Scales and Starships

In the cold vacuum of space, an imposing fleet of starships cruises steadily through the stars. Stoic in their course, one could easily tell this was a force to be reckoned with, as each ship bristled with weaponry designed to damage and destroy enemies with speed and efficiency. With engines thrumming, lights glowing, and gun turrets gleaming in the glow of a nearby star, the magnificent yet dangerous armada continued forward.

In a the Captain's quarters of the main command ship, a trio of officers were chatting amongst each other profusely. Elegant dining ware and delicious food was laid out in front of them to enjoy, yet only two of the three actually ate from the banquet.

"So you're sure the fleet's fully prepared for the attack? I don't want any mistakes considering how important this mission is." the first officer questioned, holding a gloved hand to her chin in thought.

"The fleet is fine by my standards, and it can certainly hold its own against Equestrian ships. What I'm more concerned about is why you aren't enjoying this stuff while you have the chance." the second replied nonchalantly, jabbing a juicy looking piece of meat from her plate and relishing the taste as much as she could.

"I'm not hungry, nor am I satisfied with your answer." the first replied.

"Suit yourself then, but if you get hungry when we start the attack then don't say that I didn't warn you..." the second said in a singsong voice.

"She's right you know, you better stuff yourself before we all start fighting so that we don't have to go hungry in the middle of the battle." the third added while gulping down a bowl of soup and belching loudly, much to the disgust of her colleagues.

"And have to rush to the bathroom in the middle of a firefight? Ha ha, no."

A quiet chirp was heard and the table released a device that emitted a holographic screen above it. The first officer moved to interact with it and the image of a man in a sharp red and black naval uniform appeared. The three officers stood and saluted briefly before sitting back down.

"Greetings Miss Dazzle, I'm assuing that the armada is in good form?" the man asked.

"Of course sir, we are currently en route to the enemy planet as we speak. My subordinates and I were just chatting over a few minorities." Adagio answered.

"She's being such a stickler sir, order her to get some food into her system." the third officer interrupted, pointing a finger at Adagio.

"Now now, Miss Dusk. If it is Miss Dazzle's decision not to eat, then let her be. As long as your mission is complete, then I have no qualms with what you do on your own time."

"Yeah Sonata, shut it. You're just ruining my appetite."

"Aria! Sonata! Show some respect before you get us in trouble!" Adagio ordered with gritted teeth.

"I'm not the one who needs to be shown respect Miss Dazzle. But if I expect you to keep your Lieutenants in check when *my** superior wishes to speak to you."*

"Acknowledged, I'll keep an eye on these idiots." Adagio replied, her colleagues glaring daggers at her in response.

"Hehehe. Very well then Miss Dazzle, you have your orders, all you have to do is carry them out. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir." she replied smirk.

Mess Hall, Cristallo Orbital Military Outpost

"...then someone's going to throw a huge temper tantrum, kill a buncha people, and have a really intense fight with his master on a lava planet using laser-swords, and then he's gonna lose and turn into a bad guy in a super-duper cool robot-suit with awesome breathing sounds. Then a massive space station is gonna be built with a super-laser and strike terror into the galaxy!"

"Um, Pinkie, I don't know what the hay you've been talking about for the last few hours, but I don't think that's what's going to happen if all the cake in the universe disappeared." Rainbow Dash said with a casual roll of her eyes.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Rainbow here Pinkie, I mean first three hours of this makes me cringe. Especially when you got to that annoying alien..."

"But it could happen Twilight! And we all need to be ready for it!" Pinkie proclaimed while grabbing a nearby soldier's helmet and plopping it on her head quickly.

The girls just laughed at Pinkie's antics as they continued to eat their lunch. The mess hall was one of the few places where the girls could actually talk and socialize before they were sent off on patrols and missions. Even with its blandly colored walls, stale and tasteless food, and obnoxious sound levels, it was perfect for the group to catch up on what's been happening while they were apart. Once they were done eating, they all stood and walked towards the exit of the mess hall, disposing of any trays and leftover food they had.

"How long have we been here again? I keep forgetting." Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, it's been a while ever since we left Equestria. Ah wonder what mah sister's been been doin lately?" Applejack mused.

"Well to answer your question Rainbow Dash, we've been stationed here for about a year remember? We had direct orders from HIgh-Command to guard this planet and the growing colony from hostile elements."

"Yeah, hostile elements that never show up..." Rainbow mumbled.

"That means we must be doing our job good! Right?" Pinkie asked.

"I have to admit, I still don't see why High-Command had to send us to this remote colony to guard it. I mean, this system is mostly vacant and we already have a large fleet patrolling the planet daily." Rarity thought aloud.

"No matter what th

"So Twilight? What do you think will happen if all the cakes in the universe suddenly disappeared?" Twilight mentally face-palmed, because of course Pinkie decided that now was the perfect time to ask her a question like that. She continued to walk silently down the hallway, fighting the urge to assault Pinkie with a barrage of facts that cake will not disappear from the universe instantaneously.

"I'm not answering that Pinkie." She replied simply.

"C'mon Twilight, you're the smartest person here. Use that big head of yours and tell me what could happen?" Pinkie became relentless, soon the other girls noticed Twilight's eye twitching. Twilight was on edge now, but she took a deep breath, and gave the girl an answer.

"Wouldn't you just bake a thousand more Pinkie?" She replied.

Pinkie gasped in realization while the others did in horror, she raced down the hallway, nearly knocking over several other people on the way until she was out of sight from the group. When it looked like she was coming back, everyone saw the massive oven she was pushing at a frantic pace towards them.

"Sweet Celestia, what have I done..." Twilight recalled in fear.

"Yup, ya kinda screwed up this time Twilight." Rainbow responded.

"Sure got that right Rainbow, that wasn't one of yer brightest ideas Twi." Applejack said, a terrible image of the base exploding with cake batter and frosting taking root in her mind.

"Um, I think it would be better if we all started running instead of just staring at the impending oven of doom. I simply refuse to have this pristine uniform ruined with cake batter." Rarity suggested. The others took the hint and started to run in the opposite direction of the crazed baker.

"Hey! Where you guys going! I need help baking all these cakes!"

"EVERYBODY RUN!"

"Where the buck does she keep that thing anyway?!"

"I don't wanna die!"

A blast shook the entire base, almost knocking everyone off their feet. Pinkie had stumbled with the oven and it tumbled with a loud crash. The security alarms of the base suddenly went off, red sirens and warning horns were activated, alerting everyone of the impending danger. The intercom system of the base had activated, along with several holographic screens displaying the outpost overseer General Valentine and information on the base's condition. The general had immediately taken the initiative and began to relay instructions to the entirety of the base.

"Attention all military personnel, we are under attack! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill! Get to your battle stations and prepare to defend the base from intruders. All civilians please make your way to the shuttles, we'll begin evacuating you to the planet if the base is overtaken."

Everybody looked outside the hallway's windows to see a massive group of military ships that appeared out of nowhere firing upon the base. Friendly ships were already taking off to engage the enemy as beam and laser fire began to litter the area.

If possible, I'd also like Commander Sparkle and her squadron to report to the control room immediately!"

"That's us girls! Let's go!" Twilight shouted.

"Right!"

"Aw... I was gonna have so much fun..." Pinkie complained as she stood from the mess and caught up with the others.

The girls were now sprinting to the center of the base with urgency. Twilight had paused for a second and noticed several defense batteries that were currently offline and being useless. The others were taking glances through some of the hallway windows and took note of each blast the base was enduring. The girls thanked Celestia that the outpost had been outfitted with a heavy shield generator that was nullifying a few salvos from the enemy ships.

"Any idea who's attacking us? Rainbow asked while she and the rest of the girls were still running to the control room.

"As far as I could tell, the ships that are attacking us are of unknown origin. They don't seem to match any sort of existing class of ship recorded thus far. Technically we don't even know what's attacking us." Twilight responded.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to find out while blasting em to bits then." Rainbow was too busy wondering that she didn't prepare herself for the explosion outside that shook her off balance.

"LOOK OUT!"

Pinkie rushed forward and managed push Rainbow out of the way of a metal beam that could have easily crushed the dizzy officer. Rainbow and Pinkie got up and the others let out a sigh of relief that no one was hurt. Twilight checked outside the windows and saw the enemy bomber that had dropped its payload and caused the incident.

"Okay, even I'll have to admit that was too close." Rainbow said as Pinkie helped her up and continued to run towards the control room of the base.

Soon enough, the girls had finally reached the entrance to the control room. A pair of soldiers armed with laser rifles were guarding the door, they glanced at the group before them and stepped aside to allow them entry. Once through the guards, the girls were met with the familiar yet puzzling sights and sounds of the base control room. Monitors and holographic screens displaying the statistics of the base were scattered throughout the large chamber. In the center of the area lay a large table complete with a holographic projection of the battle taking place outside. Several deck officers and Valentine were analyzing the map with keen and worrying eyes.

"We're here sir, what's the situation outside?" Twilight asked the elderly officer.

The general closed his eyes and cursed silently when he saw a friendly ship on the projection explode due to enemy bombers, the projection displaying the word SUNK in red over the wreck.

"Right now the battle seems to be heavily pitched in the enemy's favor, the amount of ships that they have on hand compared to us is just ridiculous, but our forces are holding them off surprisingly well." Valentine explained.

"Have we had contact with the Unification?" Twilight asked.

"I'm afraid not Commander, our communications are being jammed, most likely from the enemy to prevent us from calling reinforcements. Our forces can hold out a bit, but the base itself is taking massive damage from these bombers."  he explained. Using his hands, he moved the projection further towards enemy forces, displaying a large ship that was launching bombers and other small craft to wreak havoc on the base and the larger friendly ships.

Twilight took a look at some of the statistics on the monitors and spoke up. "Why don't we have any Anti-Fighter protection on this base?"

The general groaned at the question. "This base was supposed to undergo some modernization for the defenses this last rotation but the tech crews never arrived. We've just been sitting on our hands here until high command sent you girls here to provide some more security." he said while pointing at the group.

Well how about instead of relying on us right now, you could activate those guns I've seen lying around the base. They should be able to provide some protection against these smaller spacecraft." Twilight said, pointing at several batteries of cannons.

Valentine squinted at the monitor which showed the weapons before answering. "The Seraphim Cannons? Those things haven't been used in decades ever since the Nightmare War. The targeting systems are old and the guns themselves probably don't even function properly anymore."

"Well I think now would be a great time to use them anyhow, it's better to try them out than just sit here and be sitting ducks." Twilight responded.

"Well alright then. I'll reactivate the weapons, but keep in mind we're running the risk of seriously damaging ourselves if something goes wrong with them Commander." The general brought up another screen on the projection with the weapon statistics. He fiddled with it until he pressed a button that activated the defenses.

Something in the base had whirred to life as everyone looked outside to see the ancient guns reactivate and begin firing beams of blue energy at the enemy bombers assaulting the base. While some of the guns didn't necessarily work, Twilight still looked on with satisfaction as a group of them managed to prevent a squadron of bombers from making another run. Valentine looked outside the control room's windows patiently, impressed by Twilight's quick thinking to reactivate them.

"Well I'll be damned, they still pack a punch even after the Nightmare War... Excellent thinking there Commander."

"No need for praise sir. I'm sure that'll put some more pressure on those bombers before they show up again." Twilight commented.

The group continued to scan the map projection with uncertainty. Multiple ships on their side were taking immense damage due to the amount of enemies they were facing. Within a few minutes however, a deck officer looked up from his monitor and gave a puzzling report.

"Um sir? The enemy ships have ceased firing."

The senior officer turned and gazed at the projection, the enemy forces had indeed stopped firing upon the base and were instead moving into a v formation next to an intimidating command ship. Fighters and bombers that were active in the area immediately returned to their carriers and rejoined formation.

"What the buck are they doing?" Rainbow wondered. Earning an elbow nudge from Rarity for using such language at a time like this.

"Sir! We have an unidentified communication transmission trying to get through to us." The control room officer spoke.

"So they finally learned to speak eh? Lieutenant, patch them through with haste." Valentine ordered.

The officer complied and the projection had emitted a screen in midair as the transmission came to life and the image of a pale blue woman with a black and red uniform appeared. She had her hands behind her back in an arrogant stance and smirked for a small moment before she cleared her throat to speak.

"Attention, denizens of Cristallo! I am the Great and Powerful Captain Trixie! Commander of this fleet. Trixie is ordering you to surrender your forces now, or face death and destruction from her!"

Valentine snickered at how the enemy Commander was acting and introduced himself in kind. "Why greetings Captain, my name is General Crimson Valentine. I am the commanding officer and overseer of this outpost which you have so rudely attacked. If I may ask, why exactly would I want to surrender to you" The general asked mockingly.

Irritated by how Valentine was mocking her just like her comrades were before, Trixie coldly replied back. ." she spat.

"Eeesh, talk about a prick when you see one..." Rainbow mumbled.

"Why do you attack us? This planet holds no strategic value or importance to anyone, it's just a small mining colony." Twilight explained, ignoring Rainbow's earlier remark.

"Because

"She's lyin."

"What?" The general questioned.

"Ah said, that no good pile o' dirt is lyin to our faces!" Applejack proclaimed.

"Yeah, Applejack's right. I feel it in my gut that even if we did take that jerk up on her offer she'll slaughter us and the colony regardless of our surrender!" Rainbow Dash added.

"Well I'm not sure what we're going to do now Lieutenant Dash. We have our backs against the wall and the lives of thousands of innocent people at the mercy of that maniac." Valentine explained, regretting his decision on mocking the enemy commander.

"With all due respect sir. I'd would appreciate it if all of you would please SHUT IT so I can come up with a plan!" Twilight interrupted. Her outburst surprising everyone in the chamber and leaving it in silence once more. With a satisfied smirk, she went back to the monitor she was working at and continued to sort out different data and information that seemed useful.

After a couple agonizing minutes, Twilight turned to the main console and brought up the holo-map of the battle-zone. With a swipe of her hand across the screen, the markers that represented all surviving friendly ships in the area rearranged themselves into an organized formation that blocked the enemy from the planet. Curious with Twilight's actions, the general studied the battle plan carefully, attempting to understand the new strategy before him.

"If I may ask Commander? What would this be exactly?"

"It's escape plan I put together for us and the colony, but it's risky and might require some sacrifice to be made..." Twilight answered.

"There's no other way then?"

"I'm sorry sir, but it's our only option other than death. The choice is yours though, cause once we go through with it there's absolutely no turning back." Twilight stated, gazing solemnly at the map.

"I don't care how risky it sounds, as long as we can save as many lives as possible." Valentine proclaimed.

"Careful there sir. You almost sound like Rainbow Dash."

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding Dash, nobody can replace that attitude." Twilight joked, even though she knew it wasn't the best time.

"Not. Helping. Twilight." Dash said through gritted teeth.

Chuckling a bit, Twilight regained her composure and turned to Valentine. "How's our ships? Are the hangars still intact?"

"As far as I can tell, your ships are currently refueled and ready for launch as we speak."

"Good, we're taking off to join the defensive now. I'll explain more of the plan once we're onboard."

"Very well then, Godspeed Commander." Valentine said as the girls exited the control room and made their way to the hangars.