Aftermath.

I wake up to find I'm in a crater in what looks like the middle of a dense black forest. Sluggishly getting up, I try to ignite my thrusters but find that I can barely lift off the ground.
Argh. That battle Seriously drained me. I can barely stand.
I hear a loud noise from the depths of the forest. It sounds almost like a wolf… from the inside of a woodchipper. It sounds twisted and painful.
That is definitely not a good sign.
I try to fly out but I merely faceplant into the ground.

~~Dang it. It seems like I'm going to be doing this the hard way.~~ I say, standing straight and facing towards the sound of running and demented howling. For a few seconds, the sounds get closer and closer, before suddenly stopping at the edge of the crater I'm in. I wait, listening to my surroundings, hearing nothing. It is dead quiet.

A large black dog lands on my back, trying to bite into my neck but being stopped by my armour.

~~Where the heck did you come from?!~~ I silently shout as I throw the wolf off me. It vanishes as soon as it hits the ground. Again, everything is dead quiet as I turn in a circle, checking every angle I can get attacked from. Another wolf springs from the trees to my left as the wolf from before leaps out of my own shadow.

~~Holy cow!~~ I shout as I wrestle with the two wolves. I am eventually able to get my hands on both of their chests and shove them off me and against the ground. Another wolf comes up behind me and tries to tackle me off the two of them but I blast it back with my tail, taking off one of its legs. The two on the ground disappear from my grip.

~~Oh no you don't. I'm not falling for the same trick twice.~~ I say, pointing my hands at my shadow. The two wolves leap out as I shoot the ground, avoiding my shots. ~~Shadow stepping, eh? That's going to be tricky.~~ More wolves descend into the crater. I now face more than a dozen of them. ~~Definitely tricky.~~ I then hear something big land behind me. I turn around to face what has to be the alpha of the pack.

~~Okay then. You may have the numbers, but I have the power. So come on, ya mutts! Show me what ya got!~~ I shout, challenging them to attack me as I draw my Bayard, my strength flooding back to me as I hold it. The wolves leap…

…And half of them get cut into pieces by my chainsword, the other half getting pushed back by my tail. The wolves seem surprised at me cutting through them but they don't stop. The alpha lunges at me, jaws open big enough to swallow me.

He clamps down on one of his own as I teleport behind him with my super wings, slashing his back with the sharp bladed feathers. He leaps into the shadows of the pack, emerging behind me. His claws bounce off my armour as he bites down on my wings. I shoot him in the mouth, breaking many of his teeth and making him let go. The other wolves attack me, biting and scratching to no avail. I reform my Bayard, my energy blade forming in my hand. With sword in hand, I cut through three of the wolves, shaking off the rest as the alpha goes in for a lunge. I side step him with my jets and cut him across his withers.

More of the black wolves leap at me. I cut through them with energy slashes from my sword. There now only stands a handful of wolves and the injured alpha. I form my hand blade, ready to face them, but a bright light shines from above, the wolves whimpering in pain and running into the forest. The Alpa looks back, glaring at me before bowing his head. He turns and runs off with the remainder of his pack. I look up to see a pair of flying carriages, a Magician at the front of one shining the light down on the clearing. The carriages land, princess Luna coming out the side of one.

"Diego!" She shouts. "Are you alright?"

~~Fine princess, just…~~ My exhaustion catches up with me. ~~…tired.~~ I fall face first onto the ground, out like a light.

"Diego." I hear faintly. "Diego. Wake up." I hear slightly more clearly. I try to move but my body feels heavier than a freight train.

"Diego, you're awake." I hear Celestia say.

~~Ugh. Barely. Where am I?~~ I ask, looking at the purple room.

"This is my room." Luna says.

~~Your room?~~ I ask. Looking around, I see that Luna's room matches her perfectly. It also seems to be newly cleaned.

"Yes, this is my room. The guest bedrooms are full." Luna says. "Now, are you alright, Diego?"

~~Yeah… just incredibly tired. Is everything okay?~~ I ask.

"Yes. Arcadia wasn't severely damaged and no-one died in the attack. Do you know who or what it was that attacked?" Luna answers.

~~I think so… Do you remember how I said my powers are from a fictional story?~~ I ask.

"Yes, why?" Luna answers.

~~The ship that… attacked was… piloted by the antagonists of… that story. They are called… the~~ Galra~~.~~

"The Galra? Okay. Do you know why they attacked?"

~~Not exactly but if I'm right, the Galra are a conquering race, traveling through the… galaxy, conquering any planet they find and destroying anything… that stands in their way.~~ I tiredly explain. Luna turns to her sister.

"The Galra. Diego says they are a race of conquers, taking any planet and destroying what stands in their way." Luna relays.

"So they tried to conquer Mystacor?" Celestia asks.

"Apparently." Luna answers.

"How many are there?" Celestia asks me.

~~I can't be sure. They could occupy one solar system or they could own half the galaxy. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they are very vast, if their level of technology is anything to go by.~~

"Their level of technology?" Luna enquires.

~~Yeah. If I'm right, they might be on par with me.~~ I explain. Luna gasps at that, to Celestia's confusion.

"Sister?" Celestia asks.

"…Diego says, the technology of the Galra might be on par with him. He isn't sure though." Luna answers. Celestia's eyes widen at this, shocked by the implications.

~~A little bit of good news though.~~ I say, slightly raising my hand.

"Good news? What good news?" Luna asks.

~~I think I have control over my Bayard. Not 100% sure but I was able to stay in control for most of the space fight and the whole time I was fighting those shadow wolves.~~

"Shadow- oh, you must mean the Nightmali you faced." Luna says.

"What did he say?" Celestia asks.

"He says he was in control of himself throughout most of his fight in space and the entirety of his fight against the Nightmalice pack in Shadowhowl forest." Luna answers.

"I see. Speaking of your fight in space, how did you grow so large at the end of it? You looked like you were as tall as Arcadia." Celestia asks me.

~~I'm not entirely sure how I did that. That was the time I lost control of my body. Next thing I know, I'm growing to Voltron's true size and I'm swinging a massive sword around. The memory is a little foggy. I do remember waking up in… what did you call it? Shadowhowl forest, that's it. I remember waking up there and getting found by you, princess.~~ I explain, pointing at Luna. Luna repeats what I said to her sister.

"I see. Well, now that you are in control of your Bayard, could you now show us its forms?" Celestia asks me.

~~I suppose so.~~

"He agrees." Luna says.

"Good. One final thing. Before you flew through the roof, you spoke." Celestia says, shocking me. "Your voice was very strange and garbled but everyone definitely heard you. I even asked to make sure."

~~…What did you hear me say?~~ I ask, still shocked.

"You told us to run. I believe your exact words were… "didn't you hear me, I said run". After that, you flew through the roof to confront the Galra." Luna answers. I lie there, still shocked that I was actually heard by people other than Luna.

"Are you alright?" Celestia asks.

~~Yeah. I'll be fine.~~

"Fine." Luna says.

"Good. Well, we better let you rest. You have had a stressful week. Come Luna, we have a city to address." Celestia says, walking to the door.

"Of course."

(Light years away)

"Emperor Zarkon. We have lost communications with the Black sky. All attempts to raise them have been unsuccessful and the ship isn't showing on our scans." A galran soldier reports.

"Send a reconnaissance craft to investigate. What was their last location and transmission?" The vicious voice of the Emperor orders.

"Their last known location was… outside of galran space. Their last transmission before cutoff was an automated alert level one beacon and before that, the nearby outpost received a request to investigate a "unknown energy surge" which was accepted. Roughly nine vargas later, we received the beacon alert then two doboshes later, lost contact." The soldier answers.

"Send three reconnaissance crafts and a cruiser as escort. If whatever silenced the Black sky is still out there, I want it seized and brought to the Heart." The Emperor orders.

"Vrepit sa!" The soldier responds.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Thank you, HeartfireFirebrand again for your amazing ideas as co-author.
The new name for Equis (Mystacor) comes from She-Ra: the princesses of power.