//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Beginnings 
// Story: Aliens Equestrian Marines 
// by ShadowLeomus 
//------------------------------//

Aliens: Equestrian Marines Chapter 1
Story by ShadowLeomus
Edited by Jandotrimmer (fulhamr)
"Beginnings"
/'Equus, U.S.C. Salura orbiting Harmony station.
700 hours E.S.T'\
Endless Midnight woke up with a start, checking her foreleg. "Still there," she breathed deeply "Thank goddess".
She looked around at her room, which was pretty barren despite the fact she had been living there for almost a month now. She had kept it like that because she liked the plain look, but it didn't remind Midnight of her room at the palace. Shakily she got up out of her bunk and walked to her bathroom.
Her room was pretty basic, a small bedroom/living room with a kitchen area in the corner with a cooker and sink as well as a small bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.
"Why is it always the same dream over and over again" she mumbled to herself as she ran some cold water and splashed it over her face. she let it run down her muzzle and into the sink bowl, then looked at herself in the mirror, she had a Midnight blue coat and a light grey mane with white streaks.
She was also an alicorn.
She sneaked a look at her leg again, even though she knew it had been a dream she couldn't shake the feeling that it shouldn't be ignored, at the way she felt with the claw like leg, it felt  so... Natural.
she shook off the thought with a shiver.
Just then her apartment's video phone went off. She grabbed a towel from the side and walked quickly over to the video phone.
But before she did she stopped and Cursed, she had forgotten to put on her disguise.
Quickly she drew the energy she needed to power the spell. In a flash the magnificent alicorn was replaced with a small unicorn.
She straightened her mane and hit the receive button.
"Hey Wolfe, how's it going!" A cheerful voice said over the speakers before the pony's face was shown.
Midnight was nicknamed Wolfe by her Squad mates because of her amber, wolf-like eyes.
He was brown earth pony stallion with a yellow mane and brown eyes, His accent giving away his cow pony origins.
Midnight groaned
"Not now Oats, I've just woken up" She said flatly, rubbing her temples.
The earth pony frowned
"Ya okay Midnight?" he asked "Ya look like you've had a rough night".
"You could say that. I'll tell you at breakfast" she said stifling a yawn "So what's up?"
He face hoofed, just remembering why he had called.
"Sarge wants everyone to meet in the mess hall for a briefing, I think we've got our next assignment" he said seriously.
"Great!" she said in fake excitement "Let me guess... another bug hunt?".
"No Idea, Sarge just told me to get everyone together, you're the last one as a matter of fact"
"Saving the best for last I see?".
Oats' reaction was priceless
"Wha!  Oh no, I was just, uh, Leaving ya for strategic, um, stuff"
Midnight laughed
"I'll see you later, Deck Seven, Mess Hall, 900 hours, Right?"
Oats, still recuperating, just nodded.
"OK then, later partner"
She ended the call.
Midnight  walked back to her closet, pulled out her uniform and began getting dressed, burying the dream as far back into her mind as possible.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
/'Deck 7, Mess hall, Two hours later'\
When Midnight entered the Mess, it was packed.
looking around for her squad, She heard Oats voice in the background, "Hey Midnight"
She turned to see the Brown Earth Pony waving  to her
"Over here!"
She waved back and went over to the serving stations and grabbed some toast, an apple and some coffee and made her way to her squad.
The ponies of Viper platoon took up most of the tables at the back near the portholes.
She took a seat next to Oats.
"Sarge here yet?" She asked.
"Nope," said the Blue Pegasus next to her
"But I guess Goldroots is trying to be fashionably late" Trevor joked.
"Knowing him he's probably being held up by the captain again"
Midnight heard a pony on the other end of the table say
"You guys remember the last time?" Everypony laughed  with the unicorn "I think he's still feeling that buck" Trevor said between laughs.
Oats looked at her, concerned.
"Hey Midnight, what's up?" He asked,  "You looked like you just came outta a nightmare".
Midnight groaned and buried her face into her hooves.
"You could say that" she said grumpily, remembering the dream.
"It's the same dream every night and I'm starting to get the feeling that it's somehow important"
"You know," a Pegasus she recognised as Buttercup said "You've been telling us you've been having these dreams but you haven't told us what happens in them" She leaned in "so spill it"
Midnight sighed.
"Alright, but you're going to say it's nothing," she took a deep breath. "I'm standing on a cliff, sea sloshing around calmly below, and I'm looking at a tombstone but because it's snowing, I don't know who's grave it is"
"Seems harmless enough" the Pegasus next to her she recognized as Dusty said.
Dusty was their Cheyenne Dropship which was lovingly named 'The Crash Can'.
"That's just how it starts," Midnight continued "I feel like I know who the grave belongs to but, I just can't remember who. Then I look up and see a ship crashing into the sea, its the same class as the Salura but I can't see if it is because it's covered by ruby flames. By now, she had caught all of Viper Team's attention.
Stopping, Midnight drank some of her coffee, "Then I hear a rustling behind me, and as I turn to see a Xeno leaps at me" She shook her head, "And that's not even the scariest thing. When  I raise my hoof up to shield myself" She acted what she was saying, "Instead of my leg, there's a metal one with a clawed paw instead of a hoof"
Everypony as silent, then Buttercup spoke up.
"How long have you been having these dreams?" she asked slowly.
"Every night, for at least a month"
Oats, Buttercup and Dusty exchanged looks.
"Midnight, the last time you had dreams like this, it was about a Xeno Stalker ambush on a jungle planet"
"Two weeks later we crash on Helliosa,  a jungle planet infested by Xenos-"
"- and your dream helped you warn us abo..."
"About the Stalkers in the trees" Midnight finished, frowning "you think this might be like that time? She asked.
"Ah don't know, but ah think ya should tell the Sarge about this" Oats told her.
"Speaking of the Sarge" Trevor said standing up "Attention! Sergeant on Deck!"
Everypony stood at attention as Goldroot walked in.
The old veteran Earth pony was dusty grey, with a large scar down his face,  over one of his muddy brown eyes. This veteran was a real badass, serving in major operations from the Evacuation of Risa seven to the Extermination of the Yagma hive world. He'd lived more battles against the Xenomorphs  than anyone in the Battalion.
He saluted back.
"At ease" Waiting for everyone to be seated, he began "Okay Ladies, listen up! Two hours ago the Captain received our new assignment".
He looked everypony in the eye "We're to deliver a batch of live Xenos to a research Station on Ios" a chorus of groans and moans followed the announcement.
"Yes I know. It sucks but that's the job, the Xenos will be in cryo, so we'll be in hyper-sleep since it's a 3 month journey through an uncharted sector of space"
He looked at Midnight
"Corporal Midnight. You and Lance-Corporal Oats will oversee the loading of those bugs," He smiled "And for the  rest of you, Drinks are on me!".
Everypony cheered.
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/'Observation Deck, 2400 hours E.S.T'\
Midnight was alone on the Observation Deck, looking at the Planet below. She liked to come here at this time of night and just think.
She had the news on, letting the reports roll.
"On other news, it has been a year and a half since the yet to be crowned Princess Endless Midnight went missing, As always, we ask for any information regarding her. If you do please call the-" she turned it off.
Midnight chuckled "Even after this long Twilight's still looking for me" she shook her head "Not that I'm surprised, even when she was raising me she was determind when it came to it".
She looked at Equius, a gem the in the Darkness of the void, and the reason she had ran away to join the Marines.
Her Radio crackled to life in her ear.
"Midnight, you still up?" It was Buttercup.
She tapped her ear bloom "yeah, I'm up, what's going on?"
"It's nothing, I just got a bad feeling about those Xenos we brought on board."
"I know what you mean, they make me," Midnight struggled to find the right word "Nervous"
"Agreed" Buttercup said quickly "Something's just not right about them"
"I'm sure it's nothing, I checked them myself and they look like they're quite frozen" Midnight said softly to reassure her. "Don't worry"
"Okay, thanks for that Midnight"
"No problem, Buttercup" she said happily "Get some sleep solder,
you're a part of Viper 2-3 now, which makes you my responsibility, plus it'll be the only natural sleep you'll be having for 3 months".
"Alright, G'night Midnight"
"Night, Buttercup" The radio cut off.
Midnight lay back and spread her wings, she'd locked the doors and turned off the cameras so she could switch back to her true form.
The spell was a special one that her mentor/carer Twilight Sparkle had developed after studying a changeling. Midnight technically shouldn't have learned it but when you're 5 and living with a book worm, you tend to pick up a few things.
She looked at the planet where Cantalot would be and sighed.
"Good night, mum".
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/'Equus, Cantralot Royal palace.'\
Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book and looked out the window.
"Midnight?"
Hopefully no mistakes now...