Land of Giant Ponies

Chapters

Collision Course Crisis
The Discovery of a Pod
Recovery Leads to Worry
Scouting Party
Royal Resolve
If They Speak...

Collision Course Crisis

Anshar Station, Earth Orbit
4th May 2099ce

They had all come; every volunteer for the SS Horus' maiden flight managed to reach the space station. Crew and passengers had all volunteered for this was an experimental spaceship, which was intended to cut interplanetary journey times from a minimum of weeks to a matter of hours. The propulsion was simple enough, utilising the 100% energy conversion of a matter-antimatter reaction but, due to concerns about the time distortion at high speed, this was redesigned so the reaction would be split over multiple points around the ship through complex and precise computer calculations. This was, in fact, the very first warp drive, though it was currently only designed for fractions of the speed of light; its fastest designed speed was 0.03 light speed.

The station commander looked over the profiles for the crew and passengers. The passenger profiles weren't very promising but this maiden voyage was somewhat risky so they actually had to pay them for the privilege; as for those with a criminal record they were given this as a chance to make a new start.

Still, there was no turning back. They were all checked through, their baggage set in the cargo hold. Then departure procedures began.

"All systems checked at normal." Capt Hewlett announced. "Request clearance for launch."

"Roger, Horus." The station's docking control room reported. "You're cleared for departure, course 116-234 solar."

"Roger, ready to taxi, over." The magnetic clamps were released and the Horus activated its stabilising thrusters, lining up with the bay doors. When they opened the ion drive fired and it began to steadily move out into open space. Station crew and residents watched through airtight bulletproof windows as this brand new ship began its voyage to Mars, which was currently 500 million miles away from Earth. The aim was to prove that the antimatter warp drive was an effective solution to the problem of planetary alignment.

The onboard computer was thoroughly programmed to deliver the appropriate matter-antimatter bursts in the right locations to create a wave in spacetime that the Horus could surf, however computers have been known to crash. A small error in the programming was going to have dire consequences.

The Horus' ion drive carried it in an elliptical orbit around the Earth resulting in a gravational slingshot to send it out of the local planetary control zone. As they passed the Lunar orbit Capt. Hewlett made a momentous decision.

"Ms. Pugh, lay in course for orbital insertion around Mars." Upon receiving his order she punched in the coordinates for the computer to follow. "Mr. Knowles, engage the warp drive." The first officer reached hesitantly for the safety catch on the warp control, disengaging it and pulling the release lever for the drive to activate. High energy was immediately detected towards the front and back of the ship as the pre-programmed system began to operate; for a while things seemed to be going well as their speed crept up, accelerating constantly. Jubilation began to fill the entire vessel as it became clear that they were going faster than ever. But then, something went spectacularly wrong.

As the Horus approached 0.007 the speed of light a burst of energy occured only seven feet off the mark in front of the ship, but this tied in with an accurate burst occurring where it was supposed to only six inches further off from this point. The result caused a rip in spacetime, which the Horus was thrown right through. To an outside observer not much else happened as the rip re-sealed with only a slight gravitational twitch that could easily be mistaken for an asteroid due to the lack of a concentrated area of matter in the vicinity, but all fourteen people on board the Horus were now totally cut-off from their universe. The dimension they entered was so different to their own that it could boggle their minds as everything they knew about physics became obsolete.

"Status report!" Capt. Hewlett announced.

"Warp drive has gone offline." Knowles reported. "External sensors read high ablation conditions."

"What?!?"

"We're in an atmosphere." Pugh reported. "At our current speed the outer hull will be breached in three minutes."

"We decelerated substantially." Knowles added. "And are still decelerating. Recommend we activate emergency braking thrusters and reduce our angle of descent to 1.4°.

"Make it so!" Capt. Hewlett announced. "Knowles, you have flight control." Acknowledging this Knowles took hold of his flight controls and engaged the braking thrusters.

"We'll be out of the ablation zone in twelve minutes." Pugh informed them. "Reduction in speed and angle indicate hull breach likely to occur in seven." This was of major concern for the crew.

"Place escape pods on standby." Capt. Hewlett informed them.

"Captain," Knowles reported, "Only two pods reported at green. Four have their entry hatches jammed and the remaining two have faulty flight control."

"There's only room for four in each pod." Hewlett remarked. "Doctor, you'll have to supervise the loading." Dr. Rabett got up from his duty position and struggled against the force of intertia as he made his way to the cabin.

Unfortunately, by the time he got there it was too late. Panic had set in and one of the two functioning escape pods had been launched. The doorway to the other was being fought over by two passengers as Tabitha Marsh stood nearby, looking frantic as she held her daughter close while holding her son by the hand so he wouldn't get involved. He made his way towards them but, before long, both Laura Pollard and James Benson pushed by each other into the pod and set it to launch, automatically shutting the remaining six passengers off from any escape.

"Okay, everyone!" Dr. Rabett announced. "Please return to your seats and adopt standard crash positions." This time they complied. A head count showed that it was Harry Brann and Angela Shane who had taken the first escape pod. With this made clear he made his way back to the cockpit.

"Two minutes to hull breach." Pugh reported. "Three and a half minutes before we drop below plasmasonic speed."

"I'm opening the flaps." Capt. Hewlett announced. "With any luck it will increase our deceleration." Just as soon as he did this there was a sudden metallic *clang* and a major jolt. In a matter of seconds the ablation ended.

"You did it, sir!" Knowles cried out.

"It may have worked a bit too well." He answered. "Even with the flaps it should've taken us at least another minute."

"Indeed so, sir." Pugh confirmed. "According to these readings we should still be in the plasmasonic zone." It was bewildering to them all that they were still travelling at a speed higher than the standard high altitude cruising speed when the ablation had finished.

"Well," Hewlett remarked, "Since reentry appears to be complete let us commence a study of this planet." He and Pugh did the systems checks and made sensor sweeps while Knowles continued with his well-practiced landing procedure and Dr. Rabett went back to the cabin to check on the remaining passengers.

"This doesn't add up." Pugh commented. "According to this we've still got five miles to go before we reach the surface when the atmospheric pressure reads that it should be two miles."

"This is incredible!" Hewlett declared. "It's so much like Earth but is clearly not Earth. None of the landmasses equilbrate to those of Earth even if we look at possible time travel and continental drift."

It took another seven minutes while they were pondering over readouts that seemed to conflict with one another before they were two miles from the surface, travelling at Mach 1.2 by this stage.

"Good gracious!" Knowles almost shouted as he made some wild maneuvers. "Either the trees are impossibly tall or there are some pretty drastic changes in the topography."

"Check coordinates 45, 6, 89." Pugh reported. "The apature radar indicates soft landing conditions. Can you get us there?"

"I'll do what I can." Knowles answered as they dropped to subsonic speeds. It took just two and a half minutes; at 220mph the ship's emergency buffers were deployed and it hit soft bare soil once it had decelerated to 140mph. The shock of impact was reduced to a deceleration rate of 25mph/s before it came to a stop. The cockpit was lodged under some mud, the remaining pods were scattered on impact and the cargo hold had been breached, sending some of the luggage all over the place. Worse still, the matter-antimatter reactor had somehow been drained and the only power systems available were solar batteries and the ship just wasn't built to take off from a planet's surface without an effective supply of hydrogen at least.

Everyone was marooned.

The Discovery of a Pod

Twilight Sparkle started at a sudden sound. With this interruption in her studies she looked out the window to find that there was nothing in the sky that was new, which was unusual since every time she heard such a sound before a rainbow would always follow. She mused.

"What makes a noise like a sonic rainboom but doesn't produce a rainbow?" Struggling to deduce what it could be she put aside her current reading material and sought out a book on anything, even something mythical, that could explain what she heard but didn't see.

Of course such a boom didn't go unnoticed by other ponies. Applejack was just performing a quality check on her apple crop when she heard it, causing her to look into the sky too.

"What in...?" She exclaimed. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! You don' need t'go showin' auf yer rainboom jus' whenever yer feel!" Just then she noticed the absence of a rainbow. "Wait a minute. If thar's no rainbow then..." She stood still, putting a hoof to her head as she tried to fathom what was happening. "Do ah drop ev'ythin' an' go lookin' for the cause o' tha' sound or shall ah jus' carry on 'til Twiligh' or somepony else comes t'ge' meh?"

Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she was just shifting a few clouds when the boom reached her ears, making her look round for the source.

"Okay!" She declared. "Who's stealin' my best trick?" What made Rainbow Dash's experience significantly different from Twilight's and Applejack's was she caught sight of something in the distance when she looked towards Whitetail Wood; one moment she saw a silhouette the next it glinted in the sunlight. Even from so far away she could tell it wasn't a pegasus because it was too long and short to be any kind of pony. Her first instinct was to go and investigate but was interrupted by a query from another pegasus regarding a raincloud.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity actually remained none the wiser at this point. Rarity was so wrapped up in her work and was at a fairly substantial distance to actually register the sound and Pinkie Pie was making too much of her own noise to hear it. However Fluttershy, in spite of being reasonably far away, heard it at a level similar to Twilight.

"Oh!" She peeped. "Rainbow Dash? Was that you?" She looked out of her window towards Sweet Apple Acres but could see nothing out of place, no streak of colour across the sky. "H...hello? Is... anypony out there?" She rested her forehoofs on the windowsill looking to and fro.

Twilight browsed through a book on the subject of supersonic speeds, having already given up on a tome of little-seen animals; she could identify matters on the effects of breaking the sound barrier and how sonic rainbooms were limited to pegasi but nothing she could find explained hearing the boom unaccompanied by a rainbow. With no other option available she decided on field research; she would go out and comb the area around Ponyville for anything out of the ordinary, with the possible exception of the Everfree Forest.

"Mayday, mayday!" Harry Brann called over the radio. "Can anyone read me?" The pod he and Angela had took didn't land particularly steady, indeed she had been knocked unconscious for a few minutes and was only just coming round. Harry tried a few more frequencies as she found her bearings.

"W..where...? What happened?" Angela Shane asked her surroundings.

"It doesn't make sense." Harry remarked. "There's no white noise and no cross-transmissions no matter what frequency I use."

"Oh, yeah." She groaned. "That #*€¬/^£ fancy spaceship went and crashed on a planet. Them $*>>/^` scientists and their bloomin' new-fangled fancy-schmansy thingamijigs."

"It's no use moaning about it." Harry interrupted. "What's most important is we try and contact someone." Angela then sat down on a seat that hadn't been dislodged by the impact as he continued with his 'mayday' call. "I guess," He said after a couple more minutes, "That the radio broke when we landed."

"So," Angela remarked, "Shall we have a look out?"

"Only through the window." He answered. "There should be an emergency beacon that'll help people find this pod and I don't know if it's safe to breathe this planet's air."

"What of it?" She retorted. "There's plant life out there, the sky's blue. That means breathable air, right?"

"Even so," He returned, "This might actually be a new planet, the first Earth-like planet beyond our solar system, so I don't want to risk catching an alien disease."

James Benson was the first to recover from the shock of the impact, he noticed Laura Pollard slumped over a spare seat and daylight shining through a small window. He stood shakily and considered his position. He had three real options. Stay with Laura and wait for a rescue party, leave the pod to get help for Laura or to abandon her and go find some civilisation. It didn't take him long to decide that Laura wasn't his concern. He reached for the hatch and released the seal, but it took him another three minutes to open the hatch. He had just jumped out when Laura came to. It surprised him to find that there was a lot of tall green grass around him, not one blade less than 10 feet, but he wasn't duanted as he believed that it was Earth except that he was in a wilderness. Convinced that he could either find civilisation or a helpful tribe he pushed on into the 'thicket'.

Once Laura found her bearings she looked all round her as the pieces of her memory slipped back together. She soon realised what happened to James when she saw that the hatch was opened and decided that she'd be better off waiting for someone to find the pod, at least she could formulate a story to give her the most benefit. She sat and looked out at the jungle-esque expanse wondering where she was. Was it Earth or had they found an Earth-like planet?

"Ookayy," Twilight mused as she stood in the town square, "That boom came from a Southward direction, I think." After going over the layout of Ponyville and the surrounding countryside in her head to determine the best place to start a seach she trotted off to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Hey! Twilight!" A blue flash passed in front of her eyes before Rainbow Dash came to a stop at her side. "Did you hear that?"

"If you mean the sonic boom, then yes." She answered with a hint of bother in her voice.

"Yeah, I couldn't figure it out either." Rainbow Dash babbled out. "I mean, not only was there no rainbow, but some silhouette was moving off in the distance."

"Really?" Twilight was most intrigued by this piece of information. "Where did you see that?" Rainbow Dash hesitated.

"Err... I can't really remember. I had to help somepony with a raincloud and by the time I got a chance to get a better look it was gone." Twilight gave her a quizzical look. "But I think it was off in that direction."

"It's not much," Twilight muttered, "But it's a start."

"Hey there!" Pinkie Pie suddenly greeted as she popped out of nowhere; even after all the times she did this it still startled Twilight.

"Pinkie Pie?" She queried. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," She replied as she sat in front of the two, "You see..." Just then she started shaking all over.

"Oh." Twilight remarked in understanding. "There's a doozy afoot."

"Oh, no." Pinkie answered. "It's not a foot. All I can figure is..." She was interrupted by the shivers again, "It's gonna be at Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at one another in a serious manner before they galloped off to make sure nothing was wrong with Applejack. "Hey!" Pinkie called after them. "Wait up!"

Angela was getting restless. She had been stuck in the pod with Harry for, what he determined to be, half an hour but she was sure it was much longer. There was blue sky outside, in the distance lush flora swayed in the breeze. As far as she was concerned it was perfectly okay to open the hatch, breathe in natural air and stretch her legs. Just then a strange sound resonated through the pod. At first it seemed like thunder but no dark clouds hung in the sky outside and all instruments were set to a resting state. The perculiar low-pitched sound seemed to be getting stronger and was occurring in regular bursts.

"What the $*£(**% ^£(( is that?!?" She remarked. Harry was tired of her loose use of language but he began to make a deduction based on the most logical solution.

"Earth tremors, I'd say." He answered. "We could be in an area of high seismic activity."

"Thank you, professor." She remarked. "Thing is how many earthquakes occur like that?" Harry wondered why she didn't seem too bothered about their situation but he realised that, for once, she had actually made a good observation. An earthquake or tremor always has a continuous rumble and thunder never repeats as quickly as this. By this time they could feel the vibrations attributed to the sound. "Sounds like my brother coming downstairs."

"Whatever it is," Twilight remarked once they reached Sweet Apple Acres, "There's nothing to indicate a doozy just yet."

"Hey!" Pinkie cried. "Therrrre's Applejaaack!" Sure enough they had come far enough to see Applejack checking over the apple trees.

"Well," Rainbow Dash figured, "She must have some role in this. Come on, let's say hi!"

"Hey, Applejack!" She turned to the newcomers with a feeling of slight surprise.

"Hi gals. What brings y'all here?"

"Pinkie Pie's got the shivers." Twilight answered. "And you remember the last time Pinkie got the shivers?"

"You sayin' we're gettin' a doozy round these parts?" Twilight nodded firmly.

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as her eyes wandered about the orchard. "AJ, some of your apple trees sure do make some weird-lookin' apples."

"I beg yer pardon?!?" She replied, the annoyance in her voice notwithstanding.

"Well, have you ever seen an apple like that before?" All four of them looked at the 'apple' in question. Its shape was almost exactly like an apple but the skin was a dark grey and there were unusual little protrusions just noticeable here and there, also a few spots glinted in the sunlight like tiny crystals.

"I... don't think that's really an apple." Twilight remarked.

The vibrations seemed to have stopped. Harry was feeling smug about the idea that it was just earth tremors and Angela was getting rather bitter, viewing him as a smart alec and also desiring a stiff drink for the peculiarity and inconvenience of the whole situation was provoking her into stress.

After a couple of minutes the vibrations returned, stronger and more frequent than they had been; they grew stronger and stronger until they suddenly stopped again. It didn't seem like twenty seconds when the earlier ones had gone on for a few minutes. They barely had time to figure on these latest shockwaves when the whole pod shook, causing them to tumble about. Once everything had settled, although they seemed to be off centre, they did what they could to stand when the sunlight was suddenly blocked. Looking out one window they could see grass in bright sunshine and, looking up, clear blue sky could be seen through gaps in the tree canopy. Angela was the first to look towards the opposite window.

Angela stood staring for a couple of seconds and then briefly screamed in surprise and alarm. When Harry looked he became transfixed as his instincts said he should be terrified while a separate part of his brain reminded him that there was no escape at this time and still another said that what he was seeing was impossible. There, completely filling the window, was an enormous sky-blue eye staring back at them.

Almost as soon as Twilight had identified that what they were looking at wasn't an apple Pinkie suddenly got this major jolt before settling down. After checking herself over her eyes locked on the object lying on the grass.

"That's it!" She declared. "That's the doozy!" Before any of the others could respond she cantered over to the object in question and scooped it up in her hoof. Twilight walked forward with Applejack and Rainbow Dash following cautiously; well Applejack was being cautious, Rainbow Dash was being constantly pushed back slightly with one of her hoofs as a non-verbal reminder not to get overeager. "Ooooh." Their pink companion practically squealed as she held it up to her eye.

"Pinkie," Twilight asked, "Could you please restrain yourself now and again?"

"You ponies have just gotta see this." She declared, not registering Twilight's words. Curiosity getting the better of her Twilight came closer to get a good look at the... 'sphere', for want of a better word. Applejack held back for now while Rainbow Dash took to the air and hovered almost directly over the sphere, not getting too close for the sake of Twilight's rather 'slow, steady' way of checking things out.

"It's... very interesting, Pinkie." Twilight commented. "I would like to investigate further but, why has it got you so excited?"

"Look closer, Twilight." She answered, holding it towards one of her shiny mauve eyes. "Look real close at a glinty part." Twilight couldn't fathom what Pinkie was going on about. Had this happened some months earlier she'd have dismissed it as Pinkie's wild excitability but, what with the parasprites and 'Pinkie sense' she had witnessed, she decided to buy it anyway. She looked hard at a 'glinty part', almost as though she was looking through a telescope, and gasped. There, inside the sphere, were two tiny bipeds. They were close to the 'window', Twilight now identified, cowering as they kept looking out the window opposite. From her position she could only see one of Pinkie's shoulders, which told her that Pinkie's own scrutinising had terrified them stiff.

Twilight now realised a multitude of things as she observed the occupants of the sphere: What she had to do now. What these creatures were. So many things now filled her mind as she slowly withdrew her head.

Recovery Leads to Worry

"Great Celestia, Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed. "This must be the most incredible find in the past thousand years of Equestrian history."

"Whoopie-doopie!" Pinkie responded, almost sending the occupants of the sphere on a rollercoaster ride. "We discovered a whole new kind of bug."

"They're not bugs," Twilight informed her three friends, "They're humans."

"They're what?!?" Applejack double-checked as she trotted up behind Twilight.

"Humans." She repeated.

"Wait," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "You've read about these... humans?"

"Only as a myth." She answered. "The descriptions were sufficient for me to identify them but they were always thought of as a simple old pony tale; hardly anypony knows about the old tales these days, even the literacy teachers in Canterlot."

"There're seriously old tales about lit'le critters tha' ride in balls?" Applejack asked.

"Not exactly." Twilight replied. "The myth says they're actually about as tall as Princess Celestia on average and they have a natural tendency to selfishness and innovation. I'm not too clear on the details of their society in that myth but I think there was something about strong speciesism."

"Whoa, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash reacted. "Spesha-what?"

"Speciesism." She answered. "The belief that some kinds are better than others just because those kinds are different."

"Oh." Said Applejack as a thought crept up on her. "Like how it was with... Zecora." Her eyes fell onto her hoofs.

"Sort of," Said Twilight, "Only much stronger."

Harry and Angela were dumbfounded. They had been looking out at the shifting scene of Pinkie's body for long enough that terror was being replaced by confusion and curiosity. Not a single sound emanating from the giant equines' mouths passed into their own airspace thanks to the pod's airtight seal. However Pinkie Pie's excitable attitude meant that they would regularly experience a serious amount of turbulence that made it difficult to keep their feet. After the last surge of tumbling Harry could now see Twilight's neck out the other window, making him attempt to rationalise the whole situation.

"What the $&£*(^% ^£() are these monsters?!?" Angela blurted out.

"All I can figure at the moment," Harry deduced, "Is that we're on some alien planet populated by very tall and strong beings that come in as many colours as jelly beans. Presumably this planet has a significantly lower gravitational pull than Earth so such creatures can exist. This would also explain the lack of injury we have experienced."

"Okay, professor," Angela responed, "Now what the $&£* do we do?"

"I guess there's nothing we can do," He answered, "Except wait. Wait to be rescued. Wait and see what these... things will do."

"Uh, Twi?" Applejack inquired. "Whatch'ya intend t'do with these... humans?"

"I've been giving that a good deal of thought," She answered, "And, as I see it, the following will have to be done: One, these humans must be kept under observation, for their good as much as ensuring that they make no trouble. Two, I must inform Princess Celestia of this remarkable find, then she could give us a sage decision on what we should ultimately do with them. Three, I must do research in the hopes of discovering why they're so much smaller than they are said to be in the myth."

"Hey, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie interjected. "Can I keep them? Even just one of them? Please, please, please!"

"Hold on there, nelly." Said Applejack as she held Pinkie Pie back, causing her to drop the sphere. The tumbling inside was very rough for the occupants but Twilight's hoof intervened and made it little worse than a combination of a rollercoaster ride and travelling on a bus with standing room only. "Twiligh' said they gotta be kept observed. Now, no offense t'ya, but I doubt you could always keep yer eye on them."

"Oh Applejack," She replied, "I'm not stupid enough to shove them into my eyes. Anyway Twilight would still have to stop observing them if she's gonna do research and inform the princess."

"Wow!" Rainbow Dash declared. "That's awfully perceptive for yer, Pinkie."

"I'm sorry girls," Twilight spoke up, "But I can't determine whether letting Pinkie look after even just one of them would be a good move. 100 percent observation is not strictly necessary as any of us could probably place them in a secure environment while other things take precedence."

"Well," Rainbow Dash mentioned, "I'd be happy to take'em for safe-keeping but I don't know if they can stand on clouds."

"And I don' think I could look after'em," Applejack put in her two bits' worth, "We've got quite enough on our plates as 'tis."

"Do you think we could at least pay 'em a visit now and then?" Pinkie asked.

"Seems to be the most prudent option yet." Twilight commented. "Okay girls, leave it with me." With that she levitated (or telekinetically lifted) the pod and began walking back home when she paused. "Oh, one more thing. I'd appreciate it if we kept this quiet for a while. I'm sure some other ponies will learn of this but I'd rather let Princess Celestia be the first to know." They nodded in reasonable understanding as Twilight departed.

"Well," Applejack remarked, "If that's all I'll jus' get back to ma work."

From the window facing Twilight Harry and Angela couldn't see her horn but her forehead, upper eyelids and some hints of her eyeballs and the hairs hanging from her mane were in clear sight; the scale was breathtaking but Harry was too preoccupied with attempting to logically deduce why they were being held level with this being's forehead.

"Why doesn't it carry us at chest height?" He muttered. "What kind of anatomical form would make it easier to carry something just above where its nose is likely to be?"

"Whatever." Angela moaned. "Right now I don't think I $&£*(&^ care what it's gonna €&£(*% do."

"Just a few minor injuries, captain." Dr Rabett reported as he re-entered the cabin. "I've administered first aid; they should be right as rain in a few days."

"Thank you, doctor." Capt Hewlett answered. "Systems status, Mr Knowles?"

"Emergency battery power sufficient for habitation for another four days, ten if we can breathe the atmosphere and a month if water recycling can be taken offline. Fusion reactor has undergone emergency shutdown, restart circuitry seems to be fried, so the ion drive cannot be operated. Warp drive totalled, no antimatter available."

"And the Horus wasn't built for planetary take-off." Capt Hewlett remarked. "I guess we must inform the passengers; it looks like we've got to modify our schedule." He chose his words in such a careful way, using a couple of euphemisms but stressing them in such a way so the other three knew what he meant.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Hewlett declared as he stood at the front of the cabin, "I regret to inform that we have apparently crash-landed on a newly discovered planet. The good news is this planet seems to strongly resemble Earth in terms of its... conditions. The bad news is that this ship cannot take-off again. I ask you all to remain calm and I'm sure, if we all put our heads together, we can find a way to a) cope with the situation and b) to get back home." Nervous muttering arose from the remaining seven passengers. "Doctor, see if you can scan the planet's atmosphere for unknown microbes. Specifically determining if any of them are pathogenic."

"It will take some reprogramming of the spectroscope but I'll see what we can come up with." Dr Rabett responded.

By the time Twilight reached the library Harry had been able to observe some circumstantial aspects of the world's civilisation. Out of the window opposite Twilight he could clearly see buildings that suggested a late-medieval/Tudor society, which both fascinated and unsettled him; however every time Twilight passed in sight of another pony he would be looking through the window in front of her forehead. Angela, on the other hand, sat sulkingly in the middle of the pod sparing the odd nervous glance out of the window at Twilight. Now, as Twilight ferried them over the threshold of her home, they both got a better look at her. They watched as her great purple eyes past the window before seeing her muzzle loom before them, bewildering Harry as to what kind of creature would have such a face structure. Considering the difference in proportion between her eyes and muzzle he believed that her kind evolved in an environment with very little dust and was primarily nocturnal. When they were floating around the level of her collar they had seen her neck and shoulder but were still none the wiser as to her true genus.

Harry could clearly recognise the interior as a library but the overall wooden decor seemed rather fanciful, almost impractical by his sensibilities.

As Twilight went up the stairs she called out. "Spike! Are you around?" There came a quick pitter-patter from below and behind her, causing her to pause just as the pod was levitated just above the ceiling of the main room. The door to the basement opened and Spike stuck his head out.

"Hey, Twilight!" He answered. "I was just filing some scrolls."

"Good lad." She replied. "I'm gonna have a special project going on in the spare room, so I'd appreciate it if you treated it as off-limits." Spike flinched slightly but quickly settled.

"Sure thing, as long as you don't leave your books in there when you're through with them. It would be awkward to go looking for something you wanted if it was somewhere I wasn't allowed."

"No worries, Spike." Twilight giggled. "We can set up an In and Out arrangement by the door." With that she carried on up the stairs.

Harry thought of the next floor as being nothing more than an extension of the library as the bedroom remained out of sight from the pod's window. As Twilight ferried them towards a discreet-looking door both he and Angela became rather nervous, like a paratrooper going on his first mission after all his training (i.e. knowing what was likely to happen all along but only really feeling the dread at the last minute). Neither of them knew what Twilight's intentions were as she opened the door. The space beyond was dim, little light seemed to be entering that room. For her finds the low light was an ominous portent.

Scouting Party

Twilight's spare room was at odds with the overall layout of the library; it was a long narrow room that dog-legged a third of the way in and a window almost directly opposite the door. Originally it was for surplus storage, like when a delivery of books arrived but hadn't been catalogued, but Twilight had converted it into a private study area for her 'special projects'. Indeed its lack of use was highlighted by its rather spartan arrangement but a conspicuous lack of dust and suchlike showed Spike's dedication to keeping the whole place tidy. She set the pod down on the desk and obtained a quill and parchment from a small storage area left for the purposes of notetaking and set them off to her right, almost right on the edge. With that she then got some ink from under the desk and prepared to begin a possible thesis. She began to write:

The Discovery and Analysis of Tiny Humans

I, Twilight Sparkle, along with my friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash have discovered a most remarkable find in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. To wit a metallic sphere one apple in diameter with microscopic windows allowing Pinkie Pie and myself to observe the contents of the hollow object, which turn out to be humans. Scientific name: Simians Superstitiotus It is undoubtedly incredible as these humans are much smaller than those of legend; current estimate places them at just one clip tall.

Twilight paused in her writing. Her gaze fell square on the sphere as she pondered about her next move. Options included finding a way to open it up and interact with the humans more directly or to observe their behaviour within the confined space. She knew further studies would have to be carried out before she could continue her thesis.

James Benson had been pushing his way through the tall thick grass for a fair amount of time; already the isolation was taking its toll as he started and flinched at every anomalous sound. The strain of walking in an alien environment was really getting to him when, to his relief, he came upon what appeared to be a fresh water lake the size of Rutland Water, albeit with surroundings and topography that had more in common with a waterhole in the savannah. Eagerly and without any qualms over possible contagions he leapt forth and thrust his head into the water at the 'shore', drawing in a big gulp to quench the thirst that had been building to sore levels.

Satisfied with his long drink, James lay back and looked up at the few clouds, which hovered over his location. He looked and looked and looked, yet against all his sensibilities they didn't move, disperse or change shape; even in apparent stillness clouds should still move in the high skies where the air never seems to stop. His mind struggled with the apparent lack of common sense in these skies but, in doing so, he failed to notice a great white mass approaching through the grass.

"These readings," Dr Rabett remarked, "It's incredible. Not only are there no alien pathogens but there's no sign of high-risk pathogens that we're familiar with. Furthermore there're strong indications that there are zero toxic chemicals; even Earth's atmosphere contains tolerable levels of potentially toxic substances."

"What do you make of it, Knowles?" Capt Hewlett asked.

"Well," He answered, "Best guess would be that we're on some kinda Earth-like planet that resembles Earth without man, or where man hasn't industrialised."

"So," Hewlett deduced, "If there's intelligent life it'll be pre-industrial."

"Maybe even tribal, sir." Capt. Hewlett paused in thought for a while.

"By all accounts we'll have to scout out the area and see if we can... negotiate or something with the natives if there are any. If all else fails we should be able to find essentials." With that he led the crew back into the cabin.

"Ladies and gentlemen," He announced, "This is a situation. We have crash-landed on what our instruments indicate is an extra-solar planet with highly Earth-like conditions. The vessel can maintain reasonable electrical power by use of our solar panels but certain mechanisms will have to be compromised, including standard life-support. Fortunately we have detected no alien pathogens in the planet's atmosphere so we can breathe. In order for us to survive and to make attempts to get the Horus flight-worthy again we must all club together and arrange scouting parties to gather supplies." There was a stew of murmuring as the remaining passengers got to grips with the news.

"Sir," Ms Pugh spoke up, "Maybe we'll be able to find the four who used the escape pods during our scouting."

"Good point, Ms Pugh. In the meantime let us consider how best to assign everyone to what kind of scouting."

Twilight reached a conclusion. She'd need some research material, which would mean asking Spike to bring some books, but she also did not wish to look away from the sphere as she wasn't sure if the humans had any way of getting out of their own accord. She got another piece of parchment and set it on the other side of the desk and began writing.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I write this letter to you with ambivelence regarding the subject matter. Earlier today Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and I found a metal sphere the size of an apple at Sweet Apple Acres and, upon close examination, contains two humans who are approximately one clip tall. Though this may sound incredulous I am confident in assuring you that this is no joke!

Discounting my friends who I've mentioned earlier in this letter, nopony else knows about this. Currently I have the sphere in my custody and the humans have not yet exited either of their own accord or by my own efforts. I will not open the object prior to any instruction that you may provide, but I won't hamper any effort of theirs to get out though they will remain in custody for now.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

With that Twilight sealed the scroll and, with great care, levitated the pod and scroll as she made her way to the door, not wishing to leave the pod out of her sight. She opened the door by hoof and moved the scroll out.

"Hey, Spike!" She called; it wasn't long before he put in an appearance. "Send this scroll to the Princess, please." A flash of green affirmed his response. "While you're out there could you get 'The Equestrian Almanac of World Mythology' and 'Neurobiology for Small Animals'?"

Laura sat on the threshold of the hatchway to the pod, looking out into the jungle-esque expanse of grasses. She was getting rather bothered by the lack of any sign of civilisation, surely someone would've noticed the whole tumbling down. The conclusion she arrived at was that she was on an Earth-like world that was devoid of intelligent life; with that she swung herself back into the pod and began to salvage the meager supplies of food and water, packing them into a standard-issue shoulder bag. With James having gone off on his own there was plenty left for her.

The drop to the ground was rough but not hazardous in any way. She circumnavigated the pod in search of any sign of habitation but could find none. A quick sideways glance at the Sun suggested it was early to mid-afternoon, but since it was likely that she was on an alien world she couldn't be totally sure. After having a quick bite and a drink she made the decision to head in the direction of the Sun, keeping her eyes down to avoid being blinded by the light; her aim was to only look all around once she was in shade before making any further decisions.

"Okay," Capt. Hewlett decided, "Knowles, you keep command here with the doctor, Miss Marsh and her children. Ms. Pugh, you take Mr. Holland and scout away from the position of the Sun; I will take Ms. Cowling and Ms. New and scout towards the Sun. Remember to keep tabs on your compass bearing, that way we can determine the alignment of the planet's magnetic field when compared to ours and ensure that we can return to the ship effeciently." Breaking the news to the passengers wasn't all that effective though. Charles Holland was reluctant to wear the rucksack provided and Sheila Cowling was constantly trying to barter her way out of carrying more than she wanted; Jenny New did end up with a bit more than intended as a result but the Captain was helpful to her as Ms. Cowling's scamming nature did not fool the hardened space pilot.

When the hatch opened they found themselves staring into woodland that held them in a state of awe; the trees were massive and towered so high that they couldn't hope to reach the lowest branch, furthermore they were so well-spaced and had so little undergrowth between them that it was like a delightful scene out of a fairy tale. The two scout parties lined themselves up with the opposing ends of the spacecraft, which had landed with the nose pointing to the South-East. To everyone's relief there was a freshwater lake only fifty yards or so North-East of the crash site and the doctor only took ten minutes to determine it as safe to drink, astonished at the blatant lack of pathogens.

Captain Hewlett led the two women due South-South-West upon locating the Sun. They hadn't gone a quarter of a mile before they found themselves climbing over a giant tree root in the effort to maintain as direct a path as possible. As they hiked through the woods they found it hard to find anything worthwhile as there were no nuts, berries or fruits on the ground and the woodland was extensive enough that, even though it wasn't particularly dense, they could see nothing beyond it.

Officer Diane Pugh led Charles North-North-East in reaction to the captain's choice of direction. While they had it easier on the muscles since there were no tree roots in their path they had to deviate more in order to bypass the lake but they were just as unlucky in finding food or anything of particular interest.

"Don't worry," Will Knowles attempted to reassure the Marsh family, "They'll be back. We agreed that once the Sun's on the horizon they'll turn back regardless and they do have torches. With all the preparations what could possibly go wrong?"

Need I say any more at this juncture?

Royal Resolve

James Benson was sharply woken from his doze that the warm afternoon sunlight had brought over him when something soft and furry enveloped him, applying such pressure as to make him briefly believe that he'd been pushed between two mattresses. He barely had time to get over this when whatever he'd been engulfed by started jolting about in every which way.

This went on long enough for it to feel like forever before it came to a stop long enough for James to find his bearings. He was suspended in a vertical position within a warm soft furry encasement that appeared to be white/cream or something like that. Suddenly he felt the sensation of a rapid ascent that took all of two seconds and then was shaken up and down for a bit; when this stopped he heard a sweet feminine voice that also had a bizarre tone that suggested a level of potential power that the speaker was not wont to wield.

"What is it, Angel?" The voice asked someone else who must've been out there. "Are you okay? Have you found something?" James suddenly felt his world turn upside down and descend in one moment before he went back into a sense of horizontal, as he was before all the shenanigans started except that down was now in front of him, and then the portion of furry 'mattress' that was pressing on his back lifted away and brighter light reached him.

Woozily James lifted his head, only seeing the vague suggestion of wood in the distance as he groaned from the rollercoaster ride he'd just been through. He hadn't had ten seconds when a shadow descended on him. He turned towards the source but still didn't feel like raising his head so could only see a wall of yellow beyond the 'mattress'.

"Sweet Celestia!" The female voice, now uninhibited by the furry clasp he'd been in, almost boomed in the fashion of being too close to the subwoofer at a disco. "Where did you find such a thing?" James slowly turned over onto his back to get a better look at what he was lying before. He only had a second to stare in shock at the huge face of a bright yellow ungulate with absurdly oversized turquoise eyes, or at least completely out of proportion with the rest of her face, but aside from it clearly being the female who had spoke he couldn't yet determine what kind of ungulate she was. "The Everfree Forest?!?" She looked at him for a few seconds with some rather negative vibes that made him cringe.

A sudden descent made James look the other way to see a giant beady-eyed rabbit gesticulating with one paw, making him realise that the 'mattress' was, in fact, that very rabbit's other forepaw. James lay in shock turning his head between the pink-haired ungulate and the beady-eyed rabbit as he now understood just how small he must be by the standards of this strange alien world. One thing was bugging him awful, though. If this was an alien world why did a native species speak English?

"Oh," The ungulate thundered, "Not the Everfree Forest. *phew* Sweet Apple Acres? Almost? Nearer? Water? A pond? Aha!" James covered his ears in response to her outburst. "The pond that's half-a-furlong to the South-East." The rabbit, which James now deduced was who the ungulate had called Angel, nodded vigorously.

Laura Pollard was happy to find a good portion of shade at last and looked up to see what provided it. A behemoth of a tree towered before her, so high that she struggled to see the fruit growing on it, which she finally recognised as apples.

"Did wonder if they grew on trees." She remarked. Looking back she found that the pod was no longer in sight, making her wonder just how far she'd come. Feeling lethargic she figured it was time for a rest but managed to persuade herself to rest against the base of the mighty apple tree that stood before her. The reason for her lethargy was not just the distance she covered but also because of a slight remnant of her old addiction. She grabbed a quick bite from the emergency rations and focused on the final stretch to the tree.

Once she was in arm's reach of the trunk Laura lay with her back to it and gazed up at the shiny apples in wonder and longing, musing over the potential they had as a food source when compared to Earth apples. The combination of natural tiredness and drug withdrawal eventually made her doze off.

Harry and Angela were still unclear as to the biology of their captor, for all they could see were the purple eyes, the light purple coat, the indigo hair and the stout muzzle. Any time their pod was shifted they struggled to keep their feet.

Twilight peeked inside the sphere once again in the hopes of finding some more behavioural aspects that she could catalogue but, to her disappointment, every time she looked inside the humans would just cringe and stare back. Until she received a reply from the Princess she couldn’t think what else to do. She reexamined her notes.

“There must be something I can do to continue this study.” She thought out loud.

“Have you tried interacting with them?” Came an all-too familiar voice from over her shoulder. Twilight turned round.

“Princess!” She cried out, going into a respectful bow with an almost anxious touch. “May I ask why you came so swiftly?”

“When I received your letter,” She answered, “I knew I had to come and see for myself. I know you wouldn’t just make it up.” She lifted the sphere up to her eyeline.

For Harry and Angela the scene shifted in such a way that, while the bodies of their captors were still unknown, they could now see that this alien race of giants had protruding muzzles that moved in a most bizarre fashion, completely contradictory to their understanding of facial anatomy, although Angela didn’t give a penny what the term was.

“Incredible.” Breathed Celestia. “Real live humans here in Equestria. Never have I heard of such a thing.”

“Um, Princess?” Twilight guessed. “You don’t think the myth came from before Equestria, do you?”

“As a matter of fact, Twilight, humans have never existed in this world before. The myth partly stems from my own study of other dimensions, which includes one where these are the dominant species. That’s why the myth’s so vague; it has no basis in pony history.”

Harry and Angela meanwhile had been watching the whole conversation from inside the relative safety of the ship.

“Well I’ll be...” Harry tried speaking, his voice breaking up.

“What?” Angela sighed. “Where’d the big white one come from?”

“Well...if this is supposed to be a primitive society...I think we’re looking at a...well...”

“Jesus Harry! Slow down, in English - preferably with subtitles.” Angela snapped. The man was clearly exasperating her.

“Well...for simplicity’s sake... I suppose it’s their version of a Pharaoh.” Harry told her simply.

“So these oversized things worship their queen?” Angela assumed before giving a brief laugh. “What is it about such backward lands that makes them give so much *£@#<>\ power to one whatsit?”

“Our ancestors weren’t too dissimilar.” Harry mentioned. “Don’t be so condescending, especially if we get to communicate with these fascinating creatures.” She huffed at these words.

Laura woke in a state of confusion as shockwaves passed under her in a steady rhythm. *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* Once she got her bearings she remembered all that had happened. Recalling the fact that this was an alien planet the first thing that came to her mind was ‘dinosaurs’. Eventually the strength of the giant footfalls were such that she could barely stand until they abruptly stopped. Confused she glanced about until she saw a most surprising and alarming sight.

Off to her right, at a distance of about 25 yards, was a huge beige column six or seven times higher than she was; on top of this a mighty column covered in red hair/fur rose up into the sky. Craning her neck she was shocked to discover that it was a brightly coloured horse, or something like it, over 50 times as tall as she was.

Big Macintosh took a quick look at the trees in his vicinity before he gave a satisfactory nod and looked for a windfall to keep his hunger at bay. Suddenly he heard something; a sort of distant high-pitched squeal of fright but from a direction that most certainly couldn’t have been distant. Looking in the general direction he identified slight movement between the shadow of the tree and an area open to the sunshine.

Author's Note

Due to popular demand I've had to upload this chapter ending at a point I had hoped to expand on. Also I was unable to come up with a better title.

If They Speak...

Big Macintosh crouched down to get a better look at this strange bug. It seemed to be bipedal and was making frantic noises that had a pony-esque tone to them.

"What are you?" He queried in his simple monotone voice. It turned its back on him and fought its way through the grass; in just one minute Macintosh's hoof barred its path. He was surprised to find that it hardly moved since insects and suchlike were typically very fast for their size.

Laura was struck tharn in response to her predicament. A massive talking horse had taken a frightening interest in her and she was determined not to be treated like a bug, however it seems that her relatively small size gave her no real advantage in speed. Cornered by a huge hoof she turned to see his great head zooming in towards her; the sight of such a colossal creature taking an interest in her resulted in an instinctive backing up right against the giant's hoof. In no time at all her view was filled by his muzzle, every twitch of the lips clearly evident. She scrunched her eyes shut and squealed.

"Don't eat me!" The giant pony withdrew his muzzle a little and provided her with a good look of the underside of his chin.

Big Macintosh was stunned. Whatever this thing was it could talk even though its voice was so feeble he could barely hear what it was saying. However he could determine that it thought he was a predator in spite of the fact that he was undoubtedly a pony. He replied in a relatively soft voice but it still seemed to intimidate this tiny creature.

"Don't be scared." He said. "I don't want to hurt you." With practiced skill he rapidly whipped his hoof round and scooped it up, eliciting a squeak of surprise and alarm as he lifted it up to his eye level as he sat down. "Have you never seen a pony before?"

Laura was gobsmacked as she found herself actually sitting on the hoof of a giant talking pony who didn't seem to be thinking the situation as being particularly drastic. Nevertheless she couldn't visualise any situation where she'd survive if she didn't obey her equine captor.

"I...I know of ponies, but none of them are talking titans." She braced herself for fear of being squashed.

"And what are you?" He boomed, almost blowing her off his hoof with his breath.

"H...h...human." She answered.

Big Macintosh thought things over. This tiny creature was evidently female, she was no bigger than one of his teeth, she could speak Equestrian, she apparently never heard of ponies being able to talk, she seemed unused to being so small and from what he could see of her there was something monkey-like about her.

"Please stay calm." He whispered. "My family will do what we can to help you." He tilted his hoof, once again causing her to yelp, and plopped her onto his muzzle. "How did you learn Equestrian?" He asked as he stood up to take her back home with him.

"How come you can speak English?" She chanced, causing him to cock an eyebrow. They spoke the same language but called them by different names?!?

Capt. Hewlett led Jenny and Sheila through the woods in pursuit of the sun. So far there was little of any consequence to be found; the trees seemed to be oversized versions of maples, chestnuts and oaks and now and again there was movement in the canopy above, which seemed to be caused by something resembling a squirrel. Eventually a significant break occurred and they stood looking out over a wide barren stretch of land at another load of trees in the distance.

"Those plough lines look funny." Jenny New remarked. "Almost like giant wheel tracks." Hewlett looked about him all of a sudden.

"Giant wheel tracks..." He mused, "Giant trees. Of course, this whole world is on a giant scale. I'm not sure how it can function on this kind of scale since there seems to be little difference in the gravity but it can be the only explanation."

"So what are we gonna do?" Sheila Cowling asked. "If this is a world of giants then how might we negotiate with them?"

"Looking at these tracks it could well be a pre-industrial civilisation." He answered. "If we offer them the chance to modernise perhaps they'll be more reasonable."

"Perhaps." Jenny pointed out. "If not we could well be up the creek without a paddle."

Meanwhile Diane Pugh and Charles Holland returned to the SS Horus with a gallon of water to test and, hopefully, process for consumption. The five who had remained at the crash site were relieved to see them but were disappointed that all they had to offer was water.

James Benson was now sitting on a giant pincushion upon a coffee table with the massive yellow ungulate constantly watching over him, almost as though she was a giant nurse looking after a bite-size patient. The rabbit that had caught him was sitting in the background, nibbling on a carrot with a rather smug look on its face.

"What are you?" The female behemoth asked. "Are you hurt? Is there anything I can get you?" James was amazed at how she seemed so frantic when she could dispose of him so easily.

"I...I'm a human." He replied. She now gasped with such power he was almost pulled of the 'cushion.

"You can talk?!?" She practically roared. "I didn't know something so small could talk like anyone else. Human?" She lifted a hoof to her chin, betraying to him the fact that she was of an equine nature. "I've never heard of a human before. What do humans eat?" There was a long pause as James thought over what he typically ate as well as what society constantly pestered him to eat.

"Meat, fish, grain, fruit, veg, nuts, berries." Before he could come up with any other food group his host raised herself to her full height on all four legs.

"Oh. You're omnivores." With that she trotted away with James staring at her gargantuan bobbing body swiftly moving into another room. He felt even more vulnerable now as he was concerned by the way that rabbit kept looking at him; at least the horse-thing was not-only capable of talking in English but also seemed to be genuinely concerned for his well-being. James figured that if he played his cards right she'd keep him safe and sound, believing that calling her 'master' would get him into her good books. Before he could dwell any more on that he heard her hoof-falls returning before her head appeared round the corner of the nearby chair, casting him into shadow. She held a basket in her mouth, which she set down beside him before moving round to curl up on the chair, placing her chin level with his eye-level.

"I got a selection of foodstuffs from the pantry." She told him. "If you can't get into the basket from there just tell me and I'll put you in myself." James looked up at the hamper provided. It seemed to be seventy feet up to the brim and he certainly didn't want to chance it; he strolled towards his host and said.

"Beg pardon, master, but I fear that I daren't chance a seventy foot climb up your basket."

"Oh, okay." She lifted a hoof up to the table top and waited for him to climb aboard. "But my name's Fluttershy, not Master." James was surprised by this reply.

"Are you sure you don't want me to call you 'master'?" He asked as he sat upon her hoof.

"Only if you really want to." She answered. "Um, do you have a name?" By the time he found the gall to answer she already held him level with the brim of the basket.

"I'm James, James Benson." He cautiously stepped off Fluttershy's hoof and struggled to balance himself on the raffia.

"Oh, that's a cute name." She replied. "Can I call you 'Jamie'?" He looked up at her building-sized eyes as if to say 'are you serious'.

"You're the giant, Miss Fluttershy." He answered. "You can call me what you like." Such an answer made Fluttershy well up with joy. The sight of her enormous face curl up so made his heart melt like ice in the sun. This was fixed as he yelped from tumbling over the edge and into her gift basket.

Harry and Angela stood back as they listened to the door of the pod hiss and clank as it unlocked without permission. Two painfully long minutes passed when, suddenly, the door opened. An enormous magenta eye peered in through the opening, a strange tingling sensation engulfed their bodies and they felt themselves floating towards the door; they found themselves incapable of fighting this strange energy and in a matter of seconds they were out in the open right under the gaze of the two alien titans.

Picking themselves up Harry and Angela now got their most comprehensive view of their captors so far. The first one was a tall light purple creature built like some kind of horse with a horn poking out from her mane, reminding Harry of the old myth about the unicorn; it looked down at them with apprehensive fascination, its eyes shimmering with an intelligence at once familiar and alien. The other was beyond giant where they were concerned and held itself in a most regal manner, confirming the idea that it was a figure of great influence amongst these creatures, it also radiated an aura that came across as a force beyond comprehension, very nearly making Harry believe he was in the presence of a god but his scientific cynicism held that thought back. Nevertheless Angela felt as though she was in the dock awaiting trial as this magnificent being scrutinising them with a compassionate but slightly judgemental air.

Princess Celestia knew from her multiversal studies that humans were fully capable of speech as mortal ponies would understand it but she couldn't be sure what language the two now standing before her spoke, so she did the only thing that would clear things up rapidly. Putting on her most diplomatically appropriate expression she spoke.

"Hello. Kon·nichi wa. Bonjour. Jamboyra. Hola. Guten Tag. Zhini privet. Hao. Hrunghaha. Wloophimil. Grétan. Cyfarch. Avete. Geia sas. Hej. Nhryiun."

The sound of the gigantic equine's voice caused them to step back a few paces but Angela was the one who opted to take shelter behind Harry.

"W...What the $@*\ was that?" Angela blurted out. Resulting in a cocked eyebrow from the massive regal figure rising before them.

"I think she's trying to tell us something." Harry answered. "Beggin' your pardon, miss." He called up. "But what is it you want?"

Princess Celestia's muzzle curled up in puzzlement. They spoke perfect Equestrian but seemed to have mistaken her plethora of greetings as a whole sentence. She decided to clear things up.

"Excuse me." She replied. "But I was merely extending the greetings of Equestria; it's just that I wasn't sure what language you spoke so I opted to use a standard greeting from a selection of languages that I've had experience of sapient races using." She neglected to point out that she knew other languages that no one alive at that time could even pronounce save for her sister and, presumably, Discord.

"I hope my companion hasn't caused offense with her loose tongue." The miniature figure answered. "We are humans from the planet Earth, but it seems we became lost during an attempt to fly at speeds much closer to that of light." Twilight was most bewildered by this biped's account and couldn't help but make a few notes on the matter.

"But this is Earth." She stated, thusly making her tiny guests approximately as confused as herself.

"My dearest Twilight," Celestia answered, "You may find that in worlds occupied by beings that speak the same language they'll name their home-worlds the same as their linguistic counterparts in spite of being in completely different places." Now the three of them within earshot of Princess Celestia's statement had to stop and consider the full implications of what she had said.

Author's Note

After all this time I've finally come up with something. Although I fear that the cliffhanger this time round may be a bit of an anti-climax.