They could scarcely see the large alien object at first. The dust and ash of the region was in particularly high concentrations within this locality. The pesky particles billowed around everywhere, causing a thin film of grit and grime to form on the edges of the exploratory team's goggles
Most of them had special wrappings around their hooves, both to protect them from particularly hot sections of terrain common in the Badlands, and to help them keep their goggle lenses clear.
This tedious process of moving, pausing to wipe one's eyepieces, then resuming movement had been repeating on and off for several hours, until at last it finally paid off. The dust storm settled within the inactive caldera the ponies were currently situated. The Badlands were finally rewarding the group for their diligent march with a detailed glimpse of their quarry.
"It's about friggin time we find that alien slag heap! This brimstone stuff is starting to really irritate my feathers!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed irritably under her hooded brown cloak, trudging alongside her friends through the volcanic sands as they approached the structure. "Couldn't we have just taken sky chariots here?"
Rainbow was answered by a groan of annoyance from one of the unicorns at the front of their procession. "One word, Rainbow Dash. Dragons.".
On the mare's back, a purple-scaled young dragon chuckled as he craned his head to look at her, his face pulled into a impish grin. "Twilight's right, Rainbow. Not every dragon is charming and harmless like me." Being a dragon, Spike's body was well adapted to the harsh conditions of the region, and didn't truly need equipment.
"And not to mention adorable too!" Rarity cooed, as she kept pace with Twilight. Unlike most of the others, Rarity was not donning anything beyond an arguably over-the-top version of everyone else's cloaks. Her own shield spell ensured that no invasive particles could get caught in her mane, coat, or eyes.
Spike seemed as if he were about to slide off Twilight's back, smitten as he was. Muttering, Rainbow Dash rolled her violet eyes beneath her goggles. To Rarity's credit, she was working as hard as she could to expand her shield spell over her friends, reducing the numbers of times that they had to stop and brush their goggles clear.
"Besides," Twilight continued, "Celestia and Daring Do want to keep this little discovery here a secret. A squadron of chariots would have almost definitely caught unwanted attention, and Equestria simply isn't prepared for groundbreaking proof that we aren't alone in the universe."
"Yeah, well whatever's inside better be worth our time. Maybe E.T. left behind some gold or diamonds, now that would make my day. Imagine all the cool flying gear I could buy with that!"
"Or all the parts of Sweet Apple Acres we could fix up." Applejack interjected behind Rainbow.
"And the parties and desserts!" Pinkie Pie added with a pleasant voice and a grin at Applejack's side. "Or instead, maybe we'll find a humongous refrigerator full of pudding! Or, even better, cupcakes!"
From Rainbow Dash's right, Fluttershy said, "Umm, Pinkie Pie, I don't think aliens would necessarily know what those even are. Well, that's my opinion anyway." Her soft voice was almost lost in the wind that swept through the caldera. "Different animals have different diets, especially when they're from very separate, very different habitats."
Pinkie Pie frowned slightly with skepticism. With her one-size-too-big polarized goggles, and the single lock of curly pink mane hanging visibly under her hood, she slightly resembled some weird species of disk jockey, or perhaps an eccentric inventor.
"Pfft. C'mon Fluttershy, what type of smart creature around hasn't heard of a cupcake? Everypony loves cupcakes!"
"Actually, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy's got a point. Whomever left this spaceship here could have eaten anything, evolved in anyway imaginable, and arrived from who-knows what kind of environment and planet." Twilight proclaimed.
"Somehow, that doesn't make me all too crazy to just waltz in there now, darling." Rarity remarked, keeping her eyes focused on their destination.
"Huh. Well besides, treasure and alien 'cuisine' aren't the real potential things of value here, anyway." Twilight smirked confidently under the shadow of her hood as she trotted. "It's knowledge, girls. We just might be making history with what we'll find in there."
Pausing briefly to remove their goggles and peer at one another, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie simultaneously murmured, "Eggheads..." If Twilight had heard them, she did not indicate it.
On her back, Spike grinned as if to say, 'tell me about it, I live with her'.
Staying quiet for a short awhile as they neared the site, the seven friends paused to take in the alien structure.
Precise to Twilight's words, the anomaly in the ashen cliff face of the caldera wall, was indeed a crashed alien starship. From their perspective, the group could see what they could readily identify as thruster or propulsion systems of some kind, as well as several pieces of debris, namely hull plating.
The ship's bow was buried deep into the rock, hidden from view. Her hull was a dull-silver or grey color, almost matching that of the terrain around it, were it not for the artificially smooth surface.
In terms of shape, the mysterious vessel almost resembled a beached orca. The stern ended in a fin-like dorsal protrusion above the housing for the propulsion systems, and the visible superstructure curved in on itself gracefully in an almost organic fashion as one's eyes neared the direction of the bow.
For the mares and the dragon, the craft was straight out of an Equestrian science fiction flick.
"Look at that! Even in such a state of disrepair, this ship has such grace!" Rarity remarked, gazing at the craft in wonder, an expression Twilight, Spike, and the others shared.
Rainbow Dash however, was the least impressed, waving the wreck off with a flick of her foreleg. "Oh, pshaw! Looks like an oversized tuna to me."
"Come on, I see Daring Do and her team's base camp. Let's get over there!" Twilight said.
"You know, one good thing about this whole expedition...at least I get to meet Equestria's greatest treasure hunter and adventurer in person! Oh my gosh!" Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to squee as she followed the others.
Picking up the pace, the group galloped onwards. Much to everyone's relief, the sand was barely to the tops of their hooves now.
Daring Do's camp was a rather casual affair in the shadow of the alien creation cast by the midday sun. A half-dozen yurts-a type of tent designed to keep out dust-were clustered around one large tent, which was the current destination.
All around the camp, bustling bands of archaeologists, workers, geologists, and scholars, greeted the seven newcomers enthusiastically. Most of their faces and bodies were obscured by cloaks, muzzle wrappings, and goggles of similar fashions. The friends inquired of them as to where the pegasus adventurer could be found. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be the largest of the camp's structures.
The central yurt was roughly the size of a circus tent, and the entrance glowed from the large number of electric lights within. The light glare was almost blinding at first.
"Erm, Miss Daring Do? It's me Twilight Sparkle. My friends and I have arrived to assist you with exploring the alien derelict for Celestia." Twilight and the others wearing goggles had to adjust or remove them to adapt their eyes. Unfortunately, the goggle-less could only shield their eyes with their arms or forelegs.
"Ah yes, please come in. That wind must be driving you all nuts." A suave, cultured voice greeted back from somewhere in the room. The tent interior itself was full of work surfaces, examining tables, shovels, bookshelves, and seating, among other utilitarian items and archaeological paraphernalia.
When her eyes had finally adjusted, Twilight quickly scanned the room for the source of the adventurer's voice. Twilight found it in the form of a pegasus, whose coat was the same dusty golden brown of her and the others' wind cloaks.
Daring Do turned around from something she had been examining to meet her new guests in person. Bearing a noticeable resemblance to Rainbow Dash, Daring Do's mane and tail were a silvery black, and her violet eyes glowed with an inner tenacity and sense of adventure, that words alone would have trouble expressing.
Her ensemble consisted of an olive-colored buttoned-up khaki shirt, and a beige safari hat decorated with olive trim.
"If you haven't received the welcome wagon already from region herself, then let me be the first to say, welcome to the Badlands, Equestria's hottest tourist destination."
Spike hopped off Twilight's back and chuckled slightly, while Pinkie Pie suddenly burst out into a fit of furious giggling. Twilight and Rainbow Dash lifted their eyebrows at her, as the others sat back around various points near the entrance, watching Pinkie's theatrics. Daring Do similarly watched Pinkie Pie roll across the heavily rug-laden floor, her mouth in a confused 'O' shape.
"Thanks for the kind welcome, miss Do." Rainbow Dash replied finally.
Daring Do snapped back to attention and smiled. "Please, we're not a bunch of snobs sipping tea around here, well not me anyway. Just call me Daring."
Rainbow Dash looked as if she were about to faint at those last four words. She squeaked in reply, which merited a raised eyebrow from the pegasus adventurer.
Twilight returned Daring Do's smile and averted her gaze from Pinkie Pie. "Well then, Daring. I see you were just scrutinizing something, what exactly might it be if you don't mind me asking?" Twilight inquired curiously.
"Ooh, is it treasure? Please tell me its treasure of some kind!" Rainbow Dash added.
Still smiling, Daring Do took a step to the side and picked up a cylindrical object from the table. She held the thing in her hoof for all to see. "Not gemstones, I'm afraid. However, it's got to be something significant, of that, I am certain."
Rainbow frowned slightly in disappointment.
"May I?" Twilight said. Daring Do nodded and the unicorn summarily levitated the object out in front of her. The canister was made out of a transparent compound, either a type of glass, or something analogous to it. "This appears to be some kind of container, obviously."
Twilight flipped the cylinder over, and something moved around inside. By now, Pinkie Pie had long since ceased her antics, and both her and the others had come close to examine the object as well. Pinkie oohed-and awed as the strange contents flowed back and forth, like sand in an hourglass.
"Full of...a white-grey powder. What in the world might that be for?" Rarity added with perplexed curiosity.
"How strange." Fluttershy remarked.
"Where was this stuff discovered, ma'am? Inside the alien spaceship itself?" Applejack inquired.
Daring Do nodded to her. "The central chamber, actually. This stuff is everywhere in there." She motioned one of her wings towards another table nearby, which was covered end to end by neat rows of over a dozen more of the alien containers. "There has to be at least several thousand more we haven't moved out yet."
Pinkie Pie was unable to contain her patience any longer. "Twilight!" The unicorn turned to her with a brow raised. "Can we go see the spaceship now? Oh can we, can we huh? Please?"
"I could give them a quick look-see in the excavation site." Daring Do said. "There's no real danger, the ship appears to be of sturdy construction, despite its age."
This information was evidently sufficient enough for Twilight. "Hmm, I don't see the harm in it then. Why not?" Pinkie flashed Twilight a grin, and Daring Do playfully put her hat on Pinkie Pie's head, much to Rainbow's slight annoyance. "You all go on ahead, if you don't mind Daring, I'll stay here for awhile first and examine this powder. Spike, you mind staying here to help out?"
Spike groaned in disappointment, but nodded, joining her. Daring shrugged and retrieved her hat from Pinkie Pie as they made their way out. "Alright, suit yourself. We'll see you two inside later then."
"Have fun Spike!" Rarity called out. The dragon waved longingly at her as they all left.
While the ponies trotted further and further away from the central tent, Twilight heard Rainbow Dash's now faint voice ask, "Have you guys found anything else besides a bunch of old, weird jars inside the wreck?"
"Well, I guess will just have to see when we're all inside now, won't we?" Daring Do replied.
Now alone in the tent save for Spike and a few lingering teams of scientists, Twilight pick the cylindrical container up and wrapped up a few of its fellows in her lavender aura, before setting them all down on an empty artifact examination table.
"Spike, turn on that microscope for me, will you?"
"At your command, your highness." Spike grumbled, fumbling with the device's power button.
With the electronic microscope handy, Twilight carefully extracted a small sample of the powder onto a glass slide and viewed it at various magnifications. "Fascinating." She said to nopony in particular. "These appear to be nothing more than simple strands of primitive organic molecules, completely inert. Hmm, yet very fragile."
Glass snapped slightly, as Twilight accidentally zoomed in too far and cracked the slide. Picking it up in her telekinesis, a few rogue shards of the glass nicked her on the hoof, drawing a tiny amount of blood. "Ah, brother!" She groaned in frustration and disposed of the broken slide, then stepped away from the microscope.
"Such finesse, Professor Sparkle!" Spike jeered.
"Not funny, Spike." Twilight quickly healed the scratches, then absentmindedly rubbed at her muzzle thoughtfully. "There we go. Now, what could these mysterious beings have needed desiccated organic powder for? Does this stuff even do anything?"
Spike shrugged, having no theories of his own at the moment. A scientist near her shrugged as well. "Our understanding of this substance is next to zero, miss Sparkle. As far as we're concerned, the powder is nothing more than a scientific curiosity."
The statement only left more questions than answers in Twilight's mind, and her rubbing became more insistent. These questions, simply had to be answered soon, or else they would nag at her constantly for months afterwards. Recalling the time she had been tardy with a friendship report last year, Twilight would not allow such an occurrence of that type again.
"Has the powder been tested on a living creature yet?" Twilight said finally. The scientist seemed surprised by the suddenness of her inquiry.
"Uhh, well no, Miss. Given the unknown nature of the material, we're hesitant to do anything with it until more information is uncovered regarding its true nature."
Twilight's ears flattened on her head, and her neutral, curious expression sank into a scowl without warning. "Have you rookies even tried checking any records aboard the ship? I'm fairly sure an advanced race of aliens wouldn't have been carrying cargo like this aboard their vessel without data on what it was, what it did, and what it was for."
Spike smirked slightly at the clueless-looking scientist. "She has a point with that, ya know."
This was turning out to be a bad afternoon for the scientist. "We have tried accessing their machines, Twilight Sparkle, but the um...the encryption..." He held up both hooves and bent them to form invisible quotations in the air. "We simply can't find a way around them yet."
Impatiently, Twilight sighed and resumed observation of the powder, still rubbing vigorously at her muzzle and chin, as if dealing with an itch. "Well, we all have to start somewhere. Princess Celestia left it up to me and whoever I brought with to assist you guys in learning more about these mysterious aliens and their ship. I'm not reporting back with nothing but some powder that for all we know does absolutely nothing!"
Twilight concluded by declaring, "Bring me something to inject this sample into. A small mammal, preferably. I'm not willing to put it into a pony yet. And have someone talk to Daring Do later about getting some of these canisters shipped to labs in Manehattan, Cloudsdale, and Canterlot. The more ponies we have working to ascertain this strange powder's secrets, the better."
"Oh, of course Miss Sparkle. I'll uh, I'll get right on it."
"Now if you'll all excuse me, I'll be joining my friends in exploring the spacecraft now. Come on Spike." Twilight replied, quickly putting her hood back on and donning her goggles.
"Coming."
Once the duo were out of earshot, the unicorn scientist turned to his four colleagues, who had watched the entire conversation. His face had a bemused expression. "Is it just me, or did Sparkle start having an abrupt change in behavior after she made contact with that powder sample?"
They all shrugged nervously, before returning to their study of a small piece of alien metal plating. The first scientist rubbed at his mane and shrugged as well, returning his attention to his own work. "Meh. Probably just my imagination anyway."