Clouds lazily drifted above an expansive grass-covered plain on a lukewarm night, giving spots of darkest grey that blemished a deep navy sky. A full moon hung at its apex, illuminating the area with rays of silver. A lone pegasus with wings as large as her entire body flew over the plain; it was a mare sporting a lilac coat, and a collar with a box-shaped front and a golden bell-like object adorning her neck. A long, untamed blond mane whipped between her wings and across her back as she flew, briefly brushing up against a sword-and-shield sigil that sat upon her hips, also golden in color.

Eyes as green as grass were poised on the ground, and her large wings—which were sporting several long, translucent blades of viridian in place of primary feathers—flapped with all the grace of a swan. Her head darted this way and that, though she never took the time to look into the sky even once. She'd been flying over these plains all night, yet nothing out of the ordinary stuck out at her. The plains sloped into gently cresting hillsides far to the south, before leveling out in a plateau leading to far-off mountain ranges capped with the tell-tale signs of a recent snowstorm. If she were to go north, she'd catch sight of a tall shadow, ending in a sharp point that gleamed in the moon's light. The only other thing to really note was that the fields were as green as could be, and some bulky form hovering off in the distance whose features she really couldn't glean all that well.

She'd scoured north first, all on her lonesome. Her wings really helped her to cross the distance, and there were times she kept them perfectly still just to ride the wind and cross over a dozen extra miles of plain. When she found nothing, she went south, though she stayed from the mountain ranges. Then east, where a small section of forest sat. And, finally, westward as the moon started to descend onto the horizon.

Her mind started to wander. She closed her eyes and started to fly in circles, as a mare's voice filled her thoughts. "Listen, Private Sora, we're gonna boot your little ass out in the Crested Plains for a couple of weeks. Standard patrol, watch for shit that's off, yadda yadda," the pony said. The pegasus snorted at the contempt dripping from that tone, but still her mind continued to go astray. "I don't know what else to tell you, but the higher-ups have been hearing some strange goings-on and all that. Honestly, I don't know what to look for myself."

The pegasus opened and then rolled her eyes, returning to her patrol. "Don't know what to look for, yeah right," she muttered in disdain, her tone soft yet laced in utter rage. "Just punt me here because you couldn't be bothered, why don't you..." Her eyes gravitated to the lone object flying in the distance, narrowing balefully at it. "At least the Plains have free food." Needless to say, her brow furrowed when a shriek from below managed to hit her ears as she was continuing her patrol over a section of plains that sat near the forest. A static hum sounded from her left ear, which had a section of flesh bitten out of it at some point. A small device was tacked to it, clamped firmly on the base with a small microphone angled on a little arm just right so it could catch her voice when she spoke.

A masculine voice that had a prominent pitch in tone rang out from this device, static-filled at first before clearing up. She had to wait for whoever was on the other end to stop sounding garbled first. "Sora, what's your status?" the voice asked after several failed attempts to get through resulted in radio silence.

The mare lifted a hoof to the device and lightly pressed onto it. She spoke in a soft voice, calm and reserved, as she answered the pony on the other end of the device's communications link, "Haven't seen anything yet, Yukito. The plains are—" Words died in her throat as she caught several splashes of black blemishing the green below, all closing in around a splash of silver and grey-teal that tried to move between the black splotches, only to be cut off at every turn. Flashes of light blinked in and out around the grey-teal form, only narrowing the form's chances of escape that much more, and this was followed quickly by another pained, frantic scream.

Well, it looked like she'd found herself a needle in the haystack. At least there was something to break the monotony tonight, and it looked interesting as well, if the flashes of light were any indicator. "Hold that thought, because I do believe I have just found something."

"Very well. Let me know what you find as soon as you are able, Sora," the voice replied before a click came from the device. Sora's hoof dropped, eyes zeroing in on the scene below. She let the tiniest smirk cross her face as she noticed that not one of the figures below had taken the time to look up yet; the black forms were too enamored with their prey, who in turn was still trying desperately to get away from them.

Her wings snapped shut, her body shifted until her muzzle pointed downward, and she dropped down with the grace of a missile. Wind rushed in her ears, between her blades, through her mane and it repeatedly ruffled her feathers as she descended with reckless abandon. The moonlight glistened off her blades and long mane, making her gleam as though she bathed in silver—silver that was just moments away from impacting upon the ground.

Then something strange happened. One of the black forms looked up and shrieked. The others did likewise, and they all spread out from the lone speck of silver—bizarre, given that said lone speck was their prey only moments ago. "The Hawk of Swords has come! The Hawk of Swords has come!" the figures screeched in masculine voices as they left the immediate area either running in various directions or vanishing in flashes of light.

Sora spread her wings and angled herself with front hooves outstretching, and within seconds she landed on the ground with a thud that rocked her body and almost caused her to faceplant. She was quick to regain her senses and composure though, and righted herself just in time with one more flap of her wings. A whimpering reached her ears, and she turned to the source that trembled no more than five feet away.

Green eyes widened as they met with odd irises sporting every color of the rainbow; technicolor eyes that framed a haggard grey-teal face, further accentuated by a messy, long and pale pastel-blue mane that looked more silver in the moonlight. These unusual, prismic eyes held shrunken pupils that were trained on her; the pony's tail rested between the hinds, long enough to curl around both back hooves. "Y-you…" Sora spluttered, finding herself staring at a beaten-up, emaciated unicorn mare with a broken horn who was panting with evident exertion, and one who had seen far better days. A ball of flame engulfing a golden five-pointed star split into glass-like fragments was plastered on her hip, the flames themselves bright red with orange and blue highlights.

The mare in question balked before she sank to her front knees, still trembling with strain and only the barest hint of restraint. "I-I know… y-you…I-I r-remember... you t-took my p-power…" she stammered, and for a second Sora could've sworn a lone torn ear rose from her head before folding sharply back.

Sora stepped forward hesitantly, frowning when the mare made no move to retreat, even though she was now free to do so. "Starbreaker… how are you still alive?" she asked in a disbelieving voice, taking another step forward.

Starbreaker shook and let out a hiss, and Sora paused as her broken horn crackled to life with a blood crimson aura. "What good… is power… if I can't use it?!" she cried with narrowing eyes, and as if to punctuate her point, the aura violently popped before it died altogether.

"Still as unhinged as the last time I ran into her. But entirely powerless now, and somehow still alive and mobile. I'm not sure if this is a curse, or a blessing," Sora thought, taking a few seconds to look Starbreaker over with a critical eye. She took another step after that, and another, this time without pause as the broken horn flared to life once again.

"I'll… I'll annihilate you!" Starbreaker seethed, and without warning she surged towards Sora in a stumbling, yet frantic gallop fueled by such speed she was a blur to the untrained eye. Sora simply reared up on her back legs and waited until her adversary was within reach—which took mere seconds—before thrusting her front hooves into her opponent's barrel, effortlessly knocking the wounded mare back. Despite the shove that sent her skidding with enough force to dig furrows in the soil, Starbreaker simply charged again with an angry cry, only to be grappled by her neck by two forelegs and sent onto the ground flat on her back in one go.

Sora immediately closed in after her, making sure to position herself between Starbreaker's rear legs whilst sitting on her haunches, and lifted one hoof while she grappled her neck with the other hoof. Though after some seconds, she shifted it to pin her opponent by her barrel, if only to avoid choking her on the spot. She turned to look Starbreaker in the eye, and grimaced upon noticing that she completely lacked a left ear, while her right was horizontally ripped in half at some point. "Please stop," she pleaded, only to get smacked across the face by a grey-teal hoof in response.

Starbreaker attempted to slap Sora again, only for bladed wings to snap open, fold forward, and pin her forehooves down with enough force to keep them to the ground and enough space to avoid slicing them. She stared up at Sora, shuddering as her breaths turned a little harried and shallow, front legs locking thanks to the threat of amputation. "Why… won't you… die already?" she hissed, though in a frightened tone that made the utterance come out sounding more like a plea of mercy.

Sora shook her head, looking at Starbreaker with something akin to pity sparkling in her eyes. Her free hoof lifted up to the device on her ear before pressing lightly. "Yukito, send a squad over," she stated.

Starbreaker's trembling started anew. "A-a squad?!" she squawked.

"A squad? What for?" the voice from the device asked.

"I have just found and subdued a wounded Starbreaker—her horn's broken, and she cannot use spells. Make sure the squad's got at least a doctor with them," Sora replied, nodding towards Starbreaker as she spoke.

"S-Starbreaker!? A-as in, the s-same Starbreaker who t-tried to destroy th-the world?! Sh-she's alive?!" the voice from the device snapped in a genuinely surprised tone. "H-how is that even possible!?"

"I haven't the foggiest, Yukito. But once she's in custody, she'll be mine to deal with." Hearing that come from Sora's mouth made Starbreaker light up her broken horn, trying in vain to cast a spell before the aura could die down. She had little success. "Mine alone."

"Considering you were the one to stop her, I suppose I cannot fault you there," the voice from the device replied, producing an audible sigh afterwards. "Very well. I'll send the squad and a few medics over. Do not stray from Starbreaker until they arrive. Keep her detained by whatever means necessary."

"Affirmative," Sora stated tersely, and as soon as she heard a click her hoof strayed from the small device and descended until it met with Starbreaker's cheek. "You're in good hooves. You'll be fine."

"F-fine?!" Starbreaker snapped, eyes narrowing to slits as her breathing became frantic.

Sora nodded again. She craned her neck to glance at her hind quarters when she felt the tell-tale shifting of rear legs that weren't her own. Grey-teal hooves spread wide for some reason, before they lifted and tried to kick at her with the skill of a drunkard who didn't know what they were doing.

"Get off of me!" Starbreaker yelled at the top of her lungs, trying desperately to find purchase.

This time, Sora shook her head. "No can do," she replied in a flat tone. She shifted her hind quarters forward to lessen the chance that one of Starbreaker's back hooves could kick her, and their stomachs lightly brushed up against one another.

In desperation, Starbreaker turned to Sora's too-close-for-comfort hoof and bit down on it like a rabid animal. Sora pulled it back before letting it rest just out of reach. "Get. Off. Of. Me," Starbreaker hissed, turning back to Sora with another failed attempt at a spell coming from her horn.

Sora glanced up when the sounds of multiple hooves hitting grass reached her ears, and she frowned as four of the black figures from before decided to show up again. Under the bright light of the moon, she saw that they were wearing black clothes from head to hoof, covering up any and all features she could have otherwise used to identify them with. "The Hawk's not attacking? Why's she busying herself with that waste of oxygen over there?" one asked.

Another turned to the first and shrugged. "Oh well, you know what they say—two birds, one stone," they replied with a snicker that caused Sora to tense and Starbreaker to gasp sharply.

Several auras flared to life above their heads and her resting hoof rose up to the collar on her neck before pressing onto a button that sat upon its bell-like structure, producing a soft click. "Shield, invert," Sora whispered, just audible enough for Starbreaker to hear. The entire collar gave off a green glow, flaring to life as if it were a horn in its own right while the bell started to rattle and clang violently.

Blasts of power darted from the figures' forms and raced towards the two, only to be blocked and then ricocheted to their owners by a dome of light that suddenly formed around them. Starbreaker watched with widening eyes as the cloaked beings suffered various unpleasant effects due to having their own spells sent straight back on them.

One was burnt to a crisp, and fell to the ground in a heap of ash. Another found themself frozen solid before breaking into several fragments, which all stuck to the ground like warm tongues on frosty metal poles. A third got sliced with blades that had formed from their spell, and for a few seconds blood did not seep until the volley ended, after which they went crumpling to the ground in a heap. As for the last one, they wound up with a cavalcade of flowers spontaneously sprouting from their body like they had become an impromptu plant pot.

Sora dropped her hoof again and turned to look at Starbreaker. She sighed and lifted her free hoof again before trying for the device on her ear. "Change in plans, Yukito. I'm flying her to the base myself," she stated.

"And why's that?" the voice on the other end asked before producing an irritated snort.

"Starbreaker's attracted some strange cloaked ponies. Our current location isn't safe," Sora replied.

"I see. Some medics are on standby, so be sure to see them when you arrive with your charge."

"Can do," Sora replied before dropping her hoof when another click reached her ears. "Listen, Starbreaker, I'm going to ask something very odd of you."

Starbreaker turned to Sora with a scowl on her face. "What?" she hissed.

"Hang on for all it's worth," Sora replied, shifting both of her forelegs to get them under Starbreaker before she grappled her by the withers. Her wings retracted from her adversary's front hooves prior to snapping open and madly flapping, slashing at the ground even as she rose up on her back legs with said adversary being dragged along. "We'll continue our quibble later."

Starbreaker looked towards the cloaked ponies—or, rather, what was left of them. "Fine," she conceded. Her forehooves shifted before they embraced Sora by her midsection, and she was careful to avoid straying too close to the flapping wings. "But I'll still burn you down one of these days."

Sora nodded, rolled her eyes and took to the air, although it was much more awkward thanks to her new charge and the way they were holding each other for dear life. The two lazily ascended into the air, going higher and higher until they reached the lowest-hanging clouds, and for a good hour they flew away from the plain like that. It was about another half-hour after that before Sora saw a dark form flying in the distance, accompanied by the tell-tale noise of powerful flaps and roaring engines. "Bingo," she mused to herself, "Just what I was looking for."

"An airship?" Starbreaker guessed, having also turned to look at the anomaly as soon as she heard the noises it produced.

"Exactly," Sora replied, her sights now set on the distant object. She angled herself slightly, being careful to not let her charge slip in the slightest, before flying to it to investigate. Getting closer, the two found that 'airship' didn't do the object justice; it was more along the lines of 'military plane mixed with space shuttle.'

It was a great greenish-grey thing, with three components which consisted of the hull and the wings. The wings moved like those of Sora's due to ball-like joints, albeit less flexibly and much more forcefully. The hull however had an opened flap at the back, loaded with ponies who clung tightly to the metal to avoid falling out.

One of the ponies within started squawking when she caught sight of the duo. "Sora's landing, colts! Get outta her way!" she shrieked, and instantly the other ponies backpedaled into the hull so fast Sora could've sworn she'd just witnessed an illusion break. Within minutes, Sora and Starbreaker found themselves in the hull of the vessel, and were surrounded on all sides by uniform-wearing ponies who grimaced as the two awkwardly landed on their rear hooves. Starbreaker noted with a shiver that the uniforms were almost identical, with almost all of the ponies sporting pants and plated shirts which hid most of their features.

Silence held, though only after the flap of the ship slammed shut with enough force to send the still-embracing mares to the floor. They exchanged looks and blushed a bit before disentangling themselves from each other's forelegs and stood up on all fours, looking around thereafter to meet with silent faces regarding them with curiosity and worry. Some looked at Starbreaker with nothing short of contempt and derision, seemingly unaware or unconcerned that her horn was broken and out of commission. Starbreaker herself noted that, out of all of them, Sora was the shortest of the entire lot—even she herself stood at least an inch taller than the pegasus in question.

Finally, a white-pelted, young unicorn mare with bright orange eyes who wore an armor-plated uniform spoke up, stepping towards the two and lashing her purple tail. "Sora, what the hell are you doing?" she hissed.

"Detaining this pony," Sora replied flatly. She could've sworn this pony had an air of familiarity about her.

The white-pelted mare's eyes narrowed, and she considered Starbreaker very carefully. "Is this your idea of detaining a highly dangerous mare?" she scoffed.

Sora turned to her and snorted. "Yes—strictly because of circumstance," she answered flatly.

The unicorn assumed a tight frown. "That's not detaining her. That was dancing with her like she was a ragdoll and then landing whilst expecting her to stay put after."

Sora's eyes narrowed slightly. Her tail twitched a bit, and so did her wings. "Have you even looked at said dangerous mare yet?" she asked in a no-nonsense tone which still held its softness of volume, one as leveled and refined as that of the mare she addressed.

"Why shouldn't I? She's standing right there," the unicorn scoffed, raising a hoof to gesture to Starbreaker with it.

Sora's wings twitched again and a tight frown formed on her face. "Have you taken into account Starbreaker's physical condition yet? Or her lack of a functioning horn?" she retorted, her tone slightly miffed.

The unicorn snorted derisively. "Why should I? Such a criminal with a power of apocalyptic proportions should be sent to the front range of the nearest firing squad, pronto." Murmurs immediately erupted from the other ponies, and Sora's face hardened as she heard Starbreaker gulp loudly. "Sham would be ashamed of you, were she with us presently. She'd probably do what you couldn't," the unicorn added, and that feeling of familiarity intensified for Sora, who narrowed her glare a teensy bit. Another scanning of the posture, the coat and tail, and the uniform merely reaffirmed that familiarity—to, what Sora found, was a sickening degree.

"Great, I've run into this whorse—oho, has Sham told me a loooot about you. And she's throwing out unfounded gibberish. Must be in heat again," Sora thought, keeping most of her attention focused on the lone unicorn that had the gall to outright ignore Starbreaker's condition altogether. "Just drop it," she stated in a simple, matter-of-fact tone that managed to silence the murmurs at once.

The unicorn flinched, but she went forward instead of back. "What was that?" she hissed, her face setting into a scowl.

"Just. Drop. It," Sora repeated, making sure to enunciate her words in a firm, level voice. "Starbreaker is mine to deal with. Mine, and mine alone."

"Oh, really?" the unicorn snorted, a hint of a smirk crossing her muzzle as she rolled her eyes.

Sora nodded, and whirled around to gaze at every assembled face before stopping when she saw the unicorn again after going full circle. "Were any of you trying to stop Starbreaker during her little rampage?" As soon as the question left her mouth, silence held the vessel, and within her immediate and peripheral sight, Sora saw half of the gathered ponies flinch backward. "Well?" Still nopony answered, not until after a few minutes passed.

Finally, somepony answered, although in a series of mocking and chilling laughs, causing Sora to turn to the source as soon as she whirled around to glance at everypony else that was present. "I haven't seen you ponies before," Starbreaker spat before pausing to laugh again, turning to Sora with a bit of a grin on her face. Then she turned to the white unicorn and added, "And where were you? I don't think I've tried burning you to ashes yet."

Sora shook her head and turned to the white mare. "Step back. Now." She waited until the mare complied before she turned to Starbreaker. She firmly added, "And you won't burn anything under my watch."

Starbreaker growled, but did nothing more than stare at the white mare with her grin taking on a manic appearance. The mare in question scowled and turned away, but not before lifting a hoof and gesturing to her eyes with it prior to turning it in Sora's direction and back again. Sora responded by spreading a wing and pointed the blades at the mare in kind before folding it shut against her side.

Author's Notes:

Yes, Starbo has edgy points. I only ponified her, and sadly, I cannot change the edge. I can only cull it with character development. Same applies to Sora.

Don't kill me. I've done worse. Also, thanks to Cyberneticpony for pre-reading and editing. :3