Starcraft: The Fate of the Artifact

Chapter 4: At what cost?

A cacophonous boom echoed throughout the halls of the dark orphanage, and rain slammed against the ramshackle roof relentlessly. While this would normally bring uncertainty to the residents of the structure, the only two that were awake were far too busy to complain about a leaky roof.

Applebloom and Sweetie Bell simply stood inside the filthy orphanage room. Their eyes fixated on their dear friend Scootaloo, who had, despite the obvious physical strain on her small body; still managed to bring the small alien relic out from the Everfree Forest. If she were still conscious, her friends would have bombarded her with questions like; “why did you go back for that stupid rock? Why didn’t you ask us to help you? And, what happened to your wing?” The sight of Scootaloo’s feathered appendage almost made Sweetie Bell vomit. But she willed herself to be stronger than that. Right now, they were the only two ponies that could ever get her to a hospital in time.

Applebloom slowly walked over to her friend, her hooves dragging beneath her as if they had been placed in cement blocks. She reached out with her foreleg and cautiously poked her friends face, as if she would explode at the slightest touch. Scootaloo shook weakly and gave a soft moan, but she could not wake. She was trapped in the dark, never-ending void of her own mind. Before, she felt like the entire world rested on her shoulders. But now, she only felt the crushing weight of having let everypony down. Her friends, Nyon, herself. And for what? Some stupid rock?

“Sweetie Bell. We gotta get Scootaloo to the hospital again.” She turned to the other filly, who’s face was even paler than normal. Her eyes had grown as wide as dinner plates with fear, and her small frame was visibly trembling. Sweetie merely nodded at her friend. “Okay then, help me carry her down the stairs”. The two ponies slowly lifted their companion on to Applebloom’s back. With Sweetie mustering all of her magic to keep Scoots from falling off. The trio silently left the room, leaving the artifact behind.

They could barely see in front of themselves in the unlit orphanage. And the young ponies were forced to move slowly alongside the wall to find their way. After making a turn, Applebloom took one step forward, and almost fell down the entire stairwell. Luckily Sweetie caught her friend by the tail and pulled her back before that could happen. The orphanage was so run-down that the stairs were broken in some places, and sagging with age in others. They were a hazard in the bright of day, but when they could hardly see….

Sweetie told her friend to stand still. She released her grasp on Scootaloo so she could focus on a different spell. She grunted with effort, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth until her horn lit up with a spark: creating a ray of light to guide their path. With a level of caution that would have made Fluttershy proud, they managed to bring their friend down to the lobby of the hellhole she called home.

“Okay, Sweetie Bell. Now we just gotta get her to the hospital.” Applebloom wasn’t used to doing this much physical labor. Applejack told her she was too young to buck apples, and Big Macintosh wouldn’t let her do any work on the barn. So she was pushing her physical limits. Sweetie Bell was having trouble as well. She wasn’t used to concentrating on a spell for so long, and was quickly tiring out.

“Uuum, Applebloom?” Sweetie asked with no small amount of nervousness. “Which way is it to the hospital?” They two ponies just looked at each other. Neither of them knew the way to the hospital because they had only been there once! And even if they knew where it was, they couldn’t see anything in this cold, rainy night. Sweetie walked over to the doors of the building, and upon opening them was greeted to the furious screech of the wind and rain. She quickly shut the door. If they were going outside in that storm, they would have to think of something… Fast.

As if on cue, a sphere of bright energy erupted from the artifact. This orb of light whizzed down the stairwell and into the lobby of the orphanage, and stopped right in front of the main doors.  They both let out a sharp shriek of surprise at the sudden appearance of the orb; but quickly silenced themselves. They couldn’t let anypony know that Scootaloo was hurt this bad, they would have to many questions, and the two fillies would have no answers. After a moment of silence, nopony else made a sound. So Sweetie and Applebloom allowed themselves a sigh of relief.

“What do ya suppose that thing is?” Applebloom whispered to her friend.

“Maybe we should ask it what it wants?” Sweetie replied with a shrug. Sweetie cancelled her illumination spell, and looked directly at the shimmering light, which surprisingly, did not strain her eyes in the slightest. “Umm, excuse me? Mr. light…ball? Um, what do you want?” The sphere simply floated in front of the door, giving of its soft, yet bright glow.

“UUUGH!” Applebloom grunted with the effort of keeping Scootaloo on her back. “This is pointless! This thing isn’t gonna get us to the hospital!” The moment the word hospital escaped her lips, the sphere of light spun rapidly in a circle, then passed through the wooden door of the orphanage and into the night. Only to reappear in front of the trio of filly’s moments later, whereby it started moving up and down in front of them.

“I think it wants us to follow it?” Sweetie said with just a hint of nervousness. Applebloom nodded with agreement. This orb was the only reliable source of light they had. And, although it screamed against every part of Applebloom’s common sense, they walked toward the object that they knew nothing about. Every step they made, the orb of light moved away from them, and into the night.

The young ponies moved as swiftly as they could through the harsh rain. The storm seemed to have a mind of its own, for the howling winds became so strong that the three fillies were almost lifted off the ground. But no matter how much it rained, or how powerful these winds were, they would never let that sphere out of their sights. This orb of light was their only hope in this desperate hour.

The sphere kept a distance between itself and the young ponies, encouraging them to keep their speed to a quick trot. But at the same time, it seemed to know their limitations, and never strayed so far that they would need to waste valuable energy keeping up with it. After what seemed like an eternity inside this nightmarish storm, the orb stopped moving in front of a large sign that read “Ponyville Hospital”. The girls caught up to the sphere, and when they turned their heads, there indeed, was the hospital. This tall, white structure was the only shred of hope left for the orange pegasus. But did they make it in time to save her?

“Uum, thanks mister light…thing.” Sweetie said to the glistening ball. The sphere of energy then suddenly vanished, leaving the three fillies alone at their destination. Without a moment to lose, they brought the dying Scootaloo through the hospital doors.

Nurse Redheart hated the night shift with a burning passion. It was never easy staying up so late, and even though the hospital had more than enough employees to remain open 24 hours a day, it was always her that got picked for night crew. She had to get a different job; lately the lack of sleep was giving her overly vivid nightmares. Just the other day she could have sworn she was walking down the hallway and found two stallions in matching striped shirts dead with stab wounds all over them! But then she woke up at the front desk screaming, and the doctor in charge told her to go home for the night.

Tonight was no different; she was simply sitting at the main desk, reading a bland and uninteresting magazine with an equally bland and uninteresting article on Photo Finish. Then she heard the doors open and she could hardly contain her excitement at the chance to actually INVOLVE herself in something.

“Hello, welcome to Ponyville Hospital, what can…. I…. sweet Celestia.” Her excitement quickly turned to sheer horror when she saw that the same filly that had just that day been released from the hospital was here on the verge of death. “Girls… what happened to her?” She asked before paging the emergency team over the intercom. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell just looked at her in desperation. They had gotten their friend to the hospital, but would she make it? Would all of their work be for nothing? As the emergency team put Scootaloo on the stretcher, the other two fillies found a couch in the lobby; and quickly fell asleep on top of it. Their bodies and minds had never experienced this much stress in such a short time; and the embrace of sleep soon enveloped them.

The next day

Time until the Raiders arrival:

4 days: 11 hours

Twilight had been unusually busy this day. Staying true to her routine, she had gotten out of bed, and went downstairs to see Spike cooking breakfast. Luckily that awful storm had finally passed, and the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was just looking to be a great day. After a healthy meal, she had taken a shower, and was about to start her day’s work, when she was greeted by a sharp knock on her door.

Both Rarity and Applejack had come over to her house that morning, asking where their respective little sisters where. Of course, Twilight had no idea, so she left Spike in charge of the library while they went to the orphanage, which is the last place anypony had seen the two fillies. It figures that Mrs. Powell wasn’t much help in the search, but they weren’t really begging for her help either. They decided to ask Scootaloo if she had seen them, but Mrs. Powell told them that Scootaloo had never come home last night. Confused by this news, the three mares formed a circle to discuss their next course of action.

“Why in Equestria would Scootaloo not be here when that dreadful storm was raging? This is her home after all.” Rarity asked her friends.

“Well, that doesn’t help us in the slightest.” Applejack gave a frustrated sigh. "Anypony with a lick 'a sense would know ta come home in that kinda weather."

“Maybe we can look in Scootaloo’s room for clues.” Twilight suggested.

“Twilight, darling, you should never rummage through another pony’s possessions.” Rarity gave a scornful look to her friend. “It’s unprofessional, un-ladylike, and just rude.”

“Rarity, now is not the time ta be thinkin’ like that!” Applejack and Rarity butted heads like this all the time. “Don’t ya care about your sister? Aint she a little more important than your little standards?” The Earth pony and Unicorn glared at each other harshly.

“GIRLS!” Twilight scolded the two for acting this way when there might be lives on the line. “Now, I say we check Scootaloo’s room. Maybe she left a note or something. Besides, this is our only lead right now, we should follow it to see where it goes.” The two defused their argument and apologized like they always did, with a friendly hug. With that, the three ponies nodded in agreement, and proceeded to the rickety stairs. Mrs. Powel didn’t even try to stop them; she was to busy smoking her cigarette to care.

When they reached the stairs, they noticed something was off. There were small red stains on the wood. Applejack bent down to give it a closer look, and confirmed. It was a trail of blood, leading up the stairs. The three ponies raced up the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them. When they reached the door, they saw a puddle of blood seeping under it. Applejack took the lead, and slowly pushed open the door. Inside the room there were doodles and tick-tack-to boards drawn all over the floors and walls. There was indeed a small puddle of blood near the door of the room. But most importantly, the answer to all of their questions sat before them. The alien artifact. It simply sat there, glowing faintly, almost invitingly.

“Twilight. Is this that thing Scootaloo was talking about?” Rarity asked, shivering with unease.

“This is definitely it all right.” Twilight said. “And I bet I know what happened to her. She most likely went back to the Everfree forest as soon as she got out of the hospital. To get this back.” Twilight eyed the rock curiously, trying to uncover its secrets.

“But hold on now Twi’.” Applejack interjected. “We told Zecora not to let ANYPONY inside the forest. That includes Scootaloo. How could that little kid have snuck past her?” Applejack always thought rationally, even in hard times like this. “And even if she did risk her life almost bleedin’ ta death over it, why aint she still here?”

“I don’t have an answer to that.” Twilight began pacing around the room, sighing in frustration. “We don’t know why Scootaloo isn’t here, we don’t know why there is blood everywhere, and we still don’t know the location of Sweetie Bell or Applebloom.” At the mention of the names of the two young ponies, the artifact once more began displaying its otherworldly powers. A misty, navy blue aura that looked surprisingly like the flowing mane of Princess Luna enveloped the rock; and strange, garbled sounds began coming from it.

“My word, I think I can hear… SWEETIE BELL!” Rarity shouted, pouncing closer to the artifact. “Tell me where my sister is NOW!” As she commanded the artifact in quite possibly the most un-ladylike growl the other two had ever heard, the sounds coming from the artifact became much more clear. The first voice they heard was Applebloom’s.

“Sweetie Bell, we gotta get Scootaloo to the hospital again.” The dark rock played back Applebloom’s voice perfectly. As the three mares looked at the artifact with wonder, it emitted some loud static, followed by Sweetie Bell’s voice.

“Uuum, Applebloom? Which way is it to the hospital?” Rarity quietly gasped. This could only mean one thing; that the two fillies had tried to bring Scootaloo to the hospital, by themselves, in that dreadful nighttime storm. And if they didn’t know where it was, they might have gotten lost! Or been abducted!

“Poor Sweetie Bell.” Rarity sobbed. “Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” Rarity then flopped dramatically onto Scootaloo’s bed. Applejack was concerned for her sister as well, but Rarity’s theatrics were very repetitive, and she just rolled her eyes at the white unicorn’s hysterical crying.

“Alright girls, listen up!” Twilight immediately took control of the situation, forming a plan to help them get to the bottom of this. “I’m going to Zecora’s hut to ask if she saw Scootaloo last night. Meanwhile, you two go to Ponyville hospital. If this rock really did just play back a recording of what transpired in this building last night, that is where they’ll be. Oh, and take the artifact with you. Scootaloo is obviously overly attached to it. And keeping it away from her would only make her try something like this again. After you’re done, meet up with me at the library, and we will discuss our next course of action.” Rarity and Applejack nodded in agreement. Rarity immediately stopped sobbing, and lifted the artifact with her magic, placing it inside her saddlebag. The three then took off out of the orphanage and to their respective destinations.

Ponyville Hospital

Time until the Raiders arrival:

4 days 9 hours.

Rarity And Applejack arrived at their destination later than they thought they would. The artifact wasn’t exactly lightweight, and Applejack had to slow her own pace down so as not to invoke shrieks of despair from the marshmallow unicorn. When they entered the front doors, the lobby was rather busy. Doctors and nurses and janitors were going about their business. As they peered through the crowd they managed to spot two fillies sleeping soundly on a nearby couch. Seeing how utterly fatigued the two were, the nurse had given them each blankets and a pillow, and they were blissfully ignorant of how frightened and worried their older siblings had been.

“You two must be their sisters then?” A stallion with a brown coat and an hourglass cutie mark asked. He was wearing a white surgeons smock, which was suspiciously stained with small amounts of blood. “Don’t worry about those two, they will be just fine. Their orange friend, however.” He stopped, and a grave look fell upon his face. “She doesn’t look good.”

Rarity just gave the doctor a look of pure, unregistered terror. She even backed away several feet from the bloodstained, most likely insane doctor.

“Oh, the smock.”  The doctor looked down, embarrassed by the lack of professionalism. “Sorry, but I just got back from doing surgery on the orange pegasus’ wing. And I haven’t had time to change yet. Now please, follow me.” Rarity was still unsure about this stallion, but she went along at Applejack’s urging; and they followed him to the bed were Scootaloo lay.

Scootaloo was once again lying on the white hospital bed, wrapped underneath the heavy cotton bed sheets. A mask had been placed over her bandage-covered face to assist her breathing. Long tubes connecting blood bags to her veins were making sure that she was getting enough of the vital substance. Her orange face looked pale, and withered. Her right wing was stretched out to her side, covered in a cast. She looked like the picture of death.

“We managed to stabilize her condition, but she lost a tremendous amount of blood, and has several broken ribs, some internal bleeding, and cranial trauma.” The doctor told them, looking up from his notepad. “She was lucky that we got the branch out of her wing before the wound got infected. Her wing will heal; none of her wing bones were broken, so that will be just fine. ” He gave a deep sigh.

“She is, however, in a coma, and I’m not sure how long it will take to wake her up. Do you two have any idea how this happened to her?” Rarity and Applejack shook their heads and looked down at the young pegasus. “Well, I have another patient to see, so I’ll leave you alone for now.” The doctor then disappeared behind the corner and down the hallway.

“Well, we came all this way, lets give her a little gift.” Rarity then opened her saddlebags and removed the artifact from within, placing it next to Scootaloo. The two mares took a step back from the bed. Rarity released a soft, concerned sigh. “How will we ever explain this to Rainbow Dash?” As the duo turned and left the room, they failed to notice the artifacts powers at work once more. The rock’s coloration grew darker, and a small, blue field enveloped the wounded Scootaloo. After a few seconds, this blue field vanished from sight, Scootaloo’s breathing became les ragged, and the artifact regained its regular complexion.

After Rarity and Applejack left Scootaloo, they went back down to the lobby to find their younger siblings still sound asleep on the couch. They tried to wake the snoozing foals, but they would not budge. So, Applejack carried her sister and Rarity carried hers, and the two began the walk towards the Library.

“I don’t think I have ever seen a pony injured like that before.” Rarity squeezed her eyes and shivered slightly at the memory of Scootaloo’s damaged form.

“Are ya sure it was a good idea ta leave that thing in the hospital? What if somepony takes it?” Applejack didn’t like the thought of Scootaloo trying to escape the hospital looking for it.

“I wouldn’t worry, darling. Twilight will think of something to do, and then everything will be—” She stopped herself when she noticed a familiar, rainbow blur in the sky above. Rainbow Dash saw her two friends standing there, and swooped down to say hi.

“Hi Rarity, Applejack. What’s up?” She asked, giving off her usual tomboyish smile. Her friends were glancing at each other nervously. Rarity was sweating bullets, and Applejack’s eyes were darting back and forth like a tennis ball. “Uuuum, guys? What’s the matter with you? And what’s up with Sweetie Bell and Applebloom? They look really tired.”

“Uh, NOTHING! Nothing at all happened to Scootaloo.” Rarity immediately put her hoof over her mouth, her face full of regret of what she had just said.

“I didn’t ask about Scootaloo. Why? Did something happen to her? She was completely fine when they let her out of the hospital.” Rainbow Dash was starting to get concerned with her friends. They were both terrible liars. And she could tell there was something they didn’t want her to know. “Applejack. What happened to Scootaloo?” Rainbow lowered her head and flared out her wings in anger. Applejack couldn’t bear to look at the cyan pegasus when she broke the bad news to her.

   “RD… Scootaloo is in the hospital again, she was—” She never got to finish, as a multi-color blur almost broke the sound barrier in her haste to get to the hospital, and to her friend.

The Everfree forest:

Time until the Raiders arrival:

4 days, 7 hours.

When Twilight arrived at the edge of the Everfree Forest, she noticed that a rather large tree had fallen over in the middle of the path! She just figured that she would go around it, but then she saw something underneath the tangled mesh of branches. There were several orange feathers. They were covered in mud. These were without a doubt, Scootaloo’s. If she was almost crushed by this tree, and STILL managed to bring the artifact all the way back to the orphanage, she truly was ready to risk everything to protect it. Twilight expertly maneuvered around the fallen tree and dashed further into the forest.

No matter how many times Twilight had been to Zecora’s hut, she still seemed to get lost in the enormous forest. Nonetheless, she trotted through the dense undergrowth until the familiar house came into view. There was smoke coming out of one of the windows, and she could clearly hear Zecora chanting in her native tongue. Twilight trotted over to the door and knocked three times.

“Zecora? It’s Twilight Sparkle. We need to talk. Is that okay?” Zecora stopped her chanting and gave a quiet sigh of despair. She knew perfectly well why Twilight was here. She opened the door and motioned for Twilight to come in. She then shut the door behind them. She looked at the lavender mare with a gaze that said, “I’m sorry”.

“I know your question before you speak. And the answer is yes; I was too weak. She came back looking for that alien rock. And so, her path, I did not block. Into this forest, I watched her go. But what fate befell her, I do not know.”

“We found that rock in Scootaloo’s bedroom at the orphanage, but there was blood everywhere, and none of the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were there. When we were at our wits end, something amazing happened. The rock gained a mysterious aura, and it played back the events from that night for us. We heard Sweetie Bell and Applebloom say that they would take Scootaloo to the hospital, so I sent Rarity and Applejack to find them, while I talk to you. Are you sure you didn’t see anything happen to Scootaloo?” Zecora shook her head. “Well, we will keep in touch. Let me know immediately if anything else happens, okay?” With that, Twilight rushed back to her library, eager to learn about what her friends had found.

Ponyville Library:

Time until the Raiders arrival:

4 days, 3 hours

After Rarity and Applejack had dropped their sleeping sisters off at their respective homes, they finally made it back to the library; where Twilight and Spike were both impatiently waiting. Spike was eating some emeralds, and Twilight was pacing back and forth when the door opened.

“Finally! You two were taking so long I had almost sent my letter to Celestia without you!” Twilight took a deep breath and calmed herself. “You girls go first, what did you learn?” Twilight’s eyes were sparkling with excitement, and Spike had readied a quill and a scroll to take some notes. Rarity was the first to speak about their day.

“Well, first off, we did find Sweetie Bell and Applebloom at the hospital. It seems that the two had succeeded in their endeavor to bring Scootaloo to the hospital last night.” Rarity spoke her friend in a calm manner, as always. “Unfortunately, Scootaloo was suffering from several broken bones, internal bleeding, and the doctor told us that a branch had been impaled in her right wing.” Twilight visibly cringed when she heard that last part. She didn’t even have wings, and the thought hurt her.

“That’s not all the bad news, sugar cube. We kinda ran into Rainbow Dash on our way to drop off our sisters.” Applejack couldn’t bear the thought of Rainbow seeing the state Scoots was in. “She didn’t take the news so well and… She took off for the hospital herself… What should we do?”

Twilight tried to formulate a plan, but there were so many options here. Should they go to the hospital and comfort Rainbow Dash? Should Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie know about this? And who will look after that rock? Twilights face suddenly brightened.

“Do you girls still have that artifact?” Twilight inquired, her eyes shinning like stars.

“Uuum. No. We left it with Scootaloo in the hospital.” Rarity admitted, her face blushing a bright pink at admitting her rather not-very-smart move.

“Well, you said Rainbow Dash is there, so at least somepony is keeping an eye on it. Anyway, I think its time to send a letter to the Princesses. Spike, take a letter.” Spike quickly grabbed a new scroll, and dipped his quill in the inkwell. As Twilight spoke aloud, Spike wrote down every word.

Dear Princess Celestia:

Several days ago, three fillies named Sweetie Bell, Applebloom, and Scootaloo, along with the Zebra Zecora, went to investigate a “falling star” or “comet” that had crashed in the Everfree forest. Upon arriving at the crash site, they discovered it was not a comet at all! It was in actuality, an alien craft, never seen before in our history. Amongst the rubble they found a blue, triangular artifact of unknown purpose and abilities. Scootaloo became fascinated by this object and upon making contact with it, was placed in a trance-like state. Whilst in this state, she experienced visions of war, bloodshed and of a race of aliens called PROTOSS. They claimed to know about this rock, and they choose Scootaloo to be the protector of it until they arrive. The Protoss never specified when they were arriving, but I would ask that you help us keep it safe. Scootaloo is very strongly attached to this rock, so moving it out of Ponyville is not an option. Instead, I would ask that you send some royal guards here to help us defend it.

Awaiting your response: Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

Having finished the message, Spike rolled up the scroll, tied it with a ribbon, and let loose a jet of green flame, enveloping the scroll and taking it directly to Celestia herself.

“Okay, now that that is settled, lets head to the hospital. Rainbow Dash is probably taking this really hard. And we need to be there as good friends who can help her.” The three ponies and one baby dragon proceeded to gallop towards the hospital.

Meanwhile: at Ponyville Hospital

Rainbow Dash was still crying over the bedridden form of her little orange sidekick. Rainbow herself was used to getting hurt, and she was in the hospital all the time because of broken bones and bruises and such. But she could always handle it: she was tough, and everypony knew it. But Scootaloo wasn’t as strong as her. She was just a filly, and she somehow got even more severely injured than Rainbow had ever been in her life. Looking down at the filly’s broken form, the incident where she had to spend two days in the hospital with a fractured wing seemed infinitesimal.

Still trying to control her sobs, she spoke to the orange filly’s unconscious body. “Scootaloo? It’s me, Rainbow Dash. I know you can’t hear me but…. Why did you have to do this to yourself? Why didn’t you ask your friends or me to help you? Was this stupid blue rock really that important that you would risk your LIFE?” She almost screamed that last word, but it was drowned out by her own tears. “Why did this have to happen?” Rainbow once again buried her tear-stricken face in the hospital mattress.

*****

The inside of Scootaloo’s mind was once again black and empty. She had a feeling she would be seeing this dark, foreboding place many times before this ordeal with the artifact was over. She could hear Rainbow’s voice inside her head. She knew what her hero was asking. But her body was not ready to respond just yet. She needed more time to heal, but more importantly, she needed answers. What could this artifact do that was worth killing over? Why couldn’t somepony else have been chosen for this job? She called out into the depths of her mind.

“NYON! Where are you? Why am I so important? When are you going to get here?” Her voice echoed throughout the realm of her mind. Slowly fading until a familiar sensation was felt. The blackness suddenly shattered around her like glass. The shards then disappeared into the new white void. This was the same place she had spoken to Nyon the first time. Finally she would get some answers. Nyon’s hologram manifested before her: wearing the same flowing cape as he had earlier.

“Greetings, Scootaloo. Of what matters can I be of assistance?” His voice was just as regal and commanding as before, yet she felt sorrow in there as well. She wondered what could make the mighty Nyon depressed.

“You know what I want!” Scootaloo shrieked. “I want answers, what can this stupid artifact do that makes it so special?” She stamped her hoof down onto the pure white floor to emphasize her rage, but Nyon was not moved.

“The sacred relics were gifts to the Tal’Darim by the gods. The fullest extent of their power was never discovered. And they most likely never will be. They are truly a mystery, within an enigma, shrouded in doubt.” Nyon’s hologram folded its arms “What other questions may I answer for you?”

“Why was I chosen to be the guardian? Why can’t it be somepony else?” She asked while pointing a hoof at her chest.

“You were the first sentient being to make contact with the artifact. And do not worry: as this connection is only temporary. Once we arrive to retrieve the relic, I can remove the link between you and the artifact.”

“But what about my cutie mark? It says that my destiny is to protect the artifact, right? What would happen if I no longer have to do that? Would my cutie mark disappear?” She asked with despair. “I don’t want to be a blank flank again.” She sat down on her haunches, cringing at the tormenting memories of Diamond Tiara and her stupid friend. Nylon was visibly confused by the child’s questions.

“Your…. Cutie…Mark? We know little about your species, but once we arrive at your planet, I am sure my scientists can come up with a solution.” Nyon told the orange filly.

“That brings up my last question, when will you be here? How much longer do I have to guard this stupid thing?” Nyon’s hologram looked as if an immense weight was just placed on his shoulders. He drooped his head in sorrow, letting his arms fall down to his sides. But he quickly regained his composure.

“Our base on the planet Typhon experienced a natural disaster the likes of which are far to graphic for your mind to comprehend. This was several cycles after my fleets’ departure to your planet. We lost almost half of our planet side forces during this apocalypse. My fleet is waiting for the survivors of Typhon before we continue our journey to your planet. Now, That is all I have time for. I will contact you again when you will be of use.” With that, his hologram dissolved into the whiteness, and the dark void reformed like a jigsaw puzzle in its place. Leaving Scootaloo to drift amongst her memories and thoughts.

*****

Ponyville Hospital:

Time Until the Raiders Arrival:

3 days, 23 hours

Rainbow’s seemingly infinite well of tears finally dried up, and she sat on a chair next to Scootaloo’s bed. She would have flown away, but the weight of her sorrow was so great that her wings could no longer carry her. As she tried with all her might to regain enough composure to at least walk: the doctor returned to the room.

“Hey, what’s this thing?” The stallion asked nopony in particular. He ogled it curiously, the way a child stares at a piece of cake before devouring it. The relic seemed to place him in a trance. He then shook his head and came back to his senses. “More importantly, where did it come from? I might have to confiscate this…” Rainbow’s wings flared up and she quickly spun around towards the doctor’s face.

“I don’t know what this thing is, or where or why it got here. But if Twilight was right last time, then Scootaloo here almost DIED trying to make sure it was safe!” She pulled the doctor closer to her by the collar of his shirt, and glared at him so fiercely it could have set him on fire. “So if you even THINK about taking this rock away from her, I. will. Kill. YOU!” With that, she threw the poor doctor down to the floor. The brown stallion calmly rose to his hooves, dusted himself off professionally, and promptly left to continue his routine. He seemed to get the message. After he left, Rainbow said farewell to her friend one last time before leaving to the lobby.

Twilight and Co. arrived at the lobby just as RD was leaving. She didn’t even acknowledge her friends voices. They were only empty apologies that would never mean anything. She took off flying to her cloud house, thinking of how she could ever make it up to her little sidekick. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Spike: after exchanging a few knowing glances, moved up toward the artifact. They found Scootaloo and the blue relic just as they had left it.

“All right, now we just wait for Celestia’s reply.” Twilight said, sitting down on some chairs with her friends.

“Darling, it’s been hours since you sent that letter. If she was going to send it today, don’t you think she would have done so?” Rarity asked, concerned about how much time she have to be away from her sister.

“Don’t worry, Rarity. I am confident that she will send that letter soon.”

Canterlot Castle:

Time until the raiders arrival:

3 days, 20 hours

The sun princess was more than grateful that she had no more meetings scheduled for this day. Twilight’s letter had to be put on the bottom of the priority list, as it arrived during an urgent meeting with the Diamond Dog ambassador.

Despite Celestia’s best attempts at hospitality, it seemed the ambassador just wanted to be the most uncouth creature to ever set foot in the castles grand halls that day: from scratching himself at the most inappropriate times, to making obscene comments of Equestrian cuisine standards. His poor mannerisms eventually led to him smacking the sun Goddess’ rear. And of course, Celestia had…. personally moved him to a new location, far away from any sort of resemblance of civilization. “At least his burn marks can keep him company.” Celestia thought to her self, giggling in a manner not befitting a princess.

And now, as her sun was setting, and Luna took control of the night, Celestia had some time to herself. The alicorn had retired to her bedchambers with some of her favorite tea, and Twilights scroll.  The fireplace cackled with burning logs and cinders, casting large shadows across the royal bedroom. She lay down upon her soft, silk bed sheets, and opened the scroll with her magic. Her eyes narrowing in thought as she read the scroll.

“A falling star, that reminds me of…” She stopped, Luna and herself had destroyed a star recently, but this couldn’t have anything to do with that, right? “An alien craft?” Celestia moved away the scroll so that it would not interfere as her forehead made contact with her hoof. “Oh, Luna, what have you gotten us into now?” Celestia slowly dragged her hoof down her muzzle, and gazed over to her bedside clock. “Luna should be done with moon by now.” The royal alicorn rose from her bed, hopped off, and trotted off to have a “chat” with her sister.

As Celestia arrived at her sister’s balcony, she began rehearsing how she was going to lecture her sibling on the importance of making a good first impression with an alien species. Luna turned to face the older alicorn, smiling warmly.

“Goodnight, ‘Tia. What brings you up here?” She asked with all the innocence of a little schoolfoal. Celestia wasn’t having any of that tonight however, and she glared at her sister with the fury of…well, the sun. “Um, ‘Tia, is something the matter?”

“Luna, I am so close to sending you back to the moon for what you did, don’t make this any more difficult.” Luna quickly became frightened, her eyes darted back and forth, her face started sweating, her pulse increased. What had she done wrong?

“Luna, Remember a few nights ago, when we destroyed that star?” Luna nodded slowly. “Well, that wasn’t a star. It was an alien vessel capable of exiting a planets atmosphere and travelling through space.” Luna’s face became a mix of several conflicting emotions. First, she was horrified that she accidentally destroyed an alien vessel. Second, she was ecstatic that this vessel could travel through her beloved stars. And third, anxiety of what her sister was going to say next.

“Now, these aliens are on the way here to retrieve something that was inside this ship.” Luna was confused, what “something”? “This, artifact as Twilight referred to it, is currently under her watch in Ponyville, but she wants me to send the royal guard to protect it until these Protoss arrive to get the relic back.”

“Soooooo, how does this concern me?” Luna asked as innocently as possible. Celestia just smiled the way she always did before issuing punishment at somepony. And Luna’s face quickly changed from curiosity to fear.

“Because you are the direct cause of all these problems, you are going to stay in Ponyville and guard the artifact until the Protoss arrive. Then, you will formally apologize for destroying their ship, and promptly make it up to them in any way they see fit.” The way her sister had stressed that last part put unnecessary thoughts into Luna’s mind.

“Now, pack your things, because you are going to be in Ponyville in 3 days!” Celestia then turned around and trotted cheerfully back toward her room to write her reply to Twilight: Leaving her sister to sulk on the balcony alone.

“Tia never lets me have any fun.”

Ponyville Hospital:

Time until the Raiders arrival:

3 days: 19 hours

Spike began coughing fiercely, followed by a loud belch and a blast of green flame, revealing Celestia’s scroll. Everyponys face instantly perked up at this excitement. They had just been sitting here doing nothing because none of them expected to be there this long. Spike opened up the letter and read aloud its contents to the group.

My Faithful Student Twilight:

It would be my pleasure to send some spare royal guards to help you. However, I am sending my sister to guard it herself instead. She will be more than capable of doing this small task. However, I must ask that you keep this situation under-wraps. Luna will explain why when she arrives, which will be around noon, 3 days from now.

Yours: Princess Celestia.

“Well, that settles that then.” Twilight told the group. “I will take the artifact back to the Library until Luna arrives, or Scootaloo wakes up. Any objections?” The other ponies shook their heads. “Okay then, we should probably get some sleep. We have a few big days ahead of us, and we need to prepare for Luna’s arrival.” With that, Twilight grasped the blue rock with her magic, and the pones all bid farewell to Scootaloo. Tomorrow would start the preparations for Luna’s appearance.

It was going to be a long three days.