In the security room, Ash watched several higher-ups including scientists and head soldiers look through each camera feed. They were repeating the same scene over and over again.
It started with the teleport in the inspection room, which, after close inspection, they realized that it had started at the horn of the creature, which was teleported a few microseconds before the rest of it. Usually, a teleport will begin in the center, but whoever teleported this creature had poor aim or put in the wrong coordinates.
Then, the creature ended up in the mine, instead of on a spaceship or in a room that the teleport had probably come from. After a brief skirmish with the guard of the mine, the creature revealed that it had wings. This came as a surprise to everyone, including the scientists and Ash, but the set-up team confirmed that the creature did have wings. They said that they didn't feel like giving its suit wings because it was more cost-effective, and the wings were too small in comparison to its body for it to be able to do anything.
The group watched as the creature, EQ-3, flew up and glided out of the room, where it landed, adjusted itself, then took off flying in the direction of the cafeteria. However, it was teleported again before it could turn the corner, and no one has found it yet.
Ash looked over at the people watching the cameras with her. She hated that she was the only one sitting down, it made her feel like she was a lesser person than all of them. Of course, she was, being the only Mandor in a room full of high ranking Sectaniums.
"Maybe the ship miscalculated, and now it has EQ-3." Ash heard them psyspeak to each other. She couldn't speak with her mind the way that they could, but she could still understand what they were "saying" when they forgot to block out their conversations.
"What if there isn't a ship, and the teleporter is somewhere on this planet?! A scientist said,
"I say we bring in a Warrior to help us with this, they would have a much easier time tracking down the ship or whatever it is that teleported EQ-3, they can spare a few of 'em.
Oh cool, Ash thought, maybe I'll get to meet one of them.
The Warriors are, like their name suggests, warriors. However, they were a special kind of warrior, different from the soldiers and guards. Every creature who knew about them, even their enemies, like the UFF, respected and feared them.
Ash heard the Sectaniums become quiet, and she guessed that they were now talking amongst themselves. No use being useless here then, she thought, and quietly excused herself to go back to the guards' quarters.
. . .
Twilight panted as she looked around from under her bed. It was the only semi-safe place she could think of, after having teleported outside, before panicking and running back in.
With momentary peace, Twilight took a moment to collect her thoughts.
Did I just create enemies?! What were they going to do?! I must not be in Equestria anymore! What should I do?! How do I get home?! What if by creating enemies with those creatures I just doomed Equestria, and it's all my fault?!
No, calm yourself down, Twilight, you're freaking yourself out. Think Twilight, what would Celestia do? Probably talk to these creatures, right?
Twilight considered this as an option, but she figured that they didn't speak Ponish, and even if they did, they likely didn't see her as a friend.
Speaking of friends, where is everypony else? Oh wait, I was probably the only one taken, right? Because I would be the biggest target since I'm the ruler.../i]
"Return to bed." The announcement came on, and Twilight was interrupted from her increasing panic. From under the bed, she shifted her position so that she was able to look at the door.
Twilight lay there for a little while, then she saw the creatures come in. They walked in a line then dispersed and went to their respective beds. One of them went to the bed above Twilight. His weight caused the bed to sink, and Twilight began to feel a little claustrophobic. However, she forced herself to stay there.
Soon, Twilight heard the creature above her start breathing in a slow, deep rhythm. It was asleep.
Okay, so now what? She thought.
Twilight didn't have a plan for what to do now that she wasn't in danger. Her end goal was to get back to Equestria and to hopefully make some friends on the way, being the Princess of Friendship and all. However, she didn't see what the next step was...for a moment.
These creatures aren't my enemies yet. They're just under a spell, and I know how to break that spell.
A smile came across Twilight's face. Her eyes squinted with determination as a plan formed in her mind. As quietly as possible, she began making her way to each of the beds to perform her spells.
. . .
Zeck suddenly felt very sick. He shot up and out of bed, clutching his stomach, hitting his head on the bed above him as he did so. He bent over and threw up.
Groaning, Zeck looked around. He saw many creatures, a few of which he recognized as humans like him once his mind started to clear. Others he knew were aliens that he studied before, but never got to meet.
What in the Milky Way? Where am I? Where's my crew?!
As his mind cleared, he began to remember things. His name was Captain Zeck, and his ship was captured by the Sectanium. He remembered being taken prisoner by them and being given the collar. After that, most of it was a blur.
While Zeck got his bearings, he noticed that the other creatures in the room were also freed the potion. When he looked to see who was freeing them, he saw a glowing purple horse, with a pair of wings and a horn!
The small horse made an announcement once it had freed all of the creatures in the room, but only about half the room heard, and most of them ignored it as they were too busy coming to their senses, talking to one another, and looking around.
"Sinop kaeps ereh eruta erc yna seod?"
Zeck couldn't understand what the creature said, but it appeared to be concerned and a little bit panicked, but its voice was steady and loud. He watched the horse repeat its message a few times, before becoming angry that no one was listening or paying any attention to it. Zeck assumed that it might yell, walk away, or even put them back under the potion if it could, but apparently, this creature was a bit more annoyed, and powerful, than that.
"Yeh!" It yelled, and its horn glowed a bright magenta color and sent out a ball of light. Zeck felt a strange force overcome him, like being controlled by a Warrior, and he felt his muscles tighten. He saw that the talking had quieted down significantly, and all of the creatures were frozen in place, except for their eyes and mouths.
The small purple horse seemed to struggle for a few seconds before its horn stopped glowing, and everyone was able to move again. No one said anything.
. . .
Twilight felt out-of-breath after performing a freeze spell. It took her a lot more effort than she expected. There were only about 15 creatures in the room, but most of them were the size of two ponies, making it about as difficult as freezing all of the Hooffields and McColts.
She looked around at them all and saw that all eyes were on her. It was what she had wanted, but now she had to find a way to communicate with them.
Twilight looked over at one of the empty beds. The pillows were left out on the edge of the mattress. Twilight walked over to the pillows, making sure that she still had the attention of the creatures, who were now all looking at her like she was about to explode.
Taking the pillow with her levitation, which caused a few gasps from the crowd, Twilight transfigured the pillow into a series of black metal bars connected at the top and bottom. It looked like a jail cell. Twilight looked at the creatures and pointed to the object with her hoof. Then she pointed to the floor, back at the bars, and repeated the motion several times. She was hoping that the creatures would understand what she was trying to say. A few of the wide-eyed creatures gave small nods, and some repeated her movement. Twilight hoped that this meant that they understood.
Then, Twilight turned the bars into grass and flowers, and created a stick pony version of herself with her magic, and dropped it to the floor. The stick pony stood on the floor for a few seconds, then Twilight moved it to the grass and flowers, trying to get her new point across. She repeated that motion a few times and saw more creatures nod and point, they understood.
. . .
Zeck wasn't 100% sure what the horse wanted, but it seemed like it wanted freedom. A very hard thing to come by in this place. He walked over to the horse, which caused the group to stare at him. Zeck noticed that this horse could perform transfiguration and levitation, something that he had only heard about in crazy scientific concepts and theories. In normal circumstances, Zeck would have liked to ask the horse about its abilities, but instead, he pointed to the grass and flower that it had made, then made a writing motion with his hands.
The horse looked very confused for a moment, and Zeck felt his heart sink; it didn't understand him. However, the horse seemed to recognize what he wanted, and it transformed the grass and flower into a piece of paper and a pen. Zeck was surprised that this creature knew what a pen and paper were, but he was very thankful that it did.
Zeck began drawing out stick figures, then the horse and drew them in a box. Then, he sketches a spaceship that looked more like a bunch of triangles and squares. He drew an arrow from the creatures in the box to the ship, and then he looked at the horse to see if it was understanding him. Surprisingly, it was nodding and seemed to follow him.
"Epacse." it said, before putting its hoof to its chin. Then it nodded again and motioned at the exit. Zeck nodded, before addressing the group, hoping that some of them spoke English, as it was the most common language.
"Fellow captives," he began, "I believe that this creature, which some of you may know as a horse, wants us to escape. Seeing how that appears to be the best option for us, I am going to help it, will any of you join me?" For a moment, nobody moved, and Zeck felt worried. We can't escape without a crew. However, the humans in the crowd came up, saying things such as "sure," and "yes sir."
Following the humans were other aliens who Zeck recognized as his ally species, and others who he guessed spoke English. After the humans came the rest of the crowd, except for about four creatures, who had seemed to want to stay behind.
When they had gathered near each other, the horse took another pillow and changed it into a large sheet of paper. It levitated it over (which made more gasps from the crowd), and gave it to Zeck, seeming to say your move now.
With the paper in his hand, Zeck began to draw out an escape plan.