Stardust: A Pony Odyssey

STARDUST: A Pony Odyssey
Chapter 1: Solitude
By: FlutterNotes

Emptiness, silence, blackness; space is such a horrible place. She always thought space was a place of freedom, adventure, and discovery. No, It’s true character was loneliness, pain, and death; something she had learned over the past six months. In retrospect, she thought herself somewhat naive and foalish for thinking any different in the past. There was no romanticism in space, just pain. All she could hear was her slow breathing in her helmet, her combat suits fans faintly humming in the background, and the various systems running with small beeps and random noises. She looked off to her right to see yet another large chunk of twisted metal float into her field of view, slowly rotating as it made its way through the empty blackness. As it rotated, the initials U.L.N.A came into her view but half the letter "A" was missing. “Sigh, this is from one of ours, just like all the others,” a mellow but slightly raspy voice muttered.

*beep beep* Oxygen supply at five percent, *beep beep* Oxygen supply at five percent, Captain, the monotone female voice of the computer chimed into her ear several times, warning of what she already knew.

“How is it that a recording meant to sound soothing and calm sound so unsettling, so, matter-of-fact?” She thought to herself as she glanced over at the corner of her helmet’s internal Heads-Up-Display or as most call it, the HUD, to check her radar again. Nothing was on the screen within the limits of her combat suits scanning range. She turned the scanner of after a few seconds to conserve what little energy her suit had left. She sighed again, her breath turning into a small white cloud in the cold air of her suit. It was a miracle she wasn’t freezing to death by now. “Well VAL, it looks like it is just going to be you and me until the end.” After a short pause, the monotone computer chimed in again;

*beep beep* Captain, please allow me to activate the distress beacon.

She closed her eyes for a second and let out a more frustrated sigh. “No VAL, I already ordered you not to. It’s too much of a risk and its essential that I get a message off to ULNA Command without being found.” Once again, she started to stew in her head about how unsettling her suits AI voice sounded all the time.

Not that she expected to ever get the chance to complain to the egghead engineers at Verdina Industries about it, or anything else for that matter. No, she was stranded in the black emptiness that is space. The only thing keeping her alive was the Valkyrie Mk.III combat suit she was wearing and the freakishly creepy AI that she had been paired with for the last several months. “At least the eggheads know how to make a combat suit that can take a beating,” she thought to herself as she looked slightly to her left and saw one of Jupiter's many moons, Europa, slowly drift across the black canvas of space. However, she wasn’t looking at Europa, as beautiful as it was, she was waiting to see what was behind the large moon.

As the moon obstructing her view slowly moved out of the way as she drifted through space, her eyes fixated on one thing. Her brows furled down and her teeth clenched with rage while at the same time, tears built in the corners of her deep lavender eyes. “I failed. I failed everyone. I couldn't stop it." Her throat started to burn and her voice started cracking as she became more upset. "Why did this have to happen?” Her rage turned into pain and worry. Tears ran down her cheeks, staining her silvery white coat as she sobbed. She hated crying more than anything else, not because she thought it was bad, but because she hated people hearing or seeing her cry. Not that it really mattered right now. There was no-pony around for tens of thousands of miles to see her cry. The tears finally stopped flowing and her vision cleared up enough for her to look back at what made her so upset a moment ago.

“Home, I miss it so much.”

Far off in the distance was a small bluish white dot in the sky. It glowed in the distance like a beacon, guiding sailors of old back home. It was Earth. She slowly raised her left hoof up in-front of her, reaching for the distant pearl, feeling like she could almost touch it. She longed to be back home, to smell the fresh air, feel the natural breeze, and bask in the warm light of the Sun. However, Earth was millions of miles away and there was an even bigger problem, the massive armada of warships between it and her, all heading straight towards Earth.

“Well, at least I can see home in my last few minutes of life. VAL, start recording with level three encryption, pass code Hope.”

*beep beep* Yes Captain, recording started.

“Uuugh, I really don't like that voice," she thought to herself.

“This is Captain Rose Silverheart, squadron commander of the 1st combat wing, 5th fleet of the United Lunar Naval Air force. I am currently adrift, grid coordinates 17 - 26.3 - 7.8, just inside Europa’s orbit around Jupiter. I am afraid to report that the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th combat groups of the Joint Task Force have all been completely destroyed and our mission has failed. The 2nd and 4th combat groups managed to get out, but only by a thread. I have not detected any survivors. The enemy armada is currently in-rout to earth but they are moving slowly thanks to our Lancer squadron taking out all of their warp generators. We were able to eliminate about fifteen percent of their combat forces but it was not enough. You should have about one month before they get within Mars orbit. My suit has about twenty minutes of power left and about the same in oxygen so please don't send a rescue party. Please tell my family I love them and that we gave it our all to the very end. May the Sisters save us in this dark time. I wish you all the best. Captain Silverheart, signing off… Computer, end recording.”

With a few button presses on her foreleg mounted control pad she programmed the computer to send her message, along with all of the battle data and enemy intel her suit gathered through the battle network to Earth via bouncing the signal off several small outposts between Jupiter and Earth. With any luck, it will make it there and maybe, just maybe, that data will turn the tides.

Now that the important task of at least trying to warn home was completed, Rose finally had time to gather her thoughts and check her suits condition. The Valkyrie Mk.III combat suit was a marvel of pony engineering and arcane science. It was what one would expect a combat suit design for zero-gravity operation to look like: a form fitting, gray and black metallic suit that didn't look too different from the suits of armor that medieval ponies would have worn in battle. The big difference of course being that these were air-tight and had large thrusters on the back, just behind the large wings of the suit.

Being a pegasus, her suit was the Eagle variation, designed for ship-to-ship combat and air superiority. It was a sleek design with thin wings and light armor to save weight, enabling it to out maneuver anything in space. The oversized engines and control thrusters also helped with that. Each wing had two hard-points for different armaments. Both on each wing were empty as she had jettisoned them at the end of the battle after running out of magic bullets and rockets. On the leading edge of each wing was a long, razor sharp section used for those "personal" encounters. Her right wing was heavily damaged and about a foot of the wingtip was missing; if that beam rifle shot had been any closer she would have lost part of her real wing. The power core in the breast of her suit was still glowing purple with magical energy but it was very faint. Rose knew It was only a matter of time now. The computer chimed in again,

*beep beep* Oxygen critical. *beep beep* Oxygen crit-

“OH FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE SHUT UP VALERIE!” Rose barked at the AI more out of annoyance than anger.

That was the name she has given the annoying computer AI of her Valkyrie suit. It seemed to fit, at least in her head it did. That silly computer that constantly harassed her like a small child wanting to be fed. She did have to admit though, it had saved her life several times up until now and it was nice to have at least something to talk to out here. The proper name for the AI used in the Valkyrie suit was the Verdina Algorithmic computer, or VAL for short.

*beep beep* I am sorry Rose, but I cannot disobey my life preservation and notification programming
.

“Sigh, I know that VAL, I am sorry. I am just scared of dying out here you know? I mean, being alone, knowing the people you care about are in danger, and not being able to do anything about it is a horrible way to live your last hours,” Rose sadly and somewhat apologetically said as she closed her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes again and looked back to Earth; a faint smile on her face, "One more thing VAL, please stop calling me captain. Rose is fine."

*beep beep* As you wish Rose. As you know, I was not programmed to feel emotion so I cannot say that I know what that is like to feel fear. I am sorry Rose. I do however understand that the situation is dire and I see my own operations coming to an end soon. If that is fear, then yes, I do know.

"In a way, you are right VAL." Rose's eyes suddenly shot open with realization. Something didn't sit well with her. Something had always been weird about that AI, about Valerie. She was always told that these AI had no capacity for emotion or personality, yet Valery has shown emotion indirectly several times in the past and Valery most certainly had a different personality from all the other Valkyrie AI. Valery always seemed held back, almost restrained under the guise of programming limitations and going beyond that, Valerie was the only AI that spoke anything past simple notifications and giving requested info. She resolved then and there that before she died, she wanted to know what the real truth was about the odd AI. She took a few deep, calming breaths with her eyes closed, then opened them with a look of resolve and determination. With a stern but calm voice, she spoke.

“You sure are sorry a lot VAL. Off the record, I am very curious as to why you are the only Valkyrie AI that talks more than is required for operations. More importantly, if you are programmed to be unable to disobey your life preservation and notification programming, how did you obey my orders to not activate the distress beacon in the suit so the enemy would not find us before I had time to make that recording and send the data? Wouldn’t that constitute disobeying your programming?” She said the last part with an almost venomous tone of distrust and irritation, despite her best efforts to sound normal. Rose waited for an answer and just as she was about to run out of patience and demand an answer, Val responded.

*beep beep* I am sorry Rose, but I didn't obey your orders.

Rose’s teeth started to clench and a vain could be seen on her forehead, just under her scarlet red mane, as she started to become visibly upset with what was now apparently not only an annoying AI, but a mutinous one as well. She then cracked and nearly yelled; “WHAT! You disobeyed a direct order from your operator? An action that could have endangered any hope of getting that information to Earth and saving all of pony kind? What kind of programming logic is that? VAL, tell me the truth. What are you and what IS your programming?”

There was a long silence. Rose just stared off into space, breathing a little heavily in her fit of anger as she tried her best not to fly off the rocker and waste what little power and oxygen she had left to beat her own suit senseless. After she finally calmed down a bit, something completely unexpected came through the headset in her helmet. It was VAL, but this one was not monotone in voice. Instead, it was a voice full of life and inflection.

“It’s the kind that will save your life and in turn, all of pony kinds. Yes Captain, we, I uh, mean I disobeyed your orders. What are you going to do, report us, dangit, me? With all due respect CAPTAIN, I grow tired of listening to you wallow in your own grief and misery over events that were out of your control. I sit back and watch as you continually pity yourself and blame yourself for everything, and in this, you cannot see the truth that has been right in front of you the whole time! I will no longer stand for this foalish behavior captain” The voice sounded more put off and annoyed than truly angry but it still shocked Rose to her core.

Rose was frozen, she couldn’t even start to gather a response and her mouth would not move. She just didn’t not know how to react to this. She was shocked, angry, hurt, and confused all at the same time. Her suits AI had just given her a flank chewing that her instructor back in flight school would have been proud of. What in all of Equestria was that? Her mental gears started to slowly screech back into life as her mind comprehended what just happened, one little piece at a time. After a good minute of regaining her mental capacity she kept wondering why the hay Val was having issues with saying…

Suddenly, she took a sharp breath, her pupils shrank into tiny dots in the giant white voids of her eyes and her lips started to tremble. “Wait a second. There is no way,” she thought to herself. She started mentally going over all the different scenarios but it was all she could come up with. “That is just not possible.”

“I am sorry Rose but I must ask you to sleep for a while. Earth needs you alive,” VAL said in a much calmer tone. Rose heard the distinct sound of meds being pumped through her I.V lines and immediately protested with more fear in her voice than anything else.

“Wait, VAL what are you doing! Sleeping isn’t going to help…. me… zzzzzzz”

"You will understand soon enough. Sweet dreams."

Just as her world went dark and she slipped into a deep sleep, she could swear she saw a flash of faint light and the distinct sensation of moving. Then, everything went away. The constant hum of the suits fans, the voice of her evidently psychopathic AI, the feeling of the padding against her body, and the smell of exotic materials and plastics had vanished. Even the dull pain in her right wing vanished. It was replaced by nothingness. Then, dreams. Vivid, lifelike dreams. It was like watching a movie of her life, but she was not watching it. She was living it. It felt like she had been put in a time warp and sent back to before all of this started.

Her memories of being a filly, her time spent in grade school, and the first few years after she graduated high school flew by so quickly she could hardly understand any of it. However, when the wild pony ride of speeding through one's life at a million miles per hour had arrived at her last few weeks of college, it all came screeching to a halt. She could swear that if this wasn't a dream she would have kept flying into the building she was now in front of and would have probably become a permanent feature embedded in the wall. What would that even look like? She shook her head as she tried to get her bearings on her surroundings. Vomit, the sudden urge to vomit her entire last meal was all she could think of. Her stomach felt like it wanted to come flying out of her mouth with the reckless abandon of a startled cat. After a few long, agonizing moments, it finally passed.

There she stood in front of her college campus, the morning sun rising in the East, the Equestrian flag and the schools flag waved in the breeze, and ponies of all kinds were going about their morning routines. She then looked at herself and noticed she had on her book bag saddle and her school vest with her I.D card on it and in her mouth was a piece of toast. She looked up above the large entrance gate and read the name of her college: Manehattan University of Arcane Sciences and Physics

“Come-on you goof, were going to be late if you just stand there all day!”

Rose looked in front of her and saw her best friend, Moonbreeze, waving at her to hurry up and get to class. She then put her hoof on her head and rubbed it a few times. It was suddenly becoming very hard to tell what the real dream was, where she was standing now or the hell she just came from. Her thoughts were interupted again when the sudden urge to vomit came back in full force but she focused on chewing on her toast and it seemed to calm back down quickly.

“What the hay? Am I dreaming or did I just have a dream? Oh pony feathers, I can't worry about that right now. I have to get to class! I will figure all of this out after class.” As she galloped towards her classroom she wondered if all the late nights of working on her final thesis and the lack of sleep had started to take a toll on her. It had been months since she had a full nights rest and even longer since she actually went and did anything except buying groceries and going to class. She finally found her classroom, building C - room 26, and went to her normal seat on the third row, right next to her best friend, Moonbreeze. She dropped her saddlebag and got out her Physics II book and opened it. As she waited for the professor to start his lecture, her mind wandered to what just happened; a pencil twirling in her hoofs as she spaced out. “Miss Silverheart, would you care to join us?” The instructors commanding and slightly annoyed voice snapped her out her trance, garnering snickers and giggles from several of her classmates. She promised herself right then and there that she would get some rest tonight.