Stars twinkled high above a small sleepy town. If one were walking along a lonely dirt path into town from the South, just beside rows and rows of apple trees a worn sign, painted on untreated wood read “Welcome to Ponyville”

Along this dirt road, a well-traveled path led to a quaint farmhouse and a weathered barn beside it. Continuing on the main road, one would pass a silent schoolhouse. Its students long departed for their families this evening. The dirt road terminated at an arched stone bridge, afterwards the road became cobble. Continuing along this cobbled road, one would pass many buildings. Some homes, some businesses. All of the same cottage style. But along the northern edge of Ponyville, whereas all other buildings were dark at this hour, one still had the telltale flicker of candlelight emanating from a second-floor window. The Golden Oaks library, a living tree that had its interior hollowed out to make space for Ponyville’s bounty of knowledge, still had an occupant awake at this hour.

Twilight Sparkle, academia extraordinaire, personal student of Princess Celestia, element of magic, and newly coronated Princess of Friendship, sat hunched over a desk in her shared room. A small candle’s diminutive flame flickered slightly at her exhale. The flame illuminated the pages of a newer book that had arrived that morning from Canterlot. “Clover The Clever’s Clandestine Essays,” was essentially one of Clover the Clever’s more recently found journals, hidden a long time ago because of their unorthodox and less popular ideas, edited from a personal journal into more formal essays. The book was long, and the material was usually pretty dense but for Twilight it was an invigorating read. She was finishing up the last essay now.

To many readers, much of many of these essays would seem more akin to the excited ramblings of an easily distracted pony, but to Twilight the paths of thought were clear, and the path she was reading was the most exciting of all.

“While gazing at the moon or any nearby star system's celestial bodies, it is easy to see the hostility of the universe and assume that the races of Equus are the only intelligent life around. But from what little we know of the universe, we know it is enormous and vast and full of discoveries yet to be made. We see what resources Equus has to offer, and we assume that nowhere else life can exist. And yet on our very own planet life finds a way of existence in the harshest of conditions. I propose that life must exist away from Equus. Perhaps we are alone because we are the first, but the universe is simply too vast and varied for life to not exist anywhere else. Eventually, when we are among the stars we’ll meet somepony else out there, I’m sure of it.”

Twilight blinked as her eyes found their way to the top of the next page only to be met with the glossary. With a sigh, she rested her hoof on the open book and brought her head down on top of her fetlock, resting it on the soft hairs of her lilac coat. The fringe of her indigo mane came to rest in the upper portion of her vision. Her eyes glanced up in thought, imagining the stars through the wooden ceiling.

“Life among the stars, huh? I wonder if they’ll make good friends,” Twilight said to herself. She lifted her head from the book and closed it with a touch of magic. A purple glow that matched the one from her horn enveloped the book and quietly closed it. The candle was carefully lifted and hovered just above her head. It followed her to her bed where she quietly maneuvered around Spike’s bed on the floor. She gently set the candle down on her bedside table before it was magically extinguished. Twilight yawned, sleep rushing to catch her in its warm embrace. Her eyelids drooped as she got comfortable. As soon as the covers were over her barrel, her eyelids became too heavy to keep open. Her thoughts melted away, and her breathing slowed. She could feel her body shutting down in preparation for sleep. The feeling of the comforter and sheets on her lilac coat became less and less noticeable as her body warmed them. Her mind began to drift in an endless quiet sea.
…
…
BANG BANG

Twilight shot awake as the whole tree shook. She instinctively lit the candle on her bedside table. Spike was awake too, and seemed relieved a little by the presence of the light. For a moment, neither of them spoke, they just stared at the ceiling above. The tree had stilled before Twilight lit her candle. A receding roar gave way to rattling leaves which died down. Voices could be heard from outside the library. Everypony had heard that. Twilight wouldn’t be surprised if that had been heard in Canterlot, whatever it was.

“Twilight, what was that?” spike asked, his voice shaky.
THUNK THUNK THUNK

Somepony pounded at her door. Twilight jumped out of bed to answer. Whilst she trotted down the stairs her horn was aglow with magic that sent bolts of energy to every candle in the library and to the fireplace, lighting up the interior in moments.

“Twilight, wait!” Spike called out, her tail in his hand. Twilight turned her head to look at Spike, half-concerned and half-miffed.

“What if t-the thing responsible for that is at the door? Are we sure we wanna let it in?” Spike asked, fear filling his voice.

“Spike, I think the pony who did that is at our door,” Twilight replied.

She opened the door by grasping the handle telekinetically, causing the door to swing outward. Standing just outside the threshold was a pegasus mare with a cyan-blue coat and an unkempt prismatic mane.

“Rainbow Dash! Why in the name of Celestia are you performing sonic rain booms at this hour!?” Twilight questioned. Rainbow Dash had opened her mouth to respond, but the tone of Twilight’s voice stopped her.

“I- uh,” she stammered out

“Well?” Twilight pressed. Rainbow Dash took a moment to compose herself.

“Twilight, that wasn’t me,” Rainbow Dash said.

“What?” Twilight asked incredulously. “Well, then what was it?”

“I was hoping you knew,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug.

“Rainbow Dash! What in tarnation were you thinkin’?” a new voice questioned. Said voice belonged to a mare with an orange coat and a blonde mane and tail. Her green eyes were illuminated with anger and her freckled cheeks only lessened her fierce scowl by a fraction of a degree. Her stetson hat was crooked as if it had been put on hastily.

“Rainbow Dash didn’t do it Applejack,” Twilight said, stopping Applejack’s storming gait.

“Then what did it? Whatever it was, it’s gotten Granny in a tizzy,” Applejack said, her scowl lessening into a thoughtful frown.

“Hiya girls!” came a new voice. The almost painfully pink and somehow energetic even at this hour mare known as Pinkie Pie bounced through the open door into the library.

“Soooooo. Watchya doin’?” Pinkie asked addressing all present.

“We were discussin’ the loud noises we all heard just now. Did your uhhh, watchyama call it tell you about any o’ this Pinkie?” Applejack asked.

“Not at all, but my Pinkie sense sure did! Two pinchy knees and somepony needs a welcome to Ponyville party!” Pinkie said.

“Are we all here to reprimand Rainbow Dash, or is it just me?” came a posh and refined voice. A unicorn with a pristine white coat and an expertly cared-for mane trotted into view.

“Hey Rares, Dashie didn’ do it,” Applejack briefly informed the unicorn.

“Oh. So what did make that dreadful cacophony?” Rarity asked.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Why does everypony always assume it’s me?” Asked Rainbow Dash. Every pony in the library sans Pinkie raised an eyebrow at the question.

“What?”

“Um, girls?” A butter-yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane stood at the doorway, perched on her back was an owl she was having a conversation with.

“Owlowiscious just told me that something big just disturbed the Everfree. Could that be what we’re looking for?”

“Hmm, it very well could be Fluttershy. But we should probably wait until daylight to investigate,” Twilight reasoned.

“In the meantime, Pinkie. You said there were two pinchy knees what’s the second one?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, I don’t know you silly filly. I just know that it’s going to be big-” Pinkie Pie was cut off as a large red stallion came crashing through the library’s open door.

“Applejack! Didja take Apple Bloom an’ her friends with you?”

“Naw… they didn’” Applejack began.

The stallion’s ears flattened against his skull

“... Eyeup,” he said.

“Big Macintosh! How did those three sneak away from you? They ain’t exactly subtle,” Appleack said exasperatedly.

“I had to keep Granny in check, she’s locked herself in tha’ kitchen,” Big Mac said.

“Oh land’s sakes…” Applejack muttered, a hoof coming to rest on her forehead.

The other five ponies in the library kept quiet, watching the exchange.

After a moment, Rarity spoke up. “Well, I for one am going to look for Sweetie Belle and her friends. Who’s with me?”

There was a chorus of agreement as everypony filed out of the library. The group began to canter towards the Everfree Forest, urgency fuelling their gait.

A red light, out-shining the night sky hurtled into the air before slowing and beginning a lazy arc, and then its slow descent. The group stopped and stared.

“Oooh. Somepony has fireworks! Yay!” Pinkie cheered and began to bounce.

“That’s not a firework, Pinkie. That’s a distress flare,” Twilight said. “When did Sweetie Belle learn that?” She asked Rarity while breaking into a gallop.

“Sweetie Belle doesn’t have control over her magic as far as I’m aware,” Rarity got out in between gasps while galloping. “Which means-”

“They’re in serious trouble,” Twilight finished for her. Rarity redoubled her efforts at this news. “Rainbow Dash, fly ahead, see if you can’t help before we arrive!”

Rainbow Dash saluted and pumped her wings hard, leaving everypony else in her wake.

Earlier...

BANG BANG

“AHHHHHH” a chorus of three fillies screamed, holding each other for dear life. The entire house was shaking, and a receding roar drowned out everything else. When all went quiet aside from yelling downstairs Applebloom dared to open her eyes, and all she saw was a darkened cloud of Fuchsia hair.

“Uhhhh Scootaloo? Ah think we’re okay,” Applebloom said. The orange filly immediately released her vice like grip on Appleblooms yellow coat.
“Oh- ah yeah. We’re totally fine, like nothing even happened,” Scootaloo said trying to downplay her reaction.

Applebloom looked down at the shivering white filly still hooked into her red mane.

“Sweetie Belle? Didja hear me? We’re fine,” Applebloom said while placing a hoof on Sweetie Belle’s pink and purple mane. Sweetie Belle forced her muscles still and extracted herself from Apple Bloom’s mane.

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Sweetie Belle squeaked out before clearing her throat.

“What do ya’ll think that was?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Dunno. Let’s find out,” Scootaloo said while standing. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were quick to follow. Heading towards the general ruckus downstairs, the trio of fillies found Applejack with her mane let down and no stetson, and Big Mac wrestling a frantic aging green mare with a wiry silver mane.

“THE END IS NIGH! THE GREAT APPLE OF DOOM HAS COME TO TAKE US!” The older mare screamed at the top of her lungs.

“For buck’s sake Granny Smith! Calm Down!” Applejack yelled back, unsuccessfully wrestling a cooking pot out of the older mare’s hooves. Growing tired of Granny Smith’s antics, Applejack took up a commanding authority that Apple Bloom rarely saw.

“Mac! Handle her. You three, try an’ git back to bed,” Applejack said pointing her hoof first to Big Mac, then to Granny, and finally, to the three fillies that had made it to the bottom of the stairs.

“I need to find Rainbow Dash and give her a piece of my mind,” Applejack said hotly, slamming her stetson onto her head and storming out of the house.

Scootaloo gasped with excitement

“This is perfect!”

“How so?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We can find Rainbow Dash first, and maybe get our Cutie Marks in bounty hunting as well!”

“Ooh, that’s a good idea,” Apple Bloom nodded.

“I don’t know… Applejack told us to get back to sleep,” Sweetie Belle said hesitantly

“We’ll be fast. I know where Rainbow Dash would go if she was trying to get away from anypony looking for her,” Scootaloo said.

“Well… Okay,” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Great! Let’s go,” Scootaloo said while pushing Sweetie Belle and Applejack out the open door.

“Now if I were trying to hide from everypony, I would hide in the Everfree,” Scootaloo said while confidently leading the way.

“The Everfree!?”

“Calm down you two, we’re just going to the very edge. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t go very far in. She’d need to be able to get out if there was any danger. Not that she would run or anything,” Scootaloo explained while leading the way. Scootaloo’s wings buzzed with excitement, as she continued her explanation.

“Rainbow Dash could fight off a hydra! She could fight off a hundred timberwolves, she could-”

“We get it scoots,” Apple Bloom cut her off.

Their journey continued in relative silence. Past rows upon rows of Apple Trees, out onto the dirt road, and then into the grassy bank that separated it from the Everfree.

The trio came to a stop just at the edge of the forest. The evergreen trees stood still in the darkness, towering high and foreboding. Like sentinels, the dark trees watched the three fillies approach the perimeter.

“Well, it looks like Rainbow Dash isn’t here, time to go back!” Scootaloo said, her voice cracking.

“No way! We haven’t even gone in the forest yet,” Apple Bloom protested before marching forward, the other two fillies were quick to follow.

The three delved in, constantly calling out for Rainbow Dash. Deeper and deeper they went into the forest, gleaming green lights following them the whole way.

“Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash?” Apple Bloom called.

“I’m starting to think she’s not here,” Sweetie Belle said.

“I’m starting to think we’re lost,” Apple Bloom tacked on.

A howl pierced the night air. Green gleaming eyes, glowing with hunger began to illuminate in the bushes. Leaves rustled as slowly silhouettes of wolves emerged from nearby shrubbery. The creaking of wood accompanied each step they took. The fillies began to shake. The wolves snarled, baying in anticipation of their next meal. Snapping their jaws with an audible crack. Basking in the easy prey’s fear. Sweetie Belle sobbed. Suddenly, there was a new presence, a shout was heard. Another crack of twigs as brush was forced aside or trampled by hurried movement. Something big stumbled into the space, drawing the attention and the ire of the wolves. As the wolves suddenly quieted. Apple Bloom worked up the courage to open her eyes. All of the wolves were focused on something else, something that looked like a minotaur but lanky, and with incorrect portions. In place of eyes were two small glowing blue circles. Its arm shifted, pointing to the sky.
THUMP - FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The area was bathed in red. The timberwolves could be seen now, as could the creature that was definitely not a minotaur. It stood on two legs, but that was where the similarities ended. Its hooves were elongated and covered in dark metal, as was the rest of its body. Its face was completely flat and featureless other than its soulless eyes. It had long claws at the end of its arms and stood twice as tall as the Timberwolves that were now surrounding its front. The claws of its right arm were wrapped around a piece of metal that had a dissipating trail of smoke. The area darkened slightly as the light it fired off dimmed with distance.

The creature shifted, holding the metal item in its claws as if offering it to the timberwolves. There was a loud chirp and a flash of red. One of the timberwolves collapsed into a pile of smoldering sticks. Another flash, a chirp reverberating around the clearing. The timberwolves caught on and abandoned their former prey, now fighting for their survival. The creature retreated into the bush while being followed, flashes of red outlining it and falling timberwolves. The flashes stopped. There was a crunching of grass, that got fainter and fainter.

“Hey! You’re okay!” The fillies looked up to see Rainbow Dash overhead.

Earlier...

Matt flew just above supersonic, around ten kilometers from the surface. His terrapin rattled and groaned in protest, but he paid it no mind. Detailed scans had shown the largest concentration of biomass on the chosen continent. A forested area with few suitable landing spots, but some finer adjustments revealed plenty of space to land. Reducing the throttle, Matt banked through a cloud and slowed down over the forest. Following the predetermined path laid out by his ship’s navigational computer, the Terrapin settled nicely into a clearing just large enough for it.

Matt hopped out of his seat and immediately lowered the Terrapin’s ramp, hurrying down onto the ground. He stopped, taking a moment to survey his new environment. Matt shut the ramp and began briskly walking towards the edge of the clearing. Heading East, Matt began collecting sample after sample. A leaf here, a blade of grass there, a blue and black flower. Anything he found that was new was swiftly collected. A variety of creatures were photographed and cataloged. Another interesting fact was the atmospheric composition. It was mostly Nitrogen but had more than enough oxygen to sustain him. Matt had found a true Gaia world.

As he was going about, something rustled in the bushes. It walked out into the open, sniffing the night air and turning its head each and every way, focused on Matt’s general location, but couldn’t seem to lock onto his actual presence. As it got closer, Matt noticed that shockingly, it was made out of wood. Switching his helmet to infrared sweep, the creature was much easier to see. It stood on four legs and in the visual spectrum, its eyes, or analog for eyes as it appeared to be blind, glowed a ghostly green. While bio-luminescence was certainly not unheard of, usually it served as an aid to sight or as a lure for prey. But here it didn’t seem to serve any actual purpose. When poked, the creature would react. Immediately investigating what had touched it. It could smell and hear Matt, but couldn’t see him. However, it acted as though sight was its primary method of locating a target.

“Incredible,” Matt breathed out. “Do you collect organic detritus and fashion armor from it?”

The creature walked forward cautiously, sniffing the air. When its muzzle bumped into Matt it recoiled back. Eventually, it lost interest and returned to the shrubbery it came from. Matt walked in a different direction, once again collecting various samples.

While going about gathering, Matt heard a noise.

“Was that? No, it couldn’t have been,” Matt reassured himself. The noise came again.

“That sounds like a voice,” Matt said to himself. He was curious now. He couldn’t make out any of the words, but he had definitely heard a speech pattern. Had someone else gotten here first? Maybe it was a citizen who had gotten through the jump point first. Matt made his way towards the voice.

Moments later, Matt could make out distinct, high-pitched voices. Two at least, maybe three, but still had no idea what they were saying. English was the Imperium standard, but other languages still existed in familial circles.

Matt prepared to call out before a howl pierced the air. The voices stopped immediately. A multitude of noises, growling, barking, and snarling permeated the air. And in that mess, he could make out crying.

Matt drew his Arclight II from his thigh and charged forward, attaching the SERE alert flare launcher to the under-barrel rail.

“Citizen!” He called as he tore through the underbrush into the clearing, only to be met with confusion. There were no citizens to be seen. In fact, there were no humans at all. Three small, likely prey animals quaked with fear, surrounded by more of the wood-armored creatures. But now those creatures had shifted their focus to him. Using the button on the launcher, Matt fired the flare. It rocketed into the sky, bathing the clearing in red light. The infrared in his helmet deactivated, and in the visual spectrum, details became a lot more clear. The three formerly surrounded animals were looking at him in wonder. Their eyes possessed a familiar gleam of intelligence. The same that was possessed by Terravin, Vanduul, Banu, Xi’an, and Humans. The three came in different colors, one was white with pink and purple hairs on its neck and more protruding from its back. It had a horn that was too short and blunt to be used for defense. Another was orange with fuchsia hairs and had wings much too small to lift itself off the ground. The third was yellow with red hairs, but what was more interesting was the third one had a ribbon tied into a bow decorating its neck hairs. That spoke of at least some level of industrialization. These small creatures were part of a larger, at least somewhat industrialized, society. Matt could feel the headache coming on. But he had no time to dwell on how much he had screwed up a first-contact scenario.

Deciding not to forfeit any favor with whatever society called this planet home, Matt leveled his Arclight at the closest wooded creature and fired. The red bolt slammed into the creature's forehead, causing it to collapse into a smoldering pile of twigs. An eyebrow raised underneath Matt’s helmet. He shifted and fired again, and another wooded creature dropped, once again revealing no creature inside. As if the sticks had come to life on their own. At this point, the creatures had wised up and charged. Matt retreated, giving ground to keep distance. Firing repeatedly. One of the creatures lunged at him, missing by a large margin. Re-affirming they somehow couldn’t see him, but could see the three creatures they had cornered. Seven shots later, all nine of the creatures were dead. Matt collected a stick from the latest pile and began moving again. He heard another voice in the clearing as he left. There may be a settlement nearby, and he would have to do some more reconnaissance. But for now, there was a whole forest to catalog.

Author's Note

INCOMING TRANSMISSION
ORIGIN: SOL SYSTEM
DECODING
The story progresses! This chapter was a bit difficult to write, and originally it was going to be three separate chapters (and maybe it still should be) but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out overall. As always I welcome feedback and thank you for taking time to read this, and I hope you'll be here next time!
Signing off,
END TRANSMISSION