Nighttide Star [Rewrite Draft]

The scene that just took place seemed so surreal. In a way, it was kind of comical to be bound up by some villain with good intentions. It was yet another situation right out of a story book, just like everything else in Equestria.

But regardless of the absurdity of the situation which Fluttershy and I had walked into, or that our captor was a waterbending magician, the fact remained: this was all real. And Twilight could really be in trouble. It was one thing to contemplate the ridiculousness of everything that was taking place, and quite another to try to see the seriousness in it. I wasn't sure how things would play out next, but whatever happened, I would do my best to help the mare that had devoted so much of her time to make me feel welcome in an unfamiliar land.

“Nighttide?” A frail voice spoke from my left side. “Are you alright?”

I turned to Fluttershy – yet another pony who had gone out of her way to make my unintended visit to Equestria an experience I would never forget. “Yes,” I eventually managed to reply. “Sorry. Was just thinking…”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just…” I shook my head with a smile. “It's been a crazy couple of days. Guess it's all finally starting to sink in.”

Standing up, I examined the cage surrounding us. “Well, this shouldn't be too hard.” Stepping up to the door out of which Twilight was led, I lifted a bolt latch in my hoof and ran a quick scan: simple wrought iron. Sweet. “Fluttershy, can you look away for just a sec?”

Fluttershy blinked at me. “Sure,” she said, turning around obediently to face the door through which we came. “I'm guessing it's ‘classified?’”

“Nah, just bright.” A flap in my chest opened to reveal a small rod with a beveled edge. I bent forward and touched the rod to the bolt, which immediately began to shoot sparks. “Kind of crude, but it'll work,” I remarked over the sound of the electrical fizzle.

Within seconds, the bolt was cut away, and the door swung open. I turned around, ready to coax Fluttershy into our next move. But to my surprise, she had already turned around and walked up to where I stood.

“Shall we go find Twilight now?” Fluttershy asked, neither confident nor afraid – just ready.

Smiling, I nodded and led the way to the stairs.

__________

With the exception of short-range applications, my sensors seemed to be all but useless within the airship. Considering the reflective magic which cloaked the outside of the ship, I figured it must be permeating through the walls as well. But why would a pony would want to line even the interior with such magic? Unless…

I tilted my head back. “Hey Fluttershy, I know you don't know this Riptide guy, but have you ever seen him around town before?”

“Not that I know of.” She pursed her lips in thought for a moment, then said, “Well, I do remember seeing a blue stallion talking with somepony on my way through town after dropping you off at the library, but I think he had a red cutie mark.”

I sighed again. “Seems like this guy's really been keeping tabs on Twilight. I wonder if he knows anything about me and just isn't letting on.” I hung my head and mulled the thought over. “Nah. I've scanned stuff around you guys and talked about it before, but I've never actually said anything to anypony else. I dunno… it's just weird.” I glanced back at Fluttershy, who returned a silent shrug.

After a while, my sensors finally detected some activity in a nearby room. “C'mon, something's down here.” I motioned for Fluttershy to keep her hoofsteps as quiet as possible. Sneaking forward, I stuck my head around a corner into the adjacent room.

Sure enough, Twilight and Riptide were inside with no visible defenses of any sort around them. Twilight sat on a circular pedestal while a nearby device cast a dark blue shade of magic over her body. I couldn’t tell what the magic was doing, but it didn't seem to be hurting her at least. Regardless, I noticed her expression once again. Twilight looked down at the floor in front of her with ears folded, almost as if she had given up.

Whatever her deal was I could figure out later, after we were out of this mess. I motioned for Fluttershy to step back, which she did so gladly, proceeding to hunker down and cover her eyes. I then opened another flap just above my chest and stepped quietly inside – just enough to line myself up with Riptide.

Out of my chest shot a small pellet that hit Riptide squarely in the neck. He flinched for a second, rubbing at his neck as if a flea had bit him. It wasn’t long before he realized something was wrong. A couple steps back later, and Riptide collapsed to the floor, out cold. Once my sensors confirmed the obvious, I called back to Fluttershy and ambled into the room.

“Your Highness, your mare in shining armor is here to save the day!” I bowed in a most exaggerated fashion and shot a huge grin at Twilight, who briefly gave me a look as if I had said something offensive.

“Y-you guys!” Twilight cheered after a moment. “You got out! But—“ She looked over at Riptide, then back at me with a concerned expression. “I thought you said you wouldn't—“

“And I didn't,” I interjected, lifting a hoof. “Sleep agent. Won't do him a bit of harm… so long as you guys have the same blood as us.” Which I probably should have considered beforehoof. Oh well.

“Thanks, you two. Um, could you…?” Twilight nodded in the direction of the device that was still casting magic around her. I stepped up to the thing and shifted it a little from its position, which seemed to be all that was necessary – instantly, the magic stopped with an audible pop, and Twilight was free to move again.

As Twilight walked off the pedestal, I scanned the device. Given my scant knowledge of magic, all my scan revealed was crude metals and a little bit of unknown ore-based substances.

“Well, I guess this is the part where we get the hay out of here?” Twilight suggested to the two, trying to feign a spark in her voice.

But I wasn't buying. “Twilight? Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions here, but… something seemed off after Riptide gave his little speech downstairs. Is something wrong?”

Twilight’s ears fell limp at the ends. Whatever chance she had to pretend all was cool fell away after she sputtered uselessly for a second. “L-let's get out of here first,” she eventually managed to say. “Then we can talk.”

“Hey, wait a sec.” Placing a hoof on her shoulder, I said, “If this guy is serious about developing a magic capable of mass destruction, shouldn't we do something about him and this ship?”

“The way I see it,” Twilight said, “this thing is headed somewhere important. I don't know where or for what, but I'd rather find out what its destination is than destroy everything here – or hurt Riptide.” She looked over at the stallion lying on the ground. “Are you sure he's gonna be fine?”

I shrugged. “Pretty sure.” Motioning to the hallway, I said, “Well, this isn't my native land, so if this is the strategy you have in mind, that's fine. But wouldn't it be better for us to ride the ship and see where it goes?”

“We need to contact the Princesses so that they can alert the Royal Guard, just in case this escalates in any way.”

“Fair enough,” I said with a nod. “Lead the way, m'lady.”

The three of us walked out into the hall and made our way back to the deck. Upon opening the door, the wind threatened to suck us out into the freezing air. We hunkered down to the floor and proceeded to crawl out, one by one.

“Hey,” I shouted from the back of the line, “who's flying this thing anyway?”

“It's some sort of preset magic, I think,” Twilight shouted back. “It's been flying on its own ever since Riptide captured me.”

“Oh yeah…” I remembered something pretty important. “Ain't got no wings no more, Princess. Think you could lend a wing?”

Not filled in on the back-story, Twilight looked at me with a little confusion, but then nodded to Fluttershy to crawl back with her to either side of me. The two grabbed hold of my barrel, and as she examined the horizon, Twilight shouted, “On three, spread your wings, Fluttershy! All the way!”

“Yeah, I'm good at this!” Fluttershy shouted back. My chuckle was masked by the sound of the wind whipping around us.

With a “one, two, three!” the pegasus and alicorn spread their wings to their full span and lifted high off the deck, hefting me along with them. Even with all my unsprung weight, I didn't seem to inhibit our quickly increasing altitude.

“Twilight, how high are we anyway!?” Nighttide shouted up.

“I don’t know, you’re the one with the fancy gadgets!” Twilight shouted back. All I could do was grin back.

Looking down, I quickly realized we were thousands of feet above the ground – so high that the air was beginning to thin. The airship we travelled in had apparently worked tirelessly to reach the top peak of a mountain range just beyond us, surrounded by a canopy of snow-filled clouds.

“I think those are the Appleloosan mountains!” Twilight shouted. “How long was that thing flying?”

“For about an hour,” I shouted from below.

With Fluttershy's lack of strength and Twilight's lack of wing dexterity, the two drifted lazily in the air as they slowly began to lose altitude. A clearing in the clouds off in the horizon directed them toward Ponyville, now an almost unidentifiable plot of land in the distance. It would be a few minutes before they could even consider where to land. I just hoped that their wings could hold out for that long, as it seemed weight now began to reveal itself through the trembles in their legs.

With little to say or think about other than our current predicament, we glided forward in silence – thankfully with no incident. As the ground grew closer, we saw a colorful blur heading our way. “Twilight! Fluttershy!” a raspy voice shouted from the distance.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted with as much volume as she could under her current strain.

As Rainbow Dash closed in, she said, “What in Equestria are you guys doing up here?!”

“Oh, you know, enjoying the view,” I remarked with a careful shrug. “Care to lend a hoof?”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. “Can't you fly?”

“Of course,” I said, nodding dramatically. “I just prefer being carried… Seriously, one of my wings is broken. Help?”

Rainbow Dash positioned herself beneath my stomach and let some of my weight rest on her back. “Dang, you really are heavy,” she shouted up.

“Well excuse me for being as thick as your skull.”

“It's no prob— hey!”

Now a group of four, we eventually made our landing in a clearing just outside of Sweet Apple Acres. Taking a moment to relish contact with the ground, Rainbow Dash continued hovering overhead. “So, again, what the hay were you guys doing way up there? I saw this weird burst of light a while back, and then a few minutes later, you guys were falling from the sky!”

“It's a long story,” Twilight said. “We should round up the others first, and I need to send a letter off to the Princess immediately. Let's all meet at the library. Rainbow Dash, can you gather the others?”

“Uh, sure.” Rainbow must have noticed the urgency in Twilight’s voice, as she wasted no time in speeding off. After we collected ourselves, Twilight, Fluttershy, and I galloped toward Ponyville, thankful to be earth-bound once again.

__________

“Spike! Spike, where are you?!” Twilight frantically called around the library as she, Fluttershy, and I stormed inside.

“Whoa, calm down Twilight, I'm right here,” the kid called down from the balcony floor, nestled comfortably between several neat piles of comic books.

“Spike, get ready to send a letter to the Princess. It's an emergency.”

Without another word, Spike bolted upright, knocking over a couple of the stacks, and bolted downstairs to grab a scroll and quill from a desk. Fluttershy took a seat while I started pacing around the room, reviewing some of the material I had scanned earlier on my retinal display.

“Ready,” Spike called from a corner of the room.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Princess Celestia. Today, while Nighttide and I were visiting the old castle, I was kidnapped by a stallion named Riptide – a former member of the Royal Guard. During my capture, I learned that he is developing what he called 'negative magic' that is capable of widespread damage… and possibly death.” Twilight hesitated only for a moment as Spike stared straight at the scroll, ready to continue. “Riptide explained that he is working on this magic to present to you and your sister as a means of defense in the event of a crisis, but considering his actions today, I believe that he may be a danger to Equestria. His last known location was above a mountain range beyond the Everfree Forest. Please respond ASAP with instructions on how to proceed.”

Just as Spike began to roll up the scroll, I remembered something important. “Hey Twilight,” I said, “let her know I placed a tracking device on his ship. If we can get to the general area where the ship was headed, I should be able to locate it pretty quick.”

Twilight nodded. “Get that, Spike?”

“Got it.” One puff of Spike's green fire, and the message was on its way. Twilight took a seat of her own next to Fluttershy while I continued pacing. “What's up, Nighttide?”

“Nothing, actually. I'm reviewing over the material I scanned, but I can’t find anything worth noting. Metals, plants, crude construction… there's nothing of significance here.”

Out of my periphery, I noticed Twilight furrow her brow. “Hey, is there any way you could use that hologram to show us what you're looking at?”

My ears perked up. “Yeah, actually.” I opened the door on my back and let the projector hum to life. “Maybe you can figure some of this stuff out.”

I walked up to where Twilight sat so she wouldn't have to stand again, her exhaustion from the flight down now evident in her labored breathing, while Fluttershy watched curiously from aside. “Can you pull up the device that Riptide was using on me just before we escaped?”

“Sure thing.” I switched to an image of the device as it appeared in real life. The actual image displayed on the left, while finer details displayed on the right, such as size, density, identified and unknown substances, etcetera.

“Can you focus on the top part of the device?” Twilight asked. “There's a pattern of some sort on it.”

I digitally zoomed in on the top portion and enhanced the image. Twilight bent forward and squinted at the image. “That pattern…I think I've seen it in a reference guide for Starswirl.”

Suddenly, the front door burst open again, and in came the rest of the crew. “Twilight, what's going on?” shouted Applejack as she galloped inside beneath Rainbow Dash, with Rarity and Pinkie Pie in close pursuit.

“Oh, thank goodness you girls are here,” Twilight sighed, motioning for me to turn off the projector. “It's a long story, so have a seat.”

Twilight took a few minutes to fill everyone in on what took place since morning. Most everyone responded with shocked expressions or, in Pinkie Pie’s case, confusion. “So you're telling us there's this pony who likes water that kidnapped you from the castle and made you float in the air and took you on his flying ship to use you to make bad magic?”

Everyone blinked at Pinkie Pie. “Y-yes, actually,” Twilight said. “All of that.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go get ‘em!” Pinkie proceeded to spring back outside, but Applejack caught her by the tail.

“Nuffin doin',” Applejack retorted with a mouth full of pink fluff. “Gih' bach in hurr.” With a flick of her head, she tossed Pinkie back into the room, who returned a scowl.

“Girls, this is serious!” Twilight spoke over the commotion. “If what Riptide said is true, then we could all be in danger!”

“Hold on, dear,” Rarity interjected, “I'm confused about one little point. You said that Riptide was trying to make this magic to help Equestria, not hurt us.”

“I know that, but what I'm concerned about the most is the magic itself, not necessarily his intentions. If he finishes his work – if the knowledge of this magic falls into anypony's hooves – who knows what kind of damage could be done in the future?”

There was a murmur of agreement between everypony. Not wanting to get in the way of the delegations, I took a seat on the floor beside Fluttershy and watched in silence.

“Well then, what do you propose we do?” Applejack asked.

“I'll tell ya what we do,” Rainbow Dash shouted from above, raising a balled up hoof. “We go find that airship thing and kick it out of the sky! Teach that Riptide who's boss!”

“I just sent a letter off to Princess Celestia,” Twilight added, “so let's try to wait until she replies back.”

With perfect timing as usual, Spike belched up a sealed scroll and unfurled it. Clearing his throat, he read the message aloud. “Twilight, thank you for informing me about this incident. I have forwarded the information to the Royal Guard, and they are deploying a squadron of pegasi to the area surrounding the Appleloosan mountains. I will let you know as soon as I hear back from them. While I cannot suggest you use the Elements of Harmony any further, I would recommend that you work together with your friends, as well as Nighttide, to develop a solution.”

“Hey, wait a sec,” I interrupted. “What's this about the Elements?”

“Well, there's one thing we left out when visiting with the Princess,” Twilight said, turning to face me with drooping ears. “We had to return the Elements back to the Tree of Harmony when Discord's plunderseeds began to grow and spread vines all across Equestria.”

I glared at Fluttershy. “Your Discord, I take it?” Fluttershy returned a weak smile and nodded with a blush.

At Twilight’s nod, Spike continued reading the scroll. “I will speak with Luna to see how we should proceed next, but until we locate Riptide, your brother Shining Armor will be re-stationed here in Canterlot. I have sent a message to Princess Cadance asking her to send him this way now, and for her to be on the lookout for Riptide anywhere near the Crystal Empire.” Spike then rolled the message back up and placed it on the desk.

Everypony looked between each other for a few seconds in silence, not sure of what to say or do next. I wasn’t exactly sure how these ponies dealt with situations like this, but my training had already kicked in, like, an hour ago back in the skies. I didn’t want to step on anypony’s hooves, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to speak my peace at least.

“Okay, so, we've got a unicorn on the loose who is developing a dangerous form of magic. A few of us can fly, a few can't…” I stood up and faced Twilight. “Didn't you mention something about a balloon of some sort as means of transportation?”

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “In fact, we have a hot air balloon that we use for events here in Ponyville.”

“Perfect.” I started to continue, but I wasn’t sure where the boundaries were for a newcomer like myself. Biting my lip for a moment, I glanced around at everypony, all of whom seemed to be patiently waiting for me to speak. So, with a gulp, I said, “I know I'm not formally a part of the group here, but is it alright if I make a suggestion?” Everyone nodded in response, a few of them returning smiles. “Alright then… Here's my professional opinion.

“Based on my training with DIRE, the first order of business in a crisis like this would be reconnaissance – to scout out and locate the enemy, which as Princess Celestia mentioned, the Royal Guard is now attempting to do. While that's fine, there's no reason we can't pitch in as well. But we need to come up with a plan, and I think I may have a few strategies that could help out here… especially given you ponies don't have the Elements to use anymore.”

I met Twilight’s gaze to see if I was overstepping my bounds. Instead, she brightened a little and returned a smile.

I made sure to return the gesture. “As I understand it,” I continued, “you ponies don't use telecommunications here. Spike, are you able to send and receive letters from the Princess wherever you are in Equestria?” He nodded. “Then this is my suggestion: All of us ponies who can't fly should take to the hot-air balloon, provided it can carry our weight.” I glanced at Twilight, who gave an affirming nod. “We’ll take Spike with us as messenger for the Princess. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy can fly ahead of the balloon and scout out the mountain range along with the Royal Guard.” I gave a firm but sweet look to Fluttershy, who did her best to put on a confident face. “In the event anypony locates Riptide, one pony or another will meet with the other group and inform them. Twilight will fly with us in the balloon and act as our messenger, so she can stay near Spike in case she needs to correspond with the Princess.

“In the event we do locate Riptide, and provided it’s accessible, we'll set a course for the ship or its target destination and proceed with caution. We don't know what kind of magic he may use in self-defense, but he seemed very serious about completing this ‘negative magic’ stuff. The sleep agent I used on him will only last about two hours. However, the goal will be his capture, not to bring any harm to him. And…” I drew a breath. “That's it. What do you all think?”

Everypony looked between each other. After a moment, they all agreed unanimously to give it a shot.

“There's just one thing I'm concerned about,” I closed off, “and it's ironic, given Riptide's intentions… We need to be ready to defend ourselves in the event he acts out in a violent manner. If he decides to use this magic he's developing, then we could all be in serious danger.” I paused to gauge everyone's expression. “I need to know you ponies are ready to defend yourselves if it comes down to it.”

“What do you mean by ‘defend,’ exactly?” Twilight asked.

I sighed. Twilight knew full well what I was hinting at, but I guess I had to spell it out for the others. “I honestly can't say. This magic he's talking about, I don't have any idea how it works or if there's even anything we could do against it. And, for all intents and purposes, I don't have a clue how magic works – period. You ponies here are the experts. In any case, what I guess I'm trying to say is… If any one or the other of us is put in danger, we need to be ready to protect ourselves, no matter what.”

While my inflection may have not suggested the mortal point I was trying to convey, everypony let out an understanding sigh. “Don't worry, Nighttide,” Twilight spoke for the others. “This isn't the first time we've had to do something dangerous.”

“Yeah, I know.” I hoofed at the ground a little, worried I had now taken my lead a little too far. “I just don't want anything bad to happen. And, for those ponies who didn't know already…” I stuck out my in-tact right wing and engine, to Applejack and Pinkie Pie's surprise. “I was actually able to fly up until just a few hours ago. So, if something happens out there, I'm not going to be able to come to anypony's rescue.”

Applejack blinked at the sight a couple of times before shaking clear the shock. “Now Nighttide, I hope you're not thinkin' you're responsible for any of this? The way you're talkin', it's almost like you're tryin' to make up for somethin'.”

“No, it’s not that. It's just…” I took a breath and hung my head. “If this was even just a few days ago, I probably would’ve charged head-first into a situation like this with guns blazing – barely a thought given to the welfare of the enemy. It’s the way I was trained. I’ve followed DIRE's rules and regulations to a fault, and even though I’m still a pony with feelings of my own, those were made to be my last priority. To fulfill the duties assigned to me, and to act according to protocol – that's how I was raised. And those protocols don’t highlight any importance on the welfare of ponies other than our own.”

I looked up to see everypony listening intently. “There's some of you I still don't know well… Applejack. Rarity. Pinkie Pie. And there are a couple of you that I've gotten to know a little better recently, like you, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, of course. And,” I said with a slight smile, “your newest princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle. There's still a lot I have to learn in life – there's so much that I want to accomplish that I haven't thought about for years. But in just the short amount of time I've got to know you all, I've been reminded of what it means to think for yourself, to feel for yourself, and how to respond to those feelings without completely losing yourself. I don't know what it is about you girls, but you've made me feel so welcome, so loved. Like I'm important because I'm a pony, and not a project.

“And, for what it's worth,” I rambled on, “i-it's been a great experience… I don't know really where I'm going with all of this, but…” I rubbed my neck. “Suffice it to say, if it hadn't been for you all, I could have become something much worse in life. I was meant to kill. But I want to mean so much more than that.”

And with all that sap out of my system, I turned to face a window with my sternest face. “Most of all, I want to handle this crisis the way you ponies would. I believe in your ways. There has to be a way we can solve this without anypony getting hurt.”

Each of the ponies in the room gathered around me – some of them a little teary-eyed, others with warm smiles. Twilight was the first to speak. “Nighttide, I think I can speak for us all when I say that we consider you to be our friend. Yes, some of us haven't got to know you real well yet.” Twilight looked over at Applejack and Rarity, both of whom returned their warmest smiles. “But that doesn't really matter right now. As far as we’re concerned, for as we know you and all that we've got to share already, we proudly consider you a friend – and a very welcome guest to Equestria.”

I cocked my head in each pony's direction, blinking a little frantically. As I tried to formulate a response, Applejack spoke again.

“Twilight's right, Nighttide. We'd sure love to get to know ya better, and hopefully in the next few days, we can do just that! But from where we stand right now, you're a friend in our eyes.” Pinkie Pie bounced in agreement beside her with a huge grin.

It took me a while, but I finally found my voice. “It's still so funny to me, how you ponies can be so welcoming.” I looked back out the window at the overcast sky, having been created by the weather patrol just a little earlier. “Well, whatever happens next, I guess I should say… even if it is still new to me… I consider you all to be my friends as well.”

The ponies let out a round of “Awh's” befitting a bloody prep squad and engulfed me in a group hug, which all but locked me in place. Each of them gave me a nuzzle, and as the warmth and softness of each pony's embrace sank in, I couldn't help but smile the biggest smile.

So, this is friendship.

“Alright, everypony,” Twilight said in the middle of the hug. “Let's go take care of this.”

The group let out a round of cheers and broke off to head outside. Twilight and I were the last ones to step out the door. I remembered again her expression from earlier, and since nopony else was paying attention at the moment—

“Twilight,” I said. “About earlier, on Riptide's ship. Can you tell me what that was all about?”

“What, you mean— oh…” Twilight's confident expression quickly melted. “Uh… let's just say, I have a few questions I need to ask the Princesses later.”

“You mean about Equestria's history, right?”

“Yeah…” Twilight knitted her brow in thought and let her ears fall limp for a moment. Then, with a weak smile, she looked my way and said, “I'm sure it'll all be fine in the end. They always have a good reason for the choices they make.”

“I can easily see how you'd feel that way. But, speaking as an outsider without as much personal bias, I have to admit that that's a significant decision on their part – to hide history – and one that certainly merits questioning.”

“I know,” Twilight said, clearly a little flustered. “That's why I'm going to speak with them about it.”

I gave her a nod, then galloped ahead to catch up with the others.