Nuclear Tears

If there had been anypony else on the Friendship Express, then Twilight would have been too embarrassed to repeat the one, still-functional part of the record. As it was, she had the entire cart, perhaps even the whole train to herself. There was no reason for ordinary ponies to commute to an already remote area in the darkest hours of night. As it was, the strange, alien voice with a strange cadence to it and syllables difficult for her to pronounce repeated forever, until the tape cut off and she had to set the record back.

She guessed that a combination of age under a dusty display case and impact at tremendous velocity from the Beyond had taken a heavy toll on the ductile metal. But she could not translate the language, not without a living specimen. The record would only act as a reagent- an anchor- for the spell. But it could not satisfy all the needs of the translation spell. It required a living, breathing creature as well as a recording of the voice; preferably more than one.

Living speakers use somatics that can be translated with magic into intent, and if the intent of a word is known, it can be translated. Once a bridge was established, allowing basic communication, the spell would create a field around all speakers of the language and the spell would teach itself over time. It had been invented by a wise stallion thousands of years ago, before the Hearthswarming, in order to communicate between unicorns and other races, before their language merged wholly due to the spell. She hoped it would work on non-equines, but she realized that took a lot of faith even to hope...

The train began to slow then, first only noticeable by the incredibly perceptive (such as Twilight) as a slight swaying, forwards and back, of the brake, before it began to grind to a halt just at the Ponyville station. She stepped out with the record and player levitated at her side and made a quick stop by the Library to make sure Spike was asleep, leaving another note explaining her prolonged absence (omitting any details about her trip to Canterlot that might frighten him unduly, such as, well, most of it) and grab a cloak to wrap around herself on the frozen night.

She would have liked to wake at least one of her friends, but it would not be fair to them to disrupt their rest at such an hour. Dawn was only a few hours away now, but the Everfree Forest was as black as fear before her as she stood. She intended to explore it first due to a few frightened reports of a thunderous noise there in the middle of the night from the few ponies wandering the streets at that time. Zecora was always friendly to her, and would likely allow her to stay a few nights in her home while she investigated.

She, mastering her sense of foreboding of the dark, took those first steps fearfully, but grew more confident in her stride until she strode boldly into the encroaching darkness with light in her heart.

Thus she walked, pondering the being she had seen with her telescope, and hoping it was of the same race as those who sent the record. It made her feel... very small,, that another race, separated by the wastes of space and time, would send knowledge of their existence elsewhere, perhaps simply so that there might be one to remember them after they faded into shadow. How ancient they must be, how splendorous and mighty in the height of their power!

Wait... do I smell smoke?

So far the only indigenous species Aldrich had met were birds or trees, perfectly harmless to him. Class was now in session, and he was learning not everything on this world was cute and fuzzy.

The creature looked like some unholy union between a bat, a scorpion, and a lion. It had brown fur and a red ‘mane’, paws almost the size of his head, bat wings that looked like they shouldn’t be able to support the massive creature’s weight, and a scorpion tail with a stinger that was probably poisoned.

He had just punched it in its maw hard enough to break a tooth. As he stared it down, glaring into its furious eyes, he decided that it was not his fault he wasn’t a morning person.

Happens every time. I get woken up too soon my some great, big slobbering behemoth with a yen for grilled human for breakfast.

The monster pounced, swiping a clawed paw. He ducked and ran under its airborn body before it crushed him with its weight. He sprayed a font of sparks into its fur, hoping to make it simply fear him enough to leave him alone.

He was making all sorts of bad choices today.

The monster ignited like an oil lantern, first its fur catching, and then the rest, and it became so enraged and irrational that it did not jump in the river to quench the flame, but charged straight at Aldrich, it’s form too low to duck beneath, too broad to sidestep, and to high to jump.

He felt for his ‘magic’ to blast it away with pure force, but as he stretched out his arms towards the creature to channel the spell, a few drops of glowing blue something dribbled off of his fingers towards the brute as if drawn by gravity. It did not even seem to notice. Before he could react to this new development, the barbed scorpion tail whipped over its head and stung him in the forearm. He almost did not feel it, so concerned he was with its impending crushing charge.

Just as Aldrich abandoned all hope, he saw that the creature was distracted. Putting curiosity before reason he followed its glance to the river. It had coiled up like a serpent preparing to strike, and surrounded with a purple aura that reminded him of his own newfound power. The ‘head’ whirled around, and he followed its movement, losing track of its ‘tail’ end for just a few moments.

Before he could see any more, there was a strike like a freezing, wet whip and everything faded to black.

When first Aldrich awoke, the only thing he was conscious of was that he was moving, or being moved, by something else. Whatever it was, it was warm and gentle in touch, but he had not yet regained sight after his blackout. Thus, he could only assume that one of the locals had found him. The fact that he was not already dead did wonders for his confidence in humanity’s future.

The creature had some sort of bone or exoskeleton, he could not tell which, that was digging into him. If it was the same kind of creature as what he had seen through the telescope, he would assume it was the equivalent of a spine, and he was being borne upon its back. Whatever it was, it did not seem to notice he was awake. He stirred slightly, and whatever was carrying him instantly started. There was a THUMP as something quite heavy fell to the forest floor, and Aldrich was rolled off whatever was carrying him.

He fell to the cold ground somewhat uncomfortably, and found that he could not move his arms or legs, and what he thought was just an aftereffect of his blackout he learned was being trussed up. His confidence in humanity’s first contact lessened somewhat from its recent peak.

The creature squeaked in its language as he hit the ground. Apparently it had forgotten the language barrier, perhaps meaning to apologize in its language, because it immediately smacked itself on the forehead and muttered to itself, annoyed. It put a hoof? - The only word for the appendage was hoof- on his chest as if to calm him, and pointed to a spot to the right of his stomach, and he followed its motion and looked down at himself.

He almost fainted again at the sight of his own blood. The adrenaline coursing through him had made him unaware of the pain, but he could ignore it no longer once he saw the injury. There was a deep puncture in his chest that despite not possibly being an old injury already looked as though it were festering. The only explanation he could find was that he had been stung with the beast’s scorpid-like tail and there was some nasty venom in the barbed stinger. He was not particularly happy about this development.

Really, I’m brushing with death so many times I should start shaking his hand as I pass him, Aldrich joked somewhat morbidly, perhaps to take his mind off the wound. But it was much more likely this indigenous creature would know an antidote than he.

The ‘pony’, for indeed it looked like a small, deformed horse, was fooling around with some strips of red stuff binding his wrists that Aldrich suddenly realized was from the sleeves of his jumpsuit. It was purple, with a ‘mane’ of a deeper purple and a stripe of pink running through it. On its flank there was a design like a six-point star that possibly represented a clan mark, but Aldrich was taking shots in the dark. He hadn’t taken Xenobiology 101. However, there was something odd about this creature. He felt as if there was something in its violet eyes beyond the surface that he recognized; empathized with, no matter their differences.

It must have bound him with strips ripped off of his flight jumpsuit, because it was attempting to staunch the flow of blood, but a curious thing happened then. The instant the creature touched his blood with its hooves, it jolted backward and frantically stamped the part of its skin, or fur, or exoskeleton, or whatever it would be called, on the ground as if trying to drown liquid fire. It held its hoof close to its chest, and he saw that some of the creature’s flesh was burnt. Aldrich mustered his strength to lean up and bind the creature’s burn with the strip of red substance.

The creature seemed to realize there was more in this gesture than the surface. It gazed straight into his eyes, and at that instant something clicked in his head.

You!

He fumbled around his suit as it- as she, rather- watched, bemused. He found the pocket he was looking for and withdrew the little collapsible telescope. The instant light caught the brass of the telescope and the creature saw it she instantly seemed to snap to the same conclusion that Aldrich came to. She jumped, first pointing at the telescope then up to the dappled canopy of sky above. He nodded, and she began to chatter in her native language excitedly. This continued for a few seconds before she came back to the present, and the reality of the danger to his life. She sobered instantly, and with a glow of purple from her horn unbound the section binding his legs, and elongated it with another spark of magic.

He recognized the colorful glow as the same power he had recently come into possession of. Perhaps she could help him understand magic, in the unlikely event they ever passed the language barrier? She bound his wound as well as she could with the rubbery material, and sealed the two ends together behind his back again. She motioned for him to stand, and he did his best to stumble up. She began to walk and he followed without question; if she was trying to help staunch the bleeding then her intentions were to keep him alive, for whatever purpose, friendly or fell.

She allowed him to use her as support, because Aldrich was falling quite often and at the very tips of his extremities he was beginning to feel numb, which chilled his blood. He had always heard that venom started working farthest away from the heart.

He hobbled on, guided by the presence of the creature. He could feel himself going cold, and had the illusion that he was just a dead man walking, unaware of his fate. He might not have been able to keep going if not for the thought of his friends, their devastated faces before death reaped them, as well. He would have welcomed death if not for them. To sleep was all he had ever wanted, and did not understand why he had enjoyed his waking hours.

It was as if his soul had already left his body, and he was being pulled along by invisible strings. Walking ceased being excruciating. All feeling numbed. He saw himself as if through a stranger’s eyes, barely dragging himself along the ground.

He must have blacked out at some point, because when he woke up he found himself elsewhere.

“Are you sure you don’t mind, Zecora? This is an awful lot to ask of you. If he’s dangerous, you’re in harm’s way.”

Twilight tucked a misfitting blanket over the strange biped- she decided to call him the Outsider for now, until she cast the translating spell and learned its proper name. It was sleeping, if not peacefully- it was thrashing about, muttering and calling out, as if it were having a nightmare. Did Outsiders have nightmares? She would find out.

“Ah, Twilight, can’t you see? This creature means no harm to earth or Pony. I would turn no living thing away, not even in the end of days.”

Zecora left the room to prepare tinctures of various sorts, leaving Twilight alone with the creature. She estimated it had roughly even mass to her, being about twice as tall and half as long as she was. It had a rather wiry build, and she winced when she imagined how difficult it could be to get out of its grip if it grappled her with its forelegs. It had upper hindlegs that looked like it could carry it at a jog for a day, given proper conditioning.

It was just as she made these observations that the creature stirred. Twilight quickly looked away, as if she had been caught in some indecent act. It mumbled something in its tongue, and as soon as he could move felt his wound. When he saw the bandages, he relaxed, and looked up. It did not seem remotely surprised at her presence, and looked directly at her. There was something in particular about it’s eyes. She had seen it before- ponies who had lost dear friends, parents, or even extremely valued mementos of lost times. They all had the same dull pain about them, even if they tried to mask it. The eyes are the windows to the soul, it was said, and perhaps that had truth behind it. But in this creature, this Outsider’s eyes, the pain was greatly magnified. It had seen things that no living thing should have to see.

At this point it tried to lift itself out of the bed. Twilight rushed to calm it, saying (without realizing it could not comprehend) that it would reopen its wounds. It complied, but looked agitated.

For several minutes, there was silence. The whole world was holding its breath, it seemed, waiting for something, anything to happen. Twilight was to move, trotting as quietly as she could for fear of breaking the silence, to where the record player had been set down. She slowly lifted the heavy machine with her magic. The Outsider watched, captivated, as the purple glow enveloped the record player and it began to levitate. With her magic, Twilight turned on the record player and it began to spin.

“...of the planet Earth, I send greetings on behalf of the people of our planet. We step out of our solar system into the universe, seeking only peace and friendship; to teach, if we are called upon: to be taught, if we are fortunate. We know full well that our planet and all its inhabitants are but a small part of the universe that surrounds us, and it is with humility and hope that we take this st-” The record cut off there, and she turned off the manabattery powering the player.

Twilight’s magic was now going beyond just holding the device aloft. It was spreading outwards through the small cottage, and filling it with light the color of the last rays of the dying sun. Brightest of all was the Outsider, glowing in a blinding azure so blazingly powerful Twilight had to avert her eyes from the magic. Then there was a brilliant flash; the record player fell to the ground, dented- the light ceased to be, and all the magic vanished in an instant.

The Outsider, once he checked that no new wounds had opened, looked at her with what was perhaps dawning comprehension, or maybe... fear?

Twilight slumped against the wall. Oof. The spellbook neglected to mention this was supposed to be performed with more than one unicorn, I feel like every last drop of magic in me is gone.

The Outsider rose stiffly from its bed, gasping. Why was it looking as tired as she was? Surely it couldn’t also have been fueling the spell?

The creature opened its mouth. For the first time ever, humanity was to interact with another living, sentient species, and it said:

“Pl-please... save my- save my friends...”