Voyages of the Lightbringer: Episode 3: The Goddess of War

Chapters

The Hunt's End/The Prototype
Quick Visit/Going Hunting
Tying Up Loose Ends/A Better Life

The Hunt's End/The Prototype

As the blue fields of energy faded away around us, our vision shifted to the sight of the icy surface of H'atoria, several mountains piercing the blue sky above us. As we looked around, we saw two trails ahead of us, one that went left, and the other that went right. I took out my Pipbuck and tapped it a few times as I took a scan of the area, Velvet trotting over to me as she asked, "Which way, Littlepip?"

As my Pipbuck finished it's scan, I turned to my friends as I gave my answer. "From what my map says, we should go this way." I pointed a hoof towards the left path, all of us walking down the trail shortly after.

"I'm not detecting any enemy signatures nearby, but we should keep ourselves vigilant." Admiral Wyatt said as we all pulled out our weapons, looking around the area as we continued down the trail.

As we continued walking, we all took cover behind two sets of rocks as a single bolt of energy shot out at us, none of us being hit thankfully. As my friends and I crouched down under the left wing of rocks, several more bolts started flying over us, the native chirping and screeching from the Tholians ahead being heard occasionally as I turned to Calamity.

"You have any photon grenades on you?" I asked the pegasus as he checked his saddlebags, showing me the now opened bag on his right side as I pulled four of the six he had out. I then pulled out four of my own as I took a peek around the rock, they were all standing together as they blocked our path, making themselves vulnerable to the plan I had in store for them. I looked to Velvet as I asked her, "You have the anesthetic spell ready?"

The charcoal grey unicorn nodded as her horn glowed brightly, giving an unsure expression as she replied. "I do hope it works through their armor."

"Hopefully, it'll shut it down for us." myself taking a slight peek around the rock as I gave my word. "Now!"

Velvet stood up swiftly, firing several magic bolts at the Tholians, all of them getting struck down before they could get a hit on her. I smiled with satisfaction as I pressed a button on each of the grenades and threw them all out towards the Tholians as they detonated, their bodies disintegrating as the explosions consumed them.

As we all stood up, I took a look ahead, there were two more of them coming our way, I lifted Little Macintosh and aimed at one of the Tholians, firing a magic bolt of energy that struck the armored spider. As it's armor melted away, the Tholian screeched in agony as it expired from the low temperatures of the planet. I pointed my gun at the other Tholian and, with a little help from SATS, struck the Tholian right through his helmet, his body falling to the ground hard.

I looked further down the trail to see no more enemies heading our way, as well as a small sign of light nearby. I looked to my friends as I spoke up. "I think I see the base up ahead, keep your weapons ready."

They all nodded as we all continued down the trail, two more Tholians exiting the now visible building as Trixie fired a bolt of magic at the closest one. The armored spider was knocked back as Trixie took to the air, flying towards the second Tholian as her horn glowed. As she impaled the second Tholian in the head with her glowing horn, the first one recovered. "THE GODDESS HAS BETRAYED US! ALL UNITS, DEFEND THE RESEAR-" The guard was cut off as the blue alicorn pulled her horn out of the other Tholian's corpse and fired another bolt of magic at him, this one breaking the window on his helmet open.

As the now dead Tholian guard fell to the ground, we heard an alarm sound around the large structure. "Looks like they know we're here." I said as I trotted over to the nearby console that controlled the force field protecting the interior of the building.

After a few moments of messing with the console, the force field fell, allowing us to continue on inside. As we took a look around, we saw a large generator in the center of the room, a single human standing near it as he operated the console next to it. That must've been Amar Singh over there. The little pony in my head said as I continued examining the room. He was guarded by three alicorns, around them were five more Tholians, one of them having a red color on his body. He must've been the captain of that one Recluse we destroyed in orbit a bit ago.

The three alicorns brought up their shields around Mr. Singh as the Tholians walked towards us, Cassiopeia and Trixie deploying their own shields in front of our group as the enemy laser fire flew towards us.

"DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO REACH SINGH!" The Tholian captain ordered his minions as they continued firing, their laser fire only striking the two shields of Trixie and Cassiopeia as the latter spoke.

"Trixie! Remember what we taught you back at K-7!" The blue alicorn nodded at her sister, the two of them having practiced the weaponized shield spell during our stay there. "Now!" The two mares then launched their shields outward, the shockwaves vaporizing the five Tholian soldiers as the trio of alicorns guarding Amar lowered their shields, their expressions full of surprise as we walked over to them.

"Is... Is that our Goddess?! Working with the-" The blue one of the group asked worriedly before Trixie answered for her.

"Yes, it is I, the Great and Powerful Goddess." I could hear a hint of sarcasm in those words as she continued. "And this mission is foolhardy, my sisters. Will you please move aside so that we may restrain Dr. Singh? We're taking him into custody again."

The three mares looked at each other for a moment, then stepped out of the way as Admiral Stone stepped over to meet Amar's eyes.

"Well, I didn't expect to see your face here, Admiral." Singh said in a friendly manner, Wyatt merely staring at him with a stern expression as he replied.

"The feeling's mutual, Amar. And I hate to disappoint you, but this operation is over, we're taking you back into custody."

"Well, let's see here, you've destroyed all of the defense ships in orbit, my alicorn guards are being held by the Goddess' leash, and my assistants are dead.... Very well, I surrender. Do what you will with the lab, but might I make a suggestion, Admiral?"

"What is that?" Wyatt asked the mad scientist as he replied.

"I at least would suggest you allow me to show you the fruits of my labor. I think my friend here will like what she sees." He looked to Trixie at those last words, the mare giving a slightly repulsed look at him before replying.

"Well, I'm afraid that we may have to dispose of them, but I will accept the offer." She then looked to Admiral Stone as she asked him, "May we observe his work, sir?"

Wyatt smiled slightly as he answered Trixie. "Of course. Mr. Singh, lead the way, but don't try anything, we could easily stun you before things could get worse."

"Like I can, Admiral." Singh said with a laugh, the scientist turning as he finished. "If you'll follow me, please."

We'd walked down a short hallway that led into the containment center for the "fruits" Dr. Singh spoke of. The left side of the room was just a wall with windows showing the outside world, while the right was where the cells were.

The smell of death couldn't be stopped by the force fields, almost all of the six cells held dead specimens inside. One of them was a normal alicorn with Borg technology implanted into her body, another was a humanoid that wore a simple grey shirt and shorts, wings sprouting from it's back. Another cell held a set of armor with pink Dilithium gems built inside them, they reminded me of a mare that Blackjack had told me about while I had visited earlier. The fourth cell held another alicorn, this one having similar implants like the dead one behind us, but it was standing in front of a strange device built into the wall. The mare looked like it was standing while asleep. From my research on the Borg, they called it a regeneration alcove.

But the one that caught my eyes (and everyone else's) was the sixth cell. Inside, a single alicorn stood inside, the mare boasting a red coat and greyish-red hair. Her eyes were an intimidating red, the white in them having the faintest tint of yellow (purely from genetic engineering, I assumed). There was also a small ring placed on her horn as to prevent her from escaping. Upon seeing us, the mare stood up slowly, Dr. Singh smiling pleasantly as he turned to us. "Allow me to introduce you to my... daughter. Her name is Crimson Star, she is my first successful creation after several failed tests." He waved his arm around the room, noting the other cells as he continued. "I would have hoped that she would be good enough to sate the Goddess' demands earlier on, a war machine such as her would be quite a sight to behold in her army." As he finished, I looked to see the red mare named Crimson look away in disgust, Dr. Singh not taking notice at his creation as he monologued. "I wish you all could've been here to witness her skills, she was impressive to see!"

Calamity raised an eyebrow as he asked Dr. Singh a question. "Uh, pardon me, Ah don't mean t' be rude to yer "daughter" here, but how'd she get a name like that?"

The genetic researcher laughed lightly as he answered my friend. "I should've told you all about that moon up there. Earlier during her tests, we had a rogue moon fly by us and nearly destroy us, but fortunately, I had come up with a plan for it. I had decided that this moon would be one of Crimson's first test, and miraculously, she was able to stop it, using an immense amount of magic to slice it apart."

My pupils shrunk at what I was hearing, my friends all bearing the same expression as I replied to Amar. "Well, that sounds like quite the feat for a being such as her."

The doctor gave a slight frown as he continued, turning to face Crimson. "Yes, unfortunately, I haven't started any real combat trials for her, so I have no information regarding her fighting prowess." He turned back to face us, his frown shifting slightly to a smirk as he finished. "But I had intentions to make her the strongest of all the alicorns that were at the Goddess' disposal, with the right modifications, I could make her rival those two mares that rule your world, Littlepip... What were their names again?"

I raised an eyebrow at him as I gave my answer. "Celestia and Luna, and how did you find out about them?"

Trixie tapped me on the shoulder as she silenced my curiosity. "I mentioned them during his briefing."

I could hear some of my friends chuckle from Singh's clouded memory, but Velvet gasped in surprise from his claims. As she put a hoof to her muzzle, Calamity replied. "That sounds a lil' crazy, y'all would have t' get the best equipment around t' make such a gal like her that strong!"

It would seem so, but when you have a high amount of experience like me, you'd have a hell of a fun time playing around with genes and modifications." He frowned again as he continued. "It is unfortunate that this will all go to waste, though, we could use people like her during these harsh times, I'll bet she could make the job fighting against those rogue Hur'q a lot easier. She was even supposed to be more independent than the others as well, a very special privilege I thought would be fitting for a mare such as her." I thought I saw Trixie raise an eyebrow at that statement, individuality wasn't something she was keen on her subjects having during her time as the Goddess.

As I looked at the tall, red alicorn, I wondered. Maybe she could find a place at our home? From how she acted back there, she doesn't seem like she wants to be what she's set up for. "Perhaps not," I said to Mr. Singh as he looked at me, my friends doing the same as I continued. "if the admiral here will permit it, I suggest she come with us back to Equus, she could find a home there." I then looked at Crimson, the mare looking away shyly as I finished. "And, from how I see it, she doesn't seem to like the idea of being a warrior for a broken empire."

Dr. Singh given a hopeful smile at my words before replying. "Yes, about that. She has been... conflicted heavily about her duties lately, after allowing her to study the Alliance's history, she has been having trouble doing certain tasks, especially those involving live combat tests." He then turned to face the red alicorn with a sad expression, the mare giving a slight scowl in return as he finished. "And... she's been trying to hurt herself lately, so I had that magic inhibitor placed on her horn while I'm away."

My jaw dropped at his words as I looked back at Crimson, the mare standing up and trotting over to the door as she joined the conversation. Her voice sounded like one of an angel, though I could sense the malice in her voice as she spoke to Singh. "And your friends there should have helped me." The three alicorns cringed at their sister's words before she continued. "They shouldn't have let you create such a monster like myself."

"Whoa there, girl." Calamity said in surprise to the red alicorn. "Why d' y'all have t' be so harsh on yerself?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Crimson Star replied to my friend as she looked to the ground with sadness in her eyes. "I was made to be used as a weapon, to murder innocent people simply for the territorial gain of your enemies, why do you wish to allow me to live?"

Trixie trotted up to the cell, looking up at the tall mare as she spoke to her. "Now, now, don't beat yourself up like this. I'm sure Littlepip here can help you start your life in a brighter light than what I had planned," She looked to me before finishing, myself erecting a hopeful smile as she spoke. "right, Littlepip?"

"Definitely, and, honestly, I'm curious as to what you can do. Would you mind showing us? You don't need to do anything harsh, just, you know... uh..."

I was stuck in thought as Crimson slowly stepped away from the force field, a look of fear on her face as she answered us. "No, I will not dare do such a thing, not after destroying that rogue moon!" She closed her eyes as she turned away from us, her voice cracking as she finished. "....I don't want to kill again."

I raised an eyebrow at her words, now hesitant to get an answer. "..What do you mea-"

I was cut off by my combadge as it beeped, myself tapping it as I heard Andromeda speak through it. "Lightbringer to Littlepip, we've got company! A large task force of Tal Shiar warships has dropped out of warp, we're holding them off, but we'll need reinforcements!"

We all gasped in surprise as I asked our alicorn friend, "Has anyone responded to your signals yet?"

"We've got one Klingon cruiser heading our way, but they won't be here for a little bit." I smiled slightly before replying.

"Good, we'll be up there in a bi-" Amar cut me off.

"No! ….Actually, I have a much easier solution." He turned to Velvet as he asked her, "Would you please open the cell for her?"

Velvet nodded hesitantly, tapping the panel on the wall as the force field lowered, Crimson Star moving back towards the wall as the medical mare looked to her. "Don't worry, you can come out. You'll be safe with us..." Velvet reached her hoof out to hold the alicorn's hoof out as she said, "Please."

Crimson stood back for a moment, but slowly walked towards our charcoal-coated friend, stopping in front of her as she replied. "Alright, but don't forget about her." The red alicorn pointed a hoof to the cell containing her assimilated sister before continuing. "She deserves to go with us as well."

"You two are in luck, I have someone onboard my ship who can help her." Admiral Stone said before tapping his communicator and speaking into it. "Stone to Chestnut, we have one of Amar's subjects we want to beam to the ship, she's received Borg implants during the experiments. Have Five of Seven help her out in sickbay."

"Aye Sir, we've got a lock on her signal and will have her beamed up shortly. Chestnut out." As the signal cut out, Amar spoke up once more.

"Once again, if you'll follow me, please."

We made it to a small mountaintop with the assistance of Cassiopeia's teleportation spell. As we looked up to the evening sky, we saw a few flashes of light appear constantly in one spot above. That must've been where the battle was taking place.

As we stood together behind Amar and Crimson, I tapped my combadge. "Littlepip to Lightbringer, what's your status up there?"

We all grew looks of concern as Windsheer spoke up. "We're gettin' it purty bad, 'Pip. Our shields are down t' 20%, the Chestnut is holdin' up, but she's bein' chased by the Romulan fleet, and as fer the Loskene? She's guardin' the D'deridex by herself and has taken heavy damage doin' it!"

We all grew smiles of relief as we heard Xenith speak up through the transmission. "I am detecting another ship entering the system, they're hailing us!"

"Put them through!" Andromeda said as we heard a boom on the bridge, the hearty voice of a Klingon speaking after that.

"This is Dahar Master K'vak of the I.K.S. Vatal, we are ready to join this glorious battle!"

I saw Admiral Stone smile as he spoke to his fellow warrior. "It's good that you're here, Dahar Master, can you cover the Loskene and her captor while the others hold off the enemy fleet?"

"Indeed we shall! Qapla, Admiral!" K'vak said with excitement as I spoke to Andromeda.

"Andromeda, keep your eyes peeled for anything strange, our friend down here wishes to show us something."

"Understood, Lightbringer out." As the signal cut out, we all turned to face Dr. Singh, who was looking up to Crimson Star as he spoke to her.

"Alright, this is it. Try that same trick you did before to that moon..." He pulled off the ring around the alicorn's horn as he finished. "Show them what you're capable of."

Crimson looked back to us for a moment, a look of hurt and regret in her eyes as I encouraged her. "Don't worry, you'll be saving lives this time. Our people up there need your help."

As the red mare gave a hopeful look to us, she turned and faced the sky, her horn glowing a bright red as she began her work.

As Crimson's horn glowed brighter and brighter, I looked to Cassiopeia, who was cringing with her eyes closed. "What's wrong, Cassiopeia?" I asked with worry in my voice.

"I... I'm reading Crimson's memories, I learned that spell thanks to my studying alongside my sisters back at Junction Town." The green alicorn cringed some more as she continued. "She... the moon, she did what she's doing now to destroy it."

My friends and I all looked to her as she stood in her mind-reading trance, her expression shifting further into despair as she spoke. "Pain....Fear....Regret....." As she stood next to us, my combadge beeped, I tapped it to hear Jokeblue's voice.

"Uh, Littlepip? We're detecting a high energy buildup near the sun, something's charging up!" We all looked over to the horizon to face the sun, while the light was mostly the same, I could see a faint brilliance very close to it.

"Death."

We all jumped in surprise as Cassiopeia gasped in utter shock, Velvet helping her up as she spoke. "Littlepip, tell our ships to clear the area around the enemy fleet, she's going to destroy it!"

I turned to my combadge to give my orders, but my breath was saved as Jokeblue spoke again. "Already ahead of ya, Pip!" As we looked up to the fleet, we saw the explosions cease a little, but they still went off several times as I turned to Cassiopeia.

"What did you find?" I asked as the green mare replied.

"Littlepip, Crimson destroyed that moon a few days ago. She used a spell similar to the one she's performing now to slice it apart and kill everyone on it!"

I gasped as I heard her words, then shaking my head as I asked, "What?! What do you mean?"

Cassiopeia gave a grim expression as she gave her answer. "Littlepip, that rogue moon wasn't any random rock in space, it was a small alien colony!"

"What?!" We all said simultaneously as we heard Crimson scream to the sky, her horn ceasing as she fell to the ground.

"NO!!!" As Amar crouched to help her up, we looked to the horizon again to see the flash fade slightly, then, a large, orange beam of energy sped towards the battle above, my combadge startling us as Andromeda yelled to her friends.

"Emergency maneuvers, NOW!" As we looked to the fleet, we watched as the beam zoomed closer to the field of flashing explosions, the explosions ceasing as the beam consumed them all, a faint bulge of orange light taking their place as the beam shot further out into space.

Quick Visit/Going Hunting

"Captain's Star Log; Equus Date: 2/30/2274: After making repairs at Space Station K-7 alongside the Loskene and Forerunner, we've decided to head back home to deliver Trixie and her former children to Junction Town and help them start their new lives. I'm sure that some of the residents will be hesitant to welcome one of our former enemies into their home with open arms, but I think that with Fluttershy's help, we can make sure that Trixie won't have any problems during her stay here."

Equus System, 2274, 1400 Hours, Junction Town

"And then I threw a smokebomb down to cover my escape as I ran away from Ponyville. One of the silliest things I had done in my life."

I took a drink of a fresh bottle of Sparkle Cola as I listened to Trixie speak to us, smiling at her story. When we had beamed into Junction Town, we got several looks from the townsponies as they witnessed our alicorn friend with us. After telling them of what we went through back at Azure, their faces grew friendly smiles as they welcomed Trixie to their home. The alicorns that came down with us were quite impressed with the place as well, many of them being shocked upon seeing one of the towns resident alicorn fillies, Surprise.

"She's one of the first naturally born alicorns we've had in our home, can you show them what you can do, Surprise?" Fluttershy had asked the filly as the alicorns observed, the pink foal generating a small pink shield as she received impressed looks and cheers from the crowd.

As for Nightseer, she wanted to stay aboard the ship and serve as one of our security officers, claiming that her fighting skills could help us out should we agree. After agreeing, she was escorted to the holodeck to begin her training against the more recent threats the Alliance had to face.

After getting everyone acquainted with the town, my friends and I stopped by the bar to have a chat with Trixie, myself paying for our drinks before joining them.

Trixie had finished telling us of her incident with Twilight and the Ursa Minor that she faced as we all laughed at the end, myself trying to hold mine in as I swallowed the carroty liquid down my throat. "Ha, that's quite the image to put in my head!" I said with a choked laugh as Trixie smiled shyly, all of us trying to hold back our laughter as Calamity replied to Trixie.

"Ayep, no offense, but Ah'd pay ya all the bits in the world jus' t' see ya do that!" I could hear Trixie chuckle lightly as she joined in our laughter, all of us relishing in the moment before forcing ourselves to quiet down.

As I took a breath from the laughing, I looked to Trixie, a smirk appearing on my face as I asked her, "Well, with the friends and magic you have now, I'd bet you could actually do it."

"Perhaps, though I've never fought one before." Trixie frowned a the thought, but smiled again as Steelhooves spoke up.

"Well, don't be afraid to ask for help on defeating one. After all, we all took one of them out during our adventure years ago."

The look on Trixie's face was priceless as she replied to the Applejack's Ranger. "You did?! I wish I was there to see it, it must've been an incredible battle!"

Steelhooves nodded in confirmation as I took another drink of my cola, all of our ears perking up as my combadge beeped. I tapped it and heard our blue alicorn speak through it. "Andromeda here, can you hear me, Littlepip?"

"Affirmative, what's happening up there, Andromeda?" During our visit to sickbay, we asked our three alicorns about names once we had finished our talk with the others. The trio of sisters liked the idea and we pondered for a good while before we'd found the perfect ones. The blue alicorn took up the name Andromeda, which was also the name of a princess in old Earth mythology. Our green one felt that Cassiopeia could be a suitable name, she said that during her time off-duty, she'd received looks from some of the crewmembers onboard the ship, and felt the name would fit her due to it's history. And lastly, the purple sister chose the name Io, which was one of the many moons in orbit of Jupiter in the Sol System.

I listened intently as Andromeda spoke up. "The U.S.S. Chestnut has entered the sector and her captain wishes to speak with you as soon as possible. He says that our recent mission has more to it than we thought."

I looked to my friends with a raised eyebrow, Xenith and Velvet returning the same expression as Trixie spoke up. "Oh dear, I should've told you all sooner. Littlepip, if you don't mind, I'd like to go with you, I believe I can help explain this when we get there."

"Of course." I replied with a smile as I looked back to my combadge and replied to Andromeda. "We'll be up there shortly, tell Admiral Stone to meet us in the briefing room."

"Understood, Lightbringer out." As the signal cut out, we all got up and made our way to the door of the bar, myself taking one last sip of the Sparkle Cola before sealing it and putting it into my saddlebags.

As we exited the bar and stepped out into the street of Junction Town, I looked to Trixie as I asked, "Is it bad?"

The light-blue alicorn gave a worried look as she replied. "I don't know, but we should hurry if we want to find out. I'm worried we'll be too late." I also frowned with her as I tapped my combadge, all of us standing together as I spoke to our ship's transporter operator. "Littlepip to Lightbringer, six to beam up."

A moment later, we were all surrounded by blue fields of energy, the fields obscuring our vision as we were transported back to our ship.

(||||||)

"And he's supposedly working on creating a new army of artificial alicorns?" I asked Trixie as she nodded, all of us looking to Admiral Stone as he sat up in his chair. When we reached the briefing room, the Admiral was already there with his two security escorts. When we started talking, he said that shortly before our incident with Trixie and the rogue Tholians, a small detachment of them were tasked with acquiring a very important prisoner at Facility 4028, a man named Amar Singh. The admiral and his crew had faced him before at the Klingon world of H'atoria about a year ago, intent on stopping him from using genetic research to create a supersoldier race made from Klingon, Gorn, and Human DNA. From what he found out recently, it seems that Singh has returned to the planet and was tasked by Trixie to make a special variant of her children while on the planet.

"It was what you could call my "Plan B"." Trixie replied with a guilty frown as Wyatt spoke to us.

"Not only that, but he's currently guarded by a small group of Tholians that were ordered to protect his base while he worked. Fortunately for us, though, we'll have enough ships to fight them once we get there."

We all gave smiles at his words before I began speaking. "Good, perhaps we can get him back in a cell before he succeeds in his mission." I then paused for a moment as I thought of something. "And one more thing, what if we encounter some of his.. creations? Assuming he's already made some?"

"As far as we're concerned we should take any help we can get from them. As for the non-compliant ones, we'll have to subdue or kill them before they can escape."

"I see." I replied before standing up, all of my friends standing as well before I finished. "Then we should get started right away. We'll be ready to head to warp once we get back to the bridge. Trixie will be coming along as well, she says that she may be able to help make our job easier."

"Good, I'll see you on the playing field. Dismissed." As he said that, we made our way to the doors of the meeting room, myself turning my head as we entered the hallway. I saw the admiral tap his combadge and speak into it. "Stone to Chestnut, we're ready to beam back."

I turned my head back to face ahead of me as we all continued on to the nearby turbolift, the doors opening as we stepped inside.

The white light at the end of the vortex reached us after a few moments, the sight of the H'atoria System appearing before us as we exited the wormhole. The planet was beautiful, along with several continents and blue oceans, I could see several lights on the surface, indicating there was civilization down there. There were no moons nearby, but I saw a few asteroids passing by the area to our left. From the way they looked, I thought that they could form a moon if you put them together somehow.

"We've arrived at the H'atoria System, I'm detecting several hostile signatures nearby, four Tholian ships, three Romulan." Velvet said as she examined her console, myself turning to her as I spoke.

"Can you get me a visual?" The charcoal mare nodded as she did her work, all of us turning to face the viewscreen as it showed the small skirmish taking place near the planet. There were three Mesh Weavers and one Recluse on the Tholians' side, while the Romulans had one D'deridex warbird and two T'varo Birds of Prey. The D'deridex was massive, even bigger than a Starfleet Galaxy class ship. It had a large head that was connected to two stanchions, which were held by the two connected wing sections that connected to the ship's nacelles.

The T'varo warbirds were dwarfed by the larger vessel, it was similar to the old 23rd Century T'liss Bird of Prey, save for the fact that the ends of the ship were sharper and the hull was a bright green.

As I examined the battle, I heard Xenith speak as she watched the two sides clash. "Why would Romulan ships travel here?"

"Tal Shiar agents, I presume." Admiral Stone said through my chair's comms panel as we watched the battle, listening to his explanation about the Romulan ships. "They must've found out about Singh shortly after he arrived here, and when they see an opportunity to expand their power, the Tal Shiar and the remnants of the old Romulan Star Empire won't hesitate to try and take it. Fortunately for us, however, they're currently being distracted by the Tholians protecting the planet. We should clear them out quickly in order to proceed down to the planet below."

"Good idea." I said as I looked to Calamity, the pegasus tapping his console as I spoke to him. "Calamity, ready weapons and shields, let's take care of the two enemy fleets while we have a chance."

"Ya got it." Calamity replied as Windsheer turned to face me.

"Lil'Pip? Ah'm gettin' a transmission from the Romulan warbird up ahead."

"Put them on." I replied as Calamity's brother tapped his console, the screen changing to show a Romulan officer in one of the old uniforms of the Star Empire, the captain giving a glare as he spoke to us.

"Alliance vessels, you are trespassing into territory that now belongs to the Romulan Star Empire. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded!" I returned the glare as I replied, looking to Windsheer and motioning my hoof across my neck after doing so.

"I don't think so." As the transmission cut out, one of the T'varo warbirds broke off from it's allied ships and sped towards us, the frigate firing two plasma beams at us as I spoke to Calamity.

"Fire Phasers, hit them on the forward side." I then turned to Velvet as I continued giving orders. "Velvet, catch them in a tractor beam." My friend nodded as she worked at her console, our ship shaking from the impact of the Romulan weapons.

I looked back to the viewscreen to see the small Bird of Prey get caught in a blue tractor beam, a blue beam firing out from the Chestnut as Calamity tapped his console. A moment later, two Phaser beams shot out from the Lightbringer, hitting the front side of the small warbird and blowing a hole in it's hull.

"Firin' torpedoes!" Calamity said as he tapped his console again, four green torpedoes shooting out and hitting the warbird. The ship exploded as the torpedoes hit it, parts of it's hull flying out from the explosion as it dissipated.

"I then looked to the battle ahead to see one of the Tholian ships explode, leaving only the two other Mesh Weavers and one Recluse remaining as the warbirds continued pounding their shields and hull with plasma torpedoes.

As the enemy ships continued firing at each other, I looked to Steelhooves, the armored stallion tapping his console as he spoke. "I'm deploying some transports onto the field, they could get some valuable intel from the enemy ships."

"Good idea." I replied as I turned to my comms panel and spoke to it. "Lightbringer to Chestnut, do you think we could disable one of those ships over there? We might be able to get some valuable intel on why the Tal Shiar are here."

"That sounds like a plan, let's try and disable the D'deridex, the rest can be scrapped." The admiral said as I spoke back to him.

"Got it, we'll be right behind you. Lightbringer out." As the signal cut out, the Chestnut sped forward with the Loskene, the two ships firing beams and torpedoes at the other T'varo warbird as we flew after them.

"Ah'm targetin' the Recluse, Phasers chargin' up!" Calamity said as we turned to the right slightly, closing in on the large Tholian warship before two orange beams of energy fired. They both hit the hull of the enemy ship as we flew by, the ship turning back around to face the vessel as I spoke to Xenith.

"Shield drain, quickly." The zebra tapped her console before a blue beam shot out from the Lightbringer, the shields of the Tholian vessel flickering out as Calamity worked at his station.

"Torpedoes away!" A flurry of Balefire torpedoes flew out at the pegasus' words, the hull of the Recluse groaning from the stress as it was hit. Not a minute later did the ship explode into pieces, the two Mesh Weavers flying past the ball of fire as we turned to our left.

The D'deridex was turning away from us as it caught the two Tholian frigates in tractor beams, plasma torpedoes tearing them both apart as the Chestnut and Loskene fired away at the large warbird.

We all gasped as the large Romulan ship faded away from sight a moment later, Calamity scowling as he watched our target flee. "Galdangit! They jus' love runnin' away from us when we have them, don't they?"

"Don't worry, I think the admiral's got that taken care of." I said with a smirk as the Chestnut proved me right, the modified torpedo shooting out of her torpedo bay and striking the hull of the warbird a few seconds later.

As the warbird decloaked in front of us, the Chestnut caught her in a tractor beam before I spoke to Xenith and Calamity. "Xenith, fire another shield drain at them, Calamity, when she's opened a hole for us, fire two beams at their nacelles!" The two nodded as they did their work, the blue beam of energy firing out and hitting the shields of the D'deridex warbird. As they went out, Calamity fired two Phaser beams at the ship's two warp nacelles, both of them exploding with fire and plasma as they were destroyed.

"Their engines are down, Lil'Pip. We've got them!" Calamity said with a smirk as I sat back in my chair, the Loskene firing it's own tractor beam as Windsheer spoke to me.

"Pip, we've got a hail comin' in."

"On viewer." I replied as the screen shifted to show Admiral Stone in his chair, sitting up as he spoke to me.

"Good work, now that that's taken care of, we should get to the surface immediately. I'll meet you at the following coordinates." Wyatt said as he tapped his chair's comms panel, my chair beeping as it received the data.

As I tapped my chair to send the data to the transporter room, I spoke to Wyatt with a smile. "Thanks, we'll be down there shortly."

The admiral smiled back before the screen shifted back to the enemy warbird and our allies, all of us standing up as I spoke once more. "Alright, Steelhooves, Calamity, Velvet, Cassiopeia, Trixie, let's head to Transporter room 2. Andromeda, you have the conn." The blue alicorn nodded as she trotted over to my chair, the rest of us heading to the turbolift as it's doors opened for us.

As the turbolift doors closed in front of us, Trixie tapped my shoulder. I turned to her as she began with an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you all this, I should've done it sooner."

"Don't worry," I said as I smiled to her. "We'll get this all sorted out, especially with your help." Trixie returned the smile at my words, Cassiopeia looking to us both as she joined the conversation. "Let's just hope we don't come across any hostile alicorns down there, especially not genetically modified ones."

I nodded in agreement as we waited for the turbolift to arrive at our stop, the doors opening a few moments later as we continued onwards towards the transporter room.

Tying Up Loose Ends/A Better Life

We all gasped in horror as we watched the large beam fade away, Crimson crying aloud as we recovered from the sight above. Growing fearful for our ships, I spoke into my combadge, which was emitting static as I tried to get a reply. "Littlepip to Lightbringer, come in! Chestnut, can you hear me?! ANYONE?!"

We all sighed in relief as we heard the static fade slightly, Andromeda's distorted voice speaking through as we smiled thankfully. "Andromeda here, we're all right, but our hull has taken a bit of damage from the beam's proximity!"

"At least you're all still there." I said as I steadied my loose grip on the ground before continuing. "How are the others?"

"The Chestnut has taken major damage, but they're still flying. The Vatal was able to get to safety before the beam came." I raised an eyebrow at Andromeda's next words, all of my friends looking on with worry as she continued. "As for the enemy fleet, that beam was more than they could handle. They've all been vaporized by it!"

I looked to my friends with worry, then to Crimson and Amar as the latter held the crying mare.

"It's alright, you've done good this time. "The genetic scientist said to Crimson before she growled angrily, her horn glowing as she pushed the doctor away hard.

"Good? HOW HAVE I DONE GOOD TODAY?! I ALMOST KILLED THEM ALL!!!" Crimson said furiously as Admiral Stone put his hand on his Phaser pistol, but moved it away as I put my hoof out to stop him. The red mare then looked down shamefully, tears welling in her eyes as she finished. "...Just like I killed those people on that moon."

As Crimson looked back up to us with a pained expression, I looked to her, Trixie joining my side as I pleaded with her. "Crimson, wait. You don't have to run away anymore, we can help you!" I said to the red alicorn, the mare only giving a regretful frown as she faced us.

"How? How can I be saved after all I've done?!" She closed her eyes as her horn glowed again, all of us looking around to try and find what she was going for, but to no avail. Crimson then spread her wings, turning away from us as she finished. "I can't allow you to take me away from here, you all must leave here immediately!" Before we could argue, she took to the air, the red alicorn flying back to Singh's base as I looked to my friends.

"What is she doing?" Velvet asked worriedly as Windsheer spoke through my combadge.

"Lil'Pip? We've noticed high energy signatures comin' from one o' the pieces o' the destroyed moon. Wait a minute..." We all gasped as he finished with shock in his voice. "It's headin' towards the surface!"

"It must be Crimson, her horn was glowing as she left!" Steelhooves said as I looked to Cassiopeia, the green alicorn giving a fearful expression as she spoke.

"She's trying to kill herself, and by bringing that asteroid down here, she'll take every bit of Singh's research with her!"

I grew fearful as I replied to the tall green mare. "We can't let her do that, she's better than this!" As I looked to Wyatt, he walked over and helped Amar to his feet, the man dusting himself off as he spoke.

"Miss Littlepip, please, go after her, I don't care what you or Crimson do to my work, but help her! She holds so much more potential than she knows!"

I nodded as my friends joined me, Admiral Stone tapping his combadge as he spoke to us. "I'll be bringing Mr. Singh back to my ship, be careful down there and try not to get hurt."

"We'll do our best." I replied as he spoke into his combadge, all of us being lifted in Trixie and Cassiopeia's magic as we flew towards the large research base.

"Stone to Chestnut, two to transport." I looked back to see the two men become surrounded by blue fields of energy, their bodies fading away as the transporter beams vanished with them.

As I turned my head to face ahead of us, I heard Andromeda speak through my combadge again, all of us looking to it as we listened to the blue mare. "As if this day couldn't get anymore exciting, we've got more trouble, everyone. A Tholian dreadnought has entered the system and is heading to our position."

"If you can't hold them off, get out of the area and make repairs. Don't worry about us!" I replied as Andromeda spoke hesitantly, her voice sounding worried at my orders.

"U-Understood, good luck down there. Lightbringer out." As the signal cut out, we all faced ahead of our flight path as Trixie turned to me. "I forgot to mention that we had two of those Tarantulas in our fleet, I sent one of them here to guard the base."

"I'm guessing that one has just come back from a patrol mission, huh?" I replied to the blue alicorn as she frowned sadly.

"It would seem so." As we looked back to face our path, we saw the entrance to the research facility, a force field sealing it as we landed. As Steelhooves trotted over to the console, he tapped it a few times before the force field fell, all of us racing inside as we tried to find Crimson Star before she could fulfill her dark desires.

[|||||]

"If my scans are correct, she's in here!" Velvet said as we stopped and turned to the right, racing to the doors on the other end of the hall as they opened.

When we entered the room, it was large, there were several consoles around the room, and in the center was a single power generator that had glowing orange rings around it. Above it all was a large, circular window, the night sky permitting the light of the stars to clash with the red and white lights inside the room. Near the generator was Crimson, who was tapping the console as she tried to deactivate the facility's power.

As we saw her, she turned to us, a disappointed expression on her face as she spoke to us. "Well, I see you choose to join me in my final moments, rather than save yourselves and leave me here to end this madness." She looked up to the window, all of us doing the same as we saw a large, burning piece of the broken moon in orbit flying slowly towards us, a faint red glow surrounding the large rock as we faced Crimson once more, her horn glowing.

"Crimson, please, don't do this." I said as I trotted up to her slowly, the red mare standing tall as she replied.

"And why shouldn't I? I'm supposed to me a creature of war, and you fight for peace. Why would you want do save me?!" I could see tears well in her eyes again as Trixie joined my side, the short alicorn frowning as she spoke to Crimson.

"Because you don't have to be what you were made to be!" Trixie's face became stern as she stared at the red alicorn, who was now shrinking a little as the former-Goddess continued. "I understand that I had you made to fight for me, but things have changed, and we don't want you to waste your chance to do good in your life!"

"How can I do good in my life?!" Crimson retaliated as she argued with the blue alicorn her tears now flowing from her eyes as she glared angrily. "I nearly killed your friends up there with that spell I pulled off, I've murdered innocent people just to make a point to our enemies, what has convinced you that I deserve better than death?!"

I trotted over to the two mares as I looked at Crimson, a guilty frown on my face as I gave my own explanation. "Well, the ponies you're looking at aren't anymore innocent."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Crimson asked in angry confusion, Trixie and I unfazed as I kept on talking.

"I murdered a whole town without trial when my friends and I were trying to save our home years ago. I thought I deserved many horrible things for my actions, but I only did it because those people had done so much worse than I could've done, they were cannibals." I said as I remembered my incident at Arbu, Trixie shaking a little at my story as I finished. "And my friends understood me, they knew I wouldn't want to slaughter innocent people like I did back there, and they were willing to follow me to the end, because we all wanted to be better than we were before."

"But-" Crimson was cut off as Trixie told the red mare of her own sins.

"And I have also done wrong in my life, I forced ponies to become my subjects during my time as the Goddess, I killed those who didn't obey and had made plans to destroy any and all who weren't willing to join us!" As the light-blue alicorn continued, I could see tears of her own welling as she looked to me. "And had it not been for Littlepip here, I wouldn't have been able to change my life for the better." Trixie then looked back to Crimson Star, both mares looking into each other's eyes as she finished. "And you deserve to have another chance too."

"But.. b-but how? What can I do to help you all if all I can do is kill?" The red alicorn asked sadly, her legs shaking slightly as I gave her my answer.

"You can save those people up there." I said as I pointed to the window above us, the orange explosions continuing as our ships fought against the Tholian vessel in orbit.

I was cut off for a moment as my combadge beeped, myself tapping it as I heard Jokeblue speak up. "Lightbringer here, we're losing ground, hull is down to 57%, the Chestnut is a burning wreck, and the Loskene's disabled! We can't take anymore hits up here, Captain!"

My friends all gasped as I grew more fearful, then shaking my head as I looked to Crimson once more. "If we don't stop that dreadnought, so many more people will die, and we will too if they get down here and take you with them." As I looked back to Crimson, I offered a hoof to her as I continued. "You can save them all, you don't need to run from yourself anymore, those colonists would want you to keep going even after your past actions, I know they would." I gave a hopeful smile before finishing. "All of us are counting on you right now, help us.... please."

Crimson seemed to smile a bit, blinking for a moment as she looked to the window above. As she stared up, her horn glowed again, the large asteroid glowing a bright red as the red alicorn began doing something.

"Uh, not to be rude, but may I ask what you're doing?" Steelhooves asked as his head tilted to the side, all of us standing still as we watched the rock slow.

"Ending this feud." Crimson said as she grunted, her horn flashing before it's magic aura went out. As we looked up, we saw the large piece of debris fly back up into the sky, having been shot up into space by Crimson, who was now sitting on her flank, sweating.

As we trotted over to help her, we heard Xenith speak up through the transmission as Velvet opened her saddlebags. "Andromeda, the moon debris is coming back into orbit, it's heading right for the Tarantula!"

My friends and I all looked with surprise as we watched the space rock fly further away, myself tapping my Pipbuck to try and activate the holoscreen for us to watch.

As the screen came up, we saw the large Tholian Tarantula turn away from the battle as it tried to evade the large moon remnant as it got closer, the vessel being too late as it was hit. As the fiery explosion cleared, we could see the burning wreck of the dreadnought as it drifted towards the remaining moon remnants, the vessel exploding as it came close to it all. As the ship exploded, I saw the rest of the moon debris glow along with the explosion as it all was slowly vaporized, the second blast leaving nothing left.

We all stared in awe at the sight, Jokeblue cheering excitedly as she spoke. "Yeehaw! The dreadnought's been obliterated, along with the rest of that moon there!" My friends and I all let out cheers of our own, celebrating Crimsons actions as the red mare sat down. As we calmed ourselves down, I turned my Pipbuck's holoscreen off as we all turned to Crimson, the mare giving a slightly sad expression while we looked at her in confusion.

"Are you alright, Crimson? You saved our friends up there." Velvet asked worriedly as Crimson looked at us, tears welling in her eyes again as she grabbed us all in her magic. We didn't have time to react as she brought us over to her, the mare embracing us tightly as she cried.

"...Thank you... T-Thank you all." Crimson sobbed as we hugged her back, Jokeblue sounding confused as she spoke through the combadge.

"Uh, Littlepip? Is everything all right down there?" I raised my Pipbuck hoof as I replied, Crimson still sobbing.

"Yes, everything's fine. It's just... can you allow us to have a moment, please? Our friend here needs it."

"No problem. Lightbringer out." As the signal cut out, we all sat with Crimson, letting the poor mare shed her tears as we embraced her. She needed to relieve herself of her pain, and having friends was the only way she could do it, especially after what had happened over the course of her time here. Fortunately, we had plans for her, plans I was sure she would love when we got back home.

Facility 4028, Beta Quadrant, 1 day later

We all stood in front of Amar Singh and his two security guards, the former in cuffs as he was about to be put back into his old cell. After sending out a distress signal, a Romulan Republic vessel came to our assistance. They took us to their nearby flotilla and had our ships placed there for repairs. The Chestnut would be in there for a bit, but she would pull through, as would the Loskene. One of the Romulan captains, Centurion N'Varran, offered to help us return Singh to his cell back at the Federation prison of Facility 4028, to which we all agreed.

As of now, we were just getting our little chat with the station's holographic warden out of the way when Amar spoke up. "Well, I must say, Admiral, you never fail to impress me. You've helped save my daughter from darkness, and you've removed the last of those traitors your Tholian friend was talking about earlier."

"Never doubt officers like us, Doctor." Admiral Stone replied as Singh gave a laugh.

"Indeed, old friend. And Admiral, Littlepip? I thank you, you've finally shown an appreciation for my work after all that back at H'atoria. I wish I could offer more, but.. I understand the laws that you both uphold."

"Where is this "daughter of yours heading to now?" The warden asked Mr. Singh as I gave my answer for them.

"She's coming with us, unlike the other genetic creations of Dr. Singh, Crimson Star wants to help others in the world, and I think she could do quite a bit of that back at Equus." I said as I looked to the mare in question, she gave a shy smile as she looked back at me, both of us then turning to face Amar before I finished. "She'll be in good hooves, Doctor."

"Good, you take care now, dear." The doctor said as Crimson nodded, Singh smiling as Admiral Stone spoke up.

"You do so as well, old friend." The dmiral said as we all turned away, but stopping as Wyatt looked back to the trio. "And Amar,"

As he said that, the doctor and his two escorts looked back to us, the admiral smiling before finishing. "I'll see if I can get Admiral Quinn to approve of some of your research for use."

The doctor smiled back as he agreed with his old friend's idea, then looking away as he and his two guards walked away, heading for Singh's old cell.

As we turned back to continue on our path, Crimson spoke up. "Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I presume we must depart now, correct?"

"Yep, the Lightbringer's beaten up a bit, but she can still fly." I smirked slightly as I looked to the red alicorn, who was facing the transporter ahead as I continued. "And about your new job, you're gonna love it."

"I'm sure I will, helping to control the sun and moon will be quite the chore, but I'm happy to help." Crimson said with a smile, myself returning the gesture before replying.

"Also, I hope you don't mind, but you'll be having a roommate at the place you'll be staying at. He'll be a bit surprised at first, but he's quite nice."

"Oh?" Crimson said with a raised eyebrow, all of us standing on the transporter pads as she asked, "Who is he?"

(_________)

As the blue fields of energy faded around us, our vision shifted to reveal a large cave. Outside the cave was a very high view of the Wasteland, several clouds floating above it as we looked around.

"UUUGGGHHH.... Who's... there?" A familiar voice said as something shifted in the darkness, all of us stepping back towards the entrance as a large purple and green dragon stood up in front of us, a look of shock on his face as he saw us.

"L-Littlepip?!" He said as he examined us all, raising an eyebrow as he saw the red alicorn in our group.

"Yeah, sorry for the abrupt entrance, we thought we could spend some time here for the celebration." I said as the large dragon sat down, his expression calming as he spoke to me.

"What celebration?" Spike asked as I pulled out a small radio, all of my friends standing with me as I replied.

"Something that hasn't happened in over two-hundred years, my friend." Spike raised an eyebrow at that, then focused on Crimson, who was standing at the entrance while I continued. "Oh, and by the way, I hope you don't mind having a roommate, but that's Crimson Star, she'll be living with you while she performs her duties."

"Duties?" Spike said as I activated the radio, lifting it in the air with my magic as my friends and I began trotting towards the entrance to the cave, Spike walking over and sitting as I spoke to him.

"Yeah, she'll be our new "Royal Sister" mare after today, you won't believe what she can do." I smiled as we all sat together, watching the night sky as I spoke into the radio. "Is everyone ready, Homage?"

"You bet, love. Just give the word." My lovely Homage replied happily as I looked to Crimson, the mare blushing with embarrassment as I encouraged her.

"Don't be afraid, you can do it." Crimson nodded and faced the sky ahead, her horn glowing as she began her efforts. As seconds passed, we looked to the horizon to see the sun rise slowly, continuing up and up until it was at about sixty degrees above the horizon.

As Crimson's horn ceased, we all stared with awe as we savored the sight of a phenomena that all of Equestria hadn't seen in over two hundred years. As I looked to my combadge, I tapped it before speaking into it. "Lightbringer, you getting this?"

"Affirmative, Littlepip." Jokeblue said as our large starship hovered down to the mountain, facing the now risen sun before I looked to Spike. I could see a tear trickle down his eye as he spoke to me.

"It's... beautiful. I wish Twilight and her friends were here to see this." I nodded in agreement as I gave a hopeful smile to our dragon friend.

"I'm sure they are, Spike." The dragon returned the smile as I lifted the radio over to me, my friends forming smiles of their own as I spoke into the small device. "Everyone, let the festivities of the Summer Sun Celebration begin!"

Several cheers and whoops sounded through the radio, all of us joining in with them as we rejoiced in the fun. As I looked to Crimson, I could see an excited smile on her face as she cheered with us. She was happy, happy about the fact that not only did she find a job she would love doing, but also that she had friends to help her every step of the way.