The Sovereign Chronicles - Of E-SEL and Sabotage

Before we can understand the E.S.S Sovereign, we must first understand its intergalactic voyage of discovery. It is the most famous Equestrian mission of discovery of all time, and all sparked from one crucial moment.

Whitetail wood is among the remotest places in Equestria. Since its first seed fell onto the fertile soil of the area only one civilization has attempted to live within it. The skies were always clear above the wood, so it is of no surprise that the Equestrian Astronomical Guild (EAG) chose it for their most ambitious project. It was called E-SEL (The Equestrian Search for Extraterrestrial Life) and consisted of five radio telescopes and a single lab which linked all of them. The lab was quiet, except for a rather bored scientist throwing a small rubber ball at a wall. This scientist’s name was Bristle Sparkle, a relative of the late Twilight. He was proud of his heritage. How could he not be? His great great grandmother had saved Equestria many times and was most famous. But somehow, it was her he blamed for the monotonous job he had ended up with. Every day he would walk into the lab and stare at a dashboard full of lights that remained off for the duration of the day, hoping that they would light up, but knowing that they wouldn’t. Quite similar to this was his love life. Hoping it would light up, but knowing it wouldn’t.

He threw the ball at the wall with an anger driven force. It bounced back too hard and flew past his hoof.

“Great, there goes my source of entertainment” he thought.

He stood up, untangled his long, black mane from his legs and walked over to the ball. He bent over and picked it up in his teeth. He walked back to his chair and resumed his position. For a few more minutes he threw the ball at the wall, and then he saw something he expected never to see in his life. One of the LEDs was flashing. He dropped the ball and walked over to the console. He watched the LED for some time, amazed at what he was witnessing. Then he realized something remarkable. The LED was flashing in Morse Code, and in fluent Equestrian. The message spelt out;

“Greetings from Earth”

Bristle had done it. He had found an alien planet, with intelligent life. This would mean Starswirl Awards, fame and even fortune! He smiled picked up the phone and phoned the EAG’s headquarters.

What Bristle actually got was far from what he had imagined. The EAG unveiled Project Sovereign, a manned mission to the alien planet “Earth”. Bristle was taken on board as chief science officer and an advisor to the engineering staff. He achieved the Starswirl Peace Prize and received more than enough to begin work on the ship. After 5 years of dedicated work and endeavor, the project was finished, and was to be launched with full crew compliment after a week. Much to his surprise and dismay, Bristle was assigned as chief science officer aboard the Sovereign. He protested, but eventually gave in to the mounting threats against his career. The ship launched without any trouble, and began on its journey. Its mission: Make contact with the inhabitants of Earth.