The Sunsinger

Claire was having an interesting day. While patrolling on Venus with her normal fireteam, they were caught off guard by a high value target vex minotaur. Once their titan had run in head first (once again) and gotten pummeled into the ground by the 8 foot metal robot and their hunter was being bombarded with its scorch cannon, it was up to her to move in and try and destroy the monstrosity.

Running in with The Last Word which she had ‘borrowed’ from their hunter, she quickly tried to shoot down its shielding so that she could begin to try and disable the machine enough that she could get the chance to revive their titan. Knowing that she would be able to resurrect herself even if she died to the massive being was a somewhat calming thought that kept her from thinking that she was just going to be committing suicide with this plan.

Unluckily for her, the minotaurs shielding withheld her bullets and only managed to get it to turn its attention to herself. Quickly pulling out her fusion rifle from her back she began to charge it up only for the minotaur to smack her with its weapon and send her flying into a vex conflux. She was then subjected to the multiple bombarding shots of its weapon tearing through her already weakened shielding and then breaking through her reinforced cloth armour filling her with shrapnel and a heated painful death.

But that was when things got very weird for her. Upon allowing her ghost to use their stored up light she was not resurrected from whence she died, but instead inside of a weird and colourful castle throne room, decorated with tapestries and coloured windows. The whole place left a peaceful and warming feeling inside her body, almost like how she felt while in her meditative state accessing her light within.

The following ten minutes was a rollercoaster ride of emotion. From finding out that she was was on an uncharted planet from her ghost to the confrontation with the horse like creatures infused with light, to the short fight she went through that apparently stopped an attempted scheme from the strange creatures known as changelings and their dark powers. She was finding herself in an entirely new situation that was somehow related to to the war that she was fighting back in her home galaxy.

After being offered a place to rest by the apparent Princess of the ponies, she took the time to meditate and reach out to the light as her ghost went about absorbing as much information as it could for her to research from the archives which she had questioned her escort guard about.

While meditating she found out that this world was completely saturated with the power of the light. She could reach her senses far out and feel the lights power coursing through the very earth of the planet, filling everything that inhabited this strange world. The only other place that she could access this much light and its power was back inside the last city, under the watchful gaze of the traveler.

To think that an entire world was filled with this power brought the scholar to think about the implications of such a discovery.

But the most pressing matter on her mind was why she was sent here in the first place.

She was brought out of her musings hours later when she heard a polite knock on the door to the lavished room she was currently being allowed to stay in. Releasing herself from her meditation and removing herself from thoughts she answered. “Come in.”

The door was opened and inside stepped a maid from the castle staff. She looked incredibly nervous and was nearly shaking as she walked into the room and addressed the guardian. “P-princess Celestia a-and Princess L-luna are requesting your presence at a m-meeting.”

Claire could understand the maids nervousness. Walking into a room with an unknown creature that rumor had probably spread to be violent and dangerous was not the most calming of actions. Sending a mental request to her ghost to once again remove her helmet ‘Light Beyond Nemesis’ she began to try and sooth the maid. “You don’t need to be fightful of me. I mean no ill will towards any of you.”

“I am s-sorry. It’s… did you really kill all of those c-changelings?” The mare asked, still shaking. “I heard from my friend t-that some of them w-were missing their entire h-heads and the guards said you killed a princess c-changeling with a single blow after you had d-died.”

“Well… yes,” Claire said. The mare started to shake a bit more violently and took a step back. “But I only did so because they were an abomination and beings of darkness. All of you ponies carry the same power that I hold within myself and I would never dream of harming anyone holding the power of the light. My actions may have been… ruthless and brutal, but I only did so because if I had done it differently, then ponies might have been harmed. Also, between you and me, the ‘princess changeling’ did kill me rather painfully. She deserved what she got.”

While she was talking, Claire had tapped into the light and sent calming waves towards the mare in the hopes that her words would be able to calm her. It seemed to have worked at least a little as the mare had stopped shaking so violently. “W-well… thank you for your actions then. I guess.”

“Not to be rude, but don’t I have an appointment to go to?” Claire asked, remembering the reason why the maid had entered in the first place.

“Oh, yes. P-please follow me.” The maid said as she turned and walked out of the room, waiting patiently outside the door as Claire got up off of the bed she was sitting on preciously and followed her outside.

The guards on either side of the door watched her wearily as she exited and seemed uneased by her. As an attempt to ease some of their tension she casually waved at them before following the mare down the corridor.

After following the maid for five minutes, all the while admiring the beauty of the castle and receiving startled and scared looks from other ponies that she had passed, Claire asked the maid a question. “This place seems like a maze of corridors, how do you know where to go?”

“I-it is required that staff of the castle memorize its layout. It was built this way so that a guide would be required to access any part of the castle and so that civilians wouldn’t be able to disturb the staffs routine by a-accidently entering somewhere they weren’t supposed to.”

“A very interesting way to build a castle. I cannot wait to learn more about your people.” Claire said as she waved at another of the castle staff that they passed and she nearly fainted. It would have been funny in another circumstance. “I have read some of your people's culture and I have to say that impressed that your kind has been able to be in times of peace for so long.”

“T-that would be thanks to Princess Celestia. She is a wonderful ruler, kind and caring to all of her subjects. She has lead us for the past thousand years with peace and tranquility.” The maid said with honour. “Ever pony does their part to ensure that our country is happy and filled with joy.”

Claire smiled at the pony, careful to not show her canine teeth. “That is a wonderful outlook on life.” She sighed immediately after. “My people have not known peace for hundreds of years, after the collapse of the golden age. This place is very reminiscent of my first life, if a bit basic. I didn’t even think that there was anywhere so peaceful left in the universe.”

“I am sorry to hear that.” The maid said with a remorseful tone. “Maybe the princesses could help you?”

Claire sighed once again. “Maybe, but if they were to help then your kind may be put in grave danger. Our war is not something you want to be a part in.”

The conversation ended on a sad note after that and the rest of the walk to their destination was in silence. They reached a large ornate door with a symbol of the sun covering it and the maid lightly tapped on the door with her hoof.

“Enter.” Came the soft regal voice of Celestia from the other side.

The maid opened the door and gestured for Claire to enter.