Endeavor’s Bridge, Mission Clock at 52:00
Archer

“So let’s see if I have this straight. Dusk went down to the surface once Blueblood figured out a rough idea of what happened down there, and the four of you left him alone with a psychotic goddess that may have incinterated the entire planet.” Meteor Shower rattled off. “Now maybe I’m missing something, but who thought that just leaving Dusk down there was a bright idea?”

“Well if it was up to me I wouldn’t have left him. But he told me to go. What else would you have me do?” Amore retorted from across the holotable, clearly insulted by the General’s assertion.

“So if Dusk told you to go jump out the airlock you’d do it?” Meteor countered. “Just because he told you to do it doesn’t mean it was the right call. And last I checked he isn’t the one in charge around here!”

“Well neither are you!” Amore shouted, shaking her fist angrily across the table.

If I didn’t know any better I would’ve guessed that her and the General would’ve jumped the table and started hurling punches. However for the sake of our bridge equipment, Starswirl finally did something more than standing off to the side taking up space, and he create a pale purple barrier straight across the centerline of the table to prevent that possibility. “Both of you stop it! Especially you Meteor.”

“Me?”

“Yes you!” Starswirl countered. “For the supposed Royal Consort, you’re really doing a piss-poor job of maintaining proper decorum.”

Wait, Royal Consort? “What did you just call him?” I asked.

“Royal Consort.” Starswirl replied, now looking slightly confused. “What, none of you noticed the appearance-altering magic he’s using?”

At that Meteor’s expression changed instantly. It wasn’t anger anymore, but a look of abject horror. Almost like he just watched someone die. “How did you-”

“Please, just because you could hide that trace from the average pony doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t pick up on it.”

What came next was easily a shock to everyone bar the General himself. With a shimmer, those aged marks around his eyes and grey hair disappeared, replaced by shiny black hair and features that were far less worn from the passage of time. “Holy shit…” I heard Blueblood mutter.

“So where I was right, I assume you picked up that aging trick from the Book of Faust?” Starswirl asked.

Meteor nodded before recasting whatever spell he had been using, returning himself to his former appearance. “I did… And that’s all I’m saying on it for now.”

“But how did you-”

“Amore! That’s all I’m saying on it!” Meteor snapped.

“So… Getting back to business… What do we do about Dusk?”

“Well if Daybreaker had incinerated him, I think that we would’ve noticed something by now.” Starswirl offered. “The issue I see is getting Dusk off the planet’s surface. I doubt that Daybreaker will simply let us go down and pick him up, and an assault would likely end in vaporization.”

“So what are we supposed to do?”

Starswirl shrugged. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything else we can do. All we can do without risking anyone else is to move on.”

“That’s nuts! We’ve already gone through hell to get Dusk back, and you suggest that calling it quits on him is all we can do?” Amore snapped.

“And trying to get Dusk back will risk the hundreds of ponies that are aboard. With everything else that is likely going on, are their lives worth risking for the sake of one pony?” Starswirl countered.

“They are, but you won’t have to risk them.” Came a new voice from behind the lot of us.

Turning around I found myself facing down a pale green unicorn mare, clad in a sage green cloak that was draped around her shoulders. Looking at her one thought came to mind, and I was more than willing to voice it. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Hey, wait a minute… I remember you from Canterlot.” The General said. “You’re Faust’s lackey.”

“Her name is Dawn.” Starswirl added. “She’s some orphan that Faust took in years ago. Although I’d love to know what you’re doing here now…”

“Dusk is in trouble again, and you will need him back up here. I’ll see to it that he gets back aboard but once he’s here you need to go. Understood?”

“Why, what’s going to happen?” I asked.

“Daybreaker will likely retaliate in a rather destructive manner.” Dawn replied. “Now if you’ll all excuse me, I do believe there’s an express elevator with my name on it.” As she whirled and started walking off the bridge, I swore that I saw the edge of a wing under her cloak. But an even more important point came to mind. Dawn was the name that Dart had picked out for her daughter, and something in the back of my mind kept screaming that it wasn’t a coincidence.

“Did anyone else notice that wing?” I heard Blueblood ask, so I obviously wasn’t crazy when I thought I saw a feathered appendage.

“Ya, I did… Starswirl, you seem to know a bit more about Dawn. Just who were her parents?” Meteor asked.

“No clue.” The mage replied. “When Faust introduced us a few years ago I asked that same question, but she wouldn’t say. All that she told me is that she was an orphan that she had taken in.”

“Right… Well you and I both obviously know how the whole Alicorn thing works. She obviously isn’t one of yours, so who’s is she?”

Listening to just the context of what the General was getting at, I quickly added that to what I already knew. Meteor clearly knew something about how Alicorns reproduced, or simply came to exist. “General… I think Dawn is one of yours.”

“You don’t even know what we’re talking about.” The General snapped.

“You’re obviously talking about one of your descendants.” I countered. “Look, you two both know more about… Whatever it is that has to do with Dawn and Alicorns, but that’s way too coincidental for her to have been named Dawn.”

“Archer, just what are you getting at?” Amore asked.

“Dawn was the name that Dart picked out for her daughter.” I replied, casting a passing gaze over the assembled group. “General, I think it’s obvious who Dawn’s parents are.”

“That’s crazy.” The General countered.

I shook my head. “General, I don’t think it’s that crazy… She’s got her mother’s fur and her father’s eyes. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter; Faust’s so-called ‘agent’ and your still unborn great-granddaughter are the same pony.”

***

Surface of the Dead World
Dusk

How long was I down here? Hours? Days? Hell, maybe only a few minutes? At this point that was a question I found myself asking, after having been bombarded with memories stretching across a few years. Yet I was still able to make a determination after watching the downfall of an entire planet; I had gotten in WAY over my head. For the first time in a long time I actually felt scared. I had been running a facade against a clearly broken and psychotic goddess… And I had nowhere to go. “I… That was some heavy stuff.” I admitted out loud.

But looking at Celestia I noticed that her mane was flickering again, and she looked decidedly more angry. “You’re not my Dusk.”

“Uh…” I droned as I started stepping backwards away from the goddess. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh you do!” Celestia spat, her hair now fully replaced by the flaming mane that I had first encountered. “You’re some Changeling trying to get to me. Well it’s not going to work!”

Wait, she thinks I’m a Changeling? “Are you serious?” I asked. “How could I be a Changeling when YOU vaporized all life on the planet?!”

Now that assertion proved quickly to be a mistake as Celestia knocked me to the ground with barely a move on her part. “Shut up!” She angrily shouted.

As Celestia tossed another bolt of magic, I reflexively threw up a shield. While the shield held the force of the blow sent me skidding back a few feet from where I first fell. “What if I don’t feel like it?” I offered as I got to my knees.

SHUT UP!

Two more blows smacked against my shield, and through that golden haze I could make out some distinct cracks emanating out from from where the crazed goddess kept hitting it. “Well you’ve got to do better than that!” I chided as I tried pushing more magic into the shield.

That final jab was all it took, and with one tremendous blow my shield shattered. The feedback from my failed spell left me with the phantom sensation of a horn that was tingling after being hit with a pulse of magic. “Oh, I can do worlds better…” That last line certainly started to make me worry, and that worry quickly grew into a fear of god as Celestia opened a portal, the other end of which was casting blinding light and searing heat all across the sands. It was definitely hot, that much I could say for certain as some of the sand began to crystalize. But through all of that fear I realized something; while I was hot, I was far from burning to death from what was likely the full-force of the sun itself. “DIE ALREADY!” Celestia screamed.

Getting to my feet I made note of how that heat and light was reacting to me. While it was certainly uncomfortable, that raw energy seemed to coalesce around my hands. “You know what? I’m not feeling it!” I retorted as I hurled that energy square at Celestia’s face. The sudden blast of searing energy broke the mare’s concentration, and her portal closed leaving the area around us cooling ever so slowly. “And something tells me that you’re feeling it not either!”

The crazed mare responded by lunging at me, with a wild look more akin to a feral beast than a once-regal Princess. But she only got halfway from where she stood to me before some mare just… Teleported between us and sent Celestia flying with nothing more than a backhand. “Well she’s certainly feeling something.”

I couldn’t help but study this newly arrived mare. She was decked out in some tribal-looking armor with a sage green cloak to match her mane. Her fur was a far lighter shade, looking more akin to spearmint. But what really caught my attention was the wings tucked under her cloak, just barely noticeable as it fluttered around. And that was in addition to a horn that capped her skull. “That’s fine and dandy, but who the hell are you?” I asked as I approached the mare.

She turned around, offering a soft and warm smile. “I’m Dawn. Faust sent me-”

“Who sent you?” I asked, someone confused by the mare’s explanation.

“Faust? You know, Faust the Eternal? The All-Mother? That red alicorn chick that is in all the really old ancient equestrian textbooks?”

Admittedly Dawn’s points didn’t ring any bells. “Well that must be the one thing I never really studied, because you’re still making any sense.”

“Alright, whatever.” The mare said, admitting defeat. “Either way we still have THAT to deal with.” She said, pointing at a still-enraged solar diarch.

“Right, and the two of us are supposed to be able to beat a goddess.” I retorted, cracking my knuckles as I took up a place next to Dawn.

“Well as I see it we’ve got a goddess and a demigod on our side, while Daybreaker only has herself. I’d say we’ve got the advantage.” Dawn retorted.

But for a moment I paused. What exactly did she mean by demigod? “I’m sorry, but I’m no demigod.”

Dawn simply rolled her eyes. “Then remind me to smack Meteor around for not bringing you up on your heritage.”

“Look lady, I still have no-”

“Look out!”

I was lucky to have Dawn here, otherwise that second set of eyes wouldn’t have alerted me to an approaching right hook from the psychotic former ruler that we were staring down. “Just die already!” The mare screamed.

“Sorry-” I stepped back and wailed Celestia with my shoulder. As I bounced off her Dawn stepped in over Celestia, know down on one of her kees, and slammed her fist into the side of the former ruler’s face. That left me with the final hit, and I brought my knee up into her jaw hard. “-but that’s not happening. At least not today.”

Staring down at the defeated monarch, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Celestia's whole world fell apart and she seemed to accept that she was the one to blame. But through all that she couldn’t stop from lashing out in rage at just about anything that moved. “I’m sorry that it had to end this way.” Dawn softly said.

But in an instant the sunlight began to rapidly dim, and Celestia developed an evil smile. “But it’s not over… It’ll never be over!”

Looking skyward a sudden wall of abject horror slammed into me. The sun was turning black, with visible cracks in that shell that was obstructing the light that it was giving off. “What did you do?” I asked, still glued on the sun.

“Isn’t it obvious? I made sure that you and your friends will die here.” Celestia spat. “That’s right, those friends all nicely tucked away in that giant metal coffin that they so nicely provided.”

“But you’re killing yourself too!” Dawn protested.

“Dawn, just what did she do?” I asked, finally turning to face the two mares.

For obvious reasons Dawn looked just as concerned as I likely did. “She set in motion a transient astronomical event.”

“Transient astronomical… Wait, a supernova?!” I exclaimed.

Dawn nodded. “As of right now we’ve got less than three minutes until that star takes out everything within a tenth of a light year.”

“Then what the hell do we do?!” I yelled.

“Just hang on!” Dawn replied, grabbing onto me tight followed by an immediate sensation of falling. That feeling only lasted for a few seconds before I felt my boots slam against solid metal deckplates with a resounding thud.

“What just-”

“I teleported us back to the Endeavor.” Dawn replied as her and I strode up to the helm. “Blueblood, time to get in gear!” She shouted, taking up the seat on the Prince’s right.

“Where the hell did you- Wait a minute… Do you have something to do with that?” He asked, pointing out the forward viewscreen at the dying sun.

“No, for once it’s not my fault.” Dawn replied. “Now we need to jump out of here, otherwise we’re all ash!”

“Do you even know what’s going on?” I heard Rush call from one of the stations behind the two of us.

“The sun is going supernova, and we need to get the hell out of here within the next two minutes or we’re all dead!”

“Jesus… How did this happen?!” Rush yelled.

“We pissed off a god, that’s what!”

“We? I did most of the leg work!” I snapped as I made my way to the holotable. “You were down there for what, a minute or two? That hardly counts as a team effort!”

“You want to take the credit for this great mess we’re in? Then be my guest!” Dawn retorted. “Greyscale, activate protocol Gemini One.”

As the AI’s lifeless orb grew out of the helm’s holotank, I could almost make out an uncharacteristic growl. “How the hell do you know about that?”

“Because I made sure it was put there, now do it!”

If Greyscale could roll his eyes I’d imagine that’s what he was doing. “Understood. Protocol executed, fast power-up of slipspace drive is complete. What’s our destination?”

“Any point at least twenty light years away from that star.”

From my spot at the holotable a holographic screen popped up, with Cloud on the other end in the engine room. “Bridge, this is engineering. What the hell did you morons up there do? The slipspace drive just went to full power and I’ve got alarms and warnings lighting up every board!”

“What?!” I turned around to look at Dawn, hoping she would face me but in reality she remained glued to her spot at the helm. “Dawn, you better know what you’re doing!”

As a slipspace rupture opened directly ahead I could make out a nod. “Damn right I do!”

“Awe hell…” I quickly wheeled back to the holotable and brought up the ship-wide PA. “Bridge to all hands, brace for acceleration!”

As the Endeavor cleared the aperture the whole ship began to shake violently from side to side. “Sirs, I can’t maintain a stable transit!” Grey called out from his holotank.

“What’s our distance from Equis?” Dawn asked.

“But-”

“How far away are we?!”

"Fifteen and counting.” Grey replied. “But I really don’t-”

“Just hold it together Grey, we’ll make it!” Dawn insisted.

“Bridge, this is engineering. The drive core is way in the red, we’re evacuating!”

“Dawn, you need to drop us out of slipspace!” I shouted, trying to get helm control transfered to the holotable.

“We can make it!”

“No, we can’t!” I spat as I managed to get helm control locked out of the mare’s station and transferred over to me. “Grey, get us out of this mess!”

“Aye sir!” The shaking of the deck immediately stopped as Endeavor cleared slipspace. “We’ve cleared FTL, but I’m reading power surges all over the ship.”

Dawn at this point had already gotten up from her chair, having shoved me out of the way to get at the holotable. “Grey, how far are we?”

“Approximately twenty nine light years. We should be-”

“No, we’re not. We still need to worry about the radiation! Divert those power surges into the shield emitters and readjust them to compensate for increased gamma radiation.”

“Will that actually do it?” I asked.

“In theory it should.” Rush said as he joined us at the holotable. “But you’re diverting power surges into the shields. Can the emitters handle that?”

Dawn nodded. “They were test up to two hundred percent of their regular power input for twenty four hours, and can handle more at a decreasing interval of fifty percent of the rated time per hundred increase on the power rating.”

“Well can the conduits feeding the emitters handle that load?” I asked.

As a conduit in the ceiling directly above us suddenly began to glow red, it became evidently clear that Dawn hadn’t considered that problem. “Oh shit… Get back!”

Rush and I were tossed to either end of the bridge, followed immediately by a blinding flash of light and a third thud. It took a moment to get my bearings but judging by the crater in the ceiling and the profusely bleeding alicorn on the floor, we had just given up one problem for another far more immediate one.

Author's Note

Dear lord, I'm way behind here on getting these chapters published. My appologies, but I've been incredibly busy the last few weeks. But hopefully I'll be solving that problem and getting the lead out on the editing and writing again.

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-Striker