Chapters Have you ever looked up into the clear night sky and wondered,“What’s really up there?”
Ask anypony, and they’ll tell you it’s the Sun, the Moon and the stars… that’s it.
But what does lie beyond the stars? Beyond Luna’s light? Beyond Celestia’s light? What is… space?
“Kosmos!”
Yeah, that’s right, the cosmos, the universe, everything.
“Kosmos, come back and go to bed already! Don’t forget you have a school camp tomorrow. You better get some shut-eye!”
The green unicorn broke his eye contact with the stars above and stood up on his hooves. He noticed he made an impression on the dirt and grass. He must have laid down there for a while, which was normal for that young colt. A gentle breeze of fresh air from the quiet night blew across his dark blue mane, giving him more reasons to continue his nightly stage show. If it weren’t for his overly protective parents being worried of him catching a cold or getting abducted or a sudden heavy downpour started or something, he totally would sleep out in the open under the stars every night.
Before leaving the front yard and entering the house, Kosmos took one last look at the sky. Stars all around sprinkled the sky with life, bands of the faint Milky Way covered it like frosting on a cake, and the moon, the cherry on top. All of those sounded too irresistible to be left behind. Before long, the usual call sounded again and Kosmos, with a pleasant smile on his face, trotted back home.
Tomorrow was the Canterlot school’s annual camping trip and Kosmos got his saddlebag ready on the floor of his bedroom for next morning. He wasn’t exactly interested in camps like these, since what ponies really do there are essentially ice breaking games, and Kosmos wasn’t really good at making or interacting with his fellow school ponies. He was the silent type and didn’t really like to be at the center of attention. Besides that, a typical above average student and was often commended for his good grades.
He laid down on his bed. Lights turned off, the subtle ambient light of the night sky shined through the bedroom window and fell onto the laying pony. Once again, he was face to face with the stars.
There’s just something about the night sky that fascinates Kosmos. Ever since he was born, he had always been drawn to a clear night sky and could observe its panoramic view for hours. Perhaps that’s why the name ‘Kosmos’ stuck. The cosmos, but with a K instead of a C. Every time he visited the Canterlot Library, he would usually find his way to the Astronomy section and read its books till it closes. He longed dreamed to one day reach out and touch the stars for himself and bring everypony else with him. He wanted to share it all.
The stars were calling for him.
Ponies often say ‘The sky’s the limit’. But that is selling themselves a little short, or rather, a whole lot. There is always someplace else further, and further, and further, and further still. A new place to explore every time, and it is not all just dark empty space. Sometimes, we just need that bit of crazy inside, to start thinking beyond, and step out into the unknown in order to learn more about ourselves...
It was a 3 hour trek from the Canterlot School to Winsome Falls, and the entire school gathered in the courtyard before heading out. The camp instructors were of that specific stereotype again, what with their fit, muscular build all, not to mention the whistles hanging around their necks that made them kinda look like sport coaches. Plus they were Earth ponies, which kinda explains everything.
Kosmos observed his classmates standing around him on the school courtyard, all talking about things that did not really resonate with him. All the talk about video games and following of music bands and artists were just not Kosmos cup of tea. However, this made Kosmos a very lonely colt. Often during recess, he was usually alone. No pony was interested in the stars above as much as he did. Surely he has had the occasional short talk with a few of his schoolmates, but nothing that would be considered a “close friend conversation”. But he didn’t care, he was already used to being alone for the longest time, and he preferred to be. Not before long, the trek was about to start.
Has Celestia made the sun a lot brighter that day? Because the heat was almost unbearable and Kosmos was already feeling beat down a quarter way through the trek. So much for the camp instructors emphasising that “Your safety is of utmost importance yadda yadda-” as Kosmos could really feel himself turned inside out. He saw some fellow school ponies taking their water bottles out of their camp bag and just dousing the water onto themselves. Kosmos was not to sure about that. I mean, it could help, but he would rather save it for drinking instead.
You know what, screw it. He took his water bottle out and doused some of the water onto his head. The other ponies turned to look at Kosmos, with a little smirkish chuckle, and he kinda heard someone whispered something about him. Kosmos got a little worried about that. He did not like awkward moments and people talking behind his back. He tried to pretend that didn’t happen, but he couldn’t. That awkward moment felt like it could cling onto his mind like the Smooze. Ugh.
He tried to distract himself by looking at the nature that surrounded him, it might not be as astounding or magnificent as the nature that is in the night sky, but it was still something to keep him distracted. They had trotted about 2 miles from Canterlot so the climate was slightly different. The forest around the ponies were dense but not as dense as the Everfree Forest. You could actually see Ponyville in the distance through some of the trees.
It took them a long while, but they finally made it to Winsome Falls. It was an amazing sight to behold. The bright and vibrant rainbow-coloured falls were unique to this part of town and among the few places in Equestria to have this wonderful geographical feature. Trees were no longer as dense as before and the ground was covered in a bed lush green grass. “Mom was right...” Kosmos mumbled to himself.
Soon enough, with the help of the camp instructors, tents were planted, firewood were gathered, snacks were eaten, and all was ready for the night to come soon. And especially little Kosmos, who had been waiting for the night to greet him once again.
Anything in nature, whether that be the birds flying in the sky or stars hanging in the night sky, all of them grow, evolve, marking the next stage of their lives. And when you grow, change is inevitable. Not just the change coming from yourself, but changes coming from your surroundings. A plant finally showing it’s flowers, inviting pollinators to come. A star finally becoming stable, allowing for planets to form. But how much will this change affect ponies around you? No one really knows.
The night arrived. Everypony was sitting in front of a roaring campfire located on top of a nearby hill, listening to stories being told by the camp instructors, singing songs and sorts. Kosmos was sitting near the very back, trying to see the skies above. But alas, the sky had been slightly overcast the past few hours and Kosmos wasn’t too happy about that. Glowing amber ash particles danced in the sky above the campfire, thinking that it would be a substitute to stars for now. Droopy eyes were drawn onto Kosmos’s face, but the loud campfire activity tried to keep them from shutting.
Soon the wind started blowing strong. The clouds above started to move in a singular direction. It was only a matter of time before Kosmos started seeing a star shining through in the distance. His droopy eyes suddenly shined brightly with that star. Almost immediately, he started moving back from the crowd, away from the bright light of the campfire, to get a better view of the star.
Kosmos was barely a dozen footsteps away from where he was and he could start to see the sky show its true self. He looked back to make sure he knew where he was going and to ensure he did not stray too far away from the campfire. He took his final few steps backward, and looked up.
The sky was at its most beautiful Kosmos has ever seen in his life.
At almost every corner he looked, a star came to greet him. Up above, the large band of the Milky Way shone brilliantly in its signature faint blues and red. The bright nearby planets shone brightly like large pinpricks of light shining together with a whole bunch of smaller ones that are the distant stars. It was just so beautiful that you would need to see it to believe it. To Kosmos it became the most wonderful reunion he has ever had and this time, tons more were invited to the party.
Unknowingly, his horn started to glow.
A gentle wave of magic coming from his horn sailed towards the sky. All of a sudden, a portion of the sky started shining more vibrantly than the rest. His magic appeared to be colouring the sky in some unexplainable way. The sky started to glow faintly in vibrant hues of red, yellow and blue. Kosmos was blown away. He did not want this to stop. He start to moving his head around, and the magic followed.
Soon, the whole sky turned into a sea of vibrant colours, and Kosmos had just become the happiest he had ever been before.
He saw in the distance, his fellow schoolmates pointing towards the sky. Everypony looked up into the sky in awe, with wide grins across their faces. It must probably been the best night sky they had certainly seen and must be wondering what had caused the sky to light up in those brilliant colours. Kosmos, sitting on the ground in the distance with his horn still glowing, shedded a single tear, knowing that he made those ponies’ night a little better.
A little while later, his horn’s glow faded away, along with the sky’s vibrant colours, and he eyes started to droop again from all that magic. Safe in the knowledge that he made so many ponies happy with his magic.
Something else started glowing as well. Kosmos turned back and saw his rump glow.
There it was.
Author's Note
Link to Image
What’s really fascinating about the night sky is that it really puts ponies in their place and that we ponies are just one tiny speck amongst an incredibly vast ocean of wonders. We start to question ourselves about why we came to be, what is the purpose and meaning behind all this? We may find answers to those questions someday, or maybe not. But one thing is true and will always be humbling, the universe is in fact learning about itself.
“Stars may be tiny points of light in the night sky but don’t be fooled! Each one when up close are like our Sun, a HUGE volume of glowing hot plasma giving out energy that will be needed to sustain life that could inhabit on the planets around the star, now ain’t that cute?” Kosmos spoke enthusiastically in front of a class of students.
It has been many years since he first got his cutie mark, and he remembers clearly how amazing it was. Three circles in the primary colours orbiting in harmony within the bigger circle of the night sky. From that moment he knew that his destiny was to show to everypony in Equestria the amazing wonders of the night sky. The green unicorn is now the owner of the Canterlot Observatory and gives out weekly astronomy talks to interested fillies and colts. Using his magic, he could display amazing visual representations of the what he is teaching. You could only imagine how the class of ponies reacted when Kosmos showed them a dying star’s spectacular supernova explosion. It’s quite something.
“Alright class, who’s ready for the sky?” Kosmos announced happily to the class. Kosmos brought the class to the observatory’s balcony, giving everypony a clear view of the night sky. After that, Kosmos stands on a porch behind them and begins to do his thing. His horn glowed a light blue and slowly, the night sky became accentuated with a marvellous sea of colours. Everywhere the ponies looked, they see stars that shined amazingly in bright blues, reds and yellows; nebulae that glowed beautifully in an armada of colours; bright meteors that flew all the way, across the sky, yeah so intense. It almost felt as if the sky were a giant painting and the ponies looked upon it with awe.
Then the sky returns to normal and the night show ends. The class stomped their hooves in excitement and Kosmos couldn’t be happier. Kosmos upon returning to see the class up close again, announced with a tired grin, “Now if any of you guys wanna see more, the main telescope is open now if anyone wants to see through it. It’s in fact the best time this year to see Jupiter this week, so I’ll get it to point there. Just remember to get in a single file and make sure to use the telescope one at a time. I’ll be there just in case anyone needs assistance. Have a great night all!”
It’s not everyday do you see a pony make so many other ponies smile so quickly. He believes that is something really amazing and he hopes he is able to share this wonder to as many ponies as possible. When he is not giving his astronomy sessions, he is busy looking up at the stars at night through his telescope hoping to uncover much more within the horizons above. Every new thing he discovers up there, brings him closer to truly understanding how the universe ticks and he is willing to share what he has learned with everypony. Letting them open their minds about the worlds up there and so we can let the universe learn about itself.
Maybe that’s why they all call him the space pony.
It’s nature on the grandest scales. Just imagine all the things nature itself does on this planet, what with life and giving birth to all of its amazing flora and fauna. Just imagine all of those, but existing as a different form. It’s hard to anypony to see it, since it’s not what they would normally experience in their daily lives, and yet when the sky turns dark, it’s all above them. If everypony could just look up, seeing the night sky beyond just a frog in a well…
It’s the morning of camp day and Kosmos wished he could continue in his dreams about the stars, but blaring wake up alarms from his parents had just made it almost impossible. He opened his eyes, taking a small glance at the poster of a night sky full of stars that he pasted up on the ceiling a few months back, although the red orangey hues of the sunrise outside made the poster not as impressive as it was supposed to be.
As the obedient little pony he was, he got out of bed and slowly trotted to the kitchen with his eyes half-closed. He smiled a little as his horn glowed a pale blue hue and picked up the sandwich his mother, Script Margin, prepared for his lovely son. She was a lovely young mare, recognised by everypony as a hardworking manager at a local brewery, but young Kosmos will always recognise her as the one who makes him the best sandwiches every morning.
“Good morning my sweet starry-eyed colt! You got your things ready for camp right?” Script Margin said, seeing her son eating the sandwich with a blank expression. Kosmos turned to see his saddlebag on the floor of his room, replied with the same look on his face, “Pretty much.”
Script Margin continues, “I heard you ponies are heading out to Winsome Falls. I went there during a research trip a few years back and it’s a beautiful place.” Kosmos continued to chew down on the sandwich with the bitter look on his face.
“Oh come on, what’s with that look? Camp isn’t as bad you think. You went on a camp last year didn’t you?” Margin questioned. Kosmos slowly responded, “Well I did, and... I didn’t like it... They’re gonna make us do all sorts of games and activities and get us all tired and sweaty, and I don’t link that.”
“Trust me, you’re gonna like it there.” Margin said with a wink.
Before long, it was time to head out. Margin placed the saddlebag on Kosmos back and waved him goodbye, “Bye son! I’ll see you tomorrow evening when you get back!” Kosmos hugged his mom tightly and bid her farewell before stepping out. Kosmos turned back and took one last glance of his house. He knew he was gonna be feeling homesick that night as he always did during camps.
But he assured to himself, it’ll all be over soon.
