//-------------------------------------------------------// A New Threat -by Robert Emerald Fountain- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Flashback //-------------------------------------------------------// Flashback Twelve Years Ago... The war between the Christian Fleet and Satan had finally come to its close. The soldiers purified Satan and then brought back Eqqus. Flurry Heart became pregnant after marrying Pound Cake and then gave birth to a filly. Pound Cake had suffered a heart attack and lost his life on the same day when Flurry was due. In the following months, various incidents caused the Main Six, Luna and Celestia, and Cadence and Shining Armor to lose their lives. The Fleet left Eqqus after Flurry had been crowned the queen of the Equestrian Empire. Peace has been everlasting for so long, but it's all about to change. //-------------------------------------------------------// The Transmission //-------------------------------------------------------// The Transmission Many miles away... The soldiers in the Christian Federation, the first branch of the Christian Fleet, had recently brought their main ship, the C.S.S. Lemurian Star out of retirement. They were prepping her for an exploration of the universe when they heard a tone sound that alerted them of an incoming transmission. Captain Brandon rushed to get the message and then brought back a printout of the transmission. The message read: *PRIORITY ONE CALL FOR HELP* "This is Flurry Heart. Eqqus has been attacked by some kind of monstrous entity that is apparently worse than Satan. Emerald and Diamond were injured when their school was struck by a firestorm. If you are able to assist, that'd be great. We might have to bring back those who lost their lives, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Please hurry." Link was shocked that there existed an entity that was worse than Satan, but he quickly returned to his senses. The crew decided that it was the right thing to do if they helped neutralize the threat. They geared up, donned their weapons, boarded their ship and took off for Eqqus. //-------------------------------------------------------// The Christians Arrive //-------------------------------------------------------// The Christians Arrive At the Crystal Palace, Diamond was looking around at her mom's equipment from when she was in the Christian Fleet when she heard sirens wail loudly. Her ears were ringing when the sirens stopped, and she asked Flurry Heart what they were. "When the fleet would come to provide support for us, we designed an early warning system to tell us when they were arriving." That evening, Emerald answered a knock at the door and the top five soldiers in the Federation walked in carrying their spirit swords. Diamond was astonished when she saw the Christians and how well prepared they looked for battle. "It's great to see you again, Flurry Heart.", Brandon said. "You too, Captain Brandon." "Is this Diamond Radiance? My goodness, you have grown.", Link said quietly. "How does he know my name?", Diamond asked. Flurry pulled out a picture from when Diamond was born, and Diamond saw both Brandon and Link in the room with Flurry Heart. "You never saw what we looked like because you couldn't open your eyes. They were swollen shut and it was painful to try. You would cry out in pain if you tried to open them.", Brandon explained. "My name is Colin, I am a master of fire.", said a handsome individual with glasses. Flurry proceeded to enlighten her daughter on who the other members were in the fleet, and then met with the spirit sword wielders to set up a battle plan. Link suggested bringing back the heroes who had lost their lives and Flurry agreed with him because they were involved longer than she was. Everyone got ready and then they set off for Canterlot. //-------------------------------------------------------// The Threat is Revealed //-------------------------------------------------------// The Threat is Revealed At the school, the group spotted tracks that looked like dragon feet, but Twilight knew they were not Spike's. Emerald was now armed with a plasma rifle since Twilight had told her that she'd possibly have to help out. Diamond was ready to use the skills she had learned in her magic classes. They charged through the gates and saw that the attacker seemed to be invisible. "OPEN FIRE!!", Link yelled. The attacker began releasing minions, but the swordsmen quickly took them out. Plasma bolts flew in different directions, magic was shot, swords slashed through broken stone that had become barricades to trap the students, and fire was released in several places by the mysterious being. Eventually, they were able to begin striking the attacker. Multiple arms appeared holding different weapons, but the entire being was still unseen. The soldiers began fighting and avoiding the powerful attacks. They soon managed to ward off the attacks long enough to deal damage. Link stabbed one of the arms and then there was a massive burst of fire. When the flames were gone, they saw who the attacker was. He was a cross between two species. He had eight arms and the head of a dragon. Brandon could not believe his eyes. "Who are you?" "I am Lucifer. The most dangerous being in the entire universe." Link stated that there had been legends of this being, but it was unknown if Lucifer actually existed. Fraaz snapped his fingers and created a barrier around Lucifer and the five swordsmen. This was the battle that would prove who was more powerful. //-------------------------------------------------------// Destroying Lucifer //-------------------------------------------------------// Destroying Lucifer The soldiers began to fight Lucifer with all of their might, but he was too fast to dodge their attacks. Fraaz dropped the barrier, signaling the others to join the fight. With multiple soldiers battling, Lucifer lost the upper hand and they began dealing damage. The swordsmen eventually managed to cut off five of Lucifer's eight arms, and then Brandon drove his sword into his heart. Link stabbed through stomach, Colin pierced through the center of Lucifer's left eye, Stephen drove his sword into the lungs, and Fraaz vaulted high and drove his sword straight down into the top of Lucifer's cranium. Lucifer began writhing and screaming in agonizing pain. He screamed so loud that the swordsmen were groaning to cope with the pain and Diamond started feeling something warm running down her front legs while trying to cover her ears. When the screaming died down, Diamond saw her front hooves covered in blood, which led her to realize that her ears were bleeding. Link quickly used a bit of the remaining Genesis energy to heal her. Lucifer was not destroyed yet, but he was weakened to the point that he could be vaporized out of existence. "This is the end of you. You will not terrorize Eqqus or any other worlds again.", Celestia and Luna said in unison as they charged their horns. Beams of supercharged energy flew from the sisters' horns until they hit Lucifer square in the face between his eye sockets. He let out a bloodcurdling scream as the energy vaporized his body and destroyed his soul. After ensuring that everyone was safe, the christians set off on their voyage to explore the unknown reaches of the universe. Peace returned to Eqqus and the heroes chose to live out their lives until the very end. Diamond learned more about the fleet and its history from different ponies at different times until she knew enough to get a feel for who they were. There still came problems on Eqqus, but they were resolved easily. Flurry often found Diamond staring into the night sky, and was told that she wondered when the fleet would come again. //-------------------------------------------------------// The Threat //-------------------------------------------------------// The Threat Diamond Radiance was doing very well in school and had been passing her classes with great excellence. Flurry was proud of her daughter and her cousin, Emerald Sparkle. Twelve years ago, before she died, Flurry Heart's aunt, Twilight Sparkle, asked her to take care of Emerald. Flurry was waiting to hear about their day when they got home, but today was different. Guards knocked on the door and brought Emerald and Diamond inside. Both of them were injured badly and Diamond was shaking nervously. "WHAT HAPPENED?", Flurry asked with a shriek. "Your majesty, their school was hit by streams of fire that fell from the sky without warning. Windows were shattered, and doors were sealed shut by melted metal in the frames. We got them out alive, but Emerald is still unconscious from smoke inhalation." Flurry questioned the guard if there was anything that would help determine who was behind the attack, but the guard shook her head. 2 hours later... Emerald was finally awake and their injuries were almost healed. Flurry knew that the time was now right for Diamond to learn the truth. She told Emerald to bring Diamond to her room. When Emerald and Diamond arrived in Flurry's room, Diamond noticed that her mother was dressed as a soldier and the uniform had a symbol that looked like a gold cross in front of a yellow star. "What are you wearing, Mom?", Diamond asked Flurry Heart. "This, my precious Diamond, is my uniform from my days of fighting in the Christian Fleet.", she answered. "The what?" Flurry nodded to Emerald who spoke next. "Many years before you were born, Eqqus and many other planets were at war with a dangerous entity. This entity, called Satan, was plotting to rule the universe and spell certain doom. There was a group of soldiers from all over the universe who fought against Satan to make sure peace was kept. They called themselves the Christian Fleet. Flurry was part of this fleet, but I was not. Some of the other soldiers that were involved in our branch lost their lives after the war ended and Satan was purified. Some of them included my mother, and your Great Aunt, Twilight Sparkle, and several of her friends. With them were Flurry's parents and the original rulers of Equestria." Diamond was stunned by all of this. She never knew her mom was so brave. Flurry prepared an emergency message to the fleet and sent it out, hoping that this unknown threat could be stopped. //-------------------------------------------------------// Return of the Heroes //-------------------------------------------------------// Return of the Heroes Arriving in Canterlot, Brandon showed his ID to the palace guards and led everyone to a massive golden door studded with precious gems. An inscription etched into the largest diamond on the door read Hall of Equestria's Greatest Heroes. Opening the door, he led the way down a large staircase cut into the wall until they reached a large chamber. Inside were glass cases in a ring around the walls. Only one remained empty. Emerald saw a single case that contained someone she knew all too well. "Twelve years have passed since Mom died. Now I will get to see her smiling face again." Brandon, Colin, Link, Stephen and Fraaz drew their swords and then clanged them together. Bright light filled the room, and when it cleared, they were glowing a pure white and had sprouted wings made of energy. They said a few chosen words and then the cases flew open and the ponies inside were touched by the wave of energy that was released. When the light cleared and the soldiers had stopped shining, the ponies who had lost their lives were now standing around the room with their eyes open and hearts beating. Celestia asked what was going on, and Flurry explained the situation that was at stake. "I suggest we figure out what this thing is and destroy it.", Twilight said. "Our plan exactly, Aunt Twilight.", Flurry Heart said to her aunt. The awakened heroes equipped their fleet uniforms and joined the ones who had brought them back. They left Canterlot just as they heard about another threat that was occurring at the Friendship School.