A Sad Story
Beep beep beep
"We are sending out all the signals your majesty, it's only a matter of time before they pick up at least one" Captain Shield said to Twilight in reassuring manner.
"I know it's just that I can't shake the thought of something going wrong I am merely planning for the worst case scenario... what if there transmissions are down... what if they can't understand us... what if they are planning their next move to attack us... what if-" Twilight's train of thought was cut off by the feeling of a hoof on her shoulder
"Your highness... I have thought of these possibilities and I have also thought of more positive ones... but a wise pony once told me 'Life is what happens when your busy making other plans' " The captain said with conviction, he may not have seen Equus in a long time but that does not mean he forgot what he learned there.
"I know that line... Neigh Lennon?" Twilight asked as she struggled to remember anything from before she was sent to space. Twilight had been part of the space program even longer than any other pony on the ship... she was even part of another voyage before this one. Twilights previous voyage, aboard the Prometheus rocket, was very short-lived and din't really require much from her so she wanted more, which is why she was assigned here. However, in all of her 80 years in the space program, she never expected to actually be able to make contact with an alien race.
Beepbeep Beepbeep the receiver on the small shuttle bleeped in quick succession. Twilight was quick to react and picked up the short-ranged communicator...
"This is the Arch one... do you read?" a stern sounding voice bellowed through the radio...
"Hello? We received a message form this frequency... do you c-copy?" the voice sounded a little more panicked and started to stammer towards the end
"We hear you Arch 1 I take it that you need some help... We are just outside one of your bay doors... I think." Twilight held the communicator in her magic, making sure not to let go. She wasn't one for first impressions but she knew when somep- err anything needed help.
"Ok you have permission to land... assuming that you can fit..." the voice was followed by the sound of metallic clinking and before Twilight or the captain knew it all the bay doors of the Arch 1 had opened.
Captain Shield brought the ship into one of the bay doors and slowly turned of the ships engine, he was very paranoid about putting his life in the hands of another race entirely however he was determined to meet this new race... and if things did get ugly he did have one of the most powerful alicorns on Equus.
Slowly the two ponies dawned their helmets and attached them to their suits, they then opened the cock pit and took that one small step onto the ships tarmac.
At the same time the highest ranking official aboard the Arch, General Malcolm Granger, was descending a long flight of stairs that lead towards the occupied landing bay. He had with him, a small firearm, two bodyguards, and his wits but that was all he had... it was all the Arch had left to spare.
The doors of the hanger slowly and the two ponies looked intently at what would come out...
"Hello friends, I do so hope that you come in peace, as I have." the general said as he walked closer to the two ponies.
"We can understand you, perfectly well... are you wearing some sort of translator?" Captain Solar Shield said with a cocked eyebrow, that the General couldn't see due to his tinted helmet.
The General was surprised by the forwardness of the visitor and began thinking of an explanation for his ability to understand them completely and for them to understand him. After about 15 seconds of awkward silence Twilight spoke up trying to salvage the situation.
"Umm... *ahem* where are my manners, I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and the co-ruler of Equestria. I and my companion have come here to represent the planet, and the ponies, of Equus." Twilight said in a regal and commanding tone in her voice.
"uh...oh... sorry I am General Malcolm Alexander Granger, the leader of the last human survivors of planet Earth." Granger said as he tried to formulate the best statement to represent his planet. Not thinking clearly, but trying to be polite, Granger let out his hand in a gesture of friendship.
Twilight took the hand in her hoof as best she could and began shaking it up and down hoping that the gesture meant the same way for the new aliens and that she hadn't made a bad first impression.She was not very versed on the behaviour of these strange aliens and how they would react to some of their common customs.
General Granger had mixed thoughts about how Twilight had taken his hand, he was pleased that she took it and shook it with what he saw as friendship, but he was also puzzled as to how a completely different race of being could be so knowing of earthen customs and culture. He decided not to dwell on the thought for now, as he had more pressing matters to deal with.
"Umm... I don't mean to be rude but how can you understand us so fluently, and how are you breathing in the hanger of a space station with no suit" Twilight said as she questioned how the general was breathing so normally in an atmosphere that was so different form their own.
"I don't understand, this is a regular atmosphere. The ship automatically regulates itself according to what the latest development is within the human body" Granger said as he slightly cocked his head towards his visitor.
"Sir, I think we should move to the safety of the inner Arch, this hanger is already severely damaged as it is." one of the generals' body guards said as he gestured his gun towards the door of the hanger then towards the bay doors, which were very tattered and dented.
"Oh, umm... not to be rude but we really have to go inside the Arch if we are to continue this conversation." Granger said as he took his hat off as a sign of respect.
"Well if you think that it's best we can-" Twilight was cut off by Captain shield who was scanning every single surface of the hanger.
"Wait Twilight, I think that it would be a good idea to radio base before we go into someone else's ship" the captain said as he began to radio base.
"Well I appreciate the trust you put in us, I have to question, have you encountered any other alien race? It just doesn't seem likely that your...uhh... bodyguard? would be so cautions if a situation like this was not in training..." Malcolm said as he remembered his rigorous training at the military academy.
"Well first off, he's not my bodyguard... he is a captain... second he hasn't seen situations like this before and neither him or my ponies know of the dangers, or tidings, a new race could bring" Twilight said as looked over to the general, who was remembering the trials and tribulations; the hardships and sufferings that humanity as faced. Granger only wanted to secure the future of his people.
"So how long will he take? I wanted to tell you this somewhere else but it seems of the utmost importance that you know this..." The General said as he took his hat of and feared what his visitors would do if they found out what their real reason was for leaving their home world.
"Our ship is on the verge of collapse and if we don't land somewhere soon we could all die... the human race would go extinct" Malcolm said as he caught a glimpse of what he thought of as a shocked expression behind the golden sheen of Twilight's helmet.
"What happened to your-" Twilight was cut off by the sudden voice of Solar Shield, who was quickly approaching the pair.
"Princess, we have orders to report back to the space station and radio for back-up, they told me that Princess Celestia herself would be shuttled directly to the station using our new technology; the warp drive" Solar Shield said with excitement oozing form his face.
"I have also received word that we are to request that an emissary form this new race to coma aboard the station and represent the race as a whole to the princess and other delegates already aboard the ship" solar Shield said before literally jumping into the shuttle and preparing it for take off.
"I will represent the human race..." The General said with pride as he put his hat back on and turned on the communicator on his wrist.
"You there get me my Spacesuit and my uniform" Malcolm said with pride to one of his guards as he motioned for the rest to take up post at the entrance. No sooner had they gotten to said posts an full entourage of six armoured personnel came in; the two in the front carrying suitcases, one with the Generals uniform and the other with a standardised spacesuit.
Granger quickly stepped into the changing rooms(which were located behind the hanger) and suited up in his uniform and put on his spacesuit, he then stepped towards the small shuttle and debated on where he could sit comfortably for the next hour or so.
"Hmm... where will I be sitting" The General pondered to himself wondering how he would fit into such a compressed space.
"I'll just take my own shuttle" He said to Twilight, who was standing next to him, with a sigh upon realising that him with two guards plus two more ponies would never fit in such a small craft.
The general's actions may have seemed quite trusting to the world leaders of the earth he once knew but they are long dead and gone. Humanity was already hanging on to life by a thread before their arrival to this strange new planet, with a population of a mere 500 and a ship that looked like it would explode if touched from the outside. Granger never really trusted these ponies but he had little choice since they could very well be his and humanity's last hope. The shuttle he sat in bore the world flag of Humanity which was the earth bordered by an olive branch on either side and a dove depicted flying across it's surface. General Granger stared out his port hole window at the smaller shuttle that lay on the runway beside his and took notice of a small logo, it depicted two ponies, one with a pristine white coat and the other with a midnight blue one, holding spears across a golden shield with the symbol of what looked like a set of sparkles layered over a blue heart.
The hangar doors were soon opened and two shuttle crafts could be seen ready to leave, one a lot bigger than the other. Twilight Sparkle sat back in her seat looking over to the ship that was supposedly going to follow them to the space station and a feeling of sadness crept over her, she wasn't really sure why she felt that way... but the look of the shuttle beside her threw her off, it was dirty riddled with dents and showed a very faint logo on it's side which looked peaceful because of all the calming colours used to paint it but she had no idea what it meant and naturally she felt scared. The ponies have always feared what they didn't understand.
It had been a few hours before they were able to navigate back to the station and get the Generals ship docked using such poorly maintained technology and a smaller fitting compartment. Twilight herself had taken off her helmet and joined the ponies on the deck to help with the docking process but after what seemed like a millennia of trying to get there new visitors to safety they were finally able to get the General of of his ship and into the Space station without harm.
"Well that went better than I had expected..." Twilight spoke to no pony in particular as she rushed of to the docking bay to rejoin her visitor and welcome him to a more comfortable environment.
"Well that wasn't so bad was it?" The general asked his two body guards who were already bending down in an attempt to catch their breath after nearly being sucked out into the cold vacuum of space.
"I hope your ok?! General? are you alright?" Twilight asked frantically as heard the general panting heavily inside his suit. Though she was not versed well in the anatomy of humans she still saw panting as a sign of being panicked, tired, or hurt.
"Relax Twilight, I have survived worse than this... I can definitely assure you of that" Malcolm said as he quickly regained his composure and motioning for one of his guards to keep watch of the ship.
"Are you sure? We have medical staff that can assist with anything should you need assistance" Twilight said as she looked over the Generals form... or his suit to be more specific.
The General stood up and a realization hit him, in front of him was a purple pony with a horn atop it's head wearing a futuristic suit that looked like it came strait out of a sci-fi film from his childhood on earth. He stood there for a few seconds not knowing what to do or what to make of this situation.
"We need to get you the airlock chamber before those suits run out of air!" She said as she noticed a blinking oxygen and hydrogen meter on the Generals suit. She quickly, and quite literally, dragged the general using telekinesis towards the airlock and quickly pushed a button to alert the medbay to the situation.
The two guards, who were still at the ship, were also out of breathe but recovered quicker due to their younger age and their specialized suits. Granger was in shock, partly from his shortness of breath and what he had just seen. The ponies at the medbay were doing their best to calm him down and trying to keep his vitals in a stable condition.
"Are you feeling ok General?" Twilight asked frantically in hopes of eliciting a response from Granger's lifeless form, to her dismay not a single sign of motion came form the General....
until now..."Wh-What are you?" the General managed to say between scared and shaken breaths... It was true that he had seen many things and had first thought he was ready for anything else, but it turns out he wasn't ready for the shock of being confronted with a purple po--no unicorn dressed in a suit that looked like it had been pulled out of star wars.
"Oh thank Celestia your alright... Celestia!! ohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohno...." Twilight began to chant in a panicky tone as if the world was about to end.
"Twilight we have been informed that Celestia and Luna's shuttle will be arriving shortly" Moon Beam called from the other room in her calm soft toned voice that seemed to relax Twilight a bit.
"What's the matter? Are we being attacked?!" The general said frantically noticing the pained expression he had seen so many times in another races face, but this was different... it wasn't a look of fear but one of concern.
"We have to make you look presentable!!" Twilight said as she glanced over the Generals disgruntled uniform and his obvious lack of hygiene...
It took a full hour, but Twilight and the entire medical staff were able to get the General into a state that was considered acceptable by royalty, and just in time to the princess had just arrived...
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Kinda confused on what's happening?
5552680
Sorry for the ambiguity, I didn't mean for Celestia to seem like a tyrant but......... well congratulations you unlocked a plot device... some one here is evil... already mentioned character... who? Well I would be cheating myself if I said so...
5553113
What else besides the ambiguity of the situation do you find confusing?
Also Twilight panicked to the prospect of Celestia coming aboard the station due to: 1. Life-Long mentor comes to check up on your progress 2. Who wouldn't panic when unprepared and the Princess was approaching? 3. It's Twilight... lets be honest it could be just another visitor and if she wasn't prepared, she'd freak
It's a little fast, but oh well. I just hope its not July before the next chapter.
5559192
I hope so too T^T
If you're careful, you can do something cool here.
5568181
Teach me Sensei... no really... I need help..... where would you guys like this story to go?
5570501 Well, I would expect this to go toward its logical conclusion where the humans successfully get a piece of land in Equestria, but like any good story, they have issues, mishaps, and close calls every step of the way.
Maybe the conversation with Celestia goes awkwardly but eventually things get cleared up, but just before the final decision is made, something goes wrong. Maybe a cargo bay explosively depressurizes on the Arch, causing it to spin and drift towards the space ship or station that the ponies are on.
Holy detail, Batman. Let's keep going.
The pony ship maneuvers away easily, but the general watches as his home is nearly torn apart by the forces of the spinning until Celestia herself stops it.
Maybe you can have anti humanist zealots trying to make their own mission of survival fail by sabotage and maybe some aggressive pony xenophobes trying to accomplish the same mission.
Let the ponies see the horrible conditions inside the arch. Mention some number of casualties and the cause. Introduce more human characters. Give more back story for both the humans and ponies. Describe the arch in detail so we can get a mental image.
Let the words flow.
You can use any of the ideas I've had. If you do, you may want to delete this comment to hide spoilers.
5570799
Very Interesting way of going through and ending a story... but it is quite generic isn't it? I mean since you were able to point it out so vividly and with so much detail, so I will keep in mind some of the elements your explanation but overall... I will try to AVOID everything that you have said. It's not that I have something against you it's just that I want to be at least a little original. Thank you for pointing out how it could go though, I appreciate the comment and the effort into making it so detailed.
Anyway Thanks Phil! :D
Signed, TBW
5571668 No problems here, I fully expected you to choose to hold onto 90% of the creative control. That's what I would do. I'm just happy that I could get the brain wheels turning a bit faster.
WD-40 has been applied.
5571857
I appreciate you doing that, Thanks Bro :D
5555786
Well, there were only like two other characters mentioned there, so it would have to be one of them. But either way, it's not like a Princess can end up disappearing for years without having planned to do so herself without raising a tartarus in the country - and since twilight was confused about how long she had been asleep, not about being in space, suggests that she had actually planned on visiting the station, which means her destination would be known.
I mean, if she planned to go to the station but never came back, surely Celestia would have moved her own flank up there to check why Twilight never came down, if she isn't the one behind it?
5587924
Twilight was chosen to LEAD the space explorations and sadly her friends had to come with her, and in boredom, since her friends were in Hypersleep, she put herself in it too since she had nothing to do once the shuttle was in space and gathering data gets really really repetitive... even for Twily
To Any reader still following this story... I have been gone for a long time and in this time I have read alot of stories much like this one, some even better and all of them complete. In my return to trying to write a story I have a question... Should I pick this one up? or should I begin anew and try my hand at space, or a different topic entirely. I send this out as a question and a cry for help since I now have lots more time to write and nothing to write about
7254400
I'd like to see where this story goes. So sure.
7254400
Indeed. After such a promising start, you should at least try to head towards a conclusion.
7254400
Yes definitely
7254400
oi, complete the story