A sunny day, it seemed on the planet Xauto, (Zato) a planet not too far from the moon.
Ember woke from her nap. She had hung upside down by her flexible tail, and she righted herself. She knew she was strange because no one else of her species slept upside down. Her antennae twitched in anticipation as she checked her calendar. It was the 5th of Cauth, which meant that today was special. Her friend Floris's little pups would sprout out of the ground today. But little did she know this would be her last day on her planet. Ember walked from her house, and waved to her neighbor, Floris. Floris chatted back in the native tongue of Xauto, which sounded like various random noises. Floris was blue with a green mane, and one of Ember's best friends.
"Hey. It seems today the little ones sprout from the ground. I can't wait to see how cute they will be." Her antennae quivered with delight. "I hope it's a boy and a girl."
Me either. A boy would be sooooo cute!" Said Ember sheepishly. "And a girl would be so tiny..." She had never thought of having a kid of her own, but her neighbor had looked forward to this all year. She could just imagine herself with a little boy of her own. Ember remembered that couples on this planet only meet together once.... And the male chose if he wanted to stay or move on. She remembered with a bit of envy of Floris's mate, Gakla. He had been at least three inches taller than her. Ember couldn't get his dark brown mane and long grey fur out of her mind, or his well built frame. Her antennae twitched in annoyance. The chances of me finding a mate are as good as next to nothing...
She hoped she would find herself a mate.... Her being an unusual orange and yellow.... Unlike the blue and green natives. Ironically she was only the second Pegasus in the entire species, which made her stand out. She wondered if the male would be fuzzy..... Or if they'd be into her at all... She was already strange being the only heir of the Queen. All the fussiness about "proper protocol" and how she should act as a princess were annoying her to death. For once she would not like to be handled as if she were some fragile thing that could break easily.
But all this thoughts were shattered when the invasion alarm was sounded. Species of hers ran to defensive positions, and weapons were given out.
"Battle stations! The Xaisis are declaring war!" Shouted the Queen. "We shall not lose!" Her mane was gold, and her armored body was red. Her wings were proudly flared, in an act of pure defiance at the enemy Xaisis.
Xaisis were creatures that were always greedy for more land. They looked like a cross between a dinosaur and spider. Usually they had two-inch long fangs, and scorpion tail. And they always had a gun somewhere.
"I'd like to help mother...." Began Ember.
"You are female and too young." Stated the Queen. "Besides... Fiasco, make sure she leaves this area. I do not want my heir to perish."
The male known as Fiasco saluted. "I shall protect the princess with my life."
"But if you just give me a chance, I can fight just like the males!" Pleaded Ember. She found herself admiring Fiasco, and his well built form.
"No. You know only males can be in my army. The females are not strong enough to defend me."
"But aren't you a female?" Pointed out Fiasco.
The Queen went quiet for a bit, before her expression shifted to not amused. "I did not ask for sarcasm Fiasco."
"My apologies, my liege." He said sheepishly. His blue eyes met with Ember's gold ones, and for an instant he saw something. He didn't know what it was, but he would protect her even at the cost of his life.
The battle went on, the Xaisis slowly gaining the upper paw. Fiasco shielded Ember from a barrage of gunfire. Ember's eyes widened in horror as she saw multiple bullets strike into him.
"Get.... To the escape... Pod..." He said with a cringe. "I will.... Not let you... Die..." He put a paw over a bleeding wound in his chest as he reloaded his gun.
"But... Fiasco..." She said, holding back tears, "Who will help you if we lose?"
"Don't worry... About me princess." He managed a sly weak grin as he forcibly pushed her into the pod, and shut the door. "I'd die any day for royalty." He pressed the launch button just as an Xaisis tackled him with sharp lethal claws.
Ember sat crying in the pod as it flew away from the planet. She saw through her tears and the small window that they had lost... Very outnumbered. Her village lay in ruins, and she couldn't help but weep for her friend who would never see her newest ones come into the world.
Some time went by... Until a sudden jerk rocked the entire pod. She saw a rogue Xaisis ship trying to shoot her down. Panic overtook her, and her antennae quivered in fear. Over-riding the controls, she managed to dodge some of the gunfire, before the impact of the pod crashing shook everything.
She remembered hitting the ground but not much else. She saw that the impact had thrown her a few feet from the damaged pod. Tasting blood in her mouth, she felt pain lance through her body. He last thought in her mind was about Fiasco as the darkness pulled her under and she knew no more.
