• Published 27th Jul 2016
  • 10,041 Views, 937 Comments

Harmony Among The Stars - tom117z



The ES Harmony, the pride of Princess Twilight Sparkle and Equestria's first FTL capable starship. It is due to make its maiden voyage to travel further than anypony before it, and yet its first mission... may be its last.

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16 - Aliens

Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Personal Log Supplemental, September 30th, 3382 AD.

The stations did not have what we needed. All the crystals aboard had already been taken, but the logs in the command centre have told us exactly who took them. Another sharin starship has been in the area, recently. What’s more is that the ‘Interceptor’ is currently landed on the planet’s surface.

Initially, I was happy with the news. We could get those crystals after all, and even make a new friend or two. But then Xal told me something worrying.

They shouldn’t be there.

There is a directive among their people forbidding interaction with largely undeveloped species, breaking this directive could have you court martialled. The fact they are there at all, and given the amount of time they have spent on the surface… it has certainly caused some alarm bells to ring.

Xal is as calm and collected as he usually is, but I can tell he is angry. He takes his duty as an officer very seriously, and the thought of one of his peers breaking one of their most prime directives hasn’t gone over well with him. He is determined to confront the crew of the Interceptor, and agree with him. Besides, we still need those crystals.

And I too am curious to hear the excuse for what they have done.

Anyway, it has been a few hours and the station lost power not too long ago, and for now I am needed in the shuttle bay.

We are heading down to the planet below.


ES Harmony, shuttle bay



Princess Twilight had gathered those she wanted to take with her to the surface, deciding to take two shuttles down to the surface and created a landing site that would double as a camp. They would have to be careful however, the landing site was a small distance from the Interceptor but it was also far too close to a native village for their liking.

Still, the fact that the ship landed so close to a native village did nothing to quell Xal’s unease.

“Is everyone prepared?” Xal asked, eager to get underway.

“We are,” Iynx confirmed. “Senior officers will go down in Pod One, the security team will go down in Pod Two.”

Iynx nodded towards the group of ponies readying to board the second shuttle pod, all of them were armoured up and had phasers attached to their foreleg of choice.

The senior officer were also geared up. Each one of them, except Princess Twilight who had enough power to move the system’s sun anyway, were equipped with phasers much like the security team. Differences were apparent however; Silver Wrench and Geneser wore an engineering kit and medical kit respectively instead of armour, and Iynx’s phaser wasn’t attached to her wrist but rather had a grip allowing her to hold it in her talons.

Unlike the senior officers, the security team’s armour was red in colour, while the senior officers who wore armour had theirs coloured black with blue detailing.

“Is the night’s crew on the bridge?” Twilight asked, making final checks.

“They are,” Iynx answered. “Admittedly, they were a little annoyed at having to start their shifts early, but I’m sure they’ll get over it.”

“We’re ready to board on your order!” one of the security officers gave a salute to the group.

“Good, then get your asses aboard, double time!” Iynx ordered the team who, as chief tactical officer, was normally in charge of all security aboard the Harmony.

“Yes ma’am!” the officer confirmed. “You heard the Commander, move it fillies!”

As Iynx watched them board, Nimble Star opened up the doorway to their own pod and got inside, sitting down at the pilot’s seat. The others followed in after them, Twilight having to duck slightly so her horn didn’t go through the roof.

“All right, we’re all set back here,” Silver Wrench shouted up to Nimble Star as he closed up the hatch and sealed is tight.

Princess Twilight, Iynx, Xal, Silver Wrench and Geneser all took their seats as Nimble Star got on the intercom.

“Control, Pod One is secure and ready for undocking,” he informed those on duty in the hangar’s control room.

“Roger that ensign,” control reported back. “Pod Two is also secured, hold tight as we evacuate the hangar bays.”

An alarm sounded outside informing the engineering crew performing the checks on the shuttles pre-launch it was time to evacuate. All personnel quickly vacated the room as the airlocks sealed up tightly behind them. Once everypony was gone, air began to be sucked out from the room and back into the tanks, creating a vacuum inside the hangar. Once all the air was gone, the hangar doors beneath the shuttles began to slide open revealing the stars beyond and a partial view of the planet they were orbiting.

“Ensign, you may start the engines and prepare for undocking.”

“Roger that,” Nimble responded as he flicked a few switches and pressed some controls.

All within the shuttle could hear the sound of the two engines coming online, and moments later a sudden jolt indicated that the clamps holding the shuttle in place had been released.

“Shuttle Pod One you are undocked and have the green light to proceed. Safe trip, keep our Princess safe.”

“Will do control,” Nimble stated. “Shuttle Pod One over and out.”

The shuttle slowly moved downwards as it exited the Harmony, the second pod not far behind them.

Nimble switched the comm channel. “Shuttle Pod Two, what is your status?”

“Green, sir,” was the response from the other pilot.

“Roger that, follow our lead.”

The shuttle turned away from the Harmony and began to head down towards the planet below, the second pod following closely. As they began to enter the atmosphere, a red glow visible outside the cockpit window as flames whipped around the hull due to the entry into said atmosphere.

“Everypony alright?” Nimble called back to his passengers.

“Fine, since we cannot feel the outside heat,” Geneser responded. “For you to worry is truly quite sweet.”

“S-sweet?” Nimble stuttered back.

Silver Wrench laughed. “She only added that for the rhyme, don’t think too hard on it.”

He only laughed harder when the zebra elbowed him in the ribs, giving him an irritated glare.

“Is the pod holding alright?” Princess Twilight asked.

“Just fine, your highness,” the pilot answered. “The flames are already dying away, we are in!”

Twilight couldn’t help but give an excited, gleeful smile. “Despite the circumstances, this is our first time on an alien planet! Isn’t this exciting?”

“I’ve been on an alien planet,” Xal raised a hoof.

“You don’t count,” Iynx snarked. “You kinda cheated, being an alien yourself and all.”

Xal rolled his eyes. “I would think you’d find that you are the aliens in my eyes.”

“Hey, you’re on our ship dude,” Iynx pointed out.

“And you’re in sharin space,” Xal rebutted.

“The edge of it!” Iynx protested.

The sharin shook his head. “It still counts,” he calmly stated.

“Shut it back there!” Nimble Star shouted to the two. “I’m need to hear this!”

Nimble Star turned back to his console, having been speaking to the second pod’s pilot.

“Are you certain?” Nimble asked.

“Well, what do your scans say?” the other pilot responded.

Nimble looked over towards the completed scan, beginning to feel uneasy. Outside the cockpit he could see nothing, being within a thick layer of cloud. He was relying solely on his equipment at that point.

“It’s as you reported, the Interceptor is gone.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight called up to the pilot’s seat. “Did you just say the ship is gone?!”

“Apparently, we’ll try increasing the scans.”

A few silent moments passed by as both shuttles scanned the area to try and locate the Interceptor as they continued towards the edge of the cloud.

The other pilot came back over the comms. “Wait, I think I… OH SHIT!”

That last message was transmitted the moment that both pods broke though the cloud layer together.

When they did exit however, they were just in time to see a small green starship heading right in their direction.

“Damn! Evade evade!” Nimble Star shouted in panic as he pushed the controls to their limits.

The first shuttle evaded to the right while the second pod evaded to the left, both narrowly avoiding the Interceptor as it blasted on past them. Both small ships were forced off course by the manoeuvre, and scrambled to get back together.

The Interceptor quickly decelerated and turned one hundred and eighty degrees, heading directly back towards them.

“Nimble!” the second shuttle’s pilot shouted out. “We’re reading that their weapons are charging, prepare for-”

The pilot was cut off when a green beam of plasma shot out from the Interceptor and tore into Shuttle Pod Two’s hull, completely annihilating the shuttle and everypony aboard it.

“Princess! Shuttle Two is down, the Interceptor is coming right for us!”

Princess Twilight growled as she got up from her seat and headed towards the shuttle’s airlock.

“Nimble, get this shuttle to the ground!” she ordered. “I’ll head outside and deal with that ship.”

“Princess, wait,” Xal interrupted. “Let me contact the ship, I might be able to get them to stop without sacrificing more lives.”

Twilight only had a moment to consider as the shuttle veered hard to the right to avoid a plasma beam as the Interceptor tore past them yet again.

“Do it!” the Princess shouted. “But quickly!”

Xal nodded, scrambling to the cockpit where Nimble Star opened up a channel to the alien starship.

Xal began speaking in his own language, the others couldn’t quite tell whether he was pleading with the Interceptor’s captain or ordering them to stand down. Maybe a bit of both.

Several tense moments passed them by, the ground getting closer and closer. For a moment it seemed Xal had been listened to, until another beam scrapped the side of the shuttle’s hull and caused one of the engines to burst into flames.

Nimble gave a shout as the shuttle veered on out of control, fighting with the controls desperately.

“I can’t hold it!”

Princess Twilight stood steadfast at the centre of the shuttle, her horn glowing with her powerful magic.

“Hold on and brace for impact!” she shouted, the shuttle being enveloped in a large levitation spell as she slowed their descent.

Shuttle Pod One fell from the sky, scrapping along the treetops briefly before slamming down into a clearing surrounded by the trees of a small forest. The shuttle skidded from one end of the clearing to another leaving a large gash in its wake, the pod finally coming to a rest just before the treeline.

Smoke piled up high into the sky from the burning engine as the shuttle's airlock was blown open by a lavender bolt of magic, all of its bruised occupants piling on out as the flames began to enter the cabin. Once they were all out, Princess Twilight grabbed hold of the flames with her magic and starved them of oxygen, causing them to flicker out while leaving behind the charred hulk that was once their shuttle.

The Princess examined the group, Geneser already giving everypony check-ups with her tricorder. Aside from a bit of bruising and singed hairs they were all perfectly fine, though they had all been left in a stunned silence by what had just transpired.

As the check-up continued, the first actual word among the group said was by Xal, saying something in his language that sounded suspiciously like a swearword.

“Xal, are you alright?” Twilight asked the enraged sharin.

“I told them who we were!” he shouted. “I even gave them clearance codes that they acknowledged! And still they shot us down?! Whoever these people are, they are not part of our navy! At least, not anymore.”

“Then who are they?” Iynx asked.

“Rogues, terrorists, criminals… who knows? But whatever they are doing on this planet is not for the good of the galaxy I can tell you that much.”

“You think?” Nimble Star sarcastically stated. “They killed several of our people in a single shot without any rhyme or reason aside from us being here.”

“Us being here is likely why they did it,” Silver Wrench stated. “They don’t want what they’re up to being found out.”

“We need to contact the Harmony,” Twilight stated. “Silver, can you repair the communications systems?”

“It depends on how much damage the impact and flames did,” the unicorn engineer said. “But I’ll have a look at it.”

Princess Twilight went to say something else, until a buzzing sound caught all of their ears. They looked over in the direction where they had come from, seeing several metallic spheres heading their way, a bolt of plasma shooting forwards and landing a few metres from them.

Geneser, who was closest to where it hit, jumped back in surprise. “On seeing that hit… all I can say is, oh shit!”

Several of them dived out of the way as the spheres made a pass firing plasma bolts down onto the group as Twilight placed a shield around herself and the ones standing immediately next to her.

Iynx unholstered her phaser and shot one of them as they made for another pass, the orange beam striking the sphere and destroying it.

“Xal, what are they?” Twilight questioned urgently.

“No idea!” he shouted his response. “Some kind of drone, definitely not standard issue!”

As they made another pass several plasma bolts and phaser beams were exchanged, though Twilight had had enough.

The Princess released the shield and, as they came back for a fourth pass, reached out with her magic and grabbed the spheres where they flew. Her eyes glowed white with pure primal fury as she crushed down onto the dozen spheres, crushing them all down until nothing remained but atoms. Once her magic was released, those atoms scattered to the wind.

“I think you got them,” Nimble stated, before adding, “Your highness.”

Iynx marched over to the one she had managed to shoot out of the sky, kneeling beside the wreckage. “Is there anything on this planet that doesn’t want to kill us?”

Geneser backed off a little as the others crowded around the drone, taking a moment to catch her breath. She was right next to the treeline, her back facing it as she looked on at the others as they discussed the things that had just attacked them.

That was when a shadow fell upon Geneser, causing her to swing around.

Only to be slugged in the jaw.

“Geneser!” Silver Wrench shouted in a panic, seeing his other half be knocked to the ground.

Geneser looked up at the thing that had attacked her, which was mechanically similar to the drones that had attacked them but was equine shaped and stood on its four legs, a plasma pistol attached to its forearm.

Geneser attempted to bring up her phaser the moment she hit the ground, but a metallic hoof pressed down on it as she suddenly found herself facing down the barrel of a plasma pistol.

Then, quite suddenly, a spear emerged through the front of the drone’s chest. The robot powered down, and slumped down to the side off of the zebra.

The group, who had been rushing to Geneser’s aid, all stopped dead at the sight of one who had made the killing blow.

Most stopped to stare simply because of how alien Geneser’s rescuer seemed, but Princess Twilight stopped for an entirely different reason.

The alien looked almost human.

There were some differences with the denizens from beyond the mirror portal, however. The alien had three fingers on each hand, along with a thumb on each, and had holes on the sides of their head which Twilight assumed were their ears along with some ridges running along down their cheeks. The alien was wearing some basic clothing, shoulder pads and a loincloth to be specific.

He extracted the spear from the fallen drone, looking towards the newcomers with uncertainty.

“You are not like them,” a male voice said in their minds.

“You’re telepathic…” Twilight muttered. “No, we are not like them.”

“They attacked you,” the alien stated. “These things are soulless, creatures from the beyond out of our very nightmares.”

“Should we really be talking to him, Princess?” Iynx asked cautiously. “Wasn’t there some sharin directive for this?”

“The crew of the interceptor have already done the damage,” Xal grimly noted. “Our presence will change little in regards to contact with them.”

The alien looked directly towards Xal, fear and curiosity on his face.

“You are like him, the one who controls the soulless ones.”

“Him? As in just one of them?” Xal asked.

“Yes. He came here not too long ago, the soulless ones at his beck and call,” he stated. “He introduced himself in fire and blood, what of the new outsiders I must wonder…”

Twilight nodded, stepping forwards. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. This is Iynx, Nimble Star, Geneser, Silver Wrench and Xal.”

He nodded respectfully. “Greetings, I am Teneer, of Sha’Du people. My village is under threat from the same soulless ones that attacked you.”

“We are sorry to hear of your strife,” Geneser said. “But I must thank you for saving my life.”

“You are welcome,” Teneer said, seeing the zebra and unicorn standing closely together as the latter calmed himself down from almost losing his marefriend.

“Not to interrupt but…” Iynx motioned back to the destroyed drone. “I feel a little exposed here, perhaps we can talk elsewhere?”

“The Commander is right,” Princess Twilight stated with a nod. “Teneer, is there anywhere safe you can lead us.”

“My home,” he responded. “I know a safe way back, if you would trust me.”

“And you’re willing to trust us?” Xal questioned.

“You are enemies of the soulless ones and the man who controls them,” Teneer stated. “An enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Very well,” Twilight said with approval. “Lead the way, and we can discuss these ‘soulless ones’ in more detail.”

Author's Note:

Christ this chapter ended up longer and with more stuff going on than I originally planned, about a thousand words more stuff to be precise.

Also, who knew the security team was going to die on seeing their armor was red? :pinkiecrazy: