//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Friendship and a 120mm Machine Gun // by FreedomRiders //------------------------------// (Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, but the semester's been rough and high level classes tend to be very time consuming. I'll try and pump out chapters without taking too long or rushing them.) Twilight giddily peered over the edge of the Olive Branch, alongside her friends as the Royal Guards kept the airship afloat. It had been a few hours since the airship had arrived and picked them up - and Twilight could still hardly believe she was actually on an airship dedicated to the Royal Guard’s service. The airship was large, easily 120 meters in length. The main fuselage of the craft was similarly shaped to a boat, with six decks and plenty of golden armor plating over its reinforced wooden deck. The top of the vessel was plated with white steel, and there were small parapets on the sides of each vessel where unicorn guards would keep watch. The ship was held up by the use of a large rigid balloon frame, which was about three times the size and volume of the ship itself. The rigid balloon was white, with ornate designs made of shaped golden decorating it in a similar manner to the rest of the ship. There had to be a hundred or so Royal Guards on board, the crew being a mix of Earth Ponies and Unicorns. A smaller contingent of twenty or so Pegasus guards were also onboard the Olive Branch, often serving as scouts should the need arise. Alongside the Elements of Harmony and the Royal Guard was Fleetfoot of the Wonderbolts, having tagged along to provide directions to locate the gathering. As of now, she was currently standing by the helm, eyeing the front of the vessel to see if they were getting close. “So, what do ya think we’ll come across when we get there?” Applejack asked. She was the only pony not sticking her head over the edge of the deck, a hoof pressing her Stetson hat to her head, the winds howling and threatening to send the hat overboard if she so much as raised her hoof by a millimeter. "I don't know!" Twilight giggled. "Ooh, it's all so exciting! New and unforeseen technology! You heard the report by the Wonderbolts! Machines that fly faster than even they can manage! All sorts of strange carriages and flying machines! Not to mention...golems..." Her excited smile fell as she recalled what had happened to the Everfree Forest, as well as remembering the details over the deceased Hydra near the edge of the wild woods. "Dearie, are you alright?" Rarity asked, shaking Twilight from her thoughts. "Well, I was just remembering how these...newcomers could potentially be very dangerous. What if they aren't interested in friendship?" she asked. "Who knows what they can be capable of? I mean, whatever it was we might be looking for took down a Hydra." "That does sound very scary..." Fluttershy whispered. Applejack came over and patted her on the arm, helping in calming her down. It was no secret that the death of a Hydra was very disturbing to all ponies that heard: not just the thought of something being strong enough to accomplish such a grisly feat, but the fact that something or somepony was actually willing to inflict death. "Come on, we're Elements! If somepony tries to do something to us, we can zap them in five seconds flat!" Rainbow Dash attempted to reassure. "Then we can give them a stern talking to!" "As crass as dear Dashie has said it, she's correct," Rarity said kindly. "After all, it's a sort of...introduction! We may not know how or why they're here in Equestria, but approaching them is the appropriate and civilized approach!" “Well, we’re just about there now!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she hopped up and down at the very front of the ship. The other mares turned to see the opening in the clouds, a sign that the Oliva Branch was slowly lowering. Sure enough, Twilight found herself witness to what occupied the lands below. A massive green shape with incredibly large and thick wings sat on the torn up grass and dirt. It had a large red stripe going from its middle down its back, and the back of the machine housed a large vertical tailfin. Near them were dozens of medium sized to smaller aircraft, ranging from winged air vehicles to propeller driven craft. But what caught Twilight's attention the most was the five large bipedal golems that had been somewhat vaguely described earlier. They had different color schemes with one being blue, another two of them being green and tan in similar tones, one being green, and a larger one in particular being larger and mostly black. They were massive, and they appeared to be equipped with strange objects and gadgets. But more noticeable than most, Twilight saw that they looked human. The single joint knees, the positioning of arms and the presence of five digits on each hand. Recalling the times she spent in Canterlot High through the portal, the Princess of Friendship was not one to so easily forget what humans looked like. "I...I think I've seen them before," Twilight said as the airship lowered closer to the ground. "Wait, ya have?" Applejack asked. "They remind me of the humans from the other world," the Princess of Friendship muttered, before taking a closer look. She could barely make out details: circular joints in the arms and legs, clearly shaped metallic armor on the body, and the tubes that were present on some of them. "Could it be..." "The other world...you never talked much about that," Fluttershy said, her curiosity peaked. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see, darling," Rarity said as the ship landed - its lower ramp opening with a crank as the mares all hurried down to exit the ship, alongside Fleetfoot and several Royal Guards. One of the golems - the black and purple one - seemed to slide over to the ship's landing zone. Yes, it slid over. Whatever this thing was, it was hovering off the ground. Gripped in its hands was a massive tube with handles and a huge metallic extension on the back. Twilight quickly spread her wings, ready to engage should the giant try something not so friendly. The ponies all stared as the machine stopped several meters away from the disembarked ponies before aiming the massive tube over its shoulder, directly at the Olive Branch. All that could be heard was the loud sounds of roaring from the golem. The ponies all winced as hot air blasted into their manes and coats. Rarity could barely be heard exclaiming something about her mane, while Rainbow Dash quickly landed before she could be hurled back against the ship. Then the loud roaring stopped, and the golem's feet landed on the ground with a mighty thud. The ground shook momentarily as the ponies continued to stare back up at the odd humanoid creature in what appeared to be some sort of standoff. Fleetfoot walked up, stopping alongside the princess. "There's still one missing," she said. "What do you mean?" the princess asked. "There was a gray one that could fly. It flew off in another direction, towards the Badlands," Fleetfoot muttered. "There could be more of them that we don't know about, and that's a worrying thought." Princess Twilight was no stranger to danger - especially since she'd had to fight off Lord Tirek. She still shuddered at the thought of nearly losing to the monstrous centaur. What were the chances that these newcomers could pose an even more grave threat to Equestria? "Well, we can ask about it when we start official negotiations," Princess Twilight said reassuringly as she stepped forward with a cough. She didn't possess the Royal Canterlot Voice just yet, but she could speak rather loudly. Hopefully, this human-like creation could hear them. "Greetings!!" she yelled. "I am Twilight Sparkle, and I wish to speak to your leader!!" Silence was all that greeted them. The large, singular pink eye swiveled downwards, all without the head or the body moving. It was an odd thing to see, and one that made a few ponies shudder in discomfort. Though, Twilight only seemed more fascinated than creeped out: having taken note of the loud whirring noise that was emitted when the eye moved. "...did you just speak?" a voice boomed from the creature. There was no mouth for it to speak from, nor was there any other movement when the voice was heard. It was almost like its voice was coming out of something like Vinyl Scratch's surround sound speakers. "What an odd question..." Rarity whispered. "Of course she can speak!" "Ahem. Uhh...yes! Yes, I have spoken! Once more, I'd like to meet with your leader!" Twilight repeated. "And no funny business!" Rainbow Dash called, only to get nudged by Applejack with a light scowl. "What? We mean business, don't we?" the rainbow haired Pegasus whined. "Ya can at least be polite about it!" Applejack hissed. "How do we say 'no funny business' nicely?" Rainbow Dash insisted. "Both of you, quiet!" Fleetfoot whispered angrily, clearly annoyed by the bickering. Thankfully, the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty obeyed. There was even more silence that followed. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the machine to move, simply turning around and walking towards the large congregation of aircraft and vehicles. "Come with me," came the male voice from the massive machine. The mares all looked at each other, before turning to the Royal Guards that bore witness to the event. They seemed to have no reaction of sorts, simply bowing to the princess as a form of assurance that they'd follow her lead. Princess Twilight Sparkle coughed and brushed off her hoof before she walked after the large machine. "Very well," she said as she headed towards the massive plane that sat at the other side of the field. The relatively short walk was a very tense one. When they reached the start of the camp, Twilight would indeed see that these newcomers were all humans. They weren't like the ones in Canterlot High. Their bodies were proportionally larger, and their heads were a little bit smaller. Their eyes weren't large and they all had very limited styles on their hair, mostly limited to black, brown, and blonde as far as the princess could see. They weren't dressed in the various outfits familiar to a high school, but a wide degree of what appeared to be uniforms, mostly green in varying states of disrepair. Having never seen a human and a pony side by side before, Princess Twilight was unsure of how the sizes translated between dimensions. One of the younger humans - a female teenager, she deduced, was revealed to be a noticeable margin taller, with Twilight's horn going up to her chest. Other humans were taller, and some were shorter and much younger. There had to be a few hundred of the humans, ranging from male to female, from young to older and in between. And all of them stared at the ponies as they walked by. Any person that seemed to be busy had stopped their task to look. "...why are they staring?" Fluttershy whispered frightfully, her mane draped over her face as she tried to hide herself as best as she could. "Perhaps they simply can't get enough of us..." Rarity tried to reassure, though she only seemed to be trying to calm her own nerves. However, Pinkie Pie was clearly having the opposite mindset. Before anypony could stop her she'd started zipping around the camp, racing around one of the green aircraft that was currently opened up. Two humans that had been working on it yelped and stumbled back as the pink blur hopped on the hull with a thud. "Oooh!! This thing flies? How does it fly?! Do you feed it and it just blasts off or are you supposed to do something else?! The wings are folded up, maybe it flaps like a bird!!" the hyperactive Element of Laughter giggled as she hopped up and down on the craft, jostling it with every thud her hooves made. "Hey, get off of there!" someone yelled before Pinkie Pie jumped off - landing on the foot of another giant walking machine: a blue one. She didn't get any further before Twilight immobilized the pink Earth pony. "Awww!!" Pinkie Pie whined as Twilight dragged her over to her side, her lavender magic still encasing the pony. "Sorry! She's just...very curious!" the princess apologized, chuckling nervously at the glares that many of the humans sent their way. Other looks were some of shock and awe: likely due to Twilight's show of magical prowess, or the mere presence of magic in the first place. "We promise no harm! Just...a word!" "Stand down!" a new voice boomed, even louder than what the walking machine said. The humans and even the other large golem-like things turned to face the massive plane sitting at the end of the field. Despite having the knowledge that all of these were aircraft, Twilight couldn't help but make the comparison of a ruler over its subjects. It didn't take long for something else to happen. The large front of the plane opened up, revealing a massive dark interior not clearly seen from where the ponies were currently at. The Elements of Harmony watched as the humans eventually went back to whatever they were doing, either having lost interest or unwilling to do much else. There was a clear path to the open maw of the plane, and Princess Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath. "I suppose we go inside," she said. "It sounds like the leader we need to talk to is in there." The ponies all looked at each other. "Still. Ain't that ominous..." Applejack mumbled. "Come on, I don't think they would surely be so violent. Right?" Rarity asked. "I dunno," Fleetfoot mumbled. She was eyeing the large blue golem - wary of the massive sword it held in its hands. "My gut says something's off." "Well if they try to trap us, we'll just bust out," Rainbow Dash whispered. "I hope we won't need to..." Fluttershy whispered. "Then we show some good faith," Twilight said. "Come on, girls." The five mares walked ahead, with Pinkie Pie still floating in Twilight's grasp. The guards followed suit as well, and Fleetfoot was the last to walk over. "I hope you know what you're doing, princess," the Wonderbolt muttered. "I hope so too..." Twilight thought silently to herself as she stepped foot into the plane. - elsewhere in Equestria - Princess Celestia stared at the massive cloud far in the distance. She and her personal guards had seen the explosion several dozen kilometers away. The brightness had nearly blinded some ponies, and the blast wave had reached them less than five seconds after the initial flash of light, with the airship violently getting pushed back a dozen or so meters by the air force alone. Her personal airship - the Hoof of Celestia. was high in the clear blue skies. The vessel was much larger than most in the Equestrian Air Fleet. Despite its size being well over four times larger than the standard airship, it lacked weapons of any sort: instead serving as a massive carrier and supply vessel of sorts. The Hoof of Celestia was by no means meant to serve as a warship, but as a beacon of hope to ponies in need. The princess had refused to heavily militarize the ship, wanting to lean towards its usage as a ship designed to rescue those in disaster, as well as deliver things such as food and medical supplies in need of emergency. Those events had happened almost half an hour ago. The remains of the blast was clear to see, having happened smack in the middle of the Badlands. Thankfully, it seemed to be limited to the Badlands, and there was no sign of the dark and ominous clouds being pushed towards any civilized areas. It didn't take long for the aftermath of the explosion to be ignored, not when it was overshadowed by a green and a blue golem walking side by side away from the massive rising cloud. Both looked similar with minor differences in appearance and whatever they were holding. It didn't take long for the princess to issue orders. "Land the ship," Princess Celestia said. "I wish to make contact." "Yes, your highness," the helmspony said, and the vessel's large airframe began to deflate as the conventional yet reliable use of heated air lowered to dampen the lift on the flying ship. The Hoof of Celestia lowered and landed at the very edges of the Badlands, with large sets of landing gear and a large ramp touching down gently. The princess stepped down towards the ground, her golden horseshoes clacking gently against the metallic ramp. Several dozen meters ahead of her were the two massive golems, which stopped the second the Hoof of Celestia had lowered towards them. They still hadn't moved since then, but the princess intended to continue. Using the Royal Canterlot Voice, the Princess of the Sun boomed up at the unknown creatures. "My name is Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria!" she called out to the two bipedal constructs that were currently approaching her. The voice was powerful enough that the ponies on her ship winced at the sheer volume. The two golems didn't seem to react to her announcement, something that Princess Celestia wasn't too certain was bad or good. "Newcomers to Equestria, I would like to welcome you to our lands under civil terms! We mean you no harm, and wish to converse openly!" she continued. Once again, no reaction from the green and blue giants...at first. Then something happened that made Celestia recoil a little in surprise, if not mild fascination. The singular eyes of their heads turned to look at each other, swiveling to their sides without the heads so much as moving. It didn't take long for the eyes to swing back and face Celestia once more. Adding to her surprise, a male voice rang out - not from the golem as if it were talking, but almost as if it were talking through a speaker somewhere on its body. "How do we know if you won't hurt us?" the voice called through the air. The princess was quick to reply, seeing the question as a good sign that the were considering it. "I can only offer you sanctuary, with assurances of good health and excellent care for you both!" she called, intent on reassuring them. ""You have my word as ruler of the kingdom! They were silent for a moment before the two golems kneeled before her, arms lowered to the ground. Before she could insist that bowing or kneeling was not necessary, their chests opened up with loud hissing noises. Two bipedal figures climbed out - lowering themselves from thin ropes at the top of the doors. "So they're machines of sorts..." the princess thought to herself. The two oddly dressed creatures made their way to the ground. The taller figure with the facial hair brushed himself off as he made his way to the princess, although he stopped when the second figure - more slender and clearly female in nature - stumbled and crashed in the dirt. "Hey!" he quickly shouted as he hurried over to her, helping her up to her feet. "Hey, you feeling alright?" "I'm...tired..." the female whispered, her eyes barely half open. Her arm was shaky as she tried to lift it, but the male quickly pushed it down. "Is this really happening?" "Yes...it is. Somehow," the male muttered as Princess Celestia came over to check on them. "James Monroe," he said, redirecting his attention towards the princess before him. "And this is my partner, Karlie Rosa." "I see," the princess said. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. Is your partner..." "Just tired..." Rosa whispered. She didn't seem to be injured in some way, but she sounded awfully exhausted - almost as if she were on the brink of death. "Need water..." Princess Celestia's eyes widened in alarm as Rosa passed out, falling limp in Monroe's arms. "Help her," Monroe said as he lay the young lavender haired woman gently on the ground. "We will," the alicorn reassured before her horn glowed bright golden. Rosa was completely surrounded by that same glow moments later, and Monroe nearly tripped on his own two feet. Thankfully, he didn't seem to perceive this as a threat, as the princess simply lifted her up carefully to bring her to the ship. "We'll bring your...machines on board as well," Celestia added. "Right now, you both shall receive medical attention." "Just her. I don't-" Monroe began before Celestia cut him off. "I insist," was all she said. Monroe didn't have the will to continue arguing - simply following behind as several of the princess's guard hurried to the large machines behind them. The princess would worry about gathering intel or getting answers later. Right now, the safety of the two new individuals was a top priority. "One more thing," Monroe said. Princess Celestia turned to face the man, who pointed back at the still present cloud that was so far away. "You might wanna...quarantine the area. We were attacked and...it got nuked. The area's flooding wuth radiation." He said this rather nervously, a bad indicator if the princess ever saw one. The alicorn narrowed her eyes. She didn't know what the term 'nuke' meant, but she was all too familiar with what radiation could do. It had to be harmful if she was being warned about it. "Very well," she said before turning to the nearby guards at the base of the ship's ramp. "Send out some of our messengers. Tell them to lock down the Badlands." "Yes, princess." the two guards saluted and galloped up the ramp, with the princess and the two aliens with her. - near the Dragon Lands - "Ugh...my head..." Ember groaned as she tried to get a proper understanding of her surroundings, at least the moment her sight and vision returned. As she slowly opened and rubbed her eyes, she sat up. Dizziness was the first thing that dwarfed the pain, but it was slowly overshadowed by confusion. The metal she sat on was flat and cold, a far cry from the hot jagged rock she was used to. She blinked her eyes and looked around before she noticed that she wasn't in the Dragon Lands: rather, she was trapped in a prison cell of sorts. A metal bench was what she sat on, with the walls being cold gray metal and the door being a moderately sized cage. She got up and looked around, seeing a hallway on the other side of the cage door. "What the..." There was a sound, with a female voice following it. "The prisoner is awake," Ember heard, and the young teen dragoness quickly sat back down, unsure of what to expect. "Prisoner...I was captured? What happened to me?" Ember thought to herself as she tried to recall the moments of what occurred before she'd fallen unconscious. She thought back to when she first boarded that strange wheel looking aircraft...when she'd swung the strange object into the face of the alien before everything started spinning. She remembered getting gripped around the throat while vertigo took hold, and she could barely recall yelling of sorts, either aimed at her or at something else. The last thing she saw was something flying at them, a red and white something with its arms stretched out towards them... "A dragon. I don't think I've ever seen something like you...ever." Ember broke out of her thoughts and turned to the cell door to see...something. Tall, slender, and clearly female judging by the voice. She had fur on her head, tan colored skin, thin eyes, and clothes. An alien, Ember thought for a moment. With a cough, Ember brushed herself off and quickly summoned what bravery she had, though there wasn't much given just how confused she was feeling. "What do you mean you haven't seen a dragon?" she asked. "What are you exactly?" "Human. Captain of the Atlas," the female said. “And the Atlas is...this thing?” Ember asked. She’d recalled the massive winged...thing landing, but she hadn’t considered it to be a ship of sorts. “I’m going to cut to the chase,” the human female said, deciding not to delay things any further. “We all come from a different world and we’re lost. As such, you’re going to answer some questions.” And this day kept getting stranger. “Another world?” Ember asked, a bit confused on the apparent claim. “Like...what do you mean?” “We aren’t from this planet. Something took us from our home and brought us here,” the alien said. “And so far, we haven’t found any way back.” She leaned forward, clearly intent in intimidating Ember into doing something. And it was working. Ember found herself leaning back ever so slightly from her harsh gaze. Regardless of how weird their faces looked, they could look scary when they wanted to. Not that Ember would admit it. “Uhh, what questions do you want me to answer?” “Questions about this world. What is this land? What other species are there? Have there been others like us spotted?” the human asked. “We won’t resort to torture, but we won’t let you out unless you cooperate.” “And if I decide to blast my way out?” Ember asked, deciding to challenge the human’s threat as a possible bluff. “My father will notice I’ve been gone for too long. And you don’t want to mess with dad.” The human simply smiled. It was an unnerving smile, one that seemed to stretch her lips a little bit. “We have the power to wipe entire islands off the map. Are there any dragons out there that can do more?” she asked. “Can your father do so?” Ember fell silent, out of shock that the alien would make such an outrageous claim. No dragon could destroy entire islands. What were the chances that this ship - the Atlas, could do so? She had to be bluffing. Right? The female took Ember’s silence as understanding. “Now that we’ve gotten threats and such out of the way, are you ready to start answering questions?” she asked, her voice a little calmer. “We won’t declare war on your people, we only want to understand where we are.” Ember slowly nodded, finding no reason to say no. It wasn’t like these humans wanted secrets or power over the dragons...right? Besides, she really didn’t want to find out if these humans were really as strong as her interrogator claimed. The uniformed human smiled once more. “Good. Let’s begin.”