Storm Hawks : Equestria.by RoyalChaptersRaider DownOdd AcquaintanceInformation and Maps...Dude, where's my ride?Taking SidesRaider Down'Note to self: Next time DO NOT wear a female ID badge!’ I thought to myself as I dodged the incoming fire of the Cyclonian battle cruiser closing in on me. My Skimmer began to groan as I pushed my boosters to their max output, it wouldn't take long for my boosters to burn out if I kept this up. I flicked on my radio and activated a distress beacon. "Mayday mayday, this is Raider 2-3, if any Sky-Knights are in the area I need immediate assistance!" I shouted into it as another blast landed a bit too close for comfort. "This is the Absolute Zeroes, what's the situation, eh?" I gave a slight smirk. If they could reach me I'd be fine. "Absolute Zeroes, I need you to hone in on my beacon, I have been engaged by a Cyclonian battlecruiser. Need immediate assistance-" I saw flashes in the clouds ahead of me and reflexively pushed my Skimmer into a sharp dive. A volley of shots whistled over my head as another battle cruiser emerged from the clouds! “Make that TWO battle-cruisers!” I veered to the left and punched it once again. Great, now there were two. I felt a shock-wave as the blasts from their cannons zeroed in on the range. A shower of sparks blinded me momentarily as the emitter on my radio exploded, quickly followed by my port crystal booster blowing up. I was down to 50% speed with no way to contact reinforcements. I felt my skimmer shake as smoke began to spew from the engines, quickly followed by my altitude beginning to drop. My radio emitted a squeal of static as a commanding voice barked though it."This is Fleet Commander- *Static burst* of the Cyclonian Empire. This is your only chance to surrender.", I was now very angry I couldn't properly respond to the Commander. I drew my Energy Blade. If they thought their Talons could take me down without a fight, They thought wrong... "Commander, the target’s engines are crippled, shall I deploy the Talons to capture him?" The Fleet Commander smiled broadly as he watched the pilot of the damaged Skimmer draw his weapon. 'This will be entertaining' He thought as he turned to address his second in command. "No, prep the weapon for firing. I want to demonstrate its potential.", he said to his subordinate. The Talon shrank back. "But sir, that weapon is experimental. I don't think..." The Commander silenced him with a wave of his arm. "Exactly. You don't think." The soldier took a step back and saluted. "Yes sir." A large metal hulk of a cannon slowly emerge from the bowels of their ship and almost dropped my sword from the shock, I had never seen anything like this weapon. I sheathed my sword, I knew it wouldn’t help against this form of assault anyway. The darkened metal of the behemoth began to glow dark purple as its energy source ignited. Clearly this commander had no interest in capturing me. I was at fifty percent power with my missing engine and moving slower than them, so I was gonna be target practice if I stayed at this altitude. A crazy idea shot into my head, and without any consideration I acted on it. I pressed down hard on the controls sending my skimmer into a nose dive. I heard their ship emerge from the cloud cover behind me as I pulled up to avoid a collision with the wasteland below, I kept as close to the ground as I dared. I had to admit, I was hoping they wouldn't follow me into the wastes at all, but now that they had, I had to lose them. I considered swapping into my skimmer bike mode, but the ground below was just patches of broken rock amidst streams of lava. Odds were I'd hit lava before I escaped, it’s a shame I wasn’t in an area with canyons. I felt shock-waves around me as the second gunship descended from the clouds above me, keeping me from evading to the right or left by laying down a constant stream of fire on my flanks. I heard the cannon charging behind me, I glanced back, there was a dark purple light glow coming from inside barrel. I had no way out, no way to escape. I never thought I would go out like this. I thought I would have at least become a member of a Sky-Knight squadron before my time. Instead I was destined to be shot down by these Cyclonian dogs... I took a deep breath, I glanced left and right, only to see fire from their energy cannons. Below me was nothing but lava. I looked above, beyond the gunship to the sky I couldn't reach. I felt a tear come to my eye when I thought about what I’d never get to do, but this was it. This was how it ended. A blinding light engulfed me. In a desolate wasteland stood a lone figure, her eyes glistening as she gazed at the stars. "That day was going to be perfect..." She whispered to the wind, her melancholy voice echoing into the darkness. Slowly she turned, pulling her gaze away from the stars to forlornly gaze at a black spire in the distance. She flexed her wings, her body still sore from being expelled from Canterlot. Just before she was about to take off, she heard a large explosion, followed by a flare of brilliant lights in the night sky out of the corner of her eye. Turning her eyes to the starlit night, she saw an object falling from the sky, trailing crimson and smoke behind it. Taking to the air she went to investigate. Odd AcquaintanceI was still alive! I felt shaken up and I couldn't see anything, but I could feel my heart thumping and my mind raced as my eyesight slowly began to return. Very slowly, in fact. I still couldn't see for almost a minute, I also noticed that the ships weren't firing anymore...why weren’t they firing? With my skimmer in this condition I was a sitting duck. Yet there was silence... I shook my head as I began to look around, it was dark...’Wasn't it day a moment ago?’ I shook my head again and looked behind me. Nothing! I was clear, home free, nothing could stop me now... The sound of my last engine cutting out shook me out of my victory rant. "Ahh c'mon!" I shouted at my skimmer as the engines died. My ride was now pretty much a flying stone, so I was left with very few options. I naturally took the most logical choice: Bailout. "Sorry baby!" I said, patting my skimmer as I jumped clear. I quickly pulled the cord on my parachute and watched as my skimmer fell and finally crashed into the ground. "What the hell...?" I thought as I tore my eyes away from the wreckage of my skimmer, only to see a COMPLETELY different landscape to the wasteland. It was still desolate, but lacking a certain amount of lava. Not that I was complaining at the moment. *Schick* "I didn't just hear that," I whispered to myself closing my eyes as I looked up. I said a small prayer and opened my eyes. Yes, there were several tears in my chute, I guess jumping from a plane that was exploding might have damaged my chute.... The tears grew as I tried to see what I could do, but I had nothing. I had a sword and a Solaris crystal. Nothing useful. I looked down; the fall would be fatal. That was all I got to think as the chute split in two and I once again entered free-fall. I forced my eyes to stay open, if I was going out, I at least wanted to see how it was going to happen. The ground drew closer and closer as I stared helplessly, and just as I was about to impact I slammed my eyes shut. No impact. Am I dead? I didn't feel a thing...but I still feel. I cautiously opened my eyes, only to see the ground not a foot away from my face. "How the hell?..." I reached out to touch it, it was real. It was then that I noticed my arm was enveloped in some sort of green light. My gaze traveled up my arm, only to see the green was coating my entire body, like an emerald aura. I looked around, trying to find the source. ‘maybe a freak floater crystal?’ I thought, only then spotting a large black figure, hovering above me. The aura disappeared. I fell head-first onto the ground, I just lay there for a moment, stunned, before blinking and sitting up. The figure landed in front of me, though it did keep its distance. I slowly stood up, I felt tired, shaken and sick, but I was still able to stay on my feet. I stared at the creature, and I saw a pair of green eyes staring back at me. The creature appeared to be horse-like, at least in shape. Instead of skin and fur, it looked as though it had a shiny, waxy body, like the carapace of an insect. It also had more equine traits, such as a mane and tail of teal matted hair, with strange holes in its limbs. I took a step forward, only for it to drop into a defensive stance. A large black gnarled horn on it's head starting to glow green, and a pair of tattered insectoid wings sprouting from its back. I took a step back, raising my hands in a peaceful gesture. "Easy, I ain't gonna hurt ya." all the while I was thinking 'Damn this thing looks cool!'. As soon as I spoke the creature just stared at me, it looked both confused and curious. "You can speak Equestrian?" The creature said to me, causing me to very gracefully stumble backwards and fall. "You can speak Atmosian?!" The creature slowly advanced. The dark figure was now towering over me, gazing at me coolly with its forest green, oval shaped eyes. "I do not know this language, but they seem to be one in the same." It said, and I noticed that it's voice seemed to be...out of synch? It sounded like more than one person was talking at once. I slowly got up, gently resting my hand on the hilt of my sword, incredibly awkward since it was on my back. "What are you doing?" It said to me as the glow surrounding its horn dissipated, I lowered my arm. "No- Nothing. What..." I didn't quite know how to phrase this. "What are you?" It asked me, I almost laughed. "I'm a Human, and you?" She eyed me, looking surprised. "I am a Changeling." I nodded slowly, never heard of it. I gestured to its horn. "I take it that you were what saved me?" "Yes." It responded, though with a voice like that I think this 'it' is a 'she'. She smiled at me, and I noticed that she had fangs protruding from her mouth. "Thank you, but how?" I asked, it didn't look as though she had any crystals, and that glow had to have come from something. "Magic." She responded. I couldn't hold back a chuckle, only to stop as her horn lit up and several rocks floated beside me. "Whoa, that's creepy!" I said, sidestepping as one floated toward me. OK, so this creature can manipulate magic, I'm sure I could make a few rocks float with the crystals I sto- "My Skimmer!" I shouted, swiveling around and looking for the wreckage. If anything good was to come of this it would be that my crystals survived! I spotted the wreckage in the distance, the vehicle was on fire, but those storage boxes are tougher than armour plating. I started walking toward it, only to feel something tugging me back. I saw a glow encompass my hand and turned seeing a glow to match on this creatures horn. "I wouldn't recommend that." She said to me, I tugged my hand and the glow vanished. "And why is that?" I asked her, she merely pointed back to the crash "Because of those." I turned around, and noticed several gold looking figures landing around the fires light. "What are they?" I asked her, unable to make out their exact figures in the distance. "The Royal guard, the lackeys of the Tyrant Celestia." She said to me in a bitter voice, that didn't sound good. "Royal guard? As in soldiers?" I replied to her as I spotted more of them and by the wreckage. "Yes." "Any thoughts on how to..." I said, only to notice I was talking to myself. I turned around, spotting the creature walking away. "Hold up!" I called to her as I quickly got caught up with her, she didn't stop. "Where're ya going?" She glanced back at me, giving me stern look. "I have to get back to my kind." She said, before turning and trotting on. "Well excuse me, princess." "Queen actually." "Haha, yeah, your a Queen and I'm a Sky-Knight." I said sarcastically as I caught up with her. "You really are an ignorant little foal, aren't you?" She asked me, giving me a rather impressive glare. I thought about what she said for a moment. "Well, I have been called a fool before." I responded giving a small laugh. "So uhh, we're just gonna leave behind my gear I guess?" I asked her, this time she laughed. "You know I nearly died for that stuff." She full on turned to face me, a smirk on her face. "Well you are welcome to die trying to get it from them." She said sarcastically. I fell quite. She wins this round. "So...what Terra is this? I couldn't see the border from the air." I said as I followed behind her. She gave me a side-ways glance. "This is the wastes, I do not know what a 'Terra' is." She stated flatly. That wasn't good. "Right...hey wait a second, did you tell me your name? Cause if ya did, it's gone right over my head." She chuckled to herself as she began to pick up speed. "My name is Chrysalis, and what is yours?" "I'm called Raider, great to meet you." She whispered something under her breath which I didn't hear, but didn't bother pursuing. "So where are we going?" "My home." Chrysalis examined the creature she had just let fall to the ground, it appeared to be wearing tattered clothing, with random pieces of metal plating weaved into it. Physically, it appeared to be some sort of ape like creature, although it lacked their more primal traits. It only appeared to have hair on its head, a thick, spiked up tuft of dark green hair, that despite just being dropped on, retained its shape. The creature sat up and opened its eyes, blinking at her momentarily before warily getting to its feet. The creature stepped toward her and she dropped into a defensive stance as she noticed the hilt of a sword on its back. It was then that it did something she didn't expect. It spoke. This was interesting, it could talk, so it must be intelligent. No? She got her answer when she responded. This creature was not intelligent, far from it. It did however appear to be confused, and in a new location. These were things she could use to her advantage, it only took her a moment to fabricate an illusion about the Royal guard, and this creature was none the wiser. Stupid and trusting, yet it appeared to have weapons and technology. This would be a creature she could use. Information and Maps...It wasn't long before we reached Chrysalis' home. Of course it would have taken a lot less time if she’d been willing to carry me, but she outright refused to let me get on her back and I couldn't stand being moved telekinetically. So we walked, which was handy because it gave her time to fill me in on those Royal Guard guys. Apparently, they are the soldiers of a nation known as Equestria, which is ruled by, and I'm not joking, ponies. According to her, there is a Royal family, though only three are important. Celestia, a tyrant who oversees the country officially, the Royal Guard are hers. Her sister Luna, who is apparently quite secluded, though she is apparently quite frightening. As for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, she didn't say much about what she does other than having a separate empire, but she seemed to despise her. "So...this is your...home?" I said, not really believing it until I saw the large looming tower before me. "Yes, it is the Black Spire. This is where I and my subjects survive in the wasteland." She said solemnly as we approached the base of the tower. I'm going to be honest, this tower reminded me of Terra Cyclonia. It consisted of one giant tower supported by arches and spikes, the latter of which appeared to be growing from it. On that basis alone I was intimidated by it, but having a large amount of these Changeling creatures wandering about it made it a LOT more creepy. Though they didn't appear to be in great shape. "What happened to them?" I asked Chrysalis as she lead me through a large gate at the base of the tower. I assumed this was the main entrance, but they all had wings. "We were attacked not long ago, none of us were killed, but many were injured." Chrysalis replied, her tone had quickly become tired and sad as soon as she spoke. "Why were you attacked?" I questioned her, as I trailed behind her, taking in the inner design of the tower. It looked like some sort of a beehive on the inside with multiple floors of hexagonal rooms with a large set of intertwining staircases in the center branching off onto each floor. This design hurt my mind... Chrysalis stopped suddenly, before rounding on me a vicious look on her face. "THEY ATTACKED US FOR EXISTING!" I took an involuntary step back. That was scary, not only for me I noted, all of the Changelings in the hall stopped moving too. Chrysalis looked around before sheepishly turning and walking toward the staircase in the center of the room. I slowly followed while remaining silent. "I'm afraid I can only offer you a place to stay at the Spires peak, the lower rooms are being used to house the wounded, and those who can no longer fly." I didn't answer as I noticed that the rooms we were passing as we ascended did in fact hold injured. Hundreds of them. This place needed help bad. I was so wrapped up in thought, I didn't keep track of where I was going until I walked, embarrassingly enough, into a wall. Chrysalis gave me a 'Are you SERIOUS?!' look, before pointing a hoof at a hole in the wall. "This is where you can stay while in my company, we shall talk later, but for now, rest." She said to me, and I felt no urge to disagree. Which is completely out of character for me, but it seemed like such a good offer. I slowly walked past her into a dark cave-like room that was very dimly lit by several small green crystals in the ceiling. "Oh, I almost forgot. Welcome to the Spire." She said before walking away. I was going to say something, but I figured it wouldn't be worth getting my host mad at me. So I instead began a more thorough inspection of my room. From what I could see, I missed nothing that I didn't see at my first glance, except some sort of a web-like contraption on the wall. Naturally I approached it. I mean if it's in the room I could use it, right? I inspected it, noting that it seemed to be seeping out of the wall at two places. I cautiously touched it, it felt like silk, really soft a smooth. I gently tugged on it, noticing that it slid out from the wall. An idea came to mind, it seemed highly unusual but... I tugged it again, and soon enough it was long enough to be stretched from one section to another. I pressed it firmly against the wall and it stuck to it, hell if I know what this stuff was, but it seemed to be acting how I wanted. I took a step back and glanced over my handy work. I had constructed a very crude hammock. I felt proud. I climbed on. It didn't allow anymore of the silky stuff to slide out, holding me in place. That was convenient. I lay back into it, thinking about what had happened today. I closed my eyes while I thought, I'd need the rest. I didn't sleep after she left. It wasn't because I wasn't tired, I was wrecked, my body ached, my mind was weary and I felt rather sick now that my adrenaline rushes had worn off. I didn't sleep because of what she had said, everything she had brought up was against everything Sky-Knights stood for, now granted I'm no Sky-Knight, but I still like to consider myself a good person. I got off of the web like hammock which was what I assumed was the bed and headed for the entrance of my room. Outside the hive seemed...dead. Nothing else could describe it, there was no movement, no sounds aside from a faint humming I heard coming in, the only light in here was filtered through a large crystal in the ceiling and a few more of those sickly green crystals, exactly like the ones in my room. I started to wander the floor I was on, it was actually huge, I'd say almost five hundred meters across, and as I looked over the edge I'd guess there were about fifty floors altogether. It's a good thing I like heights. I slowly walked to each room on the floor I was on, I noticed that there was a lack of anything other than odd red-glowing orbs of...something on this floor, they looked interesting, though I didn't risk touching them. You know what they say about curiosity... I mean, I don't, but I'm sure you do. As I walked by the chamber the orbs suddenly grew much brighter, now one part of my mind said 'Don't do it.' but the other part said 'So shiny...' so I naturally began to walk towards it. I was less than a foot away from one of the orbs when they began to pulse, it was so amaz- "Don't touch those!" I heard call out behind me, I tore my gaze away from the orbs only to see one of the smaller Changelings we passed by earlier standing at the entrance. It didn't appear to be pleased with me. I stepped away from the orbs. "What are they?" I said to it, pointing at the bright pulsating orb before me. "They are what we use for sustenance, and they are not to be played with." It replied to me- You know what, he has a male voice, it's deep it's commanding, I'm assuming this is a he. He replied to me. "Stop that!" I heard him say again, only to notice I was leaning into the orb again, it just looked so tantalizing... I took a step back and took a deep breathe. Their home, their rules. "So, why can't I touch it?" I said as I walked toward the Changeling, his face seemed completely neutral. "It is not my place to tell you why, just don't." He said to me. "That's not an answer." "Because I said so." "What are you, my mother?" I said to him as we both walked out of the cave. For a brief moment, he seemed to be consumed in a green fire, and I have to admit I leaped back as a slim figure of a mature woman appeared. It was my mother. "Yes." She said in a stern voice before shifting back into a Changeling. "Wha- I- Whe- Wut?" Was all I manage to sputter out as he began to chuckle deeply at me. "How did you do that?!?!" I nearly shouted at him, this was met with him doubling over on himself...how rude. When he finally calmed down enough to speak he regarded me. "I used a simple spell, you thought of her, I simply projected her image upon myself from your memories." He smirked at me. "We are called 'Changelings' for a reason." I laughed a little myself, it was so obvious before pulling a completely serious expression and tone. "Dude, that's creepy." I said to him, we both laughed a little at that. "So, what's your name?" I said to the changeling beside me, noting he had a slight difference to the others from before, there were small red veins traveling through his insectoid wings. "My name is Carapace, and my Queen has already informed me that you are Raider." I blinked. "What do you mean?" "The Queen decided it would be best to have someone escort you around, the Spire is not the safest place for those unaccustomed to it." I nodded slowly, think 'That seemed fair enough.'. "So...you can show me around?" I asked in a quizzical tone, feeling like a child. He smiled at me. "Yes, though some areas are off limits." I cocked an eye at him. "And why's that?" "Because we have smaller frames than you and you would die trying to get through them." That seemed reasonable. "You win this round." Carapace smiled at me. "So, what do you wish to see?" "Oh yeah, cause I know whats around so well." I said in a sarcastic tone, before returning to normal. "You decide, just keep it interesting." His smile broadened. "Very well..." I stood there with a smirk on my face, Carapace had me down to a tee, bringing me straight to their archival room. Only down side is it was at the bottom of the spire, and when I say the bottom I mean the bottom, I had to follow him down tunnels for over thirty minutes and I'd have no idea how to get back up without him. But it was totally worth it, this room was full of scrolls, apparently on spells, history books, novels, and the main prize, maps. Carapace had no issue with giving me the maps, I however had some issues believing what I was seeing. According to the maps, most of which were of Equestria and it's surrounding areas, there was no end of to the land until you hit the sea. So this place really wasn't a Terra, and I really wasn't in the Atmos anymore. Not good....not good at all "What the hell could they have hit me with...?" I mused allowed as I sat back on a bench like protrusion of rocks. "If it was a warp crystal I'd still be in the Atmos...Somewhere, but I'd still be there." I inspected the maps again. I couldn't get anything else from the maps, and I couldn't figure out what they had hit me with for me to end up in this...dimension? Reality? Heck, I had no clue, I just knew I wasn't home. I noticed those green crystals in the ceiling again, and since Carapace was here with me I might actually be able to figure out what type they were. "Hey Carapace?" "Yes, are you ready to leave?" He asked eyeing me with those big blue orbs I assumed were eyes. "No, not yet. But I was wondering, what are those?" I said gesturing to the crystals. "I don't recognise them." He turned and stared at the crystals. "I do not know, I never noticed them until now." I laughed at him. "You missed the green glowing things in the ceiling?" "They weren't glowing earlier." He stated flatly. I thought about that, nothing in this place actually appeared to be running off of crystals as a power source, but I'd still find it hard to believe they just started glowing when I showed up. I made a mental note to ask Chrysalis about it, before deciding I wasn't getting anything down here. "OK, so, what do you guys eat?" I said rising from my seat. Carapace's face took on a confused expression as he considered the question. "You could not consume what my kind uses for sustenance, so the better question is what can you eat." "Fish, meat, vegetables, fruits...basically anything you got." Carapace smiled broadly at me. "We shall see..." It didn't take long for us to make our way to a mess hall type area. I didn't really know how to describe anything in this place, it was all so...alien. Carapace started offering me different selections of foods, most of which I'm pretty sure not even a Wallop could consume. Thankfully, after going through the "Hay" section of the menu, we arrived at fruit, and thank the heavens they had something I could eat. I had never been so happy to see an apple before in my life. He sat beside me on the bench where I was munching on said apple, and I felt now would be a good a time as any to find out some things about this land. "Hey Carapace?" "You need something else?" I gave out a small chuckle before responding. "Well, if you count information, then yeah." I thought for a moment before deciding on a subject. "What can you tell me about magic, I mean is it inherent to all of you, or just Chrysalis?" "You did see me transform earlier, did you not?" He said dryly. "No, no, I mean the levitation and stuff, can you all do that?" "Yes." "What else can you do?" He chuckled. "Cast energy bolts." I smiled. "Now that, sounds awesome, I can do something similar with my sword...with the right crystal that is." I noticed he cocked his head at me. "Your sword has magic?" I laughed. "Not quite, but depending on its power source it can do a lot of different things." "Fascinating." We were both silent for a few minutes after that, and I was unsure as to what could be done next. "So, what now?" I asked him. "You can return to sleep, if you wish." I could genuinely feel my body aching by this point, it was a sound suggestion. "Yeah, I guess that would be the right idea." I got up from the table we were at and started trailing behind Carapace, unsure how to feel about my current situation. Maybe things would be clearer in the morning... Chrysalis had been thinking more and more about the creature since its arrival, and was growing ever more anxious while she awaited her child to inform her about what it had learned. She could have simply used telepathy to keep in contact with him, but that may have distracted him from the task at hoof, a strenuous connection telepathy creates. She heard the doors to her chamber open, and only one of her children was granted permission to interrupt her. "Carapace, you return." "Yes, my Queen." Carapace responded, bowing low despite Chrysalis not even facing him. "Tell me everything." Chrysalis turned slowly as she spoke, the information provided could prove invaluable. "Yes, my Queen..." Dude, where's my ride?I slowly came back to my senses, which wasn't good. It meant I was waking up, and I was having such a good dream... I was a Sky-Knight, I had my own squad, I had everything. Oh well, time to greet the day. I opened my eyes. "Morning." "What the heck!" I shouted as I leapt from the hammock, only to see Carapace staring at me with a confused face. "What's wrong?" "Ever heard of personal space...wait were you standing there all night?!" He slowly nodded his head. "Dude, that's like the definition of creepy." "I was not aware." He said with a coy smile. I brushed my hand against the hilt of my sword and drummed my fingers against it. "Do it again, and we're gonna have a problem." I cracked a smile at his even further confusion. "Just kidding mate, just don't do it again please." He laughed. "Deal." I was going to say something, but I noticed Carapace seemed to have seized up. "Hey Carapace...you all right?" He shook himself, snapping back to attention. "Yes, sorry about that. Now, Chrysalis would like to see you, if that's not an issue that is." "Sure, I've always got time for the gal who saved my life." I said with smile, I needed to have a chat with her anyway. He frowned. "Don't call Chrysalis 'gal'." His response was purely serious. "That a threat?" "More of a statement." I nodded. "OK, lead on." He turned and I started to follow him. I followed Carapace intent on asking him what Chrysalis wanted exactly, but I had enough trouble keeping up with my airborne friend as it was. It didn't take us long to arrive at the very top of the spire emerging onto the...spire of the spire, so to speak. I noticed that when I looked down, I was standing on the huge green crystal that I noticed the day before, it seemed brighter now. I looked around and spotted Chrysalis sitting at the far end of the crystal, perched at the edge of it. "Any words of advice?" I didn't hear any response. "Carapace?" I looked around, not seeing any trace of my red winged bud, thanks mate. I started toward Chrysalis and sat down beside her, dangling my legs over the edge of the tower and turning to face my saviour. "What do you see?" Chrysalis asked me as I noticed her gaze staring far into the distance, covering both the wastelands of her home and the fertile lands of the Equestrian dictators. "Depends, I see the wastes, but I'm guessing you see something different?" I replied, she glanced sideways at me. "I see my land, and I see my kind, and what we have been forced to endure at the hooves of our enemies." Chrysalis seemed to be very forlorn during her little speech. "OK, so why am I here?" She cocked her head at me, looking slightly confused. "I do not know what could have sent you to this land, but I would like to help you return home if you desire it." I chuckled. "Actually, I meant why am I here, you know, on top of this tower?" She giggled at me, considering what I knew of her, that must have been rare. "Apologies, I just assumed." "I get it, I would like to get home though, if you know anyway that is." She frowned slowly shaking her head, it was clear that she did not hold the solution to my predicament. "So, anyways, why are we sitting up here?" She turned to face me. staring dead in the eye. "Carapace has informed me that you have magic." This statement lead me to my first confused look of the day, why did he think I had...oh. "Hehe, I think he heard that wrong, I don't have magic, my swords crystal has magic." I said as I drew the blade, she tensed for a moment and I began to sheath the blade. "I can show you, if that's OK with you that is." She nodded and I slid my blade from its sheath, before gripping the handle and igniting the crystals power, coating the blade in a vibrant blue light, like blue fire. I glanced at Chrysalis and noted she wasn't even looking at the sword, she was looking behind us, at the crystal we were sitting upon. "Hey Chrysalis, you OK?" "You were telling the truth, weren't you?" "About?" "You can manipulate crystals, can't you?" "Well, yeah, anyone can." "So you did this?" She said whilst pointing a hoof at the large crystal...which was now glowing. I got to my feet, walking onto the crystal, noting that it was getting brighter for some reason. "I...I've never seen something like this before, was it glowing earlier?" "Only when you entered the tower, and only faintly, nothing like this." As she spoke the crystal began to glow more brightly, feeling an odd urge I leaned down, brushing my hand along its smooth surface, and creating a small pulse as I came in contact with it. The dull crystal was now a vibrant emerald like color. I turned back to Chrysalis, her eyes wandering over me curiously, I was curious too...I'd never seen a crystal react like that before. "I-I gotta go, I me- I need to get my... my bike." I said as I quickly began to sprint from the scene, their was something in Chrysalis' eyes that made me uncomfortable, I guess she thought I was a freak or something. it didn't take long for me to get outside of the tower, it wasn't until then that I stopped to breath... how did I do that? Did I do that? I glanced back to the tower, I probably wasn't welcome there anymore. I turned from it, back towards when I entered this realm, and where my few belongings awaited. Chrysalis did not understand why Raider had fled, clearly he had an incredible power at his command, yet did not seem to want it. She needed to test him however, if any of her plans were to commence, she needed to have an idea of what this creature could do. 'Carapace?' She sent out a telepathic wave, it was time for its test. 'Yes my Queen.' 'Follow him, and ensure he returns.' 'Yes my Queen.' 'Also, are the volunteers prepared?' 'Yes my Queen, the preparations have been made, and the chosen are ready.' Chrysalis smiled. It was time for a test. It didn't take me long to get back to where I first met Chrysalis, in the light it was easy to make out where my skimmer had crashed in the distance. Only thing that was bothering me about the wreckage was this: No guards. The day before they were swarming all over the bike, but I could clearly see from here that it was abandoned now. Guess alien technology isn't big on their priorities list? I very cautiously made my way toward the crash site, I may not see anything, but they had magic as well, or at least that's what I'd gathered. I stopped when I reached my ride and looked around. I think a minute passed before I moved, and it was only then I realised that I had been gripping the hilt of my sword. "You OK?" I instantly ripped my sword from its place on my back and dropped into a defensive crouch, searching for the source of the voice. It was only when I spotted Carapace floating in the air above me that I relaxed, holstering my sword and standing up straight. "You have gotta stop coming outta no where man, it's gonna get you hurt one of these days." "Hehe, I'm am unaccustomed to ways outside of the hive." He said with a smirk on his face, I just rolled my eyes and turned back to my skimmer, it was surprisingly mostly intact. The left side engine was gone, just gone, thankfully the right just seemed to have lost power, as easy fix. The over all frame had some bits and pieces missing, but nothing that couldn't be patched. Two major, MAJOR plus sides were that the wheels and wings were fine, those would have been a serious pain without the correct tools. "Is your flying machine working?" I heard Carapace ask from behind me along with the sound of his hooves hitting the ground. "Ahh, no, but it's fixable... think you could lift it?" I said turning to him, he looked confused for a moment before he realised what I was asking. "I could try." He offered simply, I nodded as I watched his horn become encompassed in a bright green glow, quickly followed by my ride. For a few moments it appeared to be working, everything lifted aaaaand then fell back to the ground. "My apologies, it is to heavy for me alone." I walked up and patted him on the back. "It's the thought that counts." We both laughed a little at that. It was when we both sat down together, my eyes idly wandering over my ride that I remembered the crates that I had stolen from the Cyclonians were sticking out of the ground a few feet away. They really did make those crates strong. I got up and attempted to pull free the first box, unsuccessfully until Carapace added his magic to my struggle, resulting in me falling flat on my back when it did finally pop loose. I groaned as I got back to my feet, and noticed Carapace was staring into the now open box. "Let me guess, it's something shiny?" I muttered as I went over to join him, only to be taken aback by the boxes contents. It was both books and crystals, both marked. Delivery shipment for Master Cyclonis If I was in Atmosia at the moment I'd winging it to the nearest Sky-Knight squadron, probably the, but now... I didn't know what to do with them. I lifted a book out of it, which was burned and badly damaged, but still legible I hoped. I opened the first page and was pretty stunned by what I saw. 'Pipers Crystal Guide' If I was right in assuming, this belonged to Piper of the Storm Hawks. Which meant that I had a crystal guide. This was a find that would be useful till the day I die. I flicked through it, fortunately it was neatly laid out with a table of contents and all, I laughed as I slipped it into my back pocket. "It's just some gems and books, why are you so happy?" Carapace said to me in a baffled tone. "Cause this stuff explains how to make gems work, even lesser known ones." He nodded slowly, but I doubt he really understood, but hell, he might soon enough. "Think you could lift out the other one, so I don't end up with a broken back today?" He wasted no time in wrenching this one from the ground, before placing it down in front of me, I thanked him before gently lifting the lid of the container and placing it to the side. Inside there was a large assortment of crystals, ranging from Solaris, to Floaters, Phoenix to Blizzard. I also think when I saw them I made a very unusual noise. "Carapace. I think I just hit the mother load." He glanced into the box, before pulling back. "They are very...shiny?" "Yep, shiny." I said reaching for the Phoenix Crystal. "And-" I was cut off by the sound of what could only have been an explosion in the distance. Back towards the Spire. Carapace instantly took to the sky, before slamming down next to me. "We have to get back! The Spire is being assaulted!" I nodded reaching into the box and pulling out another crystal. "Alright, think you can lift me?" Before I had even finished the green glow of his magic had ensnared me, lifting me into the air trailing behind him and I have to admit, without a chute, ride, or glider holding me up I was really damn scared... Taking SidesIt didn't take long for Carapace and I to arrive back at the tower, Carapace dropped me just at the outskirts of the tower, quickly moving to assist several of his comrades. I drew my sword, glancing around to gauge how I could help the situation. There appeared to be just over twenty attackers, all of which were either pegasi or unicorns. I made a dash for the nearest unicorn, who magically drew a sword of his own. I ignited my blade as we clashed, clearly startling my opponent and shattering his blade. I used the opportunity to smash the pony over the head with my swords hilt, helmet or not he dropped to the ground unconscious. I then noticed something at the peripheral of my vision, causing me to pivot around and raise my sword defensively. Unfortunately this didn't stop the large ball of energy smashing me in the chest and staggering me. I saw my opponent, he was roughly thirty feet away and his horn was glowing brightly. I dived to the side, narrowly avoiding another blast of energy while I pulled out one of my newly acquired gems and focusing on it while I aimed at him. I was very pleased by the results, when a large torrent of wind burst from the stone and created a miniature twister sending the pony flying. It was then that I noticed two things: The green stone I was currently clutching was a Windstone and the entrances to the tower being blocked off by magic. Before I could come up with a plan of action a changeling slammed into the ground beside me, making me look to the sky. The ponies were dominating it, and I could see why, the Royal Guard had armour and all appeared to be in good shape, the changelings were battered and barely holding it together. I checked the changeling before me, he was unconscious, but alive. There wasn't much I could do for him, so I returned my attention to the battle, deciding that the only way I was going to affect this battle was to take a better position. I made my way to the base of the tower, using it's rugged and spiked appearance to my advantage as I started to climb it. Nothing harassed me as I climbed, the changelings were doing a valiant job at holding them at bay, and I couldn't help but wonder why there were so few defending. It didn't matter at the moment though, what did matter was helping my new allies. I finally got to a wide ledge, leading into tunnels behind, which didn't matter because of a magical barrier, but it did give me some space to maneuver. I took this time to slot in the Phoenix Crystal from earlier, putting the blue striker crystal in my back pocket. The change my blade went through cause me to grin, the blue light that had been fueling it died down, replaced by a white and orange flame. I had never used a Phoenix crystal before, but I knew they were similar to the firebolt crystal that the Cyclonians used. With that in mind I lined up the blade with the closest pegasus, and brought it across in an arc. This had two affects, the first was it sent a large plume of fire at the pegasus, causing him to veer off and slam into the ground in an attempt to put hit tail and feathers out, the second was that it knocked me flat on my back. This position seemed to be becoming the staple of my existence. I got back to my feet and tried again, and I can tell you those guy sure knew how to dodge. It wasn't until they started firing back that I noticed they had reinforcements, this time they had unicorns hitch to the pegasi by some sort of a cart. This is a weird day. The battle just went from bad to worse then, the magic of the unicorns appeared to be superior and the pegasi were able to out manoeuvre them. I'm guessing one of the pegasi got tired of me harassing them as he dive bombed me, knocking me from my perch on the tower and back to the ground. Fortunately I was intercepted mid-fall by something, and I wondered how many times can one cheat death in a week? I and my rescuer both slammed into the ground, not so easy to pull out of a dive with the extra weight I guess, but we quickly recovered and I glanced over to him. It was Carapace, of course it was him. We exchanged glances before the pegasi tackled him and I narrowly avoided a bolt of magic, I dived to the side, taking cover behind a small outcrop of rocks before returning the favour with the Phoenix crystal. Unfortunately for me another unicorn had put up some sort of shield around his companion, I doubt he felt more than a warm breeze as the blaze engulfed him. "Lets see how much that can take!" I shouted, before leaping over my cover and charging the shielded unicorn. This is where his shield backfired, he couldn't use magic inside it, which allowed me to close the distance and slam my blade down on his shield. *CRACK* Was all I heard before a scream came from behind me, the unicorn powering the shield couldn't take the strain, resulting in it shattering. Along with the tip of his horn. The scene however distracted me from my original target. Resulting in him having charged up a spell, I couldn't dodge, or get close enough to him in time to stop it. I braced myself when I felt something slam into me...from the side. I was knocked to the ground. I felt the wave of energy behind me. There wasn't a sound, apart from a sickening crunch. I recovered and turned, only to see Carapace lying behind me, chest caved in. I don't know what it was, but something clicked with me then, I pulled the Phoenix crystal from my blade and pulled out the Windstone. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't feel anything. Both gems began to glow brightly in my palms and I held them together I took aim at the unicorn, who was once again charging a spell and unleashed the power of both crystals. The sight must have been terrifying, a large twister of flames sprouted from my hands. The unicorn however managed to teleport, there wasn't time for that now though. I took aim at the pegasi who were dominating the sky, sending up the twister to meet them. It didn't take long after that, none of them were consumed by the flames, but all of them were screaming or calling a retreat. Once the last of their stragglers had fled I dropped the gems, the hand that I had held the Phoenix crystal in was badly burned, I could see it, but I couldn't feel anything still. I went back to where Carapace lay, to where my stupidity had left him. I crouched down beside him, I could hear his breathing, it was ragged and labored, but he was still alive. I inspected the wound, his carapace had been crushed by the force of the blast, and I didn't know how I could fix it. "Hold on, you'll be fine." I whispered to him as other changelings began to gather around me. At the front of them was Chrysalis, I don't know when she joined in the fight, but she was here now. "Chrysalis! Heal him!" I practically shouted at her, she appeared crestfallen, and I knew she couldn't. "He's gone too far Raider, the wound is too great." I heard her say, though I hadn't given up yet. If there's a will, there's a way. If their magic couldn't help him, maybe crystal magic could. I reached into my back pocket, wrenching out Pipers journal. I flicked it rapidly, before arriving on anything useful. "The Nil crystal, very few know what this dull little crystal is capable of, but if used correctly, it can fix anything." I read allowed as I looked at the picture beside it. I had seen it before, only bigger. Much bigger. My eyes flew to the top of the tower. "Chrysalis, get us up there! NOW!" I shouted, pointing at the top f the tower. She didn't say anything, I did feel her magic engulf us though. I could see her holding his wound closed with the magic as we ascended, bolstered by several other changelings. We reached the top quickly, but I had no idea how or if this magic would even work. Chrysalis dropped me onto the crystal, gently placing Carapace down beside me. He was convulsing now, and I had no idea how he was actually still alive. "Hold him steady." I ordered, as I bent down placing both hands on the giant crystal before me. I felt energy when I touched it, I could feel it affecting me, a soothing sensation over took my hand as its burns closed. It wasn't affecting Carapace though and I couldn't understand why. "Come on, come on!" I shouted at the gem as it continued to fix me but not him. I couldn't think of anything else to do as I returned my gaze to the crystal in an attempt to invoke its power. Nothing. "Raider..." I heard beside me, I looked up at Chrysalis, who's magic was no longer in use. Carapace had gone still. "No no no no no..." I began to mutter, growing in volume until it was a shout. I went over and grabbed him shaking him by the shoulders. "Wake up man, wake up!" I could feel my voice crack and my vision became hazed by tears. "You don't get to go yet. Not yet." I whispered to him as I collapsed to my knees, staring at the ground, one hand on him, the other supporting myself. I felt something then, from Carapace, just a twitch, I looked back to him only to see a bright green glow coming from my hand, I was confused, I thought Chrysalis may have been moving me back. Until I felt it again, a small twitch, I looked to Chrysalis, she was looking away, her horn clearly not in use. I returned my attention to my hand, then down to my other. It was glowing also, and so was the crystal it was touching. I felt him move again, I saw his wound beginning to seal. I focused on nothing else, just Carapace, the crystal and myself. We were connected, all of us. I saw a bright flash of light. Then... Darkness...
Raider Down'Note to self: Next time DO NOT wear a female ID badge!’ I thought to myself as I dodged the incoming fire of the Cyclonian battle cruiser closing in on me. My Skimmer began to groan as I pushed my boosters to their max output, it wouldn't take long for my boosters to burn out if I kept this up. I flicked on my radio and activated a distress beacon. "Mayday mayday, this is Raider 2-3, if any Sky-Knights are in the area I need immediate assistance!" I shouted into it as another blast landed a bit too close for comfort. "This is the Absolute Zeroes, what's the situation, eh?" I gave a slight smirk. If they could reach me I'd be fine. "Absolute Zeroes, I need you to hone in on my beacon, I have been engaged by a Cyclonian battlecruiser. Need immediate assistance-" I saw flashes in the clouds ahead of me and reflexively pushed my Skimmer into a sharp dive. A volley of shots whistled over my head as another battle cruiser emerged from the clouds! “Make that TWO battle-cruisers!” I veered to the left and punched it once again. Great, now there were two. I felt a shock-wave as the blasts from their cannons zeroed in on the range. A shower of sparks blinded me momentarily as the emitter on my radio exploded, quickly followed by my port crystal booster blowing up. I was down to 50% speed with no way to contact reinforcements. I felt my skimmer shake as smoke began to spew from the engines, quickly followed by my altitude beginning to drop. My radio emitted a squeal of static as a commanding voice barked though it."This is Fleet Commander- *Static burst* of the Cyclonian Empire. This is your only chance to surrender.", I was now very angry I couldn't properly respond to the Commander. I drew my Energy Blade. If they thought their Talons could take me down without a fight, They thought wrong... "Commander, the target’s engines are crippled, shall I deploy the Talons to capture him?" The Fleet Commander smiled broadly as he watched the pilot of the damaged Skimmer draw his weapon. 'This will be entertaining' He thought as he turned to address his second in command. "No, prep the weapon for firing. I want to demonstrate its potential.", he said to his subordinate. The Talon shrank back. "But sir, that weapon is experimental. I don't think..." The Commander silenced him with a wave of his arm. "Exactly. You don't think." The soldier took a step back and saluted. "Yes sir." A large metal hulk of a cannon slowly emerge from the bowels of their ship and almost dropped my sword from the shock, I had never seen anything like this weapon. I sheathed my sword, I knew it wouldn’t help against this form of assault anyway. The darkened metal of the behemoth began to glow dark purple as its energy source ignited. Clearly this commander had no interest in capturing me. I was at fifty percent power with my missing engine and moving slower than them, so I was gonna be target practice if I stayed at this altitude. A crazy idea shot into my head, and without any consideration I acted on it. I pressed down hard on the controls sending my skimmer into a nose dive. I heard their ship emerge from the cloud cover behind me as I pulled up to avoid a collision with the wasteland below, I kept as close to the ground as I dared. I had to admit, I was hoping they wouldn't follow me into the wastes at all, but now that they had, I had to lose them. I considered swapping into my skimmer bike mode, but the ground below was just patches of broken rock amidst streams of lava. Odds were I'd hit lava before I escaped, it’s a shame I wasn’t in an area with canyons. I felt shock-waves around me as the second gunship descended from the clouds above me, keeping me from evading to the right or left by laying down a constant stream of fire on my flanks. I heard the cannon charging behind me, I glanced back, there was a dark purple light glow coming from inside barrel. I had no way out, no way to escape. I never thought I would go out like this. I thought I would have at least become a member of a Sky-Knight squadron before my time. Instead I was destined to be shot down by these Cyclonian dogs... I took a deep breath, I glanced left and right, only to see fire from their energy cannons. Below me was nothing but lava. I looked above, beyond the gunship to the sky I couldn't reach. I felt a tear come to my eye when I thought about what I’d never get to do, but this was it. This was how it ended. A blinding light engulfed me. In a desolate wasteland stood a lone figure, her eyes glistening as she gazed at the stars. "That day was going to be perfect..." She whispered to the wind, her melancholy voice echoing into the darkness. Slowly she turned, pulling her gaze away from the stars to forlornly gaze at a black spire in the distance. She flexed her wings, her body still sore from being expelled from Canterlot. Just before she was about to take off, she heard a large explosion, followed by a flare of brilliant lights in the night sky out of the corner of her eye. Turning her eyes to the starlit night, she saw an object falling from the sky, trailing crimson and smoke behind it. Taking to the air she went to investigate.
Odd AcquaintanceI was still alive! I felt shaken up and I couldn't see anything, but I could feel my heart thumping and my mind raced as my eyesight slowly began to return. Very slowly, in fact. I still couldn't see for almost a minute, I also noticed that the ships weren't firing anymore...why weren’t they firing? With my skimmer in this condition I was a sitting duck. Yet there was silence... I shook my head as I began to look around, it was dark...’Wasn't it day a moment ago?’ I shook my head again and looked behind me. Nothing! I was clear, home free, nothing could stop me now... The sound of my last engine cutting out shook me out of my victory rant. "Ahh c'mon!" I shouted at my skimmer as the engines died. My ride was now pretty much a flying stone, so I was left with very few options. I naturally took the most logical choice: Bailout. "Sorry baby!" I said, patting my skimmer as I jumped clear. I quickly pulled the cord on my parachute and watched as my skimmer fell and finally crashed into the ground. "What the hell...?" I thought as I tore my eyes away from the wreckage of my skimmer, only to see a COMPLETELY different landscape to the wasteland. It was still desolate, but lacking a certain amount of lava. Not that I was complaining at the moment. *Schick* "I didn't just hear that," I whispered to myself closing my eyes as I looked up. I said a small prayer and opened my eyes. Yes, there were several tears in my chute, I guess jumping from a plane that was exploding might have damaged my chute.... The tears grew as I tried to see what I could do, but I had nothing. I had a sword and a Solaris crystal. Nothing useful. I looked down; the fall would be fatal. That was all I got to think as the chute split in two and I once again entered free-fall. I forced my eyes to stay open, if I was going out, I at least wanted to see how it was going to happen. The ground drew closer and closer as I stared helplessly, and just as I was about to impact I slammed my eyes shut. No impact. Am I dead? I didn't feel a thing...but I still feel. I cautiously opened my eyes, only to see the ground not a foot away from my face. "How the hell?..." I reached out to touch it, it was real. It was then that I noticed my arm was enveloped in some sort of green light. My gaze traveled up my arm, only to see the green was coating my entire body, like an emerald aura. I looked around, trying to find the source. ‘maybe a freak floater crystal?’ I thought, only then spotting a large black figure, hovering above me. The aura disappeared. I fell head-first onto the ground, I just lay there for a moment, stunned, before blinking and sitting up. The figure landed in front of me, though it did keep its distance. I slowly stood up, I felt tired, shaken and sick, but I was still able to stay on my feet. I stared at the creature, and I saw a pair of green eyes staring back at me. The creature appeared to be horse-like, at least in shape. Instead of skin and fur, it looked as though it had a shiny, waxy body, like the carapace of an insect. It also had more equine traits, such as a mane and tail of teal matted hair, with strange holes in its limbs. I took a step forward, only for it to drop into a defensive stance. A large black gnarled horn on it's head starting to glow green, and a pair of tattered insectoid wings sprouting from its back. I took a step back, raising my hands in a peaceful gesture. "Easy, I ain't gonna hurt ya." all the while I was thinking 'Damn this thing looks cool!'. As soon as I spoke the creature just stared at me, it looked both confused and curious. "You can speak Equestrian?" The creature said to me, causing me to very gracefully stumble backwards and fall. "You can speak Atmosian?!" The creature slowly advanced. The dark figure was now towering over me, gazing at me coolly with its forest green, oval shaped eyes. "I do not know this language, but they seem to be one in the same." It said, and I noticed that it's voice seemed to be...out of synch? It sounded like more than one person was talking at once. I slowly got up, gently resting my hand on the hilt of my sword, incredibly awkward since it was on my back. "What are you doing?" It said to me as the glow surrounding its horn dissipated, I lowered my arm. "No- Nothing. What..." I didn't quite know how to phrase this. "What are you?" It asked me, I almost laughed. "I'm a Human, and you?" She eyed me, looking surprised. "I am a Changeling." I nodded slowly, never heard of it. I gestured to its horn. "I take it that you were what saved me?" "Yes." It responded, though with a voice like that I think this 'it' is a 'she'. She smiled at me, and I noticed that she had fangs protruding from her mouth. "Thank you, but how?" I asked, it didn't look as though she had any crystals, and that glow had to have come from something. "Magic." She responded. I couldn't hold back a chuckle, only to stop as her horn lit up and several rocks floated beside me. "Whoa, that's creepy!" I said, sidestepping as one floated toward me. OK, so this creature can manipulate magic, I'm sure I could make a few rocks float with the crystals I sto- "My Skimmer!" I shouted, swiveling around and looking for the wreckage. If anything good was to come of this it would be that my crystals survived! I spotted the wreckage in the distance, the vehicle was on fire, but those storage boxes are tougher than armour plating. I started walking toward it, only to feel something tugging me back. I saw a glow encompass my hand and turned seeing a glow to match on this creatures horn. "I wouldn't recommend that." She said to me, I tugged my hand and the glow vanished. "And why is that?" I asked her, she merely pointed back to the crash "Because of those." I turned around, and noticed several gold looking figures landing around the fires light. "What are they?" I asked her, unable to make out their exact figures in the distance. "The Royal guard, the lackeys of the Tyrant Celestia." She said to me in a bitter voice, that didn't sound good. "Royal guard? As in soldiers?" I replied to her as I spotted more of them and by the wreckage. "Yes." "Any thoughts on how to..." I said, only to notice I was talking to myself. I turned around, spotting the creature walking away. "Hold up!" I called to her as I quickly got caught up with her, she didn't stop. "Where're ya going?" She glanced back at me, giving me stern look. "I have to get back to my kind." She said, before turning and trotting on. "Well excuse me, princess." "Queen actually." "Haha, yeah, your a Queen and I'm a Sky-Knight." I said sarcastically as I caught up with her. "You really are an ignorant little foal, aren't you?" She asked me, giving me a rather impressive glare. I thought about what she said for a moment. "Well, I have been called a fool before." I responded giving a small laugh. "So uhh, we're just gonna leave behind my gear I guess?" I asked her, this time she laughed. "You know I nearly died for that stuff." She full on turned to face me, a smirk on her face. "Well you are welcome to die trying to get it from them." She said sarcastically. I fell quite. She wins this round. "So...what Terra is this? I couldn't see the border from the air." I said as I followed behind her. She gave me a side-ways glance. "This is the wastes, I do not know what a 'Terra' is." She stated flatly. That wasn't good. "Right...hey wait a second, did you tell me your name? Cause if ya did, it's gone right over my head." She chuckled to herself as she began to pick up speed. "My name is Chrysalis, and what is yours?" "I'm called Raider, great to meet you." She whispered something under her breath which I didn't hear, but didn't bother pursuing. "So where are we going?" "My home." Chrysalis examined the creature she had just let fall to the ground, it appeared to be wearing tattered clothing, with random pieces of metal plating weaved into it. Physically, it appeared to be some sort of ape like creature, although it lacked their more primal traits. It only appeared to have hair on its head, a thick, spiked up tuft of dark green hair, that despite just being dropped on, retained its shape. The creature sat up and opened its eyes, blinking at her momentarily before warily getting to its feet. The creature stepped toward her and she dropped into a defensive stance as she noticed the hilt of a sword on its back. It was then that it did something she didn't expect. It spoke. This was interesting, it could talk, so it must be intelligent. No? She got her answer when she responded. This creature was not intelligent, far from it. It did however appear to be confused, and in a new location. These were things she could use to her advantage, it only took her a moment to fabricate an illusion about the Royal guard, and this creature was none the wiser. Stupid and trusting, yet it appeared to have weapons and technology. This would be a creature she could use.
Information and Maps...It wasn't long before we reached Chrysalis' home. Of course it would have taken a lot less time if she’d been willing to carry me, but she outright refused to let me get on her back and I couldn't stand being moved telekinetically. So we walked, which was handy because it gave her time to fill me in on those Royal Guard guys. Apparently, they are the soldiers of a nation known as Equestria, which is ruled by, and I'm not joking, ponies. According to her, there is a Royal family, though only three are important. Celestia, a tyrant who oversees the country officially, the Royal Guard are hers. Her sister Luna, who is apparently quite secluded, though she is apparently quite frightening. As for Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, she didn't say much about what she does other than having a separate empire, but she seemed to despise her. "So...this is your...home?" I said, not really believing it until I saw the large looming tower before me. "Yes, it is the Black Spire. This is where I and my subjects survive in the wasteland." She said solemnly as we approached the base of the tower. I'm going to be honest, this tower reminded me of Terra Cyclonia. It consisted of one giant tower supported by arches and spikes, the latter of which appeared to be growing from it. On that basis alone I was intimidated by it, but having a large amount of these Changeling creatures wandering about it made it a LOT more creepy. Though they didn't appear to be in great shape. "What happened to them?" I asked Chrysalis as she lead me through a large gate at the base of the tower. I assumed this was the main entrance, but they all had wings. "We were attacked not long ago, none of us were killed, but many were injured." Chrysalis replied, her tone had quickly become tired and sad as soon as she spoke. "Why were you attacked?" I questioned her, as I trailed behind her, taking in the inner design of the tower. It looked like some sort of a beehive on the inside with multiple floors of hexagonal rooms with a large set of intertwining staircases in the center branching off onto each floor. This design hurt my mind... Chrysalis stopped suddenly, before rounding on me a vicious look on her face. "THEY ATTACKED US FOR EXISTING!" I took an involuntary step back. That was scary, not only for me I noted, all of the Changelings in the hall stopped moving too. Chrysalis looked around before sheepishly turning and walking toward the staircase in the center of the room. I slowly followed while remaining silent. "I'm afraid I can only offer you a place to stay at the Spires peak, the lower rooms are being used to house the wounded, and those who can no longer fly." I didn't answer as I noticed that the rooms we were passing as we ascended did in fact hold injured. Hundreds of them. This place needed help bad. I was so wrapped up in thought, I didn't keep track of where I was going until I walked, embarrassingly enough, into a wall. Chrysalis gave me a 'Are you SERIOUS?!' look, before pointing a hoof at a hole in the wall. "This is where you can stay while in my company, we shall talk later, but for now, rest." She said to me, and I felt no urge to disagree. Which is completely out of character for me, but it seemed like such a good offer. I slowly walked past her into a dark cave-like room that was very dimly lit by several small green crystals in the ceiling. "Oh, I almost forgot. Welcome to the Spire." She said before walking away. I was going to say something, but I figured it wouldn't be worth getting my host mad at me. So I instead began a more thorough inspection of my room. From what I could see, I missed nothing that I didn't see at my first glance, except some sort of a web-like contraption on the wall. Naturally I approached it. I mean if it's in the room I could use it, right? I inspected it, noting that it seemed to be seeping out of the wall at two places. I cautiously touched it, it felt like silk, really soft a smooth. I gently tugged on it, noticing that it slid out from the wall. An idea came to mind, it seemed highly unusual but... I tugged it again, and soon enough it was long enough to be stretched from one section to another. I pressed it firmly against the wall and it stuck to it, hell if I know what this stuff was, but it seemed to be acting how I wanted. I took a step back and glanced over my handy work. I had constructed a very crude hammock. I felt proud. I climbed on. It didn't allow anymore of the silky stuff to slide out, holding me in place. That was convenient. I lay back into it, thinking about what had happened today. I closed my eyes while I thought, I'd need the rest. I didn't sleep after she left. It wasn't because I wasn't tired, I was wrecked, my body ached, my mind was weary and I felt rather sick now that my adrenaline rushes had worn off. I didn't sleep because of what she had said, everything she had brought up was against everything Sky-Knights stood for, now granted I'm no Sky-Knight, but I still like to consider myself a good person. I got off of the web like hammock which was what I assumed was the bed and headed for the entrance of my room. Outside the hive seemed...dead. Nothing else could describe it, there was no movement, no sounds aside from a faint humming I heard coming in, the only light in here was filtered through a large crystal in the ceiling and a few more of those sickly green crystals, exactly like the ones in my room. I started to wander the floor I was on, it was actually huge, I'd say almost five hundred meters across, and as I looked over the edge I'd guess there were about fifty floors altogether. It's a good thing I like heights. I slowly walked to each room on the floor I was on, I noticed that there was a lack of anything other than odd red-glowing orbs of...something on this floor, they looked interesting, though I didn't risk touching them. You know what they say about curiosity... I mean, I don't, but I'm sure you do. As I walked by the chamber the orbs suddenly grew much brighter, now one part of my mind said 'Don't do it.' but the other part said 'So shiny...' so I naturally began to walk towards it. I was less than a foot away from one of the orbs when they began to pulse, it was so amaz- "Don't touch those!" I heard call out behind me, I tore my gaze away from the orbs only to see one of the smaller Changelings we passed by earlier standing at the entrance. It didn't appear to be pleased with me. I stepped away from the orbs. "What are they?" I said to it, pointing at the bright pulsating orb before me. "They are what we use for sustenance, and they are not to be played with." It replied to me- You know what, he has a male voice, it's deep it's commanding, I'm assuming this is a he. He replied to me. "Stop that!" I heard him say again, only to notice I was leaning into the orb again, it just looked so tantalizing... I took a step back and took a deep breathe. Their home, their rules. "So, why can't I touch it?" I said as I walked toward the Changeling, his face seemed completely neutral. "It is not my place to tell you why, just don't." He said to me. "That's not an answer." "Because I said so." "What are you, my mother?" I said to him as we both walked out of the cave. For a brief moment, he seemed to be consumed in a green fire, and I have to admit I leaped back as a slim figure of a mature woman appeared. It was my mother. "Yes." She said in a stern voice before shifting back into a Changeling. "Wha- I- Whe- Wut?" Was all I manage to sputter out as he began to chuckle deeply at me. "How did you do that?!?!" I nearly shouted at him, this was met with him doubling over on himself...how rude. When he finally calmed down enough to speak he regarded me. "I used a simple spell, you thought of her, I simply projected her image upon myself from your memories." He smirked at me. "We are called 'Changelings' for a reason." I laughed a little myself, it was so obvious before pulling a completely serious expression and tone. "Dude, that's creepy." I said to him, we both laughed a little at that. "So, what's your name?" I said to the changeling beside me, noting he had a slight difference to the others from before, there were small red veins traveling through his insectoid wings. "My name is Carapace, and my Queen has already informed me that you are Raider." I blinked. "What do you mean?" "The Queen decided it would be best to have someone escort you around, the Spire is not the safest place for those unaccustomed to it." I nodded slowly, think 'That seemed fair enough.'. "So...you can show me around?" I asked in a quizzical tone, feeling like a child. He smiled at me. "Yes, though some areas are off limits." I cocked an eye at him. "And why's that?" "Because we have smaller frames than you and you would die trying to get through them." That seemed reasonable. "You win this round." Carapace smiled at me. "So, what do you wish to see?" "Oh yeah, cause I know whats around so well." I said in a sarcastic tone, before returning to normal. "You decide, just keep it interesting." His smile broadened. "Very well..." I stood there with a smirk on my face, Carapace had me down to a tee, bringing me straight to their archival room. Only down side is it was at the bottom of the spire, and when I say the bottom I mean the bottom, I had to follow him down tunnels for over thirty minutes and I'd have no idea how to get back up without him. But it was totally worth it, this room was full of scrolls, apparently on spells, history books, novels, and the main prize, maps. Carapace had no issue with giving me the maps, I however had some issues believing what I was seeing. According to the maps, most of which were of Equestria and it's surrounding areas, there was no end of to the land until you hit the sea. So this place really wasn't a Terra, and I really wasn't in the Atmos anymore. Not good....not good at all "What the hell could they have hit me with...?" I mused allowed as I sat back on a bench like protrusion of rocks. "If it was a warp crystal I'd still be in the Atmos...Somewhere, but I'd still be there." I inspected the maps again. I couldn't get anything else from the maps, and I couldn't figure out what they had hit me with for me to end up in this...dimension? Reality? Heck, I had no clue, I just knew I wasn't home. I noticed those green crystals in the ceiling again, and since Carapace was here with me I might actually be able to figure out what type they were. "Hey Carapace?" "Yes, are you ready to leave?" He asked eyeing me with those big blue orbs I assumed were eyes. "No, not yet. But I was wondering, what are those?" I said gesturing to the crystals. "I don't recognise them." He turned and stared at the crystals. "I do not know, I never noticed them until now." I laughed at him. "You missed the green glowing things in the ceiling?" "They weren't glowing earlier." He stated flatly. I thought about that, nothing in this place actually appeared to be running off of crystals as a power source, but I'd still find it hard to believe they just started glowing when I showed up. I made a mental note to ask Chrysalis about it, before deciding I wasn't getting anything down here. "OK, so, what do you guys eat?" I said rising from my seat. Carapace's face took on a confused expression as he considered the question. "You could not consume what my kind uses for sustenance, so the better question is what can you eat." "Fish, meat, vegetables, fruits...basically anything you got." Carapace smiled broadly at me. "We shall see..." It didn't take long for us to make our way to a mess hall type area. I didn't really know how to describe anything in this place, it was all so...alien. Carapace started offering me different selections of foods, most of which I'm pretty sure not even a Wallop could consume. Thankfully, after going through the "Hay" section of the menu, we arrived at fruit, and thank the heavens they had something I could eat. I had never been so happy to see an apple before in my life. He sat beside me on the bench where I was munching on said apple, and I felt now would be a good a time as any to find out some things about this land. "Hey Carapace?" "You need something else?" I gave out a small chuckle before responding. "Well, if you count information, then yeah." I thought for a moment before deciding on a subject. "What can you tell me about magic, I mean is it inherent to all of you, or just Chrysalis?" "You did see me transform earlier, did you not?" He said dryly. "No, no, I mean the levitation and stuff, can you all do that?" "Yes." "What else can you do?" He chuckled. "Cast energy bolts." I smiled. "Now that, sounds awesome, I can do something similar with my sword...with the right crystal that is." I noticed he cocked his head at me. "Your sword has magic?" I laughed. "Not quite, but depending on its power source it can do a lot of different things." "Fascinating." We were both silent for a few minutes after that, and I was unsure as to what could be done next. "So, what now?" I asked him. "You can return to sleep, if you wish." I could genuinely feel my body aching by this point, it was a sound suggestion. "Yeah, I guess that would be the right idea." I got up from the table we were at and started trailing behind Carapace, unsure how to feel about my current situation. Maybe things would be clearer in the morning... Chrysalis had been thinking more and more about the creature since its arrival, and was growing ever more anxious while she awaited her child to inform her about what it had learned. She could have simply used telepathy to keep in contact with him, but that may have distracted him from the task at hoof, a strenuous connection telepathy creates. She heard the doors to her chamber open, and only one of her children was granted permission to interrupt her. "Carapace, you return." "Yes, my Queen." Carapace responded, bowing low despite Chrysalis not even facing him. "Tell me everything." Chrysalis turned slowly as she spoke, the information provided could prove invaluable. "Yes, my Queen..."
Dude, where's my ride?I slowly came back to my senses, which wasn't good. It meant I was waking up, and I was having such a good dream... I was a Sky-Knight, I had my own squad, I had everything. Oh well, time to greet the day. I opened my eyes. "Morning." "What the heck!" I shouted as I leapt from the hammock, only to see Carapace staring at me with a confused face. "What's wrong?" "Ever heard of personal space...wait were you standing there all night?!" He slowly nodded his head. "Dude, that's like the definition of creepy." "I was not aware." He said with a coy smile. I brushed my hand against the hilt of my sword and drummed my fingers against it. "Do it again, and we're gonna have a problem." I cracked a smile at his even further confusion. "Just kidding mate, just don't do it again please." He laughed. "Deal." I was going to say something, but I noticed Carapace seemed to have seized up. "Hey Carapace...you all right?" He shook himself, snapping back to attention. "Yes, sorry about that. Now, Chrysalis would like to see you, if that's not an issue that is." "Sure, I've always got time for the gal who saved my life." I said with smile, I needed to have a chat with her anyway. He frowned. "Don't call Chrysalis 'gal'." His response was purely serious. "That a threat?" "More of a statement." I nodded. "OK, lead on." He turned and I started to follow him. I followed Carapace intent on asking him what Chrysalis wanted exactly, but I had enough trouble keeping up with my airborne friend as it was. It didn't take us long to arrive at the very top of the spire emerging onto the...spire of the spire, so to speak. I noticed that when I looked down, I was standing on the huge green crystal that I noticed the day before, it seemed brighter now. I looked around and spotted Chrysalis sitting at the far end of the crystal, perched at the edge of it. "Any words of advice?" I didn't hear any response. "Carapace?" I looked around, not seeing any trace of my red winged bud, thanks mate. I started toward Chrysalis and sat down beside her, dangling my legs over the edge of the tower and turning to face my saviour. "What do you see?" Chrysalis asked me as I noticed her gaze staring far into the distance, covering both the wastelands of her home and the fertile lands of the Equestrian dictators. "Depends, I see the wastes, but I'm guessing you see something different?" I replied, she glanced sideways at me. "I see my land, and I see my kind, and what we have been forced to endure at the hooves of our enemies." Chrysalis seemed to be very forlorn during her little speech. "OK, so why am I here?" She cocked her head at me, looking slightly confused. "I do not know what could have sent you to this land, but I would like to help you return home if you desire it." I chuckled. "Actually, I meant why am I here, you know, on top of this tower?" She giggled at me, considering what I knew of her, that must have been rare. "Apologies, I just assumed." "I get it, I would like to get home though, if you know anyway that is." She frowned slowly shaking her head, it was clear that she did not hold the solution to my predicament. "So, anyways, why are we sitting up here?" She turned to face me. staring dead in the eye. "Carapace has informed me that you have magic." This statement lead me to my first confused look of the day, why did he think I had...oh. "Hehe, I think he heard that wrong, I don't have magic, my swords crystal has magic." I said as I drew the blade, she tensed for a moment and I began to sheath the blade. "I can show you, if that's OK with you that is." She nodded and I slid my blade from its sheath, before gripping the handle and igniting the crystals power, coating the blade in a vibrant blue light, like blue fire. I glanced at Chrysalis and noted she wasn't even looking at the sword, she was looking behind us, at the crystal we were sitting upon. "Hey Chrysalis, you OK?" "You were telling the truth, weren't you?" "About?" "You can manipulate crystals, can't you?" "Well, yeah, anyone can." "So you did this?" She said whilst pointing a hoof at the large crystal...which was now glowing. I got to my feet, walking onto the crystal, noting that it was getting brighter for some reason. "I...I've never seen something like this before, was it glowing earlier?" "Only when you entered the tower, and only faintly, nothing like this." As she spoke the crystal began to glow more brightly, feeling an odd urge I leaned down, brushing my hand along its smooth surface, and creating a small pulse as I came in contact with it. The dull crystal was now a vibrant emerald like color. I turned back to Chrysalis, her eyes wandering over me curiously, I was curious too...I'd never seen a crystal react like that before. "I-I gotta go, I me- I need to get my... my bike." I said as I quickly began to sprint from the scene, their was something in Chrysalis' eyes that made me uncomfortable, I guess she thought I was a freak or something. it didn't take long for me to get outside of the tower, it wasn't until then that I stopped to breath... how did I do that? Did I do that? I glanced back to the tower, I probably wasn't welcome there anymore. I turned from it, back towards when I entered this realm, and where my few belongings awaited. Chrysalis did not understand why Raider had fled, clearly he had an incredible power at his command, yet did not seem to want it. She needed to test him however, if any of her plans were to commence, she needed to have an idea of what this creature could do. 'Carapace?' She sent out a telepathic wave, it was time for its test. 'Yes my Queen.' 'Follow him, and ensure he returns.' 'Yes my Queen.' 'Also, are the volunteers prepared?' 'Yes my Queen, the preparations have been made, and the chosen are ready.' Chrysalis smiled. It was time for a test. It didn't take me long to get back to where I first met Chrysalis, in the light it was easy to make out where my skimmer had crashed in the distance. Only thing that was bothering me about the wreckage was this: No guards. The day before they were swarming all over the bike, but I could clearly see from here that it was abandoned now. Guess alien technology isn't big on their priorities list? I very cautiously made my way toward the crash site, I may not see anything, but they had magic as well, or at least that's what I'd gathered. I stopped when I reached my ride and looked around. I think a minute passed before I moved, and it was only then I realised that I had been gripping the hilt of my sword. "You OK?" I instantly ripped my sword from its place on my back and dropped into a defensive crouch, searching for the source of the voice. It was only when I spotted Carapace floating in the air above me that I relaxed, holstering my sword and standing up straight. "You have gotta stop coming outta no where man, it's gonna get you hurt one of these days." "Hehe, I'm am unaccustomed to ways outside of the hive." He said with a smirk on his face, I just rolled my eyes and turned back to my skimmer, it was surprisingly mostly intact. The left side engine was gone, just gone, thankfully the right just seemed to have lost power, as easy fix. The over all frame had some bits and pieces missing, but nothing that couldn't be patched. Two major, MAJOR plus sides were that the wheels and wings were fine, those would have been a serious pain without the correct tools. "Is your flying machine working?" I heard Carapace ask from behind me along with the sound of his hooves hitting the ground. "Ahh, no, but it's fixable... think you could lift it?" I said turning to him, he looked confused for a moment before he realised what I was asking. "I could try." He offered simply, I nodded as I watched his horn become encompassed in a bright green glow, quickly followed by my ride. For a few moments it appeared to be working, everything lifted aaaaand then fell back to the ground. "My apologies, it is to heavy for me alone." I walked up and patted him on the back. "It's the thought that counts." We both laughed a little at that. It was when we both sat down together, my eyes idly wandering over my ride that I remembered the crates that I had stolen from the Cyclonians were sticking out of the ground a few feet away. They really did make those crates strong. I got up and attempted to pull free the first box, unsuccessfully until Carapace added his magic to my struggle, resulting in me falling flat on my back when it did finally pop loose. I groaned as I got back to my feet, and noticed Carapace was staring into the now open box. "Let me guess, it's something shiny?" I muttered as I went over to join him, only to be taken aback by the boxes contents. It was both books and crystals, both marked. Delivery shipment for Master Cyclonis If I was in Atmosia at the moment I'd winging it to the nearest Sky-Knight squadron, probably the, but now... I didn't know what to do with them. I lifted a book out of it, which was burned and badly damaged, but still legible I hoped. I opened the first page and was pretty stunned by what I saw. 'Pipers Crystal Guide' If I was right in assuming, this belonged to Piper of the Storm Hawks. Which meant that I had a crystal guide. This was a find that would be useful till the day I die. I flicked through it, fortunately it was neatly laid out with a table of contents and all, I laughed as I slipped it into my back pocket. "It's just some gems and books, why are you so happy?" Carapace said to me in a baffled tone. "Cause this stuff explains how to make gems work, even lesser known ones." He nodded slowly, but I doubt he really understood, but hell, he might soon enough. "Think you could lift out the other one, so I don't end up with a broken back today?" He wasted no time in wrenching this one from the ground, before placing it down in front of me, I thanked him before gently lifting the lid of the container and placing it to the side. Inside there was a large assortment of crystals, ranging from Solaris, to Floaters, Phoenix to Blizzard. I also think when I saw them I made a very unusual noise. "Carapace. I think I just hit the mother load." He glanced into the box, before pulling back. "They are very...shiny?" "Yep, shiny." I said reaching for the Phoenix Crystal. "And-" I was cut off by the sound of what could only have been an explosion in the distance. Back towards the Spire. Carapace instantly took to the sky, before slamming down next to me. "We have to get back! The Spire is being assaulted!" I nodded reaching into the box and pulling out another crystal. "Alright, think you can lift me?" Before I had even finished the green glow of his magic had ensnared me, lifting me into the air trailing behind him and I have to admit, without a chute, ride, or glider holding me up I was really damn scared...
Taking SidesIt didn't take long for Carapace and I to arrive back at the tower, Carapace dropped me just at the outskirts of the tower, quickly moving to assist several of his comrades. I drew my sword, glancing around to gauge how I could help the situation. There appeared to be just over twenty attackers, all of which were either pegasi or unicorns. I made a dash for the nearest unicorn, who magically drew a sword of his own. I ignited my blade as we clashed, clearly startling my opponent and shattering his blade. I used the opportunity to smash the pony over the head with my swords hilt, helmet or not he dropped to the ground unconscious. I then noticed something at the peripheral of my vision, causing me to pivot around and raise my sword defensively. Unfortunately this didn't stop the large ball of energy smashing me in the chest and staggering me. I saw my opponent, he was roughly thirty feet away and his horn was glowing brightly. I dived to the side, narrowly avoiding another blast of energy while I pulled out one of my newly acquired gems and focusing on it while I aimed at him. I was very pleased by the results, when a large torrent of wind burst from the stone and created a miniature twister sending the pony flying. It was then that I noticed two things: The green stone I was currently clutching was a Windstone and the entrances to the tower being blocked off by magic. Before I could come up with a plan of action a changeling slammed into the ground beside me, making me look to the sky. The ponies were dominating it, and I could see why, the Royal Guard had armour and all appeared to be in good shape, the changelings were battered and barely holding it together. I checked the changeling before me, he was unconscious, but alive. There wasn't much I could do for him, so I returned my attention to the battle, deciding that the only way I was going to affect this battle was to take a better position. I made my way to the base of the tower, using it's rugged and spiked appearance to my advantage as I started to climb it. Nothing harassed me as I climbed, the changelings were doing a valiant job at holding them at bay, and I couldn't help but wonder why there were so few defending. It didn't matter at the moment though, what did matter was helping my new allies. I finally got to a wide ledge, leading into tunnels behind, which didn't matter because of a magical barrier, but it did give me some space to maneuver. I took this time to slot in the Phoenix Crystal from earlier, putting the blue striker crystal in my back pocket. The change my blade went through cause me to grin, the blue light that had been fueling it died down, replaced by a white and orange flame. I had never used a Phoenix crystal before, but I knew they were similar to the firebolt crystal that the Cyclonians used. With that in mind I lined up the blade with the closest pegasus, and brought it across in an arc. This had two affects, the first was it sent a large plume of fire at the pegasus, causing him to veer off and slam into the ground in an attempt to put hit tail and feathers out, the second was that it knocked me flat on my back. This position seemed to be becoming the staple of my existence. I got back to my feet and tried again, and I can tell you those guy sure knew how to dodge. It wasn't until they started firing back that I noticed they had reinforcements, this time they had unicorns hitch to the pegasi by some sort of a cart. This is a weird day. The battle just went from bad to worse then, the magic of the unicorns appeared to be superior and the pegasi were able to out manoeuvre them. I'm guessing one of the pegasi got tired of me harassing them as he dive bombed me, knocking me from my perch on the tower and back to the ground. Fortunately I was intercepted mid-fall by something, and I wondered how many times can one cheat death in a week? I and my rescuer both slammed into the ground, not so easy to pull out of a dive with the extra weight I guess, but we quickly recovered and I glanced over to him. It was Carapace, of course it was him. We exchanged glances before the pegasi tackled him and I narrowly avoided a bolt of magic, I dived to the side, taking cover behind a small outcrop of rocks before returning the favour with the Phoenix crystal. Unfortunately for me another unicorn had put up some sort of shield around his companion, I doubt he felt more than a warm breeze as the blaze engulfed him. "Lets see how much that can take!" I shouted, before leaping over my cover and charging the shielded unicorn. This is where his shield backfired, he couldn't use magic inside it, which allowed me to close the distance and slam my blade down on his shield. *CRACK* Was all I heard before a scream came from behind me, the unicorn powering the shield couldn't take the strain, resulting in it shattering. Along with the tip of his horn. The scene however distracted me from my original target. Resulting in him having charged up a spell, I couldn't dodge, or get close enough to him in time to stop it. I braced myself when I felt something slam into me...from the side. I was knocked to the ground. I felt the wave of energy behind me. There wasn't a sound, apart from a sickening crunch. I recovered and turned, only to see Carapace lying behind me, chest caved in. I don't know what it was, but something clicked with me then, I pulled the Phoenix crystal from my blade and pulled out the Windstone. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't feel anything. Both gems began to glow brightly in my palms and I held them together I took aim at the unicorn, who was once again charging a spell and unleashed the power of both crystals. The sight must have been terrifying, a large twister of flames sprouted from my hands. The unicorn however managed to teleport, there wasn't time for that now though. I took aim at the pegasi who were dominating the sky, sending up the twister to meet them. It didn't take long after that, none of them were consumed by the flames, but all of them were screaming or calling a retreat. Once the last of their stragglers had fled I dropped the gems, the hand that I had held the Phoenix crystal in was badly burned, I could see it, but I couldn't feel anything still. I went back to where Carapace lay, to where my stupidity had left him. I crouched down beside him, I could hear his breathing, it was ragged and labored, but he was still alive. I inspected the wound, his carapace had been crushed by the force of the blast, and I didn't know how I could fix it. "Hold on, you'll be fine." I whispered to him as other changelings began to gather around me. At the front of them was Chrysalis, I don't know when she joined in the fight, but she was here now. "Chrysalis! Heal him!" I practically shouted at her, she appeared crestfallen, and I knew she couldn't. "He's gone too far Raider, the wound is too great." I heard her say, though I hadn't given up yet. If there's a will, there's a way. If their magic couldn't help him, maybe crystal magic could. I reached into my back pocket, wrenching out Pipers journal. I flicked it rapidly, before arriving on anything useful. "The Nil crystal, very few know what this dull little crystal is capable of, but if used correctly, it can fix anything." I read allowed as I looked at the picture beside it. I had seen it before, only bigger. Much bigger. My eyes flew to the top of the tower. "Chrysalis, get us up there! NOW!" I shouted, pointing at the top f the tower. She didn't say anything, I did feel her magic engulf us though. I could see her holding his wound closed with the magic as we ascended, bolstered by several other changelings. We reached the top quickly, but I had no idea how or if this magic would even work. Chrysalis dropped me onto the crystal, gently placing Carapace down beside me. He was convulsing now, and I had no idea how he was actually still alive. "Hold him steady." I ordered, as I bent down placing both hands on the giant crystal before me. I felt energy when I touched it, I could feel it affecting me, a soothing sensation over took my hand as its burns closed. It wasn't affecting Carapace though and I couldn't understand why. "Come on, come on!" I shouted at the gem as it continued to fix me but not him. I couldn't think of anything else to do as I returned my gaze to the crystal in an attempt to invoke its power. Nothing. "Raider..." I heard beside me, I looked up at Chrysalis, who's magic was no longer in use. Carapace had gone still. "No no no no no..." I began to mutter, growing in volume until it was a shout. I went over and grabbed him shaking him by the shoulders. "Wake up man, wake up!" I could feel my voice crack and my vision became hazed by tears. "You don't get to go yet. Not yet." I whispered to him as I collapsed to my knees, staring at the ground, one hand on him, the other supporting myself. I felt something then, from Carapace, just a twitch, I looked back to him only to see a bright green glow coming from my hand, I was confused, I thought Chrysalis may have been moving me back. Until I felt it again, a small twitch, I looked to Chrysalis, she was looking away, her horn clearly not in use. I returned my attention to my hand, then down to my other. It was glowing also, and so was the crystal it was touching. I felt him move again, I saw his wound beginning to seal. I focused on nothing else, just Carapace, the crystal and myself. We were connected, all of us. I saw a bright flash of light. Then... Darkness...
