Heart of Courage

The agile hover bike banked hard right, flying close enough along the unforgiving canyon wall for its exhaust to knock loose small rocks and boulders which tumbled aimlessly towards the valley floor far below. Behind it, one of the cygnul drones let loose a burst of fire from its twin lance batteries. A flurry of bright spear-shaped projectiles stitched a line across the cliff face above, missing the small craft by feet.

Twilight Sparkle squeezed her eyes shut as the near miss pelted them with stone shrapnel. Her mane and tail whipping in the wind, the bike dove away and rocketed towards the canyon floor, sacrificing altitude for speed. The mare ground her teeth together as her stomach dropped for what felt like the hundredth time in as many seconds. She glanced around the human’s shoulder, letting out a squeak of fear when she saw the rough terrain come rushing up in a blur of dappled amber.

At the last second, James pulled the yoke back and gunned the throttle. The already piercing scream of the bike roared even louder, causing Twilight to cringe and lay her ears flat against her head. Their pursuer fell behind, not anticipating the maneuver. Taking advantage of the short respite, they caught up with the closest griffon pilot in front of him. James drew his attention with a waving arm, and then spun his hand around in a repeating circular pattern.

The griffon pilot nodded and pulled his bike away, ducking down a smaller offshoot gorge to the left. He spread the word to the rest of the fliers and they scattered, each aiming for one of the narrower intersecting ravines, leaving the wide open canyon in favor of someplace with more cover. James mirrored the rest of the squadron, banking his craft in a hard right turn, which allowed Twilight to look behind them. The two cygnul drones had recovered from their quarry’s evasion, and altered their course to follow their bike.

“James!” Twilight had to scream over the wind, “They’re both following us!” In front of her, the twin walls of the smaller canyon came rushing forward as they sought safety in its labyrinth of twisting rock. Both cygnul drones converged on their prey, taking their chances in the dangerous terrain. This was not a target they would cease their pursuit of so easily.

Their bike soared around each turn, the smaller flying craft maneuvering easily in the tight quarters. It might have been peaceful if the inaccurate bursts of gunfire didn’t serve as a reminder of the deadly predators on their tail. Twilight craned her head around to see the cygnul fliers falling back, the larger fighters unable to keep up in the slender canyon, and a wave of elation filled her body.

Twilight peered over James’ shoulder and her heart sunk when they burst forth into a flat river valley. Realizing their dire situation as quickly as the unicorn on his back, James immediately attempted to dive and hide them in a clutch of trees along the bank when a massive shadow blocked out the sun over them. Both human and pony swung their heads upwards, fearing the worst when a wonderful sight greeted their eyes. A scarred, but still flying UEN shuttle with an easily recognizable face waving from the transparent canopy. “Isamu!” Twilight cried out with glee, waving a hoof back at him until the bike shifted and her foreleg quickly snapped back to grip James’ torso.

Pulling the throttle back, James pitched the hovercraft upwards. They slowly moved to the rear of the shuttle where the open ramp lay waiting. As they slipped into the larger machine’s slipstream, they slid forward and landed easily in the spacious cargo bay.

Before they came to a stop, Twilight leapt off the bike, landing on all fours and stretching her cramped back legs. Following her, James placed his hands on his hips and cracked his spine while moving towards the nose of the hovercraft. “Help me out, Twilight. We need to lose the dead weight.”

Nodding, the lavender unicorn focused her mind on this new task, using it to keep her exhaustion at bay. Ignoring her fatigued body and mind would probably cost dearly later, but for now, survival took precedence. Together, pony and human pushed against the front of the hover bike, forcing it along the deck with a metallic screech. Its nose rose up off the floor as its center of gravity moved over open space. The bike tilted backwards and fell into the sky, dropping like an anvil towards the ground below.

Twilight and James leaned forward to track the craft’s plummet, watching it tumble end over end until it slammed into the tributary below in a flare of white spray. Further behind the shuttle, the cygnul drones had finished navigating the narrow canyon and shot forward after their new target. “Uh oh.” She muttered before turning to follow the human running for the flight deck.

“Isamu!” James cried out, cupping his hands around his mouth to be heard over the much more powerful engines of the shuttle. “They’re on our tail!”

Either Isamu heard him, or he picked up on their pursuers just in time. The ship suddenly banked left and cut its speed, narrowly avoiding the cygnul’s first firing run. The quick thinking actions of their pilot had one unforeseen circumstance. Tank’s deceleration violently threw both human and pony hard against the bulkhead in front of them.

A flash of white momentarily interrupted Twilight’s vision and the next thing she knew, a wall of grey-painted steel encompassed the majority of her peripheral sight. Heaving herself up with the help of an equally dazed James Fletcher, a wet feeling on her snout soon drew her attention. The moment her hoof made contact with her face, a lance of pain triggered an involuntary spasm. Ouch! Glancing down at the perpetrator, Twilight’s eyes grew wide at the sight of sticky blood in the matted fur of her forehoof. I’m bleeding!

Another bank of the shuttle, albeit not at abrupt as the last, forced her to place all four hooves on the ground in a wide stance to avoid becoming a pony-pinball again. I’m hurt, but not gushing blood. Her rationality came through just in time. Calm down, Twilight. Let’s just get out of here and deal with it later. Pushing any thought of her possible broken nose away, the lavender unicorn carefully walked along the angled deck behind James. Two legs by themselves may be less stable than a pony’s four, but a human’s hands gave them a tremendous advantage if handholds were available.

Holding onto an exposed support beam with one hand, Captain Fletcher cycled the flight deck door and let gravity swing it open. Both of them surged into the room, scrambling for a belted seat before an evasive maneuver could throw them around again. Twilight had just locked her leg straps down when Isamu called back at her with an order that caused her stomach to drop.

“You want me to do what?” The mare frowned at the back of the human’s head, her chest still rising and falling rapidly from their recent excursion of Valles’ Greken Canyon.

“I need you to go back into the cargo bay and get on the tail gun on the upper floor!” Isamu let out a deep groan as he drew the control yoke towards him, the shuttle shuddering in the air while two dark streaks overshot their target again. Next to him, James finished strapping himself in and reached forward to grasp the identical yoke in front of him, aiding Isamu with his own strength.

“We’re flying this thing with no hydraulics and we can’t escape the cygs forever! They are just too fast!” James shouted while straining to help fly Tank; his veins growing more pronounced on his neck as he did so.

Taking advantage of the lull, Isamu twisted his head over to look at her. Heavy bags hung under his eyes and streaks of sweat ran down into his suit’s neckline. “Twilight, you can do this. I know you can.” He gave her a weak smile. “Trust yourself!” A heavy series of thuds ran along the length of their ship, and every eye went for the standby instruments, a small backup panel of physical sensors.

“We’re hit, but it looks like they missed everything vital!” James bellowed; his eyes returning to the canopy in front of them, searching for their hunters. “Go, Twilight! We’ll hold her steady as long as possible for you!”

Gulping down her fear, Twilight loosened her straps and dashed towards the perilous cargo bay where one wrong move could throw her into the open sky, a hundred feet above the valley floor. In her current condition, such a fall would be short and undoubtedly fatal. This thought certainty that helped her double her speed. She clambered up a ladder next to the ramp, carefully but quickly placing each hoof to avoid slipping to her death.

Her haste to reach the catwalk paid off when the shuttle’s nose pitched upwards, and a high pitched burst of gunfire passed close enough for Twilight to instinctively duck. She threw her forehooves around one of the railings just in time to keep from sliding off the elevated platform. Her rear legs kicked uselessly in the air while she fought to pull herself up. “Argh!” Grunting in frustration, her body shook from exhaustion. Through the open rear of the shuttle, the two cygnul drones banked away. Their engine whine dropped suddenly in pitch as they buzzed the helpless transport.

Unable to drag herself onto the catwalk, Twilight cried out in despair. She just did not have the strength anymore after pushing her body well past its limits. Glancing over at the gun suite a dozen strides away, her lips trembled and her eyes moistened. I’m so close. The unicorn’s mind wandered to the two humans struggling to keep them from being shot out of the air. If she couldn’t get on that weapon, they would all die.

Twilight Sparkle ground her teeth hard, taking in a deep breath and squeezing her eyes shut. I will not fail. Reaching down deep within her, the tip of her horn ignited in violet light and she vanished from her precarious spot on the upper ledge and popped back into existence on the gun platform. Immediately, the mare collapsed to the ground, clutching her head with her forehooves; whimpering and sobbing in agony.

The pounding torment in her skull threatened to paralyze her with inaction right then and there, but the Element of Magic proved to be tough to bring down. Blinking through her tears, Twilight dragged herself to her hooves; every exhale of breath accompanied with a grunt of discomfort. In front of her, the tail gun sat bolted to the floor, its long multi barreled cannon pointing high in the sky. The auto-targeting mechanism on the back of the weapon remained uselessly locked in place since its computer had been fried earlier.

Twilight carefully activated several red clamps on the mechanical arms that usually would traverse the gun around in its field of fire, unlocking them one by one and letting them drop to the floor. Her stomach fluttered in her belly when the ship once more dove towards the ground. In front of her through the tail canopy, her eyes picked out two black specs heading their way. On either side of the shuttle, tall rocky cliffs rushed by as Isamu and James attempted to hide in the rugged canyon.

Finally, the last robotic arm clanged against the steel deck with a reverberating boom. The rear of the tail gun slowly swung up as the slightly heavier barrel assembly drooped down low. The lavender mare reared up on her back legs, reaching above her to grab the spade handles on the back of the receiver with her forehooves. Swinging the heavy weapon around, she found it surprising to feel how easy it traversed. Though it must have weighed ten times as much as she did, the mount seemed balanced enough for her to have no problem adjusting its aim.

Using one hoof to hold onto the grip, Twilight yanked at a small helmet hanging on the nearby wall and forced it down on her head to keep her eardrums from being blown out. With that same hoof, she reached forward and wrapped it around the thick bolt on the side of the receiver. A loud clacking sound accompanied the first round being loaded into the firing chamber.

Steeling herself, Twilight Sparkle gripped the weapon and stared down its sight profile, a grim expression of determination plastered on her face. Only a slight increase in pressure from her forehooves would be all it took to activate the squeeze triggers on the handles. Flying in the canyon meant they had little to no maneuverability anymore, something the cygnul drones should attempt to use to their advantage by slowing down and taking their time racking their tail with concentrated gunfire.

The cygnul had attempted to kill Twilight half a dozen times today alone. She had been shot at more times than she could count and they had even tried to strip away her free will in a brutal psychic assault. Her friends had been threatened and she had to watch the ruthless devastation brought upon a planet that wanted to make peace in the galaxy.

This was an enemy that would stop at nothing to destroy her world and bring ruin upon all she loved. During her fight for survival, Twilight Sparkle had been forced to react to everything thrown at her… until now. With the two cygnul fighters approaching what they assumed would be an easy extermination; they entered the kill zone of the shuttle’s tail gun. Taking in a deep breath, Twilight fully depressed both handle triggers and an ungodly roar answered in response as the heavens filled with fire. The hunters had become the hunted.

A column of flame flared from the barrel assembly, reaching several feet out and obscuring much of the weapon’s backup sight profile. Twilight’s whole body vibrated as she fought to keep the shuddering weapon trained on the small drones behind them. Pivoting the heavy gun around, she stitched a line of slugs across the sky, blowing rock off the cliff walls in a powdery spray. Every second, a hundred shell casings poured out of the ejection chute and into the air behind the shuttle in a glittering golden rain.

Twilight used the weapon’s tracers to walk its stream of fire towards the first drone. The sparkling fireflies met the cygnul craft and transformed it into a ball of molten slag in an instant, leaving it to impact solidly on the valley floor. Realizing the danger posed by the UEN shuttle, the second drone banked hard, attempting to accelerate forward past the ship. Its bid for safety was blocked when the lumbering shuttle dropped down low, keeping the cygnul behind them. Wasting no time, the purple unicorn moved sideways to track her remaining target.

Glaring over the rapidly rotating barrels of the cannon, Twilight let out a scream of pure defiance as she refused to let up on the triggers. Her yelling joined with the machine’s and together, they dished out an unforgiving punishment upon the cygnul. In a last attempt to escape, the drone pulled up hard, scrambling for altitude when the pony connected it to the tail gun’s torrent of shells. She must have hit something vital because the cygnul craft detonated in a blinding explosion, rocking the UEN ship hard enough to throw her off the gun.

She stumbled backwards, legs flailing in the air when her spine slammed into the platform railing. Twilight slid down and came to rest on her haunches, staring ahead with a shocked expression. After listening to the intense racket from the tail gun, silence now seemed bizarre. Raising her right hoof, the mare pulled off her helmet and tossed it to the ground. It’s over. Closing her eyes, she listened to the blowing wind rushing through the open cargo bay and the soft thrum of their engines, no longer taxed with the additional maneuvering power. It’s over… for now.

“Come on Owlowiscious. Where are you?” Fluttershy called up at the leafy canopy in Canterlot’s sprawling gardens. The yellow pegasus drifted among the old trees, her feathery wings beating softly. She smiled at a family of squirrels peeking out from a hollow knot in an oak trunk. “Oh, hello there! That is a lovely home you both have.”

She smiled at the tiny woodland creatures who cheerfully chirped back to her when a small brown owl flew up to her from further in the gardens. “There you are, Owlowiscious! Did you have a nice afternoon flight?” Fluttershy asked as she floated towards the ground, landing lightly on her hooves.

“Whoo. ” The feathered assistant perched upon the pegasus mare’s hindquarters. Owlowiscious folded his wings and Fluttershy began her trek back to the castle.

“Good, I’m glad to hear that.” Stepping around a patch of weeds, she avoided the brambles that had returned since the groundskeepers stopped tending the garden. Princess Celestia had tasked them with other duties to assist Equestria in the war. Pruning roses and clearing away dead branches fell in priority compared to feeding refugees forced from their homes by King Moonclaw.

A cool breeze ruffled through her mane, earning a shiver from the pegasus. Winter’s breath reminded her of the approaching season change. She could already hear a rumble of thunder from the first of the large fall thunderstorms. “Let’s go inside before it rains. Maybe we can go see if Spike needs any help.”

“Whoo. ”

“I know he does. It’s been hard adjusting.” Fluttershy’s head drooped and her voice grew quieter. “Where do you think she went, Owlowiscious?”

“Whoo. Whoo. ”

“I don’t know. Princess Celestia wouldn’t tell us exactly what happened to her. I just… wish I knew whether she was still alive or… or if she is….”

Owlowiscious snapped his beak to grab her attention and he shook his head side to side.

“Okay, I know. You’re right. I need to stay positive and focus on the present.” Fluttershy paused at the doors leading into the castle. “I just really miss her.” Her eyes began to moisten when Owlowiscious hopped forward and rubbed his head against her neck, earning a smile from the pegasus mare. “Oh, Owlowiscious. You’re sweet.” She beamed a smile at the owl. “Let’s go find Spike.”

“Wake up, Twilight. We are here.” James shook the unicorn’s shoulder.

Eyes opening in surprise, Twilight examined her surroundings. “Huhh? What?” She mumbled through a dry and sticky mouth before letting out a large yawn. The last thing she remembered was buckling up in her seat while Isamu and James prepared to accelerate into orbit.

“You fell asleep right after strapping-in from adrenal exhaustion.” Isamu said while James helped her unbuckle and stand up. “I’m surprised you didn’t wake up during our initial burn. It was rather violent with our navigation suite offline. Did you sleep well?”

“I… had one of those time bleeding flashbacks." Isamu and James shared a concerned look and Twilight scratched the messy mane behind her ears in the awkward silence that followed. “How long was I out?”

“Two hours.” James smirked at her stunned face. “It took a bit longer for the Dash to find us with no radio.” The human turned and knocked once on the sealed cabin door. After a second or two, an answering double tap sounded and Isamu cycled the lock.

Before the door could completely open, Victoria had charged through with a large white medical kit in her hands. “Are you all okay? Is anyone hurt? How are you feeling?” Her barrage of questions nearly forced the three survivors back with their intensity.

Raising a hand to stay her, James calmly responded to her interrogation. “We are all fine, Victoria. A little banged up and tired, but nothing that requires immediate attention. I promise that we all will see you in the medical bay but not until we leave this system.” He edged around the unmoving human with Isamu close behind.

Twilight tried to follow when Victoria stopped her. “Twilight, you’ve been shot!” She yelled out, dropping down on a knee. Her hands reached out to examine the wound on the pony’s neck.

Remembering the injury, the mare sighed. “It was just a graze.” Raising a hoof, she felt the rough scab that had already formed, but it still felt tender enough to incite a twitch from her. The motion was not missed by the human, and she opened her mouth to protest. “I’ll get treatment, I promise!” She interjected. “I will visit you when we enter jump space.”

Victoria followed behind the lavender unicorn, letting out a huff of air in frustration. “I’m going to the bridge with all of you. The last thing we need is for someone to collapse and crack their head open.”

The mare smiled back at her as they exited the shuttle, passing dozens of ponies and humans already working on the transport. Glancing up at the ship that had gotten her home, Twilight frowned at the numerous burn marks and bullet holes that peppered the heavy machine. We really took some serious damage down there. She thought with a sliver of fear, recognizing how close they had been to not making it back.

Both of them walked briskly down the comforting passageways of the Rainbow Dash. The armored ship gave off an aura of protection and safety, unlike the tiny griffon scout bike she had been on earlier. During the trip to the bridge, Victoria asked Twilight dozens of questions about her condition, digging through the medical kit for supplies to use.

“Victoria, please!” Twilight waved off another attempt to bandage her neck. “It’s not bleeding anymore. If you want to help me right now, can you get me something for my headache?” They rounded a corner and the entrance to the bridge came into sight.

“Did you perform a large number of magical spells down on the planet?”

“Yes.” Twilight frowned and paused to rub her horn before resuming her trek. “I had no choice at the time.”

“Then you probably have spellcaster’s cephalgia. It’s a pain in the head caused by magical exertion.” Victoria pulled a small orange cylinder out of the kit and removed a large white pill before sealing everything back up. From a pouch on her waist, she drew a plastic bottle and unscrewed the cap. “Here,” she stopped in front of Twilight and held out the pill. “This will ease your headache.”

Twilight stopped herself before she picked up the tiny white tablet with her telekinesis. That probably would be a bad idea right now. So she mimicked the earth pony way and scooped the medicine onto one of her forehooves and into her mouth. Accepting the canteen, she washed down the pill with a gulp of refreshingly cool water.

Noticing the satisfaction on the unicorn’s face, Victoria stopped Twilight from handing her back the canteen. “Finish it; then we can move on.”

Smiling despite herself, she quickly gulped down the rest of the water, soothing her parched throat. She needed much more than this little bottle could carry to rehydrate, but it was a start. “Thanks!” Twilight returned the empty container and walked onto the bridge with Victoria in tow.

“Double check those readings.” James Fletcher pointed towards one of the ensigns in the room. “It looks like a gravity distortion to me and could indicate something big coming through.”

“Sir,” the earth pony replied. “I’ve confirmed the data three times. Our sensors detect gravitic fluctuations at point along the system plane approximately a hundred thousand kilometers from Valles’ moon, Parum.”

James leaned forward and placed his hand over his mouth as he studied the screen in front of him diligently. Twilight quickly pulled herself up in her seat next to him and read over a summary report of the events in space over the last couple hours. “Things don’t look good.” She whispered over to the captain. Victoria took advantage of her immobility to start bandaging her neck up.

“From the moment they started firing, the cygnul envoy lasted ten seconds before a griffon planetary defense cannon blew it out of the sky.” James spoke in a low tone. “They succeeded in causing plenty of chaos and panic though. Ships are leaving the planet in droves. We are hiding amongst the evacuee fleet now. As soon as we clear the moon’s gravity well, we will jump for UEN space.”

“Why did they open fire then?” This cygnul strategy made no sense to her. Sure, the cygs almost caught them on the ground, but the sneak attack was tiny in scale compared to the griffon presence here. “If the cygnul wanted to risk engaging the griffons, then they should at least have tried to take advantage of their unpreparedness.”

The human nodded, his eyes never leaving his screen. “That’s why I think we haven’t seen their main attack yet.” He tilted his head towards her. “You forced their hand during the, ah, negotiations, and they attacked before the main fleet could arrive.”

“The main fleet?” A cold dread settled upon her like a blanket. On the computer attached to her chair, the yellow cautionary banner that marked the gravity distortion turned red. Warning, Enemy Ships Detected. She read the line in her head as a multitude of icons popped into existence, marking the cygnul ships that had just jumped in system. The cygnul fleet clustered together and altered their course to head straight for the vulnerable griffon colony. Oh, no.

A klaxon began blaring on the bridge, and Alice’s voice came over the speakers. “Cygnul fleet detected. Fifteen frigates, eight destroyers, two cruisers, and a siege breaker. They are in a standard cygnul planetary assault formation.”

“Dammit. Here we go.” James muttered before sitting up straight. “Kill the alarm. Get the planetary defense captain on the line right now.”

“He is refusing our call.” Alice appeared on his armrest. “I am now detecting the activation of the griffon orbital defensive grid.” On the front screen, the A.I. pulled up a zoomed in view of the massive guns of Valles, their thrusters spraying reaction mass as they rotated their heavy spinal mounted cannons to face the oncoming threat. A raiding fleet the size of the current cygnul invaders could glass a planet in an hour, much faster than it would take to call in reinforcements. The cygnul had to be stopped right here and now if Valles was to be saved.

As the cygnul ships fell planet-ward, the front of the siege breaker opened up. Extending five large spindly arms in a wide arc, a light teal shield flared into existence in front of the fleet. One by one, the kilometer long orbital guns opened fire, belching out ship-killing bolts traveling at relativistic speeds. Each shell slammed into the half domed shield in a spectacular display of light. Energy rippled across the glowing construct as it absorbed the barrage without appearing to lose any strength, and so the cygnul trudged on.

Dread fell upon Twilight. “James, can the griffons break through that shield?”

“Not with the forces they have.” The human worked quickly on his computer, trying to think of something, anything they could do.

A small icon appeared on the system grid of the local space. “Captain,” Alice alerted James. “The griffon fighter contingent is preparing to engage the cygnul fleet.”

“No, no, no, no!” His outburst startled Twilight. Hands moving quickly, James opened a live feed to the lead pilot of the fighter squadron. A familiar light-browned griffon face in a sealed flight suit appeared on the front screen. “Theron! What are you doing? The cygnul will annihilate your squadron!”

“I don’t have a choice, James.” His somber eyes gazed back; the face of someone who knew they were going to die. “My family is still down on that planet, and I have my orders.” James Fletcher stared openmouthed at his friend, unable to form words. “Good luck, my friend. You should be able to safely make it out of the gravity well. I’ll see you in the next life; wherever that is.” Theron gave a final smirk before cutting the connection.

The griffon fighters entered the cygnul fleet’s engagement zone and they immediately opened fire. Thin energy beams reached out across empty space, vaporizing the tiny space craft and their occupants in an instant. Dozens of bright fireballs flared into existence as the cygnul weaponry burned the outgunned griffons like moths to the flame. Not a single Raptor fighter managed to close into attack range. Light debris peppered the cygnul ships, not even succeeding in slowing them down.

Twilight Sparkle stared forward in shock. The shear ferocity of the cygnul as they obliterated the griffon fighters brought a sickening nausea to her stomach. Total silence, save for the low hum of the ship’s ventilation system, fell upon the bridge. Turning to her left, she noticed the white-knuckled grip James had on his armrest. He continued watching his screen unblinkingly; his mouth pursed in a tight line. One by one, crew members turned to face their captain, looking to him for his next order.

“James.” Victoria’s whisper broke the stillness in the room. “I’m so sorry.” She walked over to his seat and placed a hand on his shoulder. Feeling the contact, he turned his head up at her. “What are your orders, Captain?”

James dropped his gaze. “You know, Theron and I had an arrangement. If something happened to one of us, the other would see to it that our families would be okay.” The human placed his hand over Victoria’s and looked back at her. “His daughter turned one year old last month. I am not going to let him down.”

His jaw set with a grim determination and he went straight to work on his computer screen. “Alice, run a full scan of the cygnul fleet. Analyze each weapon and find their strengths and weaknesses. Everyone else, I want you all to brainstorm on any ideas to help the griffons out. I want numbers, strategies, combat maneuvers, anything you can think of. If you had a good idea in the shower this morning, I want to hear it. Go!”

“Aye aye, Captain. I’ll be on the medical deck.” Victoria took off, jogging through the door to the rest of the ship.

Twilight Sparkle pulled up the map of the battle space around Valles. Various indicators marked the locations of every ship, satellite, and space station in a million kilometers. Their little UEN formation of three frigates currently accelerated away from the colony among a long line of refugee ships. This vector would take them close to the planet’s lone natural satellite, Parum. Composed of abundant and relatively common elements and compounds, an incentive to develop the airless rock never passed the simple exploratory phase.

The moon seemed insignificant enough, but its position relative to them and the cygnul gave her an idea. Before she could bring it up, Dimitri called back from his station. “Captain, if we can knock out that siege breaker, it should throw the rest of the cygnul fleet into disarray.”

“Building on Dmitri’s idea,” Isamu inclined his head towards the earth pony. “The griffon’s orbital guns will be able to engage their ships as well.”

James nodded at both suggestions, also listening to a few ideas from other crew on the deck. Twilight felt hesitant about competing against the suggestions from the Rainbow Dash’s actual crew who had been fighting in space much longer than her, but she overcame her anxiety and tapped the human’s forearm. “James, what if we hide behind the moon to get closer to the cygnul?” For a moment, she was reminded of the horrible fate of the griffon fighters caught out in the open.

Suppressing a shudder, the unicorn angled her screen to show him her idea to come around the moon and hit the cygnul fleet from the side when their ships were closest to the lunar body. Alice popped into reality on her seat, studying the plan along with James. “Captain, this actually looks like our best shot. The moon’s gravity will give us a much needed boost in speed.”

“Do it, Alice. Run the numbers and call up our escorts.” James rubbed his mouth and sat up straighter in his chair. The two captains of the other frigates appeared on the front monitor of the bridge. A young, green-coated earth pony stallion nodded at them from his frigate’s command chair, a boxed caption in the top corner of the display listed a short profile of the pony and labeled him as the captain of the Sprague. Similarly, a sky-blue-coated pegasus mare sat in the Whirlwind’s captain’s seat.

Wasting no time with formalities, James went straight to the point. “That shield needs to come down.” He forwarded Alice’s battle plan to the UEN captains with his seat’s computer. “If we don’t help out the griffons, the cygnul will glass the planet, murder billions, and render Valles inhabitable for decades.” He paused to let that point sink in for a moment before continuing. “But I believe we can give them a fighting chance. I won’t order you to do this, but I’m asking.”

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as the two ponies read over the plan, their expressionless faces betraying no emotion. The pegasus mare finished first and faced them once again. She pushed a few strands of her snow white mane back into place before letting out a sigh. “You’re right, Captain Fletcher, and I won’t sit idly by and let genocide happen on my watch if I can do something about it. My ship is yours.” Her side of the front screen went dark.

Last to speak, the stallion gave them a weak smile and shrugged his shoulders. “We are patrol frigates. This is what we do. Let’s save this planet.” His smile vanished as well when he cut the connection.

“Sir,” Alice waved a hoof to catch his attention from Twilight’s seat. “I don’t mean to intrude but we are fast approaching the time to maneuver. I have been given control of both frigates, but what do you want to do about our special passenger?” The A.I. motioned towards the lavender pony behind her.

James stared into her eyes, a tight lipped frown on his face. “Get Lieutenant Hailstorm here on the double. He can take her to safety in the backup shuttle. They can rendezvous with…”

“No!” Twilight interrupted him, glaring at the human sitting next to her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

His face softened faintly. “Twilight, you have to make it back to Harmony. The war effort depends on it.”

Shaking her head, her multicolored mane swung side to side. “No, I could never live with myself if I left.” Her eyes lost their focus as she imagined the possible lonely future from that decision. “Besides, running away from this fight would be a betrayal of the Elements of Harmony. If you want me to take up my mantle again, then I must stand up to the evil of the cygnul. I can’t keep hiding anymore.” She shut her eyelids and lowered her head before returning her original glare upon the captain. “Anyways, you couldn’t make me leave.”

Alice glanced from pony to human, wondering what to do. “Captain? Should I call Lieutenant Hailstorm to the bridge?”

James Fletcher conceded first, smirking and turning to work on his computer once more. “No, that won’t be necessary. She is right. I doubt I could force her to leave.” The glowing pony nodded and fizzled away.

Twilight faced forward again, breathing heavily. Relieved she won the argument, it still left her in a very dangerous position sitting in a warship hastening its way to engage an enemy that brutally outnumbered them. I’m glad James is unaware of my exhaustion. I doubt I could levitate a quill right now. Her weariness had one added benefit; it definitely helped keep her composed.

Staring forward, she calmed her breathing and double checked the seats restraining straps. The front monitor now showed a traditional view from the nose of the frigate where Valles’ sole moon grew larger and larger with every passing moment. A small countdown timer off to the side displayed the remaining time to the start of the action. Small specks of light marked the line of civilian ships angling away from the fight, unlike their current path.

“Attention all hands,” James spoke over the ship’s intercom. “Artificial gravity generators are shutting down. Brace for high-G maneuver. Good luck, and I’ll see you on the other side.” He keyed off the icon on his computer and leaned over to speak quietly with her. “Twilight, remember the high gravity teaching we touched on in your training. It’s going to be uncomfortable, but you will survive. Don’t panic and you will be fine.”

She bobbed her head in reply, not trusting herself to speak right now. A stillness fell upon the bridge as every crew member mentally steeled themselves for what was to come. When the ship’s artificial gravity switched off, Twilight felt a few butterflies in her stomach and her mane and tail hung freely in the air. With the timer running down to zero, the moon swung from the right side of the screen to the top as Alice rotated the frigate. “Five… four… three… two… one… full thrust.”

Momentum shoved Twilight into the back of her chair; her mane and tail now falling straight back towards the wall. A deep grumble grew in pitch, vibrating the deck walls and floors as the massive engines of the aging frigate responded to the necessity of speed. On the front view screen, the fluffy white surface of Parum suddenly rushed forward, its craters slinging by in dark blurs.

Falling into a curving flight path around the celestial body, Twilight felt the g-forces shift to pull her more towards the deck. Her cheeks began to tingle as the blood drained from them and flowed towards her hooves. Grunting in frustration, she fought to stay conscious even though the hues in the room greyed out and the edges of her vision began to darken.

With lunar regolith vanishing almost as soon as it appeared, their velocity continued to rise while they burned a trail of plasma through airless space. Twilight’s eyesight shrunk to small pinpricks, failing to resist the encroaching blackness. The unicorn mare struggled to keep breathing, a task much more difficult under the heightened acceleration. She tried to call out for help, but the sound merely vocalized itself as a feeble meep.

Just before the remaining vestiges of her sight blacked out, the ship pulled out of its slingshot maneuver, now flying directly towards for the cygnul fleet dead ahead. Almost all at once, gravity lessened to a much more manageable level generated solely from the frigate’s engines. It didn’t take long before several pinpricks of light amongst the cygnul ships preceded a jarring shake of the Dash.

“They are shooting at us sir!” Dmitri called over his shoulder, seemingly unaffected by the vicious acceleration.

“Well then, shoot back!” James Fletcher’s voice growled. “All weapons systems, fire at will!” A familiar red haze illuminated the patrol frigate’s nose as her main gun powered up and fired. Flashing into existence, a thin red beam connected the Rainbow Dash with the center of the siege ship.

Metal boiled away into space, and molten slag expanded from the impact point along with a large cloud of gasses from the ship’s internal atmosphere. The cygnul ship reeled from the impact but seemed to still be operational. Then the Dash’s cannon shells reached the formation.

Traveling at a much lower velocity, a torrent of high explosive slugs punched through the cygnul vessel’s thinner armor amidships and detonated. Pieces of the cyg ship joined those already leaving a trail of debris in the fleet’s wake. As the Rainbow Dash reloaded and recharged her weapons, her escorts cleared the moon and joined in with their weaponry, tearing into the massive cygnul capital ship.

The two fleets closed rapidly, and the UEN frigates shot over the cygnul too fast for the eye to see. “Now, Alice! Flip us over!” James commanded the A.I. “Kill the engines!”

Anticipating the order, thrusters fired before the human had finished speaking. “Yes sir, bringing us around.” Stars spun wildly as the ship flipped over to face the enemy once again. The hum of the frigates powerful engines vanished to keep from slowing them down now that they were currently soaring backwards now. Without their persistent juddering, Twilight could feel each time one of their turrets fired a volley.

All three UEN ships unleashed their weaponry into the unmarred port side of the siege ship, quickly marring it with craters. Though the cygnul vessel outmassed them by several orders of magnitude, the UEN fleet’s element of surprise allowed them to hit where it hurt the most. As if somepony had flipped a switch, the umbrella shaped shield flickered twice, then vanished. On the bridge, a cacophony of cheers erupted momentarily, until something hard slammed into the nose of the ship.

Twilight would have easily been launched across the deck had she not been belted in. Instead, she was rewarded with a painful ache in her shoulders and waist from her straps. “What was that?” She asked as red warning lights illuminated every computer screen.

“Near miss of an anti-ship missile.” Isamu calmly stated over the alarm as if he had been describing the ingredients on the back of a cereal box. “Alice got it with the point defense guns, but more are inbound. It looks like the cygnul are upset we broke their toy.”

“Break formation,” James keyed over his seat’s communicator. “All ships, vacate the engagement zone!” In front of their ship, one of the cygnul cruisers had altered its heading. Swinging to face them, its nose lit up in a bluish corona before it fired a beam into the UEN Sprague as she tried to accelerate away. The entire ship simply vanished in a burst of white light.

The Whirlwind had slightly better fortune. She threw off the cygnul’s aim with a random course change and the missile targeting her ship only managed to throw the frigate into an uncontrollable tumble off into space. Next on their list for revenge, the Rainbow Dash pushed her nose forward and burned her way downwards out of the solar system’s plane. Cyg weapons reached out for her, missing by less and less each time. Trembling, Twilight braced herself for a horrific impact when the griffons finally acted.

The cygnul fleet on the front monitor remained in their original tight formation around the now defunct siege ship. Suddenly, ten bluish-white fireballs flared up amongst the cyg vessels. Taking advantage of the opening the UEN ships had given them; griffon orbital cannons targeted the invaders with a brutal vengeance. At this close range, they had no chance of missing. Each shell hit with the kinetic equivalent of a high-yield nuclear weapon, and they quickly transformed the twenty-five remaining warships into nothing more than a thin, wispy cloud of debris. The battle for Valles had finally ended.