Amongst the Stars

Chapters

Landfall
Awakening
Complications
Convergence
Encounter

Landfall

Canterlot, 11:34 P.M  August 24th, 1st year ADNM (After Defeat of Nightmare Moon)

Luna observed her handiwork once more as the moon took to the sky and the sun sank, the sky fading from dark red to pale blue with white specks. Day gave way to night as her and her older sister ceased their flow of magic. Celestia would usually return to the palace at this time to conduct any remaining business or to prepare for bed, but Luna usually sat on the high mountain which Canterlot was built upon to appreciate her work for a few moments.

She smiled as she was bathed in pale moonlight, and the twinkling stars flickered in their realm high above this world. A shooting star blazed down. Luna hurriedly tried to make a wish, but couldn’t make it before the falling star burned out. She sighed, yet smiled, knowing there would be another chance to wish.

She turned to return to the palace, but stopped when she saw another shooting star. And another. And another.   “Oh wow,” she gasped in wonder, seeing the beauty of the meteor shower. She sat down once more, enjoying the beauty that was only visible in her domain. Silently she wished that other ponies could observe this wonder, and she knew that some out there would. However, she felt like she needed to let others know. She hoped her sister wasn’t in bed yet. She needed to send a letter to everypony she knew...well, everypony she knew in ponyville. She sighed, as she realized she only knew one pony outside of the palace. She smiled again, as she imagined the reaction to the meteor shower.

However, high above Canterlot, the moonlight bathed land, and the serene landscape, the “meteor shower” was anything but beautiful.

Uncharted space, orbiting uncharted planet V-3452
75th expeditionary space force, Terran fleet.
Battleship Kilimanjaro Bridge
September 17th, 2154 AD

Captain Clark strolled through the corridor of his ship at a quickened pace. They had just come out of a hyperspace jump, and he was informed he should get to the bridge immediately. No other details, other than “he might want to see it.” He sighed and shook his head. Probably some ensign who had never seen a Draco fleet before. At that thought, he quickened his pace. His ship might have better long range sensors than most Draco warships, but that didn’t make them invisible.

He caught the next lift up to bridge level, and stepped out onto said bridge. It was a room filled with rows of computers, each with a technician monitoring vital aspects of the ships systems. They computers and desks were arranged in a semicircle facing a large view screen that occupied the entire 20 by 20 foot wall. In the center sat a chair with a smaller computer at its side. Captain Clark approached his seat, saluting a few of his officers and enlisted on his way.

Waiting next to his chair was a rather short but capable looking young man. He was bald, and wore glasses. A patch of a globe and a telescope was stitched on the right shoulder of his gray service uniform. He was part of the science core.   The Captain saluted him, and he returned the gesture.   “Are you the one who made the big fuss about me coming here?” The captain asked, sitting in his chair.

“Yes sir,” the scientist replied, saluting. “Lieutenant William Wilkerson, Terran Science core.” The Captain returned the salute, still sitting. He was too tired for formalities.
“Well what do you want to speak to me about?”   The viewscreen flipped on behind the scientist, showing a planet, with expansive green fields, dark blue oceans, and expanses of wispy clouds. Clark sat forward in his chair. After several years of seeing nothing but desolate rock after desolate rock, here was another habitable planet, other than earth and whatever planet the Dracos came from.   “Initial scans show an atmosphere very similar to earth, massive populations of flora and fauna, though an expedition team will be required to categorize them.”  “So it would be a good colony world,” Clark said, pleasantly surprised.   Wilkerson smiled, and continued. “On top of that, the world is shot through with veins of iron ore, tin, palladium, iridium, and countless other heavy metals in large amounts.”  Clarks eyebrows rose at that. “How expansive are these resources from your scans?”  Lieutenant Wilkerson pulled a datapad from a pocket on his uniform. He typed, and a hologram appeared above it. He handed it to the captain, who accepted it eagerly. Captain Clark gasped at the sight of the figures. He looked to the scientist.  “That’s enough to build a large enough invasion force...if we take that planet we could end this war within a year..” the Captain’s voice trailed off as he was lost in thought.   “Shall I prepare a scouting team sir?” Clark snapped out of his trance and looked from the planet, to the figures, to the scientist.   “Yes, have a team ready to go planet-side in fifteen minutes. I’ll accompany them.” A noticeable twitch passed through the scientist, but was gone as soon as it appeared. He saluted, and left the bridge to carry out his orders. The Captain followed shortly afterwards. He would pick his team himself.
  Dark Side of Sanctuary World 13D Warlord Vra’sta’s fleet.
Dreadnought Warding Heavens  12th cycle of the Draco/Human war.

Vra’sta laid back in his captains chair, seemingly relaxed, but his muscles were tensed. His predatory instincts focused every part of his body on the hunt. He carefully watched the view-screen of the human ship and it’s two corvette escorts. He could take them all by surprise. He could slaughter the trespassers and suffer few casualties. But he didn’t, as it was not the right moment. That would reveal itself in time.
His eye caught movement to his left. It slid to the direction of the movement on it’s own, the vertical slit thinning to focus. It was just one of followers, a fellow Draco. The Draco had light brown scales, and he had yet to grow any form of hair. Still obviously young. His reptilian eyes remained focused on the young Draco, causing him to wince slightly in the presence of a superior. However, the younger Draco still had both of his horns.   “Ji-tium Vra’sta,” the follower bowed, not breaking eye contact, but exposing his neck enough so if the warlord felt threatened could kill him.   “Rise and speak.”  “The humans are sending a landing force, and it seems most likely they will be sending down a larger force next.”  With a bored shrug, the warlord dismissed it. “This I know. It is the condition of those vermin to expand and push out whatever species may already live there. We shall wait until they land a force, then strike their ships while they are sidetracked. Afterwards, we will move in and crush whatever encampments they have.”  “We intercepted their communications network. It appears that their captain will be joining the first team landing.”  The other’s small ears picked up. “Do we know who the captain is?”  “Captain Clark, Ji-tium.”
The warlord bolted up like lightening, revealing his full height of 9 feet. His claws had emerged from his fingers, and the red hair on his back stood on end.
“Prepare for battle.” His eyes never left the viewscreen.

Ponyville Library, 11:37PM

Twilight Sparkle was nose deep in a book on astronomy when a flash of green light from a now not sleeping Spike broke her concentration. She had just started the chapter on the possibility on life on other worlds, and was admittedly a little annoyed. However, if it was from the Princess it must be important, so she gently closed her book and
retrieved the scroll.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I know we may not have talked much, but do me a favor, head outside, gather your friends, and look to the stars in the east. You won’t regret it.

Signed,

Princess Luna.

Twilight was Confused to say the least. How had Princess Luna been able to send her letters? And why? She had really talked to the altercorn once. Spike was sitting up, still half asleep.  “What is it Twilight,” He asked sleepily, already yawning again.  “It’s from Princess Luna, she wants to see something that’s happening outside.”

Spike was already laying down down again. “Oh that’s cool. I’ll check it..in the...morning..” He mumbled out and fell asleep again. She considered waking him up, but thinking about how hard he worked today, she felt it was okay to let him sleep.

“Good night spike.” She left her library home and headed to gather her friends as the letter requested.

Her first stop was Sugarcube Corner. She knew Pinkie Pie lived with two other ponies, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, so she avoided knocking to keep from waking them up. She checked for a light in Pinkie’s room.

“Huh, didn’t expect Pinkie Pie to be the type to be asleep this early. Maybe that’s why she’s so energetic.” She considered tapping on the window with a rock, but that would’ve just been rude, so she headed to her next stop, Carousal Boutique.

The lights were still on inside, so Twilight knocked on the door. There was muffled talking and several crashes before a disheveled Rarity nearly ripped the door off of its hinges.

“Oh...Twilight...what a surprise at this hour....” Rarity closed the door slightly as she realized Twilight was looking at the mess behind her. Rarity had bags under her eyes, and her mane was frazzled and beginning to lose its elegant curves.

“Hi Rarity, do you have a moment to talk?” Twilight was doubtful she did, but asked that anyways out of politeness.   “You know I always have time to talk to my friends.”  Twilight went on to explain the letter from Luna, which was a surprise to them both.

“I’m sorry Twilight but I’m working on a big order, and, as you saw, it’s not going to well. I’d love to come.”  “Do you need any help? Because you know you just have to ask.”  “No it’s quite alright Twilight. It is a big order, but I have plenty of time to finish it. Now if you’ll excuse me.” The door shut in Twilights face.
Next she tried Applejacks farm. On the way out there she looked to the east, but didn’t notice anything. When she reached Sweet Apple Acres, she was brushed off by an incredibly sleepy Applejack.
The same thing happened, at Fluttershy’s. And Rainbow Dash’s. Twilight stamped her foot in frustration. She sat on a small hill, not far from the eastern edge of town A flash of light in the sky caught her attention. She turned her head up, to the east, and gasped. Stars were moving, flashing, seeming to run into each other and flashing brighter. Others streaked down, seeming to come towards the land, but dimmed and disappeared before they got close. It was beautiful.
“Is this Luna’s magic?” She asked aloud, no one around to hear her. She watched the stars dance with one another, lost in the intrinsic beauty of their waltz.

Uncharted space, orbiting uncharted planet V-3452
75th expeditionary space force, Terran fleet.
Battleship Kilimanjaro, Hanger
September 17th, 2154 AD

Captain Clark stood behind his fifteen man team as they boarded the transport and strapped themselves in. They were fully armed, and would be a force to be reckoned with, no matter what awaited them. The captain wore the same battle armor and carried the same assault rifles as his troops, and was ready and willing to fight by their side, despite his second in commands objections. He smiled. His men were loyal to him, and he to them. He stepped onto the transport and strapped himself into the jump seat on the right side of the cabin.

“All heads accounted for, you are clear for take off,” A voice from the hanger control officer radioed into the pilots. The door pulled back and up and locked into place. With a his of air the seal was complete.

There was a slight jostle as the shuttle was lifted by crane to it’s launch tube. Another jostle as they were set upon the rail, and more as they rolled along until they were through the airlock.

“Hey, be careful with that,” came Clarks second in command, Commander Halsly, over the radio. “The captain is on-board.

“Don’t worry Princess we’ll take care of him,” shouted the man across from the captain up to the cockpit. Despite himself, the captain had to laugh. While he didn’t hate his second in command, and didn’t think he wasn’t capable, he was missing the willingness to connect with the men that would make him a great commander. As such, he wasn’t too fond of the crew, nor were they of him.

“Who said that! I’m putting you on report soldier,” came the reply. That only brought more laughter from the crew, and the captain.

“Insubordination..disrespect of a commanding officer...” the commander sounded out his report. The crew was laughing, having a wonderful time of it until he spoke next.

“ALL HANDS, TO THEIR STATIONS. DRACO SHIPS COMING AROUND THE DARKSIDE OF THE PLANET! Count-one Dreadnought and a fighter screen. Brace for incoming fire!”

Back aboard the Kilamanjaro

Purplish red plumes of plasma arced through space towards the terran ships. The plasma ripped through the two corvettes, gutting the hulls of the smaller ships. Not out of the fight yet, the two smaller ships unleashed their missile compliment. Explosions rippled through the Draco fighter screen as they absorbed the wave of munitions. Still outside of firing range, there was little the fighters could do but advance and absorbed fire for their mothership.
The dreadnought was easily twice the battleships size, and had nearly three times the weapons. Halsly knew this. He also knew with the power of those guns that if they tried to run they wouldn’t get far.
“Sir,” asked an ensign who was surprisingly calm in the face of danger. “Orders?”
Halsly swallowed a lump in his throat before speaking. “Charge up all weapon batteries. Scramble all combat spacecraft we have. Limit power to anywhere else but life-support, shields, and weapons. Contact the corvettes and tell them to concentrate fire on the center of the fighter screen. When that’s clear fire all weapons at that dreadnought.” The ensign scrambled to work as he relayed his orders to the respective stations on the ship. Halsly turned back around to watch the battle unfold. To his terror, a lone, yellow streaked fighter flew at an alarming speed towards the captains transport.

Aboard the Warding Heavens
Vra’sta stepped into his custom fighter, the Pa’talum. In his language it meant Bolt of Vengeance. The warlord touched his head where a stump of a horn remained. It was insulting to lose a horn, especially in hand to hand with a weaker opponent. Today, he would have his vengeance on Clark for insulting him so, forcing him to be stripped of his name and live in exile until he redeemed himself.
More spacecraft were leaving every minute, and his fighter fell into a delta formation with six others. There were at least seventy or so fighters out in combat already. The corvettes were designed to be anti-fighter though, so the fighter screen would break around and the dreadnought would finish them off before they were annihilated.
However, it was of no concern for him. His target was far away from any covering fire, and still would be when he reached it. The prey was separated from the heard, so to say. He hit the afterburners, breaking formation and flying at breakneck speed. His cannons gained a lock on the pilots area. He let loose a small burst, shattering the cockpit and the communication array, and then gave another burst, shooting out the engines. The craft stopped, drifting lazily towards its fleet.
He fired a towing cable towards the derelict craft. He planned to cast him into the sun itself.   “It’s a shame I won’t be able to make you suffer for the dishonor you wrought upon me.” As he turned to drag his prey back to where they would be executed, a beam cannon from a human fighter hit his right engine. He accelerated away, which was toward the planet, in an attempt to go around, but his left engine was hit. He was now derelict as his prey. The enemy fighter came around to finish him off before he could be caught in the atmosphere of the planet. However, Vra’sta gained a lock, and let loose a missile, which caught the center of the slender fighter, blowing it to shreds. However the explosion blasted his ship back as well. Connected by a cable, he and the captain fell towards the planet.
Vra’sta imagined the look on his enemy’s face. He smiled a toothy smile as he crossed his arms and resigned himself to fate. The last thing he saw before the shutters automatically shut for atmospheric entry was a full compliment of weapons being launched simultaneously by both sides.

Aboard the Kilamanjaro

Halsly watched as the captains transport drifted became caught in the gravity well, still connected to the draco fighter. He refocused his attention as a corvette erupted in a nuclear fireball as a sweep of beam cannons found its reactor. He would morn later. It’s how the captain would’ve wanted it.

“Sir, weapon batteries ready to fire on your command.”

“Lock onto that ship. I want it reduced to scrap.”

Beam cannons, lasers, torpedos, missiles and railguns fired all at once, shaking the ships foundation. The smaller rounds plumed against the shields of the enemy ship. But under the onslaught, even they gave out, and explosions and flashes of impact rippled along the hull.

“Is that all we have?” The Ensign nodded. “Except the force beams....”

“Tell crew to abandon ship. Power up all force beams, set for hold. Lock onto that ship and pull it towards us.”  “Sir?”  “Then rig the self destruct. It’s our only chance to go down fighting.” The Ensign saluted, and the order went throughout the ship. Within moments, the escape shuttles were filling up and flying out, hitting transpace speed back towards the nearest safe zone. Halsly stood in his place. Then ensign had left a short time ago, as did the rest of the bridge staff. The ship was empty, except the lone commander, now captain. The ship shuddered under a barrage of beam cannons and missiles. Its shields were now down, and the next blast, if placed properly, would decimate the ship.

He hit the button on the terminal that would fire the force beams. The Draco ship moved closer, but not of it’s own accord. It began fighting to back off, but the beams were powerful enough to hold it in place.   “Just fifteen seconds.” The cannons were flaring again as the female computer voice began counting down from ten.

Outskirts of Ponyville, moments later.

A large flash blossomed in the midst of the light show. It seemed to be the finale, as it all stopped with the exception of a few falling streaks here and there. Twilight stood and applauded the night sky.

“That was beautiful. I’ll have to write Princess Luna a thank you note for showing me this.” She stood to turn back to town, but something caught her again. It was two streaks of light, spinning with each other while they fell.

“Wow.” The streaks kept falling though, and fell past the point where others had winked out of existence. Twilight suddenly felt like something was terribly wrong. The streaked turn, now falling towards her. They were traveling fast, and after a few seconds, she could tell that they were glowing, and partly on fire. She couldn’t make out a shape, and suddenly they split. One flew to the north of town, towards Cloudsdale. And the other, right for Twilight Sparkle.

With a shriek, Twilight jumped out of the way and ran away from the object before it hit her. It hit the hit which she was sitting on, bounced, then burried itself into the ground with a scraping thump. Twilight covered her ears until it came to a stop at the edge of a pond. She turned around to see what it was.

“What is that?” She asked herself as she cautiously approached it. It was large, square, and looked metal. On the back there was an array of tubes and cones, but there were riddled with huge holes. As Twilight walked around it, she saw the front was too, but it was a cracked metal and glass dome. It was tinted red, and the inside was covered with ash. She looked inside, but couldn’t make out anything in the dark interior.

Something shifted inside, causing her to jump. “Hello?” She called out. Whatever it was shifted again. It came from the back. Moving there, Twilight heard heavy, staggered footsteps. She walked alongside them, until they stopped at the back. There was a loud bang like metal on metal, and she jumped again. It banged again, and again. Each time it grew weaker.

“Hello? Do you need help?” Twilight called out again. One more weak bang. “Is that a yes?” Silence. Focusing her energy, Twilight sought any life energy with her horn magic. She gasped as she found one, on the edge of death. But it wasn’t a pony. Searching again with her magic, she found a weak point in the metal. Focusing with all her might, she bent the metal apart. Sweat dripped from her coat as she strained. With a pop and a clang, the metal bend, and the back side, the wall just below the array of tubelike objects fell open. Twilight looked up, and met gazes with a being roughly her height. It stood on two legs, only had fur on its head, which was currently bleeding. It had two eyes, but one was grotesquely swelled shut. Two leg like appendages hung from its shoulders, one twisted in a sickening manner, and the other gripping onto a small box with a handle on it.

The being steadied itself uneasily. “Are you a doctor?” It asked

Twilight, surprised that she could understand it, nervously replied. “N-n-no.”  The being smiled. “Good enough.” And collapsed into the dirt.

Awakening

Twilight stared the still form at her hooves. She bent down and nudged it gently with her muzzle. It was still breathing, and its heart still beat inside of it. She looked back towards town. Nearly every light was on, the towns-ponies rudely woken from their sleeps by the commotion. She sighed. Now at least someone would be up to help her take care of this...thing.

She used her horn magic to lay it across her back (it wasn’t to heavy, though parts of its body were hard and dug into her back) and began a steady gallop towards Ponyville. Ponies were already gathered in the center of town, asking each other what had happened and to see if anypony was hurt. The first pony to take notice of her was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was clearly tired, but seeing her friend come running into town during a possible disaster with red streaks on her coat shook the fatigue from the Element of Loyalty.

“Twilight,” she called out, flying over to her. Twilight slowed down as dash approached to keep from crashing into her. “Are you alright? Where were you? Do you know what’s going on?” Dash bombarded her with questions until she noticed the form slumped on her back. “AND WHAT IS THAT!” Dash flew up a few feet, either disgusted or trying to get a better look at the creature. The commotion attracted quite a bit of attention. She was asked more questions as the crowds pressed around her.

“I have no idea what it is, no idea how it got here, and no idea where it came from, but I do know that it's clearly hurt, and if you ponies don't quit crowding me then we can't help it!"

“Yall heard her now, git,” Came Applejacks drawl. A “Scram” from Rainbow Dash came afterwards, causing the ponies to back off a little bit, giving Twilight some breathing room. She turned to the crowd control.

“Thanks. Could one of you find Fluttershy? She might know what it is and how to treat it.”

Rainbow Dash flew off in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage, leaving a rainbow in her wake even though it was night. Meanwhile, Applejack approached Twilight.

“Hey now sugarcube, why don’t you let me carry that for awhile. You look right tired out. Just tell me where you want it to go and I’ll take it there.”

Twilight hadn’t realized how exhausted she was until Applejack mentioned it. “Alright, Just be careful with it. Put it in the hospital, and I’ll tell Rainbow Dash when she returns with Fluttershy.” Twilight used her magic to transfer her load, and then sat down in the square, exhausted. Some of the ponies began to disperse, while others stayed and waited with her.

Meanwhile, in the Everfree forest, a clawed foot broke down the steel shutters, loosened by the emergency explosive release system. Vra’sta pulled himself out of the gap he created. His lower back was in searing pain, as was his top right shoulder. His chest burned, but he could breathe and move fine. Somehow he survived the impact. He looked around himself, his slitted, reptilian eyes piercing the veil of darkness and allowing him to see where most could not. His ear twitched as something slid through the brush to his left.

He reached down with lighting speed, pulling up a creature that had a feathered head, but a scaly body and tale. He stopped its twitching with a flick of his thumb, snapping the creatures thin neck. He turned it around, and gazed into its red eyes. He felt his body begin to stiffen, and he broke eye contact. He dropped it, then turned around and wrenched open a small compartment behind the cockpit but in front of the engine. Inside was a rifle, a long knife, and three days worth of survival equipment.

He grabbed the bag and crouched low in the brush twenty feet from his crashed ship, waiting and listening to make sure nothing was nearby. when he was content that nothing was stalking him, he stood up and broke into a run, due south of his position. He jumped over several tree stumps and rocks, passed through a small stream, and ducked several branches before seeing a break in the treeline. He felt pain all over his body, and stopped to inject a light painkiller. After that he slowed to a walk, more carefully to make sure the painkiller didn't cause him to injure himself further. He saw a break in the trees ahead.

Crouching onto all fours, he surveyed the area outside the treeline. There was a house in the clearing, with a smaller, fenced in house in its yard with several feathered creatures running around it. A four legged yellow creature with feathered wings was running around, trying to calm them down.   Vra’sta recognized this as one of the residents of this planet. They weren’t hostile, but they also didn’t know that the Dracos were looking out for them, keeping other races from taking over their planet. It would be better to appear before many than one though. The last thing he wanted was to be seen as a monster on a planet his race protected.

He sank back into the treeline, just in time for another creature, very similar to the first but with a blue coat and multicolored mane, to fly up to the first. Vra’sta’s sensitive ears picked up fragments of their conversation.   “Fluttershy,” the blue one was easy to hear, “we need your help.”  He had to strain to hear the yellow one. “I’m sorry I have to calm down my animals after that loud bang. It was louder than your sonic rainboom even.”

“Yeah yeah I know it woke up everypony in town. But Fluttershy,Twilight sent me to get you. Something's hurt and we just can't sit back and let it die. We know you're the best chance for it.” Vra’sta tensed at this. If he survived the impact, Clark could have too, though he would likely be on the edge of death.

“How badly hurt is it?”

“Twilight says it will die if it doesn’t get help soon.” Vra’sta smiled a toothy smile. Just as he thought. As the two creatures sped off towards town as fast as their wings would take them, he smiled in quiet victory.

As he turned to sink back into the forest, he misplaced his arm and slipped. With a loud pop, the minor fracture in his right shoulder turned to a major one, and the bone burst through his shoulder, with a spray of blood and a howl of pain. As he picked himself up, a bone in his right side, splintered, it’s fragments tearing through tissue. He coughed, and a clump of rusty red mucous splattered on the ground.

He gritted his teeth against the pain, and fumbled with his survival kit, seeking the lifesaving materials within.

Rainbow Dash appeared with Fluttershy trailing behind. Fluttershy wore a concerned look as Twilight pointed them in the direction of the hospital. She followed them at a slow trot, some adrenaline returning to her tired body. Applejack was waiting for them, and they followed her at a quick walk to where it was kept. All the while Fluttershy was asking question after question.

“Does anypony have any idea what it is? How hurt is it? What does it look like?” The questions were asked rapid fire in a very un-Fluttershy like matter. Leaning over, Twilight whispered to Rainbow Dash “What did you tell her to get her so fired up about this?”

“Told her some unknown animal was badly hurt. You know how she gets.”

Twilight laughed quietly despite the situation. Then the nurse opened the door.

Fluttershy gasped in horror, and immediately rushed over to it and began examining it it from various angles, softly talking to it. “Oh you poor thing, what happened to you.” It stirred in its unconscious state, mumbling slightly, then half opened its eyes, slowly glancing around before focusing on the source of the voice. Fluttershy continued. “Well do you have a name? We just can’t refer to you as it.” It mouthed silently. Once, Twice. On the third time a word was able to be heard.

“Cla....ark..” and its eyes closed again, but kept breathing. Fluttershy smiled and nodded.  “Okay Clark, I’m going to take good care of you.” She turned. “Twilight, I know animals, but I don’t know what this is, or if I can help it. The best I’ll be able to do is treat his bleeding and set his bones, but I think he may be hurt on the inside too.”

Twilight was confused at this, having not looked into the more gory details of death. “You mean like...broken hearted?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, as in whatever hurt him like this also broke some of his ribs, which collapsed inwards and began to crush his internal organs.” The other ponies winced in the gruesome detail, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who mouthed a silent ‘cool.’

Realizing what she had said, Fluttershy winced back herself, using her hooves to cover a small blush spreading on her face. With a second wince, she snapped back to the reality at hand, and turned around and began to ask for the nurses assistance.

“Do you need us to help you with anything?” Rainbow Dash asked, hovering above her friends.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No no it’s fine. You’ve all helped me enough. The nurse ponies and I can take it from here.”

“Awright there,” Applejack drawled again, her exhaustion becoming apparent. “Don’t go and push yerself to hard.” With a nod, and other formalities the others were dismissed and said goodnight. As they settled in for the night, worry for the creature nagged at them.

Meanwhile, in Clark's semi-unconscious state, his mind was busy processing the events of the past hour or so. He was aware of his surroundings, but he was unable to move his body. He dismissed being paralyzed, because he felt every pain, from his feet to his head. His memory was intact, as far as he knew.

He remembered the explosion that ripped through and killed his team, luck the only thing that kept him alive. He remembered falling into the gravity well, and he remembered being stuck in what felt like a centrifuge as he fell to the ground. He remembered the impact, and how a loose object splintered his hands, and landfall itself shattering his pelvis. Looking at it, he was amazed he survived. It was all luck.

“That’s war,” he thought, “No matter how skilled, now matter how practiced, the only thing keeping you alive is if you’re lucky enough your number doesn’t come up.” He’d been lucky for 15 years, and he’d been lucky for one more day. Lucky enough that something had saved him after he emerged from the wreckage.

“Let’s just see how long this streak lasts.” That was his last thought before he lost consciousness completely.

“My my, what have I stumbled upon? Maned like a pony, yet horned like a dragon,” A deep voice, thick like honey but still clearly feminine, flowed through the night. Vra’sta snapped to attention. He hadn’t heard anything approach, and the voice was almost right on top of him. He jumped to his feet, unsheathing his claws on his one good arm and taking a quick look around. Nothing was to be found.   “Now there, don’t be alarmed. I am one who means you no harm,” The sound came from behind him, but when he turned, his gaze met empty forest.

“Who are you, and why do I understand you?” He asked the dark, keeping his guard up. A bulbous form appeared before him. It was his size, and seemed to have no form other than that of a large oval stretching up from the ground.

“Zecora is my name, and why you understand me, I cannot say. But I insist, come with me now, for much of your blood lies on the ground.” Vra’sta looked at his feet. He had indeed bled a lot, and the dressing he had applied was soaked and leaking. On top of that, he was bleeding into his abdominal cavity, and his lungs were slowly beginning to bleed. He had used the last of his blank tissue doses, but there weren’t enough to seal his injuries. If he didn’t get help, any help, soon, he would be dead before morning.

He reasoned he could trust her. He was clearly bigger, and even in his condition he could still easily kill her. And if she did cause him harm, then she would’ve done it already. Injured prey is stricken early. But he could still be harmed later. One slip up could be the end of him. You don’t survive long enough to be a warlord by taking risks. Then again, you don’t get the respect to command others if you don’t take risks.

“Zecora, if I may, I humbly ask for your assistance, for if I don’t, my passing will not be swift.”

“Come with me, my home is not far, mighty creature from the stars.” The form turned and began walking deeper into the forest. Vra’sta was compelled to follow. Using his rifle as a crutch he stumbled through the brush, his former grace gone in the face of his injuries. His bag jostled at his side, lighter now due to the massive use of all medical supplies.
Zecora told the truth when she said her home was not far. It wasn’t longer than ten minutes before a tree, hollowed out with windows spaced along it, came into view. A small candle was lit above the door, the only light and recognizable sign of inhabitance.

Zecora pushed the door open, revealing it to be totally dark within. Vra’sta stood at the entrance as Zecora hunched over something in the center of the room. Soon, a fire roared to life, the room cast in flickering shadows. Zecora turned and removed her cloak. Vra’sta took in her and the decorations of the room silently as he carefully made his way into her home.

“You’re different from the others in the village over.”

“Not important at the moment. You need to be eased from your pain and torment.” She nudged him down onto the bed in the corner, then opened and rummaged through a cabinet as he lay down. She set aside several viles and jars, filled with different liquids and concoctions, ranging from muddy brown to light brown. After that, she pulled out poultices, bandages, and then a hinged metal box. She bent down and dropped a large vial into his good hand.

“Quickly, drink this,” she said, as she opened the box, revealing several rows of surgical equipment, “because i’m pretty sure you don’t want to be awake for this.”

Complications

Shin’vora walked hurriedly down the arched hallway, quickly approaching the central room, where the tribal leaders met. Usually, they would bicker amongst themselves about which tribe really owned what land, or whether or not old disputes from ages long past were a justifiable reason for conflict. But after the humans attacked a unified colony world, where members of every tribe had settled, and forced them off, the tribes had worked together against a common enemy, even though petty tribal disputes and ancient customs of war were still in effect. Such as you had to be the warlord and have your own fleet to command others. That was why she was here.

Shin’vora nodded slightly to the guards, their dual headed pole maces becoming uncrossed, granting her entrance to the chamber. She passed through a smaller, darkened hallway, the only light coming from behind her, a soft red, or in front of her, a slowly oscilating green.

She dropped her head as she entered the room, feeling the gaze of the thirteen elders upon her. She did not bother to learn their names. She had no need, as it was disrespectful to call them by name.

“Rise.” A deep, rumbling voice said. She stood, her eyes passing over each one.

“State your business, Shin’vora of the the Sarege,” the one that commanded her to rise said.

“Elders of the Draco race, we are indeed in tough times. Despite repeated assaults, the human forces remains strong. But we can end this war once and for all.”

“How do you propose that?” A higher pitched voice asked.

“We all know the best way to slay a beast is to strike its heart, the source of its life. In this case, their home.”

“Attack their home planet,” a cry went out, followed by heated, un-ordered discussion between them. It died as quickly as it started, and attention was returned to the speaker.

“We understand the need to end this war, but to attack their home planet? None of our forces have made it that far, it’s simply too well defended. We would need a force larger than any we’ve ever seen.”

“And I know where to get it.” Before they could respond, she pulled a data pad out of her pocket. “A planet sixteen lightyears into disputed space. It has enough resources to build a fleet that could easily storm the human defenses.” She keyed the datapad, uploading the information to the elders. “If I were to have a fleet I could secure this planet to give you such a fleet.”

“It says that your father patrolled this part of space,” one of the elders said, turning towards her.

“Mantle duty,” another said. “Protecting another race from outside influence before it reached the stars. If we were to take these resources, wouldn’t that violate your father’s duty?”

“My father’s duty means nothing to me,” she said harshly. “He does our race no honor. I and my kin have excluded him from our bloodline. Besides, he and his ship was destroyed 3 solar cycles ago. He is dead, as are those that still followed him.”

The elders collectively looked on in shock. Her dislike of her father was known, and his dishonor made him shunned or even hated, but he was still a capable warlord, regaining his position by proving himself. For him to die came as grave news because of that.

“Your father only had one ship when he died, but had many more at his disposal. You have proved yourself a capable warrior and leader, and your tribe is loyal to you. His remaining ships are yours.”

Shin’vora nodded and bowed in thanks. The elders bowed in return, and as such the meeting was over. She turned swiftly and took her leave, nodding once more to the guards as she left. She walked once more down the hallway, hands clutched tight, as if holding onto the power she now commanded.

Clark jumped out of the way as the Draco dove through the doorway, crashing into his hospital bed. It regained its footing and dove at him once more, claws outstretched for him. Clark ducked, and rolled under. He could tell that he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long. He needed a weapon.

He dodged another onslaught and shot up, using the precious few seconds to scan for anything he could use. He ducked as glinting claws tore through the air, barley missing the top of his hair. Having no other option, Clark dropped low and delivered two sharp punches to his adversaries midsection. It was like punching a tree trunk, and his hands stung. But the Draco fell back, his midsection still prone to flares of pain due to his haphazard surgery.

Clark jumped back and in desperation flung his medical clipboard at the enraged alien. It spun through the air before it was swatted aside, nothing more than a minor annoyance. More objects sailed across the room. A cup shattered and spilled water, and a tray flew wide of its intended target, but still caused Vra’sta to duck. He stepped forward, bracing himself against whatever piece of junk would fly next.

A rather large chair soared towards him next. He stepped back and covered his face with his right arm. The chair fell short, clattering on the ground and only barely tapping the aliens shins. He brought his arm down as a pillow flew towards his face.

“Seriously Clark? Is this the best you can do! This,” he held up the pillow yelling. “This is pathetic, even for a human.” Clark only responded with a wry smile. More rage boiled from inside the Draco, and, losing his head, he tore open the pillow above his head, roaring a bloodcurdling roar....

Until his mouth was full of feathers, sticking in his throat and choking him. He doubled over, coughing to get the foreign material out of his airway. His eyes couldn’t focus with all the movement around him, the feathers floating slowly to ground in a thick cascade. He coughed and slowly backed up so he wouldn’t be surrounded, sheathing his claws so he could pull the clumped material out of his throat. A wad of damp feathers was spat upon the floor. There was still some in his throat, but not enough to hinder him further.

With the cascade of white finally subsiding, Vra’sta glanced around him. It was no more than a few seconds, but that’s all a good warrior needs to turn the battle his way, and while he hated him, he would admit Clark was a very good warrior. Clark was nowhere to be seen in front of him or behind him. Only a frightened unicorn and an unconscious baby dragon remained along with him. The commotion had attracted more attention, as the crowd outside had increased, and down the hallway some of the medical staff and two police officers stood.

He tried to sniff, but could only sneeze due to the amount of feathers around his snout.

“Coward,” he growled, his eyes, ears, and nose searching for any trace. Instead it was his skin that found his assailant, his hide screaming and sputtering blood as a sharp quill pierced the lair of scales behind his left knee, which were thinner to permit flexibility.

The Draco stumbled forward whilst spinning, his right foot flying into the air and catching Clark on his shoulder, forcing him down to the ground with him. With a predatory growl, the larger alien flipped the human over him, then scrambled around, hooking a thick arm across his neck with the intent to squeeze the life out of him. A sharp blow was delivered to Clark’s midsection, making him cough up his last reserves of air.

As Clark struggled in the grip of the scaly arm, his vision began to fade to black. After thirteen years of evading and fighting, tricking and out-maneuvering with Vra’sta, he had finally been caught up to.

"Prey can't run forever," Vra'sta growled in his ear, his victory seeming secure.

Twilight stared wide-eyed in fear at the clash in front of her. She had dove for cover after the beast crashed through the door and dove for Clark. She had been so surprised she just locked up, not moving during the whole encounter, and while it was short it seemed to move in slow motion. And now, Clark was in a death grip. Twilight knew enough about the predatory creatures of the world to know that it wouldn’t be long for him.

It was wrong. Very very wrong. She couldn’t just let him die, even if there was some pre-existing dispute between these two that she had no business in, it didn’t justify murder! But what could she do? She was a tiny pony, and even with her magic, there were tons of variables involved: it wouldn’t work because they weren’t even from this planet, they could have a negative reaction to the energies, she could lose focus and putting too much energy into it, hurting them further. She bit her lip as the seconds crawled by, her thoughts zipping by at a million miles an hour.   “INCOMING!” A familiarly loud tomboyish voice called out from outside the window, breaking Twilight from her trance and attracting the attention of the two combatants. A cyan pegasus crashed through the window, the shards of glass reflected her trailing rainbow in a multitude of multicolored specks.

Several things happened at once. Twilight jumped out of the way of the flying shards of glass, Spike diving under her for protection. Vra’sta shielded his eyes from the shards of glass, only to be caught on his snout from what he learned later was a hoof, but it might as well have been a cargo train, sending him sprawling, losing his grasp on Clark, who gasped for air on the floor.

The impact rattled Vra’sta’s bones, and his ears actually rang. He lay on his back, and opened his eyes slowly. His vision was clear, which was good, and he was greeted with a very angry looking blue pegasus. He blinked his eyes and slowly stood, drawing himself to his full height, standing tall enough to look down on his new attacker. His reptilian eyes met her rosy eyes, hers attempting to bore him into the ground. Her wings flared in an instinctual attempt at intimidation.
Vra’sta was suddenly aware of a coppery taste in his mouth, and something hard scraping against his back teeth. He swished his mouth around, and spat out the foreign object in mixture of blood, saliva, and a bit of the remaining feathers. The curved white object hit once with a sharp knock, and stuck in the red frothy bubble. He felt around his mouth with his tongue, finding a gap in the front of his teeth. It wasn’t a big deal: Draco fangs grew back rapidly. However, there was just another obstacle in his way. He drew his arm back to backhand her out of his way...

..only to feel his arm jerked down by some unseen force. He stumbled forward as his legs slammed together and were bound together. As he fell his arms were lashed to his sides. He thrashed and struggled against his invisible bonds as he saw his opponent do the same, falling from where he stood, attempting to deliver a death blow against the constrained Draco.   They fell, their faces mere inches from each other, snarling and glaring all they could do, their bonds holding them in an invisible vice.

Honestly, Rainbow Dash was scared out of her mind. First off, flying so low to the ground on such a busy day. With how fast she was going, if she hit anything it would’ve snapped her neck. Second, she had bust through a window. Her adrenaline was flowing at the time so she couldn’t feel any pain, but she knew she was cut up. Not badly, but it wasn't nothing.

“Thank Celestia I’m in a hospital,” she thought jokingly to herself. However, as those feats stated before were dangerous, she had preformed more dangerous before. No, those were merely additions to the fear that she felt now, attempting to stare down this...beast. It stared right back, it’s face impossible to read. Rainbow’s wings shot up, trying to maker herself seem bigger than she really was. The beast merely spat, and raised it’s arm. Dash got ready to dodge, depending on which direction it would strike from.

But she never got the chance. Her would be attacker was surrounded in a purple glow, his arm yanked to the ground, and then his side. Dash stepped back, folding her wings as she did so. She looked to her left to see a very focused Twilight, her horn aglow with magic as the sent out another spell to bind the beast. It fell the the ground with a loud thump as its legs failed it.

Dash turned to face the other, to see him already fall to the floor, much like his counter part. A knife clattered out of his hand as he fell just in front of his enemy, bound in a similar fashion. They still struggled, but with another surge of magic, they slowly stilled. Twilight relaxed, the ambient purple glow vanishing.

Twilight stepped over the now sleeping but still bound forms.

“Thanks Rainbow,” she said, “It all happened just so fast. One minute I was talking and then..that..came in trying to kill him. I didn’t know whether or not it would turn on me next, and I wasn’t able to move. If you hadn’t come in, well I don’t want to think about it.”

“No biggy,” Dash said, her voice ringing with confidence, “Element of Loyalty remember?” Her voice made it sound as if she just preformed a stunt she would pull on a daily basis.

Since the commotion had died down, those that were waiting outside entered the room, albeit carefully. Nurse Redheart and the other two Nurse Ponies, along with an orderly, a large dark blue stallion wearing a white shirt, and two police officers, one white and the other steel gray.

Dash shrinked back slightly as she saw the two officers.

“Sorry about the window there,” she said, her eyes shifting to the floor.

“After all that’s happened in here,” Redheart said, lighthearted despite the atmosphere. “The window is the least of my worries. Are you alright?”
  Twilight nodded. “I’m fine, just a little shaken. I think spike feinted a while ago.”
  “Yeah,” Dash chimed in. “I’m just a little cut up though. It’s those two I’d check out.” She jerked her head behind her.   Redheart nodded and with a jerk of her head the other two nurses began to make their way towards the unconscious two. The two officers behind her shifted their weight, and one began to speak.

“If their injuries aren’t too severe, we’d like to take them to someplace where they would be less of a danger.” He was met with a withering look from Redheart. He stumbled over his words, and shrank in his place slightly. “I mean, after you uh, finished treating them. If they need it. Yeah.”

“Right...” Redheart understood their reasoning, but the well being of her patients, or any injured for that matter, came first. “For now, could you please deal with the crowd?” She motioned to what was left of the window, where what seemed all of Ponyville had gathered. The officers nodded in compliance and headed out to deal with the mass of ponies.
  “So about how long will they stay that way,” Redheart asked.

“The magical bonds will fall off in about an hour, but they’ll be asleep like that for about twelve. Plenty of time to get the put somewhere safe.”

“Easily,” one of the other nurses said, “considering other than a shallow stab wound, some bruises, and a cracked rib between them both, it shouldn’t take much time to get them good again.”
“Right. Well then let’s get to work. If you would excuse us please.” Redheart said as she walked past Twilight and Rainbow. Twilight shrugged, picked up what she could of her stuff and levitated spike onto her back, and walked out. Rainbow followed her.

“So any idea on what that was Dash?”

“A little. It came into town with Zecora. Seemed dangerous but it was calm and followed her. But it immediately ran for here when I mentioned that there was something from the stars as well. But I don’t know why it would.”

Twilight's mind clicked, remembering what Clark had said to her last.

“Because they’re at war....” Twilight’s voice was so low Dash almost didn’t hear it.

“What?”  “When I was in there and talking to Clark, he mentioned that he crashed here because he was at war with whatever attacked him.”

Dash was silent while Twilight continued. “But what could they want here? If they’ve achieved space travel then we can’t offer them any technology. Resources...no...soldiers...no..." Twilight stopped in thought. Realizing what would happen if she stayed that way for long, Dash sprung into action.

“Hey relax with the egg-head stuff for a while. At least until you’re back at the library.” Dash pushed open the front door with her hoof. The officers, with some help, had managed to disperse the crowd to a point where it was tolerable, but there was still a large amount of ponies out here. All eyes were on Twilight and Rainbow as they stepped out. If it weren’t for the two officers from earlier they would’ve been mobbed by a huge questioning crowd. Instead everypony just kept their distance, and parted as the pair left the scene.
  Not much time had passed, so it was still late in the morning, and there were still a fair amount of daylight hours waiting. Despite that, Twilight felt tired. She was an early riser, yes, but that had never been a problem before, and the amount of magic she used today was still minimal compared to some other spells she’s done.

As the ever powerful wheels of her mental processes spun, all Twilight wanted to do was go back to her room and go to sleep. She was vaguely aware of Dash saying something, by she was focused on her own thoughts. Her body was on auto-pilot for her house even though Dash was walking her there anyways.

“..and so do you want me to bring the girls over or not?” Dash finished speaking, the last line breaking Twilight’s focus.

“Not now Dash. I just feel really drained from all that, and I need a while to collect myself.”
  “Oh..” Dash wasn’t hurt, but worried about her friend. But Dash knew enough to know that it was bothering her, and that it would be better not to push it.

“Well, if you need us, just come get us.” Twilight nodded and magicked open the door to her home. As she closed the door behind her Dash had begun walking away but was still watching over her shoulder. Twilight smiled. Her friend meant best and she knew it, but she hadn’t been lying when she said she needed a moment.

She lay spike down in his basket, his panicked feint giving way to a power nap. She turned to her desk, everything already set out for her to work. Her quill made a quiet clink as she dipped it in ink. She paused a few seconds, thinking on what she would write. The sound of scratching filled the room soon after.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Three weeks ago I sent you a letter detailing how an extra-terrestrial life form crashed here. He awoke today in good health and was able to answer a few questions (attached). However, it turns out another life form had crashed with him, and had appeared today as well. Then, there was an altercation. The two life forms races have been at war, and I fear it could now spill over into Equestria. I seek your advice, because I don’t know what to do....

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight finished her letter, her mind drawing a blank as for what to put next. She decided it was enough and rolled it up along with the paper containing her interview with Clark. She put the scroll next to Spikes basket, a note that said “send when you awake” pinned to it. Twilight then headed upstairs and collapsed onto her bed, having had an incredibly short yet incredibly exhausting day.

Far above Equestria, there was a flicker as a narrow ship passed in front of the stars. A door on the underside opened, and five smooth objects were dropped, their oval shapes slowly falling towards the blue and green sphere below them. Plumes of blue flame shot out the back end of each, moving them further apart as they traced their path to their targets. They were slowly encased in flame as they entered the atmosphere, falling to ground to begin gathering necessary information.

And, as quickly as the ship appeared, it turned and sped away, not ever have been known to be there.

Convergence

Celestia scanned over the letter that appeared before her in a burst of green flame. It was during a thirty minute pause between any appointments she had for that day, though she still remained in her audience chamber, seated upon her elevated throne, two ever present guards flanking the stairs leading up.
As she read the scroll, her usually neutral face that she would put on during her court sessions turned to one of worry. She read it again, just to be sure. Using her magic to levitate a quill and a blank piece of parchment, she began her reply. The only sound that filled the spacious chamber was that of a quill scratching away, with the occasional clink of glass when she had to replenish the ink.
When she was finished, the scroll was rolled away and disintegrated, floating away on a current of magic. When she finished, she began another letter, this time to someone who would be more practical if war did come. There was a soft chime as the thirty minute period ended, and the next petitioner entered the room. The letter swirled away on a stream of magic, much like the other, and seemed forgotten as the Princess turned to the task at hoof, her ever serious demeanor dictating her response once again.

When Twilight woke up, the sun was still high in the sky, though was on its descent towards night. She stepped out of bed, found that spike wasn’t still asleep, much to her surprise, and headed downstairs. She heard activity in the kitchen, and with the gentle relaxing aroma of tea in the air, she could easily say that it was Spike making tea. That meant he hadn’t been up that long.
As she reached the end of the stairs she saw a scroll on the table, as well as a cup of still steaming tea set out at her usual space. As she approached, levitating the scroll with her magic, Spike emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray with a tea pot and six cups.
“Sleep well?” He asked, setting the tray on the table.
“Yeah,” she said, opening the scroll but not paying any attention to it. “What did I miss?”
“That scrolls came from the Princess earlier, and the rest of the girls are coming over to see if you’re alright after what happened.”
“So that explains all the cups..” Twilight’s voice began to trail off as she read the reply.

My Faithful Student,

While this is quite shocking news to say the least, I have full faith in your abilities as a mediator. Equestria has been a nation of peace, but we are not strangers to war. I task to you, Twilight Sparkle, the bring understanding between these two, at least to the point where they will not be any more violence. When you are successful in that, bring them to my court, for I wish to know more about them. Additionally, make them feel welcome, as nothing likes to feel like an outsider.
I have complete faith that you can do this, not for me, not for ponykind, but for their kind as well. War is kind to nothing. Do what you can to end it.
Your dearest teacher,
Princess Celestia.

Twilight lowered the letter, sighing slowly. She closed her eyes and processed the information. It wasn’t what she expected, but at the same time it was: her mentor had a past history of tasking her with something difficult, and usually life threatening....
“What did it say?” Spikes curiosity broke her from her thoughts.
“Oh,” Twilight scanned the letter again to make sure she got everything. “Wellll...she wants me to try and make peace between the two, while learning as much about them as possible.” Her and Spike just stared at each other for a few moments.
“Well,” Spike started, unsure of what to say, “do, uh, you think that’s a good idea? You saw how desperately they wanted to kill each other.”
“Well we also thought it would be impossible for Fluttershy to make a dragon cry.”
“True, but this is different Twilight!”
“How?”
“They’re aliens. Ponies have been afraid of being taken away and invaded by them for years!”
“And other than them being from space, what is different from any other danger we’ve encountered?”
“Well, they’re dangerous.”
“Like that dragon?”
“Well yeah, but we aren’t sure what all they can do.”
“Just like Discord.”
“Well yeah, but-”
“Spike I’m not afraid of facing them. The only worry I have is if I can’t resolve this conflict. Other than that I have nothing to worry about.”
“Okay Twilight,” Spike began filling the other tea cups that he had spaced around the table. “Just be careful, okay?”
“Don’t worry. I already have a plan.” Her statement was punctuated by a self satisfied smile.
Their attention was grabbed by a knocking at the door.
“I’ll get it,” Spike said, “It must be the girls.”
“Good,” Twilight said, levitating a quill and a piece of parchment over to the table. The door opened revealing the faces of her five friends. “Have a seat. We have some planning to do.”
The five exchanged curious glances with each other before directing their gaze towards the seated member.
“Uh, Twi,” Applejack spoke up, “You sure you’re feeling quite right? I mean, that little hospital visit of yours couldn’t have been too settling for ya.”
“Really darling,” Rarity spoke, raising a hoof, “It can’t be good for you to be going back to the two p-..things that nearly cost you your life!”
Twilight waved that off with a hoof. “Oh please, they just caught me off guard after all. Besides, I never was really in danger: they were too intent on fighting each other to notice me.”
Rarity and the others exchanged glances.
“Besides,” Twilight continued, “I have a plan that would instill peace between them and make them welcome in our society for however long they’ll be here.”
“Alright, if you’re sure bout this being a good idea,” Applejack said, “what’s the plan?”
“First step, is I go talk to them where they’re being held.”
“About what?” Rainbow Dash Inquired, “Didn’t you talk to one of them earlier?”
“Yes but not the other, and this time they’ll both be there so they can both respond. It’s
better that way.”
“Alright, and then what?”
“We release them.” Twilight elaborated after getting shocked looks from her friends. “Only temporarily, and under watch, and they’ll be separated.”
“And why in the hay are you gonna release them?” Applejack asked, confused.
“Well, that way we can show them around town, introduce them to pony society. My theory is that if they’re exposed to the peaceful nature of ponyville long enough, that that in conjunction with my sessions talking and gaining understanding with them will eventually bring about a peaceful solution to their conflict.”
“Awefully trustin’ of ya Twi.”
“I trusted you when you told me to fall off of a cliff.”
“Well you was gonna be safe, but how can we tell with these....aliens?”
“I’ll be fine Applejack. And if things do get violent, I always have my magic. I’m pretty
sure I can whip up a spell that’ll put them to sleep if they become too aggressive.”
“Oooh! OOOhh!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down where she stood. “Find out if they like cupcakes!” Twilight chuckled, having little doubt that her pink friend was already planning out a party. That was good: if one was willing to get behind her plan, then the others surely will. Slowly they discussed exactly how they would carry out Twilight’s plan. Only one face remained frowning during the discussion. Rainbow Dash growled inwardly, still wanting to buck those two in the face, despite what Twilight said.

Clark shot up with a jolt, hitting his head on something hard and flat. He grunted in pain, his joints still stiff, and rubbed his head.
“Careful human,” A deep voice reverberated somewhere to his right, causing Clark to snap his head towards it. “Wouldn’t want you to be felled by a bed now would we?”
“I’m gathering you can’t reach me in any way because i’m miraculously intact,” was his response. He glanced around his immediate surroundings. He was in a wide room, and he now sat on a wooden platform longer than he was tall and wide enough to lay two of him side by side. Above it was an identical board, both being set into the wall at his left. The wall and floor were stone, and the only light was of a single light source in the hallway, which lay beyond their line of sight.
As his eyes adjusted, he was able to discern Vra’sta, chained to the floor but thick iron links. Parts of them gleamed, evidence of attempts to claw out of them. Now, he just sat there, silent and immobile, his slitted eyes tracking every one of Clarks movements.
“Well, you just going to give me the death stare or do we have any interesting conversation?”
“I have no plans to make conversation with you, glorified simian.”
“You’re terrible company.”
“That doesn’t bother me.”
“Come on! We’re in the same boat here, in case you haven’t noticed. And if they boats sinking you gotta go down together.”
“I’d hold your head under the water.”
“You know i’ve always wondered what I exactly did to make you, specifically, hate me so much. I’ve defeated plenty of Draco commanders, what makes you so special?”
“You committed the gravest dis-honor a Draco could face.”
“I thought defeat was.”
“No you ignorant ape! I was defeated in a klextal blestar,” Vra’sta paused, then explained. “An end duel. You and your opponent are on the verge of death, and you fight with what you were born with. Claws, horns, teeth, hands. And you defeated me, but you did not grant me a death.” The Draco gritted his teeth, audible to the human sitting several feet away. “Instead you captured me, when I was unable to fight. You displayed me, paraded me. I was your trophy and your reason for receiving such a position!”
Clark sat, listening in silence, his face unreadable.
“For that, when I escaped and returned I was stripped of my title. My mane was burned off, every talisman and trophy torn out beforehand. My honor blade was smashed in front of me. My brothers and sisters turned their backs upon me, and my only surviving daughter revoked my name from the clan history.” Small glints of water gleamed on the warrior's eyes, before building and rolling down his reptilian snout. “I only regained part of my power, through ruthless and brutal fighting. I was lucky to be able to acknowledged as a Draco because I was still a formidable fighter. But I can not go to my grave without rectifying my shame.”
Clark sat in silence for some time. The cell was heavy with silence. It was more oppressive than the chains and bars that locked the two in place, and more foreboding than the dark between the stars.
“So,” Clark finally said, his voice dangerously low. “What happend on Scillian is why you hate me? Good, at least we share that.” Clark fished around in his clothing until he was able to produce a small square of paper. “My reasons for hating you are on this.” He tossed it, the small square fluttering down until it landed within reach of the draco. He turned it over, his claws sheathed to avoid tearing it.
The picture was of a young looking, auburn haired woman with two identical looking auburn haired boys standing in front of her. She waved to whoever was taking the picture while the two boys saluted. They were all smiling broadly. On the back, in tight flowing script was written “Be brave daddy! Love Audra, Chance, and Jacob.”
“Your kin?” Vra’sta asked bluntly.
“Family. Wife and sons. Killed in the initial strike on Scillian.”
“I had no part in that.”
“They were your soldiers!” Clarks voice raised angrily. “Your orders! I already killed the ones who butchered them, but you're responsible for theirs and countless other innocents death on that planet!”
“It was not my intent!” Vra’sta shouted, standing as high as the chains would allow him.
Clark shouted back, anger adding power to his voice. “If it wasn’t your intent to kill than why go to war?”
“I went to war to protect my people from you pestilent humans!”
“The Dracos were tearing themselves apart, your race would always look for an excuse for war!”
“Your people fired the first shot!”
“On a military installation encroaching on declared terran space! You wiped out a civillian population center!”
“We were attacking the garrison! It was not our intent to be drawn into the city and wage war there!”
Clark calmed, but stood as defiant as we was. In an even tone with an inflection of arrogance, he stated, “Yeah, well it wasn’t my intent to leave you alive either, but look what happened. War’s a bitch like that, isn’t it?”

Spectre one made camp on the southern slope of the mountain range his Personal Tactical Insertion Pod had landed in. To the west of him, a sprawling city clung to the mountain side. He had observed it from a safe distance for the past couple hours. He could not accurately make out its denizens from his distance, but he could make out four legged figures walking in the streets, hauling wagons, or occasionally flying in from above to land on one of the many high reaching towers.
Tomorrow, he told himself, he’d move in closer, keeping out of sight. That wouldn’t be a problem for him, his suits armor upgraded with a chameleon effect, but his training told him to not rely on that. If he was spotted he was order to eliminate witnesses.
Worry gnawed at the back of his mind. He was here to scout military positions and likely areas of resistance, but all he could see in the city was general civilian activity, even if it was non-human. Besides, he had seen no evidence of mass transportation, other than a few railroad tracks leading away from the city. That meant this civilization couldn’t be beyond tier 5.
Spectre one leaned back under the rock face, opening his ready to eat food ration. Wilkerson was a weird one, he thought to himself. Just what was he planning now that he commanded the 76th expeditionary force? The stealth soldier glanced at himself, his guns, and back into the mountain where his PTIP sat.
“Doesn’t look like peace,” He said out loud, sighing. “That’s for sure.”

With a puff of smoke and a hiss the scroll popped into existence at the talons of Grynn Grulflock. The grizzled griffon king took the scroll and read it. His eyes read and re-read the sheet of parchment, as if trying to figure out exactly what they said. Finally, sighing, he set the scroll down.
“What’s the matter Khan Grynn?” One of his guards asked him.
The griffon king gave a short laugh. “Nothing major, except I believe my old friend Celestia has gone insane with immortality.” He rose from his old, scarred throne. “I’ll be heading to Equestria to check on her.”
“Right now Khan?”
“Yes right now? In the years you’ve served me when have you known me to wait? Especially on those I call friend? Now, quit dallying, inform the steward.” The griffon adjusted his badges of office, a red patch of cloth and a broadsword strapped to his back. He stepped out of his hall, onto a balcony which overlooked a great drop into a cavern below.
“You intend to go without a guard?”
“If I wanted a guard I would have asked for one. I’ll return in a few days Orlak.” With those words, the Griffon king launched himself into the air, wings propelling him quickly down and south. The high winds buffeted him, but he stayed on course, eyes narrow with determination.
The contents of the scroll had bothered him very deeply.

Encounter

Clark stirred, dreams flickering into vision of his minds eye. Consisting of memories, regrets, nightmares, and mistakes, dreams held none of that pleasant detachment that they held when he was younger. Gone for him were the dreams that being in the military meant you led a life of adventure and glamour. In their stead, his military career flashed through his mind. To an outsider, he was a successful soldier, becoming a captain just after 15 years of service, receiving numerous medals for heroism, and being well recognized and respected throughout the Terran forces.

However, there were things the public didn’t see. Choking up on his first mission, causing half of his squad to be wiped out. Ordering men to their deaths to capture territory they thought was important, but was scoured by the retreating Dracos. Being the loan survivor of mission after mission. These passed as flickering nightmares, thankfully. However, one was always present in his mind.

Flame flickered around the crumpled wreckage as Lieutenant Clark scrambled to his feet. He turned and helped his men out of the burning husk. The passenger section was well protected from the blast, the gunnery and operation sections taking the brunt of it. Clark pulled the last man from the wreckage.

“Move out,” he said, the order echoing seemingly forever in the cavern of his subconcious.

“Sir,” one soldier stated, “Lyons is wounded.”

“How bad?” Clarks question was edged with mixed anger and frustration. He cared for his men, but he knew he had to move.

“Yes sir,” the soldier, Jacobson replied. “His arm is wounded. Deep laceration, though not fatal, he could lose the arm if he doesn’t get treated soon.”

“Put a dressing on it and let’s move. If we don’t find better cover we’ll have more to worry about that that.” As his medic applied first aid to Lyons, Clark turned and crouched, surveying the horizon. It was sundown, and the red and orange of the fading light mixed with the fire and smoke, turning the sky a sickly red. No one expected an attack this far in, not this soon. Just one month ago the Draco Tribal Union declared war after the incident on EP-33, and now they were 4 light-years inside the Terran Sphere of Influence.

The planet hit was a human colony world, barren rock with large patches of green. The entire planet was used for experimenting with terraforming, and after deemed successful, colonists flocked to it. With a population of 6.2 million at the time of attack, Sable was fairly well populated, but only had an active garrison of 550,000. More than enough to fend off pirates and separatists, but not enough to repel a surprise attack. Clark and his platoon was ambushed after moving to take a defensive position on the outskirts of the capital city.

“Sir?” The medic, Jacobson, snapped Clark out of his trance and faced his men, what was left of his platoon. Only 13 men. “Orders?” The medic continued.

“Keep low and move for that storage warehouse,” he pointed to a low, silver building that was relatively unscathed, offering a good defensive position.

As he and his men crossed the open plane, sounds leaked into his memories, sounds that he knew didn’t belong there. Tapping, talking, beeping, scratching, beeping. He stirred, panicked, and lost his breath. The burnt world, his men, the draco hunting party that was waiting for them spun out beneath him, leaving him floating in darkness.

The nurse pony on duty, Nurse Redheart, was going over the patients vitals. His blood pressure, heart-rate, and respiratory rate had leveled out, despite being as low when he came in. After a week, when taking a second look and deciding that they had to remove his armor, he flat-lined, and then spiked back up. After investigating, needles were found spaced in the suit that were injecting him full of medicine. It was probably the only reason he survived, seeing as the only medicine that was administered on the ponies part was an IV nutrient solution.

Redheart shook her head. An unidentified creature, wearing armor with what looked like weapons attached, that came in a metal box from the stars. Nurse Redheart was smart enough to know an alien, considering that there have been sightings of strange lights and abductions for fifty years or so. But to actually see one, in her hospital, it was almost unreal.   As she marked down her last notes on the patient and re-attached the clipboard to the hook at the end of the bed. As she turned and headed for the door, the beeping from the heart rate monitor sped up. Turning quickly, she saw him twisting and thrashing rather violently in his bed, his heart rate almost off the charts and his breathing quick and shallow.

“Hey!” She called out the door while trying to still him under her hooves. “I need some help here. The coma patient is waking up and he’s not doing it nicely!” Within seconds, two more nursing ponies where there to help, one helping Redheart hold him down while the other grabbed a syringe full of a sedative.

“Hurry up with that!” The second nurse pony yelled back, Clark’s thrashing becoming more violent.

“Hold his head still,” the one with the syringe replied. Redheart tried, pushing his head to one side with her hoof so the other could inject the sedative right into his neck. But she didn’t have a firm hold, and his head slipped around. He leaned up and bit into her leg, just above her hoof. Redheart recoiled, leaving his top half un-subdued. In a split second, he had his lower half freed from the second pony, and leapt out of bed, tearing out his IV needle and vital monitors.

He stood, the low bed between him and the three medical staff. His feet were shaking but his fists were up, and his eyes were wide, and his ragged shaking breathe was the only noise other than the screech on the flat line.

“What are you?”

Twilight sat out on her balcony, a stack of books to either side of her and one open in front of her. The purple pony read quickly, absorbing the words on the page before using magic to turn the page. She sipped a cup of tea Spike had prepared for her. As she magicked the last page, she sighed as she didn’t find any helpful information. Again.

She levitated the book onto the stack to her right, and pulled one off the top of the stack to her left.

“Observation of Astral Bodies, part 4,” she said wearily. “Hopefully this will mention something about life in outer space.” Twilight buried herself in research ever since they checked the creature, which by the insistence of Fluttershy had to be called by his name otherwise they would probably hurt his feelings. She reasoned it could live on another planet, seeing as Princess Luna did survive on the moon for 1000 years.

She opened the book up. As much as she enjoyed studying, going four weeks without finding anything relevant to the situation was pretty frustrating. Although her mind was beginning to understand the possibilities of space travel. Though it seemed a little far fetched to her at the moment.

She poured out the last of her tea and re-adjusted her position for the next couple hours of studying. Again, she became absorbed in the pages, her concentration only broken by having to turn the page, or stopping every so often to process something. Or when Rainbow Dash crashed into her balcony. However, the latter had become so commonplace Twilight just looked up at the cyan pegasus, not surprised in the least.

“Failed trick attempt?” Twilght asked.

“Not really.”

“Applejack not sleeping again?”

“Nope.”

“Get pranked by Pinkie Pie?”

“Worse.”

“Then what?” Twilight was out of guesses.

“Down at the hospital, our visitor woke up.”

Twilight smiled and closed her book. “Good, now we can find out more about him.” Rainbow Dash bit her lip and glanced around. Twilight frowned. “He didn’t take to waking up to well did he?”  “Yeaaahhh,” Dash said, “nopony is hurt, but he’s asked to speak with whoever brought him here. So they sent me to get you. You might want to hurry before he draws too much of a crowd.”

“Right,” Twilight said, putting her books away and standing up. “And again, could you get Fluttershy?” Dash nodded, and soon picked herself up to find Fluttershy. Twilight went to fetch spike, because she wanted her assistant there to mark down notes for her while she talked to him. She went over the checklist in her head.   “Paper. Check. Quill. Check. Spike. Check.” With everything in order in her saddlebags, she began trotting out the door and down the street to the hospital.

Coming up the path from the Everfree, Zecora and her companion entered town, going unnoticed for now.

Several hours earlier...

Vra’sta stood and stretched his lower back. He had recovered from his surgery earlier in the week, two weeks after he had crash landed. He was skeptical before, but Zecora was rather skilled. He was still alive, and all Zecora had to work with was guesswork and her past experience. When he asked her about it, he found out Zecora was a doctor in her home country, Zebrabwe, which had a past of petty tribal disputes and war. Much like the Draco homeworld.

Vra’sta had taken a liking to her. It took some getting used to the way she spoke, but she was a fascinating individual. She carved all the decorations in her home herself, and he found the symbols beautiful. The ornate wooden faces were different then the carved rune posts of his home, but the principal was the same.

But, after having his life saved, he wasn’t going to sit around and just take in the sights. Three days after he could move he had insisted that he repay her kindness in some way. So, after some persistence, he was helping her with minor tasks. Herb gathering, brewing, a bit of repair work on her house. Menial labor he would delegate to his subordinates, but it didn’t bother him to do it.   At the end of the week, also the end of the month, Zecora was headed into town to pick up supplies that she couldn’t get out in the forest. Vra’sta asked to go with her so he could help her, and so he could make his presence known. He was re-tying the blue stones into his red hair on his back when Zecora came to fetch him.

“What is that, if I may inquire, and any help do you desire?” Vra’sta turned to her, tying the last stone, a blue crescent, into his hair that started on his nek.

“No, if you can’t tie tribal markings yourself then it’s an insult to your tribe. It would be like changing your own stripes, or that mark on your flank.” Zecora walked around to his back to closer observe the adornments.

“These are awards, these stones of blue. Earning them yourself, your honor proved true.”

“Yes, the ones with pointed designs are for courage, and the ones with rounded designs are for societal achievements. The crescent on my neck is for becoming Jitium, or tribal leader.”

“And the ones that are cracked, splintered, cored. What is it that those stand for?”

Vra’sta’s eyes became downcast, staring at the ground between his clawed feet. He held his right side, where among numerous battle scars, one stood out from the others. A pale circle, the exact diameter of a draco horn. “Those are for instances of dishonor or cowardice.” His voice was somber. Zecora opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. Most don’t want to speak of something like that.

“Well, let us get on our way. Best to start early to not take all day.” Her companion nodded, tying a red sash around his waist and up over his shoulder. In it he concealed his long knife. Zecora noted this but said nothing. If it maid him feel safe in unfamiliar territory, then he’d let him do it.

As they started on the path towards town, Zecora kept glancing back. Her predatory companion worried her somewhat. But if he planned to make a meal out of ponies, he would have done it already. But he still had that look, she had seen it before in the more dangerous forest creatures, and those with grudges in her home country: The look that he was still hunting something.

Clark stared wide-eyed out the window. “No way,” he said to himself. Everyone, if that would be the proper term, in this town were horses. That could talk. And do human things. He turned back to the three nurse ponies in the room. Granted, he had seen a unicorn when he first emerged from the wreckage of his ship. But he attributed that to the shock of impact and the drugs his suits medical system had flooded his body with. On top of there being normal horses (if they could be called normal, he remarked) there were creatures from human mythology. Pegasi, Unicorns, and he had even seen a tiny dragon on the back of a unicorn.   “Okay, I give up,” He exclaimed, “where am I? Limbo, purgatory, hell?” The nurse ponies looked at each other, confused.

“Uhhh, no,” Redheart replied. “You’re in Equestria. We’re sending the pony you asked for in here. Hopefully she’ll be able to answer some of your questions. Just relax, please. We’ll leave the room to you and her, let you sort things out.” Redheart and the other two ponies began slowly backing out of the room. Clark, realizing that his body wasn’t ready for anything as physical as his earlier activities, held himself steady before he lost his balance. As the ponies left, he lay back on the bed. He closed his eyes, sorting things out based on what he knew.
  “Okay, aliens, that’s expected. But an exact same species that we have on Earth, and even creatures from mythology. There is no way this can be real.” He had heard something about inter-dimensional travel. That’s basically what happened when you go faster than the speed of light though, and since that was perfected, once you decelerate then you leave the subspace. Besides, falling into the gravity well from such a low velocity wouldn’t have been enough to send him faster than light. He shook his head, getting off topic. “Alright, doesn’t matter how I got here. How am I going to get back.” He twitched as he remembered something: the datapad Wilkerson handed him didn’t mention any signs of habitation....

A slight clopping caught his attention before he could dwell on that thought. He sat up slightly just in time to see a purple unicorn with a small dragon on it’s back. “Fuck,” he thought, “I’ll never get used to this.”

Rainbow Dash was flying back into town after retrieving Fluttershy. Since it was less of an emergency this time, she left after the yellow pegasus had insisted she didn’t need help with anything. Her responsibilities for the day put behind her, she spiralled through the sky towards the ground, pulling away at the last moment, then looping through the air in wide circles, growing tighter and faster until she pulled her wings in completely and tumbled through the air. She spread her wings, catching the air and gliding down to a low hanging cloud, just above the center of ponyville. She smiled to herself, proud of her awesome flying skills.

She took a look below her, down at the busy streets of Ponyville. A crowd was massing outside of the hospital due to the fast spreading news that the visitor would be awakening. The town had been buzzing about it ever since Twilight brought him back into town. But something on the other side of town caught her attention. It wasn’t a large crowd, but rather two ponies. Well, actually, one pony and something else. She dropped from the cloud, spreading her wings to glide towards ground.

As she got closer, she saw that it was Zecora and what looked to be a Dragon companion, although it was taller than Zecora. But something was off about it, something that made her nerves twitch as she drew closer to ground. Dash landed, flapping her wings once to set herself gently on the ground. Zecora was busy looking through the produce at the stand, the creature putting the ones she picked out into her saddle bags. The vendor, as nervous as Dash was, stared wide-eyed at every move it made, wary of it.

Dash approached from behind them carefully. A slight twitch ran through the creatures head, and it turned to face her. She stopped in her tracks as her gaze met its. It turned as Zecora said something and began walking further towards town, following the zebra on her chores.

“Uh, hey Zecora,” Rainbow Dash said, approaching nervously.

“Hello there Rainbow Dash,” Zecora replied cheerfully, “Down from the clouds to see me at last.” Zecora smiled at her, and over her shoulder, her companion eyed Dash.
  “Yeah, well, I’m not trying to be rude, but, what is that,” Dash asked in her straightforward, blunt manner.

“My friend here is from quite far, found him in the forest, fallen from the stars.” Dash’s eyes flew open wider.

“Well that’s weird. Twilight found something outside of town that she said fell from the stars. It’s actually in the hospital right now.” Suddenly, the air grew tense, and Dash felt a twinge of regret for saying that. A low rumble reverberated from Zecora’s far side, drawing her and Dash’s attention. The creatures muscles bunched, and claws began to slowly emerge from its fingers.

“Vra’sta...” Zecora began, but trailed off as it dropped to the ground on all fours and took off, running towards the hospital faster than anypony they had seen run. Dash looked at Zecora, both clearly confused, until the wheels of thought clicked in Dash’s mind.

“Twilight’s with it at the hospital, and that thing is headed right towards them!” Instantly, she flew off, leaving a dusty rainbow in her wake.

Vra’sta’s eyes focused on the ground in front of him. His claws dug into the ground, propelling him forward as fast as his limbs could manage. It was clear now. He had noticed it when he first came to town, but that scent was muddled by every other scent around it, the scent he had smelt many times before. Blood, human blood. The scent grew stronger ahead, coming from the building outside of which was a massed group of ponies. He roared, clearing the way and jumped through the gap of frightened ponies. He ripped open the door, and stormed inside. Every part of him was focused on the hunt, and soon he would relish in his vengeance.

“Hey there,” The purple unicorn said, slowly walking into the room. She kept her eyes fixed on Clark, though a slight smile was on her face. Her voice was light and sweet, and she was clearly female.

“Hi,” Clark responded. “So, are you the one sent to answer my questions?”

“Well, yes and no.”

“What do you mean?” Clark was seriously getting annoyed by the round-about-ness of everyone he had met so far.

“Well you see, I have some questions of my own, if you don’t mind answering them for me.”

“As long as I get some answers I’m fine.”

“Alright. First of all, who are you?”

“Captain Joseph Clark.”

“Right.” She said, a levitating quill marking down something on a clipboard, also hovering in front of her.

“Who are you?”

“Just a second,” she said, focusing on her clipboard. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.” The only thing Clark could think was ‘Really?’

“O..kay...” Clark’s voice trailed off. “So where am I exactly?”

“Equestria. You pretty much crash landed here about four weeks ago. I happened to be out there to pull you out of the wreckage, then I brought you back to town where a friend of mine and the medical staff worked on you.”

“Well that explains why I’m still alive, even though by all my understanding of reality I should be dead. Then again, this place doesn’t exactly scream real.”

“What do you mean?”

“You shouldn’t be real. We have equestrian breeds where I’m from, but they can’t talk, and they surely don’t have horns or wings. Things like that are just myths.”

“Fascinating. So where you’re from you have ponies?”
  “Well, yeah, but pegasi and unicorns aren’t real.”

“Do you have magic?”

“No, though it’s told of in myth.”

“Fascinating,” the Unicorn said. “Now, you can travel in space obviously. So, why were you above Equestria?”

“My race was....is at war.”

“War,” the other asked, a look of confusion on her face. “At war with what?”  Clark opened his mouth to respond, but as he did, a roar emanated from outside, drawing his attention to the window and causing his interviewer to jump. Ponies dodged out of the way of a four legged beast barreling down the road at a breakneck speed, its eyes locked on the hospital. Its claws, like wicked knives, tore through the ground as its muscular arms and legs hurtled it towards its target. Twilight looked from the beast back to Clark, no sign of surprise visible on his face.

“With that.” Clark said simply, as if it was something that happened every day.