Close Encounters
Chapter I: Arrival
The meteor shower truly was a beautiful sight. Twilight Sparkle stood wide-eyed as the beautiful lights streaked across the sky. It was all the more special that she was able to watch this spectacle with all of her friends. That is, of coarse, all of her friends except Spike, who was starting to dose off on her back.
Meanwhile, on one of the many balconies of the royal castle in Canterlot, Princess Celestia sat next to her sister, enjoying the same sight as her student was watching.
“You have really outdone yourself, Luna. I never expected the meteor shower to be this beautiful,” the sun princess said in wonderment.
“Yes, well, it has been so long since Equestria’s last shower,” Princess Luna “I felt I needed to put everything I had into this one.”
“I was actually wondering how you do it?”
“It’s quite simple really, I just redirect a small meteorite towards Equestria, and gradually break it apart with magic before-“ Luna stopped as her ears perked up and she looked towards the shooting stars.
“What wrong?” Celestia asked.
“I don’t know, I thought there was something among all the debris I was controlling. Something moving of its own accord.” Luna frowned for a moment. Her sister looked down at her and chuckled.
“I’m sure it’s nothing, Luna. You probably let one piece stray. It’s understandable to make a mistake after being away from this for so long.”
“Hmm, I suppose your right,” Luna said.
At that, Celestia yawned. “I think I will take my leave for the night.”
“Goodnight Tia.”
“Goodnight Luna.”
Luna remained on the balcony for the remainder of the meteor shower. With the last streak across the sky, the Princess of the Moon gave a slight nod at her handiwork, and decided it was time for her to retreat to her bedchambers as well.
Had she remained on the balcony a moment longer, she would have noticed another streak, one that lasted longer than all the others. One that grew brighter as it refused to disintegrate in Equestria’s atmosphere. The rogue piece hurdled towards the ground, across Canterlot and Ponyville, over the Everfree Forest. The crash would have been devastating to the forest, had the object not been slowing down. Eventually the object stopped completely, hovering just above the tree canopy.
It moved silently above the trees until it came to a clearing at the base of a cliff several hundred feet high. The strange object slowly descended. As it did, several hatches opened on its bottom, and landing gears popped out and the object touched ground, letting out a dull groan as its weight was put on the gears.
Inside the spaceship, a lone occupant sat at a large control console, typing in a message on the computer monitor.
Shipboard date: March 18th, 2087, 6:21 pm
Passed by the single moon 3 hours ago. The descent was particularly exciting as a meteorite was breaking up against the planet’s atmosphere. It is good to see that the old girl can protect herself. I followed behind the vaporizing pieces and came to a stop above what appears to be a rainforest. I am excited to get started on my research, though in my haste to land I seem to have landed on the night side of the planet. I will wait until morning to begin my work. I will also have to remember to contact Command before I start. Until then I suppose I will just rest.
-Dr. Michael A. Zimmer
It was a couple weeks after the meteor shower, and Spike was finally getting along with Owlowiscious. Twilight finally had some peace and quiet in the library, so she invited some friends over for tea. Rarity and Fluttershy were always pleasant for these kinds of get-togethers.
“So how have things been at the Boutique, Rarity?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, you know, business as usual I suppose, nothing really interesting to point out.”
“Mmmhmm, How about you Fluttershy?”
“Oh, umm…well there are some squirrels with tummy aches that I’m taking care of…so, um, there’s that.”
Twilight sighed deeply “Well, have either of you heard any gossip lately?”
“Ohh, Twilight, gossip isn’t very nice,” Fluttershy said.
“Yes but it can be a bit of fun, my dear,” Rarity replied. “Have either of you heard what the silly mail mare with the lazy eye has been saying since the meteor shower?”
“No, what has she been saying?” Twilight asked.
“Oh some nonsense about something falling out of the sky with the meteors. She claims that whatever it was, it didn’t stop burning like the other pieces, and that it fell into Everfree Forest.”
“Wait, that doesn’t make any sense though,” Twilight responded, “There would have been a massive impact.”
“That’s what I said when I first heard it, but apparently she said that the object began to darken and slow down as it reached the ground!”
“Okay, stop right there, I’m not going to listen to a made up story anymore. I don’t know what exactly it is that Ditzy saw, but obviously her eyes were playing tricks on her,” Twilight retorted. She looked down at her tea, finished it in a gulp, and then sighed. “Any other stories you two have heard?”
Both of Twilight’s friends shook their heads.
“Oh well, I suppose I’ll just do some shopping today and listen for any interesting stories.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the spa with me and Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.
“No, I need to restock on groceries anyway.”
“Okay then, have a nice day,” Rarity nodded before standing and walking out the door.
Fluttershy said her goodbyes and followed, leaving Twilight alone to make a short list of things to pick up. Noticing how low she now was on herbal tea, she decided to go buy some from Zecora first.
“Spike, I’m going out to run some errands, watch over the library while I’m gone.”
“Okay Twilight, see you later,” Spike called from the back room.
With that, Twilight was out the door to go visit her zebra friend.
As Twilight walked up the dirt path that led to Zecora’s hut, she couldn’t help but feel that there was certain unsettling stillness to forest. Everfree was always such a wild and unpredictable place. But at the moment Twilight could hear no insects buzzing about, small critters scurrying around, or even any large monsters rumbling off in the distance. It was just she and the trees, and she had never felt more unnerved.
Twilight quickened her pace once she saw Zecora’s hut, curious to see if maybe one of the zebra’s potions were keeping the local fauna subdued. As she approached the hut, she noticed that the door was ajar, and that a basket of flowers and herbs were spilled on the front stoop.
Twilight stopped, now very nervous. “Zecora!” Twilight called. No answer came from the hut. The purple unicorn walked up to one of the hut’s windows and peered inside. Everything seemed to be in order. It was as if Zecora was stopped just before entering her own home. “Zecora!” Twilight called again, this time a bit more frantic.
Twilight perked up her ears as she heard a faint rustling in the bushes behind her. She turned and moved silently towards the noise. “Zecora, is that you?” the unicorn said silently. The air was completely still, and not a sound was in the air. Then Twilight heard a small groan come from the bushes. “Zecora!” Twilight yelled, rushing into the foliage. Just beyond the cover of leaves, wrapped in a net made of some shiny material lie the zebra.
“Oh Goddesses Zecora, what happened?” Twilight said, horrified.
Zecora turned, her eyes wide as she weakly spoke. “It is…too late…I am done. But you Twilight Sparkle…must…must…RUN!”
In the bushes nearby, something stirred. Twilight turned to face whatever it was.
“…Run…” Zecora muttered.
A creature emerged from the bushes, one that Twilight couldn’t identify. It stood on two legs like Spike, but stood more erect. It also had two arms; one had something attached to the end of it.
“…run…”
Before Twilight could react, the creature lifted its arm, and the attachment fired out a net that engulfed the unicorn, sending out a wave of electricity the second it touched her skin. Twilight’s muscles writhed and contorted painfully. The spasms only lasted a few seconds, but seemed much, much longer. When she stopped, sparks were still firing off of her horn uncontrollable, causing the unicorn to flinch.
She felt tired and groggy. Her vision was blurry, and she barely made out the creature moving towards her. Then everything went black.
Shipboard date: April 2nd, 2087, 4:38 pm
The scientific research is currently on going. After extensive analysis the plants that reside in the surrounding areas, I can confirm that they are structurally and functionally similar to plants back home. Tests on atmospheric composition have been inconclusive, due to equipment malfunctions. As of now, I am still forced to wear a life-support suit for safety. I will try to fix the equipment over the next several weeks.
For now, I am collecting specimens of fauna, and what fauna there is! In my extended walks from base camp, I have come across a plethora of complex life forms. Ranging from what appear to be insects, all the way to gargantuan behemoths that remind me of monsters from myths and legends. Luckily the electric field is able to keep the more menacing beasts away. So far I have collected a number of specimens, though I have yet to get around to dissection. I would like to examine their behavior and external anatomy first.
I am quite interested in two specimens in particular. One has the appearance of a zebra, though the stripes are far more elaborate, and the snout is far shorter than a zebra from home. The second specimen is, and I can’t believe I’m typing this, a unicorn. At least that’s what it is in appearance. I am quite interested to see what its horn is used for. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until their sedatives wear off. Until then, I suppose I will start dissections on the less complex organisms. I’ll need to send the reports back to Command when I have finished.
-Dr. Michael A. Zimmer
