Descent of Emeraldby malletmannChaptersSplashdownContactInteractionSplashdownOne hundred thousand miles above an unusual, blue-green planet around which orbited a single moon and, in violation of most of the universe's laws of physics, apparently a mainstream star, there was a brief unexplained flash of light. A few moments later, there was another in the same place. This repeated in a cycle, with the rate of the flashes increasing until they created a constant strobe. Space seemed to collapse in on itself as a swirling vortex of color opened, forming a blossom of light that hung briefly there in space before vanishing. Few of the inhabitants had spotted it, for it was small and not all that bright. A triangular shaped object of metal spun end over end, flung from the vortex. The lights patterned over its surface flickered erratically as it struggled in vain to right its course. Flames began to appear on its surface as it tumbled down towards the planet below. From the surface, the inhabitants watched, perplexed, as it carved a brilliant arc over their night sky. One of these inhabitants was far from home. Rarity had been laboring well into the night when she discovered, much to her chagrin, that she was just a handful of gems short to complete her commissioned work. As much as she wanted to simply call it a night and restock her gems in the morning, with the looming deadline she simply had no time to sleep. Perhaps unwisely, she was now out in the fields she retrieved most of her jewels, hoping to unearth the few she was looking for quickly and then get home and out of the night air. Her efforts paused as the blazing streak lit up the night. "Strange," she said to herself. "I did not believe the princess had any shooting stars scheduled for tonight..." Her curiosity grew into amazement, then fear as the fireball got larger and larger. She realized it was heading in her direction. With a shriek, she threw herself to the ground, covering her head with her forehooves. The burning blaze soared over her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of it. There was a tremendous crash as it slammed into the ground nearly a mile behind her, gouging a crevice into the earth and throwing up a cloud of dust. The white unicorn huffed as she examined herself and realized she was now covered in a layer of grime. Sighing, she stood back up and gave herself a token dusting off. She would, of course, have to wash more thoroughly before she went to bed. Looking back, she noticed something shiny protruding from the wall of the new ditch that the falling star had made. Coming closer, she realized that it was in fact a gemstone. The ground was still too hot to walk on, but fortunately her magic made retrieving it relatively easy. Upon closer examination, she realized it was not the one she was looking for. "No need to fuss," she said as she put the gem in her saddlebag regardless, "I am sure there are many more further along. And maybe I can see if any of the star is left!" That thought spurred Rarity's imagination into action. She had heard Twilight discussing the nature of stars before, but most of what had been said had gone over her head. Regardless, the chance to gaze upon an object that fell from the heavens was not one the fashionista was willing to pass up. She had long admired the pure shine and glamor that stars sparkled with. "I hope it is as radiant as it was when it hung in the sky," she said to herself. "To think what I could create with such a beautiful accessory. Why, it would be fit for a princess! Oh dear, I do hope I am able to craft an ensemble worthy of being graced by its presence! Oh, there's really nothing to worry about, Rarity, you truly are skilled and talented enough to do a star justice, all you have to do is put... your... mind... to... it." What Rarity found at the end of the ditch was not at all what she had been expecting. The object that had fallen from the sky was roughly triangular in shape, and mainly composed of a grey-green metal. It had been bent by the crash, and several pieces of it were sheered off and lay scattered about. Small flames danced in pits on the object's surface, along with random multicolored sparks. Steam and smoke rolled off the entire site, giving it a mysterious and intimidating atmosphere. For a while, Rarity simply stood there, trying to process exactly what she was seeing. After about a minute, her knowledge of popular culture finally revealed the answer to her. "A... UFO? An alien spaceship? But... how can... I mean," she cleared her throat. "Well, this is certainly unexpected. I'd best be heading straight home, and leave this for more qualified ponies." She could think of at least one of her friends who would undoubtedly be crawling all over this wreck in the morning. Twilight would most likely want to be notified immediately, but Rarity doubted that she would like to be interrupted this late at night for something she would probably dismiss as a hoax. "She would probably think I'm brain-addled from working too hard," the unicorn muttered to herself as she gathered the gems and began heading home. Tomorrow would be an eventful day for all of Ponyville, and she would need her rest. What Rarity didn't see, as she trotted back home, was the hatch on the crashed spaceship pop open. If she heard the hiss of the seal breaking, she dismissed it as another random puff of vapor coming from the wreck. A translucent green pseudopod emerged from the hatch, gliding over the surface of the vessel, and adhering to a patch of metal that wasn't overheated. A formless green mass emerged, pulling itself out of the wreck. The gelatinous creature pulled itself into a ball and rolled off the triangular craft, settling on the ground next to it. A set of stalks, each tipped with a round, bead-like bulb that might've been an eye, extended from its body in every direction, roughly resembling a crown. The creature extended a pseudopod to pick up a piece of metal nearby, then stopped. One of the eye stalks had spotted the white unicorn moving away from the crash site. Several others focused on the indigenous life form. The alien withdrew all but two of its eye stalks, and drew itself out so it resembled a large slug in form. Crawling out of the ditch, it moved into the nearby foliage. The native stopped, turning its head back and examining the surrounding area as though it suspected it was being watched. The alien flattened itself against the local flora, until it was mere centimeters in thickness. The native shortly returned its attention forward and resumed its course. The alien oozed over the landscape, flowing from shadow to shadow and disturbing the environment as little as possible. When the wind blew, it swayed with the foliage. When it was still, the creature was still. It ran into increased difficulty, however, when the native entered a local settlement. The sparseness of plant life combined with the artificial nature of the structures would increase the difficulty of infiltrating the native's world undetected. The alien paused, considering its next step. As it did so, precipitation began to fall from the sky. This quickly became a moderate rain, with the water flowing down the streets. The alien followed it to an entrance into an underground drainage network. It crawled into the sewer, preparing to explore its new avenue of transportation. ContactRarity woke up to a fairly pleasant morning, stretching her legs as she climbed out of her bed. The shower late the other night had left a pleasant smell in the air, but the clouds had already been cleared away, and the sun was shining brightly. The fair weather put Rarity in good spirits, and she began her preparations for the day ahead. As she was carefully grooming her mane, she remembered the unique event that had occurred late the previous evening. She blinked, perplexed as to what the mysterious object's arrival would mean for Equestria. There were those who believed that there was other life in the universe, certainly, but it had not been proven, and there were many others who believed no such thing. The events of last night would shake the world entirely. Not wishing to remain in suspense, Rarity made her way out the door. She noted that, for the time of day, the streets of Ponyville were oddly deserted. As she made her way to the crash site, she discovered that the town's population had near completely gathered there. She had to worm her way through the crowd in a most undignified manner to get to the front. As she was going, she came across a familiar, pink face. "Rarity! I'm so happy to see you!" Pinkie Pie threw her forehooves around Rarity, giving her a tight hug while considerately avoiding disturbing the white unicorn's immaculately kept mane. "I was up last night putting the last finishing touches on one of the Cake's cakes," she snorted a giggle, "Cake's cakes, he he! Anyway, I was working when all of a sudden there was this bright flash out the window. It was too long to be lightning, and there wasn't any thunder, and I knew there wasn't a storm scheduled for the night, just a little rain. I also knew that it wasn't a holiday, 'cuz really, me forget a holiday? So I was really confused and curious, so I looked out my window and say this really big shooting star. Like, big as a house! And it went whooosh!" She pantomimed it soaring with a hoof. "And then, it went, Kaboosh! And, and... And that's all I know." Rarity was well used to the rapid rate of conversation her pink friend spoke with. As she listened, she debated divulging the events of the previous night to her. On one hand, Rarity still wasn't sure if she entirely believed it herself. On the other, there really was no need to keep it a secret. Everypony would figure it out soon enough, and Pinkie would be the last pony to judge her. Before she could say anything, there was a prismatic blur overhead. "Hey, have you seen the spaceship yet?" The excitement in Rainbow Dash's voice was evident. "No way! It's a spaceship? That's so cool! That's like," Pinkie struggled to come up with a proper response. "Something very cool! A little over half as cool as Rainbow Dash!" Rarity sighed, smiling. She sometime wondered if Pinkie understood the ramifications of stroking Rainbow's ego to such a degree. The pegasus basked in the compliment for a moment, before continuing. "I saw it! It's all weird looking and shiny. It's not a saucer though, it's kinda more like a triangle. A buncha guards from Canterlot are here, and so is Twilight." They worked their way to the front of the line, as Rainbow called for everyone to "let the Elements of Harmony through." That was enough that most of the ponies were willing to stand aside. At the front, Rarity saw that Twilight was indeed there, standing in front of the crashed vessel, with about two dozen armored pegasi keeping the crowd at a safe distance and watching the wreck. Rarity spotted Fluttershy and Applejack near the front of the crowd as well. The vehicle hadn't changed much over the night. The fires had gone out, likely extinguished by the late night shower, and it was no longer steaming. In the light of day it appeared far less ominous, but just as mysterious and unusual. There was a bright flash of light above, and Princess Celestia appeared. The regal alicorn's presence immediately melted some of the tension that had been building in the crowd at the presence of the strange, otherworldly object. She set down next to Twilight with a graceful flourish. "My beloved subjects, there is no need to worry." Her voice carried over the noise of the crowd, which quickly went silent. "Although we do not currently know the origins of this object, I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety and well-being of Equestria." Applejack stepped forward. "'Xcuse me princess, but is there anythin' dangerous about this here, uh, thing?" The princess smiled. "While there is still much that is unknown, our initial findings do not suggest it is currently a threat. However, as a precaution, we will be moving it along with every artifact of unknown origin that may pertain to it to a more secure location for further study." A quiet voice barely carried over the background noise. Rarity was only able to make it out because she was familiar with its owner. "Umm, is there anything inside? I would think that, if there was anyone in that when it crashed, that they could have been badly hurt." "Of course, Fluttershy. The first thing we did was to examine the wreckage for any survivors. As far as we can tell, the vehicle has been abandoned. Our current theory is that any occupants fled before the crash." A large, flat wagon pulled by a team of earth ponies arrived. "A detachment of the solar guard will remain in the town for the next week to ensure that nothing more out of the ordinary happens," the princess said. "Until then, you may go about your business as usual. Farewell." With that, the princess began to levitate the wreckage onto the wagon as the crowd dispersed. Rarity followed Dash and Pinkie as they went to speak with Twilight, picking up Applejack and Fluttershy along the way. The lavender mare was finishing presenting her findings to the princess. Upon completing her report, she started for her home, her friends following her. "Sooo, whatchya figured out about the spaceship? From space?" Pinkie was the first to ask, predictably. "Not a whole lot. It's all very strange. There is clearly a power source present, but I couldn't find any trace of magic. That means that whoever built it did so using a form of technology completely different from anything ponykind is familiar with," Twilight said, perplexed. "No magic?" Rarity said. "That's... I would think that nearly impossible. How would one go about traveling between worlds without magic?" Twilight shrugged. "Magic is my specialty, but there are other fields of study which could lead to some form of understanding about all this. I'm sure the princess will have the best experts in Equestria get to work on it straight away." "I wonder what sort of creature would come from another world," Fluttershy said. "I bet it's some big, ugly thing with like, seven eyes and three arms," Rainbow Dash said. This got Fluttershy nervous. "Don't worry," Twilight said. "It probably isn't around. Besides, it could look like anything." The six of them continued to discuss the craft and its missing occupants, coming up with ever more bizarre theories as they returned to the library. Rarity entered her home, quite worn out by the day's events. The Princess had things well under control, although Rarity privately wished that she would have been aware that Celestia was going to make an appearance. "I was so very unprepared for a meeting with the princess," she said to herself. "I didn't even have a chapeau." Despite not being at her utmost fabulous, the day had been well-spent. She had a chance to mingle with her closest friends, and had a day off from her work. Unfortunately, that meant that she would have to work extra hard the next day. After all, of the many things Rarity took pride in concerning her work, punctuality was one of them. She never missed a deadline. As she settled in for the night and began to make herself a pot of herbal tea, she thought she heard a strange noise coming from her kitchen sink. Groaning, she set the kettle down and went to examine the sink. "Of all things, there is nothing I detest as much as backed up plumbing. Especially at this hour; I shall have to wait until morning to call for a plumber to repair it." As she peered down the sink's drain, she spotted a strange, viscous green fluid oozing up out of it. It began to slowly fill her sink. Rarity gaped at it in disgust. "What a horrid mire! That is quite the most disgusting thing I have ever laid eyes upon! I shall have to..." Rarity stepped back, gaping in horror, as the substance began to crawl out of her sink. The apparent creature slid to the floor of her kitchen, accumulating into a roughly bowl-shaped globule of animate, green gelatinous substance. Rarity stumbled backwards, beginning to hyperventilate as the mass slowly began to roll towards her, extending a pseudopod in her direction. "No... stay back from me... you horrid beast..." As the mass loomed over her, Rarity gave a terrible shriek, laying a forehoof over her head, and fainted. She fell to the floor out cold, and totally at the mercy of the creature. InteractionRarity slowly opened her eyes, her head aching from where she had hit it on the floor. She rubbed it with a hoof as she sat up, looking around in confusion and dismay at the mess her kitchen was in. A wet, slurping sound behind her brought her memory back, and in horror she slowly turned around. The gelatinous creature was still present in her kitchen. It had opened her fridge and rummaged about, several of the food items from it visible within its transparent body in various states of liquefaction. Cabinets and drawers were also opened, their contents upset and scattered about. At present, the creature had pulled her toaster inside of itself. Various screws were turning, and the device came apart. "Why, why you..." Rarity had trouble forming a coherent sentence. "You ruffian! Look at what you've done to my kitchen! Put my toaster down this instant!" The creature continued to disassemble her toaster. Furiously, Rarity looked over the room. Spotting a broom, she telekinetically lifted it up and over to the creature. "Take this, you beast!" She struck it as hard as she could. The broom embedded in the surface of the creature's mass, sticking to it. A thin layer of the slime began to ooze up the broom's handle. Rarity pulled as hard as she could, but while the broom would move a few inches, it would not come free of the slime creature's grasp. Eventually, the entire broom was within the creature. Rarity had an idea, one she was surprised she did not try in the first place. Concentrating, she grabbed the blob with her magic, and hoisted it into the air. The constantly shifting mass made it hard for her to levitate, and it required all of her effort. The creature shot out a long feeler, which stuck to and enveloped Rarity's horn. She screamed as the monster began to pull her closer, causing her to release it. It hit the floor with a loud wet sound, briefly flattening out before returning to its full size. It began to draw Rarity closer to it. She shoved her forehooves down hard on the floor, trying to keep traction. There was a loud screeching sound as she carved wide furrows into the floor while the ooze drug her forward. Unable to cast her magic, she resigned herself to the inevitable. Instead of engulfing her, the ooze reached out another, larger pseudopod. Before her eyes, it morphed itself, becoming the crude likeness of a pony's face. It examined her, not having any real facial expressions. Rarity stared back at it, confused. "Hello?" she said. The ooze opened its facsimile mouth, and made an unearthly noise, a sort of shrill tone somewhere between a shriek and a buzz. "Oh, dear." Rarity was not sure how to respond to that. She was troubled; nothing she had seen indicated that the creature was anything more than an animal, but it wasn't behaving like any animal she had ever come across. Granted, she was no expert on animals. It would likely be a good idea to speak with Fluttershy about what this creature was, and how to handle it. The ooze moved off, past Rarity and into the next room. "Oh, dear, oh dear. Please, please stay out of there!" Rarity hurried over to try and close off her work room, but the green mass had already moved inside. "Those are for a very important client! If they stain, I'll have to start all over! Oh, put that down, that fabric is highly delicate! Oh no. They don't make that model of sewing machine anymore! If that breaks, its irreplaceable!" Rarity was likely working herself into an early grave trying to herd the creature out of her work room. The rolling mass seemed most eager to get its slimy blob-arms on every thing in the place. The unicorn could practically feel her mane graying. It seemed like things were only going to get worse as the ooze came to the chest in which Rarity kept all of her gems. It was able to open the lock with ease, evidently having a great deal of dexterity with its blob-arms. The chest opened, and the creature withdrew a single gem. It held it for a moment, then put it back down, returned to the sink, and drained away. Rarity stood there, perplexed. "That was the most bizarre creature I have ever seen." Philosopher Stone studied the twisted piece of material in front of him carefully. As one of the foremost experts on metallurgy and material sciences, he had been one of the first to be called in by Canterlot University to study the crashed object. In his case specifically, he was studying what the object was made out of. The slate-grey earth pony took an iron file in his mouth and shaved off a small bit from the fragment. He then moved the filings beneath a microscope. A bit of careful calibration later was able to produce a clear image, which he looked at and recorded the findings. "Find anything interesting?" a melodious voice said. Philosopher Stone looked up suddenly, the motion causing him to splash himself with a bit of ink from his quill. Muttering, he set it down; trying to wipe the ink off would only make it smear more. His mood improved when he turned to the speaker. Natural Progress was the university's top scientist in charge of the project. A unicorn mare, she had a cerulean coat, copper mane and tail, and if Stone was to be frank, shapely flanks. The earth pony had quickly developed an infatuation with the unicorn scientist, though professionalism had kept it from developing into anything beyond silent admiration. It still proved to be a distraction though, as this incident with the ink proved. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have." Stone turned his attention away from his lovely coworker and back to his work. "First of all, it isn't metal. I believe it to be some sort of ultra-advanced ceramic. It appears to have been designed for its strength, durability, and heat resistance. It is composed mostly of elements we're familiar with, but they are arranged in molecular patterns unknown to our science. Also, I'm reasonably sure there's other elements in here we haven't discovered." "Well, that certainly is interesting," Progress said, brushing past him to look into his microscope. "Although it only raises further questions." Stone wasn't going to let the sweet scent of her mane distract him. Not at the moment, anyway. "Such as?" "We were examining the main bulk of the object, and we found what appeared to be scorched pits in the side of the vehicle. Almost as if something had collided and burned through it. But if it is a ceramic and as you said made to resist heat, then what could burn through it?" Sunlight shone through Rarity's window, illuminating her recently tidied bedroom. The unicorn had spent the late hours of the night cleaning up the mess her visitor had made, and as a result had fallen asleep almost immediately. It was fortunate Sweetie Belle was staying with their parents; the thought of trying to explain exactly what was going on to her little sister had given her a headache. As Rarity was getting ready for the day, she heard a familiar gurgling sound coming from her sink. She huffed. "Oh for the love of Celestia, I just cleaned this place." She glared at the slime that was currently crawling out of her plumbing. "Hear me carefully, you overgrown dessert. If you so much as knock one little thing out of place, I will call animal control." The ooze rolled over to her, extending a pseudopod in her direction. Rarity stepped back a little, feeling a little concerned. Although the creature had yet to harm her, she had no reason to think it never would. Something small and angular emerged from the center of the creature, and began to travel down the pseudopod which deposited it directly in front of the mare. She looked at it, gasping. It was the purest crystal she had ever seen, even more so than adorned Princess Cadence. It was a bright emerald color, and seemed to shine from within. "Is this for me?" she asked the creature. It said nothing, simply rolling back to the sink and vanishing into the pipes. Rarity examined the gem in her hand, feeling a mixture of wonderment and puzzlement.
SplashdownOne hundred thousand miles above an unusual, blue-green planet around which orbited a single moon and, in violation of most of the universe's laws of physics, apparently a mainstream star, there was a brief unexplained flash of light. A few moments later, there was another in the same place. This repeated in a cycle, with the rate of the flashes increasing until they created a constant strobe. Space seemed to collapse in on itself as a swirling vortex of color opened, forming a blossom of light that hung briefly there in space before vanishing. Few of the inhabitants had spotted it, for it was small and not all that bright. A triangular shaped object of metal spun end over end, flung from the vortex. The lights patterned over its surface flickered erratically as it struggled in vain to right its course. Flames began to appear on its surface as it tumbled down towards the planet below. From the surface, the inhabitants watched, perplexed, as it carved a brilliant arc over their night sky. One of these inhabitants was far from home. Rarity had been laboring well into the night when she discovered, much to her chagrin, that she was just a handful of gems short to complete her commissioned work. As much as she wanted to simply call it a night and restock her gems in the morning, with the looming deadline she simply had no time to sleep. Perhaps unwisely, she was now out in the fields she retrieved most of her jewels, hoping to unearth the few she was looking for quickly and then get home and out of the night air. Her efforts paused as the blazing streak lit up the night. "Strange," she said to herself. "I did not believe the princess had any shooting stars scheduled for tonight..." Her curiosity grew into amazement, then fear as the fireball got larger and larger. She realized it was heading in her direction. With a shriek, she threw herself to the ground, covering her head with her forehooves. The burning blaze soared over her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of it. There was a tremendous crash as it slammed into the ground nearly a mile behind her, gouging a crevice into the earth and throwing up a cloud of dust. The white unicorn huffed as she examined herself and realized she was now covered in a layer of grime. Sighing, she stood back up and gave herself a token dusting off. She would, of course, have to wash more thoroughly before she went to bed. Looking back, she noticed something shiny protruding from the wall of the new ditch that the falling star had made. Coming closer, she realized that it was in fact a gemstone. The ground was still too hot to walk on, but fortunately her magic made retrieving it relatively easy. Upon closer examination, she realized it was not the one she was looking for. "No need to fuss," she said as she put the gem in her saddlebag regardless, "I am sure there are many more further along. And maybe I can see if any of the star is left!" That thought spurred Rarity's imagination into action. She had heard Twilight discussing the nature of stars before, but most of what had been said had gone over her head. Regardless, the chance to gaze upon an object that fell from the heavens was not one the fashionista was willing to pass up. She had long admired the pure shine and glamor that stars sparkled with. "I hope it is as radiant as it was when it hung in the sky," she said to herself. "To think what I could create with such a beautiful accessory. Why, it would be fit for a princess! Oh dear, I do hope I am able to craft an ensemble worthy of being graced by its presence! Oh, there's really nothing to worry about, Rarity, you truly are skilled and talented enough to do a star justice, all you have to do is put... your... mind... to... it." What Rarity found at the end of the ditch was not at all what she had been expecting. The object that had fallen from the sky was roughly triangular in shape, and mainly composed of a grey-green metal. It had been bent by the crash, and several pieces of it were sheered off and lay scattered about. Small flames danced in pits on the object's surface, along with random multicolored sparks. Steam and smoke rolled off the entire site, giving it a mysterious and intimidating atmosphere. For a while, Rarity simply stood there, trying to process exactly what she was seeing. After about a minute, her knowledge of popular culture finally revealed the answer to her. "A... UFO? An alien spaceship? But... how can... I mean," she cleared her throat. "Well, this is certainly unexpected. I'd best be heading straight home, and leave this for more qualified ponies." She could think of at least one of her friends who would undoubtedly be crawling all over this wreck in the morning. Twilight would most likely want to be notified immediately, but Rarity doubted that she would like to be interrupted this late at night for something she would probably dismiss as a hoax. "She would probably think I'm brain-addled from working too hard," the unicorn muttered to herself as she gathered the gems and began heading home. Tomorrow would be an eventful day for all of Ponyville, and she would need her rest. What Rarity didn't see, as she trotted back home, was the hatch on the crashed spaceship pop open. If she heard the hiss of the seal breaking, she dismissed it as another random puff of vapor coming from the wreck. A translucent green pseudopod emerged from the hatch, gliding over the surface of the vessel, and adhering to a patch of metal that wasn't overheated. A formless green mass emerged, pulling itself out of the wreck. The gelatinous creature pulled itself into a ball and rolled off the triangular craft, settling on the ground next to it. A set of stalks, each tipped with a round, bead-like bulb that might've been an eye, extended from its body in every direction, roughly resembling a crown. The creature extended a pseudopod to pick up a piece of metal nearby, then stopped. One of the eye stalks had spotted the white unicorn moving away from the crash site. Several others focused on the indigenous life form. The alien withdrew all but two of its eye stalks, and drew itself out so it resembled a large slug in form. Crawling out of the ditch, it moved into the nearby foliage. The native stopped, turning its head back and examining the surrounding area as though it suspected it was being watched. The alien flattened itself against the local flora, until it was mere centimeters in thickness. The native shortly returned its attention forward and resumed its course. The alien oozed over the landscape, flowing from shadow to shadow and disturbing the environment as little as possible. When the wind blew, it swayed with the foliage. When it was still, the creature was still. It ran into increased difficulty, however, when the native entered a local settlement. The sparseness of plant life combined with the artificial nature of the structures would increase the difficulty of infiltrating the native's world undetected. The alien paused, considering its next step. As it did so, precipitation began to fall from the sky. This quickly became a moderate rain, with the water flowing down the streets. The alien followed it to an entrance into an underground drainage network. It crawled into the sewer, preparing to explore its new avenue of transportation.
ContactRarity woke up to a fairly pleasant morning, stretching her legs as she climbed out of her bed. The shower late the other night had left a pleasant smell in the air, but the clouds had already been cleared away, and the sun was shining brightly. The fair weather put Rarity in good spirits, and she began her preparations for the day ahead. As she was carefully grooming her mane, she remembered the unique event that had occurred late the previous evening. She blinked, perplexed as to what the mysterious object's arrival would mean for Equestria. There were those who believed that there was other life in the universe, certainly, but it had not been proven, and there were many others who believed no such thing. The events of last night would shake the world entirely. Not wishing to remain in suspense, Rarity made her way out the door. She noted that, for the time of day, the streets of Ponyville were oddly deserted. As she made her way to the crash site, she discovered that the town's population had near completely gathered there. She had to worm her way through the crowd in a most undignified manner to get to the front. As she was going, she came across a familiar, pink face. "Rarity! I'm so happy to see you!" Pinkie Pie threw her forehooves around Rarity, giving her a tight hug while considerately avoiding disturbing the white unicorn's immaculately kept mane. "I was up last night putting the last finishing touches on one of the Cake's cakes," she snorted a giggle, "Cake's cakes, he he! Anyway, I was working when all of a sudden there was this bright flash out the window. It was too long to be lightning, and there wasn't any thunder, and I knew there wasn't a storm scheduled for the night, just a little rain. I also knew that it wasn't a holiday, 'cuz really, me forget a holiday? So I was really confused and curious, so I looked out my window and say this really big shooting star. Like, big as a house! And it went whooosh!" She pantomimed it soaring with a hoof. "And then, it went, Kaboosh! And, and... And that's all I know." Rarity was well used to the rapid rate of conversation her pink friend spoke with. As she listened, she debated divulging the events of the previous night to her. On one hand, Rarity still wasn't sure if she entirely believed it herself. On the other, there really was no need to keep it a secret. Everypony would figure it out soon enough, and Pinkie would be the last pony to judge her. Before she could say anything, there was a prismatic blur overhead. "Hey, have you seen the spaceship yet?" The excitement in Rainbow Dash's voice was evident. "No way! It's a spaceship? That's so cool! That's like," Pinkie struggled to come up with a proper response. "Something very cool! A little over half as cool as Rainbow Dash!" Rarity sighed, smiling. She sometime wondered if Pinkie understood the ramifications of stroking Rainbow's ego to such a degree. The pegasus basked in the compliment for a moment, before continuing. "I saw it! It's all weird looking and shiny. It's not a saucer though, it's kinda more like a triangle. A buncha guards from Canterlot are here, and so is Twilight." They worked their way to the front of the line, as Rainbow called for everyone to "let the Elements of Harmony through." That was enough that most of the ponies were willing to stand aside. At the front, Rarity saw that Twilight was indeed there, standing in front of the crashed vessel, with about two dozen armored pegasi keeping the crowd at a safe distance and watching the wreck. Rarity spotted Fluttershy and Applejack near the front of the crowd as well. The vehicle hadn't changed much over the night. The fires had gone out, likely extinguished by the late night shower, and it was no longer steaming. In the light of day it appeared far less ominous, but just as mysterious and unusual. There was a bright flash of light above, and Princess Celestia appeared. The regal alicorn's presence immediately melted some of the tension that had been building in the crowd at the presence of the strange, otherworldly object. She set down next to Twilight with a graceful flourish. "My beloved subjects, there is no need to worry." Her voice carried over the noise of the crowd, which quickly went silent. "Although we do not currently know the origins of this object, I can assure you that we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety and well-being of Equestria." Applejack stepped forward. "'Xcuse me princess, but is there anythin' dangerous about this here, uh, thing?" The princess smiled. "While there is still much that is unknown, our initial findings do not suggest it is currently a threat. However, as a precaution, we will be moving it along with every artifact of unknown origin that may pertain to it to a more secure location for further study." A quiet voice barely carried over the background noise. Rarity was only able to make it out because she was familiar with its owner. "Umm, is there anything inside? I would think that, if there was anyone in that when it crashed, that they could have been badly hurt." "Of course, Fluttershy. The first thing we did was to examine the wreckage for any survivors. As far as we can tell, the vehicle has been abandoned. Our current theory is that any occupants fled before the crash." A large, flat wagon pulled by a team of earth ponies arrived. "A detachment of the solar guard will remain in the town for the next week to ensure that nothing more out of the ordinary happens," the princess said. "Until then, you may go about your business as usual. Farewell." With that, the princess began to levitate the wreckage onto the wagon as the crowd dispersed. Rarity followed Dash and Pinkie as they went to speak with Twilight, picking up Applejack and Fluttershy along the way. The lavender mare was finishing presenting her findings to the princess. Upon completing her report, she started for her home, her friends following her. "Sooo, whatchya figured out about the spaceship? From space?" Pinkie was the first to ask, predictably. "Not a whole lot. It's all very strange. There is clearly a power source present, but I couldn't find any trace of magic. That means that whoever built it did so using a form of technology completely different from anything ponykind is familiar with," Twilight said, perplexed. "No magic?" Rarity said. "That's... I would think that nearly impossible. How would one go about traveling between worlds without magic?" Twilight shrugged. "Magic is my specialty, but there are other fields of study which could lead to some form of understanding about all this. I'm sure the princess will have the best experts in Equestria get to work on it straight away." "I wonder what sort of creature would come from another world," Fluttershy said. "I bet it's some big, ugly thing with like, seven eyes and three arms," Rainbow Dash said. This got Fluttershy nervous. "Don't worry," Twilight said. "It probably isn't around. Besides, it could look like anything." The six of them continued to discuss the craft and its missing occupants, coming up with ever more bizarre theories as they returned to the library. Rarity entered her home, quite worn out by the day's events. The Princess had things well under control, although Rarity privately wished that she would have been aware that Celestia was going to make an appearance. "I was so very unprepared for a meeting with the princess," she said to herself. "I didn't even have a chapeau." Despite not being at her utmost fabulous, the day had been well-spent. She had a chance to mingle with her closest friends, and had a day off from her work. Unfortunately, that meant that she would have to work extra hard the next day. After all, of the many things Rarity took pride in concerning her work, punctuality was one of them. She never missed a deadline. As she settled in for the night and began to make herself a pot of herbal tea, she thought she heard a strange noise coming from her kitchen sink. Groaning, she set the kettle down and went to examine the sink. "Of all things, there is nothing I detest as much as backed up plumbing. Especially at this hour; I shall have to wait until morning to call for a plumber to repair it." As she peered down the sink's drain, she spotted a strange, viscous green fluid oozing up out of it. It began to slowly fill her sink. Rarity gaped at it in disgust. "What a horrid mire! That is quite the most disgusting thing I have ever laid eyes upon! I shall have to..." Rarity stepped back, gaping in horror, as the substance began to crawl out of her sink. The apparent creature slid to the floor of her kitchen, accumulating into a roughly bowl-shaped globule of animate, green gelatinous substance. Rarity stumbled backwards, beginning to hyperventilate as the mass slowly began to roll towards her, extending a pseudopod in her direction. "No... stay back from me... you horrid beast..." As the mass loomed over her, Rarity gave a terrible shriek, laying a forehoof over her head, and fainted. She fell to the floor out cold, and totally at the mercy of the creature.
InteractionRarity slowly opened her eyes, her head aching from where she had hit it on the floor. She rubbed it with a hoof as she sat up, looking around in confusion and dismay at the mess her kitchen was in. A wet, slurping sound behind her brought her memory back, and in horror she slowly turned around. The gelatinous creature was still present in her kitchen. It had opened her fridge and rummaged about, several of the food items from it visible within its transparent body in various states of liquefaction. Cabinets and drawers were also opened, their contents upset and scattered about. At present, the creature had pulled her toaster inside of itself. Various screws were turning, and the device came apart. "Why, why you..." Rarity had trouble forming a coherent sentence. "You ruffian! Look at what you've done to my kitchen! Put my toaster down this instant!" The creature continued to disassemble her toaster. Furiously, Rarity looked over the room. Spotting a broom, she telekinetically lifted it up and over to the creature. "Take this, you beast!" She struck it as hard as she could. The broom embedded in the surface of the creature's mass, sticking to it. A thin layer of the slime began to ooze up the broom's handle. Rarity pulled as hard as she could, but while the broom would move a few inches, it would not come free of the slime creature's grasp. Eventually, the entire broom was within the creature. Rarity had an idea, one she was surprised she did not try in the first place. Concentrating, she grabbed the blob with her magic, and hoisted it into the air. The constantly shifting mass made it hard for her to levitate, and it required all of her effort. The creature shot out a long feeler, which stuck to and enveloped Rarity's horn. She screamed as the monster began to pull her closer, causing her to release it. It hit the floor with a loud wet sound, briefly flattening out before returning to its full size. It began to draw Rarity closer to it. She shoved her forehooves down hard on the floor, trying to keep traction. There was a loud screeching sound as she carved wide furrows into the floor while the ooze drug her forward. Unable to cast her magic, she resigned herself to the inevitable. Instead of engulfing her, the ooze reached out another, larger pseudopod. Before her eyes, it morphed itself, becoming the crude likeness of a pony's face. It examined her, not having any real facial expressions. Rarity stared back at it, confused. "Hello?" she said. The ooze opened its facsimile mouth, and made an unearthly noise, a sort of shrill tone somewhere between a shriek and a buzz. "Oh, dear." Rarity was not sure how to respond to that. She was troubled; nothing she had seen indicated that the creature was anything more than an animal, but it wasn't behaving like any animal she had ever come across. Granted, she was no expert on animals. It would likely be a good idea to speak with Fluttershy about what this creature was, and how to handle it. The ooze moved off, past Rarity and into the next room. "Oh, dear, oh dear. Please, please stay out of there!" Rarity hurried over to try and close off her work room, but the green mass had already moved inside. "Those are for a very important client! If they stain, I'll have to start all over! Oh, put that down, that fabric is highly delicate! Oh no. They don't make that model of sewing machine anymore! If that breaks, its irreplaceable!" Rarity was likely working herself into an early grave trying to herd the creature out of her work room. The rolling mass seemed most eager to get its slimy blob-arms on every thing in the place. The unicorn could practically feel her mane graying. It seemed like things were only going to get worse as the ooze came to the chest in which Rarity kept all of her gems. It was able to open the lock with ease, evidently having a great deal of dexterity with its blob-arms. The chest opened, and the creature withdrew a single gem. It held it for a moment, then put it back down, returned to the sink, and drained away. Rarity stood there, perplexed. "That was the most bizarre creature I have ever seen." Philosopher Stone studied the twisted piece of material in front of him carefully. As one of the foremost experts on metallurgy and material sciences, he had been one of the first to be called in by Canterlot University to study the crashed object. In his case specifically, he was studying what the object was made out of. The slate-grey earth pony took an iron file in his mouth and shaved off a small bit from the fragment. He then moved the filings beneath a microscope. A bit of careful calibration later was able to produce a clear image, which he looked at and recorded the findings. "Find anything interesting?" a melodious voice said. Philosopher Stone looked up suddenly, the motion causing him to splash himself with a bit of ink from his quill. Muttering, he set it down; trying to wipe the ink off would only make it smear more. His mood improved when he turned to the speaker. Natural Progress was the university's top scientist in charge of the project. A unicorn mare, she had a cerulean coat, copper mane and tail, and if Stone was to be frank, shapely flanks. The earth pony had quickly developed an infatuation with the unicorn scientist, though professionalism had kept it from developing into anything beyond silent admiration. It still proved to be a distraction though, as this incident with the ink proved. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have." Stone turned his attention away from his lovely coworker and back to his work. "First of all, it isn't metal. I believe it to be some sort of ultra-advanced ceramic. It appears to have been designed for its strength, durability, and heat resistance. It is composed mostly of elements we're familiar with, but they are arranged in molecular patterns unknown to our science. Also, I'm reasonably sure there's other elements in here we haven't discovered." "Well, that certainly is interesting," Progress said, brushing past him to look into his microscope. "Although it only raises further questions." Stone wasn't going to let the sweet scent of her mane distract him. Not at the moment, anyway. "Such as?" "We were examining the main bulk of the object, and we found what appeared to be scorched pits in the side of the vehicle. Almost as if something had collided and burned through it. But if it is a ceramic and as you said made to resist heat, then what could burn through it?" Sunlight shone through Rarity's window, illuminating her recently tidied bedroom. The unicorn had spent the late hours of the night cleaning up the mess her visitor had made, and as a result had fallen asleep almost immediately. It was fortunate Sweetie Belle was staying with their parents; the thought of trying to explain exactly what was going on to her little sister had given her a headache. As Rarity was getting ready for the day, she heard a familiar gurgling sound coming from her sink. She huffed. "Oh for the love of Celestia, I just cleaned this place." She glared at the slime that was currently crawling out of her plumbing. "Hear me carefully, you overgrown dessert. If you so much as knock one little thing out of place, I will call animal control." The ooze rolled over to her, extending a pseudopod in her direction. Rarity stepped back a little, feeling a little concerned. Although the creature had yet to harm her, she had no reason to think it never would. Something small and angular emerged from the center of the creature, and began to travel down the pseudopod which deposited it directly in front of the mare. She looked at it, gasping. It was the purest crystal she had ever seen, even more so than adorned Princess Cadence. It was a bright emerald color, and seemed to shine from within. "Is this for me?" she asked the creature. It said nothing, simply rolling back to the sink and vanishing into the pipes. Rarity examined the gem in her hand, feeling a mixture of wonderment and puzzlement.
