My Little Trekkie: First Contact is Magicby A Dude Guy ThingChaptersChapter One: All AboardChapter Two: Family To The RescueChapter Three: EmbarkChapter One: All AboardMy Little Trekkie: First Contact is Magic A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover with Star Trek. By Jacos. Just another ordinary day, thought Twilight. Rainbow Dash had already crashed through a widow, promising to try to not do it again. Just like every time, thought Twilight. Pinkie had appeared out of nowhere, just like normal. And Rarity had almost herded her into doing a little modelling work for her, though she had managed to avoid it – narrowly. And now, when she was finally thought she had a chance to get back to studying, they came back – all at once. “Twilight!” all her friends shouted at once, except for Fluttershy, who was obviously too timid. Twilight was barely even surprised, but for what she lacked in surprise, she made up for in raw, seething fury. She slowly turned around, in the slowest, most exaggerated way she could muster, and said two words: “What. Now.”, seething with anger. They all stayed quiet for a moment, before Pinkie burst out. “Twilight, something really big fell out of the sky!” she said, hopping around. Twilight gasped. “How big? What did it look like? Pinkie, have you been picking up alien distress signals with your Pinkie sense? Ooh, I can finally use my new 'My Little Xenobiologist: Alien Dissection Starter Kit” kit! If there are aliens. It might have been a meteor, of course!” They all looked at her for a moment, surprised at the outburst – it was more something they would expect from Pinkie Pie, not calm, stable Twilight Sparkle, but still. They were excited. Twilight could tell it was something important. “Okay, okay,” Twilight announced. “Now, can someone tell me the story about-” “First!” Pinkie started, “We and Dashie and Applejack were hanging out-” “Actually,” Applejack interjected, “We were hanging out together in the park when somepony happened to show up out of nowhere, anyway-” “Anyway, me and Fluttershy,” Rarity began, “happened to see them both and decided to say hello, when we saw the most odd thing...” “Something was falling out of the sky! Right into the Everfree forest! It was awesome!” Rainbow Dash finished. “Woah, woah.” Spike grumbled. “The Everfree forest? Are you sure you want to start going into that place, just to find some dumb rock from the sky or something?” Twilight sighed. “Spike, it isn't a “dumb rock from the sky”. It could be an alien rock! It could be some sort of debris from some alien spacecraft, however unlikely, it could be-” “CUPCAKES! From SPACE!” Pinkie Pie shouted, hopping around excitedly. Nobody exactly had the heart to tell her that cupcakes didn't fall from space, though this did mean that Pinkie Pie was quick to get everybody moving, and the whole group of friends were off to search for the cupcake from space in mere minutes. Spike had decided to stay in the library and clean up after the mess Twilght had made, gathering a few books. As they finally neared where they thought the unknown object had landed, tension was quickly growing, and the group had long stopped talking. There was an eerie silence about the forest, and the group seemed all too ready to leave the dreadful place after a while of searching, when Twilight gasped. “Over here! It's over here! My goodness, that's big!” she exclaimed, noticing the sheer size of it. The whole group slowly gathered in front of what appeared to be some sort of alien machine – it was absolutely massive, and, despite its rough landing, appeared to be in a fine state – it was as if this was some sort of gift, just for them. Twilight shook her head, and decided to take the initiative to approach it. As she made her first few steps, a few of her friends took steps after her, until they were all slowly but steadily following her. As she approached the strange, large hull of the alien craft, she suddenly stopped, hearing a loud, whizzing sound, followed by a strange blue light enveloping them all. The world began to morph, twist, and slowly fade, as all the ponies found themselves slowly disappearing. The group slowly raised themselves off their feet. They seemed to be inside some sort of metal room, complete with strange, alien devices and what appeared to be a door. Twilight was the first to speak, with a puzzled look on her face. “What? What's going on?” she began to say, before a strange, pony like creature appeared out of thin air in front of her. No, not a pony, she thought... A zebra. “Greetings, ponies, welcome to the ship.” it said, in an unnatural calm, considering she had just appeared out of nowhere, and was approached by ponies, a hoofed cousin she might have never even known of. Twilight, of course, being the most intellectual of the group, decided to make the first move to communicate with the strange being. “GREETINGS, ALIEN OVERLORD!” she said, as loud and clear as possible. “WE COME IN PEACE.” The zebra sighed. “Excuse me, can you speak louder and clearer for me?” Twilight stood there confused, wondering what to say. Pinkie Pie was making hoof shaking gestures, while Applejack was frantically whispering “SHOOT TO KILL, SHOOT TO KILL” to her. She stood their confused for several moments, until Rarity shoved her out the way. “My apologies deary, Twilight there is a brilliant mare, but at times she can't even understand one of her most commonly used dialects. Sarcasm. Anyway-” The zebra raised her hoof. “Quiet.” “My name is Verhina, and I am this ships virtual doctor, who happens to have a wealth of data on completely unrelated subjects. I have urgent news. This ship has.. been grounded.” All the ponies shuffle around slightly. “Uhh, if this is a ship, then where are the masts?” she says first. Mumbling slightly, Verhina attempts to communicate again. “Uhh, where is your nearest solar charts?” More shuffling. Verhina sighed. It would take a while to explain it all to them. “Alright, my little ponies, this ship has to be returned to Moderately Deep Space Nine, a nearby space station. If you can get it back there, maybe we can give you an award. For now, I'll have to instruct you how to pilot this station, as you already all know, after dozens of explanations, that I can't do it, because I'm a magical make belief robot. Now, follow me.” she gestured for them to follow her, and set off, automatic doors whizzing open as she took them through corridor after corridor. Twilight was confused, and she wanted answers. She didn't like it, but she'd have to do what she feared most. Communicate.. with an acquaintance. Not a stranger, who she'd never see again, but a dreaded person who she'd possible she on numerous occasions. “Uhh, you know, Verhina, you've told us that this is a magical flying boat and all, which is great, just great, but what actually happened to everybody in it? I mean, someone must have brought it here, right?” The zebra stopped. “Sparkle, I shall debrief you on the subject of how this ship ended here when we reach the bridge. Which shouldn't be long, considering we've just reached it.” They all sat in the bridge, which actually was some sort of important room. Space talk, Twilight guessed. They were all sat down, including Verhina, which was odd considering that she apparently wasn't real. All the ponies where excited. It was something new. There was going to be adventure. The ponies were quietly talking amongst themselves, as soon as they sat down. The zebra quickly hushed them down. “Quiet, now, quiet. It is a long story, and you must all be quiet, while I tell it. Pay attention. There will be a quiz later.” Pinkie wanted to make an outburst, until Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth.” As silence took the room, the zebra began. “Good. Now, the Hoofed Federation of Planets has been at war with the Webbed Foot Collaboration ever since we refused to stop going through a wormhole which allowed us straight into the heart of their territory so we could colonize any planets we could find and supply worlds in their part of the galaxy with weapons grade Uranium. Ever since, we have been fighting these aggressors for all which is right. Unfortunately, it just so happens that this ship was grounded after a some of them realised that they could just beam off all of the enemy crew into space in the middle of a battle, instead of slowly destroying each other with an exchange of laser fire. I mean, who'd have thought?” They all found some strange way to shuffle around in their seats, while the zebra waited for their reactions. Content that they had nothing to say, she continued. “Now, to crew this ship. We just so happen to need and have six people. To be honest, the posts are fairly easy.” “Anyway, we need a Captain..” “ME!” Twilight shouted. Nodding, she continued. “A communications officer.. Uhh, someone who talks to other people..” “I shall do it!” Rarity cried, standing on her chair. “I shall woo them with my looks, and convince them to set their arms aside and be polite enough to surrender!” “A helmsman.. uhhh. Mare? Driver.” Dash burst into the air and smashed a light with a mid air kick with her rear legs. “AWW YEAH! Uhh, sorry about that. But yeah, I can do that. We'll whiz past every enemy, and if we ever get cornered, BLAM, we realise space is three dimensional. They'll never know what hit 'em.” “A weapons officer. You know, the person who shoots the other people.” Several apples whizzed past the zebras head, as Applejack stepped from.. behind her chair. “Ah'll do it. Yeeehaw!” They all looked at her in anticipation of some sort of witty comment. “What? Ya really all think a farmer like me is gonna come up with a stupid thing to say like that?” “A science officer...” Pinkie began jumping around. “Yay! I get to have pointy ears!” she exclaimed, hopping around while getting strange looks from everybody else, except Twilight who was too busy cursing her head off. “And that just leaves.. Ahh! One of the most complex, stressful positions. Chief Engineer. To the quiet timid one. Great. Okay, all you work in here, except for the Chief Engineer who works in a dark isolated area near the centre of the ship. Okay, people, lets get going!” Chapter Two: Family To The RescueIt had been hard work, but they were making good progress. Their zebra guide had quickly made use of the databases of knowledge the ship held, and began educating them in their roles. Twilight found it fairly easy, being a fairly natural leader, and Dash was aching to get going – she loved soaring through the skies, but through space? That was way cooler. Twenty percent cooler cooler. Rarity had been practising her professional whining, Applejack had added dozens of new words to her vocabulary, including vocabulary. Fluttershy had spent hours bonding with the machinery, and Pinkie Pie had proved disproved the law of Conservation of Matter, on the grounds that Friendship is Magic, The ships damage was not as extensive as their virtual zebra guide had predicted – the crew of the spacecraft had been preparing for a rough landing, and would have landed the ship nearly flawlessly had they not began being beamed off during the landing. Later that day, Verhina had decided, against her proper judgement, to educate the crew in proper hand-to-hand combat. After a while of explanations, it was time for some demonstrations. “Now, remember: sluggish attacks, no practical attacks, and remember, take time to slowly circle each other when it comes to fighting one-on-one. Make it interesting for people who are watching, you know? Common courtesy, really.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped up, ready to start. They began slowly circling each other, when Rainbow suddenly darted forward for a quick jab with a hoof. “STOP!”, Verhina shouted. “Now, Rainbow Dash, you have to remember that it is impolite to do such an attack. Try swinging wildly at them, or at least be inefficient.” After a few moments, they started again. After a while of practice, they began using some form of weaponry called a Bat'leth, which was basically some sort of sword except you held the middle so it was very easy to parry, which was apparently another part of common courtesy in combat. After a while, Twilight felt she had to ask a question. “Uhh, hold on, if we get ambushed by an enemy, why would be pull out one of these? Why not shoot them with one of these fancy laser guns? Which are easy to use? Which are deadly?” she asked. “In case you don't have a laser gun when you're attacked, obviously!” Verhina answered, as it was obvious. Twilight only felt more questions popping up. “But, why would you bring a gigantic weapon when you're going out for a stroll instead of a small, hoof-held laser gun?” Verhina just looked at her, looking annoyed. “Lets take a break for now, I'm sure you'll all hungry for lunch. And this time, whoever did it, refrain from ordering a giant cake, please. It would be more funny if it didn't drain the energy reserves. Yeah, I'm looking at YOU, Science Officer Pinkie... You still need to grow those damn ears long, you know, or at least act as if you are better than every other idiot around here.” The ponies were all gathered around a table, enjoying lunch. They were generally discussing their learnings, though their minds did wander to outside the great metal machine they had been living for days in. They all missed their friends, but they were glad they had each other, and Twilight knew that she wanted to do this. Even if she had to leave much behind, she would experience so many new things. And who knew? Perhaps one day, she would return and tell Equestria all about her discoveries. They were all enjoying their sandwiches, when Verhina materialised in front of them, a concerned look on her face. “A large crowd of hoofed creatures is gathering outside the space craft. I am going to beam who appears to be their leader in here. Brace yourself.” Before any of the ponies had a chance to react, a blue, shining light appeared in front of them. They could hear the confused pony making a range of confused “Who?”'s and “What?”'s, before we finally fully materialised, and began taking in his surroundings, with his gaze finally resting on Applejack. “Ah-Applejack! We.. we were all lookin' for you... as soon as I heard that you and yer friends went missin', I gathered up as many relatives as I could find and What in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres is goin' on? What is this place?” Applejack surged forth and hugged him. “Cousin Braeburn!” It had taken a while, but Applejack had finally explained to Braeburn what was going on. “And so, we're learning to fly this hunk o' metal, so we can get some reward or somethin' for returnin' it!” Braeburn had been listening intently, nodding slightly, but with a confused look on his face. “So, lemme get this straight. You saw somethin' fall in the Celestia damned Everfree Forest, decided to prance around it, find a big metal machine, got abducted by a Zebra, and immediately believed her and decided to pilot a big flying magical boat into some alien place or whatever, without any idea what would happen afterwards?” The group all began murmuring and agreeing. After a moment, Braeburn jumped into the air. “Yeeehaw! Why, this is great! A chance for the Apple family to finally plant apple trees where none have planted them before – Space!” It had taken a while, but Braeburn had explained the situation to the mob gathered outside. They all seemed excited about planting apple trees in space, and although Twilight had attempted to explain that they weren't going to explore a new world, but instead were going to some even bigger metal ship in space, but apparently they were all too excited about “planting apple trees in space” to listen. Still, they were a welcome addition to the crew, and the original six set about educating them in various roles. Fluttershy had quickly accepted the offer of more ponies to assist in repairs, and she had taught them how to repair parts of the ship while still respecting its personal space, and had drastically increased her work force. Applejack had taught a group of eager colts about the ships weaponry, including lasers, torpedoes, and a recent invention by Pinkie Pie called the 'Explosive Cupcake Launcher'. A few family friends had came with the group of earth ponies, including a friendly pair of pegasi, and Rainbow Dash had seen to educating them as Helms ponies, if Rainbow Dash was ever unable to pilot the ship. They had seem fairly excited, but then, so was everybody. Pinkie had been spending her time educating a select group of ponies on what she claimed was “the secrets of the universe”. Nobody out of the group actually knew what their meetings were about, but Twilight was fairly sure they she knew, especially after seeing Pinkie pushing a wheel barrow of streamers and balloons into their secret meeting room. Rarity had selected the most well mannered of the family and made them her assistants, and and set to work creating a dazzling uniform, inspired by the uniform used by the crew before their unfortunate departure. And the whole time, Twilight had been thinking of who to make second in command. Hmm, Applejack can get along with everybody, but Rarity could certainly get people to do things for her with a few well placed words, but Pinkie Pie could keep moral high, Dash could inspire bravery in anyponies heart, and Fluttershy could make anything seem better with kindness. She knew she'd need to choose somepony soon, because with all the aid of the Apple family, the ship would be ready to set off in three days. Chapter Three: EmbarkIt was finally time to depart, and tension was growing. Everybody was in their stations. Captain Sparkle was in her chair, watching the monitor in front of her. Her command staff were all with her in the bridge, except for Fluttershy, who was in the engine room, in case anything happened, and Twilight had a screen open by her side displaying Fluttershy's station. Braeburn was also in the bridge, but ready to be sent anywhere should anypony need help. Verhina was observing the crew by the entrance to the bridge. Various ponies of importance were passing through the bridge. Twilight had a determined look on her face, and after a few moments as things settled down, she gave the order. “Begin lift off.” Numerous ponies began typing on their consoles, as the ship slowly positioned itself for take off. “Lift off in three, two, one... GO!” For a few moments, nothing happened. “Aww, fiddlesticks!” Pinkie shouted. Suddenly, the ship blasted off, quickly leaving the planet surface in moments, and moving above. The ship slowly started heading above Equestria. They weren't that high, and in fact, just going over Ponyville. Almost everypony was watching the monitor, displaying what was directly in front of the ship. They gazed in wonder as the ship sped Ponyville, and pegasi gaped at it as it whizzed past. The trance was snapped as the ship hit something, flying. “Oh no..” Twilight said. “Who did we hit?” Braeburn rushed to the camera console, and checked. “We've hit.. an owl.” A louder crack was hit. “Great, now we've hit Derpy.” Twilight sighed. “Guh, lets just hope that the ship washing service at Moderately Deep Space Nine is cheap. Alright, Rainbow, take us away from home.” With that, Rainbow Dash enthusiastically punched in a few commands with her hooves, and leaned back, as the ship slowly tilted upwards and finally sped up, leaving the atmosphere relatively quickly. What greeted them upon leaving was amazing. Countless stars were in every direction possible, as the ship quickly travelled away from the planet. The main screen displayed an image of Equestria, and Twilight gasped. It was so much larger than she had ever hoped and.. a sphere? Damn, Celestia has got some explaining to do, she thought. She watched as the planet slowly grew smaller and smaller, until she noticed other planets, which were all.. orbiting the sun. When I get home, she's going to have a full scale revolution on her hands, Twilight thought. Snapping out of her daydream, she thought for a moment about what to do. “Uhh, Pinkie, scan for the space station.” Pinkie excitedly tapped into her console. “Okay, I found it, but before we go I should tell you that there are some ships coming right to us! Ooh, look! And there are smaller ones about to hit us!” The ship vibrated violently. “Oh, those are missiles! How silly of me!” Twilight had a look of shock on her face, but quickly snapped out of it. “Return fire! Pinkie, send the lead ships co-ordinates to Applejack. Applejack, prepare to fire. Rainbow Dash, make sure that we aren't heading in the same direction as them, or we'll be too easy to hit. Rarity, try to open a channel with the lead ship.” Soon enough, Rarity reported “Channel opened, Captain.” Twilight rose from her chair, standing directly in front of the screen. The screen flickered into life, displaying two strange creatures, which looked like ponies but both had two strange horns on both sides of their heads, like branches of trees. Both their coats were brown. The left one spoke. “We are the Antellonian Imperium, and in the glorious name of his divine highness, we demand that you surrender the ship.” Twilight sighed. “No, no, we are taking your ship, in the glorious name of Princess Celestia. Surrender now or we will be forced to use our Thermonuclear Friendship Device.” Twilight finished, bluffing with the last part. Both parties stared at each other – Twilight trying to figure if they would surrender, and the two aliens trying to figure if she was bluffing or not. Eventually, the left one who had spoken before stated his intentions. “Surrender, this is your last chance.” Twilight stared at him with anger. “So be it. Fire!” At that, dozens of laser beams were fired at the enemy ship. Likewise, the small but numerous enemy ships began firing their weaponry at their vessel. The ship was rocking with every hit taken, but Twilight wasn't just about to give up. “Enemy lead ship shields down!” Pinkie shouted. Twilight grinned. “Fire the muffins!” With that, Pinkies explosive muffins were fired, some missing, but most impacting the hull and exploding, creating holes in the hull. Soon, the ship exploded, sending debris flying. Firing ceased for a few moment, as if all the crews of all the ships were shocked, at the same time, but then returned. Twilight had an idea. “Applejack, what's the biggest weapon we've got?” Thinking for a moment, Applejack responded. “Well, that'd be the Prototype Proton R-19. But we only have two.” Twilight grinned. Two missiles were launched from the ship, and began travelling. Through space. Towards the tightly packed group of ships engaged in combat with a large ship. The sight was beautiful – two missiles gracefully travelling through nothingness, as bright lasers lit the scene in a dizzying array of bright colours. Soon, another colour emerged – Orange, from an explosion. “Their shields are down!” Pinkie reported. “Teleport them all off! Do what we did to Luna when she became pushy – Straight to the moon!” Twilight commanded. “Hold on,” one earth pony stepped up. “Aint that a little too far? Just killin' them all like that?” Another pony also joined. “Yeah, think off all of their families! Their children!” They slowly approached Twilight, mutiny in their minds. “STOP!” The sound had actually came from Braeburn, of all ponies. “What do you two think you're doing, Applecider, and you of all ponies, Applecake? It may seem brutal, but think of what they'd do to us, if they had the chance! Sure, they may have families, but so do we! It's them or us.” Twilight was impressed – not only had Braeburn taken the initiative to try and defuse a situation, but he actually was successful. Both ponies were backing down, annoyed but with a look of defeat on both of their faces. Twilight stood their, impressed, when she was brought back to reality by the ship shuddering as another laser hit it. “Do it.” she said, and Pinkie hit a few keys and grinned. “It's done! They're partying in space now!” she said. Twilight relaxed in her chair, and listened to Fluttershy's damage reports. “Umm, and there's a few hull breaches but not in anywhere important, though a few crew quarters have to be sealed off. Oh, and the secondary communications array got damaged, but nobody ever uses that anyway, other than making prank calls on SpaceMart.” It had taken a while, but the ship had finally been fully repaired, while it travelled to Moderately Deep Space Nine. They all watched the massive space station in awe. It was like a palace, in space. Ships travelled in and out regularly, and there seemed to be some sort of strange, alien tunnel near it which occasionally opened and closed to allow ships to travel through. Rarity gave her a thumbs up as the communication channel was opened, and Twilight stepped forward in front of the screen, and it displayed a creature which seemed identical to a pony on it, with a light brown coat and horn, a dark brown mane and tail, a friendly smile. After a few moments Twilight realised something: it was no unicorn, it was an alicorn, with its winged tucked by its side. “Greetings, ponies. You have my utmost gratitude for saving the ship. Please, come on board, I'd like to discuss this in person. You'll be directed towards a suitable dock.” The channel closed before Twilight had a moment to say anything, but then, she had nothing to say. She was too excited about the prospect of exploring an alien station. From what Verhina had told her, not only had the stations crew discovered a wormhole in space which led to a part of the galaxy incredibly far away, but their Pony Joe's had the best tofu burgers in the known universe. The ship slowly docked, and Twilight prepared to explore a new, alien place.
Chapter One: All AboardMy Little Trekkie: First Contact is Magic A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic crossover with Star Trek. By Jacos. Just another ordinary day, thought Twilight. Rainbow Dash had already crashed through a widow, promising to try to not do it again. Just like every time, thought Twilight. Pinkie had appeared out of nowhere, just like normal. And Rarity had almost herded her into doing a little modelling work for her, though she had managed to avoid it – narrowly. And now, when she was finally thought she had a chance to get back to studying, they came back – all at once. “Twilight!” all her friends shouted at once, except for Fluttershy, who was obviously too timid. Twilight was barely even surprised, but for what she lacked in surprise, she made up for in raw, seething fury. She slowly turned around, in the slowest, most exaggerated way she could muster, and said two words: “What. Now.”, seething with anger. They all stayed quiet for a moment, before Pinkie burst out. “Twilight, something really big fell out of the sky!” she said, hopping around. Twilight gasped. “How big? What did it look like? Pinkie, have you been picking up alien distress signals with your Pinkie sense? Ooh, I can finally use my new 'My Little Xenobiologist: Alien Dissection Starter Kit” kit! If there are aliens. It might have been a meteor, of course!” They all looked at her for a moment, surprised at the outburst – it was more something they would expect from Pinkie Pie, not calm, stable Twilight Sparkle, but still. They were excited. Twilight could tell it was something important. “Okay, okay,” Twilight announced. “Now, can someone tell me the story about-” “First!” Pinkie started, “We and Dashie and Applejack were hanging out-” “Actually,” Applejack interjected, “We were hanging out together in the park when somepony happened to show up out of nowhere, anyway-” “Anyway, me and Fluttershy,” Rarity began, “happened to see them both and decided to say hello, when we saw the most odd thing...” “Something was falling out of the sky! Right into the Everfree forest! It was awesome!” Rainbow Dash finished. “Woah, woah.” Spike grumbled. “The Everfree forest? Are you sure you want to start going into that place, just to find some dumb rock from the sky or something?” Twilight sighed. “Spike, it isn't a “dumb rock from the sky”. It could be an alien rock! It could be some sort of debris from some alien spacecraft, however unlikely, it could be-” “CUPCAKES! From SPACE!” Pinkie Pie shouted, hopping around excitedly. Nobody exactly had the heart to tell her that cupcakes didn't fall from space, though this did mean that Pinkie Pie was quick to get everybody moving, and the whole group of friends were off to search for the cupcake from space in mere minutes. Spike had decided to stay in the library and clean up after the mess Twilght had made, gathering a few books. As they finally neared where they thought the unknown object had landed, tension was quickly growing, and the group had long stopped talking. There was an eerie silence about the forest, and the group seemed all too ready to leave the dreadful place after a while of searching, when Twilight gasped. “Over here! It's over here! My goodness, that's big!” she exclaimed, noticing the sheer size of it. The whole group slowly gathered in front of what appeared to be some sort of alien machine – it was absolutely massive, and, despite its rough landing, appeared to be in a fine state – it was as if this was some sort of gift, just for them. Twilight shook her head, and decided to take the initiative to approach it. As she made her first few steps, a few of her friends took steps after her, until they were all slowly but steadily following her. As she approached the strange, large hull of the alien craft, she suddenly stopped, hearing a loud, whizzing sound, followed by a strange blue light enveloping them all. The world began to morph, twist, and slowly fade, as all the ponies found themselves slowly disappearing. The group slowly raised themselves off their feet. They seemed to be inside some sort of metal room, complete with strange, alien devices and what appeared to be a door. Twilight was the first to speak, with a puzzled look on her face. “What? What's going on?” she began to say, before a strange, pony like creature appeared out of thin air in front of her. No, not a pony, she thought... A zebra. “Greetings, ponies, welcome to the ship.” it said, in an unnatural calm, considering she had just appeared out of nowhere, and was approached by ponies, a hoofed cousin she might have never even known of. Twilight, of course, being the most intellectual of the group, decided to make the first move to communicate with the strange being. “GREETINGS, ALIEN OVERLORD!” she said, as loud and clear as possible. “WE COME IN PEACE.” The zebra sighed. “Excuse me, can you speak louder and clearer for me?” Twilight stood there confused, wondering what to say. Pinkie Pie was making hoof shaking gestures, while Applejack was frantically whispering “SHOOT TO KILL, SHOOT TO KILL” to her. She stood their confused for several moments, until Rarity shoved her out the way. “My apologies deary, Twilight there is a brilliant mare, but at times she can't even understand one of her most commonly used dialects. Sarcasm. Anyway-” The zebra raised her hoof. “Quiet.” “My name is Verhina, and I am this ships virtual doctor, who happens to have a wealth of data on completely unrelated subjects. I have urgent news. This ship has.. been grounded.” All the ponies shuffle around slightly. “Uhh, if this is a ship, then where are the masts?” she says first. Mumbling slightly, Verhina attempts to communicate again. “Uhh, where is your nearest solar charts?” More shuffling. Verhina sighed. It would take a while to explain it all to them. “Alright, my little ponies, this ship has to be returned to Moderately Deep Space Nine, a nearby space station. If you can get it back there, maybe we can give you an award. For now, I'll have to instruct you how to pilot this station, as you already all know, after dozens of explanations, that I can't do it, because I'm a magical make belief robot. Now, follow me.” she gestured for them to follow her, and set off, automatic doors whizzing open as she took them through corridor after corridor. Twilight was confused, and she wanted answers. She didn't like it, but she'd have to do what she feared most. Communicate.. with an acquaintance. Not a stranger, who she'd never see again, but a dreaded person who she'd possible she on numerous occasions. “Uhh, you know, Verhina, you've told us that this is a magical flying boat and all, which is great, just great, but what actually happened to everybody in it? I mean, someone must have brought it here, right?” The zebra stopped. “Sparkle, I shall debrief you on the subject of how this ship ended here when we reach the bridge. Which shouldn't be long, considering we've just reached it.” They all sat in the bridge, which actually was some sort of important room. Space talk, Twilight guessed. They were all sat down, including Verhina, which was odd considering that she apparently wasn't real. All the ponies where excited. It was something new. There was going to be adventure. The ponies were quietly talking amongst themselves, as soon as they sat down. The zebra quickly hushed them down. “Quiet, now, quiet. It is a long story, and you must all be quiet, while I tell it. Pay attention. There will be a quiz later.” Pinkie wanted to make an outburst, until Applejack shoved a hoof in her mouth.” As silence took the room, the zebra began. “Good. Now, the Hoofed Federation of Planets has been at war with the Webbed Foot Collaboration ever since we refused to stop going through a wormhole which allowed us straight into the heart of their territory so we could colonize any planets we could find and supply worlds in their part of the galaxy with weapons grade Uranium. Ever since, we have been fighting these aggressors for all which is right. Unfortunately, it just so happens that this ship was grounded after a some of them realised that they could just beam off all of the enemy crew into space in the middle of a battle, instead of slowly destroying each other with an exchange of laser fire. I mean, who'd have thought?” They all found some strange way to shuffle around in their seats, while the zebra waited for their reactions. Content that they had nothing to say, she continued. “Now, to crew this ship. We just so happen to need and have six people. To be honest, the posts are fairly easy.” “Anyway, we need a Captain..” “ME!” Twilight shouted. Nodding, she continued. “A communications officer.. Uhh, someone who talks to other people..” “I shall do it!” Rarity cried, standing on her chair. “I shall woo them with my looks, and convince them to set their arms aside and be polite enough to surrender!” “A helmsman.. uhhh. Mare? Driver.” Dash burst into the air and smashed a light with a mid air kick with her rear legs. “AWW YEAH! Uhh, sorry about that. But yeah, I can do that. We'll whiz past every enemy, and if we ever get cornered, BLAM, we realise space is three dimensional. They'll never know what hit 'em.” “A weapons officer. You know, the person who shoots the other people.” Several apples whizzed past the zebras head, as Applejack stepped from.. behind her chair. “Ah'll do it. Yeeehaw!” They all looked at her in anticipation of some sort of witty comment. “What? Ya really all think a farmer like me is gonna come up with a stupid thing to say like that?” “A science officer...” Pinkie began jumping around. “Yay! I get to have pointy ears!” she exclaimed, hopping around while getting strange looks from everybody else, except Twilight who was too busy cursing her head off. “And that just leaves.. Ahh! One of the most complex, stressful positions. Chief Engineer. To the quiet timid one. Great. Okay, all you work in here, except for the Chief Engineer who works in a dark isolated area near the centre of the ship. Okay, people, lets get going!”
Chapter Two: Family To The RescueIt had been hard work, but they were making good progress. Their zebra guide had quickly made use of the databases of knowledge the ship held, and began educating them in their roles. Twilight found it fairly easy, being a fairly natural leader, and Dash was aching to get going – she loved soaring through the skies, but through space? That was way cooler. Twenty percent cooler cooler. Rarity had been practising her professional whining, Applejack had added dozens of new words to her vocabulary, including vocabulary. Fluttershy had spent hours bonding with the machinery, and Pinkie Pie had proved disproved the law of Conservation of Matter, on the grounds that Friendship is Magic, The ships damage was not as extensive as their virtual zebra guide had predicted – the crew of the spacecraft had been preparing for a rough landing, and would have landed the ship nearly flawlessly had they not began being beamed off during the landing. Later that day, Verhina had decided, against her proper judgement, to educate the crew in proper hand-to-hand combat. After a while of explanations, it was time for some demonstrations. “Now, remember: sluggish attacks, no practical attacks, and remember, take time to slowly circle each other when it comes to fighting one-on-one. Make it interesting for people who are watching, you know? Common courtesy, really.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped up, ready to start. They began slowly circling each other, when Rainbow suddenly darted forward for a quick jab with a hoof. “STOP!”, Verhina shouted. “Now, Rainbow Dash, you have to remember that it is impolite to do such an attack. Try swinging wildly at them, or at least be inefficient.” After a few moments, they started again. After a while of practice, they began using some form of weaponry called a Bat'leth, which was basically some sort of sword except you held the middle so it was very easy to parry, which was apparently another part of common courtesy in combat. After a while, Twilight felt she had to ask a question. “Uhh, hold on, if we get ambushed by an enemy, why would be pull out one of these? Why not shoot them with one of these fancy laser guns? Which are easy to use? Which are deadly?” she asked. “In case you don't have a laser gun when you're attacked, obviously!” Verhina answered, as it was obvious. Twilight only felt more questions popping up. “But, why would you bring a gigantic weapon when you're going out for a stroll instead of a small, hoof-held laser gun?” Verhina just looked at her, looking annoyed. “Lets take a break for now, I'm sure you'll all hungry for lunch. And this time, whoever did it, refrain from ordering a giant cake, please. It would be more funny if it didn't drain the energy reserves. Yeah, I'm looking at YOU, Science Officer Pinkie... You still need to grow those damn ears long, you know, or at least act as if you are better than every other idiot around here.” The ponies were all gathered around a table, enjoying lunch. They were generally discussing their learnings, though their minds did wander to outside the great metal machine they had been living for days in. They all missed their friends, but they were glad they had each other, and Twilight knew that she wanted to do this. Even if she had to leave much behind, she would experience so many new things. And who knew? Perhaps one day, she would return and tell Equestria all about her discoveries. They were all enjoying their sandwiches, when Verhina materialised in front of them, a concerned look on her face. “A large crowd of hoofed creatures is gathering outside the space craft. I am going to beam who appears to be their leader in here. Brace yourself.” Before any of the ponies had a chance to react, a blue, shining light appeared in front of them. They could hear the confused pony making a range of confused “Who?”'s and “What?”'s, before we finally fully materialised, and began taking in his surroundings, with his gaze finally resting on Applejack. “Ah-Applejack! We.. we were all lookin' for you... as soon as I heard that you and yer friends went missin', I gathered up as many relatives as I could find and What in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres is goin' on? What is this place?” Applejack surged forth and hugged him. “Cousin Braeburn!” It had taken a while, but Applejack had finally explained to Braeburn what was going on. “And so, we're learning to fly this hunk o' metal, so we can get some reward or somethin' for returnin' it!” Braeburn had been listening intently, nodding slightly, but with a confused look on his face. “So, lemme get this straight. You saw somethin' fall in the Celestia damned Everfree Forest, decided to prance around it, find a big metal machine, got abducted by a Zebra, and immediately believed her and decided to pilot a big flying magical boat into some alien place or whatever, without any idea what would happen afterwards?” The group all began murmuring and agreeing. After a moment, Braeburn jumped into the air. “Yeeehaw! Why, this is great! A chance for the Apple family to finally plant apple trees where none have planted them before – Space!” It had taken a while, but Braeburn had explained the situation to the mob gathered outside. They all seemed excited about planting apple trees in space, and although Twilight had attempted to explain that they weren't going to explore a new world, but instead were going to some even bigger metal ship in space, but apparently they were all too excited about “planting apple trees in space” to listen. Still, they were a welcome addition to the crew, and the original six set about educating them in various roles. Fluttershy had quickly accepted the offer of more ponies to assist in repairs, and she had taught them how to repair parts of the ship while still respecting its personal space, and had drastically increased her work force. Applejack had taught a group of eager colts about the ships weaponry, including lasers, torpedoes, and a recent invention by Pinkie Pie called the 'Explosive Cupcake Launcher'. A few family friends had came with the group of earth ponies, including a friendly pair of pegasi, and Rainbow Dash had seen to educating them as Helms ponies, if Rainbow Dash was ever unable to pilot the ship. They had seem fairly excited, but then, so was everybody. Pinkie had been spending her time educating a select group of ponies on what she claimed was “the secrets of the universe”. Nobody out of the group actually knew what their meetings were about, but Twilight was fairly sure they she knew, especially after seeing Pinkie pushing a wheel barrow of streamers and balloons into their secret meeting room. Rarity had selected the most well mannered of the family and made them her assistants, and and set to work creating a dazzling uniform, inspired by the uniform used by the crew before their unfortunate departure. And the whole time, Twilight had been thinking of who to make second in command. Hmm, Applejack can get along with everybody, but Rarity could certainly get people to do things for her with a few well placed words, but Pinkie Pie could keep moral high, Dash could inspire bravery in anyponies heart, and Fluttershy could make anything seem better with kindness. She knew she'd need to choose somepony soon, because with all the aid of the Apple family, the ship would be ready to set off in three days.
Chapter Three: EmbarkIt was finally time to depart, and tension was growing. Everybody was in their stations. Captain Sparkle was in her chair, watching the monitor in front of her. Her command staff were all with her in the bridge, except for Fluttershy, who was in the engine room, in case anything happened, and Twilight had a screen open by her side displaying Fluttershy's station. Braeburn was also in the bridge, but ready to be sent anywhere should anypony need help. Verhina was observing the crew by the entrance to the bridge. Various ponies of importance were passing through the bridge. Twilight had a determined look on her face, and after a few moments as things settled down, she gave the order. “Begin lift off.” Numerous ponies began typing on their consoles, as the ship slowly positioned itself for take off. “Lift off in three, two, one... GO!” For a few moments, nothing happened. “Aww, fiddlesticks!” Pinkie shouted. Suddenly, the ship blasted off, quickly leaving the planet surface in moments, and moving above. The ship slowly started heading above Equestria. They weren't that high, and in fact, just going over Ponyville. Almost everypony was watching the monitor, displaying what was directly in front of the ship. They gazed in wonder as the ship sped Ponyville, and pegasi gaped at it as it whizzed past. The trance was snapped as the ship hit something, flying. “Oh no..” Twilight said. “Who did we hit?” Braeburn rushed to the camera console, and checked. “We've hit.. an owl.” A louder crack was hit. “Great, now we've hit Derpy.” Twilight sighed. “Guh, lets just hope that the ship washing service at Moderately Deep Space Nine is cheap. Alright, Rainbow, take us away from home.” With that, Rainbow Dash enthusiastically punched in a few commands with her hooves, and leaned back, as the ship slowly tilted upwards and finally sped up, leaving the atmosphere relatively quickly. What greeted them upon leaving was amazing. Countless stars were in every direction possible, as the ship quickly travelled away from the planet. The main screen displayed an image of Equestria, and Twilight gasped. It was so much larger than she had ever hoped and.. a sphere? Damn, Celestia has got some explaining to do, she thought. She watched as the planet slowly grew smaller and smaller, until she noticed other planets, which were all.. orbiting the sun. When I get home, she's going to have a full scale revolution on her hands, Twilight thought. Snapping out of her daydream, she thought for a moment about what to do. “Uhh, Pinkie, scan for the space station.” Pinkie excitedly tapped into her console. “Okay, I found it, but before we go I should tell you that there are some ships coming right to us! Ooh, look! And there are smaller ones about to hit us!” The ship vibrated violently. “Oh, those are missiles! How silly of me!” Twilight had a look of shock on her face, but quickly snapped out of it. “Return fire! Pinkie, send the lead ships co-ordinates to Applejack. Applejack, prepare to fire. Rainbow Dash, make sure that we aren't heading in the same direction as them, or we'll be too easy to hit. Rarity, try to open a channel with the lead ship.” Soon enough, Rarity reported “Channel opened, Captain.” Twilight rose from her chair, standing directly in front of the screen. The screen flickered into life, displaying two strange creatures, which looked like ponies but both had two strange horns on both sides of their heads, like branches of trees. Both their coats were brown. The left one spoke. “We are the Antellonian Imperium, and in the glorious name of his divine highness, we demand that you surrender the ship.” Twilight sighed. “No, no, we are taking your ship, in the glorious name of Princess Celestia. Surrender now or we will be forced to use our Thermonuclear Friendship Device.” Twilight finished, bluffing with the last part. Both parties stared at each other – Twilight trying to figure if they would surrender, and the two aliens trying to figure if she was bluffing or not. Eventually, the left one who had spoken before stated his intentions. “Surrender, this is your last chance.” Twilight stared at him with anger. “So be it. Fire!” At that, dozens of laser beams were fired at the enemy ship. Likewise, the small but numerous enemy ships began firing their weaponry at their vessel. The ship was rocking with every hit taken, but Twilight wasn't just about to give up. “Enemy lead ship shields down!” Pinkie shouted. Twilight grinned. “Fire the muffins!” With that, Pinkies explosive muffins were fired, some missing, but most impacting the hull and exploding, creating holes in the hull. Soon, the ship exploded, sending debris flying. Firing ceased for a few moment, as if all the crews of all the ships were shocked, at the same time, but then returned. Twilight had an idea. “Applejack, what's the biggest weapon we've got?” Thinking for a moment, Applejack responded. “Well, that'd be the Prototype Proton R-19. But we only have two.” Twilight grinned. Two missiles were launched from the ship, and began travelling. Through space. Towards the tightly packed group of ships engaged in combat with a large ship. The sight was beautiful – two missiles gracefully travelling through nothingness, as bright lasers lit the scene in a dizzying array of bright colours. Soon, another colour emerged – Orange, from an explosion. “Their shields are down!” Pinkie reported. “Teleport them all off! Do what we did to Luna when she became pushy – Straight to the moon!” Twilight commanded. “Hold on,” one earth pony stepped up. “Aint that a little too far? Just killin' them all like that?” Another pony also joined. “Yeah, think off all of their families! Their children!” They slowly approached Twilight, mutiny in their minds. “STOP!” The sound had actually came from Braeburn, of all ponies. “What do you two think you're doing, Applecider, and you of all ponies, Applecake? It may seem brutal, but think of what they'd do to us, if they had the chance! Sure, they may have families, but so do we! It's them or us.” Twilight was impressed – not only had Braeburn taken the initiative to try and defuse a situation, but he actually was successful. Both ponies were backing down, annoyed but with a look of defeat on both of their faces. Twilight stood their, impressed, when she was brought back to reality by the ship shuddering as another laser hit it. “Do it.” she said, and Pinkie hit a few keys and grinned. “It's done! They're partying in space now!” she said. Twilight relaxed in her chair, and listened to Fluttershy's damage reports. “Umm, and there's a few hull breaches but not in anywhere important, though a few crew quarters have to be sealed off. Oh, and the secondary communications array got damaged, but nobody ever uses that anyway, other than making prank calls on SpaceMart.” It had taken a while, but the ship had finally been fully repaired, while it travelled to Moderately Deep Space Nine. They all watched the massive space station in awe. It was like a palace, in space. Ships travelled in and out regularly, and there seemed to be some sort of strange, alien tunnel near it which occasionally opened and closed to allow ships to travel through. Rarity gave her a thumbs up as the communication channel was opened, and Twilight stepped forward in front of the screen, and it displayed a creature which seemed identical to a pony on it, with a light brown coat and horn, a dark brown mane and tail, a friendly smile. After a few moments Twilight realised something: it was no unicorn, it was an alicorn, with its winged tucked by its side. “Greetings, ponies. You have my utmost gratitude for saving the ship. Please, come on board, I'd like to discuss this in person. You'll be directed towards a suitable dock.” The channel closed before Twilight had a moment to say anything, but then, she had nothing to say. She was too excited about the prospect of exploring an alien station. From what Verhina had told her, not only had the stations crew discovered a wormhole in space which led to a part of the galaxy incredibly far away, but their Pony Joe's had the best tofu burgers in the known universe. The ship slowly docked, and Twilight prepared to explore a new, alien place.
