//------------------------------//
// First Contact 
// Story: It Must be Tuesday 
// by Explodium 
//------------------------------//

	The Everfree was an unwelcoming place at night; many nasty creatures lurked in the dark, stalking anypony foolish enough to wander into their hunting grounds. The weather happened completely on its own, as did the changing of seasons, much to the befuddlement of all. Everypony was advised to stay clear of the wretched place, and many of them complied. In most cases, ponies didn’t even need to be told. The sharp contrast between its feral, gnarled trees and the rolling picturesque plains of the Ponyville countryside and the tall, proud trees of the Whitetail Wood was staggering. Yet even with all of the dark rumors surrounding it, time and time again, some ponies found a reason to go cantering into its trees. 

A column of ponies were trotting down the road at a brisk pace. Luna took the lead, with everypony else trailing behind. The well-maintained road quickly gave way to a much neglected trail which ran through the forest. The fillies’ hoofprints were quickly lost to the muck and the shadows. Luna’s moon was obscured by the thick canopy above, a few stray beams poked through the gaps, illuminating the forest floor below. Other than the idle chatter being exchanged by everypony present, the forest appeared lifeless and unnaturally silent. No bushes rustling, no subtle whisper of the wind blowing through the trees, no frogs croaking, no snarls of any predators lurking out of sight, not even an errant cricket was chirping… nothing.

They had a unanimous agreement; they felt it would be worth checking if the fillies simply opted to take a late night trip to the zebra herbalist, as unlikely as it seemed, before heading for the crash site. It was common knowledge amongst themselves that the young fillies had less than stellar judgement. Zecora was rather amicable towards the crusaders if they remembered correctly, Apple Bloom at least. Better check now rather than fruitlessly combing the dense forest for hours, then finding out after the fact, they decided.

“S-Something… isn’t right…” said Fluttershy, her pink mane swishing about, surveying the scenery as it rolled by, “Even in the Everfree Forest, the nocturnal animals are livelier than this. Oh I hope nothing bad happened to them…”

“I do say that I would agree with you on that, darling,” added Rarity, “Yet the muck is still as hard on the eyes as ever…do you have any idea how hard it is to wash mud out of a coat as white as mine?”

“Quit yer fussin’ Rare,” said Applejack, “We got ourselves some troublemakin’ sisters ta find.”

“Fluttershy is right though,” said Twilight, before Rarity could retort, “We’ve been out here plenty of times, and it’s never this quiet!” she sighed, “Yet I’m still getting that strange sense of foreboding when I’m walking though this place…”

“And that feelin’ that somethin’s a watchin’ you…” added Applejack.

“And you keep seeing something out of the corner of your eye,” said Rainbow.

“Yes, exactly that,” continued Twilight, “It’s almost as if the forest is…hushed. It doesn’t feel right at all.”

“Worry not, my ponies, as long as I am with you, nothing ill shall befall you!” said Luna.

Immediately Rainbow was in her face, much to the shock of her peers, “Are you saying that we can’t handle ourselves?”

Twilight couldn’t suppress a grimace. Immediately she darted forward and shoved her hoof into Rainbow’s mouth, shooting a sheepish grin at the Night Princess, “What she means to say is: ‘Although we can handle ourselves, we don’t mind the reassurance,’” she shot Rainbow a glare, “Right Rainbow?”

Twilight withdrew the hoof from Rainbow’s mouth, the cyan mare nervously laughed, “Er…yeah. What she said.”

Luna merely giggled.

“Oooh! Ooh! watch out for the Poison Joke!” exclaimed Pinkie, fervently hopping and pointing at a patch of the familiar blue flowers…which were at least fifteen feet off of the path. Everypony stopped and turned their heads towards the troublemaking flora, well out of the way. Grimaces came across their faces when a brief recollection of what happened the last time they blundered through one of those patches. 

Rainbow suppressed a laugh, “Good to know.”

It took Twilight a moment to realize that Luna was shooting her a curious look, a single brow raised. Twilight rubbed her head with her hoof, “Er…it’s a long story.”

Apparently satisfied with that answer, the Princess turned away and continued down the trail.

“So, when we find these aliens, what do you think they are going to be like?” said Rainbow, trotting along with a spring in her step,  her expression thoughtful, “Wonder if they have wings…Think that they are fast flyers?” she let the question hang, looking to her companions for an answer. When nopony replied, she shrugged with derision, “Ah, who am I kidding, of course not. Nopony is faster than me!”

“I hope they like parties!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, as she, unsurprisingly, hopped along, “Imagine! I’ve never thrown a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for an alien before and, come to think of it, I’ve never thrown a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party either!” an excited gasp, “I’ll be the first pony to have thrown a ‘Welcome to Equis’ party EVER!” she was giddy with excitement, “Do you girls wonder what planet they’re from? Marecury? Saddleurn? Urplot? Oh I don’t know what I should write on the banner!”

“Really Pinkie Pie?” said Rainbow, “We’re gonna meet real live aliens and the only thing you can think about is the party?”

“Butthepartyisthemostimportantpart!” spluttered Pinkie.

“I wonder what level of technology they have…” thought Twilight out loud, her keen mind alight with possibilities, “This sort of occurrence is unprecedented! Imagine the things we could learn!” she said excitedly. She always loved watching the sky at night, and always wondered what it would be like to travel through space as if it were a vast ocean, visit distant stars, and explore strange new worlds.

“You would think about that, wouldn’t you Twilight?” said Rainbow, throwing the mare a smirk, before tapping her own chin with her hoof, “Hm…you know what? I wonder if they have zappers…”

“I wouldn’t get my hopes up though,” interrupted Twilight, “Even if we do see…actual aliens, I have a feeling that their biology is completely incompatible with our planet’s biosphere.”

Everypony exchanged perplexed looks, “What is that supposed to mean?” said Rainbow.

Twilight sighed, “That means that their bodies aren’t adapted to survive on our planet; our environment could very well be hostile to them. The odds of a species coming from a planet with a completely identical atmosphere…temperature, gravity, etcetera, are completely astronomical.”

More stares.

Twilight stomped irritably, “It means that there probably won’t be…” she swallowed, “Live aliens!”

Her friends took a moment to let that last statement sink in. “Oh, those poor dears…” whimpered Fluttershy, her head hung low in sadness, “That sounds simply awful.”

“I’ll say,” said Applejack, “’sides, that crash was mighty strong. I don’t think nopony could survive somethin’ like that. I saw how it tore the top of the mountain clean off.”

Pinkie Pie seemed to be visibly deflating at the fact that she might not be throwing a party for aliens anytime soon, while Rainbow simply sulked.

“Oh don’t be such a killjoy,” Rainbow announced, “If anything, I’d bet that they have…er…” she tapped her head with her hoof, “Env…enviro….environmental suits! That’s the word! To survive on our planet!”

Pinkie Pie instantly perked back up, “Of course! Space ponies have gotta be in space with their spacesuits! How could I forget? Oh I feel like such a silly filly! Ponies from space! Space space space…ohhhh that’s such a fun thing to say! Space…parties…in space!” she started rambling on about space and her plans for a party at an increasingly rapid tempo, much to the chagrin of her friends.

“Oh don’t rely too much on the old sci-fi clichés, girls,” said Twilight, “One thing that always annoyed me about those stories is how the aliens always look like…well, ponies. You think that writers could be a little more creative.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Rainbow.

“Well, if they were adapted to survive in a completely different environment, they would have a drastically different physiology then ours,” continued Twilight, “I mean, in Captain Starlight, issues number 3, 6, 11, 18…” she listed off a impressive number of issues from memory, much to the amusement of her friends, “…and 132 every single time the aliens just looked like ponies with say…oddly colored coats, multiple horns, strange head crests, maybe an extra tail…” she paused for breath, “Even series like Daring Do are vulnerable to such stereotypes, I mean, like in Mystery of the Black Obelisk, they…” she trailed off, and met her friends stares, “What?”

Applejack snorted, “Oh brother…”

Rainbow could barely hold back giggles, “Twilight, you are such an egghead!”

Twilight huffed indignantly, “I’m just telling it as it is!”

“Really darling,” said Rarity, “You need to go outside more.”

“I’m outside right now!” Twilight huffed, “I do plenty of things…outside!”

“I have an idea! Let’s go to space!” said Pinkie Pie. She spastically hopped amongst her companions before settling near Luna, “Hey Luna, you’ve been in space before! Is it nice in space? Huh huh huh?”

Luna shifted uncomfortably on her hooves at the question whilst everypony else blanched at the sheer insensitivity of the topic.

“Pinkie!” Rarity chastised, “That is simply rude!”

Rainbow glanced at Twilight, “What if you’re wrong and they do look like ponies?”

Twilight scratched her head with her hoof, “Well…”

Instantly Pinkie Pie was in Rainbow’s face, “But what if Twilight’s right?” she said, “What if… what if… they have big slimy bodies and twenty big googly eyes and hop around on one leg? What if they eat ponies? What if they are those kooky aliens in which fun is a punishable offense?!” she was nearly frantic as she said that, the idea that anypony would not like having fun caused many weird things to go through her head. Her eyes went wider, “What if they have-…”

“For the last time Pinkie,” Rainbow cut her off, “They don’t have bendy straws!”

Everypony shared a giggle. Pinkie made an uncharacteristically irritated ‘hmph’ before immediately returning to her usual bubbly self. 

As the laughter died down, they continued down the path. Twilight shot a smile over her shoulder at the eccentric pink mare. No matter the situation, Pinkie was always able to get her to smile. 

Just then, Twilight thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze drifted off to the side; the grin adorning her features melted away at the sight of a dark, unknown shape lurking off the path. Twilight stopped in her tracks; she practically did not notice when the nearest pony behind her bumped into her.

Twilight squinted, trying to make out its features; she wasn’t sure if it was an oddly shaped tree of some sort of creature. If it was an animal, she didn’t know what it was. It was tall and it looked like it stood upright - that she could tell, only the more she stared, the more of a strange sense of foreboding washed over her. It gave a bad feeling; a shiver traveled down her spine the more she stared, her heart began thumping at a faster pace. Her eyes narrowed, Twilight took a single step towards it and blinked once; the figure was gone.

“Twilight? You alright sugarcube?” asked Applejack, walking to her side, stepping over a fallen branch.

Twilight glanced towards her friends, “Did anypony see something just now, over there?” she pointed to the spot where the unknown figure was moments before.

Her friends all crowded to her side and stared at the indicated area. They all shared a moment of silence. 

“I don’t see anything,” replied Rainbow.

A brief chorus of agreements came from the rest of the ponies. Twilight sighed and bowed her head. “Must have just been my imagination,” Twilight declared.

“Oh, don’t feel bad, darling,” chimed Rarity, patting Twilight on the shoulder, “This dreadful forest is causing us all to become jumpy.”

“Yeah, I-I suppose you’re right” Twilight shuddered, pawing at the ground nervously. Twisting her hooves into the dirt, she quietly sighed before looking back to the others “We should probably get…get..” 

Right there.

Staring directly at her from the shrouded darkness, the figure reappeared. Twilight’s spine went ice cold as hot blood began to sink down her legs; it was there and it knew she was conscious of its obscure existence. Her eyes got wider as her pupils dilated. “T-There!! There it is again!” she exclaimed, triggering a yelp from Fluttershy and everyone else to cast a sharp glace at her viewpoint.

Nothing. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Only a blanket of shadow took its place, as it always appeared to have been.

Luna let out a silent gasp. Her eyes were concentrated into that distinct spot; a single bead of sweat found its path down her neck, yet she remained silent.

Pinkie focused into the shadows, humming with her inspection as she slowly edged closer. Looking back to Twilight quizzically, she raised an eyebrow “Are you going loco in the coco, Twilight?” she asked, tilting her head. “Not even my Pinkie Sense is twitching! And you knoooow there’s trouble when I get all twitchy twitchy!”

Rainbow dubiously scanned the spot from above the group before shaking her head and glancing back down at Twilight. “Pinkie’s right, Twi. Come on! I still don’t-“

“Ah… ah saw it too, Dash.” Applejack cut her off, swallowing while her cyan friend averted her gaze to her. A hostile sensation ran to the ends of her nerves, forcing her to step backwards. Her pulse began to increase as she felt ice forming inside her gut, wearing expression which matched that of Twilight’s.

“As did I,” Luna stated.

“M-Me too,” squeaked Fluttershy.

Twilight’s head quickly snapped around towards the three of them. She rapidly looked between the farmpony, caretaker, and the Princess.

Twilight’s face paled, “You did?” she said, her mouth dry as her knees started shaking, breaking the silence. 

Fluttershy merely nodded, the timid mare’s face hidden behind her long bangs. Her body was quivering.

“Sure did,” said Applejack, pawing at the ground nervously, “Had a bit o’ an uneasy feelin’…” It was obvious that she was a little more than uneasy; anypony could see that the pony’s face was glistening with sweat, and her eyes darting back and forth.

“Was it sort of a tall thin figure?” said Luna, stepping up to Twilight, keeping her composure, “Looked like it could have been walking on two legs?”

A feeling of dread fell into Twilight’s stomach. Twilight wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing that someone was seeing the same thing as her. Was there something lurking nearby? Something potentially dangerous? Following recent events, the various hypotheses that were running through her head were…unpleasant for lack of better words. The added fact that several young fillies were in the forest at this time did not make her feel any better.

“Yes,” peeped Twilight.

Immediately Rainbow was at her side. She gently placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “Are you feeling alright, Twi?” Rainbow stared at her, before redirecting her gaze at Applejack. The orange mare seemed oddly quiet, her large green irises shrunken out of worry. “AJ? Fluttershy?”

Pinkie tapped herself on the forehead as the cyan mare looked between the two ponies before grinning, “Well, we all know what to do when things get scary, right?” her eyes darted between everypony, “I know how to make those shivers go away!” she tilted her head back and inhaled loudly, ready to burst into song.

“Not now, Pinkie!” said everypony in unison.

The party pony wasn’t put off at all; she merely grinned and shrugged, “Okie dokie lokie!”

Rainbow gave her farmpony friend a concerned look, “Something wrong?”

Applejack stared at Rainbow, then back into the forest, “Nothin’…just a…feelin’…” much like Twilight, the unknown shape sent a shiver down her spine. The Apple sense doesn’t lie, there was something lurking in the forest, and her sister was out here. It was her job as a big sister to keep little Apple Bloom safe.

Rainbow’s eyes darted between Applejack and Fluttershy, “What do you think it was? Some kind of animal?”

Pinkie popped up in the shy pegasus’s face, “Was it an alien?”

“Pinkie!” Rainbow hissed as the other mare leapt back in surprise from the sudden invasion of personal space. Rainbow shoved the party pony away, giving Fluttershy room to breathe.

Fluttershy calmed down and thought for a moment before speaking, “I-If it was a creature…” she trailed off before shaking her head, “… it wasn’t a creature I’m familiar with… it makes me nervous…” she said quietly, her voice disappearing into a soft whimper.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, totally unsurprised by the timid mare’s expected unease before turning back to Twilight, “So Twi? You got anything?”

But she didn’t respond. The purple unicorn was slightly catatonic as she continued to stare into the darkness, her expression unreadable, and her irises shrunken. Seeing dark shapes in her peripheral vision was commonplace in the Everfree, but she was certain this was much worse than that. She could recall pretty much the entirety of the Beastly Bestiary of the Everfree Forest from memory, but she was currently at a loss…

“Twi?” Rainbow gently nudged her.

Shaken from her stupor, Twilight had a quick idea. A faint chiming sound ran through the air as Twilight’s horn lit up with a faint violet glow. Suddenly, a cone of bright light shone from it, causing everypony to gasp in surprise at the sudden brightness, and shakily directed the magic illumination to the spot the dark figure stood moments before. There was nothing there, not even an oddly-shaped tree, Twilight swallowed loudly. The lack of any figure present did little to sedate her unease. Her heart continued to race as a stray bead of sweat worked its way down her forehead. Not wanting to stick around any longer than she had to, Twilight opted to muster up her courage.  “We need to keep moving,” she said. Before dimming her horn, Twilight shot one more look towards the spot the shape had appeared; there was still nothing there.

Everypony muttered an affirmative before they continued on.

“I still think the forest is simply making you uneasy, darling,” said Rarity.

“I’m not so sure…” murmured Twilight, “I was certain I saw something…”

Although Princess had not spoken, she was inclined to agree with her sister’s protégé. One of the perks of having an affinity for nighttime and shadows was keener night vision than most ponies, and she was able to get a much more defined picture of the creature in the shadows. Unlike the rest of the ponies, she could clearly make out what looked like claws tipping several digits on pale fingers, and what looked like horrid glistening eyes, but it was gone before she could come to any conclusions.

Who knows, maybe lady Rarity was right and it was just a figment of their overactive imaginations? If it wasn’t…well…the supportive weight of the Elements hanging from her side was reassuring, as well as her own natural magic. The royal sisters rarely needed to use their power for actual combat, but even so, no beasts could stand against her or her sister on the battlefield.

“It has been ages since I have explored this wood,” said Luna conversationally, trying to keep her worry from her voice, “Is the zebra herbalist not far?”

Twilight glanced at her, “Yes, it should just be…ah here we are.”

Sure enough, their path opened into a clearing in the forest. In the dead center stood a much larger tree, a house built into it not so different from the Ponyville library. It looked just as it always has, at first glance somewhat creepy and unwelcoming, yet offset by the fact that everypony knew that the structure’s resident was kind, yet simply had an exotic taste in decorations. Although the blinds on the windows were drawn shut, the light shining behind it gave them that the herbalist was up and about. Yet unfortunately, there did not appear to be any fresh filly tracks.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight took the lead and trotted confidently up to the front door. She cleared the distance and raised her hoof to knock, her hoof inched closer to the door.

“Be gone, foul creatures, out of sight! You will not come here on this night!” a voice angrily shouted from the other side of the door.

Twilight jumped from the sudden outburst, “Um, Zecora? It’s me, Twilight, can we come in?”

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door. Twilight could hear the herbalist say a stream of phrases in her native Zebrican tongue before the latch on the door was undone and the door slowly creaked inward, revealing a cautious zebra peering out at her.

The zebra looked tense; her distinct Mohawk mane was disheveled and stray hairs pointed in every direction. Her choker was conspicuously absent and she was wearing her dark brown cloak. When the unicorn and the zebra locked gazes, the herbalist visibly relaxed as she recognized the pony that stood outside her hut.

The zebra smiled, “Twilight Sparkle, indeed it is you I see! What could have brought you here to me…?” she trailed off as she noticed her companions, “It looks like you have brought your friends as well. I apologize; I thought it could have been something fell…”

Twilight’s smile faltered slightly at the end of Zecora’s statement, but she held it. “Good morning, Zecora,” she said with a polite bow, “We were wondering if…”

“Could we take this inside, if you please? I fear outside that something seethes…” Zecora interrupted.

Twilight shrugged as the zebra ushered she and her friends into the hut. Luna was the last through the door, but as she and the herbalist’s locked eyes, the zebra balked in surprise.

“Oh my goodness, what a sight! Is it not the Princess of the Night?” said Zecora.

Luna smiled in response, “I remember you from Nightmare Night,” she said, “Please just call me Luna.”

While the two were conversing, the rest of the gang made a quick once-over of the hut’s interior. It looked just as Twilight had remembered it, the same creepy tiki masks decorating the walls, some of which had old repairs visible from when Rainbow had once smashed them, the bottles hanging from the ceiling, and shelves lining the walls, on which there were hundreds of different kinds of herbs, many of which even she didn’t know the name of or their uses. The almost omnipresent tang of potions hung in the air. Several books were scattered around, some on the table, some on the shelf, but what got Twilight’s attention most of all was just how dimly lit the hovel was.

Only dying embers remained in Zecora’s firepit, and the only other lighting came from a few sparse candles and the curtains on all of the windows were closed. Twilight wasn’t sure if she could credit it to the fact that it was early in the morning, or something else.

Twilight grunted as Applejack roughly pushed past everypony present and began fervently searching every nook and cranny, and anypony would know what or who she was looking for. Pinkie took it as a cue to join her and looked in the most ridiculous places, like empty jars or drawers far too small for any filly to fit in. Rarity assisted, in a far more finicky matter than the former two.

The sound of the door closing behind them snapped them all too and called off their search. But on first glance, they realized that the fillies weren’t here.

They turned to see the building’s owner trot straight past them, and to one of the windows. Cautiously, Zecora parted the curtains and peeked outside.

“Zecora? What…”

“Shh!” she hissed. A moment later, she ditched her brief vigil and joined the mares. It did not escape their notice that she was pacing.

“Now, it is always a pleasure to have you near…” started Zecora in an anxious tone, “But might I ask what you are doing here?”

Everypony shifted uncomfortably at the zebra’s behavior. The zebra lived in what was unanimously considered one of the scariest places in Equestria, it wasn’t like her to be so anxious. Lots of nasty creatures lurked in the Everfree. “Um…Zecora? Is something up?” said Rainbow Dash.

The two exchanged a glance before the zebra resumed her pacing, “In some new twist of fate. Dark creatures I’ve seen, as of late.”

“How recent?” said Twilight, trying to keep the rising worry out of her voice.

“Were they aliens?” Pinkie Pie blurted out.

“Pinkie! Shh!” said Rainbow.

“It all started this very night, following that awful fright,” replied Zecora, “From skies above, an object fell. Though I fear it has brought us hell…” she trailed off. 

Everypony paled at this new revelation, no thanks to the fact that Zecora had a knack of making things sound cryptic and dark with her habit of rhyming.

“Has my sister been around these parts?” said Applejack. 

“And mine as well,” added Rarity, stepping up to AJ’s side. The two shared a stare, “We know they and another one of their friends walking into this dreadful forest, and we were hoping you had seen them…”

Zecora froze in her steps and gave each pony in turn a hard stare, “If what this you say is true, into the forest went young Apple Bloom?”

Applejack swallowed, “Yes.”

Zecora went so pale it was a wonder that her stripes didn’t fade away, “If this is truth, you must make haste! I fear there is no time to waste!”

“Why? What is out there?” demanded Rainbow.

“The aliens, of course you silly filly!” said Pinkie.

Zecora, wide eyed, gestured frantically with her hooves, “You should get going, and going soon. Lest you seal the fillies’ doom!”

“Oh my…” squeaked Fluttershy.

Everypony gritted their teeth and shared a collective look. Rapidly, they all filed out of the hut, leaving the disheveled zebra and strange potioneering scents in their wake.

“What do we do now?” said Rainbow who took to the air and circled around the rest of the mares.

“I feel bad about leaving Zecora out here all alone,” said Fluttershy, looking at the zebra who was watching them from her front door, “Especially when there might be…m-monsters about…”

“We get the fillies back, is what we’re doin’!” Applejack exclaimed, straightening her hat. “Right Twi?” she turned to the unicorn, “Twi?”

The pony in question was staring blankly into the foliage as she was being addressed. Shaking herself out of it, she stared at Applejack, “Hm? Oh…um…Luna?” she looked at the Princess for guidance.

To their surprise, the alicorn’s horn lit up with its magical, silver glow. The Princess was doing something, and, oddly, Twilight wasn’t sure what spell it was. An orb of light seemed to travel up the length of her horn before reaching the tip; a brief burst of energy was released the moment it reached the horn’s zenith, Twilight and her friends felt the magical energy wash over them. Nothing seemed to happen, much to everypony’s confusion, yet Luna was staring skyward towards the canopy.

“Princess?” said Twilight.

But their question was answered a moment later as several of Luna’s personal guard came gliding down through gaps in the treetops. They landed in front of their Princess and all sunk into low bows.

“Woah…cool…” said Rainbow.

The largest one, the leader spoke first, “We came as soon as you summoned, your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Captain Tempest,” responded Luna, “You may rise.”

They did as commanded, rising to their full height, standing significantly taller than everypony but the Princess. There were six of them in all.

It just occurred to Twilight that this was the closest she had ever been to any of Luna’s personal night guard. They looked even creepier up close their leathery, bat-like wings, slitted, reptilian eyes, and their heavy dark armor that only seemed to enhance their already imposing silhouettes. She never did get a chance to ask if the wings or eyes were natural…or if it was a spell.

“What do you need of us, your Majesty?” said Tempest, standing tall and proud.

Luna gestured at the hut with her hoof, “There is something dangerous lurking in the woods, tonight. I order you and your squad to guard this citizen with your life.”

An audible gasp of surprise came from Zecora, who was standing in the doorway to her home. 

“Well, that solves the dilemma of Miss Zecora being left in solitude when there are ruffians about,” muttered Rarity.

The Captain arched his brow quizzically, “The zebra, your Majesty? Are you…”

“Captain,” said Luna sternly. Although she was accepted in Ponyville now, there would always be a slight stigma against anything that isn’t a pony.

“…Yes, your Majesty,” said Tempest. He looked at his fellow pegasai and ordered them forward with a nod of his head. Each guard strode forward, forming a circle around the hut.

Zecora continued to stare at the Princess, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the words. “Your Ma…” she started.

“Luna,” she cut her off, “Even though you live in this untamed forest, you are still a citizen of Equestria.

“Luna…” said Zecora, “Thank you.”

Luna arched an eyebrow at the conspicuous lack of a rhyme. “You’re welcome.”

She was distracted by something lightly nudging her shoulder. She turned to find that it was Fluttershy, of all ponies. Hastily, the shy mare hid her face behind her long bangs before finding the courage to look back up to her.

“Um…L-Luna…could we…you know…go find the fillies before something bad happens please?” she averted her gaze, “That is…if that’s all right with you…”

Rainbow was shaken out of admiring the night guard pegasai’s wings by Fluttershy’s words. “Yeah! What she said!”

“Very well,” said Luna, glancing upward to the distant smoke plume visible through gaps in the canopy. The entire group took one step forward. “Oh, one more thing,” said Luna, drawing everypony’s gaze to her. Her horn lit up, as well as her saddlebag, and the magic box containing the Elements of Harmony was telekinetically lifted out of it.

Luna opened the case with her magic, and the Elements were revealed before them. The six element bearers were still awed by the way there seemed to be a fire burning inside the gems, sending a kaleidoscope of colors dancing around the clearing. The light did not go unnoticed by the night guards; several of them craned their necks, trying to get a glimpse of the legendary artifacts, but it was shown to be unnecessary as Luna lifted the various necklaces and the tiara from the box, giving them to their respective bearers.

Twilight went tense when she felt the familiar weight of the artifact resting on her head, and how it always seemed to be warm. Pinkie Pie unsurprisingly hopped around excitedly, while Rarity had to restrain Rainbow Dash to stop her from showing off to the guards. Applejack looked like she was ready to bolt, determined to get her sister out of danger, and Fluttershy just waited for somepony else to do something.

That was when the Pinkie Sense chose to go off again. Everypony’s gaze locked onto the pink mare as her entire body spasmed like some invisible being had grabbed her and shook her vigorously. It lasted all of five seconds before Pinkie abruptly stopped and fell onto her haunches. She blinked once.

“What was…” started a confused Luna.

“Pinkie Sense,” explained Twilight. Twilight made a dismissive gesture with her hoof, “Just go with it.”

“Alright Pinkie,” said Applejack, “which a’ way does the ol’ Pinkie Sense say the doozy is?”

Pinkie Pie tapped her chin with her hoof as she ‘hmmed’ quietly. She stuck her foreleg out as if it were a scanner and moved it horizontally back and forth.

Luna shot Twilight a quizzical glance, to which the lavender unicorn shrugged. Finally, the party pony stopped ‘scanning’.

“Beep beep! Doozy detected that-a-way!” she said in her usual chipper tone of voice, her hoof pointed a few degrees away from the actual smoke column.

“Well okay then!” said Applejack.

Sharing a single collective nod, the ponies moved in the indicated direction as one.

They didn’t go very far before they heard something rustling in the bushes. Everypony, already tense as they were, went rigid in anticipation.

“What in tarnation is that…” said Applejack.

The source of the noise wasn’t a mystery for long, as two small figures shot out of the underbrush, and tumbled to the ground in a heap. They were both wearing familiar capes, red on the outside, gold on the inside, and their manes were disheveled and dirty.

“It’s the fillies!” somepony exclaimed. 

The two troublemaking children realized that they were not alone, and their eyes darted over to them. It did not escape everypony’s notice how shrunken and fearful their irises were, they were practically pea-sized. They relaxed when they realized who was talking to them.

“Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

Everypony sighed in relief as the two children practically threw themselves at the adults. Sweetie Belle went to her sister and Scootaloo went to her idol. 

“Oh sis! I’m so sorry!” said Sweetie Belle, burying her face in her sister’s neck.

A wave of compassion overwrote the derision that the white unicorn was feeling regarding her sister’s recklessness. Rarity nuzzled Sweetie Belle, comforting the shaking filly. “It’s alright, Sweetie…” she said in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. 

“Wait just a darn minute…” said Applejack. Everypony turned to her to find her staring into the spot where the two fillies had emerged from. “Where’s Apple Bloom?” she turned back before glaring at both of the fillies in turn, “Where’s mah sister?”

Everypony went rigid. Sure enough, they realized that the Crusaders were one member short, the little earth pony was nowhere in sight.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a glance. Their eyes went wide and fearful once more. 

“Where is she!?” Applejack shouted, making Sweetie Belle whimper.

“Applejack!” scolded Rarity.

“I thought…I thought she was right behind us!” sobbed Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo crossed her forelegs, “Yeah! She was right there!” she glanced at Sweetie Belle, “Why didn’t you say anything!?”

Sweetie Belle balked, “Why didn’t I say anything? Why didn’t you say anything!?”

“Girls!” yelled Fluttershy, of all ponies, “Stop arguing, please, right now,” she relaxed, “What happened?”

Sweetie Belle swallowed, “We…well we went into that…scary place…”

“The thing that fell from the sky,” added Scootaloo, raising more than a few eyebrows from everypony.

Sweetie glanced at Scootaloo before continuing, “At first, nothing much exciting happened, but then…” she trailed off, her expression becoming dark.

“Then what?” demanded Applejack.

“There were...monsters...” said Sweetie Belle.

“Monsters?” said everypony.

Scootaloo snorted, “They were aliens! I keep telling you that, Sweets!”

“We don’t know that Scoots!” said Sweetie.

“An alien?” questioned Rainbow Dash, getting in their face, “You saw an actual alien?”

“Ohh! Ohh! Did it have slimy skin and twenty eyeballs?” Pinkie asked.

“Rainbow! Pinkie! Not now!” barked Applejack, before settling back of the fillies, “What happened?”

Sweetie was quivering, “Oh it was horrible! They were so pale, so…” she trailed off, “…scary. I thought they were going to…” she started shivering more violently. Rarity closed the distance between them and reassuringly nuzzled her. “But then…something happened.”

“Another alien came and blasted them with its zapper!” said Scootaloo.

“And…Apple Bloom?” said Applejack hesitantly.

Sweetie Belle found it difficult to look into the worried farmpony’s focused stares, “After that, we ran. We just wanted to get out of there…we were so scared…” she averted her eyes, “I think…I think we got separated from her. She must be still back there! Oh, I’m so sorry Applejack! We should have listened!” tears rushed to her eyes and her lip quivered.

Applejack nearly drew blood; she was biting her lip so hard. From what they had told her, her sister was in serious trouble.

Luna stepped forward, “Fear not, children. You are safe now.”

“Princess Luna!” exclaimed the fillies.

The Princess was saying words of reassurance to the fillies and the rest of the group, and explained what was going to be done with the girls. Applejack, however, was only vaguely aware of their exchange; her green eyes were still locked onto the place where the fillies had emerged. There was no time to wait around and she had promised her big brother that she would bring little Apple Bloom home safely!

Did she even need her friends with her at the moment? She felt they would only slow her down. Her family was the one thing more important to her than her friends. She didn’t even notice a cyan mare come to her side, “Hey, cheer up AJ,” said Rainbow, “We’re gonna go save your sis, right?”

Determination came to the orange mare’s face as she glanced at her friend, “Yes, ah reckon we are.” She could rely on Rainbow. She isn’t boasting when she calls herself ‘The Fastest Flyer in all of Equestria’. Rainbow’s eyes darted between AJ and the place where the orange mare was staring.

Rainbow seemed to understand what was on the farmpony’s mind, gently nudging the mare forward.
“
Well then, let’s get your sister!” said Rainbow excitedly, “Can’t wait around for these slowpokes, right?”

Applejack couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s enthusiasm, “Ah’ll say.”

“C’mon, I’ll race you!”

Applejack readjusted her hat, “Yer on.”

~~

Apple Bloom bounced along with each step the stranger took. Her sore legs hung down, swaying slightly from the jostling she was receiving from being carried. The dreary walls of the corridor, lit by the strange device on the creature’s foreleg rolled by as her carrier walked along at a brisk pace. It was pretty hypnotic, now that she thought about it. The gentle rocking motion made her feel somewhat drowsy and the way that he was carrying her had it so that her body was touching his wrist device…thing, and it was warm. Last but not least, the alien’s footsteps were completely silent.

That perplexed her, looking down, she could clearly see that the aliens’ back hooves were completely covered in what looked like heavy metallic armor, and even bare hooves tended to make noise when hitting a hard surface. It just confused her how he was able to move so quickly yet so silently at the same time.

But in her current relaxed state, she was really only capable of doing two actions right now: think and observe her rescuer. Time and time again she found herself looking up towards the strangers face, trying to look at his green eyes that reminded her so much of her siblings for reassurance. Sometimes he stared back, sometimes he didn’t. 

But eventually, Apple Bloom noticed a few things about him that she did not notice before. It did not escape her notice that there was some pretty heavy scarring surrounding his left eye. It scared her; she had never seen anypony with scars like that. The longest mark was a wicked-looking jagged thing that started just below the eye and disappeared into his mane. Apple Bloom shuddered at the thought of what could have caused that.

Then, there was what he was wearing. Sure, it was obviously damaged, but it still encased almost every inch of his body in its protective plates. At the joints, and the places where plates were missing, she could see some tight grey material underneath. If judging by the skin on his face was any indication, the grey stuff was more than likely another suit. There was a white symbol on his shoulder plate; it looked like a pair of wings with a sword pointing upward with a profile shot of what looked like a snarling lion imposed in the center; directly below the pommel of the sword was a series of strange symbols, forming ‘101’. If that was a cutie mark, what special talent did the alien possess?

Also, many parts of his armor were splattered with a strange, sickly brown substance. It was obviously not normally part of the armor, especially since in several places a dried brown substance was pasted over it.  A pang of fear fell into her gut when she realized that the brownish colored stains were likely dried blood. If it was blood, she didn’t know how to feel about it. Was her savior only helping her so he could gobble her up later when she was feeling better? She didn’t want to even think about it. 

Last but not least, she noticed that he and those…monsters had several similarities, now she had a closer look. They both stood upright on two legs, they both had two arms with flexible digits, like Spike, plus they were similarly proportioned. She could clearly tell that’s why he had frightened her. Although now that she could clearly make out his features to be much less monstrous, in the dark neither she nor her friends would likely be able to see a difference.

Speaking of her friends…where had they gone? Part of her was worried sick that she got separated from her two best friends in a place like this, part of her was terrified that something bad had happened to them, part of her was frustrated, and part of her was confused as to why they didn’t stop to help her. She had to suppress tears at the thought of what might have happened to them. They had not run into any side-passages, or any other ways to have turned, so the only direction Scoots and Sweets could have gone would have been forward. If they hadn’t run into them by now, then they were (hopefully) out of this spooky place.

She was shaken from her thoughts as the alien stepped over a particularly large piece of debris. Her companion stopped briefly, slipping his fingers beneath her chest while he angled the brightly lit part of the wrist-mounted device towards his face. Yet Apple Bloom was actually able to catch a glimpse as to what was on the screen. It looked like a map of some sort, yet it was lit up all on its own! Was it some kind of magic map? She squirmed around in her companion’s grip, trying to get a better look but it was to no avail, he merely held on tighter as his forelegs repositioned, and she once again found herself firmly tucked in, with the strange device facing away from her.

“What is that thing?” said Apple Bloom, craning her neck, “It’s magic, isn’t it? You can use magic…!”

He glanced at her, “(I have no idea what you just said, but I’m going to say ‘maybe’.)” The stranger chuckled, “(Don’t worry little fella, we’re almost out of here,)” he said in a tone that could be considered reassuring.

The pair hadn’t communicated since their initial encounter. Not really much to talk about, given the fact that complete and utter incomprehension of the other’s language was a mutual handicap.

By some stroke of good fortune, they hadn’t run across any more of those horrible, glossy black-eyed monsters. There had been distant shrieks, yes, but none of them sounded close.

The night’s events were definitely taking their toll on the young filly; she was struggling to stay awake as the stranger continued to lope along. She yawned deeply.

~

Almost out of here - at least that’s what the Pip-Boy told him. He didn’t let his guard down, however. He was prepared to whip his pistol from its holster at a moment’s notice, yet he hoped he didn’t have to.

He was escorting what he assumed to be a child. He hoped that he didn’t have to resort to violence in front of her.

The cute, high pitched yawn the little creature made only further cemented the determination that he didn’t want to tarnish that level of innocence. It was clear she was already frightened enough when those abominations almost got her and her other companions earlier. 

As he walked along, his large frame was nearly quivering with anxiety. He knew that just in a few moments, he would be the first human to have set foot onto an alien world.

His inner explorer was giddy at the fact that he would be setting his eyes on something new, something green. An earlier observation out of a porthole earlier had shown that green was beyond the crash site. He had not seen real grass…real trees in what felt like ages.

It seemed like it was so long ago that he had been to Oasis…

He sighed sadly as he recalled that place. It was a true oasis of green amongst a depressing sea of brown, or so Three Dog worded it, the one place he could go for a moment of peace, where the people living there were truly peaceful; very weird, yet peaceful. It provided a chance for the whole wasteland to become green again. Sure, it likely would have taken decades, but still…and that entire dream came crashing down when…

‘No, now is not the time…’

He shook his head as he shook those thoughts out of his head. Contemplating that which had lost could wait until he and his new…friend were in a safer place. He did not know the extent of the damage done the small…filly’s legs, there would be an opportunity to check later, but a brief observation gave him the impression that the damage was manageable. He would take a closer look once they had gotten away from the ship.

The fact that he was currently carrying around a member of what he was absolutely positive was a sapient, non-hostile species was still sinking in. So many questions were going through his mind. She was wearing a cape, and the blue and gold insignia was stitched into the fabric, so obviously they were somehow capable of using a sewing machine…or needle and thread, depending on the extent of their technological level. That further mystified him; a single look at the filly’s hooves showed that she was lacking dexterous fingers, how they managed to accomplish something that requires dexterity without fingers?

Unless of course it turned out that the hostile green aliens had a legion of pony slaves as pets, which was a possibility, as grim as it sounded. He certainly hoped that that wasn’t the case. The filly that was tucked under his arm was far too…cute to be the pet of something like those horrid green aliens that he killed in bulk.

On a more important note, if he ran into other members of this filly’s species, how would they react? The Wanderer had accidentally scared this one, as well as her two companions, wherever they had disappeared off to, if they had an actual society, how would they take his presence? The little filly was clearly fascinated by his Pip-Boy, given her reaction when he angled the screen to a position in which they could both see it, if they could break the language barrier, what sort of things could he teach them? Did they have a leader? It felt weird thinking about what could very well be a society of ponies. It also felt weird how he stumbled across an alien civilization that resembled something familiar from Earth, and one of the fillies he had seen earlier looked like a unicorn of all things.

Soon however, his thoughts were interrupted as the scent of fresh air hit his nostrils. He was so close to freedom! He picked up his pace abruptly, startling his passenger, if her brief cry of surprise was of any indication. He ignored the distant shriek of an abomination deeper into the ship as he hurried along. A light appeared in the distance. Judging from the quality, it was a natural light source, given the way it didn’t flicker and how…healthy it looked. It drew closer and closer and closer. 

He had a strange sensation fall into his gut.

The loud screeching of metal-on-metal echoed throughout the dusty confined tunnel. The Wanderer held back tears as the massive door of Vault 101 closed behind him, sealing off access to the only life he had even known…

The light, indicating that his goal was near got brighter…

He leaned heavily on the wall of the tunnel, panting heavily, a single hand on his chest, his heart raced. The air he breathed wasn’t the carefully regulated atmosphere of the Vault, it was hot, and extremely dry. The weight of his situation was really starting to sink in. His father had left, Jonas was dead, and…he killed those guards. Killed them!

Even step towards the exit, seemed to take just a little more energy. The filly shifted uncomfortably under his arm.

Was he a murderer? Did that make him a monster? He was defending himself, wasn’t he? He stared at the 10mm pistol that he was clutching tightly in his right hand. He had promised Amata that he wouldn’t use it. He snorted derisively, well, some friend he was.

There it was! On the right side, a sizable hole was torn directly through the hull! Natural light spilled through, illuminating the corridor in a rich, silvery aura.

It did not escape his notice that at least half dozen skeletons were gathered around the vault door, as well as the signs bearing faded obscenities. Part of him wondered how old they were, and another part was horrified at the sight of death. He forced his gaze away from them, and instead settled on the wooden door at the end of the tunnel. Through cracks between the planks, he could see light streaming through. Actual sunlight; it was something only ever referred to in textbooks in the Vault. Despite him being aware of its existence, it was regarded as if it was a myth, like say…magical unicorns. A strange feeling of excitement came over him as he started walking towards the door, the distance between him and his lifelong home growing. The rough earth crunched beneath his boots.

The door was close enough that he could make out the layer of dust coating the wood, as well as the recent handprint that was disturbing it. It was close enough to touch. His legs were shaking so badly he could barely stand as he tentatively reached a trembling hand out to the door and pushed it open…

…and got his first look of the outside world.

Something was gently nudging his midsection, snapping him back to reality.

“Hm?” He glanced downward and found that the little filly was looking up at him curiously with those big ol’ golden eyes and found her gently tapping his waist with her hoof. The two of them exchanged a stare. He couldn’t deny how ridiculously cute the critter’s curiosity was.

“(Uh…Mister Alien, are ya okay?)” said the filly. 

It took him a moment to realize that he had stopped moving as he indulged in his memories. 

He practically had to tear his eyes away from her. ‘Okay, you can do this’ he thought. Taking a deep breath, he rounded the corner and stepped through the hole in the hull. He raised a hand to shield his eyes was the sudden influx of moonlight and he gasped in surprise.

Slowly, he drew his hand away as his eyes readjusted to the light, and finally set his eyes upon a new world, without a layer of glass in the way.

He exhaled deeply as he surveyed the sight. Although the picture was ruined by all of the destroyed trees that went hundreds of feet in every direction, and the thick smell of burnt wood hung in the air, it still left him breathless.

Beyond the crater, there was so much green.

The full moon hung low in the sky, lighting up the land in its pale, silvery light. It was significantly larger than the moon he was familiar with back in the Wasteland, and seemed many more times as beautiful. It lacked the maria that dominated the surface of the moon he was familiar with, making it almost a solid disk of white, and it was peppered with craters large enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Although partially obstructed by clouds, the stars were out, the spectacle not so different from if he stargazed in the middle of the country, far from any civilization. He could have looked up at the sky for the remainder of the night. A curious squeak from his companion reminded him that there would be time for gawking later.

Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward. The simple act of walking seemed to take so much strain on his part; his limbs felt so heavy. Slowly, he brought his boot down onto the new world. The sound of the earth crunching beneath his foot brought his attention to the ground upon which he stood.

For some reason, he felt compelled to crouch and rake his fingers through the soil, leaving five furrows running through it. He stared intently at the dirt that had gathered in his palm. Why was he feeling so sentimental over dirt? He decided that was being foolish.

Though, out of the corner of his eye, something much more important drew his attention. He could clearly see where several pairs of small hooves had made their mark in the soil. He could see several hoofprints going in as well as out. He followed them around the edge of the alien wreckage before they led him into the patch of the fallen trees. A branch snapped under his boot. 

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness at all of the destruction. No matter where he went, he couldn’t escape scenes of destruction. Part of him blamed himself for this whole ordeal. A few scattered fires still burned amongst the fallen trees, further lighting up the dismal scene. He knew that less than a day ago, these burnt out husks used to be green, living trees, standing tall and proud. Kicking aside a scrap of debris, his eyes followed it as it disappeared into the fallen trunks, but then he noticed a brightly colored object. Caught on a branch of one of the fallen trees was a small scrap of red cloth. Amongst all of this grey and black, it stood out like a beacon.

Where have I seen this…? He thought as he briskly walked over to it, and gingerly plucked it from the dead tree. He raised it, and examined it at eye-level. It was red on one side, gold on the other. Excited chatter from his companion drew his attention to the small filly, her eyes locked onto the piece of cloth. When his eyes settled upon her, he was abruptly reminded where he saw the red cloth before; the filly was wearing a cape, as were her companions. He held the scrap of fabric up to the filly’s cape, just to make a comparison. Sure enough, it was the exact same material.

Judging from the little fella’s reaction, this was a sign that her friends had escaped from the wreckage. He looked down at the filly and smiled, “I guess that means your friends made it out, eh? That’s a stroke of good news…”

He was faced with another problem. Where should he be going, exactly? Where should he take the little critter under his arm? He walked around the ship to the point he could see the horizon opposite of that of the moon. In the distance, he could see mountains poking high above the tree-line, like daggers reaching for the sky. The sky in the direction of the mountain was…brighter. He assumed that meant that he was witnessing the dawn’s first light.

He glanced downward once more, setting his attention on the hoofprints leading away from the wreckage through the field of ruined trees. Judging by how the sky was gradually getting brighter towards the mountains, he guessed that that was east, if this planet went by the same laws his did, so he was walking south. 

When he finally reached the treeline, he threw one more look over his shoulder. The wreckage, sitting in the middle of the destruction looked dark, menacing, and like a blight on the landscape. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding as he looked at it. He could clearly see that there was many segregated tears in the silvery hull, fires still smoldered within some of them, and a column of smoke was rising to the sky. It was odd that he had not encountered any more of abominations as he was leaving with the filly. 

Something told him that some of them were loose on this planet, and those other two children were running around in this forest. Not even just that, several of the tears in the hull were far larger, he couldn’t help but get a sinking feeling that something far worse had made them. He thought back to the monster he had encountered in the cell blocks

A quiet sound coming from the filly snapped him from his worrying. His gaze shot down to it, his eyes widening in fear when he saw that the creature’s eyes were closed, and her body was limp. It made the same sound once again.

It took him a moment to realize that she was snoring. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It looked like the night’s events had taken their toll on the poor little critter, and she had fallen asleep. She looked so adorable.

He felt like a million pairs of eyes were on him as he confidently marched into the forest. It was a slow transition; the leaves from the trees closest to the edge of the crash site had all been blasted off. The night steadily became darker as the thicker and thicker canopy obscured the moon, plunging him into darkness, save for the light being generated by his Pip-Boy. He had no more need for it, so he shut the light, letting his passenger sleep, and the cybernetics in his eyes did the rest.

He walked along for several minutes, but he steadily felt more and more uneasy. From everything he knew about Earth before the bombs fell, he imagined that a forest would be teeming with activity, even at night. He didn’t think it would be so…deathly quiet. Even in the wasteland, there was always the sound of some critter scurrying around, or some annoying insect buzzing around his head, or the distant crackling of a heated gunfight. He thought that a forest, an actual green, living forest would be absolutely abuzz with activity, with whatever nocturnal life that resides her chirping out their night melodies.

Something was amiss; it was the same atmosphere as when he was stalking the darkened corridors of the crashed alien vessel. Dark shapes kept popping up in his peripheral vision. He had a bad feeling that the tainted beasts from the wreckage opted to go exploring. He reached down and fingered the grip on his pistol. He felt reassurance as his hand tightened on the Novasurge.

“(Apple Bloom!)” cried a distant voice.

The Wanderer went tense, assuming a combat stance. Under his arm, the sleeping filly shifted slightly and murmured softly. What was that?

“(Apple Bloom! Where are ya?)” Said the voice again, it sounded closer.

It was not in a language he recognized. It was not the irritating ramblings of the annoying green space men, it sounded like…the same syrupy language he heard the filly speak. Perhaps it was someone looking for the critter under his arm? A concerned parent perhaps? The pitch sounded deeper, sort of like an adult female.

In a split second decision, the Wanderer opted to shift his movement towards the voice. Might as well face the speaker and get it over with as there was little point in trying to hide. If it could be reasoned with, great, if not, well, his enemies don’t call him ‘That One Asshole’ for nothing. He was particularly proud of that nickname for some reason.

He quickly and quietly made his way towards the unseen speaker, his footfalls silent, and his strides long. His brief trip through untamed terrain opened into a wider clearing, it was flooded with moonlight. Perfect, he had scared those ponies earlier when he was in the dark.

“(Apple Bloom!)” shouted the voice again.

“(Jeez, could you be any louder, Applejack?)” said another voice in response, causing the Wanderer to raise an eyebrow. More than one lifeform?

“(Not now, sugarcube! Apple Bloom! I’m a comin’!)”

They were coming this way. He braced himself for whatever he was about to face, idly fingering the grip of his pistol. He could hear the rhythmic sound of what he assumed were hoofbeats, followed by the sound of rustling in the bushes.

Any second now…

Abruptly, two forms came galloping into his clearing, and they skidded to a halt the moment they saw the moonlit figure standing in their midst, a cloud of dust rising behind them as their jaws dropped in surprise, and their eyes went wide. The Wanderer maintained his rigid stance as he kept his analytical gaze upon the newcomers. Both of them took a step back.

He could immediately tell that they were adults, each significantly large than the one he was carrying. He could tell that they were frightened by just looking at them, and their coats glistened with sweat.

The first one had an orange coat, and a blonde mane and tail. What stood out the most was the Stetson hat on its head, hairbands in both its mane and tail, and what looked like a golden necklace around its neck. The second was much more striking. Its coat was sky-blue, of all things, and its hair and tail was every color of the rainbow. No way could that be natural. Like the first, it also was wearing a necklace. Were those wings? The Wanderer blinked hard to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. He sucked in a deep breath. When he reopened them, sure enough, they were still there. He wasn’t sure if he was delirious from exhaustion or…something else.

They were roughly the same height, their shoulders about as high as his navel.  Both of them looked like they had some sort of brand or tattoo on their flanks. The first had what looked like a trio of apples, the second had a multi-colored lightning bolt.

“(W-what the hay is that thing, Rainbow?)” said the hat-toting pony.

The colorful one squinted at him with her fuchsia colored eyes, “(It’s an alien!)” its pupils shrunk down to marble size.

Both of them stared at him wide-eyed, and he stared back. Slowly, he noticed that the first one’s large green eyes strayed away from his face, and its entire frame went rigid and its face paled.

Its eye twitched.

“(It’s got mah sister!)” she shouted, (He assumed it was a she, she sounded like one). She aggressively pawed at the ground with one of her forelegs, kicking up dust. It took the Wanderer a second to realize what she was staring at. Her large green eyes were locked onto the filly tucked under his arm; the limp, unmoving filly. A bead of sweat formed on his head when he realized how the situation would have looked out of context.

The second one blinked once, her stance becoming aggressive, her chest low to the ground, her…wings spread,“(Let her go, you monster!)” yelled the cyan…pegasus. Her eyes narrowed in a fierce glare.

“Woah! Calm down!” said the Wanderer, raising his free hand in what he hoped they interpreted as a placating gesture.

‘This is crazy…’

“(Get yer filthy paws off mah sister!)”

Before he could say another word, the orange pony bolted at him, turned around, and kicked him squarely in the chest with her back legs. Sometime in the future, he would realize how lucky he was that he was wearing his armor. The kick was powerful. Even in his armor, it nearly knocked the wind out of him.

‘That’s gonna leave a mark…’

~

‘Horseapples, it felt like ah bucked a brick wall!’ Thought Applejack as she gritted her teeth in pain.

When she saw her sister’s limp form in the hands of that…thing, a sense of anger like she had never felt rushed through her system. She just wanted to…wanted to hurt the thing! Turns out it wasn’t such a good idea as pain shot through her famous bucking legs.

“Applejack!” shouted Rainbow, “Get away from my friend!”

It appeared to be totally unfazed, and it continued to stand there, still as a statue, “(Okay, that’s kinda cute, would you knock it off please?)” said the thing its rough language in a tone that could be known as…annoyed.

“What…what are you doing? You want a go? Huh?” said Rainbow, rearing up and punching the air like a boxer.

Applejack gritted her teeth, prepared for whatever that thing was going to do to her and her friend. Her entire frame quivered as a cold lump formed in her throat. Didn’t Scootaloo said it had a…zapper or something? But nothing came, just a few confused remarks from Rainbow.

Applejack forced her eyes open. Much to her surprise, she found that the tall, imposing figure was crouched down, putting itself at eye-level. Rainbow’s body was still low to the ground, pawing the ground nervously with one of her forehooves, but the creature’s expression was calm. It was now how much she realized how…normal its features looked. None of that twenty eyes hogwash Pinkie had been spewing. It stared curiously at her with eyes just as green as her own. Last but not least, the object of her worries was cradled in its forelegs. Apple Bloom didn’t look any worse for the wear. 

“What are you doing, chump!?” shouted Rainbow.

“Rainbow!” chided Applejack, gritting her teeth due to the soreness in her legs, hoping that her friend’s bluntness didn’t put her sister at risk, “Not…not now.”

Slowly, the stranger extended its arms, offering the filly to her. Applejack’s eyes were locked onto her sister as the creature maneuvered its arms around her head, and gently deposited her little sister on her back.

Applejack’s whole body was rigid when the creature let go of Apple Bloom, and returned its hands to its side.

Applejack could feel her sister’s gentle breathing against her fur, and she sighed in relief. The creature hadn’t hurt her sister, she was just sleeping. Relief like she had never felt before washed over her; she could have fainted right then.

“(See? I told you to calm down.)”

“What just happened?” said Rainbow as she settled down on her haunches, her expression confused.

Everypony relaxed as the tension simmered down. The soreness in AJ’s legs quickly receded and she rose to her hooves, the creature stayed where it was. What was it doing? What was it planning? Its expression was unreadable as it quietly observed the two of them. Is this what scared the other fillies so badly? Applejack could understand why, when it was standing, it stood taller than even Celestia, and its shoulders were wider than those of her brother, and he was the biggest pony in Ponyville! The bulky black scales…no wait, it was armor, only served to make its silhouette more imposing.

Its appearance was unlike anything she had ever seen. With the exception of its mane, and a thin strip on its chin, it was bald. One of its front hooves…or claws…or hands was resting on its knee, while the other one was planted on the ground.

Applejack bit her lip as she sized up the creature before her. If her kick had angered it or provoked it… she shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. She felt apologetic as it raised one hand to massage its chest, tracing its dexterous fingers over the scuff marks her hooves had made on its armor. It couldn't quite hide the pained look on its face. It seemed to notice what she was looking at, and its hand fell away.

Surprise showed in the stranger’s face as Rainbow abruptly took to the air, circling around them. She flew close to the stranger, and essentially shoved her muzzle into its face, making AJ cringe. If Rainbow’s scrutiny irritated it, it didn’t show it. Rainbow landed next to it, and gingerly prodded its face with her hoof. Once again, its expression was unchanging.

“(I would appreciate it if you cut that out,)” grumbled the stranger.

If its voice was anything to go by, it sounded male. His gaze met Rainbow’s and raised a single eyebrow as the mare drifted closer. Just before her muzzle bumped the side of his face, the stranger lifted a single hand, placed it against Rainbow’s forehead, and gently nudged the mare away; the sight was kind of funny from Applejack’s perspective.

Her flying friend dropped to the ground and sat down on her haunches as the alien continued to stare quizzically at her. Rainbow’s uncertain expression slowly became one of awe as the magnitude of their current situation sunk in. Applejack watched as Rainbow’s face split into an ear-to-ear grin as her whole frame started quivering with excitement.

“Omigosh…” she whispered, “Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh…” she said at a gradual crescendo, eliciting a perturbed stare from the creature, “An alien! I’m…sitting here…with a real life alien!”

“Rainbow!” Applejack hissed, “Simmer down, will ya? Somepony here is sleepin’!” she gestured to the filly with a jerk of her head.

Rainbow excitedly clopped her hooves together, “Sorry AJ, but…an alien!” she squealed, before taking to the air again. She began scheming the best way to say ‘I told you so’ to doubtful Rarity; she tried to imagine the look on the fashonista’s face when she found out that aliens are real. “This is almost as cool as the time I met the Wonderbolts! This is so awesome!” she cupped her hooves to her cheeks.

“Applejack! Rainbow! Where are you!?” shouted a distant voice, echoing through the night air.

Applejack suddenly remembered why they were out in the forest originally in the first place at the sound of her friend calling out for her. Well…she honestly wasn’t expecting to run into anything like this. Whatever happens next she didn’t care; her sister was okay and that was all that mattered to her. The alien still sat there quietly, calmly observing the two of them. He seemed to perk up at the new voice.

“Over here Twilight!” shouted Rainbow, “C’mon! You gotta see this!”

“Didja find an alien!?” shouted Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie, really…” echoed Rarity’s voice.

Rainbow smiled, “Why don’t you come and see for yourself?” she said smugly, crossing her forelegs.

Nopony expected the poofy pink party pony to come blazing into the clearing like a pink rocket (of doom) a mere three seconds later. She blazed directly up to the stranger so quickly he fell onto his rear out of surprise.

“(Gah! What the f-…)” his words trailed off when he found Pinkie’s face hovering mere inches from him, her eyes wide, her face split into an insane grin. Much like Rainbow, she too was quivering with excitement.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m super duper happy to meet you, Mr. slash Mrs. slash Ms. Slash whatever Alien!”

“Mr., I think,” added Applejack. AJ didn’t miss that totally confused look plastered across the alien’s face as he slowly leaned away from the kooky mare.

“I’ve never met anypony from space before! But you’re not a pony you’re an alien! Do you have a spaceship? Do you come in peace? Is that your spacesuit? What’s that symbol on your shoulder mean? Is that a Cutie Mark? What’s your special talent?”

“Um…sugarcube…”

“Do you like parties? I’m so excited because Twilight said we probably wouldn’t find live aliens because of something about biospheres…or something! But it looks like smarty pantses aren’t right all the time…”

“Pinkie…”

“…I throw a welcome party for every new pony in Ponyville, but I’ve never seen you before because you’re new! And I know everypony in the whole wide world! Well maybe not the whole world, because that’s a lot of ponies! But you’re not even from this world are you because you’re an alien!”

“PINKIE!” AJ shoved a hoof in Pinkie’s babbling maw.

Pinkie’s continued to yack into AJ’s hoof. Pinkie’s eyes snapped over to Applejack, “You know he can’t understand a darn thing yer sayin’, right?”

“Heh! His expression is priceless!” added Rainbow.

The stranger looked between everypony present with a totally perplexed expression on his features. He was sitting down, propped up on his elbows, leaning back far enough so that his head was a mere foot from the ground. He shot AJ a pleading look that read, ‘help me!’.

Pinkie stared at AJ and blinked once when the mare removed her hoof, “Aw ponyfeathers, but we’re still gonna throw a party anyway, aren’t we? Huh, huh huh?” and her motor-mouth went right back to work.

~

‘Quiet please, make it stop!’

The newcomer was a pony whose coat was a vibrant shade of pink and her wild mane a slightly darker shade of pink. Her behavior appeared as if she had just consumed a dozen boxes of Sugar Bombs, and wore the widest, kookiest grin he had even seen, trumping even Yes-Man. Only it just would not stop babbling even after she got a hoof shoved in her mouth, courtesy of the orange mare. Didn’t she realize that he couldn’t understand her? To him, it sounded like little more than jibberish. Judging from the reactions of the other mares present, the pink pony’s antics were commonplace. 

While he was caught up in the pony’s oral blitzkrieg, he couldn’t help but notice just how well-articulated their forelegs were. He could clearly see how they their limbs were surprisingly flexible, as evident by the other two ponies sheepishly scratching the back of their heads at the pink pony’s antics, and how the pink pony kept making gestures with her hooves as if they were hands. He watched her mouth as she kept spewing words, watching the way she rapidly formed syllables, incoherent as they were to him, yet how similar it was to human speech. 

He shot another pleading look in the…Cowpony’s direction, the hat made her look like one. She could only respond with a sheepish grin and an apologetic shrug.

He tried tuning out the pink pony, but it was downright impossible. He suppressed a laugh, he thought that ignoring the grating Little Lamplighters was a chore… Over the pony’s incessant babbling, he could hear the rainbow pony conversing with another new arrival, which he had yet to see. He hoped that they were less spunky than Miss Chatterbox.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see more ponies enter the clearing and, when he felt their gazes fall upon him, they all stopped. He decided to return the gesture and stare back. There were four of them. The nearest to him was a violet…unicorn, of all things, with a purple mane with a single pink stripe running through it. Some sort of headdress was perched on its head and a six-pointed star was on its flank. She regarded him with a dumbfounded, disbelieving expression; he returned a very similar look.

Unicorns? Pegasai? What’s next…dragons?

“(I-…is that…)” said the unicorn.

The rainbow one trotted up to his side and stood tall, “(Yep! I told you!)”

The pink one redirected her attention towards the unicorn, thank god, also redirecting her endless barrage of chatter. She hopped up to the purple pony, that insane grin still on her face. How that didn’t hurt mystified the Wanderer.

Another one of the newcomers, this one in the form of a white unicorn with a curly purple mane that looked like it had been styled. A trio of diamonds adorned her flank as she circled around him, looking at him as if he were some sort of expensive object. He cocked an eyebrow when it…or she, all of these ponies looked and sounded like girls, took a step back and had an expression as if she were disgusted.

“(Ugh! What is it wearing!?)” said the white pony, “(It’s so…dirty!)”

“(Really, Rarity?)" said the rainbow one in what sounded like she could have been annoyed, stomping her hooves, “(We meet a real life alien and the first thing you can think about is what he’s wearing?)”

“(How do you know that it’s a he?)” asked purple.

Rainbow shrugged, “(I heard him talk,)” she paused for a moment, “(Besides, he looks like a ‘he’.)”

“(What manner of creature are thou!?)” bellowed a newcomer, seemingly conjuring up gale force winds. Everypony cringed from the shouting as the speaker stepped into view, her eyes darting between each pony, “(Has he harmed any of you in any way?)” she said in a much softer voice. The Wanderer’s jaw dropped slightly as he sized her up. She was significantly taller than the other ponies, he’d guess that her shoulder would come up to his chest, and she had a very dark blue coat, along with a pair of massive, feathery wings and long, pointed horn. Other than the splash of black and crescent moon on her flanks, what really got his attention was her mane and tail; they were long, were seemingly blowing without the aid of wind, and they looked like a starry night sky. It looked…ethereal. He had to resist the urge to reach out and run his fingers through it.

Judging by her greater size, the way she carried herself, the ebony black tiara she was wearing, he assumed that this was the group’s leader. Not only that, but she seemed to emit an aura of authority as she looked down at him with her vivid blue eyes, her expression stern.

There was one more pony, and he barely even noticed her, she was doing her best to stay behind the taller…princess pony. He caught a glimpse of her face and large teal eyes mostly concealed behind a long pink mane, and a canary-yellow coat.

He got a better view when the tall pony started circling around him. She was another…pegasus, sporting a pair of wings tucked firmly against her sides. She was absolutely adorable, she was sitting down on her haunches, with her forelegs crossed, doing her best to look as small and insignificant as possible. It took her a moment to realize that she was sitting in full view before darting behind another stationary pony, her quivering haunches, adorned with a trio of pink butterflies not quite concealed.

“(C’mon, Fluttershy, he’s not so bad!)” said the rainbow pony. “(You’ve faced down a dragon before!)”

“(Not a dragon,)” she responded in a barely audible squeak, “(…he scares me.)”

“(So…you saying that this creature has not brought harm upon you?)” said princess, her attention diverted between the two ponies who had found him first. The Wanderer had a sneaking suspicion that he was the current topic of conversation.

“(Well…uh…)” said cowpony, scratching her head, “(…I may have bucked him, a little…)”

“(You did what?)” said the purple one who nearly fell onto her rump, her eyes darting between him and the mare.

“(I thought he hurt mah sister!)” said cowpony in response, “(But, he didn’t seem to mind. He just knelt down and just…gave her to me,)” she glanced at the crouched human, “(Turns out she was just tuckered out. He’s…not so bad…)”

The princess pony continued to stand tall, “(If what thou sayest is true, dost thou thinkest that he is…not hostile?)” she glanced down at the Wanderer, “(Is he a threat to Equestria?)”

The ponies continued conversing in their foreign tongue as the Wanderer sat there, stewing in his thoughts. So far, this was going rather well, other than that heated incident involving a kick to the chest. They haven’t tried to kill him yet, which was a good sign. In the Wasteland, almost everything he encountered had subsequently attempted to kill him the moment he tried saying ‘hello’. It was nice for a change of pace.

He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was currently within ten feet of several creatures that were only found in story books and mythology. He had outright seen the cyan pegasus fly, and there was currently a purple unicorn within arm’s reach. A happy look was slowly creeping onto the purple unicorn's face as she continued to stare, and if her body was quivering out of fear or excitement, he couldn't tell.

‘A race of sapient equines…creatures from ancient Earth mythology…’ he thought, his eyes darting between every critter present. ‘Well, it could have been worse…’

He closed his eyes and planted his hand on his forehead as the ponies continued to…debate whatever it was they were debating. So far, they didn’t seem to be hostile towards him, and he was able to get the situation with the slumbering filly resolved peacefully. He found it amusing how the little fella was able to sleep through all of that. 

It took him a moment to realize that the chatter had all but died down as he continued to rub his eyes. The toll of the long day was finally starting to catch up to him. He was roused from his current state by the feeling of something nudging his shoulder plate.

He opened his eyes to find the princess pony looming over him, her blue eyes fixated on his face. She was gently tapping his shoulder with her hoof. He cocked his head when he realized that she was wearing glittery…shoes of a sort.

Shaking his drowsiness from his eyes, he slowly stood up. He heard a collective gasp spread through the gathered ponies as he rose to his full height. Most of them took a step back, including the princess pony. He felt uneasy under the scrutiny of seven pairs of eyes; each stare delivered a different emotion. He could see nervousness, excitement, awe, and the princess had an air about her that indicated that she wasn’t used to dealing with people taller than her. Time seemed to slow to a standstill as they all stood there.

It seemed like minutes passed when the princess pony slowly extended a single hoof towards him. He eyed the offered appendage curiously; it looked like she wanted to shake his hand.

“(Do you…wish to make peace?)”

Every single one of the ponies eyed him expectantly. ‘Ah, if this doesn’t mean what I think it does, what’s the worst that can happen?’ Biting his lip, he mimicked the gesture, offering a single hand to the princess, hoping that they didn’t take it as a gesture of insolence or something.

He could feel them watching him as his fingers closed around the offered hoof. Surprisingly, he could feel her grip back, odd considering the fact that she has no fingers. He gave the limb a few firm shakes.

He could see a faint smile come onto the pony’s face. Judging by the excited murmurs he could hear from the rest of the crowd, he made the right decision. 

He could feel a rising sense of elation; he had found something new, and this time, nobody died in the process! Even though he barely knew the ponies, he could see no malice in the large eyes that were watching him, if they could somehow bridge the communication gap… he smiled inwardly at the possibilities.

‘Things…are actually working out! He smiled for real, Looks like fate decided to throw me a bone, for once…’

A high, piercing shriek that the Wanderer dreaded to hear echoed throughout the night. The sense of elation, as well as the smile went away immediately at the noise.

He had nearly forgotten about those.

~~

Cliffhanger lol!

I would like to give a huge thanks to Prasopchai for doing a totally awesome and thorough job pre-reading this chapter! He is quite l33t.