My Little Pony: Event Horizons

Chapters

Prologue - Falling From Heaven
Chapter 1: Shattered Harmony
Chapter 2: Picking up the Pieces

Prologue - Falling From Heaven

My Little Pony: Event Horizons

Prologue - Falling From Heaven

Princess Luna nickered excitedly as she trotted towards the tower of the sun. She moved through the castle without a thought about her destination, allowing her hooves and senses to guide her around every corner. Her ethereal mane fluttered more aggressively than normal and she could feel excess energy literally scorching the smooth stone floor with every clack of her hooves.

Tiny arcs of lightning darted across her back and wings, ruffling her feathers and generating a quiet but noticeable crackling sound that echoed through the halls. Every pore of her body, from the beat of her heart to the tip of her horn pulsed with the steady thrum of harmony. Even her Earth Pony magic, as subtle as it could be, had ascended into the visible realm, flooding her muscles and tendons to the point that it leaked out of her body as a sparkling blue haze around her, creating a profile more akin to a spectre than a flesh and blood pony. It had been a long time since she had felt this charged. Not since before her descent into Nightmare Moon had she felt her powers so viscerally.

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply as she basked in the sensation. It was a strange comfort, she thought. Almost as though Faust herself had reached out and remade her from the inside out. For the first time in a millennia, she felt... whole.

Had she not been focusing on her euphoria and had been paying attention to the blind corner she just took, she probably wouldn't have bowled over her niece.

Cadence staggered several steps to the side with a loud yelp, nearly knocking over a flower vase atop a small ornate pillar. The avatar of love shook her head for a moment, her senses overwhelmed from the impact and a heavy saturation of residual magic in the air. "I'm so sorry I didn't see you there. I'm looking for the princesses, have you seen th-AHYEEEEEEEEEEAWA!!!" *fwap* Her apology devolved into a long winded shriek of terror as she came face to face with a living wraith in blue mist.

Luna regarded her niece flatly.

With a resigned sigh, she clamped down on her errant magic, forcing it deep into her reserves. The electric display ceased almost immediately and the miasma slowly dispersed revealing the alicorn form beneath.

"Auntie Luna!" Cadence exclaimed, wings still open defensively as she attempted to regain her breathing to a more manageable level. "You scared the life out of me!"

"Indeed." Luna said, and resumed her trot, not breaking her stride for even a moment. "I was informed by the castle guard you had already departed for the Crystal Empire."

Cadence flushed deeply and folded her wings with a flutter. "By the Sun and Moon I am so sorry! I didn't recognize you for a moment there."

"I am well aware."

Cadence, realizing she was being left behind, cantered up to match pace with her elder. "I, uh -- got an invitation from Auntie Celestia before Shiny and I boarded the train." She trailed off before asking hesitantly. "Mind if I join you for a moment?"

Luna's eyes narrowed imperceptibly, but she motioned with a head nod to follow. "We would be honored for you to join us."

The two walked side by side with only the sound of their hoofsteps echoing quietly through the halls. Her face a hard line, Luna ignored her company and kept her focus on maintaining control.

Cadence's head and ears drooped slightly, the silence putting her on edge. She was certain she had felt her aunt's exuberance just a few moments prior to their collision. Now all she could feel was annoyance and mild frustration creating a tension between the two that could be cut with a knife. She began to regret asking to come along. After a few more minutes, she couldn't take the stillness any longer and spoke up. "I didn't mean to scream in your face like that." She said quietly, glancing away.

"Not to worry. All is forgiven." Despite her statement to the contrary, Luna made no further effort for conversation, causing the statement to permeate in the air.

"..."

"Soooo...." Cadence almost drawled in an attempt to not sound desperate for conversation, "I noticed that we're heading towards Auntie Celestia's tower. Is something wrong with yours?"

Luna's lips twitched upward slightly. "You are keenly observant. Tonight's moonrise will take place at the solar Observatory. Due to recent events, the wards in my Chambers are no longer strong enough to deal with the backlash."

The pink alicorn silently cheered at her success before her eyebrows furrowed in thought after processing the response. "I didn't know the wards could be damaged by Twilight and her friends from so far away. I know it was a powerful blast, but its epicenter was just outside of Ponyville."

The twitch developed into a smirk. "It is not the protection spells on the tower that have changed."

Cadence paused mid-step for a moment, one foreleg still in the air as her eyes widened slightly. "Oh... So you too?" she said somewhat dejectedly. "I didn't really get much of a boost."

Luna glanced at her niece, a pang of guilt lancing through her at the sight of the somewhat deflated looking pony. "Do not feel ashamed." She said reassuringly, turning away. "Your lack of physical power comes not from any inadequacy on your part, but from the fact that your special talent itself is a physically weak ability." She paused as she processed her own words. "That... came out wrong."

To her relief, Cadence simply chuckled good-naturedly, smiling gently. "I know what you meant." She returned to her auntie's side and leaned against her affectionately. "I don't exactly need the power to level a mountain in order to nurture love." her expression shifted and became somewhat wily, "Besides, out of the three of us, you're the one with the title 'Warrior Princess'. So I guess it makes sense."

Luna raised an eyebrow, "And where did you learn of this?"

"Auntie Celestia." came the terse reply.

Luna couldn't help but chuckle herself. "Yes, while that may be true, it was a long time ago. From an age that has long since passed by the wayside." She took a deep breath and sighed while looking upward at nothing in particular. "The olde days of battle for survival are few and far between, as they should be. Similarly, the many wonderful days we now spend with friends and family were once as rare and precious as the most coveted of riches."

"Sounds like you miss those days a little." Cadence said.

"Perhaps."

"But you know," Cadence reassured her, "this could be a great opportunity to talk to Twilight about what happened and see how she's doing. She is, after all, the closest thing Equestria has to a Warrior Princess in modern times."

Her words struck a chord with Luna. Her eyes widened in realization and the excitement she had been holding back began leaking through her mask. "It has been over a thousand years since we have last spoken to anyone about the thrill of combat... It's not often that we get to trade war stories with a true veteran of such high caliber."

The blue Alicorn suddenly let out a loud "Aha!" causing her niece to yelp from a combination of her sudden declaration and a somewhat significant discharge of magic zapping her side at their point of contact.

The said bolt of lightning traveled up her body and departed her crown with a crack, blasting a small hole in the ceiling, leaving behind a frazzled mane of pink and yellow sticking out in all directions.

Luna continued oblivious, "Shall I tell her of the battle against the windigo’s and their incarceration in the Frozen North? No, too simple. Mayhaps the war against Sombra and his brainwashed army? She had confronted him at the Crystal Empire before, but did not lay siege to the castle such as we." She paused as a brilliant thought came to mind. "Of course! she had fought Tirek in a retaliatory but head on method in much a similar fashion as we! Dear niece you are a fountain of knowledge!"

Cadence replied with a quiet whimper and a cough of blue smoke. "... That's not quite what I meant-"

"Good evening your Majesty's."

The beep baritone of the head of two Solar guards, one unicorn and one earth pony, bowing in greeting brought their attention back to their surroundings. "Princess Luna," The large earth pony continued as the pair rose to their hooves. "The---" he paused for a moment his eyes met the two and took in the smaller alicorn's appearance. "---uh... the observatory has been prepared for the moonrise. All enchantments are in place and Princess Celestia is waiting inside."

The pair glanced up at the golden arch of the tower entrance before them. It had appeared they had finally reached their destination.

Princess Luna flared her wings in approval, pelting the Soldiers in a quick but heavy gust of wind, sliding them back a few paces. "Thank you, dear guards. When we depart, please accompany us to the throne room in preparation for the night's festivities."

"O-of course, your highness." The Unicorn replied, both bowing again, their helmets slightly kilter from the gust.

Luna turned to her niece, who was still rubbing the tiny scorch mark on her right side and attempting to reign in her mane. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

Cadence jumped and turned slightly to obscure the mark. "Oh, uh-- I'm fine! Totally fine!" She said with a somewhat nervous giggle.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Shall we continue?"

The emotions of the princess of the night washed over Cadence like a wave and her heart skipped a beat at the intensity. It was similar to the feelings she herself felt when her duties would keep her from spending a quiet moment with Shining or Twilight. She closed her eyes before simpering and waving a hoof in front of her dismissively, "I wouldn't want to intrude. Thank you. I'm just happy that I was able to talk to you before the party. You know how these celebrations usually go. Please let Auntie Celestia know that I will see her at the dining hall."

Luna beamed with sincere gratitude as she folded her wings and gave her niece a quick nuzzle. She then nodded to the guards and the unicorn's horn lit up in a teal aura. The doors behind them began to glow in a similar manner and slowly creaked open. The princess of the night resumed her trot, not noticing her shoes momentarily sticking in place with a 'tcht'.

"Good evening sister," Luna said cheerily upon entering, her trot becoming much more prancy after the doors closed. The mare in question looked up from her musings from the center of the room. A small scroll floated in front of her muzzle, a bright golden aura surrounding it. Upon hearing the greeting, Celestia's eyes shifted to her counterpart, and her expression from contemplative to delighted. She gently rolled the paper and tucked it away on the desk in the far corner.

Luna trotted over to the larger white mare and draped her head over her sister's neck in a hug. Celestia returned the hug and added a wing for good measure. "And good morning to you," she said warmly. The pair held the hug for several moments longer than necessary, but neither seemed eager to separate.

When they did, Luna took a deep breath and flexed her magic. Flames of blue erupted to life around her and the walls of the room lit up in fiery golden runes, the air shimmering as though everything was underwater. Despite the close proximity, Celestia's mane continued to flow lazily in a direction contrary to the output of her little sister. The magical wards that were put in place, however, creaked and groaned under the strain, but they did not falter. Luna arched her back --not unlike a cat-- and stretched her wings, the tips shuddering from her exertion. "Urohhgh. That hits the spot." She said as she allowed the energy to dissipate.

Unable to hide the laughter in her voice, Celestia circled around her sister, falling back into old traditions long forgotten by the modern pony, nipping her affectionately behind the ear as the two begin to slowly walk towards the balcony side by side. "You seem energetic." She said, her voice jingling with amusement.

"As is everypony in the Kingdom. And for good reason." Luna returned the nip in kind. "The rebound effect from Tirek's assault has empowered everypony in Equestria far more then we ever could have imagined. Though it is no small surprise, with Tirek’s assault and Discord’s betrayal off balancing the world's magic such as they had done."

She gave her sister a sidelong glance. "Then again, t'would not be surprising if you did see this outcome in one of your visions."

"You give me too much credit. You know better than anypony that I only see into an ocean of possibilities." Celestia's serine smile never changed, "But in light of this event it might be prudent to inform our citizens that they may be a little overcharged over the next few moons. I recently received a letter from Twilight informing me that Applejack's little sister nearly uprooted a tree while working the field today."

“I concur.” Luna nodded. "I would also recommend that we declare a day of celebration throughout the kingdom for the Elements' latest victory. It is not often that one survives an encounter with the Lord of Darkness, let alone a direct confrontation."

"Our newest princess is certainly full of surprises." Celestia agreed.

"Which reminds me, I encountered young Cadence on my journey here." Luna began, eyeing her somewhat suspiciously, "She seems to have been made privy to a certain title of mine to which she claims came from you."

"Oh? And what title would that be?" Celestia asked.

"Warrior Princess." Luna replied. "Which I believe is a far too simplified interpretation of the name bestowed by the Old Ones during the first war. The Blood Splattered Immortal."

Celestia humorously rested her head atop her sister's. "What can I say? It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to brag about your accomplishments."

Luna gave a snort of mock irritation and shook her head to dislodge her sister. "And did you mention to her any of your accomplishments oh great Flame of Annihilation? And how in-depth did you delve into your story? Should I be worried?"

"No more in depth than normal. Besides, you were the topic of conversation, not me. Cadence was desperate to find a way to connect with you after your return and didn't know where to begin." Celestia paused a moment and raised her hoof to her muzzle in thought, smoothly redirecting the conversation to a less --sensitive-- subject. "Which, begs the question; Where is Cadence? I invited her to join us for sunset."

"She has decided to meet us in the Great Hall. Perhaps she wishes to see Twilight before the feast takes place. Once the celebration begins, it is unlikely she will have much time to spend with her once the guests arrive."

"True. And Twilight would appreciate the support. She still hasn't quite gotten used to being a savior of Equestria, let alone one of its princesses. I don't believe she would be comfortable being fawned over again without somepony to back her. You remember the celebration after Discord's second Sealing?"

Luna let out a single haughty laugh. "Let the nobles come! Their pathetic courting rituals to young Twilight amuse me." She glanced at her sister. "Please don't tell her I said that."

Celestia merely chuckled in response.

The moment both alicorns stepped on to the balcony Celestia immediately set to work by grasping the ethereal ley-lines that connected her to the sun in a firm magical grip. The massive tethers visible only to gods snapped taut, and what could constitute only as a heavy growl reverberated through the connection. While her visage never changed, her horn pulsed in raw power sending bolts of pure arcane energy rippling across her body shooting out in every direction.

The tower wards flared to life again, attracting the errant magic like a lightning rod, breaking down the magic at its base level, allowing each bolt to dissipate harmlessly into the air. The sun eventually gave up and slowly drifted below the horizon with no fanfare. Just a single light fading beneath the landscape, darkening the sky to a lackluster black.

"Such a brute." Luna tisked as Celestia finished, stepping forward and establishing her own connection to the currently out of sight moon, allowing its full 'weight' to settle on her 'shoulders'. "It is no wonder the sun always tries to wiggle its way out of your grip." The air grew cold and heavy around the balcony and her starry mane expanded outward, flickering wildly like a flag in a windstorm. "It takes a more delicate touch to coax out the night." Luna closed her eyes and relaxed, almost releasing her 'grip' entirely in the process, even going so far as to pull a sizable portion of the residual magic away from its base before releasing it like a rubber band.

If Celestia's session was akin to a heavy pull, Luna's could only be described as a hearty slap. A few moments later, the blue-white of Luna's charge rose into the sky, a visible ripple of energy flowing across the surface from bottom to top. She released her hold with a flourish. "And voila! With nothing more than a lover's caress."

"You caress like a battering ram. Keep doing that and you'll flatten the bottom." Celestia chided as she stepped back into the observatory, playfully bumping her flank against her sister's on the way. "And the Sun doesn't 'wiggle'. It's simply stubborn, which is probably one reason why you two don't get along."

Luna harrumphed, her head raised haughtily in the air, "Jealousy will get you nowhere."

"You also set the floor on fire."

"Indeed I di-wait what?" Luna glanced down. "Well... that's new." She said smartly, stepping backwards out of the small pools of molten rock with a 'tcht'. "I take it the wards didn't cover the ground?"

Celestia grabbed a nearby vase in her magic, removed the flowers and poured the remaining contents on the floor. The water hissed upon contact, quickly cooling the rock to an uneven charred mess. "Not not quite to the extent of the balcony." She quipped, stating the obvious.

Luna meanwhile was inspecting her shoes for damage. "I certainly hope that didn't happen anywhere else."

Cadence and the two guards continued staring at the place the lunar diarch once stood. For a full two minutes nothing was heard except for the quiet crackling of the four small fires burning merrily on the floor in front of them where the Princess of the Night once stood. Finally, the Earth Pony guard spoke up. "So... You going to put that out?" He asked his horned companion.

"In a minute. It doesn't seem to be spreading." Came the terse reply.

He gave his colleague a half-lidded glare, "Is your pyromania setting in again?

"What? I've never seen marble burn before."

Cadence simply shook her head in disbelief.

"I doubt it." Celestia said. "Oh and don't forget the stars. Feel free to finish at anytime. Just don't burn down the tower."

Luna eloquently blew her sister a raspberry before both alicorns erupted into foalish laughter. The telltale jingle of magic later and a multitude of pinpricks of light began to decorate the sky. Luna sighed. "We haven't had banter like that in ages."

"Over five thousand seasons I believe." Celestia replied. "Not since we shared a single observatory. If-- you're not opposed to the idea, I would love to continue these--"

An icy cold feeling swept across the two and a pulse of blue and gold magic involuntarily flared to life on their respective horns. It took a millennia of discipline to keep Luna from releasing a massive shudder. A slight widening of her eyes and tensing of her jaw were the only indicators that something was wrong.

A glance at her sister showed that she was faring no better. A dead calm had settled on Celestia's face. She was looking up at the sky towards one of the brighter stars closest to the moon. "Something has arrived." She said.

Luna settled alongside her sister mirroring her expression. "Another of them I presume?"

Celestia shook her head, "I'm not certain. The feeling is distorted. Almost like an echo. They might be too close to the moon for me to see."

"Then leave it to me." Needing no more encouragement, Luna set to work. She closed her eyes and opened her senses, tapping deep into her connection with her namesake. Immediately her mind lit up with screams and voices in a language she'd never heard before.

"--It's no good! The engines are trashed, and even if they were, power is at 2% efficiency! Escape pods are offline and I can't--

"-- God. Doc P you've got to get out of there!The hull's about to breach in cabin 2! We gotta evac--!"

"-- let us secure the data! We can't lose this information! The human race needs to know--!"

"Are you crazy! This ain't worth yer life!"

"Get out of there now! It's gonna--!"

A massive explosion ripped through the area and the voices devolved into a cacophony of screams before being drowned out by a raging wind. Eventually that wind calmed and all that was left was the silence of the void.

She forcibly severed her connection with a frantic gasp, a wave of nausea nearly overtaking her. Her legs buckled beneath her, and would have collapsed to the ground if it weren't for her sister catching her tightly in a panicked embrace. "It's okay." Celestia consoled her while running a wing across her back. "Just breathe. Deep breaths."

Luna' s breaths came forcefully as she stared straight ahead over her sister's shoulder at nothing in particular. She inhaled deeply through her nose and closed her eyes, finding comfort in her sister's heartbeat. "I'm alright." She said finally. "I was not expecting to touch them as they died..." She slowly pulled herself from Celestia while looking skyward. "Do not worry, I was able to separate myself from them without any issue. There were just so many. It overwhelmed me for a moment." She opened her wings partway, allowing the pellicle of magic that surrounded each wing to reach the visible plane in a white blue aura. Then with a quick flutter, she shed the energy, allowing it to flake off in a sparkling snowfall of pure energy. "See?"

The display did little to ease the cold pit in Celestia's breast. She opened her mouth to inquire further, but hesitated. "What did you see?" She asked finally, eyeing her sister with concern.

"I saw... A cry for help." Luna started slowly but began rambling at a quicker pace. "This vessel is much larger than the one before. With many more inside... Sister we must do something! I can feel it spiraling towards the moon. Like a wounded Pegasus struck down in a storm."

"Can you slow it down?"

"From here?" Luna looked at the white mare doubtfully. "Is that wise?"

"At this moment, our options are limited."

"I... will try." Luna closed her eyes and tentatively skimmed her magic across the skies for the source. It took a few minutes, with each moment that passed bringing further tension to her mind. Finally, relief flooded her veins as she located the object and clamped down, halting its rotation only to feel a section crumple like a fragile bird's nest under the strain. She quickly released it a moment later. "By the Stars, it's a fragile thing! It is too far away. I require a much closer proximity!"

Celestia frowned. "Are you sure it's wise? This may be another accident like last time, but it could also be a scout. We don't know enough about them to be certain."

But Luna was undeterred. "At this point it doesn't matter. From what I felt, we are the only ones capable of helping them. As you already know, some of their lives have already slipped away."

Though calm on the outside, the thought of her sister returning to the Moon added a terrible ache to the cold pit in Celestia's heart. One that she had long since believed was healed. The logical side of her mind reasoned that since there was no seal, there was nothing to prevent her from returning safely. But the memory of the past thousand years clawed at her rationale.

No, she reasoned. She would not subject her sister to return to that which had once been her prison. "Try to keep it aloft as best you can. I will go in your place." She began to focus, but was interrupted by a pair of dark blue hooves wrapping around her neck. She eyed her baby sister curiously.

"Thank you for caring sister." Luna whispered, squeezing briefly before separating and tossing her a wink. And before her sibling could respond, she dissipated into a cloud of purple mist and shot off into the sky.

Celestia found herself standing watch alone under the now imposing moon, rekindling an old habit a thousand years in the making. While it's smooth blue-white surface remained unchanged, her mind's eye saw it very differently.

Even after all this time, she found she still had tears to shed for failing her sister.

Commander Michaels struggled against the centrifugal force of the spinning ship, pain shooting through his chest and weakening his already precarious grip as he pulled himself towards the cockpit hatch. Alarms blared throughout the corridor and the lights had long since gone out due to the damage sustained.

Stars rapidly cycled across the canopy from left to right, the view distorted slightly in the middle from a series of massive cracks along the glass. The high-pitched klaxon echoing through the room tore at his ears, nearly drowning out the the digital feminine voice of Varity, the ship's COVAS. "Thusters offline. Hull integrity at 20%. Life support at 10%. Power plant operating at reduced efficiency. Canopy at 15%..."

He panted heavily and his arms trembled from exertion as he slowly pulled himself to the next handhold. "Vincent!" He shouted. "Vincent!" Receiving no response from his co-pilot, he continued his trek to the cockpit. After almost a minute of tortuously slow progression, his left hand finally reached the door frame. Taking a few deep pained breaths, he heaved and threw himself through the entrance--

And was thrown violently to the left, slamming face first into the back panels of the cockpit causing a popping sound that reverberated through his body. He cried out out in agony as both hands grabbed at the right side of his chest where a long metal fragment protruded. The ship continued to spin, pinning him in place. "Vi--ncent!" He called out again, much weaker than before.

It was getting harder to breathe. 'I think I just punctured my lung.' He thought with ire. 'If that's the case, I've only got 30 minutes. An hour at most.' He swore to himself and through sheer willpower alone pulled himself to a semi upright position and continued to drag himself along.

When he finally reach the pilot seat, he swore again. "Dammit Vincent. Not you too." He begrudgingly released the locks on the seat allowing his copilot's body to be slung away. He then hoisted himself into place, the locks automatically engaging on the back of his RemLok suit as he slammed his fist on to the internal comms button. "CMDR Michaels to All Hands! I need an all call! I say again I need an all call!" He said breathlessly.

A moment later a young man's voice sputtered back. "--This is Klein! Space dive crew is trapped in the cargo hold! We were able to finish securing the cargo hatch door, but I don't know how long it'll last! Currently working on getting out of this death trap and into cabin 3!"

"What's the status of your crew?!"

"Severly injur-*kshhhh*-or dead! Whatever the hell happened turned most of the guys and gals in here into wet smears on the walls!"

Michaels took in a shaky breath. "How many are left?" He coughed.

"I don't know, maybe seven?" A pause. "Yeah, seven!"

Michaels was not typically what type of person to swear like a sailor, but he found himself letting loose a string of expletives that would have made his Navy flight instructor proud. Luckily, the armrests were sturdy enough to take the beating that accompanied it. "Okay..." he said after a moment. "Get the injured to the Escape pods and see if you can get those thrusters back online! There should be a few in the cargo hold."

"*kshhhh*-t's no good! The engines are trashed, and even if they were, power is at 2% efficiency! Escape pods are offline and I can't launch them manually without gett-*kshhhh*-gh this damn door! The few of us that are still capable are trying to get through the cargo door--"

"Commander!" A new voice cut in, her thick Imperial accent a dead giveaway to her identity.

Michaels sighed in relief. "For once it's good to hear from you, Dr Patterson! What's your crew status?!"

"Two scientists *kssshh*-side from myself! Main research lab!"

Before Michael's could respond, Klein gasped. "Oh God. Doc P you've got to get out of there!The hull's about to bre-*kshhhh*-bin 2! We gotta evac to cabin 3 immediately!"

"First let us secure the data! We can't lose this information! The human race needs to know what we found!"

"Are you crazy! This ain't worth yer life!"

A third voice entered the fray, this one not on the comms line.

"Warning, Cargo hatch malfunction. Warning, Hull breach detected."

Michaels' eyes went wide. "Get out of there now! It's gonna--!"

Two successive explosions rocked the ship, throwing the commander forward slightly and adding a downward tilt to its uncontrolled spin. The rush of wind and screams of his crew echoed along the metal walls before fading out into a steady hum of static. Michaels instinctively latched onto the throttle and joystick. The pain in his chest intensified and he could feel himself beginning to struggle to breathe. "Klein! Dr Patterson! Comms check!"

*stshshshshshttt*

Quickly, He checked the internal comms to see if they were working on his end and tried again. "Klein! Dr P! Do you copy?! Anybody?!"

*kshhstshshshshshttt*

For another minute, he tried in vain to raise anyone onboard with only the sound of static as a response. Eventually he hunched forward, tears streaming across his face to the side of his helmet.

'I guess this is it.' he thought tiredly, a resigned sigh escaping his lips. His head dropped back against against the headrest and his right hand lethargically drifted to the control panel. A few inputs later, the cockpit lights dimmed before disappearing completely. The alarms stopped and the unsteady hum of the crippled vessel faded, leaving an eerie but welcome silence. Michaels closed his eyes and took as deep a breath as he could. 'Not the worst way to go. Could've done without the spinning... and some company would have been nice. At least I'm not flying headfirst into a star or planet.'

Unbeknownst to him, a dark blue aura began to surround the ship, tinting the view of the stars a cyan hue.

A moment later the ship jolted again, its momentum suddenly slowed drastically and the entire hull began to screech and warp around him as though it was being crushed by an unknown force. "What the hell!?" Michaels shouted. He threw his hands in front of his face as Vincent's form whipped past him and crashed heavily into the canopy, cracking it further. The dark red of his co-pilots flight suit contrasted eerily against the gray backdrop of the rocky surface below.

It was at this moment he realized that whatever hit them not only arrested the ship's rotation, but it was now redirected towards the surface of a rocky planet in a head-on collision.

"Oh come on!"

As soon as Luna arrived above the surface of the moon, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. One that was not entirely welcome. Her eyes skimmed the desolate landscape forlornly, with each terrain feature bringing back old memories of when she was less --or maybe more-- herself.

She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts as unnecessary and brought her attention skyward, hoping to spot the object. Endless black was all that greeted her, illuminated only by the reflected light below. 'Now where did you go little one?' She wondered as she continued searching, spinning left and right, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It quickly became apparent she would require a more... direct approach.

Luna raised her hooves high into the air, stretching her body to a nearly vertical position. 'I must admit,' she thought to herself with no small measure of anticipation, 'I've been itching to do this all day.'

A moment later, she simply let go.

Her mane flickered almost imperceptibly, before suddenly exploding outward in a massive tidal wave of energy, blasting outwards towards the sky. It's movement alone tore through the surrounding magic field with such force it created a massive vortex that ravaged the surface in a maelstrom of debris without the aid of an atmosphere. Her mane continued its upward ascent until it reached a distance of roughly three times the height of the Canterlot mountain. It then split outwards in all directions as though it struck an invisible ceiling, creating a veil of sorts that stretched out over a good portion of the lunar sky.

It didn't take long before she located the vessel again. It was a little lower than she was expecting, most likely due to it falling at a speed much faster than the moon could possibly pull. And it was close. Very close. In fact---

It was right on top of her.

The hulking mass tore through her mane like a rock through water, the main body on a direct collision course with her. Under normal circumstances this would be of little concern and she had a variety of counter options available to her. Luna chose the simplest and lazily flapped her wings to glide out of the way.

And instead of gliding to safety, she only succeeded in flailing awkwardly in place. Turns out that flying through the eye of a tornado --whether it was wind or magic-- was not always the best idea.

Her heart leapt in her barrel and she barely had enough time to redirect her efforts into throwing up a shield. The veil cut an almost 180° turn, shooting back towards its master at more than twice the speed of its ascent. The moment it returned to her, she hastily wrapped herself in a bubble of dark blue. The main body rushed past her, passing closely enough for her to touch, until she collided head-first with the left of two fins on the top of the vessel.

While the shield held without any difficulty, she was effectively struck with the weight of a full-grown dragon moving at twice the speed of sound, causing her to rebound off the metal protrusion in an out-of-control spiral.

Luna shook her head as she eventually righted herself with a flap of her wings against the frazzled magical currents, more than a little dizzy. Her horn throbbed from the impact. By the time she found her balance, her inadvertent storm had finally ceased and the craft was far too close to the ground for her liking. She quickly reacquired her 'grip' on the vessel, hoping the shortened distance would prevent her from crushing it--

Only to have the canopy explode outward under the stress of the slowdown, jettisoning two creatures into space. Luna's cheeks puffed outward in a pout, and she would have sighed if there was any air to breathe.

Michaels spiraled head over heel wildly as he plummeted towards the rocky lunar surface. His body spasmed at the combination of his many injuries and the vacuum exposure from the puncture in his suit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the limp body of Vincent rag-dolling with him just out of reach. His stomach turned and he retched several times, though nothing came out, thankfully.

Throughout this, his mind was still trying to process what had just happened. One moment, he was pulling the body of his friend off the canopy, and then the next he felt the ship slow, throwing the both of them against the already compromised glass, shattering it and jettisoning them into the void. Though it mattered little at this point. At the speed he was falling and the damage sustained to his suit, there was no way he would be able to slow his descent enough survive the impact. Even if he did, with his luck the ship would just end up crashing right on top of him.

Suddenly, a ring of pulsing white light appeared below them just above the surface. On each pulse, the top portion would break away and rise into the air, passing around him, giving the sensation of a heavy wind pushing against his body. At each pass, he could feel his descent slowing. Each ring that passed continued slowing him until he drifted to the ground lightly, kicking up a small cloud of lunar dust. Michaels struggled to get to his feet only to collapse face first into the dust.

Luna observed as she lowered herself down towards the aliens taking in their appearances. The one on the left struggled weakly in an attempt to bring itself upright, while the other never moved, its head and neck at an unnatural angle.

As the survivor eventually stood up on two legs, Luna found herself impressed by his strength and tenacity. 'Oh yes, I forgot. They're bipeds.' She thought. Even in a hunched position, it was almost twice the height of the average pony, dressed all in black in a skin-tight suit. Varying lines of light grey littered the suit, tracing what could only be the musculature of the creature. Upon closer examination she noticed a long metal bar protruding from its chest. A steady stream of gas and moisture could be seen escaping from the puncture site.

As Luna continued to descend, her shadow passed over the creature. It looked up and staggered back, falling to its rear. A dome of reflective glass obscured its face. Luna could feel the creatures fear and tried to put him at ease. She spoke into the airless landscape and collected her words before sending it to his mind, though careful not to read any thoughts without his permission.

"Do not be afraid traveler. Though you come from beyond our world, my sister and I have come to render aid. We will take you and your friends to our kingdom for treatment." The creature fell to its knees.

Michaels stayed there on the lunar surface for a moment, his exhausted mind reeling over recent events. He slowly brought his legs under himself and stood trembling, every move wracking his body in agony. The blood from his wound pooled in his suit's lower extremities, resulting in a nauseating thick sloshing as he moved.

A dark shadow passed over him.

"Ohshitshitshitshitshit!" He tried to scramble out of the way only to have his senses fade for a moment. The grey landscape tilted and he collapsed in a plume of dust. He scraped and clawed to get to his feet, only to succeed in scuttling backwards on his butt as he looked up with trepidation and blanched.

Instead of 280 tons of broken death about to turn him into space pizza, there floating elegantly in front of him, silhouetted by the closest star was an angel.

The light from the star obscured its features in a shroud of shadow but it's outline was nothing less than that of a divine being. A cloud of sparkling translucent blue floated around its head in a billowing halo, a slender pointed crown affixed atop its brow. Long flowing wings could be seen behind it, flapping lazily, as though their movement was not a necessity, but an afterthought. Finally, an expansive beautiful sparkling gown or robe, similar in appearance to the halo, stretched down fanning out beneath it, flowing as though from an unknown breeze.

And deep within the recesses of his mind he heard a woman's voice. "Fear thee not thine visitor of worlds beyond. Salvation cometh to thee from heaven and moon. Thy sibling god of star and I of sky shall take you to thine final rest!"

Michaels collapsed to his knees, unable to stand at the overwhelming presence before him. Was what she said true? He spent his whole life exploring the galaxy and never once thought that the ancient religions of humanity could possibly hold any truth in them. But here he was with proof staring him in the face. He looked up in terrified wonder and opened his mouth.

"Aruruba bugub?"

Luna raised an eyebrow. 'Perhaps the translation spell was a bit off...' She thought as she lowered herself to the ground.

'Well there's also the possibility of brain damage.'

The deity paused a moment after his inquiry before descending. The moment the robes touched the ground, her form wilted and collapsed to all fours. The image of divinity disappeared and Michaels tilted his head to the side, slowly making his way back to his feet.

'I have discovered God, and he's a she.' He thought blearily. His vision swam as darkness began to creep in.

'And she's a horse. Didn't see that one coming.'

The moment her front hooves touched the ground, the alien cocked its head to the side and slowly made its way back to its feet. Luna just as slowly closed the distance between the two until there was only a pony length between them. She tilted her head to the left mimicking it.

Tilt right. Luna copied.

The alien took a step forward, reaching out with its right hand towards her face. It's left arm hung uselessly by its side. Suddenly it leaned forward and clutched its chest in a convulsion and slumped. She reared up and caught it before it completely tipped over, wrapping her forehooves around its back. It was a bit heavier than she anticipated, but it did little to offset her balance. She gently lowered it to the ground, laying her head against its chest. Its heartbeat was weak and there was a distinct imbalance in its breathing, with only one side rising and lowering.

Princess Luna magically transferred the unconscious alien to her back, careful not to aggravate its wound. She then walked over to the second alien and straddled the body, her forehooves just under the armpits and her rear hooves at the hips. She gently shifted the lunar dust, cradling him in a firm grip and ever so gently lifted him off the ground. Flapping her wings twice, she brought herself and both aliens with her soaring towards the floating monolith above them.

Once Luna's hooves touched the surface of the alien ship, she focused her magic one last time. Both alicorn and craft disappeared from the moon in a flash of blue light.

Author's Note

Hope you like my first story I've ever decided to post. Feel free to critique in the comments below. Also, please let me know what you think of the colored font used when a character is using magic.

I look forward to working on this for a long time!

Chapter 1: Shattered Harmony

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 2: Picking up the Pieces

Skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch.

Sergeant Roux adjusted the power cell of his sidearm for the third time as he attempted to ignore the rising sense of unease and claustrophobia that fought to overwhelm him, despite the massive open space of the nearly empty chamber of the retrofitted rescue Anaconda. Alongside him, his partner, Corporal Maeve stood with her rifle at the low ready, her face hidden by her helmet and her posture just as rigid.

Skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch skrtch.

Corbin's free hand lightly traced the seam connecting his helmet to his suit as his heart rate quickened. In front of the two, the rescue team continued their work on opening the malfunctioning escape pod, the prying tool most commonly referred to as the "Jaws of Life" biting deep into the metal shell along the seams that connected the hatch to the main structure.

And beneath the screeching sounds of pressurized hydraulics and shearing metal was the source of the tension. The sound of repetitive and frantic scraping coming from inside.

The portly medic in charge of the rescue tapped a few commands into his data pad and turned to the security team as he wiped a bead of sweat off his head. "Alright. The second casualty has been secured and is on her way to the Tun hospital. Time for pod number three. Just like before. Let me know when you're in position and we'll start."

SGT Roux, already positioned at the head of the pod brought his weapon to bear and turned to his partner, who gave a nod from her position at three o'clock. He then returned his attention to his aiming point and gave an affirming motion. "We're ready." He said.

"Copy. Breach in thirty seconds."

No more than five seconds into the countdown, the containment vessel let out a heavy popping and clacking sound, causing everyone around to jump. Corbin let out the breath that caught in his throat and tried to put it out of his mind. 'Don't think about it.' He thought. 'It's just a normal rescue. Third one of the day. Nothing new. Nothing to be worried about.' To the crew, he tried to keep his voice steady, "Hold position. Prime weapons. Moving to amber."

No one said it, but it was on everyone's mind. A strange derelict ship appears out of nowhere, all but a few crew members dead, it gets blown up in an ensuing battle, and an undermanned federal rescue is tasked with opening a series of escape pods, one of which was malfunctioning and making strange noises. It was the perfect set up one would experience in a poorly crafted horror sim. All the way down to the repetitive scratching sound coming from within.

"Twenty seconds." One of the medics wiped a glob of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and readjusted his grip on the lever. Ever so slowly, the breaching tool extended from its base towards the seam of the hatch.

Corbin's breathing quickened; his helmet stifling.

"Fifteen seconds."

The Sergeant couldn't take it anymore. In one smooth motion, he tapped a command onto the wrist-bound interface of his suit, retracting the helmet into his collar with a hiss. His eyes briefly darted over to one of the medics who looked at him questioningly before returning to his objective. "I'm fine. Keep going."

"Ten seconds."

"Sergeant..." Maeve spoke out to her superior, who glanced her way. "Ten thousand credits if whatever's in there jumps out and tries to eat your face."

Corbin fought the urge to groan as the countdown reached zero.

Rarity was often seen by those around her as somewhat of a drama queen. Whether it was a mismatched ribbon or an unsatisfied customer, she took her shortcomings very seriously. Even her closest friends sometimes commented on her over-the-top swooning, though none could deny that she was more than capable of channeling it into creative energy. Some would even say that she thrived off of the stressors that came with owning a business targeting the clientele of the Canterlot elite.

However, if there is one thing that Rarity lacked, It was phobias. Rainbow Dash had her fear of failure, Twilight her fear of all things slithery and cheesy, and Fluttershy her fear of ... well everything. But Rarity? Sure, she had a disgust of all things dirty and unsanitary bordering on fear. But full-blown phobias? She couldn't recall ever falling into a blind panic outside of the few life and death scenarios she and her friends dealt with to save their land.

Which meant her current scenario was new territory for her.

Her cage was cylindrical in design, large enough for her to breathe but do little else. Tiny blinking lights embedded into the wall above her just outside her reach, but aside from that, what it looked like was anypony's guess. The pressure around her remained constant, unyielding as she attempted to move one way or another. Her tail was twisted around her hind legs binding her already limited movement. The walls around her pockmarked with balloon like cushions rubbed irritatingly against her fur, pinching and twisting her both her coat and the skin beneath as she attempted to thrash about. Her world was one of complete darkness, with a single window barely the size of her head as her only beacon of light.

Even that was of little comfort. A heavy tint coated the glass preventing all but the slightest amount of light to pierce the darkness of her prison. Earlier, she could see the stars outside the window as multiple pinpricks of light, but even that disappeared eventually as something collided with the outer surface with a series of metallic clangs and whirs, which eventually devolved into a steady rumble.

Her heart pounded against as each time she thrashed she felt more confined and her breathing became more labored. "Please!" She cried, "Somepony help me!" Despite her unyielding confinement, she continued to struggle, thrashing about to and fro scraping her hooves on anything and everything she could get a hold of in an attempt to find purchase. On one of her more frantic motions, her horn jammed into one of the cushions, piercing the soft fabric, and with a resounding pop, impacted hard on the unforgiving surface beneath it.

Crack!

Pain lanced through her head and she jerked back only to smash the back of her head into the opposing wall. Stars exploded across her vision and her stomach dropped, a heavy wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm her. Her body spasmed from the sensory overload causing her to lurch forward once again. "Let me out... Celestia... Luna... Please..." The unicorn braced her forehooves against the wall as she spoke, pushing harder and harder as the moments ticked by. "Let me out. Let me out! Let me out let me out LETMEOUT!" Her voice crescendoed until she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes flooding with tears. Her barrel heaved with wracking sobs, putting more strain on her already labored breathing. The walls continued to close in around her, smothering her, suffocating her with its unyielding presence. She dug her teeth into the deflated fabric in front of her and began yanking frantically, ready to chew her way out if she had to---

--- Suddenly, a large claw with two fingers tore through the wall in front, coming a hairs width from spearing the side her muzzle.

The mare's skull collided with the back wall a second time, the pain dulled by another rush of adrenaline as she let out a high-pitched shriek of fear. 'This is it.' She thought as she let out a sobbing hiccup. 'I'm going to be devoured by a monster!'

The spindly appendage continued its intrusion, rotating in place for a moment before viciously digging into the wall and revealing a duet of seams on the front side of her prison where light began to leak through. The young mare's heart dared to swell in hope at the possibility of escape.

A few seconds later, a series of loud pops vibrated her cage followed by the sounds of tearing metal and the entire front was torn apart at the seams. The hatch now free of its bindings flipped outward with a groan.

Rarity dug her hooves into the newly formed hoofholds and lunged out into the open air only to find herself in yet another predicament. Instead of dropping to the floor as she had anticipated, she ended up continuing in her original direction of movement, flying forward in a straight line.

Well... Maybe it was less like 'flying' and more like being shot out of a party cannon, since she ended up slamming into a massive figure dressed in a tight--and in her opinion as she thought back on the situation, horribly out of style-- black one piece suit hard enough to force the creature back a step. Instinctively she latched onto her new anchor point by wrapping all four hooves around its fish bowl like head. Both quadruped and biped let out their own unique scream--equally high pitched-- followed by an even louder bang and a cacophony of unintelligible shouts.

*"Alien!"*

*CRACK CRACK!*

*"Cease fire Corporal! Cease fire!"*

*Its on my face! Oh God it's on my face! Get it off! Get it off!*

*"I regret everything!"*

*"The hell is that thing!?!"*

As her alien hoofhold thrashed about, grasping blindly at her fur in an attempt to pull her off, Rarity hunkered down, clenching both fore and back legs in a vice-like grip tight enough to make an Earth Pony proud. Unfortunately, the alien proved to be equally resilient as one of its clawed limbs found its way to her head and dug deep into her mane, yanking hard and snapping her head back in a single violent motion. The unicorn whinnied in pain as her grip quickly faltered and she was violently swung in a wild arc and released into a head over hoof tumble. Her world spun wildly several times and the poor unicorn shrieked as she scrambled about with nothing to grab hold for the second time in twice as many seconds.

A moment later, yet another limb latched onto her, this time halfway up her tail, arresting her momentum with a solid jerk, followed by a heavy but warm mass pulling her into a tight embrace, effectively pinning her to its chest. Tear filled eyes looked deep into the dark chocolate brown visage of yet another Minotaur-like creature, this one much larger than the pair rescued in Equestria. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and smiled weakly at her rescuer until another wave of nausea and fatigue overwhelmed her before her vision went dark.

Chief of Police Chen Sui Leng exited the bathroom damp and extremely tired, one towel wrapped tightly around his waist and another draped over his shoulder as he rubbed one end lightly through his speckled gray and black hair. His feet slapped quietly on the cool metal floor as he made his way through the narrow hallway of his apartment towards the bedroom. He paused a moment and turned off the hallway light before he opened the door slipped through as quietly as possible so he wouldn't wake up his wife, changed into a pair of sweatpants and tossed the towels into the hamper, only to realize her absence for the third straight night in a row. He sighed as he climbed into bed and laid an open palm on the cold pillow beside him.

Work was keeping them both busy, it seemed.

The day for the Tun Federal Security Services was a long one. Not only did the fifteen hundred plus member department have their usual two hundred Patrol routes that required 24/7 manning, they had added another three investigations to their current eighteen, not to mention the twenty ongoing sting operations and three security escort missions.

And to top it all off, higher had the brilliant idea of scheduling a clandestine delivery of new ship-borne weapons without even bothering to inform him of its schedule. Luckily it arrived without incident, but that was beside the point.

All in all, Chen was tired.

Which also meant he was easily irritable, proven by the growl that escaped his lips upon hearing the alert from his personal AI break the silence with all the subtlety of a gong. "Commander Leng. Urgent voice communications request from Department Headquarters. Master Sergeant Smith requests telepresence immediately."

With a groan his left hand fumbled across the nightstand until it came across a small L shaped device. He clumsily brought it to his face and typed in a few commands before affixing it to his ear. "Secure tele-presence connection to HQ. Attire, duty uniform. Authorization Chen rho 6."

His vision lit up in an orange tinge and the meager bedroom fell away as his perception folded in on itself.

Hundreds of thousands of kilometers away Master Sergeant David Smith stood patently in front of an empty desk deep in the recesses of the the orbital Station Tun's Wort. His posture was indicative of the of a member of the Federal Navy, rigid and steadfast with so little perceived movement, one might mistake him for a robotic assault unit in Security garb.

He continued to wait for several minutes until finally, the floor in front of him lit up in an orange glow. "Tele-presence transfer in progress." The AI stated in a monotone Victorian accent. Smith took a small step back and a hard light holo image came together from the ground up revealing Chief Leng clad in his usual duty uniform. The Holo-me glared at the Senior NCO.

"Sergeant." He stated firmly. "I take it the night shift isn't going as smoothly as expected."

MSG Smith took the glare in stride and extended his hand in greeting. The hologram reciprocated with a firm handshake which left an electric tingle on his palm several seconds after separating. "You could say that. We have a serious incident report that requires your attention." He replied. "We just received a conflict report, number 21 879 in the nav beacon patrol sector."

Chief Chen's console lit up at the dictation and the holo-me took a seat behind his desk. "What 's the Situation?"

"Coordinated pirate attack. Two officers involved. An Anaconda compromised the security feed at the Nav Beacon by dropping a jammer while the rest attacked, a ship of unknown origin."

"Status of our pilots?" He asked as he began to skim through a series of short reports, most no longer than a few sentences. At first glance, none of them seemed to be of any particular interest. All of them seemed like the typical SITREPs that were sent after pirate encounters. Contact times, number of ships involved, etc. His brow furrowed at the lack of any obvious evidence.

Smith glanced at his own notes. "CPL Maeve received a few minor lacerations and her ship will require extensive repairs, but other than that, no injuries reported. SGT Corbin was able to hold off the Anaconda while the corporal attempted a ship rescue. As for collateral damage, we have one unidentified ASP Explorer destroyed, along with two pirate ships eliminated. The rest fled when the jammer went down."

Chen brought a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Please. Could you just cut to the chase and tell me why this couldn't wait till tomorrow?"

The senior non-commissioned officer scratched at his stubble, a look of slight discomfort creasing his brow. "Well... we recently received a few unusual video reports from the FSS pilots, as well as the current rescue ship on site. Perhaps it's best if you take a look at them yourself."

Leng scrolled to the first file labeled 1158 and selected it for playback. A second Holo screen appeared to his left showing a cockpit view of the tiny, yet nimble Viper Mark III under the control of one CPL Maeve Gelin.

*The young pilot slowed to a stop as she reached the derelict ship, the sound of tapping keys echoed off the interior as she hailed the derelict vessel. "This is Corporal Gailin of the Tun System Federal Police Department. Are you in any need of assistance?" The moment she released the mic, a horrible screeching sound came out over the speakers. The young pilot winced and cut the feed, ears ringing from the interference.*

*"Warning. Federal communications lost. Security notification system unavailable." The Verity COVAS system drawled.*

*No sooner did she register the alert, a torrent of pulse laser fire slammed into her ship, battering her shields from above and below. The Achenarian native swore and spun her ship, rocketing away, weaving to and fro in a desperate attempt to allow her shields to recharge from its recent pummeling. Sparing a glance at the her radar, she noted a pair of blood red solid triangles flashing white.*

*"Sergeant! Tangos on my six! Two Eagles with rapid fire pulse hardpoints! Shields at less than half! I need backup!" Her only response was that same squelch of radio interference, further confirming this was an orchestrated attack. *

*Maeve slammed the control stick back as the pirates closed in --spinning her in place without losing momentum-- and let loose a barrage of multi-cannon fire. The super-heated rounds struck true, shredding the closest enemy's defenses to near collapse before the pair broke off in opposite directions*.

*Without letting up on her fire, She quickly hit boost in her new forward direction and gave chase to the more vulnerable target, only to flinch as another ship --this one a Cobra MK III-- blitzed right past her and let loose a torpedo on the helpless ASP Explorer*.

*The explosive lanced through the void and struck the port side of its hull just behind of the canopy, exploding in a flash of white twisting the ship sideways* *and reducing the point of impact into a shredded mass of metal and wires. The pirate immediately followed up with a volley of heavy cannon fire.*

*Maeve swore repeatedly as she gave up chase on her quarry and looped around, locking onto the latest and biggest threat. Her rounds ricocheted off the pirate's shields, each impact igniting a bright flash of blue, though only doing a fraction of the damage to its energy reserves compared to the Eagle. The Cobra ignored the barrage and continued its onslaught, showing a determination far beyond that of a typical pirate.*

Chen watched passively as the Viper cut a hard turn, a heavy grunt the only evidence of the g-forces being subjected to the pilot. The onslaught continued to rage for almost a minute, with dips and turns, and other various maneuvers as she tried desperately to force the criminal away from its quarry. On the left side of her display the heat on her ship rose steadily, and soon steam began to rise off the console. Yet the Achenarian continued to fire heedless of the risk. *"C'mon! Focus on me dipshit!"*

*The Corporal let out another expletive as the computer let out a loud squawking alert just before a explosion rocked her vessel hard, taking her by surprise. Sparks flew on her console as one of her internal compartments was reduced to slag, causing a minor secondary explosion inside the cockpit, sending several shards of shrapnel into her right arm. The eagles had returned in force with an ally, yet another Eagle, blindsiding her on the starboard side with a heavy missile.*

*The pilot grit her teeth and boosted away only to swear again and instinctively duck down as the very Cobra she had been shooting at suddenly went flying over her ship in an uncontrolled end over end flip, coming less than a meter from the transparent palladium of her canopy. When she banked left to come about, the ASP Explorer came back into view.*

Encircled in a perfectly round bubble of rapidly expanding violet energy.

Chen paused the video, a pair of raised eyebrows the only sign of his surprise.

"We've no records of the technology used." Smith said, fully aware of the unspoken question. "At first we thought it might be a custom job on a bi-weave setup due to the color of the field. However, the Salvage team has already collected what was left over of the Shield generator and dismissed the possibility. From what they can tell, it was just one of your run-of-the-mill class D generators that's been stripped down for exploration."

"Class *D*?" Chen repeated, his tone inflection a mixture of confusion and blatant disbelief on the findings. He was very familiar with the use of bi-weave shielding and the plethora of modifications used to enhance them, both legal and illegal. While being somewhat less durable then a typical C-Class Shield generator, it was extremely popular within the Bounty Hunter and pirate communities due to its much faster regeneration rate. But this one, outside its similar color scheme, was drastically different to anything he had encountered before.

Not only did it retain its purple glow, obscuring the exploration vessel to the point that all that could be seen was the outline, the hard light construct expanded outward rapidly from the cockpit like a balloon into a perfect sphere that was nearly double the size of the ship.

Typically, any energy Shield would shimmer into existence barely a few meters above the hull, tracing the structure of the ship before phasing out of the visible spectrum. Theoretically it was possible to extend the protective field out that far if -- and that was a big if -- the generator was large and powerful enough.

But a Class *D*?

Despite the list of questions piling up in his mind, he resumed the video. Quickly, the Cobra righted itself and flew back into the fray, now firing everything it had on its hapless target. Both small and heavy ballistics rained down on the energy barrier mercilessly from its cannons and multi-cannons, creating a shower of sparks that lit up the area. flecks of purple shards could also be seen breaking off, spinning wildly before dissipating into the void. The security pilot continued her assault as well, her own rounds striking true against the pirate's defenses.

Sadly it wasn't enough. Huge cracks spread across the purple shield, an anomaly that again raised the curiosity of the old Captain, and before long the entire sphere exploded into millions of glowing fragments that covered the entire area in lavender light. The subsequent rounds fired made short work of the canopy, shredding the transparent palladium and decimating the entire front of the cockpit while a few stray shots from the cannons struck an exposed fuel line on the top of the ship. A few seconds later, a series of small internal explosions rocked the ASP before it was ripped apart in a blast of light.

*"Nonononono NO!" Maeve shouted. Her right fist slammed into the arm rest just short of the flight stick.*

Chen found himself focusing on the trembling fist of the pilot and the ragged breaths that could be heard. It was something something he'd seen all to often in his time on the force. He'd experienced it himself on several occasions. That feeling of failure --of guilt-- for not being able to do what was expected of him and watching helplessly as someone else paid the price for that failure. He made a mental note to schedule the pilot for an appointment with the mental health provider assigned for triage incidents once she returned to base.

Suddenly, an alert of incoming missiles caused the pilot to return her grip to the flight stick. Taking an instinctive glance at the Viper's condition and the radar, The officer counted no less than six incoming missiles and what appeared to be a torpedo fired from one of the hostiles heading towards her. Despite already knowing the outcome of his men, he wondered how she was going to get out of this situation. In her condition there was no way she would survive such an onslaught.

A moment later he got his answer as all seven projectiles flew right past her, with no action from her part, and collided with the topside of the Cobra's weakened shields. The first two explosions collapsed the energy field surrounding it allowing all that remained to strike true against the hull, eviscerating it and exposing the vital power plant contained within, ultimately causing it to share a fate much worse than its victim. While the ASP was ripped asunder from the ignited fuel lines, the onboard system must have been operational enough to sever the connection to the tank, preventing complete destruction of the superstructure itself. But with the Cobra, not only was the power plant destroyed, the COVAS must have been disrupted enough to prevent such a safety measure. Combined with the fact that the majority of the fuel lines converged at that location, there was nothing left to stop the cascade effect that ultimately turned its sixteen ton fuel tank into a sixteen ton bomb.

The detonation that followed was spectacular to say the least, the shock wave alone sending the small Viper into a tumble, ultimately leaving nothing left of the pirate ship but scraps of metal.

Chen paused the video again. "Do we have any idea who fired on the Cobra?" He asked.

MSG Smith skimmed his notes. "From what we can tell, it came from one of the three Eagles. Sensors indicated it was the same that attacked pilot 1158 in the first missile attack. As of now we believe one of the pilots turned on his allies to acquire some of the cargo on board for himself."

It was at that time that a tiny flash of red and blue at the bottom left of the canopy caught his eye. He immediately zoomed in and enhanced the area.

There drifting in open space sat a pair of objects he'd never seen before. Two identically shaped orbs of light, one blue and one red. "What the hell are those?" He wondered aloud.

The NCO shook his head. "No idea. The pirates were able to snatch them up before we could regroup."

Chen frowned in reply. "The technology is definitely worth a support request to Federal R&D, but I'm still not seeing why it couldn't wait till tomorrow."

Smith gave a wry smile. "The technology wasn't the reason I called you." A second video file popped up on the screen over the top of the current display.

The old chief gave the NCO an odd look and hesitantly tapped the display icon released by the Federal rescue ship on scene.

The new scene appeared to be taken from one of the medic's body cam. Chen watched as a pair of hands manipulated the excavation device as it was wedged into the seam of the hatch of the escape pod with a loud pop and screech of metal. The whine of the hydraulics must have been deafening since the sound from the video alone was enough to cause MSG Smith to turn away with a finger plugging one of his ears. Fortunately it was short lived.

*The front quickly began to warp under the pressure as several rivets popped, flinging the hatch open hard enough to rebound back open had one of his men hadn't lowered her weapon to grab it before it snapped shut again. *

*No sooner did the Security officer take hold of the hatch, there was a flash of white and purple as a strange creature leapt out, crashing onto the corporal knocking her rifle's aim toward the ceiling before she could bring it to bear. The surprised woman shrieked and squeezed off a round, sending all Personnel scattering for cover, including the medic's camera.

*The feed quickly devolved into chaos; a cacophony of shouts and jerking camera motions, most of the time showing no more than the side of the pod and the occasional limb of another medic taking cover nearby. Suddenly, a musical trill echoed through the room and the camera looked up to see a streak of purple hair fly overhead, a result of the creature being flung away from the corporal.*

*"I got it!" Someone yelled, and no more than a second later, the lead pilot came flying into view, the propulsion system on his suit creating several glares on the camera lens, obscuring most of the scene. But from what he could tell, the man grabbed the creature and pulled it against his chest in an effort to restrain it.*

Finally, as the commotion died down Cheng was able to get a good look at the Federal Security officer and the animal he captured. It was relatively small compared to the pilot, barely coming up to his lower abdomen in length, covered from top to bottom in fur of pure white that was marred by dark smudges along its shoulders and under its disturbingly expressive eyes. Its hair and tail were a rich purple in color, both meticulously stylized in large looping curls, the tail stretching far beneath the creature's rear hooves. Finally, growing out of its forehead was a small blunted horn the sam color as her fur..

*The creature slowly craned its neck up and looked at the FSS pilot, its muzzle opening wide--*

*"Blraahghaghaghaghagh!"*

Chen slammed his finger on the pause button so hard that it overrode the physical properties of the selection screen, sending his entire hand through the hard light construct. The video feed froze right at the moment SGT Roux was struck in the face by a vile stream of orange, green and brown liquid. Cheng looked at the NCO, his brow now indistinguishable from his hairline. "You're kidding, right?"

MSG Smith rubbed the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh. "Yeaaaaaah." He said. "That was the other thing I was wondering about. Any ideas on a proper conclusion for this report? Aside from the obvious 'Officer puked on by unicorn'."

Corbin floated there, eyes closed and face distorted in disgust as he held onto the now limp creature, his face covered in bile with huge globs floating about randomly around him.

"Sergeant! Are you alright?" One of the medics asked from 'below'.

'I'm fine Doct--. Gahgg! Oh God its in my mouth!" He gagged and spit out a glob that tasted disturbingly like apples.

The medic belted out a hearty laugh. "Well, come down! Lets get a look at you to be sure. Simmons! Put the lifeform in one of our empty crates and take it to the med lab. We'll take a look at it once we clean up the biohazards here."

The thrusters on Corbin's shoulders rotated slightly before firing off with a burst of blue light and the Sergeant slowly decended to the ground. As soon as his boots snapped to the floor, he felt someone tentatvely grab hold of the creature and relented as they pulled it from his grasp. A towel was then placed into his hand to which he immediately brought it to his face.

"Don't rub it. Just blot. We have no idea what it was that it sprayed you with or what it could do." The medic warned. "It could be a defense mechanism."

"One that tastes like fruit?" Corbin mumbled skeptically, though he did as requested until he felt like he could open his eyes again. When he did, he looked around to regain his bearings. To his left a crewmember closed the lid on a container and took off towards the belly of the ship while another grabbed a zero-g vaccume and headed towards the mess still floating above them. Near to the opened capsule, a pale CPL Maeve held tight to the hatch seemingly trying to get her own breathing under control.

"What was that thing?" He asked and the chief medic gave a shrug in return.

"I dunno. I'm puttin' my credits on the bizzare love child of a horse and rhino or something." Came the reply. "Look, why don't you head over to the sterilization room and get yourself cleaned up." He then handed Corbin a large sealable bag. "Put your Remlok in here and take it to the lab when you're done. We got a bunch of spares you can use if you don't mind orange. I'll have Simmons show you the way with the vac, just in case you end up leaving a trail."

"Wonderful."

Roughly half an hour after the breach, Corbin floated through the narrow hallway of the Anaconda alone in a bright orange spare Remlok suit, his soiled gear sealed and secured under his left arm. In his right he held a small holo tablet skimming through his video feed from the attack. He drifted downward as he reached his destination, his mag boots pulling lightly against his legs when his feet neared the floor and snapped to the ground with an audible clack.

The sliding doors of the medical bay slid open with a rusted scraping sound and Corbin walked inside. He glanced around the fairly large room, taking in his surroundings mostly out of habit. The place was old and battlescarred, much like the rest of the ship, with metal plates welded together haphazardly all over the walls on the starboard side -- covering old wounds the once mighty Anaconda received in its heyday as one of several military flagships. -- A thick, uneven coat of dull gray paint covered the protrusions as well as the original plating, giving the ward a surprisingly dirty feel to it, despite the almost overwhelming smell of disinfectants and sterilizing agents in the air.

The Federal Security pilot made his way down the rows of hospital beds to the back where he came across a mid sized bio-hazard container affixed to a simple metal platform welded to the 'ceiling'. As he worked to unlock the latch, his comms chimed and he opened the latest report from the men scouring the debris.

*Recovered Black Box Manifest.*

Corbin skimmed the research team's report on the pilot records and crew until he found a list of names. From there he began to count.

One...two...three...four..." He muttered, his stomach churning as the count grew ever higher. "Damn." Corbin ran a hand through the tight curls of his short black hair. Eighteen personnel were listed on the roster. "Good God. And we were only able to procure three pods. And only two had actual people on board."

His fist clenched, causing the sealed bag containing his dirty flight suit to bulge on either side of his hand before he tossed it unceremoniously into the vault. The package impacted the interior with a wet plap and began to float back out until Corbin slammed the door shut. The pilot let out a shuddering sigh and looked up at nothing in particular. 'I'm in for it now.' He thought sullenly. 'No doubt Maeve's gonna throw all the blame on me again. And this time I'm not so sure she's wrong.' He thought back to the battle and pulled out his holo-pad skimming through the video records hoping to find something to use, or at least twist, to aid in his defense should he end up going before a disciplinary board.

Rarity returned to the world of the living with a horrible splitting headache and an even worse taste in her mouth. She slowly opened her eyes only close them immediately as the dull lighting caused another stab of pain that lanced through her horn and into her skull. "Heavens me..." She groaned tiredly. "I feel like I've been kicked in the head by a minatuar. Is it cider season already?" She reached out a hoof and pawed blindly in the direction of her vanity that housed some mild pain medication. "Sweetie Bell?" She called out. "Could you be a dear and fetch me a glass of water?"

The steady hum of the room was all that replied.

"Sweetie Belle?" She called out a bit louder, wincing at the upward inflection in her own voice. Again there was no answer. She let out a sigh and reached out with her magic to open her drawer, only for her her horn to let loose a torrent of bright blue-white sparks along its spiral, giving the unicorn a heavy dose of magic backlash.

"Ahh!" The fashionista let out a cry of pain as her body spasmed from the feedback. She bolted upright, all vestiges of fatigue evaporated as memories from her recent experience rushed back to the forefront of her mind.

The alien flying machine.

Princess Celestia blasted away in a flash of purple.

A giant sun, larger than anything she'd ever seen.

A deafening bang, throwing her world into chaos.

The rushing wind, followed by a terrifying silence.

A shove of telekinetic energy.

The walls of a metal tomb enveloping her.

And through the tiny window of her prison, Twilight reaching out with a bloody hoof, her face---

'Oh by Celestia! Her face!'

She quickly threw off the modest blanket and leapt to her hooves only to have them leave the ground, sending her forcibly crashing into the ceiling. Another bolt of agony from her injured horn assaulted her, forcing her to instinctively curl in on herself as she ricocheted into another surface. As she pinballed around the tiny enclosure, each bump bled off a portion of her momentum which ultimately left her floating in the middle while scrabbling with her hooves in a vain attempt to get a hoofhold. Wide panicking eyes whipped around frantically. 'No!' Her mind screamed. 'Not again!

"Twilight! Applejack!" She called out, her voice becoming more labored and frantic with each name. "Pinkie?!? Fluttershy!?! Rainbow!?!" Tears began to condense around her eyes, blurring her vision. "Spi--ike!?!" Another wave of dizziness overwhelmed her causing the dragon's name to break upon leaving her muzzle. The world around her peripheral faded to a milky white and she felt her mind dull, sinking back into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

'No!' She shook her head, scattering teardrops around her and took in a deep breath through her nose. "Get control of yourself!" She admonished. "Your friends need help! You're not going to do them any good crying like a little foal."

Rubbing the remaining moisture from her face with a hoof and forcing herself into the mindset of the seamstress, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath and uncurled herself while keeping her limbs tucked tightly to her barrel . When she opened them again, she took in her latest enclosure, a small white box with barely enough room for her to stand up and turn around. Five of the six sides appeared to be translucent, as she could make out several distorted shapes that looked like they could be from some type of bizarre alien furniture. In one corner, there appeared to be a pair of metal hinges. The sixth side, however was dark, with no light able to come through. 'At least its bigger than the last one.' She thought.

Interestingly enough, on the 'bottom' of the cage was the single blanket she had been wrapped in when she woke up. Crinkled and bunched up as it was, it had all the appearance of a ball of tin foil, its reflective covering giving Rarity a distorted view of her rather unkempt appearance. While the idea of a reflective piece of linen was at best confusing and at worst a crime against fashion, the most intruiging aspect was that it appeared to be immune to her current 'floating problem'. Upon further inspection, all four corners appeard to be firmly affixed to the ground; no hooks or other devices visible to the naked eye to give her a clue on how it worked.

As she pondered this strange design choice, a sign of movement caught her eye. A large silhouette unlike anything she had seen thus far had moved into view and was steadily growing larger by the second. Whatever it was that was beyond her cage, it was orange and massive.

And getting closer.

Her tenuous hold on her still overwhelming fear began to slip and the unicorn scrambled about in the air to get a hoofhold on the blanket.

The moment her hooves finally made contact with the makeshift anchor, she heard the metallic snapping sound of a latch being released and the door slowly opened. The mare frantically yanked on the fabric, its corners holding just well enough to allow her to propel herself head first into it's confines.

Corbin was brought out of his musings by a crackle of electricity and flash of light, followed by a pained squeak and a few hefty thumps. He turned to his left towards the source of the disturbance where a somewhat large translucent storage container was affixed to the wall at around the height of his shoulders had he been standing on the floor. In it he could make out something moving about inside. A white blob could be seen through the material, twirling about in a blind panic trying in vain to regain its equilibrium.

His curiosity getting the better of him, he made his way towards it.

He moved his hand to the bottom right corner, bringing up a small orange Holo control panel where he released the locking mechanism and unlatched the door.

The chief medical officer looked up from his work as the lights above dimmed and flickered sporadically, a heavy buzzing sound following the display. He leaned to the side and tapped a button on the nearby station. "Nel, could you get ahold of the engineering crew? Looks like the distributor is on the fritz again."

*Skkkt* "Good copy. We'll get a crew on it after recovering the debris." The radio crackled in return.

After closing the commlink, he returned his attention back to his patient sitting accross from him in a zero-G chair. "Sorry about the interruption. Please, continue."

The Achenarian native fiddled with the pair of gloves in her pale hands. "Well... once we breached to pod, I grabbed the lid to keep it from closing. And that's when it had its way with my face." She bit lightly on her lower lip, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she struggled not to grin. "Didn't even buy me dinner."

The doctor paused in his typing to look at her, a flat look etched across his weathered face.

*Thump!* *Crackle* "UAWAHAHA!"

Corbin yelped as a bright blue bolt of what looked like a slower bolt of electricity blasted the door open. His body spasmed before he found himself launched backwards, sending him flying a good few feet before the back of his legs collided with a medical cot. He toppled head over heels off the edge and dropped to the floor with a thud. He laid there a few seconds breathing heavily, stunned. His right hand twitched sporadically, the feeling of pins and needles overwhelming most of his senses. Slowly he rolled over and took a shuddering breath. When he sat up few seconds later, he groaned rubbing his head gingerly. "What the hell just happened?" He wondered as he slowly got back to his feet.

A sound that could only be described as a high pitched musical warble drew his focus back to the container, its hatch now wide open. The twitching white creature was currently burrowed partway beneath the emergency blanket with its rump sticking out, its rear legs extended straight up which ended up putting its back into a painful arch. Its stylized purple tail was hiked and rigid, its edges poofed outward without completely ruining the coifed design. He also noticed for the first time a trio of blue diamonds stamped on its rump --for some reason--. And in the front poking out of the blanket was that little blunted horn with what looked like a nasty crack, lined in what appeared to be liquid silver pooled around running down the center of its length.

The creature let out a pitiful whine as its body pitched sideways, falling out of the container and landing on the floor with a muffled thump.

Corbin jumped back the moment he saw it move, only to find himself suddenly off balance, forcing him to grab hold of the cot's handrail to stay upright. He paused for a moment, bringing his free hand to his face and looked at it strangely. He quickly activated his commlink. "Hey doc."

A moment later, the radio crackled to life. "What can I do for you Sergeant?"

The pilot looked at the quivering alien nervously. "You know how you mentioned it could have a defense mechanism?" At the medics affirmation, he continued. "Well, I think it just hit me with something. You might want to come see this."

Meanwhile...

Galactic Coordinates: Taranis Sector

*Encrypted Transmission Sent. Priority Level: Bravo.*

*Target Location: Janszoon Depot / Distance: 6,491 meters, 2143 X, -0091 Y.*

*Request: Anonymous docking / Interstellar Factors / Repairs.*

Author's Note

Big apologies for taking so much time to push this out. I'm a very slow writer, and I have a horrible tendency to dump huge sections of my writing if I find that it isn't coming together the way I like. I finished this chapter at around 7,000 words, but probably wrote three times that amount in my drafts. I can push out much shorter updates, but that could end up with me submitting something I don't think is up to par to what I want for the story.

Please tell me your thoughts. I do intend to finish this. It will just take some time.