>Cold.
>Cold and dark.
>”Alert: Unindexed planet with Carbon Based Lifeforms detected ahead. Please report to the galactic union at your earliest convenience.”
>Arms feeling like bags of sand, you writhe around in the healing tank while trying to overcome the screams of your body to submit to the numbing tendrils crawling through your skull. Your eyelids are so heavy you can’t open them. The oxygen mask on your face may as well weigh a ton.
>Your entire body tenses up; your racked nerves scream in a chorus, before all go silent. Your body feels like air. There is a brief sensation of flight.
>Then the light comes, as does the blazing heat.
>You’re now standing in the middle of a white void. Your instincts force you to survey the space around you for any threats. You probe the area with your mind’s eye, trying to detect any hidden enemies.
>You can feel something; a pressure in your head tells you where to look, and you can see them.
>Two people, both in the distance. 
>Backs turned to you, they stand against the white background. You can’t see their faces, but their energy gives a strange sense of deja vu. Like you know them from somewhere. Or should know them.
>It looks like they’re wearing some kind of body armor. They both have a brown tail swaying gently in the air.
>Tails…
>You crane your neck and look at your tailbone and find a furry stump. The end of it is a pale freshly scarred over patch of skin.
>And with that, like a shark through water, a memory races and clicks into place.
>You snap your attention back to the duo.
“Escar,” your screams echo as they would in a large cave, “Relsh!”
>The void seems to grow as you take off like a bat out of hell. For every step you take, they get farther and farther away. It feels like there are walls closing in around you. It’s getting harder to breathe.
>You run faster and faster until you aren’t even running anymore - your energy encompasses you in a faint blue flame as you glide over the non-existent terrain.
>Even though you have put a name to the duo, the feeling of deja vu remains.
>The memories flickering inside your head tell you nothing about why it’s so important that you reach them. Just that you must. That won’t you be seeing them again. They also don’t tell you why you no longer have a tail, or why your heart feels like it‘s going to burst.
>Like a lightbulb exploding, the void fades away, and you’re back in the tank again.
>You still feel like falling asleep, but the previous pain is almost non-existent, save for the aches in your muscles similar to the kind you get when you push yourself too hard with your training.
>The sense of deja vu vanishes, replaced by a few loosely connected facts. You can think a little clearer, but it’s all still so very foggy.
>All you know for sure are the basics: you’re a Saiyan. One of the last few remaining in the… This universe.
>Your pack is dead. 
>One of them died to get you away from the danger that ended them.
>You can’t remember your own name.
>You are alone in the universe. On your own now. For the first time in what may as well be your entire life.
>A sound cuts through your attempts at making sense of this new information. You are aware of the blaring warning sirens echoing off the steel walls of the ship, and through your eyelids the pulsating red light.
>”Warning! Impact imminent!”
>The ship jolts and sways in a particular way that makes you remember something.
>Something which makes your heart skip a beat.
>You know what is happening: the ship has entered the atmosphere of a planet.
>And you’re trapped in the healing tank, unable to reach the controls to slow the descent and lower the landing gear.
>Your eyes snap open causing the liquid from the tank to stab at them.
>Clenching your fists, the familiar burning of your power courses throughout your body as you try to reach for enough of it to give the strength needed to destroy the glass.
>Conduits on the walls shoot off sparks and explode, spraying the glass with shrapnel which bounces off, making not even so much as a scratch.
>You sink a little farther back into the tank. The heaviness of your body is akin to having thrown one too many training weights on.
>Where your power once was, a hollow emptiness is all that remains.
>It took everything out of you just to keep yourself together over the past few weeks while the healing tank handled the injuries, so it doesn’t really surprise you that you’re running dry now.
>And with that, the bitter truth now dawns on you: when the ship crashes into whatever planet this is, you will not have enough energy to shield yourself from the blast.
>Nothing will stop the impact from crushing your body and killing you.
>A tingle shoots up your spine.
>More memories resurface. Most of them are just meaningless words, but some stick out to you: Vartia, mercenaries, the number 2, Super Saiyan, universe, tournament, and… A name.
>A name that stirs a fury so tremendous, the imaginary training weights crumble to dust from how intensely you shake.
>You can feel your nails digging into your palms; teeth grit so hard they may as well break from the pressure.
>A strange well of power you never knew you had explodes from deep inside your core, shredding the healing tank to pieces. The oxygen mask rips off your face, pieces of glass and it go flying across the room as the liquid from the tank pools onto the tiled floor.
>Your previously empty energy reserves start drawing off of that foreign power, sucking greedily at it for sustenance, which it readily provides.
>You waste not a single precious second.
>Flaring your energy, a pale blue aura surrounds you, making the air warp and heat up.
>You aren’t sure if you’re hallucinating, but for a brief second, you see your aura flash gold.
>The implication of this escapes you as your vision dims.
>You can still feel the warmth of the energy encompassing your body as you fall to the floor in a heap.
-----------------------------------
>The crisp night air carries a biting cold wind with it.
>Through the dense woods you can hear some crickets (very fitting given the circumstances), some leaves rustling around as they’re carried by the wind, and the pitter-patter of what can only be some of the field mice Applejack complains about.
>For someone like Fluttershy, the woods are a place of absolute solitude and serenity. A place to be free and feel whole and be one with the Earth.
>But for someone like you, Rainbow Dash, the most self-admittedly non-tranquil person ever to roam the face of the Earth, it’s agonizing.
>A few feet away from you is Twilight, staring deeply into the eyepiece of the many telescopes she owns, humming a tuneless tune to herself.
>Fingers tapping at the bark of the tree, you groan loudly, cutting through the so-called tranquil atmosphere like a knife.
>Twilight shifts a little and glances up at you with a frown. 
>She reaches for the knob on the side of the telescope and twists it, making the telescope let out some clicking sounds.
>Each one of them makes your eye twitch.
>Wordlessly, she returns to doing whatever it is that she’s doing.
>Peaceful tranquility returns.
>And you can’t take it anymore.
”Okay seriously, why is this taking so long? You said it’d only be 30 minutes! This is taking forever!”
>You were expecting her to roll her eyes and ignore you but amazingly, she not only responds, but she also looks up from the telescope at you.
>Meeting your glare with an indignant look, she starts to respond, ”Because Rainbow—”
>Knowing that she’s about to go on a rant about your lack of patience, you finally snap at her, your voice carrying your irritation and annoyance in droves.
“Don’t ‘Because Rainbow’ me, Twilight! We’ve been sitting on this hill all night! You said this asteroid or whatever would be coming and going in 30 minutes! It’s been like, what, 6 hours!?”
>Twilight rolls her eyes, and with a shake of her head, returns her attention to the telescope.
>”Actually it’s only been 20 minutes, and it’s a comet…” she mutters, her voice trailing off at the end.
>Twigs snap underfoot as someone approaches from your left. 
>You can’t see through the shadows, but you know who it is.
>”Just try an’ relax, Rainbow.” Applejack steps out of the woods, hat in hand, then plops down on the grass next to you. “I’m sure it won’t take much longer.”
>Won’t take much longer. Right.
>You push yourself harder up against on the tree, hoping that the feeling of the rough bark digging into your back will help take your mind off the agonizingly slow passage of time.
>News flash: it doesn’t.
>Eyes settling on Twilight again; you want to groan, scream, cry, or go tear up a bush, but instead you frown. 
>You frown not at her, but at yourself.
>When you went to check out this comet thing that Twilight’s been talking about non-stop for the past week about, you thought it’d be cool.
>You could have never imagined that you’d be spending one of your valuable summer nights sitting in a random wooded area of Sweet Apple Acres while Twilight combs the sky with a telescope.
>You can’t help but feel a little naïve for assuming this would be something awesome. 
>You’ve never even seen a comet before. 
>Or at least never looked or waited for one.
>Seriously though, who knew something as cool sounding as a giant rock or ball of ice from space ripping across the sky could be so boring?
>Then again, you probably should have guessed what this would end up being when you showed up and saw Twilight wearing her lab coat.
>Twilight wearing a lab coat is a classic sign of a very boring time ahead of you.
>Last time you saw her wearing it, she had you stand still for 45 minutes while she poked you with a pencil. 
>Never could figure that one out.
>Regardless of all of this though, as much as it pains you to admit fault about anything (no really, it physically hurts), you do know it’s not totally her fault for your impatience.
>You even feel a little guilty, since she hardly ever seems to leave her house at all. She hardly ever goes out with you or your friends. Instead, she’s resigned to studying or doing her experiments.
>She’s finally opened herself up a little bit and shared one of her discoveries with the group, and here you are being a jerk about it.
>You know what you have to do. It’s a word that starts with ‘a’ and ends with ‘e’. 
>Apologize.
>With a dramatic sigh, you decide to do now.
“Uh… Hey, Twi?”
>Twilight doesn’t react at all to you, her focus being squarely on the skies. 
>Grumbling something about trajectory, she twists the knob on the telescope again.
>It’s like she didn’t even hear you.
>You raise a brow at Applejack, but she shrugs and sticks a piece of straw in her mouth.
>You resist the urge to slam your head into the tree.
>Here you are trying to apologize for being a big jerk and the person you want to apologize to is ‘lost in la-la land’ as Rarity would put it.
>In spite of your internal ‘conflict’ however, you notice something very strange has happened.
>Where there once were the sounds one typically hears in the woods, there is now just… Nothing. 
>Absolutely no sound at all. 
>Not even the wind. 
>Kind to think of it, the wind isn't blowing at all. You can’t even remember when you last felt it bite at your uncovered arms.
>Then things take a turn from weird, to ‘oh my gosh what is going on this is horrible’ territory.
>The shadows grow tall around you, making you feel smaller than you ever have felt before. There is a vague sense of what can only be described as doom.
>Like the shadows are going to come to life and come tear you to pieces. 
>The air seems heavier, as though it’s slamming down all around you, smothering you in darkness.
>You glance over at Twilight, who is still scanning the skies with the telescope in her own little world. Nothing is amiss as far as she’s concerned… That or she’s just so focused she hasn’t noticed anything at all.
>You begin tapping your foot. But even with the sound of leaves crunching filling in the emptiness around you, it does little to ease the strange feeling of anxiety and dread.
>Stupid as it is, it reminds you of when you first started running track all those years ago; how you felt so tiny compared to the other kids around you when you got in the starting line.
>Your eyes dart to every dark corner and shadow around you, but the hulking demon or enemy you are imagining never appears.
>Even still, it feels like you are being watched by something. Something predatory. Something hungry.
>Heavy feet carry you away from the tree. Your hands curl into tight fists. Blood pumps through you from the adrenaline of getting ready to fight.
>You note the distance between you and your friends.
>A small part of you wants to laugh at how ridiculous this entire scenario is.
>You must have gone insane from the boredom.
>Surely that’s it.
>However, one thing proves that theory wrong.
>Somewhere in the past 20 seconds, Applejack has gotten off the ground and is now standing next to you, silently waiting. 
>Whatever it is you’re feeling, she must be feeling it too.
>She puts her hat on and cracks her knuckles.
>Straining your ears, you listen for anything lurking behind the mask of unnatural silence, but the only thing you can hear is Twilight messing with the knob on the telescope, and the sound of your heart in your ears.
>The muscles in your legs tighten. 
>Almost robotically you crouch down into a running position, but you know you can’t run anywhere.
>Not with your friends still standing here.
>And with that thought, as if the past 5 minutes of this threatening overtone was all a great big joke that you weren’t in on...
>Everything goes back to normal.
>The crickets start to chirp again, the leaves rustle as the wind stirs to life, and the feeling of doom and dread clears the air.
>Blinking, you relax your fists and release the breath you didn’t know you were holding in.
>Next to you, Applejack sighs with what sounds to you like relief, and takes a seat back on the ground, leaving you standing there scratching your head and looking around like a confused freshman on his first day of school.
>Dumbfounded as to what just happened, you open your mouth to speak...
>... Only for the sky to explode in a fiery orange haze, blasting away the previously threatening shadows of the night. 
>The stars seem to fall back into the abyss, like the heavens themselves have been blown away. 
>The air folds in on itself and goes so cold you can almost see your breath.
>Applejack springs to her feet, wildly looking around and screams, ”WHAT IN TARNATION!?”
>Twilight is no longer peering into the telescope. Her eyes dart back and forth, mouth opening and closing as if she’s unsure of what to say.
>Hell seems to be let loose on the Earth as the ground begins violently shaking. 
>The orange glow in the sky grows in intensity so much that it’s like there is a second sun, minus the heat.
>Limbs on some of the trees snap like twigs and race to the ground; mud goes flying up into the air like jets of water erupting from a geyser, spraying in every direction. 
>The crashing and swerving of the trees is all you can hear. 
>You can’t hear if Applejack or Twilight are screaming, or saying anything.
>You’ve never been in a tornado, or an earthquake, but this must be what it’s like. The Earth waging war on itself, tearing its skin and baring its fangs, while people cower in fear in the crossfire.
>Your mind races for ways to get your friends out of this madness.
>Craning your head around you try to see anything past the now blinding light, your legs wobble and shake when you try to take a step.
>It’s at this moment that something roars overhead, and with it goes any rational thought you had. 
>You feel the cold in the air being forced back by a harsh heat, like walking in front of a space heater.
>The insides of your body go numb. Your will to fight or flight is gone, and in its place the only thing that remains is blood-chilling fear.
>You open your mouth, trying to do the very last thing you can do: scream. 
>You try to inhale, but no air enters your lungs. 
>Like a fish out of water, you gasp and shake, your lungs crying for the air that will alleviate the pain, but no air will come.
>The world itself is crashing down around you and you are powerless to stop it.
>You do something you haven’t done in many years now.
>You silently pray to any god that might be listening to give you the strength you need to get through this, or to just plain survive.
>But your prayers go unanswered, leaving you to fate. 
>Squeezing your eyes shut, you slam your hands over your ears as the sound of what seems to be a loud jet engine pierces them.
>A loud boom echoes through the woods, and after it you hear the trees shifting and swerving.
>Mercifully, the ground lets loose a final aftershock, as a wave of heat ripples through the air so hot it makes the other heat you were feeling feel warm in comparison. 
>It hits you with such force, you’re afraid you’re going to be knocked off your feet and go flying off into who knows where.
>Then it all goes quiet again.
>But not quiet like before, no: this time it’s the natural kind of quiet. The quiet you’d expect to hear in the woods. Crickets, leaves, the works. You can even hear the trees settling around you.
>Your lungs fill with air as you deeply inhale and immediately your face crinkles in disgust at the foul, metallic flavor it has.
>Pennies. Copper. 
>It nauseates your already upset stomach.
>Despite what you just went through, you are not proud of the choked sob that escapes your lips.
>You force your eyes open right as the orange light fades away revealing the night sky and stars above.
>The pressure and heat in the air lifts, allowing the cool breeze to take its place once more. 
>Your face is drenched in sweat, and you quickly realize that it wasn’t all sweat, but tears as well.
>You had been crying.
>Your mouth drops open when you see the aftermath of the ‘earthquake’.
>Trees are stripped of their leaves, some of them are even stripped of bark. The farther away in front of you, the worse it seems to get.
>As your view of the trees fades into the distant shadows, you can see that some of them have been ‘blown back’ — long roots are the only thing keeping them from slamming into the ground.
>Where the limbs from the trees fell, there are deep pits of mud, with the surrounding Earth around it painted in dirt and grime.
>You don’t take another breath until you pat yourself down and make sure you’re still in one piece. 
>Still too proud to show any signs you were afraid, you raise a trembling hand and try to quickly wipe away any traces you were crying.
>With the hellish image of the sky being lit on fire still fresh in your mind, you muster the courage to turn around and see if your friends are still there.
“AJ, Twilight, you guys okay?”
>You look over at Applejack who has her eyes shut and her body braced against a tree, hugging it like it’s the only thing keeping her from being sucked away into oblivion.
>Her eyes open and lock onto you. She stares at you for a moment, and you can see the gears in her head turning as she tries to process what just happened.
>She gives you a reassuring nod, then frowns when she looks up and notices her hat is gone.
>Twilight is on her knees panting, her white lab coat stained brown in a few places with what you guess is mud.
>Worriedly, you scan her form for anything other than the mud and sigh with relief when you see nothing else. 
>Still you have to ask. 
>The concern and fear in your wavering voice sticks out immediately to you, but you don’t care. You’ll feel embarrassed later.
“Twilight?”
>She takes a few deep breaths and shakily rises.
>After a few seconds, she smiles nervously at you.
>Looks like they’re both okay. The jumping inside your stomach goes away. You swallow the smile tugging at the corners of your lips when you notice Applejack stumbling away from the tree. 
>Rushing over to her, you throw an arm around her and try to help steady her. You can practically feel her heart threatening to burst at the seams.
“You alright?”
>Nodding, she wobbles out of your hold and takes three deep breaths, shaking with each exhale. You watch the scene with bated breath, ready to catch her if she collapses, which thankfully doesn’t happen.
>“Ah, ah don’t even… what the….”
>Looking you up and down, she blinks, “Are you—”
>’No, I am not’ is what you want to say, but you force yourself to give her a nod and a smile.
>She doesn’t seem to buy it, but she doesn’t call you out on it, which you’re thankful for.
>Shaking her head, she dusts herself off and walks over to a bush, then pulls her (now torn) hat out of it. 
>She clutches it to her chest for a moment before putting it on.
>You look over at Twilight, who is humming and tapping a foot like nothing happened.
”What the hell was that, a plane crash?”
>She says nothing. Instead, she walks over to her telescope which is now laying on its side; the stand having cracked and broken in the chaos. 
>She sets her eyes on the stars and goes into ‘Twilight-think-mode’ as you call it, her face going blank as she loses herself in thought.
>Applejack is silently standing next to you, surveying the ruined land around the three of you, and you frown at the bloody scratches on the insides of her arms.
>You are about to suggest going back to the farm and getting some bandages when Twilight suddenly speaks up,
>”I don’t think,” she looks over at the two of you, “that was a comet.”
----------
>The first thing that comes is the distorted sound of the alarm overhead.
>Its wailing fades into static, and then silence as the last of the ship's power is snuffed out.
>The lights go with it, leaving you alone in the dark on the cold, wet floor.
>The second thing that comes is the return of feeling, and with it, an all too familiar type of pain: pure, unadulterated, exhaustion.
>Every single joint, muscle, and tendon in your body ebbs and throbs with pain.
>But none of that comes close to the amount of pain in your skull, which seems to be getting worse as time burns away.
>As time burns away.
>Burns...
>The final thing that comes is the foreign power that had sustained the shield that protected you during the ‘landing’ on whatever planet this is.
>It hadn’t hurt when you felt it before. It actually felt exhilarating. Orgasmic even.
>A power inside of you so extreme that just merely brushing up against it instantly filled your body with renewed vigor.
>Now though... now you can feel it crawling back into the depths of your body. 
>It flows like hot magma, burning a hole into the core of your very spirit.
>If you had to swallow acid, you imagine that this is what it would feel like. Something strong eating the lining of your stomach away.
>Picking up speed, the intense energy makes its way into the pit of your stomach, and then seems to form a ‘ball’.
>And like a switch was flipped, it stops burning.
>It’s actually more of a vibrating cold ball of ice in your gut now. Feels kind of nice. Definitely preferable over the hotter than hell rush of lava it was before.
>Almost timidly, you mentally reach out for it, only for it to instantly deflate and float into some far off place. 
>A place just out of arm’s reach.
>It kind of pisses you off. Just a little.
>Power of that magnitude being dangled in front of your face and then running off when you try to bring it out again to recharge yourself so you can get off the floor and leave.
>If you focus hard enough, you can tap at the edge, but you can’t pop the figurative bubble it has apparently encased itself in.
>And soon, you can’t even touch the edges.
>It’s just gone.
>What the fuck.
>Now you’re getting angry. Angrier than you should be, given the fact that you just survived your ship slamming into a planet at mach-15 speed.
>Your plight hits you full force: trapped alone on an unknown alien world, vulnerable to pretty much anything or anyone, and... 
>You remember it now.
>Through now boiling rage, you remember.
>Escar and Relsh.
>Ambushed and killed like animals. Killed before they could even put up a fight. Killed by an angry, pathetic piece of trash masquerading as a top-dog warrior.
>This will not go unpunished. 
>You will find him, and you will kill him just like you should have done before.
>You roll over onto your side, glass poking at your thickened skin, but not cutting it.
>Rage gives way to melancholy when you try to summon forth the required ki needed to push you into the air, and nothing happens.
>Empty.
>Empty and drained again.
>Weak again.
>You’re too weak to get off the floor and go avenge your pack, just like how you were too weak to protect and fight with them, and how you were too weak to prevent it from happening to begin with.
>You can’t really dwell on it too much though, seeing as to how the headache you’ve had since waking up has now grown to where it’s getting hard to think.
>The pain radiates from your temples to your face, and then to your neck, where it lingers for a second.
>The skin on your neck tightens as you feel something cold press down on your throat.
>Confused, you try to swallow and wiggle your fingers, thinking this is just something weird happening to your muscles from whatever that strange power did to your body, but you can’t do it. You can’t move.
>You realize now that this isn’t something happening to your body.
>This is something attacking you.
>The pain in your head grows when you try to probe the room with your senses, but thankfully you quickly find… It.
>It’s right over you.
>Squinting your eyes, you can make it out now.
>Something in the darkness. A shape. It blends in with the shadows so well it’s almost invisible, but you can feel it there now, feel it looming over you with nothing but absolute malice.
>Bipedal, average build. Can’t sense how strong it is.
>Fingers.
>It has its fingers around your neck. Five deathly cold digits squeezing your windpipe shut. You can feel something pressing up against your mind like a dagger.
>The headache and the mental dagger is thrown back by the centuries of primal battle instinct being kicked into overdrive, which overrides the aching and tiredness of your body.
>Through sheer desperation and willpower, you dig deep and channel a poultry amount of power to your arms. You have absolutely no idea where it was when you tried flying earlier, but you’re thankful it’s here now.
>Body on autopilot, you grasp its wrist with one hand, and raise your other hand.
>With your palm facing center mass at the thing, the power you dug out grew warm as it stalled in your arm, before it all rushes to your hand, making it glow with a faint white-blue hue.
>The air cracks when you thrust the blast into your attacker; some sort of shadowy aura prevents it from lighting the room and letting you get a look at who it is, but it meets its target head on in where you believe its chest is.
>The fingers on your throat immediately release their grip as the ball of energy explodes on contact with the target; you can hear it let out a low growl as its pulls itself free of the hold you had on its wrist.
>You sense it standing a few feet away from you, staring at you. The malevolence it was giving off is gone, replaced now by what you think is… confusion? You aren’t too sure how you can tell what it’s feeling, but you’re sure of it.
>Was it not expecting you to be able to hit it? Was that paralysis you felt part of whatever this thing was going to do with you?
>You can feel its violent stare hungrily sizing you up, and it seems to hesitate; floating a few inches closer to you and then backing off.
>It turns away from you and begins to sink into the floor of the ship, but not before glancing back at you with what appear to be glowing red orbs for eyes. No irises at all. Just cold and empty red orbs.
>If it hopes to scare you, it must be very disappointed since you’re meeting its glare with a cocky grin.
>You hope that it can read what you’re feeling just as well as you can read what *it* feels, because you’d like it to take with it the message ‘you are absolutely nothing, and you will fail even harder the next time we meet.’
>Somehow you think it gets the message, since it angrily growls at you once again, and quickly descends fully into the floor right as the fatigue kept at bay by the adrenaline returns.
>It hits you like a tidal wave, pushing you completely to the ground.
>Thankfully, the headache is fully gone. You wonder if that was part of the attack too, like the paralysis was.
>If you weren’t drained of all power before, you definitely are now. That attack must have used whatever your body put away to keep you awake, and you only can only assume you stayed awake through it all because of nerves.
>You shut your eyes; your breathing slows. 
>You don't really like the idea of fading into sleep right at this moment with that thing having just attacked you, but you can't resist it. Not this time.
>You need to rest. When you wake up, you’ll go find that cretin and put him into the dirt. Then, you’ll go deal with Him. The one who got you into this mess to begin with.
>And then, you will be fine. Everything will work out.
>Everything will be set right again. You will make sure of it.
>The very last thing you are aware of before entering the no-man's-land that is your dreams is what you believe to be three small power levels slowly making their way towards your ship.
---
>Leaves crunch underfoot as the three of you make your way deeper into the woodlands.
>Twilight leads the way, lost in thought with her head down. Applejack is in front of you, and you are in the back; eyeing every shadow and twinkle in the sky with suspicion.
>”Really Rainbow, a’hm fine. It’s just a few scratches.”
“Look, all I’m saying is, the sky literally just exploded! I mean, you saw the trees, right? It just ripped them up like it was nothing! How can you be so calm? Aren’t you worried about the acres? Or anyone there?”
>”Nah, we’re pretty far away from the apple orchard. ‘sides that, Big Mac took Granny out on business with him, and Applebloom is with her friends.”
>You sigh.
“Well still, for all we know, it could have been a nuke. And here we are, walking straight up to where it is.”
>Much to your displeasure, Applejack chuckles at that.
>”You’re just bein’ silly now. Ah mean look, Twilight ain’t worried. If she’s not worried there ain’t no reason for us to be.” 
>She had you there, that is pretty true.
>If anyone had any idea of what just happened, it would be Twilight, and if she’s not only calm, but also leading you straight for… whatever in the world ‘it’ is, then it can’t be too big of a deal.
>Still, you can’t stop feeling like everything could have gone terribly wrong.
>What if it wasn’t something harmless like Twilight seems to be convinced of? What if it really was something like a bomb? Or hey, what if it hadn’t crashed in the woods, but right on top of you all?
>You wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.
>You’d have been helpless to stop whatever it was. And if there’s one thing you hate, it’s feeling helpless, something that you really don’t like to think about, even though it happens quite a lot.
>Of course you’d never say that.
>The strong and proud Rainbow Dash. Helpless. It sounds ridiculous to even think about it.
>You had never told the others, but you were honest to god afraid for everyone during the battle of the bands. Afraid that if the Dazzlings had won, you wouldn’t have been able to stop it.
>”It just doesn’t make any sense to me.” Twilight says, snapping you out of your self-deprecating tailspin, “I ran the calculations on this hundreds of times over. I calculated the speed, the trajectory, the estimated time frame it would pass over the planet, but it’s like it just completely acted on its own accord.”
>You and Applejack both blink, and Twilight takes this as her que to ‘dumb it down’.
>”Okay so basically, every single sign showed that it would be here 20 minutes earlier than what we saw, and that it wouldn’t even come *close* to the planet. But it did! I can’t explain it. It makes no sense. That, and that little bit of acceleration I saw.”
>Ah okay.
>Yes, this does make sense.
>... No, no it doesn’t.
“Huh?”
>She groans and shakes her head, “I’m saying I don’t know how it could have looked and moved like a comet for the past week and a half, and then suddenly not behave like a comet. I couldn’t even see it in the sky with the telescope when I was looking for it before it came down. It’s like it just up and changed out of nowhere.”
>Okay now that does make sense.
>You weren’t too into the whole science business, but the idea of Twilight sitting there and doing tons of stuff and being convinced something is one thing, and then it somehow changing at the last minute to be something else…
>Yeah you could see how she’s confused.
>This is Twilight after all. She’s the smartest of the group. Probably the smartest in the school. If she is convinced of something, then it’s a pretty safe guess that she’s right. But this time she wasn’t.
>You aren’t exactly sure what to say, so you just stay quiet and keep walking. You can only guess Applejack feels the same, since she doesn’t say anything either.
>It’s just you, Twilight, Applejack, and the ripped up woodlands around you.
>In the corner of your eye, you see a shadow dart into some trees, making you jump a little.
>When you glare into the dark and squint your eyes to try to see what it was, you don’t find anything out of the ordinary. Other than the tattered trees that is.
>Did you just imagine that?
>Applejack didn’t seem to notice anything, since she’s going at the same pace she’s been going at for the past 10 minutes, and Twilight is in her own little world again.
>A cold chill runs up your spine, but you ignore it.
>Maybe you’re just a little shook up. Who wouldn’t be, given what you just went through.
>Just keep walking, Dash. Ignore it. Nothing to see there. Everything is perfectly fine—
>”Oh my god.”
>Twilight and Applejack stop walking as the smell of burning plastic and smoke fills the air.
>They both stare, mouths agape, at what lies ahead.
>Anxiety already settling in the pit of your stomach, you quickly take your place between them, and then gasp when you see it.
>There, past the ravaged trees and smoke, in a large crater, it rests.
“Is… Is that a spaceship!?”
>Nobody answers. Nobody even breaths. You all just take in the sight.
>It looks nothing like what you had imagined an alien ship would look like, but it couldn’t be anything else.
>No wings or rotor, no thrusters like on a plane, no cockpit, nothing of the sort.
>It doesn’t look like the disc shaped UFOs you had read about and seen in movies. Instead, It looks like a metal crab shell.
>Actually, the more you look at it, the more you think it kind of does look like a giant crab. It even has legs like one, which you can only assume is some kind of landing gear. They’re all jutting out at awkward angles, one of them torn off and laying on the ground a few feet away.
>The dull grey color of the ship is broken only by a faded black stripe which circles around the middle.
>You can’t tell how tall it is, but even with about a third of it embedded into the ground, it towers over all of you.
>Images of the sky being on fire flash through your mind yet again, and you shudder trying to think of the weapons the things that built this must have access to.
>And with that, you grab Twilight and Applejack by the arms and start dragging them away.
>They snap out of their trance and immediately start struggling out of your grip.
“Come on, we’re getting out of here.”
>To your surprise, it’s not Applejack, but Twilight who plants her feet firmly into the ground and breaks free.
>”No! This is… This might be the greatest scientific discovery of the 21st century! There’s no way…”
>Applejack follows suit, slithering out of your hold and standing next to her.
>She rubs the wrist you grabbed her by and glances over her shoulder at the ship.
>The feeling of fear gives way to a flash of anger.
“No damn way are we staying here! That thing did ALL OF THIS!”
>You motion towards the uprooted trees and burnt foliage surrounding the area.
“And now you want to meet the things that made it!? We hardly even survived it landing!”
>Twilight’s glare meets your scowl, and with a huff, she enters Twilight lecture mode.
>”That wasn’t a landing. I think it was a crash. And besides that, this is the first time in history that human beings have had contact with an extra terrestrial force. If you don’t count the Equestrians that is... there’s no way I’m going to pass this up. Plus, what if the people who drove it are hurt?”
>You can not fathom the stupidity of the words Twilight, the smartest person you know, is saying.
>You shake. Be it from anger, fear, or just nerves, you have no idea.
“People!? PEOPLE!?”
>Applejack shakes her head at you with an unreadable expression, and places a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.
>”If she’s goin’ to check it out, ah’m going too. It’s on my property, and if Twilight might get hurt, ah’m gonna be there.”
>Dear Lord in heaven.
>Even Applejack is buying into this.
>You are at a loss for words.
>Smiling at Applejack, Twilight turns and begins walking up to the crash site.
>Applejack follows close behind, leaving you alone in the dark with your thoughts.
>Damn it.
>Both of your friends are walking up to a death machine that fell from the sky, which may or may not be filled with evil demon aliens, or robots with super lasers, and they don’t even care.
>You stare at them as they get closer and closer to the ship, and you quickly realize what you have to do.
>Swallowing all doubt, you follow after them.
>If they’re going to go get into a fight with aliens, then you have to get into it with them. It’s the only thing you can do.
>You can’t very much force them not to, even if you tried.
>Twilight you could carry away with you, but Applejack… Well, she’s just stronger than you.
>So powerless yet again, you leave it up to fate to decide if things will go well or not.
>You catch up to them easy enough, since they stopped a few feet in front of the thing.
“Okay so, shouldn’t we like, call someone at least? Tell the police we found a UFO that… crashed… ugh.”
>Twilight eyes it up and down, you guess surveying it for any signs of a way in.
>Hesitantly, she inches closer and raises her hand.
>Her hand hovers there for a second, and you hope that she is coming to her senses about how ridiculous this entire situation is, but of course your luck isn’t that great.
>She knocks on the metal hull like one would knock on the door to a dear friend’s house.
>One knock.
>Two knocks.
>Three knocks.
>Every knock on the metal vibrates the wall as it echoes all around the insides of the ship.
>She lowers her hand and backs away from the ship, biting her lip.
>”Hm… Well it’s definitely hollow.”
“Yeah, great. It’s hollow. Now we know it’s not a giant alien bomb.”
>Rolling her eyes, she starts making her way around to the other side of the ship, when on the exact spot she had knocked, a panel or hatch of some sort slides open to the right with an ear-piercing metallic screeching sound.
>You all watch the new-found entrance with bated breath, awaiting anything that may come out.
>But nothing comes out of the entryway. Much to your relief.
>”Huh.”
>From what you can see through the door, it looks like a plain dimly-lit steel hallway.
>You don’t see any bulbs or light sources, yet there is definitely light. And it’s a pale orange color. It flickers every now and again, and each time it does you can hear a loud whirring sound from deep within the ship.
>The walls of the hallway are smooth. No doorways at all. At the end of it, it curves to the right, obscuring anything lying in wait at the corner.
>Fearlessly, Twilight walks up to the opening and sticks her head inside of it, looking side to side.
>You’re already trying to (unsuccessfully) psych yourself up for a fight against whatever she finds, when she casually steps foot inside the ship.
>She looks around again, tapping her chin, then motions at you and Applejack to follow her.
>Sighing, you look to Applejack, who has again been strangely silent throughout this entire ordeal, and you can’t help but ask.
“So you have no problem with this at all? An alien ship just crashed into your farm, Twilight is now inside of it, and we’re about to go into it ourselves?”
>Grinning, she tilts her hat; blows a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes.
>”Naw don’t get me wrong: I’m absolutely scared out of my wits. It won’t do anyone no good if I go and start panicking though. Ah’ll have time for that later.”
>And with that, she follows Twilight’s example and meets her on the inside of the ship.
>Expectantly, they both wait for you to join them. 
>Growling at whatever deity decided to put you into this position, you make your way into the ship.
---
>The inside of the ship was a stark contrast to the outside.
>While it looked relatively unharmed from its crash landing when you looked at it from the outside, the inside told a whole different story.
>From the drab and grey ceilings, clumps of sparking wires hung from places where sections of the ceiling had fallen.
>The white walls and tiled purple floors were burned and warped in a few places, like someone set them on fire and let them bend inwards a little before extinguishing them.
>But that’s not all that was different from the outside view of the ship.
>While the outside of the ship looked pretty ‘alien’ to you, what with it looking like a giant metal crab shell, the insides…
>The design of the inside of the ship was pretty tame.
>It didn’t look too out of this world, other than some elaborate computers here and there.
>Then again, you’re inside the ship with it being all but destroyed, so who knows what it would look like when fully up and running.
>Maybe all the fancy alien holograms and touch pads were just turned off because of the damage.
>Regardless of the normality of the inside of the ship, Twilight still found ample reason to fawn over every small detail she came across.
>Running her fingers along one of the warped walls, she looked like a kid in a candy store.
>Applejack stood by, looking bewildered and lost. In other circumstances you would have laughed. You’d never seen her so out of her element before, except for when you and the girls were having dinner with Rarity’s parents and had to act fancy.
>So while Applejack was just confused, Twilight was enamored, you…
>You felt like you had entered a warzone.
>Every single small burst of electricity from the ruined wiring in the ceiling made you jump.
>The wavering smell of burned electronics and the faint droning of an alarm were both accentuated by the dim orange light that barely illuminated the halls.
>You did your very best to avoid any of the glowing blue liquid pooling in some of the areas of the floor you came across, worried that you would mutate into some alien monster if you got any on your skin.
>The possibility of that didn’t stop Twilight from pulling a test tube out of nowhere and gathering some of it up to do whatever with. You didn’t really care about that. You were too busy trying to figure out how to feel.
>It felt like you were in a constant state of fight-or-flight; ready to throw down against any hostile creature you find, while simultaneously ready to haul ass back in the direction you came.
>But every step the three of you took deeper into the ship, the less likely it seemed like some alien invasion force would pop out of the walls and shoot you with ray guns.
>You also feel just a little put out with Applejack and Twilight.
>How could they possibly think any of this was a good idea? The fact that you of all people were saying that doing something was a reckless idea should make it pretty obvious that something should not be done.
>Yet here you are, standing with your two friends in an alien ship, because Twilight is Twilight, and Applejack is lost.
>”I wonder,” Twilight stops to tap a few keys on the keypad next to one of the damaged computer monitors, “if this ship has a cockpit of some sort.”
>You and Applejack blink.
“Well yeah Twi, I think a cockpit is pretty much mandatory on something that flies.”
>”No, what I mean is, we’ve gone through about five or so hallways now, and the halls seem to wrap around the ship, so there’s no ‘front’ of the ship. I’m wondering where the cockpit would even be. Somewhere in the middle?”
>She had a point there.
>It did seem like you were all just playing a big game of ring around the alien spaceship, and like Twilight said, it didn’t really have a front like a plane did, so you had no idea where it would be controlled from.
“Well, who’s to say all those computers on the walls we’ve walked past aren’t part of the controls?”
>”If that were the case, then this ship would need a pretty big flight crew to use all of them at once, and since there’s not really anybody here, or any uh… you know…”
“Any dead aliens.”
>”Yeah. Dead aliens. There’s none of those either. But that’s the weirdest part of all, because the ship is fairly large. You’d think there would at least be *some* signs of life or lack-thereof.”
>Clearing her throat, Applejack chimes in,
>”What if they all jumped ship in some escape pods, y’know, like they do in the movies?”
>Twilight takes a moment to look up at the burnt paneling of the ceiling, then at Applejack.
>“It’s a plausible theory, but if that’s what happened to them all, we haven’t run across the escape pod bay or whatever means of escape the inhabitants of the ship would have used to confirm that is what happened. I guess we’ll just have to keep looking.”
>Just keep looking, she says.
>Great.
>So far, she hadn’t answered any of your questions regarding just what exactly you were all supposed to do when or if you FIND any of the things that built this ship.
>You doubted she even knew. Or maybe she just wasn’t focusing on that part; after all, she does seem to be preoccupied with messing around with the broken computers and paneling on the walls.
>It feels highly inappropriate given the situation you’re in, but you let out a quiet yawn.
>There weren’t any windows in the ship (or at least none that you’ve seen) so you have no idea what time it is outside, but you’re pretty sure it’s getting late.
>God only knows how much longer this little adventure is going to take.
>As awesome as the idea of running around an alien ship sounds, actually doing it is another story.
>Never in a million years could you have expected anything like this to happen.
>But you also never expected a she-demon to attack your high school, or a group of magical sea-women to use mind control on the student body using hypnotic songs, either.
>Huh.
>Man, your life is really strange.
>And your friends’ lives as well.
>Maybe that’s why Twilight and Applejack seem so unfazed by all of this. Then again, Applejack did tell you earlier that she was scared out of her wits, but was just putting off the panic for later.
>Still though, her composure was admirable.
>You all continue your walk down the not-so-alien corridors of the ship, until finally the three of you find something interesting.
>There, sitting innocently in a frame on the wall, is what appears to be two thick and steel double-doors.
>They, too, do not look very other-worldly, but it is pretty tall. They must be at least 3 feet taller than you are. They’re also wide enough that the three of you could walk through them side-by-side and still have plenty of room to spare.
>The doors are the same shade of grey as the ceilings, with small square impressions in the corners.
>Straight down the middle of it is a seam, so you can only assume the doors both slide apart and retract into the wall, especially seeing as to how there’s no indication of there being hinges.
>Next to the frame is a small glowing blue screen.
>Twilight is the first to react, she slowly steps up to the doors; knocks on the left one a few times, then places her ear up to it.
>Hearing nothing, she decides to walk over to the little screen on the frame.
>”Twi, you sure this is a good idea?”
>It took a while, but it seems like Applejack is finding her common sense again.
>She eyes the door with suspicion, poking at it with her boot.
>Twilight is not impressed.
>”We’ve been fine so far, haven’t we?”
>Applejack opens her mouth and starts to respond, but is cut off when Twilight taps the screen a few times, making it flash and change its display.
>It now glows green, and in the middle of the screen, a small blue button appears.
>As if this entire situation couldn’t get any more weird, in the middle of the button is a single word: ‘open’.
>What.
“The aliens speak English?”
>Twilight looks at the both of you with a shrug, and casually taps the button.
>Instantly, the doors silently slide open and disappear as they hide within the walls, not unlike the automatic doors you’d find at a store.
>”Looks like we’ve found it.”
>Found it?
>What is she talking abou—
>Oh.
>Past the door is a large circular room with an upraised platform in the middle.
>The platform has three chairs, each with a monitor and control panel in front of them.
>Huge, thick wires are hanging from the ceiling like vines in a jungle. Some of them are split, and shower the floor below them with yellow sparks which energetically bounce around when they hit the floor before dissipating.
>Both sides of the room have an opening leading to other parts of the ship, but the one on the wall to the right of the platform is obscured by a large pile of debris.
>It’s also on fire.
>The fire is of all things, green.
>In the front of the platform hangs another monitor, only this one is more than half the size of the platform itself; it rapidly flickers between red and blue.
>”The control room,” Twilight mutters, mystified as she steps foot into the room and scans every surface, “incredible.”
>You on the other hand, step inside and sigh.
>If this really is the control room of the ship, you have to admit.
>You aren’t really too impressed.
>It looks kind of bare. The only thing here is just the platform with the computers and chairs, and the two doorways on the walls to the side.
“Okay so you’ve found it. The control room of the big alien ship. Can we please get out of here now? This is getting kind of ridiculous. I bet there’s aliens just through that doorway over there, waiting to ambush us.”
>”If they wanted to ambush us, wouldn’t they have done it by now?”
>You scowl at Applejack, who ignores you and follows close behind Twilight.
>To your relief, you don’t spend too much time in the control room. Twilight walks around the platform a little, poking and prodding at the broken monitors and tapping the keys on the control panels, and when nothing happens, she stares out past the fiery debris blocking the doorway to the right of the platform.
>She does this for a few minutes, squinting and moving her head side-to-side, as if she could somehow turn on x-ray vision and see what lies beyond the ruins.
>Eventually she just gives up on that and makes her way over to the other side of the room.
>The side with the not blown-up doorway.
>The doors looks exactly like the ones you walked through to get into the room, keypad and all.
>The only difference is the contents of the screen.
>”Medbay,” Twilight reads from the screen, “fascinating, I guess they really do use our language.”
>Before you can roll your eyes at this, she taps the button on the screen.
>The doors slowly slide apart, and smoke instantly blasts out of the room at you.
>Coughing, you fan the smoke with your hand and step out of the way of the torrent, followed by your friends.
>It doesn’t take long for all the smoke to clear, leaving only an innocent portal into the room beyond.
>Twilight takes the lead again, walking into the now smoke-free room with Applejack trailing behind her.
>Suddenly they stop dead in their tracks and cast their gazes downward, their eyes widening in shock.
>Your heart kicks into overdrive as your dear friend, mr. adrenaline, races throughout your body.
>You practically dive into the room with your fists raised, ready to fight off whatever it is they found waiting for them, but your mouth falls open when you see what has them so shocked.
>There, laying in a pile of broken glass on the floor in front of a tube-like contraption.
>”Twilight, is—  is that a person!?”
---
>Of all the things you thought you’d find on this ship, another human being was definitely not one of them.
>It’s absolutely insane, but you actually feel a lot better once the initial shock of finding a human goes away.
>Aliens, robots, robot aliens… you doubt you could handle that.
>But a human.
>A human you could handle.
>Maybe this ‘alien ship’ isn’t really an alien ship, but some kind of military experiment. It’d make sense, what with the english on the computers and all that.
>Now the only thing you were wondering is how he got here, and why he’s passed out in a giant pile of glass. 
>Speaking of glass, it’s kind of weird how there’s no blood anywhere on the floor. You’d think laying in glass shards would make a river of blood, but guess not.
>You glance over at Twilight and Applejack. Both of them are still staring wide-eyed at the person on the floor, and you really aren’t too sure what to do at this point.
>Should you try to take charge? Snap them out of it?
>Awkwardly shifting in place, you decide to take a second to get a good look at the room and the person laying in a pile of glass.
>The room looks pretty much like the rest of the ship. Same boring metalwork, same bland broken monitors everywhere. The room is kind of a dome-shape though, which would be a nice change of pace if it weren’t for the fact you just left a giant dome room to walk into this one.
>Forget about the room. More important subject. The man who is lying in a pile of glass in front of a big tube.
>Big tube…
>You look at the tube, and see the remains of what looks to be a glass window pane covering the entire length of it. It looks like something blew it open from the inside, seeing as to how the glass is *infront* of it, not inside it.
>Weird. Very weird. Not sure what that’s all about.
>Hey wait a second.
>The screen next to the door said ‘MedBay’, so is this some kind of doctor's office?
>If that’s what this is, it’s a pretty lackluster doctor's office. Not that you’d know what a military doctor's office on an experimental military ship would be like.
>Whatever. This isn’t important. The dude on the floor, that is.
>He lays face-down on his stomach, and if it weren’t for his shoulders moving every now and then as he takes a breath, you’d think he was dead. You’re of course relieved he isn’t.
>Long black spiky hair, extremely fit (so fit in fact, that even with the weird metal-looking full-body black and grey suit he has on, you can see some very well defined muscles in places the suit doesn’t cover - mainly the arms), and some scars running from the base of his neck down his collar.
>The darkness in the room obscures everything past his waist, but you figure you’ve got pretty much all the details you need to know.
>He’s alive, he’s done some lifting in his day, he’s wearing a metal suit, and he likes his hair spiked.
>This guy doesn’t really seem too much like an alien to you. Definitely human.
>And with that thought, a light on the ceiling flickers to life revealing more of his lower body.
>You don’t see it at first, but when you do, you can only blink at it.
>There on his tailbone, the suit has a hole, and out of that hole a nub sticks out of it. It reminds you of those animals Fluttershy occasionally takes care of, the amputees. Specifically, the cats and dogs who had their tails amputated. It looks exactly like that. Red and tender. Can even see the new scars on it, and some small strands of brown fur on the rim of it.
>So either this is some sort of birth defect, or this man has, or had, a tail.
>What.
>”That isn’t a human.”
>Twilight has broken free of her trance and is now looking directly at the man on the floor. Her eyes seem to take in every fine curve and detail as they scan over him.
>Applejack is still at a loss for words though. You can hardly blame her though given all the shit that she’s seen tonight.
“Then what is it?”
>Clicking her tongue, she frowns at the supposedly not-human being laying there, and you once again wish you were back at home asleep.
>”I think ‘it’ is a ‘he’, and I think he is the alien.”
>An alien that looks like a human, but has/had a tail?
>It sounds… dumber than all hell. There must be another answer.
>But Twilight being Twilight of course instantly hones in on your skepticism, and with the same tone as your math teacher, she starts her lecture:
>”He obviously had a tail. That, and look at those muscles... It’s impossible for a human to have musculature like that. Even heavy steroid use wouldn’t give a human muscles like that. What he has looks completely natural. That, and there’s also his skin. He’s lying in a pile of glass, yet there’s nothing to indicate he’s been hurt at all by any of it. The armor could explain that, but what about his arms and face? And speaking of his arms...”
>As Twilight fully engages Twilight-think-mode, you find yourself agreeing with her. Even as she starts going into the more nitty-gritty details of the human body (‘anatomy and physiology’ as she keeps calling it), and how his apparently doesn’t match up 100%.
>You don’t really see it yourself — he still looks pretty human to you — but it hardly matters.
>All you need to know is Twilight thinks he’s an alien, and that’s good enough for you.
>...
>There’s an alien dude laying on the floor in front of you, and this is not a military experiment. This is a real alien ship. You are actually on a real alien ship. If you didn’t believe it before, you believe it now.
>You don’t feel better any more. Now you’re back to the old fashioned ‘what the hell is going on here and why am I in the middle of it’ territory.
>A wonderful territory to be in, as it always is.
>”And, furthermore—”
“Okay, good. It’s an alien-man. An alien-man that looks human but isn’t really human at all. Great, you’ve figured it all out. The mystery has been solved. Let’s go home now.”
>Twilight looks at you like you’ve grown a second head.
>”We can’t go home now, Dash! We can’t just leave him here!”
“Of course we can! And we’re going to, right now!”
>Applejack’s eyes dart back and forth between you, Twilight, and the alien; she fidgets around with the brim of her hat.
>”But Rainbow—”
“But nothing! Twilight, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever been through, and I can’t believe you’re the one pushing us through it! An alien ship slams into the ground a few miles away, and you lead us straight up to it. Then you have us go *INSIDE* it, and then when you find an alien laying on the ground in a heap of glass, unharmed, you want to do what, help it? This is insane!”
>She opens her mouth to retort, but you cut her down instantly.
“We could have all died when we walked in here for all you knew. What are you thinking? I mean for the love of god, I thought you were the smart one!”
>She shrinks away from you, her eyes twitching.
>The flash of pain on her face feels like a punch to the gut.
>Your previous anger is gone, and the entire reason it was there to begin with feels far away now. Everything does. The ship, the alien, the sky on fire - everything. Everything except Twilight and you.
>Turning her back to you, she lowers her head to where her hair hides her face.
“...Twilight, I didn’t—”
>”Why is it so hard, Dash, for me to to do anything at all with you guys? I’ve tried going with you all to the movies, joining in on your conversations, tried having fun… it just doesn’t work. So I thought, maybe if I try having them join in on what I do, maybe that’ll work. But that of course did not work either. So I guess you’re right. I’m stupid. Stupid enough to drag you into a potentially hazardous situation, all for the sake of trying to be one of you guys.”
“Twilight. I... you know I didn’t mean it like that.”
>It’s like you never said anything at all. The words fly over her head as she continues.
>”All I wanted was to -really- be friends with you guys. But I guess it’s just not to be.”
>”Now, c’mon Twi, you know that ain’t true,” Applejack says, a hint of unease in her voice at the direction she’s going in, “you’re our friend.”
>She refuses to even turn and look at the two of you. Her arms are crossed. She squeezes them to her chest so hard that they actually shake a little.
>Something snaps inside of her. Her back arches up straight, and she releases her arms. They now are at her sides, just as straight as her back. It almost reminds you of the pose your coach has your team do when you all stand at attention.
>”Right. Well, hey, I guess it’s too late to turn back now. What’s done is done. You two can go home, I’ll just... finish up here.”
>Before you or Applejack can respond, she slowly, almost mechanically walks up to the alien on the floor, bends down, and then presses two fingers to the side of his neck; all her movements have the same rigidness as her walk.
>”Has a pulse…” she says, almost robotically, with an empty blank look on her face.
>She feels around the underside of the alien’s chin, mumbling about lymph nodes.
>It’s kind of creepy. There’s focused Twilight, Twilight-think-mode, but this… what even is this.
>Wrong, whatever it is — it’s wrong.
>It’s like she’s totally removed herself from everything but what’s in front of her. Like she’s shut off her humanity.
>What if… what if there’s no fixing this? What if you broke Twilight?
>The weight of what you have done quickly moves in to crush you.
>The entire time. 
>The entire time, she’s been feeling like this, and you were too stupid to see it.
>All the times you’ve seen her look lost while you all joke around and laugh with each other; how she’d try to join in, but always get lost on the side somewhere.
>Not only this, but how you always acted when she went on her long sciencey talks. You always made sure she knew you were bored, without ever giving a second thought to how she felt.
>It was no wonder she thought she was the outcast of the group. And now, you’ve gone and removed all the doubt for her.
>Once again, you’re hit with the unbearable feeling of pure helplessness, which is only compounded by the guilt, which strikes with a vengeance. Nails digging into your palms, you can only think of how bad you’ve screwed things up between not only her and you, but between her and the girls as well.
>Not cool. Not cool at all. What a royal screwup you are. Really good job here, Dash. Just keep piling it all on, maybe it’ll drown you next time.
>You start turning towards Applejack to ask her what she thinks you should do when you hear Twilight make a strange gurgling noise, which immediately draws your attention back to her.
>Your blood runs cold at what you see.
>Not only is the alien now apparently awake and up on his feet, but he has Twilight locked in a one-armed chokehold. How he got up so fast to grab her like that without making a single sound, you have no idea.
>Through teary eyes, Twilight claws uselessly at his arm, desperately trying to take a breath of air as her face starts to turn a deeper shade of purple.
>She looks away from the alien trying to murder her and gives you a pleading look. You can literally see the fear in her eyes. It hurts to look at. Her legs tremble and quake as she writhes around in his iron-clad grip.
>The alien casually stands there, practically ignoring Twilight’s attempts to escape his hold. It looks like just another day in the park for him, which makes you all the more horrified, but you gulp and begin the age-old wrestle with your doubts.
>You start to shake off the fear freezing you in place, as does Applejack, who is now shouting at him to let her go, and gearing up for a head-on charge.
>With a calm and collected look, his cold black eyes regard Applejack with a hint of mild amusement, before settling on you.
---
>All you wanted to do was just sleep.
>That’s it.
>Rest a bit, regenerate some of your power, maybe do some training, patch up the ship, and then kill Cuff.
>But no. Can’t have that...
>You tighten your grip on the struggling girl.
>...Can’t have that at all.
>”LET HER GO!”
>You mentally groan when you see the rainbow-haired girl has finally mustered the courage to try to face you.
>She crouches down in some bizarre bastardized fighting form, looking more like a Melchoir Mantis than a warrior as she does so. It’s almost kind of funny to look at.
>The one wearing the hat clumsily skitters her way up to the rainbow-haired one, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.
>Eyeing the rainbow-haired one a little closer, you instantly hone in on the fear in her eyes. Not that you needed to see it to confirm what you already knew: she was terrified.
>The sweat pouring down her face and the barely contained shaking were more than enough to clue you in on that.
>So you, Anonymous — experienced combat veteran; and last surviving member of the great Saiyan clan, ‘Za — make your expert deduction:
>These girls are not warriors.
>The purple one you are currently snuffing the life out of confirms it even more.
>She wears a muddy lab coat, and she had made some pretty astute observations about your Saiyan physiology, and was continuing to do so… before you started choking her.
>And before her rainbow-haired pack mate verbally assaulted her.
>So in your infinite wisdom, you make another informed assessment: they are a science team, sent to scavenge your esteemed vessel and sell the valuables within it. They no doubt scanned the ship’s RF ID signature as it descended upon their world and discovered it belonged to one of the greatest merc teams in the universe.
>Free spoils for the taking, right?
>The purple one begins to fight with less spirit, and a probing of her energy tells you she is on the brink of unconsciousness.
>... Nope. No free spoils for the taking here.
“I’m going to say this once, and only once.”
>Loosening your grip on the girl, you take pause to allow her to take a mouth full of fresh air, but steel yourself to snap her neck if need be. You don’t want to kill her, not yet anyway, but you do need some form of leverage to figure out where you currently stand. Plus, since she’s a scientist(she's wearing the coat, and carries the general demeanor of one), you can only assume she’d have something you could use.
>Is this a dirty tactic lacking honor? Somewhat, but as Relsh once told you: honor is given depending on the circumstance. And these are thieves.
“You will return to me any scavenged materials you have acquired from my ship, and you will explain to me your reason for being here.”
>Now comes that critical moment where you decide if these three are to live or die.
>If they confirm what you have figured to be the case, that they’re scavengers, then you might let them live. Maybe they’ll have something to fix the hyperdrive. You’d hate to spend valuable hard earned credits buying a new ship.
>Otherwise, if they’re dishonorable liars, then kill them.
>The tension in the room is palpable. All is quiet, save for the labored breathing of the trembling girl in your arms.
>The rainbow-haired girl gulps, making you roll your eyes.
>Definitely not a warrior. Not at all. Never show fear in front of your enemy.
“Well? I’m waiting.”
>”W- what are you talking about? ‘Scavenged materials’? We didn’t take anything here! We were just trying to uh... “
>Her previous fear lifts away a bit, with genuine confusion taking its place.
>”I mean… I don’t even know why we’re here. I was just following them.”
>Way to throw your pack to the wolves there, rainbowed-one.
>The hatted girl looks like she's bordering between rushing or bargaining with you. Quite a far cry from the confusion written all over her face earlier when she was watching her pack squabble with each other.
>Perhaps their pack carries some sort of dynamic? One of them is the brains, the other is the support, and the last one is the warrior?
>That makes it easy to put labels to the three of them; the one you're holding the brains, the rainbowed-one is the support, and the hatted girl the warrior.
>And that squabble earlier? Was that some sort of power struggle? The warrior already knows her place, so she didn't participate in it?
>Focusing on her with your senses, you find it highly unlikely she is the warrior of this pack. Her power is pitiably low. Granted, it's a small smidgen higher than the rainbowed-one’s power, and it's damn sure higher than the scientist's, but compared to even the lowest of soldiers in the Union’s reserves, it is still pathetic.
>You could probably just graze her with the back of your hand and obliterate her.
>What use is the warrior of a pack if they aren't powerful enough to protect said pack?
>...
>Maybe it's best to stop thinking along those lines. It makes your chest hurt a little.
>So the pack dynamic theory is gone. What else can you make of them?
>”I… I led them here.”
>You look down at the scientist. Her flushed face is coated in grime and sweat, which makes some of her hair stick to it. She looks into your eyes with pure desperation.
>Looks like you were right, she does have information for you.
>You loosen your grip on her some more, hoping this provides her the incentive needed to continue.
>”I don’t know why I did it, really I don’t, but I did it. If anyone here is to blame, it’s me.”
>Staring at her quietly, you mull over her words.
>They weren’t holding any items at all, and they all had looked lost and confused before you made your move, especially the one with the hat.
>And from the rainbow-haired girl’s ranting at the scientist, it didn’t seem like they’d been on a ship before. They called it an ‘alien ship’, but…
>What does that even mean?
>Everyone in the Union has seen a ship. There’s nothing alien about them. They’re about as common as the stars dotting the maps.
>You must have forgotten one of the lessons Relsh gave on hiding and suppressing emotions, because somehow, the hat girl has picked up on your confusion.
>”She’s tellin’ the truth, mister, err, alien? We didn’t know this was your spaceship, or even a spaceship at all: it crashed on my property, and we wanted to see what it was.”
>And there it is again: alien, alien, alien. What the hell are they talking about? How is anything alien about this?
>You look at the girl with the hat again, who is watching you with the same resolve you are staring her down with, and even though you can feel her energy spiking up and down in anticipation, you can tell she doesn’t really want to attack. She's more or less just bracing herself.
>It’s then you notice something about these three.
>They’re all around your own age.
>You don’t know why that hits you so hard, it’s a pretty irrelevant piece of information, truly — age doesn’t really mean anything at all. You’ve seen people your age killing entire armies with cold ruthlessness, as you have done yourself, but it’s different here.
>All you can see in each of them is just… innocence. Untouched by the cold universe around them.
“Hn.”
>You have absolutely no idea what the fuck is going on here, but you do know that you’re missing something. Not only that, but that your theory about the three ‘scavengers’ or whatever they are is completely wrong.
>So you do all you can do.
>The scientist girl crumples to the ground on her knees, panting.
>Your arms relax at your sides, and you step to the side of the room as her pack mates rush to her side.
>The rainbow one gives her a hand and lifts her to her feet, while the hatted one puts herself between them and you, sticking close to them.
>Whether it was subconscious or conscious, you don’t know, but it makes you wonder: are they pack creatures too?
>They have the body language of such. The bonds seem to be there.
>The rainbow one, after all—
>Okay for fuck’s sake.
“What are you people? Who are you?”
>You want to stomp your feet when they all gawk at you in silence.
>Do they communicate mentally? Is that why they’re silent? 
>You’ve seen that trait in other species, but they’re usually all arthropodic in origin. These beings don’t look anything like bugs.
>They kind of look like Saiyans, actually. Other than their lack of tails.
>Lack of tails…
>Running your thumb over the tender nub on your tailbone, you frown.
>Guess that wasn’t just a part of the dream.
>”Well,” scientist girl takes a timid step forward, “my name is Twilight Sparkle.”
>Twilight Sparkle?
>The hell kind of name is that?
>Rainbow girl whispers quietly into her ear, “Twilight he just tried to kill you. Don’t tell him your name.”
“I can hear you.”
>She jumps away from… ‘Twilight Sparkle’, throwing her hands over her mouth in shock.
>”How did you hear that!?”
“Magic.”
>As if the word ‘magic’ has some hidden meaning, the Twilight Sparkle’s head perks up.
>”You can do magic?”
>You blink at her, unsure if she was joking or not. The expectant look she's giving you tells you that she's not.
>When she awaits your answer, you realize that no, she was actually serious.
“No. I was being sarcastic.”
>Deflating a little, she shrinks back next to the rainbowed one.
>Rainbowed one.
“Okay. So you’re Twilight Sparkle. Who’s this?”
>You point out the rainbow girl, who pales under your querying gaze.
>”I uh…” she sputters a little, then shakes her head, “Rainbow Dash!” she declares proudly.
>Rainbow Dash, huh?
>So we have a Twilight Sparkle, a Rainbow Dash, and…
>And a very pissed off looking teenager wearing a hat.
---
>To say that it’s been a wild night would be the understatement of the century.
>You’d think that by now you would be used to crazy things happening in your life.
>There’s always been those snags of craziness no matter how simple of a life you try to lead, and there probably always will be, that much is clear.
>But this? This isn’t just a snag of craziness. This is total madness.
>It’s taken you the past few hours to wrap your head around it, but you’ve come full circle at last.
>Whatever kind of numb stupor you have been in is gone now. It crumbled away when your friend was being choked.
>You know how to feel about it all now.
>Angry.
”YOU CRASHED INTO MY LAND,”
>Twilight and Dash both flinch at your sudden outburst, while the alien man merely raises a brow, which only churns the fire more.
“YOU CHOKED MY FRIEND,”
>Leather meets metal as you take a heavy step towards him.
“YOU ACCUSED US OF BEIN’ THIEVES,”
>You are mere inches away from him now. You think Dash said something, but if she did, you couldn’t hear it; you can’t hear anything past the ringing in your ears.
“AND NOW YA ASK FOR MY NAME?”
>You jab his armored chest with your finger, staring defiantly into his cold black eyes, wordlessly daring him to go through with the implicit threats he made before.
>He stares down at you with an unreadable expression. Stares down at you literally. He must be a full foot taller than you. That, coupled with how bulky his build is, makes the anger you were feeling run cold.
>You were a strong lady, sure, but him? Even though his muscles weren’t nearly as pronounced as someone like Bulk Biceps’ were, you get the feeling that Bulk would get curb stomped by this guy.
>That thought doesn’t give you much confidence.
“I uh… I mean…”
>You back away from him slowly, he doesn’t move a muscle. Just watches. A chill runs up your spine.
>Something about him makes you shiver. Something in the air around him, coming off his body. It reminds you a little bit of the feeling you get when you’re outside and a thunderstorm is about to hit.
>Is it some sort of alien thing?
>Whatever it is, it gives you the creeps. Being outside with a thunderstorm about to hit isn’t even a good way to describe it. It’s like there’s some kind of pressure around him. A pressure and heat. Barely noticeable, but noticeable just enough for you to know it’s there.
>Alien/scared or not, you have to make it clear that he can’t just run around choking people. Especially your friends. You can’t and won’t stand for that.
“D-don’t hurt my friend, ya hear me?”
>The warning comes out a hundred times less forceful than you were hoping it would. The effect they have on him isn’t much either. All you receive in response is a simple shake of the head, followed by a sigh.
>”Yeah, right,” he says, sounding a bit put-out, “I’ll ask again: name?”
>Relief.
>He isn’t mad at you for getting up in his face.
>He also still wants to know your name.
>You think about telling him something along the lines of ‘shove it’, or ‘figure it out for yourself’, but decide against it.
>Probably best to just tell him. There’s no reason to make this harder than it already is. He isn’t being hostile at the moment, even with you mean mugging him.
>Also granny didn’t raise you to be rude. Even towards someone who’s dealt you a bad hand. Or dealt your friend a bad hand.
“Applejack.”
>He nods at you, making small head movements, like he’s rolling the name around a bit in his head. Or just thinking about something else entirely. No idea. You’re losing patience with this entire ordeal.
>The sooner you get on with this, the better. You have to figure out what to do with the giant alien spaceship that’s sticking out of the ground near your farmhouse.
>What an absolutely insane thought.
>But everything about this is insane.
>How are you going to explain any of this to Big Mac, or Applebloom? What is Big Mac even going to say when he sees the ship? What are you even supposed to do now?
>It’s foolish to think about, you know, but in a far off corner of your mind you’re thinking about how much sleep you’ve probably lost so far dealing with this, and how early you have to wake up tomorrow to work on the farm.
>”Applejack. Alright, so Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. Good, we’re all acquainted. Now I can try to figure out what to do with you three.”
>Alarm bells go off in your head.
”What do ya mean by that?”
>You try very hard to sound calm and ready for whatever it is he’s about to do, but it comes out sounding pretty pathetic.
>Someone gulps rather loudly behind you. You’re not too sure if it’s Dash or Twilight.
>Twilight... God almighty above, how he handled Twilight.
>How did he manage to grab her so fast? How did he get up so quickly with that heavy gear on and that big build? You had only looked away for just a second and then when you looked back, he was up on his feet choking her.
>Could you and Dash actually take this guy on and get out of here? You don’t know for sure, but somehow you get the feeling that there’s more than meets the eye with him. Obviously he’s strong, but there’s more to him than that.
>What IS he? He’s looking at you right now, cocking his head. What’s he doing?
>That weird feeling you got when you were close to him. That electrical tingling feeling in the air near him. It ain’t right. Nothing about him is right. He has to have some kind of power. He has to.
>Magic?
>Boy, what you wouldn’t do to have Sunset here right now. She would know how to handle this. Could probably do something with her magic, what with how good she’s been getting at it since the battle of the bands.
>Wait, how long have you been standing here? Why hasn’t he done anything? He’s still just watching you.
>Is he waiting for you to make the first move?
>You’re about to say something, when suddenly, he scoffs.
>Scoffs and waves his hand in the air dismissively. Like someone has said something completely ridiculous. Only you didn’t say anything. Was he reading your mind? Can he do that?
>”No no no; I’m not going to do what you think. What I mean is I can’t let you stay on my ship. Especially when I need to go and fix the damn thing.”
>Okay.
>So he really isn’t going to hurt you after all that was said and done.
>That takes a bit of the load off your back. Now you’re thinking about what the hay you’re going to do about this mess. Or what to do about anything going on around here in general.
>Hey wait a second, did he actually say he was going to fix this thing?
>How in the world does he think he can fix any of this? Unless he is like those grey aliens your uncle is always ranting about and he has some crazy technology mixed in with the lackluster stuff you’ve seen so far. Some crazy sciency doo-hickey that can shoot a beam and fix things.
>Then you figure it out, though much slower than you would have liked: he only just woke up when you all came in.
>He hasn’t seen how broken everything is.
>You’re afraid to tell him that his ship is pretty much kaput, what with how he acted over the idea that someone was trying to steal from it a few minutes ago, but it might be a good idea to do it instead of letting him be surprised.
“Well mister, ya see—”
>”Anonymous.”
“Pardon?”
>”My name. It’s Anonymous.”
>Anonymous. So that’s what his name is. For an alien, it doesn’t really sound too out of this world. Sounds pretty average.
>Dear lord. He’s an alien. You know the name of an alien, and an alien knows your name. What is going on anymore.
“Right, well ‘Anonymous’, ah don’t think your ship, or home, or whatever ya call it can be fixed. Ya see, it’s a little bit… y’know... “
>You trail off, doubt creeping into your mind if it’s a good idea to tell him this or not. Do you have a choice? How late is it outside? You’re tired. Want to go to bed. Can’t though, not yet. Too much to do.
>”Your ship’s busted dude.” Dash makes her way to your side. Twilight follows closely behind her. There is a black-and-blue bruise forming on her throat, making the anger you felt towards the alien, or Anonymous, start to bubble back up.
>You bite it back. Getting prissy won’t do anything. It’ll just make his reaction after learning his ship’s totally destroyed even worse.
“What do you mean, ‘busted’?”
>His voice sounds calm, but it carries with it a kind of edge that makes your skin crawl.
>Those eyes of his. Cold and black. They tell you nothing about how he’s taking the information. It makes it hard to decide if you should be backing away or not.
>”Ahem.”
>Oh no.
>Rainbow Dash’s eyes widen at Twilight, and you can only share the look.
>”Anonymous,” she pulls out a pair of glasses from her coat pocket and puts them on, “from what I gathered on our excursion into your vessel, your ship appears to have suffered catastrophic damage to varying computer systems, conduits, pipes, and vital parts of the structure as a whole.”
>Holding your breath, you look away from Twilight as she clears her throat and try to find any hints of how Anonymous is taking this information. You don’t get anything. Same blank look that he had before.
>Twilight takes this as a cue to continue.
>”I don’t know much about the internal makeup of this ship, but I think it’s safe to assume that it won’t be flying again.”
>She nods, giving the signal that she’s finished with her summary.
>Anonymous takes the information well. A little too well. Maybe it doesn’t matter to him that the ship is broken. Maybe he has a way to call someone or something to pick him up.
>Does that mean more aliens are going to come? If so you hope they’ll drive better than he did.
>”Alright. I have to ask you three a very important question.”
>Taking a deep breath, he pauses like he’s about to ask something he already knows the answer to. An answer he knows he won’t like.
>”Is your planet part of the Galactic Union?”
>The what? Galactic Union?
>Sounds like something out of a movie.
>Dash tilts her head to the side in confusion and asks before you or Twilight could say anything, “What’s the ‘galactic union’?”
>”I was afraid you would say that.”
>You’re shocked when you see that coldness in his eyes give way a little. His shoulders slouch some and he runs a thick-veined hand through his hair.
>He looks... tired.
>”Wonderful,” he sighs, “that’s just great.”
>Eyes sweeping the room around him, he frowns at the sparking screens lining the walls; shakes his head at the blinking red lights on some of the conduits.
>Three pairs of eyes watch him struggle and grapple with the information. First he walks up to a little control panel below one of the flickering screens, taps a few buttons on it, and when nothing happens, he moves to the blackened screen next to the flickering one and stares into his reflection.
>”It can’t be that bad. It just can’t.”
>A seam on a pipe hanging from the ceiling bursts, showering him with bits of metal. A thin jet of foul-smelling steam blows from the pipe.
>A muffled and high pitched alarm is heard for a brief second before it fades into silence.
>Closing his eyes, he says only one word:
>”Fuck.”
----
>You know, in an almost sardonic way, it’s actually pretty funny.
>Eleven years of training, travel, battle, and mercenary work have led up to this moment right here.
>Crash landed on an alien planet, alone with only your wits left to guide you.
>The alone part was the only thing that made you not burst out laughing at how horribly wrong everything has gone.
>Throughout all of the battles, the training, traveling, you always had one constant in your life. One thing that guided you through it all. The thing that gave you purpose, other than fighting.
>Your Saiyan brothers.
>And now that was gone.
>Just like the humor was now gone since you touched on that fact.
>Suppress it. Don’t think about it. Repeat the mantra. Breath in, then out...
>Good work.
>Alright, first thing’s first: What will you do now that you have no one to tell you or lead you?
>The pipe on the ceiling above lets out a final blast of steam, before settling into the same silence as the surroundings.
>... Certainly not sit here in what remains of your family’s vessel, that’s for sure.
>And with that, for the first time ever, you begin making a plan of your own outside the battlefield.
>One plan immediately jumps to the front of your mind, and it doesn’t really give you much to go off of.
>Get off the planet and go kill Cuff.
>Yeah, not much to go off of.
>That isn’t a plan, but it is something.
>A goal you can work towards. Which is better than nothing.
>Closing your eyes, you rack your brain for anything that can help you figure out a way out of this mess.
>That scientist, Twilight, she said the ship was broken.
>You would normally not believe anyone telling you something like that, unless they were one of your brothers, but given the fact they aren’t here anymore, and Twilight is a scientist that probably knows what she’s talking about…
>No.
>She could be wrong.
>Could she?
>The medical bay was buried in the deepest part of the ship, as is standard in the design of a ship fit for mercenaries; keep the wounded in the most protected, most secure area possible.
>That the most protected and innermost area of the ship has such damage speaks volumes about what might be waiting for you outside of the room, but you have to see it to believe it.
>Plus, Twilight herself admitted that she doesn’t know much about the ship itself, which makes sense.
>She must be drastically over-estimating the damages.
>”A- Anonymous, are you alright?”
>Dash gulps when your eyes snap open and lock onto her, and she awkwardly gazes upwards to the battered ceiling when you don’t say anything.
>Guess she doesn’t entirely believe that you won’t harm her.
>You can’t really blame her though. You were about to snap her friend’s neck after all.
>That brings up another problem, what are you going to do with these three?
>This is the first time their people have ever met someone like you.
>An ‘alien’.
>Their first contact.
>You’ve read stories about how some races that were introduced to the Galactic Union couldn’t fathom the idea of there being other species in the universe. How their worlds devolved into absolute chaos after learning the fact.
>Usually it boiled down to stupid things.
>Religion, culture, the works.
>And then all of that led to short-lived, highly amusing wars, be it with themselves or the Union.
>If it were with the Union, the Union would just leave and wait a few years to come back and see if they were ready to be integrated.
>Otherwise it was an interspecies war that typically resulted in them killing themselves off, and the Union scraping off all the remaining resources from the planet.
>You wonder how whatever these people called themselves would react to the big news.
>Looking over the three, you can both visually see and sense that they’re still on edge a bit, but they seem rather content so far. No jumping energy, no noticeable signs of preparing for disaster.
>If these three are anything to go by, maybe news of aliens being out there wouldn’t be such a shock to their people.
>...
>God damn it.
>More weight falls on your shoulders.
>Why does it have to be you? Why do you have to be the representative of not only the dying race of the Saiyans, but the Union too?
>Fuck the Union. Fuck representing them.
>It’s like Escar always said: You were Saiyans first, Union members second.
>This isn’t important right now though.
>What’s important is getting off the planet.
>Hell, you don’t even have to think about the Union at all. You could just leave these people to their own world when you left.
>The money you would receive for reporting an unknown planet with sentient life means absolutely nothing to you in the grand scheme of things. You have plenty of money as is. What you want is a fight. And right now, there’s only one person in the entire universe you want to fight.
>So fuck the Union.
>Turning that business over in your mind, a rough plan starts forming. An actual plan this time.
>First, survey the damages to the ship.
>You’ve only seen the medical bay so far, and that...
>The medical bay is fried. Destroyed. Nothing in this room looks to be in working order anymore. Everything is charred black and smashed. It looks like someone dumped kerosene on every surface and shot a laser into it.
>Anyhow~ moving on to the second part of the plan: If it’s fixable, try to fix it.
>You only had experience with basic repairs seeing as to how a repair shop was in every sector of charted space, but sometimes the course deviated away from the mapped out routes and if the ship broke down, someone would have to fix it.
>Even with your sub-par skills with electronics, you still out-shined your brothers with a wrench and wire feeder.
>Hopefully the damage was primarily cosmetic, and the essentials still worked to some degree. A degree you could work with.
>Finally there’s the third part: … There is no third part.
>Not very inspiring.
>This plan isn’t very good.
>It’ll do though.
>If it doesn’t, there’s another plan which comes to mind, one that gives you even more hope than the first.
>Communication equipment.
>The ansible built in to the ship could definitely reach anywhere in civilized space, no matter the distance.
>And even if THAT was broken, you still have your…
“FUCK!”
>The three people who were silently watching you form your half-baked plans jump at your outburst, but you pay them no mind.
>Heart pounding in your chest, you sift through the shards of glass and various debri at your feet trying to find it.
>Where is it? You had it before you climbed in the tank, you know you did.
>Your search and movements turn more erratic and desperate when you don’t find it anywhere near the destroyed healing tank.
>There’s nowhere else it could be, and Relsh and Escar had theirs on them when they...
>Wait, no, there it is!
>In the corner to the right of the door, sticking out from underneath what remains of a cart that once held some medical kits.
>You rush over to it as fast as you can, earning a gasp from one of the trio, and all but throw the cart off of it.
>There on the tiled floor with long cracks going down the display screen and wires sticking out of the side, is your Tricorder.
>Gently you pick it up off the ground and look it over, your hopes of using it being sapped with each crack and dent all the while the three beings behind you patiently watch.
>”Twi, is… is that an IPhone?” Dash whispers.
>”No, I don’t believe it is.”
>You see that the display screen is protruding out of the metal housing, and those wires that were sticking out are coming from the charging port, the covering of which has been destroyed.
>On the back of the device is a thumb sized button that you hesitantly hold down, praying to whatever deity is listening that the display comes to life.
>Your prayers go unanswered.
>The screen is as dead to the universe as the eyes reflected on the screen; as dead as your pac—
>Don’t think about it don’t think about it don’t think about it.
>Shoulders dropping in defeat, your grip around the device tightens and you can feel the metal easily giving way to your immense strength, but at the last moment you stop yourself.
>That won’t help anything. And there’s still some hope left in the Tricorder part of the plan.
>If the ship isn’t fixable, maybe it is. It’d be best not to destroy it.
>And so you put it in your pocket, and stare at the wall, the small flash of rage fading into dread at what you must do next.
“I need to go over the ship. I need to see the damage for myself.”
>You aren’t sure why you are afraid of seeing what has become of the ship. Maybe it’s the idea of being stuck here forever.
>Or the idea of seeing your home torn apart, and reminded of what you caused to happen.
>If you only had done it when you could have. Things could have been different.
>Gods above, why didn’t you?
>Enough of this. Stop that.
>With feet that may as well be trudging through mud, you make your way to the door and hover your hand over the screen.
>Glancing back at the three, you grunt at them.
“Feel free to follow along or leave. The choice is yours I guess. But if the ship is still usable, I’m not taking any of you with me.”
>They seem shocked at what you just said, whether it be the idea that one of them might come with you, or that the ship still works is up in the air as far as you can tell.
>Your voice sounds strange in a way you can’t quite place. It sounds… hollow. Distant. Tired? You didn’t get too much rest after that bullshit with whatever the fuck that shadow was. Not before these people came.
>These people?
“By the way, something I probably should have asked by now: What do you call yourselves? Your species, I mean.”
>Applejack and Rainbow Dash start to respond, but Twilight cuts them off:
>”Will you tell us the name of your species if we tell you ours?”
>You blink at her.
>How does someone immediately jump to bargaining after being choked by the very person they’re bargaining with?
>Her pack looks just as baffled at this as you are.
>Regardless, it isn’t an unreasonable request.
>After all you are the alien here.
>To them.
>To you, *they’re* the aliens.
>But hey, this isn’t exactly a situation either of the four of you expected to be in though, so… guess you’ll go along with it? No harm in them asking you things. Long as it doesn’t get personal of course. And as long as you get to ask them things too.
>You never really got the chance to learn about other species. You were too busy killing them for glory and power.
“Alright.”
>Twilight gives you a satisfied grin and then straightens her lab coat.
>”Well then, we are called—”
>”Humans!”
>Frowning at Dash for interrupting her, Twilight rolls her eyes.
>”Yes. Humans.”
>Hm.
>Humans, huh?
>Kind of an odd name for a species, is it not?
>On the other hand, it’s not anymore strange than the names for the individual members of their kind.
>Seriously what kind of a name is Rainbow Dash? 
>”Alright then, a deal’s a deal ain’t it? What do ya call your kind, mister Anonymous?”
>Now Applejack is talking to you civilly.
>The very same Applejack that was screaming in your face a few minutes ago.
>These humans don’t hold much of a grudge, do they?
>They aren’t anything like your race. Or you for that matter.
“My people are known as the Saiyans. We are a warrior race. We are among the best soldiers and warriors in all of the galaxy. Or we were at least…”
>”Ah… Ah ‘warrior race’?”
>”The best soldiers and warriors in all of the galaxy?”
>”You were?”
>They exchange looks which convey varying emotions that you have neither the time nor the care to place.
>There’s better things to worry about.
>Leaving no room for further questions, you press your forefinger to the button on the flickering screen and the motor in the wall sputters and whirs to life, slowly pulling the door into the side of the wall. 
>You note the flickering of the lights in the room as it does this.
>That isn’t good.
>The ship’s reactor must be in bad shape.
>Or running on fumes.
>It can’t be the latter, because you know for a fact it should be good for another year. You got it refilled before that ill-fated mission.
>Now you’re really not looking forward to seeing the damage.
>That isn’t any way for a Saiyan to think though. No use in delaying the inevitable.
>Stepping out into the bridge, you are dismayed at the sight before you.
>The bridge is completely fucked.
>Faint alarms from the hall beyond the bridge sporadically turn on and off, and the large pile of debris in front of the door to the engine room only inspire feelings of doom and bleakness.
>Twilight may have been correct after all.
>Deep breaths.
>You walk up the ramp to the platform, the others following at an arm's-length behind you, and look at the display panels in front of the chairs that once held the second greatest merc team in the universe.
>Every single one of them is broken in some fashion, be it cracked, shattered, or missing the screen entirely.
>The keyboards underneath the monitors look like they’ve been smashed in, and you see small bits and pieces of the ceiling on the pedestals and floor surrounding them.
>Paneling on the sides of the pedestals on which the keyboards are placed reveal the ruined interior of the machinery within.
>Not bothering to try any of the keyboards, you lift your gaze upwards to the main viewscreen, which is flashing red and blue.
>You’ve only seen it do that once before. 
>When the reactor overheated and nearly exploded.
>”Whoa, I didn’t get to see what was inside of them earlier...”
>Twilight has snaked her way up to your side, and scrutinizes the machinery inside the pedestals with a childlike wonder in her eyes.
>Earlier? So THIS damage in particular was recent.
>”So do you still think you can fix this thing? ‘Cus it looks pretty broken to me.”
>”Dash!”
>”Ow, what the heck AJ!?”
>Ignoring the rabble of the girls behind you and Twilight poking around the internals of the pedestals, you watch the flashing screen above.
>Red and blue. The reactor failure warning.
>That’s good though, right?
>That means the reactor is still working to some capacity. If it had exploded, the screen wouldn’t be—
>A sudden boom reverberates throughout the ship carrying with it a violent shake, making Applejack and Dash lurch forward and scream. 
>Twilight wobbles away from the pedestals, which let out a low churning sound and billows with a black smoke that stains the air.
>The wires hanging from the ceiling let out a torrent of yellow-blue sparks which dive to the floors below, bouncing lively around when they make contact.
>You stay rooted firmly in place throughout it all, your body going numb.
>The screen goes black, and the alarms stop trying to come on.
>The primary lights flare and then fade into darkness, causing the battery-operated emergency lights to come on which bathes the room in an almost sickly green hue.
>On the ceiling above, a final series of sparks fall from the hanging wires.
>Even the fire in front of the door to the engine room dies down into nothingness. All that remains of it is a faint blue glue from the insides of the rubble.
>An eerie stillness takes hold over the ship. Takes hold over you.
>Everything is now quiet.
>Not a single sound.
>The ship that was dying has just now made its last gasp, and is now dead.
>You may as well just leave the engine room alone, there’s no point in going over there and blasting all that shit out of the way to get in. You know what’s behind the door; the remains of the fusion reactor.
>Not a chance in hell that you can fix whatever has become of it.
>Quietly, you turn to face the others, who seemed to be waiting for you to say something, but you have nothing to say.
>You walk past them, straight into the main hall.
>A moment is all it takes before you hear the footsteps trailing behind you. You are thankful that none of them speak. For their sake and yours.
>Numb. Completely numb. Your heart feels heavy. You clench your jaw and hands to stop them from trembling.
>Heavy booted footsteps and the sound of lighter ones echo throughout the now empty, darkened halls.
>Halls that you had grown used to. That you knew and were familiar with. That comforted you after the harder struggles.
>Halls that they had once walked through...
>The air is musty, the filtration systems no longer having the power to do their job of purifying it. You catch small hints of smoke.
>It almost surprises you to feel the cool wind on your face when you step out into the fresh night air.
>You can’t help but look into the night sky, the sight of which makes your breath catch in your throat.
>The moon.
>Gazing into the very thing that once gave you such a rush of power now inspires only a deep yearning. Your insides itch for the power that will never come again.
>And those stars… all those stars...
>You can’t even tell where in space you are. This sky looks completely alien to you. Underneath the numbness you can feel something stirring and kicking at the walls, trying to get out. 
>You’re a bit aways from the ship now, on a hill overlooking it.
>The ship is half buried in the ground. Almost fitting. It’s dead after all. It’s got its own grave. Put a bit more dirt on it to cover it up, it’d be fitting.
>How did you get on the hill? When did you get on the hill? You have no idea. Time blended together for a moment, but now it’s back.
>Twilight, Dash, and Applejack are behind you.
>Have they been standing there the entire time? Why hadn’t they left to go find someone to talk about the alien that just crashed into their planet? Or something? Something that didn’t involve sitting there watching you die inside.
>Watching you be… weak.
>”Anonym—”
>Numbness is gone.
>Rage bubbles up to the surface. A rage that you can’t resist giving into.
>You jolt upright, power exploding throughout your body, surrounding you in its pale blue glow.
>They’re gone.
>Energy shoots through your right arm, reaching the palm of your hand and enveloping it in a blazing hot red glow.
>They’re gone because of you.
>You outstretch your arm; your palm faces the ship, the burning in your hand growing with each passing second. The glowing gathers into the center of your palm, forming a glowing red ball. Air around your hand folds in on itself in visible water-like ripples.
>This is all your fault.
>You growl at the ship, trembling with a furious rage that threatens to pull you apart from the inside. The ball gets hotter. Too hot. The stinging from the flesh on the palm of your hand peeling back is dulled only by the anger you feel. Not anger towards him, but at yourself. Leaves dance through the energy building around your body.
>”ANONYMOUS!”
>Your aura explodes and expands outward, kicking up dirt and leaves; you sink into the ground as your power literally digs a circular trench beneath your feet.
>The ball of ki that was building in your palm breaks free of your control and rips through the air with a resounding crack.
>Your arm is momentarily knocked back by the sheer force, but you force it back into position, feeling the urge to let loose even more, but when you try to channel more energy into your hand, nothing comes.
>The glowing red ball races to the ship and makes contact, then melts its way through the hull like hot butter.
>After a moment's pause, the ship is quickly torn apart from the inside as the energy the ball contained is released.
>The ship explodes in a volcanic sphere of fire and ash, the heat being so great that not a single piece of shrapnel escapes the hellfire.
>Land around the growing ball of destruction is illuminated in an angry red glow which lingers for a minute before the energy let loose by the ball finally dissipates and fades away.
>All that remains of the ship is a smoldering crater twice its size. The trees around it that weren’t blown away by the force lean as far back as possible without snapping at the base. As if frozen in fright, not a single limb or leaf moves.
>The planet itself seems to hold its breath, going silent at what was just unleashed upon it.
>You stand firm with your now quivering hand still outstretched facing the crater, your gaze locked onto it. Small bands of red electricity fizzle and spark at the rim of it.
>There is not a single thing remaining of the ship. Not a single scrap of metal. It’s gone.
>It’s gone…
>Just like they are. Just like all of it is. Nothing remains but you.
>Oh gods, you can’t take it. Emotional training is forgotten. No burying. Not this time.
>Have to get away from here. Have to leave.
>Head hurts. Hand burns. Heart aches. Body tired.
>Weren’t there other people here? Oh yeah, those three.
>You must look like a madman, because when you turn to face them, they stare wide-eyed in both fear and awe.
>Having no idea what to say to them, you say the first thing that comes to mind:
“Later.”
>Your aura flares to life again and carries you off into the night sky, your destination unknown even to you.
----