A/N: This is kind of a test into a couple of new concepts for myself. You may see a couple of familiar names, but don't worry, there is no cross between any of my other fics unless I explicitly state it. I'm just bad with coming up with names, so I stick with the few I do have. :P

I hope you enjoy, and be prepared for some rather interesting plot twists in this fic. Reviews are always welcome, anonymous or otherwise. In fact, I'm trying to keep some characters in-character, so if you think they should react differently to seeing an alien, let me know how you would do it!

Thanks in advance,

~D'raekmus

In the Ponyville library, the purple unicorn, known as Twilight Sparkle, sat, staring at a bright blue object just barely visible, even with the powerful telescope she was using.

She picked up a quill with her magic, and began scribbling a series of equations on a piece of parchment.

"Spike," she called, as a small purple dragon entered the quiet room, "If my calculations are correct, then tomorrow night will have the most brilliant display of the Blue Comet in over twenty years! It will pass close enough to see the details without use of a telescope!" she excitedly explained.

"I wonder what kind of ice that comet's made of, anyway..." she added, staring out at the window.

"Maybe the same as any other ice?" the dragon sarcastically commented.

"Oh, Spike..." Twilight replied, turning away from the telescope. "You know that Princess Celestia has proven that more than just water can become ice. Remeber the dry ice incident?" she asked, smiling mischievously.

The dragon sighed, recalling the ice that he drank, and nearly suffocated on. "All too well..."

The unicorn giggled, as the sun began to set.

"Well, let's go get set up for this year's Blue Comet Festival."

Twilight and Spike met up with the other ponies, having set up in the field right outside Ponyville.

"I can't believe this is the twentieth Blue Comet Festival." she commented excitedly.

An orange mare with a broad-rimmed hat nodded in agreement.

"I hear ya, Twilight! I remember watching that comet as a young filly, amazed at what kind of things exist outside our world."

"Quite right, Applejack" a white unicorn replied, laying on a padded cushion. "I recall seeing the comet when I was younger. It's fabulous, like a sapphire lighting up the sky once a year. If only I could put that on a dress..." she sighed.

A yellow pegasus looked up at it, her pink mane waving slightly in the wind.

"I remember seeing the comet as a nightlight... You know, it helps make those dark, scary nights seem a lot less scary."

A pink pony with a matching frizzy mane giggled, jumping excitedly.

"I remember wanting to have a party on that comet. I mean, why call it the Blue Comet Festival if you aren't going to have the festival on the blue comet?"

A blue pegasus with a rainbow mane looked up at the object.

"I've always wondered how fast that thing is going. If it passes our entire world in only a matter of days, something not even we pegasi can do, it has to be going really fast." she commented, sitting down.

All six mares sighed, as the comet appeared on the horizon.

"Oh, it's starting!" Twilight remarked, adjusting her telescope.

"And... it's big..." Applejack added, as the comet covered much of the horizon, obscuring the moon.

"Really big." The blue pegasus finished, as the comet flared up, covered in blue flames.

All six began gasping in astonishment, as an explosion rang across the sky, shaking the very ground as the comet shot by, leaving a trail of smoke.

"Huh... that's strange..." Twilight commented, pulling away from her telescope. "If I didn't know any better, the core in that comet seems... metal."

"Whatever do you mean, Twilight?" The white unicorn asked, shortly before a loud explosion shook the entire landscape, shattering windows, and kicking up a cloud of blue dust, obscuring the sky all the way to the horizon. The ground below cracked in several places, as a harsh wind blasted through Ponyville.

And, just as quickly as the wind came, it vanished, leaving all tranquil.

Twilight looked across the landscape, startled at how quickly the environment had changed. Dust covered the entire field, as the breath from each pony froze into vapor.

"W-w-why did it get s-s-so c-c-cold?" The white unicorn questioned, shivering visibly.

"Yeah, and what's with this dust? It's almost like... snow." Applejack added, forming a ball of the mysterious substance.

Twilight used her magic to collect a sample of the dust.

"I don't know, but it's nothing I've ever seen." she commented, before a flashing set of lights caught the group's attention.

"Wha..." gasped the blue pegasus.

"Is that a..." gasped the pink pony.

The purple unicorn looked over, to see a massive shape in the distance, jutting our where there once was hills. Lights twinkled across the mass, as the group gasped at the sudden appearance.

"It's the Blue Comet... but how?"

The blue pegasus leaped up into the air, pointing at the monolith.

"There's only one way to find out!"

When the small group finally arrived at the impact site, they all gasped. Surrounding the impact zone was a massive lake of water, newly carved from the strike.

But that wasn't what startled the mares.

"Is that..." Applejack began, as Twilight opened up a book.

"I think it's a ship..."

"Of course it's a ship, silly!" the pink pony remarked, jumping onto one of the metal pylons overlooking the lake. "How else do you think aliens travel? By balloon?" she giggled, as the other mares climbed up.

"Yes, but what's a hideous thing like this doing in our fair Equestria?" the white unicorn inquired, trying to make as little contact with the hull as possible.

"Who cares? We just need to get it out of here!" the blue pegasus replied, flying ahead, leading the group into an opened door.

Once inside the niche, the door hissed open, like it was expecting them.

"Is anyone else freaked out by this? Because I am!" the yellow pegasus commented, backing towards the door.

Suddenly, the white unicorn sneezed, causing a small dustorm in the hallway.

"Oh no! Dust, dust everywhere!" she exclaimed, rapidly backing out the door.

"Oh, come on, Rarity! It's not that bad. I'd be more afraid of those skeletons!" the pink pony said, pointing to the large collection of red-hued skeletons strewn about the hall, mixed in with larger, blue bodies.

"Ok, now this is just plain weird..." Applejack said, knocking against one, a metallic clanging through the halls.

"They're made of metal... this gets stranger and stranger." Twilight said, looking closely at one of the red corpses.

A light flashed upon the group, as an inquiring beep startled the mares.

"What is that freaky thing?" the orange mare exclaimed, pointing to the trashcan-shaped machine looking at them.

"I don't know. It seems to be metal... like everything else in here." The blue pegasus said, flying above the strange creature. "Why'd someone leave a walking trashcan here, though?"

As if in response, the trashcan beeped a low tone, and sprayed the pegasus with a foam, causing her to fly upwards in surprise, hitting the ceiling, and plummeting down onto the droid.

"It's a cloud maker?" she sputtered in shock, as the yellow pegasus stepped closer to it, looking closely.

"I don't think it's an animal." she commented, slowly trotting around the strange thing. "It looks like armor."

Twilight stepped forward, her horn illuminating the metal skin.

"You're right, Fluttershy. I wonder, if it isn't an animal, could it be some kind of magical object?" she contemplated, peering at a serial number on the back, just underneath a large black eye.

"If it is a magical object, Twilight, why didn't the creator throw a little more flair into it? I mean, the metal just looks so dull and dilapidated. Really, any magical pony should know better."

The strange device beeped again, spewing oil on the white unicorn.

"Oh my! How did this... this thing know what I meant?" she sputtered, using a nearby cloth to wipe off the sludge. "What a horrid, wretched thing!"

The pink pony leaned forward.

"Wouldn't it be funny if there was this little gnome guy in this thing, controlling everything?" she giggled, pressing against the machine.

It backed away a little, before shuddering, projecting a recording of a creature none of the ponies had seen before.

The pink mare gasped, jumping into the air.

"I knew it! It's a gnome!" she shouted, as the image crackled.

"I think it's a video, Pinkie Pie." Twilight replied, waving her hoof through the image of a young man, in his mid-twenties at the oldest, with long, unkempt brown hair, unruly beard, and eyes that spoke of the kind of insanity that comes from desperation.

"If... if anyone can understand this, please hear my plea." the image began, as the figure became sharper, showing a person standing on two legs, pale skin, and wearing ragged clothing, what appeared to have been once a uniform, instead patched and threadbare. His face was young, but covered with a brown beard, thick and unkempt. His eyes reflected intelligence and honor, thought it seemed to have a hint of madness. He stooped, as if he had to bend down to fit into the image. Twilight speculated that it was a male due to several features linked to male ponies, namely, the beard.

"I am Commander Irwin Beltone, captain of the CIS warship Iron Albatross. During a hyperspace flight, my droid crew suddenly went offline. In order to bring parts of the ship back online, I had to manually disable the communications array. However, as it is, the ship is severely disabled, with my main propulsion systems offline, perhaps permanently.

"In order to preserve the knowledge I possess on this ship, I've been forced to enter a state of hibernation. This droid, Exfive, is the key to accessing the information databanks on this ship, as well as freeing me from my prison. Please, I don't care if you leave me to die, but take care of Exfive! He's kept me company on many lonely nights, and deserves better than a downed ship."

The image vanished, as the droid, Exfive, rolled down the hallway, turning back to let out an inquiring beep.

Twilight tilted her head.

"I think he wants us to follow..." she said, before taking a step... the droid watching her intently.

"What made you think that, Twilight? The fact that the strange video implied it? Or was it the fact that the... Exfive... is waiting for us there?" the blue pegasus sarcastically.

"Hush your mouth, Rainbow Dash! Cogdanged thing's speaking in beeps. I don't think you speak in Horse Code."

Twilight suddenly brightened.

"Horse code? I wonder..." she leaned towards it, tapping her front right hoof against the ground, trying to imitate the beeps.

The droid seemed to respond, letting out a string of beeps.

"Well..." the unicorn began, looking at Exfive funny.

"What is it, Twilight?" the white unicorn, Rarity, asked, looking at the other.

"Well... my Horse Code is rough, but I do know enough to understand Exfive." She began, as the droid approached them. "He knows enough of our language, which he keeps insisting is Basic, to understand us, but has no way to speak in it. Kind of like a pet."

The droid beeped in confirmation, before rolling down the pathway.

The group stood in front of a massive tank, the blue liquid suspending the body of the man in the recording.

Pinkie Pie hopped around the tank, peering in at the contents.

"Well, that's definitely not a gnome." she commented sadly, tapping the glass.

Twilight Sparkle looked at the panel next to the suspension tank.

"Hmm... this script reminds me of the text used in Canterlot. I think they were called the "letters of the Stars". Many of our older archives are written in this. Strange..." she muttered, flipping through the settings.

"Well, here's the page with the controls, but it's locked. Exfive?" the purple unicorn inquired, as the droid beeped, deploying a bar, inserting it into a special slot.

The droid turned its dome, letting out a requesting beep.

Twilight blushed, turning to the other ponies.

"Uh... he wants us all to turn around now... You know, for privacy..." she explained, as everyone turned around.

After a few minutes, the droid beeped, confirming that he was finished.

Twilight trotted back to the terminal, looking the device over.

"Well, according to the onboard instructions, all that we need to do is disable the preservation fluids. Like this..." she said, tapping the "off" button with her hoof.

The liquid drained off, into a secondary tank, as the glass retracted into the base, the figure falling forward, gasping, but unconscious.

"He seems pretty weak... let's put him on that bed over there..." Twilight said, as the ponies moved the body over.

"For something only a little bigger than us, he sure is heavy... It's like pulling a tree!" Applejack exclaimed, grunting with effort to push the unconscious person onto the bed.

I think I'm alive again... am I saved from that prison?

The figure sighed, slowly opening his eyes, noticing something large and... pink?

"Hi there!" it cheerily said, causing the figure to close his eyes again.

Ok, there's something large, pink... something in front of me. Seems friendly...

He opened his eyes again, sitting up.

"He's up! He's up!" the pink pony excitedly cheered, jumping around the cot.

"Yes... now could you please stop? I've still got some hibernation sickness to work off..." the man growled, before opening his eyes in astonishment.

"You understand Basic?" He asked, intrigued at the group of strange equine creatures before him.

"Basic?" the purple unicorn asked, tilting its head in confusion, before realization set in.

"Oh! I see, the language that your... droid, Exfive, kept talking about."

Feminine voice... likely female... the man noted.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "I'm free from being trapped, and I owe you my life."

The purple pony frowned.

"Well, let's get our introductions out of the way. I'm Twilight Sparkle." She introduced, as the other ponies revealed their names.

"Pinkie Pie!" the pink pony giggled, jumping around with boundless energy.

"Applejack, pleased ta meet'cha," the orange mare said, shaking the man's had vigorously.

"I am Rarity, good sir," the white unicorn formally introduced, taking a curtsey, which the Mandalorian returned with a stiff, stern bow.

"Rainbow Dash, best flier from Cloudsdale, at your service!" the blue pegasus exclaimed, saluting the newcomer, who returned the gesture.

"And this is Fluttershy. In case you didn't notice, she's a little bit on the shy side." she continued, pointing to the yellow pegasus, who seemed to be trying her hardest to vanish into her pink mane.

"And I'm Spike!" the dragon introduced, before taking a quick look around. "Amazing that everything in here's metal, yet you're not..."

The human shrugged. Before introducing himself, "I am Irwin Beltone, commander of the ship Iron Albatross, flying for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Could any of you by chance direct me to the nearest spaceport? I'm going to need some supplies to make my ship spaceworthy again," the commander asked.

All the ponies looked blankly, before Pinkie Pie jumped up.

"Ooh! Isn't a spaceport a place where you keep starships and supplies to repair them during your flight through space?" she squeaked.

Irwin straightened up, a spark of hope running through his heart.

"Yes! Do you know where one is?"

"Nope! We don't have those kinds of things in Equestria!"