//------------------------------//
// Aliens in Equestria 
// Story: Aliens in Equestria 
// by knightcommander 
//------------------------------//


ALIENS IN EQUESTRIA


A fan fiction by:  Knightcommander



Deep space was as cold and dark as one could imagine.  It rivaled even the coldest night of a long and seemingly unending winter.  What light did shine in its depths came from the tiny pinpricks of light from the infinite starts that twinkled as though in a great, black silk dress studded with many rhimestones, lit by the light of a summer’s moon.  Even these tiny pinpricks of light seemed so faint, though, to the observer looking out into the vast blackness beyond.  Why would anyone, it seemed, want to venture out into this void?

But despite the seeming desolation, there were tiny flickers besides the stars; not of light, but of something else entirely.  These flickers were those of one of the greatest gifts in the universe… life.  One such flicker began to die down, yet still shimmered, as a tiny, unassuming planet, a blue and green jewel amongst the blackness of space, began to enter into its slumber.

The bright sun of the day gave way to the soft moon of the night over the beautiful land of Equestria.  The land’s inhabitants, a most unusual specimen of equine, began to settle in for the night, or continued about late night activities under the soft light of the full moon, a beautiful gift from their rulers.  From bustling cities to sleepy hamlets, the world continued to buzz despite the late hour.

In one such hamlet, known to its residents as Ponyville, was ablaze with activity, as though none of the ponies who lived there had noticed at all that the moon had replaced the sun.  They continued to shop, chat, and play into the late hours, when they finally began to return to their homes to begin the night’s sleep.

And it was during these times, the silent times that accompanied the peaceful night, that some ponies loved to watch the sky, and wonder.

One such pony looked out through her bedroom window at the night sky, smiling as the stars twinkled amongst the bluish night sky.  Her curly pink mane hung slightly over her nose, resting between her bright cyan eyes.  Her pink coat was muted in the dim light of the night, but a small mark on her flank, three party balloons, was still visible.  Pinkie Pie laid her had in her crossed forelegs as she watched the stars.  The night was so perfect.  Princess Luna had really outdone herself this time, she thought.  She could have sworn that she saw some stars that she had never seen before tonight.  Next time Twilight wrote a letter to the Princess, she thought, I ought to ask her to thank Luna for me.

By then, the streets had emptied, as every resident was finally tucking in for the long night.  Across the street, Pinkie could see her neighbor, one Ditzy Doo, tucking her young filly Dinky in for the night, apparently tickling her, as she could see the little unicorn laughing her head off.  Pinkie smiled at them, wondering what it was like to be a mother.  In her heart of hearts, she hoped to find out someday.

Pinkie gave a great yawn, surprised at how tired she was all of a sudden.  She decided to turn in just as the light turned off in Dinky’s room across the way.  She smiled one more time at the night sky before going to close her bedroom window.  But just as she was about to do so, her whole body suddenly began to tingle, and soon a series of familiar tics and twitches began to happen.  She instantly knew what that meant.

“Uh oh,” she yipped, “there’s a doozy woozy on the way!”  She immediately rushed down the stairs of Sugarcube Corner, startling her landlady Mrs. Cake along the way as she did some last minute cleaning, and burst outside, looking around for anything out of the ordinary.  She scanned the sky, the ground, the buildings around her, and even checked under and few rocks and climbed into various barrels, crates and even mailboxes looking for something.  But, all her searching turned up nothing.  “Oh no, is my Pinkie Sense failing?  Am I all broken and not working anymore?”  She asked herself.  She sighed, and that’s when a sound began to fill her sensitive (surprisingly) ears. 

“What could that be?”  She wondered.  She craned her neck to get a closer listen.  It sounded like it was coming from the outside of town.  It sounded like a low whine mixed with a hum, like the sound of a distant aircraft engine… and it appeared to be getting louder.  Pinkie followed the noise, running as fast as her four legs could carry her, listening for the sound the whole way.  It kept getting louder the further she got out of Ponyville, and she ended up near Everfree Forest, not far from where Fluttershy lived in her cottage.

And that’s when she saw it; a sight that made her gasp loudly in her trademark style.

She saw something hovering in the air above the forest.  The front end of the mysterious object was shaped almost like Gummy’s head, except it was a bluish gray in color, and bore strange markings on the side, and come to a more rounded end that appeared to be chopped off at the very front.  The back end might have been a vague cynlinder shape, but she couldn’t tell due to the large wing-like constructions that were attached to either side of the tail, which partially obscured a pod like object with a glowing blue band of light down the side.  Smaller lights attached to the top and bottom of the craft blinked in a regular pattern, and a bigger light, like a spotlight, shined into the forest, moving around as though whoever was flying the craft was looking for something.  Two other pods, attached to smaller wing like protrusions from the side of the front part of craft and towards the back, stood on end, a soft purple light emitting from the bottoms.  These were the source of the mysterious whining noise.  The ship moved slowly along the forest canopy, its light shining into its depths.

Pinkie Pie watched the scene intently, her mouth hanging open and her eyes as wide as dinner plates.  She felt her heart rate begin to speed up as a sudden sense of fear and dread began to overtake her.  She began to breathe faster as the classic fight or flight response began to take over.  She felt like running away, as far away from the strange craft as she could possibly get, but her body refused to do so.  Her legs felt like they had turned to water, and her muscles tensed up, making her feel like she was paralyzed.  She whimpered as the craft got close to where she was standing, utterly terrified now.  She finally began to move, backing away slowly from the sight.  Suddenly, the craft turned around revealing two bright red lights on the back, and suddenly the two pods on the side turned over horizontal and the purple glow intensified.  The craft picked up speed and took off into the distance, until she could barely hear the whine anymore.  Immediately, she yipped in fear and raced off faster than ever before back to Ponyville.  She made a beeline straight for Sugarcube Corner, crashing through the front door of the bakery and racing back upstairs to her room.  She immediately slammed the window shut, blew out her candle and dove under her bead.  She shivered in stark terror, her body trembling so much it shook her mattress.  Her eyes remained as wide as they were before, her teeth chattered so much that it could pass as a jackhammer sound, and though she couldn’t feel it, tears began to well up and stream down her face.  She heard something moving outside, most likely an animal, but that didn’t stop her from squeaking in fear and shoving a box in front of her to hide her from whatever it was that was creeping out in the Everfree Forest.

***

The next morning was a slow day.  It was a weekend, so only a few businesses remained open, mostly groceries and other assorted shops selling essentials.  The only thing that remained open for business was the town’s weather patrol, and even they decided to call it an early day after deciding on a sunny Saturday for the rest of the day.  This was good for one member in particular, who had a bunch of things she wanted to do that morning.

A cyan pegasus winged her way back to her house after having cleared the last of the clouds from the sky.  Even in a world filled with as much color as Equestria, this one stood out, mainly because of her mane and tail, which were both striped with every color of the rainbow, which was fitting, as her name was Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash arrived at her spectacular cloud house in short order, and just in time too, as her phone began to ring.  Her magenta eyes zeroed in on the phone and she sped over in an instant, picking it up.

“Hello?”  She said, wondering who was calling her this early.

“Um, hello?”  A familiar soft voice sounded on the other end.  “It’s me.  Um, are you busy?  Because I can call back later if you want…”  Rainbow Dash cut the pony off before she could finish.

“Nah, you’re fine Fluttershy.”  She said.  “What’s up?”

“Well, you see, I was wondering if you could help me with something.”  Fluttershy replied.  “You see, Pinkie Pie was supposed to meet me at my home this morning to help with feeding the new baby birds, but she hasn’t shown up.  I tried calling her a couple times, but she won’t answer her phone.”  Rainbow Dash could tell that she was concerned.  Fluttershy, an introverted yellow pegasus who was better with animals than with other ponies, wore her emotions on her sleeve, or in this case, broadcasted them in her tone of voice.

“Maybe she overslept.”  Rainbow Dash suggested.  “Betcha twenty bits she ate too many cupcakes and went all sugar crazy last night.”  She chuckled at that, and Fluttershy giggled at her friend’s joke.

“Yes, true, but I still can’t help but worry.”   She said, broadcasting sincere concern for her pink friend.  “I was wondering, do you, um, think you could go check on her for me?  I have to stay  here and finish taking care of some of the animals and I’d really appreciate it.”  Rainbow Dash frowned.  If Fluttershy was worried, there was usually good reason for her to be.  

“Yeah, no prob.”  She said.  “I’ll be there and back in ten seconds flat.”

“Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash.”  Fluttershy responded.  “I really appreciate it.” 

“No big.”  Rainbow Dash said with a smile on her face.  “Cya later.”

“Bye Rainbow Dash.”  Fluttershy said cheerfully before hanging up with a click.  Rainbow Dash took a few moments to stretch her wings before heading back out with a zoom, taking the most direct route to Sugarcube Corner.  When she got there, she noticed that Pinkie Pie’s bedroom window was closed tight.  Definitely out of the ordinary, she thought.  Pinkie Pie almost always left her window open at night during the summer, taking advantage of the wonderfully warm breezes.  Rainbow entered the store, ringing the shop bell to alert the Cakes that a customer had arrived.  She was almost immediately greeted by Mrs. Cake herself, flashing her usual cheerful grin.

“Oh, hello dearie,” she said, “how may I help you?”

“Actually, do you think you can tell me if Pinkie Pie is home?”  Rainbow asked, going right to the point.  “Fluttershy called and told me that she never showed up to help her with some chores.”

“Oh yes, she’s upstairs.”  Mrs. Cake said.   “Funny though, she was acted odd last night.”

“Odd, how?”  Rainbow asked.

“Well, when I was doing some late night sprucing up around the kitchen, she suddenly comes zooming downstairs and right out the front door.”  She said.  “I’ve never seen her do that before, and it caught me off guard, don’t you know.”  

“Is it alright if I go upstairs?”  Rainbow asked.  “Fluttershy asked me to check to see if she was alright.”  

“Oh, of course.”  Mrs. Cake said.  “I was going to go up there later and see myself.  I’ve never seen her sleep in this late either.”  

“Thanks, Mrs. Cake.”  Rainbow said.  She walked through the kitchen and up the stairs to Pinkie’s apartment.  She peered through the heart shaped cut out on the front door and scanned the room.  She didn’t see any sign of Pinkie, though she might just have been buried under the covers of her bed.  She knocked on the door.  “Hey Pinkie!”  She called.

No answer.  She knocked again.

“Hey, Pinks!”  She called.  “It’s me, Rainbow Dash.  Fluttershy called and asked me to see how you were!”  Nothing again, and now she herself felt a twinge of worry.  She decided to test the door.  Luckily, it was unlocked, and she entered the room with no problem at all.  She scanned the room for any sign of Pinkie, but saw nothing.  She called out again, but again got no response.  Now quite worried, she began to search the room for her.  She looked in the closet, behind the couch, and finally under the bed, where she finally saw her, fast asleep, her nose buried under her long pink tail.  Her mane was covered in dust bunnies, and looked out of place even from the normal curls she always sported.  What got to Dash the most was the fact that her face appeared streaked with tear stains, as though she had been crying.  Not thinking of anything else but finding out what was wrong, she reached in and shook her friend vigorously.

“Pinks, wake up.”  She said.  Pinkie began to squirm and thrash, and Dash could hear whimpering coming from her.

“No, no, go away!”  She whimpered.  “Leave me alone!”  She was apparently having a nightmare.

“Pinkie Pie!  It’s me!”  Rainbow called, shaking her harder.  “It’s Rainbow Dash!”  At that, Pinkie awoke with a gasp, nearly hitting her head on the bed frame.  She looked around with an expression of stark terror, until her eyes fell on Rainbow Dash.

“D-D-Dashie?”  She asked.  Rainbow Dash sighed with relief.

“Yeah, it’s me.”  She said.  “What’s up?  How come you’re hiding under the bed?”  She asked.  Pinkie Pie wriggled her way out from underneath the bed.  Rainbow could see that she was even more a mess than she first appeared.  The rest of her coat was matted, and her mane hung limply, rather than its usual bounciness, as though she had been sweating.  Rainbow guessed it was all the apparent running she had done.

“Well…”  She started, not sure how to explain what had happened.  “Um, Dashie, would you be upset if I told you something… really weird and strange like?”  She asked.  Rainbow was confused as to why she would think that.

“Hay no.”  She said.  “You can tell me anything.”  Pinkie moved her hoof in little circles, as though thinking about how to say whatever it was she needed to say.  She then took a deep breath.  

“I… saw something really weird out by the Everfree Forest.”   She said.  “And it…. It really scared me.”  She shivered a bit.  

“Well, that’s kinda how the forest is, isn’t it?”  Rainbow said.  

“But, it wasn’t like anything I had ever seen before.”  She said.  Dash took a seat on her sofa.

“Why don’t you walk me through it, Pinks.”  She said.  Pinkie nodded and took another deep breath.

“Well, I was up last night just looking at the stars and the moon like I always do,” she began “when my Pinkie Sense started going off, telling me a doozy was on the way.”  She said.  “So, I rushed outside to go check it out.”  That would explain what Mrs. Cake saw her doing, Rainbow thought.	

“Uh huh.”  Rainbow said.

“When I got outside, I didn’t see anything at first.”  She said.  “But then, I heard this really weird noise, like a whining mixed with a hum or a hiss, off in the distance.”  She said.

“Wait, a noise?”  Rainbow said.  “Did it sound kinda like this?”  She asked, doing an impression of a jet engine.

“Yeah, kinda like that.”  Pinkie said.  “It sounded like it was coming from outside town, so I ran off in its direction, which took me to near where Fluttershy lived.  And that’s when… that’s when I saw it.”

“Saw what?”  Rainbow asked.  Pinkie gulped.

“It looked like some kind of… machine, hovering in the air.”  She said.  “It looked like plane, but I couldn’t see any wings.”  Rainbow was surprised to hear this.  Ponyville wasn’t located near any airports, and it wasn’t often that planes flew anywhere near the town.

“What did this machine look like?”  Rainbow asked, now intrigued by Pinkie’s story.

“It was big, and there were two parts.  The front part looked like Gummy’s head almost, but there were these glowing windows on it, and it was more rounded.”  She explained.  “On the back were these big things that looked like upside down wings.  There were also these things on the sides that gave off this weird purple glow, and there were lights that blinked on and off, and a big light that looked like a spotlight.”  She said.   Rainbow took all this in with rapt attention.

“What was it doing?”  She asked.

“Not much, just kind of floating in the sky over the forest.”  She said.  “But the big light was moving around, like it was trying to find something.  I only saw it for a few moments, before it took off real fast like.”

“Wow, sounds weird.”  Rainbow said.  “Was there anything else about it?”  She asked.

“There were some markings, but I don’t remember what they looked like.”  Pinkie said.  “Dashie, do you have any idea what this thing was?”  She asked, her voice cracking.  Rainbow could tell thinking about the event was freaking her out, so she climbed down and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Personally, I think it was just a plane.”  She said.  “We don’t see them very often, but once in a while one will fly over.  Everyone comes out when they do.”

“But, what if it wasn’t a plane?”  Pinkie asked.  “I’ve never seen anything like it.  I was so scared…”  She began to whimper.  Rainbow rubbed her shoulder.  She wasn’t the best at comforting other ponies, but she did her best, especially with her friends.

“I’m positive.”  She said.  “There’s really nothing to be scared of.  Just because something looks funny or scary or whatever, doesn’t mean that it’s something weird or unnatural.  I’m quite convinced that it was nothing more than a plane that either got lost or was looking for something in Everfree.  I betcha the newspapers are going to be crowing about it come this afternoon.”  Pinkie smiled a bit, feeling a bit better about the whole ordeal.

“Okey dokey lokey.”  She said.  “Thanks Dashie.”  She drew her friend into a tight hug.  Rainbow Dash, not normally the touchy feely, cuddly wuddly type, just pat her head and smiled.  

“Heh, anytime Pinks.”  She said.  “Say, wanna hang out later?”  At that, Pinkie’s face was split by an impossibly huge grin.

“You betcha!”  She squealed.  “And I got some super duper awesome funny pranks we can do!”  She said, hopping up and down like a bouncy ball.  Rainbow Dash snickered at her friend’s boundless energy.

“Awesome!”  She said.  “I just gotta get some practice in this afternoon.  I’ll meet up with ya at my place.”  She said.  Pinkie giggled.

“Okey dokey lokey!”  She said.  “Cya then.”

“You got it.”  Dash said.  “Oh, you might wanna check in with Fluttershy, she was kinda worried about ya.”  Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing.

“Oh no!  I was supposed to help her this morning!”  She said.  “Thanks Rainbow Dash, I better get going, bye!”  She ran zoomed off, leaving Rainbow Dash in a cloud of dust.

“How does she do that?”  She wondered aloud, before opening Pinkie’s window and taking off into the sky.

***

However, when she got to her usual practice spot, she found herself unable to focus.  Something wasn’t sitting right about what Pinkie told her.  When she was living in Cloudsdale, she had seen plenty of planes and helicopters and whatever crazy flying contraptions the random science geek yahoos happened to be experimenting on at the time.  None of them even came close to resembling what Pinkie had described.  

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more it sounded… alien.

Nah, she said to herself, shaking her head to clear those thoughts away.  Stop thinking that stuff right now.  There’s no such thing as aliens, she mentally berated herself.  Like she had said, it was probably nothing.  At most, it was another experimental aircraft.  

Then again, why couldn’t she shake the uneasy feeling that was welling up inside her?

She vigorously shook her head.  There was not time for that now.  She had tricks to practice.  If she wanted to join the Wonderbolts someday, she needed to be sharp as a tack.  So, despite her feelings, she launched herself into the sky and readied herself for her first trick.

“Let’s do this.”  She said.  “Rainbooooowwwww Daaaaaaaaash!” She shouted, zooming off into her routine.  A couple of nearby pegasi taking a leisurely flight around the village, watched her with confused expressions.

“Eh, what was that all about?”  One of them asked.

“Oh, just Rainbow Dash being Rainbow Dash, nothing to worry about.”  The other said.

***

“Oh, Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy said when the pink earth pony finally showed up at her cottage.  “Thank goodness!  I was getting so worried.”  She said, giving her friend a gentle hug.  Pinkie gratefully returned her gesture.

“I’m so so so sorry I didn’t show up.”  She said.  “I had a bit of a rough night and I didn’t sleep all that well.”  Fluttershy hugged her again.

“Oh, you don’t have to apologize.”  Fluttershy said.  “I’m just glad you’re alright.”  Pinkie smiled.  “Though, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”  Pinkie gulped a bit, but composed herself.

“I saw something weird flying over the Everfree Forest.”  She said.  “Some kind of machine or something like that, just hovering there.  Dashie says that it was probably just a plane of some kind.”  

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, “was it anywhere near here?  Because I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary last night.  When did you see this thing?”

“It was around eleven.”  She said.  “I remember because I got a look at the clock as I was rushing outside because of my Pinkie Sense.”  

“Oh, that’s why I didn’t see anything.”  Fluttershy said.  “I was fast asleep at that time.  I’m almost always in bed by nine-thirty.”  Pinkie Pie started, amazed that her friend still went to bed so early.  “Where do you think it went to?”  Fluttershy asked.

“It looked like it was heading away from your cottage and deeper into the forest.”  She said.  “I’d say that way.”  She pointed.

“Well, at least we know it wasn’t headed toward Canterlot.”  She said.  “You know… just in case it  turned out to be something dangerous… we wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to poor Celestia and Luna, especially now.”

“Uh oh, what’s wrong with them?”  Pinkie asked.

“I heard Twilight say that Celestia is sick.”  Fluttershy said.  “I think she said she caught the flu.”  Pinkie frowned.

“Aww, I’m gonna have to make her a big box of get well soon cupcakes.”  She said.  “Hey, wanna help me out? “  Fluttershy smiled.

“Oh, of course.”   She said.  “And don’t worry about the animals, I took care of them.”  She said.  Pinkie smiled.

“Great!  Can you meet me around four at Sugarcube Corner?  I promised Dashie I’d hang out with her this afternoon.”  Fluttershy nodded.

“Of course.”  Fluttershy said.  She gave her friend another hug before they bid each other farewell and Pinkie left to return to Sugarcube Corner to wait for Dash to finish her practicing.

***

“How’s it coming, Spike?”   The voice of Twilight Sparkle sounded from her loft in the town library, where she both lived and worked with her friend and assistant, the baby dragon Spike.  Spike looked up from his current project… half of a get well soon card for Princess Celestia, her mentor and the ruler of Equestria alongside her sister, Princess Luna.  Celestia had a rotten bout of the flu and had been laid up for a couple of days, forcing Luna to learn how to do her sun raising spell so she could fulfill her duties while she recovered.  Along with her own task of raising the moon, the young pegacorn had been running herself ragged, so Twilight was also including a present for her; a box of her favorite tea.

“I’m almost done.”  He said.  His attempt to draw himself was rather crude, but he was getting better at it.  Twilight often complimented him on his efforts to improve his art skills, something he took pride in. 

He put a few finishing touches on the picture and then took it up to Twilight for her to sign.  She smiled at his work.

“Wow, you are getting good.”  She said.  He found himself blushing a bit.  Twilight picked up a quill using her magic and signed her name in flourished script on the card.  Spike followed suit.  “There, all done.”  She said.  “I hope Princess Celestia is feeling better.”  She remembered the times she had caught the flu, and she definitely wouldn’t wish it on anyone, not even her worst enemy.

“Nothing some chicken soup and bed rest won’t fix.”  Spike said.  “Plus, I’m sure Luna will share some of this tea with her.”  Twilight smiled.

“Well then, care to do the honors?”  She asked.  Spike nodded before breathing a blast of his green fire at the scroll, sending it straight to the palace.  “Perfect.”  Twilight said.  Spike next sent the box of tea the same way, a trick he was surprised he was able to do.  He only thought that skill applied to paper.

“What next?”  He asked.

“Well, Rarity did say that she needed help finding some more gems.”  Twilight said.  Spike beamed.

“Oh boy!”  He said.  “I’d be honored.”  Before Twilight could say anything else, Spike bolted out the door in the direction of Rarity’s boutique.  She chuckled at the young dragon’s enthusiasm.

“If only I could get him to show the same enthusiasm for his morning chores.” She said, before going back upstairs to get some reading in before lunch.  She took out a book she had been reading on aeronautics and flipped the pages with her magic before she reached the page she had dogeared.  She began to read with her trademarked focus, and was just getting into the book when she heard a knock at the door.  “Huh?”  She wondered.  “Who could that be?”  She dogeared the page she was on and climbed down to answer the door.  She was surprised to see Rainbow Dash there.

“Hey Twilight.”  She said.  “Uh, I was wondering if you could help me with something.”  

“Sure Rainbow Dash.  What do you need?”  Twilight answered.

“I was wondering if you had any books on planes.”  She asked.  Twilight snickered.

“Working on some cool new trick?”  She asked.  Rainbow Dash scowled.  “Oh, sorry.  I have a book on the principles of aeronautics that I’m reading.  I can loan you that one.

“Actually, I was looking for something specifically on planes.  Like, how to tell different kinds of planes apart.”  She said.

“Aaah, OK.”  Twilight said.  “I might have a couple of reference guides.  Are you looking at private or commercial aircraft?”

“How about both?”  Dash asked.  Twilight motioned for her to follow her into the library.

“May I ask why you need these books?”  Twilight asked.  “Sorry, but I’ve never seen you, well, interested in reading before.”  She hoped Rainbow Dash wouldn’t take offense at that.  Luckily, she didn’t.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story.”  She said.  “You see, Pinkie Pie was up late last night and said she saw some kind of weird aircraft over Everfree.”  She said.  “I keep thinking it was some kind of plane, but there was just something strange about what she said it looked like.”

“A strange aircraft?”  Twilight asked.  She looked around the shelves for the books in question.  “Let’s see if any of these can… aha, here we go.”  She said, holding up a reference guide to all known private and commercial aircraft.  “This might help you identify your mystery plane.”  She said

“Thanks Twi.”  Rainbow Dash said.  “I’ll have this back by later on today.  I won’t need it for very long.”

“Thanks Rainbow.”  Twilight said as her friend left.  Then, she frowned.  Weird planes flying over Ponyville?  There were no airports nearby and planes were almost never seen.  It was highly unlikely any plane would be flying over Everfree on a normal day, unless it was lost.

Or something that wasn’t supposed to be seen at all.  

Twilight shook her head.  There was no reason to start going down that road.  Nothing she heard warranted such speculation.  She returned to her book, confident that there was a rational explanation for what had happened.

***

Pinkie Pie was looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon with Rainbow Dash, having stopped by the joke shop to pick up some supplies for the slew of pranks she planned on pulling that day.  The events of the previous night were quickly forgotten as she giggled with joy at the thought of the fun they were going to have.  She smiled when she finally reached Rainbow’s cloud house, blowing a party horn to get her friend’s attention.  Rainbow Dash peeked her head out the door and looked down at her pink friend.

“Oh, hey Pinks.”  She said.  “You’re early.”  Pinkie Pie bounced up and down like a bouncy ball.

“Yessiree diddlydoo!”  She said with her usual infectious joy.  “I’m here and I’m ready to get pranking.  I got a doozy planned for us to pull off!”

“Well, no spoilers.”  Rainbow Dash said.  “Let’s get to it!”  Pinkie Pie squealed and ran off, with her flying friend in hot pursuit.  To her surprise, their first stop was the town council building.  “Uh, what are we doing here?”  She asked.  Pinkie Pie giggled.

“We’re gonna pull a prank on the town council.”  She said.  Rainbow Dash gaped.

“Whoa, slow down Pinks.”  She said.  “We could get serious trouble…”  She was cut off by another giggle from Pinkie.

“Not if the mayor is helping us out.”  She said, her face split with an impossibly wide grin.  Rainbow Dash smiled, though unease was still visible on her face.  As if on cue, the mayor herself appeared.  

“Ah, good, you’re here.”  She said.  “Have got everything?”  She asked.  Rainbow Dash was confused.

“Yepper skeppers.”  Pinkie said, bouncing more.  

“Perfect.”  The mayor said.  “Follow me.”  She led them inside, a confused Rainbow Dash bringing up the rear.

A few moments later, the two ponies were outside the building, laughing themselves until their sides ached from the spectacular gag Pinkie and the Mayor had planned.

“Oh man,” Rainbow Dash said, clutching her sides, “it sounded like an orchestra in there!”  She said, laughing up a storm.  Pinkie, with the Mayor’s help, had taped a bunch of electronic whoopee cushions to the bottoms of the seats in the council chamber, with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash at the controls and cameras set up so they could watch the reactions of the council members.  A few button pushes after the Mayor had called a meeting together, and a cacophony of fake Bronx cheers was sounding in the meeting.

“I told you it was gonna be a doozy.”  Pinkie said, in between giggles and snorts.  Rainbow Dash wiped tears from her eyes formed from her laughing fit and gave Pinkie a playful punch on the shoulder.

“Pinkie Pie, you are awesome.”  She said.  “And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”  Pinkie Pie gave her a hard squeeze hug.  “Ow!  Easy, need to breathe!”  She squeaked.

“Oopsie doopsie loopsie.”  Pinkie said.  “Sorry Dashie.”  Dash smiled and gave her a noogie.  

“No worries.”  She said.  “So, where to next?”  She asked, eagerness shining in her eyes.

***

The rest of the day passed without much incident, and for Pinkie, it was as though the bizarre events of the previous night had been completely forgotten.  Now, Ponyville was once again settling in for the night underneath the twinkling stars and bright light of Luna’s moon.  The soft, cool breeze that rippled through the night air only added to the sense of serenity and peace that had descended on the town with the late hours.

At a farm near the outskirts of town, the breeze managed to knock a few of the apples that hadn’t been harvested that day onto the ground, which were quickly taken by nocturnal woodland dwellers.  Owing to its location, Sweet Apple Acres was particularly peaceful.  The only sound that could be heard that night was the soft rustle of the wind through the leaves of the vast apple orchard.

And also the gentle snoring of the one orange earth pony in particular, sleeping soundly in her bed.

It had been a particularly busy day for Applejack and her family.  A particularly enormous bumper crop of apples had necessitated a late harvest, which suited Applejack just fine, as it was her joy to harvest the apples that in turn fed the residents of Ponyville and provided the materials for which her elderly grandmother, Granny Smith, worked her baking to an art form.  The only side effect was that her muscles were now so achy and stiff, she felt like she was a hundred years old, and her energy was completely sapped.  But it was no matter, as it was nothing that a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix.

At least it was until around three in the morning, when the orange pony felt something gently shaking her.  

“Huh, what,” she said groggily, “who goes there?”

“Applejack?”  Said a soft, child-like voice, one which Applejack was quite familiar with.  She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and gazed down at the tiny form of an earth pony filly standing next to her bed.  Applejack rubbed her golden mane down and took in the little filly’s expression as best she could.  It didn’t look good.

“Huh, what’s wrong there, Apple Bloom?”  She asked.  Apple Bloom stood up and placed her front hooves on the bed so Applejack could hear her clearly.

“There’s someone outside.”  She said, her twang barely concealing a hint of fear.  Applejack yawned.

“It probably weren’t nothin’ but a critter, sugarcube,” She said, “go on back to sleep.”  Apple Bloom looked at her with an insistent glare.

“But I heard somethin’ big moving around in the apple trees outside my room.”  She said.  “And then when I looked out my window, I saw somethin’ skulkin’ around the orchard.  It didn’t look like no critter I had seen before.”  The look on her face was one of plain terror mixed with honest sincerity, the latter something the Apple family was famous for.  Applejack knew that Apple Bloom wouldn’t have bothered to wake her up at this time unless she really did see something outside.

“Alright, sugarcube.”  Applejack said, fetching her cowpony hat from the nightstand and putting it on before stepping out of bed.  “Show me were ya saw it.”  Apple Bloom led her sister outside and towards where her bedroom window would have been and pointed into the orchard.  

“It was over there.”  She said.  “It was weird, it looked like it was walkin’ on two legs.”  She said.  Applejack took a look into the orchard, relying on what sight the moonlight could give her.  She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, save for some fallen apples knocked loose from the breeze.

“There’s nothing there.”  She said, smiling reassuringly at Apple Bloom.  “Y’all probably just saw some critter in the dark that looked weird.  There aint nothing to be afraid of out here.”  She said.  “In fact, I’ll bet ya ten bits that it was just a little ol’…”  She stopped when she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye… something big.  Apple Bloom saw it too, and squeaked in fear while hiding behind her sister.  “Stay here, sugarcube.”  Applejack said.  

“Where are you going?”  Apple Bloom asked.

“Just stay here.”  She said.  “Don’t go anywhere.”  Applejack cautiously went into the orchard in the direction where she had seen the figure moving.  She forced back her own fear rising in her heart as she cautiously moved forward, going into a part of the orchard that was very poorly lit.  Thankfully, her night vision quickly adjusted, allowing her to see somewhat.  As she came over the crest of a small hill, she spotted something moving in the darkness.  It appeared to be hunched over or kneeling on one knee, and was looking down at something.  Applejack had never seen anything like it before.  The figure was wearing some sort of clothing; a long-sleeved shirt and pants that appeared to be part of a uniform, along with robust, almost military looking boots.  Applejack felt afraid, but there was no time for that.  Whatever it was, it was trespassing on her farm, and that needed to be taken care of.

“Hey you!”  She said.  The figure jerked up and began looking around.  “I’m talkin’ to you!  Y’all are trespassin’ on Apple family property!”  The figure turned around to look at her, its face obscured by what looked like a hood, and it was holding an apple in its….hand?  The figure immediately dropped the apple and ran off through the orchard.  “Hey, come back here!”  Applejack shouted, taking off after it.  

She chased the figure through the apple orchard, the figure managing to gain ground on her through the thick trees, until they reached a clearing.  The light was enough that she could make out what appeared to be a camouflage pattern to the figure’s clothes, along with what looked like some kind of tool or utility belt made of a thick material.  Applejack ran as fast as she could, gaining on the figure, before it whirled around, pulling something out of its belt and pointing it at her.  Instantly her vision was filled with a bright, flashing green light that stopped her in her tracks and rendered her eyes useless.

“Grah!”  She yelped as the light overwhelmed her.  She started to feel sick, nausea welling up in her system.  Her knees buckled and sent her to the ground, and it took every ounce of willpower she had to stop her from vomiting.  Finally, after what seemed like forever, the light vanished, and she started to feel better, but her vision was still clouded, and the figure was, as far as she could tell, too far away now to catch.

As she lay there, waiting for the nausea to pass her, she wondered; what the hay did she just see?

***

Twilight was awake bright and early the next morning, as was her custom.  She took a moment to wash up and style herself before going downstairs to cook breakfast for her and Spike.  Pancakes for herself, some oatmeal mixed with gemstone pieces for Spike; a recent recipe she came up with one morning completely by accident.  The early sunrise promised a bright and warm day, perfect for simply taking a walk to enjoy it.  

Soon, the smells wafting in from the kitchen awoke the baby dragon from his slumber.  Though he usually slept in and didn’t appreciate it when Twilight did try to wake him up early, this time he made an exception… especially when his highly specialized senses detected the scent of…

“Rubies!”  He yipped, rushing out of his bed so fast it tipped over.  Twilight giggled at the sight of the dragon zooming into a chair, eager to chow down.

“Here you go.”  She said, magically placing a bowl in front of him.  “Be careful, it’s still a bit hot.”  Spike took the hint and blew on it a few times to cool it off before taking a big bite of her dish.  He smiled happily at the taste.  Twilight gingerly sat down and placed the plate of her pancakes in front of her, adding a bit of butter and syrup and magically manipulating her utensils.  “I forgot to ask you, Spike, how as gem hunting with Rarity the other day.”

“Would you believe we ran into the Diamond Dogs again?”  He said.  Twilight gasped, but Spike smile reassuringly.  “Ah, but it was no trouble.  In fact, they got so scared that Rarity was there, they gave up the entire gem horde they managed to collect.  All of it.”  Twilight giggled, remembering how Rarity had told her about her last run in with the Diamond Dogs.  It would make sense that they didn’t want to deal with that anymore.

“Say, isn’t Rainbow Dash supposed to return that book you gave her?”  Spike asked.

“That’s right.”  Twilight said.  “Strange, I figured she would have returned it the other day.  She must have forgotten.”  She smiled.  “Oh, no big deal, I’ll just go pick it up on my walk.  What did you plan on doing today, Spike?”

“Actually, I was thinking about picking up some apples from Applejack.”  He said.  “I heard they just got a new crop of galas in.”

“Wonderful.”  Twilight said.  “Do you think you could pick up some granny smiths too?  I’ve been dying to have a good homemade apple pie for a while.”  She said.

“At your service.”  Spike said.  “I’ll get on that while you’re out.”  He said.  Twilight gave him an affectionate hug.  

“Thanks.”  She said.  They finished their breakfast and then went about their separate business, promising to meet up later for lunch.

***

“Nothing?”  Twilight asked Rainbow Dash.  She had run into the pegasus while browsing the town market.  Rainbow Dash looked as though she had been up late reading, something that secretly amused the purple unicorn, as Dash normally shunned anything having to do with academics or studying in general.

“Not a thing.”  The pegasus replied.  “I searched that book cover to cover.  I didn’t see anything in it that came close to matching what Pinkie described.”  She pulled the book from her saddlebags. Twilight replaced it into hers with her magic. 

“You’re positive?”  She asked.  “Even I miss things sometimes.”

“Yeah, I’m positive.”  Rainbow said.  “Whatever Pinkie saw, it’s either something that isn’t in that book or… it wasn’t a plane.”  She said.  Twilight gave a slight eye roll.

“I’m not inclined to suggest something weird.”  Twilight said.  “Perhaps the book itself is out of date?  I’ve had to send a few volumes back and order updated versions.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”  Rainbow said.

“I’ll check that out later.”  Twilight said.  Then she noticed something about the market.  “Now, this is unusual.  I don’t see any sign of Applejack.”  She said.  Rainbow Dash flew up and scanned the market.  Sure enough, Applejack’s stand was nowhere to be seen, and she was almost always out bright and early when the market was open.

“Maybe somepony else saw her.”  She called down to Twilight.

“I’ll go ask the other girls.”  She said.  “Want to tag along?”

“I got some weather jobs I gotta take care of.”  Rainbow said.  “Sorry.”

“That’s OK.”  Twilight said.  “Have a good day.”  Rainbow waved goodbye before zooming off.  Twilight next decided to pay a visit to Carousel Boutique, the home and business of her fashionista friend and fellow unicorn Rarity.  Along the way, she paused to talk to Lyra and Bon Bon, who were having a lively discussion about a colt that Lyra had met the other day.  Twilight snickered at Lyra’s goofy, lovey-dovey expressions.

“Say, have either of you seen Applejack this morning?”  Twilight asked.

“No, I haven’t.”  Bon Bon said.  “Have you, Lyra?”  Lyra shook her head.

“It’s the oddest thing.”  She said.  “She’s almost always here before I am, and I live right across from the market.”  She took a bite of her cake.  “Though, I did see Big Macintosh at Sugarcube Corner this morning, and he said that they had a problem at the farm.”  Twilight suddenly became concerned.

“What kind of problem?”  Twilight asked.

“I didn’t hear that.”  Lyra said.  “But I think it had something to do with the orchard.”

“I’d better go see if Rarity knows anything.”  Twilight said.  “Thanks for the info.  Oh, and Lyra, one small bit of advice.  You most definitely do not have to change your hairstyle for this colt.  You look great already.”  Lyra blushed a bit at the compliment before they said goodbye to each other.

***

Rarity had been expecting a slow business day, nothing but the odd alteration or fixing of a hem or a button.  However, that proved not to be the case.  

“Oh, Opalescense?  How will I ever get all this work done?”  She said, looking at the huge order that been placed in her mailbox.  A high end boutique in Canterlot had requested an order of a dozen of her best dresses, all due by the end of the month.  Normally, it wouldn’t too much of a problem, but she had also been asked by her parents to watch over her little sister, Sweetie Belle, for the month while they took a much needed vacation.  As delightful as it was when Sweetie visited, she could be quite a handful, especially when one had work to do.

As Rarity wondered how she would ever finish the dresses in time, a knock sounded at her door.  That must be my parents dropping Sweetie Belle off, she thought.

“Coming!”  She called as cheerfully as she could.  She opened the door with her magic, expecting to see her parents and Sweetie Belle there, but instead she saw…

“Twilight?”  She said in surprise.

“Hello, Rarity.”  She said.  “Is something wrong?  You look stressed.”

“Oh, darling,” she said, “you have no idea.”  A concerned Twilight took a seat when motioned to do so by Rarity.  “I simply don’t know how I’m going to finish this massive order in time with Sweetie Belle coming to stay.”  She said.  

“Why not ask someone else if they can watch her?”  Twilight asked.

“I would, but there’s no one else that my parents trust to watch her for a whole month.”  She said.
“A month?”  Twilight asked.  “Why a month?”

“Of all the worst times for them to go on vacation, this is the worst possible time.”  Rarity said, in the usual hammy style she got when she was complaining about something.  Twilight stifled a giggle at her friend’s melodrama and gave the white unicorn her best winning smile.

“Well, if you ever need any help, please don’t hesitate to ask.”  Twilight said.  Rarity looked like she could kiss Twilight, but being the graceful lady she was, she didn’t, though she did give her a hug to show her appreciation for her offer.

“Oh, thank you so much, Twilight.”  She said.  Twilight returned her hug with a smile.

“Anything for a friend, Rarity.”  She replied.  Then she remembered why she was there.  “Actually, I just remembered.  I needed to ask you something.  It’s about Applejack.”  Rarity looked a bit puzzled.

“Why?  Isn’t she in the market?”  She asked.  “I see her there every morning.”  

“That’s the thing.”  Twilight said.  “When I was in the market, I didn’t see her, and everyone I talked said she didn’t show up to sell her apples this morning.”  Rarity gave a small gasp.

“Oh dear, this is simply not good at all.”  She said.  “We must go and find out if she’s OK.”

“I’m sure she’s OK.”  Twilight said.  “Though, Lyra did say she heard Big Macintosh talking about a problem at the farm.”  Rarity gasped again.

“There are almost never any problems at Sweet Apple Acres.”  Rarity said.  “Come, we must go find out what it is.  Applejack may need our help.”  She said, going back into her “large ham” mode.  

“Well, alright, if you insist.”  Twilight said, allowing herself to be dragged out of the boutique by Rarity, who also left a note for her parents on the door explaining where she was.  The two of them made a beeline straight for Sweet Apple Acres.

***

When they arrived, they were greeted by the strangest site; all three Cutie Mark Crusaders, dressed in “armor” made from cardboard boxes and “weapons” made from wooden dowels and aluminum foil, marching around in front of the storage barn with serious expressions on their faces.  Twilight tried to suppress a giggle at how silly the fillies looked.  Rarity simply winced at their “garish” choice of fashion.

“What are you girls doing?”  She asked.  An orange and purple pegasus filly, Scootaloo, turned to her and stood at attention.
“It is requested that no unauthorized personnel attempt to enter the barn!”  She said in her best “intimidating guard” voice.  This caused Twilight to burst out laughing.  Scootaloo looked a bit crestfallen at that.  “Oh man…”

“Sorry about that.”  Apple Bloom said.  “We’re tryin’ to help protect the barn.”   She said.  “Cutie Mark Crusaders Security Guards, we are.”  She said with a huge grin.  Twilight wiped a tear from her eye from laughing so hard.

“I’m sorry girls,” she said, “but pffttheeheeheeheehee, it’s too funny.”  Sweetie Belle turned to her friends.

“I don’t think we’re being scary enough.”  She said.  She brushed a strand of her pink and purple mane that hung from underneath her “helmet”.  Just then, Applejack finally appeared, wearily dragging an apple cart filled to the brim with golden delicious apples.  The girls parted away from the barn door so she could get in.  Applejack didn’t even see her friends until Twilight called her name.

“Huh, what?”  She asked.  “Oh, hey Twilight.”  She said, yawning.  Applejack’s eyes drooped heavily and she carried herself like she had no energy.  Even her orange coat seemed to be dulled from the lack of energy.

“Applejack, you don’t look so good.”  Twilight said.  “You weren’t up all night bucking apples again, were you?”  Applejack shook her head.

“Not this time.”  She said.  “Actually…”  She began, before Apple Bloom cut her off.

“There was a scary guy skulkin’ ‘round the apple trees last night!”  Apple Bloom squeaked.  Twilight and Rarity looked at each other.

“Scary guy?”  Twilight asked.  “What do you mean?”

“What she means is, somepony was creeping around the orchard late the other night.”  Applejack said, a bit miffed that Apple Bloom interrupted her.  “They were wearin’ some kinda bizarro camouflage outfit and poking around my apples.”  She scowled.  “Thieves, I bet, trying to rip us off.  Well, no can do.”  She snarled.

“Which would explain the girls’ outfits.”  She said, with a snicker.  The Crusaders scowled at her.

“We’re not silly.”  Apple Bloom huffed.  

“But, why would anyone want to steal apples?”  Rarity asked.  Applejack didn’t have an answer for that one.  “And Sweetie Belle, what are you doing here?  Mother and Father were supposed to drop you off at the boutique.”

“They were, but Apple Bloom stopped them and told them about what happened, and then Scootaloo got the idea that we could earn our cutie marks as security guards.”  She said.  “Sorry.”  Rarity smiled.

“Oh, it’s quite alright.”  She said.  Applejack continued.

“Naturally, I gave chase to the varmint.”  She said.  “But just when I was about to catch ‘em, they flashed somethin’ in mah face.”  She said.

“Flashed?”  Twilight asked.

“Some kinda fancy flashlight thingy.”  Applejack said.  “Dang near blinded me, and made me feel sick to my stomach.”  She said.  “So, me and the family spent the rest of the night guarding the apples in case they came back.”

Listening to Applejack’s story got Twilight concerned.  First Pinkie Pie sees something she couldn’t explain, and now Applejack had an intruder on her property.  What was going on here?  She decided that she needed to investigate, and try to get to the bottom of this mystery.

***

Twilight’s next stop was Sugarcube Corner.  She and Rarity left the Crusaders to their own devices for the time, confident that the strong willed Applejack could look after them, while they talked to Pinkie Pie.  Twilight opened the door to the bakery, the bell going off to signal that customers had arrived.

“Coming?”  The sweet voice of Mrs. Cake sounded.  A minute later she appeared, carrying a batch of freshly baked blueberry muffins.  “Oh, hello Twilight, hello Rarity,” she said,“how may I help you?”

“Is Pinkie Pie home?”  Twilight asked.  “I wanted to pay her a visit.”

“She’s upstairs, dearies.”  Mrs. Cake said.  “I can call her down if you want.”

“That’s OK, Mrs. Cake.”  Twilight said.  “Thank you, anyway.  Though,” she said, sniffing the muffins, “a couple of these wouldn’t hurt.”  She licked her lips, and paid for two muffins.  A minute later, they were happily eating their muffins as they went upstairs to Pinkie’s flat.  Rarity knocked on the door.

“Pinkie Pie!”  She called cheerfully.  “Are you in there?”  

“Who’s there!”  Pinkie Pie called.  Twilight noticed a hint of nervousness in her voice.  What’s this all about?  She wondered.

“It’s Twilight and Rarity.”  Twilight called.

“Are you sure?”  Pinkie said.  Twilight and Rarity looked at each other, as if to say “what gives?”.  “What did I dress up as for Nightmare Night last year?”  She asked.  Now they were really confused.

“Um… a chicken, why?”  Twilight asked.  Pinkie Pie finally opened the door.  Twilight was decidedly dumbfounded when they saw her wearing some sort of tinfoil hat on her head with a fearful expression on her face.

“Pinkie, darling, what are doing wearing that thing on your head?”  Rarity asked.  “Did you get a bad haircut?”  She asked.  

“Come in!”  Pinkie hissed, dragging them both inside.

“Pinkie!”  Twilight said.

“Sorry girls.”  She said.  “But I had to make sure it was really you.”  Rarity was flabbergasted.  Why would she think it wasn’t them?

“Pinkie, darling, you’re not making any sense.”  She said.  “Could you please tell us what is going on?”

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t one of… them.”  She replied.

“One of who?”  Twilight asked.  

“Them.”  Pinkie said.  “The…aliens!”  She said with a shudder.  Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Pinkie, have you been up late watching scary movies again?”  She asked.

“No.”  Pinkie said.  “But I did see something on that one channel about history…”  Twilight groaned.

“There’s nothing good on that channel anymore.”  She complained.  Pinkie scowled at her.  “Oh, sorry, go on.”

“I watched something about people who’ve seen flying saucers and aliens.”  She gulped.  “It looked so scary.”  She cowered, whimpering.

“Pinkie, you know there’s no such thing as aliens.”  She said.

“How do you know?”  Pinkie asked.

“Because there’s no evidence of any kind to suggest that there is.”  Twilight said. “That show you watched isn’t real science, just a bunch of hooey pseudoscience meant to entertain people.  It’s all for ratings and bits.”  She said.  Pinkie scowled.

“Oh yeah!  Then what was that thing I saw?”  She asked.  “I looked for it on the ponynet and I didn’t see a single thing that matched what I saw!  It was aliens, I tell you!” 

“Pinkie, be reasonable.”  Rarity said.  “Just because you don’t recognize something, doesn’t mean that it’s something sinister.”  Pinkie just growled, her hair suddenly going flat and lifeless.

“Oh this is so typical!”  She shouted.  “You never take me seriously!  Here I am, scared out of my wits, and you’re just dismissing me!”  She flailed her forelegs around as she shouted.  “I bet you’re gonna make fun of me behind my back.  Oh look at that stupid Pinkie Pie!  She’s soooo stupid!”  She stopped shouting and began to tear up.  Both Rarity and Twilight were open mouthed gaping at her sudden outburst, replaced by looks of concern at her sudden sadness.

“No, Pinkie.”  Twilight said.  “We’re trying to reassure you.”

“Yes, darling.”  Rarity said.  “We want you to know that you have nothing to be scared of.”  Pinkie Pie looked at them.

“But… but what about the thing?”  She asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“I know what you saw the other night scared you.”  Twilight said.  “If it had been me, I’d probably be scared too.  Sometimes, the things we don’t understand can be scary.  But whatever it was, I’m sure that there was a logical, non-scary explanation behind it.”  She flashed Pinkie her most reassuring smile.  Pinkie looked at them for a few moments.

“You really have nothing to be scared of.”  Rarity said.  “You’re perfectly safe.”  Both of them flashed a sincere smile.  Slowly, a smile cracked Pinkie’s face.

“Okie dokie lokie.”  She said softly.  The other two sighed with relief that she was now feeling better.

“Don’t worry, Pinkie.”  Twilight said.  “I’ve decided that I’m going to try to get to the bottom of this.”  She said.  Pinkie smiled.

“Oooh, detective work!”  She yipped.  “Can I help?  Can I?  Huh huh huh?”  Twilight giggled.

“Sure, why not.”  She said with a smile.

“Yay!”  Pinkie yipped, screaming out the door, her “hat” flying off of her head.  Twilight and Rarity just laughed, following her.

***

Fluttershy’s cheerful humming sounded from the small cottage she lived in, the yellow pegasus busying herself with her morning chores, including feeding the various animals that lived near her cottage.  Fish for the otters, worms for the birds, and medley of vegetables for the bunnies and other vegetarian animals formed a smorgasborg that was well received by the gracious animals.

“Here you go.”  She said to some baby robins as she gave them some small worms to eat.  The robins chirped at her in thanks.  She smiled.  “Oh, you’re most welcome.”  She said, nuzzling the little birds before moving on to her next task.  Just as she was preparing some carrots and lettuce for Angel, she had a sudden feeling… almost like she was being watched.  She looked around, but didn’t see anything.  She shrugged her shoulders.  It was probably nothing.  

She finished Angel’s food, for which the bunny was grateful, and then went about the rest of her morning chores, which mostly revolved around cleaning, as it was the end of the week and she always made sure to spruce her home up around that time.  She started with raking up some of the stray leaves that had fallen down in a recent heavy wind.  She hummed a merry tune to herself as she worked, her wings flapping gently to keep herself hovering in the air.  However, she quickly stopped when the feeling came back, and this time it was stronger than ever.  She tried her best to ignore it and continue with her work, but soon it just became too much, and she began to involuntarily shiver as fear began to well up in her.

“W-who’s there?”  She called out, her voice cracking.  She didn’t get a single response.  Her eyes fearfully scanned the forest that bordered her cottage, looking for anything out of the ordinary.  She didn’t see anything, though she still could not shake the feeling that something was watching her.  And then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted movement; something was moving behind a bush near the cottage, as though it was trying to avoid being seen.  Fluttershy’s eyes locked on to the bush, watching whatever was creeping around her cottage.  “Who are you?”  She asked, her voice cracking with fear.  “What do you want?”  As she watched, something began to cautiously peer out from behind the bush; a hooded figure, wearing some sort of camouflage outfit, it’s face hidden… except for a pair of piercing yellow eyes that seemed to stare straight through her.

Fluttershy shrieked in terror at the thing’s sudden appearance and darted back into her cottage, where she hid under the covers on her bed.  Her keen ears picked up the sound of footsteps coming up to her front door, followed by three sharp knocks.  Fluttershy squeaked in terror and curled up into a ball.  Her heart was beating at what felt like a thousand beats per minute, and she was shaking so bad that her bed was wobbling.  Tears began to stream down her face, she was so frightened.  She sat there for what seemed like an eternity, before she heard the footsteps go away, and finally summoned up enough courage to look outside.  She didn’t see anything.  Apparently, whatever she had seen behind her bush was gone, she guessed back into the Everfree Forest.  She wiped the tears from her eyes, and then zoomed off looking for her friends.

***

Twilight, with a book entitled A Practical Guide to Detective Work and Deduction carried along with her magic, found herself back at Applejack’s farm, with Pinkie Pie and Rarity in tow.  Per their request, Applejack took them out to the part of the farm where she had seen the intruder.  Twilight immediately got to work looking for clues, as her book instructed.  She would interview the rest of the Apple family later.  Her eyes immediately took her to a part of an apple tree that looked like it had been disturbed; the bark appeared to have been scratched and scraped.  Applejack frowned when she saw the damage.

“Ah’d better go git some pitch.”  She said, skulking off, obviously upset that someone would damage her trees.  Twilight watched her skulk off before examining the rest of the scene.  She took note of some branches and leaves that looked like they had been disturbed, as though someone were touching them and examining them.  She also took note of a patch of grass that was disturbed.  Twilight thought it was odd; the damage was subtle, and from all appearances appeared like the blades had been cut, like with scissors or shears.  Then there was the bit of disturbed bark, which also piqued her curiosity.  The bark didn’t look like an animal had gone after it with its claws; from what she saw, the damage looked like it was caused by a tool of some kind.

All in all, it looked almost like someone had taken an interest in the flora and had taken samples for study.  

Preposterous, Twilight though.  There’s no way someone would be taking samples of grass and apple tree bark for study, just about everyone in Equestria knows what they are.  Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was busying herself with a comically oversized magnifying glass, and had someone gotten herself a deerstalker cap and a bubble pipe, making her look like a cartoon version of a certain fictional detective.  Twilight couldn’t help but grin at her friend’s comic getup.

“Find anything?”  She asked, half giggling.  Pinkie Pie looked up.

“No.”  She said glumly.  “Not one single clue.”  

“Don’t worry, Pinkie.”  Twilight said.  “I’ve found plenty of clues for us to look at.”  She said, showing Pinkie everything she found, which she examined with her glass, her tongue hanging out of one side of her mouth in a comic display of concentration.  

“Oooh.” She said.  “Very good.”  Twilight took out a camera and photographed everything, and even took a funny picture of Pinkie in her “intensely focused detective” stance.

“We’d better get this back to the library.”  Twilight said.  “We’ll be needing to get some outside help in identifying…”

“Look out below!”  A familiar voice shouted.  They all scattered as Rainbow Dash came soaring out of the sky and skidded to a landing.  She looked around and spotted the pair ducking behind some gala trees.  

“Rainbow Dash?”  Twilight asked.  “What are you doing here?”  But Dash didn’t answer.

“Where’s Fluttershy?”  She asked.  As if on cue, the yellow pegasus squeaked and leapt out from behind a tree.   

“Rainbow, what’s going on?”  Twilight asked.

“Code red, you guys.”  Rainbow Dash said, just as Applejack returned with some pitch and began fixing the tree.  “Fluttershy saw someone, or something, skulking around her cottage.”  Her voice was dead serious, and it caught Twilight off guard momentarily.

“We need to go there.”  She said, when she regained her composure.  “There may still be clues for us to follow.”  She immediately raced off for Fluttershy’s cottage, the other ponies in hot pursuit.  The Cutie Mark Crusaders, taking a break from their “guard duties”, watched them zoom past the barn.  Scootaloo suggested they follow the rest of the gang, and they were likewise off, her wings buzzing as she pulled them along on her scooter.

***

“OK, where did you see this figure?”  Twilight asked.  They were examining Fluttershy’s yard, while the yellow pegasus, still quite shaken by her sighting, stood by, shivering a bit.

“By that rose bush.”  She said, pointing to where she had seen the intruder.  Twilight immediately went over to look.  She took note that some of the leaves of the rose bush had been disturbed, as though something had been holding onto them.  She also spotted some familiar looking footprints, though they were fair bit smaller, leading her to judge that they were perhaps a female’s shoe or boot.  She took more photographs with her camera before turning to interview Fluttershy.  She levitated a quill and notepad in front of her.

“OK, tell me exactly what you saw.”  Twilight said.

“I saw a big scary man standing behind the rose bush!”  Fluttershy squeaked, shaking in fear just thinking about it.  Twilight looked at her, concerned.

“Can you describe this… thing?”  She asked.

“It was crouching down behind the bush.”  Fluttershy said.  “It was wearing some kind of hood, in some kind of strange pattern, but what I was most focused on was its eyes.”  She said.

“Eyes?”  Twilight asked.

“They were this scary yellow color.”  She said.  She whimpered.  “They looked like they were looking right through me.”  She suddenly yipped and refused to talk anymore.  Rainbow filled Twilight in on the rest.

Twilight now knew that this was serious.  First Pinkie Pie and her mysterious object in the sky, and now both Applejack and Fluttershy saw intruders on their property.  Despite her skepticism, she had to admit that the likelihood of these events being connected was very high.  Her biggest concern now was the safety of her friends and her home.  She hastily wrote out something in her notepad and tore the page off, rolling it up and handing it to Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow, I need you to take this to Princess Luna.”  She said.  

“Wouldn’t Spike be faster?”  Rainbow said.  “I  mean, he can send it through his fire breath…”

“No time to go back to library.”  Twilight said.  “The rest of us are going into the forest to go looking for this thing.”  At that Fluttershy squeaked in terror.  “The princesses need to be told about this now.”  Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Gotcha, I’ll be back before you know it.”  She said, putting the letter into her mouth and shooting off in the direction of Canterlot as fast  as she could.

“You want us to go into the forest after these things?”  Rarity asked.

“It’s spooooooooky in there.”  Pinkie said.

“I’m scared…”  Fluttershy squeaked.  Applejack put a calming hoof on her shoulder.  

“It’ll be alright, sugarcube.”  She said.  Fluttershy smiled a bit at her friend’s reassurance.  Her honesty was something she could always count on.

“We have no choice.”  Twilight said.  “I admit that I’m puzzled at these recent events, and I’m concerned about any possible threat to us or the town.  We need to find these things and figure out what’s going on.”  Twilight said.  “Are you with me?”  She asked.

“You betcha!”  Applejack said. 

“You’ve never led us wrong before,” Rarity said, “as your friends, we will follow you wherever you lead us.”

“I’m right behind you!”  Pinkie said, rearing up.

“I’ll be brave.”  Fluttershy said, though her voice still cracked a bit.

“We’re with you too!”  A small voice spoke up.  They looked behind them to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, chests puffed out, brave looks on their faces.  

“No can do, you three,” Applejack said, “this is way too dangerous for you…”  She said, but Scootaloo interrupted her.

“I know what you’re going to say, but honestly, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”  She said, determined not to take no for an answer.  Twilight could tell immediately that there was going to be no arguing with the fillies, and though every instinct told her not to, she  nodded.

“Alright,” She said, “but you stay with us and don’t go wandering off.”  She said.  Applejack wanted to object, but she trusted Twilight enough to agree.

“Yeah.”  Pinkie said.  “We don’t the aliens to get you.”  She said.  When she saw Twilight’s skeptical glance, she smiled.  “Well, you never know.”  The three fillies grinned widely.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ALIEN HUNTERS!  YAY!”  They shouted as loud as they could, causing the others to hold their ears.  With that, they went off into the forest, ready for whatever it was that was waiting for them in there.

***

Honestly, she didn’t know how Celestia put up with it sometimes.

Princess Luna opened the door to her chambers she shared with her sister with a flick of her horn, her wings drooping with exhaustion, her now flowing, starry mane having lost some of its liveliness.  She walked past her sister’s bed, Celestia sleeping peacefully upon it, and collapsed onto her own, smaller one, closing the doors with her magic as softly as she could.  She had just returned from her latest duty while her sister recovered; a meeting with a particularly dislikeable dignitary, Archduke Grizveldt, Viceroy of the Griffon King.  

Neither she nor Celestia could stand him.  Grizveldt, despite his rank and noble upbringing, was the most unpleasant creature in the world, it seemed.  He was boisterous, rude, arrogant, and treated everyone around him like filth, even his own entourage.  When he had arrived that morning for a trade summit, he marched right into the palace of Canterlot like he owned the place, shouted at the palace staff when they took too long to meet his requests, and made disparaging comments about the food that they served at the brunch before the conference.  And, if that wasn’t enough, he had the gall to insult both her’s and her sister’s fitness to rule Equestria.  A woman in position of power is the most unnatural thing I can think of, he had said her, in the most insulting tone possible.  Luna grinned and bared it throughout the meeting, until he began to try and sneakily insert items into the discussion that would ensure Equestria would get shafted in any trade agreement… despite assurances from the King himself that any deal would be fair and equitable.  Luna smiled when she remembered what she had said to him.

Silence!  We are not amused!  She had snarled, whipping out the pluralis majestatis to speak on behalf of her entire country and addressing Grizveldt in the most intimidating voice she could short of her “Royal Canterlot” voice (which she had ceased using, along with her flowery old speech, after a round of studying on modern customs).  You insult our kingdom, turn your nose up at our hospitality, and now you attempt to steal from us?  You have a lot of nerve thinking you can get away with this.  Now, we are going to give you two choices; you either present us with something that will benefit both of us equally, or we will send you back to your King chained to your chariot with a note stuffed in your mouth explaining your treachery… and I we’re sure that the guards at Reichenbach would be more than pleased to welcome you.  She said, referring to a feared Griffon prison.  After that, Grizveldt readily agreed to everything she had proposed.

She softly giggled at that.  Despite the tough start, she had managed to pull it off, though now she was drained of her energy, and could use a refreshing nap.

“Luna?”  Her sister’s voice, raspy from coughing and her sore throat, sounded from the other side of the room.  Luna looked up at her sister, now sitting up in bed.  She felt a pang of sympathy at how awful she looked.  Her mane, usually flowing and graceful, was hanging limp.  Her face was slightly red from fever, and her eyes dropped with the malaise.  Even her color seemed dull and muted.  Overall, she still looked like a real mess.

“I’m so sorry, sister.”  Luna said.  “I didn’t mean to wake you.”  Celestia just smiled and waved her hoof.

“It’s alright.”  She said hoarsely.  “I was only half-asleep anyway.  Ugh, this awful headache is getting to me.”  She reached for a cup of water and took a sip.  “So, how did it go?”  She asked.

“Well, the archduke”, Luna spat the word out, as though it left a vile taste in her mouth, “felt that he could try to cheat us.  I quickly reminded him that we are not a people to be trifled with.”  Celestia grinned.

“Did you use your old royal voice on him?”  She asked.  Luna giggled.

“No, but I did remind him that his king would not be pleased to hear of it.”  She said.  They both giggled at that.  Celestia sighed.

“Luna, I want to tell you something.”  She said, beckoning her to sit by her.  Luna did so.  “You’ve been doing a wonderful job.  It’s a difficult task, being the sole ruler of our country, but you’ve come into it with a poise and strength I rarely see in anyone, and you’ve done so much good.”  She smiled.  “I… sometimes feel as if I don’t thank you nearly enough as I should… for everything you do here.”  She said.  She looked away, feeling guilty, but Luna was having none of that.  She wrapped her big sister in a huge hug.

“Tia, you don’t have to feel bad.”  She said.  “Everything I do around here, I do gladly, and I can tell from the look you have on your face at the end of the day, that you appreciate it all.  That’s thanks enough.”  Celestia smiled, feeling a small tear forming, which she quickly wiped away.  Just then, there was a knock at the door.  

“Come in.”  Celestia said, rubbing her throat from the soreness.  Luna let go of her as a guardscolt entered, his armor flashing in the light shining through their window.

“Pardon me, your majesties,” the guard said, bowing, “but there is someone here to see you.”  He said.  Luna was curious.

“Oh?”  Celestia said.  “Send them in, please.”  She said.  The guard motioned for someone outside the room to enter, and she was pleasantly surprised to see one of her student’s friends, Rainbow Dash, enter.

“Miss Rainbow Dash.”  She said, with a smile.  “What brings you here?”

Rainbow Dash, Luna said to herself, the Element of Loyalty…

Rainbow Dash looked at the Princess for a second.  She was surprised to see her in this state.  She looked as sick as a dog, and the coughs and sneezes she emitted weren’t helping her at all.

“Uh…”  Rainbow began.  “Are you ok?”  She asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

“Just a touch of the flu, is all.”  She said.  She then let loose a mighty coughing fit, which caused Luna to back away.  “Alright, more than a touch…”  Rainbow winced.  She’d had the flu more times than she could count, and she didn’t wish it on anyone… except for maybe Discord.  Then she remembered why she was there.

“Twilight needed me to give this to you.”  Rainbow Dash said, handing Luna the note that Twilight had hastily written.  Luna read the letter out loud.

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,

I am afraid that I have some distressing news to report that requires your immediate attention.

There have been recent strange events in Ponyville that are causing me a great deal  of concern.  Two nights ago, my friend Pinkie Pie spotted a strange craft of some sort hovering over the Everfree Forest, which she described as looking vaguely like an airplane and behaving in a way to suggest that it was searching for something.

The next night, Applejack had an intruder on her property, and the following morning Fluttershy had a similar encounter near her cottage.  Both of them describe the intruders as being tall, around five feet, and dressed in clothing with a camouflage pattern, resembling a uniform of some kind.  Both intruders were said to be bipedal and manipulated objects with hands.  The only known creatures that exhibit these traits are the Diamond Dog, but there are no known Diamond Dog colonies near Ponyville since the last one was run out, and the intruders did not match the description of a Diamond Dog, described as standing straight up with no characteristic slouch.

I am deeply concerned for the safety of Ponyville and its residents.  Though to date there have been no indications that these intruders have any real hostile intent, we have not been able to establish anything for certain.  My friends and are going to mount a search for these strange beings, and I felt it only proper to inform you of the events in question and our intentions, so that you may take whatever action you feel is appropriate.

I await your quick response.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

Celestia’s eyes betrayed her feelings.  She had listened to Luna read the letter with a growing sense of unease.  Whatever was happening in Ponyville was quite obviously serious, especially if the normally skeptical Twilight was taking it seriously herself.  Luna was likewise worried.  Although she had visited the town before during last year’s Nightmare Night celebration, she hadn’t gotten a chance to meet the Elements properly, and she feared that she might not get the chance too, as well as for the safety of her subjects residing in Ponyville.  She turned and looked at her sister. 

“Celestia, what do we do?”  She asked, eschewing her shorthand nickname for the sun princess.

“Luna, please take a letter.”  She said.  Luna got a fresh parchment and quill ready, and began to write as Celestia dictated.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

We have received your message, and I share your concern.  It is apparent to me that you have a serious situation developing in Ponyville, and we intend to take action as soon as possible.

We will be putting the Royal Guard on high alert, and will have them ready to come and assist you at a moment’s notice.  If you need any further assistance, do not hesitate to ask.

We eagerly await the results of your investigation and we hope for the safety of you and your friends.

Yours Truly,
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna

When Celestia had finished dictating the letter, Luna rolled up the scroll and gave it to Rainbow Dash.

“Please take this to Twilight,” she said, “quickly as possible.”  Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Yes, Your Majesties.”  She said, before taking off through the open window in the sister’s bedroom, which Luna had opened for her.  Luna frowned a bit as she took off.

“Will they be alright?”  She asked.  Celestia nodded.
“Twilight has grown a great deal since she’s been in Ponyville.”   Celestia said, with a hint of pride in her voice.  “She is quite capable of handling this on her own.”  She said.  “I only hope that the others will benefit from this strength.”

“I’m sure they will.”  Luna said.  “I only hope that they will be safe.”

***

Rainbow was quick to rejoin her friends in the Everfree Forest and deliver the message she had been given.  Twilight read it out loud as they began scouting the forest.  By Twilight’s best guess, along with Pinkie Pie’s nearly photographic memory, she deduced that they were near the site where she had seen the mysterious craft, and were now tracing its flight deep into the forest.

“So they’re not sending help?”  Rarity asked, incredulous that the normally hands-on princesses would not be sending help immediately.

“Nah,” Applejack said, “they’re just biding their time, waiting to see how this turns out.”  She said.  “I imagine she trusts us to take care of ourselves.”  Fluttershy shivered.

“B-b-but,” she whimpered, “it c-c-could b-be d-d-d-dangerous.”  Rainbow Dash gave the frightened yellow pegasus her best comforting smile.  But in truth, she was feeling rather nervous herself, but she refused to show it, wanting to put on a strong face for her friends. 

“Don’t worry, sugarcube.”  Applejack said.  “T’aint nothing in this here forest that can hurt us one bit.”  She said.  “Heck, we took down both Nightmare Moon and Discord.”  Fluttershy smiled a bit, remembering their past deeds.  She felt her fear lessen, seeing the bravery that her friends were showing, even Pinkie Pie, who was busying herself “looking for clues”, shoving her magnifying glass into every possible nook and cranny, getting her deerstalker dirty in the process.  Rarity winced.

“Pinkie, darling,” she said, “um, you’re getting mud on your hat.  Shouldn’t you tone it down a bit?”  She asked.  Pinkie looked at her with an eyebrow raised and her mouth open.

“Are you loco in the coco?”  She asked.  “You never know where your next clue is going to show up.”  She just finished her sentence when she ran into some brush… which oddly, produced a loud, metallic clunk.  “Owwy!  Head has owwies.”  She said, grabbing the spot where her head had hit the object in question.  Twilight immediately walked over to the brush, and discovered to her surprise, that it was all attached to some sort of cord web.  She knew what this was.

“Camouflage netting.”  She said.  She began to carefully peel the netting away, while her friends watched.  The netting revealed a metallic box that whirred with an electronic noise.  The object was box shaped, but with a smoothed, streamlined look, and was colored a silvery gray.  Twilight gently pushed an area on the top that looked like a button, and  there was a sudden flash of light, and an image that looked like a functioning computer keyboard and monitor appeared.  

“Oooh.”  Pinkie said.  Twilight examined the “computer” closely.  The “keys” were patterned in a clearly ergonomic pattern, made for ease and comfort of use.  But unlike a keyboard in Equestria, they bore strange symbols, which Twilight guessed were letters.  What they meant, she could only guess.  

“What is this, Twilight?”  Applebloom asked.  Up to this point, the Crusaders had been quiet, simply scanning the forest for something unusual.

“It looks like some sort of input device.”  She said.  “Probably a computer, but one that uses… girls, I think this is a hologram.”  She said.

“A holowhat?”  Scootaloo asked.

“A hologram.”  Twilight said.  “Basically, it uses light to create a three dimensional image that can be interacted with.”  She said.  “We’ve been working on hologram technology for a while now, but we haven’t got anything like this.”  She began to press some of the “keys”.  The monitor began to display the odd characters corresponding to each key.  “It’s a holographic computer.”

“But… who does it belong to?”  Rarity asked.  “I’ve never seen a language like that before.”

“It’s some kind of hieroglyphic language.”  Twilight said.  “But I’ve studied every kind of hieroglyph and writing system in Equestria and beyond, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Could it be made by the zebras?”  Rainbow asked.  Twilight shook her head.

“Nowadays, zebras use Equestrian letters to write their language.”  She said.  “But my knowledge of their language is thin, so it could be some kind of old script that’s still being used.”  She said.  “I’ll take some pictures of the hieroglyphs and we’ll take them to Zecora.  She’s not far from here anyway.”  She took out her camera and took pictures of the letters on the computer.

“Would they even have this kind of stuff?”  Sweetie Belle asked.  “Looks pretty high tech.”

“The zebra kingdom is pretty advanced.”  Twilight said.  “They could have developed it.”  The backed up to take another photograph, and then directed them in the direction of Zecora’s.

***

Zecora the zebra was normally a very busy equine.  Between meditating and brewing her various herbal baths and teas and practicing her traditional art and songs, she rarely left her hut in the Everfree Forest.  The work of an herbalist was never done, it seemed.

But none of that bothered her.  She enjoyed doing it.  She had come from a long line of herbalists and traditional healers in her tribe, and her skills had proved to be a valuable asset to the people in Ponyville, especially for fillies and colts who forgot that poison joke was a rather irritating plant to deal with and managed to find themselves in a patch.

But today, it was slow.  She had no orders to fill, and her mind was sapped due to a lack of sleep for past couple of nights.  She simply did not have the energy to do anything today, and was currently sitting around, drinking some herbal tea and watching her fire burn itself out.  She sighed.  Today was a very dull day indeed.

Just as she was finishing the last of her tea, there was a knock at the door.  She smiled.

“Oh, what luck on this most dreary day of bore,” she said happily, “is that company I hear knocking on my door?”  She said, speaking in her trademark verse, something of a habit from her childhood she had picked up and never kicked.  She opened the door and was greeted by six familiar faces.  She beamed and stepped aside to allow them to enter.

“Hello Zecora.”  Twilight said.  “We’re sorry to trouble you…”  Zecora waved a hoof to silence her.

“Fear nothing, ponies, for offended I am not.”  She said.  “Come, see the art from my homeland that I have brought.”  She said, showing them some of the new artwork she had acquired during a visit to her homeland.  Twilight smiled.

“Wow, it’s very beautiful.”  She said.  Then she remembered why she was there.  “Actually, we need you to do something for us.”  Zecora’s expression fell, and Twilight suddenly became concerned, worried she had upset the zebra.  “Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t have to…”  But Zecora waved her hoof again.

“Forgive me Twilight Sparkle, for I am weary.”  She said.  “This day has been most dark dreary.”  

“Are ya having a bad day?”  Apple Bloom asked. 

“Sleep has proved elusive these nights.”  She said.  “My rest is disturbed my most unusual sights.”  Twilight gasped softly.

“Zecora, did you see something strange in the forest the other night?”  She asked.  Zecora nodded.  

“Gather round, and I shall tell too thee”, she said. “of the mysterious sight that my eyes did see.”

Zecora proceeded to tell them that one night, while she was trying to sleep after a hard day’s work preparing herbal baths for the local spa, she was awoken by a strange noise. It sounded almost like an aircraft engine.  She awoke with a start, just as her house was filled with a bright white light.  She rushed outside to investigate, to be greeted by the site of large craft flying over her hut at a smooth clip, before finally disappearing from sight in the deep woods.  She found it very hard to get back to sleep after seeing that.  The next night was even stranger, as she was awoken by voices singing in a language she had never hear before in her life.  The tune was peppy and upbeat, and seemed to be a most jovial song.  She even memorized the chorus, and sang it for them.

Nu’k, Il da ka’a
Il da ka’a
Il da ka’a, zu il el hai’jana
Ku’la lir a’ku na’kar!

Twilight smile a bit.  The tune was indeed catchy, but also she had a strange feeling beginning to well up within her.  Could Pinkie Pie be right?  Was something otherworldly going on here?  She kept telling herself that there was always a down to earth explanation… but truth be told, she was beginning to have doubts about this.

“Zecora, where did you hear these voices?”  She asked.  Zecora pointed off where they had just come.

“Searching for herbs for my work, was I.”  She said.  “And off to the right I heard and saw with my eye.”  Pinkie Pie gasped.

“What did you see?”  She asked, adopting her “serious detective” voice.  

“Come, I will show you.”  She said.  “Watch where you step, beware the leaves of blue.”  She said, pointing out a few large patches of poison joke that they hadn’t noticed coming in.  

“Thanks Zecora.”  Rainbow Dash said.  “I doubt anyone wants to see the return of Rainbow Crash.”  Scootaloo howled with laughter at this.  Everyone stared at her, and Rainbow tried to suppress a giggle.  “Whoa, it wasn’t that funny.”  She said, still managing to laugh at the goofy little pegasus.

Much to their surprise, Zecora led them right back to the mysterious site they had found.  Twilight was shocked.

“Zecora, we were just here.”  She said.  “That’s why we came to you.  We were wondering if you could identify these.”  She pointed at the “computer”.  Showing Zecora the pictures was now unnecessary.  Zecora took a good look, and shook her head.  Twilight then knew that they were not Zebra.  Indeed, the zebras had no need to be engaging in this kind of behavior.  What was going on here?

They searched the rest of the strange site.  They uncovered various other scattered bits of technology, all of it far beyond anything that they had in Equestria, plus tents and something packed into little packages, which Twilight guessed was food of some sort.  Rarity even found a device that could process any liquid into pure water.  The entire gang stood in amazement at what they found, but it didn’t last long, for soon they heard something that sounded like voices, speaking in a language that sounded a lot like the one that Zecora had described she heard. 

“Oh snap!”  Rainbow hissed.  “Everypony hide!”  The all ducked under a large piece of camouflage netting, squeezing in as best they could.  They watched as a being, wearing the same camouflage uniform they had seen before, and this time they managed to get a better look at it.  It was in a forest pattern, and consisted of a hooded jacket, uniform pants, and even camouflaged pattern boots that looked almost like military issue.  They couldn’t see the face, as it was obscured by a piece of cloth that was also in forest pattern camouflage.  If there were any markings, they couldn’t see any.  

“Ay, vi’ma ku joli y’maila’kar fa mi skala.”  They heard the being hiss under its breath.  The being pressed something on the side of its boot, and with an electronic hiss, the boot undid itself automatically, and the being slid it off and removed its sock, pulling a leech from the bottom of its… animal like paw.  “Ba’ka.”  It hissed as its foot began to bleed from the wound left by the leech.  It then pulled something that looked like a tool from a pouch on its belt, and after wiping the blood from its foot, shot a violet light from the tool and ran it over the wound.  In a flash, the wound completely vanished.

The ponies and one zebra stared.  Twilight’s mind was struggling to come up with an explanation for what she had just witnessed.  But, try as she might, she couldn’t think of a single thing.  Applejack looked at her.

“Well, how do we explain this?”  She asked.  Twilight gulped.

“I admit it.”  She said.  “I got nothing.”  She said with a squeak.  “Except… th-these g-g-guys are a-aliens.”  She felt herself begin to shiver with fear.  Rainbow, being ever the brave pony, tried to smile at her to calm her down.

“Hey, it’s alright Twi.”  She said.  “We just need to sneak away.”  She tried to back off quietly, but she stepped on a twig that snapped.  In the silence of the Everfree Forest, it sounded as loud as a gunshot.  The being shot straight up, one foot still bootless, and drew something else from its belt.  It looked like a gun.

“Uh oh.”  Rainbow said.  Pinkie screamed and shot out of the netting, leaving a pony-sized hole.

“Run!  Run, before the alien gets you!”  She took off with a blur.  The rest of the gang didn’t bother to correct her… they by now were willing to believe anything.  With a scream, they all ran off as fast as they could, away from whatever they had just seen in the forest.  They ran down the forest paths toward the edge, they ran past Fluttershy’s cottage, they ran down main street, everyone out and about staring at them.  They ran until they reached Twilight’s library, where Twilight opened the door with her magic before they all piled in.  Spike, who was busy sprucing up, was dumbfounded.

“Hey, what gives?”  He asked, before Pinkie tripped and knocked the ladder he was on down, causing him to fall on top of Zecora in the pony pile up.

“Oof!”   She grunted.  Spike smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry.”  He said.  Twilight helped him down.

“Sorry Spike, but this is life or death.”  She said, her voice cracking with fear.  “Put out all the lights and shut all the windows and lock all the doors.”  Spike was confused, but did as he was told.  The ponies cowered in fear in the darkness, lit only by a single candle that Spike lit to see.  It was then that they noticed one was missing.

“Hey, where’s Scootaloo?”  Sweetie Belle asked.  They looked around, but the little orange pegasus was missing.  Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to panic.  

“She was right behind me!”  She cried.  “I saw her myself, she was right behind…”  Applejack put a hoof in her mouth to silence her.  

“Quiet!”  She hissed.  Rainbow Dash backed away from her.

“It’s all my fault.”  She said, on the verge of tears.  Though she would never admit it in public, the little pegasus had grown on her.  She was always out after school let out, and practically every single weekend, to watch Rainbow Dash either finish her weather jobs or practice, cheering like a loon whenever she did something awesome, or shouting words of encouragement when she messed up.  Scootaloo showed the same determination and drive that Rainbow Dash knew she had as a filly, and it was sometimes almost scary how much she resembled her younger self in everything but color.  Though she was never open about it (something she was not the best at) she enjoyed the attention, and she enjoyed spending time with the filly, to the point where she almost considered her as much a friend as the others, and of course, little Scootaloo thought she was the greatest thing since sliced bread… even though at times Rainbow felt as though she was unworthy of it.

She loved that little squirt.  

She sniffled.  It’s all my fault, if I had only looked back even once while we were running, I would have seen she was gone, and I would’ve gone back for her.  Now she’s fallen in the hands of that… thing, and I’ll never get to the give her that flying practice I promised I would.  I’m a failure…  Pinkie Pie noticed that Rainbow was upset, and in typical Pinkie Pie fashion, wrapped her friend in a hug, which she returned, sniffling.  Everyone realized that it was probably too late for Scootaloo, and they huddled together to mourn their friend.  The remaining two Crusaders both had tears pouring from their eyes, Applejack took her hat off and put it over her heart, Rarity cuddled Sweetie Belle, and the others did their best to comfort a grieving Rainbow Dash.  They stayed that way for they didn’t know how long, before concerned townsfolk began to knock on the door, asking what was wrong.

“Twilight?”  She heard Bon Bon calling.  “Twilight, are you ok?”  She asked.  Twilight rushed over to the door and was surprised to see a huge crowd of ponies had gathered there.  Twilight gasped and ushered them all in.  Surprisingly, they fit, though Spike groused about the sudden lack of space.

“What in Equestria is going on?”  Daisy asked.

“Why are you all hiding in the library?”  Asked a flabbergasted Roseluck.

“What is everyone cryin’ about?”  Asked Big Macintosh.

“Scootaloo…”  Rainbow Dash said, still feeling awful about the whole thing.  

“Oh no.”  Said an orange coated, yellow-haired pegasus with snow covered hills as a cutie mark.  “Oh goodness, what happened to her!?”  She cried, fear for the filly obvious in her own eyes.  Scootaloo’s caretaker at the local orphanage, White Out, began to panic.  Twilight put a comforting hoof on her shoulder as soon as she fought her way through the crowd of ponies.  

“Something’s happened.”  She said to everyone.  “I don’t know where they are from or what they are doing here, but strange visitors have descended on our town.”  She announced.

“You might as well say it.” Rarity said, still comforting a crying Sweetie Belle.  “They’re… creatures from another world.”  She said.  

“They’re aaaaaaaaaalllllllliens!”  Pinkie chimed in, speaking in her spooky voice.

“And they got Scootaloo!”  Apple Bloom sobbed, burying her face in her hands.  Twilight explained everything that had been going on, from Pinkie Pie’s sighting up to their encounter in the woods with the strange being.  At that, all heck broke loose.  Daisy fainted, Roseluck cried out about “the horror”, Lyra and Bon Bon cowered under a nearby desk, and everpony began to panic.  Twilight did her best to calm them down, but to no avail.  She couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and it finally took a bellowing shout from Big Macintosh to silence everypony.

“Quiiiiiiieeeeet!”  He shouted as loud as he could.  “Um, Twilight here is tryin’ ta talk.”  He said sheepishly, a bit embarrassed about getting so harsh.  But just as everyone began to quiet down, they heard something outside.  Pinkie Pie leapt to the window and cautiously peeked out.

There was something coming down the road.  They looked like the being they had seen, but now there was at least four of them, all riding some kind of vehicle down the road to town.  She gasped.

“Oh no oh no oh no!”  She cried.  “Everypony be quiet, douse the lights!”  Everyone did as she told them, and they waited.  They waited as the sound of approaching vehicles got closer and closer.  They waited and shook with fear as they heard said vehicles stop in front of the library, and footsteps sound.  And then they heard….

“It’s alright!”  A filly’s voice spoke up.  “You guys can come out if you’re in there!”  All heads poked up, for they knew who this was.

“S-S-Scootaloo?”  Rainbow called.  “That you, squirt?”

“Who else would it be?”  Scootaloo said.  “You guys gonna come out or what?”  Everyone looked around at everyone else… before a soft voice spoke up.

“I’ll go.”  Fluttershy said.  Everyone gasped.

“No, stay here!”  Pinkie Pie hissed.  “I could be a trap.  Maybe they cut out Scootaloo’s brain and they’re using it as a battery to power a machine that makes it look like her…”  Fluttershy silenced her.

“Or maybe it really is her.”  Fluttershy said.  Then she gulped and cautiously walked over to the front door and stepped outside, eyes closed.  When she opened them, she got the shock of her life.  A loud gasp escaped her lips at what she saw.

***

“How long has she been out there?”  Rarity asked.  “I’m getting worried.”

“It can’t have been much longer than a couple of minutes.”  Twilight said.  But in truth, she was getting worried too.  Rainbow Dash had half a mind to bust out the door and attack whatever was out there before they could hurt Fluttershy, but an odd feeling kept her from doing so.

The feeling that… everything was going to be ok.

The waited for what seemed like an eternity, before the door opened again, and a smiling Fluttershy appeared.

“Is that you, Fluttershy?”  Pinkie Pie asked.  Fluttershy smiled.

‘It’s OK.”  She said sweetly.  “There’s nothing to be afraid of, I promise.”  She said.  Everyone was still scared stiff, but they knew that Fluttershy could be trusted, even Pinkie Pie.  First Fluttershy’s other friends, then slowly the rest of the ponies, began to trickle toward the front door, following the lead of the yellow pegasus, who kept her eyes locked on them as they walked out.  “That’s it.”  She said reassuringly.  Twilight was the first out the door, and the first thing she saw was Scootaloo, a huge grin on her face, her eyes as wide as saucers.  Both Rainbow Dash and White Out were relieved to see her unharmed. White Out, crying rivers it seemed, scooped Scootaloo up in the tightest hug she had ever given her.

“Ow!  Ms. White Out!”  She squeaked at the affectionate caretaker.  Rainbow Dash laughed and gave her a noogie.

“She’s just happy to see you in one piece, squirt.”  She said, a few tears of her own forming.  “As am I.”  She added.  White Out put her down, to be tackled by the remaining two Cutie Mark Crusaders

“But what happened?”  Rarity asked.  Then he began to notice that everyone was starting past Scootaloo.  She took a look and gasped quietly.

“They can answer that question better than I can.”  Scootaloo, wriggling her way out from under Sweetie Belle, said, pointing.  Twilight took a look past the three fillies, toward what she discovered to be the source of noises they had heard earlier.  It resembled a bike or ATV with no wheels.  Instead, the bottom was nearly flat, the air underneath it rippling with a blue glow, as though some kind of energy field was holding the machine up.  The entire thing was shaped streamlined and smooth, coated in a haze gray color.  Two pods on the back appeared to serve as engines.  But what got her attention most was the rider.

There was the forest pattern camouflage boots and uniform pants, which she could now see was made from a material she had never seen before.  There was the belt holding a collection of instruments and what looked like a firearm.  There was the hooded forest pattern camouflage jacket, but now the hood had been drawn down, and they finally got a look at the being’s face.

All of them had expected to see something hideous.  They expected to see something that looked like a troll, or a dragon, or something else terrifying.  But what greeted their eyes was something else entirely.  The head and face were that of a fox.  The being’s long fox ears poked out from behind a shoulder length head of straw blonde hair.  The features were smooth, betraying her as a woman.  The rest of her fur was as a brown color, with cream extending up to the base of her neck.  But the feature that they most focused on was her eyes.  They were a bright yellow, a shade darker than Fluttershy’s coat.  They seemed to stare right into their hearts, but right now they were focused on the three fillies, a small smile on her lips.

“They… really are from another world?”  Twilight asked, looking to dispel any lingering doubt.”  

“Yep!”  Scootaloo squeaked.  She turned to her friends, who had begun to back away when they noticed that the being was looking at them.  “It’s ok guys, they’re friendly.”  She said.  She smiled at her friends and the others.  Twilight gulped and cautiously stepped forward.  The being got down off of her vehicle and knelt down in front of her.

“Is… that true?”  Twilight asked timidly.  She waited for the answer.  The being’s smile grew bigger.

“Yes.”  The being said, in perfect Equestrian, which caused Twilight to gasp and back up a bit.  She was shocked, as earlier she had heard the woman speaking in her own language.

“How did you do that?”  She asked.  “How did you know my language?”

“Isn’t it cool?”  Scootaloo asked.  “They have this little thing in their pockets that they can use to figure out any language and speak and understand it.”  She said.  She hopped up and down with excitement.  Fluttershy smiled.

“They’re explorers.”  She said.  “Astronauts, flying around space looking for new things to discover.”  She smiled.  “And now they’ve found us.”

“Well, it was more by accident than anything else?”  The female being said.  “We were actually examining an asteroid belt when we picked up your planet on our long range sensors.”

“They were curious,” Fluttershy said, “so they landed a small ship down here to explore.  They were supposed to not be seen, but then Pinkie Pie, and Applejack and me… well, we saw them.”

“And then everypony went crazy because we were too scared to so much as stop and ask what they were doing.”  Scootaloo said, scowling.  “Perhaps we wouldn’t have freaked out so much if we had.”  The other ponies looked at each other sheepishly.

“But, what happened to you?”  Rainbow Dash asked.  “We all thought you were…”  But Scootaloo started to tell her story before Rainbow could finish.

***

“Hey, wait for me!”  Scootaloo cried, trying to keep up with the rest of the gang as they ran from whatever it was that was creeping out in the forest.  It was a struggle to keep from falling behind as they picked up speed, desperate to get away.  Scootaloo felt tears forming in her eyes as she ran, huffing and puffing and trying to keep up.  It was so much easier with her scooter, why did she leave it behind.  She was so focused on catching that she didn’t see the rock until it was too late.

“Yaaaah!”  She cried as her hoof hit the rock and sent her skyward, towards a deep ravine filled with rocks.  How the others managed to get past it she didn’t have time to ponder as she slammed into the bottom full speed.  A sickening crack sounded, and she felt a sharp, terrible pain in her left front leg.  “Aaaah!”  She screamed.  “Owhowhowhow, it hurts!”  Tears streamed down her face at the incredible pain she felt.  Unable to move for the pain, she lay there, sobbing in pain and fear at being left behind, until she heard a voice calling in a strange language.  She looked up to see the hooded figure they had seen earlier, calling to her.  She shrieked in fear and tried to scoot away, despite the pain in her leg, which made her whimper and cry with each attempted movement.  The creature climbed down into the ravine and slid down the wall after her.  She whimpered more and tried to move, but she wasn’t fast enough, in moments the creature was upon her.  She kicked her back legs, trying to drive it away.

“No, stop, go away!”  She cried.  “Leave me alone!  Please don’t hurt me!”  The creature hovered her and looked at her leg.  Then, to Scootaloo’s amazement, it began to rub her head and shush her like her mother would.

“Shhh, it’s ok.”  The being said in the most soothing tone, the voice betraying a female.  “I’m not going to hurt you.  I want to help you.”  She said, rubbing Scootaloo’s head to calm her down.  Scootaloo gaped that thing was able to speak her language as it examined her leg.  She winced as the woman picked it up and looked at it, noting a telltale bruise that was beginning to form.  She tapped something on her wrist and spoke into it.  “Doc, I need your help at my coordinates, medical emergency.”  She said.  She then took her hood down to reveal a yellow-eyed, fox-like creature.  The look on her face was one of concern and a desire to help, and Scootaloo, despite being a filly, could tell. She had seen that look plenty of times, and it instantly calmed her down, though she was still nervous.  Soon, another being appeared, hoodless though dressed in the same uniform, and likewise a female, but with sea green eyes this time around, sliding down into the ravine with them carrying a kit of some kind.  

“What happened?”  She asked in a thick accent.

“Busted leg.”  The first creature said.  “She must have fallen into the ravine hard.”  The second creature looked at her leg, and then took something that looked like a blood pressure cuff with a control panel on the side, along with some other device that reminded Scootaloo of a cellular telephone.  She took the device and hovered it over Scootaloo’s leg, and instantly an image, like the hologram Twilight had talked about, appeared before them, showing Scootaloo’s broken leg bone.  The bone had been snapped completely in half.  

“I need you to set the leg for me, Ki’la.” The second creature said.  Ki’la nodded and gripped Scootaloo’s leg.  

“OK, I need to set your leg so we can fix it.”  She told Scootaloo.  “This is gonna hurt, but it’ll help you.”  Scootaloo nodded, and the creature, watching the hologram, began to manipulate the bone.  Scootaloo cried at the pain, but she didn’t struggle, somehow feeling that they were in fact helping her.  Soon, the leg was set, and the second creature took the cuff like device and strapped it over the break, pushing a button on the side.  To Scootaloo’s amazement, the break in the bone began to close up as new bone filled in the break, and soon it was completely gone, though it still hurt a lot.  The creature then took out another device, inserted a glass cartridge into it, and pressed it to Scootaloo’s neck.  She felt a brief sting, and soon the pain began to leave her.  The second creature smiled at the little filly.

“Best get her back to base camp.”  She said.  “She’ll need to stay off the leg for a little bit.”  Ki’la scooped her up into her arms and cradled her gently, gingerly carrying her out of the ravine and back over to their campsite, where she was laid down in a patch of soft leaves.  Scootaloo looked up at the beings who had rescued her.  We were scared of these people?  She thought.  What a stupid thing to do!  Scootaloo fluffed her wings, determined to banish all fear, which she was successful in.

“What’s your name, little one?”  The second creature asked her.  Scootaloo looked up at her. 

“Scootaloo.”  She said.  The second creature gave a soft laugh.

“I like it.”  She said.  Scootaloo smiled. “You call me Bel’aya.”  She said.  

“Oh.”  Scootaloo said.  “Cool to meet you, Bel’aya.”  She said.  ”Um, if it’s OK for me to ask”, she began to say, “where are you guys from?”

***

“They told me that they came from a planet called ‘Al-tay-urh’.”  She said, trying to remember how it was they had said it.  “Really far away, they had to use a special ship to even get out this far.”

“89.6 light years away from our farthest border, in fact.”  The yellow-eyed woman said.  “Oh, before I forget, I’m Lieutenant Commander Ki’la Eilowyn’a, Altarian Republic Navy, Chief engineer of the starship HMS Excelsior.”  She said, though it was clear that she was rather uncomfortable with formal introductions, something that appealed to Rainbow Dash.  She pronounced the word “lieutenant” as “lef-tenant”.  

“Oh, what a lovely name, darling…”  Rarity answered.  “Oh, my mistake, how uncouth of me not to introduce myself, my name is Rarity.”  She said.  “And these are my friends, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy.”  Rainbow Dash snickered at her friend’s insistence on formality, even in a situation like this.

“I remember her.”  Ki’la said.  “I was… eh, visiting her cottage earlier.”  Twilight could have sworn she blushed under her fur, as though embarrassed to say it.  Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled the lieutenant commander’s hand, as though to say she forgave her for the intrusion.

“If that was you, which one of you was at my orchard the other night?”  Applejack asked.  “No offense, y’all gave my sis here a mighty good fright.”  Her tone wasn’t angry, but it was another of the creatures’ turn to blush slightly.

“That was me.”  The creature, this time black with white going up his neck and coloring his lower jaw, his bright red eyes betraying embarrassment, and his voice revealing him to be a male.  “I should’ve figured that was private property, but the fruit caught my attention.”

“Don’t y’all have apples where you’re from?”  Apple Bloom asked.  The two females grinned at the filly.

“Well, something like them.”  Ki’la said.  She then took her turn to introduce her fellow officers; Commander Bel’aya Lir, the Excelsior’s Chief Medical Officer; her protégé in Engineering, Ensign Kel Solak, and Security Chief Lieutenant Tol’ar Zanri.  Apple Bloom did the honor of introducing the Cutie Mark Crusaders as well as the rest of the Apple Family, and as many ponies as she could remember.  Twilight watched the unfolding scene with utter fascination.

Never in her life did she imagine that there were beings from other worlds in the universe, and now here she was, looking at them and even speaking to them.  The whole thing overwhelmed her, and all she could do was continue to watch with amazement written all over her face.  What would Celestia and Luna say about this?  She was so focused she didn’t see the hoof waving in front of her until it was practically about to bop her on the nose.  

“Huh, whu?”  She said, shaking her head.  Rainbow Dash was in front of her.

“Helooooo, Equestria to Twilight.”  She said.  “Are you ok?”  

“Oh, of course.”  She said.  “Sorry.”  Then she turned her attention to the visitors.

“Excuse me.”  She said.  They all turned to look at her.  “Perhaps this is a bit sudden, and I’m sure that your superiors are probably going to want you back to your ship soon but… would you all mind… staying for a…”  Pinkie Pie leapt in and finished her sentence for her.

“Party!?”  She yipped.  The Altarians all looked at each other.

“Guess this means we’ll have to put in for overtime.”  Ensign Solak said.  They all laughed.

“That would be a yes.”  Ki’la said.  The ponies cheered.  Twilight Sparkle smiled.

***

What followed for a first for Pinkie Pie, in that she was throwing a party not just to celebrate and welcome, but also to exchange cultures and to teach each other.  The Altarians were something none of them had ever dealt with and they didn’t know what to do for them, but Pinkie Pie did her best, and with a little bit of help from an ever patient Bel’aya, it proved to be a smashing success.

Bel’aya herself was something of a master chef in addition to being a medical doctor and naval officer, and she, in the spirit of cultural exchange, prepared some tasty Altarian dishes for them, which proved to be wonderful, though some couldn’t handle the spiciness.  Twilight herself especially connected with her when she found out that the commander was a published author, having authored two medical textbooks and numerous articles for medical journals across the Republic, as they called their interstellar government.  Twilight shared with her some of her own papers she had written while in school, and talked at length of her studies into magic, something the doctor found fascinating, if a bit hard to take in at first.

Rainbow Dash hit it off with Ki’la almost immediately.  The tomboyish pegasus connected with an equally tomboyish officer, enthralled with Ki’la’s stories about besting the boys in sports during her time at the Republic Naval Academy on the Altarian homeworld, including holding three records which remain unbeaten.  Rainbow eagerly told her about her desire to join the famed Wonderbolts, which connected them even farther when she learned that Ki’la was also a pilot who had flown for the Academy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron and considered a career as a Navy pilot before focusing on engineering.

Rarity was fascinated when she was shown images of traditional clothing worn by Altarians, which she marveled as “simply stunning” especially the formal wear.  She was equally fascinated by the uniforms they wore.  The officers had exchanged their camouflaged “excursion uniforms” as they called them for their more functional regular duty uniforms.  These consisted of black uniform pants and jackets with colors on the arms, sides of the body and piping on the legs, indicating, as they explained, each of their divisions; gold for command, green for operations, and blue for sciences, which included Bel’aya’s medical department, along with black uniform boots.  Female uniforms were more form fitting versus male uniforms.  Rarity spent most of the evening trying to come up with “simply divine” jewelry combinations to wear with them, despite the officers humorously trying to explain that regulations forbade the wearing of jewelry while in uniform, with few exceptions.

Pinkie Pie busied herself with learning various songs from Ensign Solak, from contemporary popular music to traditional folk songs (being a naval officer, most of these revolved around drinking and sailing and occasionally fighting bad guys).  Pinkie managed to memorize most of the lyrics, and introduced the Altarian to Equestrian popular music, including her favorite, “Equestria Girls”, sending the ensign into fits of laughter at her wild break dancing and seemingly boundless energy.

The rest of the evening passed with joviality and a spirit of mutual understanding and brewing friendship.  The Altarians frequently remarked that it had been a while since they had received such a positive reception from a species they had encountered, and the Equestrians having been glad to have been able to meet visitors from another world.  At the end of it, it was time to for the Altarians to depart back to their ship.  But before, they exchanged gifts, as a thank you for the wonderful reception they had been given, despite the frightening beginning.

Pinkie Pie received a computer thumb drive containing hundreds of songs, ancient and modern, plus some notes on how to pronounce the Altarian language so she could sing them in the original lyrics.  Applejack joked that the Cakes weren’t going to be getting any sleep anytime soon.

Applejack herself received a bushel of Altarian go’la fruit, which looked a bit like an apple, but had pink flesh and had a wonderfully sweet taste.  Lieutenant Zanri remarked that the particular cultivar he had secretly brought down from the ship was perfect for baking, which Applejack was delighted to hear.

Rarity received something that fit her interest in fashion; a pair of Altarian earrings capped off with native stones, along with instructions on how to wear them.  She oohed at how they looked on her and remarked that they went perfectly with her formal evening wear.

Rainbow Dash received a hoop and a ball.  When she asked what it was for, she was told that it was for a traditional game where players would roll the hoop and chase after it, trying to pass the ball back and forth through the hoop between herself and another player, scoring points with each successful pass.  The players competed against other teams of two.  Rainbow grinned, seeing the perfect thing to play with Scootaloo.

Fluttershy was given a text on Altarian wildlife and plant life, something that captivated her, as she was always eager to learn about new species of animals and plants.  She gave her Ki’la an huge hug and thanked her in her sweetest voice possible.  Ki’la couldn’t help but remark about how sweet the shy pegasus was.

Twilight received hers last.  She also was given a computer thumb drive, which contained several pieces of Altarian poetry and literature, ancient and modern, along books on Altarian history and culture.  She smiled.  This would make a wonderful report to write some day.  Various other gifts were exchanged between the two species, surely a sign of a future friendship between them.

As a personal request, the Altarians asked that they not reveal what had occurred in Ponyville.  Though they appreciated the warm reception, the time to make contact with Equestria as a whole had not yet come, though after this, it would come soon.  They all agreed to this.  After the party concluded, they walked back to their ship, which was hidden in the Everfree Forest.  After final farewells were exchanged, they officers boarded their ships, telling them to watch through their telescopes in the next few hours, and then took off in what they identified as a Valkyrie-type Navy transport shuttle.  The craft gracefully took off, and made a “bow” to the assembled ponies before taking off into the evening sky and presumably, into space to meet their ship.

Thus ended an event that would stick in their minds for as long as they lived.

***

Later, Twilight watched the night sky through her telescope, with Spike at her side watching through his own, both looking out where the Altarians said.  They were both surprised and delighted to see a bright blue flash, which they said would be their ship activating its faster-than-light engines (which they called a “warp drive”) and taking off in the direction of their home.  Twilight smiled, remembering the events that had caused them so much fear, but ended with so much happiness.

“So, what do we do now?”  Spike asked.  Twilight watched the night sky, wondering how many other species there were out there, before turning to her assistant and friend.

“Take down a note, please.”  She asked.  “Don’t worry, I’ll be keeping my promise to them.”  Spike got a quill and parchment and prepared to write whatever Twilight asked of him.

***

An anxious night for the two princesses ended when a letter drifted through their bedroom window.  Luna immediately snatched it out of the air and opened it, eager to hear from her subjects in Ponyville.

“It’s from Twilight.”  She said.  Celestia craned in to listen, rubbing her sore neck.

Dear Princess Celestia and Luna,

I am happy to report that there is no threat to Ponyville or to Equestria.  Although I cannot disclose specific details at this time, the mysterious intruders have left, and from what I have observed, they did not intend any malice and pose no threat to our village or to our kingdom.

I would also like to report that I learned a very valuable lesson.  Sometimes, when we are confronted by things that we do not understand or are unfamiliar with, it can be very frightening.  But with good friends at one’s side, one does not need to be afraid of the unknown.  Indeed, one should always be willing to embrace the unknown, because you never know what amazing things you will discover.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle.

As Luna finished reading Twilight’s letter, they both smiled, and Celestia delivered instructions to have the Royal Guard stand down from alert.

“What do you think they discovered?”  Luna asked.  Celestia smiled.

“I don’t know.”  She said.  “But I would like to know soon.  Because, as she said, the things we know nothing about should be the things that intrigue us to the most.”  She said, with a smile on her face, looking wistfully out in the direction of Ponyville.

The End.