All was quiet and calm in the Everfree Forest during night. Barely a noise could be heard. Princess Luna looked around her, satisfied. Once the moon had been raised, she found some free time for herself and she had decided to take to the skies. Wind ruffled her wings as she darted through the dark skies and she felt thrilled to fly again. She gazed at the sky above her, where a myriad of stars glittered magnificently and sighed contentedly. Truly, night was a wonderful time. Her attention was drawn to a star that flashed brightly once, leaving a cluster of smaller lights in its wake. Puzzlement overtook the young alicorn’s mind. Her confusion only grew as minutes later, a small ball of fire descended from the skies, roaring as it ploughed through the trees and hitting a pond in the Evefree Forest. Her curiosity growing by the moment, she decided to contact her sister before doing anything. With any luck, Celestia was still awake and her thoughts would be heard.

Celestia? Celestia! BIG SISTER!

Mhhyes? What is it, Luna? Is something wrong?

I’m not really sure. I saw something crash in the Everfree Forest.

Very well, I shall assemble the Royal Guard at once. Should I get Twilight Sparkle to help us as well?

Better safe than sorry, Tia. I’ll wait for you at the forest. Be careful.

Elsewhere

Galanthus was a disaster. From the hundreds-strong fleet that was stationed there, only dozens remained, badly mauled and scattered everywhere. Vasari technological prowess was unmatched. Once the phase lane had been established, hundreds of Vasari cruisers and frigates had poured through. The defenders didn’t stand a chance. They ran, leaving the Galanthus undefended and ripe for taking. After eliminating all resistance, the Vasari enslaved the planet’s population. Despite their efforts, small groups of dissidents banded together and called themselves the Ghosts of Galanthus, raiding the Vasari factories and inconvened them in any way possible.

But this story is not about the brave rebels, or the constant struggle for freedom. This story is about Battlegroup 71 and their defence of Equestria.

Phase space

Battlegroup 71

Flagship Onto the Stars

Smoke filled the air, an acrid smell of burnt plastics and wires, the metallic tang of spilt blood suffusing it. Numerous bridge crew ran around, administering first aid to injured crewmen and helping to put out the fires. Commander Weaver looked around her grimly, reading the flickering screens as the damage reports from across the fleet poured in “All ships, report in! The damage is too severe to be taken care of while we’re in transit, so we’ll have to drop out in realspace! Acknowledge?”

The captains of the fleet responded curtly, awaiting her order. A minute later, she triggered the fleet-wide order, and the phase drives of sixteen Trader and Asli ships cut out, and, with a rumble, the constantly swirling lights of phase space was replaced by the deep black of space. The sonorous drone of the phase drives quieted down and sub-light drives took over, automatically levelling the ships out. For now, they were safe and could proceed with repairs.

Three hours later

War Room

Onto The Stars

The door opened with a quiet hiss and Weaver looked up, seeing the casual figure of Lieia Grisova step through and she let her shoulders slump a bit. Grisova was a much-celebrated EXO captain, able to turn the tide of battles on her own, but often had trouble following orders. Many hated her, others venerated her. What mattered now was whether she’d follow Weaver’s request. Grisova saluted her casually.

“Ma’am.”

“Grisova. Take a seat.”

“Nah, I’m good. Ma’am.”

“…Right, then. I’ve got a little task for you, Captain. We’re in orbit of a planet, but it’s not on our charts. I ran a search on Asli and Asahi charts. Nothing showed up. I need you to drop down on the surface and do some recon, ‘cause I’m not ruling out the chance that there is sentient life down there.”

“Right.”

“Well, since your EXO is still in repair, take one of the Seven-Tens, ‘kay?” Seven-Ten was a massive exoskeleton, heavily armoured, designed for protracted campaigns and rated for orbital drops.

“Gotcha, commander. When do I leave?” Weaver bristled, the EXO’s disrespectful attitude getting the better of her.

“Immediately, Captain.” Lieia flashed a smug grin, clearly pleased with getting a rise out of Weaver, but she left nonetheless.

Ten minutes later

Hangar bay 6

The floor shook as Lieia walked over to the hangar doors. The two huge plates of metal opened a fraction, letting her through as she clambered clumsily over the hull, and kicked off a moment later, hurtling towards the planet, impacting a large forest minutes later.

Luna glanced uncertainly at the strange contraption lying in the crater. It was dull grey, but covered in soot, which was reasonable. She landed softly near the edge, glancing around her. Everfree Forest was never a safe place, even less so at night. Carefully, she descended towards the strange thing, taking care not make any noise, hoping nothing would-Wrmmmmmmmm.

The contraption lit up, multiple beams of bright light coming from it. The ground trembled as it started to move. Luna leapt out with a yelp, taking refuge behind a boulder and peered over the edge, just as a massive, grey paw appeared on the rim, and with a grunt, it hauled itself out, standing up to its full height. It seemed lost, muttering in a quiet voice, then turned and walking away, earth shaking with every step, when Luna sneezed, unable to tolerate the dust the machine left in its wake. In an instant, it turned around, and held something in its arms, pointing the device directly at the boulder and shouted authoritatively “Come out. Now! And no funny tricks!” Trembling, Luna decided to comply. She took several shaky steps and only now she could truly appreciate the strange machine’s size. Twice as tall as a manticore, with entire body covered in grey armour plates. After several excruciatingly long seconds, the machine eased off, placing its device on its back, and Luna noticed that the being had a window of sorts near its top. Could be there someone inside the machine? She felt reasonably certain that that was the case, when a loud hiss and a cloud of steam later, the window slid upwards and the machine’s occupant leapt out and now that she could see it clearly, she decided to introduce herself “Um, hello. My name’s Luna. Who are you?”

There were things Coalition Marine Corps taught to you. How to create an improvised shelter, how to forage for food if your rations ran out or were lost, how to survive when stuck behind enemy lines, among other things, and she’d seen stuff no amount of training could prepare for, but this topped ‘em all. Snapping out of her thoughts, she returned her attention to Luna “Uh… hey. Name’s Lieia. Uh, hang on for a sec.” She turned around, climbing back in the Seven-Ten and picked up the microphone “Overlord, Overlord, this is Gold Lead, do you copy?”

“This is Overlord, report in, Gold Lead.”

“Overlord, I have established first contact with a local inhabitant. It’s a horse, speaks our language as well.”

“…Say again, Gold Lead?”

Next Chapter: Chapter 2 Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 45 Minutes