//------------------------------// // Preperations // Story: The Xeno That Came to Equestria // by Corvo Storm //------------------------------// The entire town of Ponyville was a buzz with activity. The dispatchment of guards had arrived and set up positions around and in the town. Many ponies thought that it had something to do with the rumors of a monster. That was what they thought. Little did they know is that the guards were sent to protect Ponyville from the upcoming danger. Shadow had been jumping from roof to roof and watched the guards arrive. That was one of the many things done that would prepare them for Weyland Yutani. He made his way to the town square where the most commotion was at this time of day. He sat on a roof of a building and watched the citizens do their daily activities. He wished that all of them were warned about the upcoming danger so they would be prepared. He shook his head before heading to the library to see what Twilight was up to. Twilight was looking through countless spell books to try and find a spell that could help her defend against the company. She was having a panic attack about the whole thing while Spike was trying to help with the best of his ability. The little dragon didn't know why the unicorn was so worked up. Sure the guards arriving would cause that but she was was looking for a very powerful shield spell. That's when he heard the window open. He rolled his eyes expecting it to be Rainbow Dash so he didn't turn around. The purple unicorn stopped looking to see Shadow stepping through the window. "Hey Shadow don't mind me just trying to find a strong shield spell," she said frantically. Spike was confused when Twilight said Shadow instead of Rainbow. He turned and dropped the books he was holding and his mouth wide open. He felt fear course through his body when he saw the xeno standing there looking back at him with curiosity. He started to shake and turned to Twilight to ask, "Twilight w-what is t-this thing and how do you know it?" Twilight stopped her search and smiled at the baby dragon. She pat him on the head and explained, "This is Shadow Spike. He is a xenomorph. He doesn't come from our world and he is going to stay here. The reason for the spell I'm searching for is to stop some bad guys who want to take Shadow and probably ponies as well. That's why we need the spell, to protect ponies from being taken away." The baby dragon looked back at Shadow who had turned his attention to the books scattered across the ground. He looked at the xeno for a few more moments before swallowing his fear. He approached the xeno as he was trying to read what the book said. Shadow turned to the drake when he heard him approach. Spike took a step back nervously then cleared his throat and said, "H-hi Shadow my name is Spike. I'm a dragon and Twilight's number one assistant." He held out his hand. Shadow looked at him then to his hand then back at him before realizing the gesture and shaking the drake's hand. He could easily tell that the baby dragon was scared of him. Not a surprise when you don't exactly look friendly at all. When he released Spike's hand he turned back to the book he was trying to read. The text didn't even look like anything but marks. He kept flipping through the pages until he reached the back of the book. He dropped not able to understand anything it said and began to look around. The first time he was here was when Celestia teleported him here with his friends. He smelled the air and found that the smell of old books was what he expected. He didn't like that type of smell but the unicorn's scent was a mix of other smells with the old book smell. He's beginning to think that he should take the scent of his friends into mind just in case something were to happen to them. He watched Twilight and Spike go through countless books before they gave up. "Uh it's hopeless! We can't find a strong shield spell. We might as well hope that the princess can make peace with Weyland," Twilight said exhausted and worried. She was scared of what might happen. Shadow thought for a moment before a idea came to his mind. He remembered hearing his captors say something about how the resin his species use to make hives are strong enough to resist bullets and a few explosions. The more he thought about it the more he seemed to like the idea of some sort of stronger protection. That's when he thought about the armor the guards had. It would protect them but the spaces in between the pieces would prove to be a problem. He grabbed a paper and pen to explain everything to Twilight. She was surprised to read that he could provide the resin he used to make his resting place in Fluttershy's home. The more she thought about it the more supporting of the idea seemed. "This could actually help. The guards be able to have more protective armor and would be able to have more of a fighting chance to stop Weyland. Shadow you're a genius!" she exclaimed. She asked him if he would be up to the task and he nodded. She told him to come with her to Rarity's while Spike stayed at the library to keep an eye on things. Twilight traveled in the direction of her friend's boutique while Shadow traveled on the roof tops. They arrived in a couple of minutes. Twilight knocked on the door while Shadow found a window to go into undetected. After a few moments of waiting Rarity answered the door. "Ah Twilight, how are you darling? What brings you here today?" she asked with a smile. "Hi Rarity I'm doing fine, and I came here with Shadow. He should already be inside so he can avoid attention. I'll explain why I'm here once were with Shadow," Twilight informed. Rarity nodded and stepped to the side to let the purple unicorn in. Once she was inside and Rarity shut the door, Shadow came down the stairs. Rarity was about to ask until she remembered that he was trying to stay out of sight. She turned back to Twilight and asked again, "What brings you here darling?" The purple unicorn was silent for a few seconds before answering, "I want you to try and improve the royal guards' armor so that they're better protected." Rarity gave her a look that said 'you can't be serious.' When she saw that her friend was serious she shook her head a little and replied, "Twilight dear you can't expect me to be able to strengthen the armor the royal guard has right now. I learned how to make all types of armor but not know how to strengthen it." "That's just it Rarity, Shadow knows how to strengthen it. The resin his kind uses are strong enough to defend against a few explosions. That could give the guard an advantage against the possible threat." "I don't know but I guess that if it helps us when those ruffians arrive we might be able to stand a chance. Alright I'll give it a shot. I just need the resin. Hopefully it doesn't get in my mane and ruin it," the white unicorn said. Shadow had found a piece of paper and a pencil and began to write down a response. This will surely help. I will need to cover one of walls entirely so you have enough to work with. You can grab some of the resin if you're strong enough to pull it off or use something humans call a blowtorch to cut off pieces. Rarity looked a little conflicted on letting him cover one of the walls in the resin or just not helping at all. She decided that it was best to make a sacrifice rather than worry about the pleasant look of her home. She told him to make the resin in her work room so that the customers don't start asking questions about it when they see it. She told him the way and he made his way upstairs to begin. The two unicorns chatted for a half hour until he came back down again nodding to confirm that he was done. Rarity told Twilight and him farewell while she went upstairs to begin gathering some of the resin so she had some ready. Twilight and Shadow went their separate ways so he could go around and find other ways of preparing the town. He traveled from the rooftops and ended up looking over a market place. He watched as ponies used some gold circles to trade for food or other items providing what the stand was. He tilted his head in confusion wondering why they don't provide the food equally to each other. That was the same way with humans and that confused him more. In a hive his species help each other creating the perfect economy with the worry of trading for things and working as one. He continued further down the roofs and saw the same school house he saw from the other day. He decided to not go near after what happened last time. Then again no one tried to attack him. He shook away the thought and began to make his way through the town again. He watched the guards as they patrolled the streets. He wondered if there was a way to help the patrols in fighting against synths. He looked at the weapons they had, and was disappointed to see that they had spears and swords, and nothing that could travel fast enough to destroy synth limbs from a distance. He looked to the sky to see that it was midday. He was bored and couldn't find other ways to help the guard. The clouds could provide cover for an ambush and the pegasi could use their weather abilities from what he learned from Twi-wait a second. He just got another idea that could help the guard. He extended his wings and flew high in the sky to go find Rainbow Dash. He didn't need to look long to see her practicing tricks in a field. A small group of ponies were watching her which proves to be a problem for him. He needed to the ponies to go away. His silent prayer was answered when Dash stopped doing tricks and told the group that she was done practicing. The group let out a small 'ahhh' before heading back to finish their daily needs. He flew over to Dash who was about to nap on a cloud but heard him when he flew over to her. She rolled her eyes and said annoyed, "What do you want Shadow? Can't this wait so I can take my nap?" He grabbed her by his tail and flew her to the ground while she protested. Once on the ground he began to write what he wanted to say in the dirt while Rainbow waited for him to finish with her forelegs crossed. When he was finished she read what he wrote. It got her attention and she began to think about it carefully. She actually like the idea. Weather vs. bad guys sometimes doesn't bode well...for the bad guys. She smiled and agreed to do this. She waved him goodbye as she flew to gather the pegasi guards in the town. He liked how he had managed to further prepare the ponies for Weyland Yutani. He flew back to the town and landed on a roof before putting away his wings. He watched as the town continued to bustle with activity. He looked at the sun to see that it was still midday and was annoyed that he couldn't think of other preparations. He saw the schoolhouse again and thought about it. He decided to check it out. He managed to get to it without any trouble. He climbed to the roof and down the bell tower to get inside. Once in he hugged tightly to the shadows to not get seen. He checked the classrooms and saw many colts and fillies watching and listening to the teachers. He heard each teacher talk about something different when he went by. He got too caught up in listening to the teachers that he didn't sense the presence behind him until he heard something hit the floor. He turned to see the same pink filly with tiara on her head staring right at him with fear in her eyes. Before she could scream bloody murder he managed to hold her mouth shut and put a finger to his mouth in a 'be quiet' fashion. He let go of her mouth and she sat there whimpering in fear. He ignored her and made his way out before anyone else found him. He decided to go back to Fluttershy's cottage so he could think and rest. Shadow began to make his way to the cottage until he landed on top of a old balcony that couldn't support his weight and broke. He fell with it until he hit the ground. He felt dizzy after hitting his head on the ground. Once his senses cleared he saw a large group of ponies looking at him. Before they could start screaming he made a large leap that allowed him to grab the roof of the building he tried get on and ran off to Fluttershy's home. He knew that this could spark problems for the future but knew that the guards are to fight Weyland not him. He wasn't that worried. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weyland looked out the window of his room watching the stars go by. The life support system had been damaged by a small explosion on the interior of the vessel having everyone that was human to where a space suit until they landed. He had a team go and douse the fire manually because he didn't want a single drop of power to be put into it. It was doused before it caused any more problems could occur. He sighed in his suit as he turned to leave. He had some synths deliver a space suit to Sarah so that she was still alive when they arrived on the planet. He left his room and went into the laboratory to see what the scientists were doing. When he arrived he saw that they were messing with a egg. A xenomorph egg genetically engineered by Sarah herself. Sadly they couldn't learn how it's made when she torched her work to prevent them from creating more of their own design. He shook his head and thought 'what a waste.' He watched as the scientists tried to learn its properties without destroying it by accident. He could see that they were frustrated since they couldn't take off the suits to do more. He left to head to the bridge. Once there he saw the planet had gotten closer. At least that didn't change at all. He turned to see a crewman approach him. "Reporting sir," he said saluting, "The target planet is getting closer and we will be ready to land as soon as we reach the atmosphere. This world is somewhat like earth since its time of day and years work the same and are in perfect alignment for the the times to match." "Thank you. Dismissed," Weyland said. The crewman saluted one last time before heading back to his station. He turned to the planet in thought. He thought aloud, "What mysteries does this planet hold for us?" He stood there watching the planet with a new interest.