Chapter Two

Present

December 30th, 2128

Unknown star system (unlisted)

Private Star Vessel Freedom

Citizen Marcus(Mark) James Calaway

Mark had directed his ship towards the planet, entering its atmosphere and taking note that the planet was quite lush; everywhere there were forests, trees, and grass as far as the eye could see. It seemed that there was no industry or anything of the sort, at least not in the area he was in.

"Not bad, this would be quite suitable for human life. I just need to see if there's an atmosphere" Mark said, turning to strike some keys.

Unfortunately for him he failed to notice that he was coming up on a settlement, and wasn't made aware until the computer let off a proximity warning.

"What the hell?" Marcus wondered, looking up to see that his ship was careening toward a tree that had been adorned in metal spikes. "The fuck!" Calaway exclaimed as he jerked the control sticks to the right, hoping to avoid hitting the object.

It failed, and he could hear a terrible shrieking sound as several of the spikes slashed along the hull of his ship, tearing several gouges in the two feet thick titanium armor plating.

The Freedom soared forward until it slowed to a stop several feet above the top of a forest. "What the fuck was that?" Mark asked as he adjusted the aft cameras to take another look at the tree with the spikes around it, it seemed that some sort of massive winged creature was coming out of the tree to investigate.

"Intriguing, that being is clearly intelligent" Mark said as the creature stared at his ship in wonder. Calaway turned the camera off and made his way through the ship to his quarters.

There he picked up an oxygen helmet, a large helmet that would allow him to breathe Earth-level oxygen. The helmet bore striking similarity to the helmets worn by 21st century astronauts.

Mark didn't want to drive the Hummer out nor did he want to disembark from the Freedom in a massive gunship so he opted instead to wear a simple strap-on jetpack, slinging it onto his back like a backpack.

Marcus stepped into an airlock and hit the cycle button, to no avail as the ship-borne computer piped up.

"Atmospheric cycling is not required as both the ship interior and exterior have matching atmospheric pressure" the computer declared.

"Very interesting" Mark said, he pulled the helmet off and unceremoniously dumped it on the floor. The airlock opened and Calaway stepped out, activating the jetpack and maneuvering toward the spike-covered tree. The winged creature watched him approach in a mixture of curiosity and fear, though it was hiding the latter very well.

Marcus slowed to a stop directly in front of the creature, folding his arms over his chest where they could be clearly seen.

The creature began to scrutinize Calaway very intently, trying to make out what he was and if he was native to the planet. It seemed the creature wasn't threatened by Mark but still had reservations about the man.

This being was obviously intelligent.

Mark took his time to investigate the creature as well; it was massive, taller than him by a full head and that was with it standing in all fours; it could easily double his height by standing on its hind legs.

In addition to the massive size it sported a pair of equally huge wings, easily capable of sustaining fast flight. The beast was primarily brown with a secondary white color; its hair had purple streaks at the tips of the locks and around the eyes were purple spots that resembled licks of flames.

The creature's front legs ended in Eagle-like talons that dug into the wood of the tree, sharp enough to slash right through Mark's body like a sword through air. Coming back to the head Calaway noticed the beast had orange eyes and, further resembling an Eagle, a beak. It seemed to be mix of half Eagle, half lion.

"What the hell are you?" the creature asked, surprising Marcus; he was not expecting communication, though it seemed the beast was thinking aloud rather than directly asking the human.

"I'm Marcus James Calaway, member of the human race" the man clearly replied, startling the creature; it seemed it wasn't expecting communication either.

"You…can talk?" the beast asked, staring at the human in suspicion.

"Yes" Mark answered, adjusting himself as he continued to hover in the air.

The creature resumed staring at the human, studying his body intently. Calaway waited patiently for it to finish.

"Right…what did you say your name was?" the beast inquired, forcing Marcus to place his focus back on it.

"Mark Calaway. Member of the human race" the man replied.

"Name's Gilda, I'm a Griffon" the creature said, still regarding the human with a careful eye.

"Griffon…half lion and half Eagle" Mark said, musing over the creature. His internal alarms went off instantly; Griffons do NOT exist, they are creatures of old legend.

And yet here it was, talking to him.

He must be losing his mind.

"And all awesome!" the Griffon, Gilda, declared, sticking her chest out boastfully. Mark raised an eyebrow at the display.

"Right…anyway what's the deal with the spikes on your tree? They cut really fucking big scratches in my ship!" Calaway said, the damage was negligible but ugly.

"That's not a ship dimwit! Ships float in water, that thing is hovering in the air" Gilda protested, prompting Mark to slap his palm into his face.

"I can see your species is not as advanced as humanity. That is a space-ship, it flies through outer space" Calaway explained.

"That's not possible; Equestria hasn't developed space travel yet" Gilda said as if the human was an idiot.

Mark made a note to ask about Equestria later. "You may not have but humanity has" Calaway replied.

"Where are you from anyway?" the Griffon inquired, becoming irritated with the human. She didn't want to spend her day talking to some weirdo.

"Planet Earth" Marcus answered, Gilda perked up at this.

"Wait? You're from another planet? Are you…an alien?" Gilda asked, tensing herself up; if this alien was hostile she would need to attack fast.

"I guess I am" Calaway stated, he noticed that his jetpack was at half-charge; he would need to land soon and let it recharge.

"Yeah well…I got better things to do than talk to extraterrestrial beings. Beat it" Gilda exclaimed, dismissing the human.

"Wait! Where is the nearest town? I would like to make contact with others" Mark said, Gilda didn't even turn to direct him.

"It's that way" she replied, jerking her thumb to the left; Calaway could faintly see what looked to be a windmill but no other structures were visible.

"Yeah thanks" Marcus said, he maneuvered back to his ship and turned for the town.

"That guy has no idea what he's getting himself into" Gilda lamented with a devious smile on her face.

Once Mark returned to the Freedom he noticed that the sun was beginning to set, dipping below the horizon as night prepared to fall on this side of the planet. Calaway couldn't very well introduce himself to those in the town this late in the day; most of them would probably be getting ready for bed, unless Griffons prefer to stay up late.

Calaway directed the ship over a large forest that seemed darker than the rest of the land, eventually coming to a stop near the outer edges of the town. The Freedom was a relatively quiet ship so Mark doubted anyone had heard him, and they definitely wouldn't be able to see the ship's black hull against the blackness of the sky.

Confident that he wouldn't be detected until morning Mark settled into a small cot he had on the bridge and drifted off to sleep.

Author's note: yes...Gilda is in this story, and she'll play a pretty big role. Please note that this story takes place after 'Griffon the Brush Off'.
I would like to thank Michael Blackburn for beta-reading this chapter.

Legal Note: Marcus(Mark) James Calaway and all related characters belong to me. Gilda the Griffon is copyright to Hasbro. My Little Pony is copyright to Hasbro.