2 - Surviving the Wild
Laud had not noticed in his initial daze that he was not lost in an entirely wild world. It was clearly visible, once he had calmed down a little. Right there, a town! Lazy wisps of smoke in the far distance hinted that the beings that lived within it had at least mastered fire. He could say almost nothing of the construction from so far away.
Life...
But was it life he would be safe around? The odds seemed poor. Humanity had reached many species, and existing peacefully beside them seemed to not be the end result more often than not. "I arrived with a bang," he said to himself, looking at the smoking ruins of his ship. What if they were already swarming to see what had caused the commotion? What if they were immediately hostile?
The odds they could even communicate were vanishingly small.
He patted his pockets and pulled out a small device that he began to finger. "Fat good you'll do..." It was a translator. It worked great, if it knew the two languages involved, the one the person wearing it was speaking, and the one it would translate to. Even if it were programmed to replicate the noises of the locals, it would be a one way communication. Better than nothing... which is what he had.
This all assumed the locals wanted to chat. He found his hand squeezing the hilt of his blade. That was one thing he could be certain of. "Keep it easy, Laud. Let's take this one step at a time." He decided he had to assume the locals wouldn't ignore the great fireball he had made. He decided ascending was the best idea, to find a defensible position and get out of direct sight.
Twilight and her friends sang a song of hiking as they went.
"Every step I take, I can hear the rocks say--"
Maud tilted her head. "Rocks don't say things."
The song came to an abrupt halt. Maud seemed to sense some of the tension. "Did I say something wrong?"
Starlight nudged her gently. "That isn't true. Boulder says things, doesn't he?"
Maud gave a placid blink as she walked. "You have a point. Can you hear him?" She pulled out boulder into view.
Starlight leaned in a little closer, ears trained on the stone. "He says... He hopes you find interesting rocks today."
Maud slipped Boulder away. "That is very likely."
Twilight let out a nervous laughter. "Maud, you have such an interesting way of seeing the world."
"Isn't it the best?" Pinkie was grinning ear to ear. "It's so nice Maud lives closeby now. How have you been liking Ponyville?"
They were ascending the mountain, trail by trail, slowly ascending the stony paths towards the still smoking thing that was above them.
"You know," said Spike, perched on Twilight's back. "You could just fly there."
Twilight tilted her head. "I could, but we'd be leaving Pinkie and Maud behind. It doesn't look like it's running away."
Starlight nodded softly. "Maud's insight could prove quite important. It can wait until we walk there."
Laud scrambled up away from any trails. He went until he could fall down behind a large rock that hid his presence from any curious onlookers that were coming from the direction of the settlement he had spotted. There were other issues to be concerned with. Most of his rations were being overcooked in flames. He was on a mountain. The vegetation was sparse at best. How edible any of it might be, or toxic, was completely unknown.
"I'll have to figure it out the hard way." Namely by sampling the smallest bits possible and hoping to not be dead a short while later. If only he still had his ship... "Times like these..." If he was a godless sorcerer, he could wiggle his fingers and make dinnner, and maybe a house to go with it? He didn't know the full measure of sorcery, besides that it was heathenous and foul work.
He might die, but he'd do so a Hawkwood.
Laud decided to handle the immediate situation first. He looked down at his burning ship, sheltered by his rocky hiding place. He'd wait and see what might show up.
He was eventually rewarded for his patience. Four brightly-colored equine creatures ascended from below. On the back of one was a reptile of some sort. Shantor? They reminded him of the equine species he knew from home. They were humanity's first contact... He couldn't place the lizard. Was it in charge? Were the horses slaves to it? It rode the largest of them and seemed to be doing the least work.
They spoke. He had to focus on the speaking to hear any of it, but he couldn't decipher it. It all sounded like horse noises. Even the lizard was making horse noises. He'd never heard a lizard make equine sounds before without the help of a translator, though he supposed if they were living together, practice could allow many things. Could he make horse noises?
The grey one in a frock approached his burning ship and spoke what seemed to be maybe two words at best. She reached for the hot metal and tore a sheet right off and threw it to the side. Laud threw himself down, new terror thumping through his heart. No being should have been able to just tear apart his ship so easily!
Maybe the fire had weakened it? It had to be! The very concept that any normal creature could just sink its teeth into metal, then rip off a huge portion like that? It was beyond reckoning. He said a soft prayer to God. He wasn't the most faithful man around, but it seemed the right time to make sure things were straightened upstairs.
He reminded himself that he was a Hawkwood. He wouldn't cower in fear. He peeked his head up to see again. The larger equine had spread her wings (what horse has wings?!) and was flying above and around the wreckage, speaking quite quickly those alien words. She... sounded excited?
The pink bouncing one seemed equally excited. If he ignored the fact that she was pink, she and the grey ones seemed the most normal. They appeared as Shantor, if you ignored that their hooves weren't split. The pink/purple one had a horn. The large one had a horn and wings. Were they demons? That was silly. They lived here. Demons don't usually... just live somewhere.
"Ow." That was one word Laud knew. The reptile had dismounted his ride gracelessly and bounced off the hard rocks of the mountain. He said some equine things, looking... cross a moment before it passed.
It seemed clear they were communicating back and forth. They were a social species.
The large one held her horn up and closed her eyes. It began to glow, dimly at first, then it flashed. Ice appeared all over the ship in a sudden frost. The fire guttered and began to die, choked by the magic. It was magic. Or maybe psionics? A naturally psionic species? It wouldn't be the first Laud had heard of... It was no less terrifying for it.
The strength to tear metal apart without obvious stress. Psionic power. Flight. This was no minor species. Laud considered his options with a severe frown. Even revealing himself would be opening himself to immediate attack by possible very deadly combatants. On the other hand, if he remained hidden, he would have to always hide. He would have no allies, no respite on a hostile world. His life would be little more than an intelligent rat, scrabbling for survival.
"You're a Hawkwood," he muttered to himself lightly. "Lead."
He would face them. Better he die nobly than live like a wretch. It was his right to stand tall and proud. He patted his blade, but left it secure in its sheath. To draw one's blade was to invite battle, unless in very specific situations.
"It's taken extensive damage," rambled Twilight with a giddy smile. "But it's clearly of alien make. The pieces are melted and bashed, but even from here, I can see this is the work of a very advanced species!"
Starlight waved it off. "You're leaping to conclusions, Twilight. It could be from somewhere else right here on our own planet. What if it's a crashed Minotaur thing?" She hiked a brow. "We can't prove it's not."
Maud tapped at the metal she had ripped free. "The composition is wrong. It's not steel. I specialize in rocks, but metals are a kind of rock."
Pinkie clopped her hooves together. "You think it's from outer space!?" She thrust a hoof up into the sky. "Woosh!" She waved her hooves with growing excitement. "I wonder what it looked like before it got all beat up."
A strange noise drew all their attentions uphill to a bipedal and clothed creature. The creature was saying something. It sounded serious and formal. It clasped a fist over his chest, then nodded its head at the group.
Spike peered at it, as everypony else did. "Uh, you all see that, right?"
Twilight was filled with excitement. "Ah-ha! I told you!" She vanished, only to appear in front of the being. "Hello!"
Laud stood stiff and tall. "I am Laud Mountbatten, of house Hawkwood. I come in peace if that peace is returned." He knew none of his words were understood. He knew it, but he said it anyway. It comforted him, and let him stand there in plain view without displaying fear.
At least until the large one made an excited noise, vanished, only to reappear directly in front of him, startling him.
He staggered back, hand falling to the hilt of his blade, ready to defend himself. "No closer!" She peered at him with her enormous eyes.
She made a little whicker of a sound and tilted her head him before slowly raising a hoof and offering it towards him.
Starlight called to Twilight, "He looks scared. Maybe you shouldn't go teleporting around him?"
Twilight nodded as her head tilted. She slowly raised a hoof. "I'll be slow. I was too excited."
The slow offering of a hand, hoof, or other limb, was not usually a sign of aggression by most animals, intelligent or not, that he knew. Laud dared to take a breath. Perhaps the powerful psion before him did not mean him direct harm.
A soft wicker came from directly behind him!
Maud brought up her hooves just in time to catch its blade. It had come out with amazing speed, only matched by Maud's defensive pose. She caught the weapon between her mighty hooves and blinked at its owner. "This is made of the same rock as the ship."
Pinkie squeaked, but then she brightened. "I know what will make this right. A song!" She took a deep breath and began a little ditty.
Laud faced the grey pony. He had struck without thought, a failure on his part, though one that could have saved his life. Instead, it just let the equine best show its skill. Only in tales had he heard of men so well trained that they could catch naked swords with equally unclad hands, clapped between hands as his own blade was between the hooves of the beast.
The pony did not pull, twist, or otherwise try to take advantage of the situation. It just looked at him and the sword.
Then the noise began. The pink one was making quite a racket of sounds. Were they words? He guessed they were. They had a certain melody to them, but the meaning was far beyond him. "Can I have this back?" He pulled the sword away, and the grey equine allowed it without resistance.
Twilight waved at Pinkie. "I don't think that's helping." She cleared her throat, then pointed at the creature. "You. From Stars?" She pointed up at the sky, then back to it.
Laud sheathed his blade as he turned back to the larger one's noises. It pointed at him, said something, then pointed to the sky, and back to him.
Was it asking if he was an alien?
He nodded.
It smiled. It pointed at itself and made a noise. Then it repeated it and the noise. It pointed at each person and gave a different noise for each, then at itself once more and repeated that first noise.
Laud was no fool. Names. He was being given names. He returned the gesture, pointing at her and attempting her name. He was sure he butchered it terribly. He had little practice trying to sound like a horse.
"Yes!" cried Twilight. She pointed at herself once more. "Twilight."
"Twrlo," he said. His words were so thick and strange, but the fact that he was trying to say Twilight's name filled her with joy.
Contact had been made.
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Well that went well. I think that once proper communication can be established Laud is going to have an interesting experience.
This is a very good first contact scene
Dont give her ideas. shes worse than the GM.
Maud being able to pull the ship apart and do a quick material analysis by sight, sound, smell, and touch is one thing. Wonder what Spike thinks of the taste. Hope the ultra refined and blended materials, ceramics etc doesnt end up tasting like Frosties to him, or those multicoloured hoop things.
Pinkie should try singing Opera. that way he can be sure to enjoy the tune without even having to bother to try and work out what language its in.
What a strange mix. It reminds me of Reinhardt. A man in a technologically advanced world that holds onto the ideals, morals and honour codes of medieval Knights.
8148682 You have hit the nail on the head there.
I admit, I looked up the setting's TV Tropes page after the first chapter. Sorry, but I was too curious to wait.
In any case, a relatively peaceful first contact has been made. Now comes the tricky part; how well can the two sides communicate when they aren't even using the same basic sounds? Hopefully that translator's a quick learner.
So far, it's good, but the constant changing of pic is annoying
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Changing of pic?
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I think he/she/it meant POV
What's the difference between sorcery and psionics? Because he obviously hates sorcery, yet he didn't seem too agitated by Twilight's magic. I have to assume that, since he calls their magic psionics and not sorcery, that psionics is different to sorcery in his mind and thus okay. ...right?
What a relief he can't understand them yet. This makes him immune to Music of Harmony!
Hmm... So first contact has been made successfully and peacefully, but one mistake could easily make things go wrong in an instant...
This sentence is missing its period
*its
...
Maud again demonstrating epic awesomeness.
It's only natural that Maud can notice that the sword and ship are from the same material with one look and perhaps feeling it with her hooves helps too.
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She is a Roctor after all.
I find it very unnatural that they didn't even give two bucks about the fact that an alien just struck down at Maud with a sword, despite her prowess to stop the attack.
Alien just attacked a pony with a sharp blade and nopony seems to care, there is no negative reaction at all, neither from Spike, Starlight or Twilight. (I can understand why Maud and Pinkie are ruled out at default, but the others?)
... instead they just move on like that didn't just happen at all
... suuuure.
I'm sorry, but even ponies are aware of the significance of swords as a weapon. They know what a knife is and they know what any blade can do, they even have the royal guard who use spears.
This situation is as surrealistic as it can get. These are sapient, peaceful equines who are aware of the world around them, know a thread when they see it, and thus need to react accordingly on an instinctual level, just like any sane person would.
Too whatever extend their reactions may stretch is debatable, but seeing a bipedal alien trying to stab Maud, albeit out of fear, can simply not draw any other reaction out of either Spike, Starlight or Twilight, but a negative one akin to fear, shock or aggression, for the sake of logical behavior.
You don't watch an alien take a swipe with it's blade at your friend without reacting accordingly, even if it's just something like 'confusion.'
Everything else contradicts the instincts, and seeing how peaceful ponies commonly are, it goes double for them.
But in this scene, there wasn't even a single shrug given by anypony, there was just no reaction at all, they simply waltz over the event as if it had never occurred.
.
Sorry again, but this is all kinds of weird and unnatural. Makes them sorta look like puppets.
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Swing. Maud catches.
Pinkie squeaks in alarm and goes into a musical number, distracting everyone from the tense moment.
Human makes funny noises in a non-offensive way, Maud releases the sword, it's put away without more fighting.
Twilight attempts communication.
I like Fading Suns. A very cool setting, I'm very surprised to find it here.
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Welcome to it!
Okay to be honest, when I saw the story's cover art, I instantly assumed Stargate until I saw the comments of this chapter... Yeah I need to figure out what this story is a crossover of
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Fading Suns.
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Some sort of tabletop rpg setting near as I can figure it. Probably accompanying novels like most tabletops get too.
Something I’ve always wondered was if Boulder was the heart of a rock monster like a Cragodile or something similar(and likewise, Mudbriar’s stick the heart of a Timberwolf or something) It always seemed like a natural element to add in an Equestria setting, yet I don’t think I’ve ever seen it done.
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Could be!