My Little Kerbals: Space is Magicby Volgar The MightyChaptersPrologue: Probe SentChapter 1: We Have TouchdownChapter 2: Close Encounters of the Third KindPrologue: Probe SentMy Little Kerbals: Space is Magic Prologue: Probe Sent <=K=S=P=€<33 Space. Some call it the final frontier, and with good reason. The universe has so much to explore, more than anyone could ever hope to discover. And the first step out into this vast world is the solar system. But what is to be done once that system is explored? Once all the challenges it once held are no more? Unable to explore further out, the kerbals, short green men with tall cylindrical heads, have run into this very situation. That is, until the universe gave them a new challenge. A wormhole, named Byss, opened up outside the orbit of Jool. What will they discover on the other side? New planets to explore? New lifeforms to study? And could there be intelligent life to meet with, trade with, and become friends with? And who better to reach beyond the stars and answer these questions than Kerbin's three greatest heroes? Of course, it wouldn't be a challenge without some problems... <=K=S=P=€<33 "Launching two-probe payload in five... Four... Three... Two... One...Main engine start...We have liftoff!" Several green hands flew into the air and clapped against each other. The kerbals sitting in the control room were all excited for the new mission to Byss, a wormhole that recently opened past the orbit of Jool. It possessed a gravity well about twice the size of the Mun's and was half the size of Minmus. The mission was to send two probes to Byss, one to stay outside for telecommunications into the wormhole and held gravity and radiation sensors, and the other held ground-to-space communication systems along with interplanetary communication equipment, scientific sensors, and a surface mapper to find a preferable landing site for future manned missions. Over the next few minutes mission control guided the probes into orbit and planned out the mission's path with the maneuver nodes system. A kerbal with spiky blonde hair and a white polo shirt and blue jeans walked out the door and down the hall. After walking down several flights of stairs, he found the Director's office. He knocked on the door three times. "Come in," a gruff voice said. He opened the door and walked in. After closing the door, he walked over to the desk. On its wooden surface was a computer monitor, pictures of friends and family, and knick-knacks including a Newton's cradle and silver ringed globe. Filing cabinets lined some of the walls with more pictures, knick-knacks, and a college degree hanging off the walls above. The Director wore a red polo shirt and blue jeans. His hair was slicked back and colored brown with streaks of gray spread throughout. From his mouth hung a large cigar. He removed a pair of large sunglasses and set them on the desk, leaving behind his normal prescription glasses. "Hello, Director," the scientist said, only to receive a glare. "I mean, Mr. Director, sir!" The Director grunted. "Go on." "The launch was successful, sir." "Good." The Director flicked the cigar against an ash tray, then put it back in his mouth where it hung to his right. "I need you to tell Relay to send a message to Explorer Team One. Bring them home, I've got a new mission for them." The scientist's eyes shot open. "B-but sir! They're still on Laythe testing ground conditions for R. E. F.'s and--" The Director ground his teeth. "I don't care!" He stood up, his muscles bulging out. "They've been there for two months! Just bring them home now." The other kerbal started hyperventilating and nodded his head fast enough to blur. "Yes, sir! Sorry I doubted you, sir!" He sprinted out of the office, flailing his arms around and screaming his head off. <=K=S=P=€<33 A large sandy beach sat next to a large ocean. On a red beach chair lay a kerbal without a shirt, tanning with a foil sheet and protecting his eyes with sunglasses. The small sun in the sky became blocked by a shadow. He sat up and looked behind him to find another kerbal wearing the body half of a spacesuit. "What do you want now, Bob?" he whined while removing his sunglasses. "Come on, Jeb. Mission Control is calling us home early," he said in his soft voice. Jeb facepalmed while giving a sigh. He stood and started packing his tanning equipment. "How many times do I have to tell you 'if you want to say my awesome name, say it correctly?'" "Fine, Jebediah, just go get ready. I'll go get Bill." He walked over to the top of a nearby sand dune. At the peak, a two and a half meter tall antenna stuck out of a half-buried metal box. Standing next to said box stood Bill who gazed at the rising Jool. "Good news, Bill. We're going home early." "Did they tell us what beauty we're visiting next?" he asked as he jogged back to the ship. Bob ran to keep up with his athletic partner. "No, just that we're about to go farther than ever before." They both climbed the ladder into the capsule. They all dressed in their spacesuits and sat down to perform pre-flight checks. They ignited the engines and launched back into orbit. <=K=S=P=€<33 About One Year Later The wormhole was in orbit around a planet covered in blue oceans, green forests, and brown deserts. Closer to the planet orbited a gray moon. Outside of the planet's gravity well orbited a star, despite having more mass and therefore a larger gravity well. From the wormhole came a probe. It fired its ion engine and slowly brought itself into a polar orbit at a height good for surface mapping. It gathered and sent back data on the geocentric system and the planet's lack of rotation. Mission Control sent back instructions to alter its orbit to cover the entire surface. <=K=S=P=€<33 A blue pony with both wings and a horn stood looking at the moon. Classical music and the sounds of conversations floated up the walls of the castle. Her dark mane and tail bellowed in a non-existent wind. She wore a dark crown atop her head, a black necklace with a crescent moon, and silver hoof shoes. She sighed as she turned her head left. Looking south, she noticed something was off about her night sky. She narrowed her eyes as she found a faint star moving north. She watched it crawl across the sky. "Somepony is changing my night. Whoever they are, they must be punished for this crime," she whispered to herself. There was a knock on her chamber's door. She walked over and opened it to find a hoofmaiden. The smaller pony bowed to the alicorn. "Sorry to bother you, your highness, but Princess Celestia wanted to make sure you were okay spending your night alone instead of joining her greeting guests for the Gala," the pony asked with her Canterlot accent. The princess turned around and walked back to the balcony. She looked out at the flying star, now almost overhead. The wind blew into the quiet room. The hoofmaiden, with a concerned face, asked "Princess Luna? Is everything alright?" Luna turned around, saying "I don't know, Feather Duster. I need you to inform my sister to meet me here upon her earliest convenience." Feather Duster bowed again. "Of course, your highne--" The castle rumbled and the sounds of crumbling stone and screams drifted through the hallways. As hoofmaiden and princess galloped down the hallways, they both shared the same thought. This will be an exciting Grand Galloping Gala. Author's Note Hello readers! Thanks for reading my first fanfic. Please point out any spelling or grammar errors (typing on a tablet at school is hard). If you don't like the story, please tell me why so I may improve. I will try to get out at least 1 chapter per week, but there is no set schedule. Also, the name Byss is a shortened version of abyss, but I would prefer a better name but suck at naming things. So if someone comes up with a better name by the release of the next chapter, I will use it and give that person credit. Volgar The Mighty launching off. Chapter 1: We Have TouchdownMy Little Kerbals: Space is Magic Chapter 1: We Have Touchdown <=K=S=P=€<33 Jebediah Kerman pushed the throttle stick up. "Starting transfer burn now," he said. Bill, Bob, and Jebediah were sitting in foldable seats looking "up." To Jeb's left sat Bill with controls in front of both. Inbetween them was a screen. Superior to them sat Bob with gauges and readouts in front of him. Windows were spread around the capsule with a hatch off to the side. A red light started flashing to his left. He pressed a button below it, and the light stayed lit. "Come in, Explorer Team One. This is Mission Control. Do you read me?" a feminine voice boomed over the speaker system. "Loud and clear, Jenny. And might I say you sound fine this... Morning?" Jeb responded. "Afternoon, and thanks... I think. Anyway, this mission isn't purely scientific like the previous ones, and a lot is riding on your success." "A lot is always riding on my success." Both Bill and Bob facepalmed. "And what? Are there aliens on the other side of this wormhole thing?" Jebediah started laughing. "Yes." Jebediah stopped laughing. "Now, we've picked a good landing spot near some settlements. Please try to make a good first impression. The new Office of Alien Relations wants to hear good news from you three." Bob looked over towards Jeb. Raising his voice, he said "Don't worry, you can count on us." "I'm sending a photo of the landing site." Clicking could be heard, then the screen lit up. On it was a picture of a green valley with a forest and settlements. In the center at a flat plains area, a purple target marked the landing area. "As you can see, you will be near at least two settlements with a larger one to the west. The one to the south seems to be a small rural town and there's another town against the base of that mountain to the east. There's also a strange weather phenomenom to the north and a large forest surrounding most of the southern half of the valley." Bill nodded his head. "Thanks, Jenny. Anything else we need to know?" The sound of paper shuffling could be heard over the comms system. "Yes, we're currently scrapping together a video of world leaders saying hello as a greeting package. Expect it to be sent within a month. Use the P. C. U. to show them it." Jeb looked out the window to his right and peered at a city in the night lit up like a lightbulb. "Is that all?" "One last thing. The Director wants us to take as many precautions as possible here, so we've made a few additions to the lander for safety. We've added parachutes to the heat shields so they hopefully won't put anyone or anything in danger. You MUST remember to activate them." Jeb waved his hand. "Don't worry, this is me we're talking about." Jenny sighed before saying "Good luck." The red light blinked out. The silence echoed throughout the capsule for a few seconds. Bill looked at Jeb. "You aren't going to remember, are you?" "I'm sure everything will be fine." <=K=S=P=€<33 About Another Year Later Princess Luna ran down a white marble hallway. Floating in a blue aura next to her was a folder full of papers. The night sky was visible in the stained glass windows. She turned right down a new hallways. At the end stood a set of double doors with a sun inlaid on them. On either side, guards in golden armor stood as still as statues. "TIAAAAAAAAAA!" she screamed as she barreled towards the doors. Before she could crash into the doors, the guards flung open the doors. Once inside, she turned on the lights. As the doors closed behind her, she ran over to the large round bed. "Celestia, wake up!" she said as she shook the large white pony who was trying to sleep under the red covers. Celestia slid an eye open, glaring at Luna. "Luna, why are waking me up--" She looked at the gold alarm clock sitting on her mahogany nightstand. "--two hours before dawn?" "I detected another object, sister, and this one's much larger." The white alicorn crawled out from under her covers. She sighed as she shook her head. "Oh Lulu, you know I care deeply about you, but I still think your overreacting about this false star." "I am not!" She opened the folder and brought out a rough sketch of the probe. "Look, it is clearly designed to imitate my stars. The front reflects light from the sun or moon and this back part along with these sticks must be some sort of magical pushing device. And the worst part is it's resistant to magic!" "Luna, not only does this 'magical pushing device' not exist, the fact it's resistant to magic would stop such a device from working in the first place. And how could they put something into space? That would require massive amounts of magic, maybe even more than either of us, especially if this new one is so large." "I don't know how they did such a thing, but they clearly have. And I will find whoever is responsible for this crime." Celestia rubbed her forehead with her hooves. "I'm glad you're trying to learn more about our subjects, but I don't think guards looking for 'suspicious activity pertaining to the night sky' is the correct way to go about it. In fact, didn't you bring in somepony a month ago because he was talking while looking through his telescope and he had a green coat?" Luna looked down, her cheeks blushing and ears hanging. "I had read those comics about green ponies from space the day before." Celestia groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Look, I'm sure whatever this is about will reveal itself soon enough. But I need to go back to sleep, so why don't you try to learn more about this new one and you can tell me all about it later." Nodding her head, Luna starting to walk out of the room. "You're right, sister. Clearly this newer one will have more proof of this evildoer's plans written all over it." <=K=S=P=€<33 After separating from the interplanetary stage, the lander streaked through space and into the atmosphere. It flew past the terminator into the early dawn light. Flames licked across the glowing heat shields, turning the lander into a smoking fireball. The craft slowed down and the flames vanished. Jebediah looked at the navball to see the retrograde marker centered. "Still going straight. Releasing heat shields." He pressed a button and a small green light above it flashed red for a second before turning green again. Bill stared at Jeb for a few seconds. As he stared, he asked "You forgot to prime the heat shield's parachutes, didn't you?" Jeb stopped moving. "Uhh... No?" Bob turned around and screamed "Jeb! What if they hit something? Or worse, someONE?" Jeb pressed a few buttons before responding. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright." <=K=S=P=€<33 "It is not 'alright' you peasant! You were supposed to trim my bushes before I woke up!" a white unicorn with a golden mane and tail screamed at a cowering brown earth pony. Behind him was an exquisite mansion made of the finest marble. He stood on the entrance pathway surrounded by beautiful flowers and green bushes. "I'm sorry, Prince Blueblood, your highness. But my wife needed to get to a hospital, she's very sick," the earth pony whimpered. "I don't care if who was sick, my bushes were to be trimmed by dawn, and since you can't seem to do that, you're fired!" Prince Blueblood pointed to the main road with his hoof. The gardener hung his head and sulked back home. Blueblood watched as he left. He turned around to walk back in when the sound of breaking stone and scraping metal fell to his ears. He looked up to see a burnt metal disc sticking out of his bedroom wall on the second floor. He stood there, his mouth agape and his eyes popping out of his skull. Out of nowhere, two more crash into his mansion. Some of the roof cracked and collapsed; stone chunks rained down into the yard. Prince Blueblood turned around to run to the castle, but was immediately cut off when another blackened disc crashed into the ground. Stone and dirt flung into the air. Blueblood lay prone on the ground with his hooves covering his head. As the dust settled, he stood back up, hyperventilating and looking to the sky with wide eyes for more objects. Seeing nothing, he looked back down and realized he was covered in filth. Small pebbles, dirt, and chunks of grass were spread throughout his coat, mane, and tail. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the ground. <=K=S=P=€<33 Parachutes slowed the lander as it descended towards the ground. The landing lights turned on and the landing legs folded out. Below lay flat green fields sparsely decorated with trees. A pond could be seen off in the distance. As the craft continued falling, the parachutes opened up completely, beginning the final stage of descent. The engines roared to life, slowing the lander to a safe speed. Jeb watched the radar altimeter as it slowly dialed down. When it landed on zero and the craft shook, he immediately shut off the engines. "Gentlemen, we have touchdown," he said. He checked the fuel gauges and noted that, thanks to the parachutes, very little fuel was used. He walked over to the hatch and carefully unlocked and opened it. Making sure no parachutes were in the way, he pressed the 'lower ladders' button. After waiting for the process to complete, he climbed down onto the soft grass. Bill, Bob, and Jebediah repacked the parachutes, extended the antennae and solar panels, and brought out the P. C. U. They set it on a tripod in front of the lander and prepared the greetings video. They took a few minutes to observe the scenery, noting its uncanny resemblance to home. After a while, Jeb noticed two large specks dive to the ground from the east. He watched as the two chariots, one dark and the other white and being pulled by pegasi of respective colors, land a short distance from them. Jeb pointed at the spectacle. "Hey guys, look! They have flying horses!" At that moment, more pegasi landed nearby, all wearing armor. The chariot pullers unhitched themselves from their cargo. Out of the chariots stepped two more pegasi, one white and the other blue, but these horses also had horns and were wearing royal regalia instead of armor. Noticing they were half surrounded and Bill was hyperventilating, Bob looked to Jebediah and said "I think the aliens ARE the flying horses." Author's Note New chapter! The story is proceeding and things are tense. Luckily, none of Prince Blueblood's undeserving servants were harmed in the writing of this chapter. Sadly, neither was Blueblood... Oh well, I'll see if I can get him next time (assuming there's a next time). Also, in case you missed it, I added a little intro to the prologue a few days ago, so if you haven't, check up on that (though it isn't needed to understand the story). Next, turns out Jebediah would have trouble tanning on Laythe as the max temperature there is 43 degrees Fahrenheit. I'll have rewrite some of the scene to make everything work out. Expect it to update in a few days, but the next chapter will have a notice just in case you miss it. Finally, turned out Christmas was a little busier for me than I thought it would be, so I didn't finish the new cover art. Expect that to also update in a few days. Volgar The Mighty launching off. P. S. Considering Kerbin's similar flora to Earth, I'm also giving it similar fauna. We don't share mythology though, so they don't know what pegasi and unicorns are. Chapter 2: Close Encounters of the Third KindMy Little Kerbals: Space is Magic Chapter 2: Close Encounters of the Third Kind <=K=S=P=€<33 Luna stared at the sight before her. The sight baffled her. Three green bipedal creatures in bulky white suits stood in front of a large, six legged landing machine with poles and reflective surfaces sticking out the top and bells on the bottom. Next to the creatures sat a lit window on a tripod. One creature looked terrified and was hyperventilating. Another one seemed worried and kept looking between the guards and herself. The final creature looked left then right. A smirk grew on its face before stepping forward. Several guards tensed up at the move. The creature raised its forelegs into the air. It took a deep breath before bellowing out "We come in peace!" The language it, or he if the deeper voice is any indication, spoke was completely foreign. The worried one looked over at the speaker before smacking its helmet. Looking up, Luna and Celestia saw a night guard look out of the lander's door. He nodded his head, indicating there were no other aliens or weapons. "I will send a letter to Twilight and have some guards retrieve her," Celestia said to Luna. Celestia turned around and walked back to her carriage. She opened a secret compartment in the back and removed some paper and ink. As she levitated it in the air and started writing the letter, the aliens all stared at the magic. "Woooooooooaaaah." The creatures started conversing excitedly among themselves, though one seemed angry at the simple magic. Their fascination along with their strange lack of magic suggested to Luna that wherever the aliens were from had no magic, though how life could exist without magic alluded her. Celestia finished the letter and sent it away with green flames. She then sent two guards away with a carriage. Turning around she saw one of the bipeds walk over to the tripod. It turned to them and pointed at the princesses then waved them over. Glancing to each other, the two alicorns walked over to the device. A conference room filled with more green creatures, these in business suits, covered the glass. The suited alien pressed the largest of a group of buttons with his strange appendage. "Hello fellow sentient beings." Celestia's and Luna's ears swivelled toward the masculine voice that emanated from the strange window. The guards all tensed up and looked for any possible hostiles. Several walked closer to the princesses just in case. The creature standing at the center of the screen continued talking. "We come not to conquer but to learn and grow. We extend our hands in greetings and hope you receive well and happy. Together, we represent the nations of our world and hope we can be friends and allies." The creatures performed a small bow before each extended a single foreleg. All of the green creatures then said at once "To a bright future!" Then the screen turned black and the device grew quiet. Turning back to their guests, they saw the aliens standing in a line. The middle one extended his foreleg. Celestia smiled at him and extended her foreleg. She grabbed his appendage and shook it. "We welcome you three to Equestria.” <=K=S=P=€<33 "Just calm down, Twilight. I doubt the princess would send you back to magic kindergarten," a small violet and green dragon said to the lavender unicorn sitting next to him. They both sat in a golden chariot being pulled by two solar guards. Stacks of books covered the floor.. "Spike, the princess needed every book I could find on translation spells, languages, and speech. What if I'm missing something important?" Spike picked up a random book. "Yeah, well, I don't think she needs 'The History of the Letter A.'" "Spike, we might need that if whatever these beings are share that same--" "Cool, what is that!?" Spike exclaimed while looking over the side of the carriage. Twilight looked over as well, seeing a large metal ship with legs. Surrounding it were guards, the princesses, and three strangely shaped creatures wearing a white full-body suit. Two of the aliens were messing around with some small hoof-held devices connected to a glowing tripod. The final one was setting down a striped tanning chair. She jumped out after they landed with Spike riding on her back. He looked at the aliens and their spaceship with fascination. “Don’t worry, princesses. I came as soon as I could. I brought everything I could find that you asked for,” Twilight said when she reached the princesses. Celestia chuckled and said “Don’t worry, my faithful student. I have full confidence in your abilities. We just need to find a translation spell so that we may communicate with the aliens.” “Wait!” Spike shot up and looked fearfully at the green men. “What if they want to suck out our brains through straws?” Celestia shook her head. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” She looked at her sister, who looked sleepy. “Luna, you may go back to the palace if you want. I can take care of everything from here.” Luna yawned before nodding. "Thanks, Celly. Just please be careful. Something doesn't seem right about them." "Don't worry, just go get some rest." Celestia watched as her sister was flown back east by several night guards. She walked towards the carriage that brought Twilight. "Come, Twilight. We'll need to find a translation spell that works for unknown languages." As they trotted away, Spike jumped off Twilight's back and crawled towards the aliens. One was taking pictures of the area with a small camera. Another was putting samples of grass and insects in plastic bags. The last one was trying to tan despite still wearing a spacesuit. As Spike neared them, the photographer noticed the dragon. It took a picture of him before turning around. "Bob, Jeb, look at this strange lizard." The others walked over and they started chatting between each other. Spike frowned and raised an eyebrow. He slowly waved his claw. "Uhh, hi." The aliens stopped talking and stared at the dragon. He grasped his hands together and rocked back and forth on his feet while staring at the ground. "You aren't going to... Eat my brain..." Spike looked at them with wide eyes. "Are you?" "I think it just talked," the alien with spiky hair said. "It sounded like a question. What do we do?" the alien on the left asked. "Just nod your head and say yes," the first creature responded. They all nodded their heads and said "Yes." Spike tip-toed backwards then sprinted back to the safety of Celestia and Twilight. The ponies were skimming through stacks of books. They needed to find a spell that sensed the concepts and meanings behind the alien's unknown words and accurately translates them instead of the usual spell that translates word by word using a database. Twilight jumped back up from her seated position. "I found one!" she exclaimed. She showed it to Celestia who nodded after looking. "Now we just need to let them know somehow." Celetia levitated over some paper and ink. "See if you can use pictures to show them." Twilight nodded and magically grabbed the supplies. She walked over to the green beings. She got the attention of one who seemed nervous, maybe even scared of her. She started drawing a picture of a pony and alien speaking to each other with the pony using magic on the alien's head. She noted the alien followed with wide eyes the quill as it scratched against the parchment. Celestia had told her about them possibly being from a non-magical place. She wondered what it would be like to not know about magic her whole life only to later discover it for the first time. She showed him the picture. He looked confused at first, then looked at her glowing horn. He pointed at her horn as he said "You're gonna help us communicate with your horn? How does that work?" He looked at the paper for a few more seconds then nodded his head. He walked over to the others to inform them. <=K=S=P=€<33 She spied through the tree's leafy canopy with her blue eyes. It hadn't been difficult to get past the guards. She bounced on the branch, somehow holding the branch still and making no sound. Her dark pink mane bounced along with her. A guard walked by and failed to notice her pink coat that stuck out against the green foliage. She watched as Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle gathered near the green aliens. They read over a book as if in preparation for something. She peered over towards the alien spaceship behind the ponies. She didn't know how such a thing worked or how it survived falling from space. It was large enough to abduct ponies just like in movies. "This sure is a doozy of a doozy," she whispered in her squeaky voice. She had woken up that morning when her sixth sense had gone off. It had been intense, only ever going off that badly once before. She had went out to investigate, and now found the cause. She wondered if they were like the aliens in the comics and movies, but doubted it with the princess and Twilight working with them. “I should tell my friends about the cool aliens. And if they’re nice, they’ll get a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party. Everypony deserves a party.” She scooted back into the tree and disappeared, never catching the attention of any guards. <=K=S=P=€<33 Twilight and the princess followed the instructions in the book as their horns glowed violet and yellow respectively. The glow began to brighten as the aliens' heads glowed too. A half minute passed as nothing seemed to happen. The ponies increased their magic input thus brightening their horns, though one of the aliens was unaffected due to some sunglasses he wore. Suddenly, they all screamed in pain and grabbed their heads. It went by unnoticed by the ponies. The lights flashed as they finished the spell. The aliens stood still, staring blankly forward with wide-eyes. Celestia and Twilight kneeled, sweating and panting heavily. The creatures all groaned out "Owww" before falling on the ground, their eyes rolling into their heads. Celestia frowned. "I hope it worked. The spell will probably last only a day due to their magic resistance." Twilight looked up to her mentor. "What should we do now?" "Let's bring them back to the palace so they may rest in peace. We'll have to prepare a speech to inform the masses." Author's Note I'm back and not dead! Sorry for missing last weekend, had some problems and spent time getting ready to go back to school. Then I discovered the school installed a new internet filter system so now I have to use Google Docs to type on the tablet at school, which doesn't work well and now I have to spend time reformatting my story for each post. This new filter system is terrible. Everything good is block, including Youtube, Fimfiction, even Wikipedia (Kinda hard to do research at school now too). Sorry about ranting, but I can't stand it. Hopefully I can stay on schedule now that I'm used to the changes. If not, blame the school (not really (ok, maybe a little)). Volgar The Mighty launching off.
Prologue: Probe SentMy Little Kerbals: Space is Magic Prologue: Probe Sent <=K=S=P=€<33 Space. Some call it the final frontier, and with good reason. The universe has so much to explore, more than anyone could ever hope to discover. And the first step out into this vast world is the solar system. But what is to be done once that system is explored? Once all the challenges it once held are no more? Unable to explore further out, the kerbals, short green men with tall cylindrical heads, have run into this very situation. That is, until the universe gave them a new challenge. A wormhole, named Byss, opened up outside the orbit of Jool. What will they discover on the other side? New planets to explore? New lifeforms to study? And could there be intelligent life to meet with, trade with, and become friends with? And who better to reach beyond the stars and answer these questions than Kerbin's three greatest heroes? Of course, it wouldn't be a challenge without some problems... <=K=S=P=€<33 "Launching two-probe payload in five... Four... Three... Two... One...Main engine start...We have liftoff!" Several green hands flew into the air and clapped against each other. The kerbals sitting in the control room were all excited for the new mission to Byss, a wormhole that recently opened past the orbit of Jool. It possessed a gravity well about twice the size of the Mun's and was half the size of Minmus. The mission was to send two probes to Byss, one to stay outside for telecommunications into the wormhole and held gravity and radiation sensors, and the other held ground-to-space communication systems along with interplanetary communication equipment, scientific sensors, and a surface mapper to find a preferable landing site for future manned missions. Over the next few minutes mission control guided the probes into orbit and planned out the mission's path with the maneuver nodes system. A kerbal with spiky blonde hair and a white polo shirt and blue jeans walked out the door and down the hall. After walking down several flights of stairs, he found the Director's office. He knocked on the door three times. "Come in," a gruff voice said. He opened the door and walked in. After closing the door, he walked over to the desk. On its wooden surface was a computer monitor, pictures of friends and family, and knick-knacks including a Newton's cradle and silver ringed globe. Filing cabinets lined some of the walls with more pictures, knick-knacks, and a college degree hanging off the walls above. The Director wore a red polo shirt and blue jeans. His hair was slicked back and colored brown with streaks of gray spread throughout. From his mouth hung a large cigar. He removed a pair of large sunglasses and set them on the desk, leaving behind his normal prescription glasses. "Hello, Director," the scientist said, only to receive a glare. "I mean, Mr. Director, sir!" The Director grunted. "Go on." "The launch was successful, sir." "Good." The Director flicked the cigar against an ash tray, then put it back in his mouth where it hung to his right. "I need you to tell Relay to send a message to Explorer Team One. Bring them home, I've got a new mission for them." The scientist's eyes shot open. "B-but sir! They're still on Laythe testing ground conditions for R. E. F.'s and--" The Director ground his teeth. "I don't care!" He stood up, his muscles bulging out. "They've been there for two months! Just bring them home now." The other kerbal started hyperventilating and nodded his head fast enough to blur. "Yes, sir! Sorry I doubted you, sir!" He sprinted out of the office, flailing his arms around and screaming his head off. <=K=S=P=€<33 A large sandy beach sat next to a large ocean. On a red beach chair lay a kerbal without a shirt, tanning with a foil sheet and protecting his eyes with sunglasses. The small sun in the sky became blocked by a shadow. He sat up and looked behind him to find another kerbal wearing the body half of a spacesuit. "What do you want now, Bob?" he whined while removing his sunglasses. "Come on, Jeb. Mission Control is calling us home early," he said in his soft voice. Jeb facepalmed while giving a sigh. He stood and started packing his tanning equipment. "How many times do I have to tell you 'if you want to say my awesome name, say it correctly?'" "Fine, Jebediah, just go get ready. I'll go get Bill." He walked over to the top of a nearby sand dune. At the peak, a two and a half meter tall antenna stuck out of a half-buried metal box. Standing next to said box stood Bill who gazed at the rising Jool. "Good news, Bill. We're going home early." "Did they tell us what beauty we're visiting next?" he asked as he jogged back to the ship. Bob ran to keep up with his athletic partner. "No, just that we're about to go farther than ever before." They both climbed the ladder into the capsule. They all dressed in their spacesuits and sat down to perform pre-flight checks. They ignited the engines and launched back into orbit. <=K=S=P=€<33 About One Year Later The wormhole was in orbit around a planet covered in blue oceans, green forests, and brown deserts. Closer to the planet orbited a gray moon. Outside of the planet's gravity well orbited a star, despite having more mass and therefore a larger gravity well. From the wormhole came a probe. It fired its ion engine and slowly brought itself into a polar orbit at a height good for surface mapping. It gathered and sent back data on the geocentric system and the planet's lack of rotation. Mission Control sent back instructions to alter its orbit to cover the entire surface. <=K=S=P=€<33 A blue pony with both wings and a horn stood looking at the moon. Classical music and the sounds of conversations floated up the walls of the castle. Her dark mane and tail bellowed in a non-existent wind. She wore a dark crown atop her head, a black necklace with a crescent moon, and silver hoof shoes. She sighed as she turned her head left. Looking south, she noticed something was off about her night sky. She narrowed her eyes as she found a faint star moving north. She watched it crawl across the sky. "Somepony is changing my night. Whoever they are, they must be punished for this crime," she whispered to herself. There was a knock on her chamber's door. She walked over and opened it to find a hoofmaiden. The smaller pony bowed to the alicorn. "Sorry to bother you, your highness, but Princess Celestia wanted to make sure you were okay spending your night alone instead of joining her greeting guests for the Gala," the pony asked with her Canterlot accent. The princess turned around and walked back to the balcony. She looked out at the flying star, now almost overhead. The wind blew into the quiet room. The hoofmaiden, with a concerned face, asked "Princess Luna? Is everything alright?" Luna turned around, saying "I don't know, Feather Duster. I need you to inform my sister to meet me here upon her earliest convenience." Feather Duster bowed again. "Of course, your highne--" The castle rumbled and the sounds of crumbling stone and screams drifted through the hallways. As hoofmaiden and princess galloped down the hallways, they both shared the same thought. This will be an exciting Grand Galloping Gala. Author's Note Hello readers! Thanks for reading my first fanfic. Please point out any spelling or grammar errors (typing on a tablet at school is hard). If you don't like the story, please tell me why so I may improve. I will try to get out at least 1 chapter per week, but there is no set schedule. Also, the name Byss is a shortened version of abyss, but I would prefer a better name but suck at naming things. So if someone comes up with a better name by the release of the next chapter, I will use it and give that person credit. Volgar The Mighty launching off.
Chapter 1: We Have TouchdownMy Little Kerbals: Space is Magic Chapter 1: We Have Touchdown <=K=S=P=€<33 Jebediah Kerman pushed the throttle stick up. "Starting transfer burn now," he said. Bill, Bob, and Jebediah were sitting in foldable seats looking "up." To Jeb's left sat Bill with controls in front of both. Inbetween them was a screen. Superior to them sat Bob with gauges and readouts in front of him. Windows were spread around the capsule with a hatch off to the side. A red light started flashing to his left. He pressed a button below it, and the light stayed lit. "Come in, Explorer Team One. This is Mission Control. Do you read me?" a feminine voice boomed over the speaker system. "Loud and clear, Jenny. And might I say you sound fine this... Morning?" Jeb responded. "Afternoon, and thanks... I think. Anyway, this mission isn't purely scientific like the previous ones, and a lot is riding on your success." "A lot is always riding on my success." Both Bill and Bob facepalmed. "And what? Are there aliens on the other side of this wormhole thing?" Jebediah started laughing. "Yes." Jebediah stopped laughing. "Now, we've picked a good landing spot near some settlements. Please try to make a good first impression. The new Office of Alien Relations wants to hear good news from you three." Bob looked over towards Jeb. Raising his voice, he said "Don't worry, you can count on us." "I'm sending a photo of the landing site." Clicking could be heard, then the screen lit up. On it was a picture of a green valley with a forest and settlements. In the center at a flat plains area, a purple target marked the landing area. "As you can see, you will be near at least two settlements with a larger one to the west. The one to the south seems to be a small rural town and there's another town against the base of that mountain to the east. There's also a strange weather phenomenom to the north and a large forest surrounding most of the southern half of the valley." Bill nodded his head. "Thanks, Jenny. Anything else we need to know?" The sound of paper shuffling could be heard over the comms system. "Yes, we're currently scrapping together a video of world leaders saying hello as a greeting package. Expect it to be sent within a month. Use the P. C. U. to show them it." Jeb looked out the window to his right and peered at a city in the night lit up like a lightbulb. "Is that all?" "One last thing. The Director wants us to take as many precautions as possible here, so we've made a few additions to the lander for safety. We've added parachutes to the heat shields so they hopefully won't put anyone or anything in danger. You MUST remember to activate them." Jeb waved his hand. "Don't worry, this is me we're talking about." Jenny sighed before saying "Good luck." The red light blinked out. The silence echoed throughout the capsule for a few seconds. Bill looked at Jeb. "You aren't going to remember, are you?" "I'm sure everything will be fine." <=K=S=P=€<33 About Another Year Later Princess Luna ran down a white marble hallway. Floating in a blue aura next to her was a folder full of papers. The night sky was visible in the stained glass windows. She turned right down a new hallways. At the end stood a set of double doors with a sun inlaid on them. On either side, guards in golden armor stood as still as statues. "TIAAAAAAAAAA!" she screamed as she barreled towards the doors. Before she could crash into the doors, the guards flung open the doors. Once inside, she turned on the lights. As the doors closed behind her, she ran over to the large round bed. "Celestia, wake up!" she said as she shook the large white pony who was trying to sleep under the red covers. Celestia slid an eye open, glaring at Luna. "Luna, why are waking me up--" She looked at the gold alarm clock sitting on her mahogany nightstand. "--two hours before dawn?" "I detected another object, sister, and this one's much larger." The white alicorn crawled out from under her covers. She sighed as she shook her head. "Oh Lulu, you know I care deeply about you, but I still think your overreacting about this false star." "I am not!" She opened the folder and brought out a rough sketch of the probe. "Look, it is clearly designed to imitate my stars. The front reflects light from the sun or moon and this back part along with these sticks must be some sort of magical pushing device. And the worst part is it's resistant to magic!" "Luna, not only does this 'magical pushing device' not exist, the fact it's resistant to magic would stop such a device from working in the first place. And how could they put something into space? That would require massive amounts of magic, maybe even more than either of us, especially if this new one is so large." "I don't know how they did such a thing, but they clearly have. And I will find whoever is responsible for this crime." Celestia rubbed her forehead with her hooves. "I'm glad you're trying to learn more about our subjects, but I don't think guards looking for 'suspicious activity pertaining to the night sky' is the correct way to go about it. In fact, didn't you bring in somepony a month ago because he was talking while looking through his telescope and he had a green coat?" Luna looked down, her cheeks blushing and ears hanging. "I had read those comics about green ponies from space the day before." Celestia groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Look, I'm sure whatever this is about will reveal itself soon enough. But I need to go back to sleep, so why don't you try to learn more about this new one and you can tell me all about it later." Nodding her head, Luna starting to walk out of the room. "You're right, sister. Clearly this newer one will have more proof of this evildoer's plans written all over it." <=K=S=P=€<33 After separating from the interplanetary stage, the lander streaked through space and into the atmosphere. It flew past the terminator into the early dawn light. Flames licked across the glowing heat shields, turning the lander into a smoking fireball. The craft slowed down and the flames vanished. Jebediah looked at the navball to see the retrograde marker centered. "Still going straight. Releasing heat shields." He pressed a button and a small green light above it flashed red for a second before turning green again. Bill stared at Jeb for a few seconds. As he stared, he asked "You forgot to prime the heat shield's parachutes, didn't you?" Jeb stopped moving. "Uhh... No?" Bob turned around and screamed "Jeb! What if they hit something? Or worse, someONE?" Jeb pressed a few buttons before responding. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright." <=K=S=P=€<33 "It is not 'alright' you peasant! You were supposed to trim my bushes before I woke up!" a white unicorn with a golden mane and tail screamed at a cowering brown earth pony. Behind him was an exquisite mansion made of the finest marble. He stood on the entrance pathway surrounded by beautiful flowers and green bushes. "I'm sorry, Prince Blueblood, your highness. But my wife needed to get to a hospital, she's very sick," the earth pony whimpered. "I don't care if who was sick, my bushes were to be trimmed by dawn, and since you can't seem to do that, you're fired!" Prince Blueblood pointed to the main road with his hoof. The gardener hung his head and sulked back home. Blueblood watched as he left. He turned around to walk back in when the sound of breaking stone and scraping metal fell to his ears. He looked up to see a burnt metal disc sticking out of his bedroom wall on the second floor. He stood there, his mouth agape and his eyes popping out of his skull. Out of nowhere, two more crash into his mansion. Some of the roof cracked and collapsed; stone chunks rained down into the yard. Prince Blueblood turned around to run to the castle, but was immediately cut off when another blackened disc crashed into the ground. Stone and dirt flung into the air. Blueblood lay prone on the ground with his hooves covering his head. As the dust settled, he stood back up, hyperventilating and looking to the sky with wide eyes for more objects. Seeing nothing, he looked back down and realized he was covered in filth. Small pebbles, dirt, and chunks of grass were spread throughout his coat, mane, and tail. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell to the ground. <=K=S=P=€<33 Parachutes slowed the lander as it descended towards the ground. The landing lights turned on and the landing legs folded out. Below lay flat green fields sparsely decorated with trees. A pond could be seen off in the distance. As the craft continued falling, the parachutes opened up completely, beginning the final stage of descent. The engines roared to life, slowing the lander to a safe speed. Jeb watched the radar altimeter as it slowly dialed down. When it landed on zero and the craft shook, he immediately shut off the engines. "Gentlemen, we have touchdown," he said. He checked the fuel gauges and noted that, thanks to the parachutes, very little fuel was used. He walked over to the hatch and carefully unlocked and opened it. Making sure no parachutes were in the way, he pressed the 'lower ladders' button. After waiting for the process to complete, he climbed down onto the soft grass. Bill, Bob, and Jebediah repacked the parachutes, extended the antennae and solar panels, and brought out the P. C. U. They set it on a tripod in front of the lander and prepared the greetings video. They took a few minutes to observe the scenery, noting its uncanny resemblance to home. After a while, Jeb noticed two large specks dive to the ground from the east. He watched as the two chariots, one dark and the other white and being pulled by pegasi of respective colors, land a short distance from them. Jeb pointed at the spectacle. "Hey guys, look! They have flying horses!" At that moment, more pegasi landed nearby, all wearing armor. The chariot pullers unhitched themselves from their cargo. Out of the chariots stepped two more pegasi, one white and the other blue, but these horses also had horns and were wearing royal regalia instead of armor. Noticing they were half surrounded and Bill was hyperventilating, Bob looked to Jebediah and said "I think the aliens ARE the flying horses." Author's Note New chapter! The story is proceeding and things are tense. Luckily, none of Prince Blueblood's undeserving servants were harmed in the writing of this chapter. Sadly, neither was Blueblood... Oh well, I'll see if I can get him next time (assuming there's a next time). Also, in case you missed it, I added a little intro to the prologue a few days ago, so if you haven't, check up on that (though it isn't needed to understand the story). Next, turns out Jebediah would have trouble tanning on Laythe as the max temperature there is 43 degrees Fahrenheit. I'll have rewrite some of the scene to make everything work out. Expect it to update in a few days, but the next chapter will have a notice just in case you miss it. Finally, turned out Christmas was a little busier for me than I thought it would be, so I didn't finish the new cover art. Expect that to also update in a few days. Volgar The Mighty launching off. P. S. Considering Kerbin's similar flora to Earth, I'm also giving it similar fauna. We don't share mythology though, so they don't know what pegasi and unicorns are.
Chapter 2: Close Encounters of the Third KindMy Little Kerbals: Space is Magic Chapter 2: Close Encounters of the Third Kind <=K=S=P=€<33 Luna stared at the sight before her. The sight baffled her. Three green bipedal creatures in bulky white suits stood in front of a large, six legged landing machine with poles and reflective surfaces sticking out the top and bells on the bottom. Next to the creatures sat a lit window on a tripod. One creature looked terrified and was hyperventilating. Another one seemed worried and kept looking between the guards and herself. The final creature looked left then right. A smirk grew on its face before stepping forward. Several guards tensed up at the move. The creature raised its forelegs into the air. It took a deep breath before bellowing out "We come in peace!" The language it, or he if the deeper voice is any indication, spoke was completely foreign. The worried one looked over at the speaker before smacking its helmet. Looking up, Luna and Celestia saw a night guard look out of the lander's door. He nodded his head, indicating there were no other aliens or weapons. "I will send a letter to Twilight and have some guards retrieve her," Celestia said to Luna. Celestia turned around and walked back to her carriage. She opened a secret compartment in the back and removed some paper and ink. As she levitated it in the air and started writing the letter, the aliens all stared at the magic. "Woooooooooaaaah." The creatures started conversing excitedly among themselves, though one seemed angry at the simple magic. Their fascination along with their strange lack of magic suggested to Luna that wherever the aliens were from had no magic, though how life could exist without magic alluded her. Celestia finished the letter and sent it away with green flames. She then sent two guards away with a carriage. Turning around she saw one of the bipeds walk over to the tripod. It turned to them and pointed at the princesses then waved them over. Glancing to each other, the two alicorns walked over to the device. A conference room filled with more green creatures, these in business suits, covered the glass. The suited alien pressed the largest of a group of buttons with his strange appendage. "Hello fellow sentient beings." Celestia's and Luna's ears swivelled toward the masculine voice that emanated from the strange window. The guards all tensed up and looked for any possible hostiles. Several walked closer to the princesses just in case. The creature standing at the center of the screen continued talking. "We come not to conquer but to learn and grow. We extend our hands in greetings and hope you receive well and happy. Together, we represent the nations of our world and hope we can be friends and allies." The creatures performed a small bow before each extended a single foreleg. All of the green creatures then said at once "To a bright future!" Then the screen turned black and the device grew quiet. Turning back to their guests, they saw the aliens standing in a line. The middle one extended his foreleg. Celestia smiled at him and extended her foreleg. She grabbed his appendage and shook it. "We welcome you three to Equestria.” <=K=S=P=€<33 "Just calm down, Twilight. I doubt the princess would send you back to magic kindergarten," a small violet and green dragon said to the lavender unicorn sitting next to him. They both sat in a golden chariot being pulled by two solar guards. Stacks of books covered the floor.. "Spike, the princess needed every book I could find on translation spells, languages, and speech. What if I'm missing something important?" Spike picked up a random book. "Yeah, well, I don't think she needs 'The History of the Letter A.'" "Spike, we might need that if whatever these beings are share that same--" "Cool, what is that!?" Spike exclaimed while looking over the side of the carriage. Twilight looked over as well, seeing a large metal ship with legs. Surrounding it were guards, the princesses, and three strangely shaped creatures wearing a white full-body suit. Two of the aliens were messing around with some small hoof-held devices connected to a glowing tripod. The final one was setting down a striped tanning chair. She jumped out after they landed with Spike riding on her back. He looked at the aliens and their spaceship with fascination. “Don’t worry, princesses. I came as soon as I could. I brought everything I could find that you asked for,” Twilight said when she reached the princesses. Celestia chuckled and said “Don’t worry, my faithful student. I have full confidence in your abilities. We just need to find a translation spell so that we may communicate with the aliens.” “Wait!” Spike shot up and looked fearfully at the green men. “What if they want to suck out our brains through straws?” Celestia shook her head. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” She looked at her sister, who looked sleepy. “Luna, you may go back to the palace if you want. I can take care of everything from here.” Luna yawned before nodding. "Thanks, Celly. Just please be careful. Something doesn't seem right about them." "Don't worry, just go get some rest." Celestia watched as her sister was flown back east by several night guards. She walked towards the carriage that brought Twilight. "Come, Twilight. We'll need to find a translation spell that works for unknown languages." As they trotted away, Spike jumped off Twilight's back and crawled towards the aliens. One was taking pictures of the area with a small camera. Another was putting samples of grass and insects in plastic bags. The last one was trying to tan despite still wearing a spacesuit. As Spike neared them, the photographer noticed the dragon. It took a picture of him before turning around. "Bob, Jeb, look at this strange lizard." The others walked over and they started chatting between each other. Spike frowned and raised an eyebrow. He slowly waved his claw. "Uhh, hi." The aliens stopped talking and stared at the dragon. He grasped his hands together and rocked back and forth on his feet while staring at the ground. "You aren't going to... Eat my brain..." Spike looked at them with wide eyes. "Are you?" "I think it just talked," the alien with spiky hair said. "It sounded like a question. What do we do?" the alien on the left asked. "Just nod your head and say yes," the first creature responded. They all nodded their heads and said "Yes." Spike tip-toed backwards then sprinted back to the safety of Celestia and Twilight. The ponies were skimming through stacks of books. They needed to find a spell that sensed the concepts and meanings behind the alien's unknown words and accurately translates them instead of the usual spell that translates word by word using a database. Twilight jumped back up from her seated position. "I found one!" she exclaimed. She showed it to Celestia who nodded after looking. "Now we just need to let them know somehow." Celetia levitated over some paper and ink. "See if you can use pictures to show them." Twilight nodded and magically grabbed the supplies. She walked over to the green beings. She got the attention of one who seemed nervous, maybe even scared of her. She started drawing a picture of a pony and alien speaking to each other with the pony using magic on the alien's head. She noted the alien followed with wide eyes the quill as it scratched against the parchment. Celestia had told her about them possibly being from a non-magical place. She wondered what it would be like to not know about magic her whole life only to later discover it for the first time. She showed him the picture. He looked confused at first, then looked at her glowing horn. He pointed at her horn as he said "You're gonna help us communicate with your horn? How does that work?" He looked at the paper for a few more seconds then nodded his head. He walked over to the others to inform them. <=K=S=P=€<33 She spied through the tree's leafy canopy with her blue eyes. It hadn't been difficult to get past the guards. She bounced on the branch, somehow holding the branch still and making no sound. Her dark pink mane bounced along with her. A guard walked by and failed to notice her pink coat that stuck out against the green foliage. She watched as Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle gathered near the green aliens. They read over a book as if in preparation for something. She peered over towards the alien spaceship behind the ponies. She didn't know how such a thing worked or how it survived falling from space. It was large enough to abduct ponies just like in movies. "This sure is a doozy of a doozy," she whispered in her squeaky voice. She had woken up that morning when her sixth sense had gone off. It had been intense, only ever going off that badly once before. She had went out to investigate, and now found the cause. She wondered if they were like the aliens in the comics and movies, but doubted it with the princess and Twilight working with them. “I should tell my friends about the cool aliens. And if they’re nice, they’ll get a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party. Everypony deserves a party.” She scooted back into the tree and disappeared, never catching the attention of any guards. <=K=S=P=€<33 Twilight and the princess followed the instructions in the book as their horns glowed violet and yellow respectively. The glow began to brighten as the aliens' heads glowed too. A half minute passed as nothing seemed to happen. The ponies increased their magic input thus brightening their horns, though one of the aliens was unaffected due to some sunglasses he wore. Suddenly, they all screamed in pain and grabbed their heads. It went by unnoticed by the ponies. The lights flashed as they finished the spell. The aliens stood still, staring blankly forward with wide-eyes. Celestia and Twilight kneeled, sweating and panting heavily. The creatures all groaned out "Owww" before falling on the ground, their eyes rolling into their heads. Celestia frowned. "I hope it worked. The spell will probably last only a day due to their magic resistance." Twilight looked up to her mentor. "What should we do now?" "Let's bring them back to the palace so they may rest in peace. We'll have to prepare a speech to inform the masses." Author's Note I'm back and not dead! Sorry for missing last weekend, had some problems and spent time getting ready to go back to school. Then I discovered the school installed a new internet filter system so now I have to use Google Docs to type on the tablet at school, which doesn't work well and now I have to spend time reformatting my story for each post. This new filter system is terrible. Everything good is block, including Youtube, Fimfiction, even Wikipedia (Kinda hard to do research at school now too). Sorry about ranting, but I can't stand it. Hopefully I can stay on schedule now that I'm used to the changes. If not, blame the school (not really (ok, maybe a little)). Volgar The Mighty launching off.
