“The day of first contact was an event that would change the course of history, and not just between human and pony, as it would become more apparent in the following decades. Though even to this day historians would agree that perhaps when such events were recorded, there was a less than desirable distribution of focus over certain events.
For instance, it is known that during that historic moment, it was by then Captain Wing Shield who spoke first between himself and by then Captain Vicente Guerrero. However, such action only makes for a small footnote. And the reason is because it got eclipsed because of what happened right after.”
Ignacio Manuel Hernández Ríos, Ancient History of Mexico - Volume II, UNLAP 1081AL
“Greetings, I am Captain Wing Shield, from the Kingdom of Equestria.”
It had looked so simple. Introduce himself to these creatures, well, mainly to the one who had walked up before him. Though his voice had been loud enough for at least the ones who were closest would’ve heard it. And indeed, they did. And that’s when everything changed.
They stopped what they were doing, and were now staring at them. They all began to get weird looks on their faces. Even the one before him now had an uneasy look. Wing Shield was unsure on how proceed. He saw some of them had moved forward a little, but no farther from the ones already in the front. Perhaps to hear him better?
“We do not come with hostile intentions, and hope you do the same,” he continued, trying to ease them.
And that’s when pandemonium was unleashed.
It could be best described as them having turned into an unorganized mob. Shouts could be heard. Some ran back to their ship. Even the creature before him had taken a few steps back.
Wing Shield glanced back to the other pegasi, a slightly confused expression on his face. They responded in kind.
“And I was worried about them?” Keen Eyes said to no one, up high on his cloud.
“What kind of place this is!?”
“Horses shouldn’t talk!”
“What did it even say?”
“I want to head back!”
To say things were bad was an understatement.
“Order! Order!” Lemaur tried to calm them down, but it was in vain.
“Can’t say I fault them,” Austin said. “I could join in a heartbeat.”
“What is Guerrero doing? He is still over there!” Alvarez pointed out.
Meanwhile, the deck of the ship was now starting to mirror the situation on land, as the men that hadn’t stayed were now on board.
“What’s the meaning of this!?” The Captain asked, having remained on the ship, as some of them were even going as far as below deck.
“That horse spoke!” One of them had managed to answer.
The Captain stared at the man. He had seen the horse move its snout, though admittedly the ship was far enough to hear anything.
“It… spoke?”
“Captain, I know that sounds hard to believe… but that’s what it did!”
It can’t be that so many misheard things, he concluded. Of all things to find… talking flying horses. Just what sort of place we ended up?
He looked over again. Few had remained on land, the horses didn’t seem to have reacted much at the spectacle they were witnessing, though what caught his attention the most was Guerrero, who was still somewhat rooted to the spot.
Has the shock left his body unable to react? The Captain wondered.
At least it doesn’t look like he’s in danger.
Vicente Guerrero was not sure what he was expecting by having approached the horses. Things had not been normal since November when the rest of the world seemingly disappeared, and the expedition he personally offered to lead had been increasingly found itself with oddities.
From the unknown land, the appearance of winged horses, to the… peculiar characteristics of them. It had been hard to believe at first, but a part of him had thought that they were more than met the eyes. It was hard to ignore those spears. You couldn’t just train a horse to do such a thing; in fact, it would have been almost impossible the possibility would have crossed his mind had he not see it now, when it was too late to discard it. The lack of riders was also concern. It seemed hard to accept that a big number of horses would be without their riders, and the armor discarded them being wild. They had been moving, or flying for a better word, in a matter that did not suggest it was without purpose. More importantly, they had stopped once they spotted them. That was no normal behavior of mere animals. And then, as it turned out, they were capable of speech as well! As if it was some parrot from the southern jungles.
It had been too much. Guerrero didn’t have to turn to know the men had not taken the revelation well. But a more pressing matter was himself. He had merely stepped away a slight distance from the equine before him, but his mind was torn. A war waged between the rational and irrational parts. The irrational side was imploring to join the men in the safety of the ship, or at least with the ones still behind him. It had help in that some were now shouting for him to do just that. But the rational side held its ground. This may not be a battlefield, but he nonetheless had to remain composed and not let his judgement be clouded, despite with how unnatural the situation was.
With the beings in front of him, it was easy to tell they weren’t, at first glance, hostile. Those few spears seemed to be the only weapons they have, and even then, they weren’t being held in a battle-ready stand. Their numbers weren’t huge either, so at most, they could be a patrol unit. They may have the ability of flight, and yet were moving not that far from the ground and across the beach, so if they were spotted at any point since disembarking, they had opted for a face-to-face meeting. And so far, they seemed to just watch the situation unfolding before them than to take advantage of it.
And in there lied the heart of the issue. Acknowledging all this would be conceding that these equines were, in fact, intelligent enough to be on a level like humans. The implications were big if so. But then again, these were creatures that would’ve only been talked about as myth, so who could say what they would be like in the flesh?
At any rate, Guerrero had to admit that they themselves were certainly not making a very good first impression to these equines. But perhaps it wasn’t too late to salvage the situation. But what could he do or say? These equines clearly had their own language, though their leader had talked anyway. Perhaps it expected they would speak the same language? And with a big part of him thinking how wild of an idea it was, he nonetheless came to a decision. After all, this couldn’t be any more different from meeting any other foreign nation. Just, with winged horses.
Wing Shield was prepared for many things. He was prepared if these creatures were friendly. He was prepared if they turned out to be hostile. He was prepared to fight, or to talk, or to shake a hoof with the creature’s… claw? Truth be told, claws was the closest he could describe them, but they didn’t look like them. In any case, he had thought about the possible scenarios that could unfold.
Watching them turn into a panicked mess, however, was not one of them.
He could only stare, trying to think as to why that had happened. It was a big contrast to their previous state, which was mostly that of wariness but not outright fear. It did not escape to him that the sudden shift was after he spoke. Was that it? Did his words had that big of an impact on them?
Wing Shield wasn’t exactly sure on why. He had only presented himself. Or perhaps they hadn’t understood? He remembered Starswirl had mentioned other creatures were likely to have their own languages. Equestria at most only had the knowledge other nations existed beyond the seas, and that was before Discord had put an end for any possibility of contact to be made. But at most that would mean he simply talked nonsense to them. It was unlikely his words could have a different meaning in their language.
In any case, one thing was clear, these creatures could hardly pose a danger to Equestria if they could be scared so easily, even considering if perhaps they were simply unprepared to find anyone here. But then, does Equestria was not their purpose for being here? It was possible Starswirl could’ve been wrong. Even somepony like him couldn’t be right all the time, could he? In any case, they were here now, and that meant dealing with them.
“Uh, sir?”
It wasn’t spoken loudly, but enough for Wing Shield to hear. He glanced back.
It had been Thundershock.
“What do we do now?”
From the looks of some of the others, they wanted an answer as well. Wing Shield wasn’t sure. These creatures were currently in no position for conversation… assuming they could even talk the same language.
“Captain.”
One of them had now raised a hoof, pointing forward. Wing Shield glanced back. The creature before him had moved again. It straightened out its figure again, and had even took a step forward.
Guerrero wasn’t completely sure of what he was doing. It was all a shot in the dark. He wasn’t experienced on the matter. He had been more a soldier than a diplomat, after all. Perhaps even better politician than diplomat. But as appointed captain of this expeditionary journey, he would deal with this personally.
And thus, he regained his composure, made a step forward, and spoke.
“Greetings. We do not come with hostile intentions. I am Captain Vicente Guerrero, from the United Mexican States.”
It was unlikely they would know what he meant. But language alone wasn’t all what communication entailed. And perhaps his actions, and not words, would be enough.
The creature had spoken back, and it confirmed they did indeed had a different language. This made difficult, but not impossible. Wing Shield pondered.
There must be some other way to reach to them, he thought. But what?
He took a good look at the creature. More specifically, to the upper limbs. An idea truck him.
Perhaps they aren’t strangers to hoof shakes? Well, without the hooves.
It was worth trying. Though he had to be careful. Perhaps the outstretched hoof would do nothing but upset them further. Least he wanted right now was for them to now resort to violence in their fear. Still, he felt like he could trust at least the creature before him. It seemed to wanting to at least try, just like he was.
And thus, he took a few steps forward, and outstretched his right forehoof, a little upwards as the creature was the taller one.
Guerrero watched the peculiar motion the equine did. An outstretched hoof.
What does that mean? It wants me to shake it?
Horses knowing how to shake… hooves. But after showing they could talk, was that a big surprise now?
Although, hooves cannot grip anything.
His mind protested, not finding the logic behind it. But what else could it be? It seemed the safe choice to follow. Besides, if that was what the equine was waiting for, it would be rude for him to not to deliver.
Well, this day had already turned strange already. What more could be shaking the hoof of a winged horse?
He closed the remaining distance, and outstretched his right arm. His hand gripped the hoof.
And shook.