Chapter 1: They Came From Above

"We will be invaded. Not by land or sea, but from above. Enemies will become friends, and send their champions to battles that will decide the fate of the planet."

~~Oracle of Prancetras.

January 31, 1012 14:38 hrs. Skies near Cloudsdale, Equestria
Twirly Whirly stared out from the cockpit of her Spitfire, overlooking Cloudsdale proper. The light gray mare with an orange mane flew alongside one other plane. They were flying a routine exercise, as well as serving as a deterrence for any long-range Changeling bombers. Spitfire. She couldn't help but chuckle at the name.

"What's so funny?" Twirly Whirly started at the sound of her wingpony, Gel Layer. Twirly Whirly realized she must have left her radio in transmitter mode.

"Just thinking about how the fighter is named after her."

A moment of silence before Gel replied, "Yeah. Kinda disappointed that they didn't name it after Rainbow-"

Her radio crackled as a familiar voice interrupted him, "Tornado-1, Tornado-2, this is Nexus. Deviate course to absolute bearing 317 degrees. Confirm, over."

Twirly blinked, glancing over to Gel Layer's craft which was flying beside her. She could just make out the aquamarine mare topped with a wild red mane. Twirly replied, "Tornado-1 Confirms. What's going on? Over."

"RADARs has picked up a contact near Oleander bearing 146 degrees. Your course deviation puts you on an intercept path, ETA 20 minutes. Over."

As Twirly and Gel changed their direction, the realization suddenly hit them. Gel Layer put it to words first, "Hold on, Nexus. That would mean the contact is traveling faster than the speed of sound. Are we sure it's not an error or something? Over."

"Multiple RADAR stations have confirmed the same reading, Tornado-2. Your orders are to get visual confirmation, identify it, and if it's Changeling engage it. Tornado-1, confirm orders. Over."

"...Tornado-1 confirms. Over and out," said Twirly Whirly.

Gel Layer switched to a private channel, "How in Equestria are we supposed to shoot down a plane going faster than the speed of sound?"

Twirly Whirly heard the twinge of nervousness in Gel's voice. Twirly shook her head trying to put on a brave face, "Dunno. Let's hope it's not Changeling."

"What else could it be? It's certainly not one of ours. The only things I know that can go that fast are alicorns and Rainbow Dash."

Twirly let out a shaky breath, "I don't know."

The conversation died down as they flew in relative silence, the only notable sounds being the roar of the Roll-Rice WizardTM V12 engine and the sound of the wind buffeting the cockpit. Twirly glanced at the fuel indicator. They had just taken off when they were given the orders, so they didn't have to worry about fuel.

Twenty minutes came and went. The radio crackled to life, "Nexus to Tornado, RADAR says the contact suddenly stopped moving. You should be getting in visual range. Report the plane's identification and engage as necessary."

"...Wilco. Tornado-1 out," said Twirly.

They scanned the skies for a few moments. Gel suddenly spoke up, "Think I see it. 10 o'clock... What in Celestia's name...?"

Twirly looked in the direction Gel pointed out and for a brief moment felt a wave of relief wash over her, the craft obviously not Changeling. That short wave of relief was quickly dwarfed in comparison by the tsunami-like wave of unease the more she stared at it. The duo reduced their throttle as they approached the unknown craft in stunned silence.

"Tornado-1, report. Over," Nexus prompted Twirly to respond.

"...it's a UFO..." Twirly said softly.

"Say again, Tornado? It sounded like you said UFO. Over."

"It's...it's a UFO. Over," said Twirly, louder. Twirly briefly wondered if she had gone insane and was simply seeing things.

Silence again reigned for a short time before Nexus's voice came over the radio again, "Tornado-2, please identify the craft. Over."

Twirly felt a bit miffed at that, as Nexus's tone implied he didn't believe her. Gel Layer, however, was obviously on her side, "Twirly's right. It's not a Changeling plane. Or Equestrian. Or Griffon. I don't know what it is..."

There was a sigh over the radio, "...alright. Describe the craft, over."

Gel replied as they got close enough to get more details, their Pegasi vision aiding them, "It's, uh, tan in color. It looks like it has two wings, but they're in the wrong position; the wings are pointing backwards. I think it has a fuselage, which is round. Kinda disk-shaped. No visible cockpit. Doesn't have a propeller, so I dunno how it's airborne. Uh, over."

"What's it doing, over?"

"It's...hovering. I'm not sure it even knows we're here, over."

Indeed, the craft was hovering. Granted, it was not completely still as it drifted to and fro but it stayed in a small area that no other terrestrial craft could hope to do. Nexus spoke, "...alright. Stand by, we need to info-"

The UFO suddenly turned away from them, showing two glowing lights coming from a purple set of attachments on the disk-like fuselage. Said lights suddenly increased in their luminosity, and the craft suddenly accelerated. A thunderous crack jolted the two as the UFO accelerated past the speed of sound in a matter of moments.

"Tornado, what's going on? The UFO suddenly started moving again," said Nexus, "We're also getting odd interference, over."

As Nexus spoke over the radio, there was also a faint droning noise in the background. To Twirly, it sounded like a mix between a Theremin and otherworldly synthetic notes. Gel replied, her radio affect by the same interference, "The UFO just turned and accelerated! Fuck, that thing is fast...wait, it's turning back around--oh shit! Tornado-1, break down! BREAK DOWN!"

Twirly saw that the UFO had finished it's wide turn and was coming straight at her. She pitched the nose of her Spitfire down, going into an impromptu dive. Pegasi were one of the species adapted to handle excessive g-forces and the thinner atmosphere at high altitudes. That said, they weren't immune. Twirly's vision was tinted a light red as the blood rushed into her head from the negative g's acting on her. As she accelerated into her dive, the vibration of the UFO shooting past where she was moments ago shook her to the core.

"Tornado squadron, respond! Is the craft engaging you, over?!" cried Nexus, his voice becoming faint as Twirly pulled up out of her dive and had the blood rush away from her head.

Gel Layer replied, "Negative! The UFO is flying away but it almost hit Twirly. Whoa..."

Twirly looked back at the UFO to see it ascend at a 60 degree angle, condensation forming over the top of the craft. Within moments the UFO was little more than a speck in the distance, and soon enough it disappeared entirely from view. A second later Nexus spoke, "Tornado, we just lost RADAR contact. What happened, over?"

Gel replied, "The UFO bugged out. It flew up. We lost visual, over."

"Up? Up where, over?"

"...space, I guess. Over."

"...alright, stand by," started Nexus. The interference was gone now. In the background, Twirly could hear Nexus speaking to somepony else, "What? ...yes, Ma'am, I'll tell 'em."

Nexus addressed them again, "Tornado 1 and 2, RTB. After touchdown, report directly to Captain Spitfire's office for a debrief. You are not to speak a word about this until then, understood? Over."

The duo reformed their wing and started their way back. Twirly replied, "C-copy that. Tornado 1 over and out."

Gel Layer immediately picked up on Twirly's stammer and spoke over a private channel, "Hey, Twirly, you alright?"

Twirly let out a shaky sigh, noting that her limbs were trembling post adrenaline-rush, "Yeah...I'm fine..."

February 2, 1012. 12:03 hrs. 3 km North-East of Shire, Equestria.
Barrel Fire's hooves crunched through the crisp snow as he walked back to the sniper nest. The nest was hidden just behind the tree line, on a hill overlooking a road. Barrel had left to get two C-ration packs back at the camp they'd made nearby; Hay & OatmealTM wasn't very tasty, but it was filling. They were part of a forward observational team tasked with watching one of the roads leading to the heart of Equestria.

Their orders weren't to engage should they spot any Changelings, but instead had set up explosive charges along the road and certain trees. That should buy them time to escape and tell the army proper. This resulted in that unless they got new orders their entire schedule was to sit in place and watch the road, which was very, very boring.

He reached the base of the tree where the sniper nest was built on top of, reminding him of the treehouse that he and Snap Shot would play in as foals, "Hey Snaps, got lunch."

"'Kay. Toss it up," Snap Shot replied. Barrel fire smirked, and chucked it up. The nest was little more than a wooden rectangular box with camouflage, with two sides open. It was just big enough to allow one to do acts such as eating, but was too narrow to turn around and face the other direction. With no ladder or rope, it was a structure with Pegasi in mind.

The C-ration sailed over the silver and yellow tail sticking out from one side to land next to the blue-coated mare's flank, "Wrong fuckin' side, jackass!"

Barrel snickered as Snap Shot scooted back enough to grab the can. Pulling out a small heater, he began to warm up his own can, "Still can't believe you eat those cold, 'specially in this weather."

"And I still can't believe you're such a bitch, Bars," came the reply from above, accompanied by the sound of the mare opening the can.

Barrel Fire simply chuckled, long used to Snap Shot's crass and vulgar nature. The blue stallion had known the Pegasus since they were both foals. Not much had changed since then, although his orange and red mane had been longer back then. That, and the fact they were now fighting in a war.

Barrel's mood plummeted. While he did make friends back in his old regiment--serving as part of a mortar team-- because he and Snap Shot were foalhood friends and that they had went through basic training together, Barrel did everything he could to transfer to Snap Shot's squad. He did it, he told himself, to make sure Snap Shot didn't get into trouble due to her personality, which happened even as an adult. In truth, he simply wanted to be with her.

"What the fuck?"

Snap Shot's voice snapped Barrel out of his musings. He looked up at the nest, "What's up?"

"I think I see something," Snap Shot's voice sounded uncertain.

Barrel Fire's heart rate started to increase, "Changelings?"

"I...don't know."

Barrel blinked, "What do you mean you 'don't know'?"

"I said I don't fucking know, alright?" Snap Shot snapped back at him, "I see an aircraft but it's flying...wrong."

Barrel scanned the skies, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, "I don't see anything."

"Then use your binoculars, dumbass. It's to the South-West."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Barrel quickly pulled out his binoculars and scanned the section of the skies once again. Because they were at a higher elevation than the surrounding area, they could see well into the horizon. After a moment or two, he saw a dot on said horizon. Almost immediately several warning signs went off in his head. The dot moved across the sky like a Pegasus or other flying creature, but at that distance an individual couldn't possibly be big enough to be seen. At this distance he couldn't make out any details other than it having no moving parts, which ruled out the possibility of it being a dragon.

Its flight pattern was odd, to say the least. He saw it move to the left in a distance he guessed to be around half a kilometer, crossing this distance in a matter of seconds. It then stayed in place for a moment before crossing back to the right, traveling an equal distance to the right once it returned to its starting position.

It repeated this pattern of movement, each cycle having it grow in size as it flew closer to them. Barrel Fire sucked in a sharp breath as he realized it was heading straight in their direction. Currently he estimated it to be three kilometers away, but that distance was getting shorter and shorter. As it drew closer, Barrel could make out more details. Immediately he could tell it wasn't Changeling or Equestrian.

"What the fuck is that?" Snap Shot said

Barrel Fire looked up at the sniper nest, "What do we do, Snaps?"

Snap Shot was technically a higher rank than Barrel Fire, but the two usually treated each other as equals. This time, however, Barrel didn't know what to do. Maybe Snap Shot did.

"I don't know."

Or not. Barrel looked back to see the UFO had stopped moving. Considering how it moved before, he believed that the craft was facing in their direction. It hovered at what looked to be 100 meters above their current eye level, "What's it doing?"

"I don't-"

With a loud thrumming boom, the UFO accelerated rapidly towards them. Once he realized it would pass over them at a dangerous altitude, Barrel yelled to Snap Shot as he threw himself to the ground, "Snaps! Get down from there!"

"I KNOW!" she said, followed by grunting as she scooted backwards. Were it a Changeling patrol or aircraft, she would have had ample time to get down. However, the UFO's speed was obscenely faster than anything they'd seen. Snap Shot had only her forelegs inside when the craft passed overhead.

The sonic boom rattled the two to their core, forcing their ears to lie back on their head. Snap Shot lost her grip, falling, "SHIT!"

Snap Shot hit the ground hard. The wind was knocked out from her lungs with a grunt as she landed on her side. She wheezed, her body trying to restart her lungs after the forced reset. The sharp pain localized to her wing joint didn't help. She laid in the snow, eyes clenched as she tried to take in the cold air once again.

Barrel Fire rose to his hooves, shaking off what snow he could, and looked back at the UFO. He looked just in time to see the craft pull up sharply. Barrel marveled at that action. Any other craft known would be ripped apart trying to pull such a sharp climb. Heck, any terrestrial craft would fly apart trying to go that fast or at least be very close to flying apart. A groan coming from the ground beside him interrupted his thoughts.

Barrel Fire trotted over to Snap Shot, who rolled over to her other side, "Snaps, you okay?"

Snap Shot grunted, "Yeah...I'm fine," she flexed her wing. Agony laced through her body, "N-nope! Not fine! F-fuckin' wing's broken."

"Can you walk?"

Snap Shot's gray eyes glared into his green ones, "I said my wing's broken, not my legs, dumbass."

"...right."

Snap Shot rolled over and gingerly stood to her hooves, her wing laying limply at her side, "Fuck...ow..."

Barrel Fire grimaced, walking to Snap Shot's fallen sniper rifle and slinging it over his shoulder, "We need to head back. Get that wing looked at."

"And tell 'em what? What the fuck was that, Bars?"

Barrel Fire didn't have an answer.

February 4, 1012. 21:37 hrs. Woods between Östskog and Vaverfront, Changeling Olenia.
Sarus Purifia shifted on the log he was sitting on at the campfire. Shivering slightly, he rubbed his sides. His uniform did little against the cold. It wasn't snowy or windy, thank the Queen, but at night it was still below freezing. A younger Changeling was sitting next to him and swore, "Why again are we out here? We should be near the front lines, yeah?"

Sarus managed to keep his teeth from chattering long enough to reply, "So our division can respond if the Equestrians manage to invade Olenia by sea."

The younger one, Korax if Sarus recalled correctly, harrumphed, "Still, I wish to go to the front lines. To kill ponies."

Sarus shook his head. Korax was one of the replacements to the squad for the losses they suffered during the invasion of Olenia. Sarus himself took part in overtaking Vaverfront and Hjortland. He'd seen firsthoof what war was about. While he would no doubt do what his country needed, including killing others, he wasn't as eager as some of the newer recruits. He was actually glad to be in a reserve unit, even if it did mean freezing his chitin hide off in the middle of the woods.

The sound of snow crunching came up behind him. He looked back to see his friend Fotis walk up from behind. Like always, he had a cigarette in his mouth, this time lit. The pack of cigarettes floated beside him in his magical grasp before opening, "You want one?"

Sarus raised a hoof and shook his head, "You know I don't smoke, Fotis."

Fotis shrugged and sat on a log near the campfire. Sarus himself sat on another one. He looked over their camp. Currently, it was occupied by two different squads. One squad would have its members have the job of keeping watch while the other squad rested. This night, it was Sarus's squad, and it was Sarus's turn to keep watch.

Speaking of, Sarus realized it would be prudent to go to the bathroom beforehoof. He suddenly rose, Fotis and a few others looked at him curiously, "I need to relieve myself."

Fotis nodded and Sarus left. The pit latrine was located out of view of the campsite proper, the glow of the campfire barely visible behind him once Sarus arrived. Sarus quickly entered, trying to ignore the smell. He squatted over the hole and tried to relax.

The snap of a twig behind the outhouse made his teal spines on his head stiffen. The sound came from behind, away from the camp. Bodily needs now forgotten, Sarus exited the latrine, "Hello?"

No vocal response. As Sarus made his way around the latrine, he heard an odd whooshing sound that got quieter as the source moved away from him. Against better judgment, Sarus began to follow. Walking further into the woods for a minute or two he followed the sound before it suddenly stopped. Sarus stopped, the campfire no longer visible. The whooshing was now replaced with the crunch of footsteps on the snow and a faint warble-like sound.

The Changeling gunner realized he didn't have any firearms on him, only his flashlight. He swore and swallowed, turning it on. The woods were illuminated in front of him, but he couldn't see the source of the noises. There was a thicket in front of him a few meters in length. The sounds came from behind the thicket, seemingly undisturbed by the sudden influx of light.

Sarus let out a breath, watching it form in the cold air in front of him. Steeling himself, he began to walk closer. His heart rate increasing and thudding in his chest, Sarus briefly wondered if this was a good idea. It probably wasn't, as the only weapon he had on him was a single grenade. Still, he made it this far and was genuinely curious about what was making the noises. Sarus walked around the end of the thicket, stopped and stared at the creature before him.

It stood on two legs, a novel sight to the Changeling. It was tall compared to him. The average Changeling and Pony height ranged from 4 to 4.5 feet tall, with Sarus measuring just under 4.5. The creature before him stood over 5.5 feet. Sarus initially thought it had orange skin before realizing it was dressed in a full body skin-suit. The creature's chest and head was covered in white armor. Four red luminescent dots arranged in a rhombus were on the front of the helmet. The armor had two teal lines running vertically highlighting the armor. White, thicker highlights ran horizontally on the arms and legs at various angles. It had a belt on its waist. On it hung an arrangement of what were no doubt tools, but Sarus didn't have the foggiest idea of what they could do. On its back jutted out two structures made of the same white ceramic-like material the armor was made from. They reminded Sarus of Pegasi wing bones, and he wondered if they had a similar purpose. On one of its wrists was a device that had a glowing screen on the inner side. At the end, pointing away from the wrist and running over the three-fingered hand, was a structure similar to a satellite or RADAR dish.

The alien was facing him from behind a tree, so it no doubt saw him. However, it didn't react in the slightest and continued to stare at the tree between them. When it did eventually move, it raised the arm with the device on it. Acting on instinct, Sarus hit the ground awaiting the gunshot that never came. Instead the warbling sound coincided with a cone of light coming from the device, washing over the tree.

A beep, and the creature looked at the screen on its wrist. Still outright ignoring Sarus, the alien tapped on the screen before pointing it at the tree again. This time a thin beam of light came out. The smell of burning wood accompanied the glow of a small flame as the creature cut a square out from the bark. A cone of light replaced the beam. With the sound of breaking wood, a rectangular piece of bark levitated into the air before dropping to the ground. It picked it up before turning to face a small boulder. It walked to it, its gait strange. To Sarus, it seemed like it was in a daze. Sarus got up, finally speaking up, "Hello?"

It ignored him, which struck Sarus as extremely odd. It wasn't like it hadn't heard or seen him--it had to have at least seen him-- it was more that it simply didn't care he was here. It reached the boulder nonetheless and did the same ritual it did for the tree, attempting to cut out a square. Unfortunately for it, the rock crumbled to pieces.

The creature seemed unfazed by its failure, simply staring at the rubble. Sarus was about to call out to it again when it suddenly jerked and stiffened its posture. It relaxed after a moment, turning away from Sarus. The two structures coming from its back began to glow brightly, bathing the area in a cool bluish-white light. Suddenly it lifted off from the ground, ascending above the treeline.

Sarus gaped at it, the whooshing from before hitting his ears once again as it flew away further into the dark forest. Eventually the sound faded to nothing, along with the creature. Sarus stared blankly up at the tree line for a few moments before jumping as something wet landed on his muzzle. He looked up to see snow beginning to fall from the dark sky.

Sarus looked back down to the tree the alien had cut a piece from, trotting up to it. Fearing he had gone insane and had simply imagined what he saw, the Changeling inspected the tree. A perfect rectangle was missing from the trunk. The beam had burnt the bark at the edges to the point of cauterization, while the inside was sharp and jagged. Sarus ran a hoof along the burn marks, the splinters poking at the side of his hoof. He quickly did the same level of inspection for the boulder. This proved that this wasn't a figment of his imagination.

Sarus quickly looked around to see if there were other surprises waiting. Seeing none, he turned and began his trek to the camp. He began to mull over what just transpired. He had just seen an alien. An actual alien! Several questions popped up in his mind. Why did it just ignore him? What was it doing? What was he going to tell the others?

That last one was more prudent than the others. He doubted telling the others was a good idea. At best they'd just laugh at him. At worst he might be put up for review, thinking Sarus had snapped under the pressure of war and was seeing things. Heck, if it wasn't for the fact he'd actually inspected the tree and rock he'd likely to believe that as well. He briefly considered going back and obtaining a piece of the partially melted boulder as proof but decided against it. He really didn't want to be out here any more than he had to.

The night was eerily quiet now, setting Sarus on edge. He found himself frequently looking behind him or scanning the skies. He passed the latrine and decided he could hold it. He didn't find the prospect of being alone out here appealing in the slightest.

Sarus arrived back at the camp, appreciating the company more than the warmth now. Fotis looked at him, face morphing into concern, "Hey, you alright?"

Sarus realized he must have looked fairly shaken, "You know," he started, "I think I'll have that cigarette now."

Author's Note

Aliens/UFOs depicted in this chapter:
Harridan, made up rank(Non-combantant)
Light Scout

I like to use the Imperial measurement system for creature heights and metric system for everything else. I don't know why.

1/30/23--Changed Snap Shot's mane to silver and yellow.

2/20/23--Grammar corrections

3/6/23-- Changed the average height for pony/changeling to be based on an official EaW height chart.

3/31/23--changed Snap Shot's coat color to blue for potential shenanigans.