//------------------------------// // Welcome to Ponyville, Kapitan. // Story: And they speak English? // by Imperaxum //------------------------------// "Well, they didn't kill us." - Kapitan Arnhem Zorner "Sir, ETA five minutes to the, er, village, we have on our maps." The Kapitan grunted as he put away his data-pad, and popped open a mirror to start looking over his grey over dark blue Kaiserliche Marine uniform. Utilitarian and rather out-of place, but hopefully easy to distinguish from the rest of the Germans, with their green Klasse IV Forest Camouflage. The last thing he wanted was an alien leader to approach a taller or bigger comrade of his, thinking the strongest was the one in charge of the humans. He spared a last glance at the data-pad, trying to recall the various facets of Greek Mythology that he had frantically pulled up after their encounter with the "manticore". And the pegasus, as the texts told him was the blue equine. A horribly deformed one, according to the "traditional" pictures, but unmistakably a pegasus. Teske and Biegel were insistent that he play the leader role - as long as they didn't slaughter everyone with some ungodly alien weapon first. They crested a hill, and the crewman driving the Dingo suddenly jolted upright, and pointed out the window. Fearing another monster, Zorner reached for his pistol as he followed the outstretched finger's aim to whatever lay ahead. A second of comprehension later, he hurriedly holstered his weapon and instead grabbed at his radio. "All units! Stop and pull over, alternate sides, dismount!" he ordered, and jumped out of the vehicle the second it lurched to a halt at the side of the road. All eyes gazed at the pink bubble before them. Down the road, about five-hundred feet away, was the village, clearly visible despite the semi-translucent, well, shield, improbably covering the entire town in a huge sphere. Of more consequence were the group of Equines that stood just in front of the shield, on the road they were travelling on. "Looks like a leader, Herr Kapitan." DeWitz observed through his binoculars. "Big white one there, looks like it's taller than us. Call it a half a meter or so." "Numbers?" "Eh, looks like nine of the normal ones besides the leader. I think three of them have armor, sir." "Armor? Elaborate." Zorner ordered with a hint of worry in his voice. Crewmen around him nervously shifted their weapons about. "Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Zorner, that's honest-to-Gott plate armor they're wearing." DeWitz said, shaking his head in disbelief at his own words. "Plate armor . . ." "Got it. Alright, Marinesoldaten, DeWitz, on me. Everyone else, stay with the vehicles." Zorner commanded, starting forward before his mind had a chance to protest the move. "Oh," he said, snapping to a halt and whirling around to face Strasser, who had remained at the side of his Dingo. ",record this so I can get a Ritterkreuz out of this." Strasser reached into the vehicle and activated the dash-mounted video camera, before stepping back and muttering something about "that's not how that award works". Zorner continued down the slightly loose slope, repeating the Fatherland's Creed over and over in his head. In wearing this Cross, I accept the responisiblity of service to the Fatherland and fealty to its people. Duty will sustain me, and duty will guide me wherever my service takes me. I am the sword and the shield of Germany and I thus swear to uphold it's sacred history and take whatever action is necessary to do so. I belong, body and soul to my country, and nothing, nothing can relieve me of that duty save death. Zorner glanced over to his Marine Oberst, and they locked eyes. Body and soul, till death. For the Fatherland., DeWitz mouthed, gripping his Iron Cross tightly with one hand. ~ "You may want to get a little ahead of your companions, Herr Kapitan." Strasser noted in the radio as they neared the group of aliens. "So if they're hostile, they only kill me - got it." Zorner replied dryly, but nevertheless complying with the tip. "Front." DeWitz whispered to his Kapitan, succeeding in snapping his gaze back on target. This was it. He, Arnhem Zorner, was going to be the first human to meet another form of sentient life in the universe. Gott, what a mixed blessing if there ever was one. Why him? He tried to snap out of it, the last few meters from what he figured was a polite distance, but gave in to his thoughts one last time before, as he would imagined, he would be very dead or very busy. He wasn't trained for this. Growing up in the trade routes had given him some rudimentary experience with space travel. The Frankfurt Space Academy had drilled he and his fellow cadets ruthlessly in the art of vacuum combat - and it was exactly that, an art. How to deal with hull breaches, knowing your engines inside and out, having every possible contingency and possible disaster ready to meet a swift response. In short, he was trained to utilise an extremely complicated machine in the most lethal environment known to man to kill others. Sure, they had passed out the handbooks and the ROE's had the "extra terrestrially sentience" section, but no one took those seriously, least of all him. No, when he had a spare moment he was reading up on some new American tactic or better ways of keeping his crew's morale up - not something that basically reiterated "don't kill them on first sight and good luck". Still . . . Zorner barely suppressed a smile as the sheer enormity of the situation finally occurred to him. Taking a deep breath - possibly his last - he stepped up to the white Equine as he reviewed his prepared speech one last time . . . Crap. How did it begin again? He could only stare helplessly at the alien before him as painfully awkward seconds ticked by. He couldn't help but notice the stern-looking Equines, presumably guards, who stood rigidly in their gleaming armor, spears somehow gripped in their hooves. Finally, it seemed the alien could take it no longer. "Do you speak Equestrian?" a distinctively female voice inquired, to his surprise, from one of the the other, shorter Equines standing behind their leader, who had walked out a little ways. Purple. A technicolor array of aliens stood before him, but purple. Some odd take on a unicorn, according to his mythology texts, if that horn was anything to tell. Which was much to short for the thing to conceivably employ it in stabbing things, as mythological (and biblical) unicorns were often portrayed doing. That either meant it was for some other purpose. was decorational, or that they had developed some less crude way of killing. Oh yeah, she did speak. And thus, he started the first conversation in humanity's history with another sentient race . . . "We don't call it that, but I can understand you.." he replied, his voice flat and conveying far less emotion than he felt. The purple one's face split into an impossibly wide grin, as he became aware she was visibly bouncing a little in sheer excitement, already large-eyes seeming to take every feature of his self in. He waited for the leader to reprimand the purple one, or at least take some control, but all it had was a ghost of a smile. "I have so many questions!" the purple one suddenly exclaimed, then sat back on her haunches, as if to ponder what to open with. Zorner responded with a smile, and turned back to DeWitz and company, giving a curt nod that spoke volumes of "They haven't killed me! (yet)". "I know! Where are from? No, who are you? What's your name? What do you do? What are you wearing? Why are you here? I . . . I . . ." Another voice cut in, and Zorner recognized a very-amused DeWitz, walking up. "Hamburg, Germany, human, Josef Dewitz, Marinesoldaten, Klasse IV Forest Pattern camouflage and Mark III Light Armor, and I'm just following this guy." he said in one breath, pointing at Zorner at the last answer. If the unicorn showed any surprise, she did a remarkable job of hiding it. Instead, she stuck out a hand hoof to the two humans. "Well, hello Mr. DeWitz. I'm Twilight Sparkle." The Oberst knelt down to shake her hoof, and Zorner turned his gaze to the bemused leader. "I am Korvetten Kapitan Arnhem Zorner of the Kaiserliche Marine. In the name of the Kaiser and the Fourth Reich, I extend an olive branch of peace and friendshi- by the way, I didn't write this." he finished, a look of embarrassment breaking through his artificially stern demeanor. The Equine stifled a laugh. "And I am Princess Celestia. Well met, 'human'." She had a much more . . . mature, voice, that was sure. "Likewise. On the behalf of my country, Imperial Germany, I hope that you are as eager to learn about us as we are to you." Celestia glanced at the eager Twilight, and chuckled. "Oh yes, you could say that." "So, will we just . . ." "Care to discuss this inside?" she asked, tilting her head towards the shield. Zorner took a visible breath, and nodded. "Of course." DeWitz reached for his radio, and handed it to Zorner. "Mien Kapitan." To the soldier: "Thanks." To the radio: "We're alive, and talking. Contact is a success, as far as I'm concerned." Twilight looked at the device oddly, and opened her mouth before Celestia quieted her with a glance. She looked rather down, until her leader reassured her with a gentle smile and nod to the human. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions." Zorner observed. The purple unicorn bobbed her head up and down frantically. "Well, we have plenty of time."