Ashley got a call from the research division, why? Well she certainly didn't know, after all she was just a normal Terran Empire Ranger. There are far more that should be heading to the research division in her place, when it comes down to science she was the last person that would be called to a lab.
But regardless she walked through the auto door and walked to Catherine the lead researcher "Hey Cat! Hows your science-y mubo-jumbo been going!?" Ashley yelled from across the lab, once Ashley finally got to her the lab coat wearing scientist she noticed the person behind Catherine. That being General Harden who was the last person Ashley wanted to hear her talking like that.
As soon as she realized her horrible mistake she stiffened up and threw right hand up to her head and didn't move as much as possible "At ease Ashley, we brought you here for a special mission..." The general said and once it processed threw her she finally relaxed and followed Cat and Harden to a large hologram of a strange-looking planet.
Cat turned to Ashley "Look Ashley... June, you, and i will be going to a this new planet" She pointed towards the hologram "A probe discovered that it has the resources that we need and above that it also is apparently ok for beings like us on the surface without issues unlike all other planets we found" Ashley put her hand under her jaw.
"Wait... Why you and June? Wouldn't you want some more you know... People who can kill?" Harden sighed as Ashley raised her concern.
Harden walked up to the ranger "Its simple really, between you and June i am sure Dr. Catherine will be safe" Ashley couldn't help but sigh, no matter what happened June creeped her out. June never said anything and was always sneaking around.
"Well... I guess i will head to my ship, i am taking my ship right?" Harden nodded and Ashley raised her hand to her head again in a salute and soon after headed off to the port.
Though when you think of a ship port you would think water, but these ports are a lot less water and a lot more large run way to give the space ships time to get speed before lifting up into the sky. Once Ashley got there she reached her small ship called the TE Nocturnal, TE standing for Terran Empire as pretty expected, she opened the hatch to the ship and entered. Once done she worked on prepping the ship and as she did she let out a deep sigh "I really hope this isn't a waste of time..."
Once the ship got done being prepped Ashley walked over to the armory section of the ship. Even though it would be uncomfortable to wear her armor all the way to the planet she did need to train as much as possible before she got there, this was a planet that has the ability to inhabit living creatures meaning that this place could be filled with death, destruction and not sunshine and rainbows. So she got on her combat armor and her coat and walked out into her little firing range in her room, once there she took out her specially made laser rifle which instead of being a normal laser rifle it is instead a lever-action rifle style. As a ranger Ashley was allowed to get her own ship, upgrade it with what she wants in reason and a custom made primary weapon, with her armor and her weapon ready she started firing at the targets she set up.
After a long while of shooting fake metal people in the face she looked out the window and saw two people walking towards her ship. One was a women wearing a lab coat and another women wearing a black cloak, that being Catherine and June, once they got close enough Ashley opened up the hatch letting the two "Hiya Cat and... Er... June..." June just glanced at Ashley and kept walking, soon June found the way to one of the spare rooms and basiclly locked her self in that said room.
Catherine turned to Ashley "Dont mind her... She wont bother you to0 much, or at all, as long as you don't bother her..." Ashley just shrugged and went to the cockpit of the ship and got ready to head out...
Five months later...
Twilight was getting annoyed and depressed, why? Well that's a long story, Spike been bothering twilight day after day about a comic he's been reading "Twi! Twi! Liston to this! In my comic Starship Commander Laserhooves comes down to blow up all these aliens and monsters--" Twilight stopped him there.
"Come on spike, that is ridiculous! A living creature could not grow that big, have wings, and have two hundred arms! That breaks all laws of logic when it comes down to things like oxygen, evolution, and flight!" Spike rolled his eyes at Twilight's complaints on the logic behind spikes comic book.
"Tsk, Twi! It doesn't need to make sense, it's a comic!" Twilight just shook her head and kept walking towards the hill where her friends where waiting to do a little star-gazing, after all tonight there should be a meteor shower.
Twilight reached the hill while trying her best to ignore Spike's constant pestering about his comic "Hey Twi!" Pinkie said after magically appearing out of thin air in front of her some how "Ready for the shower!? It's happening really soon!"
Twilight smiled, nodded, and started setting up her tent and telescope.
Back on the ship Ashley just finished up her daily training and so she walked back out to the cockpit seeing that they where getting closer to Equestria, it looked quite a bit like earth but then again it WAS a world that had the ability to inhabit carbon based creatures like humans. But their was a slight issue, that issue being that meters where really close to hitting the ship! Ashley ran to the controls and started to head to the planet while trying to avoid the deadly rocks of deadly doom, but soon two meteors managed to hit the ship. That was enough to make the shields grow weaker and spin the ship out of control and the more the ship started spinning the more meteors hit the ship, soon fire broke out and the hull started cracking "Damn it!!" Ashley slammed on a button starting the sirens, soon after she ran towards the armory. Cat and June where soon behind her as Ash started getting on her armor with a space suit over it in case the hull broke too much, the others did the same as they all grabbed their weapons and gear just to make sure they where ready if the ship crashed. Once done Ash ran back to the cockpit and got back to work on trying to make sure the ship didn't crash and burn but as they got closer and closer to the planet the ship started to heat up from speed.
Twilight gasped at all the meteors but there was one that everyone was looking at mostly, it was a huge one that was burning up. Though there was one issue with that meteor... That being that it looked like it wasn't getting smaller and it was getting closer and closer to them... "RUN!" Twilight yelled seeing that the meteor was coming straight towards them and so they seven of them split up as they ran.