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An Alien Walks Amongst Us

by Hazardus_Havard

Chapter 1: Prologue - You Just Have To Believe

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If someone were to ask you to describe nothing, how would you respond? It’s a difficult question to answer, admittedly. Since the moment we are born, there has always been something, and not a nothing. To feel something, to see the places you travel. Taking it all away and to leave one in a state of absolute nothing.

Truly picture that, if but for a moment. Your senses, gone. Any emotions you may have possessed, taken away. Thoughts of future tomorrows and dreams of past yesteryears, all vanished. Not even darkness was permitted, as darkness was too strong of a defining feature to hold. Just imagine it. A wide, expansive nothing.

It’s in this nonexistent space where our story begins, where we find some poor fool currently residing.

“Where am I?” he spoke out. Or at least, he felt like he had spoken those words. His mouth hadn’t moved, just opened wide enough to allow the barest of air to trickle down his greedy throat, yet words came out all the same.

Adrift in a sea of nullity, the man silently mulled over his own voice. He had been alone for quite some time, if that was something he could even define. Not once had anything given him such a feeling. And those… words was it? Why did he choose those ones? What were their importance? Should he try again for more words? The nothing allowed his mind rest of ease, yet the words thrilled him. Yes, he would try once again.

“Why am I here?” What a fascinating thing to behold. Speaking out and hearing those words.

“Is anyone there?” Why hadn’t he done this sooner? Why did they even start to come out in the first place?

“I want to go home.” Perhaps they were simply bottled up inside him. His mouth was a gateway and he was the captain of the vessel.

“Please.” He wondered if anyone would want to claim his words. They came from him, so clearly they belonged to him.

Blasting into the man’s ears, a scream tore out, silencing the man’s voice. He wasn’t sure where it came from. Was it from someone else? Perhaps it was him? Before he could work on the new sensation, another one seemingly invaded his mind.

Something tugged on him, tried to pull him away. It started with a few, small nudges. Some apparitions of unknown familiarity, a number of seemingly unimportant faces that pulled on his heart. Easily avoidable, he’d claim. Be that as it may, it drew him forward, his muddled mind forming a clarity that it seemingly had lost, only now being reclaimed.

Without fanfare or warning to prepare, things had seemingly returned to him. His state of mind felt fractured, yet it was slowly forming back. The feeling in his body was returning, something he wasn’t even aware of missing. A cursory, mindful examination helped clarify he could feel things were correctly in place. There were two legs, two arms, nothing felt out of line, save for his eyes. They were closed. Nothing wrong with that, but they didn’t seem to want to open.

Moving his hands up to his eyes was a useless endeavor as he couldn’t control his limbs. He could wait for them to work, but he was quite eager to know just where he was located if possible.

With a clenched jaw, he forced them to peel open, getting the first real look at his surroundings. He slammed them shut immediately in pain, the light burning into his retinas, attacking his raw senses. Ignoring the encrusted sleep that irritated his sight, he forced his eyelids open once more, accustoming them to what was around him.

White.

Nothing but white. The blank, anemic void pained his eyes. It unnerved him.

He floated in the white, staring at it all. It made his presence somehow feel like the abnormality in the area. The white made him feel wrong. He didn’t belong, his form of odd colors and shapes an abhorrence to the space.

A thought wormed its way into his head, something that he had voiced not so long ago. Just why was he there, in the white? Was there a reason for his stay?

Something rushed back to him, a memory that was neatly tucked away, something that pushed itself in the darkness. Yet his questions forced the thing thing to stick out, as if nudging him to look at it. This one thing was the core fault of why he was there. It was very important. It held answers.

With a hesitant step, he sought out the memory, taking in what he had lost and forgotten.

And then…

The taste of salt in the air was the first sensation to hit him. A tilt of the floor kept him rebalancing his legs, a motion he was not fond of. His hands held on to a railing, allowing him some form of purchase. Off in the distance was a deep-water drilling operation, barely visible in the fog of the oncoming night.

He was starting to remember what was so important about the drill. The company that was working on the site had been forced to shut the drill down due to a massive spilling disaster. That event had fed the media for some time. No one could traverse the oceans due to the oil spill, so much of the sea life had died as a result, and plenty of it washed on the shores of nearby lands. And yet, against all odds, the drill was back in business several years later, along with empty promises of bettering their safety protocols.

The ship he was on was there to help garner media attention. He admired the garish colors, sliding a hand over the hull beside him. Cloth could be heard flapping in the wind, the flags on display showcasing the crude words aimed at the drill. A successful protest was one that caught the eyes of everyone around them: the abomination that he was standing on was a helpful aid.

At the moment, only two members of his group were on the ship, the others dealing with other ends to shut down the drill.

“Hey, Anon,” a sharp pitched voice called. “Ya still got your eyes on those money-grubbing monsters over there?”

A sigh escaped Anon’s lips. He wondered why he bothered bringing Gleekman along with him in the first place.

'Ah, right, he knew how to run the ship…'

A thin, string bean of a man, holding an air of a man ready for action, Gleekman had a habit of causing trouble. It wasn’t a good mix to have along with the man’s more violent tendencies towards public destruction.

Sadly, Gleekman was a necessity for the trip. Excellent skills in all forms of life, a charismatic tongue that could woo anyone within a beat of their heart, and his massive funding from his own pocket to help with all their ventures.

So, everyone dealt with Gleekman, and Gleekman in return got what he wanted, delusional as a man making history.

“Trying to get some air is all, Gleek.”

It was Anon’s turn to babysit the man while the others got to sit in a nice, cozy room discussing matters with people on the drilling operation. 'Bunch of backstabbing friends, the whole lot of them.'

“That’s a bit hard to do with the amount of stink being shoved into the air, don’t ya think?” The railing rattled as Gleekman leaned against it, glaring at the drill. “My hatred has no limits for those smug rats, killing off so much of the sea and destroying things without a care in the world. And those ditzes thought they could just set things back up like we wouldn’t take notice.”

Gleekman turned his head toward Anon. He gave him a smile as he stood up, patting Anon on the shoulder. “This sure is a special trip, this one. Might be the biggest thing we’ve done yet! I promise you won’t regret taking me along for this.”

A shiver ran down Anon’s spine. He knew the man had ulterior motives when he involved himself. Anon was not in favor of being a part of such things.

“Gleekman, you better not be planning something,” Anon warned. “We don’t want another incident to turn out of control by you.”

Gleekman’s smile disappeared as he stared, looking through Anon, his eyes glazing. His focus returned, the smile he previously broadcasted only widening. “Nothing to worry ‘bout, just got to show them we mean business, is all,” Gleekman said, walking past Anon. “We’ll show them all.”

Sweeping his hair back, Anon groaned in frustration, watching Gleekman walk off. Whatever he may be planning, hopefully, it wouldn't do too much damage. Right?

…Something brought Anon back to the white. Despite his deadened senses, he could feel his throat burning, struggling for air. Why had that particular memory felt important to him and his current situation?

Letting in a raspy breath, Anon delved right back into the memory on the ship...

He was currently inside his cabin, reading a book, trying to relax. It did nothing to help him from being on edge, waiting for whatever Gleekman was attempting. Yawning, he flipped a page to continue reading, just as he heard a loud thump and a muffled curse outside his door. Sitting up, Anon set his book down to check on the noise.

Peeking outside, he could see the silhouette of Gleekman in the dark, carrying a rather large package. The man juggled the object in his arms, shifting the weight before continuing. The dim lighting on the ship removed any chance at identifying what was going on. Furrowing his brow, Anon wondered how he managed to get that on the ship without him noticing. Most likely one of the crew handlers they relieved of their duty helped it on before the two left port.

Making it up some stairs, Anon saw the thin man standing by an illumination of whites and pinks. Beside him was a computer terminal, of all things. How he had the time to set all that up, Anon wasn’t sure. As Gleekman fumbled about with his work, Anon watched him in silence, having difficulty seeing anything in detail. 'I better stop him on whatever he’s working on, this does not look safe.'

“Gleek,” Anon called out, making the man jump.

Gleekman looked at him with a clenched jaw and a heavy breath, nearly dropping what was in his hand. It looked cylindrical in shape, a pink liquid sloshing about. “You idiot!” Gleekman screeched. Placing the object inside his setup, Gleekman swiped his brow with a shaky hand. “Well, seeing as you’re out here, there's no point in keeping this hidden from ya.”

Anon took a step forward. “What exactly are you doing, Gleeks?”

Even in the dark, he had no trouble seeing a large smile from Gleekman. “Why, I’m fixing our problem here! No oil drilling operation, no more pollution!” He flicked something, the deck exploding in light. “No more killing the animals!” Anon’s eyes widened. A sense of dread hit him as he looked at what he identified as a missile. “And most importantly,” he said with a mad grin, “no more ugly rats!”

“Gleekman, are you out of your mind?!” Anon was terrified of what Gleekman seemed to be attempting. “Why would you think a missile would solve our problems?”

Gleekman looked at the missile with a smile, patting the colorful warhead. Pressing a button, it lifted itself as it started to turn on the platform. “This ain’t no ordinary missile Anon,” he said, ignoring the question to admire the object, “no siiirreeeee it ain’t! No, see I—” He patted his puffed out chest, “—I got this thing from a… outside source. Had it made to destroy something massive, something large! They promised the destructive power of over six thousand sticks of dynamite, and it’s all thanks to these experimental chemicals and doohickeys attached to this, giving it an extra kick! And the best part is, it’s all natural! Nothing will get into the waters or anything! In fact, they stated it would simply make it all—” Gleekman flashed his hands in the air, making a poof sound. “Disappear.”

Anon looked at the missile, now aimed at the drilling operations. Examining it, he saw some oddities that looked rather queer on the thing. The thing was surrounded by fins, with a pink hue glowing in several places. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think this thing came from a B-rated Hollywood flick from the fifties on what future tech should look like.

“Gleek,” Anon said in a calm tone, inching toward the man, “think about what you’re doing. This isn’t the right way to go about things. We’re in talks with the local government. We even got the media on our side, keeping an eye on this for as long as we have, and you know how difficult that is. We’re in a very good spot; we don’t need to resort to violence.”

It took a moment for Gleekman to process what Anon said, so focused on his current work. His face distorted from the previous smile, teeth bared and eyes glared. “You’re joking,” he spat. “You can’t be serious. You honestly think that the government isn’t already in their pockets, or that they’ll be of any help in stopping these people?"

“That’s not true,” Anon said with a shake of his head. “In fact, most of them don’t like the idea of it operating without proper measurements to prevent another catastrophe. The oil, it hurt a lot of people the last time. We’re very close to having it all closed down.”

“For how long?! They’ll be up in operations soon enough!” Gleekman gripped the railing by him, lost in his anger. “And why would you think the media would be of any help?! They’re already owned by those idiots that are in charge of the drills.”

Gleekman slammed his fist against the panel, forcing Anon to a stop, his breath coming to a still. “No, we need to make a stand right here, right now, so they can’t continue these operations." He turned to the contraption, his back hunched over the panel of the missile. “At any cost,” he added with a terrifying finality.

A nightmare, that’s what this was. Of all the things that could have happened, when things were going so well, why did this have to come out of nowhere to ruin everything they’ve worked on? It was a mistake, thinking Gleekman’s paranoid actions could be dealt with. Anon knew that one day the man would blow up on all of them. Who knew it would be so literal.

This was the end of it all. The destruction of the drill wouldn’t stop anything. It’s going to take the lives of people drilling while dumping more oil into the ocean, if it didn’t wind up being a dud and blowing up the ship along with him. Not to mention having them all imprisoned. Their group would wind up on multiple terrorist lists. It was the end of everything for Anon. All their hard work, gone.

Gleekman’s hand hovered over the panel; he turned his head, giving Anon a toothy grin, eyes devoid of rational thought. He turned back to the oil drill, grin widening.

“Say goodnight, you pompous, money-grubbing rats!” Slamming his fist down, the missile started to unleash smoke as the lights on it began blinking erratically.

Anon wasn’t sure what made him take action at that moment. It felt like something was guiding him. In any normal circumstance, there was no way he’d try to thwart a missile by jumping on it, hoping it would stop the takeoff. Yet, there he was, grabbing hold of its body, ignoring the yells coming from the deranged launcher.

“Get off there you dung slinger! You’re going to ruin everything!”

He had some hope he could stop it by throwing it off its balance, perhaps having it drop in the ocean before liftoff. It was simply bad luck for him that not only was the missile strong enough for his weight, soon after jumping on, the missile launched, taking him with it.

It took his entire focus just to stay on the horrid contraption, uncertain about how he should proceed. How would one even think of a plan in such a situation? His ears felt like they were crushed with hammers from the force he was dealing with. Looking up, his bleary vision gave him just enough detail to tell him that he was barely skimming across the water, likely his weight keeping the missile so low. Yet its aim stayed true, heading for the drilling.

'How do I stop this thing?!' He couldn’t see any kind of control panel or something that could stop the thing from its destination. Odd looking hieroglyphics were embedded all over the body, with gaps filled with pink lights. None of it made sense. He couldn’t open any of the panels or hope to try and rip something important from it.

Looking for some way to divert the rocket, he spotted the wing flaps surrounding the missile. 'If I can bend one of these, I can have it veer off in another direction,' he thought, kicking one closest to his leg. Barreling down at it with his foot, he could see it starting to move at an angle, forcing the missile to wobble. He kicked at a few other flaps, trying with all his might to force the missile away.

His entire world went topsy-turvy as the missile zigged and zagged. Looking ahead, he could see it had gone in a different direction, likely to miss the drill entirely. Mission accomplished, Anon had hoped to let go and make a chance at survival. A small chance was better than none. That was not meant to be as one of his leggings was stuck on a bent wing. Before he could even think of ripping his leg free he hit the water, his breath escaping him as his senses jumbled about.

The missile’s thrusters sputtered out, the momentum carrying the missile further away from the surface as it continued to frantically beep, clearly still armed.

Anon reflexively gasped, his need for air forcing him to do so, water flushing into his lungs. Within seconds, it was all over; his body started to shut down, unable to continue. 'At least I… stopped… the miss… ile…'

Hazy as his sight was, Anon could see several schools of fish gathering toward the missile. Their curiosity drew them to the pink lights. That was the last thing he saw as his mind closed up shop. And then, there was nothing.

…It all came back to him. Anon closed his eyes in thought.

“So. Gleek managed to kill me. Or perhaps I’m in some kind of coma. Regardless, I’m in this void of, whatever it is.” A hum left his aching throat. “So what happens now? Am I simply damned here for all eternity?”

Nothing would answer him. Whatever was happening, he was helpless as he was. Lacking anything to focus his attention on, Anon started to relax, deciding to go along for the ride, wherever it was taking him. He had his memories along with his answers. He saved plenty of people over his heroic, yet stupid actions. What more could he do?

He simply drifted, taking in past memories. Wondering how everyone was doing. Trying his best not to focus on what had happened.

Before long, Anon eventually had something new to bring his attention to. A sound. It started off as a little hiss that slowly grew in volume. It sounded like something was suctioning through a hose, growing in intensity. Looking around, Anon could see himself heading toward something. It was sucking through the white, pulling him toward his new destination.

And then, he was there. No white, no nothingness. He was floating in a sky full of brightest stars he had ever seen with wisps of clouds that floated in the air, giving an ethereal feel to his surroundings. It was mesmerizing taking it all in. He could find himself enjoying the stars as his final resting place. Now that felt like a more fitting place to him.

Anon felt a chill surrounding his body, the first real amount of interaction he felt in so long. The wind started to buffet his body, pushing against him at a fast pace. Turning his body around, Anon could see he was falling toward some land. He could see a grouping of trees that looked like a forest. Off in the distance was what appeared to be an old-fashioned looking town, along with some farmland in the other direction. If he tried hard enough, he could even see a castle off in the distance.

'What an interesting place I find myself in.' Closing his eyes, Anon awaited for his eventual crash in the ground.

'Falling to the ground in such a fashion. What a way to end it all.' He internally chuckled. 'And once I land, maybe I'll wake up. I’ll see my friends surrounding me, my mom will chide me over my actions, and then we can all have a grand laugh about all this.'

Yes, that was a more welcoming thought. Certainly better than him blowing up and floating in a void for an eternity before being vomited back out in the sky. This was all a dream. Had to be. How foolish he was taking everything so seriously. It was a comforting thought. So, clearly, he had nothing to worry about. Anon simply waited as he fell, feeling nothing as his body hit the ground.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X ~ ~ X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A yawn stretched out in the quiet room, the unicorn smacking her lips. She tapped her quill against a piece of parchment, the ink drying on its tip.

“Just what do they expect from this? Slime creatures are not supposed to come in contact with salt. Those purveyors already know of this.”

Another assignment, another problem. So many beings on her planet and she was charged with ensuring the races kept in a form of harmony if one could call it that.

“What incident number was this anyway? Number eight? Why do they keep trying to feed them salty beverages?”

It was nearly impossible to do her work. Meetings with new tribes of beings were quite common, and having to send out packets to help alleviate their troubles was constantly keeping her busy.

“Perhaps if I send out to the local guard on warning them about banning salt in the area could keep them from trying this again. We can’t simply keep the ponies there from the slimefolk, the trade agreement for the black rocks are too important.”

With her world still mostly uncharted, there was a need to plan for everything they could, even things they didn’t know about. Scenarios about possible events, what actions they should take if they come across something they couldn't deal with, and referencing it all with what was already known. It was a daunting task, but one she was more than willing to do.

“Perhaps we could simply tax the salt higher, raising the prices. Most ponies out there wouldn’t want to pass around something that costs so much. Yes, that could work.” She dipped her quill in a bottle of ink, writing down the response along with some notes about why it was a bad idea to give slimefolk any form of salt. “Finally finished!”

The unicorn let out a hum of satisfaction, placing the quill down. A small green glow bloomed out from her horn, lighting up her desk. Her papers glowed a similar green color, levitating in the air before being neatly packed inside a large envelope.

“The fellas over at the academy can finally stop bugging me about this darn problem, something I’ve already told them about several times.” The unicorn shook her head in frustration. “Now I can finally work on my own project! I’m hoping the princess will like this week's packet.”

“Lyra,” a voice called out. “Are you going to work all night or are you going to come out here with me?”

Lyra shook her head, just now realizing she had forgotten about stargazing with her friend. “One moment, Bonnie,” Lyra yelled back. “Let me finish down here!”

Lyra had wanted to further work on her own personal packet, tidy up her ideas before sending it off to Princess Celestia. The idea of alien threats and problems was certainly something that past komlas’ had never considered. Finding herself having no time, she packed away her packet, hoping it was good enough.

The unicorn levitated it into a small lantern, the green fire dancing along with the papers. It quickly crumbled, turning into a powdery mist twinkling of green particles. The remains then flew off to the nearest escape out of the house, heading directly for the princess back to her castle. Satisfied with her work, Lyra walked toward the upstairs hall where a ladder could be seen, leading up to the roof. Up top she could see Bon Bon sitting on a cushion, playing with the telescope.

“You took your sweet time,” Bon Bon teased, looking at Lyra. “For a moment I thought you’d rather hang out with your work than me.”

“My work is very persuasive at times, Bonnie.”

“No doubt about that, though I’m confident your work can’t contend with somepony like me, who can create such delicious sweets.” She pointed to a bowl of wrapped candies, likely a recent batch made from her, “Or has the patience needed to deal with you.”

“I suppose there are a few valid points in choosing you over some sliced up pieces of tree," Lyra said, making her way to Bon Bon.

The two sat beside one another, gazing upwards toward the starry sky, winding down from the day’s events. The stars twinkled in the sky, their constellations on full display as always. It was a peaceful evening for them, scoping out the stars, discussing what the constellations meant, and the occasional peeking in on someone in their home. For fun’s sake, of course.

'A pretty good night', Lyra thought to herself as she closed her eyes, sitting back and relaxing in her cushion. 'I doubt anything could ruin it.;

“Hey, Lyra," Bon Bon spoke out as if to challenge her unspoken thoughts, “is there supposed to be a star shower scheduled tonight?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Lyra answered, opening an eye to look at Bon Bon. “Princess Luna doesn’t have anything set up for that. Why do you… ask…”

Trailing off, Lyra looked in the direction that Bon Bon had the telescope pointed at. A dull, pulsing light hovered in the night sky, located over Everfree Forest. Making her way to the telescope, she stared at the anomaly, trying to glean off just what was happening.

“Perhaps somepony’s spell went awry?” Bon Bon said, looking at the light. “It’s happened before just a few months back. Someone all the way from Manehattan appeared in Las Pegasus. Was the topic of discussion for a full two weeks.”

Lyra noticed something coming from the light. “Yeah, I think I see something coming out of it. Looks like it might be our turn now for some related shenanigans. But there’s something wrong with it.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, the person’s in an odd shape. Not exactly pony-like at all. In fact, it’s bipedal.”

Bon Bon’s eyes widened, “Really? I wasn’t aware we had minotaur enchanters in our lands. Those beings are extremely rare to come by.”

“I’m not sure it’s a minotaur either. It’s not bulky at the top like they normally are. No small legs either. The limbs seem almost proportional to one another. How odd.”

'What could this be? Nothing from my catalogs have anything that could help explain any other race being here.'

She went through the list of bipedal creatures she knew of on record, none matching the figure. Humming in thought, the unicorn lit up her horn, using a simple magnifying spell alongside her telescope. It helped with Lyra seeing more of the figure that floated in the night sky. Examining the being once more, it appeared to have pink skin? Definitely not fur. It was also clothed in strange garb. The limbs were oddly specific sizes. There was something very familiar about that figure to her.

An image appeared in her head, reminiscent of past dreams of faraway lands. Dreams that took her to places that held many different races in so many different shapes. It was the reason why she even had the job she had, those dreams. If she didn’t know any better…

“No.”

She swore she was looking at one of those hoomans. There was no possible way that this was happening, not something from her dreams. It was absurd! 'And yet…'

The telescope revealed the figure had started its descent to the ground, falling directly toward the forest in the distance. It was a rather dangerous place to be dropped into for anyone, especially at that time of night. All manners of beasts lurked the area in that foul place, the only ones brave enough to traverse it confidently were those shamanistic deer and even they tended to stay in their fortified homes at night.

Lyra immediately made her way down from the roof, heading to her closet. Rummaging inside, she found her ready-made travel pack for such an occasion. Getting the pack strapped on, she could hear an audible groan coming from Bon Bon who watched her from the ladder.

“So I guess this ends the night.”

“Don’t be like that, Bonnie,” Lyra replied.

“Be like what? Annoyed that you’re going off to do something dangerous once more? That you’re likely to get yourself stuck in a situation that I’ll probably have to reel you out of?”

Lyra turned to Bon Bon, a sheepish smile directed at her. “And you’re a great friend for it, Bonnie.”

“Or a foolish one,” Bon Bon deadpanned as she followed Lyra to the front door. “Every time you’ve gone out, it’s with you coming back with nothing to show for it or with trouble following along. How many times have you done this now?”

“Eighteen.”

“And each time it ended up with nothing to show for it. It wasn’t an alien the other eighteen times, I highly doubt it will be the nineteenth time. Why do you keep persisting?”

“The possibility, no matter how small, is worth going out and hoping for the best. Besides, it’s clearly someone out there that got lost, or it might just be a new race being dumped here. They still need help.”

“We both know what it is you’re really hoping for.”

“Regardless, I need to check it out.”

“Lyra, please. Just think about ignoring it, just this once!”

Lyra turned to her with a grin full of confidence. “It’s not something I can simply ignore. In the end, all that matters is pursuing that dream, Bonnie. I believe in it.”

In no time, Lyra had left out the door, running toward where she saw the figure drop. Bon Bon stood out the door, watching her departing friend making her way toward the Everfree Forest.

“We were having such a good evening too,” she grumbled, a frown present on her face. “Better prepare for whatever trouble she brings back with her.”

~End Prologue~

Next Chapter: Chapter One - A Curious Introduction Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 20 Minutes
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