The Copernicus Incident

by Rocktavia

Chapter 2.2: Planetfall

"Maybe it's not always about fixing something that's broken. Maybe, it's about starting over and creating something better."

— Unknown

---

Each Equestrian knows a triple-sided existence. Bronies, scientists, soldiers. We still love the show and create songs, movies, stories about it. Our entire culture is based around the fandom, with everything that implies. Data crystals with all 15 original seasons are ubiquitous. 53 additional seasons were also created, with countless reboots, remakes, spinoffs, and spiritual successors. All by us. By Bronies and Equestrians.

Science was always our best defense. From our earliest experiences with The Darkness, we expected nothing but violence against us and... adapted accordingly. We first had to defend ourselves, and so we developed specialized, tougher armor and more refined types of Railguns. We were also on the run, and had no places to hide. So we decided to make our own places to hide, leading to electronic camouflage and better electronic countermeasures. Scientific progress ultimately resulted in a progressive and technophilic mentality among our people.

Despite our attempts to forget it, we also know the bitter taste of war and chaos. We know what hatred feels like. I wouldn't say it was merely human nature.After leaving Earth, we did have peace. At least, for a time.

The story goes that the early Equestrians, upon leaving the Earth during The Second Exodus, vowed to rebuild their strength and bring the gift of peace home - to where they began. They didn't want to, but they left Earth behind. They did miss it so, but found solace in the fact that they would someday come back.

500 years later, the Empire was nearly ready to return home. Our leaders wanted to do it with as little force as possible, as the humans back on Earth had no form of Symbiotes and were much more squishy than those in the Empire. We were so close to making good on our promise. To defeating the Darkness once and for all. Finally, we would be bringing freedom, true freedom home.

But The Insurrectionists didn't want to wait. Then, we remembered what war was.

3 Outer Colonies declared independence, vowing to return in a quicker timeframe than the Empire would. They saw their leaders as incompetent and intending never to return. The way they responded may have been flawed, but I can see how they would get that message.

After all, 500 years is... well, it's 500 years.

Eventually, a loose alliance of 95 Outer Rim planets were fighting a war against the 106 remaining Imperial planets. The Empire had to divert precious resources to fight a senseless civil war.

Then came the peace, hardly won, and at great cost. Ultimately, the war delayed our return home by almost 10 years. In trying to head back quicker, the Insurrectionists delayed the journey even more.

What I'm trying to say is, despite our knowledge, despite our intense drive for harmony and peace, despite everything we've achieved and been through... we're still human.

And the funny about humans... is they're imperfect. Flawed.

We make mistakes. Even comparatively small mistakes can snowball quickly and cause incredible harm and chaos.

For example... a rounding error.

---

As I received status updates from whoever were now department heads, I didn't like what I heard.

Engineering was utterly destroyed.

Fabrication systems were shot.

Main reactor was offline.

Weapons were missing. As in, literally missing. The fire control computer disappeared. While we still had weapons, we couldn't fire them.

Attitude control was down.

Gravitic thrusters across the ship reported faults.

I don't know how we're going to get through this. An Equestrian vessel rarely sees this kind of damage outside of combat. If only-

"Sir!"

Thankfully, I'm shaken from my imminent breakdown by Lieutenant Navigator. You know, I really should find out his name.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"I've gotten basic sensors back online. Turns out that the communication between the emergency computer core and sensor array was severed. I rerouted it through internal communications."

"... And? Anything of note?"

"Hmm... We're inside a gravity well. But... I'm getting some truly weird readings. It seems there are two other sources of gravity, but they're oscillating inconsistently. One moment, it'll be in one spot, then- WHOA!"

"What is it, Lieutenant?!"

"One just moved an entire Astronomical Unit! Something weird is going on here!"

The ship groaned under the stress of such rapidly-shifting gravity.

Come on, girl. You can make it.

////\\\\

In one of the towers of Canterlot Castle, off the beaten path, behind 15 layers of guards and protected by magical enchantments, lies the room where the Lunar Princess rests during the day.

It is said that there are two nights in Equestria. One is the night you look up and find staring down at you, and the other is in Princess Luna's hair. At night, when her moon and her power are at their highest, her hair gains a godlike sheen, filled with a microcosm of her night.

Princess Luna sighed, basking in the magnificence of the night she'd just brought forth once again. After she had been freed from the influence of the Nightmare, the nocturnal Alicorn had gone back to all royal duties she'd fulfilled 1000 years previously. Trotting out from the safe confines of the Lunar Room, she headed up to the watchtower to relieve her sister.

The ancient marble floors reflected her celestial mane quite well. Purple hooves clopped against the stone rather loudly. Hall after room after hall, this repeated itself. Silently, Luna cursed the ancient building's long-dead designers for placing the watchtower on the opposite end of the Castle.

After 15 minutes of walking, she finally came across an unmarked stone wall with a horn-shaped hole in it. A small, barely-visible crevice ran through the middle of it from floor to ceiling. Her entire body knelt down, almost in a display of fealty, as she inserted her horn into the lock.

The two sides of the stone wall magically crumbled into chunks of plaster and dust. As Luna stepped in, the wall instantly reformed behind her, leaving her inside the bottom floor of the watchtower. In a case nearby, Luna saw two sets of extremely ancient, but well-constructed magical armor. One was plated with 24 karet gold, and had numerous brightly colored gemstones inlaid into strategic points on the armor. Celestia's battle armor.

Luna's, in her opinion, was considerably less gaudy and ostentatious. A silvery sheen was all that decorated hers, as well as a number of dark-colored gems and a few pearls; it also mounted a number of spikes and fearsome implements designed mostly to intimidate the enemy. Oh yes, much more subtle than Celestia's.

Finally, her eyes rested on a cobblestone staircase next to the ancient armor. She moved to head up the stairs.

////\\\\

Commander Redmond noticed a readout on his terminal and yelled back at me.

"Captain! We're drifting!"

I frightfully stared out the bridge's window. Dammit, why didn't I do it before?

I saw a planet. Green. Earthlike. Lots of water. I also noticed that it looked a little too close for comfort.

Oh shit.

"TOWARDS THAT?!" I yelled. Redmond only nodded.

"Bridge to engineering! We're about to burn into an atmosphere! Raise shields!"

"Shields are down, sir!"

Dammit, I knew that. I was just going through the motions.

"Polarize the thermal sheeting!"

"Thermal sheeting polarized!"

"And find some way to slow our descent!"

"Yes, sir! I may be able to modify the gravity plating on the lower decks! Jenkins, get on it!"

Holding down the emergency broadcast button, I yelled into the transmission microphone.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! THIS IS THE ESES COPERNICUS! WE HAVE SUFFERED HEAVY DAMAGE AND ARE FALLING TOWARDS AN UNKNOWN PLANET! ANY SHIPS IN THE VICINITY, PLEASE RESPOND!"

No response. I figured as such.

"All hands to escape pods! Deploy the colonization module onto the planet's surface!"

As we hit the atmosphere, I gripped my seat with an intense clamp. My knuckles turned white.

"All remaining hands, we have Planetfall." Commander Redmond stated coldly.

Luna have mercy.

////\\\\

As Luna happily walked up the last few stairs, she could see Celestia with her eye firmly planted on the arcane telescope.

Oh crap, she fell asleep again.

"Luna, did you plan any comets tonight?"

Guess she's not asleep.

"I don't think so, my sister."

"Huh. Well, your night is beautiful as usual."

The solar princess arose from the spyglass's hold and gave her little sister a hug.

"I know I say this all the time, but it is simply wonderful to have you back. Anyway, night shift is all yours."

With that, the majestic solar princess walked down the stairs, her multicolored mane losing its sheen and returning to its default bright pink color.

Luna silently smirked before walking over to the telescope. She hadn't planned any comets, and one suddenly appearing is very odd.

She leaned forth to get a closer look at the comet... and saw something that made her recoil in horror.

The telescope is misaligned! And look at these smudges on the eyepiece! Confound you, Celestia!

In Luna mind, she could imagine the solar princess laughing up a storm in her room, knowing she'd successfully messed with Luna's head.

Oh, I am so going to make your dreams a living hell tonight.

After a few seconds of lens polishing and adjustment, Luna finally got a look at this "rogue comet".

Which wasn't a comet. At all.

In truth, it looked like one at a distance, but Luna had ramped up the magnification considerably. It looked like a huge brick with two rectangular wings on its side. Two angled protrusions shot out from the back. It trailed a number of smaller bits of junk behind it.

It was also crashing down to the surface of her kingdom, and fast.

As it collided with the ground just north of the Everfree Forest, Luna ran back downstairs, put her ancient battle armor on (just in case), and galloped back up to the balcony.

She activated her Royal Canterlot Voice so that she could be heard in the deepest parts of the castle.

"WE ARE LEAVING! SOMETHING HAST LANDED IN OUR KINGDOM!

After waking up the entire damned castle, she stretched out her wings and took flight, heading in the direction of the downed comet.

Comments

[Vates Despero]

No Codex entries this time?

[poli]

Oh boy I can't waite till the first contact will it go smooth (well the bronies woud ofcourse try to do thet once they learn thet they landed on equestria). How woud the princesses woud react to this I mean it's not every day for a godesses to meet wiht a new race which is from (problably if I read right) are from a other dimension and the new race is worshiping them as there godesses. How woud the ponies woud react then? What woud the elements of harmony woud react? Will the crashlanded humans somehowe contact back the rest of there colonies and tell them the wonderfull news?

[beingme2]

I wonder how they will bypass the language barrier.... MAYBE the humans already know the equestrian language!!!

It makes sense because considering how the brony fandom in this story has reached the galactic stage, everything there is to know about the universe of "my little pony" should be known to the humans too. it wouldn't be too far-fetched for the bronies in the ship to know everything because they most likely provided most of the world building in the MLP universe. just look at Ditsy Doo. She wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the fanbase making her up. why not the language too?

I am calling it RIGHT NOW!! This is my prediction for the next chapter! If I am right, then it would be so !!

of course, if I am right... then the captain better be DAMN good in making a first impression with the princesses. no one wants to piss of the two beings who can literally control the fuing MOON and the fuing SUN!! He should what he is dealing with, doing something that stupid is just asking for trouble