as they died..." She slowly pulled herself from Celestia while looking skyward. "Do not worry, I was able to separate myself from them without any issue. There were just so many. It overwhelmed me for a moment." She opened her wings partway, allowing the pellicle of magic that surrounded each wing to reach the visible plane in a white blue aura. Then with a quick flutter, she shed the energy, allowing it to flake off in a sparkling snowfall of pure energy. "See?"

The display did little to ease the cold pit in Celestia's breast. She opened her mouth to inquire further, but hesitated. "What did you see?" She asked finally, eyeing her sister with concern.

"I saw... A cry for help." Luna started slowly but began rambling at a quicker pace. "This vessel is much larger than the one before. With many more inside... Sister we must do something! I can feel it spiraling towards the moon. Like a wounded Pegasus struck down in a storm."

"Can you slow it down?" 

"From here?" Luna looked at the white mare doubtfully. "Is that wise?"

"At this moment, our options are limited."

"I... will try." Luna closed her eyes and tentatively skimmed her magic across the skies for the source. It took a few minutes, with each moment that passed bringing further tension to her mind. Finally, relief flooded her veins as she located the object and clamped down, halting its rotation only to feel a section crumple like a fragile bird's nest under the strain. She quickly released it a moment later. "By the Stars, it's a fragile thing! It is too far away. I require a much closer proximity!"

Celestia frowned. "Are you sure it's wise? This may be another accident like last time, but it could also be a scout. We don't know enough about them to be certain."

But Luna was undeterred. "At this point it doesn't matter. From what I felt, we are the only ones capable of helping them. As you already know, some of their lives have already slipped away."

Though calm on the outside, the thought of her sister returning to the Moon added a terrible ache to the cold pit in Celestia's heart. One that she had long since believed was healed. The logical side of her mind reasoned that since there was no seal, there was nothing to prevent her from returning safely. But the memory of the past thousand years clawed at her rationale. 

No, she reasoned. She would not subject her sister to return to that which had once been her prison. "Try to keep it aloft as best you can. I will go in your place." She began to focus, but was interrupted by a pair of dark blue hooves wrapping around her neck. She eyed her baby sister curiously.

"Thank you for caring sister." Luna whispered, squeezing briefly before separating and tossing her a wink. And before her sibling could respond, she dissipated into a cloud of purple mist and shot off into the sky.

Celestia found herself standing watch alone under the now imposing moon, rekindling an old habit a thousand years in the making. While it's smooth blue-white surface remained unchanged, her mind's eye saw it very differently.

Even after all this time, she found she still had tears to shed for failing her sister.

----

Commander Michaels struggled against the centrifugal force of the spinning ship, pain shooting through his chest and weakening his already precarious grip as he pulled himself towards the cockpit hatch. Alarms blared throughout the corridor and the lights had long since gone out due to the damage sustained.

Stars rapidly cycled across the canopy from left to right, the view distorted slightly in the middle from a series of massive cracks along the glass. The high-pitched klaxon echoing through the room tore at his ears, nearly drowning out the the digital feminine voice of Varity, the ship's COVAS. "Thusters offline. Hull integrity at 20%. Life support at 10%. Power plant operating at reduced efficiency. Canopy at 15%..."

He panted heavily and his arms trembled from exertion as he slowly pulled himself to the next handhold. "Vincent!" He shouted. "Vincent!" Receiving no response from his co-pilot, he continued his trek to the cockpit. After almost a minute of tortuously slow progression, his left hand finally reached the door frame. Taking a few deep pained breaths, he heaved and threw himself through the entrance--

And was thrown violently to the left, slamming face first into the back panels of the cockpit causing a popping sound that reverberated through his body. He cried out out in agony as both hands grabbed at the right side of his chest where a long metal fragment protruded. The ship continued to spin, pinning him in place. "Vi--ncent!" He called out again, much weaker than before. 

It was getting harder to breathe. 'I think I just punctured my lung.' He thought with ire. 'If that's the case, I've only got 30 minutes. An hour at most.' He swore to himself and through sheer willpower alone pulled himself to a semi upright position and continued to drag himself along.

When he finally reach the pilot seat, he swore again. "Dammit Vincent. Not you too." He begrudgingly released the locks on the seat allowing his copilot's body to be slung away. He then hoisted himself into place, the locks automatically engaging on the back of his RemLok suit as he slammed his fist on to the internal comms button. "CMDR Michaels to All Hands! I need an all call! I say again I need an all call!" He said breathlessly.

A moment later a young man's voice sputtered back. "--This is Klein! Space dive crew is trapped in the cargo hold! We were able to finish securing the cargo hatch door, but I don't know how long it'll last! Currently working on getting out of this death trap and into cabin 3!"

"What's the status of your crew?!"

"Severly injur-*kshhhh*-or dead! Whatever the hell happened turned most of the guys and gals in here into wet smears on the walls!"

Michaels took in a shaky breath. "How many are left?" He coughed.

"I don't know, maybe seven?" A pause. "Yeah, seven!"

Michaels was not typically what type of person to swear like a sailor, but he found himself letting loose a string of expletives that would have made his Navy flight instructor proud. Luckily, the armrests were sturdy enough to take the beating that accompanied it. "Okay..." he said after a moment. "Get the injured to the Escape pods and see if you can get those thrusters back online! There should be a few in the cargo hold."

"*kshhhh*-t's no good! The engines are trashed, and even if they were, power is at 2% efficiency! Escape pods are offline and I can't launch them manually without gett-*kshhhh*-gh this damn door! The few of us that are still capable are trying to get through the cargo door--"

"Commander!" A new voice cut in, her thick Imperial accent a dead giveaway to her identity.

Michaels sighed in relief. "For once it's good to hear from you, Dr Patterson! What's your crew status?!"

"Two scientists *kssshh*-side from myself! Main research lab!"

Before Michael's could respond, Klein gasped. "Oh God. Doc P you've got to get out of there!The hull's about to bre-*kshhhh*-bin 2! We gotta evac to cabin 3 immediately!"

"First let us secure the data! We can't lose this information! The human race needs to know what we found!"

"Are you crazy! This ain't worth yer life!"

A third voice entered the fray, this one not on the comms line. 

"Warning, Cargo hatch malfunction. Warning, Hull breach detected."

Michaels' eyes went wide. "Get out of there now! It's gonna--!"

Two successive explosions rocked the ship, throwing the commander forward slightly and adding a downward tilt to its uncontrolled spin. The rush of wind and screams of his crew echoed along the metal walls before fading out into a steady hum of static. Michaels instinctively latched onto the throttle and joystick. The pain in his chest intensified and he could feel himself beginning to struggle to breathe. "Klein! Dr Patterson! Comms check!"

*stshshshshshttt*

Quickly, He checked the internal comms to see if they were working on his end and tried again. "Klein! Dr P! Do you copy?! Anybody?!"

*kshhstshshshshshttt*

For another minute, he tried in vain to raise anyone onboard with only the sound of static as a response. Eventually he hunched forward, tears streaming across his face to the side of his helmet.

'I guess this is it.' he thought tiredly, a resigned sigh escaping his lips. His head dropped back against against the headrest and his right hand lethargically drifted to the control panel. A few inputs later, the cockpit lights dimmed before disappearing completely. The alarms stopped and the unsteady hum of the crippled vessel faded, leaving an eerie but welcome silence. Michaels closed his eyes and took as deep a breath as he could. 'Not the worst way to go. Could've done without the spinning... and some company would have been nice. At least I'm not flying headfirst into a star or planet.' 

Unbeknownst to him, a dark blue aura began to surround the ship, tinting the view of the stars a cyan hue.

A moment later the ship jolted again, its momentum suddenly slowed drastically and the entire hull began to screech and warp around him as though it was being crushed by an unknown force. "What the hell!?" Michaels shouted. He threw his hands in front of his face as Vincent's form whipped past him and crashed heavily into the canopy, cracking it further. The dark red of his co-pilots flight suit contrasted eerily against the gray backdrop of the rocky surface below.

It was at this moment he realized that whatever hit them not only arrested the ship's rotation, but it was now redirected towards the surface of a rocky planet in a head-on collision.

"Oh come on!"

---

As soon as Luna arrived above the surface of the moon, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. One that was not entirely welcome. Her eyes skimmed the desolate landscape forlornly, with each terrain feature bringing back old memories of when she was less --or maybe more-- herself. 

She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts as unnecessary and brought her attention skyward, hoping to spot the object. Endless black was all that greeted her, illuminated only by the reflected light below. 'Now where did you go little one?' She wondered as she continued searching, spinning left and right, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It quickly became apparent she would require a more... direct approach.

Luna raised her hooves high into the air, stretching her body to a nearly vertical position. 'I must admit,' she thought to herself with no small measure of anticipation, 'I've been itching to do this all day.' 

A moment later, she simply let go.

Her mane flickered almost imperceptibly, before suddenly exploding outward in a massive tidal wave of energy, blasting outwards towards the sky. It's movement alone tore through the surrounding magic field with such force it created a massive vortex that ravaged the surface in a maelstrom of debris without the aid of an atmosphere. Her mane continued its upward ascent until it reached a distance of roughly three times the height of the Canterlot mountain. It then split outwards in all directions as though it struck an invisible ceiling, creating a veil of sorts that stretched out over a good portion of the lunar sky. 

It didn't take long before she located the vessel again. It was a little lower than she was expecting, most likely due to it falling at a speed much faster than the moon could possibly pull. And it was close. Very close. In fact---

It was right on top of her.

The hulking mass tore through her mane like a rock through water, the main body on a direct collision course with her. Under normal circumstances this would be of little concern and she had a variety of counter options available to her. Luna chose the simplest and lazily flapped her wings to glide out of the way.

And instead of gliding to safety, she only succeeded in flailing awkwardly in place. Turns out that flying through the eye of a tornado --whether it was wind or magic-- was not always the best idea. 

Her heart leapt in her barrel and she barely had enough time to redirect her efforts into throwing up a shield. The veil cut an almost 180° turn, shooting back towards its master at more than twice the speed of its ascent. The moment it returned to her, she hastily wrapped herself in a bubble of dark blue. The main body rushed past her, passing closely enough for her to touch, until she collided head-first with the left of two fins on the top of the vessel. 

While the shield held without any difficulty, she was effectively struck with the weight of a full-grown dragon moving at twice the speed of sound, causing her to rebound off the metal protrusion in an out-of-control spiral.

Luna shook her head as she eventually righted herself with a flap of her wings against the frazzled magical currents, more than a little dizzy. Her horn throbbed from the impact. By the time she found her balance, her inadvertent storm had finally ceased and the craft was far too close to the ground for her liking. She quickly reacquired her 'grip' on the vessel, hoping the shortened distance would prevent her from crushing it--

Only to have the canopy explode outward under the stress of the slowdown, jettisoning two creatures into space. Luna's cheeks puffed outward in a pout, and she would have sighed if there was any air to breathe.

----

Michaels spiraled head over heel wildly as he plummeted towards the rocky lunar surface. His body spasmed at the combination of his many injuries and the vacuum exposure from the puncture in his suit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the limp body of Vincent rag-dolling with him just out of reach. His stomach turned and he retched several times, though nothing came out, thankfully.

Throughout this, his mind was still trying to process what had just happened. One moment, he was pulling the body of his friend off the canopy, and then the next he felt the ship slow, throwing the both of them against the already compromised glass, shattering it and jettisoning them into the void. Though it mattered little at this point. At the speed he was falling and the damage sustained to his suit, there was no way he would be able to slow his descent enough survive the impact. Even if he did, with his luck the ship would just end up crashing right on top of him.

Suddenly, a ring of pulsing white light appeared below them just above the surface. On each pulse, the top portion would break away and rise into the air, passing around him, giving the sensation of a heavy wind pushing against his body. At each pass, he could feel his descent slowing. Each ring that passed continued slowing him until he drifted to the ground lightly, kicking up a small cloud of lunar dust. Michaels struggled to get to his feet only to collapse face first into the dust.

----

Luna observed as she lowered herself down towards the aliens taking in their appearances. The one on the left struggled weakly in an attempt to bring itself upright, while the other never moved, its head and neck at an unnatural angle.

As the survivor eventually stood up on two legs, Luna found herself impressed by his strength and tenacity. 'Oh yes, I forgot. They're bipeds.' She thought. Even in a hunched position, it was almost twice the height of the average pony, dressed all in black in a skin-tight suit. Varying lines of light grey littered the suit, tracing what could only be the musculature of the creature. Upon closer examination she noticed a long metal bar protruding from its chest. A steady stream of gas and moisture could be seen escaping from the puncture site.

As Luna continued to descend, her shadow passed over the creature. It looked up and staggered back, falling to its rear. A dome of reflective glass obscured its face. Luna could feel the creatures fear and tried to put him at ease. She spoke into the airless landscape and collected her words before sending it to his mind, though careful not to read any thoughts without his permission.

"Do not be afraid traveler. Though you come from beyond our world, my sister and I have come to render aid. We will take you and your friends to our kingdom for treatment." The creature fell to its knees. 

----

Michaels stayed there on the lunar surface for a moment, his exhausted mind reeling over recent events. He slowly brought his legs under himself and stood trembling, every move wracking his body in agony. The blood from his wound pooled in his suit's lower extremities, resulting in a nauseating thick sloshing as he moved.

A dark shadow passed over him. 

"Ohshitshitshitshitshit!" He tried to scramble out of the way only to have his senses fade for a moment. The grey landscape tilted and he collapsed in a plume of dust. He scraped and clawed to get to his feet, only to succeed in scuttling backwards on his butt as he looked up with trepidation and blanched.

Instead of 280 tons of broken death about to turn him into space pizza, there floating elegantly in front of him, silhouetted by the closest star was an angel.

The light from the star obscured its features in a shroud of shadow but it's outline was nothing less than that of a divine being. A cloud of sparkling translucent blue floated around its head in a billowing halo, a slender pointed crown affixed atop its brow. Long flowing wings could be seen behind it, flapping lazily, as though their movement was not a necessity, but an afterthought. Finally, an expansive beautiful sparkling gown or robe, similar in appearance to the halo, stretched down fanning out beneath it, flowing as though from an unknown breeze.

And deep within the recesses of his mind he heard a woman's voice. "Fear thee not thine visitor of worlds beyond. Salvation cometh to thee from heaven and moon. Thy sibling god of star and I of sky shall take you to thine final rest!"

Michaels collapsed to his knees, unable to stand at the overwhelming presence before him. Was what she said true? He spent his whole life exploring the galaxy and never once thought that the ancient religions of humanity could possibly hold any truth in them. But here he was with proof staring him in the face. He looked up in terrified wonder and opened his mouth.

----

"Aruruba bugub?"

Luna raised an eyebrow. 'Perhaps the translation spell was a bit off...' She thought as she lowered herself to the ground. 

'Well there's also the possibility of brain damage.'

---

The deity paused a moment after his inquiry before descending. The moment the robes touched the ground, her form wilted and collapsed to all fours. The image of divinity disappeared and Michaels tilted his head to the side, slowly making his way back to his feet.

'I have discovered God, and he's a she.' He thought blearily. His vision swam as darkness began to creep in.

'And she's a horse. Didn't see that one coming.' 

----

The moment her front hooves touched the ground, the alien cocked its head to the side and slowly made its way back to its feet. Luna just as slowly closed the distance between the two until there was only a pony length between them. She tilted her head to the left mimicking it. 

Tilt right. Luna copied.

The alien took a step forward, reaching out with its right hand towards her face. It's left arm hung uselessly by its side. Suddenly it leaned forward and clutched its chest in a convulsion and slumped. She reared up and caught it before it completely tipped over, wrapping her forehooves around its back. It was a bit heavier than she anticipated, but it did little to offset her balance. She gently lowered it to the ground, laying her head against its chest. Its heartbeat was weak and there was a distinct imbalance in its breathing, with only one side rising and lowering.

Princess Luna magically transferred the unconscious alien to her back, careful not to aggravate its wound. She then walked over to the second alien and straddled the body, her forehooves just under the armpits and her rear hooves at the hips. She gently shifted the lunar dust, cradling him in a firm grip and ever so gently lifted him off the ground. Flapping her wings twice, she brought herself and both aliens with her soaring towards the floating monolith above them. 

Once Luna's hooves touched the surface of the alien ship, she focused her magic one last time. Both alicorn and craft disappeared from the moon in a flash of blue light.
> Chapter 1: Shattered Harmony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bleach white walls of the Canterlot medical ward always left Twilight with a somewhat uncomfortable twist in her stomach. Unlike the beautiful murals and sculptures of great Equestrian artists that decorated the rest of the pony capital, Dr Bedside Manner was always adamant on keeping her area of rule clear of 'unnecessary clutter and color'. 'More stuff means more to clean', she always said. Still, the young alicorn always felt it left the patients and visitors with a feeling of melancholy despite the almost literal brightness surrounding them.

"Good heavens! What were they thinking using ivory curtains on a seashell backdrop? The least they could do is go with a nice aqua trim over beige royal. Or maybe a chocolate brown."

"Chocolate?!? Why would you paint a wall with chocolate? That's just silly! Unless... *gasp* THE WALLS ARE MADE OF VANILLA ICE CREAM! Ponies can get better AND have all the sweets they can eat! It's pure genius! Can I have a taste? Or is it only for patients?"

And just like that, the tension in the room dissolved into a fit of giggles from Pinkie Pie that Twilight couldn't help but join in on.

Somewhat.

"Not countin' what Pinkie said," Applejack drawled as she rubbed a forehoof along the wall, leaving a very slight streak of dirt -- unintentional and unnoticed-- in its wake. "It seems purty practical to me. Easy to tell where ya need a quick spit shine ta glossy it all back up." The orange Earth Pony tilted her stetson back, looking up. "Though havin' such a high ceiling kinda makes it a moot point."

Rarity tittered as she gave her friend a sidelong glance with a toss of her coiffed mane. "Come now Applejack. Just because a pony needs medical treatment doesn't mean they can't appreciate a little feng shui." 

"If'n I were needin' a checkup like those critters in there, the last thing I'd be lookin' at would be the curtains." The farm pony replied flatly.

"Ahem."

Applejack turned around to the sight of an unamused Unicorn mare with a yellow coat and light blue mane holding a spray bottle and a rag in an almost translucent purple aura. She then proceeded to step past the Earth Pony, clean the dirtied surface with a quick spray and wipe before walking away. The Element of Honesty looked away as her muzzle scrunched.

"Seriously, who cares what color the walls are?" Rainbow Dash griped from her perch along one of the horizontal supports on the ceiling, stomping a hoof in protest. "And why can't one of us be in there for her?" She pointed a hoof in the direction of the heavy wooden double doors separating the five from their most timid friend. "You know how she gets around strange new ponies, and she's in there with four of 'em forcing her to do Celestia knows what since forever ago. We should be in there, you know, for support!"

Twilight shook her head, pausing in her pacing to look up at her elevated friend. "Believe me, there's nothing I want more right now than to be there for her. But what could we do? None of us know anything about medicine. It hurts to say this, but we'd just be in the way."

Rainbow Dash harrumphed and turned away with a scowl.

"Oh, girls don't be so frowny!" Pinkie Pie said from her spot upside down on one of the nearby couches next to Spike, who was engrossed in his comic. "Fluttershy's the best there is in what she does! Soon she'll be aaalllll done everything will be nice and hunky dory and we can get back to the party!" She then flipped up into a sitting position, hooves positioned as though she held an invisible guitar. "Vinyl and I got a doozy planned for the finale!" She threw her lower hoof down and --somehow-- let loose an electric riff. Spike jumped at the sound and stared at his couchmate for a moment.

"Shhh!" Seven pairs of eyes locked onto that same yellow nurse, who now sported in her aura a long handled broom. Said mares also watched as she made no further comment, but --with that same annoyed expression-- began swatting Rainbow Dash in the flank until the young athlete was forced to abandon her perch and glide to the ground among her friends.

"What's her problem?" Rainbow Dash glowered, flicking her tail several times in agitation.

"Nurse Lemon Scent is kinda Dr Bedside Manner's sound and sanitation enforcer." Twilight replied.

"She slaps me with that broom again and I'll show her some sound and sanitation."

Applejack gave the athlete a half lidded look. "That made no sense."

"Still," Spike interjected as he sat his comic on the table and hopped off the couch, interposing himself between Twilight and her pacing route. "Rainbow Dash does have a point. It has been a long time since she left with the doctors, and we haven't heard anything since. Isn't there anypony that we can ask to at least tell us how things are going?"

Twilight watched the only pony available for such a task return to her desk and begin rifling through papers aggressively. "Ehhh --- I think we should just wait for the surgeon."

Af if on cue, an almost imperceptible mystical jingle drew their attention to the wooden double doors that were now glowing a soft gold. A moment later the doors opened to reveal the regent of the sun walking towards them with a somewhat subdued expression on her face.

"Princess Celestia!"

Twilight and her friends quickly surrounded the diarch, with a slew of questions from each pony creating a dull roar of inane chatter, aside from Rainbow Dash's loud demand of "Where's Fluttershy!" from above. The tall white alicorn raised a hoof and the group slowly quieted. "How did it go? Is everything alright?" The young alicorn almost pleaded, her eyes rife with worry.

Celestia gave the group a tired smile. "Oh Twilight, in all my centuries of rule, I have never met such a wondrous group such as you seven." She said somewhat sadly. "Unfortunately while we were able to stabilize the aliens for the time being, the procedure is only a temporary solution due to the seriousness of their injuries."

"Ya-...ya mean..?" Applejack stumbled over her words.

Celestia nodded solemnly. "The best we can do at the moment is to make certain they are comfortable."

The mares and dragon looked back and forth at eachother in remorse, every equine ear in the room folded flat against their heads.

Twilight took a step forward and opened her mouth to speak, finding the words difficult to articulate. Still, she tried. "How -- uhm -- h-h-how long before..." she paused and closed her eyes a moment, swallowing hard. She tried to continue, but ended up repeating the last word over and over several times until she eventually gave up, biting her lip in anxiety.

"Three days. A week at the most."

A collective gasp echoed through the group. Rainbow Dash suddenly dove to the ground with a clack, landing just in front of Twilight. "Where's Fluttershy?" She demanded again, even more fervently than before.

Celestia turned around and motioned for them to follow, "Come with me and I'll take you to her."

As the group followed their ruler, Pinkie Pie stopped at the door frame, eyeing the wall critically. Then with a huge slurp, she licked it from base to head height. She brought a hoof to her muzzle while smacking her lips a few times before looking at the now completely stunned and enraged nurse. "Eh, tastes kinda spoiled. You should really keep it refrigerated." She said before walking out and slamming the door behind her.

----

Fluttershy stood center against the flow of water in the cramped little shower stall, her eyes downcast and face impassive as she stared at her hooves. She barely noticed the warmth as it seeped through her coat and flushed the soap from her fur that she had so vigorously scrubbed all over a few minutes prior. The entirety of her focus was on the swirling blood that once stained her felocks circle the drain. Her body felt hollow.

The sound of a click and squeaking hinge, followed by Princess Celestia's voice in mid conversation, alerted her to the fact that she was no longer alone.

"-- on the second creature was the most invasive of the procedures, and due to her accomplishments on the first, the doctors allowed her to perform the majority of the operation. And most impressively, even while limited to physical contact, she was able to seal the "whispering barrel" without causing further blood loss."

"Amazing..." Spoke another voice with intense emotion, which she immediately recognized as Twilight's. "She did all of that with her hooves? I-I've never heard of a surgical procedure done almost completely by hoof. I thought you only needed her to help guide the other surgeons."

Fluttershy's heart began to race and her breath caught in her throat. How could she possibly face everypony after they put their trust in her to save them, only for her to utterly fail? She sank to the ground, curling in on herself, clenching her eyes shut tightly as she listened to them converse with the Princess.

"Miss Fluttershy." Celestia called out. The butter yellow Pegasus flinched. "Are you finished? Your friends are here to see you."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and stood up. Lethargically she shut off the water, shaking herself off before before poking her head out of the stall. "Um." She said quietly, her mane dripping on the tile floor. "Hi girls."

Surprisingly it was Rarity that got to their distraught friend first. "Oh dear, sweetheart you look absolutely dreadful!" The white unicorn pulled her out of the shower into a full embrace and ran a hoof down her soaked pink mane reassuringly. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash took flight again and hovered over the two worriedly, looking back and forth between the groups with uncertainty.

"Girls..." Fluttershy began, struggling to get the words out. "I'm so-- I-I-I'm sorry I..." Her muzzle trembled and her eyes -already wet with tears- began to drip down her cheeks, disappearing into her fur and becoming indistinguishable from the results of her showering. 

"It's okay, darling." Rarity pulled back to look her in the eyes. "We know you did your best. Nopony could have asked for more."

Fluttershy let out a sniffle as the dam crumbled, overwhelming her in despair. She buried her head in the unicorn's coiffed purple mane and began to cry heavily. The rest of the group followed Rarity's lead, quietly joining the pair into what quickly became a massive group hug, with Applejack draping a large white towel over her that was sitting on a nearby bench.

---

Celestia observed from a distance as the thrice times saviors of Equestria tended to their own. She found herself feeling unusually out of place. Something that was both foreign, and somewhat refreshing, despite the circumstances. She waited quietly until Twilight, with Spike trailing behind, eventually separated from the rest and made their way back to her. "I don't understand." She said quietly, glancing back at her friends. Applejack and Pinkie Pie continued to dry off Fluttershy's back and legs, while Rainbow and Rarity smoothed out her wings and mane, the former lauding Fluttershy's animal skills and the latter humming a comforting tune. Their chatter was menial but effective at lifting her spirits. "You said all these amazing things about how it wouldn't have been possible to save them without her, but you didn't explain why it wasn't enough."

Celestia didn't answer right away and instead walked over to the the window overlooking the Canterlot garden. The hull of the strange ship illuminated by the moon sat in its center ominously, its sharp angular shape a jarring contrast to the flowing curves of the Unicornian architecture surrounding it. "During the surgery, Dr Manner came across something unusual in their bodies." She said, conjuring images above their heads of dozens of miniature objects of seemingly random shapes.

Twilight's eyes widened and she raised herself as high as she could without using her wings, entranced by what she saw. "What are they?"

"Tiny mechanical devices everywhere; their purpose completely unknown to us. Many were damaged and non functional, and those that were unharmed have seemed to stop working altogether. We haven't a clue as to how to get them to work." She dispelled the illusion, causing Twilight to blink rapidly. "All we do know is that several organs vital to survival seem to be failing without them."

"What if we used magic to..."

"Twilight." Celestia turned back to her former protege and lowered herself to her level. "Some of these devices are smaller than a single dragon scale, and far more complex than anything we have in all Equestria. How precise and intricate would any repair spell need to be in order to fix something like that? Especially when we have no idea how they work."

Twilight looked away sadly but didn't answer. Spike laid a claw on her withers in an attempt to comfort her, but it did little to improve her mood.

Celestia brought a hoof to the youngest alicorn's cheek to look her in the eyes, but the purple mare couldn't bring herself to do so. "Without a firm understanding of their magic and technology, anything more would likely do more harm than good."

Twilight sniffled at her words and retreated from her mentor's touch, turning away. "Doesn't that mean we should at least try?"

The old mare watched helplessly as her former student silently punished herself and shook her head. She had long hoped the young prodigy had come to understand one of life's most difficult lessons on her own before being exposed to such a situation. It had been one of Starswirl's weaknessess as well, never accepting the reality and delving deep into the study of magic for all the answers. "I'm sorry. Sometimes there are things that Magic can't solve."

Twilight took several slow deep breaths in an attempt to compose herself. She stayed that way for several seconds. "If magic can't help them..." She said, lifting her head to look her mentor in the eyes and giving her pause. The sorrow was still there, shimmering with emotion, but at its forefront was a look Celestia had seen many times before. It was there upon her discovery of the prophecy years ago that led her to Ponyville. It was there when it was discovered that Discord had stolen the elements. It was there when Chrysalis had impersonated her niece. And it was there when she took on the burden of all the Alicorn magic in Equestria.

And it was the first time the expression filled her with dread.

"Then maybe their technology can."

----

Jason dove to the ground in a panic and covered his head just in time for the rock he was hiding behind to be obliterated in laser and ballistics fire. He clutched his rifle close, his gloves creaking under the tension. The indistinct shouts and screams of his Squad were temporarily muffled by the onslaught. As quickly as possible, he crawled from his battered position to a nearby ditch to get a better vantage point and returned fire to the tree line along the far side of the clearing. The heads-up display in his helmet showing his teammates locations shuddered as one signal disappeared and another went red.

"Foxtrot Delta Sierra, this is Michaels! Kintz is down! Rupert KIA! Imps have got me pinned down near the drop site! Requesting air support to my target!" He shouted as he activated the targeting scanner, locking onto the enemy location. "Give'em hell Jenkins!"

"Yankee Zulu Kilo Niner, delivering care package." A moment later three bright streaks of red slammed into the tree line, followed by a trio of massive explosions that ripped across the field. When the dust settled, a flicker of green energy rippled across the enemy position as they again resumed fire, no worse for wear.

"Negative impact! I say again negative impact! Mobile Prismatic Shield generators in place on enemy position! Holden, where the hell's our Shields!"

Jason's radio crackled as he switched to thermal and begin firing. "Primary generator was hit before we could activate it! The imps got it when they got the jump on us! Smith and Fredericks are working on the backup!"

"Keep working to get those things online! Jenkins, I need covering fire!"

Three more missiles from the federal Dropship above struck the Imperial Shields with a resounding boom, followed by a volley of machine gun fire from the ship's multicannons. Jason used this moment to rush from his position to another rocky outcrop.

Suddenly, a pair of Imperial Eagles and Imperial Couriers came out of nowhere from opposing directions striking the Dropship in a literal hellfire of laser and Plasma Blasts. The Federation transport broke off its attack and attempted to return fire, but was quickly overwhelmed as its shields failed against the onslaught and slowly fell to the surface in a ball of flames and twisted metal.

"Jenkins!" Jason let out a scream of horror as the downed ship slammed into the forest clearing, blasting more dirt and rocks into the air. A heavy rumble echoed through the battlefield as the Imperial troops let out a vicious charge, rapidly advancing on its position. Jason's heart dropped as a cold knot formed at the pit of his stomach and he quickly lined up his shot, shredding two approaching Soldiers in kinetic fire, hitting both several times center mass and one in the neck nearly decapitating him. The remaining Soldiers dove behind varying forms of cover and began firing on his position, forcing him to take cover himself. "Dropship down! All available units protect that ship! Petty officer Jenkins do you read? Incoming hostiles on your position!"

As Jason settled back into position to fire, he paused as his rifle's optics locked onto a figure walking calmly out of the flaming wreckage straight towards his position. It was a bizarre contrast to the constant blaize of laser fire and fast approaching armored Imperial soldiers. The young dark-skinned woman strode through the chaos without so much as a care in the world. The inferno of the downed ship parted around her, revealing her clad in a tight full length midnight blue gown, one that glittered in the light as though it were decorated by a multitude of tiny stars. Long flowing locks of blue hair slightly lighter than her outfit flowed behind her counter to the direction of the howling wind.

He was so caught up in the strange spectacle that he almost didn't notice the two Imperial soldiers in white flight suits rush past her, weapons blazing, though it was too late to react. A well-placed shot slammed into his head, knocking him off his feet and into a backward roll splitting his helmet down the middle, flying off in two directions. He had barely enough time to register that he was still alive when the first Soldier was on him.

Instead of Simply shooting him where he lay, the Imperial dropped his weapon and leapt  onto him like an animal. The impact drove the air from Jason's lungs and his vision swam as his head bounced off the ground. He tried to lift his arms in defense, but his limbs felt heavy despite nothing holding them down. He looked up dazed, barely able to see his enemy pull a wicked-looking knife from his belt and swing it in an overhead stab towards his chest.

"Begone."

The voice struck the pair with the force of a sonic boom, causing the Imperial's form to twist and disperse into the wind as though he were made of smoke. The sound of combat fell away, as did the scenery of the forest moon around them, leaving behind an endless void of stars and nothing else.

Jason laid there for a moment as he tried to rein in his labored breathing and take in what just transpired. Through the silence, he could hear the clip-clop of something approaching him. Slowly, he pushed himself into a sitting position and locked eyes with the strange yet strikingly beautiful woman heading towards him, her dress parting slightly from a slit along the side showing off a slender leg as she walked. Stranger still, with every single step she took, a duet of clacks could be heard despite her wearing no footwear at all.

The woman tilted her head to the side and began circling the old Soldier just outside his reach as he sat there mesmerized. For a while, she simply observed, curiosity readily apparent in her steely teal gaze. When she did speak, her words flowed in a harmonious melody unlike any language he'd ever heard before. "I am relieved to see that your mind has resisted the damage I feared you had taken while in the dark expanse." The hairs on the back of his neck raised as her singing echoed across the void. While the sounds and words remained alien, their meaning rang perfectly clear in his mind, including the deep laced sorrow. "Forgive me for my intrusion, child. But I could not stand by and watch you suffer in these last hours."

Jason licked his dry lips and swallowed loudly. "Who... are you?" He asked.

The woman's lip twitched upwards slightly.

"I am the moon. Welcome to my world."

---

"You should've seen it! Treats and goodies stacked sky high! But of course the best ones were on the bottom! So I went digging around and found a super fantabulous little snack that I still have NO idea what it was. But it was tasty! Then I took the rest and headed back to the table, and wouldn't you know it, the rest of the food decided to come with me! Too bad it all landed on that wierd white Unicorn that Rarity hung out with during the gala." 

Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle softly, turning her head away with a mild blush. "Thanks girls." She said with a tiny smile and tired eyes.

"Feel better sugarcube?" Applejack asked, her hoof still making small circles along the base of her neck.

"Yes, thank you." Fluttershy tucked a lock of her mane behind her ear. She closed her eyes a moment and basked in the comfort the others' closeness provided. "Sorry I made you worry."

Rainbow draped a hoof over her friend's withers with a smirk while the other waved in the air nonchalantly. "Hey, It's our job to worry. So don't sweat it!"

"She's right darling."  Rarity ran the brush through her mane a few more times before stowing it away in her satchel. "We couldn't possibly allow ourselves to let you go through this all alone." The four friends stepped back, allowing Fluttershy to get back onto her hooves. "And after we get back to Ponyville you and I are going to spend the entire day at the spa. Celestia knows what hospital bath soaps will do to your fur, and I'm absolutely certain I felt a few split ends."

Applejack pulled her Stetson off and held it against her chest, revealing an unkempt mane with strands sticking out in all directions. "For once, I think a lil pamperin' in't all that bad an idea. Ain't even been a whole two days since the whole giant magic eatin' centaur fiasco." She gave Rainbow Dash a friendly jab. "Maybe we all should go."

The Wonderbolt in training rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the grin off her face. "Oh all right. I guess the weather team could get by without me for a day."

Pinkie leapt out from between the two with a squee and a pop of confetti. "Yeah! Ponyville pamper packed party palooza! I'll bring the cake batter and the party cannon!"

"I thought we agreed no explosives in the spa."

"Can I at least bring the cake batter?"

"...Sure?"

Any further conversation was halted at the sound of a shrill "NO? BUT THEY'RE GOING TO DIE!" from the other side of the room. The five mares' attention was immediately drawn to the entrance where Celestia held a calm yet displeased gaze at the young Princess's outburst. Twilight, on the other hoof, was standing borderline threateningly towards the larger pony. Her hooves were spread wide as they dug into the tiles and her wings flared open in an aggressive display. The only sign of the contrary was her head placement, which was raised high in disbelief rather than low with the horn facing forward. "It's the best chance they have! How could we not at least
try? Please!" She begged.

Celestia, however, was undeterred. "Twilight, there will be no further discussion on this. We have done all we can. While I sympathize for their dilemma, I am not going to risk the lives of any of my subjects for them. I'm sorry."

Twilight raised a hoof to her chest. "But I can do it! I could use--"

"I SAID IT IS NOT UP FOR DISCUSSION!" Celestia boomed. The entire room shuddered for several seconds from the sheer intensity of her words alone. Twilight wrapped a wing around Spike protectively and dropped as low to the ground as she could, her face mirroring the shock of her friends a short distance away. Celestia towered over her with an intense and unyielding gaze a few moments longer before taking a deep breath and taking a step back. "I know you want to help them and I admire you for that." She spoke softly, the nurturing warmth in her voice returned full force, though it was tinged with a hint of steel. "But you must understand that there are things in this world even you are not ready for. I know that my decision is at its core a condemnation to death, one I do not take lightly. I have accepted the consequences, including the knowledge that I will have to carry that weight for the entirety of my life." 

Twilight said nothing for almost a minute. All she could do was simply stare back at her mentor frozen in disbelief. When she did speak it was almost a whisper. "It's not fair. They didn't do anything to deserve this."

Celestia sighed and turned her back to the cowering pony as she headed to the exit. "Once your friends are ready, you will either return to Ponyville, or you can retire for the night in your old room. I'll have the castle staff prepare it for you and your friends in case you agree."

---

Celestia paused upon exiting the infirmary, the image of Twilight's almost broken expression burned into her mind, bringing with it the old familiar weight of guilt and remorse hanging heavily on her heart. 'If I had known this was what I had seen, I'd have never gotten her involved.' She sighed, 'Yet another mistake in my long list of failures whose consequences I must deal with.' As her head tilted upwards, she tucked away her emotions deep inside and addressed the two armored bat ponies behind her. "Double the guard around the crashed vessel. Nopony aside from myself or my sister are allowed near it."

"Yes your highness."

---

The heavy click of the latch echoed ominously in the locker room, leaving behind an awkward tension that could be felt by everyone in the vicinity. As a result, everypony found themselves struggling to even make eye contact with one another, as none of them had ever witnessed such an exchange between the two before. Rarity, who had suddenly found the ceiling to be quite interesting at the moment, nonchalantly cleared her throat and bumped her flank against Applejack to garner her attention. Once successful, she leaned her head in Twilight's direction. The farm pony glowered in return. "Really?" She deadpanned quietly.

Rarity glared back and again tilted her head two more times with greater urgency. Her intent was clear, not that AJ liked it one little bit. 'You're the straightforward one, so be straightforward and ask already!'

The earth pony groaned and readjusted her stetson before speaking stiffly, "So... Mind fillin' us in on what in the hay that was all about?"

Twilight's ears folded down as she returned to her friends and dropped her plot onto the ground in a huff. "I had an idea that, if everything went well, would give the humans a chance at survival."

The five ponies gasped at her declaration and suddenly Fluttershy was in front of Twilight a hoof's length away, brimming with energy and unchecked emotion. "Is it true?” She pleaded. "Did you really find a way to save them?"

Twilight hesitated, somewhat intimidated by the normally shy Pegasus's enthusiasm. She bit her lower lip nervously, as she attempted to collect her thoughts. "It's not a guaranteed solution. In all honesty, I'm not sure it would work in the first place. Everything would have to go perfectly right. But it's the only chance they have."

"If what you say is true, shouldn't we at least consider it?" Though she didn't voice it directly, Rarity wasn't exactly subtle with her own desire to support Fluttershy's nurturing instincts as she sidled along side her.

"But... When I told Princess Celestia... well you saw how that went."

"Yeah we saw, alright. It's the why we're not getting at the moment." Rainbow Dash said.  "Maybe if you told us what you had in mind then it'll make a little more sense?"

"I was thinking..." Twilight motioned for her friends to follow and the group ended up in front of the window overlooking the Canterlot Garden, pointing at its center "If we couldn't help them, then the next logical step would be to take them to somepony -- somebody -- who could." 

The group was silent for several moments until--- "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!" Rainbow Dash let out a loud squeal of excitement as she slapped her hooves against her face. "Best! Plan! EVER!"

Pinkie Pie let out a cheer with a burst of confetti. "Whoooo! We're going into space!"

"Huh." Applejack and Rarity shared a look. "Well that explains a lot."

"Yes... Yes it does."

Twilight's brow furrowed as she whirled around and let out a loud "rrrrrhhhhg!" followed by a stamp in frustration. "I don't even know why she asked us to help in the first place if she wasn't willing to take them back! It doesn't make any sense!" 

"Yer joking, right?" Applejack quirked an eyebrow as a frown settled across her face. "Ah dunno bout you, but It don't look like she's behavin' all that strangely 'bout all the hugh-mans iff'n you're planning somethin' this crazy. Sounds ta me this ain't gonna be easy or safe by any stretch of the imagination. I'd say she's got plenty a reason ta worry. "

Twilight recoiled as though she'd been struck. "Not you too..." She whimpered with one hoof raised, looking ready to cry.

"Now hold up." AJ silenced her with a hoof to the muzzle. "Let me finish." She waited for her to collect herself before continuing. "What ah'm trying ta say is that the Princess has ev'ry reason ta get 'er crown in a twist. Doesn't mean she's right about it." The farm pony winked as she gave the purple alicorn a friendly jab in the ribs. "Yer plan may be crazier'n a fruit bat on zap apple harvest, but iff'n it's the best chance they got, then Ah think it's a thought worth considerin'."

It took a moment for the words to sink in, but slowly the tension in Twilight faded and she eventually found herself smiling slightly in gratitude.

"So what now?" Spike asked. It was clear to Twilight that neither he nor her friends wanted to simply end things now and go home. "Should we try to change her mind?"

Her smile quickly fled as the original reason for her despair was brought back to the forefront. And with the new knowledge that it would likely be dangerous, she began to have second thoughts. Could she? Could she really go against the mare she had looked up to for her entire life? Her ruler, her mentor, her foundation? Would she be forgiven for so blatently defying her and risking the lives of other ponies, her friends, for the lives of two aliens whom she just met a few hours ago?

'No.' She decided. There was no way she could knowingly do something like that, to her teacher or her friends. The Princess of Friendship looked into Fluttershy's begging gaze and slowly wilted under the scrutiny. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." She scuffed a hoof on the ground dejectedly. "I appreciate your willingness to help, but I didn't think about the possibility of it being dangerous. If that's the reason she forbade it, then I can't go against the Princess' orders. Besides, nothing we say is going to convince her otherwise." She looked away from group of ponies and dragon as she took a deep shuddering breath. She turned to leave. "You guys can head back to the party if you want. I think I'm gonna lay down for a bit."

She had barely made it to the door when a rainbow blur shot in front of her, barring Twilight from the exit. "Whoa whoa whoa! Now hold up a sec. That's it?" The blue weather pony jabbed a hoof lightly into Twilight's chest to stop her momentum, a mild glare on her muzzle. The small alicorn jumped slightly from the contact and glanced down at the offending appendage. Satisfied she now had her attention, Rainbow, now back on all fours, walked straight into Twilight's personal space, forcing her to back up lest they end up bumping muzzles. "You're telling me that you were able to come up with a plan to do what everypony thought was impossible, a plan that sounds incredibly awesome by the way, and yet you're just gonna walk away cuz the Princess says so? That's not the Twilight Sparkle I know."

Twilight flinched but didn't respond.

Pinkie Pie let out a loud "pbbshhhh!" as she hopped onto Twilight's back. "Aw come on girls! Give her some slack!" She then proceeded to smush Twilight's cheeks as she continued, much to her friend's consternation. "Do you really expect it to be easy for her? It's Princess Celestia we're talking about! She taught her everything she knows! If anypony told me that I had to do the exact opposite of what my Grannie Pie said, I'd lose my marbles!" She dropped her chin onto the top of Twilight's head and a trio of marbles dropped from her mane and clattered to the ground. "And there they go! Again..." She declared, the last word spoken with a distinctly flat and annoyed tone.

"Thanks Pinkie I--"

"All you need is for us to pressure you into doing it!" The confectioner then leaned over to look her friend in the eyes --albeit upside down-- and gave her a pouty face that rivalled the best the Cutie Mark Crusaders had ever performed. "Can we please please please go to space?"

Twilight shifted uneasily and glanced at the rest of her friends. "I want to... But I don't... I can't..."

Spike gave a supporting pat on her withers and spoke with a strength that belied his small stature. "Hey, relax. We trust your judgement Twilight. If you think we need to do this, then we'll do it. No questions asked." He turned to the others. "Right girls?”

Fluttershy gave an affirming nod. "After what they went through, they deserve every chance we can give them."

Twilight's eyes began to shimmer as she gazed lovingly at the group of friends for a few seconds, barely registering Pinkie hopping off her back to chase after her lost items. "Oh Spike." She said softly as she pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you." She turned to the rest and gave an appreciative smile. "Thank you all." The four mares quickly joined in, turning it into a massive group hug.

"So..." Rainbow dash started. "We doing this?”

Twilight gave a giggle followed by a firm nod. "Yeah. We're doing this."

Pinkie Pie exploded out of the center of the group with a squee and a shriek of exuberance. "WE'RE GOING TO SPAAAAAACE! Oh, I need to let Mr. and Mrs. Cake know I can't babysit tomorrow. Does anyone have a quill and paper? Hey Spike, do you require stamps? What's the return address for the castle?" The pink pony darted from Twilight to Spike as she rambled, forcing the dragon's mouth open wider than should be possible and sticking her entire head down his gullet while looking for ---whatever it was she was looking for.

Twilight smirked as she gently pushed the party pony away, giving Spike some space to recover. "Okay, since we're going to be doing this without the Princess express permission, we'll need to get some supplies for the trip without arousing any suspicion. So here's what we need to do..."

----

"Is this... real life? Am I dead? Of course I'm dead. I got shot in the face... Or did that happen a long time ago? Who is that woman? Do I know her? Man is she hot..."

Luna watched in amusement as the human muttered to himself and shook his head several times, as though he was trying to will himself to see past what he was witnessing. An impressive feat, given the effects the dream world had on the sleeping mind. "So, young Warrior..." She said idly as she swiped her avatar's --hand, was it?-- in front horizontally creating a ripple effect in the air that washed over him like an ocean wave. The alien blinked a few times and climbed to his feet as she felt his mind suddenly snap into clarity. "Tell me how you came to be in these lands."

"Wha--," The alien replied intelligebly as he placed a hand on his forehead and staggered forward, "Lands? What lands? Where... Where am I?" His eyes wandered for a moment before widening and he collapsed to his knees. His free hand slapped against his neck pulled heavily at his collar. "My helmet! No vacuum... How-- what-- Am I still breathing...?"

"As I said before, you are in my domain." The dream-walker closed the distance between the two and extended a hand. "Do not fear. You are not in any danger from me or this place."

The man's brow crinkled as he appeared to scrutinize her words before grasping her arm in a firm grip and pulling himself to his feet.

---

To say that Jason was a little intimidated would be an understatement, though it wasn’t the first time he had come face-to-face with such an imposing female. The last time he felt any kind of pressure even remotely comparable, it was in the presence his late mentor, of one of the Pilot’s Federation’s most highly decorated ELITE Commanders of her time. She was most known for almost single-handedly leading her home system to victory against an invasion of a rival faction backed by the Imperial Navy. It was said she was responsible for the destruction of over 6,000 enemy ships and the withdrawal of, not one, but two Majestic Class Interdictors. Standing at 186 centimeters and 83 kilos of solid muscle, he watched her put two hit men through a palladium glass door while on a mission in New Africa.

In contrast, the woman in front of him was a petite thing, barely reaching his collar bone at best, and from all appearances, it looked as though she could be blown over by a strong breeze. Yet despite her small stature, her gaze alone... He had no words to describe the pressure he felt, though his wobbly knees had something to say on the subject.

But that could also be attributed to the fact that every sense was practically screaming at him that he was standing on absolutely nothing and could at any moment start falling to his death.

"Soo... Miss moon is it?" He coughed awkwardly and glanced away. "So uh-- you come here often?" 

The woman tilted her head and blinked in reply.

Jason mentally slapped himself. "Really? That's the ice breaker you come up with to the first pretty girl you see in six months?" He paused for a moment as two more things came to mind. "Did I just say that out loud? And why is my hand on my face again?" He pulled his hand away and glared at the appendage, slightly disturbed.

The woman let out a refined giggle, the bell-like trill sending another shiver down his spine, "Here there is nothing that separates your thoughts from your words and your will can easily define reality."

Her answer only proved to confuse him further. "Wait, this isn't a holo-sim of some sort?"

Moon's smile faded slightly. "I'm afraid I am unfamiliar with the term. What are these 'Hollow Sins' you speak of? Do you seek some sort of penance from past misdeeds?"

"What? No! I..."

The Moon, as she called herself, silenced him with a simple gesture, causing his mouth to click shut mid sentence. "Perhaps we should start again. What is your name traveller? And what brings you to my home?"

"Uh... Sure. My name is Jason Michaels." He extended a hand in greeting. "A pleasure." His curiosity piqued further when she for the first time appeared unsure. After a moment's contemplation, she shrugged, and instead of shaking his hand, she placed her wrist on his palm, her fingers curled inward. "Uhm..." He awkwardly wrapped his fingers around her wrist and gently shook. "And as to how I got here--" his back suddenly went ramrod straight, panic beginning to set in. "My crew!" He pulled her in without thinking and latched onto her shoulder with his free hand. "What happened to my ship and crew?!?"

Moon's eyes dulled for a moment as remorse flooded her next words. "I'm sorry. Your vessel is intact, but we were only able to save you and one other. Even then, it is not likely she will survive." Jason immediately pulled away from the strange woman and took several steps back as though he'd been burned. "Please, I need you to remain calm."

"Calm?" He snarled. "You expect me to be calm knowing that my crew is pretty much dead, and that I have no idea where the hell here is?!?" He began patting himself down frantically. "And what the hell happened to me? I was banged up pretty bad when I landed on..." He froze. "That rocky planet. The moon." Suddenly, everything began to click. "There was a woman on the surface... She looked like an angel. She sounded like... You." He looked at her with a critical eye.

"But she wasn't human."

---

Luna held the man's fierce gaze unflinchingly. "Did I ever claim to be hoomun?" She asked cooly.

The alien paled at her declaration and she felt his pulse begin to skyrocket. "Oh god." He muttered to himself. "Ageis was right... They've come back..." 

"...Aye-jiss?" New questions began to form in Luna's mind as she processed his words. "So... You know of us." She said. He suddenly backed away several steps while pulling a half rectangle shaped device from his hip, an item that clearly wasn't there a moment ago, pointing the open end towards him. It was obvious to her that it was a weapon of some sort, but as to what it did, she could only guess. "Please, do not be afraid. I am not here to hurt you. I only wish to know--"

"Cut the crap!" He shouted. Luna clenched her jaw, a spark of anger running through her at the interruption. "Now listen here 'lady', I'm not in the mood for games, or metaphors, or that mind bendingly bizarre singing you keep doing with your words. So you're gonna drop the act right now, tell me who and what you are, and what you want with us, or I'm gonna start popping holes in you where holes shouldn't be." The tense standoff pervaded the dreamscape for what seemed like forever until Luna closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Very well, Jade Spoon. If it is truth you seek, then truth you shall have."

---

The moment the words left her mouth, a heavy gust of sparkling blue wind slammed into Jason's back hard enough to faceplant him if he hadn't taken a heavy step forward and hunkered down. The gale continued on its path until it reached the woman, surrounding her in a small but powerful vortex, obscuring all but her silhouette.

An ice cold lump began to form in the old pilot's stomach when she started walking forward. He braced himself against the winds and raised his pistol again. "Stay back!" He cried out.

The woman continued forward, undaunted by his threat. As she made her way to the edge of the vortex, her upper body began to disintegrate from right to left, as though she were made of ash. "Do you wish to kill me?" Her melodic voice bellowed, echoing over the raging wind seemingly from everywhere. "After all we have tried to do to help you?" The telltale click-clack of her footsteps reached his ears as a limb broke through the tornado wall.

A very inhuman limb.

As the vortex dispersed, he found himself looking at a familiar sight. The starry dress was gone and in its place was a coat of dark blue fur from top to bottom, complete with four dull grey metal shoes adoring each hoof. Her hair was darker and now sported the glittery pattern of her once apparel, giving the imitation of a beautiful night sky as it flowed seemingly of its own volition. "You're..." Jason unknowingly lowered his gun, his eyes fixated on the long horn jutting out from atop her head, barely obscuring the crown behind it. "You were real."

The horse's short muzzle spread into a smile. "You thought me a dream? I guess it's fitting given the current circumstances." She spread a pair of wings he had not noticed before and crossed one foreleg in front of the other. "So..." She dipped herself into what he could only define as an equine version of a curtsy. "Shall we try this again? I believe third time's the charm, as they say."

---

Scanning boredly across the largest clearing in the Canterlot Garden from atop the massive alien behemoth, Corporal Lime Light rolled her aching neck and adjusted the chest plate of her armor for the fifth time since the start of her shift, one wing clutching the shaft of her spear tight to her body to free up her forehooves. "By the sun, this stupid thing is so darn uncomfortable!" She complained to her three compatriots, also pegasi, that were stationed in a similar pattern as she, only facing in opposing cardinal directions. 

Before any of her teammates could reply, the old gravelly voice of the commanding officer spoke from below. "Stop your fidgeting and complaining, Corporal." First Lieutenant Straight Arrow admonished from his earthbound position beneath her and the ship. "Keep your eyes ahead and your hooves on your spear. A distracted lookout is a useless lookout, you hear?"

"Yes sir. Nothing to report, sir." The young Pegasus replied, her annoyance as readily apparent in her voice as the muzzle on her face. "Same as the past two and a half hours." She muttered under her breath.

"Why did we have to pull out this stupid gear anyways? Every time we wear this junk I end up chafing the heck out of my withers." Private Night Flare, one of the three Unicorns on shift asked. "And don't get me started on what it does to my horn!"

"How do you think my wings feel?" Lime Light replied. "It's not so bad when I'm flying, but guard duty? I'll be lucky if I still have feeling in them by morning!"

"Don't worry." LT Straight Arrow boomed. "Once Bronze Barista returns from roving guard, you'll have your turn to put in some flight time. Now keep your mouth shut and eyes open."

"Uhggh. Yes sir."

Straight Arrow rolled his eyes and snorted. 'Why did I have to get stuck with the recruits? Stupid party.'

---

Fluttershy was gasping for breath by the time she returned to Twilight's old room, slamming the door much harder than she had intended --which was still far softer than anypony else had achieved up until this point-- "Sorry I'm late girls." She panted.

The rest of her friends, minus Applejack were corralled in the center surrounded by a variety of blankets, jewels, outfits and books that were needed for the trip. "It's alright." Twilight replied, her nose deep in an old tome with Spike scribbling away, writing down any spells she wanted on hoof in case they were needed. "We're just finishing up here. Rainbow already got the bedding we need--"

"Too easy!"

"--and Rarity got the rest of the gems for the spells." She finished. "Did you get your portion?"

Fluttershy turned to the side, revealing a white saddle bag with a starburst cutie mark filled to the brim with medical supplies. "I picked up what I could, but Twilight! Princess Luna was in the recovery room!"

The purple alicorn went rigid as she dropped her book. "Oh no ohnoohno! This is bad." She turned to the animal caretaker in panic. "Did she see you?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. That was the strange part. She was sitting by one of their beds, just looking at him." She gave the saddlebag to Pinkie, who immediately started nosing through it.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief and shelved the book she was reading. "Thank goodness. I thought for a moment we were finished before we had even started. Did you get to drop off the magic infused gems I asked?"

"You mean my dessert?" Spike grumbled under his breath.

Fluttershy lowered her head in shame and dropped a large hoof sized ruby on the ground. "Yes, but I could only get it on one of their beds. I was afraid the Princess would notice me if I got too close."

Twilight ignored the gem and gave the pegasus a quick nuzzle. "It's okay. The second gem was more for accuracy than anything else. You did the right thing. Thank you." Fluttershy gave a tiny smile in return. The Princess of Friendship turned to the rest. "Pinkie how's the packing--"

"All done!" The pink party pony declared with yet another pop of confetti. The surrounding area was now completely bare of supplies. In its place was Twilight's saddlebag appearing almost empty, its top buttoned shut with a tiny corner of bedding sticking out as the only evidence that it held something inside.

"...going."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash stared wide eyed at the small pack. Their gaze then drifted to the five empty saddlebags cast off to the side before settling on eachother.

"Not it!"

"Not it! Drat." Rarity scowled. "You're going to make me carry this the whole way, aren't you."

Rainbow shrugged. "Hey you snooze you lose."

Twilight shook her head. "Come on. We need to get to the airship before the Princesses figure out what we're doing and try to stop us."

As the group filed out, Rarity looked at the satchel and cringed. The white unicorn took several deep breaths as she encapsulated it in her magic in preparation for the arduous task ahead. She heaved---

And the little bag floated into the air with no discernible effort.

"Oh... Well." Rarity stated intelligibly as she pondered it's surprisingly trivial weight. "I was certain it would've been heavier than that."  she began to put it on her back, but her curiosity got the best of her and started to open it to look inside.

The next thing she knew, a pink hoof obscured her vision as it slammed the flap closed, latching it in place. She look up and found herself staring straight into the eyes of a very serious Pinkie Pie. "If you're going to be in charge of this, make sure you only look for what you're looking for. And whatever you do, don't pull on the blanket." Rarity nodded frantically and Pinkie Pie's face returned to the jovial confectioner she was known for. "Now let's get going! I can't wait to meet some space pirates! Arrrr!"

Rarity stayed frozen in place as she watched the pink party pony bounce out of the room. "This isn't going to explode on me is it?" She called out. When she received no answer, she begrudgingly sat the bag on her back and tightened the straps before following suit. "Oh I hate it when things explode on me. Pinkie Pie, I'm talking to you!"

Meanwhile, Fluttershy cantered alongside Twilight and leaned in, a question on her mind. "Um, outside of the, you know, obvious... what do you think they would do to stop us?"

Twilight shrugged. "Oh I don't know. Maybe they'll cast a spell on the ship or put it under a bubble shield..."

---
A few minutes later...

Or she could double security?!?" Twilight half shrieked, half whispered. "And they're moving in a helix pattern! A helix pattern! Because of me! What in Equestria did she expect me to do?!?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Oh I don't know... Maybe foalnap a couple of dying aliens, steal their ship and take off on a crazy mission into space to try and save their lives?"

"...Oh. Yeah... Right." Twilight mumbled, her jaw clenched in frustration as she and her friends watched from a hedge on the outside corner of the garden with the most direct route to the ship.

Just ahead, ten guards patrolled above around and on top of the human vessel. She thought hard, running a series of variables and strategies through her head at an accelerated rate, compiling countermeasures and countermeasures to their countermeasures, only to come up short. "I don't think I can do this without somehow alerting the Princesses. Anypony have any ideas?"

The four mares looked back and forth at eachother, "Can't you just, oh I don't know, cast a sleep spell on them or something?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head and pointed in the direction of the ship. "Do you see the armor they're wearing?" The girls conversed among themselves in affirmation before she continued. "That armor is designed to absorb and negate all thaumaturgical effects to a certain degree while also alerting the wearer to the threat. Anything capable of overriding the disenchantments would certainly be detected by Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, rendering the entire act pointless in its endeavors."

Her friends stared at her for a moment. Finally Rainbow Dash spoke up. "One more time. With less nerd speak."

Twilight groaned. "It protects the guards by absorbing spells. If I try to overpower it, the Princesses will sense it and stop us." It wasn't entirely accurate, but it would do.

Rainbow shrugged. "That's all? Pshhh. It's not that big a deal. I could just fly over there and, wham bam, nappy time. No problem." She made a few striking motions before crossing her hooves in front of her confidently.

"So you're saying you want to attack... and knock out a squad of Princess Celestia's Royal Guardsponies? Forgive me, but isn't there a law against that?"

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Oh, and knocking them out with a sleep spell is better?"

The fashionista brought a hoof to her chin. "Huh. I've never thought about it like that."

"Oo! Oo! I've got the PERFECT tool for the job!" Pinkie Pie quickly wrapped a hoof around Twilight's neck and pulled her in cheek to cheek. "Don't you worry about a thing! Just leave this one to me!" She exclaimed, pulling out a bright pink bazooka loaded with a rainbow colored cupcake and settling it on her shoulder. As she let go, her eyes snapped to the Royal guards as she gave a wicked grin. "And cue the sneaking music." She then lowered herself into the bushes before disappearing entirely.

When she did resurface, it was in another bush a good distance away from the rest of the group and a few paces away from a roving earth pony guard, with Pinkie now wearing a flowing dark pink bandana on her head and a lollipop in her mouth.

Spike leaned in towards Fluttershy and whispered. "Should we be worried?" The shy Pegasus could only shrug.

---

LT Straight Arrow jumped when he heard the sound of rustling leaves. He looked to his right at a nondescript bush where several leaves had jarred themselves loose and were finishing their decent to the freshly trimmed lawn. He strained his senses and listened for any sign of anything out of the ordinary, only to be greeted by utter silence. Not even a breeze could be felt in this part of the garden, in part due to the obstruction the ship provided behind him.

The old Soldier's eyes narrowed in suspicion. No wind meant no reason for leaves to be knocked loose. He slowly moved forward to investigate. The moment he leaned into the suspicious shrubbery, a pink hoof struck outward and stuffed a cupcake into his unsuspecting muzzle. A cacophany of delicious flavors assaulted his tongue and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. A moment later, a snoring pony was pulled into the brush, never to be seen again.

---

Pinkie Pie continued her silent assault on the castle guard with disturbing efficiency. Earth Pony, Pegasus, Unicorn, it didn't matter. All fell to the pink terror with nopony being known the wiser. In the span of a minute, all that was left was the unsuspecting quartet of pegasi perched atop the ship. The closest guard let out a huge yawn.

Plap-Plap-Plap-Plap! "Yeah! Quadruple headshot!"

---

"You know," Rainbow Dash said slowly. "I'm not sure what's freaking me out more. The fact that Pinkie Pie single hoofedly took out ten guards with a cupcake launcher, or the fact that she carries around a box of cupcakes laced with sedatives."

The rest could only nod dumbly.

---end music---

A few minutes later, Twilight was sitting in the cockpit of the alien vessel behind the large metal chair as she and Spike ran through her notes. "Okay. So we've gathered nonperishable supplies..."

"Check." Spike said as he did just that.

"Sent Applejack to Ponyville for food via portal..."

"Check." Another scratch of the quill.

"Secured the ship..."

"And traumatized the rest of us in the process..." Spike mumbled. Louder, he said, "Check."

"And Rainbow is moving the guards to a safe location," Twilight finished, "so we can check that one off the list as well." She waited as the baby dragon did as she requested. "So what's next?"

Spike skimmed down the list. "Plug any holes in the ship, which Pinkie is working on, fetch Applejack, and teleport the aliens inside before making a break for it and not getting caught by the princesses."

The purple scholar wilted slightly. "Right." She said.

A moment later, the pink party pony trotted in from the open door in the back, a giant roll of polka dotted wrapping paper balanced on her back. "All the holes are covered!" She declared in a loud voice. "Though I don't see how a bunch of paper is going to hold without more tape."

"It's fine Pinkie." Twilight headed over to one of the walls and placed a hoof on the metal surface. "I've been going over a few spells and I think I can transmute the patching into the same material the hull is made of." She turned back to her friend. "Did you find a place we could put our food supplies and the humans?"

The confectioner beamed. "Yes-sir-ee I did! There's this reaaaaly big room in the bottom with all kinds of shelves and empty containers that we can use to put everything! If we're smart with space, we can get the alens in and still have plenty of room for the swimming pool!"

Twilight chuckled. "No. No swimming pool."

"Ah poo." Pinkie pouted, her lower lip stuck out in an over dramatic fashion. "Well, Fluttershy and Rarity are ready whenever you are." She said.

Twilight gave a nod and opened up two portals in the center of the cockpit, the one on the left which led to the outside of the ship, while the other side showed the iconic barn and field of Sweet Apple Acres.

Applejack trotted in thought the portal on the right a few moments later which closed behind her, pulling a small cart laden with a variety of food.  "Al'ight. Got ev'rythin' ah thought we might need for a long trip." She looked around as she parked the cart in the corner and let out a long whistle. "Whoo-wee. Well ah'll be. Color me impressed. Looks like somethin' outta one o' Spike's comic books."

At the mention of his beloved literature, Spike's claws slapped against his cheeks as his eyes widened in panic. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, her heart skipping a beat at his sudden declaration.

"I forgot the comic book you got me in the waiting room!" The baby dragon paced back and forth, frustration clearly showing on his face. "I can't believe I just left it there! I'm so stupid!" He groaned as the Princess of Friendship let out a sigh of relief.

"It's okay Spike," Twilight let out a laugh as she reassured him by wrapping a hoof around his neck. "We'll make sure to pick it up when we get back." She gave the grumbling dragon a quick nuzzle before gently guiding him towards the door. "Now go find Rarity so you can help her when we teleport the humans in."

As he headed off, the young alicorn then headed over to the remaining portal and called out. "Rainbow! Are you done yet?"

The Prismatic maned Pegasus trotted in a few seconds later, a smirk on her face. "Relax Egghead. I was just finishing up with a few final touches." She looked around. "So are we ready to go?"

Twilight closed the last portal and brought a hoof to her chest. She took a slow deep breath in and held it for a moment before exhaling and extending her hoof outward. "Yeah. We're ready." She said.

The young alicorn closed her eyes and began to concentrate her horn alighting in a bright purple aura.

As she focused, Applejack turned to the others in the room. "So did ah miss anythin' while ah was out?"

"Actually? Yeah you did." Rainbow Dash said as she pulled her pranking buddy into a headlock that lasted all of two seconds. "Pinks here took out ten guards on her own in a minute flat."

The farmer quirked an eyebrow at her athletic rival and gave the pony in question since over. "Should ah be worried?"

"I got two words for ya. Cupcake launcher."

The farmpony's brow raised higher.

Pinkie smiled wide and procured a pair of rainbow frosted treats. "It was some of my best work. And the best part is that I've got a couple left over!" She then tossed the remaining two cupcakes in the air, catching them in her mouth and chewing happily. "Mmm, tasty!" She said after swallowing. A moment later, she face planted into the floor and let out a few theatrically loud snores.

Applejack regarded the unconscious mare flatly. "Sometimes that girl's her own worst enemy."

---

"So I'm dying." Jason said dully.

The blue horse sitting next to him gave a solemn nod. "If your decline continues as it has been, then yes."

The pilot gave a deep shuddering sigh. "Well, ain't that a kick in the pants."

Moon shifted back and forth a few times. Whether it was from the melancholy of the conversation or the bubbly and constantly shifting sensation of their shared seating, he wasn't sure, nor could he bring himself to care. "I know nothing I say will bring you comfort, but I would be remissed if I were not to try."

Jason let out another deep breath. "After how I acted, I'm not so sure I deserve it."

"Though I would have preferred you hadn't tried to shoot me with your crossbow, it would've been hypocritical to not try. Every creature deserves a chance. No matter their past misdeeds." Her words were thick with emotion, more so than he had ever heard up until this point.

Jason gave a sidelong glance to the mare beside him. "I'm still finding it a little hard to believe." The winged unicorn met his gaze and he responded with a self conscious smile in return. "Not the whole dying part. I had a feeling this could've been my last mission, and I'm kind of okay with it."

Moon frowned. "And what praytell is it you find uncertainty in?"

The Commander let out a scoff and returned his attention to the scene before him. "Oh I don't know, maybe its the fact that I'm sitting on a dream cloud overlooking a completely fantastical world, that by all intents and purposes shouldn't even exist. All while chatting it up with a bonafide talking unicorn."

"Oh." She replied intelligebly.

The pair returned to their gazing over the moonlit countryside of the strangely friendly alien's home world. The rolling hills and plains stretched out as far as the eye could see, with nary a blemish dotting the mystical landscape. After an indeterminate amount of time, the world seemed to take on a shimmering purple hue for a few moments before returning to normal. Moon's eyes narrowed as she stood up and turned to her cloudborne companion. "As much as I wish to stay, I have duties to attend to."

"Not a problem. Just two questions." Jason leaned back, propping his body up by his hands. He watched as she stepped off and gave a mighty flap of her wings to hover beside his floating platform. "Will you visit again?" He asked. "Before... Y'know."

"Of course." The space unicorn knickered quietly. "And the second question?"

The pilot gestured around him. "So how am I supposed to get down from here?"

The blue horse let out hearty laugh. "However you wish, Jade Spoon Night Elks. The dream is yours to do with as you will." The unicorn turned and shot off into the sky, eventually fading into the night.

Jason shook his head and laughed. "Jade spoon? Really?"

---

Luna opened her eyes as she pulled her magic from the dream realm. The tiny white strand retracted slowly, tracing itself back from the window, following the spiral of her horn to its base before disappearing into her fur. She sat there on her haunches for a few minutes contemplating the scene in front of her before turning to the only other pony in the room.

"Nurse Lemon Scent? Did you happen to move the aliens while I was connected to the male's dream? They appear to be missing. Along with the beds..." She looked down. "...and part of the floor."

The pony in question could only stare back dumbfounded, her left eye twitching erratically.

---

Celestia looked up from her writing as a powerful surge of magic brushed across her senses. She turned to her right where she could see a flicker of purple light glowing softly somewhere below on the castle grounds. A dark forbodence settled on her as she stood up from her desk cushion and headed over to the balcony, leaping over its railing to take flight towards the now illuminated garden.

When she landed in the now empty field, she found herself drawn to the four depressions in the ground left by the landing gear. A dark blue mist swirled around her before taking the form of her sister on her right. "It seems our newest Princess has outdone herself." 

Celestia could only nod in reply. 

"She was also able to teleport the hoo-muns right out from underneath me whilst I tended to the dreams of one." Luna continued, snorting in mild agitation. "Rude."

The Regent of the Sun turned to her opposite. "Can you locate the ship like before?" She asked.

"I don't see why not." Luna closed her eyes and focused on her connection. The muscles of her neck tensed and her muzzle scrunched. "Well that's strange..." She said. Eventually, she let out a breath, clearly perplexed. "Nothing! Either they've already left our realm, or she must be shielding herself somehow. At this point, they could be anywhere. I must say, she is extraordinarily clever to be able to pull this off."

Celestia gave a half smile. "She certainly is full of surprises. Even when directly going against my wishes, I find a part of myself impressed by her inventiveness and dedication." Her expression hardened as she focused her own pool of magic to the forefront. "But she isn't the only one who can think outside the box. Stay here. I was the one to drag her into this mess, so I should be the one to bring her back."

"What are you going to do?" Luna asked.

A dozen scrolls and a quill popped into existence above the duo's heads. "I'm going to send a letter." Celestia replied wryly. "Several of them actually."

---

The alien craft flashed into existence far above the planet surface following a burst of purple magic. Inside, Twilight rubbed a hoof along her sweaty brow as she floated a little over a hoof's length off the floor. "Wow." She panted. "That was a lot harder than I thought."

It wasn't even a moment later when a fuzzy blue mass collided with her from behind sending her into a wild spin, accompanied by panicked flapping and multiple additional impacts. "WHAAAGAHAGAAGG!!! What the haaaaaay!"  *Fwap Fwap Fwap* *THUD*

"WHOA-NELLY!!! Watch it Ar Dee!"

Apparently, the sudden introduction to micro-gravity wreaked havoc on Rainbow Dash's instincts, turning the best flyer in Equestria into nothing more than a giant fur and feathered pinball bouncing about the cabin. One that had already sent every other occupant in the cockpit tumbling as well.

Minus Pinkie, who was still peacefully floating with her hooves tucked under her head, snoring away.

Twilight scrunched her eyes and her horn --still shimmering with magic-- flared brightly. The entire ship, along with everything within the entire ship was quickly enveloped in her signature aura. When the spell completed, everything not pinned down crashed to the floor with a heavy thud.

Pinkie Pie jerked awake at the impact with a snort. "Zzhuzhuh-wha?" She looked around at the chaos in confusion, her sleep addled mind struggling in its processes. *yawn* "Whud I miss?"

"Um Twi." Rainbow Dash said as she clamored to her hooves. "What just happened?"

Twilight took a little longer to get upright. Her breathing came in short pants and her body ached as though she had run a marathon. "Apparently... We're too high to be... Affected by the planet's gravity." She winced and put a hoof to her dully glowing horn. "Ugh, I'm definitely going to be feeling that one in the morning."

Applejack picked up her steston from where it had fallen and brushed it off a few times before returning it to her head. "Well ah dunno 'bout you, but ah'm all for not doin' that again. Ah'd prefer ta keep mah hooves on the--- woah." The farm pony trailed off as she stared ahead, mesmerized.

The remaining ponies followed her line of sight through the recently repaired glass canopy. The sun peeked out from behind the edge of the horizon of the planet below, coating the outer rim in a heavenly glow of intermingling blue, gold and shadow. Swirling cloud formations larger than any controlled by weather ponies could be seen floating lazily like tiny cotton balls above the surface.

Applejack took a few tentative steps forward. "Is that?”

"Yeah." Twilight replied with no less emotion. "Our home. Equestria."

"I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life..." Pinkie said, her voice uncharacteristicly soft.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on the glass, her wings twitching sporadically in amazement. "It looks so... Small." She turned to the the young alicorn, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "This. Is. So. AWESOME!!!" She squealed.

The young Princess didn't respond, her entire being remaining transfixed on the massive, yet now somehow infinitesimallly small orb that filled their view. Their world --the combined lands of Equestria, the Crystal Empire and the other non-pony kingdoms-- all resided in front of her, floated silently in an endless night sky of such beauty, she felt as though she had connected with Faust herself. In that moment, she had forgotten how to breathe.

"Twilight!" The serenity shattered as Rarity rushed in with a nauseous baby dragon on her back and a half dozen scrolls floating above her head. "I think we have a problem."

Spike heaved and let out hearty belch of dragonfire leaving behind another scroll that dropped to the floor and rolled to Twilight's hooves. The purple mare broke the seal and unfurled the paper only to drop it after reading its contents.

Found you.

Twilight whirled around back to the canopy only to gasp at the sight of her old mentor floating regally outside the ship barely a pony length away, her eyes narrowed and a soft frown on her muzzle.

---

Rainbow leapt back to the others, her wings fully spread and her stance low. "How did she find us?!?" She shouted, "I thought you said you could hide us!"

"I don't know!" Twilight replied. "She must have tracked us through the letters!"

Spike blanched from atop Rarity's back, his already irritated stomach protesting further from the guilt welling up deep within his chest. "This is... My fault?" He asked quietly.

"Twilight."

The instant Celestia's horn began to glow, her disembodied voice echoed into the minds of the ship's occupants, her tone calm and soothing despite the tension her mere presence brought them. "Step forward."

The mare in question cowered. Even so, she slowly separated herself from the rest, her eyes staring down at her hooves, looking more like a foal awaiting punishment than a hero of Equestria. "Y-y-yes? Princess?"

The great white mare softened her gaze, appearing almost hurt by her former student's submissive behavior. "Please... Don't be like that. Look at me. I'm not angry at you." The purple scholar did as she was told, but --like in the infirmary-- was unable to meet her gaze.

"Aren't you?" Twilight replied quietly. "I'm purposefully doing what you told me not to do."

As as Celestia focused on her protege, Spike took this time to open the flap of Rarity's saddlebag and began to rummage through it. The fashonista felt the shift on her back and froze when his upper body disappeared into the bag. "Spike, what are you doing?" She asked warily.

"Making things right." He whispered. "I have an idea."

Rarity hesitated, her focus entirely on the pack she had forgotten to take off when they arrived. "Alright," she said finally. "But be careful! And don't touch the blanket. Heaven knows what'll happen if you do..."

It wasn't long after that he pulled out a couple dozen slips of paper and plucked one of the scrolls out of his mount's aura. "Quick, while she's distracted, I need you to cast this spell!" He flipped through the pages till he found what he was looking for and held it out in front of her nose to read. "Third from the bottom."

Rarity skimmed the page and tilted her head to eye the little drake questioningly. "How is this supposed to help?

"Trust me, it'll work."

The unicorn bit her lip nervously. "I'm not sure. It looks simple enough but I'm not exactly a skilled spellcaster."

"Could you at least try? I believe in you." He glaced at his surrogate sister. "We'll need to hurry. I think we're running out of time."

"You're wrong about this!" Twilight suddenly cried, sending Celestia's head back in surprise from the outburst. "These creatures have friends and family of their own. Creatures that care about them and will miss them! They landed on our world! Our home! And nopony else was going to to anything for them! Its our responsibility to do everything we can to save them! Even if it's dangerous for us! And if you're not willing to let us all go, I could do it mysef so nopony but me is put at risk--"

The moment the words tumbled out of her mouth, all compassion vanished from the Solar Diarch like a drop of rain against a raging inferno. All that remained was a raw terror-stricken expression that was so quickly replaced by fury, it would have been missed completely had she even blinked at the wrong time. Her long white horn flared brightly and the ship itself groaned under pressure as it was encased in a similar glow. "I'm not going to ask another time. Return of your own volition, or I will drag you back to the castle kicking and screaming and lock you in the dungeon until the humans have passed."

Her affinity as an Element of Harmony --along with her special talent in all things arcane-- granted Twilight a vast well of magic no other unicorn yet encountered could compare. Adding to it her asencion to alicornhood and the magic boost from the results of the Elements victory over Tirek, one could say that this pony was not so much a mage as she was a force of nature. The hero of Equestria proved just that when she countered with her own magic --a blaze of purple pushing outward-- which slammed into her mentor's grip with enough force to level a mountain. 

Princess Celestia took it without even flinching.

Twilight continued to pour everything she had into holding back her teacher's pull. Sweat poured down her face while the air around her horn rippled from the intense heat it was giving off. "Please! Stop!" She begged. "Why are you doing this? They deserve a chance!" 

Her mentor said nothing in reply and only increased the pressure, driving the purple alicorn to her knees.

Behind her, Rarity finished the spell with a pop and Spike unrolled the scroll he was holding before setting it alight in green flames.

As it disappeared, the smoke swirled around itself for a moment and then took off across the cockpit, flowing straight through the glass canopy, where it swirled a second time before rematerializing into the opened scroll--

Where it promptly slapped Celestia in the face.

The Princess of the Sun let out a silent cry of surprise as the object wrapped around her head, covering her eyes and breaking her concentration. Her magic faltered, and with nothing to hold it back, Twilight's counterspell surged forward, blasting the otherwise preoccupied mare into the black.

Twilight's eyes bulged as the sudden lack of pressure holding her back launched the ruler of Equestria into a golden comet that flew off at speeds that would make the Wonderbolts envious. "Ewa... Cewe...heet her... Fwying..."

"Oh dear. I think we broke her." Rarity said.

Spike quickly leapt off the unicorn's back and rushed to their momentarily catatonic leader and shook her for all he was worth. "Twilight! Now's our chance!" He yelled.

With nothing better to do, the traumatized Pony did as she was told.

By the time Celestia had regained control of her momentum and tore off the makeshift blindfold, she found herself alone amongst the stars.

---

Star system: TUN
Galactic coordinates: R: 55.209 / l: 110.076 / b: 22.322
Equatorial coordinates: Right ascension 20h 9m 45.870s / Declination 77° 22'52.468''
Location: Nav Beacon
Time: March 12, 3302 1908 Galactic standard time

Security Officer Corbin Roux lazily pulled back and right on his flight stick, sending the Viper MK III into a wide vertical U-turn followed by a 180 degree roll before boosting back towards the center of the Nav Beacon AO. His pinky flicked idly across the the flight assist toggle out of habit, not hard enough to do anything outside of reminding him of its presence. "Tango uniform november one one five eight. Reached perimeter of AO. Coming about, Over."

His comms panel expanded and the image of his his wingman appeared, a young woman in her mid thirties whose face was completely obscured by her opaque flight helmet. "That is a good copy, one zero five nine. Returning to center, Over." 1158 replied, her Achenarian accent barely leaking through the official police chatter.

Corbin glanced at his radar display as he rolled his aching shoulder while confirming his partner's position. and locked onto the beacon. "You know Maeve," He started. "I still can't believe you volunteered us for two weeks of this crap. We've only had two fines for reckless flying and one neutralized pirate in a 12 hour shift. The last time I had this slow a day was during my apprenticeship time in the academy." His pinkie again brushed against the flight assist toggle. "Could've racked up ten times that amount in an hour easy if I were in the res."

His partner grunted in exasperation. "Good God, are we doing this again?" It was a common argument he and his partner had, particularly on days when the workload was lighter than average. "You keep this up and neither one of us are gonna live long enough to catch the eye of the Pilots Federation. Low tempo patrols may be dull but they're still flight hours."

"Flight hours with no action isn't gonna get me a commission." Corbin responded pointedly.

Any further conversation died off as an alert on the info tab popped up, identifying new contacts in the area. Corbin throttled down as he checked the radar, confirming another six ships arriving in system --three Eagles, a Cobra MK III, an Asp Explorer, and a massive Anaconda. "1158, We've got another half dozen that just dropped in at the same time. Adjusting route. Sending you the telemetry. Over"

"Telemetry received. ETA two minutes. Over" Maeve replied. The comms channel fell silent for almost twenty seconds. "Aren't you gonna say it?"

"Say what?" Corbin asked.

"I know you want to..." Came the sing-song reply.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You sure???”

Corbin clenched his jaw and watched as his wingmate tauntingly cycled through her targets several times before finally settling on a particular vessel. "... Don't you dare. The Anaconda is my target. You take care of the small fry."

"There it is." Maeve laughed and switched to one of the three Eagles closest to her. "Oh and feel free to send me a mayday if you get in over your head."

Pilot 1059 irritatedly closed the comms line, cutting off his partner's laughter as he continued on his flight in silence. He hated that woman, in all respect. In fact he hated anyone he was forced to be paired with on duty. Just a bunch of nobodies trying to get ahead with the least possible effort, while he put his life on the line every single day just to get noticed by one of the mysterious benefactors...

Suddenly an alert he had never seen before appeared on the center of his HUD, followed by the blocky voice of the onboard Verity COVAS speaking in a robotic tone. "Warning, hyperspace anomaly detected."

"What the---HOLY HELL!!!" Corbin banked a hard left, disabling the flight assist and opened his vertical thrusters full throttle as a badly damaged Asp explorer exploded into existace in a literal blaze of purple fire. The Viper vibrated as it spun wildly, the G forces exerted on his body momentarily turning his vision a muted red. His grip on the controls failed as his consciousness slipped for a moment. Thankfully, the accumulated momentum was barely enough to carry him over the anomaly, while the rotation helped him maintain a visual lock at the same time.

To say the ship had seen better days was an understatement. It was a complete mess, with scorch marks, scrapes and dents all over the place. One of the fins appeared to be warped and twisted in on itself,  and finally, several huge wrinkled metal sheets were haphazardly welded over the majority of the starboard side making the hull look like it had been torn apart and pieced back together by a four year old.

The flight assist reengaged, and the onboard computer took over, --arresting all momentum with precisely timed counter-thrusts-- which eventually brought the security pilot to what counted as a complete stop in space a little over two kilometers away. Corbin remained motionless and swore repeatedly to himself as his senses returned to him. He angrily began scanning the ship to apply a reckless flying fine.

"Scan unsuccessful. Target powerplant offline." Verity replied.

Corbin swore again. "Dammit. I don't have time for this." He quickly hailed his partner. "Maeve, I need you to rally at my location. Some nutjob jumped in and shorted out their powerplant in the process. See what you can do."

The comms line crackled a moment. "Why can't you do it? You're right there." She asked.

Corbin glanced at his contact list. "The Anaconda is heading towards another convoy and is about to go beyond my scanner range."

"Are you freaking serious?"

"Just do it. That's an order." With that, he turned his Viper around and took off to his quarry.

---

As the last vestiges of her magic escaped her horn and dissipated into the air, Twilight collapsed to the ground in a heap. Her pounding heart thundered in her chest and sweat dripped off the soaked fur of her brow onto the cold metal floor. She laid there for who knows how long trying to regain control of her breathing. A light brush against her forehead forced her to open her eyes to the sight of Rarity dabbing her with a soft white cloth. "Did... Did we make it?"

"I believe so." Rarity replied with a concerned look on her face. "Though I'm not quite sure where it is we are at the moment."

"You sure you're okay sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Ya look like you went a few rounds with an Ursa Major whit' nothin' but a waste basket an' a gardn' hoe."

Twilight gave a weak nod and attempted to stand, only to stagger right into Spike and Rarity --who braced her at her chest and side to keep her from collapsing a second time. The white unicorn gave a stern glare to her tired friend. "Darling, please. Take it easy. You're absolutely exhausted."

Twilight shrugged them off and slowly made her way to the canopy area. "Don't worry, I will. Holding back Princess Celestia took everything I had. I'm going to need some time to recuperate my magic to cast the primordium recrudescence spell again."

"The prima ra whatsa?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Is that nerd speak or just unicorn speak?" Rarity gave a helpless shrug in return.

"It's a spell that will send the ship back to its place of origin. Depending on the distance, it could take several castings to make it there. I'll probably need to take a break in between each one."

Applejack marched over to the group and hoofed out a few cups of apple juice. "Well you go ahead an' take tha time ya need. No point in pushin' yerself too hard an' gettin' hurt. Princess said we got about three days, right?"

Before anypony could respond, the room jolted sharply to the left following a heavy boom from outside, throwing everyone careening into the ceiling with bone jarring force. Twilight's vision swam as her chest collided with a nearby console hard enough to hear something inside her crack. Pain lanced through her neck, as she tried to stand, the repeated blows from outside continuing to batter to their transport relentlessly.

Applejack was scrambling against one of the panels as she failed to find purchase and eventually bounced off the floor with an oof. Rarity was clinging desperately on some unknown object, her eyes clenched shut and mouth open wide in a shrill scream. Rainbow Dash held onto Pinkie Pie --who was bleeding and unconscious from a heavy blow to her own head-- underneath a console, her other three limbs secured firmly against the underside of a desk of some sort.

She focused through the pain and attempted to throw up a shield spell, only for it to shatter into fragments of purple energy after another four or five heavy impacts.

She then noticed Spike climb onto the sole chair in the room, pulling himself into it and digging his claws into the fabric. A few seconds later, a large shadow eclipsed the sunlight coming through the giant window, bathing everyone in a shroud of shadow. Another alien ship leveled off in front of the cockpit and begun blasting them with what sounded like hundreds of tiny rocks at an incredible velocity on the helpless occupants.

A sharp cracking sound caused Twilights blood to turn cold as the glass began to weaken under the assault. If it gave way, not only would it leave everypony exposed to the vacuum of space, but it would put the baby dragon directly in the line of fire. "Spike! Get away from there!"

Spike didn't respond and only hunkered down tighter. Twilight pushed off the wall in desperation, grabbing him with her wings and forelegs in a protective embrace and throwing a smaller shield inbetween the chair and her friends.

The canopy exploded inward in a shower of glass for a fraction of a second before the fragments were sucked out into the void. Sparks begin to fly around them as the projectiles rain down on the two in a hellfire of destruction.

Then something clipped Twilight in the side of the head hard enough to throw her out of the seat, baby dragon and a spatter of blood in tow. Her vision darkened in one eye while half of her body went numb and all the spells she casted before failed.

As she floated there, she detachedly watched the silent chaos around her. Four ponies and a little dragon she couldn't recognize were struggling to breathe before her. They looked upset. She didn't like that. As to why, she couldn't be sure. But what she was certain of was the warm feeling in her chest when she looked at them. It made her want to help them. To be with them. To hold them, like she was holding the dragon.

Unconsciously the mare who could no longer even remember her own name, reached out with the last remnants of her being and touched each and every one of them with all she had left as the world erupted into a flash of white.

---

FSS message to Tun branch command: March 12, 3302, 2016 Galactic standard time.

NCOIC: Sergeant Corbin Roux, ID TUN1059WSZ

Incident: ASP Explorer of UI pilot was destroyed by pirates of the Tun Gold Mob faction in Nav beacon of the local system. Three pods were recovered, two in critical but stable condition. The third is unknown, as the bio-readings of the third appears to be scrambled. During the incident, scavengers were able to make off with some of the cargo before the area was secured. Contents of cargo is unknown. Currently assisting rescue vessels with recovery of black box and debris. Full report to be submitted in 12 standard hours.

Signed,

SGT Roux
> Chapter 2: Picking up the Pieces
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch.

Sergeant Roux adjusted the power cell of his sidearm for the third time as he attempted to ignore the rising sense of unease and claustrophobia that fought to overwhelm him, despite the massive open space of the nearly empty chamber of the retrofitted rescue Anaconda. Alongside him, his partner, Corporal Maeve stood with her rifle at the low ready, her face hidden by her helmet and her posture just as rigid. 

Skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch.

Corbin's free hand lightly traced the seam connecting his helmet to his suit as his heart rate quickened. In front of the two, the rescue team continued their work on opening the malfunctioning escape pod, the prying tool most commonly referred to as the "Jaws of Life" biting deep into the metal shell along the seams that connected the hatch to the main structure.

And beneath the screeching sounds of pressurized hydraulics and shearing metal was the source of the tension. The sound of repetitive and frantic scraping coming from inside.

The portly medic in charge of the rescue tapped a few commands into his data pad and turned to the security team as he wiped a bead of sweat off his head. "Alright. The second casualty has been secured and is on her way to the Tun hospital. Time for pod number three. Just like before. Let me know when you're in position and we'll start."

SGT Roux, already positioned at the head of the pod brought his weapon to bear and turned to his partner, who gave a nod from her position at three o'clock. He then returned his attention to his aiming point and gave an affirming motion. "We're ready." He said.

"Copy. Breach in thirty seconds."

No more than five seconds into the countdown, the containment vessel let out a heavy popping and clacking sound, causing everyone around to jump. Corbin let out the breath that caught in his throat and tried to put it out of his mind. 'Don't think about it.' He thought. 'It's just a normal rescue. Third one of the day. Nothing new. Nothing to be worried about.' To the crew, he tried to keep his voice steady, "Hold position. Prime weapons. Moving to amber."

No one said it, but it was on everyone's mind. A strange derelict ship appears out of nowhere, all but a few crew members dead, it gets blown up in an ensuing battle, and an undermanned federal rescue is tasked with opening a series of escape pods, one of which was malfunctioning and making strange noises. It was the perfect set up one would experience in a poorly crafted horror sim. All the way down to the repetitive scratching sound coming from within. 

"Twenty seconds." One of the medics wiped a glob of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and readjusted his grip on the lever. Ever so slowly, the breaching tool extended from its base towards the seam of the hatch. 

Corbin's breathing quickened; his helmet stifling. 

"Fifteen seconds."

The Sergeant couldn't take it anymore. In one smooth motion, he tapped a command onto the wrist-bound interface of his suit, retracting the helmet into his collar with a hiss. His eyes briefly darted over to one of the medics who looked at him questioningly before returning to his objective. "I'm fine. Keep going."

"Ten seconds."

"Sergeant..." Maeve spoke out to her superior, who glanced her way. "Ten thousand credits if whatever's in there jumps out and tries to eat your face."

Corbin fought the urge to groan as the countdown reached zero.





Rarity was often seen by those around her as somewhat of a drama queen. Whether it was a mismatched ribbon or an unsatisfied customer, she took her shortcomings very seriously. Even her closest friends sometimes commented on her over-the-top swooning, though none could deny that she was more than capable of channeling it into creative energy. Some would even say that she thrived off of the stressors that came with owning a business targeting the clientele of the Canterlot elite.

However, if there is one thing that Rarity lacked, It was phobias. Rainbow Dash had her fear of failure, Twilight her fear of all things slithery and cheesy, and Fluttershy her fear of ... well everything. But Rarity? Sure, she had a disgust of all things dirty and unsanitary bordering on fear. But full-blown phobias? She couldn't recall ever falling into a blind panic outside of the few life and death scenarios she and her friends dealt with to save their land.

Which meant her current scenario was new territory for her.

Her cage was cylindrical in design, large enough for her to breathe but do little else. Tiny blinking lights embedded into the wall above her just outside her reach, but aside from that, what it looked like was anypony's guess. The pressure around her remained constant, unyielding as she attempted to move one way or another. Her tail was twisted around her hind legs binding her already limited movement. The walls around her pockmarked with balloon like cushions rubbed irritatingly against her fur, pinching and twisting her both her coat and the skin beneath as she attempted to thrash about. Her world was one of complete darkness, with a single window barely the size of her head as her only beacon of light. 

Even that was of little comfort. A heavy tint coated the glass preventing all but the slightest amount of light to pierce the darkness of her prison. Earlier, she could see the stars outside the window as multiple pinpricks of light, but even that disappeared eventually as something collided with the outer surface with a series of metallic clangs and whirs, which eventually devolved into a steady rumble.

Her heart pounded against as each time she thrashed she felt more confined and her breathing became more labored. "Please!" She cried, "Somepony help me!" Despite her unyielding confinement, she continued to struggle, thrashing about to and fro scraping her hooves on anything and everything she could get a hold of in an attempt to find purchase. On one of her more frantic motions, her horn jammed into one of the cushions, piercing the soft fabric, and with a resounding pop, impacted hard on the unforgiving surface beneath it. 

Crack!

Pain lanced through her head and she jerked back only to smash the back of her head into the opposing wall. Stars exploded across her vision and her stomach dropped, a heavy wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm her. Her body spasmed from the sensory overload causing her to lurch forward once again. "Let me out... Celestia... Luna... Please..." The unicorn braced her forehooves against the wall as she spoke, pushing harder and harder as the moments ticked by. "Let me out. Let me out! Let me out let me out LETMEOUT!" Her voice crescendoed until she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes flooding with tears. Her barrel heaved with wracking sobs, putting more strain on her already labored breathing. The walls continued to close in around her, smothering her, suffocating her with its unyielding presence. She dug her teeth into the deflated fabric in front of her and began yanking frantically, ready to chew her way out if she had to---

--- Suddenly, a large claw with two fingers tore through the wall in front, coming a hairs width from spearing the side her muzzle. 

The mare's skull collided with the back wall a second time, the pain dulled by another rush of adrenaline as she let out a high-pitched shriek of fear. 'This is it.' She thought as she let out a sobbing hiccup. 'I'm going to be devoured by a monster!'

The spindly appendage continued its intrusion, rotating in place for a moment before viciously digging into the wall and revealing a duet of seams on the front side of her prison where light began to leak through. The young mare's heart dared to swell in hope at the possibility of escape.

A few seconds later, a series of loud pops vibrated her cage followed by the sounds of tearing metal and the entire front was torn apart at the seams. The hatch now free of its bindings flipped  outward with a groan.

Rarity dug her hooves into the newly formed hoofholds and lunged out into the open air only to find herself in yet another predicament. Instead of dropping to the floor as she had anticipated, she ended up continuing in her original direction of movement, flying forward in a straight line. 

Well... Maybe it was less like 'flying' and more like being shot out of a party cannon, since she ended up slamming into a massive figure dressed in a tight--and in her opinion as she thought back on the situation, horribly out of style-- black one piece suit hard enough to force the creature back a step. Instinctively she latched onto her new anchor point by wrapping all four hooves around its fish bowl like head. Both quadruped and biped let out their own unique scream--equally high pitched-- followed by an even louder bang and a cacophony of unintelligible shouts. 

*"Alien!"*

*CRACK CRACK!* 

*"Cease fire Corporal! Cease fire!"*

*Its on my face! Oh God it's on my face! Get it off! Get it off!*

*"I regret everything!"*

*"The hell is that thing!?!"*

As her alien hoofhold thrashed about, grasping blindly at her fur in an attempt to pull her off, Rarity hunkered down, clenching both fore and back legs in a vice-like grip tight enough to make an Earth Pony proud. Unfortunately, the alien proved to be equally resilient as one of its clawed limbs found its way to her head and dug deep into her mane, yanking hard and snapping her head back in a single violent motion. The unicorn whinnied in pain as her grip quickly faltered and she was violently swung in a wild arc and released into a head over hoof tumble. Her world spun wildly several times and the poor unicorn shrieked as she scrambled about with nothing to grab hold for the second time in twice as many seconds. 

A moment later, yet another limb latched onto her, this time halfway up her tail, arresting her momentum with a solid jerk, followed by a heavy but warm mass pulling her into a tight embrace, effectively pinning her to its chest. Tear filled eyes looked deep into the dark chocolate brown visage of yet another Minotaur-like creature, this one much larger than the pair rescued in Equestria. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and smiled weakly at her rescuer until another wave of nausea and fatigue overwhelmed her before her vision went dark.





Chief of Police Chen Sui Leng exited the bathroom damp and extremely tired, one towel wrapped tightly around his waist and another draped over his shoulder as he rubbed one end lightly through his speckled gray and black hair. His feet slapped quietly on the cool metal floor as he made his way through the narrow hallway of his apartment towards the bedroom. He paused a moment and turned off the hallway light before he opened the door slipped through as quietly as possible so he wouldn't wake up his wife, changed into a pair of sweatpants and tossed the towels into the hamper, only to realize her absence for the third straight night in a row. He sighed as he climbed into bed and laid an open palm on the cold pillow beside him.

Work was keeping them both busy, it seemed.

The day for the Tun Federal Security Services was a long one. Not only did the fifteen hundred plus member department have their usual two hundred Patrol routes that required 24/7 manning, they had added another three investigations to their current eighteen, not to mention the twenty ongoing sting operations and three security escort missions.

And to top it all off, higher had the brilliant idea of scheduling a clandestine delivery of new ship-borne weapons without even bothering to inform him of its schedule. Luckily it arrived without incident, but that was beside the point.

All in all, Chen was tired.

Which also meant he was easily irritable, proven by the growl that escaped his lips upon hearing the alert from his personal AI break the silence with all the subtlety of a gong. "Commander Leng. Urgent voice communications request from Department Headquarters. Master Sergeant Smith requests telepresence immediately."

With a groan his left hand fumbled across the nightstand until it came across a small L shaped device. He clumsily brought it to his face and typed in a few commands before affixing it to his ear. "Secure tele-presence connection to HQ. Attire, duty uniform. Authorization Chen rho 6."

His vision lit up in an orange tinge and the meager bedroom fell away as his perception folded in on itself.





Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away Master Sergeant David Smith stood patently in front of an empty desk deep in the recesses of the the orbital Station Tun's Wort. His posture was indicative of the of a member of the Federal Navy, rigid and steadfast with so little perceived movement, one might mistake him for a robotic assault unit in Security garb.

He continued to wait for several minutes until finally, the floor in front of him lit up in an orange glow. "Tele-presence transfer in progress." The AI stated in a monotone Victorian accent. Smith took a small step back and a hard light holo image came together from the ground up revealing Chief Leng clad in his usual duty uniform. The Holo-me glared at the Senior NCO. 

"Sergeant." He stated firmly. "I take it the night shift isn't going as smoothly as expected."

MSG Smith took the glare in stride and extended his hand in greeting. The hologram reciprocated with a firm handshake which left an electric tingle on his palm several seconds after separating. "You could say that. We have a serious incident report that requires your attention." He replied. "We just received a conflict report, number 21 879 in the nav beacon patrol sector." 

Chief Chen's console lit up at the dictation and the holo-me took a seat behind his desk. "What 's the Situation?"

"Coordinated pirate attack. Two officers involved. An Anaconda compromised the security feed at the Nav Beacon by dropping a jammer while the rest attacked, a ship of unknown origin."

"Status of our pilots?" He asked as he began to skim through a series of short reports, most no longer than a few sentences. At first glance, none of them seemed to be of any particular interest. All of them seemed like the typical SITREPs that were sent after pirate encounters. Contact times, number of ships involved, etc. His brow furrowed at the lack of any obvious evidence. 

Smith glanced at his own notes. "CPL Maeve received a few minor lacerations and her ship will require extensive repairs, but other than that, no injuries reported. SGT Corbin was able to hold off the Anaconda while the corporal attempted a ship rescue. As for collateral damage, we have one unidentified ASP Explorer destroyed, along with two pirate ships eliminated. The rest fled when the jammer went down."

Chen brought a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Please. Could you just cut to the chase and tell me why this couldn't wait till tomorrow?"

The senior non-commissioned officer scratched at his stubble, a look of slight discomfort creasing his brow. "Well... we recently received a few unusual video reports from the FSS pilots, as well as the current rescue ship on site. Perhaps it's best if you take a look at them yourself." 

Leng scrolled to the first file labeled 1158 and selected it for playback. A second Holo screen appeared to his left showing a cockpit view of the tiny, yet nimble Viper Mark III under the control of one CPL Maeve Gelin.

*The young pilot slowed to a stop as she reached the derelict ship, the sound of tapping keys echoed off the interior as she hailed the derelict vessel. "This is Corporal Gailin of the Tun System Federal Police Department.  Are you in any need of assistance?"  The moment she released the mic, a horrible screeching sound came out over the speakers. The young pilot winced and cut the feed, ears ringing from the interference.*

*"Warning. Federal communications lost. Security notification system unavailable." The Verity COVAS system drawled.*

*No sooner did she register the alert, a torrent of pulse laser fire slammed into her ship, battering her shields from above and below. The Achenarian native swore and spun her ship, rocketing away, weaving to and fro in a desperate attempt to allow her shields to recharge from its recent pummeling. Sparing a glance at the her radar, she noted a pair of blood red solid triangles flashing white.*

*"Sergeant! Tangos on my six! Two Eagles with rapid fire pulse hardpoints! Shields at less than half! I need backup!" Her only response was that same squelch of radio interference, further confirming this was an orchestrated attack. *

*Maeve slammed the control stick back as the pirates closed in --spinning her in place without losing momentum-- and let loose a barrage of multi-cannon fire. The super-heated rounds struck true, shredding the closest enemy's defenses to near collapse before the pair broke off in opposite directions*.

*Without letting up on her fire, She quickly hit boost in her new forward direction and gave chase to the more vulnerable target, only to flinch as  another ship --this one a Cobra MK III-- blitzed right past her and let loose a torpedo on the helpless ASP Explorer*.

*The explosive lanced through the void and struck the port side of its hull just behind of the canopy, exploding in a flash of white twisting the ship sideways* *and reducing the point of impact into a shredded mass of metal and wires. The pirate immediately followed up with a volley of heavy cannon fire.*

*Maeve swore repeatedly as she gave up chase on her quarry and looped around, locking onto the latest and biggest threat. Her rounds ricocheted off the pirate's shields, each impact igniting a bright flash of blue, though only doing a fraction of the damage to its energy reserves compared to the Eagle. The Cobra ignored the barrage and continued its onslaught, showing a determination far beyond that of a typical pirate.*

Chen watched passively as the Viper cut a hard turn, a heavy grunt the only evidence of  the g-forces being subjected to the pilot. The onslaught continued to rage for almost a minute, with dips and turns, and other various maneuvers as she tried desperately to force the criminal away from its quarry. On the left side of her display the heat on her ship rose steadily, and soon steam began to rise off the console. Yet the Achenarian continued to fire heedless of the risk. *"C'mon! Focus on me dipshit!"*

*The Corporal let out another expletive as the computer let out a loud squawking alert just before a explosion rocked her vessel hard, taking her by surprise. Sparks flew on her console as one of her internal compartments was reduced to slag, causing a minor secondary explosion inside the cockpit, sending several shards of shrapnel into her right arm. The eagles had returned in force with an ally, yet another Eagle, blindsiding her on the starboard side with a heavy missile.*

*The pilot grit her teeth and boosted away only to swear again and instinctively duck down as the very Cobra she had been shooting at suddenly went flying over her ship in an uncontrolled end over end flip, coming less than a meter from the transparent palladium of her canopy. When she banked left to come about, the ASP Explorer came back into view.*

Encircled in a perfectly round bubble of rapidly expanding violet energy.

Chen paused the video, a pair of raised eyebrows the only sign of his surprise.

"We've no records of the technology used." Smith said, fully aware of the unspoken question. "At first we thought it might be a custom job on a bi-weave setup due to the color of the field. However, the Salvage team has already collected what was left over of the Shield generator and dismissed the possibility. From what they can tell, it was just one of your run-of-the-mill class D generators that's been stripped down for exploration."

"Class *D*?" Chen repeated, his tone inflection a mixture of confusion and blatant disbelief on the findings.  He was very familiar with the use of bi-weave shielding and the plethora of modifications used to enhance them, both legal and illegal. While being somewhat less durable then a typical C-Class Shield generator, it was extremely popular within the Bounty Hunter and pirate communities due to its much faster regeneration rate. But this one, outside its similar color scheme, was drastically different to anything he had encountered before.

Not only did it retain its purple glow, obscuring the exploration vessel to the point that all that could be seen was the outline, the hard light construct expanded outward rapidly from the cockpit like a balloon into a perfect sphere that was nearly double the size of the ship.

Typically, any energy Shield would shimmer into existence barely a few meters above the hull, tracing the structure of the ship before phasing out of the visible spectrum. Theoretically it was possible to extend the protective field out that far if  -- and that was a big if -- the generator was large and powerful enough. 

But a Class *D*?

Despite the list of questions piling up in his mind, he resumed the video. Quickly, the Cobra righted itself and flew back into the fray, now firing everything it had on its hapless target. Both small and heavy ballistics rained down on the energy barrier mercilessly from its cannons and multi-cannons, creating a shower of sparks that lit up the area. flecks of purple shards could also be seen breaking off, spinning wildly before dissipating into the void. The security pilot continued her assault as well, her own rounds striking true against the pirate's defenses. 

Sadly it wasn't enough. Huge cracks spread across the purple shield, an anomaly that again raised the curiosity of the old Captain, and before long the entire sphere exploded into millions of glowing fragments that covered the entire area in lavender light. The subsequent rounds fired made short work of the canopy, shredding the transparent palladium and decimating the entire front of the cockpit while a few stray shots from the cannons struck an exposed fuel line on the top of the ship. A few seconds later, a series of small internal explosions rocked the ASP before it was ripped apart in a blast of light.

*"Nonononono NO!" Maeve shouted. Her right fist slammed into the arm rest just short of the flight stick.*

Chen found himself focusing on the trembling fist of the pilot and the ragged breaths that could be heard. It was something something he'd seen all to often in his time on the force. He'd experienced it himself on several occasions. That feeling of failure --of guilt-- for not being able to do what was expected of him and watching helplessly as someone else paid the price for that failure. He made a mental note to schedule the pilot for an appointment with the mental health provider assigned for triage incidents once she returned to base. 

Suddenly, an alert of incoming missiles caused the pilot to return her grip to the flight stick. Taking an instinctive glance at the Viper's condition and the radar, The officer counted no less than six incoming missiles and what appeared to be a torpedo fired from one of the hostiles heading towards her. Despite already knowing the outcome of his men, he wondered how she was going to get out of this situation. In her condition there was no way she would survive such an onslaught. 

A moment later he got his answer as all seven projectiles flew right past her, with no action from her part, and collided with the topside of the Cobra's weakened shields. The first two explosions collapsed the energy field surrounding it allowing all that remained to strike true against the hull, eviscerating it and exposing the vital power plant contained within, ultimately causing it to share a fate much worse than its victim. While the ASP was ripped asunder from the ignited fuel lines, the onboard system must have been operational enough to sever the connection to the tank, preventing complete destruction of the superstructure itself. But with the Cobra, not only was the power plant destroyed, the COVAS must have been disrupted enough to prevent such a safety measure. Combined with the fact that the majority of the fuel lines converged at that location, there was nothing left to stop the cascade effect that ultimately turned its sixteen ton fuel tank into a sixteen ton bomb.

The detonation that followed was spectacular to say the least, the shock wave alone sending the small Viper into a tumble, ultimately leaving nothing left of the pirate ship but scraps of metal. 

Chen paused the video again. "Do we have any idea who fired on the Cobra?" He asked.

MSG Smith skimmed his notes. "From what we can tell, it came from one of the three Eagles. Sensors indicated it was the same that attacked pilot 1158 in the first missile attack. As of now we believe one of the pilots turned on his allies to acquire some of the cargo on board for himself."

It was at that time that a tiny flash of red and blue at the bottom left of the canopy caught his eye. He immediately zoomed in and enhanced the area. 

There drifting in open space sat a pair of objects he'd never seen before. Two identically shaped orbs of light, one blue and one red. "What the hell are those?" He wondered aloud. 

The NCO shook his head. "No idea. The pirates were able to snatch them up before we could regroup." 

Chen frowned in reply. "The technology is definitely worth a support request to Federal R&D, but I'm still not seeing why it couldn't wait till tomorrow."

Smith gave a wry smile. "The technology wasn't the reason I called you." A second video file popped up on the screen over the top of the current display.

The old chief gave the NCO an odd look and hesitantly tapped the display icon released by the Federal rescue ship on scene.

The new scene appeared to be taken from one of the medic's body cam. Chen watched as a pair of hands manipulated the excavation device as it was wedged into the seam of the hatch of the escape pod with a loud pop and screech of metal. The whine of the hydraulics must have been deafening since the sound from the video alone was enough to cause MSG Smith to turn away with a finger plugging one of his ears. Fortunately it was short lived. 

*The front quickly began to warp under the pressure as several rivets popped, flinging the hatch open hard enough to rebound back open had one of his men hadn't lowered her weapon to grab it before it snapped shut again. *

*No sooner did the Security officer take hold of the hatch, there was a flash of white and purple as a strange creature leapt out, crashing onto the corporal knocking her rifle's aim toward the ceiling before she could bring it to bear. The surprised woman shrieked and squeezed off a round, sending all Personnel scattering for cover, including the medic's camera. 

*The feed quickly devolved into chaos; a cacophony of shouts and jerking camera motions, most of the time showing no more than the side of the pod and the occasional limb of another medic taking cover nearby. Suddenly, a musical trill echoed through the room and the camera looked up to see a streak of purple hair fly overhead, a result of the creature being flung away from the corporal.*

*"I got it!" Someone yelled, and no more than a second later, the lead pilot came flying into view, the propulsion system on his suit creating several glares on the camera lens, obscuring most of the scene. But from what he could tell, the man grabbed the creature and pulled it against his chest in an effort to restrain it.*

Finally, as the commotion died down Cheng was able to get a good look at the Federal Security officer and the animal he captured. It was relatively small compared to the pilot, barely coming up to his lower abdomen in length, covered from top to bottom in fur of pure white that was marred by dark smudges along its shoulders and under its disturbingly expressive eyes. Its hair and tail were a rich purple in color, both meticulously stylized in large looping curls, the tail stretching far beneath the creature's rear hooves. Finally, growing out of its forehead was a small blunted horn the sam color as her fur.. 

*The creature slowly craned its neck up and looked at the FSS pilot, its muzzle opening wide--*

*"Blraahghaghaghaghagh!"*

Chen slammed his finger on the pause button so hard that it overrode the physical properties of the selection screen, sending his entire hand through the hard light construct. The video feed froze right at the moment SGT Roux was struck in the face by a vile stream of orange, green and brown liquid. Cheng looked at the NCO, his brow now indistinguishable from his hairline. "You're kidding, right?" 

MSG Smith rubbed the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh. "Yeaaaaaah." He said. "That was the other thing I was wondering about. Any ideas on a proper conclusion for this report? Aside from the obvious 'Officer puked on by unicorn'."





Corbin floated there, eyes closed and face distorted in disgust as he held onto the now limp creature, his face covered in bile with huge globs floating about randomly around him.

"Sergeant! Are you alright?" One of the medics asked from 'below'. 

'I'm fine Doct--. Gahgg! Oh God its in my mouth!" He gagged and spit out a glob that tasted disturbingly like apples.

The medic belted out a hearty laugh. "Well, come down! Lets get a look at you to be sure. Simmons! Put the lifeform in one of our empty crates and take it to the med lab. We'll take a look at it once we clean up the biohazards here."

The thrusters on Corbin's shoulders rotated slightly before firing off with a burst of blue light and the Sergeant slowly decended to the ground. As soon as his boots snapped to the floor, he felt someone tentatvely grab hold of the creature and relented as they pulled it from his grasp. A towel was then placed into his hand to which he immediately brought it to his face. 

"Don't rub it. Just blot. We have no idea what it was that it sprayed you with or what it could do." The medic warned. "It could be a defense mechanism."

"One that tastes like fruit?" Corbin mumbled skeptically, though he did as requested until he felt like he could open his eyes again. When he did, he looked around to regain his bearings. To his left a crewmember closed the lid on a container and took off towards the belly of the ship while another grabbed a zero-g vaccume and headed towards the mess still floating above them. Near to the opened capsule, a pale CPL Maeve held tight to the hatch seemingly trying to get her own breathing under control.

"What was that thing?" He asked and the chief medic gave a shrug in return.

"I dunno. I'm puttin' my credits on the bizzare love child of a horse and rhino or something." Came the reply. "Look, why don't you head over to the sterilization room and get yourself cleaned up." He then handed Corbin a large sealable bag. "Put your Remlok in here and take it to the lab when you're done. We got a bunch of spares you can use if you don't mind orange. I'll have Simmons show you the way with the vac, just in case you end up leaving a trail."

"Wonderful."





Roughly half an hour after the breach, Corbin floated through the narrow hallway of the Anaconda alone in a bright orange spare Remlok suit, his soiled gear sealed and secured under his left arm. In his right he held a small holo tablet skimming through his video feed from the attack. He drifted downward as he reached his destination, his mag boots pulling lightly against his legs when his feet neared the floor and snapped to the ground with an audible clack.

The sliding doors of the medical bay slid open with a rusted scraping sound and Corbin walked inside. He glanced around the fairly large room, taking in his surroundings mostly out of habit. The place was old and battlescarred, much like the rest of the ship, with metal plates welded together haphazardly all over the walls on the starboard side -- covering old wounds the once mighty Anaconda received in its heyday as one of several military flagships. -- A thick, uneven coat of dull gray paint covered the protrusions as well as the original plating, giving the ward a surprisingly dirty feel to it, despite the almost overwhelming smell of disinfectants and sterilizing agents in the air.

The Federal Security pilot made his way down the rows of hospital beds to the back where he came across a mid sized bio-hazard container affixed to a simple metal platform welded to the 'ceiling'. As he worked to unlock the latch, his comms chimed and he opened the latest report from the men scouring the debris. 

*Recovered Black Box Manifest.*

Corbin skimmed the research team's report on the pilot records and crew until he found a list of names. From there he began to count.

One...two...three...four..." He muttered, his stomach churning as the count grew ever higher. "Damn." Corbin ran a hand through the tight curls of his short black hair. Eighteen personnel were listed on the roster. "Good God. And we were only able to procure three pods. And only two had actual people on board."

His fist clenched, causing the sealed bag containing his dirty flight suit to bulge on either side of his hand before he tossed it unceremoniously into the vault. The package impacted the interior with a wet plap and began to float back out until Corbin slammed the door shut. The pilot let out a shuddering sigh and looked up at nothing in particular. 'I'm in for it now.' He thought sullenly. 'No doubt Maeve's gonna throw all the blame on me again. And this time I'm not so sure she's wrong.' He thought back to the battle and pulled out his holo-pad skimming through the video records hoping to find something to use, or at least twist, to aid in his defense should he end up going before a disciplinary board.





Rarity returned to the world of the living with a horrible splitting headache and an even worse taste in her mouth. She slowly opened her eyes only close them immediately as the dull lighting caused another stab of pain that lanced through her horn and into her skull. "Heavens me..." She groaned tiredly. "I feel like I've been kicked in the head by a minatuar. Is it cider season already?" She reached out a hoof and pawed blindly in the direction of her vanity that housed some mild pain medication. "Sweetie Bell?" She called out. "Could you be a dear and fetch me a glass of water?"

The steady hum of the room was all that replied.

"Sweetie Belle?" She called out a bit louder, wincing at the upward inflection in her own voice. Again there was no answer. She let out a sigh and reached out with her magic to open her drawer, only for her her horn to let loose a torrent of bright blue-white sparks along its spiral, giving the unicorn a heavy dose of magic backlash.

"Ahh!" The fashionista let out a cry of pain as her body spasmed from the feedback.  She bolted upright, all vestiges of fatigue evaporated as memories from her recent experience rushed back to the forefront of her mind. 

The alien flying machine.

Princess Celestia blasted away in a flash of purple.

A giant sun, larger than anything she'd ever seen.

A deafening bang, throwing her world into chaos.

The rushing wind, followed by a terrifying silence. 

A shove of telekinetic energy.

The walls of a metal tomb enveloping her.

And through the tiny window of her prison, Twilight reaching out with a bloody hoof, her face---

'Oh by Celestia! Her face!'

She quickly threw off the modest blanket and leapt to her hooves only to have them leave the ground, sending her forcibly crashing into the ceiling. Another bolt of agony from her injured horn assaulted her, forcing her to instinctively curl in on herself as she ricocheted into another surface. As she pinballed around the tiny enclosure, each bump bled off a portion of her momentum which ultimately left her floating in the middle while scrabbling with her hooves in a vain attempt to get a hoofhold. Wide panicking eyes whipped around frantically. 'No!' Her mind screamed. 'Not again!

"Twilight! Applejack!" She called out, her voice becoming more labored and frantic with each name. "Pinkie?!? Fluttershy!?! Rainbow!?!" Tears began to condense around her eyes, blurring her vision. "Spi--ike!?!" Another wave of dizziness overwhelmed her causing the dragon's name to break upon leaving her muzzle. The world around her peripheral faded to a milky white and she felt her mind dull, sinking back into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness. 

'No!' She shook her head, scattering teardrops around her and took in a deep breath through her nose. "Get control of yourself!" She admonished. "Your friends need help! You're not going to do them any good crying like a little foal."

Rubbing the remaining moisture from her face with a hoof and forcing herself into the mindset of the seamstress, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath and uncurled herself while keeping her limbs tucked tightly to her barrel . When she opened them again, she took in her latest enclosure, a small white box with barely enough room for her to stand up and turn around. Five of the six sides appeared to be translucent, as she could make out several distorted shapes that looked like they could be from some type of bizarre alien furniture. In one corner, there appeared to be a pair of metal hinges. The sixth side, however was dark, with no light able to come through. 'At least its bigger than the last one.' She thought.

Interestingly enough, on the 'bottom' of the cage was the single blanket she had been wrapped in when she woke up. Crinkled and bunched up as it was, it had all the appearance of a ball of tin foil, its reflective covering giving Rarity a distorted view of her rather unkempt appearance. While the idea of a reflective piece of linen was at best confusing and at worst a crime against fashion, the most intruiging aspect was that it appeared to be immune to her current 'floating problem'. Upon further inspection, all four corners appeard to be firmly affixed to the ground; no hooks or other devices visible to the naked eye to give her a clue on how it worked.

As she pondered this strange design choice, a sign of movement caught her eye. A large silhouette unlike anything she had seen thus far had moved into view and was steadily growing larger by the second. Whatever it was that was beyond her cage, it was orange and massive. 

And getting closer. 

Her tenuous hold on her still overwhelming fear began to slip and the unicorn scrambled about in the air to get a hoofhold on the blanket.

The moment her hooves finally made contact with the makeshift anchor, she heard the metallic snapping sound of a latch being released and the door slowly opened. The mare frantically yanked on the fabric, its corners holding just well enough to allow her to propel herself head first into it's confines.





Corbin was brought out of his musings by a crackle of electricity and flash of light, followed by a pained squeak and a few hefty thumps. He turned to his left towards the source of the disturbance where a somewhat large translucent storage container was affixed to the wall at around the height of his shoulders had he been standing on the floor. In it he could make out something moving about inside. A white blob could be seen through the material, twirling about in a blind panic trying in vain to regain its equilibrium.

His curiosity getting the better of him, he made his way towards it.

He moved his hand to the bottom right corner, bringing up a small orange Holo control panel where he released the locking mechanism and unlatched the door. 





The chief medical officer looked up from his work as the lights above dimmed and flickered sporadically, a heavy buzzing sound following the display. He leaned to the side and tapped a button on the nearby station. "Nel, could you get ahold of the engineering crew? Looks like the distributor is on the fritz again."

*Skkkt* "Good copy. We'll get a crew on it after recovering the debris." The radio crackled in return.

After closing the commlink, he returned his attention back to his patient sitting accross from him in a zero-G chair. "Sorry about the interruption. Please, continue." 

The Achenarian native fiddled with the pair of gloves in her pale hands. "Well... once we breached to pod, I grabbed the lid to keep it from closing. And that's when it had its way with my face." She bit lightly on her lower lip, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she struggled not to grin. "Didn't even buy me dinner."

The doctor paused in his typing to look at her, a flat look etched across his weathered face.





*Thump!* *Crackle* "UAWAHAHA!"

Corbin yelped as a bright blue bolt of what looked like a slower bolt of electricity blasted the door open. His body spasmed before he found himself launched backwards, sending him flying a good few feet before the back of his legs collided with a medical cot. He toppled head over heels off the edge and dropped to the floor with a thud. He laid there a few seconds breathing heavily, stunned. His right hand twitched sporadically, the feeling of pins and needles overwhelming most of his senses. Slowly he rolled over and took a shuddering breath. When he sat up few seconds later, he groaned rubbing his head gingerly. "What the hell just happened?" He wondered as he slowly got back to his feet.

A sound that could only be described as a high pitched musical warble drew his focus back to the container, its hatch now wide open. The twitching white creature was currently burrowed partway beneath the emergency blanket with its rump sticking out, its rear legs extended straight up which ended up putting its back into a painful arch. Its stylized purple tail was hiked and rigid, its edges poofed outward without completely ruining the coifed design. He also noticed for the first time a trio of blue diamonds stamped on its rump --for some reason--. And in the front poking out of the blanket was that little blunted horn with what looked like a nasty crack, lined in what appeared to be liquid silver pooled around running down the center of its length.

The creature let out a pitiful whine as its body pitched sideways, falling out of the container and landing on the floor with a muffled thump.

Corbin jumped back the moment he saw it move, only to find himself suddenly off balance, forcing him to grab hold of the cot's handrail to stay upright. He paused for a moment, bringing his free hand to his face and looked at it strangely. He quickly activated his commlink. "Hey doc."

A moment later, the radio crackled to life. "What can I do for you Sergeant?"

The pilot looked at the quivering alien nervously. "You know how you mentioned it could have a defense mechanism?" At the medics affirmation, he continued. "Well, I think it just hit me with something. You might want to come see this."





Meanwhile...

Galactic Coordinates: Taranis Sector

*Encrypted Transmission Sent. Priority Level: Bravo.*

*Target Location: Janszoon Depot / Distance: 6,491 meters, 2143 X, -0091 Y.*

*Request: Anonymous docking / Interstellar Factors / Repairs.*