Rep: No problem. We've kept it in storage since. Want the ship too? (Chuckles before stopping rather quickly.) I'm joking of course. I can't give you the ship. (Grips two points in the air and pulls gently.) *A tear opens up to reveal a shifting starfield within, out of which comes Silver's gear before Rep closes the tear once more.* There you are.
"I dunno," Raven answered blandly, not noticing the unicorn warrior she had slain. Maya had locked eyes with somepony in the crowd, though it wasn't though it wasn't quite clear whom. That said, it was probably pretty obvious who it was. She sighed heavily. "Yep. Shouldn't have said a thing."
Silver chuckled as he gathered his equipment. "Much has happened in the last few years. I have my own ship now." ******************************************************************************* The unicorn stood still for a moment, thinking, then shrugged and leapt twenty feet straight into the air, clearing the railing and landing lightly on the deck. "Good afternoon."
Rep: (voice becomes distorted) We...noticed. In a sense. You understand that we hear rumours here and there. There were Whispers from across the Seas of the Cosmos and Sands of Time. Apparently you must be the one spoken by these whispers as an Enemy of the Great Snake. We had our suspicions and doubts of course.
Raven took a slightly startled step back, then looked the unicorn over before seemingly knowing exactly who he was. She gave a small smile, then reached her hoof out for a shake. "Hey. I remember you."
"Enemy of the Great Snake?" Silver chuckled. "A bit of a mouthful, but far kinder than what the Apophii called me to my face. It, uh, does not bear repeating in polite company." He suspected he already knew why the rumors were doubted. After all, a lone equine from a race that had never traveled the stars leading the uprising that toppled the most powerful empire in twelve galaxies was a bit far-fetched. ************************************************************************************** The unicorn returned the hoofshake. "I wish I could say the same, Miss Aura. I have no memory of my time as a slave of Apophis, and only learned of you from a pony who fell in the battle after I was defeated. I thank you for freeing me." He glanced over at Blackout, a spark of recognition in his eye, before turning back to Raven. "But where are my manners. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Black Flag. In life, I was the Knight Commander of Princess Platinum's royal guard."
"Raven Aura. I'm a musician, and I was a knight, uhm... once." She gave a small chuckle. "You put up a heck of a fight, took me and Asmo here going full berserk to beat you." ~~~~~~~~~~ Maya finally trotted outside the ship and walked to the front of the crowd. She confronted a unicorn mare, mane tied in a long fishtail braid, and colors matching Maya's exactly. "What do you want?" Maya asked harshly. "Use your words. You waved me over for a reason. Yeah?" The unicorn had something important to say, this much was clear, but it looked like she was having trouble putting it into words. What little she said, it was clear she was from Canterlot, probably died a long, long time ago. "Maya, I... I need to say I..."
Rep: We'd thought of a few different possibilities as to what the rumours were about, but seeing you has confirmed that it is you. We'd also like to offer something else for your planet. If your planet would accept. Selena: (calmly strumming the guitar and causing an unearthly, yet gentle and comforting, breeze to flutter around her as she muttered an old saying, that when put to music, was like a song, not obviously perturbed about being in basically, Hell)
"Recognize anyone, strange alicorn?" Navaja decided to ask Selena curiously, opting to stay in the ship for a few.
Selena: (Looking out into Purgatory for a little while, before shaking her head) No. No one or Nopony. I recognize none who are here.
"Clean hooves then? Afortunado. Try to keep it that way, si? Being judged against sentient beings does not sound fun."
Selena: I never said that I have clean hooves....(The remark had struck a chord with her.) But... I don't think any one that would be "linked to me" would be here.
"Cleaner than mine, at the very least. I recognize a lot of ponies and birds out there, even if they don't recognize me."
Selena: Sorry to hear that. Apparently some civilizations out there among the stars all have some way that is supposed to help with stuff like this. I'm not sure how many, if any actually work. I found one way a long time ago that I believe works, but not that many believe in it.
Nightshade recognized very many of the faces in the crowd. Snarling, angry. Monsters that she had put down gladly. But there was one face that she had feared to see above all others. A pretty little earth mare, who hadn't seen her yet. Nightshade shrank back, her nerve suddenly gone. She backed away from the rail, and sat down quite abruptly. ******************************************************************** Black Flag nodded. "In my time, I daresay I was a very good fighter. It... angers me greatly that that foul beast used me for so long."
"It's her," Azrael said, approaching Nightshade, along with Asmodeus. "Isn't it?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I'm sorry," the unicorn said sincerely. Anger fled from Maya's face, leaving utter shock behind. "You're... you're what?" "And I am proud of you," she added. "Your stories are popular here, and citizens adore you. You used your gods-given gifts to do right by ponies the universe over. Something I never understood the importance of until it was much too late. Heroes. You, your friends that you brought with, your husband..." She gave a small smile. "My own son-in-law, a natural born alicorn..." Rambling a bit, she clearly had a lot to say in the limited time she had. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Wasn't really you, though, was it?" Raven mused. "Just some avatar with skills like yours that you got stuck in."
Selena: Some say that there is a God, to whom you confess your sins and repent for it, you (stressing this, as that's how she had learned it) can be forgiven. Then there are others who say, you make a sacrifice. I've just come to terms with what I've done, and (indistinguishable) ..... I don't know if that makes a difference but...its what I did.
"A single god?" Navaja shook his head. "Impossible. It would take far more than one to weigh our hearts."
