To the Stars, and Beyond

Chapter Seven

“Full reverse on those thrusters! Battlestations! Ready the guns! This is NOT a drill!” barked Twilight over the intercom, before she pressed a button on the console, turning on a klaxon alarm that rang throughout the whole battlecruiser.

She turned swiftly to one of her officers and asked brusquely, “Where is that dreadnought? We need all the power we can get for negotiations.” He was about to speak but a loud noise that sounded like a foghorn cut through and silenced all noise present. She looked past the frightened officer to the window, where a ship, larger than her own cut through space itself before getting in formation with her own ship.

“Well, there’s your answer, Prime Minister. But what exactly are we negotiating?”

“That is for me to know, only.” she stated flatly walking past him to the window.

He started sputtering profusely, “B-but, I am one of your highest ranking officers, I have the right to know what we are fighting f- HRK!” he was cut off by Twilight lifting him up with her magic by the throat and floating him face to face with her.

“You, dare, question MY authority, whelp?” It was silent, before a cough was heard from the entryway. Twilight roughly dropped the poor stallion to the ground upon seeing Lunar standing in the doorway, a very surprised look gracing her face. She looked very different than she had before. Her hair was now a very clean looking mohawk, her once shaggy tail now cut short and neat. And finally her new uniform graced her features.

“Ah, Lunar! You look good. Did you see the dreadnought come in? That’s the Sonambula.” asked Twilight gave a nervous giggle, looking back at the now unconscious stallion laying on the ground, then back to Lunar. Lunar’s head was spinning, this wasn’t the Twilight she knew. The one she had always known.

“Come! We are going to the Sonambula. It is safer on there. Grab your things, we leave in five.” Lunar snapped out of the funk she was in and nods her compliance, falling in line behind Twilight and splitting off when they got close to her quarters. She got into her room and closed the door, locking it… not like it would help though

“I need to get out of her, but there’s no way I can leave without being spotted. Okay, just play it cool. Twilight trusts you, let not lose that.” She was steadily panting, her heart rate far higher than normal. She grabbed a standard issue duffel bag and haphazardly threw most of her belongings in it, making sure to set her bomber coat on top with care, before zipping the bag shut and slung it across her back.

Stepping outside her door she patiently waited outside Twilight’s quarters for a few moments before The Prime Minister stepped out in full battle dress. Black plastic armour, with small amounts of purple graced her features, similar to the colour scheme of Lunar’s own uniform. Twilight topped it off by floating a helmet onto her head, it was unlike anything Lunar had ever seen.

Twilight started in her now mechanical voice, “They are attempting to flee, we are going down there to find them. We have about an hour before bombardment of the planet begins.”

Lunar Gasped “What! That’s insane! That would be a declaration of war!”

“I know, I hate that it may have to come to that but we have no choice, Luna knows the power she now possesses, I have no doubt she will use it to bring ill will to the citizens of this galaxy. Now let’s go.”

~<>~~<{}>~~<>~

“Your friend, Record, is not who she seems.”

He stood awestruck at the notion, that Lunar, my only real trusted friend in the universe, may have been lying to me this whole time. He was about to speak again but he was cut off by a blaring alarm ringing throughout the castle.

“And there, they have started their invasion. We need to go.” Luna says as she picks up Record, the Crown, and a small bag she was hiding with her magic and bolts to the door at a full gallop.

“Ah! Hey I can walk!” Record protests, feeling the cool aura surrounding him.

“While that may be true, my dear Record, but I can fly. Now brace yourself!” She accentuates her point by flaring her wings and blowing a whole through the hallway wall with her magic and sprinting through it, gliding swiftly to a small building hidden by trees. She landed and dropped him to the ground unceremoniously.

“C’mon, we gotta go!” she yelled at him, grinning wildly.

“Why are you smiling?! This is fun to you?!” he yelled back, picking himself up off the ground.

“Indeed it is! I haven’t done anything like this in years! Now let’s go!” She then bolted off into the building, leaving the door open behind her as Record followed close behind, heading through the door and following her down some stairs.

They both stepped into a hangar larger than any Record had ever seen before, and at the center of it all was a large ship, an Imperial Cutter, it’s graceful curves and glistening white and chrome paint bathed in red by the dull hangar lights. Then a loud clunk was heard as Luna flipped a switch, letting the hangar door above open, bringing in the natural sunlight from outside, along with small bits of soil, as the door was hidden below the ground. Luna stepped under the craft and pressed a button, letting the boarding ramp drop to the floor, motioning her head for him to follow.

Record didn’t see this though, as he was too busy staring in awe at the magnificent ship before him, the light making it seem angelic almost. Luna smiled and shook her head, lighting her horn to drag him inside.

“Come along now Record, you can stare at the pretty ship later. We have to hurry.”

“But it’s so cooool!” he said in mock frustration, willingly getting dragged into the ship by her magic.

Finally stepping up the ramp and into the cockpit, he actually felt a small amount of fear, this was one of the biggest ships a commander could fly alone, and here he was in the cockpit after only having flown a small fighter, being watched by the Imperial Queen herself! he hesitantly took the middle seat and started looking at the controls.

Luna spoke up, “Oh right, you were in a smaller ship, this must be overwhelming a bit… but you certainly would be a better fit for a pilot than me.”

“Y-yeah, I’ll get it soon enough.” he read the labels quickly, flipping switches and starting the engines. Over all this sound, a loud thud was heard as an escape capsule hit the ground nearby, smoking slightly from entering the atmosphere.

“Record! Pull the ramp back up! They’re here!”

“Oh no…” he slammed a small button labeled ‘ramp’ and heard a clunk come from behind him. The engines soon were producing a deafening roar, the ship’s exterior light fixtures producing a soft blue glow. The door of the capsule opened, revealing Lunar Sky and a pony that oddly had the same color scheme as the Prime Minister, except she had on a strange outfit like none he had ever seen. Luna calmly took a seat next to me and flipped the arming switch, klaxon alarms ringing and a hum could be heard as the guns locked into place.

~<>~~<{}>~~<>~

A few minutes before

Twilight and Lunar clambered onto a small skiff and flew over to the Dreadnought, getting a view of the forested planet below and the massive armada that was behind them.

Lunar spoke, staring at the spectacle, “Holy shit… Did you call the whole fleet Twilight?!”

“Language, Lunar! And I would say about sixty percent of it, if my calculations and fleet knowledge is up to date.” Lunar stood in awe at the prospect, thinking that more than half of the Federations fighting force was there in front of her. All because she didn’t see Record take the crown when she walked away, and she mentally berated herself for her mistake.

They arrived on the Sonambula, going into their respective rooms and unpacking, Lunar finishing first and waiting patiently for Twilight to get out of her room, before they both scrambled into an escape pod and rocketed down to the planet’s surface, trying to find Record and Luna before they could escape, and before the planetary bombardment began.

“Brace yourself Lunar, these pods are not made for comfortable landings!” Twilight yelled above the roaring wind as they entered the atmosphere roughly. The window across from Lunar was filled with only glowing red light, not letting any sight of the forest world come through. Lunar nodded her acknowledgement closing her eyes and steeling herself for the inevitable rough landing that was to come.

Lunar stepped out of the capsule groggily, shaking her head as she hit the ground. Her eyes went wide as she saw the gaping hole before her. Inside was a gleaming white Imperial Cutter, with Record at the controls and Queen Luna beside him, flipping the switch to bring out the guns. A clank was heard beside her head as Twilight landed beside her, not phased by the landing, her visor glowing a deep blood red.

Twilight spoke in an amplified voice, “Pri- I mean, Your Highness Queen Luna of the Imperial Family, I have come personally to negotiate the surrender of the Crown Jewels of one former Princess Celestia!”

The ship started to hover and gradually rose out of the hangar, staying at level with the two ponies on the ground. Luna teleported herself to the top of her ship in front of the cockpit, speaking in the long unheard Royal Canterlot Voice, “And why should we negotiate with with any of the likes of you!? Whoever you are!”

“My apologies, I forgot I was even wearing this.” Twilight took off her helmet, her mane billowing in the wind created by
the engines. “And to answer your question, because if you do not surrender the crown, we will wipe this planet out of existence. With you on it!”

Lunar watched in horror. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She looked into the cockpit of the ship and saw Record staring at her with an expression to match hers. Terrified.

~<>~~<{}>~~<>~

Luna looked surprised, but eventually calmed her demeanor, “My my, the Prime Minister herself, came down to my little world to talk to me herself. I feel almost honored, but it’s too bad she has a temper. But that wasn’t always the case was it, Twilight Sparkle? I might’ve been willing to work with you, but since you brought a whole armada with you and have terrified my poor citizens! The time for peace has passed.”

Record was hypnotized by the way Luna spoke, her words flowed like silk yet had the sting of a wasp. He also couldn’t help but notice that she stamped her hoof when she wanted to emphasise a point, sending her tail into a frenzy, letting him get a quick peek at what lay beneath it, adding a small blush to his face. Then, looking past her he gave Lunar a quick wink just as Luna teleported back into the ship, he flipped the weapons switch and set the thrusters to full, bolting away from the two on the ground at lightning speed, leaving the atmosphere as he set the FSD to charge, hoping for a quick getaway from the armada.

“Where are we going?” Luna asked as she took her seat and strapped herself in.

“Far away from here, does this ship have a tracker in place?”

“No, this is my personal ship. I need absolute secrecy whenever I travel.”

“Good.” he says as he puts on a helmet and glanced at her, noticing she wasn’t doing the same. “Uh, did you need a helmet, or a respirator?”

“Nope! I didn’t need one on the moon, so I guess I can breathe in space.”

“That’s, odd. But if you say you are fine.” he said right before the ‘woosh’ of the FSD kicks in, sending them to another system, away from Luna’s world and the swarm of angry ships hovering around it.

A few systems over, they went to an isolated station, far away from the sun they appeared at. Retreating into the large hangar and planning to turn in for the night. Then things got a bit awkward,

“Uhh, Record, we’re going to have to share, I only have one bed on this ship.”