The Saga of the Tennyson Empire: The Downfall of Equestria

A Word From the Author:

In case anyone is wondering, here are what the native names for aliens featured in this chapter amount to.

1. Vaxasaurians: Humongosaurs.

2. Petrosapiens: Diamond Heads

3. Arburian Pelarotas: Cannonbolts

4. Vulpimancers: Wildmutts

5. Pyronites: Heatblasts

6. Ectonurites: Ghost Freaks

7. Galvanic Mechamorphs: Upgrades

8. Kinecelerans: XLR8s

9. Galvan: Grey Matters

10. Piscciss Volanns: Ripjaws

11.   Appoplexian: Rath

The Saga of the Tennyson Empire: The Downfall of Equestria

By: VunderGuy

Chapter 3: Calm Before the Storm

Stress. Unbounded and unlimited. This was what Twilight Sparkle was feeling as she lay atop her bed inside Ponyville hospital. This, she mused, must have been similar to what Rainbow Dash must have been feeling the time she had broken her wing and found escape from her boredom within the pages of her first Daring Do book. Boredom however, was not the same as stress.

In her conversation with Rarity in which Twilight had hid her minor freak out quite well, she thought, the brainy mare had claimed that Spike was indeed with her (conveniently out shopping or whatever it is baby dragons do) and that she had forgotten because her mind was on the fritz. After explaining why that was (her fall off her balcony which began the abuse she had endured last night) and allowing her fashionable friend to mull over the evidence for a second or two, Rarity had urged Luna to take Twilight to the hospital as quickly as possible in light of this new information. Having a permanently damaged brain inside such a brainy mare would be counterproductive, after all.

Before the Prince of the Night could fly out the nearest window though, Twilight had asked, “Excuse me, Luna?”

“Yes?” The alicorn asked, looking back towards her.

“Ummm…if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to Pinkie Pie after I passed out last night?”

“Do not worry Twilight. She is safe and sound within the walls of Castle Canterlot, under careful observation.”

“Castle Canterlot?” She asked, eyes furrowing her brow as well as the bandages wrapped around her head. “Why is she there?”

“For her own protection as well as that of anypony unfortunate enough to be affected by her should she be placed elsewhere. Fret not. You have my word as a Princess that she is safe and that I, as well as my sister, are doing everything within our power to find out what has gone wrong with Ms. Pie and find a way to return her back to normal. Or, at the very least, less destructive.” She smiled.

Twilight returned the smile. Luna had turned to go when a sudden thought struck her. “Princess Luna? Last night…did you happen to see a flash of light come from out of nowhere inside a constellation? Right before Pinkie’s Pinkie sense started going crazy?”

The Sovereign of the night put a fetlock to her chin. “No…I can’t say that I did. I believe I was occupied with lending my aid to a pony requiring it to overcome a recurring nightmare. I was just on my way to another when I saw Ms. Pie and swooped in when I did.” Hrmmming to herself, she asked, “Might I inquire as to which constellation it was?”

“I…” Twilight began, wracking her injured cranium. “…don’t remember…exactly.”

“Exactly?”

“Not at all, actually.”

“Ah.” The Sovereign said simply. “Luckily, I am sure that you were not the only pony out stargazing on that most eye drawing of nights…I hope…and perhaps I might find out from whence this flash came. I hope.”

“Oh, I’m sure there were other ponies looking out at your hoofy-work.”

“Thank you Twilight. I do wish I…shared your optimism. Anyways, too-da-loo and rest well!”

With that, Princess Luna jumped out of the window and sped off towards the Capital, leaving Twilight as she stressed as she now was. Stress over the fact that one of her friends was missing and the other, essentially a prisoner that was probably within the dungeons of Castle Canterlot, over something she could not control.

She sighed and levitated a mirror and brush over towards her. If she was going to be stuck here for how long the doctors said she would, she could AT LEAST try and tame the untamable growth that her mane had become.

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

“Anything?” I ask after the bulkhead in front of me was lifted up from its closed position by a single diamond like hand, revealing Tetrax, standing in the threshold with a grimace.

“No. The Vreedle brothers managed to resist my attempts at squeezing out what they knew.” He says, taking a step forwards and letting the door slam down behind him.  He raises his other hand, which I noticed is shaped like a mace and freshly stained with greenish black blood. “And I was very thorough.”

He shifts that arm back to normal and I shake my head. “Figures. From what I’ve heard, they are a rather rough and tumble pair. You ruffing them up was probably nothing they haven’t been through before.”

“Oh no.” Says Tetrax. “I made absolutely sure that being interrogated by me was an experience they’d never forget. Them being rough and tumble didn’t have as much with them refusing to divulge anything as you’d think Max.”

“Oh?”

“Despite but what stories you may have been regaled with, though the Vreedle brothers are arsonists, gun nuts, and nihilists in most sense of the word, they are still quite susceptible to pain and telling whoever is dishing it out to them what they want to know, just like your typical lowly criminal pond scum. Unless of course—“

“—they think that the benefits of keeping their traps wired shut would outweigh the risks by a considerable margin.” I finish for him.

“Precisely. And that’s what frightens me exponentially more than having those two aboard. Whatever they were planning, and probably still are planning, must have some big payoff for them in the end, and something a lot less pleasant for us.”

I put my hand by my chin and consider this for a moment. “Hrmmm…well, at least we know that they lack the sufficient mental capacity to pull something like this off with help, though they’d probably or already have denied it. That’s something.”

“What was your first clue?”

Huffing humorously at this, I continue. “At the present though, I think it would be in our best interest to send—“

“—a scouting party to that world we’re over?” He says, taking the words from right out of my gaping maw as I had him.

“Of course. Did you happen to see any other world that looked remotely as habitable in this system?”

“No, but then again, I think it would be in our best interest to stay put and wait for the techies to restore all systems above basic life-support and artificial gravity so we can jump back to our Universe and sort things out there.”

I place my hands over my chest as I quirk a brow. “Really? And how long until then again?” I say without giving away that the question is purely rhetorical, for I already know the answer.

If he had been green, this would have been where we huffed in annoyance. Apparently, I was not as smooth in hiding the true nature of my query as I thought. “Unknown, or so they’ve told me, and you as well.”

“Precisely.” I say with a satisfied smirk. “And since we’re stuck here for the time being, we might as well look into things there on that world. Who knows? Perhaps young Benjamin junior is stranded upon this world instead of the one we were originally supposed to check first and we might have just ended up wasting our time in father’s choice of Universe.”

For a while we stand there, like back on the bridge earlier before we had even set sail for this fiasco. He stares at me with that poker face he always seems to wear while I look back with a clean-shaven smile that is most dashing if I do say so myself. This time, it he that breaks eye contact first. This time, it is he that relents.

Shaking and sighing his head, he says, “I don’t suppose I could convince you not to go by telling you how needlessly reckless and endangering that would be.”

“What can I say? Isn’t it practically the written duty of the Captain to do such things while the Co-Captain professes duly noted worries that usually don’t stop him?” I say.

“Well, you know that old human idiom about curiously and the bat.”

I smile. “My friend, right now, I wonder if you know that idiom. Word of advice: the animal mentioned within it begins with the third letter of the alphabet.”

I walk away down the corridor, picturing the mental gymnastics he must be undergoing as he racks that crystalline brain of his to remember precisely which letter I had mentioned. Looking back, I say, “Who knows Tetrax? This entire turn of events might just turn out to be a happy accident.”

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

“What!? Spike’s missing!?” Yelled Fluttershy, spitting out the tea she was sipping as she sat on a couch.

Not five minutes ago, Rarity had stopped over for the usual Tuesday Tea Time the two had this early in the morning. It had started off normally enough with the typical pleasantries and other such small talk being exchanged when, in the middle of the conversation involving how full in bloom the daffodils were, she had just up and vomited two words from out of her mouth. Spike’s missing.

 Doing her best to wipe away the jasmine with a hint of ginger out of her face and mane, Rarity said, “It’s true darling! I heard it from the horse’s mouth herself…so to speak.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Well…Twilight didn’t say so in as many words, but when she started yelling, “OF COURSE SPIKE IS HERE WITH ME, WHERE ELSE COULD HE BE? I MEAN, IT’S NOT LIKE HE DIDN’T COME HOME LAST NIGHT AND THOUGHT HE WAS WITH YOU. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE SILLY! LIKE A SQUIREEL THAT CAN EAT ANYTHING AND VOMIT OUT BLASTS OF MAGIC!” while waving her hooves frantically about, it’s kind of difficult not to suspect such a thing.” Rarity said prior to taking a long deserved breath. “Poor dear’s lucky to not be in a much worse condition after all of the excitement last night. She probably thought we’d all freak out and tear our hair at this bit of bad news in her addled state. As if I’ve ever been one to lose a cool head in such unfortunate happenstances.”

She took a sip of her tea.

“Well, he certainly isn’t with me, right Angel?” Fluttershy said, turning her head towards her pet bunny, who shrugged his shoulders before going back to reading the latest edition of the Ponyville Gazette.

Rarity sighed and hung her head. “Oh…I thought as much. Would you mind checking Rainbow Dash’s house for me while I trot over to Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Sure Rarity.” Accepted Fluttershy, pouring herself another spot. Suddenly, as soon as the china touched her lips, a thought about something Rarity had just told her hit her like a ton of Realization brand bricks. “Wait, what excitement last night? And what happened to Twilight?”

As soon as Rarity was done recounting the events of the night before, Fluttershy sat there, mouth agape, before falling off the couch and feinting on the floor. The cup of tea she was holding flew out of her fetlock and soaked a still drenched Rarity even further, except this time, with liquid that was much more scalding.

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

I stand watching with my arms crossed. Before me are a dozen or so Petrosapien, Arburian Pelarota, and Vulpimancer soldiers struggling to lift up a single bulkhead. I do not blame them. For this bulkhead, like all of its type within the ship’s hanger bays, was intended to protect the interior of the vessel from exposure to the rigors of space in case the energy shielding lacked sufficient power. Ironically enough, it was this very same deficiency that prevented the doors from being opened remotely and prompted this attempt at opening them the good ol’ fashioned, manual way.

Behind me, barely able to be made out in the dim green glow of the emergency lighting is a Tachyon-10 tactical insertion troop transport. Nothing too big or fancy. Just a height of ten feet, length of twenty, and wingspan of thirty. Inside, it was only good for carrying about ten troops plus a couple of pilots, or in my case, nine of the former and one of the latter.

I begin to tap my foot. Not because those in front of me are struggling with a door that could flatten the craft I’ll be taking into an exquisite metal pancake with how much it weighs, but rather, because the nine brave souls that I had requested to accompany me on this small expedition of sorts has not yet arrived.

“Prince Maximillius!”

Speak of the devil. I turn around and find non-other than Lieutenant Felonius at the head of a group of seven knights including himself and two Petrosapiens. All of them give the customary salute, which I return. “Well, you certainly took your sweet time getting here Lieutenant. I know this vessel is not exactly easy to maneuver even with the power back on unless you hold a high enough rank, but for empire’s sake, I was beginning to tap my foot here!”

The Lieutenant immediately drops to his knees and grovels out, “Please forgive me Mi Lord! Finding soldiers willing to accompany you in light of recent events has been most trying, especially in these conditions.”

“Rise. I’m not going to punish you Felonius.” I sigh. “I was just getting a little…antsy is all.”

This was true. So in true in fact, that it is one of the few traits no one, even Tetrax, would say was inherited from my mother side. Boundless impatience is apparently a hallmark my father was famous for and still is, to a lesser degree.

“Thank you Mi Lord!” Said Felonius, doing as I instructed. “Shall we be off then?”

I look over my shoulder back at the gaggle of troops by the bulkhead. For the fifth time, it slams shut once more and knocks them all backwards. “Of course. As soon as they manage to open that door. And the one after that and the one after that one.”

The entourage of my expedition, without a word uttered from my mouth or theirs, walk around me and approach the men attempting to lift the bulkhead. With their strength added into the mix, they managed to raise it high enough for my vessel to pass through and keep it there with two thick pillars of crystal off to the sides.

Nodding my approval, I say, “Hrmmm…I’ll get knighted up and get the engines warm.”

As both groups make their way to the second blast door, I myself ascend the drop down ramp at the rear end of the transport and don the set of standard Forever Knight armor I had placed on one of the seats, sans the helmet. After planting my rear firmly into the pilot’s seat, I look out of the window in front of me and see that they have already managed to open up the second blast door. Engaging the ignition sequence, the bird hovers off of the ground as the landing props pull back into its armor. I fly over them, turning my head back towards the open ramp so they can hear me better. “You have the thanks of your Prince for your efforts men! Now, to those of you not flying air Tennyson today, I suggest you head back behind the first door you managed to open at once. To the rest, climb aboard!”

Not needing to be told twice by me, I moved the ship closer to the ground so that my entourage could enter, the rest, making a beeline back deeper into the bay. “Strap yourselves in boys!” I yell, gaining height and turning the bird around. “Things are about to get loud in here!”

With a press of a button, two missiles raced out of mounts on both of the bird’s wings, streaking towards four individual targets that I had already locked onto. The pillars keeping the first two blast doors went up in a shower of crystal, the doors themselves slamming shut and scattering the shards further. Turning the bird back around to the last door, I say to my co-pilot, “Take control! This last one is mine!”

I unhook myself from the harness keeping me strapped to the pilot’s seat and the Lieutenant takes the wheel. I jump off the ramp and land with a thud. With a thought, the device attached my wrist on the genetic level glows dark green, bathing me in its light and transforming me into a Vaxasaurian. “HUMONGOSAUR!” I yell out. I run towards the door, growing to a height of sixty feet as I do. I find purchase on it and with a mighty heave, push it open above me. The sensation of space sucking out whatever air was in between blast-door number three and blast door number two surrounds me and I see the small form of the Tachyon-10 fly past me and into the void.

My work done, I took two quick steps to join them, the door slamming shut behind me. Using it now as a jumping off point, I shot towards the vessel, whose ramp was still lowered. I transform back to my human self, finding, much to my surprise, that I am s helmetless and chugging on vacuum. Taking a firm hold of the ramp with both hands, I pull myself inside, hanging on to the harness keeping a knight secure in his seat. Felonius immediately presses a button that raises the ramp shut and with even greater expedience, presses one that activates the craft’s life-support. “Where is my helmet?” I ask as I begin to take grateful gulps of the air now flowing inside.

“I think I saw it fly out of the back when the Tachyon entered space, sire.” Said the Knight whose harness that, even now, I hang onto like my life depended on it.

“What?” I cough out.

“Forgive me sire. I shall speak louder.”

As the knight repeated what he had just said, albeit in a greater volume, my mind recalls that before I had leapt out and changed into the Vaxasaurian, I had indeed not bothered to put on my helmet and had instead placed it to the left of my seat. Placed in tandem with the knight’s testimony, it was obvious that it was now chugging on more vacuum than I just did. I lay my head back and keep it there for a while, catching my breathe.

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

“Alright everypony. Think!” Yawned Rainbow Dash, flying back and forth inside the barn on Sweet Apple Acres. “Where would that little half-pint run off to?”

After Rarity had made quick use of Fluttershy’s shower to freshen up after having lukewarm tea spitted at her followed by hot tea dumped on her, Rarity had returned to Fluttershy’s living room to find the yellow Pegasus recovering from the bombshell that had been dropped on her, pun not intended. After making sure that she was okay, the two headed off to the friend that they were supposed to ask if Spike was with, expecting, hoping, that the baby dragon was with the one they chose to visit. It didn’t exactly go swimmingly.

Now, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity, were gathered in the second’s barn to come up with something, a sure fire way to find their missing mutual friend.

“I dunno.” Replied Applejack, turning to regard Rarity. “Did Twilight mention any spats between her and the little critter big enough for him to just up’n leave like this?”

“I’m afraid not Applejack. The poor dear seemed about as surprised by this as I was. More so in fact, now that I think about it.” Rarity said, placing a hoof to her chin. “Though, now that I think about it even further, perhaps that could have had more to do with the three or so bumps to the noggin she took last night. Brain damage and all that.”

“Pfff...puh-lease!” Said Rainbow Dash. “That girl’s gonna be fine! She’s taken A LOT heavier hits than that and walked away from them before! I’m more worried about Spike here.”

“Ya sure ya ain’t confusin’ Twilight for you yerself whenever ya get into an accident when practicin’ there sugarcube?”

“If by that you mean I’m a punching bag, then thank you Applejack.” Rainbow Dash said with a victorious grin that quickly turned into a look of confusion. “I think. Hey…wait a minute!”

As Applejack snickered at Rainbow’s late realization, Rarity said, “Girls, please get back to focusing, would you? This is serious!”

“Ah calm down Rarity. I’m sure he and the Crusaders just got together and decided to have a sleepover in that tree house of theres. Nothing to worry about.”

“Ummm…Rainbow Dash?” Asked Fluttershy. “Weren’t you listening? Applejack and Rarity said that the Crusaders haven’t seen him either.”

“Huh…this is serious then.” Rainbow Dash said, stretching. “Well, I’m bushed—errr…--stumped.”

“Well maybe if ya didn’t sleep in everyday till noon, you’d be used to being up and about this early for ya Rainbow.” Said Applejack with a roll of her eye.

“Aw give me a break. You try working on the weather team and training half as much as I do!” Rainbow Dash yawned.

“Girl, your brain must be as fuzzy as a whole herd’a sheep if ya think I don’t work at least double as hard as you do on a bad day since I was a filly!”

“Hey! You callin’ me lazy?” Rainbow said, shaking her hoof as though thems were fightin’ words.

“Nope. Just not a mornin’ pony is all.”

Rainbow Dash tried thinking of an argument, but eventually used so much of her limited brainpower in her bed-headed state (some would say in any state period), that her eyes began to get droopier than they were already and she crashed onto a bundle of hay, completely and utterly in REM before she had even landed.

“I rest my case.” Smiled Applejack, proudly.

Fluttershy and Rarity turned to face one another and looked down at the dirt as they thought of a means to locate their missing friend. “Hmmmm…” They mumbled in unison.

Fluttershy was the first to look back up. “Maybe we should head into town and see if anypony’s seen him?”

“Darling, that was my thought exactly!” Said Rarity, happily.