As Twilight Sparkle slipped out of bed at the light of the dawn, she wiped her eyes clear and binked drowsily at herself. She stretched her wings, and proceeded downstairs to the alluring smell of breakfast on the stove.

"Morning." Spike the Dragon said, handing her a plate of eggs and hay bacon. "You get enough sleep, Twilight?"

"Yes, I did." Twilight replied. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been staying up later and later due to your astronomy." Spike raised an eyebrow. "I don't think it's a good idea."

''And why, pray tell, is that?" Twilight replied. "Are you worried that I'm not getting enough sleep?"

"That, and Twilight, remember the last time you stayed up to work on something, and you didn't get to bed until three in the morning?" Spike sighed. "And how you basically sleepwalked through several meetings until you face-planted into the table? I don't want that happening again."

"That is true." Twilight sighed, looking at the dragon with a smile. "Okay, Spike. I'll get to bed sooner tonight."

"Thanks."

As they ate their morning meal and cleaned up afterward, Twilight looked over the agenda sheet she had stuck to the entrance of the main hall.

"So, what's happening?" Spike asked.

"Nothing much." Twilight said. "We are meeting the girls in the park in about an hour, so what do you want to do until then?"

"Take a walk?" Spike suggested.

"Sure thing."

As they exited the castle and entered the morning light, they didn't notice a small spark of light in the sky, directly in orbit.

====

"Commander Briggs, we've made it." the MacAllan II's helmsman reported. "We've reached the pulse's origin coordinates."

"Copy." Briggs replied from her station. "Get me Pilot McKenna and his team. tell them to make ready for surface recon, see if they can scout us a landing zone."

"Yes, ma'am!"

As the Grunts relayed the Commander's orders, Briggs had to stop and admire the pristine world below them. Most worlds, thanks to the war between the Frontier Militia and IMC, were severely damaged in terms of environment and resources. This planet looked like it was completely untouched by the strife around it.

"Commander, I've got something!"

Briggs pulled herself away to see a Grunt analyzing surface scans at his station beckon her over.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I've got strange readings from the surface." the Grunt said, moving the holographic display. "Scans are showing a vast amount of lifesigns on the surface. At least seven types so far."

Briggs gave a murmur of thought. This planet, according to the Militia's latest intel, was uninhabited and unoccupied by the IMC or the Militia.

"What are we looking at?" Briggs requested.

"I'm seeing several distinct centers of population in this area here." the Grunt said, motioning to a large fertile area in the mid northern hemisphere. "In fact, our best bet at a landing zone is right on top of this presumably-inhabited settlement. Either we need to make ourselves completely unnoticeable when we land, or…"

"Or what?"

"Or we should prepare for unconfirmed first contact." the Grunt said. "I'd recommend we stay in orbit until we know that the locals won't attack us on sight."

"Copy." Briggs sighed. "Tell Pilot McKenna and his team they'll be deploying with their Titans. Strict rules of engagement, and make sure they drop far enough away from that village so we don't startle the locals."

"Yes, ma'am."

As the Grunt sent Briggs's instructions, the Commander headed out of the Bridge towards the deployment bay.

====

As the seven Pilots assigned to Kilo Team finished their briefing with Commander Briggs, each of them began checking their weapons and equipment with haste. They were the tip of the spear for the Militia's surface recon, and being unprepared for a task like this was a death sentence.

Which is why the Pilots packed non-lethal shock ammo alongside bullets into their armor pouches, and in order to reduce the possibility of lethal force, took Electric Smoke grenades instead of Frags or Satchel Charges.

"So, we all set?" Asked Captain Daniel McKenna.

"Yep." Sean Walker replied. "All kitted up. The Commander told us to deploy when ready, and in a scattered pattern, one a a time to reduce risk of detection."

"And you'll be first, Danny." said Chase Dawes. "Find us a good LZ this time, okay?"

"Since when have I not?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Might I remind you of Operation Nightshade?"

"That was luck." Kelly Wright smirked.

"Call it what you want, Kelly, I still saved lives that day." Daniel smirked. "Alright, all set. I'll see you on the surface."

"Don't get killed." Sasha Voryunov said, with Helena Seiman waving casually. Daniel gave a thumbs-up as he mounted the Pilot Seat of his Vanguard-Class Titan, IN-2632.

"We set, Indy?" he spoke.

"All set, Pilot." IN said in a masculine, yet slightly jovial tone. "T-minus 30 seconds to insertion."

As the countdown played on Daniel's HUD, he checked that his R201 Carbine, modified to his standards, was right next to him in the weapon rack.

Then, the countdown hit zero, and Daniel felt the air give under his Titan as he plummeted through the lower atmosphere, with the familiar rumbling of the pod relaxing him as much as it could.

''5, 4, 3, 2, 1…" the Titan spoke over the speakers. "Warning, unknown energy signature."

"What's going on?" Daniel asked as the pod was dragged astray from the pre-planned drop point. "Why aren't we moving?"

"Something has taken hold of the insertion pod and is moving it away from our landing zone. I would recommend bracing for impact." his Titan reported.

"We biting the dust?" Daniel asked.

"The odds that we will not survive impact are low, but there is a chance." Indy replied. "Brace for impact now, Pilot. Initiating manual ejection."

====

Twilight hadn't believed Rainbow Dash when she said she saw a giant metal rock hurtling towards Ponyville on one of her high-level flights.

Then, she saw what Rainbow was referring to, along with at least three-fourths of Ponyville's population. As she snared it with her magic (A difficult feat, due to the object's speed and mass), she proceeded to adjust its course and land it in the plain south of her new Castle.

As she did just that, the object burst into pieces inexplicably, and something smaller than the initial object, but still very large, smashed into the ground in front of her castle. Had it landed thirty feet in front of itself, it would have smashed Twilight's new home to bits.

As the dust settled, Twilight and the other citizens approached whatever it was that exited the object. It was bipedal, and hunched over from its landing. Colored gray, yellow, orange, and green in a speckled pattern, it also featured a skull logo on it's left shoulder, with some accompanying text.

MCOR - IN 2632

And on it's right shoulder were multiple slashes made in white paint, around seven of them in total.

It also featured a metallic eye set in its upper body, above the arms. A long object was strapped to its back, with a drum or barrel of some kind attached to it. Finally, two black boxes on hinges were locked on its shoulders.

Nopony move or dared maked a sound. That is, until the creature spoke in a masculine voice, rough-toned and plain.

"Indy, are we alright?"

"Manual ejection complete, Pilot. Ocular systems are currently recalibrating from impact. Central datacore, weapons, and main chassis are intact and at 100 percent operation capacity. Reestablishing motion controls now." said a second voice, more artificial-sounding, but still masculine.

Then, the creature stood up to a massive height, and peered down as its eye turned blue. As it swayed side to side, eyeing the residents, the first voice spoke one thing the Equestrians weren't expecting to hear.

====

"Fuck me." Daniel spoke in a growl as his Titan's ocular feed displayed the frames of lots of equine beings, all pastel-colored and varied in size and shape. Some had a horn, others had wings, but some had neither.

But one in front, a female by the looks of it, had both. She had dropped her jaw at the profanity uttered, and by the way she was frozen, was stunned silent.

"Indy, get us out of here." Daniel ordered. "We need to move."

"Understood." the Vanguard-Class replied as it broke off into a sprint following its' Pilot's controls, tearing off towards an overgrown-looking forest. As he detached and loaded his XO16 Chaingun with 20MM AP rounds, he didn't see or hear six of the equines begin to speak avidly in English.

====

"What in the name of Celestia was that?" Rainbow Dash gaped as the creature ran towards the Everfree. "Come on, let's go after it!"

"Wait, Rainbow!" Twilight replied, using her magic to snare the pegasus and preventing her from flying off. "We're jumping to conclusions here!"

"How so?" Rarity asked. "That thing…"

"One, I think we're dealing with two things, since we heard two voices. Two, despite the profanity, it spoke fluent Equish. And three, this isn't something we should handle." Twilight said. "We're dealing with a being that could probably crush us into paste with ease, judging by the footprints it left, so I don't think that we're going to stand much of a chance against it."

"What are you getting at?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"We're sending a letter to Celestia and getting some of the Royal Guards here." Twilight said. "Once we find it, we can try to talk to it, see if its friendly."

"And if it isn't?" Rainbow asked.

"We try to convince it otherwise, that we're not a threat to it." Twilight sighed, knowing how confrontational her friend could be. "I'm not resorting to violence, Rainbow. That creates more problems than it solves when it comes to making friends."

Rainbow huffed and followed the Element Bearers back to the Castle as the crowd slowly dispersed out of fear.

====

It didn't take long for Princesses Celestia and Luna, along with a platoon of Solar and Lunar Guards each to arrive once the letter was sent. As they departed for the Everfree, Celestia pulled Twilight aside.

"I'm relieved you did what you could, Twilight, but there's something I need to tell you." she whispered. "I think I know what these beings are after. It's just a hunch, however."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Many years ago, a vessel known as the Odyssey came to Equestria." Celestia said. "My sister and I exchanged pleasantries with the vessel's captain, a being called MacAllan. He didn't stay long, due to the fact he was being hunted, as he put it. We gave him supplies and information in exchange for letting him stay in a remote corner of Equestria, away from prying eyes, for one month and not a day more."

"When that month ended, MacAllan and the Odyssey left and never returned." Celestia continued. "I believe the beings you saw may be searching for him."

"Are they friendly?" Twilight asked.

"MacAllan told us that his kind would see us as allies or enemies depending on our actions." her mentor said as they entered the Everfree, following the massive footsteps that the creature had left behind. "So we must be careful. Exceptionally careful."

As Twilight nodded and the two of them led the way into the Everfree, they didn't notice six more objects come down near the slopes of Whitetail Mountain.

Author's Note

Yep, Celestia knows James MacAllan.

How? See the next chapter for more details and first contact.