What does it take to colonize a planet? A lot of money? The best spacecraft? The best scientists? The best astronauts? The answer, my friend, is all of these.
This is why, from birth, they were chosen - given the roles of engineers, flight directors, mechanics, scientists, and yes, astronauts, as well as other vital roles. They were taught all the things they would need to know. At first, it was customized coloring books and toys. Then picture books, and soon workbooks and customized schooling. This was all the plan of the Equestrian Space Program, to make sure they would be ready.
Why were they doing this, you ask?
Simple. Equestria was dying. Eventually, every planet will run out of resources. Sure, they had tried to save it. But, in the end, they couldn’t stop the inevitable.
Realizing this was happening, they had looked to space. For years, they had scoured the skies, looking for any planet that could possibly support life. Then they saw it - the planet they had been searching for. It was fertile, with liquid water and an atmosphere. However, at 18.6 light years away, they knew that they would have to invent a magical engine that would warp the fabric of space.
Even so, it would take many years to make the journey. And thus, they gathered the unwanted foals of the world - the forsaken and abandoned. They would train them, and they would invent the distortion engine. And they would make the journey.
The nursery was quite large - roughly 180 young foals lived in a communal playroom with two separate bedrooms. As they grew, new wings were built - the future ‘schools’ - and, as they got their cutie marks, slowly were separated according to role until a pair remained, though they never knew it. However, in the case of the astronauts, there were three pairs in the end.
They grew, made friends, learned, made mistakes, and were allowed to be foals. They even could join things like band or some sports. Then they all too soon were 6. They were ready to graduate.
“Luna, It is time” Celestia looked away from the window that was positioned over the communal area for the students.
“My sister, are you sure they are ready? Their task is a difficult one, and….” Luna gestured to the students.
Celestia interrupted, shaking her head. “They have been preparing for all these years. I believe they are ready, even if they might not think so.”
Luna walked over to a small white pedestal with a gray button and microphone on it. “Then shall we make the announcement?”
Rainbow Dash was lounging in her cot when she was slightly startled by the loudspeaker crackling to life. “All students please report to the auditorium immediately. This is very important, so don’t take this command lightly! Thank you.”
She sighed, and got up. As she walked down the white hallways through the student dorms, she thought of how many times the administrators had interrupted their free period. It seemed to be a favorite pastime of theirs, even if the causes were somewhat logical. However, they had never addressed one of these interruptions as very important….
She was brought back to reality by a cheery voice. “Hey Rainbow Dash! Why do you think they called us this time? Do you think it’s a party? Why do you think they said it was so important? Ooh, I’m so excited!”
Rainbow Dash groaned as the pink mare jumped around her. “Pinkie Pie, I’m sure it’s not as exciting as you think. Maybe the robotics team finally finished their robot.” She smirked, looking amused. “Though I seriously doubt it, with what I’ve heard from Twilight.”
“I can assure you that we haven’t finished anything, with how disorganized everything is. Ugh!” A disgruntled lavender mare walked up next to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. “I honestly don’t know what they’re thinking, calling us like this. Some of us have things to do!”
“Oh there you are, Twilight. I guess not, huh?” Rainbow Dash, hovering slightly to the left of Pinkie, shook her head and continued. “Sometimes I wish they would only call a certain group of ponies, so that we wouldn’t have to sit through a half hour lecture on something that doesn’t matter to us at all! Remember that one time we were all called down, but it ended up being about some random rock they found on the new planet?” She groaned (again), “I basically slept through the entire thing! It was that boring!” Rainbow Dash gestured with her hooves, making it more dramatic.
Twilight quickly responded. “I actually found it quite interesting, as the said rock is a great source of energy. Did you know that if it was ground into a powder and added into modern fuels, it could increase efficiency a hundredfold? This would mean that we would consume thousands of tons less of fuel each year alone! We could, as a result, slow the drilling of oil to a near halt, saving countless environments and….” Twilight continued, unaware that no one was listening.
Rainbow Dash facehoofed. “Why did I even mention it….”
Just then, three more ponies approached the small group. Pinkie Pie practically jumped forward, hugging all three of them. “Fluttershy! Rarity! Applejack!”
An orange mare, Applejack, tried to speak in the crushing hold. “It’s…. Nice ta…. See you too…. Pinkie….” Pinkie Pie released them and they all caught their breath.
Rarity, the white unicorn with a coiffed purple mane, spoke first. “When we saw you three, we couldn’t help but come over to catch up. Oh, it’s been so long!”
A cream-colored pegasus continued in a soft voice. “Our studies have really kept us busy, haven’t they?”
“I didn’t see you guys there! What are you up to?” Rainbow Dash quickly came over when she heard the familiar voices of her friends.
“I simply can’t believe we’re in none of the same classes! You’d think that there would be at least one!” Rarity sighed, and continued. “Anyway, not much has happened in the past month. Other than classes, which don’t exactly change all that much, nothing has happened. With the way things are, it’s quite hard to arrange things with anypony else.” Rarity frowned, and Fluttershy and Applejack nodded.
Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight (who had finally realized nopony was listening) agreed.
A little bit later, they finally reached the auditorium. They quickly sat down and waited for the stage curtains to open.
“Luna, we must tell them everything. They have a right to know.” Celestia looked over the audience of students through a small gap in the curtain.
Luna looked at her sister. “But what will they say and think? A mutiny could easily overthrow us, and all of our work will be for naught!”
A knowing look came over Celestia’s face, and she turned away from the curtain, towards Luna. “If we tell them here and now, we have the chance to reason with them and keep them calm. We can show them that we had the best in mind. If we keep this hidden, they will eventually find out, and no amount of persuading will make many think otherwise.”
“I suppose you’re right, dear sister. I am sorry for doubting you, but I am simply being cautious. I believe the time is now.”
Celestia walked to the center of the stage with Luna. “You were only worried for them, and that is understandable.” The curtain began to rise, and the stage soon became visible.
Celestia straightened herself and began. “Hello students, and thank you for coming here quickly. We know how valuable any time is to all of us, and so we will try to keep this as short as possible. However, I cannot make any promises.”
“As you no doubt know, your teachers are preparing you for this year’s finals. They may have even mentioned that these will be your last.”
There were a few gasps, and a rise in the volume in the room as many of the students whispered among themselves.
Celestia continued. “You are probably now wondering what will happen after this. You know of nothing beyond this school, and cannot imagine life outside of it. I will tell you, but first I shall begin at the beginning.”
“Long before all of you were born, Equestria was a beautiful place. Ponies lived in harmony with the nature, and all was well. We took care of the land, and in turn it took care of us. However, as we became more advanced, we demanded more from the land. Populations increased, and demand went up. And, little by little, we were giving back less. The scientists tried to warn us - even Luna and I tried to warn the people - but to no avail. Equestria soon became sick. And so, we prepared this.” Celestia gestured to the students. “We gathered the abandoned and forsaken, and took them in. We built this facility, in hopes that we could save the pony race.” A slow tear now rolled down Celestia’s somber face. ”Alas, though, we were not early enough, for the ponies in this room are all that is left of ponykind.”
There was a collective gasp, and the room became deathly silent. The kind of quiet that could make a pony go mad, it was so devoid of sound. They sat there, eyes wide, while Celestia paused as they were letting this sink in.
Celestia finally spoke again, breaking the deafening silence. “We still have hope, as we have found a planet that we can inhabit. This is why we started all of this. We knew it was possible to make it to this planet, and so we took you in and trained you. Because only with your help can we do this. Now, Luna will explain.”
Celestia took a few steps backward and Luna stepped forward. “Yes, like Celestia said, we knew you had the capability to do this if trained right. What exactly are we asking of you, you may wonder? Only the impossible, I’m afraid. You see, this planet is far too far away to travel to by conventional methods at 18.6 light years away. This means you need to invent a special, magical engine that can go faster than the speed of light, not to mention a special long distance teleportation device. In addition, to support this, we need the best ship, astronauts, and mission control staff we can get. We plan for you to fill these roles - we have slowly been assigning you to different roles over the years, as you grew and discovered your cutie marks.”
Chatter erupted over the students as they wondered what roles they had received. Luna quieted them and continued.
“Now, now, students, you will receive your roles when you get back to your dorms.” She smiled at their excitement. “Do you think you are ready for this incredible task?”
The student cheered loudly, and Celestia dismissed them. Their excitement overshadowing their worry, they rushed back to their dorms.
