The Tale of the Super Secret Spaceship

Have You Herd?

A Brief Report of the Cosmic Earth Alliance’s First Interactions with the World of Equestria

To First Admiral Daina Sora,

It has come to my attention that as of your recent promotion to First Admiral, you have yet to be graced by the Disclosure of Military Intelligence Act. As such, I have taken the liberty to inform you of one of our most recent discoveries. I realize that your time in the hospital has undoubtedly made you “unaware” of certain developments, hence my communique. I also realize that what you are about to read may come as a bit of a shock, especially since this development was the reason that the Disclosure of Military Intelligence Act was drafted in the first place. Any actions taken in conjunction with the inhabitants of EQU-10 were based off one fleet in accordance with the Limited Fleet Movement and Action Act. While the actions taken by Silver Fleet and myself were well within the limits of the Act, I thought you deserved to know the details anyway. It is likely that as you read this, I am undoubtedly headed there myself for a routine supply drop-off per their request. Please get back to me when you have reviewed this information. Thank you for your attention.

-Captain Roman Zadius

The official story states that Equestria, or EQU-10, was discovered by a mercenary pilot named Zhane Martin during the Second Shivan Incursion. In reality, what transpired is quite different from the official Earth Alliance records. An older, almost forgotten record buried deep within the bowels of C.E.A databanks states that Equestria was, in actuality, discovered by accident by the crew of the battleship C.E.A Mephisto early into the First Shivan Incursion (insert citation). According to the Naval Registry, the Mephisto was one of three Silver Fleet main battleships in charge of patrolling the previously Shivan-held Kronos Star System, a solar system named for the consistently strange temporal scan data emanating from a nearby nebula. Until then, the system was thought to be uninhabitable and as such, was used primarily for mining and the collection of other resources. The ship came under attack by a Shivan battlegroup consisting of three Lilith-class warships and a total of 12 escort fighters. According to the ship’s computer, Shivan fighters breached the defensive perimeter early on into the fight and damaged the ship’s stabilizers, long-range scanners, main drive engines, and weapons and destroyed seven of her 12 escort ships (five Valkyrie MK2 fighters and two RECON Mobile Suits).

In an effort to save the ship, the captain ordered immediate emergency evasion and headed towards the nearby nebula. Inside the nebula, an unknown type of interference caused the ship’s already damaged sensors and navigation controls to shut down. It is for that reason that the ship ended up near a planet invisible to normal sensors. Unfortunately, considerable damage from the battle caused a massive ship-wide systems failure and killed the main stabilizers, sending it to the planet’s surface. However, the ship’s emergency landing thrusters were for the most part undamaged and were able to guide the battleship to a safe landing.

After determining that the planet itself wasn’t hazardous, a small landing team including the captain and first officer began a trip to a small settlement they had spotted while landing the Mephisto. Several short-range scans determined that the locals were unlikely to be confrontational so the captain was accompanied by a science team and only a few lightly-armed marines. In the interest of establishing diplomatic relations in order to survive and regroup, the captain took an immediate interest in learning about the strange world and meeting its unique inhabitants. Initial encounters with the “ponies” of “Equestria” were great successes; after meeting with the planets’ sovereign, “Princess Celestia”, diplomatic ties were soon established and their situation well understood. While not as technologically advanced as their C.E.A visitors, the “ponies” nevertheless “performed most admirably, consistently attending to the well-being of the crew and generally performing above and beyond the call of duty”, as the captain put it in his record of the incident.

The Mephisto stayed a total of 11 days on Equestria, during which time the injured were cared for, ships and machines were repaired, and empty stomachs were well-fed, courtesy of generous donations by a local apple orchard. Science team, consistently amazed by so-called displays of “magic”, worked tirelessly to understand and control its properties; regrettably, it seemed that the “magic” was only accessible to the locals and could not be harnessed by conventional means. It was later discovered, however, that a powerful energy referred to as “Harmony” was capable of jump-starting the ship’s main fusion reactors, which eventually allowed the Mephisto to leave the planet. After it single-handedly drove the Shivan presence from the Kronos Star System, the ship made a recorded 16 trips to Equestria in an effort to establish more diplomatic ties with the world and its inhabitants, hoping that some day, they could become an ally. It was well-understood that Princess Celestia did not wish to bring conflict to her peaceful world, so as part of an agreement, the planet was to be left alone save for visits from the Mephisto, a potentially dangerous proposal considering the proximity of Shivan warships. Fortunately, the only Shivan threat came from Zhane’s accidental arrival some years later and stopped almost immediately by a joint effort between Zhane and the locals. The exact location of Equestria was kept a guarded secret, revealed only to the top staff in the Earth Alliance, besides Zhane Martin. Today, relations remain strong and although few people are privy to its existence, Equestria and the orbiting Pegusi Station remain safe havens for any damaged vessel or tired crew.

Official Report: “Planet EQU-10” - Trade & Diplomatic Relations (Encrypted)

Submitted to: First Admiral Daina Sora

Submitted by: Captain Roman Zadius, C.E.A Mephisto (former First Lieutenant, Mobile Suit Division Delta)

Note: While Equestria’s location remains a secret to most, plans to record a television show on the planet are currently in the works, spearheaded by a major Earth-based entertainment company (identity unknown at time of submission). Please review and advise.

As always, a picture of the Shivan main attack ships (if picture won't load, try this URL):