//------------------------------// // Operation E-00: Landing // Story: When Worlds Unite Up // by The card holder //------------------------------// Ever since she was a filly, Twilight Sparkle had loved looking at the stars above Equestria. From the legends of Nightmare Moon to stories about little green aliens, she had spent much of her early life gazing through her library's telescope. Even though she was now a princess, complete with her own castle, this hadn’t changed at all. However, it wasn’t just wonder alone that brought her to her telescope yet again. A few weeks ago, she had spotted something deep in space that shone very, very brightly, for only a few fleeting moments. Apparently, nopony else saw it, or if they did, they thought it was nothing. Experience told Twilight that it’s usually a good idea to look into these kinds of things, as nine times out of ten something would happen because of it. While her friends lost interest in the idea after a few days, Twilight kept looking into space whenever she had a free moment at night, in case it happened again. So far, however, she didn’t have any luck. “Jeez, Twi, you’re still looking for that weird space… Thing?” her assistant piped up, flipping through a Power Ponies comic. “I’m pretty sure it was nothing.” While glancing at the comic he was holding, Twilight couldn’t help but think that he would be the one worrying about this, if anyone. “I’m just keeping an eye on things in case it actually was something.” Spike shrugged, still reading. “Whatever, I’m gonna go to bed.” Twilight said “Goodnight,” as he left for his bed, still looking through the telescope. She wasn’t sure why, but she had the feeling that, soon, something was going to happen. She just didn’t know what. “Uh, why are we even in space again?” “Why am I not surprised that Blue doesn’t know what we are doing?” “Stick a baguette in it!” Ignoring the antics of two of his men, Commander Laurence Nelson spoke up from the front of the bridge. “Team, as you are no doubt aware, it seems that GEATHJERK has retreated completely after just one attack.” He paused for dramatic effect, waiting until all one hundred and one masked faces were focused on him. “However, while we were looking for where they may run off to, we came across an oddity, which we should be getting close to now.” He nodded at the pilot, one Alice Macgregor, and she pulled up the main screen for everyone to see. “Is that-?” “No way…” “But that looks just like-” “Yes, it looks very similar to Earth, and yes, it is being orbited by a moon and a miniature sun,” Nelson said, cutting off the various expressions of confusion. “There haven’t been any Jerk-matter signatures nearby, but we don’t know if it will stay that way. Whoever is on this planet, they could prove a useful ally in the war against GEATHJERK. With this in mind, a group of twenty of you will be sent down to this planet, where you are to attempt peaceful relations in any way you see fit. Now, do I have any volunteers for this mission?” For a few moments, the bridge is silent. Then, one voice spoke up. “I’ll go.” The hundred others all looked at the voice, seeing the saluting form of their de-facto field commander: Wonder Red. After he proved his willingness to go, others soon joined him in saluting. “Yeah, I’ll go too,” Wonder Blue said, standing beside Red. A woman near the front, Wonder Pink, shrugged. “Eh, I was getting bored just waiting, anyway,” she said with a Transylvanian accent. Almost as soon as she stepped forward, a rather large child, Wonder Green, followed her. “Oh, I should go, too, to make sure nothing bad happens to—” His French-accented tirade is cut off by Pink giving a warning lash of her whip before speaking again in a flat tone of voice. “Stay away from me.” “Er, okay.” Soon, sixteen others had stepped forward, including Wonder White, and the newest addition to their ranks, Wonder Goggles. Red flinched slightly upon seeing the latter step forward, but said nothing. Back at the front of the bridge, Commander Nelson nodded in approval. “Now, while you are down there, we will be unable to communicate with you directly, as we will keep the Virgin Victory back home, in case the Jerks decide to launch a surprise attack. To that end, P-Star will be sent with you, since we can use him for long-range communication.” From the back of the room, a small flying robot flew forward, hovering above the twenty volunteers. “Approaching unknown planet,” Alice spoke up in her dull monotone. “Estimated time until within range for launch, two minutes.” Blue did a double take upon hearing that. “Wait, launch?” “In order to allow for a quick entry, you will be launched from the Virgin Victory’s cannons onto the surface of the planet. Now, are you ready?” “Wait, I don’t know if-” “Roger!” Red cut Blue off. “Team, to the deck!” Nineteen voices chorused “Roger!” at once, and the twenty of them all ran to the deck of the ship, Red leading the way. On deck, a comically large cannon emerged, large enough for exactly twenty people to squeeze into it. Being in space seemed to prove no problem, and up ahead the Earth-like planet could be seen. “Listen, Red, I don’t know if this is a safe way to travel,” Blue said. “What is this? Blue of all people, saying something is too dangerous?” Green taunted. “Cram it, croissant!” Meanwhile, Red walked up to Goggles, worry evident on his face. “Are you sure you want to go through with this Luka?” “Of course!” the kid replied. “Anything to keep those Jerks off our planet!” His enthusiasm was infectious, and Red couldn’t help but smile with the young boy. “Alright, then, if you’re sure.” He ran up to the front of the cannon, the others following right behind him. “Prepare for launch!” he shouted, and everyone yelled “Roger!” in reply. Jumping into the air, Red prepared himself to perform a Unite Morph, along with shouting the specific morph’s name: “UNIIITE ROCKET!” All twenty of them quickly poured into the cannon, taking the shape of a bright red, glowing rocket. Even P-Star managed to attach himself to the tip of the rocket. Now loaded, the cannon aimed at the planet, and fired, sending the rocket made up of twenty Wonderful Ones flying. Back in the bridge, Commander Nelson watched as the projectile neared the surface of the planet. “Good luck, One-Double-Oh… Er, I mean, One-Oh-One,” he mumbled to himself. While the others discussed their thoughts on the matter, the Virgin Victory began turning around, before zooming off back the way it came, returning to Earth. Twilight yawned, briefly taking her view out of the telescope. When she looked again, she thought she saw something else glowing in space, but it turned out to be the morning light approaching. “Morning already?” she whispered to herself, amazed that she stayed up all night yet again without noticing. While it was true she didn’t need nearly as much sleep as a princess, she was still certain that staying up all night this much couldn’t be healthy. She was just about to leave and get an hour or two of shuteye, when she spotted a glint in the edge of her view. She turned the telescope to it, but nothing was there. “Oh, Twilight,” she said to herself, still looking through the telescope, “you’re just feeling a bit sleep—” Suddenly, she did see something, and that something was a glowing red projectile of some kind flying in from the half of the sky that was still dark. Shocked, she watched it as it fell towards the Everfree Forest, nearing the ground. When it was almost a mere dozen feet off the trees, she folded her ears back and stepped away from the telescope, anticipating an explosion. However, nothing happened. Looking back out over the forest, the spot where the unidentified object apparently crashed was empty. There was a barely noticeable smoke trail leading to that spot, so the thing she saw actually did exist, but that smoke trail ended right where it hit the tree line, and there were no signs of damage on the trees there. Still confused, she levitated a piece of parchment out, along with a quill and an inkwell. Quickly, she began writing a brief letter: Dear Princess Celestia, Something just crashed into the Everfree but not really because it didn’t explode. I’ll investigate shortly, and you might want to keep an eye on things in case it’s something really really bad. Twilight Sparkle Still looking out at the forest, Twilight quickly rolled up the letter and left her observatory. “Spike, wake up for a second!” After cushioning their landing by transforming into a giant piece of gelatin, the Wonderful Ones surveyed their surroundings. “Hey, shouldn’t there be aliens around?” Blue asked, shrugging. “The area appears unoccupied,” Red cut in, doing a second visual sweep of their immediate surroundings. “I believe we passed over a settlement on our way here,” White helpfully stated. “Well, awesome, let’s just walk in, tell ‘em what we came here for, and be done with this!” “It won’t be that easy, Blue,” Red said. “They more than likely saw us come in, and it’s possible that they’ll think we’re the invaders.” “So, what are you suggesting, Wonder Rouge?” Green asked, a bucket of popcorn in hand. Red stood silently for a few moments, looking around the group. Then, an idea struck him. “Perhaps we could pass off being stranded here? That way, we could see first hand how the aliens would react, and judge accordingly if they’d help us.” “Uh, Red, dude, I don’t think that’s gonna work.” “It has as much of a chance to work as anything else. Besides, GEATHJERK might be getting ready to invade this planet, for all we know. If they see we’re here before they invade, they might realize there’s less of us back at Earth.” There was silence amongst the group as they thought over Red’s words. Then, Blue spoke up again. “So, who’s gonna be the one to trust the aliens with their life?” Red put a hand to his chin in thought. “Twenty stranded people seems like a bit too much, and just one sounds just as fishy… I think if just four or five of us act the part, it should be decently convincing.” “What about the rest of us?” someone from the back of the group asked. “The rest of you will have to stay hidden here in this forest. P-Star can stay with you, so you can maintain communication with the commander.” Hovering above, the small flying robot beeped out an affirmative. “That still doesn’t answer my question,” Blue said, arms crossed. “Who’s gonna go?” “I’ll lead the expedition,” Red answered, pausing briefly as he powered down to simple Will Wedgewood, elementary school teacher. “And Blue, I think you should come along, too.” “Wait, me?” Blue pointed at himself. “You sure about that?” “I’m sure. If I bring you along, then it’s less likely you’ll jump the gun and help us when there’s no need to help.” “He has a point,” Green said, munching on some chips. Blue scoffed as he also powered down. “Fine.” “Glad to have you on board, Blue, or should I say, Elliot Hooker of the Los Angeles Police Department.” “Dude, you need to stop doing that, it’s kinda creepy.” Ignoring Elliot’s outcry, Will beckoned for more volunteers. Near the front of the group, Goggles stepped forward. “I’ll go, too!” Will flinched again. “Are you sure, Luka? I mean, going to an alien planet is one thing, but this is-” “You’re not changing my mind, Mr. Wedgewood!” Luka cut him off, now powered down. “I’m going and that’s final!” Sighing, Will realized he couldn’t change the mind of his student. “Right, so does anyone e-” “I’ll go.” Nearly everyone was shocked at Pink’s words. “Really, Pink?” Will asked. “Sure, someone has to keep an eye on Luka,” she said. “Besides, this forest is kinda muddy, and I don’t do mud very well.” “Okay, Mariana Kretzulesco, professional gymnast.” “Blue’s right, you know,” Mariana walked up to the other depowered Wonderfuls. “That’s really creepy.” Before any retorts could be made, there was another powering down noise, and Jean-Sebastien Renault ran up to the group. “I’ll go if Pink goes—” Before he could continue, Mariana’s eyes lit up in fury, and she started preparing her whip for a swing. “N- Nevermind.” He quickly wonderized again and rejoined the others. Just as quickly as it came, Mariana’s rage subsided. Pausing for a couple of seconds to process what just happened, Will continued. “Alright, if we’re all that’s going, then we should leave soon.” “So, we just gonna waltz right in there?” Elliot asked. “‘Cause that doesn’t seem like it would work.” “Why not? If they’re hostile, we can just regroup and fight back,” Will argued. “Well, what if they’re paranoid? Something crashes into the forest, then four people walk out of that same forest? Nah, bro, sounds fishy to me.” “Hmm, you’re right… Plus, they’ll more than likely check out the landing site… Perhaps if we were incapacitated in some way…” “Preferably by Pink!” Green shouted from the crowd. Mariana didn’t even bother dignifying him with a response. “Good luck with that, Red,” Elliot said. “I doubt that anything could knock me o-” He was cut off as White, unnoticed, walked right behind him and applied pressure to a point on his neck. Elliot almost immediately fell to the ground, passed out. “Great idea, White!” Will congratulated. “And not a moment too soon!” Green added. “Uh, is that really the best way to do it?” Mariana asked, backing away slightly. “Because it took a while to make my hair like this, and-” Her excuses are cut off as once again White sneaks by unnoticed and applies pressure. Before she even hit the ground, Will turned to Luka. “You gonna be alright in there?” “Of course, Mr. Wedgewood!” His infectious enthusiasm just wouldn’t stop. “Alright then.” He nodded at White, who performed the same motion on Luka, albeit much more gently. “Are you ready, Wonder Red?” White asked, walking up to Will. “One moment.” Walking past the ninja, Will addressed everyone else. “In my absence, Wonder White will be in charge. Watch from the forest, but do your best not to be seen. If any of us wonderize, that is your cue to jump in and unite up!” “Roger!” “I’m ready, White,” Will said, much more quietly, and after one more application of pressure, he was out.