Ch.3- Contact at Ponyville
Chapter 3: Contact at Ponyville
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"If any of you [soldiers] wanted to see an alien up close and personal, today's gonna be your lucky day."- Srgt. Mjr. A.J. Johnson, veteran of Halo 04
Airspace above Equestria
June 24th, 0750 hours
It was just the break of dawn as the three drop ships began their descent. Two UNSC Pelicans and a newly upgraded CAR Phantom entered the atmosphere as a trio of contrails in the morning light. Coming from the east, only a few scattered monsters from the Everfree Forest happened to see them. By the time they approached the edges of civilization, the ships were at low altitude, and had fully engaged their stealth systems. These systems, put in about 2 years ago, fully masked visible and infrared light, as well as muffled any sound made from the engines.
They stopped over a clearing, about 2 kilometers east of the nearest settlement. Hovering at a safe distance near the ground, the three squads got off, setting foot on a new world. The away team was a mixture of all important races from their universe- 18 humans, 10 Uggnoy, 6 Sanghelli, 6 Jiralhanae, 5 Hame'e and 5 Kig-Yar. All the troops were only slightly armed, not wanting to scare away the locals with overwhelming firepower.
Among the teams were Alan, Cassius and N'tho. Vasquez was in the standard issue Mark IV Marine Armor, a suit heavily influenced by the ODSTs, complete with its own minor shield generator. Armed with a M392 DMR and M6G Magnum, he stood as the leader for both squads. His squad would be the one assigned to look for any possible entrance to the mountain, as the Chief's ship may have exited slipspace in a cave.
N'tho bore his specialized Spec. Ops armor. His red and silver suit was all pointed and angular, and his helmet covered his head in a three-pronged mask. But what made it so special was its active camo ability, rendering the user invisible for up to five minutes at a time. Armed with the old Covenant Carbine and the Energy Sword passed down from his ancestors, his squad of Sanghelli would be the forward scouts of the operation, keeping an eye out for any hostiles or friendlies (if there were any of either).
Cassius wore his gold armor, identifying him as the leader of the pack. Armed with a Spike Pistol and a Needle Rifle, he served as the leader for most of the CAR forces. The Grunts, Jackals and Drones, although capable of leading themselves when they had to, usually fell back to the old ways of the Covenant, which mainly involved just obeying the orders of Brutes or Elites, and promptly going crazy when they were killed.
As soon as everyone was on the ground, the Sanghelli troops turned invisible and filtered into the dense, almost jungle-like forest. The Drones took to the skies, hovering just over the treetops for aerial cover. The Brutes, Grunts, humans and Jackals all spread out, and began heading east through the forest, as the shuttle go back to their ships. They were on their own for now, the first humans and aliens on an unknown world.
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Sweet Apple Acres, east of Ponyville
1 day after Pinkie's Attack
8:30 A.M.
Applejack stood on the porch of her house, enjoying the morning sun and scent of apples on the wind. Today was going to be a good day; she could feel it in her gut.
She looked over the entirety of her farm, and took pride in having the best apple farm in Equestria. It had actually been confirmed by the Princesses, when she was asked to cater for the Royal Wedding a few months ago. Although most of the accolades went to her, she knew that her harvest wouldn't be so amazing without her friends and family.
The Element of Honesty adjusted her cowboy hat as her brother, Big Macintosh, came outside beside her.
"Ready for another day's work?" She asked the big red stallion.
"Eeyep." He replied. Big Mac wasn't much of a talker.
"Looks like it'll be a bumper crop this year." The orange mare observed.
"Eeyep. Bigger than last year?"
"Much bigger. Ah may need to bring the girls in on this again."
"Can Ah help ya, big sis?" A little voice inquired.
Applejack looked down, and smiled at her little sister, Applebloom. "Sure, sugar cube," She told her, "We're going to need all the help we can get."
"Great," The yellow filly cheered, "Maybe I should bring in Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. That way, one of us can get a cutie mark in apple farming, or somethin'."
AJ shook her head. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, or the "Cutie Mark Crusaders", as they called themselves, were all dead set on discovering their cutie marks, their calling in life. A cutie mark was an image or symbol that appears on a pony's flank around adolescence, indicating their destiny and special talent. Since most fillies their age had already received their cutie marks, they were willing to try anything- even stupid stuff like paragliding or arguing- to get them. It was cute, in an annoying way.
"I'm sure you will, sis," AJ assured her, "In the meantime, we should probably get started on-"
"Oh my gosh," Applebloom cried out, eyes wide in astonishment, "What the Hay are THOSE?!"
Big Mac and AJ looked to where their sister was pointing, and gasped.
Over in one of their apple trees, five giant bug things were eating the fruits of their labor, devouring and collecting apples all over the tree. They were massive, easily the size of a pony, all green and brown and scaly, holding weird circle things that glowed green. They chattered to each other in insect-like screeches and squeals, acting remarkably intelligent.
But most of that didn't register to the Earth ponies. Two things did, though: 1), These were giant bugs, almost like parasprites or changelings, and 2), they were stealing and eating their livelihood. Something they had worked months upon months for absolute quality.
"Git away from mah trees, yah varmints!" Applejack cried out, charging the bugs with her siblings in tow. The insects looked at the fast approaching ponies, seeming quite puzzled. As if they've never seen talking ponies before. When the farmers reached the tree, Applejack and Big Mac went to kicking and bucking the tree, while Applebloom used her tail to throw rocks. The bugs flew into the air, nonplussed by the turn of events.
One of them pointed the metallic circle at them, as if to threaten them. But then another bug, this one painted red, screeched at it, making the bug lower its weapon. The five giant insects flew away, heading for the Everfree Forest, carrying off a hefty payload of apples. AJ wasn't going to let them get away.
"Come on, Big Mac," She said, eyes on the horizon, "Let's go get those rats with wings."
"Eeyep."
"I wanna git 'em, too, sis." Applebloom put in, looking rather excited.
"No, Applebloom," She countermanded, "You have to go git Twilight back in town. Somthin' tells me that these ain't ordinary bugs." While she did want her friends' help, she mainly wanted the little filly away from the farm. Those locusts looked like they could carry her off easily, and she couldn't live with herself if something happened to her.
Applebloom looked at the retreating Drones, and had the same thought go through her head. "Okay," She murmured, and ran off to town. Her older siblings continued galloping across their farm, unknowingly into the away team from the Haloverse…
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Location unknown
0840 hours
Getting through the forest was intriguing, to say the least. This world had much in the way of… diverse flora and fauna.
Twice, the team had to stop, as the Sanghelli spotted two different types of mega fauna: One was a Hunter-sized feline creature, with vestigial bat wings and a scorpion's tail. The other was a six-headed lizard creature with no arms, easily the size of a 3-story building. Fortunately, the creatures never noticed the soldiers, and continued about their business.
After about half an hour, the soldiers found themselves out of the forest, and in what appeared to be some kind of orchard. The Drones were assigned to go scout ahead and look for local inhabitants, and quickly flew off. The Elites turned off their active camo, and joined all the other soldiers as they regrouped around the trees.
To Alan, these trees seemed oddly similar to apple trees. Very similar, in fact. Same general size, same shaped fruit, same colored fruit. They even smelled the same, as the scent brought back memories of his childhood farm in Kentucky. He said as much to Cassius and N'tho, who couldn't say anything on the subject because they've never seen an apple tree before.
"Ah tell ya, though," Vasquez continued, "The resemblance is uncanny." He brought out his combat knife, and began to peel the skin off the fruit.
"What're you doing?" Cassius asked, concerned. "You're not going to eat that, are you?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"Because, human," N'tho hissed, "We're on an unexplored alien planet, with who knows what kind of biology and chemistry. For all we know, while that fruit may look like an apple, it may be more like a deadly fungus, and will kill you the moment you taste it."
"Oh, bitch please. This planet doesn't have any crazy biology. We're here talking without any hard suits or medical upgrades. This planet is just like a Forerunner installation: all pretty and clean, no health risks."
"Alan-"
Before either of them could stop him, the Sergeant took a bite out of the apple. Instantly, his eyes went wide, he staggered against the tree, and exclaimed "Oh, Holy Crap!" His friends rushed to him, holding him up. "Alan, you okay?" Cassius.
"Oh boy, am I." He groaned. That wasn't just an apple; that was the best damn apple he ever tasted. The sheer sensory overload from that one bite was almost too much. "Dudes, you gotta try this!"
Cassius took a bite, and had the exact same reaction with his apple. Other soldiers, watching this transpire, each took an apple from the trees, and were eating them ecstatically. The only ones not eating were the Grunts (who, being methane breathers, couldn't take off their rebreathers) and the Elites (who had mandible mouths, and were having difficulty biting into the fruit). The Drones returned at this time, carrying a large bag full of apples, which were to be taken back to the ships.
While everyone snacked, N'tho wondered aloud, "You know, this orchard seems to be pretty organized and extensive. You'd think the owners would be drawn to all our commotion."
"Yeah," Alan stated, "Where the hell are the natives?"
"Who're You and what're Y'all doin' on Mah farm?!" A voice demanded, angry and authoritative and completely unexpected. The team of soldiers drew their weapons on instinct, aiming at the source, and were completely dumbfounded at the sight of the aliens.
In front of them were two brightly colored equines, standing between 4 and 5 feet tall. The larger one was bright red in color, with green eyes and an orange mane and tail. The smaller one was a shade of orange, with the same green eyes and blonde-yellow mane and tail. They both had what appeared to be tattoos on their flank (the red one had a sliced apple, and the orange one had a three-apple design), and the little one had a very familiar looking Stetson cowboy hat. And both of them looked mightily pissed off.
From Applejack and Big Mac's perspective, it was like the worst denizens of Tartarus had escaped and raided their farm. At least 50 weird looking monsters were standing in front of her aiming some weird instruments at them. All these creatures were tall (for most ponies), bipedal, and wearing what appeared to be some kind of armor. They looked intimidating, but the Apple family wasn't the type that got scared easy.
So, Applejack repeated herself; "Ah said, What're y'all doin' here?"
A Sanghelli- no one knows who- then exclaimed, "By the Rings, it's a talking pony!" From that, the off-worlders broke out in uproarious laughter. Even the Uggnoy, who weren't much bigger than Applejack herself, joined in. Seeing something that small, that freaking cute, acting all tough and badass, was the funniest thing ever. Naturally, Applejack didn't take to kindly to that.
"Now, what's so darned funny? Its like you've never seen a pony before."
While the soldiers continued to snicker in a way uncharacteristic of them, Vasquez had a two-part realization. One, this unknown alien was somehow speaking reasonably good English. And secondly, what was actually more surprising, was how she spoke.
"Damn," He exclaimed, getting everyone's attention, "That thing is speakin' Mah accent!"
This got the aliens and other troops to stop laughing, and return to being professional. AJ used this moment to get to scold them. "Ah don't know where you fellas come from, but 'round these parts, fellas don't go around taking apples off a tree without asking or paying for 'em."
"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed, the first time he spoke so far.
The visitors looked at the trees, and the apples that they still held, and realized they had been raiding this native's farm. In the history of first contacts, there have been plenty that went better than this. But at least they hadn't shot each other yet, so this was still salvageable.
Vasquez, although not the commanding officer, took charge of the situation. "Ahem," He started, "Our apologies, miss…?"
"Name's Applejack," The orange pony (who definitely sounded feminine) told him, "This is my brother Big Macintosh, and this," She gestured to all the trees, "Is Sweet Apple Acres, home of the best apples in all of Equestria."
"I'll say!" A human called out from the back of the crowd. This was joined by a choir of "Damn straight!" and "Hell yeah!" The CAR operatives gave various grunts and whistles of their own approval. The earth pony looked away and smiled, properly flattered.
"Any way," Alan continued, silencing them, "Miss Applejack, we weren't aware that anyone owned this farm, and we will pay back all the apples we took today."
"Fair enough. Will you make those giant bugs of yours apologize too?"
Vasquez looked at the Drones, who were up one of the trees looking not the least bit guilty or caring. He'd have Cassius talk to them later.
"Sure," He answered, "In the meantime, is there someone nearby that we could talk to? Your leader, perhaps?" Later, Vasquez would say that was the only way he could avoid the cliché "Take me to your leader" trope. At least the ponies hadn't figured out they had weapons on them, yet.
AJ thought for a moment. The Princesses were way up in Canterlot, and she didn't trust Mayor Mare with a sack of beans. Her friend Twilight, however, had a direct line to Celestia, was close by, and was the smartest pony she knew. If anypony knew what to do in this situation, it would be her.
Smiling, she responded, "I know somepony you can talk to…"
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Atmosphere above Ponyville
0900 hours
Cmdr. Matt Shepard, Miranda Lawson and Garrus Vakarian were onboard the automated shuttle, making their descent to the new world. It wasn't something necessarily new for the squad, as they had been on distant and undeveloped worlds before. But, still, any away mission held a tiny bit of excitement, the taste of discovery was always heavy in the air.
Scans of the planet had shown to have a breathable atmosphere, so the team didn't have to wear rebreather masks. However, having such a diverse and prolific biosphere probably meant there were lots of potential predators and mega fauna, so they still came fully armored and loaded. If worse came to worse, the team could always shoot and blast their way out of any sticky situation.
When the shuttle finally landed, Shepard looked to his comrades. "Ready?" He asked. "Ready." They both replied.
"Alright. Let's roll."
The shuttle door opened up, and the three fighters exited with guns raised. They got about five steps out before they stopped, utterly shocked by their surroundings.
The shuttle had landed in a forest clearing, relatively close to a small dirt road. What was weird was that the plants- the grass, the trees, even the flowers- all looked strange, almost… cartoony. Nearby, birds were chirping, not in a random manner, but almost as if they were a choir singing a tune. Even the air itself felt happy and carefree, if that was possible.
"Damn," Lawson observed, "Feels like I just walked onto the set of a Disney movie."
"Yeah," Garrus murmured his agreement, "Sure seems that way." He was silently freaking out, as he looked over his surroundings, more and more convinced that this world was the one he and thousands of other people used to see.
Get a hold of yourself, Garrus, He ordered himself, This isn't Equestria! Sure, the sun and moon are the same size, and everything looks almost animated, but that doesn't mean that you're on a kid's show turned real! There has to be a logical explanation to all this.
The Turian's thoughts were interrupted, as Shepard declared, "Well, you don't see that everyday." As the humans stared in wonder, Vakarian looked at the view, and his jaw dropped in amazement.
They reached the end of the forest, and the road had reached the top of a hill. It offered a breath-taking view of the entire region. Off in the distance, a magnificent castle-city resided on the side of a mountain, looking like the cover of a fantasy novel. Further off, floating in the air like an insult to logic and physics, was an entire city made of clouds. Some of them were even spewing rainbows like industrial waste.
Well, that confirms it. Garrus thought. That castle is Canterlot, that cloud city is Cloudsdale, and this world is Equestria. Mentally, he was on the verge of a panic attack and a nerdgasm, but the only sign of change was that he gripped his sniper rifle tighter.
"Huh," Lawson mused, "A castle on a mountain, a floating cloud city. All we need is a fire-breathing dragon or a wizard, and we have ourselves a fantasy world."
Shepard snickered. "Maybe they'll be a knight riding a unicorn further on, off to save a damsel in distress, or toss a ring into a volcano."
"Or a Pegasus breaking the sound barrier." Garrus wondered aloud.
"What was that?" Shepard asked.
"Nothing. We should get going."
The humans nodded, and the squad got moving again. But while Miranda and Matt were scanning the horizon, Garrus kept his eyes on the sky…
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Rainbow Dash's house, north of Ponyville
8:55 A.M.
The sun was rising on another beautiful day in Ponyville. Light from Celestia's sun filtered through the window of Dash's house, settling on her face, and waking her from her slumber. Opening her magenta-colored eyes, she stretched and yawned, looking around her room as she tried to remember… something.
Something was supposed to happen today, She thought wearily, But what was it? What was it? She extended her wings, and began flying to the kitchen, when she realized that Gilda was sharing a spot on her bed. She stopped in midair, and tilted her head in confusion. How did that happen? I don't remember drinking or… anything like that happening last night.
Rainbow scratched her head, going over what happened yesterday. After Pinkie's outbreak, Trixie and Gilda sat her and Twilight down, and told them about how the Princesses selected them. A story about meeting in a forest, surviving a starship's crash, finding a suit of armor, and being found by the alicorns. While they trained under their tutelage, Celestia and Luna told them about the universe, and about the existence of aliens. They didn't know for sure, but Gilda felt that these visitors were coming for the armor.
Whatever the case may be, the four of them spent most of the night preparing for dealing with the aliens. They had talked until midnight, when Dash and Gilda finally went home. RD smiled as she finally remembered why the griffon was in her bed; It had rained a few days ago, and the guest room was still leaking. Dash allowed her friend to share the bed, just like they used to back during Flight School. It's actually pretty comfy, liking having a huge feathery pillow.
It was also where all those rumors of being a "filly-fooler", or a lesbian, originated from. It still pissed her off. Just because she had a rainbow mane and tail and was an athletic tomboy didn't mean she went that way (most of the time, anyway). Yeah, Gilda and her had a fling, but she was the only serious one and they didn't even go that far. She had been with just as many stallions -if not more so- than with mares (which is not as many as ponies would think).
She shook her head of those thoughts, and tapped the griffon's side. "Wake up, sleepyhead," Dash teased, "We've got work to do."
Gilda opened her eyes, seeing her favorite Pegasus hovering above her. She smiled, remembering the night before. "Do we have to get up now?" She moaned, "The sun just got up, and this bed of yours is hella comfy."
"I'm not a morning person either," Dash told her, "But we've got a long day ahead of us, and we need to get started."
The griffon stretched herself out, and rolled off the cloud bed. They went to the kitchen, having a small meal while keeping an eye on the sky. About five minutes later, they were both prepped and ready to head out.
They had opened the front door just in time to see a bright black-and-white object come down from the sky, landing out near the Everfree Forest. "Looks like its starting," Gilda announced.
"Was that what you saw?" Dash asked.
"Nope. The ship was much, much bigger, and much louder. I'll check it out."
"No," Rainbow protested, "I'll go. You need to go tell Twilight and Trixie that they've arrived. I can stay high, do a little spying, and be right back by the time you reach them. Besides," She took a pose, "I'm small and blue and the fastest Pegasus alive. They'll never see me or catch me."
Gilda couldn't argue with that logic, but still didn't feel okay with Dash going by herself. But, knowing her, she wouldn't let her come along anyway now. "Just be careful," She cautioned, "I'd hate to see you get hurt, and have to fly you all over town."
"Don't worry," Rainbow laughed, "I'll be fine." Giving her friend a quick peck on her forehead, she flew off, calling out "See you in twenty minutes!" Gilda watched her streak through the sky, and then began flying to Ponyville…
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Location unknown
0915 hours
"What the hell is that?" Miranda pointed to a strange blue dot with a rainbow streak, fast approaching the trio. Shepard had a puzzled look on his face. "That's new."
Oh, crap, Garrus thought, Please don't be who I think it is.
The away team had been traveling on the road for a few minutes, observing the surrounding countryside. Although there were a few fences and scattered houses, there hadn't been any sign of intelligent life around. It had occurred to them that maybe most of the inhabitants may have been in town, having a religious service or festival of some kind. This object was the first indication of life they'd seen so far.
"Garrus," Shepard asked, "Can you get a better view of that thing?" The Turian nodded, and drew his sniper rifle out. Getting a bead on the blur, he zoomed in on the incoming projectile.
The high-speed flying object was blue- not sky-blue, but cyan. It was not a missile or a bird, but rather a small equine with wings, flying faster than should be physically possible. The rainbow streak being produced was because of the multicolored mane and tail, somehow staining the air temporarily with its brilliance. The flying creature- a Pegasus, for lack of a better term- looked right back at Garrus with his rifle, allowing him to see its eyes. They were magenta, and held an air of curiosity and confidence that could be felt a mile away.
He lowered his rifle. The only thing he could say was, "Well, fuck me, it's a Pegasus."
"Wait a minute," Shepard questioned, "A Pegasus? How? Look how fast it's going?!"
"It's probably just some kind of local animal with biotic powers." Lawson mused, "Some planets contaminated by Element Zero have creatures gifted with psychic abilities." She watched the creature for a moment, and then thought aloud, "We should grab that one and take it back to the ship. I'm sure that Mordin would love to study it."
"What're you-" Before either Garrus or Matt could finish that statement, Miranda used a Pull on the creature, just as it passed overhead. The Pegasus was surrounded in a bright blue aura, and at breakneck speeds came crashing down behind them. Smacking into a tree, it fell onto the ground with a solid "thunk".
"What're you doing?!" Garrus shouted. "Jesus, Miranda," Shepard barked, "Give us a freaking warning before you do that!"
"Calm down, you two. I just knocked it unconscious. We can call back the shuttle and get off this rock in a couple of minutes."
"Still," Garrus countered, "You shouldn't have done that. This could be one of the native sentients around here for all we know."
"What makes you say that?"
"Check out the markings on its ass." He gestured to the unconscious form with his gun. The Pegasus- indeed, up close it looked like a 4-foot tall flying pony- had a matching pair of rainbow thunderbolts on its flanks. Matt, puzzled, pointed out, "Hey Garrus, those tattoos look a lot like your scar."
"Yeah, I know." By the Spirits, He thought, This HAS to be Rainbow Dash… What if we killed her?
Rainbow was slowly regaining consciousness, emitting a moan of discomfort. The team froze- She should've still been out, having hit that tree at 50 miles per hour minimum. Opening her eyes, she looked at the aliens that attacked her. Two of them looked like weird, hairless monkeys, one in heavy armor and one in some kind of jumpsuit with a flowing mane of some kind. The third alien was a bizarre cross between a bird and a reptile, wearing armor and having small side mandibles and face paint.
The back of her mind realized that this was the first contact between Ponykind and these visitors, and should be handled delicately. But she ignored that part, and instead got mad. "Hey," She shouted at them, "Why'd you hit me?!"
Again, the trio was stunned. The Pegasus spoke- in a rough feminine voice- and it was in English! Or, at least, they all could understand her! How that was possible without an asari mind-meld or translators was beyond any of them. They looked at each other, and Shepard dared to ask, "Can you… understand us?"
"Well, duh," Dash snarked, "Of course I can understand you. Again, why did you pull me down?"
"Sorry about that," Miranda apologized, "We thought you were some animal."
"Yeah, but I'm not. I'm Rainbow Dash, and I'm a Pegasus."
"Yeah, we can see that." Garrus chuckled. "Rainbow mane, super-speed, 'Dashing' good looks. The name's self-explanatory." His human friends gave him strange looks. His flattery, however, was definitely what was needed to defuse the situation, and it certainly won Dash over.
"Yeah," She mused, striking a pose, "I am pretty awesome. Anyways, I'm no expert in this sci-fi stuff, but I believe I'm supposed to take you to my leader."
"If you'd like." Shepard demurred.
"Right. Well, the Princesses are waaay up in Canterlot, that big castle on the mountain. However, my friend Twilight has a direct line to them, and is right in town. I can take you there, if you want."
"Yeah, that's probably best. Lead the way."
The Pegasus took to the sky, flying slow enough to keep the aliens close by. Shepard, Lawson and Vakarian exchanged looks, and followed her down the road. In more ways than one, this day was getting better and better…
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Twilight's Library, Ponyville
9:30 A.M.
Twilight and Trixie sat at the table in the kitchen, going over their notes about aliens over a cup of tea. They were slowly going out of their morning funk, but operating with only 6 hours of sleep can be difficult. But today was definitely the day to push through it, for today was the day that Equestria at large found out it wasn't alone in the universe. Today, they make contact.
"Okay," Twilight spoke, "So remind me again how we're going to communicate with them? For all we know, they could speak some kind of binary telepathically."
"Simple, my dear Twilight," Trixie responded, "We just talk to them as we would with dragons, griffons or other ponies. They must have a language we can understand, as Gilda and I could understand their writing just fine. If worse comes to worse, and they speak in a way we can't replicate or understand, we could just communicate through writing."
"I just want this to go well," The purple mare said, "I really don't like Pinkie's premonition about war coming. Having to deal with the Changeling Invasion during my brother's wedding was more than enough for me."
Trixie took another sip, before asking, "Did Pinkie say when or where the aliens would show?"
"Not really. She only said that they would be here today, and that they were coming here for someone. Probably that suit of armor you two found."
"I sure hope so. I don't know what else it would be."
It was then that Spike came in with their breakfast- daisy bagels and jam, typical Equestrian food. While placing it on the table, Twilight chuckled. "Hey Spike, what happened to that apron I gave you?"
"You mean the pink frilly one with the heart in the middle?" He clarified. "I threw it away. It was waaay too girly for me."
"You gave him a pink apron?" Trixie questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, she did," The dragon continued. "It's not like I don't mind pink, it can be masculine and cool, sometimes. But the frilling, the big heart; It was basically screaming, 'Hey, everypony, I'm Spike and I'm gay.'"
"There's nothing wrong with being a filly-fooler or a colt-cuddler." Trixie protested, casting a sideways glance at the other unicorn in the room. Spike momentarily wondered what that implied.
"True, but there's a difference between being gay and acting gay. I mean, look at Lyra and Bon-Bon. They're not-"
Before the dragon could finish, there was a knocking at the door. The two unicorns looked at him expectantly. He sighed, and walked over to open the door. As he did, a yellow-and-red blur rushed past him into the library. It was Applebloom, looking sweaty and exhausted from running all across town.
"Twilight," The filly called out, "Applejack needs you right now!"
"Why? What happened?"
"There's a bunch of giant insects eating up all our apples! They were huge, Ah tell yuh, HUGE!"
"Easy there, Applebloom," Trixie soothed, "Calm yourself. Now, what did they look like?"
"Well," Applebloom caught her breath, "There was five of 'em, and they're big. As big as you are with your hat. And they were all green with long, skinny arms, and they screeched at each other all funny, and one of them aimed a ring at Applejack, and they were taking our apples-"
"Wait," Trixie interrupted, "It aimed a ring at AJ? Did it fire?"
"No, a bigger one with red wings called to it, and they all flew away. But we should hurry, 'cause AJ and Big Mac went after 'em, and they wanted me to go git Twilight an' you, so-"
Suddenly, the front door was kicked open. Gilda charged in, and hovered above them, panting from the speedy flight. "Twilight," The griffon gasped out, "You gotta come quick! The aliens have arrived in the Everfree Forest!"
Twilight paled, looking more worried and confused. "But- But-" She stammered, "AJ is dealing with the aliens at the farm. There can't be more of them, right?"
Gilda looked dumbstruck. "What do you mean? Dash and I saw a shuttle land in the forest 20 minutes ago."
"Where is Rainbow, anyway?"
"She sent me ahead to come find you, while she went overhead to scout them. Twi, we really need to get going. I don't feel good leaving her on her own."
"Rainbow Dash can handle herself," Applebloom countered, "She's the bestest flyer in Ponyville. But those giant bugs looked mighty dangerous. We really need you at the farm."
Twilight was uncertain as to how to proceed. Should she help Applejack, who had no idea on what's going on; or should she help Rainbow Dash, whose brash and confrontational personality was bound to cause an interstellar incident?
"I…I think we should-" She started, but was interrupted when Pinkie came in from the kitchen. "Hey, guys," Pinkie said, all bubbly and nonchalant, "My Pinkie Sense went off again this morning. The aliens are coming here today."
"Pinkie," Twilight told her, annoyed, "We already know. AJ and Rainbow Dash have already met them."
"Oh, those aliens," The Earth Pony responded, as if remembering something vaguely important, "No, they weren't the ones I was talking about yesterday. Completely different."
The others in the room went "Huh?", a united statement of confusion. The pink mare giggled. "See," She answered, "There's actually three groups of aliens coming here today; One that Trixie and Gilda know about, one that the Princesses know about, and one that's completely unexpected."
"Which is which, though?" Twilight asked. "Are any of them dangerous?"
"Well, they all can be dangerous, but only if you make them so. The first and last ones are already here, so you should deal with them, first."
"What about the third one?"
"They'll be landing by Fluttershy's house, but-"
"FLUTTERSHY?!" They others cried out. It's a well-documented fact that Fluttershy, while being the nicest pony in Ponyville, was also the most introverted, fearful -and, well, shy- pony any of them knew. Hell, half the time the poor girl was afraid of her own shadow, and had shown signs of a backbone only under the most intense of circumstances. The prospect of the little Pegasus having to deal with possibly big scary aliens immediately put the Equestrians on the defensive.
"We've got to go help her!" Twilight declared. "Trixie, Gilda, I want you to-"
"Don't worry, Twilight," Pinkie interrupted, giving her a reassuring smile, "Fluttershy's got this handled. We have other things to worry about…"
________________________________________
1000 hours
Over Everfree Forest
Thought of the day: Weakness is a disease of the body. Despair is a disease of the mind.
The shuttle from the Emperor's Wrath, the Carpe Diem, descended from the sky like a regal bird of prey. The shuttle, besides the roar of the engines outside, was unnaturally quiet, its passengers unnervingly silent.
Normally, when troops were brought down from a ship to a xeno planet, the various soldiers and peoples of the Imperium would be chanting the litanies of warriors, or prayers to the Emperor, to purify their souls for upcoming combat. But this was different. There were no chants for soldiers, for there was to be no fighting. There were no prayers to the Emperor, for soon enough they could be voiced to His face. Without either of these, what was left for them to say?
The squad of 20 Guardsmen talked amongst themselves, wondering if these "ponies" were as peaceful and friendly as their master said they were. The ten-man Assault squad of the Ultramarines checked their weapons once more, even though they weren't to use them for this mission. Magos Kriel fiddled with his plasma pistol, as even the "newer" versions always had to be properly maintained, lest they blow off your hand. Inquisitor Creighton mentally went over his prepared speech and strategy for when he met this "Twilight Sparkle" -For her to be a chosen apprentice of a xeno deity would mean she was formidable both physically and mentally.
They were still in good spirits with the mission. Before they left the ship, the Inquisitor spoke with the Librarian of the Imperial Fists, a powerful psyker and skilled oracle. Through use of visions, the Tarot cards, and the knucklebones (a tradition and a habit of the Sons of Dorn), he ordained that the crew and soldiers were in good graces. In fact, he said that he had never had visions and signs that looked so favorably. The only warning given was this: Beware the Eyes of Madness. Neither of them could figure out what that meant, but trusted that it would be discovered in due time.
After flying for about half an hour, the shuttle finally gave a shudder as it touched down on the alien world. The Imperials got out of their seats as the door opened. As the ramp lowered and the troops filed out, they scanned the surrounding wilderness, and couldn't help but feel… happy.
The forest in itself, while still emanating the sense of feral intensity, had a feel of both beauty and contentedness. The birds in the trees and the animals of the ground called out in nature's music, uncaring or unbothered by the fire-tested warriors in their midst. And furthermore, those individuals who were slightly more in touch with the Warp could feel it, and were in awe in the fact that, at least in this place, felt not only calm, but also joyful. This place, for all intents and purposes, was opposite of their universe in almost every way.
Some of the more devout Guardsmen made the sign of the Aquila over their chest as the group began heading away from the shuttle. While the away team secured the clearing, scanning the forest for anything even slightly threatening, Creighton and Kriel got together, speaking about the strange world.
"Tell me, Magos," The Inquisitor asked, "Does this place look a little… strange to you, or is it just my eyes?"
"I'm afraid I can see it on my sensors as well," The cyborg replied, "The trees, the animals, even the sky looks, well, rather flat. True, everything appears colorful and vibrant, but it all seems akin to a very talented artist's drawings. If you look close enough at that rodent over there, you can clearly see it has an outline."
The Inquisitor looked to where the tech-priest gestured, and saw that indeed a squirrel was staring at them with a thin black line surrounding its body. The sight was only slightly off-putting, as the Inquisitor remembered that they were in a different universe (not to mention that he had seen the vids of worlds consumed by Tyranids and Chaos- nothing is scarier than that).
When it realized that the two aliens were looking back at it, the creature chattered and ran into the underbrush. Although that might have been from the giant armored Space Marine that was walking in its direction.
The Space Marine in question approached the tech priest and inquisitor, and said, "Milords, the perimeter is secure. We can proceed to our destination."
"Very well, Sergeant Longinus," Creighton replied, "The town lies in the west. Let us make haste."
The Astartes nodded, and signaled to his battle-brothers and the Guardsmen, and together, the Imperials made their way through the forest. The animals, all of whom having rudimentary intelligence and a sixth sense for predators, either cleared way for them, or ran away as quickly as possible…
________________________________________
Fluttershy's Cottage
10:30 A.M.
Fluttershy began her day as she usually did, by feeding all the animals under her care. As an animal caretaker, her job (if you could call it that) was to watch over and heal all the woodland critters, and as such they all found her place to be a sanctuary when there was danger afoot in the forest.
So imagine her surprise when dozens of creatures were not only heading to her place, but they were also running past her as well, heading every possible direction except east.
Her teal eyes were marked with confusion, as all the animals ran away without even bothering to talk to her. Not even dragons or hydras made the entire forest flee at one time. "Oh my," She spoke in her low, whispering voice, "I wonder what could've scared them. What do you think, Angel Bunny? Angel?"
Looking for the pet rabbit in question, she saw that he was hiding in his little house, shaking like a leaf. This genuinely worried the meek Pegasus, as usually nothing scared her furry protector. She knew now that she should leave, to go get her friends Twilight and Rainbow, and let them handle it.
But she was not going to leave without her bunny.
Unfortunately, her pet was a complete butt-hole, and had plans of his own.
As soon as Fluttershy reached for the white rabbit, he threw a carrot at her face, and promptly ran between her legs, into the tall grass behind her. "Angel, come back!" she called out, but even if he could respond, he wasn't going to. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; everything she cared for was running away in terror, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She was just on the cusp of tears when she felt it There was a subtle change in the air; a wispy scent of metal, and the feeling of an approaching predator. The Pegasus could a large commotion heading to her, a terrifying thumping sound emanating from the forest. It was akin to the encounter with the Hydra, only many more than one were coming. She saw the trees and bushes rustle, then finally fall out of the way. Fluttershy looked at the new opening, and did all she could not to scream…
________________________________________
Location: East of Ponyville
1040 hours
The walk out of the forest was the easiest task any of the Imperials had undertaken. Clearly, the local fauna recognized true predators when they saw them, and gave them clear passage. What was calculated to be a half-hour sojourner turned into a brisk ten-minute stroll. When they finally got out of the forest, they found a breath-taking sight.
Way out on the horizon, they humans could see a majestic castle on the side of a mountain, with waterfalls pouring out beneath it. In the sky, a veritable cloud city, stylized in what they perceived as Macraggian architecture, was spouting out rainbows and storm clouds. And in the mid-ground of this panorama, looking like a picturesque village from a children's story, was most certainly their destination: Ponyville.
The Guardsmen gazed upon the vista, genuinely awestruck by the beauty of this xeno planet. One of them, Corporal Faber, asked the Inquisitor, "Have you ever seen such a sight before, my lord?"
"I will admit, Corporal," Creighton mused, also looking at the scene, "I have not. But keep your men on guard. When things look their best, that's usually when it's at its worst."
"Of course, sir." The Guardsman said, and returned to his troops. The Inquisitor then turned to his left, and found that the Space Marines had managed to sneak up on him. How they managed to do that when their power armor boots made so much noise was beyond. Naturally, Mendel was too cool a customer to be scared easily.
"See that small cottage over there by the creek?" Longinus asked him, pointing to the small building near them. It was indeed petite and low to the ground, as if trying purposefully to avoid detection. If it weren't for the well-trained eyes of the Astartes, it would've been quite possible that the humans would've walked past it, and never know it was there.
"I do now."
"It seems that there's a Pegasus dwelling here."
"What makes you say that?"
Again, the Ultramarine pointed, and the Inquisitor followed his aim, right to a small, shivering pink and yellow mass. Or rather, a yellow Pegasus with pink hair, cowering in the dirt by a little shack. It risked enough to show its teal-colored eyes, and made an "Eep!" sound when it realized that all the humans were looking at it.
Fluttershy was more scared now than at any time she could remember. Before her was a sizable group of unknown… creatures, neither animal nor monster. The majority of them were tall, walking on two legs, and wore strange clothes to cover their pale skin. The others were taller, and looked more like giant machines. One even had multiple limbs to it, looking like a giant spider, adorned in red robes. But the scariest ones were the ones in blue and gold armor, towering over everything else around them, with helmets that bore an angry snarl.
She knew she had to do something: say hello, cry for help, run away, something. But for the life of her she couldn't move a muscle, and just stared at the stranger. There was an awkward, pregnant silence between them, each waiting for the other's move.
Creighton decided to start. Using a voice of authority, and a speech he had prepared days ago, he declared to the lowly Pegasus, "Greetings, xeno pony! I am Inquisitor Mendel Creighton, and we are the envoy of the Imperium of Man! Fear not, for we come in peace."
The Inquisitor spoke in High Gothic, the language of humanity from his universe, and one which every intelligent race in the galaxy also knew. Fluttershy, however, had never heard of it before, so all she heard was a human with a pointy hat yelling at her in a foreign language. Needless to say, that didn't really build her confidence.
Still, he was talking to her, and that warranted a response. So, Fluttershy spoke in her low voice, "I'm sorry, mister, but I can't understand you. Did I do something wrong?"
She spoke in Pony, the language of Equestria, which was also an almost direct match to 21st century English. The problem was that in the 41st millennium, English is a dead language, and a forgotten one at that. Not to mention the fact that Fluttershy spoke so quietly that a bullfrog's fart could've drowned it out. The Inquisitor couldn't understand, and was unsure of how to proceed.
Fortunately for everyone, there was someone who could.
Now, as stated earlier, English is a dead language. However, it did spawn a bunch of other dialectic children before passing, some of which manage to last on certain worlds, all the way to current times. One of these languages, as fate would have it, was used on a world where Ultramarines were selected from. Longinus's world.
With his heightened senses, he was able to somewhat understand Fluttershy. "Inquisitor," He nudged the man next to him, "She speaks in Ancient Angli."
"And you speak it, sergeant?"
"I can. It's the language of my mother and father."
"Then would you mind speaking to her for us?"
The Space Marine nodded, and approached the Pegasus. Fluttershy saw him coming, and hid behind her mane again. The Astartes went right up to her, and brought himself down to one knee, only a few feet taller than the xeno. He unlatched and removed his helmet, and showed his true face.
Fluttershy risked another look, and saw Longinus without his scary mask. He certainly looked a lot less intimidating without it; His features were that of a man in his prime, clean-shaven with closely cropped hair, a face that seen a great many horrors but still held goodness in his eyes. To her, he had gone from a big mean monster to good, protective guardian.
"Hello, fair creature," He spoke to her in a gentle yet firm voice, "I am Sergeant Longinus of the Ultramarines. What, pray tell, is your name?"
"I'm Fluttershy." She murmured, as she always seemed to do when she talked to strangers.
The Ultramarine had to give the xeno credit; she had spoken so quietly that even he had trouble hearing her. "My apologies," He said, "But my ears aren't as good as they used to be. What did you say your name was?"
The Pegasus looked to the Space Marine, and then to all the humans behind him, and back to the Marine. She realized that this moment, besides the times that she gained her cutie mark and met her friends, was the most important in her entire life. Her friends were depending on her, and she had to be strong for them. So, gathering up all the courage she had in her, she calmed herself, and, standing proudly, told him, "My name is Fluttershy."
"Alright. Fluttershy, my friends and I have come a long way to get someone very important to us. He is with your Princesses, and we desire to talk with them. Do you happen to know a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle?"
"Ooh, yes I do. She's a very good friend of mine. She lives in town."
"Sergeant," The Inquisitor interrupted, "What is that xeno saying?"
The Astartes responded in High Gothic, "She says her name is Fluttershy, and that she's friends' with Twilight."
"Did she say where the unicorn is?"
"It looks like she's still in town."
"Excellent. Let's take the xeno and go into this 'Ponyville.'"
Longinus turned back to the Pegasus, and asked her, "Fluttershy, will you come with us into the town? Your presence may help calm the other inhabitants."
Fluttershy's eyes went wide at that, and she flew up to eye-level with the Astartes. "Oh no," She protested, "You mustn't! You'll scare everypony! Its not everyday we that we have giant armored… whatever it is your friends are, marching in to see us." She paused to think, then continued, "I should go to Ponyville, and bring Twilight here…That is, if that's alright with you. I promise I'll be quick about it, and you can talk to her all you want."
Longinus gazed once more at the Pegasus, as if searching her very soul. Apparently satisfied, he said, "Very well, little xeno. We shall wait for you here while you bring Twilight. But be quick about it, for my fellows and I are not known for patience." Fluttershy gave a small "Eep!", and quickly ran in the direction of town. It momentarily occurred to the Astartes that, for a creature with wings, she didn't seem to use them that often.
The Inquisitor approached Longinus as he rose. "Why'd you let it go?" He asked. "She's going to bring the unicorn to us, so we don't frighten the natives."
"You think it is wise, letting the xeno handle our work?"
"Consider it a test, Inquisitor. We promised the Emperor not to harm the ponies unless provoked. By letting her bring the Princess's student to us, we prevent scaring them, and she demonstrates that this species can be trusted."
"And if she doesn't return?" Mendel pressed, suspicion tingeing his voice.
"Then we go into town, take the apprentice, and kill anyone who gets in our way. And if I'm not mistaken, Lord, but it sounds like you'd prefer that option."
"But you don't?" Creighton sounded incredulous.
"We all swore we wouldn't fight unless we had to. Besides, I'm an Ultramarine, not some Blood Angel or mindless Ork. I can control my impulses, why can't you?"
Ignoring the inquisitor's reaction, Longinus gave a signal to his men (and the Guardsmen as well) to hunker down at the cottage, and wait. The Astartes was going to give the Pegasus about two or so hours to bring Twilight over. Plenty of time, even for the likes of the timid Fluttershy. Any longer than that, and the ponies would swiftly learn why humanity wasn't a race to be trifled with…
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This is cross-posted from the FF site, and gives a better understanding on this chapter:
So, any thoughts?
Well, I don't think the Marines and Guardsmen are going to react very well once they see the Covenant races... Hopefully no ponies get injured in the process
heheh, Hopefully the other Space-faring races don't piss off the Ultramarines.
1652704 Well, Princess Luna is best pony...
1653735
), and Luna is certainly the cutest of the Princesses
No argument with either of those statements. Ultramarines are the best Marines (they have their own videogame
.1653472
Not to disapooint you, but... its gonna be awhile. I'm still in the first story arc, both here and on the other site. The Chief's revival marks the end of that arc, which is about three(ish) chapters away. My apologies, but i must admit i am a slow writer. the chapters i've uploaded so far had been done weeks or months ago. But whem he does show up, you'll be the first to know
McKnight out.
I can feel the storm a-brewin'! The next chapter is going to be WINTASTIC, I'm calling it now.
1653880 luna is bestest ALICORN :woona: twilight is best PONY
the ultramarines have a vidiogame because their the generic space marines which makes them BORING. Crimson Fists and Salamanders are best space marians
1654935 Angry marines are best marines, YOU PRETTY MARINE BITCH!
besides, we already know that ORKZ IS DA BIGGEST AND DA STRONGEST!
Why does this exist? Why am I reading it? Why is it actually fairly good?
Minalkra
.... dont qustion it. 
ITS MUTHAR FUCKING HALO, MEETS MASS EFFECT, MEETS 40K, MEETS MY LITTLE PONY.......THERE IS NO NEED FOR EXPLANATIONS, ULTIMATE BADASSNESS.
Well...
puu.sh/1qaA9
This Is One Of The Best Fics I Have Ever Read.. It's A Mix Of Everything I Like, Don't You Dare To Make Em Kill Between Themselves, You'll Know My Wrath
I wonder what will happen when the Imperium meets the rest of the guys, sure they promised not to kill the ponies, but what about other humans, Turians elites and the rest of them?
Great chapter by the way, although how did the inquisitor know the town was called ponyville as the ultra marine only siad the town?
1656270
. Lekgolo would probably be considered overkill for a first contact, and even the Apple family may have ran away from them 
. I play as male Shepard, and I always have him being a pimp who keeps everyone alive
(When i can help it). And as for Ultramarines, sure they're generic, but their the chapter I'm most informed about, this easiest to write.
. Lyra is cool, btw.
. McKnight out.
I was wondering about that. I had misspelled them in the first chapters, but when I uploaded them no one noticed or cared, so...
1656335
I'm almost tempted not to. I fear that if I did, your profile picture would crawl out of my iPad and try to shank me
1658622 Good observations there. The Emperor did mention the name "Ponyville" during His little speech last chapter. As for the other part...
...
...
I'm not telling
1660502 Theres Worst Eldritch Abominations On Nightmare Folder
Possibility of chaos marines??? Bitte?
Really good story so far, can't wait till it's finished!
Sweet Apple Acres, east of Ponyville
1 day after Pinkie's Attack
8:30 A.M.
Makes me imagine a bunch of Pinkie's giant heads, floating around Equestria, shooting energy beams from their mouths, so f'ing funny.
Ohhh the Inquisitor got told.
1653880 1654810 1655730 you all spelled "Space Wolves" wrong!
let me make a bit of emphasis: my earlier comments state that chief would lose against the blood ravens. but let me specify, there is no way it would be easy for the blood ravens. if i had to scale chief's power into W40K, i'd say it was about the avatar of destruction that you have to find in Dawn Of War.
2336002
Silly Nightmare Wolf, that's not how you spell "Salamanders"! :V
That's not how you spell Salamander. Not that I wish to imply that I dislike the other, it's just that their practices are preferable to the other chapters, are they not?
3685904 the Salamanders are compassionate but the Ultramarines are disciplined. The Salamanders would impulsively save someone, but the Ultramarines don't do anything on impulse
Ultramarines, when it absolutely, positively has to die...
Of course, the one who met the single most aggressive, xenophobic and dangerous human culture in the multiverse - The Imperium of Man - had to be poor Fluttershy!
