First Contact: From the Mouths of the Ponies

Chapters

Equestria
Dinky Doo
Double Bass
Author's Note: Apology

Equestria

By Zinitrad

Edited by theBSDude

Part 1: Equestria

The air is thin and cold. It is quiet, the soft purr of the atmosphere generators and occasional warp of an arriving cargo ship the only sounds that pervade this place. It is discomforting, for back home, a harbor like this would be filled with hundreds of thousands of people, all rushing from one place to another, searching for transport or unloading ships.

I am standing on the Equestrian skyharbor, titled "Celestial". It is relatively new, minimal operating construction having been completed years ago. Equestria is still not a well- known or well traveled world, making a large skyharbor unnecessary. Looking through the catwalk beneath my feet, I find an unfamiliar green and bumpy landscape, marked unevenly by small numbers of lights. It is very different from the ocean blue sky of my home, or the unending gray and white city scape of Earth. It is very obvious that this world is new to the galaxy, and by extension modern industry.

Equestria is the first member of the H.G.A. to join after the great war. This means they are in a unique position, and can recount their history of contact without it having been blurred or damaged by Hergzine aggression. This is why I have came here, to learn and report, so that the everyday citizens of Sol can learn of the intricacies and aftermaths of a successful first contact.

For those who do not know, Equestria is one of the newest members of our grand and powerful civilization, the H.G.A. They were discovered 54 years ago, and were official members 10 years later. It is a magical world, rich in resources and extremely varied in life. It's dominant species are a race of small, diversely pigmented Equinoids, although they share their world with dozens of other forms of sapient native life.

The system is still largely undeveloped, devoid of sprawling cities, low population, and still being introduced to the uses of modern technology. It is also out of the way and isolated. In order to get here, I had to board a transport from Sol to Lumine, and once there, I had to try 8 times before I found a transport service that had heard of the small world, and was willing to travel the remaining 3800 light years. In total, I am 30000 light years from my home city of Lear, the farthest I have traveled in my 37 years of life.

My journey is not over, however, as I still need to arrange a transport to planetside. While significantly lower than most skyharbors, Celestial is still positioned 12 miles over the planets surface, which is a dizzying height nonetheless. My first step in getting to the planet's surface is exchanging my credits for bits. The Equestrians have not finished restructuring, and so the natives still use their own form of currency: A small gold, silver, or copper coin, called the "bit" featuring the head of Celestia on the gold, the head of Luna on the silver, and the head of the equestrian prime minister on the copper. All copper bits feature the head of the prime minister at the time of minting, so all newly minted copper coins feature the face of Prime Minister Fluttershy Posey.

Looking around the docks, I soon spot an exchange building. It is small and low to the ground, the booths built with the native's size in mind. It was not a very affective height for me however, as my groin was level to the bottom of the window. The clerk was a pony, specifically of the "Earth" variety. She wore a simple blue uniform, with a name tag written in her native language. She had a muddy green coat, a reddish-brown mane, and turquoise eyes.

I placed my money on the table, and requested service.

"Je voudrais à 6000 H.A.G. échange crédits pour les bits Equestres, s'il vous plaît."

She gave me a confused stare, making a noise that sounded like she was nickering.

"Quoi?" I asked.

She looked at me, her confused face being replaced with an awkward stare, and she made noises that sounded like a strange combination of nickers, snorts and whinnies.

It took me about 15 seconds to realize what she was trying to tell me. My translator wasn't working, and not only could I not understand a thing she was saying, but everything I had said had been in my native French, a language she likely had no knowledge of. Excusing myself, I went off to figure out what the problem was.

While they are by no means an exotic piece of magitek, a magical translator is a device that relatively few individuals need to use, and by extension, relatively few know how to use. To work, one must be tuned to the magical signature of the portion of the galaxy you were in. I did not know this, and since the one I had purchased on Lumine was tuned to Lumine, I had believed it was working. I most likely spent hours standing out there, fiddling with the thing before I finally got it to work. Returning to the booth, I tried again.

"Fixed that there thing yet?" For some strange reason, the translator had approximated her for a more "rural" accent. Oh well.

"I would like to exchange 6000 H.G.A. credits for Equestrian bits, please."

"Ooh, gonna' be staying for a while now, are ya'? Let me just ring that up... and... there we go! 7469 bits! I'd imagine yer gonna want ta' make a temporary account planetside so ya' don't have ta' carry it with ya', huh?"

"Yes, I would very much like that." Inside, I sighed, as I knew that with the amount of time wasted on the translator, it would be night before I made it to planetside, and this was only making it worse.

"Well then, just step on up here n' sign these documents and you'll be set!"

Said "documents" resembled a Terran-sized phone book.

"Merde."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finished with the documentation, and satisfied with the knowledge that I would be able to retrieve my money from any major participating bank, I proceeded to have my passport verified by the Equestrian Government.

"Name?" A large white stallion, dressed in a golden armor, was verifying what my ID code would say about me.

"Ian B. Miligaux. Spelled "g-a-u-x", not "g-o-h""

"Alright. System, planet, and city of origin?"

"Sol, Uranian orbit, Lear."

"Reason for traveling?"

"Research."

"Okay, just give us the code and we are good to go." I was surprised at the few number of questions there were. At Lumine I had to verify 3 times as many things.

"Everything checks out, you're ready for transport." He points to a door on the right of the room I am in. "Go through that door and head to teleport chamber C. The operator will arrange for you to be sent to your destination."

Proceeding down the hall, I entered the room. Inside was a tube with a door, a control panel, and behind it, another mare in the blue uniform, this one also an Earth Pony, with an orange coat, yellow mane, and green eyes.

"Hello there! My name is Oxheart Carrot! I will be operating this skyharbor-surface teleporter today! What is your destination?!"

She wore immense grin as she happily shouted her spiel at me from across the room. I thought of the first name on my interview list, and remembered the town in which she resided.

"What station is closest to Ponyville?"

"Ponyville!?" She tapped her chin, apparently deep in thought. "Uummm... Let's see,... Ponyville, that's near Canterlot... I know! The Canterlot Station! That is where you'll want to go! Okay, directions...directions...Ah! You'll want to head to the Canterlot gate, and then you should be able to see Ponyville down in the valley below! You'll probably need to get a taxi or something! Are you ready to go?!"

Still a bit rattled by the shouting, I answered feebly. "Ummm... Yeah, I guess."

"Great, just step into the tube and we will be ready to go!"

I stepped in, and the doors shut. The floor and the ceiling began to glow, and started humming. Eventually the hum grew unbearably loud. I had been on a teleporter before; in fact, I used at least one every time I visited my great-grandmother on Iapetus. However, those teleporters were quality, these were obviously installed for their cheap price. I decided that the mare, Oxheart, must have hearing damage if she operates this without earplugs. It would explain her shouting. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and I was planetside.

Inside the building I had lost track of time, and while it was late, I had no idea just how late it was. Stepping out of the station, I saw that it was nighttime, the skies a dark purple.

From what I had learned, the purple night skies were caused by proximity to the bright galactic core. Similar to, but not as drastic as, Lumine (Often referred to as the system in which it is never night), the relatively short distance from the core causes partial illumination, even after the sun had set. This keeps the planet from ever being truly dark; as what they consider dark, we consider to be just below twilight.

Canterlot is a moderately sized city, at least for one on a planet of this development. If I had to guess, I would say she had a population of 800,000. I noted that the streets were mostly empty. Deciding that it was indeed too late, and that I would need to be up fairly early to make it to Ponyville and meet with my first interview, I decided to search for a place to stay. Coming across a cheap inn, I entered. Though my appearance drew stares from the patrons, I was still offered a place to stay, for what I hoped was a reasonable price.

Entering my room, I settled in, reviewed my notes on their society, and got ready to go to sleep.

Reaching the end of my notes, I found my interview list, and read the first name.

"Dinky Doo, 16 Brightstar Lane, Ponyville."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR'S CORNER

Hello there! My name is Zinitrad, and this is my first real attempt at writing a legitimate fanfic. If you find anything to be confusing about the setting, just ask, or better yet, check out my blog, where I will regularly post background information about the setting that will not often be mentioned in the story.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

If you disliked this story, please tell me why in the comments. I would appreciate constructive criticism.

This story will not be very action filled. The majority of chapters will be written as interviews between Ian and whichever pony/person/sapient organism is the focus of the interview. There will be a semi-dark subplot, and I will update the tags as it occurs. However, for the most part, this is about Ian learning about Equestria's First Contact, (namedrop) from the mouths of the ponies who were there.

If anyone has anything I could use for story art, feel free to present it to me, for I have none. What would be really kick ass is if I could get someone to make a drawing of Ian. If you want to do either, comment me the cover art or PM me for an in depth description of Ian.

xoxoxo - Zinitrad.

Dinky Doo

First Contact: From the Mouths of the Ponies

By Zinitrad

Edited by theBSDude

Part 2: Dinky Doo

"Are you sure you don't want one, dearie?"

The house I am in is small and simple. The architecture is similar to ancient Earthbound European housing, complete with a thatched roof and a wooden support structure. Clashing with its rustic and quaint appearance are the signs of renovation, such as portions of wall that were re-plastered after the installation of electrical wiring, and the presence of electrical devices throughout the building. The mare who owns this house is a 69-year-old unicorn mare named Dinky Doo. She has a light purple-grey coat, a golden-blonde mane, and bright yellow eyes. She was a young adult, 15 years old, at the time of contact in 6214.

Mrs. Doo is a magic educator, employed by the local school to educate young unicorns in the proper use of their magic. She has held this job for 32 years, and plans on retiring soon now that there is someone younger who is fully qualified for the position.

Knowing that I was coming, she had decided to be a gracious host and baked me muffins. Unfortunately, there are issues with the content of said muffin.

"Does it contain hay?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, sorry, but no thanks. Excessive amounts of cellulose isn't exactly the best thing for humans."

Her face falls. "That's just too bad, I wish I’d known that before. They're really good; it's my mother's recipe, you know. She always made the best muffins...."

The room falls into an awkward silence.

I decided to break it.

"I understand you were a teenager at the time of first contact. Could you tell me what that was like?"

"Oh dear, that was so long ago!" she chuckles.

"I understand that; it’s the reason I am doing this: obtaining the information while it can still be considered an eyewitness account."

"Well then, let's see what I can remember..."

~~~~~

"It had been a strange decade, one filled with all sorts of happenings. Every year, it seemed, something new arrived to turn the world into a living Tartarus. Nightmare Moon, Discord, the changeling armies, every year it was something different. Every year, something would attack. Every year, the Elements would stop it. And every year, the new invader would do more damage to lives and property than the last.

" We were sick of it, and scared — worried about what the new year would bring to our doorstep, and the destruction that would follow. We became paranoid, running in fear from the slightest disturbance, making mountains out of molehills, thinking a light breeze was the end of us all. I swear, the number of times Canterlot was placed on high alert, only for it to be a false alarm... It was ridiculous."

I smiled. "So I imagine our arrival didn't help things much."

"You better believe it didn't help! The moment y’all sent that message down, there was a panic like you wouldn't believe."

"Can you tell me about the initial panic?"

She pauses, gathering her thoughts.

"Equestria was in the middle of an ‘aliens’ obsession when that first message was sent. For the majority of our history, we had assumed the stars to be nothing but dots of light on some kind of cosmic dome. The entire concept of the stars being something more, something bigger, was a fairly recent idea. At the time, we were only just becoming aware of the world around us, and the concept of massive galaxies filled with billions of stars was just that: a concept.

"And it was a concept that writers just loved! As soon as those theories started proving true, sci-fi became big. Soon enough, everywhere you went, you would find examples of this craze. Bit novels, radio plays, films, all churned out by the dozen.

"And they were always such ridiculous concepts, too! It would be something completely silly, like invaders from the moon stealing our mares in order to continue their all-male society, and only a small group of teenagers have it figured out. The poster at the theater would feature some cheesy tagline, like ‘Most Shocking!’, or ‘Equestria has never known terror like this!’. So at that point, we were not only paranoid and literally looking for something to run away from, but we were all absolutely obsessed with the concept of an alien invasion."

She leans in. "If you were to’ve told somepony that aliens were comin', you know what they would've said?"

"What?"

"To fetch them their spear and hide the mares, that's what! We were terrified the moment we learned you guys were out there."

I make an attempt to elicit a more personal account. "Do you remember where you were when the panic began?"

"Let's see... Yeah I think so. I was in Canterlot. I was 16 at the time, a couple years out of foalhood. I had moved there to begin my higher education, so that I could become an educator myself. I was hanging out with my friend Firelock at a local hotspot, this donut shop called ‘Pony Joe's.’ Everypony I knew would go there to hang out after school. It was a fun place to go. The food was cheap, it was open all day, and Joe didn't care how long you sat there doing nothing as long as you bought something first. But what really attracted us there was Joe's radio. Back then, Equestrian-made radios were just being released to the public. The military had had them for a few years before then, but that didn't stop them from being ‘cutting-edge.’ You had to have money to have a public radio set in your house, money that most of us didn't have. How Joe afforded one, I don't know. Either way, that thing was what would seal the deal.

"Anyway, like I said, I was there with my friend. It had been just like any other day, everypony was glad that their classes were over, at least until tomorrow, and all anypony cared about was eating some donuts, drinking some coffee, and listening to some tunes. Nopony was expecting anything out of the ordinary."

"What happened?"

"I remember standing around the radio, listening to some new song by a band from Trottingham. I can’t remember who they were anymore... all I remember was they looked like they were going to be big, but they got overshadowed by, well, you know... They just wound up being forgotten, but-"

"Mrs. Doo."

"Oh, sorry about that. Anyway, in the middle of the song, they just cut out. At first we thought the radio was broken, but then the emergency tone began to play. We had all grown familiar with that tone, the city had been put on high alert 7 times that year. We all started jeering, expecting it to just something that would blow over by the end of the week. Eventually though, as the announcer began talking, Joe told us to shush. I... I don't exactly remember what the message entirely was, but I remember the basics of it. It started out like the others did, with a droning voice telling us that this was an official emergency message from Castle Canterlot. But it sounded different that time, like the announcer was shaky and unsure. He began telling us about us of how a message had been picked up on radio, and of how they believed it had came from somewhere beyond the moon. That was when we all started paying attention. They had basically came as close as they could to saying ‘aliens’ without actually saying it. We were all listening intently then, but I don't think any of us believed it yet. We were running through every possible scenario we could. Perhaps it was a joke? Nah, we thought, the princesses wouldn't joke about that. Was the emergency system hijacked? Nah, the guy sounded panicked, not like a different pony. Maybe some magical experiment accidentally got a radio emitter in space? It would've had to be a really powerful radio.

"But then, the announcer pulled out the ace in the hole. He told us that they had received permission to play the transmission for us. I don't know what we expected, maybe vague static, robotic beeps, some of us probably thought it would be in Equestrian or something silly like that. But what played was something completely different. And first we thought it was just complete gibberish; squeaks, growls, and hums accompanied by a series of beeps. But after a few minutes, I'm pretty sure we all began to realize what we were listening to."

"And what were you listening to?"

"A message. A simple message, just the expression of a simple concept, repeated thousands of times, each time in a different language, each language divided by a tone. I know what the message was now, and looking back, the amount of fear it generated was just ridiculous."

"What was the message?"

"It was hello. Hello repeated in every language that was spoken by that giant society you live in. When we heard it we all became silent. We had just sat for a little over an hour, listening to something that was undoubtedly alien. We didn't know what to do. When the message ended, the announcer told us to stay calm, and wait for further news." She sighs. "Great help that was. They turned the music back on, and all the way till the end of the song we were completely silent, stunned and frightened by this new unknown. When it ended, it was like a bomb went off. Everypony started shouting, screaming and worrying over the perceived invaders. Some ponies were shouting about this being the new threat, about how this was what we had been preparing for. A few ponies were crying, sobbing and telling everypony who would listen about this wasn't something we would be able to fight. Others were simply trying to figure out why you were there, whether you were here for our resources, land, us, our mares, or *gasp* because you wanted to be friends! Others, like me, just didn't know what to think. I was confused and worried, but not ready to jump to conclusions about why you were here." She stops and thinks. "I would say that night was the beginning of the panic."

"But it wasn't the end?"

"No. Not by a long shot. Throughout the week, Equestria's citizens flipped out. Everypony battened down the hatch, began practicing with whatever ‘weapons’ they owned, even if it was just a pitchfork. It was some kind of ‘Everypony a soldier’ thing, a belief that if we all fought we would be capable of beating back the ‘invaders from space.’ I even participated in that a bit, training myself to use my old plateball bat as a club. That was just being prepared though, nothing like the Equestrian Protection League. They were absolutely militant about you guys, saying that anypony who wasn't prepared to fight you from the moment you landed was a traitor, to not only Equestria and the princesses, but to the planet. But their leaders were all well known to be racists, so no pony in the government really took them seriously. On the other hoof, there was the alien enthusiasts, who ranged everywhere from the kind souls who honestly wanted to give you a chance, to the despicable ones who were willing to sell out their planet to get on your good side. And there were the real jerks, the ponies who took advantage of the panic for their own gain. They did the most damage during the panic; the looters, snake oil salesponies, and the rioters who took a delicate situation as an excuse to act upon their own perverse desires.

"All throughout this, we kept hearing more and more about new messages. They didn't tell us fully what happened until decades later, part of a, to be frank, poorly thought out attempt to reduce the panic and fear. Really, we only learned about the most major developments. Even then, we still heard plenty. Over a period of 3 months, messages were sent down. The majority of them were images hidden in the form of broadcasts, which unfortunately, we wouldn't learn to decipher until about 2 months later. Eventually, we started sending our own messages back, and while it was fruitless at first, we started making progress when we learned how to replicate the ability to hide messages. We started sending what we considered to be universal symbols, some of which turned out to be less universal than we though. All-in-all, though, we were finally making progress.

"It was 5 months after the first message that we heard the ‘big news,’ that we were arranging a place for you to land so we could meet you. By that time, the official government position was that we were going to meet you on friendly terms, while bringing enough military to hopefully produce a show of force, to, y'know, let you know we weren't going to be just pushed around. The landing zone was decided to be within the mild west, and everypony in power was going to be there. The Princesses, The Captain of the Guard, Commander of the Ground Forces, Wonderbolts, Elements, some of the big Canterlot family heads, all the big name scientists... this was before there was a Prime minister, so obviously, that pony wasn't there. They allowed a small number of civilian ponies to attend, as a way to hopefully ease our fears about you. I jumped on the opportunity as soon as I could, taking my mother along with me."

"So what was it like?"

"I'm getting there! Just be patient!

"Now where was I... Oh! Right. The landing. It was nighttime when the event began. I really don't know about any of the technical details, I mean, I was there as a civilian not as a scientist. I remember that everypony was talking amongst themselves, eager and a little scared to see you all for the first time. We were no longer panicking over you, but we were still a little afraid of the unknown, y'know? Besides, at that point, while us commoners still didn't know much of anything about you, the princesses and those under their employ had been communicating with you for a while, and if they were willing to meet you here, we were okay with their decision. Suddenly, we all heard an announcement from the princesses, one telling us you were due to arrive any moment now. We all stood in silence, waiting, searching for a sign of your arrival. Honestly I was expecting something like a flying saucer, like the ones they always had in the theaters. I don't think we had even begun to imagine what you actually arrived in.

"It was huge. It started its arrival slow, and at first it started out as a little dot, coming out from behind the moon. We ooh-ed and aah-ed, excited by our first, if insignificant, view of your vessel. Eventually, the dot stopped moving, and it just stayed there. If it wasn't for its almost brown color, I would have lost it amongst the stars. We grew silent, waiting in an anticipation that grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. When we thought it couldn't get more awkward, it happened.

"Out of nowhere, where there was once an empty patch of sky, it appeared, its gargantuan scale dominating the skyline. It was unlike anything we had ever seen. It was larger than any building, any tree, any mountain that we knew of. What really messed with our heads was the fact that it was above most of the clouds, nearly all but the ones right before space. It was barely in our atmosphere, in an area long believed to be too cold to fly through. What really silenced us was the fact that the ship was even flying at all! Dozens of miles of steel and glass, just hanging there in space, simply ignoring how much heavier than air it was.

"Moments after we saw it arrive, we heard it arrive. When I was little filly, I thought the Sonic Rainboom was loud. I thought Luna was loud. I had barely even an appreciation of what loud could mean. The sound of it coming out of warp was the most bass-filled, rumbling, loudest, and most powerful thing I had ever heard. The ground shook beneath our hooves, and it was all the engineers could do to keep the site from falling apart from sheer vibration.

"Dazed and confused, we barely noticed the smaller ship that left the bigger one. The smaller one, while large, was more of what we were expecting to begin with. Fairly circular, mostly symmetrical, made out of shiny metal. Sailing through the atmosphere, it took a minute or two before it made it to the zone. One of my favorite parts of that night was seeing it land. Heavier than air non-organic flight wasn't a very well-understood field in Equestria, and the entire concept of a VTOL wasn't something we really thought of as possible. Seeing the ship stop on a dime above the landing zone, and then slowly descend, was breathtaking.

"After landing, the moment we had all been waiting for began. There was a release of air, a pneumatic hiss, after which a door began to open, a door that fit so perfectly, we hadn’t noticed it till that point. The door opened from the bottom, forming a large ramp. And there, at the top of of the ramp, was the reason we were all there, the reason we had been in panic, and the reason we were going to be propelled to the future. One of you.

"It was so strange seeing one of you for the first time. You were so different, but not a way that was too incredibly strange. I'm pretty sure everybody thought you were gonna look like you did in the movies, like a pony made of slime, or a pony with tentacles, or just a pony in a spacesuit. You were something entirely different, like if the love child of a minotaur and a diamond dog got together with an ape." She stops, looking at me with an embarrassed face. "Ummm... No offense?"

"None taken."

"Eheheheh, er... well, um, sorry. Anyway, one of the things that surprised us the most was when the guy you sent took off his helmet. We really weren't expecting what we saw. I mean, you're eyes are just so small,and while there are some hairless critters, they're all just that: Critters. But those eyes, they're just so small, and beady... You sure you're not offended?"

"Yes I'm sure."

We stare at each other awkwardly, and deciding I have gained enough information for today, and that it was getting rather awkward for the both of us, I choose to end the interview.

"Well Mrs. Doo, its been wonderful, but I must get going. Before I leave though, I would like to get a parting statement. If you could summarize what was going through your head that night and say it, what would you say?"

"I would say that the moment one of you stepped out of that craft, every single one of us realized something: For better or for worse, it would never be the same."

~~~~~

AUTHOR'S CORNER

Hey! Zinitrad here, thanks for reading. Took a while for me to write this, and I think it turned out pretty well, and longer than I expected, too!

Still need cover art.

Watches, likes and favorites are appreciated, and if you like the setting, head on over to my blog to learn more about it. Anyway, ciao.

Edit: I have an editor/pre-reader now, a magnificent fellow known as “theBSDude”. TheBSDude’s also the editor of Fallout Equestria: Heroes and the pre-reader of The Elements of Eternity, both of which are wonderful stories that I urge you to read if you have not already

Double Bass

First Contact: From the Mouths of the Ponies

By Zinitrad

Edited by theBSDude

Part 3: Double Bass

"Oh wow, that kid was good. He could stand to work on his stage presence, but I think he could go far."

I am in a nightclub titled the Hangar 9, in downtown Manehattan. It is a fairly new building, only 25 years old, part of the ever growing music scene in the city. The Hangar is owned by offworlders, and was built in the style of a Selenic Myujikkhaus, featuring sleek black metal, reflective green glass, blue tinted lights, and large multi-floor rooms that tighten with elevation, built around a central pillar. I am here with the once extremely active musician Double Bass. The ex-musician is 57 years old, has a light blue coat, a bi-color catalina and ultramarine mane, and red eyes.

Ms. Bass once toured professionally across Equestria under the stage name of dROP, although she still occasionally comes out of retirement to perform for her fans. For the most part though, she has been retired from the music business for 8 years. Although we met at her studio apartment, she chose to conduct the interview here, claiming that she "liked the atmosphere better".

She turns to me. "What did you think of him?"

She is referring to the performer who is at present, leaving the stage. "I really don't have an opinion on it, actually. Never was a big fan of dubstep."

She laughs. "Well that's obvious, considering that was dubstyle."

"Well... er..."

"Aah, its no big deal, man. Not everypony has to like the same things."

"Umm... right. So, you were a child when the contact occurred?"

"Yeah, I was just a little filly when it started...

~~~~~

"My family was a musical one. Both of my moms were performers of some kind, though their areas of expertise and degrees of success were different.

"Vinyl, my biological Mother, was a DJ who worked under the stage name of DJ P0N3. It was kind of a silly name, I mean it would be like if one of you ran about calling yourself DJ H-M4N. She never really became that big of a name, she was just a DJ after all, not a musician. She did briefly go into songwriting, and she did make Equestrian Girls and Love is in Bloom. Even then, Equestrian Girls was one of those 5 minutes of fame songs that everyone forgot about by the end of the month, and Love is in Bloom was basically her one-hit wonder song. She was a good DJ though, so she was able to get by. I think the high point of her career was when they chose her to be the DJ for the first public radio station, Canterlot radio.

"My other Mom, Octavia, played the cello and composed classical music. She was the real moneymaker of the two of them, being paid lots to perform for the wealthy Canterlot elite. She absolutely abhorred mother's music, calling it 'an offense to musical good taste' and 'uncultured'. I don't think mother had a single cultured bone in her body. Honestly, I don't know what they saw in each other. Opposites attract, I guess.

"They had been seeing each other for years before they decided to tie the knot, and it was a year after their marriage that they decided to have me. They chose to use a donor, Vinyl being the recipient. 10 months later, I popped out. That was in 6211. The contact stuff didn't start till I was 3."

"What do you remember about it?"

"I vaguely remember the space craze, though it wasn't much of a big deal for me. Mother loved it though, and she would constantly take me and Mom to the out-door theater to watch whatever B-movie they were playing that week. Mom hated it, and I had just about no idea what was going on, but Mother loved it, so Mom tried her best to like it too.

"Despite having one of Equestria's first radio DJ's as a Mother, we didn't have a radio of our own. Mother was at work when she was told they were putting out an emergency transmission. Mom was watching me at home that day, taking care of me. We never heard the thing, and we didn't learn about the broadcast till Mother came home. I remember her just about smashing the door down when she got back. She was running around, hyperventilating and trying to prepare for who knows what. While I didn't know what it was about at the time, I remember being scared simply because mother was scared. Mother was always laid back and chill, I had never really seen her freaked out before.

The majority of the panic was a blur for me, and for those months my parents never let me out of the house. They would always tell me about how "the streets were too dangerous" and that "it was safer inside". At the time I didn't understand about the rioters and looters, and it was all just one confusing mess for me."

"Is that all you remember of the panic?"

"Hey! What do you want from me, a day by day account? I was three years old and it was a chaotic time! Can you remember when you were that old?"

"Well, no, but-"

"But nothing! You wanted this interview, you can take what you get!

"Where was I... Great, you messed me up... Lets see... Okay. One night I do remember was the night you guys arrived. We didn't go to the landing zone, as mother was still a bit paranoid about what would happen. I remember we were all inside, listening to a description of events over a radio Mom had bought during the panic. The stallion on the radio started yelling about how the ship had arrived, and how big it was, when boom! This rumble starts coming out of the box, everypony's screaming, and the broadcast just cuts out. Thirty seconds later, there's this sound, and the house shakes like as if it was hit by a boulder. Mothers freaking out thinking we were under attack, Mom is doing everything she can to calm her down, and we all run outside. Everypony else seemed to have the same idea, 'cause the streets got real crowded. Everypony was silent, staring in fear at this giant, metal... thing that was just hanging in the sky out west. It was a terrifying moment. It just felt larger than life, crushingly uncertain. We stood there, scared out of our minds, for like, 3 minutes, before somepony came running out of their house yelling about how the radios were broadcasting again, and that no pony was dead.

"It was a good thing that they got the radios working again too, cause I'm pretty sure everypony in Equestria thought that the princesses and everypony there had just been vaporized or something. Seriously, who's bright idea was it to come down in in a way that was loud enough to be heard 450 Celestia damned miles away?"

I continue to press for information. "Is there anything else you can tell me about the contact?"

"Dude, what part of "I was three" do you not understand?"

"Sorry. Well, how about post-contact?"

She calms down. "After you guys landed, you started the integration discussions. That was all the political stuff, like how the government would have to be restructured, how we could begin unifying the planet peacefully, what trade laws we would want in place, how fast the princesses wanted technology to progress, ect.

"All that stuff took a decade, and during that decade, Mother's business was good. She wasn't the only station anymore, and neither was she the only jockey that worked there, but it was still the most listened to in Equestria, and she was still their best. Canterlot radio was the go to place for information on the discussions and to learn about you guys. Along with the music, they talked about all the updates, and they even did a few interviews. The coolest one they did was when they talked with the landing guy, Lenka or whatever his name was."

"Lenko."

"What?"

"Lenko Aderisov. That was his name"

"I was close enough. Anyway, aside from that, I don't think there was much going on that decade. It was nothing like the years before, I was lucky to grow up at a time when the city wasn't being rebuilt every year. I mean, the EPL acted stupid every once in a while, but it was fairly quiet."

"The EPL... That's the Equine Protection League, right?"

"Equestrian Protection League." She smiles, entertained by our immediately reversed roles.

"Right... So what did they do?"

"Acted like idiots, that's what. It's not like many ponies were actually listening to them, they lost most of their members when you guys didn't come down guns blazing. Even then, they still preached about how by participating in discussions, the princesses were engaging in appeasement with tyrants, and were weak. Saying stuff like that, it was like they were trying to get everyone to hate them.

"But they didn't really start becoming a problem until after discussions were over. Sure they protested, and their leaders wouldn't shutup, but they never got violent. When discussions got over... Shit hit the fan."

"Can you give us an example?"

She sighs. "You know how you guys wanted us to unify as a planet? And how the first step was getting on good terms with everyone, and opening the borders? That pissed them off so much. You see, the EPL was racist. Not racist like "I've never seen somepony that looks like that, I should be cautious," I mean racist like "You don't look like me? Disgusting!".

"Now everypony from across the planet wanted in Equestria, the Diamond Dogs, Griffons, Changelings, everything wanted to be part of the newly open nation. That was when the EPL got militant. They started forming militias, claiming that you guys were trying to weaken us from the inside. They claimed that by letting in the "less harmonious races" in, Equestrian society would fall apart; and that since the government was encouraging it, their only option was to for the common pony to fight against it. Less harmonious races my flank! The ensuing crime wave, one which nearly every asshat hardliner pinned on the immigrants, was nearly entirely pony on non-pony hate crime, specifically by the EPL! I was in university when all this happened, and one of my friends there, Laura, was a Griffon, one of the immigrants. I swear, all the shit she had to put up with... it was infuriating!

"And that wasn't even the worst of their freakouts! By Celestia, the shitfit they threw when the position of Prime-Minister was made was unbelievable."

"What led to the creation of that position, anyway?"

"When you all picked Celestia and Luna to represent us on the councils, they decided that it would be best to restructure the government. It used to require both of them being there 24-7, and since they couldn't do that anymore, they needed a new system. They talked to you guys, and you all recommended a parliament and a prime minister. The EPL decided that you guys were restructuring our ways of life so that you could control us easier, and move the princesses out of the way."

She glares at me.

"And while there may be a bit of truth to that, it doesn't warrant their attacks on Prime Minister Pants, or his wife. I mean, damn! What did he did to them, anyway? He was a friggin' Equitarian like no other! I mean, it happened a pretty long time ago, but it still makes me so mad!"

"Ms. Bass."

At the moment, Ms. Bass' outburst has attracted the attention of others in the vicinity. Seeking to rid her of possible embarrassment before it occurs, I change the direction of the conversation.

"Do you have any positive memories of the immediate post-contact period?"

Her face brightens. "Yeah, I guess I did. I mean, it was around then that my career started.

"Like I said earlier, my family was a musical one, and while I was sure they would be happy with me no matter what, I knew they wanted me to have a musical career.

"Problem was, there really wasn't a specific genre I felt like I could be a part of. Classical stuff, like what Mom played, I could never get the hang of. Jazz was great n' all, but I just never have had the lung-power to play an instrument like that. I thought about playing guitar, but those things are damned near impossible without magic or fingers. Being a DJ just didn't appeal to me either. I was going to school to learn music theory, and for the longest time I felt like I was learning something that I would never be able to apply.

"But one day, my Mother received some new records. I forgot who gave them to her, I think it was that Lenko guy or something like that. They all carried popular songs from Sol, music that was entirely alien to us. D+B, House, Trance, Garage... It was all new to us. My Mother took a huge risk in choosing to play them, and it was a risk that payed off.

"Electronica became an overnight success in Equestria. Everypony wanted to hear more, and Canterlot Radio did its best to satisfy them. Eventually, as we were introduced to intergalactic trade, and the records became publicly available, they became the number 1 thing to have.

"The moment I heard that music, I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to do that. It would be a few years before the required equipment became available and before I had saved enough bits, though. Anyways, I started making music in 6231, specifically dubstep. Back then, I was one of the few ponies who were writing and performing "alien" styles. It was then that I started going by the stage name of dROP.

"Like I said, there were other ponies doing it to, although I only really knew about the local guys in Canterlot. Ekwin started before me, and I still think he's one of the best. He mostly did House, which I could never get the hang of. Square Wave was another one, he played around with chiptunes. He never got too big, but I liked his stuff. My friend Laura Renee, I think I talked about her before, she went on to play electroswing, and she was the bomb at it. She never got beyond Canterlot, unfortunately. Too many ponies who judged her for being a griffin before hearing her play.

"Anyway, when I played, I was doing something right, because I started to become real popular. I was being requested all over Canterlot, and pretty soon, I got hired for something all the way in Manehattan. I started touring all over Equestria."

"What was your favorite gig?"

"My favorite gig was performing on the Celestial for the workers who were building it. This was back before it was completed too, and there was a reason they hired mostly pegasi too construct that thing. Being that high off the ground was an interesting experience for an Earth Pony like me.

"Although, I think I'll be having a new favorite one soon."

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, well, you know that "Across the Universe" tour?"

"Vaguely... I've been in transit for the last three months, I'm not aware of most recent news."

"There's this band from Selene, the Conquistadors, they got really big a few years ago. They play various genres, but they're best known for House. Anyway, they recently started up a project, one they're calling "Across the Universe." Basically, what they're doing is organizing a giant traveling music festival. They're calling up performers from all across everywhere, and inviting them to tour with them. It's going to be going everywhere. Dozens of systems, almost a hundred shows, and like the thing says, It's across the galaxy.

"And guess who they invited?"

"You?"

"Damn Straight! In 2 months, they're gonna pick me up, and I am going to get to be in the first intergalactic show. Its gonna be amazing! You're going to be seeing this face a lot more, I'll tell you that."

With a grin on her face she looks out to the current performer. She stares, listening to his music, her face appreciative as she takes in and appraises the sound. Turning back to me, I await her analysis on the newcomer.

"Yeah, this guy's totally garbage.

"I'm thinking its about time I left. If you need to continue your interview, I know this place that sells the most totally kick-ass smoothies. Wanna' go?"

"Thanks, but no thanks, Ms. Bass. I have another interview in the morning, and its getting late. Still getting over the "jet lag", so I need to get my sleep. Before I go, how about a closing statement. If you could give me your opinion on the post-contact period, in less than 10 sentences, what would it be?"

"It was a time when a lot of things changed. A lot of ponies got mad, and we were forced to open ourselves up to societies and cultures we had done our best to stay away from. It wasn't the best, and I don't think anypony truly enjoyed it. But the world we live in today, the POST-post-contact... It was entirely worth it.

"They say it's darkest before dawn, and in our case, I would say that was true. It was really dark for a while, but that darkness gave way to the most beautiful sunrise we're ever gonna' see."

~~~~~

AUTHOR'S CORNER

Woohoo! 30 favorites personal milestone acheived!

Anyway, now to the commentary.

Still need an editor, although you guys don't seem to have much of a problem with it.

Still would love some cover art.

I may be posting this early, but don't expect to see a new chapter after this one until the eleventh. I got this out of the way and posted it early so I could take a vacation from writing.

In case you couldn't figure it out from her description, double's "donor" father is supposed to be Blues Noteworthy.

Anyway, next chapter on the eleventh.
It will be about changeling immigrant Vivamus, who was a hatchling at the time of contact. She will talk about growing up informationally in-the-dark during the discussion decade, the mass exodus from the Badlands after the signing of the peace treaty and opening of the Equestrian border, and the hardships she faced while making a living in a society that still viewed her not as an equal.

-xoxoxo Zinitrad

Author's Note: Apology

Okay guys, I know I said I would deliver on the 11th, but it looks like I'm going to have to delay it a bit.

School's been kicking the crap out of me lately, so I have limited time to write and I am still not finished with the latest chapter.

However I have been working on it on and off, so don't think this story is dead. Just know that when it comes to deadlines I am terrible.

While I am here I would like to put out some thanks.

First off, thank you theBSDude, for agreeing to be my editor and editing the already submitted chapters. You've been awesome.

(theBSDude is also the editor for Fallout Equestria: Heroes, by No One, and the proofreader for Elements of Eternity, by Aura Burst.)

Second off, thank you Shalrath, for the long and amazing discussions on sci-fi horses within the chat, free in-blog advertisement, and being an all round awesome dude and writer.

(Shalrath is the author behind "The End". It is an amazing story, that based on what little he has told me, is going to be even more amazing as time goes on. Seriously, if you like my shit, check out his. It's infinitely better and actually has science to explain stuff instead of lolmagic.)

And as a last parting thing, just to prove to you I have been working, have the very beginning of the coming chapter early.

~~~~~

"I try to make myself look like one of them, most of the time. I like to keep my eyes, though. I think they're beautiful."

I am within a moderately sized home, within the suburbs of Manehattan. It was constructed post-contact, and because of this, there are no obvious marks where the installation of modern amenities occurred. While not being too terribly large, it is of perfect size for the couple who live within it. The home is owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Daze, who have been happily married for 26 years.

At the present I am speaking with Mrs. Vivamus Daze, wife of Shady Daze. At first glance, she resembles a pegasus, with an ashen black coat and a greenish blue mane. However, upon further examination, you would notice a very distinct feature. Her eyes. Instead of the mammalian eyes possessed by most ponies, Viv's eyes are multifaceted and iridescent. The reason for this is that Viv is not actually a pony.

In a flash of green, the faux-pony transitions into her true form.

"Its much less stressful on the neighbors this way."

~~~~~

Anyway, sorry for the delay, will try to release actual chapter before the next week is over, hopefully.

-xoxoxo Zinitradd