An Unearthly Filly - Part 1
Susan, my dear child, the time has come for us to depart...
I can hardly hear him as the blood pulses in my ears. The low rumble of the engines persists in the distance, and flashing lights zip and zoom across the control panel before me. I understand, though. It is time for us to leave Gallifrey at last. I put my left hoof up to a screen and tilt it in my direction.
Now remember what I told you - those three panels are yours to control, and these three are mine. On my word, push the silver lever all the way forward. I'll quickly recalibrate the shields to counteract the pressure of the time vortex, and we'll be off.
Ready, Susan? Alright, push it child! Go on!
I put my weight into the lever, and it clicks forward, putting the machine into gear. It is here that I catch the sound that will ring out in my brain for the rest of my life - the deep howling screech that signals take off. I have heard it many times before, but faintly. I have heard it in the distance as others have left the planet. I have heard it at school and I have heard it when I sleep. But never before have I heard it from within.
The howling stops. For a moment, we are idle in space and time, the whole of existence swirling around us in a mass of chaotic beauty. But the moment ends rather abruptly, with the internal computer removing the holo-starchart from our vision. We are back at the six-tier controls, ready to seek our destination.
So what will it be, Susan? he asks me eagerly, The
Oh, my, it seems we've had a power failure. Check for me, Susan, what are the readings.
...
...Oh my. Oh dear, dear, dear this is bad. It appears we'll need to seek assistance from the locals. I must say, I have no idea what to make of this planet. It's certainly not like any we've seen before. Atmosphere reads normally, and their species appears to be an intelligent form of equine not dissimilar to our own genome, but there is something else. Something odd in the air, something, ah, I can't quite tell. The scanners have noticed it too, but they tell me nothing of its manifestation.
I wonder how we'll fare in this... Equestria. Only one way to find out, I suppose. Come along, my dear child!
