The entire science department seemed to be present in the bridge, many bound to their stations from the amount of personnel occupying the catwalks and pathways. In the dark cavernous room, the Captain of the U.T.C Ranger patiently awaited his crew to silence, striding around his control-deck. After they had ceased, he pressed a button on the console, and his voice rang out through the speakers,

"At 03:00 hours on what our system reads as Friday, we deployed imaging satellites around the globe in order to gather intel on the atmosphere, and the newly shifted terrain on the planet. Our batch of results from Ranger-4 and Ranger-3 have proven our speculations; the planet is still habitable, but a very large amount unknown energy has been coursing through the stratosphere. The energy is not a raise for alarm, but we are currently unsure of what effect the energy will have on our systems,"

The Captain strolled around the control-deck once more, and brought up a large image on the 168'inch monitor above the crewmen. All present gazed up at it in awe.

A picture of the Earth, rendered from one of the probes sent out, catching the rise of the sun along the horizon. Blue oceans, clouds, land. Not the nearly desolate wasteland they had left.

"We have landed multiple miracles in our time aboard this vessel, and our prolonged existence is in fact a miracle in itself, but this... we are sitting upon a goldmine of good luck here, gentlemen,"

"There seems to be traces of civilization down there, but sadly, due delay of the U.T.C Warrior and the U.T.C Fighter, we cannot get thermal imagery or sat-intel,"

Bringing up another photo, he cast the image of a large clearing near a collection of grey and black dots. Buildings and structures. The Captain held onto the handrail and sighed,

"Our lack of knowledge on what lurks around down there frightens me, and the enormous collection of sci-fi movies I've watched isn't helping." He chuckled, joined by the crew.

After a minute of staring at the pictures, the Captain looked down from the screen and back towards the awe-stricken scientists.

"I want your teams to prepare a first-contact briefing for the Military officers, and grab all of the best men you can to go down there to help with the meetings. As of yet, we have not established contact with the terrestrials down there, and it would be best if we do it in a way where we don't seem like an invasion fleet, aye?"

"Sir yes sir!" The crewmen rang out, and as soon as they appeared, they vanished, presumably running back to their labs in excitement.

As they ran, the Captain wondered how well the natives were going to take this, and after a moment, he presumed not very well.

Meanwhile, Canterlot had been a chaotic battlefield of media and alleged 'doom-sayers'. You couldn't move anywhere in the city without having either a crazy nutjob running up to you to convince you of impending doom, or a crier sticking a paper in your face. Princess Celestia could do nothing to stop the madness, and entered a political-protection mode, ordering a full closing off of the Canterlot castle. Only the Guard could come in and out, with the exception of the Princesses and the Elements.

Originally, Princess Celestia had believed that coming clean with the nation would be best to stave the chaos, but only accelerated the spread of the paranoia. The sun hadn't risen and there were already ponies outside the gates demanding answers as to why two massive steel and metallic objects orbited around the globe, and she did not have answers.

The country was a blink away from massive rioting.

Having called the Council of Public Affairs to the Royal Courtroom, she listened to the opinions of her best secretaries and advisers. And their ideas were horrible, ranging from declaring war upon the massive metal objects, to forcing them down with an army of magic-wielders, to declaring a state of political neutrality. So instead, she chose to take matters into her own hooves, and called for a meeting to be held in the town of Ponyville, where she would answer to what she knew.

On a Mid-Summer day, with the arrival of delegates from every nation and media outlets from every nook and crevice, she held the conference. She looked to Twilight nervously for a moment, and after her student gave a reassuring nod, she stood at the podium, hardening for relentless question.

The moment her face had been cast above the wooden pillar, the Town Hall was taken about by sound. Window reverberated, the floor shook, the walls trembled. Thoughts were forced out of Celestia's head as the voices overwhelmed everything they reached, but after a minute, enough was enough. Princess Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but a voice rang out behind her, shattering all of the glass, and forcing the standing creatures onto their backsides.

"SILENCE!"

Princess Celestia's eye twitched, and she faced her sister, who cast her a sheepish grin.

Sighing, she turned her head back to the crowd.

'Brace thyself Sister,' Celestia heard Luna say telepathically.

Doctor Rossman stood at his workplace, odd trinkets and bolts and the such glinting in the dim yellow light. He had read the e-mail sent by the Captain, and he had gone through the roster of potential candidates to send down to the planet, but so far the list didn't look promising. Every other scientist aboard had made their selections according to the records on each soldier, but most of them were good grunts, not good men. And the few who made their choices for the betterment of others were either recently KIA or needed rehabilitation from previous combat experience.

He stood in the doorway for a moment, and shut off the light, walking out of his office, when he heard someone yelling and shouting obscenities at the top of his lungs.

Deciding he should investigate if the person needed help, he set off to find the vulgarly-talented stranger, when he saw a familiar face lying on the floor.

"Ah! If it isn't my patient from back at cryo! How are you friend?"

Picking himself up, Jacob held onto the guardrail for life, and stated, "You aren't my friend, Rossman."

The Doctor chuckled, "I'm so hurt by that, Jacob. Oh whatever can I do to make you feel otherwise?"

"Get out of my face."

The humor on Rossman's features vanished when he suddenly thought up a brilliant idea.

"Mr. Wynes, you do know of the operation upcoming in the next two days, correct?"

For a moment, he paused.

"Yeah, but I wasn't chosen, my body is still healing from the last suicide mission,"

"What if I told you I could get you down there?" Gerard smiled devilishly.

"I'd tell you, when's my flight, but that ain't happening for a while Doc."

"So you think, Jacob, so you think," Gerard said as he pulled a struggling Jacob into his lab.

<REC START: SPEAK NOW

Entry log, wait... I don't remember...

*music playing in the background*

Screw it.

Anyways, this Gerard Rossman is a prime suspect in the Alex's murder, but everyone's dropped suspicion since there was a visible suspect fleeing the scene. Something tells me there's more to this than we know, and the higher ups are keeping info from the rest of the crew.

If we were in deep space, we'd have a mutiny on our hands.

*pauses for a moment*

Ger has good taste in music, I might add.

So, while Gerry seems all good and pure, I'm going to keep an eye on him. He's been acting odd since... well, since I saw him, so I guess that doesn't really pan out. Anyway, the Doc shot me up with some experimental medicine against my will, and I am half expecting to turn into a werewolf, but it turns out this medicine was actually the prototype medi-gel they were working on back home.

And it works pretty well, gotta say.

I don't really value life, but I guess I should start doing that soon, because once we touch down on soil again, my pessimism and cynical nature are gonna get my ass kicked.

*silence*

So, I'm suiting up in the H.ARM tomorrow, and in order for my body to heal properly while inside of it, Gerry has made some modifications. While I do enjoy this guy's music, I don't understand why he'd send me instead of some other Marine, I mean, there are plenty of guys with more experience than I, and some younger than me. Well, I guess twenty-six is an okay age for combat...

I don't know.

But what I do know is if I start thinking this mission'll go to shit, it probably will, so I'm going to do yoga or something before hand.

*solo in music*

Jeez. This is just...

I'm PMing Ross to send me his music.

*erratic typing*

Jacob Wynes, logging off... again. For whatever time this was.

*silence*

Who am I recording this for?

<REC END

Two days

The hangar bay had pilots, technicians, soldiers, doctors and just about every other crew member cramped into it. Oxygen masks were handed out like food, but eventually ran short, sending some to watch from blast-resistant air-tight windows at the end of the large room. Jacob, however, was sitting away from the crowds, next to his large metal monstrosity. Elongated legs packed with electrical wiring and pistons within, servo joints in the back-bent knees to provide versatility, and then a large rotary module for full 360 degree turning of the upper chassis.

Along the 'chest' of the metallic cobalt-finished beast, in neon cyan paint, was the name 'ST33D', in memoriam to the cowboy legends of the once great American Wild West.

"Pre-launch checks... go." Jacob said inside his helmet.

Stabilizers: Check

Flight Boosters: Check

Deployment Chute: x2 Check

Armament: x500 7.62×51mm NATO loaded in RIGHT-SIDE Standard HEAVY ARMAMENT ASSAULT RIFLE, x1000 5.7×28mm loaded in LEFT-SIDE Custom/Modified HEAVY DEFENSIVE CHAINCANNON.

Modules:
> PRXMTY SCNR RNG 100 M
> THRML IMG OVRLY
> LSR SIGHT COLOR: GREEN
> PDA INTERFACE
> OXY-720 MIN
> BASS BOOST (ENJOY THE GIFTS -GER)

Smiling to himself slightly, he grabbed onto one of the rails along the backside of the and hauled himself into the massive tower of steel, sweat, guns and pride. He plopped down into the machine, and after getting comfortable in the plastic chair, pressed the pre-ignition buttons along the upper right of the hood. Finally, after going through all of them, he stared at the last one, a bright green glowing one titled 'LOCK', and stopped.

He looked at it quizzically, as though it were telling him something.

He looked around the cabin, the bright green lines from his HUD fading for a moment, before he looked to his wrist, where his PDA was still mounted. He removed it with the unstrapping of velcro, and found the newly installed module on the front of the hood. He grabbed the handle bars on it, and pulled himself up, slapping his device into place, before sitting down for a relative minute of silence before the mission. Jacob liked it so much better when he had his steed in reach.

He looked at the small clock in the upper right corner of his HUD, and it read 03:24, one minute until lift-off.

"All pilots, get to your stations immediately! Operation Sci-Fi is a go, I repeat, Operation Sci-Fi is a go!" A voice echoed around the hangar, and people started fleeing toward the blast doors.

Jacob's hands started sweating. He buckled the safety harness.

He punched the lock-button lightly, and the hood came down with a pressurizing 'tsssss', watching the bay-door open.

Jacob cracked his neck, reached up onto his helmet and pressed a button to fully integrate user view, then selected a song on his playlist. He smiled as the sound came into his headphones.

"Alright, boys, you know what's gonna be goin' down, we send in the diplomatic speaker, yada-yada, if the shit hits the fan, we got one of them Heavy Armaments and Weapons guys driving a big hunk of steel into their asses, dig?" The pilot of Clash-1 announced. He was carrying the ground forces.

"We dig!" The other soldiers announced in excitement.

Meanwhile, Jacob fiddled with a small bobble head of a weathered George Clooney. As the tunes reached his ears, he could feel the H.ARM being carried through the docking bay and out into space. Zero-G hit him hard, and he nearly gave up his lunch all over the inside of his helmet. He turned on the Virtual Sight unit, and stared at the planet in awe through his helmet.

"Jesus..."

"Steed, whatchu seein', man?" A crewman with a Jamaican accent asked.

"The planet man... it's... damn."

"Steed, you becoming pussy." The deep voiced Jamaican chuckled.

Jacob chuckled too, but quickly added after reading the name tag of who was talking, "Deron, I doubt you've ever had pussy if you're talking like that,."

"Oooooooh! Dis one cool, I like dis guy-" The voice faded as the man operating the mic handed it to someone else.

"Is it true you were the one that turned the Battle of Hawaii?" A nasally voice rang out.

"Damn, am I famous." Jacob laughed as he bobbed his head.

"How the hell are you still a Corporal?!" He asked in surprise.

"Soldier's doing his duty, nothing special."

Turbulence. Jacob's music switched off.

"Clash-1, we got minor turbulence, recalculate entry, over."

"Clash-2, there's no safe entryway, going in hard."

"Roger, keep hands on the stick. All passengers, buckle-up."

Soon, everything is shaking. Unwanted memories of that drop-pod popped into Jacob's mind. Jacob held tight on the handles around the cockpit, the screen on the hood giving him statistics on exactly how fast they were falling, and the probability of burn-up.

67%.

'The universe hates me.'

Everything went low gravity again, but this time, everything began to glow gold, and Jacob could hear metal groaning.

"Clash-1, Clash-1, we got something pulling us into the atmosphere!" The pilot gasped in fear.

"Clash-2, we confirm! Everything is blue and G-Forces are raping my hull, no way out, sit tight!" The other pilot yelled as static overwhelmed the comm.

'She fucking hates me!'

For minutes they remained in the hold, everyone fearing that this could be their end.

With the speed accelerating, the pilots of Clash desperately tried to steer away from the force, but it held strong. Clash-2 attempted to force the throttle, increasing the fall speed. The rattling and shaking of everything disturbed Jacob, and he began reading the reports and results from the machines at the loudest possible voice he could, the realized that there might be only one way out. And he did something he was explicitly told not to do.

He yelled in frustration, and shut his eyes.

In desperation, Jacob pulled the release lever on the magnetic lock, disconnecting from the dropship.

"FUUUUUUUUCK!" Jacob yelled as G-forces overtook the exo-mech, and he could feel his eyes vibrating in his skull. His head slammed into the railing of his seat, and his mind became hazy.

The ground neared closer every second, and the exo became hot within seconds.

"We've lost the H.ARM, I repeat, H.ARM's gone----" His voice faded into static as Jacob shot through the atmosphere.

"SYSTEMS RED, I'M GOING IN HOT!" Jacob roared into his headset, before pressing a button on the right arm rest.

He was falling. Fast.

The interior of the H.ARM became hot, and Jacob found himself sweating profusely from fear and the heat. He began jabbing buttons regarding locks on weapons and equipment, but soon, he found himself pressing almost every button he had.

His breathing was the loudest noise in the entire world at that moment.

He checked his HUD, and the screen was counting down at 1:30 seconds until impact.

'Not again. Not a-FUCKING-gain!'

"DEPLOY THE FUCKING CHUTES!" He screamed as he slammed onto the appropriate red marker.

His entire body lurched, and the suit pulled back harshly as the carbon fiber chutes deployed in a large puff of white and red. Jacob, this time, knowing full well he could not hold back any vomit or puke, lifted off his helmet, opened the hood and proceeded to disgorge.

He panted, and wiped his mouth with a dirty handkerchief from his jumpsuit breast pocket, then snapped the hood back down. Wiping his eyes with his hand, he sighed, then laughed like he had gone mad.

He picked up his helmet and set it back on his head, then checked the elevation level.

5,000 feet.

"Damn..." Jacob sighed uncomfortably, before rubbing his face again. Taking the stick in hand, he focused on touching it down easily. While the ST33D fell fast, it was meant to handle the force of landing roughly, and with the aid of the Flight Boosters, Jacob set it down on the ground at an acceptable 60 mph.

Well, at least he hadn't pissed himself.

"Princesses! We saw a shard break off of the second asteroid! It touched down somewhere near Appleloosa!"

Princess Celestia froze.

"What is the damage?"

"None, your majesty, the weather patrols in the area reported that it stopped itself from crashing!" Celestia sighed in relief. Thank goodness.

"Well then, sent a two contingents or Royal Guard to the down immediately and summon a chariot. Warn the townsfolk not to approach it, we are unaware of what threats it may bring."

"Yes, Princess Celestia."

Celestia turned to her sister and Twilight.

"Land the objects down at Canterlot, if you can. We need to keep the situation secure."

'Please do not let it be. Please. Not now.' She thought to herself.

"I can't believe this! It's all real! We've been gone but it hasn't changed!" Jacob sang within his helmet.

With every step his steed took, he was sent leaning to one side or another. In all, it could make one very motion sick. The steed rumbled as it jogged around the sand dunes, and Jacob could feel the steed sink with every step he took, as if he were in real sand. He reached up towards his helmet and flicked on the Comm.

"Command! Do you read?"

Silence.

"Shit, entry must've knocked out my comms. Well, at least the AC is back on."

Reading more logs, the temperature outside was 34 degrees celcius.

"Fucking hot out, eh? Well, aside from the continents somehow completely changing, this seems pretty Earth-like to me."

Something blipped on Jacob's radar.

"What?"

The steed marched towards the next dune, the ground shaking beneath it.

"There's at least a hundred individuals on my-" Jacob was cut short as he saw a small army of lightly armed horses with shields, spears and armor. For a moment, Jacob was doubting his vision, but it got worse. At the rear of this frightened horse army, there seemed to be a tall, white horse with a billowing mane in non-existent wind.

Silence dominated, and the tall white horse had a look of determination on her features.

Jacob was laughing his ass off, he was laughing so hard that the actual chassis of the steed shook slightly. He chuckled and laughed, tears streaming from his eyes. Had he gone mad from the drop?

Then it started talking, in English, "My name is Princess Celestia-"

"AHAHAHAHAHAH!" Jacob couldn't stop, and whatever this Princess was saying, he was glad she couldn't hear him laughing over it. Whatever it was, it wasn't important, because she stopped after a minute. However, as his mirth dispersed, he began to fear that his silence may have offended her in some way, and began to search around the cockpit for a strangely missing button.

After a few more moments of silence, Jacob turned on his external microphone.

"Heh, *cough* I am *snicker* Jacob of the United Terran Coalition, and I am not the guy you should be talking to at the moment, hold on..."

Another minute of silence, before a loud hiss of steam erupted from the machine, and all of the equines weapons were raised up into position. The canopy of the metal beast slowly opened, revealing a sitting figure with a helmet obscuring his head. Gently unclasping his helmet, he unbuckled his harness and pulled off the sweaty headgear. Tucking it under his arm, he put one foot on the ridge of the cockpit, and kicked himself out.

Landing in the sand below, Jacob stood from his crouch, and revealed that he was taller than Princess Celestia, even outside the contraption. Princess Celestia walked forward gracefully, making out every feature of the creature. Her worst fears were realized. Extending his hand slowly to not evoke response from the soldiers, he took her hoof and smiled.

"I am Jacob Wynes, and I represent the Human race." After a moment, he thought, "Oh! And we come in peace." Que cheesy grin.