Carry On

Twilight.

It's been a long time.

I thought I was done dealing with ghosts.

Not quite.

So, child... why have you come to disturb my waking rest?

'Child' might not be the best word.

You'll always be a child to me. You'll always be my child--my little Twilight Sparkle. But perhaps we should cut to the chase, hm?

We have time to catch up.

That may be true. How have these many years been to you, my student?

They have been good, and they have been bad. Ruling the conscious universe and defending it from peril is never an easy task.

True enough, though you might know more than me on that. Speaking of which, how have your studies gone in these many years?

For a time, they went exceedingly well. Exploring this wondrous universe is a journey like no other. Sadly, adventuring is quite dangerous, and... I'm dead. The enemies you now face are the same that ended the Twilight Sparkle you once knew. They are beyond this universe. They have come from another, and seek to destroy all things good that exist here.

You show up in such a hurry to tell me the stakes are higher than once thought? You wouldn't do that... unless...

Unless I needed your help. The Elements of Harmony have never resurfaced since the death of my friends. I never had to use them during my tenure as a ruler, but you need to find them. They are the most powerful artifacts in this universe. You are the original bearer of Magic. Reunite the Elements and this place might have a chance for survival.

In my many thousands of days guiding you, I came to trust you. Twilight, if this is true, I will do as you ask. I suspect I will be joining you soon, however.

No. Unfortunately, my dearest teacher, you must live a little while longer yet.

*****************

Lokir and Asakira both sat on the edge of the cot, thinking. At the time, they were trying to think of some way to either get off of the Morning Star and leave the system, or counter the boarders.

It was easier said than done, to be sure. Whatever had attacked had complete control. From the regular observations the pair made from the ventilation ducts, they had patrols walking the corridors and a total lockdown on major systems. For whatever reason, they wanted the ship, or something on it.

Both Marines were armed to the teeth thanks to multiple trips to the nearby armory. A full frontal assault wouldn't do, though--stealth was the key part, since many of the organic machines could resist the weapons they had.

"The self-destruct," Asakira finally spoke. "If we can activate it, we can get to an escape pod or perhaps the other fighter we left in the hangar and get out."

Lokir shook his head. "I like the idea, but the bridge is going to be a hive of hostiles. We'd be toasted before we got within ten feet of the activation."

"I didn't think you were one for caution, since you seemed almost happy about our little adventures here," Asakira replied, incredulous.

"I'm one for not dying," Lokir told her.

"That narrows it down some," she said sarcastically.

"Yes, well... we should get back to business." The glare that accompanied the statement was sudden and icy. Asakira knew better than to press him now, though. She was sure she'd see who he was in time.

Putting he chin on her hooves, Asakira put her mind to the task. "Hmm," she droned, "we could detonate the reactor directly. It won't put out a warning out, though, so anyone on the ship will be pretty much fucked--aside from us."

"We don't know if anyone is even alive aside from us," Lokir dismissed the thought, waving his hoof.

"All the more reason to consider this closely," Asakira argued.

Lokir exhaled, sighing. "Yeah, I guess we should. Still, we're kind of assuming we're gonna make it out alive. I mean, the whole reason we're doing this is to deal a blow to these cyborg guys, right? Not save ourselves or anyone else on the ship. True, we're going to try, but in all honesty our odds are pretty slim."

Asakira nodded. "Okay, maybe you're right. Our lives are basically forfeit here. We can't afford to do anything but stop these assholes from getting what they're after."

Lokir lowered his gaze and took a moment to respond. "Yeah. Survival is secondary..." he sighed. "Do we even know what it is these 'assholes' are going for? It's kind of preposterous, really. Some cyborgs-alien things basically saunter on to one of the biggest ships in the ESF and snag it without a single hitch? Please. There's something deeper here, something we're missing. They don't play by our rules. They don't think by our rules. They don't seem to be after money, or salvage, or anything we would consider important. So what is it?"

"Does it matter, Lokir? You said it yourself, we have a chance to take them down, even if we have to go with them. Whoever, whatever these creatures are, the reactor is our best hope of ending them here. We can stop this. We can stop them," she insisted.

Lokir huffed a breath. "Maybe they aren't alone. What if there's more where they came from? If we blow this ship before we find out, we might be condemning more than ourselves. After all, you said it yourself, right?"

Asakira laughed at that. "Looks like we switched sides on that decision, huh?"

"Yeah," Lokir said, grinning.

"Heh. The world is like that sometimes, I guess. You know, Lokir... I like you. Try not to get yourself killed, okay?" Asakira smiled brightly at him, but he simply nodded in reply.

The Marine waited a moment, shrugged, and added, "Okay. I guess I'll give it a shot."

*****************

The controls of the fighter thrummed under Open Sky's hooves. Bright blue displays flicked on as the machine warmed up. She scrolled through diagnostic readings and adjusted the settings to her liking, then pulled the helmet off of its resting place above her chair and dropped it over her head.

"You all ready in back?" she asked her gunner, a white-and-black pegasus named Free Wings.

He nodded behind the thick visor of his helmet and said, "You should ask the assholes I'm about to send to hell!"

"You might just get a chance to do it yourself when you meet them there," she huffed at him.

"Aw, that's not nice..."

Open Sky ignored him and opened her communications with the flight controller. "Wings of Harmony, this is Echo-2. We are prepped and ready to fly."

"Roger, Echo-2. Standby for release signal," the ship's controller replied a moment later.

"Standing by."

The pilot reviewed the past few hours in her head.

***************

A few hours earlier...

The air was tense and stale as Open Sky strutted towards the hangar. A klaxon wailed from somewhere, signaling a call to battle stations aboard the Wings of Harmony. The hour was here--the flotilla of frigates and corvettes had assembled, save Sunstrider, which had slipped out of the system to send a warning to the nearest ESF base. The plan to take back the Morning Star was settled; five wings of fighters launched from the larger ships would escort three shuttles of Marines each, who would board and take back the supercruiser.

There originally hadn't been a ship for Open Sky to pilot. However, some newbie had come down with a stomach virus, and the commanders needed someone to fill his place.

She just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Her thoughts refocused on the task at hoof. The steel-plate bulkheads were unforgivingly monotonous, but they were marked with letter and number combinations to mark the way. A posted placard on the right side of the corridor read HANGAR A. That was where she was needed.

Open Sky stepped into the bay, a rather cramped space compared to the Morning Star, but it certainly served. Three slim, long fighters were docked there, resting above the ground in magnetic locks that sat over the launching catapult.

A bored-looking white-on-black pegasus stood on his back hooves, leaning against one craft. Open Sky trotted over.

"You Free Wings?" she asked.

"Might be. What's it to you?"

"Don't be coy," Open Sky's look shot daggers at him.

He made a face, shrugged, and said, "Yeah, I'm Free Wings. I'm guessing you're Lieutenant Open Sky, my new pilot?"

"Who else would I be, smart-ass? And watch your tone, Ensign." Normally she wouldn't be so harsh to someone new, but he seemed mouthy enough to make it worthwhile.

Free Wings snapped open his wings and made a quick flying jump over the fighter. Probably to avoid dealing with her.

Asshole.

***************

Now, the Lieutenant found herself rolling her neck in the pilot's seat while waiting for the command to depart. The other craft were likely just not ready yet.

Suddenly, another message came through the comms. "Echo Wing, prepare for departure on my go. Launch in 5..."

Open Sky primed the engines.

"4..."

Weapon systems were ready.

"3..."

Fuel levels full.

"2..."

Throttle opening.

"1..."

Launch.

Open Sky's head flew back into the seat as the fighter jumped out of the hangar, racing alongside nine others that made up Echo Wing. Equus reflected sunlight dimly through the polarized glass of the cockpit off to her right, and it slowly filled her view while she fell into orbit. The other fighters and their slightly more sluggish shuttle brethren closed the gap with the planet. An extreme amount of pressure threatened to make her black out while they shot around the planet, performing a slingshot.

The force was relieved when they made their pass, flying out at monstrous speeds towards the Morning Star. A glance at the radar showed the flotilla crawling its way forward as well, the heavier vessels moving a good amount slower.

As the black supercruiser came into view, tiny pinpricks of light came out to meet the head-on charge. They soon revealed themselves as they got closer within visual range -- they were thin, scythe-like assault vehicles. There was a long line of them, spread out into a near-flat cloud that aimed to consume the pony spacecraft.

"Free Wings, ready weapons."

"You got it!"

Red targeting markers found the closest four ships. The two groups closed for several seconds, racing forward to meet their enemies. Open Sky's hooves danced along the holographic control interface, priming missiles, marking the flyers of the enemy vehicles, and generally doing everything they should.

"10 seconds to intercept," a voice came over the communications relay. "Echo Wing, fire when ready."

Further they came together, until both parties were nearly on top of each other.

"Fire!" she yelled to Free Wings, who responded by doing just that. Four streaks of light blew past the cockpit, pushing ahead of the fighter. Dozens more followed from Open Sky's fellows. Almost immediately, they exploded in brilliant flashes of fire.

When it cleared, nothing remained.

"We got 'em!" Free Wings called out, exhilarated at his apparent success.

Open Sky was more suspicious. "If we got them, there'd be debris..."

There wasn't anything where the missiles had exploded--just space and the stars beyond that. They continued toward the cruiser, undeterred from their goal. However, Open Sky had a sudden urge to look up...

"Oh shit! They're right on top of us!"

She threw the fighter into a clockwise roll while rotating to starboard. Somehow, the cyborg flyers had avoided their initial assault. Open Sky yanked the physical control yoke back, turning to face the enemy.

Nothing came to greet her.

Breathing heavily, Free Wings asked, "What in the fuck was that?"

Eyes scanning both space and displays, Open Sky replied calmly, "Not sure. I don't think we're done yet, though. They must be... jumping. A short distance in-system jump like that is still only hypothetical back in Federation labs." Sure enough, though, faint warp signatures were fading on her display, right where the attackers had been. She activated her headset. "Is everyone okay?" Hopefully the attack hadn't done too much damage.

A coughing voice came back. "This is Echo Three. We've been hit, our engines are down. We have port thrusters, but that's it."

"This is Echo Five. We're here too," another pilot said.

"Echo Lead, are you there? Echo Lead?" Open Sky asked. No reply returned. "Shit." She asked for the Marines. Of the three shuttles with Echo Wing, only one answered her call. Sighing, she opened a channel. "This is Echo Two. We are assuming command of Echo Wing. Get to the Morning Star as fast as possible. Don't bother shooting, they're jumping out of the way of our missiles."

"Jumping? Echo Two, that's not possible. Not in-system," Echo Five said.

"The jump signatures are there. It happened. However, we don't have a whole lot of time. Just keep moving, people, and we can do this," Open Sky returned sternly. She moved the fighter to the front of what remained of Echo Wing. "Echo Three, can you keep moving?"

"Uh, not really sure over here. I'll try, but don't wait for us."

Open Sky bit her lip. "We'll be back. Stay safe, Echo Three."

"Acknowledged."

Gunning the throttle, the Lieutenant turned her eyes to the supercruiser coasting through space. It looked like a big, ragged chunk of black driftwood. It was huge--the biggest ship she'd ever served on, in truth. With only a few Marines, how could they possibly take it back from the things that grabbed it out from under them?

The answer came to her as the lower port hangar came into view.

They would succeed because they had to.