Star Fall

Space many found it a cold and desolate place temperatures that could freeze living flesh within seconds meteor barrages that could tear any living man to shreds in an even shorter amount of time. And then there is the vast emptiness of space it’s self an immeasurable expanse of stars, solar systems, and galaxy’s so large you would need an eternity to view it all, and even then space time would likely collapse in on its self on account of how long you were at it.

To many in ancient times it was a beautiful vista of lights in which most worshiped, later it was a guiding light for man to find his way and navigate the world in which he lived in. Then ultimately it was the final frontier the last place man would explore and expand to, away from the planet they called home to for generations.

And now one man sat in a comfy chair a monitor as thin as a finger nail sat off to his left attached to the chair as he looked out of the large windowed area in front of him. A massive holographic interface sat in front of him depicting his current location and several destinations in which he had selected but right now he just sat to look out there into space.

It was so beautiful the vast cosmos and so he could not help but think that those who saw it as cold and desolate simply could not see or refused to truly look. As he sat observing a nebula so vast and colourful a huge collection of dust and gas that would forever drift in space a magnificent Spector to forever watch over its quarry of planets, so big that he could consume earth 10 fold.

A lone pulsar was in front of the huge nebular red mist clouded around the mysterious solid black core a mass of spinning neutrons so dense that it generated its own magnetic field, it span so fast that it was generating perceivable radio waves nothing interesting mind you but it was still fascinating.

And as he sat there looking out at the view a clearly synthesized voice spoke. “Power is now at one hundred percent drivers are now warm gravity well stable please select a destination”.

So wrapped within the beauty before him he somehow missed it all just gazing intently at the inky black canvas in front of him splashes of colour here and there before a voice called out to him faint at first but grew in intensity.

“Sam, SAM, SAM!”

Sucking in breath slowly he sighed then spoke rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Yes Cira how may I assist”.

“You were becoming distracted yet again; I would like to inform you that Andromeda has finished the necessary preparations and now is ready to take us to our destination of choosing. Also your strange behaviour has been noted on your psych profile”.

Humming slightly his elbow propped up on the arm of his chair scratching his meagre beard that had formed over the past few days. “You still run those”?

“Indeed”.

“Oh…. well, how am I doing”.

“Poorly, your despondent behaviour, apathetic attitude and increasingly detached personality leads me to suggest that you be removed form duty and be given the appropriate counselling”.

Giving a slow nod he said calmly. “Interesting analysis”.

Still trying to keep his mask of indifference, he was unable to stop the small smile creep on to his face. “Well your right I had a good run but”. He sighed getting up from the seat. “Ok send up my first to relieve me and I will be on my way to the psych ward”.

Nothing happened he looked expectantly at the door, the look an old man gives when he happily waits for the bus on a Saturday morning one of mild calm and acceptance of the situation.

“Hmmmm seems to be taking a while mind if I have a seat and wait”. Plopping himself back into the captain’s chair he relaxed and waited further before the same voice as before called out.

“Sam as you are well aware you are the only crew member aboard this vessel and resorting to patronisation is highly unprofessional it also has been added to your psych report”

“Ohhh I’m sorry Cira but don’t think I don’t know what this is all about”. Lifting his right arm up to see the device clearly on his arm a long cylindrical piece of metal stopping a few centimetres away from his elbow and wrist, a solid screen made of an advanced plastic so strong it could be shot burnt blown up and thrown down a mineshaft but wouldn’t have a scratch.

The same could be said for the metal and an equally and advanced alloy that could resist any type of punishment opening his hand to reveal a white circle bordered by a silvery dull metal identical to that around his arm.

A holographic image of a woman appeared just above his palm and looked at him

“I was unaware I needed a motive to keep track of the crews mental health”

“Well considering you have not alerted me to the presence of said report in the past 72 years we have been ummmmm… what’s the word, exploring maybe? I must assume it is because I forgot your birthday last week for which I have already expressed my deepest apologies”.

The room was quiet while the holographic interface still flashed expectantly for a destination

“I hardly recall that event, but if that were to happen it would likely be troubling to say the least”.

“I should think so, let’s discuss it on the way otherwise we will never be on our way”. The image of the woman disappeared  he lifted his hand and waved it casually his thoughts being deciphered by the AI currently living within him and transferring them to the ship’s massive AI.

Immediately a humming could be heard he could hear something charging as it steadily increased in volume before the ship announced something over the comms system.

“Alert rift generator activated all personal now retreat to the shielded areas within the ship, all ships in the area please retreat to a safe distance all key maintenance personal remain at stations all means of internal transport will now be disabled Rift in thirty seconds”!

Sam stood and walked over to the window he never tired of his people’s greatest achievement, looking out he saw the front of his ship a long surface of gunmetal grey.

lights littered the grey surface as well as the various shapes of the observation bays, test stations and huge guns mounted to the hull, he frowned slightly at the sight of such heavy armaments energy weapons designed to fire a build-up of electrons as though it were a physical shell it was advanced, deadly and as proven by past events completely necessary.

Not wanting to think about his past he focused once again on the ships progress due to the bridge being in the midpoint he watched as the ships mighty shields flared various parts of his ship bursting into blue light as lighting arced across the surface of the ship.

As he looked he began to feel a great fondness for his ship the Far Star as he so aptly named it, a huge vessel but different to any other ship out there, after all it was a prototype, thinking for a moment he chuckled at the irony of it, a prototype ship to test other prototypes.

The old name for his ship being e.r.d.t or experimental research development and testing vessel, blinking he became aware that Andromeda was now on the final count down so he turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

“Five four three two one, creating rift”.

The front of the ship exploded in a dazzling array of lights and colours as the light died down something else began to appear, at first he saw nothing but as it expanded he could see the stars in front of him disappear as a large swirl of inky blackness poured out from the central point in front of the ship.

A black hole as it was most commonly known, soon expanded further and further until it out sized the ship before a white light appeared in the centre of the hole, then it too expanded wider and wider and as it did a new scene with different stars and a planet close by came into view the whole scene now had a black border.

The ship began to slowly move forward passing straight through, to an out siders perspective it most look almost comical a huge ship just disappearing bit by bit no doubt an equally odd scene on the other end as the ship appeared on the other side.

As the bridge passed though the wormhole he turned and walked away the most interesting part had now past so he returned to his chair once again relaxing as he did so

Once the ship had emerged entirely the hole collapsed in on itself leaving no trace of the ships presence in its previous location, a few hours passed in which drones were sent out to retrieve data on the surrounding area and the planet below.

Sam meanwhile decided his time would be better served in one of the four hangers of the ship scanning a drone that had returned in quite the sorry state.

The hanger was vast, a clear bright light illuminated the room giving it an almost stark white appearance, tools and silver grey crates gleamed off to the sides of the hanger but most of the hanger was dominated by the row of four landers.

Ships designed for the primary purpose of transporting personnel from the ship to a nearby planet, or any type of land really they were quite versatile.

A few paces away from the huge blast door to the cold vacuum of space, a drone that by the looks of it had for lack of a better word crawled from one of the smaller airlocks off at the sides of the huge door.

These airlocks were mainly used for crew and small ordinance, black marks could clearly be seen where its metallic carcass had carried its self before finally slumping over dead a clear fluid was leaking out of the main body, one of the bladed wings was broken off completely and the four thin spindly legs it used to crawl its way over now lie still, the various cameras built in to the front of the body which once had glowed a bright orange were a dull black.

Sam sighed as his right arm hovered over the now immobile drone. “Looks like micro meteors but, the odds are phenomenal, however it would explain the damage, as well as the reason why it was so late to alert us to its current state but wow this has never happened before, well I’ve heard of it happening to others but to see it for myself”.

Cira’s voice rang in the vast space. “Mineral composites confirm, it is indeed meteorites I also agree this is highly unorthodox, but the primary concern is gathering the information acquired by the drone as well as its immediate repair, to use the backups should be reserved for emergencies only”.

“Right right”. Reaching out once again he pulled open a panel on the side of the drones armour plated body which was now littered with small holes and scorch marks dropping the panel on the floor he reached inside and pulled out a small wire on a spool and connected it to the device on his arm.

“Reading now”. Cira was quiet for a while before speaking up again concern now evident in her voice. “It seems the planet below supports life local fauna and flora seems to complement one another. Sam there is also evidence to suggest sapient life multiple species, in fact the planet has also presented some astrological and gravitational anomalies”.

Sam stood pulling the wire as he did so now looking tense himself. “Were leaving have Andromeda reconnect the fuel lines and prep the igniters”.

“Sam she is running a diagnostic of the ships systems as well as any scheduled maintenance it is unlikely”. Cira tried to go on but Sam cut her off

“Irrelevant she is to terminate the diagnostic and recall all bots from engine maintenance I want us mobile in ten and gone in fifteen okay”. His voice was not hostile nor did it sound fearful but one of iron reserve, steady and focused.

Cira was a little late to respond but when she did sounded defeated. “Okay Sam I will give the order we will not be able to open another rift for another twenty four hours”.

“Thank you Cira and yes I know about the rift generator just get us in the shade of a nearby planet and we’ll see our next move”. Turning to the two robots behind him he silently ordered them to take the drone to the repair bay to have it fixed the robots silently complied picking the drone part way off the ground easily and dragging it along.

Sam was antsy his hands flexed opening and closing not just in concern of the planet below but the robots he didn’t like the damn things especially when they looked vaguely human.

The robots in question were all black with various silver parts such as the powerful actuators that served as its muscles, its face was a simple black visor that was fixed from its chin to the top of the head bending as it followed the curvature of its head, but it was not wide enough to pass any further than where the mouth of a normal man ended, and through all of that three red lights glowed dimly behind the visor.

Sam looked at himself he knew he had not been keeping good care of himself his scraggy brown hair and beard were testament to that, but looking to his clothes he knew he must look bad, his loose torn jeans and his brown tee shirt with the depiction of a sun rising over an ocean saying the earliest riser in bold print.

Underneath all this was a set of mark three thermal gear overalls it clung to his frame, over his hands and feet too.

Thin orange lines could be seen running along the smooth black surface indicating that the area he was in was colder than what would be naturally comfortable, and therefore warmed him to a temperature that was.

Sam grimaced but after that he simply sighed once again (he decided he was doing that too much lately) what was the purpose of appearances when none were there to see him.

He began to walk to the exit on the far side of the room when he noticed something, a box had been left on one of the automated trolleys that dotted around the area he hadn’t put it there and it looked oddly familiar, the design on the front held his peoples insignia a rocket ship within the centre of a sun blazed in gold on the front of the box.

“No it couldn’t be” he whispered.

Getting closer he saw the writing; 01 new dawn equipment, restricted must be authorised by the captain of the assigned ship.

He blinked what on earth this was doing here moving closer he laid his hand upon the screen that was integrated into the front of the box, the black screen immediately came to life scanning his device though his palm.

A few seconds later the box made a whirring noise as some mechanism sprang to life and then a dull click and the box jumped open an inch or so.

Now looking at it intently he opened it and saw a silver sphere about as big as a basketball, its surface was covered in grooved lines a solid line ran right round the circumference of the sphere, four heavy looking clips ensuring the two half’s stayed together.

Removing the sphere he looked at it, this sphere was supposed to be the greatest thing his people ever created or rather what lie within the sphere.

It supposed to make them stronger than ever, allow them to spread far and wide though the universe, but now it was seen as the greatest blunder they ever made.

Sam stood there looking at the sphere he gave it quite a sad look the one of a man who wondered if things could have been different but what was done was done and his people paid the price as well as others.

BOOM!

A huge explosion suddenly ripped him from his reverence he stumbled dropping the sphere to the ground were it rolled away as the ship shook violently. “Cira”!

“The ship is under attack hull breach, the projectile struck near the reactor at the centre of the ship several areas of deck seven have depressurised. Based on the projectiles speed and the projectile its self, it would seem its MAG weaponry low speed it must be without superconductors suggesting its design is likely antiquated and not our tech”.

He released a breath thanking whatever gods there may be that it was not one of his own peoples. “How did this happen, why wasn’t I alerted and the shields raised”. His voice was calm but commanding.

“They assaulted us outside the range of our sensors we were blindsided”.

“You know as well as I do that’s impossible they must be well out of visual and there is now way they can track us from this far away with technology that obsolete”.

“Regardless we have been hit and it seems they are now moving in range and fast, the ships themselves are also outdated no detectable barriers they rely on armour to protect them, the ships structure and markings identify it as erisian”

“The strange creatures that looked oddly cat like”?

“Indeed”.

“Ok I’m suiting up cripple them with some EM missiles once they are disabled send a drone to speak with them no kill shots, not unless we have to and get us moving away from this planet”. As he spoke he began a brisk walk to a nearby equipment station pulling off his shirt and jeans as he did so.

As he arrived at the station he requested something that would allow him to go EVA if necessary, stepping in to the bay Two doors slammed shut around him sealing him within the cylindrical machine, a series of clicks, whirs and bangs could be heard before the doors jolted open revealing a man now wearing a full silver and white space suit.

The suit its self was slim sleek not at all like the bulky ones of the twenty-first century and would ensure he had unimpeded movement no matter what situation he was in.

As he stood a click could before a series of clicks as he kept his head perfectly straight metal slid smoothly from recesses within the suit they moved guided by small arms attached to the suit others slid telescopically into place until an entire helmet had been constructed around his head.

Tilting his head from side to test for defects in the suit, as he flexed everything seemed perfect pleased with the result he decided to get a progress report on the issues outside “Cira”.

“The ships have now been disabled, it seems they were unprepared for this kind of retaliation, likely they assumed us crippled and moved in to take the ship for themselves”.

“Possibly but I want you to keep track of every move they make, if they move anywhere, jettison anything or do anything I want to know about it”. The tension in his voice was rising there was something about this whole thing that off way off.

Erisian’s have never been a match there tech they know it, so naturally they avoid any ship that looks remotely like there’s so why attack now and how and what was with that one in a million shot, it didn’t make any sense.

Andromeda’s cold calculating voice rung out once again. “Proximity alert enemy units detected hangar four, cargo bay, forward battery eight”.

“What”!

Then out of nowhere the hanger main door exploded in a shower of flames and metal the noise was short lived however when the room fell into chaos as rapid decompression pulled the air from the room.

Immediately his magnetic boots activated rooting him firmly in place for a moment he lost Andromeda’s voice, it fading away as the air rushed out and all was silent before her voice came though his helmets audio systems instead of his ships intercom.

“Hull breach multiple levels depressurising all affected areas emergency protocol engaged attempting to seal ruptured areas standby”.

Amber lights flared at the end of the hanger, indicating that the emergency blast shields were being dropped, he knew there were sirens to accompany the lights but right now he couldn’t hear anything but his own breathing.

Slowly  the door dropped into place not wasting any time he disengaged his boots began to walk over to one of the smaller air locks at the beside the main door.

As he got to the door he ran his right hand over a pad to his left, it flashed green before exposing a red lever just above it reaching up he yanked it down the airlock doors flew open.

As he stepped inside he noticed the air rushing back into the main hangar, before the door slammed shut behind him fortunately the small space pressurised quickly.

“The hell just happened Cira how did they get to us what did they do” while saying this he was grabbing a length of what looked like white bungee cord with a carabineer at either end.

Quickly attaching one end of it to a small eye right where a belt buckle would normally be he attached the other end to a rail in front of him the rail looked like it went to the other airlock door and stopped.

“It seems that they struck a rather opportune location on the ship with that first shot severing one of the main power lines that run the body of the ship, in doing so several systems required a reboot, as they temporarily lost power, in that brief moment a small amount of the crew jumped ship to serve as martyrs in further attacking this vessel”.

“There’s a bloody coincidence if I ever saw one”.

“So it would seem what you are doing”.

“Andromeda said the cargo bay was hit internal travel is too slow I’m going EVA”.

“Given the situation that seems absolutely ridiculous”

“Ha well you’re not far off but that cargo is important, and can cause a lot of problems if they get a hold of it regardless of the contents. It is likely they wanted it to fall to the nearby planet so they can retrieve it, I however am going to go down there and bring it back inside how much did we lose”.

“Andromeda detected small losses supplies including food and metals along with some geological surveillance equipment and a medium class military mech armed and with full flight capability”.

“Right the mech alone makes this priority”.

Turning around Sam looked at the airlock door; in various parts it had black and yellow stripes as well as multiple warning signs to draw the attention of anyone who may have any ideas about opening it.

Across the bottom of the door in bold letters it said alert harsh environment class 5 all gear must be rated as such.

Walking forward he grabbed a pad it was curved slightly and when he put it on his left thigh it pulled itself to his leg magnetically, before a small click told him it was locked in place the pad it’s self-had a blue face bordered by silver metal the glowing blue surface looked oddly mysterious.

Looking up at one of the two screens that sat the top corners of the airlock door it showed him the route as per the silent command given by the device on his arm.

The lights in the room dimmed to be replaced with a subtle red glow in the small enclosure before a synthesised voice blurted out.

“Alert all personal must bear wearing class five gear all umbilical’s must be attached to the rail provided umbilical’s must not be removed for unscheduled EVA’s”.

“Follow designated rails to the required area, appropriate signage Is highlighted along any route oxygen stations are also clearly highlighted all stations are less than fifty feet from one another”.

“In an emergency the automated rail system can guide you to the nearest station the room will now depressurise, disabling gravity”.

He watched as the tether still attached to the rail off to the side of the room became weightless, watching it move fluidly as though it had gained a life of its own.

He felt a sense of vertigo as the fluid of his inner ear became weightless, it felt as though he was in free fall a strange sensation one that he couldn’t help throw his arms out to catch himself even after all his experience with zero G.

Very soon the air in the room was gone and now he could hear nothing but the sound of his own breathing again, then the airlock door split before it slowly slid open on either side.

The rail he noticed slid forward and connected with its brother outside a small sound alerted him to the presence of a clock on the HUD of his helmet he had thirty minutes of air.

Looking around at the view he could see the planet gliding by, a moon off in the distance then a huge blanket of stars.

He decided to say something anything really just to relive some of the growing anxiety of the situation. “Ok here we go just stay calm everything’s going to be fine”.

Edging his way out the door his feet left solid ground his arms and legs flailed slightly before jets of compressed nitrogen steadied him firing silently from nozzles on the suit before it began to propel him forward.

Every so often a jolt would come from his tether to signify he was passing one of the automated brackets, if he moved too quickly and didn’t give it enough time to retract his tether would catch on one.

He was about half the way there when Cira spoke “we didn’t have to do this, there’s to many risks involved” she sounded calm but Sam could tell she was concerned.

“Cira the internal transport would have taken thirty minutes at least and when we got there we would have had to go EVA any way”.

“Alternately we could have used some of the many robots on the ship to retrieve it”.

“And how far is the nearest synthetics bay from the cargo bay, ten minutes away maybe twenty, Cira I know your worried but this is the fastest way just try not to think about it”.

“Very well, and you know I trust you Sam, but you can sometimes, not think”

“Well I just… wait what was that”?

Cira cut him off. “Sam Andromeda has just fired upon the enemy ships she has also reopened the hangar bay door, decupled a ship and fired the thrusters look ten o’clock”!

Turning his head just in time to see the small ship be thrown out, watching it as it sailed away towards the planet below, it did not look as though it was being controlled in fact it looked the very opposite of controlled it looked distinctly out of control as it kept slowly flipping over and over.

As he just floating helplessly the engines flared he did not need to hear them as the sudden acceleration caused the ship too soon be passing at quite some speed, then the lights cut out along the rail he looked up all of the exterior lights had gone out the ship had lost power!

He saw the carabineer still hooked on to the rail moving very fast towards one of the now not so automated brackets, if it threw him against the ship at this speed he would likely not be injured too badly but whether his suit would hold its integrity was another matter entirely.

Faced with the possibility of a rather gruesome end he reacted within seconds, clenching his right hand a blade sprang out of the device on his arm the edges of the blades grew orange then white with heat within seconds.

He slashed upwards severing the tether right before it jerked away violently, he needed to get back there was no way he could grab his ship moving at his speed he needed to find something anything.

“Cira where is that cargo the stuff from the ship”!

“Marking”!

Several arrows appeared on his HUD pointing off to his left, he spun around the arrows became diamonds when he was looking directly at them a numerical figure told him how far away he was.

He let out a burst of compressed nitrogen hoping to catch up to them before they hit the outer atmosphere of the planet below.

Fortunately they were moving slow enough for him to catch and they were still a fair way away from the planet its self.

Catching up he saw what he was looking for, the mech’s cockpit was open the mech was quite large he barely past its waste, and its tree trunk sized arms and legs told him it would likely not have any problems with lifting a couple of ton.

The design was rather basic it had no head but one large body, arms and legs as well as guns mounted on the shoulders, a pilot’s seat was currently dominated the centre, its construction looks as though the pilot’s seat rolled back as the body closed around it.

Putting on a burst of speed he braced himself as he ran into the mech as he was moving quite fast, thumping into it he rebounded off slightly before he reached out and seized it, manoeuvring himself into the chair.

He found his position resting his arms on the rests at each side, immediately the mech detected his presence the chair rolled back and the section in front of him was closed off obstructing his view of his ship and the stars through thick metal.

Holographic  screens flared to life creating the illusion of the metal in front of him turning transparent he heard a hiss as the cock pit was pressurised filling it with breathable air.

“Ok Cira we’re here plot us a course, I’ll set tethers to this equipment the extra weight shouldn’t throw us around too much”. He tried to go on but

“Sam it won’t do us any good”. She sounded rather dejected

“What are you talking about the ship is right there it’s getting away we have thrusters now we can move”!

“Sam you know this mech capability’s as well as I do its nowhere near as fast as the far star”.

“And… the far star is no longer powered regardless of how long it takes we can eventually catch up”!

“and how long will that take us Sam… days, WEEKS this mech only has air for a day at best, your suit another thirty minutes”.

“What about the damn ships that attacked us then, we commandeer one, they won’t stop us with the firepower on this thing”.

“Andromeda desolated them, without adequate defence the main cannons of the far star ripped them to pieces see for yourself the debris are hurtling towards the planet right now”.

“So what I just sit here and what… die… and you, do you just go insane or do you go after the far star alone”? His voice seemed to be gaining a strained quality to it as the reality of the situation set in.

“No Sam we land on the planet nearest to us, its atmosphere will support you, and you have enough food In the Pac you picked up before you left if you don’t find something to eat immediately”.

He sighed he couldn’t believe the situation he was in it was all just too much. “Cira this mech was not designed for re-entry we wouldn’t make it”.

“We will make it Sam twelve hours for orbital deceleration and using the drones information I have selected an adequate landing location one where we will likely not be spotted and land fairly safely”.

“Cira you know that’s a long shot”.

“Sam please I’m in hear too don’t make fly this mech back to the far star on my own we will figure something out a ship fell down there It could be salvageable please, just please Sam”.

“Ok Cira get us under way and…. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to put you though this”.

“It’s ok Sam”.

“And I want you to remember something”.

“What”

“That I will never leave you, ok Cira, never”.

“Thank you Sam”.

Page Break

“Hey Fluttershy wait up I’m comin gimmie a sec Fluuuuuttttterssssshy”!

In amongst hustle of the evening traffic a small timid looking butter coloured Pegasus with a pink mane and tail stopped on her way out of town, saddle bags full to burst with produce that would tend to the needs of her and her animal friends for a week at least.

As this butter coloured mare turned she saw a crowd of ponies all multicolour and all with separate marks on their hind quarters none two alike.

The day was winding down, the last day of the weekend coming to a close and every pony was now going home for an early night before the dawn of a new week and more work was upon them they all seemed to look tired all except one.

A rainbow coloured blur blazed past several ponies eliciting a fair few stunned looks before it zoomed off into the air, it suddenly tuned at an impossible angle heading straight for the little Pegasus mare.

At this point any sane pony would scream and duck for cover but not this mare she just stood there with a barely perceivable smile on her face.

One would think this would be bravery of the highest calibre, but for the mare in question it was simply knowing her friends too well, so when the prismatic blur was mere feet from her it slowed down rapidly.

There was a loud clack as four hooves struck the cobbled ground sliding a foot or so before coming to a complete stop almost face to face with one another.

The timid Pegasus spoke first her voice was warm and carried an air of true happiness but was a far cry from confidant. “Oh umm hello rainbow dash its lovely to see you”.

The pony in question was another Pegasus this one with a dazzling rainbow mane and tail a cyan coat finished the wild look.

This Pegasus seemed to be the antithesis of the other where she was timid and shy this one held a perceivable aura of confidence one that could simply not be ignored.

“Hey Fluttershy you heading on home”.

“Oh yes I’ve got everything I need now and everywhere is closing up anyway”.

“Oh cool mind if I walk you home”.

“Oh that would be lovely thank you rainbow”.

“Hey that’s what the most awesome most loyal friends are for”.

Her friends’ words couldn’t help but widen her smile, she really did like rainbow but she knew she had an ulterior motive, so she decided to let rainbow talk while she would listen, she rather liked that so she simply replied with a subtle. “Mmmm”.

Immediately rainbow cut to the chase making Fluttershy sigh contentedly as she walked home.

A few minutes later the pegasi arrived at a small cottage at the crest of a small hill a quaint little stream ran past the front and was almost entirely surrounded by wood land.

The cottage it’s self-looked at one with nature, grass covered the entirety of the roof even sloping to the ground below so the whole cottage could possibly be mistaken for the hill if viewed at the wrong angle, a cobbled path led up to the charming little home crossing over a small wood bridge as it did so, a pink fence with harts on every post bordered the cottage.

“So then I was like oh my god, I can’t believe spit fire is giving me hints that I could be a true wonder bolt once I finish the academy, I mean it was totally gonna happen in the first place but now I know for sure”. Rainbow trailed off as Fluttershy walked through the gate of her home before unlocking the door and walking in Rainbow stood in the door way.

“Oh that sounds wonderful Rainbow I always knew you could do anything you set your mind to”. Fluttershy replied in kind.

Going into the kitchen emptying her saddle bags before replacing the contents taking things such as a small battery powered lantern a few snacks and a drink before tuning and walking once again to the door Rainbow was still stood there talking

“Yeah I know right… errrr where are you going”? Rainbow picking up on her friend’s new gear.

“Ohhh well I’m going into the forest”. Fluttershy said simply as though it was the most normal thing in the world unfortunately Rainbow did not share her sentiment.

“WHAT the forest what the hay for”?

“Well we wrapped up winter last week, and this may be the last chance I get to see my nocturnal animal friends before next year… longer days see”.

Rainbow just stared open mouthed. “So you’re telling me that you do this every week at this time of the year”.

“Oh no not every week” Fluttershy replied and Rainbow visibly relaxed. “When it gets close to hearths warming eve I go every day”. On hearing this news rainbows wings shot out in alarm.

“But but what about all the big scary monsters manticore’s, fire hawks, cockatrices and and other stuff”!

But Fluttershy merely shuck this off” Cockatrices won’t come near me after what happed last time, fire hawks aren’t in this part of equestria and manticore’s hibernate in the winter, besides my animal friends always keep me out of danger”.

Rainbow still looked at her as though she were mad but apparently she’s being doing this  for ages, and she didn’t look scared so neither was she not that she was afraid in the first place mind you just cautious.

“Well do you want me to go with you”? Rainbow did not like the idea of being in a somewhat spooky forest tonight, but it didn’t seem right what if something happened to her friend, she would never forgive her self

Fluttershy smiled she could see the concern on her friends face but knew she definitely did not want to come with her. “No thank you Rainbow but it was kind of you to offer”.

She walked out the door and locked it she gave Rainbow a smile and a hug and then waved as she flew back home, once rainbow was out of sight she set off in the direction of the forest.

An hour or two went by where she visited the nocturnal critters of the wood land gave them treats and talked, or as close to talking as you can get to animals anyway, it was only on her way back that something unusual happened, something that would change her life forever.

Sky had clouded over making the forest darker than usual as she wormed her way through the thick wood she then heard a crack that sounded similar to thunder bemused she spread her wings and slowly made her way through the thick branches above until she was in the open air.

Hovering above the canopy, looking around she saw the apple family farm house, all the lights were off which was unsurprising, Applejack and her family are early risers she saw pony Ville in the distance, but could see no sign of what caused the disturbance she was about to fly home when she heard it again.

This time it was a low rumble, now she was confused their next thunder storm was a month away looking up she scanned the sky line and what she saw next took her breath away.

An orange glow could be seen illuminating a small patch of clouds over the forest it flashed looking very similar to lightning and it soon grew brighter and brighter before it burst through the cloud layer.

It was a meteorite it had to be she had heard the descriptions, she had read about astrology in school she watched open mouthed as the fire ball fell, and crashed in to the forest with a bang before it all died away the light the noise everything and all was still.

Fluttershy gawked she looked around desperately some pony any pony most have seen that, any pony she looked to pony Ville but nothing had changed.

A light flicked on at the farm house and Fluttershys hart leapt for joy someone had seen it, she and Applejack can go find this mysterious thing together and she can check if any animals are hurt and Applejack can go look at it and investigate.

But her hopes were dashed a few moments later as Applejacks voice carried out of the farmhouse.

“Darn it apple bloom y’all put that chemistry set away and leave it to those ponies in them laboratories”. And after that yell carried its way to Fluttershy albeit faintly the light flicked off and all was quiet once again.

Fluttershy sighed she could just go home but she really wanted to see if any animals were hurt, she moaned in frustration she couldn’t deny she was a tiny bit curious, this had never happened before, normally this type thing just ended in a rather elaborate light show orchestrated by Luna.

She fidgeted with her hooves slightly before she finally gave up and flew over in the direction of where she saw it come down.

It did not take her long and after a few minutes of searching she saw smoke, there wasn’t much and on the backdrop of the dark clouds it made it difficult to see, likely why it took her so long to find it swooping down she saw a visible crater where it had struck.

She landed looking around the area she found no animals they must have all been scared off by the loud noise, in fact she couldn’t hear anything the forest was completely silent, her ears subconsciously lowered due to her ominous surroundings.

She looked around and spotted nothing she decided to get a closer look at the crater, she walked up to it slowly creeping one step at a time before she looked over the edge shaking as she did so and saw.

Nothing… she stood looking down into the crater, maybe it was destroyed on impact she released a huge sigh of relief, she was about to turn and go straight home but that’s when it caught her eye a glint in the bottom of the crater something shiny.

“Huh”.

Curiosity peaked as she ventured into the crater and saw it she realised how she missed it now, the entire thing was black, scorch marks littered its surface making it blend with the earth but now she could see it she knew there was something wrong, the shape was too perfect it had been crafted obviously but by who.

Who would create a ball made entirely of metal and how could they make it so perfect the answer she came to almost blew her mind.