The Legacy Paradox

Chapter 1

Beyond the seven known realms, a newborn infant laughs for the first time, brilliant violet eyes shut in the glee that only a child could possess. Her parents beam in happiness as the infant's mother's eyes blur with tears...

A brother toils endlessly in infinite fields edged by apple orchards. His straw blonde hair was slick with sweat; the sun bears no mercy to the young slave. But he continues to work, knowing the consequences that shall befall him  and his sister should he fall behind...

An evil tyrant, a conqueror of the stars and an envious royal locked in an endless cycle of battle in strife fight against one another on the battlefield bloodied by the innocents. The battle makes them weary for the eternal slumber but not one dares to show weakness...

In the void that was the nothingness, a goddess sleeps. Locks of iridescent hair float like a halo as each breath comes in short sighs. And with each breath, a new universe comes into existence...

Rainbow Dash shut the door to the reactor core of the NLR Battleship. Three years of no maintenance had left the ship's main power source heavily degraded, not to mention the core's containment system. One mechanic had suggested that they bring up the Battleship to fully operational status, in preparation to fight Celestia. After a quick crash course on reactor repair by one of the surviving NLR mechanics, Rainbow Dash was able to affect a quick-fix to the reactor's containment systems, ensuring a safe, steady supply of power to the ship's weapon systems.

Fastening the last wires together, Rainbow Dash cringed as pain racked her body again for the third time, electricity coursing through her fingers. She had been assured that such a limited exposure to such high levels of radiation and electricity wasn't bad for her, but Rainbow Dash wasn't as certain as the MCs were about her health. There was nothing just or heroic about death by radiation; it was just plain lame. Rainbow Dash closed the panel, wiping her oil stained hands upon her jeans, and furiously typed several codes into the main computer linked to the core. A series of high pitched beeping rewarded her efforts as she glided across the grating, her light footsteps flooding the corridor.

Rainbow Dash swiftly scaled the ladder out into the main maintenance corridor, and after taking a few more turns, stepped out onto the massive deck. The elegant craft sailed at light-speed through a myriad of green, blue, yellow, and other unidentifiable colours. As Rainbow Dash made her way to the ship's bridge tower, the gun emplacement around her emerged from their housing beneath the deck, humming as they spun up their systems. Pleased with the positive response from the weapon systems, Rainbow Dash headed towards the main console to check the status of the other systems.

A content hum announced her satisfaction. Absentmindedly, she rubbed the five, pure crystal rings upon her fingers, two on her right and three on her left, and looked towards the blurred lines that were passing stars and planets. The sixth ring hung upon an unbreakable metal chain around her chest, underneath her white shirt and beige scarf.

Three weeks had left the crew of the Battleship irritable and weary. For Rainbow Dash, it had left her paranoid and reminiscing, neither good qualities to have to begin with. Together, the crew had swiftly learned to all but avoid the edgy leader. The multicoloured haired teenager eyed the solid bands of chatoyant crystals with a grimace. How she had acquired the rings was a less than pleasant experience, quite excruciating if she was to be honest, but after having a blackout only days ago, she chose not to dwell on the past for too long. The ship couldn't handle the sudden outburst of unicorn, valkyrie and earth magic.

"Hey, Boss," called out Iron Gear, the head mechanic, "da boys just finished da hull. They'd be down in da mess hall by now."

She nodded in acknowledgement, her hands dropping to her sides, almost guiltily.

"Good, that's good." she replied cooly. The leader of the NLR Battleship paused momentarily before asking, "Are the cells ready for the Jump?"

Iron Gear toothily grinned. "'Course, Boss! Me and da boys got da cells right as ah jiffy! It's as good as new!" he boasted.

"Are you positive? Because if there's any problem, we'll be dead faster than Celestia can rise the sun." pressed Rainbow Dash.

The man shuffled uncomfortably at the information. "I can get da boys to check da cells again, Boss."

She curtly nodded. Rainbow Dash lazily waved away the head mechanic, her attention focused on the ever shifting monitors.

"You go and do that. I want a full report on the condition of the ship on my desk before we Jump."

"Sure thing, Boss."

Just as before, she was left alone in the bridge tower. The empty seats screamed at her. Most of the crew had died in the first couple of Jumps. Those that didn't left immediately, save for a couple dozen mechanics, doctors and cooks. The soldiers that had once manned the guns had all but died, and now the weapon systems were manned by an A.I named EWCU, which stood for Equestrian Weapon Command Unit. It's artificial voice that sounded a tad like her childhood friend, Fluttershy, annoyed the living day lights out of her whenever it spoke to her.

This time, however, the emptiness of the bridge tower was much appreciated. No one could witness her doubt. A Jump was difficult as it was, and to have anyone see their fearless leader hesitant would do nothing but lower the already steep morale of the remaining crew. The young leader brought a scarred hand through her hair, pulling it into a loose ponytail, and when the erratic blinking of a monitor to her left caught her deep pink, nearly red, eyes, she abandoned her ridiculous fears. If she had thought the reactor core was an emergency, then this, this was a thousand times worse. Rainbow Dash slammed her hand down upon one of the larger buttons.

"This is Rainbow Dash, all hands on deck! I repeat, all hands on deck!" screamed Rainbow Dash, into the com-link.

The alarms blared across the Battleship as the red lights flared in the bridge tower. She typed at ridiculous speeds as the monitors glared and the weapon systems locked onto something in the distance. She hadn't expected the Empire's ships to actually find the NLR, and with the condition of the Battleship, Rainbow Dash knew they were beyond royally screwed. There was only one choice she had now, and it was less than pleasant.

"You've got to be kidding me! Why now? Why?!" demanded Rainbow Dash, cursing all the while as she ran between the consoles. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Celestia dammit!" Her fist collided with the metal surface of the console, jarring it slightly from it's sturdy hinges.

Despite being in the bridge tower, Rainbow Dash could easily hear the shouts from the remaining crew over the blaring of the sirens. It was a sound she had grown too accustomed to over the past three years aboard the NLR.

"Brace for to Jump! I repeat, brace to Jump!" she yelled over the com.

Using curses that even Celestia would blush at, Rainbow Dash raced towards the main chair that overlooked the bridge deck, pushed a few buttons in rapid succession and brought up a screen. Her fingers flashed across the screen in what could only be described as a blur before she took a hasty breath. Everything was set for an emergency Jump. Praying to whatever deity was out there, Rainbow Dash swiftly removed the sixth ring and hurriedly slid it upon her right middle finger as the elegant Battleship jerked to the side at the sudden impact of an energy blast from the Empire Battleship. It didn't matter, though. The ruby ring was already firmly settled against her finger.

Another jerk and Rainbow Dash was clawing her crystal covered fingers into the arms of the titanium chair. Channeling what little focus she had with the distractions of the sirens, the crew screaming, the stars blurring past them and the Empire Battleship firing against the NLR, the pure crystal bands illuminated a brilliant glow, faint but still there. A myriad of spells rolling off her tongue in a succession of pure, untamed magic. The rings rapidly increased in brightness, engulfing Rainbow Dash in a rainbow whirlwind, before it shot off into the bowels of the Battleship. Eyes flickering, Rainbow Dash could feel the tangible power of the rings seep into every creak and crevice.

Her voice shook in unison to the blasts hitting the Empire Battleship behind them. While it wasn't the ideal situation for a Jump, Rainbow Dash was certain that she could successfully complete a Jump, essentially breaking the fourth wall.

"K'haile brama turre." chanted Rainbow Dash.

Her brow creased with concentration as cool sweat dripped off her brow, down the crevices of her face and past the nape of her neck. Trembling lips formed a straight line when she was nearly jarred from her seat at a particular jolt, the lights of the starship flickering out of existence. Along with the lights went the sirens, leaving the ship and the crew in an eerie silence that was deafening to her ears.

"Sdara gha hulugron trikona." she hissed through clenched teeth.

The once dimly lit rings were blinding white with power, burning her already scarred hands with their uncontrollable might. The abhorrent stench of burnt flesh and wires made her gag reflex prominent. She bit back the natural reaction to gag and cradle her burning fingers. Instead, she focused her hyped awareness to concentrating it upon wrapping the ship in an aura of rainbow. The sudden tug at her navel and the warping interior of the ship stretching forward alerted her of the breakage of the transparent, intangible fourth wall.

"Fhi zehu cargar ohtama!"

Whiteness blurred her already distorted vision...

Upon a castle balcony overlooking the gorgeous city of Canterlot, the purple haired student of Princess Celestia mindlessly sipped a steaming mug of coffee. It was close to seven in the morning, and most of the city and palace residents were fast asleep, all except for her. The student–Twilight Sparkle, heroine of Equestria, bearer of the Element of Magic–had woken up at the crack of dawn when her beloved mentor was just rising the sun above the rolling hills in the far distance. After completing a few notes she had abandoned in the library last night, Twilight Sparkle, under the heavy recommendation of Princess Celestia to not overwork herself, again, slipped away from the boredom that was the court, which was saying something in itself, to enjoy a peaceful, non-Discord-ruining breakfast. Thus far, it was.

Twilight Sparkle enjoyed a nice, fresh salad with a cup of strong coffee on the side. A book on spells sat in one hand while the other held the steaming cup. With the turning of the pages, she sipped the black coffee. That was, however, until she saw something glisten in the distance, too bright to be a star but too high to be a balloon. Her first thoughts on what the mysterious object was in the sky was whether it required the Elements of Harmony. Her second thought was did it involve Rainbow Dash? The valkyrie had been attempting more crazy and unusual tricks and shenanigans than before. Perhaps to spite Discord for taking wings perviously. Or, she was really that idiotic. Twilight Sparkle didn't put it past the rainbow haired athlete to try something ridiculous.

Her suspicions leaned towards Rainbow Dash as the object too far away to identify started to shift from blinding white to iridescent, leaving shock waves of rainbow in it's wake. Captured by the sheer beauty of the display of brilliant colours, Twilight Sparkle was utterly flabbergasted.

Valkyrie magic at best was wild like lightning. It struck fast and it left little residue besides a faint afterimage. Clouds for example were mostly created by valkyrie. They were large, fearsome towers, but clouds held a lot of space between molecules, according to the research of Star Swirl the Bearded. They only lasted for so long before turning into vapour. The Sonic Rainboom on the other hand was pure valkyrie magic. Bursting through the sound barrier was no easy feat, and it left a colour trail in it's wake as light and sound particles bender around the individual. Though, a multiple Sonic Rainboom was theoretically impossible due to having already broken the barrier. It left a giant magic trail that only unicorns could pick up. For a witch such as Twilight Sparkle, whose magic was almost even to that of a unicorn's might, the trail was like a blinding white light trailing wherever the individual went. Thus, seeing the distant rainbooms was quite startling.

Forgoing the coffee and book, Twilight Sparkle was already on her feet by the time the object became clearer, and only one thought dominated her massive brain, Twilight blanched considerably.

The object was falling directly towards the Canterlot palace at lightning speeds. Bigger than anything she had ever seen before, the object looked vaguely like an enormous boat with strange objects swirling upon it's deck and sides, firing what could only be described as balls of fire at something behind it. Fire engulfed a good portion of the ship, too. She quickly crossed out the chance of it being friendly and wondered whether this was an attack by the Gryphons. No one in Equestria could have possibly created such a monstrous creation. The few that were awake in Canterlot and the palace did the only thing it could do in such a situation; they screamed.

Their horrified screams awakened the entire city and palace as people ran to and fro. Twilight Sparkle huffed indignantly. The rest of the Mane Six had gone home after the incident with the Spirit of Chaos. Which meant the Elements of Harmony would be useless against the giant metal beast. A blur of white, gold and pastels flew past her at neck breaking speeds and it took the bearer of the Element of Magic only milliseconds to identify the majestic being.

"Princess!" screamed Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight Sparkle," exclaimed the princess, "go help Canterlot evacuate!"

"But, Princess, I can help you!"

The Sun Sovereign simply shook her head. "It's too dangerous, Twilight Sparkle. You need to get out of here while you still have time!" she explained.

"What are you going to do?" demanded the bewildered Twilight Sparkle, her entire world crashing down upon her head. "You don't know what that thing is!"

"That is why I must stop it before it hurts anyone. Should I fail, I will have bought the citizens of Canterlot enough time to get to safety! Do not argue with me, Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Celestia's eyes and hands glowed gold. "Now go!"

The flying monarch took off in a billowing of robes as magic encased her, leaving Twilight Sparkle in her wake.

Calling after the legendary monarch, Twilight Sparkle watched in horror as the burning ship continued its barreling descent towards the palace. The once hazy words written across the hull became visible against the early sun and flames.

The New Lunar Republic.

Her thoughts flickered to the most likely slumbering moon princess as she watched Princess Celestia use her powerful magic to encase the ship. It wasn't enough. The mysterious vessel plummeted towards the castle at alarming rates with absolutely no sign of stopping until a wide arc of rainbow lightning stretched itself across the entirety of the ship. It crackled fiercely as it netted itself against the silver metal of the New Lunar Republic and made it come to a screeching halt only inches away from colliding with the tallest spiral of the palace. It overshadowed Twilight while the remaining witches and wizards used whatever water spells they knew to extinguish the growing flames.

There was no way in Celestia's name that this situation didn't call for the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. She just prayed that she could reach them in time.

Street side, every soldier and civilian were clamouring towards the ship with interest and suspicion. There was no way something like this could be kept quiet. Princess Luna must have seen it. However, along with Twilight Sparkle, every soldier and medic in a hundred mile radius were converging at the hull of the ship using magic and wings to discover what exactly laid within.