Of Moon and Stars

>"You ready, Anonymous?"
"Ready as i'll ever be."
>"Alright. Everything is set up, just go when you're ready."
"Good. I just want to say, if I don't come back from this, it's been a great pleasure working with you guys."
>"..."
>"You too, Anon."
>You close your comms and lean back into your chair.
"Goddammit why did I sign up for this?"
>Looking into the black void you're about to pilot your ship into, a feeling of dread unlike any other washes over you.
>You hope that this Atomic Stabilizer thing really works.
"Well, for science, i guess."
>Without much more thought, you sit back up and prepare yourself for possibly the greatest suicide mission in all of history.
>You make sure all systems are go for possibly the last time in your life.
>Setting the thrusters to maximum throttle, you finally steer the ship into the void.
>Before you can even blink, everything goes black.
>You wait for the pain that usually come with atomization.
>But it never does.
>Opening your eyes, you see spread out before you is space in all its glory
>Then, It dawns on you
"Holy shit. Holy mother fucking shit it worked!"
>You stand up out of your pilot's seat and hop around your ship, compalright?overcome with excitement
>Nothing seems to have gone wrong with your body at least
>As you run around the cabin, shouting with glee, another thought comes to mind
>This is probably one of the greatest scientific achievements since warp speed, and you where a part of it
>You would be remembered for generations for your contributions to mankind and their never ending quest for knowledge
>Quickly, with joy unmatched in all the milky way, you run back into your pilot's chair and open up communications
"Come in, come in, can anybody read me? This is the starship Zephyr reporting in."
>No response
>You repeat your message, but this time cycling through all communication bands, hoping to make contact
>Nothing
>Something must be wrong with your ship
"Computer, run a diagnostics scan"
>"Scanning."
>Several seconds pass, and the results are in.
>"No problems detected, Captain."
"Shit."
>Maybe you're just in a lifeless sector?
"Computer, what are our coordinates?"
>"I'm sorry, Captain, but we are not in a known sector."
"Well, how can that be?"
>You get up and start pacing around the ship, pondering about your situation
>Your train of thought is quickly derailed, as you are interrupted by your computer
>"Warning, approach vector too steep, prepare for crash landing"
"Double shit."
>You rush to the front of your ship, only to be met with a sight you really did not want to see.
>Your ship was barreling head first into a planet.
>Your eyes widen as you realize you might not make it out of this one
>Grabbing a hold of the controls, you try to steer the ship away from the planet
>The controls were fried, however, and so everything you tried did nothing
"No problems detected my ass."
>You rush to the back of the cabin and equip the emergency survival gear so handily kept in the ship
>As you put on each piece, the ship slowly begins to heat up from atmospheric entry.
>Once suited up, you head back to the front of the ship and seat yourself in the pilot's chair
"Computer, activate emergency protocol 73"
>"At once. It's been nice knowing you, Captain"
>The ship enters the stratosphere of the alien planet, and you are quickly jettisoned from the cockpit
>You spread out your limbs and allow yourself to reach terminal velocity
>If Felix Baumgartner could do it in 2012, you sure as hell can in the 43rd century
>Looking back at your ship, you can see small bits and pieces breaking off
>Eventually, a barely visible bubble surrounds the ship, and soon it's engulfed in flames
>Better to have it self-destruct up high rather than crash and explode in some alien settlement
>Minutes pass and soon your parachute opens, allowing for a slow decent to the planet's surface
>Your heart-rate has finally slowed down and you observe the ground below you
>Or at least what you could see of the ground
>It was nighttime on this side of the planet, so all you could really see is inky darkness
>After what seems like hours, you finally land in a small clearing in some forest
>Only one thought crosses your mind as you land
"I better get paid extra for this"
>After surveying the area around you, you open up your trusty bio-scanner
>You let it do its thing for a minute and look over the results
"Air composition, 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% trace gases. Huh, just like Earth."
>Taking off, your helmet, you take in a breath of fresh air
>It seems to have a certain taste about it, a certain sweetness that can be described
"Well, might as well set up a distress beacon"
>Unclipping a small device from your belt, you press a small button located on the top and set it down
>It unfolds and rises up to create a decently sized radar dish, capable of sending messages parsecs into space
>After making sure everything was set to go, you decide to go adventuring around the area
>If this place really is undiscovered, you might as well be the first to discover it
>You venture on into the forest, swatting away bugs and plants as you walk deeper in
>The life here looks a bit strange to you. Not in an alien sort of way, since you've dealt with that before, but it looked kind of, cartoonish to you
>A feeling goes through your body, as if something is watching you
>It's a good thing the emergency suits are also equipped with plasma pistols
>Last guy that crashed on an alien planet was ripped to shreds by the local fauna, let's just hope it won't happen to you as well
>Soon enough, you come across a path through the forest, a clear sign that this planet is civilized
"Might as well follow it and see where it takes me."
>You pick a direction and walk, hoping it will take you to a nearby settlement
>After a few minutes of nothing but walking, you exit the forest, and finally see civilization ahead.
>You break into a jog and make your way towards the town, noticing its thatched roof houses and medieval looks
>Perhaps they were a traditionalist society? You don't believe that there still could be any Type 0 civilizations left in the universe.
>Then again, you might not be in the same universe as before.
>The thought makes you shudder, so you shake it out of your head and continue on
>You enter the town and head towards what you think might be the town hall, which happens to be a massive crystalline palace
>How the hell did you miss that?
>You walk up to the massive double doors and knock twice.
>The sound seems to reverberate through the whole building, as if it were a giant bell.
>You wait for a bit, knowing fully well that whoever's inside might be sleeping, or that there's no one inside at all
>Eventually you hear two voices from coming within, one of what sounds to be a child, and a female voice, probably a young adult
>"I know, Spike, it's just that, it's the middle of the night, who in their right mind would come here at this time?"
>Now you know your universal translator works here.
>The door flies open and you are met by what appear to be a purple equine with both wings and a horn.
>Certainly no race you've ever seen before.
>She stares at you in what appears to be a mix of awe, fear, and astonishment
>Might as well begin the conversation if she doesn't
"Hello, madam. My name is Anonymous and I have crashed on this planet of yours. You don't happen to have any starships lying around, by chance?"
>She continues staring at you, mouth agape.
>So much for being polite
>You look down and notice a small, reptilian creature standing by her side, giving you the same look she is
>Seeing as how she isn't talking, you turn towards him instead
"You must be her advisor. Could you perhaps direct me to the nearest spaceport?"
>He doesn't move a muscle
"Well then, I suppose i should look elsewhere. Thank you for your time."
>You turn to leave only to be stopped by the purple being
>"Wait! Don't go."
>You turn back around to speak to her
>"I'm sorry about our behavior, it's just that me and Spike have never seen anyone like you before."
"Oh, i'm sure you haven't. Tell me, do you have any starships around here?"
>"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know, a starship. Big metal machine, flies through space, that kind of thing."
>"Well, we do have airships here. Would that work?"
>You mentally facepalm
"No. Alright, tell me this, what's the most technologically advanced mode of transport you have?"
>She ponders for a bit. The lizard is cowering behind her. You can't be that menacing, can you?
>"I suppose trains might be the most advanced thing we have."
>It seems you're stuck on this planet until help arrives
>You sit down on one of the steps leading up to the palace, wondering what you're going to do.
>What if help doesn't arrive? What if you're stuck here forever?
>These thoughts flood your mind as you sit there
>You would definitely take atomization over this
>The purple horse seems to have noticed your thoughts, as she puts a hoof on your shoulder
>"Look, maybe we don't have anything to help you get home, but in the meantime me and Spike here can help you feel at home."
"And how are you going to do that?"
>"Well, my place does have plenty of guest bedrooms, so you could stay here while we work something out."
"It's better than nothing, I guess."
>You stand up and follow the horse inside
>The doors close behind you with a resounding thud
>The palace is much bigger on the inside than you thought
>It reminds you of that one really old show a lot of people seemed to like
>Professor Why or something along those lines
>Small crystals hang from the ceiling, providing light by some unknown means
>The hoofsteps and pitter patter from the duo ahead of you resonate through the halls, giving you a very eerie vibe
>You decide to break the silence by asking a few questions
"So, what is this place anyway?"
>"This is my house, or rather, palace."
"No, i mean, what planet am I on?"
>"Oh, you are on Equus. What, did you come from outer space or something?"
"I am surprised you never clued in on this yet. Yes, I did. Proud captain of the starship, Zephyr. At least, I was captain of the ship until I crashed."
>The horse seemed to gain newfound interest in you, as they began to nerd out on you.
>"Omigosh, really? Wow, this is fantastic! I'm the first to ever see a real alien! Tell me, is it true that you actually probe ponies?"
"I can't say that I do."
>"Have you seen any other aliens? Are there really little green aliens living on Ares? What do they say? What do they do?"
>The stream of questions keeps coming until you finally can't take any more
"Stop, alright, stop. Just take me to this guest room so I can sleep. I'll answer questions in the morning."
>She seems distraught by all this, but then quickly regains here composure
>"Yes, sorry about that. I didn't mean to do that, I just kind of slipped."
"It's alright, just don't do it again."
>She turns around and continues walking, albeit at an increased pace
>You follow and soon enough you come to a crystalline door
>Opening it, you come into a somewhat large room. Strangely enough, everything in here is made of crystals, even the bed
>How does no one hurt themselves on these
>"I hope you like it. I'll leave you alone so you can get some rest."
>Both of them leave, leaving you to your thoughts
"Tomorrow's going to be a rough day"
>You wake up in the morning with a terrible back ache.
>No surprise that crystals aren't the best thing to sleep on.
>After getting back into your clothes and putting on your suit, you hear some voices down the corridor, one assuredly being that lavender pony, and another, more motherly voice
>"He didn't show any hostility when he was talking to me, princess, and he certainly wasn't trying to steal anything either. Everything is where it should be."
>The maternal voice speaks up
>"Well, you can never be too sure, Twilight. You know I'm only making sure the rest of Equestria is safe."
>You decide to go check out what was happening outside
>Entering the main hall, your eyes fall upon a tall, regal looking horse. Certainly one of the higher ups in this society.
>You make sure to put on your best polite face. Years of working in the space trade really helped with that.
"Good morning to you, ma'am. My name is Anonymous, Captain of the starship Zephyr and second in command of the Earth trading fleet. Who may I call you?"
>Throughout your spiel you tried to maintain the best Alpha male impression that you could. After all, you are the first of your species to come across these creatures.
>"I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and co-ruler of the Equestrian empire. It is to my understanding that you and my fellow princess here are not from this world, correct?"
>Princess and co-ruler of the Equestrian empire, huh? Strange hierarchy, even for an alien race.
"Why yes, it is true. I have crash landed here and am looking for a way to get off this planet and back home."
>Celestial gives you a quizzical look and glimpses at the smaller horse, who you assume to be Twilight.
>You see a sort of empathic link happen between the two and Celestial turns back to look at you.
>"I fear we do not have any method for you to return home, but I can assure you that, if we did, we would prevent you from leaving this planet."
>Your eye twitches a bit
"But, why? Why would you keep me here? I have friends and family waiting for me back home. They'll assume I'm dead!"
>"Seeing as how you have no way off this world, they will assume so anyway. Besides, I would not want to risk an invasion from your species just because I let you free. Until your ways are made clear, I cannot trust you at all."
>The entire time she kept her calm composure entirely in check. You feel as though you disappointed her somehow.
>A scowl then crosses your face
"Well then, in that case I suppose I am not wanted here. I shall take my leave. Perhaps someone else on this planet would be kind enough to help me."
>Standing up straight, you walk out the doors of the palace, closing the heavy doors behind you.
>You stop in your tracks, thinking about what you've done
>Those two were probably the only chance you had at getting off this world
>Your mind goes back to the distress beacon you had set up in that clearing
>If they won't help, maybe someone else would
>You set off for the forest with one goal in mind, get off this dreaded planet, and no one was going to stop you.
>Returning to the forest seemed like a much better idea in your head
>It was much creepier now than before, as if it knew you were coming back
>Either way, you marched on in and retraced your steps back to the clearing, which proved somewhat difficult
>The trees seemed to move around you and plants would actively attempt to snare you with creeping roots
>Once back in the clearing, you made sure the beacon was safe.
>Given the nature of this place, you were surprised it was.
>You went around the area and grabbed whatever you could to create a makeshift camp
>Through a lot of trial and error, you finally had set up a proper base of operations
>At least as proper as a few leaves and sticks would allow
>You check the time, only to see that you've worked well past sundown
"Jeez, has it been that long already?"
>Your stomach growls in affirmation
"I guess it has, might as well find some food."
>Venturing back into the treeline, the feeling of being watched returns to you
>You swear it's the same thing that watched you when you first arrived.
>After a couple hours of searching, you end up in some apple orchard
>Strange, you thought apples only grew on Earth
> Deciding to take the chance that these might belong to someone, you take as many apples as you can carry and head on back
>Hopefully this will last you long enough for help to arrive
>There seems to be a subtle change as you return back to camp
>The place seems a bit neater than you left it
>You sit down to snack on the fruits you stole
>Goddamn help better arrive soon
>Several days pass and there is no sign of anyone
>No lights, no spaceships, nothing
>Maybe you are stuck here
>But you don't give up hope, it's the only thing you have at this point
>There has been one thing you've noticed about the forest
>Every night, you keep getting the feeling of being watched, no matter where you are or what you're doing
>It's utterly strange
>It doesn't matter at this point, as you've completely exhausted your food stores
>Apples aren't going to cut it, so hunting is your next best option
>Not long after leaving camp, you come across what appears to be a chicken with the tail of a snake
>Once again, strange, but you've seen plenty of stranger things
>Equipping your plasma pistol, you slowly approach the bird-reptile
>It has no idea you're there
>One shot is all you need to take it out
>With one pull of the trigger, the creature is lying dead on the forest floor
>A couple minutes later, its body is roasting over the fire as you look to the skies for any signs of a starship of any kind
>Once again, nothing
>Sighing, you return to your meal for the night
>You never realized how alone you are until now, trapped on an alien planet with little chance of getting home.
>Sure, you could always return to the equine settlement, but they were of no help
>Shows how much you know about foreign relations
>After finish your meal, you lean up against a nearby log and fall asleep
>You wake up to the sound of growling.
>Now that certainly wasn't your stomach this time
>Getting up, you look around the camp for the source
>It was nighttime, so you couldn't see much, but what you did see spooked you
>Five pairs of glowing green eyes met your gaze
>They moved forward, allowing for a better look at them
>Each one was wolf-like in shape, however, their bodies were made up entirely of wooden logs
>They looked almost like marionette dolls
>You take out your handy dandy plasma pistol and aim at the wooden wolves
>They inch ever so slowly towards you, but you maintain your stance
>The tension is almost palpable at this point
>Out of the corner of your eye, you see something move in the trees
>The distraction gives the wolves the chance they were waiting for, and one by one, they pounce
>You barely have enough time to get two shots off before they're on top of you, biting and clawing at anything they can
>One of the animals is set ablaze by your attempts at self defense, but the rest continue to tear at your suit
>Everything is a flailing mess of claws and fists, and you think to yourself, this just might be the end for you
>Then another joins the fray
>You have no time to process anything when, suddenly, a blast of blue light fills your vision and the wolves are gone
>You are left lying on the ground with claw marks all over your body, staring straight into the night sky
>Then, another body enters your vision
>A blueish equine, similar to Celestia, although a bit smaller you.
>It speaks
>"Art thou alright?"
>You get up, brush off some dirt and address the equine
"Well, I am now. Thanks for the help. May I ask who might you be?"
>"We are Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and Princess of the night."
>Speaking in first-person plural? Must have multiple personality disorder or something
>You try to keep a professional air about you, since now you know who you're dealing with
"Well then, princess, what brings you out here in the middle of the night?"
>"We couldn't help but notice your arrival here several days ago, and so we have been watching over you each night to assure that you have no hostile intent"
>Alright, forget professionalism, that was downright creepy
"I hope you realize how absolutely absurd that is. Watching someone for days on end just isn't normal"
>A small frown developed on the horse's face
>"Well, if it weren't for us, you most likely would have died then. Besides, I was only looking out for the safety of my people."
"Yeah, sure, precisely what Ms. Celestia said."
>You walk away to collect your pistol off the ground. Still had some charge left, thankfully
>"So we see you have met my sister already"
"Yes, I suppose I have. Hey, since she's your sister, perhaps you could relay a message for me. I am leaving this planet, and there is nothing you can do to stop me."
>The princess lets her frown turn into a scowl, but soon regains her composure.
>"Very well, we will bring this message to our sister, but be warned. You will not be let off so easily from this offense next time."
"Offense? What offense?"
>And with that, she was gone
>Looks like the whole universe is against you now