//------------------------------// // Bonus Chapter: UNSC // Story: Helljumpers // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// “So when are they arrivin’, Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked as she, Sweetie, Rumble, and Scootaloo were sitting in their clubhouse. Scootaloo was dressed up in the dress blues as she would have to leave for the base outside of Ponyville soon. “In a couple of hours, they already arrived in system but we’re making sure they arrive in the middle of the day so Luna doesn’t accidentally smack them with the moon,” Scootaloo answered with a shrug, the rest of the group snickering as they could see how that would be a bad thing. “It’s just sad we don’t get to see them, I was really hoping to get a glimpse of them.” Rumble sighed, though this would be the first time humans set feet on Equis proper it was arranged as a purely diplomatic visit… …though that didn’t mean Scootaloo could slightly bend the rules. “You know I might be able to get the three of you access to the base.” The orange pegasus slyly suggested, Rumble’s eyes glistening as he heard the suggestion. “You won’t get into too much trouble for that, will you?” Sweetie asked, her ears folded back against her head as she didn’t want to get her friend into too much trouble. “So long the three of you do exactly what I ask of you Twilight might only be mildly angry, I can handle that.” Scootaloo answered as she waved off Sweetie’s concern, “So do you three think you can do that?” All three of her friends springing up to attention and bringing a salute, “Yes, Sergeant-Major!” The three of them answered in chorus, bringing a smile to Scootaloo’s face. “In that case we should be getting to the base” Scootaloo stated as she got up from her sitting position and walked to the door, putting on her beret before leaving with the others in tow. The road towards the base had been well worn by that point as over the past couple of months tons of building materials along with personnel had been moved to the site of Twilight’s base. After twenty minutes of trotting, the group of fillies came up on the outer checkpoint of the base, the four guards stationed there not giving Scootaloo any trouble as they recognized her. The ease with which they had gotten onto the compound exited the three others as Scootaloo led them to the air traffic control tower. Though not as advanced as its human equivalent the tower had been equipped with a form of magical radar designed by Twilight along with the radio communication antenna that they had gotten from the humans. “We can get a good vantage point from up there, though I have to warn that if we tell you to be quiet in that tower you have to be quiet since the ponies in there have to guide the pelicans into landing,” Scootaloo warned as they entered the building and made their way up the tower, the top room though spacious was still empty for the moment. “Whoa, I knew this place was large but this is massive!” Rumble said as he looked out the window down onto the base, Scootaloo chuckled as she walked up to the amazed colt. “It’s decently sized for Equestrian standards but there are much more massive camps out there in human space.” “Cool,” The colt said in awe as he observed griffins, minotaurs, and ponies, were strolling about and performing tasks on the concrete surface which the tower overlooked. Scootaloo meanwhile walked back to one of the consoles and started flipping switches which in turn activated various screens in the tower. “I want you three to remain in the outer ring near the windows so you don’t get in the way down here.” The three nodded as they returned to look out of the windows at all the various creatures and last minute preparations that were being made. It wasn’t long before two more unicorns entered the tower and greeted Scootaloo before taking a seat to get to work. The two of them seeing the three other fillies but didn’t say anything as they were busy with their own preparations. "Tower this is Sparkle, do you copy?" Twilight's voice came over a radio, Scootaloo immediately picking up a mic on her side. "Sparkle this is Tower, we read you five by five." She replied, the three girls' interest changing towards Scootaloo as she worked. "What's the status of your systems, Hurricane?" Scootaloo turned around to look at her two controllers who both nodded. "Radar and radio operational. we're a go, Sparkle." "Copy that, Hurricane. Switch to SATCOM and contact the Dawn's traffic control, they're all yours now. Also, I'm sending someone up there to escort the Crusaders back to ponyville after the landing. Sparkle out." Scootaloo immediately grinned as Twilight closed the com line while the other Crusaders were grimacing as they realized they got their friend into trouble. "Are ya sure Twi ain't gonna be too angry with ya, Scoots?" Bloom asked as she folded her ears against her head, Scootaloo just chuckled. "If she does she'd be a massive hypocrite since if you might be able to notice your sisters sitting in the press box with a nice view of where the landing will be," She told the others while holding out a set of binoculars for Sweetie who immediately used it to check out the press box. "She's right! Applejack, Miss Fluttershy, Sis, and Pinkie are all there!" Sweetie confirmed as she looked baffled at Scootaloo who just shrugged. "Twilight probably had them pinkie promise to not tell anyone because this technically wasn't open to the public." Scootaloo surmised as she flicked a few switches, "I need you three to be quiet now as we're going to guide in the pelicans from orbit and we can't have too much noise while coordinating with the people upstairs." The Crusaders nodded and went back to looking outside while the radio controller gave Scootaloo the go-ahead on SATCOM. "Stalwart Dawn, this is Equis planetary traffic control. Do you read?" "Planetary control, this is the Stalwart Dawn, we read you five by five." The radio controller answered, goosebumps going up Scootaloo's spine as this was something she really missed doing. "Copy that, Stalwart. Uploading MGRS coordinates now." Scootaloo answered as one of the unicorns went ahead and pushed a few buttons on his console. "Data received. Pelicans are en route to your location, Planetary Control. Transferring pelicans to your frequency now, Stalwart Dawn out." The operator said as he closed the COM channel. Scootaloo sat back in her chair as she waited for the radio operator next to her to confirm the connection with the incoming dropship which he did moments later. "D-77 This is Planetary Control, do you copy?" "Planetary Control, this is D-77 one, we read you. Our ETA is fifteen minutes, our approach is from the north." "Copy that, D-77 one. See you down here in fifteen." Scootaloo said as she finally relaxed, finally noticing her three friends looking at her slack-jawed. "Uhm, what did I do wrong?" The orange pegasus asked as she suddenly felt really self-conscious. "That... was so AWESOME! That was like the newest spacepony comic!" Rumble Said as he was almost jumping in place. Scootaloo chuckled as he walked back up to the window with the girls, "Except that there actually is a spaceship out there right now." She said as she looked up at the sky even though she wouldn't be able to spot the ship. "Anyway, those two guys will finish guiding the pelicans in and I have to be down there when they arrive and you three will have to wait for the escort up here," Scootaloo said as she made for the stairs out of the tower. "I'll see you girls tomorrow, this is probably going to drag on for a while." "See you tomorrow!" Rumble said as he and the others turned back to look at three streaks of light that were falling to the planet in the distance. Scootaloo smiled as she saw her excited friends looking in awe at the three dropships forming up in the distance. I hope I can take them out there some time, Scootaloo thought as she walked down the stairs towards the tarmac outside. Twilight stood ready to welcome the diplomats to Equis, the three lines in the sky indicating that the entourage would be arriving soon. The location for the arrival had been chosen not because Twilight had lobbied for it but since her base was the only place that could accommodate multiple pelicans landing in it. Scootaloo meanwhile had arrived next to her, her dress suit contrasting with the others as she was wearing her ODST dress blues while the Dusk Guard was wearing was more similar to the Wonderbolt dress blues. "You had to take them, didn't you?" Twilight said as the two of them joined the other envoys that were present on the base. "Not like you're any better," Scootaloo shot back at Twilight as she motioned at the four friends who were sitting in the press stand, Twilight not retorting as she realized Scootaloo had probably been on to her from the start. Twilight joined her fellow Princesses along with a Griffin, Minotaur, and even a Changeling ambassador while Scootaloo joined up with The Dusk Guard unit that was present. The three lines that had lit up the sky now turned towards the base, the low rumbling sound of the engines becoming noticeable as they started to come much closer until the three craft roared to a stop on the tarmac, the ambassadors and their entourages slightly moving back as the intimidating machines opened their cargo hatches. Two of the pelicans only had a couple of humans in them along with some cargo while the middle one unloaded a small unit of ODST's and what Twilight supposed to be the diplomats. Taking a deep breath the young alicorn walked forward to meet the group half-way as they approached. "Welcome to Equis, ma'am, we're honored to have you here," Twilight told the diplomat who had taken point. "The honor is all mine, Princess, I hope our people will be able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement," The diplomat said as he made a little bow. "I'm sure we will figure out an agreement that will satisfy both the UEG and Equis's league of nations." Twilight making a polite nod back at him, "Now please follow me, there are transports waiting to take us to Ponyville's train station where a train will take us to Canterlot to start negotiations." With that Twilight and the Human envoy with her, the Griffin's, and the Minotaur's entourage made their way into pony pulled cars and brought to the train station where a special train stood ready to bring them to Canterlot, the diplomats along with Princess Celestia and Luna entered into a specially assigned cart while Twilight, the Dusk guard, and all the other creatures that had come along entered carts that had been assigned to them, the train leaving the moment everyone and everything was loaded on board. "Hey Twilight, you mind if I go over to the wagon where the ODST's are staying? I think I saw someone I know in there." Scootaloo said as the train started moving. Twilight looked over at the little pegasus and shrugged. "Knock yourself out, just make sure you don't bother the diplomats." She answered as she was rapidly working through a pile of paperwork, Scootaloo grinned and stepped outside of the cart, making her way to the one adjacent to the Dusk guard's cart. "...looks so peaceful, Earth used to have villages like these too you know. Just people living out in the middle of nowhere with farms instead of cooped up in large cities." She heard one of the ODST's say as she entered the car. All of the ODST's looking in the direction of the door as they heard it open. "Where did you get that suit, kid?" One of the ODST's asked as he recognized the dress suit, the others looking similarly curious. Scootaloo looked at a helmeted ODST that was observing her from a couch in the corner of the train car, "You didn't even tell them your involvement with me? I'm shocked!" Scootaloo faining shock, the other soldiers in the car looking at the helmeted ODST in confusion. The soldier in question chuckled and took off her helmet, "Hey I had to keep some details secret since the big announcement about you guys UNSC wide only came a couple of weeks ago with the start of the negotiation process," Lucy said as she grinned, "It also gives you the chance to tell these guys your tall tales." Scootaloo huffed and let out a singular laugh, "I don't need to tell tall tales after my drop pod disintegrated over New Mombassa." "Whoa hold up, what the hell are you two talking about sarge?" One of the other ODST's asked as they looked at Lucy. "Your 'sarge' was in the same unit I and Princess Twilight were when we were fighting alongside UNSC forces in places like Reach, Earth, Halo, and the Ark..." Scootaloo told the ODST's who were staring at her, not entirely believing the small pegasus. "...We also got to fight alongside the Master Chief in several of those places." "Damn, do you ponies have bars around here because I want to hear about that over a beer." The ODST said, the others agreeing with that sentiment. "Mayhaps it's not the best idea for you and your kin to walk into one of Canterlot's bars as to avoid the panic that would follow." Someone said from the other side of the car, making all the ODST's tense up since they hadn't heard anyone enter. "Princess Luna!" Scootaloo said as she saluted the princess, "Shouldn't you be in the cart with the diplomats and your sister?" Luna shook her head as she took place on one of the couches, "My sister has much more experienced handling diplomats and my expertise lay more with matters of military than diplomacy, 'tis also the reason I'm here right now." She told the ODST's, "I'm interested to hear about the other worlds among my stars from a people that have actually seen them." "It would be our honor, Princess," Lucy responded as she sat up somewhat straighter, "Though I must warn you that most of our stories aren't for the faint of heart." "Of that, I'm quite aware as Twilight's descriptions of your encounters with your foes were quite vivid. That said, I'm no stranger to bloodshed as it was I who destroyed the Griffin Empire before my banishment and fall to the nightmare." Luna told the marines who now looked at the Princess with interest. "In that case I think we could share some tales about our respective worlds, can't we guys?" Lucy said, the others all voicing their agreement. The group exchanged stories over the course of the journey al the way until they reached the capital city where the negotiations proper would start and official relations established, officially introducing Equis into galactic society. 4 Years Later Twilight was sitting behind her desk as she approved the final orders for the launch of Equis' first slipspace capable spaceship. The Humans had supplied the drive as even after the rapid technological innovations that had been made after the deal with the humans, one that had promised to uplift the races of Equis, had not been enough to construct something as complicated as a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine. The crew for the vessel had alread been selected and trained and a unit of the Dusk Guard assigned to the vessel, Scootaloo having been assigned her own squad on the ship. Though she wasn't the only crusader on the ship, Apple Bloom had found her cutie mark shortly after the humans had finished negotiations and the first pieces of tech had been sent to Equis. The earthpony showing remarkable skills in constructing and repairing the machines, easilly making the cut for the engineering team. The second crusader to be accepted was Rumble, the colt having been so amazed by the first arrival of the humans that he vowed to do everything he could to make the cut to travel along on the first Equestrian spaceship and after working as hard as he could he was designated as the vessel's navigator. Then the third and final member of the crusaders who had managed to get onto the ship's crew was Sweetie, she along with Rumble had studied hard to keep their little group together, though instead of studying navigation Sweetie focussed on how radiocommunication worked and learned anything and everything she could before applying, and recieving, to the post of communications officer on the bridge. Twilight smiled as she folded up their dossiers shaking her head, Those four are still inseparable Picking up the final dossier she had on her table made her hair stand on end, the cutie mark on the dossier was of a half cresent moon inside a black spots... ...Luna's cutie mark. The princess though technically still a princess due to her status as an alicorn had given up her administrative duties to various ministries so that she would be free to spend time as she whished... which she used as an oppertunity to enrol into Dusk Guard basic, almost the entirity of the Lunar Guard enrolling after the alicorn as they still held loyalty to the princess of the night. Luna had argued that the fleet of airships she used to maintain had started with a single ship commanded by herself and she intended to do the same with the newly formed Equis Space Command, though this time it would be done as a cooperative endevour between all the races of the planet instead of a measure to defend against them. The princess, after having made it through basic, had applied to officers training and crushed all her opposition she had been made the captain of the new vessel. Her influence as assigned captain and support from loyalists in the palace had also given Luna the oppertunity to name the new vessel herself, calling it the Selene after the minotaurian goddes of the moon. Twilight sat back in her chair as she place all the files back into a drawer, the Selene had been ready to launch for the first time but since the humans wanted to be present for this milestone the launch date had been pushed back by weeks. BANG The door broke from its hinges as Scootaloo barrled through it, trying to say something through her ragged breaths. "Scootaloo calm down, what in the world has you worked up like this." Twilight asked as the mare in front of her regained her breath. "We intercepted a distress call from a human vessel," She told Twilight who raised an eyebrow. "We only have the Selene and she hasn't been tested yet in any real capacity, we should pass it on to the UNS..." Scootaloo tapped a command on her wrist mounted pad, starting the distress call they had picked up, "Mayday, mayday mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor zero five dash three dash Sierra one one seven." Twilight froze as she recognized the voice and designation code. It can't be, if it's them than... "Hurricane, gather your unit and report to the Selene." Twilight ordered, as she pulled out a tablet tapping in a few commands. "Twilight? What's the matter?" Luna asked as she almost instantaniously picked up. "We have an emergency, I want the Selene ready for departure as soon as possible." Twilight told the captain of the spaceship who, judging by the sound that came through the comms, jumped into action. "We can be gone within the hour if Hurricane shows up with the Dusk Guard units, the rest crew has been on board performing drills." Luna told Twilight as she started shouting orders at ponies. "Scootaloo is inbound already, she'll be there soon. Is the Selene stocked with supplies?" "We have four months of food in storage right now, we're good on that but I must inquire as to why we would need a supply of food and the nature of this emergency that we are pushing the launch of this ship forward." Luna questioned as Twilight pulled her Sniper rifle from a locker inside her office along with her ODST armor. "We have a rescue mission to perform."