Greetings, surfers of the internet! Just a quick heads up to y'all, this is my FIRST story attempt ever, so please don't complain if it sucks. Also, I DO NOT own MLP FIM 'cause Hasbro does. But, I DO own my OC and things that aren't originally from MLP, so don't sue for lawyer powers are now ineffective on me, mwuhahaha! We all cool? Good!

Just remember to R&R the chapter once you've finished reading it.

Fun Fact: I DO listen to helpful feedback : )

Chapter 1

This particular story begins in the vast yet seemingly void reaches of space, lit only by the billions upon billions of stars and occasional sun. However, to be more precise in terms of position, a little over ten light-years from Earth with several solar systems thrown in between. Drifting lazily through this practically empty region of the Milky Way, known as the 'Smuggler's Plight' cluster, was a ship that can be described as a grey, smoothed over, rectangular prism with two other prisms of similar shape but a third of its length protruding from its sides. Despite having two thirds the length of a standard football stadium back on Earth, the ship was extraordinarily manoeuvrable and was capable of accelerating to great speeds. The only visible defence system that could be identified on the craft however, is a dual barrelled, rotating energy cannon.

Inside the craft, somewhere roughly at the ship's midway, a darkened, masculine silhouette lay sprawled on his bedding, mildly snoring through the darkness of his sealed room. Suddenly, a loud siren similar to that of a submarine rang throughout the vessel, accompanied by the sudden activation of the ship's lights, illuminating the metallic, grey walls of the room. Shocked by the sudden loud noise and brightness, the figure abruptly ceased snoring and proceeded to cry out in shock, flailing his arm around and exploding from the bed to fall on the floor with a metallic thud. The being groans as it painfully raises, one hand using the bed as a support while the other clenches his throbbing head. This causes a set of multiple dog tags around its neck to jingle. His name was Dominic "Black-Dog" Gates; however he all and all preferred to be called Dom.

He wasn't what could be called a regular person, be it the dark grey fur that covered the majority of his 6'4'' body, the black, swirling tribal tattoos that adorned the majority of his torso or his canine head, complete with a snout roughly 4½ inches long and two triangular, cupped ears that currently lay flattened on his head. He liked to think that the tattoos were what gave him away most of the time. To him, the ability of speech was considered a bonus, but a useful one.

After a few moments, he shakes his head and once standing, begins to stagger towards a door in the room with the word 'Bathroom' printed alongside it. The walls inside the room were practically bleached compared to the previous room. Onto coming into the room, directly in front of him was a regular sink with separate hot and cold handles and a tap in between. Above that was a plain an' simple, average sized, rectangular mirror where the person could see himself from his waist above. Set to the Bathroom's left was a classical, 'western style' toilet while a metal slider door labelled 'shower' was set to the right.

Still cringing from the noise, the being grumbled in a raspy, 'Jane, for the love of God, could you please turn that bloody alarm off.'

'Understood Dominic,' a synthesised, feminine voice replied. Almost instantly, the alarm ceased, causing Dominic's ears to prick up and the vessel to be silent once more silent, save the low hum of electronics running throughout the entirety of the ship.

'Ah, now that's much better. Thanks,' was all Dom said before touching a section of wall, causing a small, dim rectangle of light to appear where he just touched. Immediately after, the area inside the rectangle slid out to reveal a small compartment. He pulled out a toothbrush along with a half-used tube of toothpaste and began brushing his teeth.

'Comments on the alarm today, sir?'

After using a glass of water he had retrieved from another compartment in the wall to clean out his mouth, Dominic replied after spiting the fluids out with, 'well, considering it scared the living shit out of me, it's effective. Also, it didn't blow my ear drums in the process, an appreciated bonus. However, I'm quite sure it's more than possible to find something just a little more…subtle, perhaps?'

'I understand sir, I'll find a more suitable tone,' Jane's disembodied voice replied as Dom exited the bathroom back into his bedroom. Upon opening a cupboard the same way he did the drawers, Jane continued and added, 'also, I believe that it would be wise to man the bridge for this particular section of our charted course.'

Halfway through pulling his pants down, 'Alright, I'll be there shortly,' Dominic replied as he began to make himself more decent.

Meanwhile, world side in Equestria…

As the sun began to fall lower and lower below the horizon, Princess Celestia looked out beyond her veranda in the Canterlot Palace. She was a stark, white alicorn, standing at roughly 6'4'' with a rainbow coloured mane that was continuously flowing in an invisible ethereal breeze. As a chilled breeze picked up on the balcony, the princess shivered and rubbed her wings against her shivering body. Winter would come early to Equestria this year, meaning that the sun goddess would have more time to herself, with the days being shorter and all. She thought that maybe she could spend time in the royal library and get around to reading some books she had meant to for a while. That is, if any of the nobles would grace her with more than five minutes peace.

As the sun finally set, followed by the blanket of night and stars slowly beginning to appear in the cloudless sky, Celestia was disturbed from deep thought by a set of trotting hooves on the marble floor of the veranda. Turning, she sees her sister, Luna. Luna was noticeably shorter than her sister at 4'6'', had deep, dark blue fur and possessed a mane with darker colour. And while her hair seemed to blow all by itself, it was more deflated than her older sister's.

"Good evening, Luna."

"Good evening to you too, Tia," Luna replied as she walked over to the railing to join her sister. "You did a wonderful job with that sunset."

Smiling, Celestia replied, "and the night already looks beautiful dear sister. Now, I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me; I'm quite weary from my duties and the night feels colder by the minute. I simply wish to retire to my private quarters."

Upon hearing this, Luna's smile dropped to a frown. "But Tia, I only just got here. We barely get to talk to one another at this time of year. Please just stay for a little while longer?"

Celestia sighed at her sister's pleading. "Alright Luna, I'll stay. But I'm still too tired to talk."

Luna's smile replacing her frown, she replied, "That's fine; we can enjoy the night together. Oh, by the way, I'm thinking of having a display of shooting stars tonight."

"Is that so? Well, that sounds wonderful sister, will they come soon."

"They shouldn't be long; they'll start appearing shortly after the night is in full swing."

"Very well, I guess I'll try to stay for the stars."

"Wow, thank you, sister!" Luna cried as she hugged her older sister, both of them laughing under the night sky.

Alright, back to the ship…

Dom stood on the bridge, in his casual clothes. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt, the imprints of his dog tags visible beneath the clothing, a dark blue pair of jeans and a brow pair of combat boots. Adjusted his dog tags, he then proceeded to survey and study his current surroundings. The bridge wasn't exactly enormous, but it could hold facilities for ten to fifteen people all at once. Opposite of Dom was a large window that spanned the entire front half of the room, providing a view of the lower bow and what lay not far ahead of the ship.

Four or five kilometres ahead of the ship, lay an asteroid field that looked like a massive, sheer, patchy wall of rocks. This ring of massive space rocks is infamous far and wide as a mass graveyard for space farers, the remaining debris of any crashes joining the belt that seems to travel into infinity, making 'Dead Man's Belt' even more treacherous. Even when they may stand a chance, all ships and their crew are said to be doomed as soon as they enter. All that is, save a handful of either skilled or ridiculously lucky pilots that survived and lived to tell the tale. Dominic happened to be a pilot of both skill and luck.

Ooohh, flashback time! Yay!

Mere months earlier, Dom was running a supply of goods between systems as a favour for a 'good' friend. While having his doubts, he gladly took the job and half the payment as a little 'security measure.' While he had only been in the shipping business, Dom was skilled and wise enough to know to stay far away from 'Dead Man's Belt' as possible. And while the asteroid field was somewhat uncomfortably close to the charted course, there was enough room to avoid it. But before he left, his friend warned him that pirate activity was growing in that area and that he should take an alternate route. As Dominic looked at him in confusion, he explained that 'Dead Man's Belt' had a small 'gap' through which Dom's current transport could fit through with some room although little room for error. After he thanked his friend for the advice, Dom journeyed to the so called 'gap' in the asteroid field. Bracing himself for the risk, Dom ever so slowly manoeuvred his vessel into the space. After reaching midway, he decided that any further into the chaotic cluster could prove fatal, so he drifted with the belt. Some hours and a few close calls later, he reached the point where he could turn off and eventually returned through the mass grave. Silently thanking God, he continued on with his journey and Got the package delivered.

A'right, back to the present…

Dominic was disturbed from his reminiscing of days long gone by Jane's all too familiar synthetic voice.

"Sir? Would you prefer that I disable auto pilot and allow you manual guidance of the ship?"

After his ears and tail pricked up, he rubbed the back of his neck and replied with, "Maybe in another kilometre or two. Anyway, I'm just going to go back into the cargo bay quickly."

Jane paused before she said, "Understood, sir. Call if you need me."

With that, Dominic turned on his heels and exited the automated sliding door behind him.

Well, what do you think? Not bad for a fist chapter, right? Anyway, hope you liked it and the next chapter should be out soon if I'm not too busy. Also, I know that the flashback scene could've been done better, but it's just a flashback so sorry anyone who wanted a more descriptive scene, life sucks sometimes. However, I will go further in depth to Dom's background later on in the story so I hope that puts some of you at ease.

Oh, and please leave only positive reviews or reviews that may improve the story, otherwise I WILL BE SENDING DEATHSQUADS, no matter which country, alright?

Well, see you all next chapter!