// Begin Personal Log
//
//May 6 2559
//
//00:49 Local Time
//
Well here I am again. Writing this log... today has been... well it’s been a lot of things. Unexpected being the key one. I guess I should do a recap. In one day, I managed to break a slipspace wormhole, discover a new planet, crash on said planet, and run over a blue pegasus who is currently asleep in a room down the hall. Everyone is freaked out. Turns out this planet is inhabited by a species of sentient equines. Our guest, Rainbow Dash, was able to clue us in a bit to her world. It seems that there are three sub-races of ‘ponies’ as he put it. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies. If I hadn't been talking to a pegasus, I wouldn't have believed a word of it.
It was tense for a while down in medical. I might link the after action report to this log for reference. So anyway... this pony thought we were going to dissect her or something. I guess bad alien movies exist on this world as well.
Lucky for us we managed to get around the language barrier, all thanks to Tommy. Details can be found in After Action Report 5659-03-EQ
Now we also have the issue of First Contact protocol. In our case it was blatantly disregarded as we didn't really have a choice.Hopefully the director will understand just how FUBAR this went... Normally we aren't supposed to make contact with any non-space-faring race. And quite frankly I doubt these ponies have spacecraft.
Also, lucky for us no one else has found our landing site and I really hope to keep it that way for a long as possible. I spoke with Andrew and he said we could operate the optical cloak for up to seven days if need be. For the time being I have decided to use it. At least until we can do... something... I don’t even know where to go from here...
All I can say is; best first contact ever!
//End Log
“Sir, I would ask that you get down here now! She’s getting aggressive and we really don’t want to hurt her.” The sounds of medical equipment falling over could be heard over the intercom.
“Alright, hang tight. I’m on my way.” The captain turned to the spartan and his second in command. “Zerom, Dior, with me.” The three of them quickly made their way to the infirmary where sounds of a struggle could be heard within.
The doors automatically slid open with a hiss as the three officers walked in. The captain had to duck as a metal tray was flung at him, the spartan behind him nonchalantly grabbed the flying tray with lightning reflexes before dropping it to the deck. Next to one of the beds was the blue pegasus standing on her back legs and wielding an IV stand like a spear, keeping the medical staff at bay.
“As you can see captain, we have a bit of a situation on our hands.” The medical officer pointed to the irate pegasus.
“Yeah I can see that. Has anyone been hurt?"
"No sir."
"Have you managed to communicate with her?”
“Not yet. Tommy is working on a translation algorithm.”
“Tommy!” The captain called out, ignoring the angry pegasus.
“Yes sir?”
“Have you made any progress on her language?”
“Quite a bit actually. I have been able to identify quite a few recurring phrases. You will also be happy to know that the local language appears to use a similar Germanic root system, much like that of English and German on Earth. While it isn't perfect, it does give me somewhere to start. Speaking of which, how's your German?”
The captain rolled his eyes “Terrible. How long until you can give me something to use?”
“Ten minutes.”
“Really?”
“It will be rough, but it’s the best I can do captain.”
“That’s fine. I’ll try to calm her down in the meantime.”
The captain then turned his attention back to the pegasus. "Kannst du mich verstehen?" She just looked at him with a confused look. "Well it was worth a shot."
While he couldn't easily communicate with her, he could at least try to show her he wasn't a threat. He slowly moved forward and motioned for the medics to back off. He then set his helmet on the deck and slowly moved into a crouch, lowering himself to below her eye level. The pegasus seemed to become confused at his display, but slowly began to relax. A few minutes later Tommy materialized on the medical display.
“Sir, I have a basic translation algorithm for you. Uploading to your com unit.” Captain Ryan slowly grabbed his helmet and slid it on. He depolarized the visor so his face would be visible. The captain then made a motion with one of his hands that went from his mouth, outward toward the pegasus, beckoning her to speak. She seemed to pick up on this and began at a near shout.
“Who the buck are you?! What did you do to me?! Where the buck am I?!” The pegasus shouted to no one in particular. Captain Ryan quickly moved forward, putting his armored body between the irate pegasus and the ships medical officers.
With his hands extended forward had slowly approached further. “My Name is Daniel Ryan and you’re on my ship. You were hurt so we tried to treat your injuries.” He left out that part of him being the one to cause the injuries.
“Oh yeah!? And just what the buck are you even? Some kind of shaved Diamond Dog?”
“Um,I have no clue what a Diamond Dog is. I’m a human, a kind of highly evolved primate.” She seemed to relax a bit but still held her weapon inches from Daniel’s chest plate.
“What is this place?” Her voice seemed to be a bit more relaxed.
“You’re on board a starship. The UNSC Tuscany to be precise. We brought you here when we found you lying unconscious. Tell me, what is your name?”
“R-rainbow Dash. You said starship? So are you, like, aliens?” Rainbow was now much more visibly nervous.
I chuckled. “A pleasure to meet you Mrs. Dash, and to answer your question, in a way, yes.”
Rainbow seemed to be taken aback by this answer. She had all but dropped her makeshift weapon as her face lit up with wonder.
“So you’re tellin’ me that I’m on an alien spaceship?”
“Uhhh, yeah. That about sums it up.”
She then quickly began looking around the room, taking in every detail possible. “So then, why are you guys here?”
“Well, we kinda crashed.”
“You’re telling me that with all this super advanced technology, you crashed?”
Daniel sighed, knowing what was soon coming. “Yeah...”
Rainbow’s lip began to quiver as she dropped her weapon and began laughing on the floor while rolling on her back.
“Hey Rainbow, how about you let my doctors check you out to make sure you aren't really hurt and then I’ll take you to the galley for some food. Then you can ask questions to your heart’s content. Deal?”
She stopped laughing and looked at the captain from the floor.
“Sure. I’d never turn down a free meal.” She then rolled and got back on her hooves before letting the doctors approach.
The medical examination didn't take long, especially since she was now cooperating. It was quickly determined that she had escaped any major injury, but would be very sore for a few days. Soon captain Ryan, commanders Dior and Zerom, along with Rainbow Dash were all heading to the galley. Every crew member the group encountered moved to the side to allow unobstructed passage, as well as to get a look at their alien visitor. There were a handful of murmurs among the passageways all in regards to the strange new guest.
The galley was empty as the four arrived. The rest of the crew were completing damage control assessments or making necessary repairs. Rainbow was quickly overwhelmed as she entered the room, her vision drawn to the massive window that ran along the wall, providing for an excellent view of the nearby mountain range and the city perched atop it.
“Wow, great view of Canterlot from here.”
“Uh, Canterlot?”
“Yeah, it’s the capital of Equestria.”
“So this planet is called Equestria?”
“Nah, just this country. I doubt the griffins or dragons would be happy if we named the entire planet.”
Everyone’s faces paled as she named the other species that were native to the planet. Zerom was the first to speak. “Hey Chef, I’m gonna need a bottle of whiskey. Don’t bother with a glass.”
The captain just looked at him. “Aren't you still on duty?”
“Pffft, not after what I'm about to do. Imma get totally hammered and fall asleep in my rack. Today has been too much of a clusterfuck for me. Have fun you guys.” The commander then got up and grabbed the bottle and walked out of the galley. Commander Dior just sat there, glancing between Rainbow, Daniel, and Canterlot.
“Sir, I’m going to go make sure my boys are ready. Sounds like we got some serious shit to watch out for.”
“Ah, don’t worry. The Princesses wouldn't let any of them hurt anypony.”
“No offense blue, but your princesses don’t reassure me in the slightest.”
“Hey, if they can move the sun and moon then they can take care of a measly dragon.”
Again, the room became deathly silent. “Did you just say ‘move the sun and moon’?” The captain asked.
“Uh, yeah. Why?”
“So you mean to tell me... that these princesses can move celestial bodies at will.”
“Yeah, what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that it defies every law of physics and natural science. If it weren't for the fact that I am talking to a pegasus I wouldn't believe it for a moment. Planets are supposed to orbit the object with the greatest gravitational mass. Stars always have more gravitational mass than planets.”
“What can I say, I guess our planet is just that much more awesome.” The commander just turned and walked out of the galley, leaving Daniel, Rainbow, and Chef in the room. Chef had brought the pegasus a chopped salad, minus the chicken, which she happily ate.
“So Rainbow, any questions you want to ask?”
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Yeah, why are you guys even here?”
“Well, we are here to look for new worlds to colonize.”
“Really? How many humans are there?”
“Last census was around eleven billion.”
“Eleven billion?! There’s only, like, a couple hundred million ponies in the whole world!”
“Yeah, well, our population took a huge hit. It used to be closer to twenty five billion about fifty years ago.”
Rainbow’s face dropped as she realized what Daniel had said. “W-what happened to all those other humans?”
“They died in a very bloody war. Thirteen billion dead over the course of thirty years. It’s a... touchy subject.” Her ears folded back against her head as she looked down at the table.
“Oh, sorry for... ya know, bringing it up.”
“Don’t be, you didn’t know. Anything else?”
“Just one, is there somewhere I could spend the night? I don’t think I want to fly home this late at night on a bad wing.” she said with a yawn.
“Of course. I’ll show you to a room you can use.” The two then got up from their table and walked out of the galley.
It was late at night by then, so most of the passageways were clear, only a few sailors were about. Finally the two made it to the berthing deck. Captain Ryan stopped in front of a door before opening it.
“Here you are.”
Rainbow looked inside before slowly walking in.
“If you need anything else, just tap this yellow button and the ship’s AI will answer, also, I’m just down the hall.”
“Oh, cool. Thanks Daniel.”
“Well, goodnight.” The captain then turned and walked to his cabin. Rainbow poked her head around the door to see where he went. Sure enough, he walked five doors down before walking into his own room. Satisfied, Rainbow walked further into her room before looking to the door to try and figure out how to close it. To her surprise, it closed automatically when she moved far enough away from it.
To her surprise, everything in the room was the perfect size. While she was much shorter than the humans, her all around size was similar to theirs. Her attention was then focused on the bed. She suddenly realized just how tired she really was. It had been a long day for her. She had first gone on weather patrol around Ponyville, then she had lunch with Twilight, then took a nap at Sweet Apple Acres, practiced her stunts for the Wonderbolts, gone to see Fluttershy, then she flew home. But she didn't make it home, instead she got run over by an alien spaceship.
As she lay on the comfy bed, she remembered that last part. They had hit her in midair with a spaceship. While the thought initially made her mad again, she then reminded herself that they had been kind enough to make sure she wasn't hurt. They even gave her dinner and a place to sleep, so they couldn't be all that bad.
Sleep came quickly as she settled under the covers, it came to her easier than others on the Tuscany. Captain Ryan sat awake at his computer, writing his most recent log. There was one thing on his mind that prevented him from sleeping. How was he going to tell the ONI director what happened? Sure, Kyle Burr was a very good friend of his. However, what would happen when this situation was revealed?
Eventually the captain’s fatigued mind caught up with him as sleep forced him into bed. These were all problems he could solve later.
~~~
The sun shone through the tinted window of Daniel’s cabin. It roused him from his slumber before his alarm clock had a chance to go off. He hadn't slept well, the weight of the prior day's events had kept him up most the night. He hoped that the pegasus down the hall had fared better. Thinking little of it, he took the time to shower and change before heading to the galley for some much needed breakfast and tea. He had always been a tea man, never really did care for coffee.
The events from the previous day were consuming the captain's mind. He still needed to report back to ONI by the end of the week. So far no one knew what had befell the Tuscany. As far as the rest of the world was concerned they were still in FTL.
Eventually Rainbow walked in to the galley in search of breakfast. They crew members who were present in the galley paid her little attention, as they all were trying to eat quickly and get back to their daily tasks. Rainbow silently picked up a tray with a bowl of cereal and fruit before sitting across from Daniel.
"Hey dude."
"Morning Rainbow. Sleep well?"
"Yeah."
The captain continued to sip his tea while reading damage reports from across the ship. Most of the damage was easily fixed. However, there was one part that could potentially strand them on the alien world.
"Everything okay? You seem out of it."
Daniel sighed. "Well it seems we are going to be here a while. Something broke in our engines and without it we can't get into deep space. Orbital flights are still doable, but nothing beyond that." He set down the datapad and rubbed his temples.
"A friend of mine might be able to help you. She's really smart, I'm sure she could help."
Thew captain chuckled. "Somehow I doubt she will understand how to re-magnetize a reactor induction coil." Rainbow just stared at him blankly.
"I'm not even going to pretend to know what you just said."
"Don't worry, I don't even know what I said. I was just reciting the report."
Rainbow couldn't help but laugh.
"So tell me Rainbow, what do you do for a living?"
"I'm the weather manager for Ponyville. It's easy really."
"Weather manager? Is that like a meteorologist?"
"Nah, I organize the various weather teams for the Ponyville area. It's our responsibility to make sure the skies stay clear. We also manage and place the storms Cloudsdale sends. Usually takes a week for weather requests to go through."
Daniel was once again at a loss for words. "So you can manipulate the weather?"
"You can't?"
"Fuck no. Whatever the planet wants to do, it does. Nothing we can do about it."
"You can travel in spaceships, but you can't manage your weather? Wow, you guys are weird." Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Hey Daniel,if you guys are going to be here for a while, you might want to learn a bit about Equestria. If you wanted, I could get a few books on Equestria for you."
The captain looked at her in surprise at the odd and sudden. "That'd be great! The guys in astrobiology would love you for it."
"Alright. I'll get the books from Twilight and bring them back." She then got up and took her tray back to the kitchen. Daniel sat with his tea as Rainbow left the galley. She then quickly walked back in. "Uhh, how do I get out?"
Daniel laughed. "Take the ladderwell all the way up. Then go forward until you see a big set of doors marked Airlock."
"Cool, thanks again."
Captain Ryan finished his tea before getting up and heading to the bridge. Upon arrival he was handed more reports and requests from departments across the ship. His primary concern was with engineering. The reports from them were less than stellar. The repairs would take time, which they had plenty of, and materials, which they didn't have.
“Tommy, I want long range radar running around the clock from now on.” The captain ordered.
“Aye sir. Anything in particular we are looking for?”
“Nope, just anything bigger than a bird.”
“You got it.”
Captain Ryan took his reports and settled in his chair. The panoramic windows were heavily polarized, keeping the bridge at a comfortable low light level. Everyone on the bridge was working on something important. Even the scientific labs on board were busy processing data and samples gathered discretely from the area beneath the Tuscany.
It was four hours later that a proximity alarm sounded on the bridge. The alarm signified that something was within half a mile of the ship. While the cloaking field was online, it wouldn't stop someone from just walking through it.
“Tommy, report!”
“Captain, proximity sensors are tracking six new contacts just over the hill to the starboard.”
“What is their heading?”
“Heading one-one-seven point three. On their current course they will pass within one hundred meters of the ship.”
“Alright, stand by. I want to see what they do. Alert me again if they get within two hundred meters.”
“Aye sir.”
The feeling on the bridge became tense as everyone was glued to their displays. The captain and both commanders were standing around the display table, watching the holographic display of the ship and the local topography. Just over the hill on the display, six yellow dots could be seen clumped together slowly moving toward the ship.
“Dior, I want you to get two of your spartans and have them investigate our new contacts. Just grab a sniper and set up on the upper hull. I don’t want anyone leaving the shell. Clear?”
“Yes sir.” Commander Dior said with a salute. The spartan commander turned and walked off the bridge toward the crew quarters for her spartan team.
“Tommy, how far away are they?”
“They are currently two hundred and nineteen meters away, and closing.”
“Alright, sound general quarters. Stand by to bring engines online.”
“Sir, engineering is reporting that engines are inoperable at this time.”
“How long until they can be used?”
“Six hours at the earliest.”
“Damn, well we might have company soon. Any radar contacts?”
“Negative sir. Radar is clear.”
All the captain could hope for was that they remained hidden. He stood at the table, watching the dots slowly approaching the ship. Eventually they stopped on a hill only one hundred and fifty meters off the starboard side.
“Captains, this is Chevron two, all six contacts have stopped on the hilltop to our starboard.”
“I see that, Chevron. Can you see what they are doing?”
“Yes sir, it looks like they are... well... it looks like a picnic.”
“A picnic? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No sir. They just pulled out a quilted blanket and a basket of food.”
“Alright, anything noteworthy?”
“Not yet. I do have eyes on what look like two pegasi, two unicorns, and two normal ponies.”
“Alright, patching through to your feed.” The captain tapped a few buttons on the display, bringing up a screen showing the spartan’s vision through the rifle. The only thing that was recognizable was the blue and rainbow maned pegasus. Commander Zerom seemed to be entranced by the group. Suddenly the horn on the purple unicorn lit up followed by six levitating sandwiches.
“Uhh, captain, you’re seeing this... right?”
“Copy that Chevron, we see it. Tommy! Are sensors picking up anything?”
“Negative sir.”
“Well shit. Keep monitoring them.”
“Aye sir.”
The AI then turned his attention back to monitoring every external sensor the ship had. The six ponies just seemed to be enjoying their picnic, blissfully unaware of the Prowler sitting just a hundred meters away. This went on for about an hour, soon three of the ponies began playing with a ball, happily tossing it between themselves. At one point, and orange pony with a stetson threw the ball hard at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was unable to catch it in time resulting in it flying into the woods at the base of the hill. Dash quickly took off after her prize.
“Sir, new contact bearing three-one-seven.” The AI announced.
“Source?”
“It looks like it’s coming from deeper in the forest. Captain, the incoming object is large, easily twenty feet tall and about twenty five feet long.”
“Holy shit.”
“Sir, contact is now on a rapid intercept course for Rainbow Dash.”
“Bring weapons online. I want a mass driver shot ready”
“Mass driver online and charging. Gunnery wants to know what kind of ammo they should use.”
“A three ton slug will be fine.”
“Aye sir. Mass driver loaded, awaiting target.”
“Very good.” The captain watched the holographic display as the dot representing Rainbow quickly began moving out of the forest as the much larger dot grew closer. Both had only meters left before breaking free of the forest.
“Captain, Chevron two here, the other ponies seem startled by something. Stand by, I can hear something big moving.”
“We got it on scope down here Chevron two, continue to monitor and stand by to engage possible hostile.”
“Daniel, are you sure about this? It’s bad enough that we broke first contact protocol. Using lethal force in a foreign territory could be a sign of aggression. Not to mention how illegal this could be."
“And tell me commander, would you just sit back and let them possibly die when you could clearly do something to stop it?”
Commander Zerom paused for a moment before smiling. “Can’t say I would.”
“Consider this a diplomatic relations building exercise.Tommy, acquire target and prepare to fire.”
“Aye sir. Target will be exposed in fifteen seconds.”
“Captain, Chevron two, the two unicorns on the hill are doing something. All I can see is their horns lit up.”
“Keep watching. Tommy?”
“Targets have exited the woods. Ten seconds until visual contact. Be advised, engaging with the mass driver will disrupt our optical cloak.”
“Understood.”
Soon Rainbow Dash was visible on the top of the hill, followed closely by what looked like another mythological beast with nine heads. All six ponies quickly abandoned their picnic and began to flee from the monster.
“Sir, target acquired.”
“What the fuck is that thing?” Commander Zerom shouted.
“Who cares, we're about to kill it.”
"Captain! The purple unicorn is doing something!" Chevron two nearly shouted into his mic.
Sure enough, the unicorn's horn was glowing brightly in a purple aura. As the glow around the horn increased, a similar glow seemed to engulf the rampaging monster. Slowly the entire beast began to levitate off the ground. Even the monster had a look of sheer confusion on each of its nine faces. A blinding flash and two seconds later, the creature was gone. All that remained were the six ponies. Captain Ryan couldn't believe what had just happened. There he was, about to give the order to fire, when a magical unicorn made his target vanish into thin air.
“Alright, what the fuck was that thing?” The captain finally asked.
“If we are continuing with the mythological theme, then it looked like a hydra.” The AI responded calmly.
“Wow. First we find sentient equines, then unicorns, then griffins and dragon, and now hydras. I’m starting to get a bit nervous about being here."
"I would agree, this planet is getting stranger by the minute."
"Hearing that from an AI is really concerning. Anyway, is that thing on sensors?"
'No sir. It is out of sensor range."
"Alright. Secure from general quarters. Bring the mass driver offline."
"Aye sir."
A series of mechanical sounds resonated above the bridge as the twin mass drivers were powered down and eventually stored in bays inside the hull. There was one thing the captain didn't take into account; the bay doors closing were much louder in atmosphere than in space. All eyes turned to the ceiling as twin clangs signaled the bay doors had closed. Captain Ryan immediately turned his attention back to the group of ponies, who seemed to have also heard the loud noise. The group began to slowly make their way down the hill and toward the Tuscany.
“Sir, the group is now moving on our location. They will be at the cloaking barrier in twenty seconds.”
“Oh, great.” The captain then walked up to the bridge window. Just off the starboard hull, six ponies could be seen slowly walking toward the ship.
“Shall I roll out the red carpet, captain?” Tommy said jokingly.
“Might as well. They’re about to find us anyway." He sighed and leaned against the display table. "Alright, I’m going down to the armory and then to the surface. I’ll be the one to greet them when they get here. Chevron two, come on inside.”
“Copy that, packing up.” The spartan replied.
“I don’t need to remind you just how dangerous it would be to confront them alone, so I won’t.” Tommy added.
“Thanks Tommy, you know just how to make me feel better.” With one last glimpse, Daniel saw the ponies disappear from sight as the ship’s wing obscured his vision. They were close, and weren't going to leave until they had their answers. With a heavy sigh, the captain left the bridge and headed to the armory. Today had just become much more complicated and potentially dangerous.
"Please tell me you aren't taking any weapons."
"Only my knife. Besides, after what that unicorn did to that hydra I doubt a rifle would do me any good."
"This is true. Just, be careful captain."
"Wow Tommy, you sound illegitimately concerned for my safety."
"Surely you remember the three laws of robotics?"
"Of course." The captain then turned to walk out the bridge. "Just, keep an eye on them."
"Of course sir. Good luck."
"Don't need it. I make my own."
The captain was nervous. He was about to confront an alien that appeared to have the capability to bend the natural world to its will. He knew that if the unicorn wanted to kill him, there wouldn't be a lot he could do to stop it. He doubted his armor would keep him protected for long.
He stood at the ramp of the hanger, nervously eyeing the release switch. Once he pressed the green button, the ramp would descend, and only the optical barrier would separate him from the world's inhabitants. As a precaution, a security team had assembled in the hanger, just in case something went horribly wrong. Daniel took a deep breath before sliding his helmet on and hitting the release button. Slowly, the locks holding the ramp in place were released and the massive metal platform descended to the planet's surface. As the ramp lowered he immediately spotted the six ponies all waiting just under the bow of his ship. They were waiting for him, and he was afraid.
But he was an ODST, he could handle anything the universe threw at him. The question in his mind was simple; could he really handle magical colorful ponies?