Vode An

The sun barely crept over the crest of a large fertile planet, illuminating the sea that surrounded a lush central landmass. Where the night still touched, bright lights could be seen in clusters scattered about the continent. The center of the landmass was quite green and flat, with only a vast forest and a small mountain range to break it up. To the south was a large desert, though the glow of a few towns could be seen. To the far north was a vast tundra dominated by mountains, the tundra itself nearly covered with clouds. Yet despite this, a shimmering blue dome could be seen set in the middle of the icy landscape, piercing the cloud cover. To the west was a  grassland that seemed to be sparsely populated. To the southeast was a chain of islands dominated by jungle. If there was civilization to be found there, it was well out of sight from above.

This wasn’t the first time Scootaloo had seen a planet from orbit, far from it. She’d experienced it so many times, she’d lost count. Yet seeing her own planet, her home, from orbit felt like the first time all over again. The blue and green ball she spent most of her foalhood on was all she knew, but now that she had learned that there was an entire galaxy full of life and her planet was just one amongst billions of others, it was a bit world-shattering, even now. She couldn’t speak for Applebloom or Sweetie Belle, but judging by the depressed look in their eyes, she knew that they were on the same line of thought.

Scootaloo quickly put that thought to the side though, for she knew there were more important things to worry about. She had absolutely no idea how Ponyville, or even all of Equestria, would react to not only an alien spaceship landing smack dab outside of Ponyville, but three little fillies, who the whole town had known and loved, walking out of said spaceship. Of course, being missing for eight years didn’t help that fact very much, and Scootaloo knew it.

Another potentially hazardous detail was the three fillies change in wardrobe. They all wore one piece, loose body suits of varying colors. Scootaloo wore a black bodysuit, with light plating. The violet plates, seeming to be made of some form of iron or steel, was very angular, often coming to a point most the time. The chest plate, mounted on a vest of some dark grey shiny material, was split into three separate parts. Two plates covered from her neck down to under her forelegs, curving slightly to fit her quadrupedal anatomy, and one covering over her stomach. Between the two upper chest plates rested a small piece of metal in the shape of a six sided diamond that seemed to serve no other purpose other than decoration. Encircling her collarbone was another piece of armor that was, more or less, an armored collar. The collar connected to her back plate, which at first glance appeared to be a single piece, but then split into four separate pieces across her back, supposedly to allow more maneuverability. Resting over her shoulders were a pair of teardrop shaped shoulder pads, the left one bore an odd symbol of sorts painted on it. It depicted the elongated skull of some lizard like creature, a pair of curly horns jutting out from the side of its head. Mounted on her forelegs were a pair of gauntlets, ending about halfway to her elbows. Upon the one on her right leg was what appeared to be a small blowtorch, with a small tube leading into her suit from the open nozzle on the end. The actual machinations involved with the device were mostly hidden within the dark gauntlet. Mounted on her left gauntlet was what appeared to be a small rectangular box with a thin slot in the front of it, supposedly to let something flat quickly slide out. Upon her knees were a pair of knee pads, wrapping around the sides towards the bend. Around her waist was a leather belt fitted with a myriad of pouches. The entire ensemble, given that every piece was the same dark violet on a black suit, gave her a distinct air of an imposing shadow warrior. In fact, if you set her against the night sky or a dark glade, she would likely disappear entirely.

Apple Bloom’s armor was very similar to the young Scootaloo’s armor, with a few minor additions. Apple Bloom had plates covering her upper forelegs, her thighs, her knees, her shins, a plate running in between her back legs to cover her more… sensitive bits, and a large plate to cover her flank, yet still allow her backs legs plenty of room to move. Her collar plate also had a small piece of armor sticking up to protect her neck. Like Scootaloo, she also sported a thick leather belt, fitted with both pouches and two empty holsters that would each fit a small firearm. On her right gauntlet was a series of small buttons that seemed to serve almost no purpose, at least no obvious purpose. On her left gauntlet was a small wrist mounted blaster fused into the top of the armored gauntlet. The plates of her armor also seemed to be thicker than the other two fillies. The whole of armor was a red-orange with the edges of each plate outlined with straw yellow stripes. Her bodysuit was a light beige color, and her armor vest was dyed a crimson red. Whereas Scootaloo’s loadout appeared more suited for stealth and speed, Apple Bloom was quite clearly geared to be nothing short of a living tank.

Sweetie Belle’s armor was a mix between her two friends’ gear, allowing maneuverability and granting protection. With plates covering her thighs, in between her legs, and her upper forelegs. Strapped to her right gauntlet were three small syringes, each filled with a different color liquid. On her left gauntlet was a small grappling hook. The whole of her armor was a rose pink, with a red cross surrounded by hearts on her right shoulder pad. Her bodysuit was a brilliant alabaster white, with her armor vest being lavender.

All three sets of armor had apparently seen plenty of battle as well. Each of the outfits had clearly seen a lot of use and were worn ragged. Much of the armors’ paint had been chipped off the plates to reveal the silver metal beneath. The metal had also been graced by plenty of scorch marks, had been dented in several areas, and the bottom part of Scootaloo’s left upper chest plate had apparently been sharpened to form a makeshift blade. The bodysuits had several small holes in them, with the occasional larger tear that had been sewn back together.

The three ponies were far flung from what most would consider proper attire for the fillies, or even most royal guards. They looked closer to potentially hostile invaders than the innocent foals they were most known as. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders have had to explain their way out of some pretty bad scenarios, this one was going to be a killer, hopefully not literally.

“Strap in, you three,” a gruff voice breaks the teenage pegasus of her musings. “We’re about to make planetfall.”

She takes a look around the cockpit of the ship, her eyes torn from the wide front window. A myriad of buttons, levers and switches stretched in an arch around the edge of the semicircular glass plane. Scootaloo sat in one of the three high backed chairs placed at intervals along the control panels. Her current position placed her at navigation, with most of the space being dominated by holo-projectors displaying every aspect of navigational data. Taking a glance at the two chairs at the other end of cockpit, she spots Applebloom in her usual place at weapons control and Sweetie Belle at life support. In the center of the cockpit, where the ship’s controls are, is another high backed chair, although it’s larger than the three fillies. The semi-circular nature of the cockpit and the high back of the chair obscure the pilot from view, but whoever he is, he isn’t a pony.

Scootaloo reaches up and grabs the buckle of the straps, slipping it over her head before connecting the bottom part of the strap in between her back legs. She could no longer see space, only the green of the central continent, and  the nose of the craft that had begun to glow orange as they broke the atmosphere.

Yet none of it mattered to the young pegasus, as one thought enters her mind.

I’m home.

Sweetie Belle fidgets nervously with her hooves as she tries to ignore the knot in her stomach, though the shaking of the Edge as it enters the atmosphere did not help the knot to go away. Unlike her friends, she secretly wished they had never found their home planet. She would rather that she never returned home, she couldn’t bear to face those she left behind, mostly Rarity. How would her big sister react? Was she even still alive, did she let herself fade away without her little sister? Would anypony even see her the same after they learned what she had been though, the things she’s seen and done… what she had become?

The G-force of reentry squishing Sweetie back into her seat brought her back into reality. Out the front could be seen a large patch of clouds with a plethora of small figures flying around it. The sun hadn’t come up yet, but it could be seen coming over the mountains in the distance, illuminating the silhouette of what looked like a castle clinging to the side of a cliff face. They pass in front of the patch of clouds to see them arranged in a pattern that seemed to look like buildings.

“Avoid those clouds,” she heard Scootaloo say. “I don’t wanna plow through somepony’s home if I can avoid it.”

“So that’s Cloudsdale, eh,” the voice of their pilot answered back. “Heh, really is made out of clouds.”

Sweetie could hear her orange pegasus friend chuckle at their pilot’s bewilderment. “I believe you owe me five credits.”

The pilot merely grunted and banked the ship to avoid the city in the clouds, though they startled a few pegasi anyway. Once away from Cloudsdale, a dense forest could be seen covering an enormous swath of land. No matter which direction you looked, all that could be seen was forest. But settled near the edge of the forest was a small town set next to what appeared to be a farm. The town itself was mostly comprised of small, colorful buildings with thatched roofs, though there were a few buildings that stood out. There was the tall cylindrical town hall, the house built inside an old oak tree, and the building that looked like a carousel.

Ponyville sure hasn’t changed much in eight years, has it? The teenaged unicorn mused.

Sweetie’s attention was focused more on the carousel building, or more importantly, who she knew (or, at least, hoped) lived there.

Rarity… I’m home, big sis.

As the Saber’s Edge flew over Ponyville, Applebloom’s eyes lingered on the large farm just outside of it. She knew it well, for it had been her home for her whole life. Most of the land was apple orchards, though a few fields had been reserved for other crops such as corn or wheat. A large red barn was set right in the middle of the farm, and near it was a little farm house. Her house.

Applebloom never thought she’d be so happy to see Sweet Apple Acres again. Was she worried about facing her family? No. It didn’t matter what the rest of Ponyville or even Equestria thought of her, Apples took care of each other, no matter what. She knew she could be gone 80 years and her family would still welcome her home with open hooves. As for what she had become during those eight years away, she knew that even if they disapproved, they’d understand.

Of course, before she could get back together with her family, there was still the matter of landing the Edge and not driving the easily excitable residents of Ponyville into a panic.

“We should probably circle ‘round town a few times, jus’ ta’ let everypony know we’re here,” Applebloom informs their pilot.

“Oh, I think they already know,” he responds flatly. “We’ve had armored pegasi following us for the past five minutes.”

Sure enough, a small group of snow white pegasi in golden armor fly in an arrowhead formation in front of the ship, with what seemed to be the sergeant at the head of the formation signaling the Edge with his hooves.

“Ah think they want us to land,” Applebloom deducts.

The pilot merely grunts. “Got that. Scoots, find a place to touch down.”

“The little field over there, right on the edge of town,” she heard her pegasus friend reply.

Their ship banked once more, then came to a complete aerial stop, knocking Applebloom flat against her chair. It began to descend slowly, and within a minute or so, the teenage earth pony could feel the ship bounce slightly as its landing gear touched the ground.

Unbuckling her straps with the quick press of a button, Applebloom hopped out of her seat and headed towards the back door.  On her way out of the cockpit, she grabs a bucket shaped helmet with a round dome top and a T-shaped visor, putting it on her head as she walked. She looked to her left and right to see both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing by her side, also with their helmets. Their pilot though, a tall bipedal creature, was standing behind the three fillies, leaning against a wall in the shadows so as to not be easily seen.

“You’ll probably want to stay here for now, Kayne,” she heard Scootaloo say to the pilot. “We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out, let ponies get used to us first.”

The pilot, Scootaloo dubbed Kayne, nods his head. “Makes sense.”

Sweetie Belle taps a button on the side of the bulkhead, making the large rectangular back door pop open with a hiss before slowly opening downwards to form a ramp. Bright sunlight flooded into the hold, which would have blinded Applebloom if she didn’t have her helmet on, the tinted T-shaped visor guarding against intense flashes of light.

Before the ramp was all the way down, a single thought entered the young earth pony’s mind.

I’ma comin’ home, Apples.

From just behind the three ponies, Kayne peered around the corner to peer out at the warm inviting fields beyond the ship’s exit door.

Kayne let out a low whistle before retreating behind the door frame, “Wow, this is pretty far apart from what we’re used to on Mandalore, or anywhere else for that matter. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a place this tranquil, or green.”

The serenity of the moment was cut short as an unavoidable feeling of dread sank into his stomach. His uncanny intuition began pulling string in the back of his mind, and brought forth memories of an unpleasant sort.

Don’t be stupid, Kayne, he told himself firmly, shaking off the chill that ran down his spine. We’re pretty far in the western half of the galaxy, a place that’s barely been explored and nearly killed us just getting here. We’re far out of reach of that overgrown slug.

His worries thankfully seemed to melt as he looked upon his vode, his sisters, eagerly awaiting reunion with their families. Family that, in all likelihood, would see him as a kind but suspicious stranger at best, or a deceiving invader at worst. Kayne could only hope that his vode would spread the word of his intentions to their families, and that they would hopefully accept him. If not, then at least he would always have his little sisters. Nobody would tear him from his vode.

Aliit ori'shya tal'din, Family is more than just blood. He reminded himself, and it was certainly true.