From the Stars

by Teal

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood on the observatory, located at the balcony of the highest tower in Canterlot castle, as she looked through the telescope and towards the stars. She slowly swiveled the telescope, scanning the night sky, trying to look for something that lay above her. Ever since she was young, when she first studied under Princess Celestia, her interest in mapping the stars above was something that would make Princess Luna proud. In fact, Princess Luna sometimes helped and teaches her about the stars above. With the teachings from the Princess of the Night herself, Twilight managed to memorize all the constellations and location of all the stars in the sky. But there was something wrong.

Earlier that night, while looking at the nearby constellations through her telescope, she saw an object zip by. This puzzled her, for the object looked odd. To her it didn’t look like a comet, for it looked odd, having a perfect symmetric shape. Besides, it wasn’t in a path of any known comet, which Luna mapped out from years of guarding the night skies. So if it wasn’t a comet what was it?

So here she was, looking up with the telescope, and searching for the object. She had already seen it three times that night, and every time she did, it got closer and closer. So she knew that it was heading towards them, and fast. She had never seen a comet go this fast before, so it was a comet, then it was a very fast one.

If an object liked that managed to move through space at the speed it was going, then there must be some kind of outside force must be helping it. Maybe it was some sort of undiscovered artifact, powered by magic or something, which wouldn’t be weird in a land ruled by ponies and magic.

Looking at the piece of paper that marked the plots where she previously seen the object, she tried once more on seeking it. From her calculations, the object should be swinging around the moon, knowing that its path would remain constant and straight. With this information, she adjusted the telescope to point at the right area. She wanted to get a quick glimpse of it as it passed by, so that she could observe it even more and identify what it was. But her efforts so far have been fruitless.

“Where is it?” She mumbled to herself, as she gave one last scan of the night sky before giving up. Huffing in frustration, she removed her gaze away from the telescope and looked back towards the piece of paper. Her diagrams and and calculations of the possible trajectory of the object were all written there and she was one hundred percent sure that they were all correct. “My calculations can’t be wrong…it’s not like the object can steer itself away….”

Sighing, she hung her head in defeat. “Maybe that object is just my imagination…”

“No, Twilight. I too can sense it above my night sky.” Somepony said from behind her, making Twilight jump from the surprise. Turning around, Twilight found the Princess of the Night standing behind her, looking up towards the night sky as if she was trying to spot something.

“Luna…” She begun. “…wha…what are you doing here?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, slightly confused at the purple alicorn’s statement. “What do you mean? Is it wrong for the Princess of the Night not wonder in her realm?”

“Wait! I didn’t mean it like that.” Twilight, realizing her mistake, said. “What I meant was, what are you doing in the observatory? I thought you would be busy with Night Court.”

“Oh…I see...” Luna said nodding. “Fear not Twilight, I have closed Night Court early, for there is something wrong with the night skies.”
“Something wrong…” Twilight said thinking about it. “…this wouldn’t involve the object I have been tracking, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m afraid it does.” Luna said, moving towards the telescope. “I sense the presence of something foreign above us, what it is, I do not know. Throughout my life, I have never encountered such a thing. Nor did I know that an object, other than the Moon, Sun, and Stars, could exist that high. But then again, my powers of sensing do not reach that far and I do not know what lies in the far depths of the void above us. What I am sensing is something completely strange and new.”

Twilight was actually shocked when she heard Princess Luna admit the limits of her powers. All this time, she thought that the two Princesses could sense everything around them, no matter how far it was. But now, as the Princess of the Night explained to her, she learned that not everything could be touch by magic, not even by alicorn magic.

Twilight looked up towards the sky as she wondered what the object could be. Was it another threat to Equestria? Where there new evils hiding inside that untouched void, waiting to spring and attack Equestria?

But she was soon pulled away from her thoughts as three loud explosions and small flashes sparked above them, as loud popping sounds rung in her ears. Looking towards the direction of the flashes, she could see three meteorite-like objects falling from the sky. They made a trail of flames as they streaked through the night sky, falling towards the ground below. Twilight observed these objects and noticed that they seemed to be readjusting into some kind of formation, as they slid away from each other and realigned. They broke through the clouds as they made their way towards the ground, getting closer every second.

Twilight’s eyes opened wide in amazement, when she saw the three objects suddenly split into even smaller ones. These fragments then formed rings, with equal distant from each other, until there were three large rings that were falling towards the ground.

“What are those things?” She exclaimed.

“I do not know…” Luna said opening her wings. “…but whatever they are, we must make sure that they are not a threat to Equestria.”

With that she flew off towards the direction the object should land. Twilight, not knowing what to do, opened her wings in pursuit. Whatever those were, she knew, that it was going to make their evening interesting.

***

Private Danny Morgan tried stay still inside his pod as his, and his squad’s orbital landing capsule, was ejected from the Magsaysay. The orbital landing capsule had twenty small pods that was separated into two rings, one above the other, located inside the capsule’s protective material. The capsule was made of a cheap heat resisting material, making it a fast and low-cost way to send troops on a planet. Each of the small pods carried one man, encased in his battle armor. In a combat drop, the orbiting vessel would release three of these capsules. Each capsule would contain a platoon, from the company, and descend through the atmosphere till it reaches 20,000 feet. From there, the capsule would break up and release the pods. The pods would continue the journey till its parachutes deploy at 1000 feet, slowing down the pod and landing the soldier gently on the ground.

Although Danny did this many times before, it still scared him to the bone. Breaking through the atmosphere in a gigantic capsule, with only a computer calculating your trajectory, was a dangerous job. One small mistake and you’re a pile of ashes. But someone had to do it and that someone was him and the countless of other soldiers in the UN.

It actually reminded him of the book ‘Starship Troopers’, in which the protagonist, and his Mobile Infantry buddies, was shot out of the ship in their individual pods. Thinking about it made him realize that the book and the real life system weren’t far off.

The capsules skimmed the outer layer of the atmosphere, letting out steaks of fire. From the ground, they probably looked like three meteors heading for a crash course towards the planet below. But luckily for them, they weren’t. Instead they were humans inside a high-tech capsule, designed to make a bumpy, but safe, ride.

Looking towards his sensors, which were displayed in his helmet, he could see that the heat outside the capsule was starting to go up. It meant that the capsule was starting to enter the atmosphere, heating things up.

The small bumps and yaws the capsule made shook all the soldiers inside, but Danny did not complain. For he knew that it was only the computer doing its course correction, ensuring that they pass through the atmosphere properly, without frying everyone inside. Although having his head and helmet bang inside his pod was an annoying experience. But it was a small price to pay, for a proper descent.

Beads of sweat trickled down his face as the heat inside the capsule started to go up. Although the temperature didn’t rise to deadly heights, it was still enough to give anyone inside a hard and uncomfortable time.

Even with his battle suit’s air-conditioning, the travel through the atmosphere was extremely hot. But once they passed the atmospheric burning, the environment inside the pods started to cool.

The heat surrounding the capsule disappeared and soon, the three capsules were inside the atmosphere. Soon, his squad’s capsule, along with the other two capsules, fell through the sky, as the onboard computer directed them towards the drop zone.

This part of the drop was the smoothest, for the capsule was not piercing through the sky like an arrow. The sensors revealed that the air was oxygen rich and was safe for breathing. It was an earth like atmosphere on the planet they were about to land on. The capsule’s aerodynamic design helped it move quickly till it hit Mach one and broke through the sound barrier. He loud explosion like sound, echoed through the night sky, alerting anyone nearby.

But the large parachute, which deployed on the capsule, slowed down its speed as the thick heat resisting layer was ejected. With that gone, the small pods, containing the soldiers, were revealed.

Each pod then begun to separate from one another, as Danny was shook around inside his capsule. The sound of metal banging rang in his ears, as his suit hit the metal pod as he continued to shake inside. It reminded him of his first combat drop, in which he felt so sick that he forgot that there was war mongering Lizards that wanted to kill him. From then on, he got used to the combat drops. But he still gets scared once in a while.

“Alright everyone…” The Lieutenant’s voice rang through the radio as the pods descended through the sky. “…I want everyone to spread-out once we get down. Further orders will be given once my radar maps the surrounding area.”

“Roger that.” Came the response, from all the squad sergeants, and the platoon sergeant.

Checking the altimeter, Danny could see that the altitude was decreasing fast. Every second spent reduced hundreds of feet.

As he waited for the last part of the drop, he started wondering if everything in his pod was alright and functional. He hoped that the parachute wasn’t damage during the entry, or that would mean his immediate end.

The sound of a loud pop and sudden decrease of speed relieved him, as the parachute gently slowed his pod. Checking the altitude, Danny saw that he was approximately 977 feet from the ground and decreasing.

He knew that from then on, everything he did was all training. No more fancy computers doing everything for him. Everything was under his control and if anything goes wrong, it would be his fault.

The sound of wind gushing outside can be heard a he knew that, even with the parachute deployed, his pod was still going at a relatively high speed. For the parachutes weren’t designed to go as gently as possible, but were designed to slow the pods down. It was like a controlled fall.
Looking at his altimeter again Danny saw that his altitude was 500 feet. Seeing this, he immediately pulled the lever inside his pod. This sent a signal to crack open the metal pod, leaving him to fall towards the ground. Looking left and right, Danny could see that the other have already did the same.

One more glance at his altimeter told him that he was reaching the ground fast. So he quickly activated his suit’s jet pack, sending the engines to life.

With his jet pack on, he started giving controlled burst. The jets gave them an upward momentum, as gravity did the rest to finish up their descent. Squeezing their controls gently, the tiny jet engines can be heard roaring to life, as it slowed down the soldiers as they landed on the soil.

“All squads form a perimeter. I want a safe landing zone for the drop ships, so make sure the area is clear!” The Lieutenant’s voice bellowed through the air waves, as he gave his orders to his company.

“Sergeant Gilmore, I’m going to relay to you the positions I have assigned positions I have given for each squad.” Lieutenant Blanco said as his radar finished mapping of the area.

After a few moments the sound of Sergeant Allen Embo, a Brazilian who has been a veteran of many battles, echoed in Danny’s earpiece.
“2nd Squad, were assigned to a hill, north from here. I’m sending you all the coordinates…now”

Just as he said that, a bunch of numbers appeared on Danny’s helmet display, relaying the coordinates, as well as a red line, marking that path towards them. Danny followed the line, as he ran through the seemingly earth like planet.

Although he was running in top speed, his body did not feel tired. For his battle suit was doing most of the work. It was a marvel of technology and it made almost every soldier a super soldier with the ability to do great feats.

As he got to the hill, he noticed that everyone was already there. Most of the squad was kneeling on top of the hill, scanning the area around them, as Sgt. Embo gave orders to spread them all out.

“Glad for you to make it.” Harry said, as Danny kneeled down next to him. “What took you so long?”

Danny ignored the question and instead begun scanning the area, with his radar and thermal device. He scanned left and right, and was about to finish, when he suddenly saw a large blob of white, indicating that there was a lot of heat being emitted there. Looking towards the distance, he could see a large area with a lot of moving heat signatures. It was filled with living being, and Danny started to wonder what they were doing there. ‘The Lizards aren’t supposed to be here.’ He thought to himself.

“Hey, Harry…” He said to his squad mate. “…are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

There was no response.

Danny raised any eyebrow and turned towards Harry. He was about to repeat the question, with a slightly forceful slap on his friend’s battle suit, when he notice Harry was looking at something. In fact, all of his squad mates were looking at something behind him.

So turning around to face what they were looking at, he got one of the biggest surprise of his life.

Standing before them were two horse like creatures. But unlike horses, they had wing and horns. They were also colored differently, since one was dark blue and the other purple, but Danny was too busy comprehending the first part to notice.

After a long moment of silences, the slightly taller, blue one approached them and said with a loud voice.

“Fair creatures from the sky, can you tell us what are thou and what are thou doing in our lands?”

Comments

[OddOneOut]

i kinda like this. but there are SOOO many little spelling and grammar errors that break the immersion. kill them with FIRE!
...er, i mean spell check.

[Teal]

5717434 Thanks for pointing it out.

[Revan]

This is an intriuging story, but there are random present tense verbs breaking up the flow of the narrative - which is in past tense. Fix those, and you'll have fixed about 90% of the errors.

[Teal]

5718224 Thanks, I'll try to edit out the mistakes.

[Revan]

5718211 You're Welcome.

[Grankuwaga]

He loud explosion like sound, echoed through the night sky, alerting anyone nearby.