Exceptional

A/N: My apologies for the short chapter. I've been struggling with some writer's block recently. I decided to publish what I had, so as to whet your appetite, until the rest can be written and uploaded. To paraphrase Shigeru Miyamoto, "A late chapter will be good eventually, a bad chapter will be bad forever". I know that doesn't apply entirely, but it works in this instance.

Oh, and we can't have a chase scene without the obligatory chase scene music.

*********

Twilight was at a loss. She'd searched the entire house for it. Once again entering the second floor, she cried out to Spike.

“Spike! Have you seen my copy of 'Alderbron's Almanac on all things Astronomical?!” Twilight had hoped to distract herself from unpleasant memories by seeing if see could identify that strange cluster of stars she had seen the night earlier, but she couldn't find her textbook anywhere. It was odd that she couldn't even think of an answer off the top of her head, after all, she was quite the knowledgable amateur astronomer.

“I thought you had it!” came the dragon's muffled response from the kitchen.

“Aaarrggh!! I told you to put it back when you were done with it!!” Twilight levitated some objects out of her way, trying in vain to locate the errant textbook. All of a sudden, the fur on the back of her neck stood up, and she had the strangest sense of foreboding, as if someone was watching her. She tried to pass it off, but then she heard it. A strange, warbling sound, that kind of sounded similar to when an invisibility spell shorted out, only with more buzzing. She turned around, ready to confront whatever perverted unicorn colt had been snooping around her bedroom, but when she did she was confronted with a single menacing eye.

Floating there, at about head level, without any apparent means of lift what so ever, was some kind of.....orb. It was made of dark metal, and the only noticeable features it possessed were it's glowing red eye and some kind of antennae sticking out the top. Twilight couldn't help but feel fear, this thing was entirely outside her field of experience. Thinking back on it later, the only word she could use to describe it was....alien.

In a knee-jerk reaction, she yelled out for Spike, and the orb, probably realizing it had been spotted, quickly flew out her window. A sudden, chilling thought crept into Twilight's head. What if it was dangerous? She couldn't let it just roam around town. She dashed over to the window, determined to not let it get away. The orb was hovering down the street with surprising speed, ponies screaming and getting out of it's way as it passed. Summoning her magic, Twilight teleported down to street level, immediately flying off after the orb......

*********

“GO! GO! GO!” Both Phil and Statin were shouting at Wilson simultaneously.

“WHERE!”

“Uh,....” Phil hadn't thought of an escape plan. 'Shit'. Suddenly an idea struck him. “The forest!!! Get back to the forest!! We can shake off any pursuers in there!!”

“S-sir?” Wilson looked to the captain for support.

“Oh fuck, son!! Do whatever the fuck he says!!!”

“Uh, sirs...”

“WHAT!!!” the two men shouted, once again speaking in sync.

“It's following us!” Sure enough, the purple creature was hot on their metaphorical tail.

“How the hell did it get down so fast!!” Statin exclaimed, his calm stoicism a distant memory.

“Evasive maneuvers or whatever the fuck you jar heads call it!! Now!! Try to shake her!!”

“How do you know it's a she?” Wilson said confusedly, with way too much calm given the current situation.

“Does it FUCKING *MATTER?!?!***” Phil shouted at him, and this time he didn't care whether the ensign shat his pants or not. Chances at peaceful first contact only came around once. There were always new pants.

*********

Business had been booming for Applejack that day. As she sat there counting out the bits she'd earned so far, some....thing flew past her head, and she had to hold a hoof over her hat to stop it blowing away. “What in tarnation was that?!” Just as suddenly, Twilight flew by, answering her question while she was at it.

“I have no bucking idea! But we can't let it get away!” With surprising speed, Applejack locked up the bits box and placed a 'Back in 5 Minutes' sign on the cart, before galloping after her friend, and whatever strange object she was pursuing. The orb was ducking and weaving in an obvious attempt to shake pursuit, so Twilight figured it had to have some kind of intelligence behind it.

Quickly catching up to Twilight, Applejack called out to her “So what're we gonna do with it when we catch it?!” She nearly slammed into an ice cream cart before jumping over at the last second.

“I....don't know, but it could be dangerous! We have to stop it!” Twilight had to narrowly dodge a rather confused looking stallion watering his garden. When she saw a shadow moving above them, she feared there might be more of those things. Luckily her fears were put to rest.

“Hey! Are you guys racing?! Ok One two thr-!”

“Rainbow! Am I glad to see you!” Twilight tugged on the cyan coloured mare's tail with her magic to get her attention. “See that thing up there?” She managed to get out between breaths. The pegasus scrunched her face in thought, while simultaneously keeping up with her less athletic friends with ease.

“You mean that funny ball thing?” She motioned to the object that had just ducked under a passing carriage.

“Yeah! We need to catch it!”

“Why?”

“Does it matter?” Even Applejack was Beginning to get flushed with the pace the orb was setting.

“Alright I'm on it!” Rainbow Dash sped off after the fleeing object, her face set in determination......

*********

“Left! Left! No, Right! No Wait! U-turn!”

“U-turn?! Are you insane?!?!” Statin had long gone from questioning Phil's sanity to knowing his madness was fact.

“It'll confuse them!”

“It's confusing me!!”

“Exactly!”

“You are insane!!”

“What are you implying?!” Phil's expression had morphed from panic to seething anger.

“That you're fucking insane!!” Before Phil could say anything further, Wilson cut in with his calm, worldly wisdom.

“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SIRS!! HELP ME!!!”

*********

Rainbow had thought it would be easy catching the floating orb, she was the fastest flyer in Equestria after all. But what that thing lacked in speed, it sure as Tartarus made up for it in maneuverability, it apparently being able to spin on a dime as well as do other amazing tricks. She tried keeping pace with it but it was tiring even for her. It would duck under tables, weave through crowds, and at one point dived between some poor sap's legs. She even followed it through someone's open window and through their kitchen. That would be a breakfast Lyra and Bon Bon wouldn't soon forget.

The orb was fast approaching the edge of town, and the direction it was going in left no doubt that it was headed for the forest. In there, Rainbow's speed would be next to useless, while the orb's maneuverability would make it nigh uncatchable. Fate decided to intervene though, when Rainbow caught sight of the familiar shape that was Sugercube Corner, and the even more familiar sight of the pink mare bouncing around out front.

“Pinkie!! Stop that thing!!” Pinkie looked up, saw the approaching orb, and, being Pinkie Pie, completely misunderstood the situation. Luckily in this instance it was a good thing.

“Ooh! Ooh! Are we playing a game! Okay, my turn! Bater UP!” She cried, suddenly pulling a baseball bat out of thin air. With a resounding CRACK the bat impacted the orb, sending it hurtling into the side of a nearby building. Twilight and Applejack quickly caught up, and stared in amazement at the  broken object lying before them.

“Wow Pinkie! That was amazing” the orb lay on the ground, pieces of it's carapace broken off and bare circuits visible. It's glowing eye was dimming and sparks occasionally jumped from it. A crowd was forming, hoping to get a look at whatever had caused the commotion, Applejack and Rainbow Dash having to try and keep them back. Twilight hesitantly trotted forward, wanting to get a closer look.....

*********

“Damages?!”

“Critical sir. The probe's a complete write-off.”

“Initiate self-destruct. We can't let these things get their han-....hooves on our technology” the Captain's stoic demeanour had made a definite comeback. Phil stared at him as if he had gone insane.

“You can't do that! She's too close! She'll be caught in the explosion!”

“It's the price we'll...or in this case they'll...have to pay.”

“Captain, this isn't war! We're here to make peace, not blow up innocent civilians!”

Statin, having nothing more to say, turned to Wilson and just nodded the affirmative. The ensign punched in the self-destruct command. Phil couldn't argue, technically the captain was in command, and technically they had attacked the probe. The fact that they kind of somewhat provoked them would be overlooked. But just because he couldn't stop it didn't mean he was going to just stand by and let innocents get hurt.

“Ensign! Are the probe's speakers working?”

“Well yes bu-” Phil shoved Wilson out of the way and turned on the console's microphone.....

*********

Twilight didn't know what to think. It was definitely some kind of machine, and she could tell it wasn't magical, which meant it's technology was far beyond anything their scientists could even dream of. It's ability to fly without the aid of wings or magic alone was centuries, if not millennia, ahead of their most advanced machinery. But right now she had a much more important question on her mind: what the buck was it?

All of a sudden, it's sparking became more violent, sending off a shower of lights. A high-pitched beeping started emanating from it's innards, the beeps becoming quicker in succession with every second. She feared something might happen, what, she wasn't sure. What happened next confirmed her fears.....and saved her life.

'Get back!! Everybody get back!! This things gonna blow!!' The voice had a vaguely Trottingham-ish accent, and was coming from the orb itself. Realizing she was in danger, Twilight managed to teleport herself away from it in time for it to explode in a shower of flame and shrapnel.

“Twilight!!” Her friends cried out in unison. They rushed over towards her, finding her several feet from where she had been. “Are you okay?!” Rainbow asked, her features etched with worry. Shaking the dust off her coat, Twilight waited for the ringing in her ears to subside before answering.

“I think so, is everypony else okay?” Twilight took in the scene before her. The explosion had caught a lot of ponies unprepared. Several had run off, a few were cowering under their hooves, and Twilight thought she smelt the distinct scent of urine in the air. Quickly checking it wasn't her that had soiled themselves, she looked over towards the orb....or what was left of it. Inside a small crater only a few pieces of burnt, twisted metal and some melted circuitry remained.

“TWILIGHT!!!”

Pushing through the crowd, which parted easily, she could see the form of her chubby dragon assistant. He hobbled over towards them before collapsing, completely exhausted. “Stupid...*pant*....ponies.....*pant*......and their.....*pant*....four legs!”

“Spike! Good you're here. Take a letter!” Spike only whimpered at this.

“Uumm...Twi, ah think it would be good if ya gave the little fella time to breath...”

“Oh...right. Anyway girls, help me gather up the remnants of this.....thing....and take it back to the library. We need to send a letter to Princess Celestia at once!”

“That's her answer to everything” muttered Dash to Pinkie.

“What was that?”

“Oh n-nothing Twi!”