Metroid Equis
Chapter 17
Canterlot: Joint Capability
After about fifteen minutes of the Hunter silently waiting through the pouring rain, Samus’s gunship revealed itself from the low-lying cloud layer and gently touched down on the battle-scarred forest floor right in front of her. In complete silence, the armorless warrior jumped to the hatch and descended into the cockpit, reveling in the warmth of her ship. Samus sat down in her pilot’s seat and keyed in the necessary commands to get the ship started and on course to return to Ponyville. Looking up before shey keyed for takeoff, Ridley’s flagship still lay suspended in the sky somewhere beyond the cloud layer, accompanied by two more other ships.
Without a second thought, Samus set off, her ship using the Everfree’s cloud cover for camouflage as she let autopilot take her to her destination. Not even a mile out, Samus’s eyes widened in realization:
I never destroyed the base!
At that moment a glorious display of light shown behind her: numerous explosions of different colors and intensities, all magically induced as scans could tell, erupted at several points within the now concealed forward outpost. This was followed by one large mushroom cloud finally erupting from the center in a violent show of force, raining charred debris within a half-mile radius which was quickly doused by the falling rain. Luna apparently hadn’t forgotten.
She’s good, I’ll give her that.
The cloud vapor obscuring her ship’s large viewport began to slowly whittle away as Samus progressed closer to Ponyville. Judging from the position of the sun, it appeared that several hours had easily whittled away since when she departed from the town. A lot could happen in several hours, especially with a full scale invasion of a planet in full effect. As Samus cleared the cloud layer completely, the same warships were still high in the sky weighing in on all who would see them; not to mention the fighters that were scrambling, moving like gnats on a hot summer’s day amongst the skyline.
The Hunter Class Gunship began its slow descent into its position outside of Twilight’s Library as the cloaking device was engaged, rendering it invisible from Pirate Radar. As Samus exited via the hatch, she was quick to notice that the entire town was… barren. Celestia had made good on her actions to evacuate the entire town.
“Samus!”
The armorless Hunter quickly shot her gaze to the origination of the voice calling her name: Twilight peeking out and waving her over with her hoof. Samus’s eyes were drawn to the two Elite Royal Guards keeping a low profile on either side of the library, energy spears at attention. Dismissing the observation, she quickly flew through the air and landed ever gracefully on her feet before making her way into the Library where the door was promptly shut behind her. Gazing around, all the remaining five Elements of Harmony were gathered in the common room while Celestia was seated, sending and receiving letter after letter, order after order, and memo after memo away through magical channels.
“Princess Celestia was able to evacuate most of Ponyville and the surrounding towns and cities,” Twilight began, trotting over to her friends with Samus in tow. Her eyes shifted as a result of stress and her mane seemed unkempt.
“Where to?”
“Farther east moreso, specifically towards the Whitetail Woods past Canterlot and beyond. Many went south towards Appleoosa and and as far East as Stalliongrad and even into the borders of other nations. The farther they go, the safer they’ll be.”
“Indeed,” Celestia piped up, addressing the recently arrived Hunter. “Any news since your departure?”
Samus was about to mention herself and Luna finding and ultimately eliminating a Pirate base in the Everfree, but from past conversation in the forest, she felt that Luna’s presence was meant to be as discreet as possible.
“I found, infiltrated, and destroyed a Pirate military installation in the Everfree. I was able to collect what data I could on other current and planned footholds. This will be invaluable to your troops and the Federation when they arrive in the next thirty or so hours.” Then Samus popped another question, already knowing something the Solar Princess most likely didn’t: “What’s the situation with military matters?” she asked, taking a seat.
“So far, nothing too serious. The peacekeeping army we have has been put on the defensive until further notice. We’ve grounded all air units on account of having no way to counter the smaller, faster ships… the ones that look like tadpoles.” Celestia explained.
“The fighters?” Samus clarified.
“If that’s the proper name, then yes. We don’t have the technology nor the ordnance to combat them air to air,” Celestia affirmed. “We’ve already lost dozens of good pegasi,” she added morosely.
“Have there been any skirmishes between the Pirates and your army?” Samus asked while looking at a map on her tablet.
“Luna tells me that there have only been minor probing attacks but that could change very soon. Activity is heavy towards the Frozen North and the Crystal Empire though.”
“Alright. I’m gonna need to head North as soon as possible, so just be aware of that,” Samus gave a verbal note.
“I am well aware of that, however with this Galactic Federation arriving to our planet soon I’d rather you be here to mediate first contact and help smooth this over at first,” Celestia proposed. The other mares plus young dragon seemed to agree.
“That’s… actually a good idea. Alright then, here’s what we’ll do…” Samus began, getting to her feet and starting to pace a bit. “Federation arrival by my estimates is a little over a day. I’ll help with any evacuation procedures if you need and as necessary I’ll help defend the area. Once contact is made, we’ll formalize the requisition of troops and supplies and start northward. With the Federation and your own forces helping to hold the south, we can all collectively drive the Pirates more north, allowing us to link up with the Crystal Empire and then find the Phazon core.”
“You make it sound so easy,” Twilight interjected. Samus gave a sarcastic grin.
“Simplicity has its own uses in battle planning. Of course, the idea of tentativity has heavy influence but nevertheless it helps to play by some structure,” Samus responded, finally turning to face everypony in the room, hands and arms crossed behind her back.
“So… what now?” Rainbow Dash asked, getting fidgety and not particularly liking the fact that she was forced into protective custody like the others.
“We wait,” Celestia answered.
“Yep. I just ask that you keep me updated about issues on the ground. If there are areas close by that come under Pirate attack I’d rather be there to help defend,” Samus added, also not a fan of just standing around, but there was little choice.
“We do have reports of ponies going missing or being visibly abducted by the Pirates,” Celestia read off from a parchment, her mood going even more south. “But all of these are coming from the north, deep within what can now be assumed as occupied territory.”
“Damn…” Samus furrowed her gaze. She knew that if she attempted to go north to assist in efforts to defend and evacuate, her ship would get shot out of the sky immediately by enemy fighters. In fact even when the Federation arrived, it would probably be wise to travel on the ground than risk being shot in the aerial battles that would ensue. “If there aren’t any reports of mass killings and only abductions, the Pirates are taking prisoners to use as test subjects… sometimes a fate worse than death in all honesty,” the Hunter addressed Celestia. She had a right to know.
All the mares turned their attention to their ruler, who looked like her head would explode from the sheer mix of emotions she was feeling. She had been trying to keep her thoughts clear lest she make a decision under duress, but the notion of her ponies being taken as test subjects did a number on her emotionally. It also wasn’t like she could go protect her subjects physically… the moment she took flight she’d get killed, even with magic. Besides, as much as she wanted to risk her life, Celestia knew it would be a foolish thing to do at the moment. Equestria and even the planet needed her and Luna’s leadership at the moment. Celestia went back to working and overseeing evacuation efforts, but no matter how much she kept her stoic face, everybody in the room could she she was slowly breaking down.
Samus, eyeing the strong Solar Alicorn, felt compelled for some reason to do something. While the other mares, including Twilight, decided to give their ruler space to work on her most important tasks, Samus decided to sit next to her, as if offering some intangible moral support while she poured over the Pirate Data she had collected.
Most likely another side effect of the elemental absorption.
Silence overtook the room for an unspecified amount of time. It felt like hours to Samus, but her thoughts were disturbed by Celestia’s voice:
“You’re ready for another Element.”
“Huh?”
“Come with me,” Celestia beckoned as she got to her hooves. Samus fell into step with her as they departed to the guest room. “Being one with enormous magical connection I have the ability to feel it naturally in others. I had expected the absorption of the Element of Kindness to make your own magical prowess a bit… unstable. To my surprise, however, your natural magical activity is completely docile. As such, I feel you’re ready to hold on to another Element,” Celesita explained, finding the same small chest and bringing it before the Hunter.
“I guess you’d know better than me. What’s next then?” Samus asked.
“This,” Celestia opened the chest and let an unidentified magical aura coalesce into what looked like a blood-red lightning bolt. “is the Element of Loyalty. Rainbow Dash volunteered to let you hold onto her element next, saying something along the lines of you being ‘cool enough for her’ to do so,” she finished with a small chuckle.
Samus stoically examined the holographic-looking magical lightning bolt as it hovered and spun counter-clockwise in front of her. Out of habit, she used her arm-console to scan the object in front of her.
“Loyalty.”
And that’s all her scan function had to say. Without further ado, she gently clutched the magic, which dispersed into her being and came together on her chest. Like last time, Samus’s eyes pulsed a blood red color, allowing her normal blues to be visible through between each pulse, before dying out completely.
[Element of Harmony Acquired!]
“This is the Element of Loyalty, the second of six.”
Like last time, no other information was available.
“How do you feel?” Celestia asked, genuinely curious as to the effect.
“I feel… interesting…” Samus commented honestly. She felt almost… ‘pumped.’ Like she got a burst of energy suddenly and was ready to just go do something.
“Hmmm…” Celestia eyed her curiously. “I want to monitor you for today. If things go well then maybe we can induce another later.”
Samus nodded and the two of them joined the rest of the group, Celestia immediately getting back to work and Samus analyzing all the Pirate Data she collected.
“Water! I need water now!”
“Go go go!”
Magical and Quantum Assault Cannon fire flew in every which direction of the street. The city of Trottingham was in the middle of an evacuation when the Pirates launched an attack from a foothold base. Ponies of the Equestrian Regular Army were doing all they could to keep civilians safe.
The scene was at the center of a fork in a main road in the heart of Trottingham, lined with townhomes and of which were ablaze in several locations. A platoon of pony soldiers that was assigned to defend a city ministry and the civilians inside was cut off when Pirate forces surrounded them. Slowly but surely the enemy advanced up the road in this urban battle. Unicorns could fight with their magic but Pegasi and Earth Ponies could only rely on their agility and strength respectively in close quarters combat when able. This put the Equestrians at a horrible disadvantage against the Space Pirates’ ranged weapons.
One soldier, a Unicorn Lieutenant, poked his head out and almost got it shot off.
“Lieutenant Whirlwind! Did you get the message to Princess Celestia?!” his commanding officer shouted at him as the entire line of unicorns returned fire towards the advancing horde of Pirates.
“Negative, Captain! The only unicorn who knew of the royal magical channel got killed!”
“That means we’re cut off from command entirely! The damn invaders are disrupting this new radio tech we have so we’re completely isolated! Prep your mares and stallions for a last stand, soldier.”
So… this is how it would end. The Lieutenant saluted his Captain and was prepared to deliver the news to his remaining squadron.
Suddenly, eight bursts of magic signaled long range teleportation spells activating. All the remaining troops looked up and found eight black-clad unicorn soldiers with the emblazoned Magickakorps on their armor line the top of the townhomes overlooking the advancing Pirates. As soon as they teleported in they opened fire, unleashing a rapid torrent of hard magic against the Space Pirate battalion in the street.
The formerly defending troops peeked over and found the Pirates getting cut down in droves by the unidentified friendly forces, falling by the dozens with multiple holes in their chests, heads, et cetera. They immediately seized the initiative and went on the offensive, bounding their barricades with a war cry, unicorns unleashing their own volley of magic-weapons fire from their horns. When the first section of the street was clear (albeit lined with bodies of Space Pirates and ponies alike) the eight elite troops teleported to the ground level and met up with the regular soldiers.
“Thanks for saving our asses back there! Command didn’t tell us they were sending reinforcements but… who are you?” Captain Stalactite addressed what appeared to be the officer of the newcomers. Finally able to get a better look, each of the soldiers was covered in jet-black leather with same-colored metal armor as an overlay. Their faces were completely obscured by black armor and a visor, which was again black, save for small holes poked in the snout area.
“We’ve cleared a route out of the city. Get the civilians out of here now!” the unidentified female officer spoke urgently. The Captain thought he should pull rank and demand to know who the newcomers were, but with the safety of civilians at stake, he opted to take the opportunity which presented itself.
“Lieutenant! Have your troops gather the ponies inside the ministry and let’s get them out of here.”
“Yes, sir!”
Stalactite turned back to the eight troops of the Magickakorps in front of him.
“Thanks again,” he only said, to which the elite force silently saluted in return before teleporting out.
Captain Stalactite looked around and found himself alone amongst the dead and ruins of the street. He gave one uneasy look behind him and took off running to join the rest of his troops in the retreat.
Eight teleportation spells went off once more on the roof of one of the taller buildings overlooking Trottingham. The eight elite unicorn troops gathered together while the leader pressed her hoof to her face.
“Vector Squad to Lunar One…”
“I read you loud and clear Vector Squad, how do you find these new radios?”
“They work excellently, Your Majesty. Trottingham on the whole is largely relieved and most of the civilians and troops are out. The invaders are still sending forces in and they continue to control the skies, Princess Luna.”
“Excellent work, Lieutenant. Here are your next orders…”
The squad’s attention drifted away from what Luna was saying when the eight of them spotted a gargantuan amount of movement in the sky.
“... Vector Squad?”
“Uhhh… Lunar One I believe we have a massive problem…”
“Go ahead, Vector…?”
One of the warships was moving in the sky. It slowly but surely yawed left and descended slowly, penetrating the atmosphere completely as it drifted closer to the ground. The large transport frigate then turned its course in a direction which sent a chill throughout Vector Squad’s collective spine.
“One of the enemy warships has completely entered the atmosphere! It looks like it’s heading straight for Canterlot! Based on its speed, ETA is approximately one hour before it will be completely over the city!”
Silence on the other end lasted for several seconds.
“Acknowledged and confirmed, Vector Squad. As of now your orders have changed. Return to Canterlot immediately and regroup at the HiveMind. Your orders will be given there. I must tend to something immediately.”
“Understood, Your Highness. Vector out.”
The eight unicorns of the Magickakorps all turned to each other, nodded once, and teleported out, leaving the now mostly-barren Trottingham to its fate.
Things had remained relatively the same for the next few hours at the Golden Oaks Library. Samus and Celestia were going about their own important work while the Elements just bided their time… it was all they really could do. The comfortable (term used loosely) atmosphere ended when the two Guards outside burst in.
“Princess! One of them is moving!” the one on the right frantically shouted out.
“What?!” Celestia asked, still not entirely sure what he meant. The entire group fancied a look outside and found the gargantuan frigate, at least a mile or two in the air, slowly drifting towards them. In a few minutes it would obscure the setting sun and cast shadow over all of Ponyville. The mares all looked up with wide eyes which bore nothing but fear at the giant floating ship made of metal above them.
“It’s heading straight for Canterlot!” Celestia concluded independently, judging its trajectory which landed perfectly towards her home. Samus nodded.
“It’s a Space Pirate Transport Frigate. It can carry thousands of troops and if that ship gets over Canterlot that city is as good as lost…” Samus announced.
“I need to notify Luna right now…” Celestia thought out loud, gathering her thoughts to connect a mental channel with her sister which had been inexplicably severed.
“I’m already aware,” a new voice sounded off. The origin was Princess Luna, who landed in front of them while simultaneously deactivating her magical active camouflage. “The city is safe… for now. We have approximately one hour before that ship stands over Canterlot.
“If it gets there, you’ll have at least four thousand Space Pirates to fight off,” Samus added in.
“That is unacceptable! I don’t suppose you may have a suggestion on how to deal with this vessel?” Luna inquired as the ship slowly began to pass over Ponyville.
“I’m thinking!” Samus spat out in frustration. The turn of events was a bit more than irritating to say the least. Samus only had her gunship, which would be next to impossible to take on an entire Space Pirate Frigate with. Even though it was only a transport, it wasn’t defenseless by any means and the Pirates surely sent air support with it. Ridley was most likely getting himself cleaned up so it was highly unlikely that he’d be anywhere near the area at the time, so that was one less thing to worry about.
“Can we board it?” Luna blurted out. If she could get close enough, she and a team of Magickakorps could teleport into the vessel.
“It would take too long. And in case you don’t remember me saying, there are thousands of troops on board. You and a simple team of soldiers would be overrun in due time if you don’t teleport to the right area. Even if you do get to the bridge or engine room, the sheer amount of resistance would slow you down. There won’t be enough time…” Samus explained.
“Well, we cannot simply ask them to turn around… we have to disable the vessel or force it to retreat somehow,” Luna piped in once more. Celestia didn’t offer words, as her specialty didn’t lay within military doctrine. Rainbow Dash, however, couldn’t help but try to listen to the Hunter and Night Princess talk strategy. Samus brought something to the forefront that was on her mind:
“You move the moon right? Can you not move the frigate?” she proposed. Luna shook her head.
“Like Celestia is able to with the sun, I can only move the moon by my magical connection to it. They are extensions of us, not merely just celestial entities. Theoretically, I or Celestia could move the frigate via magic, but levitation and control of an object this size would be nigh impossible, even with both of us combined.”
“Well shit… we’re running out of time here,” Samus exclaimed, her main idea going to hell.
“Wait… that thing’s not flying by magic?” Rainbow Dash pipped in suddenly, asking for clarification.
“No. Use of anti-gravity generators coupled with Fusion-Reactor and Phazon/Fuel-Gel compatible Engines drive that fat-ass up there…” Samus muttered out, studying the ship above her; her face felt cooler as it blocked out Ponyville’s sunlight.
“So… its just… flying… yeah?” Rainbow tried to reason through all the big words and meaningless jargon in her perspective.
“For all intents and purposes, yes…” Samus confirmed, trying to see where the prismatic-maned pony was heading with this. Something clicked in RD’s head as things added up.
“I know how we can bring it down!... or at least turn it away!” she yelled out with urgency. Everyone else turned to her.
“Dash…?” Twilight asked uneasily.
“Pray tell, Loyalty. What do you propose?” Luna asked.
“The Sonic Rainboom!”
Silence from all parties. Samus, in particular, hadn’t an inkling of a clue of what she just said.
“Rainbow this ain’t the time for yer showing off!” Applejack angrily shot back at her.
“No! Listen! Hear me out… when I first performed the Sonic Rainboom, I later learned that all pegasi within half a mile of me were knocked out of the sky by the initial shockwave or whatever you call it. The same thing could work but on a lesser scale for something this big…” she motioned to the warship above them. Luna was about to say something but she stopped herself and thought on Dash’s words.
“Can… someone fill me in here?” Samus asked, completely in the dark.
“Yes… yes that could work!” Luna concluded. Rainbow Dash had a look of success on her face. Luna then turned to Samus.
“We now have a plan. It involves, you, Rainbow Dash, the Canterlot Air Wing, myself, and a group of soldiers,” Luna spoke… putting subtle emphasis on the last word.
Time to see what the ponies were capable of.
So Rainbow Dash is going to try to use the Sonic Rainboom to knock the Space Pirate Frigate off course?
...actually, considering the high levels of magical energy in the Rainboom, it's entirely possible that the shockwave would not only knock it off course, but shut down the entire frigate, since it wouldn't be able to handle the energy wavelengths, resulting in experiencing the magical equivalent of an EMP. But Chozo tech can analyze magic, so what would happen if Samus' power suit analyzed the Rainboom and applied it to the Shinespark? Having absorbed Loyalty would even make that more likely for Samus, because that would forge a strong magical bond between her and Rainbow.
A sonic rainboom, I wonder if Samus could get some gear to do something similar.
3752359 haha I was hoping my logic wasn't TOO far out!
And that seems interesting, but that means the shinespark would have to achieve enormous velocity so it may not be feasible in the end
........my interst, it is perked. i was expecting something far less, but so far it is pretty good. i'd almost say surprisingly so. hell i could almost buy that samus could integrate energy from the elements. in many ways the technology of the chozo almost had a supernatural quality to it............... and magic does seem to exist to some extent in metroid, as mentioned in the third prime game.
............a thought though. could the equstrains not take advantage of the fact that the enemy technology is not magical? in a sense magic is manipulting reality to some extent...... is it possible they could use a spell to affect the antigravity generator of the ship? reach into the mechanism with a spell and break what is most vital? Samus probably would know where it is most breakable.
3752403
Actually, the Sonic Rainboom is only Mach 5. Since her suit is capable of generating magic, she'd just need a large enough horizontal range to Shinespark through. Upwards wouldn't work because she's fighting gravity, but forward or downwards, the new application to the Shinespark could cause her to continue to accelerate until she reaches impact or Rainboom velocities.
Alternatively, she gets Speed Booster Mark 2, which kicks in after she's been in Speed Booster long enough and pushes her to hypersonic speeds, and the Shinespark mark 2 gives her a Rainboom effect.
3752359
You sir are a genius!!!
I would love to see that happen. But why stop at Samus? What if her gunship got the capability to do a Soni Rainboom????? But I do think an insertion team would be a good start, cause some chaos and disruption of communications to make it harder to target Rainbow.
3752457
I think her ship has too much mass to achieve that velocity safely in atmosphere.
3752482
DUDE, IT'S FREAKING MAGIC, IT CAN DO STUFF PHYSICS CAN'T RATIONALIZE.
How else do you think Pegasus can fly with wings the size they are????
3752555
There's still conservation of energy. And even if the ship could perform it, the size of the shockwave would be prohibitively destructive. It would be like the fan-made Double Rainboom. Too risky to use.
3752573
Again, AWWWWWW. What about just a rainbow shield for ramming at high speed through space frigates??? Or a Rainboom cannon????
3752359
well im just gonna mozy on in and add a little tid bit to the conversation and say that she is faster than mach 5.
3752605
The Rainboom wouldn't work in a vacuum. The magic is carried in a Sonic Boom which wouldn't happen outside an atmosphere. As far as the shield or a cannon, I don't think that would really work. Besides, the Asteroid Bombardment Charge Combo does enough damage already.
3752605
Rainboom Cannon: An AA Gun that fires Rainbowdashs at enemy air craft.
3752725 THAT'S 20% MORE AWESOME!!!!!!!
3752731
This is a really, REALLY bad idea… this is coming from me, the guy who thought that the Indy Ploy was the greatest idea of the millennium… Oh, well! Back to the Thirty-Six Stratagems!
3752766 Lol I assure you this won't be a wild goose chase :P
3752430 You're a goddamn genius. I think you may have answered a problem I was running into. I'm gonna vary something you just told me a bit and you'll get credited for it
3752888
Cool!
3752429 Well, I'm glad I was able to peak your interest! :D
As per the magic question, the entire pony society has an enormous disadvantage, yet great advantage at the same time. The problem is that not every pony is a unicorn. As well, not every unicorn is equal in magical prowess, so reality altering spell would probably take a great deal of magical knowledge and practice
3752901 i do not mean literal reality altering powers like discrod's chaos magic. i mean that, technically, their spells kinda go against physics and would force Einstein into a drunken depression. basically a unicorn, even of simpler magical prowess, could theoretically destroy any mundanely created device if they kno what to break. basically sabatoge the device through superntural powers.
then again it would be a lot more complicated with such an advanced device. they would need the likes of samus to tell them how the device functions.
kinda a theory i have with that whole strange tech vs magic thing. if magic is capable of being willingly used to create a desired effect, it will make tech its bitch. but if we are dealing more with G1 mlp magic, tech has the advantage because the magic lacks variability.
3752981 Ah I see what you mean. In the MLP-verse I personally don't see magic as a 'cure-all' for lack of better words. For example a unicorn of average capability just saying 'do this' or however they summon magic wouldn't just 'do that.' So if they have some device, I don't feel that if they summon magic and a spell that says 'break this' that things will work out fine. I feel it's more of a tier/knowledge based act and the more experience one has the more physics-defying spells can become. Theoretically I could pull the 'yeah magic ain't gotta explain shit' theme but I felt that putting a more realistic approach to the application of magic was a better alternative.
I think of it like a computer. Computers are capable of some enormous feats (not really physics defying but still). I can't just talk to my computer, even with speech recognition, and say 'do this' and it will do whatever I asked. I have to know the proper key strokes, where to look in the interface, et cetera. I feel magic is the same way here. One has to know how to manipulate their magic in the many arts there are, otherwise it's useless.
3753030 kinda what i can see. a spell is like executing a computer command. however it is not the same as unwanted side effects can happen if magic is poorly cast or unknown factors are involved. if you mistype a computer demand, it will just get an error. magic will turn your best female friend into a fruit addicted bat pony.
generally they have to practice the spells and make sure they work. yet it seems the more simplistic the spell, such as telekinesis or simply releasing energy of magic from the orn, are the least likely to have uncertain side effects and are the easiest to use and learn. basically to the concept i brought up. instead of trying to create a spell to manipulate gravity to cause the antigravity field the ship is using to fail, which would take a pretty powerful unicorn to do, they simply figure out where some major wire or panel is in the ship and use telekinesis to damage or break it.
another factor worth interpreting is what kind of magic would unicorns and ponies use against enemies. in the sense of simplicity over complexity, manifesting fire should not be extremely difficult. hell the pegasus ponies would be the most nightmarish to deal with. while i doubt they would use it short of desperation, they could generate destructive weather patterns and aim them at the enemy. tornados, artific blizzards, drowning rains. not to mention the potential of using small thunderheads as energy weapons of a sort.
earth ponies would sitll be dangerous. incredible strength and endurance. though against enemies with energy weapons they would struggle much more.
...............and thanks for even taking that thought into consideration. only a few days ago i mentioned the concept of magic vs tech and a literal LEGION of maniacs started trolling me on me saying that tech would be in trouble with the fim magic. though the strongest argument they could even manage is that the show only shown unicorns using magic either usedi n ttelekinesis or cutie marks...... shakes head. narrow minded................... guys far too foten questioned my sexuality........ which is sorta ironic considering the subject matter; pastel magic ponies.
...............actually that oculd also be another concept. specialization thanks to cutie marks. unicorns like twilight and trixie, which i included because she does have talent but lacked oomph to do much, can use a wide range of magic, yet ponies with more specialized talents can perform certain tasks more efficiently than even twilight. strong as twilight is rarity's gem finding spell is superior, as is her demonstrations of her telekinetic control as well; while the usra minor incident showed us how much raw power tiwlight had, it did not have the incredibly control of rarity's magic...... rarity seems to show more and more she is a fairly adept unicorn all around it seems.
3753155 Ahhhh alright! I was just not entirely understanding the context of what you were bringing up then.
Using magic to break vulnerable parts, YES! All of my yes! That's what Luna's first suggestion was going to be. Not just to board the ship and go shoot everything, but have Samus tell them exactly where to go. However, progress would be impeded even if they were to teleport directly to the engine room, because an advanced ship would surely have failsafes if something went offline that was a critical component. Then the unicorns would be swamped by enemy troops. What you'll find out next chapter is that she's still going to be using the boarding party in part for that exact reason: to just break things that are important haha
Oh and don't worry about it. Many have different views, especially in the magic v. tech field. It's good to have an open mind with that because talking with people like that has given me many ideas on how to proceed with this very story
This is the fanfic Ive been dreaming of. two of my favorite things together. And its good to boot!
3753193 actually, the more complex a device, the more frail it is. true the device would have failsafes, but failsafes are designed to only activate once trouble brews. what happens if the failsafes are destroyed first?
3753218 Very true, but Samus won't know the location of EVERYTHING realize. Even if she did, the running around and teleporting within (and onto) a moving object would end up being time consuming. Destroying something in the engines and then running to destroy the failsafes would render the same amount of time as destroying the failsafes and running to the engine. Not to mention the resistance in between. COMPLETELY possible mind you, but with the allotted time, it shouldn't be the ONLY option considered, which is why at the very end they're doing a 'why not both?' scenario
3753211 Well thank you, good sir! :)
I hope I can continue to combine the two fandoms in a way you deem appropriate :)
3753193
Out of curiosity, if enough unicorns combined their telekinetic force together, could they rip a chunk of one of the ships off the rest of it? Especially if it's built as a module? Exactly how functional would a Space Pirate Frigate be if the Command Module were ripped out of the ship mid-flight.
And how many ideas do we have to give you before we're credited as creative consultants?jk
3753249 true. that kind of sbatoge requires knowledge of the systems.
then again if luna or celsetia got into there they could simply directly attack the engine then leave. at the very least it would slow them down or force them to land. though it lands the risk of it actually exploded.
3753254 That sounds like a pretty interesting sight to see! And yeah, I feel that if enough unicorns were tugging at the same thing, the magic wouldn't cancel itself out if that wasn't the intended effect. It would be like a tug of war scenario. However I also take into count an 'object is out of range' when it comes to grabbing something with magic, so the situation would have to have decent context around it
LOL you not only helped me with ideas that's for sure, you also SPOILED my ideas when you guessed them CORRECTLY in your proposals (I still laugh at that today), and you're my editor. Come the "Staff Credits" chapter I have planned you will be getting a nice chunk of credit don't you worry :)
3753257 Indeed. If you weren't able to infer from Luna's last words, essentially stuffs gonna happen outside while Luna takes a boarding party inside. Chaos on the inside will direct attention away from the outside which is needed for Dash to perform her strategy.
Yeah, that's also the risk that if they tamper with the engine wrong, the whole thing goes boom. I haven't decided how I'm going to write the whole boarding party scenario yet but I assure you there will most likely not be an all-annihilating explosion taking everyone with it haha
3753270
Cool. From now on, if I have a suggestion like that, I'll comment "See the PM" and send it to you in a PM. That way, if I'm guessing right or give you good ideas, no one else gets spoilers.
And as for the range thing, could Samus' power suit or her ship, once adapted, be used as a range booster to allow the unicorns to grab something normally considered 'out of range'? ...or should I have sent that in a PM?
3753301 Hahaha nah, I don't think ripping out the command module will be necessary this time around. However, in terms of range factor... I'm not sure how I feel about that. The idea of a 'magical extension cord' sounds a bit odd to me
3753311
Not an extension cord, more a relay/focusing point. It makes perfect sense that a crystal structure could be used to boost a magical communication signal - magical equivalent of a cell phone tower - so could something similar be used to refocus and boost other forms of magical techniques?
Samus, what's wrong with you? You've lost at least two upgrades by not taking care of the base yourself!
Also, I'm excited for the (hopefully) inevitable Sonic Shineboom.
I don't know if you have an editor, but if you do, there are a couple of rather jarring errors he missed. I feel that these need to be addressed, and because no one else has mentioned them, I hope I can help by bringing them to your attention.
This is a dangling participle. Reading this, it is likely that a reader would think it was the gunship that was doing the waiting, which is a little confusing. Don't worry about it though; it's a common mistake, and it can be easily fixed by changing the first part to clearly state that it was Samus who was waiting.
This is actually pretty bad. These sentences say essentially the same thing, and repeating yourself is something you never want to do. It doesn't read organically and is very distracting. I would strongly suggest removing the thought portion and leaving only the first sentence of the paragraph and the quote.
I'm quite enjoying this fic, and I think seeing it cleaned up would make it just that much better.
3755065 Nice catch! Didn't think about the first one. And now that I think of it, the second one doesn't sound right at all. I removed the second part of the second error you pointed out.
Thanks for that!
Great chapter again. The ponies aren't as defenceless as the space piates thought... I wonder how will Celestia and the mane 6 react when they learn about Luna's Magickacorps.
[Element of Harmony acquired!]
"This is the Element of Loyalty, the second of six."
[!!WARNING!! Effect on suit systems unknown!]
**BI-BI-BI**
"Recorded to Logbook."
[Item: Element of Loyalty]
"Similar to the Element of Kindness, this Element is manifested by the pony who most closely embodies its values. When manifested, it takes the form of a single piece of an unknown red gemstone, bordered in gold. Its current bearer is Rainbow Dash."
Note: I would use other colors for the Elements, but the color picker identifies those as "belonging" to the ponies, so...
3755189
I'm just glad to help. I'm really enjoying this fanfic, and I wish for it to be all it can be. If I can help with that endeavor, I will.
The Department of Redundancy Department called. Wanting their line back, they called want their line back.
FYI, a Lieutenant is in charge of a platoon. If a Captain was present in Trottingham, there would be no less than several platoons. Also, why was a lieutenant leading a squad? A sergeant would be in charge of that, silly.
3759354 Nice catch on the redundancy! Didn't even see that one. As for the rank discrepancy, yeah I forgot to do some research on that one. I'll overlook it for now and make according changes in the future :)
3760897 Oh, I just remembered one more thing too that I was going to point out...
"Your Majesty" is capitalized.
Getting flashbacks to a Sonic Rainboom tearing apart a Void Demon in a Warkammer 40K fic I like.
Good stuff.
I have been reading this story for the past couple of days. I haven't said anything about it yet. But, now that I am done with the latest chapter, I would like to share my thoughts. First of all, I can safely say that this has to be one of the best, if not, the absolute best crossover fic that I have read on here. You perfectly captured and utilized the source material of one of my all-time favorite franchises, and combined it with the Friendship is Magic setting. Hell, you even pulled details from the manga and made them gel naturally with the narrative! You make this story appear as a believable and engaging story arch within Metroid's universe, despite the fact that one would think Equestria/Equis would not be an appropriate or interesting place for events like these to occur. You got very creative with the combination of lore between both universes. I get a kick out of the made up power-ups and how well they fit within the Metroid franchise.
The feelings of general suspense, discovery, dread, atmosphere, tension, and emotion that one would expect from any one of Samus's missions are present and appropriately paced along with the narrative. Dialogue and characterization are well thought out, considering all of the characters in the story. And, actions are incredibly detailed and are given the most care. This is definitely what pleases me most about this story. Because it is within these moments when there is more being shown then told that I can truly visualize what is happening. Whether it is an intense fight sequence, a moment of observation, or Samus just exploring a new environment - I can picture it all in my head due to how much attention is put to detail. And, in Metroid, visual actions and atmosphere are what make the largest impression on any player. So, this really feels like Metroid while also employing the whimsical nature of Equestria and its quirky characters.
I really look forward to the future of this story. It is an immersive read that deserves all of the attention that it has gained.
3785045 Wow... Well I feel honored that you feel so highly about this story and I can only hope to continue to write at that level for its duration. Thank you very much for your strong words and I hope to continue to hear your opinion in future chapters :)
Gotta love big plans
Reading this while listening to Epic Rave and Failed Call. So awesome!
3762466 your profile pic is terrifying!