In the unfathomable reaches of the universe, a vast lump of metal could be seen in the distance. The bulky entity drifted by as small fragments of steel and rubble followed behind it. Upon closer inspection, there were numerous entrances into this great beast. However, they were not entrances at all, but in fact were gaping holes that punctured through the remains of the ship.

Within the walls of the former spaceship, were a number of lengthy tubes that stretched nearly fifteen-feet long. The room itself though, is where they would cryogenically freeze non-essential personnel for long periods of time. The Inside of these containers however, housed actual beings that were under the influence of cryonics for a number of years. Years of being in the cold depths had made the glass of the cryo-chambers practically opaque in their thin layers of ice, which made it nearly impossible to see who those individuals were.

Not very far from the metallic body was a white ripped-shaped portal vast enough to devour the metropolis of New York, and unfortunately enough, the remnant of the ship was heading straight for it. The bowels of the ship all of a sudden lit up, prompting alerts to the impending catastrophe. The frost covering several of the containers’ glass surfaces began to defrost, but the action was slothful, and by the time the cryo-chambers fully thawed, it was already too late.

The vessel rapidly advanced into the portal. Had the occupants of the ship been awake at the time, they would have faced the full force of the gravitational pull of the gateway. When the opening completely consumed the spacecraft, it abruptly closed upon itself. And as fast as this part of the universe grew into pandemonium, it transformed back to its peaceful state.

The craft burst out of the entryway of the anomaly, dragging pieces of itself through with it. The portal flickered after the craft’s exit for a moment as the debris continued to follow the metal beast’s wake, still spewing from the portal. Then it was suddenly gone; the portal had flickered for one last time before it imploded in on itself, leaving behind a space of nothingness it had once occupied, and the craft now seemed to found itself adrift. It was a close call too, if it had sealed any earlier, the portal could have liquidated one third of the already torn ship.

Eventually, one of the sleepers rose to the sound of an alarm above their cyro-tube.

“Ugh,” the figure groaned, “my aching head.”

The siren shut down and a voice replaced it instead. "Chief, can you hear me?"

“Cortana?” Strangely enough, the AI had called the occupier her designated Spartan for some reason.

"I thought I'd lost you, too."

“Where’s everybody else?”

"What happened?" A new voice came out of the speakers.

“Chief?” confused, the figure started scanning through the somewhat-icy glass to search for the man in a bulky green combat suit, but the attempt was in vain. She could not find the big guy.

“Ah, must be a recording.” The occupant presumed.

"I'm not sure. When Halo fired, it shook itself to pieces.”

A blurry hand could be seen through the glass, grasping and pulling the tube’s manual release lever.

“Did a number on the Ark, The Portal couldn't sustain itself,”

The cryotube’s hatch opened to reveal a freezer-burned woman.

“We made it through just as it collapsed,"

She then collapsed onto the metallic floor. “Where. Is. Everyone?” she wheezed in between breaths.

"Well... some of us made it,"

She glanced over to see multiple cryo-chambers surrounding her.

“That’s all I need to know.”

Meanwhile before dawn, in a remote cottage far-off from the village of Ponyville, a creamy yellow pegasus with a pink mane was sipping a cup of tea while reading a newspaper. Her friend, Rainbow Dash, a pegasus just like her, had to leave for the weekend to Cloudsdale. So it was relatively quieter around these parts, as she tended to practice her aerobatics near the edge of the Everfree forest.

Even though she missed the wild mare, she welcomed the new found peace. Now she was able to finally enjoy her nice cup of tea without any intrusions.

A figure gazed at the large sphere in the vast emptiness through one of the ship’s tattered openings. The planet was as big as Earth, but the landscape itself was highly questionable. It looked like someone had splattered the surface with paint, twice.

“So, is this the only way?”

Instead of getting a vocal reply, she received a blue cyan text message within her helmet’s visor.

Affirmative

She wondered what can possibly be expected for them down there. Could it be a fresh new UNSC colony? Perhaps it was a Covenant stronghold? Or worse, it might even be a Flood infested world...?

No, none of those were possible; The Chief killed off the Empire’s leadership and long since destroyed The Arc in the process. The Covenant was no more, as was the flood. There would be no more death left behind in their wake. However, the only way for her to cast aside her doubts was by having her own boots on the ground and to see it all for herself.

Still, she wished that Cortana was actually here. The one she was talking to was just a fragment of the artificial intelligence, and the years of deterioration had forced it back to its ‘dumb’ AI state. But all that mattered now was that this Cortana would be able to assist the group in getting them back home, and that was good enough for her.

“Alright, I want all of you to ready up and prep to go.” She said to her squad mates behind her. “We’re gonna land feet first, people.”

The pegasus had recently concluded her reading, and was now stargazing through her window. Princess Luna did a terrific job tonight, the stars were sparkling with life and the moon was brighter than she could have imagined. She relished the gorgeous night sky and wished it could always be like this every night. She even saw a number of shooting stars passing through the dark, navy sky. If only she could reach out and touch those stars and see what made them so beautiful.

But her stargazing ended when Princess Celestia raised her very own star. She sighed, knowing that the bright sun would replace the moon and its surrounding stars. It’s true that most ponies would rather bask under the sunshine, herself amongst them. But when you are at home and staring at the sky before daybreak, you just cannot pull yourself away from it. You can’t help but to just stare up at it and wonder what's up there. One could even ponder whether somepony up there is also wondering what it's like here-

Her thoughts changed abruptly when she saw the same shooting stars from before still remaining visible high up the sky. It’s not possible, how can those stars still be there? Did Princess Luna miss them? And if so, how could she? Many questions ran through her mind, not knowing that they were incoming drop pods.

The woman’s metal package cracked through Equestria’s orbit. The pod’s exterior looked like it was about to fall apart, although in reality it was just its black coating slowly breaking off, the true vulnerability was what lay inside of it. The red illuminations in the pod meant it was under emergency power, with only the necessary functions required to operate. Still, it was a high risk dropping down like this. Also, with it being in the absolute zero of space for many years like the others, nearly every corner inside the pod was left frozen and covered in frost for the most part.

The frost predicament soon disappeared once the metallic casing heated up in the atmosphere. But this also became a problem when the ice turned into water, then into a murky steam. The glass frame of the pod soon became fogged up, rendering the occupant both visionless through it and leaving her completely blind.

She tried to contact her squad mates but to no avail. The icy slush must have disabled the pod’s communications, and she could not communicate with her comrades through her helmet’s comms since there’d be too much interference while dropping. She also knew her other comrades had their pods’ insides covered in ice as well, so they are also in the same position as she was. All she could do now was hope that everyone would survive this jump.

Having no idea what was going on, the pegasus stepped outside and saw that the shooting stars were heading away from Equestria. But, then, the entire meteor formation suddenly jerked about in an organized fashion, now heading straight for Canterlot instead. It was like watching a WonderBolts flying routine.

But the meteors’ sync ended when they dispersed away from Canterlot, and all over the skies of Equestria. She couldn't see where the incoming objects were headed, nor how many there were, but one thing for sure was that one of the dwindling fireballs was directed at her.

This was the best time for anypony in their right mind to panic.

She hurled herself into her homestead and hugged the nearest thing she could find, which was a fluffy, white rabbit. Her embrace was so tight it could have popped the poor creature’s head off. Her house began to shake, compelling the items on her tables and shelves to collapse onto the floor. Then, a loud crash came from her front lawn. Some of her possessions kept on juddering due to the impact’s thumping of the earth.

The quaking then stopped and the pegasus’ belongings ceased their wobbling. Everything had become silent. She examined her home to find it in devastation; her paintings were crooked, some of her vases were shattered, and many of her animal friends were hiding in a corner of her living room. Shortly after scanning the room, she felt a furry kick on her tummy, reminding her that she was crushing her pet bunny, Angel.

After Fluttershy released Angel from her death grip, the bunny rabbit hopped away from her in annoyance, not looking content in the slightest. The other animals on the other hoof were slowly crawling to her window and looked out through it. They must have been very interested, for they were staring outside intensively.

Curious herself, she opened the front door, but only ever so slightly. She was dumbstruck. Her pasture was covered in mud, one of the nearby trees had fallen, and half the bridge she used to cross over the creek was now crumpled by an eighteen hoof-long metal mess sticking out of the stream. She wanted to go outside, to calm down her animal friends who were still outside, but before she could even do that, loud smacks came from the metallic box.

The pegasus hastily shut the door and stood on her hind legs while her back pressed against the door. But what she heard next made her even more confused.

“Hello, is anyone out there?!” a tomboyish voice called out.

“Rainbow Dash?” the pegasus whispered.

She peered through her door again to see the same outlook of her property, and no sign of her friend. She looked up into the air to see if she was hovering above her, but she was not there either. And again, the same voice could be heard, but strangely enough it came from inside the metal shell.

“Gah, this thing won’t budge!”

Hearing her friend in danger, the creamy mare rushed to the object, not even questioning why Rainbow Dash was in there, instead of up in Cloudsdale. When the mare got to it, she wasn’t able to distinguish who was in the metallic box through its glass because of the smoke gathering inside of it.

“Rainbow Dash, are you alright?” asked the pegasus worriedly.

“Fluttershy, is that you?” she replied. “Help me get out of this pod, will ya? The water must have fried the electronics controlling the explosive bolts.”

Those few last words coming out of Rainbow Dash’s mouth was completely foreign to Fluttershy. Electronics? Explosive bolts? It sounded like she was attempting to make new stunt moves, but did she really go so far as to involve metal boxes? It didn’t really matter, her friend needed her help, and if she didn't aid her, she might get herself hurt, or at least more than normally.

Her struggling to pull the metal door was fruitless, it was sealed tight. Her friend was stuck in this metal thing, and she couldn't do a single thing about it. An idea then came across her mind.

“Uh, wait right here, Dash. I’ll get Rarity.”

“You found Rarity already? Good, I’m sure she can yank this hatch open with those muscles of hers.”

Now this has gotten Fluttershy worrying. Rainbow Dash must have hit her head really hard when she crashed, and she was now confused between her friends, Applejack and Rarity. She needed medical attention right away or her head trauma might get worse.

With those beliefs in her mind, she soared as fast as she could to the Carousel Boutique.

Half an hour later, Fluttershy and a spotless white pony with a mauve-purple mane and a horn on her forehead could be seen trotting along the dirt path to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Darling, could you explain to me why you have dragged me out here?” the white unicorn asked with a subtle flair of annoyance.

“First there was this big boom outside my house and I went out to see Rainbow Dash was in some metal box and now she's hurt and I need your help to pull the metal door and, and-”

With her friend clearly panicking with her explanation, the unicorn silenced the terrified pegasus by placing a hoof over her mouth.

“Now, dear, please, one word at a time. I cannot understand what you are saying if you say it all at once.”

Once she lets go of Fluttershy’s mouth, the creamy pegasus took deep long breaths to lessen her anxiety.

“Relax, calm, don’t lose your nerve Fluttershy.” She said to herself.

Fluttershy clarified the incident clearly this time, from her watching the stars at night, to the metal pod crashing into the stream, and then to Rainbow Dash somehow being in the metal husk.

“And strangest thing of all is that she said something about eh-low-throw-nixs and exploding bolts. She even said that your muscles would get her out. I think she might have hit her head during the crash.”

“Clearly she must have! I will not defile my hooves to tug that, that, whatever you call it.”

“Of course not, we just need you to use your magic!” the animal caretaker exclaimed.

The unicorn had been startled and Fluttershy gasped at her own interjection.

“I mean… you know… if you want to...” she tuned her voice down.

The white mare regained her composure. "It’s okay Fluttershy, we are all worried about her safety. She is our friend and we will save her, even if it means that I have to get my hooves dirty." the hygienic white unicorn shuddered at the vile word she just said, but kept to that promise.

When they both arrived at the cottage, the unicorn was horrified to see the once-pristine garden turned into a mudded crash site with the mentioned metal hull being the epicenter of it. As they walked to the metal pod, the white mare avoided the mud puddles and mucks like they were the plague.

The two finally reached the shell, and then there, they heard the loud kicks of their friend coming from the pod’s hatch. Unfortunately, the smoke was still blocking the view of Rainbow Dash through the glass.

“Rainbow Dash, dear, are you alright?” the white mare said with a worried tone.

“I’ll be alright when you get me outta here, Rarity.” The response was a little muffled but it confirmed that Rainbow Dash was indeed in the metal vessel.

“Okay, I suggest that you stand clear.” she said as her horn’s magical aura filled the metal pod’s opening.

Had the pod’s occupant been able to see the blue aura covering the hatch, she might have actually questioned who was truly outside.

Rarity’s effort was not in vain when the hatch popped open, and flew a few feet away from the pod. Unfortunately, the amount of energy she’d expended prying the metal doorway clear had left her feeling completely drained. Due to her endeavor, she was left drenched in sweat from head to hoof.

Both of the mares then looked upon the metallic bowl, expecting to see their loveable cyan-colored pegasus fly out of the husk, but what came out in her place dazed them.

Out of the smoke emerged a large being standing on its hind legs, making it nearly as tall as Celestia, and having strange looking claws instead of hooves. This Diamond Dog-like figure wore some sort of black protective gear, covering it completely. The most intimidating feature of all though was that it was completely faceless, instead, they could only see a reflective silver shade glinting back at them.

But yet, there were also signs of their beloved friend on this being. A rainbow strip could be seen from its forehead all the way to the back of its crown, so were sky blue shoulders and chest with an outlandish word right below it. But the most distinctive of them all was what was on her left shoulder. Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark for her passion of soaring through the skies.

Rainbow Dash stepped onto the watercourse and began to wipe the liquid that had condensed on her visor.

“Thanks guys, for a moment there I thought I was a gone-”

Her chatting clogged when she saw the two ponies. She then eyeballed her surroundings as if those miniature horses never existed.

“Very funny, guys,” she said with a mocking tone. “But this isn't the best time for pranks.”

The two ponies just stood there solid. The poor creatures must be in shock after what her friends did to them, adding extra appendages and painting these animals like mythical creatures, well, sort of.

Rainbow Dash then ambled up to the little horses.

"Hey there, sorry what my friends did to you, but have you seen them?"

As she expected, the ponies didn’t reply, and kept on staring at her.

"Yeah, that’s what I thought." She said and turned away from them.

She was about to climb out of the stream when suddenly she heard a voice call out to her.

“Rainbow Dash?”

She caught the familiar posh accent of one her companions. She then turned to the source of the voice to see the same two ponies gawking at her.

Dash inspected the unicorn.

That white horse looks awfully like Rarity though, she thought. It even has her hair color.

“Is that you?” the white pony said.

“Rarity?!”

Author's Note

Done and done, the first three chapter is now completely eradicate of evil bad grammar and illogical scenes.

Thanks to Katherine Kerensky, plainoasis and Sprite for proofreading this chapter!

See you guys on the next drop,
WarKing76