The Starship SS Nova is sent to seek out a new home and a new future for it's race, the Lunestians. It so happens to stumble upon a seemingly perfect world called Equis but things don't go necessarily as planned.
The SS Nova, a civilian transport class ship, is sent on an expedition to find a potentially new home planet for the species known as the Lunestians. The Nova happens upon a suitable planet, and sends a team of seven to investigate and explore. The planet is supposed to uninhabited, except for an abundant flora and some native wildlife, but things are not exactly as they might seem.
...Adjusting Delta-v to sixty-five, engaging orbital engines, primary thrusters disabled... _____________________________________________________________________
Twilight looked down at her book of Star Swirl the Bearded. It had been a long day, and the sun had gone down almost two hours ago. She glanced up from her sitting position on her bed at the small sleeping dragon tucked away in his little bed. The small rising and falling from the cover over his head showed Twilight he was fast asleep. Twilight smiled slightly, her umber one assistant had always done so much for her, and she treated him as her own sun. Twilight glanced out the window at the full moon, the stars twinkling around it.
Twilight stood up from her bed, and walked down to the main library, placing the book back on it's rightful shelf. The orange low from the candelabra on the center table threw shadows all across the walls. She made her way to the front door, stepping out into the crisp night air, the smell of fall hung in the air, along with a few orange leaves upon the ground. Twilight stepped off her doorstep, going for a small stroll during the night hours. The golden and orange leaves crunched lightly under her hooves, the lights from a few nearby houses giving the street a yellowish glow. The street lamps above her head flickered slightly, as a small wind blew by, stirring up some of the leaves. Twilight waved at a few other ponies who were either coming home from some where, or just out on a walk. She turned toward Sugar Cube Corner, and frowned internally when she saw the "Sorry! We're closed." sign hanging from the door. She had forgotten how late it was, almost 10:00 PM.
"Oh well" Twilight said to herself, making her way back towards the library. She glanced up at the beautiful starry night sky, the stars twinkling back at her. As she made her way back, she noticed some of the lights in the windows of houses had gone dark, and the streetlamps were the only thing giving her illumination. She had the route back to her library mapped out in her head, but it was rare she was up and out this late.
Twilight stepped to her door, pushing it open to find the candelabra still flickering. She stepped up onto the table, blowing out each candle one by one, until the only light were her window from upstairs, the blue moonlight streaming in. Twilight stretched her wings, and yawned slightly as she made her way up the steps. Twilight tucked herself into her bed, whispering a soft "Goodnight Spike," as she did.
Celestia looked up towards the starry night sky, standing upon the balcony into her bed chambers. A falling star here or there, but nothing alarming. She stepped back into her bedroom, the candle light giving off a yellow-orange glow. She sat at her fireplace on the cushions around it. She dipped her quill into the inkwell and began writing her letter to the Germane ambassador, who was expected to arrive within the week.
Celestia let her thoughts wander, from her royal duties, to her trip to Ponyville she had planned. "I wonder if I should bring Luna along with me," she wondered, "it's been a while since she came along for a visit to the town.."
________________________________________________________________________ ...Landing zone marked, Planetary Exploration Vehicle is en route, ETA four minutes... ________________________________________________________________________
Nightdasher looked down at the planet below, the trees, green pastures, and seemingly untouched by civilization. It was a sight to behold, but he was aware they weren't just going for the view, but more to hope the planet itself could sustain life. Him and the team of biologists and botanists were told it was believed to be inhabited, and the atmosphere was capable of holding oxygen.
"Falcon One to Torchlight, we're two minutes to the drop zone, ready yourselves." The radio on Nightdasher's headset relayed.
"Affirmative," He replied to the little microphone. "Listen up back there! Strap yourselves in, we land in two minutes!" He called back to the six passengers. He looked at the two joysticks in front of him, placing both his hooves on them. One to control speed, one to control direction. Nightdasher inhaled, then slowly exhaled, calming himself. If there was one thing he had learned, driving a near seventy-two ton vehicle and being anxious and shaky did not mix at all. The two joysticks were hair trigger sensitive, the slightest movement would cause it to shift in some direction or another. He brought down his visor, the Heads Up Display on it telling him their elevation, the speed, and which way they were facing.
"One minute." The transport radioed down to him. Nightdasher wasn't one for flying, especially when he wasn't the one doing it.
"Copy." He replied, looking back to see the two rows of chairs along the wall, each passenger secured to their seats. The craft rumbled slightly as they breached the cloud layer, giving Nightdasher a bird's eye view of the area below. It was nighttime, but the visor's night vision made no problem of that. He could see the rolling green hills, a forest, and what looked like to be a few birds flying about. The ground slowly drew closer as it raced past underneath them, approaching the landing zone, which Nightdasher just realized seemed to be a clearing in the middle of a forest.
"Falcon One to Nova, the LZ is in sight, Torchlight awaiting drop clearance."
"Reading you five-by-five, Torchlight is green to go."
The aircraft slowed dramatically, and slowly descended towards the clearing. Nightdasher braced himself against his seat, shutting his eyes and scrunching up his face.
"Brace yourself Torchlight, releasing clamps in three...two...one, drop."
Nightdasher felt them drop, hearing the clanking of the magnetic clamps give way, before hitting the ground with a solid "thud," bouncing slightly from the six-tread suspension.
"And we're down.." Nightdasher said to himself, relaxing a little.
"Falcon One to Torchlight we're returning to the Nova."
"See you in three weeks! Enjoy your vacation!" A different voice called from the aircraft. Nightdasher watched it soar back up into the sky, flying significantly faster without the tank-like vehicle strapped to it's underside.
He unlatched himself and walked back to the six scientists, each one waiting eagerly by the ramp at the back. Nightdasher hit the button as it lowered, forming an access ramp to the soft, grassy land underneath. A gust of air rushed in, with a slight chill in it. The six quickly barreled out, each one looking at different things among the clearing, from snapping pictures of the trees, and collecting samples of the grass and such. The two floodlights on the front mixed with the two red warning lights on the back provided more than enough illumination of the clearing. He flipped his visor back up to the top of his headset before taking it off, admiring this strange new planet. The air was crisp and clean, despite the smell of metal from the twenty-six foot long exploration vehicle behind him. The huge trees surrounded them, and he could help but feel a slight bit anxious as to what might be just past the tree line. It was unnaturally dark inside the forest itself, and he could only see silhouettes of what seemed to go on for decades.
Nightdasher walked towards a bush, rustling it slightly. They were definitely alone out here, but he had this creeping feeling they were being watched by some unseen force... _____________________________________________________________________
Celestia looked up from her letter, and made her way to the balcony once again. She knew something was out there, and her eyes quickly locked onto what appeared to be some object flying object, and it was moving fast. It looked like a balloon, but it was moving far to fast to be one. There were four leg-like appendages coming from it's sides, which connected to what looked like a huge gray cockroach, with three black triangular chains going down it's sides.
Celestia raced to the door of her bed chambers, and galloped down to her sister's door, opening it suddenly.
"Luna! Wake up!" She exclaimed, rushing to Luna's balcony.
"Wha-?" Luna muttered, sitting up fro the top her bed sheets, shaking her head slightly.
Celestia opened the door, and quickly found the strange object. Luna groggily walked over, before her eyes went wide with astonishment. The object was making considerable progress, almost over the Everfree Forest.
"What..is that?" Luna asked, craning her neck and squinting to try and see it better.
Celestia turned back and called for the guards. In nearly an instant, two stallions in golden rushed in.
"Yes your highness?" One of them queried.
"Wake up the Royal Guard and tell them to go as fast as possible to the Everfree forest. Tell them an unidentified object has been sighted over it, and it is not of Equestria."
"At once your highness!" The stallion replied before the two both galloped out of the bed chambers and down the hall.
Celestia did not know what to expect from this strange craft, but she did know it could be either friend or foe. If it were the latter, she feared deep inside her there would be few options as how to deal with this...alien.
Project Name: Torchlight Security Clearance: Public Purpose: Identification of a Medium Size planet for colonization. Supervising Officer: Admiral Helix
Project Notes:
Project Torchlight is an attempt to locate more planets suitable for colonization by Lunestian inhabitants. Project is to be supervised and reported back to Lunestian Hierarchy every twenty-four hours by Admiral Helix of the SS Nova. A team of seven are to be sent in an experimental planetary exploration vehicle. The PEV is an experimental all-terrain vehicle, capable of submerging itself if need be to cross aquatic terrain, and is equipped with it's own artificial gravity, in the event of a zero-G environment.
The PEV is armored with two-inches of a steel-titanium alloy, capable of sustaining oxygen within in it's hull due to onboard oxygen recyclers. The vehicle is equipped with a 42" rotary cannon capable of firing 7.62 mm standard rounds at a rate of 750 per minute. The weapon is to be used in emergency situations only, and is only if authorized by the Supervising Officer. The six-tread suspension system is an experimental attempt at designing a near perfect land traversal method. Each tread alone can support the weight of twenty tons, designed to be lightweight yet sturdy.
Crew assigned to Project Torchlight:
Name: Nightdasher Rank: Captain Gender: Male Age: 37 Years Species: Pegasus Birth Ability: Psionics Code Name: King Pin Cpt. Nightdasher was hand picked for Project Torchlight by Admiral Helix also for his knowledge in piloting heavily-armored vehicles. His immediate family is unknown, believed to be none, but enlisted into Lunestian Military Services at age twenty. When his basic training had completed, he a profession into being a sharpshooter, but his drafting in it was terminated by his own request. At age twenty-two he enlisted as an Armored Transport driver, on a Hunter-27 APC. After five years of service, he was given a position on a Q-77 Predator Tank. It was then he was discovered to be accustomed almost specifically to heavily armored vehicles.
Cpt. Nightdasher is known to have been born with Psionic capabilities, focusing more on defensive styles. Known Psionic Capabilities: Particle Wall: This particular form of psionic ability is capable of creating a near impermeable wall of pure psionic energy. It changes with size at the user's will. The only known material to be able to pass through the is concentrated gamma radiation, which can only be made artificially.
Telekinesis: This form of Psionic power is the ability to move and manipulate objects in the physical world, but lifting objects with heavier mass seems to cause more strain on the user, giving slight headaches if used for too long of duration.
Psionic Detonation: This is a more destructive force of Psionics but can still be categorized as a defensive style ability. It projects a large blast of psionic energy in a 360 degree circle around the user, which physically pushes any objects or organisms in the blast radius.
Name: Glass Shard Profession: Biology and Ecology Gender: Male Age: 58 Years Species: Unicorn Birth Ability: Magic Code Name: Icepick
Dr. Glass Shard is a 58 year old unicorn, with a profession in the study of Biology and Ecology. He studied at Sacral University, an academic facility for especially gifted minds. He was believed to have discovered three new species of plant and one new species of insects. He was chosen for Project Torchlight by Admiral Helix for his knowledge of ecology, which seemed to be of great importance on this alien world. His particular species of being a unicorn gives him the ability to use magic based feats and powers, his favorite being the ability to teleport.
Dr. Shard is to be given top level clearance, and access to most projects restricted to the general public.
WARNING: DATABASE FILE BREACH. LINK TO ENTRY 447a BEING TERMINATED. SECURITY STATUS RED.
Dr. Shard looked about the area, trying to take it all in, the air, the view, the thought that this planet may very well be the home for the next several generations of Lunestians to come. It was an idea to behold. He pressed his glasses back up to his eyes, and pulled up a small scalpel from his tool belt around his foreleg. The scalpel made a quick slicing motion through the air and cut a piece of a fern. Shard placed the small sample into a bag and sealed it shut, placing it in his pack. He raised his left foreleg and looked at the device on his wrist.
It was a watch like device, with a holographic display on it. It presented his personal vitals, a topographical view of the area around him, compass, and his elevation above sea level. It also gave him some survival equipment, such as an emergency full body shield which would protect him from hard impacts, such as a fall, and a built in laser weapon, which was only for emergencies though. The dense foliage and tree line made it hard to precisely pinpoint where they were, but luckily he could see somewhat when they were flew in.
Shard walked towards the trees, the air damp and misty, almost like a swamp. It was dark, even with the sun in the sky. A part of Dr. Shard wanted him to turn away, and get as far from it as possible, but his curiosity led him closer. He thought he was losing his mind as he could swear there were two little green eyes looking back at him. Suddenly his life became a blur as a creature made entirely of wood sprang forth at him with a loud howl.
Nightdasher sat stood on the ramp, panning back and forth, scanning the area around him. It was a different experience to say the least, but he figured he should enjoy it while it lasted. He tried to imagine what it might look like if his people were to colonize it, starships darting back and forth across the sky, settlements dotting the landscape. It may of well of been a Utopia.
Nightdasher snapped from his stupor and noticed something odd, the birdsong, faint as it was, had suddenly stopped, leaving only the sound of hoof steps from the others around. A sudden jolt surged through him and quickly whipped his head around when Dr. Shard let out a scream. The biologist had suddenly been tackled by a wooden beast. Night couldn't figure out how the thing held itself together, as each piece of wood seemed to just be suspended in air. He telekinectically levitated his pistol from it's holster around his foreleg, and took aim at the beast. The trigger pulled back, and both gunshots rang throughout the clearing, causing some birds to fly away frantically. One shot struck the beast in it's shoulder, and another barely clipped it's spine. The hellhound gave a howl, and then proceeded to charge at Nightdasher. It moved like a blur, and was within pouncing distance of him. He barely dodged the beast as it shot towards him, crashing into the side of the tank in an unceremonious clatter. Night heard the shriek of terror from one of the scientists as he took aim at the creature. This time, it did not stand back up. The beast fell, and turned into what appeared to be a jumbled mess of leaves, sticks, and bark.
Dr. Shard let out a yell of pain, quickly drawing Night's attention back to the matter at hand. Night made a sprint for the fallen scientist. He was covered in bruises, but his emergency shielding seemed to have prevented the beast's fangs from piercing his skin. Night and Dr. Bell, a paleobiologist sent on the mission, both lifted Dr. Shard, and carried him towards the tank, it's ramp already lowered.
"This is Captain Nightdasher to the SS Nova, we need an immediate medical evac!"
Twilight looked over the letter sent by Princess Celestia. It was sent without notice, and judging by how it was written, was more than likely important.
"Dear Princess Twilight,
There has been an emergency occurring inside the whitetail woods, and I am unsure as of yet how to handle this matter. I would like for you and your friends to investigate, and try to explain what this might be. I am also sending you the giving you permission to use your Elements of Harmony, should the need arise.
Sincerely, Princess Celestia"
Twilight furrowed her brow, trying to make as to what this "emergency" might be. The princess may have been cryptic, but this was a new length, even for her. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and hopped off her bed.
"Spike, I'm going to go see the girls, there is a daffodil sandwich if you want it."
"Mhmm," was all the little dragon said, clearly not yet fully awake. Twilight looked down at the sleeping dragon and smiled softly, levitating her crown over to her head. She crept down the stairs, avoiding the one she knew would creak no matter what, and hopped to the ground floor. She levitated her scarf to her, and wrapped it around her neck.
"Scarf, check. Crown, check" Twilight listed to herself, opening the door. A cold blew past as she opened it, signifying fall was most definitely here. She stepped down onto her doorstep, and closed the door softly behind her. Most of the lights from the houses and buildings around her had gone dark, leaving her only form of illumination the flickering street lamps. She thought over who to go and get first, and settled on Fluttershy, knowing she had been acting a bit more nocturnal ever since the Flutter Bat incident. Twilight began her walk, her hoof falls seeming to echo around her in the deserted street.
Her thoughts began to wander. "What is it that we're looking for? A monster? A new deity bent on overthrowing equestrian? A potato plant becoming sentient and getting cranky?" She giggled internally at her own joke, but returned to her thoughts. They kept drifting between theories, one she thought more than likely was a monster. If it were to be so, how would they handle it? Brute force? Fluttershy trying to befriend it was a more than likely scenario.
Twilight stopped when she suddenly realized she was on the edge of Fluttershy's property. She made her way up the path, stopping at Fluttershy's door. The lights were on, and she watched Fluttershy's shadow trail back in forth in the light. Twilight knocked on the door, and heard Fluttershy's hoof steps approach the door.
"Hel..oh, hi Twilight," Fluttershy greeted with a warm smile. "Why are you out so late." Fluttershy took notice of the crown on Twilight's head. "Oh."
********
Fluttershy sighed, sitting on her couch after Twilight's told her the news.
"So, we don't actually know what it is?" Fluttershy asked, in a concerned manner.
"I'm afraid not, Princess Celestia didn't tell me very much, other than to get us all together."
"So, we need to go get the others as well?"
Twilight nodded, looking through the window towards the forest. "I just hope it isn't anything to bad."