BEEEP! BEEEP! BEEEP!
The alarms of the starfighter blared as a computer sparked, flashing for a moment. The starfighter’s pilot, a biped creature with messy black hair, brought away his hand from the computer before the heat could singe him. “Kriff!” the pilot cursed. “Not now!”
Everything was going wrong for the pilot. In just hours, he had been sent off of his original course and lost in whatever region of space he was in. The pilot was lost, plain and simple, and his craft had been malfunctioning since he arrived. First it had been navigation, then the communications went down, and now the stabilizers were going haywire.
The universe really had a horrible sense of humor.
Grabbing the controls with both hands, the pilot tried to regain control of his craft. He flexed the small appendages on his hands, his fingers, around and guided himself through the space he traveled. Sadly, it lasted only for a second before the starfighter suddenly shook before it was drifting.
The pilot’s brown eyes widen with fear as he recognized what was happening: He was being pulled by something.
“Oh that’s not good,” he said, turning to the source of the pull.
The said source was a planet, blue water and green landmasses. It had been the same planet that the pilot first noticed before his vessel began to malfunction. Now, the pilot was caught by its gravity and now, the planet was becoming larger and larger. He flexed the small appendages on his hands, his fingers, just as his starfighter entered the planet’s atmosphere.
As the starfighter fell, its shields managed to protect it, but barely. The reentry heated the metal of his starfighter and the pilot felt it. Sweat was coming off his furless body and soaking the black and red uniform covering him. His vessel constantly shaking in the vigorous turbulence did not help either. It was almost as if it was falling apart and that would be the case soon. The pilot would need to get through this ordeal alive or die trying.
“Do or do not, there is no try,” he suddenly remembered, the words bringing a small hint of comfort.
Thinking back to his training, the pilot closed his eyes. He, then, followed the simple routines he learned all those years: breathing, clearing the mind of all distractions, and letting his power guide him.
The building heat no longer bothered the pilot, in fact did not felt like a burn at all. Rather, it felt like a small fire that was warming his body, not the raging inferno surrounding his. It was almost as if the heat was being absorbed into the pilot’s body.
Whatever was going on, it allowed the pilot to survive the atmosphere. The red heat of reentry disappeared like a mist and no longer had to deal with that again. Unfortunately, the starfighter was still falling further and further to the planet’s surface.
The pilot could feel his craft plummeting through the air and vaporizing any passing clouds. Already, he could see a vast forest from the window of his cockpit. The pilot tried to remain calm and focused, controlling his starfighter to best of his abilities. He believed he still had time to avoid a crash-landing.
Then, the pilot and his vessel met the forest.
Princess Celestia’s ear perked up and she whirled her head from her steaming cup of tea. Her eyes, once calm as she began enjoying her daily teatime, were now wide with alarm. Something was off, very off from the usual peace and calm the princess felt. However, there was nothing in the room as Celestia soon found out when she scanned the throne room.
“Your highness?” a voice spoke.
Celestia turned to the two guards positioned at the throne room’s double doors, their spears at ready. Both of them were concerned for their princess, who gave them a soft glance. “I am fine, thank you,” she told them in a warm tone. “If you may excuse me, I would like to be alone.”
One guard confusedly glanced at the other, who just shrugged before trotting away. The former followed the latter out of the throne room and the doors quietly closed behind the pair.
Finding herself alone, the seriousness returned to Celestia’s face. She levitated her tea onto the small stand near her throne and began pondering about the presence she felt. It was a pricking sensation at the back of her mind, something different from the magical aura she was used to. That sensation, it was so familiar, one she had not felt since…
Celestia shooed that thought away. Now was not the time to be thinking of such things. Even if it was similar to that, this presence came from a different source. Besides, there was another presence, something else. Something dark.
At that point, doors swung open and entering the throne room was Princess Luna. Alarm spread across her face, Luna urgently began, “Sister, we…”
“I know, Luna. I felt it, too” Celestia interjected, stepping down from her throne. “Do you know what it is?”
“No, sister, but we know that it comes from the Everfree Forest,” Luna replied. “We shall dispatch the royal guard to investigate.”
“It will be hours before they make it,” she said, walking towards one of the stained-glass windows.
The night princess walked up beside her sister. “Then, what do you suggest we do?”
Celestia paused a moment to ponder before she finally answered, “We’ll send the Elements of Harmony.”
Luna’s eyes widen. “But sister, we can’t just send the Elements on this mission. It could be dangerous.”
“They live much closer to the Everfree Forest and are more than capable to protect themselves. They can at least make sure that nopony else enters before the royal guard arrives,” said the older alicorn. “They may even find something that can help us understand just what we are dealing with.”
Luna went silent as she thought about her sister’s words. “Very well. I shall prepare the guards for departure,” she finally spoke. She was about to leave when she added with concern, “And tell the Elements to take care.”
“I trust my student and her friends very much, sister. They will be fine,” Celestia assured with a smile.
The concern on her sister’s face never went away as she left the throne room. Celestia’s own concern stirred forth as she doubted her own words. “Please be safe, Twilight,” Celestia whispered.