Prologue - Secrets in the Beyond

Ponyville, Equestria

Castle of Friendship Observatory

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic and an alicorn of Equestria, peered up at the stars through a telescope, while using her magic to write coordinates on a nearby sheet of parchment. Ever since an interaction with Princess Luna about two weeks ago, she had been engrossed in the study of astronomy every night she could manage.

One night, Princess Luna had noticed a bright flash and pulse of light across the night sky. What concerned the Princess of the Night was that this was not her doing. Using her magic, she had found the source of the anomaly, which was frightening as much as fascinating.

A nearby planet's moon had apparently shattered from a colossal impact or event of some kind. Luna would have disregarded it as a natural event, except she had studied that planet before.

And she knew that it had not been that way previously. Her hunch was proven true when she had surveyed it again, and saw something that astounded her more. A battle between what looked like a fleet of space-faring vessels and another fleet of their opposition was in progress above the planet's surface.

What had amazed Luna was not only her evidence of interstellar life, but how they had developed. For if these beings had created ships capable of travelling to space, what other wonders had they developed in their time?

Luna had kept the matter quiet, only telling Twilight Sparkle while in the dreamscape one night. Luna had asked Twilight to investigate further, as Luna had more prioritized tasks to deal with at the time. Twilight had wholeheartedly agreed to help, and now this was her fourth night of stargazing in search of the beings from the battle above the planet with the shattered moon.

Twilight continued to peer at the stars through her magically-enhanced telescope, taking down coordinates of possible activity. So far, she had found nothing worth further investigation.

Then, as she sat on her cushions, tired as could be, she got an idea. Twilight had recently perfected a Beacon spell, used to send messages quickly between magic users. A recently-tested theory had also allowed her to mass broadcast the spell a long distance.

Hopefully that distance was long enough to reach whoever was out there should she combine and enhance the spells with her magic. Twilight summoned the necessary magical energy and began to prepare the spell, recording her message of welcome and friendship in her thoughts. As she cast the spell, an orb of purple light appeared in front of her, and then expanded and contracted in sync with Twilight's spoken message, before disappearing without a trace.

Twilight, exhausted from lack of sleep and the spell's effects, decided to call it a night. As she slid into bed, her last waking thought was a single question.

"What it's like out there in space?" she murmured before she fell asleep underneath the stars.

However, Twilight didn't know the answer to her question was not as complicated as she thought.

====

"I hate being out here."

Far from Equestria, in the area of space known as The Frontier, on the planet Harmony, aboard the MCS James MacAllan II, a single man lay awake, gazing out his bunk-room's viewport.

The man wore a simple shirt and pants, a far cry from his usual Pilot's gear and jumpkit. He had curly pale brown hair and a thin stubble beard, with piercing blue eyes.

This was Captain Daniel McKenna, a Pilot in the Frontier Militia's Marauder Corps, and leader of Kilo Team, an elite squad of fellow Pilots and his friends. He had seen action on Typhon and other recent Militia operations, and now he had been transferred to Harmony for some R&R.

Most Pilots would've been thrilled at the prospect of a break on the Militia's homeworld, as Harmony was filled with places to go and things to do.

Daniel, on the other hand, was not. He never liked being out of combat for too long, and seeing as his schedule had him on reserve R&R for another week…let's just say Daniel had been having a lot of sleepless nights like this one, where he spent most of the night cycle stargazing or reading instead of sleeping.

"You still awake, man?"

Daniel turned to see his fellow Pilot and teammate Sean Walker, wearing similar clothes but carrying his Pilot helmet with him, sit down on his bunk across from Daniel.

"Yeah." Daniel replied. "Couldn't sleep."

"You've been doing that a lot lately." Sean replied. "Get some sleep, man. You look like you seriously need it."

Daniel shrugged and looked at his bunk with a sigh, as he drowsily rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so." he replied. "I just can't stand R&R. Too quiet, too peaceful...just not what I'm used to."

"I know what you mean." Sean replied. "Hey, Daniel? Do me a favor and come with me planetside tomorrow. I found a great steakhouse earlier today. it was closed then, but it should be open when we arrive."

Daniel chuckled, and then nodded.

"Fine." he said. "You paying?"

"Yeah, I've got credits to spare." Sean said, climbing into his bunk. "Get some sleep, man. Good night."

Daniel replied with the same, and climbed into his own bunk. Somehow, he fell asleep in only a few moments, as the MCS MacAllan II lay amongst the stars, quiet as could be.

Somehow, Daniel's last waking thoughts were that somehow, he might grow to enjoy R&R after all.

====

The next morning, as Daniel and Sean ate in the MacAllan II's mess hall, Daniel had to admit that he felt more energetic and active than he had been in recent days.

"Feeling better?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, much better." Daniel said, taking a bite of his plate of scrambled eggs. Though most food on Militia ships was pre-made and rather bland, most Pilots on R&R bought their own ingredients and cooked for themselves, and Daniel was no slouch when it came to cooking, due to his time in the field, and that cookbooks were freely available on the HoloNet for reading and reviewing.

"Glad to hear it." Sean replied, as he ate his own pancakes. "You know, I've been thinking...you ever know if there's someone else out there? Like, a First Contact?"

"Well, no." Daniel replied. "If they are out there, I'm surprised we haven't found them yet. You know how big the Frontier and Core systems are."

"True." Sean shrugged. "Problem is, we're too busy fighting the IMC to go alien hunting."

"It's funny you two should mention that."

At the sound of that particular voice, everyone in the Mess Hall snapped to attention as Militia Field Commander Sarah Briggs entered the room.

"As you were." she said. "Pilots McKenna, Walker, glad I found you. I need you and your team in the briefing room ASAP. We've got something that might fulfill your curiosities about the extraterrestrial."

"Yes, ma'am!" the two PIlots replied as Briggs headed out. After finishing their meals, they proceeded to the briefing room with haste.

====

As Twilight Sparkle got out of bed and headed downstairs, she jumped at the sight of Princess Luna waiting for her at her Castle's kitchen table.

"Hello, Princess Luna!" Twilight said. "What's up?"

"Not much." Luna replied. "I figured I would stop by and see how your search fares."

"Nothing yet." Twilight sighed as she sat down. "I did cast a beacon spell in the hopes something would respond, but nothing on that end either."

"I see." Luna said. "I actually am impressed you managed to cast a Beacon spell at that scale."

"I didn't know I could." Twilight admitted. "Anyway, is there anything else you needed? Can I get you breakfast?"

As Spike came in with a platter of food, they began to eat and chat, unaware they were being watched from space by a Frontier Militia Spy Satellite, which proceeded to beam its data back to Harmony.

Author's Note

I know this is like, the 5th story I've done for Titanfall 2. Please, just roll with it.