• Published 23rd Jan 2012
  • 5,304 Views, 214 Comments

My Little Serenity: Misbehaving is Magic - Trachyon



The Serenity crew crash-lands in Equestria. Reavers follow. Rarity sees Jayne's hat. Fashion ensues

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Chapter 3: The Ship

“Pinkie! Pinkie!!” Twilight screamed after Pinkie until she was hoarse, but the pink pony was oblivious to her friend’s frantic yelling. Twilight raced after her, fearing for both their lives.

You’re worrying over nothing! Aliens don’t really exist... They’re about as real as those humans...

Twilight found little comfort in the thought.

By the time she had caught with Pinkie she was hyperventilating, and sweating from the long run.
“Maybe, I *pant* should... get out *wheeze* some more...”

She practically rolled down the steep hill Pinkie had descended just a few seconds ago. Twilight came to a tumbling stop, letting her head fall to the blissfully warm soil.

“See Twilight! I told ya it was a spaceship!” Pinkie bounced up and down just beyond Twilight’s view.

“Wha...” the unicorn raised her head groggily. What she saw blew her mind away as much as the explosion had done to her mere minutes ago.

The thing, the spaceship, was massive. It towered over Twilight, who wondered just how she had managed to avoid seeing it until now.

“This... is a spaceship?!” She asked in an awed, hushed voice. The shape of the thing was entirely different from the saucers that showed up in books, and pictures. A large part of it protruded over Twilight and Pinkie, like a neck. The way it craned above them made Twilight think that whoever built it had built it with the image of a swan in mind... or a swan-like creature of some sort, at least.

Nevertheless, it looked stunning. Twilight’s eyes were drawn down the length of it, and she poured over every facet of the metal plates as they gleamed in the light of a nearby fire.

Her gaze caught on one particular feature partway down the neck. On top of the silver surface had been painted an odd logo: A yellow circle within a red circle, both faded with time. Inside the yellow circle were two symbols, painted in red again. The markings were alien, and impossible to read, but another set of symbols was overlaid atop the last, this time in white paint. These markings were simpler, and stretched across the horizontal length of the logo. Twilight was surprised to see that she could understand these letters at all. Some were backwards, and some had strokes added or removed, but Twilight could recognise just enough of the letters to piece together the word they spelt out: Serenity.

Doubt crept into Twilight's mind. What if these weren't bad aliens? The name of their ship seemed peaceful enough...

But Twilight forced these thoughts away, and continued down the rest of the ship.

Where the neck ended, the main body of the thing began. Just that section alone was larger than most houses in Ponyville! Jutting off from the main body was a small wing, stumpy in comparison to the rest of the ship. It seemed like it should’ve been larger, but Twilight noticed shredded panels and loose pieces of metal trailing out of the structure like a wound. The ship had been damaged in the crash...

Twilight moved away from this detail, and continued down the rest of the ship. From the angle she sat at, she could just barely make out what she thought the most interesting aspect of the ship: The large, bulbous section that formed about a third of the ship. Twilight could tell, even with her lack of knowledge on the particular ship, that this was an amazingly complex piece of engineering, far beyond anything anypony now could design. She could see, even from the outside, that every plate, grate, and cylinder all had been constructed and placed with great precision. The attention to detail, the inner workings of the machine, and the care with which it was made boggled Twilight’s mind. That, and it glowed. There were slots in the rounded section through which extraterrestrial lights shone and flashed hypnotically.

"Almost looks like a firefly..." Twilight mused to herself.

Whatever alien race that had built this ship was incredibly-

“OhheylookatthisTwilight *inhale* doesthislooklikeadoortoyou?!”

“Pinkie! What are you-”

Knock, knock.

“PINKIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Knock, knock.

Twilight nearly tore out her mane in frustration at Pinkie’s complete disregard for the sanctity of their lives. Pinkie turned away from the metal wall she had been knocking on with her hoof, and beamed at Twilight, as if her purple-furred friend was not, in fact, beginning to incite spontaneous oxygen combustion in the immediately present atmosphere.

Pinkie giggled, “Silly Twilight! It’s rude to enter someponies’ home without knocking!”

Twilight gawked at Pinkie. Sure, the logic was there. It just didn't make sense.

Pinkie knocked again, louder this time. Twilight cringed as each resounding thud echoed around her.

“Pinkie, I don't... how... what...” Twilight decided to stop trying to make sense of Pinkie, choosing instead to rush up to her, grab her by the shoulders and actually shake some sense into her while screaming at the top of her lungs.

“PINKIE! WILL YOU LISTEN FOR JUST FIVE MINUTES?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE! WHO KNOWS HOW DANGEROUS AND UNFRIENDLY THESE ALIENS COULD BE?! WHAT IF THEY WANT TO DESTROY ALL OF PONYVILLE?!” Twilight pondered on that thought for a second, pupils contracting in shock. “Oh, nonononono... I’ll have to alert the mayor... we’ll have to evacuate Ponyville, and live somewhere else... but what if there’re more of them? What if they follow us? What if they have weapons a-and want to take over Equestria? Pinkie, what have you do-”

Knock-knock-knock-knock.

Twilight stopped, and blinked. She blinked again.

Pinkie had long since left Twilight’s grasp, and was back at the ship, pounding on the bulkhead. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, and her horn flared to life, purple aura spreading from the tip to encompass Pinkie.

Pinkie noticed this, and at the last second, planted her rump firmly on the ground. Twilight pulled back with her magical field, only to feel it snag against something she had never felt before: A fixed point. An area within space which remained constant relative to everything around it. Twilight was surprised, but continued to tug against Pinkie.

Pinkie only pushed harder into the ground, her muzzle pointed up towards the metal roof in a pout. “Nuh-uh, Twilight, I’m making sure that these new friends get a proper welcoming, and you're not gonna stop me!”

Twilight groaned loudly. “Pinkie, would you... just... listen for... a second- Eek!” The unicorn had been physically pulling back against the magical field containing her friend, but the connection snapped, sending Twilight reeling backwards.

Now she was really losing it. Twilight refocused her magic, and Pinkie disappeared in a flash of light. The flash repeated, and faded with Pinkie standing in the exact same spot as before.

Now this was just getting ridiculous.

Twilight repeated the teleportation spell several more times, each time ending with the same result. Pinkie still had the same adamant frown on her face, and she hadn’t moved an inch away from the crashed ship. The purple pony had reached the end of her tether. “Pinkie... You are really getting out of hand...”

Pinkie’s mane deflated just slightly. “Twilight, if I don't make the aliens feel welcome, who will?”

Arguing her point was useless. Her magic was useless. Clearly, only one thing would get Pinkie safely away from these invaders. Twilight set herself up against Pinkie’s flank, arched her back, and pushed with all her might, just hoping that maybe she might budge.

Pinkie remained rooted to the spot. It was like pushing against a tree... No. Twilight was determined. Her friend was in danger, and she was the only one who could save her. Twilight kept pushing, right up until the moment the ship begun to move. Steam hissed out from the rusted plate before them, and the sound of metal scraping on metal grated against Twilight’s ears.

Pistons moved down on their supports, and light streamed out from the ever-widening opening above. Both ponies shielded their eyes as a ramp descended before them, leading up into the alien interior of the crashed ship.

This is it... This is really it... thought Twilight, as the ramp settled in the dust. Two pairs of eyes gazed in wonder at the tall figures standing at the entrance of the ship...